Adam sat on a rock, watching as a long line of Drev snaked back into the distance and over the horizon, all here to see their new saint: to see sunny in all her martial glory. He watched from a distance admiring her as she glimmered like a shining beacon over the land before her: A fallen star come to rest on earth.

Even from here, he could hear her voice, and leaned back against the mossy stone as he listened to her words.

The scroll she had been carrying was being feverishly copied by volunteer Drev scribes as they murmured and spoke about their new doctrine. He was surprised how eager the Drev seemed, and how nonviolent sunny's exaltation unto sainthood had been. Even the traditionalist seemed to be falling in line, staunchly eager to accept a new saint. He had sort of expected a riot to come out of all this, with he traditionalists rising up against a radical new doctrine, but.... Oddly enough compared to biblical humans, when Drev said traditional they meant it. And it was traditionally accepted to accept the word of the saints as fact.

And damn how he admired her.

The first Drev in 500 years, and of course it was going to be Sunny.

She was amazing after all, the most determined badass he had ever known. Of course she was going to change the world. He wanted to be more like her. She changed the world, while he struggled to change himself.

The thought didn't make him bitter, or jealous, not in any way at all, which only marginally surprised him. In fact he felt a glowing of immense pride for her, a smugness towards the others because he knew her and they didn't. He was acquainted with the saint of the burning sun, who else could really say that? But then, there was also in him a slight welling of sadness, bitter sweet.

Sunny was everything he knew she had been all along. The most amazing person he had ever met, and now..... Now he doubted he would ever have a chance to try again. She was surely going t obe too busy being the Moses for her people to ever bother even interacting with him ever again. As a Sentinel he knew enough to know that he was now below her in rank, so it would probably be unbecoming for her to remain as a crewman aboard his ship.

But as he sat on his rock, taking long deep breaths of the dewey morning air he was..... Able to accept that. Actions had consequences, he had had his chance, and she had moved on to greater and better things.

He was happy for her.

He was proud of her.

And deep down he was surprised to find that he wasn't even lying to himself.

He leaned back against his rock and closed his eyes allowing the golden sun to warm his body.

He drifted in and out for a little while, listening to her voice, listening the words of the new Drev doctrine.

And at some point was lulled to sleep by the rhythmic cadence of her voice.

"Is that any way to treat your saint."

He jolted awake bolt upright on his rock, immediately lifting his hands as he was blinded by a sparking array of colors thrown off of pearlescent white armor."

He held up a hand squinting past the rays of light and up to the face which stared down at him with some measure of amusement. His palms grew immediately clammy with sweat, and his heart skipped a few beats inside his chest.

He stood quickly, and then knelt as he had seen the other Drev do, head bowed low.

"WHat are you doing?"

He kept his head bowed, "As a sentinel to my clan, it is only proper of me to show the same respect to you as they."

"Is this how things are going to be..... Formal and stiff from now on?"

He lifted his head to look up at her still being forced to squint, hand raised gain, "I mean.... It can be if that's how you want... Or I'm just being an idiot.... Again."

"Hmmm so I see nothing has changed on that front.... You can stand up."

He stood keeping one hand over his eye and adjusting the light filter on his mechanical eye so he coil finally look her in the face. He lifted his chin, and shuffled his feet into a better stance,"You can do it if you want."

She tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face, "Do what?"

"Hit me."

"Hit you!"

"Yeah, as payback. I mean yo-"

She paused just then head tilted, reaching out a hand to the side of his face, gently tilting his head to the side. Where her fingers touched his skin, his body erupted into tingling tongues of fire.

He swallowed, "Who did this." he wondered, examining the bruises along his jaw and neck."

"I uh.... Its not important. Just a..."

"I did."

Sunny and Adam both looked up to see Cannon marching across the moss towards them, his armor glinting, a spear held in one hand. Sunny took her hand back and Adam's skin bubbled lightly with the memory of her hand.

"You Did this?"

"Yeah, I did." Cannon held his head high.

"Why?"

"Because he hurt my little sister, did you expect me to just be ok with that?"

"To the contrary, I think Adam has inadvertently ushered the Drev into a new age of enlightenment, so cut him some slack."

Cannon Glowered at him and Adam stepped nervously to the side, "So you.... Don't want to kick my ass."

"Only in a fair duel."

Adam sighed, "Well I can tell you that is a fight I would definitely lose."

Cannon just stared at her, "Seriously, you.... Don't want to kick his ass? Not even a little?"

"No Cannon, I don't want to hurt him unless it's fair. Would you both stop looking at me like I should be mad. I spent months on the top of the mountain in spiritual meditation. Its very, very difficult to hold onto any sort of anger when you are a bit busy trying to realign doctrine that has been slowly degrading for the past five centuries."

Cannon stayed quiet, but Adam drew himself up setting his jaw and gripping a hand firmly around the spear he held against the stone.

"Either way, that doesn't change the fact that I still owe you an apology. No, I owe you far more than that in ways that words cannot express. WHat I did was wrong, and it hurt you unfairly, so I find it's only fair if there is some way I can pay you back." Cannon went to open his mouth and Adam held up a hand glowering at the Drev who, surprisingly took a step back, "Furthermore, I wanted to take the time to tell you how proud I am, and how proud we all are of you. You are everything I knew you were and more, and It was an honor to know you."

She tilted her head a little, "Was an honor? You're talking about me like I'm dead."

"Oh, no, no no, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry, I just meant to serve with you on the ship."

"I am still not following you."

"I was.... Assuming that you were going to be staying here? To lead the Drev into a new age of enlightenment.... Thought you wouldn't really have time to go galavanting across the galaxy with the rest of us hoodlums."

Sunny laughed, and he stood there a bit nonplussed.

"I did not just become Queen of Anin, Adam. A saint is simply a conduit for the word of the spirits. I served my purpose as that conduit. Yes I might take a month or two to teach what I know to the Drev Sentinels, but beyond that the decementation of the word will be through Clan Magnates. If someone doesn't like the change in doctrine, than they can fight it out among themselves. That job is not mine."

Adam blinked in surprise, "I.... so your saying..."

"I am saying that I will be returning to my post aboard your ship."

He stood up a bit straighter a little more Surprised now, "You will.... I... Well I admit I didn't expect that, but your position is certainly open for whenever you return."

She lifted her chin and ten reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder, "Adam, relax, it's ok."

"I am glad you have forgiven me, but it isn't ok, and I am not going to pretend it is." He rested a hand over hers, "You're Always welcome aboard my ship Sunny. IF there is anything I can do to help your efforts here, then just say the word, I am at your disposal."

"Thank you for your support. Expect my return in two months time, at which time I expect you to be kidnapped. Krill to be having a nervous breakdown, and a new alien species to be aboard the ship."

He smiled, "Count on it. Now get going, these people need to be enlightened."

He watched her go leaning on his spea, one eye still covered over from her brilliance.

Now she had gone and proven to be even better than all that. She wasn't even mad at him, she had.... Forgiven him, or so it seemed. It was such an act of..... Such extreme.... He didn't even know what.

But whatever it was he admired it.

He stood a bit straighter head held high.

That was it, if Sunny was going to go and be a better person, to really live up to whatever potential she was meant to, then he was going to do the same. With her as an example he was going to follow in her footsteps.

Maybe then he could be a better man.

The kind of man that could even halfway live up to the expectations of someone like her. To be someone she deserved even if he had lost his chance. He would leave it up to her, and in the meantime he would turn himself into someone it would be worthwhile to know.

He smiled, feeling as if he had been filled with a glowing warmth from her very presence.

"That's our Sunny." He said softly nodding his head.

"That's OUR saint."