Funny how quickly things can change, William Boone thought, as he made his way to the Mothership bridge in the company of a security detail. Boone's cover had been blown assisting Kincaid and Palmer in their rescue of the Taelons from execution at the hands of a Jaridian named Vorjak. Sandoval had been assimilated by a Jaridian probe, and was under their control, so Liam had given the speech of his life to break the programming, while Boone and the Volunteers had confronted the Jaridians in the stasis room. Finally Liam and Palmer were able to free Sandoval from the programming, and with Boone and the Volunteers in pursuit, the Jaridians abandoned their plans. The Taelons were safe and the Mothership was on the way back to Earth, but now Zo'or was very aware of Boone's presence, and was not one bit happy.

^^^^^
"So, Commander Boone. Tell me why I should not have you eliminated on the spot," Zo'or demanded.

The humans, Zo'or, and Da'an were on the bridge of the Mothership as she made her way back through ID space to Earth.

"Maybe you should consider the fact that Commander Boone was instrumental in returning your ship to you, Zo'or", Kincaid pointed out.

"Perhaps I should. However, I will make that determination when I understand more fully how Commander Boone has managed to be here, and what his intentions are."

"Believe me, Zo'or, if my intentions were against the Taelons, you would already know about it", Boone replied.

"Nevertheless, you will remain incarcerated until I am able to ascertain the full extent of the truth. Do your duty, Agent Sandoval."

"But Zo'or," Da'an interjected, "Commander Boone has done nothing but assist us against the Jaridians."

"We shall see, Da'an. We shall see. And if I find, as I suspect, that the Commander has had a collaborator, you may have the opportunity to share a cell with him."

Ronald Sandoval gestured with a mocking bow to Commander Boone, and flanked by guards, led him from the bridge to the holding cell.

"As soon as opportunity permits, Commander, I will enjoy having a little, shall we say, "discussion" with you."

"Don't count on it, San-do-val..", Boone replied, mockingly.

"I wouldn't..."

Sandoval was unable to finish his sentence as a violent tremor rocked the Mothership, and alarms began to sound. Racing back onto the bridge, Sandoval discovered that the ship had made a planned drop out of ID space for course correction, but something was wrong. Kincaid, Palmer, and the Taelons were urgently trying to assess the problem. Sandoval took up a position at a telemetry station.

"Status report!", Zo'or barked.

"The main ID drives are not responding. There seems to be some sort of interference. We are not capable of moving", Da'an responded.

"What kind of interference?"

"I'm picking up a strong burst of Jaridian energy, at 108 mark 5. It appears to be coming from a small vessel or a large probe", Liam reported.

Zo'or gave Ronald Sandoval a withering look.

"Shields up! And where are we?"

"Navigational systems reports are that we are nearing the planet Mercury, in our solar system", Sandoval croaked, his mouth suddenly becoming dry.

"Do we have conventional drives?"

"The conventional drives are operational, but the interference is preventing them from going online, " Da'an reported.

"Then we must eliminate the interference."

"The probe has moved in, Zo'or. It's parked outside the number six bridge window ", Liam announced.

"I will assemble a security team right away, Zo'or", Sandoval managed.

"You will assemble nothing, Agent Sandoval. If you think that I have so quickly forgotten your recent treachery, you are mistaken. Major Kincaid will lead the security force."

"But, Zo'or...", Sandoval started,

"Major Kincaid, your first duty as chief of security is to place agent Sandoval under arrest."

"That will put us seriously short handed, Zo'or," Kincaid pointed out.

"You have plenty of staff, use them!"

"I need experienced personnel in this situation, Zo'or. I propose a trade. Sandoval for Commander Boone."

Zo'or looked at Kincaid doubtfully. "Very well, Major Kincaid. But you are responsible for Commander Boone's behavior."

"Done."

^^^^^

William Boone anxiously paced the floor of his cell. He had communicated some with Da'an, and he knew that the ship was stalled out by some kind of disrupter beam. But Da'an was very busy on the bridge, and didn't have a lot of time to answer questions, so Boone was impatiently awaiting an update.

At the sound of footsteps, Boone stopped still and looked up. Liam Kincaid and a security detail were accompanying Ronald Sandoval to the holding cells. Stopping in front of Boone, Liam asked, "You want a cell mate?"

"Not that one", Boone commented, as he gave the FBI agent a sardonic look.

"Then I guess you'll have to get out", Kincaid replied, smiling. Activating the barrier release, he motioned for Boone to come out, and simultaneously pushed Sandoval in.

"Sorry to cancel our appointment, Sandoval, but I really must go."

As the two protectors made their way up the corridor, a tensely unhappy Ronald Sandoval sat down on the cell floor and wondered to himself what could possibly go wrong next.

^^^^^

"So, we've got this Jaridian probe hovering around outside, peeping in windows. What else is new?", Boone asked.

Liam looked up from console to meet his colleague's eye. "Even if we break the disrupter beam, we're sitting ducks. The Mothership has expended too much energy on the shields to get us back into ID space. But first we need a game plan on what we're going to do if that thing boards."

"What do you mean, we blast the thing to kingdom come, that's what we do", Renee Palmer protested.

"No, Liam's right. Those probes usually contain quite a bit of information; some truth, some propaganda, but information nevertheless. If we can capture it, instead of destroy it , we might gain some new insights on the Jaridian's plans for Earth." Boone said.

"So, how do we capture it. They're hard to destroy, much less capture. The ship's too depleted to use high level energy shields. A skrill might work, but the only skrill we have at the moment is attached to the arm of Ronald Sandoval, and I don't think we want to take that risk", Renee answered.

"There's one other thing that works against them", Liam hesitated. "Shaqarava."

"Well, that's great Liam, but now that you're fully human, you don't have yours, remember?, Palmer said, rather sarcastically. "Do you?"

"Ummm."

"Oh great! Are you a human or not?"

"Let's just say that in this instance Ha'gel was wrong. You can't unscramble an egg.'

"Someone once told me that very thing" , Boone laughed.

"So, are you telling me you are still some alien and those things are active again?"

Palmer had said the word "alien" as if it were a racial slur, and Liam's face flushed a little as he answered. "Yes. Sorry if it disturbs you."

"Man, my nightmare just keeps getting worse," Palmer complained.

Boone could see the anger surging up in Liam's eyes, and decided to get the conversation back on course.

"Can you control that energy well enough to immobilize this thing?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's hard to say."

"What if there's additional energy focused at the same time."

"You mean, like from weapons?"

"Yeah. Set on low so they don't do real damage."

"Might have to run some numbers through the computer first, but it could work. But that's just temporary. What stops it for good?"

"The same thing that stopped this ship."

"A disrupter beam. Yeah. That could work."

"Okay, so that's plan A."

"What's plan B?", Palmer asked.

"Blast that thing to kingdom come", Boone replied, grimly.

^^^^^

"Maybe we should have gone straight to Plan B!", Boone shouted to Liam. The probe, now replicant, wasn't stopping. It was slowed, but definitely not stopped. Kincaid, tiring by the second, was standing in front of the Jaridian machine, shaqarava blazing, attempting to provide an energy barrier. Boone and the Volunteers were simultaneously focusing weapon pulses while Palmer scanned for disrupter frequencies.

"Got it!", Palmer shouted.

"Then do it!", Liam ordered.

Palmer activated the disrupter signal, and the replicant's advance abruptly halted. As the glow from the shaqarava faded, Kincaid fell to his knees, severely weakened by the expenditure of energy. Boone and Palmer ran to his assistance, while the Volunteers secured the replicant.

"You OK?", Boone asked.

"Yeah, nothing a little rest and some chicken soup won't cure."

^^^^^
The humans were sitting at a commissary table trying to create an appetite for what the Taelons seemed to think represented human food. Liam was somewhat quiet, still weakened from his encounter with the replicant, but Boone suspected he was also more deeply bothered by Palmer's anti-alien sentiment than he wanted to let on.

Da'an joined the humans in the commissary to update them on his progress in extracting information from the probe. The Taelons weren't doing well. The limited amount of core energy prevented them from partaking of energy showers, so most were in the stasis room, in sahmbaad, conserving energy. Only Zo'or and Da'an were active on the Mothership, and even they had to take turns. Da'an, however, had been most diligent in decoding the Jaridian machine.

"We have learned quite a bit from this probe. A recent protocol update has Earth listed as it's target. It was apparently off course because of a navigations malfunction. But, of course, all replicants are programmed to scan for, and destroy Taelon energy."

"What was it's mission protocol?", Liam asked, looking up from a something the Taelons called "chicken soup".

"To map the planet for the most feasible points of entry."

"In other words, to scout for the invasion", Boone commented, while poking at a suspicious bowl of beef stew.

"Yes. I am afraid so."

"But, if the Jaridians are dying out so quickly, what makes them think they will even get there? I mean, without ID technology..." Palmer asked, as she set aside a so-called Caesar salad.

"The Jaridians are not on as short a time frame as we Taelons, Ms. Palmer. Their core energy is not the same as Taelon energy. This is precisely why attempts at rejoining have failed. While Jaridian energy is, indeed, dwindling, it is certainly not yet critical."

"Then why all the talk of them being a dying race?"

"They have accused us for millennia of killing their race by initiating the split, thus shortening their lifespans. This rhetoric is not new."

"So they have time to track you through the galaxy, then destroy you and anyone you've contacted?"

"As a race, yes. Although I believe Vorjak and his crew are personally entering into the end of their lifespans."

"Then they're coming. They really are coming". Palmer's voice was uncharacteristically apprehensive.

Da'an tilted his head and looked at the Doors executive and resistance fighter with an expression of empathy.

"I am afraid so Ms. Palmer. With...or without...the Taelons."

"With the Taelons....", Boone softly corrected. To Palmer's discomfort, the protector tenderly placed his hand over his Companion's, giving an affectionate and reassuring squeeze.

"Let us hope so. For both our species".

Renee Palmer looked up at the earnestness in Da'an's voice, and she suddenly knew; this was reality.

Liam, who had only been halfway attending to the conversation, finally gave up on the chicken soup and, dropping the spoon loudly in the bowl, turned to Da'an.

"One question, Da'an: can the Jaridian energy in the probe be converted to work with Taelon technology?"

"Yes. It is incompatible for us to live off of, but there are protocols for technology use."

"Then we just captured a jump starter for the Mothership", Boone commented.

"True, but conversion of the Mothership's engines will take some time."

"Then we'd best get busy."

*****

As the Taelons grew weaker, the human crew worked to make ID travel possible again. They had used the conventional drives to move the Mothership into orbit around Mercury, and were now making the conversions to the ID core. The Taelons had developed very tight guidelines for the use of Jaridian energy, so most of the theoretical work was done, but the humans were still spending their days and nights re-engineering and reconfiguring calculations.

During the long hours, days, and weeks, Renee Palmer had plenty of time to analyze what Da'an had said about the Jaridians. It seemed to fit with her experience, but after spending so many years considering the Taelons the enemies of humanity, she was still reluctant to throw in completely with them.

Da'an and Zo'or took turns overseeing the projects, and Renee could see in their eyes how draining it was to both Taelons. And yet, both held a fierce determination to see their species survive. A determination Palmer was surprised to find herself beginning to share.

On this day, she was in the engine rooms with Da'an, Boone, and Liam, checking over the latest conversions to the main ID core.

"If the buffers between the two energy types are not exactly calibrated...", Da'an's voice was weak, barely more than a whisper, and as his sentence trailed off, she could see him waver, his knees beginning to buckle.

"Da'an..", Palmer began.

Immediately Boone was by the Companion's side, supporting him with a protective arm around his waist. Pushing a workbench against the wall, he helped the Taelon to it. As Da'an sank gratefully down on the bench, he leaned his head against the bioslurry. Liam Kincaid hurried over and knelt down beside him, checking on the companion's condition.

"Da'an. You need to rest. Let us take you to your quarters", Kincaid insisted.

"No. This must be done. We must return, for the Taelons and for Humanity."

"Da'an, we understand...but it won't do anyone any good if you can't function once we get there", Boone softly spoke, stroking the Taelon's face in a comforting gesture.

"That will not be our choice. We are desperately low on core energy. We cannot regenerate, and we cannot enter stasis. The end result is..."

"No. No it's not. I'm not going to lose you, Da'rhu'shee", Liam said, his voice breaking with emotion.

Da'an opened his eyes in surprise and looked questioningly at his young protector.

"No one has called me thus in...in a very long time...", Da'an spoke, quiet pain woven into his words.

"But, in spite of our troubles, I have always thought of you that way."

The Taelon raised a trembling, pale hand, and in a gesture that Palmer found surprisingly maternal, touched the cheek of his young protector.

"And I have never ceased to care for you, Liam."

"Then let's agree on one other thing. We're all going to Earth, together, and we're going to find a way for the Taelons to live. Agreed? 'Da'rhu'shee'....Beloved Parent."

"Agreed. 'Saa'mim'...My Child."

Boone and Liam supported Da'an's weakened body as he stood up. Smiling a feeble smile, Da'an wrapped an arm around each of his protectors. As the three left the engineering deck, Renee Palmer was left to contemplate the true nature of Taelon/Human relations.

^^^^^

"Listen, Kincaid, the Taelons are no longer welcome here. If Zo'or thinks he's going to park that thing in Earth orbit, he's sadly mistaken. I have full authority to blow the Mothership out of the sky, and I'll use it."

Liam Kincaid's jaw tightened as he heard those words from Hubble Urick. They were still in orbit around Mercury, but were about to engage the newly powered ID drives. Kincaid had just been in contact with Earth and had informed Urick of the Taelon's desperate state. Without some form of stasis or a solution to the core energy problem, they would be dead within 21 hours. Palmer came up from engineering with Da'an and Boone. Da'an was so weakened that Boone was practically carrying him as they walked into the bridge.

As Boone found a place for Da'an to rest, Palmer came over to the console Liam was working at.

"Did you contact Earth to let them know we're coming?", she asked.

"Oh, yeah. And I have to tell you, Earth must be the most hospitable planet in the universe."

"What do you mean?"

Liam checked to see if Da'an was watching, and satisfied that the Taelon was otherwise occupied, he brought up a display screen and replayed the recording of his conversation with Urick. As she heard the politician's words, Renee's eyes hardened and her face registered an anger she never thought she'd feel.

"They can't do that! The Taelons need help."

"A couple of months ago, Renee, and you'd have been the one making the suggestion."

Palmer looked across the room to where Boone was tenderly ministering to a shockingly weakened Da'an. A look of compassion and concern flitted across her features.

"Well. Things have changed."

"Things, Renee? Or you?"

"Okay, maybe I understand a little better. No one should have to watch their entire species die like this if someone can help. They need us."

"And more than that, Renee. We need them."

"Maybe that's true,too, Liam."

"So, what do we do?"

"We go back, we do what we can do, and if Hubble Urick gets in the way we tell him where he can launch his missles."

"Atta girl...I'll let you do the honors!", and with that, Liam brought up the ID drives and set a course for Earth.