had been like since moving to Washington, which she didn't think really mattered to anyone but him, and she picked up from him what he'd been doing since he left her, which surprised her. "You've been busy, I see," she chuckled.

"Pardon?" Luke asked, glancing back at them.

"I was talking to Jason," she told him. "We're catching up."

"Oh," Luke said with a nod as he looked quite deliberately at the bare hand on Jason's neck, then turned back to his task, as Jyslin completed hers.

"They know about Tim too?" she asked in surprise.

He nodded. "He felt it best that everyone know, after what happened in Chesapeake. We didn't want any secrets, with everyone so tense."

"I'm sorry that happened, love," she told him sincerely.

"Thank you," he said with a sigh, as she hissed in pain when he pulled her boot off. Her ankle was badly swollen and had some bruising on the inside. She winced repeatedly as his fingers tested the swollen area. "I don't think it's broken, but you did something pretty serious to it," he told her. "It shouldn't still be swollen after this long."

"Well, the swelling had been going down, but I twisted it again yesterday, when I climbed back up to the cave after looking for food. Speaking of food, you wouldn't happen to have anything in the skimmer, would you? I'm starving."

"I'm sorry, hon, but no," he answered. "I don't even have any water. I think I should put an emergency pack in here, though, in case _we_ crash some day. At least then we'd have some food and water."

"Well, I think I can last until we get to where we're going," she assured him.

"Begging your pardon, but you don't have to talk just to make me feel comfortable, Miss Jyslin," Luke told her. "I won't be offended if you want to talk to him the other way."

Jyslin laughed. "I'm not talking for your benefit, Luke," she told him. "I'm exhausted, and using talent is more effort than talking. Right now, it's easier to talk."

"But you were, uh," he said, then trailed off as he tried to find words.

"Yes, but it wore me out," she said, giving Jason a glorious smile.

"After I eat and get some sleep, you won't hear my voice very much when I'm with him. We don't speak aloud very often."

"Ah. Well, we'll be landing in about ten minutes, ma'am. We'll have you sitting in a bed with a tray of food in front of you in fifteen."

"I hope there's a bath in there somewhere," she said. "Five days in this prison suit doesn't do very much for the way I smell."

"We can manage that," Jason told her, sitting down again and taking her hand.

She was too tired to send anymore, but the smile on her dirty face was all the communication he needed.

Symone was the first one to sense it. As Luke dropped the skimmer under the hologram, her tentative sendings reached them. _Jason? Is that Jyslin? Trelle's garland, did you go get Jyslin?_

_She decided to come get us,_ Jason replied. _She's injured, Symone. Can you get some food together and get a bath going? She needs both._

_Hurt? What happened?_

_She hurt her ankle._

_Then why isn't she sending?_

_Because she's exhausted,_ Jyslin answered wryly.

_Jyslin! It's great to hear from you! I'll get started on that food right now!_ Tim sent.

_It's good to hear you, Tim,_ Jyslin responded.

_Don't push her,_ Jason chided sharply. _We're about to land. You can come talk to her, but stop sending, you're just tempting her._

She gave him an amused look.

"Mister Jason, have you thought about what you're going to tell Kate?"

Jason laughed. "Luke, that's not going to be a problem at all. Kate's not _really_ my girlfriend."

"But she lives with you."

"Yeah, but not for the reason we let everyone believe," he answered honestly. "I'll explain it later."

Luke landed the skimmer lightly, then they both carried her out into the spring night. Symone and Tim were there to greet them. Symone gave her a strong hug, Tim took her hand in greeting, then they walked her into the mansion and took straight up to Jason's apartment. Luke opened the door for Jason, who carried her in quickly. "Where's Kate?"

"She's not here," he answered. "She's been gone for the last three days. All those times I've said she wasn't feeling well, or was sick, she's actually been gone."

"Gone? What's she doing?"

"Something very important," he answered. "We'll go into that later, Luke."

"Yes, I'm dying to hear about this," Jyslin said, giving him a smile, but it was somewhat disingenuous given that she already knew all about Kiaari.

Luke left them when he realized they were going to take off Jyslin's filthy jumpsuit, which was handled with quick efficiency. "When will Kate get back?" Jyslin asked as she started ravenously eating the bowl of venison stew that Tim had brought from the kitchen. Jason was kneeling at the foot of the chair they had her in, inspecting her ankle once again. It was easier to see now that he had better light and they weren't in something that moved.

"Soon, I hope," Jason answered. "She's the one that'll be able to do something about your ankle. Until she gets back, all we can really do is bandage it up and make sure you stay off of it."

"Food never tasted so good," she sighed, spooning it into her mouth in rapid strokes. _How does it look?_

_The same as it did the last time I looked at it,_ Jason told her tersely.

_Then why are you looking at it again?_ she asked with a sly smile.

Tim laughed aloud, and Symone had to suppress a snicker.

"Because I didn't get a chance to inspect it as well as I wanted," he answered audibly. "I can't tell if anything's broken or not."

"We can use the scanner down in the shop like an x-ray," Tim offered.

"That's a good idea," Jason agreed.

"I'll go get it," Tim offered. "Want me to bring anything else?"

"Three more bowls of this would be nice," Jyslin told him, holding the bowl out where he could see it. "I haven't eaten for three days."

"I'll bring a tray," he said as he scurried from the room.

_Make it a big one!_ she sent after him.

Tim's idea to use a scanner as an x-ray was effective. The two of them inspected Jyslin's ankle using it while she ate, and found no bone damage in her ankle. Thankfully, she had no broken bones or torn ligaments, but her ankle had obviously been severely sprained. _It happened during the crash,_ she sent as she ate from a tray of assorted bread, vegetables, and venison. _My foot got trapped between those pedals on the floor when I hit the ground. So, my foot stayed while the rest of me went flying._

_I think you'll recover well enough,_ Jason sent. _I don't see any breaks or tears. A couple of weeks wearing a bandage without putting any weight on it should do the trick._

_Good. Now, you've checked my foot, and I've eaten as much as I can without getting sick, so carry me to the nearest bathtub._

While Jyslin bathed, Tim and Symone sat in the living room, and Jason sat on a stool right by her bathtub, unwilling to leave her side. Jyslin's sending became noticeably stronger and stronger as she bathed, as the energy of the food got into her system, and she spent that time telling Tim and Symone all that had happened to her since they'd last seen each other. She finished up her story about the same time she finished her bath, telling them about Jason's brief approach close enough for her to know he was alive, and her ultimate decision to abandon her life as a Marine and come join them. _All this time, I secretly hoped that he'd come back,_ she sent honestly. _But then Chesapeake exploded, and I thought he was dead. When he came to let me know he was alive, I just couldn't stand it anymore. We belong together, and if he's serious enough about what he's doing, then I'll be the one to bend to the situation. I left the squad a note, and then I left. They tracked me down outside Lynchburg though. I spent a night in the brig, then I escaped when they tried to load me into a dropship to take me back to the base. Jason love, you need to teach me how to fly a dropship,_ she sent impishly. _I'm afraid I didn't learn very well all that time I watched you fly._

There was a knock on the door out in the living room, and then he heard Luke and Temika's voices. Temika hadn't sent a word since Jyslin arrived, and Jason suspected that she was probably a little afraid to do so. She didn't know Jyslin, and she had been told in the past that she had to keep her talent a secret from the Faey. Jason couldn't fault her for being cautious, it was the smart thing to do.

_Mika, it's okay to send,_ Jason sent openly. _Jyslin knows you're a telepath. She won't tell anyone._

_Too right, _Jyslin sent with amusement. _Who could I tell that didn't already know?_

_Well, Ah didn't want to take a chance,_ Temika sent tentatively. _It's good to finally meet you, Jyslin._

_Well, we've never been formally introduced. I'm Jyslin, Temika. I'm Jason's fiance._

_She's not wasting any time,_ Tim sent casually.

_No, not at all,_ Symone answered lightly.

Jason looked into Jyslin's eyes, and he took her hand. _Fiance sounds just right to me,_ he sent openly.

Those out in the living room heard Jyslin's excited squeal quite clearly. Jyslin hugged him fiercely, getting his shirt soaking wet, then kissed him deeply. Jyslin's kiss had never once failed to curl his toes; she _really_ knew how to kiss. "Is Miss Jyslin alright?" Luke asked in concern. "Maybe she fell."

"She's fine, Luke," Symone laughed. "Jason's in there with her. They just got engaged."

"Oh, that's nice. But could someone explain why Kate won't mind?"

_You can tell him some of it,_ Jason sent.

"Kate's not really his girlfriend, Luke," Symone told him. "She's an agent."

"An agent? Of what?"

"Think of her as that Jamie Bond guy."

"James," Tim corrected.

"Whatever. Jason hired her to do those spy agent things to gather information. She pretends to be his girlfriend so she can live here and they can do all their secret planning without having to explain too much why they're always together talking. It's also how she hides how she's gone all the time. Jason just tells everyone she's not feeling well. If she didn't live with someone that knew her secret, people would go looking for her if she vanished for a couple of days, and then her secret would be out."

Luke seemed to digest that for a moment, then he slowly nodded. "I don't see the need for them to be all secretive about it, but I can understand why they do it."

"Trust me, Luke," Jason said as he carried Jyslin out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, "it's necessary. I can't explain why, so you'll have to trust me."

"That's all I need to hear, Mister Jason. If you say to trust you, then I'll trust you."

"I appreciate that, Luke," he said with a nod.

"It'd be nice if you could've told _me_ some of that," Tim said, a bit testily.

"We're telling you now," Jason told him. "Kate asked me not to tell anyone. I had to tell Symone because Symone had to screen her, and then after Mika got hurt, I had to tell her so Kate could treat her burn. Kate has... some medical training that she wouldn't have been able to explain away, so it became necessary to tell Mika. But Kate gave me permission to tell people about her when it was needful, and this is one of those needful situations."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense, I guess."

"As soon as Kate gets back, she can look at Jyslin's ankle then?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, so I'm hoping she comes back soon," Jason nodded as he set Jyslin on the couch, then knelt down and picked up her injured leg. "You got that ace bandage Tim?"

"I put ithold on, I set it on the endtable," he said, rushing over to the little table by the door to Jason's apartment.

Jason bandaged up Jyslin's ankle, falling back on mimicking how the trainers used to do it back when he played football in college, then patted her calf. "All done," he told her.

"Thank you, love. I wish I could say it already feels better, but not yet."

"Just give it time," he told her. "It's going to hurt for a few days, then you'll be walking around before you know it."

Jason's panel began to beep. Symone picked it up and carried it over to him, and he pulled it out of sleep mode and saw that there was an incoming call from an unknown number. The panel stopped beeping, then began again. "It's Kate," he realized when the panel stopped again quickly, then started once more. She was hanging up and calling back in a specific sequence of timed rings, something she had worked out with him before she left to start gathering information. He set the panel on the coffee table and accepted the call. Her face winked into the main window, and he saw that she was in a phone booth on a busy street, one of the new phone booths that had video. "Jason, Ioh, is that Jyslin?" she asked.

Jason nodded. "She deserted."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you. I guess I'll have to move out of Jason's bedroom now," she grinned.

"I think you're right about that," Jyslin said. "So, you're the mysterious Kate I've heard so much about. It's good to meet you too."

"Just doing my job," she said easily. "Jason, I had to call, something important has happened."

"What is it?"

"My _sister_ needs your help," she said, stressing her word to make him understand that she was talking about Miaari. "She's going to meet you exactly halfway between where you are now and where you came from, at the bridge they call Speed Trap Overpass."

"Why does she need my help?"

"That's something that my sister will have to explain to you," she answered. "She's already there, Jason. You need to go there. Now. And you need to do what you've always done when you meet my sister. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I'll start out right now."

"Thank you, Jason. I'm on my way home now. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"We'll keep breakfast warm for you."

"Thanks, I'm going to need it. Goodbye."

She hung up immediately, the screen went blank, and then his panel returned to idle mode now that its task was completed. "What was that about?" Jyslin asked.

"Something serious must have happened," he said, standing up. "Miaari wouldn't need to see me in person unless it was _very_ serious."

"Who is Miaari?" Tim asked.

Jason silently kicked himself for slipping and saying Miaari's name, but the damage had been done. "The woman Kate was talking about," he answered. "She's also in Kate's particular profession, that's why she called her her sister. If you guys will excuse me, I need to get my armor on."

"Armor? Why do you need armor?"

"Because Kate told me to wear it," he answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready. Luke, could you go down and get the skimmer ready to go?"

"I'll get her warmed up for you, Jayce," Luke nodded, then he rushed off.

_Jayce, what's going on?_ Tim sent as Jason went into his bedroom and started undressing.

_I don't know, but if Kate had to call me, then it's very serious,_ he answered.

_Why do you have to wear armor?_ Tim pressed.

_I'm not sure, but Kate told me to wear it, and I trust her judgment._

Jason was completely mystified by why Miaari would need to see him, but he would go see her. He trusted her explicitly, as much as he trusted Jyslin or Symone, and he was sure that this wasn't a trap. He just couldn't fathom why she would need to speak with him in person. He stewed over it in vain as he armored up, then came out of his bedroom in his black armor and holding his helmet. "I'll have to go alone," he told them. "I always have before. I'm not sure what Miaari needs, so I'm not sure when I'll be back."

_You be _very_ careful, Jason,_ Temika sent urgently.

_I'll be safe enough,_ he sent in reply. _Miaari would never hurt me. I trust her._

_They may have bought her off._

_Miaari? Never,_ he scoffed mentally. _Trust me. Miaari could never be bribed._

Jason cut off Temika's impending sending with a wave of his hand, and then leaned down and kissed Jyslin on the cheek. "I'm sorry to run off like this, hon," he told her. "We just got back together, and here I am running off before we even have a chance to catch up."

_It's alright, love. I know that this is important. Just get it done and come home, okay?_

_I'll do my best,_ he assured her, kissing her again.

Jason was over the abandoned city of Hurricane in five minutes after getting into the skimmer, and still his mind raced as he tried to comprehend what Miaari would possibly need to see him for, but he knew that the only way to find out was to go down and talk to her. The bridge that Kiaari had mentioned was an overpass over the old Interstate, a bridge that, back before the subjugation, was rather notorious for being one of the biggest speed traps in all of West Virginia. It was so notorious that even the squatters that moved in after the subjugation knew about the reputation of this place, from the people who had remained behind when everyone was moved out. That was how he knew exactly where to go, and he saw a small dropship sitting under that bridge, the vehicle in which Miaari had come to see him. Jason descended in his skimmer and then inched it under the bridge beside the dropship, and saw that there was no activity, only an open hatch.

An invitation.

Jason swept the area with his talent, seeking out the presence of minds. Much to his surprise, Miaari was not only there, but she was not alone. Meya, Myra, Kumi, Fure, and three minds he did not know were in that dropship, and that confused him even more. Why was Kumi here with her entourage? She was in her conscription, working as an aide for some general or admiral or beaurocrat or something like that. Was she the one that needed to see him? If so, why the subterfuge, when she could have just called him? She knew his number. It was very dangerous for her to come here, and that made her act even less sensical.

They were not sending. There was dead silence in that dropship, at least from a telepathic point of view, and that too seemed odd.

Jason opened the hatch, and extended the arm guns on his armor, just in case. There was something not right about this situation, and he didn't want to walk into that dropship without being ready.

He stepped up to the hatch, and saw Miaari standing in the hatch of the dropship across from him, in her natural shape. She looked over at him with her luminous eyes, and only nodded and beckoned him to come to her with a hand.

Jason stepped down the steps of his skimmer, walked the fifteen feet between the two ships, and then started up the stairs of the dropship. Miaari continued to stand where she was, watching him, her expression neutral, but her eyes did notice the extended MPACs on his forearms. "Remain quiet, and do not send," she told him in a low whisper. "Enter."

Jason did so, stepping into the dropship. He entered a passenger dropship, its rear area converted into a somewhat lavish living space, the conveyance of a rich noble who wanted to travel from space to ground in comfort. It was decorated with blue carpet, white cloth couches facing one another over a glass coffee table, and with intricate designs painted onto the walls. Meya and Myra stood behind one of those couches, wearing nothing but simple white wraps, almost like robes, and Fure stood to one side, wearing a black jumpsuit of some kind. Three Faey were seated with their backs to him, two females and a male, and Kumi was laying on the couch facing him.

She was injured.

Her middle was wrapped in Faey bio-reactive bandaging, treated to accelerate healing, and she had a venting tube affixed to her nose and an IV tube in her arm, feeding some kind of cloudy bluish fluid into her bloodstream. She was laying on the couch, eyes closed, and her breathing was shallow but steady.

"Kumi!" Jason gasped, but Miaari put a finger to her muzzle, a reminder for him to remain quiet. "Miaari, what happened?"

"She got too close to the truth someone wanted to remain secret," she answered. "Someone tried to assassinate her. She was shot by an MPAC, shot from behind just outside the office where she works."

"My God," Jason breathed.

"It goes beyond that. Twice, assassins tried to enter her hospital room and finish what was started. Then, after she was moved to Arcturi manner, another assassin managed to evade the manor's security and breach the compound. I caught him just outside Kumi's room. They were well prepared. The assassins all had no knowledge of who hired them, only a target, and they were armed with all the information they needed to bypass the security of every facility where Kumi was being kept. The one I caught had the passcodes to the manor, something no one outside of Trillane would have.

"Jason, someone in House Trillane wants Kumi dead," Miaari said grimly. "Whoever this is, she has major resources at her disposal, so much so that she can hire professional, high-priced assassins. Simply put, there is no safe place for her, except here, with you. I am asking you as a personal favor to take her in and watch over her."

"Kumi found the slavers," Jason whispered. "And they found out she was looking for them."

"She did not find them, but clearly she asked the wrong question to the wrong person," Miaari told him. "Word got back to them, and now they are trying to kill her."

"Poor Kumi," Jason sighed. "Is she going to be alright?"

"With rest and time, she will recover," one of the Faey Jason did not know whispered in reply, turning around in her seat. She was a petite little Faey with a heart-shaped face and short, blue-white hair that was curly and somewhat wild.

Jason looked at Miaari. "I, Miaari, our doctor was killed in the explosion in Chesapeake," he told her. "We don't have anyone"

"Don't worry about that, sir," the same woman answered. "Me and my two companions here are doctors. We'll be going with you to tend to our patient, and whatever other injuries you or your people may have."

Jason looked to Miaari, and then he quite deliberately reached up and removed his helmet. She reached over and put her hand on his neck, and in that touch she conveyed to him both her towering concern for Kumi, who was her best friend, and her assurance that anyone who went with him was absolutely trustworthy, and would not in any way endanger him or his people. She also communicated to him that through Kiaari, she was fully aware of what he was doing, and that she would personally vouch that no Faey in that dropship would threaten his plans in any way.

It really wasn't a hard choice to make. Miaari knew everything about him, and it was then that he understood Kiaari's blind trust in her sister. Jason would trust Miaari because he had no reason _not_ to trust Miaari. Besides, Jason owed Kumi such a huge debt, it would have been a sin not to give her aid in her time of need when she had done so much for him.

"Kumi is my friend," he whispered. "Of course I won't turn her away, Miaari. As long as someone's there who can help her recover, she's welcome to stay with us."

"All before you save me will be going with you," Miaari told him. "As I am sure they will tell you, now their lives are in just as much danger. The noble within Trillane trying to kill Kumi will try to kill them as well, just in case she passed along any information to them. Meya, Myra, and Fure will continue their tasks in her household as before. The three Faey you do not know are doctors, Jason. Yohne, Songa, and Rann will serve both Kumi and you as physicians. Songa and Rann have agreed to remain behind after the others leave to serve your people as doctors for your people."

"What happened to that little Makati?"

"He is dead," she answered in hushed tones. "The assassin that invaded Arcturi Manor was not there _only_ to kill Kumi. He killed four of Kumi's personal servants before reaching her door. That is why the others are here. If they return to Draconis, they will be targeted for assassination."

Meya and Myra both nodded vigorously, their expressions grim and a little nervous and worried. Whatever had happened on Draconis, it had scared the twins badly.

"Well, this is going to be interesting," Jason said quietly. "Miaari, earlier tonight, I picked up Jyslin not far from where I live. She deserted. And now I'm taking in Kumi and more Faey. I think my people are going to think I'm a maniac."

"With luck, Jason, they will not be burdening you for long," she told him. "Whoever tried to kill Kumi has riled me, and now I'm going to find who did it and deal with her. If all goes well, Kumi will be returning home after she recovers from her injury, and the others will be leaving with her, except for Songa and Rann. They'll be staying with you for as long as you have need of them."

"Is that entirely wise?"

"They have my confidence," she said simply. "They will not threaten your security or your plans. They will help you in any way they can. And with what is coming, Jason, you will _need_ a doctor. Songa and Rann will be those doctors."

"Well, if you trust them, then I guess it's alright."

"Very well, now that that's all settled, let's get to work," Miaari said. "There are supplies and equipment we need to load into your skimmer, Jason, then we must get Kumi aboard and on her way."

"Before we do that," Jason said, looking at the Faey before him, "there's something you need to know about me, and some of the people you're going to meet. And it's something that you must _never_ reveal, to anyone, _ever_."

"We already know you have talent, Jason," Meya told him with a strained, nervous smile. "And we already know that that boy from your school that we know has talent is with you. Miaari has already sworn us to silence on the matter."

The three doctors all nodded in agreement.

"They will never reveal any secrets they may learn while with your people, Jason," Miaari told him. "On that, you have my word."

"Alright. If you know the truth, then understand this, which is the one rule you will _not_ break. You will not probe, scan, or even eavesdrop on _anyone_ in Charleston, and I mean _no one_. The people there trust us as much as they do because they know that we respect their privacy. If you have a problem with this, then just totally close your mind, because if I even _suspect_ that one of you is using your talent to listen to the thoughts of the people in the community, I won't even bother to call Miaari to come pick you up. I'll just toss you out. Is that understood?"

They all nodded, though they looked a bit unsettled with his adamant proclamation.

"Good. The other part of that is you will _not_ press or push on the other human telepaths. We are _not _Faey, and the others aren't as well trained or as comfortable in their talent as you are. Tim and Temika aren't going to be too thrilled with you being there, and Temika especially is going to be very wary around you. Unless they send privately to you, do _not_ send privately to them. Open sendings are fine, that's just public chatter, but don't try to send to them privately. Is this understood?"

They nodded once again.

"Then that's good enough for me," Jason whispered with a nod. "Alright, let's get going."

With the help of the Faey, Jason loaded a large amount of medical supplies and equipment into the cargo hold of his skimmer. They brought everything they needed to treat Kumi, even the supplies they'd need for surgery if it was necessary, and some additional equipment that Miaari told him Songa had demanded to have if she was to serve as Charleston's primary doctor. The twins' armor and weapons were in those supplies, as well as armor that looked to belong to Kumi, and one more suit that Miaari told him was made for Songa and Rann. Given that Jason might soon be at war with Trillane, sending them to his people with their own armor was only wise. There was so much equipment that Jason ran out of room in the hold, and was forced to stack it in seats in the cabin... and there was still too much. He told the Faey that they were going to be either sitting on or holding boxes of supplies on the trip back to Charleston.

Then came the issue of Kumi. She was unconscious, being held in a medically-induced coma so she would heal faster and not move around... and that was absolutely necessary. The MPAC blast to her back had almost torn her in half at the waist, and it had taken a tremendous amount of work by a large team of doctors and surgeons to save her life. Given the drastic amount of reconstructive surgery they had been forced to do on her, she had to remain absolutely motionless to give those reconstructed areas a chance to heal. Moving her wasn't going to be a problem, but the problem came from the fact that there was no place to lay her flat in his skimmer. Fure and Jason both came up with the idea of slinging a board over two seats in the cabin at the same time, which meant that with all the equipment in the cabin and Kumi taking up two of the eight seats, the only people who were really going to be sitting in the cockpit were Jason and whoever sat in the copilot's chair. Everyone else would have to stand in the center aisle.

It was done with gentle care. She was laying atop a stretcher on the couch, so Jason and Miaari picked up that stretcher and slowly, carefully, and methodically navigated the dropship cabin and moved her out and into his skimmer. She was laid across the seats behind the cockpit chairs, and Jason literally slid under her stretcher to get to the controls. Miaari leaned over Kumi and looked at him as he got the skimmer ready to take off. "I'm sorry to impose on you like this, my friend," she told him, "but I truly could not think of anywhere safer to bring her."

"It's alright, Miaari," he told her. "I'll do everything I can to keep her safe. Are you going to be alright? Whoever did this must know that you're going to come looking for her. It's going to be dangerous."

"Yes, it seems that whoever it is has already taken certain steps, because it's well known that I am Kumi's friend, and they know what it means when a Kimdori calls you _friend_. But that's not going to save them. I _will_ find out who did this, and then the wrath of the Kimdori will be visited upon them all."

"All I can say is good luck, and be careful, Miaari," he told her in a sober whisper.

"If you need anything, my sister can pass the word. We keep in regular contact."

"I think we'll be alright."

Miaari leaned well down and nuzzled the sid