Chapter 15

Unearthing

The possibility that it had not been Sha'Gra in the cave had not even crossed Alec's mind before. But now he could not believe he had not thought it. They could have very easily surgically altered someone to resemble her. It would explain why the autopsy report was falsified, and why there were no traces of her DNA in the cavern. Someone involved in the conspiracy had gone back afterwards and collected every trace of genetic material so the truth wouldn't be uncovered.

It was one of the most elaborate conspiracies be had ever heard of, he just wished he wasn't a part of it. There was still more to it that they were not aware of, and he looked forward to cracking it open. "Think back," said Alec. "Did either of them mention using a decoy in Sha'Gra's place."

Ty'brel did not answer outright, giving it serious thought in case he had forgotten something. "No, they didn't say anything. Bru'Dan was quite adamant that she be killed."

The identity of the female Romulan was unknown to Alec, although he had an idea. He had never dealt with her personally, but he had read about her. One of his interests during the academy was the Enterprise-D, he made it a hobby to read up on their exploits. "This female Romulan, was her name by any chance Sela?"

Ty'brel's attention which had been on his drink was now on Alec once again. "How did you know?"

I was afraid of that. "My captain has dealt with her twice before. And based on what I know, I'm willing to bet it was her that was behind the decoy. She must have plans for Sha'Gra. Something that Bru'Dan hadn't thought of."

"That wouldn't be surprising. His ability for deep thought isn't exactly legendary. How far would this Sela go?"

Sela was still a mystery to Starfleet. Upon first encountering Captain Picard thirteen years ago she claimed to be the daughter of Tasha Yar, chief of security aboard the Enterprise-D, who had been killed by a malevolent alien several years before. The idea that Tasha could have a daughter, let alone a half Romulan daughter who would have been born when Tasha was only a child herself, was considered ludicrous. But a DNA test confirmed she was who she claimed. The question that everyone had asked either mentally or vocally was how it was possible.

According to Sela, who according to reports was the spitting image of her mother, Tasha Yar was aboard the Enterprise-C when it was defending the Klingon outpost Narendra III from a Romulan attack. Several survivors were taken back to Romulus, Tasha was among them. A Romulan general took interest her. He promised to spare the lives of the bridge crew if she agreed to become his wife. Sela was born the following year. When asked by Picard how Tasha wound up on the Enterprise-C, Sela told him that he sent her there from the future. Full details were either not given or not included in the official report.

It would not be the first time Sela had attempted a direct blow against the Federation. The last time Captain Picard crossed paths with her she used the good intentions of the legendary Ambassador Spock to try and attack the Federation from the inside by invading one of its founding worlds, Vulcan. Reunification of the Vulcan and Romulan peoples had long been a dream of Spock's, and she had no second thoughts about exploiting his dream to advance her own agenda.

"She'd go pretty far."

A series of cat calls turned Alec's attention back to the bar scene. The patrons were directing their cheers at the dancing slave girl on the stage. But it was a different girl than before. Where had the other girl gone?

"I have to get back to my ship. They need to know what's going on. And you're coming with me."

"Will your people be able to stop them?"

"With everything you've told me we should be able to come up with something. I doubt the Romulans will back off but at least we'll be ready for them. Let's get to the beam up coordinates." Alec stood up from the table and gestured Ty'brel to follow him. With his new ally right behind him, he led the way to the exit. But just as soon as he got moving he was backing up and pushing Ty'brel along. "Shit."

Ty'brel did not resist. He was not familiar with the term that the Starfleet man had used but he was familiar with the emphasis with which he expressed it. "What's wrong?"

Alec pointed at the exit. "Look." Standing in the doorway was a Romulan, who then made way for three more. "I was sure I had more time."

"What now?"

"Stay down. They won't go unnoticed for long."

Sure enough, there were soon murmurs and shouts of protest against the presence of these latest entrants. Racial slurs were thrown in the form of taunting. Most of the material was based around pointed ears and green blood. A few here and there were about the capabilities of Romulan females. It all got old very quickly but the patrons were inebriated to the point where a belch would have them rolling around on the floor laughing like children being tickled.

Two large Orions with arms as big as warp nacelles were there to stop the Romulans from coming in any further. Alec could not help but wonder what happened to the Orion that he paid to allow him entry. It wouldn't have a happy ending. They came here to eliminate, not negotiate. They wouldn't carry money to barter for entry.

To Alec's surprise, the Romulans exited with no fuss. This can't be good. Mutual relief was expressed upon their departure, but it was short-lived and overtaken by screams of terror and the energetic zap of disruptor fire outside. Within seconds, three of the Romulans reentered the tavern, their weapons drawn. They stepped aside and allowed a fourth to enter, who originally had been the first Romulan to enter. Alec named them in his head. The head Romulan was Alpha, the remaining three were Beta, Gamma, Delta.

Alpha stepped forward, followed by Beta. Gamma and Delta blocked the exit, one facing in and one facing out. No surprises.

"We are looking for two men." Alpha spoke with a commanding authority that only came with years of experience in the field. "A human and a Vesuvian."

Alpha had Alec's attention at 'two men.' Okay, they know I'm here. But they don't know about my cover. This could be helpful.

Nobody in the bar was particularly forthcoming with information. Chances are had it been anyone other than a Romulan asking they would have spoken up in a heartbeat. The enemy of an enemy is a friend.

"Start looking." said Alpha to Beta. "They'd be together."

The two Romulans began circling on opposite sides of the stage. Beta would get to them first. "Ty'brel," said Alec. "Can you fight?" he asked before remembering the kidney shot.

"Even a pacifist wouldn't last two years on this planet with bribes alone. I can fight."

"Good, cross your arms and put your head down, act like you've passed out. Don't do anything until I do. When that one Romulan reaches us it's going to get rowdy in here."

"What makes you so sure?"

Alec's mouth parted in a devilish grin and he quoted one of his favorite holofilm lines. "I aim to misbehave."

Still not knowing exactly what his new friend intended, Ty'brel did as he was told. If he had any hope of surviving he'd have to trust his life to him. The Starfleet man had to be experienced in many fields if he were to have made it this far alive. The one thing he did not understand was that the Romulans were looking for a human man, but the man before him was Bajoran.

Alpha and Beta weren't being lazy about their job. They looked at the face of every man at each table they passed. Beta came nearer and nearer as Alpha rounded the opposite side of the stage. For a moment Alec thought, moreso hoped, Beta wouldn't see them. But he thought wrong.

After looking at two more tables, the Romulan turned and walked their way. With his arms crossed on the table and his head on top, Alec put on his best drunk face and relaxed his body as best he could. He had gotten intoxicated with James enough times that he should be able to fake it. The familiar twang of pain rang in his scalp as he had his head pulled up by the hair. He moaned and let some saliva drip from his mouth for good effect. He heard Beta groan in disgust as he released his grip.

Still relaxed, Alec's head landed in his arms. He reached into his inside coat pocket and gripped the handle of the d'k tahg he took from his would be mugger and waited for the right moment.

Beta moved on to Ty'brel. In a move of unexpected but welcome foolishness he rested his disruptor hand on the table as he reached for Ty'brel's head with the other. That was it, the moment. Alec sprang from the chair and pulled the d'k tahg from his pocket. Grabbing Beta's free hand he wrenched it over, placing it on top of his disruptor hand. He thrust the blade of the knife down through Beta's hands and into the table's surface a split second after the repositioning was complete.

He won't be using a disruptor anytime soon. Beta's cries of pain did not go unnoticed by the rest of the tavern. It seemed to be just the thing that everyone had been waiting for. Human hit Bajoran, Nausicaan hit human, Tellarite hit Andorian. Perfect. Alec was rather pleased. He just didn't want to be around when the energy weapons started firing.

Ty'brel was as surprised by the Starfleet man's actions as the Romulan had been. He had taken cover behind the table when the ruckus started. Just because he knew how to fight didn't mean he wanted to.

Alec ducked to avoid a flying glass that continued on to smash on a nearby wall. He kept his eyes on the exit. Gamma and Delta had not yet been drawn into the fight but if and when they were it still would not be an easy task getting there.

He heard the sound of a disruptor much later than he expected. Now it's going to get ugly. A Nausicaan disappeared into thin air as he was hit by the energy beam. Chances were at least half of the people in the bar had a weapon of some sort on them. Intoxication and a weapon were not a good combination.

Men were being pushed over tables, chairs were being thrown, and bottles were smashed over heads. It was the stereotypical bar fight. Alec was content to stand and watch until Alpha made his way through the crowd and pointed his disruptor in their direction.

"Get down!"

Alec threw his own feet out from under him and dropped to the floor. He kept his eyes on Alpha as he went. As Alpha's disruptor was discharging a bargoer collided with him from behind. His weapon fired off target behind Alec.

He smelled the odor of burnt flesh and feared the worst. "Ty'brel!"

"I'm okay." came a voice from behind him.

The beam had hit Beta. Alec had to act quickly. He jumped to his feet and pulled the d'k tahg from the table where Beta's hands had been just a moment ago. The rusted blade was stained green up to the hilt. Guided solely by instinct he turned and threw the dagger without aiming just in time to see Alpha stand to his feet and begin to take aim once more.

The dagger impacted just above the elbow. Alpha winced and dropped his disruptor. But it didn't extinguish his resolve. The Romulan grasped the handle, and wincing once more, he pulled the dagger from his arm.

This is where the fun starts. Alpha ran towards Alec with the knife, ready to plunge down with it. It probably angered the Romulan even further that he was reduced to using a Klingon weapon.

When Alpha was a few meters away Alec sidestepped his enemy. He grabbed the downswinging arm and used his momentum against him by placing his hand on the back of Alpha's head and pushed it down onto the surface of the table with a loud bang. Alpha was out cold.

"You might want to get a tetanus shot when you wake up."

Alec looked up to see an unexpected sight. Ty'brel was holding Beta's disruptor and was pointing it at him. A green beam buzzed by Alec's head. He turned just in time to see a Nausicaan join the atmosphere. A nasty looking knife clattered to the ground where he stood.

"Nice shooting!" exclaimed Alec.

"I would have told you to duck but it would have been too late."

Feeling unsafe keeping his back to the crowd, Alec turned to face them. Nobody seemed very interested in the two of them. They were all too busy fighting each other. He took another look at the exit. Gamma and Delta were no longer blocking the way. They had to have either been pulled into the fight or scared off. The former was most likely. Despite the popular Klingon belief, Romulans were not cowards.

Although Gamma and Delta were no longer present, the big Orion that charged Alec admission stood in the archway. He was scanning the room with his eyes.

I think we found a mole. Alec motioned for Ty'brel to stay down. He looked around as best he could, trying to find another escape route.

"You're wasting your time." said Ty'brel. "That's the only way in or out."

"There's always another way out, finding it is the thing." He surveyed every part that was visible. The only doorway he could see was the one being blocked by the Incredible Hulk. There had to be a way out.

Where was the slave girl? The stage was unoccupied. During the commotion Alec did not notice her leave. The forcefield was still up, as evidenced by the odd piece of bar debris that bounced off it. People couldn't just walk through forcefields, unless they were Borg. But he wasn't going to follow that train of thought.

A passage in the stage surface. It was the only explanation. She would have been swarmed by the crowd if she attempted to pass through. It made sense. The girls would need a way to take the stage without being mobbed by the drunken patrons. A passage in the stage was the easiest way to do so without lowering the forcefield.

Alec turned back to Ty'brel, who was still holding the disruptor. He pointed towards the stage. His Vesuvian friend nodded and indicated he was ready. Staying low to the floor they not only avoided any objects being thrown but also the onlooking eye of their resident watchtower in the doorway.

Being that low to the floor made Alec wonder how often it was cleaned.

They reached the perimeter of the stage. That was the easy part. The hard part was finding a way to gain access to the stage itself. The deactivation mechanism for the field wouldn't be out in the open where anyone could get to it and there was no time to go looking so Alec would have to find another way to bring it down. Disrupting the flow of power was the first thing that popped into his head. There was no visible wiring, which came as no surprise as it would be foolish to do so.

He realized the answer was in the stage. The field emitters were just beneath the surface of the perimeter. If he disabled those the field would come down.

In the short time he had been a rogue he had been met by a seemingly endless onslaught of 'whys' and 'hows.' Now another 'how' was presented. Needed was a quick, easy way to bring down the field. As dangerous as was in there at the moment it could only get worse.

Fortunately for them the stage reached a height of about a meter in a half allowing them to stay out of sight and maneuver without getting a painful muscle cramp.

Alec ran his hand along the side of the stage until he found a warm spot. Beneath the surface where his hand lay was a field emitter. He retrieved his phaser from the inner cuff of his shirt.

As convenient as the type I phaser was, it had fewer settings and less power than the type II. Instead of sixteen settings like 'Old Faithful,' it halved out at eight.

Level 5 was a sufficient setting in his mind. He changed the width setting to get a finer beam. Touching the warm part of the stage once more to make sure of his firing position he took a couple steps back and fired.

A steady stream of sparks flowed from the surface as the beam did its job and cut in. Alec held his arm steady and stuck his head up to look at the stage. He could see the hint of a hatch in the center of the platform. Neither of them had anything with which to pry it open, he'd have to use his phaser again. That would leave any pursuers easy access. But there was no other choice.

The spray of sparks narrowed and took a more streaming form as the beam carved into the stage. The emitters couldn't be too much further otherwise the field would have been further in on the platform.

A bottle smashing along the stage next to him splashed him with alcohol and told him to hurry up. Hell with it. He ceased fire, changed to level 6 and resumed in the same location. The higher setting quickly garnered results. Alec heard a fluttering in the field before it ceased.

He picked up a shard of the shattered bottle and flicked it at the forcefield. It landed on the stage surface with a barely registered clink.

Alec turned to Ty'brel, who had been keeping watch. "We have to be quick. When we're up there we're going to be very easy targets. Follow my lead."

"Got it."

Alec put his eyes on the exit once again. Although his view was mostly obstructed, the Orion still towered high enough for the top of his head to be seen. It was risky, but so was staying put.

"Ready...Now!"

Alec jumped up to the platform. He immediately changed his phaser setting to level 8 and set it to a wider beam so it would envelop the hatch. Taking aim he fired. The beam burrowed through in a fraction of the time it took to cut through to the field emitter. He put the phaser back into his inner cuff and caught a quick glance of the Orion in the doorway. He looked furious. As Alec was putting his eyes back on their escape route he had enough time to see the Orion reach to his holster. When he reached the hatch he saw a figure approach the massive man. The Bajoran man, the one who had greeted Alec upon his entrance, had jumped the Orion and run a knife across his throat.

The Bajoran man stood over the bleeding Orion and threw a wave at Alec. Alec waved back and nodded. If I ever make it back to this cesspool of a planet, I'm buying you a drink.

He looked down through the hatch. There was a ladder that went down roughly fifteen meters to a more well lit area. He squeezed his shoulders together and jumped down into the hole, reaching out and grabbing a rung when he was a few meters down. The rungs smashed against his ribs and made an impression of a tuning fork. He ignored the pain and commenced climbing down the ladder. When he was four meters or so above the floor below he let go and jumped, landing more softly on his feet than he expected.

Even as he was falling through the air he looked up to check on Ty'brel's progress. He was a third of the way down. The disruptor was still in his hand and hindered his progress. There was nowhere he could holster it.

Ten seconds ticked by in about a minute. Ty'brel had been handling the stress well, but there was only so much one could take before he began to crack. Hopefully Ty'brel could endure more.

"Ty'brel," said Alec. His friend was at about the same spot where he himself had jumped, perhaps a little higher. "You need to jump."

"Just a little bit more."

Alec was going to concede, but he sighted something above that changed his mind. He saw the form of a Romulan at the top of the ladder, looking down at them. Delta. "No, now!"

Ty'brel heard the urgency in Alec's voice and looked up. He let out a gasp and released his grip on the ladder.

Alec jumped backwards to avoid being fallen on. He reached out as fast as he could and grabbed the winded Ty'brel under the shoulders, pulling him clear of the line of fire. His reflexes served him well as he managed to drag him free of a disruptor beam that was fired down the chute.

Before the resulting spray of sparks had settled back on the ground, Alec had Ty'brel on his feet and they were going down the passageway. The corridor ran for maybe thirty meters before coming to an end. They needed to find a way back to street level.

Alec saw a series of doors along both walls. He chose the first one on his left. Upon opening there was an unexpected, but pleasant sight. Inside the room were several ample-bodied Orion slave girls in various states of undress. Alec counted seventeen. They were not startled by him, but rather they seemed to welcome his presence. Those in lesser states of dress were in no rush to clothe themselves.

They had stumbled upon the dressing room, for lack of a better term in Alec's mind. There was not much for the girls to dress in.

The accommodations were quite comfortable looking and lavish. Sofas and chairs were positioned throughout the moderately sized room. Computer terminals ran along the side walls. Flashing along their screens was information that neither concerned nor interested Alec. It wasn't just a dressing room, but a control room of sorts. It appeared that the rumor of Orion females running the Syndicate was no rumor at all.

"Excuse me, ladies." said Alec as he did the gentlemanly - and married - thing to do by averting his eyes. "But what's the quickest way back to street level?"

"You're leaving already?" asked one of the nearby girls as she sultered closer. "But you just got here." she said, pouting,

A disruptor beam just missed Ty'brel. Alec pulled him into the room. "Believe me, it's in your best interests if we leave." He peeked around the door frame and retreated back in upon seeing Delta take aim again. He heard the beam hit a wall in the corridor. "Ty'brel, as soon as I'm out there, grab my ankles." The stun setting was back in use as Alec lowered to the floor and dove into the corridor. Delta did not expect his maneuver and took the beam square in the chest.

As Delta fell, Gamma came out of the darkness behind him and fired. "Pull!" Alec slid backwards across the floor back into the room. The disruptor beam sent sparks into the air just inches away.

When Alec got back to his feet and observed the room once more he saw that there were two major differences that had occurred in the few seconds of action. The plush seat cushions had been strewn about, and the girls were each armed with energy weapons of all varieties. There was even a Varon-T disruptor, one of the most vicious weapons made.

"Uhhh, clearly you ladies don't need protection. Is there a way back to the street?"

One of the many girls spoke up. She was the most attractive that he was able to see, and that wasn't an easy opinion for him to make. Considering the Orions, that usually meant she was in charge. "At the end of the corridor, take the last door on your right. There's a ladder that leads to the rear of the building next door."

"Thanks. Would you mind helping us out by providing some cover fire?"

"It would be our pleasure." said the girl in charge. She picked out four girls from the crowd who then lined next to her in an almost military fashion. "Where do you want us?" she asked coyly, slinking her body.

James would be in heaven here. Alec smiled and pointed towards the passageway with his phaser. "Ladies first."

"What a gentleman." she said with a wink. Evidently she was pleased with his decision. She motioned them to follow her. The four slave girls, still in their various states of undress, ventured into the corridor. Each of them gave Alec and Ty'brel a lip pucker or a wink before leaving the room.

Alec and Ty'brel wasted no time in following them out. As they ran down to the end of the corridor they kept their ears open for any commotion behind them. Aside from the echo of disruptor fire in the tavern above the only thing they heard was sultry footsteps. The Romulan had been caught of guard in the most understated meaning of the word.

They reached the final door in time to hear a brief disruptor discharge which was followed by a flurry of full disruptor fire. It was all over for Gamma.

The lead Orion called to the rest of the girls in the room. The armed posse made their way to the opposite end of the corridor where they accessed the ladder. It appeared to be time for a policing action up in the tavern.

Beyond the door was a ladder leading up just as they were told. Alec wondered what he would have found behind the other doors. How many keys to bringing down the Syndicate could he have uncovered if he had just taken a peek behind one of those doors? It was something he would have to live with. Anything besides bringing this conspiracy into the open took a back seat. When he thought about it, he considered themselves to be lucky that they were left alive by the girls.

Alec reached the top of the ladder and pressed the panel on the hatch above his head. It lowered down a few centimeters before sliding sideways into the wall of the chute. He saw the stars above and the smell of the street flooded his nostrils. Once more he removed the phaser from his shirt's inner cuff. With a push of his legs, he joined the topside world, standing on a rung and resting his back against one side of the opening. He ran his phaser along his line of site. There was nobody present aside from a scurrying rat.

"It's clear." he said to Ty'brel as he completely emerged from the chute. Alec replaced his phaser and reached a hand down into the chute, helping Ty'brel topside. The hatch closed behind him. "You'll have to ditch that disruptor somewhere. You're going to stick out if you walk around with it."

Ty'brel looked as if he were going to protest but thought twice of it. He threw the weapon into a container that was against the wall. "Where to now?"

"We have to get to the beam up site." said Alec as he led Ty'brel to the street. As the one slave girl had said, they had come out behind a building adjacent the tavern. They were not far from where they needed to go. Alec led him past the tavern at a brisk but unsuspicious pace. He did not want to be seen by anyone inside but he did not want to draw any attention by running either.

Once again Alec found himself on the street with harlots. They crossed to the other side. If he knew of another route he would have taken it but he didn't have time to cut through alleys trying to find a shortcut. Asking Ty'brel was of no use because he did not know where they were going.

A woman was calling across the street. It was the same harlot that had propositioned Alec earlier. "Yoo-hoo! Bru'Dan!"

Alec stopped dead and readied his phaser. He surveyed the surrounding block for the head of Vesuvian security. What would he be doing on Farius Prime? Maybe he wanted to oversee the death of his former president.

He completed two visual sweeps of the block but saw no sign of Bru'Dan. "Where-"

"I'm sorry, Natya." said Ty'brel. "I've got to get somewhere with my friend here."

"Aww, too bad." said Natya. She looked next to Ty'brel aka Bru'Dan and saw Alec. Her eyes widened. "I didn't know you were friends with our little Bru'Dan. I would have offered you a discount."

"Maybe next time." said Alec.

"Don't forget the wife." she said before going back to propositioning the passersby.

They walked a half block when Ty'brel broke the silence. "I see you've met Natya."

"Briefly. Bru'Dan?"

Ty'brel saw the sly grin on Alec's face. "You don't think I'd use my real name on this planet do you?"

"I understand. But why Bru'Dan?"

"I tried to choose the name of someone who would most likely frequent an area like this." Ty'brel's answer drew a belly laugh from Alec. From the sincerity of the laugh he could tell it was the first such laugh in awhile he had let out. Even though his friend was laughing, he knew what thoughts would be on his mind. "I didn't know when, if ever that I'd be able to return to my home. I didn't want to be alone. Even if the companionship cost me money."

During his two month journey back to the Alpha Quadrant, there were several instances where Alec was sure he was going to go insane being unable to hold Rene. He was tempted to duplicate her on the holodeck once or twice. But he fought the urges. He knew full well that not only would the holographic Rene not measure up, the real thing would be well worth the wait.

The desire to not be alone is one of the strongest driving forces for any living being. It was right up there with the survival instinct. Alec didn't look down on Ty'brel for what he had done, but he didn't respect him for it either.

Let's change the subject. The giant green oak tree that blocked the entrance to the tavern. That Orion had to be a mole. It would explain how Ty'brel had been found, why he had gotten so furious upon seeing them alive, and why he himself was still alive. Had he been a problem, the Romulans would have just killed him like they had the other two. "I know how the Romulans tracked you down."

"The Orion at the tavern entrance. I saw him looking for us too."

Alec broke stride and then walked a step faster to catch up to Ty'brel. "How..."

Ty'brel laughed, thankful for the break in tension. "The same way you did."

"You've got an analytical mind. I respect that."

"When my emotions don't take over I can be pretty perceptive."

They finally reached the alley where Alec had beamed down. He saw the broken shards from the ketracel-white vial and the puddle that had formed at the base of the wall where he smashed it. The stench of the alley once again almost overpowered him. "Here we are."

"You couldn't have picked a better spot?" asked Ty'brel, almost gagging.

"Sensors told us there was nobody in this alley. It wasn't until I beamed down that I found out why." Alec pulled his combadge from his pocket and clicked it. "Alec to Rene, two to beam up."

Transport was almost immediate. Even to that day, transporting was one of the strangest sensations Alec had ever felt. It tingled. Not just on his skin, but he felt it throughout his entire body, inside and out. Almost like a wave of goosebumps that was pumped by his bloodstream to every last part of him.

Within seconds they were standing in the small transporter chamber on the shuttle. Alec was relieved to be back on board and he was sure Rene would be glad he had returned unscathed. The incident in the bar would make for an interesting story to tell her. Although he'd omit the part about the Orion slave girls. He'd be keeping his encounter with the harlot to himself as well. Those were some of those things that he knew she'd overreact about. Although they would make good anecdotes for future poker games, when Troi and Crusher weren't there of course.

Alec led Ty'brel out of the transporter and pushed the panel on his right to open the door to the cockpit. "Honey, I'm home. Did you miss-"

He didn't have the will to speak another word. He barely had the will to stand, let alone breathe. If someone ever told him he'd one day see a more horrid site in his life he wouldn't believe it.

Sitting with her hands bound by a metal cable at the tactical station was Rene. The cable wrapped around her wrists and continued around her neck. Her eyes were swollen and red, tears streamed down her face. The tears were not for herself, but for him. Holding both ends of the cable around Rene's neck, loose enough to allow her to breathe but tautly enough to discourage her from trying to break free, was Tasmith.

"Where have you been?" said Tasmith as she hunched down and nuzzled her cheek against that of the petrified, sniffling Rene. "We've been waiting for you, haven't we?"