Some Time in the Future
Stacey Bannister wandered down the corridor of the Memorial Museum with her tour group following along behind like a gaggle of baby geese following their mother. Silently, she sighed. She had another four hours of this shift to go and already she had a splitting headache. She flashed a half-hearted grin to Katie Munroe as she wandered back along the corridor with her group. Katie smiled, rolled her eyes and headed off to the Taelon wing.
The MM was not a bad place to work, mused Stacey. It was an honoured memorial to the conflict that had shaped the fate of uncounted planets; Earth's in particular. The figures of the time seemed larger than life. The Taelons in particular still engendered huge interest even now, a hundred and twenty years since they had left their Embassies and installations on Earth. T'than, Zo'or and Da'an. Names of beings that had achieved the status of legend.
Pulling her concentration back to the job at hand, Stacey paused at the entrance to the next segment of her tour. She stood, smile on her face, as her group congregated around her.
"All right, ladies and gentlemen. As we all know from our school days, the people that we owe our lives to - our very planet to - are the subjects of this next wing of the museum.
"Cast your minds back to your childhood and the games we all played; the liberation of Dallas, the storming of the mothership, the rescue of the First Family from incarceration in the White House...
"Prepare yourselves to enter the heart and soul of the planet's memorial to those that fought in the greatest conflict in history.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Liberation / Resistance Exhibition."
Excited murmurings and eager grins met her announcement. Stacey swept her palm over the replica wall of St. Michael's church and a larger version of the secret elevator was revealed.
Grinning, she said, "Next stop, the underground headquarters of the Liberation and the Resistance..."
An hour and a half later, the group was still discussing the exhibits they had seen. Archival footage from within the lair...
Rare glimpses of the never forgotten first hero of the Liberation; Commander William Boone...
Lili Marquette, Jonathan & Joshua Doors, Augur, the young and vibrant J Street, the rank and file Resistance members...
Humanity's countless victims and then humanity's victories...
The most controversial exhibit in the Memorial had always been the one for Ronald Sandoval. The man that had been the leader of the humans that carried out the purges, the 'disappearances' and uncounted other crimes against his species.
He had been taken by the mob when the Taelons fled and had been rescued by an elite Resistance team. That was when the truth had finally been revealed. His second CVI had never had a motivational imperative.
Jonathan Doors had ordered Dr. Julianne Belman to give the man the option of choosing sides. He had. Sandoval had approached one of the men he despised most in the world - President Thompson - and had been ordered to stay in the employ of the Taelons. He was humanity's secret weapon. The traitor within the Taelon inner circle: saviour of thousands of innocents and the source of the intelligence that led to the downfall of the Taelons.
A genuine and tragic hero. A man that had been ordered to perpetrate horror on thousands to save billions.
The most popular two exhibits were about the couple that had been the embodiment of the best of the Resistance.
Renee Palmer Kincaid. Fierce fighter, compassionate, intelligent - devoted to humanity's freedom. Unceasing supporter: partner, defender and wife to the leader of the Resistance, Liam Kincaid. She had paid the ultimate price for victory.
In the last brutal effort of the Taelons to break the Resistance and the onslaught against their HQ, she had died to save her husband, taking the energy blast that had been meant for him.
Last of all, they came to the heart of the exhibit; the heart of the entire Memorial. The exhibit devoted to Liam Kincaid.
Oh, everyone knew the truth about him. Kincaid wasn't his real name. The only Human/Kimera hybrid. The son of two Companion Protectors. His age at the time of the final victory? Eight years old.
The facts were known but they were the bare bones behind the mystery.
Charismatic, courageous and dedicated to the fight for freedom, Kincaid had become the rallying point behind which humanity had pulled together to defeat their oppressors.
After saving his father, losing his wife and saving the planet he had simply disappeared. Work done, he had left, unwilling to face the adulation being heaped on him. Still grieving the loss of his wife, Liam Kincaid had remained in the public eye only long enough to be sure that the Taelons would not be back, and then he slipped off into obscurity.
A huge search had found no trace of him and, eventually, his wish for privacy was respected.
Stacey addressed the hushed group standing in front of the hologram of humanity's greatest hero.
"In the case of all great tales of heroism, a legend has been born that will not die. The ancient legend of King Arthur has endured for centuries - so will this. Liam Kincaid is still among us, should the need ever arise again for us to fight for our freedom, we need only send out the call for aid. He will come."
There was a deep sigh from a rosy-cheeked old woman. Her emotional reaction to that last stirring statement was echoed by the rest of the group.
All except one.
Stacey stared at the man, feeling like she should know him. He winked and continued on with the rest of the group as a new guide ushered them towards the next section of the Memorial.
Her eyes lifted to the face of Kincaid as portrayed in the hologram and her eyes widened in stunned disbelief. His hair had had a few grey strands at the temples but the twinkling green eyes were unmistakable.
She had just seen Liam Kincaid! Alive! At the memorial!
Katie's never going to believe this! thought Stacey...