Kallista groaned softly as she rubbed her temples in hope to relieve some of the pain that still lingered from her journey through cyberspace and nodes. She knew of the dangers but the payout was too good to pass up, all the technology that she tested there would be a version for Blackwatch outfitted with specs to fit their missions and a bit extra.

Despite the payout, there were times where the consequences nearly left her barely able to function, she thought her head was going to split open from the pain. She was thankful that Angela had given her stronger medication for situations like this and no one would question her if she needed time to rest, time to recover.

Even after she had retreated to the comfort of her room, showered she was still unable to sleep. Dressed in a large shirt she stood in front of the large window in her room and watched as the snow fall. The New Year had already passed and time seemed to rush pass her, she had been in service to Blackwatch and Overwatch for four years and this coming summer it would make five.

Had she really accomplished the goals she had been given?

"It's been almost five years," Kallista said to herself and turned to the man that stood by the door.

"It's been that long huh," Gabriel commented quietly as he approached her.

"Crazy right?" Kallista commented. Gabriel nodded as he glanced out the window in front of her, Kallista silently looked up at the man. He wore his normal pensive look as he stared out into the distance.

"What happened?" Kallista placed a hand on his bicep, the muscle was taut but felt it relax under her touch.

"Why are you still awake, you should be resting," Gabriel said quietly and turned to her.

"I couldn't sleep, there's still lingering pain," Kallista replied softly.

"Which is why you should be resting. Also, who gave you permission today?" Gabriel questioned as he looked down at her.

"I didn't know I needed permission to investigate a possible threat to the world…" Kallista trailed off.

"Sure, within legal means, that wasn't legal," Gabriel sighed.

"Look, I got good information that was conveniently omitted during the assignment in Detroit," Kallista replied and poked the man in the chest. Unfazed by the woman's response and poke to his chest he pulled her into his embrace.

"Even when you're in pain, you're still able to mouth off," Gabriel commented as he embraced her. Kallista wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at the man.

"Something happened...what's wrong?" Kallista asked. "I heard that something happened on the joint mission but I wasn't able to look into it,"

"Well, not mission was barely a success we lost a few agents today and some Intel that would have been useful against Talon," Gabriel replied.

"How many?" Kallista asked softly.

"Six,"

"Overwatch? Blackwatch?" Kallista asked.

"Both and it hit Lyuda hard. She's a tough woman, but this time I'm not too sure about her," Gabriel replied. Kallista placed her head on the man's chest and sighed.

"It wasn't your fault...so don't beat yourself up over it," Kallista murmured.

"That may be true but we knew the risks and we took them," Gabriel replied.

"Risk is a part of the job, you've told us that many times so what is different now?" Kallista asked the man sighed heavily.

"I know,"

They both knew that death was always nearby while on a mission, she knew that every death was a tick on the man's heart, his conscious weighing him down, she knew no matter how much he wanted to protect everyone or be everyone's hero, he couldn't.

"When was the last time you slept? You bags underneath your eyes," Kallista commented quietly as she cupped his cheek.

"A few hours here and there," Gabriel sighed softly.

"Come to bed," Kallista said as she tugged the man's hand and gently pulled towards her bed. Silently they both climbed into the bed and snuggled underneath the thick comforters and faced each other, no words.

"You're running yourself ragged," Kallista whispered.

"I could say the same to you," Gabriel commented with a small smirk.

"You're our fearless leader. You matter more than I do," Kallista replied.

"You're just as important. Stop," Gabriel sighed heavily.

"Maybe…" Kallista replied trailed off as she watched his eyes close. His face was smooshed into the pillow, brows still furrowed. He was tired, stressed and she could see it.

"You tricked me," Gabriel began.

"What do you mean?" Kallista asked.

"I wasn't planning on staying and now I don't want to get up," Gabriel replied.

"You're the one who willingly followed me," Kallista replied.

"Yeah…" the man replied with a yawn and moved closer to her. She moved so that should cradle the man's head near her chest and he wrapped an arm around her waist. Their legs tangled with one another as they relaxed and let sleep take them. Gently and methodically, Kallista ran her fingers through his short hair and massaged his scalp.

"Mmm..." Gabriel replied softly and relaxed further in her arms.

As the man relaxed and soon fell asleep, Kallista's mind raced. She knew that the man was a soldier and ran at full speed but also knew that he was bound to crash and burn. He was a stubborn took the brunt of all of the problems so that his colleagues would not have to.

He did everything himself.

She wondered how much longer it would take for him to break, and to delegate those problems to those he had worked so hard to build up.

Time would only tell, but time wasn't on their side.

She kept her thoughts to herself as she continued to run a hand through his hair in an attempt to put the man's mind to rest, and hopefully hers.


It wasn't easy, it was never easy when he had to bury a comrade, an agent, a friend. No matter how much they convinced themselves that it was for a noble cause.

That it was for peace, and it was their duty to protect even from the shadows.

It was still difficult.

They had to remind themselves that maintaining the peace for the future generations to come was just as important as the lives lost.

It was their hard reminder.

"Dontsova," Gabriel called out to the woman sitting outside on the dimly lit covered patio. He noticed that it took the woman a moment to acknowledge the man's presence next to her.

"Reyes," Lyudmila replied softly.

Gabriel silently sat down next to her and took off the military cap they wore while in uniform, it was for the funeral several hours ago, it was required as they sent off their comrades with praise and laid them to rest. The two sat in silence, still and their gazes elsewhere.

"Aren't you cold?" Gabriel asked as he stood next to her before he took a seat.

"I'm used to it," Lyudmila replied.

"I know you're from Russia and may be used to the cold...but its damn cold," Gabriel said

"You're from the Los Angeles...you don't get snow right?" Lyudmila asked a small smirk on her lips.

"If you're saying I have thin skin, I don't," Gabriel replied.

"Anything you say, boss," Lyudmila replied and shrugged. Gabriel sighed heavily as he looked towards the snow-covered trees, the events earlier today played on repeat in his mind.

"You wanna talk about it?" Gabriel was the first to break the silence.

"No. Not really," Lyudmila replied. Gabriel sighed softly as he took out a cigarette from his breast pocket.

"Mind if I smoke?" Gabriel asked.

"Smoking is bad for the lungs," Lyudmila commented.

"It's a bit too late for that," Gabriel replied.

"Do whatever then," Lyudmila replied.

Gabriel grunted softly as he lit the cigarette, took a long drag and exhaled as he blew out smoke. Silence settled between the two again.

"Tell me about the mission, tell me about him," Gabriel spoke up.

"You already heard what had happened and you know there will be a briefing due to casualties and my-" Lyudmila began.

"Enough. I want to hear it from you without the legalities and formal bullshit," Gabriel cut the woman off.

For a third time, silence fell between them. Gabriel saw the woman tense and shift next to him, but remained silent. He knew this was hard for her, the casualties were a reminder about her past and how she came be what she joked about, how she became a bionic soldier with her arms and leg.

"The mission was solid...we weren't prepared for the Talon's attack. I don't know if we would have been prepared," Lyudmila began.

"I told you to forget the formal bullshit Lyudmila," Gabriel cut in.

"Look this shit isn't easy to talk about Gabriel. Our team was solid but that fucking ambush was all too similar to ...to…" Lyudmila trailed off as she turned to look at the man. Gabriel watched the woman as her words seemed to die on the tip of her tongue, words that she couldn't say, words that she didn't want to say.

"It was...too similar to Vector," Lyudmila finished and turned away from the man.

"It was…" Gabriel said quietly.

"Is this what you wanted? To see me choking on my words?" Lyudmila asked.

"No, but facing your past is what gives you strength as cliché as that shit sounds," Gabriel replied. Lyudmila cursed in her native tongue and slicked back a piece of stray hair that fell out of place.

"The individual had intel on a new type of agent that Talon had recruited that apparently had ties to Russia which is why it was important we got them out of the field and into safety," Gabriel began.

"I know...and I'm sorry I failed...we lost...good agents too," Lyudmila trailed off.

"I don't accept your apology, it was like you said. We underestimated them and we paid for it with the lives of our comrades...we know not to let Overwatch underestimate them again," Gabriel replied.

"Yeah…" Lyudmila replied bitterly as she looked at her hands, Gabriel noticed the woman had focused on her hands, one gloved and the other ungloved.

"We all have blood on our hands Lyuda," Gabriel commented softly as he snuffed out his cigarette.

"Everyone in this fucking place has blood on their hands," Gabriel repeated.

"It's the price we pay...for peace," Lyudmila said softly.


Kallista plopped down into her office chair and sighed heavily, each loss of life was a blow to morale no matter how much information they had, no matter how much they painstakingly planned, there was always room for error. Even if they spent months on it.

"How is the decryption going Malik? How long do expect for it to take?" Kallista asked.

"It's going I guess? There were a few setbacks but we're on track now and should have it open and ready to go in a day or so," Malik replied.

"That's good… at least we have something else to give Reyes and Morrison," Kallista replied.

"Will Lyuda be ok?" they asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Kallista replied.

"I was just asking...because I know it's hard to lose someone that you were close to," Malik replied, Kallista sighed softly.

"Yeah...but also death isn't a foreign concept to her or to any of us. She's a strong woman, if she needs anything from us she'll let us know," Kallista replied.

"You really believe that?" Malik asked and arched an eyebrow.

"We can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do," Kallista shrugged as she leaned back in her chair.

"But that doesn't apply to me?" Malik questioned.

"Gentle reminders, speaking of which, have you been taking your meds? Going to your treatments?" Kallista questioned, the man leaned back in their chair and rolled their eyes.

"Yes, mom," Malik replied sarcastically.

"Look, your well-being is my responsibility while you're in this department. I'm making sure you're doing what you're supposed to be doing so I don't get my ass chewed out," Kallista replied annoyed.

It wasn't secret knowledge that they didn't like the med-bay, nor did they like needles or any type of supplement or medication that was not explained to them or of organic means. Their background was a tumultuous one drug addiction at a young age, experimentations that left them in their current state.

"Reyes barely lifts a finger against you unless it's to slap your ass, don't give me that shit excuse," Malik scoffed. Kallista clicked her tongue in annoyance at the man's comment.

"It's not Reyes I'm being chewed out by," Kallista began as she tugged at her tie and button up shirt. Malik looked at the woman intrigued and slightly invested in how many buttons she was going to undo.

"It's coming from Overwatch. It's not Morrison, not so much Captain Amari, but Agent Gerard and Agent Shepard," Kallista replied.

"Gerard? Shepard? What do they want?" Malik asked.

"Overwatch Intel...which is why I asked about your health especially with your immune system being weak and all," Kallista replied.

"Oh...well…" Malik trailed off. Kallista glanced at Malik as they leaned back in their chair and crossed their arms.

"They specifically asked for you and I don't even think Reyes knows about this yet...," Kallista trailed off as her sharp blue eyes met their golden speckled obsidian eyes.

"So they've finally come to realize my greatness?" Malik chuckled

"I mean...you and I both know that you don't consider your past great," Kallista replied. Malik sighed and gripped their cane as they looked at the woman.

"What...do they...wanna know?" Malik questioned.

"They want to know about Talon," Kallista replied.

"They want to know about Talon? Why? Why now?" Malik began hesitantly.

"For a possible upcoming mission," Kallista replied softly. Talon was always something hard to speak on, especially with those that had connections with the organization. Malik was directly connected to the organization, they were the ones that gifted them their gifts and their current condition.

Malik possessed abilities that no one could even imagine without the help of technology, Malik was able to bend the mind of those that made eye contact with them. Kallista knew some of what Malik could do but not the full extent.

"Director Kaines!"

Kallista instinctively stood from her chair and turned her attention to the woman that quickly entered her office. With a quick glance at the woman's demeanor Kallista knew that something had happened for the worst.

"We have a situation," Linda began.

"This better be good Truffles," Malik said bitterly as he turned in his chair to look at the woman.

"We've lost all communication with the Research Vessel and Agent Bradley. Not only that, there is no signal coming from the vessel itself. It completely disappeared,"

"What do you mean lost contact with them? There is always a signal broadcasting regardless if we somehow lost communication with them for a short period of time," Kallista said as she walked towards the woman.

"Malik we'll talk later about this, this situation is an all hands on deck," Kallista said as she took Linda's holopad and exited her office.

"Fuck," Malik hissed under his breath as he stood and followed the two women from the office.

"I can't even remote access or bypass the communication systems in the ship or with Agent Bradley's comm chip." Magnus cursed as he watched Kallista populate a holographic screen the research vessel's last coordinates.

"Last check in was approximately six hours ago, we've tried several times to re-establish the connection and got nothing," Linda said as she sat down at her desk and quickly populated the error and no signal messages she had received.

"Have you tried having Athena connect?" Malik questioned as he sat at his desk.

"Athena couldn't connect either," Linda replied.

"Have we already made contact with the Overwatch Base in South Africa?" Kallista questioned.

"Yes, we've been in contact with both the Overwatch base in South Africa and the Research Department here," Aleks replied.

"Work on forcing that communication request through," Kallista began as she pulled her hair up into a bun.

"We-"

A holographic screen pushed forward over all of the other screens, the screen itself was black but showed faint outlines of three figures. Kallista looked at the four behind her, they were confused as she was.

"What is this?" Kallista asked.

Security feed before the signal was lost. Unfortunately, this was all I was able to find

"Thank you, Athena, begin playback," Kallista ordered. The playback was just a black screen with muffled noises, it was no longer than thirty seconds at best. It gave no clear sign of what transpired on the ship or who attacked it.

"Athena, can you raise the volume on the playback?" Kallista asked.

The sound has been damaged from the original feed, shall I repair the audio?

"Yes," Kallista replied.

Affirmative. One moment...thank you for waiting. I have repaired the original audio to 45 percent, the original audio has been corrupted beyond my ability to repair without the physical device.

"Thank you, Athena. Please continue with playback," Kallista said and sighed heavily.

Affirmative.

The playback was the same except for the faint muffling that Kallista's ears picked up.

"I heard something but I couldn't understand what they were saying," Aleks commented.

"Athena, please play back one more time," Kallista asked.

Affirmative.

"It's not English…it's Russian," Kallista commented.

"My Russian is a bit rusty but…I think it said leave no one alive?" Magnus replied.

The room was silent as the group attempted to digest what they had heard, they knew that it wasn't much but they sensed that by the time a rescue crew had reached them it would be too late.

"That voice wasn't anyone from the ship was it?" Magnus questioned. The group knew that the ship's crew was small and for a good reason.

"I don't know…it didn't sound like anyone…and if I remember correctly none of the staff can speak Russian," Aleks replied and grabbed his data pad to pull up the crew's information.

"But WHO was it though?" Linda questioned.

"Logically speaking, it could only be Talon. There is no way that any run of the mill pirates would attack an Overwatch Research Ship," Malik replied.

"When are you ever logically thinking Malik?" Magnus commented.

"Time and place," Malik replied and shrugged.

"He's right...unless those pirates had gotten access to weapons that could take down Overwatch and Blackwatch agents," Aleks began. "With that being said, Talon would be the next suspect...especially because Null Sector seems to be isolated in a few area and not enough funds for any naval movements,"

"Overwatch's South African base I'm sure already has been informed of this, alert the base in Antarctica as well," Kallista began. " Keep trying to establish connection the ship and Dani, I want eyes on previous assignments in South Africa as well as uprisings and mentions of Talon. We can't let the Antarctica base be compromised by anyone,"

Kallista shot off orders as she quickly dipped into her office to grab her cellphone before she made her way towards the exit of the office. The group moved quickly into action as she shot the orders off, she then turned to Malik.

"Get that tool open now. We don't have time to waste," Kallista began. "I'm going to speak to Reyes and Morrison about this. Aleks, you're in charge,"

The blond haired man gave the woman a thumbs up as he continued to work, Kallista nodded and exited from the office.

"Athena...where is Commander Reyes?" Kallista asked as she began to text on her phone

{Commander Reyes is currently in the med-bay}

"Thank you,"

There were many unexplained instances that occurred and resulted in losses for Overwatch and Blackwatch. First, it was the ambush in Greece that killed not only their contact with information on Talon's new recruit and killed valuable Overwatch and Blackwatch agents. Followed by a possible hostile takeover of an Overwatch research vessel and of course the Cheshire cat.

All of these situations were too well timed and planned as if they were meant to happen.

Time was against them and issue upon issue seemed to fall into her lap as she tried to make progress on her main focus. The biggest threat was the Cheshire cat, it needed to be dealt with before it spiraled out of control and the double agent within Overwatch needed to be stopped. In addition to the responsibilities the frequent migraines were relentless nor did the sudden silence that overwhelmed her.

"Fuck…" Kallista cursed as she reached out to the closest thing she could and grasped nothing, her vision steadily faded to black.

Bit by bit Kallista moved along the wall and crashed into a few things as she tried to make her way to the med-bay in hopes that her hearing and vision would return. She made her way down the hall when she heard muffled noises around her.

"Kal—ta?"

"Kalli-ta Ca..hr me?"

"Kallista, can ya hear me?"

"McCree? Jesse?" Kallista asked as she turned in the direction of where she thought the man was. She reached out to touch him to confirm that it was indeed the man, his larger hand took hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Jesse," Kallista sighed in relief.

"You ok? Let me help you to the med-bay?" Jesse asked.

Not many people within Blackwatch or Overwatch knew about the severity of her symptoms. They knew there were days where she had prolonged migraines but no blindness. Nor did they know about her loss of her hearing or the days she wasn't able to get out of bed.

Jesse was one of the people that knew, years ago Reyes had the man keep an eye on her while he was away and still occasionally watched her.

"Jesse…" Kallista began again as she gripped his hand.

"I'm here, I'm here," Jesse said as he gently grabbed her forearm and pulled her towards him and began to lead her down the hall.

"I need-" Kallista began.

"Already on it," Jesse replied.

Within minutes Jesse had Kallista at the med-bay and watched as she was being examined by Dr. Hasibuan.

"Hey, Doc, yer always up till the crack of dawn. Don't you know what sleep is? " Jesse questioned as he slicked back his hair with a smirk.

"No. What is this sleep you speak of?" Seraphina replied bluntly as she gently squeezed the IV pouch attached to Kallista's arm.

"Damn, they got y'all working like workhorses," Jesse tsked.

"A doctor's job is never done," Kallista commented sarcastically.

"Angie wasn't kidding then," Jesse trailed off as he turned towards the that casually approached them.

"What happened,"

"Jefe," Jesse nodded to the man.

"Reyes?" Kallista questioned as she turned her head towards the source of the voice. Gabriel quickly glanced at the woman and realized what had happened, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder to let her know that he was there. Silently, Seraphina studied the two before she turned to inject a clear serum into the I.V bag.

"This will replenish your lost liquids, you were severely dehydrated, lacking essential minerals. The only positive about this situation is the fact that your blindness is temporary but alarming nonetheless," Seraphina commented

"I'll see you later Kallista," Jesse chuckled.

"Keep your jokes to yourself, Jesse," Kallista scoffed.

"Someone is grumpy today. Betta handle that Boss," Jesse commented.

"McCree get the hell out of here before I kick your ass myself," Gabriel growled at the man.

"Aye Aye Boss," Jesse smirked as he nodded to Seraphina and promptly left the med-bay.

"It's a side effect," Kallista commented.

"A dangerous side effect," Seraphina corrected.

"I am quite aware," Kallista replied sarcastically.

"A friendly reminder," Seraphina replied with just as much sarcasm as Kallista.

"Should I leave?" Gabriel questioned as he watched the two woman interact with one another.

"No," The two replied.

"Rest. I'll give you time to talk to your Commander...alone," Seraphina said as she left the two alone in a secluded corner.

"You seem to be good friends with Dr. Hasibuan," Gabriel commented as he pulled up a chair next to the bed.

"It's nothing, we're just being catty," Kallista replied. Tiredly, Gabriel pulled off his gloves and gently took her hand.

"What happened?"

"That's not important I-" Kallista began.

"Isn't it?" Gabriel asked. Kallista sighed softly as she gently rubbed her eyes, he was always worried more about her health that she was.

"Look, we both know my vision will come back. We have other bigger things to worry about-" Kallista began.

"The Research Vessel to Antarctica?" Gabriel questioned.

"You already knew didn't you?" Kallista said.

"Kallista, you should know this by now...I know everything that goes on in my department. I was on my way to see you and hope that you had something good to tell me," Gabriel replied.

"Of course you knew, what the hell was I thinking?" Kallista murmured.

"Act first, think later, That's usually your motto," Gabriel replied.

"You make it seem like I'm an open book," Kallista scoffed.

"Do you want me to answer that?" Gabriel asked.

"No. Forget I even said that," Kallista huffed.

"My main focus is on Danica, we don't know what happened, and we can't get in contact with her," Kallista said quietly.

"Danica is a strong, smart, observant woman. If there's something she can't handle at a first glance, she'll find a way," Gabriel replied.

"You're right but..." Kallista trailed off.

"But what?" Gabriel asked silence fell between the two.

"Kallista..." Gabriel began.

"We managed to recover some corrupted audio and..." Kallista started.

"Hold on," Gabriel cut her off.

Kallista heard the man stand and move away from her, she already knew that there were other people in the med-bay but the footsteps were different. She turned her head in the direction of where the muffled voices and a sigh.

"I'll talk to him...he's in the rehabilitation chamber?" Gabriel asked, his voice was a whisper in an attempt to be secretive.

"Yes. We've given him his treatments but nothing seems to be working...Dr. Hasibuan and I can only do so much,"

Kallista determined it was Angela.

"I got it," Gabriel replied.

"I'm sorry about this Commander Reyes...especially...right now," Angela's voice was soft but Kallista was able to hear her perfectly.

"I'll go check on him in a second," Gabriel said as he began towards Kallista.

"Understood," Angela replied.

"Kallista," Gabriel started.

"I'll be fine. My team can work with the base in South Africa, go do what you need to do," Kallista replied.

"You really are grumpy, have you had coffee yet?" Gabriel commented with a chuckle.

"Excuse me?" Kallista huffed.

"I trust you on this Kallista, don't let me down. Dani is a strong woman but we need to bring her and any survivors back," Gabriel said as he placed a hand on her shoulder and softly squeezed her shoulder.

"Bring me coffee and maybe I'll forgive you," Kallista replied.

"I'll do what I can," Gabriel replied.

At first, Gabriel hesitated at first to leave the woman's side, she had been in the med-bay twice in 24 hours. He was worried about her well-being along with the one million other things that needed his attention.

Kallista listened to the man's footsteps as he exited from the med-bay and once his footsteps faded she turned her attention to her next task at hand.

"Seraph," Kallista called out for the woman.

"What?"

"Come here, I need your assistance," Kallista replied as she moved towards the edge of the bed.

"Didn't your Commander tell you he's coming back?" Seraphina mentioned, her words laced with sarcasm.

"Did you know It's quite rude to listen in on personal conversations?" Kallista commented.

"It's a public space, honey," Seraphina replied.

"It is also a private conversation. And no he did not say that," Kallista added.

"Whatever you say Director Kaines. Now, what can I do for you?" Seraphina asked.

"Lieutenant's Dontsova's serum, I need it," Kallista replied,

"In moderation Kallista, it can become very addicting," Seraphina commented.

"I am well aware of the risks...I just need this recovery to speed up. I have tasks I need to complete," Kallista replied as she rubbed her eyes.

"Miss Busybody. As far as I am aware this is not available for consumption off field and I'm sure you don't have special permission to consume this," Seraphina replied.

"It's fine, you have my word," Kallista waved off the woman's worry even though she knew that both of them would chew her out if they knew.

"There are so many restrictions to hide your health records that I find it appalling and hilarious at the same time. How do they expect me to give you the best treatment without knowing your history," Seraphina sighed annoyed.

"They need to give you clearance for Blackwatch personnel...or just follow orders," Kallista replied.

Seraphina knew that there were only a select few who had access to their medical files, regardless of how many times she had treated them and she soon accepted the fact that she would never receive access to those files not matter how many times she requested them.

"Like you do?" Seraphina questioned.

"Ouch...did something happen today you're extra prickly,?" Kallista asked.

"Maybe...but answer this before I give this to you. You two are more than just coworkers aren't you?" the woman asked.

"What makes you say that?" Kallista questioned.

"I saw the way he looked at you, how he came running back to the med-bay when I called," Seraphina replied.

"So you called him," Kallista commented.

"Dr. Ziegler's orders," Seraphina replied.

"So you do follow orders," Kallista commented.

"Never said I didn't or show signs of it," Seraphina replied. Kallista brushed some of her hair back and sighed.

"How about we get acquainted with a nice cup of tea when I get my vision back?" Kallista asked.

"Fine, but I still want an answer," Seraphina said firmly, Kallista hesitated for a moment.

"I can not confirm or deny that there is something more between us," Kallista replied.

"What a shitty answer..." Seraphina replied as she went to get a syringe and a vial of the orange liquid. Kallista knew that there was no time for rest, not when the research vessel and all of its crew were in danger, not when the Cheshire cat still ran loose.

She couldn't rest or share her secrets.