Homecoming: The Return of an Heir
Part 5

Remy slowly walked down the hall with a bemused expression on his face.  The
celebration on the balcony had finally begun to wind down somewhat and most
of the nobles were now returning to their homes to sleep off the effects of
the night's festivities.  The Shi'ar choice of beverage that night had been
something called T'al, a sweet crimson colored liquid that packed the punch
of Vodka.  He had consumed the drink as sparingly as possible considering
the number of toasts that had been called, but still felt just a bit
light-headed.

He was currently being accompanied by two of his mother's advisors, Talyn
Farsahn and a man named Rallin Dalkoan, as well as his usual entourage of
private bodyguards led by Gladiator.  They were currently in the process of
rating his performance, analyzing its actual impact on the public, and
giving him feedback.  Remy was mostly ignoring them.

"You are definitely Lilandra's son," Talyn punctuated the statement with an
amused shake o f her head.  "Only a Neramani would be capable of charming a
group of belligerent Nobles the way that you did."

Remy decided not to mention the fact that he had been pushing his psionic
abilities as much as he dared throughout the entire night.  After all, from
his experience, a few subtle telepathic suggestions had never hurt anyone
and had usually benefited several people, himself included.  And what with
the recent revelations on the true nature of his powers, he found that he
was able to better control them.

Talyn's dark eyes practically sparkled as she spoke.  "I may have been
mistaken in my earlier assessment to the Empress.  You may not prove to be a
great hindrance to her after all."

"Um, thank you."  He assumed that she had meant the statement as a
compliment.

"Now that we know that the public will be willing to accept you as a part of
the Neramani line, we need to use your other scheduled appearances during
the festival to put more pressure on the Noble Council."  Talyn was
continuing.

"I disagree Talyn," Rallin insisted with a stern shake of his head.  "I
spoke with Director Mentari personally and even he is unable to give a
reliable prediction of the eventual disposition of the public in regards
to Remy."

When he spoke his tone held a note of finality.  "We are going to
have to wait for a more definitive public response before we can truly
proceed."

Remy held a sigh in check as he sensed the beginning of another argument
between the two Shi'ar.  Because of their positions neither of the two
advisors had permitted themselves to partake of any T'al during the course
of the night and were therefore still quite lucid.  However, after just five
minutes in their joint company, Remy was beginning to wish that at least one
of them had managed to inebriate themselves.

Talyn let out her own exasperated sigh.  "Rallin, for once in your life,
will you
open your eyes to the possibilities that lie before you.  Far from letting
up and allowing the public to decide that they aren't going to like him, we
should continue going on the momentum that we were able to generate
tonight."

"No, it doesn't work that way," The older man continued in the tone of a
patient teacher lecturing a student.  "We need to accept the success that we
have obtained so far and be patient for the next opportunity to generate
more positive propaganda.  If we attempt to force Remy on the populace too
much, we run the tangible risk of over-exposure."

It seemed that Rallin's tone, more than his actual words, infuriated her.

"Don't attempt to lecture me you pompous diplomat.  I have spent over ten
years specializing in Shi'ar domestic policy and don't need instructions
from a has-been in foreign administration who only dabbles in the subject
when it suits his interest."

"Then you should know that despite tonight's success we still must proceed
as slowly and cautiously as possible."  Rallin's tone hadn't changed a hair,
except for perhaps a touch of exasperation.

Remy could see that this discussion was going to drag on and was probably
just a continuation of an ongoing conflict between the two.  He wondered if
Lilandra had to put up with such antics from them on a regular basis.  The
former thief had quickly come to the decision that it would be in his best
interests to find some way to change the subject.

"So, was that the most important part of the festival?" He tried to sound
nonchalant as he secretly willed even one of them to respond to the
question.

Talyn and Rallin continued to glare at each other stubbornly for a few more
moments before Rallin finally reluctantly conceded the staring match to
respond to Remy's question.

"Not quite.  For the next fifteen days, the public will, more or less, be
in a constant state of celebration.  There will be a variety of private
and public feasts, shows, and other forms of entertainment, many of
which you will attend.  However, there are only two more events
that necessitate the direct involvement of House Neramani."

"Really, and what would those events be?"  Remy prodded while resorting to
his trademark sweet and innocent face.  He already knew the answer to the
question but was willing to have it explained to him again to avoid
listening to another argument.

"The next formal part of the Festival is the Feast of Remembrance, which
takes place four nights from now."  Remy noticed with relief that both
advisors seemed to be relaxing somewhat as Rallin continued his explanation.

"The final part is the day of Victory Celebration, which is the official
close of the festival."

"Do you think that by that time you might actually be ready to advise the
Empress of a course of action, or will you still be waiting on the public's
reaction to his presence tonight?" Talyn remarked in a tone that was
completely innocent, yet laced with acid.

Remy watched the older man's face darkened and nearly threw his arms in the
air in defeat as the two advisors once again returned to a heated debate.
Remy tried to remember if any of his mother's advisors had been this openly
antipathetic towards each other when he had been a child.  However, he
seemed unable to recall a great deal about his mother's advisory, aside from
Gladiator and a couple who had a son named Gadian who had been roughly
his own age.  Of course, Remy belatedly realized, Gadian would now no longer
even be close to his own age as he had not even yet been conceived.

The former thief felt a surge of relief as his eyes caught site of  the door
to his quarters.  Gladiator had already led a detachment of two troops into
the room to ensure that the area was secure.  After a few moments one of the
guards turned to Gladiator to give him an "all clear" and then moved out  of
the entrance.  Satisfied, Gladiator nodded to Remy indicating that it was
safe for him to enter.

Remy swallowed an amused smile at the Praetor's painfully serious
expression.  Having been raised on the streets of New Orleans where no one
had ever concerned themselves with his welfare, it still seemed rather
laughable that anyone needed to go to such extremes to ensure his safety.
He might have ridiculed the entire system as ludicrous, if he were not
currently reigning in the urge to sprint for his door.

"Well, it has been a pleasure staying in your company," which wasn't a
complete lie, "and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow."  As
long as they were at least thirty meters apart from each other.

Rallin broke off in mid-argument with Talyn in surprise at Remy's abrupt
departure.  Then, as he became aware of their surroundings again,
comprehension returned to his features.  "Oh...yes.  Well then, we shall see
you in the morning, Sire."

"Yes," Talyn responded, while attempting a civil smile.  "We still have much
work that needs to be done."

Remy quickly followed Gladiator the rest of the way into his room and
breathed a sigh of relief as the door sealed behind him.  In the hall, he
could hear the two advisors furiously launching themselves into another
debate.  The prospect of dealing with the two bickering Shi'ar throughout
the rest of his stay was almost enough to make him groan.  Gambit idly
wondered if he and Rogue had exasperated Cyclops in a similar manner with
their legendary battles
..
Suddenly, several details clicked together inside of his head with
surprising clarity.  At first he shook his head in denial at the picture his
mind presented him.  After all, Rallin was almost enough to be her father.
But his instincts were rarely wrong when it came to reading the intentions
behind people's actions.   He realized that he must have been chuckling
softly at this sudden revelation when he sensed Gladiator turn to give him
a questioning look.

"So how long dos' two been denyin' de fact t'at dey're in love wit' each
other?" Remy said sliding back into his Cajun English, which felt less
formal to him.

Gladiator obliged him by also switching to English, though it didn't really
sound any less formal coming out of his mouth.  "Too long.  I even once
tried to impress on the Empress to order the two of the to be married so
that the issue could cease to affect them in their capacity as Advisors."

Gambit idly wondered what the ramifications would have been if Xavier had
attempted such an action with him and Rogue.  Given Tamara's fiery
disposition, it more than likely would not have been a pretty sight.

Gladiator shook his head solemnly.  "But she thought it would be best to
allow them to work it out on their own terms."

*Wise woman.* Remy thought wryly as he unlatched the silver clasp on his
coat
and then shed the garment onto his bed.  The clothing had been surprisingly
nonrestrictive of movement despite its ornate nature.  In fact, now that he
was divested of the coat, he felt that he had about the same amount of
mobility as he did wearing his combat armor.

"Well, Dat's definitely a May-December type relationship."

Gladiator simply gave him a blank look at his statement, causing Remy to
belatedly realize that the Shi'ar Warrior probably wouldn't understand its
meaning.

"I mean, he seems jus' a little old for her," Remy quickly added.

Gladiator nodded in understanding.  "That is actually part of the problem.
Advisor Dalkaon refuses to acknowledge that he has feelings for her because
he believes that she should find someone closer to her own age.  He thus
attempts to mask any affection as that of an uncle to a niece, which
infuriates Advisor Farsahn even more."

As the Praetor spoke Remy let his mind briefly wonder back to the couple
which had sat on his mother's advisory during his childhood.  Another memory
then clicked into place, and he suddenly realized why the name Talyn Farsahn
had seemed familiar to him earlier.  In his time she had been Talyn Farsahn
Dalkaon.

Gambit shook his head while smiling.  "Don't worry, Glady.  Dey gonna'
manage t' get everything worked out eventually."

Gladiator raised an eyebrow in mild disbelief at that comment but still
seemed content to take Remy's word on the matter.  Remy had decided that
there was at least one  distinct advantage to being known to have originated
from the future.  People around him tended to accept most of his
predictions, even the more outrageous ones, without questioning his sources.

And of course, this fact could be used to his own amusement at times.  He
still smiled when remembering the time that he had managed to convince Bobby
that in his future, Iceman had developed alternative sexual preferences.
The former thief had paid for that particular entertainment in the form of
ice cold showers for an entire week.

However, having a certainty of the future was not always such a wonderful
blessing.  Remy felt the familiar wave of melancholy sweep over him as his
mind involuntarily returned to dwell on his own dismal fate in the future.

He had not yet told Lilandra, justifying his actions by claiming that the
appropriate time simply had not yet arrived.  After all, he couldn't have
revealed in front of the entire Shi'ar public that in less than ten years a
chronological paradox was going to collapse, effectively erasing his
existence.
Such a revelation on his part could have easily generated a mild panic.

However, if Remy wanted to be completely truthful with himself, he would
have to admit that he had been more than willing to avoid the subject of his
own fate.  He simply did not know how to breech the topic with his new found
family.  Some rational part of his mind knew and understood that
procrastinating the eventual reckoning was only going to make it more
painful.  But, as it was a section of his brain that he had mostly ignored
in the past, he didn't really give a great deal of heed to it now.

Remy decided to take another walk out on his balcony in the hopes that the
night air would help cleanse such dark an heavy thoughts from his mind.

As he walked out into the open air, his mind tracked and catalogued the
ever-present form of Gladiator his normally arrogant strut seeming a little
more stiff than usual this evening.  Gambit tried to ignore the Praetor's
presence as he reveled in the magnificent view offered to him from his
quarters.  Despite his ever-growing affection for the man, at the moment, he
would have preferred a measure of solitude.

"Do ya' have t' stay wit' me all night, Glady?"  Remy tried to make his
voice sound casual as he voiced the question.

Gladiator nodded somberly.  "During the entirety of your stay there will
always be at least two guards assigned to you full time."

*Great,* Remy thought wryly. *Jus' what I need, two overprotective, paranoia
projectin' Shi'ar at arms length for de next three weeks.*

"So two of y' are goin' t' be trailin' me every time I decide t' take a tour
of de city."  He was trying, without much success, to keep the irritation
out of his voice.  The idea of always having two baby-sitters tagging
along beside him chafed on his fiercely independent nature.

If Gladiator had heard the disdain in Remy's voice, he completely
misinterpreted its meaning.  "I wouldn't overly concern myself with the
matter, your Majesty.  Your only journeys into the actual city will be for
your scheduled appearances and that will be in the presence of a full honor
guard."

It took every bit of restraint that Remy possessed not to tell the man where
he could shove his full honor guard.  And as for not being able to make a
few tours of the city... well, that was another issue that was going to be
addressed, even if he was forced to do so in a rather unorthodox manner.

Shaking his head in frustration and disbelief, Remy tried to remember if
imperial life had been this restrictive in his younger years.

Gambit's mind slowly recalled the fact that, even as a child, there had been
many times when he had attempted to escape Gladiator's omnipresent gaze and
enjoy a few scant instants of complete privacy.  He also recalled, to his
disappointment, that he had never once been successful an any of these
attempts.  Though Remy tried to view this new insight with an air of
nonchalance, his failure to meet that particular challenge still rankled him
somewhat.

Remy suddenly felt the old familiar stirrings of mischief as only an
unanswered challenge had ever been able to provoke in him.  After all,
during his last visit to Chandilar, there hadn't been an opportunity for him
to explore Capital City.  And as he had already more than fulfilled his
quota of dignified prince-like behavior for the day, he was certain that his
mother would forgive at least one wild, reckless, but utterly discrete,
late-night jaunt though town.

"Hey, Glady."  He could have simply caught the man completely off guard with
an unannounced swan dive off of the balcony but decided that he preferred a
little bit more of a challenge.

"Yes, your Majesty."  The guard replied solemnly.

"Y' up for a little late night chase?"  Remy had to smile as he felt
Gladiator's initial confusion slowly change to concern as he realized what
his charge intended to do.

"Your Majesty, I highly advise that you refrain from any fool-hardy..."

Gambit, however, had ceased to listen.  After all, he had only made his
earlier statement as type of warning and challenge to the man not as the
opening to a conversation.  He could already feel the adrenaline pumping
through his veins, that heady intoxicating rush he experienced every time he
had undertaken a new adventure.

The marble terrace surrounding the balcony proved to be a fairly decent
platform from which he executed a handspring launching himself in a line
parallel with the building.  Gambit curled into a pike position as he sailed
gracefully through the air landing an a lower outcropping some twenty feet
from the balcony in a practiced crouch.  He had spent some time earlier in
the day mapping the entire edifice out in his head.  Which, combined with a
few dislocated memories, had allowed him to plan out a complex escape route.

Of course, it was a route that would have stretched an Olympic gymnast's
skills to their limits.  For him, it would be little more than a walk in the
park.

Remy heard the Gladiator's wordless howl of surprise and shock before his
spatial awareness began to register the Praetor's own departure from the
balcony when he quickly took to the air.  The Cajun wasted no further time
as he quickly calculated the trajectory for his next leap then executed a
diving roll that took him out of the Gladiator's path at the last instant.

"Your Majesty, I must insist that you cease this foolish and dangerous
behavior!"  Gladiator was yelling in stern lecturing voice.

That statement alone had the singular effect of redoubling the Cajun's
determination to escape.  Every time he had tried and failed to lose the
overzealous guardian in his youth, he had been forced to endure a long and
painful lecture on safe and cautious conduct.  Such lectures were often made
even more unbearable by the fact that his mother and at least two other
members of the Imperial Guard often reiterated them.

Remy came out of his roll and snagged the head of what appeared to be a type
of
decorative bust of some historical figure.  He use it to swing himself over
onto another nearby balcony.  The thief could still feel Gladiator soaring
through the air behind him though he was moving considerably slower than
Remy had thought him capable.  Gambit quickly shoved the thought out of his
mind as he prepared for his next leap.  The man was probably simply
concerned that if he collided with his charge at a higher velocity, it could
cause serious injury to the young heir.

His next series of aerial acrobatics managed to put even more distance
between himself and his would-be protector.  However, he knew that his
chances of being able to actually lose Gladiator were slim indeed unless he
could reach the lower levels of the palace where the airspace was not
restricted.  From that point he could easily leap onto the back of one of
the passing hover vehicles as they sped by the imperial palace.

Remy felt an arrogant grin bloom on his face as he contemplated the
intertwining network of vehicles which were still a good fifty meters below
him.  The adrenaline continued to surge and burn through his body demanding
action.  He could sense the  arc of Gladiator's flight path the as Praetor
adjusted it to intercept him once again.  The grin on his face widened
marginally and, in that moment, he knew, with an unwavering confidence, that
he would finally succeed where he had continually failed all those years
ago.

With his blood singing in exaltation in his veins, he stepped off of the
balcony and flew laughing into the face of oblivion.

****************************************************************

Remy had found little trouble blending in with the crowd as he wandered the
streets.  Much to his pleasure and in spite of his one very public
appearance
a few hours earlier, few of Chandilar's citizens had been capable of
recognizing
him.  He attributed this fact partially to the amount of T'al that he had
seen
freely consumed during the course of the evening.

The Cajun continued to wander the streets aimlessly, enjoying himself quite
thoroughly.  Even had it not been the first night of the Festival of Lights,
he was certain that the city possessed more than enough attractions to have
kept him entertained for over a week before his instinctive roaming urges
would have prompted him to move on.

The city was, at the same time, similar and quite different from anything
that
he had seen on Earth.  It was dominated by massive skyscrapers, the
smallest of which still managed to dwarf any human construct in comparison.

As a result, the city contained several separate layers.  Streets and
sidewalks were built on huge hover platforms, which granted access to an
intricate network of stores, businesses, and even residences, all located
over two thousand feet above the ground.   This fact necessitated that each
location be marked with a three co-ordinate address.  Thus, the city had a
definite three-dimensional feel to it.

For the pass several hours, Remy had enjoyed himself while exploring the
middle levels of the city, those which he estimated were about fifteen
hundred feet off of the ground.  They tended to be the more posh and
exclusive locations within Chandilar's infrastructure.  And though Gambit
would have easily enjoyed also crawling through the sleazier underbelly of
the city, his present manner of dress prevented him from doing so without
seeming overtly out of place.

The Cajun smiled as he rounded another corner to find yet another parade
like procession making it's way down the street.  He had always particularly
enjoyed Mardi Gras as a child mainly because the wide-eyed tourists that
it attracted were usually the easiest and fattest pinches.  But even without
those ulterior motives, he had loved the colorful sights and sounds that the
celebration had provided.  And though the costumes, music, and even revelers
themselves were completely alien to what he had known on the streets of New
Orleans, the Festival had managed to strike a resonant chord within him.

He had to sidestep to dodge a dancing couple as they twirled by him, deeply
involved in their own fast paced step.  The former thief watched for a
moment as the couple continued their spirited ballet for a few more moments
before separating, pairing off with a new set of partners, and then
beginning the entire process over again.  Remy observed the various couples
surrounding him for a few more moments to pick up the step, then slid up to
a pretty looking Shi'ar girl, who had just separated from her previous
dancing partner, and enthusiastically joined in the celebration.

For the next several minutes he lost himself almost completely in the
revelry of the moment.  The tempo of the dance increased to a furious pace
as he continued changing from partner to partner rarely pairing with the
same woman more than once.

After a few minutes though, something slowly began to nag at the very
back of his consciousness, something that he couldn't quite put his finger
on.  It started mildly at first, but then began to grow until it began to
distract him from the music and tempo of his step.

Then, in a flash of insight, he realized what it was that had been bothering
him for the past few moments.  Due to the large number of people surrounding
him, he had been trying to keep his sense of spatial awareness clamped down
as much as possible.  With the masses currently churning around him, letting
his kinesthetic sense go unfettered would have made him nauseous.  However,
he had been using it enough to track the patterns of all the dancing couples
within the immediate vicinity.  That way he could easily arrange to
"intercept"
the choicer partners when the cycled patterns of their own dance finished.

What his mind had been trying to tell him for the past five minutes, though
he had been studiously ignoring its warnings, was that someone within range
of his spatial sense was following a rather strange and erratic pattern, a
pattern that would allow that person to always observe him without ever
being brought into his field of vision.  For a moment, Remy wondered if one
of the Imperial guards had actually managed to locate him.  However, as he
allowed his senses to observe the lithe and graceful movements of his
current admirer, who was definitely feminine, he knew that none of the Guard
that he had encountered thus far matched the description that his brain was
currently mapping out.

Remy decided that this was definitely a situation that merited a more direct
approach.  Thus, he subtlety began to angle the path of his current partner
until the woman who was observing him was directly behind them.  He waited a
few moments for the mysterious female to finish her own dance cycle and
begin to move to another partner, before abruptly breaking off from his own
dance and twirling around suddenly to sweep the surprised woman into a
spirited trot.

"Have you enjoyed what you've been watching?" He whispered in Shi'ar, while
maintaining the same festivity nonchalant expression that he had worn for
most of the night.

Whoever this woman was, she was fairly skilled in masking her emotions, as
the look of surprise quickly faded from her features to be replaced with an
expression mirroring his own.

Gambit took a brief moment to study her as they continued their twirling
path.
She was a good deal older than he, perhaps about the same age as Lilandra;
however, her face, though not unattractive, seemed somewhat hardened
and was creased with several premature lines.

"You're skilled boy,  I will give you that," she was saying.  "Very few
people have ever been able to pick me out of a crowd when I was on a
surveillance operation.  And it took the Deceiver's own luck to find you in
the first place."

Remy felt his insides grow colder at her words.  Before arriving, Lilandra
and Xavier both had warned him that this sort of attention was quite likely
once his true origins had been revealed.  The overbearing attention of
Gladiator and the Imperial Guard had been hard enough to deal with.

"What do you want?"  He allowed a little of his impatience to enter into his
words.

The woman, however, simply shook her head.  "Not here, there are two many
ears attached to wagging tongues.  If you want to talk, meet me at the
alleyway behind the North Provost platform at level four."

Remy gave her a skeptic stare, which she blithely ignored.  He didn't bother
asking any more questions of her, as it was obvious that she would volunteer
no further information in their current location.  Thus, they continued the
dance in silence until they reached the end of the cycle and separated out
to find new partners.  He tried to keep track of the enigmatic women after
their dance ended but noted wryly that she quickly moved beyond the range
of his senses and was soon lost in the crowd once again.

The Cajun took a moment to consider his dilemma as he once again glided to
the side of another enthusiastic partner.  He was sorely tempted to simply
forget about the woman's presence and continue enjoying himself for the rest
of the night.  Unfortunately, the woman had managed to arouse his curiosity,
and as much as he cursed himself for this particular weakness, he could
never resist an opportunity to satisfy his curiosity.

With some reluctance, Gambit slowly made his way out of the center of the
dancing until he was able to disengage himself completely from the rest of
the revelers.  He slid unobtrusively through the crowd as he made his way
towards the North Provost platform that she had indicated.  He had used his
time well during his tour of the city and had already managed to map out a
quarter of the sprawling metropolis in his mind.  Therefore, he had no
trouble
finding the location which had been indicated to him by his mysterious
follower.

A few minutes later he found himself waiting in the designated alley which
was completely deserted aside from some strange creatures that appeared to
be a cross between a rodent and frog.  Now he had no reservations about
allowing his senses to sweep the area at his maximum range.  Unfortunately,
all such sweeps served only to confirm the fact that he was alone.

Once again, he asked himself why he was meeting with someone who had been
stalking him when he could have been enjoying himself back at the parade?
Gambit had almost managed to talk himself out of the arranged meeting when
his spatial awareness began to register movement towards the northern end of
the alley.

After a few minutes the movement resolved itself into the figure of the
woman with whom he had danced only a few minutes earlier.  He allowed
his sense to study the area around him to ensure that she was alone and had
not tried to lure him into some sort of trap.  Remy watched her closely as
she approached stopping about ten yards in front of him.

They studied each other warily for a few tense moments until she finally
broke the silence.  "I thank you for agreeing to this meeting, Neramani."

"I didn't agree to anything," he replied tersely.  "And the name is Remy."

She continued to stare at him for several more moments, apparently trying to
appraise his worth, before finally responding.  "We have much to discuss.
There are many things that you need to know."

"I agree," Remy felt his patience with this woman slowly eroding.  "Let's
start with, who are you and what do you want with me?"

The woman shrugged indifferently as she responded.  "You may call me Zair
Rilie.  I was formerly employed within the Shi'ar Intelligence Community and
now am a freelance operative."

Remy eyed her dubiously as his mind absorbed the information.  "So, what do
you want from me, a position in my mother's administration?"  He shook his
head with a wry grin.  "Sorry, I don't have that much pull, yet."

Zair's face creased into an unpleasant frown at his flippant remark.  "I am
not interested in anything that you can offer me."

The woman then paused for a moment and managed to replace her sour
expression with a slightly more neutral one.  "I am here to offer some
information which could prove invaluable to you in time."

He very nearly grunted in open disdain at her obvious attempts at
solicitation.  Instead, he merely held up one hand and, with firm shake of
his head, stated  "Listen, whatever it is that you are trying to sell, I am
not interested in buying."

"Will you get it through your thick head that I don't want anything from
you!" Zair snarled at him her face once again acquiring a feral look.  She
glared at him intently, as if she could will him to believe her words.

They stood there for a moment studying each other intently until the last
of Gambit's waning curiosity in this woman's message silently slipped away.
With precise deliberate motions, he straightened his tunic before turning
sharply on his heel and proceeding to exit the alley.  With each step that
he took, he could sense her frustration, and to his surprise, desperation
building.

"Do you at least want to know how I managed to find you?"  Though spoken
with casual confidence, Remy was still able to pick out the hopefulness
behind her words.

The Cajun halted his steps as, once again, he was forced into a contest
between his inquisitive nature and the more rational mind.  Apparently, she
took his hesitation as a cue to continue.

"I was your partly-terran biology," she began by way of explanation.
"Higher levels of calcium, due to your partly-terran skeleton, a unique
blood chemistry, slightly lower body temperature, there are dozens of
aspects about your human physiology that would make you stand out
on a large area scan.  Presently, Chandilar may host a great deal of
non-indigenous life, but there are still only a handful of humans here."

Remy was slowly turning to face this strange woman again.  She could
obviously see that his interest was gradually returning and quickly made a
move to fully attract his attention.  Zair withdrew a small, bracelet-shaped
device from the coat that she was wearing and tossed it in his direction.

He snagged the object from the air and gave a her questioning look in reply.

"It's a type of personnel cloaking device," she explained with a smug smile.
"When activated, it will cause you to be registered as a standard Shi'ar
life-form to most scans."

He stared at the bracelet for a few moments longer in contemplation
weighing her words carefully against what he knew of this woman which,
unfortunately, was practically nothing.  He slowly lifted his eyes to meet
her own again and, knowing that he would probably regret his decision, said.

"Okay, I'm listening."

He saw a little of the tension go out of her shoulders at his simple
statement.  Her face immediately acquired a business-like look to it as she
began to pace in a small circle collecting her thoughts.

"There really isn't an good starting point to what I am about to tell you,
and most of it is just a little too fantastic for you to believe.

Remy had to hide a smirk at that particular remark.  Here he was, the newly
discovered, chronologically displaced, heir of an alien empire who had
witnessed
the future deaths of his own family, and she felt that what she had to tell
him was "too fantastic" for him to believe.

"I suppose that the best place to start would be with House Telaranni."  Her
face became solemn as she halted her steps and met Remy's gaze again.  "I'm
assuming that you heard of their recent demise."

He nodded his head slowly in response.  He had felt a twinge of guilt on
learning of their gruesome deaths as they had experienced the same fate
during his own time.  He couldn't help but feel that if he had allowed
Xavier to scan his memories at an earlier time, he may have been able
to prevent the murder of House Telaranni as well.

"Yes, I heard that they had been killed by a faction of the Skrull."

Zair smiled bitterly and said in an ironic tone,  "The investigative
committee was quite thorough in proving that point, wasn't it?"

Gambit frowned in response.  His eyes narrowed marginally as he tried to
discern the meaning of her cryptic statement and didn't particularly care
for the message that he was able to infer from her words.

"Listen, if you want to tell me something, tell me.  I'm not interested
in listening to suggestions and insinuations."

An extremely satisfied expression passed over Zair's features.  "You display
your heritage as a descendant of Aldarus Neramani well.  That is good.  If
you are to fulfill the measure of your creation as he fulfilled his own, you
will need as many of his positive traits as possible."

He didn't bother to hide the skepticism in his voice as he replied with an
amused grin, "And, according to you, what exactly would be the measure of my
creation?"

Zair smiled mysteriously.  "Yours is the burden that has belonged to
every member of the Chosen Lineage since the dawn of our people.  Put
simply, it is your destiny to protect the Shi'ar."

Remy was seriously beginning to question the mental stability of this woman.
After all, he already knew his destiny, and it was on Earth with Rogue,
not Chandilar.  Then there was the added fact that she obviously subscribed
to the ancient prophecies of the Chosen Lineage with an almost fanatic
intensity.  The Cajun tried briefly to recall what he had managed to learn
of those prophecies during the past few months.

The concept of the Chosen Lineage, as he recalled, was one that was
intricately intertwined with the Shi'ar religion.  Almost all of their
beliefs were founded on the teachings of a prophet named J'oshe, who had
lived thousands of years before the time of Unification.  From what he could
remember of his studies of their history, J'oshe had apparently lived during
an extremely violent and dangerous time, in a world composed of corrupt
Clans that waged constant war against on another.  Many claim that it was
J'oshe himself who was responsible for the eventual unification of the
Shi'ar, as the belief system that he proposed was essentially the foundation
of principles upon which the Imperium was established.

J'oshe's descendants were the original Chosen Lineage, and in time came to
be respected and revered nearly as highly as their great patriarch.

However, during their own lives, the Members of the Chosen lineage, and all
who had embraced the faith that J'oshe had revealed, were not well received
by
the Clans.  J'oshe's posterity was thus hunted and scattered until they were
largely believed to be extinct.  The only thing that had remained was a
prophecy that one day all of Chandilar would embrace that which it had once
rejected.  And when that happened, the descendants of J'oshe would return to
once again protect the principles that they had espoused from the beginning.

It was Aldarus Neramani's miraculous victory over the Fal'korr that had
convinced many that the Neramani line was indeed the Chosen Lineage
returned.

Remy shook his head firmly in denial.  "Listen, I greatly respect your
beliefs, but I am afraid that I just don't share them."  After all, he had
been raised Catholic and didn't even really believe in that faith very much
these days.  "I don't really believe in this idea of some great prophesied
line that is always duty-bound to protect Shi'ar."

If his words had any effect on the woman, Remy didn't see it.  She still
appeared as determined and resigned to her present course of action as ever.
In fact, a certain glint in her eye almost led him to believe that she had
been expecting this reaction from him and might have been disappointed had
he done otherwise.

"It doesn't really matter if you believe me, your duty is still the same."

Gambit nearly snorted at her confident words but held his silence instead.

"But that is somewhat off of the subject.  If the idea of duty to your
people doesn't stimulate any noble sentiment within you, then what about
duty to your family?"

Remy felt his lips thinning.  "What do you mean?"

The woman's expression turned somewhat grim, and he thought that he noticed,
for a brief moment, a slightly pained expression behind her eyes.

"There are forces in play that you cannot yet comprehend.  In time, I fear
they could prove to be a grave danger to the Empress and the Imperium."

His gut clenched slightly at Zair's dire statement.  Rationally, he
wondering just how much faith that he should be putting in this woman's
words.  He was familiar enough with government intelligence agencies to
recognize a professional when he saw one.  Unfortunately, the intense
emotions lurking behind her eyes also made him wonder she hadn't somehow
been driven over the edge of sanity by some harsh experience.   However, the
prospect of once again losing his family after having only barely regained
them froze his insides.  And even though this woman could quite possibly
simply be a crackpot, he would hear her out on the off chance that there may
be some validity to her claims.

He studied her carefully for several more moments in silence with both his
eyes and his senses.  On the surface, he was unable to detect any stray
expression or emotion that suggested anything but complete sincerity.  With
a small sigh, Remy finally made his decision, hoping that he wouldn't regret
it later.

"Tell me what you know about house Telaranni."

Though her expression hadn't changed, he could sense a powerful feeling of
satisfaction and vindication from the woman.  "I'm assuming that you know
the official report.  The entire family as well as seven Imperial Guards
were found ruthlessly murdered while vacationing on the planet Trenist,
obviously the victims of Skrull terrorism."

Gambit nodded in response and she continued.  "What most people don't know
is that two of the guards were killed a full half-hour after the family and
the other five guards had already been murdered."

Remy felt his own brow crease in perplexity at this new information.  Why
would the assassin or assassins stay at the scene of the murder for an
additional half-hour after they had already completed their task?

Zair had obviously sensed his train of thought and was quick to add,
"Skrulls are brutal and reckless, but they aren't that foolish.  They didn't
stay behind to desecrate the bodies, and the quarters had not been ransacked
so they weren't looking for anything either."

She made sure that her eyes were meeting his own before declaring
solemnly, "the only explanation for why the assassin would stay for so
long after his assignment had been completed was to ensure that he
had properly created a scene that would implicate the Skrull."

He considered her a moment before replying, "That's a pretty big assumption
to make.  Especially considering the fact that you have no real evidence to
substantiate your claims."  He shook his head.  "You don't even have a
reasonable motive for why someone other than the Skrull would wish House
Telaranni dead."

Zair smiled grimly.  "House Telaranni was one of the more powerful members
of the Noble council and a great ally to your mother.  They held the
position of the succeeding House to the Neramani line, a most prestigious
post indeed.  When they died, that position was left open for another
ambitious House."

She arched an eyebrow at him inquisitively and asked in a tone that was
entirely too innocent.  "Does that sound like a reasonable motive to you?"

Gambit once again found himself wondering about the stability of this
obviously paranoid woman.  "I think you're looking for conspiracies were
there are none to be found."

Zair's smile hadn't faltered despite his obvious disbelief.  If anything, it
simply grew larger.  "I believe that I have told you all that I can for now.
I
doubt that you would be able to accept anything else that I could tell you
at this moment.  I bid you good night, your Highness."

The woman turned to leave and proceeded to walk towards the mouth of the
alley.  Just as she was about to enter the street, she turned her head to
look at him over her shoulder.  "There is one more thing that you might wish
to consider.  If I am right, and someone was willing to murder Emoln
Telaranni and his family simply for their position, then what makes you
think that they would hesitate to bestow the same fate upon you and your
mother?"

Remy didn't respond to her question but merely watched her as she left,
sliding quietly back into the crowds from which she had come.  He toyed
briefly with the idea of following her but quickly dismissed the idea as he
doubted that such an action would truly produce any useful results.
Besides, he could already see the very first streamers of light in
Chandilar's western sky, a result of Chandilar rotating in an opposite
direction than the Earth,  and knew that he had probably worried Gladiator
enough for one night.

Still, try as he might, he couldn't quite dismiss the strange woman's words
from his mind as he began his trek back to the palace.  Zair's cryptic
statement concerning forces that he couldn't yet comprehend continued to
play through his mind.  For some strange reason that he couldn't begin to
explain, the thought left him feeling cold inside.

end part 5