Despite her current state of anger with Tessen Korr, Jaleecee found that she was enjoying her first private walk with the handsome young Corporal. He was very polite and respectful, and once he relaxed a little in her company, she found his easy smile very appealing. It was even hard for her to think of this boy as a soldier after only a few microns of easy conversation.

She was glad that he didn't seem to take offense when she finally withdrew her arm from his.

It had been a spur of the moment action, driven by an unflattering whim of spite when she turned and saw Korr looking at them from the front of the mess tent.

She had barely known the soldier, and it was much too soon for even that slight intimate contact between them.

Haze didn't seem to notice her withdrawal into proper decorum; he was much too involved in their conversation… or perhaps just too well mannered to mention it.

He seemed surprised to learn that she also grew up on a farm, though her father's estate was much larger than the one he had describe growing up on. Still, they had much in common to talk about on that account.

She asked if he was going to be a soldier forever. And he told her of his plans and desires. At first he had wanted more than anything to get away from life on a small farm, that he at first only saw becoming a soldier as just a stepping stone to do more with his life.

Now that he had seen so much of the darker side of war, he was thinking that life as a simple farmer might not be so bad after all. But first before settling down, he wanted to travel a little and see other worlds and met other people… without a rifle in his hands.

He was surprised to find himself admitting to her, that he was hoping to find a woman who wanted the same thing.

Jaleecee surprised him by saying that it sounded to her like he had planned a good life for himself and some lucky woman. Then she smiled, and added jokingly except for the going to war part.

Haze was taken off guard, and laughed at her comment.

Jaleecee found that she like his laugh as well; it was strong and warm at the same time. Whenever Korr laughed, it was cold and devoid of true humor, and usually in contempt of something. Never once had she heard a hint of joy in the scout's laughter.

They strolled to the end of the camp, furthest from the direction of the enemy of course, coming to a field with yellow and red flowers blooming there. Fortunately, the terrain was in an awkward enough place that it hadn't been torn up by ground vehicles or landing transports.

"This is my favorite place to come and think," Jaleecee told him absently. "Its such a nice place… untouched by this ugly war."

Haze glanced at her with a bit of surprise, and the nodded in agreement. "It's mine too. When I need a place to think," he said. "Just over a hundred metra from here, its all rotting jungle. You take a jump ship in and a jump ship out. This place though, it reminds me of home."

"The way you describe it, your home must be a beautiful place," said the girl. "It must be… peaceful."

"Yes… sometimes I use to think too peaceful. Now look where I am."

He grinned at her, and she grinned back in a shy manner.

"Maybe some day I could see your home. There are a lot of times I wish to be anywhere but here."

"Maybe one day you will," he replied, trying to keep any excitement or hope from his tone. It would not do to seem too pushy on their first walk. "Why do you stay here then," he asked instead.

"This is as far as the credits Kenrikk and I managed to gather could take us that had any work we could do available to us," Jaleecee explained. "We've been saving to get enough for passage aboard another ship out of system. As soon as we learn of some place better where we can get more work to support ourselves… and start our lives over. I think I might like another farm again," she added wishfully.

Haze considered her story seriously, trying not to be to over thrilled about her idle confession… and not trying to read too much of anything into it.

"Sounds scary… and exciting at the same time," he finally said. "Maybe I'll resign my commission, muster my pay, and go with you…ah, both of you I mean. I'd throw in with the both of you."

He lightly blushed as he corrected himself.

Jaleecee found it charming, and it warmed her to the young man.

"Perhaps you will, Corporal Haze," she said with just enough formality not to be giving him any promises, false or otherwise… just yet.

She graced him with another smile though, so he'd know that she hadn't meant the comment in a harsh way… just a proper ladylike one.

"I do want to see something of the Territories," he added, possibly more for himself than for her. "I'll probably sit here making up excuses till I die of old age if I don't take the first opportunity I get."

"That would be unfortunate," she countered; she slid her hands behind her back and openly regarded him in a daring way. Being ladylike was one thing, but you had to balance it with a little fun when you were in private, especially in the company of a handsome young soldier. "So, what would you do with yourself if you left here, Mr. Haze?" she asked. "How would you support your adventures?"

Haze thought a minute, and then answered with a straight face.

"Mercenary?"

As soon as he said the word, he regretted it. She had seemed reluctant and irritated when he had brought up Korr earlier in their discussion. He hadn't wanted to ruin his chance with the pretty girl now by saying something stupid.

What was it that AcRooks had said about putting his combat boot in his mouth?

Jaleecee frowned deeply, and his stomach dropped out from under him. She twisted her full black satiny lips for a moment and then said, "No. I can believe you as a soldier, obviously… but not as a mercenary. Fighting for the sake of fighting or for credits, I don't believe is your style."

"Then what then?" he asked, very relieved that the girl hadn't berated him for his slip up and was still willing to go on with their diversion.

"Pirate," the girl replied right away, also with a straight face.

"Pirate?"

"Yes, Pirate."

"Why a Pirate?" he asked in bewilderment. He was confused, but he was also enjoying the odd game with her.

"You seem more the swashing buckling type of man to me," she told him.

"Really?"

"Really."

Haze paused a second to think it over. "And how would I go about becoming a pirate exactly?" he queried.

"Oh… that would be the easy part," she explained. "We would take over the transport ship we were on, and then you would just follow me and do every thing I said to."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I would be the Captain," she said. "You would be my first mate."

"You're the Captain?"

"Correct."

"And I would be your first mate?"

"Uh huh."

He furrowed his brow in thought again.

"So what about your brother then?" he asked.

"He would wash the dishes," she deadpanned again.

It took him a moment for it all to sink in, the strange mental picture formed in his mind and then he started laughing.

The girl broke into a huge grin, and her laughter joined his. Haze found her gaiety and the moment magical.

They finally clamed down a few microts later, and found they had nothing to say for the moment. They just stared at each other, and found that they had reached a casual comfort zone, each within the other.

Haze reached for her hand without a thought, and she let him take it.

He was about to tell her how beautiful and wonderful he thought she was, but before he could form the words an explosion shook the ground under them.

Jaleecee grasped in surprise, and automatically clutched at his hand tightly.

"Mortar!" Haze thought to himself, and he instinctively drew the girl to him, placing his body between her and the displacement of air he felt from the explosion, and then he took them both toward the ground in a protective crouch.

When no shrapnel tore through his back a few microts later, he turned to look over his shoulder to see the black cloud rising up from the middle of the base. Only when he was sure that there was no telltale whistling of further incoming rounds did he let them both stand once more, and the girl pull away from him enough that she could view the sight also.

His next thought as he scanned the scene somewhat below them was that there was an accident in one of the ammo dumps, but the debris cloud was in the wrong area for that premise.

The girl with him however had an excellent sense of direction for places she knew or lived in.

"That's in the quarter's section," she said, and the young soldier knew she was right. His own bivouac was in that area he realized now as he oriented himself.

Jaleecee's grayish skin suddenly drained to a ghostly white as a new and terrible thought hit her.

"Korr!" she cried, and then she gathered up her skirt and started to bolt that way, only to have Haze grab her arm and draw her up short.

"You can't go down there," he warned her. "That was exploded ordinance. There maybe more down there. Wait until the demo teams get a chance to go in and clear the area!"

She spun to look at him with desperation on her pretty face.

"That's Tessen's tent! I know it!" she exclaimed. "Kenrikk said they might do something to him. We have to go! He might be hurt down there!"

Haze didn't want to tell her that a explosion that size would have killed anyone with in a fifteen drenc radius of the blast. But the look on the girl's face made it near impossible to refuse her.

"All right," he gave in. "But you stay close to me and do exactly as I say."

Jaleecee nodded and didn't contest his conditions. She started moving down toward the midst of the base, she was so shaky as she tried to pass him that Haze had to take her hand to keep her from hurrying, and lead her for fear she might trip and fall while negotiating the rough trail way in her long skirts.

Once he had realized where the explosion had taken place, he had immediately had the same thought as the girl. Someone had finally decided to remove the scout as a possible threat to the unit's safety.

Whatever was left to find down there, wouldn't be pleasant.

And he wondered how he was going to be able to keep Jaleecee from insisting on viewing it?

For the moment, he concentrated on picking the safest footing to lead the girl back down to the main body of the base. Her small hand in his would have given him the largest of thrills at any other time, however for the moment it just simply felt right, and he would do his best to protect her from whatever tragedy awaited them.

If want they suspected had come to pass, the pretty young girl was going to need the support of a kind shoulder and a caring ear. Not the way he would have hoped their first time together to end, but life was rarely fair or predictable.

He would do whatever he could to look after Jaleecee if Korr was dead. He had no illusions of how the girl felt for him. He only hoped in time, after the girl healed, that she would see how he felt about her and learned to rejoice in it… and maybe, she find that she could feel the same about him.

Regardless, he was determined to be there for her in any way she needed.

In this… he had already made up his mind. She was already that special to him.

Tessen Korr was stilling sitting inside the huge mess tent, sharing a table with no one, as he idly sipped at what was originally a mug of hot Terza tea that had passed through the lukewarm stage and was well on its way to becoming cold.

He had finished his usual bland meal, and was now considering whatever details he needed to see to before leaving this world. Turning in his commission as a mercenary scout would not be much of a problem and was relatively easy. However, if it did turn into one, he would just leave without collecting the current pay that was owed to him.

True, he could use the credits for his reserve, but they weren't really going to matter much one way or the other in his plans. He had meant to give most of what was owed to him for this tour to the girl and her brother anyway.

If he had to take that course of action, he could always use something from the funds currently stored aboard the Wraith for that purpose… it would only take an arn at the most to see to the transaction with the quartermaster at the spaceport. As camp employees, the children had to have an account there as well as he did. Transferring funds into it should not be difficult.

Korr grimaced at the bother. A smart person would just let the brats fend for themselves. Its not like he owned them anything, and in fact… they both had boarder on the annoying most of the time.

Still, he could not just abandon them without leaving something. Somewhere along the line, he'd taken to feeling responsible for them, or at least for Jaleecee in some way… despite what he kept telling himself.

Just like once… a Nebari girl had taken compassion and tried to help him. She had taken responsibility and did all that she was capable of for him.

A low growl escaped him with the thought.

And looked how that moment of pity had worked out for her, the specter in his psyche asked. The laughter that followed tried to rip his mind apart, but it was still too weak.

The mercenary's lips drew tight. The failure had not been hers; it had been his and his alone!

That did not excuse him from doing what he could for the young girl and her sibling. The debt he owned Chiana had to be paid to someone else in return, she had once decreed so herself.

She had told him at one point to 'pass it on'.

She had said the cryptic words with a secret knowing smile, and the Shrike hadn't understood what she was getting at back then. Now after his short life of contemptible experiences, he had a better understanding of what she was trying to tell him. It was a shame he hadn't been able to truly comprehend the small Nebari's wisdom back then.

What he would do for those children was far less than what the Nebari girl had tried to do for him, but it was the best he had to offer Jaleecee and her brother… so it would have to be enough.

Decided on that course of action, Korr also made a mental note to check his back-up store on Pa'Looua root aboard his ship once he returned. It would not do to run out when he needed his wits about him.

The next few weekens, if not the next quarter cycle itself, was going to require some very careful planning and timing if he wished to accomplish the goals he was setting for himself.

He was just about to wave a server over to warm-up his tea when the shock of an explosion rocked the tent.

Several tables and chairs ringing the outer perimeter of the mess tent where blown over, and a thick dust cloud covered the parade ground as far as the scout could see when he stood up from where the blast had knocked him from his seat. Around him other personal were picking themselves up, dusting off, and asking if they were under attack.

Numerous other voices around the camp where calling warnings of an incoming artillery barrage or a mortar attack. It quickly became apparent that nothing else was screaming its way into the base, so calls next went out for the fire brigades.

Groups of armed men and women ran passed, all heading in different directions depending on where their alert posts were located.

Korr went with the flow of other camp personal that didn't have alert positions to cover, as they exited the mess to see what had happened. Most of the initial blast cloud was quickly fading, leaving only the heavy fog of the blast center to mark the exact location of the disaster.

Quickly somebody identified the area as quarters, and people began running in that direction to help. Some instinct trigger within the scout making him pause for a microt, and a gnawing feeling of dread worked at his stomach.

A voice that wasn't the ghost told him that this incident was something far worse than just an accident.

As a Syndicate Enforcer, all his senses had not only been augmented, but also honed to a fine edge. Since his escape, he'd learned to listen to his instincts when they warned him that something was seriously wrong.

Just as they were now!

He began running in that direction also, not caring if anyone noticed that he was moving much faster than anyone else could.

Tessen Korr didn't have to rely on directions from others to get to the scene; it was a path he knew well and his odd instincts would have taken him there regardless it seemed.

He arrived at the place his bivouac had stood, only to find a shallow crater in its place. The tent was just a pile of burned and tore material, scattered all around in flaming pieces. Several other nearby tents where scorched and blown down as well.

His bunk was a scrap pile of kindling, as was some wooden crates he'd used as tables. His locker stood slightly off to one side, scorched and dented also but intact for the most part… which is what he expected from the armored locker. His extra weapons and gear would have still been well protected from even a much bigger blast.

The weapons he had been using, and had left on his bunk or tables, where going to be trashed.

A number of personal where gathered around something to one side of where his quarters had been, and Korr knew that there should not have been anyone within his tent, seeing he had witnessed the girl on a walk with the young Corporal at the other end of the base just a short time ago. Thus he assumed a passer-by might have been slightly wounded in the explosion.

His next thought as he approached the scene was what had caused the blast? As he kept no explosive ordinance within his quarters at any time. He doubted that even a chakan cartridge cooking off within a pistol or rifle would cause that big of a detonation.

Just as he reached the site, somebody within the gathered group screamed for a med-tech. The tone alarmed the scout, and he turned his attention that way. Through the moving legs of the personal helping whoever was down, Tessen caught a glimpse of a familiar blue vest and a white apron. The garb that was wore by most of the workers in the mess hall!

A cold hand with fingers of ice suddenly gripped his spine.

Korr pushed his way passed some of the on-lookers and those offering advise and help from the side, not caring who he bodily shoved out of his way.

In the center of the mass, Jaleecee's brother lay burnt and lifeless, staring up at the sky with unblinking eyes as soldiers tried to perform first-aid on him. A pair of med-techs arrived with field packs and those attempting to help the boy moved aside to allow them access.

In that brief glance, Korr saw gapping wounds around the young man's torso and that both his arms were gone from somewhere around the elbows on down.

He seen enough in his life, both as a mercenary and an Enforcer, to know the lad was far beyond all help. He had not survived passed the moment of detonation.

Korr was momentary numb, he clenched his fists, not sure if he was angry with himself for not being able to feel something more at that moment, or at his total helplessness.

He was vaguely aware of the looks that he was getting from those that stood nearby. They all knew whose quarters had been destroyed in the explosion. They almost all knew of the altercations between the boy and himself, so it was only natural that they suspected or blamed him for the young man's death.

Tessen didn't care at the moment what they thought.

There was no way such an accident could have happened. He didn't even keep so much as a single grenade within his personal space. Any ordinance like that which was left after a patrol he turned in to the armory like everyone else.

He didn't need it. If he wanted an explosive or explosive device, he could easily make one from components found all over the camp… and it would be of a better design than a simple grenade.

He had nothing inside his tent that could possibly have done this to the boy!

A quick thought that perhaps Kenrikk was attempting to place a device within his quarters and that it had detonated prematurely, killing himself instead, passed though the scout's mind. He immediately discarded it; the boy would not take a chance on killing his own sister by mistake, as she was most likely to have been in his tent at any given time. He doubted that Kenrikk could have known about the fallout between his sister and himself, and planned something this quickly. Beside, the young man had no talent of such things, as Korr had witnessed times when the boy had trouble lighting the chemical heaters under the serving trays inside the mess hall. Nor would he have used a device created by someone else for the very same reason that it might catch his sister.

Thus, somebody else had to have placed something there.

His lips drew thin, almost disappearing in a burning rage at the thought.

He was just about to turn from the tragic scene to investigate the remains of his bivouac closer for clues, when another tragedy landed on his front door step.

"Korr!" a young female voice cried over the din of people at the site. Tessen turned, to see Jaleecee racing up the path toward him. The Corporal following close behind her as she ran.

"Goddess!" the scout muttered in true horror, the girl didn't need to see this! He changed directions to head the girl off before she reached the scene.

"Korr!" she cried again as she neared him, there were tears on her cheeks but she smiled greatly as she met him and threw her arms around his middle.

It was then that Tessen realized that the girl had been worried that he had been hurt or killed in the blast. She had no clue as to the fate of her brother!

She hugged him tightly for a few microts, and then pulled away so she could look up at him again to reassure herself that he was indeed unscathed.

He reached down to grab her by both shoulders, afraid that she might try to get passed him for some reason. He found himself faltering as he looked down to her. He had seen more death than anyone could know, he had been the cause of countless deaths himself… and he found himself not knowing how he was going to break the news to her.

Taking his inability to speak as a sign that he was glad to see her also, Jaleecee threw her arms around his waist again instead, hugging him tightly to her once more for a moment before pulling away to return her gaze to him.

"I was so afraid that something happened to you!" she said breathlessly. "Thank the Goddess you weren't hurt… or worse. We had parted so badly, and I shutter to think that out last words to each other might have been…"

Tessen looked down at her, still keeping a firm hold on her slim shoulders.

"Jaleecee…" he interrupted, but could go no further.

He had killed and murdered countless people truly, but he still could find no way to tell this one girl that her brother was gone, that she was now alone in the universe.

She must have read the uncharacteristic pain in his eyes, because her relieved smile faded and a look of growing dread too its place. Then she realized that he had actually used her given name, and her trepidation doubled in a leap.

"Tessen? What's wrong?" she asked in growing nervousness. "Are you not well? You look fine!"

Korr could only shake his head.

"Its… not me," he finally said.

Jaleecee's eyes grew round and large in horror. There could only be one other person important enough to her to give Korr such pause.

"No…" she said, quietly at first. Then, "No… No! NO! KENRIKK! KENRIKK!" she screamed and tried to force her way passed Korr. "Let me go!" she screamed at him while beating at his upper arms when he wouldn't release her.

"You don't want to see this," Tessen told her over and over again, trying to get through her grief. "He's gone! There is nothing you can do."

"No!" the girl shrieked to the heavens. "No! NO! This can't be!"

Korr held the girl, accepting the beating her small fists gave him, as if he deserved it as surely as if he killed the boy himself. With each blow he silently promised the girl he would avenge her brother if he found a way. That… he knew he could do for her.

At the same time he was ashamed with himself that he couldn't feel more for her.

If anything, it drove home that fact of exactly how inhuman the Syndicate had made him.

He held her until she exhausted herself trying to break free, until she collapsed against him to weep against his chest.

The mercenary surprised himself by folding his arms around the shuttering girl, even as he cursed himself for the hollow gesture he knew it was. He cursed for not feeling as he thought he should have about the boy's death, and the young girl's anguish. It was proof that some important part of him was dead… and would never be coming back.

The voice in his head chortled with mirth at the catastrophe, but he ignored it, pushing it back into its mental jail cell. He would not let it feed on the girl's sorrow.

Jaleecee was lost in a world of pain, with not a clue as to what was going through his mind as she sought what comfort she could in his arms. She continued sobbing heavily against him.

Korr spared a moment to glance up and find Haze standing helplessly just a few drenc away. Their eyes locked for the barest instant, and Korr read a hint of accusation in the young man's gaze, just before the younger man looked away.

The young soldier's face went grim as he watched the med team finish packing Kenrikk's body into a body bag, and then hurry it away from the scene. Someone had probably pointed out to the teams that the boy's sister was present, and they did their best to remove the shattered remains before she could view what was left of him.

Korr held the girl till most of the weeping was done for the moment, Jaleecee quieted as the numbness of shock finally set in. Tessen looked again at the young Corporal standing near them.

"Come here," the scout commanded. His normally bland voice, uncharacteristically tight at the moment

Despite Haze's obvious distrust, he came forward with a questioning look.

"Take her," Korr told him. "Get her out of here and get something to cover her with." He pushed the girl into the younger man's care. "Do not leave her alone."

"I'll get a med-tech to stop by and give her something," Haze said. His eyes grieved for the girl, though they still held a strong hint of mistrust when they locked on the scout.

Korr only nodded, not caring what the soldier thought of him as long as he saw to the girl's needs. He himself had something he needed to look into before the base's policing force began to sift through the remnants of his quarters, looking for leads into the cause, and disturbed anything that might tell the mercenary something important.

He paused only for a few microts to watch Jaleecee meekly allow Haze to steer her away from the scene and toward the center of the base. It was almost as if the girl hadn't even realized she'd been given over into the care of the younger man.

Tessen turned away, and walked into the remains of his tent. He examined several items of wrecked clothing, finding nothing salvageable and no evidence within them. He came across what was left of his sniper rifle, and wrote that off as well. The lost of that weapon didn't concern him overly much, as there was another just like it in the Wraith's weapon locker.

The Syndicate had equipped its ships quite well in that regard.

He used the blast burns to calculate the center of detonation, and discovered it was very near if not on top of his rack. Again, he had nothing stored that could have exploded under his bunk, so it had to be something else.

He tested the air, and smelt the usual odors consistent with the aftermath of a blast. He shifted his senses, allowing the microbe augmentation to take over and enhancing his normal abilities. Underneath the burnt smell, he detected something else, something familiar to him.

His grimace grew deeper, as he bent to examine the flooring at ground zero. He worked his fingers into the soot and ash remaining there, until his senses told him he'd found what he was looking for. He brought his hand up; his fingertips were coated with fine dark grit.

He rolled the material around for a few microts, feeling its consistency on his now hypersensitive pads. He finally touched the grit to the tip of his tongue, and experienced the bitter tang he expected.

He spat the ash back onto the ground, and his dark grimace grew into a true scowl.

Korr rose back to his feet satisfied and secure in his new knowledge, knowledge that he would only keep to himself.

He had been responsible for the boy's death after all.