-Chapter 13-

For a long time philosophers and scientists alike have argued about emotions. Do animals feel? Do others? Do we, really? But it seems natural to feel emotions, almost all life appears to, to some extent. And there are very few who do not know the warm fondness of happy memory, or the nostalgia of looking back on the story of their life, the paths taken or avoided to reach the present in a sea of possibility. Some have the good fortune to escape pain, suffering and distress, while others experience little else. And there are many who, by accident or design have learned to numb their feelings, suppress their thoughts. It is a common burden that those who lead often have to do this, to avoid being sidetracked by emotive, but stupid feelings. When you were in charge, a moment's reflection could be a fatal distraction.

Those who knew, who really knew the breaking strength of people, the born leaders and greats, they became either very good, or very powerful, but seldom both. In a universe that was mostly hostile, empty space, it was amazing that so many found such enjoyment in adding to suffering, torture, blackmail or murder. How could they? When the universe itself was against life so? When so many were doomed to never experience feelings like companionship and love? What goes through their minds and hearts? Who can really say?

"Radiance, this is Joshua Lightwalker. The J-Wing's getting ready to dock."

[Identification...Processing....Valid. Activating Docking Procedure for Hangar 12...] the digital voice crackled over the ship's comlink.

Joshua couldn't help but give a weak smile. It had been quite some time since he'd actually been onboard Radiance, having little need to come to the secluded space station. While it was usually a place where he could come to reflect on things, there were other places that suited that purpose just as well. Heck, the only reason he really came there were the Virtual Training chambers, but even they were beginning to become a little dull. And the last little incident... that was an embarrassment which cost him quite a bit of respect... (And landed him stuck with kitchen duty for the entire month). Those bruises on his right arm were still evident from that mistake.

At least there had been an encouraging, but also slightly worrying lack of argument during the trip. Joshua had been worried he'd need to take his migraine medication and lock himself in a cabin, but instead of the expected yelling and disruption from the women on board there had been little more than some small and rather gossipy chats. Has Josh known anything about women, he would've had another reason to worry. As it was, he wasn't lowering his guard for a moment.

Billowing clouds of smoke were vented from the J-Wing's thrusters and exhaust ports, filling the entire docking bay to the point where it was impossible to see a foot in front of you. The mechanics of spaceships were complex, involving K-meson shifters, gravitational dampeners and Brownian Motion Inducers, but the upshot of everything was that copious volumes of atomized metal were emitted on landing and launch, especially in the vacuum before the chamber was pressurized. On cue there was a dull *thunk!* and the ventilation panels opened, allowing fresh air to enter the chamber and condense the smoke, leaving nothing more than a dusty and irritated Joshua who was coughing loudly. He'd miscalculated the exact moment to open the J-Wing's doors...for the third time.

>Just not going my way, it seems...< Joshua bitterly thought to himself.

The group made their way down the vast corridors of radiance, except for the girl Josh had rescued who had stayed behind to look at something mysterious half buried in the hull of the J-Wing. It was captivating, containing an aura of something ancient, or perhaps advanced technology from who knew where. Or maybe it was a pilot light, you could never tell. Hidden beneath the exterior of any ship was a boggling amount of technology, and especially so with the J-Wing. Joshua ushered her along with the rest of the group, he had family to see.

There was a brief and amusing meeting when the two brothers laid eyes on each other (As well as David who'd arrived on Radiance before Josh had made it halfway.) It seemed that each had acquired at least one unexpected companion, an observation the produced a small fit of laughter and some comic quips. Pushing such trivialities aside they all sat down to discus what to do next.

A lot had happened in too short a time. Mobius was now under unofficial martial lore, with the one in charge of the whole complex intent on removing or silencing those who's words or actions could be a potential threat towards his position. Which was odd because it had taken only a matter of days, without anything more than a few token protests. The Becon it appeared had been shot out of orbit, its plummet through the planet's atmosphere due to attack rather than chance. And then there was Devan Shell, on the loose again, which was really strange because he'd managed to take several dozen planets already, he even had rabbits fighting for him now, yet from recent reports during Shell's previous captivity, he made little effort to cause disorder and made no attempt to escape. Shade summed the situation succinctly:

"So let me get this straight, you're up against a planet's entire military industrial complex, a mad dictator and his rapidly expanding army, oh and yes, some strange force that may be related to this and can blast whole ships. And here you are planning to stop them. Great, I'd love to see you three do that."

"...I doubt we're going to find a suitable force large enough to deal with these problems. We're going to need to all go together this time. Splitting and dealing with each problem in small groups would not only be stupid, but suicidal. We're strong, but we're not dealing with your everyday monster or mindless robot. Getting other people involved is the last thing we want. Lots of people have probably been killed already." Seb replied.

"Everyday monster? Robots? You make it sound like you have a snowball's chance in hell! This is a _ing army we're talking about here! It'd be suicidal to even think about taking them on! Do you think you can just pop by, blast them to atoms and go home for dinner?"

"It's going to be difficult yes, and there's a chance we won't make it, but I-"

"Chance? chance??!! I've never heard such idiocy in all my life! While you're at it, would you like to take a bath in an ion stream?"

Joshua tried to think, but it was difficult, especially with the frequent paper darts that were assaulting his person. People who didn't understand what was going on were getting bored, and quite a number of darts had hit hi in the face. He was getting irritated, and not just because he'd been jabbed in the eye. Both sides were right.Even 'Legendary Heroes' weren't invincible and sheer numbers would wear them down in the end. They would need help. But from who?

The sudden silence woke him from his introspection. Everyone was staring at him. Zac was first to speak.

"I don't really give a damn, Kain's already taken my rank, my authority and my men. Who knows what he's done to Mobius now. I want to kick his sorry a-"

Josh stared at Zac open-mouthed, things just kept getting worse.

"Kain?! You mean HE'S the one who's in charge of the military now?! Great, just great...This makes things even better! That psycho decides to come back from the dead after we beat him AGES ago, and somehow manages to take over the most powerful force on Mobius excluding us and...well, Sonic and company." Joshua sighed.

"Well, I think you just answered who we're going to round up for assistance." Seb smirked.

"Right. If Kain orders the military off-planet to get what he's after, we'll need to go to those worlds as well. As for stopping Devan, we'll see if we can find any willing mercenaries in the War Tavern and get to Carrotus before Ol' Shell Beak does. If he actually manages to over-run the planet, many of the others in the sector will fall right after. Add the amount of able-bodied warriors who'd be forced into fighting for him, we'd have to deal with another large-scale army. Even greater than the one stationed on Mobius. But I'm sure Kain's got something up his sleeve to compensate for that." Joshua muttered.

"Right... so were dealing with a zombie dude or something? And Sonic? And you want to fight an army of hundreds of thousands with a few guys from a tavern? This isn't a fairytale here people! Am I dreaming or did everyone's common sense take a holiday here?" yelled Shade.

I think that my Joshi has a great plan!"

"Yes? Then you're as crazy as he is! This is a war! people are dying! And you want to magic it better?"

"I don't see you coming up with any good ideas!"

The argument was long and protracted, and mostly among the girls. It was what Josh had expected on the J-Wing, at least in intensity. Shade seemed totally unconvinced about the entire plan and took a lot of convincing. She seemed to be of the opinion that the only options available involved wholesale invasions and large amounts of force. She just didn't seem to trust anyone for some reason. Finally however the she was worn down and the group came to a decision

And almost as quickly as they'd arrived, the heroes departed from Radiance, once again leaving the station empty.