Chapter One

Evan sat opposite Alex on the crowded shuttle and stared at his own reflection in the darkly tinted glasses his Keeper was wearing. Madame Clarice Duvia was in residence on the planet itself, instead of the apartment she kept on the orbiting station, so they'd been forced to book the last two seats on the first shuttle of the day, cramming in with another twenty people anxious to get wherever they were going. Evan would have preferred traveling alone, so he and his Keeper could talk, but there were no other available transports. So he sat quietly, and waited.

Just as well. Alex was so hung over, he probably wouldn't have wanted to say much anyway. Why he felt the need to get drunk the night before seeing his mother for the first time in nine months was a mystery Evan wasn't sure he wanted to solve. Mysteries always had reasons, and if meeting his own mother required a hangover, how bad could this be?

It was late morning on Scotian when the shuttle dropped out of the cloud layer and banked toward the city. Bright, orange sunlight slammed into the view ports and bounced off Alex's glasses.

"Damn." Alex made a face and turned his head slightly away from the light.

Evan wanted to comment, but there were too many people too close by. Several of them had given him a second glance when they boarded, obviously realizing what he was, and hadn't been able to stop staring since takeoff. Evan sighed inwardly. Being on the Ascalon for so long had spoiled him. Amazing how a lifetime's worth of routine could be so easily shrugged off in less than a year. On the Ascalon, he was well known, and in a strange way, accepted. A way that both irritated and pleased him, surprisingly. It was different, unusual. A little annoying at times, but for the most part, he'd gotten quite used to it.

Now, he was Sha'erah again. Not the second-in-command of a deep space exploration vessel. Not the partner of one Alex Marcase. He was property again. He was Sha'erah. And he was intimidating everyone else on the shuttle just by sitting there. As normal as that was, it felt strange to him now.

"We'll have to rent a car when we land. Her house is five miles out."

Evan nodded, catching a glimpse of his own dark eyes in his Keeper's lenses.

Alex's eyebrows arched, then he turned his head slightly and looked around the shuttle as if noticing the other passengers for the first time.

"Oh, right. I forgot." He shook his head and sighed, saying nothing more.

A man sitting three seats to Alex's left hadn't taken his eyes off Evan since they boarded. He was quite tall and thin, with long legs folded up uncomfortably in the economy seat he was perched on. Evan had already given him a thorough going over and decided he was no threat, just rude. There were no familiar bulges in clothing where weapons were typically stored, no calluses on his hands indicating frequent gun usage, and from the manner in which his Adam's apple spasmodically bobbed up and down with each swallow, there was no way he could blend into a crowd the way an assassin would require.

Of course, that could all be a ruse. His apparent lack of any danger whatsoever could well be a put-on, designed to cause the experienced observer to pass him over as a non-threat. There could be weapons stashed elsewhere on his person. Smaller, thinner weapons that would show no signs under loosely fitted clothing. Or, he could be the decoy, drawing attention with his nervously bobbing Adam's apple and constant scrutiny.

Or, he could just be rude.

By the time the shuttle landed, Evan had determined he was no threat at all. They all stood well before the light indicating they could unbuckle the safety straps and stand came on, pressing toward the door in precisely the manner the regulation card advised against, anxious to be free of the confining space of the cramped shuttle. Alex waited until several large, middle-aged women bustled by, nearly trampling their toes, before he stood. When he did, the thin man with the Adam's apple stood as well, finally dragging his gaze back to his own business.

Alex started walking by, before the thin man finished gathering his jacket and pack. "He doesn't do any tricks, if that's what you've been wondering."

The thin man's head shot up, eyes darting from Alex to Evan and back again. He stammered something incoherent, then hurried to leave the shuttle ahead of Alex, mumbling some apologies to the women as he pushed by.

Evan sighed and followed his Keeper, waiting until they were away from the crowds. "You know, he'd probably just never seen a Sha'erah before."

"Yeah, well he saw you when we boarded." Alex held up a hand and waved one of the waiting hired cars over. "I'm surprised you didn't take that staring as a threat."

"I evaluated him right away, and if he'd made a move he wouldn't have gotten far." Evan opened the door to the car and glanced inside before letting Alex climb in. "Are you expecting trouble?"

"No, of course not." Alex slid to the other side of the car and gave the driver instructions. "Then again, I never seem to expect trouble, but it's always expecting me."

"I haven't let my guard down, if that's what you're worried about."

"God, my head hurts."

"It was your idea to get drunk last night," Evan scolded.

"I thought you weren't supposed to let me hurt myself."

"What you did last night wasn't dangerous, just stupid." Evan glanced at Alex, seeing only his reflection in the glasses. "You wanted to get drunk."

"I know."

"You wanted to have a headache when you saw your mother."

"I know."

"You never told me to stop you." Evan stopped when Alex held up a hand, nodding.

They drove in silence down a quiet road lined with expensive homes and perfectly manicured lawns. Evan couldn't help but notice every one of the houses was white, with various shades of blue trimming certain aspects of the architecture. Every one had security gates and remote monitors protecting the inhabitants from any unwanted approach. Tethered to the drive posts in every front yard was a private vehicle, typically black in color, immaculately cleaned and waiting to be needed.

It was a stark contrast to the displays of wealth on Cryian. But it was, ultimately, the same money. Paulson Carpenter presumably lived in a large, white house with perfectly tailored landscaping and a large, black car. There was little difference between the way in which Paulson conducted business and the way Spencer Marcase had. But at least Spencer hadn't pretended to be anything other than what he was.

When the car pulled up one of the private drives, it stopped ahead of the monitor, so Alex could address the unit.

"Alex Marcase to see Madame Duvia." He turned to Evan. "You have to promise me something."

Evan's eyebrows knit with suspicion. He glanced at the driver, but the man wasn't paying them any attention as he drove through the opening gate. "Of course."

"No, I'm serious." Alex reached up and pulled the glasses down the rim of his nose so he could see Evan clearly. "She has this habit of ignoring things that displease her. She'll try to treat you like furniture."

Evan blinked.

"She'll talk about you as if you're not even in the room. Just . . . if she does that, don't take it personally."

Before Evan could explain how it was her every right to do just that, the car had stopped and both doors opened automatically. Alex handed the man the required amount of credit chips and got out, shutting the door behind him. Evan hurried to join him and found himself staring up at a massive, completely white house brimming with excess.

As they approached the double doors, a soft chime sounded, followed by a harried voice, mechanical in nature. One of the doors opened and an automated butler floated out, hovering above the ground at eye level. It wasn't much more than a box the size of a man's head, with optical sensors, audio input and output units, and several small orifices presumably hiding arms.

"Good day to you, Master Alex." The robot dipped slightly in greeting, then spun around to direct its optical sensors at Evan. "And this is . . .?"

"This is Evan, Sylvester." Alex grinned slightly and pointed at the hovering box. "Sylvester here is my mother's butler, guard dog, and social calendar, all rolled into one."

The robot spun back around to face Alex. "I prefer the term Companion, Alex."

"He's been with mother since before I was born." Alex reached out and patted the robot, then walked through the door into the house. "Where's mother, Sylvester?"

Evan ducked as the machine flew by, nearly clipping his shoulder in its rush to get ahead of Alex again. It spun around, floating backwards in order to maintain its lead.

"She's dressing, sir. If you'll just have a seat here, I'll inform her you've arrived." The 'bot hovered a moment, then drew closer to Alex but failed to lower its audio output. "Sir, Madame has requested you wait alone. Should you arrive with . . . anyone else . . . she has instructed me to -- "

"Evan, hold out your arms." Alex shot him a look, then turned back to Sylvester. "Discount."

Instantly, the robot fell from the air into Evan's waiting arms. Startled, he stared at the unit, then put his left hand over the inlet underneath. "He's shut down."

"Completely." Alex grinned. "Just toss him on the couch, he'll power back up in an hour."

Evan complied, setting Sylvester's quiet form on the couch near the large spiral staircase. "What did you do?"

"When I was a kid, mother used to sic that thing on me like a babysitter." Alex was looking around the room as if trying to find something as he spoke. "I got sick of it one day and got a program installed in his mainframe. Any time I say the magic word, he shuts down for an hour, with no memory of what happened."

Evan blinked, surprised. "You installed a program?"

Alex shrugged. "Okay, I bribed this kid I knew into doing it for me. She still hasn't figured it out."

"How do you know?"

Alex started pacing around the large room, looking at artwork and figures as if he'd never seen them before in his life. "The magic word is "discount". That's not a word my mother even knows."

Evan glanced around the interior of the house, noticing it himself for the first time. The room they were in was opulently decorated. Heavy, fringed curtains draped over the windows like gilded weights, tiredly forcing out any view from outside with their thick material. Pure white marble coated the floor, then seemed to climb up the walls, blending seamlessly with white shelves and white marble mantles displaying paintings and sculptures that looked vaguely familiar.

In fact, much of what occupied the room, art and furniture alike, seemed vaguely familiar. Evan examined the room more intently without moving from beside the couch Sylvester rested on. It was all designed to fool the eye into thinking the owner was wealthy beyond her means. He'd seen wealth before, and lived with it most of his life. This wasn't the real thing, but a very well-put-together imitation.

Alex was standing at a mantle, staring intently at a sculpture, perched on the marble. He picked up the figurine and began fingering it, choosing that to occupy his hands instead of turning the ring around.

"Alex! Why didn't Sylvester tell me you were here?"

Evan turned in time to see Madame Duvia descend the stairs regally. She was taller than Alex, with pale white skin and artificially colored brown hair. Her eyes were green, but not as vivid as those of her son. When they caught sight of Evan, there was no sparkle, only a dull, lifeless registration.

"Mother." Alex walked only halfway to the stairs, subtly forcing his mother to pass Evan and meet him halfway. They embraced more warmly than he expected, then Alex pointed at Evan, turning his mother with one hand on her shoulder. "This is Evan. Evan, this is my mother, Madame Duvia."

"Really, Alex. I expected you to come alone." Madame Duvia took the slight momentum her son started and turned it into a complete reversal of direction. Instead of looking at Evan, she spun around and walked purposefully into the next room, swirling a long scarf behind her.

Evan watched Alex follow her, then took up position behind as they entered yet another white room. Madame Duvia had marched to the opposite side of the room and was pouring herself a drink when they entered. Alex seemed to hesitate, then wandered to the right side of the large room where a long, expensive table sat unadorned. Ignoring every chair in the room, Alex sat on the table, statue still in hand.

Evan quickly scanned the room and judged there to be only one exit. Deeming it appropriate, he remained where he was, standing just inside the room where he could watch both Alex and his mother without having to get any closer.

"I'm very proud of you, Alex. I heard about your find." Madame Duvia turned to face her son. Her eyelids lowered instantly when she realized where he was sitting, but she said nothing. "But you didn't have to claim it for the Vision's crew."

"Yes, mother, I did." Alex set the statue on the table and started fingering his ring. "If you heard about that, then you heard about the rest of it."

Madame Duvia's face flushed momentarily. Evan got the impression it was the most color the woman usually saw, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

She shot Evan a look. "At least it wasn't a complete loss."

"No, not a complete loss." Alex glanced at Evan, then looked at his mother. "Did you know Spencer faked his death?"

"Certainly not before I heard the rumors." Madame Duvia looked appalled, but quickly recovered. "Alex, your father never could be trusted, even in death, apparently. But that's over now. What are your intentions?"

"My intentions?" Alex straightened, eyebrows arching. "In regards to what, mother? The afternoon? The week?"

"In regards to that!" She pointed a long, manicured finger directly at Evan.

Alex glanced back at Evan. His eyes were red from the hangover, but there was a tired anger flashing in them as well. Evan tensed, confused by the display but ready for anything. This didn't seem like any mother/son relationship he'd witnessed before, but he was no expert on the matter.

"That, is Evan, mother. He has a name. He's a person, not a thing." Alex slid off the table and walked toward his mother, pausing long enough to shoot Evan a glance. "I'd hoped you'd have changed your attitude after all these months."

"He's worth a fortune, Alex. You can't still be thinking of turning him into some kind of friend or something. Not when this much money is at stake." Madame Duvia showed no signs of backing down in the face of her son's anger. "You could pay for your ship! Why, Major Daniels has already called me to see if you'll still entertain his bid."

"Entertaining is what you do, mother. Not me." Alex turned his back on the woman and paced in the other direction. "He's not for sale, never will be."

It was like watching a teenager rebelling against an order not to alter his own body. Evan had witnessed several such displays while on assignment for Spencer off world or onboard a cruise ship filled with wealthy, bored children looking for anything they could find to disrupt their parent's ordered lives. Even physically, Alex was a complete contrast to his mother. Dressed in dark, slightly worn pants and a deep blue shirt with Ascalon insignia coloring the short sleeves and collar, his shorter stature and somewhat unkempt hair made a sharp contradiction to the white walls and marbled floors he was pacing. Evan realized just then how dramatically opposite he must look in these white rooms.

"You mean, you're keeping it?"

"He's my second-in-command, mother! He saved my life out there, and the lives of my crew." Alex turned to Evan and held his gaze for a long, silent moment. "If you could just take a minute and try to see this the way I do, I think you'd really learn some things from him." He turned back to his mother. "I have."

"Really, Alex." Madame Duvia turned dramatically and walked to a small table where she set down her drink. "He's property. He'd do whatever you told him to do. How can he possibly do otherwise?"

Evan glanced at Alex, but his Keeper merely stared back at his mother, clearly too frustrated to speak.

Madame Duvia turned back around to face her son. "I suppose in a way it's very noble of you, taking the moral high ground as it were. But honestly, this . . . He's Sha'erah, Alex. You can pretend all you want. Call him your second-in-command, your partner." She raised both arms into the air in a dramatic shrug. "Call him your friend for all it matters. He's still Sha'erah. Nothing he does will be motivated by anything else."

Evan watched Alex as he listened to Madame Duvia's words. She was right, but in a very wrong way. Couldn't she see how her words were hurting her son by insulting everything he'd done over the past nine months? Whether Evan understood it or not, he did know Alex was like no other Keeper. For the first time in his life, he actually enjoyed being where the ring was. For once security didn't mean sacrificing.

Alex had wandered back to the table while she spoke, his back to his mother. He picked up the statue again and turned slowly. "You know, you're just like him."

"What are you talking about?"

He hefted the statue in one hand and Evan tensed, unsure if Alex would actually attack his own mother or not, or what he would do if he did.

"He wasn't what he seemed, either." Alex continued to stare at the figurine in his hand. "Everything in his apartment was rented. Right down to the art work." He raised the statue higher. "He even had this exact statue." Alex set the figurine on the table. "You're not going to change, are you, mother? I was a fool to come here, wasn't I?"

"Alex, don't be ridiculous."

Alex remained where he was but held his mother's gaze intently. "Evan is not my property, he's my friend. I'm not asking for your approval or consent, I'm just stating facts. Thanks to my father, eighty-six people are dead. I gave the claim to Franklin's crew. That's all over and done with." He shook his head almost sadly. "I was a fool to bring him here, wasn't I? I really hoped you'd change, if you just met him. But you won't even look at him." He looked around the room, still shaking his head. "I'm so sick and tired of everyone pretending to be something they're not."

"Alex, control your temper." Madame Duvia's scold went unheeded as her son turned and walked out the door. "Come back here this instant!" Evan stepped aside, allowing his Keeper to pass through on his way to the main door while keeping his eyes on the woman bearing down on him.

"Just leave me alone, mother. I made a mistake thinking you could really change." Alex stormed outside, slamming the massive doors shut with an unsatisfying, slow thud.

Evan followed his Keeper outside and found him standing several yards down the drive, dialing for another car on his PDA. He slowed, squinting in the sun, and stopped a few feet behind Alex. Before he could speak, he heard the doors opening again. He turned and faced Madame Duvia, blocking her path to her son. "Alex doesn't wish to be disturbed."

The look the woman threw at Evan was ice cold, but tinged with a palpable apprehension. Her eyes widened as she stared at the Sha'erah, then searched for her son.

Evan made no move to step aside. They were the same height, so he made no attempt to look down or even disapprovingly at the woman. But he made it perfectly clear that his Keeper's wish not to be disturbed by this woman -- mother or not -- was going to be enforced. With one final huff of indignation, Madame Duvia turned and stormed back into her house, slamming the door with more success.

"Well, that went well." Alex shut off his PDA and slid it into thigh pocket. "Car should be here in a minute."

Evan blinked, turning to look at Alex. "You call that going well?"

"Hell yes." Alex slid the darkened glasses into a pocket, apparently over the hangover's effects.

He never had a mother, and as a Sha'erah, it never occurred to him to care. But having seen other people interacting over the years, he'd certainly expected something other than what he just saw.

"I don't think she likes me much." Evan followed Alex in a slow walk toward the end of the long drive as they waited for the car to arrive.

Alex laughed while slipping his tinted glasses back on. "Don't take it personally, Evan. Sometimes she doesn't like me much either." He sighed and glanced back at the house. "Listen, I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have brought you here. I just -- I actually thought she might change, you know? I thought if she could just meet you . . . Never mind."

The car arrived and Alex got in, giving the driver instructions to a park Evan didn't catch the name of. He slid in after his Keeper and made a mental note of the direction the driver took.

They followed the road leading away from Madame Duvia's large white residence, heading further away from the city. Within minutes, they were surrounded by a large, spacious park complete with decorative pathways and meticulously trimmed grass. Trees of various sizes, shapes, and colors dotted the landscape, but to the west began to grow thicker and closer together, forming a rather thickly wooded area where a wide creek flowed and disappeared in the heavy canopied darkness.

When the car stopped several yards from the beginning of the wooded area, in a small turn-around designed for land vehicles to change their direction, Alex climbed out, then leaned toward the driver.

"We need a ride back in an hour."

"Yes, sir." The driver accepted the credits with a nod of his head and a quick smile, then drove away, back the way they'd come.

Evan glanced around, automatically scanning the area for any feel of danger. There were a few people walking in the park where the trees were more sparsely placed. Lovers out for a stroll, children playing while fretting women called out for them not to get too dirty. The sun was warm on his skin, reminding him how long it had been since he'd even been on a planet, let alone in the sun. Nine months on the Ascalon hadn't seemed like a long time until that very moment.

"What are we doing here?"

Alex was looking around, smiling almost to himself. He slid the lenses off and pocketed them, squinting slightly in the bright sunlight. "I used to play here when I was a kid." He turned and scanned the park, then pointed to the creek that widened as it exited the wooded area. "That was a hell of a lot bigger when I was a kid."

Evan glanced at the creek, then looked back at Alex. "Most things are."

Alex laughed shortly, then started walking toward the edge of the woods. "I used to sneak out of the house and come down here to waste the entire day. Mother would find out Sylvester had no idea where I was and completely lose it, then ground me for a week."

"I don't blame her." Evan was treated to a glance from his Keeper, one eyebrow raised. "You leave without any trace, with no way for her to contact you or know you're safe. I'd ground you, too."

"Hell, you'd lock me in my room."

Evan trusted his "damn right I would" look sufficed for an answer.

They reached the edge of the creek and Alex bent down, gathering several small stones in one hand. One by one, he tossed the rocks into the water, making them skip several times before sinking below the surface.

"What was it about that statue you didn't like?"

Alex looked up, a frustrated expression wrinkling his face, then shrugged. "It just hit me all of a sudden. How much like him she is."

Evan shifted both feet and glanced past the creek, trying to figure this one out. His Keeper had the most annoying tendency to shift the conversation without prior notice. "She didn't seem anything like Spencer to me." She wasn't brutal, except in attitude. She hadn't cheated or killed anyone that he knew of. She was simply . . . impersonal. Okay, so they shared one trait.

Alex stopped skipping rocks and walked up a slight rise, then sat heavily on the ground, facing the park with his back to the wooded area. Evan followed, sitting beside him in the opposite direction. Something was bothering him, he could see that. But until Alex opened up, there wasn't anything Evan could do to help.

"You know, I lived in that house until I was eighteen. I knew most of what she had was designed to look like more than it was, you know? She needed to be around wealth, she's always been like that. And it suits her." He picked up a twig and started peeling the bark absently.

Evan wasn't sure where he was going with the conversation. "Your father liked what money did for him, but he didn't like wealth so much."

Alex glanced at him, his face shielded from the sun by Evan's head. "I'm not sure I see a difference." He looked at the stick in his hands and shrugged. "All I know is, all that time it never struck me quite as wrong as it did this morning." A section of bark was peeled off roughly, then tossed aside. "Looking around that house, I realized how fake it all is." Alex glanced at Evan again. "Everything's either borrowed or rented. It's not hers. Just like his apartment."

Evan sighed and looked at the trees while Alex continued to destroy the stick in his hands. He thought about pointing out how his own ship was only leased, but realized immediately that wasn't the thing to bring up. His second thought -- reminding Alex that he owned something more valuable than his mother's entire façade -- was also not such a good idea, considering how his Keeper seemed to feel about the subject of ownership.

All things considered, he deemed it best to remain silent, and let Alex continue to lead.

After several minutes of calm silence, broken only by the occasional call of an animal scurrying up a tree, Alex tossed what was left of his stick away and leaned back, supporting his weight on the palms of his hands which he set firmly on the grassy ground behind his back.

"You know, I lost my virginity in those woods."

Evan glanced at the thick forest and tried hard not to picture that. "How old were you?"

"Fifteen. What about you?"

He had to search his memory quickly, then try to calculate his age. "Sixteen, I think. Maybe a little sooner."

"You think?" Alex raised one eyebrow dramatically as he glanced at Evan. "How much of your childhood do you remember?"

"Childhood?"

"Yeah, you know, school."

Evan shook his head once. "Sha'erah don't attend school, we're trained until we're five, then given to our Keeper."

Alex glanced away for a moment. "What was that like, then? Do you remember much?"

He shrugged. "I remember a room, a couple of others like me, and constant memorization. We had to learn what we were, and what it meant, until it was a part of us. Then I was given to Spencer and started working."

Alex held his gaze for several seconds without speaking. His face an unreadable mix of anger and disbelief. Finally he shook his head and looked out at the expanse of park again, squinting slightly. "When I was five, the most important things on my mind were collecting bugs and getting dirty."

Evan knew his Keeper didn't quite understand, or didn't want to understand, and there was little hope that he ever would really understand. But it was all so simple. "It's all what you know, that's all."

Alex searched the ground for another bit of the bark to play with, listening.

"You thought nothing of your mother's life while you lived in it. Someone else might have felt differently, looking in at you. But to you, it was just your life."

"But I know better now." Alex spoke to the bark in his hands, not looking up. "I've finally seen it for what it is."

"You've changed. Things aren't the same for you any more." Evan shrugged. Things certainly weren't the same for him any more. He'd spent most of his life doing Spencer's dirty work. Now he was with Alex, doing things that didn't keep him from sleeping at night any longer.

Alex sighed as if he'd just made up his mind about something. He tossed the bark away and watched it tumble along the grass, pushed by a soft summer breeze. "Nothing's the same anymore. And it shouldn't be, ever again."

Now, what did that mean? "I doubt your mother will forget this morning any time soon."

With a frustrated grunt, Alex stood and paced a few feet away, then turned back to Evan. "When she looks at you, all she sees is a price tag."

"That's normal." Evan got up and brushed the grass from his pants.

"Normal?" He took a few steps forward. "And that guy on the shuttle coming down here, the one who couldn't stop staring, that's normal too?"

Evan sighed, watching Alex. Behind him the rented car returned and parked in the turn-around, patiently waiting for them. "What's bothering you?"

Alex just stood there, looking as frustrated as ever. Finally he shook his head once and turned toward the car. "Nothing. Come on, let's get something to eat."

In the nine months since they'd come together, Evan had learned Alex Marcase's version of "nothing", was usually something. And never anything small or insignificant, but something huge and potentially life-altering. The guy was the king of understatement sometimes, but there was no dragging it out of him until he was ready.

The car returned them to the city which was bustling with noon-time activity. Alex picked an outdoor café, crowded with diners, and was shown immediately to the best table under a sun-shade. He rolled his eyes at Evan in regards to the preferential treatment, but declined to make a scene in refusing it.

"Maybe if we got you into something other than black?" Alex spoke to Evan but stared at the patrons at the next table who hadn't been able to take their eyes off the pair since they were seated.

"It's not the clothes they're looking at." Evan ignored the curious as he always had. It was just a fact of his life that could be used to his advantage, or ignored as he saw fit.

Undaunted, Alex pulled out his PDA and dialed a few numbers. On the small screen, an image of Evan appeared, dressed in his usual black attire. Within seconds, the PDA made the desired connection and a list of options appeared at the bottom of the screen. Using a stylus, Alex began choosing different colors and styles which were displayed over the image.

Evan raised an eyebrow but made no comment. Their lunch orders arrived, so he started eating while his Keeper tried several variations of brightly colored clothes over his image.

Alex try another loudly colored shirt on the display. "How do you know it’s not the clothes unless you try something different?"

"I’m sure."

"Damn, you might be right." Alex shut down the display and put the PDA away with a shake of his head. "Black it is, my friend."

Evan sighed quietly to himself, immensely relieved to know he wasn't going to be forced into some of the strange, brightly decorated colors his Keeper had been playing with. "It's not the clothes they see." No amount of brightly colored material could hide the tattoo on his neck, or the one on the back of his hand. Let alone the silver in the palm of his hand, or the black eyes only Sha'erah possessed. The fact that his hair was also black as night and the set of his jaw could intimidate just about everyone wasn't something he could really alter, either.

Alex raised his hands in defeat and picked up his fork. "You win, this time."

"I didn't realize it was a competition."

"Though the darker blues and greens weren't all that bad."

"I already have those colors." And he'd made a point of wearing them, often, while onboard the ship. In public, he was more comfortable completely in black, where he could use the image it projected in his favor.

Before Alex could comment, his PDA beeped. He flipped up the lid, then creased both eyebrows in a frown.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone inquired about the Ascalon."

His Keeper's expression and tone alerted Evan more than his words. "Inquired?"

"Dammit!" Alex closed the unit with an angry push on the lid. "The bank automatically informs me any time someone is snooping around."

"You mean, someone who wants to buy the ship? But you have first option on the lease."

"First option doesn't get you very far if you don't have the cash to back it up with."

Evan reached for the PDA and turned it on, placing his left hand over the input pad. Within seconds, he'd located the bank and gained access to their public records. A minute later, he was in the highly secured files and private transactions. But what he found didn't make any sense.

"Phillip Zane, MD." Evan blinked, focusing his eyes on the here and now so he could see Alex. "He inquired about the balance on the lease."

"Zane?" Alex looked puzzled, then angry. "What the hell is he doing?"

Evan probed deeper into the files, searching out Doctor Zane's private records. The balance was startling, so he delved deeper until he found the source. "He's officially a member of the Vision, along with the other medical staff we rescued." He pulled himself mentally out of the bank's database and lifted his hand from the PDA. "They've given him a share of the claim. Enough to pay off the lease on the Ascalon."

Alex shoved his plate aside and swore under his breath. "Why? Why would he want a ship? And why mine?"

"I'll talk him out of it." Evan set his jaw firmly and closed the PDA.

When the waiter returned and quietly informed Alex there was no charge for their meal, his Keeper roughly shoved the proper amount of credits at him anyway and stood, motioning for Evan to follow.

"It doesn't make sense, unless he's one of them!" Alex was so angry, he shoved past the patrons waiting their turn to dine without so much as a passing apologetic nod.

Evan followed close behind, his mind reeling with possible angles the doctor could be playing, none of which made sense. "He can't be." Could he? What was he up to? If he was playing them for fools -- playing Alex for a fool after all he'd done -- Evan vowed it would be the last thing the good doctor did. With the claim of Turbidium registered, there was only one way he could possibly afford to pay for the Ascalon if someone else was making a bid on the ship.

The shuttle trip back to the orbital shipyards seemed twice as long as the trip down, even though they were two of only five passengers making the return trip. Alex sat opposite Evan, fuming silently and muttering under his breath now and again. His mood was one of the darkest Evan had yet witnessed, and he couldn't help seeing Spencer in those green eyes. For a shorter, somewhat unassuming man, Alex could look surprisingly dangerous when he was angry. But it was a look he had to feel in order to enact. Unlike his father, Alex obviously felt whatever he was expressing. None of his many facial expressions was void of the emotion behind them, or the sincerity. It was a trait Evan had found surprising, then almost reassuring. There were plenty of times he didn't understand a word his Keeper was saying, or what he was trying to get at by skirting around it, but he never had to guess the man's mood.

It was something he'd come to rely on. Something he wasn't ready to start missing.

"Oh my, well, this is awkward." Doctor Zane stood behind his desk, fidgeting with a stylus as he looked from Alex to Evan and back again. "I had hoped to approach you before you heard any rumors that may have given you any undue worry."

"What do you want with a deep space ship?"

Alex was standing directly in front of the desk, staring at the doctor in confused disbelief while Evan stood several feet behind his Keeper, unsure how far this would go or how much pressure he'd be allowed to use in order to keep the ship. He kept his eyes trained on the doctor, fully aware of the added intimidation that caused.

"Honestly, Captain, I had no intention of actually buying this ship out from under you." Doctor Zane swallowed, shaking his head. "I wouldn't do such a thing."

"Then why the inquiry?"

"I . . . well, actually I was curious. You see, I have a proposition for you, and Evan."

"Proposition?" Alex's tone softened slightly and his posture relaxed.

"Yes, you see, I -- ah -- Well, I'd like to hire you." Zane stopped fidgeting and looked Alex straight in the eye. "Both of you. I thought perhaps, since I find myself unexpectedly in possession of the required funds, that I could hire you to do something for me. In payment, I'd like to purchase the lease option, in your name of course, to the Ascalon."

Evan blinked. He couldn't see Alex's face from where he stood, but he judged by the silence in the room that his Keeper was just as surprised as he was by the change in direction of the conversation.

"Hire us for what?" Alex glanced over his shoulder at Evan, eyebrows creased.

"Well, you're an explorer. You find things no one else knows about." Zane swallowed, looking over at Evan to include him in the conversation. "And the two of you would be particularly suited for this little venture."

Evan took a few steps closer, so Alex wouldn't have to keep looking over his shoulder at him. What the doctor could possibly want to find was beyond him, but somehow he got the impression his Keeper might have a clue.

Doctor Zane cleared his throat and continued. "I've studied the Sha'erah most of my professional life, up until I was strongly persuaded to cease and desist, that is."

"Oh come on, Doc." Alex shook his head once, one hand raised as if to stop him from speaking. "You can't honestly expect -- "

"I don't expect anything," Zane interrupted. "In fact, I'm willing to offer up payment now."

There was something missing in this conversation Evan couldn't quite put a finger on. He looked at Alex, confused. "What's going on here?"

Alex was looking at Zane, jaw firmly set, breathing through his nose as if something in the room smelled offensive. Finally, he addressed Evan, still looking at Zane. "He wants us to find out where you come from."

Evan's mind went completely blank. The words registered, but their meaning was completely lost. "What?" He ignored Zane, looking only at the side of Alex's face.

"Not just you, Evan, but all Sha'erah. I've been studying your people, as many as I've been able to, with the goal of ultimately finding where you come from." Doctor Zane spoke to Evan, while Evan looked at Alex who continued to stare at Doctor Zane. "Every time I came even close, I was forced away. Don't you see, Evan, now that I know my theory about your control over that ring is true . . . Now that I've been able to prove that what you've been taught all your life might not be true," He glanced at Alex, adding more entreaty to his voice. "Now that I've seen proof of the type of partnership that's possible between a Sha'erah and the right Keeper, I feel honor bound to do all I can to go as far as I can. The others, they deserve to know. Life does not have to be the way you were taught."

Evan heard what the man was saying, but he still didn't think he understood. He kept waiting for Alex to explain, but his Keeper was just standing there, listening with that set to his jaw that suggested an internal struggle. Of course he was going to tell Zane he was out of his mind. Any second now. It was foolish to even consider.

"There's nothing wrong with the way I was taught." Evan met Zane's gaze straight on.

"I know this isn't an easy idea to grasp, Evan. But even you have to admit your life with Alex is a far cry from the life you led with Spencer Marcase."

Evan felt his face flush. Only practiced discipline kept him from showing his sudden discomfort. He looked at Alex. "No one can find what he wants to find. It's ridiculous to even try."

Alex looked away for a moment. He took a few steps back away from the desk and started twisting the ring around on his finger. "My father found it."

"Your father found the right contacts, that's all. He placed an order."

"With someone who knew where to find it." Alex continued to pace the small office, twisting his ring as he walked while looking at the floor.

He couldn't possibly be serious. "You're not thinking of doing this, are you?" Evan glanced at Zane. "It can't be done. Even I don't know where I came from." He turned to Alex again. "No one's going to let you get that close. You don't even know where to start looking."

"It could be pretty dangerous." Alex paused in his pacing, but continued to speak to the floor.

"It will be dangerous! You know what I'm worth, what your father paid for me. If they think you're a threat to that, you'll be in serious danger." This was outrageous! "I can't let you risk yourself for nothing."

Alex stopped pacing and looked at Zane. "Give me the night to think this over."

"It's too dangerous." Evan shook his head sharply.

"Then you'd better make sure nothing happens while we're out there." Alex grinned and gave Evan's arm a pat, then turned and walked toward the door. "'Cause I don't have a will."

"What?" Evan stood there, staring after his Keeper, dumbfounded. When the door closed, blocking his view, he turned and stared at Zane, blinking. "Is he kidding?"

"About the will, or the proposal?"

"Both!" Evan wanted to throw up both hands in complete frustration, but that kind of display in regards to Alex wouldn't be proper in Zane's company. The man was trustworthy, and had proven himself an ally for the most part, but there were limits. "He could no sooner find where I come from than I could. It's ridiculous."

"It's possible."

"It's dangerous." Evan didn't want to address the shocking news that Alex had still failed to rewrite his will now that he was in possession of a Sha'erah. That was too much to think about! His head was spinning from the strange notions being tossed around the room from out of nowhere. "No one's going to let him get that close. And if he did, out of some miracle, manage to find out where I come from, what then? You think whoever, or whatever, creates us is going to let you, or anyone else for that matter, change the way things are done?"

Zane shrugged. "I have to try."

"Why?" Evan found himself pacing the room now. "Why fix what isn't broken? There's nothing wrong with my life. I like my life! I've always liked my life."

"But have you always liked the life you were living?" Zane stayed behind his desk, smiling slightly as he watched the Sha'erah pace around the office. "Evan, your life with Spencer . . . It was all you knew, and you liked it. But now . . . Now that you've been with Alex these nine months, can you honestly say they're the same life?"

Evan was shaking his head, denying the words he knew were true, willing them to go away even as they sank in. It was wrong. Wrong to question who your Keeper was, wrong to desire anything for your own life. It was wrong! "I was with Spencer, now I'm with Alex." What was so wrong about that? It was his life, it was normal, natural. He didn't want that to change.

"Yes, but tell me this, Evan . . . If you were still with Spencer when you learned you had a choice -- that you could move that ring on your own -- would you have wanted to stay?"

Evan stopped his pacing. "That would never have happened."

"I know that, considering the circumstances. But things change. You made the choice to put that ring back on Alex's finger, Evan, whether you're willing to acknowledge that or not. And frankly, I think it was a wise decision. I'm not saying we can save the universe here. But I've seen how you and Alex are together. You've managed to reach a potential that I feel all Sha'erah and Keepers would benefit from. If they had Keepers willing to accept them the way Alex has accepted you."

"You mean ignoring the monetary value?" Evan watched Zane nod. "But that will never happen. Keepers pay for Sha'erah. No one just gives up that kind of money." Zane sighed deeply. "Think it over. Alex hasn't made up his mind yet. The two of you should discuss this."

Evan shook his head but said nothing. He left the office and walked back toward their quarters, through corridors now empty of crew since docking. Zane didn't understand. Whatever Alex decided, providing he wasn't going to get himself killed, was what they were going to do. It wouldn't matter what he thought or how he felt about it. Hell, he didn't even know how he felt about it. They were talking about his people as if they were broken, and in need of repairs. But he didn't feel broken. He'd never felt his life was anything he should be angry about.

Sure, there were times he was forced to do things he didn't particularly like. That was just part of life. They didn't reflect back on him, anyway. Sha'erah only did what their Keepers ordered, after all. What better life could there be? He had security, shelter, responsibility. Even if he was ever sold, he knew that security would follow along.

Technically, he knew he controlled the ring. But that hadn't changed anything. He was still Sha'erah!

When he returned to their quarters, he found Alex at the computer, confirming the Ascalon's appointment with the shipyards.

"You're considering it, aren't you?"

Alex shrugged and typed out a few commands, then shut down the computer. He stood and walked to the galley, dialing up an order of coffee. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Evan walked to the counter and stopped, facing Alex. "I think it doesn't matter what I think."

"I wouldn't have asked if it didn't matter."

"You mean, if I said I didn't want you to do this, you wouldn't do it?" He knew it couldn't possibly be that easy.

"I didn't say that, exactly." Alex grinned and shoved two cups under the dispenser. "But I wanna know." He handed Evan one of the cups, then leaned against the galley unit, watching him.

Evan lifted the cup and stared at it, wondering if the answer might be in the steam somewhere. When it wasn't forthcoming, he shrugged. "I don't know exactly how I feel about it."

Alex nodded and raised his cup. "Well, I can relate to that."

"You know, until nine months ago, you didn't even believe I could exist." What did they expect from him? They were asking nothing less than for Evan to completely toss out everything he'd ever believed in, everything he knew. What would become of his life then? Did they expect him to change just because they'd found others and taught them something new? The ring hadn't changed anything. He'd put that right back where it belonged.

"Okay, why don't I tell you what I'm thinking?" Alex took his cup and walked to the large window, now sporting a view of the Scotian orbital station and the shipyards beyond. "You're right. Until I met you, I didn't believe Sha'erah were anything but a myth. Hell, even after I met you, I still didn't believe it. And from what I understand, even you don't know the truth about where you come from. Or how," he nodded in the general direction Evan presumed was his left hand, "that's done."

He made a fist self consciously, noticing the familiar feel of the metal interface that was part of his palm.

"See, my life was pretty set in stone before VanHolt called. But ever since that day, on almost a daily basis since then, I've realized everything I thought I knew -- everything I'd always taken for granted in my life and the lives of those around me -- it was all a lie."

Evan took a half step backwards so he could sit on one of the tall stools at the counter and still watch Alex. "Not everything."

"Okay, ninety percent, give or take." Alex waved a hand in the air. "My father, Jeff, Paulson Carpenter. Hell, nearly half my crew! Nothing was what I thought it was." He paused as if thinking of something in the past. "I can't help thinking that there's something, maybe just one thing out there, that I could get to the bottom of."

"And you think that's finding out where my people come from?" Evan shook his head. "Just finding out where and why isn't what Zane has in mind." If he understood the man correctly, he wanted to ultimately disrupt the entire dynamic that made Evan what he was. Where would that leave him?

"Zane has his own agenda." Alex shook his head. "I'm just tired of mysteries and deceit. Maybe if I could figure this one out, just answer the question of your origins once and for all and get past all these rumors and myths, it would be enough."

"Will it?"

"Aren't you curious?"

"No." Evan shook his head sharply and carried his cup around to the reclamator. "We're taught not to be."

"Sure, you're taught not to be, but aren't you just a little curious anyway?" Alex walked to the galley. "God knows, I would be."

Evan shrugged. Of course he was. Who wouldn't be? But fear usually overshadowed curiosity. "It could be dangerous."

"I'll have you to make sure it isn't."

"I won't let you get killed trying to do this, no matter what you say."

Alex grinned and nodded, accepting the limitation. "If we can get Zane to pay off the lease, take this job and go as far as we can with it, that's all we have to do. If it gets too dangerous, or we simply can't get any further than he did, so be it. We tried."

Evan felt as if his Keeper was actually waiting for him to agree. As if he'd reconsider should he put up more resistance. How much did this mean to him? Or more importantly, how much did this mean to Alex? The man had been betrayed by so many trusted people and ideals lately, his entire outlook must be completely shaken. Maybe this wasn't so much about him, as it was about his Keeper. Alex needed something solid, something he could know was fact, instead of fiction. He hated Spencer for what he'd done to his own son.

"I want this ship, Evan." Alex met his gaze, green eyes sparkling. "But not at your expense. You were with me when I shoved dear old dad out into space. If I'd wanted this ship at any cost, I would have kept him around and picked up every reward I could find."

Evan's mind flashed back to that day, and the confusion he'd felt about his Keeper's decision and remarks. Unsure of what to say, he waited for Alex to continue.

"We both profited from him in ways he never could have guessed. None of which involves money, lies, or deceit." Alex's eyes seemed to lose focus, as if he was remembering something only he could see. "I gained a second-in-command I can trust, a friend who's willing to save my ass at any cost." He grinned and looked up at Evan. "And one hell of a verbal sparring partner."

Evan held his Keeper's gaze intently, looking for any sign of the father in his son.

Alex cleared his throat, still smiling but more seriously. "What I'm trying to get at here is . . . You're my friend, Evan. I want this ship, and yes, I want to get to the bottom of at least one mystery in my life. But it's not worth trying if you're set against it." He shrugged and waved one hand. "It's just a ship. I could always get another one. So this time, it's your choice."

Evan had no idea what to do. He'd never been faced with this before in his entire life, or even taught what to do should it ever happen. He swallowed, frantically searching his mind for a clue what to do next. There was only one decision to make. "Do you even know where to start?"

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