Chapter 5 - A Glimmer of New Hope
If Lili had awakened alone, she would have been helplessly lost. She didn't recognise her surroundings at all. She simply allowed Balvak to take her to what she prayed would be safety and one last remaining hope.
Eventually, the density of the forest began to lighten, and very soon Balvak led Lili out of the forest and into a darkened street, deserted as it was at such a late hour. She glanced at the quaint buildings as Balvak led her through the side streets. He glanced back at her, momentarily, and grabbed her hand before continuing through the seemingly endless streets.
After what seemed like an eternity, Balvak stopped. He dropped Lili's hand and reached for the door, fumbling with the security and access codes. Lili wrapped her arms around herself and Ariel, feebly attempting to shut out the cold. She turned away from Balvak and let her eyes scan her surroundings. Her eyes drifted from the dreary, lifeless buildings and up to the bold navy blue of the Jaridian night sky. She scanned the heavens, faintly wondering which star was Earth's sun.
"Aha!" Came Balvak's triumphant cry. Lili snapped out of her trance and turned to look at him. He had successfully gained entry into the building which was guarded with a temperamental security system, and was already disappearing inside. Lili turned away from the streets and the stars and followed him in.
She found herself in an empty room that was dark and cramped, and the walls had been badly white-washed. Balvak headed across the room and through another door. He led her up a flight of stairs, down a corridor, and through a door to their left. The room they entered was small and characteristic of a technical laboratory. Balvak headed to the computer interface, and activated the database, which was by no means as comprehensive as the Taelon databanks, but was nonetheless still impressive by human standards. Balvak's many files flitted across the screen, as he searched for the one that he was looking for. Finally the one he was looking for appeared on the screen. It was one that Lili found familiar.
"Is that Taelon?" She asked, with surprise.
"As you know, we have long distance communications capabilities, but we have faced many problems in our quest to develop the technology that would allow us to form a connection between Taelon systems and Jaridian systems, which would provide us with the advantage of supremacy, and sensitive interaction. But, using the Taelon enhancements that you provided me with, I have managed to manipulate the satellite system, allowing our long distance array to forge a basic connection with the Taelon data stream. This new technology has yet to be revealed to my fellow Jaridians." He explained.
"How the hell did you manage to bypass Taelon communications security?" She asked, stunned by his intellectual intuity.
"The information in your shuttle provided a crude link. It wasn't much, but it was all I needed."
"I'm impressed. But how does this help us?"
"The data stream appears to be tuned in to the individual energy frequency of individual Taelons, depending on which systems we wish to access."
"So what are you saying; if you wanted to communicate with the Mothership's bridge, then all you'd need is Zo'or's energy signature?"
"Yes, and since I now have an established connection with the data stream, the active energy signatures of all living Taelons are revealed to me on this display. This one in particular caught my attention." He told her, stepping back so that she could see. Lili recognised it instantly.
"Da'an?" She whispered. "I don't understand. I watched him die, how…"
Balvak held up a hand and she fell silent.
"Not dead, just preserved, until he was able to reconstitute himself. He is no fool. He knew that his energy wasn't enough to save your child from Earth's atmosphere, so why would he kill himself?"
Lili was speechless, unable to comprehend this new information, but at the same time intense relief flooded her body.
"The only problem is the instability of the connection. An attempt to communicate with him at this point would overload the system, and the connection would most likely be severed. Not to mention the security risk. I need to do more research in order to stabilise such a tender connection. Jaridian systems and Taelon systems were never designed to be integrated" He paused. "Your knowledge and expertise regarding Taelon systems could be very valuable. Perhaps we could undertake this project together?" He suggested. Slowly, Lili nodded, her hope at seeing Da'an one last time driving her into acceptance.