The Alpha Choice

by M. D. Hall

  ‘Not at this precise moment,’ she looked at Liz, ‘but I know where they were after my agents left you,’ her voice retained its outward calm, but the statement carried enough menace to cause the small hairs on the back of Hugo’s neck to stand on end. Tala then stepped around Hugo to directly face Liz. Her eyes bored into those of the Tellurian woman standing before her. ‘Tell me where you put them?’

  If Liz was concerned, she hid it well. She replied, her voice steady. ‘I’ve no idea. Why would I call you if I knew where they were?’ Then, repeating the information she had conveyed over the phone, she proceeded to answer her own question. ‘I only wanted to help you find them.’

  ‘I think not, Ms Corcoran, but you can help me, by disclosing where you have secreted them.’ On cue, two powerful looking agents stepped forward, each taking hold of one of Liz's arms.

  Tala now turned her piercing gaze upon Hugo, and without looking at her underlings said. ‘We will follow you.’ With those words spoken, Liz was dragged at an alarmingly quick pace back down the corridor and was soon lost to sight as she disappeared around the curve, at no point did she call out.

  Hugo knew the game was up, but venting the emotions that were threatening to tear him apart would not help Liz. In the last thirty-seconds or so, he realised how much Liz Corcoran meant to him, had always meant to him. He knew instinctively, that what he had been told by the two strangers was true. Something terrible was about to happen, and it involved Liz. He also knew why he was not being dragged off, Tala wanted something from him.

  He waited.

  Ω

  Gorn mulled over the possible outcomes. It had become clear that, in order for the Tellurians to survive, only a dramatic solution would suffice. But now, the involvement of the Custodians added an altogether different dimension to the problem. He always expected them to figure in the solution, but at no time did he ever consider them taking active steps, albeit through an intermediary. He had to do everything he could to help the Tellurians succeed. His original worst case scenario, for involving the Custodians, was now watered down - only one Tellurian had to die, and he had found her. As ever, the facilitating Avatar was incapable of caring, one way or another.

  Δ Ω

  Tala led the way down a seemingly endless corridor, then stopped abruptly. As the doorway nearest to them slid open, she turned to face Hugo, who had remained silent from the moment Liz had been taken. He looked into the room knowing he would not like what he saw. Suspended in a prone position, about waist height above the floor, was Liz, apparently unconscious and not in any obvious pain. He whirled on Tala, the signal for two of her guards to advance swiftly towards him. She glanced at them, and they became motionless. ‘What have you done to her?’ Hugo shouted.

  ‘For the moment, she’s simply asleep. As long as you do what we ask, she’ll remain unharmed,’ she looked over to Liz, and without taking her eyes off the woman added, ‘but if you refuse us, the consequences will be regrettable, at least for Miss Corcoran,’ and with that, she stepped into the room, beckoning Hugo to follow.

  Once inside, he noticed a Te’an technician standing at a dais, looking expectantly at Tala. She nodded and the subordinate waved his hands over the panel in front of him. Immediately, the body of the suspended woman was transformed into a paroxysm of pain. Her eyes snapped open and filled with terror yet, while her mouth opened as though screaming, Hugo could hear nothing. Instinctively, he rushed towards her, with neither Tala nor her guards making any attempt to stop him, and it soon became clear why. Just about to reach his PA, he collided with an invisible wall and was hurled onto his back, his entire body wracked with an indescribable agony. Mercifully, it quickly subsided, but as he tried to get to his feet he found all strength had deserted his legs. Lying on the floor, totally vulnerable and incapable of helping Liz, he looked over to Tala, uttering the only word that mattered. ‘Please?’

  The Te’an agent nodded towards the technician who, with another wave of his hands, caused Liz’s torment to cease, as abruptly as it had begun. Once again she was unconscious, displaying no signs of her ordeal.

  Tala motioned to her guards, who walked over to Hugo and helped him up. They remained at his side supporting him as feeling slowly returned to his legs. ‘Sorry you had to experience that. I’m led to believe it’s excruciating, but still several degrees less severe than the pain Ms Corcoran just suffered.’

  Stepping forward, but stopping just before the point where Hugo had met the energy field. She raised her hand, as though about to touch the invisible shield, then withdrew and turned to face him. ‘It’s quite a remarkable feat of engineering. At once, it restrains your friend, imparting as much pain as we choose, while at the same time shielding us from the distressing sound she makes when screaming, all the while keeping her would-be rescuer at bay.’

  ‘What do you want from me?’ Hugo asked.

  ‘Your new friends, who are they and what do they want?’

  Despite all their advances, Hugo found a perverse pleasure in the realisation that they were not nearly as omniscient as they would have him believe. Tala had no information on Jon and Emily, and this lacuna troubled her. He knew he would be unable to withhold the truth for long, but she could not harm him all the while she needed him at the ceremony. His only hope was that Jon and Emily had guessed something was wrong, and abandoned the timetable. By now, they should be making their way to the signing room. All he needed to do was delay Tala for another fifteen minutes, and Jon would have the opportunity he needed, and with this firmly in mind, he began his narrative.

  Within three minutes Tala motioned to the technician and Liz's torture began again, but thankfully this time, it was brief. ‘I could be forgiven for thinking, Hugo,’ once she had called a halt to the agony, ‘that you’re trying to delay me. You have a minute to complete your story.’

  He filled in the blanks, leaving out the Artefact, and any reference to the Custodians. Jon and Emily needed more time.

  ‘Why are your friends seeking out President Conway?’ Tala asked.

  ‘Probably, to tell him what monsters you are.’

  ‘There’s something you’re not telling me, Hugo,’ she began to turn from him, and towards the technician.

  ‘Wait! I have left something out.’

  ‘Well?’

  ‘Their contact gave them something, I don’t know what it is, but it’s supposed to convince the President that you intend to destroy us all.’

  ‘Who is their contact?’

  ‘They didn’t give me his name,’ he had baited the hook, cast the line and could do no more.

  This was not going the way Tala wanted. She was running out of time, and there was a crucial part of the puzzle missing. Agents could be dispatched to seize the Tellurians, but without the missing piece of information, she could be making a grave error. All her training had taught her not to guess, but this was all pointing towards a traitor handing the Tellurians a galet, and it doesn’t matter that it won’t contain hard evidence, it’s enough to derail everything, she thought.

  Looking at the woman suspended before them, and then to Hugo, she concluded there was nothing to be gained by inflicting more pain. Hugo, despite his feelings for Liz Corcoran, had decided against divulging the information. She needed another approach. ‘If you give me the information you’re withholding, I’ll spare Miss Corcoran, fail me and she will die.’

  Surprisingly, he was unmoved. ‘Their informant told them about some Custodians. They didn’t tell me what they are, maybe they don’t know, but I do know that you’re afraid of them. Killing Liz, or any of us will give you one big headache.’

  ‘Who is the informant?’ For a split second her voice lost its restraint, a sign of her frustration. Calming herself, she continued. ‘You may be right, but once the agreement is signed I can promise you the last to die will be Ms Corcoran, but only after suffering prolonged, excruciating pain.’

  That image wracked him, but he carried on. ‘You forget, that I kno
w you intend to kill us all. Yes, I want to save her life, but I wouldn’t be doing that, would I?’

  Tala’s smile was not unpleasant, more a smile of appreciation. ‘You’re right, none of you will survive, but it’s within my remit to offer yourself and Ms Corcoran a lifeline, not on Earth of course, but we inhabit a number of hominid planets where it has proven too troublesome to eradicate the survivors. The two of you could be deposited in one of those survival zones. In a relatively short time, you’ll die of natural causes – we would ensure no issue would be forthcoming – and with your deaths, your race will become extinct.’

  The offer horrified him, but he needed time. ‘I accept.’

  Tala looked back at the unconscious woman, and thought, you wouldn’t let him make this sacrifice, if you had any say in it. For a brief moment she allowed herself to be moved by their nobility, and wondered how things might have been, if their races had met under different circumstances. She hurriedly banished these surfacing thoughts from her mind, I've been among these people too long. It did not escape her attention that she referred to them, even inwardly, as ‘people.’

  The door slid open to reveal Beron. Still looking at Hugo, she pressed him, ‘well?’

  He told her, in as much time-consuming detail as possible, of the Artefact, and that Jon was taking it to the President.

  I was wrong, there was no traitor, she thought, as she began to pace the room. There were so many things to consider: the Custodians were not only watching, but involving themselves; a device, beyond even the control of the Custodians, if the Tellurians were to use it…

  The scenarios were not pleasant, but she could see an advantage, provided they were careful. What if we could control the Artefact though the Tellurian, Tyler? The Custodians would drop out of the reckoning. But if we fail, and worse, invoke the Accords? There’s always the Alpha Wave, she shuddered at the consequences of its deployment, unconvinced that any of them would be safe, once it was unleashed. We have to act quickly. She snapped an order at Beron. ‘Take everyone, and find the Tellurians, we need this Artefact!’ As he turned to leave, she added, ‘make sure no harm comes to them, and remember what you have just heard, you won’t find the object if it chooses to remain hidden. Bring Tyler, and you bring the Artefact!’

  Without uttering a word, Beron left with the remaining six agents.

  Tala returned her attention to her only conscious captive. ‘I need to attend the signing ceremony, but I don’t think it would be wise for you to be in attendance. You will remain here as a sign of good faith,’ to the technician she said. ‘If he makes any attempt to free her, you are to inflict any degree of pain, short of fatal levels.’

  The technician simply blinked his understanding.

  With the merest of glances in the direction of Liz, she left.

  Δ

  Once Jon and Emily were inside Tala's room, Hugo’s comments about the sterility of her existence became starkly apparent. Other than a simple desk and three chairs, there was nothing else, not even a visible console.

  Each piece of furniture seemed to be fashioned from a single piece of dull metal, it was as though she had furnished the room while depressed. Jon wondered whether this was the true face of the Te, and everything else was artifice. Emily was more forthright. ‘Is this woman sad, or what?’

  He shrugged, and the two of them simply stood facing each other. Before long, Emily spoke again. ‘You know we haven't any idea how long we’ll have to wait. What if they don’t even turn up, or worse still…’ she looked around the room, ‘…laughing Lucy comes home.’

  ‘I was thinking the same thing,’ he replied, ‘just how long do we give them?’

  They were spared further speculation by the sound of a third voice, a male voice, permeating the entire room. ‘You are both correct.’

  They looked at each other. The voice was deep and soothing. ‘A Custodian?’ asked Emily, the question was directed at Jon, as though he was more likely to have the answer. He shook his head. ‘I don’t think they would introduce themselves in the form of a disembodied voice.’

  ‘You are correct,’ the voice interrupted, ‘I am not a Custodian, but I am a friend and, as a friend, I have some advice, you must leave this place, it is not safe here.’

  ‘We've just arrived,’ replied Emily, ‘and why should we trust you.’

  ‘Well,’ the voice replied, ‘probably because I have been monitoring your movements since you entered this facility, and could have informed your pursuers at any time, of your whereabouts, and of course there is the matter of the teleport station.’

  ‘What about the teleport station?’ asked Jon, who had managed to bury his discomfort concerning teleportation, but now felt the unease struggling to resurface.

  ‘I overrode the instruction to incapacitate given by Tala,’ came the reply. There was a pause, just long enough to allow the last piece of information to register, ‘but for my actions, the two of you would now be confined.’

  Ω

  Gorn knew that Beron would soon find his way to this room. If the Tellurians were captured there would be no immediate need for Tala to act against the Tellurian woman already in her possession. If his plan failed, Liz Corcoran needed to remain where she was.

  Δ Ω

  Jon glanced at Emily who was silent. ‘All right,’ he answered for both of them, there was no objection from his young friend, ‘who are you?’ He had no say over the enigmatic behaviour of the Custodians, but he did not want it to be habit forming.

  ‘I have told you, I am a friend.’

  ‘That isn't good enough. Even the Custodians identify themselves,’ he hoped the lie was unnoticed and looked over to Emily whose eyes had narrowed.

  ‘I have already told you that I am not a Custodian. I will not comply with your request. If you find that unsatisfactory, I can only suggest that you may be better employed seeking the Custodians help.’

  The voice fell silent.

  Emily spoke up. ‘Why are you helping us?’

  The voice of the Avatar replied. ‘Because, I do not want to see the Te succeed. I overheard your conversation with the other Tellurians,’ Jon looked at Emily and silently mouthed the word Tellurian, while opening his hands to demonstrate his lack of understanding. Emily simply shook her head as if to say, it doesn’t matter. The voice continued, ‘I now know of the Artefact, and your need to get it to President Conway, if you remain here, you will fail.’ The voice had one more fact to reveal. ‘Your friends cannot help you, they have been taken.’

  ‘How can you know that?’ demanded Emily, suddenly becoming very angry.

  ‘In the same way I knew of your conversations, and the disabled transporter stations. I have control over all the systems in this facility. Tala has tortured the female you know as Liz Corcoran thereby forcing the male, Hugo Black, to tell her everything.’

  Jon’s response was immediate. ‘The Artefact won’t allow itself to be used by the Te.’

  ‘That may well be true, but Tala does not know that. Even if she did, she must stop you from reaching President Conway. She will achieve that aim, and the extinction of your race, if you remain here. It is time for you to make your choice, while you still have a choice to make.’

  Jon walked over to the chairs and Emily followed. The two of them sat facing each other, fully aware that the intelligence behind the voice could probably hear every word they said. ‘I don't think we have another option,’ said Jon, not making any attempt to keep his voice down.

  ‘We need to get as far as we can from where they're holding the others,‘ Emily replied.

  Jon was taken aback. ‘I thought you would insist on rescuing Liz.’

  She shook her head. ‘We’ve got one job, and that’s to get to the President. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for her help, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't thank us for risking everything, to hare off on a suicide mission,’ the resolute expression on her face told him that any further discussion was fruitless.

  Jon nodded
, despite his own misgivings. Emily was not quite what he thought, she had become an unknown quantity to him, and it made him uncomfortable.

  The voice spoke. ‘Your decision, albeit difficult, is wise. There is nothing to be gained by remaining here any longer.’ No sooner were those last words uttered, than a three dimensional plan of the facility appeared in the centre of the room, highlighting, not only their current whereabouts, but also the route to the President. Jon noticed a room marked in red and knew without asking, what it was. ‘You have control over the surveillance technology in this place, show us what’s happening in there,’ he pointed to the red room.

  The reply did nothing to make him feel better. ‘I do not think that would serve any useful purpose...’ there was a pause as though the mind behind the voice was choosing, carefully, what to say next. ‘To see what is unfolding would only cause you distress, and might result in you diverting from the task upon which the survival of your race depends.’

  Jon looked at Emily who nodded, but said nothing.

  It made no sense for him to be concerned for the well being of Liz Corcoran; what was one life balanced against the survival of their entire species? Unfortunately, that reasoning fell a long way short of making him feel better. He needed to find a way to save her and get to the President, but if there was a solution, it eluded him. He saw that the route outlined on the map was in the opposite direction to the red room, and so he concentrated his mind on that. As he did so, images appeared before him, as if he was actually standing in the corridors, even to the extent that, as he turned his head, he could see what was behind him. In this way, he traced the entire route to where the signing ceremony would take place.

  Having completed the route, he looked down at the floor, to signal that he was finished. He could not bring himself to look at Emily, for fear that she would see the look of disappointment in his eyes. What she had said was right, it made him feel bad, but she was right.