Venom Intelligence Cruiser: Enigma.

The Enigma, in short, was not quite like any space-faring vessel Maya Kaido had experienced before. Granted, the young feline's firsthand knowledge space travel thus far had been passenger cruisers of varying qualities, never anything military or tough. From the moment Maya saw the Enigma berthed at the port, to meeting the first of her crew outside, to now being guided through her internal corridors, there were two specific words that came to mind as she observed and traversed this vessel: Sleek, and Efficient.

The overall shape was a kind of, tapered cigar form, widening toward the rear to accommodate engine thrusters and a set of stabilizing winglets, all topped off with a black color that had just the slightest glossy finish to it. If the classic image of a bodyguard or secret agent were given spaceship form, the Enigma would definitely be a fitting shape it would take. The interior gave a similar impression, with its no-nonsense utilitarian design modified by a subtle, simple elegance. It wasn't much; a touch of wood-grain highlights here, a bit of polished glass there; but it was enough that by the visuals alone, one could tell they weren't aboard a dull cargo freighter or military warship.

The crew members Maya had seen so far similarly reflected the ship's Sleek and Efficient design, as they moved about and performed their duties with an eerily stoic professionalism. The uniforms were mostly crisp black and gray, with a variety of rank markings at the shoulders, though there were a number of exceptions. One such exception was her host, Connor Griffon, who was still in the tasteful casual outfit Maya first saw him in.

As the avian agent guided Maya through the interior corridors of his ship, he took some delight in explaining the vessel's history, saying, "the Enigma was an operations vessel for Lylat Central Intelligence before the dissolution of the Agency, one of only a few of her kind. After the Cornerians broke everything up, I brought this ship to Venom, and she's served well ever since. The crew are almost all veterans of LCI or Interpatrol, intimately familiar with the ship and her capabilities, and also free of the stiflingly jingoistic attitudes of some hardliners of the Venom military. I couldn't ask for a better ship to take me and my missions around Lylat, nor a more worthy crew to operate her..."

"It's quite impressive, I'll give it that," Maya responded politely, only half-listening to Connor ramble on. It sounded like her host was a little bit nervous, and that it relieved him to talk, especially on matters not directly related to the mission at hand. Honestly, she sympathized, being distracted and worried about Sasha's safety herself, so she indulged him, and she listened.

Shortly though, they arrived outside a door: officer cabins, judging by some of the name tags on the other doors Maya saw as they passed. This one though was blank. Here, Connor Griffon turned around, saying, "I'm sorry we haven't had time to pick up any supplies you may have wanted, and we might be out and about for a while. It's not much, but the ship's Quartermaster can offer some of our basic crew uniforms if you ever need something else to change into."

"That's very kind of you," Maya thanked with a courteous nod.

"Here's your key for this cabin" the avian agent said, holding up a card with some electronic components built in, "There'll be a crewman posted outside if you need anything at all."

Then Connor used the key-card to open the cabin door, revealing a room with meager, but comfortable accommodations. If it weren't for the lack of a window, it could have easily been a room in a hotel, albeit a quite modest one. What caught Maya's attention most though were the current occupants of the cabin: Tess and Kell Zura. The two sat side-by-side at the edge of the bed, hands clasped together. They seemed to be talking before the door opened up, as they looked up at the newcomers, surprised, but not alarmed.

"Ah, there you are Kell," Connor greeted, "I'm about to get in touch with General Aster on Titania, and I want you in on it."

The older husky nodded, and gently placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, saying "Duty calls, Tess."

"Be sure and do the right thing, Kell," she replied as her husband stood up, making his way out.

"Whatever it takes," he grunted back as he and Maya passed each other. He didn't show it to Tess while his back was turned, but tha older soldier had a steely look of determination so hard and sharp it seemed chiseled into his features. For just a moment, Maya thought she recognized a similar 'inner fire' that she had seen in Sasha: truly, her father's daughter.

Then the cabin door closed, leaving Maya and Tess alone. At long last, the young feline let a lungful of breath escape she didn't even know she was holding, and the composure she'd been keeping ever since Connor first found her faltered. While she was still putting herself together though, Tess spoke up.

"Well, I don't know about you, but this isn't quite what I had in mind when I told Kell we ought do something special as a family, maybe get away for a while," she joked in an easy singsong tone, "I'm glad you could make it though, and on such short notice too. Sasha will no doubt be thrilled."

"What–" Maya stuttered, caught off-guard and struggling to find the words, "Ms. Zura– I don't–"

"Please dear, call me Tess," she said, letting out a small chuckle, "I know I know: how can I be so calm at a time like this? How can I crack jokes? How am I not in a miserable state of worry and fear?"

"Well, yes, that," Maya confirmed with a nod.

"Have a seat Maya dear, make yourself comfortable, and I'll be happy tell you all about it," Tess said as she gently patted an empty spot next to her on the bed, inviting Maya to sit. Once she was seated, the older husky woman took a quick moment to herself, and started.

"As the wife and mother of active, secretive soldiers, my typical days are spent alone while Kell and Sasha are away on duty doing God-Lyla only knows what. Worry and I are practically roommates, and like an odd roommate, I have to find a way to coexist comfortably, or everything will get wildly out of hand. So don't mistake my levity for apathy: of course I'm frightened for Sasha, but fretting over it isn't helpful to anyone. A bit of humor is just my way of coming to terms with this utterly bizarre, dangerous situation."

"Actually, I'm kind of jealous, that you can keep such a cool head," Maya confessed, trying to sound at-ease, "she's gone away on missions before, but she's never been captured, not like this. For that matter, I've never been involved like this! All I can think of is Sasha, and how scared I am for her. Then I also wonder if they're targeting me, why not other people I know? Are they okay? I just–"

Maya's words broke down as she found herself gasping for breath, and heart drumming inside her chest as fear and worry caught up with her. The young feline dropped her head in hands, trying to get a hold of herself as everything tensed up. After a deep, stabilizing breath, Maya spoke her mind, "I wish all this panic could just, go away for a while."

Slowly, Tess Zura draped her arm across the troubled young woman's shoulders, and did what she could to comfort her.

"The sad thing I'm afraid is that it doesn't just 'go away'," Tess began, now speaking in a gentle, motherly voice, "it's something you have to confront, one way or another, and everyone will have their own way of doing it. Humor may be my way, but I find it can help to have someone to talk to, and to have other things to talk about."

"Somehow I don't think any amount of small talk is going to help with this," Maya said, unconvinced.

"How about big talk instead?"

"Big talk?" the young feline said, looking up with a bit of confusion.

"Well, Maya dear, I should probably just up and say it now and get this out of the way," at this point, Tess gently clasped one of Maya's hands in her own, and looked her in the eye, "I know you and Sasha are good friends, but also a great deal more than friends."

The shock of that statement, of Sasha's mother knowing about them, stopped Maya's thoughts all at once. 'Big talk' indeed.

After a moment to collect herself, Maya formed the words and spoke, "she told you?"

"No," Tess replied, shaking her head, "she didn't have to."

"I'm so sorry!" Maya blurted out suddenly, "I was hoping she could come out to you on her own terms, when she was ready–"

"Please dear, don't be sorry," the older husky woman assured, "it's quite alright."

"You mean, you're not upset about it, about her and me?"

"In this day and age? Getting upset about one's preferred intimacies is like getting upset about preferred music and fashion," Tess said, practically scoffing at a presumption of prudery.

"I've long suspected Sasha may have a taste for ladies instead of gentlemen," Tess went on to explain, "she never talked about boys like I did when I was younger, or like the other girls her age, and she's never mentioned or brought any dates home– not until you, at any rate. I never pressed the issue though, since I wanted Sasha to decide how to confront that aspect on her terms. If she'd asked me for support or advice, I would have given it. If I believed she might be suffering terribly because of it, I would have approached her about it gently to help her.

"If there's anything about all this I might be 'upset' about, it's that Sasha hasn't told me herself," then Tess turned to Maya, a look of uncertainty in her eyes and concern in her tone, "to be honest, I was hoping you might have some insight as to why she hasn't."

Maya had to think about this for a moment. She and Sasha were going through an awkward time just as this mission got going, and Maya herself wasn't quite sure how it would turn out when it settled, if it settled. Again a spike of guilt drove into the young feline, that upsetting Sasha right before a mission might have had some influence in her capture, that she might be responsible for the mess everyone was in now. What should she say to a concerned mother in all this?

"Sasha is tough, very tough, at least outwardly anyway," Maya began, "Before she took on a life of a soldier, she was so shy, kept to herself, and didn't really let anyone one in. When she went to the military academy, that's when her outside hardened, gave her a social toughness like armor. Even though she was stronger outwardly though, there's still a shy emotional vulnerability, hidden away.

"I want to say, because I'm Sasha's first, she's still unsure how exactly she's going to handle things. She works so hard to 'do things right', to make me happy, because she's so afraid to screw it all up. She sees the chance that things may not work out as a possible disaster, and she bends over backward to avoid it. I feel like she'd see that as a personal failure on her part, as opposed to anything outside her control, and it terrifies her more than anything. All things considered, it's actually not an uncommon issue with a first love. What I think makes it worse for Sasha though is how she has her first love so late compared to many others. Add to that how Sasha has to be 'tough' as a military officer, how she's not supposed to 'show weakness', and it's a prime recipe for insecurity that she won't seek out help for, even if she needs it."

All the while, Tess Zura simply stared ahead, listening, sometimes nodding, but not responding. When she finally spoke again, her voice wasn't jolly and carefree as it had been. Her words wavered, affected by emotions, but not overcome by them.

"You know, Sasha became a soldier because of her father. She wanted to be strong like she sees Kell to be, to make him proud. She would be so ashamed if she ever 'showed weakness' to Kell, or to me. It's so easy to forget, beneath her rank insignia, beneath her stalwart soldiery, Sasha is still partly a shy, confused little girl. Though she's grown up far beyond her years in so many ways, in others it seems she still lags behind her age, " the older husky woman turned to Maya, and gave her an appreciative smile, "you're a very sweet girl, Maya, and you make my daughter very happy, happier than any other person I know. I'm glad Sasha has you."

That last point hit Maya close with another spike of guilt. The way things were going between her and Sasha, they very well might not have each other again when the mission ended. There was no point in trying to avoid it any longer, but maybe there was a less painful way to come at it...

"Actually, there's something I want to ask," Maya began, speaking gently. "I hope maybe the answer could help put things in perspective for me and Sasha."

"Of course, ask away," Tess replied, encouraging the young feline.

"I love Sasha, I'd never want to do anything to harm what we have, but I feel like being with her is causing some problems for me, and the fact that we're both girls is basically a moot point as far as I'm concerned." Maya insisted, heading off that possible point of concern. "What I'm getting at is this: Sasha is away so often, for so long at a time, often without any notice or warning. I worry about her, I miss her more than I ever did when we were friends, and then I start worrying about how it affects me. You've been with Kell a long time –a career soldier– and it seems to be working out pretty well for you two. If you don't mind me asking, how do you and Kell make it work so well with how much he's away, with basically the same situation Sasha and I have?"

Hearing this, the older woman took deep breath to collect herself before she began. "Thank you for trusting me, to open up about what is no doubt a troubling subject. I'm not sure how much my experience applies to you and Sasha, but if you think it it'll help, I'll tell you a bit of my story.

"It's not easy, what my husband and I have, that much is certain. There have been times when I miss Kell, when I desperately wish I had his comfort and strength by my side. It could be so easy, so tempting to look elsewhere, to someone more convenient for that sense of security, of companionship and affection. I know of several relationships that couldn't hold out, and collapsed under the strain of it. To truly love a soldier is not for the faint of heart, and can be nearly as taxing as combat itself.

"Soon after Kell and I started getting serious in our relationship, I started to fully realize just how tough a life Kell lives on a daily basis, how much stress and turmoil it is to be an active soldier. I began to understand that, because of this, I am one of the brightest spots in his perilous life. I also started to understand how instrumental I could be in easing his pain and turmoil, to make his hard life at least a bit better. For Kell, knowing that I'm ready and waiting for him gives him comfort and solace during his rough times, gives him the strength to carry on, to hang on to his convictions, and gives him a reason to look forward to coming home, and to be glad for it.

"When Kell does arrive home, we do our best to make the most of the time we have together, to set aside our troubles and be a comfort and joy to each other. We never have much stress over minor issues the way many couples do, which I personally believe is a sign of other underlying problems. The times we do have major issues, we address them with a calm understanding, knowing that we truly love each other and want what's best. It takes such a deep degree of trust, and a great reservoir of patience, to love the way Kell and I love. When it works though, as it has for us, love is a comfort and a solace like no other, like a having a hot cup of soup while wrapped in a cozy blanket next to a warm fire, during an otherwise cold and gloomy day." Then with a sly look and a chuckle, Tess' tone took a turn for the mischievous, adding "and with the strength of our trust, Kell and I have ample chances to spice things up as well, to be adventurous and bold where other couples may be squeamish or uncomfortable. The things we've done together, to one another..."

"Really?" Maya responded, highly intrigued at the prospect of Tess' lewd exploits, "Now this I've got to hear more about."

"I really shouldn't," Tess rebuffed with a coy blush. "Nobody really knows what Kell and I have been up to in our intimate times, especially not Sasha, goodness no."

"And she doesn't have to know," Maya assured the older woman. "With your wealth of experiences, I'm sure I could be inspired to come up with something 'adventurous and bold' for Sasha when this is all over."

"Alright, just for you," Tess relented, "but understand that a lady will still keep some secrets," she ended with a playful wink.

\


Mother, Daughter, Soldier, Spy


/

Somewhere on Titania.

It felt like a couple hours since the group had escaped the convoy's battle against the Goras in the storm, but Sasha Zura wasn't sure, as she hadn't paid much attention to time after that harrowing incident. She just stared out into the billowing storm, into swirling red dust she couldn't see past, which clouded and obscured everything all around the vehicle. In the end though, all storms blow over, and so was the one outside. Although the wind still blew, and rust colored dust still filled the air, it was now less of a raging, 'dry hurricane' and more of a gusty red haze–

A small shape darted through the wind and dust, closing in fast. The blurred silhouette came into focus at it approached, revealing it to be a well-worn hoverbike. The rider was bundled tightly against the elements, and bristling with an aggressive array of weaponry. Then Sasha saw more shapes arrive out of the dust: more bikers by the looks of it.

"We've got company!" Sasha called out, as she reached for the assault rifle she'd used earlier.

"Company: yes," Rick replied over the noise of the vehicle's engine, and prepared a signal flare gun, "but they're not hostiles."

Then the old raccoon strapped on a pair of goggles and tied a length of cloth over his muzzle before opening, and climbing partway out of the overhead hatch. The sudden howling an ripping of wind against the open hatch cut out all other sounds, so much so that the rocket flare barely registered in the soundscape when it was fired into the air.

Seeing the flare, the ragged, well-armed bikers drifted away back into the dust. Soon after, Rick dropped back down into the vehicle's cabin, closing the hatch behind him as he settled back in.

"Friends of yours?" Sasha asked, motioning out the window to where the bikers were last seen.

"Old and crotchety friends," Rick confirmed, "who will never let me forget how much I owe them, but friends nonetheless."

"We should be coming up on our stop any second now!" Sancho Cupelo announced from the driver's seat.

"The safe house?" Sasha asked, moving toward the front to get a better look forward.

"Sure, something like that," the old raccoon said with a shrug.

Ahead of the vehicle, a large shape began to emerge from the dusty haze, along with another, and several more after that. These were stationary shapes though, stone structures, all of them crumbling, wind-swept, and half-buried in the sand. It might have been an old city: a remnant of an ancient Titanian civilization, before the calamity that turned the planet into a dusty wasteland.

It was a little hard to tell for sure through the haze, but it looked like some of the massive structures were crafted in the shapes of faces. Oddly though, they didn't quite look like any Lylatin species Sasha knew of. The closest might have been one of the primate family, but they were sharper, more angular, and somehow alien. As the group drove past, these ancient dead faces simply watched them, observing the vehicle travel between them with their lifeless gazes. Soon, the vehicle came to a stop in the center of a large, flat area surrounded by several fragments of the broken ruins.

With the engine quieted, the only other sounds present now were the mournful howl of wind, and the stinging sizzle of sand against the outside.

"A bit of a dump, isn't it?" Sasha commented offhand.

A nearly immediate reply came when everything around began to shake, as if a major quake had just fired underneath the vehicle's wheels. Then a great metallic groan and mechanical chorus sounded, while the ground before the group split wide apart, slowly opening to a deep vertical shaft below. The edge of shaft was maybe around fifty or so meters across, but it was difficult to get an exact sense of scale being so close, and the top stretching so far to the other side.

As soon as the gigantic aperture over the shaft opened fully, a rugged platform lift rose up to ground level just in front, onto which Cupelo eased the vehicle forward, and locked the brakes in place. Just as promptly as it had risen, the lift began its descent down the shaft carried along by a set of vertical rails, but now with cargo and passengers along for the ride.

"True, the old dust-hole has seen better days, but we make it work somehow," Rick said in response to Sasha's comment, conspicuously nonchalant about it.

The young husky herself was still a bit awestruck at the whole scenario, and didn't have a reply ready then. Instead, she simply watched as they continued their dive down underground.

The continuing descent went by without much fanfare, but Sasha did not some observations on the way down. The inside of the shaft was rough, and didn't seem like it was cut by mining or drilling equipment. Though Sasha's own knowledge of geology was adequate at best, she couldn't think of a natural process that could bore such an impressive hole, at least not without leaving visible traces on the surface. This left a wide assortment of unnatural causes to consider...

Eventually, after an uneventful descent, the shaft below opened suddenly into a expansive, mostly natural cavern. The space was sparsely illuminated with artificial lighting, which cast an eerie, almost feeble white-gray light across the natural stone ceiling, and a vast underground lake below. At the shore of the lake some distance away, a handful of small prefabricated buildings and structures stood clustered around some of the brighter sources of light. It wasn't unlike small mobile prefabs at a work site, or military camp.

All the while the lift continued straight down along its carriage rails, now supported by a sturdy frame that extended all the way to the ground. At the very base of the lift was an island in the middle of the lake, with a bridge connecting it to the shore near the compound. However, this central island played host to the most peculiar sight here: the battered, crumpled remains of starship; a cruiser, if Captain Zura was remembering her space-naval nomenclature right.

"How did a ship this size even get down here?" Sasha asked, fixated on the out-of-place wreck, "what is this place?"

"It's a long story, too long to tell now, but uh..." Rick said in a tired tone, but still with a need to say something, "you know that shaft we just came down?"

"Yeah."

"This busted-up ship made that hole on its way in."

"Bullshit!" Sasha blurted out.

With a small laugh, the old raccoon replied, "I was just as skeptical as you are now, and I was right here when it all happened."

"Long story or not, that sounds like a story worth hearing."

"Maybe later," Rick said with sigh made weary by his years, "for now, I'll just say that a desperate man once saw something here, something terrible, and it drove him to do absolutely terrible things."

Sasha might have pressed him further for information, but at that time the lift came to a stop at the bottom, just a short ways away from the wrecked cruiser. Alongside the wreck stood a few more prefab buildings, several more lighting masts, and an impressive array of heavy weaponry. Mostly it was smaller point-defense blasters, some missile tubes, but also there was a plasma cannon the size of a bus: enough to threaten all but the sturdiest battleships in Lylat's spacefaring navies.

"Everyone out," Cupelo, said over his shoulder to the passengers, "I'll go and find a place to park this beast."

With that, Alastar, Rick, Olsen and Sasha all disembarked, and Cupelo drove the stolen military 4x4 away and across the bridge to the shore. Outside the confines of the vehicle's cabin, the sheer cold of the cavern hit Sasha like a block of ice. Her breath and others came out in misty puffs, and every time she inhaled, the husky's lungs felt like they could be frozen by the air she took in.

Two figures strode toward the group from the direction of the wreckage, both of them women. One was white canid –either wolf or husky– with a stern, cold gaze and piercing golden eyes. The other was a raccoon who looked suspiciously similar to Rick, possibly similar in age. The latter carried a metal case at her side, and was the first to greet the group.

"Took your sweet time getting here," the lady raccoon said in a cheerful, mock-scolding tone, "did you get lost on the way or something?"

"Extraction didn't go quite according to plan," Rick responded, "General Aster's forces ran into the Goras, and we had to bug out while we still had the chance."

"I'll bet: the scouts saw the ruckus from pretty far off. Still, it's good to see everyone made it one piece," then the lady raccoon added in a teasing voice, "even you, Alastar."

"Oh come off it Rachelle," the scruffy merc replied in a matching tone, "you'd miss me dearly and you know it."

"You're right, you're right," Rachelle added with a dismissive had-wave, "how are those new implant mods working out?"

"Just dandy Miss, but there's something I want to talk about when you have a spare minute."

That's when the white wolf woman spoke, in a razor-sharp voice with a sour hint of disdain, "If we're finished slapping each other's backs, let's proceed with the business at hand."

"Alright, cool your teats, Ice-Princess," Rachelle said as she held up and opened the case, showing the contents to the group in front of her.

"Dr. Olsen," the stern white canid began without any further ado, and motioned to the open case, "do you know what this is?"

The older owl stepped forward, thoughtfully stroking his beak as he examined the case. After only a moment, Olsen brightened up, overcome with a sudden spike of excitement.

"Ah yes!" the avian doctor, exclaimed, "this is a working prototype of my medical nanite field kit! How in all Lylat did you get your hands on this?"

The white lady wolf held her steady gaze, and cocked an eyebrow up as her only reply.

"Right, spies, probably don't want to know anyway," Olsen muttered in discomfort, and returned his attention to the kit in front of him, "it looks to be in good working condition."

"In that case, I need you to perform a comparative DNA analysis between Captain Sasha Zura and myself," the white wolf declared, and held out her arm.

"What? Now?" Olsen asked, "here?"

"Now," the older canid woman confirmed, and glanced toward Sasha for a moment, as if to silently order her to cooperate too.

"Well, alright then," the owl said with a small huffing sigh, then took hold of the kit and started preparations, "I'll need a sample from each of you, and blood should be quick and simple enough for our purposes."

In a matter of seconds, Olsen had a handheld injector/extractor in his grip, and went to work. He placed the instrument on the white wolf's arm, and a moment later the tiny attached vial filled with her blood. The simple procedure was repeated with Sasha, and the avian doctor had two samples to work with.

"Now, I just add a tiny number of these nanites to the blood samples in solution," Olsen commentated as he worked with the kit, "and they can perform a great many analyses quite rapidly, including comparative genetic analysis, though I have no idea what you'd expect to find here–" but all at once, he stopped, and checked the readouts in the kit again before uttering a quiet, wide-eyed, "oh..."

"What's going on?" Sasha asked, "what did you find?"

"Well, based on these results," the avian doctor said as he presented the display screen of his, showing the results, "I'd have to say you two ladies are related: mother and daughter."

The revelation was odd to the young soldier, mostly because there wasn't any way that could be correct.

"No, that can't be right," Sasha protested, shaking her head as she scrutinized the data displayed by Olsen's kit, "something must be wrong with your gear."

"My equipment is working precisely as I intended," Cadan Olsen insisted as he took a stern defensive stance, "this test could be done a thousand times with a thousand different doctors and a thousand different methods, and the results would all be the same. According to the genetics, this woman is your mother."

With a sharp edge to her gaze and a fire in her belly, Sasha stared down this mysterious white furred lady wolf. She hadn't budged in the slightest since she gave her blood sample; she just waited, and watched with those calm, knowing eyes. She must have staged this somehow, like Rick had staged so many things that got Sasha into this mess. Whatever this setup was meant to be, this was too far, and Sasha refused to lay down and be defeated here.

"My mother is Teresa, Evelyn, Zura, and wife of Kellam Zura," Sasha growled at the pale, unflinching wolf woman before her, "I have seen the hospital video where I come out of her! You cannot possibly be my mother! Who the hell are you, anyway?!"

"Gillian Morrow, Special Agent of the Cornerian Security Bureau, at your service," she said calmly as she introduced herself, "you and I have quite a lot to discuss, Captain Zura."

\


/

Author Notes:

I promise I'm not dead, not yet! And my stories aren't dead either, maybe in a bit of a coma, but not dead.

To everyone who keeps reading, keeps finding me and pulling me out of the woodwork, thank you. My continued writing here would probably not be happening if it weren't for all. Just a little heads up for everyone, I want to finish this story before moving on with Star Fox: Legacy. This is just about reaching its end (finally, I know), and I think it's high time I finish what I started here.

To sharp-eyed readers with long memories, I am indeed making a few references to previous work. The "safe house" is the same place from Star Fox: Legacy II, just several years older. And this Gillian Morrow character at the end is the same as/heavily inspired by the Gillian Morrow of Tobias Umbra's stories, just several years younger. Tobias' work is a bit older, but I'd still consider classics in Star Fox fanfic, and I'd definitely recommend checking it out when you have the chance.

As always, your feedback and responses are most welcome, thank you.