Liam approached the door to his mother's cell with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Doors hadn't given him an explicit deadline, but he knew he was working under a time limit, especially now that Boone had been assigned to look for her. The Resistance couldn't afford to hold a Companion protector prisoner forever; nor could they afford to allow a loyal Companion agent to leave.

Beckett was sitting in her chair facing the door. Liam smiled widely at her, hoping for a favourable response. An expression--confusion?--flickered across her face and vanished, replaced by an implant's stony mask. He sighed inwardly and pulled up the hard wooden chair he'd used before.

"Have you finally decided to interrogate me, Kincaid?" There was no fear in her voice, he noted. Maybe a hint of mockery, but that might have been the accent.

"It wouldn't do any good, would it?" he replied, still smiling. "Your CVI wouldn't let you answer any important questions."

"If you already know that, why do you keep coming back? Why not just kill me, or let me go?"

He dropped the smile and focused on her eyes, broadcasting sincerity with as much intensity as he could. "Maybe the questions I think are important aren't the same as the ones the Taelons think are important."

"And what questions are those?" she asked, meeting his gaze challengingly.

"To start with, the one you didn't answer before." He turned up the intensity a notch further. "At what point does the harm done by the Taelons outweigh the good?"

Beckett looked away abruptly. Satisfied that he was having an effect, Liam leaned back and studied her carefully, watching for clues about what she felt, hints about how to proceed. Comparing her reactions to his memories of those reactions. It was an odd double view, watching her from the outside as his mind fed him memories of how it felt to be her--to sit straight with shoulders back like that, to frown in frustration, to tilt his (her?) head just so. He'd grown somewhat accustomed to the experience while working with Sandoval--had learned not to react when a sudden movement or familiar pose unexpectedly triggered sympathetic muscle reactions and an intuitive, bone-deep understanding of how it felt to stand that way, see that way--but it was still disconcerting. Most of the time, he tried to avoid the experience. Now he embraced it, trying to extract what information he could…and getting very little. Beckett was nearly as inscrutable as the Taelon statue outside of the church.

"Have you ever been to Ireland, Kincaid?" she asked at last. He hesitated. That was not the response he had expected.

"Once," he replied quietly. He couldn't quite stem the sudden rush of sorrow. When she looked up, it was with the shock of comprehension.

"For my funeral."

He nodded silent assent. Beckett studied him with curiosity. He could see her shifting tactics. His answer wasn't what she had been expecting either.

"Why do you associate yourself with these terrorists, Liam?" she asked softly. "Do you really believe they are the best chance at a peaceful solution to the conflict?"

He didn't miss the calculated use of his first name. Obviously perceptiveness could go both ways.

"Why do you think that all Resistance members are necessarily terrorists, Agent Beckett?"

"Why else would they hide underground?"

Liam leaned forward and smiled confidingly. "Because the Taelons have a tendency to take action against anyone who voices dissent, however mild. As you've now seen for yourself."

"And how is Agent Sandoval?" she asked.

"Better," said Liam. "He was found to be suffering from a genetic disorder, but the doctors have managed to repair it."

"Genetics," she said thoughtfully. "Did they use Taelon technology?"

"Yes, they did."

"So the Resistance isn't above using Taelon technology when it's convenient."

"It's not the Taelons' technology we object to; it's how they use it on us."

"You want the benefits without the price."

"I'd be willing to sacrifice the benefits if it meant humanity would survive," said Liam evenly.

"The Taelons aren't trying to kill us, Liam," she insisted.

"But they don't care whether we live or die." She shook her head, unconvinced. Liam cast around helplessly, trying to find the right thing to say, the secret code that would overcome the motivational imperative and restore his mother to him.

"Prove it," she challenged.

"Prove it?"

"You've sat here and told me that the Taelons are monsters who are ruthlessly using humanity for their own benefit and that everything I've seen and heard about them is a lie. Prove it. Show me your evidence."

"What kind of evidence will you accept? You saw what they did to Ryan, you've seen what they do to people who disagree with them. If you don't trust what you've seen with your own eyes, what am I supposed to come up with?"

"I've seen the Taelons defend themselves against people who would undermine them so that the Taelons can continue to help us. Show me proof that they aren't interested in helping us. That they are here solely for themselves."

"Proof," repeated Liam. An idea began to form--inspiration seeping through the cracks of memory. He stood up and deactivated the force field that kept the protector prisoner, then crouched down beside and held up his hand, palm towards her. Beckett's eyes widened as she realized what he was suggesting. Hesitantly, with an almost defiant look, she reached out, matching her palm to his. Then he showed her.

In another universe, Ha'gel had overcome by the motivational imperative by flooding Siobhan Beckett's brain with Kimeran energy, but the process had nearly killed her. Would have killed her if Dr. Park hadn't repaired the CVI shortly afterwards. Liam couldn't repeat that process--couldn't override the implant directly. He had to rely on Beckett's own will for that. What he could do, however, was provide her with the evidence she had asked for. He held back the worst of it, blocking out most of what the Taelons had done to the Kimera, what the Kimera had seen them starting to do to other races, far in the past. Instead, he focused on the things he had borne witness to as protector and resistance leader, on the reports that had trickled to the lair beneath the church, and on what he learned through his own tentative, infrequent probing of the Commonality. She was pale when he was done.

"I'm sorry," he said, pulling back his hand.

"You didn't create the truth," she responded absently, staring into the distance. After a moment, she shivered and seemed to pull herself into focus.

"Liam, my counterpart…did she have any children?"

He hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "She had a son."

"Good," she said. "Family's important."

"I know," he said.

"I always wanted…but I suppose it doesn't matter now."

"It matters."

She laughed resignedly. "Between my position as a protector and my current status as a prisoner of the Resistance, I don't think my chances for having a family are very good."

"You can't predict the future," he said. "Protector and prisoner could both be temporary phases."

"I shouldn't even be able to think this way," she said. She sprang to her feet and began pacing restlessly around the small room. "What did you do to my CVI?"

"Nothing," he said, watching from beside her chair. "It's all you. The Resistance has tracked signs that, given sufficient time, the brain can overcome the motivational imperative of the CVI."

"That's a frightening thought," she said. She added, "I wanted the CVI, you know."

He nodded.

"I wanted to be a better soldier, to serve them better."

"They don't deserve you," he said. "They don't deserve your loyalty. They'll make Earth into a killing field if they're not stopped."

"Maybe," she agreed bleakly, sitting down again. "I don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore, Liam. You say that they'll harm us and I feel like I should trust you, but I don't know why. Every time I look at you, I feel as if…"

"What?"

"I don't know," she said. "As if I should know you, perhaps. An alien hybrid from another dimension and I feel as if there's a bond between us. If I feel that way, and if I was wrong about the Taelons--I don't know if I can even trust my instincts anymore. One way or another, they've failed me."

"Everything breaks down at some point," he said. "But your counterpart had good instincts and I think you do too."

"Maybe," she said, bowing her head. "I need time to think. If I'm going to die here, I want to die knowing the truth."

"I won't let you die."

She looked up at him and smiled a little. "I know what desperation does, Liam. And I know now how desperate the Resistance is. I chose my own lot when I accepted the CVI."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Fault's irrelevant. It's fate."

"I refuse to accept that."

"We don't always have a choice," she said. "Will you give me some time alone?"

"Of course." He stood up and stretched his stiff legs. "I'll be back later to see how you're doing."

"I'll look forward to it."

He reactivated the force field and walked slowly towards the door. Before leaving, he turned to look at her once more. "I will get you out of here."

"If the fates allow."

He stared a moment longer and left.

* * *

The same scene was playing on every channel: the cheering crowd, the stern soldiers, the South American Companion waving gracefully before boarding his shuttle, and the bright, blinding light of a midair explosion. In between viewings, the anchors repeated the same news: everyone on board the shuttle had been killed along with several people in the crowd, the injured were being treated at the Hospital Universitário de Brasília, and the protector service was investigating the incident which was believed to have been caused by a shuttle malfunction. Augur flipped between stations, but nothing new came up. After his sixth useless viewing of the explosion, he turned away in disgust and caught sight of a pensive-looking Liam exiting the hall leading to the containment facilities. Augur waved to him, and Liam came over.

"How'd it go in there with Beckett?"

"I think I may have broken through to her," said Liam.

Augur leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Good for you, kid."

Liam shook his head. "That was the easy part. Now I have to convince one of the most paranoid men on the planet that an implanted Companion protector doesn't pose a threat to his resistance movement."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I don't know yet." Liam nodded toward the screen in front of Augur, still endlessly replaying the explosion. "What's going on?"

"The South American Companion was killed this morning. Shuttle explosion."

"An accident? Or an attack?"

"They're saying accident for now, but that could just be a cover to keep people calm. One thing I've learned from watching the news--this world is a lot more violent than ours. At least where the Taelons are concerned."

"Violence by the Taelons or violence against the Taelons?"

"Both. I did a little digging into the archives. A couple of years ago, there was a major attack on the Taelons--bigger than the assassination attempt Doors staged in our world. The Taelons responded, the crackdowns led to more violence, and the violence led to more force from the Taelons."

"A self-perpetuating cycle."

"Exactly," agreed Augur.

"Was the first attack a Resistance operation?"

"It's hard to say without knowing the details of how the Resistance operates in this world. But it wouldn't surprise me."

"Why's that?"

"Doors had a little chat with me while you were in with Beckett. He wanted to know what kind of information our Resistance had about Taelon weaknesses. He was particularly interested in any information we had about how to penetrate virtual glass."

"That sounds normal for Doors."

"The questions? Sure. The way he asked them…things work differently here."

Liam smiled wryly. "I've noticed."

"I bet you have. So what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Finally getting to know your parents. You've got Sandoval, Beckett, and if we bring up Ha'gel, that'll be all three."

Liam frowned. "I already know my parents, Augur."

"No, you know what they knew," said Augur. "That's not the same as interacting with them."

Liam leaned back against the table, arms crossed. "The people here aren't my parents."

"Maybe not, but they're close. Sandoval's close, and Beckett."

"Yeah," said Liam, an expression of pain flashing across his face. Augur watched him quietly for a moment.

"Have you thought about staying?"

"Staying?"

"Staying here. Permanently."

"You know I can't do that. The dimensional phasing..."

"Only kicked in because Maiya and Isabel were in the same dimension. Maiya was fine once Isabel…once they combined. You don't exist here, so, no phasing."

"I have responsibilities back home."

"What? The Resistance? We got along before you, kid. I'm not saying you're not useful, but we'll get by."

"Not just the Resistance. There's Da'an."

"He hired an amoralist to betray you! What do you owe him?"

"An amoralist you helped," snapped Liam.

Augur glanced down guiltily.

"I'm sorry," Liam sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know you thought you were protecting me. The situation with Da'an is…complicated."

"Is it? Or is that just what you want to think?"

"Are you really that eager to get rid of me, Augur?"

"Of course not. That's not what this is about," said Augur.

"Then what is it about?"

"You're barely a year old. You started working for the Taelons when you were only a couple of days old."

"So?"

"You've lived your whole life for other people. That hasn't exactly given you a lot of opportunities for exploring the lighter side of life. Maybe you should grab this one while you have the chance."

Liam laughed bitterly. "Living underground, surrounded by people who are terrified that I'm going to betray them. Quite the life you've got planned for me, Augur."

"Life's what you make it."

"Not mine. I was made for a purpose."

"To hell with why you were created, Liam. Just because Ha'gel had plans for you doesn't mean you have to follow through with them."

"Yes, I do."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the only one who can."

"No one's indispensable."

Liam smiled sadly. "I'm the last of my kind, Augur. My fate's decided."

"I told you, I don't believe in fate," said Augur. He sighed. "Just think about it, okay?"

"Sure."

"I mean it."

"I'll think about it."

"All right. And speaking of thinking…" he was interrupted by the sound of light, rapid footsteps.

"There you are," said Lili. "I've been looking all over for you."

"What's wrong?" asked Liam, straightening up.

She took a deep breath. "Doors has decided to go after Ha'gel."

* * *