Bundle of Joy

Post to archives is encouraged as long as my name and title stay with the story.

Author's Note: Beware of spoilers. This story is set between the episodes "Moonscape" and "The Sleepers." You should read my previous stories, "Hostage - Parts 1 through 4," "Ma'el: Thinker, Dreamer, Achiever," "If You Think You Know The Taelons...," "Oh, Baby!," "Adventures in Taelon-Sitting," "Last Dance," "Girls' Night Out," "Say No More, Zo'or," "Tell It Like It Is," and "More Adventures in Taelon-Sitting," before reading "Bundle of Joy."

Please feel free to use any of my characters for your own fanfiction, but keep their name and status quo as is in "Bundle of Joy," and please tell me so I can read your story. For the purposes of this story, the characters of Le’er and Pu’ur will each be referred to as “she.”

Summary: Sarah Boone returns to Washington D.C. to tie up some loose ends and gain closure following her brother’s death - - but once again finds herself in harm’s way as an involuntary victim of the Taelon portal project. Her presence serves as an opportunity for Le’er and Ba’ad to commence with the most diabolical phase yet of their experiments in organism evolution.

Special thanks goes to Tina Price for allowing me to use her character of Kha’rha in this story. Kha’rha can be found in more of Tina’s stories. Please ask permission from Tina and other authors before using their characters in your stories.

All of my stories take place in an EFC universe that is basically similar to that of the actual series, but with a lot of my own characters and ideas blended into it. For this reason, please remember that my story arcs and plots will not always be completely accurate with those of the other fanfiction authors whose characters I sometimes use in my own fanfiction, or of the actual series.
 
 

    * * *

    “I’m sorry, I didn’t know where else to turn!” apologized the woman who accompanied Lili Marquette as they made their way down toward headquarters.
    “It’s okay,” Lili assured her companion. “Don’t worry about it, I’m here for you.”
    Sarah Boone stepped into the elevator shaft with Captain Marquette. They were now several feet below ground with St. Michael’s Church built above them. As the elevator door opened, the alarm went off. Several Resistance members grabbed their guns and aimed them at Lili and Sarah.
    “Hey!” Lili yelled at them, sharply. “Put your weapons down! This is Boone’s sister!”
    The Liberation operatives lowered their firearms, looking rather relieved.
    “Damn, why didn’t I just call Augur on my global?” muttered Lili, grumpily. She and Sarah proceeded into headquarters.
    “This place is amazing!” an awestruck Sarah exclaimed, taking in the high-tech underground hideout. “I can hardly believe that Will had been working here all this time!”
    “As egotistical as it may sound,” Lili explained, “we were sort of a second-family to your brother. We’re like a family here.”
    “Marquette!” boomed a crotchety voice.
    “And that’s our senile old grandfather!” Lili finished off her thought, indicating Jonathan Doors.
    The grouchy billionaire was barreling toward them. “Who gave you permission to bring this stranger down here, Marquette?!”
    “She isn’t a stranger. This is Sarah Boone.”
    “Oh.” Doors was humbled for a moment. “Pleased to meet you,” he then said to Sarah. “I’m sorry about your brother.”
    “This is like uncovering a lost archive,” Sarah spoke figuratively. “I didn’t find out until recently that Will led this secret ‘double-life’.” Boone’s sister began circulating around the Liberation headquarters. “When I read in his diary about . . . everything, I just had to come here to see it for myself. I needed closure.”
    “Well,” stated Doors, “Boone did some fine work for us. You are welcome here anytime you want. Just make sure you come with someone else, like Marquette or Kincaid.”
    “Kincaid?” Sarah squinted, confused. “Who’s that?”
    “Me!” piped up a masculine voice.
    Liam joined them. He had been goofing around with Augur on their PlayStation.
    “Who are you?” Sarah asked.
    “I am Major Liam Kincaid,” he introduced himself, “Da’an’s new protector.”
    “You replaced Will?” Sarah wanted to make sure she understood.
    “Yes. I am the son of Agent Ronald Sandoval, Agent Siobhan Beckett, and Ha’gel.”
    “Ha’gel?” Sarah was more confused than ever now.
    “Yes. He was the last of the Kimera species.”
    “Kimera?”
    “My father, Ha’gel, used Agent Sandoval’s body to impregnate Agent Beckett. Then she gave birth to me several weeks ago.”
    “Wait, Sandoval?! An implant having a child?! And who is Beckett?”
    Lili sighed. “You’ve sure missed a lot since your last visit here, Sarah.”
    Sarah placed her hand up against Liam’s forehead. “Are you sure you’re not just coming down with a fever?”
    Liam chuckled. “It’s all true.”
    “But you’ve got to be over twenty! And it’s only been four months since I was here last. How could you have aged so quickly?!”
    “I grew up fast,” shrugged Major Kincaid.
    “I HAVE missed a lot, haven’t I?”
    “Well then, you probably won’t want me to even GO into who the Jaridians are.”
    “Jaridians?!”
    “Don’t ask,” Lili groaned.
    At that moment, Augur sauntered over to them.
    “Ah, there is my lovely!” The computer wiz took Sarah’s hand like a gentleman and gave it a soft kiss. “How have you been, my sweet?”
    “Hey, I remember you,” grinned Sarah. “You’re Will’s friend . . . the one who owned the Flat Planet Café.”
    “Owns! Present tense,” Augur corrected her. “And yes, the Flat Planet is my humble abode.”
    Suddenly, Sarah Boone noticed that Augur was holding a strange-looking creature in one of his arms.
    “You’re probably wondering who this is,” the hacker interpreted. “This is my niece, Hegawita.”
    “Your niece?!” Sarah was completely dumbstruck. “What kind of . . . organism is she?”
    “Well,” Augur took a deep breathe, “Hegawita is the first of a new species. We call her species ‘Humawud.’ She is half-human, and half Hegawud.”
    “I have both human and Hegawud ancestry,” spoke up Hegawita.
    “You can talk?!” This whole experience was growing more and more surreal to Sarah by the second. “And what is . . . Hegawud?”
    “Another race,” Augur answered, non-chalantly. “I won’t go into how Hegawita was born. At least, not right now. It’s a long story. But,” he added, “she is my sister’s child.”
    “I live with my Uncle Augur!” beamed Hegawita, proudly.
    “I think I need to sit down!” moaned Sarah.
    Liam got a chair for Sarah to sit in.
    “Wait, you still have to meet Endedora!” Augur persuaded, excitedly.
    By now, poor Sarah Boone had given up on questioning every foreign word that she heard emerge from someone’s mouth.
    “Endedora is my sister,” provided Hegawita. “My ‘half-sister,’ actually.”
    “Augur, Hegawita, I don’t think Sarah feels like getting up to meet Endedora right now,” Lili pointed out.
    “That’s okay. We’ll bring her over here,” shined Hegawita.
    Augur left the room and returned shortly, holding another Hegawud-like creature in his arms. This one resembled Hegawita very much, as it had been given birth to by the same mother symbiont who implanted the eggs which Hegawita was born from. However, unlike Hegawita who had been fertilized in the womb of Augur’s sister, Juanita, Endedora had been the product of a Taelon experiment in cross-breeding the Hegawud mother symbiont with the DNA of Ve’ep, a Taelon physicist. It showed too, as Endedora alternately wore the appearance of a crustacean-like Hegawud, and then shifted to a bluish Taelon tint blushing with sparkling, seemingly transparent energy.
    “Hi, hi!” squeaked Endedora, in her soft but high-pitched voice. The child of combined Taelon/Hegawud genetics shyly gazed at Sarah.
    “Hello,” Sarah responded back to her, almost in a whisper.
    “Would you like to hold her?” offered Augur.
    “Sure.” Sarah Boone delicately reached out as Augur gently laid Endedora in her arms. Endedora cuddled up contentedly in Sarah’s lap.
    During this whole time, Liam had been talking with Da’an via his global.
    “Sarah,” he addressed Boone’s sister, after cutting his link to Da’an, “Da’an requests your presence at the Taelon embassy.”
    Boone’s sister was surprised to say the least, and a bit taken aback. “What for?” she gasped.
    “He wants to meet you,” Liam informed her.

    * * *

    Sarah was trembling, as Liam and Lili led her into Da’an’s magnificent audience chamber.
    There sat Da’an atop his Big Chair. To Da’an’s left stood his attaché, Agent Ronald Sandoval. Also present in the room were Kha’rha, the Irish Companion who’d come for a social visit with his friend Da’an; and Kha’rha’s attaché, Agent Siobhan Beckett, a female implant. Kha’rha was seated adjacent to Da’an as Beckett stood next to her Companion.
    “Ah, you must be Sarah Boone,” Da’an eloquently spoke. “Please, come forward. I have desired to meet you for quite some time now.”
    Sarah courageously strode over to Da’an and stopped short right in front of his throne-like chair.
    “It is an honor to meet you, Da’an,” Sarah confided. “Will spoke very highly of you.”
    Da’an studied the human female, carefully examining her facial features and reading her eyes.
    “You were very close to your brother,” interpreted Da’an. “I deeply regret his passing.”
    Emotionally, Sarah instantly burst into tears. The alien stared at her with empathy and compassion.
    “See what you did, Da’an?” Liam chided. “You made the poor girl cry.”
    Lili harshly elbowed Liam in the ribs. Captain Marquette came over and put her arms around Sarah comfortingly, as Sarah cried on her shoulder.
    “I’m so sorry, Da’an,” apologized Sarah, through tears. “I don’t mean to take your hospitality for granted.”
    “Think nothing of it,” the Companion assured her soothingly, completely understanding Sarah’s grief.
    “I just still can’t believe he’s d-dead . . .” Sarah choked up her words.
    Da’an reached out and clutched onto Sarah’s hand, joining with her in sorrow.
    All this time, Kha’rha had been watching this situation unfold before him. His heart went out to Sarah Boone and Da’an, as he knew what a great man William Boone had been.
    “May I offer my condolences?” Kha’rha requested.
    Without even having to confirm it, Sarah held out her other hand to Kha’rha. He joined his with hers. Kha’rha’s kind, caring eyes showed Sarah that he was someone whom she could trust.
    “So Agent Sandoval,” began Beckett, leaving her Companion’s side to confront her romantic interest, “how have you been holding up lately?”
    “Fine. Just fine,” answered Sandoval, a little coldly. He wore an expression of bland indifference.
    “Just fine? That’s all?” Beckett seemed disappointed that Sandoval was not more talkative. “Come on, agent, you’ve got to be more than ‘just fine.’ What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?”
    “Agent Beckett, we are supposed to be attending to our duties for our respective Companions!” snapped Sandoval. “I suggest you remain next to Kha’rha!”
    Beckett reared back slightly, a little hurt at Sandoval’s bitter reaction toward her. Siobhan returned to the side of her Companion. Liam and Lili exchanged confused glances, while Sandoval continued to stare straight ahead.
    Sarah commenced sharing the joint company of Da’an and Kha’rha, her hands tranquilly linked with theirs.

    * * *

    Hegawita and Endedora were relaxing in their terrarium/aquarium duplex, a glass tank in the middle of Augur’s high-tech apartment. The tank was set at a comfortable temperature, not too muggy but not too mild. The two hybrid creature “sisters” socialized and played together amiably.
    Augur was laying back on his swivel-chair, resting his arms above his head and meditating. All of a sudden . . .
    POOF!
    Diana VanKirk, the wild, red-headed, fiery-eyed rogue appeared in his apartment.
    “Whoa!” Augur almost fell out of his chair when he saw Diana pop out of nowhere. “Hey, you look familiar . . .”
    “That’s because I’m Diana!” she grunted. “I can be anywhere I want!” The woman cackled.
    “Well, what do you want?”
    “Hmmmm . . . let’s see . . .” Diana scanned the room, and spied Hegawita and Endedora in their tank. “I know! I think I’ll kidnap Endedora!”
    “How do you know my name?!” Endedora demanded.
    “I know everything!!!” howled Diana. She raised her arms and began waving them around.
    An unknown, powerful force lifted Endedora out of the tank and pulled her toward Diana VanKirk.
    “Help!!” squealed Endedora.
    “Put her down!” Hegawita ordered to Diana.
    “Nooooooooo!!!!!!!” Diana’s eyes blazed an orangish-yellow color like fire.
    “Diana, stop it!” shouted Augur.
    But Diana simply cackled some more, as Endedora floated into her arms.
    “Endedora, use your claws!” screeched Hegawita. “Pinch her!”
    However, when Endedora tried to move her pinchers around she couldn’t get them to open or close. It was as though they were frozen shut.
    “Hey!” Endedora screamed. “I can’t move my pinchers!” She glared at Diana. “What did you do to them?!”
    “I froze them shut!” exclaimed Diana. “That way, you can’t escape!” She suddenly disappeared with Endedora in tow.
    POOF!
    Diana and Endedora were now on the Taelon mothership. They appeared in a Taelon laboratory in front of Le’er and Ba’ad, the Companion to Scandinavia and the Companion to Sudan, respectively.
    “How did you get in here?!” demanded Ba’ad. “What are you doing aboard our mothership, human?!”
    “I’m not a human!” growled Diana. “And I brought you a gift!” She snapped her fingers, instantly transplanting Endedora into one of their laboratory tanks.
    “What is it?” asked Le’er, pouting curiously.
    “It’s the creature that you made by injecting Ve’ep’s DNA into a Hegawud symbiont,” Diana reminded them, smirking knowingly. “I’m sure you’ll find good use for her.”
    In the blink of an eye, Diana had vanished once again.
    “Le’er, do you think the creature is legitimate?” queried Ba’ad.
    “It looks the same as I remember,” Le’er opinionated.
    Still, Ba’ad and Le’er both desired some professional Taelon medical expertise to help them reach a dependable conclusion. They summoned Pu’ur and Ve’ep, two Taelon scientists, to the laboratory.
    Pu’ur, one of the best Taelon surgeons and scientists in the known universe, carefully examined Endedora. She called upon Ve’ep to assist her. Once he got close enough to Endedora, Ve’ep immediately knew that the child originated from his DNA. Endedora knew it too; and she felt compelled to look to Ve’ep as her only ally and possible outlet of safety while she was held captive.
    “She appears quite healthy,” concluded Pu’ur, “and I definitely recall this symbiont as being the subject that we created from the combined DNA of Ve’ep and a common Hegawud specimen.” Pu’ur focused her eyes on Endedora. “This being is conclusively a Taelon/Hegawud hybrid.”
    “Perfect,” gleamed Le’er. “Then we will proceed with further experimentation on it.”
    “No!” protested Ve’ep. “You will not harm her!”
    “We will,” Ba’ad contradicted, “do whatever is necessary to ensure that our next experiment proves to be successful.”

    * * *

    “Good-bye, Lili. Thanks for everything.”
    Sarah gave Lili a hug as they stood inside the international airport.
    “Go on, now,” smiled Captain Marquette, affectionately. “You don’t want to miss your . . . uh, ‘flight’.”
    “I can’t believe I’m using these things again.” Sarah gestured to the portals. “But I can’t keep living my life in fear.”
    “You’ll be home before you know it,” winked Lili.
    Handing her ticket to the desk agent, Sarah bravely marched through the entrance scanner, toting her luggage. It completed a quick scan of her DNA. She turned around and waved good-bye to Lili.
    “Right this way, ma’am,” a flight attendant greeted Sarah and escorted her to a spot on the portal ramp.
    Immediately, Sarah began to look frightened and apprehensive. All her memories of the pain and anguish resulting from her last portal voyage came tumbling back to haunt Sarah.
    “It’s safer than any airplane,” the flight attendant assured her.
    “Yeah, tell that to my aborted baby,” Sarah grumbled bitterly.
    The countdown began, and as soon as it reached zero all of the passengers were zapped from the airport and transported to their destination via the portals. All - - except for three of them.
    And one of those three was Sarah Boone.

    * * *

    Sarah found herself positioned on the Taelon mothership, covered by a glittery tinfoil-like substance.
    “Oh, no! I’m not going through this again!”
    Peeling the watery tinfoil-like substance off of herself, Sarah frantically dashed away, into a corridor on the mothership. Hoping against hope, she prayed that there would be someone on board who could help her. Lili, Liam, Da’an, . . . anyone!
    “Stop!” commanded a voice in monotone.
    Sarah came face-to-face with an implant. It was a human female, with a skrill on her arm and wearing a plain bodysuit. But the implant also had a skrill attached to her neck and one of her ears. The sight of this person frightened Sarah very much. Sarah screamed wildly out loud.
    “Silence!” the drone implant ordered her. “How did you arrive here? What is your business on the Taelon mothership?”
    “One of your stupid portals sent me here!” yelled Sarah. “I won’t let you hurt me again!”
    “You will come with me,” answered the drone. Using her skrill as a catalyst, the implant led Sarah Boone down the corridor and into a laboratory.
    Inside the laboratory were Le’er and Ba’ad. They were discussing plans for their latest series of projects.
    “Le’er,” interrupted the drone implant, obviously regarding the Scandinavian Companion as the head honcho, “I found this intruder trespassing aboard the ship. She claims that she was directed here through the portals. What shall I do with her?”
    The Companion to Sweden stared Sarah up and down. “She will make a fine subject for our triple helix series project,” cackled Le’er.
    “Yes,” Ba’ad concurred, “that she will.”
    “What are you talking about?! I want to go back to Earth!” Tears were streaming down Sarah’s face.
    “I am afraid that is not possible,” Ba’ad informed her.
    “Why not?!”
    “Pu’ur,” called Le’er, “sedate this specimen! Now!”
    The tall, feminine Taelon scientist joined them. Carrying a syringe, Pu’ur prepared to give Sarah an injection.
    “NO!!!” hollered Sarah.
    The female drone forcefully held out Sarah’s arm as Pu’ur injected the needle into it.
    Sarah blacked out.

    * * *

    When Boone’s sister awoke, she found herself strapped to an operating table, adorned in a simple gown. Her stomach had grown enlarged.
    “Oh my god, I’m pregnant!” exclaimed Sarah.
    “Calm down,” spoke Pu’ur soothingly, standing at Sarah’s side. “You must save your energy for the delivery of the symbiont.”
    “What?!”
    “You have been implanted with the eggs of this symbiont.” Pu’ur gestured to a tank; inside was . . . Endedora!
    Sarah’s eyes bulged out.
    “Soon,” continued Pu’ur, “you shall give birth to a hybrid.”
    “Do not tell her anything, Pu’ur!” reprimanded Le’er, charging into the operating room. Ve’ep was with her.
    “Please,” pleaded Sarah. “Don’t do this to me again.”
    “Le’er, I strongly dissuade us from this procedure,” Ve’ep stressed to the Companion.
    “It is too late,” stated Le’er, coldly. “I have already made my decision. The human has been impregnated. It is irreversible.”
    “I require an assistant for the surgery,” put in Pu’ur.
    “Ve’ep . . .” Le’er said expectantly.
    “I will not participate in this act,” Ve’ep stubbornly refused. “I do not support it and I will not aid Pu’ur in this unjust surgery.”
    Just then, Ba’ad and Or’rel entered the laboratory.
    “Or’rel,” Pu’ur addressed her colleague, “I require your auxiliary in carrying out the delivery.”
    “Very well,” sighed Or’rel.
    Endedora’s eyes met with Sarah’s and they locked. The small Taelon/Hegawud hybrid stared longingly at the human female who was carrying her kin.
    Over the course of the next couple of hours, the labor began. Eventually, Sarah delivered the baby. It was a tiny creature resembling a crustacean-like Hegawud. However, Sarah’s baby would sparkle a shade of Taelon blue every so often, similar to the way Endedora did. Additionally, the newborn symbiont had rounded pinchers and long locks of hair hanging down from her anterior. This was similar to how Hegawita looked, except instead of frizzy black hair Sarah’s baby had straight blond hair that was the same color as her human mother’s.
    Pu’ur took a pair of metallic tweezer-tongs and used them to snatch up the Taelon/Hegawud/human hybrid and drop it into another tank.
    “What are the results?” Le’er inquired.
    “Imperative accomplished,” confirmed Pu’ur, pointing to a monitor.
    Sarah gazed over at the nearby monitor that tracked the vital signs of the creature whom she’d just given birth to.
    Pu’ur was pointing at a triple helix on the monitor’s screen.

    * * *

    “I do not like this one bit,” Or’rel whispered to Ve’ep.
    Ve’ep shook his head. “I feel somewhat of a responsibility to this human. She was impregnated by a symbiont containing some of my own DNA.”
    “You knew not what Le’er had planned,” Or’rel reassured him sympathetically. “Do not blame yourself, Ve’ep.”
    “We must do something,” the Taelon physicist declared as they stood whispering in a corridor on the mothership.
    “I believe I know of someone who will not hesitate to assist us with this situation,” theorized Or’rel.
    “Who?” Ve’ep wanted to know.
    “Come.” Or’rel led Ve’ep to a main chamber of the mothership. Ronald Sandoval was there browsing through some computer files on a data stream monitor, aided by Captain Marquette.
    “Agent Sandoval,” spoke Or’rel, “there is something that we wish for you to see.”
    “What is it?!” snapped Sandoval, irritably.
    “Come with us.” Or’rel motioned for Sandoval and Lili to follow him and Ve’ep back to the laboratory.
    As Ve’ep and Or’rel led Lili and Sandoval into the laboratory, Ba’ad and Le’er took notice. Sarah lit up when she saw Captain Marquette.
    “Lili!” Sarah cried out, with great relief.
    Sandoval frowned, while Lili gasped as she viewed Sarah strapped onto the operating table.
    “Agent Sandoval, that is Boone’s sister!” Lili exclaimed.
    “I know who it is, captain!” Sandoval spat out in an icy tone. He swerved his head over toward Le’er and Ba’ad. “What is the meaning of this?!”
    “It is none of your concern, Agent Sandoval,” glared Le’er.
    “I asked you a question, Le’er! Why is Sarah Boone on the Taelon mothership in this laboratory?!”
    “They impregnated me!” shouted Sarah, crying again. “They used me to serve as a host to one of their experiments!” Sarah looked over at her child in the tank. “She’s so innocent! She didn’t ask to be dragged into this . . . and neither did I!”
    “Send her back to Earth at once!” demanded Sandoval.
    “I think not!” Ba’ad refused. “She will promptly tell her fellow humans about this occurrence, jeopardizing humanity’s trust in the Taelon species. This human female must be disposed of.”
    “She won’t tell anyone,” Sandoval insisted. “No one will believe her.” He turned to Pu’ur. “Clean her up and have her ready for transportation back through the portals.”
    “Uh, Sandoval. Why don’t I take Sarah home with me,” volunteered Lili, in a low whisper. “This incident has her traumatized and she’ll need a friend to stay with while she recovers.”
    “Fine. Whatever.” Sandoval went over to Sarah’s bedside. “Ms. Boone, I’m sorry this had to happen to you, but do not tell anyone about this. If you do, you will deeply come to regret it. Besides, everyone on Earth will think you are insane. Am I understood?”
    Sarah nodded, trembling.
    “We are sending you back to Earth, Ms. Boone.” Sandoval folded his arms. “You should consider yourself very lucky. Most humans never make it off of the Taelon mothership alive.”
    As Pu’ur, Or’rel, Ve’ep, and Lili helped Sarah prepare for her trip back home, Sandoval stared at Ba’ad and Le’er.
    “Adequate job of diffusing the situation, Agent Sandoval,” Le’er complimented him.
    “You should know better than to use a relative of Commander William Boone as your test subject!” Sandoval reprimanded her. “Do you realize what thin ice you were walking on?!”
    Le’er frowned. “Explain yourself, Sandoval.”
“    I don’t need to explain anything to you!” Sandoval fumed. “Don’t let such a blunder as this happen again!”
    Before Le’er or Ba’ad could respond, Sandoval turned his attention away from them. “Prepare for Ms. Boone’s transportation back to Earth.”

    * * *

    Back inside the Liberation headquarters, Lili helped Sarah to the infirmary wing of the underground hideout.
    “What happened to you?” Augur asked Sarah, sensitively.
    Sarah was too distraught to answer. She looked weathered and exhausted, as though she’d just been picked up and spat out by a tornado.
    “Where is Dr. Park?” Lili inquired from Augur. “Sarah needs a doctor to give her an examination.”
    “Park is away on assignment in Brazil,” Augur supplied. “She’s helping Fu’sha with some trials of a new Amazon-discovered drug. But Belman is here.”
    “Dr. Belman?” Lili squinted her eyes. “I thought she retired from medicine?”
    “She did,” confirmed Augur. “But Jonathan invited her over for a visit. You know what a rapport those two have.”
    A muffled gasp came from Sarah. She double over, fainting and dropping t the floor.
    “Sarah!” shouted Lili.
    Maiya joined them and helped Lili lend bodily support to an unconscious Sarah.
    “Poor woman,” lamented Maiya, sadly. “She looks pretty bad.” Maiya hollered toward the doctor, “Dr. Belman! We need you here right now!”
    Belman hurried over and assisted Lili and Maiya in dragging Sarah into the examining room. While Belman gave Sarah a check-up, Jonathan wandered on scene next to Lili.
    “What’s going on, Marquette?” Doors rumbled. “What happened to Sarah?”
    “The Taelons did it to her,” Lili answered him, venomously. “They used Sarah as a host to breed a new type of . . . three-way hybrid.”
    “I don’t believe you!” Doors protested. “That isn’t possible.”
    “I was there, Jonathan!” Lili told him. “I was with Sandoval on the mothership and I saw what she went through. Ba’ad and Le’er used her and abused her!”
    “Those Taelons are no good!” declared Maiya. “I would not trust them for anything, Captain Marquette!”
    “This same thing happened to Juanita!” Augur yelled, pounding his fist on the table. “But Sarah is lucky. At least she survived.”
    “All the more reason why we have to exterminate the Taelons before they do it to us!” Doors exclaimed.
    “They must be destroyed!” remarked Maiya, her eyes flaming.
    At that moment, Dr. Belman emerged from the examination room.
    “How is she?” Lili demanded.
    “Sarah is fine,” Belman assured them. “She’s got some surgical marks remaining from the procedure, but otherwise, she’ll heal and recover in no time.”
    “Why did she faint?” Augur wanted to know.
    “Fatigue,” replied Belman. “Stress. Emotional heartache. Sarah has been through a lot and she needs to rest. I suggest that we let her sleep here for awhile.”
    “She’s staying with me at my house,” Lili said.
    “That’s good of you, Lili. You can take her with you in a couple of hours, after she’s rested up some more.” Belman turned to Jonathan Doors. “I don’t recommend that we move her. Sarah is sound asleep at the moment and should stay put for now.”
    “Of course,” consented Doors. “She’s a victim of the Taelons and we help anyone who’s been victimized by them.” He said the word “them” in a disgusted tone.
    “This is a tragic shame,” hissed Maiya. “The Taelons have no right to do this!”
    “Remember, though, Maiya,” reminded Dr. Belman, “the Companions don’t think in the same ways that we do. In their eyes, their actions toward humanity may seem completely justified.”
    “Yeah,” scoffed Augur. “In other words, they’re the scientists and we’re their lab rats, running the complicated maze that they’ve made Earth into.”

    * * *

    “Major Kincaid,” Da’an acknowledged his protector, as Liam joined him inside his audience chamber.
    “Da’an,” nodded Liam, in response. “I presume Captain Marquette has filled you in regarding the details of Sarah Boone’s captivity aboard the Taelon mothership?”
    “I was told of it by Or’rel,” sighed Da’an, casting his eyes downward. “Captain Marquette informed you, I presume?”
    “Yes, she did,” verified Liam. “Sarah Boone is being safely guarded at the Resistance headquarters as we speak.”
    The North American Companion blushed a soft shade of blue in distress. “It is a shameful day for Taelons everywhere,” he proclaimed. “What Le’er and Ba’ad have done to Boone’s sister is horrifying.”
    “I don’t get it,” Liam scratched his head and pondered. “If Le’er and Ba’ad used Sarah Boone as their test subject, wouldn’t they run a DNA scan over her first, to at least find out who she is?”
    “Le’er is the type of Taelon who acts before she thinks things through,” Da’an explained. “Her primary objective is to utilize humanity as a resource for the enhancement of Taelon evolution. To Le’er, Sarah Boone is simply another nameless human female.”
    “Well, what’s with all these hybrids?” Liam pressed. “First, the Companions impregnated Augur’s sister with eggs from a symbiont to create a Hegawud/human hybrid. Then, they combined Ve’ep’s DNA with Hegawud DNA to conceive a Hegawud/Taelon cross-breed. Now, they’ve used Sarah Boone as a host to the eggs of Endedora, the Hegawud/Taelon child, to culminate a completely new species, a three-way mixture of genes resulting in a Taelon/Hegawud/human hybrid.”
    “A creature who possesses a triple helix,” finished off Da’an.
    “I still don’t understand WHY Taelons feel the need to create all of these hybrids,” Liam maintained. “And these poor creatures have no say in the matter. They were simply created against their will. It isn’t easy being a ‘triple helix child,’ a hybrid organism. I should know - - I am one.”
    “It is a complicated issue,” stressed Da’an. “We encountered the Hegawud race thousands of years ago, and have been in conflict with them ever since. Most often, Taelons are able to overtake Hegawuds, as they are smaller and more primitive, vulnerable to our technology.”
    “Do you believe they are inferior?” Liam challenged.
    “No,” replied Da’an, “they are just misunderstood.”
    “So what’s the point of crossing them with other species?”
    “The Hegawuds, despite their smaller size and slower evolution, are excellent warriors. They possess high aggression and fierce stubbornness. While this is often their greatest weakness, it can sometimes prove to be a valuable strength. Additionally, Hegawuds can survive in basically any atmosphere in the universe.”
    “I see.” Liam raised his eyebrows. “So Ba’ad and Le’er intend to increase the Hegawuds’ capabilities through cross-breeding, by adding human and Taelon traits to Hegawud symbionts?”
    “Yes. And potentially,” Da’an added, “traits of other species whom we have not yet encountered.”
    “I desire to learn more about this species that you are familiar with.” Liam gazed at his friend. “Show me, Da’an.”
    Da’an gracefully matched his palm up with Liam’s and warm light illuminated from their palms as their shakaravas met. Both of them had closed their eyes. Liam could envision the images which Da’an was conveying to him through their telepathic link. Major Kincaid saw flashes of light whiz through his psyche, each containing depictions from the past. Some images which Liam received were of Hegawuds descending upon Planet Taelon in armies of thousands, attacking Taelon-shaped beings in their true forms. Others showed Hegawuds floating through outer space, interacting with the Kimera and the Jaridians, conquering planets in far-off galaxies, and even battling against each other.
    “Whoa!” gasped Liam. “You’ve sure seen a lot in your lifetime, Da’an.”
    “More than you can even imagine, Major Kincaid,” cited Da’an, “and more than I can completely comprehend.”

    * * *

    “It is the only way,” declared Le’er. “We must use both the humans and the Hegawuds as weapons to defer the impending Jaridian invasion.”
    “Especially if we merge the primitive characteristics of humans and Hegawuds into a sub-species, a ‘Humawud’ race,” added Ba’ad, deviously.
    “This is not right,” Ve’ep protested. “We should work with them, not enslave them.”
    “They will never choose to fight for us voluntarily,” scoffed Le’er, rolling her eyes.
    “How do you know?” contradicted Or’rel.
    “This is the best way to preserve our own race,” Ba’ad argued. “Our survival is foremost and imperative. A joint effort of humans, Hegawuds, and Humawuds battling the Jaridians for us will ensure our dominance and salvation.”
    “And it may lead to their extinction,” Ve’ep pointed out.
    “That is a risk we are willing to take,” determined Le’er.
    As they stood around arguing in Pu’ur’s laboratory aboard the Taelon mothership, suddenly, Sandoval burst into the room. The implant had an infuriated glare in his eyes.
    “Agent Sandoval, what is the meaning of your abrupt intrusion?!” demanded Ba’ad.
    “I want to make sure we understand each other!” Sandoval glared at Ba’ad.
    “Concerning what matter?!”
    “Yesterday, you brought Sarah Boone in here for experimentation without checking her profile first!” Sandoval recalled. “I will no longer tolerate such incompetence!”
    “It is OUR experimentation!” barked Le’er, defensively. “We will do as we wish!”
    “Not without my consent!” Sandoval stared Le’er down. “You impregnated the sister of Commander William Boone. That was a very conspicuous move on your part! I know you did it unintentionally, but that’s the source of the problem!”
    “Are you giving us orders?!” pouted Ba’ad, furiously.
    “Yes I am!” retorted Sandoval. “I demand that order prevail on this mothership, meaning you may no longer be so careless. From now on, any and every human whom you perform an experiment on must be approved by either myself or Captain Marquette before the experimentation takes place!”
    “We had already enacted the growth hormones in Ms. Boone’s body,” explained Or’rel, “to ensure rapid maturation of the fetus so she would undergo a swift pregnancy. There would have been no conceivable way to abort the fetus without killing the host, which would have been a complete waste of resources.”
    “I understand that, Or’rel,” insisted Sandoval. “But that is all said and done. It’s because of the carelessness of that very situation being as why I am instituting this new policy.”
    “And what if we do not follow your little ‘policy,’ Agent Sandoval?” sneered Ba’ad, condescendingly.
    Ronald Sandoval held up his skrill, which was glowing and vibrating, aggravated.
    “You don’t want to find out,” Sandoval implicitly warned them.
    He turned and exited the laboratory, leaving behind Le’er and Ba’ad, who were frozen in annoyance and fear.

    * * *

    FIN
 
 

Copyright 1999 by Earthboy
Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict is property of Tribune Entertainment Company and is produced by Roddenberry/Kirshner Productions. No monetary profit is being made from this work. No infringement is intended. If you sue me, I will have you implanted.