See Part One for Disclaimers

Weapons were in play as he turned his attention to the commotion surrounding Captain Gideon.  As Galen strode forward to help, one of the Elysian lunged toward him as though recognising who and what he was.  Bony fingers clutching for his arm even as it fumbled for the device.  But he was quicker.  A blast from his outstretched hand temporarily stunned the alien and in those few seconds Galen had torn the object from the alien's wrist, flinging it out of reach even as his shield snapped around them both.  Outnumbered and outgunned, the other four quickly hit their own devices, vanishing from the bridge as miraculously as they had arrived.

"Matthew, clear the corridors between here and Med Lab, inform Doctor Chambers to suit up, I'm bringing her a visitor."  He leaned toward the console and quickly redirected the life support to service the bridge area, effectively cutting off those of the crew who now stood watching him intently.

"You will have to remain quarantined I'm afraid, just in case the good doctor's theory proves incorrect.  I have cut you off from the rest of the Excalibur, all your air is now being recycled."

"What about you and this would be kidnapper?  Won't you infect the rest of the ship if you leave us?"

His hand swept out and touched the shield that surrounded him and the Elysian captive.  "Nothing gets through this except the oxygen mix I need to breathe.  Just as well for my friend here that he can manage on the same mix!"

"Galen, be careful."

"I do believe you are getting sentimental in your old age, Matthew!" A smile briefly lit his eyes acknowledging the sentiment.  Tightening his grip on his captive's wrists, he marched the being ahead of him.

Once into the corridors, he leant forward a little, speaking softly into the pale blue ear.  "I have been looking for you for a very long time, there are some serious questions you have to answer.  And some deeds you will atone for."

"If I answer your questions, Mage, will you answer mine?"

"You know, I really don't think you are in any position to bargain."  Slivers of power skimmed across his hand and onto the blue flesh held tightly in his grasp.  The Elysian shuddered as the sensation burned his nerve endings.

"Now, until we decide if you are contagious you will be our guest in the medical facility.  Do not, even for a moment, consider escape.  I shall be with you at all times and, believe me, you will not enjoy the punishments I can devise."

Though the Elysian walked tall and defiant, Galen could feel the tremble that ran through its body at the implied threat, a threat he would be more than happy to execute.  He only needed a valid excuse to release his pent-up anger.

Dr Chambers had released her staff from their duties and she waited alone, suited and calm as Galen marched his prisoner into the Med Lab confines.  Dureena's room had been sealed off and the facility now ran on its own recycled air.

A slight breath of power and his shield fell leaving the two men to face one another.  Deep blue eyes met Galen's cold grey, defiant and hopeful.

"Check him out Doctor, lets make sure your assumptions are correct before I continue with this."

The alien tried to back away as Sarah approached him but Galen's hands were tight and confining.  "Don't worry, she is not the one you have to fear, my friend, I am your Nemesis."  He paused, letting his icy voice chill the captive further.  "Do you have a name?"

For a moment it seemed he would refuse but the tingle of power Galen released against his wrist twisted the answer from him.

"Shima, second in command of Elysia's Hope.  We have searched long for one of your kind.  We need --"

Anger ran through him, unstoppable in its headlong rush.  He could feel its deadly approach and let it take him for a brief second.  Where his fingers gripped the alien's flesh the smell of burning could be detected.  Its scream of pain, added to the insistent tone of Dr Chambers' outrage, dragged him back from the brink of losing control.  Releasing his prisoner, he stepped away turning his back on them as he struggled to regain his composure.  Facing the opaque screen that hid Dureena from view his mind dredged up all that he had imagined she had suffered and the struggle within him continued.  He breathed deeply, concentrating on the slow inhale and exhale, ignoring the grip of anger that twisted at his insides, until he once again held control of his emotions.  When he turned again, he found two pairs of eyes watching him, Sarah's wary and concerned, Shima anxious yet strangely unafraid.

"Finish your tests, Doctor."  And Galen leant against the wall, watching as she drew what passed for blood, scanned the alien's physiology into her computers.  When she was done he moved closer again, this time he held his needs well in check.

"I know that it was your vessel that stole into my domain, that you took from me that which was most precious.  I know that you slaughtered my companion and thought to take from a Mage the one secret that you will never acquire.  But you chose wrongly.  The woman you kidnapped did not know the answers to your questions, did she?  And you tortured her, hoping to force from her that which she did not possess.  How long did you make her suffer?  What did you do to her to make her mind flee in terror?" At each stabbing accusation he stepped closer until he was almost on top of the accused.  Sarah inserted herself between the two as though feeling the tension that threatened to flare into violence.  Her hand pressed lightly against his chest.

"How could you understand!" Shima flung back.  "Have you ever had to do something that goes against every instinct of what is right?  We had no choice.  Your secret was the only thing that could possibly save our race from extinction.  We are dying! Yes, I can see it in your face that you wish our demise, but we have only a century left at best, a few decades at worst until the Elysia are no more."  His shoulders slumped in defeat.  All along he had thought the quest doomed to failure, the Galaxy had forged ahead in its technology and sciences leaving his people far behind.  They had left with such brave ideas and found themselves children in this adult world.

"Our children are no longer being born, our elders are dying sooner than their ancestors did.  We are a people doomed to extinction unless we can gain time to continue our research.  We are not close to a solution yet, and soon there will be no one left to continue the work.  Your secret, the longevity of the Mages was legendary in our forefather's lifetime.  We knew you would not give up that knowledge freely so we planned to take what we needed."

The dark blue eyes turned away from Galen, staring bleakly into the air.  "Without the ability to extend our lives we are dead.  We took the female because we thought she held that knowledge.  She was stubborn; she never spoke a word to me all the time she was on board.  No matter what we tried she would not answer us so -- we went a step further."

Galen was rigid with suppressed wrath.  How reasonable it all sounded, this expiation of the sins they had committed.  If they had come to the Mage society for assistance there was the faintest chance that his order would have tried to help.  An exchange of knowledge; a possible cure for the disease for the technology he had seen in operation.  But theft, no, never would that have worked with his kind.

"We have a device that scans the brain, removing knowledge from the subject -- It was our last hope don't you see?  Since we returned to this part of the galaxy the plague that decimated our people re-emerged.  It had lain dormant for over two centuries; we were dying, possibly without hope of returning at all, but we still had to try."

"And you used it on her, knowing that she probably did not hold the knowledge you sought.  " The words hissed out between clenched teeth.  " You condemned her to a life without thought, without feeling.  You abandoned her on a planet where she would surely die of neglect."

"No! We made sure she was deposited near a settlement, she would have been found, cared for."

"A conscience?  How convenient for you.  You strip her of all that she is and leave her for someone else to care for.  Well there was no one to care for her, my friend.  You dumped her in the middle of nowhere; the settlement was abandoned long before.  But you didn't even check that far did you?"

Shima would have defended himself but Galen gave him no time, continuing his accusations.

"And what of the child she bears within her! What monstrous act did you perform, what genetic horror does she carry?"

Shima's "We did nothing to her beyond what you know --" and Sarah's, "Galen, there is something you should know about the child."  Clashed in his mind, cancelling one another out.  He heard neither heated exclamation.

A beep from the computer dragged Sarah away from the conflict to the readout on her screen.  Stripping off her mask and gloves she breathed the recycled air gratefully.

"I was right, it is ingested, not airborne."

But Galen was too caught up to take notice.  Her next words however did attract his attention.

"Galen, look at this.  I'm sure I have seen this coding before but the computer doesn't show a match."

He strode over to her side, one eye still on the now quiescent Shima.  His glance skimmed across the screen, his attention arrested by the genetic formula.  He quickly tapped in a series of codes, linking his computer to the terminal he now occupied.  Within seconds a match appeared.  Mage and Doctor shared a significant glance, then turned as one to the blue creature.

Shima stared back at them, trembling slightly then he looked down at the thin fingers, the slim hand and at the rapidly fading colour of his skin.

***

Dureena opened her eyes to semi-darkness.  The soft beep of medical equipment sounded soothingly familiar to her, the smell of recycled air seemed right.  Against her breast the amber talisman glowed softly, its warmth seeped through her, stimulating every nerve.  She should know what this meant yet its significance seemed just out of reach.  Her eyes closed again as she started to drift back into sleep, the sound of voices tickling her senses with a familiarity that bordered on annoyance.  Opening her eyes again, looking around her with interest, she focussed on the muted sounds issuing from behind the opaque screen.

There!  That voice, she knew it, she was sure.  The stone glowed brighter, its warmth now almost a physical phenomenon.  Cold fingers moved slowly, her strength eluding her needs, as her hand slid across the sheet towards the stone.  She caressed its smooth lines, traced the pattern of silver that surrounded it with delicate fingers before letting her palm rest over the whole.  And then an image came to her; a tall dark garbed figure that emanated power.  A stern face with deep eyes that could take your soul, she was not afraid, but comforted rather.  And with the vision came a name that sighed softly from her.  "Galen."

***

His head snapped around toward the enclosed cubicle, her voice whispering his name within his mind.  He started forward, the doctor at his heels, their captive temporarily forgotten in the rush to Dureena's side.

She lay staring up at the ceiling her fingers tracing patterns on the glowing amber stone seemingly unaware of their sudden rushed entrance.  Galen approached slowly as Sarah moved to the monitors, checking her vitals with obvious satisfaction.

With an unsteady hand he reached for her fingers where they now rested on the warm stone.  At his touch she turned toward him, studying his features with her glorious tawny eyes.  Intelligence swam within them as she frowned, her eyes flitting across his face and form even as her hand tightened on his.  He brought his other hand to her cheek, caressing her pale skin calling her name.

Awareness seemed to return to her in one sudden rush.  She jerked as though scalded, trying desperately to sit up as her hand gripped his until her fingers whitened.  "Galen!"

He pulled her up and into his arms, holding her close to him, feeling her tremble in his embrace.  Wave upon wave seemed to wash through her as memories surfaced; he could feel her anger and frustration as clearly as his own.  Suddenly she stiffened and he heard the quick intake of breath, felt her try to move out of his encircling arms, her attention focused behind him.  He turned; Shima stood in the doorway, his face a mask of disbelief at the scene he now witnessed.

Dureena's fingers gripped tightly into Galen's shoulder as she tried to pull herself toward the edge of the bed and onto her feet.  Only his firm grasp of her waist stopped her from flinging herself at the alien staring at them from the doorway.

"Galen, let me loose! That bastard, that -- let me go!" Her voice had found its strength in the few short hours she had been recovering.  Dr Chambers had always marvelled at her recuperative powers, now they were being tested to their limit.  One hand moved swiftly from its hold on his shoulder and dived toward the pocket nearest to her.  He stayed her incipient raid, grabbing her hand and holding her securely.  Carefully avoiding the heavy bandages on her wrist, he levelled his stern gaze at her.

"No."  His crisp command stopped her dead.  His voice softened as her angry gaze caught his.  "I understand your need, Dureena, believe me I do.  But vengeance must wait a while.  When you are recovered I promise you he will be all yours.  Until then, you must rest."

"You don't know what he did to me, Galen."  Her husky voice tore at him.  He understood her anger and pain only too well when it came to needing vengeance.  And he knew what a terrible price she would pay if that desperate need became her driving force.

Her hand moved to the swelling mound of her belly.  As it traversed the straining material Galen's heart ached for the abuse she had suffered.  Whatever abomination they had implanted in her body, she would have to live with its consequences.  And then her hand caught his, holding it to the swell of her body as the child within kicked hard.  Without thought he removed his hand from her grasp, flinching at the contact.  His mind recoiling from the intimate contact.  He quickly turned and headed to where the prisoner still stood, not seeing the hurt and puzzlement that shone in Dureena's eyes.

The ship shuddered beneath his feet; a tremor than ran through him and set alarms ringing in the corridors outside.  Grabbing Shima's arm he marched the alien ahead of him until he reached the nearest com line.

"Matthew?"

The Captain's composed face lit the screen.  "We have a little situation going down here, Galen.  It seems our little blue friends are a bit unhappy at our grabbing one of their own.  How are things going down there?"

"Dr Chambers' report should be with you shortly, but the plague we thought the Elysian carried is no danger to us."  He passed his free hand over the console.  "You are now free to use any part of the ship.  I have re-set all systems."

He could hear doors swishing open in the corridor outside as crew ran to their posts.  Elysia's Hope was no match for the Excalibur's massive firepower, as they would soon find out.  Galen hoped that the alien ship would sustain only minor Damage.  At least until he had a chance to examine the technology.

Behind him he could hear the soft sound of the two women's voices, Dr Chambers, calm and soothing, Dureena's rapidly rising.  It was becoming harder for him to watch the swell of her body, knowing that the abomination she carried must have been forced onto her.  His instinctive recoil from even that brief contact lived with him still.  He took a moment to centre himself, still keeping one eye on his now quiescent captive.  Since he had seen Dureena's recovery Shima had retired within himself, what little resistance he had made washed from him.

The ship shuddered again as the doors to the facility swished open.  Two burly security men entered, casting a questioning eye Galen's way.

"Good idea, take him to the holding cell, let him think things over for a while."

Another hit to the massive ship sent tremors through the walls around him.  He tapped a com link.  "Everything alright up there, Matthew?"

"Just peachy.  You had better stay down there Galen.  Things are getting a little rough right now."

"Ah, Matthew, didn't we have this discussion once before?  I'll see you on the bridge.  Don't let them blow the Excalibur up until I get there."

He was almost to the transport tube when he heard the rapid beat of footsteps behind him.  Ignoring their swift approach he called for the tube.  Dr Chambers' voice stopped his entry into the sleek shell that waited him.

"Galen, wait!"

Cool eyes took in her rapidly approaching form.  He noted the high colour on her cheeks -- the impatient tread, and read the warning signs accurately.  Sarah had something on her mind that he probably would not enjoy hearing.

Another shudder under his feet almost sent him spilling into the open door of the transport.  To his left a faint shimmer, and another to his right.  The increase in electrons within his immediate vicinity sent warning signals straight to his brain.  Power surged around him as two Elysian coalesced at his side.  If he had not been a Mage he would have been swamped by their sudden arrival.  As it was he had sufficient warning to bring his own defences into play.  A bolt to the left, one to the right and the two would-be attackers were felled.

"Sloppy, very sloppy," he murmured, as he stripped the devices from the thin wrists.  Linking in to the com system, he called for security to collect his latest victims.

By now, Sarah had joined him.  Stepping over the unconscious humanoids she grabbed Galen's arm and marched him into the waiting transport.

"Do I take it you have something of importance to tell me, Doctor?" He gently disengaged her hand from his arm with fastidious care.

"Too damn right I do! What the hell do you think you are doing to Dureena?  You have spent the last months searching the galaxy for her and now, when she needs you most, you desert her.  She and the child both need you."

She must have seen him wince for her next words cut home deeply.

"It's the child isn't it?  She has done all that she could to protect it from the terrible things the Elysian did to her, why can't you help her now?"

He turned away from her accusing eyes, unwilling to admit that Dureena's pregnancy bothered him at all.

"Look at me, Galen.  The child will need both its parents.  If you are going to abandon Dureena now, tell her.  Don't make her suffer like this."

"Do we even know what the father is?" his tone bitter with the speculations that had run riot in his imagination since he saw Dureena's condition.

"You didn't wait for my report, never read the results I sent to Captain Gideon."  Sarah's statement held an edge of understanding.  "Galen, the genetic mix is peculiar, I'll grant you that.  I only had samples of Dureena's DNA to work from, but the child is definitely hers and the father is human.  There is no other genetic makeup present; none at all."

Continued

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