No human eye could see the round. Lucy herself didn't see it. She felt it. Where it was going to be. And she put her lightsaber in its path.

The piece of metal that struck the blue blade of her weapon was nothing but a sliver, but it had been accelerated to lethal speed. Instead of striking soft flesh, however, it collided with the containment field of the lightsaber. The result sent the sliver flying upward until it slammed into the ceiling.

The summit erupted in chaos with the gunshot. Even without seeing where the round landed, the security personnel surged forward and started throwing themselves on their respective leaders. Julia grabbed Onaran and pulled him down. Her omnitool flashed to life and she triggered the comm immediately. "Andreys to Aurora! Shot fired in the summit, we need additional security and a medical team now! I say again, a shot has been fired!"

Lucy stood in the middle of the room, her lightsaber shining in her hands and ready for any further attack. The threat she felt was fading. Whomever had taken the shot wasn't firing again. But where did it come from? She projected a thought toward Meridina. Do you sense where they are?

Meridina was standing near the Commonwealth table with her weapon out but, for the moment, inactive. No hostile presences.

And the windows are intact. No bullet holes. No sign of where the round came from.

With the time since the attack increasing with no follow-up, those assembled were picking themselves off of the floor. Lucy focused inward. She sensed the life forms in the area. The lingering fear, the shock, the uncertainty. There was nothing from an assassin. She felt no presence in the Flow of Life she couldn't account for.

Nothing. The thought came from Meridina. With her weapon drawn and active as well, she looked to Julia. "Whomever fired the shot has fled. I do not sense them."

Julia nodded. "We need to get everyone and everything secure. Then…" She noticed the confused, bewildered, and angry looks on the assembled. "...then we're going to need answers."

The Tri'kep was drawing closer to the mountains now. Below them the open fields were turning to hills. At their altitude the residents of said hills were completely invisible, their presence only indicated by the circular structures that dotted some of the hillsides and the strips of road set through the hills. A scattering of trees could be found closer to the river.

The cabin Robert and Zack were sharing was toward the bow of the ship. The windows were thin strips, too small to climb through for an adult, but thanks to the curvature of the hull the lower windows allowed them a view of the ground. The higher ones provided instead the growing profile of mountains. White-topped and gray, with patches of other colors to show the locations of trees, the mountains would be larger in the morning when they were well within the range and in the final day of the initial trip. Robert sat at the kidney-shaped personal desk that the cabin came furnished with. The furnishings were made with multiple species in mind, so there was no discomfort sitting in the armless chair that accompanied the desk. He looked over a message on the system.

Behind him, Zack was laying on his bed. The two beds were on opposite sides of the room. Single-sized but comfortable, topped with a amber-toned comforter with white sheets. The Gy'torans who ran the Tri'kep undoubtedly took their inspiration from visiting Human motels and inns.

The silence in the room ended when Zack looked up from the bed. "What are you up to anyway?"

"Replying to a letter from Beth," Robert replied. "She wants to know how we're doing."

"Oh." Zack made a low "hmph" sound in his throat. "I guess you can tell her about what a screwup I've been."

Robert turned his head back and faced Zack. "I wasn't planning on mentioning you at all. But if you want me to say hello for you…?"

"No thanks."

Robert nodded and returned to his message. After typing a few more lines he stopped and looked back to Zack. "I'm trying to respect your privacy, Zack, but I can't help but feel some of the things you're feeling."

"Ah?" Zack returned the look. "Well, Rob, now you know why I slipped."

"This is why you've been drinking?" Robert asked.

"Yeah. And don't bother with the 'alcohol is a depressant' speech, I heard it a thousand times and gave it at least a hundred." Zack's voice betrayed the anger and shame roiling within him. "It makes the pain go away for a little while."

"Or you simply forget the pain because you black out," Robert pointed out. He turned the chair completely to face Zack's bed. "Zack, alcohol isn't going to heal you. And that's why I'm here, to help you heal."

There was challenge in Zack's voice when he responded, "Who says I want to be healed?"

For a moment Robert couldn't reply to that. "Whatever has you so angry at yourself that you could say something like that, that's what you need to talk about, Zack. It's eating away at you."

It was clear Zack was well aware of that fact. He pursed his lips and turned on the bed to face away from Robert. Slowly Robert turned away, recognizing the conversation was over.

"How is that power thing going for you?" Zack asked out of the blue.

"Hrm?"

"Your powers being too much, I mean."

"Oh." Robert drew in a breath. "Well, I'm not spontaneously hitting things with it anymore. I've got it under that much control. The trick is using it. Big things… they're a maybe, so long as my control doesn't slip. But the control is usually easy. Small, finite control things, I'm still having a lot of trouble with."

"Yeah, I noticed." Zack rubbed at his forehead. "Do you like having more power than you used to?"

There was silence from the deck. "Well… I'm not sure," Robert admitted. "It gives me the means to better protect the people I care about, I suppose. But sometimes I think I'd prefer it if someone else had it."

Robert was surprised by the humorless laugh from Zack. When he gave him a wondering look, Zack explained, "Leave it to Robert Dale to get upset at having something a lot of people would love to have. Hell, something some people might kill for. But you, nah, you almost sound like you want to get rid of it."

"I never said that." Robert sensed the agitation in Zack. "But it's dangerous. And these powers already cost me my relationship with Angel. If I didn't think I'll need them in the future…"

Robert let the sentence hang. Zack didn't bother to pick up on it. The agitation that was inside of him was growing, festering. After several moments Zack rolled off the bed. "I'm hungry," he announced. "I'm heading to the lounge deck."

"I'll be up there soon," Robert said. Zack showed no sign of responding to him before stepping out the door. Robert shook his head and turned back to his message to his cousin. How do I get through to him? he wondered. Can I?

With the situation as it was, Julia held the staff meeting from a room in Morgan Kell's ducal palace on Arc-Royal. Meridina, Lucy, Richmond, and Jarod were with her; the others were in the conference lounge on the Aurora, visible above the holotank in the middle of the room. "We've gone over the data Jarod sent with the simulators in Science Lab 2," Cat said. "The firing angle is definitely the one he indicated."

"Aye," agreed Scotty. "There's nae a better angle t' account for th' information ye've sent."

Meridina glanced to the model and what it said about the intended victim. "Then the intended target was Katrina Steiner-Davion," she observed.

"Yes."

"I wonder why?"

Lucy's verbal pondering prompted a reply from Jarod. "She's more popular than her brother is in the Lyran worlds. They see her as a Steiner and Victor as a Davion, and a number of people think Victor may have even arranged his mother's murder to seize power. If Princess Katherine were to be assassinated, Victor could face widespread discontent. Maybe even uprisings. He may even be accused of masterminding it."

"Yeah, these wackos in the Inner Sphere are way too quick to believe tabloids," Barnes grumbled. "They probably believe in black helicopters too."

"What is just as interesting is the weapon," Richmond said, ignoring Barnes' sarcasm. "His Grace's security people have determined the projectile was barely the size of a grain of rice, and its contact with Lieutenant Lucero's weapon has left it reduced to a grain of sand embedded into the ceiling. The composition, according to scans, is an alloy of tungsten with nickel and iron. Their conclusion, which I concur with, is that it was fired by a weapon using a mass effect field."

"So the killer has access to weapons from M4P2," Angel noted.

"Or someone is using that universe's native technology to create their own firearms," Richmond added.

"There are sound reasons," Meridina observed. "The weapon can be feasibly built from materials that evade most standard security scans. It also permits an assassin effectively limitless ammunition."

"Where did they fire from, though?" Lucy asked.

"According to our calculations, the edge of the ballroom," Cat replied.

Julia frowned at that. "Security should have seen them. So whoever it is had a personal cloak of some kind."

"There is more to it than that." Meridina frowned. "We did not sense them. Cloaks cannot hide a being from the Flow of Life, nor keep their minds from detection by a farisa. A telepath." She clarified for the sake of Richmond. "Why did we not sense them?"

"Could it have been a robotic drone of some kind?" Locarno asked.

Meridina answered his question first. "The Coserians are rumored to have tested such, but a delicate operation such as this would require the drone in question to have been programmed quite carefully."

"In other words, they'd need to have an AI."

In response to Cat, Meridina clarified, "Or a very sophisticated VI, yes. The alternative of remote control is unlikely given the security systems."

"It might explain why it made only one shot," added Lucy. "Cloaking fields don't last forever, and it takes time to slip through this estate. It might have needed all of its remaining time to escape before the cloak failed."

"Don't rule out remote control," Richmond instructed. "It's always possible someone found a way to hide a signal from detection, or even piggyback on our frequencies."

"You and Jarod investigate that possibility," Julia said. "Meridina, Lucy, I'd like you to keep an eye on the VIPs. Concentrate on Prince Victor and Princess Katherine, but we can't rule out that a follow-up attack might not target another delegation. I know you can't be everywhere at once, but…"

"...we will sense where we are needed," Meridina finished for her benefit.

"Meanwhile, I have to join Secretary Onaran in briefing President Morgan," Julia said. "Not to mention smoothing over feathers still ruffled by the Star League issue."

"It would appear this 'Star League' has quite a diverse reputation," Meridina noted.

"The Clans revere it, the Inner Sphere sees it as part of a lost Golden Age, and the Periphery realms remember them as occupiers and exploiters," Jarod remarked. "Honestly I'm not sure what was in mind for bringing it up."

"I'd like to know myself, but that's not our priority." Julia stood up. "Everyone is dismissed."

The Kell estate's suites for VIPs had been nearly overrun by all of the dignitaries present. Walking through that wing of the estate, Meridina found she did not envy the task of the managers for Morgan Kell in having to arrange quartering and sustenance for so many leaders.

Even though her enhanced senses - the product of her life energies, summed up in the Gersallian word swevyra - enabled her to feel there was nothing amiss without entering the various suites, Meridina nevertheless knocked at each and checked with them directly. Given the assassin's ability to hide itself from her as it had, this seemed the best course of action, and the one most likely to be preferred by the attending delegates given the day's excitement. In many of the rooms she found the delegations deep in discussion about the disruptions that had afflicted the first day of the summit.

The first exception to this she found in the suite of the Kuritas, the ruling family of the Draconis Combine. There the Coordinator of the Combine, Theodore Kurita, was in discussions with his leaders and his son, Hohiro, who was still on Luthien and speaking with his father via a subspace uplink. Sitting by herself in one corner was Theodore's daughter Omi. She was clad in a silk kimono of black color with red trim. Her dark hair went down to her shoulders. Blue eyes the same color as Lucy's rose to meet Meridina's face. "Commander Meridina," Omi said politely. "A pleasure to see you again."

"A pleasure as well, Lady Keeper," Meridina replied. "All is well?"

"We have no troubles." Omi stood. "I have a request of you, Commander."

"Yes?"

"I would like to visit a dear friend with another of the delegations. May I accompany you and meet him in your presence?"

Meridina immediately sensed the flutter of emotion in the other woman. The friend she sought to visit was someone she cared for deeply. More than cared for, in fact. Her reply was to nod. "I have no objections." She looked briefly to Omi's father to see if he had any.

Theodore had indeed been listening, even through his discussion with his son. He shook his head. "I am satisfied that my daughter's safety and honor are in safe hands with you, Commander," he said formally.

The wording was one Meridina found interesting. The Human English word "honor" seemed to have connotations that varied by culture. The Kuritans and their society put special weight upon their consideration of what honor was, and she recognized the gravity of the charge. "Very well. Let us continue, Lady Omi."

Omi remained quiet as Meridina checked in on the next few groups. Ragnar Magnusson had evidently retired, and his delegation were perfunctory in their exchange with her. Emma Centrella of the Magistry of Canopus was polite enough; she was, like Theodore, in consultation with her government back on Canopus. Her neighbor, Kamea Arano of the Aurigan Coalition, was enjoying a quiet meal with her delegation in complete safety.

They next arrived at the Federated Commonwealth delegation suite. Inside they found Victor with his security man, Curaitis, his aide Jerrard Cranston, and Morgan Hasek-Davion. Meridina noted Katherine was not present. She already knew that Princess Katherine had her own suite and a small Lyran delegation separate from Victor's, but she was surprised that the two were not discussing plans together.

The occupants looked to her and to Omi. Curaitis nodded politely, although Meridina had the feeling he wasn't pleased with their arrival… or rather Omi's. The others were friendly enough. It was Victor who stepped forward and took Omi's hand in what, for the Commonwealth, passed for a gentlemanly gesture. Meridina immediately sensed there was more to it, however. Affection, desire, and several other sentiments emanated from both. "Lady Omi, a pleasure to see you again," Victor remarked politely. "What can I do for you this evening?"

"A chance to see you again is sufficient, Prince," Omi answered politely. "Commander Meridina has been kind enough to permit my presence."

"My thanks to you, Commander."

"There is no harm." As Meridina said this the full weight of what was happening came to her. The feelings in the two, the way their eyes met, the affection when Victor pressed his lips to Omi's fingers in the gentleman's fashion of his people… these two, the children of houses with centuries of blood and hate between them, were deeply in love.

Caterina's work with the investigation on the assassination was over, as was her bridge shift for the day. After a check on the science labs to look over some simulations she was running on involving subspace interactions with normal space and hyperspatial domains - inspired by some of the things she'd seen while exploring W8R4 with the Doctor - she returned to her quarters. Much to her delight, Violeta was waiting for her, currently between watches on her shift. She'd even removed her uniform and put on a lovely shoulderless purple dinner dress that matched the gene-engineered color of her eyes and hair. It was a mark of Caterina's own progress that she wasn't self-conscious about how Violeta had more pronounced curves than she did, which the dress made perfectly clear.

On the table were two candlesticks with lit candles on them, candles made of a fragrant wax that gave the air a flowery, gentle smell. A bowl of salad was in the center, adjoined by two bowls of soup and two plates with thermal capture covers over them that kept the food from cooling and, for the moment, obscured what Violeta had ordered for her. Cat shed her uniform jacket and joined Violeta at the table. "It's not my birthday, and our anniversary is a few weeks away," she observed. "Is this another 'romantic dinner just for the hell of it'?"

"Yes," Violeta said, but Cat could tell something was wrong. Violeta herself quickly backtracked. "No. No, I wanted to give you this dinner so we could talk."

A little knot twisted into being inside Cat's stomach. The long fear that this was too good to be true came roaring back after spending so long suppressed inside of her. "Well, okay," Cat said, admonishing herself not to jump to conclusions. "Do you want to eat now or…?"

"Let's eat first," Violeta said. "Then we'll talk."

Meridina waited patiently for Victor and Omi to finish talking. Their conversation had been quiet and mundane as things went, covering their life experiences as of late. Meridina willed herself to not pay attention to what was actively said, although it was more accurate to say she intentionally forgot what she overheard after overhearing it.

When they were done they shared a platonic embrace. The pain of separation was acute with both of them, joined by another pain of longing. They wanted to be together, not just in the physical sense but emotionally, even spiritually.

Even that slight sense of such powerful emotion made Meridina think of Kaveri Varma. The deep sense of love and affection that the older Human woman had inside of her for the Dilgar leader Shai'jhur was one of the most intense feelings Meridina had ever felt. It made her realize just what had kept her parents together through the years, whatever their differences.

They left the suite and returned to the hall. "Do you have more stops to make, Commander?"

"No. Lieutenant Lucero has taken care of the others. I am available to take you back to your family's suite now, Lady Omi."

"Very well."

They walked through the ostentatious corridor quietly, at least at first. "You seem as if you have something on your mind, Commander," Omi said.

Meridina nodded quietly. "I suppose I have, yes."

"What is on your mind?"

The question was spoken with quiet, regal dignity. Meridina considered how to answer it. "I have... considerations, I suppose. Questions."

"About?"

"Feelings. Love, I believe your word is."

Omi smiled sadly. "Victor and I did little to hide our affection for each other, true."

"My senses made clear the depth of your affections," Meridina said. "And I could feel frustration."

"Our love is one that cannot be fulfilled without violating our duties," Omi explained. "For us to be together, much less wed, would create terrible political circumstances for our realms. Victor's people would fear their worlds would become the dowry; my people would be incensed if such did not happen and see it as my father giving me away."

"That is unfortunate." Meridina considered the feelings she'd sensed in Kaveri Varma. She had also been divided from the one she loved due to duty. Indeed, due to war. "Falling in love with one who is meant to be an enemy is a great sorrow, although it has its opportunities I would think."

"Perhaps it would bind my people closer to Victor's. But the bloodshed between us… there is much hate."

"That is unfortunate. Hate is a conduit of darkness. The Flow of Life is impeded." Meridina felt a comfort in saying such. It was a retreat to the familiar for her, to discuss the philosophies of Swenya instead of the unfamiliar passions of love.

"My brother Minoru has written letters home about such teachings."

"Is he still on Solaris then?"

Omi shook her head. "No. He has since moved on. He is currently dwelling on Vulcan in a monastery, exploring the Vulcan beliefs."

"I see. I wish the best for him. He has what my people consider a connected swevyra. His life has a strong connection to the universe, through which he experiences the Flow of Life."

Omi nodded. "You have questions about love, yes?"

The subject was one Meridina had been glad to stay from. "Considerations, questions… Many things. I am not unfamiliar with the sentiment. My father is a rare figure among the Mastrasham for being happily married to my mother. My brother Qalkrsl has recently married as well, and my sister Leniraya and her lover Penrine have been together for many years. Whenever I have had the pleasure of seeing them I have felt the love they experience."

"But you have not experienced it yourself?"

"I do not believe so," Meridina replied. "In the Order of Swenya, love is considered a potentially dangerous feeling to have. It can unbalance one's perception. It makes one being more valuable than others. A Knight of Swenya must care for all other beings equally to remain in the Light."

"I see." Omi nodded. "But you are allowed?

"Yes, if we can demonstrate suitable detachment, the Council blesses unions," Meridina replied. "My father Karesl followed that path when he met my mother Drentiya."

"Then you could too."

"I could. I am no longer in the Order as it is. The choice is entirely mine." As she said those words Meridina pondered what they meant for her. Could she ever feel that way for someone? "If you were to define love, then, what would call it?"

"It is a complex thing. Many of our finest poets have written on the meaning of love for centuries, indeed, millennia. The Christians say love is kindness and forgiveness. For my people it is a spiritual and physical bond. Physical affection and intimacy are enjoyable aspects, but one must feel the spiritual connection as well, and it must be a pairing where both sides are honored. Indeed, many legends and histories speak of those who experience love of a purely spiritual nature, without physical attraction."

Meridina considered that. She searched herself for such feelings. Just remembering Varma's emotions was enough of an experience. The deep connection to another being seemed to be frightening in how it might warp her perception of the world. To make someone else more important than other beings. To experience the real fear that you might lose that person, a fear that was a real and dangerous path to corrupting darkness. Her training made it feel like something she should avoid. To not be able to be with the one you loved due to duty… that was right in front of her in the guise of Omi Kurita, barred from the one she loved by the needs of her people. It hardly seemed worth it.

And yet… and yet… the warmth she felt there. The warmth she had felt when Victor and Omi spent time together talking. The warmth her parents gave off when they were together. For the first time Meridina imagined experiencing that for herself. What would it be like?

"Is it worth it?" she found herself asking.

Omi remained quiet for a moment. "Is what worth it?"

"Your love for Prince Victor. Is it worth it, despite the pain I know it brings you? The pain that duty will forever separate you?"

Omi closed her eyes. A tear formed at the corner of one eye. While it was clear that even mentioning it was making her experience that pain of separation, Meridina felt the answer coming even before Omi spoke it. "Hai. Yes. It is worth it. Victor and I have only met face to face but a few times, but it has always been worth it."

"I see."

"Now may I ask a question, Meridina-san?"

Meridina gave her a curious look. "It would be only fair, I believe. What is it?"

"Your questions about love… is it because you love someone?"

The question made Meridina think. Did she feel that way toward someone? Did she feel a connection like that, a desire to always be near to them?

For a brief moment she considered that the answer was no. No, she didn't. But even as the sound began to form in her throat, she stopped. The look on her face betrayed a certain consideration on the subject, a sign that she, honestly, wasn't sure.

Omi smiled at her and nodded. She said nothing else as they went on their way back to the suite occupied by the Kurita delegation.

Dinner was quiet for Cat and Violeta. Cat mentioned in brief some of her simulation work, and Violeta remarked about the navigation officers' experiences as of late, but it was clearly small talk to get them through the meal. Cat wanted to enjoy the meal and made herself smile as she ate it, even though her appetite was now thoroughly undermined. Once they were done and the dishes fed into the replicator, they walked over to the couch and sat down beside each other. Violeta took Cat's hand. "Cat."

The food in her stomach didn't keep it from twisting. "Vee. What's wrong?"

"Straight to it. Always the scientist." A weak grin briefly crossed Violeta's lips. "It's about the promotion."

"Oh?" Some relief was showing on Cat's face. The fear that this was a pity dinner and that she was about to get dumped was gripping her with irrational strength (that she might deserve it made the fear all the more stronger). "What about it?"

"The promotion, the second one I'm getting, it's because the fleet needs more command navigation officers. Because my performance reviews have been so high, they picked me." Violeta's grip on Cat's hands tightened slightly. "I'm sorry, Cat, but I'm going to be transferred off of the Aurora in two months."

Cat drew in a breath. It took a moment, just a moment, for the news, and for the ramifications, to hit her. "Then… you and I… we can't…"

"Maybe once and a while," Violeta said. "I mean, if we can get leaves to match up. Or if whatever ship I wind up on meets up with the Aurora, we might be able to spend some time together."

"I…" Tears were forming in Cat's hazel eyes. "Can't we… can't we have you assigned here?"

"That's not what Personnel wants," Violeta pointed out.

"So you'd have to say no in order to stay…" Cat sniffled. "I… I guess that'd hurt you, wouldn't it?"

"Well, given the war? They wouldn't be happy with me," Violeta pointed out. "Especially if they realize why. It would probably tank my career."

"And… and I don't want that." Cat couldn't decide if she was lying or not when she said it. "It's just… I know it's silly, but I thought you'd always be here."

Violeta was kind enough not to agree with how silly the thought was. From the beginning of the Alliance, Cat knew that the way things worked now, nothing was guaranteed. Admiral Maran might generally work to keep them together on the Aurora, but that could change. It nearly had a couple of times already, especially when Julia was offered command of the Enterprise. Maybe that had "spoiled" Cat on the possibility, making her think it could never happen.

Except, of course, now it had.

Violeta pulled Cat into a hug. "I know it hurts," she said. "But we can find a way to make it work."

"Yeah." Even as Cat agreed, she was already dreading the likelihood that, in the end, it wouldn't work. She thought of all the times her sister had been heartbroken by Robert in their breakups. Now she understood Angel more than she ever had before.

There was nothing left to say for either of them. They remained quiet, holding onto one another in the quiet of the quarters.

The Tri'kep's upper-most deck - not counting the top deck itself - was primarily for the services aboard. A lounge-bar-restaurant and an adjoining recreation room dominated the deck. The lounge had, as one of its appeals, an open air balcony with seats for dining. A windshield glass followed the curve toward the bow to protect the diners from the air-flow of the vessel's movement.

Zack sat at one of the tables. A half-eaten roast beef sandwich and plate of french fries was before him, courtesy of the ship's replicator. Apparently food was one area where the Gy'toran ship wasn't equipped to immediately pander to Human tastes. For a drink he'd chosen a grape soda after a great deal of thought and the temptation to visit the bar.

Getting away from Robert, coming out to eat… it didn't help. The tangle of emotions inside of Zack, his loss and grief and guilt and shame, wouldn't go away. It never would, it seemed. He was stuck in a pattern of mourning Clara and blaming himself for her fate. She had been too good for him. Their happy memories together provided no solace for him. It only reminded him of how false he had been toward her.

You weren't false, a part of him insisted. It was real. But it wasn't Julie.

Another truth that made it all worse. Being with Clara had dampened the desire, certainly. His feelings for Clara were always genuine. But they never changed the yearning he felt for Julia Andreys. Given how long he'd desired her…

"That's not good," a voice said. Its pitch and tone was higher and had the cadence of a Gy'toran.

Zack turned his head and faced a Gy'toran male wearing the dark blue suit of the ship service staff. The dark eyes of the Gy'toran, set on a face that reminded Zack of a koala, glanced toward him before looking back out at the approaching mountains. His lavender fur seemed to be sticking out.

When he thought about it, Zack realized the cawing sounds were not new. He'd been hearing them for minutes. But only the Gy'toran's remark brought his attention to them. Flights of birds with blue and violet plumages were soaring past. Not just flights, but entire flocks, reminding Zack of what migrating bird flocks were meant to look like.

"What do you mean, mister…?" Zack stopped and tried to decipher the name tag of the Gy'toran, written in the cuneiform script of their trading language.

"Retan'timara," the Gy'toran answered. "And the birds. It's not good for our trip."

"Oh?"

"Those are flocks of mountain birds. Tre'miri, Jatami… look at them all," Retan'timara remarked. "I've flown this route for twenty turns - you Humans call them years - and this only means one thing. There's a storm in the mountains. A bad one."

"What? You don't have weather control systems?" Zack asked.

Retan'timara shook his head. "Never. They would interfere with the winds. The winds are too important to our planet's life." The Gy'toran slipped into a seat at the table beside him. "You seem lost in thought, traveler."

"My name's Zack Carrey. Or just Zack." Zack made a little snorting sound. "Used to be Commander Zack Carrey, but I screwed that up royally."

"Ah. Zack it is. Human names sound so simple."

"'Zack' is the short form of "Zachary'," Zack clarified. That's my proper first name."

"I see. More sounds. And you Humans like to have multiple names." An interested sound came from the throat of the Gy'toran.

"So what do you mean about a storm?"

"Oh. We get them. Usually they are driven through the mountains until they collapse, but if a storm is strong enough or comes through directly from the Tran Plain, it can be vicious in the valley. Bad for wind-sailers."

"So we'll have to turn around?"

"Maybe. We're fast enough to outrace a storm. A moment." Retan'timara recovered a device from his pocket. Clipped words came through; someone speaking in Gy'toran. Zack listened as Retan'timara replied with increasing agitation. When the conversation was over Retan'timara's face contorted slightly. "They say the storm is not expected to enter the valley ahead of us. It will go south and we will miss it."

"You don't agree?"

"The wind is wrong," said Retan'timara. "For what they claim. No, I think the storm will come across us."

Zack didn't like the sound of that. "Aren't they making preparations?"

"Some. Even a new sailer knows to respect storm winds. But he will not turn south, or climb to go over the storm. Insisting on keeping our route. Peh." Retan'timara made a little gesture with his middle arms. "Thinking of bottom line. Would have to refund tickets if we returned to Utal Pranam. Expends more power from batteries if we climb. But I am a service staffer, so maybe he is right and I am wrong." Retan'timara chittered wordlessly. "You look as if the winds have pushed you off-course, Zachary."

"You might say that, I certainly feel like a ship getting tossed around by storm winds," Zack noted bitterly.

"The storm winds of life, yes. All sorts of winds can guide us on our lives. And one never knows quite where the wind will take you. All you can do is watch sails and keep straight."

"Your culture isn't just about winds and sailing, is it?" Zack asked.

"Oh, of course not! I know some aliens think that, so silly. And your entertainments always get it wrong. The winds are important, but they are not all. Winds spread the seeds, but it is the soil that grows the trees and the crops. Winds guide the birds, but the waters provide them fish and drink, the trees their nests. Just like your species, winds powered our ships for millennia, but now we have steam and thruster and anti-grav."

"Most species and cultures don't build sailing ships for space, though," Zack pointed out. "Or sailing airships."

"Gy'sara is special for that. Low gravity, high winds. On most worlds our wind-sailers would drop like stones!" The Gy'toran's laughter sounded like a rapid chittering noise. "I know little of space drives. Subspace-sails work for us. Good currents in our space, maybe? But like you we have thrusters, plasma drives, even impulsors now. And warp drive. But subspace-sail is our technology and we are proud of it."

"Well, can't argue with that, can I?" Zack asked rhetorically. His eyes looked back to the mountains. The sun was starting to lower in the sky. Still, he could make out the blue and green hues of the trees below, and high snow-capped peaks that reminded him of panorama shots of the Rockies. The birds were still cawing and flying by. The sunlight was just starting to turn to an orange shade as the sun lowered over the mountains. It was a majestic vista.

He wished Clara was here to see it.

Then another thought came. To be honest, he also wished Julia was here to see it. And at that, that she was here instead of Robert, and that their shared cabinn was for them, that she had finally found within herself a love for him that equaled the one he felt for her. With that thought came memories of Adrana, of the alien computer and the simulated world that the guiding intelligence had created for him. A world crafted from parts of him that he was not proud of.

And the truth was Robert was here. His best friend, someone always there for him, there right now in fact, looking to help him. And out of uniform so there was no longer that little gap that had popped up since… the beginning of the Alliance? Or of their Multiversal adventures as a whole? Whatever it was, it wouldn't be there any longer. Robert was just Robert again.

Just Robert and a bunch of weird life force energy powers, that was.

Thinking of Adrana and Robert and Julia and Clara simply reminded Zack of everything hurting him. It was a big emotional knot that he couldn't untie, and he was tired of it. He wanted the knot to go away.

And there was only one way it would.

If Robert had been there, at that moment, shame might have kept Zack from actually making the request. But he wasn't. And Zack… wanted to stop feeling so very much at that moment.

So he turned to Retan'timara and asked, "You wouldn't happen to have any tequila, would you?"

Making rounds around the Kell Estate was getting old. Lucy completed another circuit of the stairways leading up to the floor with the various suites used by the VIPs and checked in with Richmond. "All clear."

"Confirmed, Lieutenant." The Australian woman's voice barely crackled over the radio. "I need you to check on the air conditioning system on the roof, please. We're getting an anomalous reading from security sensors."

"I'm on my way."

"I'll send you backup, they should meet up with you just after you arrive on the roof."

"Roger that. Lucero out." Lucy ended the call and went to the stairs again. She used her omnitool to bring up the plans for the Kell home, showing her which stairway would lead her up to the roof. With her life force energy Lucy didn't feel quite as tired, not physically anyway, but mentally she was ready for the day to end.

At the top of the stairwell Lucy stepped out onto the roof. The old-fashioned external appearance aside, the roof nevertheless had flat areas where the air conditioning systems and communication receivers and transmitters were located, as well as a single low tower with a beacon light for warning away aircraft. Lucy called up the sensor readings that were anomalous she approached. She approached their centerpoint and found herself near one of the air conditioning units.

A sense went through her and drove Lucy to check said unit. As she approached the gray, block-shaped unit, she noticed that its profile was off. It didn't match others around her. As she drew closer she could see why; something had been attached to it. A gray canister with no markings was above the main intake. Tubing ran from one end of the canister and into the intake grate.

Lucy ran a scan of it and frowned. It was made of material to block sensors. Now fully suspicious, she looked it over to see if there were any signs of tamper-proof gear that might forestall removing whatever it was; something that, she suspected, would not be good for the occupants.

Her first inkling of danger was just a second before the gun went off.