A/N - Sorry for the long wait, but exams and general Uni chaos kinda took over. It's officially Christmas now, though, so hopefully I can update more often. Thanks so much for all the reviews, I'm really glad people are enjoying this!

Disclaimer - I don't own anything to do with NCIS.

Timothy was used to atrocities in war. He had seen them, participated in them, even ordered them because when everything around you is in chaos sometimes terrible things must be done. This, however, was unlike anything he had imagined possible.

Returning to the Orbiter, returning to the disbelieving faces who had watched Zsais disappear abruptly from the radar screens, Timothy had no idea what to tell them. What he had just seen was hard to verbalise.

"The solar system Zsais has been destroyed." Timothy addressed the room, not really sure how he was keeping the shock and, now, the fury out of his voice. "Are the radars still picking up the ships?"

Kinoan answered. His kindly red face seemed to have aged several years in the last ten minutes. "No. They vanished straight after Zsais was ..." Kinoan trailed off. The truth seemed too far-fetched, too terrible to put into words.

"Obliterated." Harriet had been unusually quiet since their return, but her voice was as even as ever when she finally spoke up. It was like her to be the one who found the words for this. Timothy could almost see the cogs whirring behind her dark eyes, searching for answers; what force, in the whole of the known universe, was powerful and ruthless enough to do this?

The Control Room's Commander stepped forward. He, like his staff, wore a look of horror on both his faces. The fear in the room was more palpable now they had witnessed what the unknown ships were capable of, but it was still a subdued undercurrent. Every person here had seen their share of combat and bore it stoically.

"Sir, what are we facing here?" The left-hand head asked. It seemed to be the more talkative of the Commander's two personalities. The blue hair told Timothy he was from the planet Nicasio, two hundred light years away, which Timothy knew would one day have a very large human colony. Nicasians lived almost exclusively below ground and did not mind sharing their planet with other species.

"I don't know, Commander." Timothy told him gravely. This was no time for lies or for sugar-coating what couldn't be denied. "But, whoever they are, this is war. Contact the radio room and have them summon the Generals immediately. The ships will return."

Without waiting for a response, Timothy turned and whisked from the room with Kinoan close on his heels. Harriet didn't seem to notice their exit; she had called up the full range of radar output screens and was scanning them intently for anything that shouldn't be there.

"You cannot just declare war, Timothy," Kinoan said reproachfully. "There are procedures to follow, things to be-"

"You know as well as I do what the outcome of the Generals' meeting will be." Timothy interrupted, quickening his strides. If he hoped to outpace the alien, he would be disappointed; Kinoan was old but still fit and at least three feet taller than his human counterpart.

"Our galaxy has been attacked in the most terrible way. Our only option is to respond in kind."

"Stop." Kinoan put a firm hand on Timothy's shoulder, bringing him to a halt. They had found their way, once again, to the observation deck. It had always been, from the day they met, the place Timothy and Kinoan went to talk. Looking down at his home from such a distance always made Timothy's thoughts clearer.

Timothy had just been made Captain when they first met, slightly afraid of the responsibility and the expectation now on his very young shoulders. Kinoan had been a General for a long time - so long that nobody could remember a Unified Interstellar Peace Force which didn't have him at the helm - but he had taken Timothy under his wing and given him the confidence and advice he needed.

They disagreed often but there was no one, on Earth or off, he trusted and respected more. Still, though, Kinoan was a man of peace and Timothy was, Timothy had to be, of war.

"You need to calm down." Kinoan told him firmly.

"I am calm."

"I can see straight through you, my friend," Kinoan said without breaking their contact. "You are angry and afraid and it is clouding your mind."

"Of course I am! I just saw an entire solar system destroyed before my eyes and could do nothing about it." Timothy stared out at his planet spinning beneath them, seven billion people rushing around their ordinary, amazing lives, completely unaware of the danger they were now facing.

Every Peace Force soldier swore an oath, first to the protection of their home planet and then to the Force itself. With such vast and dizzying distances to bridge in their, often futile, attempts to bring calm to the galaxy, a sense of home was vital.

All I am I vow to thee. The archaic opening line of that promise was loud in Timothy's head right now. A pledge he had made on his first day as a solider, which had suddenly become so much more important than ever before.

The protection of home was everything and, at this moment, home seemed incredibly vulnerable. Three satellite defence stations were nothing compared to what he had just witnessed.

"You are of no use to your planet if your head is filled with those fatalistic thoughts, Timothy."

Kinoan's words startled him slightly. He had often wondered if the man possessed some psychic abilities, for he always seemed to know what Timothy was thinking and feeling.

"I understand you are worried for your home. I am, for mine. But Earth, as Joscial Ax, is just one planet." The tone of Kinoan's voice was familiar to Timothy from the hours he had spent, sitting beside the alien in stuffy conference rooms, listening to him diffuse the tensest of situations. Kinoan's reputation was deserved; he could talk even the most blood thirsty militants into peace and leave them thinking it had been their desire from the start.

He continued. "You were made General because of your ability to make the decisions, however difficult, that need to be made. I have watched you grow into your role and I have seen that you are capable of great things when you do not let your emotions rule."

"Great things, Kinoan?" Timothy's laugh was entirely without mirth. "I would not call the things I have done, great."

"And that is why they are. Emotions may need to be put aside but to discard them completely will ultimately be your downfall. You are a great General because you recognise the things you have done as terrible but necessary."

"I'm not so sure I can do this."

"Old friend, there is no doubt in my mind that you can lead us through these difficulties. Have you ever known me to be wrong?"

At this, Timothy managed a small smile and looked up. "No, you've never been wrong."

"I don't plan on making a start now." Kinoan surveyed Timothy with ancient, deep red eyes and Timothy had to wonder just how old he really was. All of history played behind the concerned affection.

"The Generals will take a few hours to gather," the alien went on, guiding Timothy towards one of the many off-shooting corridors. "And you have been awake for far too long. Get some sleep. I have a feeling you are going to need it."