Philip stared out the window and watched the identical twin boys playing at the edge of the park. The scene served as a painful reminder that he'd been born with an identical twin brother who had been closer to him than any other being in the known universe.

He knew that Mike Donovan had been honest with him when the human told him about the year he and Martin had lived and worked together before the second invasion of the Sirians. Martin had told Mike very little about the twin he'd left behind, but Philip had been told about the human his brother had befriended in the letter disks Martin had sent home to him. He felt as if he knew everything about Mike, except why the human seemed to know how he thought.

As the children moved further into the park, Philip tore his gaze away from where they played and signaled for his driver to continue. He had been on his way to meet with Mike Donovan at their prearranged time and place in order to get vital information he had to the human Resistance.

Memories of Martin and their childhood came back to him unbidden and this time, he didn't fight them. Instead, he chose to embrace and face them, experiencing the emotions they brought back. He also had to face the reality of the loneliness that he would have to live with every day for the rest of his natural life.

**** **** ****

Martin looked across the room at Philip, whose voice droned on incessantly. He had a pretty good idea what was going on, but he knew that he'd soon find out.

'I know what he's going to say,' Martin thought to himself. Even though he'd known that his brother would be angry, he couldn't just idly stand by and do nothing while Philip risked death by doing something dangerous. Martin still needed him! 'He's angry with me because of what I've done. It hurts him to think that I've betrayed his trust in me.'

"How could you have told him where I was going?" Philip shouted as he paced back and forth, knowing that it made his brother nervous when he did it. "I asked you not to tell anyone and what do you do when you're given the chance?"

Martin started to speak, but he was cut off by more accusations from his brother. He turned to face the wall while he waited for Philip's anger to abate. After a few minutes of listening to Philip's droning voice, Martin's patience finally wore thin and he quickly lashed out, grabbing Philip by the collar and stopping him in mid-stride.

"I've listened to you long enough!" Martin shouted, bringing his twin mere inches from his nose. "I knew that you would do something dangerous in order to prove yourself. I wasn't about to let you go off and kill yourself in order to do so!" Martin let go of Philip's collar, his hands falling limply at his sides. "We both know the rituals surrounding the Ka'Za'Rik must be observed. It is second only to the Feast of Ramalon in importance and is used to herald the coming of the Feast itself." He walked over to the far corner of the room they shared. It faced toward planetary west and the first rays of the evening sun warmed his face as it streamed into the room. If we aren't chosen, the Leader will be displeased with us."

Philip listened to what Martin was saying. As he did so, the anger he'd felt earlier began to fade as he came to understand why he'd told Sebastian what he was doing. It finally drove home the true depth of the love Martin had for him.

"I was angry that you told him, even after I made you promise not to," Philip finally said. Martin had to strain to hear his brother's next words, as he knew that Philip hated to apologise for anything. "I know that you wanted to protect me. I understand that now."

Martin smiled. He knew that this was as close to a full apology as he'd get from his brother and he'd learned to accept whatever he got from Philip long ago.

"We can train together without endangering our lives or them finding out about it," he said. He knew that they could spend the next two months learning to work together and at least have a chance at being chosen. "We can do it in our spare time."

Over the next few months, Martin and Philip worked during their free time, training and getting to know how each other thought. The time together allowed them to truly become the other half of each other, cementing the bond that existed between them since birth.

**** **** ****

A voice from the front of his land rover brought Philip's attention back to reality. He focused his attention enough to realise that his driver had been the one who had spoken to him.

"I'm sorry, what did you say, Erik?"

"I asked if you were all right, sir." The younger Visitor looked back in the rearview mirror at the Inspector General. "You appeared to be lost in thought."

"I was," Philip answered after a few minutes of tense silence in which he pulled himself back to the present. He knew that they should be approaching the place where the free-lance journalist had agreed to meet him. "Where are we?"

"We are almost to the rendezvous point," Erik said. He fidgeted nervously, not wanting to interrupt Philip. He was unaware that the Inspector General had noticed his discomfort.

"What's bothering you, Erik?" Philip already had an idea what was bothering the young man, but he wanted to hear him say it.

"I feel somewhat uncomfortable dealing with so many humans," Erik said. Philip smiled, remembering how he'd felt about them once he'd managed to get past his unreasoning anger at the loss of his brother. "I'm really not used to dealing with them as much as I am those of our own race in the Fifth Column." He met Philip's gaze in the rearview mirror. If it's all right with you, I'd like to remain here with the land rover while you meet with Donovan."

Philip nodded. He respected Erik for being honest with him. During their conversation, his driver had pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. The Inspector General decided to walk the rest of the way to the meeting point.

"Remain here. I'll walk the rest of the way," he said as he climbed out of the land rover. As he closed the door, Philip leaned over into the open window on the passenger side of the vehicle. "I'll meet you back here as soon as I'm finished."

Erik nodded as Philip took off walking at a brisk pace for his meeting with Mike Donovan. He wondered what they would be discussing.