Solaris hands were shaking violently from the vision she just had. Corso noticed and this was a reaction he knew from the War. The resignation and despair that came from losing a comrade. They didn't need that right now. Not until the mission was done. He had to take command and make Solaris understand that she had a duty to fulfill. For all of Stellar Unix, to stop Maurice Miller.
"You probably don't want to hear this, but you have to let it go for now. Focus on the mission at hand. There's too much at stake to fail. We're going to find that Armor, one way or the other." He said. Solaris hid her face behind her knees.
"How would you like it? If it was Sonny lying dead, and you being unable to save him?" She shot back at him. Corso sighed. He was already struggling to keep calm. He felt like he talked to a teen. He tried to understand. She was scared out of her wits, her love was dying. And when it came to Sonny, he would have felt the same way, loosing the one he truly loved. It had taken so so long, now he finally had all the answers he had wondered. Sonny was everything he ever imagined him to be, and even more. Corso knew he had to be careful, not to say the wrong things.
"Solaris, you chose me as a partner for this; because I had the skills you need to get this done. I'm still alive because of my training and survival skills. I'm a former elite military. If Zoltar is gone, I'll help you avenge him. But that doesn't have to be the case. Visions can be proven false. I've seen this happen with Sonny. He could have died. A medium had visions that he drowned, But we managed to change it at the last second. Zoltar might still be alive We need to focus on the mission. I looked at the maps. This next stretch isn't going to be easy, and we're exposed for a long stretch of it. We need to move fast and undetected. So I need you to work with me, is that clear?" He asked. Solaris looked at him, he could see the fire in her eyes again. Corso breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're right Corso, let's get this job done."

The machine onboard was beeping as Davidson adjusted the IV fluids that Zoltar received.
"This will be touch and go, Artie. He's considerably weaker than Zarind was when we found him." He said. Artie nodded. He just came from the ship's command deck, where Kate and Stevens were piloting the ship towards the coordinates that Bennett had given them. They were lucky not to be spotted. His and his fathers combined hacking skills saved their hides this time. Going through the outer shields undetected was a bit more difficult. But Hawk had found the way to bypass the detection system.
"Good riddance." Artie said as planet disappeared in the distance. He noticed his father coming up beside him where he looked out the window.
"We need to talk son." He said. Artie nodded.
"Now is as good a time as any..Dad." He said. Hawk nodded. What he saw, made him very proud of his son. Artie turned into a fine young man. Sonny Blackbones had trained him well. He owed the Pirate Chief an apology for what he did back in the day. Artie smiled as he led his father to the lounge of the ship. It was time for a long overdue talk.

D'Jok and Mei had finished the house chores. They realized they needed more time to themselves as a couple. The last few days, Iris Helena started getting on her feet, walking while supporting herself to the tables. They also had more talks than ever about the upcoming wedding and how they managed their time. Mei and D'Jok knew their wedding would be a big get together for the Snow Kids. Mei looked at D'Jok. She sighed.
"D'Jok, do you think Sonny and Corso really understood how mad we were at them for not telling us of their plan? I hope they don't break our trust like that again. We need to make sure they'll think twice about it next time." Mei said. D'Jok felt he needed Callie to weigh in, she was also lied to.
"I'm not even sure if they'll stop doing it. Corso and Dad have some ingrained ideas on how to work. I think we need to let them off the hook this time. Their intentions were good. protecting us was the aim, there is no doubt there, you know my dad by now" D'Jok said. He also agreed, what they had done, caused a breach of trust. Maybe they needed to be given a chore or task that would teach them how it felt and maybe prevent it next time.
"Would you get mad at me if I ask Callie for ideas? I think she would know how to deal with this." She asked. D'Jok thought it over for a moment.
"Don't be too cruel to them, Mei." He said. Mei nodded.
"I have a meeting with a sponsor. I'll go see Callie afterward, and see what she thinks." She said.

Tia was looking at the documents that her father sent her. She looked at the photo of Artie's real parents. She smiled. Artie was the Pirate she liked the best. She needed to find out as much as she could about Marybeth Tidman. Tia smiled, it was fun playing detective. She set up a link to ask Thran and Ahito for help. Maybe they didn't play much football anymore, but they definitely did other things. Time for the Snow Kids to be detectives again.

There, done. The new glasses for Bennett were ready. Sonny spent the time apart from Corso, keeping his mind busy with such projects. As soon as all of this was finished, Sonny was planning to sit down with Bennett and talk things over. Bennett was much like Artie, but his background wasn't wiped clean. They knew he was from Abraxor. Sonny met him as a young teen in the miners camp when he visited with Bleylock. He was worried about Bennett's eyesight. Working in the mines, Bennett's eyes were not used to sharp light. Also, there was the fact that he was the victim of an acid attack. The scarring around his eyes was very bad. His glasses also hid his Abraxor heritage, the yellow eyes. They had finally managed to give Artie some closure. His father was alive and they were together. Artie could finally start his healing. Now, it was Bennett's turn. These new glasses, would make things a little better at least. Sonny sat down on a chair and took a water bottle. Maybe hiding like this wasn't his best idea but it allowed him to think things over. Especially about Callie and Corso. He knew how things felt with Corso. It became as natural as breathing. Sonny knew by now, when they asked him, he couldn't choose between them. He planned on telling both of them. Now that Corso would live with him and Callie full time, he needed to reevaluate his marriage proposal. This marriage would now be between three people. Sonny took a note pad and started to write down his ideas.

Corso and Solaris had proceeded carefully. Nothing so far indicated they had been seen. The swamps were within sight of Castle Paladia on the eastern end. Corso held a close eye on the sky. Then, his gaze went over the swamp. His experience as a herbalist kicked in. Solaris already stopped several times over before making a dangerous step. As Corso kept an eye on daylight, he looked over at Solaris. They prepared to set up camp. Solaris pulled out the activator to check the maps. Corso looked over her shoulder.
"We're getting close. Just three more hours." He said. Solaris nodded. Then she pulled a second map up on her arm mounted computer.
"I knew there had to be a snag somewhere. The Golden Armor is well hidden. Right now, that's not a good thing." She said. Corso looked at her.
"How so?" He asked. Solaris showed him.
"This is very close to the hidden entrances of Castle Paladia. Miller is inside. We don't have to enter the castle, but we might get spotted." She said. Corso nodded.
"We have to try. We might help the others with Miller" He said. Solaris nodded.
"Technoid still has a lot of work to do. Luckily, Duke Maddox doesn't look like a bad person." She said. Corso had to nod.
"He isn't. There's still some matters to clean up there. Sonny has a plan for that." Corso said. Solaris nodded.
For the next few hours, they continued their walk in silence, only interrupted by Corso checking the skies. The water and smell made progress slow. Finally, she could see the area of the locator dead ahead. She brought out the activator again. There, not the hidden entrance to the castle, but around six hundred feet to the east, was a cliff. That was what the locator indicated. Corso made sure there were no traps. As soon as he was satisfied, they moved forwards. The cliff turned out to be an optical illusion. By using his cybernetic eye, Corso could clearly see the entrance to a cave behind the illusory wall. Solaris used the activator, and the emblem from her uniform, which shifted to camouflage colors before they headed off, to identify herself. The door opened silently and they went inside. As they entered, Solaris turned to him.
"This is as far as you are allowed Corso. To retrieve The Golden Armor, I have to prove myself worthy of receiving it. These are tests I've trained for my entire life. That said, you are my Guardian. You're protecting me, but not from a physical enemy. The enemies you will face, are your own inner demons, your fears. For each battle won, you will receive some healing for an issue that needs to be gone from your life. This chamber is chiseled from amethyst. A crystal of inner peace" She said. Corso felt a bit bewildered. This wasn't exactly what he expected. Still, a mission was a mission. He nodded. As Solaris walked off, deeper, into a maze of tunnels, Corso prepared himself for what the chamber would bring.

Artie made sure they landed close to The Black Manta. As he opened the hatch to disembark, he met with Bennett. Bennett looked at him with a bit of a strange expression. Damn those sun glasses. You could never make out what he thought. Bennett looked at the stretcher that was carried out of the noticed his worried gaze.
"Davidson gave him medication, but I'm not sure he'll make it." he said when Bennett joined them. Bennett nodded
"You did your best Artie. We'll take care of Zoltar. Coran found someone who can help him get his strength back." He said. Artie looked at him.
"My father and I looked at the many entrances to Castle Paladia, trying to find a route where we can enter undetected." He said. Zarind smirked.
"We have eyes inside. Sonny has to cooperate for now. He's strong enough to stop Miller from extracting flux. I hope Corso and Solaris will return soon. We need Miller behind bars. Duke Maddox is also trying to find the best angle of attack." He said. Artie nodded. As Hawk disembarked, Bennett stopped Artie.
"I heard Sonny and Corso finally figured out your past. I'm happy for you lad. It's easy to forget that you too have had some serious issues. You're good at acting like everything is fine." He said. Artie nodded.
"It feels good to know that I still have a dad. I can make peace with my past." He said. Bennett nodded.
"I have a feeling I'll be next. If they uncover your past, they can do so for all of us. I'm glad you've started healing Artie, I was worried about you. If you ever want to talk, I'm here." Bennett smiled. Artie grinned.
"Thanks Bennett. That means a lot, coming from you. If you feel like sharing your own story, I'm here for you." Artie said. Bennett smiled.
"I will eventually, but I have to speak to Sonny about it first. There are things he needs to know." He said. Artie looked at him.
"Do you want to tell me who you really are perhaps?" He asked. Bennett nodded.
"Lets go somewhere private Artie, and I will tell you what is safe for you to know."

Corso was breathing hard. This wasn't meeting an enemy head on in combat. This chamber was making him do battles inside his own mind. Corso considered himself a realist, he didn't believe in the things you couldn't prove or back up by evidence. Well, Maya was the exception. Maya's visions had pointed them in the right direction more than once. Her vision had infact been what saved Sonnys life.
Memories flashed in Corso's mind, the death of Noomi, Kimberly... It was almost too painful to bear. And then, the more soft and loving visions of them, greeted him. It was a strange experience to spend time with them like this, inside his own mind, to say all that he needed to say, to have closure with them. Then followed his platoon, his young, sometimes inexperienced soldiers, having a talk with him, inside his own head. A young soldier stepped forward, looking at him.
"You did your best Sergeant. Justice will come for you. For us." The voice started to fade, and Corso felt like he was slowly coming out of a haze. He felt different. As he checked the time, he shook his head. They had been here for over twelve hours. Did something go wrong? Corso was wondering if he should follow or stay put. Corso was about to go after her when he heard footsteps. He hid to be on the safe side. Corso armed himself with a knife as he hid in the shadows. The footsteps came closer. Corso crouched down, ready to attack.
"Corso, it's me." He heard a voice say. Solaris. Corso slowly emerged from the shadows, putting away the knife. He gasped as he looked at Solaris. She was no longer the same woman who entered that Gate. Then, he noticed the faint golden glow around her. Solaris found The Golden Armor but it wasn't just the metal plates he had imagined it to be. The Armor was made of a material that seemed to be alive. Almost as if she morphed into a completely new being.
"What happened?" He asked. Solaris smiled.
"I'll explain everything later. Right now, let's head back to The Paladins." She said. Corso nodded. They made their way back to the Paladins' hideout. It was time to put stage two into action.

Solaris' journey will be explained in more detail later.
And how has this inner journey affected Corso?
As always, a big thank you to Paranoidgirl who helps me develop this story and make it as great as it is.