It is as we have foreseen.

Courtney Hunter is Tap.

We felt Haichen relax at our words.

"Yes, Tap."

We heard Haichen's thoughts. She considered the mild attraction and comfort she and Lamount had experienced in their hesitant courting and realized they had a long way to go to achieve love. Could they find this passion and so be able to produce an offspring? If Courtney Tap and Tay Tap could find the mutual respect and trust to reach such a partnership and, yes, affection, then maybe anything was possible.

Courtney Hunter turned and looked at Haichen. "Tay Tap has placed a terrible burden of responsibility on you and Lamount, yet I know it is necessary. I believe that this adversity will bring you and Lamount closer together. I'm happy for you. We're happy for you."

Tap nodded in agreement but we felt her surprise. Giving power to Courtney Hunter was necessary and strategically wise under the circumstances. Accepting she would be sharing power with the human was a harder step, yet one she was determined to take. Tap came to stand by Courtney and spoke to Haichen.

"There are spies in our midst. Make sure that no word of Courtney's condition spreads. I suspect that my brother will use treachery to win this battle if he feels the fight is not going well. Monitor the situation carefully. You have my permission to interfere only if you feel that treachery has put me in a dangerous situation. Do you understand, Haichen Tay Tap?"

Haichen looked up, her eyes wide with shock. Tap had just called her by the title of commander, second only to those of the ruling House. She swallowed, squared her shoulders, and managed to respond with dignity, using an ancient title. "I understand, my Sovereign Ladies."

Tap smiled. "It is time for me to talk to the Council. Go, Haichen Tay Tap. I wish time alone with Courtney Tap." Haichen stepped back and faded away before a startled Courtney.

"Can you all do that? Where did she go?"

"Yes, we can all do that. She has released the energy that binds her molecules together to drift back into space/time. You have

become aware of that flow of life but as yet your body remains behind."

Courtney shook her head and looked at Tap. "There is so much for me to learn, so much responsibility that I will have to assume. Don't die, please, Tay. Come back to us. I need you," she choked out.

There was no answer. Tap was embarrassed by Courtney Hunter's sudden display of emotion and yet pleased by it. Tap hesitantly reached out and touched Courtney Hunter's belly, then she slowly vanished from Courtney's world.

We observed the dark eyes desperately scanning the screens in the lab. All other resources had revealed nothing of why Tap was willing to revolt against her brother in order to keep control of this small and insignificant planet. A number of times, the human Courtney Hunter had been brought to the labs. At first, it had seemed as if this was because she had been ill, her mind overtasked by the workload she had been assigned. Now, the spy was not sure that was the case.

Tap's sudden decision to rebel after all this time in exile had to be connected to the arrival of Courtney Hunter and whatever Lamount had been up to in this lab all this time. Gene Lamount must be a double agent working for Tap and not a spy for Torgga Tap, as they had thought. They had been fooled, but not anymore. There was more going on here than the study of Earth diseases. The spy meant to find out what.

The screen flashed to another file and the dark eyes blinked, at first unable to accept what they were reading. Surely not! The spy slowly sat in the swivel chair and started to read. It was all there, kept safely in a computer not attached to any system. That was why Torgga Tap had been unable to access the data. Tay had mated artificially with the human animal and the insemination had been successful. There was to be an heir to the Tap line, after all, but the cost was to be their purity.

The spy moved to another computer, stepping over the unconscious body of Lamount. It was not possible to worry about security now. Torgga Tap must know this information before Tay went before the Council. Then the next step would be to kill Courtney Hunter before being captured or killed.

From Courtney Hunter's Logs