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Strong Soul was expecting Paradiso Four to be a grungy and run-down planet, full of pirates and thugs, and the entire journey across hyper to the coordinates that Stargazer provided, she was wondering what they were going to find when they arrived, whether they were going to be welcome or turned away. After all, they were officially fugitives now. There weren't many places they could land without drawing attention to themselves.

She wasn't prepared, however, for the picture that was lingering on the viewscreen in front of her. A reddish-brown planet with snow-white polar caps that covered almost a third of its surface was surrounded by an immense network of industry and technology. The planets they'd visited before had all had a single space station, or at most two, but this was something so different that it took her a moment to sort it all out, and even then it was incredible. It wasn't merely a network of stations, either. There were great platforms that stretched for hundreds of kilometers, docks that looked as if they could hold three Allied cruisers in their moorings, and structures the purpose of which Strong Soul couldn't even begin to fathom. There was one, however, that stood out from all the rest, owing to the lights that she could see on the screen, and if she looked carefully through the windows at the front of the bridge, she could even begin to make them out twinkling in the distance.

"Impressive," Stargazer murmured, looking at his own screen. "Stephen alluded to the drinking establishment there." He pointed at the single satellite ringed in neon colored lights.

"Impressive doesn't even start to cover it," Night Star said, studying his own screen. "They're running a whole industry here. Even the Allied Planets don't have this kind of infrastructure at any of their planets."

"That is likely due to the Alliance's desire for decentralization. They do not wish to lose access to the majority of their technology should they for some reason lose access to a planet. Here, there is no alternative."

"Well, here goes nothing," Night Star said finally. "Micah, let them know we're here."

"All available information suggests that the inhabitants of this planet are already aware of our arrival," Micah said. "I have been monitoring sensor sweeps which began almost immediately upon us crossing the hyper barrier."

"Anyone else would have said something or wondered about us," Night Star muttered.

"It stands to reason that they have a great deal of surprise business," Stargazer said. "I do not imagine that their regular customers keep a tight schedule."

Night Star nodded and flipped a switch on his panel.

"Paradiso Four, this is the cargo vessel 'Mrr'tani Pride,'" he said towards the viewscreen pickup, "requesting docking instructions."

"Haven't heard that name before. What's your pleasure, Pride?" a rough voice answered. The screen lit up in front of both Night Star and Strong Soul, displaying a lanky-looking human man with thick, unkempt, brown hair that looked as though he'd just removed a vac suit helmet. There was a defined scar along his right cheek and while his eyes were wary, the rest of his face was welcoming and cheerful. "We've got plenty of drink, plenty of women..." he continued, then squinted into the screen. "Oh. Well, if you're into humans, that is. If not, I think there's some girl cats around here somewhere."

With Night Star's void just barely shielding her, Strong Soul could feel the press of a multitude of minds, and not all of them were Mrr'tani. One mind stood out among the rest, drawing her attention, and when she tasted it, she smiled. It was this man's. The rest of the humans she could feel were very similar, like no other humans she'd ever felt. She tasted Night Star's temper rising and she reached out with a gentle hand, laying it on his arm.

"Be calm, love," she said, "he's just being friendly. He's not trying to insult us."

Night Star turned to look at her and she felt Stargazer's curiosity behind her. She simply opened her mind to the rest of them and let them feel what she could as well.

"I think we have plenty of women, thanks," Night Star said, turning to smile at the pickup. "We can use some fuel, a bit of maintenance and a good drink. What do you recommend?"

"Go on and dock at the Spacer's Legs, then," the man said, winking. "Gotta answer a question first, though."

"Go ahead," Night Star said.

"Are y'all runaways?"

There was silence in the cabin and Night Star stared at the screen, undecided in his answer. Strong Soul studied the feeling coming off the man's mind and she finally spoke for all of them.

"Three free, one's...questionable," she said, hoping she read the feeling from him correctly.

"All right, I'll send the princess to meet you there. Really pretty tabby color, name's Jessie. She'll help you out."

"Thanks," Strong Soul said, smiling broadly.

"No worries. You need anything while you're here, just ask for Norm. We're pretty slow right now, so don't think you're putting me out."

"All right, Norm," Night Star said, tapping in the destination, "How about you come have a drink when we land?"

"Get off here in less than a cycle. I'll see you there. Don't get a chance to talk to too many pretty lady cats. Just keep your course and the bar will pull you in after a while."

The screen blanked and the four Mrr'tani looked at each other. Strong Soul couldn't keep the giggles down any longer, even though she absolutely hated the way that they made her sound.

"Seems we've already made a friend," she said through them.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but this really wasn't it," Night Star answered.

"Do you feel them?" First Spark asked. "All the other minds. They're not Mrr'tani. They feel different."

"You're feeling them through me," Strong Soul answered. "Those are the humans here."

"You can touch the human minds?" First Spark asked with wide eyes.

"I have since Silverwell. I linked with Marcus and Susan. Ever since then, I could touch some human minds."

"All of them?" First Spark asked.

"No, only those that are close to Mrr'tani for a long time. Somehow, I guess something in our thoughts transfer to them if we're around them for long."

"I told you," Night Star said. "One who can join many. I thought it was all legend and myth, too, but you really can feel them, can't you?"

"Yes. And I can tell you that we have little to fear here. There's no duplicity, no hidden emotions. They're content to let everyone come and go as they please."

"Well, we'll be able to ask them about it a little more at dinner. Looks like the bar's computer is starting its autodocking procedure. We're just along for the ride."

"How long until we dock?" Stargazer asked.

"Close to thirty minutes."

"Then I suggest we speak about what we intend to do, at least in the short term."

"What do you mean?" Strong Soul asked.

"It is clear from our encounter on Damrok that we can no longer rely on being anonymous among the Allied Planets. If they do not know the specific vessel, then they at least know the make, and that will eventually lead the net to us. We must decide what that means for the future."

"We're going to get some fuel here at Paradiso and then we're going to jet it back to Mss'ranaw is what we're going to do," Night star said, turning in his chair with a hard look on his face. "Keeper will be safe there."

"For how long?" Stargazer asked. "The Alliance knows there is a Frr'a'narr'ah alive. You know as well as I that they will never stop looking for her."

"There's a lot of space in space," Night Star said. "They'll never find Mss'ranaw."

"Keeper," Stargazer said, turning his gaze to hers, "This is your decision more than it is ours. While you know I will die to protect you, and that I wish to keep you safe, I can do nothing that you do not choose to do."

Strong Soul focused on him and felt the intensity of his feelings for her. She knew that he was devoted to her, she'd felt that in him before. What she hadn't felt before was the intense respect that he had for her. She'd always though that he regarded her as a wayward and unruly kit. Still, she had to admit that he was right.

Could she go back to Mss'ranaw? If she did, she knew that she'd be linked with all the others there. She could feel them even now in the back of her mind, the connections still standing even with all the distance between them. It was the same between her and the Mrr'tani on every world she'd visited. They were quiet, but they were there. If she went back to Mss'ranaw, she would be putting out a beacon for ever tracker to find every last refugee Mrr'tani.

There was a way around that, of course, and that was to have Night Star shield her every moment of every day. While that would work, she knew the toll that it took on him to keep her hidden, even with her natural talent of staying beneath the sensory threshold of trackers. And she knew even more intimately just how much it cost her to remain as she was now, quiet herself while the whole of the galaxy screamed at her, seeking her touch her voice. Could she return to Mss'ranaw and live mute the rest of her life?

She weighed the choices in front of her and her gaze slipped to First Spark. The young Frr'a'narr'ah had grown since they'd found her in New Mecca, but though she'd seen almost more than Strong Soul had, her eyes still held the innocence that Strong Soul wanted back for herself. She still wished on dark nights that she was sitting with her bow in a tree in Arigidbaille, under the dome and in her father's forest. If she went back to Mss'ranaw, then there would be hundreds of Frr'a'narr'ahn just like First Spark who would never see past their maturity. Neither one of them asked for what was delivered to them, but there was no denying what they had.

"We go on," she said finally, bowing her head with the knowledge of what she had set in motion.

In the dark recesses of her mind, she felt a stirring, the familiar feeling of Catcher of Souls. From that place, a warm wash of approval fell over her.

"You all know what I have to do," she continued. "It's not about the legend or the myth or the prophecy or whatever you want to call it. It's about us. I hardly knew my history when Night Star found me, and since then, I've seen so much, and my mind has been opened to so much more. You've felt a little bit of what I feel every time we cross the hyper wall. You've felt all those minds and how desperate they are to find a connection."

She turned her eyes to Stargazer's and held his gaze once again, feeling something inside her stiffen, something that she knew was being shown through her eyes.

"You know more than anyone, Stargazer. You told me when we first met how much you longed to feel the connection with a Frr'a'narr'ah once again."

Stargazer was the one to turn away first and one by one Strong Soul met the others' eyes with hers.

"But you all have only felt the barest touch of what it really feels like to have those minds so longing and so lonely, always pushing against you, having to hide what you know that you can give them. I'm done hiding. We need figure out what to do next to help the Mrr'tani. It can't just be about helping ourselves any more."

"You've got me sold," Night Star said, smiling. She returned the smile with a caress of love down her link to him. They each knew how the other felt, after all, the bond between Frr'a'narr'ah and her Frr'a'narr'ou was stronger than any of the others.

"I'll always go with you," First Spark said quietly. "You saved me on New Mecca, and now all I want to do is help save others like me."

"Then it is settled. We will continue our journey," Stargazer said, nodding. "Wherever it may lead, we will travel it together."

"Micah?" Strong Soul asked, looking at the viewscreen. "What about you?"

There was a pause. It would never have been heard by anyone that didn't have the connection they did, but it was there.

"There is a reason you have been named 'Keeper of Hearts,' Strong Soul," Micah said over the speakers. She could hear the curiosity and the astonishment in his voice. "Of course I will follow you."

"I think that's the first time anyone has ever asked a ship's AI if he was okay with their plans," Night Star said, chuckling softly. "You really are something else, Keeper."

"He's one of us now, and I know you've felt that. He'll be risking everything right alongside us. It only seemed fitting to ask."

"Not complaining, love. Just laughing. Everything is looking insane right now, and for some reason, that just made it seem even stranger."

The ship shuddered gently and Micah's voice sounded around them.

"Docking clamps secure. Airlock pressure nominal. Docking complete."

"Let's go learn things," Night Star said. "We can figure out what we're going to do and how a little later on. Right now, let's see what the chatter is about us, and what we can do to make sure that we're not going to end up vivisected, okay?"

"Lead the way, love," Strong Soul said, gesturing to the door to follow him off the bridge.