Ben opened his eyes. He was lying on the sofa bed in Liam's apartment. Liam seemed to have gotten up already, because he had had to sleep next to Ben on the sofa that night.
Ben sat up and slowly began to dress. Somewhere in the background, he heard someone pottering about. Ben stood up and went to the kitchenette where he found Liam, who was making coffee. “Oh, you're awake too. Do you want some coffee?” Liam asked. “Yeah, of course.” Ben answered. He could indeed use a coffee. The three of them must have talked for quite a long time last night, until Zo'or had asked if humans were not usually supposed to sleep at night. Ben grinned. Zo'or probably had just been tired, but as a Taelon he seemed to be unable to admit this. “Oh, now that you mention it, how is your new guest?” Ben asked, when he remembered Zo'or was also still there. Liam smiled. “I suppose he just fell asleep and I surely won't wake him.”
“Yeah, that would obviously not be a good idea.” Ben admitted. Just when he had said this, Liam's global bleeped. The Major opened it and Da'an's face appeared. “Good morning, Liam!” the Taelon greeted. “Good morning, Da'an!” Liam automatically replied. “How is Zo'or?” Da'an asked, obviously worried about his child. “Well, I think he's fine. He's sleeping at the moment and I didn't want to disturb him.” Liam soothed the Taelon. “But why are you already calling the next morning and ask about him? Shouldn't you be glad that you're the leader of the synod for at least two days?” he added. “It has never been my intention to lead the synod, and Zo'or still belongs to my species, even though he doesn't appear so at the moment.” Da'an answered. Ben grinned, but decided not to interfere with the conversation. He knew Da'an was just worried about his child.
“Anyway, what about the press conference you wanted to attend today?” Liam asked. “Well, I'm currently waiting for you at the embassy.” Da'an replied. “And what will I do with Zo'or? I can't take him with me.” his protector replied. “Then bring him to the embassy and find someone to care for him.” Da'an ordered and ended the connection. Liam sighed. “Okay Ben, you'll have to take care of him.”
“What?! But you can't just leave me alone with Zo'or!” Ben shouted, kind of shocked. To share one apartment with Zo'or was already hard enough, but to play watchdog for him... And anyway, it was obvious that Zo'or would constantly be telling him what to do. “I'm sorry, but I can't find another person who I can really trust.” Liam made it perfectly clear that he had no choice. This was going to be a really great day...

 
* * *
 

Zo'or slowly opened his eyes. Where was he? And how did he get here? He was obviously lying in a bed, but he was a Taelon! He stood up, but something was different than usual. He made a few steps towards the door and unmistakably heard Kincaid's voice. *Kincaid?* he thought and then it slowly was beginning to get through to him. At the moment he was not in a Taelon body, and this was the Major's apartment. Confused by this delayed memory he began to dress. He had actually been sleeping. It seemed that you did not to have to know how to fall asleep. Of course he had known this before, but to experience it himself was different. After he had dressed, he left the room. Major Kincaid and the boy obviously were already awake, because they immediately greeted him with a “Good morning!”. Zo'or did not know how to behave now, so he said nothing. The two humans looked at him, questioning. “Maybe you want to eat something, too?” Liam finally asked. Zo'or was about to refuse, when he realized it could at least get quite uncomfortable, when he kept on refusing being nourished by human food. “I don't know exactly.” he said, kind of helpless. He hoped the humans were not going to make fun of him, but he usually did not deal with such unimportant things. “Oh yeah, right!” the Major noted. “I'm sorry. Maybe you want some orange juice?” he asked. Zo'or just nodded. Orange juice was supposed to be healthy for humans.
Finally Zo'or had a suspicious look at the yellow to orange liquid. It was even more disgusting than he had imagined it and he could not even take in that stuff through his palm. The more he thought about his momentary situation, the more he wished he had let Da'an do this experiment. But now it was too late for that. “You can drink it.” Ben encouraged him. So Zo'or hesitantly began to sip at his glass, but twitched back. It just was an uncommon feeling to take in a liquid with his mouth, but finally he overcame even his last doubts and drank the juice.

Ben did not exactly know what to think about having to run after Zo'or the whole day. But he watched the Taelon, fascinated, who was about to try eating a slice of toast. He had never thought about Zo'or having to become used to eating. He grinned. But it was just too funny to see someone watching something completely normal that suspiciously.
Finally Liam stood up. “We should go now.” he suggested. “Da'an is awaiting us at the embassy.” Zo'or looked up, but said nothing about that. Ben sighed, but finally also stood up to get his stuff.
Five minutes later the three of them left the 'Flat Planet' and made their way to the embassy.
Da'an was already awaiting them and did not have any time to talk to Zo'or. After Liam had explained to Zo'or that he had to stay at the embassy with Ben until he came back, Da'an and he left the building.
Zo'or sat on Da'an's chair, opened a data stream and started to read something. Ben wandered around in the room aimlessly and looked for something to do. Finally he stood next to the window to watch the virtual glass from near by. It was actually looking as if nothing were there. But he did not dare to touch it. Zo'or could become annoyed about that, if he was playing around with it. So he went back to Liam's desk and sat down. When he was about to think what he could do with, for example, Liam's computer, Zo'or spoke suddenly. “Mr. Bring, it was my intention to use my time as a human as efficiently as possible, to gain new realizations about your species. But this place seems to be unsuited for that. I suggest we find a more philanthropic place.”
Ben looked at him, terrified. Liam and Da'an for sure would not agree to this. What could he do? Zo'or would not ask him what he thought, and he also could not really stop him from leaving the embassy. “But Zo'or, Da'an won't sanction this.” Ben made a lame attempt to prevent the synod leader from his venture.

Zo'or shot an impatient look at the young human. Undoubtedly Major Kincaid would not agree that he momentary being under his protection was leaving the embassy. The boy probably would get into serious trouble, because obviously the Major still was the boy's guardian. But in truth Zo'or was hardly interested in that, because of course he did not care about this boy. However, he had been right about one thing. Da'an would not like that, because he always worried about Zo'or. So he was forced to be told once again that this was too dangerous, but he knew he could also deal with Da'an.
Anyway, he firmly intended not to waste his time at the embassy. Obviously this was not a place where humans enjoyed themselves. He had turned to the data stream first on purpose, but also watched the human for the whole time and as he had expected, the boy had just been wandering around aimlessly and did not seem to know what he was doing there.
So he ignored the boy's objections and thought about where to go. “I don't care what Da'an thinks. We will leave this place now.” he announced.
But the boy did not seem to want to give in that easily. “But I'm not a trained protector, and you're in even more danger now as a human.”
“You're right. But you forgot nobody will recognize me right now and you can also move through the city freely without having to fear being attacked.” Zo'or replied, and stood up while deactivating the data stream. He left the room and the boy followed him. Outside, Zo'or began to wonder where to go. But because he did not want to ask Ben, he just chose any direction. He would find some place where humans liked to be when they were not working or doing anything else they were forced to do. The boy was following him, visibly reluctant, and said nothing, but Zo'or would not have cared anyway. The young human quickly caught up with him. “Zo'or, ehm... maybe we could go to that pizzeria over there. You must be hungry, too.”, he carefully suggested. Zo'or stopped. Hungry? Well, probably he was, unless he was not sure about that. But a pizzeria at least was a place he knew of that humans liked to go to. “I agree.” he answered. The boy seemed to be relieved. “Alright. Then come.” Ben said, smiling slightly.

Ben was relieved. If he had to accompany Zo'or, because he did not want to stay at the embassy, then he would at least try to keep him away from more dangerous places. And he also had to avoid getting too far away from the embassy.
They crossed to the other side of the street and walked towards the pizzeria. Some people were already starting to stare at Zo'or and he seemed to feel annoyed about this, because he was throwing quite hostile glances at those people. Ben had to do something, or else this situation would escalate. So he ran after Zo'or, put his arm around the Taelon's shoulders and smiled. “Zo'or, your whole appearance looks far too Taelon. The people will get suspicious.” he whispered quietly, before Zo'or could say or do anything. The Taelon remained silent and let himself be pulled into the pizzeria. After they had sat down at a table, Zo'or again looked at the human, disapprovingly. “What do you mean by my appearance being too Taelon?” he finally asked. “I don't know. To human eyes your way of moving looks kinda strange. For Taelons we've gotten used to seeing this, but for a human...” Ben faltered. He did not exactly know how much Zo'or could identify with, at least corporally, being a human now. “I understand.” Zo'or replied shortly. Because Ben did not know what to say about this, he went silent. Finally they ordered, and Zo'or seemed to have this strange displeasure with food again.
After they had eaten, Zo'or stood up. “We should go now. I've seen enough of this place by now.”
“Ehm, okay. I just have to pay.” Ben mentioned. Zo'or nodded. “Of course. I will wait for you outside.” he replied and moved towards the exit door. Ben did not like this at all, but he could not just order him to stay. He sighed. That day so far had been just great. Because he had to pay, the Taelon should at least have been grateful enough to wait for him. Well, he hoped Da'an would have a word with him, even though it would probably be completely useless.
After he had waited for an eternity, because he had obviously been forgotten for several times, he left the pizzeria. His eyes widened in horror, when he couldn't see Zo'or anywhere. What had this Taelon done now? He ran up and down the street for a short way, but did not find him. Maybe he was in one of the buildings. But they were in the city of Washington! How could he possibly look for him in every single building? Maybe he should just wait, in case Zo'or came back. He knew he had to do something and not to waste time in any case. The press conference was about to be over and then Liam and Da'an would come back. And it was not just they had left the embassy, no, Zo'or was running around alone somewhere in the city and did not even have a global! So he pulled out his own global and dialed Liam's number. One moment later the Major's face appeared on the screen. “Liam, I think I've lost Zo'or.” he said desperately.

 
* * *
 

Zo'or left the pizzeria, unnerved. Inside all the humans had just been sitting at their tables, talking to each other and consuming food - as he and this Ben had. That place had not been much of a revelation. He waited for some minutes, then he began getting impatient. How could that human let him wait for so long?! Finally he began walking up and down the street for a few meters, when a group of tough looking boys showed up. “Hey, you!” one shouted at him. Zo'or angrily looked at the human. As far as he knew about the manners of humans, that one had been rather impolite. But the humans did not move back. “Are you some kind of Taelon fanatic?” another called. “You must be really crazy, if you're already moving like them!”
Zo'or stopped. What did the humans consider that strange in his movements? Anyway, he would tell them they could not treat the leader of the synod like that. “I suggest you leave this place. Your insults against me could become disadvantageous for you.” he said calmly. But the humans were just laughing at him. “That crap won't work with us.” one called, then turned to his buddies. “Let's get her! We want to talk to her.” he ordered. Another made a step towards Zo'or, grabbed his arm and before he could do anything, he had been pulled inside a car, which was driving away with high speed. “What's all this about? What do you want from me?” Zo'or asked, slowly getting scared. The boy who was sitting at his right side, began laughing. “You know, we're against the Taelons.”
“So you belong to the resistance!” Zo'or concluded. But the one sitting on his left side poked him with his elbow hard into the side. “No, the resistance only consists of weaklings!” he said disdainfully. “They just want to have their peace, but we know what it means to really fight.”
Zo'or looked at him, shocked. That hit he had gotten from this human had been quite painful. And also the rest of these humans' behavior led him to the conclusion they really meant it and when they were already talking about the resistance as weak, he did not exactly want to know, what was awaiting him here. And where were they taking him? Out of some indefinable impulse, he wished Da'an or Kincaid were there now. Slowly he began to realize that those two had been right to be concerned about his security and that other human - Ben - too.

 
* * *
 

Da'an was still at the press conference. Liam stood to one side and watched the crowd. Normally Da'an was not bothered by these activities, but right now he just wanted to talk to Zo'or. He especially did not believe that boy could prevent Zo'or from doing whatever it was that he considered important to do. So he had good reason to be worried.
When his glance fell on his protector again, he noticed that he was making a call with his global. The human seemed to be quite worried about something, and because he knew the boy probably would contact his guardian immediately if anything happened, his first thought was that Zo'or had done something silly again. The Major closed his global a few moments later and walked towards him. “Da'an, I think we should go.” he whispered to his Companion. Da'an nodded, then he turned to the reporters again. “I'm afraid this conference is over for today. I have further appointments, which I cannot postpone.” Shielded by some security men Da'an and Liam finally left the room.
“Liam, what happened?” Da'an asked abruptly, when they were out of earshot. “I don't know. Zo'or left the embassy with Ben and a short while later disappeared.” Liam replied. “What do you mean by disappeared? Where have they been?”
“According to Ben they had been at a pizzeria near the embassy. Zo'or was supposed to wait in front of the building, but he couldn't be found when Ben followed him.”
Liam and Da'an finally left the building and stepped into the shuttle. “I'll take you to the embassy, then I will get some people to look for Zo'or.” Liam announced. “No, we're flying there directly. We can't waste time.” Da'an opposed. Maybe he would have a better chance to find the missing one. “But Da'an, I can't be sure about your security without further help in the middle of the city.” the Major pointed out. “Do as I said!” Da'an insisted. “As you wish, Da'an.” Liam shrugged and activated the interdimensional drive.

Ben was still standing agitatedly in the street. He ran up and down and just could not calm down. He didn't dare to think about what the Taelons would do, if they got to know he was responsible for the vanishing of their synod leader.
Suddenly he heard a shuttle, which was flying above him in the sky and finally landed in a vacant lot near by. He ran towards the shuttle and watched Liam and also Da'an coming out of the vehicle. He hesitated. Da'an was here, too? Surely he was worried about Zo'or, but what should he tell him? Finally he decided to continue on his way, hoping he could get out of that mess.
“Ben!” Liam called to him, when he noticed him.
“Do you have a clue where Zo'or could have gone?” Da'an interrupted. “Well, no. He said he wanted to see some places where he could have a better study of the humans.” Ben answered, kind of unsure.
He looked back to the street. It would be almost impossible to find someone here. He turned around and faced Da'an. Then he gathered all his courage and said: “Da'an, maybe you should return to the embassy. You're not safe here and it'll probably take some time to search everything here. And it'll also attract the attention of the media, when the North American Companion is running through Washington himself.” Ben lowered his gaze and hoped he had not said anything too impudent. “You're right.” Da'an once again began to speak. “If the human media learns about that experiment, it'll be even harder to find Zo'or. Liam, fly me back to the embassy.” Then he turned around and stepped into the shuttle. Liam looked at Ben, unbelieving. “You really have to tell me how you did that. He never did listen to me.” Ben smiled slightly. “I'll be waiting here.” he announced. Liam nodded and jumped into the shuttle, which began to rise and fly away a short while later.