A/n: sorry this is so late guys, I've had severe writer's block on this fic recently. I'll try and update again soon, but I'll need plenty of reviews to inspire me (hint hint).

Thank you so much for your help X-318, you're a ficsaver. I'd never have been able to come up with this chapter without it.

Babyangel86: Don't worry about the As practical, it's piss easy as long as you read the question properly. It must be if I got an A on it last year.

X-318: Most of your questions will be answered if you re-read chapter 5. I'm afraid I can't tell you the answers to the rest, coz then I'd have to kill you… and I'd kind of hate to have to do that.

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Chapter 11: Found in Translation

Cindy, Lydecker and Sandeman were sitting in the living room of Joshua's house in awkward silence, waiting for Max to call back. Dix had had the presence of mind to take one of Logan's secure satellite phones from his TC apartment so the transgenics could stay in touch with their ordinary friends.

The phone rang shrilly, causing all three of them to jump. Cindy put it on speaker so they could all hear Max's voice.

"Hey, boo, what's up? I'm kinda busy."

"Got some people here who want to talk to you, sugar."

"Hello, Max, said Lydecker."

"Lydecker? You're alive?"

"You don't sound too pleased about it."

"And why should I be? I spent half my life running from you. But today not even you breathing can put me in a bad mood. I've had an email from Logan. He's alive. The familiars are holding him in a college in DC, so we're going to go get him out. Taking out the cult's power base in North America is just a bonus."

"That's not a good idea, Max," said Sandeman, in his strong English accent.

"And who the hell do you think you are, telling me what I can and can't do?"

"He's Joshua's daddy," said Cindy.

"Sandeman? You have no idea how long I have been looking for you. Got a lot of questions."

"And I have a lot of answers. I'll start at the beginning; this could take a while."

"Hang on a sec. Hey, Alec! This is a real important phone call, so I'm taking it in my quarters. Hold the fort until I get back? Thanks. Now spill it, Sandeman. What the hell's going on?"

"Well…"

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Logan was setting up his equipment to fake the Eyes Only bulletin. He hesitated when he saw a pair of clear green eyes reflected in his computer screen.

"Hello, Thula," he said, letting just enough warmth into his voice to make it sound as if he was trying to conceal genuine emotion. She fell for it.

"Logan," she smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than expected. Guess these nanocytes are doing their job by now. That or Ames isn't as good at torture as he's cracked up to be."

"Good. So about the other day…"

"Yeah, thanks for the water," he said, frantically typing 'bugged' on his computer keyboard.

"You're welcome." Tentatively, Thula rested a hand on his shoulder. "So is this job going well?"

"Getting there. It might take me some time, but it has it's bonuses…" Casually, Logan reached up and took Thula's hand in his own, caressing it gently with his long fingers. He watched her expression carefully in the dark screen, seeing the girlish blush colour her pale cheeks. Bingo, he thought. Hook, line and sinker.

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"So what do you think of Cale, Lord Asfaloth?" Asked the priestess respectfully.

"He is intelligent. Dangerously so; and he is much too knowledgeable about our activities. Torture has not broken him, he still knows more than he's told us."

"You think he should be disposed of once he has completed this task for us?"

"On the contrary. I think he would be a valuable asset against the transgenics. And an excellent candidate for the breeding programme."

"Really? May I ask why? The selectors considered him too disrespectful of authority to be of use."

"But he is physically strong, and his mental capabilities make him exceptional. As long as he was not allowed any contact with his offspring… and the coming would see to that…"

"I'm afraid not, my lord. Cale was so badly injured when he arrived that he needed nanocyte treatment in order to survive. Nanocytes effectively make him immune from virtually any type of pathogen. Even the coming." ((Bye bye, love bug!;))

Asfaloth made a small sound of disgust. "Scientists. They undermine everything; is nothing sacred anymore? Even the creation of life… if 452 and her kind can be said to be alive. Still, Cale can be useful. Do we have any females of breeding age in the intelligence line?"

"None that aren't already paired. One is actually married to Cale's cousin. Although I hear Thula has taken quite a shine to him."

"Thula?" He sounded surprised. "Now that's an interesting idea…"

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Alec was poring over some blueprints of the college Sebastian had thoughtfully provided. Jondy walked up behind him with a cup of water.

"Hey. Thought you might be thirsty. Want some poor man's coffee?"

"Thanks," he said, taking the cup from her absently.

"So Logan's alive, huh. Looks like you made the right decision after all."

"Looks like."

"You don't sound too pleased about it."

"The familiars shouldn't have got him in the first place. He should have done as Max said and got out of Terminal City before the bombing ever happened."

"But then you and all the others would be dead."

Alec sighed. "I know. Max put you up to this, didn't she, trying to get me to talk about it?"

"No. Actually I think she prefers you depressed to how you were before. From what some of the others said, you were a pain in the ass."

For the first time in days, Alec smiled. "I was the pain in the ass. Annoyed the hell out of Max, Logan, everyone."

"Oh, really?" Jondy smirked, glad to see she was finally getting through to him. "Well, in that case, I have a plan I've been wanting to do ever since I got here. I just need a partner in crime. You up for it?"

"What did you have in mind?" Asked Alec, with a hint of his old attitude.

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Sandeman's voice was unnaturally loud in the silent room as he began to speak.

"64 million years ago a comet got close enough to the earth that some of the dust from it's tail entered the atmosphere. The heat created as it fell through the atmosphere was so great that some unusual chemical reactions took place, turning it into a deadly poison we call nos'stracore. It killed most of the land dwelling higher life forms on the planet."

The timing wasn't lost on Max. "You mean the dinosaurs?"

"That's right. The poison is chemically unstable, it reacts with other elements and is neutralised after only a few days, as far as we know. That was why not all life on the planet was destroyed. The comet passes over about every 2,500 years, but it's never again got close enough to release the poison across the whole earth."

"Five thousand years ago it got close enough that part of the Middle East received a dose. Some of the ancient Babylonians had a genetic anomaly that allowed them to survive. It was because they were immune to the venom of a local snake that had actually evolved to use the original poison from millions of years ago to kill its prey. In the snake's bloodstream the nos'stracore could exist in a slightly modified form."

"So the initiation thing with the snake blood proves if familiars have inherited the immunity."

"Correct. The Babylonians were the first familiars. They thought that because they survived the poison they were special, chosen. They decided that by careful selective breeding they could become even stronger, and then when the comet returned they would be the only survivors, and rule the earth forever."

"So where do I come into all this? I mean we decoded some of the runes that showed up on my skin, but we couldn't make much sense of them."

"Really? You managed to decipher the branch of Ancient Minoan I used? I'm really very proud, which transgenic managed to do it?"

"None of us; Logan figured it out. Just because he's human doesn't mean he's stupid. Something like "when the shroud of death covers the face of the earth the one whose power is hidden will deliver the helpless"".

"You could interpret it like that, I suppose, 'power' for 'invulnerability,' 'helpless' for 'innocent'… yes, not bad. I'd like to meet this Logan, he sounds very interesting."

"See what we can do. Of course that means we'd have to rescue him first. As soon as the familiars figure out who he is they'll kill him."

"Why? Who is he, exactly?"

"OC, is there anyone else in the room or close enough to overhear?"

"Nope, just the three of us, sugar. You can spill your man's big secret if you want."

"Ok. He's Eyes Only."

"The cable hack person? Well, I can see what the colonel meant about him being well connected. That certainly means we need him released as soon as possible to tell the public what's going on…" suddenly the silence was shattered by a crash on Max's end of the line, followed by some muffled yelling and smothered laughter.

"Max? Max, boo, are you ok? What's going on?"

"Yeah, fine. It's just Mole throwing Alec into the side of my quarters. Hey, keep the noise down, this is a very important phone call!"

"Why is Mole kicking Alec's ass anyway?" asked Original Cindy, curiously.

"As far as I can tell, he put a stick of C4 in one of Mole's cigars…"

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A/n: So did you like Mole's exploding cigar?

Slightly adapted coming without the whole religion thing. It just didn't work for me I'm afraid. The whole thing is a bit OTT, but hey, turn off brains and enjoy. .

I was a bit stuck for a name for my sinister cult leader, so I went with the name of Arwen's horse from lord of the rings. Don't ask me why, I really don't know.