The flames behind Justiciar Colban glowed white-hot, like the fear in my stomach. I recalled what General Takahashi told me was the Elusians' parting message for humanity. "Further attempts to meddle in our affairs and to exit your pocket dimension will result in permanent consequences." I had been the one who insisted that we follow this path, and that filled me with a sense of panic. However the Elusian leader knew who we really were, I might've just gotten all of Sol killed.

"Humans, here? Preposterous. That is absolutely unfounded and untrue!" Corai objected.

Colban's lips spread in a thin smile. "Should we give them a quick scan and see beyond a shadow of a doubt? If you can exonerate yourselves, by all means, use the medical scanner I have sitting right here!"

Our Elusian ally's eyes looked at the wand, caught between a rock and a hard place. "I…don't understand how…"

"I knew? One of your fellow scientists saw sense and filled the Justiciary in on everything you've been up to. You really thought we wouldn't get wind of this? Humans, infiltrating our own government in Elusian bodies? At least one of your peers had to see that as madness. By bringing them here, you endangered us all!"

Mikri seemed horrified, jumping up to protectively shield us. Guards pulled him away from us with their raisers, and the tin can reached out for us with desperation. The sullen android then shot an accusatory look at Corai, and I suspected that he was broadcasting threats to turn her into jambalaya. The Elusian's face had crumbled to horror and despair, before her eyes turned to me, searching.

"I am so sorry, Preston," Corai told me, a pleading glint in her eyes. "This wasn't the plan. I had no idea that…"

My jaw quavered, though I fought to keep it together. "I believe you. It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is. I shouldn't have trusted…my people. I've put humanity in horrible danger, and I will try to protect you from my insolence. Save yourselves."

"Corai…"

"I'm asking you to say whatever it takes so that humanity will survive. That is my wish."

Corai hung her head, then looked up at the Justiciar with a rueful expression. "Do not find fault with the humans. This was all my doing, because I could not abide how this government acts with ignorance! I'm the one who defied you and set this all in motion. They bear no blame, and any punishment placed upon them would be inflicted on a party who just wished to continue their lives."

"Please, we're sorry," I said in human English, deciding that Corai was right. I needed to grovel and try anything to avoid them wiping us out. "We really just wanted to prove our innocence. We didn't mean to defy you…even the portals, we thought you wanted us to do it ourselves, so we…did. This wasn't our idea!"

Colban squinted at me, waving a dismissive hand. "Fear not, human—I know this wasn't your idea. I won't punish your species when this was all Corai's doing. Interfering in both of your captures; she's the reason you escaped, and she killed one of my agents to do it. Giving you our technology. Releasing true enemies of the empire in the Fakra. Even her radicalized peers saw that these were bridges that went too far! This was simply the final, egregious straw."

"Think what you like. My actions were bridges that didn't go far enough." Steely defiance laced Corai's voice. "The fact that Estai and Sagua have adapted so well to our technology shows what a rousing success the human project has been. We can't cast them aside when they really are the equals we want! You won't even give them a chance to appeal, when you don't know for certain what causes this future."

"You're blinded because you care about them far too much. You ignore any outright evidence you find, when we all see the most likely explanation!"

"If that's the truth, then you should have nothing to fear in vetting those details. The humans were brought here only to guide the probe toward evidence of their innocence. I don't know why you allowed us to get here, if you knew who Estai and Sagua were all along."

"To gather irrefutable evidence on you, Watcher Corai. Besides, it was an interesting experiment to observe how the humans fared here. You were bringing them straight to us, so there was no need to track you down. Let's just say we have more than enough to put you away for a long, long time."

Colban pulled up footage from a surveillance nanodrone, showing Corai at the memorywalk facility, storming in with unbridled rage on her face as she took on that anti-human bigot. I peeked in the chatrooms to see what others thought. The Watcher's impassioned defense of our species showed vitriol toward the Elusians, by suggesting they hadn't gone anywhere through insistence on their superiority. It also demonstrated that she cared far too much about us, to the point of infatuation with our drive and precognitive abilities.

I slumped my shoulders, a little surprised that the Elusians were making no effort to restrain us. "Sofia, what do we do?"

"We let them crucify Corai," the scientist responded. "It can't be stopped. I don't even know what they'll do with us."

"They've captured us, and they know it. We could be experiments forever, and never return home—never return to our bodies!"

"It's not helpful to spiral into worst-case scenarios. Just, for fuck's sake, say nothing!"

Colban paused the video, staring down Corai. "You don't think your feelings for them are blinding you?"

"I think my feelings for them opened my eyes to how we treat people like playthings to be discarded. Is this the first time this assemblage has spoken the Fakra's name in a million years?!" she spat.

"No, it was never about the Fakra, Corai. You used them for your own purposes too, consequences be damned. The recklessness: you could've brought about our demise. For what? You are compromised!"

Colban issued a mental command, and the footage switched over to Corai and I kissing in the waiting area. The gasps at that point were almost as loud as when it first was proclaimed that I was human; was the thought that an Elusian would do such a thing so offensive? The Justiciar's features turned to a contemptuous sneer, as if he couldn't believe Corai would lower herself to such a thing. As far as this assemblage was considered, they had their "why" for her actions.

That's absolutely not the reason she helped humanity. It's so much deeper than just us…but they're judging her for loving me. Am I that bad?

The Watcher sank into the Hearthseat, her willpower seeming to fade. My heart broke in two, sympathy squeezing it like a fist, and I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Sagua placed a hand on my shoulder, though the subtext in her actions seemed to be that she wanted me to pull myself together for humanity's sake. I knew I should, but I just couldn't bear to see Corai being treated like this because of me. I would never have put her through this, if I'd been aware of what was coming.

Why hadn't my precog warned me? They were going to take her away for…at least a relative forever, because of what she'd done to help us. That wasn't fair! None of it was!

"My life for hers!" I blurted. "I will serve you in whatever way you want—just let her go! I can't let you put her away for helping us."

"Preston, NO!" Mikri screamed into my mind, whirring loudly as the Elusians continued to restrain him. "I cannot lose you. I cannot watch you be hurt and made a Servitor. Why would you do this?"

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I shot the Vascar, and Sofia, an apologetic look. "Just like you would've done for me with Larimak. Whatever you think, I'd do this for either of you too. You're my family. But I can't leave Corai to this. I can't sit by and watch."

"I do not want this, Preston!" Corai protested. "I have lived long enough. If I cannot have humanity, and by extension, you, I do not wish to persist!"

Colban's eyes gleamed with interest. "Her human lover speaks. Come up here and join us, will you? Both of you: I'll question you now."

I glanced over at Sofia to find a resigned understanding in her eyes, while Mikri bore a look of absolute rage; the Vascar's loathing for Corai had multiplied, but he had to see that this wasn't her own fault. She must be feeling so abandoned and betrayed, after her peers, who she trusted and likely worked with for millennia upon millennia, sold out her efforts to save humanity. I wasn't going to watch and be powerless as someone I loved sacrificed themselves for me again.

"Introduce yourselves. Your real names," the Justiciar said.

My partner drew a deep breath. "Dr. Sofia Aguado. I'm a researcher for the Earth Space Union, and was one of the first astronauts to cross The Gap. I recall in my initial conversation with you, I expressed that you must have cared about us—that we're special to you. I still want to believe that. I would hate to see us be enemies when…this was all needless. I want to help you stop whatever's coming."

I glanced above her head in AR, spotting her ESU portrait cast behind her; Colban already knew. "Preston Carter. I'm part of the North American Combine's Space Force. Beyond just having crossed The Gap first, I fight for what I believe in, literally and figuratively. I'll never apologize for that. I partook in multiple diplomatic missions and risked life and limb for the Vascar: for Mikri."

"I am Mikri!" the android shouted, despite not being prompted. "Humanity are a good species who have been mistreated over nonexistent transgressions. They are smart and adaptable, whatever you say. All organics deserve to have their freedom, and not to be held back from their dreams! You had to see the positive influence they had on Caelum. Is that a species you really see as destroyers?"

"Please, I know you never let us talk this through, but we only wanted to understand why we were created…to unlock the universe's mysteries. We heard not to seek you, so we went our own way to build technology. I totally get why that spooked you—we didn't know you thought we'd kill you off, man! We…I wanted to make you proud. I'm more the fool."

Colban stared at me with glittering eyes. "You didn't know that we foresaw you taking our place, until she told you! Corai spilled everything, knowledge that wasn't meant for you to possess. That was incredibly brave to try to sacrifice yourself for her, but we aren't barbarians. While I give you points for nobility, I don't desire your servitude, Preston Carter."

"Then let us help you," Sofia spoke softly. "I know you haven't liked how we wound up here, but we've gone through so much just to try to exonerate ourselves. We are an objective solution to get the information you need. We can guide the probe—in fact, we're the only living beings who can."

"Why on Suam should we trust you, when you've more than proven you're willing to conspire behind our backs?"

"Why shouldn't you? If we did anything to undermine the probe, it'd have backlash for Sol; we want to protect humanity. Besides, I know how dire the situation is—I've had grim visions of death in the near future that, the more I think about it, we literally aren't capable of bringing that sort of destruction upon you. Even if we wanted to, even if we magically caught up to you overnight, we don't have the technology to bring about your downfall."

Colban stiffened. "You've foreseen what's coming…soon?!"

"Yes, but I'm telling you, it literally cannot be us. It's not possible; you don't need to remind us that we're well behind you. You're blaming the wrong species, and my goal here is to save you from the actual root cause. It would bring me no joy to see the Elusians, a race capable of so many wonders, destroyed. Especially with what that would mean for the rest of us…peons. If they can take you…"

"Are you sure it can't be us?" I asked Sofia privately.

The scientist's features didn't shift. "Not at all. We wouldn't have to match their technology. We'd just have to figure out their hamartia, or to have the right weapon drop into our laps. I sure hope it's not us, but either way, I want the evidence. And I need the Elusians to believe it's not humanity."

The Justiciar scrutinized Dr. Aguado closely. "Then who is to blame? The Fakra? Corai loosed them into the multiverse, and they've been plotting how to get back at us for a million years!"

"I don't think there's any point in slinging around unfounded accusations," Sofia replied, shifting with discomfort. "A concrete answer gives you certainty. If it is us, then you're justified to lock us away as a threat. If it's not, then who better to analyze the future and help you prepare? All humanity can hope for is a chance to see the multiverse again."

"I would very much like to know our creators better. We're related: hominids." I tried to force my hands to remain steady, but I was jittery from the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Sweat beaded on my massive forehead. "You, um, invested millions of years waiting for us. Why would you want to start over if you don't have to? It seems like a big effort."

"Not all of us would gamble with our continued existence out of fear that our life's work may have to be discarded," Colban sneered. "Experiments fail. That's a fact of life."

"But we aren't experiments, Justiciar Colban—we're people, like you. People who can walk around in the same bodies doing the same things with the same tech as you, so you can't say we're that different. Corai could be right, and we're innocent, and then she would've helped you find out the truth. Maybe she saved the Elusians."

"My Preston, it doesn't matter if I'm right. They're going to put me away for all that I've done," Corai whispered in my mind.

I narrowed my eyes with stubbornness. "If I might add too, you shouldn't throw such a brilliant Watcher who knows more about humanity than anyone away. Her punishment is whatever, but she's an asset to the Empire. When we're innocent and all, she has a good chance of smoothing things over with Earth. We know how much she cared for us, whether she was 'compromised' or not. If you don't want to deal with us, make her do it. Easy."

"Your loyalty is admirable, and I can understand you feeling that Corai has helped you," Colban sighed. "It's rather bold of you to assume we'd want to work with humans though."

"Well, you could have that loyalty too. 'Nuff said?"

The Justiciar mulled over my words, seeming to have a private discourse with his panel and perhaps other Justiciaries. I mouthed, "I love you," at a stricken Corai, and the Elusian offered a feeble smile back. Whatever Colban's decision would be, I'd kept my cool and said everything in my power to salvage both her freedom and our ability to accompany this mission. Exonerating humanity might give us a chance at a better relationship with our creators, if that was at all possible. The empire might see our value, at least.

"You're right on one thing. We need your help with the probe, to get any surefire results," Colban decided. "You'll go with it, and we'll see what happens from there. No promises beyond that."

Sofia leaned her head back with relief, clasping her hands in front of her. "Thank you. I'm grateful for just one chance to make this right. We can fix this. You have my word, I'll do everything that I can."

The Justiciar nodded toward Corai. "Walking around in Elusian form is ridiculous though, not to mention highly unethical. I want their human bodies sent here, so they can be easily monitored."

"Very well, but please allow them to keep the nanobots, at least while they're partaking in the probe reconnaissance. They'll need it to interface with our technology and to communicate with each other in the fifth dimension," Corai murmured.

"Reasonable enough. I trust that they'll keep in mind that any aggressivity will have consequences for Sol, and that they won't try anything."

"Of course. Cross my heart." I skipped the next part of that phrase, since I very much did not hope to die or to stick a needle through my eye. Getting back to my human form would be a relief, especially with how worryingly used to this body I was becoming. "We're in this together. It'd, uh, be nice to have a few days to get used to being human Preston again."

"I'll expedite the process. You need to be ready to go in a few days time—I won't delay the probe. Certainly not with all of the chaos Corai has set in motion."

"Sir, yes, sir!" I forced some gusto into my chest, kicking into soldier mode. "I'll do anything. Anything at all."

"That attitude is exactly what unsettles us. Take Corai to the holding cells beneath the Hearth and book her for trial. This meeting is adjourned."

The crowd flocked around us, gawking as if we were zoo animals. The guards holding Mikri released the robot, who the Elusians didn't seem too worried about. I watched with distraught eyes when Corai was roughly dragged away, despite the fact that she offered no resistance. My throat constricted at the thought that I might never see her again, even while I should be celebrating the victory of getting humanity off the executioner's block for a time.

As Elusian guards herded us toward a back room, where we'd be prepped for brain transplantation, my heart was in too much turmoil to even fear the hellish procedure again. I offered up a silent prayer that Takahashi and Velke wouldn't suffer when the empire arrived to retrieve our bodies…and that we'd find some conclusive evidence with the 5D probe that would give Corai a chance at leniency.

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