Originally posted on under the name armitage374 on 06-23-03

RE-posted on 02-08-16 after a run-through on Grammarly

Nightmares

Sequel to: The Price of Freedom

Series: Phoenix from Ashes

Standard Disclaimers:

Don't own them, but boycotts those who do. Anr'el, her gang as well as any original characters along with this story is mine, though.

Rating: PG 13 due to language and mild violence.

Archive: my pages. Anyone else sure, but please ask .

Feedback ! YES PLEASE! MORE !

Dedication:

Robert Leeshock for being him and Liam Hag'el-Sandoval-Beckett - Alien enough to be human.

Flames? Send them to the PTB's. They deserve them more than me. At least, I hope I'm not THAT evil!

Nightmares

Chapter 1

By

Armitage374

Denmark

The Shariad Mountains

Kimera Prime

He was standing at the edge of a ledge, totally ignoring the steep drop only inches away, his eyes staring greedily at the magnificent valley stretched out beneath his feet. Greens of every kind blended with the shrill colours of the alien flowers, which to him didn't seem all that alien anymore, weaving patterns of yellow, purple, blue, any colour the human mind could name and properly a couple it couldn't as well, through the undergrowth.

In the sky, flocks of the lizard-like "birds" of this world soared through a sky a deeper shade of blue than that of the world he had known so far, filling the air with their song. Far away, on the plain, he could see a herd of Neeri, a small gazelle-like creature, making it's way towards a small lake. He smiled and turned his eyes to the sky once more.

Over the horizon, he could see the triple moons rising as the dual suns slowly set in the opposite direction. It was getting late. And he had a long journey ahead of him tomorrow. He really should be getting back, or Anr'el, not to mention Juliana, Lily, Street or Sandoval, would be worried. But he couldn't help himself. He looked at the sunset again, hoping to get a glimpse of the plasma bridge, which connected the two stars.

The suns were small compared to that single star of the world, which he had been born to, but then, they were also farther away. And that distance was what had made this world possible. A little closer and the planet would have been an inferno of heat. There was a childish joy in his eyes as he took it all in on last time. Then Liam turned on his heels, and with a regretful sigh, made his way back to the small settlement, where he and his "Family" now lived. Home.

Strandhill

Ireland

Earth

Ambrose was watching vaguely amused, as his darling Fiona, the love of his life, seemed to be everywhere at once with the dust buster. That was, when she was not chasing helpless dust bunnies with a rag, scaring the living daylights out of the last surviving spider, cleaning of windows or making enough cookies to last a lifetime. She was determined to make Liam's stay a good one. As she had said: "That poor boy has been through enough pain and agony to last a lifetime. At least, we can try to make up for some of that lost time." She had said that without knowing half of it. If she had known it all...

Ambrose had read Kimeran reports and some old resistance files before Liam left. In his mind, the words "Pain" and "Agony" didn't quite cover it. "Hell" was more like it. He had seen some bad stuff in his life, but this... His face turned dark for a split second. Fiona was right; Liam needed a break. He spotted Fiona making her way towards his spot on the couch and quickly moved out of the way at the look of determination on her face. He knew better than to get in her way when she had her mind set on something.

"Good, now that you are standing, could you please go chop up some wood for the fireplace?" Fiona asked innocently, after getting her better half to stand up. The "I've-got-a-dustbuster-manouver" always worked.

"Wood? Its high summer, woman!" Ambrose always backed away from manual labour when he could. After all, what was retirement, if one couldn't enjoy it by doing absolutely nothing?

"Don't be daft, man! I don't want to heat the entire house, just enough for a small fire, for comfort." She smiled sweetly. "I'll make you a batch of that cider you like so much if you do it?"

Bribery. He shouldn't do it. He was being manipulated. He KNEW he was being manipulated. But Fiona's apple cider... Grumbling, Ambrose went towards the kitchen door. Fiona grinned smugly. The Cider was always a dead certain bargain chip. No use in telling him, that she had already started a batch. She stopped to look out her window, towards the hills and the stone circle. Liam was coming in a couple of days. She was, for once, grateful that their house was placed relatively solitary, away from the city of Strandhill. People were still pointing fingers, even if the reporters and tabloid people were long gone. It had been a couple of rough months.

Renee Palmer had revealed the true identity of all three of Liam's parents in an act of vengeance, and as a result, she and Ambrose had become haunted not only reporters out to get a sensation, but also all the weirdoes, who wanted their fifteen minutes of fame. She sighed heavily. Their old friends were still there, but more distant now, than they usually were. At least, the racist fractions hadn't given them any trouble yet.

The sound of an axe hitting wood from the outside brought her back to reality. The smug smile came back. Yes, the cider angle worked every time.

"Golden Mug " Inn

Strandhill

He was slowly unpacking his gear. Palmer was paying him good money to do this job. Better do it properly. The trick was for him to get in and plant the bugs. The old couple didn't seem to leave their house much these days. He was kind of confused. What could an old, retired couple out here in the middle of no-where possibly know about industrial espionage? Well, he was not getting paid for asking questions. And private eye Dick Sanchez started making plans for completing this job.

Former Doors International HQ

Washington DC

She had been right. DI had not come through the recent events like a pro. They had just managed to survive the downfall of anything with Taelon Tech in it, but not without great sacrifices. And cutbacks. Big ones. And it was all because of that freaking alien Liam.

An expression of pure hatred scrunched up Renée's face as she thought about recent events, watching as the last cardboard boxes were carried out by her secretary. She didn't care how long it took; she would make him pay. Dearly. She knew he would be back sooner or later. And she would be ready.

Making her way out of the building, which no longer belonged to DI, she failed to notice the small van, which followed her. Inside, Abby Franklin ordered her driver/cameraman to follow. Right now, Renee Palmer and the downfall of Doors International was good news. And Abby couldn't help but enjoy the other woman's plight. Renee Palmer was a real piece of work. Besides, Colonel Zeke had asked her to keep an eye on the Ice Queen. She owed Liam as much. And she would make some good money if she could find some dirt on the woman.

An'rel's house

The Shariad Mountains

Kimera Prime

"Are you sure, this is such a good idea?" Sandoval was more than a bit worried. He didn't like the prospect of Liam going back to Earth unchaparoned. Despite the fact things had calmed considerably down, it was still dangerous.

"I wouldn't let him go if I believed differently. He needs this. He needs some time away from here, from us." Anr'el gave a small smile. Liam had done his best to hide it, but he was developing cabin fever and even his joy of exploring the mountains couldn't quit make it up for him. She hoped that sending him to see his grandparents, and getting spoiled terribly, would ease it a bit.

"He's not used to this life of having nothing to fear, Ron, he needs some time to figure out how to live without the constant adrenalin high. To help him, we need to take his mind off of things for a while. And the Kimeran and Jaridians in orbit will be able to intervene quickly if something was to happen." She put a hand on Sandoval's shoulder, hoping to convey a little bit of reassurance. "Relax, my friend. Nothing is going to happen."

Sandoval closed his eyes shortly, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. Anr'el was right. Nothing would happen. So why did he feel like he just jinxed himself? And on Earth, Fiona and Ambrose came home from a shopping expedition, not noticing the small bugs that PI Sanchez had placed all over their cottage.

Space docks

Kimera Prime

Next day

He looked around with awe in his eyes. This place was HUGE! Spaceships of every size and calibre were either parked on the ground next to the organic structures, which were the terminals or hovering over their landing patches, crew members and technicians milling around them like busy ants. Not even the busiest airport on Earth had EVER been as busy as this! He hadn't been here before, they had portaled straight for An'rel's house from the "Justice" when they had arrived, so Liam had been surprised beyond words about this place.

He had always thought, that these ships would stay in orbit, as with the Taelon mother ship, but obviously, he was wrong. He spotted the "Justice" hovering close by and automatically started walking in that direction. A hand on his arm gently held him back.

"Sorry, Liam, you won't be going on the "Justice" this time." Anr'el send him a smile. She had guessed where he was going. ""Justice" seems to have caught some sort of a bug and is currently undergoing repairs."

"Bug ?"

"Yes, a virus of some sort. You know, that these ships, or rather most of them, are alive. We think, that "Justice" caught a flue bug or something while on Earth, and she's currently in quarantine. Heck, even I can't get aboard until she's been cleared." The last part was said with much dismay. Anr'el hated not being able to board her ship. It felt as if some valuable part of her was missing. A soft sigh made it past her lips. Well, at least, the technicians was getting the hang of the problem. There was no fun about a sneezing and head ached star ship. Ok, sneezing and sneezing...

It was more a series of unexplainable problems cascading through the ships systems at regular intervals. But still annoying as hell. It had been Street, who had come up with the term "flu". When it had been discovered, two other ships had already been infected as well, but luckily, it hadn't turned into an epidemic. A sick ship could be dangerous. A fleet of sick ships would be disastrous. Especially if rumours were true and the Taelons was on their way.

She vividly remembered the incident, where the semi intelligent ship, in a fit of a "headache", had activated her hyper drives for no apparent reasons while still inside the planets atmosphere. The shockwave of the event had knocked over every nonstationary construction in a radius of 5 km and made the buildings sway under the pressure. It had taken 7 hours to just locate "Justice" again, and an additional 10 before they had been able to make the jump back to Kimera Prime. She would probably laugh at it in time, but right now, it was a...well, disaster was too strong a word...and then again...

Liam just nodded. That made sense.

"Which ship will I be going on, then ?"

"That one." Anr'el pointed towards a distant ship, old and battle scarred. His eyes went wide with surprise. It was an almost exact replica of the repository, he had once seen.

"She may not look as much, but she's tougher than virtual glass. She's been around since the war. Her name is "Larya", it means protector in ancient Kimeran." Anr'el smiled again. She could feel Liam's surprise through the link like a palpable thing. And he didn't even know half of it. Her grin grew wider.

Liam couldn't explain it, but as he watched the distant shape, a weird sense of Deja Vu running though his mind. That and the hard to conceal laughter in An'rel's mind. He turned towards her.

"I didn't think, that there was any more of them left."

"She's the last. We discovered her adrift in space some years ago, dragged her back here and polished her up." After a short pause, she fired her bombshell. "She was also Hag'el´s ship. And now she belongs to you if you want her."

Liam could literally feel his jaw owned his own starship? Anr'el reached over and gently closed his mouth, not even trying to cover her amusement. Then, with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, she continued.

"Of cause, you won't pilot her just yet, but she's all yours. Now common, Sandoval and the others are waiting for us over there." Setting up a brisk pace, she started in the direction of the "Larya", struggling NOT to laugh as she felt the confusion and shock emanating off the young child behind her.

Liam was utterly dazed. He owned a starship? And his fathers to top it all. Then something, Anr'el had said popped up in his mind. He was not to pilot it? Liam had to run to catch up with her.

"What do you mean "Won't pilot"? I'm a damned good pilot, why can't I pilot ?" Liam's voice was thick with questions as he finally caught up with her. That, and a starting anger. Anr'el decided, that her little joke had fallen flat and started to remedy the situation at once.

"Child, easy. I didn't say you wouldn't pilot it at all, just not right now. We need to recalibrate the controls, Lily is helping us with that right now. Until that happens, she will be the one to fly it for you."

Liam's face flushed, at first, then he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry.."

"Not a problem. Mostly my fault anyway. Now, don't you want to take a closer look at your ship ?"

Anr'el could only laugh out loud as Liam immediately picked up a pace somewhere in-between running and walking. It didn't take the small group long to cover the distance to the ship after that and Liam started exploring his new ship with an intense curiosity.

Anr'el couldn't help but laugh again, as she watched the Child be seemingly everywhere at once. He wanted to know EVERYTHING about it. As it was his right. Soon the ship would have no more secrets from this one.

She briefly thought about the sanity in giving a child access to the amount of power, the "Larya" held, but then she remembered, that he wasn't your usual child. His childhood had been everything but ordinary, both from a human viewpoint and a Kimeran one.

And the Guardian, the computer AI of this ship, would help prevent the worst of disasters. A flash of mental distress had her picking up her pace. She found him staring at the small stasis escapecapsules.

"Liam? Everything alright?"

A pair of distressed green-golden eyes meet hers.

"..I just can't help...Hag'el was trapped inside one of these...all that time..." A shudder ran through his slender frame, as Liam's mind conjured up images and ideas of how it must have felt like, even in the stasis induced sleep. He couldn't seem to get his mind of the small space, which had been his fathers prison for so long. He wasn't claustrophobic, but...that long, in that little space... Anr'el hugged him from behind, trying to give him some sense of comfort.

"He didn't know. Believe me, when I say, that in Stasis, things like that doesn't matter." She closed her eyes, thinking about the times when she had been in stasis herself.

"Time moves differently when sleeping in one of these. You are aware, but only to a certain degree, it's like..." Anr'el found herself lacking words to describe the feeling of nothingness, and yet awareness that the stasis sleep contained. "It's like things don't matter. Like everything around you aren't real. You know, what happens, but you don't acknowledge it."

"He didn't know? About any of it ?"

"No."

He let out a sigh of relief. From the files of the Taelon mothership, he knew, that the Taelons had conducted several experiments on his father before setting him adrift in space, but he had never been awoken from his long sleep. Shaking his mind free of the last remnants of darkness, a small smile made it onto his lips, as a message reached him over the Commonality.

"We are about to take off. And Lilly promised, she would let me fly for a while..."

"She did, did she ?" An'rel's voice took on a mock sternness. " Well, We'll have to see about that..."

"Awhh...Please ?" Liam pouted, playing along while knowing that Anr'el rarely denied him anything. She gave him a stern look, but the look soon melted at the sight of all that barely concealed eagerness in his face. "Well...I guess I COULD let you do it...Just this once!" Her last words were aimed at Liam's back when he started hurriedly in the direction of the bridge.

"Kids! Never any patience..."

Strandhill

Earth

Sanchez had just finished his first report to Palmer. There hadn't really been any news, except the old couple expecting company from a guy named Liam, a bit of news, which seemed to interest that Palmer lady a little bit more, than warranted. But, as he kept telling himself, he wasn't paid to ask questions. And still, somewhere in his mind, a small voice kept piping up. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

DI HQ

Renee Palmers office

A cold smile was covering her face. Finally. The Freak was on his way back to Earth. She would have her vengeance. Rummaging through one of her drawers, she pulled out a small, black book and started making some calls. After all, why make the dirty work herself, when she could get others to do it for her.

"Herald Tribune? I've got some interesting info for you...It's about that Alien, Liam Kincaid..."

The Kazamatz

Copenhagen.

Erik wasn't sure exactly WHY he was down here, but he knew, that the Kimera wouldn't have asked him to investigate unless it was important. They had gotten some weird energy readings from this place. He had only brought a few people with him. Turning a corner, he was suddenly faced with a large, human made limestone cave.

"My God !"

The monstrous partly collapsed cave was filled with stasis chambers and other equipment obviously made from Taelon Tech. But it wasn't the half destroyed tech, which had him shocked, even though it shouldn't have been able to survive the virus, which the Kimera had launched. It was the human figures in the chambers, most of them obviously dead, but still recognisable. They were exact replicas of each other. The same body structure, the same face.

It was the face of William Boone.

Erik was slowly pulling himself out of the sheer shock of their little discovery. He needed to get his mind working again. What on Earth had the Taelons been up to? Clearing his throat, he addressed the doctor on the team.

"Jean, go check on those capsules. Find out how many of them are still alive and what have been done to them. Jack, go up and contact the Kimera, as well as Zeke, from a secure location, all this limestone is interfering with the transmission. The rest of you spread out and keep a look out for intruders. We don't want to have any surprises." The stunned expressions on everyone's faces slowly faded to one of purpose as they were given something to do.

In his own mind, Erik couldn't help wondering. How many other installations like this had the Taelons had? What was their purpose? Erik was rarely afraid. But now he found himself terrified at the possibilities.

A dark place

Eternal darkness surrounded him on all sides. It was impossible to tell up from down, left from right. No feeling either.. No lights, just a vast space of...nothing... He felt cold. So very cold. Confined. He had a name once. It was on his lips but was whisked away again by some evil spirit as he tried to concentrate on it. Why couldn't he remember? He struggled to regain consciousness but failed time after time. It felt like something was forcing him back there, in the darkness. He no longer knew how long he had been here. Neither did he truly care. He wanted out. Didn't he? Something he was supposed to do. He wanted out now!

Liam's quarters.

"Larya

Enroute to Earth

Liam woke with a start as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Still caught up in his dreams, he lashed out at the person touching him, sending her backwards, hearing her hitting the floor with a soft thud. Her ? As he forced his eyes open, he slowly recognised his surroundings. He was about the "Larya". They were enroute to Earth to visit his grandparents. He was safe. And on the floor, looking slightly annoyed, was Anr'el, his Kimeran mentor and friend.

"Anr'el ? What are you doing here ?" Sitting up on the bed, he reached out a hand and helped her up from the floor.

"You were having a bad dream, and I felt it through the Commonality." Liam's face flushed red. Had they all ... Apparently Anr'el was picking up her old habit of reading his mind. A small smile appeared briefly on her face.

"Don't worry, I was able to shield most of it out. No one else knows."

Some of the tension eased out of Liam's frame. The smile on An'rel's face was replaced by one of worry.

"Want to talk about it ?" She sat down on the bed next to Liam, putting one hand on his back and began slowly rubbing the tension she felt there out. He felt himself relax. After a small pause, he started out.

"It starts off as the other ones. Me, the Man, the...the table.." Anr'el could see the ghosts pass through Liam's eyes as he remembered his nightmare, his pain. That bastard, who did this to him, had gotten off too easy in her opinion. It wasn't just the physical trauma, which had been easily mended. The invisible scars and pain in his mind would last for years, probably the rest of Liam's life. Hubble's little playmate had taken Liam's spirit and broken it, taken the last remnants of innocence from him in the process. Every curse, Anr'el could come up with went through her mind. She hoped, that he had ended up in the deepest, darkest recesses of whatever hell he believed in. She turned her concentration back to what Liam was telling as he took up his narrative again.

"This time, it changed, though. Suddenly I was somewhere else, somewhere dark and confined..."

"That was probably brought up by the sight of those stasis capsules."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But it felt so REAL." Liam's confusion was evident, even to a non-Kimera.

"I know. Maybe there was some memory from your father in there as well. Those can feel pretty real at times, you know."

Liam just nodded, then a huge yawn made it self present.

"Go to sleep, Liam. You need it."

"Don't go away."

"I won't." She pulled up a chair next to his bed and watched over him as he fell asleep.

Strandhill

Ireland

Earth

Fiona and Ambrose were finally about to be finished with the arrangements for Liam's arrival. Ambrose was in the basement, staring at the empty space, which was the only visible reminder of the cloaked Kimeran ID-portal, which was there. He had never trusted those things, had preferred to drive down to Belfast when visiting Siobhan in the Taelon embassy. There was just something unnatural about being transported that way. He could hear the phone ringing upstairs and Fiona going over to get it. Seconds later, he heard her angry voice yelling something. It shocked him. Fiona never yelled? Hurriedly, he went upstairs.

Upstairs.

Fiona was dusting off one of the silver framed photos of Siobhan for God-knows which time, as the phone rang. It surprised her. These days it was a rare occasion when some one rang.

"Fiona Beckett."

"Mrs Beckett, this is Rita Van Buren from the Herald Tribune." At this, Fiona almost hung up on the woman. She had had it with reporters. As if sensing, what she was up to, the woman, quickly continued.

"Please, do not hang up. I just wish to have your comment on some rumours, which have been circulating lately, rumours that one Liam Kincaid, your grandson, is going to return to Earth shortly." Fiona was stunned. How had they found out? At the prolonged silence, the annoying lady pressed her luck.

"Mrs Beckett, please, if you know anything, tell me. The people have the right to know.." That was as far as she got, as Fiona's temper got the better of her.

"The people? THE PEOPLE? AFTER WHAT LIAM WENT THROUGH, BY YOUR HANDS AND EVERYONE ELSE'S AS WELL, DID YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE, THAT I WOULD TELL YOU, TELL ANYONE, EVEN IF LIAM WAS RETURNING ?"

"Mrs Beckett...Please listen, if we could just..."

"NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME! Liam has been through hell, and I will NOT let ANYONE do him more damage! Stay away !" The line went dead, as Fiona slammed the receiver down. Her whole body was trembling with rage, as she supported herself on the small table with her hands. Dear God. She hoped, that that was a one-time occurrence. It was just a coincidence. It had to be. She couldn't go through that again. It was in this position, that Ambrose found her when he came up from the basement.

Belfast Airport

Ireland

Earth

She smiled coldly as she approached the local DI representative. Renee Palmer had arrived, and she was ready to do some damage.

Kazamatz

Copenhagen

Denmark

Earth

Jean was going over some weird readings from the two clones, they had been able to salvage out of this mess. Her teammates, now enforced with the ODK people, were still busy with the grizzly task of packing up the dead ones in body bags. After hours of work, they had finally been able to hack through the Taelon security protocols. It seemed as it had had something to do, not only with cloning but also with mind transfer. And some sort of genetic altering. That was when a set of alarms went off. On of the clones was waking up.

TBC...