Chapter Fifteen
Chris found himself staring at the barrel of a phaser rifle and wondered if this nightmare would ever end. He did not mind so much dying, being captain made that an occupational hazard but he did mind departing this mortal existence without being able to free the woman he loved from her prison of flesh and blood. That he minded a great deal, almost as much as he abhorred realizing that his last memory of his life would be her eyes, indifferent and dark hastening his journey. The creature named Narita, who wore Mary's face glared at him in unmasked hatred and supposed after the story he had heard, was unsurprised that she would feel anything else for any male but hatred.
The action of flooding the Maverick with anesthetic gas had produced an incendiary reaction among the aliens who still had control of the bridge and Chris was glad that at least, someone on board was actively working towards freeing the ship from hostile control. If he survived this, he would pin a medal on the instigator of this plot and even if he did not, he would be just as grateful for he expected nothing to stand in the way of liberation of his ship, not even concern for his life. He just wished that Buck and JD would not perish with him as he saw Narita gaze's burn into his skin as she prepared to fire, naked in her relish of committing that one act of murder.
"You can make them discontinue this attack!" X'hala rose from his command chair and strode towards him. "We will give you access to communicate with the ship, tell those responsible to desist or we will kill all of you!"
Chris straightened up and looked at the creature wearing Casey's face. He glanced at Buck and JD briefly; conveying an expression he hoped would allow them to understand why he was about to act the way he was. Buck nodded slightly and JD swallowed as he held the captain's eyes saying nothing but comprehending silently that this siege could not be allowed to continue. There came a time when enough was enough. Chris would not allow their lives to stand in the way of safety for the entire crew of the Maverick.
And that time was here.
"Then kill us." Chris said coldly. "But I'm not doing anything to stop this."
"Let me!" Narita sneered almost pleasured by his refusal as she shoved the barrel of the rifle beneath his neck and engendered an immediate reaction from Buck and JD who sprang to their feet about to attack when X'hala turned her weapon on them and was not afraid of using it. Chris knew his old friend and the young ensign were just brave and stubborn enough to put up a fight if his life was in danger, no matter what the consequences to them personally.
"Stand down Buck," Chris ordered sharply, ignoring the cold feel of metal pressing against his skin and did not consider Narita's eyes, shifting his gaze instead as far as he could without turning his head, towards the first officer and his young protégé.
"But Chris..." Buck opened his mouth to protest before Chris cut him off.
"Do nothing, Commander." Chris retorted and then spoke out loud to their captors. "Do you hear me, all of you? We will do nothing! If you want us to cooperate then you will do it over our dead bodies but you will not have any more control over my ship then you already do."
"I will kill you all!" X'hala barked impotently. "I will have Narita incinerate you!"
"Then get on with it," he drawled as if the threat was inconsequential and Narita was not tightening her finger around the trigger as a warning at how close he was to dying. He kept his eyes away from the woman, not wishing the last thing he see on this mortal plane was Mary in this state of being.
"No!" Salya suddenly shouted and withdrew from the console station normally occupied by Ezra Standish. She had been in the last few seconds watching the proceedings carefully, trying to decide what was to be done as she saw the situation escalate.
"What is wrong with you!" Narita growled in her direction, accusation of betrayal in her eyes as she demanded the question of Salya. "Are you so heated by the sensation of physical pleasure that you have lost all sense of who you are! These are the enemy! These are the ones who imprisoned us, who took our ability to give life and destroy it! Who have given us cause for pain every day of our existence!"
"No, they're not." Salya shook her head quietly and turned her eyes to X'hala whose expression showed indecision for the first time since they were fast approaching an impasse even if they did kill the captain. "That," she glanced at the ruined world whose image was still being displayed on the view screen, "is all that is left of the enemy and of our world."
X'hala opened her mouth to deny that statement vehemently but when the time came to form the words, none would come. Mostly because Salya's claim was the truth. However, the time to understand what that meant in its reality was lost when suddenly she felt a roar filling her mind, like a thousand voices screaming inside her head all at the same time. For a moment, the disorientation was so fierce that she did not know what was happening but soon enough it cleared and X'hala understood why the Many were screaming.
They were screaming because they were imprisoned.
The gas had flooded the rest of the ship and she could feel the trapped minds of all the others swirling around in the limbo of unconsciousness as the host bodies fell prey to the noxious substance. The Many were helpless now. Almost as helpless as they had been when they were trapped inside the artifact and set adrift in space. Now their imprisonment was of a different kind but the principle was still the same. X'hala could feel their terror, their desperation and horror at being returned to that terrible fate once again, not after tasting freedom for so fleeting a time.
"What have you done?" X'hala demanded, grabbing Chris by the neck and almost screaming into his ear. "I feel them frightened and trapped! How did you do this?" There were almost tears of frustration in her eyes as she shouted at him to answer.
"He did nothing." Salya spoke up quickly, feeling her heart pound as she saw the situation escalate beyond her ability to control it. Even the glacial one that possessed Alexandra Styles body was now starting to waver in her efforts to regain control of the ship and focusing more on the drama unfolding before her.
"Shut up you traitor!" Narita was debating on whether she ought to turn the gun at Salya's direction. For she who would turn against her own kind, should deserved nothing less.
"I am no traitor," Salya sighed, looking wearier than she was about to do battle with her own. "I am one of you as I will always be but we need to decide what that is exactly."
"You speak in riddles!" Narita retorted. "Her mind is addled," she looked at X'hala. "She can no longer be trusted."
"X'hala you know me," Salya responded. "Do you remember it was you and I who first broke the chains that kept us prisoners? We began the rebellion. We convinced the others."
X'hala nodded slowly. "I remember Salya. Those were hard times but also good ones."
Chris remained silent because he did not want to interrupt when it looked like Salya might be able to bring about a peaceful resolution to this situation. As much as he wanted to make them pay for Vin, Ezra and Transporter Chief Rain, he had to rise beyond his need for vengeance. He had to be captain not friend and though it pained him deeply to put aside his rage, he could do nothing else but that because he was captain and the Maverick was his crew.
However, it a peaceful resolution to this situation was what Chris was after, the sudden and unexpected opening of his Ready room doors ensured that the time was discussion was past. He did not know who fired first as the three officers emerged from inside his private sanctum but Chris found the barrel of the weapon pressed against his throat leave his neck abruptly as the creature in charge of Mary's body swung around to deal with this new threat.
Chris dove out of the way as she fired, as did Buck and JD. For a moment, Chris was not certain of what was happening until he saw Vin, Ezra and Rain fan out. A great feeling of relief washed over him as he saw that they were alive and well and wondered briefly how they had managed to survive before deciding to hell with it, they were okay and it was time to act. Most of the phaser blasts were coming from Narita and Chris found himself in a position of decided advantage for she was shooting with her back facing him. He saw Buck and JD waiting for their opportunity to join the attack but he was closer and rolled onto his knees, preparing to lunge at her.
He never got the chance.
A foot slammed into his ribs almost flipping him over. Chris felt bones break in an instant as he landed on his back to consider the face of Casey standing over him. Obviously, she had seen him preparing to attack Narita and decided that this would not at all do. The pain was almost blinding and he looked down and felt a wave of dizziness when he realized that not only was his bleeding but the blood protrusion quickly soaking his uniform was bone. A groan escapes him and he saw X'hala reaching down to drag him to his feet, a phaser in her hand. He was not about to become her hostage and though it pained him greatly to do so, Chris kicked out and sent the ball of his heel into her sternum. She let out a cry of pain and went sprawling as he rolled onto his knees again and saw Buck heading crossing the space between himself and Narita when he was stopped in a full body tackle by Alex.
Both rolled across the floor as the bridge was a zigzag of phaser blasts with even Salya firing at the new arrivals, not swayed enough in her attempt to stop the fighting by taking sides against her own. She took cover behind the command chair as she continued to fire accurate blast of phaser energy striking the armrest of the chair thanks to Ezra's near perfect aim. It was obvious that the security chief was not about to be swayed from freeing the bridge, not even if the enemy wore the face of the woman he loved. The southerner's face was a mask of stone as he continued shooting while Vin tried to get past the stray blasts of phaser energy to help Buck who was wrestling with Alex for the second time today.
Buck's throat was still aching from where she had hit him earlier so he was not about to make the mistake of letting down his guard or being deluded enough into believing she would not hurt him because she would. Holding nothing back, the first officer threw his fist into her face and sent her tumbling off him but she recovered quick, having been accustomed to taking blows in her brutal holodeck combat programs. While still on her knees, she kicked out her foot and toppled him off his feet.
Buck dropped onto his knees and saw her spring to her feet; her agility was almost feline in its grace and power as she prepared to kick out again. He managed to prevent her boot from crushing his windpipe, certain that if she connected with the tender flesh, she would undoubtedly kill him. Buck grabbed her foot and twisted it around hard, forcing her to spin in mid air and land heavily on her chest. He scrambled forward to pin her down to the floor with his weight when her fist flew upwards just as he crossed the space above her head. The punch was strong and connected with his ribs. Buck had no doubt that if he had been a little slower; it would have cracked into his sternum. Unfortunately, the respite was fleeting because the action had been to buy her time. She rolled onto her back and flipped upright.
This time she and Buck faced each other, both standing and both deciding then and there that one of them would not walk away from this. She threw her fist at him and he caught it, marveling at her speed and wondering what on earth Alex was doing wasting her time with a science posting when she was so effective in combat. He dodged the blow and caught her retreating arm in between his before yanking her forward, using masculine strength and skill before flipping her over.
"Alex, don't make me hurt you!" Buck pleaded as she landed hard and heard a cry of pain.
She did not answer but got to her feet again and, throwing a front kick he barely avoided and had to retreat backwards to keep from being hit. She started throwing them in rapid succession, until he was effectively back stepping to avoid her. Buck was fighting her off but he knew that she had him on the defensive and when the glint in her eye clearly indicated that she was out to kill him, it was not necessarily the best place to be. Finally, he realized; he did not have much of a choice.
"Screw this." He muttered under his breath and caught her leg once more, shoving it hard against the floor so that she lost her balance. Before he could regain it, Buck swung, hard and controlled. The blow caught her in the jaw and made her stagger back. He could see her immediately recovering but he was not going to allow her the chance to do so. Without pause he swung again, slamming his fist into the side of her head and this time, her recovery was not as rapid and she shook her head, trying to shake away the disorientation. Buck punched again and once more, his knuckles connected with flesh. Blood began to run down her nose and her lip. His stomach heaved in protest because he could think of nothing more disgusting than to hit a woman especially one whom he remembered making passionate love to only a few hours ago. Unfortunately, it was not Alex then and it was not Alex now.
She was reeling and the blood was staining the side of her face but with determination that Buck was certain was Alex in some small way, she remained standing even though she could not take this beating any more. He had been holding back and she was able to draw on much of Alex's memories but not enough to keep her from being able to beat him. If Alex was the one in charge, Buck was not sure he could win. She was nearly done and she knew it but sheer stubbornness refused to let her surrender. Buck decided to take that choice out of her hands. In one final act, he pulled her to him by the shoulders and slammed his head onto hers in a head butt that ended any resistance. She crumpled to the floor unconscious and Buck let out a sigh of relief because he could not have endured much more of hitting her or continuing this bloody brawl.
Ezra who had been concentrating on draining Narita of every ounce of energy in her phaser, noticed that Casey Wells or the entity that had taken over her body was attempting to take the captain hostage, despite his best efforts to evade her. The security chief could see the captain was hurt as he fought the young woman off who was trying to hit him with a stun blast. The captain had still eluded the crippling shot but he was in pain and could not last longer. The creatures using Julia and Mary were making it impossible for him to cross the distance between himself and Chris to be of any assistance with the formidable defense they were perpetrating.
"Lieutenant Rain!" Ezra shouted at Rain who was crouched beneath the science station and only emerged when she was firing.
"I'm a little busy right now!" She returned as she squeezed off another shot at Narita who was taking cover beneath the command chair and was safe from the blast when it impacted.
"I would not have guessed!" He retorted and gave Vin a look as the helmsman searched for an opening so he could get through the barricade of phaser fire. He could see Vin's eyes fixed on the captain and knew that Vin was just as determined to reach Chris Larabee as he was. Vin was no fool, he would have guessed what Casey was attempting to do and knew that if she succeeded, the bid to retake the bridge would end in failure and they would be in the same situation as they were when they first entered the room. "I have got a plan!"
"Well get on with it!" She looked at him with disapproval and wondered what it was about men that made them waste so much time when it was commodity that they could ill afford to waste.
"I want you to set your phaser for rapid fire with a minimal firing gap. I want a continuous volley of energy keeping them at bay!"
Rain knotted her brown in confusion. "But that will only drain my phaser!" She protested.
"That is an order Lieutenant!" Ezra barked and made no uncertain terms that this was not a request.
Rain however, did not need that much convincing. She realized something of what he had in mind and nodded. "Okay Commander," she flashed him a wry smile. "Since you asked so nicely."
"I like her." Vin grinned mischievously and conveyed his approval by winking at the feisty transporter chief.
Ezra rolled his eyes and prepared to do the same as he had instructed Rain to do. The security chief could not disagree with the Vulcan's assessment although at this time, he had larger concerns on his mind, preferring to keep focused on the business at hand. Turning to Rain he issued one final piece of instruction.
"On my mark." He ordered and saw Rain swallow as she faced front and prepared to fire. Ezra ducked another blast before he took a deep breath and hoped that this worked because he did not want to hurt either Mary or Julia however, they had to reach the captain.
"NOW!"
A tremendous barrage of phaser fire exploded from both their weapons with such speed, the enemy was taken completely by surprise. Although they had possession of all the knowledge that the host bodies, Ezra had gambled on the aliens needing to access that information first before they could use it. If it were truly Mary and Julia in control of their bodies, the two women would know instinctively what was required to counter this attack but as it stood, the aliens were momentary forced to fall back and taking cover. Vin Tanner wasted no time and was moving immediately. Being Vulcan, he was faster and stronger than anyone by the laws of genetics but the helmsman was already at home with physical activity than any of them, thus he was swift in his advance and very soon, closing the distance between himself and Chris Larabee.
Vin Tanner ran faster than he had ever done so in his life, pausing only to see the unconscious form of Alex on the floor as he weaved through the random bolts of phaser fire. Buck and JD were being held back by Casey who was keeping them pinned in almost the same manner that Ezra and Rain had allowed him this gap in which he could slip through. Resisting the urge to stop and see if Alex was all right because now Chris was ducking another blast of energy being hurled at him. The captain was wounded and Vin could see the effect in his inability to fight back. A chill of fear ran down his spine upon realizing that the reason for Chris' pain was obvious, a jagged edge of bone was protruding past his flesh. A broken rib had speared through the skin and was exposed to the air under his soaked uniform.
Chris saw Vin approaching and tried to draw X'hala's fire by taking refuge behind Vin's console seat. Buck who had dealt with Alex a moment ago was now on the floor unconscious, having taken the brunt of a phaser blast meant to subdue him. JD was pulling the first officer out of the line of fire because not all the shots from the phaser rifle were set for stun. X'hala was determined to reach him and she grew more frenzied as he continued to evade her. He guessed her vehemence to regain control of the situation had much to do with the fact that she could sense her people in trouble and knew that the only way to deliver them from their imprisonment as she called it was to use him as a bargaining point.
Whatever the reason, Chris did not care because he cared about his people too, not simply the men who had been imprisoned by the female comrades but also the women whose bodies had been stolen from them. Even though it was sheer agony to move and the blood gushing from the open wound was wafting its steely scent in his gut, twisting it with nausea, Chris forced himself to keep out of her reach. Fortunately, he did not have to do it long when he saw Vin making his way across the floor, taking advantage of the chaos taking place around them to reach his captain. The captain for his part, left himself open to a few near misses, wishing X'hala's attention focused on him while Vin advanced. For a few seconds, it worked until X'hala realized that she was making it too easy for him. In the last instant, she realized that something was wrong and whirled around to see Vin Tanner appearing before her.
The Vulcan did not waste time mincing words or offering any warning for her to desist. No sooner than he had closed the gap between himself and X'hala or by his reckoning Casey, Vin slammed his elbow square into her face and knocked her out cold. Without uttering a word or a cry of pain, the life seemed to drain out of the woman and she dropped forward, with Vin catching her before she hit the floor. Vin lowered her onto the floor gently before he turned his attention to Chris.
"Its about time you got here." Chris drawled as he himself dropped to the floor, resting with his back against the console for helm control, contented not to move because the pain was damn near excruciating.
"We took the long way here." Vin smiled as he hurried to Chris' side to examine the injury. "Don't move."
"You can bet your ass on that," the captain muttered, sucking in his breath to control the pain. There was a thin layer of sweat on his skin and it was obvious that the nature of the injury was sending him into shock. He needed a doctor and he needed one immediately. "The ship?" He asked after a moment, composing himself.
"Nathan was going to flood the decks with anesthetic gas." Vin explained. "Whatever it is, it's only the women."
"But Rain…." Chris remarked, indicating the firefight that was still taking place beyond them. Vin wanted to help break the deadlock but he was reluctant to leave Chris when the captain was in such a vulnerable state.
"Something to do with her being Trill." Vin responded and looked around for a safe place. There was not any really place on the bridge but he supposed he would have to be contented with safety in numbers. "Come on." He retorted, helping Chris to his feet and dragging the captain towards Buck and JD. Movement for Chris was not easy but he could appreciate Vin's desire to see him away from the line of fire. Despite his effort to maintain a brave face, a traitorous grunt of pain escaped him as Vin helped to him feet.
"We have to help them." Chris groaned again, requiring every ounce of strength to focus on words instead of the pain.
"We will," Vin replied in answer, confident that Ezra was more than capable of taking care of the last two remaining aliens, at least for the duration of time it took for him to ensure that Chris was out of harm's way. "But let's get you seen to first."
Unfortunately, Chris was in no position to argue.
Ezra was not certain whose phaser drained first but in the end, it was the enemies that exhausted their reserves first and were soon facing them without armaments. The momentary advantage did not last because the effort in giving Vin the narrow margin he needed to reach Chris had placed Ezra and Rain in the same position as Salya and Narita who were now more than prepared to face them in a hand to hand confrontation. As the barrage of phaser fire between both protagonists dwindled, signaling the dying embers of the battle being fought, it was Narita who made the first move towards them. There was no way she was reaching Chris or JD, not with Vin Tanner ensuring that his captain and his comrade were protected.
Realizing that X'hala and Alex were also incapable of helping her, Narita felt the frustration building inside her as she realized that their grand plan of vengeance was dead and their freedom was about to be brought to a shattering halt. Whether it was desperation or some frenzied act of defiance struggling to remain alive inside her, Narita lunged forward first, deciding that before they killed her, she was taking them with her, starting with the one who had betrayed her own kind by rejecting the gift of the many.
Rain saw her coming and leapt out of the way as Narita lunged for her. She rolled out of the way easily but the mindset of the one determined to kill her was frenzied and almost half-mad with berserker rage. The momentary evasion did not last long and Narita recovered Rain's attempt to evade her and recovered immediately to regain lost ground. She ploughed into the lithe young woman, topping them both to the ground and very quickly straddled Rain. The transporter chief immediately covered her face as Narita began pummeling her with blows until she was able to launch an attack of her own when she pulled up her knee and slammed into the small of Narita's back.
The alien screeched in pain as she tumbled of Rain who rolled onto her knees and braced herself high enough to throw a hard swing at her. Her knuckles caught Narita in the chin who reeled in pain for little more than a split second before she was up and fighting again. The two women traded blow for plow, and fighting with such a synchronized dance of violence it was almost mesmerizing to watch but it soon became apparent that it was Narita who had the ruthless savagery to win because she was willing to kill while Rain was not.
"Enough!" Vin stepped into the fray, aiming his gun at Mary whose arm was locked around Rain's bloodied nose and was glaring at him with animalistic fervor as she prepared to snap Rain's neck in her bare hands.
"You have no power over me Vin," Narita sneered at him, her eyes narrowing with malevolence. "I showed you that already, did I not?" Her lips curled into a cruel smile. "You dare not harm me, not I who wear the body of poor little Mary, the captain's whore!"
Vin swallowed hard, unable to look at Narita without imagining Mary Travis, his friend and teacher. The woman who helped him understand that he was a product of a rich and vast intelligence, not a joke that had been branded as outcast. Even though his phaser was set for stun, Vin could not bring himself to shoot her even though he knew he simply had to. "Don't make me do it." He said softly, wondering why it was so hard and realizing that it had a lot to do with the pleasure she had brought him and the world she had opened for him simply because she cared enough to try. Surely there was a way to reach that woman without resorting to violence.
"You're weak as all your kind are weak," Narita glowered triumphantly and pulled her arm tighter around Rain's throat, until the Trill was choking and wheezing, her face reddening as she began to suffocate. "You can hurt me anymore than you can hurt poor Mary and if you can't," she lowered her gaze to Rain, "I will this abomination for your lack of understanding that Mary is gone! You will never get her back!"
Suddenly a voice spoke and it was neither Vin's nor Narita's, it was Chris.
"Lieutenant Tanner," Chris Larabee spoke with a voice of stone from where he was lying, JD keeping guard at his side. He met Vin's gaze with an expression that hid nothing about his thoughts on the matter and whatever would happen, would happen. Chris' jaw tightened and Vin knew he was biting down to control the pain. Each word he uttered was filled with that agony.
"Shoot the bitch."
Vin was not about to argue with that statement and pulled the trigger in what was almost a reflex action. The bolt of energy struck both women and Narita crumpled lifelessly on top of Rain, inert and no longer a danger to anyone. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Chris finally succumb to attraction of blackness when the captain eased back into the wall he was resting against and let the darkness take him finally.
Ezra Standish stood before Salya and knew he did not have to fight her. When she saw him approach her while Rain and Narita were in the middle of their duel, she lowered the phaser rifle. In the midst of freedom, of planning to take over the ship and their eventual revenge upon those who had imprisoned the Many, Salya had been given a stark reminder of what it was to enjoy simply being alive again. All those eons trapped in a hell no one could imagine or endure, they had all prayed with the singularity of hope that one day they would escape to right all the wrongs done to them and yet they had forgotten the most precious right of all.
The right to live as they had always wanted.
"I will not let this continue." Ezra said staring at her eyes and wondering if the creature who inhabited Julia's body was someone he could not have cared for in a different time or place. "I do not wish to harm you but if you do not surrender now, I will shoot you." He declared resolutely, his phaser focused on her.
"You have no need to do that." She replied, dropping her phaser rifle onto the floor with a soft thud. She let her gaze sweep over the bridge at the battle they had lost even though Narita refused to give up but for Salya herself, ever since her encounter with Ezra Standish, she had felt troubled by their actions. The men of this time and of this vessel were clearly not like the Daia of her world. When he had loved her, he had done so as a man deeply in love with a woman and caring about her enough to ensure that she was pleasured in the same way that he was. It was beyond Salya's experience that men could behave in this manner and that one act of passion had allowed her to consider that perhaps the high-minded ideals of these Federation men were exactly what they were, ideals to aspire, not merely illusion of compassion.
It was a sobering thought because if the Many were wrong about the Daia of this world on this one thing, could they not be wrong about all of it?
"You gave us those two minutes did you not?" Ezra asked, having guessed it when he saw her lower her weapon. "You could have had the cargo hold decompress immediately but instead you put the sequence in with a two-minute delay."
"I could not turn against my own," she spoke softly, her eyes so terribly sad that Ezra felt it a knife in his heart, not because it was Julia's image projecting such pain but the creature who resided inside her body at present. "But I could not allow you to be harmed. It was not much but I had hoped you would make use of the time productively."
"Thank you," Ezra responded, genuinely touched by her act of mercy. "I promise, we will do what we can to help you."
"No," she shook her head and came towards him. Salya raised her hand to his face and touched his cheek. There were tears in her eyes and Ezra wished he could wipe away all the hurt he knew she must have seen in her life. "It is over." She whispered as she lowered her lips to his and kissed him gently.
"I do not understand." He muttered but inside he knew what she was going to do, he guessed.
"The others may not leave as willingly and I hope you will be able to convince them," Salya answered, her tears coming a little more freely down her cheeks as she stared at his pained expression when he started to see what was coming. "However, I have a choice and I will not take from your Julia what was once taken from me. Becoming the enemy is something I would die to prevent and I will."
"You do not have to do this..." he started to say.
"Yes, I do," she offered him a little smile. "Your Julia is a fortunate woman. I will miss you Ezra because for a short time, you reminded what it was to live and I will always be grateful for that. Goodbye."
He wanted to call out to her, to tell to stop what it was she was doing but he could not, in part because he wanted Julia back and because he had no idea what to call her for she had no name in his memory. All Ezra Standish could do was watch as Julia's body became enveloped in a bluish glow of light that contracted into single orb of energy soon rising over their heads before disappeared through the bulkhead. Ezra hurried forward as Julia slumped lifelessly to the floor, catching her as she began to fall while still watching that iridescent sparkle of light disappearing into the dark depths of space.
Did she still live or was she dead now? Ezra could not answer but wherever she was, he too, would always remember her.