Copyright 1999, Lyta. All rights reserved. No part of this story may be re-posted in part or in full without written permission from me.
Disclaimer: Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict is copyright 1998, Tribune Entertainment Co. Its characters are used without permission, no infringement is intended.
Rating: PG-13
Title: A Dish Best Served Cold
Author:  Lyta
Lyta_1028@yahoo.com

Summary: Lili's plan takes effect on her intended target

Author's Note: Sequel to "The Rest is Silence"

"A Dish Best Served Cold"

    Zo'or was sitting in his command chair on the bridge of the Mothership, watching as a stunning view of Earth slowly gobbled up the scene until the blue and green world edged out even the void of space. The Taelon did not bother to ponder the beauty of the sight before him; he was still simmering in his own fury over the demise of Liam Kincaid, one year ago.
    He had formulated a variety of plans to expedite his people's victory against the Jaridians, plans that required the young hybrid, plans that were now useless. Shortly after Kincaid's death, one of the scientists had suggested using his DNA to create another hybrid, but Zo'or had been skeptical. The new hybrid would be only 1/6 Kimera, but some recent simulations had shown that the essential qualities Kincaid had inherited from Ha'gel that made him a valuable Implant would be passed on to any offspring. And that offspring would be controlled from the instant the spark of life began.
    The only problem now lay in choosing the hybrid child's other parent. As Kimera, even hybrids for several generations depending on the species, possessed the full genetic knowledge and experiences of their parents it was vital that the child's mother be someone not only healthy physically, psychologically and genetically, but also with unswerving loyalty to the Taelons. A Volunteer perhaps?
    Zo'or called up records of the female Volunteers who best fit the perimeters given to him by Ka'na on the datastream. There were dozens of candidates, any one of which might suffice. Perhaps Volunteer Alicia McCraine…
    Just then, Zo'or felt his connection to the Commonality weaken. He waved away the datastream and tried to quell the uneasiness blossoming inside of him. He noticed worried glances and mental inquiries from the Taelon pilots on the bridge. Zo'or brushed all distractions aside in favor of trying to strengthen his bond to the Commonality.
    But his tie to the Commonality was already fraying too rapidly. He clung to the weakening psychic link the way a drowning human would instinctively grab at anyone or anything near by, even if that action caused whoever they latched onto to sink into the abyss. The Synod leader phased in and out of awareness, one moment he was far away and the next suddenly realizing that both the Human and Taelon on the bridge were staring at him in shock and horror.
    Zo'or beat a hasty retreat into a deserted hallway, where he watched in abject terror as his skin rippled and harsher green skin seemed to temporarily emerge from underneath as though it had always been there, waiting for this precise moment. He struggled to remain himself, but it was like trying to stop a hurricane with a baseball bat.
    Futile.
    His last coherent thought was that this must have been what Da'an had felt, but for Zo'or there would be no Liam Kincaid to reconnect his severed bond. With a final eerie howl of anguish and shame, Zo'or became the very thing his people feared the most. They may have purged Eunoia of the word, but the reality was not so easily removed.
    The Atavus that had been Zo'or , however, was unconcerned with such things. Its mind was focused on an unreasoning hunger that seemed to grow with each passing second. The beast retreated into the shadows at the sound of the rapidly approaching footsteps of the Protector to the Brazilian Companion.
    It attacked the unfortunate man who never had the opportunity to let off so much as a single skrill blast. When every bit of the man's energy was ripped from his body, the Atavus turned away from the discarded shell in search of new prey.

    The Atavus had sighted its next victim after lurking in an alcove by the shuttle bay for over an hour. It had taken down two Volunteers, ironically one was Alicia McCraine whom Zo'or had only  an hour before been considering as an option for use in his latest experiment. Now, she was as dead as the Volunteer performing shuttle maintenance and the Protector before her.
    It had been watching its latest intended victim for several minutes. Ronald Sandoval was armed with a skrill, a danger to its existence as well as a way to staunch the hunger for a brief time. That in its previous existence as leader of the Synod, the two of them had known and worked together completely failed to register with the Atavus.
    But this time, it was different from its other ambushes: the prey heard the hunter's approach.
    Sandoval instinctively let off a powerful stream of skrill blasts at the first sight of the Atavus. The creature was slammed against the corridor wall by the force of the energy being directed against it. The Implant fired again when the Atavus stirred slightly from the crumpled heap it had become on the floor. After the second round it did not move again.
    Sandoval blinked, the surprised expression on his face giving way briefly to a smirk before he caught himself. He fished around for his global for a moment.
    "Inform the Synod that I have disposed of the Atavus." Sandoval informed the Volunteer who answered his call in his usual blunt manner. The young woman nodded before her image was replaced by the MCI logo.
    Sandoval stared at the Atavus, unable to keep from feeling that justice had been at last served.

The End