The exhaustion was clear on Leo's face when he appeared on Kaveri's personal monitor in her ready office. She had the model turned so that Robert could see him as well.

"Almost all of the insurgents have whatever this is," he said. "The symptoms we know of start as a dry cough. Then auto-immune responses kick in, blood pressure goes up, the veins enlarge and stick through the skin, and the cardiovascular system starts throwing clots. I'm also monitoring a spike in body temperature and increasing decay in neuro-transmitter levels. Neurological symptoms will likely begin soon."

"Do you have any indication of what this sickness is?" Kaveri asked. "And how contagious it is?"

"Scans don't show any sign of an agent in the air, so it's nor airborne. Beyond that we don't know anything yet." Leo rubbed at his forehead. "We're relocating the sick to the St. Johns, under security watch, and I've sent samples to Dr. Ke'mani'pala and Dr. Diptheek. Between Lab 3 and the iso-lab in medbay, we should be able to identify what this thing is soon."

"Very well. And on the other matter, I am reassured to see you are fine given what happened."

"As fine as I can be."

"If you need more security, we could always send Talara or Gina," Robert offered.

Leo shook his head. "The telepaths have their own security here, and Richmond's teams helping out. That's all we need." He looked off-screen. "I need to go. I'm taking over rounds in the post-op tent for Dr. Hreept."

"Keep me informed, Doctor. Aurora out." Kaveri tapped at the control for the screen, ending the call. She turned to Robert. "You seem concerned."

"Well, he's my friend, for one." Robert sighed. "But the fact is, I feel something is going on here."

"The conditions down there are ripe for epidemics, unfortunately. I speak from experience." Kaveri rose.

"Even so, maybe you should take Gina with you, or maybe I could go. Just in case it's something more than Bei'tir can handle." Robert gave a nod of acknowledgement to the Dilgar telepath at her seat in the corner. "You could always play up my role in the Alliance being founded to justify being there. So it shows that we find their situation important."

"Somehow, I think they will be more swayed by your status as an operative of our government," Kaveri noted wryly. "Secretary Crawford asked to keep our presence down to myself, Group Captain Bei'tir, and Commander Meridina. I do not see him changing his mind at this point."

"Probably not," Robert agreed. "I wish I could give you, and him, more to go on than vague unease."

"When you can, let me know." She stood from her chair. "Until then, we must stick to our duties, and right now I am due to attend the new day's sessions in Brussels."

"And I'll go see if Tom and Jarod have found anything new or interesting this morning."

Given the other prisoners were now under both medical and security observation, the one remaining captive on the Brahmaputra was the telepath. Lawton was off resting so Richmond had the Psi Corps security telepath, Kusko Al, with her for the interview.

By now she figured Kusko wasn't the standard Corps telepath. The way she acted, the way walked around people, she carried herself differently. She'd also been amazingly prescient in intercepting the insurgents before they could make off with Doctor Gillam, a timing that Richmond couldn't accept as mere coincidence.

Their prisoner was young. Richmond suspected she was no older than sixteen, maybe as young as fourteen, although the sullen expression and dull stubborn anger in her eyes was definitely that of a teenager. "So, what was your name?" she asked. "Surely you can give us a name to call you?"

Nothing.

Richmond nodded to Kusko. I'm Kusko Al, a Newtype/telepath like you.

The girl's face lit up with fury. "I don't want anything to do with psifreaks! Get out of my head!"

It was clear Kusko hadn't expected such a virulent reaction. Richmond crossed her arms and spoke with a clear sardonic tone. "A strange opinion, young lady, since you're a telepath as well."

The emotional resonance the word gave the girl was obvious to RIchmond, but it was Kusko who felt the sheer self-loathing from her. This girl hated who she was. She hated herself and those like her, a hate reinforced by the people she'd associated with. The verbal and even physical abuse she'd endured briefly surfaced in her mind before she forced it away, softly singing a pop tune in her mind.

"Why did you try to kidnap Doctor Gillam?" Richmond asked. "Or was he a target of opportunity?"

The telepath crossed her arms and looked away. Given her situation it was striking that she still managed to pull off the "sullen teen" look so well.

"Young lady, your options are not very good at the moment," Richmond remarked. "Whatever your relations with the others, that's over with now. They'll be turned over to the United Earth authorities as soon as their medical condition is dealt with. Given the situation I imagine they'll be spending a very, very long time in a prison of some sort, and it will not be pleasant."

"Why are you working with the Unies?!" the girl demanded. "All we want is to be left alone! To live our own lives without having Unie psi-hunters going through our minds to punish us if we don't like the Union! That's the only reason they even allow psifreaks to live, they're just weapons to the Unies, weapons and spies!"

"From what the people in this camp have told me," Kusko replied, "the Dissies turn telepaths into suicide troops. You use the term 'our', as if they would have ever allow you to live a life. If you hate the Unies so much, why not join up with the Pac Fed forces? Why assist in your own destruction?"

The girl looked away. Richmond could see they wouldn't be getting any cooperation soon. "You're not going to accomplish anything, young lady, by refusing to cooperate. This doesn't impair us in the slightest. All it does is ensure you get into greater trouble."

Kusko decided on a strategy right then and there. "Don't patronize her. She knows full well what awaits her in a Unie prison, and there's very little chance they'll honor any deal a foreign government makes."

That strategy won't work with her, she's not a common criminal but a brainwashed terrorist. You have to deconstruct her belief system. Give me some time.

It made sense. Richmond had the feeling it was something Kusko had personal experience with, to some degree. You'll want to start fresh, then. She stood. "Take the prisoner back to her cell, I'm done with her for now." With that said she left the living area for the Brahmaputra cockpit area.

Leo was waiting for her, looking only a little more fresh than he had the prior evening. "Any sign of symptoms yet?" he asked.

"Nothing. The only symptom our young kidnapper shows is that of a sullen teenager that knows she's in deep trouble." Richmond's tone kept its sardonic edge. "It's not unlike stubborn, self-righteous doctors with savior complexes."

Leo chuckled softly. "I guess I earned that. I thought I was helping people."

"And that's what they were counting on. Honestly, I'm starting to suspect yesterday's attack was a cover for what happened last night."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "You think the bombing and invasion were to get those people in?"

"During the chaos, certainly, had we not been there to help they might have masqueraded as wounded inside the perimeter. Their telepath friend would've helped admirably in that respect." Richmond walked over and settled into one of the side chairs, prompting Leo to do the same. "Once the attack failed, they did what they could to generate the mob scene to try again. The local military forces contributed, certainly, and their response could have been easily guessed based on what I've heard."

"And they played me like a fiddle." Leo crossed his arms. "Want to know the funny thing?"

"There is little about this situation I could identify as 'funny', Doctor."

"i know. But it doesn't change the fact that they may have gotten what they wanted in the end. Medical treatment, I mean." Leo looked toward the back of the runabout. "That's why they wanted me. The girl controlling me made it clear I was 'needed'."

"Something tells me the local government will disabuse them of that sentiment in short order."

"Given how this sickness progresses? Maybe not." Leo stood. "Anyway, when you can get them, samples of the girl's blood and a tissue analysis will help us determine if she's infected. I'd do it myself…"

"...but I wouldn't let you," Richmond said for him. "Go back to your duties, Doctor, and I'll get you those samples."

After escorting the nameless young telepath back to her cell, Kusko was beat. Exhausted and at something of a loss. She knew what she needed to do, but didn't really know how precisely. She needed advice. Which was why she wandered into the tent Tom and Abigail Spencer were occupying. Both of them were still awake somehow and hastily putting their gloves back on when she walked in.

"Jesus, Kusko. It's a good thing we felt you coming or this could have gotten awkward…" Tom noted. He was doing his charting, while Abigail was reading something on a datapad. Both were easier with the gloves off given the touch screens.

"Sorry." She replied a bit sheepishly. She had her own set, but that particular cultural quirk — the intense sexualization of hands — was still strange for her, and she suspected it always would be. Or maybe not? Maybe someday she'd slip the gloves off and feel naked?

"It's alright. You're new, and I wasn't kidding about that mind-nudist thing, but we're not at a German beach or in some kind of bourgeois masquerade orgy so... Tired and rambling. Something is clearly on your mind."

"It's this… terrorist girl." Kusko sighed. "She's a telepath, and brainwashed so thoroughly she willingly fights for people who want to wipe telepaths out of existence. They abuse her, call her tube baby to her face, and she hates herself so much she just takes it and tries to kidnap doctors."

"Ah. That. Speaking of which, you did good. Leo is a good person, if a bit naive. I'd hate to see him in enemy hands. You want to try to turn her, don't you?"

"She has information we need, so yes. But also, what they did to her is just wrong. If there's one thing I've learned since joining the Corps it's that we aren't — and should never be — tools to be used."

"Then start with that." Tom answered, interjecting in place of his sister. "You have experiences that if you trust her with them, might give you an edge in turning her around."

It wasn't a bad idea, Kusko thought, and nodded. "We've both been experimented on, I'm certain of that, so it's an easy place to start, even if the Flanagan Institute was Zeon Pioneers Space Camp in comparison to what they did to her. Worst case, we end up having to break through her defenses. I know I can do that if I have to."

"Good." Abigail affirmed "Now come on, hit the sack, I get the feeling that tomorrow is going to be very long. We have the cot set up and everything." And it was, complete with a memory foam pad. "Hell, the tent is even impregnated with mosquito repellant."

"The Corps really is Mother and Father, they're eating me alive... That sounds like an excellent idea."

The full Executive Council of the Earth National Union - the United Earth's executive government cabinet - was in attendance for the days meetings, including Kanegawa and Marias. Kaveri, Bei'tir, and Meridina again joined Crawford's team and listened as he laid out an early recommendation.

"I know you folks are worried about terrorism, and we'll be glad to help stop it," he said. "Give you time to rebuild. My team and I looked over the reports and have a few recommendations to make, if you'll hear us."

Gupta looked carefully to President Lawrence, who nodded to her. This prompted Gupta to begin speaking. "We recognize that your Alliance's diversity of experiences may give you some ideas we haven't considered."

"Alright then. First off, you folks expressed concerns about some of your member governments making independent contact with us. That it'll undermine your authority. We recognize that and we'll be cautious about it. But you might want to consider inviting their counsel on these matters. Open some dialogue." Meridina felt Crawford was being perhaps a little too familiar, but she recognized that he was trying to be engaging to encourage their comfort. "If anything, it might help you with some of the folks in the former rebel countries. Folks who might settle down if they think you're going to help them out now that the war's over instead of treatin' them like they're still enemies. And then there's the matter of your telepath population—"

Meridina felt the surge of anger before the interruption began. Security Minister Marias slammed a hand on the table. "This is inexcusable!" he proclaimed. "We are the governing body of this planet, responsible for ten billion souls, and you're lecturing us!"

"Minister Marias…"

"Secretary Gupta, you are disgracing the Executive Council by going along with this… this farce," he declared. "These people claim to be here to help, but their actions speak to their true motives! Their support of Dissolutionists and the telepath underground proves their real motive is our destruction! They wish to conquer us peacefully, and they can only do that if our government is weakened by the Reformist agenda they're parroting to us!"

Marias glared at the entire Alliance delegation. "The lessons of the past century are clear to us. So long as Humanity is divided in leadership, we are doomed to war and suffering. The Union must gain control of the world to stop this. We must make our world a true nation, one people under one flag, to avoid the wars of our past.

"The Reformists are merely the subversive side of Dissolutionism and their way would cause more conflict, not less. And this talk about treating Dissolutionist insurgents as anything but the enemies they are is nothing but an attack on my office and agency! I will not sit here and suffer the efforts to ridicule my brave agents putting down threats to world peace!"

Without seeking permission, he turned from the table and stomped from the room.

"He is not grandstanding, is he?" Kaveri asked in a whisper.

"He is genuine," Meridina whispered back, after a moment to consult with Bei'tir on whom should answer. As she spoke the embarrassment and uncertainty of Marias' peers came to her senses. Kanegawa looked sheepishly at his notes, Fluck rolled his eyes, and Gupta seemed quite flustered. Their leaders were equally perturbed, although Meridina felt a certain sense of quiet understanding from Gorchkov and a few of the other cabinet members. Marias' passion unsettled them, but his arguments resonated with their fears and grief.

Gupta, mortified, was apologetic as she spoke to Crawford. "Please, give us the list of your proposals, and the Executive Council will discuss them," she said. "But understand some of those proposals may not be politically feasible at this time."

"Understood ma'am," Crawford answered politely. "We should probably move on to other business then. You wanted to see some of the treaties that govern interuniversal relations?"

"Yes, that would be useful."

Meridina knew what she really meant was that the change of subject was useful.

The day began with Lucy Lucero cursing yet again the concussion that had brought her a month of boring light duties, as well as curses for the bomb, the NEUROM operatives who set it up, and their mothers for bringing them into the world just to vex her personally.

After breakfast she visited the medbay to get her daily check-up out of the way. Over half of the medical personnel were down on the planet, but Dr. Allen-Epstein from the Koenig crew was on hand to go over the scan. "You have recovered well," he noted. "Neurological scans are all clear, and the injury has healed. Honestly you'll be back on duty in a day or two, I imagine."

"Hallelujah." Seeing the way he was grinning at her, she made a very fake wince. "I mean, oh no, I have to go back to work and probably get shot at, I should find a way to extend my medical leave."

"That sarcasm implies you like being shot at."

"Well, I suppose I'm one of the relatively few people in the Multiverse who can block people shooting at me and send the shots back, return to sender," Lucy conceded, now grinning sweetly. The grin faded after a few seconds. "How is everything holding up here? It looks like you're down to a quarter of your staff."

"Oh, it's… well, it's holding up, I suppose," he answered, his German accent not particularly thick. "And we're at half, actually, Doctor Gilliam's arranged for the rotation between normal duty up here and the aid work to keep half of the medical staff here on the ship, off and on duty."

"Doesn't look like it."

"Well, I had to send teams to the brig to get samples from the prisoners from yesterday, there may be an epidemic in the area. It's not surprising, that kind of thing happens in these situations."

"Did you go down there yet?" Lucy asked

He nodded. "I was at a displaced persons camp yesterday in Iran." He shook his head. "It's not the first such place I've seen. I worry that I'm too used to that level of suffering and deprivation."

"I know the feeling," Lucy said, slipping off the table. "I got a little used to it back in the Facility days. Sometimes it can make someone wonder about the world. Then I met Meridina and learned how to draw on a metaphysical power source that gets stronger by making people feel better, so I just roll with it now."

He grinned at that. "I would too. Have a good day."

With her checkup done, Lucy headed to Science Lab 2. Jarod and Tom were at work on the rifle provided by the planetary authorities claiming the Alliance was arming insurgents. She could see why given it was visibly a Darglan pulse rifle. "So, anything else?" she asked. "Robert let me know what's up."

"Nothing new," Jarod replied. "We know it's Darglan, but it's also a newer model than anything we've seen before. The refinements make it obvious this required a significant effort."

"It's definitely not rigged modifications," she agreed, looking at the scan results on the model. "So now the question is finding out where it came from."

"Cat's running a library search on the elements, but nothing is so unique as to stand out yet," Jarod answered. "But I've had a thought."

"Let me guess. The naqia?" Lucy smiled at him.

"You used your woo-woo powers to sense that, didn't you?" he asked.

"You picked that term up from Tom, and no, I didn't need them. It's something clever, so you thought of it already."

"I did." Jarod tapped the display. "The sensitivity of the sensors will have to be turned up, and some calibrations done to ensure we get accurate results. That's what we're working on now, in fact."

"I'll let Rob know. Need any help?"

"We've got it handled," Tom said. "And you've got that ancient code book to work on, right?"

Lucy's sigh was intentionally dramatic. "Gina says she finally got out of the gibberish zone, but I'm getting tired of it all the same. Do you know the pain of dealing with old High Gersallian syntax, cross-referencing it with other work to find errors, and figuring out the part of the error that makes the code? Is it the subject of a sentence because its out of place, or is it the participle? Is it really an error or am I confusing it with normal Gersallian?"

"I find it fun," Jarod said, grinning. "I like codes that make me think."

"After a while, it gets old," she replied. "Want to swap places?"

"I don't think Captain Kaveri will go for that," Tom said. "The bigwigs want this done."

Lucy sighed and crossed her arms. "Alright, I'll go get back to code work. Let me know if you need my help."

"We'll call, don't worry," Jarod answered.

With intentionally-exaggerated resignation, Lucy left the science lab. We'd better decode that book soon, she thought. I'm going to go stir crazy otherwise.

The lunch hour in New Liberty saw Miko and Julia enjoying the sights. It was, technically, a working lunch, as Julia was running scans to survey the reconstruction of the Market District.

This meant facing the remaining damage from the attack, of course, and she found it a mixed experience. She understood, and mourned, the fact that people died in those broken buildings, slain in an attack that nobody saw coming. To a degree it made her feel like a failure. She'd failed these people by not preventing the attack.

But she knew this was wrong. More than that, even with over five percent of the colony's population killed in the attack and many, many more wounded, the colonists were bouncing back. Like Gersal they were receiving aid from across the Multiverse, aid and volunteers, and they were rebuilding their homes with a spirit that Julia couldn't help but feel warmed by.

When she finished her last inspection she turned to speak to Miko, just to find she'd stepped away. Why she had was soon apparent. A band of musicians had taken up their usual position in the square, and the fusion of Makossa and what sounded like Korean music was attracting a crowd.

The music, and Miko.

The band played merrily despite the impromptu addition to their act, as Miko danced in the street nearby. It wasn't just any dance, but one Julia remembered seeing in the streets of the Fire Nation's royal capital and on the holovid programs she'd seen on their local networks. The traditional dance involved actual Firebending, long and short spurts of flame from Miko's hands and feet in line with her movements and the music. The assembled crowd were cheering the sight, enchanted by her ability and her skill.

Julia was looking into the crowd when she was surprised to see a familiar face approach her. "Liara? Doctor T'Soni?"

The Asari xenoarcheologist nodded at her. She smiled briefly before letting her expression turn to something neutral. "Captain. I'm delighted to see you're alright. I heard what happened and I was horrified to think you were lost."

"It was a close call," Julia answered. "And not easy. But I'm alive and I've even made a new friend." She smiled in Miko's direction as Miko completed a set of dance forms that culminated with her forming a dragon crest from flame.

The crowd cheered approval. She turned and bowed respectfully to the band while the call for an encore rose. Julia didn't hear the exchange Miko shared with the band leader, but it was clear the crowd request was considered acceptable by both. Miko went into a ready stance as the band started replaying the tune from before.

With Miko clearly occupied with another performance, Julia returned her attention to Liara. "Who is she?" Liara asked. "Does she have metaphysical gifts like Lieutenant Lucero and Captain Dale?"

"Something like that," Julia answered. "On her world, people can be born with metaphysical talents to manipulate basic elements. Normally just one, but she's a special case. We were both captives of the SS before the rescue."

"I see. Goddess, she looks very young. A Human maiden by comparison."

"That does sound about right." Julia smiled at Liara. "So, Doctor, what're you doing on New Liberty?"

"I'm waiting to get a response to my application to your Navy's science division," Liara answered. "I followed through on your friends' invitations to become a civilian specialist on one of your ships."

"Wonderful. Whichever ship you wind up on, I hope you do well."

"I admit, I would much prefer coming back to the Aurora. I'm familiar with your ship. And most of your crew are still the same, yes?"

"Mostly. Except for my place, right now." Julia wondered how Captain Varma was faring with the others. The communications she'd gotten had mostly been inquiries into her health and how she was doing with very little besides platitudes on their missions. They want to make sure I recover, I know, but I really wish I could be sure they were fine.

"You're worried about them?" Liara asked.

"Oh, always." Julia chuckled. 'Didn't they tell you, Doctor? I'm a mother hen."

That brought momentary confusion to Liara. "That's a fowl or an avian, I thought? One of the species your people use for food?"

"It's a metaphor, I'm sorry."

By now the music ended a second time, and Miko gave the last bit of her fire show an even greater flare to even greater applause. There were a few calls for another encore, but the band started putting their things away, the signal they were calling it a day. Miko approached, sweating but very enthusiastic. "That music, it's so different, but it sounded just right with the drums and the pipes. I couldn't help myself." She noticed Liara. "Oh! Hello. I'm sorry, I've never met your species before."

"I'm an Asari, from the M4P2 universe," Liara answered.

"The aliens who are all women?"

"That is a very… simplistic explanation, but yes, we're a monogendered species."

"Princess Miko, this is Doctor Liara T'Soni, a xenoarchaeologist my crew worked with in the past." Julia gestured between them. "Doctor T'Soni, Princess Miko of then Fire Nation, and her world's Avatar."

"Isn't that a Human word for someone's appearance in an extranet setting?" Liara asked.

"For us, but for their world, it has a different meaning."

"Of course. A pleasure to meet you, Princess." Liara bowed her head.

Miko returned the gesture. "Thank you, and I'm so glad to meet you, Doctor. There are so many species I've yet to meet in person, and I'm always happy to meet another of Sifu Julia's friends."

"Sifu?"

"It's a term for teacher," Julia explained. "I'm teaching her my martial arts. It's related to her duties." She checked her omnitool. "Speaking of duties, I have to finish this reconstruction inspection for the Colony Council. Mrs. Soloveitchik is expecting it before dinner."

"We're having dinner with Governor Rankin again tonight?" Miko asked.

"We are, and that's why we need to get finished." Julia nodded to Liara. "I'll see you around, Doctor."

"I hope so," Liara said. She turned away and started walking toward the north exit of the Market Square.

"Now that you've got your jitterbug sorted out, let's get back to work," Julia teased Miko.

"Jitterbug?"

She sighed. "Sorry, another of those cultural things to explain. You see, it means…"

As she walked away Liara kept a careful eye out around her. At least she's still safe, she thought. For now.

Once she was alone Liara checked her messages on her omnitool. A new one flashed to life, directly from Feron. His source on Ilum had come through.

The words were not what Liara wanted to hear.

Shadow Broker definitely targeting Captain Andreys. Has arranged clean travel IDs into Alliance. Can't confirm identities. Will find out what I can. - Feron

Liara frowned. I have to protect her, she thought. This is my fault, and I have to make it right.

After the lunchtime rounds Leo went out to the St. Johns to make use of its replicator instead of taking from the camp's own food supplies. It gave him the chance to look up the condition of the six insurgents who tried to kidnap him. The more he saw their symptoms, the more he was wondering just what he was dealing with, and the more impatient he was for Ke'mani'pala and Diptheek to get back to him.

He was partway through a steaming bowl of beef stew and a lunch salad, fresh from the ship's replicator, when one of the security officers stepped in. Rose was beside him. "She wanted to see you, Doctor," he said.

"Hey, Rose." Leo gestured to one of the chairs in the forward section. Go ahead and have a seat.

For her part Rose was looking around the forward cockpit section with widened eyes. "This is a spaceship?"

"A small one," he confirmed, grinning. "The St. Johns is a medical runabout. It carries a surgical theater and bed spaces in the rear modules at the cost of a smaller living space. She's meant to supplement field facilities when the ship's not available."

Rose slipped into a seat. She ran a finger across one of the controls. It blinked red in response, indicating it was locked down. "And you're on a bigger ship, right? I mean, you live on one?"

"I do." Leo took a bite. "Computer, activate main viewer, show a recorded image of the Aurora, front angle."

The holo-viewer built into the cockpit's front window activated, showing an image of the Aurora from the front. She was, as always, an impressive ship to look at, with her long tapered hull shape with gentle lines. The deflector dish was a round golden eye with blue lines running through it that was built into the forward decks of the drive hull. Though the image angle didn't show it, almost precisely above the deflector dish, on the top of the ship, was the Aurora's bridge module, although the Starfleet-style Captain's Yacht was built into the bottom of the primary hull, an addition made by the late Carlton Farmer during the Aurora's final construction.

"It's… huge," Rose said, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"A bit over a kilometer long, in fact," Leo said. "We have our own internal lift car system for moving across the ship."

"And it can fly to other planets?"

"With the warp drive we can go to other solar systems," he confirmed. "And the interuniversal jump drive lets us to go other universes."

"Including different versions of Earth." Rose's smile of wonder turned bitter. "Most better than this one, I'm sure."

"Oh, there are worse."

"Not many, I'm sure." She lowered her eyes.

"Well, not many recently had a terrible war, yeah. There's the Earth where Nazi Germany won the Second World War, too, although we recently beat them."

"And how many where the people murdered entire families because one of them was a telepath?"

"None I can honestly think of," Leo admitted. "Telepaths among Humans aren't common in the Multiverse. So far only six universes have seen Humans capable of it. Yours, the E5B1 universe that the Spencers came from, Ms. Al's home universe of M5G8, and the S0T5, S2C3, and A5R0 universes." He thought about the last three and what he knew of them and their histories involving persecution of telepaths, particularly the last one with its slavery-dominated empire controlled by the telepath-torturing sociopaths called Aristos, and let out a deep sigh. "I suppose each of those universe has had these things happen. Sheer hatred like I saw in that mob, and the insurgents, I have trouble grasping it. I've faced hate before, but never like that."

"A lot of people around here associate them with the United Earth Government, and they consider them to be evil oppressors."

"Why?"

Rose shrugged. "Pick a reason. Because the Unies want to break down national distinctions and make everyone part of one Earth nation. Because their bureaucrats kept trying to impose economic policies on everyone before the war. The Unies act like control freaks, so the Dissies started forming in a bunch of places. And since the Unies started passing laws to make telepaths part of their investigations and security, it made everyone's fear of telepaths worse."

"Even when they wanted nothing to do with the central government?"

"Well, it was an excuse for a lot of people, I think," Rose said. "My grandparents were young when telepaths first manifested, and there were a lot of killings back then too. Telepaths are scary bogeymen to a lot of people." She glanced his way. "You can guess why, given what that one telepath did to you last night."

Leo nodded quietly. It was something to have his own body stolen by another mind. It was terrifying and unreal to go through it. "It wasn't pleasant, but I'm not going to start thinking all telepaths are monsters because one kid did that to me."

Even as he spoke, he considered how others might put that. Some would be clever about it, he imagined. They wouldn't outright be anti-telepath, they'd just make soothing noises about "protecting against the bad ones". They'd sound reasonable to scared people.

"Growing up before and during the war, I never thought about it. All of the adults in my life said just about the same thing, that telepaths were dangerous and bad. That they liked to puppet other people for fun, that they spied on us. They were monsters, probably made in a lab by the Unies to control us. I never thought anything about it or that it was wrong. Not until Lily was suddenly sick and didn't want to be around people. Then I felt her voice in my mind and I knew why."

"They call it a mindburst in E5B1," Leo said gently. "Telepathic powers manifest and the telepath gets overwhelmed by the voices around them. They collapse, usually. Causes them to lose consciousness from the overload in sensory information."

"She said it came in her sleep. That she just heard the rest of us thinking. She was terrified about it." Rose sniffled as the old memories continued to come back. "She came to me because I was the only one she trusted. She begged me not to tell, and I promised not to. I didn't. I swear I didn't."

"But they got her anyway." Leo already imagined how it went. "The change in her behavior. Not wanting to go to school or socialize. Something tipped them off."

"They took my little sister, and I couldn't stop them." Rose shook her head while the tears flowed. "I couldn't do anything. They had guns, and they threatened us, and Mom and Dad let them go. They let them go with Lily, and we never saw her again, and they never talked about it."

There was fury in her words toward the end, mixed with grief and loss, which Leo knew was a wound he was powerless to heal. All he could do was take her hand and offer her the solace of that gesture.

In his office in the Berlaymont building Security Minister Marias waited patiently. His reports for the day were done and his orders were out.

The two figures that entered were other members of the Executive Council. Minister Tobias Winthrope was the Minister of Education and Minister Mohinder Tangri had the portfolio of Minister of Industry and Production. "Kanegawa didn't come?" Tangri asked, clearly unhappy with it.

"He's not in the right mindset," replied Marias. "With time, we'll win him over."

"We have no more time on this issue," insisted Winthrope. "The populace has to be rallied now, before the Alliance's technologies become widespread enough that they're susceptible to the influences from off-world. If we don't assume control of the Executive Council before an agreement is reached, nothing else will suffice."

"Lawrence and Gorchkov will not relent easily," Marias said. His voice was carefully low, not too stern and not too eager. "We may have to use violence."

"It's too late for that kind of thing," Tangri pleaded. "The Alliance is already here. Their technology is just as potent as the renegade ship that intervened against the Dissolutionists. If we act, they'll destroy us with ease. This purpose is hopeless."

Marias slammed a fist on the desk before him. "It is not hopeless, Minister Tangri, so long as we stand true to our beliefs! The Alliance is still a decentralized nation, with aliens that we can play against with careful diplomacy. If we make it clear that any interference will result in widespread military resistance, they will not try to stop us."

"You still believe you can control the Legislative Council?"

"I'm certain of it." He didn't speak aloud his thought that it was easy to control the politicians if you made it clear contrary votes would get them shot. I hope the Reformist scum do try and resist. I'll shoot every one of them.

"I still believe you underestimate the Alliance," Tangri said, shaking his head. "If they fight us, we lose."

"If they fight us, we'll turn this planet into a guerrilla nightmare on them," Marias growled. "It's not like they'll be getting Dissie help since they're obsessed with helping telepaths. And they've admitted to the existence of other governments not in their alliance, governments we might be able to turn to in order to resist them. Now, I just need you two to keep the Premier from signing anything away, give me 72 hours on that, and when I'm done, we'll have the government, and our Union will survive."

Winthrope nodded in agreement. Tangri's face betrayed he was not so supportive, but resignation showed as he finally nodded. "We leave the matter in your hands, Minister."

"We'll make this work, I promise."

Leo was in surgery with Dr. Opani this time. The patient was a woman, a camp resident who'd been a red tag case the prior day and needed several organs treated due to the scope of her internal injuries. This was her third surgery with Leo transplanting new kidneys due to the damage to the previous ones. Nasri was his attending nurse this time, helping with his tools and providing the sponge to wipe sweat from his forehead.

"Looks good," Opani said as he made the final connection for the renal vein. "I'm opening the shunt."

He waited for several patient seconds to see if functionality was coming back. A small smile came to his face as the display showed the kidney was working as intended. "We're set here," he said. "Mrs. Becky Rogers has new functioning kidneys. Let's get her back to post-op care."

"The file says she has a husband and children in the camp," Opani remarked. "They'll be thrilled that she'll make it."

"That they will."

The surgical transporter unit eliminated the need for closing their patient up. Once her vitals were confirmed Nasri sent her off while Opani and Leo prepared the machines for the next case.

When Nasri returned, she was frowning. "Doctor, Commander Richmond says you need to report to the lab immediately. Captain Kaveri and Captain Dale need to speak with you."

Leo didn't like the sound of that.. He glanced toward Opani and received a nod in reply. "We have Doctor Sesantasl on standby in the post-op tent, I'll take over and bring him in to assist."

"He's not yet operated on Humans," Leo remarked. "I'd prefer Walker or Hreept."

"Walker's on Aurora rotation today and Hreept's at the camp in Johannesburg," Opani noted. As if anticipating his next query, she added, "And Doctor Singh's at the Yogyakarta camp."

"I see. Alright, bring in Sesantasl, and I'll go see why I've been called away."

Another benefit to how they performed surgery was the elimination of having to regularly deal with blood and other bodily fluids and matter. Cleaning up usually amounted to changing out of the operation suits and showering off sweat, and given the urgency Leo figured he could get away with a fresh application of deodorant and using a towel. Afterward he donned his usual uniform and added his white lab coat before heading out.

The on-site lab was set up in one of the structures nearby, a partially-intact strip mall. The remaining sign for the space they used indicated it was once been a chain of pharmacies, making the lab location fitting. He walked in to find Richmond present with Doctor Spencer, Nysha Williams, and Walter Smith. He felt their appreciation for his continued efforts and relief that he was okay given the prior night's excitement, but their attention was on the holo-viewer set up.

The screen was set to Science Lab 3. Robert and Kaveri were present with the lab's head researcher. Dr. Ke'mani'pala was a Gl'mulli, an agendered gelatinous species that looked like living gumdrops that, depending on the surface, could either slide along or would walk on two stubby legs they formed from their bodies for that purpose. A device on the cyan surface of the alien scientist acted as both a voice vocoder, allowing her to communicate with other species, and sensors that translated audio-visual data into the electromagnetic spectrum the Gl'mulli used to sense their surroundings and communicate.

Beside Ke'mani'pala was the head of the Aurora's isolab, Dr. Yithiri Dipthreek, a male Alakin from the Shreesep continent of that world. His plumage consisted of blues and greens while his mottled skin was a strong gray tone. His beak had a tapered shape to it, common to Shreesep-descended Alakin.

"Captains, Doctors." Leo stepped up "You've found something about that illness?"

"We have, and the news is not good, Leonard," Ke'mani'pala said. "We are still running analysis on the effects of the virus, but we can confirm a few things about it."

"For one thing, it is not airborne," Diptheek said. Leo felt relief at that, relief shared by the rest of the room and utterly palpable from the telepaths present. "The protein coating breaks down in the gases of an atmosphere."

"Thank god," Nysha muttered. "The last thing we need is an epidemic here."

"Unfortunately, you may get one anyway. While the virus can't survive in atmosphere, it's incredibly virulent on whatever vectors it can survive in. We're still running tests on immune responses, but from what we can tell, the immune system of Human bodies are not equipped to counter this virus."

"Anything else we should know, Doctors?" Kaveri asked.

"There is one final piece of data, and it is the most troubling, Captain." Ke'mani'pala's vocoder made a low, slow trilling noise, one Leo knew wasn't a good sign. It was the equivalent of a sigh. "The biochemistry of this virus is very telling. It lacks the signs associated with the natural evolution of a virus species in nature. It is, in our opinion, a product of deliberate design."

"As in somebody made this?" Walter asked, horrified. Beside him Spencer paled at the realization, but Leo could practically see the metaphorical gears turning inside her head.

"Exactly, sir." Diptheek nodded. "This is a bioweapon, and someone has unleashed it upon your world."