Discovery and Disaster

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

07/05/98:

It was mid-afternoon on Prid and things were kind of busy at
the house. Rachel had finally taken up residence a few days
before in one of the smaller bedrooms. After I had explained
things between me and Oriana she looked saddened, but not
especially surprised.

I guess things were more obvious to some then they where to
others.

Oria and I were still trying to define are relationship. We
have been friends for so long to be this close some how was
accord for the both of us. And now with us being lovers as
well I just don't know what to do next.

What can I say, this was the first time I've really been in
love and could do anything about it. Oria was about as
confused as I was for reasons that I don't understand as
well as I should.

That day though I we were avoiding the problem, at least for
now. Oria, Naomi and I were all spread around the main room.
Oriana was reading from _The Book of Thryn_, the primary
text of her religion. Of which the god, who's name is Thryn,
is real (I know, I've meet her), though not as powerful as
some believed.

Naomi was at the coffee table working on some art. In the
past few weeks she had started to show a flare for it.
Drawing pictures of everyone who had been around in the past
week. She had started with some basic line drawings and had
now master shapes, contrasts, and lots of the other things
you need to do to be a good artist.

My work was a less entertaining, Steven Mason, a lion and an
old friend and an occasional client of Oria's. He had been
by a few days ago, just to drop of some stuff. His account
of the HammerHeads.

It happened about a year and a half ago, the HammerHeads,
the basic meddlers of the Council, decided to take over. We
had stopped it, nearly getting myself killed in the process.
After that the HammerHeads here dissolved, leaving a void in
the Councils ability to control things.

I was getting them from most of the major people in the
involved. Myself, Oriana, Rachel, Ken, Steven and Page.
Steven was the last one I had left, I was now going through
and sorting out the different parts of the accounts into
sections, trying to make them into a coherent story.
Currently I was going over Page's version of the events.

"Hi dad," Newt said, suddenly right by my shoulder. I
smiled, reaching over to fluff her hair.

"Hi yourself kiddo."

She held out a sheet of paper to me. Taking it from her I
took a look at what she had drawn. It was a picture of me,
bent over working at the table. One of her best pictures so
far. "That's very good," I said, handing it back to her.

She smiled, then hugged me quickly. "Thanks."

As she settled back down to her feet, she paused, looking
over one of my note pads. "a hundred-thirty-six," she said
after less then a second.

I looked down at the pad, it was a list of the chapters I
was going to have, sixteen in all, with notes of who's parts
were in each one.

"Which is?" I asked.

"The total of the numbers," she said with a smile.

I chuckled as I did some quick math. As far as I could tell
she was right. "Very good," I said, fluffing her hair again.
"Maybe we should give you an award for mathematical
excellence." I continued, something I had just read in
Page's account making remember that reference.

Naomi smiled again, "what is that?"

I smiled, "it's a blue star, with a gold border." As I said
each word my speaking speed slowed down as suddenly things
started to fall into place. Picking up the PADD with Page's
account on it I scrolled back up the text, looking for the
comment that I thought I just saw.

I found it right off, it was only a few paragraphs in from
the start. She was talking about her family, how she was
raised with her aunt and uncle who were the same age as
herself. There names were Adric and Romana.

Grant it, Romana was the same name as the lady who help save
my live right after I woke up from being Rhea, that was what
got my attention in the first place.

Both where names of characters from Dr. Who. Romana was a
timelord and Adric was a mathematical genus. Adric also had
the before mention award for mathematical excellence.

Which was a pin of a blue star with a gold border.

Of which Burke wore two of, one on each lapel of his jacket.

"Fox?" Oriana asked, looking up from The Book.

I looked at her and shook my head. Newt was back by Oria,
and looked a bit worried.

Burke had once given us a clue to who he was with the words
'Think Math'. Now it made sense, Burke really was the man
who Page called her brother.

I wanted to swore out loud, but nothing seemed to fit the
circumstance. Except maybe the one that may actually have
been heard.

"Thryn's eyes," I whispered, and was suddenly on my feet and
out the door. Leaving a shocked looking Oria in my wake.

Dashing through he hallway in the house I almost jumped
through the fold, only opening it while I was in midair.
Once out on the other side I rolled and came back up
running, now inside the Marble Hall, and only a short
distance from Page's home and office.

Burke had been an annoyance for over a year now. Popping up
now and then, being an annoyance, and once even saving my
life. Burke had talked to the Guild before as well, helping
to get Oria the only contract she's taken from them. We had
also decided it was more then likely him that had paid Marn
to ensure she became a member of the Guild.

He was an admitted time traveler, from at least a few years
in the future. Which implied that Page was from the same
time as well. It would explain why he had not been able to
find almost anything on her in the past months of searching.

I wonder if the Romana who saved me was his sister. She said
that Burke was a friend of hers.

As I reached Page's office door I didn't stopped, I just
opened it up and stepped inside.

Page was waiting for me, sitting patiently at her desk, arms
folding on the top. Burke was sitting in the one of the
other chairs, looking a but worried in his all black suit.

I looked between the pair of them, closing the door behind
me. Burke didn't say a way, he just shook his head. Page
nodded to me, as if confirming what I thought. This would
explain why the one sample of Burke's DNA past then just his
hair was destroy. Page had done it intentionally.

"Will either one of you say something?" I asked.

Page sighed. "If you had asked me if I knew Burke I would
have told you. That was the rules."

I frowned. "Rules? Is this some kind of game?"

She shook her head. "No. Our employer told us that if you
ever asked, even in just, we were to tell the truth. But it
has to be the right question."

I sighed, sitting in one of the other chairs. "How much of
what you told me was a lie."

"I told more to Oria then I did you. The only real lie was
with the sample that Malia brought it. I did destroy it on
my own, Mil covered for me, before sie even understood what
was going on. If I had told hir everything then," she
whispered, shaking her head. Milgrove (a hermaphrodite
flying squirrel) was her ex-girlfriend. That had been
extremely close and I don't thing Page ever recovered from
there parting.

"What about the hair?" I asked, "you said it was a human and
lion mix."

"Yes," Burke said. Then he tapped his wrist three times. In
a sudden blur his form seemed to fade and reconstruct as a
lion-morph.

"It's the latest version of the matrix," he offered as an
explanation. It was not as flashy as what I had in my watch
currently, but still disguised himself just as well.

I nodded slowly. "So, Romana is your sister."

He nodded with a smile. "Yes, she is. She went out on her
own to find you too."

I nodded again, rubbing my head. I could feel a headache
coming on.

"Fox," he continued, "I wish I could exhale everything but
you don't have time."

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't?" I asked. "How did you come
to that conclusion."

He licked his lips slowly. "Because you need to get to the
hospital. Oriana took Naomi there just a few minutes ago,
she's in pain. You need to go to her."

I shook my head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Page answered, "completely. Now go, we can continue
this later, when it's the proper time."

I nodded, rising from my chair. "First, first I must know.
Burke, did you pay Marn?"

He shook his head. "No, I did not, and I was not told who
did."

I nodded again, slipping out of the room and starting back
towards the fold. Moving faster with each step I almost ran
into someone who was already coming through it. Spinning
around him I forced it to close, then opened up a new portal
to the main hospital.

Jumping through I closed it right behind myself, so close
that if I had a tail I would have lost most of it. Once more
I ran, this time only a short distance till I came to the
emergence room entrance.

"Is Naomi Cutter here?" I asked the mouse that was manning
the front desk.

He nodded, "Just a few minutes ago, room 12."

I was off down the hallway as she finished, looking from
room to room. Once I found the right door I slipped inside,
closing it behind me.

She was laying in the bed, looking like she was sleeping.
Oriana was sitting next to the bed, looking slightly pail in
her ears.

She looked up at me as I came into the room. "Fox, what
happened?" she asked.

I shook my head, sitting down on the other side of the bed.
"You first, please." I asked, reaching out to touch the side
of Newt's cheek.

Oria sighed. "Just after you left she started to whimper.
She told me that she was hurting all over, then she started
to scream. The doctor had her sedated the instant we got
here. He looked her over and already thinks he knows what's
going on."

"What?" I asked softly.

"She's getting older," she answered, looking down at her, "a
year or two a day. Her body can't take such a rapid change.
It's tearing her apart inside."

"Why?" I asked.

She shook her head, standing to walk around the bed, sitting
next to me. Gently she took one of my hands and held it in
hers. "I called Ken just a minute ago, he's on his way. I
think though that this has been going on for a while."

If I had the right kind of ears I would have raised them at
that comment. In fact I think I twitch them a bit. "How?"

"When you found her you said that you thought she was seven
years old. She was ten when you brought her home. She looked
more like she's twelve just an hour ago." She answered.

I through it over quickly, picture her face at different
times. "I think your right." I answered.

She squeezed my hand gently. "Now, what was that all about.
You swore to my god, that can't be good."

I sighed. "I figured out who Burke is." I answered her.

She seemed to freeze in shock for a second. "Who? and how?"

"Page's uncle."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "They where both there in the office, they
admitted it. Apparently Romana, the lioness who saved me is
Page's aunt."

She shook her head in amazement then rested it on my
shoulder. We sat like that until Ken came an hour later.

-----

This story is (c) 1998 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.
'Milgrove' is (C) 1998 by J. 'Packrat' McCoy, and is used
with permission.