Cairo could no longer detect the curvature of the planet. Their descent had now taken them through the upper part of the Zeta Reticulon atmosphere where clouds just beneath them obscured the surface altogether.

"I'd like to have everyone securely seated ...now." Trace stated calmly, but firmly. He didn't like what some of the re-entry gauges were showing him and he didn't want to be distracted by inexperienced travelers as he was trying to get them to a safe place.

Cairo, who could sense even the smallest mental vibration, knew something wasn't quite right and decided to push back a bit.

"Should we be concerned?"

Trace almost imperceptibly glanced at her before returning his gaze to the ship's console. It wasn't a long look but Cairo could sense his slight annoyance related to her comment. Trace didn't immediately reply as he made some adjustments to their current course and heading. She didn't know what he was doing but she could see almost everything he saw.

Just then a visible warning of was displayed on the main control screen. The warning was accompanied by a short-burst, recurring alarm that was broadcast throughout the ship. Not exactly confidence-inspiring, she thought.

This time Trace looked at her a little longer and with a bit more disdain.

"No, it isn't. But I'm not quite sure how sarcasm helps us right now..."

Wow, he's pretty good she thought, 100 percent to herself this time. Cairo hadn't completely blocked her previous thought from him but it was about 90 percent covered, which obviously wasn't quite enough. From her experience, most TP capable beings would not have been capable of "hearing her" in that particular instance. He continued to surprise her...

"You're right, there was no purpose in that at all. Is there something I can do to help you...to help us?" she asked sincerely.

He looked at her yet again, but this time his gaze was much softer.

"No, I replaced the re-entry shields last week," he said, as a matter of fact.

"I made sure everything was right. I think this has to be a sensor malfunction. Well, at least let's hope it is," he added with a slightly nervous chuckle.

At that point, Trace initiated the autopilot, left the cockpit, and started looking outside the visual ports, presumably for evidence of a problem, or confirmation that one didn't exist. Within a minute or so he returned to the command area and continued to stare at the multiple sensors and screens in front of him. All the while the bright red warning continued to flash and bellow. For the sake of everyone's nerves, including his own, Trace silenced the warning indicator. He continued to make adjustments but given Cairo's complete lack of piloting skills and knowledge, she couldn't say one way or the other if what he was doing was materially improving their situation. Either way, Cairo knew that their lives were literally in Trace's hands. And it probably wouldn't be the last time either.

"Re-entry is nearly complete from what I can tell and the heat shields are still holding. Let's hope it stays that way," Trace announced.

At this point, they were all watching his movements and intently listening to his every word. Clearly, this was not a good situation to be in, and obviously, none of it was Trace's fault, she thought. However, Cairo was concerned that Trace's nervous movements and twitchy behavior were having the unintended effect of putting everyone else on edge. The Hybrids looked especially petrified as they tightly gripped one another's hands. Cairo made a mental note to talk to Trace about modifying his "cockpit-side manner" afterward. Assuming of course they all survived and such a conversation was even possible! Cairo made sure that this time she kept everything 100 percent private. Despite the tension of the situation, she managed a small smile at the thought.

Even though Trace was knee-deep in activities centered around righting the ship, it was also apparent that nothing could elude "Captain" Trace's awareness radar.

"What?" he asked without ever turning his head as he continued to monitor the technical details of their seemingly still critical situation.

"Are you talking to me?" Cairo asked with hesitation.

"Yes. What's so funny?" he replied without breaking his concentration on the multiple tasks at hand.

"I think we could all use a good laugh right about now."

Before she could respond, the unnerving, highly monotonous, red warning signal they had repeatedly seen on multiple screens over the last several minutes suddenly stopped flashing.

Too afraid to ask if this was a good or a bad thing, everyone not named Trace Flireen held their breath waiting for more concrete visual or audible stimulus before reacting. Finally, Trace broke the silence with one universally relieving, and emphatically delivered word...

"YESSSSSSSSSSS!" he bellowed.

And with that, the room broke into cheers. No one cared what technically happened, just that whatever it was, it was behind them...and in a good way. If there was any doubt about that fact it was quickly put to rest when all five passengers onboard witnessed Trace's smile linger for what had to be minutes on end, which was no easy task for any Zeta to pull off given the species' oral cavity physical limitations.

Unfortunately, they were only able to briefly enjoy their mental respite. Cairo realized that their next stressful bout would soon be upon them as they began to approach the planet's surface. They were now about halfway through Zeta's atmosphere, and at this stage of the descent, Cairo could see the details of their destination which included the Capitol City of Tujir. Their approach had them arriving just before sunrise which meant the horizontal extent of the metropolis was self-evident. What Cairo witnessed was an endless array of interconnected and multi-colored lights that easily extended hundreds of miles in all directions. Wow. The complex physical beauty was undeniable. Equally undeniable was the immense pain and despair that the overwhelming majority of 84 million people living below likely endured every day. The ironic juxtaposition of those starkly different realities was not lost on Cairo, who thought back to her earlier communication with Trace.

As she was lost in thought, the following transmission came in audibly over the ship's intercom:

"

For the previous several minutes Cairo noted that no one on board had spoken a word. Relief after successful re-entry coupled with the serene beauty in front of them seemed to act like a group sedative. The incoming message from Tujir's command and control center abruptly ended all that.

Even "Captain" Trace was caught off guard and fumbled a bit before responding. He wanted to make sure he ended up speaking with the "right" contacts that were set up to help get them through to the surface. He also knew having it play out perfectly was anything but a sure thing given the fact that the port of Tujir handled over a million arrivals and departures a day. The aspect that most worried Trace however was that from here on out, save for a single longtime friend who was supposed to help them get through the 2nd ground checkpoint, he didn't know any of the Sympathizers that were put in place to help them get to Xiron, which at the moment, seemed light years away...

Trace responded.

Immediately after sending the message to the port's command and control tower, Trace temporarily blocked all outgoing transmission and addressed his 5 passengers directly.

"Do not say a word while I am in discussions with them. In fact, please do not even make a single sound. We have to put our faith in the Sympathizers who know we're coming and also know how important it is for us to get to Xiron. Let me deal with how to make this a reality. Please do not question my Lead. Whatever I ask of you, you will obey...without question or hesitation. Do you all understand?"

All four Hybrids and Cairo nodded in agreement, almost simultaneously.

"Good." Trace replied.

After exhaling deeply, he re-opened two-way communications with the tower.

After a moment Tower 14 responded...

Trace's stomach fell. Noooo! He didn't say a word but also didn't block out his concern that was immediately sensed by Cairo. She immediately looked over at him. Without looking back, he simply put up his hand in her direction.

"Stop," he added telepathically.

Trace's heart was now racing. Cairo could 'feel' his anxiety almost as if it were her own. This could be over before it even begins, he thought. Trace knew there was no chance they would get past genetic screening at an immigration control port with a Human and four Hybrids in tow without direct Sympathizer support on the ground. The Hybrids could be altered using biofilm and screening technology could be arranged for ground travel to hide the Human but none of this would be possible unless they were processed at Bay 7 where they had sufficient inside help and resources. Please let us through to 7...Bay 2 will be our end. Cairo again looked up at him sensing his deep desperation. Trace met her gaze with a nervous look in his eye and simply shook his head.

This time Trace Flireen looked up. And not surprisingly there were five sets of wide eyes intently staring right back at him. He instinctively looked over at Cairo who communicated with him directly and telepathically.

"Do not forget...Faith," she told him calmly.

"In who...or with what exactly?" he responded, dejectedly. "It appears that we have been left in the dark..."

She responded with a smile and a look of hope. "No my friend. As all Terran children know, It is always darkest just before the sun rises."

As Trace was preparing to respond to Tower 14, a second transmission came through.

The crew was now suddenly faced with a second, equally painful silence. Finally, after a "very long" moment, Tower 14 responded.

The tension in Trace's entire body disappeared as he looked down, placed his hands on the control surface facing the panel displays, and exhaled deeply. He could not believe his ears. What just happened? Apparently, the Zeta Sympathizer network had ears and eyes beyond what he had been told! He looked up at Cairo who, along with the Hybrids were all wearing ear-to-ear smiles. Cairo continued their gaze and simply mouthed the word "Faith".

Trace responded with his own smile as he looked down and shook his head in disbelief. Cairo sensed overwhelming relief from everyone as well as a bit of humility mixed in for good measure. She knew that they were now safely on their way to the surface with a newfound sense of trust that they'd get all the support they needed to get all the way to Xiron.