Episode Three
Signs
Bryce was notably disturbed by the note Anna passed to him at the Cafe a few days ago: "I've seen that mark before; one of the blue-light bandits had it tattooed on his neck. Might want to look into that." Given the nature of the message, Bryce felt it was something Anna didn't want Tyler to know. And given how much pain he was in, Bryce could sympathize with that. Poor guy had been through enough. Unfortunately, interrogating the prisoners from that night didn't yield any useful information - just the same ranting about "those who rule the world in majesty" or some shit. Bryce held on to the metal plate with the XII logo on it, and had it with him as he walked into the library. At one desk was Remy, Minister Emera's aide and a knowledgeable dragon. Nearby was a diminutive, light-blue colored flier dragon.
"... yes, actually, we do have that book," Remy told him. "It was just checked back in."
"Sweet!" the little blue dragon cheered. Remy looked up from his computer and saw Bryce.
"Oh! Hello! I wasn't expecting you here, Bryce," Remy said.
"I was hoping to enlist your aid, Remy," Bryce said. "I need information on a specific group, and it may have something to do with Humans."
"I'll tell you whatever I can," Remy assured him. "What do you want to know?"
Bryce retrieved the metal plate, and showed it to Remy. "I'm looking for information on the group that bears this symbol." Remy took the metal piece, and frowned on examining it.
"Can't say I've seen this symbol before," he admitted. "Where'd you get this?"
"From our human who came here fleeing a reported cataclysm - he says that was their logo, and that they caused the cataclysm he came here fleeing," Bryce explained. Remy nodded solemnly.
"Let me see what our archives can tell us," he stated, setting the piece down on the counter. It was as he was accessing the archives that the little blue dragon took the piece and examined the logo.
"Wait a sec, I've seen this logo before," he said. Bryce looked down at the little dragon.
"You have?" he asked, "Where?"
"My roommate's sister; she lives in an adjacent city, and the police there did a raid, and found it and a lot of other stuff," the dragon responded. "Here, let me show you." He reached into his bag and got a tablet, and fiddled with it before showing Bryce an article from the aforementioned neighboring city. The article detailed how police there raided a suspected terrorist hideout, but while no one was there to capture, police did find a wealth of items left behind - one of those items was a flag bearing a red-colored XII. Armor recovered at the site also bore this same symbol, and a number of weapons were also recovered, as well as material that was believed to be intended to make a bomb of unprecedented power. Intriguing, Bryce thought.
"So, who are these people?" Bryce asked.
"No one knows," the dragon answered. "But their pattern suggests that, whoever they are, they're no strangers to clandestine operations; they operate in the shadows."
"Have you ever come across mention of 'they who rule the world in majesty'?" Bryce asked.
"That's their motto - 'We are those that rule the world in Majesty.' A lot of conspiracy theorists suspect they intend to take over our world," the dragon stated.
"Those are just that, Lorem - theories," Remy told the dragon.
"But he has a point - it fits this shadowy group," came Emera's voice from nearby. Bryce, Lorem and Remy all looked over to see Minister Emera approaching from the direction of the book shelves. "I assume you have reason to believe that they're connected to mister Horgus?"
"Actually, I suspect Mister Horgus has had prior clashes with this group," Bryce said. "According to his testimony, they were the ones that caused the cataclysm he came here fleeing. Anna was the one who alerted me that they may be active here, though I don't yet know to what extent."
"I see," Emera stated. "Is there any reason to believe mister Horgus is involved with them?"
"No, minister - if anything, I'd venture to opine that Tyler has more reason to hate them than anyone on this planet," Bryce responded. "When he alerted me of them, he seemed unwilling to go into detail of their crimes. Anna, Maverick and I all strongly suspect he witnessed firsthand the cataclysm they caused; furthermore, he seemed relieved when I admitted I knew nothing of this group."
Emera raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't know they're here?" she asked.
"After what he's been through, Minister... I didn't want to cause him any more pain. Anna alerted me to their connection here via a note. She didn't want to cause him any more pain. Even Maverick was trying to avoid that," Bryce said.
Emera nodded, contemplating something, then looked straight at Bryce. "Let's keep it that way - for now. Keep him believing his enemy is not here as long we can, until it becomes painfully obvious."
"That may not go over as well as you think with him, Minister," Bryce warned her. "He may be very cross with us if he finds out we knew something and didn't tell him."
"But you said it yourself in your initial report of him - had he wanted to harm any of us, he would have done so. He was armed. I imagine he still is. He made that clear to you. Had he wished any of us harm, we'd know. Instead, he seems cooperative. Yes, he may be cross when he finds out - but I think he'll understand our reasoning."
"I think some of the dragons here have been helping these guys, too," Lorem said. "My roommate and I both have been visited by guys with this logo tattooed on them - said they were with a secret branch of the police, wanted to know if we spotted anyone unusual lately. Even asked what kind of work we do and if we know anyone that's into specific fields of research and development."
Bryce frowned with concern. Something definitely was up. But it was Emera who spoke first.
"Alright, not a word of this leaves this library - we have thousands of people here, and I don't need a public in panic."
"I can agree there," Remy said. He looked to Bryce. "Better take that logo and hide it somewhere - whoever these guys are, let's not give them reason to believe we're on to them."
"Yeah, and I'll alert you if they come by again," Lorem stated, handing the metal plate back to Bryce.
"One last thing, Lorem - did you ever hear a name to these guys?" Bryce asked.
Lorem shook his head. "No... unless you count MJ12 a name," he replied.
"MJ12?" Bryce repeated.
"That's what the guys that visited my roommate and I identified themselves as," Lorem said.
"Every little bit helps - thank you," Bryce said. He then turned to leave when Emera spoke to him.
"What's our mister Horgus doing now?"
"From what I know, he's coordinating with Anna at the production facility - and they're both taking extraordinarily advanced safety precautions. If their work succeeds, Anna may get the recognition she seeks," Bryce answered. He then headed out the door and started for the police station.
{{{{{ }}}}}
While Tyler went about the fine-tuning Anna's programming with Nanoprobes to attack cancerous cells, Anna went away from her lab to the cafe to get some coffee for the both of them. She had to admit, it was... unique, working with Tyler. He certainly was knowledgeable. Intelligent. Wise beyond his years. It was like talking to a much older person - or a man with an IQ exactly like hers. Who knew about things like Nanotechnology and being able to meld science with something as spiritual and religious as the Force? She also felt his affinity with the Force was fascinating; from what he told her while programming the Nanoprobes, the Force affected everyone - even those who could not feel it, like her. There are also signs of what he called Force-Sensitivity. He asked Anna if she ever did anything she couldn't explain, or something that seemed magical. Admittedly, she had no such experience, and it made her feel like something she never considered herself to be - ordinary. Normal. Then came the discussion of what she was trying to cure with the Nanoprobes. She tried to dance around the subject, but it didn't fool him; she was forced to tell him she was trying to cure cancer, but she left out the detail that she, herself, had it. She didn't want to appear any more selfish than she already had been. He just gave her this curious look, then shrugged and said, "Okay," like it was nothing. He went on to speculate that Nanoprobes could be programmed to continually hunt and eliminate cancerous cells and carcinogenic agents, like it was a discussion a doctor would have with a patient. There were times she could swear he knew. Still, with the programming going the way it was, Anna decided to get them both some coffee.
It was on her way back that she ran into trouble. She was passing by one alley, taking the back way into the facility when A runner dragon wearing what looked to be a utility belt approached her. "You the one named Anna?" the runner asked. Anna nodded. "We have orders to take you in - come quietly, and we won't have to get rough."
Great. Another blue-light bandit. But what immediately struck Anna was the tattoo on his bicep - that same red XII symbol. Who were these guys? "And what do you intend to do for me if I don't cooperate?" Anna asked, playing for time.
"Well, if you'll forgive me for resorting to the cliche, you die, of course. Or just get severely beaten," the runner told her.
"You and what army?" Anna scoffed.
"Me and the army of those who rule the world in majesty," the runner said, his voice almost droning, like that of a member of a brainwashed cult. He immediately afterward drew a pistol.
Dammit, Tyler, where are you? Anna thought. "You really think you're gonna get away with this?"
"We've been getting away with it for some time," the runner told her. "Last chance - surrender or die!"
Anna felt a warm surge in her spine, and took it as a sign that Tyler was close by. "I'll take option three, and watch as my friend beats you to within an inch of your life," she said. The runner scoffed, then pointed his weapon at Anna. The instant that weapon went up, Tyler appeared out of nowhere, smacking the runner's hand with an elongated wooden bar, and knocking his pistol to the ground. He then forced the runner to turn around in an instant, kicked him into a wall, then smacked him over the head with enough force to knock him out. He turned to Anna, approached her, grabbed her by the arm, and forcibly moved her behind him as he moved to confront another runner who came out from an adjacent doorway. He slammed the side of his open hand in his throat, causing him to recoil, then sent a punch to his belly and then kicked him to the ground, turning to attack a third runner who appeared with a sidearm drawn. He grabbed the runner's wrist, dragged him to impact with the second runner, who was getting up, and knocked him over again, then twisted his arm and flipped him onto his back with ease, then confronted the second runner again with the pistol in hand; the runner grabbed for the pistol, and managed to slam Tyler against a wall, but he retaliated with a double punch across his face, stunning him, when a fourth runner appeared, and pointed a pistol at Tyler. Tyler used the third runner as a shield, and quickly advanced on the fourth, who was shifting his weapon about as though unsure where to point it, and Tyler trapped the arms holding the fourth runner's weapon between his comrade and a corner wall, where he quickly knocked the weapon out of his hand. He then slammed the stunned runner's head on the wall, and threw him aside like a rag doll, and sent a left hook, then a right, spun, and kicked the runner in the chest. The runner ran, tried to grab Tyler, but evidently realized then that, at that time, he had no backup. Tyler force-pushed him into a wall, advanced, threw a punch across his face, dodged a claw attack, took the arm that was used in the attack, whirled around and broke that arm across the back of his neck with an audible crack! And before the runner could scream, took hold of him with the Force and slammed him against the wall with enough force to knock him out.
When Tyler looked to Anna, his face bore a malicious look that made her blood chill. He panted heavily, and with that huff that suggested she would be next, but when he approached her, he did what she didn't expect:
"Are you okay?" he asked her, the concern evident in her voice.
"I'm fine," Anna impulsively said. She paused, then asked, "How did you know I was in trouble?"
"The Force warned me you were in danger," he responded. "I had Maverick keep an eye on the equipment while I went to find you."
Anna was internally surprised. The Force warned him she was in trouble? It seemed to defy logical explanation. But then, she had heard of people who sensed their loved ones or friends were in trouble. And she was thankful Tyler got to her in time. It was when she snapped out of this mental speculation that she noticed he was looking at someone behind her. She turned around and saw Bryce there. "Nice moves, Tyler. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"Long story," Tyler responded. "I imagine you saw-"
"Oh, I saw it, alright - those men were threatening you and Anna with guns," Bryce cut him off. "I've got Sebastian and Naomi on their way to take this lot into custody."
"Might want to get that last guy's arm looked at - pretty sure I heard it snap during the fight," Tyler suggested.
"We will," Bryce assured him. He looked to Anna. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Anna."
Anna adopted an irritated look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Bryce raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me a woman as intelligent as you are doesn't recognize when a man is protective of you? You clearly mean a great deal to Tyler. So much so that he rushed to defend you when he sensed you were in trouble. That's a good man to have." Although Bryce's explanation was crude, Anna did admit, he had a point. But when she turned to talk to Tyler, she realized his expression had turned to one of melancholy.
"Are you alright?" she asked him. He looked to her, that malice from before gone, and told her,
"I lost a lot of people, that night. Good people that meant a lot to me. People I like to think I could have saved." He shook his head. "Never again. If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die protecting those I care about - including the dragoness who took me in when I had nothing." And with that, headed off for the production facility.
"He'll be alright," Bryce assured Anna. "Now, do you know what those runners were after?"
"It seemed they were after me," Anna admitted. "I was kinda hoping you could tell me why."
"Admittedly, I know little more than you do," Bryce responded. "But I suspect they're from the same group that Tyler has clashed with."
"Who are they?" Anna asked.
"We don't know," Bryce responded as Sebastian and Naomi arrived.
"What do they want?" Anna queried.
"We don't know that, either," Bryce answered. "Only person who can tell us is Tyler, and we're trying to keep him from knowing they're here."
"There must be some way to get it out of him," Anna said.
"There is," Bryce affirmed. "And you've been making good progress on that point." Anna frowned, somewhat confused. "Befriend him," Bryce clarified, "get him to open up about it. He trusts you. You could get out of him who these people are and what they want better than anyone I know on the Force." Anna was shocked, but then, she realized that she had been befriending Tyler since she found him in that alley. And Bryce was right when he said Tyler seemed to trust her. But would that come across to him as being used? How would he react?
"I can't promise anything, but I'll try," Anna said.
"The coffee's a good start," Bryce chuckled. Anna looked down and realized she was still holding the cups of iced coffee. Tyler had recommended it, and Anna had a few sips on the way here. She looked between the cups and Bryce and nodded, and headed back toward the lab. When she entered the lab, Tyler was looking through a microscope with Maverick nearby.
"How do you like the iced coffee?" Tyler asked without looking away.
"It's surprisingly good, thank you for suggesting it," Anna openly admitted.
"Admittedly, I didn't know if that cafe did iced coffee," Tyler commented. "But I figured you and I both could use some."
"How'd you know I enjoy coffee?" Anna asked. This time, Tyler looked away from the microscope to look at her.
"I didn't," he said. He indicated the other cup. "That other one for Maverick?"
"No, actually, it's for you," Anna told him. "Mavers doesn't like coffee."
"Ever since that prank Richard pulled..." Maverick grumbled.
"Who?" Tyler asked.
"His cousin," Anna clarified as she handed Tyler the other cup of coffee. Tyler paused, then curled his lips and made a slight 'hnh' before sipping the coffee. "Anything interesting with the experiments?" Anna asked.
In response, Tyler moved aside. "See for yourself," he told her. Anna looked through the microscope, and saw the nanoprobes floating about in the sample.
"So... nanoprobes. What's so special here?" Anna asked.
"Not the nanoprobes that are special in that sample - notice what's not there?" Tyler countered. Anna looked, but wasn't sure what she was looking for. She looked at the slide, and noticed it was one that had a sample of cancerous cells. Or, it was supposed to. So where were they? Did the lab slip up? She put the slide back under the microscope, and saw the nanoprobes, but no... cancerous...
Anna made the connection. This could be it. The breakthrough she'd been hoping for. With the aid Tyler gave her in programming these nanoprobes, she was able to program these nanoprobes to eliminate the cancerous cells in this sample. It almost sounded too good to be true. She was elated; she may yet have a chance! But her elation quickly faded; Tyler seemed to know suspiciously much about this. Almost... firsthand experience. Like he'd done this before. How else could she explain how he knew what to program, what to look for? He had to have dealt with this kind of thing before. But as much as she wanted to interrogate him, she remembered Bryce's request. So her voice was as calm as she could make it, while sounding like she was excited. "We'll need to run a series of tests to try and replicate these results. I don't want to put out any false hopes."
"I was thinking the same thing," Tyler said, sipping his coffee. "But if I'm right, whatever you did worked."
Anna paused, then corrected him: "Whatever we did, Tyler. Don't forget, these are your nanoprobes we're using. This goes down in the papers, you deserve at least some recognition for it. My work, and your technology, may yet give many hope."
Maverick raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever seen her so excited," he commented, "Let alone be grateful or modest." He looked to Tyler. "What were you two doing, again?"
"Can it, Mavers," Anna growled. Tyler snapped off something in that language to Maverick, and he chuckled.
"He's definitely a keeper, Anna," Maverick told Anna.
"I just..." Anna started. She stopped, figured she was gonna get exactly nowhere with that, then said, "... never mind." She looked to Tyler. "How soon can the next batch be ready for testing?"
"The programming for what we did there..." he indicated the slide Anna looked at that the nanoprobes completely eliminated the cancerous cells. "... is gonna run well into the night. And I gotta sleep sometime."
"Why so long?" Anna asked.
"We'll be programming a rather large batch for multiple experiments," Tyler said. "Remember, you and I both felt we'd need multiple experiments to replicate the results we had today - and that requires a lot of nanoprobes. I can provide them, but it'll take time to program all of them to the specifications you did earlier today." Anna nodded, understanding completely. That many nanoprobes would take a long time to program, even with the terminal Anna and Tyler had been using. So, she realized she had some spare time to fill. It was then that Bryce's request again flashed across her mind: Befriend him. Time to fill. A man to befriend. It all seemed... convenient.
"Feel like having lunch?" Anna finally asked.
"So long as we don't get ambushed along the way," Tyler responded. "Got a place in mind?"
Those were both good points. Whoever it was that attacked Anna earlier, they seemed very intent on capturing or killing her, and they struck with no warning; and she hadn't really thought about where they would go. But it was Lunch - not like they needed to go to some fancy restaurant. A good cafe would do. She wondered, though - would it be appropriate to call it a date? "Just the cafe down the street - nothing fancy. Didn't want to go too far on such a date." She mentally kicked herself for calling it a date. Such as it was, Tyler just raised an eyebrow, then shrugged.
"Very well - let's be off."
"Just on the off-chance that those guys who ambushed us earlier try it again, you got that gun of yours?" Anna asked.
"Which one? I've got a lot," Tyler responded. "Back home, before the cataclysm, I lived in the woods with a large stock of weapons. Hell, you could say I lived with a full armory."
"The one you showed Bryce when we met that night," Anna clarified.
"Oh, you mean my FN Five-Seven?" Tyler queried, calling up the aforementioned pistol. He briefly showed it, then stuffed it in the back of his belt.
"Just how many weapons do you have in there, anyway?" Anna inquired.
"A lot, is all I can say - hence why I lived in the woods," Tyler admitted. "Some people would get the wrong idea if they saw my house had that many weapons stored in various places."
"Is that right?" Anna asked. "Are people where you're from so afraid of a guy who likes to be prepared?"
"They even have a word for that: Paranoid," Tyler scoffed. "Most of them did not live as I did. Hunted for no crime other than that I existed."
Anna frowned as the two exited the lab - and promptly ran into Damion. There was a good six seconds of silence before Damion broke it: "Look, Anna... I just came by to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for..." he lowered his voice. "... blackmailing you. I've deleted all my evidence." His voice then returned to normal. "I don't want to fight you like this." His gaze then shifted to Tyler. "And... Tyler... no hard feelings, regarding me hurling insults at you?"
Tyler's expression was unreadable, but he nonetheless answered, "None. Rather big of you to do this. Few where I'm from are man enough to own up to their mistakes and bury the hatchet."
"Thank you," Damion said. He looked between Tyler and Anna, then asked, "I imagine you two are heading out for a late lunch - do you need me to look after the lab while you're gone?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," Anna replied. "And monitor the programming process."
"Programming... may I ask what you're programming? I thought you were working on a cure for cancer," Damion said.
"We are," Anna affirmed. "We just took another approach - one the Council would approve of, through a certain variation of Nanotechnology."
Damion looked impressed. "That's... impressive. I know you wouldn't make something like that up, so I wonder where you got that from."
"From me," Tyler told him. "I replicated the nanoprobes we're using."
"Oh, I see," Damion murmured. He shrugged, then continued, "I'll be happy to look after the experiments while you two step out for a bit."
"Ugh, and speaking of stepping out... I gotta use the bathroom. I'll be right back," Tyler announced, then headed for the nearby bathroom.
Anna felt this couldn't have come at a more opportune time. She quickly scribbled down her mobile number on a piece of paper and handed it to Damion. Damion frowned. "Is this your number?"
"Yes," Anna affirmed. "If you see anyone bearing a specific logo of a red X-I-I, contact me."
Damion looked between Anna and the bathroom Tyler went to. "I take it he doesn't know?"
"I don't think so - but whoever these people are, they caused the cataclysm he came here fleeing, and I believe they're operating here on this world. They want me, for some reason, and if anyone comes asking about me while sporting that logo, alert me," Anna told Damion.
Damion nodded. "Will do," he said as he stepped into the lab. He looked at the programming terminal, then turned his head to Anna. "Should I let you know when this is done?"
"No, according to Tyler, that's gonna be running well into the night; if anything, just make sure the process doesn't get interrupted," Anna said. She paused, then added, "Anything comes up on that screen, like an error, do tell me, I don't care how trivial." Damion nodded, then noticed the subspace inhibitors.
Pointing at them, Damion looked to Anna and asked, "Precautions?" Anna nodded.
"Subspace inhibitors. Tyler can explain them better than I can. Suffice to say, those are intended to keep our work from being detected by a... certain outside force."
"Hnh. Well, I'll take that as a warning not to mess with them," Damion stated. It was then that Tyler got back from the bathroom. He straightened out his attire and spoke,
"Shall we?"
"Indeed, we shall," Anna affirmed. She watched as he drew the hood of his cloak over his head, and as they started walking, she asked, "Why do you always go around like that?"
"Fear factor," Tyler responded. "Most people don't wanna mess with the guy in the hooded black cloak."
"You realize that makes you stand out here, right?" Anna spoke before her brain could stop her.
"I already stand out because I'm a human among a world of dragons," Tyler commented, not seeming to mind what Anna said. Anna imagined that, if he realized what she implied, he might change his tone. Such as it was, he didn't. "So if I'm gonna stand out, may as well stand out in a big way." He scoffed, then added, "What dragon would ever want to mess with the Sith Lord with Dragon eyes?"
"That... reminds me," Anna commented. "I didn't realize you humans had eyes like ours."
"We don't," Tyler told her. "Mine... well, I never found out why mine are the way they are. My mother was the only one who could have explained it to me, and she died in the cataclysm."
Anna mentally paused for a moment. He just openly spoke a bit of his past, almost off-handedly. It gave her an idea how to proceed with approaching the subject. "What about your father?" she asked.
"Never knew him," Tyler responded. "He was killed in action during a combat operation when I was just six months old."
"That... must have been difficult for you, then," Anna said. "I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize," Tyler stated. "How could you have known?"
"I didn't want to bring up a sensitive subject, that's all," Anna apologized. "I'm not all that good with social interactions, so I often make mistakes in that area."
"That makes two of us," Tyler chuckled. "Although my lack of experience in the area of social interactions I attribute to growing up cynical and then spending most of my adult life being a target."
"I won't go any further than that," Anna said, not wanting to push too far too soon.
"I'll agree to that - the less said, the better," Tyler sighed as they exited the building. "But, in your defense, you've so far proven far more friendly and trustworthy than any I've known back on what was my home world."
"What was the human world like?" Anna asked, opting for a topic more pleasant than what happened to Tyler.
"Depends on who you ask," Tyler responded. "Some say it was a beacon of civilization, others called it a cesspit of corruption and chaos. In the end, people on neither side of the spectrum had the chance to turn the world into their ideal paradise."
"Oh, before I forget, maybe you could explain to me these cyborgs you... we are trying to avoid," Anna suggested in an effort to change the subject. "The... what did you call them? The-"
"-Borg?" Tyler finished. "That's a long story. Even I don't have all the details. Not many survived the cataclysm."
He keeps going back to the Cataclysm. He says he doesn't want to talk about it, but he keeps unconsciously going back to it. Perhaps he secretly wants to talk of it? Anna thought. "Not many Borg survived the cataclysm?" Anna joked.
"Details," Tyler responded in a soft, melancholic tone. "Most of them went up in the cataclysm; I was only able to save a few scraps. Between that and what I remember, I know the Borg are a race you don't want to attract. Their tech, like the very nanoprobes we're programming, can be used like beacons unless proper precautions are taken."
Anna had to say it. "I'm surprised you're so... open, with what you know - with your past. You don't like to discuss what happened to you, but you keep unconsciously going back to it. It's like you're eager, but afraid to share it. Why don't you get it off your chest?" When Anna looked back to gauge Tyler's reaction, she realized he stopped some paces away.
"Do you delight in reminding me?" he asked. "Yes, I do long to share my sorrows with someone - even a sympathetic dragoness as you. But at the same time, I know..." he paused to shake his head. "... it's not your war. Never was."
War...? Anna thought. She realized then, Tyler didn't flee just a cataclysm - he fled a war against an enemy she didn't understand. And that enemy was here, and she was now keeping a dark secret from him. Looking into his eyes, she could swear he knew. Or he suspected. But she wanted to make sure he knew she was not his enemy. She walked over to him, putting her hands on both his shoulders. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Tyler. I know what it's like, keeping something to yourself. Keeping a secret. But when you're ready, if nothing else..." she leaned to whisper in his ear. "... I'm here for you. I always will be." She then pulled Tyler into a hug, being gentle and tender. She felt him wrap his own arms around her and gingerly squeeze her, and she could swear she felt him tremble. So she guided him to her favored cafe, and for that day, she made no further inquiries into a past, but took into account what happened today - she got him to open up just a little, made tangible progress toward her goal, and learned he was trying to protect her not just from a faceless enemy close to home, but from a war she was not yet prepared to face. She took these as signs, though for good or ill remained to be seen...