As they stepped out of the elevator, they were immediately swarmed by people. H.E.L.E.N. had refused to give information about their whereabouts as courtesy to their privacy. Officers from O.R.C.A. had been instructed to look for them, along with some of Shalamorn's guards. H.E.L.E.N. had warned them but the massive activity in the corridors was still surprising. Jason felt slightly guilty as Diane with Brett and Shalamorn behind her rushed toward them.

"We are ok, Mum," Jason assured Diane as she threw her arms around him.

"Mum, I told you they were just sneaking out," Brett said, giving Jason an apologetic look.

"Yes, yes," Diane replied, "but you were in this horrible state when you arrived and when you were gone, I thought …" She paused suddenly and stared at his face. Carefully, eyes wide with a disbelieving expression, she touched his face, drew lines across his with her fingertips. "Oh baby, you look so good," she murmured and turned around to Shalamorn. "How is this possible?" she wanted to know. "Yesterday, he was …"

"What do you think, Mum?" Brett responded instead of Shalamorn and shrugged. "The pyramid brought Neri back from the dead. They invented interstellar spaceflight and cryosleep. And they are the embodiment of healing. Of course, they would extend that to technology."

Shalamorn smiled and nodded. "To improve healing technics was our first goal when we went into research for advanced technologies. The pod sped up the healing process," she said directed to Jason. "But I'm afraid, there is nothing we can do about the scarring."

Jason shook his head. "That doesn't matter. I'm here. I'm very grateful." He extended his hand and Shalamorn took it.

"It is good to see you, Jason," she said, emphasizing every word. He squeezed her hand before he pulled back.

"Well," Brett grinned, "at least, we can stop wondering now and just declare me the most handsome Bates, even with those improvements."

"Screw you." Jason pulled Brett into a hug. "Maybe, if you get some scars of your own, we'll have this conversation."

"No, no, no," Diane protested. "No more scars, please. Not ever. For none of you."

Jason and Brett grinned at each other and Jason suddenly became aware of the crowd. "We should go back into the apartment. More privacy for the reunions."

On they way back, the Bates Brothers took Diane in between, arms around her. Neri and Shalamorn followed. They filled him in during breakfast. The death toll had come to a halt, at least for now and the national forces had moved in some bigger equipment to clean up the rubbles. Satellite images were still devastating, though. The scale of the terroristic attack extended any known incidences and the media was desperately looking for answers. No one believed any more that this had been some tragic accidents with broken gas pipelines. The satellite pictures revealed a pattern to the craters in the middle of the city and clever people, figuring out that the source had been hotels and a conference center, did the rest. The councilors had returned to the Oceanplanet and had refused any calls. Their silence was a big concern but problems kept piling up. The Global Union was still mostly busy with assessing the situation. Many scientists and key politicians were dead. The survivors were in shock, as was the world.

But it was still spinning. So, were was no avoiding politics. Rugeaux and DeSouza called right after breakfast but before they had time to clean the big table.

"No worries," Rugeaux told Diane, as she apologized for the messy table. "This is entirely unofficial. We were just …" Rugeaux caught glimpse of Jason and was lost for words for a moment. "It is good to see you, Jason," she continued after taking a breath. "When we heard, you were found… You have no idea how relieved we all were."

"We sent people looking for you but we lost a lot of people, too," De Souza added. "I also sent people to your location after you ended the call, but they were too far away to get there in time."

"You shouldn't have risked more lives. It was my choice," Jason disagreed. "A stupid one, I admit."

"Very stupid," De Souza confirmed. "Losing you was a big blow."

"I know." There was no need for false modesty. "And I don't intend to run into any more rigged cellars in the foreseeable future."

De Souza's corner of the mouth wrinkled up slightly. "Good. One thing less to worry about."

"I'm also glad to see you're ok but I know you well enough to know this is not just a courtesy call."

This time, De Souza almost grinned. "I wish." The grin turned into a grimace. "We have to find the mole."

"Why are you asking us?" Brett wanted to know. There was something sharp in his voice and Jason got the feeling, he missed something. "There were so many people involved. How do you know it wasn't one of yours?"

"Because I know my people," De Souza replied. "I sat through every job interview, checked and double-checked their background, met their families… Do you really think, I would have included anyone in my stuff, I wouldn't trust my life with?"

"Well, the arrival of aliens did change quite a few things," Paul said calmly. "Just because you trust your people before doesn't mean you still trust them now – " he held up his hands in a defensive gesture and kept talking. "This also holds true for O.R.C.A.. This used to be research institution and now, it turned into a major base of operations. People are scared and people do shit things when they are scared."

"Like following a guy who wants to overthrow a whole planet, even it is supposedly against their nature," De Souza agreed slyly. "The councilors were awfully quick in their retreat."

"Enough," Neri suddenly said and the table got quiet. Jason felt proud and amused at the same time about the effect. Neri's voice had been calm but there had been a finality to it, they had never heard coming out of her before. "We have to stop making enemies out of each other," she continued.

"I agree," Diane responded. "Shifting blame around won't help. Let's not do this right now."

"Of course," Rugeaux nodded and gave De Souza a warning glance. "We apologize for the intrusion. We will continue with our investigation and let you enjoy your reunion."

Polite goodbyes were exchanged and the screen went dark again.

"Now I know I'm back," Jason remarked. "I dread the day De Souza's hostility comes to an end."

"Why?" Mera asked confused.

"Because we'll be all dead then."

Brett snorted into his cup of coffee. Diane shook her head. "No dark humor today please," she begged.

"Yeah, Bro," Brett added, "I am the funny one. You're always so dead serious."

"Maybe try some coma and amnesia yourself and see, how you level up."

While everyone around them smiled, Diane just hid her face in her hands. "You will be the death of me," she complained and the table got quiet again. Then she realized her own pun and looked up. Chuckles erupted all around and finally, even Diane grinned.

"On a more serious note," Paul said then, "De Souza is not entirely wrong. We think we know our friends, our colleagues, our stuff. But someone fed a significant amount of vital information to someone who doesn't want us to succeed."

"Are we doing this again?" Brett asked Paul sharply. "Froggy, Zoe, Cass, Vanessa, Mike, Lena, Anya, … They all've been with us from the beginning. I trust all of them, even Louis and he is a proven snitch."

"I'm not saying they did it on purpose," Paul tried to reason. "But they also have families and people, they want to protect. It's a classical snowball-system-situation."

"It could be," Diane interjected, "but I'm with Brett on this one. I know them, Paul. They knew how important Neri and her mission was way before I did."

Paul shook his head. "You are both too eager to trust. What about the girl you slept with, Brett?"

Brett jumped up from his seat, turned red in anger and embarrassment. "I didn't tell her anything."

"You let your guard down and she took advantage of it," Paul replied.

"Well, she had a nice ass and who are you to judge me for it?!"

Diane flinched and Paul stared at Brett. Brett's angry panting was audible in the uncomfortable silence. Jason had no intention to defend his father. He had been the one to be ad odds with him way longer than Brett or Diane for having this affair which had destroyed his parents' marriage. But no one needed constant reminders of their worst mistakes.

"It could have happened to all of us," Jason tried diplomatic. "It wasn't Brett's fault. We all trust to easy and we still don't know what we're up against. Or who."

"All the more reason to stick to the people who were with us from the start," Brett argued and turned to Paul. "You have been with us for what – a few months? From my perspective, you are the outsider."

"Brett," Diane gasped but Paul shook his head, a hurt expression on his face. "No, it's alright dear. He's right. I haven't been a part of this family in a long time and that's entirely my fault. If you would now excuse me, I have an investigation to start. Diane, boys… your highnesses." He straightened up, nodded across the table and left.

Brett sat down noisily, still radiating with anger. "Sorry," he murmured after a moment and got back up to his feet again. "I need fresh air".

"I'm sorry, you had to sit through this," Diane told Shalamorn.

Shalamorn just smiled. "It's family. There is always conflict. Arguing just proves, that you still care."

Jason leaned forward. "Would someone fill me in? What happened?"

Diane grimaced. "You got the main argument already. Truth is, after … it happened, we each coped differently. And those two… Brett started lashing out and Paul, against better judgement fell in. They are much more alike than they like to admit."

"Grief is a difficult emotion," Shalamorn said quietly, "especially, if it's interrupted."

"Yeah, I still don't know quite where to put my feelings," Diane agreed.

"We need time to heal," Neri added and exchanged a quick look with Jason. "Jason and me, we will go to my island for a few days."

Diane looked up abruptly und shook her head. "No, I just got you back."

"Mum." Jason reached for her hand across the table. "I need to breath. And as Neri said, it's just for a few days. I will get another smartwatch from the storage and you can reach us anytime. Let me go, Mum. Please."

Diane sighed. "I don't' have much choice, do I? But would you at least stay until dinner?"

Jason squeezed her hand. "Yes, we'll stay until tonight."