Tajlon followed Lord Anakron back to his private quarters on his ship which he had docked in one of the huge landing bays of the Moz Lidule.

"Come in and make yourself comfortable. That was quite a show back there."

"Yes. One I hope to never experience again. I’m grateful for this," Tajlon said clasping the guardchev.

Anakron approached him to examine it more closely.

Tajlon was amazed how comfortable he felt with Anakron compared to the other elders he had met up to this point. He started to open the guardchev again.

"No, leave it closed, neutral. I want to test it,” Anakron said. “Take off your jacket and have a seat."

Tajlon took off the stiff uniform jacket and sat down on well-worn leather sofa.

Anakron sat beside him and ran a finger over the artwork, admiring the fine detail.

"It's been tuned especially for me, by Baleendro I suppose," Tajlon said.

"Yes, it has his emblem on the back," Anakron said pointing to an ornate, scripted monogram. "It's very beautiful. I've only seen a few of these. They are intra-dimensional and can protect you on every level of existence."

"I am truly honored to have it," Tajlon said.

Anakron toyed with the device making it spin and slow down and spin again around the central flame. It glowed continuously.

"It appears to be more under your command than mine, Lord Anakron."

"I doubt that. Try closing it to me."

The guardchev slowed and stopped moving. It was still warm against Tajlon’s chest.

"Is it not working?"

"No, I think it's working perfectly. The guardchev knows your true mind and mine. I am your rightful master and you have placed yourself under my command. I find you pleasing. I pose you no threat and you have no reason to block me, so it remains at a standstill."

The guardchev came to a complete stop. The glow diminished to its resting state.

"How did you make it spin?"

"By thinking of Bethon. Nothing regarding him can get past it,” Anakron said. He gave a humorless chuckle. “You should know it’s not the first time the ancients have had to address his behavior.”

“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Tajlon said.

"I can see you've had a rather bad experience. I need to know everything."

"You'll have to ask the admiral. He appears to have erased most of it."

"More from guilt than kindness I suspect. May I continue?" Anakron asked.

Tajlon took a deep breath and nodded affirmatively.

Anakron worked thoroughly through Tajlon’s memory files, back to the point he had been released from the Sora's prison capsule. "There's been a lot of repair work already."

"Widhbo did what he could. He said I was quite a mess."

“Yes, he heavily sedated you and restored your operational files. Your memories of Bethon are missing between the time you woke up from the encounter, back to the point when you drank the liquor. They are still there, just severed.”

“I want to remember what happened,” Tajlon insisted. “I want to know the whole story, not this fragmented version available to me.”

Anakron looked Tajlon squarely in the eye, assessing his resolve. “I can regulate your emotions as I retrieve the severed memories. You will be able to recall the trauma but without the subjective element. I can make the memories objective and erase the actual pain.”

“Go ahead then. Do it,” Tajlon replied.

“Lie down and relax. This will take a while.” Anakron mended Tajlon’s memories, changing them to dispassionate. He performed the operations so deftly that Tajlon barely felt it.

“I believe we’re finished,” Anakron announced. “I’ll do a quick check of your older files.” The guardchev began to spin again as Anakron probed deeper. "It’s still protecting your core files from me, those from before you uploaded on Beldora. Yes, it’s definitely hiding something."

"Perhaps it’s what Admiral Bethon found," Tajlon replied.

The guardchev spun faster.

"Are you resisting me at all?"

"No."

"Perhaps if you took it off... "

The device began to whir and glow with activity. Anakron backed out completely and it stopped.

"You saw where Bethon told me I should never remove it from my person when near an elder," Tajlon said.

"Yes. It must be your choice, Tajlon. I won't blame you if you refuse."

Tajlon took a moment to consider the consequences, then removed the chain from around his neck and lifted the guardchev free of his body, laying it to one side.

"I want to trust to you completely, Lord Anakron,” Tajlon said. “To go forward, I must know if I can."

"Balvendro was right. You are a worthy subject, Tajlon."

Anakron searched past the previous blockage, deeper into the Beldora files. Without the guardchev’s protection, it was quite easy. "You seem tense. How are doing?"

Tajlon found it no different than before and relaxed. “It’s okay. I feel fine.”

Anakron nodded and continued, but moments later seized the guardchev. He dropped it over Tajlon’s head and back around his neck. It snapped shut, blocking Anakron out immediately. It whirred and glowed with the same reaction it had exhibited previously at the conference.

"What did you find? What's inside of me that could be so terrible?"

"Not terrible, Tajlon,” Anakron explained. “Mesmerizing or intoxicating as Bethon would say." He held the guardchev in his hand watching it spin against him. "With your digitalized memories, an elder could experience your life as though they were living it for the first time. As advanced as we are now, we were all mortals once, and in some way, long to be so again. We were uploaded in the analog manner. At best we have foggy memories of our own mortality, only as clear as they were at the time. We can barely recall our adult lives, much less our youth. ”

“I understand the allure, but I'm not sure why they are so dangerous.”

“Your files are more valuable to an elder than you can imagine. They could be bought and sold across the galaxy like precious jewels. Your very mind would soon be the province of extortionists and criminals. Wars have been fought over less valuable resources. Balvendro discovered this when Bethon was scrubbed which is why he made the guardchev. You’re a little too perfect."