Kat stood not knowing what to expect her mind trusted her friend but her heart needed proof. A wave of relief hit her as her daughter, Kathleen, came into the lab looking as if nothing had happened to her at all.

Their reunion was a surprisingly tearful one, with Kat actually being the most emotional of them. Cruger silently excused himself from the lab and went back to the command center as Kat and Kathleen talked about what had happened and generally caught up with each other. About a quarter of an hour later a strange brunette ranger came into the lab

"Pardon me, Kat, I needed to ask you about something" he said

"What is it, Sky?" Kat said, not noticing when Kathleen slipped into the back corridor in inexplicable fright, something about him spooked her, but she couldn't tell what… whatever it had been had driven her to hide in the back corridor of her mom's lab.

Sky left and Kat realized her daughter had slipped into the back corridor where she couldn't see into the lab or be seen from it.

"Kathleen, come on out" Kat said gently

"Who was that?"

"His name is Schuyler, but his nickname is Sky" Kat paused and made eye contact with her daughter "why did you leave like that?"

"He… I don't know how to explain it, mom, I just got scared of him"

"Don't be afraid of him, he wouldn't hurt you"

"I know, but he makes me nervous, I don't know why"

Kat realized at that moment that Sky's attitude was disturbing some of Kathleen's worst memories of her girlhood abuse and something had to give.

Kat showed her daughter to her new living quarters, where her belongings lay on her bed waiting for her; then went to the control room to talk with Commander Cruger.

"Doggie, I need to talk to you about Kathleen" she said

"What about her?" Cruger could tell that something had Kat worried, but what escaped even him.

"There is a cadet in this academy that she is afraid of to the point that she cannot make herself stay in the same room with him"

"Who is it?"

"Schuyler Tate… there is some thing about him that scares her"

"Kat, I don't know what to tell you, but to wait and see if this resolves itself, and if it doesn't then we'll try to find a plan of action… unless her fear of Cadet Tate starts to compromise our missions then we'll have to get involved immediately"

Kat started to protest but held it back because she knew he was right.

Meanwhile: Kathleen was debating whether or not she should tell Commander Cruger about Aisynia; that brought up one question though, would he believe her. She then decided to tell her mom first and then tell Cruger if Kat thought it was wise to do so. There was also the little problem surrounding Sky Tate for them to deal with.

Kathleen sucked in a deep breath and approached Sky; she straightened her jacket for the umpteenth time then got his attention.

"Sky, I need to talk to you"

"Okay"

She took a seat near him on the couch trying her best to keep enough distance to give her a head start if it arose that she needed to run.

"What is it?" he asked

She tried her best to explain the way she felt as she sat there, and, even though her explanation sounded made her sound an awful lot like Bridge, Sky still got the just of what she was trying to tell him. Although, her problem with him was still a mystery.

At that moment she decided to tell Commander Cruger he could let Sky see her case file along with the rest of B-squad if the wanted to know. They deserved to know the truth about her, but, at the time, she didn't realize how much of her past would appall them.

To Be Continued...

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