Willow arranges for a ruse in which the candidates for the Archonship are split up into groups and sent out on shuttles, purportedly for a survival test. In secret, she arranges for four of the candidates – "Seafoam-Turquoise", "Royal-Bronze", "Ebony-Yellow" and "Violet-Copper" – to be aboard the same shuttle that she and her husband Sebazhan are riding. She reveals to these four that she has made her decision, and that "Violet-Copper" – also known as Yoshua and "Star-With-Us" – is her recommendation, and that the Archon has approved this selection. She indicates that this is being done in secret so that the new Archon can be sworn in before Light-of-Star has a chance to interfere. Indeed, there is some concern that Light-of-Star has some sort of magical ace up his sleeve.

They confer on a course of action, and at last they decide for the "candidates" to head off to the Archon to meet with him, while Willow and Sebazhan visit the Orbital Palace of Divine Light – Light-of-Star's private base – under the guise of touring, in an attempt to learn more about his operations there.

At the base, Sebazhan senses the presence of "magic", though it is very unfocused, not like that on Sinai. As they tour the complex, Willow finds herself being mesmerized while examining a statue purportedly of the "Star", but Sebazhan catches on and squeezes her hand to snap her out of her reverie. Willow is also distracted by a strange, six-armed statue with three eyes. They reach a "Crystal Cathedral", where Sebazhan finds that one of the crystals there allows him to actually focus his magical powers, so that he might be able to cast a weak spell … if their tour guide can be distracted. Willow manages this under the guise of needing to visit the "facilities", and Sebazhan prepares a Blend spell to hold for Willow to use.

They are taken to a library, where Willow observes the tracking of security cameras, and – with the aid of Sebazhan's held Blend spell – sneaks past during a gap in the coverage, and tries to explore. She almost gets discovered by a janitor, but in a bit of quick-thinking, catches the janitor off guard and convinces him that she's actually a ghost and that he must clean up a mess in the Crystal Cathedral so that the spirit can "rest with the ancestors". During the janitor's flight, Willow takes the opportunity to slip into a restricted area, and discovers several tanks with bodies floating in them … one of which resembles the deceased Emperor, and others of which resemble various Sinai species that purportedly aren't present elsewhere in the known galaxy. Willow manages to slip back to the library and meets up with Sebazhan, and they leave the station. Willow has much to mull over.