Chapter 10

Alex pushed through the underbrush as he entered the forest. He was storming forward without a clue where he was heading and he didn't care, just so long as it put distance between him and the cold hard truth. Had it been ignorance, or stupidity? Surely something had blinded him to the truth. A truth Evan had been fully aware of.

"You knew I had no will!" Alex stopped in a small clearing and glared at a large tree in front of him. It had grown too dark to keep walking in the unknown forest, and he had to yell at something. The day's events were piling up, overwhelming his brain and turning his stomach. Mari's death was tragic, no news there. Ian's death had been a shock, straight out of the blue just when Alex thought he'd seen the light.

"How in the hell am I suppose to live with that?!" The tree had no answer, so Alex balled a fist and punched it. The pain that ripped through his knuckles and jarred against his wrist bones did little to alleviate his frustration. The fact that it did even less to the tree was no comfort, either.

He turned around, shaking his injured hand in the air, and cursed the forest as a whole, each tree individually, a large boulder to his right, and just for good measure, the darkness in general.

"If you die without a will -- "

"What are you gonna do, Evan? Kill yourself?" Alex glared at another tree. "What the hell have I been doing all this time? Just complicating your life?" He turned around and leaned both hands against the boulder, feeling suddenly nauseated.

It was all too much.

He owned Evan. Okay, he'd dealt with that.

He was solely responsible for Evan's sex-drive. It was weird, and sometimes he didn't quite believe it. But he was learning how to deal with that. Or at least he was planning on figuring it out soon.

But now if he didn't hand Evan off to someone else to own, Evan was going to commit suicide after Alex died.

It was too much. "I can't deal with this." Alex leaned forward, fully expecting to be sick, but nothing happened. He realized then he hadn't eaten much of anything since that morning. When his stomach assured him after a few shaky moments that it wasn't going to be doing any recycling, he turned back around and paced the small clearing.

Sell Evan, or give him away. With luck, he could find someone now and be sure that person would treat his friend the same way he did. But then what? What if he gave Evan to someone then they turned around and sold him to someone else? He could send Evan to Zane, but the man was getting pretty damned old. Even those kids wouldn't be with him much longer. Zane must have some plan for them in the event of his death, maybe he could find a new home for Evan too. No, the chances of that were slim. Evan was no child. He was set in his ways.

"Stubborn." Alex flexed his injured fist. The pain helped add to his anger and scared frustration, fueling his circular pace among the frustratingly silent trees.

He could write a will and name someone, but how was that any different? What if the person he named was dead, like Mari's sister? He'd have to have back-up inheritors. "I don't even know more than two people." And those two, he wouldn't trust. Not with Evan's life. His happiness. His future.

"What the fuck kind of rule is that!" Why in God's name would Maker teach them to kill themselves if they had no Keeper? The sheer moral offense that order suggested was impossible to accept. Just the idea that someone would create slaves was more than anyone should accept.

And yet they did. Alex's father had not only accepted it, but embraced it.

"Yeah, but he had a will."

Alex stopped his pacing and sat on the boulder in utter defeat. "So which one of us is the monster?"

The dirt he stared at made no reply, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't have heard it over the pounding in his head. Sell Evan, or keep him knowing he'd do the same as Ian if Alex died first. Alex leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and twisted the silver ring around his finger. He stared at it in the strange moonlight, watching the reflection of blue and purple nebula gasses dance off the intricately-detailed silver surface. After a moment, he closed his eyes. He couldn't remember what it felt like not to have that ring securely wrapped around his finger, and he couldn't fathom having it gone.

Suddenly the image of Evan stepping off a cliff flashed across Alex's closed eyelids. He jerked his head up, opening his eyes. "No!" It hadn't happened. Evan was alive and well, and probably standing back there at the transport waiting for him to get a grip.

"I can't do this." Alex stood and paced again. From the darkness around him, he heard rustling and movement. Suddenly he realized he was alone in the forest of an alien planet they hadn't even begun to explore.

He glanced around, alarmed, and thought he saw movement off to his left. Before he could call out, the Sha'erah came through the trees in front of him.

Alex felt a resurgence of anger. "I said I wanted to be alone."

"It's not safe out here. Can't you be alone closer to the transport ship?"

"What would be the point of that?" Alex spat back.

"I understand -- "

"No you don't." Alex shook his head. "You don't understand the half of it." He resumed pacing, angrily moving back and forth in the small clearing.

"Then why don't you fill me in?" Evan stood where he was, watching Alex make the circuit.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Alex glanced up but kept pacing. "You're not a Keeper, are you? You don't have a fucking care in the world!" He noticed no change in Evan's expression and that kept his anger going. "You Sha'erah just do what you're told. Go where you're told to go. And if no one's around to tell you what to do next, you just quit! So long, thanks for all the good times but they really didn't mean a thing!" Even as he spoke the words he felt a pang of guilt for the acid behind them.

Evan said nothing until Alex was passing closer to him again. "Is that what you think?"

Alex made it to the opposite end of the little clearing and turned back around. "It's the truth, isn't it? You Sha'erah have been conditioned since birth to do, think and feel certain things." His anger was faltering as other emotions began clouding his voice. "I thought we made progress, Evan. After all this time!" He glared at the Sha'erah as he passed by again. "And now I find out everything I've done -- everything I've tried to make you understand -- has all been for nothing!" He shouted at the silent trees again and considered punching the big one a second time, but his knuckles were throbbing too badly.

"Why? Because Ian killed himself?"

Alex glanced at Evan and noticed a definite tinge of frustration to his expression. It was surprising enough to stop his pacing, but not cool his anger.

"Or because you thought you could talk him out of it?"

"That's it now?" Alex made a face and barely kept himself in check. "This is about me?" He glared at Evan. "Yes, I was wrong! I thought the idea of Ian following some stupid rule to commit suicide was insane. Well I know better now, don't I?" He started pacing again, more to keep himself from hitting other innocent trees than anything. And it helped not to have to stare at Evan while he spoke. "I've learned a lot of things tonight." He felt for the ring on his finger and held on to it, feeling the weight of the metal, the intricate engravings surrounding his finger so solidly. "If I keep you, I have to have a will. If I have a will, that means someone's going to own you when I die." He shot Evan a quick, accusing glance as he passed. "Or, I could sell you now and let someone else deal with the guilt." Hearing that sentence come out of his mouth caused Alex's throat to close up.

"Is that what you want?"

Evan's voice was so quiet, Alex had to stop pacing and look at him. "What I want?" He felt something fall out of him then, like a hydraulic chamber suddenly losing air. "You're the best part of me, Evan." He stood a few feet in front of the Sha'erah, looking him in the eyes. "I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but somewhere down the line I took everything that was valuable and good about me and gave it to you for safe keeping." He shook his head, feeling the weight of irony. "You're the Keeper now. You've been mine for quite some time."

Evan blinked, obviously struggling with some surprised confusion.

"I can't explain it, and I don't even want to try." Alex looked away, scanning the darkness without really looking at anything. "But I can't deny it, either. I'm a better person with you around." He laughed slightly and shook his head. "Maybe sometimes that's not saying much." Alex looked at the ring. "I know now I've never understood friendship before. And just because you're Sha'erah, you can deny it on face value, but I don't believe you do what you do because you have to." Alex looked at Evan, searching his eyes for any hint of understanding. "That's your excuse, but it's not true. I don't believe it, anyway." Alex closed his eyes and fought the lump closing up his throat. "I didn't even know I was missing anything before. And now . . . " He sighed. "I can't do it." Alex looked Evan in the eyes. "You're my friend. You're everything that's good about me. Everything I wish I was. If I give you to someone else, I'll lose everything I've tried to do. If I put someone in my will to inherit, that's the same thing, I just won't be around to feel guilty about it.

"Alex -- "

"I can't do it." He shook his head and looked back at the ring. "Is life as someone's possession better than no life at all? I can't make that decision." Alex felt his eyes start to fill up, but nothing was spilling over. "How selfish is that, huh? What does that say about me?" The anger and frustration were running out of steam, leaving him behind in a cloud of fear and desperate need.

Evan shrugged very slightly. "I can't answer that."

Alex nodded slowly and resumed his back-and-forth pacing of the clearing, moving much more slowly this time. His mind was reeling, as was his stomach, and excess moisture in his eyes was blurring the darkened landscape. "Guess I haven't learned to be a good Keeper, then. Maybe someone else would do a better job." He glanced up as he passed and saw a flash of emotion in Evan's black eyes. The sudden look of fear he saw caused Alex's throat to spasm. He cleared it with a quick cough and continued pacing so Evan wouldn't be able to see his face.

"I can't do it." He wasn't sure if the sigh of relief came from the Sha'erah, or somewhere deep inside his own chest. Alex shrugged and turned as he reached the edge of the clearing, looking up at Evan. "Has everything we've done meant nothing?"

"What?"

Anger was trying to return and take up some of the heat in Alex's voice. "You're my friend, Evan! You know the truth about this." He held up his hand and the ring flashed silver in the moonlight. "Maybe I can't fix everything. Maybe nothing I said to Ian would have changed his mind. Maybe I'm completely full of shit, but you're my friend. Is that really nothing more than a complication to you?" He glared at Evan, but the anger was leaving again, making it hard to talk. "How am I supposed to live knowing if I keep you to myself, you'll -- do what Ian did just because it's some kind of duty?"

"Duty wasn't the only reason Ian did what he did." Evan's voice was controlled, as if there was an anger there, an emotion fueling it that he didn't want to let loose. "He was lost. Without a Keeper -- without that direction -- he couldn't imagine any other life. He had no understanding of what else he could do or who to turn to. Expecting him to change, to come with us was just too much for him to comprehend."

Evan paused and Alex just stood there, watching him. He thought he was going to have enough anger and resentment to carry him through till he found a solution. But now, standing there in that clearing, he desperately wanted Evan to just fix it all and return them both to the bizarre life they'd come to love so much.

"I'm sorry you can't fix everything just by wanting to. And I'm sorry Sha'erah aren't something you ever wanted to understand or accept. But I am your friend, Alex." Evan's expression was dead serious, and his voice held a tinge of desperation. "You have complicated things. And I don't think I can imagine going back to a life without you. Back to the life I've been bred to live. Not now. Not after you've shown me so much."

Alex wanted to say something, but he found it impossible to do anything but stand there.

"I am still Sha'erah. You can give me to someone else, or you can put me in your will. But if I could, I'd ask you to let me stay with you. And when you die, let me go with you."

Alex felt some of the tears begin to spill over the edge of his lower lids, glad to have some of the pressure released. "Do you know what you're asking me?"

"I'm asking you to give me exactly what you've been wanting me to learn."

A strange feeling of lightheadedness swept through Alex. He shook his head. "You want me to let you kill yourself."

"I want you to let me have free will about this." Evan shrugged slightly. "You'd be dead. Why does it upset you?"

"Your life is valuable, Evan. It has meaning! The idea of you -- " Alex's mind suddenly flashed on the vision of Evan stepping off the cliff. The mental image stopped the words in his throat.

"When I was with Ian last night, I kept seeing other things."

Evan was moving now, almost pacing but not taking more than a step or two. It was more of an aggravated gesture than anything. Alex looked at his face and was surprised to find the black Sha'erah eyes sparkling with moisture. .

He cleared his throat. "What other things?"

"You." Evan shot him a quick glance, then looked away. "I kept closing my eyes and seeing you lying there dead, instead of Mari. And I couldn't . . . No matter what I did to make that vision go away, it kept coming back, and I couldn't . . . It was nothing like Spencer." Evan looked up and met Alex's gaze. "Nothing at all." His eyes glittered wetly in the alien night. "You're right, I've grown beyond what a Sha'erah should do, think and feel. I wouldn't feel the need to kill myself because I had no Keeper. I'd want to kill myself because I am your friend."

"Dammit." Alex shook his head. "I guess there's something to be said for ignorance."

"You were thinking of this in terms of what might happen." Evan shook his head. "As far as we know, we'll both die in our sleep somewhere, two very old men."

The image that flashed in Alex's mind was enough to make him laugh shortly. "Yeah, well you'd just better damn well make sure that's what happens." He felt foolish. Not for his reactions, but at his ignorant assumption that everyone and everything should see his version of logic and act accordingly. It was a lesson he thought he'd learned while arguing with Kellman about his Sha'erah Thomas. A lesson brought home by the death of Ian and his own inability to understand the very motivations he'd been trying to call insane.

"Standing out here in the dark on an alien planet isn't the way to do that." Evan took Alex by the arm and turned back toward the transport.

"Yeah." Alex didn't argue. His injured knuckles were throbbing and his head still swam with the dizzying events of the past twenty-four hours.

Evan pointed to the bruised and bloody hand. "Did that make you feel better?"

Alex laughed shortly. "Does it ever?" He flexed the fingers. "Always seems like a good idea at the time, though."

"If you say so."

Back at the transport, Alex headed aft, to the small washroom, and checked the level of fresh water before deciding to go ahead and waste some on his hand. They'd already tested and cleared the water on this planet for use, so some extravagance wasn't going to be detrimental. He stood with his hand under the running water and let the coolness numb the stinging of scraped knuckles. When he was finished, he splashed water on his face, then traded places with Evan so he could use the small washroom.

"Here," Evan handed Alex a clean towel and pointed to his hand. "We should have Sara look at that, make sure it's okay."

"I'm fine." Alex accepted the towel with a sigh and leaned against the opposite wall, idly dabbing at the injury. "You said Ian waited as long as he did because he had to finish out Mari's requests?"

"That's right." Evan splashed cold water on his face, then repeated the action. "After that, he was free to . . . "

"Yeah." Alex examined his knuckles for a moment. "So, I could put in my will a long list of things, like last wishes, and you'd have to do them all before you could do anything else?" He glanced up at Evan, trying to seem casual about the whole idea, and met a decidedly disgusted expression. "Pretty lame, huh?"

"You'd really ask me to run around the galaxy for years performing ridiculous tasks designed just to keep me busy?" Evan shut off the water and shook his head. "I think you have more respect for me than that. Even when you're angry."

Alex tossed him the towel. "I'm not angry." He walked back toward the main passenger compartment and dialed up a meal from the transport's small galley. "I'm just disgusted." He climbed over the back of a chair and sat on the arm of another, in front of the make-shift table. "With myself." He picked at the food idly. His stomach was hungry, and didn't care if it was rations or freshly killed meat. But he had a hard time finding enough interest to eat much. Evan seemed to feel the same way, but between them they managed to consume enough to justify having prepared it.

"I meant what I said." Alex gave up trying to eat more and straightened up. "Maybe I didn't do a great job saying it, but I meant it. I'm not real good at that kind of thing. But the thought of you being dead just . . . " He sighed, not really wanting a repeat of the night's emotional overload. "It's only a little worse than the idea of giving you to someone else."

Evan shrugged. "I'll make sure we both live forever, then."

The sudden urge to laugh -- whether fueled by emotional exhaustion or such a simple statement coming from a Sha'erah and promising the impossible -- was too much to resist. "Deal." Alex held up a hand and Evan clasped it. "Now we'd better get back to the others before they start worrying."

They flew back to the make-shift camp and found the rest of their party still happily exploring the wreckage, cataloging the various specimens locked away in eternal stasis in the hold. Mari's switch-back of ladders had been left in place, but much to Alex's surprise, the group had removed the access to the top-most level where the body of Spencer Marcase was encased.

"At least someone's been taking an interest in this wreckage." Alex flipped off the PDA and shoved it back into his thigh pocket. "Let's go have a look at the pieces outside."

A thorough search of the wreckage hadn't revealed much about the alien owners, but it had solidified in everyone's mind the true alien nature of the ship. The only markings they could find were the colored geometric shapes emblazoned on walls and around doorways, but with no obvious buttons to press or levers to pull, it was impossible to determine their purpose. No accoutrements were found, such as chairs, beds, tables or anything else a human would associate with daily life onboard a ship. No clear sign of crew quarters, a bridge, or even food or supply storage.

The only holds they found were dedicated to the odd specimen cases. No controls or recognizable equipment could be found either in the larger pieces of wreckage or the scattered remains. They weren't even able to determine which end of the ship was which, or where the engine compartment might have once been.

After three days of climbing in and around the pieces of alien wreckage and sampling everything they could manage to pry loose, Alex called it quits.

"What do we do about this?" He looked at the sleek shape of the Finders Keeper and felt another pang of emotion tug at his throat

"Her ship?" Evan shrugged one shoulder and gazed at it. "I guess she didn't have anything in her will about the ship itself. Ian would have said something and taken care of it."

"Did she own it? If it was financed, the bank will want it back." Alex twisted the ring around his finger and tried not to picture himself asking Evan to search through Mari's personal files. "We can't just leave it here, a ship like this would be stolen regardless of any monitors we set up around it."

"We can fit it back into the Ascalon's hold and take it with us."

Alex nodded. "Maybe that's best. We can work out who owns it later." He started back toward camp again. Somehow even the simplest decision felt beyond him tonight. After all, his notions of what should and shouldn't be right hadn't exactly been dead-on lately. And as desperately as he might want to get his mind off what he'd learned tonight, he wasn't ready to put it behind him. At least, not all of it. "Right now I need some sleep."

Evan agreed whole-heartily, but insisted on checking the motion sensors the transport pilot had set around their camp. "It might be yours technically, but it's still an alien planet, remember." Only after he was satisfied they were as safe as they could be, did he agree to camping out under the night sky.

Alex piled two sets of blankets out near the fire, joined together for warmth, and got comfortable on the soft ground beside Evan. They were both on their backs, gazing up at a sky filled with swirling purple and blue colors illuminated by the white light of a small moon. It seemed the perfect analogy for the way his life had been spinning around lately. It was still a struggle to keep the vision of Evan stepping off the cliff from his mind, but if he worked at it, he could focus on the fact that they were both alive and well, and according to the Sha'erah, going to live forever.

But only if they got some sleep.

"Are you sorry we came here?"

Alex glanced at Evan, considering the question. "Have you ever noticed how every time something really terrible happens, it seems to be accompanied by something else? Something you wouldn't give up for the world?" He looked back up at the night sky and shrugged as best he could while lying down. "I don't mean that silver lining stuff. Or hell, maybe I do. I dunno." He looked at Evan again. "No, I'm not sorry we came here. All things considered, does that make me a clueless moron?"

"You're not a moron."

Alex chuckled. "Would you tell me if I was?"

"Of course I would." Evan shrugged slightly. "You were a moron when Chief Jackson first came aboard. A couple of times with Kellman on his planet. Not to mention quite a few times to people on shuttles here and there."

Alex stared at his friend, eyebrows raised in mock surprise. "Okay, I get it."

Evan shifted under the blankets and settled his head on the soft ground. "So what do we do next?"

"Well, we have this alien ship to deal with." Alex sighed, thinking of all the possibilities and dangers involved with the thing. "You know what?" He sat up suddenly, looking in the direction of the alien wreckage. "I've been spending a lot of time running away from things I don't like."

Beside him, Evan sat up. "What are you suggesting?"

"I was thinking instead of leaving the nebula, we should go further in. See if we can find out where they came from." He nodded toward the wreckage. "They were in this nebula before we came the first time. Maybe there's more." He looked at Evan again. "What do you think?"

Evan gazed out at the darkness.

"Could be dangerous." Alex folded his legs up and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Could be profitable." Evan shrugged one shoulder.

"Could be futile."

"It would be pretty fascinating. And we'd be ready for them this time."

"We'd only last so long out there before needing supplies." Alex twirled the silver ring around his finger. "Maybe a year or so with what we brought."

"Food and water can be refilled here." Evan nodded, indicating their newly claimed planet. "Other supplies could be found at the Turbidium mining station if and when we need them. They owe us loyalty, and the new management would make sure of it."

"We don't exactly need the money."

"I think we should do it."

Alex did a double-take when he registered the fact that Evan had just expressed an independent decision. The smile that spread across his face was unavoidable.

Evan simply shrugged. "What better way to get back at the Nogalis group? We have the research the Consortium gave Mari, and we have plenty of scientists on this trip who'd kill for the chance to find aliens. Live ones. Besides, we found them first. "

"So you think this really is a good idea, and not just one of my ill-thought-out personal vendettas?"

Evan looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You mean do I think you're being a moron? No." He shook his head and laid back down on the ground, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders. "Not this time."

Alex laughed out loud. "Okay, fair enough. We can talk to the crew tomorrow and go from there." He rolled over and fussed with the blanket until he was comfortable. I may be a moron, but he's stuck with me. "Good night, Evan."

"Good night."

It was silly to think such a old proverb could be true, about dark clouds and silver linings, but tonight Alex felt hard pressed to dismiss it. So far everything terrible that had happened -- everything he'd been through since the first time VanHolt told him his father had died -- had brought with it something he wouldn't have traded for anything. Even if sometimes it took him a little while to figure that out.

Of course, that could stop now. He was happy. He didn't need any more monumental life-changing moments taking place anytime soon.

"Hey Evan?"

"Yes?"

Alex sighed quietly and stared up at the alien night sky, fighting the fatigue that pulled at his mind. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Alex smiled and closed his eyes, then drifted off to sleep.

# # #

Alex looked up at the planet hovering in three-dimensional relief just above his head and marked it in red with a stylus. It was the tenth one. Ten planets in just under seven months, and not a single one capable of sustaining human life. They’d found minerals, useable gasses, all manner of alien plant life, and more new species of insects than they could possibly hope to catalog if given several lifetimes.

But, with the single exception of Serenity -- the planet Mari and Ian had located for them complete with the crashed remains of an alien ship -- their trip through the depths of the Pendulum Nebula was proving fruitless. Alex needed to find viable planets he could sell for colonization. New worlds where humans could further their expansion of the inhabited galaxy.

Insects he could do without.

With a sigh, he reached down through a virtually-displayed moon and lifted his beer off the holographic table. “You’re just not going to let me win, are you?”

The nebula glowed back at him silently from all around the room.

Frustrated, Alex turned off the display, blinking to adjust his vision as the illusion vanished. The only view left of the purple gas cluster was from the large, heavily-shielded window. He took a drink and held the liquid in his mouth for a few moments so the bubbles could tickle his palate as he stared out into space.

Alex Marcase didn’t take defeat well. Granted, he’d been getting better at accepting a lot of things over the past year and a half. Since inheriting Evan and learning what exactly a Sha’erah was, he liked to think he’d grown up a bit, started accepting things he wasn’t in complete control of at all times. Some of those lessons had been learned the hard way, and he’d been humbled more times than he liked to admit. Deservedly so.

But defeat was still a bitter pill.

For the past three weeks he’d been getting reports on the status of the Ascalon and their dwindling supplies, but the mood of the crew was still enthusiastic. With each planet they inspected, there was always that chance, that glimmer of hope of finding . . . something. In the back of everyone’s mind was the possibility that this nebula was home to the first alien sentient race humans had ever encountered. But time was running out. He’d left a team behind on Serenity to study the alien wreckage, with limited supplies on a planet they’d soon learned was prone to violent and unpredictable electrical storms. The Serenity team had food and water for eight months, no more. It was time to call an end to his explorations and get back.

Alex knew what everyone really wanted was to find the home world of the aliens from the crashed ship, though what they’d do if they did make such a discovery was still beyond him.

He finished the beer with one more swallow, then reached down to his belt and flipped the call switch on his personal pager.

“I’m here.” Evan’s voice came over the small speaker clear and confident as always.

“Where’s here?” Alex carried the empty bottle to the recycler and searched the room for his shoes.

“Cargo bay six.”

He found his shoes and leaned against the galley counter so he could put them on without falling over. “You’ve been down there all night, what are you doing?”

“Trying to repair some of these drones. Do you need something?”

“No, I’m just bored.” Alex stopped at the dispenser for two bottles of dark beer. “I’m coming down.”

He flipped off the pager and headed out into the corridor. It was nearly midnight, but the next two days were assigned holidays for the entire crew, per the doctor’s orders. Consequently, the normally quiet evening hallways were active, filled with personnel happy for a reason not to go to bed early or stay up late crunching data and repairing equipment.

Everyone but their Captain and Second. Alex knew he was obsessive, so using a night of relaxation to stew over failed explorations wasn’t at all unusual. And Evan . . . Well to him, sitting alone in a nearly empty cargo bay taking robotic drones apart and fixing them was practically a vacation. It had taken Alex a while to accept that what made the Sha’erah happiest was to be needed and useful, and sometimes that meant to be busy when everyone else was at rest.

But this had been doctor’s orders. Everyone onboard was to have two days off, absolutely no work, no exceptions. A ship as large as the Ascalon could easily operate safely on auto-pilot when there were no obstacles in the vicinity. And the drones could go a couple more days in disrepair.

Alex reached the cargo bay fifteen minutes after he’d left their quarters. He palmed the door lock and stepped through the hatch, pausing long enough to locate Evan in the vast expanse of crates and equipment.

“Hey.” He found his friend sitting on the floor, surrounded by wires, gears and several drones in varying states of disassembly. Alex handed Evan one of the bottles of beer and sat down on a clear section of the floor. “You know this can wait, we don’t need any of these guys for awhile.”

Evan set the bottle down and continued to tune a set of wheels on a drone parked in front of him. “I’ve almost got this one finished.” He waved a hand over the parts strewn about the floor. “The other three are done, I just have to put them back together.”

Alex sighed. “Okay, so you take the next two days off like the rest of the crew and put these three back together later.” He uncapped his beer and took a drink.

As Evan tuned the wheels, a glint of light reflected off the silver metal inside his left palm. The sight of that metal and what his friend could do with it never ceased to amaze Alex. Equally fascinating was the silver Keeper’s ring, marking him as Evan’s owner. Everything he’d learned about the Sha’erah and that ring hadn’t even begun to dull the mystery of it all.

“It’s nearly midnight. What have you been doing all evening?” Evan glanced up, black eyes waiting for a reply.

Alex made a face and took another drink.

“Don’t you think going over the planets we’ve already ruled out and being irritated by what we didn’t find could wait a couple of days, too?”

For a Sha’erah supposedly void of any real sense of humor or the ability to harass someone in fun, Evan had a understanding of irony that rivaled the best.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Alex leaned back against a heavy crate. This, to him, was relaxing. Hanging out with Evan, not having to command or explain or put on any face other than his own.

“And I’m finished.” Evan snapped the wheels together and righted the small drone. It bleeped once, turned and rolled happily away.

Alex laughed shortly as he watched the small exploration drone wheel unhindered through the collection of wires and parts on the floor. For an instant, his memory flashed on something, but too quickly to form a thought. Perplexed, he watched the small machine continue across the room, following its newly restored path.

“What’s wrong?” Evan was holding his unopened beer, watching him stare at the drone.

Alex shook himself out of the odd flash. “Nothing. I thought something looked familiar, like déjà vu maybe, but I don’t know what. Never mind.” He stood and stretched, then leaned against a crate and looked around the cargo bay.

Evan got to his feet, opened the bottle of beer he was holding and took a drink. “You’re disappointed.”

“I’m frustrated.” Alex sighed. “Do you realize how vast space is? I mean really, it boggles the mind if you think about it.” He waved with the hand holding the beer in an attempt to include the entire galaxy with the motion. “That’s why it’s so hard to even find rocks zipping through space that could smack into your planet and kill everyone. It’s not just a matter of looking up and seeing everything. It's . . .”

“Infinite,” Evan supplied.

Alex nodded. “Yeah, exactly. And from any point in the galaxy, if you look around, you can see even more. More space, more planets, more stars, more suns. It’s dizzying to think of the possibilities. I don’t mean alien sentient life, not really. But the assortment of planets out there, of things to find.”

“You’ve found things in this nebula.”

He looked at Evan and shrugged. “I’ve found planets with bugs on them.”

“Planets that no one else has ever been to and bugs that have never been seen before.”

“Yes, but nothing that can be colonized. With those storms, Serenity is too dangerous for much colonizing.” Alex let out a frustrated huff with a shake of his head. “Of all unexplored space, why’d I end up picking a section with nothing in it?”

Evan set his beer on the crate beside him, folded his arms across his chest and looked Alex square in the eyes. “I know you’re smarter than that.” He held out one hand and began ticking off points with his fingers. “You’ve discovered ten planets that humans have never seen before. The number of alien plants and insect life you found on those planets are too numerous to count. You’ve successfully charted a huge segment of this nebula, making further exploration much easier and safer for other ships.”

Alex waved his bottle in the air to interrupt the list. “Have I found a planet that humans can colonize? No. Did I find any sign of the aliens’ home world? No. Was there even one planet we could take shore leave on or refill our supplies from? No.”

Evan wasn’t about to be deterred. “We require an atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen, a minimum variance of seventy-eight percent to twenty-one percent. Humans can tolerate only certain climatic extremes, and have dietary requirements that necessitate the growing of certain crops.”

Alex made a face, but didn’t interrupt his friend’s dialog this time.

“The chances of there being more than one planet with that perfect combination is a hundred to one. So far humans have colonized twenty-five such planets since man first ventured into space.”

They looked at each other, but Alex wasn’t ready to concede the point. “Which means those odds are screwed. If there have been twenty-five, there should be more.”

“There are more. But maybe they’re a hundred years away from being found.” Evan paused, sighing. “Besides, we don’t know yet what the researchers might have found on Serenity. You can’t downplay that. ”

Alex stared into his beer. Mari had died there, and Ian had committed suicide. But, there was an alien ship to dissect, alien remains to study, samples of life forms from worlds only God knew about. He couldn’t keep all that a secret forever, he didn’t have the right. And it was what they’d come out here to find. The fact that’d he’d been ignoring it all this time hadn’t gone unnoticed -- or unmentioned -- by his crew.

“But where did that get me?” He lifted the bottle only to have it taken from him.

Evan marched both bottles of beer to the recycling unit near the door. “I told you not to drink when you’re depressed.” He tossed the bottles and stood there, waiting for Alex to join him.

“I’m not depressed, I’m just frustrated.” Alex pushed away from the crate he’d been leaning on and walked to the doorway.

“Okay, then you shouldn’t drink when you’re frustrated.” Evan palmed open the hatch and led the way out into the corridor. “I’ve already proven it’s not justified.”

Alex laughed and put an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “I love your world, it’s always black and white, no catering to whiny-ass jerks who never see how good they’ve got it.”

“You’re not a jerk,” Evan corrected. “You are occasionally a brat, and you’re quite often stubborn and unyielding. And at times you’re a bit irrational. But you’re not a jerk.”

“Well that’s honest.” Alex didn’t add that he’d left out denying the whiny-ass part.

They’d reached a lift, so Evan pressed the call button. “So what are we going to do? The team we left on Serenity will be running out of supplies soon.”

There weren’t really any choices available. They had to go back for the team, and use that planet to refill the Ascalon’s dwindling water supplies. Leaving the nebula and going back home was probably the best course after that. Maybe take a vacation, spend some time planet-side, catch up on what was new.

Alex sighed. “Well, we have to go back and pick them up.” The lift doors opened and they both stepped into an empty car. “There hasn’t been any distress beacons, so whatever those guys are finding is keeping them happy. And their shelter must be adequate against those storms, but I doubt it’ll last much longer. It would be something to figure out how that ship was powered, wouldn’t it?”

Evan smiled slightly. The expression wasn’t the most gregarious display of emotion, but Alex knew it to be very significant considering the source. His Sha’erah friend rarely showed his feelings, and always reserved even that much for times when they were alone.

This time it was one of those smiles that suggested Alex had finally come to his senses. He was used to seeing those.

“I know, I know.” Alex nodded, eyes rolling upward. “We could have stayed on Serenity ourselves and worked on that ship, then if anything was learned we’d have been right there.”

Evan’s smile twisted slightly to one side with the effort of controlling it. “But you felt we could have discovered more of the aliens if we kept looking, or more sign of them having been to more planets in this nebula.”

“Yeah, a waste of time.” Alex leaned against the wall of the transport car and watched the indicator lights change.

“Not really. You proved where the aliens aren’t. ”

Alex laughed. When the doors opened, he passed Evan and gave his friend a quick smack on the back of the head. “Smart ass.”

The Sha’erah followed, not even pretending to be hurt by the comment. “The first thing an explorer needs to know is where not to look.”

“And the second thing to know is when to stop looking.”

They rounded a corner and found a small group of inebriated crewmen and women laughing as they spilled out of the main galley.

“Sounds like a party.” Alex grinned and put a hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Come on, if you let me have a drink I’ll stop complaining.”

“Promise?”

The main galley had been transformed into a makeshift nightclub complete with dance floor and dim lighting. There was music coming from the speaker system, and a bar set up in one corner of the room. Judging from the crowd inside, at least half the crew was there, drinking, laughing and generally enjoying the atmosphere.

Alex spotted his ship’s physician – and his former lover -- Sara Feller-Jackson, sitting with her husband, Bridge Chief Jackson. Before he could veer off in another direction, she noticed them enter the room and waved.

“Alex, Evan, join us.” She smiled and lifted a wine glass. Her husband buried his expression in a tall glass of beer.

Challenged by the potential awkwardness of the situation, Alex accepted Sara’s invitation. “I didn’t know you prescribed a party.” He pulled out a chair and glanced at Evan as the Sha’erah took up the seat between him and the doctor.

“I didn’t. It just sort of spontaneously erupted, I believe. Carl and I were just taking a walk through the corridors when we heard the music.” She shared a smile with her husband. “I think it’s a great idea. Everyone needs the break and socializing is always a good thing.”

“Alcohol is one supply we aren’t running low on.” Chief Jackson raised his beer. “Though we’ll have to force tougher restrictions on water soon.”

“Serenity has water, Chief. We’re going back right after this required two days of rest and relaxation.” Alex was keenly aware of Jackson’s dislike regarding Evan, and his position as the Sha’erah’s Keeper. But to the Bridge Chief’s credit, he’d never allowed that opinion to interfere with his work, or tarnish his respect for Alex’s position as Captain of the Ascalon. It was an ability that Alex admired. Something he never could seem to do himself, and Evan had taken him to task for it many times. And probably would time and time again.

“Good,” Chief Jackson gave him a nod. “That group will be out of supplies soon.”

Alex glanced at Evan, but the Sha’erah rarely spoke up in public. He looked back at Jackson. “We haven’t had any distress calls, they must be fine so far.”

“I for one am looking forward to seeing if they’ve uncovered any mysteries,” Sara smiled, blue eyes twinkling. “For all we know, they found out what powers that ship, decoded the language, and cataloged every one of those specimens.”

Jackson shook his head, looking at his wife. “And risk potentially releasing any number of those things in the chambers?” He turned to Alex. “We're not equipped to deal with risks like that.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, Chief.” Alex shook his head.

Sara sighed. “Well, decoding that alien language would go a long way to answering everything.”

“That may never be possible,” Evan spoke up for the first time, drawing the attention of everyone at the table.

“Why is that?” Sara quizzed.

Evan shrugged one shoulder. “In order to interpret any foreign language, you need a reference, some type of commonality. By studying another human race, you can eventually determine what markings mean food or action. These aren’t humans.” He paused, looking from Alex to Sara, then sparing the Bridge Chief a glance before continuing. “We can’t decipher a language if we don’t even know how they thought. We’re only assuming based on gravity that they even share the same idea of up and down.”

“Interesting.” Sara set her wine glass down and leaned forward, resting both elbows on the table. “I hadn’t thought of that, but of course, you’re right.”

“I need a drink.” Alex stood, scratching his head. “This is all too much thinking for me tonight.”

Jackson stood as well. “I need another beer.”

Evan made no move to get up and didn’t request a drink, so Alex walked to the bar.

“Don’t his people drink alcohol?”

Alex searched the set-up and found the dark beer he was looking for. He had a good buzz going already, and decided to go ahead and add to that. “I don’t know about his people, Chief, but Evan doesn’t drink very often.” He opened the bottle and took a long drink while Carl found the brand he wanted. “Which is just as well, considering you and I aren’t going to be in any shape to handle an emergency if one might come up tonight.”

Jackson turned and leaned against the table. “Well, he’s very responsible, I will give him that.”

Alex sighed, refusing to give in to his first response. “Yes, he is. Responsible, reliable, and very intelligent. And yet you still don’t like him.” His second response slipped out before Alex could stop it.

Jackson shrugged. “I respect him. I respect you, too, Captain, but I don’t have to like you in order to do so.”

Alex laughed, raising his beer. “Fair enough.” Truth be told, he didn’t like Sara’s husband all that much himself, but he did have to respect the man. He was a good Bridge Chief, knew his stuff, and kept his personal issues to himself. “So tell me, Chief, what would you do?”

“What would I do?”

“You’ve been around the galaxy a few times.” Alex could feel the beer fuzzing his senses, but he also detected a slight slurring of Chief Jackson’s question. “We’ve been bouncing around this nebula for seven months and haven’t found squat.”

“Bugs.” Jackson held up a finger. “We’ve found bugs.”

Alex waved his hand in the air, dismissing the insects. “Aliens, Carl. We haven’t found the aliens who owned that wrecked ship.”

Jackson looked at him, perplexed. “Are you drunk?”

“Not quite yet.” Alex shook his head and turned around. There was a bottle of tequila no one had bothered to open, so he grabbed it and two fresh glasses. “But I’m working on it.”

Jackson nodded and followed Alex back to the table. Sara and Evan were no where to be found.

“I’ll be damned.” Alex stood by the table, forgotten bottle in hand, and stared at the dance floor.

“Where is she?”

“She’s dancing.” He had to be drunker than he thought, and he was seeing things. “With Evan.”

Both men stood there staring for nearly a minute. Jackson clearly couldn’t decide if he could put up with his wife dancing with the Sha’erah, but hadn’t made a move to stop her. Alex just stared. It was a slow dance, and the two of them were engaged in a conversation as they moved with the music, but it was the strangest sight he’d ever seen. Evan -- clearly of his own accord -- was dancing. In public.

Slowly Alex became aware of the fact that his mouth was open. He closed it and sat down, twisting the cap off the bottle of booze. “Now I definitely need a drink.”

“Yes, I think so.” Jackson sat as well, still eyeing the couple. “Can he be trusted?”

“What?”

Jackson cleared his throat. “Look, Captain, I’m not stupid. The man is young and attractive.”

“And Sara is your wife. ” Alex filled a glass and pushed it toward his Bridge Chief. “If you can trust her, you can trust him.” He poured himself a glass and lifted it up to stare into the fuzzy liquid. “I’m the one you can’t trust.” He downed the shot in one swallow, then poured another glass.

“Are you saying given half a chance you’d make a move on my wife?” Jackson tried to look appalled, but it wasn’t very effective.

“I wouldn’t make a move on another man’s wife,” Alex grinned. “Besides, she’d shoot me down in a second if I tried.”

“But Evan’s a -- ”

“He won’t sleep with her. Not unless I tell him to.”

“What?”

Alex shrugged. “You can trust him.” He refilled Jackson’s glass. “More importantly, what makes you think you can’t trust your wife?”

Jackson downed the shot in one swallow. “Of course I can trust my wife. But these Sha’erah, they have special powers. I’d heard rumors.”

Alex tossed back another shot of tequila, staring at Evan still on the dance floor with Sara, clearly deep in conversation as they moved to the slow, rhythmic music. “Rumors are the most destructive force in the universe. And none of them are true.” He’d seen Evan loosen up around certain individuals before, speaking to them of his own accord when there was something he wanted to know. But dancing . . . This was a big first.

Before Jackson could reply, the music stopped and the dancers returned to the table.

Alex looked at Evan, eyebrows raised questioningly. When his friend made no comment, he cleared his throat. “So, what did the two of you talk about out there?”

Evan shrugged. “We were discussing theories about the alien language.”

“Really?” Alex blinked, surprised that he could feel left out by something that simple.

“Nothing you and I haven’t already talked about.” Evan picked up the bottle of tequila and made a point of checking to see how much was missing.

Sara noticed the bottle as well, and made a clicking sound with her tongue. “Looks like the two of you kept yourselves busy.” She shook her head. “I think I’d best take you home and put you to bed, Carl.”

Jackson emptied his glass, then stood and allowed his wife to escort him out of the mess hall.

Alex watched them leave. “Dancing, huh?” He looked at Evan again, feeling the effects of the tequila pulling his mind into a thick fog.

“How many times have you told me to socialize more? If you didn’t want me -- ”

“No.” Alex held up a hand, “I was just surprised, that’s all.” He grinned, raising his glass. “Never seen you dance before.”

“You’re going to regret this in the morning.” Evan touched the bottle of tequila.

“You’re right.” Alex finished what was in his glass, then pushed the bottle away and stood, somewhat waveringly. “Let’s call it a night.”

Evan stood quickly and took Alex’s elbow, steering him toward the door and down the hallway. “She agrees with us about the language problem, by the way.” He stopped at the lift and pressed a call button.

“That’s because it makes sense.” Alex sighed and ran a hand over his face. He’d taken to blaming that wreckage for the deaths on Serenity of Mari and Ian, and then found himself on a mission to find where they'd come from. For what? To exact revenge for misguided guilt?. “It’d be easier to figure out what dogs are saying than these aliens. At least with dogs, we have some kind of physical reference.”

The lift car doors opened and they stepped inside. Evan pressed the proper floor indicator and shrugged. “Dogs communicate with body language and actions. Their vocalizations are a small part of it.”

“Right. But at least there’s a frame of reference. We don't even know if these aliens had eyes, or communication skills. Or even brains, for that matter.” Alex blinked, realizing vaguely that they’d discussed this several times already, and usually with a bit more clarity.

When the lift stopped, Evan took Alex by the arm again and led him back to their quarters. “You haven’t gotten drunk in a long time.”

“You know, Jackson thought you might make a move on Sara.” Alex let the Sha’erah continue to guide him past the living area and straight to his bedroom without argument.

Evan shook his head. “That’s ridiculous.”

“That’s what I said. Or something like it.” He kicked off his shoes and started pulling his shirt over his head. It got stuck halfway, so Evan grabbed it and pulled. With that done, Alex sat on the bed and unfastened his pants, admiring how the room began to slowly sway and spin. “It used to take more than this to get me drunk.”

“You seemed to be on a mission tonight to do just that.” Evan took hold of Alex’s pants at the ankles and pulled. “So is it the lack of finding anything out here that has you so pissed off, or going back to pick up the group on Serenity?”

A sudden chill gripped Alex in the gut. The Sha’erah could always see right through him, drunk or sober, and often saw things even he didn’t know were there. The idea of returning to the place where Ian jumped to his death outweighed the fact that the alien wreckage was there with untold mysteries to reveal. Nothing Alex tried could diminish the horror of a truth he was unable to change.

Evan stood beside the bed, waiting for a response. After a moment, he sighed and shook his head. “You’re not about to die of a heart attack. And I’m not going to jump off any cliffs.”

Alex looked up. “How do you know for sure?”

“Because.” Evan reached out and pulled the covers back, then shoved Alex’s legs onto the bed and under the blanket. “You’re going to live forever.” He flicked the blanket over his friend. “And so am I.”

Alex lay back with a heavy sigh, accepting that assurance just as he had that night on Serenity. “I wanna get the hell out of this nebula.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Evan walked back to the door and flicked off the lights before leaving the room.

“Yeah,” Alex rolled onto his side and stared at the purple gas giant just outside the heavily-shielded window. “That’s what we’ll do.” He loved the black and white world Evan lived in, and relied on it to keep him anchored. So much so, he wondered how he’d ever gotten as far as he had without the Sha’erah there to guide him and keep him balanced.

With a sigh, Alex closed his eyes and gave in to the pull of sleep.

# # #

Evan rolled over and opened one eye to check the time, then sighed and swung both legs out from under the covers. Alex wasn’t awake yet, but he would be soon enough.

Everyone was buzzing with the anticipation of returning to Serenity to pick up the team they’d left behind, hopeful the group had found something out about their mysterious alien shipwreck. Even Alex seemed to be looking forward to visiting the planet again, having shaken the discomfort of returning to the place where Mari and Ian had died.

Evan hurried through his shower -- such as it was with strict water-rationing -- and walked out to the main living area to check on his computer program before getting breakfast. He'd been studying a piece of crystal they'd recovered from the wreckage, experimenting with it to see if he could determine its origin. Most of the scientists were working off the theory that the owners of the ship had been silicone-based life forms, and these crystal shards their remains. But so far, as much as anything else, it was just a theory.

“Any luck?” Alex came out of his room dressed only in pants, scratching his head and yawning.

“Not yet.” Evan glanced at the program and shrugged. “The possibilities aren’t exactly endless, but the answer could be something we haven’t even discovered yet.” He went to the galley to retrieve their breakfast order while his Keeper poured coffee. “I programmed the computer simulation to include various atmospheres that could have been found on their ship, but we don’t even know what their ship was made of. Their power source could easily be some chemical or even metal component we can’t conceive of.”

“Theories are one thing, proving them is another.” Alex took his coffee and breakfast plate to the table. “It’s possible we just don’t have enough information to figure any of this out. Not without finding more of them, or years of studying that wreckage on Serenity.”

Evan knew his Keeper cared little about proving theories. Once Alex settled his ideas in his head, and worked them out verbally to test them for holes, he was satisfied. Evan, on the other hand, enjoyed trying to work out the details. Either to prove his own theories or Alex’s, it didn’t matter. What did matter was obtaining enough proof to hold up the theories under the scientific scrutiny required to register the findings under Alex’s name.

“Maybe the team found some answers while we were gone.”

As if on cue, the intercom bleeped to life with the voice of Chief Jackson. “Captain, we’re in contact with Serenity. They’re reporting an approximate weather window of thirty-six to forty-eight hours, and the discovery of a second crash site.”

Alex nearly spit his coffee. “A second what?”

“They believe they’ve found the wreckage of a second alien ship.”

Evan handed his Keeper a napkin.

“Are we in shuttle range yet, Chief?”

“Aye, sir, just now.”

“Start the recovery immediately, and get a team working on fresh water refill of the Ascalon. I want to get the tanks as full as possible while the weather holds out.” He quickly downed the last of the coffee in his cup. “Don’t wait for us, Evan and I will take the Finder’s Keeper down.”

“We will?” Evan blinked in surprise. They’d only been inside Mari’s ship once since retrieving it from Serenity after her death.

“Aye, Captain.” Jackson’s acknowledgment was followed by the click of the intercom shutting off.

Alex quickly gathered the plates and shoved them into the cleaning chute. “Yes, we will. I need those shuttles working on getting the team packed up and back here, and refilling the Ascalon’s fresh water. That little ship can get us down there and to any other site they’ve found quicker and easier.”

Evan watched his Keeper rush back to his bedroom for more clothes. Getting the Finder’s Keeper launched from its place in the holding bay shouldn’t be difficult, since he’d seen to it everything stored there was properly tied down and secure at all times. Venting the bay so the large doors could be opened wouldn’t disturb anything. Alex had flown the ship in there easily enough, he should be able to fly it back out again with little effort.

“Do you think using that ship is wrong?” Alex paused just inside his doorway, still buttoning his shirt. “It’s not technically ours to fly around in.”

“No,” Evan replied a little quickly. “No, I don’t think it’s wrong. Or disrespectful.” He knew his Keeper was seconds away from adding that homage to latent guilt. “In fact, I think Mari would have wanted you to use her ship. As a Keeper, she’d have hated to see good equipment go to waste in a hold.”

Alex nodded somewhat absently. “Yeah, okay. I just . . . ” He glanced around as if to make sure no one else was listening, then continued. “It’s a nice ship, you know?”

“Yes, it is.” Evan found the shoes his Keeper always discarded without a thought and tossed them to him. “And no, I don’t think by wanting to use it you’re forgetting or ignoring Mari and Ian or the fact that it was their ship. I think using it honors their memory more than letting it collect dust in the hold.”

“You can read me like a book, can’t you?” Alex sat down to put on his shoes.

Evan let out a snort and shook his head. “If you’re a book I’d be interested in meeting the author.”

Alex laughed and stood, then slapped Evan on the shoulder as they walked to the door. “So would I.”

There was a high level of excitement filling the corridors as the crew hurried about, some hoping for a quick trip down to Serenity to explore and help load up the scientists while others anxiously anticipated enough water to have a decent shower once again. Evan couldn’t help but notice the lighter mood Alex was enjoying, tempered by a respectful sense of trespassing as they prepared the Finder’s Keeper for launch.

It was a nice ship, small enough for speed and extreme maneuverability in any atmosphere, but large enough for two people to comfortably call home for an extended amount of time. He’d been hoping they’d get another chance to use it before turning it over to the proper authorities back on Scotian, but he never once voiced that hope to his Keeper. Ian’s death had hit Alex hard. Harder than it should have. And since parking the little ship in the hold, Alex had only ventured inside once a few days ago to retrieve samples of the crystals. Since then, Evan had taken great care not to mention the Finder’s Keeper.

It took less than ten minutes to make sure the hold was secure and expose the launch bay to the vacuum of space. The small ship powered up easily and allowed Alex to guide them out of the Ascalon and back to Serenity with very little effort.

Evan watched the small planet grow larger in the front windshield. “Will they set up a permanent station here to study the wreckage after we get back to Scotian with the data?”

“I’m sure this place will be swarming, probably even before we get back.” Alex watched the sensors, picking a route through the nebula gasses and upper cloud layer. “They’ll have to get an orbital station out here, though, if those storms are a year-round event.”

Evan noticed a massive electrical storm in the distance, lighting the upper atmosphere over the far coast with flashes of blue and white. “I’m sure they must be, with the odd magnetic equator and the charged gasses. It’s a violent planet.” He searched through the clouds until the planet became visible below, the original wreckage flashing in the daylight. “So if this is the first ship we found in the nebula, the one we labeled as an anomaly, where did this one came from?”

“Maybe there were two ships the whole time, and we only found the one crash site.”

There were already several shuttles on the ground around the small research prefab, loading up the gear, so Alex put their ship down to the far left of the site.

They were greeted by Doctor Layman, lead biologist, who approached with a wide grin and an extended hand. “Captain Marcase, it’s good to see you guys back again. We were just about to send up a probe.”

“I heard you found another wreck?”

“Oh, yes, that we did. But that last electrical storm was a whopper, so we were going to ask for a return to pick us up.” Doctor Layman shook his head dramatically. “It was getting dicey around here. Serenity might be a beautiful planet with wonders to discover, but it’s not a very hospitable planet to live on.”

Alex glanced at the sky, then at Evan. “How long until the next storm?”

“About thirty-six hours, I’d say.” Doctor Layman answered before Evan could form an opinion. “Just enough time to pack up and show you the other site.” He turned and waved for them to follow. “I’ve got samples.”

“Of more crystal pieces?” Alex followed the doctor but shot Evan a look as he spoke.

“Yes, they’re all scattered around, poor fellows. But we found something else in this one. Not sure if it’s some sample they’d picked up and hadn’t encased yet, or something that was part of the ship or crew.”

“Is it biological?” Evan knew the scientist was too much of a professional not to realize the hazards of alien sampling, but he’d learned a long time ago never to risk his Keeper’s safety on the assumption of other people’s training. “You’ve secured it properly?”

“Of course, yes.” Doctor Layman nodded vigorously. They’d reached the prefab and several cases stacked just outside, ready for transport. He opened one case and retrieved a jar, labeled and sealed, and presented it to Alex. “Completely charred from the crash, I’m afraid, and not much more than a glob of barbecued goo. But we found several of these scattered around the entire crash site.”

Evan took the jar before Alex could touch it, and held it so they could both examine the contents. It was a section of something organic, approximately the size of his forearm, completely blackened from fire. The edges showed evidence of traumatic tearing, as if the piece had been violently torn apart upon impact.

Doctor Layman pointed at the jar’s contents. “From the bits we found, and the scatter pattern we found them in, I’d hazard a guess whatever it was used to be quite large. There were maybe twenty or thirty of them, maybe more, maybe less I suppose.” He shrugged. “Some large animal perhaps, that had been collected as a sample, still roaming about the ship when it crashed. When you see how scattered about the crystalline aliens are, these poor organic things never stood a chance. In fact, I’m surprised we even found this much left.”

Evan turned the jar around, trying to see what was under the blackened char. “They could have just been plants, perhaps from the ship’s hydroponics or something. We saw no evidence of that on the original ship, but we only had chunks to explore.”

“Maybe.” Alex nodded. “Or these were the aliens we were looking for in the first place.”

Doctor Layman blinked. “The aliens? But they were composed of silicone crystals. Did you make another discovery in the nebula?”

"No. In fact, all we found was a whole lot of nothing."

At Evan’s prompting, the doctor agreed they should inspect the second wrecked vessel before electrical storms made staying on Serenity too dangerous.

The second ship -- or what was left of it -- had slammed into a soft, sandy beach, skipped along a mile-long strip of dunes, then smashed into several pieces against a rocky outcrop. The majority of the wreckage had exploded over the ocean waves and throughout the year been carried out to sea and scattered by the currents. But still embedded in the beach and rocks dotting the water’s edge were chunks of charred metal and shimmering crystal shards.

“Not much left of them, I’m afraid. There’s no chance of us finding what got swept out to sea. Not without an ocean-going vessel and several years of searching.” Doctor Layman raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sea’s breeze.

“How do you know the organic material came from inside the ship?” Evan glanced around the wreckage. There weren’t many pieces larger than one of the Ascalon’s shuttles left on land. “The ship could have crashed into something when it hit.”

“Well, normally I’d say you’re correct, Evan. But we’ve yet to find any evidence of animal life anywhere on Serenity.” Doctor Layman shrugged and turned to Alex. “Not one sign of life other than plants and trees. And nothing at all comes close to the samples we collected here, scattered among the wreckage.”

Alex nodded slowly as he looked around. “Okay, fair guess then.” He glanced up, scanning the clouds above in a manner that suggested he was trying to see something there.

Evan looked skyward, somewhat alarmed by his Keeper’s action, but saw nothing. “We should get back. There aren’t any sections of this ship large enough to hold anything that could have survived.”

“And if it did, believe me we’d have found it. We’ve been all over this wreck.”

Alex looked at the doctor and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get back and get the Ascalon loaded up.”

When Doctor Layman started happily for the Finder’s Keeper, Evan stepped closer to Alex. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure.” Alex glanced at the sky again, then shrugged and started back toward the smaller ship. “I just have this . . . I dunno, a feeling that something’s not quite right.”

Evan looked around, taking in the beach and the meadow beyond, seeing nothing amiss but the growing cloud layer above. “Probably just the storm coming.”

“Yeah, probably.”

They returned to the Finder’s Keeper, then the landing site where shuttles were conveying water supplies and the research group back up to the Ascalon. Alex supervised the collection of fresh water while Evan kept an eye out for anything unusual as the storm approached from the north, limiting their time on Serenity.

Several times during the following hours he noticed Alex glancing skyward or looking around the area with a concerned, almost puzzled expression. But try as he might, Evan could find no evidence of danger, save the massive electrical storm eleven hours away. Still, his Keeper’s apparent sense of impending danger had him on edge.

“Maybe we should head back up to the Ascalon.” Evan checked his pager for an update from the bridge crew. The water collectors had fallen into an easy routine, and estimated the Ascalon’s supplies would reach half capacity before the storm arrived. “You’re pretty edgy down here.”

Alex sighed, shaking his head. “I know. Maybe it’s the thunder storm coming that’s got me irritated.” He laughed shortly. “Or maybe this place is haunted.”

“No,” Evan disagreed. “But if being down here is upsetting you, we should head back to the Ascalon. They can finish the water runs without us being on Serenity.”

Alex nodded as he looked around, watching two shuttles trade positions on the ground. “First we almost make the find of the century, then we lose it, then we find it again a year later, smashed and broken and in little tiny pieces.” He turned to gaze at the wreckage the biologists had been studying and sampling for several months. “Still alien and unexplained.” He sighed heavily. “And now, for some strange reason, I can’t help thinking we’re in for something really big. And those aliens aren't it.”

Evan blinked. “Something big compared to what?” During the past two years, they’d not only discovered each other, but they’d gone on to find the source of all Sha’erah, Evan’s own Maker -- destroying that which few people believed existed -- only to come back to the Pendulum Nebula several months later to rediscover their anomaly as two crashed alien ships. And now he felt something big was coming?

Alex ignored Evan’s question. “You know, until we came out here to this nebula, I was perfectly happy assuming there was no such thing as alien sentient life.”

“And I think at least half the population of most of the planets would have agreed with you.” Evan shrugged.

“I’ve spent a lifetime exploring space, and never once saw evidence of anything more interesting than some animals and a fungus that can communicate hunger and thirst.” Alex sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.

“And you might never see anything more interesting again.” Evan shrugged. Clearly something was getting to his Keeper, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. “You only discovered these because you came into a nebula you’d never explored before.”

Alex shook his head. “No, I discovered these because I saw something on that scan of the nebula that no one else seemed to notice. Everyone was so excited about Turbidium, they didn’t bother giving that blip a second look. But me, I got hold of that anomaly in my head and just couldn’t let it go.”

Evan inhaled deeply and slowly. “You’re afraid you won’t find anything this interesting again?”

Alex looked up, surprised. “You don’t think I will?”

Evan blinked. “No, I don’t think you won’t. I’m saying maybe that’s what has you so irritated, thinking that once you head back to Scotian you won’t find anything quite this interesting to go after again.”

“How do you top potentially alien ships?” Alex pointed toward the wreckage. “Except with actual aliens?”

“Were you really trying?” It seemed to Evan that they were searching for a lot of things in the nebula over the past six months, but no one had felt overly confident in finding any real aliens.

Alex shrugged. “Do you think we should stay out here and keep looking? Another one of these ships might come looking for these two lost ships. Maybe they’re out here and we just missed them.”

No, Evan thought, that was being ridiculous. He knew how badly Alex wanted to get out of the Pendulum Nebula and on to other things. “I’d rather we left right now and got on to something else.” He shook his head. “Haven’t we seen enough of this place?”

Alex blinked. “You what?”

Evan paused, not sure what he could have just said that had his Keeper looking so surprised. “What?”

“You said I’d rather we left right now. ”

“The nebula, yes.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “You said I’d rather.”

Evan nodded slowly. “Yes, I think we should.” “No, no, no. You said I’d rather.” A wide grin was spreading across Alex’s face. “You actually want to do something.”

Evan rolled his eyes. “And that surprises you?”

“Hell yes it surprises me!” Alex laughed shortly. “You never tell me what you want to do.”

“I never have to. What you want to do is always what I want to do.”

Alex shook his head again. “No, it’s different than just doing whatever I want.”

“But this is what you want.”

“Uh-huh. I just said maybe we should stay in the nebula and keep looking.”

“But that’s not what you want to do.” Evan couldn’t understand why he constantly had to point out the obvious to his Keeper.

“Well, no, it’s not really what I want to do. What I want to do is head back to Scotian and then find something else to do. But that’s not what I said. ”

“Exactly.” Evan shrugged.

Alex blinked again. “Why do I get the feeling I just missed something?”

“I don’t know.” Evan glanced up as a shuttle passed by overhead.

With a heavy sigh, Alex turned and started back toward the Finder’s Keeper. “You know, sometimes you make me want to beat my head with a stick.”

“I never make you do anything.” Evan followed, still wondering what it was Alex hadn’t figured out yet. “No Sha’erah makes a Keeper do anything.”

“Ha! I guess that’s just a matter of perception.” Alex stopped at the walkway leading up to the Finder’s Keeper, still grinning as he motioned for Evan to proceed him into the small ship.

“Exactly.”

Alex’s laugh was interrupted by their pagers simultaneously bleeping. Evan paused on the ramp, watching his Keeper answer the call.

“Go ahead, Chief.”

“Captain, if you’re not too busy down there, I think you might want to return to the Ascalon.”

Evan tensed, sensing an edge to Chief Jackson’s voice.

“We’re on our way, what’s up?”

“Sir, we’ve got company.”

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