See Part One for Disclaimers

Shima looked down at the limp body still strapped to the chair.  Blank eyes looked up at him; no intelligence flickered there, only the glassy stare of the living dead.  His eyes ran over the slim figure, caught on the swelling now beginning to show under the light gown they had put over her naked form.  He had done much in the service of the Elysian, much that he had excused and justified.  What he had just done horrified him.  Maybe, if they had gotten the information from her, he could have lived with the necessity, but they had not.  Her mind had collapsed, as had every other victim of this dreadful device, leaving her the vegetable she now was.

He turned away from the pitiful sight before him and left her to seek further instruction from the captain.

On the bridge, Captain Mareen was dealing with yet another death.  His pilot, son of his closest friend, had died that very afternoon still at his post.  For days the youngster had been fading, his colour draining from blue to a pale grey, but he had refused to give up his place.  Now, another sat in his seat, steering the rapidly emptying ship.  The doctors had been working feverishly in the Labs, trying to find out what was causing this escalation, for there were now less than fifty souls left on board.  Their best guess, and one that he devoutly hoped was wrong, was that the solar emissions on this side of the divide, which was so different from their own home system, had re-initialised the plague that had almost decimated the Elysian centuries before.  There had been no cure then; there was no cure now.

Shima caught the Captain's eye and the two men secluded themselves in the office.  His report struck a deep blow to his commander, visibly shaken at his lack of success.

"All for nothing."  Mareen sat himself in the soft chair behind his desk and turned unseeing eyes to the view port where stars hung in fantastic arrays.

"Sir," Shima was reluctant to propose what he felt to be right.  "Sir, we should turn back, now, before any more of us die.  We could spend the next ten years trying to capture a Technomage -- if we survive that long.  And even then, they will not give up their secrets lightly, if at all.  Perhaps it is not something they 'can' share.  Perhaps, like our ancestors, it is something that they are born with.  If that is so, we are on a suicide mission with no hope of success."

Mareen turned his gaze to his first officer.  " And would you have us return empty-handed and carrying this plague!  To re-infect our world?" He waited a beat; "We can not go home Shima; not without some way of prolonging our lives, we must have time to find a way of repairing the genetic disasters of our forefathers.  Without the secret of their longevity we will all die."

Shima stood silently, absorbing his words.  He did not believe that even that could save his people, not now.  Things were progressing too fast; ghosts would man this ship before they reached another Mage.  Each time they had tried, they had failed.  The last time they had escaped capture by sheer luck, almost getting sucked into the huge black hole in the process.

Mareen's voice drew him back from his reverie.  "The only way to bring them out is to announce our presence.  There is an inhabited system large enough for my plan about two weeks from here.  Unless the engineers have any success with the engines that is.  We will de-cloak above the most populous area and threaten them with exposure to the plague unless they deliver a Mage to us."

It was a plan that was doomed to failure; Shima knew it.  What was to stop them blowing the ship from the sky!  But he had seen the hint of desperation and madness in his superior's eye and knew better than to flout him.

"What of the prisoner?  The woman was of no help she did not hold the secret."

"Drop her off at the next habitable planet, somewhere where she can be found and cared for."

"But--"

"Don't argue, Shima.  I don't want her on my ship any longer."

"But, Sir.  Why even keep her alive?  She has no life left in her, let me--"

"I said no, Shima.  She will be an example of what we can do if the Mage society does not comply with our needs.  Now see to it."

Two days later Dureena was transported to the surface of the small green planet known as Leara.  Sensors on board  Elysia's Hope had shown that life abounded on the planet, not sophisticated to the extent of space travel but enough that she would be well cared for.

Her body shimmered into existence a mile away from a settlement that stood some metres away from a large expanse of water.  Unknown to the Elysian crew, the site had long been abandoned when their enemy had fouled the water.

She was to lie there for over two weeks, surviving only because her body had reverted to a form of survival mode generated by the child, growing fast now, within her.

***

Black circles underscored Galen's deep grey eyes; his cheeks were hollowed and pale.  Although a Mage could go long days without rest, his constant vigilance over the past week had reduced him to a shade of his former self.  To all attempts at concern he had waived a dismissive hand, explaining patiently, as though to a child, that only he could pinpoint Dureena's signal.

It had been over twelve hours since the last brief surge had snapped in his brain.  He thought, he 'hoped' that the planet they now orbited held the object of their search.  He needed another hint of her presence to be sure.  What he needed most was the comfort of knowing she was still alive.  If he found her, if she were still alive, he vowed he would never let her out of his sight again.  A smile tilted his lips at her probable reaction to his over protective idea.  She would have none of it -- he hoped.

The subtle feeling that was Dureena tinged the edge of his thoughts.  Calling up a map of the planet below them he tried to settle on an area at least where they could begin to search.  She was definitely on the planet, her signal was weak and thready, and he feared for her continuing health.  Around him, he was aware of anxious eyes following his every move.  Gideon had been on the bridge almost as constantly as he had been.  Matheson would retire briefly for short rests, then join them again.  Without time to restore his resistance the telepath would be swamped by the many minds onboard the ship.

"There, somewhere in this area here."  Her presence had gone as swiftly as it had arrived, leaving him empty and aching.  The area he outlined was large and covered with forest.  Settlements showed up next to water sources, some abandoned though most seemed still in use.  He hoped she had been taken in by one of them, was being cared for.  Though why she was here at all was a mystery he was willing to wait on an answer for.

The Excalibur crew leapt into action with a willingness that gladdened his jaded heart.  For weeks they had been trailing through the outer reaches of the galaxy, following a hazy trail that constantly petered out.  Now, with something positive to do they moved with swift precision.  Gideon and Matheson both took teams leaving the sidelined XO to take the bridge.  Galen's flyer, though it left the hangar after them, still made it to the planet well before the other searchers.  A grid pattern had been set out and each team moved forward with care into a possibly hostile environment.  Clad in contamination suits the men and women of the Excalibur had taken on an alien appearance.  Dr Chambers had insisted that all the teams were properly suited before she would let them set off.  For if Dureena had been held on the Elysian ship, she did not want to run the risk of bringing that infection on board.  An infection that there had never been a cure for.

The whole of that day they edged forward into the inhospitable forest with no hint of her to be found.  Galen himself moved swiftly from village to village, but each time he came away frustrated.  Gideon checked in with similar results.  No one had seen her; no one had seen a stranger of any sort for many months.

The isolated settlements were humming with tension that seemed to exist between them at all times.  And it was with a sense of relief that Matheson and his team left the last of the occupied areas.  The constant antipathy had begun to erode his barriers, leaving him prey to unsettling emotions of his own.  Entering the forest they were maybe two miles in when one of his men saw something out of place far in the distance; something pale against the deep green.

Galen trod quietly amongst the giant trees on the far edge of the survey area.  Since they had landed he had not felt her in his mind once and fear now stole with icy fingers into his heart.  That last connection had been so tenuous, so brief what if--?  And suddenly she was in his mind, loud and clear and in obvious distress.

***

She lay curled in upon herself, hugging the scant clothing to her emaciated body.  He stared in horror at the changes in her.  From where he stood he could see every rib, every vertebrae of her spine where her back faced him pressed against the flimsy material.  Once softly rounded limbs had taken on a stick like appearance.  Flesh barely covered her delicate bones.  And her hair, her once glorious hair was gone.  Short tufts of prickly, dirty bristles took the place of her long silken locks as though they had been cut with a blunt knife.

She turned in her sleep and his breath caught in his throat as the full horror of her torment was revealed.  Facing him now, he could see her swollen belly.  Her hands moved in her sleep, smoothing over the tight skin as though to protect the child growing within her.  Scars old and new glared in the uncompromising brilliance of artificial lighting.

"Galen, come away now.  Let her rest."  Sarah Chambers took his arm and tried to gently propel him away from where Dureena lay, still semi-comatose.  He was immovable.  She had come out of her self-imposed retirement to help this man search for Dureena.  They all had come at his calling.  His technomancy not withstanding, over the years she had learned to accept him as an exceptional person.  He had put his life on the line for all of them during their search for a cure to the Drakh plague, and it had been his perseverance that had finally made the breakthrough.  They all owed him a huge debt of gratitude, and he had called in his markers.  But for this moment she saw not a Technomage, but a man, a man who was grieving, hurting as any man would.  The once finely sculpted features were now heavily accentuated from lack of sleep and nourishment.  Clear grey eyes burned beneath bony brows his expression haunted.  She had never thought to see the Mage so discomposed.

"Was it rape do you think?  Artificial insemination?  Did they experiment on her--" His voice was harsh in the med Labs quiet confines.  He felt the anger rush through him again, a murderous rage that built up with alarming speed.  He squashed it ruthlessly, his breath catching in his throat with the effort of controlling his spiralling emotions.

"I don't know, Galen.  At the moment, I can't get near her without her vitals going off the scale.  It took four hefty security men to get her this far.  I thought we might lose her there and then but she's made of tough stuff.  Right now, I want her to recover a little.  The unconscious state she is in may be self-induced, may be a form of self-protection.  Whatever she has been through this is her way of coping.  I will know more as and when I can examine her."

He nodded, not really listening.  With Dureena so close her pain resounded in him, for her hand had now gripped the talisman around her neck.  Somewhere deep in her unconscious mind they were linked still.

Sarah's voice finally reached him.  "I don't even know how far along she is in this pregnancy.  When her world was destroyed, all the medical records went too.  Earth had little enough knowledge of her race.  She could be due to give birth today or in six months time.  A lot of the swelling could be due to malnutrition, or fluid retention.  I just don't know," she ended, her frustration laced through her every word and evident in the tense body.

"Why didn't you call to me?" he whispered softly to the unconscious woman who lay so still now; his voice was not meant to be heard.  They had never tested how far the amulet would work, that he could feel her half a world away had been proved.  Had he been so far from her that their link could not work?

One of Med Labs nurses had entered the tiny room that held Dureena's restless form.  Alarms went off at Sarah Chamber's console and she raced back into the room, shooing the startled nurse away from the now feverishly reactive patient.

The force of Dureena's agitation almost brought Galen to his knees.  Her hand was clenched so tightly around the amber stone that her fingers were turning white with the pressure.  Her mind screamed his name into his already reeling senses.  Instinctively he moved forward, only to be beaten back by her fear.  His staff slid from numbed fingers, as the pain in his head became almost unbearable.  Blood pounded in his temples, his eyes blurred even as they tried to focus on her.  This debilitation had been the reason his order had found a way to protect themselves from telepathic intrusion into their minds.  The secrets they carried could spell destruction, death or worse if they fell into the wrong hands.  This link he possessed with Dureena was unique among his order.

"Galen?" Sarah's concerned voice finally reached him as Dureena's hand slid from the stone, releasing him from her pain.

He stood slowly, sending a flash of energy through his body, clearing the residual pain from his system.  Retrieving his staff he turned to look again on her tortured form.

Matheson's abrupt arrival diverted all attention.  His voice muffled through the hastily donned contamination suit.  "I thought I heard--" his voice trailed off as he saw Dureena's unconscious form.  Ten years had done little to change the smooth face and tight form of the Earth telepath.  He shared a glance with Galen, his deep eyes comprehending much of Galen's pain.

Once before he had heard Dureena's voice in his head, unbidden, intrusive and totally unstoppable.  Then, as now, she had been in desperate need.

"Do you think you can reach her, John?"

"That would not be a good idea."  Galen's voice was harsh as he answered Dr Chamber's question for him.  "Over the last few years Dureena has learnt many ways to protect herself, body and mind.  Even if you did manage to get through her defences she could do you incredible harm."

"I can't attempt it, Sarah.  The rules don't allow me to scan an unwilling party.  Not even in such a case as this."  His tone was reluctant.

"Then how, gentlemen, do I get to treat my patient?  Her body can only stand so much of this stress!  It's not good for her, or the baby.  I can't get near her, no-one can, without her body going into overdrive."

At the mention of the child, Galen's body stiffened.  The wounds on her body were nothing compared to the forced impregnation that must have taken place.  How she was even managing to carry a child he did not understand, cross species mating rarely resulted in conception and then most of the offspring were damaged in some way.  The fear that she had carried most of her life, of the forced taking of her body would be overwhelming her.  Even now, ten years with him, she still woke occasionally in a cold sweat; she would crawl into his embrace and take comfort from his nearness.

Matheson took a place next to him as the doctor went back to her terminal.  Keeping his voice low he murmured, "The amulet around her neck, it channels her thoughts, am I right?"

Galen contemplated his reply; did he trust this man enough to part with this information?  He stared into the serious eyes observing him and saw only concern on the younger man's face.  His gaze returned to Dureena, "Yes."

"Is it a two way process, can you reach her?"

Would the stone work that way?  It had not been designed to act as a conduit in the first place, and yet it was intimately linked to Dureena's mind and apparently to him.  She had told him once that she could tell by the temperature of the stone what was happening to him.  When he was angry, when his body was low.  He had raised a questioning brow at her claim and they had, in a small way, investigated the stone.  But there had been so many other, more important things that he had needed to show her, things that were vital to her training if she were to learn all that he could teach her.

Propping his staff against the interconnecting glass he began a slow and cautious approach.  Hoping that she would not see him as a threat.  But as he steadily grew closer her agitation increased, monitors began to spike as she tossed and turned on the bed.

"What the hell is he doing?" Dr Chambers ran back to Matheson.  "Is he trying to kill her?"

Matheson headed off her tirade.  "This may be the only way to reach her.  If Galen can't I don't see who can, do you?"

Her eyes glittered dangerously for a moment, then she relaxed the merest fraction.  "This had better work!"

As he approached, he stripped off the restricting gloves that he had been forced to don during their search.  Removing the breather too he heard the doctor's warning exclamation behind him.

"Galen, don't!  If she is contaminated I can't guarantee your safety.  If you touch her I can't let you out of Med Lab until I know it's safe for you to interact with the rest of the crew!"

Ignoring her protest, he continued to strip himself of the restricting garb until he felt himself in control once more, free to breath and to touch and to feel.

With every step he took Dureena's hand moved closer to the amber stone.  This time, as her fingers clasped around its heavy weight, he was in some way prepared for the assault on his mind.  Still, it nearly stopped him in his tracks, so excruciating was the pain.  One quick lunge and his hand wrapped around hers, then the other, sandwiching her hand and the amulet between his own sensitive fingers.  Her wrists were deeply scarred where bindings had eaten into her flesh.  In places the skin still glared redly where flesh would not heal.  She needed food, water and all the medical help this facility could provide.

He concentrated on her, calling her name in his mind, sending images of himself to her.  Her defences were incredibly strong but he kept battering at them, calling her name over and over.  Beneath his clasped hands she began to tremble as her defences kicked in.  Icy fingers clenched and unclenched within his grasp.

"Galen!" He ignored the doctor's frantic voice, already aware that every monitor was now screaming alarms.

Her shield stood in front of his mind like a wall, impenetrable to his advances, yet even the most solid barrier had a weakness.  He increased the pressure of his mind, throwing images at her of the waterfall, of Cat's lifeless body, of the Med Lab where she now lay, of himself at her side.

For what seemed hours she fought him with everything at her disposal but she was weakened from her ordeal, and he took advantage of that weakness, hardening his heart to her struggle.  Dureena's resistance crumbled suddenly, and he found himself plunging deep into her thoughts and memories.  He pulled back quickly, but not before he had felt her anger and pain, and the soft rhythmic beating of the child's heart that seemed to echo in her thoughts.

The room had gone quiet now, the alarms silenced at last, yet Dureena still lay in her coma.  Dr Chambers had joined him at her side, her examination swift and thorough.

"I need to set up a drip.  Right now, the dehydration is the most important thing to combat.  When her body starts to recover maybe that will give her the incentive to surface."

As she began her work she tried to induce Galen to leave.  "I need to strip her, examine her.  She is entitled to her privacy."

"There are no secrets between us.  We have been together ten years, Sarah.  We are more to each other than pupil and teacher; I thought you understood that?"

"You will get under my feet, impede my work!"

Galen moved out of the way, going to stand quietly in the corner out of the bustle surrounding his lover's body.  Soon, everyone had left the small cubicle except Dr Chambers and Galen.  The glass partition between the room and the rest of Med Lab had been turned opaque to preserve some privacy.  He had watched apparently unmoved as they had stripped the light clothing from her body, washed and treated her wounds, set in lines and taken samples.  Now she lay garbed in the standard blue clothing that hid the worst of her wounds.

Sarah was washing the dirt from Dureena's face and hair, searching for any more wounds to treat when her soft expletive moved him to her side.  Two small burn marks were etched into the thin flesh covering her skull just above the fine ears.  Hidden before by a layer of dirt and blood, they now glared against the pale skin of her scalp.  Sarah grabbed for an instrument, playing it over the area, checking and rechecking her findings.  Galen did not need to see the results, the doctor's face told him more than he wanted to know.

"The damage is extensive.  I'm sorry, Galen.  I don't think she will recover from this.  Very little of her brain is responsive; even in a deep coma there is more activity than I am reading here."

She shook her head at his swift denial, willing to be proved wrong.

Galen was grateful that she kept her distance, an act of sympathy now might tip his precarious hold into an outburst that could prove highly destructive.  He had to see for himself, check her findings; for there was much about the functions of a brain that was no mystery to the Technomages.  They had long ago learnt how to access and control the deep recesses of their minds.  The fact that Dureena had reacted to his thoughts told him that her mind was still alive, that she was still cognisant of the outside world, however much her outward appearance may deny that fact.

His fingers wrapped around the smooth amber stone lying against her chest.  It felt warm to his touch; reflecting his anger?  He reached for her hand, careful not to disturb the drip that fed life giving fluids into her system, and wrapped it between his own and the amulet.  Closing his eyes he attempted to reach her mind once again, carefully making his way past the now downed barriers.  The experience was a new one to him, he had once seen her memories with the aid of a 'viewer' but now he was entering unknown territory.

Her mind was like a maze with pathways that led nowhere constantly formed in his way.  But the more he searched the more he was certain that she lay somewhere at the centre, intact, but afraid to reveal herself.  Keeping his anger in check he slowly made his way forward, all the time touching her mind with images of himself, advertising his intrusion.  All around him, synapses jumped and bridged showing him that all her senses were not down.  She had retreated far into her mind, seeking safety.

Although he searched diligently he could make no headway into her subconscious, her weakened state maybe perpetuating the survival mode that at the moment controlled her body and mind.  He began to withdraw with great care until he was stopped by the sudden intrusion of the baby's heartbeat.  Its rapid rhythm caught him unawares, beating a tattoo into his open senses; and beneath it, the hint of intelligence, of awareness in an unformed state.  For the first time the child had become another life in his mind.

Sarah's touch brought him the rest of the way, and for a moment he bitterly resented that intrusion.

Continued

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