A/N: I knew I wasn't entirely happy with this chapter even before starting the pre-post editing. Then when I got into it again, I rewrote sections, then rewrote again, and yet again. Still not entirely pleased, but it's far better than before the rewrites.

This segment: General Gtar-Cro reports troubling findings, and Volu is livid with Warren. What about? Read on…

Chapter 26

The General Gtar-Cro's face filled the screen. His Turzent features held mix messages. "I have some good news for you, my Emperor. The tracer is working, but only partially. Archangel's comm originated just beyond the Tchutchka Centrus system. However, as soon as he deactivated his PI, we lost the tracer signal and are uncertain as to why. Technicians are concluding it has something to do with the ship's cloak."

"I'll take whatever we can get at this point, General. Order the technicians to find a way to hold the trace."

"Already working."

He nodded. "I should not have thought otherwise, old friend."

Ztar hated betraying Archangel's trust in any manner, but when it came to the man's safety, he'd gladly face whatever future wrath may come his way to protect the precious Human. 'I will not take chances with your life, my Archangel. Even if that means breaking a promise.' But he had not shared with anyone the identity of the Human's new friends.

After Archangel's request for assistance, Ztar told Gtar-Cro only that a telepath was to be assigned to him for personal duty and quickly dispatched her to Tchutchka for the purchase from the man called Tider. The telepath would not report her activities to the General and understood Ztar would erase her memory of the knowledge gained. On that point, Ztar would uphold his vow to Archangel. He and he alone would know the Human was traveling with an Eshaaru.

"Where is our wayward court member heading next?"

"You did not listen in on the conversation?"

Mild surprise flickered in the General's dark eyes. "No, my Emperor. We traced, but did not tap into the signal. Unless you give me specific instructions to do so, conversations between you and Archangel are private."

Ztar nodded. It was as he hoped. "We are to have a LinCreds card waiting for him at Gnaza Supply House in Nuunce on Thael. Have the card there within two days with enough credits for several complete resupplies for a Jumper-class ship." Gtar-Cro raised his eyebrows, but did not question. "Now, I want a report on the Hydeera re-evaluation and the mysterious ship occurrences you mentioned before." Ztar settled back in anticipation.

Gtar-Cro explained the re-examination of the Hydeera raid data revealed no new leads on whom the cloaked ship rescued. Imperial troops involved in the landing site skirmish were too focused on the Etagllot firing on them to take in any details concerning non-combatants. Even under telepathic probing, only fuzzy recollections of bound captives fleeing the scene stuck in their minds. As the building literally came apart at the seams, life-sign readings were obscured either intentionally or as a result of cloak interference.

"And so we've nothing more than we had before?"

Gtar-Cro signaled negative. "Apologies, my Emperor."

"No apologies, General. It means your original investigation was thorough. And what of the other reports of a mysterious ship?"

"That investigation has proven to be as intriguing as finding answers has been elusive. We discovered correlations between incursion anomalies and certain unexplained deaths and other events of note. In fact, the broader our comparative parameters, the more profound the analysis became. Much of the results are deductive with no direct evidence, but there are fascinating probabilities, including events all the way back to when you were coming into power."

Ztar quickly leaned forward. "General, you have my full attention."

When Ztar clicked off his PI much later, he was deeply troubled. If what Gtar-Cro's sophisticated analysis suggested was true, then Ztar's earlier intuitive nudges were right. There may be a game afoot they were obvious to…one in which he and others were playing unwitting roles.

Tasked with solving the mystery of the cloaked Hydeera ship and the possibility of an even more elusive vessel involved in the latest kidnapping attempt, Military Intelligence reassessed all the data recorded at Hydeera and Earth. System-deployed military satellites clearly caught the Hydeera signature entering Earth atmosphere. In meticulous re-examination of those sensor logs, MI analysis experts discerned something else, something far more elusive. Data was suggestive of an object moving through atmosphere that could not be directly detected; however, its effect on the immediate surroundings could be – like an unseen object moving just beneath the water causes ripples on the surface. MI labeled the new phenomenon as the Earth signature.

Where to look next? If the Earth signature was involved in a kidnapping plot, the next logical path of investigation was to review other unexplained illicit events. The incident of Second Major Raminjen's death on Gzenra Station met the search criteria – that remained an unsolved murder of unusual method. Review of station sensor logs during the initial murder investigation revealed nothing out of the ordinary. MI techs applied the new algorithms to those logs and got a hit. Station scanners had detected an anomaly approaching the station that day, but the monitoring AI classified the barely discernable reading as spatial background noise. However, armed with the new analysis profile, MI reclassified reading as the Earth signature.

MI had confirmation they were onto something. Adding the Gzenra data to the analytical parameters, technicians cast their net far and wide. Vast numbers of sensor logs from military space stations, planetary traffic control, and imperial ships were passed through the analysis algorithms. Then the resultant hits were correlated to significant events, and things got very interesting.

Multiple incidents involving both signatures originated in Jandur airspace over the past two years. Even further back and more disconcerting were notations in old investigation records of a Hydeera-like sensor signature from Mon Genesis, the Mon people's homeworld. Intriguing timing translated to the signature seeming to herald of the sudden deaths of two of Ztar's most ardent opponents during his final push of active conquest – High General Nje, the Mon Collective's top-ranking military leader, and Hiuku (meaning King of Kings) Tse, the small realm's monarch. Tse and Nje's demise within days of each other marked the turning point in the war of acquisition Ztar launched against the strategically desirable Collective and its 15 inhabited worlds, coincidentally including Hydeera. While sensors had recorded the anomaly not far from the two separate locations of the high-profile deaths, investigators at the time could not explain the readings or link it to their leaders' demise. Post mortems revealed Nje's killer to be asphyxiation and Tse perished from a burst brain aneurism, yet they found no reason for the asphyxiation nor had Tse's most recent medical examination revealed any abnormalities within his vascular system. "Amazingly similar to the coroner's findings on Raminjen's death," Gtar-Cro had noted.

Once Mon fell, the neighboring Raisil Unity surprisingly came knocking on the Empire's door with overtures to join Ztar's expanding realm. What Raisil proposed proved too tempting to resist as their scientists had discovered a key to improving FTL-drive engine performance that if it delivered as promised, would be a significant advancement. Acquiring that research and bringing it to technological fruition proved a turning point in a later war – the one declared against his empire by The Systems Commonwealth.

Additional scattered hits over the years also came to light, some associated with no particular event, while others occurred during specific incidents…incidents that only in hindsight helped shape the Empire.

That's where the investigation stood when Gtar-Cro tracked Archangel's PI signal to the Tchutchka system. Sensor data was quickly analyzed. A military cruiser stationed above Tchutchka Centrus recorded an unusual sensor hit passing through the atmospheric sphere. Quick re-examination of the ship's scanner logs using MI's algorithms revealed the Hydeera signature and that correlated to Archangel's traced signal. Analysis also revealed the second phenomenon entering Tchut airspace a day earlier and then departing approximately the time of Archangel's comm to Ztar.

The Emperor sighed heavily as he felt a rare headache looming. He did not like what they had learned and hypothesized. Two highly advanced ships – evidence pointed to that. One was the vessel holding his former companion, and the other… Etagllot? Someone else? No answers. He moved the report data to a holo-projection in front of his desk and rose to stand next to the hovering image. Extending a hand into the projection, he reshuffled the sighting incidents from chronological into two columns he labeled innocuous and illicit.

A pattern was immediately apparent. The Hydeera signature seemed to correlate with benign events – the save on Hydeera, the prevented kidnapping, and Jandur were three examples. The Earth signature fell into the illicit column – Gzenra, Mon Genesis, and probable flipside of the thwarted kidnapping. But beyond a certain time marker, there was only the Hydeera signature. The Earth signature seemed a more recent phenomenon – within the last 10 years. Had sensor technology simply advanced enough to be able to detect glimpses of it at that point? Or was it suggesting one ship's cloaking technology had been upgraded?

Ztar studied the holo image. Gtar-Cro's team had pointed out a gap in the Hydeera signature appearances and it stood out prominently. From the first documentation of the Earth signature around the time of the Raisil acquisition until roughly two years ago, the Hydeera signature disappeared. Why? Possibilities swirled, all leading to the question that still had no definitive answer – was there one ship or two?

One person could likely provide an answer – Archangel. Did Ztar dare ask? How would Archangel and the Esserru react to knowing he was conducting an extensive probe into their movements? Ztar swung his arm through the projection in growing frustration and unease, sending data images flying. Doubts were beginning to nip at his heels as he returned to his desk.

One ship was confirmed Eshaaru by Archangel. The other could be Etagllot-controlled if the attempted Earth abduction was indeed that organization as the Esserru claimed. That assumption led to two possibilities – one alarming and the other heartbreaking. Either the Etagllot had commandeered an Eshaaru ship at some juncture or some of the Eshaaru were working with the Etagllot. The Turzent emperor groaned deeply. Neither possibility was welcome. If an Etagllot-controlled Eshaaru ship was moving freely within his empire and injecting itself into key events or perhaps even orchestrating those events, he had a major problem on his hands. 'By the gods, what are the people on that ship up to?'

Ztar rubbed his temples, then drew his hands through the thick, black-crimson hair and leaned back in his chair. 'All you have concluded is only conjecture. Perhaps it isn't the Etagllot behind the second ship – is it possible Archangel's protectors are wrong on that? Maybe someone else is after Archangel and behind the illicit events, some of which clearly had benefited your empire-building campaign. But if not Etagllot, who?'

Then he thanked the gods again for giving him the wisdom to move from a pure dictatorship to an imperiocratic government. With most of the day-to-day burdens of running a vast interstellar empire shifted to local authorities, he could focus on the big threats to his realm – the Etagllot, the increasingly unstable Commonwealth and that accompanying uncertainty, unresolved issues with Parma-Sentois, and now perhaps an unidentified force manipulating to an unknown agenda.

At that moment, Jharda entered his office with a warm smile that instantly soothed his troubled mind. "My Emperor, I have come to rescue you," she cooed, coming around to his side of the large desk. Placing her hands on his broad shoulders, she began to massage the tense muscles.

Ztar immediately began to relax. "I should be doing this for you, my Empress. You carry a heavier and far more important burden – our future emperor."

She leaned down to his ear. "Point one, beloved. I'm not yet officially Empress. Point two, that's future empress, and point three – allow me the pleasure of giving my lover a massage without protests." Then she pinched a particularly tender point causing Ztar to jerk.

"Point one will be rectified soon," he said with a light laugh. "Point two is currently under debate. Point three…well, I will relent on that."

Jharda kissed the top of Ztar's head and caressed his ear. "Time to come to the bedchamber."

Ztar twisted around to look up at his beautiful Jharda with a salacious grin. "You'll get no protests on that!"

###

After his and Ettwanae's short getting-to-know-you session, Volu told Warren what she'd learned regarding The Dark Ones. It wasn't much. There were speculations, rumors, theories, and even scoff, but nothing concrete.

What Volu discovered echoed what he heard from Tider and Tribo'lu. At one end of the spectrum, the Dark Ones were an ultra-secret sect of Etxan'Ir searchers and on the other end, one of the ancients – powerful, shadowy beings of darkness. Little hard evidence existed to give more weight to one theory over another. Warren was disappointed. He'd hoped for greater insight into the enemy, something he could use to their advantage. If they were indeed heading into a Dark Ones lair, he wanted more than rumor and speculation. That was not to be.

One thing bothered him slightly during Volu's report. 'Maybe I'm just imagining it, but she seems almost cool to me lately, but not all the time. Off and on – like today. Wonder if it's me or if something else is bothering her?' he pondered. Since Volu had not been shy about sharing her disapprovals before, Warren decided to let it be. He had other problems to focus on. Like Flint.

A big decision loomed – take Flint on the Neu mission or not. The kid's ability could be extremely useful in a fight, but he was inexperienced, cocky, impulsive, and not used to following orders; any of which could get them captured or killed. Yet if Flint was ever going to be useful, he had to gain experience and there was only one way to do that.

Sighing, he slid back on the crate and leaned into Volu's bulkhead. On the other hand, he should get that experience first in less vital, less potentially dangerous missions. Flint needed training. Warren had to know the smart-mouthed teen would do as he was told. The more he considered it, the more Warren convinced himself Neu was not the place for Flint's first mission. 'No, priority one – he must learn what being on a team means, learn to follow order without question, and how to defend himself with more than his ability.' And so Warren began to plan out Flint's training program.

Then there was Ettwanae; equally ill equipped to face potentially deadly enemies. What Warren needed was a danger room.

"Volu, can you project holographic images down here?" he asked.

"I have no visual display capabilities on the lower level. Why do you ask?"

There is was again – that bit of frost in the tone. "Just a hope I had, but it won't work."

'If holo displays aren't possible, then the enemy will have to be something real.' He smiled wryly. 'Guess they'll have to fight little ol' me.' Could be painful. Could be fun. 'As long as Flint keeps the fire away from the feathers, it could work.' But the thought of burned plumage gave Warren pause. Since mature feathers are mostly dead, they would not regenerate if singed, and his next molt was a ways off. Bottom line, he'd have to trust Flint not to singe pinions, unintentionally or otherwise.

First chore was to break the news to Flint, who'd been hinting around since Tchutchka that he wanted in on Neu. Second, Warren had to decide how to prepare Ettwanae without getting themselves into an uncomfortable 'predicament.' Close-contact training was likely out of the question while Aru was active.

He sighed again, noting he had done a lot of that since joining the intrepid group. The urgings flared after 'the hug' and he had sought refuge once more in the lower cargo hold. Closing his eyes, he felt Aru's nagging, akin to a deep, intense itch he couldn't scratch or a craving no substitute satisfied. It may just drive him insane. That and boredom. And the confinement. The feathered appendages spread with longing. He needed some airtime and soon.

"Volu, how long 'til Thael?"

"3.2 ISD."

He groaned. 'Three more days. God, help me!'

###

They had landed on Thael without incident when Warren's curiosity got the best of him. It took all of his Worthington persuasiveness to convince Volu, but he wanted a report. Warren again requested privacy when the Eshaar'ne finally relented, yet he had no way of confirming the ship wouldn't eavesdrop. Her presence seemed to hover at the edge of his perceptions. The Eshaar'ne's lukewarm behavior toward him had continued. Suspicion nagged, but he could do little about it except confront her. That could keep.

Ztar's expression communicated the answer before he spoke it. "I'm sorry, Archangel, but the information had already been sold."

"Shit! Any idea to whom?"

"Unfortunately, the operative wasn't able to secure that information. Tider's mind is apparently unbreachable. Our telepath said she had not encountered mental shields as powerful as his. When pressed, the man said the data was a one-time sale and no longer available for purchase. He was firm even under threat." The Emperor released a sigh Warren recognized all too well. "You had requested he not be harmed, so I abided by that." The Emperor was clearly disappointed by the restriction.

"We might need him in the future."

Ztar's face furrowed from a frown. "Perhaps. The telepath is one of Gtar-Cro's best, which means Tider's shields are substantial."

The report immediately gave Warren a new appreciation for the broker. "It explains a lot about how he's able to keep information to himself and stay in business – and remain alive."

Then a sly look slid across the Turzent features. "I would like to opportunity to test those shields."

Warren smirked. Aside from Charles Xavier, he knew of few telepaths as powerful as Ztar.

"He may indeed be useful in the future," Ztar continued, but didn't elaborate. "I worry more about you every day, Archangel. Your enemies keep multiplying."

"We don't know who bought that information – could be someone already on the list. It's Ettwanae I worry about. She must be protected."

Ztar almost jumped toward the screen at that. "All the more reason I should send an escort to you. I can't protect you when I don't know where you are and what you're doing."

Warren watched the Emperor's face and eyes – he was truly worried. That concern could lead Ztar to do things Warren would rather he not. "Ztar, tell me you'll drop whatever ideas you have about how to protect me. It will only complicate matters."

Ztar threw up his hands and leaned back sharply in his chair. "Complicate? How much more complex can things become? The whole situation is a swirl of unanswered questions, unknown adversaries, the Etagllot, kidnappings, disturbing manipulations, mysterious ships-"

Warren cut him off on that one. This was his opportunity. "Ztar, I'm on the mystery ship from Hydeera."

Ztar was silent for many seconds. Warren could see the wheels turning.

"They saved you." Ztar's eyes were riveted to Warren's.

"Yes."

"Gtar-Cro and I speculated as much." The frown returned, but one more of concentration. "My instincts said there were two ships involved in the attempt to take you from Earth – the ship you're on and another vessel."

"You're right, there was."

"That other ship is like the one you're on now. It's an Eshaaru vessel as well, isn't it?"

"Yes, Ztar."

"Warren!" Surprised mixed with anger in Volu's hushed outcry.

'Got my confirmation on the privacy issue,' Warren grimaced, irritation flaring. The Turzent gave Warren an odd look, but said nothing about the female voice. 'He can't hear Volu?'

"Are there others?" the Emperor wanted to know.

"Not that we're aware of."

"No more." The command was laden with warning.

Ztar cocked his head. "Hence your message that Gtar-Cro should not worry about a fleet of cloaked ships."

"Exactly," he replied trying to hide his reactions to Volu from the Turzent.

"If the Etagllot have an Eshaaru ship…" Ztar shook his head. "Can you confirm that? Are Eshaaru working with the Etagllot?"

"Warren. No more!" the Eshaar'ne backed up her demand with a sharp zap to the back of his neck, and he jerked. 'Fuck!' Now he knew what Flint experienced.

Concern filled the Turzent's deep brown eyes as he leaned toward the screen. "Archangel, is everything alright? You look suddenly upset."

"Everything is good. Just a little disagreement between a couple people here that distracted me. I'm going to have to cut this short."

Ztar gave him a long, intense look before speaking again. "I have many questions about the Eshaaru you are with, who is in the other ship, and more. Can't we talk a little longer?"

"Sorry, but I've got to go. Thanks for trying with Tider. I very much appreciate the effort. We'll talk again later." Then he ended the link.

"Volu, that was rude," he pointed out with a flat tone, holding ire at bay. "My conversation was supposed to be private."

"You know our wishes, Warren. You were ignoring them. In fact, you ignored them earlier and asked the Emperor to make contact with Tider. But more than that, you obviously told Ztar you are with an Eshaaru! How dare you betray us!" The feminine voice burned with semi-contained rage.

'Oh, she's pissed,' Warren remarked silently, almost certain he felt the room vibrating. "Ztar is not the enemy. He can be trusted. In fact, we could tap into huge resources if you'd just let him help."

"Your emperor has done nothing to warrant my trust," Volu shot back with venomous tenor.

Warren jumped from his bed in rising agitation. "What will it take, Volu? What would Ztar have to do to gain your trust? How can you condemn him as untrustworthy if you won't even give him an opportunity to prove himself? That is illogical!"

"No!" The retort came quickly. "His record speaks for itself."

"That record you hold as evidence is of a man who no longer exists, Volu. Look at what he's done recently. He has changed. Ztar is not the man he was even three years ago. I was there. I saw. I-" He wanted to say it – to claim his role in moving Ztar from ruthless and self-serving to what he had become. Still, it felt presumptuous. Yet if Volu believed him to be at least part Eshaaru...and if the legends of Esserru as healers of souls had even some basis in reality… He quieted his voice and temper and sat back on the bed gently. "I helped him heal, Volu. He was always an honorable man in his own way, but it was overwhelmed by the aftereffects of atrocities he endured. Somehow I was able to reach him and…and help his soul to heal." Warren paused, but the Eshaar'ne remained quiet. "I don't know how exactly, but that is what he claims, not me. He left the darkness behind."

Heavy silence filled the room for many long moments. Warren waited, holding his breath.

"Some Eshaaru filter The Source sufficiently to affect individual Ura and restore balance to the energy patterns. The rebalancing results in the recipient individual being at peace and filled with contentment. Hence the "Healer of Souls" moniker Eshaaru have acquired in various legends." She sounded distant, as if the reciting a passage from her memory stores.

"He's has changed, Volu," Warren offered softly.

"Time will reveal whether or not your faith is warranted, Warren."

If that were as much as she was willing to give, he would take it. "Agreed. So you know, I asked Ztar to keep Ettwanae a secret – even from his mate – and he vowed he would."

"For her sake, I hope he can. Regardless of Ztar's current trustworthiness, you should not have broken trust with us, Warren."

Warren could have sworn the room temperature dropped several degrees. "I only did to keep Ztar from looking for me. He needed something concrete to reassure him I was not in danger. I know the man – if he believed at all that I was being coerced, he'd turn the empire upside-down to find me. Is that what you wanted? His beliefs say the Eshaaru are benevolent. And it worked, he backed off."

"You had other options that could have been just as convincing."

"I have found that lying often backfires, Volu, especially with a telepath. It may gain an objective in the short-term, but when the lie is discovered, you've lost far more than achieved. I apologize for not telling you what I shared with Ztar, but your anger now is exactly why I remained silent. You're right, I knew your wishes, but at no time did I say I would not tell Ztar. Keeping him from doing something we preferred he didn't was my motive and although you disagree with the method, it apparently is working."

A heavy silence hung in the room as the second ticked by. 'Will Volu decide I'm not to be trusted? That is not something I'm really looking forward to dealing with,' he lamented. 'Time will tell how much damage has been done.'

Finally, Volu spoke. "Exposing her existence to Tider was foolish as well. You should not have let her to do so."

"Let her?" Warren's ire reignited quickly at the accusation. "That was her decision. I did not even suggest she do so."

"I know." The tone had shifted to neutral. "She told me you had nothing to do with that choice."

"Damn right I had nothing to do with it," he huffed. "Besides, it got us what we needed – a lead."

"Hopefully, a lead worth the price."

Warren nodded. He had the same reservations as the Eshaar'ne in that respect. "Let's hope Tider lives up to his reputation and the nodes are indeed on Neu." Heaviness remained in the air. "And I did try to prevent Tider from selling that knowledge to the wrong people. Ztar attempted to get it for us. You have to give him and me that much credit." The soft background sound of Volu's internal functions was his only reply. "Still angry with me?" He so wished Volu had a face he could look into. 'Was that a sigh?' he wondered at the odd sense of release that rippled through the room.

"I have moved from anger to disappointment."

"Over Ztar?"

"And Tider."

That puzzled him. "Tider? How so?"

"That you were unable to find another way to obtain the information from him."

"As in use of force?"

"You said you could be ruthless. You implied use of techniques that we have not employed in the past."

The Eshaar'ne had hoped he'd use violence? "Volu, if Ettwanae had not been with me, other options may have been available, but I could not risk starting something with Tider that could end up getting her hurt."

"That was the answer I had hoped you would give, but afraid you would not."

"As in afraid I'd take unnecessary chances with her safety?"

"Yes. You chose not to. That is good."

He passed a test he did not know he was taking. 'At least I've done something right in her eyes.' However, tension still hung in the air.

"What is not good is your emperor has been given a very precious secret…we shall see if he honors it," the ship announced flatly while all too clearly once again rejecting Ztar as her monarch.

"I cannot change your mind if you are determined to view him as a threat. All I ask is you give him a chance to prove he can be trusted."

Suddenly, it felt as if the air drained out of his small quarters to be replaced by suffocating foreboding. "Ztar has been given his chance, Warren, not by me, but by you." Volu's voice was as cold as deep space. "Know this – if he or his minions attempt to take or harm Ettwanae, if they endanger her in any way, I will destroy them without hesitation. Anyone that puts her life in jeopardy will forfeit their own. There is nothing I will not do to protect her. For his own sake, I pray your emperor upholds his vow of secrecy."

Shivers ran down the length of Warren's spine and his wings quivered. For the first time since boarding Volu, Warren truly feared the living ship.

###

A/N: Next chapter, the Tchutchka Centrus visit fallout comes to haunt, while Warren and company enjoy themselves on Thael.