Hollow and discombobulated. The feeling of emptiness left Jason aching for sleep, a respite from reality, yet every time he closed his eyes, he saw the gun, the squeezing of the trigger, the slump of Donnelly and the end of her life signs.

His mind and body screamed for the opportunity to rest, but his anger and turmoil left him in a state of perpetual anxiety and frustration.

Placing the bodies of Kensington and Donnelly onto one of the beetles completely detracted Jason and the other Ravens from the victory they had just achieved. While celebrations continued as the planet had been officially restored under USM rule, the Ravens remained solemn and remorseful. When the Cetis lowered their weapons as tanks and APCs rolled into the canyon, Jason used all his might not to raise his fury against Captain Kagasawa.

Restrained by Turner, Jason's rage was initially overflowing, but now, over a day later, his rage was replaced with regret despite knowing that there was nothing he could have done differently.

The celebrations throughout the camp had been somewhat muted as the dead were laid to rest and prepared to be shipped back to the solar system. Yet to those at home, the media displayed scenes of victory continuously for hours. Despite it all, Jason did not feel victorious, he did not feel heroic or like a liberator, he felt nothing, almost as lifeless as the ones he assisted in wrapping flags around their capsules.

Laying on his bed, he twirled around a hologram of Jacqueline Donnelly as she smiled effortlessly during a brief trip they both experienced on Europa. He did not stir as the door to his cabin on the confined space of the USM Athena buzzed to life prompting Major Elijah Turner to enter.

"I would ask how you were, but I feel that would be a fruitless exercise," Turner commented, hoping to stir some response from his subordinate.

Not even moving to Turner's entrance or his comment, Jason remained fixated on the hologram as Donnelly's face switched from conversation to a giddy smile.

"An inquest has begun; Colonel El-Hadji is determined to find out what happened," explained Turner.

"And what do you think they will find?" Jason responded flippantly.

The sigh from Turner and the way he rubbed his balded head confirmed his desire not to answer the rhetorical question. "I know you two were investigating things, situations about the war, do you think this was why they killed Jacqueline?" Turner asked.

"What do you think?" Jason responded a little harsher than intended, his piercing blue eyes focused on the frustrated Turner for the first time since he had entered.

Turner frowned, before glaring back at Jason, "Do not think that you are the only person to lose someone. I have lost plenty of fine soldiers under my command, yet, Jacqueline's is the most heart-wrenching that I have ever endured. You may have loved each other, but I knew her far longer than you. She was not just a soldier or a comrade, she was a close friend. Someone I would have gladly stepped in the line of fire for."

"But you didn't did you?" Jason reprimanded, "We allowed her to go on a mission which we knew she was not mentally prepared for. We completely missed how Kagasawa had been tasked to assassinate her, and now we will stand by while El-Hadji will do all he can to manipulate the inquest to make it appear that either Kagasawa or Jacqueline were not of sound mind and the incident was a result of negligence."

"Orders are orders, Jason, don't you forget it!" Turner responded angrily.

Jason took a deep breath, realising he was taking his frustration out on, not only his commanding officer but also his friend. "I'm sorry, I overstepped."

Turner looked away from Jason. He too was angry, trapped by the helplessness of the situation that had transpired and trying desperately to determine the next course of action which currently eluded him. "Orders are orders," he sighed.

A silence descended on the room, far more painful than the words that had been previously spoken. Both men were drowned in their thoughts and sorrows, determined to find a solution to an insurmountable problem. Yet neither could unravel the chaos that plagued their minds.

"Do you think you will ever get to the bottom of this conspiracy?" Turner asked.

Jason lowered the hologram, and his sigh of exasperation echoed within the confined space. "Honestly, I don't know. It's a behemoth, and every time we gain traction it appears to get even bigger and deeper. Donnelly and I made a massive breakthrough, and as a result of that breakthrough, something in her snapped and also cost her, her life. In doing so, not only did I lose her, but also lost the breakthrough she had worked so hard to gain."

A frown appeared on Turner's brow, "I understand why you both kept your circle so small. Had I seen Kagasawa's loyalty, I would never have allowed him to accompany us on our mission."

"And what could you do?" Jason asked rhetorically, "El-Hadji would have overridden your order, or likely send someone else to do the job in his place. I have replayed the mission several times in my mind, working out ways I could have saved her. Every replay ends up the same if she had not been killed at the gate, then perhaps today as we celebrated, perhaps tomorrow as we prepare for debrief. It was inevitable, we were doomed to fail."

Turner appeared to tense up, "And as your commanding officer, it is my responsibility to protect you all against every threat. I failed you both and all I want to do is break Kagasawa into pieces right now."

To Jason, Turner was somewhat of a gentle giant, a soldier of great ability, but would always rather call for restraint than hostility. Jason had also seen him angry and his muscular physique and large frame were something that even intimidated him. As Jason watched a vein protruding out from his forehead, he knew that Turner could rip Kagasawa apart with ease and if it wasn't for his incredible self-discipline and keen intellect, Turner would have been on his way to ending Kagasawa's life.

"Elijah?" Jason commented, "Elijah?" he repeated as he could see a red mist descend over Turner's eyes.

As Jason placed his hand on Turner's shoulder, he wasn't sure if he would receive a friendly response or a huge fist likely to render him unconscious. As Turner's tense shoulders relaxed, Jason knew that Turner's rage was fading.

"I'm sorry Jason, it's not right for me to show self-pity," Turner commented.

Jason had always considered himself to have a certain level of masculinity, the unnecessary and sometimes unhelpful desire to retain all his insecurities and frustrations to himself, yet his time with Donnelly had taught him that a release of these thoughts and anxieties within a trusting environment had been extremely liberating.

"We have both lost someone very close to us, and if this isn't a time for some self-pity, I don't know what is." Jason consoled.

Turner took another deep breath before carefully standing to his feet. "Agreed," he commented sharply. "So what are the next steps?"

Jason turned his head towards the hologram that lay repeating on his bed. "I do not know," he responded, "we are dead in the water at the moment, unless an opportunity presents itself, I do not know how to proceed."

Turner looked towards the exit, before glancing back at Jason. "Whatever your next step, whatever you choose, know that I stand with you. Your maturity is far beyond your years, and your desire to do what is right may have brought you down this dangerous and painful path, but it has been an inspiration to me. Wherever you lead, I will follow."

"Uh, thank you." Jason replied, completely dumbfounded by the expressed desire of his commanding officer.

Despite Jason's unconvincing response, Turner nodded before exiting the room, leaving Jason alone with his thoughts. The pain he was feeling was crippling, yet the pride he also felt eased it gradually, and as Jason deactivated the hologram for the first time in over twenty-four hours, he took to lying on the bed and closing his eyes. His mind was still in turmoil, yet enough peace descended upon him that he could enter a somewhat disjointed but welcomed sleep.

A beeping trilled throughout the room, causing Jason to open his eyes carefully. His head thumped irritatingly, and his frustration at the trilling was crescendoing to anger, but as he lifted himself off the bed, he took to controlling his breathing to restore his sense of mental balance.

On a small screen above his bed, the words of incoming secure transmission could be seen glowing within the centre.

"Lock door," he responded hearing the sound of the security locks sliding into place. "Accept transmission".

As the screen glowed to life, he initially saw a small room, similar to his, yet with a USM dress coat sprawled on top of the bed covers. Just as Jason was to question the occupant of the message, his heart skipped a beat as Donnelly jumped onto the bed, her infectious smile lighting up the screen.

Jason didn't notice the tears form in his eyes, and as they dripped down his cheeks, Donnelly's smile gradually faded.

"Jason, if you're receiving this message, I have either been captured or more than likely, killed. As you know, I fear death, or what is beyond, something which is bizarre considering our line of work, but if there's one thing I fear more than anything else is not being able to stand side by side with you any longer."

Donnelly pushed her long draped hair behind her ears. "Since our encounter with the Duchess Heissenberger, I have not been myself, and I apologise profusely for this. In my mind, I want to embrace you, talk with you, kiss you, yet my body freezes, it shuts down as if I have no control over my actions."

She smiled, before turning away from the camera, "God, why am I talking in the present tense," she said to herself, "damn, why am I smiling, I'm not even around any longer!" she chuckled to herself causing Jason to release a little chuckle himself.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you or loved you with all my heart, and even though our time together has been relatively short, for me, it has been a revelation, a freedom that I could never express in words."

For the first time, as a tear stroked its way down Donnelly's cheek, Jason realised his cheeks were soaked from his elusive tears, causing him to wipe them eagerly.

"As much as I could shower you with compliments and expressions on how much you mean to me, I must discuss the point of this communique," Donnelly explained as she too wiped away her tears. "The data that I retrieved has gone through several relays in the Human Confederate, and at the time of this message, I had managed to locate the latest relay in Khepri, however, I believe there are a few more relays to go before the data reaches its final destination and then can be obtained. Locating its final resting place, and gathering that information before anyone else locates it is essential to dismounting General von Striken's grip on humanity."

Jason listened carefully to the information before concern enveloped him at the thought of venturing to the planet Khepri, deep in the Bernard Star System. Its level of lawlessness was legendary, and absolutely no USM officer would sanction a trip to the planet for recreational or operational purposes.

"General Proviski is alive and on the run," Donnelly sparked, causing Jason to immediately revert his attention back to the communique, "within this message are the details on how to contact him securely. Gather the information you need, as this message will need to be wiped as soon as you disseminate it."

Jason screwed up his nose, "has she put a virus..?"

"And before you ask, yes I did install this message with a virus so that when the admin looks into your console, their keystrokes will delete this message."

Jason chuckled at Donnelly's ingenuity, "Dammit Jacqueline, I will miss you."

Donnelly placed her fingers on her lips before resting her fingers on the camera. "Thank you, Jason, for everything. My life may be no more, but for the time we were together, it was absolutely worth it."

As the screen dimmed, Jason wanted to watch it all over again, yet he knew it was futile, Donnelly would have corrupted the video beyond repair with only the text instructions remaining. She was meticulous, careful and desperate to make Jason continue the fight which she started.

A new sense of urgency and hope instilled itself into Jason's psyche. A plan had hatched itself in his mind, one which was bold and quite frankly outrageous, and it required a fugitive with immense resources to help him to achieve it.

Donnelly may be gone, but her spirit and energy remained in the man that she had given her heart to, and that man, Jason Scharn just needed to get in contact with one General Vladimir Proviski to begin a plan that was so audacious, that, not only would the enemy not see it coming but that it was destined to succeed.