Two more chapters until I'm caught up to the parts I haven't edited. Unfortunately things are getting busy, so I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep up the every other day posting after Chapter 16. I'll try, but no promises.

Adam gave Roslin a little bit of time to think before calling the team together. He went over the basic outline of the plan with them. Unfortunately there were too many variables to make a definitive plan, so they'd playing it mostly by ear. Adam and Toby would be listening in from Sanctuary, ready to provide any assistance they could. If the team was lucky, the telepath would be out trying to drum up customers and only his followers would be at the location Jesse had found.

Not that Adam or the others were going to count on luck. At need, Roslin could contact the others with her telepathy, but that was an uncomfortable thought for everyone involved. Not to mention that the other telepath, if he was there, might notice telepathic conversations going on. A more mundane, but still useful solution had presented itself, and Roslin was wearing a silver, claspless bracelet on her left wrist. It didn't have all the functionality of the comm-links, but it would do for a single mission.

Brennan and Shal took the pilot and co-pilot seats. Roslin opted for the seat nearest the exit. It put her as far away as possible from Brennan, and out of view of the rest of the team as well. She was nervous, probably more worried about whether or not she could handle this than any of them were. That was the last thing she wanted any of them to know though. She owed the entire team, and so far she'd done little to pay them back for all the trouble they'd gone through for her sake.

And then there was the nightmare to consider as well. She hadn't forgotten about it.

The flight was quiet. Everyone knew the plan, and there was no reason to speculate on what might or might not work the way they expected. It was quiet, but not relaxed. There was a silent tension that seemed to grow as they got closer to the target. It wasn't until they were almost on top of the place that Roslin realized not all the pressure on her mental defenses was coming from the other people in the Double Helix. She glanced forward, and though she couldn't see more than Emma's profile, there was a hint of a frown on the tele-empath's face. So it wasn't just her.

Roslin debated with herself for several minutes, then lowered her mental shields just a tiny bit. She caught a mental voice that didn't belong, floating on a wave of satisfaction. She listened, frowning slightly. It was uncomfortable, but not painful, at least not yet - it seemed like the work she'd been doing with Toby was helping. Concentrating, Roslin found she was able to listen to that voice and still keep an awareness of the team in the back of her mind, even as that voice and emotions that came with it grew stronger.

It was Emma's voice that brought her back to her current surroundings. "Adam said this telepath was strong. I think he was right - I'm feeling someone's emotions and given the satisfaction in them, I'm guessing its him."

She glanced back at Roslin. "Roslin, are you getting anything?"

Roslin blinked a few times and inhaled. "Uh, yeah. That's him. The closer we get, the stronger his emotions and thoughts get."

"Well, at least we know he's home and Adam's distractions didn't work." That was Brennan's voice, though most of his attention was still on flying.

Roslin let the conversation wash over her, concentrating on the telepath's voice and emotions instead. As she got a feel for both, she found she could almost set them to the side and listen for other voices as well. She hardly noticed when Brennan landed the Helix. It was the motion of the other's leaving their seats that got her attention. She shook her head slightly and stood up.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Brennan's voice cut through her thoughts, and Roslin glanced at the others. She was supposed to stay with the Helix, but she already realized that wasn't going to work.

"The telepath's too loud. I can't hear the guards from here." She nodded at the tablet Jesse held. "Jess, bring up the map. If I remember, there's a shed about halfway to the main building."

Her friend frowned, but brought up the map and nodded as he looked at it. "Clear ground between here and there." He shrugged slightly. "Is he really that loud, Roslin?"

Roslin only nodded, but Emma spoke up. "If his emotions are any indication, he is, Jess. I'd bet his thoughts are actually even louder."

"Look, I know I was supposed to stay here, but that's not going to work." Roslin looked at the others. "I can't do what I'm here for from here. The shed should be close enough, and still keep me far enough away from any action, if that's what you're worried about."

Brennan frowned and shrugged. Emma gave her a slight smile. Jess didn't look happy, but he didn't say anything. Roslin had to wonder if he was remembering her nightmare too. Shalimar just headed for the exit. "Let's get going then."

The shed wasn't in directly line of sight from the Double Helix, and it took a few minutes for them to get to it. When they did, they found it was in sad shape. It looked like it might collapse if the door was opened. Roslin shrugged to herself. She only needed to stay out of sight, she didn't need actual cover.

Emma didn't agree. "Roslin, you can't stay here by yourself."

There was a touch of anxiety in the other woman's voice and Roslin frowned. "Why not? No one's going to see me and that's all I need."

Exasperation tinged Emma's voice and she looked at the rest of the team, not Roslin, as she spoke. "I've worked with you, Roslin. If you're concentrating on your telepathy, you're not going to be paying attention to your surroundings. If someone does stumble out this way, you're not going to notice them until it's too late."

"No ones going to come out here, Emma."

"You don't know that," Jesse broke in, a stubborn look on his face.

They didn't have time for this, something Roslin remembered even if the rest of them didn't seem to. She opened her mouth to argue, but Brennan beat her to it. "Jess, give us the flash drive and stay here with her. We've gotta get moving."

Jess hesitated, then sighed. He'd never liked the idea of leaving Roslin alone, but she'd have been safe enough in the Helix. And everything needed to grab the data was on the drive. He dug it out of his pocket and tossed it to Brennan. "Don't fry it, okay?"

Brennan laughed, handing the drive to Shalimar. "There, safe from frying, okay?"

Jess smiled slightly as Brennan, Shal, and Emma faded around the shed and headed for the main building. He eyed Roslin, but as soon it had become apparent the others were going to capitulate, she'd turned her attention back to the telepath. Jess sighed. It looked like Emma had been all too accurate in her assessment. Roslin did need someone to watch her back while she did her job.

I took a look around, circling the shed, but the area was as empty as I'd expected. When I got back, I watched Roslin. She seemed unaware of me, but she proved otherwise a few minutes later, her voice and gaze both distant. "They're almost to the main building. I think I've got the security dialed in too."

Roslin blinked and shook herself, green eyes losing some of their distance. "Did you bring the tablet with you, Jess?"

"Um, yeah. Here."

I'd half expected her to remain distant even as she broke whatever connections she'd been holding with her abilities. I handed the tablet over, watching as she glanced at the map, then opened the floor plans for the building. It was an old set of plans - the only ones we could get - but at least it gave us the major structural features of the building, like where the doors and stairs were.

Roslin studied the floor plans for several minutes, fingers tapping on the edge of the tablet. Finally she looked up and smiled slightly. "I'm going to try something. If it doesn't work, it won't hurt anything. If it does, the others should have a clear entrance."

She shrugged and moved closer to the shed, sitting on the ground and leaning against it. "It's going to take most of my attention for a few minutes, Jess."

As if following the others hadn't taken most of her attention? I just shrugged and gave her a small smile. "I'll watch your back, Roslin. Don't worry."

That got a genuine smile from her, and her eyes softened. "I never doubted it, Jess. I trust you."

Now why would those words mean so much more now than they had on the few occasions she'd said them back at Sanctuary? Maybe because this time I got the feeling she wasn't just saying them to make me feel better, or as an almost automatic reaction when she was upset. She really did trust me to watch her back in a potentially dangerous situation. There weren't words for how that trust felt. Given her background, I knew trust and having someone to watch her back weren't easy to accept. Given what Juliana and her people had done to Roslin, it was that much more amazing that she trusted me to watch her back.

My attention was drawn back to Roslin herself as she inhaled deeply and sat up a bit straighter. While I'd been woolgathering, she'd been doing whatever she'd wanted to do. I sat down next to her. She blinked once or twice before looking at me with a slightly weary smile. Lifting her left hand, she toggled the button on her bracelet that opened the comm channels. "Use the southeast door, guys. Most of the security should be up around the northwest corner of the building now."

There was no answer for several seconds, and then Emma's voice came through the comm-links. "Got it. Thanks, Roslin."

I looked at Roslin, raising an eyebrow. If I was guessing right, she'd somehow provided a distraction that had pulled most of the guards to the opposite end of the building.

"I just gave the guards a hint of what they were already looking for." The words were accompanied by a smile, but Roslin's eyes were already growing distant again, as she reconnected with the others and the guards they were trying to avoid. She glanced down at the floor plans on the tablet, then toggled the communications again. "As far as I can tell, you should be clear. I think they've got the old storage room set up as their server hub."

"Got it." This time, it was Brennan who answered. "We'll let you know when we've got the data."

Roslin shook herself and seemed to come back to the here and now. She offered me a smile and knocked on the wooden door jamb of the shed. "Everything seems to be running smoothly, so far."

I chuckled. "At least as much as anything ever does. Let's hope we don't have any last second surprises.

She nodded, still slightly distracted. She didn't have to keep constant contact with the others, or a 'mental' ear on the guards, but Roslin obviously believed in being safe, rather than sorry. Not that it surprised me. And I certainly wasn't going to argue with her caution. I wasn't fond of last second surprises, and those were my friends out there.

Roslin didn't seem inclined to talk, so I got up and made another circuit of the shed. When I got back to where she was sitting, I slid down the wall to sit next to her. Moving carefully so I didn't startle her, I took the tablet from her, pulling up a new application. The tablet was linked to the systems in the Double Helix. That allowed me to pull up the few camera feeds there were in area. After a quick scan of them, I closed the application and handed the tablet back to Roslin.

"They're at the server hub, but the guards are starting to disperse. I'm going to see if I can slow that down a bit." Roslin looked at me and I pushed myself to my feet with a nod.

"I'll keep an eye out."

I made the circuit slowly, a bit surprised that when I got back that Roslin was still clearly somewhere else. I frowned, watching her from a few steps away. Roslin had closed her eyes, and her brow was creased in concentration. After another minute or two, it became clear she wasn't completely unaware of her surroundings. "He's using his telepathy to check on each of the guards. I need to distract him before he finds the others."

Biting her lower lip, Roslin opened her eyes, blinking a few times before looking at Jesse. "Jess, it's going to take all my attention. He's really strong."

If anything, my frown grew. There was no way for usto know just how strong this telepath was, or if Roslin was stronger. If she wasn't at least his equal, or if he caught her by surprise, he might be able to control any telepathic link between them. The fact that Roslin said anything about it was an indicator of her own concerns. And it wasn't just what the mental consequences of any contact might be that had me worried. I'd seen what physical consequences using her abilities could have. If this telepath was as strong as Roslin implied, she was likely to have a migraine by the time we were done.

Roslin pursed her lips and her gaze turned questioning. I shook his head slightly and offered a sheepish smile. "Are you sure, Roslin?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. "I need to get back to it before he realizes the others are there."

"Got it. Be careful." I stepped close enough to rest a hand on her shoulder as Roslin closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the shed wall. Once it was clear her attention was fulling engaged in her task, I activated my comm-link. "Hey guys, keep an eye out. Roslin said the guards are dispersing and the telepath is using his powers to stay in touch with them. She's trying to distract him, but I don't know how long that will work. Get out of there as soon as you can."

"Emma's keeping a psychic eye out, Jess. Bren's downloading the data now, so it should be just another couple of minutes." Shalimar's voice was quiet but clear over the comm-link. "We'll let you know when we're on our way out."