---Rhodes Island---

  Few were on the command deck at that time besides the designated crew manning the controls of the landship. The Doctor of Rhodes was present besides Amiya. They both were listening in to the reports, but none would dare to approach Kal'tsit at that moment in time. She had been there the whole night before them.

  ''How did it come to this?'' Kal'tsit lamented inwardly. She couldn't let the other see, and so she covered her eyes with her palm. Unable to look at the screens any longer.

  ''... It never gets any easier losing people.'' She thought. ''This is becoming... too tiring. Just when I thought there were signs for things to change for the better.''

  She had taken the loss more personally than she would ever admit, even if it was visible now. She would, for she was there for Provence to deliver both her pups. She had even taken Provence under her own wing. She got closer to her, to them, more than she would usually allow.

  ''How could their children phantom losing their parents at their age... How could we ever tell them that they are gone...''

  She had been waiting a long time for better news. But none would come to her. All the survey teams reported the same thing. An inferno. The earth was wounded and gave no signs of relief.

  -''Kal'tsit...'' The Doctor dared to approach. However, despite his good intention even he had no words able to attenuate the tragedy that unfolded.

  -''Ops to security, we have unidentified contacts at the bow. They just appeared from nowhere, request ident.'' An unostentatious voice, among the few coming and going in the communication bay buzzed.

  -''Roger delta-five, stand by.'' The voice of the radio operator was heard. ''Monitor, we need confirmation on subjects present at the end of the bow, straight twelve o clock.''

  -Surveillance are picking them up clearly, they...

  -What is it monitor? Are they unknown subjects?

  -It's operator Provence and Tacet, they are carrying Shana Moleman as well!

  The previous unimportant voice flowing in the control room now electrified all those inside of it. Ears piqued and eyes came towards the monitors. Kal'tsit herself rose her head as she unveiled her wet eyes.

  -It's them! It's confirmed! They just appeared out of nowhere! No, it's not a mirage!

  -''Someone get an express car and pick them up!'' Ordered Amiya with a clear voice, instilling again a sense of order.

  -We got operator Texas on frequency, she's commanding a shuttle right now!

  -''They are all back and accounted now, we can rest easy Kal.'' Spoke the Doctor of Rhodes as he stood by her. For her part, Kal'tsit couldn't help but give a faint smile of relief as she leaned on him.

  ---Later in Amiya's private office---

  -''Operator Tacet, Provence. As much as we are relieved to know you're back and safe, you have quite some explanations to give.'' Said Kal'tsit in a calm manner.

  There were few in the room with us as we met with the most important figures on Rhodes Island. Besides Provence and I there was the Doctor of Rhodes and Kal'tsit, as well as the current leader of Rhodes Island herself, Amiya.

  -''You can give us a written report later, nevertheless we briefly need to know what happened.'' Said Amiya.

  -''I'm afraid there will be no reports. And nor are we able to give you a detailed accounting of what had happened, for now at least.'' I answered, to which Kal'tsit and Amiya seemed only slightly affronted.

  -''I presume this is all for a good reason. Even so, what can you tell us?'' The Doctor of Rhodes inquired amiably.

  For once the Doctor was unhooded, a somewhat rare occurrence. His hair was something between the white of an old man yet still having a healthy silver shade. He wore his mane proudly as he had let his hair grow, with a well tended moustache and beard. His face was of a matured man. Probably in his late forties or even fifties though even that was debatable, for his demeanour seemed ageless. Especially after one gave him more than a cursory glance. His spirit I knew for sure was still lively even for all the sorrows and regrets he was carrying. For over all these years I came to know him closely and grew fond of him, even in contrast to the greater revelation that was to follow shortly.

  -''It is for a good reason, be assured.'' Said Provence before she continued.

  -We cannot tell much, but we will say this. Rhodes Island has a new and powerful ally. He remains hidden from us and this world. But he will be there when his aid will be needed, be assured of that.

  -''Can you tell us more of this ally?'' Inquired the Doctor.

  -''He is of a great power, and for that his identity must remain secret. For open knowledge of him would invite more peril onto Rhodes Island and possibly Terra. Until a certain point is reached far in the future he must remain in shadows but for a few.'' I answered this turn.

  -''I see. What kind of aid should we expect from our ally?'' Inquired Amiya.

  -''A widely varied one, depending on our needs in the times to come.'' Said Provence.

  -''We will need to know more in order to better make use of such available assistance.'' Added Kal'tsit.

  -''Espionage, covert operations, complete planetary surveys and geo-location, super-heavy firepower, unimpeded transport, advanced early warning systems, technological guidance. To name a few.'' Answered Provence.

  -''Impressive. And it gives even more fuel to the thought of who this ally might be.'' Kal'tsit spoke.

  -''We have not returned empty-handed.'' Declared Provence before planting a memory unit onto the table.

  -''What does it contain?'' Asked Amiya, recognising it as a data storage device.

  -''Advanced medical and technological data for you to make use of. It will give Rhodes Island an edge against all competitors. Just be sure to guard this information well. It is not a great leap forward, but a leap ahead of all other Terran entities nevertheless it is.'' I answered, and they seemed somewhat astonished at what we were offering them.

  -''What have you actually found in the bowels of the earth?'' Asked Kal'tsit.

  -... My birthright.

  A silence seemed to have began permeating in the office room before it was dispelled by the Doctor.

  -Your ally, how are we to make contact if Rhodes Island is in great need?

  -''No one could under normal circumstances, however we have brought this as well.'' I answered.

  I raised myself from my seat, placing the duffel bag on the centre of the desk. Unzipping it I pulled out the cold, smooth sphere. Miniature stars shinning and flickering inside among the largest one at it's core.

  At the sight of it the Doctor had a reaction I had not expected... he recognised it.

  And immediately he realised his folly. The silence descended once again, more heavily than before. I set the quantum encaser down in the open bag, and we looked at each other with knowing revelation.

  He now knew that I was aware. We both knew who we were then. Provence and Amiya were regarding us unknowing of what was going on. But Kal'tsit had the look of someone who recognised the situation deeper than she let go, and I could tell she was actually worried.

  -Well, my good Doctor. What a coincidence to finally meet knowing both who we truly were, last of the Authority. Or should I call you... Oracle?

  -''As much as it meant then I'd rather not remember those dark times.'' The Doctor spoke.

  -You were quite illusive. The last member that I could never really track down. Funny how fate brought us together here and now.

  -Your mentor and you were doing a lot of damage to the delicate operation we were conducting to maintain what we still had.

  -You and your Authority friends were doing an appalling job anyway long before us, if that's any consolation.

  -It usually tends to be like that when there are too many disagreeing colleagues pulling at the strings. Turning salvation into disaster.

  -And my mentor was one of those disagreeing colleagues you had?

  -Yes, his method was the most radical.

  -''Or the simplest.'' I replied.

  -One could view it as such if he wanted... I once viewed it like that.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  -What changed it?

  -Starting anew, with close ones besides to make me realise what's truly worth fighting for.

  -You speak as if your methods were extreme.

  -They were, more than you'd know. Close as you may have been to your mentor you were but a pawn in a larger, grander and more horrible scheme.

  -I know I was a tool. I had accepted it. And you, you talk as if you were the grand chess master.

  -Then, and now. But like you now I have a different goal. With an understanding of both worlds as one could say.

  -''It is a delicate balance to hold.'' I spoke.

  -I know. But it will be just a bit easier knowing you will aid them at the very least if not me.

  The Doctor sighed before speaking again.

  -''Is me still living going to change your stance, Tacet?'' The doctor asked with a slight air that betrayed a deep tiredness.

  -No, my good Doctor. Bygones are bygones. You already shoulder much, and endured enough close ones who wanted you dead. Both then and now.

  He looked back at me, something deep inside of him seeming revived.

  -Is that so?

  -''It is.'' I said with a definitive voice.

  -I guess we both changed then, for the better. But more than myself I am relieved for you, Tacet. I ill-thought of my own failure to the people of before that I've let down. It is good to know that at least... one made it through it all.

  -''I'm glad I was never able to find you. Maybe we can both achieve some meaningful changes now.'' I replied on a relatable tone, as from a friend to a friend.

  The Doctor chuckled at that. And it was pleasant to hear that old and lively man laugh genuinely.

  -You've certainly came out for the better my friend. I remember vividly how little you cared at the beginning with us.

  -I guess I warmed up with the right ones besides me. Now, some things are worth fighting for.

  -I'm glad we could heal you. That she healed you.

  -''... You both are precursors.'' Spoke Amiya, almost unbelieving of her own conclusion.

  -''They are.'' Confirmed Kal'tsit before she continued.

  -Hm. It is a strange contrast to notice.'' Kal'tsit said with a smile, entering into our talk. ''But these are the rare changes for the better that are dearly needed, and too rarely seen.

  -Doctor Kal'tsit.

  -Yes operator Tacet?

  -I would like you to be the third person of trust to be introduced as a liaison to our hidden ally.

  -''You should direct that offer to Amiya.'' She said simply.

  -I share my greatest respect for Amiya as a capable leader. Yet I must insist that it must be you.

  -Why me, operator Tacet?

  -''You have been protecting Terra for a long time. With allies, but at the end of each cycle, alone. You are an exemplar of an indomitable will if I ever saw one in my life.'' I said, and continued.

  -The Doctor, Amiya, our allies, even Provence and I will eventually fade to dust in the passing of time. Our wills are not singular, and have not been through the fires to be shown as indomitable. Others may come in our place to pick up the torch and continue the struggle. But there may be long lulls in between. Times when the ruinous forces grow in power and might, enough to undo everything we had strived for.

  -Our new ally is one that shares your life span, and one that is different yet similar to us as you are. You may work from the shadows and come into the light when need be, unaffected by the eroding passage of time.

  -I understand your logic... and your care. Very well, I trust your judgement and accept your proposition.

  -I thank you for your confidence in us, doctor Kal'tsit.

  -Resuming back to your initial presentation of this sphere now.

  -It is a quantum entanglement containment sphere. And the surest way to contact our ally no matter the distance or whatever may be in the way. It's method of transmission is also untappable. We will need to construct a special bay if not an entire room dedicated for it. It is also far from indestructible, so it is better to be designed with an enclosing cradle for safety.

  -''That won't be a problem.'' Declared Amiya. ''Tacet, Provence, know that your support for us will not be taken lightly. The help you're offering is immeasurable.''

  -Well, I am part of Rhodes Island now more than I ever was at our beginning. So I will do whatever I can to aid in your efforts towards a better world.

  We walked once more, the Doctor and I alone after the meeting had ended. The corridor partially open to the outside, letting the air brush us with the warm winds of the day's end.

  -The breeze is gentle today.

  -Yes... you sound relieved.

  -I am my friend. Reality is a cruel mistress. It is comforting to know solace has come unexpectedly instead of tragedy.

  -... Has something in particular happened Doctor?

  -You can say that my betrayed expectations had an impact on me. For a time I was lost in a world that I wanted to be reality. But as much as I desired it to be, it was false. And I could not dwell there.

  -Losing yourself is a terrible fate.

  -I was. Ignorance one could say was a bliss. Not knowing, not being able to remember. Being fed small but increasing doses of pain with each realization. You on the other hand had to live with the full torment of the truth all this time.

  -My friend, I am glad I have not lost you on our journey. Too long you stood on the precipice. You, and many other operators as well. May I ask, what drove you at the beginning?

  -Spite against fate, desperation... then, simply her. She reminded me of one's humanity that should never be lost. And she made that so much more appealing to fight for.

  -Both of you are a fresh air to have onboard.

  -So your memories have finally caught up with you, Doctor?

  He sighed deeply at my question.

  -Yes. For the most part.

  -What do you make of them?

  -It is a magnitude to digest once again. A burden that I must shoulder.

  -Sounds familiar.

  -Your Terra was a tragedy, one that continues to unfold, slowly, but surely. What I once considered a path towards the salvation of our kind now became a cancer. Even if it still holds the same promise.

  -The originum? I thought it was simply a power source. Akin to the uranium and plutonium that started the atomic age so long ago in history.

  -It is very similar, but it is so much more.

  -''And we used them as weapons to end Terra.'' I replied.

  -Do not hold yourself accountable my friend.

  -It was my mentor that hijacked the originum missiles. The one who launched them. And I, the one who aided him in that endeavour.

  -My friend. Even if you weren't there, even if your mentor was stopped, or if the Authority had perished as a group. They would still have been launched.

  -Terra would have been seeded with originum either way, no matter your actions. As I told you before, greater designs were happening. In which you would have had no power to stop.

  -So, the Authority would have used the weapons themselves in the end? That much was expected, if not obvious.

  -No. They were against it. I doubt if they would have truly used them, even at the end.

  -Then who would have done the damning deed?

  -... Priestess... and myself.

  -Heavy words. So, my people were to be on the sacrificial altar no matter then?

  -I'm sorry my friend.

  -I hold no grudge. The past is a maddening, bloodied mess that I've put behind.

  -But what you say obviously raises an eyebrow. Who were you and this Priestess to overrule the entire core of the Authority on Terra? And to willingly sacrifice a world full of promise such as it was then?

  -Someone... different. I am not the same man that I was once then. Just as you are not the man you once were before your long sleep through time.

  -''I believed great sacrifices needed to be made to save our kind before the last stars flickered out. Before chaos consumed our kind.'' The Doctor recounted.

  -''Our kind was struggling out there, I know that. But our empire was still strong then during my days.'' I added from the personal history that I knew of.

  -Back then I travelled across the cosmos... further than anyone had. I have seen past many things, past what my peers thought they could conquer and endure with the indomitable spirit of our race.

  -I had to see past all that, past everything. To be pragmatic.

  -I don't like where this is going Doctor.

  -There is no hope in the darkest and furthest reaches out there, Tacet.

  -I know Doctor. The hope is the one we make for ourselves.

  -Indeed. But even that will fade and die in the face of the end.

  -You talk as if you are referring to the biblical end times.

  -You may call it that. And when it comes our universe will become a tomb.

  -''I must say that this is something... uncomfortable to think of. Yet, it is still so far apart from now. Something that we still may overcome. After all, we are an adaptable kind in the face of death.'' I've said.

  -Technology won't save us when it comes, Tacet. All life will end.

  -Your words are heavy, but I sense in them a surety that cannot be doubted. And I am not sure I even wish to know how you came to such a conclusion.

  He simply nodded at my statement. Silent as he contemplated the setting sun.

  -What then Doctor?

  -I have uncertainties myself.

  -You are still searching.

  -Yes, I am.

  -I do not envy your task Doctor. Heh, and you wanted me to be your protégé.

  -I still want you for that role, if you are up for it.

  -Doctor. I can say for sure at this moment that I know myself. I may be your friend, an ally as well for what we fight for. And I know for sure that If I lose a certain someone my resolve could fall disastrously.

  -I understand. And I thank you for your honesty. But no one is without faults my friend. I know what you are referring to. And I don't disconsider you for it.

  I laughed lightly at his answer, basking in a small moment of silence as another warm breeze passed by us.

  -Well, we'll see my good Doctor. Either way, I am at your side now.

  -Please, you can call me by my name.

  -So could you, but you still call me son, old man.

  Aldrino chuckled heartily at that but said no more.

  ---Rhodes Island surface park, some time after---

  -Mama! Mamaaa!

  -''Alright, alright, here you go little pup.'' Provence soothed our little daughter in her lap as she brought the warm and freshly bought sandwich to her. She chomped on it eagerly as her lavender coloured tail wigged briskly.

  -''Grrrr!'' Our son growled out his own hunger.

  I brought out a second wrapped goodie after Provence and uncovered it. The hungry black haired pup took it right out of my hands, himself readily impatient to eat.

  -''Quite the calm atmosphere when they are eating.'' I said.

  -''A pause like in the eye of a storm.'' Provence replied amused.

  The breeze was gentle, the clouds having cleared enough to permit the sun to warm the outside pleasantly. We took this opportunity for a walk on the landship's main park to enjoy our time as a family. Provence was holding our youngest daughter. Our older son standing beside me on the other end. My lupa's long tail coiled around us all, keeping us close and warm in her reach. Mister Grape, dutifully keeping guard and sitting close by our feet.

  I pulled out a third wrapped goodie, serving Provence first before indulging myself into some of it. And while I did so I have slipped another warm goodie down below by my feet. Feeling how it was quickly snatched out of my grasp by a thankful Grape. It was uplifting having our time together as a family like this. Holding our children and seeing in them the lively spark of both our souls. It was something that I once never phantomed I would achieve, nor ever care for.

  -''What are you thinking about, my mate?'' My violet lupa asked.

  -That we made a good family together.

  It was later in the day, after our pups were put to sleep that Provence and I enjoyed a late evening in our wide and open air balcony. By this point in time it was a terrace filled with many plants. Embellished with potted greenery which bloomed in seasonal flowers and richly green vines. Growing beautifully to encompass the whole room open to the outside.

  Provence had greatly learned tending to plants while she was pregnant. Having to take it easy during that time she had spent a great deal of time in the botanical gardens aboard Rhodes Island. And a great deal of it was spent besides Perfumer as her temporary assistant. Thus, she became proficient at tending to all that was of the earth.

  The small green paradise on the balcony was her current magnus opus as a gardener. Little lamps shone a calm yellow light that illuminated our surroundings. And the spring air brushed gently throughout the leaves. Composing a simple but pleasant symphony of sounds. The grasshoppers that made this little verdant heaven their home continued to sing their performance in tune to that of the symphony of leaves.

  The two intricately sculpted wooden chairs besides the Siracusan iron cast coffee table were empty. Having retreated instead on the small outdoor sofa, having my wolf girl lay closely upon me. Her ears brushed upon me closely while her hand caressed my visage, admiring affectionately what was hers. Her tail, prodigious in its size and softness was wrapped gently around us both as I leaned on her heavenly fluff. A majestic lupa upon her chosen mate.

  She looked up at me and I gazed deeply in those warm golden eyes of hers. Full of love and of a formidable spirit. She came closer, biting me playfully. And I let her, grasping her cheek gently before brushing lightly upon her sharp fangs. Coming close to kiss her intimately.

  -You look so bewitched. Gazing at me with such pure passion even after all these years together.

  -My love for you is unending.

  -''Such a strong flame inside of you, my mate.'' Provence spoke before she continued further.

  -Hm. What a tale we have made together. A hunter with a dying spirit having saved a lupa's life, only for her to save your soul in return. Unable to resist claiming her for yourself. Having her gift you pups.

  -''I'd say we wrote a happy ending.'' I replied.

  -And I say we're still writing it, my dear mate.

  -Then I'll make sure the story remains pleasing to the heart.

  -Be sure to do so. We have so much to look up for in the future.

  -You know I will take care of you and our children. I cherish our family.

  -''I worry, for what future might face our pups. Even if I do not show it.'' Provence spoke before she continued.

  -It is a dangerous world the Terra we live in. One has to be careful when trodding its many paths. One has to be steady on his feet, for there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.

  -''It is normal to stumble in life. But our pups will be strong enough to rise up again, knowing better. We'll prepare them, so have faith my lupa.'' I spoke before I kissed her.

  -I am pleased to hear that. And you are not carrying our pack alone. No matter what may assail us I'll be there for you, by your side.

  -I love your warm and unyielding soul. It is comforting to know that you are with me, my dear wolf girl.

  -I guess this is what you mean when you speak of Mankind's indomitable will? To face the cruelty of everything and still have the love to care for yourself and those close to you?

  ''-Yes, I see it in you. You are everything that is good in our kind. The best one's soul can be.'' I spoke, continuing further.

  -You are the very embodiment of it. My catastrophe messenger. Full of life and love, and with a will to see a better day come. With the strength to savour life's boons and overcome its hardships.

  -Ti amo così tanto, mio caro Cassiel. (I love you so much, my dear Cassiel.)

  -I love you, and I will love you as long as my soul endures existence, my dear Provence.