Invid Lullaby

Chapter 13

Council
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"Lraon must have orchestrated this!" let out Lisa Hayes Hunter after reading the summoning letter issued for her husband's presence at the Council's chamber.

"No doubt," agreed Rick, feeling a headache gathering under his temples "He already stirred the delegates with his misgivings about the threat of Marlene and her hybrid baby. And he wasted no time to rally them against me on what he called an illegal and unwarranted search of diplomatic premises."

"It's ridiculous! Marlene is not capable of hurting anyone and her baby even less so."

"I know, darling. But Lraon has instilled fear in the minds of the Council's members. Some are talking about eliminating the mother and her baby... when he's found." If he's found, he thought as the fruitless search cast doubts on this.

"Eliminating!?" she gasped. "There is absolutely no way we are going to allow such a thing to happen!"

"Yes, it is unimaginable. However, judging by the involvement of a Garudan in the kidnapping, Lraon's words must have been heard."

"He has to be stopped!" she said enraged.

"Don't get upset, Lisa." He reached out for her.

"Over my dead body they'll get a change to hurt them!" she insisted.

"The situation has to be handled carefully, my love, we need to be calm." She agreed and gave him a silent nod as he held her hand. They stood silent for a few seconds.

"I must meet Emil before this circus gets started," he spoke.

"Can I come with you?"

"Of course."

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During the time they had tapped into the being's mind, Sera and Marlene were able to get a general sense of its location. Had the contact lasted a while longer, the Invid would have been able to pin-point an exact place.

The sudden and complete silence sank the sisters into an abyss of anguish. The being was their only link to the missing child. In vain they searched, in vain they tried to reconnect. At last, drained, Marlene and Sera called Scott and Lancer. They met and shared what they had discovered while the physical search continued, full-blown but unsuccessful, throughout Moon Base.

"Something else with the baby? Something like what?"

"A consciousness... a living being, Scott"

"A... being?"

"Yes," replied Sera.

"Its mind was simple, but it seemed set on protecting the baby," explained Marlene.

"Are you sure about that?" Skepticism and worries transpired from the father's tone.

"Not completely, the being wasn't able to hold a complex mental link," offered Sera. "But we didn't sense any trace of bad intentions within it."

"A being... with a simple mind..." Scott couldn't wrap his mind around what the sisters described as accompanying his baby.

"There's no time to lose, Scott. Marlene and I can take you where we sensed that the being was," asserted Sera.

"You have a location?"

"Not an exact location, but a range. If we get close enough, maybe we'll see something or perhaps we'll be able contact it again," the princess said and Marlene nodded. He hesitated, following a false lead will make them waste precious time.

"It may be our only chance, Scott!" said the mother.

"All right, let's get to it." He had to take the risk.

Scott pulled a group from the search forces out from their assigned zone and ordered them to rendezvous with him.

"Lancer, I want you to supervise the search from sectors 5A to B6. I'll go with Marlene and Sera. We'll keep a channel open in case anything happens." Lancer agreed.

Bernard informed his men about the change while three special transports arrived. The sisters and him boarded one. The other two vehicles, loaded with security personnel, took off following the directions the Invid gave them.

"Where could such a being had come from?" inquired Scott as the vehicle rushed through Moon Base.

"We can't really tell, Scott," said Sera. The implications sank into Marlene's mind. She worried about the meaning of it.

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The RDF Council's chambers were full. Delegates and assorted media waited to hear how Admiral Rick Hunter would explain his actions in front of the disciplinary commission. The secrecy apropos the handling of the Invid and her offspring was over as the search went full scale.

"Ambassador Lraon Burrek from Karbarra has alerted this Council about actions of yours which he deems irresponsible and hazardous to the Alliance." The room erupted with buzzing and whispering as the disciplinary commission's representative's voice reverberated. "Like with all claims presented to this body, we are giving you the opportunity to defend yourself." Rick nodded. "Ambassador Lraon, you can ask your questions now."

In the third row of seats, directly in front of Rick, Lisa Hayes Hunter sat next to Dr. Emil Lang. Her supporting eyes never left sight of her husband.

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"We are getting closer," said Marlene as the vehicle advanced. Sera had taken the lead over her sister at directing the driver as the mother felt increasingly anxious.

Not surprisingly, their quest approached the location of the diplomatic section. Scott worried. That area had already been searched -unsuccessfully, causing a political crisis within the Council as well.

"We can't take the transports any further, sir," informed the driver as they faced a maze of stairs and ramps.

"No way around it?" asked Sera.

"No ma'am, beyond this structure, there's just the base's dome. After that, it's lunar dust," the driver said checking a map displayed in front of her.

This must be it, thought Marlene hopeful.

The group left the transports behind and continued on foot, climbing up several levels. At the top, disappointment waited: domed emptiness, a huge platform used for observation.

At a loss, the parents watched.

"Marlene, are you sure?" asked Scott confused. This couldn't possibly be the right place.

"I... I don't understand..." Marlene sounded desperate.

"Yes, this is it," offered Sera. "The place is right."

Scott scanned the barren surface. But where?

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"I, like many other in this room would like to know, Admiral, why did you, assisted by others whom I will later name," he eyed Lang and Lisa blatantly, "concealed the fact that an Invid was being brought to Moon Base from this Council? Why did you hide it purposely, knowing that this race is an enemy of our Alliance and that this particular Invid, because of its condition, posed a great danger to all of us?"

"Ambassador, let me be clear. Marlene was brought here as a guest, precisely to protect her and her unborn child from the dangers of Earth. There wasn't any conspiracy of any kind, just measures for discretion. The Council was informed immediately after Dr. Lang assessed the newcomers' condition. As you know, she was carrying a hybrid child and needed special attention. A pregnant woman doesn't pose any danger to anyone. And, may I remind you, the Invid may not be part of this Alliance, but they weren't declared enemies."

"You forget so soon, Admiral. Not that long ago, the Invid Regiss attacked one of your bases on Earth... New Liberty? Was it?" Rick readied himself for a reply but before words left his mouth, Lraon was quick to add, "and that Marlene is not a woman, she's an Invid. Everyone here knows what the Invid are capable of doing." He surveyed the whispering assembly. "Is it that you are biased? Have you been deceived by its apparent fragility and resemblance of a human female?" he emphasised, then continued lowly, "no doubt the child's father was deceived too. Set appearances aside and you'll see how dangerous these things really are." The audience listened attentively. "The Invid had been observed to posses fearsome abilities. This Marlene could as well be a spy for her queen. Who knows what kind of information she extracted from her human lover; she could have already told the Regiss about our weak points using telepathy." The delegates were aghast.

"That is absurd!" yelled Lisa unable to control herself any longer.

"Admiral Hayes Hunter!" he said turning to face her. "I'm glad to see you here although, I haven't reached the point where I tell this Council about your complicity in all this."

"Complicity?!" Rick sprung up, irate. "Ambassador Lraon, you're out of line! This isn't a a place where you can shoot unfounded accusations."

"Unfounded you say?" Lraon shot back poisonously. The assembly broke in commotion. Some in support, some against, discrepancies became evident and heated among the delegates.

"I remind you that no violence will be tolerated in this room," said the commission's representative. As havoc broke in the upper rows, someone spoke to Lraon in a hushed tone.

"We will take an hour break," the representative announced while security approached a couple of delegates who seemed to be discussing the matter a little bit too vehemently. Everyone was asked to leave the room.

Ambassador Lraon wouldn't rejoin the meeting after the recess. The diplomat walked briskly out of the Council's Chambers and used an alternate exit to leave the building. News of the developments at Baraka's lab unsettled him. Lraon decided it was time to act and stop the scientist's recklessness. Enough risks had been taken, enough resources had been wasted. It was time to destroy that menace and cover any traces that would link him to it.

_____

Where are you? Please answer me... the mother reached mentally. Nothing. Her sister joined her effort. Where? They asked. Silence... Then a soft, quasi imperceptible vibration...

Under...

Under... under... Marlene mused, then suddenly, "It must be underground, Scott!" she yelled.

Promptly, the captain, had his forces scan the area using depth sensors and discovered a hollow corridor underneath the surface.

"This passage isn't on any map, sir," reported one. "It seems to extend southward, deeper under the base."

"We must gain access to it!" Scott commanded.

"Do you want us to follow it and find an entrance, sir?"

"No time. Call lieutenant Belmont and his units," he ordered, "and get me an explosives expert, now!"
 
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Posted on: 2005-05-26

• New Beginnings
• Investigation
• Intervention
• Freedom Lost
• Heaven and Hell
• Missing Pieces
• Panic
• Hit of Miss
• Night Watch
• Awakening
• Confrontation
• Revenge
• Council
• Unraveling
• Finality
• Epilogue