Joshua gasped as the needle entered his neck. His eyes widened in horror as he finally realized that there was no escape – no hope left.

He could feel it inside his head – a parasite, invading his mind.

He strained against his bonds in a futile gesture. Before he blacked out, the last thing he saw was Zo'or's sinister smile. A single, silent tear ran down his cheek.

Zo'or took great pleasure at seeing the human's fear. He and his father, Jonathan Doors, had given the Taelons more than enough problems. It was the perfect revenge against both father and son. In addition, now, he finally had the elusive key to the Resistance, a key that he would use as soon as the Taelons returned to Earth and defeated the Jaridians. He smiled at the thought of getting rid of his two greatest enemies.

"Release the restraints," Zo'or ordered the Volunteer standing guard, "When he wakes up have him report to me on the bridge and return to your duties."

"Sir? Should we escort him?"

"That will not be necessary." Zo'or, without another word, turned and exited, giving a last glare at Da'an whose head was bowed.

Da'an had watched the procedure sadly. This was his fault and there was nothing more that he could do. It saddened him greatly that he had failed yet another person. Now, the only person here who could understand him was also the one who could now betray him. Da'an mused over the irony of the situation – everyone on the mothership was a prisoner of a sort. Some because of their implants, some – of their anger and hatred, and he, he was a prisoner of his own beliefs. There had to be something he could do and he had to do it fast. Once the implanted Joshua told Zo'or what he knew of the Resistance, plus what Da'an knew and believed then it was all over.

Part of him loathed what he had become — and that he had been unable to stop Zo'or from allowing hatred to rule his life. Now, innocents were paying the price for mistakes not their own. Da'an had no idea when his perspective had changed. He only knew that it had and that what the Taelons did to others was no longer acceptable.

Zo'or had quickly left after the implantation – Da'an knew, content that he would soon be able to wipe out the elusive Resistance once and for all. If that happened, then humanity would be enslaved within a year at most. Da'an knew his child well enough to know this.

Da'an's gazed drifted to Joshua Doors. He had risked a lot to tell Da'an that Liam was alive – and suffered from that trust. He should have prevented Zo'or from implanting him but knew that there was nothing he could have done. He should do something to help him . . . but what? The solution was out of reach.

Sandoval and Liam were so intent on their conversation that they had not noticed the person approaching.

Someone tapped Liam's shoulder and he turned instinctively.

"It is Major Kincaid! Da'an's former protector!" a man exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" asked Liam.

"I'm Karl Peterson, reporter for the Herald. Major, you're supposed to be dead – at least that's what the Taelons said. What really happened? Are you spying on the Jaridians for the Taelons?" the reporter spat that out in on breath and Liam exchanged a glance with Sandoval. Both men were aware of the muffled gasps from the other patrons of the restaurant. Sandoval inclined his head slightly, indicating they should leave. Both got up, without a word, and started toward the door.

The reporter followed, still asking questions, rather loudly, "Oh, you're not allowed to talk about it?" He turned and whispered to his cameraman, "Sam, are you getting this?"

Liam and Sandoval briskly exited the restaurant, the reporter and cameraman on their heels. Peterson kept asking questions at a rapid fire pace. People were beginning to cast curious stares in their direction.

Sandoval finally turned to the reporter, "Put the camera away." The reporter hesitated, but Sandoval added, "If you want to talk to me, turn the camera off." Peterson nodded at Sam, who shut it off. Sandoval then lowered his voice, and hissed threateningly, "I would advise that you not pursue this story and that you stop following us."

"Fine, I'll stop following you but if you think I'm not gonna run this then you're crazier than I thought."

Liam, meanwhile, had used his ID to unlock the doors to the former Taelon embassy and had missed the exchange. The embassy was locked to all but former companion personnel. As they stepped inside, leaving the reporter behind, they both breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"What did you tell him?" asked Liam curiously.

"That he will not publish the story." Sandoval stated abruptly.

Liam raised an eyebrow in skepticism but didn't question Sandoval. Instead Liam said, "Listen, I'm going to head back. Is there somewhere you can go for now to lay low? Jonathan and Renee are going to be plenty ticked when I tell them that I let you go."

"Don't be concerned about me Major. I would right now, be more worried with your future, regardless of who is in charge of the planet."

His tone was once again the harsh one that Liam was used to hearing. Liam stepped onto the portal platform, and said, "Contact me by global if you need anything."

Sandoval said nothing and activated the ID portal, watching as Liam vanished.

Darkness . . .

No light exists – just that everlasting night that never goes away – it can never consume me, yet I can neither escape nor hide from it. As if it surrounds me – penetrates my soul, touches every part of me. And I am trapped here – trapped until I am freed, or until I die.

Sandoval was in the kitchen of the cabin he and Dee Dee used to come to every summer.

She would bake an apple pie their first day there and they would sit down and eat a piece on the porch . . . the only noise would be the sounds of nature as they would sit there in peaceful silence, staring into each others eyes.

Sandoval gave a frustrated sigh and ran his hand through his hair, knowing that nothing could ever be that easy again. Life could never be that simple, that fun, that enjoyable again. Never – even if Dee Dee were alive, even if she forgave him. He had killed too many . . . there was too much blood on his hands. And unbelievably, in spite of that, Liam seemed to care about what happened to him. A son that had seen what he was capable of – knew his actions and yet, did not hate him. It frustrated and confused Sandoval to no end because as much as he had wanted a son – to love, to teach, to carry on, he could never truly feel like Liam was his son. He had always despised Major Kincaid. And the startling revelation had not changed his dislike and as far as Sandoval was concerned, never would.

He leaned back against the counter, one hand on his hip, the other massaging his temples. He sighed heavily. The burden he carried was a horrible one – one that he would always carry – no matter what.

"We all live in a darkness of our own making; blind to everything, everyone else, every tie that binds," he muttered, "Family, friends . . . they mean nothing." And yet, there was some part of Ronald Sandoval that recognized Liam as his weakness; a part that constantly fought those cold thoughts.

Agent Ronald Sandoval sighed; he was tired – exhausted actually. The events and revelations of the last few days had begun to take their toll on him. After a few more minutes of just sitting, he snatched up his global to make a call.

"Hey boss, interesting goings-on nowadays, don't you think?" Tate said, answering the call immediately.

A flash of annoyance crossed Sandoval's face but he said nothing. Tate may not be the most professional person but he was one of the best at what he did. "I have a problem I need you to take care of for me."

"A problem as in a person, I presume?" asked Tate.

"That is correct. And I expect it to be done properly and without fail. If you screw this up then he will cause me an infinite number of problems. And understand this, if he causes me problems, then you'll no longer be able to worry about it."

"I understand boss."

"I'll send you the information you need to your global. Report to me when its finished."

"You WHAT? What the hell were you thinking?" Liam winced at Jonathan's explosive roar. Renee was also looking at him disapprovingly, her arms crossed. The look on her face plainly said that she had a few choice words to add to the ones that Jonathan was spouting now.

Augur just watched, amazed at the entire situation, but not entirely surprised. He mentally flinched at the angry barrage of words and watched sympathetically as Jonathan basically chewed Liam out. Augur didn't agree with Liam's actions but he understood why Liam needed to do what he was doing, why he needed to give Sandoval a chance. Liam believed that everyone should have a chance and, considering his own past history, Augur wasn't about to stand in Liam's way. The reason he understood Liam so well was probably because he'd been with the kid since day one. Unfortunately, Jonathan didn't want to understand Liam, and had never really trusted him either.

Liam was frustrated and somewhat annoyed with all of them. Jonathan just flat out refused to even try to understand his position. Of course Liam knew the risks – he was the very one taking most of them. And he couldn't explain how he knew letting Sandoval go was the right thing, how he knew Sandoval was telling the truth.

Jonathan continued, "You're going soft on Sandoval because he's your father. You're forgetting who and what he is, not to mention what he's done!"

Liam's eyes glared daggers, and he whispered, "I'll never forget what he's done but he's also my father."

"And that's your problem, not mine."

"You don't understand." Liam stated, his voice cold and intense. Then, without another word, Liam turned and marched out of the hideout.

Joshua Doors entered the bridge of the mothership. Zo'or turned around in his chair, obviously anticipating his arrival. Joshua nodded at the Synod leader, no emotion on his face. Zo'or smiled, Joshua's expression reminded him of Agent Sandoval's when he had been first implanted. Joshua stood, his hands at his sides, his eyes looking straight at Zo'or.

"Mr. Doors, I am pleased to see that you are now well. I trust that you now have some information to give me? With your help, I shall soon crush the Resistance."

"Yes Zo'or." Before Joshua could continue further, two Volunteers interrupted, dragging a third Volunteer between them.

"What is the meaning of this?" snapped Zo'or. One thing the Taelon hated most was being interrupted by anyone or anything.

One of the Volunteers spoke, "We found this traitor attempted to damage the drives. We also did a check on his identification and found that he is no Volunteer. He's a Resistance spy."

Zo'or smiled maliciously, "And you know what we do with Resistance spies."

The Volunteer nodded, "Yes Zo'or, I'll take care of it right away."

Zo'or stopped him, "Perhaps Mr. Doors would like to eliminate the problem for us." The Volunteer nodded and handed Joshua his gun. Joshua nodded back and wordlessly aimed and fired, watching as the man's dead body crumpled to the floor. He handed the gun back as the other Volunteer proceded to remove the body. Turning back to Zo'or, he asked, "You said that you wanted information on the Resistance. What information do you require?"

"I believe that the appropriate place to start would be with the leader of the Resistance. Do you have that information?" Zo'or's eyes danced happily at the idea of finally having the much sought information. He leaned forward – anticipating a positive result.

"Yes, Zo'or. The leader of the Resistance is . . ."

On to Part VI: The Sky Falls Down
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