Anna's Quest

by Seven


Disclaimer:  Earth: Final Conflict and its characters are copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Company.  All rights reserved.



*********



There was a sound of pounding at the door of the deserted Baltimore Liberation cell. The tall blond woman looked up nervously as the computer downloaded a particular file into the disk.

"Mommy?" her daughter asked. "Mommy, I wanna go home!" "Just a minute, sweetie," the woman replied, biting her knuckle for a moment.

The door blasted open, throwing both of them to the floor. The blond woman grabbed her daughter's teddy bear from the floor as her child scampered to the door. Black-suited Volunteers began to pour in. "Don't move!" bellowed the leader.

The woman began to get to her feet to follow her daughter, but a round of laser fire slashed into her back. She fell to the floor, dying before she hit it. The Volunteers quickly went through the place, throwing equipment around. "Not here, sir!" one of them announced. "It appears that whatever they had, they took with them. The equipment is all useless and the computer core has been downloaded and wiped."

The leader spat an obscenity. "We'll report in." They began to march out in single file, grimly.

After a few minutes, the little girl crawled out from the back doorway. She jostled her mother a little. "Mommy? Mommy, get up. We gotta go home." When the truth dawned on the child, she grabbed her teddy bear and began to cry.

****

"Double!" exclaimed Lili, throwing down her cards. "You owe me twenty bucks." Liam groaned as Da'an came over, curious. "Pardon me," he asked quietly. "But what are you doing?" "Fizzbin," Liam said, reshuffling the cards. "Very complicated card game. The playing strategy depends partially on the physical enviroment. Such as: today, Tuesday, there are leaves on the ground." "And the wind is blowing," Lili added. "So we're..." Liam noticed Da'an's bewildered expression. "Never mind." Da'an, he suspected, didn't find the complexity as confusing as he did why anyone would play a game by those means.

Liam's global chirped. He pulled it out and opened it. "Liam, are you busy?" Augur asked. "Not really. Why?" "Have you ever met someone named Anna Kilner?"

"I've met Bella Kilner, the scientist."

"Well, a little girl came into my home half an hour ago. She says the Resistance cell in Baltimore was destroyed."

Liam felt his gut twist up as he shut the global. "I'll have to interrupt the card game," he said, getting up and heading for the door.

****

Anna was sitting on the garishly colored couches when Liam arrived. She looked about eight, with long dark hair and black eyes. Clutched between her hands was a worn teddy bear. Augur smiled at her and gestured toward Liam. "Anna, this is my friend Liam. He's the one you want to talk to."

Liam smiled and sat down opposite Anna. "Hi."

Anna looked up at him. "Hi."

Liam glanced at Augur. "You say that something happened to the Resistance in Baltimore?" Anna nodded. "Bad people made them run away." Her face twisted. "They killed my mommy." Liam felt an upwelling of sympathy for Anna. "I know how you feel," he said softly. "My mommy was killed by something that the Taelons gave her. They also killed my father."

Anna looked at him, confused. "But you're a grown-up."

"That doesn't mean I don't miss them," Liam replied. Anna looked down at her lap, toying with her teddy bear. "Who attacked your mommy?"

"Bad people."

"Were they wearing black suits with a silver pattern?" Augur asked. Anna nodded. Liam interjected, "What were they looking for?"

"A disc," Anna said, looking down at her lap. "A disc?" Augur said. "You mean, like, for a computer?" "Mm hm. Mommy once told me that... the disc would destroy the Taelons," Anna offered. Liam sat up straight. "A virus," he said.

"Kilner wasn't a fool," Augur said. "She did excellent work on viruses." He turned his attention to Anna. "Did the Volunteers get what they wanted?" Anna shook her head. Liam frowned, "That means that Kilner hid the disc."

****

"We found nothing but a Resistance scientist, named Arabella Kilner," Sandoval announced to Zo'or, on the nearly deserted bridge of the mothership. "The few files that weren't destroyed show that she was working on some sort of anti-Taelon virus. It would destroy the links between Taelon computers permanently, making them useless."

Only the agitated twitching of Zo'or's fingertips betrayed his uneasiness. "Has Ms. Kilner revealed anything of value?"

"Unfortunately, she attempted to escape during the raid," Sandoval said, looking mildly frustrated. "The Volunteers were forced to kill her."

Zo'or's face tightened. "I gave the order that none of them would be killed until AFTER interrogation."

"And I have dealt with the Volunteers in question. However, the virus appears to still be intact, but was taken from the computer and downloaded onto a disc," Sandoval replied. "Find the disc. No matter what the cost." Zo'or looked positively furious.

Sandoval nodded. "She hds an ex-husband, whom she had been estranged for several years, and an eight-year-old daughter. The neighbors at her apartment have reported that they have rarely seen the little girl." Zo'or smiled a little. "The Resistance must be desperate if they recruit children into their cause. The child undoubtedly has the disc. Find her."

****

"Did you see your mother put the disc away anywhere?" Liam asked, handing Anna a cup of cocoa.

Anna shook her head and sipped the hot drink. "First she was holding it, and then she wasn't," the little girl replied. "Could I have some more milk, please?"

Augur handed her the carton, and she poured a small amount into the cocoa. "So, uh," Augur said. "You were friendly with the Resistance?" "Mm hmm," Anna said. "Now they're all gone." "Dead?" Liam asked. "No, they ran away. Mommy was the only one left."

Liam glanced at Augur. "Anna, could you go play for a couple of minutes? I'd like to speak to Augur about your mother," he said. Anna hopped off the couch and ran over to Augur's lava lamp. Liam sat back. "Was Kilner married?"

"In the very past tense. High school kids fall in love and get married, immediately regret it," Augur replied. "Kilner divorced her husband after he began drinking and carrying on with other women in public. Went to college and devoted herself to her career, while Mike Kilner works at a burger joint to pay for his rent and booze." Liam sighed. "So Anna's probably never even met her father."

"Nope. You want me to arrange a little..." Augur grinned. "Escort?"

Liam smirked. "If you would."

As Augur pulled out his global, Liam heard a muffled sob. He got up and knelt next to Anna, who was sitting behind an armchair. "Anna?" he asked. "What's the matter?" "I want Mommy and Tom!" Anna sobbed.

"Tom?" Liam asked. The name probably meant Tom Rilei, but he couldn't be sure. "Tom," Anna sniffled, as Liam handed her a handkerchief. "He was so nice to me. My mommy said I should treat him like my daddy."

Liam wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Once things settle down, we'll find Tom, okay?" Anna nodded. "I still want my mommy," she sniffed. "I wanna go home." Liam gathered Anna up and carried her to the door. "I have an idea," he said. "I have a friend who lives in Washington. He'll take care of you until we can locate Tom and find that virus. Okay?"

Anna nodded and put her arms around Liam's neck.

****

"We're narrowed the search radius to central Washington," Sandoval said, turning to Zo'or. "It shouldn't be hard to locate the girl."

End Part One.