Varian stood on shaky legs, slowly getting his breath back. It was over, the Source was no more. Could it be termed death when in reality it hadn’t truly been alive for decades, perhaps longer? He didn’t know, but it was an uncomfortable feeling, knowing he’d had a hand in its destruction. Such wastefulness went against everything he believed, and yet there’d been no other choice. If he hadn’t acted as he had, Scott would have been killed, drained of his lifeforce to sustain the Source, and Varian had promised Doctor Jordan that he’d keep his son safe.

Scott. That thought brought Varian back to the present situation. Had Fred and Liana reached the boy in time? He had to know. Leaving Il-tar to deal with everything else, Varian headed out of the room that had housed the Source, and made his way back along the corridors to where Il-tar had directed the others…

Fred was sitting on the floor, one arm around Scott, who looked a bit pale, but he was alive. The relief was so profound, for a moment Varian thought his legs might really give way. He was drained almost to the point of exhaustion, but none of that mattered right now.

“Is Scott alright?”

“Yeah.” Fred looked up at the other man. “Bad headache, but at least he doesn’t look like he’s about to keel over. You look whacked. Are you okay?”

Varian stared back at the young doctor, confused. “Whacked? There are times I wonder if we even speak the same language.”

“Whacked. You know, worn out, exhausted.”

“Oh. Yes. That sounds about right.” Varian nodded, then wished he hadn’t as the room seemed to tilt.

Fred frowned. “You better sit down before you fall down.”

“Yes. Good idea.” Sinking wearily to the floor, Varian settled with his back against the nearest wall. He had a headache too, from shutting down the forcefield. “I hope I never have to do that again.”

“Do what exactly?”

“Take down a forcefield. I wasn’t even sure it was possible.” Resting his head against the wall, Varian closed his eyes.

“Hey, don’t you go fallin’ asleep there. Someone might trip over you.”

Varian managed a tired smile. “At this point, I’m not sure I’d even notice. I’ll be fine, I just need to rest for a moment.”

“Okay. Guess we all need to catch our breath. That was intense.”


The End