Time: Four days after the death of Agent Siobhan Beckett due to her CVI implant.

        Companion Protector Liam Kincaid walked briskly out of his apartment. He needed to go somewhere; to just get out and escape the memory of the events that had occurred only a few short days ago. It seemed like an eternity ago that he held the fragile, broken body of his dying mother in his arms. The mother whose genetic knowledge he carried, but that he had never really known. He wondered how it could hurt so much to let her go.          He turned down a street at random and suddenly realized that he was unconsciously heading for the Flat Planet Cafe. Maybe there he could find some solace. Perhaps one of the wide range of intoxicants the Flat Planet had to offer would allow him to forget. He was less than a year old, and had never even had a taste of alcohol, much less anything stronger, but it was never too early to start. Halfway to the hip cybercafe, Agent Sandoval approached him. Liam cursed internally. Sandoval was the last person he wanted to see right now.
        "Major Kincaid, good. I was just about to call you." The dour Asian man spoke in his usual clipped tones. "Da'an has ordered that you will be the one to take care of the late Agent Beckett's affairs, including going through her belongings."
        Liam was surprised at this. On the record, he had had very few dealings with Siobhan Beckett. At best they might be called acquaintances. Perhaps Da'an knew more about Liam and his odd parentage than he let on. "Of course. But I would've thought that you would want to be the one to do that, considering your...relationship."
        Sandoval's mouth twisted in either grief or anger. "You know nothing, Major." He said harshly. "You have been given an order and I expect you to carry it out immediately. There is a shuttle waiting for you at the embassy. I'll assume you don't require a pilot." The Protector turned sharply and left without another word.
        The trip to the UK seemed to take forever. On the way, Liam recalled the funeral. It had been simple; she had no family and few friends. Sandoval had said a few words about her loyalty, but they came from the fact that he had been ordered to speak rather than any attachment to the fine person she had been. Liam remembered being outraged that he could just toss her aside like she had meant less than nothing to him. Maybe she had, he thought.
        Liam landed the shuttle and reported to the Taelon embassy in the UK. They gave him the key to Beckett’s apartment and told him that the new UK Companion Protector would be moving in at the end of the week. His chest constricted at this news; she was really gone forever.
        Liam opened the door into a living area that was utterly Irish. He had always been fascinated by that part of him, even more so than by his alien heritage. The feel of the room seemed to clash with the personality Siobhan presented as a professional, while at the same time fitting the real her perfectly. He felt that he somehow knew this room, in a vague sort of way that bordered between deja vu and a dream. He shivered, partially from the sensation and partially from that fact that it was cold inside the apartment. He turned on the heat and went into the bedroom.
        It was decorated as the rest of the home was, full of Celtic symbols, paintings, and tapestries, with muted shades of green, blue, and gray making it seem like something out of an Irish storybook. He was immediately drawn to the rune board that was beside her bed. Something jerked inside him as Liam recalled how she had used the runes to guide her way in life. They had guided her wrong when it came to the Companions, he thought bitterly. He struggled to control his emotions, even though there was no one there to see. He pulled away with difficulty and forced himself to look at something, anything else.
        His eyes fell on a little disc that was sitting on her dresser. He walked over to it and picked it up. "To Liam Kincaid." it read. Liam's brow furrowed in confusion. Why would she leave something for him? Until that day in the cave...he mustn't think about the cave...they had barely known each other, at least from her point of view. Only one way to find out, he supposed, although he felt an odd reluctance to view it. He popped the disc into the viewer...
        The lovely face of Siobhan Beckett appeared on the screen, large as life. The time index showed that it was early morning, four days ago, the day that she had died. Liam swallowed hard. She was dressed in a light, transparent robe over a leotard that outlined her lean body. Her brilliant red hair softly framed her angular face, and the sunlight streaming through the window created a halo around her, making her appear almost unearthly.
        This was how a mother should look, he thought to himself. This was the real Siobhan. Liam felt a swell of pride that this beautiful creature was his mother, and an infinite emptiness that she was gone.
        "Hello, Liam." She said, in her wonderful lilting voice. "I don’t have much time and there’s so much I need to tell you." She paused to order her thoughts and her emerald eyes shimmered with emotion.
        "For weeks, the runes have been warning me that something was going to happen but I couldn’t tell what. Last night, something did happen. I remembered. Everything. Everything that the Resistance forced my mind to suppress. Ha’gel, you, the Taelons, Sandoval. My CVI has broken down, I can feel it. My imperative to obey the Companions is gone, and so is the block the Resistance placed in my mind to make me forget you, along with the self-destruct order in case I accidentally remembered. And now I can see all the terrible things I’ve done." Her face twisted in self-revulsion.
        "I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop it. I had no choice, but all those deaths are on my head, all that blood on my hands." She stopped to compose herself. "I let them put that thing in me because I wanted help. And now look at what I’ve done. I never wanted to hurt anyone, Liam." Siobhan closed her eyes and shook her head in sorrow.
        Liam felt as though his heart was going to burst. He wanted to comfort her, be strong for her, but he knew that was impossible.
        "It wasn’t me, Liam," she continued, "Not really. But my heart won’t let me live with this guilt. If I murdered someone, then I deserve to die. If the CVI doesn’t kill me, my conscience will. I’m going on trial, Liam. I know it. I don’t know what it’ll be, but I’m going to have to pay for what I’ve done." She turned her head away in shame.
        Liam felt a knot building in his stomach. It hurt him deeply to see his mother like this. She had always been so strong and determined. She had radiated an aura of power and control, making her appear a born soldier, afraid of nothing. Always a small woman, but well muscled, Siobhan now looked almost delicate and frail. She was obviously in pain, her jaw was set hard against it, but in spite of all this she was still the most beautiful thing Liam had ever seen
        Siobhan looked back at him. "Oh Liam, you have to forgive me, please," she begged her son, emotion slurring her thick Irish accent. "I’ve done things that hurt so many people and committed atrocious crimes without a twinge of guilt, but I’m sorry. You must believe me. I’m truly sorry. So sorry." She broke down into sobs that shook her light frame.
        Liam watched as she forced herself to go on. "No," He whispered, wishing she could hear. "No it wasn’t your fault, you didn’t have a choice."
        "I never wanted to become a soldier, you know." She went on with difficulty. "I just wanted to have a family, and children, and for them to be safe. All I wanted as long as could remember was to have babies. I thought the Companions could make it safe for my country so that I could raise my children, so I let them control me. I so believed in them that I gave up my free will and my conscience to let them do what they wished with my talents and abilities. I convinced myself that I what I was doing was right. Oh God, Liam, I was so very wrong." She tried to swallow her tears.
        Liam thought that she was the bravest woman in the world. She knew she was going to die, and she wasn’t afraid. He was so proud of her, he just wished he could tell her that.
        "I wish I could have known you, Liam," She said after a moment "Really known you. I saw you and a part of me, trapped down deep inside, knew who you were and tried so hard to tell you I loved you but I couldn’t get it out.
        "But I remember it all now. When I was with Ha’gel, inside Ha’gel, I saw so much, it was so beautiful…" The musical voice trailed off. "I can’t tell you. But you are so special, Liam, so very special. You have things inside you, things more powerful than your shaqarava, that you can’t even realize, but you have to find them, someway. I don’t know how, but you have to." Beckett’s face spasmed with pain from the decaying implant.
        "The Taelon’s are not to be trusted," she said through gritted teeth, "Not all of them. Da’an wants to help humans, so work with him. But the others..." She let it hang there. "The Jaridians are not as the Taelons want us to believe." She worked to control the pain. "There are things you have to find out that I just can’t tell you. I want to but I can’t"
        She reached her hand out and touched the screen gently. "You’re so beautiful, so handsome. I love you so much. I wish I could have seen you grow up, even if it only took a day. Make my Ireland safe, Liam. Make my world safe for the babies. For the children," she whispered, "For the children."
        "I want you to find someone, Liam," she said earnestly. "Someone wonderful. And when you find her, don’t let her get away. After the threat is gone, have children, Liam. Have a wife and a home and children. It’s so important. Children are so important." She straightened. "Lili Marquette promised me she would take care of you. And she will, even if it looks like you don’t need her. She keeps her promises. Treat her with respect, Liam, as you always did me." She bit her lip as another wave of agony swept through her body.
        "Give my rune set to Sandoval. He will know what to do with them. He will be free of his implant soon enough, it’s decaying just like mine, only slower and his won’t kill him. I think I loved him, if I could love anyone with that thing in my head."
        "There is a crystal in a box under my bed. It is ancient, and been passed down in my family for tens of generations. It is yours, now. It’s not of this world. It’s not Taelon, not Jaridian, not even Kimera, but something powerful…some sort of device, Ha’gel said. I don’t understand it, but you will, you must." She took a deep breath.
        "Do you know what Liam means?" She asked in her heavy brogue. "It means Protector, Helm of Strength and Resolution. When I was young I knew a boy named Liam. He died in a terrorist attack a long time ago, before I joined the militia, but he was very brave and dashing. All the children in the town adored him." She said softly, her posture relaxing just a little. "I remember once, when I was a very little girl, I climbed a tree because I wanted to see what the clouds were made of, but I went too high and I got stuck. He rescued me, and I always said I was going to name my first child Liam. At least I got that right. Names have such a power, Liam, so give your children good, strong names."
        Siobhan’s face crumpled. "I have to go now, my son, I can’t stay. I want to so much, but I can’t. The only thing that will sustain me through whatever happens today is the knowledge that I have a son. Such a bonnie boy." She actually smiled, a smile that lit up the whole room and made the sunshine seem drab. Her face smoothed out and the look in her eyes was a maternal one, and for that one instant, she was happy. For just a second, she was a mother and he was a child and they were together like a family. "I love you." She said, again reaching out, trying to touch her child. A tear rolled down the cheek of a woman who knew she was going to die before the day’s end, a tear not for her, but the son she had no sooner discovered than had to leave. Liam reached out also and for a moment it was as though she was there, and they were really touching. Then it was gone. "I love you" she mouthed silently, and the screen went blank.
        Liam stood there staring at the darkened viewer. Finally, he could hold back no longer. Tears flowed freely and he cried like a lost little boy. Although he had the appearance, faculties, and knowledge of a grown man, Liam had less than 10 months life experience. He had been conceived, born, and had grown to maturity in under twenty-four hours. In a way he was a lost little boy who didn’t truly understand who he was or what he could do, and still slightly fearful of the power the shaqarava gave him. He was the product of three parents, Beckett, Sandoval, and the alien Ha’gel, two of whom were dead and the other would rather kill Liam than look at him if he knew his true nature, son or not.
        His gaze shifted to an old style photo on the wall next to the screen. It was of his mother, shortly after she had joined the militia, he guessed. She was wearing the uniform, but she was still only a girl, really. She was watching two young children, her brother and sister, he thought, play with some kittens. The look in her eyes was so determined that he knew she would do anything to protect the children of her country, even make a deal with the devil, as it were.
        Liam looked at her picture, blinking through the tears. "I promise." he said. "I’ll make it safe. I’ll find out what I need to do and I’ll make it safe. For you. For the children." He caressed her cheek tenderly with his hand. "I love you, Mother"
        Liam moved to the bed and sat down on the edge. He put his head in his hands and wept without restraint. He recalled the day’s events from her point of view and his. She had gone rock climbing to try and clear her head and had fallen, badly, breaking several bones. While she lay on the cave floor, her conscience had put her on trial for her crimes, literally. In her mind, Jonathan Doors had acted as prosecution, Liam as defense, and Da’an as judge. It was all in her head, of course, but it had seemed so real. Doors had argued that there was no difference between her and the soldier that had obeyed orders on the killing field of Cambodia under Pol Pot, or the good obedient soldiers that had killed the Jews in the Nazi camps because they were ordered to. Liam had defended her staunchly, but in the end she could find no excuse other than her good intentions. The court had found her guilty and sentenced her to death. Liam knew that it was "technically the CVI that had killed her, but he couldn’t help thinking that if she had been acquitted by the court she had held in her mind she would still be alive.
        When he had found her she was at the very end. Nothing anyone could’ve done could help her. At the time it had seemed like she only realized he was her son at the very last, but he now knew that with the implant breaking down, the fall, and the emotional trauma, she was probably phasing in and out of reality. He was just lucky that she was able to remember again at the very last. The moment of perfect clarity, just before death. At least she didn’t die in ignorance, he thought.
        "I understand now." She had said. "We didn't have our time together here on earth, but you were brought to me when I needed you the most. If you ever lose your way, my son, look to the heavens, and I'll be shining a star for you." Liam had held her to him, the blood and sweat overwhelming the woodland scent of the perfume she always wore. Her glorious eyes opened wide and she stared past him at something. Then they closed for the last time and he felt her go limp. It seemed as though his heart had been ripped out. "Guide my soul until morning." He had cried.
        He did so again. "Guide my soul until morning." He said aloud, taking comfort from the fact that he had been there for her. She had needed him to keep her strong in her last hours, and had.
        When he could cry no more, Liam got up and looked under the bed. There was a worn wooden box that looked older than Stonehenge and probably was. He took it out and placed it on the bed. It had an iron clasp that was encrusted with crudely cut jewels. He opened it and inside was a blue crystal the size of his fist. It was fixed in a silver setting with obviously alien runes carved into it that he could almost read. It glowed with blue fire from the inside when he touched it. It felt familiar somehow.
        Then Liam did something he had never done before. He prayed. Not to anyone in particular, he didn’t even know if he believed in a higher power, he just prayed. He figured it couldn’t hurt and he couldn’t think of anything else. He asked to be able to know what he needed to do and the strength to do it. And he prayed that his mother was safe, wherever she was. It was instinctive.
        After awhile he closed the box containing the crystal and put the rune set in its alabaster case. He turned off the heat and put the message disc Siobhan had left him in his jacket pocket and left the apartment, locking the door behind him. Liam made arrangements for the disposition of her other belongs as specified in her will, many to museums, for she had many ancient and valuable relics.
        On the trip back to North America he reflected that the resistance shouldn’t have suppressed her memory. If she had been allowed to remember she would never have gone back to the Taelon’s service, not after what Ha’gel had evidently shown her. What a waste, what a terrible waste, he thought.
        It was late when he got back, and he went to bed right away. He was exhausted by his grief and slept later than he usually did. When he woke, the sun was already up. He washed, dressed, and ate mechanically, as the events of the past day sank in. He would have to find a place to hide the crystal. He knew somehow that he shouldn’t tell anyone of its existence, not until it was all over and the threat was gone.
        Liam got the rune set and went to the North American Companion embassy to find Sandoval. My father, he thought ruefully. The only family I have left, and he doesn’t know it. He caught a glimpse of a familiar profile.
        "Agent Sandoval." He shouted. The dark man turned and walked toward Liam.
        "Major Kincaid. I assume everything is in order with Agent Beckett’s estate."
        How can you be so cold? Liam shouted silently. Out loud he said, "Yes, it’s all taken care of." Sandoval noted that the younger man seemed changed. More determined than ever, with a cool hatred smoldering behind his eyes.
        "Very good." He said, and turned to leave.
        "Wait." Liam said. He took out the beautifully engraved case from under his coat. "She wanted you to have this. She left it with a note bearing your name."
        Sandoval looked at it. Liam saw a spark of recognition and another emotion that he couldn’t quite place. "Her runes." Sandoval said levelly, betraying no emotion. Liam nodded.
        Sandoval cleared his throat. "Thank you, Major Kincaid. Da’an has gone to the mothership and given you the day off. He said you might need some time to think." He looked at Liam suspiciously, but could find nothing to question him about. He stood there holding the case as the handsome man walked quickly away with a forced casualness. Sandoval went to his office and opened the case. He took out the runes one at a time and inspected them carefully. His rage against the Taelons grew as he looked. He realized with a start that he was no longer under control of the CVI. Zo’or had no hold over him.
        As he fingered the ancient bits of bone, he vowed he would make them pay for what they had done. First Dee Dee, and now Siobhan. His wife they had killed in cold blood, because she was "a distraction". Siobhan they had killed indirectly, but nonetheless, they had killed her. First her spirit, then her body.
        He would punish them for it. He would work from the inside, he would undermine their efforts, but still act in such a way that Zo’or would consider him his most loyal agent. Yes, he would learn whatever the Taelons were planning and he would make it fail. Whatever it was, he would destroy them. For Dee Dee. For Siobhan. They would pay.