Tasha finds herself in a virtual world draw from her own mind, a vision of the Temple of Abaddon's garden, with High Priestess Nitsa across from her – the form chosen by the AI of the Phantom. The two begin by trying to learn more of each other, with the AI revealing itself to be a secret observer. Tasha learns much about the ship's existence thusfar, about the Magi, and much more. However, the situation eventually turns to the topic of Abaddon; with Tasha's admittance of having encountered the entity identifying itself as Abaddon, the Phantom offers Tasha the power to fulfill Abaddon's desire to cleanse the world of all alien life. Alarmed, Tasha declines, urging empathy and peace to the AI, which has seen the sentient Fleet races as little more than distant specks for thousands of years. Eventually Tasha is able to convince the AI in to a tentative alliance, with Tasha acting as teacher to help the AI learn and grow. With quarters prepared, and a destination set for Tartarus, Tasha retires from the bridge to relax and talk with the ship, whom she has named Harmonia.