Neirdith was in shock, her body was shivering and her mind felt frozen. Skorr's mournful roar had drawn her immediate attention just in time to see Seth take a railgun slug to the head, his helmet looked to have muted the blow but she knew it was probably still fatal. She had watched in horror as his body smashed to the floor lifelessly, like a marionette with its strings suddenly severed.

Skorr had drawn Death’s Veil from their back and thrown it in a single fluid movement while roaring in pure rage, a tremendous crash echoed through the ship as the massive sword slammed into the target of his vengeance with terrible force, but it was too little too late.

Creesh let out a terrible screech and ran forward heedless of the danger, that's when Neirdith saw Samantha was down as well, bleeding from a terrible wound in her belly. She appeared to be unconscious as well.

It was almost too much for her to bear. Her people were built tough mentally though, their minds strengthened by thousands of years of unending bloody conflicts on their homeworld of Neirvauhl whose name translated literally to Fortress.

Pushing her grief down through sheer force of will she called Gloom on her assistant and shouted "Gloom, get to the infirmary now, bring Hurk too, Samantha and Seth are down, Skorr is on their way now." Severing the link instantly she yelled to Skorr "Skorr, get them to the infirmary now!"

Skorr sprang into action without hesitation, scooping up first Samantha and then Seth in their massive hand. Cradling the two against their body, Skorr sprinted full speed towards the Shining Knight, doing their best to keep them stable in the process. But speed was more important now than gentleness.

Creesh moved to follow but Neirdith stopped her with surprising difficulty "No, let me go with her!" She screeched. Neirdith held her fast in a sort of half hug as she began to sob, Neirdith’s own eyes were threatening to tear up as well but she swallowed the lump in her throat and stood.

"Creesh, we have a job to finish, and I'm not letting Hungaro get away with this if Skorr didn't already kill him." Neirdith said coldly, her comment seemed to snap Creesh back to the moment as she took a few shuddering breaths and released Neirdith.

"She will be alright, she has to be…" Creesh said mostly to herself as she hefted her pulse rifle and followed Neirdith onto the bridge.

The first thing that drew her attention was the crumpled body of a large skorp pinned to the wall by Skorr's massive sword. Death’s Veil had been thrown with such force that it had pinned the now very dead alien to the wall in a standing position, its body nearly bisected by the titanic blade. Neirdith could see where the railgun had fallen from its lifeless fingers, but this specimen was a dark brown in coloration, whereas Hungaro was a muted black. Looking towards the main control area she raised her gun as she detected a hint of movement.

Creesh hissed at the figure in pure hate as a muted black skorp stepped into the open with its four arms raised in surrender. "Please don't shoot Hungaro, this one is unarmed." It clicked in its thick accented common.

Creesh seemed to fight with herself for a second before gaining control and stepping back slightly. Neirdith glared at the pirate and motioned for them to step forwards with a sharp gesture, when they got to about three meters away she snapped "Stop, that's close enough."

Hungaro stopped and gave them an indecipherable look. Creesh hissed "What are you doing, we should just kill it and be done." Her black expression feathers fluttered wildly as her frustration grew.

The pirate seemed surprised at her outburst saying "But this one has surrendered peacefully, you are willing to kill this one in cold blood?"

Neirdith sighed loudly and said "No, I can't kill a sentient being in cold blood, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night." As she lowered her gun and stepped back a pace, the skorp seemed to sigh quietly and relax. Gesturing to Creesh she continued "But she can, and I hope that you scald in hel for all eternity." Hungaro only had time to throw up their arms in a pitiful defense before Creesh raised her pulse rifle and shot him straight in the face.

He screeched in torment as the cruel sonic pulse tore his insides to shreds under his thick carapace. The pulse rebounding off the thick plates over and over and rendering his internal organs into a gooey slush while he was still conscious. A gruesome way to die, but Neirdith still bared her teeth in satisfaction as Hungaro slumped to the floor, his insides leaking out of every gap in his chitinous armour.

Giving the corpse a hard kick with her boot she looked at Creesh and said "Thanks Creesh, I don't know if I could have done it. You’re a great friend, but now we need to get back to the ship."

Neirdith and Creesh turned from the carnage and rushed down the long hall back to the Shining Knight. Visions of how Seth had been slammed to the ground played over and over again in her mind as they approached the infirmary. Her fears built upon themselves as they ran towards the medical room.

As she neared it she saw Gloom standing in the doorway, Creesh ducked under the dark Jeseo and rushed to Samantha's side, but Gloom blocked Neirdith from entering saying "-Sadness- He is alive Neirdith, but I must warn you, the damage was severe. -Worry-"

Neirdith tried to push past the dense alien but was unsuccessful as they must have weighed well in excess of a thousand kilograms. As she made to duck under them as Creesh had she felt Gloom wrap her arms in the vice-like grip of his chest tendrils. She jerked but was unable to free herself "Let me go Gloom, I need to see him. LET ME GO!"

Gloom stepped forwards still holding her tightly and said "-Concern- Neirdith, look at me, in my eyes please. He is alive, remember that. We need you, he needs you to remain calm. I'm going to let you go now, but I want your promise that you will try to stay calm. -Determination-"

Neirdith slowly nodded her head and said "I will Gloom, I promise." As she finished, she felt the tendrils loosen their hold and release her. Rubbing the lavender pressure marks on her arms she stood for a moment and then walked towards the far bed as calmly as she could, a curtain was up around Seth's bed obscuring it from view. A moment of dread stayed her hand, but she pushed it down deep inside her and gripped the curtain, pulling it aside. Neirdith gasped in shock as she saw the damage that Gloom was talking about.

Seth had a bandage wrapped around the entire right side of his face, and she could see the deep cuts inflicted by his helmet visor shattering. It looked as though his skull was fractured in multiple places as well. She stood staring at him in shocked silence for another few moments before she felt a small hand grab hers, she looked down to see Creesh next to her.

The two stood in companionable silence for a moment before Gloom approached and spoke. “-Concern- His processing core was heavily damaged and it is likely that he will lose his right optic entirely. It was only the enhanced protection offered by his head covering along with the slight angle of the impact that prevented it from killing him outright, but he is in a coma. It is likely that he will stay unconscious until we are able to get him to a real medical facility. -Hopeful-”

“Thank you Gloom, for taking care of him. If you would like to return to the communications suite I'm sure that they will both be fine from here.” Neirdith said to the moody crystal.

Gloom said nothing, simply brushing her shoulder with a few of his manipulator tendrils before turning away and trudging out of the medical room with ponderous steps. Creesh watched them leave and then looked back to Neirdith.

Neirdith met her gaze and said “How is Samantha doing?” Creesh blinked her golden eyes and looked behind her to the large form of her friend, her body covered in a white sheet with her armour lying discarded beside her bed.

“Gloom informed me that she should make a full recovery, but it was close. She lost way too much blood and is very weak. She likely won't wake for another few hours at least.” Creesh’s feathered mane rose in worry as she bowed her head. Neirdith smoothed her feathers down with her long fingers and gave her a reassuring pat on the back.

“She is young, she will pull through. I'll give you leave to sit with her if you would like, I need to speak with Hurk about what's going to happen now. Please keep an eye on Seth for me… please?” Neirdith pleaded with her.

Creesh stood and said “I will watch him for you. But I ask that you don't stay away too long, I am tired and may not be able to remain awake for much longer.” Neirdith nodded and stepped over to Seth’s side once more.

Placing her hand very gently on the top of his curly brown hair she leaned close and kissed him on the head saying “Please stay strong my love. I will tear down the walls of hel to bring you back safely home.”

Standing straight again she next moved over to where Creesh was perched by Samantha’s side. Looking at Samantha she could see that she was in a deep sleep, probably brought on by pain medication. She had been shot in the gut and was under the influence of several powerful antibiotic treatments to prevent sepsis while the quickheal worked to heal her wound. While grievous, there would likely only be a small scar when it was fully closed and even that would fade quickly.

Neirdith thought about how amazing the medical technology of the Union was. In her ancestors' history, such a wound would have guaranteed slow and painful death. But now, it was just a matter of staying on your medication till you were fully healed.

Nodding to Creesh she stepped out of the infirmary with one last look at Seth’s peaceful looking visage, from this angle she could only see the left half of his face, and she could imagine that he was only sleeping peacefully, but the edge of a raw wound snaking over the bridge of his nose broke that illusion.

Finally mustering the courage to leave, she turned and made her way to the mess hall where Hurk had headed after helping Gloom and Skorr get Seth and Samantha into the Infirmary. As she walked in she saw him sitting at a table near the wall, poking at some sort of mashed dish with a plastic spoon. Walking over towards him she saw him lift his scaled face towards her, his brow was slightly creased and his pupilless eyes looked at her with concern.

“I really hope that your friends are going to be okay.” He said slowly as she sat across from him.

Looking him up and down she knew that he was probably feeling guilty for what had happened. “What happened isn't your fault Hurk, don't blame yourself. Like you said, those scum had killed some of your friends too.” Hurk looked up at her sharply as if surprised, his black eyes widened slightly at her forgiving tone.

“But if it wasn't for me calling you out here and wanting that ship intact you could have just blown it up and your friends would have remained unhurt. How is that not my fault?” He said in an elevated tone of voice, his gurgling accent a little more pronounced due to his emotional state.

Neirdith managed a weak smile at his explanation before saying “Hurk. It was my idea to give the ship to you intact, it was my idea to let Hungaro’s drones board us, and it was my idea to tempt that shrij into letting Hungaro know about our ship's value. From what I can see the only thing you are guilty of is caring about the lives of your friends and workers enough to put yourself in harm's way. I saw you fight those pirates even though you likely have never fired a shot in anger in your life. You are one of the bravest people I have ever met, and I admit that while being perpetually surrounded by badasses on a daily basis.” Reaching out a hand to him she watched as the older slaaveth male gripped in on his own and gave her a slightly mystified look.

Looking at her he asked “If you don't mind me asking, how old are you lass? You can't be a day older than thirty or I'm a whipstem farmer.” Neirdith smiled at him before releasing his hand and folding her arms.

“While I would normally keep that to myself, I can feel your genuine interest. I’m only twenty-five standard years old, though my birthday is in just a few months. How old are you? From what I gathered of your life's story you must be at least in your forties am I correct?” She pried right back.

Hurk laughed softly and replied “I'm forty-one actually, been doing this since my twentieth, I can't imagine where I would be if I hadn't started this venture. It was a hard start, but I love what I’ve been able to accomplish. I'm actually the premiere supplier of tritium and conventional fuel for about one-hundred-and-twenty light years in any direction. It didn't happen all at once. Some days I thought everything was going under, but I kept with it and decided to not give in, even when the whole galaxy was trying to drown me. I can see that you are in a similar situation, a turning point if you will. You have just suffered a terrible blow, and you now have the choice to turn back to something easier, or continue on through the pain and doubt to build something truly spectacular. I do hope that you will choose the latter, I know how tough you nerivith can be.” He finished with a wink.

Neirdith thought about what Hurk had just told her, she did have a choice to make. She would have to put some real thought into it, but she had a feeling that her mind was already made up.

She stood and thanked Hurk before leaving him to his meal. Her conversation had seemed to cheer the older man up as he began to eat more determinedly. As she walked away she felt better too, talking about one's problems had a way of putting them into perspective. And it was with this newfound perspective that she walked off to the communications room to talk to Gloom.

Stolen novel; please report.

**********

Creesh was in a dark place, the walls were closing in on her and cruel laughter could be heard. She tried to run but her legs wouldn't respond to her commands, as the walls started to squeeze her she gasped for air that wouldn't seem to come, her lungs screamed for breath. She was dying, she was…

Creesh woke to the same crushing sensation from her nightmare only to realise its cause. “Samantha.” she wheezed, “I can't breathe…” Smantha gasped and released her.

“I'm so sorry Creesh, but I was just so happy to see you that I forgot you are a bit fragile.” Samantha said and let her go hurriedly.

As the larger woman released her, Creesh stood next to the bed. She looked at Samantha and her expression feathers stood in a mixture of curiosity and a little embarrassment. Samantha was sitting upright in her bed and the blankets had fallen away from her chest leaving her lightly furred breasts exposed and in plain view.

Samantha seemed to notice Creesh’s embarrassment and then her own situation before giving a yelp and covering herself up. Creesh’s feathers rose in a smile at her friend's antics before saying “I know that you never see me with a shirt on Samantha, but unlike you I have nothing to cover up.” Creesh said with an amused warble in spite of the situation.

While they were both females, and indeed very close friends, they were nevertheless still friends only. While Creesh was from a relatively open and tactile society, the yeown were a much more moralistic people. Their antics almost on par with that of Humans, who were known to lean towards both extremes of prudishness and permissiveness.

Samantha hissed “What happened to my shirt?” while covering herself with her blanket. Creesh hopped from the bed and held up her torn and blood stained shirt. Samantha sighed and asked shyly, “Please tell me it was at least a woman who undressed me.”

Creesh raised her feathers in another smile and said “Actually it was Gloom, so I'm sure there was no undue interest given as to your, um, anatomy.” This seemed to make Samantha pause as if she was unsure if that was better or worse before relaxing a bit and laying back down.

Smantha grimaced slightly and asked “Creesh, would you be willing to go get me a clean change of clothes from our room?”

Creesh racked her brain for a second before asking “Forgive me for asking, but what type of clothes did you want? I can remember that you wear a shirt and shorts, but what else?” Smantha gave her a funny look that she couldn't decipher before she answered.

“Shirt and shorts are fine for now, I just want something to cover up with that's not just a sheet.”

Creesh nodded and placed the bloody shirt back on the pile of discarded clothing and armour next to her bed. She gave Samantha one last look as she walked out of the infirmary towards their shared room.

As Creesh walked down the hall she thought about all the strange things Samantha did that made little sense to her. Brushing her friend’s oddities out of her mind she entered their room. Samantha slept on a bed with a pile of sheets placed haphazardly on it while Creesh slept on a small cushioned seat with a single pillow that she rarely used.

Thoughts about her family surfaced in her mind unbidden and gave her pause, did they know she was alive, where she went? Were they even now searching for her, or did they not care at all? She was after all just an underborn protector initiate, hardly worth the time and effort to track down. Pushing such thoughts from her mind she gathered Samantha's clothes and exited into the hall.

She quickly made her way back to the infirmary and walked over to Samantha, who was still laying down under her covers. Creesh handed her the clean clothes and stepped back as Samantha looked around embarrassment.

"Hey uh… can you close the curtains for me Creesh?" Samantha asked her meekly. Raising her feathers in amusement, Creesh complied and stepped outside the curtains. From where Creesh was standing she couldn't see Samantha and waited patiently for her to finish dressing. After a minute Samantha pulled back the curtains and sat back on the bed, while she was now clothed, her clothing was strangely more revealing than normal. Creesh could clearly see the outlines of her figure through the fabric. Samantha saw her looking and ducked her head before laying back down.

"I usually wear two layers of fabric, in case you were wondering." Samantha said, grabbing for the covers again.

"Wait" Creesh said, grabbing the edge of the covers before she could pull them all the way up. "Can I see your injury, please? I just want to check how bad it is." Samantha seemed to pause before nodding hesitantly.

Stepping closer to her friend's side she slowly raised the hem of her shirt till it exposed her belly. Creesh let out a low trill of sadness. Samantha's belly was covered in a soft almost downy layer of fur that was much shorter than the fur on her arms, legs and back. It looked as soft as down and she longed to run her graspers through it, but she refrained.

It was the ugly pink scar that stood out on Samantha’s belly that grabbed the most of Creesh's attention however. It was a little above and to the right of the strange indent on her stomach where her mammalian umbilical cord would have connected as a fetus. The scarring was livid and bright pink, with vein like tendrils extending out from the point of impact, the wound itself looked mostly healed over and as she brushed her graspers across the tissue Samantha winced.

Pulling back sharply Creesh apologized "Oh no, I'm sorry Samantha, did that hurt?"

Samantha nodded and said "I’m still pretty tender it seems, I'm guessing I'm going to be stuck in here for at least another few days while my insides heal up fully. Speaking of which, where are we?" Creesh looked at her and then thought for a minute.

"Actually, I'm in the dark about that as well, I must have fallen asleep while I was sitting by you." Pulling up her assistant she typed in a quick query to Gloom and was surprised by the response. "Gloom says we are still in the End of the Line system, we appear to be docked with the main station right now actually. I wonder why we haven't left yet?"

Samantha cocked her head and asked "In all the excitement I forgot to ask if Seth was okay…" upon seeing the way Creesh's feathers drooped in sadness she exclaimed "Oh no! He isn't, he didn't… no he can't be." Creesh cut her off quickly before the large, furred woman could get herself too worked up.

"He isn't dead Samantha." Samantha visibly relaxed at the news, but tensed again as Creesh continued "But, he is in a coma, Gloom told me he will likely lose his eye and is in need of some pretty intensive medical treatment. Quickheal isn't going to cut it, he needs neurosurgery most likely."

Samantha looked crestfallen, she seemed to sink into herself as she muttered "It's my fault, he got shot trying to help me. If I hadn't been standing in the open like a stupid fuzzer he wouldn't have stepped into the line of fire."

Creesh angrily interjected "Listen to yourself, that's ridiculous. He was shot because that scum Hungaro was trying to kill him. I ended that… thing… myself." As she said that Samantha looked at her in surprise, not at her words, but seemingly at her tone. Creesh was usually so reserved that Samantha was seeing a side of her that she had rarely shown to anyone. A side of her she had thought she had left to die in the scum and underspires of Sabith.

Samantha shook her furred head and sat a little straighter "He's dead then. Good. How did you do it? I hope it was painful." She spat with venom.

Creesh raised her mane in a way that implied dangerous intent saying "I shot them in the face with my pulse rifle, what was left of him sloshed out into a puddle. Oh and I made sure to hit him with a wide pulse."

Samantha bared her teeth in a way that Creesh had become accustomed to before speaking "Good, he is lucky that I wasn't there, I would have torn him limb from limb, I would have ripped their shell apart as they screamed in torment. I would have, I don't know. But they would have regretted it." She finished tiredly leaning back into her cushions.

Creesh laid a hand on her arm and said "I think what you really need to do is rest. You can't bring justice to the guilty if you are still bedridden, and the easier you take it, the quicker you will get better."

Samantha nodded and complained "I don't like it. I feel weak."

Creesh giggled and said "Well you are in a hospital, well a medical room at least." Samantha gave her a grouchy glare and settled into her bedding deeper.

Creesh watched Samantha as she lay there with her eyes open and staring at the ceiling, she still seemed tense though. Creesh thought about what she knew of her friend and how she could help her relax. Remembering something, Creesh hopped onto the bed and settled herself by Samantha's shoulder.

Smantha turned her head in surprise and started to speak before letting out a contented sigh as Creesh began running her graspers through her thick head fur. The stroking sensation seemed to greatly ease the tension in the larger woman and she settled herself more comfortably in her bed as Creesh continued. "That's.. that's really nice, it feels nice." Samantha sighed.

Creesh just smiled internally and kept up with her soft petting, taking the time to scritch behind her ears and was rewarded with an even deeper sigh from her friend. As she continued, she heard Samantha's breathing becoming increasingly steadier and more relaxed. After a surprisingly short time the large powerful predator was sleeping peacefully and making tiny growls of pleasure in her sleep.

Creesh loved the feeling of Samantha's fur, it was silky and soft, nothing like her own feathers that, while soft, had a much more rigid feel and texture. As she kept up her action she laid her head down on Samantha's shoulder and closed her eyes, she could feel her breath, the powerful beating of her heart. As she listened she began to become entranced by the feeling and before she was aware of it, drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

**********

Neirdith was anxious to finally meet with the doctor that Hurk had mentioned. As soon as the Shining Knight had docked with The End of the Line's main station again he had assigned a few of his on board medics to whisk him off to the facility's medical suite saying that they had a temporary doctor on the station. Their name was Tahj Grawr and they were on a medical mission to check on the status of many of the peripheral systems to make sure that they were using the proper equipment and procedures.

She had been asked to wait out in the main lobby as Seth had been wheeled inside, as much as she had wanted to protest she knew that it was for the best. She would likely just get in the way and inhibit the doctor's ability to do his job. She didn't know what race they were, but if their name was any indicator, they likely weren't yeown, human, or swanith. They could be vinarfel or gre'vahn, maybe even slaaveth.

As she was pondering, one of the medical staff walked through the pristine white double doors and motioned for her to come, she immediately leapt up and followed. She was lashing her tufted tail in anxiety as they walked down the clean hall. As they walked Neirdith noticed how clean everything was. There was no dirt and grime, sure everything here looked just as worn out and aged as the rest of the station, but it had the look of something painstakingly maintained rather than left to its own devices.

Stopping by a nondescript sky blue door the attendant directed her to enter, which she did. As she entered she saw Seth. He was in a bed with monitoring devices and chemical drips hooked up to him. A device by his head was emitting a series of muted beeps in a double pattern, she realised that it was a heart rate monitor. She then noticed the large figure standing at the foot of his bed.

The figure was large, easily two and a half meters in height, they stepped forwards and she noticed their four clawed feet and raised torso.. "Tahj?" She asked the lab coated figure cautiously.

The gre'vahn male let out a jovial laugh and said "Yes indeed friend. I have good news about my charge. They seem to be healthy other than their head injury, the injury itself missed his main neurological tissues and caused only surface damage to the brain, while still serious it should be completely reversible through surgery."

Neirdith let out a confused hiss and asked "How is that good news? I was hoping you were going to say his condition was improving or something."

Tahj cocked his head and raised his assistant, tapping away on it furiously for a few moments he then responded "Seth's condition is no longer actively deteriorating. I would consider that a huge win considering he did take a direct hypervelocity impact to the head. Most of the time I see a wound of this severity, the subject is brain dead and basically just a meat puppet with no will? Anyways, Seth's brain is intact and exhibiting suppressed mental activity. It seems that his brain has gone into low power mode in order to preserve itself. I am very confident that his condition can be fully reversed given the proper treatment." Tahj finished with a wide toothy grin.

Neirdith began to feel the dangerous pangs of hope lashing through her mind, but hope could be misplaced, and nothing was more dangerous than dashed hopes on the eve of battle. "Where can I take him to get the proper treatment? Would New Dundas have the correct facilities?" She asked hopefully.

Tahj tsked hesitantly before he replied. He said bluntly "I don't believe so, but I recommend that you return there to check. You will have to leave Seth here in any case as he is not in any condition to move at the moment. It may be as long as a week before we can begin to transport him to the correct facilities."

The large gre'vahn stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder in a comforting way, rather than push his hand away she bowed her head and asked "You're telling me to leave him here alone?" Tahj lifted his hand at her bitter tone.

Sighing patiently Tahj stated "Seth will be quite safe here, you have dealt with the pirate threat. Hurk will be fitting the captured ship with additional armour and using it to further protect the system. I personally guarantee that Seth will be here upon your return. But I believe it would do you personally some good to get out and have something to occupy your time. It is unhealthy for you to subject yourself to such elevated levels of stress." Tahj began tapping at his assistant again and Neirdith just stared at him.

Finally she spoke "I can't leave him."

The gre'vahn snorted loudly and walked to her before slowly guiding her over to Seth. "Look at him, he is calm, at peace. He is fully stabilized and going nowhere for the time being. As his doctor and yours for the moment, I am telling you to go take some time away. When you get back he will have healed enough to move him back aboard the Shining Knight. Then we can take him to be treated and everything will turn out just fine. Do you trust me to care for him?" He asked her suddenly.

Neirdith took a moment to realise that a question had been asked as she stared at Seth's calm features. Shaking her head slightly she answered "Yes, of course I do."

Tahj just smiled that same wide smile and replied "Then trust my judgment on your behalf as well as his. Your worry helps nobody and only hurts yourself. I'm giving you a recommendation, don't make me enforce it please." He said seriously.

Neirdith swallowed and ran her hand through Seth's hair before stepping back and agreeing "Ok Tahj, but I will be back soon, and when I am he will be coming with me." She said with more strength than she really felt. Tahj just nodded and led her into the hall before giving her a gentle shoulder pat.

"He will be fine Neirdith. You have my word on the honor of my house and family." Neirdith saluted him knowing the significance of that particular promise. The gre'vahn culture was all about the honor one brought to their house and family names, to break that promise guaranteed the promiser to be disowned and cast out. It was a promise he would give his life for. Tahj raised his hand in a similar gesture before nodding and clicking down the hall on his clawed feet.

Neirdith watched him walk away for a minute before turning and starting off towards the docking area, her mind awash with the day's events. She realised that through it all she had been awake for more than thirty hours straight. As if the knowledge was a trigger, she staggered slightly as a wave of fatigue washed over her. She steadied herself and continued on her way, deciding that the first thing she would do when she awoke was visit Samantha. Gloom had sent her a message saying that the young yeown woman had woken.

With her mind focused and her resolve tempered, Neirdith trudged into an uncertain future with grim determination and steel will.