Disclaimer – Still own nothing.
To heather mcdaniels – Thanks for your review! Ben won't do anything like that, but he will learn some important stuff later on. Hope you like this chapter!
To scienceficfan24 – Thanks for your review! Actually because of quarantine, I'm getting a lot of writing done, so if I actually finish this story ahead of time, I'll start posting twice a week instead of only once. Hopefully I will be able to do it. Hope you like this chapter!
Enjoy!
"Thank you for coming on such short notice Cochise." Anne said when she saw Tom lead the Volm into the exam room that she and Dr. Kadar were in.
"When Tom Mason explained to me what was happening with his son and what you and Dr. Kadar found, I was more than happy to be of any assistance." Cochise responded with a slight nod as he and Tom walked over to the table Anne and Kadar were standing in front of.
"Here are the results of the tests we ran on Hal." Anne said as she handed the file with the results to the alien.
Tom waited a total of two minutes after Cochise got the papers and started to read through them before he asked, "So, have you seen anything like this before?"
Cochise stared hard at the results for another few seconds, then tilted his head and answered, "It does appear vaguely familiar, but I'm afraid I can't place it."
"Do you at least know if it's good or bad?" Tom then questioned, desperate for any kind of answers regarding his oldest son.
It had been over a week since they had discovered the alien DNA in Hal, but they had learned nothing new since then. Hal was still very reluctant to share anything that happened in the Espheni experiment camp, but what little he did reveal made it clear he knew next to nothing about what Karen and the Overlords did to him. That left Anne and Kadar to only theorize about what the alien DNA could do to and for Hal and why the Espheni would try to change their prisoners' DNA. Tom had been hoping that Cochise would have some answers or some kind of insight, but it was becoming clear that that was not the case.
"You say that Hal has informed you that the Espheni destroyed their base and killed their prisoners themselves, correct?" Cochise asked without answering Tom's question as he looked over at the human resistance leader. Wordlessly, Tom nodded as he tried not to remember the haunted look on Hal's face when he told the father what he witnessed the aliens do. Cochise took his mind off that when he said, "If that is indeed that case, then I believe that it is not at all good."
"What do you mean?" Tom practically demanded when he heard that, growing more worried than he already was.
"Well, if the Espheni went so far as to destroy their base and eliminate all their prisoners can only, really, mean one thing. That their, experiment, had gone wrong and they deemed it necessary for everything and everyone involved to be destroyed." Cochise explained.
"What exactly do you mean by it going wrong?" Kadar joined the conversation.
"I, obviously cannot say for certain as I do not know, but it could be a few reasons. For example, it could be that their experiments had disastrous side effects." Cochise suggested, looking over at Dr. Kadar.
Before he could say anything else though, Tom turned his attention over to Anne and asked, "You didn't find any side effects that Hal's suffering from because of what the Espheni did, did you?"
"No, but that doesn't mean there isn't any." The doctor answered, slightly shaking her head. When she saw the father pale at her words, she grimaced in sympathy.
"It could simply be that the side effects haven't shown up yet." Kadar said what Anne didn't. Tom stared at the two doctors, then looked back over at Cochise.
"If Hal doesn't have any side effects, if their, experiments, on him worked, but didn't on the others, would the Espheni still have decided to kill him?" Tom questioned, growing confused and worried about his oldest child with each passing moment.
"I am not sure. I would think that if Hal isn't suffering from any side effects, they would've wanted him alive, to continue whatever agenda they had. However, it is also possible that the part of the experiment that had gone wrong wasn't done to your son." Cochise replied.
"What are the odds that it's the last one?" Tom wondered, hoping for any kind of assurance that Hal was okay and safe.
"It would depend on how much they wished to succeed. In my personal opinion though, the odds of it being my latter suggestion, are not in your favour." Cochise answered regretfully.
When Anne saw Tom immediately became paler as a look of fear come upon his face, she jumped into the conversation, "Hal did say that the prisoners started attacking the skitters. Maybe they killed them and destroyed the base because they couldn't control them."
Tom shot Anne a grateful look before turning back to Cochise, waiting for him to give his thoughts on Anne's information. The Volm stayed quiet for a minute, clearly thinking it over before he replied, "That is very possible. However, they control their captives with their harnesses and probes, or eyebugs as you call them. A problem of revolt would be fairly easy for them to remedy."
Everyone became silent as they thought about the logic behind Cochise's words. He was completely right. As far as they all knew, when the Overlords attacked the planets they had, they would harness the prisoners they took, make them their slaves to do their bidding. If they were experimenting on people for whatever reason, why wouldn't they make sure they could control them? Tom had always thought that the reason Karen didn't bug Hal and make him a mole again was because she had done it before, so she wouldn't have the element of surprise, but now he wondered if there was another reason.
"Am I the only one who is completely confused by all of this?" Tom asked with a frustrated tone. Before anyone could reply though, he added, "I mean, none of this, none of anything about any of this, is making any sense."
"There is still a lot of information we don't know Tom." Anne said as she walked over to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Once we learn what that information is, I'm sure it will all make sense."
Tom glanced over at her for a few seconds before replying, "The only way we can get information about Hal and the experiments the Espheni were doing is from Karen. And if we try to get answers from her, she's going to wonder how we know about all of this and why we want answers. We may not know much, but one thing I do know, is that the only reason Hal is relatively safe right now, is that Karen thinks he's dead. I'm not risking her finding out that he's alive and with us for answers that might not be needed."
"And what if it is needed?" Kadar inquired, causing everyone to turn their heads to face him, "What it Hal does start show side effects? Side effects that could cause him lose control and harm us, make him violent? What then?"
The silence that followed Dr. Kadar's questions was deafening. Whether or not Hal was a danger to the 2nd Mass was a very serious question that had been in everyone's head once the truth about his abilities was revealed, even though Tom and Weaver had managed to keep anyone from doing something about it. While there still was the uncertainty if Hal could control his powers, the fact that the oldest Mason son refused to use them at all somewhat pushed that question on the back burner. But if the young man did lose control, if he did start attacking anyone and everyone around him, what were they to do then?
There was no doubt in Tom's mind that Hal would ever hurt his family, at least, not if he could control it, but from the way his son had described how the other prisoners who were experimented on had gone after the aliens, they weren't in control at all. They might not even have been in their right mind at all. Sure, Hal seemed to be okay now, but that didn't mean it wouldn't happen to him at all. If he did lose control and start attacking everyone, how were they supposed to deal with that. The Espheni dealt with it by killing them, but was that the only way? If it was, there was no way Tom was going to do that to his son.
The whole situation and questions reminded the father of when Ben was being hunted by the Espheni due to his connection with the rebel skitters. He refused to give his middle son to their alien enemies, but was pointed to the fact that the 2nd Mass couldn't protect him because he was putting the entire group in danger by Weaver. Before Tom could actually make a decision though, Ben made one. He decided to leave to keep them all safe and to find the rebel skitters. It was a decision that Tom understood yet hated. It took everything in him to keep himself from stopping his teen-aged son from walking away from his family.
The situation they were in with Hal though was a bit different. Hal wasn't bringing the aliens to their doorstep, not yet anyways. That could change if the Espheni found out to he was alive and with them, but for right now, they were being attacked because of their own efforts of destroying the aliens that invaded their planet. The only threat that Hal posed to the 2nd Mass was losing control of his powers, at the moment anyways. If he did end up having the same side effects that the other Espheni prisoners, then they would have a big problem because Tom refused to have his son killed. There had to be another way.
"Considering the fact that the Espheni destroyed the base and killed their prisoners when side effects began to appear, it would be safe to assume that they would not know how to reverse what they did, nor would they care to help if you went to them if Hal begins to have side effects." Cochise responded, not seeming to notice the tension in the room.
When Tom realized that Kadar was still watching him, still waiting for his answer, he decided to give him one, "You and Anne just said you haven't found any side effects from what the aliens did to Hal. For all we know, they might have stopped whatever it was they were doing that was affecting the others before they even got to Hal. We have no idea if he is going to have any side effects. Until we do, I don't have to think about that. I won't."
Kadar straightened up and appeared as though he was about to protest when Anne literally stepped in between them and said, "Okay, let's all calm down, alright? Yes, there are some things that could happen and could go wrong," the doctor looked over at Tom at that before looking over at Kadar as she continued, "but for now, everything seems to be okay. Let's leave it at that for now."
Tom still looked a bit upset, as did Kadar, but neither of them said anything. Anne knew that Kadar had a valid point and concern, but what he seemed to forget was that this was Tom's son they were talking about. Tom Mason may be the leader of the 2nd Mass, but that didn't mean he could remain objective when it came to his children. Hardly any parent could, especially when discussing a situation as serious as the man's own son turning against them. Briefly, Anne wondered if that was another reason Hal stayed away so long, because he was scared that the same side effects that affected the other prisoners would happen to him and he didn't want his family to get hurt.
"Either way, your son will need to learn how to control his new abilities. Unless of course you have a way to separate his DNA from the alien DNA and remove it from his body." Cochise changed the subject, which Anne and Tom were both grateful for.
"Unfortunately, no we don't. Hal is going to have these abilities and the DNA for the rest of his life." Anne replied, sounding regretful and a bit upset that there wasn't anything more that she could do to help.
Tom though, gave her a small, reassuring smile and said, "It's okay, we'll deal with it,"
"I will see if my comrades and I can find any more information about the Espheni base, but unfortunately, there is another topic that we must discuss, one I believe is far more urgent." Cochise told the small group of humans, causing all of them to look back over at him again, this time with more worried curiosity than before.
"And that is?" Tom prompted the alien to continue as he felt his patience thinning.
"We have learned that the rest of the Espheni ships are making their way towards your planet with the intention of landing." Cochise informed the humans in the room.
"What do you mean? I thought all the Espheni were here on Earth already." Tom responded, Anne and Kadar nodding immediately after, letting their Volm friend know that they also thought all the Espheni were on their planet already.
"Oh no. Only about half of the Espheni population are here at the moment. They are the ones that come to see if the planet they plan to invade suits their needs. If it does, then they attack. As soon as they feel they have control over the planet, the rest of the Espheni will arrive and destroy any remaining resistances and completely occupy the planet." Cochise explained.
"So, if the rest of the Espheni are coming to Earth now, then that means they are planning on occupying our planet." Tom surmised, hoping what he understood was wrong. They were having a hard enough time defeating the aliens that were already on Earth, even with the help of the Volm. The odds of defeating them when they had reinforcements were almost zero.
"That is correct." Cochise confirmed.
"So, they've occupied other planets before coming here." Anne focused on that bit of information, thinking that if the aliens occupied other planets but were now trying to occupy theirs', that it meant there was a chance they could make the Espheni flee Earth.
"Yes, at least five that we are aware of. We were able to get the Espheni to leave, but not before the planet's original occupants were practically decimated, unfortunately." Cochise admitted, looking truly remorseful that his people weren't able to help the other victims of the Espheni as much as he'd like.
The silence that followed the Volm's revelation was so strong, they would've been able to hear a pin drop. It wasn't the sound of a pin falling to the floor that broke the silence though. It was the sound of a nearby explosion, followed by gunfire and screaming.
