A streak of pink illuminated the drifting debris of the asteroid belt. Swift and graceful as the swallows of earth, the Star Sapphire wove her way between rock and scrap metal. The pink wings of her head piece flared out from warm brown eyes like a celestial butterfly. She paused. Perplexed, she tossed about, dark brown stands of hair tangling in the lack of gravity. She was Carol Ferris of Earth, and she had come here answering the call of a strained love tether.

"Oh, damn it all," she cursed, looking at her ring. "Can't you just show me where she is so I can get this over with, and get back to work? I have a company to run you know!"

Her ring flashed a few times, then went dark.

"Fine," Carol exhaled exasperatedly, "if you can't show me where she is just bring me to him." She sighed, and added, "Well here goes nothing. Ring, follow love tether!"

With that, Carol's ring directed her to the appropriate coordinates, and opened a subspace conduit. Carol vanished into a flash of magenta light.

Space. It was so vast it boggled the mind. Even now Razer sat staring into its greatness through the transparent ceramic window of the Interceptor's helm. As Razer watched the innumerable stars flicker at him from across immeasurable distances, he mused at it all. Space was so empty, so cold, so dark, and yet with in it there were stars and planets and people. He wondered at how hopeless and devoid the universe would be without the stars. Look to the stars, for hope burns bright . . .

"Razer," Hal broke him from his train of thought.

Razer turned to look at Hal who stood at the main control panel. Lanos II swiveled about in his cradle between the two wings of the panel. He was slightly less talkative than his predecessor, but no less willing to give out ridiculous amounts of information. Kilowog stood behind Hal to one side, stoic and waiting.

"When you are done mooning over the scenery, we have to talk about how we are going to do this," Hal said in all seriousness.

"Talk about how we are going to do what?" Razer asked. "How we are going to help me and complete your mission? It's simple, we go to Maltus, and you help me locate Aya. I find where she is. The two of you go pick up who-ever-it-is, bring him to Oa, and we all rendezvous where Aya is."

"Right," Hal said doubtfully, "except if you don't locate her, you will probably have to come with us." Hal looked meaningfully at Kilowog.

"What are you looking at me for?" Kilowog asked with a shrug, and a gesture of his large four-fingered hand. "It's your mission we are talking about. I'm just here for the ride.

Razer just looked at Hal, eyebrow raided questioningly.

Hal sighed. "If what you say is true and all we need to do is stand by and supercharge you while you do your Blue Lantern thing, helping you should be easy. However, I'm worried that if it was really that hard for you to do it the last time you were here by yourself, maybe it still might not work even with our help. I just don't want to keep your hopes up, Razer."

Razer snorted. Wasn't hope what Blue Lanterns were all about?

"Anyway," Hal continued, "the Star Sapphires have helped you reach Aya before right? If this doesn't work . . ."

"It will work," Razer said through his teeth. "I have hope. And the Star Sapphires tried to destroy me for my love for Aya once. I doubt they would be eager to help me."

"That was before Gi'ata showed them the error of their ways," Hal pointed out. "I am sure that—"

"Gi'ata is gone now," Razer said shortly. He began to feel the power in his ring weaken. No. He needed hope. Look to the stars . . . Razer turned his head to look back out the window. Yes, the stars were hope. As long as they existed, he would feel hope.

"I am sure Queen Aga'po and the other Zamaronians have not forgotten her teachings that quickly," Hal counter argued.

"You are right," Razer said after a short pause. "If I fail to find Aya, I will join you on your mission, and afterwards we go to Zameron." He looked back at Hal and Kilowog.

"Good," Kilowog said before Hal could answer, "now that that's all settled, let's get back to going to Maltus."

"Lanos," Hal addressed the ship's AI.

"It's Lanos II, Green Lantern Hal Jordan of Sector 2814," the AI corrected.

"Right, Lanos II. Set a course for Maltus."

The debris that remained from that fateful day when Razer, as a Red Lantern, had come to help the Green Lantern Corps stop Aya's madness still floated aimlessly where it had been flung in orbit around Maltus. Deactivated Manhunters, floated listlessly here and there, their blue and red forms were whole or fragmented. The effect made Razer uneasy as he maneuvered with Hal and Kilowog to the exact spot Aya had dissipated into so many points of white light.

He and the others had not spoken since leaving the ship. Each was too overcome by the memories that flooded into his mind from that day. Even Hal, who was usually so full of bravado, remained very sober. In Razer's mind the images danced, haunting him: The flash of green light against yellow and aqua, and the shouts and screams over the Green Lantern com-link system. Razer had fought, a lone red steak amongst so much green. There was pain and love, so bitter sweet. There was Aya's self-sacrifice, even as she had just returned to them. Then she was gone.

As Razer drew nearer to the place he had last seen Aya, alive and whole, his memories of his love for her grew stronger. With it came Aya's parting words, and, with them, Razer's hope grew stronger. They came to a place not far from the Antimonitor's torn, blue and yellow bulk. There was nothing to mark the spot really, but Razer knew they had arrived.

"It was here wasn't it?" Kilowog asked quietly, not looking at the others.

"Yes," Razer answered just as softly.

Hal remained silent.

There was a long pause before Kilowog said, "Now, Red . . . er . . . I mean Blue, do your Blue Lantern thing."

Razer nodded. He wove his arms in an intricate pattern like he had back on Odym, releasing the block on his ring's supercharge effect. Immediately, Hal and Kilowog's rings responded with a roaring flash of emerald fire that wrapped around their bodies. Razer felt his own ring respond with is subtle resonating warmth. He let out a breath. Folding his body into a meditative pose, he closed his eyes and focused his supercharged hope on Aya.

His ring connected immediately with Aya's essence. The effect was so strong it almost knocked the wind out of Razer. Aya was alive, and she was . . . everywhere? He opened his eyes, perplexed. That's strange . . . was all he could manage to think.

"Razer?" Hal asked, noticing Razer's change in demeanor. "What is it? Did you find her?"

"I . . ." Razer trailed off, not sure what to say. He bit his lip, and after some thought continued, "I can sense her, but . . . it's strange."

"What do you mean 'strange'?" Kilowog asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Razer admitted, turning to face the others. There was an apologetic look in his eyes. "It's like she's everywhere."

There was a sudden flash of magenta light, and a feminine voice cut in, "So you noticed it, too?"

Startled, the trio whirled around to see who had just arrived.

"Carol?!" Hal said just a bit too loudly, astonishment clearly written on his face.

"Oh, Hi, Hal," Carol looked just as startled.

The two flew to one another. Razer and Kilowog looked at each other, and shrugged.

"What are you doing here?" Hal asked with a gesture of his arms.

"Well, you know, my Star Sapphire thing," Carol answered with a roll of her eyes. "Spreading love throughout the galaxy and mending broken love tethers. What brings you here?"

"I'm here to help Razer find Aya," Hal said with a gesture in Razer's direction.

"What a coincidence then, I am here for the same reason." Carol flew over to Razer.

Startled, Razer just looked at her.

"Alright, Honey," Carol said to him with a motion of her hand that showcased her ring, "my ring told me I need to go find your love; Aya, right? Don't know why. Problem is, my ring says she's pretty much everywhere, so I came to you. I figure I can do that Star Sapphire love touch thing. I really need to talk to Queen Aga'po about getting this stuff named properly."

"Er," Razer replied with a slight grimace, "then maybe we should just get this over with." He had undergone this once before on Zameron. He remembered the experience being rather unpleasant. But then again, anything was unpleasant when one was forcibly encased in pink crystals.

"Right," Carol concurred. "Now I will need to touch you on the skin somewhere," she looked him over quickly, "and right now that looks like it's going to be your face."

"Yeah," Razer confirmed.

"And it would help if you concentrated on your love for Aya."

Razer nodded, wishing she would just shut-up get it over with. Closing his eyes, he began to think of Aya. How he yearned for her, and loved her with all his heart.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Carol said, placing a hand on Razer's cheek.

There was a long pause. Nothing happened. Razer opened his eyes again, and looked at Carol. Her face was screwed up into the most perplexed look he had ever seen.

"Well," he asked hopefully.

She sighed, "I am getting a connection, but it keeps blipping out. It's like she's in one place, and then, next moment, she's somewhere else entirely. It's weird, and not much better than before."

Razer just looked at her, waiting.

She shrugged, removing her hand from his cheek. "I don't know what else I can do." She looked at him apologetically.

"That's alright," Razer said politely, trying not to let his disappointment get to him. "Thank you for trying."

"Maybe you could go to Zameron?" Carol suggested. "I'm sure Queen Aga'po would think of a way to do it."

Razer briefly thought of what Aga'po could possibly do for him. The moment where she had tried to kill him for falling in love with Aya, who in her mind was just an emotionless robot who looked like his dead wife, passed through his mind. Of course she had been much less threatening in later encounters, but still, without Gi'ata to reign her in, he was not sure it would be a good idea. Star Sapphires had such a reputation for instability and unpredictability.

"Maybe sometime later I will pay her a visit," He said politely.

"Right, whenever you're ready," Carol said with a smile. She turned back to Hal.

Hal had observed the whole ordeal with his arms crossed, and a frown on his face. "Are you done?" He asked Carol a bit too harshly.

Carol flew back over to him and placed a hand on his chest. Hal answered by grabbing her shoulders gently.

"Fortunately, yes, I have a lot of work to do back home," She said.

Hal looked at her with surprise and more than a little disappointment through his skin tight green mask. "So, this means you can't stay a while?"

"That's exactly what it means," She said, a slight hint of disappointment on her part crept into her own voice.

"See you around then?" he asked.

"See you around," she answered with a smile. Then she drew away from him, and vanished into a flash of magenta light.

He stared blankly at the place she had vanished for a long moment.

"Er, Jordan?" Kilowog asked, "Are you going to float there all day, or can we get going?"

"Huh?" Hal shook himself out of his reverie, "Oh, right, we have that one guy to go pick up still don't we?"

"Well, yeah. You did say something about getting him picked up as soon as we were done here."

"Yes, and we still need to drop Razer off back at Odym." Hal looked at Razer. His eyes seemed glazed as though his thoughts were really elsewhere.

"I believe I already decided to join you on your mission," Razer said just as distractedly as he looked out at the stars around them. "Besides, I seem to be doing better out here with my search than I was back on Odym."

"I guess you did say that. We would be glad to have you along again," Hal cheerfully said with a smile. "Right Kilowog?"

"Of course!" Kilowog confirmed enthusiastically, "Welcome back to the crew, Re—er I mean Blue!"

"Thanks," Razer said almost smiling himself.

"So," Hal continued, "Are you going to turn that supercharge effect off, or are we going to have to remain flaming green torches for the rest of the mission?"

Razer just rolled his eyes, and silently wove the intricate hand signals that allowed him to turn off the supercharge effect. Then the trio made their return journey to the Interceptor, speaking excitedly to each other about all their times together.