Chapter 4: Insanity3

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"An intriguing situation," a familiar Taelon voice said. "I wonder what the outcome shall be?"

Liam's ears pricked up at the sound of the voice. He swallowed, hoping what he heard didn't mean what he thought it did. He crept stealthily to the open door. He peered around the jamb and was surprised to see the room occupied by one lone person.

Zo'or stood in front of a data stream displaying images of humans. Liam squinted, trying to make out who it was Zo'or was watching. The data stream went black for a moment then displayed a picturesque little manor over which words began to scroll. The theme song to Little Cove, a popular soap-opera began to play.

"No!" Zo'or protested. "They cannot do this! I am the Synod Leader! I wish to know what happens to Jim and Mary. I must know if Mary's adopted daughter is really hers, if she was taken at birth rather than having died. Who is the father?! Jim or his cousin, Whip??"

Zo'or began to pace angrily across the floor. "And what of Verna? Will she exact revenge on Stewart for betraying her? Will she reveal the secret of him and Mary?" He stopped in the middle of the room and waved his hands. "I will not allow this! The humans will show only Little Cove until my questions are answered!"

Liam watched disbelieving from his hiding place. Who'd have thought? he wondered.

"Are you still wasting time on that?" a snide voice asked.

Liam quickly glanced in the direction of the new voice. It was T'than. The Taelon War Minister had entered by another way. Liam ducked a little farther behind the door. He watched helplessly as T'than approached Zo'or.

"What do you mean?" Zo'or said scathingly.

T'than looked Zo'or up and down. "I should think that was obvious."

Zo'or snorted. "You are jealous of me is all," he said. "You will grasp at anything to try and belittle me. But you know the truth."

"And what truth is that?" T'than spat.

"I'm too sexy for the Taelons," Zo'or sang. He smiled triumphantly. He launched into what was apparently his own version of the song. He swung his hips and snapped his fingers.

T'than growled. He raised a hand and Liam noticed he was holding some kind of sword. Some small memory stirred, he recognized it as an ancient Taelon weapon. He wondered if he would have to rescue the Synod Leader.

"Desist that noise at once!" T'than proclaimed. "I, the protector of Taelon Virtue, will not allow it!"

"Admit it! You are jealous!" Zo'or said, still dancing to unheard music. "You know I am the sexiest of all Taelons! Even you are not immune to my charms."

To prove his point, Zo'or danced up to T'than, somehow managing to avoid the sword, and planted a big kiss square on T'than's mouth.

"Ack!!" T'than spat noisily. He ran his hand across his mouth and glared at Zo'or. Zo'or merely laughed and danced his way out of the room.

"Stop! Stop at once!" shouted T'than. He ran after Zo'or, sword in hand. "I will not allow this!"

Liam continued staring into the empty room. He couldn't believe it, his mind absolutely rebelled. What more could possibly happen?

---

Liam rose from his crouching position next to the door. His calves ached after squatting for so long. The shock of what he had witnessed had kept him from moving for nearly 10 minutes. He shook his head, trying to erase the image of Zo'or kissing T'than.

"Ugh..." Liam groaned. He rubbed his forehead. It's gonna take a long time to forget that! He turned from the door and continued down the corridor. He swept his gaze back and forth, searching for any clues on Da'an or Renee's whereabouts. The only thing he saw was the empty hall.

Wait a minute..... thought Liam. He stopped and peered around. Nothing. Not a footstep sounded in the silence. This can't be good. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. The disappearance of the usual throng of Volunteers could only bode ill.

Liam resumed his journey, this time walking briskly and frantically searching for a sign of anyone. He was about to break into a panicked run when he heard a strange hissing sound.

"What the...?" Liam muttered. A thin wisp of smoke came from an open doorway just a few paces down. He approached the room carefully and peeked inside. He blinked in surprise.

"Oh damn..." a rich voice intoned. Agent Sandoval stood facing a smoking heap of ashes, his skrill arm raised. He lowered the arm and scowled.

"Sandoval..." Liam swallowed nervously when he realized he's said the name aloud. Sandoval turned from the heap and faced Liam. His expression was the same unreadable mask he usually wore. He quirked an eyebrow, silently asking why Liam was interrupting.

"Yes, Major?" Sandoval asked when Liam continued to stand wordlessly.

Liam straightened away from the door. His eyes slid to the still smoking ashes. He hoped that wasn't what he thought it was. Considering the unpredictable effects of the compound, he might have stumbled onto the 'punishing' of some unfortunate Volunteer.

Liam smiled weakly. He forced himself to look at Sandoval. "Well...ah" his voice cracked a little. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I was looking for Miss Palmer, Agent Sandoval. Have you seen her?" He decided it was probably best not to mention Da'an's disappearance.

"Why, no I haven't," Sandoval said. "I wasn't aware Miss Palmer was aboard the Mothership." His gaze became suspicious.

Liam swallowed again. This was just what he didn't need, a paranoid FBI agent with a CVI and a license to skrill. He adapted his most casual posture. "It was an unscheduled visit," he said truthfully. "I'm here to return her to Earth."

"Oh," commented Sandoval. He continued to study Liam for a moment. Liam could feel sweat begin to trickle down his back. He squashed the urge to run.

Finally, Sandoval turned away. He walked to a side table containing some unusual items. Liam caught a glimpse of something white, but the agent stepped in front of the table, blocking his view. He watched as Sandoval picked up various items and deposited them on a tray. After a minute or so, the agent turned away from the table and walked over to the ash heap.

Liam continued to observe in confusion as Sandoval placed the tray atop the heap. The tray was piled high with little brown squares with white in the middle. Before he could ask what was going on, Sandoval raised his arm and skrilled the tray, contents and all. All that was left was some melted metal and more ashes.

"Grrrr..." Sandoval ground his teeth. His face collapsed into another scowl.

"Uh...what...?" Liam questioned, gesturing to the pile of smoking remains.

Sandoval turned to face him. He looked at Liam in irritation. "Haven't you ever made s'mores, Major?" he snapped.

"S'mores?" Liam asked dumbly. His brain had given up trying to make sense of what was happening that day. The mind could only take so much.

"Yes, s'mores!" Sandoval growled again. He marched over to the table. Picking up another tray, he placed the necessary ingredients on it. He turned back to Liam when he'd finished and strode to the Major's side. He held up one of those brown squares. "You take a graham cracker," he put the square in the center of the tray, "add a piece of chocolate," he placed chocolate on the cracker, "then a marshmallow." That explains the white things, thought Liam.

"Then top it with another graham cracker," said Sandoval, completing his masterpiece. He held out the tray for Liam's inspection.

"Uh...nice" Liam commented, not knowing what else to say. Sandoval rolled his eyes.

"It's not done yet," he stated. He gave Liam a look that clearly said 'idiot'. The agent stepped away, placing the tray on top of the heap. He returned to Liam's side and said, "Now, you have to heat it up so the chocolate melts and the marshmallow becomes gooey."

"How do you...?" Liam began to ask. His question was answered when Sandoval skrilled the plate of crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. The whole thing quickly joined the rest of the ash heap. "Oh..."

Sandoval sighed. "I can't seem to get the power adjusted to the right level."

Liam stared at the Companion agent, his mouth hanging open. Imagine, him getting depressed over some burnt s'mores. He shook his head slightly.

"What do you think, Major?" Sandoval asked suddenly, turning to face Liam with soulful eyes.

"Uh...well..." Liam stuttered. He shrugged, flustered.

"You think I'm incompetent, don't you?" Sandoval accused, his face flushed angrily. "I'll have you know I was the official s'mores maker for my Boy Scout troop!"

Liam shook his head vigorously. "No no no, I don't think you're incompetent!" he said quickly. "You were right. I've never made s'mores in my life!"

"Hmph" was all Sandoval said.

"Look," said Liam, hoping to extract himself from the situation. "I really need to find Miss Palmer. I don't want to interrupt you anymore..."

Sandoval waved a hand impatiently. "Fine, Major. Considering your lack of experience in this matter, I think it would be for the best." With that, the agent returned to the table and ignored Liam.

Liam shrugged. For the best indeed...