(Recommended listening: "Putting a Jihad On You" from the "Team America" Movie Soundtrack)

"We have enough material here for ten guns for each of you," Barry announced when the Gemini team unpacked the ore from the mine.

"Ten?" Juno did a double take. "Do we even have ten that we can name off?" Vela started counting on her fingers while Lupus scratched his neck with his hind leg.

"Don't worry, you won't get that many back," Barry reminded them. "Thirty percent chance of success. Go ahead and tell me what weapons you want and I'll get started on them."

"Nine Tri-Rocket Launchers," Vela demanded without a moment's hesitation. "And one standard Jet Force Pistol."

Lupus and Juno stared at Vela, eyes wide.

"What?" she shrugged. "Are you really that surprised?"

Barry's eyes were wide with excitement and interest. It was the liveliest look the Gemini team had seen on the face of the former dictator since recovering him from Mizar's Head. His fingers flew, beating metal with metal, pouring molten alloys, and burying the molds in a tank of liquid nitrogen. His facial expression was almost maniacal, and drew a sharp contrast to Barry's normal sullen look.

"Won't the smoke from the forge attract attention?" Vela asked, attempting to distract herself.

"It's still dark out," Barry wrote off her concern. "There's no moonlight, and the Drones aren't observant enough to see the blotted out stars."

"Right," Vela trailed off.

Juno and Jeff sat off to the side, opposite each other. Even in the dim light, Juno could see the Tribal's age beginning to show. He moved slower than he had a year ago, and his weight was more heavily supported by his staff than before.

"Jeff," Juno struck up. "I've asked others, and I know where you stand on this, but…"

"Why do I trust Barry?" Jeff read Juno's mind.

"Well… yeah. Why?"

Jeff leaned back against a rock and sighed deeply before tilting his head to look at Barry as he worked the metal in his hands. The light from the forge glanced off of his large eyes, and Juno could feel the weight of his wisdom in his answer.

"I just know," Jeff shifted his eyes onto Juno. "You may not think that's a good answer, but think about it. What if the entire Human race was enslaved and hunted down, and upon cornering the leader of the invaders, you found out that Vela was the one pulling the strings. If she apologized for what she did, would you know the difference between a sincere apology and a lie?"

"If Vela was that far gone, I wouldn't trust myself to know either way," Juno spoke after a moment. "If I didn't notice the signs of her becoming that dark, how could I think of noticing anything else?"

"You'd notice the signs…" Jeff responded immediately. Jeff's face took on a reflective look. "I noticed. I noticed it from the beginning."

"So what happened?"

"I ignored it. Convinced myself that it was my imagination; that my mind was playing tricks on me. In the back of my head, though, I knew. The words he said, the way he acted… and I didn't do anything to stop it."

"Barry made that decision himself," Juno argued.

"I know that," Jeff nodded. "And more importantly, he knows that too. But that will never stop me from wondering if things would have turned out differently if I had put my foot down."

Juno could understand where he was coming from. The thought of his own flesh and blood doing something so heinous was unfathomable. So much so, that Juno could practically see himself flat out denying the possibility of it ever happening. That kind of thinking is what led Jeff to deny his brother's involvement in the Drone Army's first attack.

"Juno, do me a favor," Jeff asked. Juno sat up to listen. "Don't ignore your sister. What she says may have more meaning than you think."

"This is a bunch of bull!" Vela could hardly believe her eyes. In front of her were nine broken, charred clumps of metal… clumps that were supposed to be Tri-Rocket Launchers. Next to the clumps, a perfectly molded Jet Force Pistol gleamed in the forge's light.

"Sorry," Barry apologized. "That's just the way it turned out. At least you have a pistol, right?"

"Yeah, now I don't have to get my hands dirty to kill you."

"Vela, cut it out," Juno reached into his pile of weapons and handed Vela a Tri-Rocket Launcher. "Here. A replacement, just like I promised, right?" Juno had fared far better than his twin, gaining a Machine Gun, Tri-Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle, and Plasma Shotgun.

Lupus' pile was equally rewarding, yielding a Homing Missile Launcher, Flamethrower, and two Jet Force Pistols. All together, they had nine weapons: the exact amount that Barry said they would get.

"Hey, Lupus," Juno bartered. "I'll trade you a Plasma Shotgun for one of your Pistols."

Lupus wasted no time tossing one of his pistols to Juno, who swiped it out of the air and expertly holstered it before tossing back the Shotgun. Obviously feeling guilty about Vela's poor crop, Lupus passed her his Homing Missile Launcher to go with Juno's Tri-Rocket Launcher.

"I don't need your sympathy," Vela spit. After thinking better of it, she changed her attitude. "But I'll take it… thanks, Lupus. You too, Juno."

"Touching," Barry interjected with excessive sarcasm. "Really, my heart is crying out loud right now. But if I remember correctly, we still have work to do, and about three minutes to do it. Are you all ready?"

"Yeah," Juno wrapped his new Rifle around his back. "Let's do this."