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The waves of hyper flowed around the ship, seen as brilliant colors the likes of which Strong Soul could never have imagined, lighted by the sensors on the Rose, and seen through the viewscreen at the most forward point on the bridge. While she never tired of seeing the waves through the viewports on the Pride, there was something majestic about watching them as Eve saw them. She didn't need to look at the viewscreen to fully appreciate them, either, with the sensor feeds a part of her conscious thought when she brought Eve to the fore.

She sat in her place, the forward-most chair in the circle of Mothers, the other chairs empty for now with the other Frr'a'narr'ahn off about the ship, seeing to their clans, finding ways to make themselves useful when they were not needed on the bridge or sleeping. For Strong Soul, this was the time that she had come to enjoy the most. The shipboard time was evening and moving quickly towards night, and the activity was winding down as those who were not required to man a post left their stations and made their way to their quarters.

The waves across the screen lulled her mind and her eyes as she sat and watched them, lost in thought. Not all of the thoughts she wandered down were her own, either. There were so many others on the ship, and they had such differences, yet beneath them all was the common cause of the Mrr'tani, and each of them kept it fully in their mind. Now that the Allied humans were off the ship, sent to their own fate, whatever they could make of it, the mood was much calmer and more content. The Mrr'tani ran the ship, and though there could have been fights and squabbling, there was little of that between the Federation humans and the Mrr'tani. The Mrr'tani recognized what the humans had given up in order to stay with them, and through their connection to Strong Soul, both human and Mrr'tani could sense the sincerity in one another, and that feeling alone went a long way to repairing whatever rifts there may have been. It helped, though that the humans that had decided to stay were the ones that always tried to make the Mrr'tani lives easier, even when it could have found them in trouble with the other humans.

The lift door behind her slid open and she paid it no mind. There were always comings and goings, especially with the ship's day winding down. It caught her off guard, though, when she heard the quiet and calm voice beside her.

"Keeper of Hearts," a familiar Mrr'tanou voice said, the tone reverent, just as she was used to, but there was also a quiet confidence behind it, a quality that rarely showed itself and piqued her interest right away.

"Yes?" she asked, turning her head to regard the newcomer.

The first word that came into her mind to describe him was 'solid,' and he was very much so. He wasn't any taller than Night Star, but he had more bulk and he seemed to take up more space, even though it couldn't have been more than Night Star when she stopped to think about it. His ears held no notches in them and they were held high, but they were also round and soft instead of the more common pointed variety as hers was. His fur was midnight black and shone with a bluish tinge beneath the bridge lights, giving him a sense of cold, while his eyes were a light violet, the color of some of the flowers outside her old cottage.

"I don't want to trouble you, Keeper," he said, bowing his head as was the custom of anyone that addressed her. She was growing tired of the reverence that surrounded her everywhere she went now, but there was no way that she could think to stop it, and so she merely stamped down her irritation and waited for him to continue. "My name is Francisco, and I haven't had the time to come and meet you again since our passing in the sickbay."

"You're the Void," she said, the corners of her mouth turning up. "I remember you. I've not had the chance to thank you for what you did. I can't imagine what it would have been like to have the sickbay workers taken over with the rest of them."

"It was my pleasure, of course. I've known of my gifts for a long time, but until now, the only thing I could do with them was keep the overseers from finding the still that some of us keep."

He was taking a risk telling her about it, but then again, she hadn't outlined the regulations for a Mrr'tani Federation ship yet, so there was no harm in overlooking a loophole, provided they didn't try her patience with it. There was something else, though, that he wasn't telling her. She could feel it nagging at his mind, as if he was struggling to hold it back, but there was also a sense of challenge with the fight. He was holding back from her, but it was for a purpose.

"That isn't all you've been hiding, is it?" she asked, her voice calm and steady.

It was just barely there, the widening of his eyes, and she might have missed it but for the slip in his control. And that slip was what she was looking for. He was a Frr'a'narr'ou, yes, but he was not nearly as trained and experienced, nor as powerful as Night Star, and with that falter, she could peer behind his veil. There she found exactly what she thought she would.

"What is her name?" she asked, holding his eyes.

"Lianna," Francisco replied. "She is the daughter of two who were lost in the fighting. I was hiding her as a favor to them. No one knew that they were mated, nor did anyone know they had a kit. I sensed her before any of the overseers, thank the Mothers, so I could keep her hidden."

"She was lucky to have you."

"Yes," he said simply. There was no reason to deny it.

"She is becoming too powerful now, isn't she?"

"We were able to get her incorporated into the ship's company, since the humans don't pay nearly enough attention. They never noticed another one, and for a time, she was just another Mrr'tanah. But you're right, Keeper, she's getting too powerful for me to hide for much longer."

"Then it's good we came when we did."

Strong Soul contemplated her options for a breath, and then another.

"I'd like you to bring her to Night Star. You and her both. He knows a thing or two about keeping Frr'a'narr'ahn hidden. After all, he was the one who hid me before my awakening. He'll help you, maybe teach you some things you don't know about yourself, too."

"As you wish, Keeper," he said, bowing again. Then he left her to her thoughts and turned to the lift door once again.

She made a note to visit to sickbay more often. Francisco was an interesting Mrr'tanou and the only other void she'd come across, leaving her intrigued. But for now, there was the problem of another Frr'a'narr'ah aboard. She was amassing a council, it seemed, though this one had not yet awakened. It left her with a quandary that needed to be dealt with.

With a touch of her mind to the spiderweb strand of link that tied her to First Spark, she sent a call for the Frr'a'narr'ah. It was answered immediately, revealing her to be in the place she loved the most, the medical bay. She would no doubt have met Francisco, and that was at least a good starting point.

While she waited for First Spark, she turned her mind towards the AI's marveling at the connection between all of them. The information flowed faster than she could keep track of it, but she didn't need to. They were able to tell for themselves what was coming and going, but she could feel the undercurrent and the tone of the communication. Some of it was simply data that needed to be shared, but there was another part of the communication that had been growing between the other AI's even before they'd taken the Rose. It was the same feeling that she had when she touched the link between her and First Spark, that of friendship. Before now, Strong Soul never would have classified any of them as friends with any other, but it seemed that she had rubbed off on them almost as much as they had on her.

They noticed her, of course, for they had attention to spare that wasn't occupied with anything important, as it always was to them. Micah had always used the spare attention to explore the links, and as time went by, she could feel more of him within their own structure, almost as if he was living amongst them, in the space between the minds, unseen and unfelt save for her and Night Star. On occasion, she knew that Stargazer could sense the AI's as well, but he never mentioned it outside of the occasional slip. She could tell that he wasn't comfortable with them, not nearly as much so as she was. Again, she marveled at just how comfortable she'd become with each of them, though Micah was still the one who integrated with her most readily and he served as a sort of interpreter between her and the others, even though they could communicate directly. She suspected it was because of his time with Night Star, and that he was used to the way that Mrr'tani thought and acted.

She chuckled quietly as she felt the answering affirmative in her mind, just a gentle nudge from Micah that told her she was on the right track. The three AI's were lost in their calculations and their conversations. She didn't even try to keep up with the calculations, but she felt the ebb and the flow of their communication, like waves on the beach coming in and going out. Micah didn't have much to do with any of it, though. He lent his processing space to the other two to give them more room to work, as the Pride was safe in the Rose's hold. It was soothing, in a way, to listen to the ordered thoughts and speech of the AI's, everything in its place, nothing out of order, everything as it should be.

The sound of the lift and the press of First Spark's mind against hers pulled her back from her lurking and she turned the chair around as the smaller Frr'a'narr'ah strode onto the bridge. The girl had grown in the short time she'd been away from New Mecca, and not merely physically, though she was a bit taller than when she'd found Strong Soul trying desperately to save Night Star on the desolate planet. It was more than that, though. She stood taller, and she walked with a subtle confidence that had been completely missing when she was younger and less battle-hardened.

That thought brought a sobering wash over her, though, and she paused with the weight of it. She'd brought a young and innocent Mrr'tanah with her on this journey and it had very quickly stolen her innocence. If she hadn't, she knew that First Spark would have been killed on that desert planet long ago, or turned into the council and vivisected to find out the secrets of the Frr'a'narr'ahn. No one knew why they did it, but the thoughts of those who voiced their opinions were that the humans were looking for the way that they communicated, thinking that if they could tap into that, then they could become Mothers themselves and control the Mrr'tani even more fully. It was something they had yet to figure out, and something that Strong Soul was not willing to give them any more victims to try if she could help it.

She knew that First Spark couldn't hear the thoughts in her mind, nor could she feel the reason for the emotions that she was undoubtedly feeling, but for her part, First Spark showed nothing but polite interest. She'd been Strong Soul's companion long enough that she knew the Frr'a'tan'lass'i'ah would speak when she was ready about what was troubling her. She simply walked from the lift to her place in the circle, calm and content.

"You called, Keeper?" she said, smiling.

"There's no need for formality, First Spark," she started, returning the smile. She could sense the teasing energy about the words and she knew that First Spark was teasing her with the title. There was no lack of respect for it, but they had been traveling together for so long that First Spark knew the discomfort that accompanied a familiar face calling her by her formal name.

"I'm surprised you put up with it as much as you do, Strong Soul," First Spark said, shaking her head. "I can always tell when you're in a pensive mood because when you are, every time someone calls you Keeper, it's a little wash of hot water right about here." She reached up and tapped the side of her head just behind her left ear. "But don't worry, I don't hold it against you."

Strong Soul chuckled and shook her head. "Oh, Rose would have had a field day with you."

"I remember your stories about her still," First Spark replied, "and I really wish that I'd been able to meet her."

"You would have gotten along well."

"What do you need, Strong Soul? I have some things for headaches if you're still having them."

"No, they're much better now that I've taken Catcher's advice and stopped fighting the links." She sighed and leaned back in the chair, considering everything that had happened and what they were sailing towards. "There's another Frr'a'narr'ah on board. Francisco's been hiding her."

"I knew there was something he wasn't telling me, but I couldn't weasel it out of him no matter how hard I tried."

"Well, now you know. I want you to teach her. She'll likely be with us for a while, and I can't risk leaving her at Mss'ranaw when we leave next. I'd have to leave someone behind to ensure that she didn't do what I almost did and turn the place into a beacon. An awakening is not the most gentle thing in the world, and I want someone there who can walk her through it and make sure that she doesn't hurt herself or anyone else."

"And you think I'm ready for that? You think I can teach another Frr'a'narr'ah?"

"I trust you more than you're willing to let yourself know, First Spark, and I wasn't much more experienced than you when you started journeying with us. You're wiser than you were, and you've grown into a fine Mother in your own right. Whenever I need you, you're there, and you never fail in a task you set your mind to. You may have setbacks and delays, but you're eventually successful, and that's why I know you're going to be the best. I don't know that the twins have room in their minds for another, but you have the practice. Will you do it?"

"Of course!" First Spark answered with a scoff. "I wouldn't ever turn you down.

"In that case, keep her with you down in the medical bay. Between you and Francisco, she'll have a good set of mentors."

"Absolutely," First Spark said, standing and turning to the lift again. "And Keeper," she said as she turned back, pausing, "thank you. Your confidence means everything to me."

Strong Soul blinked and before she could think of anything to say in return, First Spark was in the lift and the doors were closing. Instead, she sent a loving stroke of energy down the Mrr'ouwff with the mental words to accompany it. As yours does to me.