$W 12th $W January $W 2368
$W 27 $W days $W after $W the $W Great $W Exodus 

$W Fleetmaster $W Raji's $W office $W Ready $W Room
$W ORD $W Anjaneya

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: Fleetmaster Raji? I came as requested. My deputy told me that you wish to speak about Mastermind and its safety... Are you crying, Fleetmaster?

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: Dirge for Lost Planets... Prelate Musashi asked us about that during the last devotion.

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: I came at a bad time, I see. Forgive me. I will return to my duties if you prefer to be alone. 

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: No, please stay, High Magistrate...Muhammad. I really don't want to be alone now. Maybe I should be, but things are different now. Even a holo-projection would be enough company.

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: My child...I was under the impression that you are not a religious person, in the simplest sense of the word. In any case, I ordered the Prelate to avoid such devotions. We need motivational speech. People need to know that the Universe is leading us to something better than what we had. We need everyone to believe in ourselves. And we need to believe in Sanctuary.

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: Believe in what? In the promised land free of Shivans? In the schizophrenic visions of your Equilibristic mystics? Please, Muhammad. That may work for the common folk, but I'm not one of them and you exactly know why. I don't need your distractions. 

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: This is why I wanted to speak with you. Mastermind is proof.

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: The Mastermind is an alien artificial intelligence of unknown origin. We don't know where it's leading us. We know nothing about it....

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: ...

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: I don't see a reason to believe, Magistrate. When I close my eyes, I see billions of ghosts trapped on our dead worlds. Unaware of their deaths, wandering in burnt cities, searching for their families and friends. I hear their screams. I feel their pain. Every time I blink my eyes, every time I shut a door, every time I close my fist, I see them. It's as if blackness spills inside of me whenever I try to meditate and silence my mind.... And you're asking me to believe in an alien device none of us can trust. 

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: But that despair you feel stands in opposition to everything you do believe in, Aasira. All of the Zen teachings you adhere to.... Old masters spoke of letting go and living only in the present.

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: I lead operations against Shivans, protect civilians, assist ships from other fleets.... We took down quite a few Shivan warships during the blockade. I live the life that I have, Magistrate. I'm a Fleetmaster. My responsibility is equal to yours, but sometimes I just don't know how long I can hold on. I'm not sure I can keep this up for much longer. It's starting to get to me.... Who am I kidding? It got to me a long time ago. 

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: Don't lose your faith, my child. We recovered Mastermind for a reason. It made our Great Exodus possible. The death of Fleetmaster Glenzmann, the betrayal and redemption of Rear Admiral Leibniz.... Don't you see a sequence of events here? Mastermind is a gift from the Universe to us. A gift to the people who sought enlightenment in the spirit of freedom and hard work. 

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: That thought scares me, Muhammad. I know your people are closely examining this new technology, but even so, it's still a mystery. We've got the entire Shivan armada nipping at our heels... And Fleetmaster Tyrone watching our back. That's a lot to be concerned about.

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: Don't you trust him, Aasira? He's one of the most brilliant commanders in the Syndicate.

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: He always has been. And I know he won't fail us. It's not about that. He's taking on the most dangerous tasks. 

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: Do you...see him in your visions?

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: Sometimes... In my visions, I've seen the Ironclad torn apart by the beam cannons of Shivan warships in high orbit over some blue planet that wasn't Earth. And I know that the Ironclad was destroyed because I refused to help him.... But it's just a vision.

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: Exactly. It's just a vision, Aasira. Just like many visions, it's nothing but a projection of our fears. The pathology of our subconsciousness. You carry so much fear, my child. Are you sure you can withstand it?

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: I am. The Ironclad departed for the Terminus system six hours ago. That makes me feel better.... Now the rearguard is in my hands. Mine and Leibniz's.

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: Fleetmaster Tyrone...he has been on your mind a great deal recently. I have to know, Aasira. Are the two of you close? 

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: Close friends, if you need to know. He understands me. He's strong, as strong as I am. He understands that even the strongest of us cannot hold out alone. I would prefer him to command the Escort Fleet instead of Fleetmaster Caliphtys.

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: And the thought of losing Horatio makes you afraid, because without him...

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: I fear I may collapse without him, Muhammad. The whole fleet may.

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: Then make this bond your strength, Aasira. Visions of death will disappear one day, just like the Shivans. I will keep an eye on Fleetmaster Tyrone. 

$G Fleetmaster $G Raji: Thank you for listening, my friend. I couldn't have shown my face on the bridge the way you found me. Thank you. And concerning the Mastermind, I wanted to know more about those strange subspace pulses it detected recently. 

$E High $E Magistrate $E Al-Zardari: I'm here to serve my people, Fleetmaster Raji. Your trust is a privilege, and your secrets are safe with me. As for the recent sensor readings, I will transfer the data immediately...
