KA'ATHAM
"Liam, what do you think of Zo'or?" asked Da'an, just a few seconds after his young protector had entered his offce.
Liam turned around and finished to take off his coat, looking at Da'an strangly. "Well..." he started hesitantly, "I consider him as I consider any other Taelon that is firmly against the idea of an alliance with humanity. Why do you ask?"
Da'an looked thoughtful at his feet for a moment. Obviously he had not received the answer he had been hoping and waiting for. "Let me change my words then. Has your opinion of Zo'or... changed since the... incident?"
Liam's eyes widened. So that was what the Taelon wanted him to talk about. He had avoided carefully the subject with Da'an or with anyone that asked questions about this, and everyone had understand that he not wished to speak about it. Himself was not very sure about what had happened between them during this time. He hesitated and finally spoke, "I... saw him in a way I had never seen him before..." He stopped when he saw Da'an's big blue eyes fixed on him intensely. "Da'an. If you have something to ask then do it!" he exclamed, feeling his patience disapear.
The Companion lowered the head and blushed. "Have your... feelings for him changed?" he asked very carefully, choosing his words.
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Ahhh... It's better when it's clear." Then, he frowned. "Just two things Da'an. I'm the leader of what's surviving of the Resistance and Zo'or the leader of the taelon Synod, you start to see the little conflict of interest we would have here...?" he replied sarcastically.
Da'an sighed. "Liam, please, I am very serious. In the past days, I have remarked that he prefered you to be his pilot or personal protector than Sandoval-..."
"Da'an," he said just interrupting the Taelon's statement, "Zo'or is just not trusting Sandoval anymore, that's all."
Da'an sighed again. "Yes. But please remember that I am in the need of your services in protecting myself."
"The next time he will require my services, I'll tell him you're jealous and that I cannot go with him. Is that enough for your taste?" asked Liam, looking truly bored by the way their conversation was turning.
Da'an's fingers were moving nervously in front of him. "Liam, hear me, this is extremely serious." Liam turned toward him, his attention caught. "I am aware that currently you are bonded to no human mate..." he said, the tone of his voice increasing when he came to pronounce the word `human'.
Kincaid finally understood what were exactly his superior's thoughts. "No, no, no, no. You... thought that I and Zo'or were... lovers...?" he asked fixing the Taelon, his eyes widened in a way Da'an had never thought possible.
"Yes," Da'an finally admitted. "Please, if so is the case, tell me."
"Then no, I'm not sharing anything more than a fully professional relationship with Zo'or and yes if I were you'd be the first advised," he said, seriousness filling his voice. Suddenly, the young man's global remembered them of its existence by beeping continuously. After excusing himself, Liam turned and read the message. "Duty's call. I'm needed on the mothership."
Da'an watched as his protector grabbed his coat and left the room, heading toward the ID portal that had been recently added to the Embassy's structures.
After an extremely tiring and, as usual, boring security briefing from Sandoval - during which his boss had caught him almost asleep more than once - Liam was making his way toward the dark corridors of the mothership, trying to avoid the yawns he felt coming. With each steps he made, he was less sure of what he was going to do. He could almost hear the little angel and devil rage over his head, overhelming his mind with crazy ideas. He sighed as he finally reached his destination. Zo'or's private quarters, the Synod Leader private chamber... He breathed deeply four times and then, fooling himself about being totally relaxed, he knocked softly on the bioslurry wall/door. He did not know why yet, but being in Zo'or's presence was one of the most unnerving thing he had to do in the recent days. In fact, it was a luck that he had needed rest after the shuttle accident, he could not have stood to see him after what had happened. He had just needed some time for reflect, about
Zo'or mostly. About who he was, who was the person under the cold Synod Leader's mask...
There were four seconds counted down by his extremely precise internal clock and a faint murmur was heard, Eunoia perhaps. He just kept hoping he had not got Zo'or out of bed as he really hated being awakened himself in the middle of his sleep and just wished not to imaginate what this Taelon's reaction would be (Zo'or's normal mood was what everybody else would have called angry, so Liam prefered to not see him really angry). Though he had got to see one of the young leader quite melancholic and fatalistic side earlier. But the thought was rapidly out of his mind as the response he was waiting for came through the door.
"What?"
He hesitated, "It's Kincaid. May I enter?"
"Yes." A few more words were mumbled, words that he was happy to not really understand; then the doors waved away. The room was circular in shape, very small. Well, smaller than Da'an's chamber. He assumed that it was Zo'or's old chamber since originally his Companion was higher ranked than the now Synod Leader. There were not much things looking personal, in fact the most odd thing was the disorder: from taelons clothes to info-disk... much objects were placed like they had been thrown in the air - and knowing Zo'or, Liam could think to this as the most serious possiblity. It vaguely made him recall his own apartment on monday mornings...
"Why have you disturbed my rest Major?" asked the Taelon. He had seen the young human enter from one of the chamber's corner, where he was resting in his energy stream. Mit'gai, his opinion supported by many other taelon healers, had told him to take at least one complete week of total resting for heal his wound correctly. And after two days of non-activity, he started to be seriously annoyed and also feared to let agent Sandoval take the commands in his place, knowing what kind of disaster this could make if known by T'than who would then try to take control of the Synod. His thoughts darkened for a very short moment after thinking to the War Minister he had hoped had been kiled on some battlefield, far away from Earth... But Da'an's protector had started speaking already. Though he had first despised and immediatly untrusted this Human, he had then come to show toward him a greater attention. He was more interesting, and in time, more efficient than his own attaché was.
And especially, he had saved him when Zo'or would have believed natural for one to leave him to a painful death, he had saved him and had stayed with him.
Liam's voice was very clear and not showing any of the nervosity he was feeling. "In the morning, I had a very strange talking with Da'an, about you... and me," he started.
That definitely caught the Taelon's attention and Zo'or advanced of some steps, curious. "And on which subject your talking was exactly about?" he asked back, as a smirk curved his lips slightly.
Liam could feel the red flushing his cheeks right now. Gone was the confidence he had had earlier in himself. He felt so thankful to the room was dimly lit. "Da'an... suggested... hum... thought, that we..." Say it! he ordered himself quietly, "... that we were lovers."
Surprisingly, Zo'or's reaction was not what he had expected it to be. In fact, it could not have gone better. The Taelon felt a slight amusement transform his smirk in a rarely seen frank smile, that, though small and subtle, was there. He felt Kincaid's relief as well. He... Lover of a Human...! Da'an had this kind of idea sometimes, his parent thought to him as being really desperate of finding a mate then. "But I suppose that you have not come here for announce me that? Or not only in that objective..." he continued.
Liam felt just so much relieved, the tension and most hard part was done, gone and far away. The rest should go cooly now. "I think I know you well enough for tell that you have a special liking for schemes?" he said, crossing the hands in his back.
In only response, Zo'or turned his back at Liam and stared out in the space through the virtual glass, suddenly finding to this unexpected conversation an obvious interest. "Why so?" he believed necessary to add.
"I've done some of mine you know? And Da'an seemed to take this very seriously..."
And the conversation continued on. Liam exposed to Zo'or the plan he had thought to during the whole lenght of faking listening at Sandoval's boring security briefing. He found in the Taelon a curious, vaguely childish side he did not dislike.
And after fifteen minutes of talking, they finally came to a final decision. Both could not really believe what they were going to do.
"... But your plan shall have to be reported to a certain distance in time since I am forced to rest for the following days," said Zo'or an audible unpleasant tone in his voice as he came on the subject of his 'forced resting'.
"Not a problem. So you'll take care of Sandoval and I'll warn the volunteers." A nod from the Taelon.
"Major, I am here discovering an area of your personality I would never have believed did exist," Zo'or said after a short moment of silence.
"And I didn't know you were that good at planning schemes either," replied Liam.
Zo'or seemed to think about what he was saying - something Liam had for long come to associate with a way to hiding they were hesitating. "Perhaps then you do not know me as well as you think you do," he said quietly, the mask slipping for less than a second.
"And I cannot wait to learn more about you Zo'or," retorted Liam, raising an eyebrow. "I'll leave you to your rest now." The young man offered the ritual salute to the Synod Leader and Zo'or bowed his head slightly in response.
Liam Kincaid was nervous. He had not felt so nervous in the past years. It was not like he was going to commit a quite casual act as breaking into the Taelons' database or in one of their most secret facilities in Arctic. No. It was worse. It was definitively worse.
He was scratching his right palm with the fingers of the left hand in a compulsive way as he walked past the mothership's corridors. Today was the day. Zo'or had finally been allowed to return at his functions on the bridge.
Liam stopped in front of his chamber's door just the time to wave it away, then stepped in. He threw his coat on a nearby chair and let his sore body fall on the bed with a relieved sigh. He was just in the morning, he had still the rest of the day to pass by before their... special meeting.
Technically he should not know how (how much things was he supposed not to know or do?), but still with a wave of the hand, seemingly like Da'an's usual gesture, he had a part of the ceiling and the wall facing him turned into virtual glass that let his sight an access to the ink colored space. There were stars, but faint, so faint, in the darkness. He could not see any other celestial corpses from the position of the mothership in its orbit around Earth.
He permitted himself a moment of calm before losing his wandering mind in the stars. He had to think, to think about the whole even that was going to take place by the end of the day. How would Da'an take it? Well, the Taelon had many times in the past showed his, sometimes odd, sense of humour. But to tell if he would appreciate this... But Liam could really do not do anything against it now. The mechanism was in place, ready to start, just waiting the trigger to be pulled... And he had seen this look in Zo'or's eyes, the look that had on the moment reminded him of the one he would have seen in a child's eyes when this one was about to place a snake in the teacher's desk. There was something very strange between Zo'or and Da'an, a strangely close relationship. He knew not what kind of link those two shared, but he knew that it had to be extremely strong. Perhaps they had been close in the past... and they would have been forced to face an even when their two opinions would
have parted for the first time... Yes, that theorize was the best he could think of in the instant.
Then he allowed his thoughts to drift slowly toward THE subject he had clearly forbidden himself to think to. He had just been mentally slapping himself everytime he had concentrated on this. This forbidden thought was Zo'or of course. He smiled as he remembered the talking he had had with Da'an a few days earlier. It was pretty much the same he had once had with Augur when this one had started to realize that Liam paid more attention to human females than usual. The hacker had just said that he had expected him to be attracted to Taelons as well since his father was Taelon and that he himself was partly alien. In only response the young man had showed him this sad grin that he wore so many times now and had just whispered, "Who knows what will happen to me Augur? I'm the first of my kind."
And now his words were clearly printed in front of his eyes, he saw them everytimes he blinked, flashing in the blackness. He was young at that time... and he was still young. But he had taken maturity and throughout every days of his life he had learned to understand how these words were appropriate in his case. Yes, who knew...? Maybe Ha'gel did, but he knew that little sadistic side of his father for having inherited it himself; and he would have to discover it by his own strenght of mind.
And there came Zo'or in what was already a mess of thoughts. The Taelon was young, very young, he could tell. Not only by his appearance when he blushed, but too sometimes his mask slipped for letting Liam see the unrevealed person beneath it. And in particular, that day, one week ago. He had spent a couple of hours in a cabin with Zo'or, alone with Zo'or, which thing had not happened to him before - but during the rare occasions when the Synod Leader had asked him to be his pilot and then they were in the same shuttle for one minute and a half. The Taelon had just been twitching and moaning in the bed, closing his eyes so tightly it seemed to hurt. He had felt in different way toward Zo'or that day. In the beginning he had just kept his face cold, more like the resistance fighter than the Companion protector and stared at the suffering alien wondering if he felt the same way so many Humans had felt just before dying, telling himself that it was just good if Zo'or died
though he would have preferred not to have to watch his agony.
Then other thoughts came in the view. He had realized that he knew virtually nothing of Zo'or, he knew nothing of his motivations, nothing of his personal life, nothing of his past, nothing of the being under the Synod Leader shell. The only thing he knew so far about his private life could have been that anytime Kincaid came on the bridge, in the day or in the night, he was sitting there, in his chair, his stare lost in the stars, sometimes one slender hand supporting his chin, sometimes simply looking so melancholic that it was almost making something ache, deeply inside.
In the woods, he was hearing only the sounds of the wind in the leaves and the Taelon's moaning and his despise for him had slowly changed in pity, then even moved a little further to compassion. Zo'or had been gripping the edge of the bed and the blankets in his thin white fingers, mumbling in Eunoia, a language that Liam could have had understood but simply wished not so. He was calling out to someone, he looked like he wanted someone to reach and hold his hand, but that he retreated in his loneliness at the last moments, before saying any words that would show him as weak. Then Liam's feelings had definitively turned into sadness. It was sadness he had felt when he had seen the glowing scar on Zo'or's chest, it was sadness he had felt when he had seen how a proud being the Taelon Leader was and how he was going to die, alone, far, so far away from anyone who would have accepted to hold this hand he was reaching out for someone. And it was sadness he had sensed running in
every of his most sensitive pathways when he had seen the fatalistic way with which Zo'or considered his own life, useless, careless...
Liam was now wondering upon the why question. Why a being so young could see the life as a such sterile and deathleading game? Why a being so proud could simply accept his death like a gift that was given to him, with nothing more than a whisper about his bitterest enemy? And especially, why was Zo'or so alone, why he had blocked himself away from the others of his kind - after many months of observation, Liam had came to this conclusion - and why he kept the mask on? Because Liam knew it was a mask, for being himself an expert in wearing one...
It had been an impulse to go and see Zo'or after his discussion with Da'an, but he did not regret it now. Maybe this was the chance of seeing another side of Zo'or's personality he had been waiting for? He had expected the Taelon to be revulsed, disgusted and to order him killed, or something like that. But he had strangely accepted. Though Zo'or had thought necessary to make it clear that he was participating in this in the only goal of 'freaking' - as the young man had suggested when the Synod Leader had searched for a descriptive word - Da'an and teach him a good lesson about "fomenting fruitless hypothesis on the subject of my private life". Which comment Liam had thought wise to add a grin to, as his intentions were the same.
He sat on his bed, passing a hand through his short brown hair, acknowledging his growing fatigue, despite he had got out of bed only a few hours earlier. He stopped this train of thoughts and just told himself that everything was going to be fine. Well, what could possibly go wrong? He had made some arrangments with some volunteers he knew were pretty at ease with him and had told them about the whole trick. He had then arranged their schedules for having them on the bridge at that moment, for that everything went perfectly correct. And he had let to Zo'or the rather delicate job of filling Sandoval in, though he doubted that the Agent would perhaps at his turn fill Da'an in as soon as Zo'or would have his back turned - when he had made the remark, Zo'or had smirked and said something in the lines of "I will precise to his attention that he will get skrilled before any of his words could reach its destination". So everything was going to be alright, he convincingly told
himself for the zillionth time. An insisting beep came from his global remembering him that he was already late for assist to another of Sandoval's BSBs - for Boring Security Briefing.
The moment had come. Liam stepped beyond the bridge's arch following Da'an. He looked at his right, exchanging a glare with Renee Palmer. She had insisted to come, she was NOT supposed to assist to this meeting, which had properly and virtually nothing to do with Doors International buisness, but Da'an, gentle and politicaly correct as he always was, had invited her to accompany them to the meeting since she and the Companion had another meeting later that day. It would spare her from another shuttle flight, which she was known to hate. Kincaid just kept hoping that her... reaction would not be one of the most... exploding style... Oh gosh! He shivered just as he thought to the possibility.
Life and mankind mix was extremely special sometime. Liam would not have been nervous if he had had to break down into the mothership's main computer in front of Sandoval's eyes, but he felt nervous NOW. Perhaps because the event that would soon take place was a most unusual one... Yes perhaps. He swallowed hard as he caught sight of Zo'or sitting in his armchair, as he ever was.
From their accident's consequences, the Synod Leader looked quite pale, as far as a Taelon can look pale. Indeed Liam could clearly see the fine energy lines travelling under the faint white surface of Zo'or's skin. He just looked weak, thin and a little sick, but he still mostly looked like himself...
The Major advanced, confidently, one step behind Da'an, though he did not stop when his Companion did in front of the other Taelon chair. Instead he continued forward. He could feel his heartbeat increasing as well as every trace of wetness seemed to leave his mouth and every trace of air disapeared of his lungs. He slowly walked toward Zo'or's chair, feeling Da'an's - and especially Renee's - eyes widening. If he had not known what a piercing stare meant, then he knew now for sensing their piercing stares fixed on his back.
As he approached the Synod Leader, he kept his eyes locked in his, not wishing that one volunteer could take the advantage and do something that would make him burst in laugh or faint like wink at him or something of that kind. He found in Zo'or now a certain... beauty, though his mind hesitated on the word as he thought to it. His facade had faded away, not his white facade, but this cold, cruel mask he used to wear. His eyes had melted to a cool blue, not totally warm, but not totally cold either, that fixed on him a gentle, almost tender gaze.
The young man knew oh how so perfectly that it was just a play, a prank, a joke... But still, he looked in these eyes and simply felt something burn inside him. And suddenly all vanished. All around him vanished. He was no longer on the bridge, there were no longer about twenty volunteers, two of his bosses and one of his rather dangerous colleague staring at them anxiously. There was him, Liam Kincaid, and Zo'or.
And he could tell easily that all kind of arrogance and disdain he had come to associate with his taelon superior was gone, now, just for this moment, but he would not waste it.
As Zo'or raised from his seat, slowly, never stopping to look intensly at him - a look that Liam could difficultly imagine to be fake. The protector leaned forward and offered the Taelon his hand for help him climb down his chair.
All the crowd massed there was just watching breatlessly. The had been warned, yes, but still... Seeing the Synod Leader, a person who used to despise most of mankind's represantatives, accept to commit that kind of act with a Human was quite surprising, at least. On the ship, there was a certain deal between the human and taelon crew. Zo'or had his nature, his character, and when you had learned to not upset him, to not disobey him, to not do anything that would lead to his anger, you could accept to live with that. And this unspoken rule applied both to the human and taelon staff. But this was very out of the limit of what they saw as a scene usually.
The silence was heavy on Liam's shoulders and Zo'or was the one to break it by pronouncing in a... lovingly way his name, "Li'am," saying it in the taelon way, with a liaison between the two syllables. The young man swallowed hard once more as he felt Zo'or's proximity becoming very arousing, in a way he had definitively never sensed before.
And all thoughts vanished as he leaned forward and brushed his lips to the Taelon's. Everything else disapeared form his mind as all he had in mind was to keep contact with Zo'or the longest time he was capable of. The touch felt strange, electrically strange, it was like if an energy current passed through his lips as their flesh touched. He felt something reach for his fingers and realized it was Zo'or's hands only a little too late as he had understand what his intention was. Too late. Zo'or meshed their fingers together and tied their minds. A reflex probably. And Liam came back to reality just before Zo'or could see too much by breaking the embrace.
He stepped back, feeling a faint grin fomring on his lips as he saw Da'an's mouth being wide open mirroring his eyes. A little bit worried, he slowly turned the head for gaze in Renee's direction. Her face was pale from what seemed to be rage, and her delicate hands turned into thight, very angry fists. Sandoval was covering his mouth with his hand, visibly for prevent them form seeing his own smile, and most of the volunteers were laughing or trying to hide their giggles. His own grin faded when he saw Palmer turn on her high heeled shoes and in the disorder caused by the... distraction, storm out of the room.
Then he saw his Companion, blushing, not a gentle pale blue as he usually did, but now a dark angry looking purple color. Without even one look, he followed the DI CEO out of the bridge.
The whole scene had lasted about five seconds. No more. And Zo'or was still frozen, his eyes staring out in the space it seemed. Liam turned slowly to face him, and caught glimpse of the cold facade totally gone for let place to a simple blissful expression. Zo'or avoided his eyes deliberatly and with one gesture of hand dismissed every staff one the bridge.
The first glimpse Liam had had of Zo'or's stare had made them realize their mistake. Then it returned to its original coldness and the young protector was again asked to leave, what he did mechanically, in a stiff pace, knowing that he would have both Da'an and Renee's anger to face later that day. And the only thought made him shiver in anticipation and anxiety. Perhaps, the idea was not that good after all.
Arriving in the shuttle bay, he noticed that Da'an had Palmer had returned down to Earth without waiting for him, and plus in his shuttle.
Liam knew something was just going to be wrong. He knew it, no, not exactly... he felt it, he sensed the atmosphere of the room become heavier as he stepped in. While he was on the mothership waiting for his shuttle to come back - a pilot could not take another pilot's shuttle but if previously authorized by the Companion he served, and in this case, Liam just did not want to call Da'an for ask him - he travelled down the corridors and everyone was looking at him in a very odd way. He had then realized that the news had spread out at lightspeed that he, poor little, high-ranked, but still member of the Human staff, had kissed Zo'or, the Synod Leader... He had sighed and psychologically prepared himself to erase the so numerous messages he would get on his global by the next morning.
For the moment, he felt exactly like he had felt on the motherhisp earlier that day: watched intensly. And yet, there was only one person in the room. And he could tell easily that person was angry, just if looking at her pale face and clenched fists.
Renée Palmer. He had just so hoped that she would not try to reach him for get any explanations. Then he had gotten a page, while on his way back from the motherhisp to the Embassy, on his global - she had even not wanted to talk to him - saying that he was waited for at the Flat Planet Cafe, in the third room where the usual meetings took place, before the Resistance being crushed and the Cafe being under high watching, scanning, filming and whatever else you want. The human nature being what it was, he would be unable to give her any understandable explanations that she would believe. He had until then just prefered to think that she had not been that angry with him...
But he had to get into reality. She was angry. Very angry. Angry, he had once seen her make Thompson flinch and jerk back. And then a logical part of his mind loved to repeat to his hearing this small 'Uh oh' warning.
And himself was not precisely happy at all today, then before she even opened her mouth, "Do I have to kneel before you and ask for your pardon?" came the sarcastic question.
She raised in one move from the chair she was sitting on. Her high heels allowed her to be face to face with him, their noses about two inches apart. "You are better give me an excellent explanation about this Kincaid..." she said, very low, not even bothering to hide the threat in her words.
He stepped back and broke the contact of their eyes for sitting back on a chair nearby and watching as she did the same. "Okay, it all started with I, Da'an and our twisted talking the other day..." And he went on, continuing to tell her the story of 'how he had come to kiss Zo'or'. "... And so, you weren't supposed to be here. And... and I don't know... something went wrong... just wrong..."
"Because you tell me that kissing Zo'or isn't wrong?" came her bitter reply. She had watched, sitting in the exact same position, not moving of an inch, except her foot which she moved in small circles, making her ankle move with unnerving little cracking sounds.
As he fixed her with that 'oh shut up, I'm so bored with you fucking up my detailed explanations' look, she came to stand again. "I will tell you something Kincaid. You are an alien and if I didn't tell the Resistance you were, it was just because I trusted you. But there I no longer trust you. What you've done could be considered as a pure and simple betrayal. I will tell the others cell's leaders, and we will decide of what we're going to do with you. But in your place I wouldn't be too optimistic about it..."
"And I must assume that you'll do pretty nothing for defense my point." She glared at him flatly. "I told you the truth Renée! It's not like I'd be Zo'or's lover or something. It. Was. A. Fucking. Joke. Okay?" he burst out.
And there, the first two years old kimera/human hybrid got to receive the first slap of his life. The violence of the shock sent him on the ground as he was not prepared the last bit for it and had not seen it come. His mouth gaped open and he raised a hand trembling in rage to touch his cheek. Blood covered his fingers. Her fingernails had been so sharp that they had cut through his skin. He tilted the head as he saw her two black high heeled shoes inches before him. "That was from a professional... and also... personnal point Kincaid." On then she turned in her steps and the noise of her heels disapeared in the loud music coming from outside, that the wide open door let enter freely.
He managed to stand and shakily left the room, closing the door behind him, making of the hand a gesture toward the barman that the third one was now free. This one acknowledged and Liam could finally climb upstairs for get some rest in his appartment. Or at least before returning at the Embassy. After all, his shuttle was still in the Cafe's parking and he should at least go pick up some work he had to do for the next morning.
He stepped in and locked the door behind him, as he threw his leather coat on the floor and kicked off his shoes. Before heading for the kitchen. He took a small glass and filled half of it with some scotch then headed for the bathroom. Liam looked at himself in the mirror and saw the three parallel bleeding scratch on the right side of his face. He smirked when he put some water against the wound. Palmer had not missed him... It would take about a month for disapear completly and even then, a scar of some sort would be left. Oh joy!...
He wiped away the blood and looked at himself again. Ah, now it was not so bad looking. No, it just looked like somebody had tried to plant a knife through his cheek or something... He sighed. Da'an would ask about this. Sandoval would ask about this. Zo'or would ask about this.
He stopped walking just as the name Zo'or came back in his mind. The thought of him was followed shortly by ones of the fresh contact of the Taelon's lips against his, his hand seeking for his, their fingers melted together... And all of this in less than five seconds. He just shook the thought out of his head. But could not! He could just not think otherwise at the moment! He felt like pushed toward Zo'or, like if something was suddenly very attractive in the Synod Leader's person, something he had never seen before, like if something was drawing them close, but yet, yet he knew not what that 'something' was. And for the time prefered not to know. He would need to ask Da'an about this. Or Augur perhaps, he had still collected some datas about his kimera ancestry by hacking continually in the Taelons' database. Ah gosh, and his eyes closed as his perfect memory replayed every little details of the event that had taken place one hour ago. He felt Zo'or responding to him...
And then, then he imagined that the others were not there, that they were alone, alone...
Liam approached Zo'or slowly, so slowly. Step by step, they were coming closer. There was no hesitation in their pace. There were no doubts in their mind. They knew not exactly why they were here and now, but it was of no matter. They were. That was. And they got closer, and closer. He saw that stare in Zo'or's deep blue orbs. Dreamy, vaguely distant, but it given to his whole person a suddenly softened appearance. The features of his face seemed softer, his eyes were locked into his. They knew that each other was desirable. Liam could feel his breath becoming ragged, his mouth becoming drier... And he enjoyed it as he realized why they were here. They were almost chest to chest, their lips were nearly touching. The Taelon raised a hand and passed his long white fingers through his short brown hair, then slid down on his face, stroking his cheek. Liam moaned softly as he gathered his former enemy in his arms and pressed his lips against Zo'or's avidly. They kissed. And he
felt with more than a thrill that his mate was responding with a fury that matched hiw own. He teasingly left Zo'or's lips for slide his mouth across his neck and realize that he was no longer wearing that purple suit of his. He grinned softly as he kissed Zo'or again in a more passionate fashion-...
His global's beeping awoke him. He was breathing heavily and was feeling exited... And he was not too sure about what he should feel about that... dream. Because he realized it was only a dream. And yet, he wanted to sense Zo'or's lips on his again, he wanted to feel this acceptation he had felt again, he wanted to feel someone's arms around him again... He felt so alone suddenly, so terribly alone, so terribly in need of someone beside him, for just that he could lie on the couch and let his head on this person's lap and simply sleep like that. He had again that little sensation of loneliness deep inside his belly that bothered him every times he got awake the morning and realized who he was, what he was and in which position he was. And whom was not with him.
Liam raised and took his global, turning on only the sound. A well-known voice was heard, "Hey kid!" Augur's voice. "The storm Renée just disastered my lair and she told me that if I were curious I'd call you. So there I'm doing, I'm calling you. What's that all about?"
Liam let himself fall back on the sofa and passed a han over his hair and face, moaning when he touched the sensible bruise. And yet, he did not turn on the screen. "Okay, ya ready? You still keep 'monitoring' most of the mothership cameras, especially those on the bridge right?" An affirmative hmmm-hmmm... "Okay so take out the file... And look at what has happened on the bridge about one hour ago..." He stopped there, leaving to Augur the care of opening the correct file.
After one minute and a half, the comment came, "Oh gosh!... So you and Zo'or are-..."
"NO!" Liam cut him in mid-sentence, though he doubted that the hacker would have said it anyway. "Augur before I'll explain that to you, you must promise me that you'll believe everything I'm gonna say okay?"
"Yeah, in the situation I assume I can."
"I swear that what I'll tell you is true, completly and entirely, but none of those that I got to tell to wanted to believe it and I'm really tired of it now." He knew already that the man had an open-mind, for taking care of a half-Human, half-Kimera baby, that would be one of the things needed. "It was a joke. Just a joke. You know... I had one of these strange talking with Da'an about my feelings for Zo'or and then I got to meet him and our two twisted minds got a little scheme planned, that would get Da'an very angry and all-..."
"Look like it worked," commented Augur.
"Yeah, but Renée wasn't supposed to assist..."
"What was the reaction?"
"From her part? Angry mostly. She slapped me," he said, touching again the slight bruise on his cheek.
Augur laughed, but his laugh quickly faded away when he realized something, "And the other Resistance cells, they've got to know about this..."
Liam sighed, "Oh don't be worried about'em, they'll be warned soon enough. Renée told me that she would tell them about my alien part, my true father etc. AND about that plus."
Not a word was heard coming from the other end of the line. A sign that Liam had come to associate with shock since the two years he knew the hacker. "Yeah, in other words, I'm dead. Now I just hope that the news won't spread out on the TV channels or at the 11 pm news. It'd be so kind of them."
... "Liam I'm sorry, I didn't think it'd get so bad..."
Kincaid yawned: taking care of saving his existence could wait a couple of hours. He felt so tired at the moment. "I'll call you back in some hours Augur okay? I'm getting so tired now."
Without waiting for the cyber-wizard reply, he cut the line and lay on the couch, pressing his non-hurted cheek against the arm of the sofa, he was currenlty going to use as pillow. His last thought was that he would not have one of these weird... visions like the one he had just had some minutes ago.
For the first time in his life Zo'or had desired someone. Before the event itself, he had considered the physical and occasionally amorous contact Humans used to refer to as a kiss to be a primitive, disgusting, distasteful contact, that was in no way pleasing. And he had been wrong. Oh how wrong he had been...
He could not avoid to recall the touch, the soft touch of the Major's lips against his. His Ka'atham had suddenly flared inside him, burning everything on its passage, destroying every reason, every thoughts others than desire ones. He had never thought that he would and could feel this way, feel this kind of emotions for a human being. No, the thought had even never come to his mind, to him, the being that despised the Humans the most.
He shivered. He had again let his thoughts wander. They always kept to bring his mind back to the subject that had deeply affected and shattered his emotions. Why was Liam Kincaid now so present to his mind? Was this Human different from all the others? Was he different from the mass? A mass that he wanted to use, to enslave, to destroy... Perhaps he was different from them. Zo'or had sensed something different. Not much, simply a sparkle deeply burried inside that was at the same time an aching and a pleasure to live with. And then Da'an's protector had not allowed him to see more than that. He had allowed him to see the difference, he had allowed him to taste, to feel, to sense this difference of his, he had given Zo'or the taste of independence, of love, of acceptation, of warmth... And Zo'or had known what it was to be in a Human's skin. And despite himself, yet and despite everything he might try to fool himself with, he did enjoy the kiss... And that was what began to
worry him the most.
The Synod Leader had once more sought for Da'an's wrath and anger and had visibly found it, his parent having cut himself from every of his attempt to come in contact, psychic or physical, with him. The Synod's members were now dubious of his... sanity, and wondering if he were truthfully Liam's lover or not. He would be again considered as young, foolish, all but careful, dangerous, impetuous... The list of what would be his sentence was long and hard to listen to. He had managed to climb until reaching one of the most powerful positions of the Taelons' hierarchy. And was now going to lose it!
And all of this because of a stupid human way of acting he had not seen the consequences of. Kincaid had been a fool, and he would reject the fault on him, he could say that the Major had proposed the idea, that would influence greatly the Synod's judgement. Yet, he knew that was the best solution for a selfish attitude as was his and yet... and yet he was hesitating. He had spent most of that past night in meditation, trying to figure out how he could escape from the trap he had buried himself into, and the solution was bright before his eyes. Doom the Human, he would pay for Zo'or's actions even if it were partly his fault as well. Crystal clear, evident, obvious. And yet, he could not decide himself to do so. He knew how Da'an's protector would now be deep into trouble, deeper than he already was, for sure.
Zo'or waved away the datastream that floated before his eyes angrily and put his delicate hands back to his side, sinking back into his chair, closing his eyes. It was of no use. He would not - no, no he could not - do this to Liam Kincaid. Anyways, the young man would surely be getting enough trouble on his own, without the need of taking Zo'or's burden on his shoulders. No. No he would assume his part in their schemes and admit his participation in this in front of the Synod. They would see that he could act as an adult who takes responsabitlities for his own actions isntead of the child who denies everything, something that most of the Synod's members thought he was, a child, they had always doubted his aptitude to the leadership of their council, most of them voted for him only because they wanted not to vote for Da'an. Never they had believed he would prove out to be a good leader for their race, and he would now prove it. A true leader can recognize and, more
important, assume his mistakes and their consequences.
The only thing to lose was probably his liberty of acting from the Synod that had until now tolerated many of his rather strange and overhelming in power behaviors. That would stop, doubtlessly, he would lose some trust from them, but the chances for that he would lose his leadership were small, extremely. Even with T'than's disturbing arrival on Earth. The War Minister had come on Earth to kill him, or at least to have him dismissed from his seat. But this, this he would never allow. He had fought for this place and he would stay in this place.
His musings were once more interrupted as a quite soft and temptating flashback replayed every details of the kind touch that had happened only some hours ago, on the bridge. Liam's lips on his... the only thought, the sole souvenir of the sensation, the vague shadow of it... made him shiver, made a pleasant chill going down his spine... He let his arms fall back on his thighs and let the back of his head against his chair. His eyes closed slowly.
It was futile, everything of this kind was futile and hopeless to think so. Kincaid had kissed him because they had planned so, Kincaid would never have kissed him otherwise in any other kind of situations, but if he were forced to. Kincaid had no love for him, no affection even, only fear, perhaps respect, and perhaps was increased. It was stupid to think in such a way about these events. And yet, as one enjoys his delicate sweet torture and madness, Zo'or continued to let his musings take control of his thoughts and his mind wandered on the subject of his discovery about some pleasing physical contacts that Humans used between members of their kind. And now one Taelon had come to know it, to know about the pleasure of it.
No. No it was so much stupid, Kincaid had doubtlessly a human mate, a female lover, perhaps this Renée Palmer, that had visibly reacted so harshly upon the revelation of their `joked relationship'. He sighed. Yes, he knew that no one, and surely not Liam Kincaid could have enjoyed to kiss him, to have come close to him, in fact he had been surprised at the moment, very briefly, before the thought being replaced by more... interesting ones, that Liam had not proved to be disgusted by the contact with him, the shared closeness... that he had enjoyed. He had enjoyed to be held in arms, he had enjoyed to be touched like a person that Kincaid would be in love with, he had enjoyed... simply to be with this man...
Zo'or felt as an important burden was taken off his shoulders, he felt just... relieved after admitting this to himself. He had enjoyed Liam Kincaid's close company, both psychic and physical company and closeness. And that all ended here. No... No it did not. It did not because Zo'or wanted to feel this again, he wanted to feel like this another time. And again. And again... He wanted for Kincaid to be at his side. He wanted him just to grin to him, to assure him that he was now feeling a little sympathy for him... He simply wanted Kincaid to show some feelings toward him. Was it too much to ask?
"It has been a long time since I have not seen you being so upset - or should I say emotionally disturbed?"
Zo'or had not even the need to turn around to know from whom came this too well-known voice. His fellow Taelon had evidently entered during he was still in his meditative state, silently slipping inside, like the his'huj that came during the night on Taelon silently, quietly, searching for body-heat and slowly strangled their prey while they were always asleep. Yes, T'than had often made him think of this wild and dangerous animal that had been destroyed with his homeworld. "War Minister," he greeted, though his salute sounded more like a threatening, which action did not seem to bother T'than much, "Do you despise me to the point of entering in my private quarters while I am meditating?" he coldly announced his intentions.
T'than smirk's let Zo'or see his artificially white teeth, this famous smirk that had more than once in the past frightened the younger and easily impressed Zo'or, a being he had let far away from Earth, along with his childhood. "If so is your thinking, I had not in mind to harm you." The young Synod Leader recognized too well this voice, this softened, gentle, snake like tone, almost like a gentle, quiet hissing, a hissing that he knew he would need to fear more than everything else for the time being.
"Then please announce the reason of your presence here or leave T'than."
T'than's face became harder, not cold, but the smile faded away. "I had come to ask you if you found this amorous human ritual enjoyable?"
Zo'or slowly rose and came to face the General, stepping down from the dais of his chair. "I will try to make it clear T'than, perhaps this will make your understanding easier. Kincaid is not and has never been my mate and the event that take place during this afternoon was as Humans put it a joke, a prank, an unreal and unrealistic faked situation if this clarifies it enough for you."
"And yet, you have not answered my question young one," T'than silently remarked, his eyes shining softly in the dim light of the room.
"And yet, my feelings are none of what should interest you, since it does not have anything to matter or to interfere with the Taelons agendas toward Humanity," snapped Zo'or, visibly starting to get on a defensive point.
The other Taelon saw the faint trembling of his hands, "Oh and I believe you lie Zo'or," he softly said, his voice thought more piercing than it had ever been in the past of their short conversation. "Have no worries with the Synod, oh young Leader, because I, and only I, will prove to them and to yourself that you are nothing but unable of ruling our race, that you have brought us closer to the death than we have ever been in the past. I will take care of your dismission, I will be there, always at your side, looking over your shoulder. This was your first fault Zo'or, be prepared to make many more." On that the War Minister simply turned on his heels and left him to his dark musings.
T'than had come back, and would destroy him if he made the smallest mistake, he would be crushed and fall into disgrace. Zo'or nervously tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, though that T'than threats had from long ago lost their primarily effet, to afraid, he could still feel himself becoming anxious over the Synod meeting he would have to handle later in the week. T'than would be there and would miss no opportunities to crush him into his own trap. Zo'or felt exactly as if he would have buried his own grave, as Humans put it. Now, Liam Kincaid and their kiss as a problem passed at the second rank in his mind.
The Synod Leader could get no rest that night, his mind turn to turn tortured and hunted by nightmares of T'than's threats and pleased delightening souvenirs of his unusual encounter with Da'an's protector. The worst was yet to come, and he felt it, he could feel it.
Da'an did not react when his protector stepped in his audience chamber. Not a glance, not a sign that he had heard of Liam being alive. Nothing. Subtle message: he was still angry. Despite the fact that the Taelon was not looking at him, Liam did his best to hide to his sight the wound that decorated his right cheek. Da'an's eyes were fixed intensely on the datastream rolling down before him, but the young man, after many years of work for the Companions had come to the conclusion and had acknowledged that the Taelons had eyes at some places that Humans had not. He had to be careful then, the last thing he wanted was to be getting some more reprimends from his boss about his betrayal of the Resistance's trust and of his and of the supidity of his act... Ah... He could just iamgine the speech and could not help but audibly sigh.
The first sign of attention that his Taelon superior gave him was, "Major, I did not ask for your services today. I will request agent Sandoval's protection for the only event I will have to attend to. You may go," said in the coldest voice Liam had ever heard coming from Da'an, he thought he knew as a gentle, innocent, soft being. Subtle message: I'm very angry at you and have no wish to see your face today.
Liam himself started to feel extremely frustrated with the way the situation was getting worse and worse. The Hybrid felt like yelling, `Ah what are you all up to with that mess, it was just a kiss, it was not the apocalypse, nor the end of the world, it was a damned kiss,' but wisely restrained himself from screaming through the room, which thing would probably have allowed to spend the remaining of the day jammed into a cell up there aboard the mothership, with Sandoval satifyingly watching. The whole thought made a shiver go down his spine.
He sat on the chair and turned on his computer, "I am really sorry Da'an but I have got some work to achieve for Sandoval and will be forced to disturb your peace of mind for the whole day I fear." He realized onle a few seconds later, after fiinshing speaking, but his voice had just been so neutral that it was almost horrifying. He had spoken like a robot, not sounding sarcastic, or sad, or angry, just like a perfect implant would have done. He started typing on the keyboard, bringing before his eyes the files and report he would need to complete before sending them to his superiors. The faint noise of his fingers hitting the key covered to his ears the soft and long hissing of the dismissal of Da'an's energy stream. Liam was now locked in his own private bubble of life, denying the existence of everything else outside, almost in a meditative state, but one meditation that would have allowed him to work instead of resting and calming.
The Taelon slowly stepped down from his throne. He had had no intentions of provocating this kind of reaction in his protector, though he was still angry for the little scheme that Kincaid and Zo'or had planned. Something had happened obviously. Perhaps with this Renee Palmer woman, that he could easily qualify of Liam's friend. No, the young man he knew of in the person of Liam Kincaid seemed to be extremely angry, though it was a rather delicate subject to tell if he were angry with himself or with Da'an, or perhaps with Zo'or, or perhaps with somebody else that was not in Da'an's range of knowledge. But he seemed to keep his rage under a tight contorl and, worse, to keep it inside in a cold lump. His fingers were fastly hitting the keys, often forced to come back in his words on the screen, angrily erasing his mistakes. He would never achieve his work for the goal he had announced at this rythmic, thought Da'an.
He stepped closer to the Human. He wished not to make their relationship even worse than it already had changed to through months, events and choices. They were almost as stranger now, for each other, and Da'an wanted not to become completly alien to this person, the last that he could hope to be forgiven by. The attitude of his protector was definitly strange, abnormal. He had never manifested such an anger, such a shock, almost rage in his eyes, even when his mother had died, even when he had been betrayed by Da'an... The Taelon had been hit by the words, had been deeply wounded, deeply touched by what the man thought of him, but yet, yet he had never seen this kind of anger in Liam's eyes. It looked like the anger of someone who is ready to kill someone else if he is given the occasion to. Perhaps his actions had been known and reported to some of his... friends...
Da'an advanced, trying to look confident, after all he had every right to be frightened by Liam's behavior, this one was a kimera hybrid, the last of his kind and had every right to simply kill him with his shakarava, which Da'an believed was still active, perhaps dormant but active still, despite Liam's belief. He placed his hand on his protector shoulder and himself blushed as he felt the muscles tensing under his touch. The young man stopped typing. This cold, neutral, that reminded Da'an of Liam being agent Sandoval's son, voice he had previously spoken into some minutes earlier only, once more rang to his ears. "Please Da'an, get away from me. It is already for me an extremely difficult morning, I would appreciate if you kept your reprimends for yourself for the time being. I have enough in mind right now."
Though, the Companion was a bit startled by Liam's quick and clear response, always polite, he answered, "I did not intend to reproach you anything Major Kincaid. I merely wished to inquire about your well-being since you seem to be quite... agressive," the Taelon slowly said, not as softly as he had wanted to but yet, gently enough for significate to Liam that he had no intentions of harming him, verbally or physically.
"I am well Da'an, only... fatigued. I apologize for my behavior-..."
"I do not wish for you to apologize. I wish for you to tell me what is wrong Liam. And I will not believe your words if you try to convince me that everything is perfect," Da'an almost snapped.
In only response, Kincaid minimized his file in the corner of his screen and slowly turned his chair and raised facing the Companion, allowing him to see the pink-reddish bruise on the right side of his face, that had simply gotten worse looking during the night. He had hoped it would heal a little, but the wound continued to bleed, it was not yet coagulated.
Da'an's eyes widened in surprise at the sight. "Who hurt you in this way?"
Kincaid turned his gaze away, staring fixingly at this feet. He nervously put a hand in his pants pocket and took out a once white, now streaked with red marks, tissue and carefully placed it against his cheek, wipping away some of the blood. "Palmer. She was there on the bridge when I and Zo'or... And she sent me a page on my global, telling me to meet her at the Flat Planet Café. I attented and went to the meeting. She slapped me, because she thinks that I am a traitor. To our... movement also. I am not very sure why. Perhaps, she thinks that I have turned out to be completly alien and that I am just like the Taelons now, just worthy being destroyed."
The Taelon listened calmly to the short speech. Liam's voice many times wavered during this while and Da'an could clearly perceive that his feelings had been shattered. He was not yet saying him the complete and entire truth, despite the fact that he had permitted himself to talk to Da'an about their... once shared allegiances to the Resistance movement was a quite great progress considering the whole situation. "I can tell that your words are only partially true Liam," he quietly encouraged the young man to say more.
"And she also said that this was the last straw, that she would not hide my true identity and the fact that I am a hybrid and an alien to the... Resistance. She is just gonna tell them everything about me and try to get them to kill me. She seriously thinks that I've betrayed them. And... And I just can't understand why," Kincaid said, the last few words being extremely difficult, he brought his hands up to cover his face with them, moaning when he touched the slight bruise on his cheek.
Da'an hesitated. He would need to prove to his young protector that he was to be trusted, or then perhaps Liam would know his end. The affair, that had started as a simple joke, had just turned out to be a lot more complicated then that. Kincaid was maybe risking his life there. "I have no explanations for your friends's behavior Liam, unfortunatly human way of acting is often a mystery for my judgement to comprehend."
"Yeah, and you're not the only one, in case you wondered."
The Companion allowed himself to smile openly at the appearing return of Liam's `good mood'. "May I ask if your other friends...?" the Taelon then hesitantly asked, simply wanting to put Liam at confidence.
"Want to see me dead now?" he suggested. Da'an nodded, though blushing at the dark point of view. "Not of what I've heard... Augur seems to be pretty on my side, but I doubt he'll do something in my defense, he uses to put his own interest and money before anything else at the time being. Almost all friends I got, I did through the movement, so I don't think I'll be left much after this. I'm not even sure that I'll get to stay alive and in one piece," he said. The young man's voice had now shut down until it did not reach the tone of a whisper. Liam had been greatly troubled by these events evidently, Da'an thought.
Da'an was going to say something but Liam's global beeped convincingly. Its owner took it from his pocket and turned on audio only, responding, "Kincaid."
Followed a series of command from agent Sandoval, which last was to fly Zo'or from the mothership to a taelon facility in Germany. Liam listened attentively then without the furhter sign of understanding, he closed his global soundly and put it back into his pocket, grabbing his coat.
"I gotta leave for the day, since Sandoval is attending at the event with you, I'll take a couple of his duties on my back for the afternoon. I should be back for the late evening if you need me." He gave his boss the taelon salute and turned to leave, all expression of gratitude or relief that could be a following of his short talking with Da'an was not shown on his face, again, hard and cold looking.
Da'an's gentle, asking voice made him turn back to his taelon Companion, "I will not require your service for the remaining of the day Major. Though I wish to speak with you as soon as it would be comfortable with you and your schedule."
Liam of the old days come back as the young man gave Da'an a rarely seen frank smile, "Well, I'll be there in the evening if you want to talk to me."
With that the two broke apart for carry both of their duties for the day, but at the last second, Da'an turned and said, "Liam, the action you and Zo'or have commited is, though upseting and frustrating, understandable for one who has been young. It is serious, more than you think and can have unforeseen consequences, but it is not beyond forgiving. Have no worries about this, I will interfere with Zo'or or the Synod's decision if necessary."
Liam walked slowly, lazily toward the shuttle bay of the mothership, his carrying of Sandoval's duty had surprisingly taken less time than expected and Zo'or had requested that he wanted him to transport him to this german facility now instead of in one hour. Then Liam had not even had the time to take a little rest, his first in this tiring day. His sleep the past night had been more than disturbed by strange dreams, fortunatly not the same kind of dreams of himself and Zo'or, but worse. He had dreamed about his downfall in disgrace from the Resistance and more than once, though he had not remembered his dream very clearly, he had awakened his muscular body covered with a fine layer of cold sweat. The friends he had gotten to meet while ruling the movement were the only one he had still. Lili was gone, thanks to Sandoval, Augur was busy taking care of his money and business, Renée... Renée he was not sure he could yet call her a friend. She would probable order him out of
the lair as soon as he would step in and, if not, try to get his skin, his skin of disgusting hybrid to bring it back like a hunting trophy.
Many people crossed his way as he passed through the mothership's corridors and rooms. But still, still Liam felt so completly alone. He had had this feeling in the past. In fact this feeling that had always been there since his father, his mother, Lili's death and Sandoval complete revulsion from him, even if he knew Kincaid to be just one of his colleague. It was like something was digging deep inside his stomach, a feeling that made him feel like the only thing he wanted to do would be to stop walking, to go back home, and since he had nobody still alive dear to his heart, to sit, alone, and cry. But he could not do that. Because before being Li'am, he was Liam Kincaid, Companion protector and had a game, a role, a character to play, to fool anyone from looking through the shell. It had always been there, when he had met Da'an, he had felt alone facing for a brief moment the taelon commonality, when he had connected Da'an back to this so-said commonality, he had felt the
Taelon's incredible solitude that had just made his own aching again in his heart, when he had lost Lili, he had felt alone, when he had been betrayed by the two most dear people to his heart that were still left, he had felt alone, alone and angry... As he felt now, angry against the fact that he was so continuously alone, angry against the fact that everybody would now try to have him killed, as everybody if they knew who he was would instinctively try to get him dead, just because he was different... Just because he was an alien. The phrase most of the Resistance members had been said when they had received the proposal of Jonathan Doors. Keep an open mind. Yeah, keep an open mind and try to kill every alien, to disgust them, without trying to know who they really are, without trying to know if they had a personality, a something isnide that owed to be saved. No. They are aliens. Kill them.
Lili had been like that, at the beginning, but less than everyone else, because she had seen him as a small innocent child, and understood that he was in need to be protected. She had been like that because her old friend, now dead, had been like that, that she had realized it too late for prevent his death to happen and to trouble the Resistance enough for cause that sudden changes of motive inside her to a point that even Lili Marquette, one of the first to have embarked in the movement, had criticized some actions of Doors' for being too violent for her taste.
How he wanted some people to be like that now? Why they could not be kind to him? He had yet not managed to understand why Renée had suddenly rejected him completly from her life. Perhaps a kiss had been more for Humans that what he had thought it was. He was partly alien after all, he bitterly recalled, perhaps he had not yet ceized all subtleties in a kiss. Maybe he had involve dhimself with Zo'or more than anything else would have, maybe Renée knew that and had hurt him in the way she had done because of that. She had not hurt him only in the physical, but also she had hurt his feelings so deelpy. He had begun to consider Renée almost as he had considered Lili, though knowing that she could never really take her place. But every of these feelings had simply vanished from his mind. It had all been illusions then. Then the despise he had seen in Renée's eyes, when he had told her of what and who he truly was, had not finished by disapear, then all her smile to him were
fake, all the good moments they had shared together, these moments during which he had thought he had a real friend again, all of these were gone... And Renée was to be forgotten. Despite everything he might do now, she would hate him. Because he had not only seen anger in her eyes, he had seen more than that, he had seen hate, hatred, that terrible, final, condemning emotion of these Humans...
He stopped suddely walking, causing one or two volunteers to stop as well and to look at him oddly - fortunatly not much of them had asked about his bruise, it was just correct for the moment, he did not feel like explaining, but yet he could feel their stare on his shoulders. Had he thought these Humans? As if he were no longer part of them. Yes. Yes he had thought this. And felt now that it was not so completly false. He felt again that little alien part of himself, that had sometimes in the past awakened when he had used his shakarava organs, take the lead of his thoughts. Just for a brief moment. But not short enough for preventing him of sensing it completly, and being only a little scared of it. What if this alienity inside im came back again, but for a longer time? What was it? What was wrong with him? His emotions were just on the edge, himself was on the edge... today.
Liam now curisouly reminded that he had a rendezvous with Doctor Park for his regular medical exam, perhaps she would have the answer? He had been quite shook in the past days after all, maybe just an emotional disturbance. He hoped it was so, it was not the time of being sick. He could not take care of saving his skin, being sick. He needed someone to talk to. He could not talk to Augur, not yet, not before knowing that he would not report every of his words to Renée as soon as he was finished. And though Da'an had gently offered him his helps in his own taelon subtle, disguised way, he felt not totally trusting the Taelon, it would be a long time until he would trust him again, until he could say him something about his personnal life and feelings. He sighed. He needed someone to talk to. An almost desperate, an as sudden, need. Maybe he would get the chance to blow one or two words of it to Park, she had been like a mother to him, since his birth, and even closer since
Lili's death, she had supported him. Perhaps he could talk to her? Yes, yes he would.
But now, he had to take care of Zo'or. Oh gosh, the only name was kinda hard to pronounce, he felt it, only saying it in his head was difficult. He simply hoped that the Taelon had not gotten any reprimends from his own superiors - his fellows Synod members - and was now so deeply angry at him. He shut down his thoughts as he stepped inside the docking bay.
Oh, and he would have to hide his wound from Zo'or's sight, as he had tried to hide it from Da'an's if he did not want the Taelon to inquire about that. If Zo'or inquired about it, he would try to know who had hurt him in that way and why and probably reproach him again something... Zo'or always found something to put in your fault. He would really have to ask about this to Melissa. She could at least clean the wound in a better way than he had done, it would perhaps get infected like this. And it hurt like hell!
Kincaid climbed in his shuttle and seated himself in the pilot place. He then turned his chair toward a energy stream he had waved open previously and started to adjust the controls. He had barely the time to make it before Zo'or arrived. Liam turned his chair back into its original position in such a way that the Synod Leader never faced him, and then never saw the sharp bleeding on his cheek.
With the usual graceful wave of hand he started the flight, as usual without the least greeting from his Taelon passenger. He had perhaps hoped a small sign from Zo'or, sign that things were maybe different between the two of tehm now, an acknoledgement of his existence but none of these were shown, but yet, it was not in Zo'or's habits to show most of his feelings.
The flight was silence. After Liam shouting "Entering ID space," nothing else was said, during the next minute. Though Liam felt like he wanted to say something to Zo'or. But yet he could not decided himself to simply turn around, go take a seat beside him and tell him what he had to say. He was nervous... again. And did not know why, and it bothered him, it really did. And the fact that he was bothered started to bother him even more profuondly.
From the Kimera part given by his true father Ha'gel, he knew that Zo'or had let himself fall in some meditative yet completly conscious state, that he would need some seconds to come back in reality and Liam caught himself briefly wondering about what was the Taelon thinking to - and especially if he were thinking to what Kincaid himself was thinking to now: the still famous to his mind event that had taken place yesterday.
He could wait no longer. He checked the controls, saw that he was in a `clear field' as the pilots used to call it. That meants one could easily let the shuttle pilot itself, taelon version of automatic piloting mode, without risks of encountering dangerous objects going through their path into interdimentional. He quickly shut the piloting mode to automatic, felt as the shuttle's faint wavering indicated that it was uploaded and rose from his seat, walking toward the back of the small shuttle, sitting beside Zo'or.
It was a long while to go by until the Synod Leader finally turned his head slowly in his direction, opening his eyes only a few seconds after. Once the Taelon had caught a glimpse of Liam's still face, he did, like the young man was now doing, and absorbed himself in the view of the twisted interdimentional tunnel, when the rays of the stars they passed by where transformed and curled to form a curious, abnormaly perfect spiral, the `ID swhirling'.
A few seconds had passed of fixingly looking at the view until one of them spoke. They had all time they needed, or would need, since the automatic piloting had for advantage or non-advantage depending of the case to keep the shuttle stiff and steady as well as to keep its position. Then they did not move inside space, they were unmoving. "Why have you left your seat? And I assume that you did not only intented to admire the view..." asked Zo'or, slowly. Liam suspected that he had not spent a very good night, perhaps he had been bugged by the Synod about their... kiss. But yet, he did not appear angry, that in himself was not that rare, though his natural coldness was again showing itself and impressing the interlocutor more than anything else.
"I just... wanted to speak with you," Kincaid responded calmly, more calmly than he himself had thought he could be able to. Silence again took contorl of the shuttle, being heavier than ever.
"And about what?" was Zo'or's silent reply. He seemed in a definitively rarely seen short and sweet mood, the tone was no longer cold as it had been before, but only cool, as if the Taelon were relieved or had been warmed up of knowing that Liam wished to talk with him. If Liam had turned, he could have seen that the Synod Leader had closed his eyes again, tired, visibly. His night had surely been a tiring rather than a resting one.
The young hybrid nervously caught his fingers together and ungripped them francticly, anxiously. "I only wished to apologize... if I had caused you any trouble... with the Synod or anything... about our... our kiss and all..." His words had been parted by many hesitating silence, hesitations that Zo'or noticed with a slight grin.
"You seem to be quite... shocked when time comes to talk about the contact I shared with you. Why is that?" he demanded to know.
Liam smiled briefly, his smile fading away when he remembered fully the late evening and the new red companion he had on his cheek, witness of his encounter with the terrible Palmer's wrath. "I... only thought you'd be angry at me."
Zo'or seemed here truly surprised, so surprised that he let his feelings being shown on his face for less than a second. He turned toward Liam, his eyes now open and fixing their usual piercing blue color on him. "I might have showed to you in the past in my demeanor, coldness, impatience and harshness, but I do not think of myself as being uselessly and easily angry toward one who has done nothing for own such a punishment," he almost snapped, as he had thought distasteful that Liam could think he was that kind of person.
"I'm sorry-..."
"Please, stop your apologizes. I see no need in receiving them, if so were my wish I could perceive your feelings directly from your mind," Zo'or quietly stopped him, as looking himself for a pardon of his sharp reprimend about his behavior some seconds before. It briefly came to Kincaid's mind that this Taelon was surprisingly emotional, and amazingly willing to show his emotions as if the control had been snapped away.
"I-..." he began, but stopped himself in time. He raised his hand, then let it fall back on the arm of the seat, a grin appearing on his lips. Sensing Zo'or's stare on his shoulders, he quickly changed his words. "No. No, I'm not sorry, but I can understand that though."
Satisfied, apparently, of Liam's change in behaving, Zo'or turned back his gaze to admiring the view before their eyes. "Please never apologize to me again. A human saying says that error is human. I prefer you to be frank, than to be submissive as many of your kind are to members of my species."
Liam could feel, something he had for sure rarely done with Zo'or, that he could speak frankly to the Taelon beside him, restrained by some measure of course, but yet, it was some more freedom, and mostly unusual, to say the least, to be waiting for from Zo'or's part. He used to be so... cold looking normally. But not now, strangly. "Didn't know you liked people to be frank with you," he said as his previous words about wishing to know more about Zo'or's personality came to his mind. "If I am not mistaken you've some Synod meeting on tomorrow?"
"It was not yet communicated to human crew then how can you know of this event?"
Liam bit his nail a little bit, he felt so damn hungry now, he had not taken any breakfast, nor had eaten on his lunch break. "I saw it in Da'an's schedule... Was looking over his shoulder," he fastly explained. He asked the question he had firstly asked and that still Zo'or had provided no answer to. "Are you going to deliberate about our..."
"Socializing?" Zo'or supplied, seeking for and finding Liam's approval in this statement. "Yes, they are. War Minister T'than has communicated us the sudden need to... question my capacity to leadership following these events," he quietly added. It was now more appearant that this was the subject his mind had been wandering about and thinking during the flight, previsouly.
Liam searched for a twisted way to apologize without really saying it, "I would not have made the proposal, if I had known that it'd get you so deep into trouble."
Zo'or's eyes again showed that look of great lack of attention, as if his mind had left his body, leaving here only an empty shell. He took him many seconds for responding finally. Liam then understood that he had been discussing with his fellows. "I should myself have known that T'than would jump of the occasion of trying to have my dismissal approved by the remaining members before agreeing to take my part in our scheme. We are both responsibles for the mistake we have made-..."
"Yeah, but only you are paying the bill of it," he lied. He just knew that Zo'or would get so much more trouble with the Synod that he would ever get with the Resistance. He knew the young taelon enough to tell that his Synod Leader position was all what mattered in a life that he himself considered to be worthless saving... He prefered not to know how he could react if he was dismissed form his post.
"I should be able to defend myself," the Taelon opposed him.
"Look if you can save your skin by that way, just put all the blame on my back-..."
"No." Zo'or's reply was sharp, short and Liam almost jerked when hearing it, so he was surprised by it. He did not know that he could have that kind of nearly violent feelings for something. "No," his tone had softened a bit, but he spoke with not less conviction in it. "This would show myself being weak. If I wish to be judged as a peer to them, I must act as an adult and responsible person. I have made this acitons of my own will and will pay for my mistakes as you will do if the Synod decides so." Zo'or seemed to take the time to calm himself a bit, breathing and blinkly longingly. He spoke again though, to Liam who had his eyes fixingly looking at the floor, feeling somewhat ashamed to have suspected that Zo'or could be the kind of person to giv eone another to save his own skin. "But, when you have said that I would be the only one to pay for our actions, you obvisouly lied. The Companion Da'an has evidently punished you, by sending you away from himself." He stopped a
bit, seeing Liam turn the eyes away even more, trying to avoid his words, to ignore them. "And your... friend, Ms. Palmer, seemed to be angry when she has left, as witnesses of her following reaction this mark on your right cheek you have vainly try to avoid me from seeing."
Kincaid just closed his eyes and covered the wound of the slap with his hand, almost turning his back at Zo'or. He half-opened his eyes when he heard the soft noise of the taelon material moving as Zo'or raised his arms from were it was resting since the beginning of their talk on his thigh and advanced it toward him. Liam slowly turned his chair in the Taelon's direction, wished to at least being face to face with him, if he knew about his wound after all.
Zo'or's fingertips came to touch his cheek softly in a contact that by its softness made him shiver a bit and close his eyes, though the logical part of his mind asked him why he was reacting like that. Zo'or had just touched his cheek. It was all and not the end of the world, though his feelings felt odd and extremely fastly changing, from fear to acceptation to... enjoyment of the contact. "You should see a healer, your wound is serious and could be soon infected if nothing is done."
The young man lifted his eyelids again when the Taelon broke the touch of his hand to his skin. It had left a strange feeling going through the skin, not alike the feeling he had sensed when he had touched Da'an's hand the first day of his life, very odd, not totally displeasing either... "What've you done? It's getting warm," he said just quietly enough.
"My energy can repair your damaged cells, this is what you are feeling. It is not dangerous, but will not heal your wound completly."
Liam touched his fingers to his cheek again and sensed a faint probably pink looking healing skin covering the originally bleeding and open wound. "Well, thank, it doesn't hurt as much as it did earlier now."
Zo'or's unblinking blue eyes were fixed in his, and he looked ready to answer something, but said nothing as a blinking red flash coming up on the screen told them both, and especially to the young pilot, that a shuttle had taken the same ID tunnel that they had and was now waiting behind them. The Major apologized through global links then caught up back on the normal piloting mode flight, as Zo'or reminded him that they were probably late now, though he did not reproach him of the time they had taken together.
The Synod Leader let his head against the back of his seat as the young man's hands were waving through the controls. Once more, when he had come in physical contact with the Human, he had sensed, that odd, pleasurable Ka'atham's energy rush in his sensible and main energy pathways. He had been quite startled when he had come to realize, through their talking that Palmer has hit Kincaid in this violent, primitive way - probably what they refered to as a slap, most of the time used by women as a faked control they can have by violence on males - then, he had simply been filled with anger at the sight of Liam's open wound, that he was trying to hide as a weakness. For a moment he had felt his loneliness... mirroring his own and his pain also, though he wondered from where this pain came from. But he knew not what it was to lose a friend for having never have any himself.
When his protector had finally left his office, Da'an allowed his mind to drift off for som seconds, leaving himself to be dragged away by the Commonality soothing thoughts, though they did not know what was wrong with him. And yet he was in connection with no members... He had always found this... odd as Humans would put it. Since his youngest time, he had wondered who were they? The Soothers of the Commonality, whenever you came, whatever actions you had commited they accepted you as one of them and soothed your pain, calmed your anger and gave you hope. Another of the secret that had slowly disapeared from every minds since the beginning of this fatal move that would soon or not prove itself to be their last step into existence, their last mistake, a most serious one. They had forgotten from where they did come from, their origins, their myths, very few were his fellows who knew of the Umrathuma and Sha karava legend, many, like his own child had done, had simply
discarted it as useless, old and unworthy of wasting their time to learn more about their own ancestry and now they were all going to die, because of the enormous mistake that only a few members of their Commonality had commited.
These fatalistic thoughts made the Soothers' minds approach closer to him, whisper softly to him. Fatigued of hearing their comforting words that he knew were false and faked, he mentally slapped them away and, like a plant will always turn back to the sunlight, they came back to him, unharmed, emotionless in front of this clear rejection...
The American Companion mentally sighed his despair in front of such futility and fell back to his half-conscious musings. He prefered them to the constant singing of his fellows thoughts to his ears.
He psychically curled up in foetal position on himself, showing to everyone who would try to enter his mind this image of himself, with a clear message of his desire for loneliness and wishing the calming peace of solitude. Then, assured he would not be disturbed, he waved away the datas he had been viewing and reclined in his chair, sensing increasingly relaxed from this tiring day as his energy stream swhirled around him.
Liam. Liam. What was happening to him? His behavior had changed, immensely, perhaps, dangerously for him or for other Taelons in the future. Da'an had done his best for avoir the disaster as he had spoken with the young hybrid but yet he had seen the melted feelings in his eyes, anger, pain, loneliness, faint warmth perhaps as they had talked for the very first time since months without hiding anything, without lying, without putting on before the Companion and the servile protector's masks. It had been an immense relief for Da'an, it had been so many time since their relationship had been frozen to this sterile, cold level. He had missed their interactions, their talks, their relationship... especially. Liam had been like a child to him, he had been turn after turn the mentor, the simple superior in hierarchy in public, in private, in the safety of the Embassy's walls he had been the father Liam had never really have since Ha'gel's death, the only who could understand him,
the only one the young hybrid could use as a confident, Da'an had had more than once the feeling to behave toward Liam as if he were his adopted child, the only child of his breast that had truly loved him, at least once... he thought sadly. He smiled faintly as he recalled the day when Liam had entered the Embassy with this curious look in his eyes and had just entered in his chamber, knelt by the side of his chair and waited for him to awake. When he had finally he had found out that the young... Human had spent there the whole afternoon waiting for him to awake. Liam had a question to ask him, because despite all the memories from his parents, there were yet so many things he could not understand, and this night he had asked him why they were fighting against each other, why did people die for a cause, why did so much person would die in the unavoidable war that would rage one day between their peoples?... And Da'an had done his best to answer this young child seeking for
knowledge and understanding. An understanding that many of his fellows had even not wished for before taking a course of actions that would forever disturb their fate...
It was at this time, for the first time, though in the future months the relfection came often to his mind that Liam was more, was so many more, was so farther in his own personal evolution only by the third part of his heritage: the kimera galactic knowledge... In fact, Liam was more than everything, he could even not be compared with Humans... nor with Taelons or Jaridians.
And now, more Da'an thought about it, reliving their good moments together, that Liam had perhaps reached another step, an essential one, one Da'an had been eagerly awaiting for, of his evolution, of the final hybridization, of the final mix of the three of his heritage, his two humans and his kimera...
Oh yes, he had anxiously waited for that. Each time his protector entered in his audience chamber, he took care of asking him if he were well, physically speaking and mentally as well, it was because he meant it, at the opposite of the Humans that said this as a greeting, not really wishing to inquire upon their fellows health and well-being. But he had always known it would take Liam one day as all Taelons had been taken by it once in their life. Da'an could do nothing but remember how intense in feelings and in physical sensations this period of his life had been, and could only imagine how it would be hard for Liam to pass, half-Human he was. The Ka'atham...
Perhaps that now, now that their relationship had become easier than only a short time before, following the incident with Zo'or, perhaps the young man would believe him, in his trust Da'an doubted he would believe and give his own again to the Taelon, but all he would firstly ask for was to be believed, not to be trusted, but only for Liam to believe in his words, for his own well-being. He would ask for someone to witness his words if necessary...
But Da'an would need to be sure in first, he could not assure Liam of an event of this importance without being sure of what he assumed would soon take place. Though his doubts were almost gone about what had simply been an angry behavior of Liam... perhaps, some were still there and he had to search for answers first.
Da'an let his thoughts drift off slowly by slowly and concentrated again on the little sight he had caught of the few Resistance members that had been there when Liam had brought him in the lair under the church's basement. A sole figure suddenly was caught by this intense memory following his return to the atavistic state that his mind replayed in every smallest details... Doctor Park. Melissa Park. She had been there and he had also seen her in Liam's company more than once. And he knew that she was Liam's doctor that agent Sandoval had assigned to him as a specialist of taelon-human medecine when Doctor Belman had been more occupied with some of the Companions' projects.
Without waiting one second, he waved open his datastream and searched for the blonde doctor's file and more especially her global number, then when found, dialed it.
It rang many times until it finally got an answer to, the instant that was sufficient for Da'an to start pacing through the room, anxious of what might the results of his searches prove about Liam's physiology and what suffering the young hybrid would need to go through, as all Taelons did. When the curious woman's face appeared on the screen, he immediatly put back in place his perfect American Companion's facade.
Park's features hardened slightly as she discovered who was the unknown sender of the call. "Greetings Doctor," Da'an's soft voice said, as he bowed his head slightly in her direction. He immediatly noticed that she was not exactly at good terms with him at the moment when she did not bother return his salute and simply bowed her head a little, at the limit of a sarcastick mimick of the respectful attitude Humans used to give him.
"I am aware that you are my protector's doctor, am I correct?" he gently asked, the last thing he wished was for her to refuse to him the access of the file he wanted to get.
She seemed to grow concerned as the Taelon spoke of Liam, possibly of his well-being. "What is it? Is he-..."
He interrupted her, though not too sharply, just hardly enough. "No, he is well. Though for reasons that are mines only and personal, I would wish for you to give me access to his... medical file," he added a direct glimpse of his blue orbs to this sentence he hoped convincing enough.
The answer did more than deceiving him, "I'm sorry, but I can't give you access to anything personal about your protector without his agreeing to it," she coldly responded evidently thinking that he intended to harm Liam in trying to manipulate his health. Then the young man had told to many of his friends about how his relationship with Da'an had changed, he had probably also told them to be suspicious if the Companion ever asked about anything related to his personal self. Da'an felt himself blushing and losing his human disguise briefly as he noticed how Liam felt for him, how he had even told his friends about it and how he had perhaps... hated him... for what he had done...
"My meaning is not to harm my protector Doctor. Obviously your misunderstood my words, I need to oversee his medical file about a... problem that he might have in the near future, an... extremely serious problem Doctor," he whispered confidently, hoping that this would be enough to convince her to believe in his words for the time being.
"What... kind of problem?" Her curiosity was now clearly shown, though her trust in Da'an's words was still not audible in her voice, she was not yet completly on defensive, but almost, as his insitence for having access to Liam's true health file was visibly bothering her, perhaps even worrying.
He took a long breath and briefly turned his eyes away from the screen. He shortly hesitated between telling her the truth of his thoughts or... slightly modify the reality only for put her at trust. Da'an knew what kind of consequences could have lies if discovered later, he no longer wished to experiment the hate of one for having lied to him - or her, in the case. "A problem... related closely to his... ancestry," he finally said, after many hesitations, that he knew he did not show often, what would perhaps make the woman act in his favor.
Park seemed to think during some seconds, surely weighing, as Humans put it, the pros and cons of the decision she would come to make. Da'an... almost anxiously waited, for her answer he hoped so much would turn on the positive sense. He did not just want this information, he needed this information, he needed it for Liam... the Ka'atham being a torment that he would not even wish his enemy to suffer from without being aware of his special state... Also the perspective of having Liam's trust and... and perhaps what could be built again of his friendship again was one thing he could not hesitate about. He would need time to think also, as he had needed time to think when he had been interiorly fighting about either or not commiting the actions he had, actions that had almost crushed the Resistance movement, sending many of Liam's friends to death. But friends, Liam had himself told him that he would no longer have after the next Resistance meeting that would go by at the end
of the week. Actually this had not been said, though Da'an knew of this meeting by the ancient ways he had been shortly directly linked to the liberation movement. And it was evident that Liam would lose many of his trust within the movement, his friends would now try to kill him... Being killed by some you had trusted with your life... Da'an allowed himself to shiver softly, unappearantly at the thought of what was yet to come of torture for this young hybrid that had had nothing easy in the life, perhaps death... Da'an trembled softly again. He cared for his protector more than he would himself have admitted, especially to Liam himself, and especially after what had occured between them...
The doctor's voice brought back to this reality, as he let these dark thoughts fade away, not completly fleeing from his mind though. "If you... need to see these files, I will have to come at the Embassy. I don't have them on paper, I regret." Her behavior seemed to have changed, in a good way it was... Humans never stopped to amaze him, in the good sense of the saying, fortuantly for their own sake.
"Then I am waiting for you Doctor and expecting your presence soon," he quickly answered, his thoughts transluscnet about his joy. He was extremely lucky that the human healer was not able to red the emotions on his face for not knowing the members of his kind enough, in which case she would have instantaneously seen his feelings and maybe this would have only increased her doubts about his intentions.
Augur grinned as he saw the angry look on Renée's face. She had simply tried to enter the lair, pressing her thumb to the DNA scan and the entry had been refused to her. The small hidden camera in the corner of the small corridor gave him the whole scene in real tv.
The hacker turned away from the satisfying image as Renée tried once more what she had been trying unsuccessfully since the last two minutes. The others cell leaders would arrive very soon. Hum... the thought of them being locked up there was certainly a little bothering her mind.
He had been thinking since his talking with Liam the evening before. He had viewed the tape of what had happened on the bridge many more times and could not yet believe it. Though he had clearly been able to see that, as Liam had said, something had just gone wrong about all of that. And he trusted the kid. He knew he just wanted to get a little fun. But he should have been just more careful. And now he was going to commit one of the worse actions he had commited during the past years of his services, non-paid services, for the Resistance movement. Yes, oh yes one of the worse. But fortunatly in the good sense.
Augur had to help his friend, as a debt, he had a debt for Liam for the so many times the young man had saved his butt, and for... for his betrayal also. Because perhaps Liam could forgive him, if he got to talk to him and explain him how he had acted the way he had. He supposed that that was what Da'an had in mind to. Liam had just called him this morning, not even called, just left him a page, about that he would spend the following nights on the mothership, in the chamber he could take if he wished so, at least for the next week. Until the things had cooled up down here.
But he knew exactly what Renée was planning to do here. They had a meeting. `They' meant her and every leaders of the Resistance cells of North America. She had called out this extraordinary meeting shortly after spreading out the news of Liam's... ancestry on their private web, the one that Sandoval had not yet managed to break in.
He felt so sorry now for that kid. Liam would be forced to play hide and seek for the rest of his life now, with the hunting that he would be the victim of. It was just if he would be able to still be a Companion Protector, not if tried to be killed anything he would show up at Da'an's side. And Augur knew that Da'an knew that. The Taelon was not a fool. In fact he was far from the naive and easily fooled being he pretended to be for be kept away from the Synod's suspiscions. The two of them had finally made peace shortly after Da'an's return to the atavistic state, the Companion had told him that he could understand his motivations and they had apologized and the story had not finished in that bath of blood Doors wanted to make of Da'an. No, Augur knew that Da'an would do his best in protecting Liam, both from the Synod and from the Resistance, hiding him even maybe, though this would kinda hard... And he would protect the kid as well.
It was simply unfair. Why did they want him dead now? Because he was what he was? If it were only because of this action of kissing Zo'or, he would understand, not exactly, he would not understand but he could understad as himself had been a tad shocked when learning it. But yet, more and more he thought about it, and more and more he could only put in mind that Renée was angry at Liam because of what he had done. Perhaps she had kept it dormant, in waiting for seeing on which side he would turn out to be. And now it seemed extremely clear to her that he was on the Taelons' side. But yet... he sighed, yet a logical person would never condemn someone to be murdered simply because of kissing an alien. It was simply... amoral.
The screen beeped indicating that someone was calling him. And not much people had his number here. Then it was probably Renée, calling in for ask him, in her very gentle manner, to let her enter in the lift. "Accept the call," he told his computer as the fuzy image of this new piece of art that was not, not yet, his, but would soon be, disapeared, leaving its palce to Palmer's angry face. He politely turned toward her a small glance, before directing his attention back on the files he was downloading. He was just making some copy, in case, he would have to leave very quickly. It was usual, he had always prefered to be ready... just in case, then each month this is what occupied most of one of his afternoon. But this time, something iside told him, that he would get to use these copied files very soon, if things kept going like that. Now, he did have a call from the Ice Queen to answer and stand.
"What does it mean?" she simply asked, sharply, directly, angrily as well.
"What does what mean?" he answered in the same tone, far away from the usual charming style he used to give himself.
"Don't play that game with me Augur and unlock that lift now!" she commanded.
The man typed the code on his keyboard and cut the line on Renée's satisfied face. He briefly caught a glimpse of what look floated on his features, walking in front of a glass and was himself surprised by what he saw. He had not looked like this since a long time. Since a very long time, indeed. That was perhaps the most foolish aciton he would ever come to do, but it was surely the most right he had done in all of his life miserable life. For the first time, he felt like his talents were going to serve to something else than destroying some people's life. And the feeling was damn good, if he thought that he would make no money with that.
Storm Renée entered the lair at the second he was grabbing his favorite purple coat that reached his ankles and fell perfectly smoothly on his shoulders. She stepped in and he walked towar dhis computers, grabbing the very few disks that were a little everywhere where he had managed to gather all of the information that could be useful to them in harming Liam, including many things that even Renée did not know about him. She looked at his doing as he closed his computers, immediatly putting them on the defense system, automatically, so that any users that would want to access the maind atas would need a password, a password that only two persons in the world knew: he and himself. He was sure on that point. His mind was in checklist mode.
Augur was ready to push the door and leave it all to Renée's good care, though he was a bit worried about the lair that was now his most official home. "Where are you going?"
He slowly turned around and glanced her way with that half-sarcastic half-dead serious look of his. "Really sorry to leave you in this moment Renée, but if you're going to plan my friend's murder, it'd be wise to do so without me."
She took a seat in one of the couch and placed her coat besid her. "That's interesting. Then, you've a good thrity minutes because the other cells' leaders are going to arrive, so perhaps you could tell me your point about that situation."
He could not resist the offer. Then if she were willing to listen, not only to listen but to understand also, maybe he would be able to manage a deal with her as to save Liam's life without making some unrepairable actions. He sat in a comfortable chair in front of her, took off his own coat and put it down on the ground at his side, crossing his arms over his famous black shirt with a pink dragon on the front, "All of I ask is why would you want to kill him? Just because he played a prank with Zo'or..." he asked. It mirrored his intentions. It could not be the only reason, there was to be something deeper under that fake meaning. One intelligent person, and he knew that Renée Palmer was one intelligent woman, could not kill someone simply after one mistake, it was ridiculous. But perhaps this something else, Renée would not be willing to talk so easily about. Perhaps she had some feelings for that man, perhaps she had first been deceived when he had told her about his real
age, where did he come from, who were his parents, his heritage... everything. She had been deceived then and after, when she had seen this little scene of Liam and Zo'or, kissing, she had just wanted to give him a good punishment... Perhaps. And perhaps Renée was just one more xenophobe on the planet's surface. The hypothesis was logical but maybe not exactly right. But unless he got another good reason from Renée, he would continue to think in this way. Her response interrupted his musings.
"First point," she said leaning forward, her elbows on her kness, her hands tightly clasped together, "I never said I was going to kill him."
Augur had to admit to be quite startled at the statement, "Then why have you called a meeting here tonight? And please don't tell me it's not my business because it is." If she had not the intention to have Kincaid murdered in first, it would perhaps go far much easier than what he had thought. He would not need to convince her now, no, now he simply wanted to know why.
"Okay, so it's your business. I never said I was going to kill him Augur. But I did not say I was going to let him go like this."
Augur paled. It was one of the very first time he allowed someone to perceive some of his real emotions. But now it was serious, the mask did not suit him anymore. "What are you gonna do to him?"
"Do you realize what kind of action he has done to us Augur? Today he's kissed Zo'or... And tomorrow he'll give the Taelons informations about us. That's what I'm trying to avoid."
"It was a joke Renée. He didn't kiss Zo'or because he wanted to, he told me okay? It was just a joke."
"And who told you he was saying the truth to you? If we continue to trust him Augur perhaps, one day, he'll plant the knife in our backs. I'll just manage to get him out of every influence he could have on us, contacts with our members as well."
Augur kept shaking his head, refusing to hear her words, refusing to listen to the small doubt in his mind. "I've known Liam from a long time Renée, longer than you do, longer than Da'an does. Lili and I have received him in our arms after his birth. I saw him growing. I gave him his first clothes. And if I know one thing it's that he'll never betray us consciously. He's not Taelon you know. He's just different form us. And that's why you are condemning him, because he's not perfectly and completly human?" They were so close to each others now, leaning over the floor, elbows on their knees.
Suddenly Palmer grabbed his hands and whispered to him, "Don't you realize Augur that I am doing this to him for his own good? And for the sake of the movement. I know he could be a potential danger for us. And I suspect that this is why he has hidden everything about himself to us. Because he knew how we would react. Augur, some cells' leaders are here to obtain his death to all price. He is a danger for the liberation okay... We will keep him away from the hard core of the movement. But they want him death and nothing less."
"What kind of game are you playing? You have no idea in what state he was last evening when he called me. He IS a kid Renée, he doesn't own any kind of punishment you've in mind for him okay? It was almost a miracle that he managed to survive while being involved in all that mess, working on both sides at the same time."
"Then maybe I'll get his life to be a little bit easier."
"For the time being, it looks like hell to him Renée, because all of his friends, he met them here. What kind of a life he'll be left with after you'll be done with him?"
At that moment, the familiar noise of the lift coming down, with probably one of the first `guest' for Renée's meeting in it was heard in the room. Just faint, but enough to be perceived. Both the man and the woman exchanged a look that clearly shown that this rapid, thought-showing talking had gone a little further into each other's feelings that they would have wanted it to. The lift continued to go down, further and further. Renée spoke up in first. "Listen. I'll try to convince them to spare his life, but I can promise nohting yet. And please, if you can see him, could you tell him that I'm sorry about the..." She gestured vaguely her hands to her cheek, meaning that she wanted Augur to apologize for her for the slap, and perhaps for the over-reacting as well.
Without anything more of a sign of some social contacts, had existed between them, Augur broke the eye-contact and grabbed his purple coat, putting it on. Without even a last glance to Renée, he left the lair. He had to see Liam. He just had to. He had so much things to explain to him. Palmer would not let him an only chance to get out of this mess unharmed, but would not let the others murder him either, then she was just neutral, but perhaps to be infulenced on the negative side. The best for Liam was now to hide for a good time, to become very small and unimportant, in a word, he needed to disapear for a week at least. He touched his fingers to his pocket, chekcing his he still had the disk with all info concerning Liam on it, before getting in that second lift, that he had reached after that maze of corridors. He needed to meet his young friend. But while waiting that things would calm down here, perhaps Kincaid would be better to stay at the Embassy with Da'an. Hoping
that the Taelon would not turn out to be exactly like Renée. The thoughts were whirling in his head as, for the first time, his mind was concentrated on someone else than his own personal business. And if he could get to talk to Park and Belman also... No, no, Liam first, he had to tell him about what he needed to wait for.
Melissa stepped with immense relief in the American Companion audience chamber. It was raining outside and a cold wind was running everywhere entering beneath your clothes when you were not watching and making you get the chill. She just feared that she would soon catch another of these sickness that are just enough for make her superiors having her on a forced time off. And she could not permit herself to take that time off, she had too many things to do. Many, many, many things to do in fact. She had to work on so many projects, coming from both Da'an and Zo'or, not speaking of her own projects that she needed to take care of.
But she could not allow her mind to be drifted away by these thoughts either, because Liam was perhaps in danger. She would have refused to obey Da'an's orders of bringing the hybrid's medical file, but something in the Taelon's eyes had showed her to do nothing of it. She had seen Da'an being worried about Liam more than once in the past, especially in the very beginning of his life as he had just begun to work as his protector and she had seen this exact expression of worry in his eyes when he had told her about this problem of Liam that could be related to his... ancestry as they both knew of it being his alien ancestry.
She had in her hand the small disk that contained all of what she had managed to gather about Liam's special physiology - it was not every day a doctor got to see someone with a triple helix of DNA, then she had assured she would take care of his file by keeping it on disk only, not registered in any database, nor written on paper as the rule wanted to be so. And it would be far easier to destroy it unknowingly if some unforeseen problems were to come.
Speaking of Liam's possible problems, she remembered of having set a rendezvous for Liam after he had complained of suffering from fever since some weeks, in fact not fever, as she remembered the whole conversation, in fact the young man had described it like the kind of heat you felt when you finished practicing a sport usually, but he now felt that every time his body was at rest. Park had soon dismissed the case as a slight over charge of his system - the work he did was planned to be done by an implant who could pemrit his body to rest only two hours a day - but now, after this call from Da'an, she had found herself suspicious at the beginning, it was clear in her mind that something was wrong with Liam's health. He was an alien after all, perhaps she had not been able to detect the slighest change made in his system at his last medical appointment. Her thoughts were interrupted by Da'an's greeting that she barely returned, still upset about his sudden request of her
presence.
He stepped down from his armchair after giving to the intruder the ritual taelon salute, staring at her as she kept eying the room suspisciously, though he had had all volunteers dismissed from their post here a few minutes ago, only seconds before her arrival. She would not be seen in his presence then, that was for the best. Da'an watched curisouly as she hesitated about weither or not she should speak in first. He responded to the question for her. "Doctor Park I will need your entire cooperation in this affair if ever you wish to help a... common friend." Seeing the small disk in her hand, he reached forward and tried to catch it in his hand. But she moved away from him.
Da'an was ready to explain her that he needed that disk and that he needed that disk right possibly for Liam's good sake! But she herself spoke before he was given the least chance to, "Before just taking the datas and do whatever you want with them. Because I've risked my life, only by coming her and trusting you on your good word. If ever I'm caught with that..." She gestured toward the disk still in her hand, an inscrutable look on her face. Letting her phrase unfinished, its meaning was though very clear. If ever she was caught with that disk, and if ever some agent would be tempted to check on them, her fate and Liam's was sealed.
"And Doctor, I realize that a great amount of trust from your part must have been necesary to bring you in my presence now. And I assure you that all of what I will show you is extremely important and could directly concern my protector's health," he said in his usual neutral, diplomatic tone, he had the habits to take when it came to apologizes. Park saw once more that faint glimmer in his eyes, a look of worry, a worry that was visibly for Liam's well-being.
Melissa decided that, as Da'an seemed to be playing a frank game with her, perhaps she would be better to do the same with him, to give him back the honor. "I can tell you're worried about something. Are you worried about Liam?"
That seemed relieve the Taelon, like if he had been relieved to know that he would no longer need to play this lying, faking game once more. If he wished to get this healer's trust, that would perhaps help him to then get Liam to trust him... Perhaps. He had yet to convince her to trust him in all points. Not in all points as she would be able to see some of the results by herself, but he would need to convince her that he was not part of another of Zo'or's schemes in weakening the Resistance. Or simply that he did not mean to Liam any harm that she might think he did. In fact, the only idea repulsed him. He had done what he had done because it was either this or his own life and the life of Liam as well, and maybe the life of many more of his friends that had died following his actions. And he wished so much now that Liam had left him a chance to explain himself, a chance that his protector had refused to let him. Their relationship had been colder than ice until very
recently, and it was only when the young man had fallen into distress, that he had had no one else to turn to, that he had come and seen Da'an, not yet asking for his help though. Even if the Taelon doubted that he would soon be forced to be if things were to progress further in the near or far future. "Indeed my worries are for my protector." He breathed slowly. From now on, he would have to put much of his trust in this human doctor. He doubted that it was as hard to her for trust him as it was for him to trust her... And yet, he needed to prepare himself to reveal one of the Taelons' most wanted secrets. He sighed again. "Doctor Park, I understand that the trust you have in me is very little, if even existing. But I will tell you things now that... that the Synod has clearly forbidden any of us to reveal to a human being."
Park was now very attentively listening to this alien. He was speaking the truth in saying that he had little of her trust, though her trust in Da'an was growing with each instants passing and even more after this revelation of his possible betrayal of one of the Taelons' dark secret. She only could hope that she was not wrong in placing her beliefs in him. She had barely managed to stay in contact with the liberation movement and yet knew not of the most recent news that seemed to distract and worry Da'an so much. Did Liam had problems with his colleagues of the Resistance movement? She wondered with a small frown. She could give Da'an nothing but her words of talking to no one else about this. And she did.
After being reassured, or as far as he could permit himself to be in the moment, by the secrecy that this woman promised of keeping. He spoke, almost not believing his own words as they left his dry lips. He had not done something so much against the Commonality's unspoken orders since his clear and all too brief alliance with the Resistance movement. But, he did this only in the ultimate goal to preserve Liam's life and if he were able to, to regain the young man's trust that was, despite what everyone seemed to think about him, very important to his eyes. "Do you know something Doctor about a taelon ritual that is refered to as Ka'atham?" he asked slowly, measuring every of his words carefully in the truth balance. As the human doctor shook her head after spending the few last seconds certainly reviewing every taelon ritual that had little to do with medecine, Da'an pursued. "It is a ritual that we have intently kept away from your scientists' knowledge, not for any reason
of politics as you might be tempted to think so. But for reasons that are far more... personal in origin." He stopped here, for take the time to lose his human facade, which action simply increased park's curiosity. If this were not important, or simply a trap, Da'an would not have acted the way he had done. She knew that a Taelon could hardly fake that kind of things as losing his human facade under the influence of greatest emotions.
Da'an felt himself blush deeper. The Ka'atham did concern him in every of his most private ways, and he was not extremely willing to talk about it, knowing plus that, perhaps, if the information was ever to be released on the Resistance lines of informations, that many Companions would be put at risk and even now he not considered the public's and the Synod's reaction to that. "Ka'atham is our... reproduction time, it is a mating ritual. Ka'atham is for my race what would be... what you refer to as sex for Humans."
Melissa listened with an increasing curiosity, her scientist side suddenly taking up the advantage over the Resistance fighter one. That was what every scientists dreamed of discovering. While the Taelons were answering every questions the Humans had asked them about the universe, about physics, about maths, about every kind of science existing... they had always avoided, ignored or simply told that they could not answer any questions that the scientists had asked about the way the Taelons could reproduce. Indeed the question had been launched, how do two - or more who knew? - energy beings could... mix their energy together for give a new energy form? How she felt terrible now about promising to keep this at a secret to Da'an. "How does it... work?" she asked, her mind completly drifted away from everything that concerned Liam.
Da'an suddenly felt more comfortable as he could now defend himself with more scientific details, cold and logical words. He was more at ease with these in this kind of situations, though being a diplomat, he prefered to deal with feelings and emotions instead of with these cold, senseless scientific words. "It has four cycles. The first is often unnoticed by youngest and ignored by eldest for being not extremey serious and at this state, the preson who is... afflicted of ths Ka'atham yet knows nothing of it. It manifests itself by bringing some changes into the body's primary functions and disturbing intensely the emotions, often causing the subject to commit actions which he would not have comitted under other conditions. The second is the unconscious choice of a mate. The third is what you Humans would refer to as... preliminaries. We do prefer the establishing of a somewhat deeper relationship, before passing through the last level of the Ka'atham cycle, though we do not
biologically need it for reproduction. The fourth and last level of the ritual is the mating, or a joining as you would put it, a joining of energy..." he added.
Park was before all and everything a scientist and as every of her kind, she always craved for more information. This sudden and unforeseen info about the Taelons' amting ritual was a gift to her, not that she could spread it out into the scientific Commonality, but that she could then satisfy her own personal curiosity. But now, as she was about to ask Da'an for more, as the Taelon seemed to be willingly speaking, she suddenly recalled that she had come here for talk about Liam's health. And she was now discussing taelon biology with Da'an?... What was the hell going on in Da'an's twisted taelon mind? "And... you said that Liam might have a problem. Though I don't see the link between Liam and... and what you talked me about..."
Da'an's hands were again making these complicated, nervous looking gestures in fron of him as he spoke. A fine smile on his lips, as if knowing what Park knew not, what he obviously did, he responded her by asking another question, "What did Liam tell you of... Ha'gel... his parent and his alien heritage he had been left with?"
She made a senseless, vague gesture with one hand, "I just know what he told me about. When I asked him if his parent were Taelon he told that no, that Ha'gel was Kimera. And when I asked what was a Kimera, he told me that they were like Taelons made of energy but that your two people were still immensely different, both in acting and in physiology. But every bit of his physiology that he holds from his alien side is alike everything I have seen of taelon physiology then I thought wise to take care of this part of him as if it were taelon."
Da'an simply nodded and turned his back to her, "I see." He seemed quite upset to her. She was truly becoming to wonder about where was this talking leading to. "Taelons and Kimera physiologies have one thing in common Doctor: Ka'atham.The only difference in that similarity is that where Ka'atham is for us only a cycle of reproduction that comes back regularly, it was for the Kimera happening once in their life and also started by the achievment of their growing for the reaching of physical maturity which would lead to reproduction eventually." He then let her think by herself, holding his hands tightly together.
Melissa's mind was suddenly hit by the revelation of what exactly was Da'an saying to her. Liam was still a child, technically though he did not look like one, but all hybrid he was, speaking of maturity he was still a child. She had been such a fool to ignore all that information that was so easily accessible to them. If only she had asked Augur to enter in the Taelons' database and search for everything about the Kimeras... She would have known that already and would not be depending upon Da'an's sayings now, she blamed herself. "Liam is going to enter... or however you say it - his Ka'atham Kimera cycle," she whispered though it was more a simple statement than a question.
Da'an half turned to her and glanced at her in that typical way from the corner of his eyes. "Exactly, perhaps are you now able to realize how important is for me to look myself at his medical file. Because the doubt that Liam may be entering his mating cycle is only a hypothesis, and I have no wishes to uselessly add to his present worries," he calmly stated, extending his right hand to her, palm up.
Though she was now almost perfectly convinced of Da'an's sudden good intentions for Liam, the last part of the Companion's statement had been heard by the little alarm in her head. "What `present worries'?" she asked, seeing the visibly deceived Taelon fold his hand into a delicate fist and bring it back to his side.
As only answerm he briefly glared at her, then said: "Follow me Doctor." While walking toward the upper levels of the Embassy, Da'an continued talking. "I believed he had spoken to you about this."
"About what?"
Da'an only turned to her another of these dark looks. Park felt as if her blood were freezing in her vessels. Something bad had happened to Liam, but what? And, if Da'an were speaking the truth, then the young man had been somehow shaken by that event, perhaps traumatized and perhaps was now in grave danger. They finally reached their goal and Da'an stopped in the middle of a circular room. She had not come here often and then was completly lost after the maze of corridors that Da'an had made their way through, but she doubted that they were now in one of the highest levels of the Embassy. In front of a standing Da'an was a console and another energy stream appeared as the Taelon waved the hand gracefully. Melissa felt non at ease as he started to type rapidly on keys, bringing before him some files, video files, she realized as she stepped closer to the screen.
The American Companion's cool voice started speaking. "My protector... and Zo'or had decided to play a prank on me, what the members of your species refer to as a joke." He stepped aside, letting her the chance to see the image by herself. Park had recognized the tone that Da'an had spoke in as acid, cold. He was visibly angry, or had been angry, about whatever kind of thing Liam might have commited.
She had been ready to everything, everything but that. She had been surrpised and had just managed to hide her feelings of revulsion to Da'an as he had said her that Liam and Zo'or had actually worked together to prepare a plan about something. But that, as seeing that scene she thought that she was just going to be sick. The only idea of touching a Taelon was for her somewhat weird and extremely hard to consider seriously. And she knew very well, for having seen a child that looked to be four years old change into a grown man... with all what was needed, that Liam was an alien, but she did not think that he himself would be able to do that.
But Park continued to look at the scene still. And frowned when seeing the Palmer woman storm out of the room, followed by an angry Da'an, just before the camera cut off. She knew the woman, she knew the kind of woman, and by problems that was perhaps what Da'an was refering to. Honestly she did not like that woman very much. Park was fighting the Taelons because they endangered Humanity, but Palmer was fighting the Taelons because she hated them. This woman was slightly drove to xenophobia and Melissa had no particular liking for xenophobes. In fact, she had asked Liam to repeat twice when he had said her that he had told Renée Palmer about his heritage and that she had accepted it as a part of himself. In fact she had been doubtful, but well, Liam seemed to trust her then she had let it go. "And what happened after that?"
"I am not aware of much, as you may know Liam has no longer enough trust in me to tell me anythig else than what concerns us on a professional point. But I managed to understand that he had been threatened by Miss Palmer to be killed and if not to be at least removed form any influent position within your Resistance movement," the Companion calmly stated. But the look in his eyes showed her that he was feeling very concerned by this, and by his protector and friend's well-being.
Park closed her eyes briefly, knowing what kind of disaster that could make, remembering so well how many times in the past Liam did confront Doors, about his leadership and the rectitude of his judgement about the Taelons. And... "And she's gonna tell everybody in the Resistance about him..." she added to the statement Da'an had finished.
"Liam doubts that such action would be in Miss Palmer's intentions..." Da'an murmured. He now seemed to be as worried as she was, perhaps he had just been hiding this from her since she was here but had just kep it hidden, "If it is not already done..." he whispered, finishing his statement.
"Oh God, the poor kid is already dead. They are all xenophobe, they'll kill him as fast as they get to know where he is..." she said, beginning to sound alarmed.
"This is why I have kept for him a chamber free in this Embassy, I think that it is now the most safe palce for him to stay." Park was amazed how Da'an was gently acting with Liam, for what she recalled from the few past days or weeks, the relations had been quite tensed between the two, as usual since Da'an's clear betrayal of his protector. "But I fear that it will soon become the least of his problems if my assumptions are right..." He once more extended the hand for her to give him Liam's medical file and she did after some seconds of hesitation. She was still under the shock of the news.
The Taelon slid the disk in the right place in the console and watched intently as the datas scrolled down before his eyes. He finally stopped when seeing a showing of Liam's triple ehlix of DNA. "When was this examination done?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the screen.
Park came closer, watching him as intently as he watched the data, prepared to... to what she was not completly sure, but definitively prepared to something if he seemed to act oddly. "Two weeks ago, why?" she responded then asked in return, her medical curiosity coming back strongly.
"This is curious," he said, whispered like if speaking to himself, his hands moving nervously before him once more. He then turned in her direction while pointing a point in the energy stream/screen with his fingers. "This..." he showed the whole DNA patern, "... is very strange indeed. I have never seen it before." Melissa was ready to remark that Liam was the first of his kind and that it would have been surprising if Da'an had seen it before, but the Taelon acted faster than she did. "Though Liam is the first of his kind, I know the kind he comes from very well." She suspected he had read the question inside her thought, but returned to listening. "The Kimera have created many hybrids in the past, their DNA as a surprising and useful property to adapt and mix with everything else that another race uses as genetic material. This is why I expected this..." once more he showed with a gesture of his hand the whole DNA helix, "... to be one single spin. I had expected that
Liam's kimera DNA would adapt and integrate the human DNA."
"And... what does it change? Perhaps human DNA can't be adapted by the kimera one..." she suggested as a faint pride grew inside her at the thought of the human DNA being unbreakble swept in her mind. But Da'an fastly deceived her.
"No Doctor, your DNA as the DNA of my own kind and as the DNA of every species known, and evolved enough for being submitted to a hybridization project by the Kimeras, were inferior genetically speaking," he explained with a faint smile.
Park frowned and gestures toward the screen, "But then, why is Liam's DNA not totally melted, in one spin, as you said it would be?" she asked.
Da'an shook his head in what seemed to be ignorance. "I have no idea, but as a normal Kimera would be mature, physically speaking, only after his first Ka'atham, then perhaps Liam is following the same path-..." He was interrupted suddenly by a global ringing. He saw the female doctor reach for her global and turn her back to him, slowly walking toward the other end of the room, sufficiently for prevent him form hearing anything of her conversation with whoever was calling.
She talked softly, a look of concern upon her features and once glanced at him, shortly before saluting her interlocutor, cutting the line and turning toward Da'an. "Liam's coming here," she only said. The Taelon knew that he would get every explanations in useful time, now he only wished that no misfrotune had happened to his young protector... and that with the Doctor Park's help he could manage to convince the young man that he was now in grave danger, biologically as well as physically and mentally by both his soon to be confirmed suspected Ka'atham and this threatening of Miss Palmer and the Resistance.
Zo'or walked at his usual slow, almost dancing rythmic through the long corridors of the facility he was visiting, following one of his fellow taelon, member of the scientific caste. He now found it almost difficult to concentrate on the subject that he was now here. The Ka'atham... again. Again its influence was acting upon him like if he had returned in his youth's days. A surprising thought, though, he was not reacting to a Taelon, but for the first time to a Human, as if this one had been Taelon. And of course, this influence from his mating cycle was... forbidding to his mind to find this attraction for a member of a less evolved species disgusting or distasteful.
He could feel Kincaid's presence behind him, though the young man was only a few meters behind him. Da'an often allowed his protector - a habit that he had become used to with the physical proximity that his last protector Commander Boone thought was useful and necessary even - to stay in close proximity of his person when protecting him, or even simply accompanying him, but Zo'or had refused to submit himself to this. The only thing hearable to his ears were the silent steps that the Human tried to silence, his calm, regular breathing and the faint beating of his heart in the background. He was lucky to be able to refer to the Commonality and then be able to recall what the scientist had said, because his physical form was becoming too distracted by this man's presence, and he knew it. He sensed the familiar burning starting to grow in the center of his chest and allowed himself to shiver slightly in response to the physical change.
The other Taelon suddenly stopped in his path. They were in the darkest part of a corridor, completly desert, or at least abandonned by the human staff at the moment and that was visibly what the other Taelon was seeking for. Peace.
Ir'tan, the scientist was so named, turned toward the Human and requested for him to leave shortly, that what he had to tell Zo'or was to be heard by no one. The Synod Leader had been used to more resistance from Laim Kincaid's part usually, this one used to discuss every orders he was given. And it was the very first time that Zo'or really saw him act as if he did not care about what would happen to him - or to anyone else. Liam Kincaid used to care... and... and all was there to make him believe that Kincaid did care, on the contrary to so much people of his own kind.
Something was wrong with the young one, he decided. Something in the way Kincaid walked, something in his way to show his face to be totally and perfectly calm and almost cold, cold like agent Sandoval's... no that could not be. It was the first time that he saw the young man in that way. Something had been wrong... perhaps this action of his colleague, Miss Palmer, had touched him in a deeper way than he had told him. Oh yes, Zo'or felt that he had hit the correct response.
{Are you hearing me?} Ir'tan `said', extremely loudly, though the correct word would have been `thought'.
{Yes... Yes I do hear you.} he responded, the most calmly he could in the situation. His mind was again turned toward the young Human mind he tried vainly to reach, mentally, though he knew it was impossible. But it was how normally that Taelons did function. When one was in Ka'atham, the only thing he had to do was to make it known by the partner he wished to have, that would ultimately enter his Ka'atham cycle as well following this avowal from his mate. This Zo'or had never managed to reach, simply because of his sterility, no one would ever accept to mate with him, to ultimately form an unbreakable pair of their two existences and this simply because he could bear no child. It had been rather deceiving when he had finally managed to understand this through his parent's telling and teaching. And now, his Ka'atham was pushing him toward a Human. What kind of decay was he falling into?
{And it is your Ka'atham that is causing you so much problems?} the elder scientist asked, almost gently. It had been an extremely long while since anyone had spoken gently to him, but Da'an who always did speak gently to everyone of course... Ir'tan had been a companion of youth and nothing more. Zo'or had known him many centuries ago, when he was a child and when Ir'tan was a young student entering the home of the healer member of the scientific caste that would help him to learn everything. And Zo'or was often with him asking him quesiton about this, about that. And he knew that Ir'tan had long been impressed by his intelligence but espepcially by an intelligence manifested at an age so young, mostly uncommon for a Taelon, especially for a Taelon that had been born in the way he had. He had not yet been advised of what his fate would be at this time. He sighed. Another consequence of the Ka'atham, his mind was constantly drifted away from what was to be talked of at the
moment. He was always... elsewhere as Humans would put it. And again, his thoughts drifted to where this young man was probably pacing the corridor restlessly, waiting for them to arrive and finish with this talking for that he could finally return to his home. Home, sweet home was it not?
{Yes... I would appreciate if you could shorten the visit, it is becoming hard for me to pay attention to something else than my own thoughts...}
The other taelon placed his hand on his arm and smiled lightly, in the soft way that Da'an used to employ with Humans. {I am able to understand as I myself more than once passed through this. You may return to the mothership if so is your wish Synod Leader, the visit can be postponed.}
Zo'or silently stood and watched as the slender being disapeared in the shadows of the corridors after offering him the ritual salute. Ir'tan had owned his place here. Zo'or mentally noted that he had to promote him, a promotion that he had been promising to him since months but had never have real intentions to give him, now he would permit himself to do it, now that he could excuse himself to himself later with the reason that his Ka'atham had taken the control of his mind and reasonning. Oh... His thoughts started to become gravely unclear. He needed to return the mothership now.
He hurried toward the side of the corridor that he had come by and upon turning the corner he slowed his pace and caught a brief glimpse of Liam Kincaid, sitting on a chair, his eyes closed, his long legs extended and his arms crossed. His attire showed a certain distress as Zo'or remarked that he wore the same clothes than the day before, and that he had visibly slept into them. The young Human was extremely disrupted in his living habits he would say. And why did he feel this way for a Human? Why did he feel so concerned by his feelings, something he had never seen before? He could perhaps put an answer on this why question. Maybe his Ka'atham cycle was once more responsible for this strange behavior of his. And this... this kiss, he had shared with Kincaid, the past day, this kiss had perhaps had some influence on him, and on his feeligns in all evidence.
The young Leader allowed himself to drift away in a soft watching of his current protector. The man was awesome in humans standrads if he just based his conclusions on what he had heard coming from some females. He had been informed by Da'an shortly after, as they had as usual met beyond the frontier of the physical bodies, inside the bounds of their mental Commonality, that Humans are mostly attracted to each others by the physical looking. They first judged a person by their physical looking and after this only decided if the mind inside was worthy. Zo'or had thought wise to make no comments, simply considering this as another curiosity of the Human kind, though, in the depth of his self he was despising this technique and its stupidity the most. And because of this, Liam Kincaid was wanted. Many women did find him attractive but no more. Fortunatly. He jerked slightly as the thought came to his mind. Why did he think now to the fact that Kincaid was unmarried and was not
known any mate for the moment to be something excellent? Why did he?
And the answer came... crystal clear... because he ultimately wanted to choose Kincaid as mate. Because he wanted this man. This Human, because his body had made the choice for him, because he had been left no choice for himself... And because he desperately wanted it... or him.
If Kincaid had been a Taelon it would have been simple, his line of action would have appeared clear to him. Zo'or would have said him he was interested in having him, in possessing him, mind, soul and body and perhaps the other would have agreed, as it normally was made for two Taelons. But there Kincaid was not Taelon, Kincaid was Human and a Human could never... never... never accept to mate with a Taelon. And Zo'or knew that.
And yet he could not help but admire this man now. How he could cut himself off from reality, so easily... Angrily, he waved away in a sharp gesture of the hand his musings, managing to take control of the Ka'atham... finally. No, no, he was needed back on the mothership. Now. He needed to return.
The young man raised slowly as he saw him step into the passage and followe dof this always so stiff pace behind Zo'or. Less then ten minutes later, Zo'or was back on the mothership, the door of his private quarters locked behind him, as the thought of his summon from the Synod came back to his blurred mind. He would need a greadt deal of time in meditation for get this sensation of uneasyness gone from his thought and body, he had to be ready fighting for his honor would be hard, he needed to fight hard. And he would fight. This thought was the last conscious was he had before stepping staggering into his energy shower, he felt more tired that he ahd ever felt in his life, another after effect of this Ka'atham crisis perhaps. His eyelids closed as he remembered Kincaid's tortured face as he had touched his bruise with his hand and the incredible loneliness he had sensed during the contact. He would... need to talk to... Liam Kincaid... After... Resting...
All the leaders were arrived. As they had seen that she was alone in the lair, they had inquired after Augur, but Renée had told them that he was gone outside for... his own business. Though she knew so very well that he would go and speak to Liam as soon as he would find him. In fact the sensations of her feelings being mixed on the subject only grew worse the time passing. She did care about what happened to Liam. Once she had thought that he could become friend with her, but had soon - after he had told her about his peculiar heritage in fact - discovered that that could not be. She could never stand to see, talk and act with someone as if he were perfectly normal if he were an alien, even only partly. She had understand Liam's loneliness, Liam's need, desire, wish for company, Liam's need for friends, but had been unable to fillful it. She simply could not ignore that he was, that he had ever been the greatest danger for the movement, not only by his position, but by his
very nature also. If the Taelons discovered what he was, perhaps they would not kill him, as he had confidently told her that they would do if they did find out who he really was, perhaps they would use him as an informant. Perhaps he was already their informant, perhaps the greatest, most dangerous spy was placed in the highest post you could think of. After all, Sandoval's qualities and skills might have survivec in the kid right?
Everyone she had called was there. She checked it as she interrupted her musings. Probably no one had remarked it, but it was one of the greateast Resistance meeting since the famous crashdown that started with Captain Lili Marquette's supposed death. Until then, they had always been forced to meet in very small group, in public place, trying to go unnoticed. But now, now it was big, huge... Maybe the Resistance was not as dead and buried as the Taelons believed it was, she thought satisfyingly with a grin.
They were about twenty in the room. That was all what had survived to the Resistance's downfall. Though if counted that each of those twnety persons had under there orders about thirty persons that commanded underground a Resistance cell of about fifty persons... And only in North America, where, after all, the Taelons' search for their spies had been the deepest and also had been the most efficient than anywhere else in the world.
Palmer raised and, standing on her high heels, her imposing, cold looking presence had soon requested silence of everyone that had been absorbed in their reunion with colleagues and friends. The silence was soon heavy as if palpable in the room. Always standing, not bothering to sit down, she started to pace the room, "I see many questions in your eyes. And, if the correct information has been given to you in time, you must be wondering about the same subject." She turned to face everyone in the room at the same time and spoke, loudly, clearly, "Yes, Liam Kincaid, our leader, is an alien." There were shocked murmur a little everywhere in through the lair but most of them already knew and had reacted earlier then simply stayed at their place and continued to watch, knowing that Renée would not stop there. "He is born less than two years ago, here, and was took under our wing, though he was not well trusted. After he became protector to Da'an then grew closer and closer to
him. And... I think that you've all seen what I've sent you via global about what had happened yesterday." A whisper of anger ran through the room, along with some usually censored words. "I knew about his... special condition since a few months but had chosen to not speak of it... because I believed he was entirely and completly on our side. Yes, I did believe that he was fighting for the same cause than we are: to get the Taelons away from the planet, possibly with no hope of return for live what they have left of an existence to us in relative peace. But I no longer do." Words of approval came out of some people's mouths. "And I think we've all seen what he's able to do. For what we know," she was circling the room again, a genious expression on the face. "For what we know, he could be in Zo'or's close confidence, perhaps even his informant. Yet, we must not condemn him to death, because he has not showed us that he would betray you but he did leave us with hypothesis of
what he could possibly do, if he were to betray us. And if I am here today, if I have called all of you here, if I have taken this risk, it is because I think that we must eliminate the threat before realizing that we should have when we will all be held captive in a cell on the taelon mothership."
"Eliminate? What do you mean by `eliminating'? You said you do not intended to kill him yet Renée..." spoke one of the cell leaders that she was not able to spot, had she barely been able to make out what he was saying.
"And I'm still saying it. We must not kill him, not only because he's also partly Human but also because he can still be of some use to us-..."
"What for? Being dissected?" This remark was followed by a major burst of laughing that spread throught the room, leaving only Renée at the front with that cold angry mask. She let them do and they all ended by stop when they understood that she found here no subject that owned to be laughed at.
Palmer stayed there bitting her lips, she had been expecting that and was waiting for since sometimes now. "No. Especially not for being dissected," she said just before turning toward the one who had threw the phrase out one of her look that somewhat reminded of Zo'or's despising glaring. "We must keep him alive. Because he bears inside him a part of Humanity, because he has ruled our movement and been our leader since his birth... but especially because he could be of use to us if we were to attacking the first." Seeing the mesmerized looks on their face she raised and started to explain, "We have to keep Kincaid because we need Augur. If we kill Kincaid, we lose Augur and with him goes all our chance of ever managing to hack in the Taelons' databases. And do you realize how much we need Augur for operate on the surface and on underground both? And do you know how long we'll need to dig out every little dust in this country to find someone who's talented as he is? And
without Sandoval noticing it?" she smiled a little and leaned forward from where she was now sitting - she has sat down while speaking and wandering through the room - satisfied of having finally managed to make them understand her point. They were just waiting for her to make a proposal of what she had in mind for Kincaid. "No, we won't kill him. Unless he would make an act that would place all of us here in danger we'll keep him alive. But it is of course out of question that we'll keep him in constant contact with the movement. We can't longer take that kind of risks now that we know what he's able to do. I suggest that we vote for another person to be our leader. We'll cut Kincaid away from everything that's somehow linked to us. I think he'll understand by himself that for hiw own well-being he's better stay away from this place," she concluded her speech by.
Renée Palmer said not much more, but approval to other suggestions from some cell leaders. The meeting lasted until late at night from the beginning of the afternoon when it had started. And Renée was smiling sitting on a chair, in fornt of a table, in the near darkness that had filled the room. She would get her revenge soon enough then. It had hurt her feelings so much when he had told her about himself being alien, but she had managed to hold it back as she had felt that she was falling even more in love with the man. She wanted not to fall in love with that man and more she had met with him, more she had, it could not be avoided, it simply was. She had started to accept it as a fact when IT had occured. She had no rememberance of having ever been so angry at someone. That, this... this alien bitch had prefered an alien to her, a Taelon and pf every of them the worst, Zo'or. He had tried to tell them that it was only a joke and despite all she had seen this look in his
eyes, this look that she hurt him by saying some things bad about he and Zo'or kissing, it was the beginning of it that she was old enough to recognize... She shook her head from the thought. And now she was so mad at Liam Kincaid, for having done this. And she had made the others becoming so angry at him as well that they were now ready to shoot him on sight. Poor Liam. He had chosen the wrong way. The wrong side perhaps. And yet it was not his fault, poor boy, but what was done was done. They had voted evidently for her as a new leader. Though their anger for Liam had gone in a different way that had her own: they were angry at him, not for kissing Zo'or, not for being a possible threat but for having hid the truth about him since so long. But they were angry and angry persons were the easiest to deal with from her point and they were what she needed right now.
They finally left about two hours ago, convinced to have saved the movement and very happy with themselves. Renée though started to doubt something since Augur had not come back. It was rare that he stayed away from his lair during a so long time. She waited for him to come back, during half a hour after they had left, knowing that perhaps he wanted to wait for them to have left to come back. But it was already three in the morning and he had yet to come back. And then she began to worry because Augur had once missed a night at his place and it was because he was an operative on one of their mission, if not she knew he could not stand to stay in the same set of clothes during more than about eight hours. Habits of his, that she had soon stopped to ask about when she had come to know him.
And as she had said, Augur was a most efficient member of their movement and if they lost him, they lost a lot of power and influence both on groung than underground. She rapidly opened the computer. And was refused access. Her smirk rapidly vanished when she saw the files rapidly beginning to erase themselves from the hard disk as she tried once more, entering this time Liam's password she had once caught, looking over his shoulder. Her face was contorted in anger as she hurried in the lift, catching a last glimpse of the destroyed computer that was now simply shuting itself down, perhaps waiting for Augur's personal password that he changed every days, perhaps simply dying.
But Augur would come back, she knew he would come back. All of his material property was there, many of his most precious things were here. No he would come back. Perhaps. And when he would she would be there and waiting for him. But now, she had to take up her new function and find a way to do a little... clean up at Liam's appartment that she recalled being also a place where Augur used to live. How perfect... She smiled, things were not as bad as they looked like, finally.
The former, thouch as he doubted not for much longer to be, Synod Leader made his way through the corridors of the Taelons' homeship, his eyes attentive to the faintest moves in the dimmed light of the passage. The walls were glowing, softly, as usual, their conscienceness was somewhat on the edge of awakening, as always when a Taelon was near, but the scientists had improved this technology in the wanting that it would do no more harm to energy beings than briefly awakening as Zo'or now sensed it.
His feet were leading toward this chamber, where he would meet these people whose words would be his fate. The fate, the cruel fate that would probably ruin everything he had tried to build in the last few years, not only those he had spent on Earth, but also these years spent learning how to fight, how to defeat the opponent, how to be a diplomat... And ho how zealous had he been to Da'an's lessons ! It now had made him, these rules were now the one deciding of his life. And Da'an was complaining. His parent was of course complaining that he was cruel, that he was uselessly cruel with beings that did not own such a treatment.
To these words, he had since long taken the habits of only smirking at. Had fate not been cruel with him ? In allowing him to live, but nothing more. He had lived barely. And since the end of his childhood, he did not live, he survived, he fought for life. Had fate not been cruel in making him sterile ? In making him wounded in such a way that ever in his life it would be open and bleeding... He was a child, young and innocent, and unaware of how cruel life was. But so soon, he had learned, he had not been taught, but had been forced to learn that every other children had something he would never get : they were able to procreate, they would have children, they would have children and hold them in their arms, taking care of them. Something, he, Zo'or, would never, could never possibly do, but was it so important after all ? Is somehow he still managed to ensure the survival of his kind still ? And since he had thought to this, then there had been a great deal of time when he
had thought to himself as a being who detained such an importance. What was his own survival if his whole kind survived ? He would give his whole life, his whole existence for their sake, he would for their well-being, sell his soul as the Humans put it. Though the idea of having a soul was quite amusing for him to think of. As many of his fellows, when young, when there were many young Taelons to study the teaching of the said to be mentors of the diplomatic caste, had pretended that the shell that contained his mind was empty, that there was no... soul inside. They used to call him with a name... a particular name that each time he remembered... his anger, this crazy anger came back inside... soulless, this is how they called him.
And of course, they had been given the chance to take a mate and produce children. They would be given that chance, but he would not, ever.
Today, he was not complaining about this. Because all of these of his generation who had borne children had been returned from their ships to the homeworld, to raise there their children, as was the tradition in the Taelon empire. And when the Jaridians had attacked... and when 5 billions of Taelons had been killed, on this number half a billion had not yet matured. Children. Had been killed.
And he recalled the moment so perfectly, he was aboard the diplomatic ship Ne'rahs, part of the peace delegation travelling to Jaridia. The war was over finally. Messages of peace had been spread out on every channels that lead ultimately to taelon controlled communications. And he would be one of the very few to assist to the moment from the best place. His parent was suspiscious however. This is why Da'an had ordered their immediate return to the homeworld some seconds only before the... cry through the Commonality. The young Zo'or had, as every other Taelons present had, collapsed on the floor and had stayed there, perfectly conscious, but yet to remain unmoving. This cry, this terrible cry, that had fled through the Commonality. Bilions of voices had suddenly been unlocked from their steady place, in which they were bound by their links. He had heard the cries of the tortured children, that he knew were dying into the flames. And he knew that it could have been
himself... or his offspring.
Their return had been only made in time to find back... fragments of dead rocks of their planet, that once was. Da'an had blamed himself ever since to not have ordered the return of their ships earlier. And what could they possibly have done would Zo'or have replied to his parent ? If this one had asked. But the war had started again and both of them were taken apart by their occupations and duties. Zo'or had gone to fight against the enemy on the first line as usual. And Da'an had done as ever he had done. He had stayed at the back, protected, ordering people to get killed before his eyes. With T'than.
Why had fate done this to him ? He had stopped wondering long ago. He knew that if it had not been him, it would only have been someone else who would have carried the same burden.
With an unseen shrug, he realized that he had lost control over his thoughts again. His Ka'atham was still violent, even after the attempt he had done to meditate to calm it. Before the Synod meeting. Because this moment, was definitely the least one where he could permit himself to lose his temper, because if he did... He would pay it of his rank, his pride, his reputation, his leadership and all of what was keeping him alive. He had lived, he had suffered to live through this life, only to see the moment when they would triumph of the Jaridians, when Taelons would once more have kids in their arms, giggling, bringing with them a missed happiness and this he could not make it to be true without being in the highest position. He had climbed, he had gotten himself as high ranked as possible, only to see this war ending. But he would no longer be able to if he lost his place.
Zo'or closed his still tired eyelids. He was fatigued, as many incidents haf forced Sandoval to keep him in a constant alert recently, in the past hours. Alert, and incidents that had been provocated he feared. In the special objective of tiring him for this meeting. Though this reflection was immensely selfish as he considered the security breaches that had needed many members of the crew for being taken care of to be personal assaults... But he could convince himself with the fact that he was under the influence of one of the most vivid Ka'atham he had ever experienced.
A sigh briefly escaped his dried lips as he stepped over the arch, introducing him inside the room where was the Council of the Synod meeting. Already were the other members arrived and awaited his presence anxiously. The welcome was as usual when he was concerned cold to not say unexisting. But he had become used to this.
He stayed standing in the middle of the circle, this was the normal and usual position from the leader to take, to always show his great trust in his fellows behaviors. He had not to feel nervous to always be turning his back at someone. Though now he felt so. But he could not permit to show it. Never could he. Never would he. "I believe that some of you had formulated the resquest to question my leadership of our council. Then you may begin, I am ready to listen to your pleas and demands."
The younger Taelon tried to kept the shiver that ran along his spine from being openly shown as he heard T'than's despised voice behind him. He slowly turned while was the General speaking. "Pleas and demands Zo'or ? No today what we will discuss will be your fall and our words will be spoken as accusations." The words had been harsh, hard, cold, emotionless. But Zo'or did know that the War Minister was enjoying the... event. His downfall... T'than would soon learn that he had fought long enough for this position to be smart enough to know how to keep it in his pocket.
"Fine T'than. Accusations then." Then turning to the rest of the gathering - it was in fact the whole Synod reunited there, with only Da'an missing, having pretexted to have other business to attend, his parent had remained closed inside his embassy in Washington - to adress them directly. "As no one of you seems to be willing to lead this meeting..." He paused here to make sure that every one had weighed his words and would not start. But he knew that no one would speak after his demand, that had sounded like a threat. He could not deny enjoying to see them being submitted to his power and will. "... T'than you were decided to present you arguements as it seemed. You may speak."
Zo'or felt nervous. For once, in fact no, not for once in his life, as definitely he had felt nervous before, but had always kept it well hidden. But the Ka'atham was now adding to the pressure on his mind and forcing him to let pass through his mask some of the feelings he so rarely had allowed the others to take a glimpse of. His fingers were moving in undetermined paterns before. And T'than briefly glanced at them before staring directly at his his face, locking eyes with him as he started speaking, to present to the Synod what he had requested to communicate. The older Taelon knew of his nervousness and knew as well and undoubtingly how to use perfectly, to make it fit into his game.
"I must first confide that the personal rivality that reigns between I and Zo'or has nothing to do in this action. What I do today, I do to ensure the survival of our kind and nothing else. Since too long, Zo'or has been putting his personal feelings before his function of the Leader of the Taelon race. By being elected as this position he satisfied his wishes for power, a power that now we have given to him, he is doing the worst of use with. If this continues, we will all die at the hands of the Jaridians. Or - as he seemed to absolutly want to destroy our alliance with humanity that is growing weaker as we speak, by his doing - at the hands of the Humans." A brief pause during which Zo'or had the interior satisfaction of seeing his accusating fellow surprised as T'than noticed that yet the younger had not lost his composure, nor his facade, nor his emotionless mask. And Zo'or knew that the worst of the accusations was still to come. "Zo'or controls you. And he does so by
fear. You fear him because he is powerful. And his power he built on the fear of others before you that have done nothing to oppose him. If we do not choose someone else as our leader, he will destroy us. But we must do so before it is too late." T'than had been speaking with vehemence, and he stopped there, to regain his breathe. But after, his speech was more peaceful, as was his tone, but his eyes were like tiny needles that gave Zo'or the feeling that his old enemy could read in the depths of his soul and free from there every of his deepest secrets. "I sense your wondering. You are wondering..." Adressing the other members, "... what proves, what evidences I may have of his madness, of this fury that will destroy us ultimately, that already is spreading through the Commonality..." A smile, "... It might have been brought to some of you's awareness that our leader had commited an act that is condemned by our council, the act of getting intimately involved with a member
of another, inferior species, part of the Taelon empire. Of course, Zo'or will tell you of the exact contrary, not that I expected him not to defend himself. But despite this... human mating ritual was not as disturbing as it might have been... we now cannot ensure and respond before our fellows of Zo'or's sanity and capacity to command this council. At many times in the past, we have ignored Da'an's warnings about his own child's capacity to destroy us all. We have barely acknowledged them, as you, as I myself did, thought that they were acting upon this rivality that oppose them as it opposes Zo'or and me. But we should have listened. We should have listened earlier. Because Zo'or has commited crimes. He has used the ressources of this Council for his personal use, he had kept things hidden to us, unless they served his own personal interest to reveal them to us, he has wasted the lives of many human beings and Taelons to reach the highest position of our hierarchy he
could to then manipulate you to do his own will. And since his nomination as Synod Leader nothing has been done to improve the survival of the few of us who remains. This is why I must ask of you to remove him from his position. Or at least from any position from which he could have influence on your minds and decisions." He rose from his seat and glared at Zo'or down his nose. "You surely have something to add before we will unify our thoughts on your fate ?"
The younger Taelon could barely believe the words as they slid down from his lips. "No, I have nothing to add to this. Judge by yourselves." With this he left the gathering, leaving his fellows to their thoughts and joining of minds that would take many hours surely. Overhelmed by the urging need to talk to someone that would listen to his fear - another of the symptoms of his Ka'atham doubtlessly - he locked himself into his private quarters and refused himself to go back at the Synod meeting room to yell his innocence. They would need to judge the situation by themselves, as he had suggested them to. It was consciously that he had said this to the members of the council...
But the only feelings he would remember later of what had happened was that he had been taken by a sudden assault of fear and that everything had faded away.
Liam found Augur on a bench, in a park, in Washington, somewhere. As usual Augur was not hard to miss. He was tired. A lot. Could not explain it, he was just... tired. He had gotten a page from his hacker friend, on his global, just when he was going to take his leave from the mothership. He did not have much time now, he had promised to doctor Park to meet her at the Embassy in about twenty minutes. And he had other duties to carry out on the mothership this evening.
Well at least, the famous bruise on his cheek was not too visible. Thanks to Zo'or's care. Oh good lord! One week before if he had though he would be actually thanking Zo'or for something, he would have said himself he was going insane. Just as he thought of the taelon Leader, he felt a strange warm spread on his cheeks... A blush. Why was he blushing thinking of Zo'or? He did have these weirds dreams of him and Zo'or that he simply did not want to think about again. But there was it. He had kissed Zo'or. It HAD been weird - though not displeasing, neither disgusting, nor repulsive, strangly. And now he was just having weird dreams about it. What the heck? He WAS a young two third human male. It WAS normal.
But not that way. He knew it, he just did. He just had gotten that strange feeling again and again thinking of Zo'or. A feeling that definitely, he did not like at all. Kincaid sighed when he let his muscled shape fall on the bench, inches beside Augur. "Wanted to talk to me?" he just asked, matter-of-factly, not even bothering to look at his former friend.
Augur turned his head slightly to look at him, glaring at him almost severely, this look he had when something was or very wrong, or was going to become very wrong. "Yeah," he answered finally, stopped looking at Liam so intensely and locked his eyes on his feet. "I'm just coming from the lair. Renées was there preparing a meeting of all surviving resistance leaders worldwide. Guess about what?" he ended on a rather sarcastic note.
The protector let his head fall back, his eyes looking up at the partly clouded sky. He closed them and shook his head, covering his face with his hands. Yes, he knew how so well about what would this meeting be about. Too well. Another sigh escaped his lungs, he let it go between his clenched teeth, slowly. "Ah... They just haven't let me a day of rest since my birth dammit! My mother died, I was two MONTHS old. I've never gotten to know my father other than in my dreams. And my dad is a monster who's selfconsciously torturing his own kind. All of my friends are dead or will soon be at the hands of the Taelons or I can't trust them. Oh dammit all! I can't trust anyone right now!"
Augur had just kept listening. He knew all of that evidently. Nothing had never been easy for that kid in his life, his life itself being the hardest thing to keep up. Always saving everyone's butt. Yeah, for what? For getting betrayed at the very end by those he had worked for since the first day of his life! "Many things are unfair in this world Liam. I know myself what I'm talking about." He put his hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.
Liam let his head fall forward until his forehead was resting on his knees. "I just don't know what to do Augur. I don't know..." The hybrid smirked in a way that reminded the hacker of his human father, a thing he did not like to see right now. "Or yes, I know what to do. I'll return home and just shoot myself in the head. It'll be better for a lot of people anyway."
"NO LIAM! I don't like you thinking like that. I'll tell you what you're gonna do. You're gonna go at this appartment-..." he slid into Liam's hand a piece of paper with an adress written on it "...- It's one of my `just in case' places okay? You're going to ask a day off from Da'an if necessary and you'll sleep. Coz you need it, believe me. You look like hell, kid." Liam smiled faintly as he recalled the days when Augur called him kid. When Lili was still there.
"Thanks Augur. I'll go there," he said quietly. "I just... Ah..." he sighed again. He could not even speak about what was bothering him the most. Could not even speak to the closest person he had as a friend about his problems.
"Hey, s'okay kid. Your life is falling apart around you. Anyone would be a bit shocked eh?" He put his hands on Liam's shoulders again and forced him to look back at him. "You're gonna talk to me about this, will you?"
"Yeah... yeah, I'll do that Augur. Thanks... for that place to sleep I mean... You're gonna join me there?"
"Yeah, I'll come. I don't think either of us should return the Flat Planet or the HQ now you know..." Liam nodded. Then jumped to his feet and pretexted that rendezvous with Park and Da'an at the embassy was coming closer with every minutes passing. With a few words more and a shake of hands they parted. Augur worried about Liam and his health, Liam just thankful that he could have a place where to sleep tonight and also thinking that maybe Augur was one of these to be trusted friends. He prefered to forget about anything else now. His meeting with both of his `adopting parents' at the embassy would ask more than a little of his attention for sure, so he needed to be at very least still awake when he would get there.
Liam, somehow, had managed to get rid of this overhelmingly depressed feeling. He only remembered looking at his feet as he walked his way back to the taelon embassy in Washington after leaving Augur on that bench. But, slowly, his feelings had grown calmer. And soon, with every steps he made, with every new thought that came up, also had come a feeling of profound peace. He had wondered why was he feeling such a peace. After all, his life, or the little he had gathered as a life, had been shattered. His life itself was in danger, though that more he thought about it and more he did know that Renée would not come out with assassination attempt. For a mere reason of safety, the Resistance would not attack him personnally. They knew what he was capable of, they knew he was aware of all their techniques, they knew he knew how so well how to defend himself, and they knew that they would be given just one try. Because if Liam survived, then he would speak out loud who had
attempted to kill him.
So what... everybody was trapped by their own trap! Liam's life was definitely screwed up - a chance he kept anything he had that was truly precious to him on him, in his coat pocket, or in his desk at the embassy, because he knew he would never get to see the inside of his appartment again - and the young hybrid was doing his best for his mind to survive the destruction.
The feeling of peace was probably the eye of the storm. He knew that worse than what he had already seen was on his path. But, unless he died, he could not stop going forward. Not now. He could not abandon... Who? Who was left to him? Augur was still with him. Park was still with him. He knew she would always be with him, on his side. She had always considered him like a son, never ever had she said anything bad to him, never she had made reproach for him to be what he was, like so much people had done. Never.
This feeling... He had refered to it as peace. But it was more like a... a longing. A longing for something. When you knew that something was ahead of you, something good, something really good, something better. Someone... He had sensed that something was happening to him, of course, how could he have not seen it after all. His emotions were in a turmoil, he made strange dreams everynight about himself and... Zo'or. Especially since... Since this kiss.
Oh... he could not help himself, or the whole mess he had created by this sole action, but think back as to how good had felt the silken touch against his lips. Of course, despite his relatively short life, he HAD kissed somebody before. He had had some girlfriends but most of them had not lasted long, mostly because of this awful, screwed job of his. His boss could call at any hour, day or night, and he had to come right now at the embassy. And he had discovered that most girls did not like that. Nor did they like the fact that he made workdays of 20 hours. Almost like an implant. Almost like Sandoval. But well, he could not really tell them that his body could stand a lot more, physically, than any non-implanted Humans. He had not felt closer in a girl though. Never, to none of them. He did feel an attraction to them, a certain attraction. It WAS there. He saw a girl, found her beautiful, asked her for a date etc. Mostly his offers were rejected. He forgot most of the time
that his mind was also, like the rest of his person, one third alien. That one third of his mind did not think like a human would do. And curiously it had always been the kimera side that had held everyhting more or less linked to reproduction. Well, not so strange if he realized that the whole reason he had been born was because of a biological imperative that had pushed his father to take Agent Sandoval's form, to procreate and to `force' his mother to. Though Beckett had been more than willing, and would have been if Sandoval, not the Ha'gelished one, the natural one, had simply come, kissed her and pushed her on her bed.
His kimera side had always taken the lead on that. He had had many girlfriends, but with none he had gone to the point of copulating. This part of his mind was so... alien in thinking sometime. It was scary, even seen from the inside. Alien by simply not human in standard. He was not Human. He had to put that into his head and get it solidly kept in there. He was not and would never become human. He would never be a part of them, nor would he be a part of the Taelons, or of any other races. Because he was the last of his kind. Because he would forever be the last of his kind, unless he produced children. But this, he could, and would, not do for long years.
The apparently young, but even younger, man that had taken the identity of Liam Kincaid walked quietly on the right side of the street that led to the Washington embassy. Soon it became more like a simple path than a street in itself, as it was travelling in zigzag through Da'an's gardens. He loved those... So much. Here he could sit on the bench, sit here and sometimes talk with Da'an, or with Lassiter, or even with Sandoval, even he came here, or simply sitting there and watching as the tiny droplets of water fell into the fountain. Everybody who had served in Washington embassy for a time came here. Sandoval prefered to come when no one was around and if you were coming while he was there, he simply turned on his heels and left without a word, without a glance, without anything. Liam had got to chit-chat with a bit here, but only... very briefly. And he had wondered at these times, when Zo'or's attaché had politely waved off the questions while his dark eyes were fixed on
the falling water. You could never talk frankly with Sandoval. But when Liam came here, he met Agent Lassiter often in the gardens. This one had been one of the first non-implanted Humans to serve the Taelons, he had been accepted in their services at the same time when Lili Marquette had been. He was a frank man, he often, very often talked about his two daughters and his lovely wife. He had a life, a real one. A wife that waited for him at home. He knew Da'an since much longer than Liam. Knew how to talk to the North American Companion, often explained some things to Liam when he and Da'an had argued. Which happened more and more often now. Lassiter was not here tonight. Liam had not expecting him to be either. HE actually DID have a more human schedule to work into. And Da'an often gave him his evenings off anyway.
And Da'an...
When he met Da'an in the gardens, he used to avoid him now. He stayed away from him. They would do some little talk. `Hi, how was your day, mine was hellish one and bla bla bla...' But never again, never since Da'an had betrayed his trust they had talked. Well, it was sure that they DID talk to each others, but they had never actually talked about something, more personal, or more out of business. More talks... just concerned about each others, their thoughts, their mutual feelings for this and that... But nothing like this happened now. His relationship of trust with Da'an had been broken, in the most painful kind of way possible. People had died. And by his fault. Because Liam had not seen the coup... had not seen the betrayal. He could not be perfect of course... But this had hurt him. And he knew now that what he and Da'an had lost, they would never gain back.
He sighed, sat down on the bench before the fountain and watched the little droplets of water fall, and the little red fishes touching their mouth to the surface of the water, obviously hungry. Hum... he mused. He would need to come back a bit later and feed those.
Once more, his mind got lost in this labyrinth of thoughts.
A mate, children, a family. A Life. With a capital L. If ever he mated with a human, he knew that the alien part of himself would ever be a burden, but if he joined his destiny to the one of a Taelon, though he did not seen easily which Taelon would not faint hearing that a two third human one third kimera hybrid wanted to join with him, if he joined himself to a Taelon, then the Human inside would be dying. And how many chances were there for that he could find another hybrid like himself to mate with. Of course, nobody knew what fate had in store for them. Maybe taelon-human hybrids, or maybe even kimera-human hybrids - as Taelons were well known to play with what is not theirs - would be created within the few next years. And then, maybe he could find a partner that would understand him, accept him entirely, and complety.
But these chances were low. It was hopeless.
Liam Kincaid would never ever get a life. Get a family, get someone to love, someone to receive love from. Though... Though Liam recalled this look in Zo'or's eyes when the Synod Leader had lightly touched his fingertips to his cheek and had nearly completly healed his wounds. In fact, Liam almost did not think to it anymore now. He recalled what kind of loneliness had hit him when he had touched... kissed Zo'or. How Zo'or was alone... Just like him. But Zo'or was a Taelon with a capital T and with all it could imply. He had maybe showed some... special attention to Liam, but maybe he felt the need to repay his gesture of saving his life. And their taeling in the shuttle, when Zo'or had refused to let him take all of the blame, the kind of warmth it had brought to his heart. Somehow. And... And he did have some... attraction, affection for Zo'or. But not love. Not even a liking. But he knew how too well, that he could change this. That so much things could change this. Less
than two weeks before he would have killed this Taelon if ever he had gotten to chance to. But now, now that he had seen him weak, alone, afraid, that he had seen the being under the mask. Now, he would not hesitate to give his life for Zo'or's.
Thiking this, he had raised, had started walking again. His steps had automatically led him to the entrance of the Washington embassy. And had spiraled up in the corridors. He had now arrived in front of his desk, just before entering Da'an's office. He could hear the soft noise of the energy stream he knew would be swirling around and over his alien boss's armchair. And he could also hear the little tac-tac noise of someone, probably a woman, more probably Melissa Park, walking through the room, on high-heeled shoes.
He showed himself completly and Melissa simply stopped walking and turned toward him when she heard his steps. The Taelon had also regained conscienceness and had stopped his energy shower, but was merely watching them from his place, wordless, motionless, what was not happening often to his diplomatic persona.
The petite female Doctor slowly walked toward Liam and embraced his much taller form in her arms. Like a mother would do her child. The young man returned the hug. She had not done this since when?... Since he had gone into this near-death state to bring back Maya, Augur and the other sleepers back from the dead. Since she and everybody in the HQ had thought that he had died. Ah... He had missed that time. When Lili was there to be the big sister he had ever had the feeling she had been for him, when Jonathan WAS fighting with them, at least not becoming associate with the enemy, when Da'an was frank with them, helping them, when he came to the Resistance meeting, informed them, when everybody seemed to fight on the same side. Now he just felt like everybody was fighting for themselves. No longer for Humanité, or for the Taelons' survival. Just for themselves... He sighed as she let go of his muscled frame.
He did not really mind being treated like the child he was in front of Da'an. The Taelon knew what he was, who he was and what he was fighting for. In fact, Liam had often felt uncomfortable because Da'an knew so much about him, but now... it just helped to make it all easier.
Melissa stepped back and looked at him, her eyes not judging him. "I know what you did with Zo'or Liam." Kincaid's gaze wandered away briefly and when he turned his eyes back to the Doctor, he looked only ready to defend himself against whatever comments were coming. As he opened his mouth, she spoked again. "But it's the least of the problems you're gonna have young man." He was not exactly sure if she spoke about this kiss or the whole mess that had come after with the Resistance.
"What?..." Something worse was coming. Oh... joy.
Da'an was only watching the scene from his chair, in which he was stiffly sitting as usual. Not saying anything. Not moving. Merely watching, so much that the two of them had rapidly got to forget the alien's presence into the room, not the point of speaking openly, they still kept an eye of them, but still.
Park took a sample of his blood. Da'an had suggested that the changing might be already in progress, that Liam's DNA could already have begun to change, to morph into this unique kimera spin. Though Park was not at ease with being forced to rely only upon Da'an's words about this whole situation, she had no choice but to. The young man was massaging the part in his upper arm when she had taken the sample while both of them were looking at the computer screen attentively waiting for the scan to be finished.
When the result came on, Liam suddenly felt dizzy and was forced to hurry back to his chair and sit in it to not fall on the ground. His legs felt like jelly under him. He could feel it now. Why now? Why had he not felt it before? He was changing before too, but, the cut hurts a lot more when you see it than when you do not. Now that he had seen... this. Now, he knew that inside, that inside, his DNA was merging, that everywhere in his body his cells were changing, that he was going to change into something not Human, even less human than he already was. Into something completly alien. He knew for what he was feeling that his skin tone had gone almost white. He was feeling cold. Cold and hot at the same time. He felt boiling from the inside, like if his blood had suddenly turned into fire in his veins, but outside, the air seemed chilly against his sweaty skin. His breathing came in short gasps.
In the last few days, he had often felt abnormal fever or had waken up drenched in sweat. But never, it had been like this. He could feel it, moving... inside. He could feel himself changing, evolving. Park was at his side now, but he kept his eyes closed. The woman took his pulse, it was faster than normal and especially faster than good, but it was steady at least. The crisis, or whatever it was, would soon come to pass.
Suddenly, Liam's young body gave a last convulsion and then he could regain his calm. He quickly reassured the doctor at his side, that he was feeling okay.
While the human healer was trying to find out what had been wrong with his protector, Da'an stepped closer to the small screen curiously. He had not seen the results that had came from the blood sample, his sight being even less performing than the one of the Humans, the result that had frightened or, surprised at very least, his human young protector. He looked briefly at the young man, sitting in his chair, his head had fallen back, his stare was focusing on the ceiling... The trust between him and Liam was destroyed now. It was why he had prefered not to speak during the short few words that had been exchanged between the female doctor and Kincaid. In fact, Park had asked him not to. That it would be only better if Liam was told this by people he could trust. She had added a bitter tone to the remark, making it profoundly true at the same time. And Da'an had done just as she had said him to. He would avoid the contact of the young hybrid for this certain, critical period
of time and then, maybe when the worst would be over, then maybe they could explain.
Because he knew from the few informations that the woman had given him that Liam was in danger for the time being. Endangered by the movement for which he had given his very life, endangered by the people for whom he had fight, for whom he had fight risking his life... People who now attempted to end his life, because they thought he was a danger to them. Bitterly ironic. Da'an knew that Liam had never felt accepted by them, the young man had never told him such, but it was readable on his features when he was looking down into the gardens and saw his... fellows. Knowning that true fellows, people like him, people that liked him, he would never have. He was the last of his species. And despite every of this. Despite he felt rejected by the human people, despite he knew never the Taelons could accept him as what he was, Da'an knew he would have fought for them both. And now... Now he had no place to live. Now if the Resistance wanted him dead, the would soon find a way to...
And now that Liam was in danger, he could not do anything to help him. Simply because Liam would never accept his help again. Because he would reject his help, thinking it was only one more offer to betray him.
The alien made his way toward the computer. The spin of DNA of the hybrid had changed since the two weeks ago when the first sample had been taken. What Da'an saw on the screen justified fully Liam's earlier behvaior. On the screen turned on itself, a double helix of DNA. The three original strands of DNA, coming from the three different parents were still represented by a pink, a blue and a green line. But the pink and the blue one - the two from his human parents - were melted into each other, almost to form a new purple one. And the green part of the spin was dangerously close, closer than normal for a human DNA spin. The merging was to happen soon, very soon. But this he should have been able to tell only by seeing Liam's reaction.
Melissa had hugged him again after the convulsions had stopped, when she had been done with the little check up of him. "Da'an and I have talked a lot about you Liam. We think, we serisouly do think, that you are moving to another step of your development. As you are the very first human-kimera hybrid to be born, and personally, I don't even know anyone else in the world with a triple DNA spin, we can't tell, if it's normal for you. But I'm going to do everything for you to survive. Da'an also explained to me that the Kimeras, when they pass from their youth to their adult state, they experience something the Taelons name ka'atham. They follow the same patern, more or less, than the Kimeras do. And Da'an thinks that you could have unselfconsciously searching for a mate. A taelon mate Liam. Because a non-implanted Human would not stand a joining with you. You know this I think. And well, I've just thought that this might be why you've done... well... that with Zo'or. Maybe
your subconscious think that he might be a suitable mate for you. Your Kimera side, I mean. But I ain't too sure about that part. You're Human. And if you keep the human DNA inside of you, you will still be. I think you should take a human mate." She had released him while she spoke. He had simply kept staring at ther with those incredible grey-green eyes of his and had listened.
Over her shoulder, he had seen Da'an, looking at the screen attentively, then lose his human facade, blush-blue... And after the Taelon had briefly looked their way and when he had seen the young protector looking back, he had turned away and had simply walked back toward his chair. Liam had seen the hint of sadness in the alien eyes, though he was completly mesmerized as to explain it. He did know that Da'an DID care. But, it only seemed wrong to see him caring for the one he had betrayed again. He nodded as he listened to the few last words of the doctor. A little voice in his head said at this, typically human in thought. "Thanks Melissa. I'll do my best to... what... to stay myself..." She had flashed a small smile at this.
Park and him talked a bit longer, as the night began to fall outside. He recalled he had promised Augur to come at this adress he had given him. Liam felt the changing now, felt it inside of him. It had only been the first few moments he had realized how much was he changing that had made him react like that. Now, he still felt it, and he knew he would have to get used to feel as if his bones were moving inside.
She told him that she was going to stay at the embassy for the night, that Da'an had kept one chamber free, that they could share it and then if something went wrong with him, if he had anything like this crisis he had had when he had seen the changing DNA strands, then she would be just some meters away. He had accepted, though had insisted to call Augur and advise him that he was not dead, that he was merely staying at the embassy for the night, that he might come up on this offer of his to take that appartment etc. The hacker had not been completly reassured about him, but had accepted the few answers that were given none the less.
Liam was now lying flat on his back, in the small room he shared with Doctor Melissa Park. He had looked along time at the woman in the other bed. She had always been like a mother to him. And now he was just so tired, he simply wanted to sleep so much... He closed his eyes.
Once more, Zo'or had retreated into his sanctuary. The decision of the Synod, their final decision, had been pronounced. He had hoped nothing and had received even less.
He was now in the most private chamber amongst the few he had aboard the mothership. No one could accessthis one, but him. It was his. And he needed to be alone now. Not that he whished so: the urges of the ka'atham pushed him to feel constantly so alone, that he would have to choose whoever could help him, could be at his side. He had a longing for a mate. Not for someone. Only for a mate. For someone at his side.
And he could not use a Taelon for this. They would all refuse to stay at his side. None of them were in ka'atham, another problem created by the little number of Taelons left in this galaxy, the same problem that brought them no children in this endless circle of life and death, for them now narrowing to a circle of death only. Soon, there would be no more Taelons left in this universe. And Zo'or knew that. And more than everything else, he did not want that. He wanted a mate.
A part of him wanted only a mate, a mate with whom he could go through the ka'atham impulses and that would give him children. This part that was Synod Leader, this part of himself that was the cold Zo'or ready to do everything to ensure his species' survival... But something else... inside, wanted something else than this. Wanted a mate not only for one joining, but for a long, complete life. It was like this before. Before when the Taelons had only one ka'atham in their life, when they were only once forced to copulate with another, because this another they had to choose for the remaining of their days. And now... now that their race was nearly extinguished, the last of them could even not receive the comfort of having a mate at his side.
He was alone in the chamber. He had come to cherish his loneliness, understanding that he would and could never get something else than that. And he thought. Zo'or thought like he had not in a long time. He thought, not about his species, or about their fate, or about humanity. But about himself. Himself that, making of the survival of his species the only of his priority, he had forgotten often in the recent past. And now, now that he had been temporarily relieved of his burden, could he be allowed to think of himself and of himself only.
The Synod had declared that as their Leader, Zo'or would have to request the approval of every members of the council before every major decisions to be taken. And, as the condition he had done his best to keep hidden had obviously been known for quite a time, he had been ordered off his position as head of the taelon Synod until his ka'atham would be accomplished.
His eyes closed, his head slightly bowed, his human facade gone, all his energy directed on his thoughts, denying to everyone the access to him through the Commonality, he lay there, nearly unconscious, and he smirked. They knew. They knew, of course, they did. They had probably known about both his sterility and his fruitless ka'atham since a long time already. He had underestimated them. And now he gained what his pride had brought.
The young Zo'or had been told more than once to hold in high respect the members of the Synod, even if he came to be higher placed than them. And now, he had disobeyed to this advice, and now he suffered himself from it. He had toyed with his fellows, thinking he could manipulate them as easily as he had done with so much people before, Humans of course included, and now he was the only one being toyed with.
He would not regain his position as Synod Leader until his ka'atham would know its end. And everyone that knew of his condition knew of him to be sterile, then, that his ka'atham would never cease. Not unless he would find a mate. If his absence from leadership went beyond 1156 terran hours, they would vote again. For a new leader. And Zo'or would lose everything he had spent his life fighting, killing and manipulating for. Power. Because power held the solution. With power he could save them. And he had then been entrapped in his own power games. Playing, toying, to gain more and more and more and yet more... He had sold his soul to save them.
Hours after, when the deepest meditation state would have been achieved, when he would feel somehow... better, he would think of himself again and of his mate. And yet no Taelons were in ka'atham. And even if there was one of their kind going through the mating ritual, he would still have to accept him. And not much people would be ready to accept his damned soul. He doubted that at least one being could accept him as he was.
At worst... at worst maybe he could choose a Human, testing on himself the thorize of Da'an's, that the Humans were almost evolved to the point of becoming their equals. And if it was not efficient, then... both of them would die... in the greatest of pain.
His thoughts became chaotic again. No... He tried to resist, attempted it. He knew their was someone out there, reaching out to him, that he could hope to reach by himself... But... But, it was so hard, it hurt so much... He wanted someone so desperatly beside him, he wanted to feel someone accepting him, he wanted to feel someone filling every part of his aching essence with his own... His physical form started to choke... shaking... He had lost, had lost everything, he had lost everything because he had wanted everything, because he had wanted too much. Was asking for his soul to be healed by a comforting presence at his side too much?...
Seemingly, yes it was.
Zo'or prepared himself to die. He would die rather than face the humiliation of being told this by the Synod again, being told that no one would ever accept him... He was just... just going to fade away. Without last call, without desperate measures, not hoping to be saved... He did not own to be saved right? No one would seek for his deliverance...
Two blue eyes opened as the fallen leader lay down on the cushion on the ground, bringing his knees close to his chest. At least... at least, he was going to face death with open eyes, fearless.
Only a whisper in his mind as his essence slowly began to be dragged away, through this final step... A whispery sigh, a word, holding in itself not only a name, not only its own meaning, but also, the whole meaning of what could have been...
Liam...
What could have been between them. What was too late to be.
Liam had awakened that night. That night he spent at the embassy. He always had felt unsafe within these walls; no, not always, not when he could rely on Da'an, when he could trust him, when he knew that though the Taelon was forced to be and to think like what he had been born as, Da'an could count as another of his friends. But it was like this no longer. Now... he felt trapped at this moment. Sitting on the edge of the ramp leading to the resting quarters of the staff, including Da'an's own personal chambers, he felt surrounded... by enemies, as if they could pierce his body, see through his soul and read his mind.
The virtual window helped for sure, showing him that freedom was not so far away, but he yet felt like a prisonner. His breathing had shortened, until he was almost moaning at every breathe he drew in and out. It did not hurt. No it did not, but it only felt... different. He knew he was changing from the inside. He felt it again, like when he had seen the DNA double spin. Only more powerfully now. Much more powerfully...
The young man had prefered not to awake Doctor Park. She had been through a lot, including working almost hand in hand with Da'an to manage to understand what was wrong with him... And she needed rest. And somehow he knew that it would not be dangerous. Not for himself anyway, and not for the moment. But he could only imagine what would be next. For the moment, he felt himself changing slightly inside, but he somehow, again, knew that the transformation would include some... more violent parts than this.
He had walked through every corridors of the embassy, thinking, thinking to many things, about many things. Curiously, he no longer felt that his little conflict with the Resistance would be much of a problem. Like Park had said, he would soon start having many worse problems than this one. He knew he had to say goodbye to the movement of Resistance. He knew he would never again see the friends he had made here... he had to admit being saddened, somewhat by this loss. But like everyhting else, everything, every feelings, every impressions came to it like through a thick fog. It had to be an after effect of the transformation. Nothing affected him like it normally would have. But was it now that it was abnormal referring to the soon to be past life he had had as a Human? Or was it normal? Was it this human life he had lived through since years that was the abnormal one? That THESE feelings had been the false one. He was an alien. He would soon became the truly last member of
his kind, not to be mixed with every other people, only a Kimera. And he would no longer think as a Human. And things did not appear to be horific. It did not terrify him to be changing in this way. But he knew what did Melissa think about this. She had always been as comfortable as a human doctor can be toward his rather strange physiology and his alien ancestry. But now, he felt that she was beginning to what? To worry about him... To worry about what would happen to him? Or to worry about what would happen to Humanity after he had changed? He could be the worst of the danger for them, who knew? Who knew what was he going to become? Maybe he would frantically begin a search for a mate like his father had. Maybe he would just... fade away, abandonning humanity. Ahhh... Maybes... You could build a whole world with those. But the possibility, the risk, was still there. He might be dangerous to humanity. After... his transformation into whatever he was going to become.
After only he had started to feel somewhat... ill. Nausea, mostly. He had rushed to the bathroom in times and had been there during almost one complete hour, vomitting everything he had eaten in the past few days, most of his saliva included, some blood also. He did not know why. But he just now hoped that it was gone and done. Because he truly hated to be sick. He did not know why still, but he felt that nothing was wrong yet. He had then not gone to see the petite doctor sleeping into this small bed into the chamber they shared.
And now, he was there sitting at the very limit of the ramp, his knees almost touching the virtual glass, sending into them this somewhat familiar chill that the sudden rush of taelon energy provocated. His head a little bowed down, Liam his eyes closed, his thoughts minimalist, listened to his own heartbeat as the peaceful noise was decreasing almost alarmingly. But he did not care. It was normal he knew it.
A soft voice, this soft, seemingly water-filled voice as he heard it here and now, he knew all too well came through the room to his ears, in the whispery tone the Taelon usually reserved to Eunoia. "Major?" It was faintly interrogative, but the young changing hybrid had already felt the alien approach. Though not disgusted, or despising, at the sight of Da'an, he felt growing in him a strange feeling of mixed fear and nervousness he had only rarely sensed before.
"I am still changing Da'an, I feel it." He spoke only the truth. For the time, truth was his best ally, especially with the North American Companion who knew more than anyone else about what he would change into.
"Indeed, you are." Cryptic response. "I have felt your change as well Liam. You have always been a member of our Commonality, though unable to communicate and react to our thoughts, but your awareness has begun. Soon other Taelons will sense your presence." A pause, during which the aliens eyes wandered paternlessly on the smooth purple floor. For Liam the energy pathways under Da'an's skin were visible now, indicating that the Taelon was tired. He had probably interrupted his rest... for talk to him as it seemed. "I sensed your... illness also. Why have you not asked for Doctor Park's advice if you needed healing?"
The young man's lips were faintly covered by a smile. He and Da'an had not spoken more than three or two friendly sentences in the past few months. Their relationship had stayed mostly on the professional side. And Liam now realized he missed that. He had missed that. "She needs sleep more than I do. And my... illness was not of such an importance Da'an. I was just sick."
"Anything about your condition might be important at the time being Liam." Da'an's deep blue eyes stared at his still form from their corners. Liam was still sitting on the ground, his head half-turned in the vague direction of the Taelon's voice, but he now heard the soft pace of his alien superior coming forward, toward him. He waited until he could see Da'an's legs just beside him.
"What do you want Da'an?"
The question implied much for the concerned. Did the young changing Human meant that Da'an might want something from him? Or that perhaps he simply wanted to talk to him? The Companion believed that the speaker himself did not know the exact meaning of his words, and especially, what they meant for him, what they implied for him. What a lack of trust he sensed in them... But why was he complaining after all? He was the one who had betrayed his protector the first. It was he that had unconsciously searched for this punishment. And yet he had done what he had to do. When Liam would have to choose between his people and an alien friend. Between the trust of his own people and the lives of a few Taelons or Jaridians or anything and anyone else... Da'an knew so well what he would choose. The Resistance, though dying now, had still managed to organize assassination attempt of eight Taelons in the last three months. Five of these attempts had succeeded, or partially did, leaving a
Taelon dead or gravely injured. And Da'an had seen the coldness, the indifference in the man's eyes when they had received the news. And when the Taelon had confronted his subordinate, asking for a clear answer, Liam had simply said that he could not answer the question. This answer had been enough for both. "I was merely concerned with your safety Major Kincaid. Your are obviously oblivious to what is happening to you." A faint smirk was drawn from the human lips, but the other continued before another bitting reply could come from them. "I know more about the changing you are suffering from than any of your healer ever could. I have assisted to this in the past and been through it myself." His cool fingers touched his shoulder briefly and the now attentively listening Liam felt like if the Taelon was leaning downward to whisper in his ear. "This is only the beginning. It will not be painful, but it will be the hardest thing you will always see. The energy matrix of your
body is expending. As you have yourself witnessed, it now rejects every alien organic matter. Your physiology is hopefully stablilized enough for that you will not become an alien to yourself, what would be followed by a... quite painful death. If you successfully pass through this stage of the mutation, your body will enter what we refer to as ka'atham... The-..."
"-... taelon and kimera reproductive cycle," finished Liam in a whisper. He had listened attentively, realizing the truth of Da'an's words. He was not sure if the Taelon offered his help or simply wished to put him at the exact place where he wanted him to be, to afterward use him. And no one could ever convince him that Da'an knew not how to use him, or could not, because he had proven he could do this had he not?
"Young one, I am not asking for your trust, for I know that the feelings you have for my person and my people could not allow you this." Liam shuddered at the truth in the alien's voice, at the memory of painful souvenir to recall. "But I am asking you to listen to my words. You are free to believe them or not. As you are free whenever you want to leave this embassy. But I am the only one who know what will become of you Liam."
"I'm listening."
And not trusting, nor relying, finished Da'an for himself, silently. This lack of trust certainly pained him, but he could only know that in the Major's place he would have done the same and then could not blame him. "Ka'atham can be solved by only one thing: a mate. If your change turns out to be complete. And if by then you are able to enter the ka'atham cycle, this is what you will have to search for. A mate. And though you might not believe me, we both know what happened to the human mates of your father Liam. Only an implant was able to withstand the joining. And then nearly died from it. A Taelon could survive. For the moment, the idea may appear repulsive to you. But ultimately you will have no other choice. You cannot know what urges can the ka'atham generate in someone Liam."
The young man passed both his hands over his face, his skin felt strangely cool though he did not feel cold. "I know who's the only Taelon in ka'atham Da'an. I've known for quite a time. I've felt it for quite a time."
The Taelon closed his eyes briefly, "Your... kiss may have been only a consequence of this unrevealy mutual attraction you felt for each other Liam. Your body was merely searching for an appropriate match."
"Yeah, that's what the whole mess started with..." said Liam with a faint smirk as he recalled the violent contact between his face and Renée Palmer's hand. He brushed his fingers against the new, pinkish skin that started to appear there. Thanks to Zo'or... He probably doesn't know that I am in ka'atham, or well, that I'm already searching for a mate. How could he anyway? He just reacted like he would have done with another Taelon, he thought.
This hand one his shoulder again, "Liam... I was advised earlier, that Zo'or had unexpectedly fallen into a coma. He fortunately could find his way back to awareness, but his cries for you now fill the whole Commonality Liam. He does not even know who he is calling for..." Da'an, satisfied, watched, as he spoke, the young man's eyes widening and his breathing quickening. A faint smile crept over his lips as a feeling of concern and affection he had long hoped to see in Liam's eyes warmed the greenish pupils. At least... At least if his child and his protector could find completion into each other...
"You will find him in his private chambers on the mothership Major. He has been told to rest. And is waiting for you. If necessary, you may use my name and authority to access him." As soon as he had finished speaking, the young man had departed. Maybe when Liam would be calm again, they could speak. As a mature member of a species almost... alike to the one of Da'an, Liam would be able to understand. Or so he hoped.
The room was relatively small. Of course, never before Liam had stepped inside the Synod Leader private quarters. Even Sandoval did not come here so often. The young man, or at least still looking like it, had come from Da'an's embassy through portal, as fast as he could walk without seeming to hurry. As usual, the volunteers had ignored him. They ignored everything and everyone that was neither a treat to the imeediate security of a Taelon nor a Taelon himself. He had often mused that they could all be the clone of one and only person and even as this, the implanted volunteers on the mothership would show so much more liveliness, humanity and diversity than how they were now.
But the Taelons... had all looked at him with something he had definitely never seen before in their eyes. A strangefeeling, not completly exact, something... like dread, but melted with such a fantastic amount of respect... It seemed as if it were visible in their eyes only for him to see, the volunteers did not seem toreact when some of the Taelons simply lowered their head in a respectful bow as he had passed his way into the corridors, some of them had even got out of his way, retreating into the shadows of the corridors. The Taelons had never, ever, showed any Human what was vaguely ressembling respect, melted with fear yes, but this in itself was even stranger as a Taelon had definitely never demonstrated of any fear in front of a Human, especially not while on the mothership, protected, among the other members of their kind. Alone, in a dark little room, in a building, captured by terrorists, perhaps a Taelon would feel fear, but even then, he would not show it, so...
openly.
He felt himself changing. Maybe they had somehow sensed his change, or maybe Da'an had told them... But if they knew then why were they not going to order to any volunteer to seize him, arrest him or just kill him right there. He recalled how the Taelons had reacted upon the announce of his father's newly found freedom from his cylindric prison. They had been overhelmingly scared. And had ordered Ha'gel to be killed at any cost, even to the cost of losing some of their better elements... A Kimera was a source of fear for every Taelons. Then how to explain their behavior. They seemed scared, but some of them showed the same kind of respectful fear to Zo'or.
Or maybe he was just imagining things. Maybe the constant heat he felt inside was growing and developating into a fever. Joy. He still felt himself changing. But it was smoother. The changes were smooth, like if everything was just... going well. Maybe these changes were also visible for a Taelon, when they were not for a Human. And somewhat sooner, he had felt like he had herd something. In his head. In his mind. A cry out. Someone, something, a mind, or... something... was calling out to him, was requesting his presence at his side. And this something, or someone, had awakened those urges that he had merely briefly felt when he had dreamed... The urges... that made him want the warmth of a body beside his own, that made him want to run his hands all over someone, that made him want... someone... badly.
And from where he now was. And especially from the rather exited state he felt himself reach, he knew who was this person he wanted the presence of so badly.
Of course, he knew inside, though something had blocked him from understanding the messages of his own mind, that Zo'or was the person he had ever sought for. The person he had ever sought for. The reason why, when he was kissing a girl, he felt that it was not right, that it was not the right thing to do, that someone else was there waiting for him to come. Waiting desperately. And Da'an had told him. Da'an had simply told him that Zo'or would eventually have to become his mate. And yet, Liam had refused to believe in the alien's words. It seemed that it could not be true. Zo'or was his enemy. Zo'or was not only his personal enemy but the dictator of the people that wished only to conquer and to perhaps later destroy the planet he had been born onto. Zo'or was a monster. Had ordered for hundreds, if not thousands, of person to be killed and/or tortured. Zo'or was the true representation of what was the worst of the Taelon race. And it was this being that Liam would have to
link his destiny to.
Though it did hold sense, the whole concept, this whole mess in itself held the most perfect of sense, it had a meaning, but not if you simply glanced at each of the facts separately. He had to look at it, back from the beginning. The very beginning of his days. Of course, he had since long suspected that there was something else under the shell than Zo'or the cruel and typically monsteresque Synod Leader. It had to be a facade. It just... had to be. Sometimes, he had caught glimpse of Zo'or, when the Taelon thought of himself as unobserved, gazing at the stars and at the Earth below the large bay window that occupied most of the bridge front wall. He was gazing at the stars almost softly at these moments, these few moments of peace he allowed himself to be taken in. Zo'or had often spoken to the stars. Liam had caught him doing this many times. He knew when Zo'or prefered to do this, he had learned to spy him. Zo'or questionned the stars. Asked for their help, for their
wiseness, for their extended knowledge, asked them what should he do. And then Sandoval arrived on the bridge, approached Zo'or, they spoke closely and softly during a few minutes during which both their masks seemed to fall. And then both regained the cold, heartless mask.
Liam the resistance fighter had wondered at this time about this on an only... professional point, keeping in mind that he had to know the reason of the Synod Leader's behavior because he was the leader of the nearly destroyed resistance movement. But now, it appeared to him. He should have seen it earlier, had he not been so blinded by his own stubborness. He should have seen what apparently Sandoval had caught a glimpse of, that Zo'or was incredibly alone and that he often projected an image of what he was not. Like everyone if you thought about it. But the only answer was that he had a people to rule and that he could permit himself to see neither fear, nor indecision nor any feelings, but power and the fact that he knew exactly what to do with it. That he was sure of himself, of what he was going to do.
At the time when all what counted in the young Liam's life was the fight for the survival of humanity and the departure of the Taelons from the planet, he had see it as a dangerous flaw in Zo'or's shell, and had talked about it often during resistance meetings. But Zo'or was just too guarded, when he moved from the fortress ofthe mothership, Sandoval was always at his side. And they valued the presence of this only one man as they would have for about thirty well trained, implanted volunteers.
But Zo'or was alone. And now Liam understood perfectly and completly how much he had wished in the past days to relieve him from this burden of solitude. To take this height off of his shoulders. It had probably all started with him realizing, how really was Zo'or under the mask, during this crash, when they had been left to themselves, or almost, lost in the woods. And then, maybe the very first of these inhibitions he now oftener and oftener felt had been this kiss they had shared. A kiss that he had thought first was nothing, but that then had revealed itself to be the end of his life as Liam Kincaid, former Companion Protector, ex-Leader of the resistance movement, first human-kimera hybrid and that wasmaybe the beginning of another life. Of something else than the life he had been through. If Da'an had spoken the truth, but he had had Park's word about that also.
He was changing. Liam Kincaid would soon end his existence. And whoever he was going to change into was going to take his place.
The only thing he could feel as he stepped in the chamber and noticed its relative smallness was his rapidly and probably dangerously increasing heartbeat. His breath was somehow feverish, short, seemed unappropriate into his own troath. He knew that normally his whole body would be damp with sweat as his bodily temperature had raised to a untypically human peak. But he was not. He simply felt... warm. Too warm. Exited as well. Though the warmth was not feverish as he had first had the idea it could be, though this same warmth was not really making him fell... hot. He simply felt warm, and felt good being warm. And the excitement was somewhat sexual, but somewhat not. He did not feel aroused, or `turned on'... But he felt the urges gathering into a whole mass of something he was very exited by.
The chamber was vaguely circular in shape. In its center was a hole. Not a hole. In fact it seemed that someone had just taken the half of a sphere andhad moulded the floor on it. A hollow in the floor. It was about three meters large and one meter deep, and covered with cushions and blankets. It seemed like the taelon version of a bed. Hovering over it was a, for the moment, inactivated energy stream, but it doubtlssly was what Zo'or used as a bed.
And is was then that his eyes lay on the being crumpled, curled on himself, on the cushions. Zo'or was visibly in a state much deeper than simple unconscienceness. The forms of his pathways were making little puzzles of light on the walls and ceiling. He looked... frail... he looked harmed, he did no longer look like the unbreakable Synod Leader that Liam had ever seen in him. Even when Zo'or had showed him a mere sample of what kind of loneliness he could feel sometimes, he had still seemed to be strong against this solitude. But... no longer. And though it made of Zo'or to Liam's mind a much more normal being... with flaws, with pains. It made the Taelon so much more desirable. Liam felt an overhelming desire to protect him... To be at his side.
He advanced toward Zo'or. He was not sure of what exactly he was going to do. And yet he stepped forward into the faint darkness that filled the room. A little detail, as if in these kind of situations your memory could recall only the most useless details, came to his mind then and not wishing to put on the delicate cuchions and blankets of the `bed' the dust he had on his shoes he took them off. And stepped in.
The hybrid sat down at the unconscious Taelon's side. As he had hoped, Zo'or's energy pathways suddenly flared up to life. He knew that the alien body was somehow responding to his physical closeness. It was not long before the two balls of pink light turned their attention toward him.
Liam had since long realized that Zo'or was naked, that he wore nothing even not this purple exo-skeleton jumpsuit. He was not forced to after all. The atmosphere in here was slightly different than what it was in the nearby corridors. Maybe it was more adapted to taelon physiology. But now, he had only eyes for the taelon body before him. The fine features were now starting to jerk, to move faintly... the vaguely pink-blueishly colored chest was moving up and down in this simulation of human breathing, for Liam doubted Taelon did need to breathe. Then Zo'or was now fully back to awareness. And for good.
The warmth was increasing again. He felt as if his blood were boiling in his veins...
When Zo'or came to back to conscienceness enough to notice that he was no longer alone, that there was a stranger in his private chamber, hejerked upright, sitting as best as he could in his state. Maybe Sandoval... "Major Kincaid..." came out a bare whisper as he distinguished quite difficultly the features of the young human, looking down at his still form, mere inches away from his body. He looked quite haggard, wild, feverish. And he was. And he felt like such. But he could not showhis flaw now... But... He had answered his call. How?... How could he have heard such a call?
The Major's eyes were scanning him, focusing on every thiniest part of his body. Everything that had yet to be covered. Zo'or perfectly how he had to look like to this Human's eyes. Weak. Weak and vulnerable. Weak and woundable. His human form was still not... on. It were his bare, naked pathways that Kincaid was observing so intently, with... lustfilled eyes.
And then Zo'or could no longer interrogate himself about his feelings... when other emotions suppressed the weak, tiny avowal of caring, of thanking for this lustfilled watching... Other emotions. Oh yes. When he saw IT. The visibly weak, newborn, still feeble energy matrix, but only growing, going down the center of Liam's chest, the smaller than smallest, almost invisible energy lines that were starting to go down into his limbs... travelling down his chest, showingthe reddish color of his internal organs... It was visible for a Taelon, but not for Humans as they did not possess the capacity to see these pathways, such energy matrix, even such weak ones.
It concentrated... down... on Liam's chest, where would his stomach have been located. But where it doubtlessly was no longer. Here the light came to such a powerful white color... that Zo'or found it difficult to believe that Humans did not remark this.
And the young... he could say `man' no longer, visibly... kept staring at him with these eyes, unaware or uncaring of the fact that he was in the young Synod Leader's chamber.
Not tearing his eyes off of Zo'or one second a strangely modulated voice came out of the seemingly Human's mouth. "We need to talk I think Zo'or."
Zo'or found himself unable to look away from Liam's younguish features for a time. Then when he finally saw the young one in front of him close his eyes with what seemed to be a painful whisper and when the growing white ball of light darkened somewhat, the Taelon could find the strenght to back... to step away from the Human, still staying in the hollow, below the floor state, but going at least one meter away from his nocturnal visitor. When he finally realized that for Liam it was extremely difficult to keep his eyes away from him, he covered himself with a cloth hanging over a chair in the vague disorder that his room had always borne the legend of... "Indeed, it would seem to be appropriate."
Now that Zo'or had seen what effect he could have on Liam and then had covered his newly attractive features, the young changing hybrid was much more comfortable. He waited for Zo'or to regain some calm, even if it did not mean much for the moment, both were exited by the only presence of each other. Both wanted each other. And - and this was what Zo'or was somewhat scared of - it was not only a consequence of the ka'atham cycle.
And so, sitting facing each other, they talked. They said everything that both had never been sure if they were good to reveal to someone. Liam talked first, he did not know why, but he did anyway.
He talked about what?... He talked about who he was. A Kimera human hybrid, the very first. Zo'or seemed to react lesser than what he had expected. He had felt the warmth again. The changing was advanced now, his destiny was decided. He was here in the Synod Leader's private quarters, just... talking. About who he was. About how he had suffered. About how he knew Zo'or had suffered.
At this the alien flinched. When the one who had revealed himself as a hybrid had told him in simple words that he knew of his sufferance for he was experiencing it himself. His sufferance... Nobody could know of what his sufferance was. Nobody could... Nobody never would be able to imagine what it was to be member of a species and yet to know that all of your fellows despised and feared you for what you were, for what actions you were able to do... Nobody could understand this. But the one who had lived, and was still living, through the same situation. Liam's life had been more or less destroyed. He smiled faintly inside as he heard himself thinking of the young quivering hybrid before him as... Liam. No longer as what he pretended to be.
Then came Zo'or's turn to talk. He talked less. Much less. Mostly because their control was slipping, because it was simply going away. Because their control over their impulses was fading... Liam had closed his eyes and yet Zo'or knew he listened attentively, the young hybrid listened as the Taelon told him about how he felt, only a few words... only a few sentence, not giving away some complete feelings, just... some little bits. But Liam knew that for Zo'or it was probably the biggest... he could ever tell someone else about himself...
A certain trust established itself. Things had grown deeper... Liam was breathing very slowly, was concentrating on keeping his breath steady... Was forcing the air into his lungs... Respiration was no longer an automatic doing of his body. He had to think, to focus on this simple thing... breathing. To stay alive... To not fall asleep.
They had stopped speaking. If they considered everything they had expected themselves to say, they had said very little. They had admitted very little to each other. Their attraction to each other was not to be admitted, or revealed of course. It was obvious. But yet they knew... that even with the ka'atham pressing them, obliging them... they felt that they had time, that everything would be revealed, would be known when would the need for it to be known to be... They had time.
The whole commonality knew about Liam. The whole taelon people knew about what he was. They had seen the growing, developating energy matrix as Zo'or had himself done earlier... when he was not so absorbed by its pathways... They had yet to acknowledge his presence. They had yet to accept him. But only the farthest had not heard the call of Zo'or for his mate. For Liam. For that Liam's weakly connected mind had unselfconsciouly responded. This is why he had not been stopped. This is why he had seen a glimpse of respect in the other Taelons' eyes. Probably because the Taelons were somewhat scared of what might happen to their leader. In case he joined his destiny to a Kimera. Even a hybrid was considered to be dangerous. But he had lived among them, he had been at their service since a long. And yet, he had not attempted to destroy them, or control them, or kill some of them, the responsibles for his father's death... They were known amongst the taelon kind, to be peaceful.
The Kimeras. And... most of them had not reacted upon this new, almost violent entrance inside their commonality.
All would be explained in time. Because now the Synod's members were still upset of Zo'or's dismissal. They had yet to vote for another leader to be chosen. If Zo'or did not come back in time. If. So many ifs. One could change the world with those, could he not?
At a certain point in time... Both were unsure, both their thoughts being quite disordered, mostly by the other's attractive presence in a relative nearbiness... It could have been hours. It could have been only the some minutes it had taken for Liam and Zo'or to exchange these fragile confessions.At a certain point in time, the urges came back... Liam had already prefered to take off the leather coat he had been wearing. The mark of the painful wound of his cheek was not healing but getting warmer. Like the rest of his body was. This time it was not this comfortable, correct warmth he had felt earlier. No, now his skin was covered everywhere with a thin layer of sweat. He had to resist the urge to take off his clothes.
And... though Zo'or had already been through this more than once, more at least than the first time Liam was now experiencing the ka'atham's fever. But everytime, it seemed to him that he was barely able to fight it off. He needed someone. Beside him. At his side. Touching him. Now. He had felt this before of course. But it was harder to fight.
Zo'or the being who claimed to be able to control every little thoughts that crossed his mind... the being who claimed to have a complete and perfect control over the least of his action... was now driven to the very edge, by someone no more than a mere hybrid. Even not a fellow Taelon... But worse. Or better. Or both... Ahhh... He could wait no longer. As ashaming as it was to admit it for him, he had to supress the ka'atham urges now...
Liam's feverish, trembing voice raised, almost timidly. The young hybrid had come closer. The energy matrix was even brighter than how it had been some times before. The Taelons raised his fingers through a shiver that ran down his spine. And touched them to Liam's now naked chest. His flesh was burning. And it was no longer flesh. It was energy, pure energy, the most beautiful energy Zo'or had ever been given the chance to see.
Would he allow this hybrid he had yet so much things to learn from know everything about him? Would he allow himself to be engulfed in the ka'atham's passion with someone who was the personnified enemy of his kind? Would he take the risk to lose everything he had fought for in his life... for Liam? And would he take the incredible chance that someone would be able to accept him, to accept everything he was made of? To accept every of his crimes? To accept... Zo'or? Could Liam be this someone he had never dared to dream of, in case his dreams would be discovered?... Could it be.
The feverish voice spoke. His fingers, now almost transluscent with energy vessels visible through the somewhat darker skin, were going to touch Zo'or's chest, slowly pulling the clothe he had hidden his form under away from the alien tortured body. "Please... let me see you. I do not want to harm you..."
The garment slipped down, revealing a shivering Zo'or, showing to Liam's devouring eyes his most intimate pathways, that many had wanted to touch and that were still left virgin. The hybrid knew what thoughts were whirling in the Taelon's head at this crucial moment. Now. For that he felt these same... quite disturbing thoughts. He was hesitating. But his will was overhelmed. The only battle he had ever done against himself, he lost.
His hands raised. His shakarava yelling its light and power through Liam's body and mind. His lips placed the softest of kiss of the alien's forehead, before going lower... not daring stop to these lips... going lower still...
When the young lips touched his most sensible pathways Zo'or sighed. At the moment, he briefly wondered if it would have been better to cry or to smile. He did both.
The very first sensation that came all over him when the faint tendrils of awareness started to touch his mind was that he was surrounded by something soft, something soft, like a blanket, on his skin, soft and comfortable. And that the air that touched his skin left bare and uncovered was slightly fresher than it should have normally been into his appartment. Maybe he had just forgotten to close up a window somewhere.
But as the very thought crept into his still slumbering mind, he recalled that he was no longer in his appartment, nor was he in his bed, nor was he on Earth any longer. He knew where he was of course. And curiously hewasnotdisturbed by it, but he knew how so very well of someone who would be. When Zo'or would awake to find someone he, at least he did until his opinion was changed by recent events, despised at his side, in the place where he used to rest, and with someone that he had obvisouly mated with.
Of a barely attentive hand, the young Kimera stroked the skin of his chest. He knew that it was a weak shell to cover what he had become under it. He knew that there were many pathways, energy pathways, travelling under his skin, making their ways silently through his neural system, through the veins, muscles and flesh. The few elements of himself that still were more or less humans would not last long, his newly gained kimera physiology would soon take all the place it could. He felt slightly different, but he felt that only now he was normal, that it was before that something had been missing. Now he felt somehow... complete. It was different, yet more than familiar, like if before he had been in someone else's body. Someone else's body he had gotten used to, but still something that he was not really comfortable with. Only now he felt... himself. He felt himself becoming what he really had to be. What his father had created him to be.
It certainly did feel different. The changes had occured mostly while he was asleep, but perhaps it was only better this way. At one time in the moment of rest he had taken immediately after his joining of essence with the young Taelon, he had awakened. And had felt strange. He had felt changed, suddenly. His hand had slid down his leg and he had choked briefly. He had nothing there. Nothing that a male would normally be equipped with. Nothing anymore. Then the few seconds of total panic, that he had to be dreaming, to be dreaming that all of this was happening, had passed... And he had understand that everything had to be completly inside now.
During the few times he had awakened, Zo'or had always been asleep, or resting, or unconscious... But Liam was not really sure. And truly did not prefer to be sure about it. Maybe he had killed the Taelon for all he knew, not that he had never wished he could do that, but that he certainly would never wish to after what had occured. And the new being formed of Liam's human ashes had taken advantage of the moment of calm before the storm to think.
Oh and for think he had thought a lot. Maybe too much. He had practiced also. Practiced to get his new `human facade' in and out. And in and out. And in and out. He had always thought that for Taelons, it was easy. But he had underestimated it obviously. His first tries had not been so successful. But after a while he had finally managed to focus on the tiny bit of concentration he needed to clench to appear as Humans would like him to appear. As he would need to appear to them. Because he had no choice anymore, had he? He had seen what would Humans do to him. The inter species relations, as the Taelons loved to call these, were quite down at this moment. Of course a brief wave of pity had washed over the world as they had learned that Zo'or had crashed in the wilderness with his human pilot and nearly died from it. But for now, with the dissolution of the Synod, the so said relations were hard to maintain to a civilized and diplomatic level.
But this was not his business for now. For now he had to take care of someone. Maybe soon of two persons. Zo'or was his mate, he had not chosen him, but a rejection would not have been possible anyway. And he knew that now... now that Zo'or had been forced to put a certain trust into someone that if this someone suddenly withdraw, that it would have... unforeseen consequences, most likely not of the positive side.
Liam remembered very little of their union, but he could recall only one single thing... about Zo'or anyway. Even in the deepest moments, when two beings were supposed to open all doors of their minds, to reveal to each others their dearest secrets, Zo'or had remained closed. The Kimera had not insisted. There would be other joinings. The ka'atham may be achieved for Zo'or, but for Liam it would last still for days, especially with the background of his changing, new kimera physiology. Zo'or would have to open himself. To let Liam see what he wanted no one to know of. It was evident that the young Synod Leader had suffered, maybe he had suffered more than a being could stand so, maybe some day, his mind had simply lost the battle and then he had started to return to his very beginning. To his instincts almost. It was the best Liam could think of. Sometimes Zo'or could appear cruel, soulless, only ready to do everything in order to gain the most power he could, and only for
himself, in a selfish, very un-taelon way.
It was simply a side of his personality. But the problem was that the other sidewas buried so profoundly, too deeply for it to allow its owner to find his true self again. And then Liam had felt an immense shadow creeping over Zo'or's young, tortured mind. Like a ravenous bird folding its wings on itself, to protect itself. And then he had seen nothing else. But the fury of the ka'atham had taken the most of his memory then and he only reminded a blissful sensation. Probably the merging of their bodies together... the final moment when both the ka'atham ritual had been carried out and when the multiple changes Liam had been affected by had known their end. It was at this moment that he had vaguely heard a sob, through the fog of his own bliss.
This was why he was somewhat... afraid for Zo'or. This had been new for the young Taelon as much as it had been for himself. He did not love Zo'or. He did not trust him either. He could never do that. Not before Zo'or would trust him back and at least accept to share with him the smallest part of his mind. But he did care. He did care, in a protective way. He felt ready to give his life to safe Zo'or's. And yet he knew that this Taelon, inside, wanted to enslave humanity, did not believe in them as Da'an did. And Humanity did not own to be done this.
He hoped he could make Zo'or understand. It was sure that after his joining with him, the Synod Leader would be... more receptive to such ideas and concepts that he had despised before. Liam had showed him this. To believe. To trust someone. To trust... This simple concept seemed alien to the Taelon's comprehension. It was strange. As if never in his whole life had Zo'or accepted to trust someone. And one could not live without trust.
The now almost mature Kimera turned on himself and looked down at the place where Zo'or had fallen unconscious after their joining, and where he lay still, motionlessly. Liam took a thin blanket and wrapped it around Zo'or's shivering form. The Taelon's body reacted to his other's presence and stirred, making Zo'or moan and tense in his rest.
The hollow in the floor itself indeed seemed to be the taelon version of a bed. They used to take their rest in this. And yet Liam had never seen this in Da'an's own quarters. Maybe this was particular to Zo'or's quarters and taste, maybe this one had mixed more than one culture, from different species and had built this peaceful, resting place inside his chambers. To rest. Maybe to make peace with himself. The few blankets and sheets were made of taelon or other alien material, but some were definitively made of a terran material Liam could easily identify - silk. The whole made something closer to a nest than a bed, but was one of the most comfortable place Liam had ever slep into.
Gently, his fingertips reached Zo'or's cheek and touched it only lightly enough to create this faint energy current to open between them. A grin decorated his energy traced lips, as Zo'or leaned into the touch. Unconscioufly. He was probably having pleasant dreams. For at least once in his life he would have known what it was to have pleasant dreams and Liam could not help himself but feel quietly proud at the thought that he was the one that had generated these pleasant thoughts, even unconscious ones.
With a final brush of his lips against his mate's forehead, Liam wrapped a blanket around his lower torso, noticing that his form was slightly trembling now, now that he started to move, now that his newly energy-strenghtened muscles had to activate themselves. He raised and walked to the spot in the floor where his clothes had been thrown off to. His global was in his left jeans pocket, he recalled putting it there himself, after leaving the embassy, the eyes of a worried Da'an glued to his back.
He knew of someone else who had to have difficulties to trust now. He had to talk to her, at least to explain her. Because if the resistance gained the authority Renée had ever wanted it to have, since the very first days she had gotten involved into the movement, then it would maybe be Humanity's last mistake, that only some of them would make and that every of them would pay for. The Taelons were tired of fighting. The Humans were as well.
Tensed fingers dialed Palmer's personal number. Liam had barely the time to think about how he was going to explain the situation to her, finally concluded not to tell her everything (!) before her golden-haired face appeared on the screen. A, somewhat surprised, somewhat cold, "Ah... It's you," was the only greeting he received from her part. Not too surprising anyway. As he had seen her quite often in the past, he was able to notice this faint flicker of astonishment that lightened the cold green glare she was darting him with.
He smirked as she turned to order her team to trace the signal that arrived into her global. She really had owned that post. If the violence had been the way to work that edging conflict out, she might have been Humanity's savior. But unfortunately violence was never the way to gain peace. Violence brought only violence, it was known. If things continued like they had just started, then it would only be a question of who would shoot at whom first.
"So... What are you calling us for? If you think of apologizing I'd just tell you that it's somewhat late for that Kincaid," she said, looking briefly over the screen, doubtlessly checking on her technicians that just told her he was out of reach of their scanner on Earth, what meant that logically he was on the mothership.
A hint of frustration grew up in him. Obvisouly, she had not bothered to remark his faintly glowing skin. But it was maybe at best that she did not for the time. "Apologizing? What for? Being what I am?" She opened her mouth and he had to restrain his own words. "You knew what I was Renée, you knew what you accuse me of being capable of. You knew all of that. I haven't allied with the Taelons you know? I'm just trying to save myself..." He hesitated, feeling his alien temper overhelming the power of his typically human one, or at least what was left of it. "But this ain't what I've called you for Renée."
She smiled charmingly, showing her whiter than white teeth. "So what? To take the news about how are we doing when we have to re-organize the whole web of the Resistance?" Oh... he could easily tell she would be dealing fine with that. She was one of the very first to get into the Resistance. One of the first that had decided that the Taelons were enemies even before they had stepped on Earth, one of the first that had declared the war to this alien species before knowing the smallest thing about them and what they had in plan for Earth. But they had been right after all? Had they? He knew now. Now that he felt different. Now that he was able to consider this conflict from both point of views. Now that when he thought about the past, about all these assassination attempts the Resistance had organized and when they had lost members, but when hundreds of dead among the Taelons had been made. He felt their loss as much as the human ones. As much as he had felt the passing of
some of his friends. And he could understand now. It had been a shock, to understand that he was not exactly wrong, but that things were certainly different. He could understand now that the Taelons were not lik Humans, that all that the Humans had and were still accusing them of were from a human point of view. For the Taelons, everything could be sacrified for their survival as a race, for the survival of their empire, the death of thousands, millions of human beings of course being included in `everything'. It was a different phylosophy. Though not better than anything else. But what had made the difference in Liam's mind was that the Taelons had never had had the idea to enslave Humanity, the events had precipitated sometimes and convinced them bit by bit that that was exactly what these aliens were planning for them. No one was guilty. Or both were. This war had to know its end.
"Renée, I just want you to listen to what I'll tell you and to consider it before commiting mistakes." He did not bother to wait for her answer. It was not a question anyway. "Please Renée, the Taelons don't own to be slaughtered until there is no one left. They... I've thought a lot lately. And a lot has changed... And we're both tired of this war Renée. The Taelons are fighting since millenias against the Jaridians. Many of them just want it to end even if it means for them to disapear as a people. And I don't think you want mankind to fight against the Taelons in a war. Well, nor do I. And... this is just my proposal to... for open dialogue."
"Always have been a peacemaker haven't you Liam?" Briefly, the shadow of a sad grin swept over her features. "It's a beautiful dream indeed. But how can you know that the Taelons will accept to openly discuss with us. And how can you know that, if we can imagine that we come to a treaty of peace, that they again won't be hiding anything from us? Liam are you being naive or stupid?" The reflection of what her words spoke passe don her face. "The Taelons are an evolved race. They enslaved and used other people to get where they are and they will continue to do so until somebody is going to fight against them."
Liam felt his eyes waver briefly toward the spot where lay the person that less than a week before he considered like one of his mortal enemies. If this was not an ironical twist of fate, then what was it? "I thought that you more than anyone else would be willing to listen Renée. Aren't you tired of fighting? You've already lost seven years of your life fighting against them. Violence will only bring more violence, you know that, I know you do." A pause, during which he studied her wandering eyes looking lost over something out of the screen. "I'm not asking you to understand. I'm not asking you to agree. Nor am I trying to convince you. I'm asking you to think about it Renée. I've... I've seen things recently that I can't ignore anymore. I've seen things that I can't deny. If you reflect about it, call me back." At the other end, the global was snapped shut, but not before he had caught this brief glimmer in her eyes she had only when she was thinking seriously about
something. Knowing her, the best of his hopes would be that she would accept to keep the Resistance as a low-force movement, at least to not attack the Taelons meaninglessly.
An alliance was not the best of choice now. For each single day of war, there was a whole year to make peace and repair the mistakes. He knew that the Synod would soon react to his presence at Zo'or's side. Of course any member of the taelon species had the right, but if he's given one by the Synod itself, to choose a mate from a considered low-evolved species compared to them. As soon as it was not endangering the survival of the Taelons. This would not be so hard, as many Taelons had already witnessed that he had come aboard the mothership without showing any sign of agressivity toward one Taelon, that he had obviously been one Earth since long and still had not attempted anything against them and especially that he had mated, though not so willingly, with their Synod Leader and that he had not killed him in the move, what Liam knew himself able to do. Of course, T'than would probably use it against both him and Zo'or's capacity to command. But his words would not be hard
to contest once more. Or so Liam hoped. He would have to fight for his cause.
As he was deeply plunged into tormenting thoughts about his future, and also about Zo'or's who he would protect against his own race if needed (an after effect of the ka'atham probably, but he would not let anything happen to his newly found taelon mate even if things had gone smoothier), the door shimmered and then faded away to take its shape again after the visitor's entrance.
Wordlessly, Da'an advanced toward him, glancing down at his child unconscious form, though seemingly not truly worried about it. Liam closed his eyes as the still cool alien hand brushed against his chest, ordering the human facade to fade away, revealing the flaring energy pathways inside. The Taelon's movements stopped as he watched for a few seconds the spiraling greenishly colored energy whirling inside of what had been his protector's ribs cage. After a moment, the Companion spoke. "Though that your energy is out of our normals, its levels are stables. And what I consider to be out of normals for a Taelon should be appliable to a correct state of health for you." Liam nodded, not too sure of what to say, not too sure of how to say it, not too sure if he was going to say it anyway... He had to tell Da'an that he had understand, but the words were jammed into his troath. His taelon mentor cut his indecision once more. "It was my hope that, following this final step of
your evolution, you would be able to comprehend my reasonning," said the Taelon, quietly, a white hand raising to touch his shoulder then, probably recalling that Liam was angry at him, lowering back down. Then even more quietly than in first, words were spoken again. "As it is my hope that my race could one day understand how I view Humanity, and how I myself hope to comprehend your kind... somehow."
Liam could well justify his own actions with himself, the feeling of immense guilt just would not go away. And would probably never do. Unless, or until, he told Da'an what he had understand and especially that he was now able to forgive him for his actions. But it would not be today. And Da'an seemed to be awaiting for something even worse than this. The Taelon had lost every trust he had placed in him. As had he, reminded him this sarcastically speaking voice in his head.
"Hum... Da'an... Well, this is my first time... erh... doing this... you know... So is it normal that... well that..."
"Zo'or will remain unconscious for a certain period of time I believe. His state his stable and his mind, though distant, is still linked to our collective. But you must know Liam that when he will regain his senses, his reaction to you, your presence and what you have done... might be fear," said the Taelon, walking around in the close space, stopping in front of the window. In only response, Liam could only fix the floor. Every of the few... funny or sarcastic comments he would have made earlier, despite the American Companion visible concern about the situation, were stuck into his troath once more.
A tensed dialogue was open between the two. His ex-mentor reassured him, that he had spoken with Doctor Park, that he had done his best in explaining her what had taken place, that, though not trustful, she had accepted to return at her abode to take a well-needed rest.
Of course, they had shared their reflections about what was to happen, that Liam could not be left alone by the Synod. Both were as much optimistic, and Da'an had also promised that in case of necessity he would intercede in his favor. They had carefully avoided talking about the Resistance as most of their conversation on the subjects had ended in heated arguments.
And together, as their words extinguished by themselves, they sat in silence, more being said this way than with words. They awaited for Zo'or's awakening, as Da'an believed his reaction would be tempered by his parent's presence.
Two long, complete hours had been counted down already. And Zo'or still had to awake. However, they knew that the moment was coming closer by the minute, as in the past hour the young Taelon had moved toward a more conscious state. Da'an spoke up. "My presence is requested by the Synod. Your actions shall be judged," the Companion excused himself, gracefully rising from the seat which he had occupied since the past hours.
Liam lifted his head and fixed intent eyes on Da'an. "Am I asked too?"
"Not for the time. But be prepared to. You, for now, need to stay at your mate's side whatever can happen. You are conscious of such a fact?" demanded the Taelon, hovering over Liam's newly glowing figure, not menacingly, but not totally friendly either.
The young Kimera nodded and closed himself back into his human looking shell that carefully hid his newborn pathways. "I'll stay with him no matter what," he reassured the Taelon, seeing that Da'an prefered to have a verbal confirmation.
With that Da'an bowed his head slightly and turned to leave for his Synod meeting. Liam smiled ironicallyat the thought that both his, Zo'or and their possible offspring's lives would be delt with by the members of the Synod, amongst them many who had never dreamed of any better occasion to see Zo'or gone from leadership. The young one could only hope that Da'an would today prove that he was the best taelon diplomat of all. Zo'or needed protection. And Liam would protect him. But protect a leaderfrom his own people would prove to be very difficult. And now that his metabolism was fully engaged in the reproduction ritual, Liam did not have any control on his shakarava. And then could not defend Zo'or anymore than he could have, being partially human.
He glanced down at his mate. Things were much more complicated than he had ever thought them to be. He had not chosen Zo'or. But his instincts were now categorical and he would never let the Taelon be harmed. Yes, Zo'or was a dictator. Yes, he was dangerous. But also many Humans considered him as a mortal danger for the planet Earth, as Liam wanted only to do what he judged was best for Humanity.
Lost in his musings, wondering how things were going to become down on Earth, the faint shiver that shook Zo'or escaped to his attentive eyes.
Zo'or was conscious since quite a time already. Simply his senses had not found there way back to their correct places and then he could not perceive things in his immediate surroundings. But he had been thinking for hours. Motionless, he had watched his parent leave, worried. And worried, he was himself now.
Worried for his own future. No. No, this was only in second. He was for the very first time, worried for one another before being worried about himself. Which feeling were alien to him, and made him feel alien to himself inside. He was worried as to what would happen to this recently discovered young Kimera mate. The feeling was strange, and at first he had mistaken it for fear. He had first been astonished to see how someone could care so deeply for one another. When then Liam had lowered the blanket that covered the most private and most sensible energy pathways of a taelon body, he had felt immensely... relieved. Shuddering in pleasure to be touched so lovingly by someone. It was not only the act to be in itself fulfilled, it was how Liam had looked at him with his eyes filled with such a feeling of the most total adoration, it was how he had himself cupped the young alien's cheeks with his hands as both were on the very edge of carrying out their duty to their people, it
was how he had finally felt... complete, for the first and only time of his life when the joining of another mind to his own had left him breathless and frozen his gestures in time... It was all of these strange feelings Zo'or had never ever experienced before. All of these.
All of these emotions he had never known, and always thought that such would be forbidden to him. Since his youngest days, a certainty had been in his mind, that he would never know such a companionship. That he would never know this wonder, that never he would know what it is to be loved... and to cherish this feeling. He could not tell why he thoughtin such fashion. But certainly enough, he did. And had based his life on this.
His ambitions had grown then. When he had understood that any emotional display would be the worst weakness to afford, that to link his destiny to someone else's would prove to be a mortal danger and... that... love would be the most dangerous enemy. So to prevent himself of risking all of his difficultly gained accomplishments he had built his shell, the walls that surrounded him in mind more than in body, why he had cut himself frim any emotion to ever experience. He had allowed his own power to grow, increasingly bigger with every days passing, until it would destroy him from inside... In some ways, maybe a part of his mind wanted to put an end to this living agony that had become his existence, and that this was the only way his twisted mind had been able to find... To save his species. Or to die trying. And ultimately, he would have died, because more and more he tried, more and more he had realized that it was futile.
Then, he had started to reflect, when he was alone with himself. Perhaps that it was better if everything faded away, if everything stopped, perhaps that their kind had known the end of its realm. Maybe it WAS the end. And maybe nobody could not do anything to stop it. But to die for it. Why try to slow a process that was already started in the mechanics of the universe since its very creation? They would die a day. Nobody could ever stop this. And he, foolish and young as he was at this time, had believed that, where no one had been able to, he, Zo'or, would triumph against fate itself.
And he had been wrong. Only now he realized it. He had matured. Because now he recalled the way he thought only days ago and found it to be foolish and useless. He had changed. He had been showed what was supposed to happen. Only the shortest of glimpse had been sufficient for him to understand. Understand that fate was the only one to have the last word in this, that if it had planned for the Taelons to die after a long decay, then they would... ultimately.
But this were the dark moments he had known. Later, Liam had come and had brightened his mind. Had showed him, to see through the eyes of all these beings, all these billions of billions of beings, members of thousands of different species that the Kimera had known through ages and space.
He shut his eyes and wished that he could regain the comfort of ignorance.
"Everyone can make mistakes. It is not because you are who you are that you have no right to be wrong Zo'or," spoke then a soft voice. A soft voice that Zo'or now knew as well, if not even better, as his own.
Parting his eyelids, he saw his young mate hovering over him from his knelt form inches away from his side. The human facade was hiding the pathways that Zo'or had seen in full ecstasy hours before. Only the eyes remained the same grey-greenish color. His eyes closed again, when he was reassured upon Liam's protective presence at his side. "As the leader of my kind, I am not allowed to be wrong. I was foolish-..." A finger covered his lips, preventing him from speaking further.
Green eyes locked with his blue ones. "You were acting as you believed it to be the most correct. No one can blame you for doing this. You commited mistakes, yes. But they are not dangerous ones. We will be able to repair what you have done Zo'or," his mate gently comforted. Strangely, Zo'or felt a certain warmth emanating from him, warming him in the process. If Liam appeared to be acting protectively toward him, it was perhaps the same for Zo'or. "I understand you must have seen many things during our joining... Don't be too hard on yourself Zo'or. Let you some time. Let us some time. We have more important questions than these ones to work out right now."
To oppose him would be vain. The, in title only, Synod Leader knew he was speaking the truth. More important things than his own selfish situation indeed.
The Taelon found himself looking at the greenish eyes. Liam had come closer during the time he was talking. The ka'atham was not achieved. It would take days to spill out the remaining of their energy, if not weeks. Plenty of time to know each other a lot better. Plenty of time to warm up things.
For once since so long time, he had thought the very concept to be lost in his mazed mind, Zo'or acted not thinking of the taelon race first, nor thinking of his own ambition first, but thinking only of himself... and of his mate. It all started again by a kiss.
The North American Companion found the council reunited in the usual chamber, sealed away from the rest of the ship, where they used to hold their most secret meetings. Especially ones during which they were discussing of something concerning the taelon race and not another people, or even when they were discussing the future of one of their very members. As Da'an knew would be the case now.
Zo'or was not profoundly wrong, as pretended T'than, the rage he had inhibited in many of them had not reached his very core yet. The young Leader had merely commited a mistake. Another mistake resulting of many other mistakes. Should have the Synod members ever allowed Zo'or to climb to the position from which he could rule every Taelons? Should have he himself, Da'an, have ever allowed his child to become what he was?
Da'an did feel responsible for what Zo'or had become. He had not educated him the proper way, he had not taught him in the right way about this life, he had not been able to prevent evil from crushing his child in its deathly grip... But now... Da'an felt relieved. Da'an felt that, by helping Liam, by permitting to him and to his child to be joined to one another, he had fulfilled partially his parent's duty by finally giving his child what was best for him. He had known since long of Zo'or's loneliness. And had been desolated. But now... Both Liam, who for a time he had considered as his adoptive child, and his offspring had found someone. THE someone. THE only person that really mattered. Or at least Da'an did hope that things would turn out to be so. After the recent events, Liam badly needed someone whom he could trust completly and Zo'or had ever searched and waited for this person to enter his life.
Now, maybe their quests had been achieved. Maybe responses had been given to the aching souls.
But for the moments, calm words had to be said to cool the temper of the Synod members. They would want an answer. And as Zo'or was his child. And as the man once known as Liam Kincaid was his protector. And that they had gone together through the ka'atham's torment... Were facts that could not be ignored. And they would want answers to come from his mouth. He would be prepared to be accused as well as Liam and Zo'or would be. Zo'or and he were endagered to be ordered to will themselves into the Void for treachery against the Commonality that since long rejected and banished the Kimeras' presence. And Liam... could be locked up in a lab for the rest of his life, studied, observed by scientists seeking to discover how could such a hybridization could have taken place. Or not a life at all. Or he knew the young kimera would answer so and then ask to be killed. And, despite the arguments that now often made them stand on separate sides, he still held the young one that had been
his protegee since the very first day in dear esteem.
They were all seated. Da'an forced himself to stare from half-closed eyelids down atth floor meters before him, in a position that revealed that he was not intimidated, nor was he submissive, though he did not wish to begin an argument, even not spoken out loud, with any of the members present. An attitude he had worked hard on developing throughout the years and especially following the need of his career and duties growing in importance.
As Da'an made it obvious that he wished to remain silent for the moment and T'than being, after the North American Companion, the highest ranked members present, this one rose from his seat, staring down at the audience, standing up on the dais. "As you have all felt, a new presence have reached our Commonality. An enemy has left the shadows it had been hiding itself into-..."
Da'an had once been a diplomatic ally to T'than, had once accepted to share his agenda with him, as both their scheme led the same way: doing the best of the taelon race (what they both believed at this time to be Zo'or's removal from his Synod Leader's post). But he was no longer. "How can you allow us to judge T'than, if already you declared the intruder to be guilty. You know yourself better than anyone here-..." of one gracious gesture of the left hand he circled the room "-... that the Kimeras have always had peaceful intentions toward other species, even one that they considered to be inferior. Then I must say that I do not think this incomer is an enemy. Or would he not have manifested himself in an agressive way? On the contrary, he fought at our side and never ever showed any agressivity toward our species." Whispers of approval for Da'an's words filled the room and T'than, always keeping his composure, did not show any reaction but to stare at the only Judge that
had been allowed to participate, obviously asking mentally for his advice.
"Temper and measure your words War Minister. Accusations have yet to be made. Same to you Da'an. You seem defensive my friend," came Ho'shin's as usual cool-spoken, calm reply.
T'than's human facade displayed this curve of the lips, this triumphant smirk that held a vague ressemblance with an animal discovering its prey's weaknesses. And this time adressing Da'an in particular more than the gathering itself: "But Da'an you seem to be quite aware of this potential threat. Enough to speak in its defense." T'than waiting for the dart to get to his objective in its full meaning. Of course, the Companion had been prepared for this, not that he had thought it would come out so quickly. Though it would have not if he had simply chosen not to speak on Liam's behalf at T'than's first sentence.
Jsa'her spoke. He rarely did. Da'an knew him to be a rather timid member of the scientific caste and mirroring what was his duty to the Synod, he spoke only the facts, leaving the judgement and battles of words and opinions to the diplomats. And though he did speak out rarely to the Synod, his opinion was valued in certain occasions. "What you refer to as `it' T'than seems to have adopted the form of a human male, which was known as Da'an's formed protector-..." At this statement, many stares turned toward him; many members of the Synod being established on relatively far situated of their planets and then they were unaware of this relationship, at least a very professional one, which could be very tight at the same time, that was held between Da'an and the principal incriminated. "...- named Liam Kincaid. For which reasons I believe we should identify `it' as male. And also wonder why a Kimera as Ha'gel would have chosen a human form for his offspring but if he valued this
species and held it in great opinion, possibly meaning for it to have a part to play in our joined destiny." Da'an inwardly directed a feeling of thankfulness for his clear evaluation of the situation toward Jsa'her. Who returned a comment implying the use of a mere logical reflection.
Da'an was somewhat surprised though. He knew not of the opinions of those who spoke rarely such as Jsa'her. And was astonished that they did consider the possibility of the human race BEING important. Perhaps was it due to Zo'or's marked absence. Even T'than could not rule in the way Zo'or had previously done, holding the Synod in a tight, iron grasp, threatening everyone who did not agree with his own judgement. But even this had not been enough to silence such thoughts and Da'an suddenly felt the hope of a better future for humanity.
T'than had seated back into the armchair he occupied. If he did feel frustration at Jsa'her comments and especially at many members' agreements with his words, he showed nothing of it. He was a master at masking himself. Like Zo'or was. "Very well Jsa'her. But you do not seem to have considered the fact that Ha'gel might as well have chosen to mate with a Human in order to create a child that would support the Humans and lead them against us." He waited for his words to make their effects, which they did. Jsa'her seemed to attempt to say something, but kept silent still. Ho'shin nodded to T'than who continued to talk, while the Commonality's thoughts were somewhat perturbed by the possibility of this human rebellion led against the Taelons by a Kimera, who was a powerful enough ally. Not counting the many informations he could give humanity about what the Taelons had done to so many species before them. "We should ceize him while he still is accessible to us, on our own
ship. It was a foolish action from his part and we should take this occasion to our advantage." Many nods were responses. T'than, speaking in softer tones now, turned to fix a heavy stare on Da'an. "But I believe that Da'an had a point to make had you not my friend?"
Da'an rose from his seat, his body language betrayed the faint nervousness that he felt the pressure of. "What informations I will reveal you... I have kept secrets of... because I judged it to be in the best interest of the Commonality and of our survival, though some of you might not agree with my decisions, I would make the same again would I have the chance." He closed his eyes briefly before beginning, inwardly satisfied at the deep interest he had awoken in some of his listeners. "The, in appearance, young human male named Liam Kincaid that serves at my side as my protector is, as many of you have understood already, the son of the last Kimera, Ha'gel. I know him since the day of his birth and intentionnally hid this information form the Synod, which action is considered as treachery." He ignored the silent pleas from Hos'shin to measure his words. "I did this because I recognized in him the spirit of Ha'gel and more important the philosophy of the Kimeras. They were
peacemakers, archivers of history, philosophers, they tried to comprehend everything they met on their way through this universe and had seen more than everyone could state of. Li'am has never wished to take his revenge upon our race for what we have done in the past. Though he does seek to protect Humanity, he has no intentions, and this I can certify of, to harm our species, revenge or liberation. And I do believe that also his arrival within our Commonality can do only good to us." Da'an gestured toward the groups of the reglementary three members of the scientific caste seating at the Synod. "I am sure that already our scientists have seen the opportunity that this is for our studies in hybridization. Because Ha'gel managed to do in one day what we have not succeeded to make since we came to Earth with these very intentions. And the Kimeras' physiology being close to our own, this might be the unhoped salvation we were expecting." Da'an ended his speech and blushing
found his place back into his armchair.
Murmurs filled the Commonality, murmurs of doubt. Da'an WAS esteemed amongst the Synod, but his affective attitude toward mankind had made his words to be doubted often. Lu'eth, only present member of the Le'hoy, the specific caste attributed to the healers, a title also given to their practice of science that was almost a cult (which concentrated more on the mind than on the body, though this kind of healing was rarely practiced in these days of darkness; it was also the origins of many of the taelons techniques of meditation), chose this moment to speak. At Mit'gai had qualified the Synod to be something irrevelant, due to the diplomatic caste's undeniable influence in its meeting, he had prefered to send one of his colleague as representative. "It is true that such interesting discoveries could be made concerning his physiology, but can you give us testimony that his state of mind is stable? He has been away from his kind, he has been raised by his very enemies, and then
many of his memories could be lost to us."
Da'an was ready to answer this question. He replied as memories of he and Liam were sitting together, at the time the young man still accepted to receive his teaching. "I have done my best to teach him the philosophy of his people which I know many things about. But until now his kimera side seemed to have grown unseen, seemed to have let the place to the human one. Which made that he was mostly educated by his human friends. But he used wisely the memories of Ha'gel and of his two human parents." Not too many surprises were created by the statement as it was commonly known that the Kimeras prefered to use three genetical donators instead of two for the human, jaridian and taelon species. "But, if this council's decision is to allow him to live, then I would suggest to permit him the entry to our central database, so he may learn what he wishes to. With the alternative help of a Le'hoy, he might develop the full potential he holds."
But Lu'eth was apparently not done yet. "As we all know, Da'an you have been the only one to speak in the Kimeras' defense when they were judged for the crimes they committed against our species." Da'an felt in himself grow a sparkle of anger at the bitter souvenir brought back by the healer's comments. This last genocide that the taelon race had committed had been for him one of the most important moments of his personal develpoment. He had matured during wars. And had realized many things that had moulded him to be like he was today, and what had made him being different than Bel'lie's words. "This fact established, I merely wish to inquire from you a honest answer. How do you consider this hybrid? You have refered to him as Li'am and then you must at least care for him."
The American Companion knew how so well what did the question imply. From this moment HE was the judged one by the Synod. They were asking if he had sympathies, if he had already taken his decision concerning this case... "I... do care for this hybrid as I have received affection from him. And I have taken care of him as I would have done my own child."
He had spoken the truth. Manipulations at this time would have been way too obvious. Lu'eth directed mental tendrils toward him to ensure him of his compassion, which was usual between any members of the Commonality, while Da'an returned a mere feeling of accomplishment. The Le'hoy member and T'than who had both listened very attentively, directed their eyes at Ho'shin, who simply nodded, looking at Da'an. "It is my duty to ask you Da'an to remove yourself from this council as your opinions is influcned by exteriors elements than what was said in this very gathering. We have decided that we had enough informations to judge by ourselves. And will now discuss of a more sensible subject, which is why I must ask you to leave."
They were going to play with the life of his child. Da'an could not oppose this decision and then rose from his seat and gracefully made his way toward the exit. He could feel the familiar humming beginning between the Synod members' minds as they were communicating their opinions. He could not join them and would not attempt to unnoticed. The decision would come quickly enough. He stopped in the shaded corridor, let go of his human facade so that members of the human crew could not notice his nervousness and positioned himself for waiting.
The leaving members of the Synod found Da'an knelt on the ground when the emptied the room which had previously held their meeting. The old diplomat seemed calm, but nervousness was lashing his interior. Many members were not friends of his, they ignored him as they passed by. Ho'shin stopped finally. T'than had yet to exit. Da'an felt their presence before hearing their words or even before opening his eyes to look at them.
Ho'shin seemed to wait for T'than to appear and then lightly touched his fingertips to his friend's shoulder, who lifted his head and looked up at them. They waited for the corridor to empty itself and then Ho'shin knelt down at his side, while T'than prefered to back off and found his place near the virtual bay window, standing.
"Please communicate the results," simply asked Da'an.
A long pause went by before Ho'shin finally found the time accurate to speak. "We voted for the hybrid to be kept alive." Da'an would have sighed in relief would have he been Human. But many things could be added to this, such as conditions in which Liam would be kept alive.
One of the most surprising statement Da'an had ever heard from the War Minister's mouth was released into the seemingly heavy air. "At unanimity." A pause, and he turned slowly toward Da'an, still seated on the ground, his human barely visible covering his energy pathways. "Comprehend Da'an that I am not and shall not ever be underestimating the power and the danger of what this hybrid represents for our commonality. It is, however, his... alliance with Zo'or that interested me the most."
"I fear I do not understand your judgement in this fashion T'than," said the diplomat quite uneasily.
A smirk, then it was from Ho'shin's mouth that came the answer. "Many of us believed in your quite... convincing speech Da'an. But obviously your decision was influenced by your... typically parental affection for both of the concerned. Not much of us feel this way anymore. And we understood your opinion. Which is why all accusations that we accused you of were retired. It was also decided..." A brief glance at T'Than, who had turned his back at the two knelt Taelons again. "... that your former protector was to remain in his position in our hierarchy. He is not to show aggressivity toward members of our species, or to any other being, or to any of our installations, or the ones of our human partners. If he disobeys to this, he shall be killed on the very moment his treachery will be discovered. Rather than the... faked identity he lived with on the planet below, he shall be membered officially of our... commonality and his records will be put in our archives. He will also
undergo examination as his physical state might not have reached its full potential yet, as he has grown on Earth and because he has recently been through the hard ka'atham. But no more. We will, of course insist that he shares his memories with us so that we may know what is ahead of us. If I am not wrong he would willingly... help us?"
Da'an slowly nodded, still amazed by what he had heard. He had never wished for it to end so well. But Liam had yet to agree with this. If the choice was left to him... But the arrangment was quite... loose. Li'am would appreciate. Da'an had sensed his desire to help the taelon race one complete year ago, many times. "I think that... he would like to keep his identity... secret, at least for his human... friends. And for a time. Will this be possible?"
Ho'shin smiled softly. "Understand Da'an that we will need many days if not weeks of reflection to decide of all the details. And also of the hybrid's participation in this. Which will not be possible until the ka'atham is over."
"I thank you Ho'shin. You have been helpful my friend. And you must have duties to carry out." The judge slowly bowed his head, sending to Da'an his thanks in return and that he understood his desire to be alone with T'than to discuss the matter in a better way. He left.
"You must have you reasons T'than. You always do. Am I wrong?"
"You are not Da'an." The War Minister turned toward his diplomat colleague. "Your child require... guidance. A Kimera and the possibility of opening our leader to the interstellar and eternal knowledge of their race is quite the best opportunity for our kind."
Da'an's slender features showed his astonishment. "Would you plan to agree with our Synod Leader's leadership T'than? This would be most surprising from your part." A slight smile now decorated the Taelon's lips.
"You have to admit Da'an, that Zo'or will have to mature. Not only to follow the ka'atham cycle. But also when he will absorb through joinings all of the knowledge of his mate. I know what potential he holds. I do support his leadership... momentarily. And we have also voted for the su'umshra..." he added with a smirk of satisfaction.
"This is only declared in time of war," exclamed Da'an, realizing that T'than had had to propose this to the Synod members. The su'umshra was to give every members of the Synod the power to challenge the leader's decision and to suggest better ones. Usually, the Synod could suggest, bu the leader held the final word. Now that su'umshra was declared, Zo'or would have to vote like every others. After glancing for a time at a triumphing T'than, Da'an realized that it was only for their own good. Zo'or would have to obey, which Da'an knew he would not like to.
After long minutes that they spent silent looking out at the stars and the Earth below, T'than excused himself and pretexted to have immediate business to attend to. And Da'an had to carry the news to the newly gathered mates...
Epilogue, two weeks later
Life had returned to its slow patern. When Liam walked through the door of the café where they used to meet... before, he saw her, sitting at this very same table, covered with the blue material, and the blue glasses, filled with blue liquid. Renée Palmer, seated in all the grace and beauty she was able to keep in this kind of situation nodded to him, indicating him that she was there... and waiting. A queen is always waiting for something is she not? And a queen of yes she was now. She had taken over the control of the Resistance, nearly to the point of abandonning her place at Doors International. Nearly, because most people would avoid to get away from 12 millions dollars a year and the permission of ruling the taelon/human technology all over America. And since Resistance did need money, she still was CEO at Doors International.
She naturally was a leader when he was not, when he had barely been formed - and even then, only through the memories of his human father - as Companion protector, and especially when he had found a new occupation as... engaged to the Leader of the Synod, and more or less Zo'or's assistant. On the mothership, up there as they used to say, not much had changed. As he had asked, the human crew and not been told of his true nature, nor had the representative of any Earth government. The Synod had wondered and he had answered that the Humans, as he knew them quite well, having lived within their society during years, were quite... potentialful yes, but were definitively not ready to accept a fact such as the existence of an alien living as a human being. He had observed them enough. He now prefered to live within the taelon society itself, and this demand had been granted by the Synod, helped by the fact that he was the mate and lover of their leader.
He had moved his quarters up on the mothership. And of course was not cloistered there. He had the right to go exactly where he wished to. The young Kimera could then return on Earth whenever he wanted, seeing Augur or Dr. Park, giving them news, or seeing Renée Palmer of all people.
Park and Augur had been quiet worried for him. They had been kept... out of the loop during one complete week, during which he had not given any news, nor had he communicated with someone else than Mit'gai, Da'an or Zo'or. He had been kept on the mothership, in the medical bay. Just a normal safety measure until the complete merging of his DNA would be accomplished. Just in case something went wrong. He had reassured his human friends and had managed to gather the few of his possessions he still held dearly to his heart : pictures mostly and some clothes also (of all aspects of taelon culture he could not bear even thinking to be stuck in one of these form-fitting jumpsuit).
Strangly yet, he found himself, as he got more and more deeply involved within the taelon society, getting closer and closer to the Taelons themselves. He was not member of the Commonality but could psychically sense Zo'or, who could relay informations to him this way. He felt now much closer to the Taelons than he had ever felt... part of Humanity. The Taelons accepted both what he was and what he was not, they had accepted him completly, more than ever he had felt accepted by his human friends. He loved them, of course he did. But he could not forget the few stares in Lili or Augur's eyes when they realized what he was truly capable of and when they feared him somewhat for what he could become, for what he could do. Now that he had thought about it, the Taelons' opinion of him was probably cheered up by the way he, Li'am, only survivor of the Kimera race, would be one day able to save them. But at least, now he could do something. And he could do something good. During all
of his life he had fought at the Resistance's side, fighting against the Taelons, fighting for the freedom of humanity none the less, but fighting against innocents, killing innocents that had nothing to do in this but to have believed what the Taelons had told them, but the whole planet had trusted the Taelons when they had claimed they were coming in peace so they were as innocent as all the children he had seen playing in the streets on his way to the café. Fight was not for him. Killing innocent was not for him. He was not made for war. Kimeras were not made for war. Every losses of life, were they on the enemy or on his own side, Taelons, Jaridians or Humans, made his heart shiver painfully inside. It was not what he was. He had been created to unit the ones that had been parted through the millenias, that was what he had been born for, not to save humanity, not to fight at humanity's side, to help them, to help the three conflicted races to understand each other. It
would take time and he was aware of it, but he would try or die trying.
He had been assigned back to Da'an's protection and security chief of the Washington Embassy. But every of the private time he spent on the mothership, he spent them with Zo'or, working, on Ma'el's work, or what had been found of it. Many things had been discovered, and some others were just getting more and more complex.
And then, after days and days of working on Ma'el's datas, there had come the horrifying result. Unconsciously, when Ma'el had altered the human psyhce by offering manking the gift of psychic powers, somehow their genetic code had got messed up. And soon humanity would face the consequences of this.
Now he could only hopw that Renée would trust him. He had evidences of what he said, but was she going to believe even this, even if it were written on paper? He knew the woman. Yes... he thought he did know her enough to be sure that never she would do this. And he had been wrong. She HAD tried to get him killed. For reasons that were of her own only. Probably because she could no longer ensure his safety as no perfectly and completely human being. Many other species had in the past reacted this way. Or so said the memories of his kin he had gained access to.
He could perceive the world so differently now. Nothing was the same as it was before his change. He saw Humans as alien beings, but he knew, deep inside, how did it feel to be Human. It was as a part of him was looking from his kimera eyes and if one part of his mind was still looking outside through human eyes. He would manage to deal with the two, had said the healers. He simply hoped so. Beside it DID feel strange to walk amongst them in this... compelte human appearance, that he sensed wrapped around his natural energy form like a tight jumpsuit, so that everyone walking past him would see another Human. But he saw aliens.
Renée was sitting at one of the far end of the café. He caught her short wave of hand and made his way between the carefully set blue tables. Li'am then sat facing her. He could not help but remember how many times they had met at this place, so many times when he was still... Liam Kincaid. When he still had a life here on Earth. Yes, he missed this time, he admitted it freely. He missed having friends, he missed feeling like he had inside the same little something than every Humans did. Though the Taelons had accepted him, he was the last of his kind. He had no one that knew completly what it felt like for him... to just be himself. He was alone. And he probably would feel incredibly lonely... if there was not Zo'or.
On the contrary to what he had thought she would prefer, Renée Palmer spoke first. Taking off the sunglasses that hid these unbelievable blue-greyish eyes of hers, that made her look like any other blonde, beautiful woman and sipping quietly from the blueishly colored liquid in her glass, she started. "You've kept a low profile lately Kincaid," she said as greeting. He knew he should not wait for any ease on her part. The Ice Queen was she not? Her slender fingers were crossed, she stroked her thumbs together, her long fingernails looked like tiny razor to him. Strangly. He always had these kind of abstract visions of the world around him, the world as he saw it evolve around now.
Li'am could play thesame game than she. Not that he liked doing much of it. His pathways were getting warmer and warmer under the sun's light, he disliked that, he prefered the dark, quiet shadows of the mothership. And he could no longer drink water to cool himself down. It would probably pass through the facade and revealto everyone around who and what he really was at worst, and at best, he would just get the attention he did not want to. He could feel the corporal heat emanating from the Humans like waves around him, surrounding himl; he knew that underneath the sunglasses, he too wore, his eyes were flashing green. It was the part of himself he could control the less, and why the Taelons had suggested he would wear these from now on. "Let's say the boys you've sent chasing after me all over the country didn't left me much of a choice Miss Palmer." His voice sounded different, he knew it did. He could feel this kind of things. It was somewhat like Da'an's, melodious
though more male sounding than Da'an's. HE was not any of an adrogynous being.
She sipped again from her glass and then placed it back on the table. Li'am remarked through the glass that it had made a little darker spot on the material covering the table. He could remark detail like this and not remember in what café he exactly was sometimes. She looked up at him sharply. "You know I've my operatives on the mothership Kincaid. I heard of your deal..." He raised his eyebrows slightly, he had to concentrate even more than for walking just for a small gesture like this one. Details, details... All of it was details, he could now understand how hard was it for his human facade to be perfect, how was it complex. Da'an and Zo'or had both given him tricks, but he had not mastered every of them. He had grown up since what... two weeks? He still had much to learn. "Your alliance with the Taelons. Everybody in hte movement is aware of it," she added when she thought he did not understand.
If only she knew... "Alliance is perhaps... a big word," he only said. He could not just tell her everything right now. It would be too much of a risk. Why was the damn place so hot? Quickly a return in his cooled chamber on the mothership. And Zo'or on the bridge. He almost let his pathways glow out oin joy at the thought of seeing his mate. He longed for it.
But the reply had come faster and more abruptly than he thought, "Then what?"
Li'am smiled, this smile he had not lost. "Let's say that some... recent events... made me see things differently?"
As for a human being it was normal and they did not have to think to it, they could not imagine how to close their eyes shut at about every five seconds, or breathing, or simulating the blood to be running in as simulated vessels was hard to do. Renée spoke again, she seemed deicded to actually discuss with him. Hum... would she have got frindlier? "How differently?"
"They're not like you believe they are," he said, knowing how ridiculous could his words sound. Though it was only the truth. They were not as peaceful as they wanted the Humans to believe, but they also were not the monsters described by the Resistance; one had to find the perfect middle between the two.
A smirk, not that he was not waiting for it. The woman was an extremist one, not on the terrorist side, and not on the stupid side either. She simply had misjudged the situation in the first place, when the Taelons had landed on Earth, it had been her only mistake. Everybody could make mistakes. Even Renée Palmer. The situation had simple degenerated to a more serious point now, but it was still many things to go before it would go beyond the point of no return. The day could still be saved. "It's you who've told much of the current resistance members that the taelons weren't what they pretended to be."
"They are not what they themselves pretend to be, that's right. But neither are they the heartless monsters YOU think they are Renée." Everything depended on how could this woman could now influence her subordinates. Yes, if he did got his point, if he did touch her heart. He hoped he could did know her enough for that.
Palmer looked at him during a good fifteen seconds of silence after this statement of his. For a moment he thought he could have touched something inside. Until she leaned down and picked up something from the small bag she carried with her. She lit up the cigarette she had taken and Li'am felt thankful he did not really need to breathe. Then after some long seconds spent in silence, she poske again, looking at him with those yes that he could feel burrying into his very soul. "You've changed Liam. Something's... different with the way you are..." He looked somewhat artificial. Yes he knew. He knew that at how the volunteers often turned to glance at his back when they thought he was not aware of it. They felt something was strange, but could not put a finger on it. Like himself could not. He could now only make the human illusion look as best as he could make it.
After a moment of reflection, he came up with a deal with himself. Telling her a part of the truth would suffice. For now. "I did change Renée. I still am myself as I have ever been. But I have found people who need me, I've found a kind that accepted me for both what I was and what I was not." Instead of rejecting me, he finished for himself. He did not feel as completly angry as he recalled he could have been being still Human.
From now on, she knew they were speaking about his... particular ancestry. "You'll help them?" The Taelons of course. She wanted to make out what he was in the faint darkness that surrounded him. In the fight the Resistance was leading against the Taelons, the slight difference between enemy or potential ally, could make all the difference between victory and misery. He knew from the spasmodic movements of her fingers, which, as a Human, he probably would never have seen, that she wanted to see his eyes behind the glasses. But he would not give her this opportunity.
What could he say? Could he now let them die? There were thousands of reasons he could have let them die. For what they had done to thousands of species before humanity. How they had used these species, how they had tortured human beings... But could he? Could mistakes not be forgiven? "Yes, I will."
"Or aren't you just not given a choice in the matter?" What was she wondering about? That they had suddenly decided to put a CVI in his head and were now controlling his every moves? Or did she think that perhaps the Taelons were blackmailing him and forcing him to do this?
He was beginning to grow tired. Not physically, though the heat was bothering, it was not much of a danger for him, only prolonged exposition could cause several important damages to his sensible pathways, but they were hidden under layers and layer of clothes. But he was tired of her stubborness. "Renée, they offered me the chance to help billions of people out of this conflict. They offered me the chance of carryingout the duty Ha'gel has created me for. There isn't much a matter of choice in this." If he had not changed, he would have maybe done the same. But it was true that not changed... he would never have accepted to talk to Da'an friendly and trust him again...
Her smirk faded away. A sarcastic glance glimmered in her pupils. "Oh... Then I see. Sudden change of side eh? The Taelons are the good and the Humans the bad guys? Maybe betrayal of your kind is in the family after all." His anger grew again. But the provocation was way too huge to see, too obvious. She WANTED him to be angry. For him to react quickly, thoughtlessly.
His pathways lit up inside, but his facade was strongly resisting. He had built it to be strong and had a comfortable control over himself. But Li'am would none the less have to watch his feelings. "I've never said that. Both our species will have to stop fighting for once if you want it to come to a happy end Miss Palmer. It shall take the time it does need, but I will do my part of it." He could reveal no more than that. He could not reveal her everything about what he had become. It would be too much. Already that the Resistance web were announcing his treachery in such a way that Sandoval's spies might soon get aware of it.
A look of suspiscion suddenly rose in her eyes. She knew he was not a liar. Or anyway, not like this. And he did suond angry. He knew he did. He had controlled himself but apaprently... not enough. "What do you mean Kincaid?" she was now deadly serious. He had seen her sacrifice many human beings for their cause and now she seemed worried about them as a kind. Strange. But everyone could change, could they not?
Li'am calmed down, somewhat. Would she listen? And most important, would she be able to understand? "You already know I think that Humanity is the best of their chances to survive. But what you do not know is that we also might need their help... and in not a too long time." The glance she returned was a puzzled one. He explained. "When Ha'gel was searching for a human mate, he discovered in our DNA... a flaw. A flaw that our technology cannot indentify yet. And that we will not be able to heal without the Taelons' knowledge. In ten generations, this flaw will generate such a strong genetical disease that it will son affect everyone on the planet. Ma'el discovered this flaw and thought he could heal it by helping us to evolve so that we could resolve the problem by ourselves when it would appear. But he did not succeed. Renée, in about ten or twelve generations, Humans won't be able to have children. Ever. No woman will. And you know what it means I'm sure."
A long time passed by during no words were pronounced. And finally, "I don't trust you," she whispered. Of course she did not.
"Not that I expected you to." The human illusion was harder and harder to maintain in place. He was tempted to... blush with every seconds going down, like when he had a rash that he could not scratch. He had expected this answer from her part. She was not the kind of woman that would believe him only for his words. But he had seen it in Ma'el's searches. Not all of it. And not as clear. But this and what the Taelons knew of them had been sufficient to make this conclusion out. If only Ma'el's ship was not still under Doors International's tutelage. He rose from his seat. It was time for him to go now. Renée would not be disposed to here some more, or so he thought. "You once told me you fought the Taelons because you wanted the children of this planet to live in a better future..." Oh he recalled the moment so perfectly, they were sitting on a bench, a sunny day, beautiful... "... Well, maybe their lives are in your hands right now, Miss Palmer." She avoided the contact of
his eyes, even behind the sunglasses, as she herself rose. "You can contact me via global if you want to reach out. Good luck in this life Renée. I hope you'll make it out all by yourself someday."
She waited until he had left to murmur under her breathe, "And good luck to you Liam." And then she turned away. Both had chosen their ways.
Li'am was sitting on the cool floor, his legs folded, Zo'or's head on his lap, his mate's hands tightly strapped around his waist prevented him from doing the slightest move. The temperature was only what was good for him now after these few hours he had spent on Earth... He felt comfortable. He felt good.
Upon returning to his duty at Da'an's embassy he had gone to his quarters and had found Zo'or waiting for him. With this faint glimmer in his eyes he knew all too well. They had joined. As usual it had been so powerful that both were exhausted now. Only Zo'or had given up the fight against tiredness and had allowed himself to rest in his mate's presence. The energy shower had been engaged and falling on them both to accelerate the process but Li'am had chosen to stop it when he had felt the Synod Leader slipping into a soft state of day-dreaming. Ressembling a trance vaguely.
He glanced down at him. Zo'or was still the same. Still powerful. Not so many things had changed. He had only... matured. This was what had the Le'hoy said. He had understood, had Li'am told himself. They disagreed on many topics, but the ka'atham was having too much of a control over them both for it to b really important. And the young Kimera knew that no matter what, he would stay at his mate's side unless this one would reject him. And this he doubted. He doubted Zo'or would ever want to get rid of him. Because he needed him, they needed each other... badly. Zo'or knew he was a piece of the puzzle. Of the puzzle that would be solved with their survival or with their death. He was needed. Both of them were.
Li'am gently stroked his mate's cheek. He felt pleased at this moment. He felt like everything was perfect. It was not. He had yet to explain with Da'an, and he still hoped Renée would call him back. And soon every of the pretext Zo'or and he found to be in each other's presence would arise suspiscions. It was especially Sandoval's that he feared. But for this moment, his mind was so far away from this... Faraway, from Earth, form the mothership. Only with his mate. The only physical sensation he could perceive was the one of Zo'or's body against his own.
His human form truly gone, he caressed his cheek, running energy tendrils along Zo'or's most sensible pathways. Usually, he would have felt the energy, even the low one of a Human, coming toward them. He could sense these kind of things, along with, or so said Da'an, with thousands of other perceptions he had yet to discover. But at this time, and being in that state, he only heard the footsteps coming their way. He barely had time to put back in place his human mask that Agent Sandoval entered the room.
No sign of astonishment, no reaction at all. As if he just had not seen them at all. He stopped as he stepped in though and gazed at their mingled forms for seconds. Then slowly nodded and obviously ignoring the eyes of Kincaid burning his back, he made his way toward the concolse he came to check on.
Li'am would have lifted his slender body from the ground, but he could not, not with Zo'or curled up at his side. He only spoke up. "So?" He WAS waiting for a reaction after all. This was not normal. He needed to talk to Sandoval now and could not avoid it.
The asian man checked some readings during about a minute before raising his head and answering, glancing at them again. "I couldn't say I didn't suspect it. After all sooner or later everybody needs someone in his life. Even him."
Li'am fixed his human parent for a time. Something was not normal. Sandoval did not use to speak like this. The implant turned back to his work on and for the next ten minutes no words were pronounced. Something was wrong. Sandoval usually would have taken advantage of this. But no. Nothing. Exactly like he did mean what he had said.
He was on his leave. Sandoval transfered some datas to his global, clipped it back to his waist and avoiding eyes-to-eyes contact, a contact that usually he would search for, expect with Taelons, he headed toward the door. Just as if nothing at all had happened. "Sandoval?" He politely turned back, his face unreadable again, maybe a faint glimmer of this emotion he rarely shoewd in his dark eyes, this look he had had when they had spoken together over Lili's dead body, this look that in itself told a lot more than thousands of words. "Are you okay?"
The implant actually seemed to reflect on the subject, always keeping his eyes carefully away from them both, from where Li'am was gently brushing his fingers against Zo'or's pathways again. "No. Not at all. But it's not anything that good guys of your kind use to give a damn for anyway." With that he left. Leaving a wondering Li'am behind.
But the event was rapidly out of his mind as Zo'or whispered something and opened his eyes, staring straight into his own. Fate had to go its way.
"Liam, what do you think of Zo'or?" asked Da'an, just a few seconds after his young protector had entered his offce.
Liam turned around and finished to take off his coat, looking at Da'an strangly. "Well..." he started hesitantly, "I consider him as I consider any other Taelon that is firmly against the idea of an alliance with humanity. Why do you ask?"
Da'an looked thoughtful at his feet for a moment. Obviously he had not received the answer he had been hoping and waiting for. "Let me change my words then. Has your opinion of Zo'or... changed since the... incident?"
Liam's eyes widened. So that was what the Taelon wanted him to talk about. He had avoided carefully the subject with Da'an or with anyone that asked questions about this, and everyone had understand that he not wished to speak about it. Himself was not very sure about what had happened between them during this time. He hesitated and finally spoke, "I... saw him in a way I had never seen him before..." He stopped when he saw Da'an's big blue eyes fixed on him intensely. "Da'an. If you have something to ask then do it!" he exclamed, feeling his patience disapear.
The Companion lowered the head and blushed. "Have your... feelings for him changed?" he asked very carefully, choosing his words.
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Ahhh... It's better when it's clear." Then, he frowned. "Just two things Da'an. I'm the leader of what's surviving of the Resistance and Zo'or the leader of the taelon Synod, you start to see the little conflict of interest we would have here...?" he replied sarcastically.
Da'an sighed. "Liam, please, I am very serious. In the past days, I have remarked that he prefered you to be his pilot or personal protector than Sandoval-..."
"Da'an," he said just interrupting the Taelon's statement, "Zo'or is just not trusting Sandoval anymore, that's all."
Da'an sighed again. "Yes. But please remember that I am in the need of your services in protecting myself."
"The next time he will require my services, I'll tell him you're jealous and that I cannot go with him. Is that enough for your taste?" asked Liam, looking truly bored by the way their conversation was turning.
Da'an's fingers were moving nervously in front of him. "Liam, hear me, this is extremely serious." Liam turned toward him, his attention caught. "I am aware that currently you are bonded to no human mate..." he said, the tone of his voice increasing when he came to pronounce the word `human'.
Kincaid finally understood what were exactly his superior's thoughts. "No, no, no, no. You... thought that I and Zo'or were... lovers...?" he asked fixing the Taelon, his eyes widened in a way Da'an had never thought possible.
"Yes," Da'an finally admitted. "Please, if so is the case, tell me."
"Then no, I'm not sharing anything more than a fully professional relationship with Zo'or and yes if I were you'd be the first advised," he said, seriousness filling his voice. Suddenly, the young man's global remembered them of its existence by beeping continuously. After excusing himself, Liam turned and read the message. "Duty's call. I'm needed on the mothership."
Da'an watched as his protector grabbed his coat and left the room, heading toward the ID portal that had been recently added to the Embassy's structures.
After an extremely tiring and, as usual, boring security briefing from Sandoval - during which his boss had caught him almost asleep more than once - Liam was making his way toward the dark corridors of the mothership, trying to avoid the yawns he felt coming. With each steps he made, he was less sure of what he was going to do. He could almost hear the little angel and devil rage over his head, overhelming his mind with crazy ideas. He sighed as he finally reached his destination. Zo'or's private quarters, the Synod Leader private chamber... He breathed deeply four times and then, fooling himself about being totally relaxed, he knocked softly on the bioslurry wall/door. He did not know why yet, but being in Zo'or's presence was one of the most unnerving thing he had to do in the recent days. In fact, it was a luck that he had needed rest after the shuttle accident, he could not have stood to see him after what had happened. He had just needed some time for reflect, about
Zo'or mostly. About who he was, who was the person under the cold Synod Leader's mask...
There were four seconds counted down by his extremely precise internal clock and a faint murmur was heard, Eunoia perhaps. He just kept hoping he had not got Zo'or out of bed as he really hated being awakened himself in the middle of his sleep and just wished not to imaginate what this Taelon's reaction would be (Zo'or's normal mood was what everybody else would have called angry, so Liam prefered to not see him really angry). Though he had got to see one of the young leader quite melancholic and fatalistic side earlier. But the thought was rapidly out of his mind as the response he was waiting for came through the door.
"What?"
He hesitated, "It's Kincaid. May I enter?"
"Yes." A few more words were mumbled, words that he was happy to not really understand; then the doors waved away. The room was circular in shape, very small. Well, smaller than Da'an's chamber. He assumed that it was Zo'or's old chamber since originally his Companion was higher ranked than the now Synod Leader. There were not much things looking personal, in fact the most odd thing was the disorder: from taelons clothes to info-disk... much objects were placed like they had been thrown in the air - and knowing Zo'or, Liam could think to this as the most serious possiblity. It vaguely made him recall his own apartment on monday mornings...
"Why have you disturbed my rest Major?" asked the Taelon. He had seen the young human enter from one of the chamber's corner, where he was resting in his energy stream. Mit'gai, his opinion supported by many other taelon healers, had told him to take at least one complete week of total resting for heal his wound correctly. And after two days of non-activity, he started to be seriously annoyed and also feared to let agent Sandoval take the commands in his place, knowing what kind of disaster this could make if known by T'than who would then try to take control of the Synod. His thoughts darkened for a very short moment after thinking to the War Minister he had hoped had been kiled on some battlefield, far away from Earth... But Da'an's protector had started speaking already. Though he had first despised and immediatly untrusted this Human, he had then come to show toward him a greater attention. He was more interesting, and in time, more efficient than his own attaché was.
And especially, he had saved him when Zo'or would have believed natural for one to leave him to a painful death, he had saved him and had stayed with him.
Liam's voice was very clear and not showing any of the nervosity he was feeling. "In the morning, I had a very strange talking with Da'an, about you... and me," he started.
That definitely caught the Taelon's attention and Zo'or advanced of some steps, curious. "And on which subject your talking was exactly about?" he asked back, as a smirk curved his lips slightly.
Liam could feel the red flushing his cheeks right now. Gone was the confidence he had had earlier in himself. He felt so thankful to the room was dimly lit. "Da'an... suggested... hum... thought, that we..." Say it! he ordered himself quietly, "... that we were lovers."
Surprisingly, Zo'or's reaction was not what he had expected it to be. In fact, it could not have gone better. The Taelon felt a slight amusement transform his smirk in a rarely seen frank smile, that, though small and subtle, was there. He felt Kincaid's relief as well. He... Lover of a Human...! Da'an had this kind of idea sometimes, his parent thought to him as being really desperate of finding a mate then. "But I suppose that you have not come here for announce me that? Or not only in that objective..." he continued.
Liam felt just so much relieved, the tension and most hard part was done, gone and far away. The rest should go cooly now. "I think I know you well enough for tell that you have a special liking for schemes?" he said, crossing the hands in his back.
In only response, Zo'or turned his back at Liam and stared out in the space through the virtual glass, suddenly finding to this unexpected conversation an obvious interest. "Why so?" he believed necessary to add.
"I've done some of mine you know? And Da'an seemed to take this very seriously..."
And the conversation continued on. Liam exposed to Zo'or the plan he had thought to during the whole lenght of faking listening at Sandoval's boring security briefing. He found in the Taelon a curious, vaguely childish side he did not dislike.
And after fifteen minutes of talking, they finally came to a final decision. Both could not really believe what they were going to do.
"... But your plan shall have to be reported to a certain distance in time since I am forced to rest for the following days," said Zo'or an audible unpleasant tone in his voice as he came on the subject of his 'forced resting'.
"Not a problem. So you'll take care of Sandoval and I'll warn the volunteers." A nod from the Taelon.
"Major, I am here discovering an area of your personality I would never have believed did exist," Zo'or said after a short moment of silence.
"And I didn't know you were that good at planning schemes either," replied Liam.
Zo'or seemed to think about what he was saying - something Liam had for long come to associate with a way to hiding they were hesitating. "Perhaps then you do not know me as well as you think you do," he said quietly, the mask slipping for less than a second.
"And I cannot wait to learn more about you Zo'or," retorted Liam, raising an eyebrow. "I'll leave you to your rest now." The young man offered the ritual salute to the Synod Leader and Zo'or bowed his head slightly in response.
Liam Kincaid was nervous. He had not felt so nervous in the past years. It was not like he was going to commit a quite casual act as breaking into the Taelons' database or in one of their most secret facilities in Arctic. No. It was worse. It was definitively worse.
He was scratching his right palm with the fingers of the left hand in a compulsive way as he walked past the mothership's corridors. Today was the day. Zo'or had finally been allowed to return at his functions on the bridge.
Liam stopped in front of his chamber's door just the time to wave it away, then stepped in. He threw his coat on a nearby chair and let his sore body fall on the bed with a relieved sigh. He was just in the morning, he had still the rest of the day to pass by before their... special meeting.
Technically he should not know how (how much things was he supposed not to know or do?), but still with a wave of the hand, seemingly like Da'an's usual gesture, he had a part of the ceiling and the wall facing him turned into virtual glass that let his sight an access to the ink colored space. There were stars, but faint, so faint, in the darkness. He could not see any other celestial corpses from the position of the mothership in its orbit around Earth.
He permitted himself a moment of calm before losing his wandering mind in the stars. He had to think, to think about the whole even that was going to take place by the end of the day. How would Da'an take it? Well, the Taelon had many times in the past showed his, sometimes odd, sense of humour. But to tell if he would appreciate this... But Liam could really do not do anything against it now. The mechanism was in place, ready to start, just waiting the trigger to be pulled... And he had seen this look in Zo'or's eyes, the look that had on the moment reminded him of the one he would have seen in a child's eyes when this one was about to place a snake in the teacher's desk. There was something very strange between Zo'or and Da'an, a strangely close relationship. He knew not what kind of link those two shared, but he knew that it had to be extremely strong. Perhaps they had been close in the past... and they would have been forced to face an even when their two opinions would
have parted for the first time... Yes, that theorize was the best he could think of in the instant.
Then he allowed his thoughts to drift slowly toward THE subject he had clearly forbidden himself to think to. He had just been mentally slapping himself everytime he had concentrated on this. This forbidden thought was Zo'or of course. He smiled as he remembered the talking he had had with Da'an a few days earlier. It was pretty much the same he had once had with Augur when this one had started to realize that Liam paid more attention to human females than usual. The hacker had just said that he had expected him to be attracted to Taelons as well since his father was Taelon and that he himself was partly alien. In only response the young man had showed him this sad grin that he wore so many times now and had just whispered, "Who knows what will happen to me Augur? I'm the first of my kind."
And now his words were clearly printed in front of his eyes, he saw them everytimes he blinked, flashing in the blackness. He was young at that time... and he was still young. But he had taken maturity and throughout every days of his life he had learned to understand how these words were appropriate in his case. Yes, who knew...? Maybe Ha'gel did, but he knew that little sadistic side of his father for having inherited it himself; and he would have to discover it by his own strenght of mind.
And there came Zo'or in what was already a mess of thoughts. The Taelon was young, very young, he could tell. Not only by his appearance when he blushed, but too sometimes his mask slipped for letting Liam see the unrevealed person beneath it. And in particular, that day, one week ago. He had spent a couple of hours in a cabin with Zo'or, alone with Zo'or, which thing had not happened to him before - but during the rare occasions when the Synod Leader had asked him to be his pilot and then they were in the same shuttle for one minute and a half. The Taelon had just been twitching and moaning in the bed, closing his eyes so tightly it seemed to hurt. He had felt in different way toward Zo'or that day. In the beginning he had just kept his face cold, more like the resistance fighter than the Companion protector and stared at the suffering alien wondering if he felt the same way so many Humans had felt just before dying, telling himself that it was just good if Zo'or died
though he would have preferred not to have to watch his agony.
Then other thoughts came in the view. He had realized that he knew virtually nothing of Zo'or, he knew nothing of his motivations, nothing of his personal life, nothing of his past, nothing of the being under the Synod Leader shell. The only thing he knew so far about his private life could have been that anytime Kincaid came on the bridge, in the day or in the night, he was sitting there, in his chair, his stare lost in the stars, sometimes one slender hand supporting his chin, sometimes simply looking so melancholic that it was almost making something ache, deeply inside.
In the woods, he was hearing only the sounds of the wind in the leaves and the Taelon's moaning and his despise for him had slowly changed in pity, then even moved a little further to compassion. Zo'or had been gripping the edge of the bed and the blankets in his thin white fingers, mumbling in Eunoia, a language that Liam could have had understood but simply wished not so. He was calling out to someone, he looked like he wanted someone to reach and hold his hand, but that he retreated in his loneliness at the last moments, before saying any words that would show him as weak. Then Liam's feelings had definitively turned into sadness. It was sadness he had felt when he had seen the glowing scar on Zo'or's chest, it was sadness he had felt when he had seen how a proud being the Taelon Leader was and how he was going to die, alone, far, so far away from anyone who would have accepted to hold this hand he was reaching out for someone. And it was sadness he had sensed running in
every of his most sensitive pathways when he had seen the fatalistic way with which Zo'or considered his own life, useless, careless...
Liam was now wondering upon the why question. Why a being so young could see the life as a such sterile and deathleading game? Why a being so proud could simply accept his death like a gift that was given to him, with nothing more than a whisper about his bitterest enemy? And especially, why was Zo'or so alone, why he had blocked himself away from the others of his kind - after many months of observation, Liam had came to this conclusion - and why he kept the mask on? Because Liam knew it was a mask, for being himself an expert in wearing one...
It had been an impulse to go and see Zo'or after his discussion with Da'an, but he did not regret it now. Maybe this was the chance of seeing another side of Zo'or's personality he had been waiting for? He had expected the Taelon to be revulsed, disgusted and to order him killed, or something like that. But he had strangely accepted. Though Zo'or had thought necessary to make it clear that he was participating in this in the only goal of 'freaking' - as the young man had suggested when the Synod Leader had searched for a descriptive word - Da'an and teach him a good lesson about "fomenting fruitless hypothesis on the subject of my private life". Which comment Liam had thought wise to add a grin to, as his intentions were the same.
He sat on his bed, passing a hand through his short brown hair, acknowledging his growing fatigue, despite he had got out of bed only a few hours earlier. He stopped this train of thoughts and just told himself that everything was going to be fine. Well, what could possibly go wrong? He had made some arrangments with some volunteers he knew were pretty at ease with him and had told them about the whole trick. He had then arranged their schedules for having them on the bridge at that moment, for that everything went perfectly correct. And he had let to Zo'or the rather delicate job of filling Sandoval in, though he doubted that the Agent would perhaps at his turn fill Da'an in as soon as Zo'or would have his back turned - when he had made the remark, Zo'or had smirked and said something in the lines of "I will precise to his attention that he will get skrilled before any of his words could reach its destination". So everything was going to be alright, he convincingly told
himself for the zillionth time. An insisting beep came from his global remembering him that he was already late for assist to another of Sandoval's BSBs - for Boring Security Briefing.
The moment had come. Liam stepped beyond the bridge's arch following Da'an. He looked at his right, exchanging a glare with Renee Palmer. She had insisted to come, she was NOT supposed to assist to this meeting, which had properly and virtually nothing to do with Doors International buisness, but Da'an, gentle and politicaly correct as he always was, had invited her to accompany them to the meeting since she and the Companion had another meeting later that day. It would spare her from another shuttle flight, which she was known to hate. Kincaid just kept hoping that her... reaction would not be one of the most... exploding style... Oh gosh! He shivered just as he thought to the possibility.
Life and mankind mix was extremely special sometime. Liam would not have been nervous if he had had to break down into the mothership's main computer in front of Sandoval's eyes, but he felt nervous NOW. Perhaps because the event that would soon take place was a most unusual one... Yes perhaps. He swallowed hard as he caught sight of Zo'or sitting in his armchair, as he ever was.
From their accident's consequences, the Synod Leader looked quite pale, as far as a Taelon can look pale. Indeed Liam could clearly see the fine energy lines travelling under the faint white surface of Zo'or's skin. He just looked weak, thin and a little sick, but he still mostly looked like himself...
The Major advanced, confidently, one step behind Da'an, though he did not stop when his Companion did in front of the other Taelon chair. Instead he continued forward. He could feel his heartbeat increasing as well as every trace of wetness seemed to leave his mouth and every trace of air disapeared of his lungs. He slowly walked toward Zo'or's chair, feeling Da'an's - and especially Renee's - eyes widening. If he had not known what a piercing stare meant, then he knew now for sensing their piercing stares fixed on his back.
As he approached the Synod Leader, he kept his eyes locked in his, not wishing that one volunteer could take the advantage and do something that would make him burst in laugh or faint like wink at him or something of that kind. He found in Zo'or now a certain... beauty, though his mind hesitated on the word as he thought to it. His facade had faded away, not his white facade, but this cold, cruel mask he used to wear. His eyes had melted to a cool blue, not totally warm, but not totally cold either, that fixed on him a gentle, almost tender gaze.
The young man knew oh how so perfectly that it was just a play, a prank, a joke... But still, he looked in these eyes and simply felt something burn inside him. And suddenly all vanished. All around him vanished. He was no longer on the bridge, there were no longer about twenty volunteers, two of his bosses and one of his rather dangerous colleague staring at them anxiously. There was him, Liam Kincaid, and Zo'or.
And he could tell easily that all kind of arrogance and disdain he had come to associate with his taelon superior was gone, now, just for this moment, but he would not waste it.
As Zo'or raised from his seat, slowly, never stopping to look intensly at him - a look that Liam could difficultly imagine to be fake. The protector leaned forward and offered the Taelon his hand for help him climb down his chair.
All the crowd massed there was just watching breatlessly. The had been warned, yes, but still... Seeing the Synod Leader, a person who used to despise most of mankind's represantatives, accept to commit that kind of act with a Human was quite surprising, at least. On the ship, there was a certain deal between the human and taelon crew. Zo'or had his nature, his character, and when you had learned to not upset him, to not disobey him, to not do anything that would lead to his anger, you could accept to live with that. And this unspoken rule applied both to the human and taelon staff. But this was very out of the limit of what they saw as a scene usually.
The silence was heavy on Liam's shoulders and Zo'or was the one to break it by pronouncing in a... lovingly way his name, "Li'am," saying it in the taelon way, with a liaison between the two syllables. The young man swallowed hard once more as he felt Zo'or's proximity becoming very arousing, in a way he had definitively never sensed before.
And all thoughts vanished as he leaned forward and brushed his lips to the Taelon's. Everything else disapeared form his mind as all he had in mind was to keep contact with Zo'or the longest time he was capable of. The touch felt strange, electrically strange, it was like if an energy current passed through his lips as their flesh touched. He felt something reach for his fingers and realized it was Zo'or's hands only a little too late as he had understand what his intention was. Too late. Zo'or meshed their fingers together and tied their minds. A reflex probably. And Liam came back to reality just before Zo'or could see too much by breaking the embrace.
He stepped back, feeling a faint grin fomring on his lips as he saw Da'an's mouth being wide open mirroring his eyes. A little bit worried, he slowly turned the head for gaze in Renee's direction. Her face was pale from what seemed to be rage, and her delicate hands turned into thight, very angry fists. Sandoval was covering his mouth with his hand, visibly for prevent them form seeing his own smile, and most of the volunteers were laughing or trying to hide their giggles. His own grin faded when he saw Palmer turn on her high heeled shoes and in the disorder caused by the... distraction, storm out of the room.
Then he saw his Companion, blushing, not a gentle pale blue as he usually did, but now a dark angry looking purple color. Without even one look, he followed the DI CEO out of the bridge.
The whole scene had lasted about five seconds. No more. And Zo'or was still frozen, his eyes staring out in the space it seemed. Liam turned slowly to face him, and caught glimpse of the cold facade totally gone for let place to a simple blissful expression. Zo'or avoided his eyes deliberatly and with one gesture of hand dismissed every staff one the bridge.
The first glimpse Liam had had of Zo'or's stare had made them realize their mistake. Then it returned to its original coldness and the young protector was again asked to leave, what he did mechanically, in a stiff pace, knowing that he would have both Da'an and Renee's anger to face later that day. And the only thought made him shiver in anticipation and anxiety. Perhaps, the idea was not that good after all.
Arriving in the shuttle bay, he noticed that Da'an had Palmer had returned down to Earth without waiting for him, and plus in his shuttle.
Liam knew something was just going to be wrong. He knew it, no, not exactly... he felt it, he sensed the atmosphere of the room become heavier as he stepped in. While he was on the mothership waiting for his shuttle to come back - a pilot could not take another pilot's shuttle but if previously authorized by the Companion he served, and in this case, Liam just did not want to call Da'an for ask him - he travelled down the corridors and everyone was looking at him in a very odd way. He had then realized that the news had spread out at lightspeed that he, poor little, high-ranked, but still member of the Human staff, had kissed Zo'or, the Synod Leader... He had sighed and psychologically prepared himself to erase the so numerous messages he would get on his global by the next morning.
For the moment, he felt exactly like he had felt on the motherhisp earlier that day: watched intensly. And yet, there was only one person in the room. And he could tell easily that person was angry, just if looking at her pale face and clenched fists.
Renée Palmer. He had just so hoped that she would not try to reach him for get any explanations. Then he had gotten a page, while on his way back from the motherhisp to the Embassy, on his global - she had even not wanted to talk to him - saying that he was waited for at the Flat Planet Cafe, in the third room where the usual meetings took place, before the Resistance being crushed and the Cafe being under high watching, scanning, filming and whatever else you want. The human nature being what it was, he would be unable to give her any understandable explanations that she would believe. He had until then just prefered to think that she had not been that angry with him...
But he had to get into reality. She was angry. Very angry. Angry, he had once seen her make Thompson flinch and jerk back. And then a logical part of his mind loved to repeat to his hearing this small 'Uh oh' warning.
And himself was not precisely happy at all today, then before she even opened her mouth, "Do I have to kneel before you and ask for your pardon?" came the sarcastic question.
She raised in one move from the chair she was sitting on. Her high heels allowed her to be face to face with him, their noses about two inches apart. "You are better give me an excellent explanation about this Kincaid..." she said, very low, not even bothering to hide the threat in her words.
He stepped back and broke the contact of their eyes for sitting back on a chair nearby and watching as she did the same. "Okay, it all started with I, Da'an and our twisted talking the other day..." And he went on, continuing to tell her the story of 'how he had come to kiss Zo'or'. "... And so, you weren't supposed to be here. And... and I don't know... something went wrong... just wrong..."
"Because you tell me that kissing Zo'or isn't wrong?" came her bitter reply. She had watched, sitting in the exact same position, not moving of an inch, except her foot which she moved in small circles, making her ankle move with unnerving little cracking sounds.
As he fixed her with that 'oh shut up, I'm so bored with you fucking up my detailed explanations' look, she came to stand again. "I will tell you something Kincaid. You are an alien and if I didn't tell the Resistance you were, it was just because I trusted you. But there I no longer trust you. What you've done could be considered as a pure and simple betrayal. I will tell the others cell's leaders, and we will decide of what we're going to do with you. But in your place I wouldn't be too optimistic about it..."
"And I must assume that you'll do pretty nothing for defense my point." She glared at him flatly. "I told you the truth Renée! It's not like I'd be Zo'or's lover or something. It. Was. A. Fucking. Joke. Okay?" he burst out.
And there, the first two years old kimera/human hybrid got to receive the first slap of his life. The violence of the shock sent him on the ground as he was not prepared the last bit for it and had not seen it come. His mouth gaped open and he raised a hand trembling in rage to touch his cheek. Blood covered his fingers. Her fingernails had been so sharp that they had cut through his skin. He tilted the head as he saw her two black high heeled shoes inches before him. "That was from a professional... and also... personnal point Kincaid." On then she turned in her steps and the noise of her heels disapeared in the loud music coming from outside, that the wide open door let enter freely.
He managed to stand and shakily left the room, closing the door behind him, making of the hand a gesture toward the barman that the third one was now free. This one acknowledged and Liam could finally climb upstairs for get some rest in his appartment. Or at least before returning at the Embassy. After all, his shuttle was still in the Cafe's parking and he should at least go pick up some work he had to do for the next morning.
He stepped in and locked the door behind him, as he threw his leather coat on the floor and kicked off his shoes. Before heading for the kitchen. He took a small glass and filled half of it with some scotch then headed for the bathroom. Liam looked at himself in the mirror and saw the three parallel bleeding scratch on the right side of his face. He smirked when he put some water against the wound. Palmer had not missed him... It would take about a month for disapear completly and even then, a scar of some sort would be left. Oh joy!...
He wiped away the blood and looked at himself again. Ah, now it was not so bad looking. No, it just looked like somebody had tried to plant a knife through his cheek or something... He sighed. Da'an would ask about this. Sandoval would ask about this. Zo'or would ask about this.
He stopped walking just as the name Zo'or came back in his mind. The thought of him was followed shortly by ones of the fresh contact of the Taelon's lips against his, his hand seeking for his, their fingers melted together... And all of this in less than five seconds. He just shook the thought out of his head. But could not! He could just not think otherwise at the moment! He felt like pushed toward Zo'or, like if something was suddenly very attractive in the Synod Leader's person, something he had never seen before, like if something was drawing them close, but yet, yet he knew not what that 'something' was. And for the time prefered not to know. He would need to ask Da'an about this. Or Augur perhaps, he had still collected some datas about his kimera ancestry by hacking continually in the Taelons' database. Ah gosh, and his eyes closed as his perfect memory replayed every little details of the event that had taken place one hour ago. He felt Zo'or responding to him...
And then, then he imagined that the others were not there, that they were alone, alone...
Liam approached Zo'or slowly, so slowly. Step by step, they were coming closer. There was no hesitation in their pace. There were no doubts in their mind. They knew not exactly why they were here and now, but it was of no matter. They were. That was. And they got closer, and closer. He saw that stare in Zo'or's deep blue orbs. Dreamy, vaguely distant, but it given to his whole person a suddenly softened appearance. The features of his face seemed softer, his eyes were locked into his. They knew that each other was desirable. Liam could feel his breath becoming ragged, his mouth becoming drier... And he enjoyed it as he realized why they were here. They were almost chest to chest, their lips were nearly touching. The Taelon raised a hand and passed his long white fingers through his short brown hair, then slid down on his face, stroking his cheek. Liam moaned softly as he gathered his former enemy in his arms and pressed his lips against Zo'or's avidly. They kissed. And he
felt with more than a thrill that his mate was responding with a fury that matched hiw own. He teasingly left Zo'or's lips for slide his mouth across his neck and realize that he was no longer wearing that purple suit of his. He grinned softly as he kissed Zo'or again in a more passionate fashion-...
His global's beeping awoke him. He was breathing heavily and was feeling exited... And he was not too sure about what he should feel about that... dream. Because he realized it was only a dream. And yet, he wanted to sense Zo'or's lips on his again, he wanted to feel this acceptation he had felt again, he wanted to feel someone's arms around him again... He felt so alone suddenly, so terribly alone, so terribly in need of someone beside him, for just that he could lie on the couch and let his head on this person's lap and simply sleep like that. He had again that little sensation of loneliness deep inside his belly that bothered him every times he got awake the morning and realized who he was, what he was and in which position he was. And whom was not with him.
Liam raised and took his global, turning on only the sound. A well-known voice was heard, "Hey kid!" Augur's voice. "The storm Renée just disastered my lair and she told me that if I were curious I'd call you. So there I'm doing, I'm calling you. What's that all about?"
Liam let himself fall back on the sofa and passed a han over his hair and face, moaning when he touched the sensible bruise. And yet, he did not turn on the screen. "Okay, ya ready? You still keep 'monitoring' most of the mothership cameras, especially those on the bridge right?" An affirmative hmmm-hmmm... "Okay so take out the file... And look at what has happened on the bridge about one hour ago..." He stopped there, leaving to Augur the care of opening the correct file.
After one minute and a half, the comment came, "Oh gosh!... So you and Zo'or are-..."
"NO!" Liam cut him in mid-sentence, though he doubted that the hacker would have said it anyway. "Augur before I'll explain that to you, you must promise me that you'll believe everything I'm gonna say okay?"
"Yeah, in the situation I assume I can."
"I swear that what I'll tell you is true, completly and entirely, but none of those that I got to tell to wanted to believe it and I'm really tired of it now." He knew already that the man had an open-mind, for taking care of a half-Human, half-Kimera baby, that would be one of the things needed. "It was a joke. Just a joke. You know... I had one of these strange talking with Da'an about my feelings for Zo'or and then I got to meet him and our two twisted minds got a little scheme planned, that would get Da'an very angry and all-..."
"Look like it worked," commented Augur.
"Yeah, but Renée wasn't supposed to assist..."
"What was the reaction?"
"From her part? Angry mostly. She slapped me," he said, touching again the slight bruise on his cheek.
Augur laughed, but his laugh quickly faded away when he realized something, "And the other Resistance cells, they've got to know about this..."
Liam sighed, "Oh don't be worried about'em, they'll be warned soon enough. Renée told me that she would tell them about my alien part, my true father etc. AND about that plus."
Not a word was heard coming from the other end of the line. A sign that Liam had come to associate with shock since the two years he knew the hacker. "Yeah, in other words, I'm dead. Now I just hope that the news won't spread out on the TV channels or at the 11 pm news. It'd be so kind of them."
... "Liam I'm sorry, I didn't think it'd get so bad..."
Kincaid yawned: taking care of saving his existence could wait a couple of hours. He felt so tired at the moment. "I'll call you back in some hours Augur okay? I'm getting so tired now."
Without waiting for the cyber-wizard reply, he cut the line and lay on the couch, pressing his non-hurted cheek against the arm of the sofa, he was currenlty going to use as pillow. His last thought was that he would not have one of these weird... visions like the one he had just had some minutes ago.
For the first time in his life Zo'or had desired someone. Before the event itself, he had considered the physical and occasionally amorous contact Humans used to refer to as a kiss to be a primitive, disgusting, distasteful contact, that was in no way pleasing. And he had been wrong. Oh how wrong he had been...
He could not avoid to recall the touch, the soft touch of the Major's lips against his. His Ka'atham had suddenly flared inside him, burning everything on its passage, destroying every reason, every thoughts others than desire ones. He had never thought that he would and could feel this way, feel this kind of emotions for a human being. No, the thought had even never come to his mind, to him, the being that despised the Humans the most.
He shivered. He had again let his thoughts wander. They always kept to bring his mind back to the subject that had deeply affected and shattered his emotions. Why was Liam Kincaid now so present to his mind? Was this Human different from all the others? Was he different from the mass? A mass that he wanted to use, to enslave, to destroy... Perhaps he was different from them. Zo'or had sensed something different. Not much, simply a sparkle deeply burried inside that was at the same time an aching and a pleasure to live with. And then Da'an's protector had not allowed him to see more than that. He had allowed him to see the difference, he had allowed him to taste, to feel, to sense this difference of his, he had given Zo'or the taste of independence, of love, of acceptation, of warmth... And Zo'or had known what it was to be in a Human's skin. And despite himself, yet and despite everything he might try to fool himself with, he did enjoy the kiss... And that was what began to
worry him the most.
The Synod Leader had once more sought for Da'an's wrath and anger and had visibly found it, his parent having cut himself from every of his attempt to come in contact, psychic or physical, with him. The Synod's members were now dubious of his... sanity, and wondering if he were truthfully Liam's lover or not. He would be again considered as young, foolish, all but careful, dangerous, impetuous... The list of what would be his sentence was long and hard to listen to. He had managed to climb until reaching one of the most powerful positions of the Taelons' hierarchy. And was now going to lose it!
And all of this because of a stupid human way of acting he had not seen the consequences of. Kincaid had been a fool, and he would reject the fault on him, he could say that the Major had proposed the idea, that would influence greatly the Synod's judgement. Yet, he knew that was the best solution for a selfish attitude as was his and yet... and yet he was hesitating. He had spent most of that past night in meditation, trying to figure out how he could escape from the trap he had buried himself into, and the solution was bright before his eyes. Doom the Human, he would pay for Zo'or's actions even if it were partly his fault as well. Crystal clear, evident, obvious. And yet, he could not decide himself to do so. He knew how Da'an's protector would now be deep into trouble, deeper than he already was, for sure.
Zo'or waved away the datastream that floated before his eyes angrily and put his delicate hands back to his side, sinking back into his chair, closing his eyes. It was of no use. He would not - no, no he could not - do this to Liam Kincaid. Anyways, the young man would surely be getting enough trouble on his own, without the need of taking Zo'or's burden on his shoulders. No. No he would assume his part in their schemes and admit his participation in this in front of the Synod. They would see that he could act as an adult who takes responsabitlities for his own actions isntead of the child who denies everything, something that most of the Synod's members thought he was, a child, they had always doubted his aptitude to the leadership of their council, most of them voted for him only because they wanted not to vote for Da'an. Never they had believed he would prove out to be a good leader for their race, and he would now prove it. A true leader can recognize and, more
important, assume his mistakes and their consequences.
The only thing to lose was probably his liberty of acting from the Synod that had until now tolerated many of his rather strange and overhelming in power behaviors. That would stop, doubtlessly, he would lose some trust from them, but the chances for that he would lose his leadership were small, extremely. Even with T'than's disturbing arrival on Earth. The War Minister had come on Earth to kill him, or at least to have him dismissed from his seat. But this, this he would never allow. He had fought for this place and he would stay in this place.
His musings were once more interrupted as a quite soft and temptating flashback replayed every details of the kind touch that had happened only some hours ago, on the bridge. Liam's lips on his... the only thought, the sole souvenir of the sensation, the vague shadow of it... made him shiver, made a pleasant chill going down his spine... He let his arms fall back on his thighs and let the back of his head against his chair. His eyes closed slowly.
It was futile, everything of this kind was futile and hopeless to think so. Kincaid had kissed him because they had planned so, Kincaid would never have kissed him otherwise in any other kind of situations, but if he were forced to. Kincaid had no love for him, no affection even, only fear, perhaps respect, and perhaps was increased. It was stupid to think in such a way about these events. And yet, as one enjoys his delicate sweet torture and madness, Zo'or continued to let his musings take control of his thoughts and his mind wandered on the subject of his discovery about some pleasing physical contacts that Humans used between members of their kind. And now one Taelon had come to know it, to know about the pleasure of it.
No. No it was so much stupid, Kincaid had doubtlessly a human mate, a female lover, perhaps this Renée Palmer, that had visibly reacted so harshly upon the revelation of their `joked relationship'. He sighed. Yes, he knew that no one, and surely not Liam Kincaid could have enjoyed to kiss him, to have come close to him, in fact he had been surprised at the moment, very briefly, before the thought being replaced by more... interesting ones, that Liam had not proved to be disgusted by the contact with him, the shared closeness... that he had enjoyed. He had enjoyed to be held in arms, he had enjoyed to be touched like a person that Kincaid would be in love with, he had enjoyed... simply to be with this man...
Zo'or felt as an important burden was taken off his shoulders, he felt just... relieved after admitting this to himself. He had enjoyed Liam Kincaid's close company, both psychic and physical company and closeness. And that all ended here. No... No it did not. It did not because Zo'or wanted to feel this again, he wanted to feel like this another time. And again. And again... He wanted for Kincaid to be at his side. He wanted him just to grin to him, to assure him that he was now feeling a little sympathy for him... He simply wanted Kincaid to show some feelings toward him. Was it too much to ask?
"It has been a long time since I have not seen you being so upset - or should I say emotionally disturbed?"
Zo'or had not even the need to turn around to know from whom came this too well-known voice. His fellow Taelon had evidently entered during he was still in his meditative state, silently slipping inside, like the his'huj that came during the night on Taelon silently, quietly, searching for body-heat and slowly strangled their prey while they were always asleep. Yes, T'than had often made him think of this wild and dangerous animal that had been destroyed with his homeworld. "War Minister," he greeted, though his salute sounded more like a threatening, which action did not seem to bother T'than much, "Do you despise me to the point of entering in my private quarters while I am meditating?" he coldly announced his intentions.
T'than smirk's let Zo'or see his artificially white teeth, this famous smirk that had more than once in the past frightened the younger and easily impressed Zo'or, a being he had let far away from Earth, along with his childhood. "If so is your thinking, I had not in mind to harm you." The young Synod Leader recognized too well this voice, this softened, gentle, snake like tone, almost like a gentle, quiet hissing, a hissing that he knew he would need to fear more than everything else for the time being.
"Then please announce the reason of your presence here or leave T'than."
T'than's face became harder, not cold, but the smile faded away. "I had come to ask you if you found this amorous human ritual enjoyable?"
Zo'or slowly rose and came to face the General, stepping down from the dais of his chair. "I will try to make it clear T'than, perhaps this will make your understanding easier. Kincaid is not and has never been my mate and the event that take place during this afternoon was as Humans put it a joke, a prank, an unreal and unrealistic faked situation if this clarifies it enough for you."
"And yet, you have not answered my question young one," T'than silently remarked, his eyes shining softly in the dim light of the room.
"And yet, my feelings are none of what should interest you, since it does not have anything to matter or to interfere with the Taelons agendas toward Humanity," snapped Zo'or, visibly starting to get on a defensive point.
The other Taelon saw the faint trembling of his hands, "Oh and I believe you lie Zo'or," he softly said, his voice thought more piercing than it had ever been in the past of their short conversation. "Have no worries with the Synod, oh young Leader, because I, and only I, will prove to them and to yourself that you are nothing but unable of ruling our race, that you have brought us closer to the death than we have ever been in the past. I will take care of your dismission, I will be there, always at your side, looking over your shoulder. This was your first fault Zo'or, be prepared to make many more." On that the War Minister simply turned on his heels and left him to his dark musings.
T'than had come back, and would destroy him if he made the smallest mistake, he would be crushed and fall into disgrace. Zo'or nervously tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, though that T'than threats had from long ago lost their primarily effet, to afraid, he could still feel himself becoming anxious over the Synod meeting he would have to handle later in the week. T'than would be there and would miss no opportunities to crush him into his own trap. Zo'or felt exactly as if he would have buried his own grave, as Humans put it. Now, Liam Kincaid and their kiss as a problem passed at the second rank in his mind.
The Synod Leader could get no rest that night, his mind turn to turn tortured and hunted by nightmares of T'than's threats and pleased delightening souvenirs of his unusual encounter with Da'an's protector. The worst was yet to come, and he felt it, he could feel it.
Da'an did not react when his protector stepped in his audience chamber. Not a glance, not a sign that he had heard of Liam being alive. Nothing. Subtle message: he was still angry. Despite the fact that the Taelon was not looking at him, Liam did his best to hide to his sight the wound that decorated his right cheek. Da'an's eyes were fixed intensely on the datastream rolling down before him, but the young man, after many years of work for the Companions had come to the conclusion and had acknowledged that the Taelons had eyes at some places that Humans had not. He had to be careful then, the last thing he wanted was to be getting some more reprimends from his boss about his betrayal of the Resistance's trust and of his and of the supidity of his act... Ah... He could just iamgine the speech and could not help but audibly sigh.
The first sign of attention that his Taelon superior gave him was, "Major, I did not ask for your services today. I will request agent Sandoval's protection for the only event I will have to attend to. You may go," said in the coldest voice Liam had ever heard coming from Da'an, he thought he knew as a gentle, innocent, soft being. Subtle message: I'm very angry at you and have no wish to see your face today.
Liam himself started to feel extremely frustrated with the way the situation was getting worse and worse. The Hybrid felt like yelling, `Ah what are you all up to with that mess, it was just a kiss, it was not the apocalypse, nor the end of the world, it was a damned kiss,' but wisely restrained himself from screaming through the room, which thing would probably have allowed to spend the remaining of the day jammed into a cell up there aboard the mothership, with Sandoval satifyingly watching. The whole thought made a shiver go down his spine.
He sat on the chair and turned on his computer, "I am really sorry Da'an but I have got some work to achieve for Sandoval and will be forced to disturb your peace of mind for the whole day I fear." He realized onle a few seconds later, after fiinshing speaking, but his voice had just been so neutral that it was almost horrifying. He had spoken like a robot, not sounding sarcastic, or sad, or angry, just like a perfect implant would have done. He started typing on the keyboard, bringing before his eyes the files and report he would need to complete before sending them to his superiors. The faint noise of his fingers hitting the key covered to his ears the soft and long hissing of the dismissal of Da'an's energy stream. Liam was now locked in his own private bubble of life, denying the existence of everything else outside, almost in a meditative state, but one meditation that would have allowed him to work instead of resting and calming.
The Taelon slowly stepped down from his throne. He had had no intentions of provocating this kind of reaction in his protector, though he was still angry for the little scheme that Kincaid and Zo'or had planned. Something had happened obviously. Perhaps with this Renee Palmer woman, that he could easily qualify of Liam's friend. No, the young man he knew of in the person of Liam Kincaid seemed to be extremely angry, though it was a rather delicate subject to tell if he were angry with himself or with Da'an, or perhaps with Zo'or, or perhaps with somebody else that was not in Da'an's range of knowledge. But he seemed to keep his rage under a tight contorl and, worse, to keep it inside in a cold lump. His fingers were fastly hitting the keys, often forced to come back in his words on the screen, angrily erasing his mistakes. He would never achieve his work for the goal he had announced at this rythmic, thought Da'an.
He stepped closer to the Human. He wished not to make their relationship even worse than it already had changed to through months, events and choices. They were almost as stranger now, for each other, and Da'an wanted not to become completly alien to this person, the last that he could hope to be forgiven by. The attitude of his protector was definitly strange, abnormal. He had never manifested such an anger, such a shock, almost rage in his eyes, even when his mother had died, even when he had been betrayed by Da'an... The Taelon had been hit by the words, had been deeply wounded, deeply touched by what the man thought of him, but yet, yet he had never seen this kind of anger in Liam's eyes. It looked like the anger of someone who is ready to kill someone else if he is given the occasion to. Perhaps his actions had been known and reported to some of his... friends...
Da'an advanced, trying to look confident, after all he had every right to be frightened by Liam's behavior, this one was a kimera hybrid, the last of his kind and had every right to simply kill him with his shakarava, which Da'an believed was still active, perhaps dormant but active still, despite Liam's belief. He placed his hand on his protector shoulder and himself blushed as he felt the muscles tensing under his touch. The young man stopped typing. This cold, neutral, that reminded Da'an of Liam being agent Sandoval's son, voice he had previously spoken into some minutes earlier only, once more rang to his ears. "Please Da'an, get away from me. It is already for me an extremely difficult morning, I would appreciate if you kept your reprimends for yourself for the time being. I have enough in mind right now."
Though, the Companion was a bit startled by Liam's quick and clear response, always polite, he answered, "I did not intend to reproach you anything Major Kincaid. I merely wished to inquire about your well-being since you seem to be quite... agressive," the Taelon slowly said, not as softly as he had wanted to but yet, gently enough for significate to Liam that he had no intentions of harming him, verbally or physically.
"I am well Da'an, only... fatigued. I apologize for my behavior-..."
"I do not wish for you to apologize. I wish for you to tell me what is wrong Liam. And I will not believe your words if you try to convince me that everything is perfect," Da'an almost snapped.
In only response, Kincaid minimized his file in the corner of his screen and slowly turned his chair and raised facing the Companion, allowing him to see the pink-reddish bruise on the right side of his face, that had simply gotten worse looking during the night. He had hoped it would heal a little, but the wound continued to bleed, it was not yet coagulated.
Da'an's eyes widened in surprise at the sight. "Who hurt you in this way?"
Kincaid turned his gaze away, staring fixingly at this feet. He nervously put a hand in his pants pocket and took out a once white, now streaked with red marks, tissue and carefully placed it against his cheek, wipping away some of the blood. "Palmer. She was there on the bridge when I and Zo'or... And she sent me a page on my global, telling me to meet her at the Flat Planet Café. I attented and went to the meeting. She slapped me, because she thinks that I am a traitor. To our... movement also. I am not very sure why. Perhaps, she thinks that I have turned out to be completly alien and that I am just like the Taelons now, just worthy being destroyed."
The Taelon listened calmly to the short speech. Liam's voice many times wavered during this while and Da'an could clearly perceive that his feelings had been shattered. He was not yet saying him the complete and entire truth, despite the fact that he had permitted himself to talk to Da'an about their... once shared allegiances to the Resistance movement was a quite great progress considering the whole situation. "I can tell that your words are only partially true Liam," he quietly encouraged the young man to say more.
"And she also said that this was the last straw, that she would not hide my true identity and the fact that I am a hybrid and an alien to the... Resistance. She is just gonna tell them everything about me and try to get them to kill me. She seriously thinks that I've betrayed them. And... And I just can't understand why," Kincaid said, the last few words being extremely difficult, he brought his hands up to cover his face with them, moaning when he touched the slight bruise on his cheek.
Da'an hesitated. He would need to prove to his young protector that he was to be trusted, or then perhaps Liam would know his end. The affair, that had started as a simple joke, had just turned out to be a lot more complicated then that. Kincaid was maybe risking his life there. "I have no explanations for your friends's behavior Liam, unfortunatly human way of acting is often a mystery for my judgement to comprehend."
"Yeah, and you're not the only one, in case you wondered."
The Companion allowed himself to smile openly at the appearing return of Liam's `good mood'. "May I ask if your other friends...?" the Taelon then hesitantly asked, simply wanting to put Liam at confidence.
"Want to see me dead now?" he suggested. Da'an nodded, though blushing at the dark point of view. "Not of what I've heard... Augur seems to be pretty on my side, but I doubt he'll do something in my defense, he uses to put his own interest and money before anything else at the time being. Almost all friends I got, I did through the movement, so I don't think I'll be left much after this. I'm not even sure that I'll get to stay alive and in one piece," he said. The young man's voice had now shut down until it did not reach the tone of a whisper. Liam had been greatly troubled by these events evidently, Da'an thought.
Da'an was going to say something but Liam's global beeped convincingly. Its owner took it from his pocket and turned on audio only, responding, "Kincaid."
Followed a series of command from agent Sandoval, which last was to fly Zo'or from the mothership to a taelon facility in Germany. Liam listened attentively then without the furhter sign of understanding, he closed his global soundly and put it back into his pocket, grabbing his coat.
"I gotta leave for the day, since Sandoval is attending at the event with you, I'll take a couple of his duties on my back for the afternoon. I should be back for the late evening if you need me." He gave his boss the taelon salute and turned to leave, all expression of gratitude or relief that could be a following of his short talking with Da'an was not shown on his face, again, hard and cold looking.
Da'an's gentle, asking voice made him turn back to his taelon Companion, "I will not require your service for the remaining of the day Major. Though I wish to speak with you as soon as it would be comfortable with you and your schedule."
Liam of the old days come back as the young man gave Da'an a rarely seen frank smile, "Well, I'll be there in the evening if you want to talk to me."
With that the two broke apart for carry both of their duties for the day, but at the last second, Da'an turned and said, "Liam, the action you and Zo'or have commited is, though upseting and frustrating, understandable for one who has been young. It is serious, more than you think and can have unforeseen consequences, but it is not beyond forgiving. Have no worries about this, I will interfere with Zo'or or the Synod's decision if necessary."
Liam walked slowly, lazily toward the shuttle bay of the mothership, his carrying of Sandoval's duty had surprisingly taken less time than expected and Zo'or had requested that he wanted him to transport him to this german facility now instead of in one hour. Then Liam had not even had the time to take a little rest, his first in this tiring day. His sleep the past night had been more than disturbed by strange dreams, fortunatly not the same kind of dreams of himself and Zo'or, but worse. He had dreamed about his downfall in disgrace from the Resistance and more than once, though he had not remembered his dream very clearly, he had awakened his muscular body covered with a fine layer of cold sweat. The friends he had gotten to meet while ruling the movement were the only one he had still. Lili was gone, thanks to Sandoval, Augur was busy taking care of his money and business, Renée... Renée he was not sure he could yet call her a friend. She would probable order him out of
the lair as soon as he would step in and, if not, try to get his skin, his skin of disgusting hybrid to bring it back like a hunting trophy.
Many people crossed his way as he passed through the mothership's corridors and rooms. But still, still Liam felt so completly alone. He had had this feeling in the past. In fact this feeling that had always been there since his father, his mother, Lili's death and Sandoval complete revulsion from him, even if he knew Kincaid to be just one of his colleague. It was like something was digging deep inside his stomach, a feeling that made him feel like the only thing he wanted to do would be to stop walking, to go back home, and since he had nobody still alive dear to his heart, to sit, alone, and cry. But he could not do that. Because before being Li'am, he was Liam Kincaid, Companion protector and had a game, a role, a character to play, to fool anyone from looking through the shell. It had always been there, when he had met Da'an, he had felt alone facing for a brief moment the taelon commonality, when he had connected Da'an back to this so-said commonality, he had felt the
Taelon's incredible solitude that had just made his own aching again in his heart, when he had lost Lili, he had felt alone, when he had been betrayed by the two most dear people to his heart that were still left, he had felt alone, alone and angry... As he felt now, angry against the fact that he was so continuously alone, angry against the fact that everybody would now try to have him killed, as everybody if they knew who he was would instinctively try to get him dead, just because he was different... Just because he was an alien. The phrase most of the Resistance members had been said when they had received the proposal of Jonathan Doors. Keep an open mind. Yeah, keep an open mind and try to kill every alien, to disgust them, without trying to know who they really are, without trying to know if they had a personality, a something isnide that owed to be saved. No. They are aliens. Kill them.
Lili had been like that, at the beginning, but less than everyone else, because she had seen him as a small innocent child, and understood that he was in need to be protected. She had been like that because her old friend, now dead, had been like that, that she had realized it too late for prevent his death to happen and to trouble the Resistance enough for cause that sudden changes of motive inside her to a point that even Lili Marquette, one of the first to have embarked in the movement, had criticized some actions of Doors' for being too violent for her taste.
How he wanted some people to be like that now? Why they could not be kind to him? He had yet not managed to understand why Renée had suddenly rejected him completly from her life. Perhaps a kiss had been more for Humans that what he had thought it was. He was partly alien after all, he bitterly recalled, perhaps he had not yet ceized all subtleties in a kiss. Maybe he had involve dhimself with Zo'or more than anything else would have, maybe Renée knew that and had hurt him in the way she had done because of that. She had not hurt him only in the physical, but also she had hurt his feelings so deelpy. He had begun to consider Renée almost as he had considered Lili, though knowing that she could never really take her place. But every of these feelings had simply vanished from his mind. It had all been illusions then. Then the despise he had seen in Renée's eyes, when he had told her of what and who he truly was, had not finished by disapear, then all her smile to him were
fake, all the good moments they had shared together, these moments during which he had thought he had a real friend again, all of these were gone... And Renée was to be forgotten. Despite everything he might do now, she would hate him. Because he had not only seen anger in her eyes, he had seen more than that, he had seen hate, hatred, that terrible, final, condemning emotion of these Humans...
He stopped suddely walking, causing one or two volunteers to stop as well and to look at him oddly - fortunatly not much of them had asked about his bruise, it was just correct for the moment, he did not feel like explaining, but yet he could feel their stare on his shoulders. Had he thought these Humans? As if he were no longer part of them. Yes. Yes he had thought this. And felt now that it was not so completly false. He felt again that little alien part of himself, that had sometimes in the past awakened when he had used his shakarava organs, take the lead of his thoughts. Just for a brief moment. But not short enough for preventing him of sensing it completly, and being only a little scared of it. What if this alienity inside im came back again, but for a longer time? What was it? What was wrong with him? His emotions were just on the edge, himself was on the edge... today.
Liam now curisouly reminded that he had a rendezvous with Doctor Park for his regular medical exam, perhaps she would have the answer? He had been quite shook in the past days after all, maybe just an emotional disturbance. He hoped it was so, it was not the time of being sick. He could not take care of saving his skin, being sick. He needed someone to talk to. He could not talk to Augur, not yet, not before knowing that he would not report every of his words to Renée as soon as he was finished. And though Da'an had gently offered him his helps in his own taelon subtle, disguised way, he felt not totally trusting the Taelon, it would be a long time until he would trust him again, until he could say him something about his personnal life and feelings. He sighed. He needed someone to talk to. An almost desperate, an as sudden, need. Maybe he would get the chance to blow one or two words of it to Park, she had been like a mother to him, since his birth, and even closer since
Lili's death, she had supported him. Perhaps he could talk to her? Yes, yes he would.
But now, he had to take care of Zo'or. Oh gosh, the only name was kinda hard to pronounce, he felt it, only saying it in his head was difficult. He simply hoped that the Taelon had not gotten any reprimends from his own superiors - his fellows Synod members - and was now so deeply angry at him. He shut down his thoughts as he stepped inside the docking bay.
Oh, and he would have to hide his wound from Zo'or's sight, as he had tried to hide it from Da'an's if he did not want the Taelon to inquire about that. If Zo'or inquired about it, he would try to know who had hurt him in that way and why and probably reproach him again something... Zo'or always found something to put in your fault. He would really have to ask about this to Melissa. She could at least clean the wound in a better way than he had done, it would perhaps get infected like this. And it hurt like hell!
Kincaid climbed in his shuttle and seated himself in the pilot place. He then turned his chair toward a energy stream he had waved open previously and started to adjust the controls. He had barely the time to make it before Zo'or arrived. Liam turned his chair back into its original position in such a way that the Synod Leader never faced him, and then never saw the sharp bleeding on his cheek.
With the usual graceful wave of hand he started the flight, as usual without the least greeting from his Taelon passenger. He had perhaps hoped a small sign from Zo'or, sign that things were maybe different between the two of tehm now, an acknoledgement of his existence but none of these were shown, but yet, it was not in Zo'or's habits to show most of his feelings.
The flight was silence. After Liam shouting "Entering ID space," nothing else was said, during the next minute. Though Liam felt like he wanted to say something to Zo'or. But yet he could not decided himself to simply turn around, go take a seat beside him and tell him what he had to say. He was nervous... again. And did not know why, and it bothered him, it really did. And the fact that he was bothered started to bother him even more profuondly.
From the Kimera part given by his true father Ha'gel, he knew that Zo'or had let himself fall in some meditative yet completly conscious state, that he would need some seconds to come back in reality and Liam caught himself briefly wondering about what was the Taelon thinking to - and especially if he were thinking to what Kincaid himself was thinking to now: the still famous to his mind event that had taken place yesterday.
He could wait no longer. He checked the controls, saw that he was in a `clear field' as the pilots used to call it. That meants one could easily let the shuttle pilot itself, taelon version of automatic piloting mode, without risks of encountering dangerous objects going through their path into interdimentional. He quickly shut the piloting mode to automatic, felt as the shuttle's faint wavering indicated that it was uploaded and rose from his seat, walking toward the back of the small shuttle, sitting beside Zo'or.
It was a long while to go by until the Synod Leader finally turned his head slowly in his direction, opening his eyes only a few seconds after. Once the Taelon had caught a glimpse of Liam's still face, he did, like the young man was now doing, and absorbed himself in the view of the twisted interdimentional tunnel, when the rays of the stars they passed by where transformed and curled to form a curious, abnormaly perfect spiral, the `ID swhirling'.
A few seconds had passed of fixingly looking at the view until one of them spoke. They had all time they needed, or would need, since the automatic piloting had for advantage or non-advantage depending of the case to keep the shuttle stiff and steady as well as to keep its position. Then they did not move inside space, they were unmoving. "Why have you left your seat? And I assume that you did not only intented to admire the view..." asked Zo'or, slowly. Liam suspected that he had not spent a very good night, perhaps he had been bugged by the Synod about their... kiss. But yet, he did not appear angry, that in himself was not that rare, though his natural coldness was again showing itself and impressing the interlocutor more than anything else.
"I just... wanted to speak with you," Kincaid responded calmly, more calmly than he himself had thought he could be able to. Silence again took contorl of the shuttle, being heavier than ever.
"And about what?" was Zo'or's silent reply. He seemed in a definitively rarely seen short and sweet mood, the tone was no longer cold as it had been before, but only cool, as if the Taelon were relieved or had been warmed up of knowing that Liam wished to talk with him. If Liam had turned, he could have seen that the Synod Leader had closed his eyes again, tired, visibly. His night had surely been a tiring rather than a resting one.
The young hybrid nervously caught his fingers together and ungripped them francticly, anxiously. "I only wished to apologize... if I had caused you any trouble... with the Synod or anything... about our... our kiss and all..." His words had been parted by many hesitating silence, hesitations that Zo'or noticed with a slight grin.
"You seem to be quite... shocked when time comes to talk about the contact I shared with you. Why is that?" he demanded to know.
Liam smiled briefly, his smile fading away when he remembered fully the late evening and the new red companion he had on his cheek, witness of his encounter with the terrible Palmer's wrath. "I... only thought you'd be angry at me."
Zo'or seemed here truly surprised, so surprised that he let his feelings being shown on his face for less than a second. He turned toward Liam, his eyes now open and fixing their usual piercing blue color on him. "I might have showed to you in the past in my demeanor, coldness, impatience and harshness, but I do not think of myself as being uselessly and easily angry toward one who has done nothing for own such a punishment," he almost snapped, as he had thought distasteful that Liam could think he was that kind of person.
"I'm sorry-..."
"Please, stop your apologizes. I see no need in receiving them, if so were my wish I could perceive your feelings directly from your mind," Zo'or quietly stopped him, as looking himself for a pardon of his sharp reprimend about his behavior some seconds before. It briefly came to Kincaid's mind that this Taelon was surprisingly emotional, and amazingly willing to show his emotions as if the control had been snapped away.
"I-..." he began, but stopped himself in time. He raised his hand, then let it fall back on the arm of the seat, a grin appearing on his lips. Sensing Zo'or's stare on his shoulders, he quickly changed his words. "No. No, I'm not sorry, but I can understand that though."
Satisfied, apparently, of Liam's change in behaving, Zo'or turned back his gaze to admiring the view before their eyes. "Please never apologize to me again. A human saying says that error is human. I prefer you to be frank, than to be submissive as many of your kind are to members of my species."
Liam could feel, something he had for sure rarely done with Zo'or, that he could speak frankly to the Taelon beside him, restrained by some measure of course, but yet, it was some more freedom, and mostly unusual, to say the least, to be waiting for from Zo'or's part. He used to be so... cold looking normally. But not now, strangly. "Didn't know you liked people to be frank with you," he said as his previous words about wishing to know more about Zo'or's personality came to his mind. "If I am not mistaken you've some Synod meeting on tomorrow?"
"It was not yet communicated to human crew then how can you know of this event?"
Liam bit his nail a little bit, he felt so damn hungry now, he had not taken any breakfast, nor had eaten on his lunch break. "I saw it in Da'an's schedule... Was looking over his shoulder," he fastly explained. He asked the question he had firstly asked and that still Zo'or had provided no answer to. "Are you going to deliberate about our..."
"Socializing?" Zo'or supplied, seeking for and finding Liam's approval in this statement. "Yes, they are. War Minister T'than has communicated us the sudden need to... question my capacity to leadership following these events," he quietly added. It was now more appearant that this was the subject his mind had been wandering about and thinking during the flight, previsouly.
Liam searched for a twisted way to apologize without really saying it, "I would not have made the proposal, if I had known that it'd get you so deep into trouble."
Zo'or's eyes again showed that look of great lack of attention, as if his mind had left his body, leaving here only an empty shell. He took him many seconds for responding finally. Liam then understood that he had been discussing with his fellows. "I should myself have known that T'than would jump of the occasion of trying to have my dismissal approved by the remaining members before agreeing to take my part in our scheme. We are both responsibles for the mistake we have made-..."
"Yeah, but only you are paying the bill of it," he lied. He just knew that Zo'or would get so much more trouble with the Synod that he would ever get with the Resistance. He knew the young taelon enough to tell that his Synod Leader position was all what mattered in a life that he himself considered to be worthless saving... He prefered not to know how he could react if he was dismissed form his post.
"I should be able to defend myself," the Taelon opposed him.
"Look if you can save your skin by that way, just put all the blame on my back-..."
"No." Zo'or's reply was sharp, short and Liam almost jerked when hearing it, so he was surprised by it. He did not know that he could have that kind of nearly violent feelings for something. "No," his tone had softened a bit, but he spoke with not less conviction in it. "This would show myself being weak. If I wish to be judged as a peer to them, I must act as an adult and responsible person. I have made this acitons of my own will and will pay for my mistakes as you will do if the Synod decides so." Zo'or seemed to take the time to calm himself a bit, breathing and blinkly longingly. He spoke again though, to Liam who had his eyes fixingly looking at the floor, feeling somewhat ashamed to have suspected that Zo'or could be the kind of person to giv eone another to save his own skin. "But, when you have said that I would be the only one to pay for our actions, you obvisouly lied. The Companion Da'an has evidently punished you, by sending you away from himself." He stopped a
bit, seeing Liam turn the eyes away even more, trying to avoid his words, to ignore them. "And your... friend, Ms. Palmer, seemed to be angry when she has left, as witnesses of her following reaction this mark on your right cheek you have vainly try to avoid me from seeing."
Kincaid just closed his eyes and covered the wound of the slap with his hand, almost turning his back at Zo'or. He half-opened his eyes when he heard the soft noise of the taelon material moving as Zo'or raised his arms from were it was resting since the beginning of their talk on his thigh and advanced it toward him. Liam slowly turned his chair in the Taelon's direction, wished to at least being face to face with him, if he knew about his wound after all.
Zo'or's fingertips came to touch his cheek softly in a contact that by its softness made him shiver a bit and close his eyes, though the logical part of his mind asked him why he was reacting like that. Zo'or had just touched his cheek. It was all and not the end of the world, though his feelings felt odd and extremely fastly changing, from fear to acceptation to... enjoyment of the contact. "You should see a healer, your wound is serious and could be soon infected if nothing is done."
The young man lifted his eyelids again when the Taelon broke the touch of his hand to his skin. It had left a strange feeling going through the skin, not alike the feeling he had sensed when he had touched Da'an's hand the first day of his life, very odd, not totally displeasing either... "What've you done? It's getting warm," he said just quietly enough.
"My energy can repair your damaged cells, this is what you are feeling. It is not dangerous, but will not heal your wound completly."
Liam touched his fingers to his cheek again and sensed a faint probably pink looking healing skin covering the originally bleeding and open wound. "Well, thank, it doesn't hurt as much as it did earlier now."
Zo'or's unblinking blue eyes were fixed in his, and he looked ready to answer something, but said nothing as a blinking red flash coming up on the screen told them both, and especially to the young pilot, that a shuttle had taken the same ID tunnel that they had and was now waiting behind them. The Major apologized through global links then caught up back on the normal piloting mode flight, as Zo'or reminded him that they were probably late now, though he did not reproach him of the time they had taken together.
The Synod Leader let his head against the back of his seat as the young man's hands were waving through the controls. Once more, when he had come in physical contact with the Human, he had sensed, that odd, pleasurable Ka'atham's energy rush in his sensible and main energy pathways. He had been quite startled when he had come to realize, through their talking that Palmer has hit Kincaid in this violent, primitive way - probably what they refered to as a slap, most of the time used by women as a faked control they can have by violence on males - then, he had simply been filled with anger at the sight of Liam's open wound, that he was trying to hide as a weakness. For a moment he had felt his loneliness... mirroring his own and his pain also, though he wondered from where this pain came from. But he knew not what it was to lose a friend for having never have any himself.
When his protector had finally left his office, Da'an allowed his mind to drift off for som seconds, leaving himself to be dragged away by the Commonality soothing thoughts, though they did not know what was wrong with him. And yet he was in connection with no members... He had always found this... odd as Humans would put it. Since his youngest time, he had wondered who were they? The Soothers of the Commonality, whenever you came, whatever actions you had commited they accepted you as one of them and soothed your pain, calmed your anger and gave you hope. Another of the secret that had slowly disapeared from every minds since the beginning of this fatal move that would soon or not prove itself to be their last step into existence, their last mistake, a most serious one. They had forgotten from where they did come from, their origins, their myths, very few were his fellows who knew of the Umrathuma and Sha karava legend, many, like his own child had done, had simply
discarted it as useless, old and unworthy of wasting their time to learn more about their own ancestry and now they were all going to die, because of the enormous mistake that only a few members of their Commonality had commited.
These fatalistic thoughts made the Soothers' minds approach closer to him, whisper softly to him. Fatigued of hearing their comforting words that he knew were false and faked, he mentally slapped them away and, like a plant will always turn back to the sunlight, they came back to him, unharmed, emotionless in front of this clear rejection...
The American Companion mentally sighed his despair in front of such futility and fell back to his half-conscious musings. He prefered them to the constant singing of his fellows thoughts to his ears.
He psychically curled up in foetal position on himself, showing to everyone who would try to enter his mind this image of himself, with a clear message of his desire for loneliness and wishing the calming peace of solitude. Then, assured he would not be disturbed, he waved away the datas he had been viewing and reclined in his chair, sensing increasingly relaxed from this tiring day as his energy stream swhirled around him.
Liam. Liam. What was happening to him? His behavior had changed, immensely, perhaps, dangerously for him or for other Taelons in the future. Da'an had done his best for avoir the disaster as he had spoken with the young hybrid but yet he had seen the melted feelings in his eyes, anger, pain, loneliness, faint warmth perhaps as they had talked for the very first time since months without hiding anything, without lying, without putting on before the Companion and the servile protector's masks. It had been an immense relief for Da'an, it had been so many time since their relationship had been frozen to this sterile, cold level. He had missed their interactions, their talks, their relationship... especially. Liam had been like a child to him, he had been turn after turn the mentor, the simple superior in hierarchy in public, in private, in the safety of the Embassy's walls he had been the father Liam had never really have since Ha'gel's death, the only who could understand him,
the only one the young hybrid could use as a confident, Da'an had had more than once the feeling to behave toward Liam as if he were his adopted child, the only child of his breast that had truly loved him, at least once... he thought sadly. He smiled faintly as he recalled the day when Liam had entered the Embassy with this curious look in his eyes and had just entered in his chamber, knelt by the side of his chair and waited for him to awake. When he had finally he had found out that the young... Human had spent there the whole afternoon waiting for him to awake. Liam had a question to ask him, because despite all the memories from his parents, there were yet so many things he could not understand, and this night he had asked him why they were fighting against each other, why did people die for a cause, why did so much person would die in the unavoidable war that would rage one day between their peoples?... And Da'an had done his best to answer this young child seeking for
knowledge and understanding. An understanding that many of his fellows had even not wished for before taking a course of actions that would forever disturb their fate...
It was at this time, for the first time, though in the future months the relfection came often to his mind that Liam was more, was so many more, was so farther in his own personal evolution only by the third part of his heritage: the kimera galactic knowledge... In fact, Liam was more than everything, he could even not be compared with Humans... nor with Taelons or Jaridians.
And now, more Da'an thought about it, reliving their good moments together, that Liam had perhaps reached another step, an essential one, one Da'an had been eagerly awaiting for, of his evolution, of the final hybridization, of the final mix of the three of his heritage, his two humans and his kimera...
Oh yes, he had anxiously waited for that. Each time his protector entered in his audience chamber, he took care of asking him if he were well, physically speaking and mentally as well, it was because he meant it, at the opposite of the Humans that said this as a greeting, not really wishing to inquire upon their fellows health and well-being. But he had always known it would take Liam one day as all Taelons had been taken by it once in their life. Da'an could do nothing but remember how intense in feelings and in physical sensations this period of his life had been, and could only imagine how it would be hard for Liam to pass, half-Human he was. The Ka'atham...
Perhaps that now, now that their relationship had become easier than only a short time before, following the incident with Zo'or, perhaps the young man would believe him, in his trust Da'an doubted he would believe and give his own again to the Taelon, but all he would firstly ask for was to be believed, not to be trusted, but only for Liam to believe in his words, for his own well-being. He would ask for someone to witness his words if necessary...
But Da'an would need to be sure in first, he could not assure Liam of an event of this importance without being sure of what he assumed would soon take place. Though his doubts were almost gone about what had simply been an angry behavior of Liam... perhaps, some were still there and he had to search for answers first.
Da'an let his thoughts drift off slowly by slowly and concentrated again on the little sight he had caught of the few Resistance members that had been there when Liam had brought him in the lair under the church's basement. A sole figure suddenly was caught by this intense memory following his return to the atavistic state that his mind replayed in every smallest details... Doctor Park. Melissa Park. She had been there and he had also seen her in Liam's company more than once. And he knew that she was Liam's doctor that agent Sandoval had assigned to him as a specialist of taelon-human medecine when Doctor Belman had been more occupied with some of the Companions' projects.
Without waiting one second, he waved open his datastream and searched for the blonde doctor's file and more especially her global number, then when found, dialed it.
It rang many times until it finally got an answer to, the instant that was sufficient for Da'an to start pacing through the room, anxious of what might the results of his searches prove about Liam's physiology and what suffering the young hybrid would need to go through, as all Taelons did. When the curious woman's face appeared on the screen, he immediatly put back in place his perfect American Companion's facade.
Park's features hardened slightly as she discovered who was the unknown sender of the call. "Greetings Doctor," Da'an's soft voice said, as he bowed his head slightly in her direction. He immediatly noticed that she was not exactly at good terms with him at the moment when she did not bother return his salute and simply bowed her head a little, at the limit of a sarcastick mimick of the respectful attitude Humans used to give him.
"I am aware that you are my protector's doctor, am I correct?" he gently asked, the last thing he wished was for her to refuse to him the access of the file he wanted to get.
She seemed to grow concerned as the Taelon spoke of Liam, possibly of his well-being. "What is it? Is he-..."
He interrupted her, though not too sharply, just hardly enough. "No, he is well. Though for reasons that are mines only and personal, I would wish for you to give me access to his... medical file," he added a direct glimpse of his blue orbs to this sentence he hoped convincing enough.
The answer did more than deceiving him, "I'm sorry, but I can't give you access to anything personal about your protector without his agreeing to it," she coldly responded evidently thinking that he intended to harm Liam in trying to manipulate his health. Then the young man had told to many of his friends about how his relationship with Da'an had changed, he had probably also told them to be suspicious if the Companion ever asked about anything related to his personal self. Da'an felt himself blushing and losing his human disguise briefly as he noticed how Liam felt for him, how he had even told his friends about it and how he had perhaps... hated him... for what he had done...
"My meaning is not to harm my protector Doctor. Obviously your misunderstood my words, I need to oversee his medical file about a... problem that he might have in the near future, an... extremely serious problem Doctor," he whispered confidently, hoping that this would be enough to convince her to believe in his words for the time being.
"What... kind of problem?" Her curiosity was now clearly shown, though her trust in Da'an's words was still not audible in her voice, she was not yet completly on defensive, but almost, as his insitence for having access to Liam's true health file was visibly bothering her, perhaps even worrying.
He took a long breath and briefly turned his eyes away from the screen. He shortly hesitated between telling her the truth of his thoughts or... slightly modify the reality only for put her at trust. Da'an knew what kind of consequences could have lies if discovered later, he no longer wished to experiment the hate of one for having lied to him - or her, in the case. "A problem... related closely to his... ancestry," he finally said, after many hesitations, that he knew he did not show often, what would perhaps make the woman act in his favor.
Park seemed to think during some seconds, surely weighing, as Humans put it, the pros and cons of the decision she would come to make. Da'an... almost anxiously waited, for her answer he hoped so much would turn on the positive sense. He did not just want this information, he needed this information, he needed it for Liam... the Ka'atham being a torment that he would not even wish his enemy to suffer from without being aware of his special state... Also the perspective of having Liam's trust and... and perhaps what could be built again of his friendship again was one thing he could not hesitate about. He would need time to think also, as he had needed time to think when he had been interiorly fighting about either or not commiting the actions he had, actions that had almost crushed the Resistance movement, sending many of Liam's friends to death. But friends, Liam had himself told him that he would no longer have after the next Resistance meeting that would go by at the end
of the week. Actually this had not been said, though Da'an knew of this meeting by the ancient ways he had been shortly directly linked to the liberation movement. And it was evident that Liam would lose many of his trust within the movement, his friends would now try to kill him... Being killed by some you had trusted with your life... Da'an allowed himself to shiver softly, unappearantly at the thought of what was yet to come of torture for this young hybrid that had had nothing easy in the life, perhaps death... Da'an trembled softly again. He cared for his protector more than he would himself have admitted, especially to Liam himself, and especially after what had occured between them...
The doctor's voice brought back to this reality, as he let these dark thoughts fade away, not completly fleeing from his mind though. "If you... need to see these files, I will have to come at the Embassy. I don't have them on paper, I regret." Her behavior seemed to have changed, in a good way it was... Humans never stopped to amaze him, in the good sense of the saying, fortuantly for their own sake.
"Then I am waiting for you Doctor and expecting your presence soon," he quickly answered, his thoughts transluscnet about his joy. He was extremely lucky that the human healer was not able to red the emotions on his face for not knowing the members of his kind enough, in which case she would have instantaneously seen his feelings and maybe this would have only increased her doubts about his intentions.
Augur grinned as he saw the angry look on Renée's face. She had simply tried to enter the lair, pressing her thumb to the DNA scan and the entry had been refused to her. The small hidden camera in the corner of the small corridor gave him the whole scene in real tv.
The hacker turned away from the satisfying image as Renée tried once more what she had been trying unsuccessfully since the last two minutes. The others cell leaders would arrive very soon. Hum... the thought of them being locked up there was certainly a little bothering her mind.
He had been thinking since his talking with Liam the evening before. He had viewed the tape of what had happened on the bridge many more times and could not yet believe it. Though he had clearly been able to see that, as Liam had said, something had just gone wrong about all of that. And he trusted the kid. He knew he just wanted to get a little fun. But he should have been just more careful. And now he was going to commit one of the worse actions he had commited during the past years of his services, non-paid services, for the Resistance movement. Yes, oh yes one of the worse. But fortunatly in the good sense.
Augur had to help his friend, as a debt, he had a debt for Liam for the so many times the young man had saved his butt, and for... for his betrayal also. Because perhaps Liam could forgive him, if he got to talk to him and explain him how he had acted the way he had. He supposed that that was what Da'an had in mind to. Liam had just called him this morning, not even called, just left him a page, about that he would spend the following nights on the mothership, in the chamber he could take if he wished so, at least for the next week. Until the things had cooled up down here.
But he knew exactly what Renée was planning to do here. They had a meeting. `They' meant her and every leaders of the Resistance cells of North America. She had called out this extraordinary meeting shortly after spreading out the news of Liam's... ancestry on their private web, the one that Sandoval had not yet managed to break in.
He felt so sorry now for that kid. Liam would be forced to play hide and seek for the rest of his life now, with the hunting that he would be the victim of. It was just if he would be able to still be a Companion Protector, not if tried to be killed anything he would show up at Da'an's side. And Augur knew that Da'an knew that. The Taelon was not a fool. In fact he was far from the naive and easily fooled being he pretended to be for be kept away from the Synod's suspiscions. The two of them had finally made peace shortly after Da'an's return to the atavistic state, the Companion had told him that he could understand his motivations and they had apologized and the story had not finished in that bath of blood Doors wanted to make of Da'an. No, Augur knew that Da'an would do his best in protecting Liam, both from the Synod and from the Resistance, hiding him even maybe, though this would kinda hard... And he would protect the kid as well.
It was simply unfair. Why did they want him dead now? Because he was what he was? If it were only because of this action of kissing Zo'or, he would understand, not exactly, he would not understand but he could understad as himself had been a tad shocked when learning it. But yet, more and more he thought about it, and more and more he could only put in mind that Renée was angry at Liam because of what he had done. Perhaps she had kept it dormant, in waiting for seeing on which side he would turn out to be. And now it seemed extremely clear to her that he was on the Taelons' side. But yet... he sighed, yet a logical person would never condemn someone to be murdered simply because of kissing an alien. It was simply... amoral.
The screen beeped indicating that someone was calling him. And not much people had his number here. Then it was probably Renée, calling in for ask him, in her very gentle manner, to let her enter in the lift. "Accept the call," he told his computer as the fuzy image of this new piece of art that was not, not yet, his, but would soon be, disapeared, leaving its palce to Palmer's angry face. He politely turned toward her a small glance, before directing his attention back on the files he was downloading. He was just making some copy, in case, he would have to leave very quickly. It was usual, he had always prefered to be ready... just in case, then each month this is what occupied most of one of his afternoon. But this time, something iside told him, that he would get to use these copied files very soon, if things kept going like that. Now, he did have a call from the Ice Queen to answer and stand.
"What does it mean?" she simply asked, sharply, directly, angrily as well.
"What does what mean?" he answered in the same tone, far away from the usual charming style he used to give himself.
"Don't play that game with me Augur and unlock that lift now!" she commanded.
The man typed the code on his keyboard and cut the line on Renée's satisfied face. He briefly caught a glimpse of what look floated on his features, walking in front of a glass and was himself surprised by what he saw. He had not looked like this since a long time. Since a very long time, indeed. That was perhaps the most foolish aciton he would ever come to do, but it was surely the most right he had done in all of his life miserable life. For the first time, he felt like his talents were going to serve to something else than destroying some people's life. And the feeling was damn good, if he thought that he would make no money with that.
Storm Renée entered the lair at the second he was grabbing his favorite purple coat that reached his ankles and fell perfectly smoothly on his shoulders. She stepped in and he walked towar dhis computers, grabbing the very few disks that were a little everywhere where he had managed to gather all of the information that could be useful to them in harming Liam, including many things that even Renée did not know about him. She looked at his doing as he closed his computers, immediatly putting them on the defense system, automatically, so that any users that would want to access the maind atas would need a password, a password that only two persons in the world knew: he and himself. He was sure on that point. His mind was in checklist mode.
Augur was ready to push the door and leave it all to Renée's good care, though he was a bit worried about the lair that was now his most official home. "Where are you going?"
He slowly turned around and glanced her way with that half-sarcastic half-dead serious look of his. "Really sorry to leave you in this moment Renée, but if you're going to plan my friend's murder, it'd be wise to do so without me."
She took a seat in one of the couch and placed her coat besid her. "That's interesting. Then, you've a good thrity minutes because the other cells' leaders are going to arrive, so perhaps you could tell me your point about that situation."
He could not resist the offer. Then if she were willing to listen, not only to listen but to understand also, maybe he would be able to manage a deal with her as to save Liam's life without making some unrepairable actions. He sat in a comfortable chair in front of her, took off his own coat and put it down on the ground at his side, crossing his arms over his famous black shirt with a pink dragon on the front, "All of I ask is why would you want to kill him? Just because he played a prank with Zo'or..." he asked. It mirrored his intentions. It could not be the only reason, there was to be something deeper under that fake meaning. One intelligent person, and he knew that Renée Palmer was one intelligent woman, could not kill someone simply after one mistake, it was ridiculous. But perhaps this something else, Renée would not be willing to talk so easily about. Perhaps she had some feelings for that man, perhaps she had first been deceived when he had told her about his real
age, where did he come from, who were his parents, his heritage... everything. She had been deceived then and after, when she had seen this little scene of Liam and Zo'or, kissing, she had just wanted to give him a good punishment... Perhaps. And perhaps Renée was just one more xenophobe on the planet's surface. The hypothesis was logical but maybe not exactly right. But unless he got another good reason from Renée, he would continue to think in this way. Her response interrupted his musings.
"First point," she said leaning forward, her elbows on her kness, her hands tightly clasped together, "I never said I was going to kill him."
Augur had to admit to be quite startled at the statement, "Then why have you called a meeting here tonight? And please don't tell me it's not my business because it is." If she had not the intention to have Kincaid murdered in first, it would perhaps go far much easier than what he had thought. He would not need to convince her now, no, now he simply wanted to know why.
"Okay, so it's your business. I never said I was going to kill him Augur. But I did not say I was going to let him go like this."
Augur paled. It was one of the very first time he allowed someone to perceive some of his real emotions. But now it was serious, the mask did not suit him anymore. "What are you gonna do to him?"
"Do you realize what kind of action he has done to us Augur? Today he's kissed Zo'or... And tomorrow he'll give the Taelons informations about us. That's what I'm trying to avoid."
"It was a joke Renée. He didn't kiss Zo'or because he wanted to, he told me okay? It was just a joke."
"And who told you he was saying the truth to you? If we continue to trust him Augur perhaps, one day, he'll plant the knife in our backs. I'll just manage to get him out of every influence he could have on us, contacts with our members as well."
Augur kept shaking his head, refusing to hear her words, refusing to listen to the small doubt in his mind. "I've known Liam from a long time Renée, longer than you do, longer than Da'an does. Lili and I have received him in our arms after his birth. I saw him growing. I gave him his first clothes. And if I know one thing it's that he'll never betray us consciously. He's not Taelon you know. He's just different form us. And that's why you are condemning him, because he's not perfectly and completly human?" They were so close to each others now, leaning over the floor, elbows on their knees.
Suddenly Palmer grabbed his hands and whispered to him, "Don't you realize Augur that I am doing this to him for his own good? And for the sake of the movement. I know he could be a potential danger for us. And I suspect that this is why he has hidden everything about himself to us. Because he knew how we would react. Augur, some cells' leaders are here to obtain his death to all price. He is a danger for the liberation okay... We will keep him away from the hard core of the movement. But they want him death and nothing less."
"What kind of game are you playing? You have no idea in what state he was last evening when he called me. He IS a kid Renée, he doesn't own any kind of punishment you've in mind for him okay? It was almost a miracle that he managed to survive while being involved in all that mess, working on both sides at the same time."
"Then maybe I'll get his life to be a little bit easier."
"For the time being, it looks like hell to him Renée, because all of his friends, he met them here. What kind of a life he'll be left with after you'll be done with him?"
At that moment, the familiar noise of the lift coming down, with probably one of the first `guest' for Renée's meeting in it was heard in the room. Just faint, but enough to be perceived. Both the man and the woman exchanged a look that clearly shown that this rapid, thought-showing talking had gone a little further into each other's feelings that they would have wanted it to. The lift continued to go down, further and further. Renée spoke up in first. "Listen. I'll try to convince them to spare his life, but I can promise nohting yet. And please, if you can see him, could you tell him that I'm sorry about the..." She gestured vaguely her hands to her cheek, meaning that she wanted Augur to apologize for her for the slap, and perhaps for the over-reacting as well.
Without anything more of a sign of some social contacts, had existed between them, Augur broke the eye-contact and grabbed his purple coat, putting it on. Without even a last glance to Renée, he left the lair. He had to see Liam. He just had to. He had so much things to explain to him. Palmer would not let him an only chance to get out of this mess unharmed, but would not let the others murder him either, then she was just neutral, but perhaps to be infulenced on the negative side. The best for Liam was now to hide for a good time, to become very small and unimportant, in a word, he needed to disapear for a week at least. He touched his fingers to his pocket, chekcing his he still had the disk with all info concerning Liam on it, before getting in that second lift, that he had reached after that maze of corridors. He needed to meet his young friend. But while waiting that things would calm down here, perhaps Kincaid would be better to stay at the Embassy with Da'an. Hoping
that the Taelon would not turn out to be exactly like Renée. The thoughts were whirling in his head as, for the first time, his mind was concentrated on someone else than his own personal business. And if he could get to talk to Park and Belman also... No, no, Liam first, he had to tell him about what he needed to wait for.
Melissa stepped with immense relief in the American Companion audience chamber. It was raining outside and a cold wind was running everywhere entering beneath your clothes when you were not watching and making you get the chill. She just feared that she would soon catch another of these sickness that are just enough for make her superiors having her on a forced time off. And she could not permit herself to take that time off, she had too many things to do. Many, many, many things to do in fact. She had to work on so many projects, coming from both Da'an and Zo'or, not speaking of her own projects that she needed to take care of.
But she could not allow her mind to be drifted away by these thoughts either, because Liam was perhaps in danger. She would have refused to obey Da'an's orders of bringing the hybrid's medical file, but something in the Taelon's eyes had showed her to do nothing of it. She had seen Da'an being worried about Liam more than once in the past, especially in the very beginning of his life as he had just begun to work as his protector and she had seen this exact expression of worry in his eyes when he had told her about this problem of Liam that could be related to his... ancestry as they both knew of it being his alien ancestry.
She had in her hand the small disk that contained all of what she had managed to gather about Liam's special physiology - it was not every day a doctor got to see someone with a triple helix of DNA, then she had assured she would take care of his file by keeping it on disk only, not registered in any database, nor written on paper as the rule wanted to be so. And it would be far easier to destroy it unknowingly if some unforeseen problems were to come.
Speaking of Liam's possible problems, she remembered of having set a rendezvous for Liam after he had complained of suffering from fever since some weeks, in fact not fever, as she remembered the whole conversation, in fact the young man had described it like the kind of heat you felt when you finished practicing a sport usually, but he now felt that every time his body was at rest. Park had soon dismissed the case as a slight over charge of his system - the work he did was planned to be done by an implant who could pemrit his body to rest only two hours a day - but now, after this call from Da'an, she had found herself suspicious at the beginning, it was clear in her mind that something was wrong with Liam's health. He was an alien after all, perhaps she had not been able to detect the slighest change made in his system at his last medical appointment. Her thoughts were interrupted by Da'an's greeting that she barely returned, still upset about his sudden request of her
presence.
He stepped down from his armchair after giving to the intruder the ritual taelon salute, staring at her as she kept eying the room suspisciously, though he had had all volunteers dismissed from their post here a few minutes ago, only seconds before her arrival. She would not be seen in his presence then, that was for the best. Da'an watched curisouly as she hesitated about weither or not she should speak in first. He responded to the question for her. "Doctor Park I will need your entire cooperation in this affair if ever you wish to help a... common friend." Seeing the small disk in her hand, he reached forward and tried to catch it in his hand. But she moved away from him.
Da'an was ready to explain her that he needed that disk and that he needed that disk right possibly for Liam's good sake! But she herself spoke before he was given the least chance to, "Before just taking the datas and do whatever you want with them. Because I've risked my life, only by coming her and trusting you on your good word. If ever I'm caught with that..." She gestured toward the disk still in her hand, an inscrutable look on her face. Letting her phrase unfinished, its meaning was though very clear. If ever she was caught with that disk, and if ever some agent would be tempted to check on them, her fate and Liam's was sealed.
"And Doctor, I realize that a great amount of trust from your part must have been necesary to bring you in my presence now. And I assure you that all of what I will show you is extremely important and could directly concern my protector's health," he said in his usual neutral, diplomatic tone, he had the habits to take when it came to apologizes. Park saw once more that faint glimmer in his eyes, a look of worry, a worry that was visibly for Liam's well-being.
Melissa decided that, as Da'an seemed to be playing a frank game with her, perhaps she would be better to do the same with him, to give him back the honor. "I can tell you're worried about something. Are you worried about Liam?"
That seemed relieve the Taelon, like if he had been relieved to know that he would no longer need to play this lying, faking game once more. If he wished to get this healer's trust, that would perhaps help him to then get Liam to trust him... Perhaps. He had yet to convince her to trust him in all points. Not in all points as she would be able to see some of the results by herself, but he would need to convince her that he was not part of another of Zo'or's schemes in weakening the Resistance. Or simply that he did not mean to Liam any harm that she might think he did. In fact, the only idea repulsed him. He had done what he had done because it was either this or his own life and the life of Liam as well, and maybe the life of many more of his friends that had died following his actions. And he wished so much now that Liam had left him a chance to explain himself, a chance that his protector had refused to let him. Their relationship had been colder than ice until very
recently, and it was only when the young man had fallen into distress, that he had had no one else to turn to, that he had come and seen Da'an, not yet asking for his help though. Even if the Taelon doubted that he would soon be forced to be if things were to progress further in the near or far future. "Indeed my worries are for my protector." He breathed slowly. From now on, he would have to put much of his trust in this human doctor. He doubted that it was as hard to her for trust him as it was for him to trust her... And yet, he needed to prepare himself to reveal one of the Taelons' most wanted secrets. He sighed again. "Doctor Park, I understand that the trust you have in me is very little, if even existing. But I will tell you things now that... that the Synod has clearly forbidden any of us to reveal to a human being."
Park was now very attentively listening to this alien. He was speaking the truth in saying that he had little of her trust, though her trust in Da'an was growing with each instants passing and even more after this revelation of his possible betrayal of one of the Taelons' dark secret. She only could hope that she was not wrong in placing her beliefs in him. She had barely managed to stay in contact with the liberation movement and yet knew not of the most recent news that seemed to distract and worry Da'an so much. Did Liam had problems with his colleagues of the Resistance movement? She wondered with a small frown. She could give Da'an nothing but her words of talking to no one else about this. And she did.
After being reassured, or as far as he could permit himself to be in the moment, by the secrecy that this woman promised of keeping. He spoke, almost not believing his own words as they left his dry lips. He had not done something so much against the Commonality's unspoken orders since his clear and all too brief alliance with the Resistance movement. But, he did this only in the ultimate goal to preserve Liam's life and if he were able to, to regain the young man's trust that was, despite what everyone seemed to think about him, very important to his eyes. "Do you know something Doctor about a taelon ritual that is refered to as Ka'atham?" he asked slowly, measuring every of his words carefully in the truth balance. As the human doctor shook her head after spending the few last seconds certainly reviewing every taelon ritual that had little to do with medecine, Da'an pursued. "It is a ritual that we have intently kept away from your scientists' knowledge, not for any reason
of politics as you might be tempted to think so. But for reasons that are far more... personal in origin." He stopped here, for take the time to lose his human facade, which action simply increased park's curiosity. If this were not important, or simply a trap, Da'an would not have acted the way he had done. She knew that a Taelon could hardly fake that kind of things as losing his human facade under the influence of greatest emotions.
Da'an felt himself blush deeper. The Ka'atham did concern him in every of his most private ways, and he was not extremely willing to talk about it, knowing plus that, perhaps, if the information was ever to be released on the Resistance lines of informations, that many Companions would be put at risk and even now he not considered the public's and the Synod's reaction to that. "Ka'atham is our... reproduction time, it is a mating ritual. Ka'atham is for my race what would be... what you refer to as sex for Humans."
Melissa listened with an increasing curiosity, her scientist side suddenly taking up the advantage over the Resistance fighter one. That was what every scientists dreamed of discovering. While the Taelons were answering every questions the Humans had asked them about the universe, about physics, about maths, about every kind of science existing... they had always avoided, ignored or simply told that they could not answer any questions that the scientists had asked about the way the Taelons could reproduce. Indeed the question had been launched, how do two - or more who knew? - energy beings could... mix their energy together for give a new energy form? How she felt terrible now about promising to keep this at a secret to Da'an. "How does it... work?" she asked, her mind completly drifted away from everything that concerned Liam.
Da'an suddenly felt more comfortable as he could now defend himself with more scientific details, cold and logical words. He was more at ease with these in this kind of situations, though being a diplomat, he prefered to deal with feelings and emotions instead of with these cold, senseless scientific words. "It has four cycles. The first is often unnoticed by youngest and ignored by eldest for being not extremey serious and at this state, the preson who is... afflicted of ths Ka'atham yet knows nothing of it. It manifests itself by bringing some changes into the body's primary functions and disturbing intensely the emotions, often causing the subject to commit actions which he would not have comitted under other conditions. The second is the unconscious choice of a mate. The third is what you Humans would refer to as... preliminaries. We do prefer the establishing of a somewhat deeper relationship, before passing through the last level of the Ka'atham cycle, though we do not
biologically need it for reproduction. The fourth and last level of the ritual is the mating, or a joining as you would put it, a joining of energy..." he added.
Park was before all and everything a scientist and as every of her kind, she always craved for more information. This sudden and unforeseen info about the Taelons' amting ritual was a gift to her, not that she could spread it out into the scientific Commonality, but that she could then satisfy her own personal curiosity. But now, as she was about to ask Da'an for more, as the Taelon seemed to be willingly speaking, she suddenly recalled that she had come here for talk about Liam's health. And she was now discussing taelon biology with Da'an?... What was the hell going on in Da'an's twisted taelon mind? "And... you said that Liam might have a problem. Though I don't see the link between Liam and... and what you talked me about..."
Da'an's hands were again making these complicated, nervous looking gestures in fron of him as he spoke. A fine smile on his lips, as if knowing what Park knew not, what he obviously did, he responded her by asking another question, "What did Liam tell you of... Ha'gel... his parent and his alien heritage he had been left with?"
She made a senseless, vague gesture with one hand, "I just know what he told me about. When I asked him if his parent were Taelon he told that no, that Ha'gel was Kimera. And when I asked what was a Kimera, he told me that they were like Taelons made of energy but that your two people were still immensely different, both in acting and in physiology. But every bit of his physiology that he holds from his alien side is alike everything I have seen of taelon physiology then I thought wise to take care of this part of him as if it were taelon."
Da'an simply nodded and turned his back to her, "I see." He seemed quite upset to her. She was truly becoming to wonder about where was this talking leading to. "Taelons and Kimera physiologies have one thing in common Doctor: Ka'atham.The only difference in that similarity is that where Ka'atham is for us only a cycle of reproduction that comes back regularly, it was for the Kimera happening once in their life and also started by the achievment of their growing for the reaching of physical maturity which would lead to reproduction eventually." He then let her think by herself, holding his hands tightly together.
Melissa's mind was suddenly hit by the revelation of what exactly was Da'an saying to her. Liam was still a child, technically though he did not look like one, but all hybrid he was, speaking of maturity he was still a child. She had been such a fool to ignore all that information that was so easily accessible to them. If only she had asked Augur to enter in the Taelons' database and search for everything about the Kimeras... She would have known that already and would not be depending upon Da'an's sayings now, she blamed herself. "Liam is going to enter... or however you say it - his Ka'atham Kimera cycle," she whispered though it was more a simple statement than a question.
Da'an half turned to her and glanced at her in that typical way from the corner of his eyes. "Exactly, perhaps are you now able to realize how important is for me to look myself at his medical file. Because the doubt that Liam may be entering his mating cycle is only a hypothesis, and I have no wishes to uselessly add to his present worries," he calmly stated, extending his right hand to her, palm up.
Though she was now almost perfectly convinced of Da'an's sudden good intentions for Liam, the last part of the Companion's statement had been heard by the little alarm in her head. "What `present worries'?" she asked, seeing the visibly deceived Taelon fold his hand into a delicate fist and bring it back to his side.
As only answerm he briefly glared at her, then said: "Follow me Doctor." While walking toward the upper levels of the Embassy, Da'an continued talking. "I believed he had spoken to you about this."
"About what?"
Da'an only turned to her another of these dark looks. Park felt as if her blood were freezing in her vessels. Something bad had happened to Liam, but what? And, if Da'an were speaking the truth, then the young man had been somehow shaken by that event, perhaps traumatized and perhaps was now in grave danger. They finally reached their goal and Da'an stopped in the middle of a circular room. She had not come here often and then was completly lost after the maze of corridors that Da'an had made their way through, but she doubted that they were now in one of the highest levels of the Embassy. In front of a standing Da'an was a console and another energy stream appeared as the Taelon waved the hand gracefully. Melissa felt non at ease as he started to type rapidly on keys, bringing before him some files, video files, she realized as she stepped closer to the screen.
The American Companion's cool voice started speaking. "My protector... and Zo'or had decided to play a prank on me, what the members of your species refer to as a joke." He stepped aside, letting her the chance to see the image by herself. Park had recognized the tone that Da'an had spoke in as acid, cold. He was visibly angry, or had been angry, about whatever kind of thing Liam might have commited.
She had been ready to everything, everything but that. She had been surrpised and had just managed to hide her feelings of revulsion to Da'an as he had said her that Liam and Zo'or had actually worked together to prepare a plan about something. But that, as seeing that scene she thought that she was just going to be sick. The only idea of touching a Taelon was for her somewhat weird and extremely hard to consider seriously. And she knew very well, for having seen a child that looked to be four years old change into a grown man... with all what was needed, that Liam was an alien, but she did not think that he himself would be able to do that.
But Park continued to look at the scene still. And frowned when seeing the Palmer woman storm out of the room, followed by an angry Da'an, just before the camera cut off. She knew the woman, she knew the kind of woman, and by problems that was perhaps what Da'an was refering to. Honestly she did not like that woman very much. Park was fighting the Taelons because they endangered Humanity, but Palmer was fighting the Taelons because she hated them. This woman was slightly drove to xenophobia and Melissa had no particular liking for xenophobes. In fact, she had asked Liam to repeat twice when he had said her that he had told Renée Palmer about his heritage and that she had accepted it as a part of himself. In fact she had been doubtful, but well, Liam seemed to trust her then she had let it go. "And what happened after that?"
"I am not aware of much, as you may know Liam has no longer enough trust in me to tell me anythig else than what concerns us on a professional point. But I managed to understand that he had been threatened by Miss Palmer to be killed and if not to be at least removed form any influent position within your Resistance movement," the Companion calmly stated. But the look in his eyes showed her that he was feeling very concerned by this, and by his protector and friend's well-being.
Park closed her eyes briefly, knowing what kind of disaster that could make, remembering so well how many times in the past Liam did confront Doors, about his leadership and the rectitude of his judgement about the Taelons. And... "And she's gonna tell everybody in the Resistance about him..." she added to the statement Da'an had finished.
"Liam doubts that such action would be in Miss Palmer's intentions..." Da'an murmured. He now seemed to be as worried as she was, perhaps he had just been hiding this from her since she was here but had just kep it hidden, "If it is not already done..." he whispered, finishing his statement.
"Oh God, the poor kid is already dead. They are all xenophobe, they'll kill him as fast as they get to know where he is..." she said, beginning to sound alarmed.
"This is why I have kept for him a chamber free in this Embassy, I think that it is now the most safe palce for him to stay." Park was amazed how Da'an was gently acting with Liam, for what she recalled from the few past days or weeks, the relations had been quite tensed between the two, as usual since Da'an's clear betrayal of his protector. "But I fear that it will soon become the least of his problems if my assumptions are right..." He once more extended the hand for her to give him Liam's medical file and she did after some seconds of hesitation. She was still under the shock of the news.
The Taelon slid the disk in the right place in the console and watched intently as the datas scrolled down before his eyes. He finally stopped when seeing a showing of Liam's triple ehlix of DNA. "When was this examination done?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the screen.
Park came closer, watching him as intently as he watched the data, prepared to... to what she was not completly sure, but definitively prepared to something if he seemed to act oddly. "Two weeks ago, why?" she responded then asked in return, her medical curiosity coming back strongly.
"This is curious," he said, whispered like if speaking to himself, his hands moving nervously before him once more. He then turned in her direction while pointing a point in the energy stream/screen with his fingers. "This..." he showed the whole DNA patern, "... is very strange indeed. I have never seen it before." Melissa was ready to remark that Liam was the first of his kind and that it would have been surprising if Da'an had seen it before, but the Taelon acted faster than she did. "Though Liam is the first of his kind, I know the kind he comes from very well." She suspected he had read the question inside her thought, but returned to listening. "The Kimera have created many hybrids in the past, their DNA as a surprising and useful property to adapt and mix with everything else that another race uses as genetic material. This is why I expected this..." once more he showed with a gesture of his hand the whole DNA helix, "... to be one single spin. I had expected that
Liam's kimera DNA would adapt and integrate the human DNA."
"And... what does it change? Perhaps human DNA can't be adapted by the kimera one..." she suggested as a faint pride grew inside her at the thought of the human DNA being unbreakble swept in her mind. But Da'an fastly deceived her.
"No Doctor, your DNA as the DNA of my own kind and as the DNA of every species known, and evolved enough for being submitted to a hybridization project by the Kimeras, were inferior genetically speaking," he explained with a faint smile.
Park frowned and gestures toward the screen, "But then, why is Liam's DNA not totally melted, in one spin, as you said it would be?" she asked.
Da'an shook his head in what seemed to be ignorance. "I have no idea, but as a normal Kimera would be mature, physically speaking, only after his first Ka'atham, then perhaps Liam is following the same path-..." He was interrupted suddenly by a global ringing. He saw the female doctor reach for her global and turn her back to him, slowly walking toward the other end of the room, sufficiently for prevent him form hearing anything of her conversation with whoever was calling.
She talked softly, a look of concern upon her features and once glanced at him, shortly before saluting her interlocutor, cutting the line and turning toward Da'an. "Liam's coming here," she only said. The Taelon knew that he would get every explanations in useful time, now he only wished that no misfrotune had happened to his young protector... and that with the Doctor Park's help he could manage to convince the young man that he was now in grave danger, biologically as well as physically and mentally by both his soon to be confirmed suspected Ka'atham and this threatening of Miss Palmer and the Resistance.
Zo'or walked at his usual slow, almost dancing rythmic through the long corridors of the facility he was visiting, following one of his fellow taelon, member of the scientific caste. He now found it almost difficult to concentrate on the subject that he was now here. The Ka'atham... again. Again its influence was acting upon him like if he had returned in his youth's days. A surprising thought, though, he was not reacting to a Taelon, but for the first time to a Human, as if this one had been Taelon. And of course, this influence from his mating cycle was... forbidding to his mind to find this attraction for a member of a less evolved species disgusting or distasteful.
He could feel Kincaid's presence behind him, though the young man was only a few meters behind him. Da'an often allowed his protector - a habit that he had become used to with the physical proximity that his last protector Commander Boone thought was useful and necessary even - to stay in close proximity of his person when protecting him, or even simply accompanying him, but Zo'or had refused to submit himself to this. The only thing hearable to his ears were the silent steps that the Human tried to silence, his calm, regular breathing and the faint beating of his heart in the background. He was lucky to be able to refer to the Commonality and then be able to recall what the scientist had said, because his physical form was becoming too distracted by this man's presence, and he knew it. He sensed the familiar burning starting to grow in the center of his chest and allowed himself to shiver slightly in response to the physical change.
The other Taelon suddenly stopped in his path. They were in the darkest part of a corridor, completly desert, or at least abandonned by the human staff at the moment and that was visibly what the other Taelon was seeking for. Peace.
Ir'tan, the scientist was so named, turned toward the Human and requested for him to leave shortly, that what he had to tell Zo'or was to be heard by no one. The Synod Leader had been used to more resistance from Laim Kincaid's part usually, this one used to discuss every orders he was given. And it was the very first time that Zo'or really saw him act as if he did not care about what would happen to him - or to anyone else. Liam Kincaid used to care... and... and all was there to make him believe that Kincaid did care, on the contrary to so much people of his own kind.
Something was wrong with the young one, he decided. Something in the way Kincaid walked, something in his way to show his face to be totally and perfectly calm and almost cold, cold like agent Sandoval's... no that could not be. It was the first time that he saw the young man in that way. Something had been wrong... perhaps this action of his colleague, Miss Palmer, had touched him in a deeper way than he had told him. Oh yes, Zo'or felt that he had hit the correct response.
{Are you hearing me?} Ir'tan `said', extremely loudly, though the correct word would have been `thought'.
{Yes... Yes I do hear you.} he responded, the most calmly he could in the situation. His mind was again turned toward the young Human mind he tried vainly to reach, mentally, though he knew it was impossible. But it was how normally that Taelons did function. When one was in Ka'atham, the only thing he had to do was to make it known by the partner he wished to have, that would ultimately enter his Ka'atham cycle as well following this avowal from his mate. This Zo'or had never managed to reach, simply because of his sterility, no one would ever accept to mate with him, to ultimately form an unbreakable pair of their two existences and this simply because he could bear no child. It had been rather deceiving when he had finally managed to understand this through his parent's telling and teaching. And now, his Ka'atham was pushing him toward a Human. What kind of decay was he falling into?
{And it is your Ka'atham that is causing you so much problems?} the elder scientist asked, almost gently. It had been an extremely long while since anyone had spoken gently to him, but Da'an who always did speak gently to everyone of course... Ir'tan had been a companion of youth and nothing more. Zo'or had known him many centuries ago, when he was a child and when Ir'tan was a young student entering the home of the healer member of the scientific caste that would help him to learn everything. And Zo'or was often with him asking him quesiton about this, about that. And he knew that Ir'tan had long been impressed by his intelligence but espepcially by an intelligence manifested at an age so young, mostly uncommon for a Taelon, especially for a Taelon that had been born in the way he had. He had not yet been advised of what his fate would be at this time. He sighed. Another consequence of the Ka'atham, his mind was constantly drifted away from what was to be talked of at the
moment. He was always... elsewhere as Humans would put it. And again, his thoughts drifted to where this young man was probably pacing the corridor restlessly, waiting for them to arrive and finish with this talking for that he could finally return to his home. Home, sweet home was it not?
{Yes... I would appreciate if you could shorten the visit, it is becoming hard for me to pay attention to something else than my own thoughts...}
The other taelon placed his hand on his arm and smiled lightly, in the soft way that Da'an used to employ with Humans. {I am able to understand as I myself more than once passed through this. You may return to the mothership if so is your wish Synod Leader, the visit can be postponed.}
Zo'or silently stood and watched as the slender being disapeared in the shadows of the corridors after offering him the ritual salute. Ir'tan had owned his place here. Zo'or mentally noted that he had to promote him, a promotion that he had been promising to him since months but had never have real intentions to give him, now he would permit himself to do it, now that he could excuse himself to himself later with the reason that his Ka'atham had taken the control of his mind and reasonning. Oh... His thoughts started to become gravely unclear. He needed to return the mothership now.
He hurried toward the side of the corridor that he had come by and upon turning the corner he slowed his pace and caught a brief glimpse of Liam Kincaid, sitting on a chair, his eyes closed, his long legs extended and his arms crossed. His attire showed a certain distress as Zo'or remarked that he wore the same clothes than the day before, and that he had visibly slept into them. The young Human was extremely disrupted in his living habits he would say. And why did he feel this way for a Human? Why did he feel so concerned by his feelings, something he had never seen before? He could perhaps put an answer on this why question. Maybe his Ka'atham cycle was once more responsible for this strange behavior of his. And this... this kiss, he had shared with Kincaid, the past day, this kiss had perhaps had some influence on him, and on his feeligns in all evidence.
The young Leader allowed himself to drift away in a soft watching of his current protector. The man was awesome in humans standrads if he just based his conclusions on what he had heard coming from some females. He had been informed by Da'an shortly after, as they had as usual met beyond the frontier of the physical bodies, inside the bounds of their mental Commonality, that Humans are mostly attracted to each others by the physical looking. They first judged a person by their physical looking and after this only decided if the mind inside was worthy. Zo'or had thought wise to make no comments, simply considering this as another curiosity of the Human kind, though, in the depth of his self he was despising this technique and its stupidity the most. And because of this, Liam Kincaid was wanted. Many women did find him attractive but no more. Fortunatly. He jerked slightly as the thought came to his mind. Why did he think now to the fact that Kincaid was unmarried and was not
known any mate for the moment to be something excellent? Why did he?
And the answer came... crystal clear... because he ultimately wanted to choose Kincaid as mate. Because he wanted this man. This Human, because his body had made the choice for him, because he had been left no choice for himself... And because he desperately wanted it... or him.
If Kincaid had been a Taelon it would have been simple, his line of action would have appeared clear to him. Zo'or would have said him he was interested in having him, in possessing him, mind, soul and body and perhaps the other would have agreed, as it normally was made for two Taelons. But there Kincaid was not Taelon, Kincaid was Human and a Human could never... never... never accept to mate with a Taelon. And Zo'or knew that.
And yet he could not help but admire this man now. How he could cut himself off from reality, so easily... Angrily, he waved away in a sharp gesture of the hand his musings, managing to take control of the Ka'atham... finally. No, no, he was needed back on the mothership. Now. He needed to return.
The young man raised slowly as he saw him step into the passage and followe dof this always so stiff pace behind Zo'or. Less then ten minutes later, Zo'or was back on the mothership, the door of his private quarters locked behind him, as the thought of his summon from the Synod came back to his blurred mind. He would need a greadt deal of time in meditation for get this sensation of uneasyness gone from his thought and body, he had to be ready fighting for his honor would be hard, he needed to fight hard. And he would fight. This thought was the last conscious was he had before stepping staggering into his energy shower, he felt more tired that he ahd ever felt in his life, another after effect of this Ka'atham crisis perhaps. His eyelids closed as he remembered Kincaid's tortured face as he had touched his bruise with his hand and the incredible loneliness he had sensed during the contact. He would... need to talk to... Liam Kincaid... After... Resting...
All the leaders were arrived. As they had seen that she was alone in the lair, they had inquired after Augur, but Renée had told them that he was gone outside for... his own business. Though she knew so very well that he would go and speak to Liam as soon as he would find him. In fact the sensations of her feelings being mixed on the subject only grew worse the time passing. She did care about what happened to Liam. Once she had thought that he could become friend with her, but had soon - after he had told her about his peculiar heritage in fact - discovered that that could not be. She could never stand to see, talk and act with someone as if he were perfectly normal if he were an alien, even only partly. She had understand Liam's loneliness, Liam's need, desire, wish for company, Liam's need for friends, but had been unable to fillful it. She simply could not ignore that he was, that he had ever been the greatest danger for the movement, not only by his position, but by his
very nature also. If the Taelons discovered what he was, perhaps they would not kill him, as he had confidently told her that they would do if they did find out who he really was, perhaps they would use him as an informant. Perhaps he was already their informant, perhaps the greatest, most dangerous spy was placed in the highest post you could think of. After all, Sandoval's qualities and skills might have survivec in the kid right?
Everyone she had called was there. She checked it as she interrupted her musings. Probably no one had remarked it, but it was one of the greateast Resistance meeting since the famous crashdown that started with Captain Lili Marquette's supposed death. Until then, they had always been forced to meet in very small group, in public place, trying to go unnoticed. But now, now it was big, huge... Maybe the Resistance was not as dead and buried as the Taelons believed it was, she thought satisfyingly with a grin.
They were about twenty in the room. That was all what had survived to the Resistance's downfall. Though if counted that each of those twnety persons had under there orders about thirty persons that commanded underground a Resistance cell of about fifty persons... And only in North America, where, after all, the Taelons' search for their spies had been the deepest and also had been the most efficient than anywhere else in the world.
Palmer raised and, standing on her high heels, her imposing, cold looking presence had soon requested silence of everyone that had been absorbed in their reunion with colleagues and friends. The silence was soon heavy as if palpable in the room. Always standing, not bothering to sit down, she started to pace the room, "I see many questions in your eyes. And, if the correct information has been given to you in time, you must be wondering about the same subject." She turned to face everyone in the room at the same time and spoke, loudly, clearly, "Yes, Liam Kincaid, our leader, is an alien." There were shocked murmur a little everywhere in through the lair but most of them already knew and had reacted earlier then simply stayed at their place and continued to watch, knowing that Renée would not stop there. "He is born less than two years ago, here, and was took under our wing, though he was not well trusted. After he became protector to Da'an then grew closer and closer to
him. And... I think that you've all seen what I've sent you via global about what had happened yesterday." A whisper of anger ran through the room, along with some usually censored words. "I knew about his... special condition since a few months but had chosen to not speak of it... because I believed he was entirely and completly on our side. Yes, I did believe that he was fighting for the same cause than we are: to get the Taelons away from the planet, possibly with no hope of return for live what they have left of an existence to us in relative peace. But I no longer do." Words of approval came out of some people's mouths. "And I think we've all seen what he's able to do. For what we know," she was circling the room again, a genious expression on the face. "For what we know, he could be in Zo'or's close confidence, perhaps even his informant. Yet, we must not condemn him to death, because he has not showed us that he would betray you but he did leave us with hypothesis of
what he could possibly do, if he were to betray us. And if I am here today, if I have called all of you here, if I have taken this risk, it is because I think that we must eliminate the threat before realizing that we should have when we will all be held captive in a cell on the taelon mothership."
"Eliminate? What do you mean by `eliminating'? You said you do not intended to kill him yet Renée..." spoke one of the cell leaders that she was not able to spot, had she barely been able to make out what he was saying.
"And I'm still saying it. We must not kill him, not only because he's also partly Human but also because he can still be of some use to us-..."
"What for? Being dissected?" This remark was followed by a major burst of laughing that spread throught the room, leaving only Renée at the front with that cold angry mask. She let them do and they all ended by stop when they understood that she found here no subject that owned to be laughed at.
Palmer stayed there bitting her lips, she had been expecting that and was waiting for since sometimes now. "No. Especially not for being dissected," she said just before turning toward the one who had threw the phrase out one of her look that somewhat reminded of Zo'or's despising glaring. "We must keep him alive. Because he bears inside him a part of Humanity, because he has ruled our movement and been our leader since his birth... but especially because he could be of use to us if we were to attacking the first." Seeing the mesmerized looks on their face she raised and started to explain, "We have to keep Kincaid because we need Augur. If we kill Kincaid, we lose Augur and with him goes all our chance of ever managing to hack in the Taelons' databases. And do you realize how much we need Augur for operate on the surface and on underground both? And do you know how long we'll need to dig out every little dust in this country to find someone who's talented as he is? And
without Sandoval noticing it?" she smiled a little and leaned forward from where she was now sitting - she has sat down while speaking and wandering through the room - satisfied of having finally managed to make them understand her point. They were just waiting for her to make a proposal of what she had in mind for Kincaid. "No, we won't kill him. Unless he would make an act that would place all of us here in danger we'll keep him alive. But it is of course out of question that we'll keep him in constant contact with the movement. We can't longer take that kind of risks now that we know what he's able to do. I suggest that we vote for another person to be our leader. We'll cut Kincaid away from everything that's somehow linked to us. I think he'll understand by himself that for hiw own well-being he's better stay away from this place," she concluded her speech by.
Renée Palmer said not much more, but approval to other suggestions from some cell leaders. The meeting lasted until late at night from the beginning of the afternoon when it had started. And Renée was smiling sitting on a chair, in fornt of a table, in the near darkness that had filled the room. She would get her revenge soon enough then. It had hurt her feelings so much when he had told her about himself being alien, but she had managed to hold it back as she had felt that she was falling even more in love with the man. She wanted not to fall in love with that man and more she had met with him, more she had, it could not be avoided, it simply was. She had started to accept it as a fact when IT had occured. She had no rememberance of having ever been so angry at someone. That, this... this alien bitch had prefered an alien to her, a Taelon and pf every of them the worst, Zo'or. He had tried to tell them that it was only a joke and despite all she had seen this look in his
eyes, this look that she hurt him by saying some things bad about he and Zo'or kissing, it was the beginning of it that she was old enough to recognize... She shook her head from the thought. And now she was so mad at Liam Kincaid, for having done this. And she had made the others becoming so angry at him as well that they were now ready to shoot him on sight. Poor Liam. He had chosen the wrong way. The wrong side perhaps. And yet it was not his fault, poor boy, but what was done was done. They had voted evidently for her as a new leader. Though their anger for Liam had gone in a different way that had her own: they were angry at him, not for kissing Zo'or, not for being a possible threat but for having hid the truth about him since so long. But they were angry and angry persons were the easiest to deal with from her point and they were what she needed right now.
They finally left about two hours ago, convinced to have saved the movement and very happy with themselves. Renée though started to doubt something since Augur had not come back. It was rare that he stayed away from his lair during a so long time. She waited for him to come back, during half a hour after they had left, knowing that perhaps he wanted to wait for them to have left to come back. But it was already three in the morning and he had yet to come back. And then she began to worry because Augur had once missed a night at his place and it was because he was an operative on one of their mission, if not she knew he could not stand to stay in the same set of clothes during more than about eight hours. Habits of his, that she had soon stopped to ask about when she had come to know him.
And as she had said, Augur was a most efficient member of their movement and if they lost him, they lost a lot of power and influence both on groung than underground. She rapidly opened the computer. And was refused access. Her smirk rapidly vanished when she saw the files rapidly beginning to erase themselves from the hard disk as she tried once more, entering this time Liam's password she had once caught, looking over his shoulder. Her face was contorted in anger as she hurried in the lift, catching a last glimpse of the destroyed computer that was now simply shuting itself down, perhaps waiting for Augur's personal password that he changed every days, perhaps simply dying.
But Augur would come back, she knew he would come back. All of his material property was there, many of his most precious things were here. No he would come back. Perhaps. And when he would she would be there and waiting for him. But now, she had to take up her new function and find a way to do a little... clean up at Liam's appartment that she recalled being also a place where Augur used to live. How perfect... She smiled, things were not as bad as they looked like, finally.
The former, thouch as he doubted not for much longer to be, Synod Leader made his way through the corridors of the Taelons' homeship, his eyes attentive to the faintest moves in the dimmed light of the passage. The walls were glowing, softly, as usual, their conscienceness was somewhat on the edge of awakening, as always when a Taelon was near, but the scientists had improved this technology in the wanting that it would do no more harm to energy beings than briefly awakening as Zo'or now sensed it.
His feet were leading toward this chamber, where he would meet these people whose words would be his fate. The fate, the cruel fate that would probably ruin everything he had tried to build in the last few years, not only those he had spent on Earth, but also these years spent learning how to fight, how to defeat the opponent, how to be a diplomat... And ho how zealous had he been to Da'an's lessons ! It now had made him, these rules were now the one deciding of his life. And Da'an was complaining. His parent was of course complaining that he was cruel, that he was uselessly cruel with beings that did not own such a treatment.
To these words, he had since long taken the habits of only smirking at. Had fate not been cruel with him ? In allowing him to live, but nothing more. He had lived barely. And since the end of his childhood, he did not live, he survived, he fought for life. Had fate not been cruel in making him sterile ? In making him wounded in such a way that ever in his life it would be open and bleeding... He was a child, young and innocent, and unaware of how cruel life was. But so soon, he had learned, he had not been taught, but had been forced to learn that every other children had something he would never get : they were able to procreate, they would have children, they would have children and hold them in their arms, taking care of them. Something, he, Zo'or, would never, could never possibly do, but was it so important after all ? Is somehow he still managed to ensure the survival of his kind still ? And since he had thought to this, then there had been a great deal of time when he
had thought to himself as a being who detained such an importance. What was his own survival if his whole kind survived ? He would give his whole life, his whole existence for their sake, he would for their well-being, sell his soul as the Humans put it. Though the idea of having a soul was quite amusing for him to think of. As many of his fellows, when young, when there were many young Taelons to study the teaching of the said to be mentors of the diplomatic caste, had pretended that the shell that contained his mind was empty, that there was no... soul inside. They used to call him with a name... a particular name that each time he remembered... his anger, this crazy anger came back inside... soulless, this is how they called him.
And of course, they had been given the chance to take a mate and produce children. They would be given that chance, but he would not, ever.
Today, he was not complaining about this. Because all of these of his generation who had borne children had been returned from their ships to the homeworld, to raise there their children, as was the tradition in the Taelon empire. And when the Jaridians had attacked... and when 5 billions of Taelons had been killed, on this number half a billion had not yet matured. Children. Had been killed.
And he recalled the moment so perfectly, he was aboard the diplomatic ship Ne'rahs, part of the peace delegation travelling to Jaridia. The war was over finally. Messages of peace had been spread out on every channels that lead ultimately to taelon controlled communications. And he would be one of the very few to assist to the moment from the best place. His parent was suspiscious however. This is why Da'an had ordered their immediate return to the homeworld some seconds only before the... cry through the Commonality. The young Zo'or had, as every other Taelons present had, collapsed on the floor and had stayed there, perfectly conscious, but yet to remain unmoving. This cry, this terrible cry, that had fled through the Commonality. Bilions of voices had suddenly been unlocked from their steady place, in which they were bound by their links. He had heard the cries of the tortured children, that he knew were dying into the flames. And he knew that it could have been
himself... or his offspring.
Their return had been only made in time to find back... fragments of dead rocks of their planet, that once was. Da'an had blamed himself ever since to not have ordered the return of their ships earlier. And what could they possibly have done would Zo'or have replied to his parent ? If this one had asked. But the war had started again and both of them were taken apart by their occupations and duties. Zo'or had gone to fight against the enemy on the first line as usual. And Da'an had done as ever he had done. He had stayed at the back, protected, ordering people to get killed before his eyes. With T'than.
Why had fate done this to him ? He had stopped wondering long ago. He knew that if it had not been him, it would only have been someone else who would have carried the same burden.
With an unseen shrug, he realized that he had lost control over his thoughts again. His Ka'atham was still violent, even after the attempt he had done to meditate to calm it. Before the Synod meeting. Because this moment, was definitely the least one where he could permit himself to lose his temper, because if he did... He would pay it of his rank, his pride, his reputation, his leadership and all of what was keeping him alive. He had lived, he had suffered to live through this life, only to see the moment when they would triumph of the Jaridians, when Taelons would once more have kids in their arms, giggling, bringing with them a missed happiness and this he could not make it to be true without being in the highest position. He had climbed, he had gotten himself as high ranked as possible, only to see this war ending. But he would no longer be able to if he lost his place.
Zo'or closed his still tired eyelids. He was fatigued, as many incidents haf forced Sandoval to keep him in a constant alert recently, in the past hours. Alert, and incidents that had been provocated he feared. In the special objective of tiring him for this meeting. Though this reflection was immensely selfish as he considered the security breaches that had needed many members of the crew for being taken care of to be personal assaults... But he could convince himself with the fact that he was under the influence of one of the most vivid Ka'atham he had ever experienced.
A sigh briefly escaped his dried lips as he stepped over the arch, introducing him inside the room where was the Council of the Synod meeting. Already were the other members arrived and awaited his presence anxiously. The welcome was as usual when he was concerned cold to not say unexisting. But he had become used to this.
He stayed standing in the middle of the circle, this was the normal and usual position from the leader to take, to always show his great trust in his fellows behaviors. He had not to feel nervous to always be turning his back at someone. Though now he felt so. But he could not permit to show it. Never could he. Never would he. "I believe that some of you had formulated the resquest to question my leadership of our council. Then you may begin, I am ready to listen to your pleas and demands."
The younger Taelon tried to kept the shiver that ran along his spine from being openly shown as he heard T'than's despised voice behind him. He slowly turned while was the General speaking. "Pleas and demands Zo'or ? No today what we will discuss will be your fall and our words will be spoken as accusations." The words had been harsh, hard, cold, emotionless. But Zo'or did know that the War Minister was enjoying the... event. His downfall... T'than would soon learn that he had fought long enough for this position to be smart enough to know how to keep it in his pocket.
"Fine T'than. Accusations then." Then turning to the rest of the gathering - it was in fact the whole Synod reunited there, with only Da'an missing, having pretexted to have other business to attend, his parent had remained closed inside his embassy in Washington - to adress them directly. "As no one of you seems to be willing to lead this meeting..." He paused here to make sure that every one had weighed his words and would not start. But he knew that no one would speak after his demand, that had sounded like a threat. He could not deny enjoying to see them being submitted to his power and will. "... T'than you were decided to present you arguements as it seemed. You may speak."
Zo'or felt nervous. For once, in fact no, not for once in his life, as definitely he had felt nervous before, but had always kept it well hidden. But the Ka'atham was now adding to the pressure on his mind and forcing him to let pass through his mask some of the feelings he so rarely had allowed the others to take a glimpse of. His fingers were moving in undetermined paterns before. And T'than briefly glanced at them before staring directly at his his face, locking eyes with him as he started speaking, to present to the Synod what he had requested to communicate. The older Taelon knew of his nervousness and knew as well and undoubtingly how to use perfectly, to make it fit into his game.
"I must first confide that the personal rivality that reigns between I and Zo'or has nothing to do in this action. What I do today, I do to ensure the survival of our kind and nothing else. Since too long, Zo'or has been putting his personal feelings before his function of the Leader of the Taelon race. By being elected as this position he satisfied his wishes for power, a power that now we have given to him, he is doing the worst of use with. If this continues, we will all die at the hands of the Jaridians. Or - as he seemed to absolutly want to destroy our alliance with humanity that is growing weaker as we speak, by his doing - at the hands of the Humans." A brief pause during which Zo'or had the interior satisfaction of seeing his accusating fellow surprised as T'than noticed that yet the younger had not lost his composure, nor his facade, nor his emotionless mask. And Zo'or knew that the worst of the accusations was still to come. "Zo'or controls you. And he does so by
fear. You fear him because he is powerful. And his power he built on the fear of others before you that have done nothing to oppose him. If we do not choose someone else as our leader, he will destroy us. But we must do so before it is too late." T'than had been speaking with vehemence, and he stopped there, to regain his breathe. But after, his speech was more peaceful, as was his tone, but his eyes were like tiny needles that gave Zo'or the feeling that his old enemy could read in the depths of his soul and free from there every of his deepest secrets. "I sense your wondering. You are wondering..." Adressing the other members, "... what proves, what evidences I may have of his madness, of this fury that will destroy us ultimately, that already is spreading through the Commonality..." A smile, "... It might have been brought to some of you's awareness that our leader had commited an act that is condemned by our council, the act of getting intimately involved with a member
of another, inferior species, part of the Taelon empire. Of course, Zo'or will tell you of the exact contrary, not that I expected him not to defend himself. But despite this... human mating ritual was not as disturbing as it might have been... we now cannot ensure and respond before our fellows of Zo'or's sanity and capacity to command this council. At many times in the past, we have ignored Da'an's warnings about his own child's capacity to destroy us all. We have barely acknowledged them, as you, as I myself did, thought that they were acting upon this rivality that oppose them as it opposes Zo'or and me. But we should have listened. We should have listened earlier. Because Zo'or has commited crimes. He has used the ressources of this Council for his personal use, he had kept things hidden to us, unless they served his own personal interest to reveal them to us, he has wasted the lives of many human beings and Taelons to reach the highest position of our hierarchy he
could to then manipulate you to do his own will. And since his nomination as Synod Leader nothing has been done to improve the survival of the few of us who remains. This is why I must ask of you to remove him from his position. Or at least from any position from which he could have influence on your minds and decisions." He rose from his seat and glared at Zo'or down his nose. "You surely have something to add before we will unify our thoughts on your fate ?"
The younger Taelon could barely believe the words as they slid down from his lips. "No, I have nothing to add to this. Judge by yourselves." With this he left the gathering, leaving his fellows to their thoughts and joining of minds that would take many hours surely. Overhelmed by the urging need to talk to someone that would listen to his fear - another of the symptoms of his Ka'atham doubtlessly - he locked himself into his private quarters and refused himself to go back at the Synod meeting room to yell his innocence. They would need to judge the situation by themselves, as he had suggested them to. It was consciously that he had said this to the members of the council...
But the only feelings he would remember later of what had happened was that he had been taken by a sudden assault of fear and that everything had faded away.
Liam found Augur on a bench, in a park, in Washington, somewhere. As usual Augur was not hard to miss. He was tired. A lot. Could not explain it, he was just... tired. He had gotten a page from his hacker friend, on his global, just when he was going to take his leave from the mothership. He did not have much time now, he had promised to doctor Park to meet her at the Embassy in about twenty minutes. And he had other duties to carry out on the mothership this evening.
Well at least, the famous bruise on his cheek was not too visible. Thanks to Zo'or's care. Oh good lord! One week before if he had though he would be actually thanking Zo'or for something, he would have said himself he was going insane. Just as he thought of the taelon Leader, he felt a strange warm spread on his cheeks... A blush. Why was he blushing thinking of Zo'or? He did have these weirds dreams of him and Zo'or that he simply did not want to think about again. But there was it. He had kissed Zo'or. It HAD been weird - though not displeasing, neither disgusting, nor repulsive, strangly. And now he was just having weird dreams about it. What the heck? He WAS a young two third human male. It WAS normal.
But not that way. He knew it, he just did. He just had gotten that strange feeling again and again thinking of Zo'or. A feeling that definitely, he did not like at all. Kincaid sighed when he let his muscled shape fall on the bench, inches beside Augur. "Wanted to talk to me?" he just asked, matter-of-factly, not even bothering to look at his former friend.
Augur turned his head slightly to look at him, glaring at him almost severely, this look he had when something was or very wrong, or was going to become very wrong. "Yeah," he answered finally, stopped looking at Liam so intensely and locked his eyes on his feet. "I'm just coming from the lair. Renées was there preparing a meeting of all surviving resistance leaders worldwide. Guess about what?" he ended on a rather sarcastic note.
The protector let his head fall back, his eyes looking up at the partly clouded sky. He closed them and shook his head, covering his face with his hands. Yes, he knew how so well about what would this meeting be about. Too well. Another sigh escaped his lungs, he let it go between his clenched teeth, slowly. "Ah... They just haven't let me a day of rest since my birth dammit! My mother died, I was two MONTHS old. I've never gotten to know my father other than in my dreams. And my dad is a monster who's selfconsciously torturing his own kind. All of my friends are dead or will soon be at the hands of the Taelons or I can't trust them. Oh dammit all! I can't trust anyone right now!"
Augur had just kept listening. He knew all of that evidently. Nothing had never been easy for that kid in his life, his life itself being the hardest thing to keep up. Always saving everyone's butt. Yeah, for what? For getting betrayed at the very end by those he had worked for since the first day of his life! "Many things are unfair in this world Liam. I know myself what I'm talking about." He put his hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.
Liam let his head fall forward until his forehead was resting on his knees. "I just don't know what to do Augur. I don't know..." The hybrid smirked in a way that reminded the hacker of his human father, a thing he did not like to see right now. "Or yes, I know what to do. I'll return home and just shoot myself in the head. It'll be better for a lot of people anyway."
"NO LIAM! I don't like you thinking like that. I'll tell you what you're gonna do. You're gonna go at this appartment-..." he slid into Liam's hand a piece of paper with an adress written on it "...- It's one of my `just in case' places okay? You're going to ask a day off from Da'an if necessary and you'll sleep. Coz you need it, believe me. You look like hell, kid." Liam smiled faintly as he recalled the days when Augur called him kid. When Lili was still there.
"Thanks Augur. I'll go there," he said quietly. "I just... Ah..." he sighed again. He could not even speak about what was bothering him the most. Could not even speak to the closest person he had as a friend about his problems.
"Hey, s'okay kid. Your life is falling apart around you. Anyone would be a bit shocked eh?" He put his hands on Liam's shoulders again and forced him to look back at him. "You're gonna talk to me about this, will you?"
"Yeah... yeah, I'll do that Augur. Thanks... for that place to sleep I mean... You're gonna join me there?"
"Yeah, I'll come. I don't think either of us should return the Flat Planet or the HQ now you know..." Liam nodded. Then jumped to his feet and pretexted that rendezvous with Park and Da'an at the embassy was coming closer with every minutes passing. With a few words more and a shake of hands they parted. Augur worried about Liam and his health, Liam just thankful that he could have a place where to sleep tonight and also thinking that maybe Augur was one of these to be trusted friends. He prefered to forget about anything else now. His meeting with both of his `adopting parents' at the embassy would ask more than a little of his attention for sure, so he needed to be at very least still awake when he would get there.
Liam, somehow, had managed to get rid of this overhelmingly depressed feeling. He only remembered looking at his feet as he walked his way back to the taelon embassy in Washington after leaving Augur on that bench. But, slowly, his feelings had grown calmer. And soon, with every steps he made, with every new thought that came up, also had come a feeling of profound peace. He had wondered why was he feeling such a peace. After all, his life, or the little he had gathered as a life, had been shattered. His life itself was in danger, though that more he thought about it and more he did know that Renée would not come out with assassination attempt. For a mere reason of safety, the Resistance would not attack him personnally. They knew what he was capable of, they knew he was aware of all their techniques, they knew he knew how so well how to defend himself, and they knew that they would be given just one try. Because if Liam survived, then he would speak out loud who had
attempted to kill him.
So what... everybody was trapped by their own trap! Liam's life was definitely screwed up - a chance he kept anything he had that was truly precious to him on him, in his coat pocket, or in his desk at the embassy, because he knew he would never get to see the inside of his appartment again - and the young hybrid was doing his best for his mind to survive the destruction.
The feeling of peace was probably the eye of the storm. He knew that worse than what he had already seen was on his path. But, unless he died, he could not stop going forward. Not now. He could not abandon... Who? Who was left to him? Augur was still with him. Park was still with him. He knew she would always be with him, on his side. She had always considered him like a son, never ever had she said anything bad to him, never she had made reproach for him to be what he was, like so much people had done. Never.
This feeling... He had refered to it as peace. But it was more like a... a longing. A longing for something. When you knew that something was ahead of you, something good, something really good, something better. Someone... He had sensed that something was happening to him, of course, how could he have not seen it after all. His emotions were in a turmoil, he made strange dreams everynight about himself and... Zo'or. Especially since... Since this kiss.
Oh... he could not help himself, or the whole mess he had created by this sole action, but think back as to how good had felt the silken touch against his lips. Of course, despite his relatively short life, he HAD kissed somebody before. He had had some girlfriends but most of them had not lasted long, mostly because of this awful, screwed job of his. His boss could call at any hour, day or night, and he had to come right now at the embassy. And he had discovered that most girls did not like that. Nor did they like the fact that he made workdays of 20 hours. Almost like an implant. Almost like Sandoval. But well, he could not really tell them that his body could stand a lot more, physically, than any non-implanted Humans. He had not felt closer in a girl though. Never, to none of them. He did feel an attraction to them, a certain attraction. It WAS there. He saw a girl, found her beautiful, asked her for a date etc. Mostly his offers were rejected. He forgot most of the time
that his mind was also, like the rest of his person, one third alien. That one third of his mind did not think like a human would do. And curiously it had always been the kimera side that had held everyhting more or less linked to reproduction. Well, not so strange if he realized that the whole reason he had been born was because of a biological imperative that had pushed his father to take Agent Sandoval's form, to procreate and to `force' his mother to. Though Beckett had been more than willing, and would have been if Sandoval, not the Ha'gelished one, the natural one, had simply come, kissed her and pushed her on her bed.
His kimera side had always taken the lead on that. He had had many girlfriends, but with none he had gone to the point of copulating. This part of his mind was so... alien in thinking sometime. It was scary, even seen from the inside. Alien by simply not human in standard. He was not Human. He had to put that into his head and get it solidly kept in there. He was not and would never become human. He would never be a part of them, nor would he be a part of the Taelons, or of any other races. Because he was the last of his kind. Because he would forever be the last of his kind, unless he produced children. But this, he could, and would, not do for long years.
The apparently young, but even younger, man that had taken the identity of Liam Kincaid walked quietly on the right side of the street that led to the Washington embassy. Soon it became more like a simple path than a street in itself, as it was travelling in zigzag through Da'an's gardens. He loved those... So much. Here he could sit on the bench, sit here and sometimes talk with Da'an, or with Lassiter, or even with Sandoval, even he came here, or simply sitting there and watching as the tiny droplets of water fell into the fountain. Everybody who had served in Washington embassy for a time came here. Sandoval prefered to come when no one was around and if you were coming while he was there, he simply turned on his heels and left without a word, without a glance, without anything. Liam had got to chit-chat with a bit here, but only... very briefly. And he had wondered at these times, when Zo'or's attaché had politely waved off the questions while his dark eyes were fixed on
the falling water. You could never talk frankly with Sandoval. But when Liam came here, he met Agent Lassiter often in the gardens. This one had been one of the first non-implanted Humans to serve the Taelons, he had been accepted in their services at the same time when Lili Marquette had been. He was a frank man, he often, very often talked about his two daughters and his lovely wife. He had a life, a real one. A wife that waited for him at home. He knew Da'an since much longer than Liam. Knew how to talk to the North American Companion, often explained some things to Liam when he and Da'an had argued. Which happened more and more often now. Lassiter was not here tonight. Liam had not expecting him to be either. HE actually DID have a more human schedule to work into. And Da'an often gave him his evenings off anyway.
And Da'an...
When he met Da'an in the gardens, he used to avoid him now. He stayed away from him. They would do some little talk. `Hi, how was your day, mine was hellish one and bla bla bla...' But never again, never since Da'an had betrayed his trust they had talked. Well, it was sure that they DID talk to each others, but they had never actually talked about something, more personal, or more out of business. More talks... just concerned about each others, their thoughts, their mutual feelings for this and that... But nothing like this happened now. His relationship of trust with Da'an had been broken, in the most painful kind of way possible. People had died. And by his fault. Because Liam had not seen the coup... had not seen the betrayal. He could not be perfect of course... But this had hurt him. And he knew now that what he and Da'an had lost, they would never gain back.
He sighed, sat down on the bench before the fountain and watched the little droplets of water fall, and the little red fishes touching their mouth to the surface of the water, obviously hungry. Hum... he mused. He would need to come back a bit later and feed those.
Once more, his mind got lost in this labyrinth of thoughts.
A mate, children, a family. A Life. With a capital L. If ever he mated with a human, he knew that the alien part of himself would ever be a burden, but if he joined his destiny to the one of a Taelon, though he did not seen easily which Taelon would not faint hearing that a two third human one third kimera hybrid wanted to join with him, if he joined himself to a Taelon, then the Human inside would be dying. And how many chances were there for that he could find another hybrid like himself to mate with. Of course, nobody knew what fate had in store for them. Maybe taelon-human hybrids, or maybe even kimera-human hybrids - as Taelons were well known to play with what is not theirs - would be created within the few next years. And then, maybe he could find a partner that would understand him, accept him entirely, and complety.
But these chances were low. It was hopeless.
Liam Kincaid would never ever get a life. Get a family, get someone to love, someone to receive love from. Though... Though Liam recalled this look in Zo'or's eyes when the Synod Leader had lightly touched his fingertips to his cheek and had nearly completly healed his wounds. In fact, Liam almost did not think to it anymore now. He recalled what kind of loneliness had hit him when he had touched... kissed Zo'or. How Zo'or was alone... Just like him. But Zo'or was a Taelon with a capital T and with all it could imply. He had maybe showed some... special attention to Liam, but maybe he felt the need to repay his gesture of saving his life. And their taeling in the shuttle, when Zo'or had refused to let him take all of the blame, the kind of warmth it had brought to his heart. Somehow. And... And he did have some... attraction, affection for Zo'or. But not love. Not even a liking. But he knew how too well, that he could change this. That so much things could change this. Less
than two weeks before he would have killed this Taelon if ever he had gotten to chance to. But now, now that he had seen him weak, alone, afraid, that he had seen the being under the mask. Now, he would not hesitate to give his life for Zo'or's.
Thiking this, he had raised, had started walking again. His steps had automatically led him to the entrance of the Washington embassy. And had spiraled up in the corridors. He had now arrived in front of his desk, just before entering Da'an's office. He could hear the soft noise of the energy stream he knew would be swirling around and over his alien boss's armchair. And he could also hear the little tac-tac noise of someone, probably a woman, more probably Melissa Park, walking through the room, on high-heeled shoes.
He showed himself completly and Melissa simply stopped walking and turned toward him when she heard his steps. The Taelon had also regained conscienceness and had stopped his energy shower, but was merely watching them from his place, wordless, motionless, what was not happening often to his diplomatic persona.
The petite female Doctor slowly walked toward Liam and embraced his much taller form in her arms. Like a mother would do her child. The young man returned the hug. She had not done this since when?... Since he had gone into this near-death state to bring back Maya, Augur and the other sleepers back from the dead. Since she and everybody in the HQ had thought that he had died. Ah... He had missed that time. When Lili was there to be the big sister he had ever had the feeling she had been for him, when Jonathan WAS fighting with them, at least not becoming associate with the enemy, when Da'an was frank with them, helping them, when he came to the Resistance meeting, informed them, when everybody seemed to fight on the same side. Now he just felt like everybody was fighting for themselves. No longer for Humanité, or for the Taelons' survival. Just for themselves... He sighed as she let go of his muscled frame.
He did not really mind being treated like the child he was in front of Da'an. The Taelon knew what he was, who he was and what he was fighting for. In fact, Liam had often felt uncomfortable because Da'an knew so much about him, but now... it just helped to make it all easier.
Melissa stepped back and looked at him, her eyes not judging him. "I know what you did with Zo'or Liam." Kincaid's gaze wandered away briefly and when he turned his eyes back to the Doctor, he looked only ready to defend himself against whatever comments were coming. As he opened his mouth, she spoked again. "But it's the least of the problems you're gonna have young man." He was not exactly sure if she spoke about this kiss or the whole mess that had come after with the Resistance.
"What?..." Something worse was coming. Oh... joy.
Da'an was only watching the scene from his chair, in which he was stiffly sitting as usual. Not saying anything. Not moving. Merely watching, so much that the two of them had rapidly got to forget the alien's presence into the room, not the point of speaking openly, they still kept an eye of them, but still.
Park took a sample of his blood. Da'an had suggested that the changing might be already in progress, that Liam's DNA could already have begun to change, to morph into this unique kimera spin. Though Park was not at ease with being forced to rely only upon Da'an's words about this whole situation, she had no choice but to. The young man was massaging the part in his upper arm when she had taken the sample while both of them were looking at the computer screen attentively waiting for the scan to be finished.
When the result came on, Liam suddenly felt dizzy and was forced to hurry back to his chair and sit in it to not fall on the ground. His legs felt like jelly under him. He could feel it now. Why now? Why had he not felt it before? He was changing before too, but, the cut hurts a lot more when you see it than when you do not. Now that he had seen... this. Now, he knew that inside, that inside, his DNA was merging, that everywhere in his body his cells were changing, that he was going to change into something not Human, even less human than he already was. Into something completly alien. He knew for what he was feeling that his skin tone had gone almost white. He was feeling cold. Cold and hot at the same time. He felt boiling from the inside, like if his blood had suddenly turned into fire in his veins, but outside, the air seemed chilly against his sweaty skin. His breathing came in short gasps.
In the last few days, he had often felt abnormal fever or had waken up drenched in sweat. But never, it had been like this. He could feel it, moving... inside. He could feel himself changing, evolving. Park was at his side now, but he kept his eyes closed. The woman took his pulse, it was faster than normal and especially faster than good, but it was steady at least. The crisis, or whatever it was, would soon come to pass.
Suddenly, Liam's young body gave a last convulsion and then he could regain his calm. He quickly reassured the doctor at his side, that he was feeling okay.
While the human healer was trying to find out what had been wrong with his protector, Da'an stepped closer to the small screen curiously. He had not seen the results that had came from the blood sample, his sight being even less performing than the one of the Humans, the result that had frightened or, surprised at very least, his human young protector. He looked briefly at the young man, sitting in his chair, his head had fallen back, his stare was focusing on the ceiling... The trust between him and Liam was destroyed now. It was why he had prefered not to speak during the short few words that had been exchanged between the female doctor and Kincaid. In fact, Park had asked him not to. That it would be only better if Liam was told this by people he could trust. She had added a bitter tone to the remark, making it profoundly true at the same time. And Da'an had done just as she had said him to. He would avoid the contact of the young hybrid for this certain, critical period
of time and then, maybe when the worst would be over, then maybe they could explain.
Because he knew from the few informations that the woman had given him that Liam was in danger for the time being. Endangered by the movement for which he had given his very life, endangered by the people for whom he had fight, for whom he had fight risking his life... People who now attempted to end his life, because they thought he was a danger to them. Bitterly ironic. Da'an knew that Liam had never felt accepted by them, the young man had never told him such, but it was readable on his features when he was looking down into the gardens and saw his... fellows. Knowning that true fellows, people like him, people that liked him, he would never have. He was the last of his species. And despite every of this. Despite he felt rejected by the human people, despite he knew never the Taelons could accept him as what he was, Da'an knew he would have fought for them both. And now... Now he had no place to live. Now if the Resistance wanted him dead, the would soon find a way to...
And now that Liam was in danger, he could not do anything to help him. Simply because Liam would never accept his help again. Because he would reject his help, thinking it was only one more offer to betray him.
The alien made his way toward the computer. The spin of DNA of the hybrid had changed since the two weeks ago when the first sample had been taken. What Da'an saw on the screen justified fully Liam's earlier behvaior. On the screen turned on itself, a double helix of DNA. The three original strands of DNA, coming from the three different parents were still represented by a pink, a blue and a green line. But the pink and the blue one - the two from his human parents - were melted into each other, almost to form a new purple one. And the green part of the spin was dangerously close, closer than normal for a human DNA spin. The merging was to happen soon, very soon. But this he should have been able to tell only by seeing Liam's reaction.
Melissa had hugged him again after the convulsions had stopped, when she had been done with the little check up of him. "Da'an and I have talked a lot about you Liam. We think, we serisouly do think, that you are moving to another step of your development. As you are the very first human-kimera hybrid to be born, and personally, I don't even know anyone else in the world with a triple DNA spin, we can't tell, if it's normal for you. But I'm going to do everything for you to survive. Da'an also explained to me that the Kimeras, when they pass from their youth to their adult state, they experience something the Taelons name ka'atham. They follow the same patern, more or less, than the Kimeras do. And Da'an thinks that you could have unselfconsciously searching for a mate. A taelon mate Liam. Because a non-implanted Human would not stand a joining with you. You know this I think. And well, I've just thought that this might be why you've done... well... that with Zo'or. Maybe
your subconscious think that he might be a suitable mate for you. Your Kimera side, I mean. But I ain't too sure about that part. You're Human. And if you keep the human DNA inside of you, you will still be. I think you should take a human mate." She had released him while she spoke. He had simply kept staring at ther with those incredible grey-green eyes of his and had listened.
Over her shoulder, he had seen Da'an, looking at the screen attentively, then lose his human facade, blush-blue... And after the Taelon had briefly looked their way and when he had seen the young protector looking back, he had turned away and had simply walked back toward his chair. Liam had seen the hint of sadness in the alien eyes, though he was completly mesmerized as to explain it. He did know that Da'an DID care. But, it only seemed wrong to see him caring for the one he had betrayed again. He nodded as he listened to the few last words of the doctor. A little voice in his head said at this, typically human in thought. "Thanks Melissa. I'll do my best to... what... to stay myself..." She had flashed a small smile at this.
Park and him talked a bit longer, as the night began to fall outside. He recalled he had promised Augur to come at this adress he had given him. Liam felt the changing now, felt it inside of him. It had only been the first few moments he had realized how much was he changing that had made him react like that. Now, he still felt it, and he knew he would have to get used to feel as if his bones were moving inside.
She told him that she was going to stay at the embassy for the night, that Da'an had kept one chamber free, that they could share it and then if something went wrong with him, if he had anything like this crisis he had had when he had seen the changing DNA strands, then she would be just some meters away. He had accepted, though had insisted to call Augur and advise him that he was not dead, that he was merely staying at the embassy for the night, that he might come up on this offer of his to take that appartment etc. The hacker had not been completly reassured about him, but had accepted the few answers that were given none the less.
Liam was now lying flat on his back, in the small room he shared with Doctor Melissa Park. He had looked along time at the woman in the other bed. She had always been like a mother to him. And now he was just so tired, he simply wanted to sleep so much... He closed his eyes.
Once more, Zo'or had retreated into his sanctuary. The decision of the Synod, their final decision, had been pronounced. He had hoped nothing and had received even less.
He was now in the most private chamber amongst the few he had aboard the mothership. No one could accessthis one, but him. It was his. And he needed to be alone now. Not that he whished so: the urges of the ka'atham pushed him to feel constantly so alone, that he would have to choose whoever could help him, could be at his side. He had a longing for a mate. Not for someone. Only for a mate. For someone at his side.
And he could not use a Taelon for this. They would all refuse to stay at his side. None of them were in ka'atham, another problem created by the little number of Taelons left in this galaxy, the same problem that brought them no children in this endless circle of life and death, for them now narrowing to a circle of death only. Soon, there would be no more Taelons left in this universe. And Zo'or knew that. And more than everything else, he did not want that. He wanted a mate.
A part of him wanted only a mate, a mate with whom he could go through the ka'atham impulses and that would give him children. This part that was Synod Leader, this part of himself that was the cold Zo'or ready to do everything to ensure his species' survival... But something else... inside, wanted something else than this. Wanted a mate not only for one joining, but for a long, complete life. It was like this before. Before when the Taelons had only one ka'atham in their life, when they were only once forced to copulate with another, because this another they had to choose for the remaining of their days. And now... now that their race was nearly extinguished, the last of them could even not receive the comfort of having a mate at his side.
He was alone in the chamber. He had come to cherish his loneliness, understanding that he would and could never get something else than that. And he thought. Zo'or thought like he had not in a long time. He thought, not about his species, or about their fate, or about humanity. But about himself. Himself that, making of the survival of his species the only of his priority, he had forgotten often in the recent past. And now, now that he had been temporarily relieved of his burden, could he be allowed to think of himself and of himself only.
The Synod had declared that as their Leader, Zo'or would have to request the approval of every members of the council before every major decisions to be taken. And, as the condition he had done his best to keep hidden had obviously been known for quite a time, he had been ordered off his position as head of the taelon Synod until his ka'atham would be accomplished.
His eyes closed, his head slightly bowed, his human facade gone, all his energy directed on his thoughts, denying to everyone the access to him through the Commonality, he lay there, nearly unconscious, and he smirked. They knew. They knew, of course, they did. They had probably known about both his sterility and his fruitless ka'atham since a long time already. He had underestimated them. And now he gained what his pride had brought.
The young Zo'or had been told more than once to hold in high respect the members of the Synod, even if he came to be higher placed than them. And now, he had disobeyed to this advice, and now he suffered himself from it. He had toyed with his fellows, thinking he could manipulate them as easily as he had done with so much people before, Humans of course included, and now he was the only one being toyed with.
He would not regain his position as Synod Leader until his ka'atham would know its end. And everyone that knew of his condition knew of him to be sterile, then, that his ka'atham would never cease. Not unless he would find a mate. If his absence from leadership went beyond 1156 terran hours, they would vote again. For a new leader. And Zo'or would lose everything he had spent his life fighting, killing and manipulating for. Power. Because power held the solution. With power he could save them. And he had then been entrapped in his own power games. Playing, toying, to gain more and more and more and yet more... He had sold his soul to save them.
Hours after, when the deepest meditation state would have been achieved, when he would feel somehow... better, he would think of himself again and of his mate. And yet no Taelons were in ka'atham. And even if there was one of their kind going through the mating ritual, he would still have to accept him. And not much people would be ready to accept his damned soul. He doubted that at least one being could accept him as he was.
At worst... at worst maybe he could choose a Human, testing on himself the thorize of Da'an's, that the Humans were almost evolved to the point of becoming their equals. And if it was not efficient, then... both of them would die... in the greatest of pain.
His thoughts became chaotic again. No... He tried to resist, attempted it. He knew their was someone out there, reaching out to him, that he could hope to reach by himself... But... But, it was so hard, it hurt so much... He wanted someone so desperatly beside him, he wanted to feel someone accepting him, he wanted to feel someone filling every part of his aching essence with his own... His physical form started to choke... shaking... He had lost, had lost everything, he had lost everything because he had wanted everything, because he had wanted too much. Was asking for his soul to be healed by a comforting presence at his side too much?...
Seemingly, yes it was.
Zo'or prepared himself to die. He would die rather than face the humiliation of being told this by the Synod again, being told that no one would ever accept him... He was just... just going to fade away. Without last call, without desperate measures, not hoping to be saved... He did not own to be saved right? No one would seek for his deliverance...
Two blue eyes opened as the fallen leader lay down on the cushion on the ground, bringing his knees close to his chest. At least... at least, he was going to face death with open eyes, fearless.
Only a whisper in his mind as his essence slowly began to be dragged away, through this final step... A whispery sigh, a word, holding in itself not only a name, not only its own meaning, but also, the whole meaning of what could have been...
Liam...
What could have been between them. What was too late to be.
Liam had awakened that night. That night he spent at the embassy. He always had felt unsafe within these walls; no, not always, not when he could rely on Da'an, when he could trust him, when he knew that though the Taelon was forced to be and to think like what he had been born as, Da'an could count as another of his friends. But it was like this no longer. Now... he felt trapped at this moment. Sitting on the edge of the ramp leading to the resting quarters of the staff, including Da'an's own personal chambers, he felt surrounded... by enemies, as if they could pierce his body, see through his soul and read his mind.
The virtual window helped for sure, showing him that freedom was not so far away, but he yet felt like a prisonner. His breathing had shortened, until he was almost moaning at every breathe he drew in and out. It did not hurt. No it did not, but it only felt... different. He knew he was changing from the inside. He felt it again, like when he had seen the DNA double spin. Only more powerfully now. Much more powerfully...
The young man had prefered not to awake Doctor Park. She had been through a lot, including working almost hand in hand with Da'an to manage to understand what was wrong with him... And she needed rest. And somehow he knew that it would not be dangerous. Not for himself anyway, and not for the moment. But he could only imagine what would be next. For the moment, he felt himself changing slightly inside, but he somehow, again, knew that the transformation would include some... more violent parts than this.
He had walked through every corridors of the embassy, thinking, thinking to many things, about many things. Curiously, he no longer felt that his little conflict with the Resistance would be much of a problem. Like Park had said, he would soon start having many worse problems than this one. He knew he had to say goodbye to the movement of Resistance. He knew he would never again see the friends he had made here... he had to admit being saddened, somewhat by this loss. But like everyhting else, everything, every feelings, every impressions came to it like through a thick fog. It had to be an after effect of the transformation. Nothing affected him like it normally would have. But was it now that it was abnormal referring to the soon to be past life he had had as a Human? Or was it normal? Was it this human life he had lived through since years that was the abnormal one? That THESE feelings had been the false one. He was an alien. He would soon became the truly last member of
his kind, not to be mixed with every other people, only a Kimera. And he would no longer think as a Human. And things did not appear to be horific. It did not terrify him to be changing in this way. But he knew what did Melissa think about this. She had always been as comfortable as a human doctor can be toward his rather strange physiology and his alien ancestry. But now, he felt that she was beginning to what? To worry about him... To worry about what would happen to him? Or to worry about what would happen to Humanity after he had changed? He could be the worst of the danger for them, who knew? Who knew what was he going to become? Maybe he would frantically begin a search for a mate like his father had. Maybe he would just... fade away, abandonning humanity. Ahhh... Maybes... You could build a whole world with those. But the possibility, the risk, was still there. He might be dangerous to humanity. After... his transformation into whatever he was going to become.
After only he had started to feel somewhat... ill. Nausea, mostly. He had rushed to the bathroom in times and had been there during almost one complete hour, vomitting everything he had eaten in the past few days, most of his saliva included, some blood also. He did not know why. But he just now hoped that it was gone and done. Because he truly hated to be sick. He did not know why still, but he felt that nothing was wrong yet. He had then not gone to see the petite doctor sleeping into this small bed into the chamber they shared.
And now, he was there sitting at the very limit of the ramp, his knees almost touching the virtual glass, sending into them this somewhat familiar chill that the sudden rush of taelon energy provocated. His head a little bowed down, Liam his eyes closed, his thoughts minimalist, listened to his own heartbeat as the peaceful noise was decreasing almost alarmingly. But he did not care. It was normal he knew it.
A soft voice, this soft, seemingly water-filled voice as he heard it here and now, he knew all too well came through the room to his ears, in the whispery tone the Taelon usually reserved to Eunoia. "Major?" It was faintly interrogative, but the young changing hybrid had already felt the alien approach. Though not disgusted, or despising, at the sight of Da'an, he felt growing in him a strange feeling of mixed fear and nervousness he had only rarely sensed before.
"I am still changing Da'an, I feel it." He spoke only the truth. For the time, truth was his best ally, especially with the North American Companion who knew more than anyone else about what he would change into.
"Indeed, you are." Cryptic response. "I have felt your change as well Liam. You have always been a member of our Commonality, though unable to communicate and react to our thoughts, but your awareness has begun. Soon other Taelons will sense your presence." A pause, during which the aliens eyes wandered paternlessly on the smooth purple floor. For Liam the energy pathways under Da'an's skin were visible now, indicating that the Taelon was tired. He had probably interrupted his rest... for talk to him as it seemed. "I sensed your... illness also. Why have you not asked for Doctor Park's advice if you needed healing?"
The young man's lips were faintly covered by a smile. He and Da'an had not spoken more than three or two friendly sentences in the past few months. Their relationship had stayed mostly on the professional side. And Liam now realized he missed that. He had missed that. "She needs sleep more than I do. And my... illness was not of such an importance Da'an. I was just sick."
"Anything about your condition might be important at the time being Liam." Da'an's deep blue eyes stared at his still form from their corners. Liam was still sitting on the ground, his head half-turned in the vague direction of the Taelon's voice, but he now heard the soft pace of his alien superior coming forward, toward him. He waited until he could see Da'an's legs just beside him.
"What do you want Da'an?"
The question implied much for the concerned. Did the young changing Human meant that Da'an might want something from him? Or that perhaps he simply wanted to talk to him? The Companion believed that the speaker himself did not know the exact meaning of his words, and especially, what they meant for him, what they implied for him. What a lack of trust he sensed in them... But why was he complaining after all? He was the one who had betrayed his protector the first. It was he that had unconsciously searched for this punishment. And yet he had done what he had to do. When Liam would have to choose between his people and an alien friend. Between the trust of his own people and the lives of a few Taelons or Jaridians or anything and anyone else... Da'an knew so well what he would choose. The Resistance, though dying now, had still managed to organize assassination attempt of eight Taelons in the last three months. Five of these attempts had succeeded, or partially did, leaving a
Taelon dead or gravely injured. And Da'an had seen the coldness, the indifference in the man's eyes when they had received the news. And when the Taelon had confronted his subordinate, asking for a clear answer, Liam had simply said that he could not answer the question. This answer had been enough for both. "I was merely concerned with your safety Major Kincaid. Your are obviously oblivious to what is happening to you." A faint smirk was drawn from the human lips, but the other continued before another bitting reply could come from them. "I know more about the changing you are suffering from than any of your healer ever could. I have assisted to this in the past and been through it myself." His cool fingers touched his shoulder briefly and the now attentively listening Liam felt like if the Taelon was leaning downward to whisper in his ear. "This is only the beginning. It will not be painful, but it will be the hardest thing you will always see. The energy matrix of your
body is expending. As you have yourself witnessed, it now rejects every alien organic matter. Your physiology is hopefully stablilized enough for that you will not become an alien to yourself, what would be followed by a... quite painful death. If you successfully pass through this stage of the mutation, your body will enter what we refer to as ka'atham... The-..."
"-... taelon and kimera reproductive cycle," finished Liam in a whisper. He had listened attentively, realizing the truth of Da'an's words. He was not sure if the Taelon offered his help or simply wished to put him at the exact place where he wanted him to be, to afterward use him. And no one could ever convince him that Da'an knew not how to use him, or could not, because he had proven he could do this had he not?
"Young one, I am not asking for your trust, for I know that the feelings you have for my person and my people could not allow you this." Liam shuddered at the truth in the alien's voice, at the memory of painful souvenir to recall. "But I am asking you to listen to my words. You are free to believe them or not. As you are free whenever you want to leave this embassy. But I am the only one who know what will become of you Liam."
"I'm listening."
And not trusting, nor relying, finished Da'an for himself, silently. This lack of trust certainly pained him, but he could only know that in the Major's place he would have done the same and then could not blame him. "Ka'atham can be solved by only one thing: a mate. If your change turns out to be complete. And if by then you are able to enter the ka'atham cycle, this is what you will have to search for. A mate. And though you might not believe me, we both know what happened to the human mates of your father Liam. Only an implant was able to withstand the joining. And then nearly died from it. A Taelon could survive. For the moment, the idea may appear repulsive to you. But ultimately you will have no other choice. You cannot know what urges can the ka'atham generate in someone Liam."
The young man passed both his hands over his face, his skin felt strangely cool though he did not feel cold. "I know who's the only Taelon in ka'atham Da'an. I've known for quite a time. I've felt it for quite a time."
The Taelon closed his eyes briefly, "Your... kiss may have been only a consequence of this unrevealy mutual attraction you felt for each other Liam. Your body was merely searching for an appropriate match."
"Yeah, that's what the whole mess started with..." said Liam with a faint smirk as he recalled the violent contact between his face and Renée Palmer's hand. He brushed his fingers against the new, pinkish skin that started to appear there. Thanks to Zo'or... He probably doesn't know that I am in ka'atham, or well, that I'm already searching for a mate. How could he anyway? He just reacted like he would have done with another Taelon, he thought.
This hand one his shoulder again, "Liam... I was advised earlier, that Zo'or had unexpectedly fallen into a coma. He fortunately could find his way back to awareness, but his cries for you now fill the whole Commonality Liam. He does not even know who he is calling for..." Da'an, satisfied, watched, as he spoke, the young man's eyes widening and his breathing quickening. A faint smile crept over his lips as a feeling of concern and affection he had long hoped to see in Liam's eyes warmed the greenish pupils. At least... At least if his child and his protector could find completion into each other...
"You will find him in his private chambers on the mothership Major. He has been told to rest. And is waiting for you. If necessary, you may use my name and authority to access him." As soon as he had finished speaking, the young man had departed. Maybe when Liam would be calm again, they could speak. As a mature member of a species almost... alike to the one of Da'an, Liam would be able to understand. Or so he hoped.
The room was relatively small. Of course, never before Liam had stepped inside the Synod Leader private quarters. Even Sandoval did not come here so often. The young man, or at least still looking like it, had come from Da'an's embassy through portal, as fast as he could walk without seeming to hurry. As usual, the volunteers had ignored him. They ignored everything and everyone that was neither a treat to the imeediate security of a Taelon nor a Taelon himself. He had often mused that they could all be the clone of one and only person and even as this, the implanted volunteers on the mothership would show so much more liveliness, humanity and diversity than how they were now.
But the Taelons... had all looked at him with something he had definitely never seen before in their eyes. A strangefeeling, not completly exact, something... like dread, but melted with such a fantastic amount of respect... It seemed as if it were visible in their eyes only for him to see, the volunteers did not seem toreact when some of the Taelons simply lowered their head in a respectful bow as he had passed his way into the corridors, some of them had even got out of his way, retreating into the shadows of the corridors. The Taelons had never, ever, showed any Human what was vaguely ressembling respect, melted with fear yes, but this in itself was even stranger as a Taelon had definitely never demonstrated of any fear in front of a Human, especially not while on the mothership, protected, among the other members of their kind. Alone, in a dark little room, in a building, captured by terrorists, perhaps a Taelon would feel fear, but even then, he would not show it, so...
openly.
He felt himself changing. Maybe they had somehow sensed his change, or maybe Da'an had told them... But if they knew then why were they not going to order to any volunteer to seize him, arrest him or just kill him right there. He recalled how the Taelons had reacted upon the announce of his father's newly found freedom from his cylindric prison. They had been overhelmingly scared. And had ordered Ha'gel to be killed at any cost, even to the cost of losing some of their better elements... A Kimera was a source of fear for every Taelons. Then how to explain their behavior. They seemed scared, but some of them showed the same kind of respectful fear to Zo'or.
Or maybe he was just imagining things. Maybe the constant heat he felt inside was growing and developating into a fever. Joy. He still felt himself changing. But it was smoother. The changes were smooth, like if everything was just... going well. Maybe these changes were also visible for a Taelon, when they were not for a Human. And somewhat sooner, he had felt like he had herd something. In his head. In his mind. A cry out. Someone, something, a mind, or... something... was calling out to him, was requesting his presence at his side. And this something, or someone, had awakened those urges that he had merely briefly felt when he had dreamed... The urges... that made him want the warmth of a body beside his own, that made him want to run his hands all over someone, that made him want... someone... badly.
And from where he now was. And especially from the rather exited state he felt himself reach, he knew who was this person he wanted the presence of so badly.
Of course, he knew inside, though something had blocked him from understanding the messages of his own mind, that Zo'or was the person he had ever sought for. The person he had ever sought for. The reason why, when he was kissing a girl, he felt that it was not right, that it was not the right thing to do, that someone else was there waiting for him to come. Waiting desperately. And Da'an had told him. Da'an had simply told him that Zo'or would eventually have to become his mate. And yet, Liam had refused to believe in the alien's words. It seemed that it could not be true. Zo'or was his enemy. Zo'or was not only his personal enemy but the dictator of the people that wished only to conquer and to perhaps later destroy the planet he had been born onto. Zo'or was a monster. Had ordered for hundreds, if not thousands, of person to be killed and/or tortured. Zo'or was the true representation of what was the worst of the Taelon race. And it was this being that Liam would have to
link his destiny to.
Though it did hold sense, the whole concept, this whole mess in itself held the most perfect of sense, it had a meaning, but not if you simply glanced at each of the facts separately. He had to look at it, back from the beginning. The very beginning of his days. Of course, he had since long suspected that there was something else under the shell than Zo'or the cruel and typically monsteresque Synod Leader. It had to be a facade. It just... had to be. Sometimes, he had caught glimpse of Zo'or, when the Taelon thought of himself as unobserved, gazing at the stars and at the Earth below the large bay window that occupied most of the bridge front wall. He was gazing at the stars almost softly at these moments, these few moments of peace he allowed himself to be taken in. Zo'or had often spoken to the stars. Liam had caught him doing this many times. He knew when Zo'or prefered to do this, he had learned to spy him. Zo'or questionned the stars. Asked for their help, for their
wiseness, for their extended knowledge, asked them what should he do. And then Sandoval arrived on the bridge, approached Zo'or, they spoke closely and softly during a few minutes during which both their masks seemed to fall. And then both regained the cold, heartless mask.
Liam the resistance fighter had wondered at this time about this on an only... professional point, keeping in mind that he had to know the reason of the Synod Leader's behavior because he was the leader of the nearly destroyed resistance movement. But now, it appeared to him. He should have seen it earlier, had he not been so blinded by his own stubborness. He should have seen what apparently Sandoval had caught a glimpse of, that Zo'or was incredibly alone and that he often projected an image of what he was not. Like everyone if you thought about it. But the only answer was that he had a people to rule and that he could permit himself to see neither fear, nor indecision nor any feelings, but power and the fact that he knew exactly what to do with it. That he was sure of himself, of what he was going to do.
At the time when all what counted in the young Liam's life was the fight for the survival of humanity and the departure of the Taelons from the planet, he had see it as a dangerous flaw in Zo'or's shell, and had talked about it often during resistance meetings. But Zo'or was just too guarded, when he moved from the fortress ofthe mothership, Sandoval was always at his side. And they valued the presence of this only one man as they would have for about thirty well trained, implanted volunteers.
But Zo'or was alone. And now Liam understood perfectly and completly how much he had wished in the past days to relieve him from this burden of solitude. To take this height off of his shoulders. It had probably all started with him realizing, how really was Zo'or under the mask, during this crash, when they had been left to themselves, or almost, lost in the woods. And then, maybe the very first of these inhibitions he now oftener and oftener felt had been this kiss they had shared. A kiss that he had thought first was nothing, but that then had revealed itself to be the end of his life as Liam Kincaid, former Companion Protector, ex-Leader of the resistance movement, first human-kimera hybrid and that wasmaybe the beginning of another life. Of something else than the life he had been through. If Da'an had spoken the truth, but he had had Park's word about that also.
He was changing. Liam Kincaid would soon end his existence. And whoever he was going to change into was going to take his place.
The only thing he could feel as he stepped in the chamber and noticed its relative smallness was his rapidly and probably dangerously increasing heartbeat. His breath was somehow feverish, short, seemed unappropriate into his own troath. He knew that normally his whole body would be damp with sweat as his bodily temperature had raised to a untypically human peak. But he was not. He simply felt... warm. Too warm. Exited as well. Though the warmth was not feverish as he had first had the idea it could be, though this same warmth was not really making him fell... hot. He simply felt warm, and felt good being warm. And the excitement was somewhat sexual, but somewhat not. He did not feel aroused, or `turned on'... But he felt the urges gathering into a whole mass of something he was very exited by.
The chamber was vaguely circular in shape. In its center was a hole. Not a hole. In fact it seemed that someone had just taken the half of a sphere andhad moulded the floor on it. A hollow in the floor. It was about three meters large and one meter deep, and covered with cushions and blankets. It seemed like the taelon version of a bed. Hovering over it was a, for the moment, inactivated energy stream, but it doubtlssly was what Zo'or used as a bed.
And is was then that his eyes lay on the being crumpled, curled on himself, on the cushions. Zo'or was visibly in a state much deeper than simple unconscienceness. The forms of his pathways were making little puzzles of light on the walls and ceiling. He looked... frail... he looked harmed, he did no longer look like the unbreakable Synod Leader that Liam had ever seen in him. Even when Zo'or had showed him a mere sample of what kind of loneliness he could feel sometimes, he had still seemed to be strong against this solitude. But... no longer. And though it made of Zo'or to Liam's mind a much more normal being... with flaws, with pains. It made the Taelon so much more desirable. Liam felt an overhelming desire to protect him... To be at his side.
He advanced toward Zo'or. He was not sure of what exactly he was going to do. And yet he stepped forward into the faint darkness that filled the room. A little detail, as if in these kind of situations your memory could recall only the most useless details, came to his mind then and not wishing to put on the delicate cuchions and blankets of the `bed' the dust he had on his shoes he took them off. And stepped in.
The hybrid sat down at the unconscious Taelon's side. As he had hoped, Zo'or's energy pathways suddenly flared up to life. He knew that the alien body was somehow responding to his physical closeness. It was not long before the two balls of pink light turned their attention toward him.
Liam had since long realized that Zo'or was naked, that he wore nothing even not this purple exo-skeleton jumpsuit. He was not forced to after all. The atmosphere in here was slightly different than what it was in the nearby corridors. Maybe it was more adapted to taelon physiology. But now, he had only eyes for the taelon body before him. The fine features were now starting to jerk, to move faintly... the vaguely pink-blueishly colored chest was moving up and down in this simulation of human breathing, for Liam doubted Taelon did need to breathe. Then Zo'or was now fully back to awareness. And for good.
The warmth was increasing again. He felt as if his blood were boiling in his veins...
When Zo'or came to back to conscienceness enough to notice that he was no longer alone, that there was a stranger in his private chamber, hejerked upright, sitting as best as he could in his state. Maybe Sandoval... "Major Kincaid..." came out a bare whisper as he distinguished quite difficultly the features of the young human, looking down at his still form, mere inches away from his body. He looked quite haggard, wild, feverish. And he was. And he felt like such. But he could not showhis flaw now... But... He had answered his call. How?... How could he have heard such a call?
The Major's eyes were scanning him, focusing on every thiniest part of his body. Everything that had yet to be covered. Zo'or perfectly how he had to look like to this Human's eyes. Weak. Weak and vulnerable. Weak and woundable. His human form was still not... on. It were his bare, naked pathways that Kincaid was observing so intently, with... lustfilled eyes.
And then Zo'or could no longer interrogate himself about his feelings... when other emotions suppressed the weak, tiny avowal of caring, of thanking for this lustfilled watching... Other emotions. Oh yes. When he saw IT. The visibly weak, newborn, still feeble energy matrix, but only growing, going down the center of Liam's chest, the smaller than smallest, almost invisible energy lines that were starting to go down into his limbs... travelling down his chest, showingthe reddish color of his internal organs... It was visible for a Taelon, but not for Humans as they did not possess the capacity to see these pathways, such energy matrix, even such weak ones.
It concentrated... down... on Liam's chest, where would his stomach have been located. But where it doubtlessly was no longer. Here the light came to such a powerful white color... that Zo'or found it difficult to believe that Humans did not remark this.
And the young... he could say `man' no longer, visibly... kept staring at him with these eyes, unaware or uncaring of the fact that he was in the young Synod Leader's chamber.
Not tearing his eyes off of Zo'or one second a strangely modulated voice came out of the seemingly Human's mouth. "We need to talk I think Zo'or."
Zo'or found himself unable to look away from Liam's younguish features for a time. Then when he finally saw the young one in front of him close his eyes with what seemed to be a painful whisper and when the growing white ball of light darkened somewhat, the Taelon could find the strenght to back... to step away from the Human, still staying in the hollow, below the floor state, but going at least one meter away from his nocturnal visitor. When he finally realized that for Liam it was extremely difficult to keep his eyes away from him, he covered himself with a cloth hanging over a chair in the vague disorder that his room had always borne the legend of... "Indeed, it would seem to be appropriate."
Now that Zo'or had seen what effect he could have on Liam and then had covered his newly attractive features, the young changing hybrid was much more comfortable. He waited for Zo'or to regain some calm, even if it did not mean much for the moment, both were exited by the only presence of each other. Both wanted each other. And - and this was what Zo'or was somewhat scared of - it was not only a consequence of the ka'atham cycle.
And so, sitting facing each other, they talked. They said everything that both had never been sure if they were good to reveal to someone. Liam talked first, he did not know why, but he did anyway.
He talked about what?... He talked about who he was. A Kimera human hybrid, the very first. Zo'or seemed to react lesser than what he had expected. He had felt the warmth again. The changing was advanced now, his destiny was decided. He was here in the Synod Leader's private quarters, just... talking. About who he was. About how he had suffered. About how he knew Zo'or had suffered.
At this the alien flinched. When the one who had revealed himself as a hybrid had told him in simple words that he knew of his sufferance for he was experiencing it himself. His sufferance... Nobody could know of what his sufferance was. Nobody could... Nobody never would be able to imagine what it was to be member of a species and yet to know that all of your fellows despised and feared you for what you were, for what actions you were able to do... Nobody could understand this. But the one who had lived, and was still living, through the same situation. Liam's life had been more or less destroyed. He smiled faintly inside as he heard himself thinking of the young quivering hybrid before him as... Liam. No longer as what he pretended to be.
Then came Zo'or's turn to talk. He talked less. Much less. Mostly because their control was slipping, because it was simply going away. Because their control over their impulses was fading... Liam had closed his eyes and yet Zo'or knew he listened attentively, the young hybrid listened as the Taelon told him about how he felt, only a few words... only a few sentence, not giving away some complete feelings, just... some little bits. But Liam knew that for Zo'or it was probably the biggest... he could ever tell someone else about himself...
A certain trust established itself. Things had grown deeper... Liam was breathing very slowly, was concentrating on keeping his breath steady... Was forcing the air into his lungs... Respiration was no longer an automatic doing of his body. He had to think, to focus on this simple thing... breathing. To stay alive... To not fall asleep.
They had stopped speaking. If they considered everything they had expected themselves to say, they had said very little. They had admitted very little to each other. Their attraction to each other was not to be admitted, or revealed of course. It was obvious. But yet they knew... that even with the ka'atham pressing them, obliging them... they felt that they had time, that everything would be revealed, would be known when would the need for it to be known to be... They had time.
The whole commonality knew about Liam. The whole taelon people knew about what he was. They had seen the growing, developating energy matrix as Zo'or had himself done earlier... when he was not so absorbed by its pathways... They had yet to acknowledge his presence. They had yet to accept him. But only the farthest had not heard the call of Zo'or for his mate. For Liam. For that Liam's weakly connected mind had unselfconsciouly responded. This is why he had not been stopped. This is why he had seen a glimpse of respect in the other Taelons' eyes. Probably because the Taelons were somewhat scared of what might happen to their leader. In case he joined his destiny to a Kimera. Even a hybrid was considered to be dangerous. But he had lived among them, he had been at their service since a long. And yet, he had not attempted to destroy them, or control them, or kill some of them, the responsibles for his father's death... They were known amongst the taelon kind, to be peaceful.
The Kimeras. And... most of them had not reacted upon this new, almost violent entrance inside their commonality.
All would be explained in time. Because now the Synod's members were still upset of Zo'or's dismissal. They had yet to vote for another leader to be chosen. If Zo'or did not come back in time. If. So many ifs. One could change the world with those, could he not?
At a certain point in time... Both were unsure, both their thoughts being quite disordered, mostly by the other's attractive presence in a relative nearbiness... It could have been hours. It could have been only the some minutes it had taken for Liam and Zo'or to exchange these fragile confessions.At a certain point in time, the urges came back... Liam had already prefered to take off the leather coat he had been wearing. The mark of the painful wound of his cheek was not healing but getting warmer. Like the rest of his body was. This time it was not this comfortable, correct warmth he had felt earlier. No, now his skin was covered everywhere with a thin layer of sweat. He had to resist the urge to take off his clothes.
And... though Zo'or had already been through this more than once, more at least than the first time Liam was now experiencing the ka'atham's fever. But everytime, it seemed to him that he was barely able to fight it off. He needed someone. Beside him. At his side. Touching him. Now. He had felt this before of course. But it was harder to fight.
Zo'or the being who claimed to be able to control every little thoughts that crossed his mind... the being who claimed to have a complete and perfect control over the least of his action... was now driven to the very edge, by someone no more than a mere hybrid. Even not a fellow Taelon... But worse. Or better. Or both... Ahhh... He could wait no longer. As ashaming as it was to admit it for him, he had to supress the ka'atham urges now...
Liam's feverish, trembing voice raised, almost timidly. The young hybrid had come closer. The energy matrix was even brighter than how it had been some times before. The Taelons raised his fingers through a shiver that ran down his spine. And touched them to Liam's now naked chest. His flesh was burning. And it was no longer flesh. It was energy, pure energy, the most beautiful energy Zo'or had ever been given the chance to see.
Would he allow this hybrid he had yet so much things to learn from know everything about him? Would he allow himself to be engulfed in the ka'atham's passion with someone who was the personnified enemy of his kind? Would he take the risk to lose everything he had fought for in his life... for Liam? And would he take the incredible chance that someone would be able to accept him, to accept everything he was made of? To accept every of his crimes? To accept... Zo'or? Could Liam be this someone he had never dared to dream of, in case his dreams would be discovered?... Could it be.
The feverish voice spoke. His fingers, now almost transluscent with energy vessels visible through the somewhat darker skin, were going to touch Zo'or's chest, slowly pulling the clothe he had hidden his form under away from the alien tortured body. "Please... let me see you. I do not want to harm you..."
The garment slipped down, revealing a shivering Zo'or, showing to Liam's devouring eyes his most intimate pathways, that many had wanted to touch and that were still left virgin. The hybrid knew what thoughts were whirling in the Taelon's head at this crucial moment. Now. For that he felt these same... quite disturbing thoughts. He was hesitating. But his will was overhelmed. The only battle he had ever done against himself, he lost.
His hands raised. His shakarava yelling its light and power through Liam's body and mind. His lips placed the softest of kiss of the alien's forehead, before going lower... not daring stop to these lips... going lower still...
When the young lips touched his most sensible pathways Zo'or sighed. At the moment, he briefly wondered if it would have been better to cry or to smile. He did both.
The very first sensation that came all over him when the faint tendrils of awareness started to touch his mind was that he was surrounded by something soft, something soft, like a blanket, on his skin, soft and comfortable. And that the air that touched his skin left bare and uncovered was slightly fresher than it should have normally been into his appartment. Maybe he had just forgotten to close up a window somewhere.
But as the very thought crept into his still slumbering mind, he recalled that he was no longer in his appartment, nor was he in his bed, nor was he on Earth any longer. He knew where he was of course. And curiously hewasnotdisturbed by it, but he knew how so very well of someone who would be. When Zo'or would awake to find someone he, at least he did until his opinion was changed by recent events, despised at his side, in the place where he used to rest, and with someone that he had obvisouly mated with.
Of a barely attentive hand, the young Kimera stroked the skin of his chest. He knew that it was a weak shell to cover what he had become under it. He knew that there were many pathways, energy pathways, travelling under his skin, making their ways silently through his neural system, through the veins, muscles and flesh. The few elements of himself that still were more or less humans would not last long, his newly gained kimera physiology would soon take all the place it could. He felt slightly different, but he felt that only now he was normal, that it was before that something had been missing. Now he felt somehow... complete. It was different, yet more than familiar, like if before he had been in someone else's body. Someone else's body he had gotten used to, but still something that he was not really comfortable with. Only now he felt... himself. He felt himself becoming what he really had to be. What his father had created him to be.
It certainly did feel different. The changes had occured mostly while he was asleep, but perhaps it was only better this way. At one time in the moment of rest he had taken immediately after his joining of essence with the young Taelon, he had awakened. And had felt strange. He had felt changed, suddenly. His hand had slid down his leg and he had choked briefly. He had nothing there. Nothing that a male would normally be equipped with. Nothing anymore. Then the few seconds of total panic, that he had to be dreaming, to be dreaming that all of this was happening, had passed... And he had understand that everything had to be completly inside now.
During the few times he had awakened, Zo'or had always been asleep, or resting, or unconscious... But Liam was not really sure. And truly did not prefer to be sure about it. Maybe he had killed the Taelon for all he knew, not that he had never wished he could do that, but that he certainly would never wish to after what had occured. And the new being formed of Liam's human ashes had taken advantage of the moment of calm before the storm to think.
Oh and for think he had thought a lot. Maybe too much. He had practiced also. Practiced to get his new `human facade' in and out. And in and out. And in and out. He had always thought that for Taelons, it was easy. But he had underestimated it obviously. His first tries had not been so successful. But after a while he had finally managed to focus on the tiny bit of concentration he needed to clench to appear as Humans would like him to appear. As he would need to appear to them. Because he had no choice anymore, had he? He had seen what would Humans do to him. The inter species relations, as the Taelons loved to call these, were quite down at this moment. Of course a brief wave of pity had washed over the world as they had learned that Zo'or had crashed in the wilderness with his human pilot and nearly died from it. But for now, with the dissolution of the Synod, the so said relations were hard to maintain to a civilized and diplomatic level.
But this was not his business for now. For now he had to take care of someone. Maybe soon of two persons. Zo'or was his mate, he had not chosen him, but a rejection would not have been possible anyway. And he knew that now... now that Zo'or had been forced to put a certain trust into someone that if this someone suddenly withdraw, that it would have... unforeseen consequences, most likely not of the positive side.
Liam remembered very little of their union, but he could recall only one single thing... about Zo'or anyway. Even in the deepest moments, when two beings were supposed to open all doors of their minds, to reveal to each others their dearest secrets, Zo'or had remained closed. The Kimera had not insisted. There would be other joinings. The ka'atham may be achieved for Zo'or, but for Liam it would last still for days, especially with the background of his changing, new kimera physiology. Zo'or would have to open himself. To let Liam see what he wanted no one to know of. It was evident that the young Synod Leader had suffered, maybe he had suffered more than a being could stand so, maybe some day, his mind had simply lost the battle and then he had started to return to his very beginning. To his instincts almost. It was the best Liam could think of. Sometimes Zo'or could appear cruel, soulless, only ready to do everything in order to gain the most power he could, and only for
himself, in a selfish, very un-taelon way.
It was simply a side of his personality. But the problem was that the other sidewas buried so profoundly, too deeply for it to allow its owner to find his true self again. And then Liam had felt an immense shadow creeping over Zo'or's young, tortured mind. Like a ravenous bird folding its wings on itself, to protect itself. And then he had seen nothing else. But the fury of the ka'atham had taken the most of his memory then and he only reminded a blissful sensation. Probably the merging of their bodies together... the final moment when both the ka'atham ritual had been carried out and when the multiple changes Liam had been affected by had known their end. It was at this moment that he had vaguely heard a sob, through the fog of his own bliss.
This was why he was somewhat... afraid for Zo'or. This had been new for the young Taelon as much as it had been for himself. He did not love Zo'or. He did not trust him either. He could never do that. Not before Zo'or would trust him back and at least accept to share with him the smallest part of his mind. But he did care. He did care, in a protective way. He felt ready to give his life to safe Zo'or's. And yet he knew that this Taelon, inside, wanted to enslave humanity, did not believe in them as Da'an did. And Humanity did not own to be done this.
He hoped he could make Zo'or understand. It was sure that after his joining with him, the Synod Leader would be... more receptive to such ideas and concepts that he had despised before. Liam had showed him this. To believe. To trust someone. To trust... This simple concept seemed alien to the Taelon's comprehension. It was strange. As if never in his whole life had Zo'or accepted to trust someone. And one could not live without trust.
The now almost mature Kimera turned on himself and looked down at the place where Zo'or had fallen unconscious after their joining, and where he lay still, motionlessly. Liam took a thin blanket and wrapped it around Zo'or's shivering form. The Taelon's body reacted to his other's presence and stirred, making Zo'or moan and tense in his rest.
The hollow in the floor itself indeed seemed to be the taelon version of a bed. They used to take their rest in this. And yet Liam had never seen this in Da'an's own quarters. Maybe this was particular to Zo'or's quarters and taste, maybe this one had mixed more than one culture, from different species and had built this peaceful, resting place inside his chambers. To rest. Maybe to make peace with himself. The few blankets and sheets were made of taelon or other alien material, but some were definitively made of a terran material Liam could easily identify - silk. The whole made something closer to a nest than a bed, but was one of the most comfortable place Liam had ever slep into.
Gently, his fingertips reached Zo'or's cheek and touched it only lightly enough to create this faint energy current to open between them. A grin decorated his energy traced lips, as Zo'or leaned into the touch. Unconscioufly. He was probably having pleasant dreams. For at least once in his life he would have known what it was to have pleasant dreams and Liam could not help himself but feel quietly proud at the thought that he was the one that had generated these pleasant thoughts, even unconscious ones.
With a final brush of his lips against his mate's forehead, Liam wrapped a blanket around his lower torso, noticing that his form was slightly trembling now, now that he started to move, now that his newly energy-strenghtened muscles had to activate themselves. He raised and walked to the spot in the floor where his clothes had been thrown off to. His global was in his left jeans pocket, he recalled putting it there himself, after leaving the embassy, the eyes of a worried Da'an glued to his back.
He knew of someone else who had to have difficulties to trust now. He had to talk to her, at least to explain her. Because if the resistance gained the authority Renée had ever wanted it to have, since the very first days she had gotten involved into the movement, then it would maybe be Humanity's last mistake, that only some of them would make and that every of them would pay for. The Taelons were tired of fighting. The Humans were as well.
Tensed fingers dialed Palmer's personal number. Liam had barely the time to think about how he was going to explain the situation to her, finally concluded not to tell her everything (!) before her golden-haired face appeared on the screen. A, somewhat surprised, somewhat cold, "Ah... It's you," was the only greeting he received from her part. Not too surprising anyway. As he had seen her quite often in the past, he was able to notice this faint flicker of astonishment that lightened the cold green glare she was darting him with.
He smirked as she turned to order her team to trace the signal that arrived into her global. She really had owned that post. If the violence had been the way to work that edging conflict out, she might have been Humanity's savior. But unfortunately violence was never the way to gain peace. Violence brought only violence, it was known. If things continued like they had just started, then it would only be a question of who would shoot at whom first.
"So... What are you calling us for? If you think of apologizing I'd just tell you that it's somewhat late for that Kincaid," she said, looking briefly over the screen, doubtlessly checking on her technicians that just told her he was out of reach of their scanner on Earth, what meant that logically he was on the mothership.
A hint of frustration grew up in him. Obvisouly, she had not bothered to remark his faintly glowing skin. But it was maybe at best that she did not for the time. "Apologizing? What for? Being what I am?" She opened her mouth and he had to restrain his own words. "You knew what I was Renée, you knew what you accuse me of being capable of. You knew all of that. I haven't allied with the Taelons you know? I'm just trying to save myself..." He hesitated, feeling his alien temper overhelming the power of his typically human one, or at least what was left of it. "But this ain't what I've called you for Renée."
She smiled charmingly, showing her whiter than white teeth. "So what? To take the news about how are we doing when we have to re-organize the whole web of the Resistance?" Oh... he could easily tell she would be dealing fine with that. She was one of the very first to get into the Resistance. One of the first that had decided that the Taelons were enemies even before they had stepped on Earth, one of the first that had declared the war to this alien species before knowing the smallest thing about them and what they had in plan for Earth. But they had been right after all? Had they? He knew now. Now that he felt different. Now that he was able to consider this conflict from both point of views. Now that when he thought about the past, about all these assassination attempts the Resistance had organized and when they had lost members, but when hundreds of dead among the Taelons had been made. He felt their loss as much as the human ones. As much as he had felt the passing of
some of his friends. And he could understand now. It had been a shock, to understand that he was not exactly wrong, but that things were certainly different. He could understand now that the Taelons were not lik Humans, that all that the Humans had and were still accusing them of were from a human point of view. For the Taelons, everything could be sacrified for their survival as a race, for the survival of their empire, the death of thousands, millions of human beings of course being included in `everything'. It was a different phylosophy. Though not better than anything else. But what had made the difference in Liam's mind was that the Taelons had never had had the idea to enslave Humanity, the events had precipitated sometimes and convinced them bit by bit that that was exactly what these aliens were planning for them. No one was guilty. Or both were. This war had to know its end.
"Renée, I just want you to listen to what I'll tell you and to consider it before commiting mistakes." He did not bother to wait for her answer. It was not a question anyway. "Please Renée, the Taelons don't own to be slaughtered until there is no one left. They... I've thought a lot lately. And a lot has changed... And we're both tired of this war Renée. The Taelons are fighting since millenias against the Jaridians. Many of them just want it to end even if it means for them to disapear as a people. And I don't think you want mankind to fight against the Taelons in a war. Well, nor do I. And... this is just my proposal to... for open dialogue."
"Always have been a peacemaker haven't you Liam?" Briefly, the shadow of a sad grin swept over her features. "It's a beautiful dream indeed. But how can you know that the Taelons will accept to openly discuss with us. And how can you know that, if we can imagine that we come to a treaty of peace, that they again won't be hiding anything from us? Liam are you being naive or stupid?" The reflection of what her words spoke passe don her face. "The Taelons are an evolved race. They enslaved and used other people to get where they are and they will continue to do so until somebody is going to fight against them."
Liam felt his eyes waver briefly toward the spot where lay the person that less than a week before he considered like one of his mortal enemies. If this was not an ironical twist of fate, then what was it? "I thought that you more than anyone else would be willing to listen Renée. Aren't you tired of fighting? You've already lost seven years of your life fighting against them. Violence will only bring more violence, you know that, I know you do." A pause, during which he studied her wandering eyes looking lost over something out of the screen. "I'm not asking you to understand. I'm not asking you to agree. Nor am I trying to convince you. I'm asking you to think about it Renée. I've... I've seen things recently that I can't ignore anymore. I've seen things that I can't deny. If you reflect about it, call me back." At the other end, the global was snapped shut, but not before he had caught this brief glimmer in her eyes she had only when she was thinking seriously about
something. Knowing her, the best of his hopes would be that she would accept to keep the Resistance as a low-force movement, at least to not attack the Taelons meaninglessly.
An alliance was not the best of choice now. For each single day of war, there was a whole year to make peace and repair the mistakes. He knew that the Synod would soon react to his presence at Zo'or's side. Of course any member of the taelon species had the right, but if he's given one by the Synod itself, to choose a mate from a considered low-evolved species compared to them. As soon as it was not endangering the survival of the Taelons. This would not be so hard, as many Taelons had already witnessed that he had come aboard the mothership without showing any sign of agressivity toward one Taelon, that he had obviously been one Earth since long and still had not attempted anything against them and especially that he had mated, though not so willingly, with their Synod Leader and that he had not killed him in the move, what Liam knew himself able to do. Of course, T'than would probably use it against both him and Zo'or's capacity to command. But his words would not be hard
to contest once more. Or so Liam hoped. He would have to fight for his cause.
As he was deeply plunged into tormenting thoughts about his future, and also about Zo'or's who he would protect against his own race if needed (an after effect of the ka'atham probably, but he would not let anything happen to his newly found taelon mate even if things had gone smoothier), the door shimmered and then faded away to take its shape again after the visitor's entrance.
Wordlessly, Da'an advanced toward him, glancing down at his child unconscious form, though seemingly not truly worried about it. Liam closed his eyes as the still cool alien hand brushed against his chest, ordering the human facade to fade away, revealing the flaring energy pathways inside. The Taelon's movements stopped as he watched for a few seconds the spiraling greenishly colored energy whirling inside of what had been his protector's ribs cage. After a moment, the Companion spoke. "Though that your energy is out of our normals, its levels are stables. And what I consider to be out of normals for a Taelon should be appliable to a correct state of health for you." Liam nodded, not too sure of what to say, not too sure of how to say it, not too sure if he was going to say it anyway... He had to tell Da'an that he had understand, but the words were jammed into his troath. His taelon mentor cut his indecision once more. "It was my hope that, following this final step of
your evolution, you would be able to comprehend my reasonning," said the Taelon, quietly, a white hand raising to touch his shoulder then, probably recalling that Liam was angry at him, lowering back down. Then even more quietly than in first, words were spoken again. "As it is my hope that my race could one day understand how I view Humanity, and how I myself hope to comprehend your kind... somehow."
Liam could well justify his own actions with himself, the feeling of immense guilt just would not go away. And would probably never do. Unless, or until, he told Da'an what he had understand and especially that he was now able to forgive him for his actions. But it would not be today. And Da'an seemed to be awaiting for something even worse than this. The Taelon had lost every trust he had placed in him. As had he, reminded him this sarcastically speaking voice in his head.
"Hum... Da'an... Well, this is my first time... erh... doing this... you know... So is it normal that... well that..."
"Zo'or will remain unconscious for a certain period of time I believe. His state his stable and his mind, though distant, is still linked to our collective. But you must know Liam that when he will regain his senses, his reaction to you, your presence and what you have done... might be fear," said the Taelon, walking around in the close space, stopping in front of the window. In only response, Liam could only fix the floor. Every of the few... funny or sarcastic comments he would have made earlier, despite the American Companion visible concern about the situation, were stuck into his troath once more.
A tensed dialogue was open between the two. His ex-mentor reassured him, that he had spoken with Doctor Park, that he had done his best in explaining her what had taken place, that, though not trustful, she had accepted to return at her abode to take a well-needed rest.
Of course, they had shared their reflections about what was to happen, that Liam could not be left alone by the Synod. Both were as much optimistic, and Da'an had also promised that in case of necessity he would intercede in his favor. They had carefully avoided talking about the Resistance as most of their conversation on the subjects had ended in heated arguments.
And together, as their words extinguished by themselves, they sat in silence, more being said this way than with words. They awaited for Zo'or's awakening, as Da'an believed his reaction would be tempered by his parent's presence.
Two long, complete hours had been counted down already. And Zo'or still had to awake. However, they knew that the moment was coming closer by the minute, as in the past hour the young Taelon had moved toward a more conscious state. Da'an spoke up. "My presence is requested by the Synod. Your actions shall be judged," the Companion excused himself, gracefully rising from the seat which he had occupied since the past hours.
Liam lifted his head and fixed intent eyes on Da'an. "Am I asked too?"
"Not for the time. But be prepared to. You, for now, need to stay at your mate's side whatever can happen. You are conscious of such a fact?" demanded the Taelon, hovering over Liam's newly glowing figure, not menacingly, but not totally friendly either.
The young Kimera nodded and closed himself back into his human looking shell that carefully hid his newborn pathways. "I'll stay with him no matter what," he reassured the Taelon, seeing that Da'an prefered to have a verbal confirmation.
With that Da'an bowed his head slightly and turned to leave for his Synod meeting. Liam smiled ironicallyat the thought that both his, Zo'or and their possible offspring's lives would be delt with by the members of the Synod, amongst them many who had never dreamed of any better occasion to see Zo'or gone from leadership. The young one could only hope that Da'an would today prove that he was the best taelon diplomat of all. Zo'or needed protection. And Liam would protect him. But protect a leaderfrom his own people would prove to be very difficult. And now that his metabolism was fully engaged in the reproduction ritual, Liam did not have any control on his shakarava. And then could not defend Zo'or anymore than he could have, being partially human.
He glanced down at his mate. Things were much more complicated than he had ever thought them to be. He had not chosen Zo'or. But his instincts were now categorical and he would never let the Taelon be harmed. Yes, Zo'or was a dictator. Yes, he was dangerous. But also many Humans considered him as a mortal danger for the planet Earth, as Liam wanted only to do what he judged was best for Humanity.
Lost in his musings, wondering how things were going to become down on Earth, the faint shiver that shook Zo'or escaped to his attentive eyes.
Zo'or was conscious since quite a time already. Simply his senses had not found there way back to their correct places and then he could not perceive things in his immediate surroundings. But he had been thinking for hours. Motionless, he had watched his parent leave, worried. And worried, he was himself now.
Worried for his own future. No. No, this was only in second. He was for the very first time, worried for one another before being worried about himself. Which feeling were alien to him, and made him feel alien to himself inside. He was worried as to what would happen to this recently discovered young Kimera mate. The feeling was strange, and at first he had mistaken it for fear. He had first been astonished to see how someone could care so deeply for one another. When then Liam had lowered the blanket that covered the most private and most sensible energy pathways of a taelon body, he had felt immensely... relieved. Shuddering in pleasure to be touched so lovingly by someone. It was not only the act to be in itself fulfilled, it was how Liam had looked at him with his eyes filled with such a feeling of the most total adoration, it was how he had himself cupped the young alien's cheeks with his hands as both were on the very edge of carrying out their duty to their people, it
was how he had finally felt... complete, for the first and only time of his life when the joining of another mind to his own had left him breathless and frozen his gestures in time... It was all of these strange feelings Zo'or had never ever experienced before. All of these.
All of these emotions he had never known, and always thought that such would be forbidden to him. Since his youngest days, a certainty had been in his mind, that he would never know such a companionship. That he would never know this wonder, that never he would know what it is to be loved... and to cherish this feeling. He could not tell why he thoughtin such fashion. But certainly enough, he did. And had based his life on this.
His ambitions had grown then. When he had understood that any emotional display would be the worst weakness to afford, that to link his destiny to someone else's would prove to be a mortal danger and... that... love would be the most dangerous enemy. So to prevent himself of risking all of his difficultly gained accomplishments he had built his shell, the walls that surrounded him in mind more than in body, why he had cut himself frim any emotion to ever experience. He had allowed his own power to grow, increasingly bigger with every days passing, until it would destroy him from inside... In some ways, maybe a part of his mind wanted to put an end to this living agony that had become his existence, and that this was the only way his twisted mind had been able to find... To save his species. Or to die trying. And ultimately, he would have died, because more and more he tried, more and more he had realized that it was futile.
Then, he had started to reflect, when he was alone with himself. Perhaps that it was better if everything faded away, if everything stopped, perhaps that their kind had known the end of its realm. Maybe it WAS the end. And maybe nobody could not do anything to stop it. But to die for it. Why try to slow a process that was already started in the mechanics of the universe since its very creation? They would die a day. Nobody could ever stop this. And he, foolish and young as he was at this time, had believed that, where no one had been able to, he, Zo'or, would triumph against fate itself.
And he had been wrong. Only now he realized it. He had matured. Because now he recalled the way he thought only days ago and found it to be foolish and useless. He had changed. He had been showed what was supposed to happen. Only the shortest of glimpse had been sufficient for him to understand. Understand that fate was the only one to have the last word in this, that if it had planned for the Taelons to die after a long decay, then they would... ultimately.
But this were the dark moments he had known. Later, Liam had come and had brightened his mind. Had showed him, to see through the eyes of all these beings, all these billions of billions of beings, members of thousands of different species that the Kimera had known through ages and space.
He shut his eyes and wished that he could regain the comfort of ignorance.
"Everyone can make mistakes. It is not because you are who you are that you have no right to be wrong Zo'or," spoke then a soft voice. A soft voice that Zo'or now knew as well, if not even better, as his own.
Parting his eyelids, he saw his young mate hovering over him from his knelt form inches away from his side. The human facade was hiding the pathways that Zo'or had seen in full ecstasy hours before. Only the eyes remained the same grey-greenish color. His eyes closed again, when he was reassured upon Liam's protective presence at his side. "As the leader of my kind, I am not allowed to be wrong. I was foolish-..." A finger covered his lips, preventing him from speaking further.
Green eyes locked with his blue ones. "You were acting as you believed it to be the most correct. No one can blame you for doing this. You commited mistakes, yes. But they are not dangerous ones. We will be able to repair what you have done Zo'or," his mate gently comforted. Strangely, Zo'or felt a certain warmth emanating from him, warming him in the process. If Liam appeared to be acting protectively toward him, it was perhaps the same for Zo'or. "I understand you must have seen many things during our joining... Don't be too hard on yourself Zo'or. Let you some time. Let us some time. We have more important questions than these ones to work out right now."
To oppose him would be vain. The, in title only, Synod Leader knew he was speaking the truth. More important things than his own selfish situation indeed.
The Taelon found himself looking at the greenish eyes. Liam had come closer during the time he was talking. The ka'atham was not achieved. It would take days to spill out the remaining of their energy, if not weeks. Plenty of time to know each other a lot better. Plenty of time to warm up things.
For once since so long time, he had thought the very concept to be lost in his mazed mind, Zo'or acted not thinking of the taelon race first, nor thinking of his own ambition first, but thinking only of himself... and of his mate. It all started again by a kiss.
The North American Companion found the council reunited in the usual chamber, sealed away from the rest of the ship, where they used to hold their most secret meetings. Especially ones during which they were discussing of something concerning the taelon race and not another people, or even when they were discussing the future of one of their very members. As Da'an knew would be the case now.
Zo'or was not profoundly wrong, as pretended T'than, the rage he had inhibited in many of them had not reached his very core yet. The young Leader had merely commited a mistake. Another mistake resulting of many other mistakes. Should have the Synod members ever allowed Zo'or to climb to the position from which he could rule every Taelons? Should have he himself, Da'an, have ever allowed his child to become what he was?
Da'an did feel responsible for what Zo'or had become. He had not educated him the proper way, he had not taught him in the right way about this life, he had not been able to prevent evil from crushing his child in its deathly grip... But now... Da'an felt relieved. Da'an felt that, by helping Liam, by permitting to him and to his child to be joined to one another, he had fulfilled partially his parent's duty by finally giving his child what was best for him. He had known since long of Zo'or's loneliness. And had been desolated. But now... Both Liam, who for a time he had considered as his adoptive child, and his offspring had found someone. THE someone. THE only person that really mattered. Or at least Da'an did hope that things would turn out to be so. After the recent events, Liam badly needed someone whom he could trust completly and Zo'or had ever searched and waited for this person to enter his life.
Now, maybe their quests had been achieved. Maybe responses had been given to the aching souls.
But for the moments, calm words had to be said to cool the temper of the Synod members. They would want an answer. And as Zo'or was his child. And as the man once known as Liam Kincaid was his protector. And that they had gone together through the ka'atham's torment... Were facts that could not be ignored. And they would want answers to come from his mouth. He would be prepared to be accused as well as Liam and Zo'or would be. Zo'or and he were endagered to be ordered to will themselves into the Void for treachery against the Commonality that since long rejected and banished the Kimeras' presence. And Liam... could be locked up in a lab for the rest of his life, studied, observed by scientists seeking to discover how could such a hybridization could have taken place. Or not a life at all. Or he knew the young kimera would answer so and then ask to be killed. And, despite the arguments that now often made them stand on separate sides, he still held the young one that had been
his protegee since the very first day in dear esteem.
They were all seated. Da'an forced himself to stare from half-closed eyelids down atth floor meters before him, in a position that revealed that he was not intimidated, nor was he submissive, though he did not wish to begin an argument, even not spoken out loud, with any of the members present. An attitude he had worked hard on developing throughout the years and especially following the need of his career and duties growing in importance.
As Da'an made it obvious that he wished to remain silent for the moment and T'than being, after the North American Companion, the highest ranked members present, this one rose from his seat, staring down at the audience, standing up on the dais. "As you have all felt, a new presence have reached our Commonality. An enemy has left the shadows it had been hiding itself into-..."
Da'an had once been a diplomatic ally to T'than, had once accepted to share his agenda with him, as both their scheme led the same way: doing the best of the taelon race (what they both believed at this time to be Zo'or's removal from his Synod Leader's post). But he was no longer. "How can you allow us to judge T'than, if already you declared the intruder to be guilty. You know yourself better than anyone here-..." of one gracious gesture of the left hand he circled the room "-... that the Kimeras have always had peaceful intentions toward other species, even one that they considered to be inferior. Then I must say that I do not think this incomer is an enemy. Or would he not have manifested himself in an agressive way? On the contrary, he fought at our side and never ever showed any agressivity toward our species." Whispers of approval for Da'an's words filled the room and T'than, always keeping his composure, did not show any reaction but to stare at the only Judge that
had been allowed to participate, obviously asking mentally for his advice.
"Temper and measure your words War Minister. Accusations have yet to be made. Same to you Da'an. You seem defensive my friend," came Ho'shin's as usual cool-spoken, calm reply.
T'than's human facade displayed this curve of the lips, this triumphant smirk that held a vague ressemblance with an animal discovering its prey's weaknesses. And this time adressing Da'an in particular more than the gathering itself: "But Da'an you seem to be quite aware of this potential threat. Enough to speak in its defense." T'than waiting for the dart to get to his objective in its full meaning. Of course, the Companion had been prepared for this, not that he had thought it would come out so quickly. Though it would have not if he had simply chosen not to speak on Liam's behalf at T'than's first sentence.
Jsa'her spoke. He rarely did. Da'an knew him to be a rather timid member of the scientific caste and mirroring what was his duty to the Synod, he spoke only the facts, leaving the judgement and battles of words and opinions to the diplomats. And though he did speak out rarely to the Synod, his opinion was valued in certain occasions. "What you refer to as `it' T'than seems to have adopted the form of a human male, which was known as Da'an's formed protector-..." At this statement, many stares turned toward him; many members of the Synod being established on relatively far situated of their planets and then they were unaware of this relationship, at least a very professional one, which could be very tight at the same time, that was held between Da'an and the principal incriminated. "...- named Liam Kincaid. For which reasons I believe we should identify `it' as male. And also wonder why a Kimera as Ha'gel would have chosen a human form for his offspring but if he valued this
species and held it in great opinion, possibly meaning for it to have a part to play in our joined destiny." Da'an inwardly directed a feeling of thankfulness for his clear evaluation of the situation toward Jsa'her. Who returned a comment implying the use of a mere logical reflection.
Da'an was somewhat surprised though. He knew not of the opinions of those who spoke rarely such as Jsa'her. And was astonished that they did consider the possibility of the human race BEING important. Perhaps was it due to Zo'or's marked absence. Even T'than could not rule in the way Zo'or had previously done, holding the Synod in a tight, iron grasp, threatening everyone who did not agree with his own judgement. But even this had not been enough to silence such thoughts and Da'an suddenly felt the hope of a better future for humanity.
T'than had seated back into the armchair he occupied. If he did feel frustration at Jsa'her comments and especially at many members' agreements with his words, he showed nothing of it. He was a master at masking himself. Like Zo'or was. "Very well Jsa'her. But you do not seem to have considered the fact that Ha'gel might as well have chosen to mate with a Human in order to create a child that would support the Humans and lead them against us." He waited for his words to make their effects, which they did. Jsa'her seemed to attempt to say something, but kept silent still. Ho'shin nodded to T'than who continued to talk, while the Commonality's thoughts were somewhat perturbed by the possibility of this human rebellion led against the Taelons by a Kimera, who was a powerful enough ally. Not counting the many informations he could give humanity about what the Taelons had done to so many species before them. "We should ceize him while he still is accessible to us, on our own
ship. It was a foolish action from his part and we should take this occasion to our advantage." Many nods were responses. T'than, speaking in softer tones now, turned to fix a heavy stare on Da'an. "But I believe that Da'an had a point to make had you not my friend?"
Da'an rose from his seat, his body language betrayed the faint nervousness that he felt the pressure of. "What informations I will reveal you... I have kept secrets of... because I judged it to be in the best interest of the Commonality and of our survival, though some of you might not agree with my decisions, I would make the same again would I have the chance." He closed his eyes briefly before beginning, inwardly satisfied at the deep interest he had awoken in some of his listeners. "The, in appearance, young human male named Liam Kincaid that serves at my side as my protector is, as many of you have understood already, the son of the last Kimera, Ha'gel. I know him since the day of his birth and intentionnally hid this information form the Synod, which action is considered as treachery." He ignored the silent pleas from Hos'shin to measure his words. "I did this because I recognized in him the spirit of Ha'gel and more important the philosophy of the Kimeras. They were
peacemakers, archivers of history, philosophers, they tried to comprehend everything they met on their way through this universe and had seen more than everyone could state of. Li'am has never wished to take his revenge upon our race for what we have done in the past. Though he does seek to protect Humanity, he has no intentions, and this I can certify of, to harm our species, revenge or liberation. And I do believe that also his arrival within our Commonality can do only good to us." Da'an gestured toward the groups of the reglementary three members of the scientific caste seating at the Synod. "I am sure that already our scientists have seen the opportunity that this is for our studies in hybridization. Because Ha'gel managed to do in one day what we have not succeeded to make since we came to Earth with these very intentions. And the Kimeras' physiology being close to our own, this might be the unhoped salvation we were expecting." Da'an ended his speech and blushing
found his place back into his armchair.
Murmurs filled the Commonality, murmurs of doubt. Da'an WAS esteemed amongst the Synod, but his affective attitude toward mankind had made his words to be doubted often. Lu'eth, only present member of the Le'hoy, the specific caste attributed to the healers, a title also given to their practice of science that was almost a cult (which concentrated more on the mind than on the body, though this kind of healing was rarely practiced in these days of darkness; it was also the origins of many of the taelons techniques of meditation), chose this moment to speak. At Mit'gai had qualified the Synod to be something irrevelant, due to the diplomatic caste's undeniable influence in its meeting, he had prefered to send one of his colleague as representative. "It is true that such interesting discoveries could be made concerning his physiology, but can you give us testimony that his state of mind is stable? He has been away from his kind, he has been raised by his very enemies, and then
many of his memories could be lost to us."
Da'an was ready to answer this question. He replied as memories of he and Liam were sitting together, at the time the young man still accepted to receive his teaching. "I have done my best to teach him the philosophy of his people which I know many things about. But until now his kimera side seemed to have grown unseen, seemed to have let the place to the human one. Which made that he was mostly educated by his human friends. But he used wisely the memories of Ha'gel and of his two human parents." Not too many surprises were created by the statement as it was commonly known that the Kimeras prefered to use three genetical donators instead of two for the human, jaridian and taelon species. "But, if this council's decision is to allow him to live, then I would suggest to permit him the entry to our central database, so he may learn what he wishes to. With the alternative help of a Le'hoy, he might develop the full potential he holds."
But Lu'eth was apparently not done yet. "As we all know, Da'an you have been the only one to speak in the Kimeras' defense when they were judged for the crimes they committed against our species." Da'an felt in himself grow a sparkle of anger at the bitter souvenir brought back by the healer's comments. This last genocide that the taelon race had committed had been for him one of the most important moments of his personal develpoment. He had matured during wars. And had realized many things that had moulded him to be like he was today, and what had made him being different than Bel'lie's words. "This fact established, I merely wish to inquire from you a honest answer. How do you consider this hybrid? You have refered to him as Li'am and then you must at least care for him."
The American Companion knew how so well what did the question imply. From this moment HE was the judged one by the Synod. They were asking if he had sympathies, if he had already taken his decision concerning this case... "I... do care for this hybrid as I have received affection from him. And I have taken care of him as I would have done my own child."
He had spoken the truth. Manipulations at this time would have been way too obvious. Lu'eth directed mental tendrils toward him to ensure him of his compassion, which was usual between any members of the Commonality, while Da'an returned a mere feeling of accomplishment. The Le'hoy member and T'than who had both listened very attentively, directed their eyes at Ho'shin, who simply nodded, looking at Da'an. "It is my duty to ask you Da'an to remove yourself from this council as your opinions is influcned by exteriors elements than what was said in this very gathering. We have decided that we had enough informations to judge by ourselves. And will now discuss of a more sensible subject, which is why I must ask you to leave."
They were going to play with the life of his child. Da'an could not oppose this decision and then rose from his seat and gracefully made his way toward the exit. He could feel the familiar humming beginning between the Synod members' minds as they were communicating their opinions. He could not join them and would not attempt to unnoticed. The decision would come quickly enough. He stopped in the shaded corridor, let go of his human facade so that members of the human crew could not notice his nervousness and positioned himself for waiting.
The leaving members of the Synod found Da'an knelt on the ground when the emptied the room which had previously held their meeting. The old diplomat seemed calm, but nervousness was lashing his interior. Many members were not friends of his, they ignored him as they passed by. Ho'shin stopped finally. T'than had yet to exit. Da'an felt their presence before hearing their words or even before opening his eyes to look at them.
Ho'shin seemed to wait for T'than to appear and then lightly touched his fingertips to his friend's shoulder, who lifted his head and looked up at them. They waited for the corridor to empty itself and then Ho'shin knelt down at his side, while T'than prefered to back off and found his place near the virtual bay window, standing.
"Please communicate the results," simply asked Da'an.
A long pause went by before Ho'shin finally found the time accurate to speak. "We voted for the hybrid to be kept alive." Da'an would have sighed in relief would have he been Human. But many things could be added to this, such as conditions in which Liam would be kept alive.
One of the most surprising statement Da'an had ever heard from the War Minister's mouth was released into the seemingly heavy air. "At unanimity." A pause, and he turned slowly toward Da'an, still seated on the ground, his human barely visible covering his energy pathways. "Comprehend Da'an that I am not and shall not ever be underestimating the power and the danger of what this hybrid represents for our commonality. It is, however, his... alliance with Zo'or that interested me the most."
"I fear I do not understand your judgement in this fashion T'than," said the diplomat quite uneasily.
A smirk, then it was from Ho'shin's mouth that came the answer. "Many of us believed in your quite... convincing speech Da'an. But obviously your decision was influenced by your... typically parental affection for both of the concerned. Not much of us feel this way anymore. And we understood your opinion. Which is why all accusations that we accused you of were retired. It was also decided..." A brief glance at T'Than, who had turned his back at the two knelt Taelons again. "... that your former protector was to remain in his position in our hierarchy. He is not to show aggressivity toward members of our species, or to any other being, or to any of our installations, or the ones of our human partners. If he disobeys to this, he shall be killed on the very moment his treachery will be discovered. Rather than the... faked identity he lived with on the planet below, he shall be membered officially of our... commonality and his records will be put in our archives. He will also
undergo examination as his physical state might not have reached its full potential yet, as he has grown on Earth and because he has recently been through the hard ka'atham. But no more. We will, of course insist that he shares his memories with us so that we may know what is ahead of us. If I am not wrong he would willingly... help us?"
Da'an slowly nodded, still amazed by what he had heard. He had never wished for it to end so well. But Liam had yet to agree with this. If the choice was left to him... But the arrangment was quite... loose. Li'am would appreciate. Da'an had sensed his desire to help the taelon race one complete year ago, many times. "I think that... he would like to keep his identity... secret, at least for his human... friends. And for a time. Will this be possible?"
Ho'shin smiled softly. "Understand Da'an that we will need many days if not weeks of reflection to decide of all the details. And also of the hybrid's participation in this. Which will not be possible until the ka'atham is over."
"I thank you Ho'shin. You have been helpful my friend. And you must have duties to carry out." The judge slowly bowed his head, sending to Da'an his thanks in return and that he understood his desire to be alone with T'than to discuss the matter in a better way. He left.
"You must have you reasons T'than. You always do. Am I wrong?"
"You are not Da'an." The War Minister turned toward his diplomat colleague. "Your child require... guidance. A Kimera and the possibility of opening our leader to the interstellar and eternal knowledge of their race is quite the best opportunity for our kind."
Da'an's slender features showed his astonishment. "Would you plan to agree with our Synod Leader's leadership T'than? This would be most surprising from your part." A slight smile now decorated the Taelon's lips.
"You have to admit Da'an, that Zo'or will have to mature. Not only to follow the ka'atham cycle. But also when he will absorb through joinings all of the knowledge of his mate. I know what potential he holds. I do support his leadership... momentarily. And we have also voted for the su'umshra..." he added with a smirk of satisfaction.
"This is only declared in time of war," exclamed Da'an, realizing that T'than had had to propose this to the Synod members. The su'umshra was to give every members of the Synod the power to challenge the leader's decision and to suggest better ones. Usually, the Synod could suggest, bu the leader held the final word. Now that su'umshra was declared, Zo'or would have to vote like every others. After glancing for a time at a triumphing T'than, Da'an realized that it was only for their own good. Zo'or would have to obey, which Da'an knew he would not like to.
After long minutes that they spent silent looking out at the stars and the Earth below, T'than excused himself and pretexted to have immediate business to attend to. And Da'an had to carry the news to the newly gathered mates...
Epilogue, two weeks later
Life had returned to its slow patern. When Liam walked through the door of the café where they used to meet... before, he saw her, sitting at this very same table, covered with the blue material, and the blue glasses, filled with blue liquid. Renée Palmer, seated in all the grace and beauty she was able to keep in this kind of situation nodded to him, indicating him that she was there... and waiting. A queen is always waiting for something is she not? And a queen of yes she was now. She had taken over the control of the Resistance, nearly to the point of abandonning her place at Doors International. Nearly, because most people would avoid to get away from 12 millions dollars a year and the permission of ruling the taelon/human technology all over America. And since Resistance did need money, she still was CEO at Doors International.
She naturally was a leader when he was not, when he had barely been formed - and even then, only through the memories of his human father - as Companion protector, and especially when he had found a new occupation as... engaged to the Leader of the Synod, and more or less Zo'or's assistant. On the mothership, up there as they used to say, not much had changed. As he had asked, the human crew and not been told of his true nature, nor had the representative of any Earth government. The Synod had wondered and he had answered that the Humans, as he knew them quite well, having lived within their society during years, were quite... potentialful yes, but were definitively not ready to accept a fact such as the existence of an alien living as a human being. He had observed them enough. He now prefered to live within the taelon society itself, and this demand had been granted by the Synod, helped by the fact that he was the mate and lover of their leader.
He had moved his quarters up on the mothership. And of course was not cloistered there. He had the right to go exactly where he wished to. The young Kimera could then return on Earth whenever he wanted, seeing Augur or Dr. Park, giving them news, or seeing Renée Palmer of all people.
Park and Augur had been quiet worried for him. They had been kept... out of the loop during one complete week, during which he had not given any news, nor had he communicated with someone else than Mit'gai, Da'an or Zo'or. He had been kept on the mothership, in the medical bay. Just a normal safety measure until the complete merging of his DNA would be accomplished. Just in case something went wrong. He had reassured his human friends and had managed to gather the few of his possessions he still held dearly to his heart : pictures mostly and some clothes also (of all aspects of taelon culture he could not bear even thinking to be stuck in one of these form-fitting jumpsuit).
Strangly yet, he found himself, as he got more and more deeply involved within the taelon society, getting closer and closer to the Taelons themselves. He was not member of the Commonality but could psychically sense Zo'or, who could relay informations to him this way. He felt now much closer to the Taelons than he had ever felt... part of Humanity. The Taelons accepted both what he was and what he was not, they had accepted him completly, more than ever he had felt accepted by his human friends. He loved them, of course he did. But he could not forget the few stares in Lili or Augur's eyes when they realized what he was truly capable of and when they feared him somewhat for what he could become, for what he could do. Now that he had thought about it, the Taelons' opinion of him was probably cheered up by the way he, Li'am, only survivor of the Kimera race, would be one day able to save them. But at least, now he could do something. And he could do something good. During all
of his life he had fought at the Resistance's side, fighting against the Taelons, fighting for the freedom of humanity none the less, but fighting against innocents, killing innocents that had nothing to do in this but to have believed what the Taelons had told them, but the whole planet had trusted the Taelons when they had claimed they were coming in peace so they were as innocent as all the children he had seen playing in the streets on his way to the café. Fight was not for him. Killing innocent was not for him. He was not made for war. Kimeras were not made for war. Every losses of life, were they on the enemy or on his own side, Taelons, Jaridians or Humans, made his heart shiver painfully inside. It was not what he was. He had been created to unit the ones that had been parted through the millenias, that was what he had been born for, not to save humanity, not to fight at humanity's side, to help them, to help the three conflicted races to understand each other. It
would take time and he was aware of it, but he would try or die trying.
He had been assigned back to Da'an's protection and security chief of the Washington Embassy. But every of the private time he spent on the mothership, he spent them with Zo'or, working, on Ma'el's work, or what had been found of it. Many things had been discovered, and some others were just getting more and more complex.
And then, after days and days of working on Ma'el's datas, there had come the horrifying result. Unconsciously, when Ma'el had altered the human psyhce by offering manking the gift of psychic powers, somehow their genetic code had got messed up. And soon humanity would face the consequences of this.
Now he could only hopw that Renée would trust him. He had evidences of what he said, but was she going to believe even this, even if it were written on paper? He knew the woman. Yes... he thought he did know her enough to be sure that never she would do this. And he had been wrong. She HAD tried to get him killed. For reasons that were of her own only. Probably because she could no longer ensure his safety as no perfectly and completely human being. Many other species had in the past reacted this way. Or so said the memories of his kin he had gained access to.
He could perceive the world so differently now. Nothing was the same as it was before his change. He saw Humans as alien beings, but he knew, deep inside, how did it feel to be Human. It was as a part of him was looking from his kimera eyes and if one part of his mind was still looking outside through human eyes. He would manage to deal with the two, had said the healers. He simply hoped so. Beside it DID feel strange to walk amongst them in this... compelte human appearance, that he sensed wrapped around his natural energy form like a tight jumpsuit, so that everyone walking past him would see another Human. But he saw aliens.
Renée was sitting at one of the far end of the café. He caught her short wave of hand and made his way between the carefully set blue tables. Li'am then sat facing her. He could not help but remember how many times they had met at this place, so many times when he was still... Liam Kincaid. When he still had a life here on Earth. Yes, he missed this time, he admitted it freely. He missed having friends, he missed feeling like he had inside the same little something than every Humans did. Though the Taelons had accepted him, he was the last of his kind. He had no one that knew completly what it felt like for him... to just be himself. He was alone. And he probably would feel incredibly lonely... if there was not Zo'or.
On the contrary to what he had thought she would prefer, Renée Palmer spoke first. Taking off the sunglasses that hid these unbelievable blue-greyish eyes of hers, that made her look like any other blonde, beautiful woman and sipping quietly from the blueishly colored liquid in her glass, she started. "You've kept a low profile lately Kincaid," she said as greeting. He knew he should not wait for any ease on her part. The Ice Queen was she not? Her slender fingers were crossed, she stroked her thumbs together, her long fingernails looked like tiny razor to him. Strangly. He always had these kind of abstract visions of the world around him, the world as he saw it evolve around now.
Li'am could play thesame game than she. Not that he liked doing much of it. His pathways were getting warmer and warmer under the sun's light, he disliked that, he prefered the dark, quiet shadows of the mothership. And he could no longer drink water to cool himself down. It would probably pass through the facade and revealto everyone around who and what he really was at worst, and at best, he would just get the attention he did not want to. He could feel the corporal heat emanating from the Humans like waves around him, surrounding himl; he knew that underneath the sunglasses, he too wore, his eyes were flashing green. It was the part of himself he could control the less, and why the Taelons had suggested he would wear these from now on. "Let's say the boys you've sent chasing after me all over the country didn't left me much of a choice Miss Palmer." His voice sounded different, he knew it did. He could feel this kind of things. It was somewhat like Da'an's, melodious
though more male sounding than Da'an's. HE was not any of an adrogynous being.
She sipped again from her glass and then placed it back on the table. Li'am remarked through the glass that it had made a little darker spot on the material covering the table. He could remark detail like this and not remember in what café he exactly was sometimes. She looked up at him sharply. "You know I've my operatives on the mothership Kincaid. I heard of your deal..." He raised his eyebrows slightly, he had to concentrate even more than for walking just for a small gesture like this one. Details, details... All of it was details, he could now understand how hard was it for his human facade to be perfect, how was it complex. Da'an and Zo'or had both given him tricks, but he had not mastered every of them. He had grown up since what... two weeks? He still had much to learn. "Your alliance with the Taelons. Everybody in hte movement is aware of it," she added when she thought he did not understand.
If only she knew... "Alliance is perhaps... a big word," he only said. He could not just tell her everything right now. It would be too much of a risk. Why was the damn place so hot? Quickly a return in his cooled chamber on the mothership. And Zo'or on the bridge. He almost let his pathways glow out oin joy at the thought of seeing his mate. He longed for it.
But the reply had come faster and more abruptly than he thought, "Then what?"
Li'am smiled, this smile he had not lost. "Let's say that some... recent events... made me see things differently?"
As for a human being it was normal and they did not have to think to it, they could not imagine how to close their eyes shut at about every five seconds, or breathing, or simulating the blood to be running in as simulated vessels was hard to do. Renée spoke again, she seemed deicded to actually discuss with him. Hum... would she have got frindlier? "How differently?"
"They're not like you believe they are," he said, knowing how ridiculous could his words sound. Though it was only the truth. They were not as peaceful as they wanted the Humans to believe, but they also were not the monsters described by the Resistance; one had to find the perfect middle between the two.
A smirk, not that he was not waiting for it. The woman was an extremist one, not on the terrorist side, and not on the stupid side either. She simply had misjudged the situation in the first place, when the Taelons had landed on Earth, it had been her only mistake. Everybody could make mistakes. Even Renée Palmer. The situation had simple degenerated to a more serious point now, but it was still many things to go before it would go beyond the point of no return. The day could still be saved. "It's you who've told much of the current resistance members that the taelons weren't what they pretended to be."
"They are not what they themselves pretend to be, that's right. But neither are they the heartless monsters YOU think they are Renée." Everything depended on how could this woman could now influence her subordinates. Yes, if he did got his point, if he did touch her heart. He hoped he could did know her enough for that.
Palmer looked at him during a good fifteen seconds of silence after this statement of his. For a moment he thought he could have touched something inside. Until she leaned down and picked up something from the small bag she carried with her. She lit up the cigarette she had taken and Li'am felt thankful he did not really need to breathe. Then after some long seconds spent in silence, she poske again, looking at him with those yes that he could feel burrying into his very soul. "You've changed Liam. Something's... different with the way you are..." He looked somewhat artificial. Yes he knew. He knew that at how the volunteers often turned to glance at his back when they thought he was not aware of it. They felt something was strange, but could not put a finger on it. Like himself could not. He could now only make the human illusion look as best as he could make it.
After a moment of reflection, he came up with a deal with himself. Telling her a part of the truth would suffice. For now. "I did change Renée. I still am myself as I have ever been. But I have found people who need me, I've found a kind that accepted me for both what I was and what I was not." Instead of rejecting me, he finished for himself. He did not feel as completly angry as he recalled he could have been being still Human.
From now on, she knew they were speaking about his... particular ancestry. "You'll help them?" The Taelons of course. She wanted to make out what he was in the faint darkness that surrounded him. In the fight the Resistance was leading against the Taelons, the slight difference between enemy or potential ally, could make all the difference between victory and misery. He knew from the spasmodic movements of her fingers, which, as a Human, he probably would never have seen, that she wanted to see his eyes behind the glasses. But he would not give her this opportunity.
What could he say? Could he now let them die? There were thousands of reasons he could have let them die. For what they had done to thousands of species before humanity. How they had used these species, how they had tortured human beings... But could he? Could mistakes not be forgiven? "Yes, I will."
"Or aren't you just not given a choice in the matter?" What was she wondering about? That they had suddenly decided to put a CVI in his head and were now controlling his every moves? Or did she think that perhaps the Taelons were blackmailing him and forcing him to do this?
He was beginning to grow tired. Not physically, though the heat was bothering, it was not much of a danger for him, only prolonged exposition could cause several important damages to his sensible pathways, but they were hidden under layers and layer of clothes. But he was tired of her stubborness. "Renée, they offered me the chance to help billions of people out of this conflict. They offered me the chance of carryingout the duty Ha'gel has created me for. There isn't much a matter of choice in this." If he had not changed, he would have maybe done the same. But it was true that not changed... he would never have accepted to talk to Da'an friendly and trust him again...
Her smirk faded away. A sarcastic glance glimmered in her pupils. "Oh... Then I see. Sudden change of side eh? The Taelons are the good and the Humans the bad guys? Maybe betrayal of your kind is in the family after all." His anger grew again. But the provocation was way too huge to see, too obvious. She WANTED him to be angry. For him to react quickly, thoughtlessly.
His pathways lit up inside, but his facade was strongly resisting. He had built it to be strong and had a comfortable control over himself. But Li'am would none the less have to watch his feelings. "I've never said that. Both our species will have to stop fighting for once if you want it to come to a happy end Miss Palmer. It shall take the time it does need, but I will do my part of it." He could reveal no more than that. He could not reveal her everything about what he had become. It would be too much. Already that the Resistance web were announcing his treachery in such a way that Sandoval's spies might soon get aware of it.
A look of suspiscion suddenly rose in her eyes. She knew he was not a liar. Or anyway, not like this. And he did suond angry. He knew he did. He had controlled himself but apaprently... not enough. "What do you mean Kincaid?" she was now deadly serious. He had seen her sacrifice many human beings for their cause and now she seemed worried about them as a kind. Strange. But everyone could change, could they not?
Li'am calmed down, somewhat. Would she listen? And most important, would she be able to understand? "You already know I think that Humanity is the best of their chances to survive. But what you do not know is that we also might need their help... and in not a too long time." The glance she returned was a puzzled one. He explained. "When Ha'gel was searching for a human mate, he discovered in our DNA... a flaw. A flaw that our technology cannot indentify yet. And that we will not be able to heal without the Taelons' knowledge. In ten generations, this flaw will generate such a strong genetical disease that it will son affect everyone on the planet. Ma'el discovered this flaw and thought he could heal it by helping us to evolve so that we could resolve the problem by ourselves when it would appear. But he did not succeed. Renée, in about ten or twelve generations, Humans won't be able to have children. Ever. No woman will. And you know what it means I'm sure."
A long time passed by during no words were pronounced. And finally, "I don't trust you," she whispered. Of course she did not.
"Not that I expected you to." The human illusion was harder and harder to maintain in place. He was tempted to... blush with every seconds going down, like when he had a rash that he could not scratch. He had expected this answer from her part. She was not the kind of woman that would believe him only for his words. But he had seen it in Ma'el's searches. Not all of it. And not as clear. But this and what the Taelons knew of them had been sufficient to make this conclusion out. If only Ma'el's ship was not still under Doors International's tutelage. He rose from his seat. It was time for him to go now. Renée would not be disposed to here some more, or so he thought. "You once told me you fought the Taelons because you wanted the children of this planet to live in a better future..." Oh he recalled the moment so perfectly, they were sitting on a bench, a sunny day, beautiful... "... Well, maybe their lives are in your hands right now, Miss Palmer." She avoided the contact of
his eyes, even behind the sunglasses, as she herself rose. "You can contact me via global if you want to reach out. Good luck in this life Renée. I hope you'll make it out all by yourself someday."
She waited until he had left to murmur under her breathe, "And good luck to you Liam." And then she turned away. Both had chosen their ways.
Li'am was sitting on the cool floor, his legs folded, Zo'or's head on his lap, his mate's hands tightly strapped around his waist prevented him from doing the slightest move. The temperature was only what was good for him now after these few hours he had spent on Earth... He felt comfortable. He felt good.
Upon returning to his duty at Da'an's embassy he had gone to his quarters and had found Zo'or waiting for him. With this faint glimmer in his eyes he knew all too well. They had joined. As usual it had been so powerful that both were exhausted now. Only Zo'or had given up the fight against tiredness and had allowed himself to rest in his mate's presence. The energy shower had been engaged and falling on them both to accelerate the process but Li'am had chosen to stop it when he had felt the Synod Leader slipping into a soft state of day-dreaming. Ressembling a trance vaguely.
He glanced down at him. Zo'or was still the same. Still powerful. Not so many things had changed. He had only... matured. This was what had the Le'hoy said. He had understood, had Li'am told himself. They disagreed on many topics, but the ka'atham was having too much of a control over them both for it to b really important. And the young Kimera knew that no matter what, he would stay at his mate's side unless this one would reject him. And this he doubted. He doubted Zo'or would ever want to get rid of him. Because he needed him, they needed each other... badly. Zo'or knew he was a piece of the puzzle. Of the puzzle that would be solved with their survival or with their death. He was needed. Both of them were.
Li'am gently stroked his mate's cheek. He felt pleased at this moment. He felt like everything was perfect. It was not. He had yet to explain with Da'an, and he still hoped Renée would call him back. And soon every of the pretext Zo'or and he found to be in each other's presence would arise suspiscions. It was especially Sandoval's that he feared. But for this moment, his mind was so far away from this... Faraway, from Earth, form the mothership. Only with his mate. The only physical sensation he could perceive was the one of Zo'or's body against his own.
His human form truly gone, he caressed his cheek, running energy tendrils along Zo'or's most sensible pathways. Usually, he would have felt the energy, even the low one of a Human, coming toward them. He could sense these kind of things, along with, or so said Da'an, with thousands of other perceptions he had yet to discover. But at this time, and being in that state, he only heard the footsteps coming their way. He barely had time to put back in place his human mask that Agent Sandoval entered the room.
No sign of astonishment, no reaction at all. As if he just had not seen them at all. He stopped as he stepped in though and gazed at their mingled forms for seconds. Then slowly nodded and obviously ignoring the eyes of Kincaid burning his back, he made his way toward the concolse he came to check on.
Li'am would have lifted his slender body from the ground, but he could not, not with Zo'or curled up at his side. He only spoke up. "So?" He WAS waiting for a reaction after all. This was not normal. He needed to talk to Sandoval now and could not avoid it.
The asian man checked some readings during about a minute before raising his head and answering, glancing at them again. "I couldn't say I didn't suspect it. After all sooner or later everybody needs someone in his life. Even him."
Li'am fixed his human parent for a time. Something was not normal. Sandoval did not use to speak like this. The implant turned back to his work on and for the next ten minutes no words were pronounced. Something was wrong. Sandoval usually would have taken advantage of this. But no. Nothing. Exactly like he did mean what he had said.
He was on his leave. Sandoval transfered some datas to his global, clipped it back to his waist and avoiding eyes-to-eyes contact, a contact that usually he would search for, expect with Taelons, he headed toward the door. Just as if nothing at all had happened. "Sandoval?" He politely turned back, his face unreadable again, maybe a faint glimmer of this emotion he rarely shoewd in his dark eyes, this look he had had when they had spoken together over Lili's dead body, this look that in itself told a lot more than thousands of words. "Are you okay?"
The implant actually seemed to reflect on the subject, always keeping his eyes carefully away from them both, from where Li'am was gently brushing his fingers against Zo'or's pathways again. "No. Not at all. But it's not anything that good guys of your kind use to give a damn for anyway." With that he left. Leaving a wondering Li'am behind.
But the event was rapidly out of his mind as Zo'or whispered something and opened his eyes, staring straight into his own. Fate had to go its way.