She was back on the farm, a ten-year-old girl running free in the field with a herd of new bots. It was her old home in Jar-sedan, and she didn't have a care in the world. But there was a problem. Some bots were fighting, and then her uncle was there, picking her up and taking her to safety. It was odd though, bots never fought, so why was that happening? She hadn't realized it then, but it was the beginning of bad programming which led to the rebellion in the first place.

"Palamandry, cut public video feed," ordered Belletine. Then to Ketty, "I couldn't tell you or Bromide would have activated himself, but now Tychicknu and I have someone we need to see, before he gets your bots and destroys them."

"Mon-catasto?" Ketty asked.

"It's best you don't know, goodbye for now." When she had gone, Rayjack finally calmed down.

"Man, that was freaky. Tychicknu was always a mystery man, but that was crazy. He was that close to getting' dropped."

"Go change," Ketty laughed at Rayjack," and make it special." Turning to Georgiana, she asked, "Don't you find it strange no one interfered?"

"It must be your mystery man, Greer. He's pretty high up in the government." With that Georgian took Purline and prepared to face whatever discipline was coming. Ketty could see the fear in Boondock's eyes.

"Don't worry, it will work out."

"Losing Purline will be worse than anything Harazel can do to me."

She scrubbed his nappy hair, "You were fine before he came."

"But I knew he was coming, since time began for me, I knew."

"We're docking at the Barn," interrupted Rayleen, happy for the distraction. She still hated when Ketty got sentimental with her bots.

"Look," said Lindy, who had been silent until now. "We have some admirers." In the distance, spaceships of all shapes and sizes charged down on their position. The tourists and sightseers were held at bay by military craft that intercepted them with tractor beams and warning shots until finally a force field went up that protected the Barn. She brought up a news feed on her hand held which showed clips of Ketty gunning down helpless aliens. "Let the circus begin," Lindy said with disdain, knowing full well the news feed had been spliced from various footage. Not that she was jealous, but it put the aliens in a better light than they deserved.

Kestral docked with ease and they exited the airlock to be greeted by a solitary guide bot. Just then Georgiana emerged with Harazel in full lockdown. He was cuffed and gravity shackled with a mask on his face and an impenetrable energy shield covering his entire body.

"Let's say our goodbye's here, protocol won't allow sentiment once were inside," she said, leaning in to hug Ketty. "I'm having Scott brought on board for a quick analysis with better medical equipment. It should take an hour and they can prescribe some more aggressive skin grafting nano-bots."

Bakes and Kato stood awkwardly outside the airlock as the girls said their goodbyes. When Georgian came to hug Kato, he patted her on the back stiffly, too embarrassed to touch an older woman with more than paternal thought, as if she were his grandmother. She smiled and said, "Take care of her, you hear me."

"I will," he tried to sound reassuring, but the words came out like a croak, and the others had to laugh.

"I do believe the master is self-conscious," chimed Rayjack loudly. Kato was thankful the moment passed even as they followed the bot down one of the many corridors leading into the station. The structure was endless, and a person would be lost in minutes if not for their tour guide. Some of the doors opened into hangar bays where equipment was stored, while others housed soldiers in various stages of training. But one room brought Ketty to a standstill.

Everyone stared in amazement while Boondock and Purline fell over each other trying to get a closer look. Boondock began buzzing excitedly, then bolted unannounced into the training facility. Here was hundreds of shiny new bots lined up in neat ten by ten rows as they received training instructions from a master cadet. Ketty almost fainted from the rush of Deja'vu and she was overcome by the memories of her own training facility, yet it was obvious this had been modeled after hers.

The cadet hung in a small pod over the bots whose attention was riveted on him, until Boondock let out a piercing laugh. Then all eyes turned towards him with the whine of a hundred powerful micro-motors. These bots were identical in appearance, with a robust construction and unmistakable purpose. Both arms had a hefty gun turrets lined with various weapons, while complex shield generators sprouted from each shoulder. The legs held propulsion and inertial guidance for flight along with other more complex technology she was unfamiliar with. When they saw Harazel, every weapon came up simultaneously. Some of the bots froze up while others began circling in defensive positions. The cadet burst from his pod and hit the master kill switch, effectively calming the class.

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