Copyright ©1999, Tracey Harnack. All rights reserved.  No part of this story may be re-posted in part or in full without written permission from me. Its characters are used without permission. No infringement is intended.
Disclaimer: Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict is copyright 1998, Tribune Entertainment Co.
Rating: PG.
Title: Discoveries
Author: Tracy Harnack

 

Discoveries

                I stuck my head around the corner into our quarters. “C’mon, let’s go,” I began. Then I noticed that Lei’ail wasn’t there. Fear gripped me for an instant, but I forced myself to calm down. Think rationally, David. I drew my weapon and entered the suite of rooms. It was empty.

                “Lei’ail?” I called, hesitantly. That was brilliant. You’re talking to an empty room.

                Surprisingly, I got an answer.

“I am coming, David.” The musical voice drifted out from behind the bathroom door. Feeling relieved and more than a little foolish, I holstered my gun and told my skrill to calm down. Wait a minute…what was a Taelon doing in the bathroom? My head began to spin slightly, but before I could phrase a question the door opened.

Out stepped Lei’ail…wearing a dress! It was sleeveless and low cut with straps crisscrossing down the back, made of a deep purple velvet. It gathered in at her impossibly slim waist and flowed down to the floor. About her neck glittered a velvet and diamond choker. She looked stunning, and the simple silver band around her head only added to her royal appearance.

After several seconds, in which, I’ll admit it, I gawked, I peeled my jaw off the floor.

“Y-you look…” I stammered.

“Idiotic,” she finished for me, scowling uncomfortably.

“No! Radiant. Exquisite. Like a goddess.”

“I feel foolish,” she said, squirming a bit and adjusting the straps.

“Please don’t,” I said. “You look more beautiful than ever. But…why?”

“You have told me that it is customary to “dress up” when going out to see a play. As I was unsure of what this meant, I asked one of the female Volunteers. She procured me this…outfit and assured me that it was suitable for the occasion.”

I made a mental note to find that woman and kiss her feet. Or at least give her the choice of plum assignments. 

 “She also gave me some shoes that seemed far too outlandish and impractical to be taken seriously,” Lei’ail continued. “Was it a mistake for me to retain my own footwear?”

 I chuckled to myself. “No, not at all. Besides, you don’t need high heels.”

She accepted this, and then said tentatively. “David, I wish to say that you also look very…nice.”

I smiled. I’d changed into a suit before coming to get her, figuring that she would want to leave immediately. What do you know? I’ve been promoted up from “lower lifeform”.

“Thank you,” I replied. “Ready?”

She nodded.

“Great. Your chariot awaits.”

She looked puzzled.

“Never mind. The shuttle’s ready. Galadriel will get us there in record time.”

She looked even more puzzled, but didn’t say anything. I extended my arm like a gentleman and she stared at it uncomprendingly.

“An old earth tradition. The lady takes the man’s arm,” I explained. “It’s consider good manners when going to something like this.”

“I see,” she said. “Then we shall observe it.” She took my arm firmly. I winced.

“Gently,” I told her. “It’s not a battle, it’s a friendly gesture.” She relaxed her grip on my by-then-bruised bicep and we headed out.

                It was a short trip to the theater, hardly worthy of an ID shuttle, but nothing less would be acceptable for the Taelons’ prize jewel. On the way, Lei’ail asked me, “Earlier, you referred to this vessel with a word unfamiliar to me. Please explain.”

                I blinked at her for a moment, until comprehension dawned. “Oh, you mean ‘Galadriel’,” I said, catching on to the source of her confusion.

                “Yes. What does that mean?”

                “Well, for starters that’s her name,” I told her, enjoying messing with her head ever so slightly.

                “Whose name?”

                “The ship’s,” I replied, keeping a straight face.

                “But the ship is not a living creature. How may it posses a name and gender?”

                I broke into a grin. “It’s an old Earth tradition, beginning with sailing vessels. Each captain, owner, or pilot gave his ship a name to identify it by. All ships were considered to be female, and many captains named their ships after their wives or lovers. I suppose that’s how referring to a ship as ‘she’ began. It seems only respectful.”

                Lei’ail digested this without a sarcastic or puzzled comment.

                “Many captains claim that their ship possesses a unique personality, different from any other,” I offered.

                She nodded thoughtfully. Surprising, because I expected her to dismiss the idea as ludicrous. I guess Lei’ail’s one of those kinds of people (or aliens) that you simply can’t judge, no matter how well you think you know them.

                After a moment she said softly, “Who was Galadriel?”

                “A character in a famous story. She was an elv…er, a beautiful, brave, queen who was very wise and magical.”

“Ah.” That ‘ah’ revealed very little about the thoughts inside.

We flew the rest of the way in silence. When we reached the theater, she allowed me to help her out of the shuttle, apparently accepting it as another human tradition. The play was excellent, of course. I’d seen it before, but that had been from the back row of the third balcony. Being up front made all the difference. Lei’ail said nothing during the performance, but peppered me with questions during the intermission.

When it was over, we emerged into the starry night. I took her arm to guide her back to the ship, but she shook me off.

“I would walk for a time,” she told me.

“All right,” I told her amiably. There was a small but nice park across the street from the theater, and we headed over there. After a few minutes of silence, I asked her how she had liked the play.

Her brow furrowed in concentration for a moment before she answered. “I…enjoyed the experience, however I am puzzled as to why humans would choose to continuously remind themselves of such a horrible period in their history, or choose a story filled with such pain and death to do so.”

I smiled slightly at her. “Well, first of all, that period in our history was horrible, but we learned a lot from it, things we can’t afford to forget. ‘Those who do no remember history are condemned to repeat it’,” I quoted.

“Second, yes, the story was full of pain and death, but it was so much more than that. I was about redemption and the human spirit. About how we can overcome even the worst obstacles and find peace and life in the worst situations. I don’t think there’s anything that shows human nature better than what you saw tonight.”

Lei’ail looked at me with those deep violet eyes, piercing me through and through. “I see,” she said, thinking it over. We walked for awhile, and then came to a stop under the stars. She looked up at the constellations so familiar to me, and I can only imagine what she saw in them.

“I believe I understand why you find this such a good example of humanity. It illustrates both the best and the worst of your kind, without portraying any character as completely and statically “good” or “evil”.”

I grinned. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Lei’ail continued softly. “My people have forms of entertainment to which this would be as the simplest child’s production, but I find myself strangely drawn to this crude ‘musical’ of yours. I can find no satisfactory reason for it.”

I was startled by her admission, more so than almost any other thing she had said that night. “It pulls one into the story, I suppose.”

She nodded. “But I still cannot understand why it does so, particularly when it is so…primitive by the standards of my world.”

“Perhaps because it is so real,” I replied. “You can identify with the characters and their situation, on some level.”

“But I am not human!” she protested.

“No,” I agreed. “But maybe even Taelons face the same struggles we do, if in a different way.”

She said nothing then, although as always she seemed on the verge of adding something. But instead, she just looked up at the stars and shivered. At that moment she seemed both totally alien and completely human. And very lonely. After a minute, I took her hand. She did not pull away this time, or resist when I drew her back in the direction of the ship.

Lei’ail was silent the whole trip back, but it wasn’t the cold silence I was used to. She seemed to be in a reflective mood, one that did not invite intrusion. When we got to the embassy it was very late and I went right to bed. Lei’ail went to her chair, but remained in her human form, staring out the window. She was still there when I fell asleep.

 

 

                We spent the next six months exploring the city and surrounding area. She forced me to rediscover old haunts that I’d forgotten about. We went to plays and movies and museums and gardens and any other place that struck her fancy. She wanted to know about everything, and by asking difficult questions, she made me reexamine my views of things that I thought I’d understood long ago. I guess no one ever really understands anything fully.

                At the end of six months, we were getting along fairly well. Lei’ail’s haughty, superior manner still remained, and I doubted it would ever go away. And she never seemed to relax. Da’an and the other Taelons always seemed so serene, while she was always on guard, always uptight. I couldn’t figure out why.

                One day I suggested that we try something new, outside of the city.

                “What do you suggest?” Lei’ail asked, slightly suspicious.

                I grinned at her. “How about a trip to the mountains?” I asked.

                “Why?”

                “Why not?”

                She scowled at me and I knew I’d better find a better reason than “why not?”

                “You came here because you wanted to see a more natural world than the Taelons homeworld or any of its colonies, right?”

                She nodded warily.

                “Well, so far you’ve only seen the city and some man-made parks and gardens. You can’t experience nature without going out into the wilds,” I pointed out.

                “What you say is true,” she admitted. “Where will we go?”

                I raised my eyebrows at her quick agreement. “Well, some of the best scenery in North America is in Alberta. In the Rocky Mountains. How does that sound?”

                “Acceptable. What would our activities be?”

                I sighed so softly she didn’t hear. Everything had to be a mission for her. “I guess just looking at the beauty of the mountains. You really can’t imagine it. And if you want, I suppose we could do some hiking.” My family used to go hiking all the time before things got tense.

                “Hiking?”

                “It’s…well climbing mountains and going to places you can’t reach by car and aren’t allowed to fly over. It’s good exercise. What do you say?” In truth, I was a little bit desperate for her to accept. Even with all the outings, I was getting a little stir crazy. The city was suffocating me.

                Lei’ail considered. Finally she said, “If you believe this to be a necessary experience, I will go.”

                I nodded fervently. “Oh yes, absolutely necessary.”

                “Then I agree. When do we leave?”

                I laughed. “Well, it may take a few days to get everything together and get permission from Da’an, but I think we can be on our way by Friday. Is that alright with Your Majesty?”

                “Adequate,” she responded and went back to reading one of my books, as she disliked having me read to her. I thanked the powers that be that she hadn’t understood my little joke.

                I cleared my throat politely, but evidently that meant nothing to her, because she did not look up. “Lei’ail?” I said finally.

                She glanced at me, annoyed. “Yes?”

                “You’re going to need some different clothes if we’re going hiking in the mountains,” I told her.

                “What is wrong with this?” she asked indicating her iridescent jumpsuit.

                “Well, just you wore a dress to the play, you will have to wear something different when we’re out in the woods.”

                “If we are in the woods, then it cannot matter how I am clothed,” she argued. Lei’ail had previously expressed her profound dislike of wearing human clothing.

                “Ah, that’s where you’re wrong,” I said. She scowled. “It’s true it doesn’t matter what you look like, but now we have to think about practicality. Temperatures change. It may be broiling hot in the day when you’re walking, but at night it may drop below freezing.”

“This garment regulates my temperature far more efficiently than anything you can provide,” she said dismissively.

                “Yes, I suppose it does,” I replied, slightly sarcastically. “But the jumpsuit also restricts your movement, movement that could be vital. Besides, you like the air on your face. Wait ‘til you feel the wind on your arms and legs.” I was tempting her and we both knew it.

                “It is not fair,” she muttered under her breath, sounding very much like a human.

                “Pardon?” I asked, pretending I hadn’t heard.

                “Oh, very well,” she said irately. “What do you suggest?”

                I paused. “I…er…well…maybe you should ask Desa,” I said finally. Desa was the Volunteer who had gotten Lei’ail the dress for the play, and I had a great deal of faith in her abilities. I had to. I knew nothing about women’s clothing.

                Lei’ail nodded shortly. “Fine.”

                “Good,” I said. “I’ll just…go get her.” I went to the terminal by the door to locate Desa, and instead of sending a message for her to come to our quarters I went to go get her myself. I found her working in the public relations office, otherwise known as media control. I explained the situation to her, and escorted her to where Lei’ail was. When we reached the door she turned around to face me before I could unlock it.

                “David?”

                “Yeah?”

                “Do you want to go for dinner sometime this week?” she asked, with a hopeful smile.

                I gulped. Now, Desa was a drop-dead gorgeous girl, with brains and talent to match. She was short, coming up only to my collarbone, but she seemed taller, and had beautiful flaming red hair. The first time I’d met her, I’d nearly had to wipe drool off my chin. I mean, she had a great body, and Volunteer jumpsuits don’t leave much in the way of curves to the imagination. And she was very open and friendly. So why the hell was I so uncomfortable?

                “Ah, D-Desa,” I stuttered. “This week is going to be really busy, and I don’t get a lot of free time as it is, what with being with Lei’ail all the time and all…I don’t think this is…er…really the best time.”

                “Oh. Oh, I see,” she said with a knowing smile I wasn’t sure how to interpret. “Well, perhaps some other time then?”

                “Um…yeah, some other time.” After a moment I felt her hand on my shoulder.

                “David, if you want me to play fashion expert, you have to let me in the door,” Desa said in her silky voice.

                I jumped slightly. “Oh! Yes, of course.” I took her through the elaborate security protocol, and made sure she had everything she was going to need. Lei’ail actually seemed to like Desa, at least more than she liked me, so I didn’t have to worry about them killing each other. Then I beat a hasty retreat out to the shuttle pad.

                I got out my tool kit and began to fiddle with some of Galadriel’s systems, trying to make them more efficient. I tried to figure out why I had said no to Desa’s overture. I’d had a big crush on her since I’d met her, and there wasn’t anything about her that I didn’t like. So what was wrong with me?

                And what was the deal with that smile she given me? She’d gone from suggestive to sly in two seconds. I felt like beating my head against the pavement. Everywhere there were things I didn’t understand. It was like I was allowed to know things about my own life that I really needed to survive, but anything else was off limits to me. I sighed and upped the reaction time of the shuttle’s nav systems by two percent.

               

                Preparations for the trip went fairly smoothly. Da’an was very hard to convince that spending four days in the woods would help Lei’ail’s understanding of humanity, but he eventually decided that he trusted my judgement and gave his permission.

                Lei’ail refused to let me see what clothing Desa had chosen for our trip, so I was slightly surprised when she emerged early Friday morning on the landing pad wearing a pair of short shorts and a tight tank top. Somehow I had the feeling that Desa had transferred her own style to Lei’ail. Not that I objected of course. She just looked so odd wearing those clothes. Somehow, it accentuated her alienness. 

                “Good morning,” I said, finishing up the final check on the shuttle. “Are you ready?”

                “Would I be here if I were not?”

                I laughed. “No, you certainly wouldn’t.” I helped her into the shuttle and off we went. Using ID space, it was only a short hop to the place I had picked out for our little camping trip, so we got there before nine.

                The plan was to use the shuttle as base to take day hikes from. I really hadn’t wanted to get into the whole backpacking thing, particularly since I was pretty sure my Taelon friend wouldn’t take kindly to carrying thirty pounds of gear on her back. Actually, we hadn’t even brought a tent. If it rained, the shuttle was big enough to stay in, and if the weather was fair, as predicted, we could sleep out under the stars. At least, I could sleep, and Lei’ail could do…whatever.

                I landed Galadriel in a clearing in the middle of an old-growth pine forest. There was a small lake nearby that we could get water from. After I set up the camp, gathered enough firewood for a few days, and put a wildlife shield around our things, we set off on Lei’ail’s first hike.

                I’d chosen a short hike to pass. Short, but very strenuous. To say the least, Lei’ail was in better shape than I’d thought. The path was quite treacherous, as it hadn’t been maintained in a while. We carried on a sporadic conversation as we climbed.

                “You were right, this place is quite beautiful,” Lei’ail said, surprising me. She had been unusually friendly since we’d landed. Mountain air, I guess.

                I paused to take a good look at the view. “Yeah. I could live here. Do you…need some water?”

                Instead of biting my head off, as I’d expected, she merely shook her head, and started climbing again. I could barely keep up with her.

                “So, are you enjoying this so far?” I asked, hoping she’d slow down to answer. No such luck.

                “Yes,” she said, again surprising me. “It is very invigorating.”

                I tried to laugh, but the air was thinner than I realized, and I ended up coughing.

                “Well,” I said after I recovered. “Wait ‘til you see what I’ve got planned tomorrow. Have you ever seen a waterfall?”

                “No. Elaborate.”

                “Well, a waterfall is-” I was cut short as the trail crumbled underneath me. I managed to catch a root with my right hand, and my body was left dangling almost in midair. I knew I could pull myself up, but not with the pack on. On the other hand, I didn’t really want to drop the pack since it contained a good bit of food, water, and medical supplies. Before I could figure out what to do, I felt someone take my left hand, which had been clawing for a grip on rock, and haul me up, onto the trail. Lei’ail.

                She set me down not as gently as I’d have liked, but since she’d just saved my life, I wasn’t too choosy. It was then that I’d realized she’d picked up all 190 pounds of me with one hand and bad leverage.

                “Wow,” I breathed. “Thanks.”

                “You are…welcome,” she said finally. “Shall we continue?”

                I didn’t think anything was broken, and I figured that my arm would work its way back in its socket eventually, so I nodded. We hiked to the pass and back with minimal conversation. I didn’t mind, because I was content just to watch her. The way her long legs stepped gracefully over obstacles or the way she would leap over broken patches in the trail, almost effortlessly.  She was so beautiful, and so strong. Like a deer.

                When we got back to camp, it was just getting dark. I set to work getting a fire going, while Lei’ail changed into a wool sweater and jeans. Desa had good fashion sense, I decided. As I was watching Lei’ail come out of the shuttle, my skrill decided that she was very hungry and that I would be very sorry if she wasn’t fed immediately. I took the hint and started a pot of vegetarian beans.

                Lei’ail came to sit beside me on the log by the fire circle, and stared into the flames, mesmerized.

                “You’ve never seen fire before, have you?” I said quietly, not wishing to startle her.

                “Not like this, no,” she replied softly, almost gently. She seemed more open than I’d ever seen her. I ate dinner quickly, with Lei’ail watching me as usual, cleaned up, and came to sit beside her again.

                “Can I ask you a question?” I said tentatively.

                She looked startled but nodded her assent.

                “What was it like for you? I mean, back on your world.”

                She made a sound that sounded almost like a sigh. “I was an oddity, at first. I remember when I was very young, there was a debate over whether I even qualified as a Taelon. Once they found out there would be no more children, I became a valuable resource, but little more. If I had not been so assertive in my rights, I do not know where I would be now.”

                “It must have been very lonely for you.”

                “None of the other young ones wanted anything do with me, and I did not mature as quickly as they did. What took them months, took me years.”

                “So that’s why you are the way you are. You’re used to being used or ignored,” I stated in a whisper.

                She continued, as if she hadn’t heard me. “The young ones were afraid of me because I bore the stigma of the Atavus. All Taelons are afraid of what would become of them if they were cut off from the Commonality, afraid of their roots. I was that much closer to what we had been than they were, and they thought I would rub off on them. Only Da’an was ever kind to me, and only after we had both matured.” The pain in her voice was unmistakable.

                I put my hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright now. I’m here,” I said, almost before I knew what I was saying. David, she’ll kill you for that, my mind screamed at me.

                But instead, she just looked up at me with those bottomless lavender eyes. This time there was no pride, no haughtier. Just fear and insecurity. I looked back at her with understanding. I knew what it had been like for her. She had been rejected because of an accident of birth, and I because of my worldview. But it still felt the same way.

                “How do you know?” she whispered, her face flickering in the firelight.

                I began to explain to her about my life, but before I’d gotten very far, she reached up and put a slim finger to my lips. “I have a better way,” she said. She extended her hand, palm out and looked at me expectantly.

                The Sharing, my mind though distantly, as I reached out to meet her hand. As our two palms met, an electric shock raced through my being and submerged me into her. The universe melted away.

                Now it was just me and her. Everything she that was, was open to me like a book, and the same went for me. I saw her childhood, if it could be called that, and every other aspect of her life. I realized with a start that she had been alive for nearly as long as human civilization.

                It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. There are no words. The most intimate act of love between two humans cannot even touch the closeness of a Taelon Sharing. We were linked soul to soul, heart to heart, mind to mind. Her mind unfolded to me like the petals of a flower. There were years of hurt and loneliness behind that cool and calm exterior. I caught a glimpse of a painful memory of Taelon experimentation on her, but she shied away when I got close and I didn’t push.

                I knew she saw everything there was to me, also. I opened up every crevice of my mind to her. I had nothing to hide from her.

                After a time that might’ve been minutes and might’ve been years, the connection faded. But I had an awareness of her presence that I’d never known before. I noticed that the fire had burned down to glowing embers. We had been in the Sharing a long time. I glanced back into her limpid eyes and the fear had lessened. For the first time I saw a spark of…well, not humanity, but the Taelon equivalent.

                “Why?” I asked hoarsely, when I could speak.

                “Because…I…trust you,” Lei’ail said finally, nearly as surprised as I was. “I’ve been so alone for so long…But you understand me. You…you are me.”

                She was right. I was just like her, underneath. I reached out and pulled her in to an embrace and just held her. I discovered that she was shaking badly. She seemed so vulnerable and scared right then. Nothing at all like the arrogant princess I had been living with for months. Finally, her body relaxed, exhausted, and I was able to get up and get the fire going again. As I added dry pieces of wood, my mind tried to sort through all the new information from the Sharing. One fact I had learned demanded an explanation, but I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject.

                I went back over and sat down next to Lei’ail again. She looked at me intently. “You have a question?”

                It was then I realized that the link between us extended into empathy. She knew the tone of my thoughts, and I knew hers.

I nodded. “You…you’re not completely Taelon are you?” She stiffened, and for a moment I was afraid that she was going to slip back into her old personality. But she only replied quietly, “No.”

I waited, knowing better than to press the matter.

“You know of the race called the Kimera.”

“Yes,” I said, even though it wasn’t a question.

“When my species drove theirs to extinction, one of them survived. This much is known. But what is not known outside of a very few members of the Synod is that another Kimera, a female named Kel’san, was captured and forced to join with the Commonality. They were having trouble sustaining the physic link, and it was believed that the addition of a Kimera mind would remedy the situation. They were correct, but as soon as she was capable, Kel’san destroyed herself, hoping to take the Commonality with her. It did not work. And the Synod had already made a hybrid from her genes, so that the Kimera traits they desired would be passed on. They thought they had managed to suppress the difference between the sexes so that her offspring would not physically appear Kimera, and neither be male nor female, but…”

“Then you came along,” I finished for her.

She straightened, almost proudly. “The Lady Kel’san was my three times great-grandmother, as you would say.”

I knew she had never been able to say that before, and it was obviously a great relief for her to be able to claim her real ancestry. I slipped my arm around her and she seemed not to mind. We stared into the fire together for the longest time. Finally, I yawned, exhausted from the day’s excitement.

“You are tired.” Lei’ail commented. “You should rest.”

“I’m not going to argue with that one,” I said, climbing into my sleeping bag. Lei’ail watched me and I realized she was not changing into her energy state. “What is it?” I asked her.

“I…I do not wish to commune with the Commonality,” she said uncertainly. “Perhaps I will try your…‘sleeping’.”

“Can you do that?”

“Yes,” she said. “Being who and what I am, I am not required to return to my energy state in order to…recharge, as you might say. Kimera are…very different in some ways than Taelon.”

I knew she was still adjusting to be able to think of herself as Kimera. I had sensed, while in the Sharing, that she had forced herself to almost forget who she really was in order to fit in better with the other Taelons. I could see quite clearly that it hadn’t worked, but she had needed that illusion to keep herself sane.

“Okay,” I said.

“Da’an was correct,” she commented softly to herself. “The matter-state can be seductive.”

I laid out the extra sleeping bag next to the fire and helped her into it. She gave me a little half-smile. She looked so lovely just laying there that I took a very great risk and bent down and kissed her forehead. She looked surprised but she didn’t protest. I climbed in to my bag and lay on my back, counting the stars. After only a few moments, I heard her breathing slow almost to nothing. I lay awake for a long time, thinking about all I had learned.

 

The next morning I woke to see Lei’ail sitting in the gray twilight. She looked so peaceful, meditating alone at the edge of camp. I watched her, pretending to still be asleep until she was done. I think she knew I wasn’t, but she made no sign.

We set out early on our hike to the canyon. It was a pretty flat trail, mostly through cool woods. We got there about noon. It was a beautiful place, with high cliffs and beautiful waterfalls. It was idyllic. There were wildflowers all over the valley floor, with plenty of wild open space, a few clumps of trees, and several small, crystal clear, snowmelt lakes. After eating a little lunch, I began the difficult proposition of teaching Lei’ail to swim. Once I got her in the water, she learned quickly. The problem was getting her there.

The cold wasn’t a problem; temperature doesn’t effect Taelons the same way. But she was extremely leery of actually submerging herself. She was obviously fascinated by it, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to try. I have to admit, I was a little nervous, too. I mean, everything I’ve heard about energy and electricity suggest that mixing either with water is not the safest idea. Thankfully, Taelons don’t react with water the same way, say, a hairdryer would.

Finally, she squeezed her unearthly eyes shut and jumped in. After that, it was all smooth sailing. I got used to the cold very quickly, and together we floated languidly on our backs in the middle of the lake. I made shapes out of the clouds and pointed them out to her. She didn’t seem to understand what I was talking about, and I could sense her frustration growing. Finally, she touched her hand to mine and dipped gracefully into my mind for a moment.

“I see now,” she said. “Imagination.”

“Exactly!”

A moment of silence. Then, “In that case, that cloud vaguely resembles a fir’nath.”

Fir’nath?”

“A sort of flying creature, very large, six legs. Long neck. Sharp teeth, long, floppy ears.”

I laughed. “I’ll have to take you word for it. I don’t think I’ve seen…Oh,” I said as an image of an odd looking animal popped into my mind. I looked at Lei’ail and she smiled enigmatically. I twisted my neck. “Well. I suppose it does at that.”

When we were wrinkled and chilled, we splashed to shore. Lei’ail put on a navy blue silk exercise suit over her wet swimsuit. More of Desa’s handiwork. We sat in the soft grass, just…talking. Yes, we actually talked. It wasn’t like a normal conversation, of course, but it was a conversation. We talked about all sorts of things, from childhood memories to favorite colors. Nothing and everything. She really opened up to me, while still remaining extremely private.

During a lull in the conversation, she reached up and fingered the ring about my neck. “It is lovely,” she commented.

I took it off and handed it to her to look at. “My mother gave it to me when I was young. My dad gave it to her before they were married. When they really loved each other.”

“Do you miss your parents?” she asked.

“Some,” I admitted. “I miss my mother. But I have a new life now, one she wouldn’t really understand. I do love her, though.”

She turned the ring over in her fingers. Her sensitive touch found the engraving on the inside. “True love abides no boundaries,” she read slowly. “What does that mean?”

“I guess it means that if you love someone enough, nothing can keep you apart,” I replied.

She said nothing, but there was wistful feeling to her thoughts. She replaced the chain about my neck and suddenly became very interested in the scenery. I knew better than ask her about it. You didn’t get anywhere with Lei’ail that way. As I was looking about for a new topic of discussion, I spotted a bunch of familiar looking bushes.

“Hold on a sec,” I told her, scrambling to my feet.

“David, what—” she began, but I was out of hearing before she got the rest out. When I returned, scratched and bleeding, bearing a bag full of plump, ripe blackberries, she stared at me as though I was out of my mind.

I grinned proudly at her. “Look.”

“What are those?” she demanded.

“Blackberries. They’re really good.” I popped a large, juicy one into my mouth and reveled in the sweet/tart explosion of flavor.

I held out three of the best ones in my cupped hand. “Here, try one.”

She drew back a little, looking oddly at the berries.

“Come on. I know you can eat them, especially if you’ve got Kimera genes in you,” I cajoled. “I know you want to try them…”

She swallowed and reached her hand tentatively towards mine. She selected one of the berries carefully and raised it to her lips, looking at me. I nodded. “That’s right.” She opened her mouth ever so slightly and delicately put it in. Her eyes widened to huge lavender saucers as she absorbed the new sense of taste. At first, I thought she was going to spit it out, but she didn’t. She chewed slowly and thoughtfully, and finally swallowed carefully.

“So, what do you think?” I asked excitedly.

“I think…that eating is not such a revolting thing as one would suspect.” There was a bit of mischief in her eye, and I laughed. We ate until the berries were gone, and our mouths were stained purple. I think that is one of my very best memories.

We had to go back to the embassy the next day, but things hardly went back to normal. I think a part of me was afraid they would. That it was just the air or the solitude, and that Lei’ail would retreat back into her own little wordl again and that I would never again see her the way she was now. Or worse, that I would wake up in my cot back at the embassy and discover that the entire weekend had been a dream. But things were forever changed between us, in the very best of ways.

Da’an noticed it, but said nothing. I got the impression that he was pleased, however. A week went by, and for me at least, it was a happy one. It was for Lei’ail, too. She was finally escaping from her loneliness. One night, I came up behind her and put my arms around her shoulders. She turned to look at me. I looked deeply into her eyes and I kissed her lightly on the lips. She didn’t respond, but that’s because I don’t think she knew how. She didn’t pull away, at least.

I stepped back, a little embarrassed. “I-I’m sorry. I went too far.”

She shook her head a little, a human expression she’d picked up. “No. I…it was not unpleasant.” From her, that meant that she’d actually enjoyed it, once she figured out what it was. I smiled, reassured, and guided her gently over to one of the chairs. I sat facing her.

I took the ring and chain from around my neck and toyed nervously with it. “Lei’ail, I want you to know that I think I’ve come to love you. No, I definitely love you.” I held out the necklace to her. “I want you to have this. Because I do love you.”

She didn’t exactly freeze over, but she certainly stiffened up. I felt that there was more to her thoughts than her body langauge was telling. She turned her head away a little. “I’m not sure I know what that means,” she whispered almost inaudibly, getting up and going into the other the room when she had taken to sleeping. She no longer “recharged” at nights, but slept in a real bed. I kept my cot by the door. I figured we would talk about it in the morning. I was worried, of course, that she didn’t, couldn’t feel the same, but I thought that she simply needed time to adjust herself to the idea.

I left the chain on the little table in the middle of the room for her. I really did want her to have it. I changed quickly and crawled into bed. I actually fell asleep almost immediately. Usually, when I have something on my mind, I can’t even come close to sleep, but that night I was sawing logs as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I awakened what seemed only moments later. A dreamless night, unusual for someone with a skrill. My first thought was that it was nearly noon. I never slept that late, and I had gone to bed fairly early. Then I realized something was wrong, horribly wrong. I jumped out of bed, and as I did so I realized there was a red, sore mark on my left arm, a mark like what a syringe would leave. I’d been drugged. I flew across the room into the next. Lei’ail’s bed hadn’t been slept in, and she was nowhere to be found. Panic rose in my chest and I knew that this time, it was well founded.

As I rushed to go find Da’an and tell him she was missing, I realized the necklace was gone.

 

TO BE CONTINUED…