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
Title: The Face of an Enemy, the Face of a Friend Part II
Author:  Lyta
Lyta_1028@yahoo.com/

Summary: Sequel to "Cat and Mouse", part two of a series.

"The Face of an Enemy, The Face of a Friend"
Part II

    Lili noticed Augur and Da'an's forlorn faces as soon as she set foot in the temporary Resistance hideout.
    "Lili, good, I was trying to call you." Augur began, glancing worriedly at his Taelon companion.
    "I turned my global off." Lili explained. She was about to ask what was wrong, but Da'an chose that moment to begin speaking.
    "There has been an unfortunate development." Da'an said carefully. Lili noticed that he was moving his hands in a gesture she had come to associate with tension and stress. Her level of concern went up two notches.
    "What kind of development?" Lili asked. She had suspicions, but only one would strike as deep as to cause the depth of hurt in her friend's eyes. The suspicion began to crystallize when she saw Augur looking at the puzzle Liam had completed when he was not even a day old. Now it sat on top of his computer.
    "Think night light hands." Augur said, thinking of the time he had walked in on Liam trying to kill himself.
    "But how…" Lili wondered aloud, back tracking in her mind for any possible security breaches.
    "I am afraid that I am to blame." Da'an informed them sadly. "My connection to the Commonality has allowed Liam to significantly narrow the search perimeters."
    "Da'an, is there any way for you to reduce your connection so Liam cannot find you without your reverting to an Atavus. After the debacle with Bel'ie I don't think we'll find anyone to…"
    "I could enter a state of Samhaad." The Taelon suggested.
    "Samhaad?" Augur asked curiously.
    "A Taelon state similar in many ways to unconsciousness, though they are hardly the same thing." Lili explained as she recalled the incident where the Taelons were forced to enter Samhaad to reduce their energy so that they would not be as vulnerable to the insects.
    "How long can you maintain that state?" Augur asked.
    "Long enough." Da'an replied.

    Sandoval sprinted over to where Liam sat staring at a computer screen. The Implant stood there for a long moment, trying to figure out how to get the hybrid Implant's attention when Liam stiffened and blanched suddenly. He stared at Sandoval, who immediately straightened himself and wiped all trace of concern from his expression. The agent had the unnerving impression that his son was not seeing him at all.
    "A storeowner saw a woman who might have been Marquette, but he was not completely sure." Sandoval reported. When he noticed with no small amount of alarm that Liam was not paying the slightest bit of attention to him. Now he felt that he could ask if anything was wrong without having his question be reported to the Synod leader as evidence that his Motivational Imperative was no longer functional. "Is something the matter, Major?"
    "Da'an." Liam began. "I cannot find him in the Commonality anymore, just the faintest whisper of his connection." He snapped out of the trance-like state and glared at his surviving Human parent.
    "I'll contact Zo'or." Sandoval said, feeling chilled.

To be continued…