OUTCASTS

Shalimar worked the rest of the day, running diagnostics on the telescope and her new pointing algorithms. Hours before, his system had broken thru the innermost security barrier, and the now muzzled astronomer was once more monarch over every datasystem on K'a'll'tai Even before the pair of thugs had returned to the government's central Nexis, Shalimar had masked himself thru so many links that it would take internal security several lifetimes to decrypt, let alone understand, what he was doing.

The presence of those thugs had done him an unexpected service. The Council had turned on him. Without their warning, Shalimar's work might have been entirely compromised. Now, he was safe to continue, cloaked behind barriers he had built against this occurrence. He watched as window after window of faked crystal data flowed from his office system thru Karnat's interface. The government would never see even the slightest fraction of what Shalimar hoped to find as he "test pointed" the giant complex of bowls and mirrors toward a distant point beyond any K'a'll'i approved star chart.

The cell had been built for four. As they were rudely shoved inside, it held nine times that. Lollo could see the fear in Krista's warm gray eyes as the miserable inmates made a corner for the new arrivals to squat in. The male wolverine looked at his mate with his usually cock sure expression. "Don't worry, Krista." He told her with a close snuggle. "They picked us up for invalid papers. We fill out a ream of papers, pay the fine, and we're free."

His mate knew that. No gifted citizen carried papers anymore. It was a silent protest. But Krista also knew it was also to protect the Resistance members like them.

With the Skiltaire at our meetings, Internal Security never even get close. Lollo sent quietly to his love.

When Krista looked back at him, the fear had not left her eyes. I know, love, but--

But what, my Darling? Lollo thought-asked.

These thugs are the government. There's no telling what they might do, it they thought-- Krista let her thought die. The rest was just too awful.

The outer door to the cell room opened, crashing against the inside wall with an oppressive thud. A Centurion and his aide marched into the room. Krista looked up in fear as the cold eyes in the helmet slits looked with contempt over those in the cell. An armored arm and glove shot outward, and a hollow, mechanical voice said "Lancer, Bring me any two."

The second armored guard held the crystal shard that was the key to the barrier. He dropped it into a slot, and gave it a half turn. The misty blue force shield winked out of existence. He turned, and pushed his way into the crowded holding cell. The thug enjoyed seeing them all try to back away, even in the small space. What they taught him in training turned out to be true, he thought to himself. Fear was powerful.

He reached out without looking, seizing a cowering Margay by his fancy collar and dragging him out of the choked cell. As he turned and dropped the lean and tawny cat roughly to the floor, the pretty female wolverine in the front corner caught his eye.

She was a construct! Her thick chocolate brown fur could not hide the muscle built into her genotype. Yet she had a smooth, subtle body also showed hints of the energy and endurance that came with being designed for combat. There weren't many of her kind, but he'd heard stories. Maybe after interrogation, she might be fun.

"You. Out!" he snapped at Krista.

Krista stood there a moment, catatonic with fear, her eyes filled with disbelief and loathing.

"You!" He snapped again, pushing the other prisoners back roughly with his stun stick. "Out! Now! Or do I drag you?" he hissed.

The jailer plunged an armored hand toward the female wolverine. It got as far as Lollo's broad chest. "Hay, Big and Simian! You take her, you take me." The male wolverine snarled.

The guard pulled his hand back while it was still attached! The fur bearer before him was a huge bipedal male, with teeth and claws that the Simian knew would tear thru his mail as if it were paper, and take his hand in the same bite. He was a formidable and frightening figure, made more so by the rise in his neck fur and the swelling roll of fur and muscle that thickened his forelimbs. It was the male wolverine's eyes that gave the Simian guard to know of his danger. The Simian was locked in the hard stare of a pair of purely predatory eyes that smoldered with all the unpredictability of a blue gray firestorm!

The Simian hesitated, and then took a half step back, looking over his shoulder at his commandant. The jailer was no fool. Again, he'd heard stories, and they didn't pay him enough to decide this one.

"Very well." The commander snapped. "Bring them, and save that--" he paused in his sneering speech to indicate the prostrate Margay, "--For future interrogation."

"Yes Sir!" The jailer answered.

Lollo and Krista walked out of the cell, arm in arm as the guard kicked and shoved the Margay across the floor. The smaller cat gladly skittered fearfully back to the anonymity of the cell as the blue barrier returned.

"Let's go! Prisoners into file! Move!" The guard snapped as he stepped behind the wolverine pair and shoved them with the electrically charged rod. Krista stumbled forward and tripped, falling to one knee. Lollo stopped to help her up. The guard behind them kept walking and reached out to shove the pair again. This time, before the weapon could touch his mate, the air was rent with a snarl and the flash of teeth and claws.

"Sub lancer!" The commandant at the head of the file barked. "That will do!" The chastened jailer fell into line behind the prisoners. He cursed bitterly to himself as the group marched on, knowing that he was responsible both militarily and financially to the State for his beloved weapon, which lay on the floor behind them, broken neatly in two!

Shalimar stepped out onto his balcony, into the waning light of day. The Nexis shone below, like the hub of a spider's web of life and light. The meeting would begin soon, he told himself. Tonite he would take his advisors seat in the Council chambre. He felt rather strange. It was less for the sake of his own banned work, and more for a need to see the face of the gathering tyranny. It was his own fault, his and others. He had been given his Council seat, but his work enslaved him willingly to his telescope. He had never thought others would have let anything like this happen. He felt ashamed, and remind himself of what Maruda had taught him many seasons past. Apathy was the ally of tyranny. Tonite, he would deny them another insulated subject. He only hoped it was not too late. Not for him, but for his Homeworld.

Lollo held Krista tightly by the arm as the pair entered the austere steel lined room. The walls glowed with an un-natural light that was designed to hide the face of the interrogator from his subjects.

"Sit Down!" a hard mechanical voice commanded.

The two wolverines showed no sign of nervousness as they sat down, side by side in chairs that had been designed for anything but comfort. Lollo knew their real use, but said and sent nothing to his mate as they waited.

"Where are your papers?" the voice asked them. The surrounding lights increased in both heat and brightness to encourage a prompt response.

"We lost them while your goo-- security staff were chasing us." Lollo spoke for both of them. Krista tried to raise her paw to shade her eyes. She had not noticed the magnetic manacles that now held her arms to those of her seat.

"Why did you flee?" the interrogations officer demanded, his altered voice becoming more pitched and strident.

"The goo--the officer had bad breath and--" Lollo's levity was cut short as a stiff charge of current jolted the chair in which he too was now manacled. It was not enough to do any harm, at least thru the thick wolverine fur.

Krista watched Lollo stiffen, and then relax, more from the grip of the manacles than from the current. After a moment the filtered voice spoke again.

"We have higher voltages available for answers we don't like. Or perhaps your mate would like some singed fur?"

Krista looked over at her mate, worry visible on her muzzle. Lollo just smiled and winked.

"When you are chased, you run. Especially from acid spray." Lollo told the darkness flatly. Next to him, Krista winced. She had felt it today for the first time. A weak solution of oil, acid and water, sprayed from water hoses with enough pressure to get the mixture thru fur and down to flesh. It clung to fur and took hours to wash out, awful burning hours. She shuddered.

"And what were you doing where the spray unit was?"

"Waiting for the tube." Lollo answered, as if he had said it before.

"Oh, on your way to or from the meeting?"

"Meeting?" wondered Lollo "Look, the only one I met was my Mate. We were going to eat together. Suddenly Security men were everywhere. They didn't warn anyone. They attacked first." Lollo said in an outburst of rising temper.

"That will do, the facts are known to us, Citizen." The voice paused, waiting for a name.

"Lollo. But you already know that too, I suppose. Your--Officers scanned our Identa-chips."

"Yes." Admitted the voice coyly. "It is a wonderful system isn't it?

"If it's so wonderful why doesn't every citizen have one?" Lollo asked the air.

"The chips are a new innovation to help the State serve its Gifted Citizens, like you and your Mate, Citizen Lollo." The voice replied with monotone patience.

Krista glanced down at the back of her restrained paw, were the small scar from her implanting still showed thru her paw fur. Help us? She thought at Lollo If this is their help, than we DO need help! Krista thought sardonically. Across from her, Lollo smiled broadly.

"What is so amusing, Citizen Lollo?" The interrogator demanded.

"Oh Nothing, Sir." Lollo Answered in a subservient tone. "Just thinking about our happy life as Citizens."

"Spoken like a good Citizen." The voice replied with a pleasant upturn. The manacles snapped open on both seats. "Put them in cell four while their records are being recalled from the State databanks." The voice ordered.

Two armored figures appeared from the shadows and swept the two of them from their seats. "We demand advocacy. On the record!" Lollo shouted at the shadows as they were being ushered from the room. The guards halted for a moment.

"Very well Citizen. It is your right under the charter." The voice answered as the Law required. "Permit our guests to access the Datanetwork." The voice instructed the guards. "One communication only."

The faceless armored ones nodded, and took the detainees from the room.

As Krista looked at Lollo, she could see her Mate wore an odd smile. One Communication is all we need. Don't worry, Darling.

Lollo sent a warm and reassuring pulse along with his telepathic message. But Krista could not help being scared as they were swept closer to a vault-like door and the unlit passage beyond.

"Good nite, Doctor Shalimar." A hollow voice called up to him.

Shalimar glanced up from the interface and down into the rotunda below. "Good nite, Karnat." he called in vacant response.

"That's Doctor Karnat!" The marsupial called over his sloping shoulder as he skittered out the door. There was satisfaction on Shalimar's broad muzzle as he heard it slam behind Karnat. Shalimar's secure channel was holding its link. Not even the Security Service could follow him this deep into the system. Before morning, he would have the answers he sought. The interruption served to remind the star gazer of his other intent for this fine clear evening. The display of the observatory's chronometer marked one hour before the evening session of the High Council. He locked his interface, this time with a retina scan, so that no one on planet could disturb the electronic ferret he had set loose. While he was away, anyone prying would see only images flowing from the telescope, all taken long ago from the approved library of pictures. The large white cat lopped easily down from the balcony to the rotunda.

"Summon the Shuttle for Doctor Shalimar." he called out in a clear, strong voice.

The computer was distracted for only a moment, diverting one of the pilotless vehicles onto the disused road along the mountainside. Shalimar stepped into it, and as it began its magnetic coast downward toward the Nexis. His telepathy let him input the access codes for the Council Hall without touching the input pad. He could go directly there, bypassing the thick crowds that could always be found in the Nexis at night. He collected his thoughts and waited as the shuttle cabin dipped below the ground, and into a network of passages as intricate and crowded with memories as the teeming streets above were crowded with citizens.

Shomron pushed the door to his room open, practically falling into his bedside chair with exhaustion. Aurora and Vlad were a step behind, and they shut the armored door behind them before both Skiltaire set worried eyes on the lean figure now practically limp in the chair. Yet for all their worry, the two pairs of musteline eyes were as bright as any lights of the Nexis! Shomron smiled, thru a muzzle etched with emotional strain and physical drain.

Vladimir hopped up onto the empty bed. He took Shomron's paw and squeezed it gently.

"I never thought anyone would suggest it. Thank you. What you've done will save our people. You have made history tonite." Vladimir told him frankly.

"History or Hysteria?" Shomron questioned. "Half of them thought I'd gone mad." Shomron lamented.

"But the other half are willing to try it." Aurora pointed out. "You gave them what they needed. Hope." Aurora went on. Vladimir nodded agreement. "Remember," He began, "We Skiltaire know it is possible."

"False hope, at best." Shomron spat. "You know it is possible, as I believe it is. But there might as well be a million light-years between the knowing and the doing." Shomron added, crestfallen.

"Every great advance in civilization begins with an idea." Vlad told him. "So why be so dejected?"

Shomron sat forward, his chin cupped in his paws. "Well,we're short on knowledge as well as technology. Without both, we might as well forget it."

"We can obtain both." Aurora interjected.

"How?" Shomron asked.

"You forget." She answered. "With your idea, there is a dream as well as a hope. Dreams can be magnets for those who dream and those who would dare to do."

"Aurora is right." Vlad spoke up. "Our community not only has many willing paws, but many a keen mind."

"No denigration of you both." Shomron said evenly. "But to plan anything close to this would require the finest mind on K'al'i'tai." He told them.

Vladimir nodded, and fell silent. Aurora puzzled deeply for as moment, and then she brightened. The two males looked at her expectantly.

"Then the finest mind we shall have!" Aurora chirped with resolution. She stood, stepped forward, and reaching up, took Shomron by his other paw. "Come." She said simply, "There is someone you must meet!"

The council chamber was just as dreary as he remembered it from years before. The Council members often took issue with the common description of their seat of government, preferring words such as stately and dignified. That much was true, Shalimar thought to himself as he got out of his shuttle, and passed nearly unnoticed down a passageway whose vaulted ceiling had an ornate style about it. Yet, as the Council's science advisor walked passed the huge carved columns, and into the central chambre, he could not escape the knowledge that most mausoleums shared the same atmosphere.

It got worse as the cordon of armored guards that stood around the circular room noticed his entrance. They snapped to attention, adding an unreal and tinny sound to the repressive room. It bounded and bounced across the cold polished stone of the floor, and rose to echo out of the high domed roof. Protocol demanded he return the salute of presented lances. Instead, he ignored it, leaving the guards standing stiffly in their places as he took his seat on the dais, behind the far end of the table.

He had been seated only a moment, when the deep sound of the gong reflected into the chamber. One of the guard of lancers moved, opening the thick carved main doors of the room. He stepped quickly back into his place in the cordon, clearing the way for a line of six figures to walk into the chamber, with a step better suited to burial than to any conduct of government. As the last of the line of blue robes passed into the room, another lancer, on the opposite side this time, closed the main doors. They sealed with a sound of heavy finality that sent a chill thru the room without warmth.

The first lancer spoke, announcing the arrivals in deep and suitably somber tones. "Announcing the High Council of Kal'i'tai, supreme government of the State, and protectors of the Homeworld. Shan Li First High Counselor." The Guard boomed in reverent tones. Shalimar wondered who to, as the public galleries of the Chambre had been closed to the citizenry long ago.

Each of the half dozen stepped onto the dais and behind the rostrum in lockstep, and sat down in unison, even dropping their hoods at the same time. In that same eerie unison six heads turned to look at him. He was somehow thankful when only one of them spoke at him.

"The Council is honored by the presence of our distinguished science advisor." The one in the middle said.

Shalimar looked at the broad Simian face, and its five mirror images. His eyes betrayed no emotion as his voice spoke in clipped tones. "Good evening, High Councilor Shan Li." Shalimar kept his voice and manner flat and proper.

The Simian half smile was a unique look that only a partly flat face could manage. It held an aspect of malevolence that could not be masked by any degree of social pleasantry. "The Council did not expect to enjoy your companionship so soon, my dear Doctor Shalimar" Shan Li said evenly.

"Forgive me." Shalimar parried. "My researches have made me something of a hermit, I suppose. Still, I do have the right to attend any Council session, do I not?"

There was a murmur from the group before Shan Li spoke again. "Of course, Doctor Shalimar. You know that this council has always valued the insights of the scientific community." The First Council replied, trying to sound pleasant.

Aurora seized him by the paw she held and practically dragged the spent cheetah from the chair that now seemed to be a comfortable part of him. He went willingly, pausing to pick up the female arboreal after a few steps. She directed him thru the passageways that led below, into one of the huge rooms now set with bedding for the displaced. They stood in the doorway, as most of the room was carpeted with sleeping bodies. Aurora sent her mind where her body could not go, knowing that every being in the room shared the Gift.

Shamir. Are you still awake? She asked an unseen figure mind to mind.

From out of the dark stillness of the safe room, a strong and lively thought wave touched Aurora's mind. Hello, Aurora! Just putting the last of the children to bed. Be right there!

Aurora smiled in Shomron's arms. "He's with the young." She said. "He'll be right here."

Before Shomron's tired mind could process a reply, the door frame was filled with a large snow white form. His size was surprising, and his unruly tufts of thickly sprouting mane bespoke his obvious youth. It was as if the young lion had not finished growing into what was destined to be a mammoth and powerful body. Yet, the big cat had gentle brown eyes and a ready smile that immediately disarmed Shomron. Indeed, it was the lion whose muzzle registered pleasant surprise and then shock at the sight of Aurora and then Shomron!

"SHOM-ron!!?" Shamir crushed his excitement into a soft whisper, mindful of the doorless room behind him.

Aurora beamed, as she saw the youthful eyes fill with a familiar light.

Shamir tried to send, but his thoughts stuck to the adhesive dryness that seemed to overtake both his muzzle and mind.

Aurora took over for him, reaching out a soft paw to caress his sprouting tufts of mane. We need your help She thought-told the lion.

Shamir had to shake his large head to clear it enough to send in reply. You--You Two need ME?

Aurora nodded, and then expanded her send so she could touch both male minds. Yes. Can we find a comfortable spot for a talk? Aurora asked.

Shamir still could not speak or send. He just nodded. As Shomron turned with Aurora in his arms, and the trio walked down the quiet hallway, Shomron's mind touched Aurora's with some urgency. Are you sure he can help us?

None other! Aurora sent brightly. Did I forget to mention that you are something of a hero to this lad? Aurora added somewhat coyly.

Shomron glanced to the side and saw the young cat, already half again as big as he was walking beside the two of them as if his paws had been greased. Aurora smiled as Shomron blushed. He reached over and set a gentle paw on the cat's bull neck, to calm him. Shomron was surprised to feel the youth shaking ever so gently! Shomron's paw found its way into the thick tufts of mane, there to scritch gently. Slowly the shaking subsided, and the hallway was filled with reverberation from a gentle and steady purr!

The three of them went down the long passageway to Shomron's private office. He waved Shamir passed the pair of cheetah guards posted on either side of the door. Shomron nodded to them and slid inside, closing the soundproof blast door behind him. He stood back a moment, to look at the young lion, who looked around the dingy office as if it were a shine. Shomron could see the youthful eyes now, filled with a light he knew.

Hero worship. Ugh. Not again. It made him nervous!

"So." Shomron began slowly "Do you think I'm foolish or just plain crazy?" He asked the young cat.

Shamir looked away from the set of holograms that lined the office walls.

"Oh,No,Sir. In fact, I think it is the only alternative we might have. Did you really know Maruda?" The cat asked, nodding toward one of the three dimensional images that stood out slightly from the uneven wall.

"Yes. He was my Advisor in Gymnasium." Shomron's tone was whistful."That was the year before the founding of the last republic. I was your age."

"You must miss him more than most." Shamir offered, his voice filled with sympathy.

"Very much. He might not have approved of some of the things I have done since. Nonviolence was really his way." Shomron lamented.

"Father knew him too." Shamir answered quietly. "They were in the Chambre together before--" Shamir let his voice fall, remembering that awful time.

"Before a dozen Internal Security agents kidnapped a helpless old Mustelid from his bed and beat him to death." Shomron finished, a hard and bitter edge to his voice.

"Don't be bitter Shomron." Aurora spoke up. "Grandfather disapproved of it. He thought it a waste and he is right." The female Skiltaire told him. "Violence and hate--" she began.

"Consume and control.." Shomron continued, quoting from his mentor. "And peace overtakes by force of reason." He continued. "You remember his last speech." Shomron said to Aurora.

Aurora nodded. "I was standing behind him with my Mother that nite." Aurora remembered.

Shomron looked at Shamir's face. The young lion looked agog at both his elders!

"And reason." Shomron told the young cat "Is why we need you."

"I'm no philosopher." Shamir replied modestly.

"You give yourself too little credit." Shomron told him. "We need sharp minds and willing hearts if this is going to work. You might be able to do our cause a great service."

"Name it." Shamir said.

"You know our cause, and you know your father. Will you be our representative to the scientific community?"

Shamir sighed. "Father and I have barely spoken since Mother died. I know he blames me for her death. I recruited her into the resistance."

"Shantalia was a brave one." Shomron said. "Her raid on the prison saved two hundred resistance members, all accused and condemned without hearing."Shomron told him. "Many of those children in the nursery owe their lives to her." He went on.

"I know. You know. But Father won't see it." Shamir's voice carried a note of exasperation. "I've tried before, but with the High Council funding his work, and paying for Rokar's education and training,Father has a blind spot I'm afraid." Shamir told Shomron. "Since my Brother was inducted into the military, Father has buried himself in his work. I doubt he knows what those despots do." Shamir added.

"Will you try? Please?" Shomron asked.

"Of course I'll try. But don't expect miracles." Shamir's tone was downcast and disheartened.

"We have to hope for one." Shomron told him. "It may be the only hope we have."

"The high Council of K'al'i'tai is now in session. Special session for security of the State." A hidden voice intoned.

"The first issue before the council is the new registration rescript." Shan Li told the council members.

Shalimar's broad muzzle fell into a frown of distaste. One that he meant the Council to see.

"Does our esteemed advisor wish to be heard on this issue?" Shan Li asked.

"The scientific community." Shalimar began, "Grows increasingly concerned over the issue of State security." Shalimar told them.

There was a nodding of the group head, and with it as close as they could come to a pleasant expression. "Laudable. Very laudable Doctor Shalimar." Shan Li told him. "Prey continue."

"We are concerned." Shalimar began, using the stylized language of address, "That this decree represents a danger--"

"Oh fear not, my esteemed friend." Shan Li interrupted. "You shall be exempt from this new regulation, owing to your eminent position and importance to this council." Shan Li told him.

Shalimar nodded. "We were more concerned with the reasons and causes behind this rescript than for our own sake." Shalimar replied. "Perhaps the distinguished First Council could outline the need for and intentions of this decree?" Shalimar asked. "I beg you indulgence." Shalimar went on, the words sticking in his throat, "But as you observed, I have been very long absent from these august proceedings."

"Of course." Shan Li replied. "Owing to the on going state of emergency." He began "And to protect and serve our Gifted citizens in time of potential military conflict, this rescript would require the registration of all Gifted citizens with the Security Service, so that their domiciles and places of work might be better protected." Shan Li concluded.

"We thank the distinguished First Council." Shalimar replied in part, "But his sage words do not entirely dispel our concerns." Shalimar added.

"Really?" Shan Li asked. "Perhaps if you could be more specific, esteemed Doctor Shalimar, the Council could address your concerns."

"The Scientific community has long been in the forefront of exploration and discovery, for the good of the citizens and the government." Shalimar addressed the council. "But today, we are not unaware of these new decrees, which might seem, at first reading at least, to be more repressive than any law heretofore enacted. We are concerned for the potential in these decrees for the repression of personal freedoms, for repressed populations cannot have the open minds required to further scientific discovery, and thus the betterment of their lives."

"Bravo, Doctor Shalimar. Well spoken!" Shan Li said. "I speak for the whole of the council when I Say that we share your concerns." Shan Li told him. "But in these times, with the State, and the Homeworld threatened from inside and from off world, a certain amount of caution must be taken to protect our good Citizens."

Shalimar nodded, seeming to understand. "Perhaps the First Council could aid my understanding further?" Shalimar asked.

"Delighted." Shan Li said.

"We are the first to agree that our Citizenry must be protected." Shalimar began. "But what does the State propose to protect them from within their own homes?" Shalimar asked pointedly.

"From the gravest threat the State faces today." Shan Li replied. "Subversion from within."

"Subversion?" Shalimar asked. "From among our Gifted Citizens?" Shalimar asked, his voice becoming incredulous. "I hasten to remand the First Council that for twenty-five generations, our Gifted Citizens have been foremost protectors and contributors to the welfare of the populous, and in the first ranks in their support of the Government."

Shan Li nodded. "Becalm yourself, good Doctor Shalimar." Shan Li's gravel voice tried to sound soothing. "That is in part why we seek to Register them. Knowing that the small element of malcontents may then be more easily identified, for they will surely defy the Law." Shan Li explained "While the vast majority of our loyal and Gifted Citizens will register."

Shalimar nodded. "I see." He began. "I thank the distinguished First Council for dispelling my Ignorance."

"My great pleasure, esteemed Doctor Shalimar." Shan Li replied.

"I would crave a meeting with the distinguished First Council to express my unbounded opinion of this measure in a more private setting." Shalimar asked.

"The First Council would be delighted for such support from the Scientific community, and shall await your pleasure, esteemed doctor Shalimar." Shan Li countered.

Shalimar stood. "Now, If this august body will forgive my departure, some urgent research requires my attention. I leave to the wisdom of the High Council the other affairs of the State." Shalimar concluded with a bow, which was returned by the Council as a group. Shalimar backed ceremoniously out of the Chambre. As the familiar doors closed behind him, he had already turned, and sprung toward the shuttle station. His swiftness made him a blur, so that none could see the hurt and shame in his eyes.

Deep in the private passages of the Nexis, another private shuttle waited for him, called from his mind, as he raced down those once hallowed halls. Now, to him, they were as empty as the sound of his claws on the ancient floor of polished stones. He sprang directly into the shuttle with such a pounding force that it nearly jarred from the magnetic track, but Shalimar took no notice of it as the shuttle sped from the Nexis at maximum speed, back toward the refuge of his observatory.

The shuttle slid quickly along the invisible track, at surprising speed in spite of the growing steepness as the car climbed the mountain. Shalimar sat passively inside, his feelings a morass of pain, blame and hurt. Warm tears trickled down his face and muzzle as a mixture of today's events and yesterday's memories tore at him with unforgiving talons. He spoke none of it, for he knew, as few others did, that the Shuttles were monitored by Internal Security. Rather, he waited in silent agony as the shuttle reached the disused terminal at the observatory. The door opened, and he sprang from the cab with a force equal to his pain. A few feet away, the observatory door stood open. He jumped thru it, the door sealed behind him, entombing him with his thoughts. He could bear them no more, and fell to the floor of the rotunda, sobbing out loud!

As he lay on the polished floor, wracked and quaking with pain and loathing, he was dimly aware of someone who made the long leap from the platform to the floor quite near him. He felt a soft touch on the crest of his mane. The sensation was gentler than he deserved, and he raised his tortured head from its agony to look upon his benefactor.

"The fault is not yours alone, Koda Shalimar." A familiar but nearly forgotten voice told him. "We have all been victims."

Shalimar looked at the musteline figure dimly. Though the untold sorrow of his tear washed eyes, there came a faint glimmer of recognition, that became a full spark of light. gladness fought with sorrow in that instant, as the Skiltaire saw the light in the Lion's eyes dim and nearly die. She smiled warmly at him, and slid a paw under his chin, repeating a familiar touch from long ago.

It seemed to be her, but his memories had betrayed him once tonight, and the hurt lingered. The Skiltaire before his blurred vision was a gentle shade of blue gray. Her turquoise back stripe flowed down thru her full tail, leading his eyes along her snow white chest and down the full and sinuous body of an arboreal Skiltaire. But the truth she spoke lay in her eyes. Soft orbs of the purest cobalt blue that seemed to glow with a gentle and loving light. Shalimar had felt their gaze before, and in less than a heartbeat, he was sure.

"Aurora? Little Aurora?" He asked her with pain and hope in his voice.

"So you remember your best friend's Granddaughter?" She said softly. "The same one who you held up to the eyepiece while we searched for Accros?" She helped him remember.

"Aurora. It is you." he said, his voice trembling, as he tried to force his body to sit upright. "I--I've disgraced him." He said, his voice heavy with condemning sorrow. "I was willingly ignorant. If he was here, he would spit on me."

"You know that is untrue." She told him as she helped him to rise. "The resolution comes in how we react to tyranny when we discover it, not in its existence alone. Grandfather knew what tyranny was, it was how he answered it that mattered." She told him as she hugged him gently.

Shalimar hung his head. "How could I have been so sightless? And Maruda thought of me as a visionary. Damn me. I've sold my eyes and lost my vision." Shalimar spat bitterly.

"Then reclaim them." Aurora said simply. "You have not lost them, only forgotten. And now, for the sake of us all, we need you to remember."

"We?" Shalimar wondered aloud.

Aurora looked around the rotunda of the observatory. Can we speak-send freely here? Her mind asked. Shalimar was touched. It had been years since he had felt a Skiltaire send. It warmed his heart, and sent a warm current of invigorating energy thru his tired mind.

Yes, Aurora. I've long since stymied every attempt to wire this place. They still try once in a while, the blagards.

So, perhaps you have not been so sightless? Aurora ventured.

I thought it was only Security Service paranoia. I never thought the government. That is,until tonite.Shalimar returned.

Aurora nodded. Each of us had our own awakening. We woke rudely from our dream, to discover a nightmare.

Why the plural, Again? Shalimar thought at her.

You have seen the gathering shadows, Koda. There are others who have seen more, and chosen their answer to tyranny. Aurora answered.

You mean the Resistance? Shalimar's send was edged with bitterness. A few malcontents, and with weapons yet.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED, AND SO SHOULD YOU! A rude thought knifed into the smooth flow of Shalimar's mind. It was so familiar that he turned with a start!

"How did you get in here?" Shalimar growled aloud.

"I came with Aurora. To try to talk sense to you, at last." Shamir said bluntly.

"Like you did to your Mother, no doubt." Shalimar retorted.

"At least she stood by her principles, which is more than I can say for the State Science Advisor!" Shamir snapped, his backfur rising as he stalked around the rotunda, never taking his eyes from his Father.

At that remark, Shalimar dropped his eyes.

"Well." Shamir taunted, "Contrition from the Great Scientist!" the younger lion's tone was bitterly sarcastic. The young lion sprang at his elder, stopping as their noses touched. "Traitor!" Shamir snapped. The young cat's eyes burned with long suppressed pain. "Collaborator!" he snarled viciously.

Instantly, Aurora sprang between them, forcing each to take a step back in distance and in temper.

"Let's leave the Great Cat alone." Shamir said snidely. "At least one of my parents stood for something." He turned to Aurora "And you want this--" Shamir paused, regarding his sire with contempt, "To take us to the stars? He's forgotten where they are. If he ever knew." Shamir turned his back on his father and stalked away.

Only Aurora saw Shalimar's deeply wounded eyes. She went over and hugged his great maned head softly.

You judge your father too quickly, Young One. She sent to Shamir, slightly piqued.

You mean to say that he's been right all along? Shamir thought, without turning around.

No. But as you said, times change, and perhaps you need to change as much as he does. Aurora sent in reply.

Shamir turned as only a feline could, quick, fluid and strong, his whole body prepared to fight. You know where I stand. Shamir sent. Remember, Internal Security has me marked for erasure. I came anyway. Now let HIM show where HE Stands. Shamir thought-sent.

"The Boy is right, Aurora." Shalimar spoke quietly. "I cannot change what is past. I learned that tonite. I also remembered what Maruda once taught. "When reason cannot salvage freedom and restore justice, the only duty is to resist."

"You mean--" Aurora began to say.

"Pretty words from a pretty kitty." Shamir taunted. "Knowing you." Shamir went on, "You would try to talk Internal Security to death. What's the matter, Old Cat, forgotten both the Stars and where your claws are?"

"SHAMIR!!" Aurora snapped. "That will do!"

"Leave him alone, Aurora." Shalimar said softly. "My youngest always was a bit long on bravery, but always just a little short on brains." Shalimar said casually.

Aurora smiled gently.

"He forgets what this old cat can do. With technology first." Shalimar told her. "You want proof of my intentions." He called to his son, "Then just let me have some room at my interface." Shalimar added.

Shalimar turned to Aurora. "The young hothead said something about going to the stars?" Shalimar asked. "More brave noise, or did you really mean it?" The astronomer asked.

It has been suggested as our only alternative. Aurora sent to him in private thought.

"Both of you." Shalimar said flatly "Come with me."

Shalimar led the way across the rotunda, to the base of the spiral leading upward. "Lead on Aurora, Let's see if you remember the way."

Aurora bowed, and then sprinted up the sloping stairs in a virtual blur that left the elder cat stunned. Shalimar waited, indicating the stairs to his younger son. "Well, go on. You've been this way before too."

Shamir snarled audibly as he stalked past his Father, purposefully looking back over his shoulder at his elder, mistrusting his back to the other cat. Shalimar waited at the bottom until both stood on the telescope platform far above him. Then he made his own long practiced sprint upward to stand beside both of them. Shalimar paused, sweeping a paw over the sensor that was the control for the dome.

The massive dome slid open silently to he vast, star filled bowl of the night sky. A cool breeze played across the trio as they were washed by star light against the velvet of the sky.

"It began here. As we once began there." Shalimar said gently. Aurora could not mistake the nearly childlike delight that now sparked the elder lion's eyes. "And before it ends, there we must return, or we end. It is a circle after all."

"Spare us the philosophy." Shamir started to say more but the glare from Aurora's eyes did more to silence him than the vision of the tapestry of worlds spun across the sky.

Shalimar looked without rancor at his son. "Too many minds think like his." Shalimar told Aurora, a note of sadness in his resonant voice. "The State." He added, "To whom he would make me a mindless pion." Shalimar paused, his voice faltering "They suppressed my work." Shalimar told his guests.

"Do you know what your father the collaborator was doing, these three years past, in this prison, my lad? Do you know what they took away with a single word?" Shalimar addressed his son, a tone of bitter irony in his query.

Shamir did not reply. He did not even move.

"They may have gotten some data. That they can hold until they rot. But the one thing they can never repress is what I'm going to give you now." Shalimar spoke with defiance in his words. As he spoke, guided by his mind, a pen drifted across a sheet of paper. The paper then wafted across to the group, and floated before Aurora, who plucked it from the air nonchalantly.

"Set the telescope to scan these coordinates." Shalimar told her with a nod.

Aurora leapt easily onto the edge of the broad console. She stood still a moment, peering at the controls as her childhood memories rushed to her aid, and moved her paws in a long unused, but familiar way. Shalimar smiled at his deadpan son "If you would remember the time we passed together up here the way she does, you might have been the first."

"First what?" snapped Shamir "First to sell my brain for a Title? No thank you."

The bitter exchange stole the attention of the lions away from a new aperture that had opened in the holographic display, and the young Skiltaire who sat, utterly transfixed, before the image it projected.

Aurora forced herself to move, though it required all her willpower. Silently, she reached over and took hold of a pawful of Shamir's manefur. Wordlessly, and without looking away, she dragged him across the smooth metal platform, to join her in front of what the telescope could see.

Instantly, the bitterness died.

Shamir's muzzle opened, and moved, utterly soundless with shock.

Aurora felt her eyes well up with tears.