Reality screamed. Inside a ruined house in what was once the shining jewel of post-burn America air was blasted outward in a thunderous explosion. The last few intact windows blew outward, the house shuddered on its frame and then groaned as it sagged a little more. Time had not been kind to Raider's home; time and lack of maintenance caused by a temporal leap. Raider released his hold on Courier and fell away, through the floor and deep into the subbasement. Time passed, as it is wont to do, and Courier laid low in the house waiting.

Less than an hour later raider returned. "It's ready," he pronounced simply.

Doug nodded, "As am I." Raider once more put his hand to the other man's shoulder, and (the structure of reality, or space and time, twisted) teleported the two men once more. This time there was no concussive arrival for there was no air to displace. They floated meters above the dark side of the moon, the silvery lattice of the Moonies domes rose above the surface like delicate soap bubbles. Raider released his friend, and (once again tore a tunnel through the very fabric of the universe) teleported away, back to the the subbasement of his crumbling home. The nuclear device was waiting. The timer and dead man switch were enabled. Raider took up the weapon; a remnant of the world before the burn, a tool of the obliteration of mankind's golden age, and (once again, reality protested) teleported below the domes, below the lowest level of the lunar city. He waited. Doug touched his mind, asked if he was ready, and he replied, Yes. Now was the time. Doug floated toward the city...

Raider, atomic weapon in tow, drifted upward and into the city itself. The lower levels were deserted. He found his spot and waited...

The airlock was both obvious and unguarded. Doug let himself in like an old friend who doesn't need to wait to be greeted at the door. The airlock opened to a hall, the hall led to a room; waiting for Doug was a woman dressed in red and man dressed in blue. Doug recognized them immediately.

Above the city Doug let himself drift down slowly, and he hoped unthreateningly. He didn't let himself gain confidence and move forward briskly until Raider signaled he was there.

After that he just kept the link up passively, letting Raider see and hear what he did. With long experience he kept his own emotions off the link and buried. He hated these people. Their smug certainty, their smug superiority, what they'd done and what they'd had not done.

That wouldn't stop him from being polite. He was a business man, he'd had long practice at putting what needed to be done in front of his personal feelings. Even though these people were monsters where it counted, he'd traded with monsters in the past, he could do the same here.

Doug smiled winningly and said, "Well greetings again Mr. Blue, Ms. Red. I see Mr. Yellow isn't present, is he well? And I suppose I should ask if you are the same people I met before and how long it's been from your point of view?"

{Activate Lie Detector, activate good first impression x2}

"Whom else would we be?" Ms. Red's voice was unchanged from what Doug remembered. "Time is irrelevant, you wish to see us and we are here. Your compatriot's presence is also known to us, as is your telepathic communication with him. We would ask that he join us here, willingly. Or leave if he prefers.

"As for the former member of our triad. He no longer wears the yellow robe. If you and your companion would speak with us you will have the opportunity to meet the man who replaced him." She spoke in even tones and Doug detected no lies, though her language left no doubt that there was still much more beyond her answers.

Doug echoed, As for the former member of our triad. He no longer wears the yellow robe... Translation: He's still around, he's just not in office any more. I rather thought that they wouldn't bother punishing him for what he did to us.

Doug replied evenly, "When you speak to me you are speaking to him. I don't see any reason for him to physically join us. Last time would have been very different if we'd left someone outside but stayed in contact with them. I apologize for the appearance of a lack of trust, but we do try to learn from our mistakes."

"What is the significance of the yellow robe? What could the three of you decide that the two of you can not?"

The woman in red shook her head, "This we cannot be flexible on. Your friend may join us, or leave, willingly. If he does not we will bring him here by force if needed. You wish to speak with us, to ask of us questions, and have us answer them. This we accept, the price however is that you cooperate with our request to meet face to face with all of your people." She appeared to pause for a moment before adding, "You will not be harmed. We will will conduct our discussion as civilized people do." Doug found himself surprised; she was telling the truth.

Doug sent, Raider, she's telling the truth about all that. They're going to nail you.

Raider considered. It would be awfully hard to have a civil conversation while holding a nuke, but he worried that leaving the nuke in the basement might have unfortunate consequences. If they jammed the signal on the deadman's switch it would go boom, on the other hand if he went to the meeting they would have a much easier chance of countering it.

Finally he decide that they were sufficiently advanced that they might be able to counter the nuke whatever he did. Might as well take it but remain out of phase.

He teleported to where Doug was still insubstantial.

Phased as he was Raider made not a sound when he arrived. He simply appeared as though invisible. The woman nodded, "Please come with us, we have a meeting room prepared for this meeting, with comfortable seating. Though I suppose your friend will not be sitting. Such as you wish."

They quickly progressed through a series of halls, past a few unmarked and closed doors, and finally to a small comfortably appointed room. There were three seats on one side and two on the other of a large table laid with food and drink. "Please, be seated. Have refreshment if you like. There is no danger, the food has not been drugged or poisoned." She and the blue clad man sat down and each took a clear glass of water. Shortly thereafter a second man arrived dressed in the yellow and black robes that had been worn by a much older man during their last visit. Ms. Red waited until Doug at least was seated before asking, "Why have you come? What is your purpose here?" If either of the three were disturbed by the presence of an atomic weapon they did not show it. They barely even looked at it.

Doug nodded to the new Mr. Yellow and said, "Greetings sir."

He picked up a glass of water although he didn't drink from it and replied to Ms. Red, "Why have we come? Heavy questions about the past, the present, and the future."

"But I'd hoped we first could clear up some minor issues. Raider and I suspect his father was one of yours. He wasn't a nova, but his hand gun used a level of technology that the Earth doesn't currently support. Similarly his familiarity with technology seemed very out of place, and then after James asked if you'd sent anyone into exile, everything seemed to snap into place. James, that'd be the full telepath with us last time, was his son too."

{Activate First Impression. Pool has 4q spent}

"We recall. I am sorry, do you mean that he had no ability to use quantum powers?" Raider and Doug nodded, "He could not be one of us then, all of our people have some talent. Either physical, mental, or energetic." She gestures to herself and the two men and Raider and Doug notice for the first time that it is her crimson robe that is adorned with a black stripe, and that the yellow robe of the newcomer is yellow and white not yellow and black. "I represent those with mental abilities, telepathy, enhanced intelligence, and similar. I am called Rebeka. Thomas here," she gestures to the man in blue. "He represents those of us who have physical talents. Aaron, those with the ability to manipulate energy, he has replaced the man who was responsible for shunting you forward in time. For this we all apologize. His predecessor was not sanctioned to act in this way and in doing so and acting against one of the other members of our triad he was stripped of his rank and position." The other two men said nothing, merely watching, waiting perhaps until called on, or asked a question that pertained to them, Rebeka seemed to be the spokes person for the group much as the previous Mr. Yellow had been during the last encounter. Perhaps that is what the black stripe meant.

...stripped of his rank and position... because obviously that's what you do when someone kill's a nova's family. Such a minor crime isn't worthy of jail time.

Doug replied politely, "Physical, mental, and energy. Interesting. Physicality especially. I'd assumed you didn't have physical novas, I mean I didn't see any foot prints out in the dust outside. It's fun to fly, are there reasons for not going outside?"

Doug apparently had problems with the entire concept of lots of novas with flight running around but no one going outside to explore the landscape.

"There is no need to go outside," Rebeka stated matter of factly. "But this is not why you have come. I sense you have other motivations here than to learn about our culture and extracurricular activities. Please, speak your mind, ask what questions have brought you here." She studied Doug intently focusing on him as Raider simply stood by silently.

Doug nodded in agreement, she was right. Mentally he shrugged and then he said, "The big question is what are you going to do about the Earth now? Someone set off... I might as well call it a taint bomb. Every nova became an insane aberrant at the same time. I don't know if you did it, or if it was one of these exiles James talked about last time, but it probably doesn't matter now. Are you going to drop another rock? Can you reduce how hot the planet is?"

Raider frowned then thought to Doug, Ask straight questions that can't be ambiguous. Are you going to drop another rock, can be answered truthfully no, if they are planning to eliminate the population on the planet some other way. Have your people actively to do harm to the people on Earth. Are plans in play now that would bring about the elimination of Earth's current population. Do you plan to do so in the future? That kind of thing.

Raider was afraid these people would be tricky. Worse, he was afraid that by coming here he might have already blown their one chance at defense should the moonies prove murderous.

Doug nodded. Raider was right, he'd have to be more careful in how he worded things in the future.

Rebeka looked at the other two men for a moment before answering. She sounded concerned as she spoke, "So then the Earth is even more toxic? It was already considered uninhabitable due to the presence of radiation and tainted manipulation of the quantum field, but if we understand you..." She faltered looking somewhat uncertain, "Please, can you explain more clearly what you mean by this 'taint bomb'? And what you mean when you say 'less hot'?"

Doug leaned forward and said a little bitterly, "Hardly uninhabitable, before. Tens of millions of people, maybe more, multiple cities and civilizations. We were well on the way to rebuilding everything. And I mean, you've won. Your hack-eyed claims that every nova would become an aberrant have been made the reality."

"We traced the origin of the taint bomb back to the last known location of a man we believe was one of yours. Call him agent, or exile, or whatever, but he seemed too weak to be a nova and too smart to be a baseline. We would have looked into him more closely but someone made certain we were trapped in time so we couldn't. We were too late to stop him by more than a year and now he's dead and it's done. Well played." Doug nodded to the woman as though acknowledging a good chess move.

Doug continued coldly, "When we got back, we found that every single nova on the planet succumbed to aberrantancy at the same time. Worse, anyone who *might* have ever erupted into a nova erupted and also succumbed into aberrantancy. Every advanced civilization on the planet I'm aware of has fallen apart. Not a shock considering a significant percentage of the population went insane and started killing the rest."

"It's on going too. We don't use juice to use our powers any more, and we're mutating. Some faster than others, but we've lost two in two days. I figure the rest of us don't have much time. Weeks. Maybe months."

"So, again. Do you have a way to turn off whatever was done? And are you planning on exterminating what's left of humanity down on the planet by one of your rocks or something else?"

"We did not do this. The energies that you, and we, use are delicate and potent. Too much and the human body is simply not capable of channeling it without damage. If that continues the genetic and psychological changes you deem aberrancy are the result. After the war there was too much radiation and too much free quantum, even the most careful use of power would quicken the accumulation of genetic damage, what I think you call taint is nothing more than an overabundance of power and a insufficient capability to channel it." Rebeka was clearly off put by Doug's tone and yet he registered no dissembling, everything she was saying rang true.

"We have sought to cleanse the planet, to reduce this aura of energy such that we can safely return, that has been our goal all along. What you accuse us of would set back our return for decades or possibly hundreds of years.

"You assume the worst of us and yet you behave with ill manners and rough behaviour. You accuse us of seeking your destruction and yet you come bearing a weapon of the war with the apparent intent to bully or destroy us." She seemed riled up now and took a moment to visibly shake off the indignation.

"No we cannot reverse what has transpired, were we able to do so we would have returned to earth year ago instead of waiting in exile." She leaned forward herself and pointed at Doug, "It is your kind, who pursue personal power at the expense of humanity that are responsible. Not ours."

Doug replied flatly, "There's an old saying about relationships and trading agreements. 'You get what you give.'"

"So let's talk about weapons of war and attempts at destruction. Last time we were here you lied to us about the rock. Would you mind answering, truthfully this time, who dropped it and why?"

Raider listened and absorbed and considered. He was tempted to answer their accusation but decided it would be pointless. Perhaps later in the conversation would be time to defend their motives, if the moonies proved to be friendly rather than genocidal. Right this minute there was nothing on two worlds more important than the explanation they were about to give. Humanities fate might well rest on the answer.

She threw her hands up, "And were we lying when we said that we did not know the Earth still bore human life? No we were not. You wish to know who redirected the comet? It was the baselines. They desired to use it to terraform Mars. After the war our ancestors simply nudged it to hit the Earth instead; a fresh start. To bury the radiation and speed the recovery of the planet. What was done was for the greater good of what was believed to be the last remnants of mankind."

She looks Doug in the eyes, "Does that even matter to you? Or does this thirst for vengeance consume all of your thoughts? You think us smug, you think that we believe we're better than you? You think that the punishment we have meted out was not sufficient, because you wish for nothing but blood and carnage. You come to us with a bomb, bearing accusations and threats of violence." She stopped and shook her head, disgusted.

Doug gave a grim smile and replied, "Let's try to keep a sense of perspective on all this. It's been your people abusing me and mine, not the reverse. I didn't try to convince your family you were dead. I'm not the one who thought such an action wasn't worth much punishment. We have never abused any of yours. If mass murder is on the table, it's because you and yours put it there, not me and mine."

"Which brings us to... When? When did you find out about us? Your crew didn't know when they started the rock, and that's all very fine. But was our blowing it up really your first clue?"

That was an extremely good question. If they were telling the truth that they didn't know anyone had survived the Burn then when did they learn humanity survived? Before or after we destroyed the rock? If they had known of our existence and let the rock fall anyway then that was genocide plain and simple. The answer to this question would be crucial.

"Abusing? I think not. You cannot. You WILL not judge us on the rogue actions of my predecessor. You will not thrust intent and motive upon the many for the actions of the few!" Aaron's anger apparently boiling over, his red face standing in contrast to his yellow robe.

"Peace Aaron, we knew when we allowed them to enter that they would be unable to turn from their path." Rebeka looked at Doug and Raider. "Despite his outburst Aaron is no less correct. You have come here bearing ill intent and weapons of genocide, and despite your erroneous assumptions we have done you no harm, nor have we intended harm on you. No harm came to you on your last visit, and it would appear that in fact you were spared from this taint that you have spoken of as a direct result of the temporal dilation effect which is the norm for our society. If there is blame to be laid perhaps you should lay it upon yourselves. No crime was committed upon you, or against you or your people. If you were unwilling to deal with the repercussions of your trespassing in our home perhaps you should have not come at all."

Raider shifted himself just enough to speak, "So then why not directly answer the question that was just asked instead of avoiding it? You say we are judging the many based on the actions of the few, but if it's true your predecessor caused the taint bomb or allowed the rock to proceed to hit the Earth knowing the consequences then it means you the 'many' are just as culpable. You consider justice to be merely stripping him of his rank and responsibilities but letting him go on with his life after committing mass murder? That doesn't speak well of your justice, or your societies values. As for us, we have come to you in the only way we could come. If you are guilty of trying to wipe us out then we must do what we can do defend ourselves and this is the only way we can do it. If you are not guilty then this will not be used, and instead we will remove it and establish a dialogue with you in a more polite fashion. More than that, we will ask for your help, and try to work with you to save the remnants of humanity. But before any of that can happen we need a straight answer to the question Doug asked."

Doug laughed harshly and said, "And what else am I supposed to judge you on? Your chosen representative acted in your name and bragged what he did wasn't even illegal, and he wasn't lying. You didn't punish him for what he did to us, you punished him for what he did to your own people. After all we're aberrants, mindless, violent animals. Who cares if we get pissed or even die?"

"Speaking as someone who has run into a lot of cultures, this is a tribal society. Responsibility only applies to people inside the tribe. People outside the tribe are non-persons. They don't have rights, they can be abused or even killed without a problem."

Doug tone got very ugly as he said, "And your silence speaks volumes. Despite all your protestations of innocence, you knew. You knew your people moved the rock long ago by your time, more recently by ours. You knew we were here long before we nuked the rock. You just figured we'd be better off dead since we're not you."

Doug took a deep breath and in a jarring disconnect added more neutrally, "So... now that we've settled where we are, how we got here, and what you are... different question. Are you aware of any other Earth like planets out there? Any other colonies that we could try to evacuate people to?"

"Would you also condemn us for your inability to breath if our atmosphere were different from your own? You accuse us of wrongdoing, that we both agree, but you fail to understand that what you perceive as an attack is how we live at all times." She pointed an accusatory finger at Raider, "You say that Randall was guilty of mass murder. Who's? Where is your proof? You condemn our justice system and yet your is the party holding a weapon of mass destruction within the heart of our society. He was guilty of two things; catching me off gaurd with a telepathic attack, and being a pompous ass. The first is a criminal act for which he was punished, the second is merely a fact of life. If it were a crime the two of you would be just as guilty as he was."

She rounds on Doug, returning his hard tone with her own. "We did not know you were there. WE. DID. NOT. KNOW! Not until you acted on the comet did we become aware. We have done nothing to you. You blame us for the changes wrought in your absence but refuse your own culpability. It is our practice to accelerate our local time frame and YOU. TRESSPASSED. HERE. Your loss of subjective time is a direct result of your invasion of our home. You did not ask our permission, you did not attempt contact first, you simply invaded our home, and as a result while you were gone time passed and events unfolded. Events which we had no hand in, and yet you lay the blame at our feet and condemn us as murderers."

Rebeka laughs at Courier scornfully, "You expect our help? After this? I think I have answered all the questions that I will. I think you should leave now." She stood with the others, waiting for Doug to rise to be escorted out to the airlock. For his part Doug sat a moment longer ruminating on the truth, or at least the truth as they had told it.

Doug listened to what she said through a lens of hate, grief, and rage and sent to Raider, She lied. They knew.

Raider returned the thought, Did they really? You are absolutely, 100% sure they knew we were there before we deflected the rock?

To the moonies, "Do you know of any extra solar planets that are habitable? If you do perhaps we can go and leave you in peace to do what you will with the Earth. We don't want you as enemies, but if we are under constant fear of another asteroid or other attack, then we can't concentrate on helping humanity's survivors. Everyone left down there now are either aberrated monsters or are regular human's with no chance of erupting as novas. If they are going to be saved it's up to us."

With an effort of will, Doug replied mentally, I'm sure. They deserve to die.

Now was the time. It all fell onto Raider's shoulders. Doug was absolutely positive they deserved to die and Raider had no doubt he was right, but they still hadn't answered the other question. The one that really mattered. Did they know of any other planets that were inhabitable? If so they could still avoid becoming as bad as the moonies. It was all well and good to exact Justice, but sometimes it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. These people were advanced and they might be able to help if they were willing. If they weren't willing then they really did deserve to die. Even if Doug weren't telling the truth, and he had no reason to doubt his friend, these people had remained ignorant of humanities plight through willful ignorance. How could you live the equivalent of many many generations and not train a telescope on the Earth to see how it was doing over the course of all that time, whether out of curiosity or planning in order to resettle the planet someday. They had certainly had a telescope watching the comet after all.

So now it came down to this, would they help the survivors of the human race or allow them to die?

"If you have information that could help us, please share it now before we leave. If you were ignorant of the destruction you were bringing on hundreds of thousands of survivor, then that could be forgiven, but refusing to help when the remaining thousands are dying would be unforgivable."

Rebeka shook her head, "If we knew we would have gone there and left the Earth to its fate, perhaps our ancestors could have returned to reclaim. Of course, you won't believe me so what's the point."

Doug swirled the water around in his glass then put it down. He didn't want his last taste of water to be with the Moonies. It'd be over soon. They were liars. God he hated them. They weren't going to stop until someone made them stop, that'd been clear even before he came. Now? Someone should tell them how laughable it was to claim both that someone was a rogue and couldn't be used to judge their civilization, and that he also hadn't done anything wrong or unusual.

But it wouldn't be him. He'd stay silent and let Raider do his thing. Doug had used this technique before, it was called, 'One last nibble.' Raider was trying to get one last thing as part of the deal before everything was concluded. He'd take whatever they gave him... and then he'd make the bomb solid, setting it off.

Doug wondered if he'd see the flash before he could feel it at this range. It didn't really matter he guessed. He'd always figured he'd end up with KB after he died, but that wasn't going to happen. KB wasn't going to die, maybe ever... if you called that living. Survival was overrated. He'd rather burn.

Raider did the equivalent of taking a deep breath then said, "I think everyone needs to calm down. There is talking to be done yet." He gestured at Doug with the hand that held the deadman's switch.

"My friend here is very upset and as we have mentioned he has the ability to tell when someone is lying. He says you are lying about not knowing about survivors on Earth before we deflected the comet. That would make you guilty of genocide. Justice would then demand that the guilty be punished for such an act." He might have been insubstantial, but his frown could still be seen easily.

"It occurs to me that not all of your people may have been aware of what you knew, and therefore your people may be innocent of the crime. So setting off this nuke would make me guilty of an equally grave crime. I don't want to do that, but so far you are not making my choice easy. As far as we know from our perspective you have advanced technology and could perhaps render significant aid to the people of Earth. The fact that you not only haven't, but have chosen to turn a blind eye to the plight of hundreds of thousands of survivors does not speak in your favor. I have to ask myself how can the people here remain ignorant of their human brothers and sisters down on the planet. Or are you like that movement from before the Burn that considered all humans to be a different species and therefore without any worth? Is that how it is? Do you consider anyone outside your domes to be worthless and better off dead?"

"That kind of attitude doesn't make me want to leave peaceably." His frown slowly disappeared as he said, "I can see how you could see us as unwelcome guests and the fact that I have brought a weapon of mass destruction among you a hostile act. But realize that from our perspective you are vastly technologically superior to anything remaining on Earth. You have the time dilation field that we cannot breach. We had exactly one shot at defending ourselves. All you need do is turn that on once we leave and we can never bother you again. Well, not so long as we don't have the technology to breach your field, and that is unlikely given Earth's state. So, yes, we come bearing arms to ask questions that mean life and death to every man, woman and child on Earth. And I believe we have the right to those answers."

"So once again I will ask, is there anything you can do to render aid to the people of Earth? Is there any place you know of that we could retreat to and live without the doom of taint madness? And most importantly, do your people know of the fate of Earth's survivors? Failing to act in a situation like this is virtually the same as holding a gun to the heads of the survivors. Do you think we can live peaceably side by side when the Earth is whole again? Could you if the situation were reverse?"

Doug frowned and sent to Raider, "We aren't going to be around to police them for more than a few minutes, we'll be dead or insane in a few weeks, and they openly admit their 'renegades' aren't doing anything wrong by their standards. Tribal societies usually don't consider their word with outsiders to be binding beyond the point where it's useful to them."

Rebeka looked angrily at Doug, "You know we speak the truth, yet you lie to your friend? Monster." She spat the word and turned to Raider, "Will you even believe the truth or assume that I am lying to cover other lies?" She shook her head, "It doesn't matter we will not deal with armed aggressors, and we will not be coerced by the threat of force. There is nothing to say you will not dislike the truth and decide to attack us anyway. We have asked you to leave and you refuse. We have told you the truth and you refuse to accept it, and now you have the audacity to ask for help while brandishing the weapon you mean to end us with. What right do you have to have your questions answered? Why do we owe you anything?"

"Yes, actually I do have the right to ask and be answered. It is the right of common decency to other sentient beings. You are willingly and knowingly allowing every member of the human race outside these domes to die without offering any aid whatsoever. It is you who are the monster. How can you sit here in your comfortable safe domes encapsulated in your time field and live with yourselves knowing you could help, but refusing that help to all the thousands of survivors down on the Earth?"

Raider was becoming disgusted by these liars and comitters of genocide. The thing that disgusted him as much was that he was about to return the favor. He wasn't sure he could live with that, but what choice did he have? They refused aid, they knowingly committed genocide. She claimed they had nothing to do with the taint bomb, but she had lied about the rock why not that too?

"Very well, I'll give you a choice then." Fine, time to see if these three had any decency in them at all.

"As you noted, we are armed aggressors. We have a nuclear weapon which when detonated will likely destroy your entire society. Unless of course you are so technologically advanced that you can prevent it. Which would also prove you have a level of technology suitable for assisting the survivors on Earth, and thus prove just what kind of monsters you are for refusing to aid them. So, you are going to let me speak with your people. I would like to know if I am about to commit genocide myself, or if everyone here is a monster like you three and thus I'm just engaging in self defense. I admit it is possible that you as leaders here may be keeping your people in the dark about the survivors on Earth. If they prove to be innocent then you three have a choice to make. You can submit to justice and die to save your people, or I will detonate this weapon and destroy you all."

Doug chuckled like Raider had said something amusing. He sent, "It's over Raider. The core problem isn't these three, it's cultural. I wish you had my extra senses. The interesting part of this conversation has been where they've told the truth.

"They really do believe none of this was their fault. They really do believe this has all been our fault. Just think about that for a moment."

"They really believe the rock wasn't their fault. That's why they haven't bothered saying they were sorry. Why should they be sorry? It's not their fault we're diseased animals who shouldn't be alive. Their ancestors were right to move the rock."

"They didn't punish Mr. Yellow because he didn't do anything wrong. They were telling the truth when they said he was a perfectly normal person for their culture and it was our fault for being here. They really believe it was totally unreasonable for us to want to check them out after the rock. It's not their fault we survived."

"These people have been here for thousands of years. In all that time, their leadership never changed their mind about the rock, nor did they do anything with the Earth other than to send down the odd exile. I *still* think with perfect information we'd trace the taint bomb's technology to one of those, but that's a different issue and we don't have perfect information. Do you really think that these four have been in charge all that time?"

"So let's say you get them to agree to help at gun point. We leave, they turn on the field... do you think their grandchildren will feel bound to help a bunch of diseased animals who aren't supposed to be alive to start with? The killer is you and I will be dead or insane in a few weeks, they'll be right. The Earth seriously needs them, but that's nothing new. They're not going to help, and that's nothing new either."

"The situation is what the situation is, and the brutal truth is they deserve to die for what they did and we're far better off without them."

Raider agreed, Doug was right. They were a constant threat to the people of Earth. Where Ashley felt the best chance for humanities future lay with the moonies, Raider just couldn't agree. They might indeed be more likely to survive than those left on Earth, but what it was all coming down to was a choice between us or them, and that was no choice at all. There was no arguing, Doug made perfect sense. Every second Raider waited was another second for them to pull some sneaky move, but pulling the trigger on a nuke... one of the dreaded Burn weapons, and using it against hundreds or thousands of beings, made him cringe inside. No matter of their guilt or not, Raider knew he would be wracked with guilt for the rest of his life over this.

Just a few seconds more to see what they would say to his ultimatum and then he'd pull the trigger, he would do it.

Doug replied with cold anger back at Rebeka, "Liar? Monster? Truth? Remember last time we were here? Let me just refresh your memory."

"You told us how you didn't expect us to survive the burn, but then you found out that we had. You told us how your people had this huge debate among yourselves on whether or not to destroy the comet. Some wanted to, most apparently wanted 'nature' to play itself out. And that's over and above you sending the occasional exile and even scout to Earth, meaning you knew it was inhabitable."

"You've known about us all the time. So let me say back to you, Liar. Monster. For future reference, treating people like diseased animals says a lot about you. Ditto tossing around extermination effects. And after all that you have the gall to claim that it was our fault for coming here to investigate you?"

"And let me remind you about something else. We practically begged you to take war and genocide off the table the last time we were here, and you refused. You personally wouldn't, or rather couldn't say that your people could live with us alive. You're the one who wanted genocide to remain an option. I hate you. But I hate you for what you've done, not what you are."

"So don't blame us for taking you at your word, you wanted this. You even deserve it."

"We never claimed ignorance of the ability of the planet to sustain life, such as it is. We are not willing to return to the Earth until it has been cleansed of the radiation that has poisoned the water, soil, and air. That any human being survived the Burn was impossible to predict, that enough would survive to establish some tenuous civilization was equally impossible to assume. All of this however does not matter, not to us. We seek isolation and the apotheosis of our plan. All we wish is ..."

Rebeka was rudely interrupted by an explosion within the room, or what seemed like one. All present except Raider were thrown to the floor. They sat up, some slowly, some immediately and looked to the end of the room. Where the doors had once been there was now a blob shaped void, the walls, floor, and ceiling were still smoking where they terminated abruptly. Within the new space floated a figure of pure yellow-green energy. Below were the severed forms of both Adam and James.

Adam was clearly dead, the forward half of his body was gone, his guts had spilled out when his body fell and his head was nearly gone completely. James was still alive, though bleeding heavily from the stump of what had been his good arm and the diagonal wound that had removed part of his hip and upper leg on the same side. The lower portion of that leg stood by itself next to him as though nothing had happened.

Doug simply righted himself. {Flight on} He surveyed the situation and moved to help James.

Adam is dead. Darn it. No exploring other solar systems, or even moving people to the city.

Doug asked, "What happened?"

For a moment Ashley floated where she was, stunned by the rapid sequence of events. Then she spied Adam and James and her luminous mouth fell open in dismay.

"Oh no..." She propelled herself to the floor and knelt down, forcing herself to look at the gravity of their injuries.

"I came here to try to stop you from blowing them up...but Adam said he was trying something new just before...I didn't have time to stop him. I only wanted him to open a portal not... Oh god, Adam..."

Doug pulled out a tentacle of eufiber and pulled it around James' severed leg, then did the same with James' severed arm... then he paused to see what the Moonies reaction to all this was.

The three Lunars looked up; the explosion had rolled and pushed furniture, and tumbled them down. Rebeka had a dazed look as she tried to figure out what had happened. Thomas moved immediately, and with purpose toward the two downed novas, he assessed Adam's mortal remains, and, with not even a second thought, moved to James' side. "This man is badly injured," he said, stating the obvious. "The wounds were partiall cauterized however, otherwise I suspect he would already be dead." Doug had already applied a tourniquet to James' arm but the wound at his hip was too massive to accept one, the man's pelvis was sliced cleanly through and the wound extended up into his waist.

Thomas pushed Doug aside and laid his hands over the hip injury first. A blue white glow poured from his hands and James gasped, whether in shock or pain, it was impossible to tell. As he did so Rebeka managed to get to her feet and help Aaron up as well, the other man was cradling his arm which looked broken. "What happened? Who are you?" She was staring at Ashley, her form still composed of yellow-green energy.

Thomas removed his hands from James' side and moved over to be seated next to his missing arm where he laid his hands once more onto the fallen nova. Doug got a good look at the results of Thomas' healing. The bleeding had stopped and new skin had covered over the wound. The skin, and the nub of a regeneration leg and hip, matched that of James' inhuman limbs. For his part James had evidently passed out from the shock and pain. He barely stirred as the Lunar nova healed his arm and a short tentacle began to develop there as well.

"I...oh right, you never saw me like this," Ash realized.

A moment later she was human again; body coalescing from energy like ice freezing out of water.

"We met before. I'm Ashley. I came because..." She nodded at Doug and Raider. "...these two ditched me on the surface, and I was afraid of what they'd do without a voice of reason along for the ride."

She looked reluctantly back at Adam. "This wasn't part of the plan," she admitted in a choked voice. "I only asked him to send me here. He...he wanted to try something new."

This situation had gone from bad to worse. There was no way now to blow up the moonies without losing either Ashley or Doug or more likely both. "You healed, James. Why?" Fuck, these people were such bastards.

"You let hundreds of thousands on Earth die, but you save James? Is it just because he was right here in front of you? Don't you realize people are dying just as gruesomely down there every day? Don't you people have any compassion at all for those who aren't bleeding on your floor? Or is it like Doug said, you will be happy when the Earth is empty of people so you can toss another rock in good conscience without getting blood directly on your own hands? Believe me or not, but I really did not come here hoping to destroy you, I came hoping you would have compassion and help those who need your help."

Doug commented to Fox over the link, They did not, Thomas did it on his own. Looks like doctors are the same everywhere. Our issues with them aren't any specific bozo, it's cultural.

Thomas looked up at Raider with weary eyes, "Shut up, just shut up."

"Thomas," Rebeka started but cut off at Thomas shot her a look.

"No. I'm done with this." He turned to the novas, "We did what we did. The reasons really don't matter at this point. Do they? What was done is done. You can carry out your plans to wipe us out. Or not, but think about this; if you do you'll be destroying a significant part of the remains of humankind.

"Regardless of the reason behind that choice, that's what you'll be doing, killing thousands and cutting the population of humankind down by... what? Forty percent? More? Less? I don't know, and I doubt you do either." He stood up, James still unconscious beside him. "I don't condone what was done before me. Nor can I accept blame for what has happened to you since.

"You want to know why we haven't gone down there to help? Two reasons. Firstly to do so would be a death sentence. The Earth is contaminated with radiation and tainted quantum forces. And secondly because we are isolationists. If the second reason is not enough for you, the first ought to be." Rebeka looked livid but said nothing, and Aaron simply stood by quietly waiting to see what they would say.