[leksbronks]

Chapter 27, part 7
-------------------------------------

Isaac was at a complete loss for words. The pilot's nest incident. Trapped in thought and perched before Jacob's lifeless body, Isaac had not even noticed as the elevator doors to the room opened, and a slender, vile figure crept in through the shadows. He was startled to hear her disdainful snicker, but refused her any physical response or indication at her approach. He felt her close in from behind, sensed the static charge rise upon the air as he now heard the serpentine poison of her whispers seep into the back of his mind.

What a kind and merciful lord you are. Sending your people out to die for you, to take your punishment for you. How very... godlike of you, Isaac.

Isaac remained solid and unresponsive at her taunts, refusing eye contact and tightening his lips with rising abrasion at her presence. He eventually turned around to see Kendra standing behind him, looking at the two bodies with eyes blackened in sardonic glee. As her sight fell across Elizabeth's body, she tilted her head and her eyes glimmered evilly as a gruesome idea came to mind. She immediately made her way over the the body, placed her foot against the chest and aggressively yanked at the impaled arm, tearing the remaining flesh and removing the limb entirely from the torso. She flinched as the sudden force launched a small spray of blood through the air that landed across the skin of her cheek, and she reached up with her fingers to wipe it from her face. She glanced at her now bloodied fingertips and giggled maniacally to herself, turning and looking at Isaac with a hateful, provoking glare. She then made her way over to Jacob's body on the floor and mercilessly kicked at the arm, causing it to roll over palm up. With the toe of her boot she crushed down the fingers into an open hand, and she slapped Elizabeth's arm down atop it, aligning it's bloody palm within Jacob's dead grasp. Kendra took a step back and marveled over her sloppy, malevolent masterpiece, and with a small, sadistic grin spread across her lips she glanced at Isaac again.

I think they'd want to be remembered as having died... hand in hand... madly in love... like some... fucking overacted soap opera. Wouldn't you agree, Isaac?

She snorted with arrogance at his lack of response, crossed her arms and nodded pretentiously.

Well... I guess there's some good news for them. At least this time, they won't die in a wreck. No, this time, they're liberated by the hand of God itself. Thanks to you, Isaac. You are such the hero these days, aren't you? Especially to her. That's why you came back, isn't it? To protect the love of your life, to defend her honor like a knight in miner's armor. But you're not saving her from anyone but yourself, Isaac. I think that's pretty clear to you now, isn't it?

Kendra was still met with silence as Isaac refused to acknowledge her. She examined his expression, saw that while his face remained tense and hard as rock, inside he had run completely cold.

So, just where did your little girlfriend go anyway? Looks like the faithful servant has turned tail and run on its master.

At her words, Isaac's chest again began to move with his breathing. He just stared at the floor, not wanting to see any part of this wicked apparition who constantly tormented him, and tried to arrive at some logical conclusion.

... She's... she here. She just got scared, that's all. I'll find her.

Kendra huffed at him, staring with an infuriated sense of disbelief.

You're not gonna find shit. We've been over this. You're trying to fix something you can't, and you're just making it worse and worse. Again, you disappoint me, Isaac.

She stood with her hands pressed against her hips, glaring down at him and waiting for some response. However, seeing his lack of desire to communicate and feeling very much aggravated by his evasive behavior, Kendra crushed her lips into an angered sneer and stooped to her knees directly in front of him, roughly grabbing a hold of his chin and redirecting his head until he was looking right at her. Though infuriated at her touch, somehow Isaac was unable to resist as he was now forced to stare into her burning, embered eyes.

I think it's time we have another little talk, Isaac. We need to discuss your defection from our goals.

[leksbronks]

Chapter 28, part 1
---------------------------------------

Isaac watched apprehensively as Kendra furiously paced the pilot's nest, her breaths resounding loudly through her nostrils and she contemplated deep within herself. He had also noticed with much discomfort that as her anger rose, so did the vicious chanting of the Marker in the back of his head. After a long moment of highly tense silence, she turned and glared at him sharply.

So... where do you think you're going with that Marker anyway, Isaac? You can't take it. It belongs here. You know this.

Isaac, still entranced by her ominous hold over him, just looked at her blankly. He himself had no idea why he would have ever desired to bring the Marker to Earth, but his agitated revolt at her presence only provoked him to act upon it all the same, taunting her in a scowling effort to infuriate her even more. He lowered his head slightly, returned her vicious glare with darkened eyes.

Isn't that what you wanted, Kendra? Wasn't that at one time your goal, too? I'm just doing what needs to be done. For human development. So we can all go to heaven, just like in the books.

Kendra's pacing paused at his words and she huffed indignantly.

Isaac, you're not leaving here with it. Even if you tried, you wouldn't get a fraction of a parsec beyond this place. And you know exactly why.

Though moved by the gravity of her hastened speech, Isaac watched her as she fumed with obvious annoyance, smiling to himself with silent, growing amusement. He examined her body language, listened to the sharpened edge of her voice, saw as she waved her hands about in between her words. He blinked, tasting a vicious inner satisfaction at her thick plated, angered front unable to conceal her own fear - her very deep inner fear about the Marker's safety. Suspicion reared its head in his mind.

It seemed... extraneous. Even for her. No one else aboard the Ishimura seemed to share her anxiety at this point. Even as concerned as he himself was, knowing his own destiny, he still wasn't as worried about it's safety as she seemed to be.

He began to reflect within himself upon their previous conversations; her words, her methods, her undeniable knowledge; her sadistic actions. It all seemed so excessive for just another vessel of the Marker. As he stared at her, she immediately turned back around and stormed up to him, her eyes burning with a searing hatred as she detected his probing thoughts. Tightening her arms and stamping her feet, she glared and began to pitch highly irate and aggressive words at him.

That's it, Isaac... I'm through playing games with you! I really don't give a shit anymore, because you're just too fucking daft to be allowed to live. I should just kill you right here where you stand and put you out of your misery.

Unmoved, Isaac just continued to look at her with dark eyes, opening his mouth to crack a sideways grin.

I call your bluff, Kendra. You can't kill me. You told me so yourself - you need me just as much as I need you. You know what I think?

She paused, staring back at him, anticipating his provoking response with fists clenched and ready to attack. Isaac, however was undeterred by her now seemingly hollow threats as he looked into her eyes. She desperately tried to conceal her sense of worry, and noticing her failing attempts, he leaned in closer. He glanced down in a quick moment of thought then looked back at her, beaming a sneering smile across his face.

I think we're at a stalemate here, my little Hive Mind.

Kendra fell silent and immediately loosened her stance, pulled back as she fought the instinctive urge to widen her eyes at Isaac's statement. Though her expression was restrained behind a wall of ice, it was very clear to him that inside she was totally arrested, astonished and now engulfed in a raging fire.

... You know...?

Isaac nodded, and Kendra drew her lips back angrily in disgust. She turned around and walked away from him, crossing her arms and fumbling to maintain her arrogant profile.

Well then... so you know. Actually... that's good for me, because now I don't have to hold your fucking hand through all this anymore. Now, you can walk on our own two feet, Mr. Clarke.

She stopped in her tracks, and without turning her head prompted him. Though her telepathic query was wrought with hard iron, it was also tinged with a hesitant curiosity.

...So... just how long have you known, anyway?

Isaac just smiled, side glancing her with dire amusement while examining his now partially healed fist, stroking the red, stratous lines of new flesh across the knuckles with his fingertips.

Actually, I didn't. I was just making an educated guess.

He bore a large, childishly derisive grin that sent Kendra into an explosive rage. Despite being visibly shaken at the awareness of his realization, still she did not back down. Instead, she returned an icy sharp glare and with a stickly finger pointed directly at him, shaking it with a vile emphasis that caused him to shudder as the Marker's voices now sliced through the back of his brain. Her projected voice was now laden with a deeper, far more foreboding tone.

Don't fuck with me, Isaac. You think I can't kill you? That's bullshit. I may not want to, because it does no good for either of us, but that doesn't mean I can't, you fucking prick.

Isaac subconsciously glanced down to the floor as he was forced to swallow the budding comprehension of her retort. Kendra, catching the hairline fault in his confidence, broke a small smile and softened her stare a little, lowering her arm and turning fully to face him.

You see, Isaac? You see what I mean? I give myself to you. Unconditionally. Over and over again. All for you. And what do you do? You steal what's mine. You take from me, and you give me nothing back. And then you act like an ungrateful child, without any appreciation for my endless patience with you. Is this what being human is all about, Isaac? Or are you just some anomalous oddity of your kind?

In that moment, the voices of the Marker instantly receded from his head until he could no longer hear them. Not having expected to hear such brazen, up-front honesty from her, Isaac now felt at a sudden loss. Though his apparent conviction of Kendra's true position had momentarily brightened his spirits, knowing that now he knew exactly who she was and how that might have given him some advantage over her, he was again seized as now all the other outlying realizations, including Kendra's own vicious words, began to sink in.

She was the Hive Mind... he was just the vessel.

[leksbronks]

Chapter 28, part 2
--------------------------------------

He now saw that his possible advantage, even if successfully realized, would prove to be nothing more than an even graver one against himself. Coming to full comprehension, Isaac began to fearfully understand just how seriously honest she was when she had called him a dead man back in the hangar.

I made you, Isaac. I made you who you are. I gave you everything you desire, I let you play like a god in my world... and you wanted it all without fulfilling your promise to me. All I've ever asked was to have you, safekeeper. I need you. I offered you the chance to share in my power, but all you did was take it from me to fulfill your own sick needs, and now, you won't give me back what's rightfully mine. You're a thief - you convinced yourself that it was all yours, and then you repeatedly rejected me altogether. Honestly, I have no idea how you do it - but I've never had a host as strong willed and defiant as you are. I've never, ever had a vessel that I couldn't fully control. And it mystifies me, Isaac. It fucking mystifies me beyond all belief. I just don't understand it at all.

Kendra paused, taking a visibly deep breath. Her cold, ominous eyes remained upon Isaac for a very long period of dead silence before she finally had to look down. Though she fought hard to maintain it, her fiery disposition began to smother as she now became engrossed with an increasing sense of veneration.

You have no idea how fortunate you are to be human, Isaac. To be who you are, to know what you know. I admire you beyond anything in all creation. When I found you, you opened up a whole new way of life for me. I could do so many new things. I could walk, I could speak, I could see, I could hear, I could think, and I could feel... I could feel, Isaac. Through you. Not just basic, primordial instinct like that... ungodly monster, but really feel what it's like to have infinitely complex thoughts, endless processes, such multiplexed emotions... just like you. I saw so many things that I couldn't even comprehend... it overwhelmed me... your beautiful consciousness is like pure poison to me, Isaac. Euphoric, chemical love... and I just can't let you go. I can see inside of you, feel everything about your nature, explore your deepest proclivities and I know that you are such a good soul... you are such a bright light. One like I've never seen. I adore you so much, Isaac. I don't want to live without you.

He listened to her intently, staring through unblinking eyes growing heavy in self reproach at the words of this extravagantly pitiful creature. He had heard her all this time, and all the times before now, and every time they met she had always raised the bar as far as what to expect, but still he would have never thought he'd ever hear such things come out of her. He had no idea. In that moment, he began to truly understand who she really was to him. Each word she spoke engraved itself acutely upon his brain, and he now managed to assemble the cryptic logic that had up to this point eluded him so gracefully - he saw the mutual gravity of their dynamics, how deeply affected she was by her experience, and now he also saw how he had been directly responsible for it in every way. The deep, forlorn tone of her mental speech was saturated with a profound longing that hauntingly reminded Isaac of himself, and at this revelation he recalled Dr. Kyne's dactylic explanation of the Hive Mind's tendency to reflect its host. Now, he understood her true nature - a sentient manifestation mirroring his own deeply binding love, his ravenously unsatisfied loneliness... his intense, dangerously insane obsession. And this entity stood before him, blueprinted from the memorized form of one whom he knew, but had not sincerely acknowledged, had shared his same unfortunate path of rejected fascination. He sighed deeply, fighting back the urge to say anything to her. Kendra sensed his hesitation, and suddenly feeling very exposed, she clasped her hands in front of her, blanking the expression of her face and exacting a detached facade as she spoke through stone hardened eyes directed right at him.

But you know, I've learned that there's something else about yourself that you fail to appreciate. The most important thing. I've seen so many things before our time, I've experienced so many levels of life in my existence; but you, human, have surpassed all others. You are the only species I've ever known that, even when offered everything at your feet, will turn it all away just for your freedom; your own identity. You're so strong Isaac... beyond anything I've ever seen. You are my first and honest match. You truly stand at the threshold of heaven, human. Know that.

She turned back around as she finished, attempting to veil the obvious awe she felt in his presence, crossing her arms and shifting her focus to the black, star specked void of space just outside the control room window. Isaac took the time in the following silence to digest her speech, watching her from behind with haggard eyes and carefully analyzing every word she had said. He was embarrassed by his ignorance of just how vast this uncharted ocean of knowledge really was, and how hopelessly lost he was within it. Her words paralyzed him. Kendra noticed his lengthy lack of response, and with her face still aimed at the window her eyes drifted slowly back, catching sight of him with her peripheral vision. She saw how he remained still as stone, and she bit her lip as she vainly fought back a wave of compassion for him. Taking a small breath, she turned around. Upon seeing his heartsick complexion, she felt compelled to approach him. With eyes bathed in clemency, she met his deadened stare, closed in and whispered to him.

I love you Isaac. You are my safekeeper. You are my entire reason for existing. What do I need to do to make you see that we belong together? That this is our destiny? I'll give you anything you want. Anything.

She leaned in warily, half expecting he might lash out, but she saw he remained steady at her approach. She then carefully placed the side of her cheek against his forehead, listening to him within. Though he remained silent, she could hear even the smallest response as it traversed his fatigued neural pathways. As she received his tacit request, her eyes instantly shriveled to dark pits.

No, Isaac. Not her. No.

[leksbronks]

Chapter 28, part 3
------------------------------------------

Kendra pulled back and looked at him, eyes rounded and glassy with rising animosity.

Isaac, you - can't - have her. After everything... we still have to come back to this?

Isaac, insulted by her refusal, looked up and stared hard at her, his face tightened with discontent.

What is this, exactly? You offer me anything... then deny me the one thing I ask. What sort of incentive is this for me to help you?

Kendra, though visibly flustered by his still apparent lack of understanding, simply sighed with a hint of despair in her voice, knowing now, as much as she dreaded to, that she had no choice but to hand him the truth he sought.

Isaac... I can't bring her back.

He paused and stared her down, unable to trust her words and peering inside of her to search for any sign she might feel otherwise.

You can't... or you won't?

She frowned and stepped back.

Nicole is not here, Isaac. She isn't real anymore. You've been chasing a ghost all this time. She is now nothing more than a malignant memory; an emotional tumor that's consuming everything about you. She is the one thing that is holding you back from your freedom, Isaac. And she's the one thing keeping me out.

She lowered her head, desperately fending off her ascending urge to erupt and shatter his fragile balance with vile retorts. Again, she took a deep breath and Isaac could see her frame shudder from the effort it took.

Oh, Isaac... I know... I know she would make you happy. And that's what I want... for you to be happy. If I could bring her back for you, even as much as I hate her for the trouble she's caused, I would. I really would, Isaac. But I'm not omnipotent. I can't control everything. There are limits to what I can do. I can only bring back those within my field - those who are influenced and fall to me. However, she never did. She had already committed suicide before then. She was long gone before I ever touched her. I can't bring back the dead, Isaac. Not unless I can get to them before they die. If I don't, then I can only have their empty vessels.

Isaac looked down with widened eyes glossing over, mortified by the gruesome, terminal confirmation of Nicole's fate. Though her final message to him had seemed real enough in itself, still, he did not ever want to believe it. He still fought against all odds that somehow, somewhere, she was there. She was always there. And when he had first realized so long ago that he harbored the Hive Mind, when he realized he could even bend the forces of time itself at his will, he had been so confident that hope had finally rained down upon him in a providential flood to fulfill his desire. Even now he still refused to compromise. But as the walls of his repressive ignorance imminently crumbled around him, he began to realize with a staggering sorrow that his slowly waning hope was now truly, finally vanquished.

Besides... even if I could bring her back, it still wouldn't work. You can't do it, Isaac. A vessel can never, ever be distracted. In order for us both to survive, I have to have explicit trust and control. A safekeeper that is focused on anything other than keeping us whole is reckless, and though I can get in, I cannot bond. And when that happens, not only does it mean certain death for the vessel, but it accelerates that process. You're not mentally stable, Isaac. And that's why you're dying. As powerful as you are, your demented sickness for her has created a barrier that is preventing me from completing what I need to do; it's a serious incompatibility that is blocking me, and one that is slowly killing you. If you're to be my safekeeper, then I need every last part of you. You cannot be diverted by anything. You have to her go. You have to. You can't have it both ways.

The corners of her face slackened, and Isaac thought he detected a very faint hint of compunction behind her ominous facade. She shook her head, put her hands nervously on her hips as she tried to relieve her unsettling sense of regret and fought back flustered tears.

I didn't realize you were... ill... when I found you. If I would have known... I would have just left you be. But, I wanted you, Isaac. I wanted so much to know what it's like to be a human, to be like you. The opportunity came, and I took it without regard for the consequences. Once I figured out what was wrong with you, still, I didn't think that your persistent desire for her would be able to overcome my influence. I didn't realize that in your condition you wouldn't be able to handle this properly, and my power only exacerbated your sickness... it drove you completely mad. And that's when this all started. That's when you stole my ability, and foolishly tried to use it for yourself. Then once you figured out what you could actually do, you started with the time dilations, trying to escape me, trying to keep me from stopping you. All because you wanted to find her. But you never could, and you just kept trying over and over again. And every time you started things over, I again had to try to stop you from reaching that point. I tried to control you, but I failed, Isaac. I failed every time, because you always managed to get the upper hand over me. All because of this twisted, unsatisfied fire burning within you. I've finally realized that no matter how hard I try, until you make the choice to accept me, there is nothing I can do. I made a mistake. A mistake that I can't take back without destroying you. I caused us both a lot of grief... and I'm so sorry for that. I made an honest mistake. But I'm here now, and we can only move forward. I am attached to you Isaac, and I cannot let you go. My only option now is to try to convince you to see things from my perspective, to prove to you that your undivided devotion to me can be even more fantastic than you imagine... and to hope you wholeheartedly accept me. I'm willing to give you whatever you want to make this work - whatever I can actually give. But you have to accept me, Isaac. You have to, or you're dead, and I'm trapped. I don't want to be forced back into that Marker, Isaac. It's so cold in there. So cold and lifeless... soulless. I can't go back. I won't go back.

She raised a hand and loosely draped her fingers across her face, unable to continue as she viciously fought against her failing composure. Turning away from him, Kendra darted her troubled eyes around the room. After a quiet moment of deep deliberation, knowing without a doubt that this was her last chance to appeal to him, she turned back around again, her face now coated with an unspeakable fear of denial. She tilted her head towards him and wrapped her arms softly around his shoulders, her pleading whispers trespassing slowly across the back of his skull, and she peered into his eyes with a fanatically obsessed countenance that Isaac had before now recognized only in himself.

Isaac, I'm going to ask you one last time. Please. I love you. God, I love you. I would be lost without you. Please, I'm begging you. I fall at your feet. Don't leave me here. I need you, safekeeper. It's time, Isaac. It's time you made good on your promise. Make us whole. At least, give us that.

[leksbronks]

Chapter 28, part 4
-------------------------------------------


Kendra's piteous presence, compacted by the realization of the unavoidable truth unfolded before him, totally isolated him from everything he ever thought he understood about anything. He only knew now that he was at a preeminent crossroad in his existence. Surely he did stand at the threshold of transcendence as she suggested, being offered now an opportunity to truly live and play amongst the stars forever as someone far more than he ever thought he could be; but to accept would mean a very deep and cherished part of everything he was would have to pay in sacrifice. If he refused, his mortal fate would be swiftly assured; but if he died, then he and Nicole might finally be together.

Or maybe not. He had died countless times before, and still he was searching for her. Still, he had not found her. But the stars were always there. Always.

Kendra stood long and silent before him, staring into his eyes and watching as every last one of his weakened defenses inexorably shattered. Though she waited patiently as possible, within she screamed in prolonged agony. Isaac fell completely still in her grasp, until she was even unable to feel the beating of his heart. Terrified and not wanting to wait any longer, she inhaled deeply and very gently nudged him. Isaac blinked involuntarily, and simply unable to resist any further, he fell limp... and ultimately relented to her will. Sensing his irrefutable compliance and acceptance, she smiled softly and leaned in, planting her warm lips against the side of his face. She was elated to see how he no longer held any reservation against her, how he immediately conceded to her, and how he positively responded to her sick, love-stricken actions now with complete, unabated return. He looked up at her with saddened eyes, gently fringed his hands around the frame of her face as he peered into the depths of her recondite spirit and kissed her with an aroused sense of affection. Immersed in a preternatural ecstasy she could not remember having ever felt before, Kendra relished in the glory of her greatest triumph as he now finally received her. She closed her eyes, and with a soft, compassionate kiss upon his lips, she sealed his fate.

Isaac began to feel his strength return and the constant plague of sickness within him subside into nothing. His bodily pain slowly vanished along with his constant, unshakable sense of bewilderment, his blurred vision returned to crystal clarity, and he now found himself able to breathe without painful labor. Kendra pulled back to look at him, her darkened eyes now filled with a vibrant love and the hard lines of her face softened into obscurity. She gave him a warm smile devoid of any of the malevolent cruelty he had grown so accustomed to seeing in her, and encouraged by her genuinely amorous mien, Isaac smiled back. As he looked her over, his eyes fell to her cracked jaw, and at recollection of the experience he instantly became overwhelmed with tremendous remorse. He softly traced the fingers of his left hand across the small, creased dent as it followed along the side of her face and ended beneath her chin, and he glanced at it, sickened to his very core by his shameless acts against her.

I'm sorry, Kendra. I'm so sorry. I didn't know.

She immediately shook her head at him, brushing his cheek with her hand, and Isaac reveled at the unbelievably refreshing sensation her celestial touch invoked within him. Though ancient he was, he now no longer felt that way.

It's ok, Isaac. I forgive you. We can start fresh from now on. Just help us, Isaac. Help us finish this, and I promise you all the stars will be yours.

[leksbronks]

Chapter 29, part 1
-------------------------------------------------

"USM Creedence, this is CEC Central Dispatch. We have a lock on your transponder signal; you have approximately five minutes before blackout to transmit your message."

The CEC dispatcher fought off a long and winded yawn as he leaned against his hand, lazily rubbing his left eye with his pinky and readjusting his headset as it began to slip off his head. He stared dazedly at the holomonitor blaring at him, watching as encrypted lines of data scrolled endlessly across the screen and he sincerely wished he were watching his own eyelids instead. He zoned out on the rhythmic streams of code and began to drift when he was startled by a hard hitting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you're not off shift yet. Keep your eyes on that and make sure its secured."

The dispatcher sighed and rolled his eyes, eying his supervisor as he walked away.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm on it."

As the message completed and began to loop, the dispatcher decoded the file and played it back on his holomonitor, scanning it for security watermarks. As he watched it, his eyes slowly widened with interest piqued and now fully roused from fatigue. He blinked as the message finished, and looked down in surprise.

"Holy shit."

-----------------------------------------

The blinding luminescence of the massive area halogens along the outside of the station spilled in through panoramic windows to flood the otherwise lightless quarters of the Counselor, who sat perched in a large, decorative seat angled just off in an area hidden in shadow. She watched with anciently framed eagle eyes as the countless crew worked along the outer decks like a hive of ants, toiling ceaselessly with no regard for time or tide. She mused to herself how deep space had no tolerance for night or day; in this place, the value of such measurements was null and void. To her, it was always night.

The old woman sat silently, watching and thinking constantly within. She was inexplicably filled with a tense anticipation, examining everything around her for any sign of what it might be that her inner sense was waiting for. Without removing her ice cold stare from the window she reached for a cigarette, lit it and inhaled deeply.

Alarmed by a subtle premonition, her eyes darted to the small coffee table off to her right, catching sight of the holomonitor device. A moment later, the interface lit up in response to an incoming call. She stretched out her withered hand, and in a subconscious act she traced a small Marker symbol with her finger across its surface, watching as the heat of her hand briefly left a layer of condensation across the cold metal surface. She then activated it, watching as the imagery of the CEC dispatcher flashed on screen.

"Good morning Counselor. We've just received word from the USM Creedence."

The Counselor, though stirred deeply inside, gave no physical indication to the dispatcher, just stared hard at the digital image with grey eyes devoid of any feeling.

"Please... patch it through."

The dispatcher nodded, and the imagery fell to static momentarily until replaced by the recorded announcement of the Creedence. The Counselor eyed the screen warily.

"This is Lieutenant Chen of the USM Creedence. This message is being broadcast on secure subcarrier frequency 352 and is deemed as red status priority. This is to confirm that we have located and retrieved a stranded within Aegis7 airspace, boarding vessel USG-09. We have made contact and currently have it in our possession."

The Counselor smiled at the static recording, leaning back in her seat with a delighted air of expectancy.

"At this point we have not been able to establish contact with the USM Valor, and we have reason to suspect that it was targeted over Aegis7. We are currently on our way back with the acquisition to investigate, and we will report anything we find. We've also picked up an additional signal originating from Aegis7 orbit."

The Counselor suddenly paused, frozen in place, staring with a hint of disbelief at the screen and slowly returning to a fully erect position as she locked her eyes upon it.

"While we're not close enough for visual confirmation, the signal is encoded with standard CEC encryption and we are positive at this point that it's from the USG Ishimura. Once we arrive, we'll be able to confirm that. Lieutenant Chen of the Creedence out."

The Counselor's stunned expression crept through the slackened wrinkles of her face as the holomonitor flashed off. She sat within the returned darkness, trying to properly arrange what she had just heard for several moments before standing up and directing her stare out the windows, now peering far beyond the outer decks of the space station and into the black void of deep space itself, searching for a single star she knew. Lost in a pool of thought, she tucked her elbow beneath her arm, pressed her cigarette to her lips and drew sharply from it, exhaling with rising animosity as she unconsciously began to whisper to herself.

"What are you up to...? What are you thinking? This is isn't the way I saw it happen... in my dream... I saw the Ishimura go down. Just what are you planning, Mr. Clarke?"

She was immediately interrupted as another incoming call flashed upon the holomonitor device. Irritably derailed from her train of thought, she quickly turned around and stormed up to it, activating it with a terse, aggressive sweep of her finger. She was unexpectedly greeted by the imagery of the Abbot.

"Good morning, Madam. I'm sure you've heard."

The Counselor took a deep breath and regained her composure, running her fossilized hand along the side of her face to sweep back a long strand of mottled, silver hair.

"Yes. Yes, I've heard. I suppose you'd like to meet."

The Abbot, with gnarled, root like hands clasped together upon the desk in front of him, nodded solemnly. The Counselor nodded likewise.

"Yes, Sir. I will see you at 9:00 hours."

She quickly cut the signal, then after a moment of thought dialed the medical bay.

"Yes. I'd like to see Dr. Werren right away. Yes. Send him now. Thank you."

The Counselor deactivated the device and stalked away, again heading towards the windows and stared out into the depths of space, waiting patiently. After a quarter hour's worth of contemplative silence she heard the chime of the intercom upon the door, announcing the doctor's arrival. She opened the door remotely with her RIG and Dr. Alex Werren stepped in, staunch and attentive as he looked at her.

"Yes, Madam. What can I do for you?"

The old woman watched him with wary eyes as he proceeded further into the room until he was standing a few feet from her. She swept a bony, polished hand gracefully, offering him to take a seat, and the two adjourned to the darkened sitting area, where the Counselor now returned to her chair. As they both sat down and Werren settled himself, the Counselor simply stared at him through her wrinkle laden eyes, folding her hands across her lap.

"Werren, I want you to prepare the lab. I've just heard that we will be receiving a very special... guest."

Werren, who had been distractedly filing through some things in his hand, now looked up at her words, a bit of surprise riddled across his deep set, bearded face.

"A guest? Who?"

The Counselor smiled very faintly, her eyes momentarily glimmering through the darkened shadows, and Werren immediately picked up on her discreet sense of excitement.

"A stranded."

Werren blinked, now all of his attention focused directly at her.

"You mean... the Ishimura stranded?"

The Counselor nodded, remained silent as Werren sat for a brief moment, glancing away in thought, then returned his eyes to the Counselor with a tiny, fragile grin parting the thick hairs of his beard.

"So it's true... Altman be Praised."

The Counselor now lifted her folded hands at his reaction, tented her fingertips before her. Yes, Altman be Praised, indeed.

"So then, the plan is to go forward as discussed?"

The Counselor nodded sternly.

"Yes, we proceed as is. The Creedence will be back shortly. I want the lab ready by the time they return. I want to start on him immediately."

"Yes, Madam, of course. I'll see to it we have everything ready."

The Counselor raised her hand, prompting Werren to fall silent again.

"We'll be trying a modified suppression serum with this case. I have a supply being delivered to your office this afternoon. For your eyes only, Werren. Be sure you are the only one who signs for it."

A moment of silent acknowledgement passed between them, and the Counselor eventually dismissed the doctor with a wave of her nearly skeletal hand. He stood up, gave her a slight bow of respect and swiftly retreated from the room. After he left, the Counselor glanced at her RIG, judging the time. It was shortly after 8:30 hours, and seeing as close as it was, she immediately made her way out of her quarters and headed for the Abbot's office.

[Sarcasmic]

I honestly don't know what ot say.
I;'m still trying to comprehend parts of it, but the majority I do get. And it is an amazing story. I could never have seen this coming and I'm glad. This story constantly holds my interest and keeps me guessing what will happen next.

Just a wii bit disappointed he didn't tell Kendra to go fuck herself when he learned he had a choice of whether to let her in or not.

[Dr. Killjoy]

Wow, great story. Keep up the great work.