DISCLAIMER: Earth: Final Conflict and all of Earth: Final characters in this story are property of Tribune Entertainment. No infringement of rights is intended. Ariel, Lak’shan, and Ka’shel, are creations of my own. Please don’t use them without my permission.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This story is the sequel to Fighting the Darkness. T’than’s plots have deadly consequences for everyone, but lead to a surprising new ally.

RATING: PG

THAT WHICH LIES BEYOND THE DARKNESS

By Roguemoon

“Tell me what you see,” Ronald turned from the window of the Kimera Mast ship that he was looking out of and toward where his son was sitting slouched in a chair.

“What I see?” Ronald repeated Liam’s question in a weary voice, “What I see is a world of uncertainty, of danger, and of pain. Not a nice image is it?”

Liam shook his head, “No, but not an unexpected one either. After all, someone did try to kill you less than a week ago. I can’t blame you for seeing it in such a way.”

Sandoval nodded and turned back to the window. Silence fell, but it was a comfortable silence containing none of the tension, fear, or anger that used to be between them. Finally, Sandoval spoke, “Are the Kimera any closer to finding the people responsible for trying to kill me?”

“No,” Liam stated, “It’s like they were ghosts or something. Either that or they had some inside help.”

Sandoval sighed, “Well, I guess I can’t hide forever up here no matter how much I want to, can I? T’than has requested a meeting with me to discuss some part of the treaty.”

A concerned look entered Liam’s eyes; “Do you really think that is a good idea? T’than is more trouble that a dozen Zo’or’s put together.”

“You think I am not aware of that? I will never forget the way he looked at me and threatened me, but he has specifically requested that I be the one to do it since I have the most ‘experience’ with Taelons,” Sandoval replied.

“Yeah, and I am chopped liver,” Liam muttered.

Sandoval’s look softened. He knew it was hard for Liam to sit and do nothing so much of the time, but ever since the assassination attempt on his father’s life, Liam’s psychic abilities had been very unreliable. As a result he couldn't see anything, not even the hazy images that his psychic abilities had produced before. No one was sure why his abilities were acting like they were, and it was driving Liam crazy.

Ronald walked over to where Liam was sitting and forced a smile he didn't feel to his face, “It’ll be okay. Just pray that I don't kill T’than while we are talking and things will be fine.”

Liam chuckled and smiled, “Why would I want to do that? I hate to say it, but we would be so much better off with Zo’or in power again.”

This time Sandoval chuckled, “I’ll tell Zo’or you said that.”

“Don’t you dare!” Liam said sitting up in the chair.

“Relax Liam,” Ronald gently touched his shoulder. “It was a joke.”

Liam narrowed his sightless eyes at his father, “Not funny, Dad. Not funny.”

Sandoval squeezed his shoulder and then turned to walk away, “ I have to go. Wish me luck.”

Liam started to say good luck, but stopped as he was hit with an intense feeling of fear, pain, and danger—all directed at his father. Liam suddenly knew, somehow, that something was going to happen at his meeting.

Sandoval noticed the look of his son’s face, “Liam, what is it?”

“Don’t go Dad. Something is gong to happen if you do,” Liam whispered.

Sandoval shook his head and walked back to where his son now stood facing him, “Liam? What do you mean?”

“I just got this feeling. Send someone else, don’t go,” Liam pleaded.

“Lee, I can’t. T’than said he would only speak to me,” Sandoval said softly.

Several emotions ran across Liam’s face, “Dad, please. This is real; You are in danger.”

“Liam, I have been in danger all my life. I can’t start hiding from it now,” Sandoval stated.

Liam looked his father in the eyes, “Be careful? Promise me you will be careful.”

Sandoval smiled, “I will be, Liam.”

Liam nodded and then suddenly hugged his father. Sandoval was shocked for a moment, but then returned the hug, especially when he realized that Liam was shaking.

“Get some rest, Lee. You have been pushing yourself too hard,” Sandoval whispered.

Liam nodded, but didn’t let go.

A few seconds passed, and finally Sandoval pushed him away, “Things’ll be fine, Lee. Don't worry.” He gently touched Liam’s face; “Get some rest.”

Liam blinked back tears, not quite sure why he was so afraid of letting his father go. Something just wasn’t right.

Sandoval turned and started to walk away. As he got to the doorway, Liam called out to him.

“I love you, Dad. I always have.”

Sandoval stopped a moment and looked back. A small smile crossed his face, “I love you too, Lee.”

Silence fell, and Liam realized that his father had gone. He slowly walked to the window and looked down at the cold earth below him. A tear escaped his eye as the feeling of danger intensified inside of him. Liam gently touched the glass as his father’s shuttle pulled away from the ship and vanished into ID space.

“Godspeed, Daddy,” he whispered.

The tension and accompanying silence on the bridge of the Mothership was making the guards who had come with Agent Sandoval fidget. Sandoval shared their nervousness, but he would not break eye contact with T’than, nor would he be the first to speak. T’than had wanted the meeting so he would start it.

T’than suddenly rose to his feet, “This is a waste of time!”

Sandoval smirked, “I am sorry you feel that way since you are the one who ordered this meeting. Believe me when I say that I have other, more important things, to see to.”

“I’m sure you do, Agent,” T’than’s voice was low and dangerous. “After all, a traitor usually has his fingers in many things.”

Sandoval felt the guards tense behind him, but raised his hand to motion that things were fine, “Did you have a reason for this meeting in mind or do you only wish to insult me?”

T’than glared at Sandoval, “You have no right to question me!”

“And you have no right to waste my time. If you recall, Humanity has tentatively allowed the Taelons to remain here. If I report unfavorably, that decision maybe reversed,” Sandoval stated blankly, as T’than sat down again. Ronald knew threatening T’than was not the smartest thing, but the Taelon was talking in circles and getting no where. If this meeting was only to give T’than a chance to insult Humanity, Ronald would not stand for it. He didn't want to spend any more time on the Mothership than he had too. Liam’s feeling earlier had spooked him, but he had not believed it. Now he was changing his mind.

A look of anger passed over T’than’s face and then it was gone, replace with a look of self-satisfaction, "My ‘apologies’ Agent Sandoval. I forgot my place.”

Sandoval sighed, fooled in no way by T’than's false sincerity, “What do you want T’than?”

“What do I want?” T’than repeated calmly. “What I want is for the Taelon race to be back in power where they belong. What I want is to have humanity our slaves as they should be!”

Sandoval’s eyes narrowed, “You are a fool and this meeting is over!” He turned to walk out but found his way blocked by Volunteers. His guards raised their weapons to fire but Sandoval stopped them.

“Wait,” he ordered and then turned to the Volunteers, "Let us pass. You have no right to keep us here.”

A dark-haired female Volunteer shook her head; “I’m sorry Agent Sandoval. We have orders to detain you until T’than says other wise.”

Sandoval spun to face T’than, “What is the meaning of this!”

T’than slowly stood, a smirk crossing his face, “This Agent Sandoval is revenge. I do not allow those who betray me to get away with it. I believe I did tell you that I was not someone to be toyed with.”

“We will fight our way out if we are forced to,” Sandoval threatened.

“As the human phrase goes, ‘you and what army?’” T’than's face and voice were suddenly cold and mocking.

Sandoval looked behind him shocked to see that in the few moments his back had been turned the Volunteers has taken out his guards. He paled.

“You should not be surprised, Agent. You trained most of them yourself,” T’than stated.

Sandoval turned back to T’than, “You will not get away with this.” He hissed, “When I don’t return, someone will come for me.”

T’than smirked again, and Ronald fought the urge to blast the smirk off his face with his skrill.

“They will do no such thing if they believe you are dead. Shuttle accidents are few, but a terrible way to die. So hard to identify the body,” T’than replied.

Sandoval swallowed nervously, and T’than’s smirk widened.

“My son will know that it is not true,” Sandoval whispered in a tight voice.

“I doubt that, and even if he does, by the time he finds you, you will be so broken in both mind and body that it will be as if you are dead. I doubt he will be able to mourn long, with the information we pull out of your mind, the Taelons will again take control of the Earth and then he will join you,” T’than threatened and took a step toward Sandoval.

Ronald took a step back, careful to keep space between himself and the Volunteers behind him. At the same time, his mind was racing—going over and over any plans to escape he could think of. Unfortunately, the plans were discarded as quickly as he thought of them, leaving him only one choice.

He pulled his laser quickly, knowing that his skrill would not fire on him. As he turned it toward himself, T’than realized his intentions and raised a hand at him. Before Ronald could pull the trigger a blast of energy came out of T’than's hand and knocked him to the floor. The laser clattered away from him and across the room. He started to pull himself to his feet to go after it, but was knocked back to the ground and unconscious but the butt of a Volunteer’s weapon.

T’than shook his head as he looked at the unconscious man before him and then motioned for the Volunteers to take him from the room. Once the Volunteers had left, T’than looked from the door to the other Taelon who was standing in the corner.

“Your silence speaks volumes, Zo’or. I hope you are not becoming soft on me,” T’than accused.

Zo’or didn’t reply, instead he just stared at the laser at his feet with a blank face.

Later that day, Zo’or turned Sandoval’s laser over in his hands. T’than did not know he had kept the weapon after it had fallen at his feet, and if he did know he would most likely not be pleased. Still, Zo’or had picked it up and was now studying it as he had used to study its owner. He didn’t know why he was thinking about Sandoval. The man was only human and meant nothing to him. Yet, of all the humans he had ever met, only Sandoval had caught his attention and held it. It was mostly because the human had challenged him—kept him on his toes. Was that why it hurt somewhere deep in his being when he thought about seeing his protector crumpled on the floor?

Zo’or blushed. And why did he still see Sandoval as his protector? The man has given up that position the moment he had began to betray the Taelons. Still, he had not had Sandoval re-implanted. What was wrong with him? This thinking was completely against Taelon survival.

* Am I going soft? * Zo’or thought to himself. * When I first came here I did not care one way or the other what happened to any human, and now I am feeling pity for one? I do not understand this. Perhaps... Could Da’an have been right? * Zo’or wrapped his hands around the weapon, almost as if he was trying to squeeze the essence of what had been out of it. * T’than cannot be allowed to continue this way. Total domination of this race will get us nothing but destruction. Their will is too strong. I should have seen it before. Perhaps I was blind, but now, now I am not and things will change. I will be leader of the Synod again, and I will do whatever I have to, to make sure that T’than does not destroy what little the Taelons have left. *

Zo’or placed the weapon in a cubby and locked it. Just as he placed the key in its hiding place, T’than walked in.

Zo’or looked the older Taelon in the eye, “Is there something you need, T’than?”

T’than smirked, “I thought you would like to be present when we start ‘coercing’ Agent Sandoval into speaking. He was, after all, your protector. Perhaps you can give us some assistance in breaking his will.”

Zo’or’s eyes narrowed and he slowly followed T’than from the room, a small smirk spreading across his face.

* Enjoy your power as you will, T’than. * He thought, * Soon it will no longer be yours. *

“No,” Liam hissed under his breath as he desperately tried to keep his tears at bay. “It’s not him... It can't be.”

“Liam,” Ariel’s voice was soft. “It was his shuttle. The bodies were burned badly, but the count was right.”

“No!” Liam clenched his fists at his sides. “He can’t be dead! We just... We just found each other...”

Ariel gently touched his shoulder, “Lee, I’m sorry.”

Liam knocked her arm from his shoulder; “He’s not dead! I... I would know. I would have felt it.”

“Liam, it was so sudden. He wouldn’t have felt anything since the air bags malfunctioned,” Ariel shook her head. “Accept it.”

“No!” Liam turned from her and looked out the window; “It’s not right. It doesn’t feel right.” He suddenly turned back to her. “I want to see the body.”

Ariel shook her head again, “No, you don’t. Liam honestly, you don’t. What good would it do? You can’t see anyway.”

“It’ll make all the difference, and I don’t judge things by sight anymore no matter how much I want to. I judge them by what I feel,” Liam stated. “Now come with me or I am going alone.”

Ariel sighed, looked Liam in the eye defiantly, and then gave in.

Every nerve was on fire, and Ronald would have screamed but his voice had gone hours ago. Not that, that was bad. If he couldn’t speak, he couldn't be forced to say anything he didn’t want to.

* It’s all in my mind. It’s all in my mind. * The words ran through his head like a mantra but had stopped being useful a long time ago. Just as the taste of blood from the lip he had bitten though had also stopped being useful. The pain became more intense—like hot pokers being drawn across his body—and darkness clouded his eyesight. That was okay though. The darkness was better than the red that had filled his eyesight for so long...

Zo’or's fists clenched at his sides, though he barely noticed it, and only unclenched once Sandoval had fallen unconscious. His protector had, for the moment anyway, escaped the pain they were inflicting on him. How long would it be until the escape became permanent? Zo’or didn’t dare think about it because knowing this particular human as he did, that time could be very long indeed.

“That was a waste of time,” T’than sneered and looked at Zo’or. “Perhaps you have a suggestion to hurry things along.”

“I have nothing to say to you about this situation expect that it is an excellent example of how far we have fallen,” Zo’or stated arrogantly.

“Fallen?” T’than asked. “Fallen? We are not falling but rising!”

“If that is what you wish to call it,” Zo’or spat back, “But it is not what I would call it. You will never get any information from him. His will, as the rest of Humanity’s, will not be broken. Not when they are set against it.”

“You are becoming your father. Weak and useless,” T’than sneered.

“No, I am looking at what we have become and finding it sorely lacking,” Zo’or stated.

T’than blushed angrily, “Get out of my sight, child, before I do something the Synod has forbade me to do.”

Zo’or defiantly looked him in the eye. He was not afraid of T’than.

T’than's eyes narrowed, “Leave me! That is an order from your leader.”

Zo’or stared at him a moment longer and then turned and left the room with a wide smirk on his face. T’than had just sealed his death, and Zo’or now knew exactly what he had to do to accomplish it.

“It’s not him,” Liam said quietly after ‘seeing’ the body. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, relief flooding through him. “It’s not him.” He whispered again, for the moment too happy at the thought that his father was alive to realize that he had no idea where his father could be. All that mattered was that he was alive, and if he was alive, then Liam could find him no matter where he was...

Sandoval laid on the floor of the cell curled into a ball. It felt like someone had put a hook into his gut and ripped it back out. No one had of course—it was more mental torture. T’than thought he was getting close to talking. He was wrong. Instead of thinking about what he would say about the alliance, Sandoval was thinking about all of the things he had done wrong and wishing he had had time to make them better. He held no illusions. He would die soon.

* I only wish Liam were here, * he thought to himself. * If only I could talk to him and tell him that he was right. More than that, I want to tell him I love him once more. * A shiver passed through him. He fought to stop it and the accompanying agony, but failed. A pained gasp passed through his lips and along with it, the only word he had spoken in the last few days: Liam.

Zo’or heard the faint word and shut his eyes. He wondered if his own father had ever called for him in such a fashion—with such pain, love, and fear. No, for some reason, Zo’or couldn’t imagine Da’an doing such a thing. Their relationship had always been so distant, so cold—nothing like the relationship that had developed between Sandoval and Kincaid. Part of Zo’or was jealous; The other part of him was sad—sad that such a loving relationship was about to be cut off so soon after it had been created.

* But there is something I can do,* Zo’or thought. * T’than has decided Sandoval is a dead end. He is going to kill him tonight, but it is not right and it is something I will not allow. * Zo’or looked at Sandoval again. He would find a way to get the man off the ship before T’than could carry out his plan. Then Zo’or would be free to carry out his.

Liam paced and paced—ignoring the looks he got from Ariel, Ka’shel, and Lak’shan. There had to be a way to find his father. He wouldn’t give up, not as long as he knew his father was still alive. There had to be a way to trace or track him. There had to be.

“My son, you need to rest. You have not slept in over 24 hours,” Lak’shan’s soft voice cut into his thoughts.

Liam let a weary sigh escape his lips as he turned in her direction, “I can’t. Not as long as he is out there alone. You must understand that—what he means to me.”

Lak’shan nodded, “I understand more than you can know. I have seen you and your father together. At first I could not understand why Ha’gel had chosen him. It was only after how I saw he treated you—as if you were the most important thing in the world to him—that I understood. Under the exterior he has had to create to live the life he was put into, there is a man as gentle and loving as any I have ever met. There is a great deal of him in you even if it is hard to see.”

A lump entered Liam's throat. She was right; She was exactly right and that was why he had to do everything he could think of to bring his father home.

“Perhaps,” Ka’shel muttered after a few minutes of silence, “perhaps we are looking at this wrong. We have been assuming because of T’than’s statement that your father never made it to the Mothership. We have no reason to trust this Taelons’ word.”

“You don’t think that T’than lied about Sandoval getting to the Mothership?” Ariel questioned.

“I have come to believe that no Taelon can be trusted at his word,” Ka’shel answered. “I have no doubt that if T’than had the opportunity to lie, he would.”

Liam’s head came up and he paled, “The meeting...my feeling! Now I understand. It was a set up—an excuse to get Sandoval onto the ship so T’than could get revenge!”

Ariel stood up, “Then we have to go after him.”

Liam groaned and sunk into a chair, “The Mothership is one place we cannot go. Not without a lot more proof than we have now. It was one of the clauses of the treaty. No human can board the Mothership without being summoned or without just cause.”

“We can’t just...” Ariel was cut off as Liam’s global suddenly went off.

Liam answered it and then froze in shock when he recognized the voice.

“Major Kincaid, I need to tell you some important information. You must trust me and not question my information,” The voice stated.

“Asking for trust is a funny request coming from you, Zo’or,” Liam stated.

“Take it as you will, Major” Liam was confused by the tone of Zo’or’s voice. It was something he had never hear from the Taelon before—fear.

“There will be a power outage on the Mothership tonight at about 10:00 PM,” Zo’or continued in a low voice. “Your father is being held on the Mothership in the location that I have downloaded to your global. I want my protector off the ship by the time that the power comes back on.”

Shock spread across Liam’s face. It had to be a trap. Zo’or would never...

“I assure you this is no trap. For your father’s sake, Liam believe me and get him off this ship,” Zo’or almost pleaded.

“But...” Liam stopped when he heard the beep that signaled the link had been broken. Then he looked up at Ariel who nodded at him.

“I’ll get the shuttle ready.”

Zo'or set his global down and blushed. If he believed in a god like humans did, he would have been praying. Praying that the Major could get Sandoval off the ship, praying that T’than would not be able to carry out his plans, praying that he could carry out his.

* This is right,* Zo’or thought to himself. * It must be done to protect our species. The greatest threat to us is no longer our inability to breed, but the crazy intentions of one of our own. I wonder how many times Da’an thought that it was I that would destroy the Taelon race. What a legacy I have become, but I will change that. Nothing will stop me...nothing...

“You seem quite deep in thought. About what?” T’than’s harsh voice pulled Zo’or from his thoughts.

“Nothing really,” Zo’or replied. “Do you need something, T’than?”

A lazy smirk crossed T’than’s face, “I have decided that I am board, so I am going to move up the time in which I am going to kill Agent Sandoval. It will be within the hour.”

Panic filled Zo’or. No, he couldn’t do that. How could he save Sandoval if the time was moved up?

“Is there a problem, Zo’or?” T’than asked, suspicious of the look he saw in Zo’or’s eye.

“Nothing...” Zo’or fought to keep his voice steady. As he did, his eyes fell on the cubby where he had hidden Sandoval’s laser. An idea suddenly formed in his mind and the last of his panic cleared from his mind. He looked back at T’than and repeated confidently, “Nothing.”

“Good,” T’than stated after a moment of studying Zo’or. “I will see you in the lab in 30 minutes.”

Zo’or nodded, and T’than left the room. Once he was alone, Zo’or walked across the room and removed the laser from it’s hiding place. Once he had it out, he held it close to himself. He had never before so blatantly betrayed the Synod, his people—and for a human nonetheless.

“There is no going back,” he whispered to himself. “I will live through this and save him or die trying, and if I die then I have at least tried to do something right. Something that my father may have once been proud of...”

Not ten minutes later, Zo’or’s hands wrapped tightly around Sandoval’s laser. For the second time in a short period of time, he found himself wishing that he had a god he could pray to instead of knowing that his fate was completely in his own hands. He paused a moment in his walk to Sandoval’s cell and shut his eyes, marshalling his strength and courage. He had started on this course, and he would not let fear pull him from it.

It took only a short time to reach his destination. Sandoval lay motionless on the floor of his cell—eyes shut. For a moment, Zo’or feared that he was unconscious because if he were, there would be no way to get him to the shuttle bay unnoticed. Zo’or’s fears passed, though, when he saw Sandoval’s eyes flutter partway open as if the agent was trying to decide if he should let his visitor know he was awake.

Zo’or could feel Sandoval’s half-open eyes follow him as he crossed the room and deactivated the cell’s containment field. Once he had done so, Zo’or watched Ronald as he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position.

“What do you want?” Ronald asked in a tired voice so different from the one Zo’or was accustomed to, that at first, the Taelon didn’t know how to reply.

“ I, I want to help you,” Zo’or stated after a moment.

Sandoval raised an eyebrow, and Zo’or was unsure if the cause of his reaction was what he had just said or the weakness in his voice as he had said it.

“You want to help me?” Sandoval repeated in a sarcastic whisper.

An annoyed looked crossed Zo’or’s face, but quickly faded, replaced by a sad smirk. It said a lot for the strength of Sandoval’s willpower that he could still annoy him after all he had been through.

“Yes, I want to help you. I have done a lot of...thinking and have realized that if the Taelons are to survive—if Humanity is survive—then T’than must not be allowed to carry out his plans,” Zo’or stated.

Sandoval’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, “Why should I trust you?”

Zo’or’s eyes narrowed as well, “Where you place your trust it up to you, but if you do not trust me you will be dead in less than 30 minutes.”

Sandoval paled slightly as he fought an internal battle. His brain told him not to trust Zo’or for the Taelon had never been straight with him, but his heart said otherwise. The Taelons fingers moved in agitation, showing that something was bothering...even scaring him. Sandoval’s eyes fell on the laser clutched in one of Zo’or’s hands, and he made up his mind.

“All right,” he said softly. “I’ll trust you.”

Zo’or nodded and watched as his protector slowly pulled himself to his feet.

Sandoval had just taken a step toward the door and his knees gave out. He expected to hit his head on the floor, but was surprised when a strong arm around his waist stopped his fall. Zo’or helped him back up, and then they started slowly toward the shuttle bay.

As they walked, Zo’or hoped that no one would question his actions. They were taking a back way to the bay so that they would run into few people and it seemed to be working until they reached the doorway that led to the shuttle bay.

“I should have known you would pull something like this Zo’or. You are a disgrace to the Taelon race!”

Sandoval slowly turned toward T’than's voice and moved slightly in front of Zo’or in a protective motion he did not immediately understand. He understood it, though, when he saw T’than. Time froze for an instant, when Sandoval saw the energy weapon in the Taelon’s hand and started again—in slow motion—when he saw the weapon fire.

It took Ronald less than a second to decided to do what he did. In his heart he knew something had changed in Zo’or and that something had to be preserved at any cost.

For Zo’or, time never stopped. In fact, for him it sped up. One second he heard T’than’s voice yell out to them and then he felt Sandoval shove him toward the ground. He hit it hard and was stunned for a moment. He was shocked out of that when Sandoval’s body hit the floor hard next to him. Zo’or did not even need to look at the wound in his protector’s back to know he was dead. A searing pain deep inside of him told him all he needed to know.

He slowly looked up—his vision first blurred by pain, then anger, and then a calm coolness as his hand closed more tightly around the laser it still held.

T’than approached them slowly—a smirk spreading across his face, “A noble act. Completely useless, but...”

T’than never got to finish his comment because Zo’or raised the laser and fired it. Shock spread across T’than’s face as he realized what was happening. He looked toward Zo’or a moment, and then his body faded and disappeared.

Silence descended—broken only by the sound of the laser hitting the floor. For a moment, Zo’or only stared at where T’than had been, then he turned to where Sandoval lay on the floor. Gently, as if he thought Sandoval could still feel pain, he turned the agent over so he did not have to look at the gapping hole in his back, and then pulled him into his arms. He bowed his head and looked at Sandoval’s face.

* Is this what they call final peace? * Zo’or asked himself as he looked at the peace and innocence that now was on Sandoval’s face—things he had never seen there before—things even the blood seeping from his lip and the emptiness in his eyes could not mar.

Zo’or shut his eyes and tried to stop the ache deep inside of him, but he couldn’t—it was too strong. * Is this what you felt, father? Is this what you felt when I killed your protector? Your friend? *

“I am sorry,” He whispered, not sure if his apology was to Sandoval or his father. “I am sorry.”

Liam knew. He was not sure how he know, but the moment the shuttle touched down inside the Mothership, he knew they were too late. He was out of the shuttle and running toward the doorway leading from the bay even before Ariel could completely shut down the shuttle. Liam was not relying on his eyes to get him there, but the sudden emptiness in his heart.

He stopped cold when he got within a few feet of his father and Zo’or as his psychic senses picked that moment to suddenly kick in. He heard Zo’or whisper ‘I am sorry’ and watched as he gently closed his father’s eyes. A lump formed in Liam's throat as he crossed the short distance that separated him from his father.

Zo’or did not fight Liam when he reached for his father’s body. Instead he gently switched places with the young man and walked away. He had bearly gotten into the next room when his knees gave out, and he slid to the floor blushing furiously and mourning the death of his protector...his friend...

“...With Zo’or again taking charge of the Taelon Synod after T’than’s death, change has been proclaimed in a way that cannot be doubted. In a speech made just a short time ago, Zo’or revealed the true nature of the Taelons and their mission on Earth. He has given permission to the FBI and U.S. government to go through any Taelon records they wish with full access to all of the experiments they have been doing with one condition. Zo’or has requested that the Taelons be given one more chance. They care no more for lies and trickery and wish to be allowed to continue to look for a way to save their race with the aid of any Humans or Kimera who wish to help or supervise the projects. Already two well known Kimera faces, Lak’shan and Ka’shel, have volunteered to work with the Taelons and make sure that all ethical and moral guidelines are followed. Now, for those who missed the earlier broadcast, we will replay Zo’or’s speech in full...”

Liam only half heard the television as he stared into the blackness that surrounded him—that always surrounded him—and that seemed so much darker than it had been before. He had buried his father less than two hours ago, but that two hours seemed like an eternity of pain and misery. All Liam could think about was that he would never be able to tell his father he loved him again; He would never again be able to hear that slight smile in his father’s voice that he knew just passed between the two of them. If only he had been able to see, then none of this would have happened. He could have saved his father—gotten there faster or he could have even gone with him. T’than would never have tired anything with him there...

“...I once overheard a human say that because Taelons had given up their emotions in their quest for higher spirituality, that they saw things only with their eyes,” Zo’or’s voice stated from the television. “This angered me at first, but I now realize how true those words are. As a result of seeing things only with our eyes, we have missed out on what is really there—an important secret that Humanity has always known. It does not matter what you see with your eyes because your eyes can easily be fooled and what you see is only temporary. It is what you see in your heart that matters because your heart cannot be lied to and true feelings are everlasting. It is my hope, my greatest desire, that now that we Taelons have again discovered this secret, that we will never let it go...”

For a moment, Liam’s thoughts were pulled away from his father. Zo’or had changed so much that it was still a shock to hear him. What had caused this rapid change? Liam had a feeling his father had something to do with it, but what exactly would forever be a secret between him and Zo’or...

“...After the death of my protector and friend...” Zo’or continued.

* A death I could have prevented if I could only see, * Liam thought bitterly and hit the tabletop with his hand. * Why did it have to be this way? Why did he have to suffer for my failures? *

“...I learned that, and I know there are those who won’t ever believe that one such as I could feel this way, a high spiritual development means nothing if there is nothing left to remember you by when you are gone. For Humanity, this is not a problem because even when one of yours dies, they live on forever in the hearts of those who loved them...”

Liam shut his eyes and let his mind wander back to the last time he had seen his father alive—how it felt to tell him he loved him, to be held as if he were a child, to finally know what a child knew.

Suddenly, he smiled and slowly stood to make his way to the Virtual Glass window in his room that looked down on the Earth—an Earth he would probably never se with his own eyes again. In the long run, though, did that really matter? Seeing, he knew in his heart, if not in his mind, was not important anymore. It was the feeling that mattered—the feeling of new hope and new beginnings he felt whenever he looked down on that blue orb, and he knew all of this without seeing a thing.

* Dad, I know you are out there some place and that in your heart I live on, * Liam thought. * You may be gone from me, but you will always live in my heart. Your love and sacrifice will be my eyes...*

“...It is my hope,” Zo’or’s voice floated across the room to where Liam stood with his head against the Virtual Glass window, “that the time of secrets and false visions is gone. That we, as fellow feeling beings, can leave the blindness of sight behind and see what is really there in our feelings—the true sight that lies beyond the darkness...”

THE END

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