Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 06:57:15 -0700
From: Dan Kirk <kirkjr2@cox.net>
Subject: Mists of Fate -Shapers War 9

All the usual disclaimers apply. If you're a bible thumper, you'll have
apoplexy by the time you finish this.  If you are easily offended or queasy
of stomach, reading this will be hazardous to your health.  All the normal
people out there, you should enjoy the story if I did my job right.  Have
fun, and I welcome all feedback from you!

My thanks once more to Ed.  Without his careful perusing, this story would
have some glittering generalities, fallacious statements, incorrect
references, and would not have a lot of continuity.  Behind every good
author there's an even better editor.  Believe it!

New Feature!  Quote of the Chapter.  (A quote I feel pertain to this
chapter fairly well)

Most of the greatest evils that man has inflicted upon man have come
through people feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was
false --Bertrand Russel


 Shapers' War -- Chapter 9 -- The Pain of Truth


'Life is good' Justin Ackeman thought in the relative privacy of his mind.
Of course what he was doing right now had to be the worst part of his
duties as Lord of Asher Province.  It was once again Appeals Day, and as
usual the Hall of his manor house was full.  He sat in a chair adorned with
intricate woodworking on a small dais.  In front of him were the current
set of claimants, appealing the decision of a regular court to the region's
Lord.

The rest of the Hall was packed with about 200 people, mostly from Asher
Province, who were spectacting.  Justin's Chief Adjutant had quietly
informed him last month that Appeals Day was quickly becoming an unofficial
holiday with tickets to the Hall being sold at a premium.  Justin had
frowned at that and thought "Great, I'm becoming Judge Judy."  Too bad no
one but D'vad was still alive who'd have understood the reference.

He was only half listening to the two families appearing before him.  Their
minds had already yielded up all the information he needed, and his
decision was pretty much made.  He was just waiting for them to finish up
their prepared speeches, for some reason they put a lot of stock in those
speeches and he didn't want to hurt their feelings more by cutting them
off. His decision would cause enough grief as it was.

Instead he thought about the past year since he'd taken the oath for
Lordship.  It wasn't bad.  High Lord Jerod had recognized his need to get
out of the Palace, and had assigned him a regional Lordship here, near the
outback.  Justin had packed up his stuff, including his new son Tyler, and
left that day.  He still returned monthly for the three days of General
Session at the Lords Council.

His relationship with the twins had evened out, too.  Now they were all
friends, and he found that he preferred it that way.  They'd changed so
much over the thousands of years he'd been trapped in rock.  Maybe someday
the passion between them would reignite, but for now it was dead.

He also made sure to go see his old friend D'vad in the Shapers Republic.
Once a month D'vad would visit him, and the next he'd visit D'vad.  Their
friendship had been re-established nicely over that time and was a source
of comfort for Justin in this world gone mad.

Ok, not mad, just different.  Five thousand years had passed since his last
memory of conciousness, on that San Francisco hillside.  He and the twins
had been ambushed by a man named J'Stan, who'd managed to encase Justin in
laval rock, deep beneath the earth.  Then the man had disappeared, only to
reappear years later and kill Bjorn, founder of the Shapers' Republic.
With his lover, Adam Morgan, J'Stan had founded the Guardian's Federation,
naming it Ackeland (boy did that make Justin mad-that part of his name
would be used by the bad guys).

He'd learned all this from the twins, and from his friends Bester and Jerod
(the current High Lord).  Justin had also sat in on some strategy sessions
over the upcoming attacks that were planned.  If all went well, the
Guardians would soon cease to be a factor on planet Earth.

With a start, he realized that the last member of the two families had
finished speaking and they were now staring at him, waiting for his
response.  He leaned forward, steepling his fingers in front of his face,
elbows resting on the arms of the chair.  His crew-cut blond hair glistened
in the sunlight from the skylights.

"As I understand it, neither couple was able to have a child on their own,
so you entered into an agreement whereby the fertile partners would sire
one child for each family.  The first birth resulted in twins.  The couple
designated for the first child did not want to split the twins up, so you
petitioned for custody of both.  The doctors determined that the mother was
also unable to bear further children."

Both couples nodded, and he could see the worried looks on their faces as
he lowered his hands to reveal a deep frown on his face.

"Then under the terms of the Agreement, the first couple is in breech of
contract.  As stipulated under the terms of the Agreement the second couple
is awarded full custody of both children.  I further order that the first
couple shall apply at the Mill's Children's Ward for adoption of two
children and shall raise those children as their own. No visitation rights
are granted.  Dismissed."

The two couples bowed and left the room, muttering all the while.  They did
not like his ruling, since the second family only wanted one child, not
two.  Too bad for them.  He didn't like people who reneged on agreements
for child care.  There was no need for it, they could all have adopted
children.  There were plenty children waiting for that now.

Fortunately, that was his last case of the day, and he ended the session
with all the usual pomp and circumstance.  If people were enjoying it, he
might as well give them a good show.  He ended by vanishing with a flash
from the dais.

He reappeared in the section of the manor he'd identified as "private".  A
smile formed on his open face as he received his usual greeting from the
blond tyro that ran out of the next room.  He bent down and unwrapped his
son from his leg to give him a big hug, and ended up having the boy wrapped
around his neck instead.

At five, Tyler had shot up in growth, and was bigger than some kids two
years older than him.  Justin couldn't help smiling at the exasperated look
on the governess' face from the doorway.  He shrugged at her as he took
Tyler back into the nursery.  The next hour passed quickly as always.  He
spent at least one hour each morning with his son, an hour in the
afternoon, and most of each evening.

He knew his morning time with Tyler was up when his chief Adjutant opened
the door to the nursery and motioned to him.  Carefully, Justin put Tyler
down on the floor and closed the book he'd been reading with the boy.
Tyler started to pout a little, but stopped when Justin gave him 'the
look'.  He ruffled the boy's hair and smiled at the governess as he joined
the Adjutant at the door.

"Ok, Kell let's get the day started." he told the average looking man who
served as his adjutant.

"There's a change in your daily schedule, m'lord." Kell told him in a heavy
voice.

"I don't like the sound of that." Justin said, trying to lighten the man's
constantly bad mood.

"Well, you're going to like what I have to tell you even less." Kell
responded.  "While you were with your son, Lord Belson arrived.  He's been
waiting in the receiving room for you to finish your time with Tyler."

"Why didn't you inform me sooner?" Justin asked sharply.

"From what he said, this might be your last regular time with your son,
sir.  I'm not going to be the one who shortened that." Kell said just as
sharply.  No matter what Justin may think, he admired the love Justin had
for his son, and made sure that his feelings were known in that moment.

"It's started, then." Justin said softly dreading what the words meant.

"I think so, m'lord." Kell said softly this time as they reached the door
to the receiving room.  "Before you go in, sir, there's something I want
you to know.  I've served under 3 Lords here.  Most of them view it as kind
of an exile, or an onerous burden.  You've been different.  I appreciate
that, as do the people.  We're glad to have you as our Lord, and all pray
for you to safely come back."

"Thank you, Kell." Justin said.  He placed his hand on the man's shoulder
and smiled at him.  "This isn't the first time I've gone to war, you
know. I've always seemed to make it through somehow, and I look forward to
coming back here.  I think I'm gonna make this my permanent assignment."

"Thank you, m'lord!" Kell exclaimed, bowing his head to Justin and
retreating down the hallway.

Justin took a deep breath and opened the door.  Lord Belson was sitting in
a comfortable recliner, sipping on a glass of juice he'd been given.  When
he saw Justin come in, he rose to his feet and gave a slight bow of his
head.

Justin returned the bow and motioned for Lord Belson to sit back down.  He
took a seat across from the man and smiled.  Belson had been a frequent
visitor over the last year.  Justin had met him during a planning session
with Jerod and Bester and the two had hit it off as friends instantly.
That was one of the reasons why Belson was sent as the bearer of bad news.
Justin always took it better when it came from a friend.

"So, since they sent you I take it it's bad?" Justin said when Belson had
resumed his seat.

"Fine juice you get here." Belson answered indirectly.

"I was just getting comfortable!" Justin whined a little.

"Gotcha!" Belson exclaimed with a smile.  His laughter filled the room as
Justin's face went through a series of expressions.  "Seriously though, we
have what looks like a probing attack taking place right now.  High Lord
Jerod wants you to take a look at the tactics they are using."

"That's not too bad.  Shouldn't be more than a day or two." Justin said
with a sigh of relief.

"True.  By the way, I just got word.  When the big fight comes and you get
sent to the front, I've been assigned to take your place here." Belson
informed Justin.

"That's good news.  I don't know who else I trust to take care of this
place while I'm gone."

"You really like it that much?  Stuck out here in the boonies." Belson
asked with a weird smile.

"Yes.  It's a good place for Tyler to grow up, surrounded by normal people.
Not just pages and Lords.  More than that, I work directly with people
here.  I can see their daily lives unfold.  I like it a lot better than the
isolation of the Palace." Justin expounded.

"Yes, yes, I've heard you say that before, but I just don't believe it.
Well, to each their own.  I'll be more than happy to suffer here than on
the front lines.  I'm not the warrior that you are."

"All to true.  So you gonna stay here while I'm gone?  It'd be a good time
to get you use to the routine and to my staff."

Belson let out a long sigh and nodded his agreement. "Might as well get it
over with."

The two stood as Justin sent a mental call out to his Chief Adjutant.
"You'll fall in love with the place like I did. Then we'll have to fight
over who gets to stay."

"Naw, we'll just get married!" Belson joked.  The two men left the room,
arms wrapped around each others shoulders, laughing hard.

***

"If you ever tell me a few weeks, I'm gonna pack for a year!" Justin told
Belson a few weeks later.  They were sitting in Tyler's playroom, and Tyler
was busy showing off all the new things he'd made while Justin was gone.

"How was I supposed to know it was going to take you so long?" Belson asked
with a laugh, trying to look persecuted.

"Whatever.  I just missed my son during that time, let me tell you." Justin
said, reaching down to ruffle Tyler's hair.  The boy smiled up at him and
it felt like the sun was coming out from the clouds.

"I bet, well he missed you too." Belson said.  "So, what did take you so
long.  Us back-country lords don't get all the latest gossip, you know."

"Well, what looked like a test of our defenses actually turned out to be a
major thrust against the Shapers Republic.  I must say that this Adam
Morgan knows tactics pretty damn well.  Everything D'vad and I came up with
to counterattack their probes seem to have been anticipated.  It took us
two weeks to stop their advance, and get things stabilized."

"Yikes, that doesn't sound good.  You two are the best strategists we
have." Belson said in a low voice.

"It's not good." Justin said slowly.  "As near as we can figure out, when
we make that big offensive, D'vad and I are going to have to be at the
front.  That's the only way we stand a chance.  These Guardians are just
too good."

"Well, at least we have you now." Belson said with a grin.  For some reason
that made Justin's stomach flip a little, but he soon forgot it as Tyler
chose that moment to show him his newest finger painting.  The rest of the
day passed quickly for him as he met with Belson and Kell and got up to
date on the happenings in his area.

The entire time had been spent in Tyler's playroom.  Justin could not stand
the thought of leaving his son so soon after returning.  The constant
interruptions by the five-year old seemed to irritate Belson and Kell, but
they brought smiles to Justin's face.  If they didn't like it, too bad.

Finally, as the sun was beginning its final descent below the mountains,
they came to a close.  Tyler was passed out in Justin's lap, taking a nap
after an exhausting day with his dad. Kell's stomach was growling from
hunger, and Belson's eyes were glittering with his desire to get back to
the Palace.  Justin stood, lifting the sleeping Tyler in his arms as he did
so, and started walking towards the room's door when a messenger appeared
in the doorway itself.

"M'lords," the man said to Justin and Belson.  "There's been an incident on
the outback border.  The local Guard commander asked for your attention in
the matter."

"Another one!" Belson exclaimed.

"What do you mean another one?  You didn't say anything about any incident"
Justin said sharply, facing Belson.

"It's just those savages making raids outside their zone." Belson said, his
face almost a sneer at the thought of the `savages'.

"You mean the aboriginals?" Justin asked curiously. He had a vague
impression of meeting one of them when he first woke up here, and memories
from television in a life that was now long dead.

"Yes, them." Belson said with a snort.  "The treaty they made a few
millenia ago strictly forbids entry into each others territory without
prior approval.  The penalty is death, so the border guards have orders to
kill on sight."

"That's a little strict!" Justin said angrily.

"It's not our part to question the orders of the Council, only to enforce
them!" Belson said hotly.

"A point of contention between us, my friend." Justin said after taking a
deep breath and calming himself. "Some of the greatest massacres in history
have been done by men who were 'following orders'.  It was decided long ago
that those following orders are just as guilty as those giving the orders."

"I've never even heard of something like that!" Belson exclaimed.

"The twins have.  It's one of the reasons we rebelled against the Amercian
government so long ago." Justin said with a sigh.

"The twins? They never...uh...said anything like that." Belson said with a
frown on his face.

"Well, it's probably never come up." Justin said.  "I'm going to the
border, which guard station was it?"

"Three twenty." Belson said, then followed quickly with "But I don't think
you should go.  It's not a big deal, really."

"It is to me." Justin said and disappeared, followed closely by Belson.

When Justin appeared in front of the guard post, the first he realized was
that it was most definitely hotter here.  At least the green and brown
robes he wore as a Lord were somewhat cool.  The guard at the post snapped
to attention and gave a bow to him when he moved towards the small
building.

The commander of the detachment appeared out of the small building and
quickly made his way to where Justin was standing.  He bowed to Justin, and
to Belson who had appeared a moment before with flash of light.  Justin
frowned at the ostentatious appearance by Belson.  It seems more and more
of these younger Lords were giving in to showy displays when appearing
before the ungifted.

"M'lords!" the young commander said as he bowed. He was dressed in a
version of desert camoflage that was somewhat comforting to Justin.  He'd
worn similar uniforms once, thousands of years ago.  "Thank you for coming.
I'm sorry to have to bother you with this nonsense."

"Death is never nonsense." Justin told the man.  "I always want to be
informed in these types of situations. Preferably before lethal force is
used."

"Yes, m'lord" the officer said as he snapped to attention.  Justin smiled
thinking that maybe those years in the service had done some good after
all.  His smile faded as he remembered a lecture from Henry about 'command
voice'.  He missed the man who had been a commanding officer and friend to
him.  His killers would pay one day.

"So, explain to me exactly what happened here earlier." Justin said as he
came out of his reverie.

"Well, earlier this morning, just as the sun was a peekin' over the
horizon, this old dark lady came out of the zone.  We ordered her to stop
and she just wouldn't listen to us.  When she crossed the border line, we
obeyed our orders and shot her.  She fell dead and then disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Justin asked, a touch of incredulity in his voice.  "How
does she just disappear...unless she was gifted.  If she was gifted, then
how could you kill her so easily."

"Questions that can only be answered in private, Justin." Belson said after
a moment.  The Guard Commander looked at Belson and took a breath before
continuing.

"After she disappeared, Lord Ackeman, this was lying where she fell." The
scared officer said, his voice shaking as much as the hand that was holding
a piece of parchment.  Justin took the yellow-brown paper and opened it to
read, when Belson's hand blocked his view.

"We should just deliver it to the Lords' Council." Belson said gently.

"Move your hand, friend." Justin said just as softly, his mind sharing his
warning with the man who bordered on breaking his friendship. Belson heeded
the warning and removed his hand.  Justin opened the note and read the
spidery script, written in English, not the current language spoken.

	You should have listened to my advice, boy.  You must see the truth
before it is too late or we are all doomed.  Go, find your love.  He loves
you still and regrets what he did.  It is not too late.

As he read the last line, Justin felt something rearing up inside of him,
and the world around him spun for a moment.  It soon stabilized, and he
felt himself leaning into Belson, the man was whispering that everything
was ok.

"What happened?" Justin asked his friend, ignoring the weird looks from the
Guard Commander.

"You blacked out for a moment.  I think you're still strained from the
recent combat.  How about we get you home. I'm sure Tyler's awake by now."

"Yeah, you're right.  Let's go." Justin told his friend, eager to hold his
precious son again.  Moments later he was home and his five year old son
was rushing into his arms.

***

The next few months passed quickly for Justin.  He settled back into his
routine easily and forgot the combat that he'd been involved in recently.
It was just good to be home, caring for his people, and spending time with
his adoptive son.  Of course by now, Tyler was his son, period.

As he usually did in the early evenings, Justin was spending time with
Tyler. They were playing a game of marbles, something he'd remembered from
his own childhood.  Tyler would scream with delight every time either of
them managed to knock another marble out.  The smile on both their faces
was genuine, and the governess standing in the corner could feel the love
rolling off of the two.  It was contagious.

Justin knew that he was probably the most popular Lord ever assigned to
this district, and he wondered why it was considered a bad assignment.
Sure, it was far from the corridors of the Palace, and the holder of the
assignment was thus more removed from the happenings there.  Yet, the
people here were real, genuine human beings.  They worried about the
weather, their crops, their taxes.

Funny how some things never changed.  It gave him a great sense of
continuity between the world he remembered, now long dead, and the world he
had reawakened in.  A major difference now, though, was he could do
something about the weather, about the quality of crops.  These people
depended on him for these things, and in return the happily gave him a
beautiful mansion, staff to support him, and plenty of time with his son.

While he'd been uncomfortable originally with this 'Lord' thing, he saw the
advantage of it now.  Since they were gifted, the 'Lords' provided the use
of their abilities to maintain good weather, sustain life, and provide a
basic order.  Elected Local Councils and Mayors ran the day to day affairs.
Local judges tried most cases, and only those who wished to were brought
before a 'Lord'.  With his abilities, he knew that those cases he judged
were fair and impartial.

For the time and circumstances, the system worked.  He actually found
himself happy with it.  He'd still had reservations when he took the Oath
of Lordship.  Now those doubts were gone and he had given himself fully
into his new role.  That and the care of his son.

He cheered Tyler when the boy made a particularly good shot.  A few more
months, and the boy would be challenging Justin for real in this game.  The
thought losing a game against his son made his heart swell with expected
pride.  His anticipation turned from joy to dread, though, when several men
he knew well entered the room.

He hid the dread behind a smile as he stood to greet the men entering the
room.  The first two through the door made him smile, even if they were no
longer lovers.  There would always be a bond between them, no matter what
names they went by.  The figures behind them brought a smile to Tyler's
face as he looked at the sound of the door opening. His small blond figure
darted to one of the men behind the twins and he leaped into the man's
arms.

"Uncle Bester! Uncle Bester!  Look! I'm beating Da!" Tyler shouted to his
favorite uncle.

"Really, Tyler?" Bester said with a grin, hefting the boy in his arms until
they were face to face.  "That's good.  If you can beat him, you would wipe
the floor if I played with you."

"You foolin' with me." Tyler cried with glee.  "You play better than my
dad!"

"Now, what gave you that impression?" Bester said.

"Im..Impreshun? What that mean?"  Tyler asked, screwing his face up as he
tried out the word.  Justin smiled and quietly greeted the twins, Jerod,
and D'vad, who was the fifth and last person entering the room.  Bester
always took time with Tyler and always introduced him to at least one new
word whenever they met.  Of all his friends on the Council, Bester was the
one who never failed to welcome Tyler as warmly as Justin did.

"Think about how I said it, Tyler." Bester told the boy patiently.  "You
can figure it out."

Tyler's face screwed up as he thought about it for a few minutes.  The
twins were getting impatient, they never did like kids.  D'vad and Jerod,
however, looked on with smiles on their face.

"IDEA!" Tyler shouted with glee.  "What gave you the IDEA!"

"That's it, mate." Bester said as he set the boy down on the floor and
ruffled his blond hair.  "You're a smart lad.  How about you go play with
your nanny while we talk to your dad?"

"You gonna take him away again?" Tyler said, his face scrunching up, this
time with threatened tears.

"Just for a little while, then he'll be back. Just like last time." Bester
promised, kneeling down to look Tyler directly in the eyes.

"Promise?" the boy said, his voice cracking.

"I promise."

"Ok!" the boy said, a smile replacing the threatening tears.  He ran over
to Justin, who had tears in his eyes.  He jumped into Justin's waiting
arms, and Justin felt his own heart doing flip flops in his chest.  Tyler
was a warm bundle in his arms, and pure, unconditional love flowed into
him.

"I love you, Tyler." Justin said after a few moments, blinking back tears
in his eyes.

"I love you, Dad.  You be back soon, Bester promised." Tyler said, then
pushed himself down and ran over to his nanny.  Justin moved over to his
friends, the threatened tears rolling down his cheeks.

"He's a good boy, really smart." Bester said, clasping Justin's shoulder.

"Yes, he is.  I almost wish he wasn't gifted." Justin said in a whisper.

"Gifted!" D'vad nearly shouted, but remembered to lower his voice so Tyler
wouldn't hear.  "What makes you say that?"

"I can feel it in him, just like in those kids I found in the Phoenix
Processing Station. What ever happened to them, by the way?" Justin asked,
suddenly curious about the fate of the other children he'd once had.

"Most of them died in the events surrounding that time." Kelly said,
speaking for the first time.

"The others died of old age, well cared for." Frank said as his twin
finished.

"I wish I'd known them." Justin said as the group made their way out.  He
led them to his office.  That was the best place for the meeting about to
take place.

"You have Tyler, now." D'vad said, his voice gentle.  "Isn't that enough?"

"Yes, yes it is." Justin said with a heavy sigh.  He put thoughts of long
dead children he'd never known out of his head and focused on the business
that had brought this group here.

"I take it things are ready for the next phase?" he asked the group once
everyone had settled into the chairs arranged in a circle.

"Yes," D'vad said, his face a mixture of eagerness and reticence.

"We've managed to recover from our last engagement, and are definitely
ready to proceed with our attack." Jerod said after D'vad's brief
statement.

"Your plan seems to be working quite well." Bester told Justin, grinning a
little. "Amazing how someone who's been dead for thousands of years can
come up with a plan like this."

"Well, it's the fact that these cities and main continent are linked like
an archipelago." Justin explained, pointing to the map on the far wall.
"It reminded me of the island hopping campaign the United States used
during World War II.  Their first attack just set things up for us to do
this."

"Yes," D'vad said slowly, shaking his head a little.  "But you're the only
one alive in this day and age who took the time to study those campaigns in
detail.  I was Army, not Navy.  I studied the European campaigns, not the
Pacific."

"Well, that just means that our enemy shouldn't know what to expect
either." Kelly said with nasty smile.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Justin warned his old lover.

"Why not?" Frank asked, tilting his blond head in a gesture long familiar
to Justin. A gesture which brought a pang to his heart, even though he was
no longer in love with either of them.

"This Adam Morgan seems well versed in naval combat tactics.  It was almost
like fighting myself the last time.  There are several things he can do to
disrupt the attack, and if he does, well, we'll fail."

"Plans rarely survive the first engagement." D'vad quoted an old saying.

"Yes.  That's why you and I will have to be at the front for this one."
Justin told his old friend.  "You know the land tactics for our forces to
use.  I know the naval tactics, even if the ships fly now, those are much
the same."

"Except we use boarding parties." Bester said grimly.

"Yes, boarding parties to kill their gifted."  Justin affirmed.

"But that's been done before." Jerod interjected.

"By them, not by us." D'vad said.

"If they're prepared for it, we'll know it soon enough and can change the
tactic." Justin told them all.

"Well, is that it?  Shall we head to the fleet staging area? Go over the
plans with our squadron commanders?" Jerod asked.

"One more thing." Justin said as everyone else began to rise.  They sat
back down to listen to him. "It's a little personal, but I just want to
make sure.  From our Order of Battle, it looks like every gifted member of
the Southern Alliance will be with the fleet.  Almost every Shaper too.  Is
that correct?"

"Yes" D'vad and Jerod said at the same time.

"What are we doing with the ungifted members of Lords' families?" he asked
them.

"There are only a few dozen people that qualify that way." Bester said with
a frown on his face.

"Wouldn't they make excellent hostages for our enemy?" Justin asked them.
He could see the looks on their faces as they realized he was right.

"We'll take them." D'vad said after a moment's thought.  "Shaper Xen Hu is
going to be safeguarding our capital during the fighting.  It's the most
likely place for retaliation strikes when the Guardians realize they're
losing, so we're protecting it with one of our best Shapers."

"Ok, Jerod, can you have Belson pick Tyler up and move him and his nanny
there before things start?"

"I'll do that myself." Bester said with a smile.  "I'm really getting to
like that tyke.  I might even have to get me a kid myself."

That broke the room up in laughter and all the men stood, their faces
assuming a thoughtful look as they melded their minds together, and
disappeared from the room.  Justin's eyes took in the panoramic view as he
reappeared on top of a mountain.  His breath caught in his throat, even
though he'd seen this sight before.

The mountain was the center of a large island, surrounded by the deep blue
of ocean.  Above him sat hundreds of airships, resting at their anchors.
Most of them had the ribbed sails and blocky designs of the Shapers
Republic.  Ships meant to stand the test of time, weather, and combat.
Battleships meant to deliver a lot of firepower, and to take a beating
while continuing to fight.  Smaller in number, but just as deadly were the
sleek forms of the Southern Alliance ships.

They had been designed more along the lines of Guardian airships, and were,
to Justin's thinking, ideally suited for war in the air.  Fast, sleek,
manueverable, they still packed good firepower.  Actually, they reminded
him of the Constitution type vessels, first commissioned for the US Navy in
the 1800's.  Idly he wondered if the USS Constitution had survived until
the cataclysm that destroyed Boston along with most of the world.

He shook his head, that was neither here nor there.  Despite the fact that
more than five thousand years had passed in the world, for him only little
more than a year had passed since he was a Lt. Commander in the US Navy,
and only a little over a decade since he'd been a very junior enlisted man
in that same navy.  Now he was preparing to command a fleet the size of
which had not been seen in millenia.

To say that he was scared was an understatement.  Kelly and Frank must have
sensed it through the bond, which still existed on a very basic level.
They came up to him and pur their hands on his shoulders, giving what
comfort and encouragement they could.  Their faith in him bolstered his
self-confidence and in moments he was prepared to take the next step.  He
spotted the large ship, Anaconda, that was to serve as his flagship.

Seconds after spotting it, he reappeared on the main deck of the ship, with
everyone but Bester following right behind.  Bester had left to take care
of relocating Tyler.  A gong sounded when the crew spotted their arrival,
and most of the men there bowed low to them.  D'vad had appeared in the
full regalia of the Head Shaper, while Jerod wore the coronet of the High
Lord.  From the raised stern deck, a knot of officers broke off from a
larger group and made their way to Justin's group on the main deck.

The officer in the lead was a graying man in his fifties.  He wore the sky
blue pants and ruffled white shirt with grey jacket of a Shapers Republic
naval officer.  The thick gold braid on his sleeves proclaimed him to be
the Fleet Admiral, and Justin had come to respect him in the last year or
so.

"M'lords, Great Shaper, it is on honor to report that our forces stand
ready for your commands." The Shaper Admiral stated formaly.

"Lord Shapers, High Lord, Southern Alliance forces also stand ready." Said
the man behind the fleet admiral.  He was dressed in the green uniform of
the Southern Alliance and was a General.

"Admiral, good work." D'vad said, motioning for his man to rise. "From now,
until the end of the engagement, command of the fleet and all embarked
forces is given to Lord Justin Ackeman of the Southern Alliance.  You will
obey his commands as though they were mine, for they are mine."

"As you command, Great One." The Admiral murmured with another bow.

"General," Jerod said, his voice firm and strong.  "You have heard command
of the fleet is given to Lord Ackeman.  I command that so long as they are
embarked, all forces will answer to his commands as they would mine.  Once
deployed on land, all of our forces will answer to Head Shaper D'Vad.  Is
that understood?"

"Yes, m'lord." The general responded, his bow more grandoise than his
counterparts.

"Excellent!" Justin said lightly, rubbing his hands together. "Let's get
started in the coordination center.  We've got a lot to get hammered out."

***

The flagship's coordination center was huge.  It easily fit Justin, his
fellow Lords, D'vad, and four senior Shapers, Admiral Koors, General
Harken, and their command staff.  Scattered about the room were consoles
manned by crew members who struggled to catch every word being uttered
while looking disinterested.  Justin had to smother a laugh when he noticed
that and remembered doing the same thing years ago.

"S'okay," he repeated again to the Admiral. All of the senior staff was
standing around a large map table showing force deployments. "Explain to me
again why you don't want to use three ship groups."

"Uh, sir, if you order it we'll do it." The tired admiral said for the
fifteenth time.

"Admiral, when we are in the heat of battle, I expect that attitude. When
we are planning this engagement, I want to hear all ideas.  Understand?"
Justin said, letting the irritation in his voice show.

"Yes, m'lord." Everyone at the table said, except for the gifted.  They
just smiled at Justin.

"Fine, then explain your opposition." Justin said, some of the edge going
out of his voice.

"Well, sir.  I'm not sure the three ship elements are enough firepower.  We
outnumber them, so we should be making them come to us in a fight. Instead
of hunting them out in little groups, we should line up and roll over them
like a tidal wave!" The Admiral said, for the first time in an hour giving
voice to the reasons behind his opinions.

"A classic response when you have the firepower to do so, Admiral." Justin
said slowly.

"We do have the firepower, sir!" the Admiral exclaimed, slamming his fist
on the table.

"Yes, we do.  We know that, and our enemy knows that." Justin explained
slowly.  "So they will refuse to line up and stand in the way of the tidal
wave you want to use.  Instead they'll use breakers to blunt the force of
our strike.  Sure, they'll lose their ships, but they won't be the best.
Just good enough to get the job done.

"Meanwhile, the rest of their ships, and forces, the best they have, will
be hiding behind every nook and cranny they can find.  When we pass by,
they'll nip at our flanks and weed us out bit by bit.  Then when the odds
are close enough to even, they'll take us on."

"M'lord, how can you possibly be sure?" General Harkin asked.

"Because of that little dust-up a few months back.  This Adam Morgan thinks
a lot like I do, it's weird.  But he does.  I just figured out how we'd
defend against this attack and then postulated a method of foiling that
defense."  Justin paused for a moment as weird looks passed on the faces of
most of the people in the room.  He recognized the look, it was one of
fear.  He wondered why they were afraid at what he said, but shrugged it
off.

"So, we approach in a manner that convinces the opponent that we're doing a
massive frontal attack.  At the edge of visual range, our forces will split
off into three ship elements and execute hunter missions for enemy forces.
More than likely they'll be in groups of two to three ships like ours.
When we've created a big enough hole, the transports will move up from the
forward staging area and begin dropping troops."

"Why three ship groups, m'lord?" Admiral Koors asked, his voice gaining
confidence in the plan.

"Well, each group will be two Shaper ships and one Alliance ship.  The
Alliance ship will act as scout and blocker.  The Shaper ships, with their
more extensive firepower will provide back-up.  In a straight on duel, one
of our 3-ship elements can take on as many as four Guardian ships and
survive.  We have firepower on our side. This way, we use the various
abilities of our different ships to their maximum potential."

"What about the gifted?" D'vad asked.

"We have enough gifted between the Lords and Shapers to put one of us on
every ship, with a score left over for supporting the troops." Justin
reviewed.  "However, they like to board ships and kill off the gifted
there.  By keeping our ships in elements of three, we can safely assign one
gifted to each ship.

"Guardians usually attack in groups of two or three.  Since we can normally
hold off such an attack for a few minutes, that will give the other gifted
in the element time to join the defense.  My recommendation is two defend
against the attack, the third goes back and destroys the unguarded ships
with their abilities.  Once that is done, they can join the defense, and
hopefully help to kill off the attacking Guardians."

"Quite a plan, there, love." Kelly said. "Do you think we can pull it off?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be proposing it." Justin told them all.

"Good enough for me, " Jerod began before being interrupting by a crewman.

"Sirs!" the excited man said. He was an older sailor, in his mid-thirties
and not likely to be excited over trivialities.

"Report!" Justin barked before anyone else could respond.

"M'lord, we are receiving a signal from the enemy.  It is a request for
communication!  It appears to be coming from their capitol, directly." The
crewman answered.

"Put it on screen," Justin said, ignoring the sudden sense of apprehension
he felt rising in the room.  He could feel a blur around him as the twins
did something.  Speaking directly to his mind they explained they were
disguising him so the enemy would not know who their commander was.  When
the disguise settled in place, the screen came alive with the figure that
was known as Adam Morgan.  The trademark black hair he'd seen in pictures
was now silver, and wrinkle lines filled the face.  Justin smiled, knowing
half the battle was over.  The enemy was tired, as evidenced by his choice
of appearance.

"High Lord Jerod, Shaper D'vad," the man began his voice cracking.  "This
does not have to happen.  We can stop it before it begins."

"This day was fated long ago, killer." D'vad said, his voice little more
than hoarse whisper, rage burning in his eyes. Justin was startled at his
friend's vehemence.

"Nothing is fated, D'vad.  You know that as well as I do." Adam Morgan said
from the screen.  His shoulders appeared to slump some more.  "All I ask
for is J'Stan to be returned, unharmed.  I don't know where you're hiding
him, I don't know what you've done to him, but return him to me and we can
end this."

"You're the one who let him go!" Kelly laughed at the figure on the screen.
Justin felt the room spin a little until Frank put his hand on his
shoulder.

"I was wrong." Adam said, sadness evident in his voice and posture.  "In
one moment I let jealousy get the better of me."

"Not our problem." Bester said confidently.  "You are right though, no
fight has to take place.  Surrender yourself and your forces now, and we
will allow you whatever moments of meditation you desire before you join
your lost love in death."

"Death?" Adam whispered, rocking back for a moment, eyes closed.  When he
opened them his entire form shimmered, returning to the youthful look he'd
worn in the pictures Justin had seen, except for the eyes.  The rage that
burned there dwarfed the rage he'd scene in D'vad a few moments ago. "So
you bastards used my mistake to kill him?  Well, I'll make you sorry for
that!"

The transmission ended, and Justin felt the disguise around him fade away.
The people around him all had apprehensive looks on their faces as they
stared at him.  Those looks concerned him.  Could they be that afraid of
one person, no matter how powerful this Adam Morgan was?

"Well, I think our plans have just changed." He told them when the silence
became unbearable.

"Why?" Admiral Koors managed to croak out.

"Because we no longer are dealing with a rational creature.  You saw the
look in his eyes.  He is mad with rage.  Good job on that Bester, I'm glad
you thought of it.  It'll make my job a lot easier."

"What now?" Jerod asked, worry tinging his voice.

"Admiral, move the fleet out." Justin ordered by way of answer.

"Aye, Aye, sir." Was the only response vocalized.


***

The opening moves of the battle went almost as Justin had planned.  It
seemed that Adam Morgan's rage had infected every ship, every crewmember of
his fleet.  That rage gave them a ferocity in the opening movements that
nearly shattered Justin's plans, and the fleet.  It was last minute
manueverings by several ship captains that kept the small groups of
Guardian ships from wreaking total chaos as the larger Shaper/Alliance
fleet broke up into the designated smaller units.

His flagship, protected by twenty heavily armed Shaper warships, floated
near the rear of the battle zone.  Looking down at the map below him, he
watched the patterns of the fighting taking place and gave orders for ships
to move.  Less than five hours into the battle, things were beginning to
look better.

The rage that infected his opponents was now working in his favor.  There
was less cohesion to their units, less coordination of their attacks.
Meanhwhile his responses were well coordinated between various element
groups.  At this rate, the battle would be over in a matter of hours.

A quick thought verified that the twins were up on the main deck, acting as
the ship's main protection.  This far back though, there was little danger
of boarders.  Bester and his twin Jerod were in thick of things, acting as
forward commanders for a squadron. Justin didn't like having the High Lord
so exposed, but at this point every gifted was needed at the front.  D'vad
was up there too, leading a small strike group and acting as bait for the
enemy.

His board changed a bit, and at first the change was so subtle that he
almost missed it.  A minor element had disappeared in a quadrant that had
been otherwise quiet.  It was near the remains of what had once been the
Guardian city Caledonia.  The entire element disappeared, with no report of
contact with enemy forces.

A moment later, another flicker announced the disappearance of another
element, and the gifted that were guarding it.  Not even a peep escaped.
So far, even when they lost, the groups had always been able to report
engagement.  Admiral Koors pointed the latest disappearance out and a
troubled expression grew on his face.

"Many more of that, m'lord, and we won't have much of a fleet left." he
said to Justin.

"How do you think they're doing it?" Justin asked him.

"Not sure, I'm not one of the gifted, remember?"

"That doesn't mean anything, Admiral.  You have a mind, help me with it."

"They have to be hitting those ships fast and hard, killing them
instantly." the Admiral offered up.

"Or could they be doing something else?" Justin wondered aloud.

"Well, Morgan was one of the originals who went into space." Admiral Koors
said, almost to himself.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked sharply.

"He led the movement to colonize other planets, other stars."

"What happened to them?"  Justin asked.

"It didn't work, that's all I know. But I remember hearing Lord Shaper
D'vad talk about the first ships they used to send colonists there.  They
didn't have engines capable of breaking into space. Something about..uh.."

"Gravitational pull" Justin supplied from memory. He'd always wanted to go
into space.

"Right, m'lord.  Well, anyway, the gifted used their abilities to push the
ships into space.  Then they used fuel rockets to get them there."

"Which is what they're doing now, except that our ships aren't built for
vacuum, and the gifted aren't prepared for it.  Well, they are now." Justin
reasoned out, and sent a mental warning to all the gifted in his fleet.
Moments later he was rewarded by the report of one of the elements.  They'd
been pushed into space, but the gifted onboard those ships were ready for
that and protected themselves and the crews.  A few moments later they had
brought those ships back to earth and were moving back into position.

A few more attempts were made, with no more success.  Justin sighed in
relief and began ordering those ships to scan for electronic signals.
There had to be cameras giving away their positions and enabling Guardians
to do their push tricks.  Soon they were finding and destroying those
cameras, removing that tool from the Guardians arsenal.

The Admiral had just finished congratulating Justin on the counter when a
sharp mental cry caused Justin to almost collapse on the map table.  A
junior Shaper stationed behind Justin rushed to his side and supported him
while he tried to clear his head.  The call had came from High Lord Jerod!

"Admiral, you have command of the fleet, Shaper Tomliss will relay your
orders to the gifted.  I'm needed elsewhere." he informed the startled man.
With a brief look at Tomliss, he willed himself to the location of Jerod
and his brother, Bester.

As Justin's surroundings changed from the coordination center to the main
deck of Jerod's ship, the old fear of impending combat raised itself and
disappeared as he reappeared. Calmness, readiness flowed through him as he
took in his new surroundings in a split second.

Jerod was floating a few feet above the deck, surrounded by golden fire,
which streamed back to its source, a dark haired figure dressed in the
brown and white of a Guardian.  Bester was trying to pick himself off the
deck as two more Guardians prepared to blast him again with a wall of
force.  The smoking remains of their Shaper guards, and the remains of
three other Guardians littered the deck. The crew were nowhere to be seen.

Justin let loose his own blast of force, knocking the two Guardians into
the mainmast while simultaneously cutting off the flow of golden fire
surrounding Jerod and sending a mental call to the twins.  Their help was
needed.

Two more Guardians appeared on the deck and immediately launched an attack
on Justin.  His shields held against the purple blasts of power they aimed
at him, and his answering strike flattened both of them.  One of them
landed on a divet and looked surprised at the metal sticking through his
chest.  Moments later, Justin could feel the life leaving the man.

His appearance had given Bester the moment he needed.  No longer surprised
by the sudden appearance of the Guardians, he launched two strikes.  One, a
line of fire threw the two Guardians who had bested him back against the
mainmast they'd just pushed off from.  The other blast joined one from
Jerod, striking the dark-haired Guardian simultaneously.  The Guardian
ignored their attacks though and was staring at Justin, a look of disbelief
on his face.

"Thought I was lost forever, did you?" Justin sneered at the man as he
launched another attack, this time a cone of pure vacuum around the other
Guardian who had survived his initial attack. The man's lungs burst and he
died instantly.

"It...it can't be!" Adam Morgan whispered, shock evident in his voice and
stance.  Bester and Jerod switched their attack from Adam Morgan to the two
surviving Guardians, killing them quickly and without mercy.  Now Adam
stood alone, with the three of them surrounding him.

"What, thought you'd imprisoned me forever?  Well, some of us don't die so
easily." Justin said, contempt dripping from his every word.

"What are you talking about? I would never.." Adam started to say confusion
apparent in every word.  He was cut off by simultaneous blasts of energy
from Jerod and Bester. At that same moment, Frank and Kelly appeared on the
deck and instantly joined their powers into the attack.

While the four of them pressed an attack with energy, Justin prepared for
his attack.  It started by stimulating Adam Morgan's nerves.  Soft ripples
as if a feather was brushing his arms.  He could see the man's arms twitch
slightly.  Then the feather touch turned to needles, and the man realized
it was an attack.

It was too late though, Justin had made the connection and the needles
turned into flame.  Adam Morgan screamed in pain at that, and his
concentration was diverted just enough.  It was Kelly's energy blast that
penetrated his shields first, quickly followed by the other four. In
seconds, the once-handsome features of Adam Morgan became little more than
blackened husk.  His body slumped to the deck, and Justin moved forward to
stand over the fallen man.

Excitement filled him. He'd managed to help kill this evil bastard who'd
helped break him from his two loves.  Two lovers now lost to him forever by
the changes they'd gone through during the millenia he'd been imprisoned in
rock.  His blood boiled in his veins at the feeling of power he felt.  Then
it froze in shock when he realized that the spark of life was still in Adam
Morgan.

As Justin stood next to the charred remains, the eyes opened and a
blackened hand grabbed his leg.  He tried to jump back, but he felt
something reaching into his mind, pulling him towards something. Justin
tried to reach across the bond to get support from the twins, but it wasn't
enough, the bond was too weak.

The ship around him disappeared, to be replaced by a greyish void.  He
floated in this void for a time, not remembering much.  He recognized this
place.  He'd first been here, this void outside of time and space back in
the days he first was learning about his gifts.  Henry was lying burnt on
the training room floor, and here he'd met Alan Mills.  Tears filled his
eyes at the memories of the irrascible old coot, long dead for millenia.

"I wish I'd known him, my love." A voice said from behind him.

Justin spun around and found himself staring into the face of the villain
Adam Morgan.  The man's body was whole, his black hair waving gently in an
unfelt wind.  A gentle smile filled his face and Justin felt the knot of
anger in him dwindle under it.

"I'm so sorry I reacted the way I did.  There was too much of the immature
teenager in me so soon after our reawakening.  I remember waiting so long
for you to return my love, I let my jealousy rule.  It's my fault, don't
blame yourself." Adam said gently.

"What are you talking about murderer?" Justin demanded angrily.

"What..what do you mean?" Adam asked, his voice registering shock.

"Release me!" Justin demanded.

"I, I just wanted to say goodbye.  Haven't I earned at least that much
being your partner for millenia?" Adam asked in a hoarse whisper, tears in
his eyes.

"You!  ME!  Together?  That would never happen!  What kind of delusion are
you under?" Justin shouted at this man he'd been told was partly
responsible for his imprisonment.

"What did they do to you?" Adam asked quietly.

Before Justin could reply, he felt something like a vise grab his head.
Quicker than he could respond he felt a wall coming down in his mind.  A
partition that had held something back collapsed and...memory flooded into
his awareness.

The void around them trembled and he screamed in agony as he remembered.
Thousands of years flowed into his awareness and he remembered it all.  He
could feel the remains of the wall that had held his memory back, the
controls that had shunted him away from any thought that threatened that
wall.  He looked back at the dark haired figure now floating inches from
him in the void.

"My love!  What have I done!" J'Stan cried as he wrapped his arms around
Adam.

"What you thought was right, my love." Adam said gently. His voice muffled
because his head was pressed into J'Stan's chest.  "You always do your best
to support any cause that you believed was right."

"Let's go back, I'll heal you." J'Stan whispered into his lover's beautiful
black hair.

"It's too late." Adam sobbed through tears floating down his face.  "I
stand on the edge of the great unknown.  I can never go back."

"Then we go together." J'Stan said softly, steeling himself for the one
thing he was truly afraid of...death.

"No." Adam said softly.

"What do you mean, no?" J'Stan asked, stunned.

"Our bond is back, do you feel it?" Adam asked quietly.

"Yes." J'Stan said as the memories of Adam's past year floated through.
One thing was clear through it all, Adam had never stopped loving him and
had searched for him as much as possible.  The attack he'd made last year
was actually an attempt to rescue J'Stan based on information proven to be
false.

"We have a son." Adam said softly.

Tyler!  An image of the golden haired boy appeared in J'Stan's mind. Love
filled him, as strong as his love for Adam.  Could he really leave the boy
behind to be raised by the people who had done this to him?

"You can't" Adam said softly. "It wouldn't be right, and you would only
betray everything you have ever tried to do by leaving him now."

"But, but how will I live without you?" J'Stan said, now sobbing as well.

"You will. You are a survivor, my love. When this world ends there will be
nothing but cockroaches and you!" Adam said, laughing softly at the last.

"It'll be lonely without you."

"You managed well enough this last year without me or the 'twins'" Adam
said softly, a trace of anger and regret suffusing his voice.

"But that was only because I couldn't remember you." J'Stan sobbed.

"Remember our happiness, our joy, and raise Tyler well.  That will make all
this pain worth it." Adam said.  The void was changing.  A force was
tugging Adam away from him.

"I love you!" J'Stan shouted to the receding form of Adam.

"Never forget, I love you forever!" Adam's voice shouted as if from a great
distance.  "Oh my love, you have nothing to fear, here!"

The void receded around J'Stan to be replaced by the deck of the Shaper
warship. Tears dropped from his face onto the charred remains of his
love. He shut his eyes to try to keep the image of the charred body being
his last thought of the man he'd loved for millenia.  He raised his head
and opened his eyes, focusing on High Lord Jerod of the Southern Alliance.

"He's dead." he whispered as a gentle breeze lifted J'Stan's blond hair.
Tears glistened on his face as he stared at Jerod, who had a look of joy on
his face.  Anger welled deep in him at that look.

"Glory be, we've won!" Jerod shouted.

"No" J'Stan said softly, reaching with mental fingers, wrapping them around
Jerod's mind.  "You've lost."

With that he tightened those fingers and ripped the mind of Jerod to shreds
in mere fractions of a single second.  As the lifeless body slumped to the
ground, a scream of pain erupted behind J'Stan from Bester.  He was feeling
the effects of the bond with his twin being shattered. J'Stan turned to
face the sons of his first lovers, who had impersonated their fathers to
deceive him.

"Your turn" he told them. Fear filled their faces and as he reached out
they disappeared.  It didn't matter, thanks to the remains of the controls
they'd placed in him, and that bond they'd used to enforce those controls,
he could find them anywhere.  He turned back around to see Bester cradling
the limp body of his dead twin.  For a moment, pity filled him.  But for
only a moment.  Bester's mind was in tumult and grief filled it.  As J'Stan
prepared to rip his mind, he looked up into J'Stan's face.

"I'm sorry." Bester said in a heavy kiwi accent.

"Sorry doesn't cut it." J'Stan said icily.

"I don't care now.  I'm ready to die.  But there's some things you need to
know, to understand." Bester said between the sobs that wracked his body.

"Say them quick, then.  This is all your fault, you know." J'Stan said.

"Yes, when I went back in time, to save Jerod."  Bester replied.

"Don't think you can try it again." J'Stan warned.

"Don't worry about that.  The price is never worth it.  Death comes
anyway."

"Yes it does, was that all I needed to hear?"

"No.  But it is related.  You know David disappeared after that, only to
reappear as D'vad.  What was done to you, by the Parkers, was done to him
as well."

"So, you've been pulling his strings all this time? I find that hard to
believe. When he destroyed Europa, he destroyed your colonies as well."

"Collateral damage. We didn't expect that result." Bester said quietly.

"So, is that it?"

"No, please understand why we did.  We've always been the smallest of the
three powers that survived the cataclysm.  The Shapers were going to
swallow us and we knew you Guardians couldn't prevent it.  If we could
have, we'd have supported you, but you weren't strong enough.  Please
understand that, and forgive us."

"You misjudged us if you thought we weren't strong enough." J'Stan said
firmly.  "As for forgiveness, ask Adam when you see him.  I'm too angry to
forgive. But I think I know what your concern is. Don't worry.  I did swear
an Oath to the Lord's Council as well as to Ackeland.  I will protect the
people of the Southern Alliance as well as the people of Ackeland.  Those
duties do not have to be mutually exclusive. You however, are among those
who have a price to pay."

With that, he ripped Bester's mind.  He barely noticed Bester's body
slumping down next to his dead twin's.  He didn't even notice the ship
beginning to descend to the ocean below it, out of control.  His attention
was focused inward.  He traced the Parkers to where they had run.  It seems
they are seeking protection.  Well, thanks to Bester they were about to
find that protection was little more than a lurking danger to them.  He
left the ship, filled with nothing but the dead to crash into the ocean far
below.

He appeared a moment later on the deck of another ship.  He could see the
last of the crew abandoning ship to parachute to the ocean far below.
Standing before him were Kelly and Frank, with D'vad between them.  They
faced him as soon as he appeared, and he could see D'vad's face twist in a
rictus of anger and hate at the sight of him.

J'Stan had chosen to reappear wearing the brown and white uniform of a
Guardian. His hair was longer, down to his shoulders and waved in the
gentle wind blowing across the deck.  He crossed his arms as he faced the
three people at the core of the current situation.  Anger filled him
towards Kelly and Frank, but he felt commiseration for D'vad.

"So, the villain returns!" D'vad sneered.  "I told them their trick
wouldn't last.  At least this way I get to take revenge upon you.  I hear
your precious lover is dead at your own hands."

"Yes, he is." J'Stan said quietly, suppressing the surge of grief that
filled him. "But I wasn't the only one they tricked."

"What do you mean?" D'vad shouted, as fear filled Kelly and Frank's faces.
They launched an attack against him, which he ignored.

"Do you really think I was the first person they pulled the trick on?"
J'Stan asked his one time friend.

"Who else would they need to do that to?" D'vad asked, also ignoring the
attacks the two Lords were pressing on J'Stan.

"You" J'Stan said, reaching through D'vad shields and tweaking his mind
just enough to bring those walls crumbling down.  D'vad collapsed with a
shriek of pain, and the two Lords pressed their attack against J'Stan so
hard he could no longer ignore them.  As he fought for survival against the
two, he lost track of what was happening with D'vad.

Until he felt the intensity of the attacks cut in half, then disappear
altogether.  His ability to see what was happening returned, hazy at first
from the brilliant light that had been thrown by the attacks he'd survived.
D'vad was standing there, the body of Frank Parker dangling from his
outstretched hands.  With a growl he threw the body to the deck and both he
and J'Stan turned as one to Kelly Parker.

"You've lost" J'Stan told the surviving boy, who was now shrieking in pain
from his sundered bond.

"Why?" D'vad asked gently.  "It never had to be this way."

"It was the only way!  We were meant to rule the world, together, but
you. You both always stood in our way!" Kelly shouted.

"What makes you think you were meant to rule the world?" J'Stan asked,
shocked that the child of his first lovers could ever think such a thing.

"Bjorn told us that, before you killed him!"

That statement shocked J'Stan. He could feel the long arm of the man who'd
killed his first loves reach out from the grave.  No matter how much time
had passed, it seemed the world still suffered the effects of that man's
ego.

"He was wrong." D'vad said softly reaching out, preparing to attack.

"Leave me alone!" Kelly shouted. "If you attack me you'll be sorry!"

"Why?" J'Stan asked.  "You've already taken everything that's precious to
us."

"Oh yeah?" Kelly Parker sneered.  "Well, if we can't rule this planet, I
for damn sure won't leave you two to do so!"

"We have no desire to rule." D'vad said, confirming his statement with a
look at J'Stan.  The two moved to stand shoulder to shoulder against the
surviving Parker.

"But you'll never rule either." J'Stan said quietly.

"If I can't rule, there'll be nothing left for anyone to rule!" Kelly
Parker shouted.

J'Stan could feel him reaching out, doing something with his abilities, but
it wasn't a direct attack.  Somewhere, deep inside himself, J'Stan felt as
if something tearing, but he wasn't sure what.  Whatever it was, it needed
to be stopped.  At the same time as D'vad, J'Stan reached out with his
powers and prepared to rip the mind of Kelly Parker as he had the others.

He encountered a shield which blocked him at first.  But he wasn't the only
one attacking.  D'vad let loose with blast of energy that dwarfed anything
seen before.  The force of it ripped into Kelly Parker, ending his
existence in a flash.  Not even dust particles remained to float to the
deck.

J'Stan turned to the man who'd once been his friend and looked deep in his
eyes.  There he saw concern..and friendship.  A deep sigh escaped him and
he collapsed into his old friend's arms.  Pain, guilt, terror all welled up
into him and released in the form of tears soaking his old friends
clothing.  He could feel his own shoulder grow wet as D'vad joined him in
tears.

Time passed unknown to them. Neither knew how long they cried into each
other's shoulders.  But, the tears did end eventually.  They lifted their
heads and looked again into each others eyes.  Pain was still there, but so
was understanding and friendship.

"What was it he was trying to do at the end?" J'Stan wondered aloud, not
sure where the thought came from.

Horror spread across D'vad's face at the question. He stood abruptly,
pulling J'Stan with him.  His mind opened and J'Stan could see the horror
revealed there.  Together the old friends disappeared from that ship,
hoping desperately that there was something they could do to save Earth
from the doom that had been set loose by an egomaniac with an angelic face.