Ray and Rhiannon were the last to show for duty, and although neither of them were playing up the fact they'd been shagging all night Rhun couldn't resist having a dig. 'Sleep well, did we?'

Rhiannon gave him a sideways glance, choosing to ignore his inference. 'Very well, thank you.'

'Well, aren't you the lucky one then. I was tossing and turning all night.' Rhun smiled slyly.

It took a moment for their psychic link to occur to her, but when it had, Rhainnon looked from her brother to her mother. ' No. ' When Tory nodded to confirm, Rhiannon suppressed a laugh and covered her face to hide her embarrassment.

'What are you saying? That ...' Ray's ego was smiling as he motioned between Rhiannon and himself, though his mind found their scenario decidedly weird.

'I warned you, Ray.' Tory jogged his memory. 'There are no secrets between my children and myself.'

'Wonderful.' Ray was unsure of whether to be annoyed or not. It bothered him to think that another man could experience their extracurricular activities through his lover. Yet, when he considered that Tory had also perceived the act, the smile returned to his face. 'Well, then, it would seem you owe me a hundred bucks,' he put to Tory.

'How do you figure?'

Ray held up both his hands, as if appealing to her sense of justice. 'You play, you pay.'

Tory found his reasoning amusing. 'We'll call it even, shall we?'

Ray was about to contest her ruling, when Floyd interrupted. 'All right, people, let's rock'n'roll.' He clapped his hands together to get them all to their stations.

A slinky lizard woman who changed colour every couple of minutes was the guise under which Rhiannon would travel cyberspace. She'd already learnt how to direct herself around inside the net, and how to utilize a virtual keyboard to communicate with the inhabitants of the VR world. She could also use a direct voice link, but as they didn't want Doc overhearing what was transpiring around Rhiannon, typed dialogue was the preferred option. Nick had linked a voice sample of Rhiannon's to the VR keyboard, which would make it practically impossible for anyone on the net to know the difference. After positioning the VR unit on her head and slipping the gloves onto her hands, Floyd explained how, by pointing to a tiny symbol to Rhiannon's lower left, she could make her chameleon image blend into her surroundings until she was near transparent.

'Nice touch.' Rhiannon greatly approved. Now she could really toy with Alexander. This was going to be fun.

The credit for the chameleon creation went to Nick, who'd spent the entire night making the cyber-image as impressive as possible. He was seated directly beside Rhiannon to follow her movements through cyberspace on one monitor while keeping an eye on the phone-link that Floyd had graphed out on another. If Doc started running a trace, Nick could follow his progress.

Floyd was seated behind another terminal, limbering up his fingers. It was going to get very hairy in here in the next ten minutes or so, and he only had one crack at this. By tomorrow, Doc would have an entirely new code-key and website address. 'Well, Rhiannon, you can shoot through any time you're ready.'

Nick typed frantically on his keypad. 'Sending a message to Doc's e-mail and pager.' With one final keystroke, he gave Rhiannon a nudge for good luck. 'Go get him, tiger ... or should I say, lizard.'

The virtual-world was ablaze with brilliant colour, the circuits and cities reflecting the bizarre creative genius of its contributors and patriots. Each website was akin to a town with its own tourist information office advising what services, recreation, games, entertainment, and so on, were to be found there. Some of these sites had the appearance of sparkling celestial palaces, others looked like Gothic hellholes, or futuristic space stations. They could also be breathtaking landscapes with terrain that was completely true to life - or, alternatively, completely alien. Yet every single one of these individual worlds had thousands of places or rooms to explore, and millions of people and bizarre images to meet.

Rhiannon would not be swayed from her course today. She was headed for a website in England and upon punching the address into her VR keyboard she was sucked into the technicolour circuits and shot forth to her destination. On arrival she could have chosen to cruise around the website and explore, but Rhiannon was not here for the scenic tour. A simple request at Tourist Information landed her in front of the Cauldron Club. As there was no handle on the door, she used the gargoyle knocker. A small panel slid aside and two glowing-green eyes peered out of the dwelling at her.

'What's your business?' said a voice of doom.

'I'm meeting the Dragon Slayer here,' she replied.

'What's the password?'

'Password?' Rhiannon questioned out loud, hoping Floyd would know.

'Just swear at him,' the hacker urged.

'Up yours arsehole.'

'Close enough,' declared the ghoulish bouncer, and the door vanished.

Rhiannon went into camouflage mode as she moved down the long dark staircase.

My, but they had some wild-looking characters down here. The dingy interior and atmosphere of the place made most horror flicks look like nursery rhymes.

The walls oozed luminous green slime while the doors bled all over the floor. There was one creature in a corner whose head kept exploding with graphic detail, before reforming to repeat the exercise. Mutants of all shapes and sizes frequented the pool tables and video games. Others cheered creatures doing battle in a pit, placing their bets at the bar.

All in all, it was a very lively place. The goings-on had Rhiannon so spellbound that she was startled by the sensors in her right glove telling her someone had taken hold of her hand. Turning her head she spied a huge, dark gladiator.

Tory, who was viewing the monitors over Nick's shoulder, gasped, 'It's Caradoc!'

'It's only a cyber-image for Pete's sake,' Teo scoffed.

'A bloody good one, too,' she agreed.

Rhiannon, seeing no further use for her camouflage, switched it off and allowed the large warrior to kiss her hand.

'Miss Chameleon, how lovely you look.' Doc's chosen guise winked at her.

'Why DS ...' She pressed a button on her VR keyboard and the ornately-spiked collar of her character rose up to frame the Chameleon's face - as a frill-necked lizard might when confronted unawares. 'I'm so glad you could make it.'

'I wouldn't have missed it for the world.' The Dragon Slayer motioned her towards a vacated booth.

'Shall we?'

'Floyd!' Tory demanded an update.

'I'm on it,' he assured her.

As the receiver's PC was online, Floyd requested to log-on. The code proved to be correct, and thus Floyd found himself staring at Doc Alexander's personal files - a wealth of information, to be sure.

'We're in,' he told everyone, chuckling as he perused the titles at his disposal. Now what would we like to know about? Fusion? Yes, indeed. The Space program, certainly. AIDS research ... could be interesting. The US senate and agencies. 'Shit yeah!' Floyd selected all of the above folders, and then a few, mindful of the transfer time. 'Downloading now.'

As the files began to appear on Floyd's screen he opened a couple, only to find they were encrypted.

'Jesus! What the fuck is this?!' Floyd, who prided himself on his code-breaking skills, didn't recognise the code, or in this case, the language.

'It's Brythanic.' Rhun did know and began to scribble down a translation on a piece of paper.

Nick was hesitant to add to their woes at present, but they had to know. 'Doc's started a trace.'

'This is bullshit!' Floyd decided, reading the memo Rhun had translated. 'Are you sure you're reading this right? The file is called "Fusion". This is a recipe for some sort of casserole!'

'What if Doc's been wise to us all along?' Rhun put forward. 'He could be keeping us entertained with bogus files long enough for him to locate us.'

'Then, to ensure we didn't find any files he didn't want us to,' Ray theorised, 'he's probably stored his real files on a removable optical hard-drive. His computer is equipped with one.'

'Ah!' Floyd grabbed up a blank cartridge, and started waving it at Rhun. 'Take this, and teleport yourself to Doc. He'll have one just like it placed on the desk right beside him. It holds a hundred gig's of info, so chances are there will only be one. In the VR unit he'll be oblivious to the room around him, so, as long as you're quiet, he won't even know you've been there.

Go!' Floyd shoved the cartridge into Rhun's hands, and watched him vanish.

'He's halfway home.' Still following the trace, Nick was starting to panic. 'And it's only taken him two minutes.'

'Well, hang up if the information is of no use to us.'

Tory couldn't understand why Floyd would persist.

'When Rhun returns.' He seemed very calm about it all. 'A minute is all he'll need.'

Rhun decided that the huge office in which he found himself was of impeccable decor.

The diplomat was seated behind his desk, obviously preoccupied with Rhiannon. Opposite him sat another man, also wearing VR gear, who was most likely running the trace for him. By the window was a third party, gazing outside as he chatted on his moblie-phone.

Duck, Rhun warned himself and narrowly escaped being spotted, as the man by the window turned and glanced around the room.

Once his opposition returned to looking outside, Rhun raised himself and spotted his objective. The cartridge was just where Floyd had said it would be. So, keeping low, Rhun rounded the desk to where Doc resided, and silently executed the swap.

Sweat beads were forming on Nick's brow; Doc was all but two links away from locating them. ' Boss ...? ' He made a desperate appeal to Tory as Floyd seemed determined to hold out.

'Floyd, shut it off! Rhun can take care of himself.'

The hacker sat playing with his bottom lip, as if she hadn't spoke at all, so Tory got rather irate. 'You're playing Russian roulette with other people's lives!

Maybe they won't find us, but think of Pete and the other rangers. They'll have to answer to the ICA.'

'Rhun!' Ray was actually glad to see him, though as they were a little pushed for time he grabbed hold of their 'agent' to shake the result of his mission out of him. 'How did you go? Did you get it?'

When Rhun smiled, holding up the cartridge in question, Tory made for Floyd's terminal. 'Good. Then shut down.'

'Too late.' Nick's eyes filled with dread. 'He's pinned us.'

'Why are you smiling?' Rhiannon inquired of her large, muscle-bound cyber-companion.

'I just got some rather good news,' he said.

'Am I so boring that you would read your mail whilst in my company?' The Shift and F-key on her keyboard changed the Chameleon's facial expression to a frown.

'Never.' He reached across the table to place his hand on hers. 'You are the crown jewel of my company.

Believe me, only a matter of top international security would drag me from your midst -' But before he'd even finished begging his leave, the lizard-babe vanished.

Ah well. Doc removed the VR unit from his head.

'We'll meet again. And sooner than one might think.'

He smiled. 'Where are they, Eddie?' He asked the man responsible for the trace.

Eddie raised his gear from his face. 'The mountains, in Vermont.'

'I want Agency men there ten minutes ago.' Doc looked to Stanley Brennon as he folded up his mobile-phone and placed it in his pocket.

'It is done.' Stanley advised.

Despite the fact that everyone was screaming and yelling at him, Floyd couldn't seem to contain his amusement.

'I don't see what's so funny.' Brian was on the verge of knocking his block off, they couldn't afford to run the risk of being found with the Goddess in dry dock.

'Doc hasn't found us.' Floyd gasped for breath, trying to calm down enough to explain. 'I broke into Cybercom last night, and switched our number and address with several others.' The aging computer whiz removed his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes, but found himself unable to refrain from collapsing into another flight of hysterics.

His amusement roused a smile from Tory. 'So then, who is Doc raiding at present?'

Floyd had to hold his breath to force the punchline out. 'President Langford's private country abode.'

The rest of the gang, envisioning the scene Floyd's ploy was going to create, couldn't help but laugh along.

'And do you know what's even better?' Floyd put to his company, who couldn't imagine anything better ...

'This afternoon's spot of industrial espionage has all been charged to Langford's bill!'

14.

TJUKUBA - THE DREAMING.

There was much cause for celebration at Watarrka that night. After decoding one of the many documents that were stored on the hard-drive Rhun had appropriated from Doc, Floyd decreed the information to be valid. Nick and he would start decoding the rest of the data at once, and provided they didn't hit any snags Floyd would be able to present everyone with a full report in a week or so.

In the midst of the revelry, Rhun watched Teo laughing and dancing with his mother. Her Sensei's obvious adoration was a worry. Perhaps the contact she meant to make with his father was more important than Rhun had first realised. Tory still held feelings for the man in whose arms she was entwined, and Rhun sensed her deep yearning to be assured that she wasn't deluding herself in believing her true love lived. Hence, Rhun's decision to help her became more resolute. He must create the same protective conditions the Druids did at the inauguration of Kings, for only then could he rest assured that his mother's body and spirit would be properly safeguarded throughout their separation. Perhaps this was being overly paranoid, but better that than facing his father's wrath for carelessness.

According to the code of practice of the ancient rite, a sorcerer was the first requirement. Myrddin was out, as he would not support Tory contacting Maelgwn against his specific instructions. Taliesin? Well, only the Goddess knew where he was at present. Cadfan, although he was a fine healer, was not a sorcerer by any stretch of the imagination. It seemed clear to Rhun that it was time to seek the assistance of the local medicine men, those known by the Aboriginal people as the Mekigar, for they were intimate with this adopted homeland of his. As in any native cultural and religious system, the metaphysical topography within the land could be utilised by those who understood it and dared to open themselves to its mysteries.

Early the next morning Tory was peacefully snoozing off the excesses of the night before, when Rhun entered her abode to rouse her to action.

'Mother, come quickly.' He took hold of her hand to urge her along. 'You're not going to believe this.'

'Believe what?' she beseeched him, as she was hauled out into the earthen walkway and hurried up the stairs that led to Floyd's communications room.

'Rhun?' She halted just short of their destination, puzzled by the hurry her son was in.

'Please.' He urged her to keep going. 'Sometimes a picture is worth a thousands words.'

With a deep breath, Tory folded her arms and decided to humour him. She strolled into the communications room, glancing around for the amazing image Rhun spoke of, and it didn't take her long to find it. Floyd was not at his usual station. He was seated on the sofa, speaking with an old friend of hers. 'Jenny?'

Tory mumbled, thinking that she must have been viewing a ghost.

'Tory!' Jennifer was overjoyed to see a familiar face and rushed to embrace her.