Post to archives is encouraged as long as my name and title stay with the story.
Author's Note: Beware of spoilers. This story picks up immediately following where "The Joining" left off at the end of the first season, and is also set between various scenes from the episode "First of its Kind." 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!," and "Adventures in Taelon-Sitting" before reading "Last Dance."
Please feel free to use any of my characters for your own fanfictions, but keep their name and status quo as is in "Last Dance." For the purposes of this story, the characters of Tu'um and Le'er will each be referred to as "she."
Summary: As Boone's death becomes known, various individuals associated with both the Companions and the Resistance reflect on Boone’s life . . . and the future of Earth. Grief over the demise of William Boone is especially difficult for Lili, who has lost not only a partner but one of her best friends - - although she hasn’t fully realized it until now.
Special thanks goes to Brown Unicorn (aka Browny) for allowing me to use her character of Ja’an in this story. I’d like to thank the following people for creating various Taelon characters who are mentioned in the third-person throughout this story: Tina Price for Kha’rha and Dro’vha; Browny for En’ley; and Tabakat for La’an.
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.
* * *
Zo’or watched silently as the last energy particles of Commander
William Boone scattered and disappeared within the cloudy blue mist of
the regeneration tank.
He had done the deed.
The U.N. Companion felt no sympathy nor guilt for what had just
happened. In his mind, Boone had needed to be eliminated. He had been an
increasing barrier standing in the way of Zo’or’s plan for domination over
the human species.
Once he’d arrived back at his embassy, Zo’or sat in his Big Chair
and began to think toward the future. He dialed the coordinates on his
global of Ba’ad, the Companion to Sudan. Ba’ad opened the link.
“Yes, Zo’or?” Ba’ad addressed his friend.
“I have done it,” explained Zo’or. He told Ba’ad the details of
Boone’s demise.
“Have I done the right thing, Ba’ad? Share with me your opinion.”
“Of course you have, Zo’or. William Boone was a threat to our existence.
His termination was completely justified. You have made the right choice,
Zo’or. Remember, Le’er faced a similar decision prior to her elimination
of Inga Oleson. She made the correct move by killing Ms. Oleson, the same
way you did by killing Commander Boone.”
“Thank you, Ba’ad. It makes me feel much better to know that I
have your support.”
“I would have done the exact same thing. Speaking of which,” Ba’ad
continued, “how do you plan on handling Da’an when he discovers what happened
and confronts you about it?”
Zo’or had been thinking about that. “I will deal with Da’an in
good time,” he assured Ba’ad, “in my own way.”
* * *
Da’an, seated in his audience chamber, was ferociously glimmering
a stressful Taelon shade of transparent blue. He felt upset, angry, and
sad, all at the same time. Having these multiple emotions was a new experience
for the North American Companion.
After about an hour of solitude in his energy state, Da’an couldn’t
bear to be alone any longer. He quickly sent out a telepathic message to
his friend Co’al, the Companion to Venezuela.
Within minutes, Co’al appeared in the room via data stream energy.
He was also in his true form. Co’al went up to Da’an and the two Taelons
matched their palms up and shared each other’s touch.
“I mourn with you, Da’an,” lamented Co’al. “William Boone was a
part of us. He was a part of our commonality, and I will - - we will miss
him very much.”
“I should have known this would happen.” Da’an closed his eyes
in pain. “How could I have been so naïve to assume that Boone’s secret
would go no further than me? Obviously, Zo’or suspected that Boone was
a member of the Liberation.”
“And had him promptly eliminated,” Co’al finished.
“Zo’or will not stop now,” predicted Da’an. “We can only guess
who his next target will be. Captain Marquette? Ja’an? Me?”
“Do not fear, Da’an. You are not alone in this.” Co’al touched
Da’an on the arm. “Remember, a number of us are already on your side. Tu’um.
Fu’sha. Si’ib. Ve’ep. Kha’rha. La’an. Dro’vha. En’ley. And myself. And
there will be more.”
Da’an gave Co’al a shy and awkward half-smile. “I hope you are
right,” the North American Companion said.
Co’al beamed. “More Taelons will realize the goodness of humanity.
You shall see. After all, it was Tu’um, Fu’sha, Na’ap, and myself who kept
Captain Marquette’s involvement with the Resistance a secret. We share
the same knowledge of Boone and Marquette as you do. And we will not let
the Synod elders know what we know.”
“I trust you,” Da’an grinned back at his friend.
“Da’an, more Companions will unite with us in time. And then, we
will be able to save both humanity and our own species.”
“I hope so, Co’al. I hope so.”
* * *
Ronald Sandoval sat back in his office chair, thinking. Only
hours earlier, he had witnessed the death of Commander William Boone firsthand.
This was what he’d wanted? Or was it? After all, from Day One the
implant William Boone had been Da’an’s obvious favorite. Now, Boone was
dead and Sandoval could be Da’an’s favorite. But then, how exactly would
he split his loyalty between protecting Da’an and schmoozing Zo’or?
Then again, the reality of Boone actually being dead was somewhat
unsettling to Sandoval. How would this affect Da’an? Would his Companion
lapse into depressive solitude? Whatever the outcome, Sandoval knew he
must put on a brave exterior for Captain Marquette. Perhaps the promotion
he was about to give her would help to ease the pain?
Sandoval began to dial up the coordinates of Lili’s global. It
was time to deliver the bad news to her.
* * *
“How are you feeling, Siobhan?” Dr. Melissa Park hovered by
Agent Beckett’s bedside.
Beckett breathed out in exhaustion. “Where’s my boy? Where’s my
Liam?” she asked.
Park led young Liam by the hand over to his mother. She gently
directed the little boy into Beckett’s arms. Beckett held her child close
to her.
While Beckett spent some time along with her son, Dr. Park closed
her eyes. She had a horrendous headache. Everything had whizzed by so fast
over the past few days. When she was told of Boone’s demise, Park had been
flabbergasted. She’d known that being an implant was a dangerous job with
uncertain risk involved, but still . . .
Then there was Agent Beckett. Park glanced over at the Irish implant.
She knew that she would have to modify Beckett’s CVI, so it would erase
any memory that Beckett had of being in the underground Resistance headquarters.
If and when Siobhan began to remember anything about her encounter with
the Resistance members, her CVI would break down and she would immediately
begin to die.
Was she doing the right thing? Park stared at Siobhan Beckett.
The Companion agent was in an utter state of joy spending time with her
new son. Unfortunately, Park knew that they would have to send Beckett
back to the Companions, depriving her of being able to spend any of Liam’s
childhood with him.
“He’ll grow up so fast,” sighed Dr. Park, in a whisper.
Little did Dr. Park know how quickly Liam would actually age.
* * *
Click! Click!
Augur left-clicked his computer mouse as he used his browser to
surf the Internet.
Click! Click!
He had just entered an erotically-themed website when the techno-wizard
was suddenly hit with a smack of reality.
“Yo, mama!” He shouted out all of a sudden.
Everything surfaced for Augur at that very moment. He realized
just how many things had changed over the past few days. Boone had died.
Lili had been promoted to Sandoval’s assistant. Beckett had been impregnated
by Ha’gel and had given birth to a little boy who she named Liam. Dr. Belman
had announced her retirement from medicine. And Doors had gotten an ugly
new paisley necktie.
Augur gazed at his niece, Hegawita. She was the product of a Hegawud
symbiont and of Augur’s late sister, Juanita. The Hegawuds were an ancient
race of crustacean-like creatures enslaved by the Taelons. Juanita had
been the victim of a nasty Taelon experiment where the Companions had crossed
her DNA with that of a Hegawud mother symbiont. Hegawita had been the end
result, after Juanita gave birth to her and died shortly after the delivery.
Emerging from a peaceful nap, Hegawita opened her eyes and yawned.
The “Humawud” child, the only of her species crossed between Hegawud and
human genes, looked at her uncle.
“Uncle Augur,” the child asked, “is Commander Boone really gone
forever?”
Augur paternally stroked Hegawita on her outer shell. “It looks
that way,” he sighed.
The inventor breathed out another sigh of exhaustion. All these
sudden changes were so overwhelming. Boone’s death was shocking and sad.
Belman’s retirement was moderately disappointing. Beckett’s pregnancy was
amazing and almost surreal. Lili’s promotion had been unpredictable.
And Jonathan’s paisley necktie. Augur didn’t even want to begin
to think about that!
* * *
Jonathan Doors sat stiffly at his office desk, his fingers
tightly interlocked.
The billionaire fingered his ugly new paisley necktie. He was quite
bothered by the arrival of Beckett’s son, Liam. Over the course of only
a couple of hours, Liam had morphed from an infant into a young boy, and
had now developed into a full-grown adult in his twenties.
Doors knew that he couldn’t control Liam. The son of Beckett, Sandoval,
and Ha’gel, a Kimera/human hybrid, Liam possessed a youthful independence
and determination that made Doors balk. This new being, the first of its
kind in the universe, obviously spelled trouble. How would Doors be able
to run the Liberation with Liam botching things up and getting in the way?
Then there was the matter of William Boone. Boone had been the
Liberation’s prime undercover agent on the inside. Now that Boone was gone,
who would keep their eye on Da’an, and even more importantly, Zo’or? Would
Liam be up to the job? Doors doubted it. With less than a day’s worth of
life experience, Liam was obviously too immature and ignorant to handle
such a significant mission.
Or was he?
Still, Doors suspected that the Taelons were somehow involved with
Commander Boone’s death. Probably Zo’or, he thought. Possibly Le’er? If
this was the case, the Resistance would need to get on its toes and stay
there - - or else be exonerated by the Taelon race.
* * *
Lili walked up the ramp to Da’an’s embassy. She was going
to see the Companion for the first time since Boone’s fateful funeral.
It was the longest walk of Lili’s life.
Much had happened during Boone’s less-than-tranquil memorial service.
Quo’on, the Synod leader, had been assassinated by an alien probe. Liam
had also shown up clad in military attire, just in time to save Da’an from
being killed by the probe, as well. Shortly thereafter, Da’an had appointed
Major Liam Kincaid - - as the Kimera/human called himself - - as his new
protector.
Captain Marquette entered the audience chamber. Da’an was waiting
for her. Lili ran up to Da’an, who stood up from his Big Chair, and threw
her arms around the Companion, embracing him in a tearful hug. As Lili
cried on Da’an’s shoulder, the alien let his emotions flow naturally. He
glimmered shades of Taelon blue upon his facade, and kept his arms wrapped
around the weeping Captain Marquette.
Time passed as Lili and Da’an shared each other’s comfort and mourned
together. Soon, however, Lili dried her tears as best she could and managed
to speak. She had, after all, come there for a reason.
“May I go see Ja’an?” Lili solicited.
Da’an nodded. “He is in his chambers.”
Lili trudged through the corridors of the embassy at a slug’s-page.
She eventually reached Ja’an’s resting quarters, and opened the door to
the room.
Ja’an’s room was completely dark, except for the small Taelon figure
glowing brightly within the blackness. It was Ja’an. Da’an’s grandchild
was resting in his data stream, shining a sparkly glint of blue while in
his true form.
“Hi, Ja’an,” Lili whispered to him softly.
Ja’an came out of his energy state and switched from his true form
to his human face.
Lili sat down next to the Taelon child.
Ja’an looked sad. “Is Commander Boone ever coming back?” Ja’an
asked his friend.
“I’m afraid not,” Lili sighed. She held Ja’an close to her.
Da’an’s young grandchild flushed blue and looked very mournful.
“How did Boone die?”
“He was injured in a fight with Ha’gel,” Lili explained. “Boone
never recovered from his wounds.”
“Ha’gel?” Ja’an repeated. “The renegade Kimera.”
Lili nodded. “Your grandparent told you about him?”
“Yes,” replied Ja’an. “He said I was old enough to understand the
situation.” Ja’an thought for a moment. “Lili, grandparent has been very
quiet lately. I comprehend his sadness, as I experience it too. But I don’t
know how to make him feel better.”
“Just be there for him, Ja’an,” advised Lili. “When he needs you,
you’ll know. And vice versa. You two are family. Don’t ever forget that.”
Ja’an gave Lili a half-smile. “I’m going to miss Boone,” he lamented.
“Me too, Ja’an,” Lili sighed. “Me too.”
* * *
A soft breeze of calmness settled in the air over the empty
graveyard. Lili Marquette wandered up the pathway into the garden, carrying
a wreath of red roses. She approached William Boone’s tombstone.
Lili kneeled down by the grave marker and placed the wreath of
roses next to Boone’s grave. A tear softly trickled down her cheek. More
tears followed. Lili cried freely and openly, something she had for some
reason refrained from doing to a great extent while at the funeral.
Someone lightly touched Captain Marquette on the shoulder. Lili
turned around and came face-to-face with Co’al. The Companion was smiling
empathetically and held a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
“Co’al?” Lili gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to pay my respects,” answered Co’al. “I was most saddened
to hear of Boone’s tragic fate. He will be missed by many of us.”
Co’al set his bouquet of flowers down next to Lili’s wreath of
roses. “I apologize for failing to attend Commander Boone’s funeral,” Co’al
continued, “but important unfinished business prevented me from doing so.”
“It’s okay,” Lili sniffed, brushing her tears away. “Boone would
have appreciated you being here even now. After all, it’s the thought that
counts. Tu’um had wanted to be at the funeral too, but she also had Companion
business to take care of.”
Co’al stared at Boone’s tombstone sadly.
“It all seems so unreal!” yelled Lili, all of a sudden. “And so
unfair! Boone didn’t deserve to die!”
“No one deserves to die, Captain Marquette,” maintained Co’al.
“And you’re right, Boone especially didn’t deserve it. But Boone’s ultimate
fate will go beyond what has now taken place.”
Lili looked confused. “What do you mean by that, Co’al?”
The Venezuelan Companion didn’t answer. Instead, he paused, and
after a moment, stated, “Nothing lasts forever, captain. Not even death.”
Lili Marquette still had no idea what Co’al meant. The Taelon was
speaking very cryptically. “What do you mean death doesn’t last forever?!”
she wailed. “All I ever seem to see is death! Everyone is always dying
on this planet! Katya Petrenko! Rho’ha! Juanita! Ne’eg! Sahjit! Kee’sha!
Rayna! Quo’on! And now Boone! Soon there will be no one left!! No one!!”
Once again, Lili burst into tears.
“Trust me, Captain Marquette,” emphasized Co’al, clutching Lili’s
hand, “you shall soon see. Some legacies never die. And I believe that
this is only the beginning for the legacy of Commander William Boone.”
Through misty and watery eyes, Lili gazed at the alien. Co’al motioned
with his hands as he continued to speak.
“We can not let Zo’or triumph over us. If he has his way, your
entire race will become extinct. And consequently, so will ours, though
Zo’or does not yet fully realize that potential consequence.” Co’al seemed
to know what he was saying.
“So what can we do?” Lili asked, through tears.
“We must unite the Taelon and human species. In one way or another.
Even if it is not Da’an’s desired ‘joining’ between our two races, we must
somehow form an alternative type of coalition, or we will all become endangered
species.”
As Co’al departed, he leaned over and whispered to Lili, “We shall
speak again, captain.” The Companion to Venezuela was then escorted from
the cemetery back to his shuttle by his attaché, Agent Paco Ramirez.
Lili kneeled down again next to Boone’s gravestone. She cried some
more, a flood of tears flowing from her eyes as she wept.
“I’ll miss you, Boone,” Lili whispered.
* * *
FIN
Copyright 1998 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 send Dr. Belman after you with a cold stethescope!
