Talia looked around in dismay at the area she had just stumbled into. Huge tanks of water and pipes. The lighting was even worse than in downbelow and there wasn't a sign of a person anywhere. This definitely was not the way to the ambassadorial wing of the station. She slumped back against the wall and started trying to figure out how in the world she had got lost. Of course, the water reclamation unit wasn't exactly on the station tour so she didn't know to avoid it but still... How could she have gotten turned around like that? She had only been gone from the station for nine months. Surely they hadn't changed the layout of everything in that short length of time.
Suddenly Talia felt a much too familiar prickling in the back of her neck and she instinctively ducked, slipping back into the shadows again as she heard footsteps approaching.
"Talia, I know you're in here," a male voice called out in a tone that sent shivers down her back. "Did you really think that you could escape us? The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father. It's time for your children to come home where they belong."
Talia carefully peeked out of her hiding place. A psi cop, the same one who had killed the ranger who had brought her here. From where he was standing, he was blocking the way she had came, and access to that lift. She moved further back into the shadows and started to slowly ease her way across the vast area, making herself smaller than she imagined possible in her condition. If she could just get to the far side of the reclamation unit, then she might be able to find another lift and get away, at least for the moment. She stifled a sob as she thought of the lifts. What she wouldn't give to have one open and find Mr. Garibaldi standing there now. Even if he couldn't trust her thanks to what had happened, he was a good man. She knew he would protect her and her babies.
"Talia, make it easy on yourself," the man said as he moved in her direction. How had he seen her? She kept moving not making a sound. Maybe he didn't really know exactly where she was. He was moving slowly as if he wasn't in a rush to grab her, as if he knew he could capture her at any time, and there was nothing she could do about it. No, she had to keep going, couldn't give in to the fear the psi-cop wanted her to feel. She had escaped Corps custody on Mars, she had made it this far. There had to be a way out. They weren't taking her babies, not while she still had breath in her body to fight them.
Suddenly, her brain burned as the psi cop blasted her with an image of what was going to happen when she was captured. She bit back a scream as she saw the man cutting her open, taking her children away and leaving her there to bleed to death. Her fingers brushed her stomach as she struggled to fight back, cutting off the image by sending out a telekinetic blast that slammed the man into a nearby wall.
Talia staggered back from the strain of the blast. She had never used the telekinesis to that degree, had honestly been afraid to find out if it was possible, especially with the babies, but now she didn't have a choice. If they were going to survive and stay free, she had to fight with every resource she had. Even as she was struggling to stay on her feet, she forced herself to turn and run. She had to get away before he got up. Suddenly, before she had managed to go more than a few meters, a huge pain ripped through her and she staggered back, clutching at her stomach as she found herself falling. A second later, she was in the water and sinking. She kicked out frantically, the skirt of her dress wrapping around her legs, making movement difficult, pushing with her arms until she reached the surface again. Her head had just appeared at the surface, when she sensed motion and felt the prickle on her neck once more. She tried to move out of the way but she was a fraction of a second too slow. She felt something slam into her head, sending her into darkness. She only had time to let out one muffled scream before she slid silently under the water again and this time didn't come back up.