I waited until we were in hyperspace before I started to tell Kara my story. We were in a small cabin and I used Presence to soundproof it. Each morning she would leave to get breakfast for us, and I would talk about everything that happened, then she would get us supper. Each night, she would have me create a Presence Wall between us and we shared the bed. She always ended up staring at me before she fell asleep, though.

This continued on for about five weeks. To say she was shocked at what I told her was an understatement. She had a hard time believing that I had defied the Goddess and had stayed on Relique, especially since to her, we had both appeared at the same point in time when we returned. Travelling with magic seemed to have some weird rules to it and she couldn't understand how I could be alive for seven hundred years and still only look a few years older.

Kara almost died of shock when I told her what my hair had been like when I had returned and had hidden it from her. She knew I was telling the truth, and yet, she still demanded proof. I had to chuckle at that and showed her the footage from my bar escapades on Chaofaris. She watched it with rapt attention and had me replay it when it was done.

“Can you give me a copy of the data you have? All of it?” Kara asked and motioned to the screen.

I laughed and handed her several data chips. “Have fun.”

“Thank you.” Kara said and stored them, then she went quiet and looked into my eyes. “You're really that old, aren't you?”

“I am.” I said.

“Why do you still act so immaturely?”

“Why do you always act so aloof and unapproachable?” I countered, then I smiled. “Actually, these last two months you've been personable and downright warm towards me, even when you were trying to be distant.” I said. “I should be asking you what's wrong.”

“Nothing's wrong.” Kara said. “You were just too confrontational to notice before.”

“I was the one that was confrontational?” I laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“If you just did what I said back then and became the man I wanted, all of this could have been avoided.” Kara said. “Instead, you fought me nearly every day and ran away. Now you've committed an atrocity so huge that everyone will know your name.”

I laughed. “You're assuming The Order tells anyone that it was me.”

“Oh, they will.” Kara said. “You killed the council and whoever comes in to replace them will tell everyone that you are responsible.”

“I hope they do, because right after that, an anonymous tip will tell everyone who it was I killed.” I smiled. “What will people say about that?”

Kara tried to respond, and sighed instead. “It will discredit The Order.”

“Yes, finding out that an assassin business was run, right under your noses, and no one except a few key people had any idea they were so closely tied to The Order, will make a lot of people angry.”

“You want that, don't you?” Kara asked.

“No. Making them angry at The Order isn't my goal.” I said.

“What is your goal?”

“To stop them from automatically trusting The Order. It's not all powerful and it's not all encompassing. Why are they in charge? Why are they going onto planets and imposing their rules and beliefs on people?”

“It's the will of the Goddess.” Kara said.

“Yes, and we now how much she treasures her followers.” I said with a chuckle. “She just wants as many followers as possible and she doesn't care how or why she gets them, as long as she does.”

Kara couldn't refute that, since that was exactly how they did things when they find a planet that doesn't have an Order temple or church on it already. They even install offices on space stations where there is almost no external Presence, which makes no sense, except to maintain control and stay in the public eye.

There was a short buzz from the intercom to get people's attention. “All hands. Exiting hyperspace. We will arrive at the sacred site in two hours.” A voice said and then clicked off, then Kara let out a sigh.

“It seems our alone time has come to an end.” I said.

“We still have two hours.” Kara said, then she caught her breath at what she had just implied.

“You still want me to be what I can't.” I reminded her. “Until you can look past what you want, so you can see what you can have, you are always going to be disappointed, no matter what you are doing or who you are with.”

Kara didn't like me reminding her of that, so she turned away and stayed quiet for the rest of the trip.

We arrived in orbit and Kara brought me over to the shuttle ladder. I had changed out of the master robes and into pants and a shirt, just so the people at the focusing crystal mine wouldn't automatically think that they had to 'knock me down a peg' or to 'show me my place'. I was going to take The Wise One's advice and I was going to do my best to not cause trouble.

“I don't know why they won't let me escort you to the surface.” Kara said.

“They don't want you to witness the conditions they have the prisoners working in.” I said.

“Wh-what?” Kara looked at me with wide eyes.

“You didn't know that they make people mine the crystals?”

“I did, but... you're supposed to be in chained servitude. I thought that meant like a butler or servant.”

“Nope. Hard and dangerous physical labour. See you later.” I said and started to climb the ladder.

“Wait!” Kara exclaimed. “You knew and you wanted to come here anyway?”

“Yeah.” I said and climbed back down. “There was no other way I was going to get here.”

“But... we could have...”

“Did you know where it was before coming here?” I asked and she shook her head. “I was fortunate enough to have found the data on the other site and also discovered inside information during the raids that allowed me to approach the planet without being shot down. I mistimed the mission and that gave me away, so then I had to cover it up.”

Kara sighed. “Hunter, I'm not going to see you again for a while, am I?”

“Do prisoners have access to communications consoles?” I asked and she shook her head. “Then yes, it's going to be a while.”

Kara's hands started to reach for me and she stopped herself.

“Do you want a dramatic goodbye?” I asked her.

Kara took a breath and let it out. “No, I... I don't deserve it.”

I chuckled. “Okay, then.” I said and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then I climbed up the ladder. I closed both hatches and Kara looked up at me as the shuttle disengaged from the ship. “Oops! I almost forgot to do this.” I said and used Presence to carry my words to her, then I stopped hiding my Presence and let my full abilities out. I saw her react and gave her a hug with Presence, then I touched her Presence center briefly.

“AHH!” Kara gasped loudly and dropped to her knees as she had an orgasm. “HUNTER!”

“I guess that was a little too much.” I said. “I'm sorry about that. I didn't know you were that sensitive to sharing.” I used Presence to form a pair of lips and kissed her on the lips. “I'll ask you for forgiveness when we meet again.”

“You damn well better!” Kara nearly yelled, then she slowly stood up and walked over to the closest window and looked out at the shuttle. “Why can I still feel you?”

“My detection range is two miles.” I said and she gasped again. “Here's the limit. Goodbye, Kara.”

“Goodbye.” Kara said and then she was gone from what I could feel.

“Master Hunter, can you tone it down? I'm having a hard time flying with the distraction.”

I chuckled. “Of course.” I said and formed a barrier around the pilot and he couldn't feel my energy anymore. He relaxed and flew the shuttle down into the atmosphere. It was very rough, because there was a storm raging not far away, and I thought that Monna would really have enjoyed this insertion a lot. That made me laugh and I kept it from the pilot.

He flew us down to the designated spot and two male Order members waited there with three guards and what looked like an administrator. As soon as the shuttle landed, I thanked the pilot and opened the side hatch, stepped out, and closed it again. He took off without being told and left me alone with the waiting party.

“I felt you from two miles away.” The administrator said in a bland tone, even though she was mentally shivering at my appearance. She was a handsome woman and her strong Presence was trying its best to not be overwhelmed by mine.

“You don't have to struggle against the feeling.” I said. “I can tell you're not openly hostile.”

“You killed nearly fifty million people.” She said, but not angrily. She was just stating a fact.

“I wasn't really trying.” I joked.

Two of the guards laughed and they were glared at by the two Order members. They shut up immediately.

“You aren't going to fight this, are you?” The administrator asked. She stopped trying to fight against feeling my Presence and her eyes widened as my Presence didn't overwhelm hers like she thought it was going to. She was surprised that there wasn't any resistance as her Presence moved and shifted through mine. She had never felt anything like that before, because there was always conflict. Always.

I gave her an award winning smile and held my hands out to the guards. One of them stepped forward and produced a pair of the restrictive magnetic cuffs and put them on my wrists. I pulled my Presence back to what they thought was a more manageable level in their eyes and they all relaxed. When he knelt to put on the ankle ones, the administrator waved him off.

“We can wait with those. It's a long walk down to processing.”

“Why can't we ride one of the low quality crates and have one of the workers push us down there with the cargo movement handle?” I asked and everyone looked at me with surprise. “No? Well, walking it is.” I said and started walking towards the shipment warehouse.

It took them a minute to realize I was leaving without them and they scrambled to catch up to me. I held in my laugh as they did and tried to get back into a proper escort for a high profile prisoner.

“I think riding the crate is a great idea.” One of the guards whispered.

“Quiet.” Another said. “We can try it later.”

I had to laugh that time.

“Is this funny to you?” One of The Order members asked.

“Kind of.” I said and gave another smile to the administrator that she tried to ignore. “I think I'm going to like it here, and that's odd to say about a place like this.”

We entered the shipment warehouse and walked to the back, the same as it was at the place I had been, and it was almost the same distance to the junction. Instead of going to the mine, they turned and went in the other direction towards the administration facilities for the automated refinement factory. We stepped through a full body security scanner and they didn't find anything on me.

The administrator nodded to me and gave me a smile. “I'm glad you didn't try to smuggle something in that we would have to confiscate.”

“You mean something like this?” I asked and reached into my pocket and pulled out one of the desserts. “I was saving this for when I met someone special.”

The administrator stared at the dessert and then at my face. “What... how...”

“I just came from The Order's home planet and I paid a visit to the food vending area before I went to the council.” I said and handed it to her. “if you know how to prepare that...”

“I do.” She said and took it tenderly.

“Well, enjoy it.” I said, then I spoke and used Presence so only she would hear. “I hope you know that it tastes ten times better with a partner to share it with.”

The administrator caught her breath and looked at me with wide eyes. “Ten... times.”

“All right, into the booth.” One of The Order members said and tried to shove me. His hand bounced off of my shoulder and I didn't move. “Huh? What?”

“Do that again and I take your hand.” I said to him.

“You can't threaten me! I'm an overseer for this mine.” He said.

“It wasn't a threat. It's a rule.” I said and turned to the administrator. “My hands are a little confined. Do you want to help me get out of these clothes?”

She gave me a surprised face for a moment, then reason overruled her. “Please step in and strip off the best you can.”

I gave her another smile and stepped into the booth. I quickly took off the shirt and hung it up on the hook there, then I started to take off my pants. I covered the men's eyes and let the booth operator, the administrator, and one of the guards watch.

“Hey! I can't see! I'm blind! BLIND!” One of The Order members yelled and started to flail around and the other men started to do the same. The three women exchanged looks and then looked into the booth at a fully naked me. I waved to them, pointed to the men, and pretended to laugh.

All three women burst out laughing and the booth operator turned it on and I had a nice cleansing shower. The door opened on the other side and I was next to the booth operator.

“I suppose you're going to keep my clothes.” I said to her.

She nodded and opened a compartment that was filled with shrink wrapped bundles and towels. I quickly dried off with a towel and handed it to her, to her delight, and she handed me a bundle. I opened it and stepped into the bright yellow jumpsuit.

“Who can I complain to that I look like a farglesnap (banana)?” I asked.

She laughed as she imagined peeling me out of it and pointed to the administrator.

“Hi, again! I'd like to make a formal complaint.” I said.

“Noted.” She said with a smile and motioned to the men. “Would you mind.”

“Oh, right.” I said and absorbed the Presence covering their eyes. “I didn't want to blush if they stared at me for too long.”

The three women exchanged glances again and looked back at me.

“I was joking.” I said. “I just wanted to keep my modesty with them.”

“Not with us?” The booth operator asked, surprised.

“You were going to see me naked anyway.” I said with a grin.

She blushed a little at the implication, as did the administrator. The guard just gave me a normal smile.

“Don't do that again.” One of The Order members said angrily.

“You just have to stop trying to look at me when I'm naked and everything will be fine.” I said and looked at the administrator. “Are you taking me all the way down to the mine or is this where we part?”

She seriously debated breaking protocol and wanted to take me all the way there herself. “This is where we part.”

I gave her a slight bow and turned to the guards. “Let's go. I don't have all day to hang around, you know.”

The female guard chuckled as they surrounded me, then the two Order members led the way back to the junction and down into the mine. This one went down a lot further than the other one, which meant it had been worked on for a lot longer.

Does that mean the other planet had a new mine? I asked myself.

“Here we are.” The Order member in front said when we entered the mine and stood on the large platform. “This is my area and you will not cause problems.”

“What if I'm in his area?” I asked and pointed at the other Order member.

“It's the same area!” The first one said.

“Well, that's not fair.” I said. “Shouldn't he have a turn being in charge?”

“This is a prison! It's not supposed to be fair!”

“Whatever.” I shrugged and turned to the female guard. “How many prisoners can I kill before I get into trouble?”

“Wh-what?” She looked at me in surprise.

I leaned in conspiratorily to whisper loudly. “There are assassins mixed in with the prisoners. I want to know how many I can kill before I get into trouble.”

“Stop that!” One of the other guards said and put the ankle restraints on me. “Get down there.”

“You're letting me meet my new family on my own without introductions?” I asked and started to walk down the stairs. “That's not nice.” I said and reached the bottom, then I turned around to look up at them. “Hey, what cubicle is mine?”

“You have to fight for the available space.” The first Order member said with a smile.

“To the death?” I asked as I picked up his thoughts.

“That's up to you.” The man said. “Be warned that each person that dies 'accidentally' will add another five years to your sentence.”

“I was sentenced to thirty years.” I said loudly and made sure my voice carried through the entire mine with Presence. I saw the surprise on the two Order member's faces and the three guards. “What's another hundred years or so?” I asked and turned away from them and walked down into the main shaft of the mine to meet my new roommates.