 would they not? They can interface with them the same way they interface with the minds of living beings, and they were key to their creation. A biogenic computer would be the most logical computer for them to use.]_

_[She has you there, Jason,] _Myleena grinned.

_[I will recall the scout vessel, if you so wish it. It is fully operational and is capable of jumping back to Karis.]_

_[Go ahead, call it back. We might be able to use it to get back to Earth.]_

_[Sending the order. It will arrive in 1.2 days. It must clear the nebula before it can jump back to Karis. Kosigi responds that it has two prototype destroyers and a light cruiser docked, which are salvageable with maintenance, but it has no power to open the bay doors. It requests a maintenance team to be sent or the restoration of the main power station on Karis, which is impossible. I will respond by ordering it to remain in standby for now. Its emergency power will last for 1,685.5 more years, so it is in no danger of power failure. Is this satisfactory, Jason?]_

_[Why ask me?]_

_[Because you are in command of this planet, and it is your orders I obey,] _Cybi answered.

_[Oh, go ahead and do what you think best. I'm not really qualified to give any real orders here, Cybi. I really have no idea what the hell is going on.]_

_That seemed to amuse Cybi. [Be patient, your Grace. Leadership is a learned skill more than it is a natural quality.]_

_[Please don't call me that.]_

_[Yes, Jason.]_

"It's working," Jason said to Min and Maya. "Cybi made contact with the lunar base and a single scout ship somewhere out in the galaxy that's still working. The base is a bust, but the scout ship is on the way back here. We can use the scout ship to get home."

"Nice," Min said. "I'm hungry. Let's go grab some of those _tasty_ field rations," she said sarcastically.

"I'm getting a little tired. Wonder what the others are up to?"

_Where are you guys and what are you doing?_ Jason called in an open sending that reached all over the island.

_Me, Meya, and Sheleese are on the way back from checking out a big fuckin' robot on the other side of the island, but it's in pretty bad shape, _Myri called. _It'll take some major work to get it up and running. It's been sitting there for at least a hundred years. The others had better be finishing up that inventory I told them to do._

_We're almost done, Sarge. Not much here. I found a small armory of about fifty weapons, but that's it, _Ilia answered.

_We've got two small single-seaters I think are some kind of old fighters over here in the hangar, and a pretty old dropship that might still work, _Zora added. _I'm inside it nowwait, got it. This thing still works. Took me a few to get the hang of this layout, this is different than any dropship I've ever seen. Damn, after a thousand years, it purrs like a vulpar. Okay boss, we got an operational dropship here._

_They got quite a bit of stored equipment, but I can't make any sense of any of it, _Bryn chimed in. _It's all weird shit I've never seen before._

_Nothing edible around here at all, boss. We're stuck with field rations til we're done, _Lyn reported. _I tested the plants, and none of them are digestible._

_I've finished up testing the water, Sarge. It's clean, so we're good on that, _Yana reported. _It's saltwater though, so we're gonna have to run it through a purifier._

_I'm in the infirmary. There's not much here I'm familiar with, and I'm not sure how much use it's going to be. I'm going to need some time to try to work this out. I wish Rann were here, he was so good with the technical things, _Songa sent sadly.

_What's your status up there, Jason?_

_We're done repairing the comm array. It's up and running, and the computer has made contact with a lunar base and a lone unmanned scout ship out somewhere in the galaxy. She recalled it, and it's on its way back. We can use that to get off the planet. The lunar base says it has 3 ships in its bay, but it doesn't have power to open the doors to let them out._

_Are they operational?_

_No, it said they need repairs._

_Sounds like the scout ship is our best bet. I'm not too keen on hitching a ride with that robot ship back to Draconis. Alright, everyone, stand down for tonight. Grab some bunks over in that hotel, grab some food, and take it easy. We'll pick up again in the morning._

After a dinner of field rations, everyone claimed a room in the hotel building beside the main operations center, but Jason couldn't sleep. He ended up sitting on a sandy beach just beside the compound, lights from the compound washing light over the area enough to let him see, see the white sand, see the waves crashing into the beach in soothing rushes of sound, feel a warm breeze blowing in from the sea. This place was so much like Earth... well, at least here on this island. There wasn't a single animal anywhere on this entire planet, except for the twelve Faey and lone human here.

It had been too much. He laid back and looked at the unfamiliar stars, his eyes automatically seeking out the constellations that his father would always point out to him, but they weren't there. How did they get here so fast? Just yesterday, he'd never have believed that they'd end up here, with the crest ring of the Karinnes in his pocket, and them doing repairs to help a sentient computer keep in contact with them when they left. He expected to be on the way back to Earth, or already be there, by now. He had hoped to be back at the mountain, back with Jyslin. But he was here, on this dead planet, discovering that his lineage was more amazing than he ever believed, and that his ancestors had left behind technology that would be considered highly advanced even by _today's_ standards.

So much intelligence. So little wisdom. Had they become so arrogant that they believed nobody would dare attack them, so they didn't even bother building a defense to protect themselves? Did they believe that the other houses would honor their vows of neutrality to the point where they did not take precautions? Or did they simply become so blinded by their own ambitions that they ignored the defenses of the house? He guessed he'd never really know. Cybi might know, but in a way, he almost didn't want to ask the question. It was the distant past, and it wouldn't be a very good story.

It was almost too unbelievable, and it did make him curious. Cybi had told him that only _some_ of the Karinne line had been altered. He wondered how the house operated with the Generations on one side and the unaltered Karinnes on the other. How did the unaltered Karinnes see their altered cousins? Was there any friction within the house? He guessed he'd never know, but it did cross his mind.

So much to think about... _too_ much to think about. It was all so overwhelming. So many questions, so much speculation about what had happened, how things had led to this point. The only real satisfaction he got out of it was that he finally understood how the Kimdori were tied up in all this. They had been helping him because he was considered a cousin to them, a relative, and they wanted him to know his history. They wanted him to see that he was the legacy of Karinne, and Miaari had sent him here, to Karis, to show him where he had come from and the melancholy pride of being part of something that had at once been so grand, so visionary, and also so ominous, so dangerous. The Karinnes had had the potential to be a tremendous asset to the Imperium if they ever would have shared the technology they created, but also be the most evil, sinister force unleashed upon the galaxy, using their advanced technology and their genetically altered members to conquer the inferior.

Yet they had done neither.

It could have all turned on the motivations of a single House ruler, he supposed. Instead of doing either of those, they simply remained quietly motivated to continue their nearly mad objective, ignoring the Imperium, ignoring reality, and focusing with what Jason saw now was suicidal focus on a single goal.

But that was the past. It would never be repeated, if only because there were only two Karinnes left.

He thought about what was ahead of them. They had to get back to the mountain, and do it without leading Trillane right to the base. If there was something here he could take home to help them there, he'd be overjoyed to find it. From what he'd heard, it was now basically a state of war back on Earth, as Jyslin unleashed her fury over Jason's capture upon Trillane, and Trillane became more and more extreme in their retaliatory actions. He had to get home and put a stop to it. Jyslin's actions were understandable, but the lay human population was starting to suffer because of it, and if they turned the people against them, they were doomed to failure. He wasn't sure how they were going to get there, but they'd find a way. If he could just get close enough to make contact with someone, they could send a dropship for them.

Footsteps reached his ears, and he turned his head on the sand to look. Songa was approaching him. He sat up as she sat down beside him, then she leaned against him. He put his arm around her. They said nothing, sent, nothing, for a long time. He was used to this. Songa found comfort when someone was holding her, and sometimes she needed that comfort even now, months after the death of her husband. She didn't like to be alone, especially at night. She put her head on his shoulder and simply enjoyed his company, and all he could really think of was how hard all this had been on her, and how he felt responsible for her loss. She didn't blame him in any way for Rann's death, but they had been there helping him. If they'd have stayed home, if they hadn't have gotten involved, then Rann would still be alive.

And that would have gone against everything both of them believed in, he realized. Rann had died doing what he loved, doing what he needed to do. If he had stayed home, he wouldn't have been being a doctor.

But he still owed her. Songa would get anything she needed, and if there was ever anything he could do for her, it would be done. He owed this woman so much, and he would always be there for her.

She lifted her head and looked up at him, the reached over and put her fingers on the gray metal of the gestalt delicately._ It looks good on you, _she told him._ I don't think I told you that._

_I'm already used to it._

_Does it slide around?_

_No, it kinda glues itself into place. It's not uncomfortable, though._

_Oh. Jason, will you do something for me?_

_Anything, Songa._

_I'm lonely. I don't want to be lonely._

He understood what she meant immediately. And he would be a terrible friend if he didn't give her what she wanted. He leaned down and kissed her, gently, and she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled herself into his embrace.

                                        * * *

It had been a good thing for her. And it wasn't all that bad for Jason... and he knew that Jyslin would have approved in a heartbeat.

Jason woke up early and left the room Songa had claimed as her own before dawn, letting her sleep peacefully. He could never be Rann, but at least, for one night, there was no pain, there was only the simple pleasure of making love with someone she liked very much, which to a Faey was a more than acceptable thing. It was a night spent doing anything but mourning her husband, and Jason supposed it was another step towards completing her mourning for him.

One thing, though. Songa was a biter. He was going to have to have a little talk with her about that.

He turned a corner, and almost fell down backwards, because he nearly walked headlong right into _Miaari_!

"Miaari!" Jason gasped, putting a hand over his heart. "You scared me to death!"

"May, may I?" she asked hesitantly, holding her hand out. "Jason, are we still welcome in your house now?"

He gave her a surprised look, then laughed. "I couldn't be angry with you!" he exclaimed, pushing past her hand and simply giving her a warm hug. "I see what you wanted us to find, Miaari. For what it's worth, thank you for showing me my heritage."

"I am very glad you're not angry," she said in relief, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I thought you might be upset when you discovered the truth, and realized we have been hiding it from everyone, even you."

"Why? Why hide it, Miaari?" he asked, pushing out enough to look up into her amber eyes. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Long ago, at the end, Koiri Karinne forbade us from revealing our knowledge of the Karinnes," she explained. "We were bound by that declaration, even to the point of not allowing us to tell _you_. She did not want the Imperium coming here and salvaging anything. She wanted the loss of the Karinnes to be absolute, to her own people. She wanted their betrayal to give them _nothing_ in return. We even have orders to attack and destroy any who violate this place, _except for those who have the right to be here_," she told him intensely. "Even now, Jason, I may not tell you what I know. Koiri Karinne's edict still leashes us. I am only here because you have managed to restore a CBIM, and it has queried. Our computers on homeworld detected the query, and that was a condition that would allow us to come here."

"What do you mean?"

"We were forbidden to come here, Jason, except under very specific circumstances," she told him. "Koiri was very specific. She told us that no Kimdori may return to Karis unless invited, and only a Karinne could extend such an invitation. There were other conditions that would allow us to return, but only to fulfill certain specific objectives, and we were not permitted to change anything, move anything, or take _anything_ from here. Koiri wanted the planet left inviolate. We have fulfilled our duties to her. We have kept Karis a secret. We have maintained the sensor jammers to hide the fact that something survived here that was cleaning up the radiation. We have destroyed those whose curiosity threatened the sanctity of Karis. When the CBIM you restored sent an open broadcast, it was a condition set forth that would permit the Kimdori to return here. We were permitted to send a single scout back to Karis to investigate, to ensure that the planet was not being invaded by outsiders. I am the single scout, Jason. I am here alone, sent here to investigate the open broadcast... but I knew the origin behind it," she told him with a wolfish smile. "Semantics, I suppose, but the oaths we have taken are maintained."

"You, you _still_ can't tell me?"

She shook her head. "I wish I could, Jason. Believe me. There is so much here, so much I wish I could tell you. But a Kimdori is her word, and her word is true. The secrets must be maintained. I hope you are not angry."

"A little disappointed, maybe, but not angry. I understand that it's very important to you."

She patted his shoulders. "Who received the ring?"

"I did."

She sighed explosively. "Thank the Denmother. That means that things have progressed as we hoped. You are the Grand Duke Karinne now, Jason." She reached up and put her hand on his neck, and he felt that sense of _expansion_ that told him that she was looking into his mind.

"Seeing what I know?" he asked, with a slight smile.

"Of course I am," she told him with a toothy smile. "I must see what I can say, and what I cannot. I must know what you have thought to ask of the CBIM. But know this, Jason. Any answer I can give, most likely the computer can give as well. It would have the same knowledge as I, and it is not bound by my oaths. Indeed, it will tell you _anything_ it knows, for you are the Grand Duke Karinne. It cannot deny you any request."

"That's twice you've called me that. It makes me wonder what point you're making."

She smiled at him.

"But I have to ask, Miaari. Why send me here? I know you think this is important, but you also know what I'm doing back home. I thought you were sending me here to show me something that might help against Trillane, but there's nothing here but answers to questions that don't do me any real good."

"Jason, everything is here," she told him, patting him on the shoulder as her other hand boldly reached down to his leg. He felt her put her hand in his pocket. "My dear friend, everything you need to defeat Trillane and save your people is right here."

She pulled her hand up between them and opened it. Within her furry palm was the signet ring of the Karinnes.

"_This_ is what I sent you here to recover, Jason. Nothing else. This is the greatest treasure on Karis. This ring gives you the fealty of the CBIM, and that is a powerful, powerful thing. It marks you as the lord of this planet. Everything here belongs to you and to you alone. And I knew that it would be you that would receive it. Myleena would reject the ring because she is a Merrane first."

"You knew about her."

"Since the day she was born."

Jason looked at the ring. "I don't understand, Miaari. How can this help me? It really doesn't mean anything."

"It means _everything_, my dear friend," she told him, looking down at him seriously. "And this is something I do not need to be evasive about, Jason. This has nothing to do with oaths or secrets. This ring marks you as a member of the _Siann_, the ranks of the noble rulers. You are the Grand Duke of a noble house, you sit upon its throne. According to the laws of the _Siann_, you can claim right of ownership of Terra, because _you were there first_. You were born there, you were raised there. You are a _Terran. _Your citizenship upon Terra absolutely cannot be challenged. That is why I sent you here, Jason. Not only were you the perfect choice to take the seat of Karinne, you also had the most to gain from that position, and could bring about real and effective change because of it. Unlike any of the others, who would use this gift as nothing but a means of self-enrichment, we knew that you would use this power wisely and responsibly, and could immediately use it as a club to strike the hands of Trillane away from your home planet. Trillane has run rampant all over your planet and your people. They have done _much_ more than you know, and none of it has been good. The slaving is but one small activity you stumbled upon by accident. They have done equally terrible things."

"Why didn't you just send me here right off, Miaari?" he asked, a bit annoyed. "We could have saved lives!"

"And they would not have taken you seriously," she told him in reply. "We helped you, allowed you to begin the action against Trillane, to give you a _name_, Jason. To get the attention of the _Siann_ and the Empress herself upon you, to know who you are. If you would have shown up on Draconis with the ring and declared your ducal rights, they would have laughed you out of the Palace. But _this_ Jason Fox, appearing wearing a gestalt and with a reputation for strength, cunning, and power, they will listen to him. They may not believe him, but _they will listen_. And that is what you will need."

He considered her words, and though it sounded a little strange, he guessed he should appreciate her opinion. "How old are you, Miaari?" he asked impulsively.

She gave him a light smile. "I am an Elder, Jason," she told him. "I am the first daughter of the clan's founder. Were it not for my older brother, I would be the clan's heir. But I envy him in no fashion. The duties of the clan leader are not for me."

"So, you're older than that male that came to cure me?"

"He is my son, my friend."

"But Kiaari is your sister, and she's only fifty?"

"My parents continue to produce offspring, Jason," she told him with a smile. "They are the alpha pair. They control the clan. They deigned to allow me my own mate, and from time to time they permit us to breed. I have six children, Jason. Kereth is but one of them. Two are Elders, the rest are younglings."

"Huh. You must have one hell of a family reunion."

She laughed, a strange growling sound, then grabbed his hand and placed it in her own, around the ring. "Ask the CBIM about the _Siann_ Charter, Jason. Have her download a copy into this. Read it," she told him, tapping the gestalt on his face, placing a lingering finger on the prong leading down in front of his ear. "Everything you need to complete that task will be in the charter. You will know what to do. Just understand one thing, my friend. When you take that step, you are accepting the responsibility that making such a claim will entail. If you challenge Trillane for ownership of Terra, understand that you must carry through with that responsibility. Your ignorance of the workings of the houses or the basic fundamentals of Imperial economics will not be an excuse. The Empress will expect the same from you she expects from Trillane, and unlike Trillane, you have _nothing_ but your own self and the money you have stored away on Moridon. Understand this _before_ you take that step. Be ready for it."

He could not miss her warning. _Make sure you know what the hell you are doing before you even _think_ of standing before the Empress. Have a _plan_._

"I understand," he told her seriously. "So it may be easier to push Trillane off Earth?"

"I doubt that now. Trillane is furious, Jason. Your mate, Jyslin, she has pushed every button Grand Duchess Trillane ever had, and invented quite a few besides. Even now, Trillane is evacuating the _entire continent_ of North America, and they intend to blast it into dust. They know your rebels hide somewhere on the continent. Tired of trying to find them, they intend to destroy the Legion by devastating the entire continent."

"You're serious!" Jason gasped.

"Deadly," she answered. "Jyslin made it impossible for them to move _any_ foodstuffs in North America without huge losses of materials and transports. You fail to appreciate the scope of Jyslin's escalation, Jason. Nothing could so much as take off from the ground anywhere in North America and be assured it would survive to reach orbit. Her tenacity and focus on the task you left behind has been nearly superfaey. I honestly do not see how she has done it, it is incredible. Her love for you is so great that she moves heaven and earth itself to avenge you, my dear friend," she told him, her fingers sliding down until her palm cupped the left side of his face. "And now, faced with severe losses, Trillane has decided to abandon North America to Jyslin, and then burn it to the ground in spite. Your wife is in very real danger, my friend. Going back to Terra is not going to help her anywhere near as much as you going to Draconis could."

Jason could only try to comprehend that. Had Jyslin really done that? Had she pushed it so far, pushed it so hard, that it caused this kind of a drastic response? The short answer is yes. He knew his wife. He knew her well. She not only had the technical skill, she had the sheer _balls_ to push it that far. The same woman who so tenaciously pursued him, so fearlessly, would not bat an eye over taking Trillane to the mat and trying to bite off their noses with her bare teeth. That indomitable will was both one of her most endearing qualities and one of her most annoying tendencies.

Now, Miaari was telling him that he had to save his wife from herself, and save everyone else as well.

"Miaari."

"Yes, Jason?"

"You said that no Kimdori could come here unless they were invited."

"That is correct."

"Well, I'm inviting," he told her. "If I asked the Kimdori to come here, would they?"

"In a second," she told him. "We owe the Karinnes a great deal, Jason. We thought we may never have the chance to repay that debt. If you call the Kimdori, they will come. Honor and duty would demand it. But why would you summon them here?"

"If they want to repay the Karinnes, they can help us get all this old junk fixed," he told her. "I'm positive your Elders have the knowledge to do it."

She grinned at him. "_Very_ well done, my friend. I see our choice of you for this was perfect. Yes, we retain the knowledge to repair Karinne technology. But what will we repair?"

"Anything. Everything!" he told her. "This isn't a dead planet, Miaari, it's just waiting to be fixed. If Cybi could clean up the radiation and get grass and trees to grow on this island, then we can restore this world. It'll take time, but it needs to be done. I can't leave this place like this. If I have to take responsibility for taking this ring, then I have to own up to _all_ of those responsibilities. And a really big one is right here. The stupidity of my ancestors destroyed this planet. It has to be put right. Cybi started it, but now all her robots are broken. So we have to help her finish it. I have to take responsibility for _two_ planets."

"I am relieved beyond measure over the choice we made," she told him with almost quivering emotion in her voice, patting his cheek. "Let us contact the Denmother, ruler of my people. If you request help as Grand Duke Karinne, she will respond. She will bring Kimdori here to help you repair your machines."

"Let's go do that right now. Er, if we can."

"Yes, we can, Jason. We cannot use your computer's teryon transmitter, for we have no unit on Kimdori capable of receiving it. But my ship has a comm device we developed after the fall of Karinne that works in a similar manner. With it, we can communicate with Kimdori Prime in real time."

Jason followed her outside, and to the landing pad where the dropship she had sent them in still rested. Beside it was a sleek craft, with a long pointed nose and two curved, stubby wings at the stern, with a fuselage made of a coarse, almost ruddy looking gray metal. The craft was the size of a fighter, but Jason saw that the majority if its interior was hollow, allowing room for at least six people inside. It had a ramp at the stern leading up into the ship.

The interior was spartan. There were no living quarters, no seats, no nothing. Just an empty bay with a single seat at the bow, a seat for the pilot. She led him up and had him sit, then leaned over him and waved her hand in front of a blank series of dark glass screens. They lit up, but none of them had anything. Instead, three dimensional holograms appeared in front of them, projected by the plates out into the air. She touched a series of holograms in quick order, and then a rectangular hologram appeared before the seat, at Jason's eye level. Jason had to admire the clever layout of a Kimdori craft. Holographic controls!

Jason expected them to have to go through a series of Kimdori lieutenants or officers before addressing this Denmother. So, he was a bit surprised when he found himself looking at a regal-looking Kimdori with a charcoal gray coat of fur with a white patch under her chin. "I am Zaa, the Denmother," she announced in a commanding voice. "Speak."

Wow. _Wow_. She was so sure of herself, and her eyes bored into him like beams of the purest light, dazzling him. She held herself with a regal bearing, as if she was the lord of all creation, and she knew it. She looked at him, and he felt like a mouse caught in the gaze of the cat.

"I bring before you Jason Fox, my Denmother," Miaari said with the most profound respect in her voice, her muzzle over Jason's shoulder. "Show her, Jason."

Jason understood what she meant. He held up the signet ring of Karinne, feeling almost unworthy to have her look upon him. Zaa's eyes widened when she saw it, and then she smiled broadly. "Thank the gods," she said with explosive relief. "I have waited a very long time to say this, Jason. The Kimdori officially recognize the authority of the Grand Duke Karinne. Now speak, your Grace. What do you wish of the Kimdori?"

"Help," he answered, still feeling a little unsure of himself in the presence of this august, commanding Kimdori. "Everything here is broken, and Miaari told me that if I asked, the Kimdori would come and help get everything working. Would you do this?"

"I will arrange it immediately," she told him. "We will begin to arrive in three hours. Do you require anything else?"

"Well, not that I can really think of, your, uh, Majesty. Miaari kinda dragged me over here before I had a chance to really think about that."

"Take a moment, your Grace. Is there anything we can bring to make things easier or more comfortable? How are you doing in food, for example?"

"All we have here are field rations."

"Then, shall we bring more suitable food for you?"

"If you don't mind. There's me and eleven Faey and Miaari here. If it's not a bother."

"It is no bother at all," she told him with a light smile. "So, I am bringing mechanics to begin repairs, materials to assist in those repairs, and foodstocks more palatable than field rations for you and your Faey companions. May I take initiative to bring what I think best, since you are uncertain?"

"Well, sure, if it's no bother, your Majesty. I trust your judgment."

"Then I will take my leave and see to the matter personally. Miaari."

"Yes, my Denmother?"

"You have done well. We are most pleased with you."

Miaari lowered her eyes and bowed her head. "I am honored beyond words, my Denmother."

"Expect the first Kimdori to arrive in three hours, your Grace. Good fortune to you."

And then her image vanished.

So, that was the Denmother, the ruler of the Kimdori. A very commanding presence. She was very... _noble_. He still found himself a little intimidated, and she wasn't even on the monitor anymore.

"Wow," Jason breathed.

"I know. I find my fur shivering whenever I look upon her. To know that she is pleased with me," she said, touching his neck, and he didn't need to share with her to feel her excitement, for her hand quivered. "My parents will explode with pride." She leaned in and licked his cheek with her tongue, which was hot. "Now then, Jason, let us go have a talk with your CBIM."

"Cybi. She calls herself Cybi."

"Amazing, is it not?" Miaari asked. "They have emotions, but sometimes it isn't easy to tell where the programming ends and the spontaneous reactions begin. There has always been debate as to wether they are self aware. I think that they are."

"Alive?"

"Yes, alive."

Jason pondered it a moment. "I think that she very well could be. When she told me about waiting, I could _feel_ the loneliness she endured waiting for us to come. I don't think a computer could be lonely."

"Yes