"I wish we had Michael here too" Davenport sighed. "What a waste of talent having him look after some snotty princess. Knowing Michael she may as well be a spot on the wall for all he'll notice anyway."

They both laughed quietly.

"I heard they had to order him to go, poor bastard," Richmond said, standing and stretching his muscles. "Well, let's get this show on the road"

"Damned O2 suits, I hate those things" Davenport growled.

"Oh yeah!" Richmond replied "makes me feel about as useful as a pocket in a singlet."

Davenport chuckled softly "Well lets get gift wrapped and give them a surprise."

************

Alison studied the schematic on the screen, leaning in front of Birkoff she keyed up another view and then sighed.

"So their sensors have detected us?" she asked.

"Yeah" Birkoff replied gloomily. "The maps the Guards provided seem to be out by at least ten kilometres."

"Scully, you're certain you put us down on point?"

"Absolutely, Dawson and I triangulated from the Io beacon and the Section satellite. Unless it's moved out of orbit we should be exactly on target."

Birkoff looked up at Alison "They may know where're here, but there is no reason to suspect they'd know why we are here. Sightseers from Io come up here all the time to see the lakes."

"In troop transporters?" Alison asked, one eyebrow raised.

"It could be a big group, I hear the lakes are beautiful" Dawson grinned.

There was nervous laughter from the group sitting around the table.

"OK" Alison smiled. She paced slowly for a moment, running through options.

"We've lost our window for surprise, we'll try and salvage what we can. Let's do a quick recon with a small team and see what we're up against before I send everyone in. Walter, get Richmond, Wilson and Noble kited up with gear, we'll go ghost mode, make sure trackers are functioning. Throw in some probes and charges, just in case we get lucky. Birkoff, you and Dawson take comms. I want a stable channel, so hook up with our comm satellite rather than the transport system, in case there's ground interference. Let Madeline and Michael know what's happening. Scully I need a weather update ASAP, looks like a storm front out to the west. Davenport you'll be in charge back here. As soon as we're clear move back out of range of their perimeter sensors. Organise a few people to go sightseeing, we may as well play the game. Be ready to move quickly, either into the compound ... or back to Io."

************

Richmond leaned down again and tried to override the opening mechanism. He turned to Alison and shook his head. The vent casing on the edge of the building remained resolutely closed.

"No go, Birkoff" she screamed above the noise of the storm. "We can't make it budge with the circuit crawler. We'll have to patch into the board and do it manually, stand by."

Alison steadied herself against Richmond as a gust of wind nearly swept her away. She huddled down beside him, cursing her clumsiness in the O2 suit but glad she had it on. Fine dust had turned the air into soup and brought visibility down to five metres. Good for cover, hopeless for trying to re-wire micro circuitry.

She felt Noble anchor his legs either side of her, holding her steady as she bent over the particle shield that protected the wiring. Once she had the wires exposed, Richmond delicately cold soldered the miniature router in place. Alison passed the relay beam over the router as Richmond modified the settings. He nodded across at her.

"Birkoff, activate open routine" she yelled. As she held the laser in place sweat dripped down the inside of her suit, the visor kept fogging just to contribute to her irritation.

"You're in" Dawson said as the vent cover silently disappeared into the wall "go do that spy stuff and then come on home."

They bent down and looked into the vent, all eyes on Alison as grins erupted on their faces. Alison ignored their gentle teasing, instead noting with approval that the passageway behind the vent was voluminous compared to her last close encounter with a conduit. Still, she suspected only she and Wilson would fit.

"Richmond take the perimeter with Noble, arrange the impulse probes so Birkoff can give us a structural layout and readings, then set the charges. Wilson come with me. Everyone stay in contact and mark time, meet back here in sixty minutes" she said, activating the timer on her watch. "Dawson, I need to know if there are live bodies inside."

"No problemo" he replied "you just have to get inside, your relay can transmit out of the building, I just can't get in through that doosie of a dampening field. I'll need a scan from each floor to set the frequencies then we can jam their system and open a window. Somebodies gone to a lot of trouble to lock out prying eyes, enquiring minds want to know why. You gals take care."

************

Hearing a familiar voice call out to her, Nikita woke suddenly. Images flashed in front of her in wild succession creating a tension in her mind and body that screamed for release. She felt like she was in the eye of a storm, on the periphery was an encompassing calm that was tangible yet out of her reach. She closed her eyes again for a moment, remembering his soft voice. Like a cool, gentle breeze the memory calmed the simoom in her mind. She opened her eyes slowly and recalling his alluring face she suddenly realised this was the waking image that had haunted her for days. She felt an urgent need for resolution and moved silently through the darkness to her study.

Sensing he would have chosen the lounge to rest on, she looked down on his sleeping form. He was tangled in the blanket that covered him, moving restlessly in the grip of a dream. He cried out and then mumbled words as his hands clutched at the blanket. She knelt quietly on the floor beside him, holding out her fingers she touched them lightly against his forehead. He quieted immediately, the frown on his face dissolving to be replaced by a peaceful smile. Nikita closed her eyes and felt the images in her mind start to take a solid form. Rather than flashes she now saw scenes, rolling out before her with perfect clarity.

"It has been you in my head ...." she whispered as she opened her eyes. Two eyes stared at her through the darkness. With a slow blink he refocused, the pupils huge and glassy, rimmed with green.

"What is it Nikita?" Michael asked softly, concern in voice. She saw the glint of the gun in his hand as he sat up quickly and scanned the room. He rose gracefully and moved cautiously towards her bedchamber.

Nikita watched him move away then swiveled on the floor, leaning back against the lounge. She had been sensing him long before he arrived here and she had not been aware, it was too astonishing! Tilting her head back she closed her eyes, letting the images wash over her. She felt a pang of guilt at using her powers to open this secret window on Michael, however, her desperate need for insight seemed to override all other considerations. The brief moments from his life slowly melded into the present, and she felt the pressure of tears and the sting of her brother's words from earlier in the evening. She had been so wrong.

Michael quietly sat on the floor opposite her, finally satisfied there was no immediate threat to her life. She looked at him with half closed eyes, trying to avert her gaze from his naked chest. Sensing her discomfort he reached up and pulled the blanket off the lounge, draping it over his shoulders.

Nikita sat for a long while, watching him intensely. Michael sat perfectly still and endured her scrutiny, grateful for the chance just to be near her. Finally Nikita reached out and placed a tentative finger against his cheek. Michael felt the shock of her touch like an electrical current through his body. Withdrawing her fingers for a moment she leant backwards and turned a light on behind her.

Taking a deep breath, she again reached out and ran her finger over his face. Her exploration this time extending to the softness of his hair, the rough texture of his jaw, the well defined lines of his neck. Like a patient child unwrapping a present, she peeled the blanket off his shoulders and ran a hand along his shoulder. She looked up at him, seeking approval to continue. Michael let out the breath he had been holding and signaled his acquiescence with a slow blink of his eyes.

Nikita continued her exploration, she had never felt a man's body in this way before. Her fingers played with the hairs on his chest, felt the warmth of his skin beneath as his scent filled her nostrils. She was overwhelmed with the sensation of him. Her hands moved down across the tight muscles of his abdomen, stopping at the snug waistband of his pants.

Michael moved his hands to rest gently on her wrists.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Nikita?" he asked softly.

"I think so, I ..." She thought for a moment then whispered "yes."

"You must be sure" he said calmly.

Nikita looked into his eyes and saw that he wanted her to make this decision. Closing her eyes for a moment she focussed on her own body, the welcome calm within her head, the pounding rhythm of her heart, the aching need building within her. Opening her eyes slowly she stared at him.

"I have never wanted anything more" she said softly, then added nervously " ... and you?"

"Yes" was all he said as he leaned towards her and brushed his lips across the velvet softness of her face. He moved her hands to his hips and then placed his hands of the silky fabric of her nightgown, pulling it tight against the curves of her body. His mouth moved slowly towards hers, running his tongue lightly over her lips and then pressing his lips against hers. He pulled back for a moment, ready to proceed slowly despite his aching need.

Nikita ran her hands over the curves revealed by his desire and the skintight fabric of his pants. He let out a soft moan as her hand brushed across the pulsing hardness in his groin. Fascinated, she saw him close his eyes as her fingers continued to explore. Her innocent, whisper soft caress was at once both supremely erotic and maddening. She leant in and brushed her lips across his, an inquisitive tongue traced the outline of his lower lip, testing his restraint. Her warm breath caressed his skin with promises.

Nikita watched him, feeling him, as his fingers gently massaged the fabric of her gown. She felt strange stirrings in her body, a growing need that made her restless.

"Michael, please" she urged, unsure of what she should do next. Seeing the uncertainty in his eyes she leaned across and whispered "please ... I trust you."

Holding her eyes with his, he sat up and slowly removed his pants. She followed his lead and pulled her nightgown over her head. He smiled at her and reached across, running one hand gently over her breasts as the other moved slowly down her stomach to the soft curls below. She gasped as his hand probed lower, creating sensations that were unlike anything she had ever felt before and yet strangely familiar.

With an exultant grin, Michael leaned across and kissed her deeply on the lips, maintaining the gentle caress his hands were engaged in. His mouth moved down teasingly to suckle gently on her nipples. Raising his head he kissed her again, encouraging her to respond to the gentle probing of his tongue with her own. As her tongue gingerly explored his mouth he took her hand and twined her fingers in his, running them first slowly over her body, then his. He guided her hand down to his groin, running it softly over his skin as he disentangled his fingers and moved them to caress the warm folds of skin between her legs.

Nikita was drowning in sensation, her body writhed and squirmed as she tried to find the answer to her craving. He looked into her glazed eyes for a moment before moving his mouth down to take up the slow, caressing rhythm his hand had been maintaining between her legs. The instant she felt the movement of his tongue and breath on her tender flesh, time stood still and her mind exploded with the answer.

************

Leaving the outer shells of their suits back at the vent entrance they moved slowly forward in the passageway. When they passed the first large interior grate, Alison pried it open so Wilson could get out and send Dawson the data he needed to do a sweep of the building. Alison moved quickly off through the network of tubing that meandered its way through the huge building. She could hear no noise other than the chatter across her comm link. Following the vent system for a few hundred metres more she reached the conclusion the place was uninhabited.

Alison quietly removed a vent cover and peered down to the ground. She looked out over a huge storage room, piled high to the ceiling with crates and boxes. There was no one in sight. Glancing at her watch she slipped out of the vent and dropped onto a metal walkway that ran high around the perimeter of the room. She drew her weapon and made her way slowly down the network of metal stairs and ladders to the ground.

Once on the ground, Alison moved cautiously through the mountains of crates. Climbing to the top of a smaller stack, she pulled out her knife, levering the lid off one of the crates. Inside, neatly resting on a metal frame, were two K45 impact missiles. She let out a soft whistle and moved to open a few more crates, finding the same contents in each.

She wound her way through the towering piles to the back of the storage area. A small, glass walled office stood empty in the far corner, to her right were dozens of stainless steel containers. Behind these were two large shapes draped in dark covers. She moved slowly over to the containers and saw each was secured with a sophisticated time lock. Kneeling down in front of one she activated the scanner on her relay and passed it slowly over the lock.

"Birkoff, I need you to work out the opening mechanism for the schematics I just sent through, bring Walter in" she whispered.

"OK Alie, just pulling it up now. Wow! Looks like a laser coupling, what's in the box?"

Alison was silent for a moment, a smile emerging on her face "Birkoff!" she whispered urgently.

"Oh yeah, of course" Birkoff mumbled "Walters checking it out now."

Alison waited, filling in time by counting the boxes and sending through a preliminary inventory of the warehouse.

"Try using your laser drill on a low setting to spread the beam then fire the pulse surge on your rifle at the frequency I'm sending through" Walter finally replied.

Alison waited for the data to come up on her relay and then keyed the frequency into her pulse rifle. As she was about to follow Walter's instructions, his voice came over her comm set.

"Uh, Alie, if this doesn't work there may be a small explosion."

Alison stopped, "define 'small'?"

"Probably not large?" Walter offered.

"I'm in a warehouse piled high with K45 missiles Walter, can you give me just a little more to go with?"

There was silence for a moment.

"I've never seen one of these before, Al, it should work but no guarantees, can't you just bring the box back and we'll do it here?"

"Stand by" she sighed.

Alison stood and tried to lift the case, it was a dead weight beneath her. She sighed again and looked around for something that could help to absorb the impact an explosion. Her gaze moved to the heavy covers on the shapes behind her. She moved forward and pulled one of the covers off, exposing a gleaming silver casing supporting a huge black cylinder. Hydraulic levers supported the casing, these in turn were mounted on a swivel base that stood a couple of metres high. She had never seen anything like it before.

Alison ran her hand along the cold barrel of the weapon, then gently pulled down a panel on the side of the casing. Inside was series of chambers and lenses, increasing in size as they approached the barrel. At the back was a chamber with a small cradle extending from the roof, behind which a laser device was mounted with guides to concentrate the beam forward. At the rear of the chamber was a series of circuits, optical fibers and a receiver unit. Alison stared at the chamber and then passed her gaze back towards the steel boxes. She swept her eyes around the room, feeling a nervous tension start her pulse racing.

"What's happening Alison?" Birkoff's tense voice asked "the storm is starting to mess up our communications. I've lost contact with Richmond and Noble."

"Wilson?" she whispered urgently. Alison let out a deep breath when she heard her reply.

"Here Alison, I'm just on my way to the upper level, last one I have to check."

"Leave it" Alison hissed "move out NOW, get back to egress, suit up and move to our pick up point. Birkoff give me a secure link to Michael's relay then instruct Davenport to move the transport to pick up."

"What do you have Alison?" Davenport asked a moment later.

"I'm not sure yet, there's a strange weapon here, looks like some sort of phaser. I'm just going to check out the office, see if I can find something, design specs, whatever."

"What about the boxes?" Davenport asked "can you open one or bring it back?"

"No, too heavy, but I think I know what's in them. Dawson any movement inside?"

"I'm picking up zip, except for you two" Dawson replied.

"What about Richmond and Noble?"

"Nope, nothing outside. I could be getting interference from the dampening field if they're in close to the building."

"Keep scanning and give me updates. I'll collect Richmond and Noble on my way out."

Alison moved warily towards the office, sweeping her gun as she backed into the small room. Looking around she saw a small gas plasma computer on the desk and a chair, otherwise the room was clean, not a scrap of paper, pen or paperclip to be seen. The only other item was a jacket hanging on the back of the door. She glanced back at the jacket, a slow smile emerging on her face.

She sat down at the computer and started to dismantle it, passing the beam of her relay over each of the components.

"Alison, your links up" Birkoff informed her.

"Thanks" she said distractedly as she set her relay on the desk and pulled the thin keyboard out from the back panel. Her fingers flew silently over the keys as she watched the data from the computer download on the small screen. Pausing for a moment she heard it again, a soft ... clack, like the sound of boots treading lightly on metal steps. She quickly finished her message to Michael and hit the transmit button, trusting he alone could be relied upon to make the best decisions on what to do with the information. Her eyes darted between the small screen and the area beyond the office for a few moments, hoping he might still be online to confirm he had received her transmission. Nothing. The seconds ticked by. With a sigh she closed the relay and tucked it into her belt.

Crouching low, she moved out of the office towards the maze of crates. "Dawson?" she whispered softly "I have movement."

"I'm not picking up anything" he replied "where are you anyway girl? Your tracker seems to be dead."

Alison crept forward slowly towards the stairs, auto pilot kicking in. A shape moved ahead of her, aim and fire, she heard the empty thud of a body falling. Another shape followed, closer this time, moving up behind she drew her knife, clasping a hand over the surprised mouth she drove it home. Pushing the body gently forward it fell quietly to the ground.

"Call in Alison, we don't have your location" Dawson whispered urgently.

The sound of Dawson's voice faded from her ear to be replaced by the familiar hum of an impact gun charging. Before she could turn she felt a fierce burning sensation tear through her back and stomach. She remained upright for a brief moment, a hand rising to brush absently against the wet stickiness pouring through her clothes. Random thoughts danced recklessly in her head. Michael? Arkanii? Life? Enough? She knew with certainty that one question she had often asked was about to be answered. She felt her body sway slightly then crumple, and then she felt ... nothing.

************

Nikita breathed in deeply, savouring the feel of Michael's pulsing warmth inside her, the heavy thump of his heart against her chest, the intermingled scent of their bodies. Despite his weight, her body was floating, infused with a freedom that opened a door to mind boggling possibility.

"I'm too heavy" Michael murmured as he moved slightly.

Nikita held him in place. "No" she whispered. She ran a finger idly around the outline of his jaw, then across his lips. "I imagined doing this with you" she said softly, a self-conscious flush colouring her cheeks. "The reality has exceeded all expectation."

"I imagined many things you wanted to do to me, Nikita" Michael smiled, "this was not one of them."

She laughed softly and shook her head, placing a gentle kiss against his cheek. As she pulled back Michael drew her closer.

"It feels like it has always been ..." he breathed, his mouth exploring the soft skin at the base of her neck, "... you and me, together."

He shifted slightly, rolling to her side and wrapping her in his arms. Nikita burrowed into his embrace. Laying her cheek against his chest she heard the steady beating of his heart.

"I have been near to you, Michael, for some time now." She paused, searching for the right words. She pulled herself up until her face was level with his, "it is only being with you that has made me understand this."

She reached across and cupped his face in her hands, smoothing the puzzled frown from his forehead.

Michael recalled Alison's words and felt a slight wave of uneasiness sweep over him. "Can you look into people's minds Nikita?" he asked softly.

"For many years now I have been able to ... see ...things. My visions are like streams of consciousness, fragments of minds relaying what has been and, sometimes, what will be. I have used this information to help my Father with his decisions. I have never been able to read those close to me, few though they are, thus it is always the minds of strangers that visit me."

"Without knowing the person, how can you find the truth in their thoughts?" he asked.

"It is true, I have relayed this information without understanding, the action detached from the reason." Nikita looked down for a moment, taking a deep breath before looking back into his face. "I have seen inside you Michael, the violence, the shadows, the too brief moments of light. Not knowing the man, thus you would have been defined in my mind."

The frown appeared again on his face, again she used her fingers to smooth it away. She smiled and gently pressed her lips to his, trying to allay his concern.

"You are the first vision that has become real to me. I see what you are, as a result, I am forever changed. You are inside me, all I have to do is look into myself to see the truth of who you are."

"You know who I am, what I am, and you can still trust me?" he whispered.

"I trust you, Michael, my love. You must also trust that I will keep safe the piece of you that I now hold within me."

Michael brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them, slowly, one by one. "Nikita, beautiful Nikita" he murmured, tracing gentle kisses down her throat to her breasts "what more can I give you?" She could almost feel his warm breath leaving an imprint of the words on her skin.

Nikita moaned softly at his touch, her body moving of its own volition in answer to his question. She could hear the beat of his pulse, or maybe it was hers, what did it matter, they were one in the same.

Michael raised his head a moment. Looking over at his relay he heard the low pulse of the alarm and saw the slow flash of red indicating an incoming message.

"What is it?" Nikita murmured, brushing her lips against his. Her hands moved with a new confidence down to his hips, kneading his flesh in time to the slow movement of their bodies.

"Nothing" he whispered softly, feeling her mouth capture the word as it escaped his lips.

************

PART FOUR

Arkanii wandered into the building, his boots made an empty ringing sound in the huge enclosed space. The sound reflected his mood, he thought sadly. An odd assortment of crates were stacked against the far wall, otherwise the building was empty. The Commander of the Guards walked up to him, saluted and then stood silently to attention. Arkanii looked around again and then nodded.

"The Section personnel have been given access as you requested, Sir" he nodded towards a group of people standing over by the far wall. "We completed a search, nothing was found other than the remains of the four Section operatives and two League commandos. Three of the Section operatives were found on the perimeter of the building, the remaining bodies were found in this area. The bodies inside the building have been incinerated by diffusion beams from an impact gun." He stopped and passed Arkani a small data pad. "The crates over by the far wall contain minor armaments. We found a range of files and hardware in the office to suggest the League were preparing the site to stockpile weapons for an assault on the Emperor."

"Thank you, keep me updated" Arkanii responded. The Commander saluted again, pivoted on his heals and strode off.

Arkanii watched him move away then stared absently at the small device in his hand, savouring for a final instant some small measure of hope that the message he had received had been a terrible mistake. He closed his eyes, saw her smiling eyes as she looked up at him, soft curls framing her face as it lay against the pillow. Opening his eyes again he heard the sound of her gentle laughter as she reached for him. Was it only two short days between that glorious memory and ... this?

Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the small huddle of Section Operatives. As he neared the group he took in the grim faces and felt a cold dread creep over him.

"Who is charge here?" he asked quietly. As one, the faces in the group turned towards him.

A large, powerfully built man stepped forward. "Davenport" was all he replied.

Arkanii introduced himself and held out his hand. Davenport took it, his grip firm and unwavering. Birkoff moved slowly forward from the group, leaving a small gap through which Arkanii could make out the charred remains of a body lying on the ground.

Birkoff stopped beside him. They both stared at the remains on the ground.

"Is it her?" Arkanii whispered.

"Yes" Birkoff replied, his voice sounded tiny in the huge expanse of the room. "Not surprisingly we couldn't get anything from the body, but Walter used a nanopore sequencer to get her DNA profile from the blood. We found her relay nearby, it's been tampered with. Looks like they were trying to extract files and ..."

Birkoff's voice faded in his ears. He wanted to move closer, see for himself, but it seemed he was suddenly incapable of moving. Perhaps it was better this way, he did not want this to be the last image of her. He shook his head slowly, realising Birkoff was still talking to him.

"I haven't been able to raise Michael" Birkoff repeated.

"No. Madeline has told him, he is now with Nikita" Arkanii replied.

They stood quietly for a moment.

"Do you need any help with ... anything?" Arkanii sighed.

He heard Birkoff take a deep, shaky breath.

"Alison said she trusted you" Birkoff murmured, his voice tense and preoccupied.

Arkanii turned to face him, lowering his voice to match Birkoff's "yes, of course."

The words seem to rush out of Birkoff's mouth "something's not adding up, Alison gave us a description of this area, she said it was piled high with weapons, missiles, guns, some sort of ... " Birkoff hesitated.

Arkanii waited for him to finish. As the minutes ticked by he realised Birkoff was not yet ready to share more with him. "You think someone accessed the site and removed these weapons before the Imperial Guard arrived?" he asked.

"Yes, maybe" Birkoff replied.

"Would you like me to try and find out if this occurred?"

Birkoff's gaze wandered, trying to find something other than the floor to focus on. Finally he looked at Arkanii.

"Yes" Birkoff whispered "... we need your help."

"Then you will have to trust me too, Birkoff."

************

Michael sat waiting, his fingers played numbly with the smooth cover of the relay. Turning it over, and over, and over. Like his mind, turning over, and over. Could he have helped if he had answered her message when it came in? Could he have stopped it happening if he had been there, or would he be dead, too? Dead. Just, ... dead. It happened all the time, to anyone, and everyone, eventually. Still, it was incomprehensible. Here, then gone. Cold, black, nothing. He had been dead, but Nikita had breathed life back into him. Like a miracle, he felt her warmth, her desire, her love, her trust. It burned in him like a fire. Death could steal this from him. It made him afraid of something he always thought he would welcome. Taking a deep breath he continued with the mindless activity of his hands, turning, turning. It seemed absurd, how could she be dead? Knowing it was true made it all the more ridiculous. Turning, turning.

He looked up at the sound of the door opening. Arkanii entered and took a seat next to him.

"No luck" Arkanii sighed, "we will have to get into the system to confirm what she saw. The message she sent you is too implausible to believe otherwise." He rubbed his temples slowly and looked towards Michael. "The League Directors have arrived. The Emperor is in a rage, Nikita is with him now - she can usually calm him. The meeting is scheduled for this afternoon so we don't have much time." Arkanii sighed again and slumped in his seat.

Michael looked across and saw the haggard look on Arkanii's face. He reached out and touched his hand.

"Stay out of this Arkanii, let us deal with it" Michael said softly.

Arkanii shifted in his seat then started to slowly shake his head. He looked across at Michael, tears glistening in his eyes. "No" he said, still shaking his head. "You cannot do this without my help. Besides, I owe her this much, at least." He leaned his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his hands.

Michael took a deep breath. "I've briefed Madeline, Operations will be here soon. We need hard evidence before he will take it to the meeting."

"Do we?" Arkanii asked "the mere mention of such a device may be enough to expose this farce."

Michael closed his eyes for a moment, opening them slowly. "So what do we do?"

************

Arkanii strode down the corridor, Michael in step beside him. They passed into the Control Centre unchallenged. Two guards stood to attention at the door.

"That will be all" Arkanii said, "the Emperor has requested a security meeting of all Palace staff, go back to the barracks and await instructions. I will watch Control."

The two men saluted and headed off. Arkanii quickly took a seat and entered his passwords, then he and Michael began the tedious task of searching through documents. After two hours they still had nothing.

"Do you have access to all files?" Michael asked.

"No, only my Father and Nikita have full access."

"Do you know their access codes?"

"Yes" Arkanii said slowly.

"Do it" Michael whispered. Arkanii looked at Michael for a brief moment then entered Nikita's passwords.

They quickly eliminated the files they had already searched and started into the remainder.

************

"I have it" Michael said softly.

Arkanii leaned over and nodded slowly. As they read through the document the intercom crackled to life.

"Arkanii?" a soft voice whispered.

"Yes?"

"Your Father has finished his meeting with Nikita."

"I'll be right there."

Arkanii turned to Michael, unsure what he should do.

"Go" Michael whispered.

************

Nikita returned quickly to her study to prepare the briefings her father had requested. He had been upset by the deaths of the Section Operatives, though he was furious that they had not been able to provide more information about the base or the people who made the attack. The report they had just received from the Imperial Guard indicated the League was now moving openly against the Emperor. This afternoon's meeting would be critical if peace was to be quickly restored.

She was disappointed to find her rooms empty, she had hoped Michael would still be here, waiting for her. As she activated her systems link her mind drifted to him. He had been so quiet when he heard the news of what had happened on Oort. After Madeline had left them he had wandered quietly around the room, shoulders slumped, finally stopping in front the window for a long while. Then he had come to her. Their lovemaking had taken on a desperate quality, she felt Michael's grief and ... fear. They both knew it could just as easily have been him.

She wondered where Arkanii was, she had not yet had a chance to talk with him about all that had happened.

Her mind was brought back to the present by a loud beep. Looking at the screen she saw that someone else was using her access codes. She keyed in her query and saw it originated from the Command Centre. They were probably running a systems check as part of the security improvements for this afternoons meeting. She searched for what they were doing with her codes and was puzzled to see a number of classified files open. She sat for a moment, then quickly stood and made her way to the Command Centre.

************

"OK, just receiving the inventory now, is that the lot?" Dawson's voice piped through Michael's comm link.

"Yes, for the time being. Get Birkoff to cross-reference these with the data we collected from the base computer. How long will it take?"

"Let's see, there isn't that much here, shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, less if we get lucky."

"Send it back down as soon as you're done. If you can't contact me send it to Arkanii. I'll need to ..." the words died on his lips as he looked up to see Nikita standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing, Michael?" Nikita's voice was steady and measured. He saw the control she exerted to keep it that way.

"Sound's like you're in deep shit big guy, I'm outa here..." Dawson whispered. Michael's comm link gave a quiet hiss and then became as quiet as the room around him.

He stared at her, his face expressionless as his mind raced through the probabilities of adequately explaining this situation. Being generous, he put his POS at about 2%.

"I assume it is you using my codes."

"Yes."

"You have opened secure, private files." She paused for a moment, perhaps giving him the opportunity to respond. When it was obvious he wasn't going to she asked "how did you access my codes?"

Michael remained silent, unsure whether it was wise to bring Arkanii's name into the conversation. Nikita seemed almost to be listening to his silence. She shook her head slowly, a sad smile on her face.

"So that's what this was all about, I must hand it to you Section people, you are very good at your jobs. Whatever it takes to go to gain my trust. Was it just my heart you sought Michael, or did you also manipulate my mind in the same way you control these sad, wretched creatures you have sent in here to guard us."

"Nikita I ..."

"Don't Michael, don't make it worse." He watched despondently as a small tear escaped and made its way slowly down her cheek. "We have ... had something, Michael, I won't let your deceit profane that" she said accusingly.

She looked at him, despising his silence, perhaps despising him. He watched the rise and fall of her chest beneath the soft fabric of her dress, the way the small pulse at the base of her neck throbbed to the same rhythm. It's beat was like a drum in his head. In his mind he reached out to caress it, softly, his fingers moving slowly, easing away the pain that his words could not.

A soft moan escaped her lips as her body swayed imperceptibly to the beat in his head. He saw her stiffen her gaze suddenly intense. "Stop" she hissed, then, more softly, sadly "stop."

Michael frowned, confused by her command. "Stop ... what?" he asked, baffled.

She looked at him, her head bowed slightly as though protecting herself from his gaze. She shook her head slowly and then turned and left.

"Nikita" he whispered softly, wondering if she would even hear him. Without turning she stopped. "You said you need only look inside yourself to see the truth of who I am. Look there now, trust me as I trust you" he said softly.

She stood perfectly still for a moment, then left the room.

Michael watched her go.

"I'm sorry" he whispered to the empty room.

************

"So, do we have confirmation" Operations asked as he marched into the room.

Madeline smiled grimly as she watched him start to pace.

"Inconclusive" she replied "Birkoff and Dawson are still examining the files. They were protected with an encryption code we have only just broken."

"Is there enough to go with?" he asked.

"Alison's description of the weapon was comprehensive" Madeline replied "Walter has been going over the specifications and has confirmed her assessment." Madeline sighed and folded her hands in her lap.

"It couldn't have been anything else" Walter confirmed. "And Alison knew her weapons" he added sadly.

Operations stopped his pacing for a moment and nodded. "Suggestions?" he asked.

"We should present them with our finding, see how they react. It may also help to focus their attention on the issues, rather than the rhetoric " Michael offered.

"Without conclusive proof we could be accused of scaremongering" Madeline countered.

"Agreed, that is a risk" Operations removed his glasses and resumed his pacing. "However, I think our tactical advantage will be best served by taking the offensive. What's Birkoff's estimate on analysis of the files?"

"Two hours" Michael answered.

"We can't wait, the meeting is starting now. Madeline, Michael, let's go."

************

Michael sat behind Operations, desperate to close his eyes and block out the inane debate that had been raging for over an hour now. Claims and counter claims had been bouncing around the table, the Emperor accusing the League Directors of conspiracy and murder, the League denying all knowledge and accusing the Io Council of fabricating the entire scenario to justify a price increase in iolonium.

He had fought to keep his gaze away from Nikita. Finally conceding defeat, he acknowledged to himself it was hopeless. His eyes were drawn to her as though she were a magnet for his attention. She sat between her Father and Arkanii, her cold eyes concealing the fire that kept him spellbound. He had felt her gaze when it drifted over him, felt it as tangibly as he had felt her arms around him when he woke this morning. He stifled a sigh and focussed his attention back on the discussion.

"Why have we not heard from the Section representatives here?" the League Chairman asked, "they were on Oort when this alleged attack took place, what can they tell us?"

All eyes turned towards Operations.

"Our Operatives went in to investigate the base on Oort. While there, one of them discovered an unusual weapon. Our analysis suggests the weapon was a prototype iolonium phaser."

Murmurs and shouts broke out from around the table.

"Don't be preposterous," a League delegate shouted, "the development of such weapons is expressly forbidden under the Charter."

"Who would be foolish enough, it would mean expulsion from the trade market, appropriation of assets" another called out.

"My collegues are correct" the League Chairman stated, glaring at the other members of the League to gain their silence. "The Emperor is aware that the extraction and distribution of every microgram of iolonium is carefully registered and regulated. The Alliance and the League would know if allocations were being diverted. No-one would fritter away their paltry allocation on such a foolish endevour, even if the technology existed to build such a device."

"Foolish, maybe, but we all know that desperate men do not always act rationally" the Emperor said quietly, casting his gaze across the table at the League Chairman. He turned his eyes towards Operations. "This is a bold allegation Sir. What evidence do you have, other than the observations of dead agent who's history makes me question the truth in her report."

Operations smiled, looking around the room. "The report contains very detailed specifications that have been confirmed by our specialists. Its truth or the loyalty of my agents is not in question." Operations leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. "The potential for development of this sort of weapon has always been with us. What we must focus on now is who has these weapons, and what do they intend to do with them. We need to eliminate the threat, swiftly and comprehensively."

"Yes, this is the issue" the Emperor stated, he paused for a moment looking down at the papers in front of him. "My Guards have also collected information that suggests the existence of such a weapon" he continued slowly. "It would seem prudent that we withdraw from any further investigation. If we can agree that the Section is a neutral party, representing our common interest, then I suggest we instruct them to resolve this issue on our behalf."

"The Section has always operated independently, but how can we be sure the information they will be acting on is ...neutral?" the League Chairman asked.

The Emperor sat back, looking from the Chairman to Operations. "I see this could be a problem." He nodded indulgently towards the Chairman. "Perhaps we could send one of their Operatives in to investigate the information we have, then report back to us before we make a decision on how to proceed."

"That would be satisfactory" the Chairman responded magnanimously.

"Good" the Emperor beamed "Of course you will put your best person on this. I believe that would now be ... Michael. We will expect a report as soon as it available."

Michael looked up at the sound of his name and saw the Emperor looking at him, a cold smile on his face. He caught the surprised glance Nikita gave the Emperor, before she too looked at Michael, her expression unreadable.

"Of course" Operations replied. "We can be ready to go within the hour" he smiled.

************

"The Emperor has just provided us with their intel, Birkoff and Dawson are working with it now" Madeline announced as she entered the room.

She looked across at Michael as he sat quietly on the bench, his shirt off as Walter injected a tracker in hip.

"What type of information is it?" Operations asked.

"The location of a site they have been monitoring, suspected to be a base for weapon storage" Madeline answered.

"How ... convenient" Operations smiled.

Madeline returned his smile with a small nod of her head.

"Where are we with the information Michael and Arkanii provided?" he asked.

"Close, it seems to be supporting Alison's theory" Madeline replied as she looked across at Michael.

"The intel the Emperor provided us with is most likely a diversion" Michael answered. He slipped off the bench and put his shirt and jacket on, loading it with the gear Walter passed.

"Agreed" Operations replied. "Have the rest of your team ready as backup, they'll shadow you in. Make this a quick in and out, Michael."

Walter grunted and shook his head.

"Do you have something to add Walter?" Operations asked.

Walter gave him a sad smile and then looked at Michael. "It's just, well, that's what Alie said when they left to do the recon on Oort."

************

Michael moved slowly into the building, scanning the darkness as his eyes adjusted. He made his way around the wall, feeling the edge with one hand as the other held the infrared scope on his weapon to his eye.

"Dawson, I'm in position. No activity so far" he whispered.

"Got you Michael, you're a happy little blip on my screen. I'm picking up movement in the north east corner" Dawson replied.

"On my way" Michael said softly.

He took a bearing and moved forward. As he entered the far end of the building he saw shapes moving.

"Davenport, move up to my position" he whispered.

"On our way" Davenport responded.

"Michael, I lost my little blip, adjust you tracker frequency" Dawson instructed.

"Michael?" Dawson asked again when he received no reply. "Davenport are you receiving?"

"Yeah, I hear you. Where's Michael?" Davenport asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Hold your positions" Dawson said, concern creeping into his voice. "Scully, my last fix has him within five metres of your position."

Scully probed the area with her torch. "Nobody here" she whispered.

"Hold while I run a scan" Dawson said. There was a short pause before he added "I'm not reading any bodies other than yours."

"Find the lights" Davenport barked. He watched as torch beams sliced into the darkness. Tucker found the lever on the wall and pulled it down, flooding the warehouse with light. They all blinked, adjusting to the light.

Davenport gazed around the large, empty space. "Dawson, inform Operations and Madeline we found no weapons, this place is empty, and let them know Michael's missing and his tracker is off-line."

************

PART FIVE

Arkanii opened the door to Nikita's chambers, with a sigh he stepped forward and waited while the doors closed behind him. Nikita was sitting quietly, staring out the window. She looked over to him and was about to speak when he put a finger to his lips, indicating silence. She gave him a puzzled look, but acquiesced to his request.

Taking the device Walter had given him he swept it over the room, aiming the beam as Walter had instructed. When he was satisfied he had covered the entire room he changed the setting and started walking forward. The device started to beep loudly as he approached the far wall. Taking the chair from behind her desk he jumped up on it, then reached up to the cornice and with his knife dug the tiny cable from the wall. He cut off the end of the cable and climbed back down to where Nikita now stood beside him. He handed the tiny piece of circuitry to her.

"An audio and optical transmitter" he said softly.

She looked up at him, a deep frown forming on her face.

"Who would dare to do this?" she asked. She followed silently as he continued to scan the room.

Satisfied there was no other surveillance equipment in the room he turned to her and said softly "we need to talk Nikita, let me just close the doors to your other rooms."

"No ... wait" she said as she grabbed his arm. "Check my bed chamber."

Arkanii reached up and placed a hand gently on her cheek, and then moved to her bedchamber and repeated the procedure. He found a transmitter mounted above the doorframe and disconnected it. Nikita followed him back out, holding the second transmitter in her hand. She sat on the lounge, confusion replaced by anger as she watched Arkanii close the doors. He returned and took a seat beside her.

"How did you find out about these?" she finally asked, an embarrassed flush to her cheeks.

"Michael is missing" he replied.

She stared at him, digesting this information but unclear what it had to do with the transmitters.

"What do you mean, he's missing?"

"The Team has just returned from investigating the site the Imperial Guards provided. Michael went in first, when the rest of the Team entered, the building was empty and Michael was gone. The tracking device in his body has been disabled. They do not know where he is."

She stood, turning towards the door "we must go and tell Father, he can send in the Guards to find Michael."

"No Nikita" Arkanii said softly "that won't help, I suspect the Guards already know where Michael is."

Nikita turned to him, a puzzled frown on her face as her agitation grew. "What are you saying, Arkanii? The Guards have turned against the Emperor?"

"Nikita ... please, sit down, listen to what I have to say" he urged.

She stared at him suspiciously for a moment and then sat again on the seat by the window.

"Alison sent Michael a message before ... before she was lost on Oort" Arkanii sighed deeply as Nikita reached for his hand and held it gently. "She found the storage area full of crates containing missiles and other weapons, she also found cases containing iolonium and near these the iolonium phasers Operations described during the meeting. She found a computer in an empty office. The computer stored plans for the phasers and a description of a method for long term storage of iolonium."

Nikita looked at him, unable to keep the look of amazement from her face "they have found a way to store iolonium? Our scientists have been working on this for years and have not been able to find a way."

"Our scientists are the one's who found the method, Nikita, they were probably also involved in development of the weapon. The plans Alison found were stamped with the Imperial crest. In the office hanging on the back of the door was a uniform of the Guards. The Guards were the first one's on site after the Section notified us about what had happened. They would not let the remaining Section Operatives in for several hours. When I arrived on Oort, the storage area was empty, and the office was full of files incriminating the League in the storage and movement of weapons."

Arkanii paused for a moment, watching Nikita closely. She shook her head slowly, unwilling to accept his words. He took a deep breath and continued.

"The Section has compared the files Alison found on Oort with those in our system here. The iolonium she found matches the registration stamps from the stockpile that went missing some years ago. I gave Michael your code so he could access these files."

Nikita looked up, this time her head nodded slowly. She closed her eyes for a moment as she felt a constriction in her chest, the ache driven by recognition of the truth of his words. Not yet able to fully accept she opened her eyes and looked at Arkanii, hoping.

"We must take this information to the Emperor" she said cautiously, testing his response.

"Nikita" he replied, slowly, sadly. "You know, just as I do, that the Emperor has been behind this entire plan. He was behind the last failed attempt to implicate the League and bring them down, and he is behind this one. It has long been his desire to take over the League. So he has been biding his time, making sure he had gathered the resources to make a swift and lethal strike. He knows he can act with impunity, the Charter will not hold if he retaliates by using these weapons to defend and withhold our iolonium."

"I do not want to believe him capable of these things Arkanii" she said, standing and pacing in front of him. "It is too much. How could he betray my trust in this way? How did he keep it hidden from me?"

"He is capable of it Nikita, and he has not hidden it from us. We just chose not to open our eyes to the truth. He has kept you so isolated that his world became yours. Perhaps it made it easier for you not to look to closely at the truth of this world. Ask yourself, Nikita, do you trust him? Have you ever?"

She looked down at her hand, knuckles white as she clutched the transmitters they had found. "He was the one who set these" she hissed. "That is why Michael was taken. That is why the others were left to return. And Alison ...?"

"Probably" Arkanii said softly. He stood beside Nikita and gazed out the window for a long moment. Without turning his head he continued quietly. "Just like Alison and I, he could not allow you to get any closer to Michael because of what he might have told you. I assume, among other things, that is why he had surveillance in your rooms. I found the same equipment in mine. Alison came to see me before they left for Oort, we spent a glorious night together. She was already suspicious of the Emperor's role in all this and told me as such. I assume this is why she didn't return."

"Oh Arkanii" Nikita whispered softly "what have I done."

Arkanii pulled her into his arms and gently rocked her as she wept. "You have done what you thought was right, Nikita. No one can fault you for that. I am just as guilty, perhaps more so. I chose to do nothing when I could have exposed this, and now the most precious thing in my life, besides you, is gone."

She stood back, drying her tears with the back of her hands. "We must set this right Arkanii, salvage what we can. I cannot bring Alison back, but Michael is still alive, I know this. I can find him, please help me."

Arkanii smiled and kissed her cheek. "Of course I will help Nikita." He stood and held out his hand "Come, there are others."

************

Michael woke slowly, his body ached from effects of the stun gun. Looking around he saw nothing, the room was pitch black, suggesting it was either still night time or there were no windows. He struggled to sit up, realising after a moment that his lack of coordination was due, in part, to his hands and legs being bound. He pushed himself backwards until he felt something solid behind him, then leant backwards, trying to remember what had happened.

His clothes had been removed and he had been dressed in loose pants. As he moved his body he felt a slight pain in his hip and shoulder where they must have removed his trackers. He could feel no other injuries. He felt strangely lightheaded, either the after effects of the stun gun or drugs in his system.

He closed his eyes and listened, trying to pick up any noise. He heard nothing, but the slow passing of time.

A sudden change in air pressure and footsteps broke his concentration.

Michael tried to look through the darkness. He heard more footsteps in the room then strong arms either side wrenched him from the floor.

"Who did you pass the files to?" a determined voice asked. There was a short pause before it continued.

"Who gave you the access codes?".

"Who knows about the plans?"

Time stood still for a moment as he waited for the inevitable.

The first blow knocked the wind from him, the second cracked a rib, the third bruised his kidneys, the fourth sent his head smashing against the wall. He soon lost interest in counting.

Sometime later he awoke when he heard movement nearby. He opened his eyes slightly, then quickly closed them against the intense light that suddenly flooded the room. Trying again he managed to open one eye to see he was in a large cell, bounded by three solid walls and a glass wall to his left.

On the floor of the adjoining cell was a small body, curled into a ball and very still. Two men walked into the room and started kicking lightly at the body, at first, walking in circles as the kicks got harder. He could hear their harsh voices as the ferocity of the attack increased. The questions the same as he had been asked. Unable to watch any longer he turned his head away and closed his eyes, grateful when darkness descended again and the sounds finally died down.

************

"She's dead, you idiot, back off. They'll have our hides if we kill her without getting the information." The guard leaned down to find a pulse.

"Nah, she's faking it again" the other replied, landing another savage kick.

"I'm telling you she's dead, stand down."

No, not dead, Alison thought. Just hiding.

************

All eyes turned towards Nikita as Arkanii lead her onto the command deck of the Section Transport. She stood quietly, meeting their questioning gaze with a fearless expression.

"I am here to help you find Michael" Nikita said with more certainty than she felt.

"Good" Madeline replied with a smile. She stood and moved to Nikita's side "any help you can provide would be welcome." She led Nikita to the area where Dawson and Birkoff sat fiddling with keys and controls as information flowed rapidly across the large screen in fron of them.

"Please, have a seat" Madeline said, gesturing towards a chair, "Birkoff, update Her Highness on what we have so far."

"Nikita" she said to Madeline and the others in the room. "Please, call me Nikita"

Madeline smiled and nodded her head then turned and moved back to her workstation.

Nikita looked around, noticing the wary glances directed towards her. Arkanii appeared behind and placed a encouraging hand on her shoulder.

"Birkoff, where are you up to?" he asked.

"Nowhere really, we're doing sweeps of all the building in the vicinity and the locations you gave us, Arkanii, but so far zilch. It's like he vanished, we can't even confirm if he is alive at this stage."

"He is alive" Nikita said emphatically. She closed her eyes for a moment, then continued "He is on Io, the building is dark, it has no windows" she announced.

Dawson looked across at Nikita and grinned. "Cool" he whispered, nodding his head "we need some divine inspiration."

Birkoff turned slowly towards Nikita, "so, um, Nikita, what do you need to know?"

Nikita gave Birkoff a grim smile and then closed her eyes again. Focussing all her attention she reached out to Michael. At first her mind was filled with dark shadows and vague definition. Slowly shapes turned into thoughts and then thoughts slowly took shape, and then ... all she felt was pain.

************

Michael flinched involuntarily as he heard the soft hum of the machine charging again. He felt the stab of a needle in his arm then waited as the drug started his heart beating wildly again, pounding against his chest as though it would explode.

"Who did you pass the files to?"

"Who gave you the access codes?"

"Who knows about the plans?"

The questions had become the dictum that defined his waking consciousness.

He sighed and focussed on the strange pattern of light he had found above where he thought the door might be, readying himself again for the excruciating pain. The darkness surrounding him made it both better and worse.

His mind wandered wildly as he waited, tricked by some fuzzy invasion of hope. It gave him a strange sense of calm and he struggled to bring it forward, desperate to answer its insistent call. One second more, he pleaded, trying to concentrate. One second more. He closed his eyes as he felt the metal straps around his head, chest and hips start to heat, all other thoughts expelled as he concentrated on relaxing his body.

"Who did you pass the files to?"

"Who gave you the access codes?"

"Who knows about the plans?"

The electric current made his limbs dance erratically within the constriction of their bonds. When it finally stopped his head fell back clumsily against the solid wall as he fought to remain conscious. In his delirium he heard it again, a voice whispering in his head. He found himself incapable of summoning a coherent thought with which to answer it.

************

Nikita took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Arkanii, Birkoff and Dawson were all staring at her intently.

"He is being tortured" Nikita said softly. "They are asking him questions about files, codes and plans. He has not answered them."

She stood for a moment and paced, thinking through what she had seen. "It's too dark and ... dense" Nikita reflected. "Perhaps we should not be looking for a building at all, the structure could be underground." She paced again and then turned to Arkanii. "The Guards have been establishing a number of underground complexes in case of attack by the League. These structures are designed to provide a secure storage and command facilities in the event our bases are destroyed."

Nikita returned to sit beside Birkoff.

"Can you access our computer system?" she asked.

"Yes" Birkoff said nervously.

"It is alright Birkoff" she smiled "please, do it."

Birkoff grinned and turned back to the screen.

"Now we're cooking with gas" Dawson drawled as he and Birkoff started to hack into the palace command centre.

Once they were into the system Nikita took over and pulled up the location of the Imperial bases.

"I don't know the precise location of the underground structures, I only know they have been located near the bases to allow fast removal of above ground stores. We have twelve bases, I understand they have only completed seven of the underground facilities."

"We can redeploy our satellite to find the locations, if they are active. It's fitted with a multi modal reflector, we can pick up thermal images down to ten kilometres."

"Then do it Birkoff" Operations ordered as he came up behind them.

"It will take a bit of time, we have to change the orbit trajectory and then realign the dishes" Birkoff replied.

"How long?" Operations asked.

"Six hours, minimum" Birkoff guessed.

"You have three, get moving" Operations barked and headed for the door.

Birkoff and Dawson groaned in unison.

"We also have a satellite that could be reconfigured to speed up the passover rates" Nikita said softly as she examined the screen in front of them. "I can adjust the sub space signals to produce an interactive matrix with the reflectors. Provided we can set up a stable sub space domain, it should be able to feed into your communications array."

Again operating in unison, Birkoff and Dawson turned to stare at her. Dawson made a motion to pick his jaw up from the console in front of him.

"You do not think it will work?" Nikita asked as she pulled up the satellite location.

"Yeah, sure it could work, it's just ..." Birkoff stammered.

"It's just our Birkoff gets a bit flustered when beautiful women speak geek with him, Nikita" Dawson said with a grin. "You might as well have stuck your tongue in his ear, if you know what I mean."

Nikita gave a baffled smile as she watched the embarrassed flush creep up Birkoff's face.

"Let's do it, shall we?" Dawson laughed in response.

************

Michael sprawled on the floor. The cold metal had felt good against his burning skin. For a while. Then the shivering had started.

As another spasm gripped him he struggled to take a breath, feeling a bubbling sensation in his lungs and the sensation of a vice around his chest. He took a series of shallow breaths as he waited for it to pass. The effort made him giddy and he closed his eyes again.

Without any warning the lights in his cell came on, the brightness causing a burning pain behind his eyes. He cracked his eyes open and looked around. The cell was bare again. With a groan he shifted slightly so he could look across into the cell beside him.

It had become a ritual; the lights would come on at any time, sometimes for a long time, sometimes only for an instant. Each time he would turn and look, offer what feeble support he could. She would do the same, if she were conscious. He had heard them asking her the same questions, heard the silence that followed, heard the same sounds that followed the silence.

This time her body hung limply, hands fixed to a chain strung from the ceiling. She twirled slowly, finally turning to face him. Her eyes opened slightly and with an effort she lifted her head to look at him, eyes locking with his. Alison. Eyes that were glazed with pain but still burnt with a fierce determination. And trust. And love. A slow blink.

He watched. A small smile shaped her mouth. Just a slight pull in one corner, little creases forming on her cheek. He felt the tears blur his vision as he reached a hand clumsily out towards her. The smile spread, reaching out to him. A smile. More precious to him at that moment than anything else in his life, save one.

Before he had the chance to return it the lights turned off, plunging them into darkness again.

He smiled anyway, staring blankly into the darkness. Alison. Alive. He felt guilty at the tremendous relief this brought. Was she glad she was still alive? He hoped so, but somehow doubted it.

In some perverse way he was glad she was here, watching, easing the burden by sharing his pain. He wished he could share the voice, the harmony, the gentle whisper of hope. But that seemed to be for him alone.

He felt guilty, but he tried to find it again anyway, desperate for the calm it brought. As though she had been listening for him, Nikita filled his head. Gentle thoughts transported him from the here and now and released him into a tranquil secret place that enveloped and soothed his battered body.

All too soon the fragile calm was broken.

"Who did you pass the files to?"

"Who gave you the access codes?"

"Who knows about the plans?"

************

Madeline followed Arkanii down the corridors of the palace as they made their way slowly to the Command Centre. They moved quickly inside a doorway as another group of Guards rounded the corner ahead of them. Arkanii waited for the sound of footsteps to fade before nodding to Madeline and moving back into the corridor. Their pace increased as they neared their destination.

As they rounded the final corner a team of abeyance Operatives undertaking a routine patrol met up with them. They joined Madeline and Arkanii as they moved quickly into the Command Centre.

Once inside Arkanii closed and secured the door behind them. The two Officers in the room stared up at him with a puzzled look.

"Disable" Madeline said quietly.

The abeyance Operatives moved quickly. They pulled the two Officers away from their positions, drugged them and bound them in a corner. Arkanii watched with a sigh, sad that it had come to this.

He moved over to the command panel and keyed in the sequence Nikita had provided. The computer system seemed to shut down for a brief instant and then whirred back into life.

"Command system has been sealed and diverted" Madeline said into her comm set. She nodded towards Arkanii, watching him as she continued. "Secure this room, do not allow access, wait for further instructions."

At her command the Operatives that had been standing around them moved silently to take up positions around room. Arkanii watched with a morbid curiosity.

"Who are these people Madeline?" he asked softly.

"Operatives who did not meet the expectations of the organisation we work for" she replied.

"Your organisation must have very high expectations of its personnel."

"Yes, it is why we succeed when others fail."

"This can happen to any of you?" he asked gazing, at the silent Operative standing by the door. "How can you command loyalty when you cannot offer hope?"

"It is the nature of the system in which we operate. It's hard for someone from the outside to understand."

"Then make me understand, Madeline. Alison did her job because she trusted that what she was doing was for a greater good. How could this commitment be negated by a simple mistake?"

"Mistakes lead to failure, and failure to achieve required outcomes is not tolerated."

Arkanii again cast his gaze over the Operatives standing guard, sweeping his hand around in confusion.

"Yet these 'failed' Operatives can still be trusted to undertake duties, such as this?"

"Yes, they can be trusted. They have been given another chance to serve a useful function."

"And what do they think of this opportunity that has been bestowed on them?"

"They don't."

"They don't ... think?"

"No, they are fully cognisant. The programming just ... refocuses their reasoning to a narrow band of experience and reaction."

Arkanii shook his head slowly, amazed. "Who would think up such a technique in the first place? Did your organisation experience some cataclysmic event that necessitated the development of such a drastic solution?"

Madeline smiled and replied, "we should go."

************

The smells of a soft summer breeze drifted through his head. He smiled, wondering idly how she could do that.

He imagined he could actually smell the blossom, cut grass, that distinctive aroma of water steaming off hot concrete.

It was so pungent, could Alison smell it too, was she listening? He hadn't seen her in a while.

It was all so dark outside his head.

So dark.

"Who gave you the access codes?"

He smiled.

Soft hands caressed his body, soothing away the pain after each blow.

Silky lips kissed and whispered in his ear, muffling the low grunts of exertion from his captors.

It was hard work for everyone.

Hard work.

Tired.

So tired.

"Who knows about the plans?"

He wanted to laugh. Just laugh at them.

Didn't they know? Fools. Everybody knew. Why ask me when everyone knows.

Leave me alone.

Please.

So tired.

Her face smiled, willing him to wait, endure, just a bit longer.

Blue eyes swirling in his head as the darkness crept in again.

Blue eyes.

Fading.

And sweet, sweet oblivion.

************

"We have three possible locations" Birkoff stated "all show strong activity patterns and meet our profile. Based on the information Nikita and Arkanii have been able to extract from the Guard's comm network, we can assume Michael is being held in this facility here." Birkoff pointed to a location on the terrain model floating in front of them.

"And the phasers?" Operations asked.

"Unknown. We can assume they wouldn't leave them unattended so they are either at Michael's location or at one of the other two sites where we've picked up activity."

"They would not keep a prisoner and weapons stockpile in the same location. It is not standard procedure" Arkanii added. "We should assume they have been moved to another location with the rest of the weapons removed from the Oort base."

"Can we move effectively on all three locations?" Operations asked.

"Not without incurring a tactical disadvantage" Dawson replied "they need to be hit simultaneously and the sites are too far apart. We'd be spread too thin."

Operations stood and paced as the conversation continued.

"We could extract Michael and blow the other two locations" Walter offered "we don't need the phasers, the plans will be enough."

"How can we be sure we have the only copies of the plans?" Arkanii asked. "There would have to have been copies other than those found in the base on Oort."

Nikita looked across at him. "This is something we must resolve, we cannot let the plans or the phasers leave the Io system."

"Agreed" Operations stated "retrieval of the weapons and plans is our top priority."

Nikita looked intently at Operations, gauging the meaning behind his words. He returned her stare with a look of steely resolve.

"We still have a problem with numbers" Davenport reiterated "the sims we ran show we need the whole team for an effective extraction, and a minimum of six at each of the other two sites to place and set charges to eliminate the phasers."

Operations stopped his pacing and turned, resting his hands on the table to study the hologram again.

"So what you are telling me is we have two mutually exclusive options. Either extract Michael or destroy the phasers?"

************

Davenport looked through the image enhancer, watching the entrance to the underground enclosure.

"Switch to ghost mode, Team B report?" he whispered.

"Yeah we're cool, Dav" Dawson replied "Scully has the inverter in place. I'm picking up voice traffic from the LG Hub, we're go."

"Birkoff?" he asked.

"Pattern buffer's in place, you're ghosts. Dawson, I'm clearing channel three for the Hub, switch and see if that improves transmission."

"Done" Dawson replied.

"OK, good. Disabling time locks in two minutes. You'll have three minutes to bed down then once we have clearance sweep levels one and two Confirm presence and location of package then set charges. Go" Birkoff hissed.

Davenport moved slowly across the compound, hearing the light footfall of his team behind him. He waited by the smooth metal doors as Noble placed the circuit relay on the surveillance camera. With a soft hiss the doors opened and Davenport led the team inside.

"Mack, Tucker, set beam relays" Davenport whispered "Dawson report"

"Relays in place, we're down" Dawson replied.

Davenport's team made their way quickly down the corridor and into an internal stairwell. They set up the beam repulser modules around their location and activated the units then crouched inside the small space defined by the shimmering emission from the modules. They waited.

"Activating beam now" Birkoff announced "sixty seconds to clearance."

Davenport watched as sub sonic waves from the beam relays created flaming arcs as they tried to penetrate the repulser field.

He hated the waiting. He hated this mission.

Outside their perimeter the sub-sonic waves would be dropping anything they encountered, reducing receptor potentials in the nervous system and disabling the functioning of synapses. Effectively short-circuiting messages to the brain. The effects were instantaneous, though temporary.

He'd been caught out once before. Although it had only knocked him out for thirty minutes, the massive headache he woke up with lasted nearly a week.

He watched as the activity on the repulser field decreased until it was again invisible.

"You're clear" Birkoff's voice boomed "twenty minutes, go."

They disabled the modules and moved back to the corridor.

"Mack, download the computers and set the charges. The rest of you split up and search" Davenport ordered. "Watch the clock."