4

Eden is still toddling around after Rhydian and Tulia when the concept of insubordination becomes part of her world. She is young enough yet that the nuances of the word - that the potential negative implications and moral contradictions - are still beyond her grasp. But she does understand that this concept is a wedge her parents cannot seem to overcome.

The NOVA is a starship that runs without issue. The daily operations, even those involving away missions and exploration on new celestial bodies, are all treated as a matter of rote. The chain of command, including her parents' place in it, is not one that is ever questioned. There is peace, in so much as a vessel of its size can have peace. Eden and the few other children aboard have not known anything else until a fateful exploratory mission ends with a dead private, a brewing intergalactic diplomatic incident, and the first fight she has ever witnessed between her parents.

Astra and Khai are t'hy'la. They are meant to be in harmony for all things. And yet, evenings pass where Astra doesn't even look at Khai as she tucks Eden into bed, and days pass where Rhydian hovers between their parents, unsure of how to behave when the two are not on speaking terms. It bubbles over, in the same anticlimactic way these things tend to.

"He was not insubordinate!" Astra argues heartedly, her hands on her hips. "He was following the directives of the Federation and trying to disengage with the civilization -"

"He was not obeying a direct order from his commanding officer," Khai points out tonelessly. "Which is, in fact, an act of insubordination."

"He got in the way of blaster fire to protect unarmed civilians from advanced weaponry because he was the only one who realized the miscommunication, which I can verify now that I've spoken to the native people," Astra returns. "Private Qoqinn died in the line of duty by following the spirit of our mission. We explore. We do not dominate. It's not the way of the Federation."

"We are not Federation, anymore. We are Alliance."

Astra rubs her forehead. "Khai…" she sighs. "The Federation still lives on in the Alliance. It has to. When we signed those treaties, we all agreed to honor the prime directives of the Federation. And I know, before you remind me, that some of those directives were written out of the Alliance treaty. But I'll remind you that I don't agree with that action - not then and not now. We can't...Private Qoquinn is being posthumously discharged with dishonorable insubordination on his record. It's not right."

Khai is quiet.

Rhydian, who is watching this disagreement alongside Eden, each of them peeking through the doorway, lost in the shadows of their shared room when they should be asleep, holds Eden's hand. Eden looks up at her brother, wallowing in the confused, bittersweet tenor of his mindscape. She has the sense that he is confused by their father's perspective.

Eden is too young to understand. When she is older, she understands all too well.

"The universe isn't absolute," Astra says, quieter now. "Things are not always black or white. You know that, don't you? It is true that Private Qoquinn did not listen to his CO, but he had good reason not to. If he had, then civilians would be dead and the Alliance would be facing potential intergalactic crimes. He saved lives, even if he was disobedient as he did so. He deserves to be honored for that, not...not this. You get that, right?"

Khai furrows his brows, thinking deeply. "The Alliance was supposed to make things simpler."

"And it has," Astra soothes. "But the Alliance is not absolute and it does not have absolute authority in all things. It isn't perfect. What's happening right now is a mistake - but we can fix it, petition the Alliance, make a case…"

"T'hy'la"

Eden and Rhydian watch as their parents come together, holding each other close, their foreheads pressed together and their eyes closed. Rhydian tugs Eden backward, helps her into her bed, and then tucks himself in. The common area is quiet.

In the dark, Rhydian manages a whisper. "Insubordination is scary. You can get in trouble for doing the right thing."

Eden had been so young, but she does remember the way she felt about her brother's words. Where Rhydian had seemed shaken by the idea of doing right but being wrong, Eden had felt the opposite. She is too little to understand the moral and ethical juxtaposition, but she is not too young to decide that being wrong for doing the right thing isn't bad, actually.

Later, she will hear Captain Godric say something that surmised her thoughts about the incident. Sometimes you have to break a few eggs. It's a lesson that will follow Eden throughout her life, from publishing work just shy of censoring the Alliance to all the things she finds herself doing for the sake of the greater good. Because even if Eden is insubordinate, at least she does not have guilt polluting her mind.

Eden, like her mother before her, is perfectly fine with breaking a few eggs.

Telleru

6874

The planet is strange, but not any stranger than any other alien planet. Telleru, home of the Tellerites, seems to be largely based on crystallized formations, a miraculous sort of evolution that has managed to sustain life on what Eden assumes would ordinarily be an inhospitable planet. Moon, really. The size of Telleru is quite small given the size of nearby planets. Its climate is moderately chilled, although this does not phase out-worlder tourists, according to the news transmissions Eden has heard during her stay on this planet so far. But for all that Telleru is seemingly a tourist-trap of a planet, its primary purpose seems to be a mining enterprise. The Tellerite crystals found deep within the cave structures of the planet are apparently vital for the operation of sustainable energy sources on other planets and space stations.

It makes Eden wonder. Given what she can observe, it seems obvious that Telleru was terra-formed at some point during its past. After all, while vegetation will find a way to grow in any circumstances, she finds it very unlikely that the vegetation here is native - in fact, even the moss crawling up the sides of the towering dwellings of this planet seems remarkably Terran. Although she doesn't have the data or the resources to prove it - yet - Eden would guess that this planet was originally settled to mine its resources, likely from a nearby planet with access to the type of technology that would allow the moon to form an atmosphere and sustain life. Whether or not the Tellerites themselves are natives to the moon is unimportant. Perhaps it is a situation similar to other sister planets, where migration within the solar system created divergences in cultures so that one race becomes one. It isn't uncommon in Eden's time - Rosy and Emet are proof enough of that.

Truthfully, she isn't sure why it matters at all, except for the fact that her mind is latching onto details and speculations with a peculiar urgency. There is instinctual wariness within her, lurking just below the surface, perhaps brought about by these strange circumstances she is in.

Her thoughts continually go back to the news transmission from the clothing store. Although she had not heard the entire report, the end was enough to catch her attention. "...continued earthquakes are worsening this season, according to TTI. A statement released from Telleru Tectonic Institute this morning suggests that mining expeditions be put on hold until further research on the earthquakes has been conducted. Planet-side mining companies have no comment and continue to work on the southern mines as planned…"

However this planet came into being, it's abundantly clear that the economic stability of Telleru is balancing on the edge of a knife, at the very least. The store clerk had not seemed bothered by the idea of more dangerous earthquakes, likely because the Tellerites have adapted to continual quakes and have learned to exist around them. But that does not mean the earthquakes are not a problem. Most everyday citizens do not understand danger until it is already too late; the Tellerites may not care until disaster strikes, and then it will be a tragedy that can't be stopped.

It is, Eden knows, the burden of a scientist to disseminate knowledge that people do not care to know. The TTI seems to be the only Telleru organization that is giving any attention to the issue and because of capitalistic greed, the warning signs are not being seen.

Eden can see the disaster coming from a mile away. She wonders if perhaps she and Orion have landed near one of these so-called singularities - an event that will happen, that must happen, for time to move forward. It seems likely. She does not know the specifics of how the time-travel device works, but she would assume the basic physics of a singularity holding more weight than other moments in time would make it more likely to travel toward singularities, rather than away from them. Eden herself may even be a magnet for that sort of thing, her own time-significant weight pulling her close to other heavy moments.

Eden does not say any of this to Orion - not her intuition about landing near a singularity or any of her observations about the strange development of this planet that, by all basic biology, should be devoid of life. It isn't that she wants to keep these thoughts to herself. Rather, Orion does not seem to want to hear about it. Like the Tellerites, he does not appear to recognize the potential urgency of the situation with the earthquakes. Instead, he is focused on sequestering them into their hotel room and keeping a low profile.

She understands why he remains tense, continually checking the windows and scarcely sleeping. His mission is to protect her from the Alliance, who could find them at any moment. Yet at the same time, she does not see the point in existing within a sphere of fear and anticipation. Eden's movements have not been restricted since she was very small and living aboard the NOVA, and her independence rankles at the idea that she must remain in one place.

Truthfully, she does not see the logic of it. The Alliance is likely to find them, sooner or later, so what is the point of remaining stationary? Eden, who has never wasted her time once in her life, does not appreciate wasting so much time now - particularly when she believes there is something strange about this planet, the time they find themselves in, and the odd ambivalence of the Tellerites who are likely existing on a seismic disaster of untold proportions.

Eden does not like being idle. She must rectify her circumstances.

What better way to do that than solve the problem the Tellerites seem willfully ignorant of?

Orion isn't stupid or blind. He can clearly see - and feel - the energy in Eden bursting at the seams. It seems the scientist is not pleased with the restrictions that have been placed on her. Orion doesn't really care. The restrictions are there for a reason, and if Eden has any sense at all, she will respect the boundaries that have been put in place to keep them under the radar and free from detection.

Orion is...moderately certain that Eden will fall in line. She's from a military family and was raised within the Alliance system, so one way or another, she should understand the reasoning for the safety procedures he has outlined for her. It isn't as if those procedures are difficult, either. They largely amount to "do not leave this hotel room", which he thinks is reasonable.

Two days passed since their arrival on Telleru and Orion thinks, maybe, that Eden will prove to be less difficult than he originally assumed. All he has seen her do in the past forty-eight hours is listen or watch news transmissions, seemingly fascinated by the Tellerite way of life. She had, at one point, whipped out a small handheld pad, which she swiftly informed him she had already calibrated to be untraceable even when hooked up to a network. Orion hadn't said anything about it and he assumed that she was managing to entertain herself well enough.

Orion is naive enough to think that maybe babysitting this scientist would be easy.

And then he'd woken up on day three to an empty hotel room.

"Fuck."

Eden's memory has always been prodigious so it isn't difficult for her to navigate to the public transportation available on Telleru. The planet is small enough that there is an efficient over-ground train system connecting various hamlets and cities. Having listened to the news transmissions over the last two days, Eden is more than confident that she will be able to find the Tectonic Institute, which is the first step of her plan. Any scientific endeavor requires research, of course, and what better place to find research than the one whistleblowing force on the planet?

Eden does not have any credits that will be accepted by Tellerite technology, but she is not above sneaking onto the train, casually lifting herself onto the tram right before the doors close, her slight figure easily hiding her between the more burly Tellerite forms around her.

She is, of course, not the only out-worlder on the train, but aside from a Terran and Zanite, she does not recognize any of the other races. It is astonishing, but not surprising, to see how vast the collection of intelligent life in the universe will be - to see how far the exploration of new planets will come in these thousands of years after her own lifetime. It is, if anything, additional motivation to resolve the potentially catastrophic event on the horizon.

The train is heading for Rellu, one of the larger cities in the eastern province of the planet. Traveling to Rellu will take about three hours, even on the fastest train, and this gives Eden enough time to finalize her plans - and gather the type of intelligence that won't be found on a government-approved news telecast. Eden isn't overly fond of talking to others, but she does not have a choice. Initiating contact and skimming surface thoughts is, of course, unthinkable.

The conversations she has with the few Tellerites around her are stilted, and not only because the language barrier makes it clear that the Tellerites are struggling to use simple enough vocabulary that she will be able to understand. It seems that many Tellerites aren't concerned with the continual earthquakes at all, and the few that have any concerns are seemingly pacified by either the mining companies or the politician in charge of Telleru, a Terran by the name of Governor Dayye. This governor, assigned to Telleru by the Alliance, has evidently assured the Tellerites multiple times that there is nothing to be concerned about the frequent earthquakes.

Eden finds this very suspicious. If the Tellerites have an institute raising concerns about the earthquakes, but the Alliance-assigned representative is saying the exact opposite, then something is clearly amiss. Although she is out of her time, Eden can very well recognize this tactic - even in her own time, the Alliance was fond of placating the public. After all, was that not why she was being reprimanded on the day she should have been assassinated, for going against this silent edict?

Eden believes, now more than ever, that her suspicions are well-founded. These earthquakes are suspect and somehow, the Alliance itself is involved.

It isn't difficult to find the Tellerite Tectonic Institute after disembarking from the transit system. The institute is a humbler building than the likes Eden is accustomed to, but it is clearly labeled and there are many white-robed scientists about, each of them garbed in a laboratory uniform not unlike what she usually wears herself. There are a surprising amount of off-worlders, but Eden deduces that the institute is largely funded by the Alliance - or perhaps hosts Alliance scientists for special research, which is not unheard of in her own time.

Eden is not a fan of loitering, but she takes her time observing the building from a reasonable distance. Her goal is to make it into the building undetected, something which she doesn't believe will be a challenge. She is all too aware that Orion wouldn't be far behind her; he seems smart enough and well-trained enough to track her down. She's certain he will find her sooner rather than later, given the small size of the planet. She must work quickly.

Eden must spend about an hour or so watching scientists scan badges as they enter the building. There doesn't seem to be any additional security to enter the building, such as biological verification, so all Eden will really need is a badge to get inside. These are favorable circumstances, she decides. All she needs to do is shed these Tellertie garments and allow her usual attire to blend in. It shouldn't be too difficult to lift an ID badge from one of the scientists - most scientists, she knows, can be rather fixated, so all she needs to do is find one that is distracted who will not notice her thievery. Once inside, she will likely have to come up with a new plan - her goal is, of course, the research in the databases that might not be released to the public. She knows from experience that this is the information that will provide the best insight.

Eden sheds the dull blue-grey garment from her shoulders, draping it over a nearby bench. The white of her everyday jumpsuit is passable enough to blend with the scientists milling about in front of the institute. She keeps her head partially turned away as she joins them, catching snippets of native Tellertite and Standard, none of the conversations she understands seemingly consequential. Eden sets her eyes on a likely target, someone who also has pale skin and dark hair who is close enough to her likeness. She edges around the back of the group, easing into position calmly.

It is only by chance - mere luck - that Eden is witness to the next few moments. There is a sudden spike in the ambient noise of the crowd as the institute doors open and a man of greying age bustles out, clearly in mid-conversation with an important-looking scientist who trots alongside him. Eden's laser focus shifts, following after the man as he stops in front of a sleek black transport.

She is only just close enough to hear the effusive enthusiasm of the Tellerite scientist as he says, "Thank you, Governor Dayye, for making these arrangements. Our data is so suggestive -"

"Yes, yes," Governor Dayye says, masking his impatience with a strained smile. "Of course, it's my duty to help you liaise with the Alliance. I'm sure you will hear from our science division in the next few days."

"We truly do appreciate your assistance."

"And we're happy to offer it," Governor Dayye replies smoothly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another meeting…"

The Tellerite scientist nods, backing off and giving the governor enough room to open the door to his transport. Inside, from the angle Eden has, she can see there is a woman already seated in the vehicle - another Terran, this one with red hair and a frosty expression. What draws Eden's attention, however, is the enamel pin sitting on the high collar of her lapel.

Governor Dayye bids a political goodbye to the scientists in the crowd, seats himself in the transport, and departs. The scientists, meanwhile, all express their relief that the Alliance will be assisting them.

"I'll be glad to have the help of Alliance scientists," one says. "They have more resources than we do to interpret our data -"

"Or to confirm our interpretation," another says, somewhat more darkly.

"I know we're all frustrated, but when the Alliance confirms our studies, then Governor Dayye will be able to help us with the mining companies," chimes in a third scientist and there are murmurs of agreement.

Eden stops listening at that point, her mind fixated on that enamel pin. The insignia on the pin looks very familiar to her. She doesn't know why the others aren't talking about the Terran woman in the transport, but perhaps it's only her Giidas eyesight that afforded her the ability to see into the dimness of the vehicle.

That insignia, though. Where had she seen it before? It certainly wasn't Alliance, but -

Yes, of course. Eden has been watching and listening to news transmissions for the past few days, and all the news seems to talk about is the ongoing struggle between the mining companies and the TTI's lobbying to temporarily stop mining projects. Of the three mining companies on this planet, it is the company with the same insignia on the enamel pin that has been most vocal about their ongoing projects. Eden does not think it's a coincidence that someone affiliated with the company was in the governor's personal transport.

Dayye is not trustworthy. She doubts the Alliance will be trustworthy, either. In fact, considering the apparent collusion between the mining company and Dayye, Eden finds it much more likely that Dayye is working under Alliance orders.

Just what are they mining on this planet that is worth such a big risk? And would the Alliance potentially jeopardize millions of lives to get it? Or is this mere greed shared by the mining company and the governor? If so, would the Alliance turn a blind eye?

Eden presses her lips together. She needs more information to draw a sound conclusion, but the facts as they are now are not altogether encouraging. While the institute scientists are busy lauding the Alliance for their future assistance, Eden takes the opportunity to swipe the ID off her target and hastens into the building. The urgency of her information gathering has increased, particularly if there will be an Alliance presence on this planet within the next few days.

It's fortunate that Eden has spent the majority of her life in laboratories. There is always a logical layout to these spaces that makes them easy to navigate. Now, all she must do is wait for the right timing.

If Koit were around, he would be mocking Orion for losing track of the scientist. It's a good thing that Koit isn't around, then, because Orion is fairly sure he wouldn't be able to stop himself from punching him. After waking up to an empty hotel room that should very much not be empty, Orion spends the next ten minutes trying to work out where Eden would even go - this tiny planet is nothing but crystals and furry humanoids and is surely much less interesting than other places. They aren't even on the tourist side of the planet, for fuck's sake, so where did she run off to?

And then -

Right. She's been watching the news, listening and absorbing, and not saying much but obviously having thoughts. Even for all that she has a Giidas-straight face, Orion could see that intelligent glimmer in her eye any time the news transmissions switched to coverage about the earthquakes. It's an observation that doesn't exactly bode well for his own mission, but he has a feeling that Eden wasn't one to let things go. She'd certainly sussed out the time travel complications fast enough.

He shouldn't be surprised. And he isn't, really. He is pissed, though, and straps on all of his gear with a great frown marring his brow as he tromps out of the hotel room. When he finds her - and he will - she is going to get the biggest dressing down of her life. And then when he's done with her, he'll spare some self-flagellation for himself because of how greatly he'd underestimated her - or overestimated her military family mindset. Either. Both. It doesn't matter.

Outside, Orion expands every one of his Xianian senses, allowing the core of his energy to ease out of his meridians and sense the world around him. It's a skill he seldom has to use, as it's truly only useful for sensing others who are psi-skilled. He's lucky that Giidas are touch-telepaths because it means that they leave a psychic trace on everything they come into contact with - and that means Orion can easily track down his scientist by following the faint trail she left behind.

Eden doesn't seem to touch many things, aside from her own belongings and her own person. She definitely doesn't touch other beings if she can help it, which is something he noticed immediately. This is, unfortunately, a bit of a complication in the way he can trace her steps - because she keeps her hands to herself so much, there aren't many traces for him to follow. But the ones that he can find give him a tenuous path forward, and his own sense of her energy, amplified by this crystal planet, is clear as day the nearer he draws to her location.

She'd traveled very far in a short amount of time, taking advantage of the planet-wide transit. Very resourceful. If Orion were recruiting for the Specialists, that's the exact kind of trait he would want to see. It's a bit of a headache now, of course, but he thinks her resourcefulness might be handy later on. Eden doesn't have a jumper like him, but she managed to get halfway across an unfamiliar planet and arrive at her destination in a single morning. That's impressive, no matter which way he spins in.

It takes Orion less time, of course, once he realizes what her destination was. After figuring out that Eden took herself right to the central hub of earthquake research on this planet, Orion tucks himself into an unremarkable space between buildings and jumps to the Tellerite Tectonic Institute. And once he lands, he can tell that he's come to the right place - Eden's energy is practically blaring at him now that he's opened all his senses, the markings on his skin gleaming silver under the sunlight. He mutes his senses, reigning his energy in, and gazes at the building.

She's in there. He can easily jump in and find her, but he has a feeling that she'll be resistant - and that runs the risk of causing the type of scene that can get them caught. It irks him that she will get her way - and her time - to look into whatever she has cleverly broken into this place for, but there isn't anything he can do about it. Orion is, first and foremost, an assassin, and assassins work best during the dark hours.

So he waits. Impatiently.

Eden steps out of the washroom as soon as the hallways in the Tellerite Tectonic Institute quiet. While she may not be able to count on the laboratory being completely empty - scientists are notorious for watching over experiments in the earliest hours, after all - she does believe that the data room itself should be empty, and that is ideal for her plans. She has already scoped the building and she is already on the same floor as the data room, so it takes no time at all to duck into the right hallway and swipe her stolen ID card to gain admittance.

Inside the data room, the challenge of how to operate the computer terminal is one that occupies her for several minutes. She does not recognize any of the Tellerite symbols on the holo keypad and the few Standard symbols are about powering the device on and off. Purely on logic, she manages to find the manual search function on the terminal; if she cannot narrow her search, then she will need to skim until she finds the data she needs. It shouldn't be difficult. Eden has been looking at charts and statistical information for well over half her life, so it isn't hard to recognize the data she wants to find at all -

"What do you think you're doing?" a familiar voice says from behind her, tone dark.

Eden does not startle. She knew Orion would find her eventually. She doesn't even turn around to greet him, her eyes fixed on another file, mind decoding the numbers and patterns.

"I can't believe you're this reckless," Orion mutters. "Or maybe I should. This is why you were targeted by the fucking Alliance, you know."

"Hn." Eden can acknowledge he's right, even if she doesn't care for his tone. Eden is too preoccupied to deliver a true response.

This information - well, she had suspected, hadn't she? There is something very unnatural about the frequency of these earthquakes - or rather, there is something unnatural about the pattern of them. Some earthquakes are happening on the lower quadrant of the planet, at a much lesser strength and less frequent basis. Other earthquakes, the stronger ones that are threatening catastrophic upset to the planet, are happening on the northern sphere. The differing strengths are a definite red flag, particularly when the northern quakes last for roughly twenty to thirty minutes at least one to two times a week, while the southern quakes are only a few minutes long and happen less than once a month.

Eden recalls the woman sitting in Governor Dayee's transport. This is the Alliance's doing. Whatever they're mining on this planet, they are doing at the cost of Tellerite lives. The mining company and Governor Dayee are working together for such a sinister purpose -

It's untenable.

"We're going," Orion says decisively, his hand closing around the top of Eden's shoulder as she frowns at the data scrolling across the screen.

It's instinct to toss him off with a flare of her telekinesis, not unlike what she had done in the turbolift not so long ago. Orion recovers more quickly than the last time and manages to spin her around, hands on her wrists, squeezing just hard enough that she winces.

He's scowling at her as he says, "Do you not understand the importance of staying undercover? You can't be found. You can't do shit like this. There's too much reliant on-"

"Someone must do something," Eden cuts in, yanking her wrists away with a cool flick. "These people will die if this goes on."

"Then they die," Orion says callously. "It's not our business."

Eden cuts her eyes at him. "The Alliance is behind these earthquakes," she tells him bluntly. "They are perfectly willing to sacrifice the lives of millions for the sake of ore that can, I suspect, only be found on this planet. You say this is not our business?"

"It's not," Orion says flatly. "The Alliance is corrupt. This is what they do."

Eden's chest - does something at that tone, at those words. She has been so focused on unearthing information and trying to solve the disparity that, while she recognized the connection between the Alliance and the mining company and the likely motivation, she hadn't assigned any emotional response to it. Until now. It occurs to her, belatedly, that she is rather upset by this discovery. The Alliance of her time would not be so blatant as to risk the lives of millions just to collect riches from a planet - but then, the Alliance of her time was still so closely associated with the Federation, that perhaps the corruption was not so visible. Yet for Orion, the corruption of the Alliance is so commonplace that he has accepted it with such resentment.

Eden is, for perhaps the first time in her life, at a loss for how to categorize her feelings.

"We can't let this happen," she tells him, chest tight. "They are going to destroy this planet -"

Orion's eyes are hard, the iridescent sheen to them glinting in the low light of the data room. "This can't be fixed. We can't fix it, not here, not now. Time is -" Orion stops, sighs, collects his words. "Some events must happen. If this planet is going to be destroyed, then it will be destroyed."

"People will die," Eden says.

"Then they are meant to die. Not everyone can be saved - not at the cost of being caught by the Alliance."

Eden's mind is racing.

Orion is - he's prioritizing his mission to his cohort over the possibility of waylaying the imminent destruction of this planet. And it is imminent, because even for the paltry data that Eden could analyze, it was clear that the strength of the earthquakes from whatever the mining company is doing in the north was leading to a single result. The planet is too small to endure for much longer, and none of the people know. The TTI surely suspects, but their message is being silenced by the government. Yet Orion is unmoved by it. He is, if anything, seemingly more frustrated at Eden's actions than the actions of the Alliance, and she does not understand it.

"You would let these people die."

Orion's jaw clenches, ticking at the hinge. "You're still too - there's no way of knowing they would die," he tries to explain. "The way that time works, it's possible that by changing your fate, by sticking to our plan to root out corruption in the Alliance, and by keeping you alive, none of these events will happen. Telleru may never be settled as a planet if your future is changed, so this effort, it's not worth it."

Eden supposes that is true. It's difficult to wrap her mind around it, though. The concept of time travel and the repercussions of it, the way that things evolve from a single moment - none of it has fully settled in her mind. Orion is suggesting that she isn't thinking like a time traveler yet, and he is right about that. But that doesn't mean he is right about the other things.

"There's no way of knowing they will die if my future changes," Eden acknowledges. "But there is also no way of knowing I will be alive long enough for my future to change, or for your plan to work. The risk is too great that all of your efforts to keep me safe so far will be in vain, and that means that risk is too great that these people will die -"

"Why do you care?" Orion demands harshly, cynically. "What does it matter to you?"

Eden inhales sharply. How many times had similar questions been asked of her? Why does she care what impact her inventions will have on the general public? What does it matter if the technology used by the Alliance may hinder the organic development of life on an uncivilized planet? Why? Always why. But why wouldn't it matter? Why wouldn't those things be enough motivation to do things the right way, the ethical way?

"Don't you think you have a duty as a citizen of this universe to give your help when and where you can?" Eden asks Orion, tilting her head inquisitively. "You and your allies go through all this trouble to save me so you can rewrite history for a favorable outcome, but you will not make the same efforts now."

Orion grimaces. "It's different."

"I do not see how," Eden says plainly. She takes a moment to scan the data on the last file before closing the terminal. "And I do not see why the Alliance must be allowed to continue destroying this planet when they can be so easily stopped. It's my most vital obligation to solve-"

His lip curls. "Your arrogance is unbelievable. You think you already have a solution, scientist, in that big brain of yours?" He scoffs. "You'll get us killed, and for what? Something that may not even happen if other things are changed?"

"Irrelevant," she says decisively. She retakes her measure of this male. "You allow yourself to be held back, but I will not. Now, step aside, or I will move you myself."

Orion stands his ground as she moves to exit the room, arms crossed over his chest. "You can try."

Eden lifts a brow. "I already have once before," she reminds him.

Orion presses his lips together and then steps aside after a long moment.

Eden passes him, sorting a new plan of action that would likely solve this problem, at least in the short-term -

There is a sharp pressure at the back of her neck and the world goes dark.

Orion feels - not exactly guilty but something close to it as he lifts Eden into his arms, her slight weight negligible as he taps the coordinates of their hotel room into the jumper. A white fizzle later and he finds purchase in their room. He settles Eden down on her bed and steps back, hands on his hips as he stares down at her.

Stubborn and arrogant aren't a great combination. Orion has beaten those personality flaws out of cadets before, but somehow, he doesn't think the same approach will work for this scientist. Knocking her out was his only option because he recognized that look in her eyes. It's the same look that he sees in the mirror when Vo'ongi gives him a directive to make a mission look real while actually smuggling his would-be target out to a safehouse.

Orion and Eden are cut from the same cloth, it seems, and that makes it so much harder. Because he knows that she's right. She is absolutely right for wanting to stop the inevitable destruction of this planet - but he just can't see how it's possible without drawing attention from the Alliance when that is exactly what they need to avoid.

Orion sits down on the other bed, head in his hands.

The fucking Alliance. He hates them more by the day. He hates even more that his hands are tied. Unless…

Orion sighs.

"Fuck, Vo'ongi is going to kill me," he mutters, staring at Eden's slack profile. Even in repose, the coolness of her features has a certain tilt of arrogance - as if, even asleep, she knows that she's right.

And she is right. She's right. There's no way of knowing if his mission is going to be successful, and if he doesn't manage to save her life and change the future, then these people may actually die. That isn't a gamble that he can make peace with, even with all the other blood on his hands. It's not a gamble any in his group would be happy with, either. That kind of a gamble - it's the kind of thing they're trying to correct.

Damn her, he thinks, and gets up to pace for a while. He figures she'll be awake soon enough given that he didn't put too much pressure on her neck when he knocked her out. And sure enough, by the time he's on his twentieth round across their hotel room, the bed sheets rustle with movement.

Orion turns around to find Eden staring at him, the grey of her eyes not as temperate as normal, the faintest tinge of red twisting around the iris. "You will not do that again," she tells him flatly, gracefully sliding off the bed to find her feet.

Orion thinks it's kind of funny how, even though he's faced down entire squadrons of guns pointed at his head, it's this lithe scientist and her foreboding tone that sends a shiver of unease down his spine.

He doesn't apologize, though. And she doesn't seem to expect him to.

Eden looks at him with a discerning eye, the kind of gaze that makes him feel as transparent as glass. His Xianian senses rise up in awareness, riveted on the rippling pitch of Eden's psychic energy as she straightens her back and approaches him, arms folded neatly behind her back. He tramps down on the instinct to return that energy in kind. She isn't Xianian. She wouldn't be able to sense his energy even if he did - and it's not like he wants to flare his energy at her, anyway. That would be -

No. Just no.

Eden's gaze skirts over his face briefly and then land on the time-jumper strapped to his forearm. "This can take us anywhere," Eden states, and because she's clearly not looking for an answer, Orion doesn't say anything. "Good," she says. "Then, you will take us to the northern sphere of this planet."

"And why would I do that?" he asks, resentful of the way she speaks, as if his actions are a foregone conclusion - even though they are. It's just that she can't possibly know it. She's assuming. She's strong-arming. She's not leaving room for disagreement.

Eden doesn't bat an eye at his caustic tone. "I suspect that the mining company is digging past the point of safety to harvest ore and it is clear that the Alliance has no intention of enforcing the warnings of the scientific groups on this planet. This means we must remove the problem from the root."

"You want to do what, exactly?" he asks, curious of her plan despite himself. If it were him, removing the problem at the root would entail assassinating a dozen people. He doesn't think this will be Eden's plan, and he's right.

The corner of Eden's lips quirks up. "Catastrophic operational failure."

What.

Admittedly, Orion doesn't truly understand what "catastrophic operational failure" would mean until he has jumped them to the northern sphere of Telleru, right at the mouth of a cavern the size of a small city that reaches deep, deep into the core of the planet. It's surprisingly hot in the cavern, sweat sticking to his skin almost immediately as he follows after Eden, who struts between the various machinery with a sure foot. If he didn't know any better, he would think she'd been here before - but he does know better and he has the distinct perspective of being able to see the minute tics in her expression as she takes in the after-hours mining expedition. She's thinking faster than anyone he's ever seen. He has the thought that, if she ever meets Matthis, she would make the brains of his group utterly speechless.

Eden seems to have a goal in mind. She pauses one or two times beside drills that are stationed near the walls of the cavern, but after only a moment, she continues forward - deeper into the heat, more underground, sparing no hesitancy over the Tellerite signs cautioning for safety. Orion moves at her heels, his own senses on high alert. The expansive cavern is empty of all workers. There is nobody there to stop them. Things should go smoothly - and yet.

"What are you looking for?" he mutters after Eden stops by yet another drill, then shakes her head.

Eden doesn't even spare him a glance. "These drills are designed to buffer refuse from the ore. They're too small for the scale of these earthquakes," she explains, scuttling down a craggy decline that throws them into darkness. The only illumination in the narrow shaft is the faint glow of what lies at the end. Her voice echoes very slightly. "The mining company must be using a more powerful system to create such damage. Something like -"

"Something like that," Orion finishes for her, setting his eyes on the monstrosity of a drill pitched forward into a tall wall of glowing blue stalagmites.

"Hn."

Once Eden gets to the drill, it takes her all of two minutes to locate the engine. Her brows furrow as she stands over it, leaning so far over she might topple right into the cooled combustion tank. He wonders if the technology is beyond her understanding for only a moment before she is boldly reaching into the engine without a single moment of hesitation.

And then Orion learns what "catastrophic operational failure" means to someone like Eden. In short, it means boom.

Once a strange rattling starts in the engine of the drill, Eden leans back with a slightly smug expression. She looks at him and says, perfectly deadpan, "We have about three minutes before this cavern system collapses. We should leave."

Orion stares. "Your plan is to...cause an explosion."

"Machinery can be fixed," Eden says plainly, hopping daintily off the drill and quick-stepping back toward the dim tunnel that led them to the drill. "Disabling the drills will do nothing. However, making this cavern unmineable will give the Tellerites enough time to resolve this conflict for themselves without any loss of life."

"Wouldn't this just cause another earthquake?" Orion demands, long strides carrying him forward with new agitation. Of all the plans he expected - he had not anticipated this. The risks seem...

But it would get the job done. Not quietly, not cleanly, but quickly.

"Yes. But not a catastrophic one," she says simply, confidently. "I have looked at the data. The ore they are mining here is not combustible. Collapsing the cavern will ultimately do less harm than further drilling."

Orion casts a side-eye at Eden and realizes, rather abruptly, that any notion he had that this scientist would be passive is patently incorrect. This realization changes his outlook on his mission, because a passive person is easy to control - but Eden will not be. It's obvious, now. He should have realized it sooner. It's because she is not passive that the Alliance wanted to eliminate her.

His job just became much harder.

Behind them, right as they reach the open space that would lead them up the steep hill to the top of the cavern, there is a sharp noise, and then a deep whoosh, and Eden's eyes widen, just a bit, as she looks up at him with a quick jerk of her chin. Eden latches onto his elbow, pulling his arm - and the jumper - up.

"Get us out of here," she says urgently.

Orion lifts his brows - and then there is a terribly familiar sound and the flash-bang he has always associated with an explosion. It hasn't been three minutes. They don't have enough time to get out before the cavern collapses - and it is already starting, a tremor in the floor and machinery rattling and at their backs, the tunnel is falling into itself.

"Fuck," he spits out, reeling an arm around Eden's waist right as he slams his hand over the jumper -

It's too close. When they materialize outside, several yards away from where the cavern is collapsing into rubble, rocks land at their feet, too. They almost didn't make it. If Orion had been even a millisecond too slow -

Eden steps back, putting space between them. She breathes in deeply, just the once, and then her shoulders relax. She doesn't appear shaken in the slightest - and it's incredibly irritating to Orion, because his mission was this close to being over just now and she doesn't appear to care at all.

"You - we - are never doing anything like that again," he grits out between his teeth, moving to loom over her slight frame, nostrils flaring in agitation.

Eden appears unmoved. "Why? The goal was accomplished."

"Barely," he snaps. "You could have died, you realize that?"

Eden's tone is tepid and flat when she responds. "Does that matter? I'm likely going to die anyway. Your mission prolongs the inevitable. I may as well do what I can with the remaining time I have," she says. "It's unethical to ignore the preventable loss of life."

Orion is fuming. He's been angry a lot during his life, but he's sure he's never been quite so incensed. "You're impossible. You're going to get yourself killed, and then what will happen? All of this, all of our planning - the mission will be over, and for what?"

Eden tilts her head at him. "It's not death you fear," she declares quietly. "And I suspect your mission isn't motivated by altruism. You aren't saving me to save the universe."

"I am," he replies stonily. "That's exactly what I am. Save you, save everyone else."

Eden shakes her head. "No, that isn't your true reason. It's revenge, isn't it? You want vengeance, and saving me will somehow make that possible for you-"

"Shut up!" he shouts, gripping her arms tightly. "Just shut up!"

Eden lifts her chin, calm as ever, and asks, "If you've been living for revenge for so long, have you even been living? If you aren't living, then what's the point of your involvement at all?"

Orion feels like he's been sucker-punched - but he doesn't have a response. There's nothing to say to her, nothing that won't get twisted up into whatever philosophy of ethics she's got lodged into her stupid genius brain, and Orion isn't going subject himself to that. So for the second time in as many minutes, Orion activates the jumper, and they disappear right as plumes of smoke and dust puff out of the final cascading collapse at the mouth of the cavern.

When they arrive in the paradox pocket, they go their separate ways. But while Eden doesn't give him even a flicker of her attention, all Orion can do is glare at her back.

A/N: They're still off to a rocky start. If I were posting this on AO3, I think I might label it as "enemies to friends" but they're not exactly enemies, are they? They just don't see eye to eye on everything. Anyway, the dynamic in this story is basically:

orion: *only cares about protecting eden and staying undercover*

eden: the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one

orion: yeah the many will be saved if you live

eden: boring

orion: what

eden: oooh intrigue tangentially related to Science

orion: wait no

eden: the needs of the many!

orion: I don't think-

eden: lol you can't stop me pleb byeeee

orion: I am Suffering

also orion: but I kind of like it?

As always, be honest. I can take it. The next update will be in August! Stay safe out there.

~Rae