Although Rand Maeli had shown signs of shock first, it was Ulric who eventually broke down. Rand, having recovered several hours later, took it upon himself to assume Jemsen’s post as the leader of this tiny part of the Tertian revolution, while his hysterical friend and predecessor was carried away by a medic and a workman.

“Jemsen’s explanation bordered on the supernatural – as though a demon had posessed him. Crazy!”

He sat down at Jemsen’s desk.

“But the reports tell of rebellion planetwide – he couldn’t be the only one affected. But see, I’m fine! Yet, who else might go the way of Jemsen? And who did we send to Koagrad – what if he breaks down too?”

He shuffled some papers, but no answer came.

“You know, someone is behind all of this, and he has a plan. The way I see it, we can either break down, or keep fighting and following that plan. I say we keep fighting, since Jemsen tried the other way – haha – and look how that turned out!”

Ironically, there was no one in the room to appreciate his joke.