If we are needed.

"Kaysolna." Torgga felt the brush of another current of life close to him.

"Yes."

"I want to know everything my sister knows about these ape-people of planet Earth. Have your security personnel contact Rugia Malwala rather than Gene Lamount. Lamount has been a disappointment to me. Rugia heads Tap's communications division under the security department. Have her devise a way to access Tap's personal data banks."

"This could result in Rugia Malwala being exposed as your agent. Franz Scheidt is head of your sister's security. He is a seasoned warrior and fiercely loyal to Tay Appala Punra."

Torgga shrugged. "If Rugia is exposed, then she will have given her life for her leader. Go there and learn what you can as well."

"Yes, my Tap."

For a long while, Torgga stood staring out into space. The Earth solar system was so small, so far away, it could not be seen. It was located on the far edge of the outer spiral of the galaxy. A remote, cold wilderness. What was Tay Appala Punra up to out there?

Tay Appala Punra turned as Gene Lamount entered the room. "Well?"

"Her blood pressure is low — shock, I suspect — but it is not dangerously so," Lamount stated cautiously. "The trip back has not done her harm." He would have liked to remind Tap that the first three months are unusually risky in human pregnancies. To have told Courtney at such a time she was expecting a child by an inhabitant of another dimension was rash, but one did not correct someone of Tap's position.

"Nothing must happen to Courtney Hunter or our child."

"I understand."

Tap looked at her feet, a worried frown on her face, then she looked up at her medical officer with eyes as piercing as diamond. "I will see her now."

Lamount licked his lips nervously. "She does not wish to see you. To force the issue might lead to unnecessary stress." Lamount jumped as the data pilot Tap held in her hand was whipped across the room and smashed into pieces that bounced and rolled along

the floor. Doors flew open and Ian and several other security personnel charged into the room. "Get out!" Tap hissed, and they hastily retreated.

"I want to see her."

We felt Lamount's fear and shock at the uncontrolled emotion Tap showed, yet he spoke. "You must understand, Tap, Courtney Hunter was never prepared emotionally for this, nor had she given her consent. In her mind, she is little more than a captive who has been raped."

We were shocked by Lamount's words. We felt the rage course through Tap. Lamount, too, realized he had gone too far. He quaked with fear.

Tap strode over to Lamount. Her movement was like a panther's, fascinatingly beautiful and inescapably deadly. She stopped so close to him he could feel her warm breath brush his skin "You will talk to her. You will make her understand," she hissed, barely louder than a whisper.

The power of the words, however, sent a chill down his back. Tap was always polite. When she was not, it was wise to be afraid.

"Yes, Tap."

We felt Tap forcing herself to calm and focus on other issues as she moved away. "What have you reported to my brother?"

"Only what we discussed — that you are doing a massive amount of research but that I can not find a focus to it. He grows impatient."

Tap nodded. "I need more time."

"Rugia worries me. I feel she has tested my loyalty to your brother a few times by setting traps for me to be more open with her. She is ambitious. She is capable of going directly to your brother rather than going through me, if she feels it holds an advantage for her."

"I will talk to Franz Scheidt. He is loyal to me and an old friend. As head of Security, he has every excuse to be close to Rugia; he can keep an eye on her."

"One other thing, Tap. I am sure Rugia has a partner. I was sent by your brother to spy on you. Rugia was sent to spy on me. Is it not logical that someone watches Rugia?"

"Yes."

"Be careful, my leader."

"I will. Go now and talk to Courtney Hunter."

"Immediately, Tap," he stated, and left as quickly as he could without appearing to run.

Tap paced about the room, barely controlling the frustration and anger that arose from the insult of Courtney's rejection of both her and their child. She did not understand. Courtney should be honoured. Who would not want to bear her child?

"Tap, may I enter?" Tap looked up to see Haichen standing in the doorway. That had never happened before. A Tap is always aware. She could see the uncertainty and concern in Haichen's face. Emotions, Tap was to realize, can cloud reason and dull perception and awareness.

"I have much to think about and do not wish to be disturbed. That should have been obvious," Tap responded coldly, trying to give the impression she had been aware of Haichen's presence. "You have done so, I am assuming, because the situation warrants it."

Relief, then fear showed on Haichen's face. It was not wise to displease a Tap. "I apologize for disturbing your contemplation, Tap. Torgga Appala Punra has attempted to access your data banks."

"How?"

"Franz Scheidt is following the breach to its source. He feels it might be Rugia Malwala."

A smile, cold and challenging, slowly raised the corner of Tap's mouth. One eyebrow arched up and she looked at Haichen with eyes sparkling with excitement. "Have you ever been in a war, Haichen?"

"Not direct combat, Tap."

"War is a horrible, abusive lover, who always leaves deep scars on your soul. Yet a lover war is, because it can draw and hold your heart like no other." We understood. We knew and felt what Tap had endured on the battlefield.

Haichen frowned. She had not ever seen Tap like this. Her commander was known for her clear, logical thought and calm assessments. She was speaking like a Guardian not a Tap. We knew this thought of Haichen's to be insightful, even if she did not. Tap was a good leader because her skills combined our talents and natural leadership ability.

"Your orders, Tap?"

Tap's smile widened into a grin. "Let my brother retrieve all the data he wants about planet Earth. He has neither the skill nor the flexibility to use that information to his advantage."

Haichen's eyes widened in shock. Tap had just openly criticized her brother. Most had thought her sitting in the presence of Torgga Appala Punra had been a signal that Tap meant to claim

Earth as her right, but maybe it was far more than that. Did Tap mean to rebel against her brother?

"Are you afraid, Haichen?" Tap asked with quiet confidence.

"Yes."

Tap nodded. "That is wise."

Lamount entered Courtney Hunter's room quietly and sat down on a chair beside the bed. Courtney did not acknowledge his presence but continued to stare at the ceiling. She had awakened to find herself back at Tap's home, in the room where she had originally been held captive. The only difference was the iron grate now welded over the hole through which she had escaped. How she had gotten here from Geneva, how long she had been kept unconscious, or what they had done to her, she had no idea. We worry about her and the child.

"Tap has requested that I talk with you," he started. Haichen had told him that the human greatly admired honesty.

"About what?" The tone of the question did not indicate interest. Courtney had not moved, not even shifted her eyes.

"Tap is not happy that you do not wish to see her." Lamount could feel the sweat running down his back. He must be careful not to undermine Tap's dignity.

"That's too bad."

Lamount tried not to show his fear. "She is most concerned, and has ordered me to make sure that you and the child are well."

Courtney's head turned and she looked at Lamount with eyes rimmed red from crying. "I'm just the incubator for Tap's little alien. She cares for no one."

Lamount frowned at his hands, trying to think of how to deal with this. "Tap is second in standing only to her brother. They are like a royal house. They have absolute power. With power comes terrible responsibilities and danger. Taps must always think of the well being of their people first. That does not mean that their personal loyalties are not as strong as anyone else's."

"I'm lying here wondering, why me? Why not one of her own kind?" Courtney asked, the hardness in her voice reflecting her suspicion.

"We can not breed anymore."

"What? None of you?"

Lamount shook his head and sighed. "Few. Our population is dwindling. For a long time, the Taps were still able to...but not now."

Courtney's hand went to her stomach. "Then what is in me?"

"You were fertilized by a synthetically produced sperm carrying Tap's genetic code. I have been working on the process for years." Lamount heard the pride creeping into his voice despite his fear.

Courtney's head shifted again and she went back to looking at the ceiling. "So that's it, then?" Her voice was flat and emotionless. "Tap needed a human incubator and I walked in."

"No. You do not understand. That is not the case. Our research was continuing and we had planned to create an egg using the embedded genetic code of one of the women of noble blood. Instead, Tap ordered that it was to be you. She sees in you qualities that are needed."

Courtney snorted. "I am aware of her thoughts. They tend to run towards my termination. What...I mean, the child...what will it look like? I mean, is it a puddle like that life force ocean?"

Lamount almost gasped in surprise. Then the rumours were true. Some of the humans, including Courtney Hunter, were developing an awareness of dimensions beyond the plane on which they existed. "Humans have evolved, over millions of years, to life forms very similar to ours. We, as of yet, have no idea why that would be so. It does not seem possible. We anticipate that the child will look much like Tap, but we are hoping that from you she will inherit some of the qualities that we have lost."

"Like the ability to be impregnated by someone without knowledge or consent?" came the angry response. "I've been treated as if I am no more than a convenient test tube. I do not want this child. It disgusts me." Courtney turned away and buried her face in her pillow.

Her words were strong and shocked Lamount, but we knew better. Courtney Hunter was very confused about what she believed. On one level, she did not want to be pregnant. On another, much against her will, she knew she was already feeling protective of the seed inside her. What really revolted her was not the child, it was the violation of her being. It was a form of rape.

There were other issues there, as well, ones far greater than just her. She had many questions. Why were aliens studying planet Earth? Was there to be an invasion? What part were she and the child to play in that? Again, Courtney found herself divided in her feelings. This was partly her child that she carried, and yet this child could be the key to the fall of the human race. Her name and that of her child could be forever associated with betrayal and the enslaving of the Earth's people. We are often surprised by the acuity of Courtney Hunter's reasoning.

Chapter Sixteen

"There are no rewards or punishments — only consequences."

~ Dean W. R. Inge

From Our Report

"When?" The question exploded from Tap. We felt its impact on Ian Phillips as he stood before her.

"Twenty-three minutes ago."

"Dead?"

"Nearly. Franz Scheidt and Gene Lamount are now trying to access any data we can from Percy Dingwall."

"Preliminary assessment?"

"He was tortured. The wounds are in keeping with our own culture, not that of Earth."

We felt Tap's dismay; This could only mean her brother had acted in an uncharacteristically bold manner. Tap's feelings did not show.

"Give me the circumstances."

"As you know, Tap, Percy Dingwall has been observing the compound from the hillside. Our initial investigation showed that he was not a stable character. He had little social interaction and lived in a fantasy world based around information he gleaned from delivering mail on his route. He was particularly obsessed with Courtney Hunter, who lived across the hall from him for a number of years.

"When Courtney Hunter disappeared, he reported to the police that she had been abducted. At your request, we appeared to cooperate with the police, providing the information that she had gone to South Africa on a training program. We also informed the police about Percy Dingwall's files on people. They checked to see that Courtney Hunter had indeed left the country and then did not pursue the investigation. The police records indicate that they interviewed Percy Dingwall and did not find him a credible source. We did not consider Percy Dingwall a threat."

Tap paced the room. We found this action disturbing. It indicated the depth of her stress.

"Go on."