Titus' eyes snapped open as he lunged from his bed into a ready stance in the middle of his floor. His muscles tense and breathing heavily, Titus quickly took stock of where he was. His room. Just his room. His room and his bed were supposed to be a safe and secure place. But the bed that so quickly soothed him to sleep could quickly become a reality of horror and sleeplessness. His dreams always got worse when he was stressed.

Titus stepped into the bathroom and quickly wetted a washcloth with cool water. Placing it on his forehead he strolled into the living room and sat on the couch. Glancing at the clock he recognized the time was 0600 and he didn’t need to be at the launch bay to head to Juno Station until 1000. The Council had been happy with their discovery and had approved a mission to track down the ship.

"Well if I can't sleep, I guess I'll read a book," Titus announced to himself. That seemed all he could do anymore to distract himself, get lost in a story and escape his own stark reality.

Titus sat for a time, engrossed in a large volume, when there came a knock on his door. Sighing, Titus strode to the door and opened it. "Venna!? What brings you here?"

"A couple of things. First, I wanted to tell you that I am happy that you recovered so well. I didn’t get a chance to mention it yesterday when we saw you."

"Thanks. Yeah I noticed you were a bit distracted yesterday and then in the afternoon we all got caught up in the discovery you and Benjamin made. It is good though to be out and back on my own two feet."

She smiled slightly. "The other thing I wanted to talk to you about… well… Benjamin and I were talking about the investigation and we think that the chances of us finding something we can use are slim at this point unless we bring in more teams. I’m worried that without any idea exactly where they went or who they were, it will be difficult to track them any further in a reasonable amount of time."

"I totally agree. I requested more teams to assist us from the council. They agreed to give us anything we needed to help solve this case. They recognize that whoever hit us was extremely good and needs to be stopped before this happens again."

"Well that’s good.” Venna looked a little surprised at the information. “I hope more teams will help us nail these bastards. We really need to find who was responsible. Plus I think having backup is important. I was a little nervous on the last mission to extract Salverton that we didn't have any backup."

Titus nodded at her statement. "Hopefully this pans out, but if not, there is something else I found at the morgue. It is a last straw, but I think it could pay off. I can't say much now, but just know that by the time we get back from Juno Station I will possibly have confirmation of new evidence."

"That is great news. Let me know if you need any help once there is more certainty about this lead."

Titus gave a slight smile and a bow of his head. Titus looked at Venna and considered his observation of her from the previous day. Her distracted and sullen look was mostly gone with the hope of the new leads, but Titus could still see a remnant in her eyes. “I’m actually glad you stopped by. I feel like I have not had a chance to welcome you onto the team yet. We had to hit the ground running. Do you have a minute to come in?”

“Sure boss.” Venna’s eyes slipped to the floor as she took a tentative step into the apartment.

Titus recognized her apprehension and hesitation. “There is nothing to be worried about. Basically this just an informal initial counseling.”

Venna nodded and moved toward the living room. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and clasped her hands together in front of her.

“I can make us some coffee or tea." Titus offered, in an effort to set a more casual and relaxed tone.

"Sure, I'd love a cup of tea," Venna responded.

After ushering Venna to a seat, Titus came out of the kitchen with two mugs of steaming tea. "I hope you don’t mind black tea. I prefer my tea black so I don’t have any cream or sugar."

"That's fine. I actually prefer black tea as well."

Titus pondered where to start with Venna. She had only been with the team for a short time and still didn’t feel like he knew how to approach her.

As both of them sat quietly sipping their tea Venna looked up opened her mouth for a second then quickly looked down.

"You seem like you want to ask me something but you are unsure of how to ask it, or if you should," Titus observed.

Venna glanced up with the cup of tea resting before her lip. Her eyes searched Titus' face. Then she let out a soft chuckle. "No. It's nothing. Just glad to see you fully functional."

Titus gave a silent grin and subtly bowed his head. There was a slight pause as Titus gathered his thoughts. With a shallow breath, he started. “Being new to the team, I just want to touch base with you. The council requires all team leaders to conduct an initial counseling on new team members and an annual assessment.” He waited a breath to gauge her reaction. “My goal in this initial counseling is to get to know you better and for you to understand my expectations.”

Venna nodded her understanding and took a sip of tea.

“I have read your file and know some of your operational history with your previous team.” There was a slight pause before Titus began again. “I assume that the reason for your reassignment to my team won’t be an issue for you?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Venna shook her head. “There is no problem. The past is behind me. I have moved on. It will not impact my abilities.”

It sounded to Titus that she was talking more to herself than to him. He felt that there was something there. For a split second he considered digging a little, but suddenly considered how he would feel if the situation were reversed. He shuddered thinking about someone even asking him about his past. The memories were at the armored walls of his mind, clamoring to gain access. Before they battered down his defenses and flooded back in, Titus squelched the voice in his head telling him to ask her more and instead continued on. “Well, you know how I like to operate my team. Last mission is a good representation of how I like to run operations. My leadership philosophy boils down to a few things. I expect each person to leverage their skills toward the mission objectives. I am always open to suggestions, opinions, and advice, but don’t undermine or disregard the decisions I make or the orders I give. Finally, don’t let personal issues interfere with the mission.” Titus gave another slight pause. “Any questions?”

Venna shook her head no. “Those sound like perfectly reasonable expectations to me.”

“Good. So with that out of the way, I would like to understand you as a person a little better. I am always curious to ask about what is not in people’s files. For instance, if you could be anywhere in the solar system doing anything, where would it be and what would you be doing?

Venna smirked up at Titus. “I wasn’t expecting such a casual lighthearted question from you.”

“Why is that?” Titus asked.

“You just come across so… so… Well I just wasn’t expecting it is all.”

At those words it was Titus’ chance to smirk.

“But anyway, to answer your question, I would have to say On Earth at my grandparents house playing chess with my grandfather.”

Titus’ eyebrows raised as he looker up at her. “That sounds absolutely peaceful. I take it you are close to your grandfather?”

“It was peaceful. My fondest memories. I was very close to him. Unfortunately, he passed a few years ago.” With those last few words Venna’s voice dissolved like the last vestiges of snow on a warm spring day.

Titus recognized the evident sadness in her tone and decided to change the subject. “So why did you sign up to be a part of Ab Aeterno?"

A light flickered in Venna's eyes as they snapped back into focus. She had obviously given this a lot of though and was energized to get a chance to explain herself. "For starters, I hate bullies. People who know what they are doing and that it is wrong, but do it anyway because they know they will easily get away with it. So often they get away with it.” Venna’s grip tightened on her mug. “Their smugness is what really gets me. That look they give to the authorities that says, 'Yeah I did that and there is nothing you can do about it'. I saw that look all the time during my stint in law enforcement on Earth."

"I was Mars law enforcement." Titus interjected.

"I didn’t know."

"Being Earth law enforcement had to make it a little easier. At least you weren't on a colony or Mars."

"In a sense I agree with you, but ultimately Earth is worse in a different way. Earth is like a rotting log in the woods. As you are hiking and step on the seemingly stable log, it crumbles beneath your feet and you are thrown off balance. The government has long ceased to really care about its people and progressively has begun to view them as no more than a convenient work force to develop better technologies than other competing planets. It's all so corrupt. It has become so prevalent that truth is essentially a mirage. Only the upper echelon of society experience any amount of power, but in the same sense they are the most ignorant or apathetic to the corruption."

"Wow I didn’t realize that you were this passionate about the political and social climate of Earth." Titus chuckled.

"I'll spare you the in depth analysis of the failings of this current government." Venna laughed. "Essentially, political corruption makes a law enforcement officer's job extremely hard. We got a lot of those smug faces I was telling you about because their corrupt political patron was no doubt going to get them off the hook. So to finally answer your question, I joined Ab Aeterno because I was sick of feeling powerless and I wanted to make an actual difference."

"That is admirable. It is good that you are a part of this company. You are just the type we need."

"Oh? And what is that type?"

"People who like to get justice for those who can't get it for themselves. You are not just someone who likes to get paid to kill and blow things up. You seem like a person who genuinely seeks justice. And I know for that fact alone, you fit in here."

"Well thank you. I feel I can say the same about you. You seem the kind of guy that looks to do right. Maybe you should get a pat on the back yourself." Venna smiled a warm closed mouth grin.

Titus's face grew dark. "No. I deserve no pat on the back. I am no one to be honored.” Storm clouds coalesced behind his eyes. “I deserve far worse than I have received. Far worse." Titus looked down with his hands constricting around his tea cup.

They both sat in silence as they sipped on their tea. Titus studied his bookshelf and Venna stared into the depths of her tea. Both so lost in thought that they were unaware of the awkwardness of their silence.

Venna sat in silence for a few seconds longer then raised her head. "You know… I don't believe you. Nope, I don’t. I may not know your past, but as I have gotten to know you a little over these last few weeks I don’t see a man who deserves that kind of self assessment." With that, Venna stood and walked to the door. "I do see that you care about justice and I am happy to be on your team. I agree with you that I fit in well, and a lot of that has to do with how you and Benjamin have accepted me to the team."

"You have definitely proven your worth already. There is no doubt about that. We are glad to have you.” Titus smiled and suddenly realized that he did not feel like he was faking or putting on a face. With that thought, the smile faltered for a second and then faded to a pleasant neutral set. Titus glanced back at Venna wondering if she had seen his smile falter then addressed her. “Unless you have any questions of me, that is all I needed to talk to you about."

Setting the tea cup on the table near the entryway she turned. "Sir, it was a pleasure talking to you. Thank you for your hospitality." She turned and left the apartment, quietly closing the door behind her.

Titus remained sitting there. His eyes locked on the door. The past was always approaching him from different directions. He knew he should have asked her more about how she was handling her past experiences during this transition to Achilles team. Titus knew that his guardedness about his past had contributed to not asking her. He hadn't expected Venna to be the one to bring up those memories. Usually the status quo between Benjamin and himself was to let the past be. Venna seemed different though. Titus was not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Reflecting on the conversation, he wondered what Venna had wanted to ask him. The way she had looked at him with the tip of a question on her tongue seemed almost like pity. And then there was the way she had described him as a good person. Hopefully as she transitioned onto their team she would not continue to think so highly of him or even worse pity him. That could be dangerous.