Darren decided to sleep in that morning. Feeling somewhat rested when he got up, he climbed out of bed and went into take a shower. When he got out he found that he had a visitor.

"Hi Daz. I hope I'm not intruding" Daniel said. "The computer said you were in here and yet you didn't answer the door, so I took the liberty of letting myself in."

"Yeah, sure. That's fine. What brings you about?"

"I told the band this morning about the conspiracy thing. They were surprised, of course, but agreed to help out in any way they can."

"Okay, great." Darren considered telling Daniel about the message, but decided against it. It wouldn't make any sense getting Daniel involved if he himself couldn't get it figured out. "So we still have rehearsal and the sound check, right?"

"Yeah, actually, we're supposed to be there in ten minutes. Think you'll be ready?" Daniel smiled, knowing how long it generally took Darren to get ready.

"Ha ha. Yes, I'll be ready. Actually, while you're here, I've jotted down some notes for some new songs. They're over by the viewer if you want to take a look" Darren turned and went back into the bedroom, leaving Daniel alone in the room.

Daniel sat down at the desk and started looking at the papers. The viewer, however, is what caught his attention. Darren had left a message up on the screen, and although Daniel respected the privacy of the message, the first few words caught his eye as being lyrics to Mine. Unable to stop himself, he continued reading.

"Darren, can you come out here a minute?" he asked.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Um, I didn't mean to pry or anything, but you left this message on your screen." Daniel's statement was met with silence. "What's been going on here, Daz?" concern filled his voice. "Something's not right with you. Ever since the shooting, things have just been getting weirder and weirder. Do you even know who sent this message?" he paused. "Are you sure that you're up to performing tonight." His last statement triggered a response.

"Yes, I'm up to performing tonight" Darren snapped. "Look, I've got things under control, alright? You don't need to worry about me." Darren sighed. "About the message, well, I don't know who sent it, but its probably just some joke or something."

"But Daz, aren't you somewhat concerned about this whole conspiracy thing? I mean, what if this message is a clue or something. Maybe we should tell the Captain..."

"No!" Darren interrupted forcefully. "I mean, we don't want to bother him with something that may be totally unrelated. Let's wait and see what happens before we start reporting things, okay?"

"Well, okay. I guess you have a better idea of this than I do."

"Let's just go to rehearsal now, and try to forget about it for now."

"Sure." The two left Darren's quarters, and headed to the rehearsal hall.

The rest of the morning was uneventful, as Darren was able to get through rehearsal without incident. The performance was to be held on Ma'at, so the afternoon was spent gathering things together to be beamed down. Once the equipment was there, the group themselves went down. The soundcheck came and went, and before they realized it, it was almost time to go on. Darren, Anna Maria and Nicole did some last minute vocal warm-ups, and then the band filed on stage. Daniel followed soon after, and the music started playing. Darren climbed up the back way onto the set and began to sing the opening lines of Tears of Pearls. He worked his way down the stairs and started to look out into the audience. He saw many familiar faces, and many familiar races. His eyes came to rest on a small group about halfway back. He didn't recognize them, although something about them seemed familiar. One thing that really stuck out about them was a strange, circular shape on their cheeks - presumably a trait of their race - and then it struck him. A strange feeling began to form in his stomach as he began remember. The corner store - the strange man - Sam's horrified expression - the stranger turning towards him - the mark on the face - the gun - and the shooting. Darren stopped singing then, and took a step backwards. Daniel looked at him funny, and the girls tried to keep the song going. People in the audience were starting to look around, trying to figure out what was going on. All except one. Darren made eye contact with that one, and a feeling of recognition came over him. It was the person from the turbolift, and the man who had shot him.


Chapter 9

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