Teaser

Personal Log of Julia Andreys, Captain. 28 October 2643 AST.

Leo's finally released me from the medbay, after four days of observation. I still have to check in with him daily but at least I'm able to live in my quarters again.

Well, quarters anyway. My quarters are no longer mine. I've been removed from command of the Aurora. Because of… what was done to me. Command is mandating two months of medical leave. And I can't return to duty until I've passed physical and psychiatric evaluations to the satisfaction of Defense Command.

I understand that it's something they have to do. They have to make sure I'm still capable of command after going through that. But I… I hate it anyway. I want my ship back. I want to get my life back to normal… well, as much as this life's been normal anyway. Instead I have to go through this… process, and getting treated like a piece of china that's going to break if you look at it the wrong way.

In a way, it's like Fassbinder is still torturing me. Still hurting me. Even though he's not. sigh Alright, I need to finish packing. No more of this for now.

Julia picked up the photograph of her with her parents - and Robert, his sister Susannah, and Angel and Cat Delgado - that was taken after her high school basketball team won the state championship in their division. Seeing her parents always provoked a distant, sharp pain in her heart. If she'd known at that time they only had four years of life left… well, she'd have made different decisions. Robert undoubtedly felt the same way about his parents and sister, taken before their time.

It also reminded her of that frantic night. The tight game, the tension in the air as it went down to the wire, the jubilation when Marcy Lewis hit that three pointer with a minute left and they took the lead for good, and the satisfying swishing of the free throws Julia sunk at the thirty second mark to put the game away. At the time it seemed to be her greatest accomplishment. The idea that she'd end up captaining a spaceship that could jump across universes… that was insanity to the 17 year old Julia in the picture.

She never expected she would get tortured by Nazis either, Julia mused as she set the picture in the bin. She affixed the lid to the plastic container.

"I know the sentiment," said a lilting voice. From the other side of the room, Meridina looked up from the container she was gently laying Julia's trophies in. Meridina was in uniform, as Julia was, and now shared Julia's number of rank strips as well. For the time being, the Gersallian woman - and even after four years Julia was still sometimes put off by the thought she was alien - was the serving Captain of Julia's ship. Since Julia picked her to be the First Officer, it lacked the sting that someone else holding the post might have had.

"Your life hasn't taken the direction you expected either," Julia said, acknowledging the point. "Without us, you'd still be in the Order of Swenya. A field swev… sweev…. Knight."

"Yes. I had no inclinations to this kind of life," Meridina said. "Only to uphold the Code of Swenya. But our destinies are intertwined, and so I am here, a swevyra'se no longer."

"Do you miss it?"

Julia's question prompted a thoughtful look from Meridina. "Sometimes," she confessed. "When I am compelled to deal with the minutiae of command."

Julia smiled at that. "You're telling me the Order doesn't have paperwork?"

"Not nearly the same." Meridina matched the smile. "And do you miss the simpler life you might have had? Playing these sports?"

The answer was immediate. "No. Not at all." Julia picked up another picture, this one from high school graduation. Angel was in it as well, as was freckle-faced, red-haired Marcy Lewis and dark-haired, blue-eyed Jessica Rockledge, another member of the team. She glanced it over for a moment before setting it in her duffel bag, the last available container for her things. "I mean, the games could be exciting. And I had a lot of responsibilities as captain of the team. But I wanted more. I had faith in my ability to be more. Being out here… it's more than I ever dreamed of, and I'd never give it up."

"That answer is true to who you are, yes," Meridina said. "I can sense that. Hopefully it will not be long…"

"I won't be back until the end of the year," Julia said. She gave her quarters, now empty of her personal items, a look before asking, "So, when are you moving in?"

"I am not going to yet," replied Meridina. "Until Command confirms whether or not I will be held on as Captain of the Aurora."

Julia nodded stiffly at that. The thought stung. Even freed from Fassbinder, he's still ruining my life.

There was a little concern in Meridina's voice when she asked, "I am going to Deck 6 to visit Robert on another matter. Would you like me to escort you to your new quarters?"

Julia's first impulse was to say no, but she reconsidered. There were a few boxes to carry, after all. "Lead the way, Meridina," Julia said.

After aiding Julia to her new quarters, Meridina moved on toward Robert's. She met Gina at the door carrying Mastrash Ledosh's protective case. Robert answered the door wearing civilian clothing: a blue T-shirt with the faded insignia of what Meridina knew to be his former "high school" along with a pair of loose blue trousers of Gersallian make. He welcomed them in and to the middle of his living area, where he took a seat while they took the couch. Gina laid the case on the table between them and removed the two books within.

"So this is what Ledosh was working on," Robert said, picking up the newer-looking of the two books. He opened it and read the neat printed High Gersallian text within. "This looks like a book on language analysis," he noted.

"Yes, by a scholar from several centuries ago, Gartanam," noted Meridina. "He studied the dialects of Swenya's time."

Robert checked the other book. It was considerably older and more worn, but the cover still bore fine calligraphy. He read the title. "'The Life of Reshan.'"

"The only existing copy," Gina added. "The volume dates back to Swenya's time as well. It was one of a few books to survive the burning of the Order Library during Kohbal's uprising. Some time afterward, the Order Council placed it on a limited access list. Only a Mastrash of the Council was permitted to even touch it."

"Well, that's not ominous," Robert mused openly. "So Gartanam's book helps you read this one?"

"More than that," said Meridina. "Mastrash Ledosh noticed, and we have confirmed, that there are inaccuracies in the text. Words or lettering that have no place in contemporary language of the time, according to Gartanam's research."

"It appears to be intentional." Gina reached into the case and brought out a pile of notes, all in Gersallian. "Mastrash Ledosh believed they were a code of sorts."

"As in, the out of place letters and whole words are actually hidden text?"

"Yes."

Robert found that interesting. He looked over the notes. He knew enough Gersallian to understand what was written. "'The Circle'," he read aloud, looking over one of the notes. "Didn't that sympathetic Cylon say something to you and Talara about that?"

"She did," Gina said. "We don't know what it means, though."

"There's more to decode, I'm guessing?"

"Yes." Gina nodded. "Mastrash Ledosh's notes are allowing me to reconstruct what he learned. I know it was a weight on his soul."

"I'll give what help I can. Now…"

There was a tone from Meridina's omnitool, and a holographic blue light appeared over the back of her left hand. She tapped at it. "Meridina here," she said.

"We're only ten minutes out from our destination," said Nick Locarno, currently minding the bridge.

"Thank you, Commander," Meridina answered. "I will be coming up shortly."

When Meridina arrived on the bridge with Robert beside her, now in his intelligence branch silver-trimmed uniform with the aiguillette that pretended he was a mere staff officer, she found the rest of the command crew were already assembled and at their posts. Even Scotty and Leo, who normally remained in Main Engineering and the medbay, were present. While Ensign Rawlins, a young African-American officer from New Orleans in Universe H1E1, manned the helm Nick Locarno was seated in the First Officer's seat to the right of the command chair, while Lieutenant Tra'dur of the Dilgar was minding her post of Operations, Jarod's usual place.

Scotty and Leo were not the only visitors to the bridge. The allies the Aurora crew made in the rescue of Julia were around as well. Princess Ursa of the Fire Nation was seated comfortably in an anti-grav chair provided by medbay. That she was fit enough to be present was a good indicator from her recovery from the critical wounds she'd suffered in the rescue. Ursa's daughter Miko, rescued along with Julia, was at the chair's handles. The young woman showed keen interest in the Aurora bridge and those upon it. Both she and her mother wore a matching set of something like Japanese kimonos, colored deep red with gold trim, with Ursa's hair held at top of her head by a metal band marked with a golden fire symbol. Beside them, Yeshe Beifong was standing wearing a set of yellow and orange robes that left her right arm bare, revealing thin, corded muscle on the limb.

The three looked like ordinary Human beings, or to Meridina's eyes, Gersallians. Only she and Robert felt the difference within them. The peculiar energy each enjoyed, particularly Miko, that made them and their people such a unique part of the Multiverse. While there were many in all universes who could feel their connection to the Flow of Life, and use that connection to achieve all manner of things, Miko, Ursa, and Yeshe had abilities that were not quite the same, but just as extraordinary. They were known to the people of their world as "Benders": Human beings with the ability to manipulate basic elements with their wills. Yeshe could manipulate air, Ursa could generate and manipulate fire, and Miko could do both, for she was the Avatar, a being born and reborn to each nation of her world and the ability to "bend" all four of the Elements.

Truly the Multiverse is a magnificent place, with many wonders to find, Meridina considered. She turned her attention to more immediate matters, however. "ETA, Mister Locarno?" she asked.

"We're dropping out of warp in thirty seconds," he replied cheerfully from his chair. "You made it right on time."

"I wonder what the others will think," thought Miko aloud. "About this ship, and your people. We never imagined we would find anything like your Alliance in the stars."

"I only wish we had met your Alliance before we met your enemies," Ursa added solemnly.

"As do we," Meridina replied.

Nothing more was said before Rawlins announced they were dropping out of warp. The warp engines of the Aurora gently quieted and the Aurora was reduced to sublight velocity. Ahead of them a small garden world hung in the void, a distant moon beyond it and a bright yellow star similar to Sol shining in the distance. A series of space stations hung in orbit, two over the poles and three closer to the equator. The amount of space traffic was not quite the level of the most advanced Earths or of major worlds of the Multiverse such as Thessia, Minbar, or Doreia, but every indication was that this was a civilization advanced enough that spaceflight was a part of everyday life.

Tears were shining in Miko's eyes at the sight. "Home," said the young Avatar. "We're finally home."

Undiscovered Frontier
"Finding Peace"

For a short time there was quiet on the Aurora bridge as they approached the homeworld of Miko and the others. Most of those present were simply taking in the lines of the massive continent on the screen.

The first sound was a restrained little squeal of excitement from the port side of the bridge. Everyone turned to see Cat busily examining her screens. "These scans are incredible!" she said. "The stability, the wavelengths in the Groenitz-Hallen bands… this is so incredible!"

"Commander?" Meridina asked, inquiring with her tone.

"I'm reading three distinct energy patterns on the planet," Cat said. "Consistent with rifts in the basic fabric of space-time. But they're all fully stable! I've never even heard of anything like this! It's… it's not even like the Bajoran Wormhole! It's entirely new!"

"You must be referring to the Spirit Portals," Miko said. "They provide our link to the Spirit World."

Meridina considered what Miko said while her own senses felt keenly the peculiar diversion in the Flow of Life. It was not such a complete diversion as to leave her incapable of using any of her talents, but it was more significant here than any other world she'd seen in universe N1C4.

These portals, they seem to have a link to the Flow of Life in some way. As do the powers of the people here. There is much we have to learn, things about the Flow of Life we may never have imagined.

"Captain." Tra'dur spoke English with the same accent her mother used, with tones that Meridina knew to be associated with the Indian subcontinent of the Human homeworld. "We are receiving a hail from the surface."

"Put them on," Meridina answered.

The holo-viewscreen flashed to show a round table. Over three of the chairs, a flatscreen display showed the features of assorted people. Given the appearances, one was clearly related to Ursa and Miko. Two more of the chairs were occupied, one by a woman in a flowing crimson dress and blue-toned business jacket, the other by a man in a brown jacket and beige dress shirt. His lapels had an insignia, a circle with a square cut out of the middle of it.

Meridina spoke first. "This is Captain Meridina, current commander of the Starship Aurora of the United Alliance of Systems."

The brown-jacketed man nodded. "I am Sun Lan, Premier of the Earth Union and current Chairman of the Five Nations' Council. The Council and I speak for the Compact and welcome you and your Alliance to our Homeworld."

"Thank you for the welcome, Chairman," Meridina replied.

"We, and the peoples of the Five Nations, thank your people for your critical role in rescuing the Avatar. We are prepared to open full diplomatic relations with the Alliance of Systems."

"And we have come with a diplomatic team to do the same," said Meridina. "We will beam down shortly to meet with you."

"'Beam down'... ah, your teleport technology. Yes. Please, we await you in Council Tower, and look forward to opening discussions."

"We will be down shortly," answered Meridina.

The Aurora transporters created a spectacle for the assembly waiting for Meridina and the others. She, Miko, and an Alliance diplomatic first contact team led by a blue-skinned, purple-spotted and -haired Dorei woman, Yuria Tashke, materialized in bursts of white light in the South Garden of the Council Tower. Sun Lan was waiting for them with the woman in the red dress and blue jacket. While Sun Lan looked East Asian, she had a darker skin tone and looked more like someone from the Indian subcontinent. Armored figures stood with both, half of them women with their faces painted white.

Also present were news crews, a mix of camera-bearers, reporters for televised news service, and journalists. Meridina noticed the surprise and shock rippling through them. While she looked Human, Secretary Tashke was visibly non-Human, as was her chief of staff, another Dorei of light teal skin and dark purple spotting. One of the cultural analysts was a blue-feathered, gray-skinned Alakin.

Sun Lan was presumably better prepared for meeting alien life. "Avatar Miko. Captain Meridina and honored guests. Welcome to Republic City."

"Thank you, Premier. This is my superior, Yuria Tashke, of the Dorei species. She is one of our diplomats, a specialist in the field of first contact with new civilizations."

"Premier, a pleasure," Yuria said. "I come representing the peoples and species of the United Alliance of Systems, and our President, Henry Morgan."

A Human woman of East Asian background stepped up beside her, looking rather more normal for their hosts. "I am Council Representative Seong Yeo-reum, of the Council Committee on Foreign Relations. I also thank you for the welcome."

Sun Lan nodded again before indicating the woman beside him. "This is Priyanka Dravad, President of the United Republic and Vice Chairwoman of the Council."

"Welcome to Republic City," the woman said, nodding in turn.

As it turned out, the handshake was part of the culture here as well, and so all shook hands, the Dorei keeping their gloves on for the ritual due to their natural touch-based empathic abilities. All the while the cameras kept recording. Meridina sensed the anxiety and disbelief in the assembled, with an undercurrent of excitement that in some cases turned to a sort of giddiness. This was history in the making, something that was to forever transform this world and those who lived upon it.

After everything was complete they entered the Tower. A pair of lifts were waiting to take them up. Meridina ended up in a lift with President Dravad, Miko, and Under-Secretary Tashke. The lifts were windowed and, as they lifted above the structure of the bottom two floors, proved to be on the exterior of the Tower itself, giving an unrivaled view of the city.

"Yue Bay is beautiful," said Miko.

Meridina could not disagree. The waters bordering the city were pristine, a rich crystal blue. In the middle of the bay were two islands. One held the statue of a young man, little more than a boy, in robes similar to Yeshe Beifong's clothing. The other was a series of buildings, all of them being round in structure. Meridina's heart ached at how the architecture reminded her of the Great Temple of the Order of Swenya, now nothing but a memory due to the Cylons.

The bay was ringed by the skyline of a great metropolis. Great and tall buildings soared into the sky, some reaching the heights of the best in Gersal's capital Jantarihal, her hometown. Landward they were framed by the mountains in the distance, snowcapped and beautiful. Yue Bay aside, the city reminded her of Jantarihal.

Yue Bay… and one other thing. While the Bay was ringed by the metropolis, the great towering buildings were missing from the landmass between them. Flanked by two rivers, a peninsula jutted out from the areas to the east of the city center. Only shorter buildings were visible here in similar style to those of the island in the bay. The light of the day did little to obscure the pillar of golden light rising from the peninsula. Even here Meridina could feel a pull through the Flow of Life. Its energies were tied into the pillar at its base. "That is…"

"...the Spirit Portal, yes," said Premier Sun Lan.

"We detected it from orbit, but I was unaware it would look so… beautiful."

"It is the unique one. The portals at the poles are blue in color."

"How were such things made?" asked Under-Secretary Tashke.

"The making of the polar portals is lost to our histories," replied President Draved. "Supposedly the Chaos Spirit, Vaatu, made them long ago, before being defeated by Raava. This portal is far newer. It was created two centuries ago by Avatar Korra to save the city from the tyrant Kuvira's energy cannon."

"The weapon was overloading," Miko said. "Korra re-directed its energies, channeling them into forming the portal."

"I can sense it, even here," said Meridina. "The Flow of Life pools around it. Almost as if it is sustained by the energies of the Flow."

"What is this 'Flow of Life' you're talking about?" asked Sun Lan.

"It is an energy field formed by the life energies of all living things, through what my people call swevyra," Meridina explained. "Some beings, such as myself, have swevyra that is active, and can connect to the universe and the Flow of Life. It grants us abilities beyond the physical."

"It sounds like you are describing chi," said Dravad.

"Chi… I believe I have heard this word before. I may need to investigate further…"

The lift came to a stop, and with it the conversation. The groups filed out of the lifts and through the hall beyond into a chamber. The walls were polished beige and gold, and the floor a fine marble tile marked with the repeated motif of five symbols in an arrangement that brought to mind the pedals of a flower. Meridina recognized the five from the materials on this world already provided: the flame crest of the Fire Nation in black, the three spirals of the Air Nation, the blue cresting waves of the Water Tribes, the circle with an open square in the middle of the Earth Union, and the crest of the United Republic.

The same symbol was on top of a circular table with five seats. Attendants brought up many more for the Alliance contingent, albeit smaller ones.

Sun Lan sat in one of the seats and tapped a button. The screens came active, showing three more beings. One, a wizened old woman with many years showing in the wrinkles on her face, wore an elaborate series of red and yellow robes. A blue arrow tattoo covered her forehead, the blue line going up to the top of her head and the hairline of wispy white strands there. The second viewer was of a dark-tanned man with a bearded face, wearing an elaborate garb of blue and white. The third was another man, with a pointed beard and full mustache of gray hair. His clothing matched Miko's in appearance and coloration, and Meridina could see the family resemblance.

"My colleagues," said Sun Lan. "Master Gewa of the Air Nation, High Chief Iqnarak of the Confederated Water Tribes, and Fire Lord Daizon of the Fire Nation."

Tashke and Seong bowed in respect, as did Meridina and the others. Miko did as well, smiling softly at her grand-uncle's image. Meridina thought she saw his expression shift ever so slightly to relief, but whether she did or not, he remained focused on business.

One thing she did sense was an undercurrent of anxiety. Uncertainty. These people were still wondering what they were dealing with, it seemed, and diplomacy would thus be all the more critical.

Again thanks were given for their role in Miko's rescue. Tashke responded with, "We thank the Five Nations' Compact for their aid in the battle with the SS Exiles. It was the heroism of General Hanraq's fleet that saved the Starship Aurora, and granted the time for the enemy's jamming field to be lowered and our fleet to arrive." The Dorei woman nodded her head. "While our first contact was not made under the easiest circumstances, it is clear that our peoples share many values, and we wish to build upon that."

"Of course. And it would appear we have become part of a much larger community of nations," stated Iqnarak. "I hope you will understand some nervousness we may have at the prospect. Before our encounter, we had no idea that other Human life forms existed, much less species such as your own, Under-Secretary Tashke. The Multiverse is… a lot for our people to take in."

"We have seen such before," said Seong. "And we understand the importance of giving your people time to adjust. If it is your wish that we limit contact for a time, we will do so."

"That will not be necessary, I think," said Daizon. "Care will have to be taken, but your people fought and died alongside ours. We are bound by their sacrifices."

Meridina opted to bring up a question. "Then would your Council oppose my crew being granted leave rights, to visit your world?"

"They are welcome," Dravad said. "The matter that most concerns me is this 'city base' that the invaders were using. I am told that it is a technological marvel thousands of years old, with technology beyond even your own."

Meridina noticed the tension in the room spiking slightly. "That is what it appears to be," she confirmed at Tashke's nod.

"Then control of this city must be determined, and our rights to it guaranteed," said Sun Lan. "It is, after all, in our home universe, at the frontier of our space."

"It is," Tashke agreed.

Whatever Tashke was going to say next didn't get a chance to be said. Miko spoke up. "There are so many important things we have to discuss. The city can wait. We already share it, don't we? There are Compact and Alliance personnel living there and examining the place. Why fight over it?"

Eyes turned to face her. Some were understanding. Many were not. Meridina felt the young Avatar's notice that her remarks were not welcomed, but nevertheless Miko didn't flinch from the negative attention. She felt her point was valid, and wanted it recognized.

Sun Lan did so with a nod. "The Avatar is correct. As things stand, both sides are holding the city. A final disposition can be settled once we have determined the nature of the relationship to come between the Alliance and the Compact."

"We are ready to discuss these matters at your convenience, Excellency," Tashke said in a quiet diplomatic tone.

That discussion picked up. As it did, Meridina pondered what else that the team at the old city had discovered in the time since the Aurora left them for the Compact's Homeworld.

Many light years away, the ancient city in question was in its twilight hours. With night approaching lights were becoming active at all corners of the structure and its five adjoining platforms.

The central structure was the tallest, and it was at the top floor of this tower that Jarod, Tom Barnes, and Lucy Lucero were gathered in a command room, looking over inactive displays.

Nearby, Komin Beifong, cousin of Yeshe, looked over a display of what seemed to be the city. The display, however, showed not five but six of the structures arrayed around it.

They were not alone. A number of personnel, some in Alliance uniform and some wearing the various uniforms of the Five Nations Compact, milled about checking and scanning things. Some of the officers came from the Aurora and others from one of the Alliance ships still present in the system.

Standing with them were personnel from the Maimonides. Commander Philippe Duwala, the First Officer and former Science Officer of the Challenger, was a familiar face, being one of the Facility's rescuees-turned-recruits in the pre-Alliance days. Beside him was Lieutenant Commander Treepk, an Alakin female and the Science Officer of his ship, and Lieutenant Tasina T'Seris, an Asari maiden and the Assistant Chief Engineer of said ship. Doctors Charles Talbot and Indira Vajpayee from the Maimonides science labs rounded out their contribution.

Jarod gestured to the data he'd compiled and asked them, "So, this is what we can estimate for how long this has been here."

"Twenty thousand years," Doctor Vajpayee remarked, astonished. "Incredible."

"So this was around long before the Darglan had their day," said Lucy. She glanced to Komin. "Your people, how far back does their history go?"

"The earliest records date to only ten thousand years ago, and beyond records concerning the Avatar, they're very rare," Komin replied. "We have little idea of what things were like before then. A couple of things. Avatar Korra's memoirs, for instance, describe a world overrun by spirits when Wan became the first Avatar, but the physical evidence just doesn't exist." He glanced back to the display. "You're thinking this city has something to do with our ancient past, right?"

"It's a strong possibility," Jarod confirmed. "There's no proof yet, but given your world's solar system and the dimensional phenomena of your world, it seems the most likely reason. It's why we need access to the computer cores so we can confirm it."

"Hard data is what we're here for," Talbot agreed. He and Lucy remained hunched over a console. "But accessing the data cores is difficult. The SS computer engineers were nitwits, one and all. They brute-forced everything, and there's no telling how much data they corrupted…"

"Nazis suck, but that's like saying the sky is blue," Tom groused. "Me, I want more info on those crystals from that power chamber. The power readouts on those things are insane. They're the best power source I've ever seen."

"The jammer is what is most important, right now," Jarod noted. "If we can figure out how it decreases the permeability of the interuniversal barrier in an area, it won't just keep people from jumping out, it can keep them from jumping in."

"And we would have a defense against further surprise attacks," Philippe said. "Have you isolated it?"

"We're still examining all of the city's machinery," Lucy said. "But we're pretty sure we found the emitters. There are teams checking the attached equipment to give us an idea on where the central core for the system is located."

"All of this technology." Komin turned away and looked into the empty central chamber again. "It's so much. Especially if this is tied to our past."

The others recognized the sound in his voice and knew the city was only part of it. With the fighting done and the danger out of the way, Komin was facing the new truths of his world. The existence of other universes, of other branches of Humanity and other sapient species, and technologies his people hadn't yet discovered… at some point the sheer weight of it would hit the thoughtful. And then it was all they could think about.

Lucy sensed the slight shift in Komin's thoughts. "What do you think those are for?"

She, Tom, and Philippe all noticed what he was looking at. In the middle of the central chamber, the floor was marked by a series of wide, short steps that abruptly stopped. A groove was visible in the floor there, as if something was meant to fit..

"Maybe it was a transporter pad of some kind?" Tom speculated loudly.

"Another mystery to explore," said Treepk. "Oh so many…"

"We'd better get back to work on the computers then," Jarod remarked. "Our answers could be in there."

A gentle smell from incense filled the office of Dr. Tusana, the Aurora's civilian psychiatrist and counselor. Her tanned complexion matched the color of the wood slowly burning in a bowl on the table nearby, the source of the scent. Julia found it relaxing, which she supposed was the point.

While she was officially on medical leave and forbidden from duty, Julia still appeared wearing her uniform. It was, for her, a habit on her ship she wasn't about to give up. Whatever Command said, she considered the Aurora her ship, and she would dress appropriately as the ship's captain.

Tusana noted that sentiment. Her telepathic talents let her sense everything on Julia's thoughts. Julia's frustration, her determination to return to duty, and the shadow of intense pain that still marked her psyche. She was not the first torture victim Tusana considered a patient, so it was a familiar mental wound to the Gersallian woman.

"You resent being here," Tusana observed.

"No," Julia insisted, and she meant it, whatever thoughts might go through her head. "I mean, I feel… I feel some, but that's just feeling. I know that it has to be this way."

"Does it?"

"Yes," Julia said. She sighed. "I was taken for a week. I was tortured, denied regular sleep, mentally violated by a machine, and nearly killed a couple of times. I can't just go back to my command without reassurances that I'm fit for duty despite all of that."

Tusana nodded. "It is good that you acknowledge the necessity for this, Julia. And just as good that you understand your own frustration."

Julia clenched a fist. "I… I want to be back in my command more than anything. I know I can still do this job."

Tusana considered that remark. She did find it convincing. Julia knew others would too. But Command couldn't return her to her ship based solely on her conviction. Julia had to be ready, physically and mentally, for the challenges of command.

Fine, she thought. I proved myself once, I'll do it again.

"You have survived much," said Tusana. "And I understand your feelings. I hope to work together with you on your recovery. Your admission is a vital first step."

"But not the only one."

"No. It is one thing to admit your feelings, another to live with them. What was done to you, it can bring fresh feeling of resentment, if you are not careful."

"What I need is something to do," Julia insisted. "I can't just sit around all day and stew about it."

"Agreed," said Tusana. "Please, tell me about your other activities…"

Julia explained her sports playing, and her martial arts training, and the occasional movie with friends. Robert was already inviting her to join him for a movie night, to rewatch things they saw as children.

Just as Tusana began to comment on this, a blue light appeared over the back of Julia's left hand. She tapped at it and her new omnitool flashed into existence. "Captain Andreys," said the person on the other end. The Turkish accent of Lieutenant Sabiha Neyzi was one Julia hadn't heard in a while. Ever since Tra'dur came aboard and Lucy Lucero went off to other duties, Sabiha's work was mostly off the bridge, minding the backup bridge or overseeing the rest of the operations department. Jarod being back at the ancient city-base Julia was freed from was the obvious explanation for Sabiha again being on the bridge, likely for Tra'dur's off-watch period in the shift. Once Julia gave her a note of acknowledgement, Sabiha continued. "I have Admiral Maran for you."

"Put him on," said Julia. The screen of the omnitool shifted to show Maran in his office at Defense Command, across the Columbia river from Portland. "Admiral, sir?"

"I won't keep you for long," replied the leader of the Alliance military. "But I felt you deserved the notice from me in person, not a recording or a note."

"Oh?"

Tusana heard what Maran said to Julia, and breathed a small sigh at feeling Julia's heightened frustration.

With the others doing their own work, Jarod and Lucy found themselves the only ones still trying to get through the SS-installed operating software imposed on the city's computer core. For this work they were in the heart of the city's central tower, down toward the bottom where a large chamber held multiple columns that represented the physical cores of the computers. Each was at a screen examining the ongoing flow of steadily-decrypting data. Lucy was wearing an ops-branch uniform for the job, regardless of her new status on Robert's team.

"So, what do you think?" Lucy asked aloud.

"Hrm?" Jarod looked up from the console. "Think about what?"

"How Philippe's doing? And Nasira and Rodrigo too, really."

"Oh." Jarod tapped at a key, sending a new command into the system. "They're doing well, I suppose. Captain, First Officer, and Tactical Officer on a cruiser-sized ship."

"A science cruiser, but yeah, I had the same thought," Lucy admitted. "It's good to see our people moving up in ranks, y'know?"

"Agreed." Jarod thought back to some of the others they'd known in the pre-Alliance days. He'd joined just as the Facility crew started expanding from their own world to other worlds, such as the 1850s Earth of C1P2. In that time they'd saved thousands, and some of those in turn joined them. "We're not even a drop in the ocean in the Alliance forces these days," he noted aloud.

"We've still got a few. Li's still on the Shenzhou, Madeleine on the Challenger. Ibraham will have to be pried off of the Park's bridge, I think. Now Nasira has the Maimonides." Lucy thought back to some of the others. "What about Hava?"

"Hava Ostrovsky? Science Officer on the Atlantis now. Probably one of the oldest fleet science officers active."

"Peter?"

"Peter Kpomassie, from Togo?" Jarod thought for a moment. "The last I heard, he was still in command track and is the Astrogation Officer on the Ambedkar."

Lucy was letting more names come to mind of those old comrades, but she stopped when her screen changed. "Jarod, it looks like we've got it."

Jarod came over and looked at what Lucy was seeing: the blocky German text was being replaced by alien text of some sort, completely unfamiliar to him. "I've never seen this kind of text."

"Neither have I."

Jarod used his omnitool to capture the text on the screen. "I'm linking to the Maimonides now, we'll run a search through the database. It should only take a few minutes at most, this language looks pretty unique…"

Twenty seconds later his omnitool flashed a result. Lucy looked to it with him and then exchanged a surprised expression. "That's… wow, that… I never expected that," Jarod admitted.

The screen displayed the result of the search.

Sample Match: Language matches samples of language of "Ancients" species, Universe R4A1. Initial samples provided through treaty-compliant research agreement with Stargate Command, R4A1 Earth.

Upon return from the diplomatic meeting Meridina went to the bridge. A quiet watch period would be just the thing to ease her mind from the quiet anxiety and tension she'd felt among the Five Nations Compact's leadership. It was never easy for non-farisa to understand the strain mindwalkers could be under even with relatively passive emotions, especially of that intensity.

Many of the Command staff were present. Tra'dur was back at Ops while Locarno was in the command chair. Ensign Rawlins was at the helm. Caterina and Angel were manning their appropriate stations. The moment she came through the lift door she felt Caterina's forming question. Just before Cat could speak it, Meridina nodded and said, "They have approved leave. We will be provided relevant packets to provide to those exercising leave so they know how to conduct themselves. A currency exchange has been established as well." She looked to Locarno directly. "With Jarod back at the city-structure, I will rely upon you and Master Chief Rohm to arrange leaves with each department."

"Understood," said Locarno.

"I can't wait!" Cat exclaimed. "I want to examine those rifts so much."

"As do I," Tra'dur added. "It is fascinating to know such stable rifts exist on a habitable world."

"This has the potential to change…"

Before Cat could finish, Tra'dur's station gave off a tone. "Captain, we have a ship anchoring to our jump drive."

Moments later Cat added, "Interuniversal jump point forming."

The point formed far from the orbiting stations and ships above the Earth-like planet below. The emerald vortex expanded from a point of light. From it emerged a large warship, larger than even the Aurora, painted in the earthy colors of the Dilgar.

Tra'dur was the most pleased. "It is the Wrath," she said. "Mother-Ka's ship." A light appeared on her station. "We are receiving a hail."

"On screen."

The Aurora bridge's main holo-viewer blipped into existence along the front wall of the bridge module. On the screen was a Human woman in the impressive uniform jacket of a Dilgar Battlemaster, black and bluish-gray with shoulders fringed with golden material. Golden buttons went down the middle in two lines toward the edges of the gray material. Kaveri Varma's gray hair belied her age, but her skin looked young, from all her many years spent in spaceships. A lifetime aboard ships with little or no gravity also played a role in her frail physique, whatever her recent experience with ships employing artificial gravity.

But there was nothing frail about what was within her light brown eyes. Meridina once touched the mind hidden behind them, and knew the strength and belief in the core of the elder Indian woman as a being. One such sign of that belief was the red bindi prominent on her forehead, a mark of a practicing Hindu.

"Captain Varma," said Meridina. "Welcome."

"Captain Meridina." Kaveri was using the courtesy of Meridina's acting rank. "Namaste. It is good to see you and your people together after these past trials. Is everything prepared?"

"We are ready to beam you aboard, Captain, at your signal."

"That is good," said Kaveri. "Even with everything that has happened, we have much work still to do."

"I will have a report on the progress of the talks completed before the evening is out," Meridina assured her. "We will see you shortly."

"We will." The Indian woman nodded. Her image disappeared.

"Ka'var is coming aboard?" Tra'dur's voice betrayed her surprise.

"She's joining the opening contact talks?" Cat asked. "Or, what, representing Shai'jhur to the Five Nations?"

"No, she is not," said Meridina. She stepped up between Rawlins and Tra'dur and looked over the others. "Kaveri Varma is here to assume command. She is to be our new Captain."