It felt like a million years since Tala Kelly had seen Earth, but floating overhead in the planetbound shuttle, she relished every fluffy white cloud and dash of blue sea. The "blue planet" was a lot like she had remembered, though she was saddened to see the scars of war still visible. As they cut over the bank of clouds, vast stretches of land could be seen from space, scarred by the void invasion, all the plantlife dead and the soil charred.

But Earth was resilient, and the wounds on her surface were quickly scabbing over. The livid red she had seen from previous images had faded away as new plant growth sprouted from the soil. The void invasion was the most recent catastrophes in a list of problems the Earth had faced since her disappearance, and she couldn't help but feel that none of this would have happened if she hadn't died.

The realization hurt, and the guilt was real despite none of this being her fault.

She imagined this is what a mother would have felt like leaving her children against her will, still guilty but with an abiding sense of sadness.

Kelly had been doing some reading on the void invasion and the long term effects. Surprisingly enough, the void had not destroyed the livability of the areas it had infected. In fact, dissolved particles from the strange, fleshy substance that had coated the ground had dissolved into the soil making the dirt incredibly fertile. Plantlife was already beginning to spring up from wasted land. New trees had to be planted, but just like the forest after a devastating wildfire, things would recover.

In a way the void had done good things for the land, returning minerals back to the earth that well-farmed dirt hadn't had in a long time. The animals that had been affected were recovering nicely and with no ill side effects except for looking a little mangy for the duration of their hair loss.

So earth itself was recovering just fine.

The greatest devastation had been on the people.

Collective trauma had seen a skyrocketing increase in PTSD, Anxiety, and Panic disorders over the last few months. Thousands of people had been displaced as their houses and lands were completely destroyed. Cities were struggling to handle the influx of visitors from moe rural areas.

But still.

Life moved on.

And just like the aftermath of a hurricane, people were already starting to rebuild, pulling their houses together and making their living on the land that had been scorched and barren. Some of those houses would never be reentered as the homeowners couldn't go back to the scene of such horror, but others were determined to stay put. The residents of Orion Mericanda were some of the hardest hit, being so close to the epicenter.

Adam Vir's place of origin had been nearly destroyed, but with a hefty sum of donations from Arcadia, it was getting back on its feet, and the people were slowly beginning to return. The crop conglomerate that surrounded Orion was already making plans to plant this year, and even add a few new crops now that the soil was more conducive.

Things would recover.

They generally did.

But they would do better if she was there.

Soon the curvature of the earth vanished behind a bank of clouds, and the shuttle rocked gently around her and Hye. He reached out absently to hold her hand, face pressed up against the window as they descended from the sky, "Look, sunlight!"

Kelly smiled and patted his arm, "Look an ocean."

"I'm going to go look at some fish!"

His excitement had her smiling. He had been working very hard on Arcadia's inland sea, and the project was both tiresome and frustratingly complicated. It would be nice for him to get away and touch some real earth fish.

They landed at the spaceport just outside of Fort Harmony's territory. From there they drove to their hotel and Hye went to stand out on the balcony face turned up to the sun. Kelly lingered behind him staring out at a city she wasn't entirely sure she recognized. Strange how only a few ears can change so much.

Funny how much she had changed in a few years.

She looked down at herself absently catching her body as it glitched slightly, a void of stars peeking through her silhouette before she returned to normal. What would people think of that little problem? She had been consulting with doctors and psychologists on the topic, and over the past few months they had seen a steady decline in the length and duration of the glitches, but recently they had leveled off and stopped, not getting worse but not getting any better .

Hye turned to look at her his smile falling a bit.

He reached out to take her hand, "hey, you okay?"

She gave him a nod, "I'm fine, just a lot has changed."

He took her other hand and stepped a bit closer his grip firm, "Cosmetically yes, but everything important remains just as it was."

Kelly smiled and rested her hand against his cheek. She leaned up on her toes, brushing her lips gently over his before lowering herself to rest on her heels, "Your sense of optimism is unshakable." She patted his face and then withdrew her hand, "But I should get going, before I change my mind."

"Go get em." he said raising his fists to cheer her on, "And tonight victuals!"

She smiled and rolled her eyes, "Goofy man."

And then she stepped from the room and out into the hallway. She paused for a moment as the door closed and took a deep breath. Could she do this?

She hadn't been alone in a long time now and the world around her seemed to vast and empty. She had to take a breath to steady her nerves. Before all of this she had never been unsure of herself, never questioned her decisions. She tried to conjure up the young Tala kelly hungry for blood and danger. She tried to imagine the pull of G forced against her body and the thrill of danger.

She tried to conjure up the woman that had run for the presidency.

But even though the feelings were still there, she had to acknowledge that she was a different person. That year in the voidblack had changed her, and not necessarily for the better, but resolutely she straitened herself and composed her mind.

Even if she didn't feel hr old self, she had to act like it for the people of earth.

And she left.

***

No one had ever deactivated Tala Kelly's military ID badge. In all the comotion it had simply slipped someone's mind, and anyone else who caught it didn't see the need to deactivate a dead woman. She had been well liked and respected, so to delete her from the system felt like some sort of betrayal.

So when Tala Kelly rocked up to the gate at fort Harmony wearing an admiral's uniform with an active ID badge, the MP and guard at the gate didn't question it. Things might have been different if the gate guard and the MP were completely politically illiterate and didn't recognize either the name or the face of one of the most influential political figures in recent earth history.

Instead she got a salute and was allowed through.

A flood of memories washed over her as she made her way up the sidewalk and towards the front doors. Not much had changed here. Off in the distance she could still hear the sound of engines powering up. The misters were on filling the air with the smell of wet grass and topsoil. A lawnbot was mowing the lawn adding the smell of grass clippings on top of the smell of wet earth.

The sound of voices and the marching of boots garnished the symphony of her old life and memories, almost overwhelming her with nostalgia before she managed to rein herself in.

How strange it all was.

Her keycard opened the door with a sharp beep and she stepped inside, feeling a rush of cooled air conditioning.

Somewhere she could hear the sound of a vacuum cleaner, and smelled the aroma of cheap musty carpet.

Glass cases lined the walls on either side displaying images and commendations.

Stepping forward she was surprised to find her own face staring back at her from one of the cases. It was a commissioned portrait she didn't recognize, so it must have been done after she died, and all around it were photographs and pieces of other memorabilia on display.

Looking at the name plate below her image was surreal.

Reading her own death date.

Feet shuffled some distance away and she heard the voice speak softly in her head. Tala kelly had trouble with telepathy where the others did not. Conn, Adam and Celex were all quite proficient, but something about her time in the void made it difficult for her, and she had to strain to hear what was being said.

A four star Admiral? No one I recognize? No handlers either? I've never seen an admiral without a possy of lackeys, and now shes showed up without someone to greet her, and of course who is going to get reprimanded for not knowing she was coming? Me its going to be me.

"Admiral? My apologies we didn't know you were co-"

Kelly turned to face the man watching the inner workings of his brain as his entire system short circuited, rebooted and shorted again. Through his eyes she briefly saw what he saw, a familiar face, with the image on the wall for comparison, the name plate, and one of his own memories. He had been a newly commissioned officer then, just promoted, but they had met in passing one or two times.

And then she glitched.

He took a step back, eyes widening, "I... h how. I...." his mind was a mixture of fear and concussion. Hundreds of thoughts ran through his head, was he seeing things, was someone playing a trick on him, was this the void back again to torment them, what was going on.

"Captain O'nelle congratulations on your promotions. You always did show some promise."

His mouth hung open chin swinging towards the floor.

"But... h..." His hand reached towards the implant on his wrist, ready to call someone for help."

"Its alright, you can call them. I wouldn't trust me either."

She watched him subtly make the call, but didn't try to stop him as she heard the sound of rushing feet.

It didn't take long for the five MPs to come rushing up the hall.

Fortunately for her, these MPs had worked there for a very long time. Each one she knew by name, and they knew her. All five of them skidded to a halt bumping into each other and nearly falling over themselves in their confusion.

Kelly smiled at them.

"I don't suppose you left my office vacant/"