((Tara, that makes my head hurt
))
Terenia looks away from the stars, shifting her attention to the dirt beneath her. She takes a hand and picks some up, letting it fall through the gaps between her fingers. She examines her dirtied hand thoroughly, as though checking for imperfections.
<You are not going to be executed,> Efaen says, <I do not know why you insist on being so melodramatic.>
<According to them I will not be executed,> Terenia corrects, <Perhaps they are lying, perhaps not. Even if I live, this constitutes a set-back of enormous proportion. My entire cause is destroyed. I will have no way of determining Tamora's status. I will be unable to return to the Blade Ship. This is my death row, whether I die or not.>
<And my liberation,> Efaen says, although the earlier excitement is gone. Terenia pushes herself to her feet and looks at the grounds surrounding the bar. Her gaze falls on the shipyard and the slightest inkling of something passes through her consciousness.
"Yes," Terenia says out loud, beginning to walk forward, "It is your liberation."
As she walks she begins to resume Andalite form, pausing only during the moment of transition from two legs to four, before continuing on her course. She does not stop until she reaches her ship.
<Computer, open hatch,> Terenia says. The hatch obliges and Terenia enters, resealing the ship behind her and ordering it not to open for anyone. She begins to look through various compartments, being careful not to power up the engines or even the computer, lest anyone think she is taking off. Terenia knows that it is too late for escape. Perhaps she can manage to avoid public humiliation, delay the inevitable, but beyond that her options are limited.
