***
"Are you sorry?" Claire asked on the way back.
Mark glanced down at her and frowned slightly. "Sorry?"
"That, you know, we helped you," she said quietly, mindful of the soldiers around us.
He turned his head and smiled "Am I that transparent?"
"Yeah." Claire shrugged.
"No," Mark finally said. "Above all else, I'm thankful to be alive, with you, on our way home to our children. But?"
"But?" Claire prompted.
I followed along at Mark's other side, silent but curious to hear his response.
"I'm confused. Disappointed in a way. Bob was adamant that I was the only one who could defeat Kahn. So why couldn't I beat him?"
Claire walked in silence for long moments before she spoke again. "But you did, Mark. You did beat him."
"I meant-"
"I know what you meant," she interrupted. "But I think you're looking at this in the wrong light. I remember that day, you know, when Bob and Marta told you Kahn was your father. And they never said you could beat him in some macho hand-to-hand test of skill."
"Thanks, dear," Mark muttered.
Claire smiled, ignoring his grumbling. "As I was saying, what they said was you're the key to his downfall." She turned her radiant expression on him. "Don't you get it, Mark? You made all of this possible. You formed the largest army ever, in the entire recorded history of Terlain. These men and women all fought under your command. You did defeat him. And so did we. Together. You see?"
"Yeah," he said, slowly. "Yeah, I think I do." A wide grin spread across his face. "But I can hardly believe it's finally, really over."
"Well, almost." I spoke up for the first time. "There's still the matter of what we're going to do about the breathers."