Layla and Arius wanted to sneak into the temple. Two guards were outside, dressed in plain white cover-alls. The men didn't try to stop the pair, but made no secret of working their communicators. Arius swore. They couldn't afford to make enemies, but they could not negotiate passage off the planet with security guards. The pair were still conflicted on how to convince the others, whether they should try and be legitimately helpful, proving their worth, or whether they should continue Layla's approach of begging for assistance.

Arius had a thought. "Those are Chotek Model 19 rifles. Full auto. High-explosive. And in perfect condition."

"So?"

"Layla, those are Quorum issue rifles. Which means those are Quorum bennies." His voice lowered. "We're surrounded by the enemy. We should go."

"No. Play it cool. We're a couple of idiots who thought this would be a great vacation and it just didn't work out. We've still got a little cash, we can try buying passage and hope for the best. At the least, if we offer a wad, they won't think we are criminals."

"Hmm, offering armed Benefactors a wad of cash. They definitely won't think we're criminals."

Clara and Parasite were in the foyer, past the massive stone columns and exterior door, when Layla and Arius caught up to them. Marshe was nowhere to be seen, but voices were coming from the chamber at the end of the hallway. Layla could tell that they were using the lights she had left behind to do their work.

"Lazy", she whispered.

Clara turned. "What?"

Layla tried to blush. "Sorry! Hey, tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah. Marshe wanted to get a start on it."

Marshe received the message from the guards and returned to the foyer. Her hand rested over her navel, on the grip of her holstered gun. She was furious.

"You fucking did this, didn't you?"

Layla staggered back from the rebuke. "N... no?"

Arius put his palms out. "Wait a second. We aren't responsible for the damage. Well, I'm not responsible for the damage. She might be, a bit."

Layla sneered at Arius. "What is your malfunction?"

Marshe's temper flared, the muscles in her jaw worked back and forth and she grew several centimeters; the vision intimidated everyone in the foyer. "Come with me."

She turned and stomped deeper within the temple. Arius raised his hands in mock defeat and followed after the woman. Layla rubbed her temples before settling into line behind Arius.

Layla almost protested out of principle at the use of her lighting equipment, then thought better of the objection. Arius peered around, realizing that Grigory and Meghan hadn't really done much damage. Meghan had surreptitiously used an explosive to lock the door in place. Grigory had used another to open it. The dust was still scattered to the corners, revealing the solar system on the floor. The altar was scorched and covered in soot and unburnt oil, and clearly out of place. The massive stone had traced long scores in the floor, pushing a pile of dirt into a mound on the opposite side.

A voice resonated, though the mouth that spoke remained out of sight behind the altar. "The object is not here. Do we have an assessment on when the ceremony might have been performed?"

Marshe's hand tightened around the grip of her gun, as she made eye contact with a guard next to her. The speaker behind the altar rose, a mop of black hair on a lithe frame.

Layla let out a sigh. "Oh."

She felt her face flush, full of blood, and her head grew heavy for a moment. Arius laughed at the ceiling.

Ina turned her head slowly, and met Layla's gaze. "You?"

She watched the hormonal response. Layla's face went from shocked and nervous to cold and panicked. Body temperature rose, heart raced, blood pressure spiked, and pupils dilated. Ina's symbolic interpreter made all this obvious.

Ina shook the sensory input out of her head, returning to the raw data in her mind, and shifted her gaze to Marshe.

"I know these two."

Marshe seemed confused and began to protest. Parasite and Clara entered the altar room, and Ina used the distraction to weave around the chamber and place herself in front of Layla. Ina embraced Layla briefly, though the woman didn't raise her arms in response. Layla let her breath out, and felt her body muscles relax. Her head limply fell on Ina's shoulder, just for a moment.

Arius spoke up. "Ok kids. Ina? Does that mean my brother is here?"

Ina looked at Arius over Layla's shoulder, and shook her head. "No. We diverged. He desired to become a mercenary, while my intentions were separate."

Layla placed her hands on Ina's elbows and pushed away gently, and looked at the woman's face.

"You're working for the Quorum."

Ina turned her back to the woman and stared at the wall, smiling honestly.

"You never said anything about having a problem with them."

Layla ran her hand through her hair and dropped her head again, staring at the floor, thankful that Marshe remained silent.

Parasite forced his way into the conversation. "Ok, so you've been here before. Can you walk us through what you know?"

Layla looked to Ina, her glance asking for permission. Ina turned, wondering why Layla remained silent, and nodded. The red-haired girl began to speak.

"Well, it's a long story. There used to be a relic here. We came for it, were successful, but it was stolen from us."

Arius rolled his eyes and looked at Ina, picking up the conversation. "I think there's something we need to talk about. Privately. Can we discuss this somewhere away from people with guns?"

Ina nodded in confused agreement and directed her attention to Marshe. "Cantor, I do not believe there is anything here for us. I am going outside to consult with these two."

Marshe nodded, the purple draining from her face. Her hand hovered above the grip of her pistol. No wonder these people are at war, thought Ina.

Layla, Arius, and Ina strode past Clara and Parasite, out the foyer, and past the two guards. A kilosecond passed as the trio walked along the dirt road. Arius watched to make sure no one had followed. If the Quorum used sophisticated monitoring equipment, of course they'd hear the conversation, but he considered the attempt enough to satisfy his paranoia.

Layla took Ina's hand as they walked and said, "Grigory and Meghan betrayed us. We found the artifact here, number five, and they took it and our shuttle and our ship. They sold out to the Ura."

"Yep. Boss lady ran into a snag. They got all our artifacts, including the blade you donated to the cause."

Layla shook her head. "It'll work out. I don't have any other choice. Ina, what are you doing here?"

"The same thing as you, I suppose. The Orb of the Prophet."

Layla nodded, shocked. "This is my... shit... if we're both after the orb, does that make us enemies?"

Ina pushed off the path and into the foliage. She found a fallen tree, bent and broken but still attached to the trunk, and used it as a seat. "We can't share?"

Layla and Arius sat on the make-shift bench.

Arius grumbled. "Ok. Let's try this again, except with some actual answers. Why are the Quorum involved? And the Ura?"

Ina looked at Layla for a long moment. "I don't think the Quorum know much about you. What they do know is my fault. I'm the one who made the connection with the Book of Life."

Layla scowled. "The book? Ok, but the Ura attacked Alef Qeryh. And you're at war with them."

"My sister. If she hadn't been there, I wouldn't have been involved with this."

Arius rolled his eyes and leaned towards Ina with an outstretched hand, accusing with a finger. "Your... sister... works for the Ura. Fantastic. How did that happen?"

"She was on the same station where I met your brother. She must have left with the Ura during the chaos."

Arius said, "The same station, huh? I don't know that story. Ina, did you know you have an interesting personnel record with the Quorum? It was locked, but Grigory managed to get ahold of it along the way."

Ina shrugged and gave a careful glance at the sky. "What does it say?"

Arius temper flared into his eyes. "Don't play games. I hate being deceived, I can't stand how you Quorum think it's ok to always talk in half-truths. You and your 'sister' have got me caught up in your pointless fucking violence."

Layla put her hand on Arius' shoulder. "Arius, I understand your frustration but not what you're saying. Ina, is there something I should know?"

Ina stood from the fallen tree and walked backwards. "Arius, I really don't know what the record says about me. I've never seen it."

"Ok, well, then do you mind if I share? There's no biological record for anyone named Ina Kurosawa, and nothing matching the scans you left behind on the Destiny. But you've got synthetic eyes, and they left behind a registration code. That code links to a civil id with a secure segment. Grigory got ahold of that data, and it was the designation for a generation ship. Would you believe that? Under construction, named Project Kurosawa," Arius said. "What do you make of that?"

Layla watched with an upset, confused expression. "Arius?"

Ina looked at Layla. "I see. Layla, Though I do not know if he is aware of this, Arius is right." She dropped to her knees, leveling her eyes with Arius and Layla as they sat on the tree.

Arius continued, "Mass designation, just over forty kilograms. There's pictures. I thought it was a joke at first."

Layla crossed her legs and peered at her crew mate through narrow eyes. "Arius, I don't understand. You didn't tell me because...?"

"Honestly, I didn't make the connection until Ina talked about her 'sister' on Alef Qeryh. Your sister wasn't exactly on that cruiser, was she?"

"My sister is... was... the computer core of the Quorum generation ship Eres. She was onboard the heavy cruiser, most likely in control. She sent a drone to the planet's surface and organized the bombardment of that temple. That event freed us all."

Layla slumped forwards on the log, resting her face in her hands. "How can that be? Aren't those computers huge?"

"Yes, until me. Layla, the Quorum government constructed me to communicate with some sort of alien weapon. The Ura are with my sister for the same reason. You talked about the Dragon of Heaven when we last met. I think perhaps this threat and your dragon are the same. So we followed the Book of Life using the scans I collected before I gave the sword to you."

Arius crossed his arms. "So you're a glorified Quorum drone. Do your buddies back at the temple know?"

"I'm not a drone. They do know."

Layla slumped forwards, feeling slightly hollow. "So all of this, you're just following your programming. Ina... shit. Why did you..."

"I don't know what to tell you. I hate the idea that I exist only so the Quorum can find some advantage over the sector governments, or prevent the reverse. But I don't think I can be free until the events surrounding my creation are resolved."

Layla sniffed and spoke, her voice trembling with anger, while her eyes scanned Ina's waist and clothing for signs of a hidden firearm. "It's not a weapon. When I'm through with it, you'll understand. I think you were made to do what I'm supposed to do. But I don't see how you could do it. And even if you can, it has to be me, because otherwise, I'll die. I don't understand how the Quorum could even know enough to make you."

"My sister touched the Dragon and her body was ruined. The Quorum and Ura were only involved when they came to regard the Dragon as a threat."

Arius thought for a moment. "Well, you said it would work out, boss. Ina, can we join your little troupe? Until we get back on our legs, as it were?"

"I can make that work," Ina said. "Layla?"

The tall woman's face was red and her hands trembled with rage. "How can I fucking trust you? What happened on... after Qeryh... you were playing me then, weren't you?"

Arius blinked, discomfort flowing through his face. "Trust has been a bad thing for us, lately. Can we just get off this rock?"

Ina shook her head. "I didn't do anything wrong. Layla, until you told me, I didn't know about any of your business. I searched and I found these people. I learned more about myself. I didn't lie to you. But I want to stay alive, so I chose not to tell you something important. I don't think I would have survived if I had made other choices. Tell me I'm wrong."

Arius sighed and shook his hair out before speaking slowly. "The Ura have our stuff, Layla. If we spend any more time on this planet, we've lost. If Ina and the Quorum are our enemies, we can't take on the Ura and the Quorum, so we've lost. Time to rethink this. Sounds to me like the three of us all want the same thing: for everyone else to stop fucking with us."

"Yes. I'm not your enemy."

Layla nodded, breathed deeply, and pursed her lips. "The next stop is the kingdom. The orb was the map. Shit... Grigory and Meghan took it. And my ship. I don't know if they wanted to go themselves, or they were just turning things over to the Ura. Until this cycle, I thought the Quorum were in the dark about this."

Stirred by the approaching six-wheeled vehicle, brown leaves broke from branches along the side of the path and swirled into the air. The car ambled by the three at a fast jog, and then came grinding to a stop, leaving a meter of dirt road plowed behind it. Parasite jumped out of the cabin and raced towards Ina.

"I'm a freaking genius. Say it and I'll tell you what I did."

Ina looked at the creature, mechanical chest puffed out, synthetic eyes full of pride. "Parasite, you're a genius. What did you do?"

"The orb was wrapped in cloth. The kind of cloth, well, it's woven with piles, like little fingers. Like carpet or velvet. Nanofiber stuff. Holds shape."

Layla stood excitedly, understanding. "And you can reconstruct the Orb."

Marshe and Clara had left the vehicle and moved to stand behind Parasite. "Yeah. Exactly. We won't get fine details, but we have a place to start."

Marshe glared at Layla. "Ma'am, what happened to the orb?"

Ina turned and nodded to the Cantor. "Cantor Marshe, these two are allies. They can help. They require passage off this planet."

Marshe growled and acceded. "Fine. Understand that I'm the Mission Commander here. Cantor Marshe. If you're with my team, you follow my orders. If that becomes a problem, I'm very familiar with all of the airlocks on the Suijin. Clear?"

Layla nodded while Marshe continued. "Great. Then get back to the temple, get to work imaging the entire place."

Arius hesitated. "Not trying to be rude, Cantor, but you won't leave us? I've been lied to a lot lately."

Ina shook her head and answered for the grumbling leader. "There are still others in the temple. We have to separate for now, but I will meet with you both on the ship. The Suijin is an excellent vessel. I know nothing has been resolved, but we will finish this. Trust me, just for a little while?"

Arius sighed. The pair watched the group return to the vehicle and vanish down the dirt path. He looked at Layla with a hopeful glance. "Look, I won't judge you just because you fucked a robot. My brother used to do it all the-"

He was cut off as Layla's fist slammed into his abdomen. Arius stumbled backwards, the air knocked out of his lungs. He cackled a dry laugh and fell on his backside, trying to catch his breath.

"Why didn't you fucking tell me?" Layla gasped through a sob.