The surprise for Lucy was just how little warning she had. The instinctive sense of danger that her powers gave her usually proved far better warning than it had now.

The one second warning time basically eliminated any chance to avoid getting shot. Not with her lightsaber still inactive and on her belt. All Lucy could do was throw her body to one side in the second she had. She felt like someone had just run a razor blade on her skull, slicing away a bit of her curly dark hair along with a bit of skin and the layer of flesh on her scalp above her ear. A slightly different angle would have sent the projectile against the surface of her skull.

Lucy rolled on the roof when she hit it, shoulder first. Another shot grazed her shoulder with no wound, unable to defeat the Gersallian-made armor she was wearing, although it did put a hole in her blue robe. Even as the shot struck her, Lucy's hand was grasping the lightsaber on her belt. It came free as she had designed its strap to do. The moment she completed the roll her hand held it away and her thumb found the activation button. The familiar electronic snap-hiss answered and the cylindrical weapon in her hand formed a blade of shining blue energy. She moved the blade and another shot bounced off of it.

There was no sign of her attacker. Whomever it was had a cloaking device of some sort. Nor did she sense life, at least not the life she'd associate with a grown adult of any species. She focused with the life energy Meridina had taught her to wield and sought out the threat against her. More than that, the means by which the threat hid from her. Another shot from her foe was also batted away with almost contemptuous ease.

Lucy dashed forward before the next shot. Her lightsaber slashed through what looked like open air on the rooftop. A moment later a figure wavered into view, a Human female with skin a shade darker than Lucy's light brown complexion. Only one natural brown eye glared up at her; the other eye was gone, replaced with a cybernetic implant plate over the left side of the head, a big red electronic eye in place of the missing organic counterpart. Something sparked near the cyborg's mid-section.

The cyborg was carrying a Phalanx pistol from M4P2. When she raised the weapon at Lucy again, Lucy's lightsaber sliced the gun in half. "No more of that," Lucy said. "Whoever you are, surrender."

The woman didn't glower. There was no defiance. She considered Lucy for a moment before simply throwing herself backward with enough force that she fell from the roof.

Lucy rushed to the edge. She sensed nothing of the cyborg's thoughts and wondered if this was self-termination of some sort. When she saw her opponent land on her feet and start running, she realized it had been an escape.

The thought of pursuit crossed her mind. But even beyond the sticky, hot blood now pouring down the side of her head as a reminder of her injury, Lucy knew she had other, more urgent matters to attend to. She turned back to the air-conditioning unit and resumed her work on the attachment installed upon it, presumably by said cyborg.

Meditation had always been a problem for Robert when it came to these powers. Given his duties as a starship captain and the time demanded - not to mention time he wanted to spend with Angel - spending time just sitting around seemed wasteful. Deep down, he had resented that part of Meridina's training most of all.

It hadn't been until after his time on Gersal at Umintamil that his view began to change. There he had no duties to attend to, no girlfriend he was trying to show some attention to, there was nothing but vast empty stretches of time. Meditation was one of the few things he had to do. Quieting his mind and simply feeling the warmth within him, the energy generated by his being, resonate with his surroundings, that had proved an enjoyable experience. "The golden serenity of the Light of Life" was what Mastrash Kilaba, the "abbess" of Umintamil, had called it in their sessions. In his meditative state he imagined the older woman's face. The fine dark skin marked by but a few wrinkles, graying hair at her temples. Kilaba hadn't been the stodgy, stoic type he'd expected; she'd shown the same warmth and subtle, wry humor that Meridina often displayed.

His mind continued along this track, considering the discussions they had together and with Ledosh about his experience in the dreamworld. That the Flow of Life itself had acted to save his life after he took in the Time Vortex, that it was a force in of itself, aware and capable, but cooperative with those who could sense it.

This quiet train of thought sustained through his meditations could have lasted for hours. Sometimes it would. What interrupted it was a distant sense he felt. Loss, guilt, shame… it was Zack.

Robert's eyes opened. His mouth twisted into a frown, followed by a little sigh. He slid off the bed and left their suite. A walk down a fine-paneled corridor and up flights of stairs took him to the recreational deck of the Tri'kep. From there he easily found his way to the lounge.

Many people were out on the balcony now. Most of the passengers were, like the crew, Gy'toran, although Robert noted a felinoid Rr'timm and a Bolian couple with several Humans. The Tri'kep was coming up to a relatively-narrow pass between the mountain ranges and everyone was outside witnessing the closing space of the mountains. Distant storm clouds were on the horizon and a flutter of worry went through Robert.

But he had other things to concern himself with. He found Zack at the bar, leaning on it with a bottle of what was likely tequila in one hand and a glass in the other. It was half-finished. A second later it was entirely finished, as Zack gulped it down. Robert winced at it; he'd had only a few experiences with drinks over his life, and he couldn't imagine just gulping liquor like that. It must burn like hell. That Zack was apparently used to it…

Robert walked up and tapped Zack on the shoulder. "Hey," he said, trying to keep even the slightest judgemental tone from his voice. "Everything alright?"

"No," mumbled his friend. Zack was more inebriated than sober by this point. "Nothing's alright. Nothing's been alright for a long damn time."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Go away," Zack demanded.

Robert swallowed and considered his options. Zack's sullen silence was clearly meant to be a shield between the two, to keep Robert out. And he wanted to respect Zack's privacy. But at the same time, it was clear that Zack was suffering on the inside. His isolation wasn't helping him. For better or for worse, Robert had to crack that shell.

"You're drinking again. I thought you wanted to stop."

"I never said that." Zack reached for the bottle and poured another shot.

"The fact you nearly burned your brain out with Niltox tells me you know this isn't good for you. This… this isn't fixing anything…"

"Some things can't be fixed, Rob. Let it go." Zack took a smaller swallow this time. "You can't save everyone. Especially when we don't deserve it."

Sighing, Robert sat at the stool beside him. "What could have done that makes you say that, Zack? It's not just your grief over Clara, is it?"

"I'm the reason she's dead," Zack muttered. "Me. She'd be alive if not for me. She wouldn't have come out here, she wouldn't have endangered herself."

"I think you're being unfair to yourself. And to Clara. She wanted to help people. She wanted to do good. You can't just chalk all of that up to your influence." When Zack didn't react to that Robert continued. "And blaming yourself for it isn't helping anything. You'll never get better, never get over losing her, if you don't stop it."

There was anger in Zack's brown eyes when he turned them to face Robert. They were reddened from tears and stress, red lines crossing through the white of his eyes. Robert remained quiet and hoped Zack would speak. That hope was dashed several seconds later when he turned away again. "Zack, I know you're in pain. I feel it now. You're my best friend, I can't just stand by and let you suffer like this. I'm not leaving your side until…"

Given their respective conditions, what happened next shouldn't have happened. A man halfway to collapse from drunkenness should, in general, be incapable of surprising a man who could sense the immediate future through the metaphysical energies of his own personal life force.

But that's exactly what happened. Robert sensed the intent. He felt it coming. But it shocked him so profoundly that he denied the warning instinct. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be happening.

Which was why he was surprised when Zack twisted around and punched him in the face.

The blow landed on Robert's jaw and cheek, a few centimeters to his left from being capable of damaging or even breaking his nose. The pain of the blow was exceeded by the shock of it. Said shock, and the force behind it, toppled Robert from the stool and sent him in a heap to the floor. A damaged blood vessel in his mouth seeped blood at the side of his lip.

"You can't just leave it alone, can you? God dammit Rob! You always have to be the Goddamned hero!" Zack rose from his stool, not too drunk to stand, but more than drunk enough to have lost all restraint on his feelings. Around them some of the various beings were turning to watch them.

Robert's hand touched the side of his mouth. He glanced at it to confirm the blood. Instinctive fury at being struck was fought down. He wasn't about to throw a punch in retribution. Especially not here.

Zack loomed over him. "You can't help it, can you?!" he continued. "You literally can't Goddamned help it! You've got to be the White Knight riding in to save the day!" As Zack spoke the emotions within him filled Robert's senses. Anger, guilt, shame, frustration… and envy. "Is it your ego, Rob?! Huh?! Can't you just leave things alone when asked?! Oh, of course not! Because you're the great Robert Dale, the hero who found the Darglan Facility, who used it to liberate the oppressed and save the downtrodden! The man who flouted whole governments just so he could do what was right! The great Goddamned space hero who made the Alliance, the entire damned Multiverse as we know it, possible! Who are we mere mortals to tell you what to do?!"

"Zack…"

"God damn you." Zack's voice was a hiss. "God damn you, you are my best friend in the world, and whatever I've said before I'd die for you, but you really piss me off sometimes, Rob. You take me for granted."

"No, I…"

"I'm talking now!"

All eyes were turning toward them. Around the blazing inferno of Zack's erupting emotions, Robert sensed the embarrassment and bewilderment of the crowd at the sight. He wondered when someone would intervene in the public spectacle Zack was causing.

"You always have to be the great hero. You always have to save the day!" Zack continued. "And you don't even think about the rest of us, do you? Me, Tom, Julie, Angel and Cat, Leo… you take us all for granted. You never stop to think that maybe we have an existence that doesn't involve being your fraking sidekicks! And now you're so dedicated to being a space life magic using swevyra-whatever that you literally threw away poor Angel! You broke her heart again… but she'll still follow you into the mouth of hell, and you don't even…" Zack lost his voice for a moment. The sentiments he wanted to pour out of himself after so many years of quiet suppression seemed to be warring for access to his voice.

"Why are you so jealous of me?" Robert asked quietly, taking advantage of Zack's momentary quiet. He eyed a blue-furred Gy'toran in the uniform of the ship's crew now standing nearby. A stun taser was in her hand. He held up a hand toward her and mentally asked, No, please wait. He had the feeling he had bought Zack only a minute or so.

The first response to his question was a bitter laugh. "You really have to ask?" Zack's question was subdued. Pained. "You had everything I didn't. Your grandparents adored you. Mine barely acknowledged I existed. Your parents were the perfect couple. My mom worked and stressed herself to death while Dad was usually too drunk to get a job, much less keep one. Your family supported your decisions. My dad forced me to destroy my career." One by one the items were ticked off, but it was clear that even now they were building up to something even greater. "And the big thing? I can never be with the woman I love because you got to her first. And you… you won't even acknowledge it. The thing I can't have and you just throw it away."

Robert stared at him in confusion. "What? I barely knew Clara, I…" He stopped. Awareness dawned on his features. His green eyes widened in realization of what Zack was saying.

"Yeah." There were tears in Zack's eyes. "Even Clara… I gave her all the love I could, and I know she returned it and appreciated it, but I think even she knew. She knew that there was someone I loved more than her. It's why I never deserved her."

"Zack… I never realized."

That made Zack chuckle, although it seemed a sob as much as a chuckle. "Of course you didn't. Just like you never realize how much Julia loves you. I think I would give my soul up to have her love me half as much."

Robert's mouth went dry at the revelation. How had he missed it? How could he never realize just how Zack felt toward Julia?

"The thing is, the damned thing is, I know I'm wrong to have these feelings." A real sob escaped Zack's throat. "You've always been there for me whenever I needed help. Whenever Dad's drinking got out of control. After Mom died. You've always been my friend, my best friend, even more than Tom. And it's wrong that I resent you so much. It's…"

At that point Zack broke down weeping. He collapsed to his knees. "Adrana showed me how wrong I could be," he cried. "The computer… it showed me a world wherever I had what I wanted. Where Julia loved me. And you… it thought I wanted you dead, and… and… I should be dead. Not Clara. She deserved better. It should be me."

At that point Zack could say no more. He just kept weeping.

Wordlessly Robert brought his broken friend to his feet. "Let's go somewhere private," he said gently. "Then we can talk about it."

Once they were back in their cabin, each took a seat on their respective beds, sitting at the ends and facing one another. "I always thought you were just being... well, being your usual flirting self," Robert admitted to his friend. "I mean, when it came to Julia. I had no idea you felt something like this."

Zack sat hunched over. He was in the worst place to be; too drunk to hold back, not drunk enough to have stopped feeling. "She was never interested," he mumbled. "Even when you were with Angel. Maybe if I hadn't started looking for other girls…"

"I'm not sure that was the only thing," Robert said. "But I'm sorry. We… it's painful for you to be around us. Especially around her. Isn't it?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes I just push it to the back of my mind. I be the friend I've always been." Zack rubbed at his forehead. "And I know it's wrong to have these feelings. To resent you so much. I shouldn't. But I can't help it sometimes…"

"You don't have to apologize," Robert insisted. "I know what you're going through."

There was a bewildered yet curious look from Zack at that admission. He brought his eyes back up to face Robert.

"You always had it so easy with girls," Robert said. "And with everyone else. You were the socializer, the guy who put the parties together."

Zack smiled slightly. "Although Julia was always the organizer when she was involved. And those were often the best…"

Robert nodded at that. "But I was neither. I couldn't even host them usually."

"It's not like you didn't have any social circles of your own, Mister Wide Receiver for the football team."

To that Robert laughed. "Yeah, for a coach who thought running it up the middle was the most important kind of play. And besides that, you remember how the jocks thought. I wasn't the star pitcher, I was the glorified blocker of a wide receiver who could be beaten up by his girlfriend." A bitter look came to his eyes. "Half of them thought I was just Angel's beard, too. The only girlfriend Rob Dale ever had was 'that dyke'." The look became dark. "Sometimes 'that dyke spic'." Robert nearly spat out the last word. He shuddered at recalling its use.

"Huh." Zack shook his head. "I guess a few guys from the baseball team thought the same way about Angel. But she was never the traditional girl."

"Unlike your conquests. And I think everyone in the county knew about Beth and why she left, and they loved to use that against me too. As far as they were concerned, my cousin was 'a queer', my girlfriend probably one, and maybe my sister too, and that meant my masculinity was in question."

Zack snarled at that. "Idiots." The snarl turned into a smirk. "Isn't it funny that they picked the wrong Delgado sister?"

"A bit. Although God knows how they would've treated Cat if she'd been out of the closet during her school years. But to get to my point…" Rob sighed. "You and Julie were the star athletes. Tom was in all of the geek circles, and Angel was the best fighter in the school. Even Leo was the darling of the pre-med honors courses and the biology department. I wasn't any of those things. Hell, I think the only person among us who could match my situation was Lucy."

"And now you two are the ones with the mojo powers." Zack sighed.

Robert nodded at that. It was an amusing thing to consider. But he had other things on his mind. "The damned thing is… you were right about it. I do sometimes take you and the others for granted. I just always assume you'll have my back, that you'll agree with whatever I was doing. Even with Julia trying to warn me when it isn't true." Robert shook his head. "From the day I found the Facility I've been dragging the rest of you along without really considering if it was what you wanted. I just assumed you'd stand with me…"

"Well, we did," Zack pointed out. "We made the Alliance possible together, so yeah, we joined you in standing for it. Maybe without thinking it through… I know I've always had a few problems with this military stuff."

"While Julia took to it like a duck to water," Robert opined.

"Yeah."

For a moment there was silence. "I do love her, you know," Robert admitted.

"Well, yeah."

"And you do too."

"With all my heart."

Robert let out a sigh. "Isn't this awkward?"

Zack gave him an annoyed look. "Welcome to my world, Sir Robert."

"That computer simulation on Adrana really had you married to her?"

"Yep." A small blush came to Zack's face at memories of the simulation. "Oh yeah."

Robert laughed. When the laugh got him a bewildered look, he said, "It's just… that's what happened to me. After the Time Vortex nearly killed me, the dreamworld I was in… Julia and I were married. We even had a son."

"Huh. And the rest of us…"

"Around. Happy. Still living in the county, mostly, well, except you and Angel. You were a major league pitcher and were with Clara, Angel was a world-ranked MMA fighter. Our parents were all alive."

Zack moaned. "Of course. You get a dreamworld tailored to you and everyone's happy. I get one where I let you die so I could have Julia." Tears formed in his eyes. "See what I mean, Rob?"

Robert shrugged. "We all have dark sides to us, Zack. They just… come out differently, I guess. A part of me never wanted to come back from that dream world. Even if it meant abandoning you. Given I'm the reason you're all out here in the first place, what does that say about me?"

"That you wanted your family back. While that Adranian lady thought I wanted you dead so I could have Julia. And… the damndest thing of all… if I'd had that choice back then, of saving you or saving Julia… I'd have saved her."

"Good," Robert replied immediately. "That's what I'd want you to do."

Zack shook his head. "Yeah. But my motives…" He put a hand to his forehead. Shaking his head had been a mistake.

"Don't worry about that," Robert insisted, knowing full well Zack would.

Indeed, Zack nearly pointed it out. But he held back at stating the obvious, especially given Robert's gifts. Instead he said, "The same for me. Save her, not me."

"Of course," Robert agreed. A thought came to him. "Can you imagine what she'd say if she heard us right now?"

It took some effort for Zack to work out the reply given the haze brought on by the tequila. "She'd probably get mad at us. Grumble something about chauvinism."

"Yeah, she would," Robert agreed. He grinned thoughtfully. "Why don't you get some rest? The flight will be over by the morning." He stood from the bed.

A protest formed in Zack's mind and died before it reached his vocal cords. "Yeah, I guess. I'll get some rest."

While Zack laid back on his bed, Robert slipped out the door of the cabin. He returned to the lounge. There were fewer people present. He went out to the balcony, now unoccupied, and found a corner to sit and resume meditating. Even here he could sense Zack, not quite asleep, still fairly drunk, a big knot of guilt and shame and grief. Even with their breakthrough, these were feelings he would have to work out.

Robert considered Zack's admissions and what it meant for all of them. Looking back, he kicked himself for never realizing it. All of those times he and Julia and Zack had sat together for a meal, they had been torturing him on the inside. And poor Clara… he remembered how much she loved Zack. That she loved him in spite of his sentiment… the woman had truly been a saint.

An anxious feeling suddenly came to Robert, ending all of his musing on Zack. A nebulous danger was looming, or something like danger, but he wasn't sure what it was at the moment.

That is, until he heard a shrieking electronic tone. "All passengers, please return to your cabins. All passengers to cabins. This is for your safety."

Robert's eyes opened during the announcement. He wondered why it came, at least until he felt the press of beating winds on his face. He looked up at the sky and frowned.

The dark and gray clouds were now taking up half the sky.

And he knew, then and there, that the storm was coming their way. It was going to move right across the Tri'kep's path.

"Hold still."

Leo's voice betrayed his frustration with Lucy's refusal to keep her head from moving. Lucy responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

Julia fought to keep amusement off of her face at Lucy's playful immaturity. Meridina showed no reaction either way. "Jarod confirmed the substance. It was a nerve gas toxin, a really nasty concoction that would have killed anyone exposed to it through the ventilation system. Even if we detected it in time, we would have lost people. If not…"

"...everyone in the Kell Estate would be dead," Lucy finished for Julia. "Yeah. I'm guessing that was the desired outcome."

"Commander Richmond is exploring the likelihood that this was another attempt on Princess Katherine's life," Meridina noted. "Less discriminate, certainly, but perhaps speaking to the killer being uncertain of getting a better opportunity."

"The alternative is that the killer is just going for whatever will disrupt things the most," Julia said.

"Yeah. Kill Katherine, and the Federated Commonwealth is destabilized. Or just kill a bunch of people and you wreck the summit." As she spoke Lucy shifted her head again, prompting a frustrated look from Leo before he resumed running the regenerator over the wound. "Although there's another possibility."

"Multiple assassins?" asked Meridina.

"Yeah."

"We'll know for sure once Leo compares your wound to the shot fired in the conference room."

"Which will require Leo to have a patient who cooperates," Leo opined, speaking in the third person for full effect.

Lucy rolled her eyes and braced her neck, letting Leo resume his work.

Julia let out a little sigh. "Well, I need to go deal with a few dozen dignitaries screaming that we're not protecting them sufficiently. Despite the fact that the attack was thwarted because our security is actually working. Let me know if you find out anything."

Lucy and Meridina watched Julia leave. Lucy forced herself to not turn her head to face Meridina, using only her eyes and her life energy to direct attention to her. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You seem, I don't know, tense."

Meridina did not respond immediately. When she did, it was with a shake of her head. "I have been considering… something. Thoughts."

"Anything interesting?"

"I am unsure. There are feelings I am unfamiliar with."

"Oh, so personal stuff. Say no more, go back to them."

Meridina appraised Lucy with her blue eyes. The two shared that eye color, indeed nearly the same shade of blue. As if it was a sign of the bond they now shared. Lucy could feel a degree of uncertainty in Meridina. An emotional one, not one of action.

"We must stop this assassin permanently," Meridina said suddenly, finding refuge in work. "Then the summit may continue uninterrupted."

"The problem is we don't know where she will be. We can't even be sure of her target. And we can't sense her with our life force energy. She must be completely cyborg. Hell, she was basically a Cyberman."

"I can only wonder what might drive an individual to allow such a thing, such an abomination, to be done to them." Meridina shook her head. "Perhaps it will be mercy for her as well to destroy her."

"That's going to be a tall order. If she's made to infiltrate, and if we can't sense her with life energy because she has none…" Lucy stopped.

Meridina sensed Lucy was in thought. Beside Lucy, Leo removed the regenerator tool. "And done," he said. "You can twitch now."

Lucy didn't move.

"Lucy?" Meridina asked.

Leo added, with some amusement, "Now she stays perfectly still."

"Energy," Lucy murmured.

"Yes?"

"Energy. Energy is how we find her." Lucy slid off the bed and took off for the door. "Come on! I need to get some things from the machine shop!" With that, Lucy left the medbay.

Meridina and Leo exchanged bewildered looks. Just as another sarcastic comment crossed Leo's mind, the door swished open again and Lucy looked in. "And thanks, Leo! You're still my favorite doctor."

A little grin was his reply to her while Meridina moved to join her.

Despite the order for all passengers to head to their cabins, Robert was on his way to the top deck. Every fiber of his being was telling him he would be needed up there.

The access door was keycarded, as he expected, but it wasn't designed to stop someone with his abilities. Robert strained to keep his internal energies in check while using them on the delicate task of manipulating the interior latch of the door. His effort was not entirely successful; the latch was undone, but it was damaged as well. The door would be stuck open. There was no point in worrying about it, however, as he needed to get topside.

He emerged onto the deck near the stern. The surfacing was made of a fine-grained wood with metal rings at locations along the deck. Some had lines already latched to them, lines built into the harnesses of the deck crew.

And they were needed. The edge of the storm was coming over them, sending violent gales into the sails. Cries in the chittering Gy'toran language barely echoed over the howl. Robert looked up and watched Gy'torans scurrying over the masts and support structures for the wide sails, now being furled with great difficulty against the powerful winds.

"Human! Human, what are you doing here?!" The voice was high-pitched and furious. Robert turned and faced a Gy'toran with a reddish hue to his fur and a beige tone to his full-body uniform. The koala-like face of the hexalimbed alien was screwed into an expression of worry and anger. "You should be in your cabin! It is dangerous here!"

"I know," he answered, almost shouting over the wind. "But you're going to need my help. I'm trained in the swevyra arts of Gersal and I can…"

Robert's voice was cut off by an ominous cracking noise. He and the Gy'toran looked up to see one of the masts starting to lean to a side. The Gy'torans working on its sails, still completely unfurled and taking the full brunt of the incoming wind, seemed more intent on getting off of said mast than furling its sails. With a final snap the mast splintered, ripped away by the enormous force of the winds pushing into its sails. Both watched with horror as two of the six-limbed figures still on the sails were pulled away, betrayed by their own safety lines still rigged to the broken, falling mast.

Robert had only a second to act. He reached his arms up and felt his energy surge within him. The delicate control he learned with the Gersalllians asserted itself. The energies of life, his own and those in the Flow of Life, responded to his will. Those same energies gripped the flailing Gy'torans and pulled them toward the deck. Separate your lines! he urged them mentally. Whether it was his urging or their training, they did so, and were freed from the mast that even now fell rapidly to the stern. The two wheeled their limbs a bit in mid-air while Robert pulled them to safety. They landed on the deck before him, their dark eyes focused on him in shock.

The Gy'toran that was confronting Robert started chittering at them in rapid-fire Gy'toran. They replied immediately and ran off, leaving the two alone. "Thank you, Human, for saving my sail-minders," he said. "I'm the Sailing-Master of the Tri'kep, Tramiltaram. I believe you would call me the Captain."

Robert nodded. "I'm Robert Dale. Formerly Captain of the Starship Aurora."

"Truly? I have heard of you. The Alliance-founder." The Gy'toran nodded once more. "My thanks, fellow Vessel-Master. Although it may be for nothing."

"What's wrong?"

Tramiltaram raised his upper and mid left arms toward the bow. Robert followed the motion to see what was ahead of them. Tall, jagged mountains showed in the distance, drawing nearer.

"We are coming up to Jumatam Pass," said Tramiltaram. "But now that we've lost our front maneuvering sail, we won't be able to make the turn into it. The Tri'kep is going to plow into the mountain."

The attendees of the conference took convincing to attend another session. Onaran and Primus Mori both had to cajole Sun-Tzu into remaining. There was an uncertainty in the air when everyone got back together.

"An assault on Goeringwelt will require more than the forces you are allocating," asserted the Turian delegate, a general named Haras. "The Hierarchy can commit the 12th and 19th Regiments to the attack, but we will desire control of one of the secondary continents."

"Your offer of troops will be considered, General Haras, but for now we believe that the three Galaxies that the Burrocks and Coyotes have committed will be sufficient," answered Khan N'Buta. "Although if you wish to bid to join the attack, perhaps an arrangement can be made concerning the disputed enclaves on New Hebridia?"

"The Federated Commonwealth should also be consulted on that matter." This was from Morgan Hasek-Davion. "The 2nd Davion Guards played a role in the liberation as well, I remind you."

"Numerous states did, as I recall, General," Haras said. "But as New Hebridia is in the Hierarchy's Zone of Control, we reserve the right to approve final dispositions…"

Julia tuned out the finagling over occupation zones for the moment. Hearing them made her recall Robert's long time concerns about the Coalition and how the various belligerents might fight over the carcass of the Nazi Reich. Of far more importance to her, at the moment, was Lucy's plan. She spotted Lucy at her place, standing near the holotank. Meridina and Richmond were also at strategic points and Jarod was at the actual controls.

Is everything ready?

The thought led to a number of slight nods. Julia settled uneasily into her seat and waited to see how it would go.

"...dispositions can be decided later," Focht was saying. "As things stand, the attack on Goeringwelt will at least tie down enemy forces on that world and further stretch their military resources. The enemy maintains manufacturing capacity on that planet for their fleet that our invasion forces can interfere with, increasing the strain on their fleet and logistical network." He nodded to Jarod. "Commander, if you would please bring up the material on Rosenburg and the proposed attack by Marik and Liao forces…"

Jarod began doing so. The holotank shifted to show another world, a garden planet. "As you can see, the enemy is defending this world quite strongly," said Focht. "It is likely not simply from the agricultural output of its farming communities. I…"

Lucy's arm shifted. Her omnitool did not appear, but Julia knew that was a trick. She might not see it, but Lucy had it ready to act at a moment's touch.

She gave said touch.

There was only the faint trace of pale azure light over the room. It still got attention. What got more attention was the twitching, sparking form that suddenly appeared beside the Clan table, clutching the curved form of an M8 Avenger assault rifle. The figure was a woman, the same cyborg Lucy faced previously on the roof. Her face was a rictus of pain and surprise with sparks erupting from the red eye and the adjoining implant. When she collapsed, Julia wondered if she was alive or dead.

All eyes turned toward the twitching figure. Meridina and Jarod reacted quickly, rushing to the fallen body and securing it. "Definitely a cyborg," Jarod said. "Honestly more machine than organic, seeing these sensor returns. Most of the brain is electronic."

"Which is why we did not sense her," Meridina murmured. "There is no true Life here, nothing connected to the Flow of Life."

"I wonder who she is…"

Julia glanced toward the table opposite from where she and the other observer-delegates were sitting. There was a paleness in the expressions of both Anastasius Focht and Sharilar Mori. She frowned at that. She didn't need Meridina or Lucy to tell her that they knew something about this attacker.

Julia was so focused on the ComStar leaders that she didn't notice the change in Lucy's expression. Meridina looked toward Lucy and the tables with a sudden start.

Suddenly Lucy was more a blur than anything. She rushed across the meters separating the holotank from the various tables. Her lightsaber was in hand, but she didn't activate it.

There was no shot. There was simply a cry of pain as she moved in the space in front of Prince Victor, who was quite surprised when she fell back into his arms. Everyone began to stand. Jarod and Meridina rushed over toward her, as did Julia.

By the time they did, she was coughing up blood. A look of pain and sheer surprise was written over her face. Jarod's omnitool came to life and the scan was complete in seconds. "She's been shot," he said. "There's a bullet inside of her left lung." This, in clear defiance of the utter lack of damage to her Gersallian-made armor.

There was no need to call for medical help. The door swung open and Leo rushed in with Nasri and another nurse, a tan-skinned Human male. "We got the cyborg," Jarod muttered. "Where did…" His eyes widened in realization. After a second he hit his omnitool again. "This is Commander Jarod. I need the anti-beaming field intensified, now!" Even as he spoke he was operating another control on the omnitool.

Julia didn't have a chance to ask why. There was a small sparkle of light over Jarod and Lucy, after which a round hit the floor. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We're being sniped," Jarod said. "With a transporter."

The door that Leo had just entered flew open again. Julia looked up in time to catch sight of Meridina as the door closed behind her.

Meridina ran through the halls of the Kell Estate, weapon in hand. Her senses were on the alert for the trace feeling she sensed, a feeling of frustration and quiet worry out of place with the others. There was her target. The assassin who had wounded - perhaps fatally - Lucy.

To her surprise, that thought caused anger to well up inside of her. An instinctive fury that someone had dared to strike at Lucy, her student, her friend… Meridina forced her emotions to quiet at that feeling. She could not let them interfere with her at this point. She had to stop the shooter.

And she would not fail.

The mountains looming ahead of the Tri'kep lost their scenic allure at Tralmiltaram's prediction. Robert could easily imagine the wind-sailer plowing into the mountainside, killing the dozens - or was it hundreds? - of beings aboard her, Zack and Robert included. He couldn't let that happen.

"What if you cut all sails and just hovered with anti-gravs?" Even as he finished the proposal Robert felt a sense inside of himself that it was the wrong choice.

"The winds are too strong. We would be pushed into the mountains anyway," said Tralmiltaram. He noticed the look on Robert's face and shook his head. "And the anti-gravs don't have the power to turn us in time or raise our altitude. They're not powerful enough for that. There is a small hope of landing…"

Immediately Robert could sense that the hope would not work out. He concentrated on the problem, sensing the possible solutions… and realizing he had but one option.

His consideration was interrupted when he felt something tighten around his waist and chest. He looked down to see the Gy'toran captain tying lines around his torso. "Our harnesses will not fit you," he said. "But I cannot let you remain up here without a safety line."

"I understand." Robert drew in a breath. "Don't try to land. You'll never make it."

"We have no other choice. It is the only hope we have."

"I can save your ship. I can get you over the mountains."

The Gy'toran's dark eyes considered him. Tralmiltaram was both incredulous and yet curious. "How?"

"The same way I saved your people," he said. "It's our best chance. I'll need to concentrate though, and I have to start now."

Calculation showed on Tralmiltaram's face. Robert could only pray he would agree. It was their only chance to survive this.

"I entrust our lives to you," said Tralmiltaram, clearly uncertain.

Robert nodded and breathed in. I've never tried something like this, he admitted to himself. I know my power is stronger now… but can it manage this? The doubt gnawed at him for a moment. But only a moment. He couldn't let doubt hold him. Doubt was fatal to this power and would get them all killed.

He let out another breath and reached out his arms. The energy within him welled up, its golden warmth welcome to his soul, and slowly the ship began to lift higher in the air.

In a maintenance closet of the Kell Estate, John Goddard grunted with frustration as he finished dismantling his TR-116. He'd never suffered such a setback before, especially not when employing his skills with a sniper rifle. His target was unawares, security was distracted by that other assassin - a stroke of luck there! - and all he had to do was take the shot.

How did that damn woman know? How could she have known where to jump to intercept the transported bullet?

Maybe those rumors about people who could guess the future and fight guns with swords weren't as farfetched as Goddard thought. This was certainly more than just mind-reading, that was for damn sure.

The important thing now was escape. He could be searched upon leaving, so his TR would have to be abandoned. Breaking it down and hiding it would buy him time, at least, time to get to an egress point and slip away. He had a backup identity ready to flee the planet and, given his failure, his unhappy employer. Then… well, maybe it was time to check out another universe. His skillset would be valuable across the Multiverse, after all.

These considerations lasted only a few seconds. Goddard kept himself from continuing. He could do so later, when it was safe. For now he had to think about anything else, just in case.

Quietly, Goddard stepped out of the closet and went to resume his duties.

Meridina caught him a moment later.

The tilting of the Tri'kep woke Zack up. The alcohol was not yet cleared from his system, not entirely, but just enough had cleared that he soon realized something was wrong. He staggered along the uneven floor to the window. Outside it was dark. Rain slammed against the ports with a ferocity that made Zack remember childhood storms that could form the deadly tornadoes that once nearly destroyed the Carrey home. He shook his head once, as if it could further clear the remaining haze. Over the intercom a voice was speaking in various languages. Eventually it came back to English. "The ship is currently attempting a dangerous maneuver to reach safety. All passengers, please remain in your cabins and assume crash positions."

"Some vacation," Zack muttered darkly. A frustrated feeling came over him. Being in danger wasn't new to him of course. But he wasn't on the bridge of the Koenig facing Nazis or Batarians. He and Rob were just helpless passengers…

...which was when he noticed Robert wasn't in the cabin.

"Dammit Rob," he breathed, knowing for certain - for damn certain - just what his best friend was off doing.

On the deck of the Tri'kep, Robert was barely aware of his surroundings. The wind whipping at him, threatening to bowl him over, the rain soaking his clothes and hair, the screams and shouts of the frantic Gy'torans trying to save their ship. He was entirely focused on controlling the power surging within him, the same power now lifting the Tri'kep higher and higher into the atmosphere as the mountains ahead loomed ever so closer.

To say it was a strain would be an understatement. Every bit of control he had was being pushed to the limit. The danger was not only that he might fail to clear the mountain ahead, but that his power would lose control and that he might push the ship too far, causing it to fall apart or to capsize in mid-air or some other catastrophe. Robert grimaced at the exertion this brought, the tension between the raw power needed and his control of it. I can do this, he insisted. No doubts. Do not doubt. I can do this...

Ahead, the mountain loomed ever closer. Mere minutes, soon mere seconds, remained for him to succeed.

Meridina nearly missed the assassin, despite everything. She could barely sense the intent to escape or any other impulse but "get to work". The mind she was dealing with was disciplined in that respect, capable of accepting the most dull of drudgery as if it were nothing of consequence.

But there was the flicker. The flicker of uncertainty, of fear of discovery, of frustration at failure. She picked up on them. And she knew the man coming from the closet was the shooter.

"Please stop," she said to him. The man turned, a basket of cleaning supplies in his hand. He regarded her with the kind of annoyance a professional servant of his kind would. It was what one would expect to see and Meridina was surprised at how well the mask fit him. She could almost doubt her own recognition of him. If not for that merest flicker…

Meridina took no chances. She had her lightsaber ready to turn on at a moment's necessity. "You must come with me," she said. "I have reason to believe you are responsible for a shooting."

"Ma'am?" There was genuine confusion in the voice. "I'm not sure what you're talking about. What shooting?"

"You are quite a good actor," she said. "But I sense your deception regardless. Please surrender."

There were several moments when it looked like he might cooperate. The mask wasn't slipping any more than before, but she could sense the consideration of caution, of biding time. But then came the flood of worry, as he undoubtedly calculated his escape chances as being better before capture, and Meridina thus sensed the coming attack.

What she could not prepare herself for was the nature of it. The assassin flung at her a bottle from his basket. She sensed the danger and caught it with her swevyra.

The assassin brought his gun up and shot the bottle.

The explosion that resulted shook the hall. Meridina was thrown back into the wall behind her, slamming into it with enough force that she was dazed by the impact for a critical few seconds. The assassin was also thrown back by the blast, but as he had more space behind him he hit the floor instead of a wall. As he was ready for the impact he quickly recovered and ran away from her.

"Richmond to Meridina," a voice said over the comms. "We just registered an explosion."

"Yes. The assassin is here." Meridina got back to her feet. Her thumb shifted slightly and found the trigger for her blade, which flashed to life with the now-familiar snap-hiss combination. "I am pursuing."