Perchance to Dream - Part 1
Archive: All my stories can be found at my personal page at : http://pages.prodigy.net/tinap/ and http://members.xoom.com/TinaPrice
Preview: Life is about to take an unexpected turn for everyone...
Rated PG
Disclaimer: Earth - Final Conflict, all characters and images therein, as well as story elements put forth in the series are the property of the Tribune Entertainment Company. Several characters appearing in this story are my own creation. Any similarity with anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.
Authors notes: <Text appearing like this denotes mental communication."> I owe much of the flavor of this story to the comments, suggestions and ideas given me by my fabulous Beta reader, Janet Spruill White. Indeed, the very premise of "Perchance" is based upon her own original story idea. If you enjoy it, please write and let her know! You can drop her a line, at this address: (lablanche@yahoo.com). As always, I am in no way receiving 'privileged information'. Any advice, criticism and kudos are always welcomed. Please contact me at the above e-mail address.
Perchance to Dream
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub. For in that sleep of death that dreams may come,... ...We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.
Boone groaned and rolled over to look at the bedside alarm clock. Three in the morning and the baby was crying again! He began to sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed when Da'an's hand fell on his arm, stopping him.
Da'an moved through the
Embassy towards the kitchen, cradling her son in her arms and attempting to quiet him. She
had already changed his damp diaper and checked him thoroughly for any sort of injury, but
still he squalled loudly, building his cries ever louder until he finally had to stop and
catch his breath in quivering gulps.
Then he would begin again.
Arriving in the kitchen, she balanced Braedan
on one shoulder as she removed a bottle from the refrigerator and went about heating it.
Her distress at her son's frustrated and hysterical state was such that it took her twice
as long to prepare the formula as it normally would, as she tried bouncing him gently
while fumbling at her task.
Finally satisfied that the bottle was just the
proper temperature, she seated herself at the table and offered him the nipple.
Braedan took it eagerly, sucked twice and began
screaming even louder, the formula gurgling in his mouth and running out over his chin.
In a state of complete dismay, she stood and
headed back to her audience chamber, rocking him and attempting futilely to calm him.
Entering the room, she moved to her chair and sitting, activated the energy stream.
It seemed to do the trick.
Braedan slowly caught his breath as he stopped
complaining and was soon sound asleep in her arms.
With a sigh, she too began to relax. Reclining
slowly backward, she placed her son on her chest facing her and was quickly asleep
herself.
It didn't last long.
Only ten minutes later, she was awakened by his
renewed crying.
Whatever could be wrong with him? Before she had given him over for Nivian to carry him to term - while
he and she were still joined by shared pathways, she had been able to understand many of
his rudimentary thoughts. Now, however, he seemed to be no more capable of communicating
than an ordinary human child. Perhaps it was his hysteria which prevented him from clearly
communicating his needs. The few times he wasn't in this state, he was exhausted and
sleeping.
With a sigh, she reminded herself that it
hardly mattered. The point was that he desperately needed something - and she had no idea
what it might be.
Sitting up, she placed him on her shoulder once
more, deactivated the stream and then stepped down. Perhaps she might walk him back to
sleep as Boone had done earlier that evening.
Fifteen long minutes later, she was near to
tears herself. What was wrong with her child? Surely it must be something dreadful!
Deciding that she would rouse every pediatric
specialist in DC if need be, she turned back in the direction of her audience chamber...
...And was confronted with an apparition in
white.
"Let me try," Nivian said, holding
out her arms.
Numbly, Da'an handed Braedan to her and was
amazed when the baby began to quiet and then hiccup as he caught his breath.
The scientist headed towards the audience
chamber with Da'an anxiously looking over her shoulder and they both entered to find
Zo'or, newly arrived himself, awaiting them.
"Da'an, what is the matter with the infant
that it carries on so at all hours of the day and night?" he asked, looking more
bewildered than upset.
"I do not know!" she despaired.
"I was about to contact a specialist."
It was then that they realized that Nivian was
no longer with them, but seated on the window ledge. As they moved to join her, she pulled
down the front of her gown, baring a swollen breast. In seconds the baby was latched on
and drinking greedily.
Zo'or's eyes widened comically at the sight,
but Da'an was too relieved to be amused by his reaction. She took a seat on the ledge
beside Nivian and watched as Braedan gulped hungrily. "I was advised that he should
have formula," she said, embarrassed by the obvious source of her child's distress.
"He did well enough on it yesterday."
"You were advised by Taelon doctors who
are biased against having one of their own nursed by a human," the silver haired
woman replied. "The formula doesn't agree with him. It's giving him colic. Thank
goodness I didn't let them give me a shot to dry me up. I've been saving milk for him in
the freezer so that it would be available if something... of this nature occurred."
"You cannot be nursing this child,"
Zo'or suddenly stammered, finally getting control of himself. "It would not be in
your best interests to become more closely attached to him than you are."
Nivian smiled at them both. "It's OK.
There's nothing I wouldn't do for him, but I do know that he's not my child," she
assured. "I'll just continue saving my milk so that his parents can stay up at night
with him - But I really wouldn't mind feeding him myself now and then so that they can get
some rest."
Braedan chose that moment to get fussy and with
the sure motions of someone well used to handling babies, Nivian sat him up on her lap.
Supporting his head and chin with a hand, she rubbed his back, drawing a very loud series
of belches from him.
Zo'or looked horrified, especially when a thin
thread of curdling milk ran from the baby's mouth.
"Welcome to the world of human
babies," Nivian laughed, as she placed Braedan at her other breast. "Are you
still certain you want one of your own?"
That really caught Da'an's attention. Looking
at her fellow Taelon, she was amazed to see an almost embarrassed expression cross his
face before it became aloof once more.
Seating himself on the ledge at Nivian's left
side, Zo'or placed a hand on Nivian's shoulder and leaned close. Still, Da'an could hear
him whisper softly, "This is not the time or place to discuss such things."
It was almost noon the
next day when Nivian caught up with a harried and exhausted Boone. As it happened, he was
storming up the central Embassy ramp as she was descending, Braedan held against his chest
in a baby sling. Before she could even ask him how the baby's physical exam had gone, he
had unslung the infant and handed him over to her.
"Nivian, thank goodness I found you,"
he said quickly. "We only just got back and I'm way behind on the preparations for
the upcoming conference. Please, please, please take care of Braedan for me? I promise
I'll only be an hour or so!"
She smiled at the infant, even as his eyes
focused on her and he cooed. "I'll be glad to watch him William," she assured
the Commander.
With a sigh of relief, he handed over the
diaper bag. "The pediatrician said that Braedan most likely has a formula
allergy," he informed her.
"Not a problem."
Boone squeezed her shoulder gently and leaned
down to plant a quick peck on her cheek. "Thanks Nivian. You're a life saver."
With a small laugh she watched him stalk off in
the direction of the security offices. Then she lifted the baby up to her face and rubbed
noses with him, laughing at the way he wrinkled up his face and grinned toothlessly at
her.
"Daddy and Mommy are very busy right
now," she whispered. "Lets see what we can do to entertain ourselves."
Placing him up on her shoulder, she headed off
in the direction of the garden.
Between meetings, Boone
took the opportunity to collapse onto the window seat in the main audience chamber. It had
been a heck of a day and CVI or no, he was feeling the effects.
As he rubbed his forehead, he felt Da'an take a
seat beside him. Peeping out from between two fingers he could see the signs of fatigue on
her as well. She looked positively blue.
One of her delicate hands came up to rub his
shoulder with surprising strength. Such
subtle clues to her alien nature never failed to startle him
"I don't know, Da'an.... I'm beginning to
have second thoughts about the upcoming conference," he admitted with a sigh, the tense muscles in his shoulder relaxing under her expert manipulation.
"News of our child's birth has already
leaked out," she replied. "I feel that we must be forthcoming about this. Best
that Braedan be introduced now. I too wish a normal life for him and so it is to our
benefit that we face the press so that the... novelty may fade away. By the time he is of
an age to attend school, he will be unrecognizable to the general public and able to
attend classes with other children."
He covered her hand with his own, lifting it to
his mouth where he planted a kiss on its back as he met her gaze. "I can't help but
worry. The situation with Thompson is escalating, not to mention the fanatics who are
certain to turn this into a furor..."
"I agree that there is some risk, however,
there always has been when a Taelon attends a public function," she reminded him as
she reclaimed her hand. "We cannot live our lives entirely within the shelter of our
Embassies and neither can Braedan. Allow your fears to better enable you to prepare for
the event ahead, but understand that it must occur."
Leaning forward, he gave her a peck on the
cheek. "I'm just tired and cranky. You know that I agree with you."
She smiled then, as she went back to work on
his shoulders. "Yes. I know. Did you inform Nivian of the delay?"
"Oh yeah - that's the spot," he
groaned as she found the knotted muscle on the inside edge of his shoulder blade.
"Where were we? Oh yes - Nivian. She actually seemed pleased at the chance of having
the baby all to herself for the entire day," he chuckled. "Just you watch how
quickly she hands him back when we're done though!"
Da'an stopped kneading the muscle and looked
affronted. "Braedan is not a difficult infant."
"Not when you're around anyway," he
replied, pushing his back up against her in the hopes she would continue. "I'm
telling you that when he's away from you for any length of time he turns into a
terror!"
She lowered her hands and gave him a measuring
look. "So you've said before."
"You still think I'm exaggerating?"
he straightened up, somewhat disappointed that she had discontinued her ministrations.
In reply, she stood up. "Let us meet with
our next guests."
Boone watched her glide back in the direction
of her chair and snorted. "If you don't believe me, ask Nivian!"
Da'an froze and turned to face him. "Of
course I believe you, William. How could I not?"
Then he was there beside her, pulling her close
for a hug and a kiss.
Nivian had returned to
the garden later that afternoon and was in the process of trying to get the baby to settle
down when a shuttle came in overhead. Braedan, who had actually looked like he was
beginning to doze off, was instantly awake again.
Awake and fussing.
She had the strong impression all day that the
little fellow was frustrated. His eyes followed objects as easily as a much older child
did and he would often let out a howl when she walked past something which had caught his
attention. "Oh baby," she whispered to him. "I know that you want to do
more than just eat and sleep, but you have to learn how to control your limbs first."
He began to cry as soon as she finished
speaking.
Pulling out the big guns, she spread a blanket
on the nearby lawn and laid him on his back. Then, seating herself next to him, she began
shaking various infant toys over him.
It seemed to do the trick.
His little arms and legs would flail about in
excitement as he tried to reach for the shiny objects.
To help minimize his frustration, she would
occasionally place a small toy in his hand and then laugh as his fist tightened about it
and he shook it all over the place.
"Now that's the way
to learn coordination!" she encouraged.
A short time later, when
he began to fuss, she curled up on her side and nursed him. Even while drinking greedily,
his little hands would attempt to grab at the small, but shiny symbol of her faith which
dangled from a chain on her neck. As he got closer and closer to actually grasping it, she
would shake it just out of his reach, not wishing him to accidentally break the delicate
jewelry.
"And here I thought
you would be missing me... But it appears that you have already found yourself a new
companion."
Startled, she looked
around and saw that Zo'or had come up behind her. Before she could move, he had settled
onto the blanket next to her, only then reacting with some startlement at the sudden
realization that the baby was nursing. Rolling his eyes, a human gesture which caused her
to giggle, he made an impatient gesture for the child and then , before she could move, he
scooped up the baby.
Braedan's reaction was to
instantly clamp down, as he refused to interrupt his lunch in order to greet his
"uncle".
Nivian let out a small
yelp as her nipple was tugged painfully, but before she could get a hand up to help, Zo'or
had expertly inserted a finger in the corner of the infant's mouth, breaking the vacuum
and releasing her sore nipple.
She fixed her shirt as
her Taelon lover settled back and raised the baby up in front of him, then laughed aloud
at the scowl which was turned on the Synod Leader by the youngest Commonality member.
"That was very rude
of you," Zo'or dryly informed the infant, giving him a gentle shake. "Now, are
you done entertaining my consort?"
Braedan had gone very
still and was staring into Zo'or's eyes with his own equally blue ones. Long minutes
passed by as the two remained nearly motionless.
Nivian had seen this
before, but always it had been Da'an who had been holding the child. Leaning forward, she
sought the Synod Leader's attention.
"Are you two talking
about me?" she whispered.
The spell was broken.
Braedan let out a squeal of delight while Zo'or's eyes turned to capture her own.
"Indeed, you were
mentioned," he said, with a rare and genuine smile, as he shifted the baby to the
crook of his arm. "Braedan told me that you play nice."
She smiled as well and ticked the baby's tummy,
making him laugh in a most delightful baby like manner.
"...Of course, I already knew
that...." Zo'or added in a whisper which caused her to freeze and her heart to skip a
beat.
He was just leaning forward to kiss her when
the sound of someone clearing his throat caused them to move apart and look up.
"I have President Thompson on the line for
you," Agent Sandoval announced. "He is most distressed by the delay."
Standing, Zo'or placed the baby up on his
shoulder. "Remind him that his race views patience as a virtue and then inform him
that I shall contact him as soon as Da'an has completed his own business in the audience
chamber."
Sandoval bowed and departed, but not before
Nivian caught sight of the amused look on his face.
"I do believe that he enjoys delivering
your messages," she said wryly, coming to her feet.
"Of course. Now, where were we?" he
asked in a low tone.
Moving closer, she leaned in for a kiss.
Sandoval put his
sandwich down as three men slid into the booth with him. Before he could even bring his
skrill up to bear, a gun was shoved into his side.
"I wouldn't do that," one of the
suits growled.
"You're obviously from the bureau,"
Sandoval quipped. "You all dress alike. Same old tactics. Boring."
The silver haired man across from him leaned
closer. "You've pushed us too far," he whispered. "Consider this the final
courtesy we will extend to you. You are officially removed from duty. Do you understand?
You are no longer a part of our organization. I suggest that you inform your... masters of
this ASAP, as they will be keenly interested in learning that you no longer have access to
our resources."
"If you think I'm impressed by this,
you're sadly mistaken," he replied, picking up his sandwich and taking a bite.
"Your arrogance is beyond belief!"
"As is your failure to see the bigger
picture."
With a snarl, the silver haired suit stood up
and departed, followed shortly after by his two companions.
Ronald Sandoval watched them go, a thoughtful
look upon his face. Then he stood, and headed out himself.
Zo'or rose from the bed
when the chime went off. It could mean only one thing - that he had an urgent transmission
coming in from the home ship. Moving closer to the projection area, he waved the
transmission through.
A Taelon in his natural state appeared in the
stream. "Zo'or, we have information of the utmost importance," he announced.
"What is it?"
"We have been following a series of
strange readings in the area of Saturn..."
"What sort of readings?" he snapped,
interrupting the underling.
"We now believe them to be generated by a
craft of some sort. That it has been taking great pains to avoid notice cannot now be
denied."
"What has changed to revise your
assumptions?"
"When a scout ship was deployed, the
artifact drifted off in a direction which could not be accounted for by gravitational
forces."
"And where is it now?"
"We have temporarily lost it within the
planet's ice belt. I assure you that we will uncover it again."
"See that you do," he snapped.
"I wish to be kept apprised of the slightest change. Is that understood?"
"Yes Zo'or."
"I fear that this may be another advance
scout sent by our ancient enemies. The ship and its personnel must be captured, or failing
that, destroyed!" Not bothering to wait for a response, he waved the data stream off.
Walking over to his chamber window, he stared
outside at the nighttime panorama that was the country's capital. A few small meteorites
streaked through the black sky. How easily one of those streaks could signal the end of
everything! Turning, he looked across the room, to where Nivian lay asleep in his bed.
She was so tired that she had slept through his
conversation with La'ral. His love was still healing, still recovering from the feat of
bringing forth new life.
He hoped that it was something she would live
to do again one day, perhaps with him.
Things were beginning to look bleak. A power
struggle with Thompson, a conference announcing Braedan's birth and a mysterious space
craft sneaking into this star system all happening at once added up to serious trouble.
Unbelievable really. It was almost as though fate were conspiring against him...
"Well, is it
adequate?"
Boone turned at the sound of Sandoval's voice
and found the other attaché standing behind him, scanning the room.
"It's almost acceptable," he
responded. He had just finished a tour of the stage area and was nearly satisfied with the
security arrangements.
"Zo'or asks that you take extra
measures," Sandoval announced. "I don't know what it is which has him
so..."
"Nervous?"
The other attaché shrugged. "I'm not
certain that we can attribute that state to Taelons, however, he does appear to be
anxious."
Boone couldn't help but snort as he began
moving in the direction of the stairs which led up to the stage. "Believe me -
Taelons do get nervous. This was all Da'an's idea and yet I wonder sometimes if she won't
just call the whole thing off."
A ghost of a smile lit Sandoval's face.
"Maybe so, however my experiences with Zo'or lead me to believe that such actions on
his part are due to a hunch - a feeling that something will go wrong. The Taelons as a
whole are very in tune with the universe about them. Zo'or is in many ways a very
prescient being. He KNOWS when something unfortunate is going to occur."
Boone felt himself pale. "So you're
telling me that he believes something is going to happen? I can't believe that the Taelons
are psychic enough to see the future."
"Suit yourself. I'm merely passing along
my personal observations." Sandoval glanced at the floor and stopped in his tracks,
forcing Boone to do so as well. When he raised his eyes, a look of regret had appeared
upon his face. "You should know that this is my final errand as Zo'or's
attaché," he announced.
Boone was flabbergasted enough that he could
not even respond.
The other attaché seemed to understand and
offered up an explanation.
"I've been released from the Bureau,"
he said quickly. "If I worked for anyone other than Zo'or, they'd nail my ass to the
wall, but as it is I'm merely being "cut loose". Doesn't matter though. My
presence is now an embarrassment to the Taelon leadership."
Somehow Boone managed to find his voice.
"What will you do now?"
Sandoval shrugged. "I really don't know. I
figured I'd travel a bit - take some time to find myself again. They've set me up so that
I can live comfortably even if I never work again..."
"What about your skrill? No Implant has
ever left the Companions before and I can't see them allowing you to keep it."
A look of pain passed over the shorter man's
face. "The truth is that they don't expect me to live long. Apparently, the MI is
supposed to cause me to fall into a deep state of depression and either kill myself or end
up in an asylum. Think about it Boone - having the Companions as your number one priority
and then not even being able to get close to one. There have been experiments..."
"What kind of
experiments?" he felt himself growing pale.
Sandoval shook his head.
"Doesn't matter. The point is that I will end up having to disappear, but you were
right - I have to give up my skrill. I'm on my way to Belman's clinic to do so."
Clasping the other man on
the shoulder, he offered his hand and was surprised when Sandoval took it and gripped it
heartily.
"Ron, you know that
there are other options available to you..."
A gleam appeared in the
dismissed Implant's eyes. "I know. That's why I'm seeing Belman rather than having
this done on the home ship."
Before Boone could do
more than close his mouth, Sandoval was half way to the exit.
Zo'or felt the disturbance generated by several of the members of his bridge crew even
before he was addressed.
"What is it?"
he asked, instantly turning his command chair to face the area where the turmoil was
brewing.
A navigator looked up.
"We have positively identified a large object in the asteroid belt as possessing
movement which cannot be accounted for by any gravitational calculations."
The shock of the
announcement brought Zo'or to his feet. "What does it look like?" he snapped.
"We cannot obtain a
clear view, however we are now certain that it is a spacecraft moving under its own
power."
"And attempting to
disguise itself," Zo'or added. "Do you still have a fix on it?"
"No, Synod Leader.
It is the reason for our distress. It has slipped away."
"I do not care how
many Taelons it takes - I want it located immediately!" He swung around to stare at
his own command screen. "I'm sure that I do not need to remind you what shall happen
to us should it reach Earth..."
Behind him the group of
underlings seemed to shrink in upon themselves.
Boone stood by Da'an's side as Zo'or hosted President Thompson in the Embassy audience
chamber.
The Synod Leader occupied
the main chair while Thompson paced before him, worked into an angry state by the Taelon
leader's calm, non-committal responses to his allegations. In addition, Zo'or's own
allegations were weighing him down.
"I told you - I had
nothing to do with Andrew Beal's disappearance! I do not control every aspect of the FBI's
agenda."
Zo'or fixed him with a
pointed look. "But they are answerable to you. Therefore you ARE responsible,
Thompson. Your government is guilty of spying on us."
Thompson stopped pacing
and turned to face Zo'or directly. "What do you plan to do about it?"
"You shall know when
a decision has been made."
"If you go public
with this, we will be forced to reveal your own involvement in several unsavory
circumstances."
Zo'or stood suddenly.
"I think not, Thompson. Such a revelation would reveal your own knowledge of those
events and seriously affect the nation's confidence in their own government." He
stepped down and moved closer to the flustered President. "Go back to your nice white
house. Go back about your duties. You shall hear from us soon enough."
His face beet red with
ire, Thompson whirled around, and flanked by his waiting bodyguards, departed.
Da'an moved to stand
before his fellow Taelon. "Zo'or, I am concerned about your confrontation with
Thompson. Surely this might have waited until after Braedan's presentation? I fear
reprisals."
Zo'or moved closer to the
windows, while Da'an trailed behind him. "He would not dare."
It was at that point that
Boone, still stationed at his place on the right of the chair, spoke up. "I must
agree with Da'an. Thompson has conspired against the Taelons once already. Now that he
feels even more threatened, what is to prevent him from attempting to do so again?"
Zo'or turned to face him.
"What are you implying?"
"I'm not implying
anything. I'm merely wondering if he might not attempt to gain a better bargaining
position with you by taking something of value from us."
"And what might he
possibly..." Zo'or's voice trailed off as he caught the look on Da'an's face. His
eyes snapped back to Boone. "Spare no expense with the security arrangements,"
he continued. "I assume that they meet with your approval now?"
Boone nodded.
"Double your
measures if need be, but know this - Thompson is the least of our worries right now."
"What has
happened?" Da'an asked, the fingers of her hands beginning to dance even more
nervously.
Zo'or's eyes closed, as
though he were ashamed of some great failure. "We have visitors..."
Augur heard the shuttle coming in and immediately went into high gear - tossing the last
of his personal items into a duffle bag and zipping it even as Lili threw open the front
door and came traipsing down the hall.
"Augur!!" she
called out. "Don't tell me that you're not ready yet!"
He grasped the bag by its
handles and stood with it just as she entered the room.
"Of course I'm
ready!" he huffed, putting on an air of mock hurt. He spoiled it a moment later by
laughing, dropping the bag and pulling her down onto the bed.
She squealed with delight
and then broke out in the giggles as he began nipping at her neck.
"OK, OK, Ok..."
she managed to wheeze, finally pushing him away.
"Apology
accepted."
Suddenly her amusement
dissolved. "We have got to go right now." She sat up and then bounded to her
feet. "The conference isn't for another few hours, but there's been a
complication."
Noting how quickly she
had become serious, he got to his feet as well. "What's happened?"
"Come on. I'll tell
you on the way." Lili reached down and lifted her own, already packed suitcase before
leading the way outside.
Boone found Da'an in their room, standing beside the crib and moved to join her. His
otherworldly mate was watching their son sleep and seemed to be outwardly calm, but her
true feelings - her high anxiety, had called out to him. He had quickly turned the
last minute security check over to Liam and returned to try to comfort her.
Moving to stand close
beside her, he pulled her against him and sighed as she nuzzled her face against his
chest.
"It's not too late
to call the whole thing off," he whispered after giving her a peck on the top of her
head.
"This news
conference must be held," she responded. "If not now, then soon. It would be
best to do so now, rather than give our enemies additional time to scheme against
us."
"But you cannot deny
that you're deeply worried," he continued. "And not about the many human foes
the Taelons have made."
"You are of course
correct."
"So you believe that
the ship which was spotted was Jaridian?"
She looked up at him, her
large, hypnotic eyes fixing him with an annoyed expression. "Who else could it be,
William? I fear them, yes. They have technology which can infiltrate even the best
security with ease."
"Why would they
strike at us though?" he questioned. "What could they possibly gain by showing
themselves at our news conference?"
"They could destroy
me personally by harming our child," she said and then buried her face against his
chest as she clung to him tightly.
Boone held her close as
his thoughts went into overdrive. The Jaridians had a personal score to settle with Da'an?
Was that what she was saying? Why?
He felt a sudden chill
sweep through him and for the first time began to truly dread the conference.
"Zo'or, what is it?" Nivian asked, as she moved to stand beside her mate.
He had been standing,
nearly immobile, before the window in their room for over twenty minutes, staring out at
the Washington Mall.
He said nothing, but
encircled her shoulders with his arm and pulled her closer.
She looked up at him to
see that he still wasn't looking back at her. "Can't you tell me?" she tried
again.
He did look at her then.
"It is nothing," he whispered. "Only that certain unpleasant complications
have arisen which may perhaps strain relations between our two species."
She felt a thrill of fear
run through her. "That doesn't sound like nothing!"
"But it is." He
hugged her tightly. "I have done all that I may to minimize what may occur and
therefore there is nothing more to be done. At this point we must simply wait and see what
happens."
Not knowing what to say
or do, she remained silent as the hair on her neck stood on end. Fatalism was not
something she associated with Zo'or. He apparently was expecting something tragic to
occur.
At that point she
realized he was staring at her.
Before she could do more
than give him a questioning look, he had encircled her with his arms and brought their
lips together in a kiss which quickly became passionate. Several moments ticked by and
when he separated from her, it was only to allow her to catch her breath while he began
nibbling at her neck.
She felt her legs growing
weak, but then he had swept her up into his arms and was carrying her to the bed.
There was a desperation
in him which began to panic her. Through their link she could sense a subliminal current
of regret.
Reaching out, she grasped
the sides of his head, forcing him to cease his attentions and look at her.
"Zo'or?"
His expression was
intense, his eyes glowing softly in the dim light of the room. "Do you ever regret
that I am what I am?" he asked.
She was both startled and
confused by his question. "I don't understand what you're asking me," she
whispered.
"Does it ever
trouble you that I cannot possess you as a human male would?"
"Oohhhh," she
sighed. "Is that what this is all about? I understand that most Taelons could not
bring themselves to regress as Da'an has and I have never expected you to do so. It really
doesn't matter though - I love you as you are."
"Then... you are
content? You do not regret your bond with me?"
"Everything I need
is right here," she sighed, pulling him down for another kiss.
It was only much later,
just before she drifted off to sleep, that she realized that he had never once during
their lovemaking lost his human facade.
Boone stood in the security room of the S. Dillon Ripley Conference Center, which opened
out into the auditorium they would be using as a conference area and scanned all the
monitors. Although he had thoroughly checked all the security measures several times over
since the pre dawn hours, he could not help but be more concerned than usual. Today both
his mate and his child would be relying upon them for their lives.
In addition to the usual
precautions, the Taelons had also erected cleverly disguised sensors all around the
perimeter of the Washington Mall. If anything at all passed through them which could not
be positively ID'ed as human or Taelon they would know it immediately. And they meant it,
too. So far the Taelon's security system computers had reported hundreds of birds,
fourteen cats and two dogs coming and going through the invisible security surround. No
signs of any Jaridians though.
With a nervous air, he
found himself checking his watch again. An hour to go.
Journalists and paparazzi
were already arriving and jockeying for the best seats and camera positions.
Suddenly, something
caught his eye, and he swung to the left to glare at a monitor.
Augur's face loomed in
the screen as he tapped on the camera with a finger. "Hey! Anyone home?" the
cyberwizard asked, clowning around with the equipment.
Although he ought to be
annoyed by his friend's antics, Boone couldn't help but snort in amusement. it was good to
know that Augur had made it out there - which meant that Lili should be showing up any
time.
"Boo!"
He flinched and did a
quick one eighty, partially raising his right arm in the process.
It was Lili.
"Are you trying to
get yourself vaporized?" he asked dryly, lowering his still growling skrill.
In the next second, she
was in his arms, hugging him tightly and then stepping away as she reached up and ruffled
his hair.
"I leave for a few
months and right away you lose your edge," she joked. "If I was around, you
would be more alert."
"Yeah. Self
preservation kicks in big time when you're around trying to scare me to death," he
laughed. "Really, though - I'm very glad that you could make it."
"You know me. Always
willing to help out an old friend." She began walking around the room, checking out
the monitors.
"I take it that
Dro'vha has told you about the complication?"
She became very serious.
"Yes. What do you want me to do?"
"I'd like you to
just follow our old procedure. Move around the room, keep your eyes and ears open and be
prepared to act."
"And where will you
be?"
"On stage - with my
family."
It
was another warm, beautiful day, the sky an impossible blue color without even the
smallest cloud in site.
Adjusting her grocery
bag, the slightly built woman turned a full circle in the street outside her apartment,
gazing at the world around her and breathed deeply of the wonderful local smells. She
could smell the freshly baked bread of the nearby bakery, as well as the stoking of local
restaurant's fire pit in preparation of lunch.
Wondering what she should
do on her day off, she entered her building and began climbing the stairs up to her third
floor apartment. Perhaps she would buy a book and sit out by the river reading it after
lunch...
She had just stepped unto
the third floor and taken all of two steps towards her door, when a man stepped out of the
shadows.
"Hello Deedee."
Her bag slipped through
her hands and crashed, unnoticed onto the floor at her feet.
As
the appointed time rolled around, Lili moved closer to the stage and took up a position
near the stairs. In the front row of the audience, right behind the press and their
cameras, was Nivian, as well as Augur and she nodded to them both in acknowledgment.
Only moments later, the
side door opened, admitting Boone, followed by a security contingent and in the middle of
them all, Da'an, Braedan, and Zo'or. Amidst a flurry of bright light, flashes and
reporters calling out questions, the Companion, her consort and their child took their
places behind the bank of microphones. Zo'or stood directly behind and between them, his
very presence at the conference taken as evidence of his support.
Even as Lili wondered
where Liam was, she saw him step through the stage door and take up a position next to
Zo'or and behind Boone.
It took less than a
minute for everyone to settle down and by the time Da'an took the microphone the room was
quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
"Many of you have
heard rumors and stories involving myself and my consort/protector, William Boone,"
she began. Pausing briefly, she allowed her gaze to wander over the crowd. "I have
come to you today to put an end to the speculation. It is true that William Boone and I
are the proud parents of a male child whom we have named Braedan."
Without hesitation, she
lifted the small bundle in her arms up and uncovered it, revealing the infant to those in
the room.
Immediately, dozens upon
dozens of flashes went off as a deafening roar of simultaneous questions burst from the
mouths of every reporter present. Cameramen jockeyed and elbowed their way into better
positions in which to get a shot of the baby, as the Companion placed him upon her
shoulder so that he would be facing away from the blinding barrage of light.
In the middle of the
pandemonium, William Boone stepped closer to the microphone, his voice carrying over the
noise. "OK people!" he said loudly. "Let's settle down and have an orderly
question and answer session or nobody is going to be able to hear a thing. Raise your hand
if you want to ask Da'an something and you will be given the opportunity as she calls upon
you." With a nod at his lover, he stepped away, allowing her to resume her place at
the microphone once more.
Deedee led the way into her apartment and dumped what was left of her groceries on the
kitchen counter before turning to warily confront her husband.
Ronald placed the bread
and fresh vegetables he had rescued on the counter as she looked him over. He was as
handsome and frightening as she remembered, but there was something different about him
too. She could feel his discomfort at the meeting, a mirror to her own.
The Agent Sandoval she
had come to know had never been one to show such weakness.
"Taelons are unable to breed with humans under normal circumstances and this was an
incredible fluke?" the reporter asked.
Da'an nodded. "That
is correct, Mr. Sanderman," she replied. "There is very little chance of such an
event occurring between another Taelon and human."
Behind her, Zo'or's gaze
went instantly to Nivian.
A renowned reporter, Ella
Bartlett, raised her hand and was acknowledged. "So, what you're telling us is that
you love Commander Boone and that's what led to your... metamorphosis, which in turn led
to a physical relationship and the birth of your child."
Da'an blushed a deep
blue, but whether from embarrassment or some other deep emotion, no one could say.
"Essentially, yes."
Bartlett smiled warmly.
"Then please allow me to be the first here to offer my sincerest congratulations. To
the best of my knowledge, no Taelon has felt such emotion since the formation of the
species."
Boone felt his belly
churn at the stricken look which appeared upon Da'an's face. What was going on here? How
did Bartlett know anything about the Taelons?
His question was answered
immediately as the reporter seemed to shrink in on herself and then expand - revealing
herself to be a Jaridian probe!
He began to move, but
everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. Before he could even raise his skrill,
the probe opened fire, and a huge crater appeared in the floor before the stage.
The jolt of the blast
threatened to topple everyone in the room and served to shake the stage violently. It was
a wonder that he even kept his footing, raising his arm to skrill the probe was
momentarily impossible!
Lili took two shots at the probe before being graphically reminded that projectile weapons
were futile against it. Thankfully, none of her ricocheted bullets seemed to hit anyone.
She heard Liam shouting
to Boone to get out of the way and an instant later her concern over handling the probe
was gone as Zo'or's protector managed to activate his shaquarava. The energy he unleashed
traveled between Da'an and Boone, striking the probe full on. The alien horror
disintegrated in a small shower of debris.
"What in the
hell?" the officer standing to her right shouted. Instantly, he opened fire at two
figures who had appeared in the cloud of dust swirling out of the gaping pit in the
conference center floor.
Lili recognized the
shapes immediately and froze in shock.
Jaridians...
They wasted no time in
lifting their weapons towards their enemies on stage.
The first Jaridian's
blast was slightly off, striking Da'an in the shoulder with enough force to send Braedan
tumbling from her grasp. As she cried out and made a grab for him, a second shot, fired by
the other Jaridian, hit her in the abdomen and she crumpled without a sound.
Meanwhile, the main body
of the first shot had instantly taken Boone down, sending him crashing backward into Liam
and bowling the younger man over.
With both main protectors
down, Lili swung into high gear, dropping down and opening fire as she screamed to the
panicked onlookers to get down out of the way. Her shots were dead-on, and would have
struck the aliens in the chest and head, but they seemed to be encountering a force field
of some type and were deflected away, hitting both bystanders and security personnel
indiscriminately.
"No! Don't
fire!" she hollered at the Agents who began to open fire as well. "They've got
force fields - our own ammo is being turned back on us!!" Dropping back, she
cursed under her breath as she glanced over at the stage. Boone was still down, as was
Da'an. Liam was struggling to his feet - thank goodness! He alone had a chance at taking
out the Jaridians.
"Lili!"
She turned to find Augur
beside her.
"We have to do
something! They're going after Zo'or!"
Her head snapped around.
Sure enough, the Jaridians were barreling their way through the crowd, flinging people
left and right - some for more than ten feet! "Zo'or!?" she had to yell to be
heard over the noise.
"He has
Braedan!" Augur yelled back.
Instantly she was on her
feet and running for the other stage exit. She had to follow Liam out through the
backstage exit. It was the only way to get ahead of the stampeding crowd and maybe catch
up to the fleeing Taelon. She made it to the stairs before being caught in the crowd.
Despite the fact that her gun was drawn, people around her pressed close in a panic and
she found herself knocked off the stairs and onto her backside. Her gun skidded across the
floor, but she was momentarily unable to go after it... her primary goal was to avoid
being crushed.
He
had reacted instantly, without even thinking as he saw the infant tumble from his falling
parent's arms, snatching him up before he could hit the floor.
Da'an collapsed, perhaps
dead or dying and he had quickly realized that neither protector was going to be able to
save either him or the infant. He had therefore done the only thing he could - he ran.
Somehow managing to dodge
several shots the Jaridians unleashed at him, he jumped from the stage and ducked into the
midst of the human crowd. Marshaling all his resources and moving with the speed that only
a desperate Taelon could manage, he became a blur as he navigated a path through the
humans who were just beginning to rush toward the exits.
Making it out the door,
he all but flew down the corridor and out a back entrance, losing his human facade as he
concentrated all his energy on escape. Once outside, it was a short sprint to the
Smithsonian's Castle, an information center for the rest of the museum complex. Flying
through the front door, he startled dozens of tourists, who yelped in surprise and tried
to decide amongst themselves which Taelon it was that they had seen.
Ignoring the shocked
looks on the faces of the employees manning the information desk, he barreled around them
and down a corridor. Finally locating an exit in the rear, he used it, inadvertently
setting off the alarm systems and cringed as he realized his mistake. He had just notified
the Jaridians of his location!
He had no choice but to
continue onward.
"Why are you here?" Deedee asked, as she faced her husband from the safety of
the opposite side of the kitchen table. "How did you find me? What is it you
want?!" Her tone was panicked, pleading, but she counted herself fortunate that she
had even been able to speak. Even now, those dark, bottomless eyes that she loved so well
were studying her face. Was that sympathy she saw there? Pain? He seemed so much like the
husband she had once loved more than anyone or anything.
"Deedee..." he
sighed, then rubbed his face and composed himself. When he looked up again, he seemed
determined to get the next few sentences out. "I'm me again. The motivational
imperative is gone - overridden by a Taelon, ironically enough. Look..."
He removed his jacket and
pulled up his sleeve, showing her his right forearm. It had several small, but deep scars
on it.
There was nothing else
there.
"Zo'or doesn't want
me anymore. They took my skrill and let me go."
"The Taelons let you
go?" She was in a state of disbelief.
"Yes, I know that
they'll be trying to find me, kill me - of course I know too much to be allowed to just
leave."
"You led them to my
door?" She could feel herself turning white. Her legs turned to rubber, suddenly
unable to hold her weight. She was falling down into a dark, silent void, the last
sound she heard was him calling out name. It echoed in the darkness and then faded away.
With a groan, Boone opened his eyes, but the nightmare didn't seem to end when he awoke.
It was worst than he had
ever imagined it could be.
"Da'an!"
His heart pounded in
fear, feeling like it would batter its way out of his chest and he barely felt the pain in
his leg and shoulder as he crawled over to her side, bowling over or shoving away those
who were gathered about her.
Her facade was gone. She
lay upon the stage floor, a translucent blue being and those areas within her which were
usually alive and glowing with brilliant energy were dark now. A faint spark stirred
within her now and then, the only sign that she still lived.
Moving close, he pulled
her head and shoulders against his own prone form and hugged her to him. The screaming and
noise in the room was nothing more than a whisper to him now as he focused everything on
her.
<"Da'an...">
She was there. A faint touch of her mind against his own. She felt no
pain, no fear of what was to come. She was looking for her path to the next level.
<"Don't leave me now,"> he pleaded. <"There
is so much more left for us to do. I can't do it alone.">
Still there was no interest. He felt her slipping away from him.
<"Braedan needs you Da'an!">
he nearly screamed into their weakening link. <"He will need you more than anyone, even me, in the years to
come.">
That seemed to do the
trick. He felt her pause, felt a huge projection of sadness well up through their bond.
She could not leave now. She couldn't turn away from the pain. There was something very
important to be done...
Impossibly, her form
shuddered within his grasp as intense pain forced him to clamp down on their link and
withdraw. He lifted his head as the patches on her face which were her visual organs came
back to life, glowing faintly. She lifted a hand to his face, placing her palm against his
cheek.
"Braedan..."
Her voice was little more than a sigh.
Then her hand fell as she
sunk back down into the darkness.
Running through an archway on his left, Zo'or kept to the left side of the room and tried
to backtrack in the hopes of coming out somewhere behind his pursuers, but it seemed that
his luck had run out.
The exhibit had no
alternate entranceway and when he actually took in the artifacts around him, he realized
with a bitter sense of irony that he had stumbled into the Strandhill exhibit. He was
surrounded with artifacts from the life of an ancestral Taelon, but nowhere was there
anything which could save him and Braedan...
Turning in a circle,
almost unable to think for the panic which was overtaking him, his eyes lit upon the stone
portal.
A way out! The only way
out, despite the danger.
Knowing that the
Jaridians would be entering at any time, he stepped over the rope barrier and laid his
palm against the activation pad. It instantly came alive at his touch. No time to spend on
complex programming - he did his best to select a time twenty minutes in the future and
watched as the time field under the ancient stone archway distorted.
He stepped through and
vanished even as a lone Jaridian entered the room and opened fire, destroying the
monolith.
Unable to make it out of the room, Lili retrieved her gun and then she and Augur pushed
their way through the cluster of security personnel gathered around the fallen Companion.
"Companion
security!" she barked. "Get out of our way!"
They knelt down next to
Da'an and Lili felt her heart shriveling in her at the sight before her. The Companion
seemed to be dead.
"Where's the
shuttle? Has anyone contacted the Home Ship?" she asked, fighting down panic.
"I took care of it.
A med team is on the way," Augur answered, earning a thankful look from Boone.
With amazement, she saw
the red headed Implant set his jaw and rise slowly to his feet.
"Hey, where are you
going?" She stood up as well. "You're badly hurt - you need medical
attention..."
"Braedan..." he
growled dangerously, as his skrill lit up and hissed in counterpoint.
"Let me go! Liam's
already after them. I can back him up. Lie down and wait for the medics!"
He ignored her and
started hobbling towards the right side of the stage.
Behind him, she signaled
to several Companion security agents, who instantly moved forward to detain their wounded
superior.
Boone swung around and
raised his skrill at them, stopping them all in place. "Don't get in my way!"
"Boone, you're hurt!
You have to let us help you - it's what Da'an would want," she tried to reason with
him.
"Da'an has already
given me my final orders Lili." His voice was a dangerous rasp. "I WILL get
Braedan back, or die trying!"
Before she could react,
he turned and fired his skrill. It was a powerful blast - one she wouldn't have thought
him capable of in his current condition. As it was, it completely vaporized a five foot
radius of reinforced cinderblock wall and she knew she was looking at a desperate and
dangerous man. She doubted he even realized how badly hurt he was.
Throwing her arm out to
the side, she held the other security personnel back as Boone disappeared through the
hole. "Let him go," she ordered.
"Don't worry,"
one guard replied. "Ain't none of us stupid enough to go after him."
"Deedee."
Someone was calling her.
"Deedee."
She came back around
slowly. Someone was cradling her.
Deedee opened her eyes to
find herself on the floor in her husband's arms.
"It's OK, it's
OK," he soothed as she began to struggle. "I haven't put you in any danger - you
know I would never do that."
She pushed him away and
rolled up to her knees. "No, you just drugged me up and locked me away for three
years."
They stared at each other
for several silent minutes, each apparently at a loss as to what to say next. It was
Ronald who broke the silence.
"You know that
wasn't really me," he said in a whisper. "I'm here to finish what I tried to do
last time we met."
"And what is
that?"
"To win your
forgiveness."
She felt tears welling up
in her eyes. "I forgive you," she said evenly, and she meant it.
His head dropped in
relief and she heard him sigh. "You'll never know the pain I felt when Boone let me
believe that you were dead..."
"That was before you
were re-implanted."
He looked up at her then,
his eyes as damp as her own. "I have never stopped thinking of you," he said
with a waver in his voice. "There was someone - someone wonderful and beautiful and
worthy, but I couldn't... My heart was still bound to yours, even though I thought you
were gone." He reached out and grasped her upper arms, pulling her closer.
"Deedee, I still love you. I know you're seeing someone else, but I had to come here.
I had to see you again, to at least try to win you back. I couldn't live without knowing
that I had at least tried!"
She felt herself shaking.
Surely this must be shock coming over her. To have him back - to really have the Ronald
Sandoval she had never stopped loving back... It would be wonderful, like a dream come
true.
But she had given up on
that dream long ago.
How could she trust him?
It was impossible! He had done such things - such horrible things!
"Ronald..." she
began. Unable to look into his eyes, she lowered her head, looking down at his right arm.
"I can never trust you again."
His grasp became weak,
his hands falling away from her.
Liam rounded the doorway into the Strandhill exhibit just in time to see the stone archway
obliterated. The Jaridians were here, which meant that Zo'or and Braedan were as well.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury of taking time to look for them in the
dust-filled room - he had to take advantage of the situation, and quickly!
He knew that there could
be no bargaining with these two. They had most likely killed Da'an, perhaps Boone as well
and they would not be deterred from killing the Synod Leader himself. The baby would
surely be in the way when the final blast came.
Without hesitation, he
raised his hands, palms outward and turned his strongest energy blast on the Jaridian
closest to him.
It screamed and fell, but
did not die.
His second shot killed it
as it lifted its weapon and attempted to take aim at him.
A barrage of energy
blasted the air to either side of him as the second Jaridian shot blindly into the
settling dust and he found himself diving behind a stone outcropping which contained the
mosaic burial riddle of Ma'el upon its face. He was trapped now, with no way to get to the
door. The advantage was the remaining Jaridian's.
He would have to make a
run for it - perhaps sacrifice himself in the hopes of distracting it from its intended
prey. Gathering himself, he made to dive for the corridor.
Just then the alien
spoke.
"Changeling
spawn!" it called out in a high pitched voice. "Your master is dead at my hands!
Although you have destroyed my partner, I see us as even - I didn't like him anyway. Come
on out and I shall let you live."
"If you think I'm
going to let you out of here so that you can take out some more Taelons, you're
insane!"
"Very well then, we
shall fight it out," the Jaridian growled. "What is one less Chimera
anyway?"
The room lit up a
startling white which left Liam temporarily blinded. Only after the flash did he hear the
distinctive sound of a skrill blast and feel the shock wave of displaced air in the room.
Then there was silence, but for the sound of falling plaster, wood and steel.
He peeked cautiously
around the stone slab to see Boone standing unsteadily on his feet in the doorway. The
Commander spared him only the shortest of glances before he began hobbling toward the far
end of the room.
Coming out from behind his cover, Liam's jaw dropped at the sight which greeted him.
The entire back wall of
the room was gone, some of it vaporized, the rest blown out by the skrill blast. Huge
cinderblocks and pieces of plaster and wood littered the grass outside for thirty feet. A
lone steel beam had collapsed from the ceiling and lay crosswise over the opening.
Twenty feet out, amid the
debris, lay the unmoving Jaridian.
Boone approached slowly,
cautiously, his skrill pulsating and at the ready. Even from where he stood, Liam could
see the ashen color of his lips, the paleness of his face. He knew that Boone couldn't
muster another shot without perhaps killing himself and he rushed forward, his own palms
glowing.
They both stood over the
alien for a moment before he stooped down and flipped it over.
It was a female and that
she wasn't dead was a tribute to the strength of her kind. She should have been vaporized,
or at least pulverized by the skrill blast, which meant that she must have had a very
strong shield in place when it hit her.
As they watched, her eyes
fluttered open and focused on Boone.
"You are too late,
warrior," she hissed. "There shall not be yet another diverging of my species.
Your mate and your spawn are both dead, along with the Synod Leader himself!" She
gasped for air. "My people are nearing your pathetic solar system. If you won't aid
us against our enemies, you'll all die!" Her eyes rolled up in her head and she
expired.
Boone turned fearful eyes
towards him and he could do little but glance at Ma'el's ruined stone portal.
"I don't think
they're actually dead," he whispered, as the injured Implant turned and began limping
towards the monolith. "I think they made it through."
Approaching the archway,
Boone ran his hands over it's damaged portal stone and then leaned his head against it as
well. For a moment he was still and then suddenly he reared back and opened his mouth...
The conference room was nearly cleared of people, most of the stragglers having plunged
from the room following the sound of a very load explosion which Lili had identified as a
skrill blast. Da'an had been loaded aboard a shuttle and was on her way to the home ship
and she had only just stepped back into the room when a hair-raising sound reverberated
through the air. Partly a bellow, partly a scream, it gave her goosebumps and made her
heart skip several beats.
She wasn't the only one.
Around her, security
people exchanged startled, wide-eyed looks.
"Sounds like Boone
caught up with at least one Jaridian," Augur whispered. "Man, that's
creepy!"
"That was no
Jaridian," she whispered, catching everyone's attention. "It was Boone."
Behind them, Nivian
closed her eyes and sank to her knees. "I can't feel Zo'or," she said, as though
in shock. "He's gone..."
"Braedan," Lili
and Augur whispered together, grief for the infant and his parents overtaking them.
Liam's heart nearly stopped at the cry which came out of Boone's throat. Surely no human
being was capable of such a heart-rending sound!
He had taken only two
steps towards his mentor when Boone again leaned his head against the cool stone and slid
down its surface. A second later he collapsed into a heap at its base and didn't move.
Zo'or stepped out of the time portal's arch, confident that he would arrive back within
the exhibit room sometime close to the time he had left. True, he hadn't had a chance to
set the controls, but usually such devices were programmed to displace a traveler only a
short time into the future. It was a fail safe of sorts, to protect those who stumbled
through without setting it.
He only hoped that the
Jaridians had given up and fled the area.
As the time distortion
faded and his foot came down on solid ground he realized his error.
He was no longer in the
exhibit hall, but back at Strandhill! It could only mean one thing.
He had traveled a year or
more back in time!
Turning in a circle, he
held the crying baby close and looked for some sign of a distant village.
Nothing.
All that could be seen
besides the field he stood in, were the portal, it's accompanying monoliths and the trees
which surrounded the clearing. The town of Strandhill was nowhere to be seen.
He was further in the
past than he had originally thought!
Turning once again, he
scanned the portal's control panel, intent upon returning them to their rightful time.
Something was wrong! The
panel was locked and would not allow him to access it! In this time and place, the portal
was not active.
No matter. The others
would soon figure out where they were and come back for them. His fellow Taelons need only
look upon the control panel to obtain their current location in time.
Holding the crying infant
to his chest, he sat upon the stones at the portal's base and comforted his charge.
<"Do not fear, Braedan,"> he
soothed.<"We shall be returned to our own place soon
enough.">
The baby grew still and stared at him solemnly, but his little eyes seemed troubled,
frightened even.
It was as though the
child knew something he himself did not.
To be Continued...