With his arm around her and his face absolutely beaming, Felix escorted Maddison toward the Emissary's pod. Maddison was so mesmerised by the luminous craft and her vision still skewed from tears that she didn't even notice the Emissary at first.

"Niezen!" Maddison cackled, "so, you pulled it off and saved this sorry lot I see," she laughed obnoxiously. Before Lloyd could answer Maddison recognised Eva and was on edge immediately, just until she noticed the Emissary. Felix had to tighten his grip on Maddison's arm as she fainted.

"There we go, she's coming to," Felix announced softly as he cradled Maddison on the ground after she passed out. "Hey Maddie," he uttered in a relieved voice, "try to stay calm, you're not hallucinating."

Maddison rubbed her eyes as she sat up, "but she's a traitor, what's going on here?" she demanded while staring down Eva.

"First of all, I'm done with the military, so call just me Lloyd now and she, she saved us. Felix was there, he watched her kill Sova," answered Lloyd holding Maddison's hand. She looked to Felix, he smiled saying nothing. "But before you get up, I have more to tell you," declared Lloyd in a serious voice.

Maddison cringed knowing what was coming, "who made it?" she uttered in a low voice.

Lloyd sighed, "it was horrific, but we won in the end. We would all be dead if the Drusai hadn't helped us, but the price was high. We did lose Baxter, only Felix was captured that day."

Maddison's face turned bleak, "Who else? No more padding just tell me," she demanded.

"Alright," Lloyd paused taking a deep breath. "Carl, Fletcher and Sunisa all died re-taking the ship," he told her as she started to weep. "We lost most of our forces. Only four Troopers came out unscathed and two Medics. There were a dozen critical that we lost in the hours following and another six with less serious injuries that will recover."

"I should have been there," mumbled Maddison.

"No!" cut in Felix, "then you would have died with them, you know you're not a fighter and besides you thought I was lost, I can only imagine you would've been unable to fight anyway," argued Felix.

"What about Chance? Did anyone find him?" she asked reluctantly.

"He wasn't in the battle, he was cowering inside," answered Felix trying to hide his malice, "when Eva set me free I chased him down but he got the upper hand. Luckily Argai heard my thoughts and came to my rescue."

"So he's dead?" Maddison asked seeking confirmation.

"Yes. And good riddance," answered Felix, "but there's something else I want to ask you." Maddison's face relaxed, "did you find some weird artefact back down South?"

"Find?" she scoffed, "Argus and Ronai conned me into touching it, why, do you know what it was?" She asked with a slight lingering fear in her voice. Lloyd and Eva both snickered.

"Oh yes, we have a pretty good idea what it was," he chuckled as he pointed to the Emissary's pod. "You can come out now," he called to the Emissary who smiled and waved to Maddison as she popped her head out.

"Ehh!" Maddison shrieked, "What the fuck? I made her?" She asked looking to Felix for reassurance.

"Well sort of, but we're really glad you did," added Lloyd, "she saved our skins, we were convinced the end had come."

Felix placed his hand on Maddison's shoulder, "maybe it would be easier this way." Relaxed by his touch Maddison closed her eyes, and began to see images through her minds eye. As if reliving Felix's memories she watched on as Eva slaughtered Sova and his men before setting Felix free. The chase after Chance and the showdown resolved by Argai. Reuniting with Lloyd in the aftermath and the monstrous clash of the Titans. All leading to the divine intervention of the mysterious Sphere.

Maddison opened her eyes, her pupils retracted back and she took to her feet. Without a word she approached her twin with slow confident strides and set about with an inspection. She poked and she prodded with no regard for privacy or personal space. Satisfied she had checked it all she righted herself, "yup, a perfect clone," she concluded.

"Actually, I am not a clone. Although my appearance is identical, I am fully synthetic," corrected the Emissary.

"Wow, you sound just like me. Oh, so you're an android?" Maddison asked giddily.

"Correct," the Emissary nodded. Maddison was delighted at the thought of her actions having created an artificial life form of such beauty and complexity.

After Maddison was up to speed with everything, the Emissary utilised Tarraxen technology to tend to the wounded from the battle. The Medics sat back watching intently hoping to assist or learn something only to realise they felt like butchers by comparison.

With the wreckage of the Crius laying thoroughly defeated in the background, the small fires that littered the hull had all burnt out. Eva had hoped to clear her mind with a walk until something caught her cognisance. She squinted trying to focus on but she couldn't make it out with the naked eye. She put on her helmet to extend her visual range. She gasped and ripping her helmet back off she sprinted to find Lloyd.

Hearing Eva's voice calling for him Lloyd sprung from his seat, "what's wrong?" he demanded as if woken from a deep sleep until he saw her face.

"It's the Crius, there are survivors on board still," she blurted out.

Lloyd's face remained unchanged. "What did you see?" he asked with a reserved tone. She looked roguish as she took him by the hand and led him away without a word.

Strung along a panel of the wreckage facing the Emissary's pod was a large white cloth, presumably a bed sheet, flailing in the wind. Lloyd couldn't imagine the Colonel leaving many able bodied Troopers on board when the final charge was made.

"Should we have the Emissary finish them off?" asked Eva, her sanguine expression startled Lloyd as her pleasing appearance caused him to forget what she was indeed capable of.

"No," Lloyd responded bluntly in an attempt to dismiss any blood thirsty thoughts she may be have been harbouring. "It is very unlikely that there are many military personnel left that aren't incapacitated or worse. Besides there could be support staff that were under oppression by the Colonel."

"And What?" she snapped, "you want to filter through all the survivors to determine who may have been innocent don't you? Or worse, treat all the wounded indiscriminately?"

"Actually," he hummed pondering briefly, "that is exactly the right thing to do." Eva scowled looking down and away from Lloyd. "It's not up to us to determine innocence. All we need to do is get them all back to Gaia."

"You're wrong there Lieutenant," she snarled looking up slowly as Lloyd glared back at her. "My assignment boils down simply to determining the innocence of others."

Lloyd scoffed, "well how about I just give you a knife and send you in?" he mocked.

Eva reached down drawing her blade, "no need, I have my own," she hummed calmly before turning to head over to the crash site. "You can time me while you're at it," she said half turning her head back.

"Hey!" Lloyd yelled, "that's not funny!"

Eva stopped, her back still to him. She hesitated trying to collect her thoughts whilst allowing Lloyd to think she was intending to proceed. She walked back, stopping directly in front of him so close they could feel each other's breath. "I want you to realise something," she spoke calmly. Lloyd raised his brow ever so slightly, "I could pull rank if I was under the impression you were failing in your duties as an officer. But quite frankly."

She paused long enough to force Lloyd into breaking a sweat, his heart now racing. It had occurred to him that he had no idea what rank an Inquisitor even carried. On top of that Eva was still yet to sheath her knife, a condition scary enough to rattle any of them.

"Quite frankly Lloyd, you are an outstanding officer, an extraordinary man and if I do say so myself, rather easy on the eyes too," she said keeping her face completely neutral. Without hesitation she gifted him a peck on his lips now blue from holding his breath and she walked off. Utterly stupefied until she had moved from his sight, Lloyd regained motor function and looked behind him to witness her strutting away and slowly sliding her blade back into it's home.

With Felix and Maddison informed of the Crius situation they started planning on how to deal with the potential threat. Lloyd attempted radio contact from the Behemoth but all bands were dead. Not wasting time Felix called on two hunters to accompany them. Felix and Lloyd each grabbed a rifle and started the walk over to the remains of the Crius. They stopped to inspect the Behemoths abandoned on route, all systems inoperable but noted they should ransack them for supplies on the return trip.

Stopping half way, roughly a kilometre from the Crius, they waited a few minutes. No one took a pot shot, nor was there any other sign that their presence had gone noticed. Felix pointed his rifle skyward, Lloyd chuckled and followed suit. The pair fired a handful of alternating bursts, then waited again. A few minutes passed and an airlock opened manually, with his arms raised a Trooper approached them with a slight limp. He stopped fifty meters away and turned on the spot showing he was unarmed. He came within ten meters of them, his eyes fixated on the two Drusai the entire approach.

"That's far enough," instructed Lloyd and the man complied. He was injured, but there were signs of medical attention to his lower left side. Felix had the Drusai pair hold position while he and Lloyd approached the Trooper.

"Name and Rank?" barked Lloyd. The man trembling, nodded incessantly.

"Ye-yes Sir, Lieutenant, 2nd Class, Stanley Chu, Sir." His response was shaky, the man was clearly overwrought. Felix could sense the man wasn't trying to be deceptive, he was genuinely petrified by the sight of the Drusai. Felix turned his head in to whisper as much to Lloyd who delighted in the information, laughing aloud, further unsettling Lieutenant Chu.

Lloyd cleared his throat remembering he was supposed to be intimidating, "how many are on board, Chu?" he asked forcing his voice to its deepest tone.

"Seventy five Sir, including myself Sir," Chu answered swiftly, he must have known it was going to be asked of him.

"How many of your survivors are military personnel?" Lloyd asked with more prudence.

"Uh nineteen Sir, all others are non-military personnel Sir," Chu's voice was starting to shake less.

Lloyd rubbed his chin, "I take it you were all too injured to accompany the Colonel's failed ground assault campaign then?"

"Some Sir, after we lost power and crashed many of us were already willing to surrender. The Colonel executed some of his own men for cowardice as he put it Sir. May I ask what will happen to us now, Sir?"

"I want all personnel able to move to line up outside in rows. After our inspection, you will be notified of our decision," stated Lloyd coldly.

"Yes Sir understood," Chu answered then left to return to the Crius.

Lloyd decided to stir him further, "oh and one more thing Chu."

Chu stopped frozen before planting the ball of his right foot and turned back, "yes Sir?" he asked nervously.

"If a single weapon comes out that door, or I find any of the injured in possession of a weapon then my friends here are going to have their way and eat you all, dead or alive," declared Lloyd trying to keep a straight face as he pointed back at the Drusai.

The remaining blood drained from Chu's already pale face. "U-understood Sir, we already sealed everything in the armouries with plasma torches Sir!" he called back frantically then hobbled back to the Titan as fast as he could.

The pair of Drusai looked oddly at one another, they laughed in unison as they agreed that humans were a rather savage race.

Chu was true to his word, all the personnel filed from the wreckage and were counted and noted including those unable to move on their own. No weapons were found where they shouldn't have been and the Crius survivors were then instructed to remain on board until their ride arrived at which time Lloyd and his forces would return to escort them. Lloyd however had neglected to inform those of the Crius that it wasn't another Titan en route to evacuate them. This wasn't so much an unintentional oversight, as it was more so a case of Lloyd not giving a shit by that point.

With the Crius situation taken care of for the meantime, everyone set off for the long walk back to Argai's camp. Tents were offloaded from the Behemoth and were erected in the village. No one had been game enough to sleep in such a flimsy structure with so much unknown danger present, but with the safety of their Drusai hosts Lloyd had no objections. The surviving hunters of the Southern tribe headed home to inform Ronai of their victory and allow their wounded to rest. Without Ronai of the South and the tremendous effort of his people there was little doubt the battle would have been lost. A week later Ronai and his hunters returned to join in the celebration. They had taken longer to return this lap, stopping to acquire meat for the feast. But first, the death ceremony. Ronai and Argai had spoken with Felix and Lloyd to advise that the Drusai would send all their dead to the afterlife together, Drusai or not. Argai had emphasised that having fought and bled together there would be no segregation for this ceremony. The human guests stood back in awe, watching in silence as an enormous pyre was amassed. Not since the times when the Drusai fought amongst each other had so many been lost in a single day. With the fallen set into place, Argai approached Lloyd with a torch.

Felix unable to contain his jubilation stepped in to state the obvious. "Take it buddy, you're the victorious commander," Felix translated for him. Lloyd lowered his head to Argai then accepted the torch. "Just walk over and light it, but when you get there hold it along the base and walk around the whole thing until come back to the start again," Felix instructed.

"Got it," Lloyd replied shooting Felix a determined nod as he stepped forward, "wait, what do I do after?" he stopped to check.

"Shit sorry, make sure you don't let it go out. Bring it back to Argai, he will light the feast fires with it after," Felix elaborated with an apologetic shrug. Lloyd stared Felix down for having almost allowed him to ruin the ceremony before he refocused and approached the pyre. Just before he extended his arm to spread the flame, the Drusai began to chant. Low to begin with, the sound intensified as the pyre began to catch. The Drusai continued to chant, slowly swaying their heads side to side until Lloyd had completed the circuit and returned the torch to Argai.

Leaving the pyre to blaze wildly the party prepared for the festivities. Felix was adamant that Lloyd's role had now finished and tried to reassure him so. In the following days soon after the humans had departed, the smouldering coals would have lost their glow and the Drusai will take a handful of ash for each of the fallen. They take the ashes to a sacred place to be dispersed when the next rain falls, so the fallen can return to planet itself.

As the pyre burned in the background food began to appear, the female Drusai had been foraging whilst the males gathered fuel for the pyre, as the winds changed the scent from the mouthwatering meats dripping fat over smoky coals filled the air to the enjoyment of all.

There was dancing and much more upbeat chanting, most of the humans sat and ate their fill, watching as the Drusai celebrated the lives lost that day in a more positive light the humans couldn't quite fathom.

Despite numerous attempts, Maddison and Eva could not convince the survivors of the brig to join in the festivities. Sova's men had neglected to inform them during their captivity that sentient life had been discovered. Understandably the Drusai with their impressive stature were quite daunting. One of the younger women decided she would try to push herself to step outside and see for herself how the feast was progressing. As she opened the Behemoth hatch Maddison was there to receive her, however a pair of Drusai walked by at the most inopportune of moments. The young woman stood fast, her face mortified as she tried to assimilate the bizarre concept of alien humanoid life. Ultimately her psyche could not process what her eyes had provided her, in silence she slowly retreated back inside closing the hatch.

After the night of the feast, Felix sat with Argus helping to sharpen some spears when movement caught his eye. He looked over to catch Lloyd just as he was stepping out of the tent allocated to Eva. So of course, Felix called out, "woohoo! Way to go buddy, proud of you," Felix laughed with two thumbs up, Lloyd flipped him off whilst mouthing something inaudible and moved away.

In a short amount of time Maddison and the Emissary had formed a strong bond. With virtually identical personalities they became inseparable, except for the handful of occasions where Felix had confused the pair. Once he groped the Emissary inappropriately much to his own embarrassment. The Emissary however with a face of stone was sedate and rather confused by Felix's reaction each time, as though she did not mind at all. To spare Felix from further awkwardness, and to make it easier on everyone else, Maddison asked the Emissary if she would like her hair cut. The Emissary agreed cheerfully and Maddison took her aside to perform the makeover.

"How do I look?" the Emissary asked whilst she ran her left hand through her ear-length hair flicking it upward.

"Stunning, I might just do the same when I get home," smiled Maddison flicking her own hair about. She noticed the Emissary had gone quiet after she mentioned her home. "Emmy, what will happen to you after we leave here?"

"I do not know. As an Emissary my task will be completed once the Tarraxen agent arrives," she answered bluntly.

"You won't be decommissioned will you?" Maddison snapped.

"Most likely, but I can not confirm," replied the Emissary.

"That's outrageous!" Maddison barked, "you're sentient. You have rights just as we do," she declared angrily. "And you know what, calling you the Emissary is just ridiculous, you need a proper name."

"A name?" the Emissary asked with a puzzled look, "but you already call me Emmy, is that not to be my new name?"

"No no, that's just a nickname, just like how Felix calls me Maddie. It conveys affection and is often said more casually," explained Maddison.

"Yes, I know what a nickname is, I do share your brilliance," she smiled but then the Emissary paused a moment. "But I do not know of a suitable name," she confessed softly.

"That's ok, I think I have one," boasted Maddison, "how about we call you Emelia? And that way I can still call you Emmy too?"

She smiled back at Maddison, reborn with a new style and new name to match. "I love it, thank you, Maddie," Emelia beamed. Maddison reached out to hug her and they both felt a great sense of comfort as their bond continued to strengthen.