Tamara's ears began to ring as those words echoed in her mind. Murdered.

My mate was murdered by the Sonar?

She stared at the folder in front of her, part of her hoping that if she stared long enough it wouldn't be true, that it would just go away. The other part wished that she hadn't been so stupid, that she hadn't believed the lie when it was first told to her. The Sonar have lied to the public, and to those they were supposed to serve. Why in the hell would she expect them to not lie about something like this? She should have just known.

When they came to her, they told her that her husband had been saving the people deeper in the mines, he had heard the girl and was rushing her out but as the ceiling was beginning to collapse the two guards ran in to try and help. The three of them managed to save the girl, but at the cost of their lives. The girl was then taken off planet, seeing how she had no family in the area and was to be raised in a colony designed for her kind.

The way the snakes had told her had been so convincing... Tamara could even remember the woman who came to help deliver the news crying with her. She slowly reached out and grabbed the folder, her hands trembling. She wasn't sure if she could bring herself to open it. So she didn't. She knew Stephen would tell her.

"He forgot something in the mine and had been returning to go get it when he found two of the Sonar's dogs trying to have their way with one of the kids who worked as a messenger there. He immediately attacked them, forcing them away, and when they threatened to kill him and the girl he managed to disarm them and killed them in the process but one of them had been able to call for back up. They shot him on sight."

Tamara remained speechless, eventually becoming deathly still.

"He had this on him when he died..."

Tamara only then looked over to see a small locket held on a silver chain. Upon closer inspection she could see the dark bronze that colored the chain, which could only have been dried blood. His blood. She felt hot streaks run down her face, her blood going cold.

She held the locket close to her heart, unconsciously thumbing the leather bracelet around her wrist with her free hand.

Stephen was kind and allowed her a moment to mourn until she opened her eyes again.

Stephen had been Kevin's half brother. He knew her pain better than anyone, which was partly why she let him talk about him more than anyone. If it wasn't for his human traits he carried, he would have looked exactly like Kevin. He had his hair, his body build, his skin was paler, more rosy than green. And then his eyes... A bright pale blue. Kevin's had been a dark gold that glowed bright yellow in sunny days. Stephen had a tendency to wear his hair in a high ponytail, unlike Kevin who had always kept it free and brushed. I need to stop comparing the two of them, it won't bring him back... just more pain.

Tamara turned, suddenly feeling wide awake and angry. Angry only being used for lack of a better word. She was seething, her vision was beginning to flicker back and forth to red and normal. She had been working for the Sonar. She had been with them. She even became somewhat close to the woman who had been there to help soften the blow. Close enough to consider a friend. But what if that was a lie too? Were all the Sonar so disgusting? And that commander of theirs... He would be the first to go if she had any say about it and if she didn't before you could bet your boots she did now.

"I see your gears working in there but I hope you're being smart about this," Stephen said.

"It's a personal matter." Tamara almost didn't recognize her own voice, "It's not time to strike yet. But it will be soon."

Stephen nodded, hoping that she wasn't just telling him what she thought he wanted to hear.

They began talking over the recent events with the Sonar and their human trafficking until he told her about the recent attack on Neo's mother.

Tamara shot out of her chair, slamming her hands down onto the table in front of them. "What? Is he okay? What about Jacquelyn, is she all right? Who did it? Where was-"

Stephen held his hands up as she fired question after question left and right, making her stop mid-sentence. "Calm down, so far it's only what's been going around. I don't know all of the details yet."

"I should call him," Tamara whipped out her telecom, but was stopped by Stephen.

"Is that such a smart thing to do? You're wanted now, believe it or not. One slip and you'll have the Sonar swarming your ass." Stephen slowly guided her back to her seat, hopefully calming her in the process.

"You're right. Damn it, I hate this." Tamara rubbed the sides of her temples with her fingers. Her head was starting to hurt with all the recent events that seemed to be crashing all around her.

"Tell you what, let me take you there. Okay? That way I can reach my next stop and you can go check on him?" Stephen placed his hand on her shoulder trying to make her look at him, she barely spared him a glance.

"You're headed that way?" Tamara asked, waving the bartender for another drink. "What business do you have in Valaria?"

"I have someone I'm supposed to meet," he played with the ice in his drink, a soft smirk on his face.

"Oh come on, Steph. It's me. That BS doesn't work. What are you really doing?"

Stephen sighed and shook his head. "Might as well be honest.. I got word that Jacquelyn was in the area. And you had just confirmed it. She's in some deep shit with the Ancord so I was going to give her a head's up, especially since she wants to talk to Darius."

"Who's Darius?"

"The big guy in charge of the Ancord. He seemed to be willing to talk to her, but he said he can't ignore his own code," Stephen said after he finished his drink in one big sweep.

"What does that mean? That he's going to try and kill her?" Tamara glared, already prepared to knock some shit out of people if they dared hurt her and Neo.

"I have no idea, he told me it wasn't my business. I was just a messenger. Still. It would be nice to get over there as soon as possible."

"So what are we waiting for?" Tamara asked, standing up suddenly enthusiastic.

"That." As soon as he finished speaking, Tamara stumbled and nearly fell onto an innocent passerby. "You are way too drunk to be going anywhere right now. We can leave tomorrow."

"I am not drunk," Tamara belched, making her blush slightly.

"Uh-huh. I am sure you are very sober. Now, come on. I would rather you puke outside instead of making me pay a cleaning fee." Stephen grabbed her arm and gently rested it around his shoulders, "Gods you're heavy- OW!"

Tamara glared, threatening to punch him again. "That was rude."

He rolled his eyes, his lips twitching as he tried to hide his smile.

Tamara wasn't sure to laugh or cry, because just then, she was sure she saw Kevin carrying her instead of Stephen, and then the alcohol consumed her.

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"I suppose I should thank you for at least tucking me in and not leaving me on the floor like last time." Tamara said groggily as she took a seat beside Stephen who was quietly sipping his coffee.

"I didn't leave you on the floor, you just wouldn't stay in the bed. You kept complaining about the sheets being wrinkled and about some spider you swore was in the corner of the bedroom and didn't want to be alone. It was also midnight and right after I got home from work, so you can imagine how tired I was considering I used to get up at 4AM every day," Stephen said nonchalantly, his smirk hinting on his face as he glanced at her from the side. She was trying to fix the mess that was her hair and trying to wipe away the drool that had dried just in the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah well... I don't remember it like that." Tamara turned her head away, hiding the blush that began to powder her cheeks.

Stephen only laughed at her and remained silent.

It was nice seeing her like this, he thought. Before she had been so quiet, so lonely it was hard to watch. And after her son had disappeared she was just... gone. She was alive and moving, she ate and she slept. But she didn't talk, she didn't smile, she didn't do anything that wasn't a daily routine. You try and talk to her and she would just stare, not really registering anything except what needed to be seen. And then at night when she thought no one would notice, she would cry. He felt bad, even now that he used to pretend to be Kevin in the middle of the night so she might get a decent sleep. Then, before she would wake up he would leave and go to work. He liked to tell himself that what he used to do was why she made such a quick recovery, but he didn't feel so sure. It was Neo that did it all. Neo brought her back. Hearing that Neo was going through a rough time was why he was trying so hard to be there for Tamara. She needed it, even if she never said it, he knew that she was only so strong. Silently laughing at his pathetic ass he knew yet again, he was only making excuses. It wasn't only him he liked to pretend she needed. . .

He needed her too.