Chapter Six: The Escape Artist

Da'an regained consciousness in a large fortified green structure. All of the leaders were sitting on thick black benches with their hands cuffed behind their backs.

"What happened?" she groaned, more out of frustration than pain.

"Well, let me put it this way," Auger said, helping her sit up. "You remember that long talk we had about whether or not the warlords knew that we'd overthrown the council? They know."

"Now, they've got us all locked in this bunker while they butcher the Lillian Contract page by page," Hubble said. "You sure picked one hell of a place to force me to go."

"Be glad," Da'an said. "At least you are not dead. If they did not need us to sign that altered contract, you would be."

"Why do they need us to sign it so bad?" Tay'jay said. "Who cares whether or not we sign it?"

"That contract could be of some good use to them, especially if they make the kind of alterations I think they will," Boren said.

"What kind of alterations are you referring to?" Hubble asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sharak asked. "Think about it. Why didn't you receive a distress signal from your soldiers? Why haven't they been dealt with?"

Tay'jay sighed. "They're gonna force us into an alliance with them."

"Exactly," Sharak said. "Don't think humanity can get away so easily with aiding our arch enemies. And to top that off, when we try to make peace with you, you shoot down our ambassadors."

"What better way to get back at the Taelons but with their own allies?" Kunik asked. "They'll force humanity and the Espelons into signing over all of their troops to the Jaridians. Then they will attack the Taelons from all sides at once. The perfect strategy."

"With just one flaw," Hubble said. "I don't represent the world. I represent America. That's just one country, one part of humanity."

"One very rich, highly upstanding, and very powerful country with enough weapons, soldiers and resources to influence the whole world," Da'an said. "Your country won your allies two world wars. Who is going to oppose an alliance you sign into, especially against a species whose popularity with humanity has dropped considerably?"

"The president won't agree to this treaty, and neither will Congress," Hubble said.

"But they will agree to a sob story," Tay'jay said. "The Jaridians can make up any story they want to about how a group of patriotic Americans initiated a peace talk with Jaridians to get their side of the story and were brutally gunned down by a Taelon warship. They have human soldiers to play the saps, Taelon ships belonging to yours truly to create the situation, and an upstanding member of the president's cabinet to seal the deal."

"I'm guessing that's probably how they'll get rid of us after we sign the Lillian Contract," Kunik said. "They'll pile us and a group of American soldiers into a ship and destroy us with your warship, Tay'jay."

"They send the remains back home, with a cute story about how their last wish was that the Jaridians ally with humanity since they are friends, and there you have it," Boren said. "I couldn't have planned it better myself."

"How do you guys know all of this?" Auger asked.

"Reason number one: it was a part of their original strategy when they sent Lili and Vorjak to Earth on their peace mission," Sharak said. "Reason number two: if we were in their situation, we'd do the exact same thing."

"Well can we get out of here?" Tay'jay asked. "It's cold down here, it's damp, and I really don't like any of you."

"Annoying selfish little…" Hubble mumbled to himself. The last part had been deliberately indiscernible.

"Well, the first step is to get us out of these cuffs," Kunik said. "Does anyone have a small pointed object?"

"I have a better idea," Da'an said. In an instant, she was gone.

"What the…!" cried Balvak.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," Tay'jay said.

"Forgot about it? What the hell was that?" Auger asked.

"That's Da'an being a show-off," Hubble said. "I think her new emotions are going to her head."

"Well, what do you expect? Look who she hangs out with," Tay'jay said, pointing to himself and Hubble.

"Don't try to associate me with that train wreck," Hubble said.

"This 'train wreck' is going to get you out of here," Da'an shot back from the end of the bunker. Somehow, she was free of her cuffs as well.

The Jaridians were speechless.

"How-How did you…How did you do that?" Kunik stuttered.

"Are you kidding?" Tay'jay asked him.

"I sure as the stars was not asking you," Kunik retorted.

"Cool it," Da'an said. "I teleported outside. There are six Jaridian replicants guarding this bunker."

"And not one of them saw you?" Sharak asked. "That's pretty good."

"How did you get out of those cuffs so fast?" Auger asked.

"Stand perfectly still," she told him.

The chain on Auger's cuffs began to rattle. Fear surfaced in Auger and he tried to stand, but something powerful held him down. Suddenly, one of the links in the chain broke and Auger was free.

"And that, dear friends, is why the Taelons stopped using chains to hold cuffs together," Da'an said triumphantly.

"Oh yeah. You are definitely a bad influence on her," Auger said to Tay'jay.

"So sue me," Tay'jay retorted. "Any plans on how to get the rest of us out of here, sister?"

"Uh…well, that's actually a problem," Da'an said hesitantly.

"What kind of problem?" Hubble asked sternly.

"Teleportation of multiple objects requires a great deal of concentration, and…so far I can only take two with me at a time," Da'an said uneasily. "If I escape, I can only take two of you with me."

"I'll go," Geris said, standing up to confirm that he was volunteering.

The others were less enthusiastic.

"Sorry, but I have enough problems with portalling," Hubble said.

"Well, that's good because I do not need you to go with me," Da'an said. "I am taking Auger."

"What!" Auger cried. "Why me?"

"Because you are a hacker, and you are of use to me," Da'an said.

"But do you seriously need me? I mean surely there are some good Taelon hackers—"

"I wasn't asking you, Auger."

"Uh…that completely came out the wrong way, Da'an," Auger said awkwardly.

Da'an sighed. "Men. Only one thing on their minds, no matter what species." She thrust her hand at Geris's cuffs. The links of his chain shattered.

"Don't take his dirty mind out on me," Geris said innocently.

"Um, what's the plan?" Hubble asked before this got completely off subject.

"Sooner or later, our soldiers are going to become anxious. They will wonder why we have not tried to contact them," Da'an said. "If that has not happened already, we need to get to them before the warlords do. If it has happened, we need to set them free. Should the latter occur, I may need Auger."

"You want me to hack into a Jaridian security grid and bust a bunch of soldiers out of prison?" Auger summarized. "You do know that I don't understand a wink of Jaridian."

"I'll help you," Geris said to him. "I will also protect you if anything goes wrong. Besides, it may not even come to that."

"All right, beam me up Scotty," Auger told Da'an.

"Scotty was a guy, Auger," Da'an said rolling her eyes. When Auger didn't respond, Da'an sighed and took both Geris and Auger's hands.

There was a brilliant flash of white light, and they were all gone.

"Considering she's only had those powers for a month, I'm wondering what it'll be like a year from now," Tay'jay said to Hubble. "That'll be awesome."

"I'm glad one of us is enthusiastic about this," Hubble said. "As far as I'm concerned, those powers are a problem. Those powers make her a loose cannon."

"You haven't known a lot of Taelons in the six years they've been on Earth, have you?" Tay'jay asked.

Hubble shook his head.

Ta'lay was in Da'an's quarters taking care of Ariel, unaware of the commotion going on downstairs. He had just finished feeding and changing Ariel. Now he was sitting at the end of a long rug in between the furniture and the bed watching the little infant crawl and, every now and then, attempt to stand and walk. Whenever she fell, Ariel would just coo and laugh. The rug on which she was trying to walk was so soft that it felt like she was falling on a marshmallow every time she tripped. Ta'lay had never had any children, and he never planned on it. Ta'lay was one of the few Taelons that did not believe in parenting. He was often too wrapped up in his work to think about children. The closest he ever came to caring for children was during times like this when he had to check on them or watch them for a few hours while the parents were gone. He knew just as well as other Taelons that rearing a Taelon child did not require as much time as it would rearing a human child, but Ta'lay had not been reared in a conventional Taelon parenting manner. Ta'lay had been born in a community of Taelons that believed in a collective development. They believed that even though the parents created the child, it should be the responsibility of the community as a whole to rear children. That was how Ta'lay was raised, and that was what he believed. However, the Taelon race as a whole did not embrace those values, and Ta'lay decided to hold off raising children until he could be free to raise them the same way his community had raised him.

A knock on the door interrupted Ta'lay's train of thought. "It's open," he cried while beckoning for Ariel to come to him.

A bulky, black man with blue eyes entered. He was wearing a Taelon military uniform that Ta'lay had not seen in years.

"I thought Da'an might be here," he said disappointedly.

"She's at the negotiations," Ta'lay said.

"I thought she was too," he said, "but I checked the council room and they said the negotiations had been postponed."

"Postponed?" Ta'lay asked. "That's impossible."

"Well, maybe I heard wrong, or maybe the soldier heard wrong," he said.

"Maybe," Ta'lay replied. "Are you Ar'ron?"

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I could sense it in your eyes," Ta'lay said, placing Ariel on the center of the bed and showing Ar'ron inside. "I did not imagine a black man's façade."

"The lieutenant who gave his DNA to me was black," Ar'ron said. "His name is Darius. He was the only one that wasn't afraid to talk to us when we first went to Earth."

"Interesting," Ta'lay said examining the features of Ar'ron's body. "Well, that is Ariel over there. I am Ta'lay."

"I know who you are," Ar'ron said. "You were Ne'eg's protégé. Are the rumors about him true?"

"Which ones?"

"The bad ones."

"Yes…he was, and no, I do not know that because I tried to sleep with him. He…told me," Ta'lay said. "He told anyone close to him. After he'd tell someone, we would never speak of it again."

"That explains why he never had children, but why didn't he after he became asexual?"

"Like many Taelons, he just lost all desire to do it."

"I didn't mean to bring it up. I was just curious," Ar'ron said apologetically.

"It's all right," Ta'lay said. "He was a good person. I just wish I could have been there to say goodbye when he died. I was working in London when I just…sensed it." He blushed blue.

Ariel's squealing startled Ta'lay back into awareness and he walked over to the bed to pick her up.

"What about Da'an?"

"What about her?" Ta'lay asked bouncing Ariel up and down on his knee to keep her entertained.

"Did the priests really steal her memories?" Ar'ron asked.

"As far as I know, they did. She does not talk about it much. I think there is still a lot she cannot remember. I often hear her talking to Tay'jay about gaps in her memory. They've been trying to fill them as best they can, I suppose."

"So she doesn't remember me," Ar'ron said to himself. He sighed and blushed. "She was to be with me, you know. We were to be together."

Ta'lay stopped bouncing Ariel. "I…I never knew that."

"I was the first one to become attracted to her. I was the first one who wanted her, but I was an idiot when I was young. I never knew what to do with my feelings, so I teased her. She hated me for it too. As I got older, it was worse. Imagine the most inarticulate Taelon in the universe, and then multiply it times two. That would've been me. Everything I said came out wrong to her."

"Knowing her, it probably just came out wrong because she wanted nothing to do with you."

"Probably. Then, there was this one time I dared her to climb a cliff. She did it too, but she slipped coming back down. Then, I climbed up and grabbed her. After that, she started letting me get closer to her, and…then, one day…" Ar'ron blushed.

"That sounds sweet," Ta'lay said.

"We romanced together for a long time. We made plans together. But when she turned sixteen, she and Ma'el went to the priests. He returned, but she never did. I talked to Tay'jay, and he told me that the priests had selected her to train with them. I waited for years, training in the rites of Pa'dar, disciplining my mind, body, and soul, and hoping that each passing day would be the day she returned to me. She never did. When my training was complete, I asked Tay'jay and Ma'el about it. All Tay'jay told me was that she was no longer akin to him. Ma'el just walked away. He wouldn't even look at me. Several years later, I had heard that she had been elected to a position in the Synod. Of course by the time I got to her, she had been betrothed to Quo'on and was pregnant with Zo'or. She looked at me as if I was no different than any warrior she had seen. I meant nothing to her."

Ta'lay nodded. "If it makes you feel any better, her betrothal to Quo'on was arranged."

"I know that. Everyone knows that. I thought that she would remember me now though. I thought I'd have a chance with her again. But when she and Tay'jay finally reunited after all of these years, she still didn't recognize me. I was still no one but a lingering shadow to her."

"I have always wondered what happened to her those many years she was gone," Ta'lay said. "I know many Taelons have either forgotten about it, or do not question it, but…I have always wondered."

"More are dead than you think," Ar'ron said. "When our planet was destroyed, an entire generation of Taelons was wiped out: mine and Da'an's generation. I wouldn't be surprised if Da'an, Tay'jay, and me were the only ones left. Tay'jay and I are the oldest Espelons in his clan. That's why we're ranked so high. I don't know anyone else as old as us."

"Well, T'than is as old as Da'an," Ta'lay said. "Ba'hor and Xia'tan are older I think. Everyone else is younger. I know no scientists, doctors, or mathematicians that age. Most of them are my age. The last one around your age was Ne'eg, I think. I suppose you are right. There probably is no one else."

"I just want to be able to talk to her," Ar'ron said. "Maybe if I talk to her we can figure it out, but…she's with that human now. It's not fair. She was mine. She doesn't belong with him. She barely knows him."

"She barely knows you, as far as she's concerned," Ta'lay said. "You should not let this get to you. If you continue this way, it will become an obsession. There are plenty of Taelons and Espelons who would love to have you."

A flash of light appeared in the room. Ar'ron stood in front of Ta'lay to protect him from whatever it was. When the light receded, Auger, Da'an and Geris appeared. Ariel squealed with delight and wriggled out of Ta'lay's arms to crawl to Da'an. Da'an picked her up and let her wrap her arms around her neck.

"For someone who does not know her way around this building, you certainly returned us to the right place with great ease," Geris complimented.

"It is not a problem so long as I know the destination," Da'an said.

"Then, how'd you teleport out the bunker?" Auger asked. "You were unconscious when they hauled you in."

"Honestly? I guessed," Da'an admitted. "I figured about twenty meters was a good estimate."

Auger and Geris exchanged humorous looks and shook their heads.

Ta'lay's chuckle broke their conversation. He and Da'an exchanged winks. After all, it was with him and Tay'jay that she spent most of her time working with to control her newfound gifts. A brilliant blue wave fluttered throughout Ar'ron's body that caught Da'an's attention. He tried to speak, but he found that his motor functions had temporarily ceased.

"Who are you?" she asked Ar'ron.

And he was crushed once again.