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6

Esther groaned and slowly stood up. Looking around, her visor flickered for a moment, and then went out. Swearing to herself, she reached up and hit the emergency catch to her helmet, which fell away in pieces. Freed from the restraints of her helmet, she blinked at the sudden sunlight, filtered though it was through the smoke and dust that drifted over the ground. Looking around again, she tried to get her bearings. Whatever hit her had sent her spinning end over end over the top of the hill. It had also sent her rifle flying, and she could not locate it at the moment. Looking down, she saw chunks of her armor missing, and the left pauldron had been torn from its moorings. Her plasma sword was also gone, the holding clip falling from the belt as she shifted. Luckily, she still had her side arm and combat knife. Esther's ears twitched as the gun fire continued on the other side of the hill. Strangely, she could not hear any of the Marine's weapons, and that worried her. She took a step towards the brow of the hill, when her foot hit something solid. Looking down, she gasped.

Nicodemus was splayed out in front of her. His right arm was gone, and most of his helmet lay in pieces. The single visible eye stared up at the sky, like he had never seen it before. His blood was slowly flowing down the hill, the parched ground already soaking it up. Pieces of his armor lay around him, but neither his rifle, nor the arm that held it were anywhere in sight. Esther turned away in disgust. She would morn later, first she had to survive the battle, and get whoever was left of her team out. She headed for the brow of the hill again.

At the top, Esther looked down onto a field of death. There were several large craters, bodies, and parts of bodies scattered all over the small valley nestled between two sets of rolling hills. Most of the bodies belonged to the Xelfarak, but here and there, she could see the blue armor of Clan Wolf Marines. The wind was throwing up a cloud of dust, so she could not see the ground at the bottom of the valley all too clearly. The sounds of weapons could be heard on the other side of the far hill, and it sounded like it was moving closer. Esther gripped her pistol tight, and started down the hill. If her ears were working right, she did not have a lot of time left. She needed to get her team out, now.

The entire mission had been a debacle. Not only were the Marines sent in blind, with no confirmed reconnaissance done, but the enemy had been waiting for them with three times the numbers they were supposed to have. General Gage had himself ordered a withdrawal from the planet, but none of the ships had launched the recovery shuttles. Gage had then came down on his private shuttle, only to have his own ship fire on him. The debris from his shuttle was still raining down on the battle below when word of the fleet leaving orbit came over the battle net. They left, abandoning the Marines to die surrounded by enemies that did not take prisoners. Esther's team had survived the landing relatively intact, minus some of their heavier equipment when their shuttle went up. Most of the other teams did not fare as well. At least three teams, and most of M-Twenty-Three, had gone down in the first barrage of enemy fire. That had been over three hours ago.

Esther's team, and what was left of M-Twenty-Three and M-Sixty, had headed for the space port in the hope of commandeering a ship, any ship, in an effort to get off the planet. They had been two clicks out when a platoon of Xelfarak heavy infantry hit them. Their initial attack had done little to harm the Marines other than piss them off, even more than they already where. When that had failed, the Xelfarak had brought out heavy pulse rifles and missile launchers. The heavy armor of the Marines made the weapons more or less useless, and the missiles, which lacked any armor penetration, did little to slow the Marines. Then one of the Xelfarak officers had called for an artillery barrage. That had the desired effect. However, the Xelfarak artillery was as inaccurate as their rifles, and both sides had been hit by high explosive shells and plasma bursts. One of those high explosive shells had hit near Esther and sent her flying up and over the hill. Apparently, Nic had been near her when the shell had hit. Thankfully for Esther, her armor had taken the brunt of the explosion and the impact with the ground.

Esther reached into one of her pouches and pulled out what looked like a collar with pads on the inside, and what looked like an ear plug. Hastily, she put the ear plug into her right ear, and then strapped the collar around her throat, with the pads pressed up against her throat. Making sure that the collar was secured, she gave a quick look around, and checked her pistol again. Then she reached up, and pressed the two pads located in the front tighter to her throat.

"This is Thirteen-zero-six, any M-Thirteen member respond," Esther said. Her ear plug crackled for a moment, and then went silent. Once again, Esther pressed the pads to her throat. "This is Captain Ravenwolf of M-Thirteen. Any Marine, please respond."

Again silence.

Esther began to really worry now and headed further into the valley. The gun fire was growing closer, and Esther swore she heard the bark of Marine rifles. She was halfway down when something under her feet gave way. She fell backwards, hitting the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her, and slid almost to the bottom of the hill. Esther coughed, groaned, and slowly stood up. There was another blast of the warm wind, blowing dust in her face, and then the air cleared. The view it left in front of her made Esther gasp in shock.

While there were a lot of Xelfarak bodies scattered throughout the valley, the black and red armor of M-Thirteen could not be mistaken. The bodies were mostly intact, but one or two of them were missing limbs. The armor of those visible were missing pieces or chunks of armor, but remained mostly whole. However, none of them were moving, and there was far too much blood pooling on the ground to believe that they still lived.

"No, no, no, no," Esther cried and moved across the slippery ground in a run. She saw the sergeant stripes on Cassandra's shoulder, and knelt down next to her. Cassandra was lying on her side, facing away from Esther. Her helmet was off, the shoulder length hair falling into the mud and blood. All though there were cracks in her armor, it was still intact, and looked undamaged by any energy weapon. Esther shook Cassandra's shoulder. There was no response.

"Come on, Sergeant. On your feet," Esther commanded, a hint of desperation in her voice. Again, no response. Esther grabbed Cassandra's shoulder and rolled her onto the Raccoonin's back. And Esther finally realized why her sister had never responded. As her head rolled over and flopped against Esther's knee, the burn hole in Cassandra's forehead became visible. Her eyes, glazed over though they were, gazed up at Esther almost accusingly. Esther, for the first time since her scare over her father back on the Wolf's Tooth, burst into tears. She picked up Cassandra's body and hugged it close to her.

"No, no. Oh, Cass," Esther cried. "I'm so sorry."

As she hugged Cassandra, the sound of gun fire grew even closer, then stopped. Esther looked up, and spotted those of her team that were close by. She spotted Karl's body near to where Cassandra was, with most of his face missing. She could identify him only by the markings on his armor. Further off, she could see Roy's body, a large hole bored through his armor. Then she saw Yeriel and Axel, their bodies side by side, both of them with their heads missing. Just beyond them were the bodies of Wulf, Felix, Viktor, Elek, and Kiyoshi. All of them dead. Esther looked around at her team as despair threatened to take over. She had failed them. They had followed her, and she had killed them all. And she had allowed the traitor to finalize his or her plans. She had failed everyone.

There was another burst of gun fire. The battle had now moved to the other side of the hill in front of Esther. Gently, she laid down Cassandra's body on the ground, and wiped the tears from her eyes. If she survived this battle, she would come back and see that they were properly buried. Esther picked up her pistol and readied herself to fight. As she took a step towards the hill she was facing, the silver shapes of the Xelfarak crested the hill. Instantly, both sides fired.

Esther's aim was dead on, and five of them had died before they had taken more than a couple of steps. Almost all of the shots fired at her missed, with one bouncing off her remaining pauldron and another off her left thigh. Esther moved up the hill, returning fire as more and more Xelfarak came over the crest. She aimed for the center of each of their chests, each shot a kill, the heavy energy pistol easily punching through the weaker armor of the aliens. The problem was that there was only one of Esther, and there were a lot of them. Esther ejected the spent power charge from the pistol and reloaded it, all the time advancing on the enemy. She pulled the trigger a few more times, dropping more of them, and then she was amongst the Xelfarak.

Esther punched the first alien in the face, crumpling the face plate, and caused purplish blood to leak out of the cracks. With a sweep of her arm, she sent two more flying into the others, knocking a good number of them over. Bending over, Esther pulled her combat knife from its scabbard, and brought it up into the chin of a Xelfarak's helmet. Pulling it back out, she spun around, slicing the throat of one of the aliens behind her. Spinning back around, the Marine Captain put a few more bolts of energy into a group that was advancing on her. In the space of thirty seconds, she had cleared an area around her, and once again the Marine advanced on the aliens. Her blood was up now, and she wanted theirs. Esther wanted them to pay; to die. Then she would get off this forsaken planet, find the traitor, and make him or her pay. With interest.

Again, the Xelfarak died under the quick, precise strikes of Esther as she advanced. And once again, she cleared an area around her. She advanced on the next group. This time, however, the Xelfarak were learning to stay out of arms reach. She only had so many clips for her pistol, and she had emptied three of them already. That left the one in her pistol, and the remaining two in their pouches. It would have been easier if Esther still had her rifle. It was more powerful, easier to aim, and far more accurate. She also had more clips for the rifle. It might have been a little easier with her plasma sword as well, for it had a greater reach than her knife. The plasma sword had been lost with her rifle, however, and she made due with what she had.

Esther reached for one of her grenade dispensers and pulled out the last two of her grenades. She threw one into a group on her left and the other into a group on her right. As they exploded, sending bodies, or what was left of them, flying, she advanced on the group directly in front of her. The enemy fire was intensifying as every Xelfarak in the area was called in. The communication channels were alive with frantic calls for help. Esther smiled to herself. That they needed so many of them just to kill one Marine gave her a slight perverse pleasure. She emptied the clip in her pistol into the group, watching with no small amount of satisfaction as all of them fell. Quickly, she slapped another clip into her pistol and looked for more targets, and was surprised to find the top of the hill empty. The only thing that surrounded her was a sea of bodies, mostly of Xelfarak, but here and there the blue and white of Wolf Clan Marines. She had survived the battle, she realized with surprise. Now all Esther had to do was survive long enough to get off the planet.

As Esther turned to head back down the hill, a heavier, rapid firing energy weapon opened up on her right. Most of the shots missed, and most of the ones that hit were absorbed by the armor. One, however, punched through the armor around her right vambrace, and went clean through the arm. Her pistol went flying, and she was sent over the top of the hill, tumbling down the slope to the bottom. She came to a stop with a jerk at the bottom, landing on her wounded arm. She stifled a scream as she flipped over and looked back up the hill slope. To her horror, she saw a fresh platoon of Xelfarak come over the lip of the hill, and now all she had was a knife. Esther hurried to her feet, only to see a Xelfarak with the heavy repeater come over the hill top and aim the weapon at her. Without thinking, Esther shot her left arm up in a snapping motion, throwing the knife. It flew true, and landed in the face plate of the enemy soldier.

Esther raced up the hill as her foe fell, but had not made it to the top yet when another soldier with a heavy repeater showed up. Swearing, Esther dived for the nearest group of Xelfarak as the repeater opened up. She had not quite made it when the first burst hit. The burst sent her tumbling head over tail into a pile of dead Xelfarak that she had killed only a few moments earlier. She shifted herself painfully into a sitting position, and then tried to stand up. Her suit of armor, however, refused to move. Swearing again, Esther realized that some of the power supplies must have been hit. As quickly as she could, she raised her left arm to hit the emergency release for the entire armor, only to find her hand missing. She stared at the bleeding stump in shock, and then looked up in horror as the Xelfarak closed cautiously in on her. She opened up her mouth to spit a curse at them, but the only thing that came out was a cough that brought a spray of blood.

The Marine Captain watched the repeater wielding enemy swing the weapon to point at her, when there came the sound of something ripping through metal. There was great commotion from the back of the platoon, and the ones in front of Esther were turning to see what was going on, when a whole group of them were cut in half. Bodies fell to the ground in bloody piles as a gigantic scythe, that seemed to be made of darkness, swept first one way, and then the next. Soon, the only thing standing was the scythe's wielder. Esther stared at her would be hero in amazement.

The being before her looked to be a Guarden, but one of the rare grays. Dark gray fur covered what little of the muzzle she could see, and the tail was dark on top, fading to a light gray on the way to the under part of the tail. The bare hands had the same coloration as the tail. The figure appeared to be a he and stood around six foot eight, which made him tall even for a Guarden. His clothes were the same non-descriptive color of gray as his fur, lacking any sort of decoration or contrasting color. He wore a pair of dark gray pants, the bottoms of which were tucked into soft, faded black leather boots and secured with leather ties around the top of the boots. A light gray tunic covered his chest, secured with a faded black leather belt that was tied around the waist, rather than with a buckle. Over all of this was a very dark, double cape, that was so dark that Esther was having trouble telling what color it actually was. Like the scythe, it seemed to be made of either darkness or shadows. The outer cape fell to the center of the back, while the inner cape fell all the way to the ankles. Attached to the double cape, and pulled over the Guarden's head , was a large hood that concealed the stranger's face in impenetrable darkness.

As Esther watched, the Xelfarak turned to run. The strange Guarden brought the scythe around in a wide arc, the weapon seeming to reach out and catch the fleeing aliens. Like their brethren, they were cut down like wheat in a field. And then before her eyes, the scythe changed into a spear with a long, celtic style blade on the tip. The Guarden reversed the spear, brought it up into a throwing position, and threw it at something in the distance. It flew as if it were fired from a cannon, for in its wake it kicked up dust, leaving a clear trail that the eye could follow. There was a scream of something in the distance, and then silence. The strange Guarden now stood in a sea of the dead.

Esther felt the onset of blood loss as the stranger turned toward her and knelt down beside her. This gave her a chance to look at his face, however, even this close to him, the darkness within the hood prevented everything but his muzzle from being visible. Reaching down, he easily picked up the wounded left arm as if it was no more than a small stone. Gently, he placed one of his broad hands over the stump of her hand, and turned his head fully in her direction.

"Do not believe all you see." His voice was surprisingly quiet, but with a hissing sound that reminded her of snakes, or some dragons. "You are far stronger than you realize, and you will need that strength soon. Things are in motion now that can not be stayed. Be prepared. Be vigilant. And trust your instincts. You have more of your mother in you than you can even guess." The stranger pulled his hand away, and Esther looked with amazement at her hand. It was whole again, as if it were never injured. She looked down at her body as she felt warmth flood back into it. Her armor was whole again, all the wounds gone, and all the equipment was in its proper place. She looked up at the stranger is wonder.

"Who-"

"It is time to awaken," he interrupted. "We will meet, soon enough."

* * * * * *

Esther woke with the sound of pounding on her door, and another type of pounding in her chest. Her fur was plastered to her body with sweat, and the tee shirt and boy shorts she wore felt just as damp as her fur. For a brief moment, she stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling with wooden cross beams spaced at regular intervals across it. She then looked toward the curtained, triple pane window on the far side of the room. Underneath the window was a low bookcase filled to overflowing with all manner of books that dealt with history, military arms, and westerns. On top of the bookcase was a series of stuffed animals, almost all of them wolves of some sort. To the left of the bookcase, over in the corner of the room, was a large desk covered in papers and text books. The shelves over the desk were filled with models of MECHs and star ships. A few pictures of her father and her friends hung on the wall to either side of the desk. To the right of the bookcase was a stand that held replicas of at least seven different weapons. All of them covered in dust. Over in the right corner of the room was a bureau made of dark wood, with a large cedar chest next to it, her duffel bag dumped on top of the chest. The bed that Esther was in was up against the wall, just behind the door that led to the upstairs hall. On the other side of the door was a corner table, covered with pocket data slates, keys, and all the other sort of things that Esther used in her job, including a couple of spent energy clips she had forgot to turn in.

There was another pounding on the door, and Esther sat up in the bed.

"OK," she called out, still a little confused, and now slightly annoyed. "I'm up! What is it?"

The door opened and Cassandra walked in. She was dressed in a tight fitting green crop top with short sleeves, a black mini-skirt, and a pair of strap sandals.

"It's time to get up, lazy bones," Cassandra said with a smile. "It's already past ten and you went to bed early last night. I'm starting to think Karl was right about you not getting enough sleep lately. I should talk to Doctor-"

Cassandra finally got a good look at Esther. She had walked over to the window while she had been talking, and opened the curtains to let more light in. Turning around, she faced Esther, and saw the condition her little sister was in. Cassandra instantly walked over to the bed and placed her hand on Esther's forehead.

"You look dreadful! Are you feeling alright?"

Esther pushed Cassandra's hand away and moved to get out of the bed. She now remembered where she was. She was home, in her father's house. The ship had moved into dock around noon yesterday, and she had spent most of the rest of the day getting everything unloaded and returned to the base. General Gage had called and given the team a week's furlough, so Esther, Karl, and Cassandra had gotten into a van that Jacob had borrowed and driven everyone home. The twins lived next door, and had surprised their mother with the unexpected visit. Esther had been bone tired, and after a quick dinner with the family, had retreated to her room. She remembered opening the door, but very little after that.

"I'm fine. Just a bad dream," Esther said with a slight amount of annoyance in her voice. She stood up, and almost cracked her head on one of the cross beams. Grimacing, she reminded herself that she had been quite a bit smaller the last time she was home. Esther stepped over to her bureau, shucking her shirt, and pulled out a clean shirt and bra. Putting them on, she then changed her shorts, and pulled out a pair of faded blue jeans.

"Oh, no you don't," Cassandra said as Esther pulled the jeans up. "Not this time."

"Cass, drop it," Esther warned.

"Not going to happen. And you can't pull rank on me this time either. You're going to explain to me what is going on as my little sister, not as my commander."

Esther sat down on her bed to put a pair of socks on. Jacob had bought a king size bed to accommodate the increased size she would reach when she was to reach full maturity. He had then reinforced it to deal with the increased mass. As a result, the bed made little noise and yielded very little when she shifted on it. When she had been little, the bed had felt incredibly large. Now it felt like she was sleeping in a twin.

"Cass," Esther sighed, "you know that we aren't actual sister. You only share a small percentage of your DNA with me."

"Like that matters to me and Karl. As far as we are concerned, you're family. Both you and Jacob."

"And what about your real dad," Esther snapped. "I know Karl was really affected by his death. You think you can change his mind by simply switching to mine!"

Cassandra leaned against Esther's desk and stared at her with a stern look on her face. Esther stared back for a moment, and then looked away, cursing. She was never able to hide anything from Cassandra, and Karl always had a way of finding things out . It was different when they were on duty, but when they were off duty, it was as if their roles were reversed.

"What was that dream about?" Cassandra's voice was hard, quite different then her normal jovial and friendly manner.

Esther swore again. "It was just a dream," she said quietly, almost like she was a little girl again.

"Spill it. You were having bad dreams a week before Dad was sent out into the field, and now you're having bad dreams again. I can see it in your eyes, and unlike last time, I ain't backing down." Cassandra's eyes were hard and penetrating.

Esther looked at her and sighed. "Fine. I had a dream of war. We were sent into battle, with all those who were part of the Marine Project, against the Xelfarak. I don't remember all of it, but it was a disaster. Even General Gage was killed trying to get us out. And we were headed for the space port when...it happened."

"What happened?"

Esther looked away, and for a brief moment, even looked like a little girl again. "You died. All of you. And it was my fault."

Cassandra's face softened. She then went over and sat down next to the Guarden. Circling a loving arm around her sister, Cassandra gave her a hug.

"You're thinking too hard again. You can only do the best you can. Esther, you are a superb commander. It is you who makes the hard decisions the rest of us can't. We follow you not just because you're our commander, but because you're our friend, and for Karl and me, family. We trust you. You, and you alone, have earned the respect of most of the Marine Corps, including General Gage. Esther, you are in charge of one of the most highly trained units in the Clan; of course you're going to have some anxiety. It comes with being a leader. But this you need to remember. War is unpredictable. Our job is nasty, highly dangerous, and does not have a guarantee of success. But whatever the outcome, we will follow you, trust you, and expect you only to do you best."

Esther gave her a smile. "Thanks. I needed that."

Cassandra returned her smile. "Your welcome. Now, come on. I'm starving, and I want to get some of those pancakes before Karl eats them all."

* * * * * *

Esther was helping to put the dishes away after breakfast, as Karl finished washing the last of them, Cassandra drying for him. Sandra Iason, the twin's mother, sat at the kitchen table sipping at a steaming cup of coffee, watching her two children, and their gene sister, with a content smile on her face. Anyone who knew the twins could see where they got their looks from. Cassandra could have passed as a younger version of Sandra. In her mid-forties, Sandra actually looked about ten years younger, so much so that she could have passed as the twin's older sister. It was a joke that all three of them had shared on more than one occasion. Like her daughter, the Raccoonin had her brown hair cut at the shoulders. Warm, brown eyes peered over her black capped snout. Unlike her children, she had to wear glasses, as her twenty-thirty-five vision forced her to seek for additional assistance. She could have gotten the surgery to fix the problem, but it never felt right to do so. She had glasses since middle school, and she was so use to them now, it was not worth the expense. At least not to her. Sandra's short sleeved, light blue dress stood out against the brown and black fur that covered her body. On her feet was a pair of strap sandals similar to the ones that Cassandra wore, and at five foot ten, she was the smallest person in the house.

Sandra smiled to herself as the twins argued about the dishes.

"Why do I have to clean the dishes," Karl asked. "Esther was the last one up."

"Because you ate over half of the pancakes before we even got down here," Cassandra shot back. "And you might have eaten all of the bacon, if Dad hadn't made a double batch. You know that pancakes and bacon is Esther's favorite breakfast."

"And you could have waited, dear," Sandra added over her coffee mug.

Karl rolled his eyes. "It was past ten and I was hungry. Why did we have to wait for Esther?"

"Think you idiot. Esther has twice the responsibilities that we do, and she's entitled to a good night sleep," Cassandra snapped. "If you were really that hungry, you could have fixed yourself something."

"But the Doc's food tastes so much better than the stuff I cook."

"That's because you can't cook," Esther said over her shoulder as she slipped the skillet back into its cupboard. "We all dread when it's your turn on KP."

Karl gave her a dirty look, then emptied the sink and dried his hands.

"OK, so I can't cook. I was trained to shoot things, not make edible meals."

All three women burst into laughter.

Jacob came in and looked around, a smile on his face at the scene in front of him. He was dressed in a bright blue tee shirt, a pair of jeans, and had a pair of moccasins on his feet. Jacob had seldom been home since Esther left for the Academy, and the place felt empty every time he did come home. He missed having everyone here, and it felt like a family again. There were two people missing, however, and that thought sobered him up a little. William would no longer be coming, and only God knew where the other person was now. Jacob looked over at Esther, and for a moment, saw the little girl who he used to play with when his job allowed. Of course, little was a matter of perspective. At age ten, she was already over five feet tall, and by the time she left for the Marine Academy, she was well over six feet. This exceptional growth, part of the genetic heritage of the Marines, had gotten her into a couple of fights in school with some of the more aggressive boys. Surprisingly, she more often than not talked her way out of the fighting, rather than resorting to physical violence. It turned out, her intelligence was just as intimidating as her mass.

"Esther," Jacob called. "Do you have a moment?"

"Yes, Dad," Esther responded immediately. "What do you need?"

"I want to show you something. I'm keeping that promise I made back on the ship."

"Can we come," Cassandra asked as she leaned against her brother, who stood with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Neither of them had been old enough to remember Esther's mother.

"Of course," Jacob said. "Sandra?"

"You lot go on," Sandra replied as she took another sip of coffee. "I'll be fine here."

"OK," Jacob said with a smile, and motioned for the 'kids' to follow him. The three Marines exchanged puzzled looks, and then followed Jacob to the back of the house. Past the living room and down a small hall was Jacobs office. Esther had seldom been in this room, as Jacob often spent most of his time out at the lab, or somewhere around the house enjoying the time he spent with his daughter. A large desk sat in front of a large double pane window which looked over a garden that was in need of a lot of loving. On either side of the desk, up against the walls, were two large filling cabinets. To the left of the door sat a smaller desk, completely clean save for a closed portable computer sitting on top of it. This desk faced the door. The walls were covered in pictures of Esther and Jacob, with a few shared with at least one member of the Iason family. The top of Jacob's desk was covered in scattered papers on genetic formulas, account books, and a number of unlabeled data chips. His computer was open, but not turned on. A single free standing picture frame stood on the left side of the desk, facing the window.

Jacob walked over to the desk, and picked up the picture. He looked at it for a moment, and then turned, handing it to Esther. A look of longing crossed his face as he did so.

"This is your mother," he simply said.

Esther took it gingerly, and looked at it, Karl and Cassandra peering over her shoulders. In the picture was an unusual Guarden. The female Guarden had dark blue fur, with white fur on her throat and belly. Bright green eyes stared out of a slender face, and over a long muzzle, sparkling with amusement. He mouth was open in laughter, showing off pearly white teeth, sharp in the front, gradually developing into molars in the back. Her left hand was raised to her head, holding the large sun bonnet to it as the rim rippled in the wind. Long, free flowing sky blue hair fell down from under it, only to be taken up by the wind. She was wearing a white sundress with a v-shaped throat and sunflower prints on it. The Guarden's right hand was placed between her thighs, trying to keep her dress from flying up. She stood in a field of wheat, the wheat blowing in the wind, and snow capped mountains in the far background.

Esther smiled and looked up at her father.

"That is Asena Nightsky," Jacob said. "We named you after her."

"After Mom?" All three of them looked at Jacob, puzzled.

Jacob smiled broadly. "Her given name is Ravenwolf. She dropped it quite a few years back for some reason. She was reluctant to talk about it, but she wanted you to have that name. Said that it should belong to someone strong, both in mind and body."

Karl looked at the picture for a moment. "Well, Esther got her eyes from her mother anyway. It's hard to tell from the picture, but how tall is she?"

"Six-in-a-half feet. Her slender figure makes her seem taller than she actually is."

"Is her fur dyed," Cassandra asked.

"No, that's her natural color," Jacob said. "I don't know why she's that color. Asena said that she was born with it. It's possible that it's a genetic defect, one that apparently can't be passed on. Not that I looked to hard into the problem anyway. She wanted Esther to have a normal coloration." Jacob cocked his head as he looked at his daughter. "I have no idea where the red hair came from. There is still a lot we don't understand about the genetics of the Canius race. And their origins are so shrouded in mystery that all we can do is guess. I do know Asena was extremely happy when you were born."

Esther's head snapped back up. "She was here when I was born? But I thought that I was conceived in an Incubation Shell?"

"You where," Jacob replied. "Asena was only given a few months notice before she had to leave, so we accelerated your growth rate while in the Shell. She was still here when you were taken out. Hit that button on the side of the frame."

Esther looked down at the frame, noticed the button, and pressed it. The picture switched to one of Asena holding a bundle of black fur. Her eyes where still closed, but there was no mistaking Esther as the bundle with that cap of red hair on top of baby's head. She held one of her mother's fingers in her tiny hand. Asena looked down at her daughter with a kind, motherly smile on her face. Her attire was totally different, though it was hard to tell, as the picture was only from the waist up. Asena's long hair was done up in a long braided pony tail. She wore what looked like a dark gray, almost ash colored, long coat with red lining along the large collar. Underneath, she wore a black, button up shirt and a scarlet waist coat. The background showed that the picture was taken in a lab, most likely the main lab for the Marine Project.

"Esther, your mom wanted to have you so badly, that she was willing to use the Project to get you. She would have given birth to you naturally if time had allowed. Two days after you were born, she had to leave."

Esther ran a finger along her mother's jaw, recognizing the same structure in her own jaw line. "What happened to her?"

Jacob sighed. "We don't know. She works directly for the Crown, and a few months before you were born, Asena got a private communication for a top secret mission that could take a few years to accomplish."

Esther looked at him. "Why didn't you marry her if you two loved each other enough to have me?"

Jacob ran a hand through his hair, a little embarrassed. "Our wedding was set for the month after she left. I had to do a bunch of cancellation early on, after we got the date of departure."

All three Marines groaned in sympathetic unison.

"So she worked at the Palace," Karl asked.

"No, she works for the Crown, which means she works directly for either the Prince, or Phoenix Firebird."

"What does that mean," Cassandra asked, slightly confused. That Esther's mom worked directly for the two most powerful beings in the Empire clearly meant that her power and authority superseded that of even the Free Knights and the Paladins, the specialized magical warriors that were formed to fight the supernatural. But what position could be that powerful?

"Asena is a Phantom. A very rare, and specialized spy."

Karl slapped his forehead. "Of course! She's wearing an Inquisition uniform."

Jacob smiled. "Yes. It's the best disguise we could have. And before you say anything, she is a genuine member of the Inquisition, though it has been sometime since she has used her authority. With that background, it would allow her to move around the USF territory without anyone growing suspicious."

"You're going to have to tell me how you two met sometime," Cassandra said as she and Karl turned to head back to the kitchen.

Esther took one more look at the picture before reluctantly putting it back down on the desk. Now she knew that she not only had a mother but who it was. And judging from the picture, a very loving one. Esther just hoped to meet her one day.