Kayla

by Seven


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



**********



She floated in the tank as if in the womb, suspended by wires and breathing apparatus. Da'an smiled at her as the humming from a nearby panel reached a fever pitch, signalling that her metabolism was on a steady increase.

"Three," Doctor Belman said tensely. "Two. One."

The blue tank was filled with light as she doubled, tripled in size, then slowly began to drift in the fluid. Her metabolism slowed gradually. She was full-grown now. Da'an stepped away from the tank, parental love shining in his eyes. She was perfect.

****

Zo'or gasped in shock and stood up on the bridge. Da'an. He had done it.

****

Da'an closed his eyes and leaned against the tank as he heard Doctor Belman shouting, "What the... what are you doing? This isn't within your-"

Zo'or entered the room, clearly furious. He regarded the slim creature inside the tank with a mixture of revulsion and fascination. "What," he said in a deadly voice, "is that?"

Da'an stepped away from the tank, still in front of it. He was blocking Zo'or, whether he realized it or not. "You know what she is," he said quietly. "The first human/Taelon hybrid."

Zo'or stared at the tank, disgusted. "You will destroy it immediately."

"I will do nothing of the sort," Da'an said calmly but firmly, stepping closer. "This is a private project, not under your supervision. SHE," he put emphasis on the pronoun, "is very much alive, and will remain so."

Zo'or looked furious as Belman entered. "By the way," she said derisively. "Are you aware that she can probably hear and understand whatever you say?"

Zo'or clearly did not care. He glared at Da'an. "It is dangerous. You are aware that any such hybrid would have the shakarava?"

"I am aware of that, yes. But I hope that she will be able to control them."

"It will not have that opportunity," Zo'or said ominously.

A sloshing sound interrupted them. The hybrid was writhing, her long arms swirling madly through the blue fluid. Belman went white as a sheet as she checked the readings. "Too late, Zo'or. Heartrate, respiration, adrenaline... she's waking up. Beginning to drain the fluid."

There was a wheezing noise, and the hybrid's head snapped back, inhaling fluid. There were twin flaming wheels of color, and the side of the tank shattered. Da'an and Zo'or stepped back in shock as the fluid poured out, taking the hybrid with it.

And what a sight she was.

She was tall, slim, and completely nude. Her alabaster face was framed by thick dark hair, slicked close to her skull and neck. She had full lips and a pair of pulsating-blue eyes that seemed to bore into Zo'or. As they watched, she began to scrabble at the floor. Belman was the first to move, kneeling beside the young hybrid and wiping the fluid from her face and hair. "There, honey, it's okay," she soothed.

The girl was breathing heavily, and began to shiver. Belman pulled off her lab coat and wrapped it around her. "There, baby. Everything is fine."

Da'an was looking at the girl as if an angel had just tumbled out of the blue tank. She was on her knees now, unsteady, slowly trying to get upright. She clung to Belman's jacket and began to pull herself into a standing position. Da'an reached out to steady her. She stared at him, curious, with the same electric blue eyes as every Taelon. It was as though she knew him.

"I'm going to get her washed up," Belman said, pulling the girl into the bathroom.

****

"Da'an, why didn't you tell me?" Liam asked, pacing through the remnents of the shattered tank. "I thought you trusted me."

Da'an sighed. "It is not just you, Liam. I have told no one except for Doctor Belman, and that is simply because I needed her help. This project was too great a risk for me to reveal this information to anyone."

Liam pondered this, then asked, "Is she a part of the Commonality?"

"I do not believe so."

"And you say she has shakarava?"

Da'an gestured at the tank. "That is why this tank is in ruins. She appears to have full control over them, despite her extreme youth."

Liam looked thoughtful. "It sounds... kind of nice... to have another hybrid around. What did Zo'or say to this?"

Da'an's face darkened. Liam caught the look but did not ask. For a long moment, they said nothing, then Liam pulled out his global. "I, uh, went over the names you specified. I think the best one in this list is 'Kayla.' It... reminds me of the Kimera Kahl'ah, which means 'pure one.'"

Da'an smiled and nodded. "Kayla it is."

"Leem."

The voice was as soft and sweet as tiny bells, and the mispronunciation only heightened the effect. Kayla was standing in the doorway, now dressed in a black velvet jumpsuit. Her large blue eyes were focused on Liam, slightly puzzled. "You are... Leem," she repeated.

Liam smiled widely at her and replied, "It's Lee-ahm."

"Lee-ahm," she repeated, as if tasting the word. Then she seemed to get distracted, running her fingertips over the sleeve of her outfit. Da'an walked over to her, smiling. "Kayla," he said quietly. "Do you like that name?"

The girl thought for a moment, then replied, "Yes." Her shy response was shattered as she smiled and uttered a slightly wild-sounding giggle. Da'an looked absolutely bursting with delight.

****

"She's not shabby in the looks department, I can tell you that," Lili said disbelievingly, as Kayla slowly made her way around the mothership bridge. "She doesn't look Taelon. She has hair, for one thing. Are you certain she's part Taelon?"

Liam nodded and whispered, "Yeah, I looked at her DNA profile. Half-Taelon, she even has working shakarava."

Lili grinned. "Sounds like you and her are two of a kind. Thought about asking her out?"

"Are you kidding me? She's a baby."

"Look who's talking. You're, what? Six months older?"

Liam sighed and glanced at Kayla, who was speaking softly to Sandoval. "Da'an's made her my prime priority, until he can assign her a protector of her own."

"This does not sound like a Taelon project," Lili stated solemnly. "It sounds more like Da'an's adopting this girl."

Liam looked at her again. "Yes, that may be. I get the impression... sometimes... that he wants children. But, since all Taelons are sterile..." He shrugged. "Perhaps a hybrid is as close as he can come. I mean..."

"I know what you mean," Lili said, looking at Kayla again. "So, this girl is less than a day old, already she can walk, talk, read, and carry on an intelligent conversation with Sandoval?"

"She can read and converse," Liam said, "but the walking has been a little more difficult, and the talking is not coming easy for her."

Kayla approached Lili and Liam. "Hello, Liam," she said shyly. "Captain?"

Lili looked up at her. "Yes?"

"Would you show me how to access the library... please?" Kayla asked haltingly. "I want to see what humanity is like."

Liam raised his eyebrows, and Lili smiled. "Sure, I will," she said. "Just wait a minute."

****

"She is capable of having a baby, when she matures," Belman stated to Da'an, in the Taelon's office. "Although unless she had a mate of similar hybrid ancestry, the chances are slim."

Da'an looked down for a moment. "If the Synod accepts Kayla, then undoubtedly more hybrids will be created."

"I hope they do," Belman said. "Aside from Liam, that girl is the only one." She paused for a moment, as if uncomfortable with the question she was asking. "Da'an, did you create this project... to keep the Taelon race alive, or for another purpose?"

Da'an smiled. "My main reason is radically different than many of Zo'or's reasons."

****

Sandoval wasn't aware that Kayla had stowed aboard his shuttle until he was preparing to land. He felt, rather than saw, her emerge from the back. "Kayla!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Major Kincaid will be worried sick about you."

Kayla looked at the floor. "I wanted to see Earth," she said in a low voice.

Sandoval sighed. "Kayla, I'm taking you back to the mothership, right now!"

"Agent Sandoval!" shouted a man's voice. A Volunteer sargeant stuck his head into the shuttle. "We have five minutes before the raid. You're needed immediately."

Sandoval gave Kayla a dark look as he shoved her into a chair. "Stay here," he commanded, beginning to climb from the shuttle. "Don't move an inch, I'm ordering you." Kayla nodded and wrapped her arms around herself.

****

The mad fighting between Volunteers and members of the Resistance had already started when Sandoval arrived. He instantly targeted a Resistance member, raised his arm, and fired his skrill. The man stumbled and fell, firing a gun as he dropped into unconsciousness.

At first Sandoval thought the man had missed. Then, as warm liquid began to soak his pant leg, he realized that his shoulder was bleeding heavily. In an instant, he had fallen to the ground.

****

Kayla jerked as she heard a gunshot. Not heeding Sandoval's last warning, she clambered out of the shuttle.

****

Sandoval felt cold. He could no longer feel his arms and legs, and his only thought as the slim, beautiful woman knelt beside him was, "Angel." He watched with an almost detached air as a pure light began to radiate from her hand. She touched her shakarava to his wound, and for a brief moment, Sandoval writhed in agony.

Then the pain was gone, and he could remember who the woman was. "Kayla," he rasped, trying to sit up. He touched his shoulder. No wound. "Why didn't you... obey me? Why... didn't you stay in... shuttle?"

Kayla leaned forward and, surprisingly, landed a light kiss on Sandoval's forehead. He watched in surprise as she smiled affectionately. "You were hurt," she fluted.

Sandoval stared at her, then smiled. Then his smiled melted away. "Look out!" he screamed.

Kayla spun to the Resistance member, who was aiming a gun at her dark head. She raised her hands, and her shakarava sent out a spray of energy bursts. The man screamed and dropped like a rock. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest showed that he was still alive. Sandoval stared at Kayla, who only curled her fingers over her shakarava.

TO BE CONTINUED