<div class="floatright">(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/jillvader/mw-nmfkmpkarimonero_zps55a1bf27.jpg)</div>Kari waited until Allia was gone to turn back to Damien at his desk, her hands casually, almost absent-mindedly running over the reports. “Damien, I…” she began, her voice halting a moment. Taking a deep breath, Kari composed herself before she spoke again. “Thank you.” She managed. “Thank you for deciding to remain here, and for helping us do this. I… I know I couldn’t pull this off without you, and I mean that in a number of ways.”<br/><br/>She sat back down, her eyes focused on him. “I mean, first there’s your skills with numbers and logistics and finances and all that. It’s stuff that’s all well beyond me, that I couldn’t even hope to manage. Without you, we’d be completely sunk and… yeah. I mean, I should probably learn some of this stuff as well if I’m going to run the unit and not be completely arse-worthless at it, so you’ll definitely need to teach me.” She was babbling, and she knew it, her fight to stave off the inevitable fading fast. Being strong wasn’t easy, especially given the losses she’d suffered being so much more personal.<br/><br/>“You probably know this, Damien,” She continued. “But… I’m the last of my family. Dad had no other kids, and mom…” she trailed off for a moment before continuing. “Anyway, this is all a part of why I need to do this. I can’t let everybody down.” There was a pause. “My great-grandmother was a survivor of a failed family unit too. It’s strange, but in some ways, our situations are similar. She wound up joining another command, then bouncing through a few more along her career. It was her daughter who became the Suns’ first commander.”<br/><br/>“So that’s a big part of why.” Kari managed, fumbling with her hands as she did.<em>Okay, stop pussyfooting around the issue. You need to know this. You won’t be able to live without it, and it will eat you up otherwise</em><br/><br/>“Damien,” she continued. “Tell me... tell me what happened to Dad. Please. Don’t hold back on me. I need to know”<br/>