Roswell Fanatics

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 11: Setting the Record Straight

(The Royal Palace, Antar)

Kivar was enjoying a lavish dinner when he felt the return of the Royals. For a moment, he actually laughed in a mixture of surprise and glee. He had never truly considered the Royals brave enough to return, despite the fact that he had spent years planning for that exact moment. Now that the moment had arrived, Kivar enjoyed one short moment of twisted delight before adopting his usual mask of indifference and turning his attention back to his feast.

Within minutes, Rath burst into the throne room with the news. His sudden appearance irritated Kivar almost as much as his bold presumption that Kivar didn’t already know of the Royals’ return. The only reason Rath and his idiots were still alive was because Kivar needed them to put on a good face for the people. If not for their resemblance to the true royals, they would’ve been dead the second they returned to Antar empty handed.

“They’re here! The Eight…I can feel them,” Rath announced, pacing back and forth at the head of Kivar’s banquet table, completely unaware that Kivar was growing more irritated with each step he took.

Kivar sighed. “Is there a reason you interrupted my meal with information I already have?”

“I can have my men track their location immediately. This is exactly what we’ve been waiting for. They’ll lead us straight to the rebel compound!” Rath exclaimed in feral excitement.

Kivar thought about it for a moment. “Actually, I have a higher priority in mind for your men. I would like you to release the prisoners and escort them back to Earth.”

Rath sputtered. “But the Eight…they’re finally right where we want them! We could crush them!”

Kivar didn’t even bother to hide a look of distain. “Have you no class at all, Rath? Of course we will crush them. But that isn’t really the point, is it? These things require a certain degree of creativity that you sorely lack. I killed them once, and it was fun, but that just isn’t enough anymore.”

“What’s worse than death?” Rath asked. “It’s not like we can kill them more than once…”

Kivar sighed and spoke very slowly, as though to a child. “There are worse things than death, Rath. I know you are incapable of understanding such things but trust me…that which you cannot comprehend, will be their downfall.”

Rath scratched his eyebrow and looked around in confusion. Kivar watched Rath’s eyes twirl from side to side as he tried to process the concept that there was actually something worse than death. Although he found the brute’s confusion mildly amusing, Kivar decided to elaborate for no other reason than the fact that his food was getting cold.

“We are going to break their spirit first. We will destroy them from the inside out. This is why I need you to escort the prisoners back to Earth. Once the ‘royal eight’ are distracted by the plight of their people back home, we’ll crush them. I want those sniveling royals to beg for my mercy.”

Rath snorted in amusement. “Mercy…right. I assume we’ll have a public execution when I get back then?”

“Perhaps we’ll have a festival of sorts. We’ll expose the ‘royals’ as vicious frauds and then have a celebration to honor their execution. Perhaps…” Kivar said, quickly warming to the idea.

“I’ll go give the men their new orders now.” Rath said with a sneer.

(Underground Compound, Saria)

While Kivar was planning their ultimate demise, the Royals were finishing up a truly unique dinner on Saria. The meal, described as “heaven on a plate” by Isabel and Ava, was a little tense given the presence of Kira and Rayna, who were alternately eyeing the Royals an awe and Courtney in distrust.

After dinner, the gang decided it was high time they sit down with Kira and Rayna and play ‘twenty questions.’ There were a lot of things they needed to know and a lot of things they needed to explain. Judging by the wary glances the two women gave Courtney throughout the meal, her situation was something they’d have to discuss immediately.

Kira arranged to have the human parents and the FBI agents shown to a cluster of private suites for the evening. It had obviously been an overwhelming day for them and their exhaustion was showing. Courtney was given her own quarters just down the hall. The rest of the gang was ushered downstairs to the private suite of Kira and Rayna for a very long, very informative meeting.

The two women listened in horror as the gang told them Courtney’s tale. They were appalled that they’d fallen for Kivar’s lies so easily. This story made so much more sense than the one they were originally led to believe. The seer who had told Kaden he was destined to bond with Courtney had been Kira herself. She was the first Queen in the history of Antar with the power of premonition. Her vision of Courtney and Kaden had been so clear. When she got word of Courtney’s betrayal, it made her question her abilities. She hadn’t understood how her vision could’ve been so wrong.

“So you see, Cortenya never really betrayed her people at all. She was just a scared kid. Kivar set his sights on her and the next thing she knew, her family was dead and the people thought it was all her fault. I’m sure you can imagine what that would do to a girl her age…” Isabel explained sadly.

Kira looked away in shame. “She’s been in hiding for years, forced to think this whole mess was her fault. Oh that poor girl! How could we have let that happen?”

Max scowled. “You didn’t let anything happen. Kivar does what he wants, when he wants. He manipulates your innermost thoughts to believe whatever suits him at the time. He did it to Courtney and he did it to Isabel. I’m sure he’s done it to others.”

“But you see, I am partly to blame for this. I told Kadolen that Cortenya was to be his mate. It was to be the forging of two peoples…two nations. I don’t understand why I didn’t foresee this! Their love was destroyed before they were even old enough to understand what was happening," Kira said sadly.

Liz gasped in surprise. “You have premonitions? You can see the future?”

Kira sighed. “Yes and no. I have premonitions of the future but they are very hard to control. I cannot provoke them at will. Sometimes they are useful but often they are very trivial. Clearly, they are not always accurate either.”

Alex smiled kindly. “I don’t think we can count your vision out yet. I saw Courtney and Kaden together. They have both obviously had a rough time of it but trust me…their story is not over yet.”

Rayna had been looking at Liz intently as they discussed Kira’s premonitions. Her eyes suddenly went wide.

“You’re a seer!” Rayna blurted, pointing to Liz. “Do you know how rare that is? Kira was the first Queen in Antarean history to display that power. Neither Zan nor Vilandra received her gift. This is remarkable!”

Kira’s head swiveled over to Liz in surprise. “You have the gift of foresight? You have learned to harness this power?”

Liz blushed. “No…not really. The visions hit me out of nowhere, without warning. Most of them have been very insignificant but there was one huge one that I’ll never forget. It was chaotic and confusing. The images came at me all at once and it was too hard to sort out what I was seeing. I had to connect with Isabel and Alex to figure it all out. They can sort of grab on to the images and slow them down somehow.”

Kira almost looked like she was going to cry. “Your vision was bad...you foresaw death?”

Liz nodded. “Yes. I saw us being attacked by the dupes…those duplicate clones Kivar created. In my vision, we were all killed. I think…Michael and Maria may have survived, but it was hard to tell.”

This time Kira actually did begin to cry. “And you were able to prevent it. You worked together and found a way to prevent it from ever happening…”

Max blushed. “Well actually, we blundered straight into the situation we were trying to prevent. A very well timed intervention from our allies in the US Government helped us through.”

As Ava sat there, trying to figure out why Kira was so upset, an idea suddenly hit her. The book sent to Earth with them said that a seer had foretold the deaths of the Royal Four. That seer personally collected the royal essences and transported them to Saria for the cloning process.

Ava gasped. “Oh my God, you saw it…didn’t you? You knew we were going to die but the vision wasn’t clear enough to help you stop it. Oh, that must have been so painful…”

Isabel looked at her Antarean mother in wonder. She could feel the woman’s intense pain radiating across the room. The rest of the podsquad flinched in surprise as they felt the woman’s sadness as well.

“That wasn’t your fault! We’ve seen Liz’s premonitions. They’re like these overwhelming jumble of images that come out of nowhere. We had to combine our powers just to make some sense out of it all.” Isabel insisted.

Kira looked away sadly. “Some of them are so clear. The trivial ones are always very simple to decipher. That one though…the impressions moved too quickly. I saw you fall, but I just couldn’t understand how. The images were so violent and confusing. I knew…I just didn’t know enough.”

“The force of the vision nearly killed her.” Rayna added sadly. “I had to combine my power with hers just to bring her out of it.”

Liz nodded in understanding. “We were in the middle of a crowded park when mine came. They said I went stiff and started having a seizure or something. I understand what you saw Kira, and I promise you…it isn’t your fault. You did the best you could with what little information you could make sense of…”

“That prophesy about the Royal Eight. Was that yours too?” Max asked gently. Off Kira’s negative nod, Max continued.

“Then perhaps you did exactly what you were supposed to do. Perhaps your vision was only there to prepare you for what was to come. I don’t think you were meant to prevent it. You gave us life…twice. Maybe that was the whole point,” Max said gently.

“Thank you for that.” Kira whispered. “You have no idea what a burden this has been. I thought…I thought I had failed you all. I did not believe that you would ever forgive me for that. Nor did I expect it…”

There was a light tapping on the door of the ladies’ quarters. Rayna stood up and flicked her wrist, opening the door. She smiled as she saw a young man balancing a large tray of cups in the doorway.

“I thought you might like some refreshments ma’am,” the young man said shyly.

Rayna smiled. “Thank you, Shilo. That was very thoughtful of you.”

The young man smiled and placed the tray on a table next to the door. “If you just leave these in the hall when you’re finished, I’ll come collect them before morning.” He said.

Rayna waved her hand. “No need, dear. Why don’t you close down the kitchen for the night? We can take care of our own mess later.”

The boy smiled with a blush and then retreated down the hall. Rayna grabbed the large tray and started passing around the warm drinks. Michael looked down into the cup nervously. Dinner had been fabulous. It was the perfect mix of spicy and sweet. What would these coffee-looking beverages taste like?

Rayna chuckled. “Don’t worry, my son. I suspect you’ll find Yaharo to be quite pleasant.”

Maria hesitantly took a sip from her cup. “Oh! Hey…this tastes a lot like Irish Crème cappuccino!” She declared.

Ava nodded happily. “With a dash of cherries. This is very good.”

“So do those guys wait on you ‘room service style’ all the time? Is this a Royal thing?” Kyle asked.

Kira laughed. “They do try. I suspect it will just get worse now that you’ve arrived too. We never wanted them to feel like they had to give us special treatment. We’re refugees just like they are. They seem to feel differently though. Keep in mind…many of the refugees will try to impress you with favors and special treatment, but it is very important that you let them know you don’t expect it. They will always see us as ‘special’ but there’s a fine line between politely accepting a favor and rudely acting as though you are above them.”

Rayna rolled her eyes. “Social politics. I was never any good with that stuff but Kira here has managed to whip me into shape over the years. What you have to understand is; these people will be insulted if you reject their kindness but they’ll also feel unappreciated if you accept it too freely. It is not nearly as complicated as it sounds.”

Isabel nodded in understanding. “That actually makes a lot of sense. If we let them do everything for us, it’ll feel like we’re treating them like slaves…like Kivar would. If we give them the brush-off every time they come around, they’ll feel like we don’t appreciate their gestures…as though we are personally rejecting them.”

Kira smiled. “Exactly. I’m sure our lifestyle will feel a little foreign to you at first but it’s really quite simple. You will adjust quickly.”

“I assume the rebel leaders won’t exactly be clambering for our affection though, will they? We will need their help but I’m guessing it will take a lot of posturing and making-nice on our part for them to even consider it…” Ava said; bringing up the subject they’d all been waiting for.

Rayna sighed. “Our communications center started receiving requests for your audience from the moment you arrived. Many of the people are hopeful that you have come here to bring peace. Others, like the rebel leaders, are more doubtful. They are aware that you are no longer familiar with our worlds. They know the prophecy about the Royal Eight but they need more than an ancient prose to convince them you’re capable of unseating Kivar.”

Michael grunted. “Obviously it never occurred to them that we might need more than that ancient prose to convince us too. We’ve been training for years but we have no idea how our skills will stack up against everyone else here.”

Kira nearly choked on her Yaharo. “Are you saying you haven’t even accessed your full powers yet?!” She looked to Rayna in alarm.

“They couldn’t,” Rayna said. “On Earth, they couldn’t.”

Max looked confused. “We practiced a lot, but without a vague clue of what we were supposed to be able to do, we were at a disadvantage. The powers we exhibited at a young age…healing, dreamwalking, blasting and mindwarping…those are the ones we are most adept at. The others though…” He trailed off helplessly. How many others should there be?

“I’m sorry to say this but you still have a long way to go with your powers. I am aware that you have mastered some of your powers and they will be very helpful against Kivar but I believe your training sessions may have lacked a certain degree of…imagination.” Rayna began.

“Lacked imagination? Are you implying we’ve spent years perfecting powers that are like normal everyday stuff here?” Maria asked in horror.

Kira laughed. “No, no dear! I suspect you are well aware that few people can put as much power behind their blasts as you and Michael. No, what Rayna meant was, you’ve learned only the powers that came to you naturally…by accident. That’s our fault really. We should have been clearer in the book we composed. You probably never attempted any of your higher powers because you didn’t know what they were, right?”

“How do you guys know what we have and haven’t mastered? I’m not saying I don’t believe you about us having a long way to go, but how did you know that without even seeing us practice or anything?” Michael asked curiously. “And for that matter, how did you know that Liz was a seer?”

“One of the powers I inherited through my bond with your father was the ability to sense others’ potential. Basically, I know what powers people possess, often before they even do. In times of peace, this ability was a useful tool I used to create individualized training programs for young children just beginning their Antarean education. In times of strife, I can use the power defensively, to assess the strength of an opponent.” Rayna explained.

Kira smiled mischievously. “And what Rayna knows; I know. We have been friends for so long, sometimes I forget where her mind ends and mine begins.”

“Now that is cool! So, by the time the bad guys even come up with a plan of attack, you’ve got like a dozen counter maneuvers in mind…because you already know what kind of things they can and can’t do.” Kyle said, smiling in admiration. He wished he and Ava could have a useful power like that. Anything but the mindwarping…

“You and Ava have many more abilities at your disposal than the mindwarp, Kyle.” Rayna said, reading his mind. “In fact, Ava was more accomplished at distinguishing a citizen’s powers than Rathos and I put together. That’s why she was so instrumental in the days before Kivar’s invasion of Antar. She trained each and every one of the new soldiers to harness his or her full potential before they were released for battle.”

Kira nodded in agreement. “Each of you is capable of great things. Some of your powers might seem negative on the surface but all powers can be used to harm if a person is so inclined. The coveted healing ability can be used to give life as well as to take it away. Mindwarps can be used to deceive but they can also be used to bring peace to the dying.”

Something in Kira’s speech struck a chord with Isabel. Mindwarps can be used to bring peace to the dying. That poor man, writhing in pain…

“Ava wasn’t afraid of her powers in our last life, was she?” Isabel said quietly. “She knew how to use them to help people.”

Kira studied Isabel for a moment and then nodded sadly. “I do wish you had not seen that moment again. You and your brother tried so hard for him. I nearly lost all three of you, you know.”

Max cocked his head to the side in confusion. “What are we talking about here?”

“Our father. She’s talking about the day we lost our father,” Isabel murmured.

“Whoa. Is that what you saw back in the loading dock?” Maria asked.

Isabel nodded and dabbed at her watery eyes. “He was hurt badly. Max and I tried to heal him. We must’ve used every last ounce of energy we had…but it wasn’t enough. God, he was in so much pain-”

“And so they sent for Ava,” Rayna interrupted, sparing Kira and Isabel from having to explain further. “To let him suffer any longer would’ve been cruel.”

Ava paled. “Are you implying that I…that I-”

“You took him to a place where there was no pain. I imagine it was a beautiful place, full of family and friends,” Rayna explained gently. “For hours, right up until his last breath, you kept his fear and pain at bay in that beautiful place.”

Kira turned to Ava and smiled sadly. “And so you see, that power you loath so much, might just be the most precious one of all. At least, it is to me…”

Max stared at the floor as he tried to process all that he had just learned. He had never met his Antarean father, not in this life anyway, yet he still felt as though he had failed him.

“Why couldn’t we heal him?” Max studied his shoelaces intently, too ashamed to meet Kira’s eyes.

Kira crossed the room and knelt down next to Max, forcing him to look at her. The look on compassion on her face was unmistakable.

“Your father was murdered, Max. We did not discover that truth until much later. He was poisoned, in a manner of speaking. I do not know the human word for it…” Kira looked to Rayna for help.

Rayna thought for a moment. “The closest comparison would be your concept of a nanobot, I suspect. Tiny organisms, like microprocessors too small to be seen with the naked eye, were introduced into your father’s blood stream and they created a lot of damage. With each wound you healed, ten more were inflicted.”

As the others reeled in horror, Liz gasped. “Who would do something like that?”

Rayna sighed. “Do you really have to ask that question?”

“Kivar?” Maria blurted. “But I thought Max and Isabel were young when their father died…and so was Courtney. They must’ve been teenagers at the time. Kivar hadn’t even begun his dictatorship on Eros yet…so why go after the King of Antar?”

“Kivar poisoned his own parents in an attempt to position himself as heir to the throne on Eros. I believe that his hunger for power began in childhood,” Kira explained with a grimace. “In hindsight, I suspect that my husband’s murder was just a cruel experiment.”

Michael scowled in realization. “Because when Kivar found out that he wasn’t named the heir on Eros, he started testing our defenses on Antar, just to see what would happen…”

As the rest of the gang processed this new information, Rayna noted that this conversation was taking a heavy toll on Kira. This subject was just too painful, even after all these years. She could understand well. The mere thought of Rathos’ fate still made her heart clench.

“As you can see, it is imperative that you learn to access your higher powers before facing Kivar. Now that you know it is possible, why don’t you try to sense my powers, Ava?” Rayna said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

Ava was startled by the sudden change of subject but nodded at the suggestion anyway. The group watched in anticipation as Ava shut her eyes in concentration. After a moment, her eyes popped open and she slumped in her chair.

“I’m not picking up a thing from anyone in this room. Did I lose that ability because I’m a hybrid now?” Ava asked, suddenly very self-conscious.

Rayna waved a careless hand. “Rubbish! You have retained all of your original abilities, although they have increased exponentially in strength. You have naturally acquired your mates’ latent human abilities and I suspect the power of the Eight has influenced you as well. I expect it would be possible for all eight of you use your individual powers interchangeably.”

Ava closed her eyes again and tried to clear her thoughts. This time, when she opened her mind to the others in the room, she was hit with a random jumble of feelings from all sides. It was as if her friends’ very thoughts were whispering to her all at once. When she struggled to latch on to just one single presence; she felt an exhilarating rush of energy out of nowhere. Ava’s eyes popped open and she swiveled around to look at Michael.

“Oh my God! You can heal too!” Ava gasped.

Rayna smiled proudly. “See? You never tried to sense another’s potential because you didn’t know it was possible. Now that you do, you find it quite easy.”

Ava frowned. “Easy isn’t quite the word I’d use to describe it. Confusing, chaotic, and intense are much more appropriate. It felt almost like everyone was talking to me at once. The only reason I got anything from Michael at all is because he’s my brother…it was almost like I could pick his presence out of the chaos easier.”

Kira gave her a gentle pat on the arm. “That’s because you were trying to sense everyone in the room at the same time. Of course it was confusing! It will get easier. Once you’ve had a little time to practice focusing your energy a bit more, you’ll find it much easier to understand.”

In the excitement of Ava’s sudden declaration about Michael’s powers, no one noticed that Kyle was giving their newly discovered ability a try as well. His next question was enough to call attention to his efforts

“What’s a temporal flux? Because that’s what I get when focus on Isabel. It’s almost like someone’s whispering in my ear…something about ‘temporal flux’ and ‘sequential anomalies’...” Kyle asked, glancing over at Kira and Rayna.

Rayna looked quite surprised. “I’m very impressed Kyle! A temporal flux or sequential anomaly is basically a distortion of time itself. It implies that Alex and Isabel can manipulate time.”

There was silence in the room, as the rest of the crew tried to comprehend the possibilities a power like that would present. Maria finally got antsy and asked the million-dollar question.

“So who’s going to help us learn all these ‘higher powers’? We don’t have a whole lot of time to train because I’m pretty sure that Kivar won’t sit around and wait for us to get stronger. He’s got prisoners from six different planets now and these people probably would be better off rescued sooner rather than later…” Maria said.

Rayna nodded in agreement. “Your assumptions are correct. You must be ready now. The leaders of the rebel forces have demanded an audience with all of you. They will want to know your intentions…why the Royals have chosen to return. If you are to beat Kivar, you will need their allegiance and to get their allegiance, you will need to be the strong leaders they once knew.”

“How exactly are we supposed be the leaders they used to know? First of all, we’re not those people anymore and second of all, last time we lost. Obviously we need to do things differently the next time we face Kivar.” Max pointed out in frustration.

“Of course you won’t do things exactly as you did in your last lifetime and I don’t think anyone expects you to. Just keep in mind that the people will need to see some degree of consistency from you if they are to trust in your abilities. There are many citizens who would follow you to the ends Antar without so much as a reassuring word…but some, like the rebel leaders, will need proof that you’re capable of overpowering Kivar.” Kira explained carefully.

“Blind trust is not a luxury these leaders have anymore. They are trying to defend millions of citizens and they simply do not have room for error. When the fate of that many lives rests in your hands, you cannot afford to make rash decisions.” Rayna added.

Alex nodded in understanding. “They’ll only join us if they think we can win. They can’t risk challenging Kivar head on unless they know they’ll survive the attempt…”

“But there are already people who have joined us because of that prophecy about the Eight. One of the soldiers that protected us on Earth, Connor, specifically volunteered to be sent on the Earth mission because he wanted to help us get back here…to save his daughter. It’s like he just assumed that we’d win, no matter what.” Maria said, puzzled.

Kira nodded gravely. “I was pleased to see Connor with you when you arrived. Like many of our citizens, he has a lot to lose in a failed uprising against Kivar. It was reassuring to see that he had not become…concerned…during his time on Earth. As Alex said, Connor would not risk his daughter’s life if he didn’t think that you could save her. I believe that eventually, others will be swayed just as he was.”

“Are the rebels going to be more reluctant to join because there are humans in our group?” Alex asked with a frown.

Rayna shrugged. “I suspect that they will be more concerned about the fact that all of you were raised on Earth. Essentially, none of you are familiar with our worlds. Your species will be less of a concern to them than your overall abilities and leadership.”

“When you meet with the rebel leaders, please do remember that those people are taking a great chance. They are risking Kivar’s wrath just by being in the same room as you…regardless of whether they join you or not. Connor and the rest of the soldiers Larek dispatched to Earth have sealed their fate with Kivar now. They have aided you and in doing so, they have condemned their loved ones. Please do respect the fact that the people of this System will have to put their families and friends first. They may be afraid to join you.” Kira cautioned.

Michael thought about Connor, a man who had been driven all they way across the universe just to save his daughter. He grew angry as he thought about how painful it must have been to leave his daughter here, while he sought out the only people he thought could help. What a desperate, horrible crossroads that must have been. There were probably millions of men out there like Connor and that fact alone made Michael’s blood boil.

“If Kivar harms one hair on that child’s head, I’ll kill him myself…” Michael growled, with barely restrained fury. His threat was punctuated by the shattering of glass, as the cups of now boiling Yaharo exploded.

The group spent the next few hours discussing all manner of politics and current events in the Alpha System. Kira and Rayna tried to explain all the things the Eight would be expected to know. Everything from telling time Antarean style to the inner workings of the surrounding planets was covered, if only briefly. As the long night wound down, the gang started to feel the burden of the people’s needs, resting atop their shoulders like a lead weight. These people needed them to be smarter, faster and stronger than they’d ever been before. There was no margin of error this time and they would certainly never get a ‘do-over’ if they didn’t get things right the first time.

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. I'm sorry to hear that a few of you have experienced the same loss recently. On a lighter note - I hope you like this chapter. It's another long one.

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.


Chapter 12: Best Laid Plans of Men…

(Underground Compound, Saria)

The morning after their arrival, Kivar was still eagerly planning the ultimate demise of the Royal Eight while the royals in question were busy cooking up plans of their own. Knowing that Kivar must have sensed their presence by now, the Eight skipped breakfast, much to Michael’s dismay, and got straight down to business.

They gathered in the spacious sitting room in Max and Liz’s private suite. The ‘royal suites’ were more like full-scale condominiums than anything. Liz had a sneaking suspicion that Kira had purposely made sure that the suites were decorated with a ‘human’ touch. This particular sitting room was filled with cushy burgundy chairs; a large table draped with gauzy iridescent fabric and one wall was covered entirely by a large glass case full of books written in Antarean. Overall, the rooms were very lavish and the gang couldn’t help but wonder if this was yet another ‘royal perk’.

Courtney, Kaden and Connor had been asked to join this gathering to add their own personal expertise to the mix. Their first meeting with the leaders of the various rebellion groups was going to be difficult, to say the least, and the gang could use all the help they could get.

The majority of these rebel forces worked independently, unable to agree on the most basic of issues. This situation was just one more result of Kivar’s early efforts to divide the System. By breaking down the alliances between the planets, he could easily turn them all against the leaders of the Empire. The squabbles originally created by Kivar’s greed had been perpetuated so thoroughly over the years, it would be a miracle if anyone made it through this meeting alive.

“Just so we’re all in agreement here…Max’s crew will do all the talking and we’ll just sit here and flex our muscles every once in a while, right?” Kyle asked nervously.

Isabel rolled her eyes. “Sadly, yes. I think it would probably be better if you just didn’t say anything at all, Kyle. Your job is to smile and nod at the appropriate times…remember that.”

Courtney frowned. “Kyle does bring up a good point though. I know for a fact that Sero will challenge your authority. He is the King of Nedra…and he is quite the accomplished bully. You’ll need to ‘flex your muscles’ a bit and knock him down a peg the first chance you get.”

Kaden seemed to take offense to that comment. “I wouldn’t necessarily call him a bully, Cort. He is very serious about the welfare of his people. He shoulders a great burden. You of all people must understand the kind of pressure he’s under.”

Courtney rolled her eyes. “I can empathize with the plight of his people. I’ve been fighting for longer than he has and I understand the pressure. What I cannot condone is his solitary, stubborn attitude that he is the only one who can unseat Kivar. He knows damn well that he needs help, but he’s too stubborn to trust anyone else.”

Michael smirked. “Yeah…because you were so enthusiastic about joining us. How long were you on Earth before you decided to grace us with your presence?” He asked sarcastically.

“I suppose I deserve that comment but still…where I was doubtful, Sero will be outright stubborn. He’ll specifically look for reasons not to join you and if he can’t find any, he’ll manufacture them.” Courtney insisted.

Kaden nodded slightly in concession. “He will be the hardest to sway toward the alliance. He is loyal to the core but that loyalty must be earned. That will be the hard part I’m afraid.”

“It sounds like you know this guy pretty well,” Alex pointed out.

Kaden nodded stiffly. “We were friends…a long time ago.”

Maria’s head whipped around in surprise. “You were a member of the Antarean army before you ended up on exile on Saria, and then you served on the Sarian army under Larek…you were practically engaged to Courtney from Eros and now we find out you’re old pals with the King of Nedra. You’ve got some pretty impressive connections!”

“My connections are not nearly as interesting as they sound,” Kaden said uncomfortably. “My family was privileged enougn to serve the Royal Families of Antar in their army for generations. I was chosen for King Larek’s army simply because I already had the necessary training. I met Sero at the training academy on Antar as a boy…”

“This training academy…is that like military training?” Kyle asked. “How come Sero was trained on Antar instead of Nedra?”

“The training academy was an academic institution,” Connor pointed out. “Antar was well known for having the finest academies in the System, so many of the royal families from the surrounding planets chose to have their children educated there. It was only natural for the King of Nedra to send his heir to be educated on Antar.”

“Did you guys go to the same training academy then?” Isabel asked, eyeing Kaden and Connor. “Were you friends before all this too?”

Connor studied Kaden for a moment and then fielded the question himself. “We went to the same academy but I would not have called us friends. There was no animosity between us, but our families were just too different for us to have much in common. We did not even attend the same classes.”

Kaden shifted uncomfortably. “Connor’s training was focused on business and finance. Mine focused mainly on leadership and tactical defense.”

“Students didn’t receive the same training? Why?” Max asked.

“In the beginning, all students were educated in a broad range of topics, but as they got older, they were divided up based on their strengths and received detailed education in those areas,” Kaden explained.

Ava looked shocked. “Did you even get a choice? Or was it like – that kid looks like a soldier, so we’ll just put him in that program?”

Connor tried to suppress a smile. “It was not an unfair process, Lady Ava. It was very similar to your college curriculum on Earth. Students were allowed to choose, but they were generally steared toward one program or another by their friends, families, teachers, etcetera.”

“Usually, individuals chose to follow family tradition. If your father was a soldier and his father was a soldier…you were encouraged to follow the same path,” Kaden said.

Connor nodded. “My family lived in a village close to the palace and we were charged with supervising the National Depository for our region. In Earth terms, we were bankers or financial security officers. That is why my training focused on business and finance.”

“So how did you end up in the Antarean Army then?” Liz asked in surprise.

Connor sighed. “I met my mate, Gia, at the Antarean Training Academy. She aspired to become an officer in Commander Rath’s army after graduation. I did not want us to be separated, so, against my family’s wishes, I followed.”

Isabel flinched as she felt the pain radiating from Connor when he spoke of his wife. Kivar murdered Gia. Isabel couldn’t imagine losing Alex that way…in any way, really. She just couldn’t fathom the thought of going on, day after day, without Alex.

Michael looked off in the distance and thought about this new information for a moment. They had all just taken for granted that these men were dedicated soldiers by choice. Even though Kaden and Connor had said that children were allowed to choose their path, it didn’t sound like there had been nearly as much ‘free will’ involved as they had implied. Kaden might have ended up a soldier, not by choice at all, but because his family expected it. Connor originally chose his path out of love but would his decision be the same now that Gia was gone?

“If someone were to ask you now…do you want to be a soldier…what would you say?” Michael asked, now eyeing both men intently. “Because I’d feel like a real ass if I found out that you were only helping us because you thought you had no choice.”

Without hesitation, Kaden said, “It is an honor to serve under your command, Sir. My father was second-in-command to Master Commander Rath himself. I proudly served in the Royal Antarean Army until I was forced into exile on Saria…and I will continue to serve the Eight until I am no longer welcome.”

Maria smiled. “We couldn’t do this without you, Kaden. You’ll be a welcome member of our crazy little circle for as long as you choose to be.”

Alex had been studying Conner’s reaction to Michael’s question. The moment the words had left Michael’s mouth, there was a glint of hope in Connor’s eyes. As soon as the expression had appeared, it vanished though, and was hidden behind a brave mask. As Alex studied the man, it suddenly occurred to him what was going on. With a bit of quick thinking, Alex came up with an idea he hoped wouldn’t ruffle too many feathers.

“I hope you are not offended, Connor, but before you answer Michael’s question, I’d like to make a suggestion,” Alex began. Despite the group’s look of surprise, he continued.

“Since Connor has been formally trained to be a banker, for lack of a better term, maybe his services would be more valuable in that capacity after Kivar is gone…”

Isabel smiled proudly, knowing that the only reason Alex had made such a suggestion was because he sensed that Connor was a father first, and a soldier second. If they could successfully rescue his daughter, Connor would want to stay much closer to home than the life of a soldier would allow. In his own subtle way, Alex was giving Connor a ‘way out’ without bruising the man’s pride. It was such an ‘Alex’ thing to do, Isabel was reminded all over again why she loved him so much.

Max understood what Alex was doing as well and thought the idea was perfect. Noticing how hesitant Connor seemed to respond, Max decided to turn Alex’s brilliant suggestion into a formal request.

“Would you be willing to act as private council for us, Connor? We know very little about Antar’s former financial system but we do know that it seemed to have worked very well. We would really appreciate your expertise in reestablishing that system when this is all over…”

Connor tried, and failed, to hide a smile of relief. “I would be honored to serve in that capacity, Sir. Thank you very much for the generous offer.”

Michael seemed to be having some kind of mental conversation with Maria. There was a lot of smiling and nodding involved. With one final nod, Michael turned his attention back to Kaden.

“Would you be willing to serve as our official Second-in-Command? I know I’ve got kind of a temper and Maria’s loud and confusing sometimes but…Maria was right when she said we couldn’t do this without you.” Michael shrugged helplessly, knowing his request wasn’t nearly as eloquent as Max’s had been for Connor. He wished he could’ve said it better, but ‘grace’ was Max’s thing, not his.

Kaden actually got out of his chair and bowed. “I would be honored, Commander.”

When the conversation had taken off on this surprising tangent, Courtney just sat back and watched the scene play out. She honestly didn’t think that the Eight realized the depth of what they had just done. They had given these two men control of their own destiny and in doing so; they had probably cemented their loyalty for life. They could have ordered Connor and Kaden to do their bidding and the two men would’ve obeyed, without question. Yet they didn’t. They put Kaden and Connor’s needs first, almost as though they were equals. And this is why they will win, she realized.

Liz looked around the table in awe. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize this until now. We’ve already joined forces with some of the most powerful and influential people in the System. We haven’t even met with the other rebel leaders yet but we’re already working closely with the King of Saria, the rightful Queen of Eros and obviously, a pair of very influential noblemen from Antar. You saw us at our very worst but you chose to work with us anyway. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am for that…”

Kyle couldn’t help but notice that Courtney flinched when Liz called her ‘the rightful Queen of Eros’. He wondered why that title should be such a surprise to her. It suddenly occurred to him that the title wasn’t a surprise but the fact that Liz acknowledged it was.

“We are going to make our alliance with you clear at this meeting, Courtney,” Kyle said, looking to Max for confirmation. Off Max’s nod, Kyle continued.

“It’s like Liz said. You’re the rightful Queen of Eros…you shouldn’t have to hide in the shadows anymore.”

Courtney sighed. “I don’t think that will win you a lot of points with the others. You know my story so I’m sure you can understand why many of the other leaders will not trust me.”

“We’re not going to just sit here while those people vilify you for Kivar’s actions. It’s time they stop blaming you for something you didn’t do.” Alex insisted. Courtney smiled in thanks and looked away awkwardly. She never asked that the Royals help her…just her people.

“We know that Saria will join us…Larek wouldn’t have it any other way. And with you speaking for the people of Eros, we already have the assistance of two out of the four planets. That alone should help sway the others to fall in line.” Ava said, trying to take the attention off Courtney. She was obviously uncomfortable being the center of attention.

“Two out of the five planets.” Isabel interrupted. “The rebels from Antar will be sending their own representative to this meeting. We haven’t been the leaders there for a long time so we no longer speak for them. You don’t happen to be old friends with the leader of the Antarean resistance too, do you Kaden?”

Kaden sighed. “Drakor and I have met but I never knew him well. He was not a soldier in Commander Rath’s army.”

Max looked puzzled. “At the peace summit in New York, I met four people, aside from Nicholas of course. Sero and Larek were there, along with two women maned Kathana and Hanar. Where are Kathana and Hanar from?”

“Kathana is the Queen of Thalos and Hanar is the elected leader of Eros.” Courtney muttered in distaste.

“Wait a minute…you’re the rightful Queen and Kivar was just the dictator that stole your throne. Who the heck is this Hanar person?” Maria asked in confusion.

“Politics are quite complicated on Eros these days. First, their beloved King was poisoned and his nephew claimed the throne even though everyone knew I was named heir. Then, the nephew turned into a power hungry monster and the one person they thought they could turn to…me…supposedly murdered her entire family in cold blood.” At this point, Courtney paused to compose herself and Kaden continued for her.

“The second Kivar abandoned Eros to set his sights on Antar, the people elected a new leader…Hanar. Eros needed someone to take the helm, because otherwise, they would appear defenseless. They were at risk of invasion from all sides so they made a big show of holding an election and Hanar was chosen.”

“But why Hanar? I thought the people on Eros understood that Courtney wasn’t guilty?” Ava asked.

Courtney smiled bitterly. “They did understand and I did win the majority vote, although my name was never technically on the ballot. The planet’s security would’ve been at risk with me as their leader though. Remember…the rest of the System thought I was no better than Kivar. Because the risk was just too great, Hanar was appointed in my stead. She is basically just the face of Eros though and she’s rather bitter about it, I think.”

“I hope I’m not creating a problem for you Courtney but, I’d much rather you be the representative of Eros at this meeting. I remember Hanar quite well from the peace summit and she was one of the most unpleasant and belligerent people I’ve ever met. They were all pretty rude, like I single handedly destroyed peace in the Empire, but she was by far the most hostile.” Max pointed out.

Courtney sighed. “Hanar was the safe choice to publicly represent our planet, but I am the one that speaks for the people.”

Liz nodded in understanding. “And that’s why she’s bitter…”

Maria cocked her head in confusion. “So that’s the deal with this Drakor guy too then, right? He’s not the leader of Antar in title or name, but he represents the wants and needs of the majority. We’re basically meeting with the ‘majority leaders’, right?”

Kaden nodded. “After the System was thrown into war, the citizens turned to the only men and women brave enough to stand up for them. On Saria and Nedra, the people were able to turn to their Kings. On Eros and Antar, the people were forced to turn to others. Essentially, the people place their trust in the leaders who are willing to fight for them…whether those leaders are part of the ruling body or not.”

“So back to the problem at hand, we’ve already got Eros and Saria on our side. I really think that will count for something with the others.” Alex said.

“Are we positive that the translators are working properly? So far we’ve only spoken to people who already understand English. The leaders certainly won’t cooperate if they can’t understand us.” Kyle pointed out, absentmindedly thumbing his special necklace translator.

“They work. Yesterday a bunch of women bowed to me in the hallway outside the dining hall and when I told them it wasn’t necessary, they said it was tradition and they wouldn’t dream of snubbing their Queen. Snubbing…the translator actually said snubbing. Nice slang, Alex.” Liz said.

Michael snorted. “If that’s the kind of stuff we’re hearing, can you imagine what we’re saying to them? That would explain why those kids looked at me so weird this morning…” He mused.

“No dear…that would be your hair. They too question your personal hygiene.” Maria quipped.

Michael fought back the urge to dish out a biting comeback. He knew that Maria’s remark was just an attempt to use humor to calm her raging nerves. This meeting with the rebel leaders was going to be a big deal and they all knew it.

“What’s the master plan for this meeting?” Ava asked. “How are we going to convince them to join us?”

Max sighed. “I can’t help but wonder if we’ll be forced to convince them not to banish us from the System before we can even talk to us about joining forces. These people must have heard about the dupes’ presence at the palace by now. Those three have had years to strut their stuff around Antar, playing us. Can you imagine what kind of example they’ve set?”

“But those three don’t have the seals! The people can’t honestly believe they’re us, can they? Wouldn’t they notice the absence of the seals?” Ava gasped.

Isabel laid a hand gently on Ava’s arm and explained. “My mother told us that Kivar has tricked the people into believing that they’re us. It’s like he did with Courtney. He warps a few key people into believing and then the rumor mill takes care of the rest. They’ve been here making us look bad for years.”

Kyle suddenly paled. “Is mindwarping a common power here?”

Max shook his head. “Kira said there are very few people strong enough to pull it off.” He still wasn’t comfortable calling her ‘mother’ yet.

“That’s not what I’m worried about Max! Ava and I have the power to mindwarp…just like Kivar. The people must realize that. Are we going to be hated for something we had no control over?” Kyle asked in concern.

Liz frowned. “Kivar has abused that power for a long time and everyone knows it-”

“If you guys don’t want me at the meeting, I’ll understand,” Ava interrupted. “If my presence will make it harder to get the rebels to join us, I’ll back off for a little while…”

Maria’s eyes blazed with fire. “Absolutely not! You’ll be right there with us and we’ll show those people a united front. You have nothing to be ashamed of!”

“If the rebel leaders don’t trust us and it’s because of me, I’ll never be able to live with myself, Maria. We have a job to do here and I’m not too proud to step down if that’s what it’ll take to get things done.” Ava explained.

Michael stood up so quickly his chair nearly tipped over. “You don’t even use that power! You’re not a threat to them! If they challenge you, then they’re challenging me too. Trust me… if those people are so determined to be afraid then I’ll give them something to be afraid of. I am a threat…” Michael’s outburst was punctuated by the clinking of glass as a vase on the table shattered.

Kyle was shocked by Michael’s emotional display. Sure, Michael was normally a hot head, but showing this kind of emotion toward his sister was rare. Kyle was kind of relieved that Michael felt so protective of Ava. It was very reassuring in light of this new information.

“Don’t look so surprised, Kyle. I’ll fry their asses where they sit if they dare threaten either one of you.” Maria pointed out.

Isabel threw up her hands in frustration. “We’re not killing the resistance leaders! Look…those people are sick and tired of being abused by Kivar. In the beginning, some of them will probably be hostile and others will act indifferent while they try to assess our true intentions. There will be a room full of fake smiles and thinly veiled insults. It sucks and I promise you, it won’t be fun, but that’s just how it is.”

Michael yanked his chair forward and sat back down. “Fine. But you need to remember that these people won’t show us an ounce of respect if we allow them to ridicule us.”

“Michael’s right. Rathemeres are expected to be…well, militant I guess you could say. Members of the Zandros house are traditionally negotiators…peacemakers so to speak. If we act out of character, the resistance leaders will be confused and less likely to trust us.” Max pointed out.

Alex laughed, surprising the others. “It figures, you know? The only way they’re going to trust us is if we bore them to tears with endless planning and then follow it up with a death threat. You’ve got to love the sheer insanity of it all…” Soon, the others were laughing along with him.

*********************************************************

In a private room on the other side of the compound, Kira and Rayna were peering in on the progress of the Royal Eight. Kira had a power similar to Liz’s remote viewing and it allowed her to show Rayna the meeting between their children as it unfolded. As the gang erupted into laughter, Kira let go of the vision.

“I see so much of the old Rath in Michael…and so much of you as well. He will do great things here, Rayna.” Kira said.

Rayna smiled proudly. “That he will, my friend…that he will. And what of his mate, Maria? It has been too long since I have seen such loyalty and passion in one person. Michael chose his mate wisely, I think.”

Kira laughed. “I do believe his mate chose him. Much as you did with your beloved Rathos if I remember correctly. That young man didn’t know what hit him when he met you.”

“After a lifetime on Earth, I must admit, I was concerned that our children would be unprepared for their return. You know I have faith in your abilities as a seer but when King Larek gave us the news…” Rayna broke off, at a loss for words.

Kira sighed. “I shared your doubts, my friend. I have foreseen their victory with my own eyes but even I was concerned by Larek’s message. I cannot see the path to victory, but I do know that our children will prevail.”

“I don’t need to be a seer to know that much. The children are different now, but I see so much of their former selves in them as well. Your Isabel is still the most stunning diplomat in the System. Max will certainly make a fine King. We could not have asked for more in their life mates either.” Rayna said proudly.

“I am concerned about their powers though. They are obviously strong. I could feel their power from the moment they arrived. But will their inexperience with their higher abilities be a hindrance?” Kira asked in concern.

Rayna looked away in thought. “After the first meeting with the rebel leaders, they should be able to train freely if Larek will allow it. Perhaps he could send a few of his men to create a stir on the outer reaches of the System. That would draw Kivar’s attention away from Saria just long enough for the kids to come out of hiding temporarily. I have no doubt that the Eight will learn to harness their powers quickly and with any luck, no one will realize the kids didn’t master them before their arrival.”

Kira looked puzzled. “Larek told us that they were training on Earth…learning to hone their abilities. His soldiers reported that they were already capable of highly advanced skills. I just don’t understand how our children never sensed their own natural strengths.”

Rayna sighed. “I believe that they were forced to hide their true heritage for so long that many of their powers started to become dormant. When they reached maturity, their human DNA complicated matters by introducing hormonal fluctuations that undermined their ability to sort out what was ‘normal’ by human standards and what was not. I believe humans call it…puberty.
Directly on the heals of this ‘puberty’ stage, they bonded with their mates, introducing yet another complex set of emotions and impulses. Before they were even given a chance to adjust to the changes and explore their powers, they were forced into hiding. They just never had an opportunity to let down their guard long enough to realize that the energy they were feeling stemmed from their powers, not their situation.”

“Well they certainly can’t be blamed for any of that. It’s no wonder they never understood! If the rebel leaders refuse an alliance solely based on their inexperience with their higher powers then I will be deeply disappointed. Our children survived exile on a hostile planet, without the aid of their powers! They’re more than qualified to come here and lead the people to victory.” Kira said with conviction.

“We know that because they are our children. We know them and love them above all others. I highly doubt the rebel leaders will share our sentiments though. They are desperate and the Eight represent hope to their people. Hope can be a dangerous thing. If the leaders lose faith in the Royal Eight, they lose all hope.” Rayna cautioned.

“The children’s essences are so intertwined; they are capable of accessing each other’s powers at will. Their powers, their hearts and their lives are united. If the people reject one, they reject all. You know the prophecy as well as I do. They will prevail. They will bring peace to the people and they will be loved.” Kira said.

Rayna sighed sadly. “I hope you are right, my friend. The prophecy said nothing about them being loved…just that together they would bring peace. For the sake of our children, I hope you are right…”

*****************************************************

Further down the long bleak hallway outside Kira and Rayna’s quarters, the rest of the Roswell crew was anxiously waiting for something to happen. Jeff and Nancy Parker had roused the other ‘stowaways’ for a meeting because they couldn’t bear to sit around doing nothing. The Parkers, the Valentis, John Harrison and Serena Foster all sat in the Parker’s living quarters, trying to come up with a game plan.

“What are we doing here anyway? We can’t help them. Hell, we can’t even leave the compound!” Jeff muttered in irritation.

“Maybe we can find another way to help. Let’s face it; most of us would have been a hindrance on the battlefield anyway. We definitely can’t muster anywhere near the fire power these people can…even with the weapons we brought from home.” Jim added reluctantly.

“But what’s left for us to do? We can’t help with the negotiations. This morning Alex took care of ‘phoning home’, for lack of a better term. They’re still mad at us so it’s not like we’re providing a lot of moral support…” Amy trailed off in frustration.

“I suspect it’s time for us to admit they were right. We have no business being here. This is something they have to do on their own.” Nancy said sadly.

Amy sighed. “I hate this! I feel foolish for thinking there would be something I could do to help but on the other hand, I’m angry for the same reason. They’ve got a handful of loyal people right here who want to help but we’re useless to them!”

“Well, if anyone can pull this coup off…it’s them. Kivar might be a bully but they have the power of the people behind them.” Jim pointed out.

“Do we know that for sure though? Of course Larek will support them. He sent his best soldiers all the way to Earth just to protect them. And then there’s Courtney…she said her people would help. But will that be enough though?” Harrison asked. He and Serena had been relegated to the sidelines too and they hated it.

“Speaking of Courtney…did the kids explain her story to the others yet? Both Kira and Rayna dished out looks that could kill when they first spotted her back at the loading dock. I’m a little stunned the girl didn’t turn to stone on the spot!” Amy mused.

Jeff nodded. “They explained everything last night. Apparently it isn’t a big shock that Kivar would turn the people against the daughter of his greatest opposition on Eros. From what I hear, Kira was a little embarrassed to have bought into the story so easily.”

“So that puts us back at square one then. They have Courtney’s crew and Larek’s. Do you really think Max will be able to convince the other leaders to fall in line?” Harrison asked.

“Yes.” Serena said, nodding vehemently. “He won’t do it alone of course, but together, they’ll get the job done. Max will start off cautiously, Isabel will add her two cents, Liz will join in, Michael will probably get impatient and throw his thoughts into the ring, which will lead to Ava, Kyle and Maria jumping in with both feet…et cetera. When the dust finally settles, Max will drive the point home and they’ll come up with a workable plan. It’s how they operate. They build off each other. I don’t think they even know they do it.”

Amy laughed. “That sounds just about right…especially the part about Michael jumping into the ring. God love the kid, he’s got guts.”

Jeff looked concerned. “If things get as tense as I think they will in their first meeting, I have a feeling that it won’t be nearly as amusing as it sounds. There’s a good chance that those undecided leaders might get personal…test the waters, so to speak. If that happens, things could get ugly quick. It’s entirely possible that they won’t get an opportunity to come up with a plan…not one including the other leaders anyway.”

“They’ll have to stand their ground and I think they probably know it. They have this larger than life reputation to live up to and any deviation from that image will be perceived negatively. These people have a lot to lose here. You have to assume that a failed attempt at rebellion would carry awful consequences, so they won’t join unless they’re sure that they’ll win. If things get ugly in that meeting, I hope to God that Michael and Maria both put on their best game faces and give those people hell. They’re supposed to be military leaders…and a good Commander knows that you never let someone else get the upper hand.” Serena explained carefully.

“If the best case scenario involves a free-for-all instigated by Michael and Maria, then we’re definitely out of our league here.” Nancy said with a weary smile.

Coming in Chapter 13: Isabel has a unique chat with her mother. We get an insider view of some battle plans, for both sides, as the meeting between the Eight and the rebel leaders looms overhead.

Hello all. Thanks for the thumbs up on last chapter. This is another long one. I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 13: Contingency Plans…

(Western US, Earth)

Life at the mountain ranch was strangely empty now. Shortly after the Granilith disappeared from the cave in Roswell, Philip, Dianne, Gloria and Charles had headed for home, hoping for some kind of message from the stars. The parents now spent their all of their time anxiously waiting for news. The uncertainty was maddening.

It was two days before the first message arrived from Saria. Dianne had drifted off to sleep in the library of their ranch home and was shocked to find Isabel waiting, just on the edge of her consciousness.

“Oh thank heavens! I’ve been trying to contact you for ages and I was starting to think it wasn’t going to work.” Isabel said in a rush.

Dianne let out a cry of relief. “Isabel! Thank God you’re all right!”

The ladies shared a lingering hug. Isabel didn’t have time to think about how much she’d miss her mother before the Granilith left Earth, but now the distance felt crushing. After a moment, Isabel reluctantly stepped back and gave Dianne a briefing on what was happening in the Alpha System.

“Things are OK here…everyone is fine. We ended up on Saria and immediately, the people knew who we were. They’ve been really nice so far.” Isabel reassured her mother.

Dianne slumped in relief. “You have somewhere to safe to stay then? You weren’t thrown straight into the middle of a battle?”

“No, no…nothing like that. We’re in an underground safe house on Larek’s planet. There are over ten thousand Antarean refugees down here with us. You’d never know it though…the place is just huge!” Isabel explained.

“The others are adjusting well?” Dianne asked. “The humans…are they being treated fairly?”

“Oh absolutely! You know how nervous we were about how we’d be received but the people have been great. And can you believe, Michael and Ava actually got to meet their mother? It was so touching, mom. I really wish you could’ve been here for that.” Isabel smiled faintly, thinking back on the moment.

Dianne wished she could be happier for Michael and Ava but her thoughts were distracted at the moment. “I’m sure it was wonderful, dear. They’ve waited so long,” she murmured, studying the ‘dream sky’ in the distance.

“Rayna’s sort of like a cross between Ava and Amy. She’s this fiery, protective woman but you can tell she’s got a soft side hiding in there too,” Isabel added.

Dianne nodded faintly in understanding. “And what about you and Max? Did you meet your real mother as well?” The words ‘real mother’ were said in a pained whisper.

Isabel looked stunned. “Oh mom…you’re my real mother! Yes, we met Kira and yes, she seems like a remarkable woman, but she could never replace you. I will admit, she will always hold a very special place in my heart because…well, you know. She’s a big part of my history.”

Dianne chose her next words carefully. “I know that we’re not your biological parents, but your father and I have always loved you and your brother unconditionally. There are bound to be many things that Kira can give you that we can’t though…”

Isabel nodded. “True, but there are a lot of things you and dad can give me that Kira can’t. She wasn’t there for my first day of school. She didn’t celebrate with me when I chose a college. She wasn’t the first one I went to when I got engaged and she certainly wasn’t at my wedding. Those things are a huge part of who I am now and I didn’t share any of them with her.”

Dianne put on a brave smile, feeling only slightly relieved, and then abruptly changed the subject. “So tell me what you guys have done so far. Have you met any of the rebels yet? I assume you’ll need their help to rescue Kivar’s prisoners…”

Isabel spent the next few minutes explaining what little progress they’d made so far. It had only been a few days, so there wasn’t much to tell yet. She emphasized that they had a big meeting coming with the rebel leaders from the other planets where they hoped to form the first alliance of its kind since Kivar took over the Empire. Dianne desperately tried to memorize every word, knowing that the other parents would want a word-for-word replay of the dreamwalk later.

********************************************************

The next morning, before Dianne had a chance to tell the others she’d been contacted by Isabel, there was an urgent knocking on the front door of their home. Philip opened the door to find Agent James Ford fidgeting on the front porch.

James didn’t even wait for an invitation. He just blew straight past Philip and asked him to gather the others in the living room. Dianne was the last to join the anxious group because she had just awoke from her position on the couch in the library. Once everyone was together, James waved a fistful of papers triumphantly and grinned from ear to ear.

“He did it! Alex sent us a message!” James blurted in excitement.

Gloria gasped. “How? What did he say?”

“To be honest, we’re baffled. He must have some kind of satellite or transmitter stationed nearby because there’s just no way that digital signal could’ve traveled this far without degrading to the point of gibberish…” James studied the papers in his hand in awe.

Philip’s expression darkened. “How do we know this isn’t one of Kivar’s tricks?”

James laughed. “Oh, it’s Alex all right. That young man has an amazing mind, there’s no doubt about that!”

“That’s really fascinating, James…really…but I think we’re more concerned about what the message said right at the moment.” Dianne prodded. “And as soon as you’re finished, I have news of my own.” She added.

“Oh!” James blushed as he passed around the papers he’d been clutching since he arrived. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to get these past the CIA boys. They should know you have a vested interest in this particular national security matter…”

As James rambled on excitedly about his adventures with the CIA agents who were supposed to be on their side, the parents tuned him out and read the precious message.

Greetings neighbors,

A warm hello to you all. Our vacation has been uneventful so far. The flight went quickly and we arrived at the country club in record time. The captains discovered a group of stowaways when we landed and I suspect they’re feeling a tad guilty for hitching that ride. I don’t think they expected to get stranded at the country club, so very far away from all the adventure.

Loving the weather here. We met some distant relatives shortly after our arrival and they seem to be nice. They have taught us quite a bit about the laws and culture out here, although we have yet to travel far enough away from the club to see the culture for ourselves. It will be interesting, to say the least.

Everything has been fairly laid back so far. There has been very little trouble with the language barrier. We have made a few new friends already and eventually, we hope to make many more. The more the merrier! As long as the locals play nice, this vacation should be a blast.

Xenoliths here are beautiful. We miss you guys already. Please do look out for yourselves while we’re gone. We’d love to hear from you guys. Drop us an e-mail at this address so we know you got the postcard. Oh, and Maria asked me to remind you to pay attention to her flower garden. She wants to make sure that everything is taken care of while she’s gone.

Love to all,

Duke

As the parents puzzled over some of the more offbeat portions of the message, James rocked back and forth on his heals, waiting for a reaction. He wondered how long it would take them to figure out the clues. He didn’t have to wait long though, because Charles suddenly threw back his head and laughed in a mixture of joy and relief.

“I told you he has an amazing mind…” James grinned, waiting for the others to catch on.

Philip, feeling rather stupid, frowned. “And how are we sure that this garbled message is from Alex, again?”

Charles chuckled. “He spelled it out for us, right there in the message. Did you notice how some of those sentences seem completely out of place? In the beginning, I thought he was trying to be vague in case the message fell into the wrong hands. On second glance though-”

“Oh!” Gloria gasped. “Look at the first letter of every paragraph. A – L – E – X. We’re literally his neighbors, he spelled out his name for us and he sighed it Duke. I’d say Duke is a fairly accurate description of Alex right at the moment.”

James nodded in agreement. “I don’t know how the hell he did it but Alex basically hacked into our satellites and started bouncing this message all over the Internet. One of our CIA techs was researching what he thought was a new computer virus when one of his superiors recognized the ‘virus’ for what it really was.”

“Good thinking Alex!” Philip said, amused at the ingenuity.

“This tells us a lot,” Gloria said, waving the pages in her hand, “but I wish he didn’t have to be so vague.”

Dianne smiled. “I might be able to help there. Isabel contacted me last night.” She couldn’t help but feel bad when Philip flinched in surprise.

Dianne spent the next twenty minutes or so relaying every last detail she could remember from the dreamwalk. She left out her discussion about ‘real parents’ for the time being though. It seemed more appropriate to discuss that portion of the dream with Philip later, in private.

Gloria sighed in relief. “Apparently that country club Alex kept mentioning was supposed to refer to the underground compound on Saria. I’m so glad they have somewhere safe to stay.”

“There’s one thing I don’t understand though. Why would Alex make a special point of asking us to take care of Maria’s flower garden? That garden withered and died months ago. She knows that…” Philip stared out the window, pondering the dead mass of flowers in the distance.

Dianne shrugged. “To be quite honest, I was surprised that Maria bothered with the garden at all. She just doesn’t seem like the type of person who would enjoy playing in the dirt. And how she roped Michael into helping her, I’ll never know.”

James just stood back and waited for them to put the pieces of this one last puzzle together. He’d pondered the same question on his long drive out to the ranch that very morning. The moment he figured it out, he nearly drove his car off the road.

“I did think it was odd that she put so much work into planting that garden and then just let all the flowers die. All she had to do was turn the sprinkler on once in a while but she seemed so determined to let it be…said she’d just replant it next year.” Charles added, now staring out the window at the remnants of Maria’s garden too.

Gloria’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God…she did it on purpose!” Gloria rushed toward the back door without another word.

The rest of the crew stared at her quickly retreating form, wondering what had just happened. “You might want to follow her…and grab a few shovels if you have them,” James said.

When the others caught up to Gloria, they found her sifting through the dirt with her hands. She was scooping up fistfuls of dirt and tossing them over her shoulder into the grass.

“Gloria! Honey…calm down,” Charles gasped in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Maria didn’t care one iota about the flowers. She only planted them to conceal…or maybe to mark whatever was underneath. The whole point of Maria’s request was to make sure that we’d know where to look.”

Dianne’s eyebrows wrinkled in concern. “Isabel didn’t mention anything about-”

“Maria was prepared to replant this garden every year if she had to,” Gloria interrupted, not really clarifying anything at all. With a clank, her hands struck something hard buried in the dirt.

“What on Earth…?” Philip dropped to his knees and tried to help Gloria wrench the large metal box out of the ground.

“What is it?” Dianne asked.

Philip grunted with the effort it took to lift just one corner of the box. Gloria reached down and started digging aside more dirt while Charles stepped forward and helped Philip tug. After nearly ten minutes of this, only the top of the mystery box had been cleared. It was massive, encompassing almost half of the garden, and probably weighed at least a ton.

“That, ladies and gentlemen, is their arsenal,” James explained. “Until I read the message from Alex, it didn’t occur to me that the gear we hauled to the Granilith chamber was a little…sparse.”

Dianne whirled in shock. “Sparse?! My heavens, that weapons bag they packed for the departure must’ve weighed at least 50 pounds!”

“You don’t honestly think that the President would expect them to go into this mission without the best protection the US government could offer, do you?” James asked. “With nothing but a few automatic rifles? That duffel bag was a mere drop in the bucket…”

Gloria brushed the dirt from her hands and sat back on her heals. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? All this time, we’ve been worried about them…and millions of miles away, they’re worried about us.”

************************************************************

(Refugee Compound, Saria)

The morning after Isabel’s impromptu dreamwalk, the gang concentrated on making the final preparations for their upcoming meeting with the rebel leaders. Rayna had used her contacts on the inside to confirm that the missing humans were indeed being held captive at the Antarean palace. Armed with that knowledge, the gang plunged forward with their plans to organize a joint rescue mission. The only way to rescue Kivar’s many human and alien hostages would be to take him off the throne completely, and that daunting task would require as many rebel forces as they could get.

Kira had spent days making arrangements for the rebel leaders to meet with the Eight in privacy. The last thing they needed was for one of the leaders to give away the location of the refugee safe house. Up until this point, all communications had been routed through a series of secure checkpoints ensuring that no one outside their tight circle of trusted allies would be able to find them. Now, these outsiders would be coming directly to the compound. There was much preparation necessary to make sure that the refugees weren’t compromised by such a bold move.

Now that all of the chips were falling into place, the Eight just had to run through their plans one last time. This time around, they gathered in Kyle and Ava’s suite.

“OK…last chance guys. Let’s get our heads together so we can go into this meeting with a concrete plan.” Max said.

Isabel nodded. “All right. When they first get here, we’ll do introductions. It’s probably unnecessary, but it would be rude not to. We’ll be able to gauge their mindset right away then too.”

“While Isabel makes a show of welcoming them all here and doing the introductions, Alex will lightly scan their minds. Anything he can find out will give us a leg up in the negotiations.” Liz added.

“After the horse and pony show, Max will offer up an alliance to take down Kivar. They’ll list off at least a zillion reasons why they think we’re crazy and things will probably start to get intense.” Alex said bluntly.

“At which point we’ll inform them that Saria and Eros have already joined us. That probably won’t sway them a whole lot and things will start to get really ugly. They’ll question our plans, our abilities, our loyalties…you name it, and they’ll probably attack it.” Max cautioned.

“Which is where we come in and things get complicated.” Maria began. “We stayed up all night and came up with a series of flexible battle strategies. On the surface, they’re brilliant…but they were also created with no understanding of our adversaries’ or allies’ powers whatsoever. That’s a major problem.”

“Just out of curiosity…what is plan A?” Alex asked nervously.

“Plan A involves the rebel groups from all five planets teaming up to whip Kivar’s butt. We would launch three successive attacks directly to the palace…In essence; we’d outnumber his military four to one and force him to go on the defensive. In theory, he’d be left scrambling for a plan while we overrun the palace.” Michael said confidently.

“Huh…simple, yet effective.” Isabel said. “That one might work no matter what Kivar’s minions have in their arsenal. So what were the other ‘hypothetical’ options?”

“Those are a lot more complicated. For example, we could team up with the rebel groups from Saria and Eros to launch three successive attacks directly to the palace…” Maria grinned. “I think you see where I’m going with this…”

Max was stunned. “You guys came up with one plan? That’s it?! What are we going to do if that one plan doesn’t work?”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Obviously we didn’t spend all night cooking up one elementary plan to outnumber the enemy, Max. Since we will be forced to tell the rebel leaders something during this meeting without knowing whether they’re loyal or not, we figured we’d better come up with some safeguards, so to speak.”

Ava smiled mischievously. “We’re quite resourceful, Max. I’m sure that there are at least five or six other options at our disposal if necessary. If, for example, one of the rebel leaders was playing double agent on us…I’m fairly certain that we could whip something out of our bag of tricks and he’d never see it coming.”

Alex caught on right away. “Clever! So we keep our best cards under the table long enough to find out what the other players have in their hands, right? If rebel leaders act like they’re on our side but the plans get leaked to Kivar, we’ll know there’s a traitor in the bunch during the first attack…because Kivar will have his men lined up on the front lawn of the palace waiting for us. Once it’s obvious that we have a traitor in the ranks, we cut him or her loose and change our strategy.”

Kyle grinned. “Exactly! The truly loyal people will know that we’ve stacked the deck, so to speak, and they’ll respect that. The phonies will spill their guts and make Kivar play right into our hands.”

Maria giggled at the impatient look on Max’s face. “I don't think Max sees the humor in your poker analogies guys. Let’s move on to those super secret backup plans before his head starts to spin. This is the part where it gets complicated.”

Michael nodded. “If someone were to leak the information to Kivar, he’ll be expecting us to launch three attacks directly to the palace. As Alex so accurately put it; Kivar will have all of his troops camped out on the front lawn waiting for us. On the big day, we’ll have a scout check out the location of Kivar’s troops. If they’re all at the palace then we’ll know our plans got leaked and we can change our strategy.”

“By changing our destination at the last possible minute, no one will be able to warn Kivar in time and we’ll be able to hit somewhere less heavily guarded…such as the prison camps.” Ava pointed out.

“And just picture the shock on Kivar’s face when we show up at his work camps…” Maria added with a sadistic grin. “He’ll be expecting us to run with our tails between our legs but in reality…we’d hit him where it hurts by forcing him to split his forces between each of the work camps. Divide and conquer, baby.”

Max looked intrigued. “What if Kivar sees straight through this? What if he increases the security at his prison camps just to be sure?”

“It doesn’t really matter one way or the other.” Kyle pointed out. “As long as we send a scout we know we can trust, we’ll know exactly where Kivar’s men are concentrated. If they’re at the prison camps, we’ll strike at the palace. If they’re at the palace, we’ll strike at the camps. If they’re scattered evenly between both, we’ll get creative.”

The gang spent the next few minutes discussing all the various ‘creative’ strategies and counter maneuvers Michael’s crew came up with. Some of them were quite simple and others, mainly Maria’s creations, were down right weird. Soon, Max was feeling a lot more confident about their ‘one plan of attack’ ruse.

“I wish we could afford to hold off on the first attack until after we’ve had a chance to test out our powers here. It would be nice to work with Kira and Rayna a little bit before we jump in with both feet…” Liz said nervously.

“We put a lot of thought into our battle strategies and I think they’re pretty good, but I would have more confidence in them if we had a clue what the others were capable of. There could be a lot of possibilities we haven’t even considered yet because we just don’t have any experience here.” Michael conceded.

“I agree completely, but we can’t wait very long though. Who knows what Kivar is doing to the humans he took. They might not have much time left.” Alex said; his forhead crinkled in concern.

“Our mother mentioned that Larek could probably help us get a little training in before the big day. If he could spare a few men to create a distraction on the other side of the System, it would take Kivar’s attention off Saria, and more importantly, off the prisoners for a little while. That ought to buy us a little time.” Ava pointed out. The others nodded in agreement.

“The rebel leaders don’t even have to know that we’re pushing back the date of the ‘coup’ for training.” Liz mused, looking away in thought.

“For all we know, the rebel leaders might not give us a straight answer for a day or two anyway. We’ll just tell them that we can respect the fact that they need time to consider the alliance and then, while they think we’re patiently waiting for their decisions, we’ll be training in secret.” Max suggested.

“We’ll have to be extremely careful about masking our thoughts during the meeting with the rebel leaders. They can’t know about any of these ‘countermeasures’. We could end up breezing through the first attack, assuming Kivar hadn’t been tipped off only to get our butts handed to us later,” Isabel cautioned.

Kyle nodded in agreement. “We have a plan for that too. We know Michael and Maria can block mindwarps and Ava and I can stop dreamwalks. That implies we have the power to block access to our minds period. If we can do it, you guys can too.”

Liz looked doubtful. “We have no idea how strong those leaders are. Most of us have never purposely tried to access our ‘collective powers’ so how do we know it would even work on the first try?”

Kyle shrugged. “Remember what Alex said about us being like the Borg? That specifically implies that we can share each other’s powers. Rayna even said so herself.

“I believe you are the one who brought up the Borg, Kyle. And I think Liz is right. We’re not very experienced at using each other’s powers. If we mess up and the rebel leaders find out we’re trying to trick them, they’ll be less inclined to play nicely with us.”

Isabel caught a fleeting image from Maria’s mind and actually laughed out loud. It was absurd but the shock value had serious potential.

“If we can’t block them…we distract them. Michael and Maria know they can block people out so they’ll be in charge of providing the distraction.” Isabel said while trying to stifle a giggle.

Michael scratched his eyebrow nervously. “Why is that so funny, Iz?”

Isabel smirked while Maria patted Michael’s arm reassuringly. “No need for panic Spaceboy, really. Just try to remember…if any part of your attire suddenly bursts into flames during the meeting, it’s only because I’m trying to protect our family. It’s all for the greater good, dear…” Maria said innocently. The others shared a hearty laugh as Michael paled in fear.

**********************************************************

(Royal Palace, Antar)

At the Royal Antarean Palace, Kivar paced the length of his private quarters in anticipation. Rath had released the humans immediately after their last meeting and he was currently escorting them all back to Earth. Since Kivar’s new fleet of ships was capable of making the trip in less than three days, Rath should be entering Earth orbit within hours. Once the humans were returned to their homes, Kivar’s master plan would be realized.

“Human bodies…so frail. So prone to sickness and disease.” Kivar mused with glee.

He continued pacing while he reveled in his own genius. This is why the Royal Four were never fit to rule the Empire, he thought. They were too soft. They could have easily stopped his rise to power at any time if they had just been willing to unleash their massive army on Eros before it was too late. But no. They were weak…too concerned about citizen casualties.

“Imbeciles! Their fall from grace was inevitable! If a man cannot overlook a few casualties to secure his kingdom, he will lose.” Kivar muttered in disgust. “If the Royal Eight think I will allow them to take my kingdom, they are sorely mistaken.”

Kivar had gone on the offensive the day the dupes first dropped on his doorstep nearly six years ago. He spent the last six years perfecting his master plan. After the dupes failed to slay the Royal Eight and were dumped on his doorstep empty handed, yet again, he knew it was time to put his plans into motion. The Eight couldn’t possibly defend Earth and Antar at the same time. The pending extinction of their beloved humans would tear them away from the Alpha System…and Kivar’s kingdom would be safe. He was nearly giddy at the thought of those unsuspecting humans going about their daily lives, completely unaware that their lives were about to be cut tragically short.

“And to think, those mutts took human mates…I couldn’t have planned that better myself! They’ll die before they even reach the palace!” Kivar sneered.

***************************************************

(Earth Orbit)

Rath stared out the massive window, marveling at the sea of surrounding stars. Being this close to Earth made him edgy, but the feeling was tempered by the fact that he would not be staying long. As he watched the blue planet hover below, he sighed in irritation.

“We have secured orbit.” An ornery looking alien said, not bothering to look at his commanding officer at all. “The humans are ready for transport on your command.”

Rath sneered. “Well get on with it then, Daymon. The faster we get rid of this cargo, the better.”

Daymon glared at Rath over his shoulder for a second but turned away before he got caught. His hands flew over the control panel and he seemed to be deep in thought. He debated over mentioning the Sarian transmitters they had passed along the way but, once again, he decided to keep that information to himself. Why make things easy for Rath if he wasn’t observant enough to do a proper job himself?

Daymon considered the scope of this particular mission. Kivar was never one to share information openly. He trusted no one. He couldn’t help but wonder if Kivar actually indended for Rath to return safely, given the nature of their cargo.

“Lord Kivar indicated that-”

Rath whirled on the man in fury. “Lord Kivar?! He is your King! If you want to live, I suggest you remember that.”

Daymon scowled so deeply that the lines in his face seemed to be permanently etched in. He’d finally had it. That pompous, mouthy hybrid had pushed him too far.

“I am aware that he is King, Rath. I was there the day he killed you…or did you forget that already? Perhaps your human side has altered your memory-”

Rath’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “I am your superior officer, maggot! The next time you call me by my first name, you die…”

“If you kill me, sir, you might just find yourself stranded down there with the humans.” The alien sneered, pointing toward Earth. “The more soldiers you kill, the less inclined the rest of us are to cooperate. That could be problematic for you, so far away from Antar…sir.”

The lights on the control panel flickered with Rath’s anger. As he assessed his options, he realized the mouthy little alien was partially right. He could not risk a revolt on his ship this far away from Antar. He would just have to kill the man later.

“Turn this tin-can back toward Antar. Now.” Rath barked.

The alien feigned a few lazy gestures at the control panel again. It angered him that Kivar had let a rogue brute like Rath command his army. Forcing the soldiers to submit to such an obvious pawn was nothing more than an insult.

The alien turned and looked Rath straight in the eye this time. “You are not concerned that you will become ill, like the others…Sir?”

“Why would I get sick? This thing only affects humans, and I’m not human.” Rath shrugged carelessly, thinking that this distinction was obvious.

The alien mirrored Rath’s shrug. “You are not Antarean either,” he muttered.

Coming in Chapter 14: A message from home sends up red flags. The big meeting with the rebels proves to be just as challenging as the gang anticipated. We finally get an up-close and personal view of our favorite couples in the aftermath of their first 'official' diplomatic venture on Saria.

Thanks all for the compliments on last chapter. I'm glad you liked Alex's message. He and Kyle are so much fun to write. Well...I hope you guys like this chapter. It's another long 'un.

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 14: Day of Reckoning

(Underground compound, Saria)

The morning of the big meeting started with chaos. It was probably a bad omen, all things considered. Everything started with a shocking message from home.

Alex rushed into the common room and immediately cornered Max and Michael. “The others are on their way…we have a message from home!” He panted.

“Already? That was fast!” Max said.

Alex leaned over and sucked in a gulp of air. “They followed my directions perfectly. Transmitted a reply straight out of the satellites we hacked into in the first place. Our amplification devices picked the message up and bounced it back here.”

Michael frowned in confusion. “I don’t know what the hell you just said but does that mean we can ‘call home’ whenever we want?”

Alex nodded. “We can, and we will. I’m a little concerned about what they had to say-”

Before Alex could finish his sentence, Rayna rushed into the room with a message of her own. Michael looked up in surprise as the tiny woman bolted through the doorway.

“Kivar has gone on the offensive!” She blurted.

Max’s head swiveled between Rayna and Alex as the few remaining Antarean refugees in the room hastily made their way toward the exit. The poor frightened people were almost mowed over by the rest of the Roswell crew in the doorway.

“They sent a message?” Isabel asked, skidding to a stop in the middle of the room. “What does it say?

Michael interrupted before Alex could say a word. “I think we better listen to her thing first,” he said, pointing to Rayna.

All eyes turned to Rayna in confusion. “I’ve just received word that Kivar’s ships left the System. They were on a direct course for Earth,” she said.

Ava gasped. “We have to warn someone! It takes nearly a week to get to Earth by ship…we still have time.”

Alex shook his head. “No we don’t. Apparently, he’s revamped his ships because they’ve already been there and gone. It’s in the message from our parents. The message is really vague of course, because they know we’re not using secure transmissions-”

“For heaven’s sake, read us the message Alex!” Liz blurted in frustration.

Alex blushed. “Right…OK. It looks like they prepared one message and then tried to add to it later when the people showed up. They said:

We’re thrilled to hear you’re having a nice vacation. It must have been quite an experience traveling in that new plane. Will you be flying with the same airline for the return trip?

Things are quiet here. We miss you a lot and I think your employees are feeling a bit lost in your absence. They are working hard as ever though. They are teaching us how to take care of Maria’s garden.

Please do tell your serene friend that James has been thinking about her. We would love to hear more about the stowaways. It is very fortunate they were allowed to stay at the country club after hitching a ride on your flight. The captains never considered sending them home?

We’ll keep you in our thoughts and dreams. Please do stay safe in your travels. Hope to receive another postcard from you or the missus very soon…

Love,

Evan Whitty

P.S. Caesar visited today and brought some old friends home. The Man doesn’t have much to say and is wondering if your trip has been successful. Have you changed your travel itinerary?

After Alex read the strange message, there was a moment of silence. The first part was clear enough but the second part was pure gibberish.

“I get that Evan Witty stands for Whitman and Evans but what the hell is the rest of it supposed to mean?” Michael asked bluntly.

Max studied the paper for a moment and then with a confused shrug, he handed it to Maria. It looked a lot like one of Maria’s weird code-speak things.

Maria read the sheet and nodded in understanding. “The first part is pretty self-explanatory. The second part implies that the humans are back, and the Feds are wondering if it’s because we beat Kivar already. And apparently they need answers quick because the government has a media blackout on the whole thing.”

Kyle snorted. “Where exactly did you get all that from?”

Maria rolled her eyes as though the answer should be obvious. “Caesar is clearly a reference to Kivar and The Man is our government…which is trying to keep the whole incident hush-hush. They want to know if we defeated Kivar already because that would explain why the humans were returned to their homes,” she explained.

“You know you’re not normal, right?” Kyle blurted. He quickly tried to cover before Maria got mad and set his shoes on fire…again. “And that’s exactly why you’re the best sister in the world…you’re…oh hell. I’m not getting out of this one, am I?”

“I know where you sleep, Kyle. That’s all I have to say…” Maria said, her smile widening as Kyle stumbled backward another few steps behind Ava.

Liz struggled to cover a laugh and tried to turn the conversation back around to the problem at hand. “So that begs the question…why would Kivar send the prisoners back to Earth? What does he stand to gain from that?”

“Begs the question? Who says that?” Alex laughed nervously. Off a stern glare from Isabel, he added, “And that was completely beyond the point. Please strike that last comment from the record…”

Rayna observed the camaraderie with mild confusion. Their oddly placed humor made it appear that they were not taking the situation seriously. It took a moment before she recognized their absurdity for what it really was. They were nervous and this was a very healthy defense mechanism, much like she and Rayna had relied on many times throughout the years. She struggled to mask a grin of pride and turned her attention back to more important concerns.

“Kivar would never have returned your people without an ulterior motive. I highly recommend that you send a message back to your human allies…tell them to quarantine the returnees. It would be prudent to quarantine anyone who has had contact with them as well,” she suggested.

Ava frowned. “That won’t be easy on Earth. I’m sure these people have family or friends that will notice they’ve gone missing again.”

Max shifted uncomfortably. “The FBI can make it happen. We need to send a message to the Director himself - Peter Adams. He’ll know what to do…” His words brought a stunned silence over the room. With a collective shudder, everyone except for Rayna realized what Max was talking about.

Isabel gasped. “Max, no! You’re not suggesting…Eagle Rock?!” Isabel sputtered in shock, remembering the day they rescued Max from Eagle Rock Military Base. She still had nightmares about that place.

“I’m not so sure that yanking a page out of Pierce’s rulebook is the way to go with this one Maxwell.” Michael said. “Stuffing the returnees in some FBI compound isn’t going to give us any clues about what Kivar’s up to.”

“I’m not suggesting we call up the government and invite them to...” Max broke off and shook his head to clear it. When he began to speak again, his voice was painfully strained.

“I’m just saying that Rayna’s right. Kivar’s up to no good and those people have to be isolated from the general population until we know what’s going on.”

Liz stood firm by her husband’s side and nodded. “It’s for their safety as much as everyone else’s. Adams will help them; not hurt them.”

“I’ve got to agree with Max and Liz on this one. We’re too far away to do anything about the human situation. We have no choice but to let the Feds sort it out. But we can do something about the people here…they still need us.” Kyle pointed out.

Isabel looked around in shock, her hands firmly planted on her hips. “Now wait a minute! We can’t just hope for the best and plunge forward like nothing has changed. Rayna is right. Kivar definitely had an ulterior motive for sending those people back to Earth.”

Ava frowned. “I’m sure he did. If our first instinct is to run home and save the day, we won’t be a threat to him anymore. That would be awfully convenient for him, wouldn’t it?”

Liz cocked her head in surprise. “If this is just one big ‘psych out’ then he’s certainly put a lot of effort into it. He kidnapped those people before we even got here. Are you implying that he knew we would come running to the rescue and then disappear again the minute he released the humans?”

“I think that’s a good possibility and we shouldn’t rule it out. It would look like we abandoned the people here and ran home with our tails between our legs. He’s got an extensive history of psychological warfare, so who’s to say that’s not what he’s doing now?” Ava said.

Alex looked at the Antarean timepiece near the doorway and groaned. “I hate to say this, but the rebel leaders will be here soon. If we’re sending a message back to Earth, it’ll have to be now.”

The gang looked around at each other in suspense. Could they really order the capture of dozens of innocent people? On the other hand, could they afford not to?

“This is just a temporary precaution. We all know Kivar wouldn’t let those people go out of the kindness of his heart. No one is safe on Earth until we know why they were sent back.” Max insisted.

Isabel sighed. “I guess we have no choice…” Her tone clearly suggested that she did not care for this temporary precaution at all.

Alex nodded in understanding and rushed off to find Tolya, the Antarean refugee who helped to send the first message to Earth. They were very lucky that Tolya’s communication duties required him to understand English. There was no time to try a dreamwalk and the stowaways had to be let in on the latest development anyway, so Alex decided they would work with Tolya from here on out to coordinate communications with their Earth allies.

**********************************************


After filling in the stowaways and introducing them to Tolya, Alex rushed back to his quarters to change into his ‘formal’ clothing. Kira and Rayna had informed the gang that they would be expected to wear traditional Antarean clothing for all ‘official functions’. The meeting with the rebel leaders certainly qualified as an official function so therefore, they would have to dress the part.

Alex stifled a groan when he rushed into the meeting room. The black canvas-like pants weren’t too bad, if you ignored all of the extra buckles and pockets. They were vaguely similar to cargo pants on Earth. The real issue was the shirt, or lack thereof. Aside from the long, leather-esque vests, there were no shirts to speak of. Looking down at his bare chest, Alex’s cheeks turned pink and he suddenly began to wish he had spent more time at the gym. Clearly, Antareans didn’t define modesty the same way humans did.

“You have got to be kidding me…” Kyle mumbled, walking into the room. He eyed Max and Alex and let out a dry laugh. “This has Chippendales written all over it.”

“Chippendales on ice.” Alex said, rolling his eyes.

“Performed by the cast and crew of Miami Vice.” Max added, frowning down at his own vest. It was a bit more ornate than the others’, with brilliant metallic symbols embedded into the leather framing his broad chest.

Michael strode into the room and the joking stopped. Instead of a vest, he wore a long jacket similar to a trench coat, which clanked ominously with each step he took. His combat style boots added another inch or two to his height. Shirtless like the others, and covered head-to-toe in black, Michael suddenly looked very intimidating.

“What’s up with that jacket, man? Sounds like you have a suit of armor hiding under that thing…” Kyle blurted in surprise.

Michael grunted uncomfortably. He hated being the center of attention. “It’s lined with some kind of silver metal…sort of like heavy tin-foil.” He shrugged. “I wonder if Maria got ‘body armor’ too? I’d kind of rather she had it…”

Alex laughed nervously. “I’d rather we all had body armor but hey…that’s just me.” Before he could utter another word, there was a rustling in the doorway.

One by one, the ladies started filing into the room. The men fell into a stunned silence when they got a good look at the ‘traditional uniforms’ the ladies were given. Liz, Isabel, and Ava had very feminine suits, with pants made of the same canvas-like material as the men’s and double-breasted jackets made of the same leathery fabric. Liz’s jacket bore the same shiny metallic symbols that embellished Max’s but hers criss-crossed her chest in a ‘V’ before overlapping into one long row that ended at her navel. The ladies’ suits were stunning, cut perfectly in all the right places.

Maria arrived sporting a surprisingly trendy leatheresque jacket layered over a clingy black canvas top. Her jacket clanked lightly, like the sound of rustling chains, just as Michael’s did. And like Michael, her attire was head-to-toe black.

Aside from Michael and Maria’s, each outfit had an accent color in one spot or another that matched the stones in the translator necklaces Alex had created back on Earth. According to Kira and Rayna, the colors would help the rebel leaders identify each of the Royal Eight by ‘status’. Aside from those subtle hints of color, the entire crew was covered in enough black to provoke a few snide comments about a ‘funeral procession’.

“We look like we’re headed to our own funeral or something. I thought black was supposed to represent Michael’s branch of the family tree,” Kyle pointed out.

Michael scratched his brow nervously and fixed Kyle with a serious look. “I think that’s kind of the point. Rayna tried to explain it all but…” He shrugged and let Maria explain.

“We’re making a point…a statement, if you will.” Maria explained, gesturing wildly with her hands. “Remember how our teacher made us all wear blue t-shirts for that cancer society fund raiser in third grade? She said it was to show our support for the cause or something. Well, this is the same idea.”

“And we want these people to think we support Michael?” Kyle asked, still confused.

Max rolled his eyes. “We want them to know that we stand together, and together, we will be taking an active role in the impending coup.”

Realizing that the rebel leaders would be arriving any moment, Liz turned her attention to more important matters. “Did you have enough time to send a message to Earth?” She asked, eyeing Alex nervously.

Alex nodded. “Serena and John are working on it with Tolya as we speak. I made an executive decision and appointed the stowaways to communication duty. It’ll be so much simpler if they take care of that for us right now.”

“Good thinking. Finally, one less thing for us to worry about.” Isabel said, glad to have at least one piece of good news at the moment.

Without warning, Kira and Rayna rushed into the room to announce the arrival of the first rebel leader. They were both clad in their usual gowns, signaling that they would not be participating in the meeting. The gang was going to be facing this hurdle alone. Sadly, they wouldn’t even have Kaden or Connor at their side for this huge event either. Apparently this was very strict VIP gathering.

“Sero of Nedra is the first to arrive. He should be here any moment.” Kira announced. Her blazing eyes betrayed the unease she felt over Sero being the first to arrive.

“Isn’t he the one Courtney called a bully?” Alex asked.

Rayna nodded gravely. “That would be an accurate assessment. Do not let him mock you…you will never earn his respect if he perceives you as ‘soft’.”

Michael looked down at his outfit and snorted in amusement. Appearing soft definitely wouldn’t be a problem.

Just then, a muscular little man with hair dark as night strode confidently into the room. He barely even looked at the other people in the room, turning his face toward the empty doorway instead, his nose wrinkling defiantly. Maria glowered when she saw the obvious scorn in the man’s eyes as they passed.

As Kira and Rayna quietly showed themselves out of the room, Isabel stepped forward to start the introductions. “Thank you for coming today. You must be Sero of Nedra. I am pleased to meet you-” Before Isabel could finish, the man cut her off.

“Do not mistake me for a fool, Vilandra. Your beauty and charm will have no effect on me. I am well aware of your relations with Kivar.” Sero snapped. He was still staring at the doorframe, refusing to look at anyone in the room.

Max stepped forward and towered at least a foot over the mouthy alien, forcing himself into the man’s field of view. “If you are so determined to believe the lies Kivar has spoon fed to you over years, I don’t know that your presence is necessary here.” He challenged boldly.

Sero’s head whipped up in shock. “You seek to gain my allegiance by insulting me?! I suggest you watch your words Zan because I have very little patience for your games. You handed the Empire over to Kivar on a golden platter in your last lifetime. I will not allow that to happen again!”

“Since you have not been successful at reclaiming the Empire on your own, perhaps you should listen to what we have to say before you decide to throw away the freedom of your people.” Max said calmly. Liz tried to hide a look of awe at her husband in all his ‘take-charge’ glory.

Before Sero could spit out yet another vicious retort, Courtney strode confidently into the room. For once, she wasn’t wearing her typical Earth inspired jeans and t-shirt. Today, she wore a beautiful navy suit, subtly trimmed in black. Sero’s eyes went wide when he saw her. He whipped around and fixed the Eight with a scathing look.

“You would allow Cortenya to attend these proceedings?! Perhaps you were right…my presence is not necessary here,” he said, making his way to the door.

“Knock it off, Sero. Your uninspired blustering isn’t helping anything. Noone wants Kivar off the throne more than I do,” Courtney snipped.

“You are not fit to attend this meeting! Your father would be appalled that the Royal Eight have chosen to align themselves with the likes of you.” Sero insisted.

Courtney’s face hardened into a cold mask. “How dare you presume to know how my father would feel?!”

Sero ignored her words, his upper lip twisting into an angry sneer. He didn’t dare turn his back on her, though he clearly wanted to. Instead, he turned his face away and once again focused on the empty doorway. As he stood there silently seething, another man and woman entered the room.

Kathana of Thalos and Drakor of Antar had overheard the confrontation between Courtney and Sero on their way in. They waited anxiously in the doorway to hear what Courtney had to say about Sero’s charges.

In any other situation, the next few moments might have been funny. Across the room stood Courtney, a woman Sero hated with a fiery passion. The empty doorway he had been watching so intently was now filled with two people he disliked almost as much as the Eight themselves. His thick brows drew together as he scowled and dismissed Kathana and Drakor with a clearly audible grunt. With nowhere left to turn, Sero shifted uncomfortably and began studying the ceiling in great detail.

Miffed at the obvious snub, Kathana and Drakor gaped in outrage. As if on cue though, they realized that they were standing entirely too close for their liking and lunged toward opposite sides of the room. Now, Courtney, Sero, Kathana and Drakor were scattered around the room, as distant as the points on a compass. From this new vantage point, they were able to glare viciously at each other without interruption. This ridiculous scene continued until Isabel brought the angry leaders’ attention back to herself.

“We are not your enemies and neither is Cortenya, so I would appreciate it if we could get this meeting underway.” Isabel said, mimicking her former Ice Queen persona very well now.

“We are missing one member. I’ll hear nothing until Larek arrives.” Kathana said stubbornly. She shot a snotty smile toward Sero, knowing full well how much he disliked Larek.

Just then, a steely haired man strolled nonchalantly into the room. “Thank you for your concern, Kathana. I do apologize for my late arrival. Apparently we are ready to begin?”

Larek looked around at the ragtag group of leaders, almost with an air of boredom. As he stood there, feigning disinterest, the Roswell gang studied him in awe. They had never seen Larek’s true form before. It was a surprise to see his small, thin form after speaking to him through humans for so many years.

As Larek settled down into a nearby chair, he smiled innocently at the group. Folding his hands confidently in his lap, he watched as the other leaders followed suit, although they did not mirror his patient gaze.

Deciding it was time to start the official introductions, Isabel shot Alex a very subtle glance. Off his nod, she began.

“Because our hybrid forms might be unfamiliar to you, I thought it would be prudent to start with some introductions first.” Isabel proceeded to introduce her friends and their mates in turn. Now, instead of glaring at each other, the rebel leaders’ attention was focused intently on the Eight.

“Why is it that Ava is the only one of you that has chosen to honor her Antarean heritage by using her family name?” Drakor of Antar asked, clearly offended.

Max sighed. “As you know, after our deaths, we were cloned and our pods were sent to the planet Earth. Unbeknownst to everyone involved, Kivar anticipated this move and had clones of his own sent as well.”

Sero grunted in false amusement. “Anticipated that move? That is quite an eloquent way of saying that your people could not keep a secret properly.”

Max ignored the snide remark and continued on. “Our ship and their ship collided just inside Earth’s atmosphere. A survivor from Kivar’s ship took what he assumed were Kivar’s clones, to a different region of the planet. He made sure that the imposters used their former Antarean names because Kivar intended for them to return to Antar as adults and fool the people into thinking ‘the Royal Four’ had joined him.” Before Max could finish his story, Kathana slapped the table top in irritation.

“Of course! That pompous man probably assumed we wouldn’t know the difference…” She hissed.

Drakor scoffed at that idea immediately. “Perhaps you wouldn’t notice the difference-”

Max prevented the impending blowout by continuing his story. “Our protectors were killed in the crash or shortly thereafter. Consequently, the rest of us were raised by humans, never knowing about our Antarean heritage-”

Max broke off and looked over at Alex. A silent understanding passed between the two men and Max revised his former statement.

“On some level, we always knew that we were not human, but we were not able to learn the full truth until we were a bit older. By that time, we were already accustomed to our human names and the others were accustomed to using our Antarean names. That is why we continue to use our Earth-given names now. It is a matter of simplicity.” Max explained.

“So essentially, Ava was the only one of you honorable enough to adopt her rightful identity.” Kathana baited.

Sero snorted. “I find it amusing how you imply that acknowledging her Antarean identity is an honorable thing. Perhaps the others had the right idea in hiding the fact that they’re the very people who caused all of the terror and ruin on our worlds.”

Isabel brushed off the malicious comment with a sigh. “Kivar’s spy mixed up the Ava pods. He thought he took Kivar’s clone after the crash, but he actually had the real Ava. Ironically, he spent years prodding Ava to adopt an identity that was rightfully her own to begin with. It was years before we realized that the fourth member of our group was alive and well, but living halfway across the nation from us.”

“After the failed ‘peace summit’ where we first met in New York City, the real Ava joined us and we finally learned about our true Antarean lineage,” Max added. He fixed Sero with a stern look. “We are not hiding our identities. I assure you; if we were ashamed of our heritage, we wouldn’t be here.”

“If you are so proud of your Antarean birthright, then why do you hide here, on Saria?” Drakor challenged.

Unable to stop himself, Michael blurted an angry retort. “Do we look like we’re hiding? We showed up unannounced, royal seals blaring loud and clear, and then we invited all of the rebel leaders over for a party. Is that what you call hiding?”

“How do we know that you are the true royals? Ava could be mindwarping us all right now,” Sero blurted with a look of satisfaction, obviously patting himself on the back for finding a ‘flaw’ in their story.

Kathana nodded in agreement, although judging by the look on her face, agreeing with Sero on any level was physically painful. “How do you intend to prove to us that you are not working for Kivar at this very moment? My men have seen you at Kivar’s palace.”

Kyle’s entire body tensed in anticipation. He had known the conversation would turn this direction eventually. He looked over to Larek, thinking the man ought to speak up. Larek knew that they were telling the truth, yet he just sat there silent while these people attacked time and time again. As though he could sense Kyle’s thoughts, Larek looked up and gave him a barely perceptible wink. Stunned by the strange gesture, Kyle almost missed Isabel’s words of reassurance.

“First of all, Ava doesn’t use the mindwarp…ever. If you are to join us, it will be because you have chosen to, purely of your own free will. Secondly, don’t tell me you can’t sense our seals. The imposters don’t have the royal seals. If you feel the pull, then you know who we are.” Isabel pointed out.

Drakor waved a hand carelessly. “My men sensed the royal seal in the Ava at the palace. Either they both have the seal or you’re lying.”

Kyle sighed in irritation. “This is exactly why Kivar assumed you would fall for his duplicate clone scheme. The woman you saw was not the real Ava. We know her as Tess, and she has no problem whatsoever mindwarping people. I’m sure that’s her job at the palace…mindwarping people into thinking they can sense royal seals that aren’t there.”

Kathana shook her head. “You defend her, yet you possess the same power so your words mean nothing. I would sooner trust Kivar himself. At least he doesn’t have the power of the Eight behind his ability. When he violates a mind, the damage can be reversed.”

Maria rolled her eyes at this. “No offence lady, but we’re well aware of the damage that a mindwarp can do. Tess nearly killed Kyle with a mindwarp back on Earth. Ava and Kyle know the consequences of mindwarping better than anyone in this room and that’s exactly why they won’t do it. With the power of Eight behind them, they have plenty of other abilities at their disposal…the mindwarp isn’t even an issue.”

Alex stopped scanning the leaders’ minds and jumped into the ring for a minute. “Kivar doesn’t need to mindwarp the entire populace to spread his lies. He managed to con everyone into believing that Cortenya betrayed her family just by warping a few key people. He knows how to work people and that’s where his real power comes from.”

Sero looked up sharply. “Are you insinuating that we’re stupid? Cortenya’s lifemate told me the story himself. He saw the whole thing!”

“Alex isn’t insinuating anything. He’s telling the truth. Kivar only had to warp the people closest to Cortenya. If they believed the things Kivar planted in their minds, then the rest of the people would believe too.” Liz explained.

“You lie! Kadolen saw what happened with his own eyes. He went to Eros that night, to see Cortenya. When he arrived, her house was destroyed; her entire family dead. And she was just standing there, in the midst of it all smiling…” Sero insisted with a disgusted scowl in his face.

Drakor gaped in surprise. “He saw such destruction and just walked away…letting Cortenya escape without any consequence whatsoever?”

Sero’s eyes blazed with anger. “Kadolen reported the crime, of course. He-”

“Kadolen supposedly witnessed this crime the night it happened? He told us that he heard the story from someone at school.” Max pointed out.

“Someone tells him that his beloved Cortenya murdered her entire family and he just believes it? Not a chance…” Sero insisted. His face softened into a light frown.

“Exactly! The whole thing is ridiculous if you really think about it. Why would Cortenya fall in love with Kivar of all people? He stole her throne and terrorized her people. She was practically a child! And can any of you explain to me how she would’ve been able to overpower her entire family at once?” Alex said.

“There was no doubt in his mind about what he saw,” Sero muttered, lost in his thoughts. “But he should’ve come to me immediately, not the next morning. Something like that…why didn’t he come to me earlier,” he asked no one in particular. With a jolt, he began to wish he had questioned this important fact years ago.

“He didn’t go to you earlier because he was never at my house that night.” Courtney said stiffly.

“Kivar warped Kadolen personally,” Liz said. “He fought the warp so hard it nearly killed him but Kivar had to cover his tracks… had to make people believe that Cortenya was responsible for his crime. So, he kept pushing and pushing until he broke through Kadolen’s defenses.”

Kathana turned her up her nose in distaste. “I don’t see how any of this is relevant. I have no interest in Cortenya’s sordid triangle. She committed the ultimate act of betrayal and the fact that you have clearly aligned with her makes me wary of your judgment.”

“This is very relevant because it’s the perfect example of how Kivar manipulates people. He murdered Cortenya’s family to get them out of his way and then warped her closest friends and confidants into believing she did it. He only had to warp a few key people and after that, the lie spread quickly. He has violated your minds in the worst possible way and I consider that to be extremely relevant.” Alex insisted.

“He did that to Cortenya, he did it to me and he could do it to you in a heartbeat,” Isabel added.

There was silence as the leaders grasped the severity of what they were just told. The story made a lot more sense than the one they were led to believe so many years ago. Despite their reluctance to believe that they had been so easily played for fools, they couldn’t help but see the truth in this tale. Sero especially looked thrown by the turn of events because, once upon a time, Cortenya had been his friend too. And he had turned his back on her...

In one move, Alex had not only cleared Courtney’s name but he had also shifted the leaders’ fears of mindwarping into anger directly at Kivar himself. The mindwarp wasn’t the real problem; it was Kivar. Sero, Kathana and Drakor begrudgingly uttered silent apologies to Courtney, not realizing that she could sense their acceptance.

“If what you say is true, then why have you brought us here today? You were raised to be human. I was told about this ‘peace summit’ in your New York City and apparently it was an utter failure due to your lacking understanding of the Empire.” Drakor challenged, getting back to the problem at hand.

Michael snorted and launched into a very long-winded rant. “I was also told about the peace summit and it was a total failure because you people never bothered to do your homework. You guys contacted the wrong clones. Those fools would’ve done anything to escape Earth. They killed their Zan clone because he refused to bow down to Kivar. Then they came to us and convinced Max that you guys were coming all the way to Earth for some big peace rally. But once this ‘peace rally’ started, you guys treated him like dirt and the only topic up for discussion was the Granilith. If you people were so concerned about peace, then why didn’t you spend a little more time talking about that and a little less time demanding that we give up the Granilith to the highest bidder?”

Sero recoiled in shock. “That was not our intention at all! I never condoned the idea of giving the Granilith up to Kivar, but judging by your behavior at the meeting, I certainly didn’t consider you responsible enough to possess it either.”

“Kivar’s right-hand man shows up with a ‘peace offer’ that involves us giving Kivar the greatest source of power known to man and you expect Max to say yes? I wasn’t even there and I know what a supremely bad idea that would’ve been.” Isabel pointed out.

Kathana sighed and fixed Isabel with a glare. “I take no responsibility for Nicholas’ offer. That was a scheme concocted by he and Kivar alone. I went to that summit with one goal in mind. I wanted to end the suffering of my people. We’ve been at war for far too long. Perhaps you weren’t capable of understanding that because you were too busy living your comfortable life on Earth. Your behavior at that summit certainly showed your utter lack of regard for the welfare of the Empire.”

Max scowled. “Again…I was the only true Antarean Royal at that summit. The other three were Kivar’s clones, although we didn’t completely understand that at the time. If you’ll remember…I was the only one in that room who insisted that the Granilith not end up in Kivar’s hands. I was thinking quite clearly on the matter, despite my very superficial understanding.”

Isabel fixed each of the rebels with a stern look. “The rest of you were perfectly content with the idea of Max handing the Granilith over freely, in exchange for Kivar’s vague promises of freedom and peace. Did you honestly think that Kivar would make good on those promises? I certainly don’t.”

“Your people would’ve been annihilated,” Ava added gently. “Can you imagine what Kivar would have done with that much power?”

Larek finally decided it was time to add his two cents. “It was not obvious that we were dealing with the wrong people at the peace summit. We knew nothing of Kivar’s clones and Max displayed the royal seal. For all intents and purposes, it appeared that we were dealing with a bunch of stubborn children. I think it’s time for all of us to admit, had we looked a little deeper, we would’ve realized that something wasn’t right. The Royal Four were essentially cloned and then sent off to exile, alone, on a hostile planet. Their protectors and mentors were killed before they had even emerged from their pods. The fact that they survived at all attests to their strength.”

Sero frowned. “Despite that gross misunderstanding, you have given us no proof that that they are capable of launching an attack on Kivar in this lifetime. As Drakor said, they are human. We simply don’t have the time or the resources to invest in their reeducation.”

Isabel tried to mask her surprise as Sero made that statement. He had essentially just agreed with Drakor of Antar. According to Kira, Antar and Nedra hadn’t been on civil terms since the day Kivar took control of the Empire. Nedra blamed Antar, and everyone on it, for allowing Kivar to take over. The rebels on Antar blamed Nedra for not coming to their assistance earlier because it might have prevented the whole bloody mess. Now though, these two opposing men were actually in agreement about something. It wasn’t ideal, but at least it showed that there was hope.

“King Larek found out about the mix up on Earth later on and came to our assistance. He and his men schooled us in the old Antarean ways. We have literally spent our entire adult lives honing our skills so we could come here and help.” Liz explained.

Kathana gasped and turned on Larek in anger. “All this time you knew, but you said nothing?! My people mourned the loss of the Royal Four so fiercely; their only reprieve was the prophecy of the Royals’ return. When they failed to live up to that reputation, the people lost hope. Our worlds have been fighting a war they cannot possibly win yet you say nothing of such an important development?!”

Larek sighed. “As you know Kathana, Kivar recruited men and women from all over the System to undermine the Royal Four. He knew of their prophesied return just as well as you did. Why do you think he had his own clones created? He and his men were trying to take fate into their own hands and create an Eight that could be defeated. If he had four of the Eight working for him, the other four would be vulnerable-” He was cut off by Drakor before he could explain further.

“You knew that Kivar’s plan had backfired, but he was not yet aware. If that information had been leaked to the wrong person, Kivar would surely have sent his forces to Earth before the Eight were ready. Interesting strategy…” Drakor studied Larek with a well-concealed feeling of admiration that only Alex could sense.

Larek nodded. “Precisely. I am sure we can all agree that trust is a very rare commodity in our System. I could not afford to place my trust in the wrong person.”

“Yet, my forces have benefited from the increased presence of Sarian soldiers on Antar recently. If you did not know you could trust us, why come to our aid?” Drakor continued to study Larek intently.

Larek sighed. “That was a special request by the Royal Eight. They asked that I send additional forces to Antar to relieve you, and his many captives, of Kivar’s attention.”

“We wanted to buy everyone a little time.” Isabel explained. “He has captives from six different planets now and we hoped a diversion might turn his attention away from those people long enough for us to get here…to help.”

Kathana jumped back into the debate with a snort. “You’ve formed secret alliances with Saria and from the looks of it, apparently Eros as well, yet you expect me to believe you’re being upfront with me? What else are you hiding?”

Isabel frowned. “Actually, it seems we were the only ones who had no secrets. You guys basically attacked Max at that peace summit in New York and he never knew why. We’ve sat through this crazy question and answer session today but we’re getting nothing in return!”

As Kathana folded her arms over her chest in stubborn disbelief, Maria finally had enough. It was time to call a spade a spade. “You guys obviously aren’t working with us but you really aren’t working with each other either! Kivar is still calling all the shots and it’s time someone stops him.”

Kathana sighed. “And how exactly would you suggest we do that? We’ve been fighting Kivar for ages, to no avail. He warps our armies into submission the second we set foot on Antar. He sends his army to our homes to wreak havoc as he pleases. We can’t even get close enough to him or Antar to rescue his prisoners, much less take back the Empire. Not to mention the fact that our individual planets can’t stop fighting long enough to form an alliance anyway.”

Maria cocked her head to the side. “Has it ever occurred to you people that Kivar might be responsible for all your animosity toward each other? Think about it! He turned you against each other to fracture the Empire. Divide and conquer…a classic battle strategy. So you guys are still basically playing right into his hands, over and over again. Don’t you think it’s about time you guys play by your own rules, instead of his?”

“Isn’t that what you came here for today? We obviously need to work together or Kivar will continue destroying everything you worked so hard for.” Liz added.

Sero sneered. “Did you honestly think you could come back here and order us all to war? Why would we fight for you? Perhaps we don’t want you on the throne either.” He said bluntly.

Michael flinched in surprise. “You think we came here to order you to reclaim our throne for us? Look around…we all wear black…the color of the Royal Antarean Army. We don’t expect you to fight for us. We’re here to fight for you.”

There was silence around the table as Michael’s words registered. The Royal Eight had no intention of taking control away from the people. They had come to give it back. At that very moment, the tone of the meeting changed abruptly.

“You intend to fight?!” Kathana stammered in shock. “But you know nothing of Kivar’s tricks! You’ll be killed!”

“I cannot agree to this. You will be captured…tortured. You cannot possibly know what it is like to have your freedom, your very sanity, ripped away by a monster like Kivar. I will not be responsible for the destruction of the Royal Eight.” Drakor said stubbornly.

The rebel leaders continued to protest although Larek and Courtney remained conspicuously silent. They knew that the Eight would not be persuaded against this mission. The protests grew louder and louder until Michael had enough.

“Don’t make the mistake of assuming that our time spent on Earth made us weak. We didn’t come this far just to run away when the big bad wolf shows his teeth. If you want to play any part in the liberation of your people, I suggest that you take a good look around and realize who you’re dealing with here.” Michael said, eyes blazing.

“Realize who we’re dealing with?” Drakor blurted. “I acknowledge that you are the Royal Eight but that title does not imply that you know the first thing about fighting a war. Men like Kivar do not hold back. They kill, maim and destroy. You cannot possibly imagine…”

Max, now at the edge of his seat, gave Drakor a dead stare. “I think you underestimate us. We are well aware of the tricks that men like Kivar can play. You seem to be operating under the assumption that we lived some kind of carefree, charmed life on Earth. Did it ever occur to you that Kivar is not the only monster in the universe?”

“I have seen your Earth. There is nothing you can say that will convince me that your world was not the ideal safe haven. Your nation prides itself on its freedoms. Our worlds no longer know such luxuries.” Sero pointed out.

Max frowned bitterly and seemed to be bracing himself for something. Grabbing the arms of his chair so hard his knuckles turned white, Max asked, “Do you have a mate, Sero?”

Sero looked away. “Yes…of course I do. Why?”

“Then imagine yourself being captured by an army of men like Kivar. They trap you in a prison with no doors…no windows.” Max hopped out of his chair and started pacing the room.

“Imagine yourself stripped of your powers. You’re helpless as men laugh at you and show images of your mate, torn apart in ways you couldn’t even fathom in your worst nightmares.”

Liz gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. What she thought she knew about Max’s ordeal in the white room was barely the tip of the iceberg. Max had never allowed her to see these memories. When they were alone, he always held back, just a little, and now she knew why. He never wanted her to go through that experience with him. She swallowed back her tears as Max continued.

“Picture yourself alone in this prison, listening to the desperate cries of your mate echoing from the walls of your cell.” Max stopped pacing for a moment and cocked his head to the side, as though he had suddenly realized something. “They make you listen to these things just to see what you’ll do…to see if you are capable of caring…capable of love.”

At this point, Isabel was grasping the edge of the table in her hands, struggling to hide her devastated emotions. She had begged Max to tell her what happened in the white room. She begged for weeks but he would hardly tell her a thing. On the day they finally brought their parents into their trusted circle, Isabel had heard some of the story but Max had clearly left the worst of it unsaid. The tabletop in front of her began to sag, melting with her fury as she listened to his story.

Max lurched forward, his muscular arms flexing as he leaned on the table. His words were pouring out faster and faster now.

“Imagine that you are trapped in that place where they cut into your skin, just to see if you feel pain. The assaults get more brutal with each passing hour because they want to see if they can break you. But they can’t, can they? As long as your loved ones are safe, it doesn’t really matter what happens to you, right? But then they tell you that they’ve captured your family…your friends. They tell you, in graphic detail, how they killed your mate in the next room. They laugh as they tell you that her blood stains the other side of the wall you were staring at just minutes before.” Max said, his face a deathly shade of white now.

Kathana was sitting at the end of her seat, clutching at her heart. She could hear no more. “Stop it!” She yelled. “You could not possibly have lived through that. No one could!”

Max turned his gaze away from Kathana and studied Sero and Drakor. “Men like Kivar do these things because they are curious. It’s a twisted game. Understand this…I know what it is like to have my freedom, sanity and dignity ripped away all at once by a sadistic man that would rival Kivar himself. I know this and I’m telling you that I’m not afraid. Monsters like that don’t win…not unless you let them.” Max said vehemently.

Kathana leaned forward and eyed Max intently. Her body language seemed to indicate that his story had touched her deeply. As she leaned further in Max’s direction, Alex could sense that she desperately wanted to believe Max was telling the truth, that he had really survived this ordeal. Her emotions were whirling in a frenzy of hope and disbelief that Alex couldn’t quite understand.

“Why didn’t you call for help? Someone would have come for you!” Kathana said, her eyes pleading with Max. Pleading for what, no one knew.

Isabel choked out a bitter laugh. “Call who? We didn’t know anything about our powers or the Empire back then because there was no one left to teach us. We were alone…”

“If your protectors were gone, how did you escape your imprisonment? Obviously someone rescued you...” Sero said, studying Max suspiciously.

“My friends came for me. They risked their lives…just to help me. When I saw them, at first I thought…” Max broke off and shook his head to clear it. “I owe my friends my life, and I’ll never forget that.”

“What of that man…the one who tortured you?” Drakor asked, eyeing Max with sympathy. There was raw pain, barely hidden underneath his expression of pity.

The table in front of them lurched into the air and landed back on its feet with a massive thud. Everyone looked at Michael and found him gritting his teeth nervously. He opened his mouth to speak but no words would come out. He cleared his throat and sat forward, both hands laying flat on the table as though he were trying to stop it from lurching upward again.

“I killed him.” Michael confessed quietly. “I didn’t mean to, but I did.” The tabletop beneath his hands began to smoke.

Alex flinched from the force of the mental reaction that comment brought out in the other leaders. They were astounded not only by Michael’s words, but also by his unintentional display of power. Their carefully masked facial expressions were covering a whirlwind of confusing emotions. It was like they were horrified and proud at the same time.

Sero studied Michael closely. “You are sad that you killed your adversary. Why? He tortured one of your own…” He asked.

As Alex subtly continued scanning the rebel leaders’ minds he realized that Michael’s answer might very well make or break this entire deal. He prayed to any God that would listen that Michael would be honest about his feelings…just this once. These leaders needed to hear that Michael hadn’t acted out of blind vengeance or some misplaced need to ‘one-up’ the enemy. They needed to know that he wasn’t like Kivar.

“I might be a hot head and I’m not exactly the nicest person you’ll ever meet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect life. I will protect my family and friends to the bitter end, but I’ll never feel joy over killing someone…no matter who it is.” Michael said with brute honesty. Alex nearly jumped out of his chair and hugged the man. It was exactly what the rebels wanted to hear.

“We are not the same Royal Four you knew when the Empire was whole.” Max said passionately. “We aren’t here to reclaim the throne. We’re here to bring the Empire together again. Kivar defeated us before the war even started because he tore our alliances apart. To this day, you’re still fighting the same tired squabbles Kivar created to destroy our alliances in the first place. We have to put that all behind us and work together. We can’t let one man decide the fate of our people any longer.”

Drakor eyed Larek. “Saria will stand united with the Royals?” Larek nodded silently.

“Eros will also commit their full allegiance.” Courtney added.

Kathana looked away in thought. “The Royal Four reign once more…now Eight where once there were Four…” She studied the Roswell humans like bugs under a microscope. Clearly, her skepticism had returned.

“You are capable of harnessing the power of the foursquare?” She asked each of them.

Liz nodded. “Through our bonds we gained all the powers of our mates, as is common in traditional Antarean unions. As a bonus, two foursquares seem to be much more effective than one.”

“Commander Rath had powers virtually unmatched in the System. How did the hybridization process affect those powers?” Sero challenged.

When Michael didn’t respond, Isabel answered for him. “To be completely honest, we weren’t able to test the full extent of our powers freely on Earth. Humans don’t normally possess powers like ours so they would have been afraid. I’m not really sure how any of our powers match up to our former selves’.”

Larek smiled. “According to reports from my soldiers on Earth, they are all stronger now. They have surprised my men on more than one occasion with powers they should not possess…historically speaking. Their combined powers are unparalleled and they are skilled in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry as well. ”

“It would be highly unusual for the Royal Families to join in battle. You’re aware that the people would not expect such a sacrifice?” Drakor asked.

Michael shrugged and fielded the question himself. “How could we ask people to make a sacrifice we weren’t willing to make ourselves?”

“What are your battle plans? I should hope you’ve prepared a decent strategy.” Kathana asked, her gaze focusing directly on Michael and Maria.

Maria smiled confidently. “We’ll make three successive attacks directly to the palace…”

Within minutes, Michael’s shirt began to smolder and Maria gave him a cheeky grin as she helped him pat out the flames.

(To be continued…)

Coming in Chapter 15: As the couples try to unwind after the stressful meeting, they discover that they learned a lot more than they'd bargained for. Let the emotional roller coaster begin...

Hello all! I'm glad you liked that last chapter. The next few chapters are loooonng and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 15: Quiet Aftermath

(Underground Safe house, Saria)

At the end of the 'big meeting’, the rebels left the room without giving the Roswell crew a straight answer one way or the other about their allegiance. It was completely anticlimactic, yet predictable. Drakor, Sero and Kathana tried to explain that they had to consult with their generals before committing so many troops to a joint mission on Antar. They were clearly just making excuses to cover the fact that they were still weighing the odds of the alliance being successful.

Their ‘consult with the generals’ excuses were an obvious ruse considering the fact that they would not actually be leaving the compound. They would not be returning to their home planets yet because they were unofficial guests at the compound now. Max tried to explain that it was a gesture of goodwill but the leaders seemed to scoff at this idea. They knew very well that they were only encouraged to stay because the Royals just didn’t want the location of the safehouse leaked to the outside world, or worlds in this case.

Even after the rebel leaders retreated to their ‘guest suites’, the Eight didn’t get a moment’s peace. They had made it through the big meeting relatively unscathed but it wasn’t quite time for celebration yet. They still had a lot of people who needed to be brought up to speed on the meeting’s outcome, or lack thereof.

(Kira and Rayna’s suite)

The door of Kira and Rayna’s suite popped open just as Max was raising his hand to knock on the door. The women quickly ushered everyone in, eager for an update. The Eight gave the women a blow by blow replay of the meeting, although no one mentioned the ‘motivational speech’ Max gave about his stay in the white room. Not one person in that room was willing to repeat something like that in front of Kira. When the wild recap ended, Kira glanced back and forth between Max and Isabel sadly, as if to say, ‘I know there is more to this story…’

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence as Kira stared at Max, waiting for him to say something else. She wanted him to yell at her, to rage against her for leaving him amongst people who could show such cruelty. After peeking in on their meeting and hearing the gastly story for herself, Kira figured she deserved as much.

Rayna just sat there, studying Kira’s profile, her eyes crinkled with worry. As the silence stretched on, Rayna let out a sigh that spoke volumes and patted Kira’s arm in comfort. When she spoke, it was only to break the tension which now hung over the room like a thick curtain.

“If you had not captured their attention, they would have left immediately,” Rayna said. “You obviously said something that they wanted to hear.”

Isabel slumped back in her chair. “Well, I don’t know about that, but we did have their undivided attention though. They spent most of the meeting arguing with us but I suppose the fact that they cared to bother at all could be encouraging.”

“Those men and women don’t have time to engage in futile endeavors,” Kira said, desperately trying to focus on the current conversation instead of the nagging voice in her head insisting that she failed Max and Isabel both. “On one hand, that implies that they don’t see your offer of allegiance as overtly futile. On the other hand, it means that they won’t make their decision easily.”

Ava frowned. “We don’t have time to wait around for them to hem and haw over this. Sure, Kivar released the humans, but he still has countless Alpha System prisoners in his work camps. Plus…we don’t know why he sent the humans back to Earth, so for all we know, he might even be branching out to new territory.”

“While we sit here doing nothing, things might actually be getting worse,” Kyle agreed with a vigorous nod.

“I trust that Drakor, Kathana and Sero are acutely aware of the urgency in this matter,” Kira said with a weary sigh. “Many of their citizens are trapped at those camps. Drakor and Kathana have family members there as well. I assure you; they will not leave this unresolved for long.”

Alex nodded, finally understanding why the leaders had reacted so vividly to Max’s story. Kathana desperately wanted to believe that Max, a mere human in her eyes, had survived such torture because it gave her hope that her loved ones could survive as well. She and Drakor knew all too well that something very similar could be happening to their loved ones trapped in Kivar’s prison camps.

Snapping out of his reverie, Alex was surprised to see Kira nodding ever so slightly at him, a terribly sad look on her face. She seemed painfully aware of the gastly parallels between Max’s trials on Earth and that of the prisoners in Kivar’s work camps. Just as Alex began to ponder how Kira knew so much about Max’s trials at Eagle Rock, his attention was drawn back to the conversation by an outburst from Maria.

“No wonder their emotions were all over the place! If they join us, Kivar will probably kill their families in retaliation. If they don’t…they might never see their families again anyway.”

“Precisely, so now you understand the complicated nature of what we’re up against here. Every single move they make will endanger their loved ones but a lack of effort will certainly result in more death as well. The men and women you met with today have the responsibility of choosing the lesser of two evils,” Rayna explained.

Alex nodded in understanding. “The whole time they were arguing with us it was almost like they were waiting for a sign…just one thing that would convince them that we could help. It was like part of them wanted us to be great and the other part just wanted us to go away.”

“This is probably terrifying for them, although I’m sure they’ll never admit it,” Liz said. “Joining us would anger Kivar more than anything and that could only spell more pain and misery for his prisoners. But on the flip side…the prophecy says we win. So we just basically backed the rebel leaders into a corner and forced them to choose between faith and reason.”

“I do not envy their position.” Kira said. “I hope you can understand that you might not get the full allegiance you seek. Please do not be offended if they refuse your offer.”

Rayna frowned. “I would like to be as forgiving and sympathetic as Kira, but I must disagree. If those leaders don’t see that this is the best opportunity they’ve had in cycles, I’ll be highly disappointed. This is the perfect opportunity for them to gain the upper hand on Kivar and they would do well to realize that. ”

Ava smiled proudly. “Spoken like a true Commander. I bet you and my father made one heck of a team.”

Michael tried to hide a proud grin of his own. Rayna was so much like Maria. Both women were fiery souls, wrapped up in tiny, harmless looking packages. He desperately wanted to hear more about his father and Rayna but this was not the time. It was almost cruel that he finally got to meet his mother, yet he didn’t have one spare minute to really know the woman. Regretfully, Michael knew he had to steer the conversation back to the problem at hand.

“The way I see it, we’re still right on track. We wanted the rebels to take a couple of days to think everything over because we need that time to train anyway. We were never naïve enough to assume that we’d get the support of all five planets so I say, let’s just proceed as planned,” he said.

“Do you really think we can learn enough in one or two days to tip the odds in our favor?” Liz asked. “I mean; you guys already said our plans are just so-so without knowing much about our adversaries. If the other rebels don’t join us, are you that confident we can make this work?”

“I’m confident that we don’t really have any other choice in the matter,” Maria pointed out. “We’ll spend the next two days working with the few people we actually know we can trust. If there are any obvious holes in our plans, I’m sure one of them will point it out.”

“And don’t forget…my mother was a Master Commander long before Michael and I were even born. She’ll whip us into shape in no time.” Ava said with a confident nod.

Max looked at Rayna curiously. “You know, with everything that’s been going on in the last few days, I never really had a chance to consider that you two are far more qualified to coordinate this coup than we are. Why haven’t you rallied the troops, before now? I have to imagine that you’d do a much better job of it than we have so far.”

Rayna sighed. “Thank you for holding us in such high regard, Max. However…the efforts of two lone women required a more covert approach. We too were forced to choose between the lesser of two evils when Kivar took power. On one hand, we could publicly try to ‘rally the troops’ …and likely lose our lives without making one bit of difference. Or, we could coordinate our efforts here to free as many of the prisoners as possible and provide for them a safe haven of sorts.”

“And you must remember that we were not terribly popular after Kivar toppled the Empire. People were frightened and angry, and they needed someone to blame. Publicly blaming Kivar would’ve been a death sentence, so we became the most convenient targets,” Kira said.

“Rallying the troops just wasn’t a valid option given the citizen’s mindset at the time,” Rayna added. “That is partially why the resistance forces are still so fractured to this day. In their pain, the people were quick to mistrust each other and the planets fell into a hermit-like existence. They simply do not trust ‘outsiders’ anymore and unfortunately-”

Ava scowled deeply. “You’re outsiders now.”

“Yes, we are,” Kira murmured. “We do what we can to help, but our reign has long since passed. This is the only safe place in the System for us now.”

“So you had us cloned and made Saria your base of operations until we were old enough to come back? But how did you know that the people wouldn’t just shove us aside like…” Isabel fumed silently for a moment, thinking of the way her mother and Rayna had been thrust out of society like a pair of criminals. After a deep breath, Isabel rephrased her question. “How did you know we wouldn’t be ostracized too?”

Kira gave her daughter a tired smile. “Because you are the Eight. We helped as many people as we could but we always knew that you would be the ones to save us all.”

Kyle fixed Kira with a shrewd look. “You helped? Is that what you call all this?” He gestured widely with his hands, pointing to their comfortable haven and the walls beyond.

“King Larek provided this safe haven for the citizens…” Kira’s cheeks actually turned rosy as she trailed off. “We are certainly not responsible for this.”

“Yes, but you filled this safe haven. Larek may have built it, but you got the people here…right?” Kyle prodded. When he saw that the women were too modest to take any credit, he continued prodded further.

“I wondered how nearly ten thousand refugees made it off Antar, right under Kivar’s nose,” Kyle said, now smiling mischeviously. “You told us you couldn’t expand the complex up, so you went further underground instead. There would’ve been no reason to expand at all unless you were getting a pretty steady influx of refugees…”

Rayna returned his mischevious smile and sat up a little straighter. “Just because we don’t oppose Kivar publicly, doesn’t mean we don’t do it at all. We can’t just leave all those people on Antar to suffer, now can we? Someone had to find a way to rescue them. Even if it was only one citizen at a time…”

“Did you seriously spend the last fifty-some years plucking prisoners out of Kivar’s work camps, right under his nose?!” Liz blurted in awe. “How did you do it?”

Kira folded her hands in her lap and shrugged. “The methods varied, really. Sometimes we would call upon Larek’s moles inside Kivar’s army to turn a blind eye while a prisoner ‘escaped’. When the rebel troops would create a stir at one work camp, we’d quickly pluck prisoners out of another. And a few times, Rayna was actually angry enough to teleport right into the middle of the prison camp and snatch a few citizens directly.”

“Angry? You teleported right into the enemy’s lair because you were angry,” Max asked, eyeing Rayna in surprise. It just sounded like such a Michael thing to do.

Rayna sniffed and looked away. “Kivar holds very little regard for children. I, on the other hand, happen to feel quite differently. When someone tells me that children are being…well, suffice it to say, those children needed to be rescued immediately.”

Maria nodded resolutely. “Yup, that settles it then. I want to be her when I grow up.”

The rest of the gang shared a good laugh at Maria’s announcement. There was a lot of truth in her statement, despite the laughter it inspired. They truly respected these strong alien women and it felt good to have them on their side.

“We’ll start training tomorrow morning.” Michael announced, feeling a new sense of urgency after hearing about the children in Kivar’s camps. The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

The meeting with Kira and Rayna ended quickly once the gang established that they were going to plunge on, with or without help. Rayna offered to talk to Larek about coordinating the training session somewhere on Saria, outside the compound. As long as his men kept the general populace away from the training grounds, the Eight should finally be able to tap into their mysterious higher powers without too much attention from outsiders.

On his way out the door, Max glanced back at Kira and stopped short. He kept shuffling his feet and nodding slightly, as though trying to work up the nerve to say something difficult. Max looked back over his shoulder and told the others to go on without him, said he would catch up in a minute.

Rayna quickly followed the rest of the crew out of the room, muttering a feable excuse about getting a cup of Yaharo from the kitchen. Max watched her go and let out a weary sigh when the door shut, leaving he and Kira alone in the room.

Kira looked up bravely and said, “You can speak your mind, Max. I deserve whatever it is that you have to say.”

“No…you really don’t,” Max said, finally looking her in the eye. “I’m not going to ask how you know what was really said in that meeting today. You heard something that has obviously upset you very much though and I really wish you hadn’t.”

“I did not intend to intrude on your privacy, son. I only observed the meeting because I was concerned that there would be violence. I-” Kira’s explanation was abruptly cut off by Max.

“I’m not upset that you guys listened in. I just…I didn’t tell that story to make you feel guilty or to claim it was somehow your fault. I never intended to tell you that part of my history at all to be quite honest. I guess I should’ve known that if I told a bunch of strangers, it was bound to get back to you though.” Max shrugged sheepishly, suddenly at a loss for words.

“I know that I cannot apologize enough for putting you in such danger,” Kira said. “You, Michael, Ava…you were tortured on Earth. The things that happened to all of you on that planet…I know that I can never make up for that…”

“And you don’t have to,” Max said. “I will never be angry that you sent us to Earth. Maybe it wasn’t the ideal safe haven you invisioned but…it had Liz, and that’s what made it perfect. Out of all the planets in this universe, you just happened to pick the one that had our soulmates. I’d say that was a pretty good choice, wouldn’t you?”

Kira gasped as the realization hit her. “Without your soulmates, you would not be the Royal Eight.”

Max nodded. “There may have been a safer planet out there somewhere, I don’t know. I don’t really care at this point. If you didn’t send us to Earth, we probably would’ve suffered the same fate as the Four, eventually. And I can honestly say that I am thankful I will never know that reality.”

“But the prophecy…the Royal Eight…” Kira sputtered. “I was supposed to send you to Earth. It was the one place that could allow the prophecy to come true. Sending you somewhere safer was never even an option…”

“When I was younger, the idea of fate – destiny – seemed like a really bad joke. It just didn’t seem possible that our stories all have a predetermined ending and no matter what we do, we’re moving down a path that was laid out for us, by someone or something we’ll never see. It just didn’t seem reasonable. But now…” Max trailed off for a moment, trying to put his thoughts into words.

Kira smiled. “But now you have Liz.”

Max nodded. “Honestly, it’s not even remotely reasonable that Liz and I have even made it this far. It defies all logic. It all started the day she died…well, almost anyway…”

As Max gave Kira a truly stunning recap of the many reasons he and Liz almost didn’t make it this far, they finally started to form a bond. Until this very moment they had been more like distant aquaintances than family. For nearly an hour, they sat and talked about the moments that brought the Eight together, and ultimately set them on the path toward Antar. An hour wasn’t nearly enough time for either of them to say all the things they needed to say, but it was a start.

(The Valentis’ suite)

Jim heard a knock at the door of his quarters and rushed forward with grunt that clearly said, “It’s about time.” He and the other stowaways had been cooped up in his suite all afternoon waiting for word. After Alex had showed up earlier to explain that the human prisoners had been released, the stowaways had been on edge. Things were proceeding so rapidly and there was nothing they could do to help.

“Guys! Come on in!” Jim said, quickly ushering the group into his sitting room. He looked around in confusion for a moment and then asked, “Where’s Max?”

“He’s having a word with Kira,” Liz said. “I’m sure he’ll drop in and check on you guys later though.”

“How did it go?” Amy asked, sensing that Max’s absence wasn’t up for discussion. She got up and hovered over Maria, checking for injuries.

Kyle sighed. “It could’ve been better but at least we got their attention. They were real jerks in the beginning but they toned it down eventually.”

Isabel nodded. “And they didn’t leave, so that’s a good sign. They’re at least considering the alliance.”

Alex nodded. “They want to believe in us and they don’t; all at the same time. They have so much riding on this and they can’t afford to make a decision that’ll get their people killed.”

“Well that’s a perfectly natural reaction.” Serena said. “This Kivar fellow doesn’t make idle threats, and they know that. He has their people; right in the palm of his hand. One wrong move will result in the deaths of their families and friends. They must weigh their options very carefully.”

Ava smiled in awe. “That’s exactly what my mother said. The rebel leaders are being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils but first they need to figure out which option qualifies as ‘least evil’.”

Nancy frowned. “Well I should think that it would be quite clear that Kivar is the greater threat, by far. I understand that they’re not entirely sure if they can trust you but for heaven’s sakes…you traveled halfway across the universe for them! You would think the choice would be obvious.”

“Mom…there’s something you don’t understand. Kivar has their families. If I was one of Kivar’s prisoners and you knew that he would punish any of your transgressions by torturing or killing me…would you really just plunge forward without considering it from every angle first?” Liz asked.

Nancy paled. “Point taken.” She whispered.

Jeff wasn’t as easily persuaded as his wife. “If Kivar has their families, why haven’t they stormed the palace themselves and taken their loved ones back? If Kivar had you imprisoned in one of his work camps, you can bet I’d spend every waking moment trying to get you out of there!”

“They’ve been trying,” Michael said. “Everytime they get within orbit of Antar, Kivar screws with their minds and turns their soldiers against each other. If they could do this on their own, someone would’ve thrown Kivar out of the palace and rescued his prisoners years ago.”

Harrison cocked his head in thought. “Hypothetically, if the leaders don’t join you, you’ll have better odds of rescuing their families. If Kivar believes that the rebels have refused to join you, he might show their families and friends some temporary leniency. You would still rescue their families I assume, correct?”

Maria frowned. “I can’t believe you even asked that. Of course we would-”

Michael interrupted before Maria could launch into a tirade. “So we’re pretty much on the right track right now. We’re planning on tightening up our strategy with the assumption that we’ll only have the help of Saria and Eros. If the others join later, great, but if they don’t, we won’t get caught without a plan.”

“You didn’t consider the possibility that the others wouldn’t join you before now?” Amy asked in alarm.

“We considered it and we even came up with a couple of decent plans based on that possibility but my mother is setting up a training exercise for us and the plans might change,” Ava explained. “It all depends on what happens during the training. We’d be pretty irresponsible if we didn’t factor the strengths and weaknesses of our allies into our plans.”

“Well, we already know that Courtney can blast. She did that back at the Crashdown when those skins invaded. And she seemed to be pretty adept at hand-to-hand combat too.” Jeff said, remembering the skin invasion vividly.

“And thank God for that!” Liz said, reminding herself that she had never properly thanked Courtney for saving her parents’ lives that day.

“We have no idea what kinds of powers are common here. For all we know, blasting is something that everyone can do. Until we know that, our plans are just ‘OK’. We can’t really know if any of this will work if we don’t actually understand what we’re up against.” Kyle explained.

“So first you’ll concentrate on training and then afterward you’ll review your strategies. As soon as you’re happy with what you’ve got, it’s full speed ahead?” Nancy clarified.

“Basically. We’ll need to work closely with Kira and Rayna because they know all about warfare here, obviously, plus they know more about our powers than we do.” Liz added.

Maria nodded. “When Kivar sent the humans back to Earth, he bought us a little more time to prepare. Larek is going to find us a private spot to train and his men will be in charge of keeping outsiders away. We won’t have much time though because Kivar still has nearly a million citizens in his work camps and they shouldn’t have to wait around for us to come up with the ‘perfect’ plan.”

“Not to change the subject in mid conversation, but…what do we know about the humans Kivar sent back to Earth? Do you have any idea what his motivation was behind that move?” Jim asked.

Isabel shook her head. “We don’t have a clue. I’m sure it wasn’t a gesture of goodwill but other than that…we have no idea what to expect.”

“That’s why we asked you guys to send a message directly to Director Adams on Earth. You told him to quarantine the returnees specifically because we have no idea what’s going on.” Alex reminded them.

Amy perked up. “Are we officially on communication duty then? That would be helpful to you?”

Alex smiled. “Yes, Amy. You guys are now our official ‘base command’ unit. Instead of us continually running down to the communication center for messages that may or may not even be there, you guys can be our eyes and ears instead…if you don’t mind.”

Nancy nodded eagerly. “I’m glad there’s something we can do to help.”

The meeting with the stowaways ended shortly after that. There was a little more conversation about the palace attack plans but since everything was so up in the air at the moment, there was little to say. Soon afterward, the gang retired for the night. The long day had really taken its toll on everyone.

(Alex and Isabel’s suite)

When Alex and Isabel finally returned to their suite that evening, they found it nearly impossible to calm their whirling thoughts. So much had happened already and they’d barely even scratched the surface of what they had traveled halfway across the universe for.

Isabel spent their first few minutes alone folding and refolding her formal black suit. She seemed intent on getting the creases set in all the right places. Alex watched her in silence for a moment, knowing that her frustration had little to do with the pants at all.

“I really thought I knew what happened to Max in the white room but obviously, there was a lot more to the story. How did I not know what really happened?” She asked no one in particular. Alex stayed silent, knowing she had to just let it all out.

Isabel turned to Alex, her eyes blazing. “There I sat, in a room full of strangers, listening to his story like it was the first time I’d heard it. God! It was the first time I’d heard any of that!”

Alex crossed the room and tugged the now crumpled pants out of her hands. “You didn’t know any of that because Max wasn’t ready for anyone to know the raw, unedited details before now.” He punctuated his sentence by pulling her into a big hug.

“But I’m his sister! Why didn’t I know it was so bad? I would’ve been there for him…I would’ve…” Isabel trailed off, at a loss for words.

“You can’t finish that sentence because deep down, I think you know there is nothing you could have done that would’ve ‘fixed’ what happened. And…I believe you withheld some very crucial information from your family and friends for years. Do you remember why you did that?”

Isabel pulled back and perched her hands on her hips. “We’ve been through this before! I’m sorry Alex, but there’s just no gentle way to tell people you’re an alien. I was afraid of what you guys would think of me…afraid that I might be putting you in danger by saying it outloud. At the time, I thought I was protecting you guys.”

Alex smiled softly. “Yes, you did. You spent years keeping this huge secret because you thought it was best for everyone if you just left it buried. It just took you a while to realize that your fear…your secrets, were holding you back. Max had to learn that lesson too. Twice actually. He confessed the ‘big alien secret’ first, but then he buried the secrets from the white room so deep, it took years for him to really deal with it.”

“But he’s dealing with it now…” Isabel murmured, understanding what Alex was getting at. “He told that story today because he doesn’t need it to stay buried anymore.”

Alex flopped down onto the bed and folded his arms behind his head. “Exactly. He’s at a point where he can use those awful memories to help other people…to give others strength. It’s a good sign, Iz.”

Isabel finally settled into bed and nestled her head into the crook of Alex’s arm. “It is a good sign, isn’t it?”

“Yes it is.” Alex smiled, breathing in the floral scent of her hair.

Isabel nestled deeper into his arms and abruptly changed the subject. “I was so proud of you during that meeting today.”

“Really?” Alex asked in surprise. “Why? Because I managed to wear that hot, sticky canvas getup in style?”

Isabel laughed. “Aside from that…you not only spent the entire time scanning the leaders’ minds without being detected, but you also single-handedly cleared Courtney’s name. You were really amazing.”

“I don’t know that I did anything single-handedly today, Iz. You and Max were like this flawless diplomatic duo. I was very impressed by the way you guys always seemed to know when to be firm and when to stand down. Were you scanning them too?” Alex asked.

Isabel shook her head. “No. I tried a few times but it was too hard to listen to the vocal debate and focus on their inner thoughts at the same time. I knew you were already honing in on their thoughts so I just went with my instincts, assuming you’d steer the conversation in another direction if necessary.”

Alex smiled. “Aside from one little warning I sent to Max, I didn’t have to do much interfering at all. And I must say; you’ve got some amazing instincts there, Mrs. Whitman. Time and time again, you said exactly the right thing. Hell, even Michael managed to say the right thing when the time came. No matter what the rebels decide, we did a good job in there and I’m proud of us.”

“I nearly had a heart attack when they asked Michael about Pierce!” Isabel added. “I really think they would’ve walked out on us if he had pulled one of his macho, ‘I don’t talk about my feelings’ acts. Thank God he was honest!”

“Exactly! I must have turned about ten shades of purple waiting for him to answer that question. Of all the huge things we talked about today, of course the whole thing would end up riding on an emotional confession from Michael. It just figures; you know?” Alex chuckled.

“We’ve got to be the luckiest people in the universe. That’s the only explanation I have for the fact that Michael willingly discussed his deepest emotions with a room full of strangers…we just got lucky.” Isabel said with a snort.

(Ava and Kyle’s suite, Saria)

Ava and Kyle were still talking about the day’s whirlwind events while they got ready for bed that night. Things had gone so much better than they’d anticipated in the meeting with the rebel leaders. Both of them had walked into that conference room knowing full well that they were probably going to be vilified automatically because they had the power to mindwarp. They had hidden their intimidation well but now that they were alone, they could finally set all their pent up emotions free.

“I can’t believe Alex managed to turn it all around the way he did. God, I owe Whitman big time for that move. That was brilliant!” Kyle said; referring to the way Alex had steered the rebels away from their fears of mindwarping through the telling of Courtney’s tale.

“You know what makes me feel really good about that? He wasn’t just changing the subject to gloss over our ‘nasty little secret’. The things he said were completely true. Kivar’s an evil bastard and the problem is him; not just his mindwarps.” Ava said with a resolute nod.

“Exactly! We have no interest in manipulating people so our powers shouldn’t even be an issue.” Kyle added.

Ava sighed in relief. “So we’re basically on even footing for once. We aren’t going to be singled out because of things Tess did…or things Kivar did. We won’t have to prove ourselves anyone…not anymore.”

Kyle wrapped his wife into a hug and smiled. “Honey, I think we’ll all have to jump through some hoops to get the rebels to work with us but I get what you’re saying. We’re jumping through the same collective hoops as the others. The Royal Eight will be tested, not just us. You’re right…it’s oddly reassuring.”

Ava nodded. “I think that meeting put all of us through the wringer. Max and Isabel must have felt like they had the weight of the world on their shoulders. They were the ones who were expected to deliver some brilliant speech that would sway the masses. Can you imagine how intimidating that must have been?”

Kyle smirked. “Max and Isabel were clearly made for this kind of stuff. Isabel perfected her Ice Queen routine in high school. She looked cool as a cucumber but I know for a fact that she was freaking out on the inside. And Max…wow. That ‘Kivar is not the only monster in the universe’ story just about knocked me off my chair. I’m really surprised brought all that up today.”

Ava shrugged. “He was making a point. I think the rebels needed to hear that story just as much as Max needed to tell it. He’s not just some pampered boy King coming in here with no concept of what he’s getting into, and they need to understand that.”

“You know, when Max knocked Sero down a peg in the very beginning, I was actually proud of him.” Kyle plastered on his most ‘surprised’ expression. “Can you imagine that? I never thought I’d see the day…”

“Hey! You’re not fooling me for a second there Valenti, so knock it off. I know for a fact that you actually consider Max a friend now. There may have been a lot of bad blood between you guys in high school but you’ve obviously grown past that.” Ava said, swatting her husband on the arm.

“Well now that you mention it…I hate Max far less than I did in high school. Of course, I’ll always resent him for exposing me to questionable characters such as you, but…” He sighed dramatically. “I have accepted my fate and I stopped plotting to kill him in his sleep years ago.”

Ava laughed. “Oh please! Do you honestly think you could have found a stunning, brilliant woman like me on your own? You should spend the rest of your life groveling at Max’s feet for bringing us together because it’s the best thing that ever happened to you.”

Ava twirled into a very seductive pose and made a comical show of primping her blond hair. Kyle marveled over how accurate her words were, despite their sarcasm. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and leaned forward for a long, tender kiss before squeezing in one last wisecrack.

“I guess I’ll give you that one…and then there’s the time he saved my life. I suppose I ought to be nice to him for that one too,” he quipped.

(Michael and Maria’s suite, Saria)

Michael and Maria flopped on the bed, fully clothed, the second they got back to their suite. It had been an exhausting day and they still had a lot of work ahead. The meeting with the rebel leaders had only been the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

“Well Michael, I think we did really well today. We didn’t cause bodily harm to any of the rebel leaders…despite the fact that we really, really wanted to.” Maria said with a sigh.

Michael grunted. “This whole self-restraint thing you preach about…it sucks. When Sero walked into that room and let his ego do the talking, I seriously started trying to figure out a good place to hide the body. It’s a good thing Max put him in his place because I had a whole other plan for dealing with that guy.”

Maria snorted. “Oh come off it, Michael. You’re not a killer. I would’ve given Kyle’s right arm for a roll of duct tape in the beginning though. I desperately wanted those people to just shut up for two seconds so they could hear what Max and Isabel had to say.”

“Liz was pretty quiet during the meeting. What’s up with that?” Michael asked suddenly.

Maria frowned. “I think she was nervous. I could tell that there was a lot she wanted to say but the second she’d open her mouth, the conversation would suddenly turn before she could get a word in edgewise.”

“Maybe she’s still trying to find her place here.” Michael prodded. “Like…maybe she was afraid that the people here would reject her because she’s human…”

Maria sat up and turned on Michael in surprise. “Are we still talking about Liz here or are you subtly trying to tell me that you’ve pried into my thoughts without permission?”

Michael chose his words carefully. “I’m suggesting that this situation is very overwhelming for all of us but perhaps more so for some of us than others…”

Maria frowned. “Well perhaps Liz feels like she has no right to demand that the people here accept her as an equal. Maybe she is just trying to let her husband’s destiny shine through without inserting herself into the middle of it at every turn.”

Michael looked up in shock. “Is that what you really think Maria?”

Maria barely registered his question. She was on a roll now and plunged forward with an explanation of all the things ‘Liz’ was probably feeling right now.

“And furthermore, maybe she only came here to help the people and support her family. For all we know, maybe she’s okay with the idea that these people will never accept her as a true Royal because she’s fine with just being herself.” Maria declared, hands waving wildly with every word.

“But on the other hand, maybe the people have already accepted her and consider her an integral part of the group. Has anyone been rude? To Liz, I mean? Has anyone made her feel like she’s somehow…less…because she’s human?” Michael asked in concern.

“Well…no.” Maria conceded. “But that doesn’t mean that people aren’t secretly disappointed.”

Michael smiled gently and brushed a stray hair out of Maria’s face. “If these people think that they have any say in our choice of mates, they have another thing coming. You are the strongest woman I know and you could give any General in the Alpha System a fair ass kicking. I’m a stubborn jerk but you won me over in one short road trip. How could you ever think the people here wouldn’t love you too?”

Maria blushed. “Liz, dear. We’re talking about Liz. And you’re not a stubborn jerk.”

“Well then I hope Liz understands that there wouldn’t be a Royal Eight without her. Even when she’s not saying a word, she’s a huge part of the group. If anyone would like to challenge her position within our circle, I’ll be happy to set them straight. And I think you know how unpleasant that would be for them…” Michael said, his face dissolving into a very dramatic scowl.

Maria giggled. “A cranky Michael is never a good thing.”

“And neither is a cranky Maria. I think we’ve got Liz’s back…don’t you?” Michael said.

“Yeah…she’s a tough chic. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Maria said, punctuating the remark with a kiss.

They shared a quiet moment locked in each other’s arms before it became apparent that Michael still had something on his mind. The kind, sensitive words that had flowed out so well when they were discussing Maria’s fears suddenly failed him when he tried to talk about his own.

Michael pulled away and scratched his eyebrow nervously. “So…you don’t think we have to worry about that whole…you know, the monster speech thing?”

“Max is fine,” Maria said, miraculously understanding what Michael’s mumbles really meant. “His story was morbid and more than a little terrifying but he’s all right now. He wasn’t doing the ‘brave on the outside and melting into a little puddle of goo on the inside’ thing.”

Michael’s face was screwed up in confusion. “I don’t understand why he brought it all up though. I mean…some things are better left alone, don’t you think?”

“Nah,” Maria shook her head. “He was basically telling the rebels, ‘this is who I am and this is the kind of strength I have to offer you’. And it’s true. You guys have been through a lot and it never broke you. It only made you stronger. That’s important information, considering what we’re asking these people to do.”

“So we’re still okay then? We…we did all right and everybody is fine, right?”

Maria studied him for a minute and recoiled slightly when she figured out what was really bothering him. Max had spelled out the true story of the white room in vivid detail. Michael felt horribly guilty that he didn’t get Max out of there sooner. Worse yet, the rebel leaders basically forced him to admit, outloud, that he murdered a man. Michael was torn between raw outrage over what Max had gone through and remorse for killing a man, all at the same time. For someone who generally prefered to ignore his own emotions, it was overwhelming.

“Yes, Michael. Everyone is fine. You did the right thing telling those rebel leaders the truth about Pierce. Trust me; everybody understood what you were trying to say. This isn’t something that has to haunt you anymore and I think that’s partially why Max brought it up.”

Michael thought about it for a minute and then nodded. He understood what Maria was getting at but doubted that he’d ever really be okay with the fact that he killed someone. Knowing that they were taking steps to launch a full-scale war on Antar, Michael suspected these conflicting feelings of justice versus guilt were only going to get worse.

“We always knew this wouldn’t be easy,” Maria added, reading his mind. “But we’ll get through it together. We always do…”


(Max and Liz’s suite, Saria)

When Max and Liz finally regrouped in their suite after the long day of meetings, they were still on an emotional high. Neither one was ready to turn in for the night. There was just so much going on now and so much left to talk about.

“Are you okay?” Liz asked timidly, eyeing Max in concern.

“You know what? I think so. Kira and I really talked for the first time since we got here…for the first time ever, I guess. She really likes you.” Max smiled faintly and Liz noticed that some of the lines that had been etched in his face for years were suddenly gone.

“I’m glad to hear that, Max. I think she’s great too,” Liz said. “But that’s not really what I was talking about….”

Max rolled his shoulders to release some tension. “Oh…look, Liz…I’m really sorry you had to hear that story in a room full of strangers. I honestly didn’t plan to say any of that today…”

Liz gave him a soft kiss and stroked his hair. “If that’s how you needed to say it, then it’s fine with me. It wasn’t really my story to tell so I certainly don’t have a right to complain about the delivery.”

“I could feel your anger radiating across the room. I wasn’t sure if it was because I hadn’t told you all of this earlier or if it was a reaction to the story itself,” Max said, searching Liz’s face.

Liz snorted bitterly. “Trust me. That anger was directed toward just one man, and it certainly wasn’t you. Listening to you tell us about what Pierce did to you, I was almost glad that Michael killed him. I know that sounds awful, but for a minute there…”

“For a minute there, I was glad when I realized Pierce was dead too.” There was a moment of silence before Max spoke again. “So, how do you think that meeting really went today? Did we make any difference at all?”

Understanding that Max needed to change the subject, Liz went with the flow. Now that she didn’t have to be worried about Max, her own fears seeped in and took hold.

“I do think the meeting went well. They didn’t walk out on us and there was no bloodshed. That’s something, at least.”

Max’s eyebrows shot up. “I guess that’s one way to look at it…”

Liz threw up her hands. “I don’t know what else to say right now. I feel like we’re just being swept along with the tide, without a clue where we’re going to end up,” she said.

Max wrapped her into a big hug. “This whole ‘Royal Eight’ situation is overwhelming.”

“Exactly! People bow to us in the halls like we’re the next saviors of man or something. On top of that, Kira and Rayna have already taken it as a forgone conclusion that we’ll win…but we don’t even know how.” Liz said.

Max nodded in understanding. “I feel like everyone is just waiting on the edge of their seats for us to do something great…something that will make all the difference. The rebel leaders could help they don’t really want anything to do with us. The prisoners need our help but we aren’t in a position to give it yet.”

“Do you ever feel like you’re completely out of your league here?” Liz asked quietly.

Max frowned. “Everyday. We’re probably the least prepared people out here when it comes to dealing with Kivar, yet somehow the citizens think we can do it. Some of the citizens do anyway. I’m not sure if I should feel honored that they have that much faith in us or if I should be worried because they’re putting all of their faith in a vague prophecy that tells us we win…but not how.”

Liz sighed. “Maybe we are the best equipped. You and Isabel were fantastic in that meeting today. The rebels actually started agreeing with each other, for the first time in years. Alex did a fabulous job of clearing Courtney’s name and taking the heat off Ava and Kyle too.”

“Michael and Maria played their silent but intimidating roles perfectly but they really shined when it came time to discussing strategy,” Max added. “Those rebels were completely enthralled. And Michael’s flaming shirt tells me that Maria was successful at keeping our backup plans concealed.”

“I didn’t really contribute anything at all though,” Liz mumbled, suddenly fascinated with something invisible on the floor. “I just sat there and nodded while the rest of you did all the real work.”

Max looked startled at Liz’s take on the day’s proceedings. “You contributed a lot today, Liz! You stayed completely calm while those leaders were ripping us to pieces and you explained to them about our training on Earth. Your obvious support of our cause was very clear in there. It says a lot that the Queen feels strongly enough about the plight of these people to travel halfway across the universe to help.”

“Yeah, but I feel like that’s not enough. Maria is so strong, you can feel her power radiating off her when she walks into the room. Alex has this peaceful intuitive way about him that puts people at ease instantly. Kyle is the gentle giant type but it’s so obvious that he’s brave to the core. Me though…on Earth, I was always the bookish-”

“Bookish? Liz, you’re a lot more than-” Max tried to stifle a chuckle but Liz cut him off.

“Don’t laugh at me, Max! I know what people think of me. I’m the brainy girl with her nose perpetually shoved in a science book. That’s who I am…or who I was on Earth anyway. I’m not that girl here though. The science I’ve loved all my life, barely applies here.” Liz confessed.

“We’re not the Scooby Gang, Liz!” Max said with a smirk. “Yes, you are the smartest woman I know…I’ll give you that. And yes, the rest of us do have our own individual strengths we bring to the table. But no, that doesn’t mean that we each have one role and one role only to fill here. We all have to play the part of the patient diplomats, the passionate advocates and the brave soldiers. You, my dear, have mastered patient, passionate, brave and intelligent, better than anyone I know.”

Liz gave him a rueful smile. “You think I’m passionate and brave?”

“Well, I suppose it was rather cowardly of you to accept my ‘otherworldly secret’ two seconds after I brought you back from the brink of death. And I guess it was quite dull of you to attempt to head off the next apocalypse when some idiot from the future showed up in your bedroom and turned your life upside down. Oh…and I can see how your role as the aligning force that brought us all together was rather uninspired. You’re right, Liz. You’ve been no help whatsoever.” Max chided with a gentle smile.

Liz laughed. “Point taken, Max. I just feel so out of place here sometimes…like I’m not doing enough. Maybe I’m just stressed out right now because things are moving so quickly.”

“I’m glad you agree because next, I was going to point out how spineless it was of you to march into the middle of a firefight in the pod chamber on Earth just to challenge the dupes and rescue our families. I thought perhaps you’d forgotten how trivial that was.” Max added with a sly grin.

“All right already! You’re getting a little big for your britches there, Your Highness. Obviously my most important role here is going to be keeping you from going off the deep end.” Liz teased.

Max fixed his wife with a smug grin. “Well then things haven’t really changed all that much, have they? You’ve been keeping me grounded since the day we met.”

With that, Max and Liz crawled into bed for the night. It was completely natural for them to reassess their strengths at a time like this. Thankfully, when things got rough, they could all lean on each other for support. That was what one of the many qualities that made their group so strong. When one fell, the others would step in to carry him or her through. At one time or another, they’d all been strong and they’d all been carried as well. It was the nature of their union.


Coming in Chapter 16: Training day has finally arrived! Have the podsters learned any new tricks since the last time we saw them in battle? We shall soon see...

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for the comments on chapter 15. This next chapter is so long, I had to split it into three parts. Let's just say...the Eight have barely brushed the surface of their powers up until now and it's time they made more of an effort. So, I hope you like Part I and I'll be back in less than a week with Part II...Happy reading!

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 16A: Higher Education, Part I

(Underground Safehouse, Saria)

After the nerve wracking events surrounding the meeting with the rebels, Alex decided it was about time he tried to dreamwalk his parents. He had no idea if he’d be successful at crossing the vast distance to find them but he had to try. There were too many things left unsaid before the Granilith had whisked him away to Saria.

After nearly ten minutes of fruitless searching, Alex finally spied a familiar presence on the dream plane. He focused on the essence of his father and made contact. Charles was in the middle of a terrifying nightmare when Alex entered the scene. His father didn’t seem to be aware that he was asleep and Alex watched in horror as the nightmare unfolded.

In the middle of a barren, rocky landscape, Charles was trying to shield a very young Alex from a huge man with no face. There was nowhere to hide. A menacing laugh seemed to fill the entire dreamscape just as a massive betallion of faceless men appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Charles and the young Alex. Charles raised his fists defiantly and yelled, “Run, Alex! I won’t let them take you!”

Unable to let this nightmare continue, Alex made the heart wrenching scene disappear. With a tiny flick of his hand, the dreamscape immediately morphed into the bright, inviting living room of his childhood home.

“Now, you aren’t wasting a perfectly good dream time worrying about me, are you dad?” Alex asked with a smile.

Charles spun around in surprise and launched over to give Alex a hug. The men didn’t even bother upholding the usual macho pretenses. They embraced as though they hadn’t seen each other in years.

“It’s good to see you, son!” Charles said, wiping a stray tear from his eye. “I have missed you so much…”

“I’ve missed you too, dad,” Alex said. He looked down at his feet for a minute, searching for the right words.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve had that dream, is it?”

Charles hesitated and then decided blunt honesty was the way to go. “No…no, it isn’t. I get a little braver and you run a little faster each time though. I figure, in a couple of weeks, I’ll have worked out a way to save you.”

Alex’s face crumbled. “Oh dad…” Before he could finish, Charles abruptly changed the subject.

“Are they treating you fairly out there?”

Alex shrugged and put on a brave smile. “Well, we’re royalty so the people are constantly trying to wait on us hand and foot but other than that, I suppose it’s been bearable.”

“Glad to hear you guys are making-do,” Charles said with a grin. “It sounds like it must be a real struggle.”

“Yeah…struggle. Right. I probably shouldn’t complain but it is awkward.”

“Well, as long as you remember that you’re Alex Whitman, dodge ball protégé and computer whiz…you’ll be OK. I know you won’t let a little bit of ‘fame’ go to your head, son.”

Alex sighed. “I’d really love to stay here and chat about my studly computer skills, but I’ve had a really long day and I want to slip in a quick update before we lose our connection. We had our big meeting with the rebel leaders today and there’s a lot going on right now…”

With that, Alex recalled the details of the earlier meeting for his father. The men mulled over all of the various strategies and countermeasures the ‘Rathemere clan’ had come up with so far. Then, Alex finished his story by explaining about their pending training session on Saria.

“Well you guys certainly have a lot on your plates!” Charles said, struggling to sound optimistic. “Your plans sound well thought out though. And I know you’ll be cautious…right?”

“Of course we will. I’d prefer to come home in one piece, thank you very much.” Alex quipped. He flinched, noticing that his father didn’t find the comment nearly as humorous as it had been intended.

“Seriously dad. We’re trying to consider this from every possible angle and we’re going to be as careful as we can. Hey, speaking of considering every angle…we sent a message earlier today for Director Adams. It was about the human returnees…”

Charles looked away uncomfortably. “Alex, I need you to understand that the government is operating on virtually no intel right now. They didn’t know who sent the returnees back and they didn’t know the motive behind it. I promise you…they’ve been treated fairly from the moment they got back…”

Alex frowned. “What are you not telling me dad?”

“Director Adams has put the returnees in protective custody. But he assured us it’s just temporary!” Charles explained in a rush. “And they aren’t prisoners, per se. They’re being quarantined as humanely as possible.”

Alex sighed in relief. “Thank God! That’s exactly what we asked Adams to do in our message. Kivar sent the humans back…not us. We don’t know why he did it either. Have they said anything about what happened to them on Antar?”

Now it was Charles’ turn to frown. “From what I’ve been told, they remember nothing. They know they were taken and apparently they realize that they were gone for quite some time but aside from that, they have no recollection of what happened while they were gone. I suppose that must be Kivar’s handy work.”

Alex nodded in agreement. The men spent another few minutes discussing the implications of this new development but soon, Alex felt his exhaustion taking over.

“Before you go Alex, there are some things I need to say,” Charles said.

Alex smiled sadly. “You don’t need to get all serious on me dad. I know…”

“I have to do this, Alex,” Charles insisted. “I just need you to know that I am so proud of the man you have become. I don’t think your mother and I can take much credit for the brave, intelligent man you are…you did that on your own. I love you, Alex. I do, and I want you to remember that, no matter where you are.”

“I love you too, dad. And we’re going to be fine…I promise. So far, everything in that Royal Eight prophecy has come to pass. The prophecy says we win and I honestly believe that will come true too. It has to…”

Charles nodded. “It has to…because the alternative just doesn’t work for me. I never want to wake up in the morning and know that you’re not coming home. I don’t ever want to know how that feels.”

“Kivar won’t take me without a fight. We’re stronger than he is. You know it, I know it, and someday he will know it too. I will come home,” Alex said with so much conviction it actually made his father smile.

“That’s exactly what I needed to hear, Alex,” Charles said. “Do me a favor, would you? Try to visit your mother soon. She won’t admit it, but I think her dreams are even worse than mine.”

Alex nodded and leaned in to give his father one last hug. “I will…I promise.”

After many more promises to ‘visit’ again, Alex released the dreamwalk and fell into a deep sleep.

*****************************************************

Even though they had gotten through their first major hurdle, the meeting with the rebels, things had not gotten any less hectic. Michael found himself lying awake the very next morning, agonizing over their battle strategies and questioning nearly every assumption they had made. There were too many variables and too many pieces of the puzzle left to chance. Given the magnitude of the situation, his natural sense of paranoia had risen to alarming levels.

Michael tossed and turned for nearly fifteen minutes before Maria squinted at him with one eye and sighed dramatically. Wrapping the blankets firmly around herself, she muttered, “It’s too bad there isn’t some kind of expert around here…you know, a General or...a Commander of some kind that you could go talk to right now.”

Michael twitched in surprise and mumbled an apology. In his agitation, he completely missed the point of her comment.

Maria sat up abruptly and rolled her eyes. “Hello doofus! Rayna…you know, your mother? She was a Master Commander once too, you know…”

Michael shot up like he’d just been fired from a canon. With one fluid movement, he lurched out of bed and swung around to look at Maria.

“Come with me,” he ordered.

Maria shook her head and then buried it back in the fluffy pillows. “No can do, Michael. I’m sleeping.”

Michael just stood there for a minute. His head swung back and forth, toward the doorway and then back toward Maria, like a hairy pendulum. Seeing that she really wasn’t going to get out of bed, Michael crossed his arms in frustration and tried to will her up. When that didn’t work, his arms dropped to his sides, both hands balled into fists. He was staring down at his feet when he finally uttered the words.

“I can’t do this by myself,” he whispered.

Without opening her eyes, Maria smiled and stayed firmly buried in her pillows. “You’ve been waiting your whole life for this. This is your moment. Own it.”

Nearly thirty minutes passed before Michael found his way down to Kira and Rayna’s suite. He had been wandering the corridors aimlessly, trying to work up the nerve to stop at Rayna’s door. Just as Michael was making his third pass in front of the suite, Kira walked out with a gentle smile.

She patted his arm on her way past and said, “I was just going down to the kitchens for a bit of breakfast. Would you like me to bring you something?”

Michael shook his head mutely and shot a nervous glance at the open door of her suite. Kira nodded in understanding and followed his gaze.

“Would you be a dear and tell Rayna I’ve decided to lend a hand in the kitchens this morning? The cooks concocted a wonderful new dish recently and I was hoping to persuade them to share the recipe with me. But to be quite honest…” She looked around mischeviously, as though she were about to share an important secret. “I’m not a very good cook, so this may take a while…”

With that, Kira gave him another pat on the arm and glided down the corridor. Michael studied the open doorway one last time before he finally stepped forward. Hovering just outside the opening, he poked his head forward and mumbled, “Hello?”

“I was beginning to think you would never come in,” Rayna said, greeting him in the doorway with a cup of steaming Yaharo.

Michael grunted and shuffled into the room. He accepted the Yaharo with an awkward nod and flopped into a cushy black chair. For a moment, the two just stared silently into their steaming cups. Neither quite knew what to say.

“Can all the soldiers teleport?” Michael asked abruptly.

Rayna sat up straighter, relieved that he’d asked such a simple question. “Most of the citizens can. Because Kivar patrols the skies, people are forced to rely on a more stealth mode of transportation, so to speak.”

Michael sighed. “Good…that’s good. I couldn’t work out a way for us to get ships into Antar’s atmosphere without being spotted, so that’ll help at least.”

“You’re really going to do this, aren’t you?” Rayna asked, her face barely concealing a mixture of fear and pride. As the silence between them stretched again, she looked off into the distance and added, “Your father would be so proud of you right now...”

“Would he?” Michael’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I’m not so sure about that.”

Rayna smiled wistfully. “Oh yes he would. You probably wouldn’t know this, but you look quite a bit like your father. You have the same mannerisms - the way you scratch at that one eyebrow when you’re nervous, the way your lips pout when you’re thinking…”

“I don’t…” Michael blushed and fumbled with his Yaharo again. “I pout?”

Rayna chuckled. “Everytime you do that, it reminds me of your father. And Ava…she has his eyes. Just like deep pools of blue light reflecting every thought, every emotion.”

Michael nodded and then became fascinated with a small particle of lint on the arm of his chair. He desperately wanted to know more about his mother and father. He wanted to know if he had more in common with either of them than a few mere facial expressions. He just didn’t know how to ask.

“You and I have too much in common, I think.” Rayna said, interrupting Michael’s thoughts. “Kira gave up trying to correct my stubborn streak years ago. And I think she has even come to appreciate my temper, although I doubt she’d ever admit that to another living soul.”

“You don’t strike me as the angry type,” Michael said in surprise.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll think differently about that before long. I have learned a trick or two from Kira about manners and such over the years but…what is that human phrase?”

Michael shrugged. “A leopard can’t change his spots?”

Rayna looked puzzled by this phrase but after considering it for a moment, she seemed to find it fitting. “I suspect you would know quite a bit about that, wouldn’t you? From the moment I laid eyes on you in the loading dock, I knew you were my son. You still have that fire…the intensity that most people fear and few people understand.”

Positive there was a compliment in there somewhere, and fairly sure that Rayna was speaking about that intensity from experience, Michael nodded a rough ‘thank you’. There was another prolonged silence as they both fumbled for something to say. Neither of them made much of a habit of carrying on deep, meaningful conversations if they could help it. With the perfect opportunity to do so staring them in the face, they were both searching for a way to get the words out. Finally, Michael settled on a neutral subject just to end the uncomfortable silence.

“So who’s Ava more like then? She’s kind of careful about everything she does, instead of rushing into things like I do." Michael thought for a moment before adding, “And she’s kind of sensitive about things…like she’s afraid she’ll wake up one day and find that we all left her behind or something.”

Rayna nodded in understanding. “She gets that from her father. They love so fiercly but somewhere on the inside, a little part of them is afraid that they don’t deserve to be loved back.”

Michael made a little ‘pfft’ sound. “I used to think like that but Maria kind of forced me to see things differently. She wouldn’t let up until I understood that I deserve a good life too, just like the next guy. She’s sort of persistant like that…”

“I do like Maria,” Rayna grinned.

“She’s the best thing that ever happened to me…” Michael’s face relaxed for the first time since he’d entered the suite. “She gets people like us. Probably because she’s got a pretty wicked temper too…” He shot a glance over his shoulder, as though he expected to see Maria standing in the doorway.

Rayna let out a rare laugh. “And perhaps it would be best if we just keep that revelation between you and me. Somehow I do not think she would find the compliment in that statement.”

Michael smiled sheepishly. “Seriously though…when we bonded, it was sort of…sort of by accident. We didn’t know what bonding was at that time. My powers hit her like a freight train but she just kind of went with it and figured it all out on her own. She’s the one who taught me how to control them.” He suddenly blanched and looked away. “It’s probably bad that I couldn’t figure it out on my own, isn’t it?”

Rayna sighed. “Your father could control my abilities better than I could in the beginning. For quite a while I thought it was because he was so very powerful himself but looking back I realize it was simply because he was simply more in tune with me than I was. Maria helped you find yourself, just as your father did for me. This is something to be thankful for, not ashamed of.”

“I wish I could’ve met him,” Michael mumbled. “The way you talk about him, he sort of reminds me of Sheriff Valenti. Kind of patient and understanding, but really protective of his family, all at the same time. That’s the guy I want to be someday…” He trailed off, embarrassed that he’d said so much.

Rayna’s pale eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You are that man! You might not be as patient as some, but I think you know when to fight and when to stand down. And I suspect that for the people who count on you, you will never stand down.”

Michael’s whole demeanor changed at this. His eyebrows pinched together and he picked at a spot on his pants with a frown. When he looked up, there was a new fire in his eyes.

“You’re right. I won’t stand down,” he stared at her with an intensity that would make anyone else shrink in fear. “Tell me what I need to do next. Tell me how to make the people safe here again.”

Rayna returned his intense stare. She seemed to have been expecting this question. “First we must discuss your higher powers. You need to understand the weapons at your disposal…”

******************************************************

Later that morning, Alex rounded up as many of the Roswell crew as he could find. He told them about the dreamwalk with his father, glossing over the father-son parts but reiterating the status of the human returnees nearly word for word. He was a little concerned that Michael wasn’t present to hear the news but Maria insisted that Michael had more important places to be just now and that she would fill him in later.

Confident that Earth was a little safer now that the returnees were quarantined; the gang turned their attention to more pressing matters. The rebel leaders hadn’t been seen since the big meeting had adjourned the day before. None of the leaders had tried to leave but the Roswell crew had no idea where their loyalties lie yet.

Having no idea if the rebels were actually considering the alliance or if they had one foot out the door already, the gang had no choice but to press on and hope for the best. Today they would train with the few people they knew they could trust and after some expert tutelage, they would reassess. At this point, it was the best they could do.

As the Roswell crew sat in Alex and Isabel’s suite discussing the human returnees and the status of things here in the Alpha System, Kira stopped by to give them an update from Larek. As planned, he had come up with suitable training grounds and his soldiers had secured the perimeter before daybreak. Larek had even motivated a few of his ‘inside contacts’ to instigate a small riot near the palace on Antar to keep Kivar’s attention occupied.

Shortly after Kira passed on the message from Larek, Michael finally joined the meeting. He brushed off questions about where he had been and plopped down in a chair next to Maria. He reached over and gave her had a squeeze as he listened silently to their continuing discussion.

“If Kivar scatters his forces between each of the camps and the palace, we’ll never truly know if there is a mole in the resistance forces.” Liz pointed out. “We’ll be forced to keep our strategies secret throughout the entire mission. The rebels aren’t stupid…they’re going to know we aren’t being honest and I’m pretty sure that’ll cause problems.”

Isabel nodded in agreement. “Why can’t Alex and I just scan the rebels and weed out the traitors? You know we’re strong enough to do that now…we’re in the perfect position to help.”

“Alex scanned the rebel leaders throughout our meeting with them and he didn’t find any indication that they were working for Kivar,” Max said. “And that was really helpful, but there’s no way you can forsee the decisions they will make in the future…decisions they might be forced to make in desperation.”

“Plus, you can’t possibly scan every single member of their armies. You won’t have time,” Ava added, shaking her head. “We’re talking about tens of thousands of people here!”

Michael finally sat up and joined the debate. “There is a hell of a lot more troops than that, but Ava’s right; Alex and Isabel won’t be able to scan them all. But that doesn’t matter because I know exactly why we’re going to win now.”

“You mean, you know exactly how we’re going to win…right?” Kyle’s eyebrows arched in a mixture of surprise and relief.

Michael shook his head. “Nope. I know why we’re going to win. We’ll work out the how after training.”

Everyone went silent and stared directly at Michael. Something in his demeanor had changed. He seemed a lot more confident all of a sudden. As the others continued to stare in bewilderment, Maria slowly began to smile.

“We’re going to learn a lot today, aren’t we?” She asked, already knowing the answer.

Michael nodded. “If we can get it right, the things we learn today will change everything.”

There were a lot of curious glances and more than a few questions, but Michael wasn’t willing to elaborate just yet. He just stayed perched in his seat, looking strangely confident but not explaining why.

***********************************************


(Underground Compound, Saria, 12:00:58 hours)

The Roswell bunch had just enough time to force down a hasty lunch in the dining hall before departing for the training grounds. Kira and Rayna went on ahead to the Sarian location Larek had chosen, just as the gang was sitting down with their food. Kira was surprised when Michael refused her offer to escort them out to the training grounds, but Rayna was not and she refused to comment on the matter.

Lunch was strained at best and everyone kept firing random questions at Michael, as though they hoped they might be able to trick some information out of him by sneaking them in between bites. It didn’t work and he remained stubbornly silent about their powers and about his decision to stop Kira and Rayna from escorting them to the unknown territory they would be training in.

After the hasty lunch, the gang split up one last time to throw on some loose fitting, comfortable cloths. For some reason, Michael had insisted that they wear the outfits they had arrived from Earth in. He mumbled something along the lines of, "we'll stick out too much in Royal cloths." When everyone was changed, they gathered in Michael and Maria’s suite.

“How the heck are we going to teleport out to a place we’ve never seen?” Maria was bouncing on her heels nervously as she looked around at the others for an answer.

“Lesson one,” Michael interrupted. “Always remember to use your greatest assets. Right now, Isabel’s biggest asset is going to get us out to those training grounds.”

“And by biggest asset you mean…?” Kyle dodged a blow from Isabel as he sniggered.

Michael pointed a finger at Kyle, whose feet promptly whipped out from under him, sending him flopping unceremoniously into the nearest arm chair. Maria struggled to repress a giggle but failed badly.

“I meant her heart,” Michael said, rolling his eyes in irritation. He turned to Isabel and explained. “Kira is already out at the training grounds and I’d bet my right arm that you could find her anywhere. She’s your mother…”

Isabel paled. “I know I can find her, but then what do I do? Do I just connect with you guys and show you where she is?”

Max frowned. “Liz and I could find Kira and Rayna just as easily using the remote viewing…”

“Yeah, you could…but Isabel can get us there all at once. She doesn’t need to view the location and connect with the rest of us to pass on the information. We don’t need to teleport at all because she’s going to bring that place to us, so to speak.” Michael knew there would be more questions and he wasn’t disappointed.

Max’s sudden, “She’s going to do what-” was nearly drowned out by Alex’s, “Excuse me?!”

Isabel sighed heavily. Even after all this time, she was much better at reading Michael than Max and Alex were. “This isn’t about getting out to the training grounds at all, is it?”

Michael shook his head. “Nope. Remember when Kyle said you guys can manipulate time? It’s way bigger than that. Rayna says the normal progression of time and space doesn’t apply to you and Alex at all. You guys can move around freely, in the physical world and in time. You can take others to a different place or time and you can bring other people, places or timelines to you. This is huge, Iz…”

Ava’s jaw dropped. “If Kivar tried to separate us, Isabel and Alex could find us and bring us back together…even if we were too injured to teleport on our own!”

“Technically, Isabel and Alex would be able to set us up with an unlimited supply of do-overs,” Maria mused, suddenly a little jealous of Isabel and Alex’s power.

Liz frowned. “Whoa…hang on a minute. I don’t know that it’s a good idea if we start meddling with time. One tiny change could have huge repercussions…”

“We’ve been down this road already, guys. We all know this is dangerous territory,” Max said, his eyebrows crinkling together with worry.

Maria pouted in disapproval. “Maybe I’m being naïve about this but, if I lost one of you guys in battle, I would welcome the opportunity to change that. And honestly, I think Isabel and Alex are responsible enough to understand that they can’t go changing every little thing…just like Liz knows that she can’t prevent each and every trivial premonition she has.”

Liz turned to Michael, clearly about to protest further but Kyle cut her off. “This one’s not up for a vote, guys. This power will have huge potential…good and bad. If Alex and Isabel don’t learn how to use it properly, they might do it by accident at the worst possible time, in the heat of battle or something. Michael says they have to learn to control it and so do I-”

Ava interrupted with a vigorous nod. “And so do I.”

“Me too,” Maria added. “We’re not debating over which higher powers we’ll learn to control and which ones we won’t. Learning them all doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll use them all.”

The muscles in Max’s jaw flexed rhythmically, making it look like he was chewing on a particularly offensive piece of food. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking.

“I want your word that you’ll change nothing – nothing – that led up to this exact moment. I love my wife and I almost lost her once because someone was trying to ‘fix’ things that should've been left alone. I will not go through that again and I will not watch any of you go through something like that either. Do I have your word that you will not use this power to change our past?”

Alex nodded fiercely. “Our pasts are absolutely off limits. Agreed.”

“If I learn how to control this power, and that’s a big if,” Isabel paused as she tried to find the right words. “If I learn how to use this power, I promise not to mess with our pasts but I won’t promise to move on and assume it’s for the best if you’re killed in battle. I can not and will not make that promise.”

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence at her words. As per usual, Kyle was the first to break the silence.

“If I’m laying on the battlefield somewhere, preparing to ‘go into the light’, you have my full permission to change that. In fact, maybe I’ll just thank you in advance…seriously, thanks.”

Although his comment was meant as a joke, it was met by a loud series of groans. Even though they didn’t quite see the humor in his comment, no one was prepared to speak against it either. As each one pictured facing life without one or more of their loved ones, they had to admit that Isabel’s ‘promise’ definitely did have its merits.

Liz took a deep shuddering breath to wipe all concerns of paradox and time manipulation from her mind. Despite her apprehension, she too saw the tempting potential this power had.

“What do they have to do?” Liz said.

“Isabel is going to hone in on her mother and then she and Alex are going to bring that exact time and place to us. Not the other way around,” Michael explained.

Alex frowned and studied Isabel’s nervous profile for a moment. “That’s an awfully big leap there chief. The consequences of something like this…if we don’t get it exactly right the first time around…”

“How bad do you guys want to win this thing against Kivar? How bad do you want to be on those training grounds so we can learn to hold our own in a situation that will be a thousand times worse than anything we ever saw on Earth?” Michael already knew the answer to these questions but asked them anyway.

“Of course we want to win!” Alex blurted. “I’d prefer to survive this war, thank you very much.”

Michael nodded in agreement. “Then I’m sure you guys will get it right. Isabel will find Kira and the two of you will bring us there…or bring there, here. It’s the same thing either way, according to Rayna.”

Liz actually smiled at this. “It probably is the same thing. For centuries, physicists on Earth have said that space and time is relative to the observer. To the people on the training grounds, we’d be arriving at their location. To us, Isabel and Alex would be bringing the training grounds here. It’s all relative.”

“What if it takes hours to figure out how to do this? It sounds hard and I’m pretty sure our training buddies will give up on us if it takes too long…” Kyle asked.

Alex slapped his forhead in understanding. “That’s why Michael picked Isabel to do the first part of the job…not me. Our first day here, Isabel took an involuntary stroll through Kira’s memories. All she has to do is get a good lock on her mother again. When she zeros in on the memory of Kira’s arrival at the training grounds, poof…she’ll know the exact time and place we need to be.”

Max looked around at the others and bit back the last of his protests. If they didn’t trust that Michael knew what he was talking about now, they might risk undermining his authority later on. They couldn’t afford doubt in the middle of battle.

Against his better judgment, Max said, “Well, I guess this is it. Isabel…are you ready?”

*****************************************************


(Alluvian Plains, Saria, 12:00:59 hours)

Courtney, Larek, Connor and Kaden arrived at the training grounds early and waited anxiously for the others to arrive. The Alluvian Plains was a beautiful area. They were surrounded by a vast sea of rose-colored prairie grass, ringed on three sides by sprawling mountains. This was one of the few areas that had not yet been destroyed by Kivar.

After a few moments, Kira and Rayna appeared. The allies were excited, thinking that they could begin training early, until they saw that the woman didn’t arrive with the Eight in tow.

“They should be joining us any moment now.” Kira answered, before anyone could ask. “They made a quick stop in the dining hall for a bit of lunch, but I assure you, they will be here on time.”

Larek’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “I do suppose we are all a bit early, aren’t we? But, well…I just couldn’t resist, now could I? The opportunity to see the Eight in action…”

“Look ma, no hands!" There was a snort in the background and the excited group turned to see Kyle juggling a pair of large stones in the air, without using his hands. "This probably isn’t what you had in mind, was it, Larek?”

Kyle approached the surprised group with shaky legs, still juggling the stones with his mind. The rest of the Eight followed, murmuring quietly and sporting weary grins. Rayna let out an uncharacteristic whoop and then clapped her hands to her mouth in shock. She looked around at the Eight with eyes wide as saucers.

“How long have you been with us?” Rayna’s voice squeaked with excitement. “How did you get here?”

Michael locked eyes with his mother and smirked. “Who says we’re here with you…maybe you guys are with us. It’s all relative anyway, right?”

Catching on to his play on words immediately, Rayna whooped again. “You did it! Wonderful job Isabel…fantastic!”

Larek’s head swung back and forth between Rayna and Michael. “What did Isabel do?”

“How long did it take?” Rayna bubbled, completely ignoring Larek’s question.

Maria snorted. “Which part? The part where we argued about the ethics involved or the part where Isabel and Alex actually learned to do it?”

Kira smiled in relief, finally catching on to what they were talking about. “You required no escort to this location because you made a temporal journey, not a physical one. Very clever, Michael. Very clever…”

Michael nodded an awkward thank you as the rest of the onlookers gaped in shock. “We probably wouldn’t have ‘found’ this place if you weren’t out here. Isabel just had to find you and then she knew right where we needed to be…or where she needed to bring you from.” He looked sheepishly at Rayna. “I still don’t quite get that part.”

Rayna chuckled, almost giddy with excitement now. “No matter, Michael. No matter. The point is – you did it! You helped them to unleash one of their greatest powers!”

Michael scrunched up his nose and kicked at the ground a bit with his toe. “I didn’t really help them do anything. I just told them it’s possible…I didn’t actually teach them how. Ava and Kyle did that.”

Rayna’s smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger than it was at that very moment. She whirled on Ava and Kyle and fixed them with her watery gaze.

“You see? I knew you could do it!” Rayna threw her arm around Ava and the two actually shared an awkward hug. “You could sense the power beneath the surface, couldn’t you? You knew just what they needed to do…”

Ava shared a look with Kyle and blushed. “Actually, it was more like we could sense what they shouldn’t do. The first couple of attempts didn’t work. While they were learning how to focus their ability, we were learning how to focus ours.”

Kyle shrugged. “Eventually we all got it. It just took a little trial and error…”

Maria waved their pitiful explanations away and clicked her tongue in disapproval. “You guys are being way too modest. I’ll tell them what really happened…”

{Underground Compound, Hours earlier…}

“Well, I guess this is it. Isabel…are you ready?”

Isabel took a deep breath and nodded. She shut her eyes and tried to focus on Kira. The connection with her mother was almost instantaneous. It was as though Kira was a tangible force inside her head.

“I’ve got her! What do I do now?”

Michael looked over at Kyle and Ava and said, “You guys are up! Isabel needs to know what to do next and you’re the only ones who can tell her.”

“Us?!” Kyle blurted. “How the heck are we supposed to-”

“Use that ‘ability perception’ thing Rayna said you guys have. You know – the one you used when Ava told me I can heal and you told Isabel she could manipulate time,” Michael said with a shrug that clearly said, ‘duh’.

Kyle shared a look with Ava and began to mutter under his breath. There was definitely a sarcastic comment about “makes us do all the work while he stands back and watches,” but the nervous smirk on his face said that he wasn’t really mad.

Ava’s brow furrowed as she shut her eyes in concentration. She focused every ounce of her attention on Isabel. Ava shook her head to clear it and that little shake continued all the way down to her ankles before she felt her muscles relax a little. She sucked in a determined breath and opened her eyes again. They were completely white.

Oblivious to the gasps around her, Ava spoke in a calm, even tone. “You need to concentrate on your mother Isabel. Focus only on her.”

“I am! I’m…I think I’m looking at one of her memories though.” Isabel smiled faintly. “She’s standing in a courtyard watching children play…she’s watching us play.”

Kyle mirrored his wife’s stance and concentrated on Isabel. As his eyes faded to a glowing shade of white, he said, “Bring yourself forward, Isabel. You need to find your way toward the present.”

Isabel continued smiling at her mother’s memories for a moment but then began to frown as she delved further into her mother’s past, not forward into her present. “What do you mean ‘bring yourself forward’. I think I’m going the wrong way now…she’s in a school of some kind. I think she’s a student…”

“Move the other way – toward the present.” Ava said in that same even tone. “You have to focus.”

Isabel slammed her eyes shut in response and barked, “I am focusing! You’re not telling me how-”

And with that, the entire group found themselves standing at the back of a lavish room full of teenagers. Isabel reeled in shock and began to whisper, "Oh God...what did I do? I don't know how to get us back!"

The room full of teens turned around in their seats to stare and Max saw one girl with fiery red hair. Without a doubt, that girl was a young Kira. A dark haired boy at the front of the room was the first to react to the strangers’ impromptu appearance in his class. He jumped out of his seat and rushed forward to stand protectively in front of Kira. As she shifted to the side, trying to get a good look at the ‘visitors’, he stood his ground and locked eyes with Max. His gaze had, ‘stay away from her’ written all over it.

Liz gasped and tugged at Max’s sleeve. “Oh my God, Max…look at the resemblance! I think that’s your fa-”

“You have to pull back.” Kyle mumbled, almost as though he was speaking in mid-thought. “We’re not supposed to be here…you’ve gone too far.”

In an instant, Alex stepped in front of Isabel and took her face in his hands. He focused all of his energy on her, on the things she was seeing in her mind. Isabel wanted to stay here. She wanted just one more look at her mother and the man who would someday be her father.

“We can’t be here, Iz. This isn’t our time…”

The scene faded and the gang found themselves standing in Michael and Maria’s suite again. Maria lost her footing for a moment and nearly tripped over Liz who was swaying drunkenly to one side. Max reached out to steady both but almost knocked them over in the process.

“What’s happening?” Maria said with a clear sense of panic in her voice. “I’m…I think I’m going to be sick…”

Liz put one arm around Maria and grabbed on to Max’s sleeve with the other. The three of them listed to one side and rested up against Michael, who seemed completely unphased by the experience.

Liz shut her eyes, hoping it would make her head stop spinning. “It’s just vertigo, Maria. It’s like the feeling you get when you go on carnival rides. Give it a minute…it’ll pass.”

Ava turned her glowing eyes toward Isabel once again. “You need to focus your mind on your mother, in the present time. Concentrate on the place where she is right now.”

Isabel scowled lightly but did as she was told. Again the connection was almost instantaneous. “She’s standing in the middle of some kind of field. There’s grass…pink grass.”

“Who is there with her?” Kyle asked calmly, his shimmering white eyes almost blinding now.

“Rayna is there…and Larek. I see Courtney and Kaden too…and I think Connor might have been talking to her a second ago.” Isabel’s face scrunched up in concentration. “Yes, Connor is definitely there too.”

“Good,” Ava droned. “Keep focusing on your mother. What is her first memory of the others in that place? Who is the first person she saw?”

Alex caught on to what Ava was doing immediately. She was forcing Isabel to focus on the finer details of Kira’s most recent memories so that she wouldn’t get sucked too far into the abstract moments from the past again. It was just too easy to get ‘lost’ if you weren’t sure what moments to look for.

“Oh! She saw Larek first and-” The moment ‘memory Larek’ looked at Kira; it was as though he was looking right through her into Isabel’s own eyes. She gasped as she got pulled into his mind.

Without warning, the gang found themselves standing outside a massive palace. Off in the distance, there were shouts, followed immediately by laughter. Three boys sped into the scene on foot, one chasing right after the other.

Isabel recognized Zan right away. Behind him was a boy she had never seen and behind him, was a young Rath. A flash of light soared past Zan’s head and two of the boys laughed uproariously while the third, Rath, stopped in his tracks and stared down at his hands in horror.

All at once, a tall man thundered down the steps of the palace and towered over the boys. None of these people seemed to notice that there was an entire group of oddly dressed strangers standing off in the distance, watching.

Rath stared down at the grass below as the man studied him with a look of fatherly disapproval. The second boy, who looked an awful lot like Larek, stood up quickly and jumped to his friend’s defense.

“My apologies Commander. It was my fault sir, just an accident you see…” The boy trailed off nervously as Rathos shot him a disbelieving glance. Rath’s jaw dropped in surprise but he continued to stare at the ground.

“Is that so, Larek?” It was very obvious that the man was trying to hide a little smile now. He turned to look at Rath but pretended to address the whole group. “Then I would suggest you boys use a little more caution in your recreation. I would be quite concerned if I heard that someone was injured…”

Each of the boys nodded mutely. As Zan and Larek turned to run off again, Rathos held out a hand to stop his son. Rath hesitated and bit back a look of disappointment as his friends disappeared around the corner.

“I know this is not easy for you, son. You are much stronger than the other boys and it is not fair that you have to work so hard to focus when they can run about without care.” Rathos smiled gently at his son. “But you must remember that great power requires great responsibility. It is not fair, but this is our burden. Do you understand?”

Rath nodded. At this Rathos smiled again and clapped him on the shoulder. “Then off you go, son. Do enjoy yourself…”

As Rath disappeared around the corner to find his friends, Rathos watched him go with a wistful smile. The look of disapproval on his face earlier had dissolved into something else. It was an expression Michael had only seen directed at other children in this lifetime; never himself. This man loved Rath with every ounce of his being and it was written clearly, all over his face.

Michael watched his father retreat back up the palace steps, feeling as though someone had just cut a gaping hole in his heart. Maria reached out for his hand and looked over at Ava. Her eyes were no longer white. They were a crisp, deep blue again and they were watching the empty doorway of the palace with painful longing.

Alex cleared his throat awkwardly and looked at Michael. “We should go,” he murmured.

Ava let out a tiny sob but nodded along with Michael in understanding. Kyle, whose eyes had returned to their usual expressive shade of brown, hugged his wife close. He seemed to be hurting right along with her, hurting for her.

The scene once again morphed into Michael and Maria’s suite. The change was less abrupt this time and no one was left reeling like before. Michael looked over at Isabel with such raw emotion on his face, she let out a little gasp.

“Thank you for letting me see him,” Michael whispered.

Isabel nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. “I knew he was coming. I knew because I saw it in Larek’s memory. I couldn’t…we couldn’t come back until you and Ava got to see too…”

Ava gulped back her tears and smiled. “He was wonderful, wasn’t he?”

{Alluvian Plains, Present time}

“So then, Isabel, Alex, Kyle and Ava gave it another try and we ended up here.” Maria grinned. She left out a few private emotional details, but for the most part she had reiterated the whole story word for word.

Kira flashed Isabel a brilliant smile. “Very well done, Isabel. Truly spectacular. A word of caution though-”

Rayna cut in and finished the sentence for her. “You must guard against uncontrolled travel. The day you saw Kira and Zandar in the classroom…I was there that day and I remember seeing the strange giants at the back of the classroom. It created such a stir; we talked about it for cycles.”

Kyle snorted. “Giants? We’re not-” he jumped as Ava elbowed him in the side. “Oh! Because you’re so…I mean, we’re so tall compared to...right.”

Isabel’s eyes went wide. “You…you remember that? But we just did it…not even two hours ago!”

Liz groaned. “Yes, but they were barely teenagers when we appeared in that school. That’s the kind of thing a person would remember for the rest of their life…which is why they remember it now.”

“And that’s exactly what Liz and I were trying to warn everyone about beforehand. See what can happen?” Max frowned as he tried to work out the implications of their accidental travels earlier.

Kyle scowled. “And that’s also why we said Isabel and Alex need to learn to control that power before they do it on accident and cause real damage. I don’t think we changed much, so we’re fine. We did what we set out to do and now we can move on.”

Kira waved her hands to prevent the impending argument. “You are both right. You must be cautious with this ability but I assume you have not caused any lasting damage this time…none that we would be aware of anyway.”

“You assume?” Maria asked. “What do you mean ‘none that we would be aware of’?”

Rayna sighed. “Temporal manipulation is a highly valuable ability but the consequences are only apparent to the objective viewer. In other words, if you change my past, I will never know that something has been changed, but you will. I will have no memory of events that were prevented as a result of the change.”

This really threw Isabel for a loop. “Oh God…what if we changed something and they don’t even know?!”

Kira looked deep into her daughter’s eyes. After a moment, a smile broke out on her face. “If I can be so bold as to assume the memories you have collected from my mind are accurate, then you have changed very little. The only difference that I see is your classroom appearance when we were children. That moment quickly became the object of myth and many adults wrote the incident off as the product of childish imagination. Your actions have not had any broad consequences that I can recognize.”

Michael secretly sighed with relief, but instead of admitting it, he said, “And now that you guys know how to control it better, you won’t risk changing anything that should be left alone.”

Liz sighed and shot Max an apologetic look. “As long as you make very small leaps in time, you should be okay. Moving one or two hours, even a few days, probably won’t make a catastrophic difference. Traveling months or years either way will most likely cause a problem though.”

Max shot a hurt look at Liz for not going along with his ‘I told you so’ theme. Liz shrugged and tried to explain.

“I’m sorry Max, but if I lose you in this battle there’s no way I’m going to stop Isabel and Alex from changing that.” Liz crossed her arms defiantly at the look on Max’s face. “I’m just trying to say, if there is something life and death they need to prevent, the consequences of going back a few hours would be much less significant than if they tried to change something that happened a year ago.”

Rayna nodded. “And this is precisely why Isabel and Alex must harness the ability but be responsible in their use of it.”

Ava nodded. “Remember…they can use the power to move through the physical world too. They don’t necessarily have to bounce around the timeline.”

Alex was tired of debating over the moral and ‘temporal’ implications of this power. Maria, bless her heart, was the only one so far that had given him and Isabel much credit. She had pointed out earlier that he and Isabel knew better than to randomly tinker with time just because they could. Truth be told, he and Isabel already had an unspoken agreement not to use the power at all, if they could help it. That agreement might crumble if things went horribly wrong in battle, but for now, this power felt like more of a nuisance than an asset.

“Please quit talking about us like we’re not here,” Alex barked, a little more harshly than he intended. “I would think that you guys should know us better after all these years. This power will ruin lives if it’s abused. We get that, you get that – everybody’s on the same page now…move on!”

The group fell silent instantly. Alex never spoke harshly and he rarely ever displayed even an ounce of bad temper. If it had been Michael or Maria, people would not have been surprised. But when it was Alex, people stopped in their tracks and listened.

Kyle shrugged an awkward apology. “I guess we’re so used to dissecting every little thing, we forget when to quit sometimes…”

Alex nodded in understanding. “I guess so. I think it’s time we dissect someone else’s power for a little while though.” Isabel shot him a relieved smile as he steered the attention away from them.

Larek clapped his hands together and the Roswell crew jumped, as though they had already forgotten they had an audience. He grinned excitedly and nodded toward Max and Liz.

“Perhaps you would like to go next,” he suggested to Max. “I must admit, I am very curious what power could possibly outshine your healing abilities.”

Max looked at Michael in surprise and was almost relieved when Michael shook his head, no. Liz searched Michael’s face for a hint of this ‘curious ability’ but she could read nothing in his expression.

“Ava and Kyle have to go next. It’s not safe for the rest of us to attempt our higher powers until Ava and Kyle have mastered theirs.”

Ava’s head whipped around in shock. “Excuse me? But I thought…didn’t we already…?”

Michael smiled. “You learned something new today, yeah…but that ability perception thing is not one of your higher powers.”

Rayna stood up straighter and smiled proudly. “I believe you will not be disappointed with this new ability. Not disappointed at all…”

To be continued…

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.


Chapter 16B: Higher Education, Part II

{Alluvian Plains, Saria}

Ava’s face positively glowed with excitement. She and Kyle were finally going to learn to harness one of their higher powers. And judging by the radiant smile on Rayna’s face, the mysterious ability probably had nothing to do with mindwarping.

Courtney, Kaden, Connor and Larek watched on in mild confusion. They knew that Isabel and Alex had the ability to manipulate space and time. That much had been quite impressively proven already. But when Michael had cautioned that his own higher powers, as well as those of Maria, Max, and Liz, were too great to explore until Kyle and Ava mastered one of their own, the whole group had been intrigued.

“So what is it then? I can’t sense our powers at all,” Ava prodded, pointing toward herself and Kyle.

Michael tried to hide a smirk as Ava fidgeted, waiting for an answer. “This power will probably be our biggest asset-”

Maria clapped her hands to her mouth as she siphoned the thoughts shamelessly from her husband’s mind. Before Michael could say anything further, she blurted, “Oh, that is so cool! That might be even better than the temporal manipulation thingy…”

Her outburst went largely ignored though. Everyone except for Rayna and Maria seemed to be holding their breath, waiting to hear what Ava and Kyle were going to do.

“Imagine what it would be like if you could borrow someone’s powers…anyone’s,” Michael hinted. “Better yet, imagine how strong our side would be if you could share our powers with other people.”

Kyle cocked his head in curiosity. “Rayna already said that the eight of us could probably use our powers interchangeably…you mean something like that?”

“Rayna has, uh…” Michael glanced at his mother quickly and then continued. “She has revised her earlier assessment. She’s pretty sure that the only reason we’ve been able to access each other’s powers in the past is because you and Ava made it possible.”

Ava frowned in disbelief. “Are you sure about that?” She searched Rayna’s face for an answer.

Rayna nodded. “I believe that you and Kyle have the ability to access, alter and possibly even eliminate other individuals’ powers. At some point in the past, you unintentionally joined all of the Royal abilities together, but only superficially I suspect.”

“But you said we could share powers because we have such a close bond with each other,” Kyle argued. He felt a little stupid saying it that way but it was what she said, after all.

Rayna actually blushed a little. “Don’t you realize yet, dear? The two of you created that unique bond.”

Isabel shook her head in confusion. “Wait – what? Ava and Kyle had nothing to do with the bond between Alex and I-” She gave Ava an apologetic smile. “No offense…”

“Of course they didn’t!” Kira chuckled at this. “I believe what Rayna is implying here is; Ava and Kyle accidentally forged the very unique bond that the eight of you share as a whole. Does it not seem unusual to you that four couples, all so very different from each other, would share a bond of such strength that it is usually only seen in mates?”

Max paled. “I had the impression that ‘bonding’ was basically like mating…getting married. I want to make it very clear that I didn’t bond with my sister like that…”

Rayna laughed loudly. “No Max, you are not married to your sister. You do, however, have a very close kinship with her…as well as the other members of your unique group.”

“Perhaps I should demonstrate,” Kira offered, turning to Kyle. She struggled to keep a straight face as she asked, “Are you in love with Michael?”

“WHAT-” Kyle choked on his response and had to struggle against a coughing fit before he could speak. “No,” he sputtered. “I am definitely not in love with Michael.”

“And yet, Rayna can sense quite clearly that you have access to Michael’s powers. That should only be possible between bonded mates, yet you and Michael are not mates.”

“You’ve got that right!” Kyle snorted. “And just in case anyone is wondering, I’m not in love with Max or Alex either. You know…just to clear that up and all…”

Larek finally joined the conversation with a laugh. “No one is implying that you are, Kyle. I believe Lady Kira was just trying to highlight the difference between your association with Michael and the one with your mate. It is natural that you would have access to your mate’s abilities but it is quite unusual that you would have such access to others’.”

Ava thought she was beginning to understand what they were getting at but there was a nagging voice at the back of her mind that still protested. It took her a minute to figure out what was bothering her.

“Are you saying we’re part of all this because we forced some connection that didn’t exist?”

Michael and Rayna shared a knowing look. Sometimes Ava, like her father before her, didn’t realize how truly valuable she was to people. Kira answered Ava’s question as though she already knew exactly what Michael and Rayna were thinking.

“Your hearts are joined because the eight of you made it so. Your powers may be joined because you and Kyle made it so,” Kira explained gently. “The two things are not the same.”

Ava looked a little relieved at this explanation but there was still a shadow of doubt behind her eyes. Rayna couldn’t ignore the uncomfortable little clench her heart gave when Ava’s eyes clouded like this. She elbowed her way through the group and spoke so quietly that only Kyle and Ava could hear, or so she thought.

“You did not know love as a child, and that was my fault,” She began. She shook her head impatiently when Ava tried to protest. “I should have known better than to assume you were still safe in your pod, when in reality, you were trapped in a cold city with no one but those duplicates to rely on. That was as much my fault as it was Kivar’s…”

Rayna looked down in shame but struggled to continue anyway. “I know that you must have felt like an outsider your whole life. Those clones had no interest in your trust or your love, I imagine. Nor did they deserve it.”

Ava blushed at the certainty in her mother’s voice. Her words, though painfully true, almost sounded like a compliment.

“And I know you much better than you would think, Ava. You are still the bright, sensitive, charming girl I had the privilege of calling my daughter so long ago. I have no doubt that growing up in such a void in this lifetime was devastating.” Rayna didn’t even bother to wait for a response from Ava, nor did she pay any attention to the others who were obviously hanging on her every word at this point.

“When you found yourself in Roswell, surrounded by people like yourself…people that your very essence recognized as ‘family’, it must have been equally devastating when they didn’t recognize you in that same way,” Rayna sighed. “But that was not their fault and I think you understood that, however much it hurt.”

Kyle scuffed his toe in the dirt, feeling a little out of place in the middle of this mother-daughter talk, but also feeling a little defensive at the same time. “We weren’t mean to Ava when she first came to Roswell…well, not on purpose anyway. We just didn’t know if we should trust-”

“But you did though,” Ava cut in. “You trusted me from the beginning…even after Tess used my power on you.”

“Well of course I did! You’re nothing like-” Kyle suddenly broke off and his face crumbled in confusion. “But that’s not normal, is it? Anybody else would’ve been afraid of you after what Tess did. But we were never as paranoid about you as we should’ve been…”

Rayna smiled gently and turned back to Ava. “My point, exactly. On some level, they knew you belonged with them. But you were so accustomed to being shunned by those around you…”

“I was so sure that they would just send me off, as soon as we figured out how to get the dupes out of Roswell,” Ava muttered. “I didn’t realize they’d let me stay.”

“Since when do you need permission to do anything?” Michael blurted. “You’re not some frail little flower, Ava. You’re the girl that successfully spied on the dupes for months, and then hand delivered all their dupe secrets to a bunch of strangers that were more likely to attack you in fear than to listen to you. I don’t get why you’re so sensitive about your place in this group when you’re so friggin tough about everything else.”

For a second, Ava looked like he’d just slapped her. But in an instant, her look of shock turned into a scowl. “Well look who’s talking, Michael. I grew up knowing that I was too different to fit in…that there had to be a reason why I never belonged…that I was too rough around the edges to join your tight-knit group but not rough enough to belong to theirs. Any of this sound familiar to you, yet?”

Michael realized he’d pushed too hard the second Ava had gone red. He never meant to make her angry. He was just trying to prove a point and now it was backfiring badly.

“And don’t even bother to pretend you don’t understand what I’m talking about because you felt exactly the same way at one time,” Ava said, her blond curls bouncing as she poked Michael in the chest. “You didn’t find your place in this group until the day you bonded with Maria. After that, you knew there was someone out there just for you…family…someone that you would go to the ends of the Earth to protect because-”

Ava broke off abruptly as understanding washed over her. Rayna nodded in encouragement. Michael just stood there and hoped Ava was done poking him in the chest.

Kyle’s face screwed up in confusion. “So wait…you’re saying that Ava joined all of our powers to protect us…and she never even knew it?”

“You both did, Kyle.” Rayna said. “What better way to protect your family than to give them access to every power at your disposal? The moment the two of you bonded, you found your place in the bigger picture. Something inside of you recognized the others for what they really were…family…and you’ve been watching over them ever since.”

Kyle stared at his feet and scoffed at the idea with a blush. “But, you would think I would’ve known I was doing something that major. I mean…joining all those powers…why? I already had a family. My dad and I-”

“You and your father were the lonliest men I’d ever met,” Ava murmured. “It was like the two of you against the world and most days, I’m not even sure the two of you were fighting the same battle.”

Maria nodded gently. “Most people aren’t as lucky as us, Kyle. We came into this thing with half a family,” she glanced over at Ava for a second. “And some of us with even less. We got to pick our family and you know what’s so cool about that? They picked us back. People like us know what it’s like on the other side of that stupid white picket fence and there’s no way in hell we’re going back to that place again…not if we can help it.”

Michael nodded. “Seems pretty obvious when you really think about it. We’re talking about Ava, the girl who traveled all the way from New York City to Roswell just to warn a group of strangers that they were in danger. And Kyle, the guy who chose to be a part of our psycho little group even though we nearly got him killed twice…” Michael trailed off with a shrug.

“I think you and Ava have both been taking care of us for a long time,” he concluded.

Ava’s eyes spilled over and she whispered, “Oh Michael…”

Michael looked over to Maria in horror, thinking he’d really screwed things up now. Maria rolled her eyes dramatically. As she reached past Kyle to give Michael a shove, she hissed, “That’s a happy cry, doofus. You guys are supposed to hug now!”

Ava lunged forward and trapped both Kyle and Michael in a tight hug. Michael patted her back awkwardly while still looking toward Maria for guidance. Kyle hugged Ava back while simultaneously pulling as far away from Michael as physically possible. Out of all the people in this universe Kyle would’ve considered sharing a three-way hug with, Michael was not one of them.

The hug broke up quickly as Kyle and Michael tugged away from each other in opposite directions. Each did a manly cough and flexed their muscles a bit, as though reassuring the onlookers that this moment had not affected their manhood. Isabel swiped at a stray tear threatening to fall down her cheek and laughed a little at the spectacle.

There were murmurs around the group as people tried to assimilate this information. It did seem obvious now that Michael and Rayna spelled it out. All of their powers had increased exponentially right around the time Ava and Kyle bonded. Both had felt like outsiders, guests that had overstayed their welcome at times, but after they bonded, on some level, they finally realized that they too were important members of this crazy, mixed-up family. At that point, their subconscious had taken over and tried to ensure the survival of the family they had chosen…the family that had chosen them.

“So you’re not gonna be all ‘dainty flower Ava’ anymore, right?” Michael blurted. “Because when you first came to Roswell you were all tough and determined, but lately, you’ve been kind of-” Michael broke off and struggled to find a word that wouldn’t hurt Ava’s feelings.

“Meek,” Maria finished for him. “Snarky, vibrant, enthusiastic Ava kind of deteriorated into quiet, hesitant, nervous Ava after we got here. We miss the attitude, girlfriend!”

“Maybe you’re right,” Ava said, dramatically thumbing her chin in thought. Then she turned to Maria and smiled sweetly. “But gosh…I just figured you had enough attitude for all of us. Are you implying you’re losing your touch? Need some help, do you?”

At this, the group dissolved into laughter. Sensing that the pivotal moment had passed, but not sure what to say next, Michael cleared his throat gruffly and eyed the rest of the group.

“So are we gonna finish training or what?”

Kyle nodded vigorously and shot Michael a quick glance. “So…how come we have to master this power before you guys can try yours?”

Michael frowned. “Because if we lose control of our powers, you and Ava will be the only ones that can fix things. Max and Liz have the potential to hurt themselves beyond repair if their attempt goes wrong and Maria and I have the potential to hurt…well, to hurt everyone, I guess. It’ll be up to you guys to cut us off or to absorb enough of our power to counteract whatever damage we do.”

Ava paled. “Oh…that’s all.” She chuckled nervously. “At least you aren’t asking much, right?”

This time it was Rayna’s turn to walk Ava and Kyle through a lesson. Similar to what Ava and Kyle did when Isabel was struggling to understand her own power, Rayna focused only on them and guided them through a series of trials.

“You must focus on her ability,” Rayna said for the umteenth time. “Sense the energy…take it into yourself.”

Ava nodded distractedly but never took her eyes off Kira. She was a little nervous that Kira was playing guinea pig but it didn’t seem to bother the others at all. They were whispering excitedly in the background, waiting for something to happen.

Ava took a deep breath and concentrated on following exactly the same steps she would recommend if she were training Kira. She could sense the power and this time, it was a little easier to comprehend how it was supposed to work. Search for your subject, feel the essence of your subject, secure his location…

In the blink of an eye, Ava found herself standing in the middle of Jim and Amy Valenti’s suite. Just as she began to apologize for the intrusion, Jim started talking as though she wasn’t even in the room.

“I can’t remember the last time I was idle for this long,” Jim muttered.

There was a knock at the door of their suite and Amy rose to see who it was. As she pushed the little gold button that opened the door, she saw Agent Harrison pacing anxiously in the hall. He muttered something to Amy that Ava couldn’t quite hear and then disappeared back down the hall.

“John wants us to join the others in his suite for a little pow-wow,” Amy said, slipping on her shoes and beckoning Jim toward the door. As Jim passed, Amy shot him a mischevious glance.

“Thank heavens you don’t have to be stuck in this room with your boring wife anymore…right dear?” Amy taunted. “Perhaps John’s suite will have better company.” She winked playfully.

Jim snorted. “The day you bore me is the day pigs fly.”

“You’re going to feel like a real jerk if we find out this planet has flying swine,” Amy shot over her shoulder on the way out the door. She was smiling like a cheshire cat.

Unable to resist a giggle, Ava concentrated on finding her way back to the plains. Find Kyle, feel his essence, secure his location…bingo! The transition was much easier now that she’d done it once. In a heartbeat, Ava was surrounded by rose colored prairie grass again, staring at her husband.

“Perhaps it would be best if you don’t tell them about Saria’s giant winged boar just yet,” Kira said with a devilish glint in her eyes.

Ava slapped both hands over her mouth and spun around in shock. “Did everyone see what I saw?” She looked around at the rest of the group, a blush rising in her cheeks.

“It takes an extraordinary amount of effort for me to show others what I see,” Kira said. “I am almost embarrassed to admit that you just made it look quite easy.”

Maria bounced forward and grabbed Ava’s hand. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for showing us a nice neutral conversation instead of…if they had been…oh God, I can’t even say it. If we had seen anything else in that suite, I think my eyeballs would’ve melted!”

Kyle winced as the implication of Maria’s comment set in. He turned slightly green and nodded wildly. “Let’s look somewhere else next time, okay?”

As if this was a cue of some kind, Rayna prodded Kyle to make an attempt. His test subject ended up being Kaden though. Kyle was almost embarrassed to admit that after all this time, aside from blasting, he had no idea what powers Kaden had.

As Kyle focused on Kaden, his eyes lit up in excitement. “Oh – hey! That power is kind of cool…”

Before anyone had a chance to ask what Kyle thought was so cool, he shushed them and covered his face with his hands. Maria gasped in surprise as she saw the hair poking out between his fingertips turn a pale shade of blond. When Kyle moved his hands away from his face, the rest of the group erupted into excited chatter.

Kyle smiled over at Ava. “Did I do it? I don’t have an extra nose or anything, do I?”

Ava let out an involuntary sqawk as her husband’s voice came out of this gorgeous stranger’s face. She knew it was Kyle but her eyes were certainly trying to claim otherwise. His blond hair, sun-kissed skin and perfect white smile was stunning, yet highly unnerving.

“That’s amazing!” Liz said, unable to stop herself from stepping forward and poking him in the forehead. “There’s not even a hint of Kyle left…except for the eyes. Those are definitely still Kyle’s eyes.”

Maria bounced in excitement. “How come you never told us you could do that? Is that some kind of super-secret stealth thing all the soldiers had to learn at the academy or is it a Kaden special?” She looked at Kaden with such awe; he couldn’t help but avert his eyes in modesty.

Ava’s eyes narrowed as a flash of Nasedo’s face passed through her mind. She had only seen him a few times, but the memory of him blathering on about ‘destiny’ was almost nauseating. And to think that he had been working for Kivar all that time…

“Are you a shape shifter?” She asked bluntly.

Kyle shook his head before Kaden could even answer. “If he was a shape shifter, I wouldn’t have been able to mimic it. It’s a bonafide power he’s got going there…like blasting and manipulating time and stuff.”

Kaden nodded. “It is a talent I discovered as a child. My father was so pleased. He said it would make me a better soldier,” Kaden said.

Michael let out a little hmph. “You’re already a good soldier. The disguise thing is just an added bonus.”

As Kaden struggled to conceal the pride that was threatening to burst straight from his chest, Alex chuckled. He couldn’t help but think that Kaden looked like a kid who just found out that Christmas was coming early this year.

The next phase of Ava and Kyle’s training involved learning how to intentionally share one person’s powers with another. Because it had been such a hit with the others, Kyle worked on sharing Kaden’s newly discovered ability with Max while Ava tried to share Kira’s ability with Isabel.

Amazingly, it didn’t take much trial and error for Max and Isabel to figure out how to work their ‘newly aquired’ powers. Kyle and Ava walked each of them through the process a few times and then they were able to use the powers fairly well on their own. Max morphed into a sandy-haired, freckled man on his third attempt and Isabel gave them all a glimpse of the refugees milling around the dining hall in the safehouse. Kira seemed highly impressed that Isabel could use her power to locate people she didn’t already have an emotional connection with. Apparently that was one limitation of her ability that Isabel would not be burdened with.

The last phase of Ava and Kyle’s training involved learning to ‘damper’, or reduce, another’s ability. In theory, Rayna said they should be able to inhibit a person’s powers entirely. But for now, Kyle and Ava focused on just decreasing the intensity of an active ability.

Rayna volunteered Courtney to be the guinea pig for this attempt, partly because she was trying to prod Courtney to let go of one last burdensome secret, and partly because it would be easy to determine if this power failed. Courtney protested adamantly but found herself backed into a corner when people began to wonder why she was so afraid to participate. She had to give in, because she was making people too suspicious by refusing.

When Courtney confessed her most secret ability, the one she had neither used nor spoken of since she was a child, she was surprised to see that no one looked horrified. They didn’t step away from her or study her with narrowed eyes like she had imagined so many times before.

“You…you don’t even care?” Courtney stammered. “But Kivar has abused that power nearly as much as the mindwarp!”

Rayna smiled. “I have known that you had the power of suggestion since you were a child, Cortenya. As I told Ava, the manner in which you use your gifts is much more important than the gifts themselves.”

“We already know you don’t abuse that power,” Max reassured her. “You could’ve forced us to take you with us on the Granilith if you wanted to, but you didn’t. You let us come to that decision on our own.”

Alex looked mildly amused by Courtney’s ‘big confession’. He wasn’t worried in the slightest because after taking an involuntary stroll through her mind back on Earth, he trusted her completely. He shot Kyle a mischievious look before turning to Courtney and making a very special, very quiet, request for a demonstration of her power. Off his request, Courtney’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That wouldn’t be appropriate!” She hissed.

Alex sighed. He put his hands on her shoulders and spoke slowly as though he was trying to teach a child a very important lesson. “We will not kick you out of the club if you lighten up for two seconds…I promise. If I say please, will you do it?” He batted his eyelashes comically and mouthed, “Pretty please…”

Courtney seemed to be struggling with a decision for a second but then her eyes darted toward Kyle and she smiled tentatively. As she turned fully to face Kyle, she murmured, “Max has accidentally turned you into a chicken. If you strut around, clucking loudly, he will realize his mistake.”

Kyle immediately folded his hands beneath his armpits and began flapping his ‘wings’. He charged at Max, clucking at the top of his lungs. As Max dashed to the side, Kyle followed, jutting his imaginary beak forward and flapping his arms outrageously. The entire group dissolved into laughter as Kyle began to chase Max around the plains clucking as loud as his lungs would allow.

Maria was laughing so hard, she almost couldn’t speak. With tears running down her cheeks, she leaned over and gave Courtney a pat on the back. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen!” She leaned over clutching her stomach as another wave of laughter rolled through her tiny frame.

Isabel and Alex were leaning against each other, shaking with laughter. “Don’t put him back!” Alex pleaded. “I think I like him better like that!” Isabel cried.

Ava was so caught up in a fit of giggles; she almost forgot that it was her job to make Courtney’s power lose its effect. As she fought to contain her mirth and concentrate, she saw Max making his third frantic lap around the circle of onlookers. Kyle was right on his heals; flinging his ‘wings’ around so shamefully, Ava dissolved right back into hysterical laughter.

“This isn’t funny anymore!” Max yelled as he ran past. He nearly landed on his butt when Kyle jumped out in front of him, and clucked loudly in his face. Max quickly changed direction and ran the other way. “Somebody hurry up and make him stop!”

Ava stifled her giggles again and focused intently on her husband. When Kyle continued chasing Max around the plains, Ava realized she was concentrating on the wrong person. She turned her attention to Courtney next and didn’t tear her eyes away until she heard a distant thud. When she looked off to her left, she saw Kyle skidding to a stop on his face in the grass. Poor Max was pinned underneath one of Kyle’s crooked, ‘winged’ arms.

Kyle flashed Max a glare that clearly asked, ‘what the hell did you do to me’ and jumped to his feet. One last cluck escaped his lips as he brushed his cloths off.

“Whatever you guys did, it wasn’t funny,” Kyle barked.

Max scowled and tugged at the prairie grass in his hair. “For once, we’re completely in agreement…”

As the laughter died down, Ava and Rayna tried to explain to Kyle what happened. The chose their words carefully and explained gently, assuming that he would be furious. On the contrary, Kyle was oddly calm once he figured out what happened.

He simply smiled over at Alex and said, “That was your idea? I hope you realize I can ‘borrow’ that power at any time, man. I bet you’d make a very faithful chijuaua…”

Alex paled a little but before he could say a word, Liz jumped in and changed the subject. “So, now that Ava and Kyle have proven they can manipulate our powers, who is going to tell me what ability Max and I have that puts us at risk of hurting ourselves?”

Michael twisted from side to side, trying to work out a kink that had developed in his chest while he was laughing at Kyle earlier. He never knew it was physically possible to laugh like that. He sighed as he finished his bizarre little stretch.

“You guys are damn near invincible…but you have to figure out how it works first,” Michael said, not bothering to sugar coat the news at all.

Max gaped in shock. “Excuse me?! How is that possible?”

Liz paled. “You’re talking about regeneration, aren’t you?”

It was Michael’s turn to look startled this time. He knew Liz was smart, but he could understand how she’d worked it out so quickly.

“How did you know that?”

Liz shrugged as though the answer was obvious. “What else would be dangerous for us personally, yet make us nearly invincible, at the same time? The two things don’t go together, unless you consider the consequences of improper healing or genetic mutation or…”

“You’re freaky smart sometimes, you know that?” Maria blurted. It certainly wasn’t meant as an insult and Liz’s little smile of thanks showed that she understood.

Max shook his head in denial. “That’s just not possible. We’ve been hurt plenty of times before and we never spontaneously healed ourselves.”

Michael sighed. “Can we just quit with the questions and the constant skepticism? You guys have all tried it so far and every time Rayna turned out to be right. Why don’t we just skip past the denial part and move straight into the training part? Things’ll go much faster that way.”

Max immediately moved to protest but snapped his mouth shut before the words could escape. Once again, the muscles in his jaw worked furiously as he stifled his thoughts. He began repeating a mantra over and over in his head, which was more wishful than reassuring. ‘Michael knows what he’s doing…Michael knows what he’s doing…’

“How are they supposed to learn something like that?” Isabel looked around nervously. “We’re not actually going to hurt them…”

Michael frowned for a moment but then he got a good look at Max’s arm. “We don’t have to, because Max is already hurt.”

All eyes swung toward Max, who was looking down at himself as though he expected to find a limb missing. Liz patted the front of his shirt, looking for injuries too. With a wince, Max realized Michael was right. He had a gash on his arm, no doubt caused by the tumble he and Kyle took through the grass a few minutes ago.

“Oh all right…” Max sighed in resignation. “What am I supposed to do?”

“You must concentrate on the wound just as you would when healing someone else,” Rayna said. “Take care not to focus too much energy on the task though. You do not want to risk overexciting your immune system.”

Liz stood close to Max and studied the cut on his arm. “Be careful, Max. I think…I’m almost positive that too much energy could cause your epithelial cells to replicate too rapidly-”

Noting the confused faces around her, Liz revised her comment. “If you overdo it, the cells will multiply too fast. Essentially, you’d be creating a tumor instead of healing yourself…”

Maria searched Michael and Rayna’s faces for verification. Neither of them looked surprised by Liz’s comments and neither moved to argue. Maria clutched Michael’s arm and whispered, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Before Michael could say a word, Larek cut in and reminded them he was still there. “This power might save their lives…if not during the battle against Kivar, certainly in the chaotic aftermath of his fall. And if they can do it, Ava and Kyle can help the rest of you do it too. This is very important.” With that, he joined Courtney, Kaden and Connor in fascinated silence once again.

As with the four who went before him, Max needed a little guidance in his first attempt. He wasn’t sure which was worse, Kyle’s chickenman episode, or the boils that erupted on his arm when he tried to regenerate his own tissue. Thank heavens Liz was right by his side because he almost did more harm than good in his first two attempts to heal himself. After healing the boils around his wound for the second time, Liz began to frown when the cut started bleeding harder.

“Concentrate, Max!” Liz perched her hands on her hips and tried to ignore the urge to heal the gash herself. “If you’re seriously wounded, you’re not going to get six tries to heal yourself!”

Max scowled. “Maybe you guys should take a minute to make up your minds. The first time I tried, you said the rash was from using too much energy. The second time, you said the exact same rash was from not using enough energy! It’s impossible to concentrate with everyone staring and shouting out instructions.”

Before Liz could say a word, Michael cut in. “Quit hovering, Liz. Max is gonna have to figure this one out on his own.” Then, he turned to Max. “And you need to quit worrying about all the people staring at you and just do your thing. If the King gets injured in battle, you can be damn sure that people are going to stare. Just go with your gut and do whatever feels right. The sooner you figure out how to do this, the sooner Liz can learn how.”

Fueled by the urge to get everyone to stop staring and also by the notion that this skill might someday save Liz’s life, Max focused on his arm once again. He envisioned the cut in his mind and pictured the damaged cells regenerating into healthy tissue. He completely ignored the words of caution as the onlookers watched his progress. Within seconds, he knew that he had finally done it. Enthusiastic applause from his friends confirmed his success.

Max smiled faintly in relief. “There…I’m done.” His eyes narrowed immediately and he studied Liz with worry. “And how exactly is Liz going to learn this without us taking pot-shots at her first? We’re not blasting my wife just so she can practice…”

As it turned out, there was no need to hurt Liz so that she could practice this ability. Ever the scientist, she knew that the mole on her arm was nothing more than an expression of sun damage. She was able to turn her attention toward the ‘sun damage’ and focus on reversing that, which put Max’s mind at ease, if only a little.

“All I have to do is dissolve the excess melanin and regenerate the healthy cells below,” she explained. When her comments were met by blank looks from all but Kira and Larek, she sighed in resignation and concentrated on demonstrating rather than explaining.

Liz was successful after only two tries. The first attempt resulted in a terrible burning sensation that was accompanied by the acrid smell of burning hair. Thankfully, the second attempt went much smoother. She whooped with relief when she was finished. Liz couldn’t help but giggle when Alex and Maria did a little happy dance in celebration of her achievement.

Ava and Kyle looked mildly relieved that they weren’t needed to step in at any point in Max and Liz’s trials. Diminishing the effect of a comical ‘suggestion’, as Ava had done during Kyle’s chicken dance, was a lot less intimidating than the thought of stopping someone from accidentally liquefying themselves or some other such horror.

Liz’s success, following Max’s equally impressive display, prompted intense murmuring within the onlookers. There were whispers of, “never have to grow old,” and, “immortal,” before Kaden cut in with a louder comment of his own.

“That was truly amazing, Sir…Ma’am,” Kaden smiled at Max and Liz in turn. “It is very comforting to think that this ability can be shared between all of you before we face Kivar.”

Courtney nodded excitedly. “That is definitely something that all of you have to master.”

“That is an excellent suggestion,” Kira said, nodding in approval. “Most individuals spend years mastering their higher powers. The fact that you have mastered this much in one short afternoon is an amazing achievement indeed…something that should be explored further, I suspect.”

Not wanting to leave Michael and Maria out, Larek turned a brilliant smile toward them. “I dare say; the others have displayed some of the most impressive abilities I have ever seen. I can’t imagine what you have in store for us!”

Maria clapped her hands together and slapped on a brave smile. “All righty then…I guess we’re up!” She tried to hide her anxiety behind a cheeky grin. For the first time in years, Maria was afraid of her powers but she had no idea why.

Rayna’s posture completely changed at Maria’s remark. She stiffened a little and seemed to recoil into a defensive stance. The excitement and lightheartedness that had greeted the Eight earlier was suddenly gone. Larek and Kira obviously sensed the change in the air because they looked to Rayna as if expecting her to tell them what to do next. Connor, Kaden and Courtney watched the three elder aliens in trepidation, understanding that something had changed, but unsure of what.

“Before Michael and Maria begin, I must insist on a few simple precautions,” said Rayna gravely. She looked around at the curious group with a somber frown. “First and foremost, you will do exactly what I tell you, no questions asked. That means all of you. If anyone here will not agree to this precaution, you must leave now.”

Isabel’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”

Rayna didn’t even acknowledge this question. As she continued speaking, Michael was the only one who didn’t look shocked. On the contrary, he seemed to be far calmer than he should be at the moment.

“Secondly, I will require Ava and Kyle to share Michael’s lightning shield and Max’s energy shield with the entire group. Everyone except for Michael and Maria will join together to create a barrier, a protective circle of sorts,” Rayna concluded.

Even Max looked startled at this one. “And this circle is necessary because…?”

“Because you might have to protect yourselves from us…” Maria gasped as the realization hit her.

To be continued…

Thanks a lot for the kudos, everyone. Here's another loooonnng chapter...

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.


Chapter 16C: Higher Education, Part III

{Alluvian Plains, Saria}

Rayna had gone to great lengths to explain the precautions she required for Michael and Maria's portion of the training. The tension within the group when they debated the ethics of time travel during Alex and Isabel's turn at bat, was nothing compared to now.

“Hang on a minute,” Ava threw up both hands in protest. “Who’s going to protect Michael and Maria if we’re all cowering behind a couple of shields?”

“We’ll be okay, Ava. There’s a slight risk that we might…well, wherever we end up, Isabel and Alex can find us and bring us back.” Michael shrugged.

Maria’s eyes bugged out at this comment. “Wherever we end up?! What the heck is that supposed to mean?”

Alex looked over at Rayna. “What exactly is it that you think Michael and Maria can do? And whatever it is…if it’s so dangerous it comes with ground rules, maybe they shouldn’t risk it.”

Rayna dismissed his suggestion with a wave of her hand. “Michael and Maria have already brushed the surface of this ability, although they didn’t realize it at the time. If they survived their first untrained attempt, I promise you, they will survive a more controlled exploration of the gift.”

“And this ‘gift’ would be…?” Kyle didn’t care that he probably sounded sarcastic. The cloak and dagger stuff was really starting to put him on edge.

“Remember the vortex thing we used to send the dupes back to Antar?” Michael asked. Off their mute nods, he continued.

“That wasn’t a double foursquare thing. That was mostly Maria and I.”

Liz cocked her head to the side with a frown. “But Rayna said you guys had only brushed the surface of the ability. I wouldn’t classify an interplanetary vortex as ‘brushing the surface’.”

Rayna turned her attention toward Liz. “Of all the witnesses to that event, I would have thought that you would be the first to realize what the ‘vortex’ really was.”

“Me? How would I-”

“Perhaps you were not familiar with more intricate details of astrophysics,” Rayna interrupted, tossing out a hint that any self-respecting scientist would catch.

Again, Liz frowned. “I admit I haven’t studied physics as extensively microbiology but-” Liz broke off as a stroke of genius hit her. “But…no way…that’s only a theoretical possibility. No one has ever found a naturally occurring…”

As Liz turned toward Michael and Maria, she began to understand. The vortex that had sent the dupes back to Antar, twice, was an amazing replica of a naturally occurring phenomenon. But how was that possible?

“Are you telling us that Michael and Maria can actually create a black hole?” Liz almost regretted the question the second it left her lips. It sounded ridiculous outloud.

Rayna nodded. “Precisely. And I believe your Earth scientists have theories about what lie at the other end of a black hole, am I correct?”

“The white hole,” Liz murmured. “Black holes attract all matter and white holes supposedly repel it, right? Like a massive vacuum in between two points…”

Again Rayna nodded but this time her lips turned up slightly. “Exactly. Your Earth scientists have it right, although they don’t know that yet. And herein lay the danger in Michael and Maria’s power. Can you imagine the result of a faulty attempt to contain this kind of energy?”

“Hang on a second there…” Maria eyed Liz and Rayna in disbelief. “By ‘black hole’ are you guys talking about the outer space things that have been known to gobble up entire planets?”

Liz tried to hide an amused smile at Maria’s elementary description. “Well…yes, but there’s no proof that black holes can actually affect planets though.”

“Yes there is, and they can,” Larek corrected her. “The gravitational force involved in that anomaly has been studied extensively by some of Saria’s brightest scientists. I am almost ashamed to admit it but, we wondered if such a force could be artificially manufactured, to be used as a planetary defense mechanism of sorts.”

Liz cocked her head in interest. “And they discovered that it can be done? I’m honestly shocked that-”

“My scientists were in unanimous agreement on the matter,” Larek interrupted with a shake of his head. “I was told that it is not physically possible for man to produce the amount of energy necessary to create even a miniscule replica. Matter can be neither created, nor destroyed...or so we thought.”

“I don’t know that they would have the ability to create matter, although they might…” Rayna trailed off in thought for a moment. “But I am certain that they can manipulate matter and more importantly, the energy that drives it. And it would follow that, if they can manipulate these things, they can destroy them too...”

Alex looked a bit panicky at these comments. “Um…I was under the impression that bad things happen when you tinker with matter too much. You know – like nuclear explosions and such. You’re not seriously implying that Michael and Maria have the power to go there, are you?”

Max couldn’t hide the look of disbelief on his face this time. “I’m sorry, but that’s just not possible. There’s simply no way that Michael and Maria are strong enough to create a nuclear explosion…or a black hole for that matter. It would defy every single law of physics, not to mention-”

“You and Liz are practically immortal, Alex and Isabel can fling themselves through time at the blink of an eye, and Kyle and Ava have the power to…well, they have the power to control power, I guess," Michael blurted. "After everything you’ve seen today, how can you possibly doubt that Maria and I would be strong enough to do something special too?” Michael stared at Max, practically daring him to argue further.

Isabel looked just as worried by this shocking twist as her brother did. “I don’t think Max doubts your strength, Michael. It’s just…this goes way beyond-”

Before Isabel could explain further, Ava slapped her hands to her mouth and stifled a loud gasp. All eyes turned toward Ava in confusion

“I get it now!” She gasped. “This isn’t really that much different than the stuff the rest of us can do. It’s all about manipulation. Liz and Max manipulate organic stuff…hair, nails, tissue; stuff like that. Alex and Isabel manipulate time. Kyle and I work with…I’m not sure what we manipulate yet but it has something to do with the mind. And Michael and Maria can manipulate energy. Just energy, in its purest form…”

“Then there will be no kaboom?” Kyle asked with a frown. He could sense exactly what Ava could but that didn’t mean he knew what it all meant.

Maria didn’t look at all relieved by Ava’s explanation. Since science wasn’t her strong point, she still wasn’t sure she understood what they were supposed to do. And she certainly couldn’t see how it would be helpful to the cause. Before Maria could say a word though, Max cut in.

“What kind of energy are we talking about here?” He frowned slightly.

“There’s energy everywhere,” Liz said, slightly wringing her hands as she tried to explain. “Kinetic energy, electromagnetic, mechanical, nuclear…without it, nothing exists.”

Maria had just about enough of people babbling about things she didn’t understand. With a stomp of her foot and an ear-piercing whistle, she demanded silence.

“So we’re supposed to harness the energy that sustains our very existence and create a giant…something-or-other that can potentially wipe out life as we know it. Is that where you guys are going with this?” She perched her hands on her hips and waited for someone to argue.

“That is not quite the objective, dear,” Rayna said slowly. “Yes, you will harness the energy around you and yes, you will use it to create a gravitational anomaly…but no, you will not create a giant anything capable of destroying all life.”

Max was frowning so hard, the lines on his face almost looked permanently etched in. “I really don’t think this is something we should mess around with. The consequences of-”

“This isn’t any more negotiable than Isabel and Alex’s power was,” Michael interrupted. “Apparently, the vortex thing we did was just a drop in the bucket. And I don’t think any of us is willing to risk the possibility of…you know, kaboom. So we’ve got to learn how this stuff works before we screw up and break something that can’t be fixed.”

“Can you imagine what would happen if they accidentally engaged this power fully?” Courtney asked. “Think about it! A black hole would suck everything…oxygen, matter, everything into itself. And we only need to look to Earth’s history books for cautionary tales about nuclear disaster.”

Rayna nodded in agreement. “Yes, but neither Michael nor Maria has ever lost control of this ability, despite the fact that they’ve already tapped into it, which means that they already have extraordinary control. We are simply going to help them explore that measure of control further.”

There was a painful moment of silence as many people struggled to find the right words to argue further without offending Rayna. They all knew that she was the resident expert as far as people’s abilities went, but that didn’t mean they were happy with this plan. Before anyone could utter one more word of dispute, Kira and Larek stepped in.

“Rayna would not have pressed this matter if she felt that Michael and Maria were not ready,” Kira pointed out.

Larek nodded. “We cannot afford to fight against our own strengths at this time. I believe there is a very good reason that Michael has already agreed to this exercise.”

“Yes – there is,” Michael added. “Let’s just say this…if Maria and I can accidentally send the dupes to Antar, who’s to say that we can’t learn to reverse the process and intentionally remove people from Antar?” He let that question hang in the air for a moment, waiting for the others to clue in to his plan.

Maria looked puzzled at this comment for only a split second. The moment the full meaning of his words dawned on her, she did an animated little hop and clapped her hands to her mouth. Even with her hands covering her mouth, her excited squeak could be heard by all.

“We’re going to rob the prison camps!” She blurted. “This is how we’re going to keep all those prisoners from getting sandwiched in the middle of battle, isn’t it?”

Rayna smiled proudly but Michael just gave a stiff nod. “Only if we can figure out how to do it right,” he shrugged.

There was a flurry of activity at this announcement. People who had been trying to find the words to protest earlier were suddenly shouting questions without restraint. Courtney and Kaden struggled to remain calm even though their hearts were threatening to beat out of their chests. Larek seemed really pleased with the idea and was just about to say so when another round of loud questions erupted.

The chaos continued unchecked, right up until the point when Isabel got a good look at Connor. On the outside, he appeared as professional and unruffled as usual, but the moment she saw his eyes, she remembered how truly deceiving appearances can be. Isabel shot Maria a glance that spoke volumes and Maria immediately let out another piercing whistle. Isabel nodded a brief thanks and then turned to address the whole group.

“If any of you are willing to tell Connor that you want to throw away the best chance he’s ever had to get his daughter back, then raise your hand,” Isabel commanded. More than a few faces paled but there were no raised hands and not a word spoken in protest.

“Well then I suggest we get it together and help Michael and Maria figure this thing out. There are too many sons and daughters trapped on Antar and I’ll be damned if I’m going to leave them there because I’m afraid.” Isabel stared down at the others with her arms crossed stubbornly.

Silence. No one had a word to say against this plan anymore. It suddenly sounded like the single most brilliant idea they’d heard since they began organizing this coup.

“Like we said earlier…learning these powers is not negotiable,” Michael concluded. “We’ve got ‘em so we might as well start using them.”

********************************************************

Agent Harrison was trying to field all of the nervous questions in his suite, but was finding the task increasingly difficult. Michael and Rayna had come to him earlier in the morning and had explained things as concisely as possible. For a physicist of his caliber, it was amazing information. Rayna had nonchalantly confirmed a few of the theories he’d entertained for years in grad school. Reflecting back to the way his fellow students had scoffed at his ideas; Harrison couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of righteousness at the thought that they’d all been wrong.

“So they’re going to do what, exactly?” Nancy Parker asked for the second time.

Harrison sighed. “Picture a vacuum cleaner in your mind. Now…I’m the lint on the carpet, and they’re going to create the hose that will suck me off the surface.”

“Not literally though, right?” Jeff asked in horror. “You’re not actually going to get sucked out of your seat…are you?”

“Technically, that’s exactly what will happen. They will create a rift…an opening of sorts, between me and them. An intense burst of anti-gravity on my end of the rift will literally pull me into it, and an opposing field of gravity on their end will draw me out the other side,” Harrison explained for the umpteenth time.

Amy Valenti was ringing her hands so tightly, her knuckled had gone white. “But it won’t hurt, right? It’ll be quick…and painless?”

“Look,” Harrison blurted. “Michael was against the idea of using live subjects from the beginning. I was the one who volunteered to play ‘guinea pig’ and I stand behind that decision. If they’re going to use this power to transport Kivar’s prisoners, they need to test this on people first, not just rocks or some such.”

Amy waved her hands wildly. “I totally understand that but…are you really sure it’s safe to travel by…by black hole?”

“I’m positive that they will practice this rigorously on inanimate objects first. Then, they’ll move on to plant life and other organic substances. Only if they have succeeded with those subjects, will they attempt to retrieve a person,” Harrison said.

Jim had been awfully quiet ever since Harrison had called them all together to explain this crazy experiment. Now, he finally broke his silence. “I think you’re exactly right about how they’ll do this. And if they are successful at…” He broke off with a slight blush and rephrased. “When you arrive at their position on the surface, I want you to tell them to try me next.”

Amy nearly fell out of her chair at this. “What?! Absolutely not! If something goes wrong and you…it’ll kill Maria. Michael and Maria will never recover from that, and neither would I, Jim.”

Nancy sighed, knowing she would be fueling Amy’s fire. “I’m in too. They’ll need to know how it feels to transport more than one person at a time.”

Jeff’s face immediately turned a frightening shade of purple. His first instinct was to ask both Nancy and Jim what the hell they were thinking. But instead of yelling, even though he really, really wanted to, he took a deep breath and tried to look at this through Michael’s eyes for a moment. Liz trusted Michael and Jeff had made a decision to respect that judgement a long time ago, though right at the moment he wondered if that had been a mistake.

The rest of the group watched Jeff closely, as though they could see the gears churning in his mind. As his face slowly faded from the angry purple into a less frantic shade of pink, they waited. Finally he sighed and spoke his mind.

“If they accidentally hurt you guys, they’ll never forgive themselves. Their group could fall apart at the seams,” Jeff swallowed thickly. “I understand that we came here to help and this is probably going to be our only opportunity to do that but, are you willing to accept the consequences for yourself and for them if this test fails?”

***********************************************************

Rayna, Ava, and Kyle had walked Michael and Maria through numerous trials already. The first few had been a bust, but no one was hurt and no one had been lost to some mysterious gravitational abyss. As per Rayna’s rules, the remainder of the group watched the training from afar, behind the two shields Ava and Kyle had shared with them.

For the first phase of their training, Michael and Maria were supposed to intentionally send a boulder to one of the uninhabited regions of Antar. Max and Liz were in charge of using their remote viewing to make sure the rock actually landed in its intended destination when the trial ended.

That first phase took three tries because the rock kept landing in the wrong place. Michael and Maria weren’t accustomed to ‘aiming’. Once they managed to get it to the right location, it took a few tries to keep it from slamming to the ground and embedding itself into the bedrock below. This portion of the training left their Antarean destination pockmarked with deep craters.

Once they had mastered the boulder, Michael and Maria tried to reverse the process by retrieving a small tree from the Guaral Forest on Antar. Kira had insisted that no one would notice the attempt because the forest was a restricted area. This phase also took numerous attempts.

Michael and Maria kept flinging random objects, rocks, prairie grass and such, to Antar instead of reversing the process and retrieving something from Antar. Finally, after much foot stomping and gritting of teeth, a ‘small’ tree, roughly 15 feet in height, dropped out of the spinning vortex and slammed to the ground in front of them. The tree had been completely uprooted but aside from that, looked no worse for wear.

At that point, Rayna had been nearly ecstatic. She shot Michael an excited look that clearly held meaning but was lost on everyone else. Michael shook his head stiffly. He said, “Not yet…not until we’ve tried some animals first.”

Michael wouldn’t explain the strange little conversation he and Rayna had just shared, no matter how many questions Max and Isabel shot his way. At this point, Michael and Maria were no longer the only ones training. Ava ‘borrowed’ Kira’s power again and used it to locate a small iguana-looking reptile from a Sarian desert to the North. Once Michael and Maria could see their test subject, they tried to create a tiny gravitational anomaly that would bring it to their current location.

On the first attempt, they brought nothing but a giant load of red sand through the vortex. Coughing and sputtering through a face full of sand, they regrouped and tried again. The second time around, the little reptile came whizzing out of the spinning void at their feet.

Michael plucked the purple iguana-thing out of the grass, just as it was trying to run away. It was alive and kicking. As the group behind the shields let them drop and emerged to look at the little purple reptile, Michael held out his hand and turned to Larek. “Does he look right?”

Larek took the iguana in his hand and studied him intently. With a satisfied nod, Larek smiled. “I see no change in his appearance or behavior,” he said, pulling his face back quickly as the little reptile hissed and nipped at him. With a chuckle, “I probably should have warned you that these particular creatures have a mean streak.”

Michael shrugged and then turned to Rayna. “I want to try a mammal before we move on. Something warm blooded…something fairly intelligent. Oh, and it has to be kind of big…at least 100 pounds if possible.”

Connor had the perfect mammal in mind. He immediately suggested they try to find a ‘praxyl’, which was supposedly like a mammoth hamster. Kyle actually laughed at this. “Tell me they aren’t in a forest somewhere, running on giant wheels, powering the galaxy or something.”

Connor smiled patiently. “No, Sir. They do not behave like your Earth hamsters, although they share a resemblance. They can usually be found near orchards and farmland on Antar. They are fairly efficient at protecting the crops because they have an extraordinary ability to understand and follow commands, regardless of the language that command is given in. They share a similarity with highly intelligent, well-trained dogs on Earth.”

Michael nodded in satisfaction. “That’ll work. Ava – I want you to share Kira’s power with Maria so that we can find one of these hamster things on our own. As soon as we find one, we’ll bring it here and see if it can still think straight after it goes through the black hole thing.”

“And then what?” Alex asked, eyeing Michael shrewdly. “I can tell this is all leading up to something. Who are you bringing through the vortex next if this hamster thing works out?”

“Agent Harrison,” Michael blurted. He scowled as the usual gasps and protests rang out. “I was against it in the beginning but it was his idea. He knows we need to test this on a person before we try to raid the prison camps…and he wanted to be that person. He understands the consequences.”

“Understands the consequences?!” Isabel blurted. “Don’t you think that’s an awfully cold way of saying, ‘he knows we might turn him into mince meat'?”

Maria hated this idea with ever fiber of her being but, after shamelessly rifling through Michael’s thoughts, she understood why he was okay with the risks now. She still hated the idea, but Michael did have a point…

“There’s a reason Michael made you and Alex master your power first, Iz. If Harrison gets hurt, you guys can go back in time, just a couple of minutes, and stop us from ever trying this.” Maria said with a frown. That safeguard was pretty handy, but did that really make it okay to experiment on people?

Liz’s forehead creased in thought. “Technically, if Michael and Maria try this and Isabel doesn’t mysteriously appear yelling for them to stop, then we already know it’ll work.” All eyes swung her way and she could tell she had to explain further.

“Isabel and Alex’s time travel ‘journey’ will be instantaneous and they’ll be aiming for the moment right before Michael and Maria try to retrieve Agent Harrison. That means, when Michael and Maria go to do this thing, if it is destined to fail, Future Isabel will appear at that exact moment and tell them to stop. If it works, the time travel will never happen…”

“Um…so if we don’t see an extra Isabel out here, we’ll know everything is going to be okay?” Maria asked in confusion.

***********************************************************

Agent Harrison was a little irritated that this exercise had turned into such a circus already. The rest of the Earth contingency was still camped out in his room firing off questions at light speed. They weren’t even supposed to be in the room anymore. Michael had insisted that Harrison had to be alone in the room so they don’t accidentally transport the others without their permission.

Jim folded his hands confidently in front of him. “I’m going stay in the room when this goes down. First and foremost, if Harrison needs medical care, I have a little first-aid experience. Secondly, Michael and Maria need to learn how to pluck specific people out of a crowd. When they try to transport the prisoners from Antar, they can’t very well bring the guards too.”

“And what if you get sucked into that vortex thing too?” Amy asked nervously.

Jim shrugged. “I already volunteered to go after Harrison, so I guess if they accidentally get us both, I’ll just go sooner.”

Before they could discuss and overanalyze any further, they got the surprise of a lifetime. Alex appeared on the couch next to Nancy, who let out a little yelp when she noticed.

“What are you doing here?!” Nancy hissed in shock. “How did you get here?”

“Let’s just say, time travel is actually pretty handy.” Alex mused, looking both tired and relieved at once. He shook his head, as if trying to clear out the cobwebs. “But that really isn't what I came here to talk to you guys about.”

There were a few startled glances when Alex mentioned time travel, but they all knew better than to ask if Alex was kidding. If Michael and Maria could create a black hole, there was no good reason why Alex couldn’t travel through time.

Harrison sat up straighter in his seat. “Is it time for me to go topside?”

Alex nodded. “Yes, but here’s the thing…on the first attempt, everyone in this room is going to get unceremoniously flung up to the surface of Saria. We need at least half of you to leave the room.”

Jim gave Alex a shrewd look. “Don’t tell me you traveled back in time just to warn us about that little thing, Alex. If everything went well, there would be no reason for you to be here right now.”

“You’re right.” Alex looked down at his hands for a second. “Liz could explain this better than I can but…apparently, the oxygen will be sucked out of the room first. The whole thing will take less than one second, so you won’t suffocate but…” Alex cleared his throat nervously before continuing.

“But anyone in this room with an undiagnosed heart problem,” Alex glanced pointedly at Jim, “will be in trouble.”

Amy looked up sharply and then followed Alex’s gaze over to her husband. “What are you saying, Alex?” Her voice was now teetering on the edge of panic.

Alex fidgeted for a moment before answering. “I’m saying, to quote Liz, the trip threw Jim’s heart into an erratic rhythm. Max had whip out some serious mojo to prevent a full blown heart attack.”

“But I feel fine!” Despite his protests, Jim’s face had gone white.

“You told me you’d say that,” Alex said, smirking crookedly. “But the thing is; Liz said you have an eighty-percent blockage of one of the arteries in your heart. Shortness of breath, racing heart, night sweats…any of that ring a bell?”

Jim looked like he had just been punched in the stomach. He looked around at the others as though waiting for someone to argue, to say that such a thing just wasn’t possible. No one said a word.

“So I’ll leave the room then,” Jim muttered distractedly. “I’ll go back to my own room and wait until your training has finished.”

“Actually, Kyle figured you’d suggest that and gave me strict orders to the contrary.” Alex sighed. “You were in a lot of pain today, Jim. Your wife and kids were terrified…Maria thought she’d killed you-”

“So Kyle asked you to heal me right here and now, didn’t he?” Jim interrupted. “Max and Liz couldn’t come back and do it because they’re stuck in the ‘future’ healing the other me, so Kyle sent you back to fix me before it happens...”

Alex nodded, slightly impressed that Jim understood the crazy time difference so quickly. “With your permission, I’d like to try.”

Amy rushed over and sat down by Alex. She grabbed his hand in desperation. “You can do that? You know how?”

Alex’s hand twitched slightly. “I’m not as good at healing as Max and Liz. I might not be able to fix the blockage completely…but I can definitely make it better than it is now.”

Jim considered the situation for a moment and then came to a decision. With a brave nod of his head, he accepted Alex’s offer.

“I appreciate the offer, Alex. After you’ve worked your magic, I’m going through the black hole with the others…whether you’re able to fix me up or not.” Jim ignored the loud protests that rang out on all sides. He continued focusing on Alex and shouted over the protests.

“Because when you guys rescue Kivar’s prisoners, odds are pretty good that most of them are going to be in worse shape than I am. If I come through that vortex and still collapse, you’ll just have to finish healing me. You guys will need this experience to help you be ready for the real deal.”

Alex snorted and shook his head, not surprised in the least by Jim’s decision. “You told me you’d say that.” He turned to look at the others. “I need to know if the rest of you are willing to be transported to the surface. Michael was horrified that they accidentally grabbed all of you, without your permission.”

Nancy nodded in agreement immediately. “I already decided that I was going to do this, before you even showed up. But…do you guys need some of us to stay behind so Michael and Maria can practice this more than once?”

“Actually, we do. How many of you are willing to go to the surface?” Alex asked. When they all raised their hands, he wasn’t really surprised. Jeff and Amy were the least likely to go but they would follow Nancy and Jim to the ends of the Earth...or Saria as it were.

Alex nodded. “Then I need half of you to leave the room. I’ll heal Jim and then the vortex will come for the first group. The rest of you will hang out in one of the other suites until Michael and Maria are ready to try again. Hopefully they’ll be able to narrow their focus and get the rest of you one at a time. Does everyone understand the plan?”

“When we get there, is it okay to tell you guys that you already came back in time once? Can we tell you what really happened the first time around?” Serena stopped watching the group in silence and finally asked a question of her own.

“Yes, in fact, that would probably be a good idea.” Alex said after thinking about it for a second. “If Jim collapses again, don’t let Isabel and I go whizzing off into the past without knowing that events have already been changed once.”

There were nods all around and Alex was finally able to turn his attention back to Jim, and his troubled heart.

*********************************************************

Michael rubbed his hands together nervously. The giant hamster they had successfully transported from Antar was now grazing on the grass in the distance. Everyone had been elated when their hamster creature appeared in the prairie unscathed. He was quite eager to follow even the most bizarre directions, just as Connor had said that species usually was. After Kyle directed the animal to go give Alex a big wet lick on the face, which he did with slobbery enthusiasm, they figured the creature was fine.

Just to be sure, Michael and Maria tried their ability out on three or four more strange creatures from around the System. With each success, Michael nodded in satisfaction but each time, he insisted they try once more. Finally, Rayna stepped in and called Michael’s bluff. She prodded him to quit stalling so they could move on with the most important part of their training.

“All right, does everyone understand what we’re doing next?” Michael asked in a gruff voice that didn’t hide how nervous he was.

There were nods all around. Max reiterated all of their roles, just to be sure. “You’re going to bring Agent Harrison here. Liz and I will immediately check his vitals while Alex and Isabel get ready to go back in time if necessary…”

Michael nodded. “Alex…Isabel. I want you guys primed and ready to go back to this exact moment if something goes wrong. Don’t worry about screwing up the timeline because Liz already said it was safe. If the crap hits the fan, stick around long enough to figure out what went wrong and then just go.”

As the others regrouped to form their protective circle, Michael and Maria took a deep breath in unison and locked eyes. “This is going to be fine, Maria. Everyone’s gonna be okay…”

Maria nodded, although she wasn’t entirely sure if Michael was trying to reassure her, or himself. The two of them joined hands and focused on the underground compound. Then, they narrowed their focus and concentrated on Agent Harrison’s suite. With one last deep breath, they absorbed the surrounding energy and opened a gravitational window between Harrison’s suite and themselves.

The outside air temperature dropped about ten degrees from their effort. This time, they weren’t surprised when it happened. Liz had explained that the chill and the deafening static noise in the air was all a result of Michael and Maria manipulating the kinetic and electromagnetic energy around them, simultaneously.

A tiny swirling point of light appeared, roughly three feet from the ground. Particles of dust floated out of the brilliant swirling light as the vortex widened. Finally, when the light tornado was almost as big as a man, three dark shapes came tumbling out of the light. Agent Harrison shot out first, followed immediately by Amy and Jim Valenti.

Intent on following Alex’s directions, Harrison hit the ground and sat up instantly, looking for Alex and Isabel. Amy dropped out of the vortex and immediately spun around to check on Jim. There was chaos as Harrison yelled for Isabel and Alex to stand their ground and Amy yelled for Max and Liz to come check on Jim. The only one who seemed calm about the whole affair was Jim, who lay silent in the spot where he fell out of the vortex.

The alien crew was completely unprepared for the entrance the humans made. Their shouts were intermingled and for a moment, no one knew what was going on. The protective circle was abandoned and Max and Liz rushed forward so quickly, they almost beat Michael and Maria to the scene. There was a frantic sound of feet thumping over the prairie as everyone struggled to gather around Harrison and the Valentis.

“Alex…Isabel…don’t go!” Harrison yelled. “It worked!”

Amy yelled over the top of Harrison. “Someone needs to come check Jim! Last time we did this he had a heart attack and-” Her voice disappeared under the sound of frantic people crowding around.

“What?! My dad’s having a heart attack?!” Kyle yelled, elbowing people out of the way.

Max came screaming onto the scene. “Everybody out of the way! Let me through!”

Maria had thrown herself to the ground next to Jim, sobbing. As she rocked back and forth, she kept saying, “Oh my God…I killed him…I killed him…”

Her sobs caught in her throat when Jim began to chuckle. Silence fell over the entire group as he opened his eyes. When Jim began to sit up, Maria threw herself forward and hugged him so tight around the neck; he actually saw stars.

“I thought I killed you!” Maria sobbed. “Mom said you had a heart attack and-”

Kyle was on the other side of his father crouched next to Amy and it looked like every ounce of color had drained from his face. He grabbed his father on the shoulder and studied him for a moment before collapsing onto his butt in the grass.

“You okay, dad?” He didn’t wait for an answer though. The second the question left his lips, he thought better of it. “Somebody let Max through!”

There was a scuffle on the other side of the group as Max finally elbowed his way past the crowd. “Thank you!” He bit out sarcastically. He hunkered down in the grass and reached for Jim, but the man pushed his hands away.

“I think I’m okay, Max…really.” Jim looked up at Alex and smiled. “You do better work than you think, Alex.”

“You’re confusing them, Jim,” Amy scolded. “Let Max check you out and then we’ll explain.”

The others couldn’t wait for answers though. The questions started immediately, so Harrison took it upon himself to explain what had just happened.

“This isn’t your first attempt,” Harrison began, looking at Michael and Maria. “The first time you tried this, Jim had a blocked artery in his heart and he pert near had a heart attack on the spot. You guys sent Alex back in time to warn us, and to heal Jim before the journey.”

Michael frowned. “Jim wasn’t supposed to be part of the ‘journey’ at all! We were trying to bring you here. How the hell did we miss?”

“Alex said that you guys accidentally grabbed everyone in the room on your first attempt. That time, we were all in the room, so you got all of us. This time around, Alex healed Jim first and half of us left the room so you guys would be able to try this more than once.”

Maria reeled in shock. “There’s no way I’m doing that again! My God…we almost killed someone!”

Before anyone could comment, Max sat back on his heels and looked over at Alex. “You did an amazing job, Alex. His heart is probably healthier than mine at this point.”

“Then why did it take so long for him to get up?” Kyle asked. “He was just laying there…like he was…”

Jim snorted; a slight blush on his cheeks. “Because I hit my head when I fell out of the vacuum thing. I was dizzy, that’s all.”

Liz looked at Max in alarm. “Dizziness is a classic sign of a heart arrhythmia. I think you should check again-”

Max shook his head. “I healed the goose egg on the back of his head myself. His heart is fine…I’m positive.”

Kyle and Maria sighed in unison. “So this wasn’t totally our fault?” Maria asked nervously.

Jim shook his head. “None of it was your fault. Honestly, this whole mess was probably my fault. If I would’ve learned how to cook years ago, I wouldn’t have spent a lifetime eating pizza and burgers.”

“We can’t risk something like that happening again,” Michael muttered, clearly more shaken by the experience than he had let on in the beginning. “If Alex hadn’t traveled back and healed Jim, this might have turned out very differently…I can’t…we just can’t risk that.”

Jim stood up and crossed his arms stubbornly. “You can, and you will. The first time around, I lived. Alex just came back to tweak the circumstances a little. I know you were relying on this power to get the prisoners out of harms way and I think that’s a good, solid plan. So just take this for what it is – a good learning experience – and move on. This was necessary to make that plan of yours a reality.”

Rayna, who hadn’t mastered the art of subtlety any better than Michael had, looked at Kira and nodded in approval. “Michael was right when he called this man great,” she declared just a little too loudly.

Michael looked over at Jim in horror, wishing Rayna hadn’t spoken so loud. Jim was staring off into the distance and for a split second, Michael was relieved, thinking he hadn’t heard. Jim blinked his eyes quickly and looked up at the sky before turning to Michael. He put a hand on Michael’s shoulder and gave him a watery smile.

“I’ve probably learned more from you over the years, than you ever will from me, Michael. But thank you…that means a lot.”

Michael nodded and then cleared his throat loudly. Now it was his turn to stare into the clouds and blink back his emotions. After a moment, he sighed and addressed the group.

“Jim’s right. We have to try again. If we don’t learn how to control who we bring over, we’ll transport the whole damn city…Kivar and all.”

Harrison nodded in agreement. “The Alex that came to visit us said that you guys would try to transport one person at a time next. You’ve got a suite full of willing volunteers back at the compound. Serena and the Parkers are ready when you are…all you have to do is bring them here one at a time.”

************************************************************

After bringing the others over from the compound, the Eight and their trusted alien friends grilled the humans for what felt like hours. Max tested their reflexes and scanned them all, looking for any kind of medical defect, however minor. Kyle, Maria and Liz quizzed their parents relentlessly, testing their memories and cognitive functions. Only after all of the impromptu tests came back clear did the group breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, Michael and Maria were confident that they could control their power well enough to use it for an Antarean rescue mission.

Enjoying their tranquil spot in the prairie, the whole motley group of humans and aliens decided to settle down and begin the final phase of planning. The human stowaways were especially enjoying the experience because this was the first time they’d been outside the compound since their arrival on Saria.

“I’ll take it as a given that you guys are going to…” Nancy twirled her hands in the air. “You know…vortex the prisoners away from the palace first, right?”

All eyes swung toward Michael and Maria. For a moment, Michael froze in place, wondering why everyone was staring. With a jolt, he realized that people were actually looking to him for an answer. After their most successful training session yet, they weren’t having a group debate on the matter and no one was arguing the logistics of this option versus that one. They had simply accepted that Michael already had a plan, and they were okay with that now.

“It’s pretty weird, isn’t it, Spaceboy?” Maria grinned as she read her husband’s thoughts.

“Yeah…” Michael nodded distractedly and tried to refocus his thoughts. “Yeah…I think we should rescue the prisoners first. We have to make the first strike and that should be how we do it.”

“I’d bet money Kivar has some kind of tracking system in place for those people…we’ll probably lead him straight to us.” Alex shrugged regretfully. “But hey – if that’s part of the plan, then fine by me.”

Max frowned slightly. “What about the dupes? How do keep Tess from neutralizing our powers before we get all the prisoners out of the camps?”

“Impossible,” Rayna said. “The imposters are too emotionally stunted to access abilities of that caliber.”

Isabel cringed as she remembered how clueless she felt when her dupe showed up in Roswell using powers she never even knew she had. “Are you positive about that? They have had better control over their powers for as long as we’ve known them. It’s like they have an instinctual knowledge of this stuff. No training, no mentors…just talent.”

“Not really,” argued Ava. “I think they had more control in the beginning because their emotions didn’t influence their powers. We’re more emotional than they are, so our powers – even the really basic ones – were more erratic in the beginning.”

“So, assuming that the dupes won’t be able to counteract Michael and Maria’s ability, how are we going to get the prisoners away from Kivar without his troops following right behind?” Liz asked.

“Kivar stationed the prison camps close to the palace because he needed that proximity to inhibit their powers,” Kira said. “The citizens that Rayna and I have rescued regained their abilities quickly and were able to take refuge in the underground compound without Kivar’s knowledge.”

“So his ability to track these people only stretches so far?” Max asked. “Once they’re off Antar, Kivar can’t find them unless one of his cronies actually sees them out in the open?”

Kira nodded. “Precisely. All we need to do is get those people away from Antar and keep them hidden until the war is over.”

“Hang on a second,” Maria looked concerned suddenly. She shared a meaningful look with Serena, who nodded in unspoken agreement. “Sometimes on Earth, people feel sort of empowered when they help to defeat the bad guys. Would we rob the people of some of their dignity if we stuffed them in some closet and told them to hide until it was all over?”

Rayna gave Maria a smile of approval. “You make a bold suggestion but you were absolutely correct. The people must take part in this effort if they are to feel like their lives are truly their own again.”

“Closure…without a sense of purpose…accomplishment…the people won’t have closure.” Isabel murmured, nodding in understanding but frowning all the same.

“The people must not be made to feel as though they are indebted to you,” Serena said. For the first time since they arrived, she was finally in a position to contribute, if only for a moment. “If they are allowed to play a role in this coup, the healing process will begin so much sooner.”

“We don’t necessarily need the citizens to join us on the battle field though,” Max said. “Maybe they can help by giving us information on Kivar’s army or something…strictly from behind the scenes. The rebel armies are trained for this stuff but the average citizen isn’t.”

“The rebel armies are nothing more than a hodge-podge of men and women who were once ‘average citizens’. They’re probably no more ready for this war than you or I,” Larek pointed out.

“The citizens will want to fight though, ready or not.” Courtney said. “My people will not be satisfied watching this revolution from the sidelines.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t do some of the initial leg work though.” Michael interrupted. “Think about it. If we free the people at the work camps first, Kivar will have nothing left to hold over our heads. Sure, he’ll have the palace but that’s just a bunch of bricks and stone anyway.”

Kaden, who had been obediently silent up until this point, finally added his own thoughts. “If people knew you were responsible for the freedom of their loved ones, they would join you without question. We would have the support of billions of citizens who were too afraid to risk their loved ones by crossing Kivar.”

“Not to be difficult about all this, but…” Alex frowned down into his hands. “We can’t rescue anyone until we know where we’re going to put them. We can’t just whoosh them all out here and then send them down to the underground compound. There are way too many prisoners for that.”

Kyle shrugged regretfully. “I’ve got to agree with Whitman on this one. They won’t fit in the compound and we certainly can’t send them all home. Kivar’s minions will find them in a heartbeat.”

There was a moment of silence as the group considered this complication. Alex and Kyle were completely right, of course. There was no way they could rescue hundreds of thousands of prisoners without providing a safe place for them to go. But they definitely couldn’t leave them all to rot in the prison camps either just because logistics were a problem.

“Eros will take them,” Courtney offered. “Many citizens can take refuge in the palace and I know that my people will open their homes to many more…”

Larek sighed. “That is a very generous offer, Cortenya, but I would consider that a last resort.” He raised his hands in defense as she glared indignantly. “Your people would be in grave danger if we released the prisoners there and forgive me for pointing this out but…the general populace on Eros has very little fight left in it. They’ve been bullied by Kivar and the rest of this System as a whole, for far too long.”

Before Courtney could unleash the argument she obviously wanted to make, Maria slapped both hands over her mouth and barely stifled a little, “Oohhh!” She was lost in her own thoughts for a second as a plan started to form in her mind.

“Care to share with the group, Maria?” Liz gave her friend an amused little smile.

“We were told that the rebel leaders wouldn’t want to work with us if they didn’t think we would win…because they have too much to lose.” Maria’s hands waved excitedly as she continued.

“I’m sure a lot of the regular citizens feel that way too. But what if we took that doubt away?” Her eyes widened in excitement when she saw Ava begin to nod in understanding. “What if we quit tiptoeing around here and make our presence known in a big, public way?”

“What?! How exactly would that help again?” Isabel blurted, just as Kyle muttered, “Where the hell did that come from?”

Kira nodded. “I must agree with Isabel and Kyle. I don’t know that advertising our subversive plans to the entire Empire would be the appropriate way to go. It would give Kivar a distinct advantage.” She looked to Rayna, expecting her to add words of caution, but was stunned to see that her oldest friend was actually beginning to smile in approval.

Ava’s eyes came alive as she outlined Maria’s plan. “Michael and Kaden are both right. The prisoners have to be rescued first and the citizens need to know that we did it. When we successfully free all of Kivar’s prisoners, right under his nose-”

“The citizens will see that Kivar isn’t unstoppable!” Maria concluded. “It’ll motivate them to stand up for themselves because for the first time in generations – they’ll know it’s safe to fight back.”

Courtney smiled in delight. “If the citizens are aware that the Royal Eight freed their families and friends, they will know exactly who to pledge their allegiance to. And…if Kivar thinks that the Eight single handedly plundered all of his prison camps at once, he’ll be livid! We’d be making the first move and he would be left in the dark, fumbling for a plan.”

Alex actually liked the plan once he thought about it for a minute. “Calling this risky would be an understatement but it does have certain undeniable-”

“It’s brilliant!” Liz blurted.

Coming from Liz, the smartest woman Maria knew, that was a huge compliment. She was positively glowing with excitement at this point.

“First we go to Antar and announce our presence in a big, bold way.” Maria’s hands flailed wildly as she laid out her plan. “Then, we get the prisoners back from Kivar and return them to their homes. Before his goons get a chance to find the missing prisoners, we’ll attack the palace with the biggest rebel army we can round up. Basically, we’ll kick him where it hurts and then we’ll overwhelm him with sheer numbers before he can retaliate…”

“God, that’s just crazy enough to work…” Michael muttered.

“If we plan on making Kivar play by Maria’s rules, we’re definitely going to win.” Isabel added with a nervous laugh.

Larek stroked his chin as he pondered the bold suggestion. “It would certainly be an unorthodox maneuver, but perhaps that is exactly what we need now.”

When it seemed that everyone was in agreement about this idea, Ava asked one last question. “Do we tell the other rebel leaders we have a new plan?”

Isabel considered it for a split-second and then shook her head. “No…not yet. It could look like we’re just trying to trick them into agreeing to the alliance. Let’s just give them a little more time before we start dangling extra information under their noses.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Max said. “We don’t know that we can trust them with this information yet. If they decide not to work with us, let’s not give them the ammunition to work against us yet.”

The whole lot of them spent the rest of the day perfecting their new game plan. The human parents were terrified and proud of this plan, all at once. The long-time Alpha System residents were now in unanimous support of the strategy and it showed all over their faces. They could practically feel the joy their people would realize if this plan worked properly. The Eight relaxed, just a little, for the first time since they’d arrived on Saria. It was beginning to look like they may have finally found the path to victory.

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 17: Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

(Washington DC, Earth)

To the Roswell crew on Antar, it felt like weeks had passed since Kivar’s mysterious decision to return his human hostages. But by Earth standards, it seemed like time had been standing still ever since that fateful day. Nearly forty-eight hours after the stowaways sent a message from Saria to Earth, urging FBI Director Peter Adams to quarantine the human returnees; it was finally plucked from a US spy satellite. Agent Ford hand delivered the ‘royal message’ to Director Adams with an anxious nod.

Dear Peter,

Just received your last postcard and shared it with the family. They were quite surprised to hear that friends came for a visit in our absence. Apparently Mr. Caesar arranged the trip without our input. Since their arrival was so unexpected, we would like you to prepare a room for them at the Pierce Hotel as soon as possible. Please avoid those drab white rooms and select something more welcoming.

Our vacation is still going well, although the schedule has been rather erratic. At this point, we have not settled on a firm return date. Our hosts have been very gracious and we still have a lot to do before we leave. We expect that our travel itinerary will be up in the air for quite some time.

Honestly, our cousins have been quite busy meeting new people and exploring the area. Thankfully, their thirst for adventure has not gotten them into any trouble yet. But since we have been spending most of our time relaxing at the hotel, the others have asked that we collect the mail and just pass it on when they are available.

Now, we hope this postcard finds you well. We’re eager for more news from home. Please keep in touch. We check the mail daily…

Sincerely,

Professor Calm

Professor Calm could be none other than John and Serena…the professor and the serene one. And, stealing a page from Alex’s rule book, John had spelled his name out clear as day in the message. Peter allowed himself a second to say a little prayer of thanks that John and Serena were all right. That relief vanished quickly though.

Peter reread the message from the Alpha System, this time focusing on all the innuendoes and double-talk. As his mind whirled, he wrenched a pad of paper and pen out of his desk. Sure, there were fancy-schmancy computer programs designed for this kind of work but Peter preferred the old fashioned approach.

• 1. Caesar arranged the trip = Kivar sent the humans home and no one knows why
  2. Pierce Hotel = Giving the green light on quarantine
  3. Travel itinerary up in the air = Staying ‘up there’ for quite some time yet
  4. We check the mail daily = Agents have assumed communication duties

Peter sat back and frowned at his work. There was really nothing new in this message. Much of this information was covered when Charles Whitman relayed the details of Alex’s dreamwalk visit. Although receiving a message from John and Serena was slightly reassuring, the fact that it contained ‘old’ information was frustrating at best. Waiting 48 hours or more for information would become a major problem if Kivar was branching out into Earth territory. With all of the alien technology at their disposal, one would think they would have a faster method of communication.

Peter struggled to look at this rationally for a moment. Nothing would be accomplished by blaming the Royals for this slow stream of information. They had their hands full with pressing matters, half a galaxy away. And they did manage to initiate successful dreamwalks from that distance when the need for information was most dire. The Roswell Eight were young and inexperienced, thrust into the middle of a crisis on a world they’d never seen. They were simply doing the best they could, as was Peter, here on Earth.

With a tense grunt, Peter shoved the paper away and stared off into the distance. The US had done everything it possibly could to contain this newest threat. This wasn’t a situation that could be extinguished with military might alone.

The returnees were quarantined the second their return was confirmed. Considering that the government had ‘round the clock surveillance on each of their homes, the miraculous return was discovered very quickly. Those poor people didn’t have the presence of mind to conceal their strange adventure, which brought their renewed presence to light immediately. A few of them actually wandered out into the street in front of their homes and began asking neighbors alarming questions, such as, “What year is this,” and “Is this another hallucination?” These few were rounded up first, with the rest being collected from their beds shortly thereafter.

The CIA and the FBI immediately teamed up to create a false government leak about the returnees being involved with the witness protection program. While the media and the conspiracy theorists were dissecting the strange story, the returnees quietly disappeared into a secret compound in the New Mexico desert. They hadn’t even been home two hours when they were whisked away.

Instead of being a cause for celebration, the return of the missing humans had been an instigating force, breeding chaos within the governmental ranks. The level of paranoia had already risen to heights not seen since the September 11th tragedy. The CIA boys immediately began tossing around wild theories of alien invasion and human extinction before the President ordered an end to the blind speculation. He delivered what was probably the single most brilliant speech of his career, to the few men and women with high enough security clearance to hear it. Unfortunately, this ‘pep talk’ was neither comforting nor moving to many of the people in attendance and the rumors started quickly afterward.

There were murmurs of dissent; claims that President Clark was naïve if he thought planning for the worst was unnecessary, whispers that this was all going to be fodder for a cover-up of Roswell proportions within two months’ time, and even a few ridiculous claims that President Clark had some kind of unholy alliance with Kivar and was ready to hand Earth over without a fight. It had only taken two days to create this much disorter.

As Adams sat there, glassy-eyed, trying to make sense out of recent events, his phone rang. He answered it distractedly, barking a little more harshly into the mouthpiece than he’d intended. If such a thing was possible, his salt-and-pepper hair may have turned fully white when he heard the voice at the other end of the line. He shot up in his seat, a look of shock on his tired face.

“What do you mean they’re sick?” He barked into the receiver. He hopped out of his seat and started pacing behind his desk as the caller finished a lengthy speech.

“Could this be a human thing? Flu?” Peter asked. After a pause he said, “How the hell did the nurses get it but not the soldiers?! Weren’t they all exposed?”

Adams rubbed his face in concern. “Call Agent Ford and tell him to send a new message to our friends in the stars. Half of their crew is human…tell him to be very clear about the selective nature of this bug.”

Less than thirty minutes later, a new message was buzzing around every single one of the US satellites. It read:

Locals sick but visitors fine. No known vaccine. Check friends’ inoculation records.

**************************************************

The gang was preparing for phase 1 of ‘Operation Freedom’ when their parents rushed in with the latest message from Earth. They were right in the middle of some light practice when the interruption came.

“We have a big problem guys!” Amy blurted, tripping through the doorway with a loud crash. Jim, Nancy and Jeff were right behind her, all wearing anxious expressions.

Maria was trying to summon a vase from her quarters into her outstretched hand, manipulating gravity just enough to create a rift between the common room and her suite. At Amy’s sudden outburst, the vase appeared with a high pitched squeal, soaring through the air with deafening speed.

Liz barely had enough time to raise her arms over her face before the vase slammed into her and showered her with broken glass. There were shouts of alarm and people rushed to her side. Jeff and Nancy gasped in unison when they saw a huge shard of glass embedded in Liz’s arm, right where her exposed neck was seconds before. With shaking hands, Liz jerked the glass from her forearm. In the blink of an eye, the cuts along her arms and forehead began to disappear. In less than five surreal seconds, she was good as new.

“Holy shrapnel, Liz! Are you okay?!” Not bothering to wait for an answer, Maria grabbed either side of Liz’s face and searched for a sign of the gashes she’d seen only seconds before. “You’re amazing, girlfriend!”

As Kyle murmured something about “X-Men,” and “Wolverine,” Maria whipped around and fixed her mother with a look of pure frustration. Amy was too busy gaping open mouthed at Liz to notice that she was about to be on the receiving end of a major league rant.

“Mom!” Maria pointed a finger at Amy. “You can’t just run into the room yelling like that! You nearly made me decapitate my best friend…and that vase I just destroyed was an innocent person!”

“It was a vase, Maria…not a person.” Just as Maria started to whine about the vase representing an innocent person, Amy turned back to Liz, “Are you really all right, dear?”

Liz smiled and gave a little nod. “As long as no one flings a vase at me again, I think I’ll be fine.” She didn’t seem terribly concerned about the incident but judging by the way Max was hovering over her and inspecting every square inch of exposed skin, clearly he was.

“We just got another message from Earth guys, and you need to hear this one.” Jim explained, reminding everyone that the interruption happened for a good reason. He pulled a hastily written message out of his back pocket and passed it over to Isabel.

Isabel read aloud, “Locals sick but visitors fine. No known vaccine. Check friends’ inoculation records.”

Ava’s eyes immediately widened in outrage. “Is that what Kivar was up to the whole time? Kidnap a group of humans, figure out how to make them sick and then send them home to infect everyone else?!”

Liz paled and swatted Max’s concerned hands away. “We don’t have the higher immune functions that you guys do. And if this is some kind of new virus created here, Earth might not have the technology to fight it.”

“Why are we panicking,” Kyle asked. “This message barely tells us anything. How many people are sick? And what does that mean…‘visitors fine’?”

Alex groaned. “That message tells us a lot. Locals are humans. The humans are sick but the visitors, our royal soldiers, are fine. The Feds wouldn’t have brought us into it if they thought the illness originated on Earth…”

“Our ‘friends’ are the missing humans who were just conveniently returned to their homes,” Maria clarified with a frown. “It sounds like the Feds are trying to tell us that the returnees are making other humans sick. Is that possible?” Maria gave Liz a searching look, hoping her friend would wave a hand and tell her she was just being paranoid.

Liz nodded. “That’s very possible…and very frightening. It would explain Kivar’s actions up to this point though. Why kidnap all those humans just to send them home, unharmed, weeks later? And this would also explain what he needed all those ‘high-paid’ scientists for…”

Nancy gaped in horror. “If Kivar designed a bug that only affects humans, there would be no reason for him to keep it contained here, right? He won’t get sick…but we would…”

Max looked at Liz and finally broke his stony silence. “You guys are staying here and working with the scientists to find a cure, then. The rest of us will follow through with the palace attack plans alone.”

“Absolutely not!” Liz scowled with both hands firmly planted on her hips. “First of all, we can’t find a cure without virus samples. Since the sick people are all back on Earth, that doesn’t do us a lot of good. Second of all, I will not be relegated to the sidelines just because you’re worried about me. I came here to fight!”

Max threw up his hands in exasperation. “Remember when Larek told us that the atmosphere here was safe for humans? Well we don’t know that anymore. At this point, for all we know, the outside air could kill you.”

Kyle snorted. “Earth to Max…we came here to fight in a war and you’re worried about the air?”

Before Max could snap back, Liz turned on him in frustration. “We’ve probably been exposed already!” This got everyone’s attention immediately.

“The food and supplies for this safe house come from the Antar and Saria both. We have no way of knowing if they’ve been contaminated. Plus, we have the leader of the Antarean rebel army holed up just down the hall. For all we know, he could be a carrier.” Liz let the information sink in for a minute.

Alex studied Max with a frown. “We can’t just ditch the plans now though. We’ll be able to heal ourselves if we get sick…right?”

“We don’t know that,” Max insisted. “Healing cuts and bruises is way different than trying to heal some kind of systemic illness. It’d be like trying to repair every cell in your body, one at a time. If you miss just one…”

Liz shook her head adamantly. “There are eight of us though. Even if the four of us with 100% human DNA get sick, that still leaves four other people to help speed along the healing process. The missing humans were returned what…two days ago? And they’re just now becoming symptomatic. We’ll have plenty of time to-”

“Not if Kivar used the same methods he used on my father,” Max practically shouted, looking only at Liz. He continued as though there was no one else in the room. “He killed my father from the inside out. Don’t you remember what Isabel saw our first day here? We couldn’t heal our father because Kivar attacked him with machines, not germs…”

Alex finally began to lose some of his composure. Max was speaking his language now, and he didn’t like what he was hearing. “Guys…if Kivar is using robotic technology again, that could explain why this thing has only affected humans so far. Anything with a microprocessor can easily be programmed to target human DNA.”

Michael turned to Alex and cocked his head in confusion. “Yeah, but if this thing was caused by little machines, you can just screw with their programming or something, right?”

Alex thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. “If I had any idea what these guys were made of…how they operate. But like Liz said, I need something to work with. This thing is happening on Earth…and I’m here.”

“Why can’t we just tell the Feds to pair up some of their best doctors and a couple of MIT geeks…no offense Whitman,” Kyle said. “Between the two of them, they’ll be able to figure out what we’re dealing with.”

Max groaned in frustration. “If it was that easy, do you really think they would’ve asked for our help?”

“But maybe they never thought of nanobot things and-” Maria stopped short when Max hit a nearby table with his fist, sending its contents crashing to the floor.

“And maybe underestimating Kivar will get us all killed!” Max raged. “Think, people! Do you honestly think he’d pay all those scientists just to come up with something he’s already used before? Whatever they were working on, it’s bigger than anything we’ve seen from him before.”

Liz put a hand on her husband’s arm and tried to take a reassuring approach. “Whatever this is, we’ll beat it. I swear we will. But we can’t just abandon our plans now…we have to move forward until we can get more information.” Her comment was met with a few resolute nods from the other humans in the bunch.

Max gritted his teeth and shrugged Liz’s hand away. “He’s out for blood…you know that. It’s completely irresponsible to plunge forward like nothing has changed. Don’t you get it? He’s targeting humans…he’s targeting you!”

There was a scuffle in the doorway as the rebel leaders, who were still sequestered in the compound pending their decision, rushed into the room. The heated discussion in the rec room had echoed all the way down the corridor to their temporary living quarters. They entered just in time to see the Commander, in all her glory, pull rank.

“I think we’ve all accepted that there would be a little danger involved in starting a war.” Maria struggled to contain the sarcasm threatening to explode from her chest. In a gentler, yet still commanding voice, she added, “We cannot, and will not, hide down here while you guys go off to fight alone. If Liz says we can heal this thing, then that’s exactly what we’ll do…from the battlefield.”

Max looked to Michael. “Before all this, we had a chance of protecting each other. But if Kivar has released a virus…or worse…there’s nothing we can do about it. Do you understand what I am telling you? Your wife would survive the war but die anyway…”

Michael was in an awful position now. He didn’t know a darned thing about germs or nanobots but he was being thrust into the middle of the argument anyway. This was supposed to be his call – his decision – but he could barely follow the conversation.

Michael couldn’t dismiss Max’s concerns because frankly, each one of them had been on his mind too. His conscience wouldn’t let him agree to scrap all of their plans either though. Millions of lives depended on the Eight getting this right. The consequences of going to battle, a fractured group, with some of their strongest members holed up behind these walls…

The rebel leaders were watching the whole sordid thing, and Michael was painfully aware that if he made a bad decision, they would probably turn their backs on the idea of an alliance for good. He looked back and forth between Max and Maria, knowing that the rebels expected him to make this decision quickly. Sacrifice Maria, or sacrifice the war. Save Maria, the one person he could not live without, or a bunch of nameless, faceless people. The soldier in him knew that the choice should be simple. The rebel leaders would think that the choice was simple…

I never cared what other people thought before and I’m not going to start now, he mused. If these rebels can’t respect my decision today, then they sure as hell won’t do it in the heat of battle either, he realized. Michael decided to go with his gut. If he chose Maria over all those helpless citizens, she wouldn’t be by his side in the end anyway.

Michael turned to Liz. “I want you to send the next message to Earth. Screw subtlety – just find out everything you can. And don’t forget to tell them about Max’s dad and the nanobot things. Get somebody to rule that out before tomorrow morning…I don’t care how you do it.” Then, he turned to Alex.

“I want you to come up with a game plan, in case we find out Kivar is using the nanobots again. If they’re little computer things, then it’ll be up to you to show us their weak spots.” Next, Michael turned to Max.

He shook his head in caution when he saw Max’s relieved grin. He looked down at his feet, completely unable to look Max in the eyes right now.

“I’m not saying that all the others are staying here though. If Liz finds out that this thing isn’t fatal, then they’re free to come with us. If this is a robot thing, Alex will teach us how to fry them before we go to Antar.”

Michael was rewarded by a giant hug from his wife while Max seethed in anger. “So that’s your brilliant plan?! As long as the virus won’t kill them right away, they can go?” He spat.

“Do not yell at me, Maxwell,” Michael bit out between gritted teeth. He finally looked up from his shoes with a pained expression. “You heard Liz…they’ve probably been exposed already. And if they haven’t, they sure as hell will be after we come back from Antar. You know as well as I do – they're gonna be exposed no matter what we do and they’re not willing to ‘sit this one out’. So…we’ll procede as planned until we have more information.”

Kyle looked confused. “If this isn’t a nanobot thing, why can’t Michael and Maria just create one of their whirli-gigs and whoosh a virus sample from Earth to here? Then Liz can figure out how to beat it before we storm the palace.”

Max gnashed his teeth and struggled to remain calm. “Because the second we bring those samples into this compound, everyone will be at risk.”

“Everyone is at risk now,” Isabel added quietly. Her eyes implored Max to understand that their entire family was in danger until someone solved this mystery.

“I’m fine with Michael’s plan.” Alex squared his shoulders bravely. “But I don’t think that Michael and Maria should bring a virus sample here. If by some miracle we haven’t been exposed yet, we’re not a danger to the people around us…but if we bring the virus into the compound, we will be. If someone who can’t heal themself gets sick,” he glanced quickly over at the parents. “Someone without powers might not be able to fight it.”

“Interesting decision…” Drakor commented, looking at Alex. “You believe in our cause so greatly, you are willing to sacrifice your life…” he glanced at Michael next, “and the life of your mate just to prove it?”

“It’s not just your cause and I’m not willingly sacrificing anything,” Michael blurted. “I hate this and I’d much rather Maria stay here where she’s safe but that wasn’t really a valid choice anyway. If I left Maria here, she’d personally show up on the battlefield just to kick my ass in front of the entire army…exposing herself to the virus in the process.”

Sero surprised them all with a big grin. “A wise man knows that he must pick his battles carefully.”

Kyle snorted. “Arguing with Maria is futile. She’s stubborn as a pit bull with a new toy.”

Kathana grinned. “The Commander has chosen his mate wisely indeed.” Her jab at Michael’s own legendary stubborn streak roused a few impish grins from the others.

Max looked around at the jokesters in shock. He had the irrational urge to scream, “What’s wrong with you people?!” Yet, he kept his stony silence. In the matter of a few days, the rebel leaders had gone from hurling insults to engaging in playful banter and Max was very aware that the things he wanted to say right now would permanently jeopardize this sudden bout of civility.

Liz touched Max’s arm gently. “I respect the fact that you want me to be safe but I meant it when I said I wasn’t willing to take the sidelines on this one. We don’t even know if this thing is fatal. It’s too early to make any decisions.”

Max sighed. “If this is something manufactured by Kivar, how can you possibly think it’s not fatal? Of course it is…or he wouldn’t have bothered.”

Liz flinched. There was a lot of truth in that statement. “Look, Alex and I will go see Tolya about sending a message back out to Earth. If you really want to help, then do it by rounding up as many scientists as you can find here. I’m not that familiar with alien viral strains but if you can find people to help me, we’ll figure this out. I promise.” She said.

The gathering broke up shortly after that. The rebel leaders went back to their quarters. Liz and Alex rushed off to find Tolya. Max threw one last betrayed look over his shoulder as he stomped out of the room in search of scientists to work with Liz. Michael and Maria were the last two left in the room.

Maria hugged Michael again. “Thanks for respecting my decision, Spaceboy. Max has this hero complex about a mile long and when he gets all riled up like that, he won’t listen to reason.”

Michael pulled away. “Maria…I agreed with Max from the beginning. Think about it from our standpoint for a minute. Max knew he could protect Liz from blasts and weapons. This virus thing though…he probably can’t protect her from that. You and I both know that if Kivar went to all the trouble of engineering some superbug, it’s going to be lethal and Max won’t be able to just magically heal it away. Kivar doesn’t do things halfway.”

Maria frowned. “We’re not a bunch of helpless kittens, Michael. Maybe we don’t need to be protected all the time. Maybe, just maybe, we can take care of ourselves once in a while!”

“Not everything is about you!” Michael shouted. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again. This was absolutely not the time to say something stupid.

“This has nothing to do with your strength or your courage. It has everything to do with you being in danger and me doing nothing to stop it. Did you honestly think I’d be okay with looking the other way on this one?” Michael asked.

“You’re not looking the other way, Michael. You’re just-” Maria suddenly got the picture. “Trying to support my decision…even though you know it might kill me…”

Michael sighed and his shoulders slumped. “That’s what Max was getting at earlier. If we all make it through this war alive, but then you guys die anyway just because you were here, breathing our tainted air…”

“You’ll feel like it’s all your fault because you didn't do anything to stop it. Gotcha.” Maria said, completing Michael’s sentence. “So I suppose I should go apologize to Max for being so stubborn, huh?”

“Yeah…probably. And while you’re at it, could you throw in a few good words for me too? I’m pretty sure he’s going to be pissed at me for a long time because I didn’t take his side.” Michael said sheepishly.

Maria laughed. “I think I can do that. How about I tell him that you showed me the error of my ways and I’ll consider waiting for more details from Earth before I decide to charge off to war? Like you said; if Liz finds out this is something she can fix then we’ll proceed as planned. If it’s not, then maybe we’ll be more open to considering a change of plans…maybe.”

"If Liz doesn't think she can fix this, you know we're not going to agree about what to do next, right?"

Maria sighed and gave a little shrug. "As if that'll be any different than usual."

********************************************

(Eagle Rock Military Base, Earth)

Back on Earth, more than forty-eight miserable hours had passed since they discovered that the returnees were sick. Because of their apparent immunity, the royal soldiers had been thrown into a completely unfamiliar routine. They were suddenly in charge of caring for the ill and this was one thing they had never been trained for.

“This stinks of Kivar.” Sondra muttered. Her new duties as nursemaid left her angrier than ever with Antar’s dictator.

“If King Max was here, this never would’ve happened. He could’ve healed the sickness before it spread to others.” Dillon grumbled.

“This has to be some kind of retrovirus. That would explain why it hasn’t affected us yet. The virus cannot replicate itself in our bodies…our DNA is too different.” Sondra pointed out.

“What of the Royal Eight then? They have human DNA. All of them do.” Dillon asked in concern.

Sondra looked away sadly. “Even if the original four have retained enough of their Antarean genetic material to make them incompatible hosts for the virus, the others will be susceptible.”

“We don’t know that Kivar has released the virus on Antar yet. Perhaps we’re concerned over nothing.” Talia interrupted.

Jonas looked up from his patient in surprise. “We would have to be fools to believe that Kivar passed up an opportunity to kill the Royals! He knows they’re closing in on him, hence the return of these sick humans. He probably thinks King Max will rush back to Earth when he finds out the fate of the people here.”

Talia gasped. “And if he knows the Royal Eight are out there, then he’ll unleash the virus on Antar just for good measure. He wouldn’t be affected, but the Royals would…”

“Do they know?” Dillan asked. “Do the Eight have any idea how much danger they are in?”

Jonas frowned. “Probably. A message was dispatched as soon as these humans fell ill. I suspect they understand more about this danger than we do at this point.”

“So the real question is; will they come back to save the humans or will they stay there…to save everyone else?” Talia wondered aloud.



Coming in Chapter 18: The Earth contingency gets yet another unannounced visit and it causes fear and confusion on both sides of the galaxy...but perhaps the incident will shed some light on the dire predicament of the humans inflicted with Kivar's handywork.

Ask and ye shall receive, Timelord.

Thanks for the kind words about the last few chapters, everyone. With all the back and forth between different planets, scenes, and people; I hope things aren't getting confusing. There are only ten chapters left and I hope you love them.

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.


Chapter 18: Desperate Measures

(Underground Compound, Saria)

Liz paced the length of her quarters in frustration. She and Alex had personally sent a message back to Earth the day before, asking for more information about the sick returnees. At best, they wouldn’t get a response for another 48 hours though. That just wasn’t soon enough. Michael wanted answers today and more importantly, Liz knew all too well that the humans stricken with this ‘superbug’ might not have 48 hours left. She needed information now.

Liz glanced around her empty room and realized that Max had joined her in bed very late last night and had left again very early this morning. He had closed his mind off to her as well. Either he was still very angry about her decision to procede with the battle plans, or he was trying to shelter her from his obvious disapproval. She couldn’t be sure which, but Max was honestly the least of her worries at the moment. She had enough faith in him, and their love, to know that their hurt feelings would mend. They always did.

Liz’s thoughts turned to the sick returnees on Earth. It was vital that she find out as much information about their condition as possible, and quickly. Alex and Isabel had been too exhausted the night before to manage a successful dreamwalk. They had no way of knowing if any of the parents had been infected yet. Philip and Dianne…the Whitmans…any one of them could be gravely ill right now and they had no way of knowing. That thought chilled Liz to the bone.

With a firm resolve, Liz stopped pacing and eyed her bed again as an idea formed in her mind. “Our powers are supposedly joined…so there’s no harm in testing that theory further, right?” She mumbled to herself.

Liz nodded distractedly, as she came to a decision. She marched over to the bed and lay down with a flop. As she struggled to calm her nervous breathing, Liz tried to remember what Alex had told her about dreamwalking. They’d had a long talk about it shortly after he and Isabel had bonded. He hadn’t been able to explain how it works very well but Liz thought she had the general idea.

Liz opened her mind and struggled in vain to find her way to the dream plane. If Ava and Kyle truly did join all of the Royal abilities, Liz saw no good reason why she couldn’t tap into those collective abilities to contact Earth.

Five long minutes passed with no success. Liz huffed in frustration and started to feel a little bit out of her league. Why had she assumed that she’d be able to ‘borrow’ one of the others’ powers on the first try? She sighed in defeat and considered asking Isabel for help.

“No. For heaven’s sakes…I survived a gunshot, married an alien and helped defeat evil clones from outer space. I can do this.” Liz muttered, rolling over impatiently.

Liz decided to try a different tactic. She focused on the feeling she’d had the day she had astral projected to Max in New York. It had felt like her mind was whizzing through space and time, free from the bounds of conventional physics. As Liz concentrated on recreating that moment, she became light headed. Her eyes were closed tightly but in her mind, she could clearly see a vast white expanse stretch out before her. With a surge of excitement, Liz felt a familiar presence in the void. She could clearly feel the strong spirit of Philip Evans.

*******************************************************

(Ranch Compound, Western US, Earth)

Philip was anxiously drumming his fingers on big mahogany desk in his library. He and the other parents had been cooped up on the ranch for days. As soon as the human returnees had been discovered, they had been swooped off to Eagle Rock for debriefing and tests. The ultimate goal had been to quarantine them and hopefully find out why they had been sent home. Despite that precaution though, the FBI had insisted that the ‘Royal Parents’ be isolated as well. If Kivar sent the returnees back intending to infiltrate the human-alien alliance, the government didn’t want to leave them vulnerable. This precaution resulted in the parents becoming hermits, virtually trapped in their own home.

Now that the returnees and all who had come in contact with them had fallen ill, most of the royal soldiers had relocated to Eagle Rock to provide any intel and assistance they could. With the soldiers gone, the parents felt as though they were completely out of the loop. None of them had received a dreamwalk in the last few days and they couldn’t count on the government to provide a steady stream of updates either. The Feds had much bigger things to worry about than a group of nervous parents right at the moment.

As Philip sat there, worrying about his children, the room abruptly turned cold. Philip barely registered the temperature change until the papers on his desk fluttered to the floor, driven by a sudden gust of chilly wind. Philip looked around in alarm and a shiver ran down his spine as he realized that he could actually see his breath coming out in foggy gasps. Before he could call out for the others, he spotted a translucent form across the room.

“What the hell?!” Philip gasped. As he spoke, Liz’s image became clearer. Philip shot out of his chair and held a hand to his mouth in horror. I’m not sleeping and she can’t dreamwalk, he thought. She can’t be here. She shouldn’t be here unless…

The sudden drop in temperature, the mysterious wind, and the ghostly image of his daughter-in-law immediately threw Philip’s logical mind for a loop. He sucked in pained breath as he came to the most obvious conclusion.

“Oh no…no, no, no. What have they done to you Liz?” Philip whispered. “Oh God…Max must be dying inside…”

The library door swung open and Dianne stepped into the room. “Good grief, Philip! Is it cold enough in here?”

As Dianne spun around to adjust the thermostat, she saw Liz’s flickering form in the corner and yelped in alarm. She turned around to ask Philip what was going on but the look on his face told her all she needed to know.

“Oh Philip…not Liz. No!” She gasped. “She can’t be…she was so strong…she was so young!” Before she could get another word out, she dissolved into hopeless tears.

Philip reached forward and pulled Dianne into a hug. They felt as though they had just lost one of their own children.

“How do we tell the others?” Philip mumbled, feeling suddenly hollow.

**********************************************************

(Underground Compound, Saria)

Drakor was sitting in his suite, running yesterday’s scene through his mind over and over again. After the meeting between the Eight and the other rebel leaders, he had spent hours lamenting the fact that he ultimately had no choice but to make an alliance with these strangers. There was just no way Kivar would believe the Antarean rebel forces refused to stand united with the Eight. Whether he chose to join them or not, Kivar would punish his soldiers and their families just the same.

The intense scene in the common room yesterday had shed a new light on his choices though. Before learning of the new viral threat Kivar concocted, Drakor had felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. He could choose to oppose the man who held his mate’s life in his very hands or he could turn his back on the Eight and watch them try to fight alone. But his entire view of the situation changed as he watched those humans refuse to back down from Kivar’s threat.

They were fully aware that this mysterious new virus would likely kill any human unfortunate enough to be exposed. They understood that they would be exposed the second they set foot on Antar. Yet, they never even hesitated. Of course the King had wanted his Queen to stay away from Antar in light of the new information but honestly, Drakor couldn’t fault the man for fearing for the life of his mate. This was something Drakor could understand very well.

Just as Drakor was preparing to seek out Michael to request a private meeting, he felt the temperature in his suite drop at least forty degrees. Ice crystals began to form on the mirror in the corner. He looked around in alarm and bolted for the door.

There was chaos in the hall as the other rebel leaders dashed from their rooms to find out what was happening. Kaden was sprinting toward the King’s private suite with Cortney hanging limply in his arms. Being from Eros, her body wasn’t capable of adjusting to such an extreme temperature fluctuation and she looked gravely ill.

Drakor and Sero both quickly fell into step behind Kaden and held out their hands trying to generate as much heat as possible for the ailing woman. In their fear, they momentarily forgot all of their differences. Reacting on pure instinct, they rushed off to Max’s quarters together.

The second their motley bunch reached the doorway of Max and Liz’s room, they found it was already full of people. Kyle and Ava were kneeling near the bed trying to revive Liz, who was tragically pale and unresponsive. Maria was pacing frantically back and forth, mentally calling out for Max and Michael. Kira was hovering behind Kyle and Ava with her eyes shut, trying to sense what was happening to Liz.

“What’s going on? Is she all right?” Max called out, shoving his way through the crowd in the doorway. Michael and Isabel rushed in right behind him.

Kira looked grave. “I don’t know what’s happening. She is not responsive but I don’t sense that she is in danger. I…I can’t explain it.”

Isabel reached down and grasped Liz’s arm. “Sorry Liz but I need to know what’s going on in your head.” She muttered distractedly.

There was a tense moment of silence as the group waited for Isabel to connect with Liz. With a gasp, Isabel rocked back on her heals and swung around to look at Ava.

“I need you to tell me what Liz is doing right now. Try to sense what power she is using because I’ve never felt anything like this,” She ordered in a rush.

Ava placed her hand on Liz’s other arm and closed her eyes in concentration. She quickly began muttering to herself. “Kinesis…accelerating the velocity of light…what the hell does that mean?!” The tense silence stretched out further as Ava frantically searched for a clue that would help her understand what power Liz was using.

“Maria – Liz needs your help!” Ava suddenly called out.

“What’s going on? What do I do?” Maria asked frantically.

“Liz needs your energy. She’s astral projecting. I…I think she’s trying to contact someone back on Earth. The temperature dropped because her body is using up an amazing amount of kinetic energy right now and she’s literally siphoning it out of the surrounding air.” Ava explained.

“But what do I do? I don’t know what kinetic energy is!” Maria pleaded.

Ava shook her head in confusion. “Just take Liz’s hand and try to focus some of the surrounding energy into her…” Mentally, Ava added, ‘Yesterday you summoned enough energy to create a gravitational rift, but today I want you to summon it all into Liz.’

Michael’s brow crinkled in worry when he caught onto what Ava was implying. She couldn’t come right out and discuss yesterday’s training in front of the other rebel leaders, but she was hinting at it nonetheless.

“Shouldn’t we try to bring Liz out of this though? What if they both get hurt? How do we know this isn’t one of Kivar’s tricks?” Michael asked.

“I’m telling you...this isn’t Kivar’s work. Liz is astral projecting and it’s not causing her any physical harm because she’s using the energy around her to do it…not her own. She probably tapped into your powers to gather enough energy to do it in the first place.” Ava insisted.

“What the hell was she thinking?” Michael muttered nervously. He hated feeling out of the loop. “What would be so important that she would risk something like this by herself?”

Isabel’s eyes filled as she looked down at Liz. “Alex and I couldn’t get through to our parents last night. Liz knew we were worried about what that meant. I think maybe she’s checking in on everyone…”

There was a moment of silence as the others processed this revelation. Kyle suddenly felt very lucky that his family was here on Saria. He didn’t have to worry about losing a loved one while he was one the other side of the galaxy, completely unaware.

“Maria will help Liz and we'll focus on bringing the temperature back up in here,” Alex said, taking charge of the stunned group. “Courtney is from Eros - like the skins remember? If we don’t do something right now, she’ll…” Kaden's face pinched as Alex trailed off.

Simultaneously, Maria reached out for Liz’s hand and the rest of the onlookers began concentrating on taking the chill out of the air. As Maria focused on connecting with Liz, the outside world faded away.

*******************************************************

(Ranch Compound, Western US, Earth)

Maria watched helplessly as vague shapes and muted colors danced just on the edge of her perception. She could hear sounds in the background but didn’t recognize where they were coming from. Suddenly, she felt the presence of Liz, clear as day. As she concentrated on Liz, a dim room slowly came into focus. Liz sensed her presence immediately and nodded a silent hello. With their combined energy, it was much easier for Liz to hold on to her Earthly connection.

Dianne Evans was crying as though her heart was breaking. Philip Evans was holding her, staring off into space with a look of anguish.

“What do we tell the others?” Philip mumbled. “This will break their hearts…”

Maria looked over at Liz in confusion. “Who are they talking about? Oh God…is someone sick?” She whispered.

Dianne looked up and let out a whoop of surprise. Philip spun around so quickly that he nearly tripped over the leg of his chair.

“Maria too?” Dianne sputtered.

“Wait a minute. You can hear us now?!” Liz blurted in excitement.

Philip fell back into his chair with a bewildered look. His mouth opened and closed, fishlike, as he struggled to figure out what was happening. Finally, he managed to ask the million dollar question.

“How are you here? Are you…we thought…you’re not dead, are you?” He stammered.

Liz was so surprised by his words that she could only stand there, mouth agape. Maria was never one for being subtle though.

“Of course we’re not dead! Where would you get an idea like that?!” She looked curiously from one Evans to the other.

Dianne blushed. “Oh heavens…well don’t I feel foolish. It’s just…well the temperature dropped about thirty degrees in here and then we saw Liz kind of floating and flickering in the corner and…for Pete’s sakes. We should’ve known better!” She said with an embarrassed laugh.

Liz clapped her hands to her mouth in surprise. “I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t realize how it would look! When I first got here, it was nearly impossible to hold my connection to you and…” She trailed off with a confused frown. “I have no idea why the temperature would’ve dropped though.”

“Oh! I know that one!” Maria blurted. “It takes a huge amount of energy to astral project this far so you’re sort of sucking the energy out of the air around you for a boost. Ava called it kinesis or something. The temperature’s dropping in the underground safe house too. They made me connect with you because you needed more juice so…here we are!”

Liz suddenly looked alarmed. “Wait a minute – this is affecting the atmosphere inside the safe house too? Courtney is from Eros. Her body can’t tolerate extreme temperature fluctuations-”

Maria shook her head. “It’s okay now. The rest of the gang is turning your suite into a nice toasty sauna as we speak so just do your thing girlfriend.”

“Well that’s good news.” Liz said with a sigh of relief. “I guess I’d better make this quick then. I came here to make sure you guys were all right…which you obviously are…and to see if you had any information on the returnees. I’m concerned that this illness is something Kivar created. We have no idea what kind of virus we’re dealing with and frankly, if Kivar manufactured it, I suspect it’ll be highly contagious.”

Philip nodded. “You’re right on both counts. We’re all fine and this bug is seriously contagious. The government has kept us cooped up here for days so we don’t get exposed. From what I hear, every human who has come in contact with the returnees has fallen ill already.”

“What are the symptoms? Have there been any fatalities?” Liz asked, in full scientist mode now.

Dianne shrugged. “We probably don’t have very much information that would be useful to you because we’re so cut off right now. I do know that this thing only affects humans. Your royal guardians have been exposed but they’re fine.”

“Can’t we just astral project out to whatever military base the returnees are being kept at and take a look for ourselves?” Maria asked Liz. “Wouldn’t it be more helpful if you got observe the symptoms first hand? It’s not like we’ll get sick, because we’re not really here anyway…”

Liz considered it for a moment. “Well, in theory we could try but I don’t think I could ‘find’ the right place unless someone familiar was there. If I hadn’t sensed Philip here; I don’t think I would’ve been able to make contact at all.”

Dianne’s eyes lit up. “Your royal guards are there! They are helping to care for the sick because they’re the only ones with any immunity to the virus.”

Maria clapped in excitement. “We could definitely find them! I know for a fact that they’d sense us trying to make contact too.”

Liz looked sadly at Philip and Dianne as she prepared to leave. She hadn’t intended to pop in, play twenty questions and then vanish without so much as a hug. That hadn’t been the plan at all. Honestly, there really hadn’t been much of a plan to begin with.

“I’m sorry to just pop in and pop out like this,” Liz began. “I’ve really missed you guys and I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you haven’t been affected by the virus.”

Philip nodded in understanding. “You guys have work to do. We understand that. Please send our love to the others. We worry a lot about you.”

Liz smiled. “I’ll do that. I know Max and Isabel will be thrilled to hear that you guys are all right…and Alex will be relieved to hear about his parents too.” She broke off with a sigh. “I really wish I could give you a hug before we go but I don’t think it works that way…”

Dianne nodded. “It’s all right. I figured as much anyway. Have a safe journey, girls, and do try not to wear yourselves out. We love you…”

With a parting wave, Liz and Maria faded from sight.

*****************************************************

(Underground Compound, Saria)

Although Liz and Maria had managed to have an entire conversation with Philip and Dianne and observe the infected returnees at Eagle Rock Military Base, they had only been gone for a few minutes by Sarian time. When they awoke, they found a room full of anxious observers waiting for news.

The second Liz opened her eyes; Max dashed over to the bed and wrapped her up in a crushing hug. Kira watched the two fondly as a relieved tear trickled down her cheek.

“Welcome back, Liz.” Kira said warmly.

“Is Courtney all right? Maria told me about the temperature fluctuations here. It happened on Earth too.” Liz fretted, looking at the nervous people around her.

Courtney spoke up from the back of the room. “It’s okay, Liz. Your crew did a fine job of thawing me out while you were gone. Now quit worrying about me and tell us about your trip. Did you make contact?”

Maria nodded excitedly. “First we saw Mr. and Mrs. Evans…they’re fine by the way…and the Whitmans too. They’ve been under kind of an in-house quarantine for the last few days to keep them from getting exposed to the virus. They didn’t have much information though so we had to visit Eagle Rock next. The royal soldiers are stuck helping out there because they’re the only ones immune to the virus. It…it was pretty bad…”

“Define, ‘pretty bad’. Is it fatal?” Kyle asked.

Liz sighed. “There have been no fatalities yet. Maria was right though. It’s bad. It has all the telltale signs of being a retrovirus but there is a hemorrhagic component that I don’t quite understand yet.”

At the blank looks she was receiving, Liz tried to explain further. “Remember the movie Outbreak? Well this virus acts an awful lot like that one. It doesn’t make sense though because where would Kivar find a viral strain out here that would be compatible with human DNA? This thing hasn’t affected the soldiers at all but it’s highly contagious for humans. Something isn’t adding up…”

Isabel wrung her hands nervously. “Could it be something like those nanobot things that killed my father?” She shot a worried look at Kira as soon as the words left her mouth.

Liz shook her head. “Not as far as we could tell. The medical technicians did a full battery of tests before they fell ill too. It included everything from MRIs and x-rays, to blood work and throat cultures. Nanobots should've shown up during the testing.”

“Could it be a poison of some kind?” Ava asked.

Liz shook her head. “I wouldn’t rule it out yet but it’s highly unlikely. These people are passing the illness on to others. Poison isn’t contagious.”

“Liz, might I suggest that you meet with a few of the resident scientists here, while you still have the details of this illness fresh in your mind?” Kira suggested subtly.

Liz nodded in agreement. “That’s exactly what I had in mind. Thank you for helping me today. I hate to drop this on you and leave, but I really should get to work on this...”

The gathering in Max and Liz’s room broke up quickly as they all went their separate ways to consider this newest information. Drakor was the only rebel leader who stayed behind, hoping to catch a word with Michael and Maria.

“After seeing this illness with your own eyes, do you still intend to fight Lady Maria?” He asked bluntly.

Maria looked at him in surprise. “Well of course I do! Liz and her science crew will figure something out…I know they will. We can’t just abandon our plans because Kivar’s playing dirty. We will get through this.”

Drakor let out a heavy sigh of relief. Now he was positive that he was making the right decision.

“Then I would be honored to join you in battle. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to consider your offer thoroughly and please trust that my decision was not made lightly. My men will show you full cooperation and respect. I will personally see to it.” Drakor said with conviction.

Michael gave the man a rare smile. “Thank you, Drakor. I think we needed a little bit of good news right about now. You have perfect timing.”

Drakor nodded. “As do you Commander…as do you.”


Coming in Chapter 19: There is serious dissent in the 'royal ranks'. Opinions clash over how to proceed in the fight against Kivar. Sometimes choosing between right and wrong is actually a choice between faith and reason.