Date: Sat, 9 Sep 1995 03:05:19 -0400 Reply-To: GrinnyP@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Carol Ann Liddiard Subject: "Origins" Chapter 5, Part 1 Well it's Saturday, and that means it's time for chapter 5 ------------------- "Origins" c. 1995 C. A. Liddiard Chapter 5 "And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand." _Revelations 6:5_ --------------------- Seattle, 1995 "I still don't understand how it is we can sense other immortals," said Richie as he eyed his breakfast plate hungrily. Carol finished preparing a plate for herself and Duncan, who had left to get his car. "Well, Richie, it's because of the massive amounts of energy constantly being used by our brains." His mouth being full he just gave her a quizzical look. She sighed and tried again. "Look, you know how a human body burns calories for energy?" He nodded, shoveling in another mouthful. "Well, in order to run our greatly enhanced healing and immune systems, as well as keeping every cell from aging, we have to convert a good deal of energy." Richie swallowed and reached for his juice. "You mean our metabolisms run a lot hotter. I get that. What I don't understand is why we just don't eat a lot more." "Because the body simply cannot extract that much power from food, even if we ate constantly 24 hours a day. The Wise One who created the system understood that the energy demands for the quick healing, especially, would cannibalize the body if there wasn't an external supply available." The young immortal stopped chewing. "What do you mean, cannibalize?" "It would be like, you know, when a person starves." Carol reached for the butter dish and began buttering the toast. "When the body has used all of its store of energy in the body fat, then the body starts processing muscle, bone, etc. It's like the body begins to eat itself. That's what would happen during a quick healing or resurrection if we couldn't get the energy otherwise." Richie glared balefully at his congealing breakfast. "I think I've lost my appetite." Carol laughed and finished with the toast. "Sounds a little gross, I know, but it's a fact of life. Anyway, one of our inbred talents was the ability to 'sense' and absorb electro-magnetic energy. Every living thing on earth has an electro-magnetic field, a so-called aura. We can also absorb it from 'static sources' like spirit sites, or the earth's electro-magnetic field." "Spirit sites?" "Yeah, you guys call them holy ground. They are naturally occurring sites that are energy pools. The energy matrices attract people, and from the beginning of time people have made them sites of contemplation and worship." Carol took a few bites of her omelet and swallowed. "Even sight-blind humans can sense the serenity of those places." Duncan chose that moment to come back from his errand. "Breakfast?" Carol got up to fix him a plate. "How do you like your eggs?" "Over easy is fine with me," he replied as he piled toast and bacon onto the plate she supplied him with. "What are we discussing?" "She's trying to explain to me how we can sense each other," Richie stated. "As I was saying, Richie, it's like we're walking power plants. For someone who can sense these fields, immortals look like gigantic beacons. I can see one of you from as far as a mile away, depending on how strong and/or old you are." She expertly flipped the two eggs on the griddle. Duncan looked up, interested. "I can't sense another immortal from that far." Carol took his plate and placed the eggs on it. "That is because you don't have the ability to sense them like I do. However, you do have a vestige of that talent, so you can still feel each other at a close range." She handed the plate back to Duncan and sat down. "Meanwhile, to change the subject, we need to decide what to do about the Hunters." "Do you have any suggestions?" Duncan asked before he began eating. "Well, I warned Joe that the Hunters were going to attack that meeting, but I bet they're going to have it anyway." She shook her head in frustration. "They're under the illusion that their security will be tight enough to protect them. But the Hunters know all the security arrangements." "So, we should crash the party?" Richie asked, interested. "That would be what I suggest," Carol replied. We can watch from a distance and lend a hand if necessary. What do you say, Duncan?" She addressed the highlander. Duncan thought for a moment and said, "it sounds good to me. You know where the meeting will be?" "Yes, and where security is. I can get us pretty close and we can play it by ear." All three immortals then proceeded to finish their breakfasts, each lost in their individual thoughts. --------------------- Berri Egoitza, @9,500 BCE Baretasun felt Song stiffen in shock, and knew that his brother-in-law was no longer among the living. He tried to soothe her as she absorbed her first oroimentza. He could see by the looks on the council members' faces that they understood what was happening. They bowed their heads and turned away, giving the couple the illusion of privacy for a few moments. Finally Song stopped trembling and looked him in the eye. "It is over." He held her closer and tried to absorb some of the pain. She huddled in his embrace for a short time, then straightened. *I must tell them what he saw.* *Do you wish to rest first?* He projected concern. *I can rest later,* she reassured him. Out loud she said, "I am ready to speak now." The council turned to hear what she had to say as Baretasun contacted Wise One privately. *Don't let this take too long. She's shakier than she looks.* Wise One looked at him with understanding and gave a bare nod as Song began to talk. --------------------- Washington State, 1995 The convertible rolled down the highway as Carol addressed the two immortals. "The Watcher's headquarters is surrounded by motion detectors, pressure sensors, infrared sensors, trip lasers, and an electrified fence. It is protected by armed guards, land mines, and even a few hand launched missiles." Richie shifted in the back seat and whistled in admiration. "Who were they expecting to invade, the Russian Army?" "Cute, Richie," Carol replied from the front where she sat next to Duncan. "All of the precautions were implemented for a worse case scenario, the scenario being an attack by immortals who found out about the organization." She smiled ruefully. "I guess they wanted to be sure the attacking immortal or immortals would stay down long enough to be beheaded." All three shared a nasty vision of what would happen if one of them were incapacitated long enough for an overzealous defender to get near them with a sword. Carol cleared her throat to break that chain of thought. "What's more important is what is hidden in the basement of the building." "And what would that be?" asked Duncan, joining in the conversation. "That's where they have the one computer the Hunters haven't been able to break into. You see, they have some information they consider too sensitive to store on their networks where someone could break in. The computer set-up in the basement is completely isolated from the rest of the world. The only way to access the information is to be physically present." She paused and looked at the two immortals, trying to make an impression on how important this information was. "The computer is their secondary goal. Primary is the opportunity to wipe out their entire opposition in a single blow." Duncan and Richie looked grim as they each contemplated the action to come. Finally Richie said, "is there anything else we need to know?" Carol sighed and debated with herself for a moment. She decided to impart the information. "There _is_ a rumor that they have an immortal working for them. If this is true you will have to be on your toes." The occupants of the car fell into an uneasy silence as they sped towards their destination. --------------------- Berri Egoitza, @9,500 BCE "This is monstrous." The rest of the council remained silent in agreement with the Council Leader's statement. It truly was. "He's breeding an entire tribe and training them to kill. His plans are to defeat us, then start to take over the local human populations. He is right in thinking that if he tried it we would try to stop him." Wise One still could not get over the perfidy of his one-time student. "What shall we do?" "The one thing we cannot do is fight them. If we attempted it we would surely lose," another council member spoke up. "Is there some way we could, um, disable them from afar?" asked a third member carefully. Wise One gave her a penetrating look. "You mean kill them, don't you?" The council member hemmed and hawed a bit before admitting, "Indeed, I believe I do." "No, no, NO." This came from an obviously agitated Seer. "Would you defeat them by taking lives and turning your backs completely on the Mother?" The council was silent for a moment. "The Seer is right," the second council member said heavily. "If we stoop to their tactics we will become no better than they are. There has to be a better way. Wise One," he implored the healer, "we leave it up to you to find a solution." --------------------- Washington State, 1995 Duncan pulled into a small service road where Carol indicated. Soon they were forced to leave the car and approach on foot, Duncan lugging Carol's seemingly bottomless knapsack. They soon reached a small rise covered with trees which overlooked an industrial park. "So, where is it?" Richie asked, glancing around. "Right there." Carol waved her hand as Duncan dropped his load. Richie followed the direction of her hand to an ordinary office building. He seemed puzzled as he looked around. "You mean, underground?" Carol laughed. "No, Richie, I mean that innocent looking corporate headquarters over there. They like to hide in plain sight." She dug around in her bag and fished out some binoculars. Here, take a closer look. She handed a pair to Duncan as well. He took them without a word and looked closer at the building and its surroundings. After a few moments he whistled quietly. "Looks like they've beefed up security." Carol joined them in their viewing. "Indeed, I see six roaming guards, two more at the gate, they're all armed, and I bet the fence is hot." "I count at least 4 dogs roaming the perimeter," Duncan returned. "Looks like Rottweilers." "Richie?" The young immortal turned his attention to Carol. "Can you make your way over to that clump of trees on the other side of the property?" "Sure thing, no problem. What do I do once I get there?" "Keep an eye on the road for the Hunters. Unless they've decided to try and get in overland they'll be coming that way." "How do we keep in touch?" *If you see anything just think real loud.* Richie jumped at the voice coming from inside his head. Out loud she said, "don't try to cut through, walk around the outer fence. We don't need to accidentally create a diversion for the Hunters." Richie nodded and tucked the binoculars in his pocket. "I'm on it," he said cheerfully as he headed for the trees. Duncan watched him go for a few minutes before turning to Carol. "Okay, he's gone. What was it you couldn't tell me with him around?" He watched her sit down and silently rummage through the knapsack. When she found what she was looking for she looked up. "Very perceptive, Highlander. I did want to discuss something with you." She handed him the object she had fished out of the pack. Taking the thing, Duncan examined it. To his surprise it was a watcher chronicle. He opened it up and was further surprised to realize it was one of the chronicles of his life, of the year 1783. "How did you get this?" (to be continued . . .) =========================================================================