It would have to do.

A few moments later, Jake found himself in a narrow chamber. He, Krythkal, Selendis, Mohandar, Razturul, Rosemary, and Vartanil crowded the tiny space, and when two more alysaar approached, it got positively cramped. He glanced down at the small raised table in the center of the room, made of the same black polished stone that comprised the rest of the temple. It didn't look very comfortable.

Krythkal turned to them. "The fewer present, the better. We will need to concentrate quite intently."

Selendis nodded and inclined her head. "We will wait outside then."

"No," said Rosemary.

Selendis turned to her, slightly annoyed. "You wish to be a distraction in this delicate operation?"

"I—of course not. But I thought maybe I could help."

Jake's hand shot out, almost of its own volition, and grabbed Rosemary's. Startled, she glanced up at him, and he felt her start to pull back.

Stay with me.

Her eyes widened slightly as he sent the thought, lacing it with everything he felt for her. Her lips curved in a slight smile and she nodded. He wanted then, so badly, to read her thoughts—to know exactly how she felt, as he had let her see. But he wouldn't do that. He'd promised.

Selendis was looking at them both. "Perhaps your presence would be a positive thing," she allowed. "If it strengthens Jacob's spirit." She turned to Jake.

"I have every confidence that this will be a success, Jacob Jefferson Ramsey. I look forward to when we will speak again."

He nodded. She shifted her gaze, and he knew she was speaking with Zamara. With a brief, brusque nod, Selendis left. Vartanil lingered.

"Go on," Rosemary said. "He and Zamara are gonna be fine." As if she actually could foretell the future, Vartanil executed a low bow and left as well. Mohandar said nothing to Jake, but he knew that the old protoss and the preserver had exchanged a few words.

The door closed quietly behind them. Jake, Rosemary, Krythkal, and his two attendants were alone in the little chamber. He looked at the flat slab and suddenly a shiver went up his spine.

It reminds me of what we saw in the chambers, he sent to Zamara.

I know. But there is a world of difference between what Ulrezaj did and what is about to happen to us.

Are we sure? Ulrezaj used to be one of these guys, after all. And they are dark templar... maybe this Krythkal secretly hates preservers, because you do naturally what he can't ever hope to accomplish.

Perhaps, she agreed, and he was totally unnerved. Although I doubt this. Jacob—there is no other choice. It is your life at stake, and my knowledge. They cannot continue together any longer.

He nodded and lay down on the cold stone slab, shivering a little where it touched his bare skin. "You might at least offer a guy a blanket," he joked.

Krythkal regarded him steadily. "You will shortly be in a mental state such that you will be completely unaware of your physical body," he replied. Like that was any kind of reassurance.

Jake sighed and stretched out, folding his arms, prickling with gooseflesh, across his chest. "Okay, let's get this over—"

Her lips were soft and warm on his, but not gentle. As he'd imagined far too many times than was good for his sanity, Rosemary's kiss was as fierce and passionate as she was, and after the initial shock had passed Jake responded. His arms wrapped around her small frame and pulled her close for a moment that was both long and timeless and far, far too short.

When she pulled back, he was shaking. She seemed completely composed, of course. She smiled and gave him a wink.

"You. Don't. Die," she said.

"Okay," he stammered. The grin was stupid and as unstoppable as the rotation of a planet. He sensed the protoss's confusion, annoyance, and humor, but none of that mattered.

We 're surviving this, Zamara.

I had no idea that a terran gesture of affection was such a powerful force, Zamara said wryly, but she was pleased for him. As Jake lay back and closed his eyes, he felt her wrap her essence around him like a cat curling up for a nap, and in the midst of his giddiness, he knew sorrow. Even if this attempt was completely successful, she would never be in his mind as she was now.

Iwill miss it too, she said, reading his thoughts even as he formed them. I had not expected to become so fond of you.

Me neither.

The slab beneath him was firm and cold, and then, all sensation of it was gone.

Jake opened his eyes to a scene of bright sunlight, steamy warmth, and an overabundance of green. He realized that he was on Aiur, but Aiur before its devastation and fall to the zerg. He turned and knew whom he would see, and smiled at Zamara.

She was clad in the clothing her corpse had worn: purple and white robes, shining and soft and suiting her admirably. She tilted her head and half closed her eyes, but he did not need to see her in order to feel her smile. They sat as they had done so many times before as Jake had watched the unfolding of one of the myriad memories Zamara kept. But this time, while this image of an untouched Aiur was a memory, Jake knew that he would not see anything else. This was how Zamara wanted their separation to occur.

He sensed Krythkal's thoughts, wafting to his mind like the scent of flowers on a breeze.

"The crystal is astoundingly pure. I think it will successfully contain all the memories."

"What about Jake?" Rosemary demanded. It was good that they would get whatever it was that Zamara was so insistent was important, of course, but her concern was Jake. He lay alarmingly still on the dark stone slab; she wasn't even sure he was breathing.

"I do not understand human anatomy, child," Krythkal chided her. "All I can do is remove Zamara's influence from him. You will

have to turn to your terran physicians after that. Now be silent, and let us complete this."

Rosemary frowned. She hadn't expected that. Somehow she'd thought that if they could extract Zamara, Jake would suddenly be right as rain. But his symptoms were physical, too, weren't they? Brain tumors didn't just disappear.

Krythkal extended his right arm and placed the crystal in midair as if he were setting it on a shelf. It hovered there, a miniature version of the huge crystal she'd seen in the caverns. Krythkal gave a signal, probably telepathic, and as one, each protoss extended his right hand and held it a centimeter from Jake's body. Their left hands, they raised, palms out, facing the crystal chip.

Rosemary hissed as they seemed to suddenly be pulling cool blue light from Jake's inert body. A moment later, a thin, glowing line extended from each alysaar's palm into the crystal. So that was how they did it. They physically took the energy of memories from the subject and transferred it into the crystal, like siphoning blood into ajar.

She didn't say anything, but couldn't help wondering if this was hurting Jake.

"No," came the thought from Krythkal. "He feels nothing."

Rosemary bit her lip. She had no idea how long this would take.. .but one thing she did know: Zamara had a lot of memories to transfer into that tiny little crystal.

"Beginning transference," came the implacable mental voice ofKrythkal. Zamara's body jerked slightly, as if something were tugging at her. It was going to work after all! Jake started to grin at Zamara, but instead of pleasure and relief he sensed shock and grief rolling off her. In that place that was not real but seemed very much so, he grasped her hand, touching her, making contact as he had once done before with her physical shell.

"Zamara, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I—should have anticipated this," she said. She squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him. "But at least the knowledge will survive."