I worried and chafed at the inactivity. I paced restlessly around the dark computer room, watching as stern faces anxiously

scanned screens of rolling data. Haichen stood to one side, eyes closed, focused on the faint trace of energy that was her leader, now light years away. I bit my lip and frowned. Haichen had said that even with Tay Tap's remarkable abilities, it would take time to cross through dimensions to their world. Haichen had told her it was called Tappor, the Peaceful One. The little I knew about Tapporian history suggested the planet had been anything but peaceful.

"She has arrived and is before the Council," Haichen stated, and moved to stand in front of a monitor. I moved with her, although the strange markings meant nothing to me. Haichen had explained these were not like the computers of Earth but ones that used the low microwave energy of the dark matter of space to send untraceable impulses through the universe along the strings of space/time. To me it was pure science fiction. The terms, I was aware of; the concepts behind them eluded me.

I took to pacing again. The wait seemed endless. Fear gnawed at my gut. I found myself second-guessing all my decisions in the last few days and finding no better answers. I was now the alien, one human woman relying on the loyalty of a group of Tapporians who were virtual strangers. Their world view, their thought patterns, their concepts of right and wrong were so different from mine. I needed Tay here. Without her, I had to admit, I was scared and lonely.

Haichen straightened from the screen and looked across the room at me. "The Council has agreed to the Malasha. Torgga has supported this decision. It will start when—"

"Haichen Tay Tap, look at this!" interrupted an excited voice. Officers manning modules took off earphones and hurried to stand behind the excited officer and Haichen as they watched the computer screen.

"What is it?" I demanded.

"Shit!" exploded Haichen, turning on the officer and using an English word that she had found to be particularly expressive. "Sapata, scan for her. Lucentern, I need details."

"What is going on?" I repeated louder as I watched Haichen's people manning their centres again and working feverishly. Fear spread like fire through my gut.

"We don't know where Tay Tap is. Something has happened. Give me a minute to sort through all this mess and I will be able to tell you more," Haichen finally answered me, not taking her eyes off the screen of data that rolled past.

I felt my heart contract. This was my worst nightmare coming true.

Haichen scanned the screen madly, trying to make sense of the reports of the observing recorders in the Hall of the Council. It made no sense. A plot against Torgga Tap had been exposed at the last minute and Torgga had managed to escape, pulling Tay Tap with him into another place/time. The Council was in an uproar.

From Our Report

Not far away, the spy walked calmly into the main rotunda and looked around. They were in the computer room, monitoring Tap's progress. It was likely that Courtney Hunter was with them. The human had courage and daring. It was likely that she would insist on an active role in all this. That meant getting to Courtney Hunter would be easy. It also meant that death was inevitable in the shootout that would follow. To die for one's leader was honourable.

We saw. We cared. We could do nothing.

Give me strength, Guardians, to face what I must, Ian thought as he flipped the safety off the gun and opened the door.

Courtney looked up with worried eyes that widened into shock as the gun in Ian's hand raised.

"Ian, no!" cried Haichen.

Courtney went down in the crossfire that followed.

Chapter Twenty

"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we might win, by fearing to attempt."

~ William Shakespeare

From Our Report

Tay remembered relaxing at Courtney's touch and letting the energy of her being draw in. Gradually, the bonds that held her molecules together weakened and she could feel herself drifting off into a dimension without form. The sense of oneness stole over her, of tranquil belonging within a sea of like souls. The current in which she flowed travelled at near light speed and yet, relative to her own awareness, time stood still.

She had ached for this tranquil belonging when she first arrived on Earth. She had found it very difficult to confine her being to a limited form. Her movements had seemed heavy and clumsy, and she was revolted by the feeling of touch and the germs and dirt associated with it.

Now, to her surprise, she found her old dimension sadly lacking in stimulation. Here there could never be the heady scent of flowers warmed by the sun, or the shiver of excitement when thunderclouds mounted on the horizon and the wind got up. The texture of soft hair and warm flesh could never be felt, nor could one taste the salt of a tear shed at separation. There was only tranquil sameness. Here a sliver could not sting, a bump could never give soreness, and a word said in anger could not hurt. Yet it was feeling that gave colour to life, gave it passion and drive. What they had lost in throwing off the shackles of the third dimension was their sense of being.

Slowly, she felt herself crystallize into solid form. She stood on a hilltop surrounded by a rugged, arid land. The purple Nareenians were in bloom and their sweet peppery scent filled the air. She had never been aware of their fragrance before. Her time on Earth had changed her. Forty individuals stood as she materialized. They were the hereditary members of the Council. Forty leaders from the great tribes of the plains now ruled by the house of Tap and guided by the Guardians, Keepers of the Way. They had been sitting in a circle on rough cut blocks of stone, waiting. One stone for each clan and three left empty in symbolic respect to the Guardians. We watched. Each wore the costume and colours of

their tribe with pride. When she had fully arrived, they bowed in respect, not in servitude. Tay wondered how they felt when they bowed before her much more powerful brother.

"Welcome home, Tay Appala Punra. You have been too long gone from our lives."

Tay acknowledged the Speaker of the Council with a slight nod of her head. "Necessity has brought me back once again. I invoke the right to a Malasha."

There were gasps of surprise and murmurs of disbelief, but Tay was totally focused on the tremor in the atmosphere around her. Torgga was arriving. She turned to face him as he appeared on the other side of the circle. The members of the Council again rose, but this time their bow was deeper and fear made them hesitate to straighten again. Tay did not bow. She looked her brother in the eye defiantly. Her message was clear. She would no longer honour or follow him.

"So, my younger sister, you are here to request the Malasha. You have never known your place. You were wild as a child and disobedient as a youth. Now I am shocked to be told that you even mate with animals."

The Council looked fearful, at a loss as to what to do. Some gasped at this revelation, others protested, some still stood, others sat. Tay walked nonchalantly over to her brother. "I have sired a child by a human. That might offend you, but at least, dear brother, I am capable of passing on my seed."

Torgga's face went red with anger. He turned his back on his sister and moved closer to the Council seats. When he spoke, his voice was etched with ice. "Honourable Council and most noble of Guardians, you see the rudeness with which my sister addresses me. By right, I could have her terminated, but unlike my sister, I was raised to rule. I will not insult my lineage by having Tay Appala Punra executed like a commoner. I, too, request the right of Malasha. I will defeat and kill my sister in fair battle, as befits the rank she now mocks."

Tay laughed as she walked to stand beside her brother. "Pretty words, my brother, and as meaningless as the wind echoing through an empty canyon. The Ancient Ones introduced the Malasha into our laws so that if a Tap was found not capable of leadership they could be removed by combat." She looked at her brother with disdain.

The Speaker looked at the anger in Torgga's eyes. He was well aware that Torgga's leadership had been harsh and tight. He was feared not loved by the people of the endless plains and space, yet

it was his right to lead. One would be mad to cross this man. Slowly, the Speaker walked from councillor to councillor, stopping each time to see how each folded their hands. Then he went to stand again in his own position. "The Council recognizes the sovereign right of Torgga Appala Punra. At his request, we grant the Malasha. Torgga Appala Punra, Tay Appala Punra, you will go now to the fields of Ternsal where the battle of Tarmalasha ended the civil wars and brought peace and balance to the forty tribes so very long ago. There you will battle one another for the right to lead. Go now."

Tay allowed her energy to draw within. She was ready to dematerialize when she felt Torgga grab her by the wrist. "It's a trap, look over there! She and that official are trying to pull me to a new arena," she heard her brother cry, and then she was gone, her energy redirected at the speed of light.

The angry Councillor turned to where Torgga was pointing and released a bolt of energy that broke the connection that the official had placed on the brother and sister. The Councillor's second bolt hit the unlucky man in the chest and he dropped to the grass, unconscious. The Council was in an uproar. Never had anything like this happened.

Tay did not fall to the ground, she floated, hitting and bouncing high again in a mist of dust particles. She twisted like a dancer in the thin atmosphere so that she would land this time on her feet. It was incredibly hot. Torgga had chosen well. After her time on Earth, fighting in low gravity in a dry, hot environment would be very difficult for Tay. She was in trouble, big trouble, and she very much feared that her people would have lost contact with her.

From Courtney Hunter's Logs

I got up slowly with Haichen's support. I could feel Haichen trembling with emotion, but her face appeared serious and calm. "You are okay, Courtney Appala Punra?"

I nodded. "Believe me, I got out of the way as soon as I saw that gun. I'm fine, Haichen." I saw Haichen's worried eyes shift to the door and back again, and knew immediately the source of Haichen's tension. "I think you'd better go check on Gene Lamount while I get some of the others here to find out what's going on and where Tay is."

Haichen eyes widened in surprise and then softened into gratitude. I gave the arm that supported me a squeeze of understanding.

Haichen shook her head. "Sapana, go see if Gene Lamount is all right. If he is alive, we need to know if any files were accessed by the spy. Have him report here."

Sapana, a young man crouched beside Ian's body, rose and made his way to the door. Haichen stooped to make sure Ian was dead as she passed to the computer terminals. I steadfastly refused to look. Ian might have been a traitor who had tried to kill me, but I could not imagine him as anything but a friend. I felt sick inside and despite what I had said to Haichen, I was anything but okay. I was terrified. "I can't believe that Ian... Well, I just can't," I muttered through tight lips as I watched chairs being righted and screens brought back on line.

"I am surprised. I am sure Tay Appala Punra will be also." For a minute, Haichen watched the screen as data flowed rapidly across it. "The Malasha was granted and Tap and Torgga were on their way to the fields of Ternsal to battle. A spy appeared and tried to force the two of them into another realm. At the last instant, Torgga cried out and pulled Tap somewhere else. The Council has the man, Covel, who is a low official of Torgga's court. He is refusing to talk. But just before Torgga and Tap disappeared, Torgga yelled out a warning that it was a trap, pointed to the official, and then grabbed Tap and pulled her with him.

"Convenient, that it was Torgga who saw this Covel. It was a pre-planned deflection and they have Tay."

"Where is she?" I snapped, barely controlling my anger at the turn of events.

"Courtney, I am sorry; we do not know. It could take us hours to sift through data to try and find a trail of ionized particles that might lead us to them. I only sensed their destination for a split second. It was very, very hot there."

"Then start looking," I commanded, turning on my heel and heading for the door. "I'm going to try another method."

"Courtney, Tay commanded that I stay with you," Haichen argued, quickly following.

"Haichen, I'm in command now. Our first priority is to save Tay Appala Punra. Emergencies call for drastic and creative action. Besides," my voice filled with sadness, "the spy is dead. Stay at your station. This is a job I must do alone."

Haichen took a step back in respect. "Yes, Courtney Appala Punra."

I walked purposefully down the hall, only stopping for a second to question Gene as he came limping down the hall,

supported by a worried looking Sapana. "Did Ian find what he was looking for?" I asked cautiously.

Gene nodded sadly. "Yes, that file was open."

"Then he would have transmitted the information before he came looking for me. Meet Haichen in the communications room. Wait there for further instructions," I ordered, and saw the shocked look on Lamount's face as I opened the door that led into Tay's private quarters.

I stood in the room with the beautiful abstract paintings that I now knew were painted by Tay of other dimensions. I tried to calm and focus my mind. Guardians, I need to speak with you. Guardians, Tay is in trouble. I need your help. Guardians, please.

Help is not ours to give.

We offer only wisdom.

And our opinion.

"Forget neutrality!" I roared in anger, turning to face them. "What did objectivity get you? You are a dying people. And I'm not about to let Tay die. You know where she is and you are going to tell me. Today your people start on a new path. It is not an easy path, being involved and having emotion. The third dimension is dirty, raw, and in your face, but let me tell you, Guardians, here you are really alive. Don't you want a future for your people under Tay? Come on. Forget tradition, just this once, and tell me where she is."

This is not who we are.

Dare we do so?

Can we not?

"Tell me! For God's sakes, he'll kill Tay."

You are only human.

So weak and frail.

You would have no chance.

"Believe me, I have a weapon that will bring him to his knees," I sneered, with more confidence than I felt.

You can not travel.

You are confined to this dimension.