Ruptures

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 "Between Heaven and Hell" and "Isabel." 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," "More Adventures in Taelon-Sitting," and "Bundle of Joy," "Paradise Lost," "Maiya in Wonderland," and "To Avoid the Void" before reading "Ruptures."

 Please feel free to use any of my characters for your own fanfictions, but keep their name and status quo as is in "Ruptures," and please tell me so I can read your story. For the purposes of this story, the characters of Tu'um, Wi'meh, and La'an will each be referred to as "she."

 Summary: The Commonality's energy is gradually drained when a renegade Kimera named Bah'ral arrives on Earth, hell-bent on vengeance toward the Taelon race. In order to prevent an Atavistic regress of the entire Taelon species, the Companions once again turn to "recruiting" humans to place in the PK fields to compensate for the ruptures. All the while, Bah'ral camouflages himself by invading the bodies of other Taelons.

 Special thanks goes to Tabakat for allowing me to use the her character of La'an, who is mentioned in this story. La'an can be found in more of Tabakat's stories. Please ask permission from Tabakat and other authors before using their characters in your stories. Another special thank you goes to Browny (aka Brown Unicorn) for inspiring a more comical part of this story.

 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.
 
 

    * * *

     Across the dark, starry night sky of blackness, a circular object cascaded toward the earth. The smooth, shiny, purplish pod, spiraled further and further downward until it crashed into the ground with tremendous force.
    Nearby was an excavation site on the edge of a small valley in the Peruvian Andes. A team of South American archaeologists and anthropologists were working in collaboration to uncover some newly-detected Mayan ruins in northern Peru. Among the group were several Taelon scientists.
    Nar'in, a Taelon anthropologist, had wandered away from the other scientists to examine some archaic Mayan wreckage. As he stood analyzing a patch of weathered artifacts, Nar'in glanced up and the sight of the strange pod crashed into the earth's soil caught his eye. The tenuous, stately Companion scientist furtively moved closer to the unfamiliar, equivocal object.
    Approaching the pod, Nar'in watched as it ever so slowly opened up, revealing a luminously glimmering body that was very Taelon-like in appearance. It looked almost like a Taelon in its true form, except rather than blueness there was more of a lit-up white hue to it containing occasional shades and splashes of blue.
    "Who are you?" Nar'in whispered to the being in Eunoia.
    Remarkably, the being understood Nar'in.
    "I am Bah'ral," he replied, advancing toward Nar'in.
    "You are Taelon?" asked Nar'in.
    "I am Kimera," hissed Bah'ral in a harsh, raspy whisper.
    "You cannot be Kimera," Nar'in rebutted. "The Kimera died out centuries ago."
    "Your disreputable Taelon race captured and imprisoned me," Bah'ral resentfully flared. "I was rescued by a family of my fellow Kimera whom escaped your oppressive Taelon empire - - and contrary to what you may believe, we are still out there! And now, you shall face our wrath!"
    Nar'in's eyes grew fearfully wide.
    Reaching out, Bah'ral covered Nar'in's face with the palm of his durable Kimera hand. Nar'in shrieked out loud as Bah'ral sucked Nar'in's consciousness into his own like a vacuum. Using Nar'in's physical appearance to camouflage his own, Bah'ral had now literally become Nar'in.
    "Let us see what you know about your fellow Taelons, Nar'in," spoke Bah'ral, entering the Commonality through Nar'in's body.
    Simultaneously clad with Nar'in's energy mass and facade, Bah'ral strode back to the excavation site.
    "Nar'in, where were you?" one of the human archaeologists asked the Kimera infiltrator.
    "Gathering information," replied Bah'ral, with a slight twitch of his eye.

     * * *

     "What is the problem, Da'an?" asked Liam Kincaid, who had been summoned by the North American Companion to Da'an's embassy.
    Seated atop his Big Chair, Da'an gazed at Major Kincaid through his tranquil yet anxious blue eyes. "There is a rupture in the Commonality."
    "Again?!" blurted out Liam.
    "Unfortunately so."
    "What is the source of the rupture this time?"
    "We do not know." Da'an turned his head away, and then slowly rotated it back in Liam's direction. "We can feel an unknown source invading the Commonality, that we detect for certain. It has a similar sensation to when your father, Ha'gel, awoke from his prior captivity."
    "But how can that be? My father was the last of his kind," pointed out Liam.
    "There lies the enigma within our dilemma," Da'an articulated. "Until the rupture can be restored, Zo'or has ordered that we reactivate the PK fields with the combined consciousnesses of involuntary human subjects."
    "No! Not more Sleepers!" Major Kincaid persisted.
    "There is no other option," Da'an firmly said. "We cannot allow ourselves to revert back to our destructive Atavistic states."
    "You can't just let innocent people die!"
    "I regret that it must be this way." Da'an's eyes dropped to the floor. He could no longer look Liam in the face. "This intruder is draining energy from within the Commonality. It is incomprehensible that another Taelon would do such an act."
    "You sound like Zo'or!" Liam folded his arms, bitterly.
    Da'an gave his protector a serious stare in the face. "You must help us, Liam. It is imperative that the ruptures be located and repaired."
    Liam frowned heavily. "I don't like this one bit."
    "None of us do." Da'an touched Liam on the arm. "Come. Zo'or needs us at the laboratory. He is assembling the best Taelons and human scientists to attempt to find a solution, so we may subdue the ruptures."
    As he and Da'an headed for the shuttle bay, Liam heaved an incredible sigh of distress.

     * * *

     "I thought your proficient expertise may aid us in evaluating the excavated ruins," Bah'ral, still enclosed within Nar'in's body, told the Taelon artist who stood next to him.
    Lo'ag was a wiry, bashful Taelon artisan who was primarily responsible for scrutinizing assorted pieces of anthropological art. This covered a wide span of cultures which Lo'ag was well familiarized with. He not only created art - - he studied and critiqued it, he lived and breathed it.
    Bah'ral handed a hardened vase of clay pottery to Lo'ag. It had only a small chip in its upper rim. "This is one of the more intact artifacts that we recovered."
    Turning the pottery over in his hands, Lo'ag meticulously inspected it. "Definitively, it appears to be Mayan in origin . . ."
    Bah'ral cut off Lo'ag's sentence by slapping his palm over the artisan's face.
    "Nar'in, what is the meaning of this?!"
    Without a reply, Bah'ral steadily and expediently absorbed Lo'ag's consciousness, as well as Lo'ag's facial and bodily components, into his own. In exchange, Nar'in shot out of Bah'ral's body in a blurry flash, tumbling to the floor of the museum room which they were in.
    Bah'ral, now wearing Lo'ag's exterior, quickly exited the room before Nar'in could identify him.
    Groaning, Nar'in sat up on the museum floor and looked around.
    "Where am I?" he inquired, groggily.

     * * *

     Approximately, three-dozen humans laid unconscious atop the flat beds in the Taelon laboratory which hosted the Sleepers. The energy-based PK field flowed around and above them. Each Sleeper was encased within his or her own personal "heaven" as the Sleepers' psyches collectively bounced back and forth throughout the PK field.
    Zo'or stood on the catwalk overlooking the PK field as vivid flashes of the Sleepers' subconsciousnesses danced and fluttered about in mid-air like a laser light show. The Synod speaker breathed in an uneasy sense of deja vu.
    "Do you require anything, Zo'or?" Agent Sandoval came up behind his Companion.
    "No, Agent Sandoval. I do not." Zo'or continued staring straight ahead at the ominous PK field. "Inform Je'hab that the first set of Sleepers is in place. We will collect more - - if necessary. Tell Je'hab to report back to the Synod."
    "Yes, Zo'or." Sandoval left Zo'or alone.
    Relieved that he had found a task to assign to distract Agent Sandoval, Zo'or shut his eyes and resigned himself to be alone with his own private thoughts. His solitude, however, did not last for very long.
    Dr. Julianne Belman had now joined Zo'or on the catwalk. She was assigned to the Taelon laboratory facility that day.
    "This simply cannot go on," Belman assertively spoke to Zo'or, gently but firmly. "You are exploiting human lives."
    "What we are trying to do, Dr. Belman," Zo'or whipped his head around toward her, a bit peeved, "is save your human species. If you would open your eyes for one second, you would be able to see that."
    "You can't keep plucking humans off the street, sending them to their death beds - - literally!" Belman crossed her eyes and folded her arms.
    "Do you have an alternative?" Zo'or challenged the doctor. "Because if you do, I would certainly love to hear it."
    "It just so happens I do," Dr. Belman responded. "I've been talking with Tu'um, and . . ."
    "Stop right there, doctor!" Zo'or held up his hand. "Tu'um does not know what is best."
    "I haven't even told you her idea yet!" protested Belman, cocking her head and glaring at Zo'or.
    "Don't bother." Zo'or shifted his head back toward the freely-flowing PK field. "I have no time to hear Tu'um's preposterous 'solutions.' She cannot seem to grasp the full reality of our situation."
    "You underestimate her, Zo'or," insisted Belman.
    "Zo'or underestimates many individuals," spoke up a high-pitched, soothing voice. Tu'um, the Companion to India, had approached Zo'or and Belman on the catwalk. The feminine Taelon was trailed by another "lady-like" Companion, Tu'um's good friend Wi'meh, the Companion to Singapore.
    "In a position of leadership such as yours," Wi'meh added, looking right at Zo'or, "you must listen to diverse viewpoints other than your own."
    "You are not allowed to tell me what to do," Zo'or sneered at Wi'meh. "You were not even supposed to be a diplomat in the first place."
    "I see your bitterness clouds your judgment," Wi'meh observed.
    "Fine." Zo'or turned his attention to Tu'um. "What exactly is this 'idea' of yours?" he solicited in a mocking tone.
    "In order to sustain the life force of every member of the Taelon race," suggested Tu'um, gesturing gracefully with her hands as she spoke, "I propose that each Taelon choose a human partner to 'join' with. This will maintain the life force of each individual, and elevate both our species and humanity to an entirely new and uncharted state of being."
    "Absolutely out of the question!" stated Zo'or, matter-of-factly.
    "Now hold on here, Zo'or," interposed Julianne. "I'm interested in hearing more about this option."
    "It is not an option," Zo'or staunchly objected. "Aside from that, Tu'um, I am repulsed that you would even dare suggest such a flagrant act. Though I suppose it is to be expected from someone of your demeaning character."
    "Are you too obstinate to realize the necessity of this?" Tu'um pressed, locking her eyes on Zo'or's. "This will allow for our two races to ascend upon the evolutionary ladder to a state of perpetual rapture."
    "Tu'um, you are prematurely prognosticating your own theories based on your shameful alliance with Captain Marquette."
    "Joyce achieved it," Belman reminded Zo'or.
    "Yes . . . and we recall what happened during that situation, do we not?" Zo'or stuck his nose up at Julianne. "I believe your instinctive sentimentality of your daughter's memory is impairing your threshold for rationality, Dr. Belman."
    "Zo'or . . ." began Wi'meh.
    "The matter is closed!" With that, the Synod speaker hurried away.

     * * *

     Nar'in's face appeared on the data stream monitor in Zo'or's private chamber at the Taelon facility.
    "Please elucidate the situation to us," Zo'or knowingly signaled to Nar'in, requesting a verbal explanation for Sandoval and Lili's benefit. Nar'in had already communed to the Synod the details of his experience.
    "A being claiming to be Kimera entered my body," Nar'in recollected, "after I discovered him inside a dormant pod that had landed at our Mayan excavation site in Peru."
    "How do you know he was Kimera, or that he invaded your body?" Sandoval probed.
    "I could feel his presence within mine," conveyed Nar'in. "He had sovereign power over my body. I could not even control my link to the Commonality. Ultimately, Bah'ral, as he called himself, released his own essence from mine. Assuming he was Kimera, Bah'ral most likely encroached another Taelon being, accounting for the continued ruptures."
    "I fail to see the logic of this," Sandoval said, a bit confused. "I thought Ha'gel was the last Kimera?"
    "We thought so, as well," confirmed Zo'or. "But apparently, he wasn't. That is beside the point. Bah'ral, or whoever he is, must be promptly eliminated. In all probability, Bah'ral is the one causing the ruptures in our Commonality."
    "Whose body do you suspect Bah'ral now occupies?" Captain Marquette asked to both Zo'or and Nar'in.
    "He could be concealing himself behind any Taelon facade," Zo'or cautioned, "assuming his objective is to destroy the Commonality. Nar'in, where again were you when you 'awoke' from Bah'ral's imprisonment of your free will?"
    "I was in the local museum, only miles away from our excavation site . . . where Lo'ag has been stationed . . ." Nar'in recoiled with sudden realization.
    "Then it is obvious that Lo'ag is the one causing the ruptures," reasoned Zo'or.
    "Don't you mean . . . Bah'ral?" Sandoval corrected him.
    "Yes," Zo'or recognized Sandoval's point. "Him too."
    "Lo'ag was scheduled to meet with Wi'meh at her embassy today," Nar'in informed them, familiar with his comrade's itinerary. "They were to review plans for the impending Mayan art expedition in Singapore."
    "Then Wi'meh's embassy is where we shall corner Bah'ral," declared Zo'or.
    "How do we separate him from Lo'ag's body?" Lili asked.
    "We don't." Zo'or sat atop his chair with a lofty facial expression as hard as stone. "Lo'ag will have to be sacrificed. Use whatever means necessary."
    "Should we not warn Wi'meh of the danger? She might get hurt in the crossfire," pointed out Sandoval.
    "During battle, casualties are inevitable." Zo'or stared implicitly at his implant. "As I said before, Agent Sandoval, use whatever means necessary to terminate Bah'ral."
    The implant bowed and headed for the shuttle bay. His assistant followed. As they boarded Lili's shuttle, Sandoval said, "Captain Marquette, when we arrive at Wi'meh's embassy please proceed with caution. You do not have your own skrill as protection."
    Lili simply sighed as she swept her hand across the shuttle control screen. They launched into ID space, and within minutes had arrived at the Taelon embassy in Singapore.
    "We've arrived and are ready to ambush," Sandoval confirmed for Zo'or via his global.
    A swat team of about two-dozen uniformed soldiers had been dispatched from the Singapore police force to meet Sandoval and Lili. They were all trained Companion implants, and could all speak English as Singapore was a multi-lingual metropolis.
    The swat team, led by Agent Sandoval and Captain Marquette, stormed past security into Wi'meh's eclectically decorated audience chamber. There, they came across Wi'meh sitting atop her Big Chair. Lo'ag and Tu'um could also be seen in front of her, along with Tu'um's attaché, Agent Haji Jagdamba, and Wi'meh's attaché, Agent Kim Hsu. Jagdamba was a short, stocky male with jet black hair and a mustache, and Hsu was an Asian female implant with simply cut short black hair, beady hazel eyes, and bony cheekbones.
    "Fire!" shouted Sandoval.
    Several members of the swat team extended their skrills and blasted them at Lo'ag. However, Bah'ral, who possessed Lo'ag's body, caused the Taelon artist to dash out of the line of fire at the speed of light. His Kimera capabilities allocated such accelerated movements.
    Instead, Tu'um was knocked over by the skrill blast. The Indian Companion wasn't killed because she and Wi'meh, as Lili then remembered, both possessed rare Taelon genes that made them immune to the fatality of a skrill blast. Tu'um was merely lying on the floor tingling in pain.
    Instinctively, Jagdamba fired his skrill back at the swat team. Another skrill blast hit Jagdamba in retaliation, propelling him to the ground. Agent Hsu was also caught in the line of fire, knocked out and injured by another of the soldier's skrills.
    "What is the meaning of this?!" demanded Wi'meh.
    Lili ran over to Tu'um's side.
    "Marquette, get out of the way! Come back here!" Sandoval yelled at her as Lili dodged an incoming skrill blast.
    "Come on!" Amid the blasting of skrills from the Companion-trained soldiers in an attempt to nail Bah'ral, Lili grabbed Tu'um's hand and helped the Taelon to her feet. Tu'um and Lili quickly escaped out the back exit, with Wi'meh scurrying after them. Lili ushered Tu'um and Wi'meh into one of Wi'meh's shuttles and they took off, heading for Washington D.C.
    Meanwhile, Bah'ral, still camouflaged in Yo'og's body, activated the portal in Wi'meh's audience chamber. He zapped himself to an inter-dimensional location unknown.
    "Cease fire!" ordered Sandoval, and the shooting stopped. Pulling out his global, Sandoval opened the link to Zo'or. "Bah'ral has escaped."
    Zo'or's reaction was not a pleasant one.

     * * *

     Liam Kincaid laid sleeping across a red cotton futon in the lounge of the medical facility. He was exhausted after a day of assisting Da'an, having overseen the additions and removals of various involuntary Sleepers to and from the PK field.
    Da'an lingered in the doorway of the staff lounge, his tall, slim, respectable Taelon figure standing with serene posture. The North American Companion inconspicuously inched closer to the slumbering Major Kincaid. He leaned over and observed Liam's unknowing mannerism. Da'an's curiosity of the human subconscious was becoming deeply aroused. The Companion reached out and linked hands with the Kimera/human hybrid as Liam slept. Closing his eyes, Da'an pressed his own hand against Liam's; their palms touched, and Da'an's true form eroded his holographic "human" facade.
    Meanwhile, wandering in his own dreams, Liam found himself trudging through an ivory-shaded cloudy mist. Surrounding him for as far as the eye could see and beyond, Liam could view nothing except heavenly clouds lazily hovering in place.
    "Liam," called out a clear, airy, almost Taelon-like voice that had a soft, tonal octave to it.
    "Who's there?" Liam demanded, instantly suspicious and vociferously baffled by his present atmosphere.
    A body that very much resembled a Taelon emerged from the pillowy clouds. The figure was in some sort of true form, except it was more white in color than blue, but contained specks of blue and purple at intervals throughout its bodily texture. It stepped up to Liam and faced him.
    "Liam, my child," spoke the faceless being. "We finally meet."
    "Ha'gel?" Liam was mystified.
    "Yes, it is I," the Kimera replied. He took Liam's hands and held them with his own. Their shakaravas lit up, creating a bright nova of radiance that illuminated their collaborative presence.
    "How . . . how is it that you're here?" whispered Liam, wide-eyed in awe. "I've had dreams about you before, but . . ."
    "That was not me," Ha'gel assured his son. "This is the first time I have materialized in front of you."
    "In all my other dreams, you sounded so . . . so . . . fatherly, and masculine," Liam babbled. "You had a deep, authoritative, domineering voice. But this is really you? You sound so . . . so . . . Taelon!"
    "The reason for that is simple," explained Ha'gel. "My Kimera race was assimilated by the Taelon prior to my imprisonment. Our entire race suffered a loss of the more abstract energy form we had previously possessed. Thus, I may appear very similar to the image of a Taelon. But I am Kimera."
    "Why have you come to me?" pondered Liam. "Am I dead . . . in the afterlife?"
    "No Liam, you are not deceased," asserted Ha'gel. "I have entered your subconscious from the Kimera afterlife to aid your containment of Bah'ral."
    "You know about him?"
    "I am acquainted with Bah'ral, yes. And I have been watching over you on Earth from the afterlife."
    "So you are aware of what Bah'ral has been doing on Earth?"
    "Yes. He has been causing ruptures in the Taelon commonality." Ha'gel lowered his head, still bearing no visible face. "Although I condemn the Taelons' actions on Earth, I do not condone Bah'ral's efforts either. He is in the same state that I was when I landed on Earth - - a state of vengeance, dangerous insanity, blind rage, and bent on retribution. But having had time to reflect on my past behavior, I have come to realize the wrongness of my previous ill-regard toward humanity. I caused many human deaths, and that is a reprehensible violation of the Kimera philosophy."
    Although Ha'gel had no eyes to express it, Liam could sense that his father felt genuinely sad and ashamed.
    "Bah'ral doesn't seem to realize that if he succeeds in destroying the Commonality, he will cause all of the Taelons to revert to their Atavistic state," Liam put forth. "He is consequently endangering humanity, which runs anti the concepts taught by our race." Liam stopped short and came to the realization that he'd referred to the Kimera as "our" race - - meaning his shared heritage with Ha'gel.
    "That he will," conceded Ha'gel, solemnly.
    "Is there any way we can stop Bah'ral?" Liam appealed to his father for guidance.
    At that moment, Da'an, who had also entered Liam's dream, stepped out of the clouds. The benevolent Companion took in the majestic surroundings, but then stopped short in his tracks at the sight of the Kimera and his son.
    "Ha'gel?" gasped Da'an, immediately recognizing the Kimera pheromone that Ha'gel gave off from his body.
    "Da'an, replied Ha'gel, remembering the Taelon from his past. "You have penetrated Liam's subconscious as well."
    "Please do not hurt him," Da'an pleaded with Ha'gel, indicating Liam.
    "He's not here to hurt me, Da'an," stressed Liam, beckoning the Companion forth, "nor you. Ha'gel wishes to help us to contain Bah'ral."
    "That is true," Ha'gel confirmed. The mysterious, faceless Kimera turned toward Da'an's direction. "I am truly repentant for the pain I have caused you, Da'an." Ha'gel was, of course, speaking of William Boone.
    "It was Zo'or who sealed Boone's fate," sighed Da'an, with a hint of hostility in his voice. "You merely facilitated the opportunity for Zo'or."
    "I will strive for partial redemption," promised Ha'gel. "I shall bring Bah'ral back with me to the Kimera heavens."
    "Why would you hinder the vengeful efforts of your fellow Kimera?" Da'an acidly challenged Ha'gel.
    "Because," Ha'gel acknowledged, "Bah'ral is following a misguided path. He is a potential threat to humanity, and is consequently betraying the basic edict of our Kimera way of life."
    Da'an digested Ha'gel's words, still suspicious of the Kimera.
    "Please, Da'an," begged Liam. "I must do this for my fellow human beings, for the Taelons . . . for you. I have to."
    Liam's eyes connected with Da'an's, and Da'an glanced back and forth from Liam to Ha'gel.
    "Very well," Da'an resolved. "What precisely must we do, Ha'gel?"
    "I will take over Liam's body," Ha'gel explained. "Since I have passed on, Liam must will me to join with him. The only way a Kimera may overtake another being's body from the afterlife is if that being willingly allows the Kimera access to his or her body while in the subconscious realm." Ha'gel looked at Liam. "We must join while you are still asleep."
    "Once you have enveloped my body," Liam established, "then how do we subdue Bah'ral?"
    "I will confront Bah'ral while masked in your image," Ha'gel told his son. "I will then absorb Bah'ral into my own consciousness and carry him with me back to the Kimera heavens. You will soon after awaken, intact, unharmed."
    "Will this work?" Da'an asked.
    "I am positive," confirmed Ha'gel. "But Liam and I must join immediately, before he awakens, so that I may possess his body when his dream ceases. Da'an, you must leave Liam's subconscious before he and I join, or else you may be entrapped during the process."
    "Be careful," Da'an bode Liam. He glanced back at Ha'gel. "Thank you."
    Ha'gel nodded back at Da'an congenially. After a pause of hesitance, Da'an turned around and disappeared back through the clouds.
    Da'an then awoke. Liam was still asleep.
    Major Kincaid moved forward toward his father. "Go ahead," he encouraged Ha'gel.
    Gently, the Kimera placed his hand against his son's, and through the touch of their mutual shakaravas, Liam's consciousness was dissolved into Ha'gel's. As their spiritual and bodily union took place, Ha'gel directed his energy particles into Liam's bodily matrix and assumed Liam's human form.
    Ha'gel then awoke in Liam's body.
    "Liam?" Da'an was by his protector's side. Then Da'an remembered what had occurred. "I mean . . . Ha'gel. Welcome."
    "Thank you," spoke Ha'gel, in Liam's voice. He communicated using Liam's vocals and human body. "We must find Bah'ral."

     * * *

     Lili steered Wi'meh's shuttle through a vividly bright vortex of multiple shades and textures. She was navigating the shuttle through ID space in search of Washington D.C.'s coordinates.
    "Captain Marquette, thank you," Wi'meh expressed her gratitude to the shuttle pilot.
    "I had to get you two outta there," Lili told them. "Tu'um, you're so special to me and too important to lose . . . and Wi'meh, you and Tu'um both are two of humanity's best hope for the future."
    "As are you, Lili," Tu'um reminded her Earth companion.
    "Zo'or is so childish," griped the ex-marine. "He won't even listen to your ideas, Tu'um."
    "The reason Zo'or rejected my suggestion is because individual Taelon joinings with individual humans would sever the current existence of the Commonality," Tu'um explained. "Some members of my race fear the absence of such a shared psychic link with others of our race."
    "But you could survive without the Commonality?" Lili asked Tu'um.
    "I do value the Commonality," Tu'um clarified. "But I care more about preserving the individual lives of my fellow Taelons, even if it means the elimination of our collective psychic link."
    "Additionally," contended Wi'meh, "Zo'or utilizes the Commonality as a mean by which to control and manipulate some of our more vulnerable fellow Taelons."
    "There are many Taelons who abhor the concept of sharing their body with a human being," Tu'um said. "I, on the other hand, embrace it." She gazed lovingly and affectionately at Lili.
    "Well if the ruptures continue and can't be repaired," vowed Lili, in a determined voice, "I'm not going to let either of you die." The captain looked at Tu'um. "If the Commonality becomes permanently disabled, I will join with you . . . you and I will merge and share one body, together."
    "We must also join with La'an in such a scenario," Tu'um stipulated. "You and her have a precious bond, as well, and it must not be broken either."
    "Could we actually do a three-way joining?" Lili inquired, speaking of herself, Tu'um, and La'an cooperatively.
    "Of course," replied Tu'um. "All three of us are spiritually compatible."
    "And Wi'meh," Captain Marquette addressed the Companion to Singapore, "I'm positive that Kwai Ling would be more than willing to join with you. She's told me how much you mean to her."
    Wi'meh beamed.
    "Furthermore," Tu'um established, "I have spoken with several of my Taelon friends, such as Co'al and Fu'sha, and they themselves are planning to choose other humans to join with, if such a resolution becomes necessary."
    At that moment, Lili landed the shuttle in the center of Chevolleau Gardens, a beautiful city park covered with bike trails, walking paths, fountains, floral gardens, shrubbery, and trees.
    Wi'meh activated her shuttle's auto-lock. Captain Marquette led Tu'um and Wi'meh down a scenic path to the outer rim of the park, where they crossed the street and entered an auto shop.
    "Hi Lili," said the husky, reddish-blond spiky-haired woman who stood behind the cash register. She glanced suspiciously at Wi'meh and Tu'um. "What can I do for you?"
    "Darlene, we need to borrow your jeep," Lili replied. Gesturing at Tu'um and Wi'meh, she continued, "These are two of our allies, and we're in danger." Lili's eyes gave Darlene a look that said, "Please trust me."
    "No problem," nodded Darlene. "My Honda is out back." Darlene extended her vehicle keys to Lili, and as the shuttle pilot took them Darlene whispered to her, "I have my doubts, Lili, but I will keep an open mind."
    "Where are we going, Lili?" inquired Wi'meh, as they piled into Darlene's jeep.
    "The Flat Planet Café," answered Captain Marquette, turning the keys in the ignition. "We need to go get Kwai Ling so we're ready in the event that we must join."
    As Lili drove Darlene's red Honda downtown toward the Flat Planet, Wi'meh and Tu'um smiled and waved from the back seat to people on the sidewalk whom they passed by.
    "Dammit," Lili muttered, annoyed, as she noticed for the first time that Darlene's fuel tank was virtually empty. Pulling into the front of a nearby gas station, Lili got out and filled the tank up with gasoline. "I'm going in to pay for the gas," Lili told Tu'um and Wi'meh. "Stay right here."
    "Well, there is no reason why we should not relax," Tu'um suggested, once Lili had gone inside.
    Both of the Taelons wore the same color of a bodysuit and were in the back seat. Tu'um put one of her legs up on the edge of the front seat letting her leg jut out from one side of the Honda; her other leg remained in a concealed sitting position. Wi'meh laid down on the floor of the car, so her upper body could no longer be seen from the outside of the vehicle. The Companion to Singapore let one of her legs dangle out the other end of the Honda, while her other leg remained hidden on the floor. Tu'um reclined back against the back seat of the Honda.
    A man rode by them on his bicycle. He took one look at Darlene's Honda and nearly fell off his bike! To him, it looked as though there was only one Taelon sitting in the back seat of the jeep, Tu'um - - and it appeared as though her legs were drastically outstretched at wildly opposite angles. Little did he know that one of those Taelon legs actually belonged to Wi'meh.
    "What are you two smiling about?" Lili asked, when she came back.
    "Oh, nothing," grinned Tu'um, as they drove off.

     * * *

     Liam's global beeped off.
    "Go!"
    Augur was staring back at him through the screen. "Liam, you'll never guess what I found out."
    "Nor do I have time to guess. Just tell me, Augur."
    "I was able to isolate Lo'ag's energy reading from the Commonality. Holo-Lili tracked him on her worldwide scanner."
    "Where is he?"
    "Bah'ral is headed in Lo'ag's body straight for the Taelon embassy in Lima."
    "Makes sense," Ha'gel realized, after pausing for a moment to act like he was thinking about it." Speaking as Liam would, Ha'gel proceeded to say, "When Bah'ral overtakes another Taelon he also gains access to that Taelon's mind. Obviously, Bah'ral feels there's better leverage to be attained out of occupying the body of a Taelon diplomat. He's probably going after the Peruvian Companion."
    "So what's the plan, major?"
    Ha'gel devised a plan and gave the instructions to Augur. Cutting the link, Ha'gel, still clad in Liam's body, went into the next room and approached Da'an.
    "Da'an?"
    "Yes, Li - - Ha'gel," Da'an corrected himself, remembering who he was really talking to.
    "Augur has tracked Bah'ral to Lima," the Kimera explained. "I am going after him."
    "Liam - - Ha'gel, are you certain it will not be too dangerous?"
    "I have to, Da'an. The Resistance is helping me with this endeavor, so please do not worry."
    Before Da'an could protest further, Ha'gel exited the room, still in his son's body. Boarding the shuttle, he instructed the shuttle pilot to launch into inter-dimensional and transport the craft to Lima.
    Dr. Belman was waiting for Liam at the Taelon embassy in Lima. She had been given security clearance, claiming to be there on a trip to see the Peruvian Companion.
    "Liam," Julianne addressed Ha'gel as he approached her clad as Liam. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
    "Trust me, Dr. Belman," confirmed Ha'gel. "Once I lure Bah'ral into my body, give me an injection from your needle. The drugs will knock me out. Then bring me back to the Resistance headquarters."
    "I'm still not feeling comfortable with this," grimaced Belman. But she nevertheless was armed with a loaded syringe. Dr. Belman hid behind a pillar.
    Before long, Bah'ral came walking through the courtyard camouflaged as Lo'ag. He was headed straight toward the Peruvian Companion's audience chamber.
    "Stop, Bah'ral!" Ha'gel got out Liam's gun and pointed it at Bah'ral, knowing full well that a gun could not kill a Kimera. "I'm Companion Agent Liam Kincaid. I was sent to apprehend you by the Synod."
    "Why not more soldiers?" Bah'ral questioned in Lo'ag's wispy voice. Bah'ral inched toward Ha'gel. "Agent Liam Kincaid, Da'an's protector. Yes, I know who you are." Secretly, Bah'ral saw Liam's body as the perfect opportunity for him to make his way to Da'an.
    "They sent me undercover," Ha'gel lied. "Zo'or felt that one Companion agent would be less conspicuous than a whole fleet of us."
    "Yes, that would make sense." Suddenly, Bah'ral lunged toward Ha'gel at full force, intending to absorb the consciousness of Major Liam Kincaid.
    Instead, Bah'ral jumped into Liam's body and disappeared. He had been absorbed by Ha'gel. Dr. Belman ran forward and jabbed her syringe into the neck of Liam's body. Liam's body then tumbled to the ground, as Liam, Ha'gel, and Bah'ral were now all suspended within Liam's bodily mass.
    Meanwhile, Lo'ag had fallen away from Ha'gel upon collision with Liam's mass and reassumed his own body. The Taelon artisan was lying on the embassy floor, dazed and winded.
    Belman used all of her strength to drag Liam's body away from Lo'ag. She and the shuttle pilot who'd come along hauled Liam's body back onto the shuttle and the took off, headed for Washington D.C.

     * * *

     Da'an and Zo'or stood together on the catwalk overlooking the Sleepers trapped in the PK field. Both Taelons could simultaneously feel a sensation resonating throughout the entire Commonality.
    "The ruptures have ceased," Da'an realized aloud. "Bah'ral is no longer among us."
    Zo'or had a face filled with extraordinary relief. "Deactivate the PK field," he instructed to a nearby Taelon engineer who was in his true form.
    Obediently, the translucent, sparkly blue Taelon figure located the control panel and punched in the code that would deactivate the PK field.
    The Sleepers were set free.

     * * *

     Liam Kincaid awoke lying across a flat, metallic examining table, strapped in with heavy leather harnesses. Standing above him were Augur, Lili, Dr. Belman, and Jonathan Doors.
    "Is it him . . . or is Bah'ral inside of him?" Jonathan Doors asked with high suspicion, his arms folded pompously.
    "I saw Lo'ag jump into Liam's body with my very own eyes," recalled Dr. Julianne Belman.
    "It's a good thing we have him in restraints," Lili remarked, having arrived at headquarters after bringing Wi'meh and Tu'um back to Singapore.
    "Liam assured me that his Kimera genes would be able to contain Bah'ral," reported Augur. The hacker stared down at Liam and called to him. "So what's the plan, Liam?! Where do we go from here?!"
    "I can't believe we went along with this hair-brained scheme!" blared Jonathan Doors. "Now Bah'ral is trapped inside of Kincaid! . . ."
    Suddenly, a transparently-glowing figure ascended from Liam's body. It was Taelon-like in appearance with a white-colored true form and specks of blue and purple. The Kimera raised its faceless head and surveyed the Resistance members.
    "I am Ha'gel," the Kimera greeted them.
    "Ha'gel?!" gasped Lili.
    "How can you be Ha'gel?! Boone killed you!" Augur exclaimed.
    "I currently reside in the Kimera heavens, what you humans know as the afterlife," explained Ha'gel. "I was able to contact Liam through the subconscious realm while he slept."
    "Father," Liam whispered, drowsily opening his eyes and staring at Ha'gel.
    "You have done well, my son," Liam's father commended Major Kincaid. The Kimera turned to address the Resistance members. "By willing me into his consciousness, Liam allowed me to absorb his facade. Subsequently, we lured Bah'ral into Liam's body where I successfully entrapped Bah'ral into my own."
    Ha'gel spontaneously morphed into a new facade. "Hello. I am Bah'ral," spoke another Kimera in a noticeably different voice.
    "Bah'ral," whispered Liam, still weak and winded from the ordeal. "I'm sorry it had to be this way . . ."
    "Please do not feel repentant," Bah'ral raised his hand, and then separated himself from Ha'gel. The two similar-looking Kimera beings were now standing side-by-side. "You did what you had to."
    "This is . . . unbelievable," quivered Dr. Belman, trembling a little.
    "Ha'gel has shown me the error of my ways," admitted Bah'ral, obviously now enlightened by his fellow Kimera. "I shall depart with him to our Kimera heavens, so I may finally find peace."
    "Thank you all," Ha'gel gratefully praised the Resistance members. "Do not give up your fight. The Taelons must be enlightened as well . . . it is simply no longer the battle of the Kimera. It is now up to humanity."
    "Do you think we can really do it?" Lili queried.
    "You subdued me, did you not?" responded Bah'ral. "And I had the advantage of bodily camouflage."
    "How will you return to the . . . afterlife?" Dr. Belman questioned them.
    "We will return there through Liam's mind," answered Ha'gel, gazing affectionately at his son.
    "I love you, Ha'gel," spoke Liam, tears escaping from his eyes.
    "And I love you, as well," Ha'gel conveyed, touching the palm of his son's hand. Their respective shakaravas lit up in unison.
    "And remember what we said." Bah'ral looked straight at Jonathan Doors. "Do not lose faith, even when things look their darkest. Expand your horizons."
    Doors looked thoughtful.
    "We must go now," Ha'gel gently informed both Bah'ral and Liam.
    "Well . . . have a nice trip!" Augur gave them a wave of fond farewell.
    "I am here whenever you need me, Liam," Ha'gel reminded his son. "Look into your heart, and I will be there . . ."
    With that, both Bah'ral and Ha'gel displaced their bodies into millions of tiny energy particles. They formed a stream of majestic blue and white energy which snaked its way into Liam's body, weaving into the innermost reaches of the Kimera/human hybrid's soul.
    Somewhere in another realm of the space-time continuum, two Kimera souls rejoined their brethren and sisteren in the abstractness of the heavens, adding light to a sky of darkness.

     * * *

     FIN
 
 

Copyright 1999 by Earthboy
Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict is property of Tribune Entertainment Company and is produced by Roddenberry/Kirschner Productions. No monetary profit is bein gmade from this work. No infringement is intended. If you sue me, I will send you to the eighth dimension.