Narrowed green eyes watched the combat platform from an upstairs office window.  Raith was all but one hundred percent certain that Sarhea and Violet were one and the same.  He’d spent the past week thoroughly investigating her and had quickly learned that she was far more mysterious and secretive than he’d originally thought.  And, as he’d come to expect that night, she had not taken care of her profile.  If she was not Violet, then what was she hiding?  

Once he dug a little deeper, he discovered she also had no medical history, not even for her vaccines and nanite treatments; everyone had these records.  This had caused him to place serious doubt in her profile story.  He’d been there when those refugee ships from Cassan Minor arrived shortly before the first wave of attacks.  Yes, it had been pure chaos and he could only recall a few specific individuals, but he was certain that all of them had been vaccinated and given nanite treatments before they had been allowed to leave their ships.  Strict guard rotations had been in place to ensure none of them skipped the process.  What got missed afterward could not be verified.  

It was possible for Sarhea to have slipped through the cracks as she claimed, but with all the evidence piling up against her, even her background story just was not making any sense to him.  Why would she hide in seclusion, fearful for her life as she claimed, only to suddenly become as involved as she had.  Even now, he watched as she and Nakyla gave combat tips to curious soldiers.  Sarhea had talked to all the right people, had been in the position to do the necessary research needed, to fabricate that story…

But even her reported origins did not quite add up.  Cassan Minor had been a small agricultural world.  It had produced most of the food for neighboring Cassan Major and the other Cassarian worlds.  They were mostly a simple folk who worked the land or excelled at some form of textile trade.  He watched as Sarhea brought both Askar and Madrick onto the platform for another practice round.  Her combat skills were far beyond anything that would have come out of Cassan Minor.  Her moves were more calculative and predatory, more like that of a skilled assassin.  It would make more sense that she’d come from Malkaian lands.  And her choice weapons were always a pair of wooden daggers roughly the size of those he’d seen Violet use.

Then there were the answers to those initial questions he’d had that first night.  He realized that the first time he’d ever seen Sarhea had been the day she knocked Kaden in the teeth, and that had been after the arrival of the Kratos refugees.  And then there was her strange, week long disappearance immediately following his rescue from the tunnel.  Why had she gone missing when she’d been so heavily involved in giving combat pointers just prior?  Askar, Madrick, and even Tsa, despite his lingering anger at the woman, had noticeably missed her presence.  And the bruise she’d claimed to receive by falling from Talen’s machine?  He realized that had been the day after he’d seen Violet thrown against the ravine wall, and no one had seen this supposed fall-no one.

Surely this was not all coincidence.  The constant headache he’d been fighting all week returned with a vengeance, causing a low growl of pain and frustration to rumble in his throat.  Raith finally turned from the window and glared out across his dimly lit office.  Yes, there was a mountain of evidence that tied the two together.  Some of it was circumstantial and hard to prove, or disprove in the case of her background story, but there was one thing in particular that prevented him from storming down there now and calling her out on her lies.  Raith had never seen any evidence of energy usage by Sarhea, had never seen the flash of blue fire in the woman’s eyes.  The burning strength of her fury was not enough evidence to solidify his conclusions, and without concrete proof, there was no way he could put the issue to rest.

A chorus of calls arose from down below, drawing Raith back to the window.  Was it time for lunch already?  Everyone was heading for the doors, and in less than five minutes, it seemed as if the entire facility had been emptied of warm bodies.  Except for the group that still remained at the combat platform.  Nakyla, Aleena, Askar, Madrick, and Sarhea remained and a new discussion seemed to be taking place.

Raith’s frustration began to fester anew as he stepped from his office and stood rigidly at the railing overlooking the large cavern.  Just what was that woman telling those men?  A sudden idea materialized before him.  Askar had once suggested that he should battle it out with the Cassarian.  Right now, with his heightened agitation at the woman, the idea was rather appealing.  He could test her skills for himself, and if she was Violet, the energy always seemed to manifest during battle.

Raith purposefully headed for the nearest stairway and began making his way down to the main level below.  He started removing his restrictive uniform jacket as he went.  Curious, questioning gazes locked onto him as he arrived at the platform’s edge and tossed the jacket onto a nearby chair.

“Raith, this is a surprise.  You look…ready for a fight,” Nakyla said with a sneer.  “Am I finally going to get my rematch?  You won’t kick my ass so easily this time.”

Raith brushed off her remark without comment, his stern gaze leveling on Sarhea.

“Sorry Nakyla-not this time.  I actually wish to challenge the Cassarian.”

Surprised gasps rose in unison from several of the gathered group.  In one swift, agile move, Raith pulled himself up onto the platform.  His critical glare remained locked on Sarhea as he began walking a slow, wide circle around her.  She appeared as stunned as the rest of them, and her blue eyes held a healthy dose of question and a hint of worry.

“Alright!” Askar finally exclaimed, his blue eyes coming alive with an excitement that matched his wide grin.  “I’ve been waiting weeks to see this epic battle!”

Sarhea silently tossed her fellow Cassarian a hard glare.

“How about it, Sarhea?  Let’s see what you’ve really got,” Raith taunted.

Her gaze remained hard as it returned to him.  “I’m not so sure…” she started.

“What, you can give my men pointers, but you cannot put your lessons to the test?  I only wish to judge the value of your skills for myself.  Is this an unfair request?”

Her glare darkened.

“It’s a reasonable proposal, Sarhea.  Our training is at a standstill, and let’s face it-the rest of the guys are no real challenge.  Sorry boys, but it’s true.  And it’s been a while since I’ve seen your moves, Raith.  I think it would be an interesting matchup,” Nakyla chimed in.

Raith caught Sarhea tossing a worried glance to Aleena.  He rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh.  

“What?  Don’t tell me you need permission from your nurse,” he spat.

The taunting comment seemed to hit the right nerve.  He saw her bristle as the fight began to rage in her dark gaze.  A calculating smirk played at his lips as he drew in closer.

“Come on now.  You can’t honestly say this opportunity doesn’t interest you.  From the beginning, I’ve seen that desire in your eyes, that fight that demanded to be released.  Well, here’s your chance, your chance to take out all your frustrations without fear of repercussions.  What you do you say?”

A barely audible growl could now be detected rumbling in her throat.  This was good.  She was getting angry, and when it came down to it, he had his own frustrations to vent.

“Raith, are you sure you should be doing this?  I mean, you’ve been acting a little…off, and your trying extra hard to pick a fight.  This isn’t like you,” Bud announced from the opposite corner.

A large ear twitched at the unexpected voice.  Raith had been relieved when he’d noticed the lack his second’s presence; he knew Bud would try and talk him out of this.  He ignored the burly Kalatian; he was already committed.

“Last time the suggestion was made, neither of us were ready for the challenge.  It seems that has now changed.  This is an open invitation, not a command.  Sarhea can take the challenge or not.  If she thinks she is not ready or willing…”

“I’ll fight,” she suddenly snapped.

Raith turned back to her with a mocking grin.  “Very well,” he replied and headed over to the shelf of wooden weapons.  He’d not handled these in a very long time.  He selected his familiar medium length sword and briefly tested its weight and balance.  Once satisfied, he turned back to his now fuming opponent.  

“Choose your weapon.”

He already knew she would go for the daggers and allowed a knowing smirk when she soon returned with them.  Her gaze was dark and dangerous as she glared back at him in silence.

“So what rules are the two of you playing to,” Nakyla called from the sidelines.

Raith continued to eye Sarhea in silence before finally turning a nonchalant gaze back at the waiting Malkaian.

“I was thinking Last Soldier Standing.”

“Wha…you’ve got to be kidding me!” Nakyla burst out in shock, her amber eyes wide.

“Raith,” Bud started with a stern voice and a matching scowl.

Sarhea quickly stepped forward.  “What?  What are the rules?” she demanded.

“Just what it sounds like.  The last man standing wins, and there are no rules that dictate how that happens.  The rules of Last Soldier Standing are that there are no rules,” Nakyla reported.

Raith idly shrugged as he lowered the tip of his sword to the platform surface and gently leaned against it.  

“Basically, you use what you have and the last one standing wins.  Stick with those toys, switch to a real weapon, use no weapon, tooth, claw-it’s your choice,” he paused and shot her a taunting sneer.  “Though I would suggest you use common sense.”

“Um, yeah-the last time a woman challenged Raith to this game, she resorted to using her teeth in desperation.  She ended up flat on her back, out like a light,” Askar reported with a mock chill.

The wide-eyed look of shock that flashed across Sarhea’s face was almost reward enough.

“This is a game of wits, speed, and strength.  That one forgot the wits part,” he offered as he lifted his sword once again.  “Now are we ready to begin?  All this talk is getting old.”

“Sarhea!” Aleena called from the sidelines.

Raith sighed in frustration and motioned for Sarhea to see what the Kalatian needed.  Aleena’s worried expression struck him; it was almost if she knew what was going on.  Aleena always had been smarter than she’d let them believe, and if she could see what was happening and was this worried, then she had to know what Sarhea…potentially was.  The realization made him bristle anew.

The two women chatted only briefly, but there was quite the intensity to their quiet exchange.  When Sarhea stood once again, he sensed an air of apprehension.  Good.  He hoped she was stressed, stressed enough to reveal herself.  He would not be making this easy for her.

“So, are you ready now?”

Sarhea raised the daggers defensively before her as her gaze grew dark and dangerous.

“There will be no repercussions?” she asked.

“None,” he replied coolly and took his own defensive stance.

Raith was surprised but not disappointed when she made the first move.  Wooden blades met with a crash, the force of his defensive blow easily pushing her back.  She’d started the battle by gauging his strength.  Raith sneered at her in anticipation as they paused to slowly circle one another; he could sense her calculating her next move, and would wait.  Cheers of encouragement arose to both of them from the sidelines.

Sarhea finally dove at him again, this time with a lower line of attack. She gave every indication that she would attack to his left, avoiding his stronger right side.  As he prepared to meet her maneuver, she abruptly stepped back to the right, her blades coming up to catch him hard against his right wrist, one on each side, and attempted to twist the sword from his hand.  The move caught him off guard, as did her strength.  The surprise was short lived.  Raith quickly stepped back, allowing her forward motion throw her off balance.  She slid knee first into the platform surface, her locked blades slipping from his wrist.

He wasted no time in taking a swing at her, but instantly saw that the attempt would be fruitless.  She ducked under the blade as she dove for his legs.  Raith had not expected her to resort to such tactics so early.  He quickly sidestepped her maneuver only to feel her elbow catch him hard behind the knee.  He stumbled as his right knee gave out.

“Don’t tell me this is all you got.  We resorting to physical combat already?” he growled as he knelt.  At least he hadn’t fallen on his other knee. The old wound from the tunnel incident was still sore.

Sarhea said nothing as she cocked her head, a malicious glint in her eyes, and rushed at him again, a low growl also rumbling in her throat.  But her stance was off.  Raith knew he would not have time to scramble back to his feet, so he raised his sword before him and tried to figure out what she had planned.  This time, she did attack to his right, obviously trying to take advantage of his situation.  Once again, she caught his blade between her daggers, but unlike her previous attempt, she didn’t have leverage to follow through with what he guessed was another attempt to disarm him.  He thrust his sword up next to her right shoulder and with a powerful sideswipe, shoved her aside.

He’d attempted to put some space between them so he could get off his knee, but he heard her claws dig into the floor behind him, felt the wind rush as she spun quickly back to attack his left side, away from where he’d just swung his sword.  Raith’s eyes widened as he jerked his head about just in time to see a fist full of dagger coming straight for his head.  Instinct took over, and before he realized it, he caught her wrist with his free left hand.  With a powerful yank, he pulled her off balance, shoved himself to his feet and used her momentum to swing her out away from him and across the platform.

Sarhea hit the floor hard and slid, knocking one of her daggers free of her grip in the process.  He wasted no time in diving for it and was able to snatch it up long before she’d had a chance to recover.  Raith stood and slowly paced before her as he examined the two weapons he now held.

“After all the talk, all the tips given to my men and all the duels you’ve taken part in with Nakyla, I expected so much more from you.  Are you already all out of clever tricks?” he mocked with a low growl.

Sarhea shoved herself up into a defensive crouch, her dark gaze dangerous and calculating.

“Oh, I still have plenty tricks, as you call them,” she growled, nearly snarled, in reply as she stood.

“Well, I do hope they are more challenging than the pathetic display you’ve put forth thus far,” he taunted.

Over the next fifteen minutes, their battle raged without one opponent emerging ahead of the other.  Their blows grew fiercer and more challenging, their movements less and less planned.  Both dealt and received painful hits.  Raith was quickly growing fatigued.  Sarhea was the weaker opponent and knew it, so she relied on quick maneuvering that kept him in constant motion.  He had yet seen her show any signs of tiring and not one of her attacks had been repeated.  When at last he thought he recognized an oncoming attack, he felt he finally had her.

He was so very wrong.  Sarhea did not dodge his attack as she usually did and took his deflecting blow head on.  His power had not been behind the swing, so when her lone dagger caught him hard on the wrist, his sword went soaring through the air.  His eyes were wide as he briefly watched it clatter to the platform opposite of where he stood.  He’d long lost the dagger he’d stolen from her; the smaller weapons did not agree with him.  Sarhea eyed him in triumph as she stood ready and waiting.

And suddenly, he realized this entire time, she’d been toying with him.  He’d foolishly played directly into her hand, had shown his best, and now his arrogance had left him defenseless.  Sarhea now wore a calculating, knowing smirk, her blue eyes alive with dangerous intent.

“What’s the matter, Commander?  You all out of tricks?”

A low growl rumbled in his throat as he turned to face her.  

“As I’ve stated before; this game can be played with or without weapons.”

Raith had grossly underestimated her fighting skills.  She’d danced the dance, observed and taken his blows, and from the look in her eyes, he had a strong feeling he was about to see her true potential.  He would have no choice to make things physical until he managed to retrieve one of the lost weapons laying on the platform.  He slowly began move in a cautious arc around her, his open palms held up defensively before him.  The cheers from the sidelines had long since grown quite, their spectators’ faces uncertain, none of them knowing how this would play out.

That included Raith.  So far, his plan had not produced the desired results.  He’d seen no manifestation of energy from Sarhea.  Was there a chance that she was innocent of what he labeled her to be?  Perhaps she was simply a mysterious, overly cautious woman who liked her privacy and just so happened to have picked up some impressive fighting skills.  He was much too far into this mess to back out now.  He’d taunted and prodded, and now had to choke on the consequences.  But he could not let himself be defeated.  He readied his most confident defensive stance.

Sarhea only smirked knowingly as she raised her lone dagger and quickly lunged forward.  He noticed her lead in with her left foot; she was going to try and fake him out again.  His body grew tense as he readied his enhanced right arm to block any attack.  She stepped quickly to the right as he expected, blade ready in her right hand.  He lunged right and prepared to turn into her attack.  Raith’s eyes widened when, at the last moment, she abruptly skidded to the left and launched herself up to use his knee as a springboard.  In a flurry of motion and fur, she whipped herself about to land on his back.  The hilt of her dagger came down hard between his shoulder blades, knocking the air from his lungs and driving him to the floor under her weight.  

Raith did not have time to dwell on the pain or on his fleeing breath.  He flipped onto his side as she tried to spring away and snagged her foot.  A vicious snarl sounded when she stumbled as he yanked her back towards him.  With what strength he had left, he tried to sling her out away from him by the foot.  The attempt did not go as planned.  Before he could release her, she doubled over and took hold of the wrist that held her foot.  The forward momentum he’d build up now pulled him forward and onto his face.  He lost his grip upon impact.

The urge to make this punishment stop was nearly overwhelming…but he could not…he had to finish this.  Raith growled threateningly as he slowly pushed himself to his hand and knees.  Everything hurt.  He brought a hand up to wipe at his lip and was not surprised to see a smear of blood; he’d tasted the bitter metallic flavor the moment after he hit the floor.  His narrowed green eyes caught sight of Sarhea’s triumphant smirk as she watched him from several feet away.  She’d made no attempt to retrieve her other dagger.

“You can make this all stop.  Just give the word,” she taunted with a mocking tone.

Raith bristled as he bit back a snarl.  He’d definitely not foreseen this reversal of roles.

“I’ve not fallen,” he finally snarled and lunged at her.  

He hoped the stance she’d taken suggested she planned to leap over him, and for once, his gamble paid off.  As she pushed off the ground, he abruptly lifted, his head catching her squarely in the gut.  He heard her grunt in pain as he slammed her back to the ground, finally causing her to lose her last weapon.  Fury took over as he grabbed her around the throat and pinned her to the floor.  An eerily familiar savage snarl burst forth from her bared fangs as her legs came flying up next to his right side.  He’d left himself wide open for such an attack.  Her foot made solid contact with his jaw as she kicked back against him with all her strength.  His grip was once again wrenched free.

Raith landed hard on his rump with a grunt, but did not allow himself to falter.  Sarhea’s only weakness, if it could be called a weakness, was to keep her in close quarters.  He shoved himself to his feet just as she regained her own footing.  There was nothing within his reach but her tail, which he quickly grabbed ahold of and used to violently yank her back towards him.

A yelp of pain followed by a snarl of fury was his reward as he draped his right arm around her neck and held her tightly against him.  His other arm came around her chest, pinning down her clawed hands before she could inflict any more damage.  He could feel her fury radiating off her skin in nearly unbearable waves of heat, and it was all he could do to will himself to hold on.  Raith focused on his own fury as he tightened his grip; Madrick’s mistake would not be repeated.

“Give up,” he snarled viciously into her ear.

The only response she had was an equally vicious snarl.  Raith’s eyes widened as he felt her head swivel sharply towards his left shoulder and before he could react, he felt searing pain tear through his wrist as a tooth snagged him and ripped across.  His vision faded to red as blind fury took over, a feral snarl erupting from deep within.  He violently threw her aside and gripped his now bleeding wrist.

“Enough!”

Bud’s imposing figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight, blocking his view of his quarry.

“Raith, stop!  This madness has gone on quite long enough!  I don’t know what the hell is wrong with the two of you, but I for one will not stand by and watch you try and kill each other!”

Nakyla quickly appeared next to Bud with a similarly exasperated scowl.

“I call this fight a draw, no rematch necessary or recommended.  If the pair of you have further issues to resolve, it will not happen on my combat platform!” she snapped.

The world beyond the platform, which had previously faded from thought, slowly began to come back into focus.  Raith’s dazed eyes fell to Bud as his friend’s large black hand came to rest on his shoulder.

“Are you good?”

The last of Raith’s fury seethed through still clenched teeth, and when it had finally all been released, he gave a trembling, heavy sigh.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he replied weakly.

“Come on.  Let’s put this all behind us before the troops come back from lunch.  Don’t want to have to explain why the two of you look like the crap got kicked outta ya,” Bud whispered.

“We did get the crap kicked out of us,” Raith whispered spitefully so only Bud heard.

Bud simply nodded as he led Raith toward the opposite corner.  A host of new pains were quickly presenting themselves as the adrenaline rush began to wear off.  Yes, he’d grossly underestimated Sarhea’s strength and endurance.  This whole thing had been a complete disaster.  He was no closer to knowing if Sarhea was Violet than he had been before this foolish challenge.  All he’d accomplished was gaining several new bleeding wounds and seriously pissing off a dangerous fighter.  There was no way she was going to let this pass without giving him some kind of hell, and honestly, he knew he deserved it.

Raith cast a quick glance back to see Aleena attempting to calm her friend and lead her off to the other corner.  The Cassarian’s fur was still bristling in fury and he thought he still heard a hint of a growl.  He shook his head.  It was complete foolishness and rather petty, but he couldn’t help it.  He had one last jab to toss out; he’d already done all the damage he could do today.

“You got skills, Cassarian, but still not enough to bring me down,” he called out over his shoulder.

Yes, it was petty of him, but he already felt a little better.  Bud shot him a disapproving scowl as they joined Askar and Madrick at the edge of the platform.  Before he stepped off, a sudden strange and unexpected sensation washed over him, causing him to cast a still smirking glance back in Sarhea’s direction.

Raith froze, his eyes widening.  In a brief moment, his gaze locked with hers as blue fire danced dangerously in her eyes.  The sight was fleeting.  At the exact same time, the hilt of an expertly thrown dagger caught him squarely above the eye.  The blow snapped his head backward, throwing him off balance and over the platform’s edge.  Everything soon went dark.

---

Several hours had passed, several hours and still the energy festered within her.  Sarhea was furious.  That arrogant ass had purposely made an example of her.  He just would not, could not, leave her in peace.  She wanted so badly to be released from her promise to Finny.  What was the point of protecting someone who despised her?  She wanted to take back all the times she’d saved his worthless hide, all the pain she’d put herself through for him…

Just what game had he really been playing earlier?  It had moved far beyond simple dueling.  She’d felt his rage, had released her own…He’d taunted and prodded her like a mean boy did to a caged animal, causing her to lash out in a way she’d reserved only for the drones.  He had been a tough opponent, up until his anger got the best of him.  Then he’d resorted to mean spirited, dirty fighting.  He’d opened the door, prodded her with his words and so he’d received what he’d asked for...

She was only glad Aleena had been there in the end.  She’d nearly lost control, nearly unleashed her true potential.  The energy had been burning within, screaming for release…she’d wanted so badly to release it.

Aleena was worried.  Her friend had said the energy had started to manifest in her eyes, but she’d intervened before it could be noticed.  But that didn’t keep Aleena from wanting to stay out of sight for a while.  Even now, they sat in the lowest level dining hall, a small room filled with nothing but Malkaians and Rigons.  Aleena was idly poking at the food on her tray as she tried to ignore the mix of curious and suspicious gazes around her.

“Aleena, can you just relax already?  You have nothing to worry about.”

Aleena’s eyes widened briefly before she glanced away with a heavy sigh.  “Sarhea, you threw a dagger at Raith’s head.  There’s no telling what damage you did before it knocked him off that platform.  What the hell were you thinking?”

Sarhea simply shrugged.  “I played by his rules.  He said there would be no repercussions.”

“The fight was over!”

“He didn’t seem to think so.  He’s the one who threw the last jab.  I simply responded.”

Aleena groaned in exasperation as she rested her forehead on her fingertips.  “I don’t know what I’m going to do with either of you.  One minute everything seems fine, the next, both of you seem hell bent on making each other’s lives as miserable as possible…thus making my life miserable!”

“You could just not worry about us.  We will deal with our issues in our own way.”

Aleena’s head lifted and she shot her an incredulous glare.  “Like how?  Killing each other?”

Sarhea scowled.  No, she would never go that far.  She’d made a promise…Aleena quickly seemed to read her thoughts.

“Sarhea, Raith made no such promise to Finny to keep you safe.  Think what you will of his skills or his methods, but I’ll be the first to tell you that a rage blinded Leonian is extremely dangerous!  If Bud and Nakyla had not stepped in and stopped that madness, it may have taken every ounce of energy you possess to have kept him from seriously injuring or even killing you!”

Sarhea’s brows knitted into a fierce scowl.

“You can’t be serious.  He may have his issues, but I can’t see him ever purposely going that far.”

“I would tend to agree with you.  But Sarhea, in all the years that I’ve known Raith, I’ve never seen that look in his eyes!”

Sarhea closed her eyes and shook her head with a sigh.  “You just need to relax.  If Raith has even half the honor he makes everyone believe he has, he’ll stick to his terms and chalk it up to a lesson learned.”

“Easy for you to say.  Just wait till you have to see him…”  

Aleena’s eyes suddenly widened and her jaw dropped open.  A quick pang of worry stabbed at her gut.

“What now, Aleena?”

Her friend’s frightened eyes locked on something behind her.  Sarhea turned to investigate as a brief flaring of defensive energy welled within.  Her eyes instantly spotted Raith standing at the hall’s entrance, his stern gaze scanning the room.  She turned back to Aleena, who’d already attempted to wilt below the crowd’s level.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Sarhea hissed in frustration as she ducked down as well.

“He’s coming our way!”  Aleena squeaked as her ears fell flat.

Sarhea felt the overbearing presence arrive behind her.  The fur on the back of her neck rose as the defensive energy flared stronger, but there was also an unusual warning in the energy.  She did her best to force both feelings into submission.

“I need you to come with me,” came Raith’s quiet but commanding voice.

She slowly turned and looked up at him.  He sported a nice puffy eye with a small butterfly bandage over a cut on his brow.  The corner of one lip was also red and slightly swollen.  His hard gaze was all too familiar.

Sarhea narrowed her eyes as she stared defiantly up at him.  “Now wait just a minute!  I thought you said no repercussions!”

His expression remained firm.  “Just come with me, and it would be in your best interest to not make a scene.”

Sarhea bit back a rising growl as she stared up at him.  When no change was noticed in his demeanor, she finally huffed in frustration and shoved herself to her feet.

“Fine.  Whatever,” she spat quietly as she once again met his hard glare.  She turned back to Aleena.  “Guess I’ll talk to you later.”

Raith stepped aside and silently motioned her ahead.  Sarhea held her defiant posture as she picked her way through the suddenly very quiet crowd.  Once out in the dimly lit corridor, he moved in beside her.

“This way,” came his flat tone as he turned down a narrow hall labeled “Security”.

Sarhea was quickly growing uneasy.  Something felt very different from her past conflicts with him.  There was a hesitance in her guiding energy, a hesitance that suddenly made her want to turn and run.  She saw Raith pause before a door near the end of the hall.  He quietly opened it, flipped on a switch and motioned her in without a word.  Defensive energy flared anew as she passed by him to enter the awaiting room.  The door closed behind her with a solid click.  

The room was small and simply furnished with a rectangular table and two chairs that sat across from each other.  It was an interrogation room.  Sarhea suddenly felt very trapped.  She had to force down the reactive forces that instantly swelled in her, demanding her to take action.  Raith remained silent as he moved around before her, his hands clasped behind his back.  His hard green eyes were calculating…knowing.  Sarhea bristled as she turned from him to examine the small room.

“Commander Raith, what is the meaning of this?”

“Why don’t you tell me, Sarhea,” came his flat reply.  “Or should I call you Violet?”

Sarhea froze.  What had he just called her?  She slowly turned, her face scrunched in a critical scowl.  “Excuse me?”

Raith released his hands and crossed them over his chest.  “You heard me, Violet.  I want to know just what game you are playing here.  You’ve worked quite hard at deceiving us all.  It’s time to come clean.”

Sarhea struggled to keep her rising panic at bay.  Surely he didn’t know…Her eyes narrowed.

“I think that dagger knocked something loose up there.  You have me confused with someone else.”

“There’s no point in trying to hide any longer.  Your true identity is no longer a secret,” he replied, his voice lowering to nearly a growl.

He hesitated before straightening, his head lifting to where he almost was staring down his snout at her.  “I’ve always known there was something about you that was just…off, always knew you were lying to me, to everyone around you.  The lies stop now.”

“You need to have your brain scanned…”

“Stop toying with me!” he suddenly snarled and brought a hand down hard atop the table.

Sarhea flinched back at the outburst.  The deep warning intensified within her, confirming her fear.  He knew…Somehow he knew, and she did not know what to do.  What proof did he have?  Could she possibly dissuade what he thought he knew?  Sarhea kept her glare intact despite the panic that continued to build with the defensive energy.

Raith managed to quickly contain his anger, his features quieting and the near condescending gaze returning.

“Nothing to say?  Well, isn’t this interesting.  I suppose you’re trying to figure out how I know.  There were several things, really, but the little bit that really set me on the right path was when you refused medical care when we were trapped in those rocks.  You mentioned that our medicines make you ill.  How would you know that unless you’ve been treated before?  Guess you didn’t realize that records are kept of such information.  That’s when I discovered that along with still not updating your profile, you have no vaccination record.  And that just doesn’t make any sense considering  all those refugees from Cassan Minor were vaccinated before they left their ships.”

Sarhea glared at him in disbelief.  She had not realized this and she was quickly losing hope about getting out of this situation.  It seemed he had done his homework.

“Really?” she finally spat in enough anger to hide her near desperation.  “My incomplete profile is what causes you to accuse me of being someone else?”

“So you still deny, insist on lying to me?  Well, let’s head to the hospital right now.  Get your blood sampled and recorded.  If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize right then and there and will stay out of your business for good.”  He paused and arched a brow.  “Come now.  We can get this cleared up right now.”

Sarhea instinctively flinched back as her eyes widened.  Raith was once again glancing down his snout at her.

“As I thought.  There were other signs, things that I noticed even today, that helped confirm my suspicions.  One was your fighting tactics.  I realized I’ve seen some of those moves out in the field, especially that one you used to jump onto my back; I’ve seen you use that one on drones.  And finally,” he paused with a knowing gaze, “there was your eyes.  Your eyes burned with blue fire as you threw that dagger at me.  There is no denying that one.”

Sarhea abruptly turned from him with a low growl.  She fought with all she had to remain in control, but she could feel the rising heat, feel the energy rushing down her arms and into her hands, threatening to burst forth at any second.

“I just don’t get it.  You have gone through a lot of trouble to lie to everyone, even those who consider you a friend…and for what?  You say you can’t help us, but you have been helping all along…Forgive my apparent ignorance in understanding your rational, but I’m terribly confused.  Please, please enlighten me, help me understand…”

She didn’t know if he was being serious or if he was taunting her again.  He lacked the biting tones she was most familiar with, the tone she’d expected should this very circumstance arise, and the raging defensive energy within definitely didn’t help matters.  She heard him sigh heavily when she made no comment.

“I cannot pretend to know what you have gone through before coming to Talos, what happened to you to cause you to distrust us so much, and I have spent the last several hours trying to figure out how to deal with this.  Regardless of your reasons or motives, you have…been a valuable asset and I can attempt to overlook your deception…if you will help us…”

His voice trailed off as a low growl escaped her attempts to keep it at bay.  She’s already been over this with him…The effort to remain in control was beginning to make her tremble.

“…cannot…” came her barely audible reply that seethed through clenched teeth.

“Why not?” he quickly demanded.  “Because you claim to be dangerous?”

His voice finally began taking on a familiar tone.  As brief silence fell, she sensed a growing anger, a festering force that served only to erode her fragile control of her own demons that begged to lash out.

“I’m trying to understand this,” came his low, hard voice, breaking the silence.  “You are supposedly too dangerous to help us, yet you drag an innocent child into your secretive world, into your web of lies, filling his young mind with who knows what…I have already seen a negative change in him, and it’s all been since you have been in contact with him.  I can look past the lies to us, but I cannot forgive the damage you have done to Finny.  That child is my…”

Sarhea finally snapped.  Pure red defensive energy took control and burst forth from her hands as she spun and lunged at him.  Her abrupt move caught him by surprise, caught him off guard just long enough for her hand to clamp around his neck.  A surge of strength rushed through her, allowing her to slam him against the wall.  The shock in his eyes quickly faded as he bared his teeth and snarled back at her.  But he was helpless to resist.  She felt the charged energy rushing from her core, from her reserves, and it flowed through her and into him with a raging fury.  It numbed her arm and her hand, and judging by his lack of resistance, it was numbing his reflexes.  It felt…good.  She tightened her grip, her claws digging ever so slightly into the soft flesh of his neck.

“Oh, you have it so very wrong.  I never intended to do any of the things that I have to help you.  Finny’s the one who came to me and it is only because of him that you still stand here today.  Had he not made me promise to keep you alive, I would have let the drones take you out of my way long ago!” she seethed, her hot, fury laced voice hitting him in the face.

Her voice had taken on that strange vibrating tone it recently acquired when under the energy’s control.  Raith tried to flinch away from her, but she only tightened her grip.  A flash of a grimace was her only response.

“I warned you, Commander, warned you that this curse is unpredictable and dangerous.  But you just had to keep digging, keep pushing, keep pursuing!”

The energy led her to tighten her hold even more, causing him to finally cough and choke on his restricted breath.  The heat radiating from her skin intensified and Raith visibly winced in pain.  He tried to lift an arm, take hold of the hand that pinned him, but the sluggish limb recoiled at the heat.  The stubborn, defiant glare never left his hard green eyes.

“So what…” he finally gasped hoarsely.  “After everything, now you’re going to kill me?”

He gasped again as she dug her claws deeper.  It was surprising just how tempting his suggestion was.  But then, screaming from the background, the ignored voice of her logic begged for her attention.  This was not her…the energy was using her, using her like she had fought so hard to keep from happening.  She was not a cold-blooded killer…she had made a promise…

Sarhea closed her eyes, tried to close out the sights and sounds as two conflicting voices battled for control in her mind.  This new power…it felt so good…but she couldn’t…couldn’t lose herself to it, couldn’t lose control.  She gasped as the heat built to the point she thought she would burst into flames.  No!  She would not let it control her!  There had to be a way to overcome its seductive power…

A quiet whisper drifted at the fringes of her consciousness…she desperately tried to focus on it.  Unity…Trust in the unity…for only in unity can the power be wielded…Unity…peace, life…What she was doing honored neither peace nor life.  Sarhea inhaled sharply and held onto the thought of peace.  Brief flashes of peaceful memories from the past came struggling forward.  She thought of the peace she felt when holding Finny.

The heat began to subside, the intoxicating taste of this new power retreating.  She opened her eyes to see that the defiance had fled Raith’s gaze and now he appeared to be struggling under her grasp.  No…it would not control her.  Sarhea felt a sudden disruption, a disruption in the energy’s flow long enough to allow her to abruptly release her death grip on his neck.

“No,” she rasped hoarsely as she stumbled back.  “I will not kill you.  You seemed determined to take care of that yourself.  You do not need my help,” she gasped as pain suddenly flared in her arm.

Raith began coughing uncontrollably as he slowly slid down the stone wall, his hand coming to his neck where swollen red welts were rapidly beginning to rise.

Sarhea continued to stumble back until the stone of the opposite wall stopped her and she slowly sank to the floor.  Her strength waned as she struggled to contain the searing heat still coursing through her arm.  She gritted her teeth through the intense pain as she balled her hand into a tight fist, and cried out as the heat blistered to the surface and finally dissipated.  She slumped back against the wall in exhaustion.

Neither of them spoke as they struggled to regain any hint of composure.  Sarhea’s weary gaze finally returned to Raith and she was greeted by a mixed expression of pain, distrust, and fear.  She quickly looked away.

“I never wanted to live this life of lies.  I simply wanted to fade into the background, go unnoticed and live out what remains of my life in peace.  I never expected, never intended, to find friends and I definitely didn’t plan on having the chance to fight my enemy.  Once I started, I couldn’t stop.  I never…never wanted any of this, never wanted to live like this, but in a place such as this, I had no other choice…” she whispered and fought back the urge to cry.

“You always had other choices.  You could have told the truth from the beginning.  There were plenty of opportunities…” came his quiet reply.

“Would you have accepted the truth?  You already despised what I was without the added bits about energy, already distrusted me.  I figured, why bother.”

There was a brief hesitance before he spoke again.  “I guess we will never know.”

Sarhea closed her eyes as hot tears began to well in her eyes.  “I guess not.”

Tense silence settled over the room once more.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this,” came Raith’s weary voice after several minutes.

“Just let me go.  Let me be in peace,” she whispered.

“How can I do that?  By your own admission, you are a danger to us.  It is my duty to report and contain such threats…I took an oath.”

Sarhea sighed quietly.  There was only one option.  “I’m pretty good at staying out of sight…”

“That is not good enough.”

“It is the only choice.  You could never contain me.”

The air in the room began to change and she knew she’d probably find a glare reforming on his face.

“You seem very confident that you can escape our restraints…even if you did, I would find you, eventually.  This city’s big, but not that big.”

“That would be unwise.”

She definitely felt a hard glare lock onto her now.  

“Is that some kind of threat?”

She shook her head.  “No.  It’s simply the truth, the truth of who I am.  I do not wish to harm anyone, but I’ll do what I must to preserve my life, my freedom.  Please do not force that side of my curse to activate.  There are aspects of this…this thing that you cannot begin to understand, things I would never wish on anyone…things I’ve done to survive…”

Sarhea finally glanced back to him.  He remained silent, but his wide green eyes spoke of his shock and disbelief.  She quickly glanced away again.

“Go then.  If you wanted so badly to remain anonymous, then return to your hidden places, your shadows, and stay there.  Stay away from those you claim to be a threat to.  Definitely stay away from Finny and the other children.  If I see you near any of them-my team, my men, the children, I will come after you.  If you truly value their lives, their safety as you claim, you will do this.  You refuse to use your talents to help us, so you will fade into the shadows and disappear.”

Raith slowly stood and unsteadily walked to the door.  He turned the handle and pushed it open.  Sarhea’s eyes widened as she also slowly stood.  His words hurt.  Against her better judgment, she’d made good friends here, but she’d always known she was a hidden threat to them.  Raith offered her conditional freedom.  In a way, she’d always known it was destined to come to this.

She cautiously walked to the open door and hesitated beside him.  Her apologetic, sorrowful gaze was met with a stony glare and a quick sideways jerk of his head.  So this was it.  The hesitance fled as she quickly moved out into the narrow hall, and once she made it to the larger corridor, she ran as fast as she could until she found the nearest safe entrance to her tunnel world.

Sarhea did not know how long she’d blindly run through the tunnels or where she was when her strength was spent.  She simply collapsed where she was, her anguish overwhelming her, until she finally began to cry.  She cried until she fell asleep.