The Wau had psychically struck down the last soldier, and Cass had a dreadful migraine. She dragged his lifeless body along with the others, tore open his suit, and placed them all in a CRA cell. Almost staggering, the Wau brought Ada back to the lab, carrying her in his arms. Basil was still wearing his suit but no longer his helmet, and he was trembling in a corner.
- "Listen, Wau," he squeaked, "I'm not your enemy. Actually, I wanted to be a Wau when I was little."
- "The Wau Order protects humanity. Would you agree to bear the weight of that mission?"
- "Well… I don't know… I'm human. Just don't kill me, that's all!"
- "He threw me over the railing, Wau," said Ada.
- "Is that true?" asked the Wau innocently.
- "She's an enemy of the Aleph!" shouted Basil.
- "Is it true, Ada, are you an enemy of the Aleph?"
- "Not really. I think he's a clown."
The Wau, despite his splitting headache, fought not to laugh.
- "Could you plot a route for me, scientist?"
- "Kill that idiot," said Ada, "and I'll do it for you."
- "You could do it?" the Wau asked in surprise.
- "Even you could do it, you big oaf. You just need to know how to input 3D coordinates into the interface."
The Wau leaned over the table. Regarding his request - a route to galaxy 422421 - it was even simpler: it had been calculated a hundred years ago, and only needed updating, which would take twenty minutes. Once the order was given, he walked over to Basil and touched his forehead with his metal hand to put him to sleep.
He asked Ada to remove her suit. She obeyed, and Kukth ran happily around the room, glad to be free. The Wau's right arm opened, revealing a completely human arm - muscled, but not overly so. He spoke a word or two to reassure her and placed the armored casing of the arm over Ada's. She looked at his impassive mask as the nano-factories of the Armor repaired her injured arm.
- "Now, Gorylkin, you're a little Wau," he said, retrieving his arm.
- "Your armor protects and heals you - that's cheating!"
- "And you're Gorylkin of a thousand tricks - isn't that cheating? Well, Gorylkin, we have to talk about a few things. If you want to reach my level, you have to stop killing. The life of others is not a possession."
- "But HE tried to kill me!"
- "Nothing justifies the death of a human or a Xeno. Nothing. Gorylkin, there comes a time when we are judged. No one escapes that. You must weigh your actions. Your actions define you. Do you want to be Gorylkin the bloodthirsty? I like the Gorylkin from the serials: he's a kind and understanding man. He wins because he saves people, because he earns their friendship and respect. That's the Gorylkin worthy of me."
- "I will never be judged."
- "Believe me, you will."
- "I'll kill the judge."
- "That's possible. Because the judge will be you."
The terminal signaled that the calculation was complete. Ada whistled:
- "TWO WEEKS OF DRIFT 6? Where are you going, the end of the universe?"
- "Who knows? And now I'm erasing my request - and yours. That way, the Aleph won't know where we're headed. Gorylkin of nine hundred and ninety-nine tricks."
- "So you're fighting the Aleph? But you're a lackey of the HS, right?"
- "Who knows?"
The Wau gestured for her to put her suit back on and return to the railing. From there, they could see in the distance the frozen wave of light in the vacuum of space from the Alexandrite's explosion - a static firework for eternity. As they walked, the Wau continued, crackling over the suit's radio:
- "Gorylkin, we'll have to postpone our duel. For now, we must ally against the Aleph. I'll handle the HS, and you'll deal with the Xenos."
- "What does that mean?"
- "It means you'll go see the Xenos, give them a briefing on the Aleph, and tell them to be ready for a signal I'll give you. When the time comes, we all attack the Aleph together."
- "Which Xenos?"
- "All of them."
- "That's a lot," said Ada, exhaling.
- "If you don't feel up to it, just say so. I only work with the best."
- "Why don't you just kill the Aleph?"
- "Because he's stronger than me. And you. And everyone."
- "So you'll get those poor Xenos killed."
- "If I'm sure they'll die in the operation, I'll never give the signal. Believe me. I respect life."
- "So do I, just not that of bastards."
- "We're all bastards, Gorylkin."
They arrived at the hangar, stepping over the unconscious commando bodies. In a CRA waiting room, Sky was sitting with his hands tied. The Wau released the locks and gave him the activation codes for a Tyger.
- "Awesome, guys, thanks. Really great," said Sky with irony. "Because of your bullshit, now I'm wanted across the entire HS!"
- "Welcome to the club," said the Wau.
- "Yeah, welcome to the club," added Ada.
They didn't say anything more, and the Wau took off in Sky's Adventura, which should have belonged to Ada all along - and to whom he reluctantly handed over control and ownership. At least one thing was being set right.