It is not possible.

"I have felt your world, sensed the ocean of currents, the tranquil life force. I know its beauty. I also know that with your help, I can do this. I might have only started my training, but I am Tap. I am the Chosen One. Guardians, there is no time to waste. Isn't this what you wanted me to understand — that I am the ring to Tay's spiral, that our child is the link between us? Because of

this, the Earth will not be conquered or assimilated; rather Tay's people and my people will be as one, opposites balanced."

A shocked silence hung in the room for a few minutes while they tried to cope with the enormity of what I was visualizing. I was just about to argue again when their response came.

Change we must.

It is the only way.

Yes, we will take you there.

"Good. Give me a minute to get organized and then you can zap me wherever I need to be," I stated, as I headed for my quarters.

From Our Report

We felt the relief flow through Haichen as she saw Gene Lamount come through the door. He was pale and shaky but otherwise seemed okay. In past days, she would have smiled softly then waited for an opportunity to talk to him. But she had now realized the path that Tay and Court had chosen meant accepting human emotions and learning to deal with them. She knew she wanted that passion, so instead she walked over to Lamount and wrapped her arms around him, reaching up to kiss his lips softly.

The room went totally still. Lamount looked down at Haichen in wonder and then wrapped her closely in his arms. Slowly, Haichen heard the others recover from their shock and return to work. The soft click of keyboards did not drown out the beating of her heart.

Haichen Tay Punra.

We will speak with you.

There is news.

Haichen jumped back as if she had been given a jolt of electricity. Experimenting with physical contact was one thing, doing so in front of the Guardians was quite another. "Yes, Honourable Ones."

Times must change.

We have sent Courtney Tap.

She has gone to protect Tay Tap.

"What?" Haichen gasped in fear imagining what Tay Tap was going to do to her for not protecting Courtney Appala Punra. Then she remembered to whom she spoke. "I mean, Honourable Guardians, she is only human and Torgga is so powerful."

Her humanity is strange to us.

It is her weakness and her strength.

She is our only hope.

"But you do not understand, Guardians. Courtney Tap, she... ahhh they..." Haichen struggled to explain why Courtney had to be protected without revealing what she knew.

Do you think we do not know?

We are the Guardians.

We say again, there was no other way.

As we spoke, we saw the spy Rugia Malwala accessing her computer terminal.

Haichen, stop her.

She is a spy.

She will betray us.

We saw Rugia spin around in her chair in surprise, then she leapt up and ran for the door. Haichen's shot brought her to the ground beside Ian.

To survive, there must be change.

This we have learnt from the Chosen One.

We have involved ourselves.

Chapter Twenty-One

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long or hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."

~ Winston Churchill

From Our Report

We observe and record.

We have interfered and hope.

Fate balances on a knife edge.

Landing on her feet although she was still off balance as a result of her momentum, Tay blocked the blast of energy that instantly came her way. Even so, it was much more powerful than anything she had experienced before. Allowing her body to use the energy rather than resist it, she spun back, twisting sideways as she reached out and sent a charge directly into her brother's chest. She might not be as powerful as Torgga, but years of combat had made her reflexes sharp. She aimed not to neutralize, but to kill.

In his overconfidence, Torgga was not prepared and staggered under the blow. This gave Tay the time to bounce closer and send an attack from the side. Again she caught Torgga in the chest, but not before he had sent a glancing blow of ionized particles off her shoulder. Her exposed neck and face burned with the impact, but she now believed she could win this battle. Her confidence was shattered a split second later by an incredible energy blow to the back. Tay crumpled, unable to straighten for the pain, even as she absorbed the realization this was a trap.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she rolled over and aimed at the shadowy figure making its way towards her through the dust clouds. She knew she was now totally vulnerable to Torgga's attack, but she could not fight on two fronts. Gathering her strength, she focused everything she had into a single deadly shot. The shadowy figure glowed bright at the impact, turning the grey dust particles around him to bright yellow. Then the light faded and the assassin folded to the ground with a thud. A second later, Tay was hit full on and sent spinning across the ground. Then another blow left her protective armour smouldering and hot. The pain was almost blinding and Tay struggled to breathe through her own blood. She lay still. Her only hope would be if she could raise enough energy for one last shot before her brother killed her.

Her thoughts drifted to her people, then Courtney and their unborn child. There was still hope. Courtney Appala Punra would survive. She must. The prophesies could not be wrong. She could hear her brother's heavy boots crunching the gravel under his soles as he walked over to her. She reached inside herself, but there was no energy left. There would be no last chance.

A heavy boot caught her in her raw and bleeding side and sent her rolling over and over. Her own scream echoed painfully in her ears. Tay bit down on her lip. She would die with honour. Through blood caked lashes and eyes stinging with sweat, Tay saw the black form of her brother looming.

"This is the end, Tay. You, first, and later, your pregnant human. But have no fear for your child, Tay, I will raise her as my own," he laughed.

Anger and fear helped Tay find the energy from somewhere within. Her hand shot out and delivered a blow to Torgga's chest. He blocked it easily, laughing still, and kicked once again, sending her body sledding painfully across the rocky surface. When the dust settled, Tay's body lay still in the sand. Her wounds were barely visible through the thick layer of dust matted into her blood.

We feel her pain.

We feel the pain of the people.

Our hope is the Chosen One.

We hear her thoughts. Courtney wondered whether something had gone wrong or whether we, the Guardians, had tricked her. We had told her she would be travelling great distances, light years away through strings of energy present in the dark matter of space. Yet she felt like she floated quietly in a warm ocean, gentle currents nudging her around. There was no sensation of form or speed, only a timeless band of energy flowing through an endless sea. Nevertheless, she had to force herself not to panic. The lack of physical sensation was terrifying. Then her world rushed in on her and she suddenly felt heavy and confined. Sensations hit her like arrows: incredible heat, a bruised shoulder from her dive behind the computer console when she saw Ian raise his gun, and the dust that filled her mouth and gagged at the back of her throat.

She materialized beside Tay's body and looked down in stunned shock, not realizing at first that the still, dust covered, bloody mass was Tay. Slowly, as realization struck, she sank to her knees. She rolled the dead weight into her arms and held her close. "Tay, I'm here; please don't give up on us. Please Tay, we need your leadership and our daughter needs to know you. You need to teach

her all the things that she must know to lead. I want her to know your smile and I want to see the two of you play together. Tay, fight, hold on. You owe it to Tamma, to me, and to your people."

Eyes opened with difficultly, blinking dust and blood clear. "Court? No...leave. Get out. D...Do not want y...you hurt."

A shadow fell across them. Courtney looked up into a face so similar to Tay's, only lacking the warmth and kindness. "He knows. He w...wants our...ch...child," Tay warned, trying without success to shield Courtney with her own body.

Courtney lowered Tay's body to the ground, trying not to show her pain at hearing Tay's moan of agony. She got up slowly, a smile on her face, ignoring the woman who now lay at her feet, helpless. "So, we're to be allies then."

Torgga's shrewd face showed surprise for a split second. "I am Torgga Tap. I need no allies, especially not a human animal."

Courtney resisted the urge to kick him. With that protective suit on, it probably would do no good. "Sure you do. It is going to take nine Earth months for me to have this child and then there is the whole raising process. You have no idea how fragile and breakable the little sucker is going to be. You can't just zap this kid into your celestial genetic pool, you know. She's half human. Her better half, I might add. I mean, look at Tay. Not much to write home about."

Torgga blinked in surprise as Courtney stepped over Tay, wobbling because she was having trouble keeping her balance in the low gravity. It seemed to him Tay was no more important to her than an annoying bump in a path. The human looked around at the flat, dusty plain. "Please tell me this isn't home. Hell, even an alien couldn't love this dust bowl. I've seen kitty litter pans with more relief."

We are proud of Courtney's bravery and cunning.

Torgga looked down at the small creature beside him. He did not understand all she referenced. What was a kitty litter pan? Still, he had to admit, he found her interesting. Humans were not as revolting as he had imagined. "How did you get here?" he demanded.

"The Guardians sent me," Courtney responded honestly as she measured distance and calculated her chances.

Torgga's face distorted in anger. He grabbed Courtney by the shirt and lifted her off the ground. "I do not believe you. They will help no one. Not even me."