5 – "You still feel sympathy for these god-like creatures. Just because their make is not flesh and blood, you assume that entitles them to the status of a deity. Well, I have worked with them, and I assure you they are not gods."

I want to, and I think I'm going to, punch Hubble until his whole body's broken! He drags us into a meeting to figure out what to do about the dying Synod members, and now he wants Da'an to go in and help them find the killer. I can think of at least ten reasons why we should be doing anything but this! The stupid dick! But I'll stick with the three main reasons: Da'an is in no condition to be doing anything right now, the Taelons will most likely notice that Da'an is not a human or a Taelon (that reason being why we've stopped sending Espelon spies to the Mothership), and I'm not in a position to protect her the whole time she's there!

I feel bad for Da'an and Link. They haven't been speaking to each other. Link didn't even show up at the meeting. Apparently he and Da'an have separated. Neither of them will tell us why. She barely speaks anymore to anyone. It's frightening a lot of the humans, and the Espelons are growing tense. It seems like everything that can go wrong is going wrong now.

I wonder if everything Da'an says is true. She mumbles things that we discover later are the thoughts of others. And after what she did to Ta'lay…

We all try to get through to her, and she just stares blankly into space. Link told us that she's been doing that a lot lately. He has to ask her simple questions very slowly and clearly to get a straight answer out of her. It's a strange and mind-numbing game they play. That would explain why they separated. Her being that bizarre state probably scared the crap out of Link and Ariel. I know she scares me.

I hate this feeling of helplessness that plagues me. Tay'jay said the same thing the other day. He and I are both very protective of Da'an, for obvious different reasons. However, when we can't protect Da'an, we feel helpless and pathetic. Renee just ignores it by burying herself in her work. She only comes to headquarters and the lair when she has to now.

I can understand Hubble's frustration with Da'an. We spent an hour trying to get her to tell us what she sees in her visions. We got nothing reliable. She just kept talking in riddles and finishing our sentences. When she finally does recover, she tells us that she can't remember what happened. I think she's lying, another thing that pisses me off.

Ta'lay, Tay'jay, Link and Da'an all have this little clique now. They share vital information amongst each other but not with us. I'm wondering if any of the other Espelons know and they just won't tell us. I'm sick of Da'an keeping secrets from me! I know she thinks that she's protecting me, but there are some things humanity needs to know. I don't know how I can get her to understand that. She knows more about the priests than she's letting on, and she's deliberately withholding information—vital information that could be used to defeat the priests. Why won't she tell us? What in the hell is she waiting for? Why doesn't she trust me?


"You did WHAT?"

Da'an burst out laughing.

Renee, Liam, Tay'jay and Auger were in a conference room in the Atlantic National Alliance headquarters in a meeting that Da'an had called for. Hubble's skeleton was ready to leap out of his body when he learned of the alliance Da'an had made with T'than.

"What could possibly be funny about this!" Hubble yelled.

"Nothing. I just assumed that you would be happy to do this," Da'an giggled wryly.

"All right, that's it," Hubble said harshly. "Liam, keep her mouth shut or I'll kill her myself."

"Infidel!" Da'an yelled. "You don't seem to understand what I've done for you!"

"Please, Da'an," Liam said firmly. "Please, pray tell, explain to us how in God's name this is supposed to help us."

"She's getting rid of Zo'or for us," Tay'jay said, rolling his eyes.

"For the benefit of the priests?" Renee cried. "I thought we agreed that Zo'or and the Synod were the lesser of the two evils."

"Well, it's better than just standing around waiting for either of them to make their move," Da'an said.

"Move's already been made," Auger said. "There's a guy out there that's been killing Synod members who are agents of the priests. Obviously this guy's working for Zo'or."

"As much as I don't wanna admit it, we've got no choice but to side with T'than," Tay'jay said. "This is our last best opportunity to get Zo'or out of that Synod seat cleanly and quietly."

"But the priests' struggle with Zo'or is the only thing that's giving us time to come up with a way to get rid of all of them," Renee said. "If Zo'or gets arrested, the priests will be able to execute their agenda with full force, and we still have no clue what they're going to do and how to stop them."

"The priests are going to get rid of Zo'or with or without us," Tay'jay said. "At least if we do it this way, we've got a glimpse into their world. We'll know exactly who in the Synod has been cleansed."

"That knife cuts both ways," Liam said. "The priests will have a glimpse in our world."

"They already have a glimpse into our world," Tay'jay said. "And they always will so long as those Taelons working for us are a part of the Commonality. That's a general risk we've chosen to live with."

"We might not be able to live with that risk if the priests are allowed to continue unopposed," Renee said.

"You can evacuate the Taelons anytime you wish, Miss Palmer," Da'an said. "You can evacuate us all. Earth is not the only hiding place for Espelons or Taelons."

"Wait, guys, let's just think about all of this. T'than's not gonna just sit there and let us get away scot-free when all of this is over," Auger said.

"He has no choice," Da'an said. "The prosecution needs original documents to back the dozens of witnesses prepared to testify against Zo'or. He also needs a character witness to establish the credibility of those documents. Who better than a respectable US representative like Mr. Urick?"

"Representatives from all over the nation can do that," Auger said. "They don't need us."

"The witnesses that have agreed to come forward are all just your average humans that were victims of Taelon experiments run by Zo'or. A smart defense attorney can turn down flat anything they say on a witness stand. And granted the UN has several national leaders whose credibility can't be questioned to back those documents, the ones that have agreed to come forward are all from nations that don't have the general respect the United States has," Tay'jay said. "If someone from the United States comes forward, especially someone who's working for the ANA, that might be enough to entice more legitimate nations to come forward too."

"What about the documents themselves?" Liam asked. "We can't just tarnish America's reputation to put Zo'or in a prison for the rest of his life."

"No, the UN law will take care of that," Hubble said. "We can argue that those documents contain military secrets that will endanger the welfare of the nation they represent if released to the public. Only the judge, the prosecution and the defense will have access to them and they'll be bound by law to keep their mouths shut."

"What if they don't?" Renee asked. "This whole thing could blow up in our faces."

"They will," Da'an said. "Trust me."

"Trust you?" Liam asked sharply. "I'm gonna need a little bit better than that, considering you got us into this."

"You have statements and names of every other national government that has participated in Zo'or's projects," Da'an told Hubble. "Threaten the defense. If they release the origin of those documents along with their contents, take every one of those nations down with us. The defense probably won't even make the documents an issue if you do that."

"And the prosecution?" Renee asked.

"The judge will just threaten to declare a mistrial," Hubble said. "Zo'or will go free. I know they don't want that. This is playing dirty, Da'an. It's not like you. Why are you really doing this?"

"Are you going to agree to this or not?" Da'an asked sharply.

Hubble sighed and sat back in his chair. His mind was still trying to adjust to the alliance Da'an had made with T'than. However, he should have known Da'an would pull something like this. After all, it was his fault for assigning her to the investigation on the Synod murders.

"You asked me to assist you in this investigation, you fool!" Da'an burst. "What better way to do so than to get rid of an enemy on the highest rung of your list?"

"Oh, is that how it is?" Hubble cried standing to face Da'an's sharp eyes. "Is this your sick little way of getting back at me for asking you to be a part of this project? Because if it is, no one's impressed Da'an!"

"Hey!" Tay'jay yelled. "You don't think Da'an's got something to lose in this too? She's giving up her own child to you. Why don't you show her a little bit of respect?"

Hubble shook his head and sat back down.

"You wouldn't have lasted five minutes anyway," Da'an taunted.

"Da'an, stop it," Tay'jay whispered, then he faced the other. "This is all crap, you guys. I know it, but it's our best option right now. Just give T'than the documents. That's all he's asking and that's all we need to do. From there, let him do what he wants to Zo'or."

"No!" Da'an cried. "We stay with this until the UN has him in custody. I'll do it myself if I have to."

"Now that's one thing you're not doing," Liam said.

"Fine," Hubble said. "I'll give him the documents."

"What!" Renee yelled.

"As much as I hate admitting this, Tay'jay's right," Hubble said. "This is the best way to get rid of Zo'or. I'll pull a few strings with the Pentagon. Tell T'than he'll have the documents as soon as he's ready to receive them."

Before anyone else could object, Hubble adjourned the meeting and walked out. Everyone else however remained behind staring at Da'an.

"What the duce are you staring at?" Da'an asked harshly.

"Why did you agree to this, Da'an?" Auger asked. "What are you really aiming to do?"

Da'an let out a deep gasp and nearly fell out of her chair, but she stopped herself by bracing herself against the table. One of the ceiling lights directly above her burst into sparks and glass.

"What the hell is the matter with her?" Renee asked urgently.

"She's having another vision," Tay'jay said.

"Shut up!" Da'an cried covering her ears. "Stop talking! It's like listening inside a tin can!"

"Da'an, let us help you," Liam said softly. "What do you see? What do you hear?"

"I need to be alone," Da'an whimpered, and she bolted out of the room.

Tay'jay and Liam ran to catch her.

"I'll call maintenance," Auger said defeatedly, picking up the office phone in the meeting room.

"When is this gonna be over?" Renee asked in the same tired tone.

"What is up with you, Da'an?" Tay'jay pleaded.

Da'an shook her head and sank with her back against the wall outside the room.

"Dammit, Da'an, I'm your brother," Tay'jay said sinking to his knees in front of her. "Come on. If you can't talk to anyone else, talk to me. Look at me!"

Da'an lifted her head. "Zo'or is going to kill himself."

Tay'jay blushed. "So that's what it is about."

"What is it?" Liam asked.

"What do you plan to accomplish with getting him arrested?" Tay'jay asked Da'an, ignoring Liam.

"Getting him some help," Da'an whimpered. "He is in pain. He's insane. I can see it. I can feel it. All day and all night, it kept me up. I spent endless hours trying to figure out what I was seeing, and then…it hit me with T'than. I'm just standing there, watching him stab himself, and I don't even so much as tremble. He needs some kind of psychological help."

Tay'jay stood back up and slowly paced from one wall to the next in frustration. "Maybe the Synod can make a deal with the UN, and Zo'or won't even have to go through a trial."

"You can't be serious," Liam said. "The public is out for blood right now. They want to see Zo'or account for his actions."

"And he can do that," Tay'jay said. "He can do that just as easily in a Taelon prison as he can in a human one. Plus he can get psychological help from a Taelon."

"What kind of help could he possibly get?" Liam asked. "The only cure the Taelons seem to have for a psychological disorder is a cleansing on behalf of the priests, and the last time I checked, that's how he got this way in the first place."

"Zo'or got the way he is because he is afraid of the cleansing," Tay'jay corrected. "He doesn't want the priests turning him into a mind zombie, but that fear and his sudden loss of power are making him crazy."

"So we make him a brainless servant of the priests just as they would've done to Da'an," Liam summarized. "What gives us the authority to treat one Taelon different than the rest? I thought you and Da'an wanted to free all the Taelons, not pick which ones got to be free and which ones didn't."

"Neither of us is suggesting that Zo'or be cleansed!" Tay'jay cried. "I want his ass to go to trial if for nothing else than to put the fear of God back into him. But we all know that the UN is going for a death sentence. If we work this out and get him captured, maybe we can make a deal that will give him some kind of life sentence instead. From there, he can receive treatment by any means necessary. Zo'or's to the point where he won't want any kind of treatment, but most psychological patients don't want it until they get it."

"What does it matter what kind of treatment he receives and where!" Da'an cried. "He is my child, and I will not give up on him no matter what. Would your mother give up on you, Liam?"

"Da'an, please don't say that," Liam pleaded.

"Would she?" Da'an pressed.

It was Liam's turn to kneel to Da'an's level. "Da'an, I don't want to see you get hurt in this," Liam said. "I know he's your child, and nothing can change that, but…"

"I am going to hurt in this no matter what," Da'an said.

"What if this was T'than in place of Zo'or?" Liam asked. "What if it was any other Taelon? Would you be calling for this kind of action? Or would you let the UN or anyone else do what they want to him?"

"You don't understand," Da'an said.

"The hell I don't!" Liam cried. "It's not just your child up there. It's my father too!"

"Do you want your father to die?" Da'an asked.

"Sometimes."

"But…"

Liam fell silent. This is exactly what he went through when he decided to give his blood in order to save Sandoval. He hated Da'an for putting him through this, but then he had himself to blame in this too. After all, he had an opportunity to get rid of both Sandoval and Zo'or, and he had flinched both times. As much as he hated to admit it, he was no more capable of letting Sandoval die than Da'an was of letting Zo'or die. "But…I'd rather see him in jail."

"Then, help me," Da'an pleaded. "Let me help them both. We can stop them. We can stop them both."

"Stop them?" Tay'jay asked. "Stop them from doing what?"

Da'an's eyes turned narrow.

"Da'an, tell me," Liam said. "Just talk to me. It's me. We don't need to keep any more secrets. We can talk to each other. I'm your friend. I'm your—please just talk to me."

She could only face Liam when she said this. "I think…it's them. I think they're the ones who…are killing the Synod members. If they are confronted by the UN and T'than's coup before any of us can get to them, they will take down every last member of the Synod with them. They view it as a form of punishment. They want to punish the traitors and to deprive the priests of their best diplomats."

Tay'jay was so overcome with disbelief and shock that he let out a wry chuckle. "So you wanna try and talk them down before they finish off their murder-suicide killing spree. Why you?"

"Because I make Zo'or weak. If anyone has a slight chance of convincing him that this is not the way, it is me," Da'an said, still staring directly at Liam.

"The documents are a diversion," Liam said. "She wants to keep the Synod occupied while she goes after Sandoval and Zo'or. This has got to be the worst idea in the long sad history of bad ideas."

"No matter what happens, Liam, Zo'or will not be killing anymore people," Da'an said.


"T'than spoke to Ku'ni," Sandoval reported. "Apparently, he is making a deal with your parent. They are scheduled to turn over documents that can convict you tomorrow."

Zo'or smirked. "She is trying to stop us. This is a diversion to create a barrier between us and the Synod. She thinks we will not attack if there are several volunteers and companion protectors securing a secret meeting. The time has come for drastic measures. We will do exactly what she will not expect us to do. We will attack them before they attack us."

"Now?" Sandoval asked. "But they outnumber us at least twenty to one."

"It is too late to worry about that," Zo'or said. "Besides, Taelon technology specializes in protection for just such a reason. I will meet you on the Moonbase the day of their meeting with everything we could possibly need. Consider it my final gift to you."

"Are you so ready to die for something so foolish?" Sandoval asked.

"You do not see it as foolish," Zo'or said.

"You're absolutely right," Sandoval said. "I don't."

"Then, stand with me," Zo'or said. "Do not back out on this now. It was too late for that when we executed the first one."

"You mean when you executed the first one," Sandoval corrected.

Zo'or stared at his hands. "Yes…when I did."