God will save His fallen angels
And their broken wings He'll mend
When He draws their hearts together
And they learn to love again
All their sins will be forgiven
In the twinkle of an eye
All the saints rejoice in heaven
When the fallen angels fly

        “When the Fallen Angels Fly”
        Patty Loveless

Da'an was dead. He had committed suicide. Why this had happened only the members of the Synod knew and they kept silent about it.
From the viewpoint of his people, Da'an had committed a sin and would have to bear the consequences. He had been exiled, expelled from the Commonality forever. No one who deliberately ended his own life was allowed to return. Da'an, like everyone of his people, had known that and had accepted it.
What had tormented him so much that he preferred even exile to a continuing existence, Liam couldn't say. Da'an hadn't let anything of his plan slip. He had behaved as always, nothing had hinted at such a deed. A few days ago the Taelon had gone to the Mothership and never returned. Eventually, Agent Sandoval had informed the Major of the death of his Companion, a short emotionless phone call. It hadn't seemed as if Da'an's death had concerned the agent in any way.
At first Liam hadn't even really understood the information. He'd simply taken it for a very bad joke. There had been no reason to think otherwise. But it was reality. Far too soon he had had to face up to it. Zo'or had taken him into his own service. Liam often felt the difference between this Taelon and his former employer. Zo'or was not especially patient and everything but friendly. His disdain for humanity was palpable, of he wasn't forced to be diplomatic. And even then Zo'or was far worse an actor than Da'an. When the older Taelon had had to negotiate, the humans had been taken in by his friendliness and so he had achieved what he wanted, regardless of what he really thought. The humans only ever saw the soft smile and heard the kind words, enchanting them. Zo'or on the other hand was always harsh; he tried to intimidate everyone, which worked most of the time, but that did not get him sympathies, let alone true loyalty. He was hated, Da'an was missed. To Liam, that seemed to be an important difference. But the mystery remained. What had happened on the Mothership?

A few days earlier
On the Mothership

Da'an wasn't in an especially good mood. The Synod had summoned him and it did not sound as if it would be very pleasant. On the contrary. With a very uncomfortable feeling Da'an approached the bridge; he knew they were already waiting for him.

”Da'an, you have been suspected of treason.” Zo'or's voice carried strong and clear across the bridge; he seemed to draw a certain satisfaction from the occurrence. The Synod was assembled around Da'an and their leader. They observed attentively and were already contemplating judgment. Da'an knew that there was no way of defending himself, but it might buy him some time to try. Time enough to find a way out.
“I do not understand. Who has reported this suspicion? And what evidence is there against me?”
“That is irrelevant. The evidence exists and it is incontrovertible. But to have final proof, the Synod has decided to scan your thoughts. It may prove your innocence, but honestly I doubt it. You have one hour to prepare yourself.” Zo'or's derisive expression accompanied these words. He was obviously more than pleased with the possibility to finally get rid of his long-time rival. The fact that this scan amounted to mental rape did not seem to disturb him very much.

Under the expressionless mask of the diplomat, the thoughts of the older Taelon raced. He has been expecting something like this for some time, but a part of him could not believe that it had really come to it now. Desperately he searched for a way out of the situation, a way to escape.

Zo'or seemed to sense that. A slightly sneering smile spread over his features.
“If you think to escape, Da'an, measures have been taken to prevent that. You cannot leave the Mothership. Agent Sandoval will put you in a cell until the interrogation.”
The agent had waited outside and was now called in to execute this order of Zo'or.

The former Companion accompanied him without argument; he seemed resigned to his fate. But inside he still evaluated his possibilities. There weren't many; he doubted that his former Protector would help him. The man's loyalty had long ceased to belong to the Taelons. There were a few Volunteers who were loyal to him, but it was unlikely that one of them would learn of his situation and get help fast enough, if at all. If he tried to flee, he would not get farther than a few meters, before he was caught again. So there was only one way. A shiver ran down his spine. He was afraid of death, but it was preferable to the fate that awaited him otherwise. The scanning of his thoughts would not only reveal all that he knew, but also cost him his mind. He had witnessed it once. The Taelon concerned had suffered agonies which were worse than anything the Jaridians could do to them, and his futile efforts at resistance had only increased the pain. After the Synod had finished their investigation, nothing much had remained of the Taelon's mind and he had died a merciful death shortly thereafter. No, Da'an did not want to end like that.

Carefully he began to undertake the necessary steps. He had to be careful, lest his fellow Taelons notice anything and tried to stop him. As he reached his cell, the damage had already been done. He could still stop it, but the point of no return was fast approaching. This time there was no one to stop him, no hope of rescue and so Da'an had accelerated the process significantly. All he now had to do was to keep it hidden from the Synod until the last possible moment. Slowly he let himself sink to the floor.

Minutes later he felt his body dissolve, the energy particles dissipating. He felt the scorn of the Synod over his escape, and he knew there would be no return for him. With this last step he had landed in purgatory. But he had been unable to commit treason again. He had been forced into it once, but it would not happen again. The knowledge he had would have led to the destruction of thousands of people, a burden his conscience would not have been able to bear. Silently his mind drifted away, unreadable for the Commonality now. He wondered how long he would be able to bear the solitude. Then he decided to return to a place he knew, a place where he felt at home. The Embassy.

Present time
The Embassy

Since his decision, Da'an had stayed here, between the so familiar walls. The being which the embassy actually was had welcomed him. The familiar surroundings and the presence of familiar faces brought him a certain measure of peace. But the whole time he had the feeling that he still had to do something. He wasn't yet done with the world, even if the world would probably see that differently. He had some unfinished business, something remained to be done. But what? Da'an had been puzzling over this the whole time, while he watched the comings and goings of the humans. Finally his replacement arrived; a very capable ambassador, but certainly no friend of the humans. With a mental shake of his head Da'an had watched the other Taelon get settled at the Embassy. The humans knew only a fraction of what awaited them and had no way to effectively fight against it. Their only intercessor among the Taelons was lost as well, as the whole planet seemed to be. A sad thought. Da'an decided to retreat to the garden for a while; one of his favourite places even in death.

Hesitating slightly, Zo'or entered the Embassy. He knew that Da'an was still around here. So far his parent had not taken any steps against the Taelons, and it didn't look as if he was going to do so in the future, but it was certainly better to be careful. Da'an had always been capable of surprising actions, more than one of his enemies had gone down - figuratively speaking - because he hadn't seen it coming. Zo'or didn't want to suffer the same fate. This time, however, he seemed to be in luck. The ghost of Da'an appeared not to be present. Walking on, he thought about Da'an's demise. Even he had not expected Da'an to escape the grasp of the Synod through such a drastic measure, but he understood it. This kind of mental interrogation would have done irreparable damage to Da'an's mind. For the rest of his existence he would have had to depend on the pity of others, and the pity of the Taelons did not extend very far.

At this moment, Da'an was literally enlightened. So far, he had preferred to remain unnoticed, but right now he couldn't stop himself. An observer would have been able to notice a being with an aura of light appearing out of nowhere in this secluded corner of the garden and stride across the lawn with a deliberate smile on its lips, before it merged with the sunlight again and disappeared. Da'an knew now what he would do. The humans had a saying that if you broke a rule, you should do it thoroughly. And he was going to do just that. He was on his way to the Mothership; from there his plan would be much easier to carry out. Not for the first time he was grateful that the power of the Taelons increased significantly after the end of their material existence. At least, if they renounced a return to the Commonality, and that was impossible for Da'an in any case.

Seconds later
The Mothership

It had been easy to enter the necessary specification into the computer. The hard part would be to prevent any intervention from the crew during the data transfer. It began. Interested, Da'an watched the activity on the bridge increase abruptly. It reminded him of an anthill alarmed by an intruder, a complete chaos of people, all trying vainly to regain control. Actually, it was rather simple to counteract any such efforts. Da'an was surprised to notice that he enjoyed the chaos. Maybe he should extend his poltergeist activities later on.

At the same time
Augur's Lair

Liam had shown up some time ago, slumped on the sofa and hadn't moved since. Augur watched him in sorrow, but there was absolutely nothing he could do. Liam grieved for someone who had meant a lot to him - again. Practically his whole life seemed to consist of losing loved ones. First Lili - a small sigh accompanied Augur's memory of the woman - then his mother, Siobhan, and now Da'an. Who else did the young hybrid have left except him? And their relationship was not what it used to be, hadn't been for a long time. Ever since Augur had broken Liam's trust, and he doubted that he'd ever get it back completely. Strange things happening on his computer screen aroused the hacker's interest. The computer monitored activities on the Mothership and was now almost running amok trying to record everything.
“Good God....” Augur murmured almost reverentially. Someone was downloading the complete databanks of the Mothership into the internet, whose computer had all it could handle trying to find every byte of available memory space world wide. It was an impressive spectacle, the work of a true master of his art.
“Liam,” Augur called over his shoulder. “Liam, you have to see this!”

At the same time
North American Embassy

Zo'or was in the middle of a discussion with A'ris, the new North American Companion, when Agent Sandoval contacted him. When he received the message, he could not believe it at first. Da'an had hit, in a place even he had not expected, and there was no doubt that this had been the work of his rival. Only a few had the necessary knowledge, but for whatever reason, Da'an had even used his own access codes.
“Stop it by any means necessary” Zo'or barked at his protector. The answer was not very pleasant. “We already tried that, Zo'or, without success.”
“Then continue your efforts.”
The order sounded more like the angry hissing of a cat than the Synod Leader. Zo'or was beside himself with rage.

A few hours later
The Embassy garden

Invisible to anyone, Da'an had seated himself on the edge of the fountain, one leg drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped loosely around it, his chin resting on the raised knee. The other foot was drawing idle patterns in the sand. The Taelon ghost was satisfied with himself. His plan had been a complete success. Now the humans had total access to all Taelon data, there was nothing that could change that fact. Suddenly he felt a clear, unmistakable call. Someone performed the He'jathra; he had to obey the summons, he wanted to obey it. A single thought brought him to the place he was called to.

Liam stood behind two Taelons, Zo'or and A'ris, who were completing a strange but also seemingly familiar ritual, the calling of the dead. They called for Da'an, to banish him completely from the Commonality, but first they wanted to speak with him. So far, nothing much had happened; Da'an kept them waiting.

Suddenly, something behind him was softly glowing, in the now familiar white-green light. All three turned around. The Taelon had seated himself on a console, arms resting on it, legs dangling. A small smile showed on his face.
“You wanted to speak to me, Zo'or?” The voice sounded quite amused.
“What do you think you were doing, Da'an? You have betrayed our people!” The voice of the Synod Leader almost cracking.
“It may look that way to you, but I have a different point of view.” Da'an did not seem overly concerned.
“I don't care about your point of view! You have made our data available to the humans! You have made it possible for them to go up against us now that they know everything about us!” Zo'or's rage radiated off him, hot as the sun. Liam tried to put some distance between himself and the Taelons. He did not want to be close when Zo'or exploded.
“I have enabled them to make a choice and meet the Taelons on equal terms. Now you cannot use the technological superiority as an excuse. The humans are young, but they learn fast and have usually no problem to assimilate new technologies. The humans now know all about you; everything else is up to them. You can do nothing more.” A deep contentment showed in Da'an's voice. Zo'or was simply speechless. Da'an was right. The final decision concerning their fate now really rested in the hands of the humans. Even if the Taelons now tried to suppress them, they would not be successful. Their plans had been foiled most effectively. Full of anger he turned away and left the room. A'ris followed close behind him, no less angry. The Major remained behind, alone with Da'an.
“Now, Liam, how do you like this turn of events?” Da'an inclined his head, a mysterious smile on his lips.
“I... I have to admit, I don't know what to say,”
“Obviously.” Da'an seemed amused. “I have to go now. Farewell, Liam. It has been a pleasure working with you after all.”
Da'an's features began to fade, to grow transparent. The whole shape of the Taelon vanished until he was completely gone. Liam watched it with regret. “Farewell, Da'an. It was a pleasure for me, too.” His voice was only a soft whisper. He turned away as well and left the room. His duties awaited him.

A few days later at sunset
Somewhere

Da'an had seated himself on top of a mountain. It wasn't the highest of this world, but the view was breathtaking nonetheless. He felt happy and completely at peace with himself. There was no unfinished business in his life, he had paid his debt. The humans had decided to help the Taelons, in spite of their lies, in spite of the horrors they had unleashed on Earth. Maybe they had only political reasons, maybe they really wanted to help; who knew. In a few years it would not matter any longer.
All this was no longer his concern. For a little while he had busied himself with being a nuisance, but he had rapidly lost interest in that. Right now, he just waited. For what he had no idea, but he had all the time in the world to find out.

A hand was laid gently on his shoulder. Da'an looked up calmly, into eyes like green jade in a fine-boned, small face framed by chestnut-coloured locks. A soft glow came from the body of the petite young woman. She seemed to be hardly more than a girl, and yet Da'an had the impression that she was much older than him. She smiled in a friendly manner.
“Hello. I'm glad to meet you.”
“I am honoured. I have waited for you, I think. Who are you?”
“My name is Miriam. I have been sent for you.” She seated herself beside him, smoothing her long, light green dress in the same motion.
“And where will you take me?” The Taelon could not hide a note of concern in his voice.
“There.” Miriam raised her arm and pointed. Da'an turned in that direction. Astonishment gripped him. He had not expected something like that.
“What is that?” His fear was gone, replaced by boundless curiosity.
“The gate. All humans go there.”
“I am not human.” Sadness coloured the voice of the alien.
“Maybe. But maybe you're wrong. I only know that I am supposed to take you there.” A smile sounded in Miriam's voice, even though it did not show on her face. Da'an looked up into the shining eyes and decided to trust her.
“What waits for me there?”
“That is up to you alone. I think you already know.” With these words she stood up and reached out her hand. Da'an took it with a sure grip.
“Yes, I think I know.”
Without hesitation the Taelon followed the young woman. He saw a familiar figure waiting for him in the light; the figure of a man, a friend. He had missed him so much. With a joyful laugh Da'an threw himself into the man's arms, felt them wrap securely around his body. They seemed to remain like that for an eternity before they separated again. No one ever heard the words the man said to the Taelon, nor the answer. Finally, the young woman took both their hands and together they disappeared from the face of the earth.