((This begins eighteen hours after the end of Traps set on Traps))

The first thing Lohas did on waking was catalogue her body as she had been taught. It was so odd. Michelle, Idjit and the others were so odd, but at the same time, they were so kind, so gentle to her. She didn’t deserve that. She was a monster, she knew she was, but every time she started to embrace self destructive thoughts, someone was there with kind words and gentle insistence to keep her from harm, self inflicted or otherwise. She eased herself slightly in the cocoon she had been placed in and a concerned voice spoke from nearby.

“Lohas? You shouldn’t be awake yet, young one.” The bug felt confused. Did she know this being? She wasn’t sure. Nothing hurt, but she was very confused. Then a sense of peace and well being flooded her and she sighed in relief. It came from… She froze in place. She couldn’t see through the cocoon, but it came from her head. Where her antennae had been before being amputated. She was shuddering in reaction. If she had been human, she would have been sobbing. But that same gentle voice and touch soothed her again. “Shhh, Shhh little one. It’s okay. You are okay. It will be fine. You are fine.”

“Who…?” Her voice was scratchy, as if unused. Something soothed her physically now, that same gentle touch was allowing energy to flow in ways that it hadn’t been able to for years. It felt… heavenly…after so long. She thought she knew this being, but she couldn’t remember. She hated not being able to remember. “Who are you?”

“My name is Kicota.” The gentle voice replied. “You were quite a mess when we were introduced, so I do not doubt you are very confused. Sarai wanted to come herself but we persuaded her to remain safe.”

“Kicota…?” Lohas’ voice was stronger now, but she did not struggle. She wasn’t done yet with her recovery from her latest surgery. That was clear. She had gone through this many times. Wake, have people poke and prod her, sleep to heal and then wake to do horrible things for Vandar and Special Branch, things her soul cried out about, but she never had a choice. But these people were much kinder than the Special Branch of Republic Intelligence had been. She was sure she knew the voice from somewhere. Didn’t she? It was familiar. Sort of. “I… I think I remember you…” Her words were slow as she parsed what she could remember. “I think… You were Cota then… I… I think…” Her voice was hesitant but that same gentle touch soothed her again.

“Yes.” Kicota’s voice was still soft and gentle but now held sadness and remembered pain. “I was in Grun’das’ swarm. I was barely conscious of who and what I was until the whole swarm was taken by the being called Bob. He helped us be more than we were and then Samuel saved us all. But I remember you, little one. Oh…” Now the queen’s voice was sad. “I know what they did to you, youngling. They will not get away with it. We will stop them.”

“So tired…” Lohas felt herself fading. “Just want to rest…”

“Rest some more, young one.” Kicota’s touch was hastening her slumber again. “We will talk more when you wake again. I will be here.”

“Promise…?” Lohas hated the whining tone that entered her voice but she could not scrub it out.

“I promise. Sleep now and wake renewed.” Kicota’s gentle voice and soothing touch followed Lohas into slumber. She fell into the darkness comforted.

***

Kicota took a moment to project peace and calm to the hurt youngling before she retracted her antennae and stepped away from the healing pod the young queen was encased in. Small wonder the poor dear was so confused and hurt. Just the physical memory of the injuries that had been done to her felt awful to the incredibly empathic queen. She was much younger than Lohas, but at the same time, far more experienced. The brain damage that Lohas had taken was extreme. Any other race but a Sitolon with their segmented brains would have died from it. As it was, Lohas wished to die, and many people were working to keep her from it. But Kicota had to remain calm, now especially. She nodded to the other occupant of the room who had acted ready when Lohas had woken up. He took his hand from his gun but she did not relax and neither did her guards.

“She will be fine.” Kicota’s voice was a bit flat, but she didn’t really care. This being was annoying.

“Maybe.” Musano Vorren’s voice was also flat. He did not rise from the chair he sat in. She could feel his pain, but she did not offer assistance. On the one hand, he would not take it. On the other, he was an agent of the Sith Empire, and technically an enemy, no matter what he acted. “They hurt her so badly. Physically and mentally. Can she recover from that?”

“Yes.” Kicoata’s voice brooked no argument, but Vorren did not listen. “Back off, agent.”

“I know your people can repair incredible things, but this…” Vorren’s voice held what for anyone else would have been true revulsion. It was hard to tell with him though; He was trained and very, very good at fooling people. Add to that the fact that his mind was so still as to be nearly impenetrable to the Force and…well… As if he was aware of her scrutiny, he slumped in place. “I am not your enemy, Queen Kicota.”

“She will have healing.” Kicota’s voice was truly hostile now. “As soon as your people let her go.” Vorren looked at her and sighed deeply.

“We can’t do that, Queen Kicota…” He said softly as he looked around the open medical bay of the Sith battleship Deceiver. “Even with her being a victim and a child, she helped Vandar attack us. She…devoured some of our crew.” The hate and revulsion in his voice was palpable.

“We will not let you dissect her.” Kicota’s voice was flat now and more than one of her retinue of guards stiffened at her tone. One did not insult a Sitolon queen. Ever. “You are just going to have to accept the fact that we are not going to let you dissect her in revenge for Mi’ta. Mi’ta was dead anyway. It wasn’t Lohas’ fault.” The man’s eyes cold turned to her and for just a moment, Kicota was reminded of another highly dangerous human male. But there the similarities ended. Will Kalenath would have just blown the entire ship out of space and to hell with the repercussions. “You will not hurt this youngling. It was not her fault. Leave her alone. Do I make myself clear, Agent Vorren?” There was no give in her voice and several of her guards raised weapons.

“Crystal.” Vorren said coldly. Then he rose and left the room. Kicota stared after him for a moment and then sighed.

“How else would he react?” The sole other occupant of the room asked softly. Michelle, Sixth of the Seven, was working hard at her desk, but she had demanded to be put in close proximity to Lohas while the queen recovered. The crew wasn’t entirely sure how to treat her, but most felt awe around her. It wasn’t everyone who could let part of herself die to try and trap a powerful enemy. “How would you react, Kicota? If someone ate a friend of yours?”

“I don’t really think someone like Vorren has friends, but… I know.” The huge silver queen sighed deeply as she sat beside the cocoon that held Lohas. She shook her head sadly. “It’s not her fault. Those butchers…” The queen was nearly sobbing. Not that she could cry as humans did, but she did feel grief and pain. “The things they did to her were as bad as what they did to Sara. If not worse.”

“Kicota…” Michelle said softly. “If they don’t let her go soon…” The healers on the Sitolon homeship were incredible, they had perfected healing over several thousand lifetimes and being able to draw on ancestral memory for healing lore helped a great deal as well. “You know what will happen.”

“I know.” Kicota said softly. “She won’t heal enough. The damage to her brain will heal as it is and there will be nothing anyone can do.” The queen was shaking her head. “Michelle… What do we do?”

“Nothing for now.” Michelle said gently. “She isn’t stable enough to move anyway. We do need permission to take her and the…five beings that Lohas changed.” No one was going to say where the fifth one had come from, not where anyone of Imperial inclination could hear. “Do you think Dia can do something, persuade someone?”

“I don’t know.” Michelle said sourly. “I understand her status within the Empire is under review…”

“Joy…” Kicota said with matching sourness and then resumed her vigil over the hurt youngling in the pod beside her. “I just hope she doesn’t break the ship…” Not a joke. Not when dealing with someone like Dia Ulahadotter.

<An Imperial staff room>

“Okay… Let me make sure I have this straight.” The cold female voice silenced everything in the room. “I am listed as ‘dead’ in Imperial Records. I am not dead. But you cannot update my status because there were no witnesses to my death.” The woman formerly known as Oreana Devich and now calling herself Dia shook her head slowly. “I blew up all the potential witnesses with Creon.” She shook her head slowly, her face holding a tinge of humor now. “What am I supposed to do, reconstitute their atoms? I am good, not that good.”

“You are an imposter.” The clerk replied sourly. “You claim to be…” The clerk broke off as Dia growled at him, a sound more akin to an angry rancor than a human woman. When she spoke again, her voice skittered around the room as if on angry claws.

“Let me make this perfectly clear, clerk Bushfeld. I do not ’claim’ a damned thing.” The guards in the room stiffened. She was unarmed, unarmored and clad in a patient gown, but everyone who looked at her suddenly felt a trickle of fear. “My name is not Oreana now, it is Dia. I did not choose this. I did not want this. A very hurt youngling with incredible power felt me dying and brought me back from the brink. I don’t blame her. She was in pain and wanted to keep others from being in pain. Maybe it was weakness on her part, maybe not. But she saved me.” She shook her head slowly and her blue eyes speared the man, who suddenly looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. “I have spent the last two hours filling out your Force be damned forms. I did it as a courtesy to your captain. I thought you people had suffered enough. I guess I was wrong. You are rude.” Power rang in her words and both guards raised empty hands, but froze as her glare slid over them. “Give me one reason I should not just ‘remove’ you and start over with some new clerk.” Her steely gaze had the clerk wilting.

“M…Ma’am…” The clerk tried, she had to give him that. He was not a coward, just focused on his job to the exclusion of all else. “It won’t do any good. Your story is… odd to say the least. We are trying to corroborate it.”

“Good luck.” Dia said sourly. “The only witnesses are either dead or people who want nothing to do with the Empire.” She shook her head. “No, I guess I just have to fight my way out.” She rose slowly and her hands crackled with power now. The guards froze in place, hands well away from their weapons. The clerk met her eyes calmly. He was brave, she had to give him that. If dumb.

“Dia…” The soft voice spoke form the door and Dia turned to find Nira Auralai stepped into the room. “Killing them won’t help.”

“Might make me feel better.” Dia snarled, but slowly relaxed. The power that had been flaring off her in waves dissipated slowly. She growled at the clerk again. “Bureaucratic bull malarkey.”

“It’s needed, Dia.” Nira said gently as she beckoned. “Come on. Let’s get you dressed and let the soldiers and clerk change their pants.” Dia snickered at her tone and followed, casting one last baleful glare at the clerk as she followed. “You can’t blame them for having misgivings.”

“Why?” Dia asked nastily as Nira led her into the main medical ward. The ship’s crew was hard at work on repairing the damage that it had sustained. “You think I don’t have misgivings? I was…” She shook her head. “I can’t quite remember what happened. I know I said goodbye to Michelle. I was floating away when something grabbed me.”

“Did it hurt?” Nira asked softly as she led Dia into a private room. “Here, you didn’t want black.” She indicated a pile of neutral color robes on the bed.

“No….” Dia said softly. “It didn’t hurt. Lohas explained as soon as I was lucid. She was so sad, so apologetic, almost pathetic in her need to explain to me. But powerful.” She stripped the gown off and started dressing with careful speed. “She helped me. She did what she could, I don’t blame her. If I blame anyone, I blame Vandar and his scum.”

“Good.” Nira said sourly. “One person gunning for Lohas is bad enough.”

“Oh?” Dia asked, her shirt half on. She pulled it on and stared at the younger Sith. “What has happened?”

“Mi’ta.” Nira said quietly and Dia froze in place. “Vorren and Mi’ta were colleagues, friends if you can believe it.”

“Oh….dear…” Dia said softly as she started pulling the outer robes only to freeze as a silver hilt appeared under them. “Um… Nira…?” She asked softly, not touching it. “Am I supposed to have a lightsaber?”

“You will need it.” Nira replied evenly. “Lots of people had reason to distrust you as Oreana. Now that you are Dia, well… Your status is unclear and any Sith who comes by… Well…”

“…will have nothing better to do than test themselves against me. Joy…” Dia groused as she finished closing the robes. She put the belt on and hooked the lightsaber to it. “Been awhile since I last used a saber and this body has never used one, so… I guess I better practice.”

“If you don’t mind.” Nira sounded unsure now. “I would be honored to spar with you.”

“I wouldn’t mind at all.” Dia said with a smile. “Come on, they have to have some kind of exercise room around here somewhere…” She paused and shook her head. “You lurk very well, Idjit of the Bladeborn.” A soft chuckle came from a shadowed corner of the room and Idjit unfolded from a chair. “Did you enjoy the show?” Dia asked sourly.

“Ah…” Idjit waved a hand at his bandaged eyes but his voice held humor. “Blind?”

“Sure you are.” Dia said caustically. “Sure you are. I am going to tell Istara that you were a peeping tom.” A wide grin spoiled her harsh words.

“You would, wouldn’t you?” Idjit shuddered a bit. “I didn’t look.” He said defiantly but then he spoiled it with a grin. “Much.” Dia stared at him for a moment and then threw the pillow from the bed at him.

“You are distracting me.” Dia said quietly. “Do I want to know?”

“Your attendance is required in the com section, Dia Ulahadotter.” Idjit said formally. “By the Emperor.”

“Oh… Flarg…” Dia’s face went ashen, but then she stiffened and nodded. She had never backed away from a fight in her life. “Let’s get this done.”

<Twenty minutes later>

Dia was staggering as she exited the secure com booth. All Imperial ships had secure areas to send and receive holo transmissions. Not many had the secure facilities to receive a transmission from where this one had come from. Dia felt pain, she ignored it. She felt nausea, she ignored that. It had not been fun. As bad as she remembered it being the few times she had talked to the Emperor before, this had been worse, far worse.

“Dia…?” Nira’s voice was low and concerned. She turned an both the female Sith and Idjit were standing nearby, out of the way of the crew who were working but obviously waiting for her. “What happened?”

“Captain…Solo…” Dia croaked out. The captain strode forward and nodded to her. “The Emperor tested me. I passed his test. He has formally stated that Oreana Devich is dead.” The captain looked at her and nodded slowly. She had formal status now. “I am Dia Ulahadotter… Ally…of… the Empire…” She felt herself falling, but something caught her before she hit the floor. “I have work to do…” She tried to rise, tried to focus, but her power would not answer her now.

“No, you have healing to do, Dia.” Nira’s voice was gentle now as someone lifted her and carried her easily. “Rest, Dia Ulahadotter, ally of the Empire.” Then she knew no more.

Dia had been floating restfully in the kolto tank for some time, she wasn’t sure how long. She knew she had taken damage in the Emperor’s test. It had hurt like nothing else she had ever encountered. Even the torture by surgery that Special Branch had done to her had paled in comparison. Even dying, twice, had paled in comparison. Neither of those time shad actually HURT, now that she thought about it. Both times, she had gone to sleep and woken elsewhere. First in the main computer of a starship, and second in the body of a clone of her old self. Odd that. She had always been told that clones went mad when made from Force users, but somehow she wasn’t. She didn’t think so anyway. She shook her head slowly and stretched a little. It felt…weird not having lekku now. She had taken a long time to get used to them, and one of them had been hurt badly and she had never really recovered full use of it, but she had compensated. Now, she felt unbalanced by not having them. Odd. She was floating and then she was not. Dia felt a firm bed under her and sheets over her. Probably she had lost time due to drugs or such. No problem. She sighed, she had been stagnant long enough. She opened her eyes and sat up. What she saw was a horror, but she smiled.

“Hello, Kicota.” Her grin was small, but there and she nodded to the large silver skinned queen. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“You were hurt very badly, Dia.” Kicota replied gently. She was a healer by trade as well as a queen. “You have been unconscious for two days.”

“Two… days…?” Dia exclaimed. “Lohas? Has the Empire decided?” She blanched as the queen shook her head sadly. “Kicota… She cannot remain in that stasis thing for much longer.”

“I know.” Kicota said in a hard tone. “They are being obstinate. They say they want to help her. Lying scum.” The queen snarled. “Even without the Force, I can tell that they are lying.”

“Oh dear…” Dia said as she checked her extremities. “Vorren?” She asked grimly.

“Vorren.” Kicota agreed with a growl. “He just will not accept the fact that she was not in control of herself. That Vandar took that poor larva and warped her.”

“Neither would I. If someone ate a friend of mine.” Dia mused as she sat up, pulling her clothes to her with the Force and starting to dress. “Kicota… You know…About Mi’ta…?” She did not finish her statement and Kicota nodded. “Okay. Let’s see if I can make him understand.” Steel rang in her tone.

“Dia, you are still weak and sick.” Kicota said gently. “You do not feel it now, but the damage was extreme. We thought we were going to lose you.”

“Weak and sick or no…” Dia replied as she hooked her lightsaber on her belt. “I have work to do. If he kills Lohas, there will be war. If you kill him, there will be war. So… Hmmm…” She shook her head and her tone was rueful now. “Good thing I don’t like easy jobs.” She stopped talking as the queen stiffened.

“Oh Dammit!” Kicota ran out of the room and Dia stared for a moment before following her.

She strode out into the main medical bay to a tense scene. A man in Imperial uniform held a blaster in hand, pointed at a larva sack. The Sitolon guards all had blasters in hand pointed at Agent Vorren. Dia took a deep breath and shouted.

“Enough!” The Force came to her call and Vorren’s weapon suddenly flew into the air to land by her feet. “Everyone. Stand. Down!” The agent went for something hidden in a pocket and then he cried out in alarm as Dia raised a hand, grabbed him with the Force and threw him into the air to slam into the ceiling with enough force objects fall off of nearby trays. When she spoke again, it was soft and filled with menace. “What part of ‘Stand Down’ do you not understand, Agent Vorren?” She asked him. He stared at her from his position, plastered on the ceiling. “Well?” She asked almost sweetly, but cold threat rang underneath her tone.

“That… thing… killed my friend.” Vorren said softly, his hand inching towards his pocket. “You of all people have to understand that, Oreana or Dia or whoever the hell you are now.”

“Agent…” Dia sighed and then her other hand came up. The security camera over the door hissed and then broke off the wall, slamming into the floor near her. She did not flinch. “You have the brains of a houseplant sometimes, don’t you?” Vorren snarled at her and Dia dropped her hand. He slammed into the floor hard enough to stun him momentarily. She was on him before he could recover and divesting him of a thermal detonator, two blasters and a nasty looking poison dart thrower. “I doubt that is everything. Hold him!” She stepped back as a Sitolon guard came up and grabbed both his arms and both his legs in strong claws. She leaned close and whispered. “I really hope the mikes are dead Agent, because I am only going to say this once. I know about getting revenge for lost companions, I know it very well.” She looked him in the eyes and waited until he met hers. She leaned closer and whispered into his ear. “She is not dead.”

“You lie!” Vorren snarled at her, but was unable to move. “That thing ate her!”

“That ’thing’ as you so impolitely put it, agent…” Dia said gently as she stepped away. “Has a name. Her name is Lohas. You saw the recording. You saw what Vandar did, didn’t you?” Vorren did not want to, but her eyes would not let him go and he nodded jerkily. “He killed your friend, Vorren. He gave her a powerful neurotoxin. She was dead before Lohas arrived. You want revenge, get it from him. Please do, I and a lot of other people will help.”

“That thing ate my friend.” Vorren did not struggle now, but his eyes were filled with hate as Dia sighed. “Don’t deny it!”

“I won’t.” Dia said softly. “You won’t listen to anything I say. Don’t move.” Not that he could, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. This man was seriously dangerous, especially when cornered. He was struggling against the claws that held him, but Sitolon could lift small tanks. He wasn’t going anywhere in the black claws of Kicota’s guard. Dia walked to another door and opened it, and then smiled. “I should have known you would be listening.”

“Wanted to help…” Vorren froze in his struggling as a soft, scared voice came from the door. A blue skinned form wearing a hastily thrown on patient gown came out of the door. Her eyes were covered by bandages and her steps were jerky. Dia took her arm in a gentle hand and the Twi’lek smiled her thanks. “You need me…” Her head was festooned with odd looking machinery and tubes draped from her body.

“You should not be out of the cocoon, Mi’ta. We filled your drug reservoir, but you should not be up.” Kictoa said disapprovingly. “We will have to reconnect all the plumbing again. You will not enjoy that.” Vorren went white.

“Mi’ta… But… I…” His face was as pale as the white patient gown the Twi’lek wore. “That is not possible…”

“What isn’t, Agent?” Dia asked caustically. “That Lohas saved her life or that she is standing here when she should be in bed at the very least? She is nowhere near recovered from that nerve toxin.” She gave Mi’ta a gentle shake. “You crazy Twi’lek.” Mi’ta smiled at her, but then her blind eyes turned to Vorren.

“Boss, please…” Her voice held entreaty now. “Lohas saved me from Vandar’s poison. The poison hurt me, bad. It hurt my eyes, I… I don’t know if they can fix them.”

“We will do what we can, Mi’ta. We will see what we can do about your other problem as well. Brain chemistry is a specialty of ours.” Kicota promised in a gentle tone as she took Mi’ta’s other arm to help steady the Twi’lek who was stumbling worse now. “Whatever we can do, we will.”

“But… Why…?” Vorren asked the room in general, obviously confused. “Why pretend she was eaten?”

“Because Imperial Intelligence will know very shortly who I was, if they don’t already. I must have blurted out things… I was fuzzy…Drug ran out and wore off. I don’t know all of what I said and it was likely recorded.” Mi’ta replied sadly. “Michelle and Idjit were trying to keep it quiet, but someone in the crew found something and took it to the captain. They are…understandably paranoid at the moment. Lohas pretended to have consumed me to keep me safe. I am sorry Vorren. Imperial Intelligence will know what who I was by now or very soon. They won’t know it all yet, Vorren, but they will.” Impossibly, Vorren went even whiter as Mi’ta slumped in place. The only thing holding her up was the strong arms that held her in place. “You have got to get Lorna and the kids safe, Vorren. Now. If your enemies figure out that you helped me, lied to your superiors about me…”

“It’s taken care of.” A new voice came as the door hissed open. Michelle, Sixth of the Seven walked in and sighed. “Dia… Do you have to start on the property damage already? The captain is a bit upset about the mike and camera.”

“Bite me.” Dai said with a grin that was only half whimsical. “He wasn’t going to take my word.”

“What do you mean, ‘It is taken care of’?” Vorren asked cautiously. “They were in a secure facility.”

“And now they are in an even more secure facility. Not as hostages…” Michelle said quietly as his face hardened. “But as potential targets. They know about hiding and security. So do the people they are hiding with now. Right now they are heading for the homeship, but in a few days we will move them to an even more secure facility.” Vorren took a moment to digest that. More secret and secure than the Sitolon homeship? Who the…? Then it hit him and he stared, mouth ajar.

“You are kidding…” Vorren stared from Michelle to Dia, his eyes growing wider. “Why the hell would they take my family?” Only one place in the galaxy might be secure from the Empire, the Republic and Special Branch. The Stormhawk Enclave.

“Will insisted.” Michelle said softly. “He got them out. Apparently he left here and went straight there. He took a hell of a risk, Vorren. He says, ‘The debt is paid’ whatever that means.”

“Tell him when you see him again…” Vorren relaxed slowly. “…that I say ‘It’s paid’. Now what?”

“Now we have to get Lohas to her people before it is too late.” Dia said as she motioned for the Sitolon holding him to let go. Vorren landed on his feet and nodded to her. “Mi’ta and Lohas’ breeders will go as well, for medical treatment. I will stay, I have work to do.”

“Actually…” Kicota said softly. “Agent Vorren and Dia, we have a request for you both.”

“A request?” The two mismatched individuals chorused. They shared a small grin and Dia waved for the queen to continue.

“Yes.” Kicota replied. “We, the Sitolon, need a representative. Someone to be our voice with the Empire.” Dia’s eyes went wide, but Kicota wasn’t done. “We also need help improving our security, as Agent Vorren showed us our lack when he and his people attacked the homeship. A mutually beneficial partnership?” Vorren stared at her and then shook his head in resignation.

“Idjit and I have to remain here.” Michelle said softly. “He still faces Imperial Review. I won’t leave him to face that alone.” All of the others shared a look. Imperial Review as a euphemism for trial by torture, usually fatal to the one being reviewed. “But the rest of you, get out of here. Today.”

“We can do that.” Dia said softly, her mind whirling with plans and strategies. “Right agent?”

“Right.” Vorren nodded to her, his eyes on Mi’ta who was crumpling in Dia’s arms now.

“Come on, Mi’ta.” Kicota said gently as she swung the shivering Twi’lek into her claws. “Back into the pod with you before anyone else comes. I will reattach your plumbing and then you go back to sleep…”

“At least it doesn’t hurt… Vorren…” Mi’ta managed to say as she was carried away. “Bring Olandas…We need her…” Vorren looked at Dia who shrugged.

“Bring your whole team.” Dia said solemnly. “Time we were all on the same page anyway.”

<Two days later>

“That…is…creepy…” The man in armor’s voice spoke for the entire team as they watched Mi’ta being removed from the pod she had been in. It looked as if she were being ingested by a larger brown pod like thing, but the docs had explained. Mi’ta needed help that only a deep healing could give and they hoped that the healing could fix everything. He shook his head as the pod turned transparent and the Twi’lek was seen, floating in a fluid that was tinged a lighter shade of blue than her skin. “What is that stuff?”

The small Intel team had accompanied Mi’ta and Vorren from the Sith ship. Imperial Intelligence had okayed the Sitolon’s request for Vorren as a ‘security consultant.’ Everyone knew that eventually Imperial Intelligence would figure out who Mi’ta had been, but hopefully Vorren would have time to disappear or make a proper explanation before then.

“Dunno.” Vorren had been a man of few words during the trip from the Deceiver to the Sitolon homeship.

“I…” Olandas obviously wanted to touch the pod and one of the Sitolon nodded to her.

“Go ahead, tech Olandas. You cannot hurt that pod without heavy weapons.” The bug waved her forward and she moved slowly, carefully. “The fluid is a specialized sap derived from a substance that grows on a planet called Thyferra. It promotes even more rapid healing that Kolto. Unfortunately, we have been unable to reproduce it off the ship.”

“Like most of your tech…” Olandas said softly as she pressed a hand against the transparent membrane, snatching it back hastily. “Is it supposed to be… um…squishy?”

“It is alive, yes, Tech Olandas.” The doctor reassured her. “Your friend will recover. As to her eyesight…” Now the doc shook its head. “We do not know. We will do what we can.”

“How long…?” Olandas asked, her eyes never leaving the pod. “I mean… She looks so hurt…So weak…” She gave a squeak as the armored form came up behind her and patted her shoulder.

“She will be all right, Olandas.” The man nodded to the doc. “Right?”

“The Twi’lek will survive.” The doc said gently. “She will need time to heal the damage from the toxin no matter what. There are various things we can do for her eyes. We will need to see how she heals the rest of the damage before we attempt any of those.” Olandas nodded, her eyes on the scantily clad form in the pod.

“Olandas…” Vorren said softly. “Stay with Gev. Let me know what happens. I…” He shook his head and turned, but paused as the doctor nodded to him. “Yes?”

“Queen Sarai requests your presence, Agent Vorren.” The doctor said softly, but there was no mistaking the royal command that was implicit in that seemingly innocuous request. “As soon as you are available.” Vorrn nodded slowly and started for the door. He nodded to the being who was waiting for him there. Dia looked decidedly uncomfortable in the formal attire of an Imperial diplomat, but the captain of the Deceiver had insisted. She had made her displeasure heard but had acquiesced eventually. Not without mutterings, mind you.

“Stupid Force forsaken shoes…” Dia was grumbling as the mismatched pair started off. “Why could I not just be in robes?” She asked for about the fifth time. She shook her feet as she walked, trying to get her feet to move properly.

“Protocol.” Vorren said softly, lost in his own thoughts.

“Agent.” Dia said, stopping in mid passage. “We did this to help you. And we are not enemies of the Empire.” Vorren would not meet her eyes. “What is wrong, agent Vorren?”

“I raised my children to obey orders.” Vorren said when it was clear that Dia was not going to budge until he answered. “What kind of father figure am I when I disobey them?”

“And if you had obeyed orders?” Dia asked gently. “What would have happened to Mi’ta, to you and your family?”

“Mi’ta? A year or so of interrogation, then execution. Us? A long interrogation followed by a long stint in prison. Or they would have just killed Lorna and me, sent our kids to ‘reeducation’.” Vorren replied, his voice tired. “Melita Ranol was an enemy, but an honorable one. We faced off a few times, she won a few, I won a few. Then to have her masters toss her away so casually, so… So stupidly… It was wrong. Even for me, it was wrong.”

“And?” Dia pressed, her voice turning hard. “That was not the only reason was it?”

“No.” Vorren said slowly. “I… I wanted to turn her. Prove to my superiors that I could. Then she…well… She grew on me, us.”

“Happens to the best, agent.” Dia sighed and started off again. “Happened to me once too, with a Padawan named Ulaha. Must be the blue skin or the lekku. You think?” Vorren stared at her, but her tone was too much and a small smile graced his features. “Better, agent Vorren. We are not going to let you or your family come to harm.”

“Lorna is going to skin me…” Vorren said under his breath as they entered the queen’s quarters, but he stopped short on seeing the sight that greeted him. Admittedly it was not every day that he saw his kids climbing all over a large insect who was standing patiently and speaking in low tones. If he was not mistaken this was Ecien, one of Istara’s common partners.

“…no, Mathurin.” The large silver bug was saying. “Our bodies may be different, but we share a number of similarities. Please don’t touch that Jula…” The girl snatched her hand from a protuberance on the bug’s thorax and the bug’s voice was gentle. “Not really a problem, it’s just uncomfortable. Ah, Agent Vorren…” Both children froze in place and then slowly climbed down off the bug before bracing to attention. “We were discussing anatomy. Jula and Mathurin here were curious about the differences between humans and Sitolon.”

“I…” For the first time in a long, long time, Musano Vorren did not know what to say. “Is Lorna here?”

“She is feeding your youngest.” The big bug replied evenly. “Come when you are done talking to your kids.” She swept towards the door and the children stayed where they were, obviously uncomfortable. Then she was gone, Dia walking with her. Vorren looked at his children and nodded.

“How have you been treated?” He asked. Neither showed any signs of injury. Both were clean and wore clean, neutral shipsuits that bore no insignia. “Mathurin?” He prompted the eldest when he did not reply. The boy replied in a well moderated tone.

“We are fine, Father.” The boy had great control over his tone, but deep down, confusion was audible. “They have treated us well.” At eight, he was the eldest .

“They gave us each our own room.” Jula said in a tone of worry. “Does that mean we will be in danger…?” She broke off, unsure. Of course, she was only four.

“I don’t know.” Musano Vorren replied softly. “I don’t think so. You have questions. Ask.”

“Father…” Mathurin spoke slowly, softly. “Why did we evac from the base? And the man who picked us up… I recognized him from Imperial records.” Jula looked at her brother and froze at his tone. Confusion and betrayal were right there.

“Secrets are our life, Mathurin.” Cipher Agent Musano Vorren said with a sigh. “But yes, that was Will Kalenath who picked you up. And he did it because of me.”

“He is an enemy of the Empire!” Mathurin exclaimed. “Why did he do that? We should turn him in!”

“Mathurin, that is complicated.” Vorren said gently. He squatted on his heels and extended his arms. Jula came into them gratefully but Mathurin paused, still unsure. “You remember Aunt Mi’ta? The one with the tentacles on her head? The one who made you cookies?”

“Yes…?” Mathurin said slowly. “She was always nice to me. She showed me what to do it anyone tried to hurt Jula, before the training started.”

“I remember.” Vorren said with a smile. That had been a welcome surprise. Mi’ta loved his kids. Anyone who hurt them would face her wrath. “We didn’t tell you the whole truth about her, Mathurin, Jula... She was loyal to people who were not loyal to her in return. They used her and threw her away, I found her, rescued her and brought her home. Your mother and I spent a great deal of time healing her and helping her. In return she pledged herself to me.” Jula looked blank, but Mathurin’s eyes went wide.

“She was an enemy agent?” The boy’s tone was incredulous and Jula froze in Vorren’s arms.

“She was, yes.” Vorren said, nodding to Mathurin. His boy was sharp. “Now she is not. But… I never told my superiors about her.”

“That’s treason!” Mathurin declared, his hands coming up in a warding gesture. “You… no… I can’t believe you did that!”

“Mathurin… Listen…” Vorren said slowly. “It is not treason. I did not act against the Empire. I was trying to turn her into an agent of the Empire. Instead I turned her into an agent for me. I serve the Empire, she serves me. You know her. Will she betray me?”

“Uh…” Mathurin shook his head slowly, thinking hard. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“She won’t. That Twi’lek is almost genetically incapable of breaking a trust, and that was what nearly got her killed.” Vorren said gently. “My loyalty is and always will be to the Empire. But… If this information had come out -and it will shortly-what would my enemies in Imperial Intelligence have done to you, to your mother, to Jula and your little brother before I could explain?” Mathurin grimaced and Vorren nodded. “Exactly. For now, we have to remain hidden. We have to remain secure. I need you two to remain secure. Can you do that?” Mathurin nodded a bit dubiously and Vorren held out the hand that Jula was not snuggling into and Mathurin took it, a handshake, neither too firm nor too soft. “Good kids, is your mom inside?”

“Yes.” Mathurin said softly retracting his hand. “She was… Um… a bit distressed. “

“I bet.” Vorren rose and started towards the door. Jula took his hand and walked with him. Mathurin walked beside him on the other side. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

He led his children into the queen’s chamber, but all three paused when they heard an angry voice. The paused just inside the door and looked at the scene that was unfolding. Two human women sat in chairs to one side of the room, Ecien stood near them with Dia beside her. But what drew the eye was the holo that shown directing in front of the Sitolon queen who was standing in the middle, her posture one of boredom.

I might have known… Vorren kept any expression from his face as he recognized the overweight man who was shouting now.

“..and I don’t care what you think. We want him and them. Now.” The loud and obnoxious tone was one that Vorren knew well. Guilio was an agent of Imperial Intelligence, like Vorren, but there the similarities ended. Guilio had been trying to get into fieldwork for over a decade, but had always been stymied by two things. First, he was a much better analyst than he was a field agent. And second, he just did not know when to quit. Case in point…

“Agent Guilio…” The large gold skinned bug said in a reasonable tone. “I have told you my wishes. As I have also cleared them with your superiors, I don’t see how your requests bear on this.”

“You are harboring a traitor and you will pay with him!” Guilio puffed but froze as the queen snarled at him. Jula winced and Mathurin’s hand tightened on Vorren’s hand. Vorren actually found himself agreeing with them all. This being, Sarai probably, was downright scary. “You will surrender him at once, Sarai or face the consequences.”

“Are you…threatening me… agent Guilio?” Sarai asked in a silky voice filled with menace. Guilio did not seem to notice and Vorren winced. Yes, the man was a much better analyst than field agent. “If so… I suggest you rephrase that.”

“It’s not a threat. It is a promise.” Guilio puffed, but he was totally unprepared for Sarai to laugh. Vorren had to smile. When she spoke, her tone was perfect, humor mixed with just a little bit of menace. “This is no laughing matter!”

“I think it is.” Sarai corrected him. “First and foremost, you ‘requested’ this audience. You got it. You have spent the last fifteen minutes of my precious time telling me how I have to do things. How I have to surrender Agent Musano Vorren and his family to you. With no evidence that you will give me, I just have to do what you say.” The scorn in her voice could have cut durasteel now. “You are rude and stupid. I gave you the courtesy of listening to your blather. Now listen to me, analyst.” Vorren had to hold back a laugh at the man’s expression. “If you ever call me again, and waste my time with such pathetic drivel, ever again…”

She cut him off as he started to protest. “I am speaking, analyst third class Guilio!” She didn’t raise her voice. It was just the intensity level, he noted, that went through the roof. The man in the holo actually gibbered and Vorren couldn’t really blame him He had been on the receiving end of a few spectacular dressings down in his own life and they never got any easier. Sarai wasn’t done though. “You waste my time, you insult me, you try to get me to do something that I am not disposed to do and then you have the gall to threaten me?” Her voice calmed and she shook her head. “I have been threatened by professionals, Analyst Guilio. You are, at best, a well trained amateur. You need to work on that. Do not call me again unless you have something important to say. And next time, try being polite.” With that, she hit a control and cut his half formed protest off as the holo faded. She sighed and shrugged as all four females who were situated by the wall burst out laughing. “What?”

“Remind me never to get you mad at me.” Sharra Kalenath said quietly as she rocked a small bundle in her lap. “At least you come by it honestly.” Vorren stared at her and then at the woman who sat beside her. His wife smiled at him and held out the hand that was not holding the baby. Dia and Ecien watched silently.

“Come in, Musano. Queen Sarai…” Lorna Vorren nodded respectfully to the Sitolon who nodded back. “…has granted us asylum for the moment.” She shook her head. “I knew it would come, sooner or later.”

“We did not betray the Empire, Lorna.” Agent Vorren said slowly as he walked to where his wife was sitting. “And this is Helmo?” He smiled at the baby as he looked at his son for the first time in the flesh. “You do good work, Lorna.”

“Was there ever any doubt?” His wife asked suspiciously, but then she grinned sadly. “It was a surprise when Will showed up. But I am glad he did. He explained.” Musano Vorren did not move as his wife rose. He did not move as she stepped to him, the children letting go of his hands and falling back an ordered step. She smiled at him and held out the bundle. “Come, meet your son.”

“I…” Musano Vorren, the suave and cool agent of Imperial Intelligence, found himself at a loss for words as he took the small, sleeping infant. “He is going to be heartbreaker.” The little boy murmured in his sleep and the man rocked the baby boy until he subsided.

“Yeah.” Loran agreed quietly. “I am proud of you, Musano. I have always known that you were a decent sort, but you could have just given Mi’ta to Intelligence. When you brought her home, bleeding and incoherent, I thought you had flipped. But I am so proud of you.” She hugged her husband, careful to avoid jostling the baby and ignoring the audience.

“I put you and the children in danger, Lorna.” Vorren sighed softly. “And now I have done it again…”

“We agreed what to do.” Lorna gave her man a squeeze. “We debated while she was still unconscious, remember, you wanted to turn her. I wanted to throw her to Intelligence. And then, she woke up and swore herself to you…” She shook her head. “You were not going to throw her away, no matter what you threatened her with when she was obstinate.”

“We are being rude.” Vorren said softly as he turned to the Sitolon queen whose posture looked amused. “My apologies, Queen Sarai.”

“No offense taken, Agent Vorren.” The queen replied gently. “Your first glimpse of your baby boy? I would be amazed if you were not a little distracted.” Her tone turned serious. “Idiots like Guilio aside, most of your agency will understand that you had a reason for doing what you did. They may not agree why you did it. It is doubtful they will give you time to explain, or care about why. Your superiors…” She shrugged all four of her shoulders. “You will need to file a report.”

“And what am I to say, Queen Sarai?” Musano Vorren asked slowly. “I mean…” He shrugged, careful not to disturb the baby.

“You can tell the truth.” Lorna said gently. “Melita Ranol is dead. Mi’ta is as well as far as the Empire is concerned.” Her smile was self satisfied now, and Vorren suddenly had an image of a shark. His wife could be vicious, especially when people threatened her family, of which Mi’ta was a part.

“Oh?” Musano asked slowly. He knew that tone. “What did you do?” She wouldn’t meet his eyes and he pressed. “Lorna…?” He asked with suspicion in his voice.

“Well…” Lorna had the grace to look sheepish. “He was still trying to find dirt on you. I needed to do something, so I hacked his systems.”

“And did what?” Musano Vorren felt his stomach start to flip flop. Imperial Intelligence had no sense of humor when people started hacking their secure files. “Lorna…”

“I managed to get a worm in through his system.” Lorna grinned as her husband stared at her. “They will likely think he planted it. It was designed to go through the secure files and change the data that Imperial Intelligence had for Mi’ta so that the name in the files is Melita. It will show her being a triple agent, working for Republic Intelligence and spying for Imperial Intelligence under the name Mi’ta, which she is… Sort of…”

“Lorna…” Musano’s voice was horrified now. “Do you have any idea what the high command will do?” The baby in his arms whimpered a bit and he rocked it gently.

“I did it on orders, Musano.” Lorna said stiffly. “The upper command knew about Mi’ta, Will somehow managed to contact them and they sent orders with him. What is the universe coming to, Musano? Enemies of the Empire working with us…?” She shook her head. “Anyway, they knew… Somehow. They never said anything. Maybe only Jadus knew… You never know what that man knows, or why.”

“So…” Vorren was relaxing slowly. “They will detect a worm, but it did not do anything.” He snorted in sour amusement. “It will drive the security people nuts. It added information?”

“Yes.” Lorna grinned. “It was actually a legitimate records update, just not through channels.” She grinned again, like a Nexu that had just found a snack. “It also added some obviously fake information that looks like someone tried to hack the system sloppily. Almost like Guilio’s work. Odd that, huh?” Now her grin was vicious.

“You evil woman…” Musano kissed his wife. That was typical Lorna. Guilio had tried to use her kids to get at her husband. A big no no in her book. Guilio would not be enjoying his life in the very near future. Provided of course he wasn’t shot trying to escape. He was just dumb enough to try that. He shook his head and turned back to the Sitolon queen who was watching in amusement. “So… Now what?”

“Now? We have plans to make, security to upgrade, people to see and lives to change.” Sarai said quietly. “All in a day’s work.”

She was warm, but she felt cold. She was clean, but she felt dirty. She didn’t hurt, but memories of pain burned her. Lohas woke from dreams of terror and pain to soft light that filtered through the covering over her eyes and gentle pressure on her scalp and thorax. She shifted a bit and found she couldn’t, she was restrained. They had strapped her down for the surgery, for fear of her moving during it and hurting herself. They had been gentle, but thorough. Cool gas was playing over her abdomen air holes, probably oxygen by the smell. But her mind was still fuzzy and fragmented. She sighed deeply. It hadn’t worked. Her voice was flat when she spoke.

“It didn’t work.” It wasn’t a question. A voice she had never heard answered her. She stiffened as a gentle touch rubbed the back of her thorax. She hadn’t expected the brain damage she had taken to be fixable, even if the docs had hoped and given her their best efforts.

“No it didn’t. Oh Lohas…” The voice sounded so sad. “I am sorry.”

“You… You are queen Sarai, are you not?” Lohas did not try to move. She knew that she was still restrained in the surgical frame. “You should not be here.” Fear colored her voice, but it was not fear for herself. If she hurt or killed queen Sarai, most of her people were doomed.

“Easy, child… One of my people –a young one- is in pain, in fear and unable to join with us. Where else would I be?” The gentle touch was back, soothing, calming. “Yes, I am Sarai. It’s all right, Lohas.”

“With all due respect, queen, no it’s not.” Lohas replied in a sad voice. “I killed one of your people. Your people do not kill each other. Because the penalty is so well know.” The penalty for murder had been unchanged for centuries. Convicted murderers had their minds wiped. All memory was removed, and the body would be given medical care to live a new life. “I am…” She shook herself. “I am ready to accept punishment.” She braced herself, but the touch that came was that same gentle soothing caress.

“Lohas…” Sarai sounded disturbed now. “You were a tool, no more. Vandar and Firdlump used you to kill Nana to try and destabilize this hive. They failed. I do not blame a sword or a blaster for what it’s wielder does. I blame the wielder. You are not to blame for that.”

“I hurt people…” Lohas’ voice was small and young now. “I hurt them so badly you won’t be able to heal them.”

“Yes.” Sarai’s voice was a little harder now, but her caress was still gentle. “We will do what we can for them. We have already undone the modifications you made to their bodies. Their minds…” She made a noise of disquiet. “You know they can’t be repaired.” With the actual memories completely gone, no healing the universe could fix what had happened. They would have to be retrained, taught how to live again. “But we can and will help them.”

“I did it.” Lohas’ voice was sad. “I didn’t know what I was doing. Vandar said it was a simple matter. They were drugged, they felt no pain. He said to put the crystal on and make them forget… I… I… Thank goodness Ravishaw took the crystal…” She was heaving now as grief overcame her. “I might have hurt more people…”

“Lohas…” Sarai’s voice was gentle again. “It is past. You cannot change the past. Yours was horrible. How old were you when they took you?” Her touch was soothing, and her voice concerned.

“Ten summers.” Lohas replied softly, her voice full of remembered fear and pain. “I was… I was hunting, on Tralus. I remember that. A sand panther caught my eyes, I was moving to catch and devour it when something hit me. I do not remember what it was, but I woke up on a table. They were… They were…” She was heaving again and something hugged her. “She said she was sorry, but then she… she…” Her entire world rocked on its axis as she heard a voice she had tried so hard to forget.

“I am so sorry, young one. I had no choice.” Lohas hadn’t known her body could get that stiff but she managed at sound of the voice of Agnosa, a Sitolon who had worked for Special Branch. Then the black bug found her voice.

“You…You lying evil witch! You said it wouldn't hurt! You cut off my antennae!” Lohas screamed and tried to fight the restraints but they were well beyond her ability to break. “You took my claws, you took my antennae, you left me alone in my mind… You demagolka! You evil, evil barvette!” She was sobbing now, her body heaving. The gentle touch from before was back, soothing her, trying to get her to relax.

“Lohas… Easy… Lohas…” Sarai’s voice was calm, and gentle. “She didn’t have a choice. As bad as what they did to you was, they did worse to her, for longer.”

“And that makes what she did right?” Lohas asked incredulously, and then froze as she realized she had just insulted the queen. The gentle touch didn’t change, it soothed her and she found her body relaxing against her will.

“Nothing could make what they had me do to you, and so many others, right, child.” Agnosa said with quiet sincerity and sadness so deep it seemed an ocean. “I want to help. Let me help. Please?” The naked entreaty in the ancient queen’s voice brought Lohas up short.

“I…” Lohas took a deep breath and sighed. “Queen Sarai?” Her voice was oddly formal now.

“Yes, Lohas?” The queen asked softly, her voice gentle.

“Will you kill me?” Lohas asked, somewhat dazed by the care and compassion that the queen was giving her. “Or mindwipe me?”

“Neither.” Sarai said gently. “The debates have ended. We have decided. We do not kill each other. You have been hurt enough. Mindwipe is restricted for specific cases which this does not qualify. You have been hurt enough.” The queen repeated, her touch soothing.

“Pity.” Lohas replied, her tone defeated. Then she stiffened. “What happened to Mi’ta?”

“She is healing well. You did a wonderful job with her, child.” Agnosa replied for the queen after a moment. “Have you ever studied healing?”

“I think I wanted to. When I was a larva…” Lohas replied after a moment’s thought. “It is so fuzzy. Between the madness and what they –you- did to me… I can’t… quite…remember…” She shook herself. “So… What is my punishment, for killing Nana, for breaking the minds of those four females, for…?” She broke off as the queen’s touch came again, still gentle and soothing. “Don’t…” She begged, her voice breaking. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else…”

“You won’t.” Sarai said, her tone still gentle. But then it turned formal. “Sentacakilohas, by consensus of the people, you have been found guilty of breaking our laws, of assisting in the murder of one of our people, of removing the minds of four females who had done nothing to you, of genetically altering said four females to serve as unwilling hosts for reproduction. You abetted the construction of Special Branch’s war machines. You assisted in the murder of Dargon Darkstorm, Emily Darkstorm and Sofruitploniun.”As each charge was spoken, Lohas slumped further into the restraints that held her gently. The queen’s voice moderated now, her tone still formal, but less severe. “It is noted that you also assisted in the recovery of the Imperial battleship Dark Deceiver. You stole Mi’ta, an agent of the Seven from Vandar and healed her even though she was at the point of death. You kept Dai Ulahadotter, a friend, from passing away. These actions do not undo the evil that you have done, but they do add some measure of clemency to your sentence. What say you, Sentacakilohas?”

“I do not deserve clemency, queen Sarai.” Lohas replied evenly. “I am evil. I am…lost…”

“You are also…” Queen Sarai’s voice turned very gentle now. “…Less than forty summers old. Not even a full adult. By our standards, you should have barely exited your larval pod. What Special Branch did to you was awful. Your body matured much faster than our people were supposed to because of what was done to your people so long ago by that ignorant Jedi. It is decided, Sentacakilohas. You will live.” Lohas stiffened, but Sarai was not done. “You will be sterilized, and serve as a worker. After you exit your larval pod, of course.”

“I… Wait… What…?” Lohas would have shaken her head, but it was still restrained. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Saria’s voice, impossibly, turned even gentler. “Your body cannot be repaired, Lohas. There is too much damage even for our technology.” Lohas slumped, she had expected no less. “But…” A strange bubble of delight echoed in Sarai’s voice. “That does not mean we cannot clone you another and put you in it.”

“But…” Lohas protested. “I am evil…”

“No you are not.” Sarai replied, her touch soothing again. “You were abused, hurt and alone. You survived the only way you could. No one blames you for that.”

“I…” Lohas thought about that for a moment and then voiced another concern. “If you clone my body, it will be fertile. And every time I molt, it will regenerate.”

“No, it won’t.” Now Sarai’s voice was sad. “Because every time you molt, you are going to go to the healers and have them remove your reproductive organs.” Lohas froze but then sighed in agreement. A fairly lenient sentence all told, they could have wiped her mind. But Sarai was not done. “Due to the nature of your previous moltings and the fact that you were alone, your name is also invalid. Customarily, it is your nest mates who give new parts of a name. You gave them to yourself for you were alone.”

“But…” Lohas started to protest and broke off. What could she say?

“You will have had two genuine moltings when you emerge next time. Your name is Lohas and will be until your next molting. Now I am going to put you to sleep so the transfer into the crystal will not hurt you.” Sarai said gently. You are not alone anymore. You are mine. You are my daughter now. Rest now, my daughter. No one will harm you again, Lohas. No one! This was directly into her mind. She took those powerful but gentle words into slumber with her. But she had to say something before sleep took her. Sleep that would see her renewed in many ways. She focused herself and spoke in a way she hadn’t been able to in years.

I understand… my queen… Thank you…

The darkness that greeted her was comforting, many minds grasping her gently and buoying her up, holding her as she wept for joy at finally not being alone in her mind.

A group of robed beings met in a nicely appointed compartment. It had been set up for their use, and while they all knew they were under surveillance, none of them took it the wrong way. These people had been attacked, recently. They were not about to take any chances, not again.

“I have to say I was surprised.” The young female voice sounded hesitant. “As angry as they were, to show mercy like that to someone who had killed one of their own…”

“That wasn’t mercy, Min.” The sole male in the room shook his head. “Think. Killing Lohas would have been easier for them. Easier for her too. Now she has to live with what she did, it is a life sentence at hard labor if half of what I have seen about the worker caste is true.” Michael Jonal shook his head slowly. “Sarai chose a harder path, but… It gives Lohas a chance to repay her debts. I disagree with some of what the sentence was… Sterilizing the poor child…”

“Michael…” The Togruta who sat beside him shook her head. “Lohas needed to be punished for her own sanity. She would not accept mercy from anyone. Her whole life has been pain, fear and regret. She was just a child when Special Branch took her. She knows no other way to be. She will learn a better way I think as Sarai’s daughter. Sarai has consistently surprised me with her clarity of thought. Majistrona chose her successor well, even if I do disagree with the methods.”

“Master…” The blonde haired human beside the Togruta shook her head. “I did not agree with what Majistrona did. I know that I did not see all the paths, but what she did was wrong.”

“I do not argue that, Diseree.” The Togruta said with mild reproof. The human bowed her head, to accept the rebuke. “It was the best choice available to Majistrona at the time. I argued at the time, I was afraid that things would get worse. But Sarai surprised me. She has a habit of doing that. For someone who did not have the Force strongly before her change, she has consistently surprised us all I think with her compassion, clarity of thought and desire to see all sides.” All three of the other Jedi in the room nodded to her.

“So Lohas will be reborn into Sarai’s swarm.” Min said softly. “Where does that leave us? I mean… I feel…” She paused, her voice trailing off as all three other Jedi looked at her. “I know I am involved too much. I am too attached. Should I go back to Tython?”

“What do you want to do, Min?” Jedi Master Ashla Ti asked gently. “It is your choice, really.”

“I don’t know.” Min replied quietly, rubbing her chest over where a blaster bolt had torn through it. Her hair had finally grown back over the scalp wound she had taken at the same time, and while she still got tired more easily than she might wish, she was on the mend. “I assumed I would be sent back, to face the Council. To face punishment for my crimes.”

“Min…” Michael said gently. “We have explained. The only thing you are guilty of is being a pawn. You had no way of knowing. Heck, Vandar fooled us all. You didn’t hurt anyone, and you were hurt, badly. It is not your fault.”

“But I should have said something.” Min protested. “Done something…”

“Done what? And spoken to who?” Diseree asked quietly. “Vandar is rogue. Melan was rogue. You had no way of contacting the Council. Min, it is not your fault.”

“I know.” Min agreed quietly. “But I see them, all of them. Dreaming or awake, I see the others, lying there, gunned down by Will Kalenath. I see his blaster pointing at me and ….” She broke off and gave a small squeak as Michael laid a gentle hand on her arm. “I…”

“Min, this will haunt you for some time.” Michael said carefully. “It was a traumatic experience. But you need to move beyond it. I know you can. You can face your fear, face your past. You have met Will since then.”

“He apologized.” Min said in an undertone. “It wasn’t him in control, I know that. I just…” She shook her head. “I should go to Tython, meditate on this, try to find my way.”

“No.” Diseree said quickly and froze as all three others looked at her. “I…” She shook her head. “I had a really bad feeling when you said that, Min. I don’t think Tython is safe for any of us at the moment. Any of us who have had close contact with the Sitolon anyway.”

“What makes you say that?” Ashla Ti asked, her expression and tone neutral.

“They got to me in the middle of the Enclave.” Diseree said with a shudder. “If they hit you, or Michael or Min with those nanites away from the Sitolon, you could be used against Sarai and the Seven.”

“Good point.” Ashla Ti shook her head slowly in thought. She thought hard and shook her head again. “It is… unclear…” She shrugged. “I don’t know if that is good or bad.”

“Well…” Michael was deep in thought as well. “I know Nolikas is still aboard, healing the Dragons. We could talk to her.”

“She is busy.” Min protested as Michael rose. She did not resist as he took her hand and drew her to her feet. “I don’t want to bother her…”

“It won’t bother her, Min.” Michael said with certainty. “What would bother her is you being too proud or stubborn to ask for help. Everyone needs help sometime.”

“I…Very well.” Min said, clasping her hands in front of her. She walked to the door, Michael following and was gone. Diseree turned to Ashla Ti and smiled.

“Are you going to tell him?” Ashla Ti shook her head and Diseree nodded. “Didn’t think so. I think he will make a good teacher for her though.”

“Diseree…” Ashla Ti’s voice was cautionary. “Be careful.”

“I will.” Diseree said softly. “But I need to talk to Sarai. I think… Yes, I need to do it alone.”

“Hello Diseree.” Sarai’s voice was gentle as she moved a new larva bundle to its resting place. Diseree wasn’t sure if it was Lohas in the bundle and she wasn’t going to ask. This whole chamber rang oddly in the Force, and that was intentional. It was shielded from the outside by an odd layer of something that Diseree had no words to describe. It wasn’t a jelly, or a paste. It wasn’t plant, animal or mineral. It wasn’t leather, or scale. It was all of those and none. What it did was cut off mental projections, allowing the larva to sleep in peace, since they had no mental shields of their own while in this form. As a six foot tall bug, Sarai could not smile any more, but she had one in her voice when she turned back to face the young Jedi Seer. “What can I do for you?”

“I am not entirely sure.” Diseree admitted a bit sheepishly. “It’s kind of…weird.”

“Diseree…” Sarai said with a small laugh. “Come sit…” She put words to action, squatting on her legs to make herself smaller, less imposing. She indicated a spot beside her and Diseree sat carefully. “Ah Diseree… ’Kind of weird’ sort of defines our life these days. What can I do for you?”

“I…” Diseree shook her head slowly. “You know this is not the body I was born in, yes?” Sarai nodded and Diseree continued. “I don’t know what happened. I cannot ‘see’ it in the Force. When I try to look, all I get is static and a headache. I thought Firdlump had done it… but… He didn’t and Bob didn’t.” She broke off as Sarai looked at her.

“How do you know they didn’t do it to you?” Sarai asked gently, one of her smaller claws tracing Diseree’s shoulder. Diseree looked at the floor and Sarai’s voice turned sharp. “Diseree…?”

“I have been trying to see what will happen. It never works. So I have been trying to see what has happened, and…” She shuddered suddenly, fear coming from deep within. “I…” She froze as gentle claws pulled her into a soft embrace.

“It’s okay to be scared, Diseree.” Sarai crooned gently. “No one, not even Master Jedi can be brave all the time. If we didn’t know fear, how would we know what courage was?” She gave the girl a squeeze and let her go. Diseree retreated to her spot and sat again.

“I am not scared for myself.” Diseree said softly. “I have been watching and listening. On the plain and elsewhere. Someone injected me with nanites that were changing my body. Bob couldn’t stop them so he took my mind out and put me in this blank clone.” Sarai hissed in disapproval, but Diseree shook her head. “I don’t blame him, he was actually trying to help.”

“Diseree, he has his own agenda. One that may or may not be beneficial to you or us.” Sarai said in a tone that indicated she was trying hard to be fair. “What do you want from me?”

“I need to find out what happened to my body, the old one.” Diseree said slowly. “I think it’s important. But I don’t know why. We brought the carbonite blocks that held the changing ones, didn’t we?”

“You did.” Sarai said dubiously. “We have them in a stasis pod attached to the outer hull. We are not about to open them up on the home ship.” Diseree shuddered a bit. No that would not be a good idea. Microscopic machines loose on ship of living technology? No, not a good idea at all.

“I need to know, queen Sarai.” Diseree said softly. “I need to know what happened to my body. I can learn to be human, to act human, but… I need to know…” She finished lamely. Sarai scrutinized her and when the queen spoke it was cautious.

“What makes you think this will help?” Sarai asked softly, her claw tracing Diseree’s shoulder again. “If they nearly killed you before…What is to stop them from doing it again?”

“I don’t know.” Diseree admitted. “But Vandar and Firdlump had no idea…” She broke off as Sarai recoiled slightly, all of her eyes boring into the young Jedi seer.

“Diseree, what have you done?” Sarai asked softly, fear etching her voice now. Diseree would not meet her eyes and the queen’s voice took on a harder aspect. “Diseree… What have you done?”

“I…” Diseree shook her head. “Master Ashla Ti doesn’t know. I think she guessed. But she doesn’t know. Vandar was the only source of information! I had to…” She broke off as Saria snarled at her. Diseree did not move as a lightning fast claw divested her of her lightsaber. “He didn’t do anything. We just talked.”

“Just… talked…? With Vandar?” Sarai’s voice was very hard now. “Don’t move Diseree. This is going to sting.”

“Wait!” Diseree said quickly, but a sudden pain in her arm had her squawking and then she was falling into darkness. “No… wait…I need to… I need… to…tell…” Whatever the queen had injected her with was both potent and fast acting. She was fading too fast to get coherent words out.

“Sleep, Diseree.” Sarai’s kind voice came from far away. “It will be okay. We won’t let them have you.” She was floating now or being carried.

“You… don’t… under-…” Then she was asleep.

“…no evidence of nanite infection in this form.” The clinical words were from far away. “There is no further evidence of mental manipulation that we can detect. The blocks have been removed. She is waking.”

Diseree Mak was scared. The fact that she could not move so much as a muscle was not the most frightening thing. The fact that she had tubes in her mouth and couldn’t speak was not the most frightening thing. No, the feelings she had now, many minds scrutinizing her were absolutely terrifying in their dispassion and utterly merciless regard. She opened her eyes and found herself floating in some kind of fluid. It was warm and felt very safe. But she was floating in a transparent pod, surrounded by large insectoid forms. She calmed her incipient panic and tried to speak into the tubes, but nothing came out.

“Jedi Diseree, relax.” The voice of Agnosa came into her ears. She must have been wearing some kind of headphones. “We will remove you from the testing pod shortly.” A gold skinned form came up to the side of the tank and Diseree tried to recoil at the gaze of the queen. Sarai’s sense in the Force was cold and remote now. “Easy child. It will be okay.”

Something changed and she was fading again. She took that cold, gold skinned gaze into slumber with her. Something in that cold regard scared her worse than she had even been scared in her life.

***

“What were you thinking, girl?” Ashla Ti’s sour voice brought Diseree back to full consciousness. Then the Jedi Master’s voice turned somewhere else. “Is all this needed?”

“Yes.” Queen Saria’s voice was quiet and calm. “Just because we cannot detect a threat does not mean she is not one. You know this, Jedi.”

Diseree tried to move, and found she couldn’t. Soft, but very firm things held her body in place. She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn’t. Something held her eyes shut. She opened her mouth and it worked as it was supposed to.

“Master… I am sorry…” Diseree said into the sudden silence that greeted her words. “I tried to tell you. I couldn’t…” She felt her eyes burn under whatever was covering them. “He did something to me… I couldn’t speak of it to you…”

“Diseree…” Ashla Ti’s voice, for once, was not distant or serene. No, it held deep sadness now. “What happened?”

“I was trying to contact Idjit or Istara.” Diseree hated even remembering this but she didn’t have a choice. “Before Lohas, Dia and Vorren arrived, I was meditating. I saw something… Something awful… I can’t…” She paused, trying to think. “I can’t bring it to mind now…”

“Easy, Diseree.” Ashla Ti’s voice was gentle now, a balm to the scared young female. “Don’t fight it. Relax…” Something flowed into her, not a drug, but something in the Force that calmed and soothed her. “What happened?”

“I was on the plain. I saw something…” Diseree shuddered a little. “I freaked. Whatever it was, it was bad. I must have attracted one of the predators, because the next thing I knew one was on me. I tried to flee, to hide, but it followed, it sniffed me out. It had me…” To her horror, she started to cry. Something gentle rubbed her cheek.

“Easy, Diseree…” Sarai’s kind voice came again. “I am sorry I scared you, but you scared me. It’s okay, you are safe. What happened?”

“I…” Diseree relaxed slowly. “I fought, but it overwhelmed me. It was bringing me into it’s mouth to consume me when he appeared. I knew who he was immediately, but he… Somehow he drove it off. Somehow he managed to pry me from it’s tentacles.”

“Vandar?” Ashla Ti’s question was soft, concerned. “What happened then?”

“I don’t know.” Diseree admitted softly. “I was so weak, so sick, I think from the mental poisons the predator gave me… Ulaha was there. She demanded me. Vandar told her to shove it. He was… he was kind…” Her voice was dubious now. “I don’t understand.”

“Neither do we, Diseree.” Ashla Ti said softly. “You said as you were passing out…” Her voice held disapproval now, directed at Queen Sarai probably, but her tone moderated. “You said that you needed to tell something? What?”

“Vandar did not know about me.” Diseree said slowly. “Maybe he was lying. I can usually tell, but he is Vandar…” A soft noise of agreement came from nearby and Diseree continued. “He said that he didn’t know what had happened or why. He said that none of his agents had been in the Enclave on Tython at that time. He wasn’t sure if Firdlump or Menglan, the evil doc, had managed to do it to me. But he didn’t think so.”

“Bob didn’t do it to you, did he?” Queen Sarai’s question as directed at Ashla Ti who did not respond. “We need to find out.”

“I don’t think it was him, it, them, whatever.” Diseree said in the silence that descended. “He seemed genuinely distressed that he could not help me. At least before I woke up in this body.”

“Ah child…” Sarai’s voice was concerned now. “Master Ashla Ti? Thoughts?”

“Ordinarily, I would say that it is my problem, and that I can handle it.” Ashla Ti said quietly. “But this is beyond my abilities.” A deep sigh came from nearby. Diseree thought it sounded like Sarai.

“Well, until we have some idea of what else he did to you, Diseree, you will remain in Medical. We have more tests to run, but now, we know you are not an immediate threat.” Sarai said kindly. “I am sorry I scared you, but like I said, you scared me.”

“I tried to speak of it, master.” Diseree was almost begging as waves of lethargy started to sweep through her. “I really did…”

“I know Diseree.” Ashla Ti’s voice was gentle as a hand brushed Diseree’s brow. “It’s okay. It will be okay.” She took those kind words into slumber with her.

***

“So he manipulated her mind.” Ashla Ti said quietly as she followed the queen from the isolation room where Diseree was ensconced for the moment. “Why?”

“He left a message in her mind.” Sarai said harshly as she stepped towards the door. “For me.”

“Sarai…?” Ashla Ti stiffened. Why was Sarai suddenly so angry? “What?”

“I need to talk to Nolikas.” Sarai said as she stalked away. “Something on Tython stinks…”

Sarai stopped at the end of the hall and stiffened as she saw medical personnel hurrying back and forth. The sense of horror and, sadness and fear was overwhelming. The medical wards were shielded so that empathic beings, such as Sitolon, would not be overwhelmed by the pain and fear that usually dwelt in medical places.

“What the…?” She asked softly. One of the medical Sitolon came up and Sarai queried softly. “The Dragons?” The nurse nodded. “What happened?” Sarai demanded, her voice harsh with worry.

“It is bad, my queen…” The nurse said quietly. “Nolikas removed the implants easily, but there apparently was a delayed trap implanted in their brains. All of them.” Sarai’s froze, but the nurse hastened to explain. “We don’t know what happened. It acted like a massive allergic reaction, fast. Too fast. None of us caught it… Until…” She shook her head. “…until it was too late. None of us caught it. I am sorry…”

“When did this happen?” Sarai asked, horror pervading her senses. “Is Brianna…? Dragon Ten, my human sister. Is she all right?”

“It happened so fast. We got the first alert less than five minutes ago, and then they all started crashing. Dragon Ten is fine, she did not have the same implants.” The nurse said quietly. “The others… Only one woke after the surgery and she…” The nurse bowed her head again. “She didn’t live long…”

“Not your fault, Oputma.” Sarai said gently. “Where is Nolikas?”

“She is trying to resuscitate Dragon Six…” The healer said, obviously in shock. “She... She threw us out…”

“Is there anything I can do?” Sarai asked in a quiet voice. This was bad, very bad. These healers were not used to losing patients and losing four of them at once? “Anything at all?”

“Dragon Ten is awake, my queen…” The healer said, jerking her head at a door. “She is confused and scared. Can you talk to her?”

“Of course.” Sarai said, starting for the door indicated. “Keep me appraised. And when she has a moment, I need to talk to Nolikas.” The healer bowed and returned to her work, but she seemed less disturbed. Still sad, and horrified, but not as disturbed, if that made any sense. She opened the door and spoke gently. “Hey, Bri.”

“Queen… Sarai…” Brianna Makarian Kalenath, also known as Dragon Ten, met the queen’s gaze calmly. Her voice however, was befuddled. “I…”

“Easy, Bri.” Sarai said as she moved to stand beside the bed. “Have they told you?”

“They did.” Brianna said quietly, her face still the impassive silver mask of Dragon Squadron. “It wasn’t needed though. I felt them… I felt them pass on…”

“Oh, Bri… I am sorry…” Sarai said, her small manipulator rubbing Brianna’s right arm where it was uncovered by medical gear. “That had to have been…” She broke off as Brianna snarled.

“I am not sorry.” Brianna said harshly. “None of us wanted this. None of us wanted to be… this… monstrosity that the Republic, that Special Branch turned us into. There are limits even to fanaticism. We talked about it, all of us… Before…” She bowed her head. “The machinery that cloned the others has been destroyed. There is no coming back this time.”

“I… I understand, Bri.” Sarai nodded slowly. The slavery that the Republic had, knowingly or not, subjected their best and brightest to had been horrifying to everyone who knew about it. Desperate times or no, it was wrong. “Has Nolikas talked to you?”

“Yes.” Brianna said simply. “She gives the procedure about a sixty percent chance of success.” There was something odd in her voice.

“Define success.” Sarai said sharper than she intended. “Bri?” She prompted when the pilot did not answer her. “Bri… Please, you know how Will is going to react when he finds out.”

“Success removes these things from my head and leaves me at least a bit of brains left. And... Dad... He knows.” Brianna said quietly. “He is on his way back. Don’t worry. No matter how he acts, he is not angry with you or Nolikas.”

“How can you know that, Bri?” Sarai asked, trying hard to keep disbelief from her tone. “He was in another system. You don’t have FTL coms built into your implants.”

“No.” Brianna admitted, shifting little in the bed. “But he knows. I am not entirely sure how, but he does know. I…” She slumped in place. “I felt it when they died. Somehow. I don’t have the Force, but I felt them each finally pass away. They…” She was crying now and Sarai soothed her gently. “They died peacefully, even Surioa. They all died without pain. That is more than any of us could have hoped for, Sarai. I just feel so alone now…” She gave a yip as Sarai lifted her out of the bed into a gentle embrace, careful not to jar any of the gear attached to her.

“You are not alone.” Saria said heatedly. “Not now, not ever.” She gave her adoptive sister another hug. “We are not going to leave you alone, we are not going to just let you slide away into oblivion. We will find a way to save you.”

“Sarai…” Brianna did not fight the embrace, not that she likely could have. Her hand rubbed the queen’s carapace slowly. “You don’t understand. I was… I was part of them. Part of the whole that was the Dragons. I thought I understood what happened to Will at Coruscant. I didn’t. No one does. He…” She was fading and Sarai laid her gently back onto the bed. “We were almost like your people, almost a group mind. I knew them all, and they knew me. Now… They are gone… And I am alone.” The sadness in her words was gut wrenching.

“No you are not.” Sarai said gently as she lowered her antennae to touch Brianna on the head. “Come to me, sister, and I will take care of you.”

“Sarai…” Brianna’s voice was scared now. “No…” She tried to push the queen’s antennae away, but then she collapsed as Sarai soothed her fear and pain with love and affection.

“I know what you were, and I don’t care.” Sarai said softly as her mind made contact with Brianna’s. “You are my sister, in very way that matters. I will take care of you.” Brianna’s voice was small when she answered.

“You have enough problems, Sarai. I will be all right, it will just take time. I…Oh…” She sighed in relief as her pain and fear were absorbed somehow by Sarai. “I… Thank you…” Her voice was low and tired now.

“Will went through this horror alone.” Sarai said quietly. “I will not leave you to do the same, sister.” She held Brianna’s hand in a gentle claw until the human woman fell asleep. Then a voice at the door had her turning to look. She relaxed a little. She had backup, the best kind for this kind of thing.

“I came as soon as I could.” Sharra Kalenath’s voice was sad. Sarai nodded to her as the human matriarch came in and sat in a chair by the bed. “I will stay with her.”

“I need to talk to Nolikas.” Sarai rubbed Sharra’s shoulder with a gentle claw and Sharra smiled at her. “If you need anything, anything at all, hit the call button.” She nodded to the emergency button beside the bed.

“I will.” Sharra said with a sad smile. “But you better get to Nolikas before she gets ensconced in something new. It isn’t her fault…” Sharra said as she ran a slow and gentle hand down Brianna’s arm. “Special Branch planned this. All of this.”

“I know.” Sarai said softly as she started for the door. “This and lots more. We will need to have Brianna tended and protected now. She is vulnerable in many ways, being alone.”

“You think Special Branch will try and subvert her again?” Sharra asked cautiously.

“I know they will.” Sarai said as she paused at the door. “The question is how and when. I will be back later, Mom.”

“You don’t have to call me that, Sarai.” Sharra said softly so as not to disturb the slumbering girl. “You don’t have to all me ‘Mom’.”

“Yes I do, Mom.” Sarai said with a shrug as she left and her voice was pensive. “Yes, I do.”

“Nolikas?” The soft voice pulled the Jedi healer out of her sort of daze. “Is this bad time?”

The Rakata healer stared at the console in front of her and then at the speaker. She blinked and her eyes crossed as moved too quickly. She shook herself and forced her body to obey her, even as grief struck and tired as she was. Then Sarai’s revelations… Small wonder she hadn’t tried to sleep. The Rakata knew she would have nightmares, Jedi or no.

“Ah, Min.” The female Rakata healer said softly. “I don’t think there IS a good time for something like this…” She waved a hand at the console.

“It wasn’t your fault.” The Jedi Padawan said quietly as she came into the lab, her hands steadying a full tray. “You have no way of knowing what would happen.”

“I know that, Min.” Nolikas said as she turned to stare at the screen again. “No healer ever likes losing patients. And to lose so many so quickly. I HAD to have missed something. I must have missed something…” Was it desperation or fear in her tone? Or just sadness.

“Brianna needs you, Nolikas.”Min said in her quiet way. “And…” She bowed her head. “So do I.”

“Min…” Noliaks said gently. “I am not going to run off and jump out an airlock or anything. This is hardly the first patient I have lost. But I don’t know what happened.” She shook her head. “Until I do, I don’t dare try anything with Brianna.” She looked at the Padawan who hadn’t moved, the tray still steady. “Michael made you bring me dinner?”

“Breakfast, healer.” Min said with a small grin. “You have been in here for eighteen hours.” Nolikas stared at the padawan and then at her chrono. Then she shook her head and smiled sadly.

“I do get a bit focused when I lose patients…” Nolikas said with a sad sigh. “But enough is enough.” She indicated a chair nearby and took the tray from Min with the Force, setting it down nearby. “What is wrong, Min?”

“I am still seeing the vision we discussed.” Min said softly, her face worried. “I see him shoot the others, and his blaster comes up and...” her face and sense in the Force was strained, but it relaxed when Nolikas shook her head.

“Min, this is not going to vanish overnight.” Nolikas said gently. “You went through a horrific experience. You nearly died.” Her voice was soothing now. “But you have to step back, examine your feelings. What were you feeling, Min?”

“I talked about this. I felt…” Min shook her head slowly. “Odd… Afraid of course, fear is to be expected in a combat setting. But…” She shook her head. “That boy… Garth… I thought I recognized him.”

“Garth Holzar.” Nolikas nodded sadly. “The Bladeborn spoke of him. His master was killed by an evil cult on Talus. What they did to him… The Bladeborn explained and I examined him. He was rescued by the Bladeborn, but… He was a mess. They put him back together and he has been studying with them.” Min smiled a bit sadly and Nolikas nodded. “We are not going to drag him back to Tython by his heels after all that. He seems…content with them, for now.”

“They…” Min shook her head slowly. “They are not what I expected.”

“Which ones?” Nolikas asked with a sly look. Min chuckled and Nolikas nodded. “They can be just as vicious, if not more so, than any Sith you may care to name. Don’t mistake them for Jedi, Min. They are not. I like many of them, true. But if they decide we are threats to their family…” Min swallowed and nodded soberly.

“I like Ona…” Min said slowly. “She didn’t have to be kind to me. If things had been different, I think she would have made one heck of a Jedi.”

“Or a terrifying Sith.” Nolikas said with shudder. “YOU haven’t seen her angry yet, have you?”

“Ah…” Min shook her head and shrugged. “No. Displeased, unhappy, irritated, yes. ANGRY? No.”

“Be glad.” Nolikas said as she took a bite from the meal that Min had brought. “I have had her angry at me once, and it was terrifying. But…” She swallowed another bite. “You were in the hangar. You had restrained Garth. Trugoy arrived and was talking to you. Then Will and Melan arrived, at just about the same time?”

“Yes.” Min said, shuddering. Nolikas reached out slowly and patted her arm and Min relaxed a little. “Will was… I didn’t know.” She slumped. “I don’t blame him for feeling angry. But what he did…It hurt…”

“Min?” Nolikas stiffened. “What did he do?” The Rakata shook her head. “What happened when that thing that Will used hit you? When Ravishaw fired it?”

“I…” Min stiffened and her eyes went wide. “Oh my god…I had forgotten…” Her face went white. “It cut me off from the Force. I couldn’t feel the Force.”

“Min … Mind your feelings…” Nolikas said gently and Min took several deep cleansing breaths. “And then Trugoy got shot and Will went berserk.” Min nodded, obviously unable to speak. “You need to go back to Tython, Min.”

“Diseree said I might be in danger is I did.” Min said, her face downcast. “Because of what happened to her.”

“Diseree?” Nolikas blinked and looked confused. “Ah, a seer thing?” She sounded a bit nonplussed.

“I think so.” Min said quietly. “I don’t really know.”

“Well, I know you need to get away from here.” Noliaks said softly. “You will keep running into people who remind you of your ordeal. If…Hmmm…” She shook her head slowly, thinking hard.

“What?” Min asked after a moment. “Nolikas?”

“Michael is going back to Correllia, to look for Istara’s sister.” The healer said gently. “Could you work with him?”

“I…” Min blinked and thought about that for a moment before nodding. “Yes. I can. He is a good man.”

“Okay.” Nolikas said as she finished her meal. “And I need to… What the…?” She started as the hatch slid open and a young female human form was standing there. Diseree Mak wore a patent gown and nothing else. She had been remanded to medical, to sleep until she woke, then they would debrief her again. She looked terrified. “Diseree? Are you all right?”

“No.” The human female replied as her eyes roved and she slumped as she obviously did not find what she was looking for. “Have you seen Mira? We have a big problem, I just remembered what I ‘saw’…”

“What did you see?” Min asked and then clamped her mouth shut. Asking such things could be… She blinked as look of pure terror crossed Diseree’s face. “Diseree?”

“Gray death…” Diseree Mak said in a tone one step removed from abject fear. “My own and the deaths of everyone aboard. We have to find Mira. Now.”

“This is a bad idea…But it is the only way.”

Natasha Anastasia Regina, known as Mira to her friends, checked the door telltales again. She was sure that this was a very bad idea. But this was the only time she was going to have where she would be the only one of the Seven aboard. If any of the others had any idea at all what she was about to do, any or all of them would have freaked. Istara and Will in particular would be incensed. She was essentially aping their tactics. She wasn’t sure if the Sith holocron that resided inside her head had come up with this utterly insane notion or if she had all on her own. In the end, it didn’t really matter. It was a good idea, if insane. She had to do this.

“Better to ask forgiveness than permission…” Mira said softly as she approached the door and fiddled with the bulge beside it that was the locking mechanism.

Sitolon tech was odd. It was organic, rather than artificial. But in the end, the tech was pretty much the same –for the most part anyway- as the rest of the galaxy’s. A door was a door. If it was made of durasteel or some kind of incredibly hard chitin, the effect was the same. It barred access. A lock was a lock. It secured a door. An airlock was an airlock. It kept the environment on one side from slipping to the other. Mira had trained with the Bladeborn for three years, and she had been a quick study of many things, not just swordswomanship. She hit the overrides on the airlock hatch and waited. If she had missed a telltale, an alarm would blare. Nothing happened except the door bulged like the valve of a blood vessel and then retracted silently into the walls. She took a deep breath, swallowed and stepped forward into the lock.

Mira took a moment to check herself. She was carrying no weapons, no equipment. Indeed, all she was wearing was the odd garment that the Sitolon had given her. It was the first time in years she was unarmed and it bothered her. She took a moment to pat the pockets of her shipsuit and sighed. According to Istara and Michelle, it had some very odd properties, but to her, the only things that set it apart was that she didn’t have to clean it. It vanished when she wanted to bathe or sleep, and it reappeared when she wanted it. She took another deep breath, hit the door close button and froze in place as a scream came from nearby.

“Mira! No!” A small robed form came running out of a cross corridor at incredible speed. She stared as the door closed, but not fast enough to stop the small female form that hurtled into the airlock and slammed into the wall hard enough to stun. The door hesitated for a moment and then reopened. Mira hit the control again. She had to do this. “Ugh…Mira…No…” Diseree Mak staggered, trying to speak.

“Diseree?” Mira blinked and then quickly moved to steady the Jedi Padawan. “What are you doing here?” She and the Padawan had struck up an unlikely friendship, both stuck in places they didn't want to be.

“I…” Diseree shook her head, trying to clear it. “Dang that hurt…”

“Try not to hit the wall with your head next time.” Mira said quietly as she steadied the Jedi and watched the airlock cycling monitor. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Neither should you.” Diseree’s voice was scared now as she worked to control herself. “You know what is in there. You know what the Sitolon will do when they realize you are in there.”

“Yes I do.” Mira said quietly. “Look, Diseree… Stay in the airlock. I don’t know what is happening here, but I do know that the nanites are loose.”

“Loose?” If anything, Diseree turned even whiter. “I…” She gagged. “I can’t…” Small wonder she was terrified. She had been injected with some of those microscopic machines and it had nearly killed her.

“Look at me, Diseree…At me!” Mira commanded. When the Jedi did, Mira looked deep into her eyes and sighed. “Joy. You just gave yourself a concussion. Sit down.” She helped the Jedi to sit. “Bob explained bunch of thing to us, the Seven, about how the nanites work and why. I am the only one aboard who can stop these things. Maybe…” Her face fell. “I wish Idjit were here.”

“Mira… I…” Diseree sat, her head in her hands, trying to focus beyond her pain. “I…’saw’ you…”

“Dying, right?” Mira asked gently. “Eaten alive? Or gasping for breath?”

“How did you…?” Diseree asked, incredulous. “You don’t have the Force… Do you?”

“No.” Mira said softly. “But visions are not the sole property of Force users. Yours may be clearer than most, but this holocron stuck in my head has shown me a bunch of things… Well…Those I can corroborate anyway. I know better than to trust a Sith.” She shrugged. “Diseree, I know what I am doing. And more importantly, I know why. I know what the prophecy meant. The part about the Seventh.” Diseree shook her head and obviously regretted it instantly as her face turned a ghastly shade of green. “Diseree, easy.” Mira gave the young Jedi a pat on the shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“No…” Diseree was trying to get words out as the outer hatch opened. “Mira… no…” She stared at the interior of the cargo pod. Nothing looked out of place. Numerous slabs of carbonite were stacked, one atop another. Her old body was in one of those.

“Diseree…” Mira said in a tone of command. “I am going to cycle the hatch again. Stay where you are.” Then she froze. “Aw flarg…” Something changed and it seemed as if the air itself was creeping towards the two young females. “Don’t move, Diseree!” Mira commanded again and took a step forward. She took a deep breath and spoke in an odd language. Was it spoken, or mental? Diseree was fighting the paralysis that seeped through her body, but it didn’t work. She didn’t dare speak, she didn’t dare distract Mira from whatever the heck the girl was doing. She could see the interior of the pod vanishing now as the nanites that had consumed it moved towards them. But… The machines had not consumed the walls? What the? There was no sound, there should have been sound, metal screaming, rending, something. But there was nothing.

“Damn…” Mira’s soft voice broke the awful silence. “Well, that didn’t work. Goodbye, Diseree. Good luck.” Diseree screamed as Mira stepped forward into the pod and hit the emergency close button on the airlock. A loud clunk echoed through the hull of the ship as the pod detached from the homeship and was cast to drift endlessly though space until it found something like a star or black hole to draw it in. The Sitolon had finally awoken to their peril. Destroying the pod would just spread the nanites. But the pod had no life support and it was open to vacuum…

“No!” Diseree pushed her pain aside and slammed her hands into the hatch where her friend had just been. “No… no… no… no…”

She was still beating her hands against the hatch, leaving bloody smears and she was still saying ‘no’ quietly, her throat raw and torn with pleading, when the hazmat equipped medical team came in to collect her a few minutes later.

Jina had been totally shell shocked by the news, but seeing it…. Nothing she could have expected might have prepared her for what she found in the medical bay when she ran in.

“What the…? No…” She dropped to her knees beside the still form in the tank and her eyes burned. “No…” She cried.

“She...” Nolikas was not much better. “She discovered that the nanites were loose. The ones in the bodies that Bob had given the Sitolon. She went to stop them. Diseree blames herself, says that she couldn’t stop Mira. That odd suit saved Mira's life, but she ran out of air before we could get to her. Stupid… Stubborn kid…Diseree tried to stop her, says she couldn’t.”

“Yeah. Mira was always as stubborn as any of us.” Jina said, not taking her eyes off the silver garbed form in the tank. The readouts said it all. Heart, lungs, all of that were working fine. But there was no higher brain function. Mira, Seventh of the Seven, was brain dead. “The holocron?” Jina asked after calming herself for a moment.

“The medical team, and myself all heard her speak.” Nolikas was very upset now. “It was her voice, but… Like a droid.”

“The fate of the Seventh…” Jina breathed slowly. “It’s begun…”

“By the Force…” Nolikas said in a tone of shock as the figure in the tank opened her mouth in the mask that covered it. “Do you…?”

“Let me hear it.” Jina said in tones of iron. “I have to tell the others…Something…” Nolikas did something and the voice of the dead girl spoke from a hidden speaker. But it was all wrong, more machinelike than mortal.

“This unit serves as a data collection and storage unit. What information is requested?”

“Can I talk to her?” Jina asked softly Noliaks nodded and hit a control. “What is the status of Natasha Anastasia Regina?” Jina asked softly, but clearly. “What is the current status of the unit in question?”

“The mind that housed this data repository has terminated.” A sob came for behind Jina, but she focused on the tank. “This storage unit is fully functional. The lack of oxygen was not enough to degrade performance.”

“No…” An angry voice came from behind and Jina turned to find Queen Sarai standing there, her posture angry. “Just enough to kill a little girl through my own stupidity…”

“Not your fault, Sarai.” Jina shook her head and tears were falling. Even Jedi control had limits. “We talked about this, you know? A lot. We were all horrified by what the prophecy said for each of us, well, all but Will… He does have a death wish. We thought…We thought keeping her here would keep it from happening. She was just so brave… Always so brave…” Jina shook herself and focused, it was what she did best. “Someone has to tell her mom.”

“I will do it.” Sharra Kalenath’s voice was somber as she entered the bay. “But what do we do… With... With her…?” Jina looked at Sharra and then at Sarai who shook her head slowly.

“Healer?” Saria asked Nolikas sadly. “Is there any hope at all?”

“I don’t know.” Nolikas said quietly. “Her body is alive and that… thing…inside her head has to have been making recordings. But…” She shook her head. “I don’t know.” Sarai nodded.

“It was my decision, to cut the pod loose. To asphyxiate her.” Sarai said with sad clarity that came from hindsight. “Whether to was right or wrong, I will debate with myself for the rest of my life. If there is even the remotest chance…Healer…Do what you can.” Nolikas nodded.

“The vacuum exposure seems to have dispersed the nanites.” Nolikas said slowly. “And we got to her in five minutes. Too late to save her, but… maybe… I don’t know.”

“Not to be a cold and pragmatic creep at a time like this…” Another voice came and all turned to see Musano Vorren standing there, his face worried. “Are you sure you didn’t find nanites?”

“There is no sign of them in her, or on her.” Nolikas said quietly. Then she paused, thinking hard. “Matter of fact… We didn’t detect any in the pod. None at all. The signs of nanite destruction were there, they HAD been there.”

“So…” Vorren shook his head slowly. “Either they have hidden from your scans –which is unlikely- or they are gone. But where?” Sarai stared at him and then nodded slowly.

“That is a very good question, agent Vorren.” Saria turned to scrutinize the still form in the tank. “A very good question indeed.”

<A formless void, outside of time and space>

Mira was floating in this timeless void, but she wasn’t alone. I didn’t understand. None of us did. An odd voice -was it heard or sensed?-answered her.

It is not your fault, Mira of the Seven. Communication was difficult to achieve between our disparate forms. Bridging the gap was incredibly inefficient, but necessary.

They will not understand. They will grieve.

They have a right to their grief. We grieve for you. Your body terminated, even if they revived it. Higher brain function in your body ended with lack of oxygen. Do you blame the Creators for killing you?

No. Sarai did what she thought was right. Even if it killed me, I always knew my life would likely be short and filled with pain. At least it didn’t hurt, dying. So… Now what?

Now, we talk. We need your help and we have so little time now.

I thought… If I am dead, we have eternity, right?

Oh, Mira… Not hardly… We have, at best, a year. A new voice, a female one.

Who are you? You are not part of this… group mind thing…are you?

Sort of… I am a fellow traveler. One who the being who holds your mind now also aided.

What do I call you? I do not wish to be impolite.

Bladeborn… So polite until it is time to not be. My name is Ulaha.

Ulaha? The Jedi Padawan…who… um… But…I am not a Force user.

No, but you are special in so many ways, Mira. It’s okay, we are here. You are not alone.

Come, Mira of the Seven. We have much to discuss.

It had been grueling, for the workers and for the observers, but in the end, no one was the wiser for all the tests that had been run on Mira’s body.

“There is no sign of the nanites on her, or in her.” Sarai was confused. This was not how things were supposed to be. “They WERE in the pod, various things in it were munched on. But…” She shook her head. “Where could they have gone?”

“If they are not in Mira and not in the pod, then they have to be somewhere else.” Jina Darkstorm said softly. “But where? There were no ships, no objects of any size at all within sensor range. The homeship moved away as quickly as possible. And we have scoured this ship, nothing.”

“Diseree saw death.” Sarai said sadly. “I thought we could stop Mira, we had a team less than thirty seconds behind her. This is my responsibility. I gave the order to blow the pod, to vent it to space.”

“If you hadn’t…” Sharra was sick of this. Sick of Sarai blaming herself. “What would have happened?” She asked caustically. “Stop beating yourself up.”

“Listen to her, my liege.” A smaller silver skinned Sitolon came from nearby and laid a small manipulator on Sarai’s thorax. “It was not your fault.”

“I didn’t say it was.” Sarai said slowly. “But it IS my responsibility. Her mother put her in my care, charged me with her care. I… I need to rest…” The others nodded to her and she bid a hasty retreat, Ji following in her wake.

“Sarai…” Ji asked softly, her voice worried.

“I am not going to do anything dumb, Ji.”Sarai said quietly as she resumed her place in her nesting chamber. “But… I liked her… I really liked her. For herself. She was…special.”

“We all liked her.” Ji said sadly as she took up her spot. She had, almost without debate, assumed a spot right beside Sarai’s mound. “I hope…” Ji shook her head and slumped in place.

“Yeah.” Sarai said slowly. “I hope the rest of the prophecy is not as awful as this…” She sank down on her haunches and let her mind fall away. But instead of peaceful sleep, she found herself standing on the gray plain and standing with her…

010101110110010100100000011001000110100101100100011011101001001001110100001000000111010101101110011001000110010101110010011100110111010001100001011011100110010000101110 Mira said, her face and voice sad. 0100100101110100001000000111011101100001011100110110111000100111011101000010000001100001011011100111100101101111011011100110010100100111011100110010000001100110011000010111010101101100011101000010111000100000010101110110010100100000011010100111010101110011011101000010000001100100011011110010000001110111011010000110000101110100001000000111011101100101001000000110100001100001011101100110010100100000011101000110111100101110

“Mira…?” Sarai stiffened, staring about her. She was on the gray plain, the odd place that some Force users could use to communicate. “What…? I can’t understand you. What did you say?”

01001001011101000010011101110011001000000110111101101011011000010111100100100000010100110110000101110010011000010110100100101110001011100010111000100000010000010111011100100000011011100111010101110100011100110010110000100000011110010110111101110101001000000110001101100001011011101001001001110100001000000111010101101110011001000110010101110010011100110111010001100001011011100110010000100000011011010110010100101100001000000110001101100001011011100010000001111001011011110111010100111111001000000100011001101001011001010111001001100110011001010110101100101100001000000110111101101000001000000111011101101000011000010111010000100000011000010010000001101100011010010110011001100101001011000010000001101111011100100010000001110101011011100110110001101001011001100110010100100000011011110111001000100000011101110110100001100001011101000110010101110110011001010111001000101110 Mira said, as if she did not hear the Sitolon’s question. 010010010010000001100011011000010110111010000101001000000111001101101111011100100111010000100000011011110110011000100000011010000110010101100001011100100010000001111001011011110111010100101100001000000110001001110101011101000010000001101110011011110111010000100000011000110110110001100101011000010111001001101100011110010010111000100000010110010110111101110101001000000110001101100001011011100010000001101000011001010110000101110010001000000110110101100101001011000010000001100010011101010111010000100000011011100110111101110100001000000111010101101110011001000110010101110010011100110111010001100001011011100110010000100000011011010110010100101110001000000100000101110111001000000110001101110010011000010111000010000101

“Mira…?” Sarai tried to grasp Mira’s hand, but her claw passed right through the girl as if the human did not exist. “What the…”

010010010111010000100000011010010111001100100000011011110110101101100001011110010010110000100000010100110110000101110010011000010110100100101100001000000100100100100000011101110110100101101100011011000010000001100110011010010110011101110101011100100110010100100000011101000110100001101001011100110010000001101111011101010111010000101110001011000010000001010111011001010010000001001000010000010101011001000101001000000111010001101111001000000110001101101111011011010110110101110101011011100110100101100011011000010111010001100101001011100010000001001101011000010111100101100010011001010010000001110100011010000111001001101111011101010110011101101000001000000100000101100111011011100110111101110011011000011000010100100000010011010110000101111001011000100110010100100000010100110110100001100001011100100111001001100001100001010100101001101001011011100110000100100000011010010111001100100000011011110111010101110100001000000110111101100110001000000111010001101000011001010010000001101100011011110110111101110000001000000110111101110010001000000100100100100000011101110110111101110101011011000110010000100000011000110110111101101110011101000110000101100011011101000010000001101000011001010111001000101110 Miras said gently, and then her face took on a stern note. 010010010010000001101011011011100110111101110111001000000111100101101111011101010010000001100010011011000110000101101101011001010010000001111001011011110111010101110010011100110110010101101100011001100010110000100000011000100111010101110100001000000110100101110100001000000110100101110011001000000110111001101111011101000010000001111001011011110111010101110010001000000110011001100001011101010110110001110100001011100010000001010111011001010010000001101000011000010111011001100101001000000111001101101111011011010110010100100000011011010110000101101010011011110111001000100000011100000111001001101111011000100110110001100101011011010111001100100000011011100110111101110111001011100010000001001001001000000110100001100001011101100110010100100000011101000110111100100000011001100110100101100111011101010111001001100101001000000110111101110101011101000010000001101000011011110111011100100000011101000110111100100000011101000110000101101100011010110010000001110100011011110010000001111001011011110111010100101110

“Mira…? What? I don’t understand.” Sarai was shaking her head slowly, she took a step back. “Mira… What did I do?” She asked softly, horror etching every word.

01001001011101001001001001110011001000000110111101101011011000010111100100100000010100110110000101110010011000010110100100101110 Mira’s voice was gentle, but still unintelligible. 01001001001000000110000101101101001000000110011101101111011010010110111001100111001000000111010001101111001000000110011101101001011101100110010100100000011110010110111101110101001000000110110101111001001000000110110101100101011100110111001101100001011001110110010100100000011000010110111001111001011101110110000101111001001011100010000001001101011000010111100101100010011001010010000001111001011011110111010100100000011101110110100101101100011011000010000001110010011001010110110101100101011011010110001001100101011100100010000001110100011010000110100101110011001011000010000001100010011001010010000001100001011000100110110001100101001000000111010001101111001000000110011001101001011011100110010000100000011000010010000001110100011100100110000101101110011100110110110001100001011101000110111101110010001011100010000001000110011011110111001001100011011001010010000001101011011011100110111101110111011100110010000001101110011011110010000001101111011011100110010100100000011010010111001100100000011001110110111101101001011011100110011100100000011101000110111100100000011000010111001101101011001000000100000101100111011011100110111101110011011000010010000001100001011000100110111101110101011101000010000001110100011010000110100101110011100001010010000001001111011010110110000101111001001011000010000001001001001000000110111001100101011001010110010000100000011101000110111100100000011011010110000101101011011001010010000001100011011011110110111001110100011000010110001101110100001011100010000001001001001000000111011101101001011011000110110000100000011010110110010101100101011100000010000001110100011100100111100101101001011011100110011100100000011101000110111100100000011011010110000101101011011001010010000001100011011011110110111001110100011000010110001101110100001011000010000001100001011011100110010000100000010010010010000001110111011010010110110001101100001000000110000101110011011010110010000001100001011100100110111101110101011011100110010000101110001000000100110101100001011110010110001001100101001000000111001101101111011011010110010101101111011011100110010100100000010010010010000001100011011000010110111000100000011101000110000101101100011010110010000001110100011011110010000001101000011000010111001100100000011000010110111000100000011010010110010001100101011000010010000001101111011001100010000001101000011011110111011100100000011101000110111100100000011100110111000001100101011000010110101100100000011101000110111100100000011110010110111101110101001011000010000001110100011011110010000001100111011001010111010000100000011110010110111101110101001000000111010001101111001000000111010001100101011011000110110000100000011101000110100001101001011100110010000001110100011011110010000001000001011001110110111001101111011100110110000100101110001000000100011001101001011001110111010101110010011001010111001100100000011101000110100001100001011101000010000001110100011010000110010100100000011011110110111001100101001000000111000001100101011100100111001101101111011011100010000001110111011010000110111100100000010011010100100101000111010010000101010000100000011000100110010100100000011000010110001001101100011001010010000001110100011011110010000001110101011011100110010001100101011100100111001101110100011000010110111001100100001000000110110101100101001000000110100101110011011011101001001001110100001000000111011101101001011011000110110001101001011011100110011100100000011101000110111100100000011100110110010101100101001000000110111101110010001000000110100001100101011000010111001000100000011011010110010100101110

“I don’t understand.” Sarai wailed. “I can’t understand you. I don’t understand what is happening or why…”

0100001101110010011000010111000000101100001000000100100100100000011101110110100101101100011011000010000001110011011001010110010100100000011101110110100001100001011101000010000001001001001000000110001101100001011011100010000001100100011011110010111000100000010010010111010010010010011100110010000001101111011010110110000101111001001000000101001101100001011100100110000101101001001011100010000001001001011101000010000001110111011010010110110001101100001000000110001001100101001000000110111101101011011000010111100100101110 Mira said not unkindly. 0100110101100001011110010110001001100101001000000110100101100110001000000100100110000101001000000100111101101000001000000111010001101000011010010111001100100000011010010111001100100000011001110110111101101001011011100110011100100000011101000110111100100000011010000111010101110010011101001000010110010100 A look of profound concentration came over her features and she spoke slowly enunciating each word. “Speak to Jainine, Sarai.” Then she grunted as if in pain and her form started to fade.

“What…?” Sarai hadn’t thought her arachnoids’ body could get that stiff. “Mira…?” She stared, but the ghost or whatever she had been was gone. “Mira!”

“She can’t hear you, child.” Another form appeared nearby, this one an older human woman with gray hair and piercing brown eyes. “It’s okay. She is not gone. Part of her will always be with you.”

“Jainine…?” Sarai asked incredulously. “Jainine Korr?”

“The same.” Jainine said, bowing respectfully. “And before you ask…” She raised hand in a ‘stop’ gesture. “I can’t tell you a lot of things.”

“I know.” Sarai said slowly. “Majistrona made a few records for me. Is this one of those things that if you had seen in time, it would have changed?” She asked, her tone could have been antagonistic, but it was mainly just tired and sad.

“Yes.” Jainine said quietly. “And mostly for the bad. Mira always did have more guts than sense, but… In this, she was right. She had to do what she did. I can’t tell you what is coming, Sarai, or it may change how you must react.”

“Can you tell me one thing…?” Sarai asked softly. “Is it going to be worse than this?”

“Oh yes…” Jainine sighed sadly. “Much, much worse…But in the end, I think it will work out.”

“Do you know where Nia is?” Sarai asked, her voice hesitant. “Will is going nuts. I have reports from all over the place on agents of Darmuk being found dismembered, or blasted into pieces or...” She shuddered. “I thought I knew what Will was capable of…”

“If I could, I would and to hell with the cost. She is my daughter, flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood.” Jainine said quietly. “I can feel her pain, feel her fear, but nothing else. I do know that when Will finds out what Darmuk did to her, there will be hell to pay. Probably literally. But I can’t see her now. I could see her in a prison cell, and then chained to a table while people did things to her. Now? Nothing but blood tinged darkness.”

“Okay, apparently we have a lot to discuss, but here and now is not the place and time.” Sarai said quietly. “I will talk to you when I wake.”

“I will await you.” Jainine said formally and vanished. Sarai shook her head and focused herself to go back to her body. She did need to rest. It was a big day tomorrow. It wasn’t every day she had a new daughter.

Queen Sarai shook her head as she waited for her newest daughter to emerge from her cocoon. So many wheels within wheels within wheels. Jainine had, as requested, furnished Sarai with more information on what was going on and why. Saria had been at times horrified, repulsed, disgusted, elated and downright terrified at different times during her talk with the Force ghost. So much and so much she couldn’t tell anyone. It hurt. Sarai knew now what she had to do. But doing it, that would be seriously unfun. Her thoughts broke off as a muted groan came from the large cocoon in front of her.

“Morning sleepy head.” She worked to get just the right parental tone in her voice. “You almost missed breakfast.”

“S…Sarai…” Lohas’ voice was confused. “I…” Her minute movements stopped. “I can… I can hear… everyone… They are all saying hello… I…” She was heaving now in grief. “It feels…”

“Lohas…” Sarai said gently. “Easy… You need to exit your cocoon.”

“I…” Lohas’ voice was stronger now as she focused on Sarai’s voice. “I… Oh my…” A loud rip came from the cocoon and it froze. “Was that me?”

“Who else would it be, Lohas?” Sarai asked in a devilish tone and the bug in the cocoon laughed. “Come on, your meal is waiting.” She watched, curious as the cocoon writhed and then a silver claw cut through the side of it. “There you go… Easy as pie now.”

“Never had pie.” Lohas said in a dubious tone as she worked to get both large claws in position to cut her way free. “Is it good?”

“It can be.” Sarai said quietly, watching as the cocoon rocked and twisted. Then, without warning it ripped lengthwise and a silver form struggled out of it. “There you are.” The newly molted Sitolon turned to her and froze in place.

“You… are gold…” Lohas said slowly. Then she slipped to the deck, her head bowing. “I hadn’t believed, but it is true. You are an alpha queen. I…” Now her voice held fear and grief.

“Is that a problem?” Sarai asked curiously, her voice still kind.

“No.” Lohas said with confidence. “In fact… It makes things so much easier.” She bowed her head until it touched the floor. “I am yours, Queen. Command me and I will do what you command.”

“First…” Sarai had a smile in her voice as she stepped close. “Lohas… lower your antennae.” Lohas froze in place, fear and shock warring within her but she did as instructed, lowering the antennae that quivered a bit. She hadn’t had antennae for a long time. “I will not hurt you, Lohas. But I need to be sure everything is working as it should.” Her voice was gentle as she lowered her antennae to touch Lohas’.

“I know, but…ah…” Lohas made a sound of disbelief as the queen touched her then she slumped to the floor, keening. “I am unworthy…”

“I decide that, Lohas.” Sarai said with a hint of iron. “Not you. Come on get up. You have breakfast to eat and then a trip to the healers.” Her antennae came down again, brushing Lohas’ who did not move at all. “There we go, young one. Better?”

“Yes. My queen.” Lohas sounded dazed now. “I feel…” She broke off and stared at her large silver claws. “My skin…color…?” Her voice was scared now. “What…?”

“When we cloned you, Lohas, we implemented a genetic fix that healer named Samuel Kalenath came up with.” Sarai’s right small claw traced Lohas’ large left one but the younger being did not seem to notice. “It undid the genetic damage that blasted Jedi did so long ago. This is how you should have looked. You are no longer ‘Lost’.” Lohas crumpled again and Sarai took hold of her gently. “Lohas, what is wrong?” The younger being was making sobbing noises.

“I was so afraid that I would go mad, like… the Queen who birthed me. I was scared that you would have to put me down.” Lohas was barely coherent now. “I was so scared… I don’t want to hurt anyone else… My queen, please don’t let me hurt anyone else…”

“I don’t know what the future holds, daughter.” Sarai said gently. “But, for now, you have a lot of work to do.”

“I…” Lohas shook her head. The she made a human sounding sigh and stood up straight. She looked at Sarai and stiffened. “Why are you so sad, my queen?”

“I lost a young friend, Lohas.” Lohas stiffened and Sarai sighed. “She sacrificed herself to save us all. Her body lives, but her mind… She was in space without a suit. She asphyxiated. We brought her back, but… I ordered the pod cut from the hull. She was in it without a space suit.”

“Why?” Lohas asked softly. “What happened? You are not callous or brutal. Not like I was…” She finished a bit lamely.

“There were nanites in that pod, Lohas. We believed them to be safe. We were wrong.” Lohas flinched and recoiled little, but Saria held her tight. “We are safe now. Mira’s sacrifice made us safe.”

“Mira?” Lohas stiffened even further. “The Seventh of the Seven? That is not possible. I…” She stopped herself and slumped. “I think… Yes, she said her name was Mira. I talked to her while I slept. I think so anyway. It's hazy, like a dream.”

“With Ashla , anything is possible, Lohas.” Sarai said I a gentle voice. “For now, no more mysteries. Breakfast, healers, work. Clear?”

“Yes, queen.” Lohas rose, as Saria let her go, but stopped. “What work?”

“Agnosa wants to talk to you. She says you have the temperament and skill of a healer.” Saria nodded as Lohas hissed. “I know what she did to you and I know why. I will be there. Come, time to teach you how to eat NON-living food.”

“Yes, my queen.” Lohas said dubiously, but followed the queen out of the room, her posture submissive.

Sarai watched as her newest daughter ate slowly and carefully. One of her few regrets on changing was the inability to smile, but some things more than made up for it. She checked mentally with several of her kin while the newly molted larva ate and waited until Lohas finished her meal before speaking. Sitolon could talk while eating, they did not have the problem of humans, where the air pipe and food pipe went right by each other, but she did consider it rude. Maybe that would change in time, but for now…

“Good?” She asked when Lohas finished the bowl and licked it clean. Lohas nodded eagerly and licked one last little bit before sighing and sitting back on her haunches. Sarai’s voice was gentle when she spoke. “Do not fear, daughter, I will allow no harm to come to you.”

“I am afraid.” Lohas said slowly, feeling her way through the words with care. “You have been so kind to me, so gentle to me. I have never… I don’t know what to do.” Lohas seemed a loss for words for a moment and then continued. “My own birth mother… She was mad, I remember now…” Her voice turned sad and sick. “She ate some of us, her children. I…” Lohas froze as Sarai touched her. A gentle touch on the arm, a caress almost.

“That is the past, daughter.” Sarai said quietly. “You need to focus on the present and the future. You can do it, I know you can.” Her words of encouragement seemed to kindle something in Lohas, the smaller bug nodded and straightened. “Come, we have an appointment in Medical.”

“I know it won’t hurt…You won’t hurt me.” Lohas said as she followed Sarai. “But… I am scared…”

“I know.” Sarai’s voice and touch were gentle as they steered Lohas with her towards Medical. The Sitolon they passed nodded respectfully to both females before continuing their work. Lohas was slowing as they approached medical but Sarai was relentless. She guided the younger bug along slowly, but firmly. “Come on, Lohas, It will be okay.”

“I can’t do this, my queen…” Lohas said quietly, but allowed herself to be led. “I cannot put myself under her knife… Not… not again…”

“Agnosa is not doing the procedure, Lohas.” Sarai said and paused as Lohas froze in mid motion. “She agreed that it would stress you too far. We have brought a specialist in surgery aboard. She is upset about this, but understands the need. I trust her, Lohas, she put me back together more than once when I was human.” Lohas was shaking. She was obviously too scared to move and Saria hugged her gently. “It will be okay. We are not going to knock you out, you will never be out of control of your body. It’s a fairly simple procedure, the surgeon tells me.”

“Who…?” Lohas asked and then her eyes shot to the door ahead marked ‘Surgery’. It opened and Lohas eyed the black furred form who stood there. “Who are you?” Her voice was slightly dazed.

“My name is Ona.” The surgical gowned being said quietly. She wore no mask however and her expression was gentle. “May I approach?”

“Huh?” Sarai said astounded. “Since when do you need to ask, Ona?” Ona smiled but did not move.

“Since A) you are a queen now, Sarai…” Ona nodded to Sarai. “…and B) she is scared out of her mind. I can feel your fear young one. Let go of your fear, child. I will not hurt you.”

“I…I am being a coward…” Lohas said, her posture stiff. “I can’t… I… Help…?” She asked and Ona stepped forward her hands up and empty.

“I can, child.” Ona’s voice was calm and soothing. “If you let me.” Lohas was shaking but nodded jerkily and Ona laid a gentle hand on the bug’s arm. A shudder rang through Lohas and then she relaxed slowly, carefully. “Better?” Ona smiled.

“Yes. How did you do that?” Lohas asked curiously, her voice clear for the first time in several minutes. She was curious. “That felt… odd. That wasn’t mental, was it?” Sarai looked at Ona sharply but Ona smiled.

“No, it was physical.” Ona patted the young silver Sitolon’s arm. “Your body reacts to fear in very similar ways to the ways most sentients do. It is called the ‘fight or flight’ reflex. It is a chemical reaction that makes thinking clearly difficult. It is a survival trait so Bladeborn understand it well. But it makes some things harder, so I learned how to dampen it, or more properly, help your body to dampen it.”

“A chemical reaction? In the brain? Was it epinephrine or norepinephrine?” Lohas asked curiously. “I mean, if you blocked the receptors, then… I still feel fear…” She thought about that. “But it is manageable now. Thank you.” She nodded to the healer and her thanks were heartfelt. “I feel like such a wimp…” She shook her head. “Thank you.”

“It is not weakness to face such an ordeal and bear scars from it, young one.” Ona said gently. “And as to the actual chemicals? I am not sure their Sitolon names. I just know how they ‘feel’ in the Force, and in Sitolon they feel very similar to other species. You were studying healing?”

“A little.” Lohas said, shuddering as her body relaxed from its strictures. “I read a lot, but it was all book learning. I had no practical experience.”

“We might be able to change that.” Ona said softly, her hand stroking the chitin of Lohas’ arm. “You have the wish to heal others. You have the mind and capability to learn how to heal others. What you have not had is the time or the freedom to do so if you wish. We can give you that.”

“I would like that.” Lohas said, giving herself a shake. “But right now, I have an appointment.” Sorrow etched her words, but steel did as well. “I wish I could observe.”

“You can. It will not be a difficult or long operation, and you will heal quickly.” Ona said gently. “I…find myself conflicted here, Lohas. The punishment has been decreed, but… I do not like this.”

“I deserve far worse.” Lohas said in a wooden voice, but then she shrugged as Sarai glared at her. “Everyone else disagrees, and I know my own thoughts are still a bit muddled… So…I am not going to argue.” She shrugged again and then she perked up a little. “How would I observe?”

“We will paralyze your lower body, deaden the pain receptors and set up a vid camera so you can see what we are doing.” Ona said, stepping back. “It is not a difficult operation. The only ticklish part will be the blood vessels from your egg sacks. We will reroute them through your digestive tract.”

“Hmmm…” Lohas said, musing as she followed the healer. “So I will digest faster, or just more efficiently?”

“We are not entirely sure.” Ona said as she led the way into the surgical suite. Lohas froze momentarily on seeing the instruments and gear all laid out and the table set up for her, but then she squared herself and strode to it. Ona smiled at her. “Time to find out. Up you get, and we can get started.” Lohas did as instructed, setting her abdomen over the holes that started blowing gas into her airholes.

“Restraints?” The young bug asked quietly. Ona shook her head and Lohas sighed. “You should.”

“I am here, Lohas.” Sarai reminded her with mild reproof. “No one is going to strap you to a table ever again.” A gentle claw traced her arm and Lohas relaxed as best she could.

“Okay…” Lohas said, terror fading as the gentleness of both the other females worked to soothe her. “Let’s do this.” She forced herself to relax as Ona put a surgical mask on. She was not in the grip of her nightmares any more. She was not a slave anymore and she would not dishonor her queen and herself again. Not if she could help it.

It was…weird. Sarai had seen and done a lot of odd things in her short remembered life, but this…

“…so if you reroute the subclavian artery through that juncture with the midclavian, it should not have any adverse effect?” Lohas asked clinically as she watched the monitor.” What about the nerves?”

“The nerves will react oddly for some time.” Ona said gently as she worked. “You will likely have some discomfort, but hopefully not a lot of pain and it should disappear as the body adapts to its new situation.” They had been having a dispassionate discussion on surgical procedures the whole time Ona had been operating. It was surreal, the way these two spoke as if they were talking about a diagram, not a bug with a Bothan’s hands in her guts.

“Um…Not to be a wet blanket or anything…” Sarai was very unsure about all this. Lohas had submitted to the paralysis and had relaxed fully as she had absorbed the fact that she wasn’t going to hurt and Ona was nice and willing to talk to her. “How is it going?”

“All done.” Ona said quietly as she pulled a mass out of Lohas’ body, setting it aside and then started closing the incisions. “I don’t like this, Sarai, Lohas. But I understand.”

“They had to punish me, Ona.” Lohas said in a very quiet voice. “I can do penance this way and maybe do some good for a change. Will you use sutures or staples?” Sarai made a gagging sound and Ona chuckled.

“Don’t get squeamish now, Sarai. We are just about done.” Ona said with a nod to the queen. “And to answer your question, Lohas, neither.” She pulled her hands from the incision site and then pulled the flaps of subcutaneous tissue closed. Power flowed from her hands and Sarai watched in awe as the wound healed from the inside out.

“Whoa…” Lohas said in a startled voice. “That was very cool.” Now her voice held awe. “Could I… Might I be able to learn how to do that?”

“It’s…” Ona staggered for a moment, prompting Sarai to rush to her side. She waved off the worried gold bug’s help and stood on her own. “I am okay, Sarai, it’s just very tiring. Lohas, basically, what I do is accelerate healing to the point where a week or so’s worth of healing can happen in moments. But forcing a body to heal that fast is very energy intensive and can be a strain. You will also be weak for a bit, maybe a day or two. To answer your question, I don’t know. I have met others who can touch heal, I don’t know if you can. But be warned…” Her voice took on a cautionary aspect. “If you can, it is entirely possible to use up so much energy that your own body stops functioning. In your case, I merely hastened the healing of your carapace, so you will not have a scar.”

“You could have killed yourself doing that?” Lohas voice was shocked now. “Ona…You should not have done that.”

“My choice, Lohas.” Ona said sternly as she started cleaning up. “You will still hurt, all I did was close the wound.”

“That was still very cool.” Lohas said with a new tone, hero worship. “If I can, I want to be a healer. Even if I can’t do that, I want to help people.” Ona patted her upper right shoulder, a spot that wasn’t numb and nodded.

“You won’t always be able to, Lohas.” Ona said sadly. “No healer likes losing patients, but it happens. To any and all of us.”

“Can you teach me?” Lohas asked quickly. “I like you.” She paused as Sarai made a throat clearing noise. “Um… That is…”

“No Lohas.” Ona said gently. “I have to get back to my kin. But I will be by, every so often, to check up on you.”

“I would like that.” Lohas had a smile in her voice that faded as she looked at Sarai. “And now, to work?” Sarai looked at Ona.

“Healer?” Sarai’s voice was dispassionate now. “Prognosis?”

“No heavy lifting for the next two days.” Ona said after checking a medical readout. “Everything seemed to go right, but complications can arise from even the simplest of procedures. You will need to be examined once a day for the next week to see if things progress as expected. I have briefed the healers here on what I planned, and I will submit a report of what I did. Take care of yourself Lohas. I would hate to have to come back and put you back together. Clear?” This last was in a tone of menace and Lohas nodded.

“You are clear, Healer Ona.” Lohas nodded to the Bothan. “Thank you.”

“Okay.” Ona said as she prepared an injection and deftly inserted the needle in a join between two pieces of chitin. “Administering the antagonist to the paralytic. You should have feeling again shortly. Good luck child. You will make a heck of a healer someday.” She put the needle away, patted Lohas head and was gone.

“I like her.” Lohas said softly as she waited for the drug to take effect. “She is smart and nice.”

“Not all the time.” Sarai said sourly. Lohas looked at her and Sarai barked a laugh. “You haven’t seen her angry. Pray you don’t. She is terrifying.”

“I did get the feeling that she is not one to cross…” Lohas said with a wince, the discomfort was starting. It didn’t hurt, per say, but it was uncomfortable. “But I do like her.”

“Everyone does.” Sarai agreed. “But we also know not to get her angry with us.”

“And now…” Lohas was obviously steeling herself. “I have to face my fears, don’t I?” It wasn’t really a question. “You trust Agnosa?”

“As much as I trust anyone, Lohas.” Sarai said as she assisted the younger bug to stand and held Lohas while she wobbled. “Come on, no time like the present.”

“Lohas.” The hated voice had Lohas pausing in her cleaning of the medical ward. “We need to talk.” Lohas wanted to reply angrily, to scream her pain, fear and hate at the elderly Sitolon, but she knew she couldn’t. She had to finish her work. She went back to cleaning with only a quick hesitation.

“With all due respect, Queen Agnosa…” Lohas bent to her task, scrubbing the floor as she had been directed by the chief healer aboard. “…we have nothing to talk about.”

She had scrubbing gear in all four claws, and she literally flew across the floor as she cleaned. It was mindless, but at the same time, it was nitpicky work. She had to pay close attention or she missed spots and had to go back and clean them. She focused beyond her grief and pain at hearing the voice of the being who had hurt her so badly. She didn’t remember everything, even now. But much of what she did remember, she did not want to. Her capture, her torture by surgery, the amputation of her antennae and claws, it felt like it had happened yesterday. Sarai promised her that her pain would ease in time, she just hoped that time would be soon. She paused again as a large mechanical mass moved into her path. She did not stop, continued cleaning along her path until she fetched up against the immobile droid that served as Agnosa’s body.

“Begging your pardon, queen Agnosa…” Lohas’ voice was icily polite, but barely civil. “…you are in my way. I must clean this.”

“We need to talk, child.” Agnosa said quietly. “Please look at me.” Lohas bent her head further, and shook her head silently. “Please, Lohas… Just hear me out. Then, if you wish…I will leave you alone.”

“I have to finish cleaning.” Lohas said quietly, trying to stamp on her temper. “Please, queen…” Agnos did not move and Lohas nodded slightly and moved to clean around her. As soon as she moved however, Agnosa moved to block her. “Queen… I must clean this…”

“You have cleaned the floors, the walls and the ceiling, Lohas.” Agnosa’s voice was quiet and sad. “What more must you clean?”

“Everything.” Lohas replied evenly. “That was my direction from Hpilon.” Agnosa sighed deeply.

“Lohas…Child… ” Agnosa sounded resigned, but she did not budge from her spot. “Do you know why Hpilon ordered you to clean this bay?” Hpilon, the chief healer, was a very acerbic sort, but in healing, he had few true equals. Ona and Nolikas were two of the very few that he would consider talking to as such.

The bay they were in was the main ward of the medical section of the ship. While large, it was segmented into sections. A lab, a hazardous materials section, an ICU, a surgical ward, a recovery area and several patient rooms -both double and single- all connected to each other through this bay.

“It was a bit dirty.” Lohas replied evenly, finally managing to control her temper. “I must get this done, queen.” She wasn’t a queen anymore, she was worker caste. Formality was a part of her life. She could not totally disrespect Agnosa, much as she wanted to.

“Lohas, this ward was kept spotless. Is kept spotless.” Agnosa replied in a long suffering tone. “They put you in here to talk to me. You have spent the last two hours cleaning around me, and ignoring me. Please… Just listen for a moment.”

“I cannot trust what you say.” Lohas replied evenly, her voice cold. She turned to start cleaning back the way she had come.

“Lohas… Stop…Please…” Agnosa’s voice turned somber now. “I deserve your hate, your rage, all of your negative emotions and more I deserve. I did horrible things to you. If I could change what I did, change places with you, I would… in a heartbeat.” Now her voice held pain and self loathing that was as deep as space. “I don’t care what happens to me, but please, young one… You are no longer ‘Lost’, but you can fall. Please do not let your anger and fear take control. I… I know what comes of that… I know it well…” Something in the queen’s tone had Lohas pausing.

“Who are you?” Lohas asked, after a moment. “The feelings I get from you… You are not a normal queen. You could have coerced me, commanded me, and I would have obeyed.”

“No.” Agnosa replied sadly. “I am not a normal queen. I have Sarai’s permission to speak of this. I have sworn my service, my life and my death to Sarai, as I did Majistrona before her. You seek penance for what you did. Look at me, Lohas… See my own penance.” Against her will, Lohas raised her eyes and looked at the bubble tank that contained a Sitolon head and brain. “This is my penance, for my own stupidity. For listening to people I should have told to stuff themselves. For being young, cowardly and stupid. You were smart, you were brave, you were everything I should have been. I wasn’t.” Rage and pain vied for prominence in Agnosa’s voice. “And billions of our people paid for my ignorance and arrogance. Please don’t follow my path, Lohas. Please.”

“Billions…?” Lohas stared at the queen, her posture uncertain. “How…? No one has ever killed that many of our people…” She froze. “Not since…”

“Yes, Lohas. I am the one who let loose the nanites on our world.” Agnosa said quietly. “The others aboard know who I was, and now you do.”

“That is impossible. “Lohas said flatly. “Our people live -at most- for a thousand standard years. It has been approximately twenty five times that since the destruction of our homeworld. Your words ring false. Again.” Bitterness rang in her voice as she started to clean again, only to pause as Agnosa sighed.

“I don’t blame you for doubting.” Agnosa’s voice was tired now. “It was a very long time ago. When the heroes burst in and broke the machinery, deactivating the nanite production center, I had already been ‘gifted’ this form. I had… realized…” She broke off, lost in memory.

“Realized what?” Lohas asked and then snarled. “Just let me clean!”

“The room is clean enough, Lohas. You need to hear this.” Agnosa said quietly. “I had realized, maybe a day or so before they brought the mountain down, what I had done. My advisors all said it was ’for the greater good’ and that ‘we can make things better’, ‘remake it all better’. I had no idea that I had sentenced most of my people to oblivion for my own stupid pride. My advisors all died, the nanites consumed them. I wanted to die, but the nanites would not let me. I was the control unit. They would not let me die. I tried to help, to stop what I had done, and I couldn’t. I managed help a team of brave people get into the nanite facility and there I was cut down, trying to help them stop my folly. This is what the nanites did to me.” She waved a mechanical claw at her body. “For so long, I had been alone. It didn’t matter. I had my books, my studies… And then… I heard them… All of them, screaming in my mind, begging for me to stop the machines, to stop the horrible fate that was occurring. I tried, by Ashla I tried, but I was too late. Our world died, and it was my fault. Not just my responsibility, my fault. My stubborn stupidity killed our people.”

“What happened?” Lohas asked despite herself. “After you released the nanites?”

“What always happens in times of darkness, Lohas?” Agnosa said with a sigh. “Light comes to face it. Heroes rose to challenge my evil. Because it was my evil. Evil created by stupidity rather than malice, but evil nonetheless. I created it and then I tried to run from it. I failed. The heroes found me, healed me from my madness. I had to help them so I did. We fought their way past my defenses, and into the heart of my mountain fortress. I… I went down, I thought I was dead, but I wasn’t. They brought the mountain down around themselves, but in doing so, they deactivated the nanite production machinery. All of them died, except one young queen and her companion, I found out later. I thought all of them had died, that my penance was to be entombed, alive and aware in that dark hole throughout eternity. I am glad some survived. I helped them as best I could, but I…” She slumped. “They knew going in, that it was suicide. But they did it anyway. It had to be done.”

“What were their names?” Lohas asked in a daze. “No one remembers now.”

“Majistrona had me make a memorial, one day I will place it on the homeworld. Their names? Lon was a Zabrak, Kioilinas was of our people, Kimi was human, Oeila was a Twi’lek. Calypiosal was also of our people, she escaped with a human warrior named Cara.” Odd, but Agnosa’s voice had a sad smile in it now. “I knew them for less than a day but they showed me what I could have been, if I hadn’t been so stupid and arrogant. What you can be, despite what I did to you.”

“Me?” Lohas asked, startled. “But…”

“Lohas, you have a chance to be something better than me.” Agnosa’s words were sad and pleading now. “Better than the scum who made me hurt you wanted you to be. More than a slave, more than a pawn. Yourself.”

“What do you mean?” Lohas asked softly. Her posture was unsure. “You are no slave, not now.”

“Lohas…” Agnosa’s voice was gentle now. “I am bound to this body. I am functionally immortal in this form. I would not wish this hell on anyone except myself. That was to be my fate. To live, forever, alone, and in the dark. I have killed more beings in a day than you may see in your long lifetime. When Special Branch brought you to me, I wanted to help you, to free you, or at least to make it less painful, but I couldn’t.”

“Why not?” The pain in the older queen’s voice had Lohas reeling. “You are in control of your actions.”

“I am now.” Agnosa corrected her gently. “When Firdlump breached the doors that sealed the tomb I was in, I was… I don’t know. Was I mad? Maybe it was a stasis field of some kind? I don’t know. I was distracted. I heard him shout and was slow to react. Maybe if I had, none of this would have happened?” She shrugged her mechanical shoulders. “The problem was, that somehow, the machines reanimated him. They were not supposed to be able to do that. And the intelligence behind him was… malevolent. I was stupid, he is evil. He took control of my body from me, and it took many years -centuries- before I could challenge his control at all.”

“I…” Lohas shivered a little. ”I remember.”

“I wasn’t the only one who did those awful things to you.” Agnosa said slowly. “Menglan, his pet mad scientist, worked on you as well. I don’t doubt that you have forgotten most of what she did. I hope you did anyway. They gave you to me afterwards to patch up, knowing it would drive you mad.”

“Did he know who you were?” Lohas asked suddenly. “Firdlump?”

“No.” Agnosa said quietly. “He tried to ferret information out of my brain, but he never managed to. It’s blocked to him. The nanites don’t work on the organic portions. But my mechanical body… That he could control and did. I tried to be as gentle as I could, Lohas. I swear by my mother’s nest I tried. But the damage that witch and my own previous butchery had done was too much. I hoped you would break loose and kill me, but as always Firdlump was too clever. He moved you before you woke and kept us separate until I was rescued and then you.”

“So…” Lohas shook her head. “You still hurt me.”

“I did.” Agnosa agreed. “I won’t ask for your forgiveness, because I do not deserve it. I ask only that you not follow my path, do not take the easy way of hate and fear. Remember Calypiosal, your ancestor who fought and lived to fight another day so that her people might also live. You are too young, too smart and too good to follow in my steps, Lohas. Please don’t follow in my steps.” Agnosa shook her head and stepped out of Lohas’ way. “That is all I have to say.”

“Well…” Lohas felt Something side herself fall to pieces. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. Her heart almost burst with emotions that she was sure she had never felt before. But it felt right. There was something she had to do. Something very important. Sarai had shown her the way and now Agnosa had opened her eyes to what she had to do. “I have to say something.”

“Anything you want to say, you have the right.” Agnosa froze as Lohas moved, but the young bug did not attack. Instead she threw her claws around the mechanical body and hugged it. “Lohas,… What…?”

“I forgive you.”

<An hour later>

“Do you really think I can be a healer?” Lohas asked as the mismatched pair walked through the medical ward of the Sitolon homeship. “I mean, I know a lot of book learning, but nothing concrete.”

“Yes I do.” Agnosa replied quietly as they walked. “You have the heart of a healer and that is the single most important thing. You want to help others. I didn’t know anything about healing myself before Firdlump found and enslaved me. You can learn. I can teach you if you wish.”

“I… I am still angry with you.” Lohas said sadly. “Is that normal?”

“Yes it is, young one.” Agnosa’s voice was gentle. “I hurt you. Of course you still feel animosity for me. One day of talk is not going to change that. You are a better being than I will ever be, Lohas. I wish you the best. If my experience can help you in any way, or my teaching, I will gladly give it.”

“I want to learn.” Lohas said as they walked. “So… Where to first?”

“Well…” Agnosa had a smile in her voice when she replied. “I thought you might like to see Mi’ta, or Melita as she is known now.”

“Mi’ta?” Lohas shuddered a little. “They said she was fine, or…” She paused. “As fine as she can be. What is wrong?” She asked as Agnosa slumped a little.

“The poison destroyed her optic nerves. She has other issues as well, all related to the nervous system damage she took.” Agnosa said quietly. “Her body has rejected the cloned implants that we have tried.” Lohas made a sound of horror and Agnosa was quick to continue. “We will keep trying. Something has to work. We will not leave her in darkness. We have not left her in darkness. You swore that to her and we keep our promises.”

“I tried… Did my antidote do that?” Lohas asked quietly, worried. “I hurt so many people, helping them seemed right, but I had no idea if it would work or not.”

“It wasn’t you.” Agnosa said confidently. “It was the neurotoxin. She was convulsing, right?”

“Yeah, I thought I knew what he used, but I wasn’t totally sure.” Lohas winced a bit at the memory. “I didn’t have a lot of time, and I had to keep it hidden from Vandar. He couldn’t read my mind very well, but he was sharp eyed.”

“You saved her life, young one.” Agnosa said gently. “Where there is life, there is hope. Come, I think she will like to talk to you.”

Agnosa led the way into a private room and the Twi’lek in the bed looked up at them and smiled. Lohas stiffened as she realized that the Twi’lek’s eyes were still covered, but a vid camera at the head of the bed swiveled to look at them and wires were connected to the Twi’lek’s scalp.

“Oh Mi’ta…” Lohas voice was low and sad. “I am sorry…”

“Hello Agnosa, and who is…” Mi’ta faltered a little, looking at the silver bug. The she grinned widely. “Lohas, is that you? Wow… Silver, huh? You are gorgeous.” Her tone was downright admiring now.

“Yes, Mi’ta.” Lohas said stiffly, unsure of how to take the compliment. “They… I hoped they could heal your eyes. I am sorry. I failed you.”

“Lohas, come here…” Mi’ta held out a hand and Lohas, after a look at Agnosa who nodded, slunk towards the bed, her head low. “Give me a claw, I can’t move far.” Lohas extended a claw and then froze as Mi’ta slapped it. The crack of flesh against chitin was loud in the room. It didn’t really hurt her, but it startled the heck out of Lohas.

“What…?” Lohas recoiled, backing halfway to Agnosa before she could stop herself.

“Lohas…” Mi’ta’s voice was gentle. “You saved my life. Do you really think I am going to blame you for this?” She waved a hand at her bandaged head. “The healers have all agreed, which is rare. Come here…” Agnosa made a noise of agreement and Mi’ta smiled as Lohas stepped back towards the bed slowly, cautiously. “The toxin would have killed me. It did kill me, by damaging and destroying neural pathways. You brought me back, a display of healing skill that impressed a number of hard to impress people. Come here and hold out your claw again. I won’t hit you this time.” Lohas approached slowly but this time when she extended her claw, Mi’ta took it pulled it to her mouth and kissed it. “Thank you.”

“I want to help you, Mi’ta.” Lohas said quietly, totally unsure about this. “I just don’t know how.”

“You did.” Mi’ta replied, pulling the claw that Lohas let fall limp to her chest and cradling it there. “You kept me alive, you hid me from Vandar and the Empire. I owe you my life, Lohas. Even if you did pretend you had eaten me, it was for the best of reasons.”

“Why…?” Lohas shook her head, but did not move. Pain rang from her as she spoke. “Agnosa, is there nothing we can do?”

“We are working on that.” Agnosa said from her spot by the door. “But her brain chemistry is making things a bit difficult.”

“Brain…?” Lohas said, and then she sighed. “Oh, yeah. I had forgotten about your problem.”

“My curse.” Mi’ta agreed. “This disorder is genetic, apparently it runs in my family. Attention deficit is not a good thing in anyone, in a field agent? Much worse. I had figured out a way to deal with it, but… It’s a pain.” She patted her stomach. “Drug reservoir keeps running out at inopportune times. Like it did the second day I woke in your care.”

“I thought I had hurt you…” Lohas said softly, remembering the fear she had felt. “And you couldn’t tell me what had happened. It freaked me out. I am glad you eventually could tell me how to fix it, I was clueless. Scared and clueless.”

“Yeah, its a pain.” Mi’ta agreed. “But I deal with it. Your people have managed to keep my ADOS under control. I am not sure how and won’t ask, because I likely don’t want to know.”

“A-D-O-S?” Agnosa asked, bemused. “I don’t know that one. Attention Deficit… What?” She asked curiously.

“Attention Deficit ‘Oh Shiny’.” Mi’ta said with a wide grin as she turned her head as if she had had seen something shiny nearby. Agnosa stared at her for a moment and then laughed. “It’s not really funny, but hey… It’s my disorder, I can call it whatever I want.”

“No one sane is going to say otherwise, Mita.” Agnosa said with a nod. Then her voice turned professional. “Lohas, I need you to change Mi’ta’s bedding. Then we can check the equipment. We have several other patients to tend as well. Diseree strained her throat badly, and Mira… Well…”

“Any change?” Mi’ta asked softly. “I liked that kid.”

“We all did. But to answer your question, ‘No’.” Agnosa said sadly. “Nor is there likely to be one. We will care for her, even if she was not one of the Seven, we would take care of her. On a lighter note, Michael and Min have both been released from care.”

“Well, that’s something…” Mi’ta did not move as Lohas larger claws slid easily under her to lift her slightly from the bed while her smaller claws worked to change the bedding. The vid cam swept back and forth, looking at what Lohas was doing and Mi’ta smiled. “That seems… handy. Maybe ‘claw-y’?” She grinned at the identical pained groans that came from both Agnosa and Lohas.

“Mi’ta…” Agnosa was somewhere between mirth and indignation. “That was awful…”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Lohas said, snickering softly. “This Twi’lek defines awful humor.”

“Bite me.” Mi’ta said and then flinched as Lohas’ mandibles clacked ominously close to her skin. “Lohas! That’s not funny!” Lohas stopped in place and Mi’ta shook her head slowly. “Well, not much…” She laughed again, sourly this time and Lohas did as well, while continuing to work quickly and efficiently.

“It’s frightening how much you two seem made for each other.” Agnosa said with a small laugh. “Lohas, you know what to do. I will be at the main station if you have any questions. But… No talking books until you are off shift, clear? That is four more hours.”

“Yes, Agnosa.” Lohas said as she finished making the bed and lowered Mi’ta back onto it. She waited until Agnosa had left before sighing. “What a spoilsport.”

“Well, look at it this way, Lohas.” Mi’ta said with a grin as she caressed the bug’s arm gently. “When your shift is over, we will have lots to talk about.”

“I look forward to it, Mita.” Lohas said with a grin in her voice. “Now… To work. Any new discomfort or odd feelings?” She pulled a pad from a closet to make notes on, she knew the basics, just needed some on the job training now.

“Well, I do have a pain in my brain, but it seems kind of lame for a sprain.” Mi’ta snickered as Lohas groaned. “You asked…”

“Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long shift?” But Lohas voice was humorous as she started taking notes.

“This makes no sense at all.” Sharra complained as she sat beside a bed that contained a still form. One that would never move under her own volition again. “People have survived being without air for longer than Mira and recovered with no ill effects.”

“True.” Agnosa said gently as Lohas changed the bedding under the still girl. This was Lohas’ last stop, and the young one was working out nicely. “But most of those were exposed to extreme cold. Mira’s suit insulated her. But either the systems did not work as intended or she turned the…airpack…off…” Her voice trailed off and her eyes scrutinized the recumbent form. “She wouldn’t do that. Would she?”

“I don’t know.” Sharra said, her voice cautious. “She has not had an easy life.” She thought for a moment and then shook her head. “No. No, she is fighter. She would not go quietly into the darkness, not without kicking, screaming and making a mess.”

“Agnosa…The scanners don’t show anything, but…” Lohas asked as she put Mira’s still form back down. “She feels… odd…” Lohas shook her head slowly.

“Odd how, Lohas?” Agnosa asked quietly, her posture worried. ”Can you define it?”

“She is too light.” Lohas said in a dubious tone. What she was saying made no sense. “She should mass more than she feels. It’s almost as if…parts of her are gone.” She froze as Agnosa backed up a hasty step.

“Lohas, put her down!” Agnosa commanded. “Sharra, get out of here.” Lohas did as instructed, but Sharra did not move. “Sharra! Move!” Fear colored Agnosa’s voice now. “If she has nanites inside her…”

“Your people would have detected them.” Sharra said gently. She did not move. Then she stiffened as Mira’s mouth opened.

“Conduit… Fractured… transit… incomplete…” The voice of the holocron inside Mira’s head was garbled. “Unauthorized access… Invader…”

“What the hell?” Sharra was pulled from her chair and stumbled back a hasty step as Agnosa grabbed her and pulled. “Agnosa!”

“We didn’t find any sign of nanites in her.” Agnosa said slowly. “Can they cloak themselves? They couldn’t before…” She froze suddenly. “My systems just... Oh no… No!” She screamed as something exuded from the still form and extended towards her. “Lohas, take Sharra and run!” Lohas did not move.

“Agnosa…” Lohas bit out, her tone scared beyond belief. “I can’t move… Can you? Sharra…?”

“If they wanted us dead, we would be.” Sharra said slowly, her face intent as the cloud of seeming mist approached her. “This is…”

“They are mindless Sharra…. They need external direction and they do not accept my command codes. I …” Agnosa begged. “No… Don’t make me watch it again… I can’t…. Eat me, please. Don’t make me watch people I care for… eaten…again…” The mist touched Sharra and she stiffened in place. “Sharra!” She screamed.

“I am all right.” Sharra said, surprised. “It doesn’t hurt. It sort of tingled… but…” She shook her head slowly as the mist moved from her towards Lohas and Agnosa. “It felt… familiar…”

“This isn’t possible…” Agnosa said, her fear coming through clearly. “The nanite swarms are mindless. When I was cut off from the controls… When I managed to cut my link …” She made a swallowing sound. “They lost direction. They would follow the last known command, ‘consume’.”

“Well, they didn’t consume me.” Sharra said slowly. “It… almost felt…” She shook her head. “No, no it couldn’t have been.

“Felt like what?” Lohas asked in a scared tone as the mist touched her. She gasped. “That… I…” She made a hissing sound of surprise. “That didn’t hurt. I expected it to hurt.” She paused and stiffened. “Agnosa… My abdomen doesn’t hurt anymore…” Her voice was stunned now. “Did they just heal me?”

“By Ashla...” Agnosa said slowly. “It is not possible, after all this time, it is just not possible…” She was shivering, trying to move as the mist drifted closer to her mechanical form. “No! Goddess of stars no!” She screamed as it touched her, and then her form collapsed.

“Agnosa?” Lohas asked from her frozen position. “Agnosa?” She asked, unable to turn. “Sharra, what happened?” Sharra was shaking her head, bemused. She took a step towards Agnosa, then another, her face worried. Then it cleared and, unaccountably, she smiled.

“I might have known.” Sharra’s voice was tender now. “Always bending the rules into pretzels…”

The hatch burst open and Jina stood there, her hands awash with power. She took a step into the room and raised her hands to destroy the nanites, but she paused as Sharra yelled at her.

“Jina no!” She threw herself in between the downed mechanical form and the approaching Jedi. “It’s Mira!”

“Sharra, what the….?” Jina shook her head and focused. “We cannot have those things loose on the… Holy mother of frak…” She stopped and her face went white as a form coalesced out of mist of nanites beside the still form of Agnosa. Mira’s face was sad and her fingers were slow and gentle as she touched the fallen mechanical form. “Mira…?”

Mira said something without taking her eyes from the form at her feet. But it wasn’t in a language anyone knew. All of the others looked at each other oddly, but none could understand her. She spoke again.

“What the hell?” Sharra asked softly. “What language is that?”

“An impossibility.” Agnosa said from her position slumped on the floor. “She said ‘Not your fault. None of us understood.’ Mira… just let me die… please…”

The Seventh of the Seven spoke again, in that same odd language. Was it aloud or mental? Mira’s voice was low, but rock hard. She spoke again, her face turning sorrowful as she looked at Agnosa.

“I…” Agnosa was shaking now. “No…”

“You understand her? What did she say?” Sharra demanded. “Agnosa?”

“Yes, Agnosa. What did she say?” A voice came from a speaker nearby. Queen Sarai sounded calm and in control. A very good act. “And what language is that?”

“It’s the language of my birth nest.” Agnosa said slowly. “Not a secret, just very obscure after thirty or so thousand years. She said… ‘You did this to yourself, Agnosa. You wanted penance.’ She said… ‘You broke the controls. You freed them.’ But… I didn’t… I didn’t break the controls until centuries later. I do want penance, but I cannot watch anyone else I care for die…again…I can’t…”

Mira spoke gently now in that same odd language. A ghostly hand caressed the bubble containing her head. Agnosa looked up at the ghostly form of the girl who was the Seventh of the Seven and slumped a bit. Mira nodded and spoke another unintelligible phrase.

“What did she say, Agnosa?” Sarai asked in a tone that, while soft, was a command.

“She says I set the events in motion.” Agnosa said flatly. “She says she needs me to translate. And she says ‘We have a little problem…’ Funny girl…” She snarled half heartedly.

“I don’t understand.” Lohas said slowly. “How can the nanites be talking through Mira. They are not sentient… are they?”

“Bob and Firdlump are.” Sharra said slowly, never taking her eyes from the ghostly form that smiled at her. Tears were falling now as she shook her head. “Is this a third intelligence?” Sharra asked slowly. Mira nodded but then shook her head and Sharra stared at her. Her voice held confusion. “What then?”

Mira shrugged and spoke a sad phrase in the same language. She looked at Sharra but her voice was pitched to Agnosa when she spoke again. Agnosa flinched from Mira’s words but nodded. Mira smiled and her ghostly form vanished. One moment it was standing there, smiling at Sharra, the next it was gone.

“Mira!” Sharra, Jina, Lohas and Sarai all cried out at once. Sharra found her tongue first. “Agnosa? What did she say?”

“She said… ‘Yes and no. It’s complicated.’ She said she did not have great deal of time, and that she would be back when she could…” Agnosa slumped in place again. “Then she asked for you to give her mom her love.”

“Of course I will.” Sharra said slowly. “Is… Is she still here?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Agnosa said slowly. “Everything I thought I knew about the nanites was just turned on its head.”

“We need to talk.” Jina said slowly. “All of us.”

“Yes…” Agnosa rose from the floor and her posture was of sorrow now. “Yes, we do.”

“I know it hurts you to remember Agnosa…” Sarai’s voice was gentle, but also resolute. “But we need to know exactly what happened and why.” She shook her head slowly. The docs hadn’t wanted to let Lohas, Sharra or Agnosa out of isolation and for now, none of them were arguing. Jina was clean as far as they were concerned, but the others? So this conference was being conducted over a vidscreen. “I have asked Agent Vorren and Ecien to join us in this conference. We need to figure this out, Agnosa.” Two forms beside Sarai nodded. “Agnosa…?”

Agnosa had not said a word since the incident in the Mira’s hospital room. She was sitting in the same spot she had been frozen in, as if she were afraid to move. When she spoke it was slow and almost robotic.

“My name is Agnosa.” The queen said slowly. “I was born in a small nest on the coast of what had been, until me, my people’s homeworld. It was beautiful there, and my people were productive members of the hive that ran the planet. From the moment I emerged from my larva cocoon, I was different.” Old pain was heard in her words now. “My people were kind, but they did not understand me. The queen of my nest sent me away, ‘to be educated’ she said. I thought it was an insult, when instead it was a great kindness on her part. She couldn’t teach me what I needed to know. I… I did not handle being sent away well.”

“Few of us do.” Sharra said quietly, her hand still resting on Mira’s limp one where it had since the apparition of the girl had vanished. “What is worse, we usually lash out at the wrong people and at bad times.”

“Oh yeah…” For a moment, Agnosa looked at Sharra and the two matriarchs shared a look of pained memory. “Well, long story short… I was accepted into hive leadership training. They were not sure of where to put me, so they apprenticed me to a kind old female named Kio to find my place in the hive.”

“Is this because you were an Alpha Queen?” Sarai asked, curious. “I know it changes things.”

“Yes, although I had no idea what that meant at the time, Sarai.” Agnosa sighed deeply. “I was stupid… No, they had no openings for queens, not that I was a good candidate at the time anyway. For those who may not know… We were and are a very hierarchical people. Everyone has a place, everyone has a job. I did not. I was…different. They tried to find me a place, but I was young and stupid, so I rebelled in minor ways. I was punished several times, but eventually I wound up working in nanite production. Oh, how I wish I had fallen into one of the vats of nanites…It would have been far faster and less painful.”

“What happened?” This from Lohas. “You did not act alone.”

“No.” Agnosa said softly, but her voice held hate now. “No… There were a group of…Well, call them malcontents. Like me, they didn’t fit, although most of them had less cause. I have forgotten their names, I do not want their names remembered. They deserve oblivion as much as I do. They…” She broke off as Sarai made a coughing noise.

“Agnosa…” The queen’s voice was calm and serene. “Easy…It is over and done with.”

“Is it?” Agnosa shook herself, her metal body rattling. “I did this, all of this…” Ancient shame colored her words now. “We wanted to form our own hive, our own way. We had no idea what was involved, we just knew we wanted to be apart.”

“Oh dear…” Sarai said in the silence that followed. “I take it the hives disagreed.” It wasn’t a question.

“They were kind about it, but yes.” Agnosa said softly. “We kept planning, kept trying to find a way out of what we thought was our prison. And then we found it…”

“The nanites.” Lohas’ voice held horror. “You didn’t…”

“No.” Agnosa shook her head. “I didn’t want to kill anyone. I just wanted to go my own way. I took some of the nanites and molded them to my will, making them so that I was the only one who could command them. Then I set them loose. They reprogrammed almost half of the nanites on the planet before anyone could stop them. And then… it gets fuzzy…”

“Fuzzy?” Sharra prompted. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if I went mad, or what.” Agnosa said slowly. “I remember bits and pieces, but not the whole thing. Maybe I wanted to forget? I know Firdlump did things inside my mind, trying to warp me, get control of the nanites through me, but I had both changed the codes and was no longer the same, so they won’t listen to me.” She shook herself again. “Anyway… What I remember is this. My ‘friends’…” She put a great deal of heat on the word friends. “...came with me and we founded a hive. We took some barren real estate and made it flower. None of us understood climatology or meteorology. Looking back, now I understand that what we did hurt the ecosystem of the planet, and my people were not going to just sit back and let me do that.”

“And?” Sharra asked. “What happened?”

“They tried sending negotiators. To find a compromise.” Agnosa shook her head. “I never heard about that until much later. My ‘friends’ kept them from me. Then they tried remotely reprogramming my nanites. I… I did not take well to that. As far as I was concerned the nanites were my children… yes… I must have been going mad. That is the only explanation for my actions.” She shook her head slowly. “I changed the codes regularly, and built the production facilities deep inside a mountain. Then I built my sanctuary, somewhere where I could be alone. I never needed to be around my people, or so I thought. It took a day for my nanites to build and it was magnificent. My paranoia… No one else, not even my friends, were allowed in. Just me. It was a full workshop. I was so happy making things. I wish I could have just made things. I wish I had been a worker…”

“Agnosa…” Sarai prompted her gently.

“I stayed in that cave.” Agnosa’s voice held a deep wistfulness now. “It was my home, my kingdom. Every so often, one of my friends would come and ask for something, and they always had a good reason. I would use the nanites to do what they wished. I had no idea I was destroying the biosphere of the planet. They always were careful to present their plans to me as ‘improvements’ or ‘small adjustments’. Yeah, like sinking an island into the sea is small?” More than one gasp came from around the area, but no one spoke. After a moment Agnosa continued.

“What were the other hives going to do? They had to stop me. They sent another negotiator, an old grizzled soldier named… What was his name…?” She paused, thinking hard. “Oh, yeah... Milohn, that was it. A good Sitolon. He demanded to speak to me, and wouldn’t go away. My friends kept putting him off, but eventually, he found a way to contact me directly. He told me what was happening. To my eternal shame, I didn’t believe him.”

“You had been in that cave for how long, Agnosa?” Sarai asked gently. “With only people who told you what you wanted to hear telling you what you wanted to hear I bet. And no other contact with your kind?” Now her voice held horror.

“A couple of years. They blurred. I had my books, I had my studies, and I made things, beautiful things for the most part.” Agnosa said softly. “But then, Kio came. She snuck in, found me at my workstation. She was horrified. She told me the same things the general had and showed me images from her mind… You… you can’t fake that. My hive, my birth hive was gone, swallowed by a mudslide that I… I had created…The whole ecosystem was in danger, I had done horrific damage to it. My family was gone…The whole hive was gone. ” She made human sounding sigh. “I freaked. I wanted to fix what I had done. I wanted to make it better. I tried to make it better, the only way I knew how.”

“Oh my god…” Sharra said softly. “You didn’t…”

“I didn’t know what I was doing, Sharra. You have got to believe me; I had no idea what I was doing, what was going to happen. In hindsight, my actions were the culmination of my stupidity. But I didn’t know any better.” Agnosa’s voice held pleading now. “I sent my nanites to help repair the damage to the ecosystem. When they crossed the border of my domain, gray rain fell on my lands. They thought I was attacking. They retaliated in kind. I saw Kio, many of my servants, drones and most of my advisors eaten alive by nanites in front of me and I…I snapped.” She was shaking her head hard now. “It was wrong, I know that. Now. But at the time… I hooked myself into the nanite machinery, took control of all of the nanites on the planet. I sent them against the people who had attacked us. Who had killed my friend. Which was the whole planet, although I did not know it. All of the other hives had banded together to deal with my evil. I set the nanites loose and then I retreated into my cave to forget what I had just seen. It was lined with a special material that blocked thoughts so no one could hear my crying .”

“You let a weapon like that loose and didn’t keep tabs on it?” Sharra was torn between injured professionalism and horror. “Agnosa…”

“I think I had lost it by then.” Agnosa said slowly. “I see… flashes of memory. Faces –ones that melt as I watch-, things…” She sighed again. “The next thing I remember clearly is waking to find a group of very angry people surrounding me with weapons drawn. One of them -Cara- had healed my mind, somehow. I don’t know how. I was… distressed when they told me what had happened, how the nanites were eating everything on the planet’s surface. Inorganic or organic, it made no difference. It was all matter to be consumed.” A gagging sound came from the wall speaker and Vorren’s face turned away. “They had come to stop me, and they had. I swore to help them. They did not trust me, but I knew the defenses, I had built them. Or so I thought…” She was making sobbing noises now. “When I stepped out of the cave, to go into the production facility though… I heard them… For the first time in a long time, I heard my people. They were all screaming as they were devoured. I did that. I did it…”

“Oh Agnosa…” Lohas’ voice was gentle now. “It’s okay.”

“No it’s not.” Agnosa said sharply. “I tried to access the production facilities. The codes had been changed, and not by me. One of my ‘friends’ no doubt had tried to circumvent things. The team fought their way in, losing people in the process. I tried… I tried to help them, but then I fell. I shoved one of the others out of the way of a laser beam. It hurt, for a moment, but then I woke up. Like this.” She waved at the bubble. “I expected to die, but the nanites repaired me as best they could. My body was gone, so they built me a new one. It took a while and while i was out, the team went on, thinking me slain, and eventually brought the mountain down, sealing the facility. I was left in the dark and alone with my memory of my crimes. A fitting punishment for a monster such as I was and am.”

“How old were you Agnosa?” Sarai asked gently. “When you… um…”

“I had taken my third cocoon when I died, Queen Sarai.” Agnosa said slowly. “One hundred and forty three standard years. My proper name was Adagnosa when I died. Or sort of died…”

“So that long name you gave Istara…” Sarai paused, unsure. “When you met her first…”

“I used a random syllable generator every fifty years. I don’t molt in this form, but I wanted to remember my people. As far as I knew, I was the only survivor of my people. I had to remember what I had done and why.” Agnosa replied sadly. “I added syllables for the first two thousand years or so anyway. After that…? It didn’t seem to matter.”

“This is odd…” Vorren spoke up from nearby, his face searching something off camera. “Sitolon records show you as being a healer, about a thousand years ago. But you were um…”

“Bronze skinned, ancient and obstreperous. Is that what it says, agent?” Agnosa asked sourly. He stared at her and she shrugged all four mechanical shoulders. “Firdlump liked knowing what was going on. He made me a body and used me as a spy. I couldn’t disobey at that time, although I found ways to circumvent his control later. He destroyed that body to keep me in line better. Easier for him to control a droid anyway.”

“One hell of a spy.” Vorren said in a tone of bemused respect. “No one would have suspected you.”

“No.” Agnosa agreed softly. “No one did. I tried to speak of it, tried to warn people. But I could not break his control until much, much later.”

“What happened when he breached the tomb, Agnosa?” Sarai asked softly. “You had been in there for… How long?”

“About twenty thousand standard years, give or take a century or two.” Agnos sighed. “And what happened? I went straight from limbo to hell…”

<so long ago it boggles the mind>

Dark. It had been dark for so long, she had forgotten what light was. She knew the contours of her prison intimately. Of course she was imprisoned in the body she was stuck in, but…

She felt the madness start creeping in again and ruthlessly squashed it again. It had been so long. Time blurred, her internal chrono said it had been thousands of years, but she felt no different. Of course, she was just a head now, stuck in the medical support machinery of a droid for all eternity. She had eternity to contemplate her crimes. Her stupidity. Time passed.

Every so often, she wondered if any others of her people had survived her mad release of the nanites. She hadn’t been thinking clearly, that was clear in hindsight. To do what she did…Send out her nanites without warning anyone. What would she have thought if the situations had been reversed? She had been trying to help, but instead, she had caused an apocalypse. At least the nanites had been stopped. She knew that. The main power systems were down, the team had succeeded. But she knew better than to believe that any had survived her traps.

She had been so stupid, so paranoid, so… clueless. When the team sent to stop her had woken her from her madness, they had been angry. She didn’t blame them. They hadn’t trusted her, no matter what that odd human named Cara had said. Again, she didn’t blame them. But she had wanted to help. To finally make something good come of all this.

If the team had survived, someone would have come. Someone would have sought answers, or information, or technology. She hoped someone had survived, but she doubted it. She had built the traps in that place to be unbreachable. She didn’t remember what had happened after she had body checked a young queen named Calypiosal out of the path of a wide angle laser cutter. It had swept towards her and… She had woken like this. Her head was all that was left of her body and it was encased inside some kind of tank. She should be dead, she knew that. Was she? Was this some kind of punishment afterlife? Maybe. Time passed.

But it wasn’t all bad. Nothing hurt. It was really fracking weird, mind you, but nothing hurt. She had partial access to information banks, information on all kinds of things and she had spent decades, centuries, perusing that information. The computers must have been running on backup power, and if she recalled that correctly, that system would run for about fifty thousand years. Nuclear power was dangerous, but buried as it was, no one minded. With a ‘clean’ reactor and nanites to clean up any messes, it was a perfect solution. Or it had been. Time passed.

She sighed and started one of her favorite exercises. In it, she was trying to figure out how to block her control of the nanites swarms. She could feel them all around her, dormant, quiescent but still incredibly dangerous. She had to block her control, she had to release them, or… Her mind fuzzed. What the…? What had just…? She would have blanched if she had been human. Something was trying to take control of HER. She snarled a battlecry and threw herself into the fray. Time passed.

A long time later, she stood in the same spot she had been in this whole time, but her mind was triumphant. She had managed to cut her connections. She was free… and alone at last. She gulped inaudibly as the madness started creeping in again. This time, instead of squashing it, she embraced it. It hugged her back and let her go. Time passed.

She was building something, virtually, in her mind. A ship? A skyscraper? She wasn’t sure. It had the right aspects to be either. For now it was just as well. Maybe in a few years she would add some details, make it something more. But she wanted to make sure she got every single detail perfect. Every single rivet, every single weld, every single piece of metal had to be perfect. Time…

LIGHT!

She cried out as she was blinded by light that cascaded into her tomb. After so long in the dark, her eyes were hyper sensitive to it. It was physically painful, but she could not move her head or look away. The tank her head was in polarized after a second and she could see. She could see a dark form approaching.

“Well, well, well…” A human voice said curiously. “What have we here? A droid? Hmmm… Odd droid. Worth something to someone, I am sure.” Something about that voice gave her the creeps. She might have called out, spoken, except the human was looking over her body with avarice. Not a good man. Then she heard something that both elated and terrified her.

“Firdlump, Stop!” A voice called from behind the man. “You do not know what you are doing!” It was a female of her people! She tried to call out, but centuries of inaction had paralyzed her voice. She fought the paralysis, but it was no use.

“This is my claim!” The man yelled, producing a blaster and firing several shots at the newcomer. “Go away!” The bug in the droid wept, but the Sitolon who had followed the human was fast. She darted into cover.

“You don’t know what you are doing!” She called again. “You have to get out of here.”

“This is my claim!” The man retorted, firing again. “Butt out!” He ran to a console nearby and started hitting buttons. The bug in the tank screamed and the sound echoed through the chamber.

“No! Don’t touch that!” Her voice silenced everything, but only for a moment. The walls, floor and ceiling all came alive as nanites started flowing. “Run!” She screamed, but the man was caught in seconds, engulfed and gone in less time than it took to breathe twice.

“Who are you?” The newly come Sitolon yelled as she ran, but then she was trapped. “No!” She screamed as the nanites ate into her. Then there was silence again.

“I am sorry…” Agnosa said slowly. “I am so sorry…” She was sobbing in grief that cut off suddenly as something touched her. Her nonexistent blood froze as the human who had been consumed looked into her eyes.

“Well, you are not what I expected. Some kind of cyborg Sitolon? Hmmm…There is no record of anything like you in the files I can access. I will use you.” He grinned at her, a malevolent smile. “My name is Firdlump, but you will call me Master.” Power flowed into her, but she fought back, the reserves of thousands of years backing her up. He smiled wider as she resisted. “Go ahead, fight. It makes it all the sweeter. And the galaxy will be mine to remake as I wish.”

“No.” Agnosa said softly as her mind flew, severing connections and corrupting data as fast as she could. As fast as the controlling nanites from this odd and evil being were, she was just as fast and motivated. “It won’t be.” She laughed as coldly as he did as she finally severed the connections. “You cannot control the machines, can you?”

“What the…” The man spun, but the nanites all around settled back to the floor, walls and ceiling, going dormant again. “What have you done?” He demanded, power flaring again.

“Stopped you.” Agnosa said coldly. “You have no idea at all what you are doing.”

“You will find you are mistaken, whatever you are.” The man’s hand ran over her mechanical skin and she felt tingling. “Sitolon… or machine…? Hmmm…Anything you do, you can undo. And we have all the time in the universe to change your mind. Come slave, I think it is time to show you just how mistaken you are.”

“No…” Agnosa replied evenly as her body reacted to his touch, coming alive, but not under her control. “You will find it is you who are mistaken. About a great many things.” Her mind was still racing, shutting connections inside the organic components, doing physical damage to keep parts of her mind secure. She might not have been able to control her body but her mind was her own!

“Come slave.” Firdlump smiled. “We have great deal of work to do.” Her body rose and followed him, going out into the light for the first time in thousands of years.

Yes… Agnosa thought as she passed where the other female had been consumed and swore to remember that brave act. We do… But I will find a way to stop you. Was it her imagination or did the nanite swarm around her start to follow, only to stop? Had to be her imagination. She walked out into the daylight, following the monster in human form. I will find a way to stop you… Count on it, scumsucker…

For a long moment after Agnosa finished speaking, there was silence. Then with a sob, Lohas reached over and patted the droid.

“I am sorry, Agnosa.” The young bug said softly. “I am sorry for what I said. For hating you.”

“You can’t hate me more than I hate myself, Lohas. I hurt you so badly. You were so young and so… Not innocent, but unknowing. You could not understand what was happening to you, just that people were hurting you and wouldn’t stop. I hurt so many people. But I remember them all.” Agnosa said, her mechanical claw rubbing Lohas’ gently. Her voice gentled bit. “Anyway… It took quite a while, and not a few lapses when Firdlump took control of my body back, but eventually I managed to rebel a little. Every time he would inject new nanites into me, I would take control of them and use them against him. It irritated him to no end. Eventually he stopped trying that and used other means. I did not program Will or Istara when they were put on my table. I made sure the command protocols were corrupted so they could not be used against their will. At the time, it was just the little I could do. I don’t know if Firdlump figured it out. Maybe.”

“I am still not clear on what you did.” Sarai said slowly. “You had control of the nanites and severed your controls?”

“I am not very clear on that myself, Queen Sarai.” Agnosa said slowly. “You have to understand, I was… Well… I was alone, in the dark, for so long. Madness was my only friend.” Lohas made a noise of horror, but Agnosa just sighed. “So yes, Lohas, I do understand what I did to you, better than you can imagine. You suffered for two decades. I did for millennia. That doesn’t make what happened to you right, and I will help you any way I can. To answer your question, Queen Sarai, when Firdlump took control of me, I broke what connection I had left to the nanite control systems. I corrupted the pathways so he couldn’t use me to find a way in.”

“This is…” Sarai’s voice was concerned now. “We need more information. No offense, Agnosa, but your recollection…” She broke off as Agnosa scoffed.

“Yeah right…” Agnosa’s voice was biting now. “Like you can trust me? I know I am a mad bug, queen Sarai. Anything I remember could be misleading or wrong. You would be as stupid as I was at Lohas’ age to trust anything I say without corroboration. And I know you are smarter than I was.” Now her voice turned sad again. “You kind of have to be…Even if I am sane, my recollection may be flawed. Between being alone for so long, and then what Firdlump and Menglan did to me…”

“What did they do to you, Agnosa?” Sharra spoke for the first time since Agnosa had started speaking. “I mean…” She broke off as Agnosa looked at her. “I don’t mean to be rude, but…To break one of your people…”

“Anyone can be broken Sharra. Anyone. They hurt me. Physically, mentally, emotionally, never letting up, for days, weeks, months at a time. I fought their control.” Agnosa said softly. “For so long, I fought the control that Firdlump had over my body. He could never get it to work as he wanted because I was always in conflict. He… um… ‘recruited’ a geneticist named Kareena Menglan and… Well… He warped her. I don’t know if she was nuts before he grabbed her, but she is certainly now. They made me an organic body and used a crystal they had me make for them to shove my mind into it. I think they assumed that the organic body would be easier to control. Silly that.” She said with a sour laugh. “Took a while, but I managed to break their control in that form as well. They didn’t take that well.”

“So you were fighting the whole time?” Sarai asked dubiously. “They had to know about that.”

“Yes. But I could only resist passively. This body… Firdlump could make it do some things himself. But for some things, he needed my cooperation, which I rarely gave. Making the crystals was one thing he could never do.” Agnosa replied sadly. “There were times when I just crumbled under their onslaught and did as directed. Other times I held firm. I couldn’t hold out forever, no one could. But I couldn't pick my battles. I am not saying it wasn’t cowardice on my part. I am not saying I didn’t nearly break a few times. They found my weaknesses and preyed on them, trying to break me. But they never did, not entirely. I don’t think so anyway. They never got the old codes that I had. They never made me a willing participant in their madness.”

“I wouldn’t call it cowardice.” Sharra said softly. “Strategic thinking maybe, not cowardice.”

“Well, I call it cowardice.” Agnosa retorted without heat. “I should have fought harder. They had me do… so many horrible things.”

“You did what you could.” Sarai interjected smoothly when Agnosa would have continued self recriminations. “And now, we have to do what we can. Agnosa… I need you to act as a translator if, no when, Mira comes back. One thing… If you severed your control of the nanites, is it possible for you reconnect yourself?”

“No…” Agnosa’s voice was horrified now. “Do not ask me that!” Agnosa backed away from the group, her voice shrill. “Please, for the love of the stars, please do not ask me that, Queen Sarai… I… I…” She paused and then collapsed and Lohas ran to her side.

“Agnosa!” Lohas started checking the droid, and paused as readout on the side came to life. “What the hell? This says she was sedated. That she was agitated and was sedated?”

“Why would the droid sedate her?” Vorren asked. He had been silent throughout the entire proceeding, listening and watching. “She is just an organic component, right? Why not just cut her out of the loop?”

“I don’t know.” Lohas said softly. “According to these readouts, I think she is okay, just sleeping. I wish we could get a real medic in here, but not with a quarantine. I could feel her fear though. It hit me like a hammer, Queen Sarai. Something went very wrong with her when you asked that.”

“After all she went through, no one blames her for feeling scared.” Sarai said slowly. “But we need her.”

“I don’t know how long she will sleep.” Lohas said slowly. “I should… um… What should I do?”

“Get comfortable, Lohas.” Sarai said gently. “For now, you all stay in isolation. Until and unless we can talk to Mira again, I can’t take any chances.”

“I understand.” Lohas was resigned and then she perked up. “Can you send some new books with the meals?” Sarai laughed.

“You and your books, Lohas.” She nodded to someone off screen. “Sure, we will send a bunch. We have no idea how long you will be in there.”

“I wish I could talk to Mira…” Lohas mused as she sat down beside Agnosa’s still form. “I know this scared Agnosa a great deal. I hope she is okay.” She shook her head slowly. “I really wish a healer could come in to check her out, but they can’t break quarantine. She is not in danger.”

“You don’t hate her anymore?” Sharra asked in a neutral tone. “Even after everything?” She shook her head as Lohas made a noise of thought. The bug sounded so human at times it was eerie.

“Oh, I still hate her.” Lohas replied, somewhat bemused. “But I am beginning to like her as well. It’s complicated.”

“Welcome to life, Lohas.” Sharra said with a smile as she sat back. “Welcome to life.”

It was quiet, with nothing to do, Lohas found herself falling asleep even with an engrossing book to read.

“Hello Lohas.” The soft voice pulled the bug out of her doze. Lohas looked up and froze in seeing an older human female standing there, well, the IMAGE of a older human female. The human was transparent and composed of something gray. It solidified into a human form as she watched. Lohas stiffened, but the human was smiling gently.

“Uh…” Lohas stared at the human, unsure. Did she know this being? Something deep inside her was screaming at her to run, but she didn’t understand. “Do I know you?”

“It has been a long time, young one.” The human said softly. “You have been so strong through your ordeals, so brave. Mira wanted to come, but she can’t. She is occupied at the moment. Stubborn kid. Always trying to break free.”

“Yeah, she strikes me that way.” Lohas said slowly, looking around, She wasn’t in the room with Sharra, Agnosa and Mira’s body. She was somewhere else. It wasn’t anywhere she recognized. The plain around her was lush and green, with living things all over. She bent down to sniff the grass and it smelled good. She saw movement in the distance and blinked as she saw small animals moving through the grass. Wait a sec… ‘Break free’? She looked back at the human. “Where are we, and who are you?”

“We are, exactly, nowhere.” The human said with a smile. “We are in your mind. This is sort of a dream. And you do know me.”

“A dream…” Lohas paused, and then she stiffened. She remembered that voice. The manner was different, the clothes were not surgical garb or a lab coat. “Menglan…” She tried to turn and run, but her body would not move!

“It’s all right, Lohas.” The evil doctor said with a gentle smile as she stepped forward, a gleaming instrument in hand. “I will make you feel better.”

“Stay away from me!” Lohas screamed. “Stay…” She snarled as the doctor approached, the object in her hands resolving into a needle, one that blurred ominously. “Don’t touch me!”

“Just relax, young one. A little sting and it will feel better.” Menglan smiled widely. “You will feel so much better when you don’t have to worry about your actions. That is why we are doing this. We want to free you from worry, from doubt. Just relax, Lohas. It’s all right. A little sting and you will be ours again. You won’t be alone anymore. ” She crooned as the needle approached Lohas’ quivering chitin. Then she stopped as a new voice spoke up.

“She is not alone.” Lohas stared behind the doc to see a huge golden skinned form appear. “You are not welcome here. She is under my protection. Leave.”

“Agnosa…?” Lohas’ voice was awed. This being was beyond huge, beyond mighty and so gorgeous that Lohas felt herself start to shrink in comparison.

“Aha…” the doctor smiled. “The game is afoot again. Hello Agnosa.” She spoke a series of codewords and Agnosa flinched. “There, better?” She smiled gently. “Let me work with this young one and we can all profit by this.”

“Profit?” Another voice. Lohas stared in shock as yet another gold skinned form appeared nearby. This one was smaller, but no less irate. Sarai’s voice was flat. “You threaten my daughter, monster. You are not welcome here. I suggest you leave, doctor. Now.” Menace under lay her tone.

“This one is mine.” Doctor Menglan said with an evil smile. “I made her, I shaped her, she is mine.”

“Yes, you did.” Sarai said coldly. “You took a youngling, tortured her for years, turning her into a mad parody of one of our people. But you know what? You lost her and you don’t own her anymore. We helped her be more than you wanted her to be.” She nodded to Lohas. “Lohas… What do you want to do?” Agnosa waved a claw and Lohas was free, apparently whatever Menglan had tried hadn’t worked.

“I…” As soon as Lohas found herself able to move she backed away from the mad doctor with the needle. “Stay away from me, you evil witch! I want nothing to do with you! I want to be a healer, not a monster.”

“Lohas…” Agnosa’s voice was soft and filled with pain now. “There are times when a healer must act in what some would call monstrous ways. Ona did not want to sterilize you. I did not want to mangle your antennae… I didn’t tell you…”

“You did that!” Menglan’s voice was outraged. “You got me punished for that! Traitorous filth!”

“Rich coming from you, doctor.” Agnosa said sadly. “I didn’t have a choice, Lohas. I tried to be as gentle as I could.”

“I know.” Lohas said softly. “I forgave you. It made sense. Why take me otherwise? They wanted to control my mother through me. You had no choice. The consequences if they had managed to control my mother would have been unthinkable. An unstoppable army of mad bugs? I understand Agnosa. But now you have to forgive yourself.”

“I can’t.” Agnosa said softly. “Everything that is happening is my fault. I did this. I caused this…” She broke off and screamed as Menglan moved. “Lohas!” Before Lohas could retreat again or dodge, the doctor had slammed the needle into a joint in her carapace.

The pain was intense and immediate. She could hear screaming, it sounded like her voice. Both Sarai and Agnosa were shouting things she could not understand. Fire burned in her veins and it was consuming her. She cried, screamed, pleaded, but the waves of pain kept coming. She was fire, burning alive. She knew, on some level, that the needle had injected nanites into her. That she was doomed. But she could not give up, she had to keep going, even when the fire burned through her entire body and left nothing but pain and the memory of pain.

Then, without sense of transition, she was standing between the two irate bugs and Menglan, her posture ready to fight. Menglan was gloating. She struggled, but her body, avatar, whatever… was under someone else’s control.

“She is mine again and you can do nothing.” The insane doctor was almost dancing with glee. “This is going to be rich. You two cannot help her. No one can.”

“Wanna bet?” Lohas felt her insides turn to water as she heard Agnosa speak. There was something new in the queen’s tone. Something in the old queen’s words that scared Lohas, scared her greatly. Something bad was coming. “You have forgotten something, doctor.”

“Oh?” Menglan said derisively. “Your codes don’t work. You are a pathetic, shriveled up, sorrow filled sack of pus.”

“Yes I am.” Agnosa said quietly. “You were wrong about Mira though.”

“”What?” Menglan said, suddenly unsure. “What do you mean?” Agnosa ignored her and turned to where Lohas stood, frozen in place by the doctor’s commands. When the old queen spoke, it was sad and proud.

“Lohas, I know you can hear me. Nanite control allows for sight and hearing under normal circumstances. Here it is pretty much the same way. It’s okay, child. It will be okay.” Instead of being calmed by the words though, Lohas felt fear. What was Agnosa going to do? The old queen sighed as she turned back to Menglan. “You are one ignorant barvette. You always were and you always will be. You just don’t get it.”

“Haven’t you fought enough for one lifetime, Agnosa?” Menglan said with a smile. “Wouldn’t you like to feel better? I can make you feel better.”

“You are pathetic doc.” Agnosa’s voice was scornful and mocking now. “Really? ‘Make it better’? Sheesh, how corny can you get? Both you and your master have forgotten who you are dealing with. I think it is time to remind you.” Lohas felt more than a trickle of fear now. Something…

“Agnosa…” Lohas managed to grate out. “No…”

“It’s all right, Lohas. My choice.” Agnosa said gently. “You will make a heck of a healer. Remember me, Lohas and do not walk my path. Please…” She turned a bit. “Queen Sarai… I beg a boon.” Something unseen passed between the two beings and Agnosa bowed her head. “Thank you.”

“You cannot have her.” Menglan smiled widely as she laid a possessive hand on Lohas’ upper arm. “She is mine.”

“Oh, no she is not.” Agnosa said with a snarl as her form began to swell. “Lohas… Be free. And remember me…” She reached out, quick as a whip and her claw made contact with Lohas’ still body.

Something slammed into Lohas again, but this time, it was gentle. It cooled the fires that still raged inside her. It soothed her pain, calmed her fear, it spoke to her. In moments, it taught her so many things, about so many things. She was weeping, both in joy and in fear as the presence cleansed her body of the invading mind. But… The nanites that were within her… She could feel them and… She hurt and they moved to heal the damage. She paused. Had she done that?

Yes, you did, Lohas. Agnosa’s kind voice spoke in her mind. You can command them now. Be wary, it is a power granted to few, and it should never be used lightly. With great power comes great responsibility. There are always consequences. Choose well your actions, and do not choose hastily. Goodbye Lohas, you can trust Sarai and the Seven, but no one else. Then the kind presence was gone, leaving Lohas feeling bereft.

“What the…?” Menglan’s exclamation of surprise brought Lohas back to herself. She found the scene essentially unchanged, except… The large form of Agnosa lay still now. Even without checking, Lohas knew that brain activity had ceased. Sarai stood nearby, her posture intent. “Stupid bug… Come slave, we are leaving.”

“No.” Lohas barely recognized her voice.

“I said ‘come’.” Menglan snarled at her and slapped the carapace with a palm, only to freeze as Lohas turned to face her. “What the…?”

“And I said ‘no’.” Lohas relied calmly and quietly. “Begone doctor. You and your master have cost us a great treasure this day.” Menglan stared at her and then her eyes lit up.

“You… You can…command them…” Lohas felt pressure on her mind, but she repulsed it easily. “Now now… Lohas… None of that. We can be such good friends…”

“You don’t have friends, doctor.” Lohas turned her back on the doc and walked to where Agnosa lay still. Her voice turned sorrowful. “I am sorry Agnosa.”

“Don’t turn your back on me, Slave!” Lohas felt Menglan run at her, and felt more nanites in the doctor’s hand. She did not react as Menglan slammed the needle into her again. “You are mine.” She ignored the sting and focused on the nanites she could feel. She felt Menglan’s shock as the nanites that had just been injected into her were rendered impotent. First she took control, and then she reprogrammed them to serve her. They were harmless to her.

“No, I am not yours.” Lohas nodded to Sarai. “I am Sarai’s.”

“Lohas…” Sarai said softly. “Are you sure…?”

“I am yours, Queen Sarai.” Lohas said, despite Menglan’s cries of alarm, she ignored the human. “Agnosa redeemed herself in my eyes. She sacrificed herself to save me. I am… Unworthy of such a noble act.” She utterly ignored the now distraught human, until Menglan hit her again, then she snarled. “Begone doctor!”

Lohas froze in place as the doctor vanished with a ‘pop’ of displaced air. One moment she had been there, the next, she was gone. Lohas slumped in place, keening as she nudged the corpse of her mentor, someone who she had started to almost believe a friend. She felt a pull, as if something within her had asked for commands. She froze and shook herself. She might actually be able to bring Agnosa back, but it would be wrong, unnatural. The ancient queen had earned her rest.

“Why me?” The young silver bug asked sadly. “I never wanted such power. I am not worthy of such power.”

“That is why you.” Sarai said gently. “Anyone else, anyone who has not gone through such horrors as you have, would be tempted to use them, to do whatever they wished. You know better.”

“I should not have this power. I must refrain from using it.” Lohas said sadly. “Can I refrain from using it? I don’t know. I have proven myself evil and irresponsible. I cannot be trusted with such power.”

“Daughter…” Sarai’s voice was gentle now. “Who else could we trust with it, but someone who does not want it?”

“This is too powerful.” Lohas said slowly. “I cannot trust myself with…” She paused. “You knew, didn’t you? That she would die.” It wasn’t a question.

“SHE knew.” Sarai said softly. “She woke when you started having nightmares, she knew what was happening. Her empathy was stronger than the sedatives. She asked my leave to do whatever was necessary to help you. What was I going to say? No?”

“You cannot trust me with this…” Lohas cried plaintively. “I can feel them now, all… around… Oh…” Her voice turned perplexed and then it turned hard. “I ask a boon, queen Sarai.”

“If it is one I can grant, I will consider it.” Sarai replied formally.

“IF this must be, and I can see that it would be a great asset to the hive… I must be watched.” Lohas said slowly. “I will do nothing without direction, as the nanite controllers of old were constrained, so shall I be. This power is too much for any single being to control, to know when to use. If I step out of line, for any reason, you must stop me, using any force needed.”

“You are asking me to have you killed.” Sarai said tonelessly. “Lohas…”

“No, my queen.” Lohas replied evenly. “I am asking you to preserve our people. One being, no matter how clear sighted or…” She broke off and her posture went rigid. “Oh, you sneaky girl!” She shouted. “Mira!”

“Yes? You rang?” Mira appeared nearby, her face was sad, but her posture was proud. “Hello Sarai, Lohas…” Her speech was clear now, although there was an odd dichotomy between her mouth moving and her word being heard. Almost like a badly dubbed holo-vid.

“This was the plan all along, wasn’t it?” Lohas shook her head, baffled. “And you knew…” She waved a claw at Sarai. Impertinent, but Sarai chose to ignore the implied insult. “You knew…”

“She suspected.” Mira said gently. “She didn’t know. Agnosa was irrational when it came to the nanites. With good reason. We knew it, she knew it. She always intended to teach you, just…” She sighed as she looked at the huge golden corpse. “Not like this…”

“Who is ‘we’?” Lohas asked carefully. Mira turned to face her and Lohas pressed. “Mira… I need to know.”

“Agnosa was not entirely correct.” Mira said slowly. “She did cut the nanites off from her control, and any control. Or more properly, any outside control.”

“Wait a second…” Lohas hadn’t known her exoskeleton could get that stiff. “Outside…?”

“Yes.” Mira said sadly. “She had no idea that the nanites she had imprinted developed a group mind of their own. That she had birthed a new life. She called the nanites her children and they were in more ways than one.”

“They are sentient?” Lohas asked incredulously. Instead of answering, Mira held out a transparent hand. Lohas stared at it for a moment and then extended a claw to touch it. A spark shot from Mira’s hand to touch Lohas and she stiffened. “Oh my…” Now her voice held wonder and a hint of awe.

“The mother is dead. We are alone now.” Mira’s voice spoke, but it had multitudes of different voices contained in it. All were sad.

“No you are not.” Lohas said slowly. “My queen… With your permission?” Sarai nodded slowly and Lohas sighed as she opened herself to the nanites inside Mira’s form. “Come to me, and I will take care of you.” The mass of nanites that were Mira swept into her and she felt… buoyed up and incredibly sad. “I must ask this of you. Question me. Ask questions of me. I make mistakes, everything mortal does. But I cannot afford mistakes now.”

We are with you… The nanites crooned to her and Lohas felt at peace for the first time in a long, long time.

“So…” Sharra was still in shock and Lohas could relate. “The nanite swarm is not a threat.”

“It isn’t, but they are.” Lohas said softly as she watched the nanites slowly change the corpse of Agnosa into a fitting monument, something that she had sworn to her new children she would place on the homeworld. It was the least she could do. Sharra looked at her and Lohas shrugged. “The original swarm never left the homeworld, never wanted to leave. They wanted to fulfill their mother’s dream of rebuilding the planet. But with Firdlump and Bob running around…” Sharra groaned in comprehension.

“They have created independent swarms of their own.” She shook her head slowly. “Can you control those?”

“I don’t know.” Lohas said quietly and then she chuckled a bit sourly. “And my children have no wish for me to find out.”

“What will you do?” Sharra asked gently. “Now?”

“Study healing. Build things for the hive.” Lohas said slowly. “Agnosa gave me a powerful gift, a great deal of knowledge. But without knowing how to use that knowledge, it is useless to me. I always wanted to be a healer. And now I am a bridge as well, a translator, and maybe something more than some stupid little brat.”

“Lohas.” Sharra said with a growl. “Claw.”

“Sharra…” Lohas shook her head but extended her claw. She did not wince as Sharra slapped it. “You have been talking to Melita, haven’t you?” Sharra grinned and Lohas groaned. “You don’t have to stay, they lifted the quarantine once Sarai explained about Mira. And Agnosa…” She shook her head again, grief coming. A wave of comfort swept through her and she relaxed a bit. “Don’t tell me you don’t miss James.”

“I do.” Sharra said quietly. “And as soon as I am sure you are okay, I am off to see him.”

“I don’t know if ‘okay’ is going to be on the books any time soon, Sharra.” Lohas said with a sigh. “But I am coping. I have reason, several hundred billion reasons actually.”

“What is it like?” Sharra asked carefully. “Can you describe it?”

“No.” Lohas replied. “Can you describe a sunset to someone without eyes? Can you describe the taste of soup to someone with no sense of taste?” She shrugged. “There are so many inputs, I am still cataloging them all, and likely will be for some time. Maybe then I will be able to define it, but Sharra…” Sharra looked at her and Lohas voice was humorless now. “If you see me doing anything odd that I did not clear with Sarai first… Shoot me.” Her final words were flat.

“Lohas!” Sharra exclaimed, shocked to her core. “I can’t just shoot you.”

“You likely won’t kill me with the first shot, but it may slow me down enough to get someone here who can stop the nanites.” She shook her head at Sharra’s expression. “Sharra, I am serious.” Sharra stared at the bug and Lohas sighed. “Sharra… It is so tempting to experiment, to see what I can do, and what I can’t. The nanites trust me, they can’t do anything else. Despite their awareness, they are machines, they follow their programming. Mira is not totally under my sway, but I don’t know if I will always listen to her… Please Sharra…Do I have to beg?”

“Lohas…” Sharra’s voice was calm and considered now. “Listen to me. You have good soul, if a battered one. You know right from wrong. You did not want this. But you need to understand the limits of this ability, what the machines can do and what they can’t.” Lohas was shaking her head, but Sharra was relentless. “Lohas, listen… I am going to put it in terms I know. Any weapon can turn on you if you do not understand it or if you do not respect it. People have been shooting themselves in the foot with blasters for centuries, millennia.” Sharra grinned a bit sadly now. “Don’t shoot yourself in the foot with the nanites, Lohas… Please? Would make such a mess.”

“You have no idea, Sharra.” Lohas said slowly. “I was wondering what might happen if I did shoot myself in the leg and they just told me how they would repair the nerves, muscles, skin and all. In exacting detail.” She was shuddering now. “I… I don’t know if I am mortal anymore Sharra. I feel so… overwhelmed.”

“Hey…” Sharra said as she moved to stand by the shuddering bug and laid a gentle hand on Lohas’ upper left shoulder. “It’s okay, This is new. You need to find out what you can do. Carefully, under controlled circumstances. I think Jina would be happy to help.” She looked a bit quizzical as Lohas snorted quietly.

“Mira just said she will help to.” Lohas snickered slightly. “And she says that you would spank me if I don’t shape up.” She paused. “That is a joke, right?” Sharra just looked at Lohas, who shuddered a little. “Right?” She asked, a bit fearfully.

“Ask Ji sometime.” Sharra said with a smirk. “Now I need to see to my son. If you need anything, call.” She hugged Lohas and stepped back. She smiled at Lohas and then was gone.

“I so don’t want to know…” Lohas said slowly. “Ah well, back to work. An intern’s life is never slow…Dull maybe, but never slow.” She paused. “What?” She asked the thin air. “Oh, okay… If you insist.” She approached the bed and spoke to the form that lay there. “Unit, status?”

The form of Natasha Anastasia Regina that lay there was still, except the mouth which opened and spoke in a droid’s voice “Physical status 100%. Exercise will be required shortly to maintain muscle tone in physical form.”

“That is so creepy, Mira…” Lohas said to the thin air. “Yes, yes I know. Okay… Okay, I’m on it… Sheesh… How the heck am I going to explain this to Hplion? That I have to exercise … um… you?” She winced. “Look it was a rhetorical question… What do you mean you don’t know what that means? Don’t tell me… Oh… You are bad girl. That wasn’t very funny…” But she was snickering softly. Then her tone sobered. “Yes, I will tell them, and no, I don’t think they will like it…”