Breathing Underwater

[Ang'Jhu t'Radiak]

"Do not blame yourself Rebecca." Ang said calmly as she knelt next to Tomarah. "She knew what she was doing and it was her choice. She was clearly from a time before... all this. At least she had a countrywoman... such as I am... in her final moments. When I am recovered, I am reclaiming the Alth'Indor, provided it hasn't been turned into a colony or scrapped because of small minds. And I am helping you eliminate Dominius and this threat once and for all. Far too many have suffered and will suffer. They are planning something very large, they needed Romulan support, which they manipulated using my information."

[Rebecca Talon]

"I don't blame myself," Rebecca replied trying to control her anger. "Thr defeat of Dominus must be done with a level head. Going after him must not be from a place of vengence or anger lest we become which we hate. But, eliminating Dominus is righteous, as if left unchecked he will certainly kill and harm many others."

[Angel Ryder]

"It's become more than simply another enemy... they could wipe out everything and everyone." Angel said as she tapped her buffer band and a body bag materialized in her hand. "It's pathetic that I have to carry body bags in my buffer band, but... this isn't the first time I've had a death on a bridge."

"So why didn't they do the same to me?" Ang inquired.

"Probably didn't think you were going to survive your injuries." Angel said as she gestured to her. "She healed you but you were messed up pretty bad I take it. Hey, I can feel your emotions and pain."

"You're a magical space wizard now too?" Ang raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that... not quite, but learning... when we get back to the Kitea I'll show you something." Angel said and looked at Rebecca. "I need to have one of my doctors look at Tomarah... we've seen this before from former prisoners or even operatives of theirs. They get within a certain range and then... death.

[Rebecca Talon]

"It's more than a lethal device. It's a torture device," Rebecca replied with a shudder. "And that's an image I am not going to get out of my head for a very long time." Sighing she bent down and help Angel with the remains, feeling unnecessarily dirty doing it.

[Angel Ryder]

"Nor I... " Angel said softly and glanced at Ang who was sitting in Angel's vacated chair and looking at herself in the reflection in the window and feeling her face. "Just like I can't get the image out of my head of her mostly charred remains in what was left of her shuttle after Jackson blew it up. It's... a strange feeling seeing your own skull on the ground. For as much as we bicker, like sisters, I truly did love her as one. Perhaps even more than I did with my own sister, because we were the same person technically, but experiences... entirely different. And this one is going to need time. She's doing what I do when I'm trying to put up a façade of strength and command. I can see it in her posture and feel it in her emotions." she shook her head. "This Iljuna... stuff... when you start tapping into it... it's heady."

[Rebecca Talon]

"Why do you think Ja'larin took me under her wing," Rebecca replied. "I owe everything to her. I suspect my path might not have been too dissimilar to that of Bellatrix's. I had this power without focus or a constructive outlet."

[Angel Ryder]

"I hardly think you could ever be as cruel as her, I've known you for my entire life." Angel said and gave her a look. "Never think that you could ever be that dark. You're a good person. A little fucked up but who of us isn't?"

[Rebecca Talon]

"I doubt she started out as cruel and evil as she is now," Rebecca replied. "Never underestimate the ability to justify one's actions and incremental movements towards evil. The straight and narrow takes effort. Straying from that path is easy."

[Angel Ryder]

"I don't know... she seems pretty rotten to me." Angel said. "You at least have some sense of justice and right from wrong, power or no. Plus... " she whispered. "Your default when things got rough was to consider retirement and living a simple life." she nudged her. "I doubt that ever crossed her mind. Same with my father. Faced even with Dominus... he chose to retire and take himself out of all this for the good of his wife and young son. That's not something Dominus would ever do, give everything up."

[Becky Sandoval]

Rebecca shrugged, "Maybe."

Just then the comm system crackled to life. "Kitea to Admiral Ryder. Whatever you did ma'am the Ajem'dasis didn't like it. There's a fleet of ships on an intercept course."