Chapter XLI

“So Joseph has been monitoring them for all these months?” Drusilla asked curiously.

Mary shook her head.  “Not exactly.  Thanks to Eli ’s efforts at teaching Ian the hand signals her clan uses to communicate silently, we had a fairly good idea of their intended destination.  But we couldn ’t really monitor their progress.  For one thing, we don ’t have the capability to maintain constant communication that far away – a number of things impede that possibility.  Even now when we send messages to our long-range ships, we do so on a schedule... or with the understanding that it may be weeks or even months before they ’re in reception range.  For another, the fuission process made it fairly impossible.  It scrambles their signal.  And those kids released a myriad of decoys to confuse anyone trying to track them.  Pretty effective strategy, actually.”

“But you knew where they were going.”

“We knew where they intended to be... what their ultimate goal was.”

“And they ’re not there?”

“No.”

“And they should be?”

“Theoretically, yes.  But we believe they got sidetracked by the Nusnaigewron Nebula.  We ’ve lost ships out there before.  That ’s the reason there ’s a quarantine around the perimeter of the phenomenon.”

“Then why do you think they ’re there?  Our children know better.  They more than most understand the risks and dangers involved in getting too close to something that could destroy them.”

Mary rubbed her eyes hard before pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.  “I ’m not explaining this very well.”  She blew out a short breath and focused her attention on her audience once more.  “Okay, so – going by what Eli signaled to Ian, they were headed to this moon,” holding up her Pad so everyone could see where she was indicating.  “Given the parameters we had, they should have reached there some time in the last few weeks.  But when Joseph finally managed to get a communication beacon capable of reaching out to them....”  Mary shook her head.  “There ’s nothing there – no signs of life or a crash or... anything, really.  It ’s still a barren, empty moon.”

“And you ’re sure this is the correct location?” Aurora asked.

“I ’m sure,” Noah replied.  “Ian relayed me the hand signals Eli conveyed to him.  This is where they should end up, barring any trouble.”

“So why the Nebula?” Ketura asked.

“It makes the most sense.  We can ’t read anything clearly from inside it, and from what we can determine, there ’s no fuission trail on the other side.”  Mary absently rubbed her leg and sighed.  “And it appears that the Nebula is more... mobile... than we ’ve previously been led to believe.  According to Joseph ’s readings, it has shifted several degrees from its original location.”

“How is that even possible??”

Mary shrugged.  “I wish I had an answer.”

“You know what really bothers me about this, Chief?” Caleb asked quietly, drawing all eyes in his direction.  He smiled tightly at all the disbelieving looks.  “Aside from the obvious, I mean.”  Mary nodded, having understood exactly what he was saying.  She motioned for him to enlighten everyone else.  “Why is the Storm Surge headed out there? They have no business going out after those kids; it ’s not their job to protect them any longer.  And how do they even know where to go?”

“You don ’t think our kids deserve some protection??”

“Please don ’t put words in my mouth,” Caleb responded.  He looked around and met the eyes of those staring back at him.  “The truth is, the entire point of the Project is to create newly terra-formed, self-sustaining worlds that we can colonize, correct?  That means they have to do this ON THEIR OWN without help and support from anyone in the Alliance.  True, we have long-range ships that can check on them periodically, but we ’re not supposed to be sustaining or defending them.  It ’s up to them to survive and flourish.”  He held up a hand before the murmurs could start.  “Besides, you ’re missing the more obvious issue.  The Storm Surge shouldn ’t even be aware of where those kids might be... much less where they are.  Until today, only half a dozen people beyond the Alpha Team were aware of their likely destination.  Yet suddenly, the Storm Surge has fuission capabilities – ahead of schedule and untested, by the way - and is headed directly towards what we believe to be their last known location.”  He shook his head.  “Not buying it.  I don ’t believe in coincidences.”

“And are the individuals who knew their location considered trustworthy and above reproach?”

Caleb shrugged.  “You tell me, Highness – Mary, myself, Ian, Joseph, Nathaniel and Noah.”

“Actually, I didn ’t know,” Nathaniel volunteered before anyone could comment.  “Not until Joseph called and left a message.”  He looked at Mary with concern.  “I haven ’t been able to reach him since.”

“Nor did I,” Noah clarified.  “Ian didn ’t ask me for an interpretation of the hand signs until last week.  And even then, I didn ’t put it together until Mary mentioned it earlier.  I just thought he was brushing up on his skills.  It ’s easy to forget things like that if you don ’t keep in constant practice, and we ’ve been over things a couple of times before.”

“So if we trust everyone who knew, and none of them told – how did someone high enough up the chain know to send the Storm Surge chasing after ghost trails?  To follow the exact trail that is thought to mark the progress of the Outreach?”  Drusilla shook her head.  “I ’m with Caleb on this one – because I don ’t believe in coincidences either.”

“I have a question,” one of the Beta Team parents said.  All eyes swiveled in her direction, and Mary nodded for her to continue.  “Does it matter who is behind the breach or only that there is one?”

“I don ’t understand.”

“Would knowing who is behind the Storm Surge ’s maneuvering to follow the Outreach make a difference in what happens next?”

“Possibly.  But action needs to be taken regardless.”

“Is she rogue then?  Is the Storm Surge and her Captain somehow acting on their own?”

“That is the most likely scenario,” Caleb replied before Mary could speak.  “Gideon is already looking into who or what could have ties to those stationed on the ship.  Everyone is being scrutinized, but of course his focus is on those in positions of authority who could manage this kind of action without staging a coup first – mostly the ship ’s officers and the engineer particularly.”

“How long?  How long before we know something?”

Mary shook her head.  “I wish I knew.  Everyone on that ship was vetted long before those kids boarded the Outreach.  There haven ’t been any personnel changes, so we ’re looking for changes in circumstance.  But nothing ’s been flagged in our system so far.”

“Have you been monitoring them then?”

“No.  But Gideon is good at what he does.  If there ’s something to find, he will, and quickly.”

“Sometimes I wonder if this is all worth it,” Drusilla commented, rubbing her eyes.  “It just seems to have grown into one big mess from the beginning.”  She turned to Mary.  “What do you think... truly?  You ’ve suffered as much or more than the rest of us for this damned Project.”

Mary thoughtfully gazed at the people surrounding her, consciously keeping her hand from rubbing her damaged leg.  She slowly released a deep breath.  “I think if it wasn ’t worth it, no one would bother to try to destroy it – no one would care.  I think those kids – all of them – are on the verge of accomplishing great things.  We just need to make sure they have the opportunity.  Unfortunately, it means a lot of gray hair for the rest of us.”  She patted her head.  “Thankfully, the look is growing on me,” she added drolly, smiling at the laughter she garnered with her statement.

“So what ’s the plan, Mary?” Noah asked.

Mary shook her head.  “I don ’t really have one.  We ’ve contacted some old friends who are in the area to do some reconnaissance.  But there ’s not much I can do from here beyond give a few directives.  And as Caleb and Joseph have so aptly pointed out, any move I make in their direction only draws attention to them.  That ’s the last thing we want.”

“So we wait and pray?”

“Pretty much.”

************

Joseph cautiously wandered through the empty corridors of the ship.  Something was wrong – that much was obvious just by the direction they were taking and the speed at which they were moving.  What concerned him more, however, was the total dearth of information.  As far as he could determine, no one below flag level had the first real clue of what was actually going on.  Even the testing of the fuission system wasn ’t causing the kind of conversation he anticipated.  It was big news… or it should have been – especially since it appeared to be working beyond anyone ’s wildest expectations.  And yet no one was talking about it.  If he hadn ’t chanced upon the information – if he hadn ’t seen it for himself – he ’d never have known anything untoward was going on around him.  It was almost like....

Joseph shook his head.  It wasn ’t possible, and he ’d left that life and that possibility behind him a very long time before.  Although it would explain the uncomfortable, tingly feeling that had washed over his skin some days before reminding him of things long gone... and making him wonder who and how and why and especially why now.

But he couldn ’t find anything to prove out his speculations, so for now he was left with unpleasantness and reminders of a past he had long buried and made peace with.

He glanced down at his Pad again.  He ’d been happy to hear from Nathaniel, but he wasn ’t sure what to say.  I really do love you – I ’m sorry I lied?  Somehow, it wasn ’t really comforting, and he knew it wouldn ’t be for Nat either.  Maybe when this was all over – assuming they all survived – he ’d be able to share his truth with those he ’d come to call family, and they ’d still love and accept him for who he really was and not just who he ’d represented himself to be.

************

The three Alliance ships met some distance from the Nebula, holding their positions and observing from a distance.  They had tried to maneuver closer, but something continued to interfere with the ships ’ systems.  When they had briefly lost gravitational control and life support, they had pulled back to their current positions.  Now the engineers talked amongst themselves, analyzing the effect the phenomenon had on their ships and everything around it; the scientists, ditto, though with much greater enthusiasm and more focused on the properties of the singularity.

The Captains, however – they were concerned with discovering the secrets Mary had commissioned them to unearth without possibly causing more damage or destroying themselves in the process.  They took to their ready rooms for a private conference.

“What do you think, Hank?”

The gray haired man shrugged.  “I dunno.  My scientists refuse to speculate much beyond the information we already have.  To be fair, it ’s not like we ’re getting any kind of substantial readings from inside the damned thing.  If I didn ’t know better, I ’d say it was deliberately blocking us.”

Matt frowned.  “Isn ’t that the nature of the Nebula??  I mean, I thought it was common to have dead spots and disjointed readings... something about the energy surrounding it or the energy that it produced or something.”

“Yes and no,” Hank responded.  “What I ’ve been given to understand is that the level of interference we ’re experiencing is far beyond the norm – multiplied exponentially apparently.”

“So you think the Nebula is self-aware? That it ’s protecting itself from outsiders?”

“I think there is a lot more going on here that we have understanding of yet.  And I think we ’re going to have to be a lot more proactive if we ’re going to get more information than what we currently have.”

“I think he ’s right,” Grayson agreed grimly.  “We ’re gonna need a few volunteers to take a shuttle into the Nebula.  We need to know what ’s going on in there, and we ’re never gonna find out sitting safe back here.  But I ’m not convinced we should endanger our entire ship or crews.”

“No... I ’ll agree with that.  But it needs to be volunteers,” Matt insisted.  “I know we ’re all a little crazy and like to walk on the wild side of the street on a regular basis – we wouldn ’t be doing this job if we didn ’t.  But this is something above and beyond even that – whoever goes in would be going in completely blind and without any of the normal support we generally utilize.  Hell, we can ’t even be certain they can get in... much less in and out with any useful information.”

“How critical is this anyway?  I know Mary wants the information, but are we sure this isn ’t just a wild goose chase?  I thought this project was taking place on the other side of the galaxy.”

Matt and Grayson exchanged glances, then stared at Hank for a moment.  “I take it you haven ’t caught up with all the briefings yet?” Matt asked.  Hank shook his head and the other two sighed as they glanced at one another again.  Matt gestured and Grayson shook her head before she turned back to Hank.

“Okay... short version.  Due to some serious... unpleasantness, the Alpha Team was forced to choose a new destination, which Mary informed us was out this way.  She asked us to check the Nebula because they seem to have disappeared, and this was the most likely culprit along their route.”  She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at him.  “How could you not know this?  How did you even end up here if you weren ’t aware of this?”

Hank frowned and crossed his arms over his chest defensively.  “This is part of my regular patrol.  I got a message from Mary asking me to do another sweep over here, but we were engaged by pirates on the other side of the wormhole.  Reading reports and updates became secondary to survival.  And we were busy making repairs while trying to get here as fast as possible.”  He sighed and relaxed his pose.  “I knew because Mary asked it was something important and that was enough for me.  She generally doesn ’t ask for favors without a really good reason.”

“Or a really bad feeling,” Matt commented.

Hank snorted.  “Yeah... that too.”

“All right, then,” Grayson said.  “Let ’s find us some volunteers and get some answers.  This place is starting to give me the creeps.” Each captain offered a single nod of agreement, then they reached forward and cut the com link between them.  They and their crews had work to do.

************

Aphrodite groaned piteously as she cracked her eyes open, closing them almost immediately in an effort to stem the headache currently pounding its way merrily through her brain.  She tried to raise an arm to cover her eyes, but found it immovable.  For long moments, she concentrated on breathing, knowing for a certainty that anything else was going to be a far less pleasant experience than the one she was currently suffering.

With her vision cut off, she extended her other senses, trying to determine exactly what was happening around her.  She could feel the warmth of fire and smell the acrid stench of burning monitoring stations.  She could hear the soft trickle of rocks and dust as it continued to sporadically fall from the ceiling, and the moans from someone other than herself.  She blinked her eyes open again, then slammed them shut when she realized the light still burned and the smoke stung.  Besides, she couldn ’t seem to move her head enough to look in Athena ’s direction.  But she did manage to slide her hand slowly in the direction she thought the sound was coming from, only to stop when she encountered sticky warmth.

“The?” she whispered.  She awkwardly tried to clear her throat and succeeded in croaking out, “Athena?”

A cough was followed by a moan and a whimper before she heard an answer.  “Dite?”

She smiled, relaxing slightly with the knowledge that, despite everything, she and Athena were still alive. Then she frowned, wondering what had happened to bring them to this time and place.  The last thing she remembered....

Aphrodite would have sat up... would have gotten up and moved to the scrying bowls had she been able, but something was still keeping her pinned to the ground.  She wished there was a way for her to see what was going on... especially since the last thing she recalled was a view of the Outreach making her way slowly out of the Nebula.

“What happened?”

Aphrodite heard another large tumble of rocks, then there was the sound of fabric shifting.  It took almost a full minute before she registered the tender touch on her face and the sweet, spicy scent she had always associated with Athena.  When those soft hands cupped her face and shielded her eyes from as much light as was possible, she felt the warmth of Athena ’s breath near her lips.

“Open your eyes, Dite.”  When she hesitated, Athena urged her again.  “Come on, Gorgeous.  You can ’t leave me like this.  Open your eyes and let me see those beautiful baby blues.  You ’ll be all right – I ’m keeping out as much light as I can.  Now, come on.  Open your eyes for me.”

Aphrodite could hear the sadness in Athena ’s tone and eased her eyes open very gradually.  She tried to smile when she saw tears in Athena ’s gray-blue eyes, but it was more grimace than grin.  Athena leaned forward until their foreheads were touching, then brushed a light kiss where their heads had met.

“That ’s my girl,” she whispered, a smile lighting her countenance even as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

“What happened?” Aphrodite asked slowly.  “I remember watching the kids leaving and then....”  She turned her gaze back to Athena and waited.  “What happened to the kids?  Did they...?””

Athena shook her head and reached up a hand to brush her hair from her face.  She didn ’t even realize she had left a streak of blood and dirt behind.

“I don ’t know.  I don ’t think so.”  She swallowed and cleared her throat.  “We lost our scrying ability almost instantly.  That was almost the first thing to go during the attack.”

“So we were the target?  Who?  Why??”

Athena sighed.  “I think... I think it was Mischief.  He ’s back from the Void.”

Chapter XLII

Consciousness returned slowly to Eli, and she was content with that circumstance.  The last time had been less than successful, and she vividly remembered the agony that had accompanied the action.  She was in no mood for a repeat.  So she lay quietly, trying to relax and take stock of what was and was not working properly.

A frown furrowed her brows.  Somehow she had managed to land on her back, though her memory insisted she ’d fallen face first.  The smells were wrong too – there was no scent of destruction; or blood; or burning.  She could clearly smell fresh air and cold and the faintest hint of the sweet flowers that grew on her home world.  She inhaled deeply and froze, holding her breath.  Now she smelled something above and beyond the other scents she had classified - something she ’d not known in years... not since the last time she ’d seen her twin when she ’d bade him goodbye before embarking on her journey to become a member of the Alpha Team.

She blew air slowly out from nearly closed lips, hoping it would help clear her senses.  Instead, she noticed the warmth of the sun and the chilly breeze and the softness of a touch she had missed for longer then she cared to remember.  It brought tears to her eyes, and she couldn ’t stop the sob that bubbled up.  She reached up a hand to conceal her lips, pushing against her mouth hard to keep it from escaping.  Then a hand covered hers and curled around it, pulling gently and encouraging Eli to let go.  She reached up with her other hand to keep her sob contained, but that hand was intercepted on the way to her lips.  She bit her lips and scrunched her eyes more tightly closed, drawing a laugh from the warmth above her.  The tears came then, without a sound.

“Aw, come on, Ellie – I was never ugly enough to make the girls cry.  Don ’t you be the first to break my streak.”

She started laughing then, despite the tears, and let him pull her to him and into his arms.  Then he held her and just let her cry.

************

“Am I dead?” she asked long moments later, still tucked into his embrace with her eyes closed.

He chuckled and she slapped his chest, causing a bout of roaring laughter to roll from his lungs, even as he rubbed the spot she ’d hit.  “Ow, Ellie,” he grumbled around his continued laughter.  “I ’d ask what you ’ve been doing to add so much muscle, except, well....”  He bent his head down to look at her, not at all surprised to see her eyes were still tightly shut.  “Are you ever going to look at me?”

“No,” she replied starkly.  “If I do and you ’re really here, that means I ’m dead, and I ’m not ready to be dead yet.  If you ’re not really here, and I ’m imagining all this, then I ’m close to dying, and I don ’t care for that idea either.”

“So you ’re simply going to waste your time with me living in denial, hmm?  I ’m not completely certain how I feel about that.”  He sighed.  “Tell me of your mate, Little Sister.”

Eli moved so quickly they both nearly ended up flat on their backs.  Only Elijah ’s swift reflexes allowed him to jerk his head back before she slammed into it while keeping them both from falling over.  That alone told him how much she was reeling from his unexpected presence.  Though they were well-matched in physical strength, she had always been the stronger of them... in mind as well as balance and control.  Brown eyes met hazel squarely and he stayed completely still when she raised a hand to him, despite his uncertainty about her reaction.  His eyes only fluttered shut when Eli gently began to map his features, reminding herself of all the nuances she once knew and reacquainting herself with the brother she had missed so fiercely.

When she was satisfied that Elijah truly sat in front of her, she cupped his face and waited for his eyes to blink open.  It took a moment before he peeked at her, eyes widening at the sad smile gracing her lips and the confusion swirling in her eyes.  He took her face in his hands and leaned their foreheads together.  Eli sighed.

“I have missed you, Little Brother.”

“Little?!?” he echoed with mock outrage.  “Have you met me??” trying desperately to keep a grin from forming.  She gave him a droll look.

“Would you prefer ‘baby ’ ?  I am the older of the two of us.”

“Semantics,” he replied, waving away her reply.  “Now tell me of your mate.”

“How did you...?  What did you...?”

Elijah smirked.  “Really??  How did I know?  Come on, Elli – you ’re the genius out of the two of us.  How do you think I know??”

Hazel eyes suddenly blazed green.  “You ’ve been spying on me, Little Brother?”  She blanched until her skin was almost gray.  “You ’ve seen...??”

“No... NO.  No, Ellie, I would never watch your intimacy together.  Gross!!  NO!!  You should know better!!” crossing his arms over his chest and frowning hard.

Eli moved her hands until they rested on top of his taut arms.  She chanced to wonder what on earth he did in the afterlife to keep him in such fine hunting form before her attention came back to their conversation.  “I do know better, Eli - I do.  I just....”  She pulled her hands away and scrubbed them over her face, then blew out a shaky breath.  “Why are you here?”

Elijah studied her for a long moment, letting himself feel the myriad of emotions roiling through and around her.  He sighed and stepped into her personal space, wrapping strong arms around her and holding on firmly.  “There are several reasons,” he finally volunteered.  “I really do want to know about your mate, Little Sister.  I have never seen you as happy or at peace with yourself as I have since you found your half.  Had I been alive when that happened, I would have known her.”

Eli ’s head dropped, and Elijah felt the warmth of her tears on his arms.  “I ’m so sorry for that, Little Brother.  That shouldn ’t have happened.  It should have been me that went.”

“No,” Elijah answered firmly.  “No.  It was my choice and my responsibility.  Your destiny lay along a different path.  And I ’m so glad it led you to your half.  So tell me about your mate.”

“What do you know?”

“Only that she makes you happy, Little Sister.  And she makes you smile.”

“She makes me complete.  And she does things to me....  I mean, have you seen her smile?”

Elijah took her hand and sat down, pulling her down beside him before wrapping her in his embrace.  He was going to take advantage of every single opportunity he was given for as long as he could.

************

Eden and Jacob chanced a brief glance at one another before turning back to the visage that lay just beyond the view screen.  Jacob cleared his throat awkwardly.  “Is that what I think it is?”

“I hope not,” Eden muttered.  “But it sure looks like it.”

“Now what?”

Before Eden could respond, the comm unit crackled to life.  “Eden?? Report! What ’s going on up there?”

Despite being Eli ’s second, Eden didn ’t hesitate when Arianna addressed her.  “It ’s the Storm Surge, Az.”

“Excuse me?” her tone confused and disbelieving.

“Yeah, that was about our reaction.”

Arianna sighed.  “Have they reached out? Tried to communicate in any way?”

“You mean aside from trying to blow us from existence?”

“Good point.  Any idea why they stopped?”

“Notta.  But bets up here are on it being that Mischief character.  Personally, I think he ’s gonna make a grandstand play to destroy us.”

“Then why hasn ’t he?  Or why haven ’t we scattered him from here to eternity?”

“And killed all those innocents??  Pretty sure that would put us on the universe ’s most wanted list.”

Arianna ’s tone darkened considerably.  “There are no innocents here, Eden.  Not them; not us; not the gods.  Now we have three more warheads armed and loaded in the tubes, and Isaac and Titus are working on rewiring the rest of the torpedoes.  You do what you think is right.  I ’ve got other things to take care of now.”

“Az?”

“I ’m going to find Eli. I can ’t sense her as long as I ’m behind this shield, and if she hasn ’t made it to you by now, something is seriously wrong.  If we ’re going to die, I ’m going to die by her side.”

Eden opened her lips to protest, but it died in her throat.  If the situation were reversed, she knew she ’d want to find Jacob, and they weren ’t even mates like Eli and Arianna were.  Instead, she cleared her throat softly.  “I ’ll buy you whatever time I can, Arianna.  Go with your gods, and good luck.”

The only reply she got was a disconnected comm unit.

************

Coming out of the shielding that surrounded the fuission reactor didn ’t change much of Arianna ’s awareness of Eli but she didn ’t allow herself to panic again.  Instead, she hastened her steps out of engineering... only to be hit with a wave of discomfort that nearly took her feet out from under her.  Most of her reaction was due to the ache that ripped through her being as she felt Eli ’s pain as her own.  But a little of it was sheer relief – as long as there was feeling... any feeling... it meant Eli was alive.  And Arianna believed they could overcome anything – even Mischief ’s return – as long as they had each other.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, then allowed her heart to guide her to Eli.

************

“She sounds amazing, Ellie.  I can ’t tell you how happy I am….”  Elijah ducked his head.  “I was always afraid you had given up your chance at finding your half when you turned your attention to science and becoming part of the terraforming project.”

“I had,” she replied distantly, her eyes fixed somewhere beyond sight.  She heard his gasp and felt his head jerk up at her words, but she didn ’t turn her attention from that distant point that was still searching for an awareness of Arianna.  “I never expected....”  She shook her head.  “I made my choice, and I knew what that meant for my having a mate.  Finding Arianna....”  She inhaled sharply.  “Arianna?” looking around wildly to pinpoint the sharp pain she could suddenly feel emanating from her soul ’s half.  “I ’m sorry, Eli.  I ’ve got to go.  Something ’s wrong with Arianna.”

“Something is wrong, but what you feel is the echo of your pain that she ’s feeling.  We only have a few more minutes left together,“ he continued, forestalling her words.  “You need to know that what ’s coming will test everything you ’ve ever been and ever known.  Follow your heart, Little Sister. Everything else will fall into place.”

“Not really helpful, Little Brother,” she grumbled.

He smirked at her.  “When was I ever??”  He took her into his arms and held onto her as tightly as he could, relishing the return embrace she offered.  He willed his strength into her body, which she only felt as the warmth she remembered as her brother ’s love.  “Kick Mischief into the heart of the Nebula.  He will not survive.”

“Will we?”

Elijah shrugged.  “I can ’t say.  But I know it is the only way to destroy him.  If you don ’t, he will plague you for the remainder of your days.”  He brushed a kiss over her cheek and loosened his hold.  “Be well, Ellie.  And think of me once in a while.”

“Goodbye, Little Brother.”

************

“Are we all here?” Matt asked as he looked at his monitor.  Aside from Grayson and Hank, Asher and Roland were attending this conference call, despite their lack of proximity to the Nebula.  They were still at least a standard week out from reaching the outer edges of the Nebula, but Mary had included them in her original request, and Matt wanted to keep everyone in the loop... just in case.

In addition to the five Captains, there were the top scientists from each of the three ships closest to the Nebula, as well as the strike force leader for each command.  Once they had each checked in, Matt spoke again.

“Very well.  Ash, I know you and Roland are too far out to do anything at the moment, but the situation here is critical enough that you need to be aware of what ’s happening.  The truth is, we can ’t see into the Nebula... at all.  The feeling among the scientists on all three ships here is that the Nebula is becoming more unstable with each passing day.  It actually seems to making an effort to keep us out.”

“Are you saying it ’s sentient??”

“We ’re not ready to commit to that theory,” the most senior scientist replied.  “But there is enough oddness in our readings that we ’ve not discounted that theory either.”

“But you ’re getting no readings.”

“Not from inside the Nebula, no.  Our theories are based on just what we ’ve noted from this distance and around the perimeter that we can measure.”

“And no one has ventured inside?”

“We have teams on each ship standing by to do so,” the highest-ranking strike team leader commented.  “We ’re just waiting for the word to go.”

“Why the delay?”

“We ’re trying to obtain enough information to allow our strike teams to formulate a plan that won ’t put the Alpha Team in danger and gives them a decent shot at returning alive.”

“So we ’re certain the Alpha Team is inside.”

“We ’re certain we ’ve reached the Nusnaigewron Nebula.  That ’s about the only certainty we ’ve got.  We know that those kids aren ’t where they ’re supposed to be and this is where Mary asked us to come and look for them.  Everything else?”  He shrugged his shoulders.  “It ’s a crap shoot.”

“I ’ve always sucked at that game,” Asher said.  The rest chuckled.

“We remember,” Grayson stated through barely contained laughter.  Asher stuck his tongue out at her and the others resumed their laughter for another moment before Matt reined them in.

“All joking aside,” he commented seriously, “I think we need to send in a small strike team – three or four people – to take a look around.  “Pete, you ’re in charge of that,” motioning to the leader who had spoken before.  He nodded his head in acceptance.  “Gather as much intel as you can before you go, but you need to go within the next twelve standard.  Pull the people you need from all three ships, and plan to use the speeders instead of a shuttle.  You ’ll be more maneuverable and much smaller targets if something is going on.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Commander, we have the latest information we ’ve collected ready for you,” the head scientist said as she passed over a Pad.  “This includes our theories on the Nebula itself and the few oddities and consistently weak areas that have appeared in our perimeter scans.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“We ’ll continue to monitor things,” Grayson spoke.  “And we ’ll try to stay in communication with you for as long as we can maintain it.  But the consensus among most of our scientists is that we ’ll lose contact with you the moment you cross the threshold of the Nebula.  After all, none of us are actually sanctioned science ships.”

“Fair enough, ma ’am,” Pete replied.  He turned to to address the doctor.  “Any ideas what we should expect?”

“Only the unexpected,” she answered grimly, and on that note, the meeting broke to allow the strike team to prepare for their coming mission.

************

“So what ’re we doing, Eden?” Jacob asked without moving his eyes from the massive warship parked in front of him.

Eden shrugged.  “I wish I knew,” she mumbled.  Then she straightened and tapped her comm badge.  “Titus, Isaac – report.”

“Three locked and loaded; four more in various stages of readiness – one more is ready; two are almost complete and the last is just a lot of pieces at the moment.”

“All right.  Be as quick as you can.  This is going to be over pretty quickly once it starts, I imagine.  Jake will feed you the coordinates for the tubes, but I want you to wait for him to give you the signal before you launch.”

“You got it.  What are you going to do in the meantime?”

 “I promised Az I ’d buy her some time.  Open a channel, Jake.”

“Huh?”

Now Eden turned to him and cocked an eyebrow.  “I need to stall long enough to give Az a chance to find Eli.  They deserve that much peace.  So if we ’re gonna go down, then I want to know for certain by who and why.  So open a hailing frequency.  Let ’s see if we can get this asshat to talk.”

Jake stared for a solid ten seconds, then he smirked and nodded.  “You got it, Baby.  Hailing frequencies open.”  Then he sat back to enjoy his front seat to the show, but his finger never moved from the button that would signal Engineering to deploy the torpedoes they had ready.

Chapter XLIII

The shakes and tremors caused by the explosion of the torpedoes touched the outer edges of his awareness, and he blinked his eyes open slowly, exhausted by his efforts.  It had been a long, long time since he ’d felt so drained, but it had been forever since he ’d been called upon to exert himself as he ’d just done.  He just hoped it would be worth it when all was said and done... and that Eli wouldn ’t hate or resent him if and when she figured out the truth.  He sat completely unmoving – still in a mental place of relative calm and meditation - trying to determine what had caused his unease to spike. Joseph drew several deep, slow breaths before he realized it was the stillness and the silence that pulled him from the depths of his meditation.

He remained perfectly motionless – trying to understand exactly what was happening.  He ’d never been on a ship that had no sound – no engine thrum; no hum of technology; no movement of air  - there was nothing beyond the eerie stillness and silence.

He chanced to wonder briefly about life support and gravity, but knew those would be the first emergency systems to kick in and the last to be lost.  But he couldn ’t help but speculate as to the circumstances in which he found himself.  More and more, he believed he – and most of the rest of the Storm Surge crew – would not survive their encounter with the Nusnaigewron Nebula.  But he also knew that, if he was destined to die, he was going to do so on his terms.

So thinking, he closed his eyes and focused on returning to his meditative state.  It was time to once again reclaim the godhood that had been lost to him when he ’d been pushed through the Void so many lifetimes ago.

************

She could just hear the sounds of groaning and grumbling beyond the thump of rubble and debris being moved, but Aphrodite kept her eyes closed, absorbing the warmth of Athena surrounding her.  She couldn ’t say she felt any better, but at least she didn ’t feel any worse than the last time she ’d opened her eyes.  Trouble was – she didn ’t actually know how long ago that had been.

She felt the reflexive twitch of Athena ’s hand against her mid-riff and sighed, leaning back a little more into the warm embrace cradling her.  Athena tightened her hold gently for a very brief moment, then eased Aphrodite onto her back more fully so she could study her features again.

“How are you feeling, Dite?” asked softly as she brushed the blonde hair off the bloody forehead.  “Can you open your eyes for me again?”

“Ugh,” Dite responded with a groan.  “Feel like the Parthenon fell on top of me.”

Athena snorted.  “Yes, it kind of did.  Can you open your eyes?”

“Rather not,” Dite mumbled.  “Hurts.”

“I know it does.  But I ’m not sure I can make it better this time.”

“ ... know,” Dite agreed.  “Not much we can do about it.”  She sighed.  “Who ’s coming?”

Athena tilted her head in the direction of the sound. A small, sad smile crossed her lips.  “From the sound of it?  Everyone who ’s not in this room.  So... the rest of the Pantheon and all their little minions....”  She turned a little more and narrowed her eyes as though that would help her to hear better.  Then her eyes widened in surprise and she looked down at Aphrodite, who still had her eyes closed.  “Even the war contingent, it seems.”

“Huh – wow.  That ’s a lot of people.”

“Uh huh, but I ’m only guessing.”

“You think they ’re looking for us?”

“That ’s a good bet.”

It was silent for a time after that as they listened to the slow removal of rocks and debris being physically eradicated from the doorway.  When the sounds grew loud enough for them to make out the actual words – both directions and curses – that were being uttered, Aphrodite blinked opened her eyes again, and met Athena ’s.  They were both mostly gray now, and Athena reached forward a tender hand to cup Aphrodite ’s cheek.

“We ’re not going to survive this, ya know.”

“I know.  But if we can go to oblivion together, it will be enough for me.”

Then they turned their attention back to the commotion growing closer and closer to them.

************

Arianna moved as quickly her shaky legs would allow, but her steps were sure – no hesitation or backtracking.  She was close to their quarters - which was one possible path Eli could have taken to reach the bridge from the infirmary - when she smelled it.  It was the scent of destruction – dust and burning and....  It was the smell of blood that lent wings to her feet and she ran until she reached the hall, and came to a dead stop and stared for just a moment.

What she saw had absolutely no meaning to what the remainder of her senses were telling her.  She was expecting destruction – walls and girders out of place... pinning Eli to the ground beneath their rubble.  What she found was far more complex, and yet much, much simpler. 

Eli lay half in and half out of their quarters – unconscious and bleeding from an unexplainable head wound given her position, but otherwise appearing normal and unharmed.  Arianna had a passing thought to wonder about the scent of dust and burnt wiring and fire that hung heavy in the air with no obvious source, but the reality of Eli ’s blood trickling down her forehead and onto the floor propelled her forward and she dashed to Eli ’s side.

She knelt cautiously, reaching out a trembling hand but refraining just short of actually touching.  She let her eyes rake over every inch of Eli ’s person, noting the cut along her hairline.  She continued to let her eyes roam, noting that there didn ’t seem to be any damage aside from Eli ’s head.  She eased the blonde hair back gently to study the incision a little closer and felt Eli move under her touch.  Arianna froze and waited for Eli to return to consciousness.

It was slow, but after another full minute of stillness, Eli blinked open her hazel eyes and winced at the harshness of the light. She reached a hand up toward her forehead, only to have it caught and held in Arianna ’s.  She blinked again, and smiled a loopy little smile.

“Hi,” she whispered, pulling their hands to her lips and brushing a kiss over Arianna ’s fingertips.

Arianna felt the tears rush to her eyes, but she blinked them back and smiled tremulously, even as she lightly squeezed the hand she held.  “Hi, Beautiful.  You sure are a sight for sore eyes.”  She looked around them.  “What happened, Eli?”

Eli shrugged once and flinched at the pain that rolled through her at that action.  “Ow,” she grumbled, raising their hands again before Arianna tugged them back down again.  She gave Arianna a dirty look.

“You ’re bleeding... some kind of a cut.”

Eli frowned.  “A cut and not a scratch?”

Arianna leaned down closer, letting her eyes examine the wound carefully.  After a moment, she straightened and met Eli ’s eyes.  “The edges are clean and precise.  I ’d say definitely a cut.”

When Eli raised her hand this time, Arianna didn ’t stop her, but it didn ’t keep her from wincing in tandem with Eli when her fingers met green blood.  Eli sighed and wiped her fingers on her pants with a grimace of disgust, then held out her hand to Arianna.  “Help me up?”

“You going to tell me how you ended up there?” Arianna responded, even as she rose to her own feet and extended her hand down to Eli.

“As soon as I figure it out, yeah,” Eli promised.  “But right now, I believe we have far more pressing concerns than the cut on my head,” tugging them to a stop when Arianna would have led them into their quarters.  Arianna turned and scowled at her.

“Perhaps.  But perhaps not,” pulling more forcefully to ensure Eli knew she meant business.  “When I came to find you, we were in the middle of a cease-fire situation.”

“Wait... what?!  What cease-fire??  Who ’s shooting at us??  I need to....”

“You need to plant your cute little ass in that chair and let me at least stop the bleeding.  I ’ll catch you up on what you apparently missed in the meantime.”

“And then?”

“And then we ’ll go take care of this once and for all.”

************

“Well... hello, Admiral,” Eden drawled to mask her unhappy surprise at the face staring back at her.  She rose from her seat and walked closer to the view screen.  “Fancy meeting you out here.”

Admiral Cortez was livid and the flush of her anger was apparent even beneath her naturally tanned skin tone.  “Outreach!!  What is the meaning of this??  How dare you attack my ship....”

“How dare I?? Eden asked calmly, though her eyes told the truth of her fury.  “You shot first – we merely defended ourselves.”

“What do you mean... we shot first?? We were simply....”

“Stop!” Eden barked so commandingly that Cortez bit her tongue trying to close her mouth quickly enough.  “Stop speaking.  I don ’t know what the crap you ’re playing at, but I ’m not in the mood for games.”

“And I ’m not in the mood for dealing with underlings,” Cortez sneered.  “Where is your captain?”

“Indisposed, at the moment – which puts me in command.”

“Really, Little Girl??” the woman snarked in an all too familiar tone.  “I think it ’s time for you to learn some respect for your betters.”

Her widening eyes were the only indication as realization washed over her. “I ’ve told you once, Mischief – I ’ll tell you again.  You ’re not my better.  You ’re not even my equal,” smirking at him to get a reaction.  She wasn ’t disappointed.

“REALLY??” he growled, though he still sounded like and resembled Admiral Cortez.  “How about I just blow you and your peon friends out of the sky then, hmm??”

Eden snorted, noting out of the corner of her eye that Jacob ’s finger hadn ’t wavered from its place over the torpedo release button.  “If you really wanted to and were actually able to do that, Asshat, you ’d have already done so.”  She paused a moment to savor the rage she could feel boiling in him, despite the face he currently wore.  Arianna had been right about one thing, she acknowledged.  If they were going to go out here and now, they were going to do it on their own terms in a blaze of glory.  “You wanna know what I think?”

“Not particularly.”

“I don ’t actually care what you want – I ’m going to tell you anyway because you shouldn ’t die as stupid as you ’ve lived.  And because I ’m pretty sure you ’re going crazy wanting to share your perceived brilliance with someone who can understand it... even if you feel we ’re beneath you on every conceivable level.”

“Really?”

“Yes... really,” she replied amiably.  “See, I think your coming back here was a matter of choice.  You returned because you can ’t stand the thought of us getting away.  Even though you and your family created the situation to begin with, we defeated you, and that just sticks in your throat until you can ’t swallow or breathe.  And you can ’t have that.  You ’d rather destroy everyone here – your family, us, the people on that ship – than live with the knowledge that a bunch of humanoid kids kicked your ass.”

“I see,” Mischief drawled in the Admiral ’s voice.  “And how do you suppose I got here?” gesturing to the ship around him.  “After all... nothing returns from the Void.  Right?”

“That may have been true once upon a long time ago... before technology caught up to your supposed ‘god ’ powers.  But these days?  Yeah... not so much.  Would you like to hear my theory on what actually happened?  About the Void and your ability to return as Admiral Cortez?”

Hatred burned in the brown eyes staring back at her on the view screen, but the voice was cordial to the point of sticky sweetness.  “Please,” Mischief offered with an outstretched hand and a nod of Cortez ’s head.  “Enlighten me.  I ’m not in any great hurry at the moment, and I want to see if you ’re anywhere nearly as intelligent as you like to think you are.”

Eden laughed.  “Oh, Mischief... you have no idea how truly amazing I am.  But you will,” she smirked as she returned to sit in the Captain ’s chair behind Jacob.  “You see, I don ’t think that very many of you petty little gods got sent to the Void – likely one or two tried to use the Void as a way to return to your home.  But it ’s a one-way trip because that ’s just the way wormholes work.  And there was no real viable means to return to this place by more... conventional... means until the last decade or two.

And I think – given your appearance as Admiral Cortez – that you, as a pseudo-god being, cannot function in our reality without borrowing a corporeal body that already exists in it.  Hence the reason you resemble Admiral Cortez – you confiscated her body to use as your own.  You ’re an other spirit that has moved into her body while pushing her spirit out.”  She tilted her head thoughtfully.  “Is she dead?”

“Don ’t know, don ’t care.  She went kicking and screaming though,” he continued with an evil smile.

“You should probably keep an eye out for her, then,” not responding to his taunt and grinning inwardly when a flash of annoyance flitted in his eyes. “You really can ’t trust those Navy types.”

“You let me worry about that.  She ’s not nearly strong enough to defeat me.”

Eden shrugged.  “Maybe.  I will say you were overwhelmingly lucky that she ’s an Admiral of the Fleet.  It certainly made it easier for you to seize that ship and come running out here.”

“Oh, Little Girl – that wasn ’t luck.  That was research and effort.  Just like making certain that a little tweaking meant that damned reactor would get me here in record time.  The little bitch was brilliant – I ’m just better.”

Eden blinked slowly as the truth of his words rushed over her and sent cold chills up and down her spine.  “So this was a one-way trip for you too,” she stated with unmitigated certainty.  Mischief clapped his hands slowly.

“Very good, Little Girl.  Very good.”  He leaned forward until the view screen was filled with Admiral Cortez ’s face.  “Because you were right – I ’m not going to let a bunch of bratty, trouble-making humanoid kids defeat me.  And since my family,” said with a sneer, “betrayed me and you ’ve already proven your ability to overwhelm me as a group, I figure I ’ll simply eliminate the lot of you.”

Eden furrowed her brows in confusion.  “Doesn ’t it defeat the purpose if it takes you out in the process?”

“Not at all.  Because I will be the Hand of Fate.  I will be the one to deliver the killing blow – it will be my choice... my action.”  He smirked.  “I ’ll get to have the last word.”

“Don ’t be surprised if that doesn ’t happen,” Eden said as she motioned for Jake to cut the transmission.  It was silent for a moment before she turned and looked at him.  He cocked an eyebrow.

“Now what?”

“I ’ll tell you what,” Eli answered from just beyond the door, bringing up two pairs of stunned eyes and garnering bright smiles from both of them.  “Now I kick his ass so we can go home.”

Eden and Jacob exchanged high fives before tugging open the battle door.

************

“Hank, Grayson?  Are you getting anything new on your readings?”

“Yeah,” Grayson replied instantly.  “We ’ve got spikes all over the place here.  My scientists are going a little crazy.”

“Same,” Hank answered.  “Whatever ’s going on in there is causing a butt load of worry out here.  My guys are recommending a postponement of the recon mission, and have suggested we need to expand our perimeter by, well... it ’s not quite a light year, but it ’s pretty damned close.”

“I ’m getting the same thing, Matt.  Whatever the hell ’s being stirred up in there is making everyone antsy over here.”

“So neither of you believes we should risk the lives of our ships and crews to check on those kids?”

“I ’m thinking those kids are in the middle of whatever ’s happening in there,” Grayson said.  “From what my guys here are saying, there ’s nothing we can do to stop or contain whatever damage is coming.  It ’s big, Matt – really big.  Off the charts big.”

“We already know we can ’t protect them – our ships can ’t handle the Nebula, and the truth is, we have an obligation beyond the welfare of those kids.  I may make me a coward to say it, but I think we ’d be better served to act as damage control and be search and rescue after this thing settles.”

Matt studied both visages before him carefully before he slowly nodded his head.  “I concur.  We ’ll get Mary whatever information we can, but not at the risk of everything else.  We ’ve got other responsibilities to attend to.”  He nodded again, and they returned his acknowledgement.  “All right, then.  Let ’s back ‘em up to a safe distance.  And try to stay in contact, all right?  I ’d like all of us, including those kids, to get out of this in one piece.

“It ’s good to have a goal,” Grayson said wearily.  And the three ships slowly began backing away from the Nebula.

************

Joseph looked around his quarters one more time.  He ’d already recorded and sent a message that should reach Nathaniel after this was all settled.  Another was coded for Mary, and there was one for the whole family.  He hoped they would find it in their hearts to forgive him.  He let his eyes trace the hologram of Nathaniel ’s form once more, then squared his shoulders and closed his eyes.  When he opened them, he was standing amidst the stench and ruin of what had once been his home.

He took note of Athena on the floor, cradling the form of Aphrodite in front of her.  Fear seized his heart and he dashed forward to kneel beside them.  He cupped Aphrodite ’s face, and waited for her eyes to drag themselves open.  Tears rushed to his eyes when he noted the gray of her once blue eyes and the pallor of her skin.  She gasped and reached up a trembling hand to cover his and he smiled weakly.

“Hi, Mom.  I ’m home.”

Chapter XLIV

“Cue...,”  Aphrodite closed her eyes at the first sound of his voice, then blinked them open slowly.  Only then did she raise a shaky hand to cup his cheek.  “Is this...?  How di...?  Where...?”   She sucked in an uneven breath.  “Are you real?” asked in a whisper.

Joseph transformed until he resembled the son Aphrodite had once known.  He extended his wings behind him, and reached up his free hand to cover the cool hand on his face.  He smiled sadly.  “As real as you are.”

Aphrodite coughed and winced.  “That ’s not saying much,” whispering as she closed her eyes.

Cupid let his bright blue eyes meet those of Athena, who had watched their entire interaction silently even as she had continued to cradle Aphrodite in her embrace.  She shook her head minutely at the question in his eyes and he bit his lip to keep from crying out at the unfairness of the circumstances surrounding his homecoming.  Before he could pose his question, Aphrodite drew in a deep breath.  “Wha... what are you... doing here?  How...?”

He took her hand from his face and cradled it in both of his much larger ones.  “It ’s a very long, complicated story, and I promise to share it with you soon.  But first I have to know – what happened?  Who is behind this?”

Athena looked him over carefully, noting almost instantly that he was different from the nephew she ’d known millennia before.  “Short answer?” smiling grimly when he nodded briskly.  “Mischief.”

Cupid ’s blonde brows shot into his hairline.  “Mischief??  Really?? Are you sure??”

The look Athena offered was droll in the extreme.  “Pretty sure.  He was the only one missing when we took roll after Ares was sent into the Void.  Or at least... who we thought was Ares.”

“I ’ve missed some important stuff, huh?” 

“Lifetimes, Cupid.  You ’ve been gone for over a millennia.  But most of the really important stuff has happened in the very recent past.  Take a seat,” motioning to the space on the floor beside them.  “I ’ll try to bring you up to date before the rest of the family gets through.  After that...?”  She shrugged.

“And you ’ll tell me what happened to Mom?” turning his attention back to Aphrodite ’s pale features.

“That ’s part of the story.”

Cupid dropped to the floor and gave Athena his full attention, though he never released his grip on Aphrodite ’s hand.  “Let ’s hear it.”  Athena took a deep breath and started to speak.

************

It was quiet for a few minutes after Athena finished telling her story.  The only real sound was their breathing and the ever-louder sound of rocks and debris being moved away from what had once been the door.  He gazed in that direction without seeing, knowing he would be able to see his long lost family before they would see him.  He glanced at Athena who waited patiently for his questions, then turned his attention back to Aphrodite.  She had closed her eyes again and seemed to be sleeping, her chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.  Cupid watched for several long moments, then turned his eyes back toward the tower of crumbled marble still blocking their escape.

“So... Mischief.  Well, that at least explains parts of my story – recent parts, anyway.  The rest...?”

“Yeah, about that... what happened, Cupid?  We never expected to see you again.  I mean nothing has ever come back from the Void... until today.”

“I ’m here because of Mischief, apparently.  I ’m still trying to put it all together, but let ’s say for now that humankind has finally caught up to us.”  He chuckled sadly.  “They ’ve moved beyond us, actually... in so many ways.”  He shook his head.  “I promised to tell you my story, and I will, but I think I need to see about getting us out of here.  I know you have the gift of healing, but maybe Asclepius can do something for Mom.”

“I... I d-don ’t think... any-thing can b-be... d-done... for me,” Aphrodite stuttered with her eyes still closed.  “I l-lost t-too... m-much while I-I-I was c-connecting with E...li.”

Cupid jerked his attention back to Aphrodite so quickly his wings shook in response to his neck popping.  “When were you connected with Eli??”  Surely he would have felt her when he was talking to Eli if they had been linked together.  After all, he had sensed Mischief just because of their proximity.  If both he and his mother had been trying to occupy the same space in Eli ’s mind....

“It ’s not like you ’re thinking, Cue,” Athena cut in.  “Dite wasn ’t in her mind – neither of them would have survived that kind of severing.  She was just trying to send Eli a warning.”

Cupid nodded slowly.  “That would explain a lot.  No wonder she was so confused.  She sensed and even to some degree felt your situation.  She was positive she ’d been buried and paralyzed by the ship blowing apart and crashing on top of her.”

“And you know this how exactly?”

“Because I was in her mind... as the brother she first knew me as.  I was in her mind as Elijah.”

“Does she know that Elijah and Joseph and Cupid are all the same person?”

“Not to my knowledge.  I mean, I didn ’t tell her, but she could probably figure it out if she tried.  She ’s incredibly brilliant and more than a little intuitive.  I don ’t think she wants to know that though.  I think she needs to keep Elijah as her brother and Joseph as her mate ’s brother ’s husband.”  He sat still as he went over his words, then nodded in satisfaction with the convoluted accuracy.  “And she ’s never met Cupid, though eventually, she ’ll know the truth about Cupid and Joseph - mostly because I felt Nathaniel and Mama deserved to know.  Long story,” shaking his head and waiving off her question before Athena could voice it.  “Let me see if I can help clear up...” waving his hand toward the rock pile, “ ... this mess.  I have a feeling, after what you ’ve said and what little I was able to learn as Joseph and Elijah that it ’s going to take all of us... especially you and Mom.  I ’m not sure I can do what she can.”

Cupid felt the lightest squeeze on his hand and looked down to see Aphrodite giving him the barest of grins.  “You can do anything, Cupie... anything you set your mind to, ya know? I have complete faith in you.  I always have.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across the back of her knuckles.  “I know, Mom.  It ’s one reason I survived alone in man ’s world as well as I did for so long.”

“Ya did good, Kid.  I ’ve missed you.”

“Missed you too, Mom.  Now let me go help the rest clean up this mess.  Then I ’ll share my story and we ’ll figure out what we need to do to finish this.  I dunno about you, but I think those kids deserve a chance to grow and be everything they can.  They ’re the next step in humanoid evolution.”

“I hope they handle it better than we did,” Athena commented softly.

Cupid offered her a sad smile as he rose, then he clasped her shoulder gently for a brief moment.  “I think they will,” he replied, then turned to face the jumbled pile of marble closing them into the scrying room.  Instead of blasting it outwards and risk hurting the family working from the outside, he simply raised his hands and let his power flow, deconstructing the rocks as swiftly as he could safely manage one at a time.  It only took a few moments, and then he could see the rest of the family staring back at him, slack jawed and silent... until Psyche spied him, and with a glad cry, ran and jumped into his embrace.  Cupid opened his arms to receive her, and held on for dear life.  No matter the other lovers he had known in his lifetimes of banishment – including Nathaniel – she would always be his first love and home.

“Oh Cupie!” she exclaimed, catching his face in both hands.  “Gods, how I have missed you, Love.  I never thought....”

“I know.  Neither did I.”  He didn ’t flinch as Aeolus came up behind Psyche and placed a possessive hand on her lower back, but met the god ’s eyes squarely.  “We have a lot to talk about,” not dropping his eyes, but smiling when Psyche burrowed further into his neck.  “But first, I have a story to share. And we need to make a plan to settle this with Mischief once and for all.”

“But you ’re home again?  You ’re home to stay?”

And he knew right then that no matter what happened with Mischief or those kids or even with Psyche, Joseph would be no more.  Cupid smiled and kissed Psyche ’s head before gently releasing her to the ground and meeting her eyes.  “I ’m home for good.”

************

“So we ’re expected to give up everything... even our immortality... for those kids??  For humankind??  Why??” Nemesis demanded.  “I ’ll admit this isn ’t the be all and end all of existence for us, but it is existence, and has been ours for thousands of years!  Why should we have to give it up??”

Cupid puffed out his cheeks in frustration and blew out a breath.  “Nem, I ’m not saying we have to do anything.  But this is about more than us or those kids.  This is about one of our own running rampant in the greater universe!  I ’m fairly confident that he did something to the crew members of the ship he stole to get back here – they were completely in the dark concerning the real situation... like it wasn ’t even happening. I know he had to have done something to the flag level staff as well.  It would be the only way he could ’ve taken control of it.”  He pinched the bridge of his nose.  “We still have a lot of unanswered questions – I know that.  But you already decided that our time as gods was past.  Maybe it wouldn ’t be so bad to grow old together and die.  Especially since we know for a fact that Mischief will continue to come after us as long as he can... no matter what happens to those kids.”

Aphrodite cleared her throat from her spot on the floor, still leaning up against Athena ’s chest.  Asclepius had done what he could for her, but it was obvious even to the most callous observer that she was not long for existence on any plane.  If she played her cards right, she might get to see the denouement.  All eyes turned to her and waited for her to speak.

“We know... we all know... that what Cue... Cupid ’s said is... is the truth.”  She took a deep breath and winced, then took another and began to speak again more strongly.  “We also know that - those kids out there – they belong to us – some more closely than others, but still.”  She sighed and they waited.  “We owe them.”

“And we have an unexpected advantage,” Athena cut in before anyone could protest Aphrodite ’s words.  “Mischief doesn ’t know about Cupid... nor the power he wields.  We can use that.”

“How ’d you manage that anyway?” Nemesis asked with a sly look in Cupid ’s direction.  He shrugged.

“I was the only Olympian around for a very long time, and the world is a much different place from what it was when we were at the height of our power.  Don ’t get me wrong – it took a while for humankind to reach the level of peace and acceptance they have, and it ’s not perfect by any means.  But they keep trying, and they ’re making progress.  So that helped build my power.  Then I was exposed to those kids, and that just augmented my ability by infusing a rush of strength that I haven ’t actually tried to test yet.”  He shrugged again and glanced at the hole in the wall.  “Aside from moving a few rocks.”

“Can you share?”

“I don ’t think so,” he offered sadly as he shook his head.  “Otherwise I would have already shared with Mom; she ’s the closest to me in terms of power and ability.  I ’m still trying to figure out how I can channel my power to her – I think she ’s going to have to be the one to defeat Mischief... if it comes to that.”

“You don ’t think it will?”

“I don ’t know,” he replied honestly.  “Those kids think he ’ll come after them first.  But if he doesn ’t, or he defeats them, we have to be ready to act.  I, for one, have no desire to let Mischief win.”

“And you think he will?”

“I think he has nothing to lose by trying.”

“I want to try something,” Discord commented softly, bringing all eyes in her direction.  “If Mischief, who by all accounts was among the weakest among us, was able to transfer power from an Olympian to himself, we should be able to bolster Aphrodite.”

“Easy for you to say,” Bliss sneered.  “You ’re not being the one asked to give anything up.  Besides, why would you care?  You ’re already mortal.  You ’ve got nothing to lose either way.”

Discord grit her teeth together to keep from snapping at Bliss ’ selfish stupidity.  Cupid, however, didn ’t hesitate to cuff him hard on the back of the head.  “HEY!” Bliss snapped, glaring at his father and reaching a hand back to cover the back of his head when Cupid raised his hand a second time.

“Really, Son??  Are you being deliberately obtuse or is stupid something you picked up while I was gone?”  He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, returning Bliss ’ look glare for glare.  “Think about it a minute.  The war contingent knows what Mischief did to take their power.  They may not have anything to lose, but they damn sure have something to gain.  I ’m pretty sure revenge would make a powerful motive.  So why don ’t you shut it and listen.? We don ’t have much time.”  There was silence for a full minute while Cupid held Bliss ’s eyes.  When Bliss dropped his gaze to the ground, Cupid turned back to Discord.  “What ’s your idea?”

She sighed and wrapped her arms defensively around her middle.  Cupid had been right – one of the big reasons she ’d spoken up was the delegation wanted the satisfaction of revenge.  Mischief had screwed them over royally, and they wanted to be part of taking him down.  But another real reason was they were scared of their mortality.  Having the rest become mortal would go a long way toward giving them a modicum of peace.  They had been together – bickering... fighting, but still together – as a family forever.  Losing that was something almost beyond comprehension.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then started when she felt the warmth of Cupid ’s touch on her arm.  Discord met his eyes and looked at him long and hard, offering a small smile when Cupid smiled and nodded at her gently.  She nodded slightly and looked around at her family.

“I think everyone, barring Cupid and Athena, is going to have to do this to bolster Aphrodite enough.  And you ’re going to have to want to give her your power.  If you ’re not willing, it won ’t work – not in this scenario.  Wrenching it from you – one individual to another – will diminish whatever power you do have.  The only way to take power forcibly and not lose its strength is if the Pantheon makes a unanimous decision and acts as a singular entity.  That ’s out best theory anyway.”

“You think Ares willingly gave Mischief his power?”

“I can ’t really say for sure – none of us were present when Mischief took Ares strength.  I do think it took a very, very long time – time we don ’t have.  I can speak for the rest of us,” motioning to the war contingent that stood behind her in support.  “Because we were completely willing.  He didn ’t take – we gave.”

“So why don ’t Cupid and Athena have to be part of this?”

“We do,” Cupid replied before Discord could.  “Just... differently,” having caught onto that to which Discord was hinting.  “Your job is to juice her up – mine is to keep her running.  I can ’t transfer my power – it ’s too strong... especially in her condition.  But once she ’s got some strength back, I can keep her going.”

“And Athena?”

“I ’m the conduit,” Athena responded, having figured out where this was going.

“Do you have the power for that?” Asclepius queried.  He knew the damage that had been done to Athena – he had seen it as he worked on Aphrodite, but Athena had shaken her head when he offered her aid.  And he knew that she was almost solely responsible for Aphrodite surviving as long as she had.  She couldn ’t possibly withstand much more demand on her resources.

“I ’ll do whatever I have to do to make sure this ends here and now.”

Asclepius nodded.  “Then I ’ll be standing beside you, supporting you all.  This ends here,” he professed, moving to stand behind her.  Slowly... surely, they moved as a group to stand behind Aphrodite and Athena.  When they were all in place, Cupid turned back to Discord.

“All right.  It seems we have a consensus.  Now what?”

“Now, Love God, you move and let us show your side how it ’s done.  If love is really as unselfish as you claim, this should be a piece of cake.”  She cocked her eyebrow and gave him the tiniest hint of a smirk, reminding him greatly of those times so long ago when life and humanity were just one big game to all of them. He smiled sadly and motioned them towards the rest of the family. 

“Let me know when it ’s my turn.”

“Trust me, Cue... you ’ll know.”

************

Discord was right, of course.  He knew almost the exact moment when things changed – when it felt like they had a real shot at defeating Mischief at his own game.  Everyone looked tired, but not defeated – for the first time since all of this started, he saw hope and confidence and something resembling peace.

But the most startling change was most apparent in Aphrodite herself.  No longer gray and sallow looking, she reeked of strength and youth and power.  She practically radiated good health.  Athena, on the other hand....

“Mom?  How do you feel?”

“Like a new goddess... but better,” she said, giving him a dizzying smile... that dropped to a worried frown when she got her first good look at Athena.  “The?”  She reached out a hand to cup Athena ’s face, clenching the arm that still held her in a weak embrace.  Athena blinked open heavy gray eyes.

“How you doing, Beautiful Lady?” Athena asked in a breathless voice, recognizing the agony in Aphrodite ’s gaze.  “It ’s okay, Sweetie.  This will be over soon, and then we can go into oblivion together, remember?”

Aphrodite eased into a sitting position, shifting around until she held Athena in her arms.  “I remember,” she whispered.  “I love you.”

“I know you do,” Athena replied with a hint of naughtiness in her glance.  “That ’s what makes me the luckiest girl in the world,” the old banter between them making Aphrodite smile sadly as she blinked to keep the tears at bay.  Athena lifted a weary arm.  “Don ’t cry, Baby.  You know I love you too.”

Aphrodite brushed a tender kiss over Athena ’s forehead.  “I know you do.  That ’s what makes me the luckiest girl in the world.  Now c ’mon,” she said loudly enough to be heard by the rest.  “Let ’s do this.  I am totally over dealing with this pissy little son of a bitch.”

The others clapped and cheered as they moved into position to end things... once and for all.

Chapter XLV

“Mom, if you ’ll get everyone to the arena....”

“You gonna go get those gnarly kids?”

“Yeah.  I think that ’s our best chance.”

“So do I,” Aphrodite said as she rose and hefted Athena in her embrace.  She smiled sadly when Athena naturally curled into her body, tucking her head into Aphrodite ’s neck and sighing in contentment.  Aphrodite brushed a light kiss over the red curls, feeling Athena smile at the action.  She returned her gaze to Cupid.  “But make sure they understand the risks, Cue – we ’re only gonna get one righteous chance to do this.  After that....” she trailed off with a raised brow.

“Yep.  Shouldn ’t take too long.  They wanna take him down at least as badly as we do.  They owe him more than we do.”

“I ’d be more inclined to argue with you,” said with a light squeeze to the body she cradled, ”except they ’ve endured a lot longer than we have.  Now hurry up.  If we ’ve only got a mortal ’s lifetime left together, I want as much time as I can get.”

Cupid nodded and disappeared, not stating the obvious – in regards to his and Aphrodite ’s immortal states. That would be something to worry about later... if they were lucky.

************

“Okay,” Eli said as she slid into the captain ’s chair while the rest assumed one of the other chairs on the bridge.  “What do we know?”

“Aside from the fact that Mischief is an asshat and needs a serious lesson in manners?” Eden asked from her seat beside Jake at the helm.  Arianna kept her eyes on the screens in front of her while both ears were tuned to the conversation.  Eli kept her focus on Eden and nodded.  Eden sighed.  “He ’s done something to Cortez – he ’s wearing her face.  I don ’t know anything about the crew – I didn ’t actually see anyone but him... her... whatever – you know what I mean.”

“Eden, do you know what he did to the fuission reactor to make them get here so quickly?”

“No, Az... sorry.  All he said was that he tweaked the reactor.  Why?”

Arianna rubbed absently at her face, eyes closed until she felt Eli ’s touch in her mind.  “Beloved?”  She looked up and met concerned green eyes.  “Tell me,” Eli commanded softly.  “I think we need to know.”

Arianna sighed.  “When I was first working through my theory, I worked on trajectories – you know, how far, how fast, how sustainable, how safe.  There were so many variables... so much to consider.  And of course we ran through a massive number of scenarios – trying to find something that was feasible and practical to the project... fuission theory, not the terraforming project.  That came much later.”  Eli nodded to show she understood and Arianna sighed. “Obviously, I eventually found a solution that was workable, but there were a lot of... mistakes – what would have been disasters in a real world scenario – had we proceeded to pursue those options.”

“So you think...?”

“I think, depending on what he did, that there is every likelihood he could blow us to kingdom come and gone, because until we reached the Nebula, we were traveling at our maximum safe speed.  It ’s likely one reason he stopped firing.  His systems are freezing – they ’re not going to be able to tolerate much more than they ’ve already accomplished.”  She drew a shaky breath.  “I ’m a little surprised he hasn ’t already destroyed everything in the quadrant.”

“So if the ship blows....”

“ ... everything goes with it.  Likely everything within a hundred kilo radius.” She could hear the simultaneous intake of a sharp breath from each of her teammates.

“Crap, Az – that ’s insane!”

“Something we won ’t survive.  I know.  The only satisfaction will be that it will be instantaneous and he ’ll go with us when we go.”

“Yeah... not a lot of comfort there.”

“What if I can help tip the odds in your favor?” came a voice out of the ether before a body was physically manifested.  Both Eden and Eli jumped to their feet.  Jake flinched, but didn ’t move from his watchful position.  Arianna met his eyes, then furrowed her brow in confusion.  For a moment, she ’d expected....  She shook her head to clear it.

“Who are you?” Eli demanded.  “And what are you doing on my ship?”  Both Eden and Jake smirked at her words.  For all her modesty about being their leader – their captain – Eli rarely owned the title like she was doing now.  Arianna simply beamed in awe.

“Allow me to introduce myself – I am Cupid... son of Aphrodite and the god of love.”

Eli narrowed her eyes at him.  “And where have you been?  You were not part of the gods and goddesses we met in the Nebula.”

“No, I wasn ’t, but I ’ve been around.  I know your story, and I have a very good idea of what it ’ll take to defeat that smarmy bastard out there without killing you kids in the process.”

Eli continued to study him for a long moment before she nodded her head.  “All right – let ’s hear it.”

“Can we get all of you together in one place?  I ’d prefer not to have to repeat myself, and in all honesty, we really don ’t have that kind of time – not if Mischief is as impatient as he ever was.”

“Always an asshat, huh?” Eden asked with a sneer.

“Never to this degree, but yes,” Cupid agreed.

Eli sighed.  “Let ’s move this to the infirmary.  Almost everyone is already there, and the rest can join us from engineering.”  She turned to Arianna.  “Will you ask them to meet us?”

“Of course.  There ’s not much they can do right now.  We ’ve got a couple of planet killers ready, and it won ’t take but one... especially if he did what I expect,” motioning towards the ship on the viewscreen.

“Boss?” Jake called softly without removing his eyes from the readouts in front of him.  “I ’m gonna stay here,” gesturing to the helm, “just in case.  If we ’re gonna die anyway, I ’m gonna do it myself.  I won ’t let that fucktard have the satisfaction.”

Eli let both hands rest on Jake ’s shoulders briefly before squeezing them gently.  “Thank you, Jake.  Keep your Pad tuned to sickbay – that way you can participate too.”  He nodded, but didn ’t move his eyes and Eli patted his back before turning and reaching for Arianna ’s hand.  She brushed a kiss over Jake ’s cheek, but didn ’t speak.  Then she and Eli left without a backwards glance, Cupid following them without comment.  Eden waited until they were gone.

“Jake?”

“It ’s gotta be done, Baby – you know that.”

“I know.  I just....”

“G ’wan,” he said gruffly after a long moment of awkward silence.  “I ’ll be listening, and I ’ll be here when you get back.”

Eden didn ’t answer except to wrap her arms around him from behind and brush a kiss over the juncture of his neck, smiling sadly at the shiver she knew was coming.  She stood and wiped the tears from her eyes before they could fall, and left the bridge. 

Jake released a shuddering breath when he was sure everyone was out of earshot and busied himself with keeping a close, close eye on the ship that floated just out of reach.

************

Paul, Isaac and Titus were at the infirmary doors when Eli and her party stepped from the stairwell.  Their eyes widened at the unexpected visitor, but without a word, they crossed into sickbay just ahead.  Everyone else was already waiting when they crossed the threshold.  Abigail sat up as soon as she noticed Cupid behind the others, but before her lips could form the first word, Cupid shook his head minutely – enough to keep Abigail from speaking, but not to stop Arianna from noticing with a frown.  Eli missed the byplay entirely, having crossed the room from where Hannah was ensconced as soon as she saw Naomi lying on a bed.  She turned to Luke, and he shook his head.

“It doesn ’t look good, Doc.  Kai fetched her down as soon as Eden called him from the bridge, but....”  He shrugged.  “I don ’t know.  She lost a lot of blood.”

Eli nodded.  “We ’ll keep an eye on her the best that we can, but it ’s going to be hard.  It may all be moot, considering.”

“That bad?”

“Worse, I think,” she muttered, clapping him on the shoulder before she moved to the center of the room.  “Everyone, this is Cupid.  He ’s Aphrodite ’s son.  Apparently, he has a plan that will allow us to defeat Mischief without us having to die as well.”  She motioned him forward.  “The floor is yours.”

“Thank you, Eli.  To get straight to it, I think... I think it ’s going to take Eli ’s gifts as well as my and Mom ’s immortality.  You kids and this ship will be our fall back.”

“Oh, hell no!!”
“What the crap??”
“You have got to be kidding!!”
“I don ’t think so!!”

Those were the comments he could make out amongst the cacophony of objections that followed his words.  Only Eli and Arianna remained completely silent, communicating silently through touches and looks.  Cupid stood silent and unmoving, but it wasn ’t until Eli stepped forward with her hand raised that they finally quieted back down.

“It ’s the best option we ’ve got,” raising her hand again before they could resume their objections.  “There isn ’t much time – not if what Arianna believes is true, and she more than any of us would know the likelihood of the engines being overworked to the point of destruction, and how long it would take for them to reach critical mass.”  Even their breathing was silent at that pronouncement, and they waited for Eli to continue.  “Our only other viable option would kill us as well.”  She sighed.  “I ’d rather have a fighting chance.”

“What does your mate say?” Eden asked, not unkindly.

Arianna stepped forward with a shuddering breath.  “I could say a lot of things, and frankly if it was up to me, I would say screw him and take him with us... especially since it would only take the push of a single button.”  She looked down at the floor and blinked furiously, desperate to rid herself of the tears she could feel roiling in her gut.  “But Eli wants a chance to defeat him – to give us the chance to do what we were sent out here to do.  I ’m okay with that,” meeting Eden ’s eyes directly.  “Because if she fails, we WILL push the button, and I ’ll reach eternity only a second behind her.”

Eden turned black eyes to bright green and smiled grimly.  “Well played, Boss.  Very well played.”

Eli shrugged.  “It ’s the truth.”  She turned to Cupid.  “If it ’s just you and Aphrodite who are going to be working with me on this, what are the rest of the gods going to be doing?”

“The rest are no longer gods – they gave up their immortality to heal Mom.  So they will be waiting for some kind of resolution, just like the rest of your team.”

“Then let them wait here,” Arianna commented unexpectedly.  “It ’ll be standing room only, but at least we can commiserate or celebrate together.”

“You don ’t think maybe we should go to the planet instead?” Eden asked, but before Arianna could reply, Abigail spoke up.

“NO.  Absolutely not.”  All eyes turned in her direction, surprised at the vehemence of her response, but it was Eli who asked the question.

“Gay?”

“Sorry, Boss,” she apologized.  “But we ’re not going to the planet... not again.  The vibe is wrong.”

“Wrong how?”

“Hard to say, but... I don ’t know.  It ’s just... wrong... menacing.”

“You can sense that?”

Abigail nodded slowly.  “Like it ’s being broadcast.  But it ’s not like it was before.  It doesn ’t hurt.  It feels more like a warning.”

Eli held her eyes a moment longer, then nodded her head sharply.  “All right.”  She looked back at Cupid.  “Can you get your... family up here?”

“I ’m afraid not.  We really don ’t have the time or the resources.  They ’ll be all right.”

“You ’re sure?”

“No,” he admitted honestly.  “But there ’s not much that can be done about it now.  Say your goodbyes – we need to leave.”

Eli turned to catch Arianna in her arms.  “Wait for me, Beloved,” whispered so softly into her ear that Hannah almost missed it.

“Kick his ass, Amado.  Then come home to me.”

Eli caught Arianna’s lips for a long, timeless moment, intent on conveying everything she knew and felt in a single, last embrace.  As they separated, Arianna lifted her hands and cupped Eli’s face gently.  “T'estimo per sempre, el meu amor. Tornar fora de perill a mi.” 

“Podozhdi menya. YA vernus' domoy.  Obeshchayu.” 

Eli brushed her lips over Arianna’s forehead in benediction, causing them both to close their eyes and breathe deeply of one another once more.  Then she turned and caught Cupid’s outstretched hand in hers, and just like that they were gone. 

Silence reigned in the infirmary for another very long moment before Arianna released the breath she’d been holding and opened her eyes.  A glance around the room showed her gazes that held a deep measure of respect and trust, and she sucked in another breath.  “All right  - I’m going to the bridge.” She cleared her throat.  “The rest of you....” 

“The rest of us are coming with you,” Eden broke in without hesitation.  “If we’re going down, I wanna be with my family.” 

“Luke and I’ll stay here to keep an eye on Naomi,” Danny offered. 

“And me and the guys will head back to engineering,” Isaac volunteered with a gesture at Paul and Titus.  “There’s not much we can do at the moment, but we can make sure we don’t kill ourselves or anyone else accidentally after Eli kicks this asshat in the jiānguǒ,” smiling when everyone tittered a little bit at his comment. 

Arianna nodded slowly.  “All right.  Turn your viewscreens to the bridge.  Jake will keep you in the loop.” 

“Will do, Boss,” several different voices chimed.  Arianna shook her head. 

“Oh no... no way.  That’s not my job, and that’s not my title.  And she’ll be back shortly to reclaim it.” 

“You really believe that, Az?” 

“Yep... she promised me.” 

Eden studied her expression hard for several minutes before nodding her acceptance.  “All right, then.  That’s good enough for me.”  She looked around the room.  “Okay, boys and girls, you heard the Boss’s wife.  Let’s do this.” 

Arianna gave Eden a looked that should have melted the outside of the ship – might have had she not actually been hiding a twinkle in the depths of her brown eyes.  “Boss’s wife??  Really??” 

Eden smirked and shrugged her shoulders.  “Well… aren’t you?” 

“Well, yes, but....” 

“No buts.  Move it... before I miss out on what should be the ass kicking of the century.  Personally, I’m hoping she roasts the little turd.” 

“I dunno, Eden,” Jake spoke up from the bridge.  “Given his cold, evil wishes-he-had-a-personality, she might have to melt him instead.” 

Eden motioned around the infirmary, and people started moving.  She took Arianna by the arm, and led the way for the others to follow them to the bridge.  “Like the magician woman you told me about?  From that story with the green midgets?” 

Jake chuckled and shook his head.  Leave it to Eden to mix things up so comically.  “No,” he said after a moment.  “She’s not going to use water – she’s gonna melt him like a snowman with the heat of the summer sun.” 

Eden’s brow furrowed, having very little experience with that kind of heat... or snow.  “Just as long as she doesn’t send the rest of us to the moon in the aftermath, Jake.” 

Jake smiled and shook his head.  “I don’t think she will, Babe.  But you’d better hurry.  I think things are heating up out there.” 

At that moment, they crossed the threshold onto the bridge, and scattered to take seats to watch the next chapter of their story play out... live and in living color. 

Chapter XLVI 

Eli clenched her eyes shut to help ease the nausea that washed through her the moment her hand touched Cupid ’s.  Even as she felt the world solidify around her again, she kept them closed, hoping desperately not to throw up.  She didn ’t know what he had done differently, but she made a mental note to punch him when this was all over.  She sucked in a deep breath... and promptly choked, filling her system with dust and debris and the stench of acrid smoke.  Green eyes popped open as she choked and coughed, and she forgot her nausea as she took in the destruction that surrounded her.  The sense of déjà vu was startling.  It was so similar to the apparent dream that had dropped her to the floor and left the cut on her forehead that it took a moment for her to reorient herself. When she caught her breath, she turned to Cupid.

“Mischief?”

“Who else?”  He glanced around and caught Aphrodite ’s gaze in the otherwise empty room.  “Mom?”

“The rest have gone to the Arena.  They figure it will give them their best shot of seeing some of the action – what with the scrying bowls being gone and all,” as she motioned around the damaged room.  She turned to Eli.  “How ya doing, Cutie?”

Eli shrugged and rubbed her hands nervously down the front of her pants.  “Been better,” she replied honestly.  “But I ’ve also been much, much worse.”  She twisted her hands together and clenched them tightly in an effort to hide her nervousness.  “So let ’s do this.  I ’ve got a new bride that I promised to go home to, and we ’ve got to sort out this asshat first.”

Aphrodite reached over and covered the green hands that were surprisingly chilly to the touch.  “Right,” she said with a light squeeze.  “Here ’s the idea – we ’re gonna go outside so you ’ve got plenty of space to stretch out.  Then once you transform to that perfectly gnarly dragon you ’ve got going on in there, Cupie and I ’ll hop aboard for the ride.”

“What?” blonde brows scrunching up in confusion, even as she allowed Aphrodite to lead them out of the mostly demolished room and into the courtyard beyond.  “I ’m not....”

Cupid touched her shoulder and she felt another wave of nausea wash through her.  He removed his hand as soon as he felt her distress and Eli took a deep breath to re-establish her equilibrium.  “Sorry,” he muttered, understanding her reaction, but unwilling to betray his secret.  “Normally, we ’d never treat you like some sort of... ride vehicle... or transportation system... or whatever.  But we need your gift – that gnarly dragon, like Mom said – and you need us at your back... literally... to protect you.”  He signed when her confusion showed no sign of letting up.  “We can ’t coax him down – we ’re going to have to take the fight to him.  But you can ’t breathe in space,” he commented, twirling his finger around.  “No air.  We ’ll make sure that ’s not a problem.  We ’ll create a bubble around us and you that will give you the atmosphere you need without impeding your ability to fight.”

“But it ’s not going to protect us when that ship blows, is it?” she asked starkly.

“No way to be sure,” he answered honestly.

“Your best bet is going to be to focus on Arianna,” Aphrodite broke in.  “You ’re like, totally linked together now, yes?”

“Yes, but....”

“No buts,” she said, shaking her head vehemently.  “I want you to focus on that link – to feel her connection to you.  You ’re gonna need that righteous bond to give you the strength you need to get through this.”

Eli studied Aphrodite ’s expression, then closed her eyes and reached out to Arianna with both heart and mind.

************

Arianna stiffened when she felt Eli reach out to her.  The rest noticed, but before Eden could ask, Arianna closed her eyes and relaxed in the captain ’s chair she had assumed as a matter of course.  Eden shifted her chair enough to be able to keep an eye on Arianna without completely losing sight of the viewscreen.  Then she settled in to wait.

************

“Beloved?”  Arianna gasped slightly and sat up straight in the chair for the brief second it took her to recognize Eli ’s presence in her mind.  She drew in a breath and closed her eyes, relaxing back into the chair that smelled vaguely of the woman she loved.  “Beloved?” she felt again.  “I need your help. I need you to help me focus – to focus with me.  I need to feel your strength... your love.”

“Close your eyes, Amado.  Close your eyes and feel me.  Feel me surrounding you.  Can you feel me, Querida?  Can you feel my love; my adoration; my strength?”

“Yes, Beloved.  Stay with me.  You are my best chance of coming home... safe.”

“I ’ll stay by your side, Eli... for as long as you need me.”

Arianna could feel the blinding smile in Eli ’s voice.  “Forever, Beloved.  Remember – we are forever.”

Arianna chuckled.  “It ’s a good start anyway.”

************

The sound of Arianna ’s light laughter caused the rest to look around and smile in reflex.  It was a sound that reminded them of the best of times they ’d survived together before, and it gave them hope now.  Abigail eased behind Arianna and placed her hands lightly on her shoulders.  The feeling of absolute joy was almost overwhelming, and she beckoned Eden over with a jerk of her head.

Eden glanced at the viewscreen, then rose and put a hand on Abigail ’s.  She gasped and yanked her hand away, only to replace it immediately.  After another moment, a wide grin crossed her features.  “Well, crap,” she snarked.  “We got this.”

Abigail nodded, but didn ’t move, using her gifts to strengthen Arianna without interfering with what she had going on with Eli.  It wasn ’t much, but it was something, and it was something the rest could help with if and when the time came.  For now, they would watch... and wait.

************

Cupid and Aphrodite watched in fascination as Eli closed her eyes and slid into a meditative state.  When she smiled, they knew she was in contact with Arianna and moved away slightly to allow her to relax and transform.  While they waited, Cupid studied Aphrodite, a worried frown crossing his countenance.

“Mom?  Where ’s The?  Don ’t we need her for this?”

Tears flooded her blue eyes, but she shook her head to keep them at bay.  “She can ’t handle any more.  We ’re going to have to do this on our own.”

“But....”

“She can ’t, Cue.  She ’s dying.  Doing the transfer of power took everything she had.”  She shook her head again.  “With the power I have now, I should be able to handle anything you can channel.”

“And if you can ’t?”

“It ’s not like either of us expects to survive this.  You know and I know that at the very least it ’s going to cost us our immortality.  It ’s the only way we can be sure she survives,” gesturing towards Eli who was slowly morphing into her dragon form.  “And I ’m okay with that – it means we ’ll go with the rest.  We won ’t be left alone.”

“I ’m sorry for all the time I missed with you,” Cupid whispered sadly.  Aphrodite reached out to cup his face.

“Were you happy?”

“Mostly,” he said, “once I accepted there was no going back for me.  I met so many wonderful people – became family to some and even loved a few - and having the opportunity to watch humanity grown and evolve....  I wouldn ’t have chosen it, but it was a good life.”  He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the back of her knuckles.  “C ’mon.  There ’s a full-sized dragon giving us the stink eye, and I know for a fact she ’s more than a little... shall we say, impish... when she ’s in this form and not engaged in battle or confrontation?”  He grinned wryly.  “She likes to play and has a wicked sense of humor.”

Aphrodite choked out a laugh as they made their way over to where Eli stood with her arms crossed, tapping a claw on a scaled arm and flexing her wings just slightly in tempo with the rhythm of her nail.  She arched a brow above one slitted golden eye at the sound.  Aphrodite swallowed nervously and lowered her voice.  “She gets that from our side of the family, you know,” she offered, then smiled with only a hint of anxiety evident in her expression when a giant head came into view and blocked her progress.  She reached up and gently scratched between the sharply pointed horns.  “You ready, lovely?”

For answer, Eli placed her hand flat on the ground and waited for Aphrodite and Cupid to step aboard.  Then she lifted them to her back and glanced at them with a devilish expression.  In another moment, they were airborne, and headed up to meet Mischief on their terms.

************

“Focus, people,” Arianna murmured into the silence around her.  “She ’s on the move and headed our way.”  She laughed aloud again.  “And apparently giving Cupid and Aphrodite the ride of their lives.”

Eden looked at Jake.  “Can you pull it up?”

He smirked.  “I could... if I had the first idea of where to look for them.”

“Wait for it, Jake.  They should be in front of us – right... about....”

“Got ‘em,” he crowed in triumph, causing the others to cheer excitedly as Eli and her riders flew into view... and then out again... before circling around so Eli could look directly into the bridge.  Arianna stood from the chair and walked to the portal.  She stood utterly still and completely silent as Eli hovered.  After a moment, she raised her hand and Eli flicked her forked tongue before turning her back and heading for the Storm Surge. 

No one noticed the subtle, but steady movement of the Nebula.

************

“Really, Outreach??”  Arianna jumped back when Admiral Cortez ’s face and Mischief ’s inflection appeared on the viewscreen so close to her, she could count the pores on the woman ’s face.  “You ’re sending that freak after me??  How long do you think she can hold her breath??  Realistically speaking, I mean.”  He sneered when he saw Arianna turn away from him and resume her place in the captain ’s seat.  “Well, well, well – if it isn ’t the freak ’s ball and chain.  Come up from your dungeon to watch her die?”

“No – I ’m just here to keep her seat warm while she schools you in the reality of life.”

He laughed at her words, but the hatred that poured from Cortez ’s face was disconcerting, and it took all Arianna could do to keep her countenance devoid of reaction.  “Oh, honey – really?  I know your intelligence, remember?  I ’ve seen your reactor, so please don ’t act stupid.  Even if she could survive the distinct lack of atmosphere in space, there ’s no air for her create fire.”  Mischief leaned closer to the screen and Cortez smiled sadistically.  “You think I don ’t know the consequences of altering the schematics on your reactor?”  He sighed overdramatically, then sneered.  “In complete disclosure, I was hoping to destroy you and those traitors on the planet the old-fashioned way... by blowing you to kingdom come myself.  But I did have a backup plan in place – I never had any intention of leaving here.”

“And the ship ’s crew?”

“Collateral damage.”  Cortez ’s shoulders shrugged, but the expression was all Mischief ’s hatred.  “Not my problem.”

Arianna stared at him for a long moment while the others remained silent, simply watching the byplay between them.  Mischief held her gaze, but his unease grew the longer she remained quiet.  Finally, she gave a slight nod of her head.  “Just remember, Mischief – when you step into eternity and you ’re faced with all those that you killed and sacrificed to end up in that afterlife?  Yeah... not my problem.”

She didn ’t even have to gesture. Jake closed the connection before Mischief could recover from her scathing remark.  As soon as the screen went dark, everyone on the bridge turned and looked at her and Arianna took a shuddering breath.  Eden ’s chuckle broke the tableau and Arianna couldn ’t help but arch her brow in a fair imitation of her mate.  That just made Eden ’s laughter grow louder, and Arianna smiled despite her confusion.  After another minute, Eden drew a deep breath and shook her head.

“Well done, Boss ’s wife.  Very, very well done.”

This time when she smiled, it was wide and intense and the twinkle in her brown eyes was almost blinding.  “That was immensely satisfying,” Arianna confessed.  Then her eyes half-closed and she paused, chuckling again before looking around the room.  “Eli agrees and says it ’s her turn and to prepare for fireworks.”

“Really?  How?  Because he was right about the lack of air out there.”

Arianna shrugged.  “I don ’t know, but she hasn ’t let us down yet.  I don ’t think she ’d gonna pick now to start.”  She glanced around.  “Hang on to your seats, guys.  This promises to be a hell of a ride.”

************

“Hank... Grayson, are you guys getting this?” Matthew asked as he hurried into his ready room.  Not for privacy as much as it was to allow his scientists and crew to do their jobs without his consultation with the other captains interfering.

“If you mean the movement of the Nebula and the spike in power, then yes,” Grayson confirmed as Hank nodded his agreement.  “What do your scientists think?”

“Probably the same as yours.  They ’re still speculating on the degree of intelligence contained within the Nebula, but it ’s obvious there is something more than simply a space anomaly going on there.  It ’s making a deliberate and calculated movement away from what up until now has been its core.”

“My guys are recommending further retreat,” Hank commented.  “Out to the minimal scan distance, and I ’m inclined to agree.  We have no way of knowing what ’s precipitated the movement, and we really don ’t want to become a target if at all possible to avoid it.  The amount of power it seems to have amassed and is currently utilizing....”  The look he exchanged with both of them was sobering.  “I think we should prepare our final messages... just in case.  For Mary as well as our families.  There should be some kind of record left if we ’re not around to pick up the pieces of what ’s left.”

“Maybe that will at least discourage the Alliance from exploring this area of space for a very long time.  We ’ll record for as long as we can.  Hopefully that will give us... or whoever... something to work with to find the answers they need to give some closure to all this.”

“Hey!” Grayson exclaimed, peering at her other monitor before returning her gaze to her fellow captains.  “Are you two seeing what we ’re seeing here?”

Two sets of eyes focused on the screens that showed what was taking place beyond them in the area that had once been home to the now moving Nebula.  Both widened in surprise and shock.

“Is that...?”
“Are those...?”

Grayson nodded.  ”They look like planets to me.  I ’ve got my guys....  Hold on,” accepting a pad from a man who had rushed in the door without waiting for her leave or invitation.  Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped in shock.  “It appears there is life....  We have confirmation of the Outreach!  I repeat....”

“We got it, Gray,” Matt cut in.  “Thing is – does it change anything for us besides being able to report that we found them?”

“I don ’t see how it can,” Hank replied.  “We haven ’t been able to raise them on the comm system and given the massive build up within the Nebula we can actually see happening, there ’s no way we would be able to reach them in time.  And the scope of our responsibilities are far broader than those kids.”

“I reluctantly concur,” Grayson said. 

“All right. We ’ll find each other on the flip side of all this, yeah?”

Grayson and Hank chuckled.  Every now and again, Matthew reverted to the street kid he ’d been for a good portion of his growing up, and it always caught them by surprise.  He had worked hard to present a more polished version of himself, but sometimes that kid slipped into the cracks.  And that was okay – the kid was the one that got things done when more conventional measures and ideas failed.

“Yeah,” Grayson said with a kind smile in the face of Matthew ’s blush.  “We ’ll see you on the flip side.  I ’m going to leave a recorder behind... just so we don ’t miss anything.”

“Good idea - we ’ll do the same.  Be safe, my friends.”  Goodbyes were exchanged quickly, then the three returned to their bridges and the controlled chaos that reigned.

************

“Mama?” Nathaniel called out quietly even as he knocked on the door.  Mary looked up and saw his face - her stern, pained expression melting into a smile when she met his eyes.

“Come in, my son.  What can I do for you?”

“Nothing,” he replied.  “I just wanted to check on you.”  He held up a hand before she could retort.  “I know we made you angry by inviting the parents here, and it ’s been a hell of a day – what with the nerve wracking anticipation of today ’s hearing and all.  Hell, I think it gave me an ulcer, and I was just a bystander.  I can ’t imagine....  We ’re just worried about you.”

Her smile became a little grim and she nodded her head.  “I know – it was, and I am... angry, I mean,” she admitted frankly.  “I don ’t like....”  She shook her head.  “But I ’m also not stupid.  We need each other, and they deserve whatever information we can provide about their children.  But they didn ’t need to come all this way because of today ’s Council interview.”

“You know that they came here just for you, right?”

“Don ’t remind me,” she growled.  “They have far bigger concerns....”

“No, they don ’t!” his vehemence startling her.  “We asked them to come For. YOU.”  He came around the side of the bed and sat on the edge, taking her hand in his.  “You may not like it – you may not understand it.  But they get it.”

“Get what?”

“We need you, Mama.  Us... those kids... hell, even those parents and the Council.  And you deserve to know how much you ’re loved and respected by your peers.  They ’re not here for any other reason than to support you.  Let them.  Let us.”

She lifted a hand and cupped his face, and he reached out and gently wiped the lone tear that had escaped her eye.  She smiled at him and he smiled back.  “You ’re a good son, Nathaniel.  I love you.”

He smiled.  “I know.  I love you, too.  We all do.”  His eyes twinkled and his grin turned playful.  “Joy said dinner will be served shortly.  I hope so – it smells really good down there, and I ’m starving.”

“There ’s hardly been a time when you didn ’t think that you were starving,” Mary replied with a smirk. 

Nathaniel shrugged, knowing it for the truth.  “It made eating military food easier,” causing her to laugh.  “Now,” he said, rising to his feet.  “Will you come join us?  I ’m pretty sure some of the parents are cooking up some sort of entertainment for after dinner.”

Mary ’s eyes widened.  “Should I be concerned?” standing slowly and flinching when she attempted to put weight on her leg.  Nathaniel slid to her side gracefully and took her weight without ceremony.

“I don ’t think so,” he offered with a serious frown.  “Joy already nixed anything with fire or knives or bloodshed.”

“Oh... dear,” Mary said.  Nathaniel simply laughed aloud again, and helped Mary ease her way to the door.  She smiled in sympathy. Suddenly the night was rife with possibilities.

Continued

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