《Molly's Miracle Colonies》 Angels Refuge ¡°Don''t worry, Molly, Dad''ll finish the basement soon. You''ll see.¡± Angel looks so Sarah Brightman, I expect her to start singing¡ª ¡°Yeah, and your mom''s scared that if she tells her super about what''s going on at home, I''ll get put with some other foster home, even when they get certified. I can''t choose, because I''m 12. If I were 13, maybe a judge would listen to me. That''s only next month, though. Oh, it''s almost ten. I''d better go home now.¡± I licked the last of the powdered sugar off my dessert plate. Dreaded going out in cold rain. I¡¯ll have to be extra careful not to track anything in. If only my mom would make Mexican Wedding Cookies! Meat and potatoes in the slow cooker. We used to eat out almost every night. Didn''t I complain about all the kid meals? Not much variety there. Mom doesn''t bother to learn a new recipe. They¡¯re always dieting, and eat most of it. I sniffed the air and enjoyed the smell of cookies that lingered. I offer to cook and she gives me a lecture about not wanting to eat my mistakes. And how much they would cost. She doesn¡¯t know I cook my cat¡¯s diabetic diet. Our neighbors give me food for me, not Sylvania. Who can eat, in this nightmare? What would Mom do, if she checked that refrigerator in the garage? Toni, black-haired like her daughter, never complained, even when Angel''s apron caught on the flour canister and it went over. We were seven and I helped her sit on the counter. Didn''t even fuss at me for causing the whole thing! We did help her sweep it all up. Mark came home from work, saw the mess, and offered to go get more. What a great dad he would be! Angel sighed, and got off her bed. Such a soft bed! And her mom made the pretty quilt by hand. Matching, lacy flowered curtains. Mom got mad when Toni gave me a bedspread with rainbows on it for Christmas last month. ¡°I wish you could just stay. They couldn''t make you come home, could they?¡± ¡°Mom could call the police and ask them to escort me home. She''d do it, too! I looked it up on a legal site. Let''s go.¡± I looked out the window at their older neighborhood. I''d rather live here than in ours, any day. Red ringlets dripped in my face. My green eyes have bags like an old¡ª Toni came to the doorway. She and her daughter had beautiful light blue eyes. ¡°Molly, I''m ready to drive you over.¡± ¡°I can walk, Mrs. Pedersen.¡± ¡°I worry about you walking in the dark¡ª¡± ¡°And, I''ve been learning karate. Hi-jahh!¡± I struck my mean pose. Toni laughed. ¡°Honey, you''re so small, he''d pick you up and run off with you!¡± Mark ran to the doorway. ¡°What''s going on in here?¡± He chuckled. ¡°I''ve been learning karate. Want to let me practice on you?¡± He laughed, but waved me after him. ¡°You can try. Where you want me?¡± Mark Pedersen kept fit by riding bikes with us every day. My dad had flab. I ran in the living room and moved the coffee table. ¡°Here.¡± I stood opposite their soft sofa. ¡°You''re a bad guy. Come up behind me and do a half-Nielsen.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He did. He''s 6''1¡± and 200 pounds. I''m 4''1¡± and 87. Yeah, sure. But I stomped the floor by his foot. Pretended to elbow him in the ribs. Moved my right foot back. Grabbed his elbow and shoulder. Threw him over my back! His head bounced off the cushions! ¡°Gosh, you okay, Mr. Pedersen?¡± His head almost missed the cushions! Mark sprawled, upside down, on their sofa! ¡°I''m okay. Wow! Did you take lessons?¡± His blue eyes blinked at me. ¡°I found it on YouTube. Maybe it was jujitsu.¡± I didn''t expect him to go that far! The sofa creaked as he sat up. ¡°That, young lady, was awesome! I didn''t believe you could do that!¡± Mr. Pedersen laughed loudly as he rolled to his feet. Rubbed his hip. Angel helped him straighten the blue quilt, fallen pillows, and lace covers on the arms. ¡°You proved your point, Molly, as usual. But, I''m still driving you home.¡± Toni shook her finger at me. Her fake stern expression was comical. Mom just looks mad all the time. Likes to shake her finger, but never kids. I laughed. Felt awful about Mr. Pedersen''s hip. He didn''t limp as he walked us out to the garage, thank goodness. Faint smell of gasoline worried me. Our garage has junk, not cars. Electric lawn mower. ¡°Maybe bullies won''t bother you at school, now!¡± Angel laughed. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°You know I don''t dare do anything! I''d get expelled. High school''s same rules about any kind of fight.¡± ¡°I miss you, Molly.¡± She swept her long, black curls back and opened the back door. ¡°Marietta Middle¡¯s just not the same without you.¡± ¡°I miss you, too! It¡¯s harder to make friends there. Wish I had you to eat lunch with.¡± Half the teachers still ask me where my parents are. As if they¡¯d ever eat with me. Mrs. Pedersen would but the school said no. I opened the other back door. Angel¡¯s mom smiled as she got in their blue Honda Civic. Used her best British accent. ¡°I''m playing the chauffeur again! Well!¡± She pretended to pull a hat over her black waves, which made us laugh. Angel made me promise to teach her what I learned. I sent the link to her phone. The ride was too short. Drizzle made the streets shiny. Hardly any traffic. Dad''s red Porsche 922 was parked in the driveway. Crooked. I didn''t say anything. Mark got the blue Honda because Toni loves blue. Dad just showed up with this car last month without asking. Mom fussed because it wasn¡¯t black, saying the police¡¯d be pulling them over all the time. He traded her car and his, to get it. They always fight about money. The house is in her name, so he insisted both cars be in his. If Mark wants something, Toni gets that much money. ¡°I''ll go in with you¡ª¡± ¡°If you do, it''ll be worse. Thanks, y''all! See ya tomorrow when you get home, Angel!¡± ¡°Ok, Molly!¡± Cold drizzle got my neck. I hate to get wet unless I¡¯m swimming. Can¡¯t cut through the grass or I¡¯ll be cleaning. Wished I¡¯d zipped. Rain smelled fresh, but if it has to be cold, can¡¯t it be snow? I missed snow in New Jersey when I was little, but nothing else. Well, Granma¡¯s singing until Grandpa yelled at her to shut up. I ran in and shivered. Rain dripped off my jacket and backpack but the driveway was clean, at least. Checked my shoes. Mom was sleeping on the couch, and Dad pulled at her. The smell of old cigarette smoke from their coats on the hook hit. They dripped from the rain. I saw red lipstick on the lapel of Dad¡¯s London Fog. Mom likes bronze shades. Frowned at me. ¡°Molly, where have you been?¡± ¡°At the Pedersens¡ª¡± ¡°You know I''ll call them. I''m calling right now.¡± He dropped his phone. I got my book bag from the mud room where I¡¯d left it to dry earlier. My laptop and things are already in my room. Clear with black piping. These don¡¯t last long. ¡°G''night, Dad!¡± He was on the phone. Mom snored. Dad swayed. I wished they''d quit going to those parties. I just went upstairs. Hated my room. That bed had a really lumpy mattress from Aunt Mabel. Her oak bed. Her oak dresser. Mom''s knickknacks decorated it. Aunt Mabel''s curtains showed our neighborhood with all its fancy cookie-cutter houses. Stone facades. I wasn''t allowed to put anything of mine on the dresser, but I had a tiny desk and red plastic goose-neck lamp. Blue padded folding chair. Took off my blue GSU rain jacket and hung it on the hook. Shivered. Had an old hand towel hanging in my closet, so I took the white cloth and rubbed my hair. Mom threw away my nice rainbow one. Didn¡¯t need it, but I sprayed my floral air freshener all around. Love the smell of roses! I just changed the cat box at 5 while Angel and I rode bikes. Fished an art project out of the garbage, then realized it wasn¡¯t worth it. Angel said Toni could make it smell better, and she did. It¡¯s in her room along with some stuff from Friday art class. We got some projects back from that December art competition. Got to go down to Midtown High in Atlanta for that. Madison won. I smiled at him, but he whispered that he really wants to be a girl. I wasn¡¯t wanting a boyfriend. Boys? When I¡¯ve got a career to think about? Nobody gives skinny me a second look. Everybody wants to date Angel, but they don¡¯t go to her Church so she invites ¡®em. And they avoid her, then her friends aren¡¯t friends any more. Religion isn¡¯t fashionable. I love her Church. We like Brian, but it¡¯s just friends. Somebody falls in love and it ruins everything. On the white desktop, I had a metal organizer with a drawer for my pens. Angel had blue spray paint and we painted it at her house last week. I sighed relief that these things were still there. But, my portrait of Mrs. Pedersen was still on the desk! Carefully, I slid the top drawer of my dresser out. Taped it underneath. Slid it back into place. Maybe Mom won''t think to look there. My dinosaur from the Kinder egg Angel got me was still in it. I taped it to the back with several other things. It still closed flush. The side towards the wall was very warped and curved out. When I bought it I thought, what a good place to hide stuff. Laid out my books and completed homework on my desk. Made sure I didn''t forget any assignments. All my college assignments were online. I put all the stuff to turn in Tuesday in my folders built into my 3 ring notebook. It had a new tear in the rainbow and butterfly vinyl. I sighed. I bought this thing 3 years ago. Maybe it''s time to dig into my savings account again. I put a new layer of clear packing tape on it. Tomorrow¡¯s Martin Luther King Day. I have to leave everything out so Mom can inspect. She¡¯ll rearrange it. Sylvania ran upstairs and jumped in my lap. I hugged her. She''ll be a year old soon, and I mentally calculated that her shots and checkup would be about $150. I''ve got that much. She''ll need more food soon. Thursday, I''ll have time to shop. Maybe I''ll get her shots first, then shop. My beautiful white Persian can''t hear the noise of Dad dragging Mom to bed. Complaints. She whacks the rail with her hand to emphasize unintelligible mumbles. Mom glared at me with her cold brown eyes as she passed. ¡°That cat is shedding all over my beautiful sofa! I''m getting rid of her soon. Just you wait¡ª¡± ¡°Fern, I''ll clean up the hair. A kid deserves to have a pet¡ª¡± ¡°Kid? She''s in college. She doesn''t need a pet to finish her degree and graduate, does she? She''ll be too busy in med school.¡± She rambled on until the door to their bedroom closed. They didn''t argue long. Won''t remember it tomorrow. I hugged Sylvania. Got up and closed my door. Turned off my light. Covered us both with the gorgeous quilt Toni made for me. Sylvania curled up against my tummy. Hoped my sobs didn''t carry. She wrapped her front paws around my arm. She knows when I¡¯m sad. The sound of her purr soothes me. Volunteer Job I got up and my parents were gone. Gave Sylvania her insulin shot and fed her. Mom never uses the refrigerator in the garage they bought when she was throwing parties at home. I made a new batch of her food, enough to last through Wednesday. And, had the last of my oatmeal. I liked to make my own from scratch with frozen strawberries in the microwave. Running out of everything. So tempted to get food out of my bank account, but Sylvania needs her vet appointment. Then I cleaned the whole house, my usual Monday routine. Since I had the day off from school, I tackled all of the weekly and monthly list Mom had on the fridge. Changed light bulbs. Dusted the attic. Washed every window, even though they were clean on the inside. Outside was always a mess. And, I mowed and raked the entire huge yard. Not much grass. Dad keeps saying he¡¯ll get seed so I can plant it and every time he finds some on sale, Mom says no. Too expensive. Took Sylvania to the litter box. Put her in her backpack carrier, and roller bladed to Angel''s. She met me with a snack in the butterfly lunch bag she bought me. ¡°Have you got a minute?¡± Her blue eyes were teary. I felt bad. ¡°I''m sorry, but I have to be on time for my volunteer job at Kennestone.¡± We walked to the shed where they kept my bike for me. ¡°I put air in your tires when I put some in mine. Can I go with you? I want to see if I can be a volunteer, too.¡± I felt worse! ¡°Angel, their teen program, you have to be 16.¡± ¡°But, you''ve been doing this since last year!¡± ¡°It''s a requirement for my degree. So unfair! Your mom doesn''t pressure people like mine does! She called Ms. Renault every single day until she agreed to let me go to 10th grade last Fall. I think she got one of her rich friends to call her. I''m the only 12-year old at Marietta High. I think I''m the only 12 year old volunteer at Kennestone, too. ''S not fair!¡± And, people pick on me or ignore me because I hang out with Hispanic and Black friends. Because I turn in people who persecute ¡®em. ¡°It really isn''t fair. Go, so you won''t be late. I''ll see you this afternoon!¡± I wanted to say more, she looked so sad. I checked on Sylvania, because she was quiet in the carrier. She''s fine. Beautiful blue eyes, and neat long, white fur from her daily brushing. Loved the feel of its softness, and so will everyone who holds her! Shouldered her backpack with the clear bubble again. Someone left it at the vet''s when I worked there last summer and Dr Ashley said I could have it when I adopted her because they couldn¡¯t figure out who left it. He''s so nice! I hope he lets me do that again this summer. I swapped out my roller blades for my tennis shoes and noticed, the wheels are getting thin. They aren''t commuter blades. All these trips to Angel''s are wearing them down. Doesn''t help that I''m learning dance moves. Dad complained about how much these cost. I still fit the adjustable child-sized ones. He''ll be mad when they break. Then I got on the aqua bike¡ªjust the color I would''ve picked¡ªand set out. Mr. Pedersen got this bike for Angel, Christmas before last, but she thought this smaller size would fit her for a year, and it didn''t work out. She got taller. So, she gave it to me. Just right for me. So grateful for my friend and her family! Her dad bought her another one for Christmas. He was hoping for a table saw to help him finish the basement, so I might be able to live down there. I felt bad. If it really can happen. He keeps these cheap bikes in top shape. Puts better parts on ¡®em. I always got nervous riding on Whitlock Avenue. Traffic! But that prayer before I left helped me again. Got into the left turn lane and found a gap, because people had to wait for the light. Sometimes, rush hour is a good thing! The shopping center parking lot got hairy sometimes. But, the trip went faster today than last Monday. Lots of people are off for Martin Luther King Day. Most of the stores are closed. It was nice to take Sylvania around to all the elderly folks. Pretended Mrs. March was my granny, somehow ported to the future from Little Women. She looked like me with her green eyes and round face. Her hair used to be red like mine instead of silver, she said. How she loves Sylvania! My cat loves everyone. I can''t take her in the Pedersens ''cause Angel''s allergic. Toni leaves a lint roller on the porch so I can get all the cat hair off. It¡¯s easy. Why does Mom think a little hair on the sofa¡¯s hard? When I do my daily cleaning, I make sure to spend extra effort on that sofa. How does she see white cat hair on that white leather, anyway? Poor Sylvania spends all day in my room with her cat box. When Dad doesn¡¯t let her out. He loves her. I keep my folding table at the window with a lap blanket on it. Mom threw out my butterfly one. This one¡¯s plain brown. Today I left on time so I could get back to Angel''s. She was waiting, already on her bike. I decided to bike, too, so she wouldn''t feel left out. We headed to my house to drop off Sylvania. Traffic was lighter now. ¡°Molly, they put me on probation in the Gifted Program.¡± I had to wait for someone to back out of their driveway. ¡°What? But, Angel, you''re smart! I need to help you with earth science more¡ª¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°I''ve got an A in that. No, it''s algebra that''s killing me!¡± ¡°Just do more problems, like I did¡ª ¡± ¡°I can''t do more, because I can''t get how to do any of ''em! Dad explains, and I just can''t.¡± She got quiet. ¡°Mom¡¯s good with accounting and checkbook math, but not quadratic equations.¡± We fought traffic and I had to pay attention. But, what to say? It''s not easy for her. I have to remember that. Finally, we pulled into the driveway and Dad''s car was there. Uh oh. ¡°Wait here¡ª ¡± Mom came out. ¡°Where have you been? Playing, when you should be doing your homework?¡± ¡°Mom, today''s a holiday. I just went to my volunteer job¡ª¡± ¡°And, you took your friend and that animal with you?¡± ¡°Sylvania''s my Pet Therapy animal. I showed you her certificate¡ª¡± ¡°If your good little Mormon friend likes her so much, she can have her!¡± ¡°I can''t!¡± Angel went all stiff, like she does every time Mom talks to her. I got off the bike. ¡°I need to put her in the house, Mom. I can''t take her in Angel''s house.¡± ¡°Fine. Put her in the garage, and get busy on your homework!¡± I went in and she followed me to it. ¡°You always goof off. I hadda pull a lot of strings to get you in the FasTrack Program, and I expect you to study. You wanted to grow up fast, and now you don''t like it?¡± Gently, I took Sylvania out and put her down. She looked around, then clung to my leg. Mom ripped her off my jeans and shoved her away. ¡°Get to your room, Girl, right now!¡± ¡°Mom, my homework''s done. I can show you all of it.¡± ¡°All right, bring it up. I haven''t got all day!¡± I went to the Georgia State University login page and let her see. Every one of my seven classes had proof that I turned it in. As she looked, Sylvania slipped through the door. She''ll hide in my room. Good. Then, I brought up my grades at Marietta High. My assignments. Mom sat on the sofa while I ran upstairs to get it. Dad came out of the kitchen with a sandwich. ¡°Molly, did you eat?¡± Like I can afford Sandwich Shop food? I see wrappers in the garbage when I throw it out. Can¡¯t touch Mom¡¯s crock pot meat. I have my stash in the garage refrigerator and ration it. No quick stuff in there. ¡°Angel gave me a snack, Dad.¡± ¡°That''s nice. You going over there?¡± Mom scowled at me. ¡°Fern, let her go. It''s obvious she''s done all her work. Can I see?¡± I took it to him, and gave him my permission slip for the museum trip next month for art class. He signed without reading it. ¡°High Museum Of Art? Nice.¡± He wrote out a check. ¡°Another field trip? We''re not made of money, you know. Next one, we''re not paying. Schools just want to bleed us dry! Last week it was chocolate. You didn''t buy any, did you, Jeffrey?¡± ¡°No. We''re both on a diet.¡± Like I need to be on one. I look anorexic. ¡°But, I have enough calories left for a glass of milk.¡± He smoothed his blonde hair as he opened the fridge. ¡°Not that milk! I''m cooking this weekend.¡± Great. Ms. Pedersen always offers me a second glass when I eat supper with them. Hope I¡¯m not running their grocery bill up. I sighed. ¡°See you later. I''m going to Angel''s. She''s waiting for me¡ª¡± ¡°Don''t stay long. You''ll pick up their bad habits. How many wives does he have now, anyway?¡± Bad habits? Toni taught me to cook. And, how to budget before I got my first paycheck last summer. She took me to that second-hand store to get my study desk. Put up with Mom¡¯s fussing that it didn¡¯t match Aunt Mabel¡¯s furniture. White goes with everything. Not a scratch on it and it still looks new after a year. Knew better than to argue that they¡¯d never be unfaithful to each other like my parents. I put my homework up and Sylvania was on the bed. With a kiss, I put her in her cat bed underneath and pulled the quilt down. Ran to my bike. Angel was still waiting. We rode off, fast. When I got home, the car was gone. Tuesday went too fast. Lots of homework. I got it all done at Angel''s, as usual. Tried again to help her with that algebra. She was inconsolable! We worried that someone brought a gun to our friend¡¯s school this morning down in Atlanta. Brian Black. We both miss him. What if they don¡¯t catch the next one? Belle Richardson¡¯s down there, too, and I¡¯m wondering, who moves mid-year? Tried to text her and her number¡¯s not good now. Brian moved last summer and we knew long before that. Belle worries me, too. They moved in November and I forgot to call her over the holidays. So little time. Strangers In My Neighborhood Like I usually did every morning, I roller bladed around my neighborhood. Mom and Dad are snoring in their bed. They¡¯d never be up before 9 or 10. Today I woke up at 4 am, wide awake. Decided to get in some extra exercise on my roller blades. Sylvania¡¯s in my backpack, purring. I feel it at my shoulder blades. I sewed in angle braces so I can¡¯t squash her if I fall. The padding Greg gave me is that stuff that absorbs impacts. Very expensive stuff! A science experiment from a study he authored, and they didn¡¯t need it afterwards. He¡¯s so kind, to save it for me! I had enough to do my helmet, Sylvania¡¯s backpack, and even my wrist and knee braces. Nobody¡¯s up this early, not at 4:15 am. Quiet, gradually curving street. Two-story houses with cold stone. Long driveways. Big, wasteful lots. That¡¯s my parents all over, but this house was Aunt Mabel¡¯s. All that money didn¡¯t last when she got cancer. Mom doesn¡¯t talk about that time in our lives. Or her sister, who was nice to me and helped her clean up after Mabel, but she had a fight with her and I never saw her again. Enjoyed the full moon in the dark sky. Won¡¯t be dawn until 7:41 am. Lots of trees in people¡¯s back yards. Ours is mud but the huge deck¡¯s nice. I like to do my homework out there but I can¡¯t stay warm. It¡¯s in the 30¡¯s now, but I won¡¯t get hot, at least. Got to the straight part of the street near the Bruce¡¯s. Pretended I was an ice skater and did a spin. Took off for a wide loop. Nothing in my way, so I sped up a little. Suddenly, a couple appeared in a flash of green light! I leaned back and did a T maneuver. ¡°Oh, hi!¡± Dumb, but he looked up and saw me coming, fast. The wheels screeched. Tried to swerve but the skates are wrecked! Skidded into the man. Whump! He didn''t budge a bit! At that speed, we should both be on the ground! ¡°Are you well?¡± I expected him to be mad. His arms went around me for a hug! The streetlight by their house snapped on. Sylvania¡¯s purring, loud! I looked up into totally orange eyes, a head taller than I. ¡°Depends on your definition of ¡®well¡¯. I hope I didn¡¯t bruise your arms. Have you got a fever?¡± His skin felt warm through my elbow pad and wrist braces! In this cold? Through our jackets! ¡°O, I am well, thank you. My doctor tells me it is not an illness. Some people have higher temperatures than others.¡± Not that high! I leaned forwards and he held me up. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not falling, I just have to lean forward a little so I don''t roll backwards.¡± I lowered my voice. ¡°I saw that light. You two just appeared in my neighborhood. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell anybody. We should move over to the sidewalk in case a car comes.¡± We walked, and my skates weren¡¯t rolling. He smiled. ¡°You are ne afraid?¡± His orange eyes opened wide. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to meet someone from another planet! Can I go with you? I¡¯m not very happy at home.¡± I sighed. Sat on the sidewalk. My wheels are melted. Oh, no! Dad¡¯ll kill me! ¡°How old are you, Child?¡± Those wide orange eyes¡ªlike a parrot¡ªseemed kind. She had blue, also wide. Wider than I could open ¡®em. He waved, and my roller blades repaired themselves. Better than¡ªstill pink but commuter skates! ¡°I¡¯m 12. When I¡¯m 13 next month I might be able to convince a judge¡ªbut I don¡¯t want to go into foster care. My parents are going to all these parties all of a sudden. They leave me at home. Dad gets mad at me if I have any friends outside the neighborhood. Toni and Mark said they¡¯d try to adopt me, but they¡¯re scared I would get put in foster care anyway, and I can¡¯t choose who to live with. Social workers can decide stuff, and nobody can do anything.¡± I pulled at a red ringlet. My curls bounced as I shook my head. That full moon above us in a clear sky. Appropriate. The crisp air burned as I breathed. Ms. Derick always checks in with me. Everything all right at home? Sure. School¡¯s fine. She worries that I¡¯m so skinny, and all the pressure of high school and college at the same time. Complains that my parents miss parent-teacher conferences and ignore her phone calls. The lady with him also had red hair, but deeper red than mine. ¡°Do you want to learn healing?¡± Such bright blue eyes, more intense than Toni or Angel¡¯s! ¡°Healing? I want to be a doctor. Mom got my high school to put me in an accelerated program, since I was taking college classes. I just started the FasTrack Program at Marietta High School last fall. It¡¯s a lot of work, but I don¡¯t mind. At 16 I¡¯ll have my high school diploma and a four-year college degree in pre-med. I just got an associate¡¯s degree that I started at 9 and I could work as a registered nurse if anyone would hire someone my age. ¡°Because of the COVID epidemic, I¡¯m staying at home. But, Dad and Mom go to so many parties because he¡¯s into real estate now, they bring everything home. We all had Alpha, then Omicron. I won¡¯t have any intelligence left¡ª¡± ¡°We can give you an aandat. You will get immunity and telepathy and be able to learn Zheien Healing.¡± Adia, the man''s wife, showed me with her mind. Had to slow it down twice! Wow! ¡°We need permission from your parents.¡± I looked down and poked at grass by the sidewalk with my skate. ¡°They¡¯ll never give me permission. Mom always bugs me to dress like she does, ¡®cause she¡¯s into fashion. But I guess if you gave me an aandat, I could make sure I never wear a tank top or short shorts and they wouldn¡¯t know. ¡°I want to dress like my friend Angel. I think she¡¯ll look like Sarah Brightman when she grows up, with that long, black hair and striking light blue eyes. You know, Sarah Brightman, who sang in Phantom of the Opera? ¡®Forget these wide-eyed fears,¡¯¡± I sang. ¡°I can¡¯t sing like her, but Angel can. She¡¯s been giving me singing lessons.¡± ¡°Many will enjoy your voice. Healers sing as they heal.¡± She took my hand, and showed me my future. The dark neighborhood faded to bright hallways at Marietta High. We got to the Nurse''s office and an elderly lady saw my look. Suddenly, it wasn''t so loud, and when she got her wrinkled hands on my head, it all stopped. My record floated by my head. ¡°Hello. Molly Brown. You just got your aandat yesterday! How is it you have telepathy so soon?¡± She smiled. I liked her, but never needed healing from her. ¡°This is your Golden Day. Sit here.¡± She hummed pleasantly. Her eyes turned very light blue when I relaxed. Like a grandmother. I never knew mine, so I adopted everyone else''s in whatever neighborhood we lived in. She¡¯s sweet. Her tag said Healer Sunasch. Most Elshars are mean but they have rough lives¡ª ¡°Okay. This is the Outer Circle. Now you get to know what all that Telepathy Training means, that you''ve had for two years in homeroom.¡± I felt her mental hands around my head. It was easy to find! She barely touched a stray thought. I wish she was my grandmother. ¡°That is your Inner Circle, and I won''t do that again, but you needed to learn. Thanks! I wish I had grandchildren like you two!¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I giggled. ¡°You can adopt us!¡± Angel giggled, too. ¡°I''d like that! I miss my granny. She died when I was only 6. I never knew Dad''s mom. He talks about her a lot.¡± She led me into a white place and pulled Angel in there, too. Think about your Granny. You can make an Outer Circle look like any place! Angel remembered her farm. They had a cow and a huge garden. Granny took her hand. ¡°Here''s a carrot plant. The carrot''s underground. Don''t grab the green stuff, Dear, or the carrot can''t grow!¡± She giggled. My hands were little. I smiled and looked at them. Touched a frizzy green frond. Giggled more. ¡°Okay, Granny. I''ll touch gently.¡± As we enjoyed Angel''s memory of the farm, Healer Sunasch guided me to use my telepathy to keep the images formed in my Outer Circle and bring them in. She made it easy. I enjoyed that, but I thought about Ron convulsing on that table. Healer Sunasch gasped! So did Angel. I''m sorry! Where was that? I let her see Dr. Schmidt talking about our students¡ªformer slaves--and us taking them home. Hours of physical therapy with them. All six needed a lot of healing at Grady Hospital. Mom refused to go with ''em so I went. Ron needed terminals removed, and it was awful! Dr. Schmidt taught me how to be a healer! So, you want to be a healer? Let''s get started! Something just happened in the gym! She took my hand and we ran down the hall! Everyone stared at us. We ran in, Healer Sunasch with her white robes flared, and a girl I knew on the floor holding her ankle. Auel Petty. She liked to make fun of me. Oh, no! Years of torture¡ª She dragged my hands on Auel''s forehead. What''s she doing? I don''t want her here! Auel, Molly just got telepathy. I''m teaching her. Let her listen while I see your points, okay? I don''t want her in my head! You do it! Let her or I''ll tell your father what you did with Danny. I saw where she touched him to embarrass him but I didn''t laugh. He goes to Angel¡¯s Church. Sunasch helped me concentrate on not listening. Filled my head with Zheien Points. I already knew them, which shocked her. The girl''s Points Three were red, and I felt that pain in her ankle. Imagine cool breezes to make the red blue. Hum, or sing something. I thought about that dumb RelieveAll commercial. It had a goofy looking duck, a horse, and a donkey that stepped on this man''s foot. They danced around him singing. When you have an oops And the commotion brings the goose [I''m not a goose, the duck complains] Take a little RelieveAll Duck: And rub it on the wall The wall? No, silly duck! You''re running amuck! You put it where you hurt it! You put it where you hurt it! The wall doesn''t feel But it does where ya kneel So put it on your heel and RelieveAll! I felt dumb singing in front of the entire PE class, but I did. It amazed me how the pain eased right up! I felt bones creak in her foot as if it were mine! Sunasch finished up and I stopped singing. ¡°Wow, Molly, thanks! I''ll never say an unkind thing to you ever again!¡± I laughed. ¡°Healer Sunasch did it!¡± She didn''t. ¡°I thought I was going to have to call Grady and bring a Master Healer! I need to teach you fast. The first day is always the best for anyone learning telepathy. You can increase your telepathy many fold just by learning enough skills, that first day. It''s never the same after it. Kell! C''mere!¡± That red-haired basketball star limped over. He''d been our star player, but recently had surgery and they told him he''d never play again. ¡°Yes, Healer Sunasch?¡± ¡°I want to look at you. Molly''s got a skill I haven''t seen before. Sit here by Auel.¡± More people noticed that something was happening and crowded around us. Sunasch put my hands on his forehead and I spread my fingers out to Points One. His knee hurt bad, and other injuries throbbed. He was cold. He felt like an old man! How awful! His Points Three were so full of red I hardly saw anything. Sunasch coached me through all of his points, then a second time. A third time, like I''d seen Tonan do. He''s our students'' healer from Thorde and taught me a lot. Sing, Molly. This is just like Auel''s ankle. I sang the same thing. Bone creaked in his knee. I broke out in a cold sweat. It hurt. His shoulder quit hurting. His left elbow. Both his ankles! I wanted to do more but it all stopped and Sunasch pulled my hands off him. ¡°I just wanted you to heal his knee, Dear! You can''t heal old¡ª¡± Kell bent and unbent his knee. ¡°Awesome! Hey, my shoulder doesn''t¡ª¡± In awe, he got up fast and moved his legs. Held up his hands and someone threw a basketball to him. He ran around the court dribbling. Everyone cheered! Healer Sunasch stared at me. ¡°I can''t teach you anything else or you''ll hurt yourself! Go home now. Angel, go with her. Don''t let her heal anybody, not even a cut, until she''s had some sleep! You, Girl, are going to be a great healer! I can teach you a lot, but no more today. Kell! Go up to my office. You need to nap if you want to stay healed.¡± He started to argue, but Coach ran to him and dragged him away. They¡¯ll have to call his parents, after that kind of healing! He¡¯ll sleep all night. I rubbed an eye. ¡°But you said I had to learn as much as I can today! Can''t I learn stuff and not heal people?¡± She laughed. ¡°You only have your Golden Day until you use it up. Don''t worry, you can still learn, but not as fast. You don''t want to hurt that skill. An Earthan can lose her telepathy by overusing it, without pain. We did enough. Be happy! Look at Kell. You did that! Grady''s healers told him he''d never be able to play again.¡± I felt awe that I did that! But, it was her skill, not mine. I heard someone singing. Oh, Adia has the Diplomatic Link, and she brought Pas, a healer, to sing healing on me. Sharing those memories¡ªshe thought she hurt me¡ªbut I''m okay. Wow! Memories kept coming. In them, I left Earth on a slaver ship and bought all of them! Started a healer colony! I smiled. ¡°I still sound like a little kid singing. People think I¡¯m like, eight until they hear me yak, ¡®cause I¡¯m so short. My parents will get home late tonight. I never know when. But, I could introduce you to Angel¡¯s parents. Mark and Toni are great people. Will¡ª¡± Adia hugged me. Wept. I rubbed the back of her head and she stopped crying. Ryee shook his head. ¡°By Alliance or Unified rules, we must have her parents¡¯ permission. Even though Earth is neither, we are bound by them.¡± Courtship Petition ¡°My parents will never give permission! You saw all my memories, too, didn¡¯t you?¡± Tears burned behind my eyes. Adia shook her head. ¡°I would not invade your privacy so!¡± ¡°But, I want you to see! That¡¯s not invasion of privacy because I¡¯m asking for help.¡± Ryee smiled. ¡°If I put my hands on your head, you may think of whatever you wish us to see, and I can share these memories. In this way we collect telepathic evidence for TS Inspectors, to keep our trade honest.¡± I already knew. He''s Zheien. They are all honest and never break laws. Memories kept coming. Mom throws away my stuff, things she knows I want bad, to hurt me. Criticizes me constantly. Dad doesn''t try very hard to get her to stop. My best friend Angel keeps whatever she wants in her room, and her parents do not mind if she has stuff in other rooms. They display her school projects everywhere. My mom ruins them or they vanish. I thought about that gallon of milk. It was yellow, so I know she left it out all night. Ryee brought up a telepathic display. Mom''s pouring that spoiled milk all over my bed, right now! I smelled that milk and felt sick, but he ran a prog to port all my stuff to a cube. He left duplicates so she won''t know. I felt a little better. He didn''t show Adia, but he''ll tell her later. She gets upset. Then he brought a lawyer for me! The green glow didn''t startle me at all. I kept remembering things from that other future. This fella had blonde hair and blue eyes. Smiled. He offered his hand and I shook it. ¡°Hallo, I am Tan Links. I saw all your memories, and I have been studying Earthan laws of the United States, Georgia and all counties of metro Atlanta. You still have a bank account from your summer job last summer with most of your earnings. You are in a very accelerated school program with college credits and high grades. Our problem is your young age. Georgia stipulates that a minor must be 16 to be emancipated. ¡°Your father worries that you will become pregnant, being around older boys. What if we used his fear to our advantage? You will marry Binneas. If they offered for you to live with them, that fear might sway them. Your parents might agree to your marriage, and we must ask a juvenile court judge to allow it. Then you will be an emancipated minor, with most rights of a US Citizen of legal age. Mississippi needs a form signed by a parent, in the presence of a notary.¡± He paused to let me think about that. How I¡¯d get either of them to go that far-- My stomach hurt. ¡°Oh, I dread what my father will say! If he saw me with Greg Wenh Cet, my neighbor, he would be accusing him of things. He teaches chemistry at GSU and helps me with my college chemistry homework. Lets me take his lab and do marathon sessions on teacher workdays. He comes to the Bruces often, they¡¯re right there, and I ask him things then.¡± With a smile I pointed behind them. Deb¡¯s car is in the driveway. She finishing up grad school this year and still lives at home. The front door opened. Mrs. Bruce walked to the mailbox. She didn¡¯t notice us. ¡°But, I could get on with my life. That might work. Mom would never get over the shame of it and she might agree. Do you think Binneas would want to pose as my naughty ¡®boyfriend¡¯? Especially if he were rich. All Mom thinks about is the next expensive item she wants. Oh, my.¡± I smiled bigger. ¡°Let us ask him.¡± Ryee looked towards the end of the sidewalk and he ported to us. He bowed to me. Oh, my, he''s handsome. Blonde curls, yellow-green eyes, friendly smile. A head taller than me and a good bit wider, but not a bit overweight. Muscular, but most Zheien are. ¡°I shall be happy to pose as your ¡®naughty¡¯ boyfriend!¡± Stolen novel; please report. We both giggled. ¡°You¡¯re going to be my husband IRL! Now that I know Zheien don¡¯t get naughty, I¡¯ll let you be romantic.¡± His happiness tingled on us and we laughed harder! ¡°This pleases you that I am nae naughty, then?¡± ¡°Very much! I don¡¯t approve of what my parents do. I stay embarrassed. I love Angel¡¯s religion and the Zheien Religion is very much like it because you have temples to get married forever!¡± Mia taught me about it for months in that other future, and I wasn¡¯t listening. I am, now! I know what I finally decided about it, at 30. Binneas gracefully dropped to one knee. Took my right hand. Oh, my heart pounded! I felt all that love for him that I had when I married him! But, his hand¡¯s cold. ¡°Molly Bradford Brown, Student of Earth, I love you already! I, Binneas, Diplomat of Fhiah, wish to ask you to join with me in this Petition of Courtship, a time of hardship and delight, to test our love. By the Ancient Protocols of Fhiah and Zhea~, Will you agree to court me, Molly?¡± ¡°Yes! I, Molly Bradford Brown, Student of Earth, do wish to court you, Binneas, Diplomat of Fhiah, by the Ancient Protocols of Fhiah and Zhea~! I am very happy today, my love!¡± I looked away and my face burned. Held his hand very lightly as Mia, a master healer, coached me in those memories. Why was I so stupid then? Romance isn''t bad, just because my parents don''t stay faithful. Zheien don¡¯t have sex. They don¡¯t even take their clothes off. Ever. Binneas let go of my hand. Ryee steadied him. If he gets sick, he''ll have to marry me or he''ll die! ¡°Ben, you okay?¡± I smelled a bit of licorice in the breeze. Zheien sweat smells like that! ¡°O, I am happiness! I am much more than okay!¡± I worried. His orange skin was white as mine, without the freckles. Ryee didn¡¯t smile. He waved and I wore an engagement ring, a diamond in the center with a rainbow of stones around it! Oh, it sparkled! The metal was Tessite, like gold but it makes you feel strong! I had a matching necklace and felt earrings. I¡¯d never been one for fashion but I felt like a princess, and this dainty ring is just perfect! I smiled bigger than ever! ¡°I am, too! I never knew falling in love could be so much fun! Ben, I love the jewelry! I¡¯ll think about Rainbow and us every time I see it!¡± He smiled, big. From across the street, quick footsteps startled us. Greg Wenh Cet and Deb smiled at me. My good neighbors. Deb spoke first. ¡°Molly! You have a boyfriend?¡± She always looks elegant, but today, it¡¯s her green Grady scrubs. Her blond waves were short and framed her round face. Always trying to diet. Why are they up so early? Her mother looked this way, and stuffed a bunch of mail in her coat pocket. Greg had a sweater vest in off-white with a tan blazer and navy trousers and belt. Matching navy loafers, too? He could do a Gap ad. Same color hair, same length as hers. But, he¡¯s very thin, like his bro. Ryee pulled Ben to his feet and sent discreet healing. I could tell because his orange color came back a little. I giggled. ¡°I¡¯m in love! Y¡¯all, this is Ben Nias.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Greg Wenh Cet and this is Deborah Bruce. I am just visiting, but her parents and her live behind us. They will be happy for you also, Molly!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going to make us happy? Did you propose, Greg?¡± Deb¡¯s mother ran up. Mrs. Bruce is dressed for work in her mid navy skirt and blazer with a white button shirt. No jewelry but her silver and diamond wedding ring. Now Deb has an engagement ring, in pink gold? Didn¡¯t know they made pink! She looks so happy! Do I look radiant, like that? She¡¯s in her pea green Grady scrubs. He paled. ¡°I did. We are engaged. Tonight we shall celebrate with dinner at Papa¡¯s.¡± Inside, I jumped for joy! He listened to me! They''ve been dating for five long years. Deb and Greg Deb hugged him. ¡°Mom, Molly¡¯s got a fella!¡± Then, she startled. Her hug nearly pulled Greg off his feet. She usually doesn¡¯t hug him, he¡¯s so formal, but he smiled, big! Mrs. Bruce frowned at me. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little young for that?¡± I can''t tell her that I married him at 16. Stay cool. I smiled. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m a little young to be taking college classes, have my RN and work experience, and go to high school, but hey, Ben is already a diplomat. He¡¯s very smart and he¡¯s only 15, which is a little young to be a diplomat, right?¡± He went to Sigan Mas at 14 with his best friend, Eap. He¡¯s First Prince, and all of them go to school early and finish four years in one year. How do I know he¡¯s a full diplomat and not an aide? He¡¯s wearing his Challenge Pin. Only diplomats have those. It sparkled like a little blue sun! He¡¯s got a lot of pins, to be so young! Every one is earned, and a symbol of an accomplishment. Ben noticed me looking, and oranged. Zheien are modest to a fault. Deb is an RN in a BSN/MSN program about to finish, and works in Obstetrics at Grady Hospital. Mrs. Bruce nodded. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. I forget you¡¯re twelve because you sound grown.¡± Her hair''s still brown but getting some silver. I convinced her to let it show. Mom''s hair is ruined because of all the dye and perms. She''s old-fashioned, Ben, I thought loudly. He bowed to her with one leg behind and that impressed her. ¡°My father is also a diplomat, and my mother. They taught me, and I attended college abroad to learn Diplomatics and many languages. We represent the Colony of Fhiah. Not many diplomats earn this title at my age. Most are 20 at home, but there, legal age is 16, which I shall be in April on the 12th. Now Molly and I opened a formal Courtship.¡° I heard the triple beats of his heart and hoped Deb and her mom didn¡¯t! ¡°Wow! You sure can pick ¡®em, Molly! Classy dresser, too.¡± She looked over the blue pinstripe suit with vest that he wore, and his sash with many pins laid neatly over it. So handsome! Blond curls and greenish-yellow eyes, but to her, they looked green because of his telepathy. Earthans don¡¯t have neon green eyes! ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Bruce. You are too kind.¡± I smiled. ¡°I will be 13 on Feb 22nd.¡± Binneas looked at Ryee. King Ryonne~, do you think King Theaspaura would allow us? His color paled. I kept smelling licorice, which worried me. I speak with him. Ea, he will. He worries for your health, Binneas. Any king in Zheiea would allow it. But, I think Ry''nao wishes to avoid controversy during discussions in the UN about the Alliance Treaty. Molly, you are welcome to join us on our ship while we negotiate with your parents and Earth officials. ¡°The Pedersens offered to let me move in with them. They became foster parents with State Of Georgia, when Mr. Pedersen finishes their basement. But, their supervisor warned ''em that my social worker might not choose them because they live near here. My mom and Toni don''t get along. She''s always bugging Toni about buying one of her houses, or getting her friends to buy one, or giving her lists of her friends'' phone numbers. Like she does me!¡± Tan nodded. ¡°If Molly no longer lives at home, this strengthens our case. Mrs. and Miss Bruce, I am Molly''s lawyer.¡± He explained what he knew of how Fern Brown treated her. The Bruces added a lot more. Mrs. Bruce frowned. ¡°I often let Molly stay at our house while she waits for her parents to come home. She does all her homework, then reads ahead in all her subjects! ¡°When Greg comes over, she''s asking him questions about biochemistry. He told me his graduate students don''t ask him as many questions as she does! When her teachers have a workday, she goes to work with him and he shows her his research and how to do lab work. He says she''s good!¡± Greg laughed. ¡°If I had a part-time position open and I could get her father''s permission, I would hire her!¡± He lost the smile. ¡°But, I think he would accuse me of impropriety.¡± Mrs. Bruce looked angry. ¡°I''d give him a piece of my mind! He absolutely grills Molly about what she does at school around boys. I take her shopping for modest clothes, which she likes. I''ve never seen her even look at the kind of things her mother wears. Most girls her age just look at what''s fashionable and don''t think about the attention that gets them. Or, they want it. Not Molly! She''ll ask me to let''s go to another store if she can''t find anything modest enough. ¡°She looks at the price tag, then tries to find something cheaper, even though I tell her not to worry about that. Nathan makes good money, and he wants me to do it. Her mother brings her clothes she won''t wear. Throws out all the stuff I buy her. I just take her shopping more. ¡°So does Toni. The Pedersens have a lot more flak from Fern because they''re Mormon and she thinks their religion is evil. I''ve tried to explain to her that the Mormons on TV still think it''s 1898. Toni''s church gave up polygamy when Utah became a state. They only had it because women didn''t have rights to own property! The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I love the way Toni''s daughter Angel dresses, and she''s larger than Molly. When she outgrows something, she gives it to Molly. Like those straight-leg jeans and Save The Planet T-shirt. That shade of yellow just sets off your red hair, Molly.¡± ¡°Thanks, Mrs. Bruce! I love these planet earrings you gave me.¡± I put my finger behind the right one. So cool! She laughed. ¡°Those were my sister''s, from the first Earth Day. I''ll have to look and see if I have any more.¡± ¡°Your sister''s? But those are heirlooms!¡± I didn''t know. Wow. Her younger sister died at 15. ¡°Oh, Honey, I have a lot of my sister''s things I treasure more. But my favorite is her old photo albums. Those are worth more to me than diamonds.¡± ¡°I really enjoyed you sharing your sister with me. I wish I could have met her.¡± I sighed, and thought of my father''s mother, who sang like an angel. Deb¡¯s mother and grandmother sing like that. Deb¡¯s parents and her parents are all people I¡¯d love to have in my family. Dad''s parents were loving people, like Deb¡¯s parents, not like Mom''s family. Poor thing, being raised by them. I squeezed Ben''s hand. ¡°We¡¯re going to tell my parents about our courtship soon.¡± I trembled and he put his arm around me. His hand¡¯s freezing! I kneaded it. ¡°I will help you all that I can, Love.¡± ¡°Thanks, Ben!¡± ¡°Oh, I shouldn¡¯t be so rude! I¡¯m Esther Bruce. Are you Ben¡¯s mother?¡± She took Adia''s hand. Suddenly, everything that happened in that other future showed to Mrs. Bruce, Deb, and Greg. Deb cried because her father had a heart attack and died. Briahh, Greg¡¯s brother died and Greg nearly died of grief. They¡¯re aliens, too! Suddenly, I realized I knew things about Greg and his brother, Briahh, too. Greg helped my miracle healer, Pirad, in my healer colony. My healer colony? Memories kept coming. That''s what Adia meant, about many people enjoying my voice. I''m gonna be queen of it! And, heal a lot of former slaves! Greg needed a lot of healing from me¡ª Deb¡¯s mother got cancer shortly afterwards. Deb¡¯s grief over her mother¡¯s death was terrible to watch. She and Greg bought a house not far from here. But I went to visit and it was for sale! Greg brought his family and they tried to change him back to Ty¡¯nirrhan but it was too late. They also changed Deb¡¯s genetics to try to make her Ty¡¯nirrhan. She became a slaver healer until they were left to die. I found this out long after I founded Rainbow. Unaltered Ty¡¯nirrhans can put out complicated scents and change their skin color. Their faces are blurred because they constantly change, it¡¯s part of their language and the mindlink they all share. The other altered Ty¡¯nirrhans came to find anyone left behind and took Greg and Deb to live on their colony, on Mars. The colony had to flee slavers and came to Ryee''s planet, but many committed suicide when they found out this new home was mostly desert and feared slow death from thirst! Greg was very disabled intellectually from what his parents did to him. All of the altered Ty¡¯nirrhans used a process that¡¯s meant to be for a few weeks. They¡¯ve all been on Earth since the 40¡¯s! Their father¡¯s a slaver. Did he have plans to take slaves from here? The device they use to send information fakes a radio signal and using it gives them cancer. Greg¡¯s father left them all here to die, but decided some of them might be useful as slaves, to experiment on any Earthans who came with them. I shuddered. Greg¡¯s brother-in-law in Scotland died from that. Deb survived and became half-Ty¡¯nirrhan. Deb¡¯s mother fainted, but we caught her! Greg needed healing from Ryee because reminders of his former life injured him. Deb backed away. ¡°Who are you people? What did you do to my mom?¡± Ben hummed and she revived. Startled. ¡°I ne wish to frighten you! Adia sees futures. When memories come, they are unstoppable.¡± Ryee sat on the sidewalk and held Greg on his lap. Hummed. ¡°O, I am very sorry, my friend! Ne think, but rest.¡± Poor Adia looked so dismayed! He cried loudly. ¡°I love Deb, but she will not marry me, now!¡± When Deb saw her mother stand up, she came back and took Greg¡¯s hand. Maybe she saw more memories, afterwards, like I did. ¡°Oh, Greg, I¡¯m sorry. I do want to marry you, but we don¡¯t have to go there, do we?¡± He looked down. ¡°Briahh always said we cannot! But Earth is not safe for us. He is dying, and I work to find a solution¡ª¡± ¡°Dying? Are you sick, too?¡± She hugged him. So did her mother! ¡°We have a Bisillipian healer, Pirad, who knows Ty¡¯nirrhan healing. He thinks he can cure your brother, and you also. Wish you to see him?¡± Ryee hugged him. ¡°Yes! I must go to Briahh.¡± Greg was still pale. His hand shook. ¡°I want to go, too!¡± I stood, and my skates rolled me forward. Ryee looked around. ¡°We may port to our ship, if you are not frightened. There is green light, then we stand there.¡± He stood with Greg in his arms. Greg kept a hand on his forehead. Ryee kept humming. ¡°Sounds like fun!¡± I looked up at the full moon and said a quick prayer of thanks. I''ll marry Ben and go to Rainbow! Not many stars in the city. I did see Orion. We all nodded, and we ported. The whoosh startled me even though I was ready for it, and Ben¡¯s hand went even colder! I rubbed the back of his head and it was cold, too! Like we stepped into warm bath water, then a cool breeze blew on us. Ben shivered. Now we stood in Pirad¡¯s green lab, much as it was in Rainbow. Their Ship We stepped into a green room with tables of cylinders and thin beds at waist high. Through the clear wall was a crowd of people. Twin-fingered Zheien in a rainbow of colors of skin. Purple Thordes with hands like ours. Elshars¡ªmost look like us but their eyes lighten when they¡¯re happy and darken when they¡¯re not. Pirad has five-fingered hands, but he¡¯s got dark green skin and shoulders half the width of an average man. I didn¡¯t smell anything but an occasional whiff of licorice from Ben. This lab looked bigger than the rest of the ship and had a high ceiling. When they saw Pirad, Deb and her mother froze. He clicked his jointed face into an expression of dismay. ¡°I do not wish to frighten them! Why did you not warn them?¡± Pirad, and all Bisillips, are green and thin enough to be skeletal. Little green men. I stifled a giggle. But he¡¯s taller than me. I¡¯m really short at 4¡¯1¡±. Ryee carried Greg to the soft bed at the side of the lab. ¡°I fear for Greg! Please, Pirad, see him quickly.¡± Shelves in the wall held a lot of cylinders of various colors. I knew he kept memories of people who had great skills, to make clones of ¡®em. Pirad laid his five-fingered hand on Greg¡¯s forehead. For every joint I have, he has twice as many. Greg¡¯s shoulders went down. ¡°Oh, you are in poor condition! Your father is cruel. Did he send a Thum Mayyahh with you to heal you?¡± ¡°We had one at home. Briahh complained that if he could take me to it, I would have less pains. Father and Mother forbade it.¡± Greg blinked. ¡°He is a slaver, so I am not surprised! I have memories, so I can heal you without one.¡± White light flashed. Greg smiled. ¡°I feel better, thank you. Can you heal my brother?¡± ¡°If he is not frightened to come here.¡± Greg chuckled. ¡°I think he is eager to feel better!¡± He reached for Ryee¡¯s hand and missed. ¡°I will carry you, my friend.¡± As he picked Greg up, Pas, a grandfatherly healer, had an aandat ready for me. I stuck out my ankle. He waved up another white one and poured it on Greg¡¯s ankles. Ryee frowned at him, but Pas smiled. Good. White gel flowed up my jeans legs. Warm. Not as heavy as I expected. A bulge moved up and looked really weird, like a slow-mo wave. Sylvania mewed and Ryee startled. Smiled, big. ¡°Is that a cat?¡± His orange eyes opened wide. I unzipped her case and she jumped into his arms, on Greg¡¯s lap! ¡°This is Sylvania. She¡¯s my therapy animal.¡± I pictured yesterday at the nursing home and how people loved petting and holding her. ¡°O, I enjoyed cats so much, on Earth!¡± Ryee giggled. Greg laughed and petted her, too. ¡°May Pas take her to many, here?¡± ¡°I want to leave her here! Mom threatens to put her outside. She¡¯s Deaf. She¡¯d get killed out there!¡± He showed me a prog to keep her in the ship, but she can roam freely. Pas can heal her deafness and give her an aandat. A Deaf person would probably not want her healed, but I did. Pas put a tiny white aandat on her and hummed. Then took her out into the big room, with a smile. All the Zheien and purple Thordes rushed to see her. Sylvania butted every hand that reached for that soft, white fur. She¡¯s in her element, now! And, I won¡¯t have to get those vaccinations or give the poor thing insulin shots any more. Her ears pricked in every direction! She¡¯s almost a year old, so still about half the size of a grown cat. We ported. I knew Pas would let me have an aandat! And, white is better than the blue one I had. My telepathy will be stronger! I didn¡¯t feel it now. In a hall of doors, Greg pointed to the one marked 911. ¡°Molly thinks our number is very funny! When someone needs help, he uses this number on his phone.¡± Greg used a door knocker three times. I giggled. Then toned it down. People are still asleep. No one in the hall right now. Smells from someone¡¯s breakfast. Briahh opened the door. He wore white. ¡°Greg, why is he carrying you? Are you sick?¡± He took his hand. ¡°I saw the memories. I am ready.¡± I hugged him. Ryee waved at the door. It closed and locked. Then, we ported back to Pirad¡¯s Lab. I smiled at Pirad. He clicked his jointed face into a smile. ¡°You are young.¡± I took his hand and ignored the cold. Smiled. ¡°I am young, but I want to learn healing. Molly Brown, pleased to meet you. Wow, you¡¯re cold! Are you okay?¡± Oh, I knew that. He''s Bisillipian. I felt naked without my telepathy! ¡°I am healthy. If I were warm, I would not be. You may come. My lab is here.¡± He led us from the big room in the giant ship, filled with people, to the right. His portal showed a scene of a world with green mountains, a lighter green sky, and deep green cube buildings in neat rows on a plaza with tile that reflected that green sky and fluffy clouds. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s pretty!¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He walked into it. The others put out a hand, then slipped in. Warmth, then cool but not as intense as the portal that brought us. Pirad followed us all to the bed. Pas brought an aandat for Briahh and he bared his ankles. His white pants were loose and had embroidery in white of a rocky landscape. Deb followed and held Greg¡¯s hand. ¡°How are you, Bro? Greg, are you okay? You look pale!¡± Pirad healed Briahh while Greg answered. ¡°I am okay. Tired, but healing does that. We will need to sleep. I have to call Jesse, my GTA. Hope he¡¯s able to teach my classes today!¡± ¡°I can move the contents of your apartment here, or leave them, as you wish. We fear for you to stay on Earth. Soon, Earth knows of us and we shall offer membership in the Alliance. Slavers will also be active here, despite all we can do.¡± Ryee frowned. Greg trembled. His green eyes opened very wide. I never saw him scared. ¡°Where can we go? Will Deb and her family have dangers because of us?¡± ¡°I am King of Ye~, a small Zheien colony of 2500. We are growing because we terraformed our world to be less harsh. You and your people are welcome to come to us. Our world is now in the Alb System, and the Biehshah have the best security in the Alliance. Only S¡¯ai have better, and they assisted the Biehshah.¡° They moved Ye~ from the Seventh Galaxy? ¡°But, Molly¡¯s healer colonies will be on 25 worlds and more to come in the same system, Alb. Pirad¡¯s Lab will be on Alb Seer but he will have labs on all the worlds. Will you join us? You may live on any of the worlds near us and port to others freely within four minutes.¡± That''s like Biehshah was, in the other future, but I never ported there. People had to take a ship. They have better tech, now? He looked at Briahh, who nodded. ¡°I am surprised you would welcome us, sons of the most powerful slaver on the Council! All of those in Ry Pethe are related to our father. Our sister is in Scotland.¡± He named many others. Ryee took their hands. ¡°I can provide colony space for Ry Pethe, or whichever name your colony wishes. We will protect all of your people!¡± ¡°Greg, can we stay here? And go to Ye~ when they leave?¡± ¡°Deb, I must know how you feel about this, before I agree.¡± His green eyes filled. She hugged him. ¡°Greg, I want to get married! I¡¯ll go where you go. Mom, do you think you and Dad might want to come?¡± ¡°I want to know what it¡¯s like there before I decide! All of this is too much for me! Can we talk about it--your father¡¯s still asleep!¡± Pas rubbed Greg¡¯s head. ¡°My son, if you rest well, you will feel well to speak. I wish to go with you because you shall need frequent healing for this discussion.¡± Pirad held green cylinders to their heads. ¡°These will store your memories. I can put them in clones so they may share them with you at times. You must both avoid thoughts that bring pain until I have a solution.¡± ¡°That thing¡¯s hurting him!¡± Deb paled as she noticed huge bruises on their foreheads under the green. I remembered this from when Pirad recloned people. He recloned me. More memories came to me! ¡°I am now finished. Ty¡¯nirrhans share more quickly than Zheien and other species.¡± He took the cylinders away and Pas healed them both. Greg¡¯s clones and Briahh¡¯s clones¡ªfive of each¡ªgot up and smiled! Two of them came. ¡°I will go to work for you today, Greg. You can rest.¡± ¡°I will apply for Briahh¡¯s job. Then I will go see Roger. I will have all day to hunt for our people!¡± Greg and Briahh held Ryee¡¯s hands, and their clones¡¯ gently. Briahh frowned. ¡°We have no trade¡ªhow can we repay you for the aandats? And clones are expensive! I should have¡ª¡± His brown eyes filled as he tried to say something, but no words came. ¡°This is our gift to you! Both of you gave knowledge to us that will help to defeat slavers!¡± They smiled and relaxed. Because they were not afraid, Deb and her mother also took aandats. Thank goodness! Deb smoothed his short, blond hair. ¡°Thank you, Pas. Deb, may I rest?¡± She laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t ask, just close your eyes. I can stand it if you sleep for a few hours. You mind if Mom and I go talk about this for a while? At 5:30, Daddy¡¯s alarm¡¯ll go off. If we port now, we can be there when he wakes up.¡± Mrs. Bruce smiled and nodded. ¡°I have Briahh, and Zheien are nice.¡± He smiled, hugged his brother, and fell asleep. Briahh smiled, too. Ryee gave her and her mother a green terminal. ¡°You may port wherever you like, but you risk others seeing it. If you take a diplomat with you, they can listen for others before you port. Ah, South is free. She is a diplomat of Thorde.¡± She ported to them. At first, she appeared Black with dark brown skin. But, I remembered her. Thordes have purple skin. Like them, she hid her true appearance. Zheien have graceful twin fingers and their feet look like their hands. ¡°I have a lot of questions for you two! Shall we go?¡± Deb and Mrs. Bruce nodded, and they ported home. Whoosh! Ryee sent diplomats to the other Ty¡¯nirrhans. I hoped Pirad could heal their crazy sister! Ryee hugged me. Gave me a green cube terminal, a Yeff Unified one. ¡°This is for you. Know you we can trace DNA? Here are your missings.¡± He waved, and holos of items with my DNA ported to me from landfills. All my items also ported to me, and holos replaced them at home. One item, a brown teddy bear, made me gasp! All items came cleaned because of progs to restore them and remove any microbes, stains or chemicals. I hugged the bear and cried. ¡°Grampa gave me this bear on my 5th birthday. He died a couple days later. Dad saw it and got teary. Mom got mad at him for crying and threw him in the garbage! I''m so happy to have him back! Grampa was Dad''s father and he was good to us. I think she was jealous because her dad was so mean to her. He broke her arm once for making a B in algebra. Maybe I ought to be nicer to my mom.¡± I waved everything back into my cube. Things¡¯ll be so much easier now! Zheien always forgive. Cevit Ion I had a million questions, but I waited. When I have telepathy, then I''ll ask stuff. At least, if I ask Ryee a buncha stuff, Adia might get upset, and I don''t want to do that. They share a strong mind link. She''s Zheien, but she wasn''t born that way, so maybe that''s why. She was Areonian when she came to Earth in that other future. Then, I saw Cevit Ion! ¡°Cev! Can I talk to you?¡± He looked at me, and his eyes went dark. Uh oh. He''s Elshar Zheien and their eyes change like an Elshar''s does. Lemon yellow skin. ¡°Eae, I have time. What troubles you?¡± ¡°Can we go someplace with merite?¡± He paled! ¡°How know you of this? Are you nae Earthan?¡± I bowed low, but he stopped me. ¡°My Emperor, I should use more respectful speech. Eae oa ya oeo¡ª¡± He pulled me against him. ¡°Young one, I am nae Emperor, but Seventh Galaxy Minister.¡± ¡°So, ''Ao¡ªI mean, Ry''nao¡ªhe''s okay? He''s still Emperor?¡± I smiled, big. In that other future he got hurt, when all the Yeff went to slavery! I shield our thoughts, Maiden. Let us go to a chamber. Thanks! I went with him to a room with his portrait on it. Behind him, a crowd with no details walked on yellow sand under a yellow sky with white, fluffy clouds. Oh, because of his position. If his men don''t know which prov he''s in, they can''t reveal it if they get tortured. The room had a nine-posted bed in orange-yellow. We sat on it. That''s Wen''s family color. King Challet''s. I felt sad as I put a hand on the soft bed, thinking of the Elshar Zheien and how so few of ''em survived¡ª How know you of Adia''s prophecies? My people are all safe, because we had warning of Prov Nine''s attack! My people now have a world in the Alb System, and tech of the Biehshah protects us. Is King Challet okay? I trembled. He is well! How know you of my people? Adia showed me my future. I tried to show him, but I don''t have telepathy. He saw it anyway. Paled more. I touched his forehead and tried to heal him. Dumb! Nae ever try to heal me, Maiden! I can nae explain¡ª Oh, because you have the Diplomatic Link, and greater capacity to hold links than most diplomats. You know of this? He paled even more! I have it¡ªor I think I will when I have telepathy, won''t I? Uh, will I not? I apologize for my rudeness! Are you a Councillor? I laughed. No! I am just a 12 year old Earthan who learned a lot in that other future! I do know that Rainbow will have a Councillor and Gifts, and Pirad will come to help us, well, he¡¯s here, and it will do miracles. Pirad will help me heal a lot of your diplomats. I thought of a lot of ''em, and Cevit Ion listened. But, I thought of all the subcolonies of Rainbow and gave him permission to read it all. I cried when I got to MarKu¡ª Goe is here! Nat and Indoe also! The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I sobbed. Oh, I¡¯m so glad! He showed me how they were working on the Alliance Treaty with Earth. I thought of some things I did in Rainbow that I wished had been in Earth¡¯s first treaty, and he listened! MarKu is safe, because Adia warned us. You also see futures? ¡°I just saw what she showed me. Gosh, I was worried about all of you fellas! Cev, didja find Anne?¡± He paled. ¡°We hope to save her family!¡± But, I thought of Sara Ionic, who saved him in that other future¡ªoh, she married his clone, after he got disabled by Heden. Sara lives here in Atlanta¡ªmy terminal found her! Cev watched the memories, fascinated. ¡°And did Adia get hurt when she fought Eriganh? Why she''s sick?¡± I trembled. Cev picked me up. ¡°We must nae speak of this, Molly. Eriganh seeks us. Adia has unwells because she sees futures. Are you unwell, because you showed me Sara?¡± He stroked my arms and his relief tingled on me, that I didn¡¯t sweat yellow sparkles like Adia. I started to get too hot and felt a cool containment around me. ¡°Pas can nae help her in this, but Pirad gave her strengths, and Ryee also. Have you unwell, because you saw these memories?¡± ¡°No. I''m just scared because I have to back to my parents'' house, and I wanna leave!¡± I cried. I didn''t want to, but if anyone can help me, it''s a galactic minister! ¡°Will you give Ben permission to marry me, so Mom can''t hurt me any more?¡± I thought about the milk on my bed, and all of it. So I didn¡¯t think of how bad that sour milk smelled, I enjoyed the spicy-sweet smell Cevit Ion has. Every Zheien smells a bit different. They never smell bad like we Earthans can. He gasped. ¡°Molly, be calm.¡± He hummed, and it helped a lot. ¡°By Alliance rules and Unified, in any world, you may marry. We could take you from your parents and you could live with Binneas'' family. Eae. ¡°But, Earth is new to any contact from a trade network. We can nae pretend that Earth shall nae know of this, for surely you become Queen Of Rainbow. Theas created Rainbow Unwell Colony on Alb Seer and 24 other worlds that shall have Earthan colonies, and recruits many healers. Is a well colony but nae miracles, without you. ¡°Most of Earth thinks of child marriage as abuse, as this would be if he were Earthan or Elshar. Even an Elshar could marry one so young because the Alliance has nae protections such. But, as Ryee told you, we are bound by laws that give a native world preference. You may marry, but Earth, and particularly the United States, is nae bound to recognize it. If Georgia''s government knows of it, they can protest and prevent you from leaving Earth, because you are nae 18.¡± I cried. ¡°I have to go and be abused, because Earth''s government is stupid? This isn''t fair!¡± Cev held my face up. ¡°While I breathe, I shall nae give you to them for abuse! Believe you me? Tan thinks your parents assume that Binneas dishonored you. If you let them think such, they may sign a legal document that Tan readied. He says he can make an appointment with a Juvenile Court judge to allow your marriage, legally. Adia and Ryee shall accompany you, and they bring you here, after. I merely ask your patience, Molly. Tan will nae leave you in your home. We can offer you asylum here.¡± I hugged him. ¡°Thanks, my friend! I knew you could help me. Eae, I shall be patient. Please, Cev, would you teach me how to be a polite Zheien maiden? I nae listened well to Mia.¡± I looked down. His triple heartbeats thumped against my side. Hope I didn¡¯t upset him too much! Cev hugged me. ¡°Molly, you are polite, and this is all a Zheien wants.¡± ¡°But, Fhiah will hold Rainbow''s charter, and that means I''ll need¡ªI will¡ªneed to meet with rulers to negotiate trade with people who have what Rainbow needs. And, when Ben goes on missions, I want to go with him and nae embarrass him.¡± ¡°Molly, I will ask Peat nae to send him. He shall be King of Rainbow Unwell Colonies and that is enough work. Already our colonies have an army of diplomats who can work in the Alb System and nae further. You will have diplomats to negotiate for you, and traders to trade on Rainbow¡¯s behalf.¡± Colonies. There¡¯ll be more than one Rainbow! I saw it. He showed me 25 worlds that they moved. Lots of Zheien colonies that ended up Failed and they were subcolonies in Rainbow. MarKu¡¯s entire star system with Ea~ is in Alb, from the Eighth Galaxy! I cried. ¡°Peatabus got disabled because Duh tortured him, down at Grady Hospital! Can''t you do something?¡± He got married and had a farm in Fhiah, and an Elshar next door grew tainted crops-- He hugged me. ¡°I warn him. We have enough evidence from my operatives to send Duh to Ih Esta. I think she will nae set foot on Earth.¡± ¡°I''m glad! She hurt so many of our diplomats!¡± I named slavers and Cev listened. Many of them were already with Ih Esta. But, more slavers are attacking his men. They know something¡¯s up. He didn¡¯t show me much. Royalty Of MarKu I was mostly worried about my MarKuans and he brought ''em. When I saw Goes, healthy and orange, I ran to him and hugged him! ¡°You act as if you know me¡ªejis!¡± Cev shared memories with him. Oh, he cried, too! I pulled his head down and kissed his forehead. Gowans got him addicted to drugs, and he was in slavery for years, then in Questalod¡ªwhen we got him he wasn''t in good shape. But, I felt his arms and rubbed the back of his head. He''s healthy. ¡°Do you still have those horrible mind pains?¡± He also smelled like licorice. Cev noticed how he paled. ¡°Dear friend, did you see Pie, as I asked?¡± ¡°Pas knows more.¡± I flinched, ¡®cause Pie came, too, but he smiled and nodded, red hair waving. Many master healers of major Zheien worlds know each other. Goe''s brown eyes opened very wide, as only Zheien can do. ¡°He does? How know you this, Molly?¡± ¡°Because poor Ryee has headaches like yours, and Pas learned from Ahstam when he was young. They healed a lot of slaves together. MarKu didn''t have the sheer numbers of returned slaves that Ahstam and his enneads rescued. Slaves in mines get a lot of head injuries.¡± His heart skipped a beat every once in a while. That worried me! Indoe took my hand. ¡°You should see him, too, Doe. Where''s Liz?¡± He looked a lot like his brother Goe, the same huge brown eyes and short brown curls. The poor man trembled. ¡°Liz?¡± ¡°She became a healer and learned Esteerrian and saved the Yeff by talking to King Lyyyrah. No, it was Lyyyrah''s friend, he was Zbbat. He thought she gave victory squeals so he listened to her. You helped her so his telepathy didn''t fry her!¡± I trembled, to think of that. The Yeff lost two-thirds of their colony¡ª ¡°Don''t go see that healer in Ishah any more. Let Pas and no, Pirad needs to see you! He trained you with an herb of Leiea that''s misused by slavers of higher tech levels like Bi Keras!¡± ¡°I only saw Via, Molly. We convinced Mehai to come with us by threat of Ih Esta, and we brought him to Leiea of Elshar Zheiea, in hopes that he is only trained by evil ones.¡± I shuddered, but Pirad can keep them safe. Maybe they forced poor Mehai-- ¡°Didja find Verach and Pata Fie? They know how to untrain people.¡± They all listened to my memories of the Elshar and Gowan friends from Seshon Deisha. Cev sent a ship! I told ¡®em about my Homerean healer but they didn¡¯t know how to find a slave. Maybe they got clues. And, Nat came close. ¡°How do you know this?¡± I let go of the other two and hugged him. ¡°Nat, are you okay? You weren''t taken by the Esteerrians, were you?¡± ¡°Nae! Adia saw how I was taken, and warned me.¡± Goe held Doe on his lap, on the bed and brought Pas. I hugged him and he picked me up. Looked me over and hummed. Frowned. ¡°What is this sorrow, young one?¡± I clung to him. ¡°I don''t want you to die, Pas!¡± In that memory, in my colony, he died of old age. ¡°O, ne this upset. I will tell you my secret. I am a clone of my ba, Pas, who is on Ye~, recloned to be 20 years, and his family lives. I am ne as old as I appear, but I chose my old appearance because he adds comfort for those who know me. Healing has dangers, ea, but I care for myself well. Pirad can reclone me many times to give me a younger body.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad! I wish I knew somebody¡ªbut Pie, you can marry Adelle! And, her daughter Rosalind can marry Randy!¡± Pie went pale! He¡¯s also a cloned ba, but they woke up his host¡¯s wife and he misses her. His red-gold eyes found his future son-in-law. Through the red-violet wall, I saw healers run to Randy¡ªoh, he¡¯s Rish Hai, Diplomat Of Thorde, and Jirris, Cev¡¯s brother paled. Jirris is thin, and no hint of the sunny yellow an Elshar Zheien should have! His eyes are black, and so are Cev¡¯s. Both of them are seeing memories, and Pie. I did that? But, they¡¯re both still diplomats. They haven¡¯t seen Heden yet. They came here instead! Both of them had been slaves, and became healers, when I knew ¡®em. I felt better. This ship has enough healers for every person. Adelle and Rose can help Jirris a lot. So many memories kept coming! And, Cev¡¯s listening. He can do something about most of my worries! ¡°Then, will you take a look at Goe, Pas?¡± He stood up. ¡°Ea! Feel you unwell, Prince Goes?¡± He laughed. ¡°I am well enough. For Molly''s comfort, I let you see me.¡± Pas touched his forehead and lost his smile. ¡°How long did you stand in such pain? Sit here, my son.¡± He waved up a deep blue padded bench. Goe¡¯s family color. Helped him sit. Doe sat next to him and held onto him. He didn¡¯t need it. To see him strong like this made me feel wonderful! But, diplomats hide. ¡°Mind pain nae ever leaves me, but I function.¡± ¡°I wish you ne to hide from me. Here in Cevit Ion¡¯s chamber is ne a mission, ea?¡± He gave a weary sigh, and relaxed. His skin was light orange, not medium like a MarKuan should have. And, it sagged a bit. He''s older than he looks, but a Zheien his age should look 20, if he''s 40 or 50. Now I felt the moisture on his cold hand. The yellow sparkles just fall off. Doe, Pag and Her paled! They can¡¯t tell? This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Let me bring Pirad to you. He can reclone you to help this suffering¡ª¡± ¡°Pas, only Elders are recloned¡ª¡± ¡°Then I shall name you Elder, for I am, and can name others.¡± ¡°But, what do Elders?¡± His brown eyes opened past wide. Pirad came through the portal laughing. He clicked like castanets! Bisillips are thinner than we are, but very strong. Like a green skeleton. ¡°Now you may share the confusion all we Elders have about what they do! ¡°I do as I please, because no one tells me I cannot. It pleases me to help slaves. Adia showed me all that she showed Molly, and much more. I declare all of you Elders! Here is what I can do for you.¡± He touched Goe''s forehead, and his shoulders went down about three notches. They stared at each other for a few secs. Goe smiled. ¡°I have enough materials to reclone everyone on this ship, and those who will come. And, I can make an army of clones! But you must marry first, and I can give them traits to help you.¡± ¡°Can you make me older?¡± This man did so many miracles in Rainbow! He sighed, and his jointed lips fanned in a circle. ¡°Briahh taught me. He knows much to improve my work, and Greg also. However, I cannot make you older. There are limits to my process. I cannot make you 18 because I have no pattern, even when I record your memories.¡± ¡°Can you give me a sister who looks older?¡± ¡°No. Your clones will have the same limits.¡± I sighed. ¡°I am very sorry, Molly. I wish I could do more.¡± I hugged him and shivered. ¡°What don''t you do? My friend, you''re what will make Rainbow a miracle place!¡± He laughed. ¡°Oh, I am not what will make Rainbow special! My brother Taredias Gupa wanted to do this on Samar Thaae. Their healer colony did not succeed as yours did. You have Gifts from higher levels than I know. You are the reason Rainbow Unwell Colony will surpass any healer colony in the Thirteen! I will merely help you to achieve it.¡± I let go of him because my arms froze. ¡°Can I do it, at twelve?¡± I sighed. They''ll probably say no! Cev hummed and put a blanket around me. ¡°Molly, you may hold the charter when enough choose you to lead them. I think a hundred shall be enough. We know there is a slaver colony near us. He probably has enough for you to heal, if this young body can bear. Pas, do you think she can?¡± He smiled. ¡°When her telepathy comes, she will be strong. I was nine when Fa died and I led his ennead.¡± ¡°But, Pas, I am just a stupid Earthan. Zheien are geniuses!¡± His red-gold eyes opened wide. ¡°Think you that one must have high intelligence to heal? Ne. I ne need to find new ways to heal, in most, even difficult healings. When I need to solve a difficult problem, I ask of my brothers and sisters in the healing, through my links. All master healers have a unique gift. ¡°But, the age of a healer limits his or her capacity to heal without harming the self. I had unusual capacity at nine. Fa saw my capacity and allowed me to join his ennead. I am ne more intelligent than most Zheien. ¡°I saw this unusual capacity in you in the other future. I think you will have it, even at 12. I must test you when your telepathy wakes. You have memories of great skills, but you must yet give yourself experience before you are as you were.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± He showed me how confused he was when he woke up on Pirad''s table. Sleepy. Pas was with him. He woke up pretty fast, and he took him around Rainbow¡ªall those Zheien worlds in the Alb System have little Rainbow colonies! Wow! I saw ¡®em all through his eyes. All the worlds are beautiful. Zheien cities have buildings like jewels in rainbow colors, in a circle. That first day, he got up to speed, but not before he saw a couple hundred healthy Yeff, then slaves with gradually worse injuries. They got a shipful of slaves, so he followed Pas and learned until he caught up. As if those memories of the skills were asleep and he had to practice to wake ''em up! Pie went through about the same thing. He¡¯s younger with red waves. Pas is bald. ¡°I can ne predict how long this process takes, in a young one! We must take great care that you ne injure yourself. Earthans can have injury without pains.¡± ¡°Sunasch was great! She taught me fast¡ª¡± ¡°In your memory of her teaching, I think she ne realized how much danger you had! She was ne a master healer, and lacked much skill. I will lead you slowly, and we discover together, how well your abilities.¡± I thought about how worried Mia was when I got to Fhiah. I should''ve lost any skill I had, learning from former slaves who had injuries. Yep, I''ll have to be very careful. ¡°Pirad, can you reclone me now?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Molly, I cannot until you marry. ¡°Goes and Natamian, please find your wives, and I will reclone all of you.¡± I showed them all what their ladies liked in flowers and candy. Adia didn¡¯t show them that! I also showed them a lot of MarKuans who found wives while in Rainbow. A lot of ¡®em found Earthan wives. Nat¡¯s wife had four roommates and they all married! Three were MarKuans, one Thordes, and one Zheien from K¡¯hasa Zha, Jonamias. Nat and Jonamias, Jop, Diplomat Of Thorde, Jonnev, Kenneph¡¯s ba, and Sanderdin, another diplomat working on the Treaty. So many J names almost made me laugh! SETI¡¯s all over the news by now and all these ladies might¡¯ve heard. ¡°Is Kenneph okay?¡± Cev got that faraway stare. Smiled. ¡°O, one in our link tells us that Pirad¡¯s clone on MarKu healed his wife! She will nae die now! Ulukai on Rhaech noticed his worry and today one asked to visit him. My operatives tried to confront Moeh and Dachsah, who were nae in Council Chambers of Rhaech this morning, but brought cases against them and many other slavers to a TS Inspector on Elshar Mashai. He is safer now, but he has many enemies. Hope shall help him endure. One of Jonnev¡¯s clones learned healing, and ports to Rhaech now to help him.¡± All this new tech, but diplomatic work won¡¯t be much safer. I worried about Ben. Will he get sick trying to wait, now that we love each other? Cev sighed. ¡°O, I am sorry. Binneas must try to wait until our legal proceedings are over. If he sees peril, you must marry, and we abide the consequences. Ryee shared his conversation with King Theaspaura, who gave his permission. ¡°Many on this ship already seek wives they married in memories. Once you marry, by Alliance rules, you may be recloned and assume your duties as Elder. I fear our Earthan legal battle may be long. Wish you for me to accompany you to your parents''?¡± I hugged him. Sighed. Waved up the time. ¡°It¡¯s 5:55 am. Mom went back to sleep. I have time before I have to go to school. If Adia and Ryee are going with me, I¡¯ll be fine. Ooh, maybe I can get my homework done faster, with tech! Research takes most of my time!¡± He laughed. ¡°Ah, I am happy we have help for you. Perhaps Binneas would enjoy going with you to your classes.¡± ¡°He''s probably wondering where I am! See ya, Cev!¡± I ported out. News For Angel Ben was waiting for me. ¡°I wish to show you my parents!¡± By my handsome blond-curled beau were Lineas, who also had blond, and Keea, with dark hair. They had a lot of gray when I knew them, after losing five sons on diplomatic missions! Neither of them had his light yellow-green eyes, though. Lineabin, his grandfather, did. I hugged them. Lineas had bright blue eyes. Keea had medium brown with golden highlights in them. All of them were dressed up. ¡°Fa, I am so happy to see you!¡± I gave a formal bow. He startled. ¡°Molly, you know protocols for us?¡± His delight tingled on my skin! I giggled. ¡°I want to learn more. If I am going to run a healer colony, I need to always be polite.¡± I bowed to Mea, too. She wore a pretty, long dress in cobalt blue, Ben¡¯s family color. Fa¡¯s and Ben¡¯s pinstripe suits and ties matched. ¡°O, such a wonderful sae I have! Welcome to our family! Bin, you nae told us she has such delightful manners!¡± I hugged both of ¡®em. My beau oranged. ¡°I nae knew, Mea! Eae, she is surprising. This Molly enjoys romance!¡± He recited a love poem from Miter''han, a MarKuan from centuries before Fhiah moved from MarKu to Alb Seer. I blushed and looked away, like a maiden should. Smiled, big. Why didn¡¯t I learn this stuff from Mia, in that other future? And, that wonderful full moon shone on us, like a sign from above. Ben put a huge bouquet of flowers in my arms. All diff kinds, and all of my faves! Roses, sunflowers, tulips in every color, and a lot more! I waved up a floating vase so we could all enjoy ''em. I didn¡¯t see Deb or her mom. Briahh and Greg were asleep in their bedroom, just as it was in their apartment. Briahh had his arms around his brother, and he was more relaxed. So glad Greg doesn¡¯t have to lose him! He and Greg were like my favorite uncles. I ported to Angel''s. She was riding her bike so I waved for mine and caught up. ¡°Angel!¡± She slowed down. ¡°Molly!¡± Ben rode on my other side. No traffic much, yet. ¡°Molly, you should let me accompany!¡± I flinched, and wobbled. ¡°Sorry, Ben!¡± ¡°I am nae angry, I merely worry for your safety¡ª¡± ¡°In our neighborhood? Crime rates are bad in metro Atlanta, but I haven''t noticed anything here.¡± Angel giggled. ¡°The full moon lights our way even where street lights aren¡¯t lit.¡± ¡°See this home? Notice the number of cars near it.¡± He pointed. I know he''s Zheien but he looked Earthan. Telepathy can do that. I smiled at him. ¡°That house always has lots of cars. Maybe they just have a big family.¡± ¡°They deal in illegal drugs. Police watch. This car is that of an undercover detective.¡± He casually waved towards an older green car. Led us riding the other way. I noticed a mean fella watching us by the front door. Creepy. Angel''s bike wobbled. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°My father met new friends. One knew of them and warned him. We bought a house near here.¡± He gave the address. Angel nearly fell off her bike! ¡°Anderwood Ridge? That''s a millionaire neighborhood! Our house is only worth maybe a half mil!¡± Wow! I rode over there and the people who used to live there called a policeman to talk to me. I¡¯d been visiting one of Mom¡¯s friends to try to get her to buy one of Mom¡¯s houses. She was nice about it but not interested. I knew house values from Zillow, ¡®cause Mom wanted me to learn about real estate. Angel¡¯s folks were shocked at how much theirs was worth! Mom¡¯s prices were over market. ¡°My parents and I dwell there, and we wish you to come there, Molly.¡± A car came, so we got on the sidewalk. Stopped. Angel looked from Ben to me. ¡°Isn''t this a little sudden?¡± Ben bowed to her, like a split, and held his bike up with one hand! Came up gracefully. ¡°I opened courtship with Molly earlier today. We plan to marry¡ª¡± ¡°You can''t marry a 12-year-old, it''s impossible! Georgia made the minimum age 16 with parents'' permission.¡± Ben paled. Angel stared at him with a frown. ¡°Angel, they don''t do what we do!¡± She shook her head and black waves flew. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°They aren''t from Earth. Show her, Ben!¡± He quit hiding with his telepathy. She looked at his twin-fingered hands. ¡°Ben is a Zheien. They don¡¯t ever take their clothes off, and they don¡¯t do what our parents do. It¡¯s like marrying a big teddy bear!¡± Heat roared in my face, to describe Zheien that way, but it¡¯s true. If any Elshar slut drugged him and did that to him, he¡¯d never be the same. His work is risky. Gotta accept that. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°My team came here to invite Earth to our trade networks. You heard our progress in the United Nations? Soon I shall assist my father in these negotiations. There are hundreds of us who shall participate, peacefully.¡± ¡°They will? I didn¡¯t hear about that!¡± She reached her hand, and Ben took it, loosely. ¡°Wow, you''re warm!¡± ¡°I fear to harm you! I am Zheien and our body temperature is 107 degrees Fahrenheit.¡± She let go. ¡°One of his team, Adia, she sees futures. I saw my future as a healer. Ben and I got married when I was 16 in that future, on a world named Alb Seer. I hope you and your family will come with us! I''m going to have a house on a world named MarKu that moved to the Alb System. I''ll be porting for 4 mins to work.¡± I looked around. ¡°Want to come see their ship?¡± ¡°Would I ever!¡± I took her hand and Ben curled his hand around my arm. We stepped into a green swirl. Ben moved our bikes into my alt storage. I ported Angel¡¯s to their garage and closed the door. We stepped out, and Angel looked around. ¡°Whoa!¡± I put a green cube in her hand, waved, and white goo covered her shoes. Flowed up. ¡°That¡¯s an aandat! You¡¯ll get telepathy--¡± ¡°Ugh! It¡¯s gross! It moves?¡± She looked scared, so I hugged her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! But I don¡¯t want you to get COVID. So many people don¡¯t wear their masks--¡± ¡°This¡¯ll protect me against that?¡± She giggled and I let go. ¡°That¡¯s¡ªI¡¯ll get telepathy?¡± ¡°Yes! And you¡¯ll never need a bathroom again!¡± ¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡± ¡°Now, you need to see a healer¡ªPas! Can you help my friend? She has a lot of stomachaches and headaches.¡± The old healer ran across the ship, white robe flowing behind. Angel stared at his deep orange skin. Then he held out twin-fingered hands and she took one. ¡°Daughter, I am Pas, a healer. Feel you unwell?¡± She sighed. ¡°My stomach hurts, but it always does. I¡¯ve got an appointment with a gastroenterologist this afternoon--¡± ¡°You won¡¯t need it! Pas can fix you!¡± ¡°He can?¡± Her light blue eyes opened very wide. Her other hand pulled at her black waves. Pas nodded right and a bed appeared with an embroidered bedspread like the one in her room. This one had brighter colors and no stains. He picked her up. ¡°Oh, I can walk--¡± She looked scared. ¡°Be calm, Daughter. One in this much pain must ne walk!¡± His red-gold eyes filled. ¡°But, I have to go to school¡ªwhat time is it?¡± I got up there and helped Pas bend her leiwege, a personal mattress, to hold her up. ¡°It is 6:05 am. Your mother just started breakfast and your father is in the shower.¡± She looked at her pocket, where her mother¡¯s voice came from. ¡°You didn¡¯t look, did you?¡± ¡°Nae. His location is in the bathroom and humidity is high.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She giggled. Pas held his twin-fingered hands above her head. ¡°May I touch you, Daughter? I will ne read your private thoughts. But if you think of what is unwell, I hear.¡± ¡°Uh, where do you want to touch me? This is so weird!¡± Pas looked sad. ¡°I only wish to touch your head, Miss. I can see your unwell by looking at points where functions come close to the surface. We healers use our telepathy, so.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t be rude.¡± Tears shone in her blue eyes. ¡°I am ne offended. You ne know me. I only wish to relieve this pain I feel in you.¡± His red-gold eyes filled. ¡°I think I hurt your feelings. It must be hard to be an alien.¡± Then she flinched. My poor friend, who never knows quite what to say. He chuckled as he spread his fingercorners across her forehead. ¡°I think it must be hard to be an Earthan, from your worries, Child. What is alegebera?¡± She laughed. I stifled a giggle and Angel took my cue. ¡°Algebra. It¡¯s math. I¡¯m not very good at solving problems that my teacher wants me to solve.¡± ¡°She will ne let you choose another subject to study?¡± Pas moved his fingers back in a line. Points Two. ¡°No. We don¡¯t get many choices, if we want to graduate from high school. I wanted to join chorus but I missed the high note.¡± Tears dripped and I gasped. Poor Angel froze. Pas smiled. ¡°Daughter, we ne fear water now! We are ne harmed at all, just as other Zheien are ne harmed by it.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad! Will you have to drink water because of all the nitrogen in Earth¡¯s atmosphere?¡± ¡°Ne! We have progs to help us, here. Pirad helped us in many ways.¡± He smiled and moved his hands back. ¡°Angel, I¡¯m so sorry about your audition. You could¡¯ve hit it easily, if not for getting COVID. You were still all congested. They should¡¯ve let you try again.¡± I rubbed her shoulder. ¡°You like to sing, Daughter?¡± Pas smiled. ¡°I love to sing, but a lot of students are at my school because they¡¯re good at it, too. I wish they¡¯d let everyone sing who wanted to.¡± Angel sighed. Pas went through all her points. She talked about bullies and false friends and art and music things she couldn¡¯t do because she couldn¡¯t get in or her parents couldn¡¯t afford it. He listened to all of it. Worked his way to the back of her head. ¡°Daughter, I worry for you. May I speak with your parents? I wish to sing healing for you, but I fear you must sleep.¡± ¡°Sleep? But I have class¡ªand Mama¡¯s got breakfast ready. Can I come back later?¡± ¡°May I go with you to your home? I must speak with your parents. Young ones must have happiness, in their lives!¡± He hugged her. She hugged him back. ¡°My life¡¯s not that bad. You should look at Molly! She can¡¯t keep weight on her because her parents won¡¯t leave her any food! Dad says we need to try to get her parents to just let her live with us!¡± Pas gasped. ¡°They ne provide foods for her?¡± He pulled me into his arms, too! ¡°Pas, it¡¯ll all be okay when I leave Earth! I¡ªuh--told Goes I¡¯d move to MarKu. I¡¯m sorry, Pas!¡± He laughed. ¡°Daughter, we shall see one another! Is only 4 minutes between the worlds of Alb.¡± Telling Angel’s Parents Ben¡¯s parents ported us all to Angel¡¯s. Angel opened the door. ¡°Mom! Molly¡¯s got friends with her!¡± Toni came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a dish towel. ¡°Oh, come in!¡± Mark had a plate of toast that he set on the table. Used the hand towel before shaking hands. ¡°Hello, I am Dr. Pas, and I am worried about your daughter.¡± He stared at Pas¡¯ white robes. I showed him what doctors wear, but he had other plans. Ben¡¯s parents didn¡¯t look worried, so I relaxed. Ben smiled at me. We all sat around the dining room table. ¡°Let¡¯s talk while we eat. Mind if I say a blessing on this food?¡± ¡°I would enjoy it.¡± Mark remembered to ask Heavenly Father to bless Angel with her algebra, and my mother with patience for me, and Dr. Pas for coming to see about Angel, and Ben and his parents for visiting. So sweet. None of the Zheien took any food. ¡°I already ate this morning. Molly brought Angel to see me and I am very concerned about her pains.¡± Angel wasn¡¯t eating. Toni rubbed her shoulders. ¡°We have an appointment this afternoon with a gastroenterologist. He¡¯s already done some testing and he should have some results for us.¡± ¡°I see. Are you aware of SETI?¡± ¡°I heard something on the news this morning, yes.¡± I heard her phone going on the counter before she turned it off. ¡°They have a treaty, so they must want peace.¡± Mark took a big bite of sausage. ¡°Mmm, perfect! Did all of you already eat? Please, have something, if you like.¡± Angel giggled. Pas nodded to Lineas, who gave them each a green cube. ¡°These are for you.¡± Mark looked at it. ¡°Thank you. What is this?¡± ¡°I am a Unified server of Ye~ Hub. These will be distributed to every man, woman and child of Earth.¡± Toni dropped hers, and it floated. ¡°This is how you know about Angel?¡± Angel giggled louder. ¡°Molly took me to the ship!¡± Lineas smiled. ¡°We are here because young Molly has healing that will affect thirteen galaxies.¡± Mark dropped his fork. ¡°Your trade network covers thirteen galaxies? Are they all satellite galaxies of our Milky Way?¡± ¡°Yes! Molly will rule over Rainbow Unwell Colonies. We have 25 worlds with them, at this moment, and more will come to the Alb System, which is 8 hours by ship from Earth. But, she is young. ¡°There is a lady who leads our team, and she has a great Gift. She can see futures for certain persons. This is how we know of Molly and her destiny. She saw Molly and Binneas, my son, married, three years from now. ¡°Molly¡¯s parents adopted six former slaves because Earth had contact with our trade networks and became a place for slaves to work and obtain trade to contact their families. Her parents tried to return these slaves and Molly learned to trade. She bought their freedom and ported to their slaver¡¯s ship. Traded for every slave on the ship and found a temporary place for them on Questalod. ¡°They had grave peril, but chose her to lead them and she founded a colony start, at 15. I know of nae colony started by one so young! Binneas found them on Questalod because he knew the father of one of her slaves and brought them to Fhiah on Alb Seer. No one expected this colony to survive, but because of Molly¡¯s leadership, it became the most successful healer colony in the history of the Thirteen!¡± Mark and Toni stared at him. ¡°You can¡¯t expect Molly to do anything at 12, can you? I mean, yes, she¡¯s a very talented young lady, but 15 is too young for her to get married, and 12¡ªwhere were her parents, during all this?¡± I sighed. ¡°Mom was an alcoholic. Dad didn¡¯t want me. He got involved with a teenager and married her.¡± Both of ¡®em gasped! Mark frowned. ¡°We need to work harder, to get custody of you, Molly!¡± I took their hands. ¡°I appreciate all you¡¯ve done for me, but I have work to do. Ben and I have courtship--¡± ¡°Molly, you can¡¯t do this! You need to stay in school--¡± ¡°Mark, Ben is Zheien. His telepathy is very strong for a Zheien. If our minds get linked, he¡¯ll have to marry me. Look at how he¡¯s sweating! He can¡¯t last!¡± I held up his twin-fingered hand, which dripped yellow sparkles. He waved for hygiene. I frowned at him. ¡°You can¡¯t keep doing that, either!¡± Ben just smiled at me. ¡°Can¡¯t he go somewhere else?¡± I laughed. ¡°Telepathy isn¡¯t limited by distance! He could go live on the Moon¡ªnot that I¡¯d be that cruel¡ªand it could still happen. He¡¯s sweating because his mind is reaching for me and he¡¯s fighting it. We don¡¯t know anything about these futures, but I think if you have a mindlink in them, you¡¯ll get one in this place and time.¡± ¡°But, you¡¯re not a scientist. Is there anyone you people can ask?¡± Lineas sighed. ¡°We have members of several science councils here, and I asked of them. They had nae answers for me, so I went to Pirad. He has tech from several levels above ours, and he told me they must marry, or both can die! ¡°Molly has a great Gift. Pirad can enable it and give to my son skills that can help her to use it, if they marry. Think of this. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°She saved many diplomats, in her healing colony, who saved worlds. Many diplomats work treaties that solve problems that threaten entire groups of worlds. We are involved in a war, Mr. Pedersen, a war that is our seven galaxies against six. If the Six wins, slavers will take over the entire thirteen. Molly is nae destined to affect this war, but the leader of our team is. If she dies, the hope of the Thirteen also dies. Perhaps she led us to Molly because Molly shall save her.¡± I grabbed Mark¡¯s hand. ¡°Give me a blessing, Mr. Pedersen. Heavenly Father knows what to do about all this.¡± I didn¡¯t have telepathy, but he saw his future. I could tell by the blank look he got. Lineas heard it, and startled. ¡°You have Adia¡¯s Gift, Molly?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so--¡± but Angel and Toni also had the blank look. Maybe I do! Angel blinked. ¡°Wow, I really hated business school!¡± She made a face. I laughed. ¡°You could come to Rainbow and sing! Zheien love the arts!¡± I saw her on MarKu, performing for Goes, Penny, their kids and his parents! Lineas showed her what I saw! She had a Zheien husband. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll meet Tapanasen, Diplomat Of Escet Vu when you¡¯re 23. When you think that surely, you¡¯re destined to be an old maid!¡± I laughed. ¡°But I can find him when I¡¯m 18--¡± I shook my head. A lot of things have to happen. We can¡¯t tell him. I didn¡¯t like that at all. I waved up a long bench like in the Rainbow Temple once we finally got one. White and satiny and gold trim with curves. Probably every Temple on Earth has one. Only adults can get a Temple Recommend after being a member a year, and my parents won¡¯t even let me join. Mark and Toni smiled, big. Mark waved me to sit. Got his keychain with his golden vial of consecrated oil. Put his hands on my head. Blessings kept me going. The one he gave me Sunday warned that big changes were coming in my life. Mark¡¯s hand shook as he put a drop of consecrated oil on my head and rubbed it. All the Zheien watched with smiles. Their religion does this, too. Pas, Lineas and Ben added their hands. I felt warmth and white light blazed around us! Mark startled. ¡°Should I let one of you bless her?¡± ¡°I will speak, but you will bless her.¡± Lineas gave his part in Zheien, but a dialect I never heard. I got blessings in Rainbow, but not like this. Then, Mark spoke. Both his hands trembled on my hair. He¡¯d given me a lot of blessings, but again, not like this. ¡°Molly Bradford Brown, Heavenly Father knows what is in your heart, and He is pleased with your new calling as Queen Of Rainbow Colonies.¡± I felt the surprise of a lot of Zheien on the ship. Mark said a lot of things that surprised me. ¡°Do not interfere with my daughter¡¯s work, for it is greater than you know.¡± Wow. ¡°I revealed many things to Adia, Queen Of Ye~, and I shall reveal much to you for the good of thirteen galaxies. Do not run faster than you have strength. You will do great things, but you will send your people to do work you cannot do. Pray before you send them, and you will know your part from their part. You are needed to heal Adia after the Final Battle, but you will have help from Ray, Host Of The Red Cube and Suma, Host Of The Yellow Cube to save her and her husband. Their clones will continue her role as One Of Prophecy. J~oie will be King Of Ye~ and Laura Martin, Queen Of Ye~. ¡°Comfort the Pedersens that you are not angry, because they worry about you. But, if you are wise, you will not have harm, even when there is danger to heal them. You will heal the ones who go on to do my work. But I will take whom I will take, and you must abide. When you marry Binneas, his mind will enable your healing and magnify it. You will then perform miracles for Me.¡± He said a lot more, but that one made me cry. Healers just have to deal with it when their patients die. I have Suma to help me. She and Ray are on Adia¡¯s now. After the blessing, Angel wiped tears off her face. ¡°I¡¯ll help you, Molly, all I can.¡± ¡°You know we will, too.¡± Mark¡¯s voice broke. He said we would marry today. Ben shook all over. Lineas hugged him and hummed. It¡¯s a shock. Yesterday, I wasn¡¯t thinking about marriage, just how to get through another day. Ben pulled me to the table. ¡°Eat much, Molly! I shall accompany you to school. Teach me what I should do, as a student.¡± I thought about what I did every day, who my teachers were, what they liked---then had to step back and explain a lot of things. He¡¯ll have to prepare for the sound of the bells that ring between classes so he won¡¯t startle badly. He had to deal with similar things on Thorde last trip, for different reasons. They have bad storms in Mella. Pas went with Angel upstairs to her room. I wanted to help, but it¡¯s a simple healing. It¡¯s diff when its your best friend getting healing. Pas gave me an excuse for her so her mom could turn it in. She¡¯s going on Homebound Program! Yes! No homework or visiting teacher for a month. We¡¯ll be gone by then. Feb 1 at 8:30 pm just popped into my head. Ben startled. He let people know in his Diplomatic Link. Mark and Toni came back to the table. I heard the whoosh of portals. Oh, one of the other healers will sit with Angel. Mark looked at his wife. ¡°Dear, I hate my job. Lineas, can I use my engineering skills to get a job on MarKu?¡± ¡°Your knowledge will be very useful! Come to the ship, and Goes can speak with you. He is eager to offer you work.¡± ¡°Do I need to go back to work? I don¡¯t know if accounting is very useful, and I¡¯m rusty.¡± She straightened the lace tablecloth that she made. Lineas smiled. ¡°Lady, is nae required, but Molly thinks of your skill as you made this cloth! Many would love to learn from you.¡± ¡°Lace-making? That would be more like play than work!¡± ¡°Ah, but we value arts more than your leaders in the United States. Any Zheien colony trades as much as artisans can produce! There are nae requirements for hours of work. When you wish to teach, do, and if you wish time with Molly or Angel, you may give it abundantly. A Zheien king provides housing, foods, clothing formers, and small entertainments. ¡°I think all of the Earthan colonies will need house designers.¡± Mark laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not an architect, but I love to come up with ideas for houses!¡± ¡°See this.¡± Lineas waved up a house design screen. I showed Mark how to use the mental controls, using the telepathic controls in my account. Not as good as telepathy, not as fast, but a lot faster than talking. He got it quick! I even tried designing a house and furniture, but never had much time to spend on it. My talent is in healing, but I did learn how to alter healers¡¯ progs. I waved up Angel¡¯s and explained that. The interface is the same for any task you want to automate. Mark¡¯s blond eyebrows flew up. ¡°This is amazing! I could finish all of my projects at work in minutes, that¡¯s five years of work! Very boring, tedious work. I¡¯d much rather design houses for people than programs to help businesses make more money. The way tech is going, programming¡¯s a dead-end job anyway--¡± ¡°Programming¡¯s a dead-end job? Dad was trying to make me do that, because getting into med school¡¯s not a sure thing!¡± So glad I stood my ground! But healing is a lot easier than all of this school I¡¯m trying to do right now. Already the thought of going to school today¡ªugh. But, I can find friends who I knew would end up offplanet. Give them Unified terminals, if they¡¯ll let me. ¡°With all of the advances in AI¡¯s, yeah. It¡¯s just a matter of time. But once Earth has this,¡± he waved at the design screen, which already had a finished house plan, ¡°our company will be obsolete. I¡¯m going to go to work and quit! I¡¯ll finish up all my projects, and give ¡®em to ¡®em.¡± ¡°Molly, you may distribute terminals to anyone you like. Soon, everyone on Earth will have them, and aandats.¡± He let me explain aandats, and I gave ¡®em to Mark and Toni. Mark finished all of his projects in about five mins with help from Be~saech, one of Ye~¡¯s best programmers, and they ported to the ship. Their house went with ¡®em! Angel¡¯s room ported to a room on the ship. We stood in an empty house with holos of curtains. From outside it wouldn¡¯t look changed, and holos of them and their cars would come and go. It¡¯s 6:30 am. I finished my plate. ¡°Oh, that was good! I was so hungry! Oh, Sylvania!¡± I waved and saw diplomats petting her. She has an aandat now. Pas smiled. ¡°My ennead will care for her, Molly.¡± Angel¡¯s not allergic to her now, I noticed on her file. Her parents weren¡¯t, either. My Parents Tan, Adia and Ryee waited when we ported to the ship. ¡°Are you ready, Molly?¡± I swallowed. ¡°Now?¡± Tan put an arm around me. ¡°It is better to do this quickly. I can file papers in court, and the earlier for this, the faster. Legal business is even slower here than on Areon!¡± He gave a look upwards and I laughed. Areon wasn¡¯t fun. I didn¡¯t know Tan in Rainbow, but I knew his brother, Vonn. Oh. He died in Eicken Hospital! I noticed how his arm trembled. Later, I¡¯d want to try to heal him. I knew all the horror stories from that place! ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ryee said I won¡¯t have to stay. Sure hope this works! We appeared down the driveway by a purple limo. ¡°It¡¯s purple?¡± Lineas chuckled. ¡°Thordes volunteered to drive it if we made it purple. All Thordes like purple. Zheien alternate family colors. Elshars wish for blue, so theirs are.¡± ¡°Oh, blue like DS!¡± He nodded. The Alliance and the Unified, both major trade networks, share Diplomatic Service, and it¡¯s the medium blue color of their uniforms. Diplomats wear white when working on important treaties. Blue is for more routine work. Facts just kept coming. We passed Dad¡¯s red Porsche 992 in the driveway. Parked sideways. He hasn¡¯t put it in the garage in months. We walked up on the porch and I used my key. They all watched as if that was something special. Well, Zheien don¡¯t need locks. Dad had fast food wrappers on the counter. Mom looked sleepy. ¡°Molly, who¡¯s this?¡± Tan stepped forward. Dad noticed the expensive blue pinstripe suits and paled. He¡¯s in a brown sports coat and tan sweater vest, as usual. ¡°Mr. Brown, I am Tan Links, lawyer for Alliance Embassy. How do you do?¡± He offered his hand and Dad shook it. ¡°Lawyer? Why are you here this early?¡± ¡°I represent Molly Brown, and Binneas and his parents. Binneas opened a formal courtship with Miss Brown this morning.¡± Both my parents went white! I put my arm around Ben. He smiled. Lineas stepped forward. ¡°We wish you to allow Molly to move into our house. I think you know why.¡± He frowned at Ben. Poor Ben went pale! Dad waved towards the living room. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and discuss this. Fern?¡± She gave a look towards the liquor cabinet and he pulled at her arm. She went. They led us inside to our pristine living room. Many plants hung all around it, that if I ever watered too much, that satiny white leather would be ruined. Ben helped me to the loveseat. I wore a modest dress, in the same cobalt blue as their ties. Mine was mid-calf and Mea¡¯s was an ankle-length, very satiny dress in cobalt blue, their family color. I also had matching pumps. Quite a change from my jeans and T-shirts! He and his father Lineas wore three-piece suits with white shirts and cobalt blue ties. They also wore their diplomats¡¯ sashes. Tan Links and all of the men had diamond cuff links, large ones, and matching tie tacs. I had diamond and semi-precious stone jewelry in a rainbow of colors. My parents stared at that, too. Binneas kept an arm around me as we sat on the white couch. Dad glared at him. At me. Ryee and Adia took the sofa next to us. Mom picked a few hairs off the arm of the other love seat, where she and Dad sat. ¡°Molly, we need to get rid of that animal! I can¡¯t stand all of this cat hair messing up my beautiful sofa!¡± And, she¡¯s safe on the ship. ¡°Mom, I have something to tell you. It¡¯s important.¡± I sighed and tears streamed down my face, which burned. ¡°I want to move in with his parents.¡± Mom gasped loudly. ¡°How could you? Of all things! I¡¯ll never be able to show my face at a party again! Do you ever think about anyone but yourself?¡± She cried. Pulled the hair claw out in back. Threw it on the white marble coffee table. Everything''s gotta be dramatic. All about her. ¡°I knew it! So I¡¯m assuming that you did it?¡± Dad glared at Binneas, who turned a striking orange. ¡°What country are you from?¡± Binneas stood. ¡°We come from the colony of Fhiah. I am very sorry I dishonored your daughter. We want to marry as soon as possible. I love Molly, and I can support her. My parents and I are diplomats. She will have the best medical care. She can continue to attend school in any college of her choice.¡± ¡°How dare you talk about love? You just wanted one thing, didn¡¯t you? Now you¡¯ve ruined our lives! Who knows about this?¡± Her mother shook her finger at Binneas. ¡°What kind of pervert are you, to have sex with a 12-year old kid?¡± Poor Binneas looked sick! He paled to white. All the Zheien looked sick. Rumbles shook the floor. Both my parents startled and looked around! ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Lineas stood and made Binneas sit closer to me. I hugged him. ¡°Who are you to accuse my son, when you live in sin? Molly tells us you both are unfaithful, and expect her to lie about this to the other! ¡°My son loves your daughter, and he is very willing to marry her. She wishes to marry him. I encourage both of you to repent. Father of All is very displeased with you!¡± ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I cheat on Jeffrey, when he looks at everything in skirts? Then he accuses Molly of being promiscuous! No wonder she turned out like this. Self-fulfilling prophecy!¡± Mom sneered at Dad. Rumbles increased, and my parents looked scared. ¡°Repent ye, repent ye, o sinners!¡± Lineas frowned at both of them. Dad stood up. Glared at Mom. ¡°This is your fault! I never asked Molly to lie for me, but I know you wanted her to lie for you! I¡¯m sick of you, and I¡¯m leaving, right now! You can clean up this mess yourself!¡± He stormed upstairs. Lineas waved to Tan. ¡°Here is my lawyer. If you will sign these papers, we can let these young ones go before a Juvenile Court Judge for permission to marry. My wife and I wish for Molly to live with us.¡± He gave the address. Mom paled. So did Dad, at the top of the stairs! Lineas gave Mom his card with all of their phone numbers. She stared at his card case, gold with diamonds that sparkled before he closed it. Binneas had one, too, and gave her his card. His had a veris embossed on it, a holographic design. Theirs had a red flower. The holograms shone as Mom laid ¡®em on the table. ¡°Where do I sign? And, do you do divorces? I want a good lawyer.¡± Tan handed her papers marked with yellow highlighter. On a gold clipboard. Mom almost dropped it, so it must have been heavy! ¡°I am very sorry, but it would be a conflict of interest for me to represent you. Sign here, please.¡± He gave her a very expensive pen. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. She signed, and kept it. He let her. Then, I stood and looked upstairs. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± ¡°I need to pack my things¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get anything. Get out!¡± Adia stood up. ¡°Mrs. Brown, you cannot keep her things. Mr. Links, please explain Georgia Law to her.¡± He did, but she smiled a wicked smile. ¡°See ya in court!¡± Dad came down the steps with his bags. Put them by the door. ¡°Molly, I have a few things to give you, Hon.¡± Dad smiled at me. He reached up on top of the entertainment center and got a clear box with several items. As I saw what was inside, I smiled big. ¡°This is for you. The bracelet you wore home from the hospital when you were born, your first blanket, your ballerina ¡ª¡± ¡°Thanks for keeping these for me!¡± I thought Mom threw all of that stuff away when I didn''t see it in the curio cabinet. ¡°Now that I¡¯m leaving, I have nothing to fear from her.¡± He glared at Mom. She was still crying. From the large kitchen, on top of their cabinets, he brought a cloth cat carrier. Then, another box from the garage. ¡°I almost forgot. I got a new cat box for Sylvania. This one¡¯s electric. I was going to wait until your birthday, but you need it now. Here¡¯s your other presents. Will you wait to open ¡®em until next month?¡± ¡°Sure, Dad! Wow, did you buy out the store?¡± There were a lot of wrapped packages. Lineas and Keea took all of them for me. I already had the other stuff in my green cube. Mom''s already lost. I held the glass ballerina in trembling hands. ¡°We had a lot of fun that day, didn¡¯t we? Your 8th birthday.¡± ¡°Yeah. Those were happy times.¡± I sighed. At least, with Dad. ¡°Call me anytime, Hon. I won¡¯t be going to those parties any more.¡± I nodded. Mom held out a reminder from Dr. Ashley''s office about Sylvania''s shots. Oops. ¡°I''m not paying for these¡ª¡± ¡°I can pay Sylvania''s vet bills!¡± ¡°You never had any money ¡ª¡± ¡°I worked for Dr. Ashley last summer. Dad signed the papers.¡± ¡°I thought that was just a volunteer position.¡± Dad leaned against the doorway. ¡°I opened a bank account and still have $500 in it.¡± Tan smiled. ¡°Well, such a responsible young lady! I think this will help when we go before the judge. He will have to allow your marriage.¡± He took a large cardboard box. His portfolio stayed under his arm, even when his arm moved. ¡°Oh, Ben, I can¡¯t wait!¡± I smiled at him. What an ordeal! He smiled back. So sweet. ¡°Don''t expect me to come.¡± Mom reached into the liquor cabinet, black like her soul. ¡°I need a drink.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t. Have some vek ea!¡± I crushed a handful in her face. She gasped, and froze like that. ¡°You used to be a nice person before you started drinking. Now you won''t ever want that stuff again!¡± I forgot that Dad was still standing there. His blue eyes got big as dinner plates! ¡°What did you do? I''m calling the police!¡± I put a hand on his phone. ¡°She''s not dead. When she wakes up, she won''t crave alcohol any more. My new friends aren''t from Earth. They are Zheien, and they''re better than us. They brought new tech for Earth, if Earth wants it. ¡°See this?¡± I gave him a green cube. ¡°You can ask it any question you want. In this thing is an aandat.¡± I pulled up my short sleeve on my dress and let him see. Explained it. While I did, I waved up another one for Mom and put hers on her ankle. Ryee and Adia left. Tan said they had important business on the ship. I nodded. He frowned. ¡°That thing prevents you from getting sick ever, gives you telepathy, and you never need a bathroom again? Amazing! And that stuff you gave your mom¡ªwhat''s to keep her from just drinking again?¡± Just then, Mom startled. Looked at me. ¡°What just happened? Never mind.¡± She lifted the bottle, got a shot glass, and filled it halfway. ¡°Why''re you still here? Maybe I need more than that.¡± She downed it. Made a face. Ran for the bathroom. Dad followed her and I heard him running water. The others looked very worried. ¡°She''ll be okay in a min.¡± Those memories never showed me what happened-- Mom came out leaning against Dad. Binneas went to her. ¡°Mea, I can buy all of your houses. Would you like to learn new work?¡± She slapped the counter. ¡°No! All of you, get out! I''ll see every one of you in court!¡± Dad quietly got his bags and walked out. I put the other green cube on the counter. ¡°Tell her what vek ea does.¡± Her voice spoke from it. ¡°Vek ea is an herb to stop the effect of slaver herbs, many intoxicants and poisons....¡± She backed away. ¡°What is that thing?¡± ¡°I am a Unified terminal, a gift from Emperor Ry''nao to all people of planet Earth.¡± Mom stared at me. ¡°I heard something about that SETI stuff, and I didn''t believe it. It''s true?¡± ¡°Yes. Emperor Ry''nao wishes all to know he comes in peace, with many diplomats to negotiate treaties¡ª¡± With a savage swipe, she threw it at the front door. It floated there. ¡°I hate you! How can I drink with my friends? They won''t be my friends any more!¡± She ran upstairs, screaming! I felt bad, but we can''t help her. Progs in the cube will stop her if she tries to commit suicide. Ben wept. So did all of ''em. ¡°I hope Dad listened. Fa, let¡¯s go home. Today starts my new career as a healer!¡± I hugged Lineas. ¡°You should¡¯a been a Baptist preacher instead of a diplomat!¡± I giggled. Too loud. Mom''s bedroom door slammed! He laughed and hugged me. ¡°O, I am happy as a diplomat. But, I am serious about repentance. Your father¡¯s thoughts were loud that he returns to church soon! I worry for your mother. Her thoughts are in a very unhappy place. Perhaps you influence her for her well.¡± ¡°I can try. I¡¯ll pray about it tonight. You¡¯ll help me, won¡¯t you, Ben?¡± He nodded. ¡°I am happy you wish to discuss religion with me!¡± But, in that other future, Dad got involved with a teenaged girl. She got pregnant and he married her. Then she had affairs till he divorced her. Will that still happen? I thought about all the things Angel kept for me at her parents¡¯ house, and I mentally saw them in my account. Satisfying, to have all my stuff where Mom can¡¯t get to it. She went in my room and utterly destroyed it! I couldn¡¯t watch. We ported to the ship. Sylvania perched on Ben¡¯s shoulder and he giggled. Several diplomats found stray cats and dogs, and several escaped pet birds to take with ¡®em. Owners just left ¡®em. Animals¡¯ memories don¡¯t lie. They also took several lost ones back home. Lineas and Keea ported. Ben startled. Something¡¯s going on. First Ryee and Adia, then Ben¡¯s parents? I petted Sylvania and cried. Mark and Toni took us to their living room. Mark frowned. ¡°Did it go okay?¡± Tan showed him the signed papers. ¡°I can file a request with the juvenile court today when they open. Cases cannot tell me how much of a chance of success this gives us, but I will do my best.¡± ¡°Thanks, Mr. Links!¡± ¡°Call me Tan. We will work together for a long time, to resolve this. I am happy that you do not have to return there! I think Pas will wish you to stay home from school today.¡± I shook my head. ¡°No. I need to help people at school. I know a lot of ¡®em that need help, and I can give ¡®em terminals.¡± Time to go. I waved hygiene and dressed in my Earth Day yellow T-shirt I had on this morning. And my jeans. I wanted to try out those new roller blades Ryee gave me! Ben waved on jeans and a T-shirt. Frowned. I waved ¡®em a lot softer! Remembered how I worked with these screens for Zheien trained to be Earthan by slavers. Ben paled. One of ¡®em was Asha, in the main room, and his yellow skin paled to white! ¡°Ben, am I broadcasting?¡± Last Day Of School My courted touched the left side of my head and paled. ¡°Your telepathy woke! Ejis nae, do we have anyone who can safely train an Earthan with new telepathy?¡± Ryee ran in. ¡°I can do this! Molly, follow me. Binneas, you may come also, to my Outer Circle.¡± This was kind of like when Sunasch taught me, but more things came together. I felt Ryee¡¯s headache. Like poor Goes, once they have several head injuries, or bad poisonings, they have bad headaches. He felt bad that I noticed! We walked in a beautiful garden Pas showed Ryee, in Ye~ of Zhea~. Ryee saw it once, at my age. The pull of gravity four times Ye~¡¯s shocked him, when they visited there. That¡¯s twice Earth¡¯s. He assured me that all the worlds of Alb, even MarKu and Zhea~, now had gravity half Earth¡¯s. His home, Ye~, is half Earth¡¯s, and so is Alb Seer where Fhiah, Ben¡¯s home, is, and that¡¯s where Rainbow Unwell Colony was. We saw the major cities of all 25 colonies. So much fun, to see all these very different places, but they all had jewel-like buildings in most of their cities, even Veheirea Gtu Pei, where houses look like fanciful animals. But the main buildings are always clear, rainbow colors, and only Ye~ has nine with nine sides. Like Ye~ Prov on Zhea~, which we also saw. The rest have seven-sided buildings like flat jewels that people can work in and have offices in! ¡°Ye~ is very pretty. I¡¯m sorry I agreed to MarKu so fast.¡± ¡°Molly, where you live is only important to you. We will all enjoy your skills.¡± He introduced me to each Zheien king, and Ben and I had so much fun! And, I remembered more of the fine control Ry¡¯nao taught me when he gave me the Diplomatic Link. I had it, and Ryee refreshed my memory of how to take tiny bits of energy from people in it, and how to warn people away if it was too much. He worried a lot that it would be too much for someone my age! ¡°You got it at 12.¡± ¡°Ea, but I am Zheien. It was and is a burden, as well as a vital part of me. I can only imagine how it is for you, as an Earthan.¡± I laughed. ¡°Well, I can only imagine how it is for you, as a Zheien!¡± I pictured myself as a Zheien maiden, but skating on that volcanic lake in Fhiah, like Kerjie did when she married Theapet! Eap gasped and came in. ¡°You saw a wife for me, Molly?¡± I giggled. Stopped laughing when I waved her up. Her mother was crying. ¡°Kerjie, you can¡¯t tell them!¡± ¡°But, Mama, they have services for homeless people like us! We can get food--¡± ¡°Yeah, an¡¯ the government¡¯ll be telling us what to do, too! Medicaid took Mama¡¯s house, and that¡¯s why we¡¯re on the street!¡± They were in a tent. ¡°Uh, hi! Listen, you can come here!¡± They saw our holo and looked scared. Kerjie had that memory stare. Her mama saw. ¡°What did you do to my daughter?¡± We tried to explain things. Did I look like that, when I saw my future? Eap convinced her that Kerjie was all right. Kerjie looked at her. ¡°You didn¡¯t see it? Mama, you died, but I went offplanet. Is Joeap okay, Eap?¡± He smiled. ¡°Joeap is well. He joined a DS team just lastweek and they are on this ship. Please, come to us! I can help you get your things, and your house.¡± They agreed. I wanted to watch, but school. Yeah. I felt like my telepathy was up to par. Pas took my hand. ¡°Ne try to heal. Your temptation will be great. If you see one with needs, call on me.¡± ¡°I will. Don¡¯t worry, Pas.¡± His red-gold eyes had tears in ¡®em. Healers do worry. I felt something, and a green portal left Cev and Sara! She was in a karate pose! I ran up there. ¡°Hi, Sara!¡± ¡°Do I know you?¡± She studied me. ¡°Well, we had nursing together at GSU last year!¡± Her face got red. ¡°Oh, Molly! Yes, I remember you. I failed the first test.¡± I hugged her. ¡°That really doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯re a good person, Sara!¡± Then Cevit Ion looked to the side. ¡°I am most sorry, but my ba needs me. Asha, would you answer this lady¡¯s questions for a few minutes? I will return for you, Miss Ionic.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Okay.¡± He went into Cev¡¯s room. Sara frowned. My back¡¯s probably got rust-- I waved and white light flashed! Then I gave her a green cube. ¡°Now you can run hygiene whenever you need it! Oh, my, you hurt all over! Sit here.¡± Another wave, and a padded lavender bench the color of her lavender dress sat there. Sara joined me on it. The outside edge of Sara¡¯s hand had blood and rust on scrapes. I hummed just a little healing. ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡± ¡°Zheien healing! Asha, here, is a Zheien, but he¡¯s a diplomat. He can help you with paying your bills.¡± ¡°Bills?¡± She looked up at him. Yellow skin like a banana! Huge blue eyes that turned dark. ¡°Do you need help to pay your bills? Wish you to stay here, on this ship?¡± Do they know I¡¯m homeless? I just turned 18 and left. I turned her head towards me. ¡°Let me put my fingers across your forehead. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t read your mind. Didn¡¯t Cev tell you anything?¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t time! That guy was gonna hurt this lady, so I hit him!¡± Asha gasped. ¡°You had perils! Molly, see her quickly!¡± But, she got the memory-sharing stare. I hated to leave, but Ben and I have to get going. It was like this in Rainbow! A couple minutes to say hi, leaving so much unsaid. I wanted to ask, how did you get into a fight in the Krispy Kreme parking lot? I took Ben¡¯s hand a little harder than I meant. And hoped his going to school with me wouldn¡¯t make him sick. Distraction¡¯s good. Yeah. I smiled, then he smiled. Ben and I ported behind that shopping center across the street from my high school. ¡°Race ya!¡± Ben waved up our bikes, and I forgot my plans to roller blade. Maybe his feet can¡¯t handle roller blading. I love both! We rode our bikes fast. Ben easily pulled ahead, but it challenged me¡ªthen we had to slow it down for traffic. I felt braver with progs to keep us from getting hurt. Just have to remember that these cars don¡¯t. Oh, it was fun to share this part of my Earthan life with Ben! Cried a lot over boys who never knew I was sweet on ¡®em, when they found girlfriends. Or, boys who did dishonorable things and laughed at me, or my friends. Poor Angel was always a target, and I wondered if that was part of her stomach problems. But, reality hit. ¡°Pirad says I have to share memories to a cylinder to get clones, so I¡¯ll have to do that when we get out of school. Ben, there will be bullies after you, because you¡¯re with me.¡± He¡¯s not due at the UN until after 3. They¡¯re rotating diplomats so more of ¡®em get experience talking about the Treaty. The UN makes appointments. He laughed. ¡°Let them watch for me, if one tries to touch you! I shall protect you, Molly.¡± It felt so odd, to be doing normal things, but with my courted! I noticed a lot more about people, neighbors I knew. Mr. Bruce went out to his car, and Mrs. Bruce, and Deb. They all had explanations on their minds. Mr. Bruce is quitting his job, and Mrs. Bruce, hers. They¡¯ll have to train their replacements. Deb still has patients for her OB rotation. One¡¯s in labor right now! Greg had research to do, which will have a breakthrough today! He¡¯s excited. They got in Deb¡¯s car and headed to the Marietta Transit Center to park, as usual. Oh, that¡¯s his new cloned brother, and he¡¯s Elshar! Ben giggled. ¡°I am eager to start school so I can attend class with you, Molly!¡± When we locked our bikes, people who knew me stared. Auel Petty¡¯s in 10th with me, but it¡¯s her normal grade. ¡°Who¡¯s your friend, Know-Nud?¡± I grabbed her arm and sent healing into where she broke it when I was in 4th grade. The ulna gave a loud crack! Now her arm¡¯s straight. In 4th grade, I splinted it but she had to have surgery and her surgeon did her best. That arm healed crooked and she blamed me. My 7th grade year at Marietta Middle passed miserably, and she still got me trouble this year. She screamed and four boys came running! Then, she felt her arm. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°What I¡¯ve been wanting to do since 4th grade. Let¡¯s go in!¡± I never saw Auel Petty speechless! Ben held out his arm and we left them. We found a seat at the crowded tables. ¡°Molly, who¡¯s your friend?¡± Kell sat by me. Kell, our star basketball player until he hurt his knee before Christmas. He never said two words to me. Two years ahead of us. Oh, I wanted to heal him but I introduced him to Ben. Later. Ben and I headed up to the office. Lineas and Keea were already there. The secretary, Ms. Lind, smiled big. ¡°Welcome to Marietta High, Binneas! Your parents filled out everything online, so now you need to see Ms. Johannessen. She¡¯ll give you your schedule.¡± I didn¡¯t feel good about leaving, but the bell rang, so I went to homeroom. First Period was biology, with Mr. Boswell. In that other future I sent too much energy through his hands and made his arthritis worse. When he handed me my test paper, I grabbed it and this time, healed it. Pas helped me through the Diplomatic Link. He startled. Dropped the papers! I grabbed his other hand and healed that. ¡°What¡¯s that white light?¡± But, as people scrambled to pick up the fallen papers, he smiled at me. ¡°Young lady, that¡¯s quite a talent you have! How did you straighten out my hands?¡± He flexed ¡®em with a huge smile. No crooked fingers, now! Ry¡¯nao smiled. You may tell him. Because of SETI news, the world will know of us soon. ¡°It¡¯s called Zheien Healing. You use telepathy to speed up the body¡¯s natural healing processes. I got telepathy because a friend gave me this.¡± I waved on a short-sleeved hot pink T-shirt and everyone gasped. Carefully, I peeled up the sleeve and showed him my white aandat. He touched it. ¡°How much of that is on you?¡± ¡°It covers what a T-shirt and shorts would cover.¡± I put the edge of my hand on my leg at mid-thigh. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Anyone with that--¡± he poked my arm, ¡°¡ªcan do healing?¡± ¡°If they are trained by a healer who¡¯s skilled, yes.¡± ¡°Who did you train with?¡± Health Center Training I waved for Pas¡¯ holo, and he stepped out. ¡°I am Pas, Master Healer Of Ye~.¡± ¡°Well, I think the two of you should go to the Health Center and heal people! I¡¯ll write a pass for you, Molly. And, anyone who needs healing, go with them and I¡¯ll write you a pass also! This is a very unusual day! We¡¯ll just be watching proceedings at the UN today, in all the classes.¡± I gave out green cubes like candy. Encouraged folks to put ¡®em on before they talked to their parents. Every student did! So did Mr. Boswell. People were very happy not to have to use public restrooms! Wait ¡®til they get telepathy, or see how fast paper cuts heal! We organized everyone in there. All healers begin by learning points. He showed me the nine sets of points for Earthans, which I already knew, but I¡¯m learning it all again. Points One is across the forehead. Points Two is slightly back. In this way you see every set until the base of the head. It fascinated me. But soon, it felt natural. Every student let me feel their heads, and I fixed a lot of minor stuff on people I had no clue had a problem. So many people with sports injuries. Ben learned along with me. Diplomats always want to learn new stuff. But, he stayed in Mr. Boswell¡¯s class and answered questions about aliens. We did this In Mr. Boswell¡¯s class while he wrote five passes, and we led them up to the Nurse¡¯s Office. People stared at us. Up the hall we went. Students in every class stared at Pas, at his twin-fingered hands and deep orange skin, which he chose not to hide. Pas planned to train me now! Our school nurse, Ms. Shirley, stared at Pas. ¡°Molly, only you would bring an alien to see me! Lord, have mercy!¡± ¡°I brought Pas, Master Healer Of Ye~, because he¡¯s teaching me to do Zheien Healing. This is for you.¡± I waved, and gave her a green cube. She looked from the spot in mid air where I got it, to her hand. ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡±It fit across her palm. ¡°This is a computer. You can think questions to it and it¡¯ll answer. Want to give them out to your staff? Just think how¡¯d you would like to have another one to give, and it appears!¡± Another one sat on her hand by the first, and she gave it to the secretary. ¡°My goodness!¡± I noticed a cut on her finger. Touched it and her brown skin smoothed. ¡°That¡¯s Zheien Healing!¡± Pas explained things, and most of the staff let us see their points. ¡°Got anyone in the cot room?¡± ¡°Oh, Honey, I think Merle Bradley sprained her ankle. Her mom can¡¯t get off work. Can you fix that?¡± We went back there. Six students laid on the cots. One boy looked miserable and Pas went to him. Ms. Shirley took me to the girl. ¡°Hi, Molly! Wanna practice on me? I stepped in a hole in the parking lot. I feel so stupe!¡± Poor Merle. I put my cold hand above her ankle. ¡°Oh, that feels good. I think that cold pack got warm.¡± ¡°Think happy thoughts, Merle!¡± I sang and felt dumb. But she likes that song about rainbows and butterflies, too, and hummed harmony. Swelling went down. Ms. Shirley gasped. It takes a lot to make her-- ¡°Oh, it stopped hurting!¡± She wiggled it. ¡°I can move it!¡± Started to get up-- ¡°Go slow, Merle.¡± Ms. Shirley took her arm, but she didn¡¯t need support. She did the dance routine she performed in a play recently. Ms. Shirley signed her pass to go back to class! ¡°Thanks, Molly!¡± I handed her a green cube and touched the corner so the aandat fell on her feet. She screamed! I hugged her. ¡°Now you won¡¯t catch any more colds or COVID!¡± Her mom¡¯s an avid anti-vaxxer. ¡°Really? Without shots?¡± She left happy. I healed two migraines and an upset tummy. Pas healed another migraine and bad arthritis flare-up. Poor teacher limped in here for a nap, and left dancing! Kell came in, limping, to ask for an ibuprofen. My cue. I grabbed his arm and led him to a cot. ¡°Molly, I¡¯m okay, I just want an ibuprofen ¡®cause my knee hurts.¡± ¡°My friend, your whole body hurts! I want to try to fix it. Sit here.¡± He had more injuries than any other player! His ortho just warned him to quit the basketball team, and we have a division championship game this year! Pas lifted my hands to his forehead. ¡°See all of his points, despite what you remember.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Remember what?¡± Kell stared at him, green eyes wide, red eyebrows all the way up. ¡°We can ne explain, but I am teaching Molly Zheien Healing. We learn together, what she can do to help you, my son.¡± His green eyes blinked. ¡°Okay.¡± I saw him and didn¡¯t need a prompt to go again, and a third time. Lots to prioritize. Knee first, well, knees and ankles. Then arm joints. He hurt them all, at one time or another. Just about every finger! ¡°Sing, and imagine warmth as you do. Just a little warmth. Follow me.¡± ¡°Sing what?¡± I thought of several songs I liked that were popular. ¡°The song is ne important, but healing comes when one sings a song that has meaning to her. Emotion drives healing.¡± Pas¡¯ red-gold eyes opened wide, and smiled as much as his wrinkled face. Sunshine and butterflies Free wings under blue skies Listen to my heart rise It sings for you. I sing for the rainbows I sing for the mornings After closing my eyes Darkness hid your light. Darkness brings sorrows But see these bright skies? After the rain will come rainbows. ¡°Wow! Nothing hurts! Why¡¯m I so sleepy?¡± He rubbed an eye. ¡°I had to heal a lot on you. Lie down and take a nap--¡± ¡°But I want to go back to PE and shoot some hoops--¡± ¡°If you want this healing to stay, take a nap now. Then you can start training again!¡± Oops. Healers don¡¯t usually predict what a ¡®healed¡¯ can do until they try it! But I saw us winning that championship, and his points did it. Our red-haired star hugged me, then laid down. Snored. Pas waved white robes on me. ¡°You are now Healer!¡± I admired the soft material, light as gauze, but opaque. ¡°Thanks, Pas!¡± Memories aren¡¯t the same as reality. Ms. Shirley made an announcement to the school. ¡°We got us some miracle healers in my office. Any student with health problems, y¡¯all come up! I encourage you teachers to let people out of your class. SETI¡¯s been busy, and this is your preview!¡± Ms. Edwards brought her entire Special Ed class. We got busy. Lots of bone defects and all sorts of intellectual difficulties. Tommy smiled up at me while I checked his points. Everyone loved him, but his heart¡¯s bad and they didn¡¯t expect him to live to be 19. I knew that from his sister. ¡°I want to heal your heart, but I gotta touch your chest.¡± Pas listened and got ready to take over if I needed it. Ported in his ennead. He was plenty busy healing deformities that most of these kids had. He frowned. ¡°Mama said not to let any girls do that.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m 12, and I want to make your heart better. You know Ms. Shirley won¡¯t let me do anything naughty, right, Ms. Shirley?¡± ¡°Sometimes doctors have to touch places to help what¡¯s hurt. Miss Molly knows stuff I don¡¯t know.¡± He nodded and pulled my hand to his chest. I moved it to the left and sang. His blue eyes opened very wide! ¡°Oh, I can breathe! It was tight this mornin¡¯. Doesn¡¯t hurt now!¡± He chattered on while I moved my hands back up to his head. Poor thing hurt all over! I fixed his hip, which was very deformed. Made his back straight. Loud cracks made ¡®im cry. But, he got sleepy. I let him lie down and kept on. He needed a lot! When I finished, he looked a lot different because his face had been distorted and his teeth, very crooked. Pas didn¡¯t have to help me. ¡°His Mamma won¡¯t recognize him! I can¡¯t hardly believe this!¡± She went on. Next, Pas brought Emma Jordan to me. She was the size of a toddler, but had normal intelligence. Lots of deformities. Used a power chair. ¡°I saw what you did for Tommy! I wanna run! Can you fix me so I can?¡± I giggled. ¡°I can sure try! Let me put you on a cot.¡± She reached up and Ms. Shirley showed me where to grab. Her diaper sagged. I waved up a cube and put an aandat on her. She stared down and giggled. ¡°Thanks, Molly! I was awfully sore!¡± Like with Tommy, I healed up all her deformities, and even her lopsided head looked normal when I got through. Brown hair grew back on it in all her bald patches. She fell asleep. Mrs. Edwards went and got Juju Wang. I explained what I wanted to do and she pointed to symbols on her lapboard on her motorized wheelchair. ¡°I want to run, too, like her!¡± Mrs. Edwards told me what she said. I smiled at her. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, but I¡¯ll do my best, Juju!¡± She smiled. Her healing went really well! Her twisted legs straightened out and she rolled over on the cot. Bigger now, but still petite. Maybe Asian kids just are small, if they didn¡¯t grow up here. Hoped, for her sister Annamarie¡¯s sake, that she can talk now. I heard her say she¡¯d do anything if Juju could just talk to her! Pas went through kids like water. I saw the ones that he couldn¡¯t heal like that. There were five. Ms. Edwards sat on an empty bed. Took her dark glasses off. Her eyes had a milky gloss to ¡®em. ¡°Can you help me see? I want to see this miracle!¡± I saw all her points, and this poor woman was almost as bad off as her students! I handed her a green cube. ¡°You can think to this and it¡¯ll answer you. I want you to have an aandat. It helps with pain, and you won¡¯t need a bathroom. You heal faster--¡± ¡°I see it! Oh, I can see!¡± She looked around. Waved, and her aandat flowed onto her. I kept on and she tried to hold still. Wept. Finally, I finished with all of her ortho and waved her ankle brace into her alt storage. Sang a silly jingle for cataract lens replacements. When I finished, her vision was 20/20, but she slept. When we got through, Ms. Shirley looked worried. ¡°How long will they sleep?¡± ¡°Hours, but you can port them home to their beds, if their families can¡¯t come.¡± A few woke up enough to port themselves. My Golden Day People kept coming. So many teachers! How can they work in this condition? I kept asking myself that. Healthy people can¡¯t understand the suffering of disabled people. Being able to work is everything in our country, and people think you¡¯re lazy or just trying to get money for nothing¡ªthey should feel what these people feel! A healer sees it all. I listened to surface thoughts in the office and they called every sub in! Then, I heard a policeman looking for me. Mom¡¯s got a warrant. When I leave school, they¡¯ll want to take me back there! Ben had been enjoying sitting in my 2nd period chemistry class. Knew I was up here healing folks. Even explained things to my teacher, who was also okay with me doing this! He¡¯ll catch me up. They¡¯re all just watching videos about all the action in the UN. Ben answered a lot of questions. 3rd Period was AP Literature class, Ben handed in my essay on Louisa May Alcott¡¯s Work, and took notes for me. Mostly, they talked about SETI and didn¡¯t do much. I tried to go there and a teacher went into a diabetic coma. I cured him. I decided not to leave early, and stayed until people stopped coming. Ms. Shirley gave me a pass so I could go eat with Ben. Hardly tasted the food! Pizza was my fave meal here, with a nice green salad. People kept asking me to heal cuts and bruises. One boy had gotten in a fight. I think I saved him from a blood clot in his brain! His buddy let him sleep on his shoulder. Scared to go to the office. I waved hygiene so there weren¡¯t any signs that he had trouble. Black and Hispanic kids have troubles I don¡¯t. Pas kept teaching me things as I ate. Every student who came to me let me touch their heads, so I got to see a lot of normal points while healing a headache or tummy ache, or curing allergies. One girl had a peanut allergy, and a friend ate a candy bar with nuts. After my healing, she shared it and no reaction. That¡¯s life-saving! She knew several people with that problem, different foods. I cured ¡®em all. When 4th Period AP Psychology came, I got to spend the whole class there. We were studying learning in children and Ben compared Zheien children, which even kept the Marsh Twins on the back row awake. Hadn¡¯t seen those boys alert since we studied twins. Mary the Office Assistant ran in! ¡°Molly, they called an ambulance for Mr. Harris, but he says he can¡¯t affort one! You gotta help him!¡± I didn¡¯t wait for a pass. Waved up a map and found him, and ported. He looked sick and had a hand on his stomach. One of the teachers I didn¡¯t know. The overweight Black man had a head of gray curls in a short Afro. ¡°Dere she is! My daughta¡¯ says you can heal. You healed Merle¡¯s ankle.¡± He breathed with his mouth wide. Very dark skin. It had a grayish cast I knew shouldn¡¯t be there. ¡°Let me have a look. I¡¯ll touch your head.¡± Cold sweat ran down it. Pain in his chest nearly floored me! Pas brought his ennead. I checked once and felt urgent about starting. I sang a silly weight loss jingle and my face burned. But when the white light faded, I had to wave a new suit on him! He looked at his legs. His arms. His flat belly. Felt his thinner face! ¡°Oh, ho! You did a miracle! I feel like a 20 year ol¡¯! Why¡¯m I so sleepy?¡± ¡°I had to heal a lot on you! Let¡¯s go to the Nurses¡¯ Office. Send the ambulance back, Folks!¡± We were in the Business Ed typing room, set up with a receptionist¡¯s desk, a secretarial pool, and a podium. He was leaning against it. I waved for a green swirl that left him on a cot and me standing beside it. ¡°How¡¯d ya do dat?¡± I pressed a green cube into his hand and let the aandat out. ¡°Now you can do it, too! If you port home, it¡¯ll fix your house up if you want.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°That sho¡¯ is fine, mighty fine! Thanks, Molly.¡± He mumbled something else, then fell asleep. I squeezed his hand. Five of his students stood at the door. ¡°He¡¯ll be okay! Gotta sleep after a healing like that!¡± I should be sleepy after healing so many difficult folks. I looked at my watch and it was 2:28 pm. Ben took my hand. ¡°Go to the ship. I will explain our position to the officers.¡± They came past the students, and I did. I waved up a green swirl and stepped through. The familiar sensation of warmth with a bit of resistance, and a cool breeze was different. People just stepped back as I came. I smiled. So many I wanted to talk to! Pirad met me. ¡°Molly, I wish to collect your memories. Will you marry Binneas now so I can help you with clones? They are badly needed in the Rainbow Unwell Colonies. The Alb Council met this morning and every world that comes to Alb will have one.¡± I did a victory dance! ¡°Whoo! Think of how many slaves we can heal and send home!¡± People smiled, all over the ship. Except for a few Elshars. Slavers! I rushed out there. ¡°I need a TS Inspector!¡± A young Elshar in a black robe ported in front of me. I bowed to him from the waist and held my head so my hair drooped left. A sign of respect. Hoped my accent was okay. ¡°Inspector, I wish TS to watch many men¡¯s trades! See my memories!¡± He seemed shocked that I knew Elshar customs, and spoke it! ¡°I am Andrisch, and I will hear your evidence.¡± I expected a man with dark curls and a face like a road-map. This man was young, had light brown curls, but a scowl that could freeze a river. ¡°I will help, if I can.¡± I showed him all the reports Ry¡¯nao and I watched of Zheien¡¯s memories, of slavers. Ryee ran to me and put a hand on my head, and I remembered details I would never remember on my own! Over my years of running Rainbow, I saw a lot of slavers. Many of ¡®em already went to Ih Esta, which shocked me! Doug¡¯s crooked stepfather put terminals in him and his mother, and in Ron, one of the slaves Mom adopted in the other future, and he was my right-hand man in Rainbow! Doug and Ron stood beside me, and Jen hugged Doug¡¯s arm. M¡¯Naga came out in his cobalt blue Master Trader¡¯s robes and helped Ron and Doug to add slavers they knew. Wow! I sent some healing because this was very hard on Andrisch. Also for Doug and Ron. Ten other black robes and a white robed fella came out of a ship. Andrisch has his own staff, hand-picked by Berto. He started to block my healing, but Ryee told him it was okay. I saw the TS fella he spoke with on Elshar Mashai, an Elder from Elshar, Kirin Fah. Felt his shock that I could see him! Then, Ryee saw that I could, and that amazed him! We gave reports and blue portals went off like fireworks on Earth! But many ported to that ship. One was Harry Melon, posing as a lawyer, my mom¡¯s lawyer. I fumed. I saw Patasia and ported her here to Derees¡¯ room, her husband. Pas ported in there to see her. Good! That fella in white got busy vaporizing people in there! Harry had a red mark. You cause a death, you get the death penalty. His clothes ported to her and a whole bunch of terminals. Pas had to do a terminal removal on her, oh, my! His three boys cried, but they have a Zheien lady to help them. Derees ran with Pas! He¡¯s sobbing! He ran her to Pirad¡¯s Lab. Now that she¡¯s here, he can reclone Derees and Patasia as Elders, and I asked him to declare them and everyone on this ship who¡¯s not a slaver one, too. All his telepathy made me shake, but I have to last. Pas got in my Diplomatic Link and gave me healing. Oh, another Pas, there are many of his clones and this one stays in the Link doing healing. But, someone else came to me. What species is he? Black fur, pointy ears like a cat and paws? Neither Andrisch nor Ryee saw him. He put a paw on my head and I saw a lot more slavers. He helped me rat ¡®em out! Then, he held a purple cylinder and I lived my whole life to it in about 5 minutes! And, recloned me! Gave me Chor telepathy, strong as 100 Zbbat and fine control over it, too! He vanished, and I finished up. Had to sing healing on Andrisch! But, he bowed. ¡°Thank you, Queen Molly! Perhaps Bi Keras will rethink their presence on Earth, and many other slaver networks.¡± His eyes turned very light. I bowed in the same way, but let my red curls fall left as much as collar-length hair can. ¡°I am happy to help you in any way I can, for the well of the Alliance and Unified!¡± Elshars don¡¯t say goodbye, they port. Pas ran out and put a hand on my forehead. Paled. Pirad came and added his hand. ¡°Oh, Pinda already recloned her. Pas, do not speak of it.¡± He had his blocks up so no one heard except Ryee. He was dying to ask about Pinda who is a Councillor, so I told him. Ryee paled, too. Wedding Time Then I followed Pirad into his lab. Poor Patasia was terrified of everyone! Pas can¡¯t remove her terminals that way! I ran over to her. ¡°Patasia¡ª¡± ¡°Molly! I was rude to you¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay! Listen, I have two rules you gotta follow.¡± She got a blank stare. ¡°I will obey you, Master.¡± I rubbed her temples. ¡°Rest when you¡¯re tired. Repeat that, so I know you heard me.¡± She did. ¡°My second rule is, see a healer if you don¡¯t feel good. Say it.¡± When she did, I got Be~saech in there to look at her progs in the terminals. Good. These were easy to disable. Pirad got his smug expression. ¡°My terminals will destroy them, gradually. There is no need to port them. I have all the information from them now, and her memories will add to what I know of her slaver.¡± ¡°You know about Titan, right?¡± ¡°Titan, moon of Saturn? No, I did not.¡± ¡°Jog Sa! People from Marenalay! Pardisra¡¯ion Of Zhea~, Sixth Galaxy Minister! Kesi will have to heal him. Snafanas¡ªcan you get a ship past him?¡± Pirad¡¯s three sets of orange pupils flew apart in his yellow eyes! We must speak with Ray.¡± She ported in. ¡°I have the Blue Cube now¡ª¡± Ry¡¯nao ported in. He was pale! I bowed low. ¡°Ray, you must not use it! Eriganh will know.¡± I touched her shoulder. ¡°You can trade for slaves for Rainbow! You traded with Snafanas. New traders make mistakes, don¡¯t they? You can use Provisional if Asha trades with you.¡± Ry¡¯nao smiled. ¡°Do this. Rainbow has many Ishah healers who are happy that they are not starving, who are eager to heal. They already receive many from won disputes, and all slaves from Aryllan worlds are moving to Alb. Taredias made many clones of renowned healers for all of your Rainbow Colonies, and he, Kirnonos and Pirad will move more worlds to Alb if needed. So far, all of the 25 Rainbow Colonies have capacity to heal more. We currently have 5 healers for each unwell.¡± I laughed. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great! Ray hugged me. ¡°I¡¯ll go get you more slaves! My sister¡¯s on Elshar Mashai now waiting for her test!¡± I checked her Alliance record and frowned. ¡°But, look!¡± Her holo looked very Elshar, but it said Raylene Elisa Green, Trader Of Earth and it had the rotating TS seal on it. She giggled. Waved on her light blue robes. ¡°This title will not show to your trading partners until your sister passes her test. Trade only as you did when you apprenticed.¡± Ry¡¯nao smiled. ¡°Enjoy yourself, but be careful. Slavers are watching.¡± I waved up my trash. ¡°Want me to write up some descriptions on this stuff?¡± ¡°Molly, she can only trade items known in the Traders Circle. Any items from Earth must wait until the Alliance vote Monday.¡± I nodded. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Ray and Asha ran to their room. Ben took my hand and I felt sweat on it. Time to get married! We went out into the main part of the ship. People stopped talking and watched. I have lots of friends here! My mom¡¯s here? I let her watch, but not interfere. Dad¡¯s trying to rent an apartment. But, a diplomat¡¯s watching him, because slavers are, too. He startled and waved. Now he wore a white tuxedo with his white sash, and I had the most beautiful and modest white wedding dress ever, with lots of soft lace! Diamonds decorated it. My red ringlets had braids in nine arcs over my head, short arcs because my haircut was longer on the left. I cut it myself. Ben showed me how I looked. Wore a beautiful necklace with white Tessite and rainbow colored stones that sparkled much more than our diamonds. I recognized the work of Trader Jillem of Fhiah, Fhai who designed beautiful jewelry. Eap ported in and a holo of his parents, King and Queen Of Fhiah stood with him. Angel and her parents ran out here! So did Greg, Deb and Briahh! My courted paled as he knelt before me. Took my right hand. His parents ported in and his father put his hands on Binneas¡¯ wide shoulders. ¡°Molly Bradford Brown, Student of Earth, I, Binneas, Diplomat of Fhiah. I wish to ask that you become my wife in this Petition of Marriage. You have important work and I wish to help in it. I love you so, I barely speak! I, Binneas, Diplomat of Fhiah, ask you, Molly, will you marry me, by the Ancient Protocols of Fhiah and Zhea~, and Marietta? I will do all that I can to please you.¡± Yellow sweat sparkled on all of his exposed skin. ¡°Oh, I feel like a princess! Yes! I, Molly Bradford Brown Of Earth, Queen Of Rainbow Colonies, do wish to marry you, Binneas, Diplomat of Fhiah, by the Ancient Protocols of Fhiah and Zhea~! I am very happy today, my love!¡± I looked away. Shared our happiness telepathically will all our friends. Held his hand very lightly. Everyone on the ship cheered! Ben fainted! I sang healing. White light glowed around us. He looked up with a huge smile. ¡°Eap, help us!¡± Theapet added his hands as I finished a stanza of Ode to Joy and laughed. ¡°O, my friend, you share a mindlink, and it is even! Molly, did you mean to Join minds?" ¡°Oh, I meant to ask¡ªbut you wanted to do that and I refused, the other time! I¡¯m glad you wanted ¡ª¡± I giggled. ¡°I think we better go share our memories now. I¡¯ll need an army of clones to send my Rainbows!¡± Fa helped Ben up. Pale, but okay. We followed Pirad into his lab. Pirad clicked his face into his smugface. ¡°Greg and Briahh improved my methods. I can now do instant recloning! Think of which qualities you wish added to you.¡± He directed that at Ben, since I was already recloned, by Pinda. I asked Ryee if Pirad could add his mind to me, which shocked him! Ea, you may share my mind. Perhaps Ay would let you share hers also. I would love that! Yes, you may. I cannot imagine what help my turmoil would be to you¡ª Adia, you don''t know how much I have! I need help with it. Ryee''s mind helps you, and I can learn from that. Hope this isn''t embarrassing you! Then her mind answered from inside me. I can answer questions, but it is not embarrassing. Not like a mindlink, but ability to remember how they solved problems. Adia had a lot of similar feelings, that I had, of not feeling competent or overwhelmed by her new role as Queen Of Ye~. Feelings I needed help with! Ben added a lot of minds. His parents''. Theas and Eap let him add theirs! About ten of his ancestors! And, his brothers''. All five of ''em were alive in Fhiah! Pirad revived most of Burial Chambers. He was shocked to learn that he had 5 more brothers who died before he was born, on Esteerr! Ray defeated Satauuver this morning?! I was here, but I didn¡¯t know. Already there are big changes from the Alb System I knew, three years from now, when I created Rainbow. Through the Diplomatic Link, that giant mindlink diplomats get, I learned that Pirad and his clones were nearly finished reviving all of the Alb System''s Burial Chambers. Theaspaura, King Of Fhiah, went to Biehshah and finally convinced all their Council to allow clones! A major accomplishment! He already went to Thorde and convinced them! Mike and Mica are there with him and Goes¡¯ 5th clone. They¡¯ve been working hard today. He touched my head, then white light flashed. Ben took a lot more minds so I could access ''em. My thoughtful husband took just about every healer. Hoped he could handle it! Flash! ¡°Now I shall carry you over the threshold!¡± Ben swept me off the table with a hop, and we landed in my room! A beautiful nine-poster bed in deep blue had the rainbow quilt Toni made for me and lots of lace on the canopy to match! I sighed. ¡°I love this!¡± Neat shelves the same color decorated the red-violet walls. All my stuff had a place! Even the ceiling had shelves. ¡°O, I am happy this pleases, dear wife!¡± ¡°Would it hurt Fa and Mea''s feelings if we had a house in MarKu?¡± ¡°Nae at all!¡± Ben put me on the bed. ¡°O, love rises!¡± We had bellsongs that shook the walls! Laughed like two kids rolling on the floor! Who needs sex? After a while, we stopped and I put my head on Ben''s chest. Happy. Content. But, he needs to share memories for my clones. They might want husbands. Hmm. Pirads Clones We went to Pirad. I dreaded this part. It hurts like a migraine, but worse, and Ben will hurt more than an Earthan would. My hubby just laid on the table and smiled at me. ¡°O, I am happy to remember every moment with my bae!¡± His poor family lost 3 of them on diplomatic missions, all on Esteerr. Neasem''s there now. A lot of things happened this morning! Esteerrians, Zbbat and Aryllans signed a peace treaty? The 3 major slaver groups! Greg''s green eyes, bluish-green, filled as he held his hand out. It was pink like my favorite color of rose, and smelled like it. ¡°Breathe this, Ben. It''ll help.¡± ¡°Eae yeo, Greg!¡± Fa held Ben''s hand. He was still pale. ¡°Molly, are you well?¡± But our minds were connected. Fa had already been recloned, and had the telepathy of a Zbbat, too! I didn''t let him see what I just found out, somehow. Pirad put his hand on my head. ¡°You can help him share faster. I apologize that my hands are so cold¡ª¡± ¡°And I apologize that my hand is almost warm enough to make you shiver, too!¡± His yellow eyes snapped open wide. All three sets of orange pupils spread out in the green irises! ¡°You can see this?¡± ¡°Pirad, I see a lot more than that. How do I stop? I''m not supposed to know all this stuff!¡± This morning--Ray and Suma are Councillors, and I saw a lot of that. And bad people are watching! Ben didn''t know how, and he''d had all these advanced courses he took with Eap to learn fine telepathic control. I had his skills. They weren''t enough! I cannot help with what I cannot see. Molly, you have Gifts even I do not know. Perhaps the Council above ours sees that slavers have tech from higher levels and offers help, through Adia, and through you. Merely concentrate on other things. I nodded. All five of my first clones came to me. We''re identical sextuplets, now! But he made clones of me for all the Rainbow satellites, 25 of ¡®em! ¡°I''m Lia. You can tell me how to run things in Rainbow MarKu. I''ll help you, Sis! I have all of your skills.¡± ¡°Wow, thanks, Lia! Will ya find Harmony before¡ª¡± ¡°I''ll grab a diplomat and go find her today. I have a list. Oh. Ishmarel¡¯s on his way to be recloned. We have to wait until his clone can do that. I''ll go talk to Alice! But there¡¯s plenty of others!¡± She picked all the ones I would''ve picked! Ran off. A diplomat was already in my school today and brought Juju and her sister, who led a DS Team, here. I saw ¡®em across the ship. Another one sighed. ¡°I''ll go to school for you. Actually, with our new skills, this might be fun! I''ll pick people at school who might wanna escape like we do.¡± We swapped some ideas. Mark and Toni took her hand. ¡°We¡¯re Elshar and we¡¯re going to stay in the house. Want to live with us? Tan got approval!¡± Oh, a couple of their clones! The other three didn''t want to be our ages. ¡°Can I start over? You wanted a younger sister. Toni wants more kids. One of Angel''s clones wants to be younger, too. We can be best buds like you an'' Angel.¡± Angel''s clone was holding her hand. I kissed their foreheads. ¡°You don''t have to have permission. Just ask Pirad.¡± But Angel''s clone shook her head. ¡°Let''s check with my mom first.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± They ran to Toni. I laughed. The other two went with ''em. She was very glad to have them! All four volunteered to have genetics of the four babies Toni lost. Mark was very excited, but when the girls went with Pirad, Toni got teary. They went into their bedroom with another of my new sisters. They''re going to MarKu, so their new kids''ll be safe. Then, I heard Jen¡¯s upset! Ran out there. I got to know her well, ¡®cause her husband¡¯s Ye~¡¯s favorite poet! Oh, he¡¯s still sharing memories and can¡¯t help her. Pas ran over with me. I had to sing healing on him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with¡ªJen? It¡¯s all right. These memories are hard, aren¡¯t they?¡± She was hugging Ryee! Wow, she¡¯s diff now! ¡°We went to mines! I¡ª¡± I got in her mind. Listen, you can¡¯t do this. There¡¯s too many Yeff and not enough healers that know Yeff healing. Calm down. Think about something else. Ryee¡¯s bringing Yeff. Look at ¡®em. They¡¯re happy. I can stay in your mind-- Please! I need help, and Doug¡¯s not finished! This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. She went to a mine with Ryee, Derees and Vonn. This was before the Yeff all went to slavery! Her memories made me shake, but they made all the Yeff sick! Ryee just wanted to show her they¡¯re okay, to comfort her, but they all saw their futures! Shocking! I never knew you went through all that! I¡¯m sorry! Not your fault, Molly. Suma¡¯s here. She can help me. So glad! She was my Rainbow therapist and helped so many people! I wrote a quick prog and tried to copy the prog we had in Rainbow to help people calm down. Suma helped me modify it, and her dad did, too, but Cornelia saw us and helped more. So glad to see Cornelia and Marc! They had great programming skills and used ¡®em expertly to make these progs even better than they were in Rainbow! He was a diplomat who got horribly injured in the other future, on Rhaech. Where Kenneph is now! One pair of their clones went to help him. Be~saech ran to us, Ye~¡¯s best prog instructor. And Jen saw Goes and even hugged him! ¡°Jen. I remember you. Penny!¡± She came walking out of their room. Wow, she¡¯s young! Didn¡¯t look like she felt good. But she smiled a trembly smile. ¡°Are you unwell, Love? You remember Jen, eae?¡± ¡°H-h-hi!¡± She doesn¡¯t have telepathy yet. Why have I got it? They¡¯re recloned, too. Jen tried to calm down, but tears kept flowing. She¡¯s got telepathy because she just got recloned. Suma tried to pull her away from our Zheien friends, who were looking pale. She remembers a lot of traumas that they had, too. ¡°Jen is much upset! Perhaps she had more trials than even my Yeff!¡± Ryee put a hand on the back of my head. Goes looked shocked, brown eyes huge. Took her off her feet. ¡°Let us go to her chamber! This is too much for her, Ryee! Suma, Penny, come!¡± They ported to her bed. Outside, Yeff cried! I felt awful! I helped Pas calm people. Huih was one of ¡®em. He was cold! ¡°Pal, you need to rest¡ª¡± ¡°I am violate! O, Molly, I am filthy¡ª¡± I hugged him. Brought Pirad. Showed him how he can dim memories, or remove them, without hurting him. He nodded, and I let Pirad take over. He hid himself from anyone who wasn¡¯t familiar with him. Huih calmed down. ¡°Will I yet remember Leah?¡± ¡°You will. Look, she¡¯ll be crying in this bus stop at 6:15 pm. Want to go meet her? Take a diplomat¡ª¡± ¡°I wish to go alone, Molly. She is shy.¡± I tagged M¡¯Naga and Be~saech to monitor him, and Ao~. I worried, but he talked to Ao~, who¡¯s been out trading among us Earthans today. Maybe he¡¯s scared he¡¯ll frighten her. Pas took Angel¡¯s arm. ¡°Sing, Daughter, your voice calms.¡± ¡°What should I sing?¡± ¡°Emotion drives healing. Sing that which pleases you, and your emotion will please all who hear.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± My friend pulled her dark hair on her shoulders and got that look of concentration. Stood tall with her feet shoulder-width apart. She began with an amazing bass falsetto. Schiller''s "Ode To Joy," from Beethoven''s 9th Symphony. O Freunde, nicht diese T?ne! Sondern la?t uns angenehmere anstimmen, Und freudenvollere. Freude! Freude! Everyone on the ship watched her. Several Elshar traders got light eyes and wrapped up their trading! Takes a lot to make ¡®em do that! Freude, sch?ner G?tterfunken Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Br¨¹der, Wo dein sanfter Fl¨¹gel weilt. As she sang, she spread her arms wide as she sang about the soft wings of the Daughter Of Elysium. I could imagine her as some sort of healing bird! I waved a long, white dress on her with lots of sparkly trim. And a breeze to make it billow on the floor. I felt Zheien with mind pain relax. Every Zheien who heard her got relief! And, when she finished all three verses, they still had relief! ¡°You gotta sing to Jen! C¡¯mon!¡± She looked scared. ¡°But Molly, I think she just wants to be alone.¡± ¡°Do you know there are a lot of Zheien diplomats on this ship with bad mind pain¡ªuh headaches? It went away when you sang!¡± Pas paled! ¡°Let me see her! Surely she has injury, to heal so many!¡± He checked her, but didn¡¯t find anything wrong. ¡°O, such a talent you have, and a very rare one! I ne ever knew of one to heal mind pains so easily!¡± ¡°Really? Oh, Molly, let¡¯s go! All my life I wished for one talent, just one, that was good! This is too easy, ¡®cause I love to sing!¡± We ran in Jen¡¯s room. Angel was nervous about being in there with a king and a first prince, but she sang, and their smiles made her forget their rank. I left her in there with ¡®em. Rainbow Head Injury Center Pirad smiled. ¡°I sent a ship with one of my clones to Titan. You showed me how two escaped in disposable ships, in the other future. He sent a slave to organize a revolt using similar methods. They will not know of this. I also established a lab there.¡± But, I saw it working. ¡°Pondaiash, Diplomat Of Elshar Zheiea and Cam Ta Of Ishah Elshar Colony, TS Inspector, were in two disposable ships, this morning. Maybe you should send diplomats to Leyla Steffenhagen and Marilla McPherson in Tullahoma, Tennessee.¡± ¡°I beg, let me go to Pon!¡± Asha, Diplomat Of Elshar Zheiea came running. I hugged him. ¡°His people won''t be home for two hours. They went to do laundry. Let¡¯s go get Olie!¡± Ry¡¯nao frowned. ¡°Molly, Tan says there is a problem with seeing individuals in the facility.¡± ¡°Well, I healed people at school and nobody complained! Let¡¯s go do the same thing at Rainbow Head Injury Center! The director¡¯s still there, ¡®cause it¡¯s only 4 and she doesn¡¯t get off work ¡®til 5. She¡¯s very happy you got her that van. I think she¡¯ll talk to us.¡± Asha smiled, big! Watched Ry¡¯nao¡¯s face. They brought Tan Links, the lawyer who helped me today. He smiled. ¡°I shall go with you. People saw the presentation at the UN where Pas healed children this morning. His clones have been very busy helping people who have terminals already. I think there are no barriers now, my liege.¡± He bowed, but Ry¡¯nao stopped him. ¡°I do not expect anyone to bow if it gives them pain, Tan. Go, with my blessing!¡± ¡°Danke sehr!¡± His blue eyes watered. All of us dressed differently. I had jeans, my cobalt blue long-sleeved T-shirt, and my purse. With my white healers¡¯ robes over that. Tan had his neat navy pin stripe suit. His blond hair was neatly combed, but it won¡¯t stay that way for long, the way he worries it. Asha wore his blue DS uniform with sash full of sparkling pins. I still expect him to talk like an Earthan because in our future, slavers trained him that way. So nice to see him in his diplomat persona. His clone is eager to take over for him, but he¡¯ll have this last, nice mission. We ported around the corner of the red brick building. Then walked in the front office. Laura was talking to Miss Riqueti. ¡°They got us a van! Why can¡¯t we ask for more Hoyer lifts?¡± Asha knocked on the open door. ¡°We are happy to supply whatever your facility needs, but I brought a healer to demonstrate Zheien healing to you. This is Molly, an RN licensed in the state of Georgia.¡± I walked up and shook her hand. She frowned at Asha. ¡°A kid can¡¯t be an RN!¡± I stuck my hand in my purse and came out with my wallet card. Handed it to her. She frowned until she read it. ¡°You may have the license, but I don¡¯t want to hire you.¡± ¡°Miss Riqueti, I am not asking for a job. What I would like to do¡ªyou know about SETI, right?¡± She sighed. ¡°Everyone has been talking about it, but I am too busy working to watch a news report.¡± I duplicated a Unified terminal for her, and handed her the green cube. ¡°What¡¯s this? A fidget?¡± ¡°I am a terminal of the Unified, and I can help automate many tasks.¡± She startled. ¡°It talks?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a computer you can think to, and it can make things. Server, repair Miss Riqueti¡¯s chair, please.¡± I noticed that it sat crooked. People get bad backs from chairs with sagging springs. Her brown eyes opened wide! ¡°My chair got warm!¡± ¡°You must have a backache. Think of how you feel, and it¡¯ll do something to help. But, it can help expedite paperwork, all sorts of administrative things.¡± I looked at Laura. Put a cube in her hand. She got the memory-sharing stare. Oops. She was one of my best master healers in Rainbow! ¡°I can repair every piece of equipment on the premises, right now. Want me to do that?¡± Miss Riqueti pulled at a brown curl. Nodded. ¡°Please repair all the equipment in this building now.¡± ¡°Equipment repaired.¡± I smiled. ¡°Now, I want to show you how I can heal people. See this?¡± I waved for my sleeves to be short and pulled my right one up. White skin covered my pink skin about to where the sleeve came. I poked it. ¡°This is an aandat. My friends gave me one, for free, and they brought enough for every man, woman and child on Earth. I will never have a cold or COVID again. Want one?¡± She stared at it. ¡°How big is it?¡± ¡°It covers where a T-shirt and shorts does. You¡¯ll never need a bathroom again, and if you need to open it, do this.¡± I dragged my fingernail down from my shoulder and it curled away from the cut. ¡°To make it flat, do this.¡± I patted it down where I cut it and it was smooth again. ¡°And, we Earthans get telepathy in most cases. That¡¯s how I can heal things.¡± ¡°Telepathy? You can read my mind right now?¡± She was thinking about how she would fry chicken tonight for supper. I fed that back to her, and I was in the kitchen chopping vegetables for it. ¡°Wow. Yes, I would like one!¡± She startled and looked at her feet, under the desk. ¡°Oh, my! It moves?¡± ¡°Just until it gets to where a T-shirt and shorts would be, and it never moves again that you can tell. Don¡¯t worry. Your terminal can give one to anyone who wants one.¡± ¡°Anyone? People in my facility?¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Yes! As long as they are able to ask for one.¡± Mr. Links sat beside Asha, in two chairs. I didn¡¯t sit down. ¡°Would you like me to heal your back? I only need to touch your head and see how your body feels.¡± Poor thing looked really overwhelmed! But, she nodded. ¡°Okay. What do I have to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just touch from your forehead to the back of your head, then sing healing.¡± It didn¡¯t take long. She was in pretty good physical shape for someone with a desk job. Tired, and her back hurt. I sang a quick healing and she smiled. ¡°Oh, that feels better! Can I learn that?¡± ¡°Sure! It usually takes 2 or 3 days to get telepathy. I got it this morning, which is really fast! So I took lessons from Healer Pas. He has a bunch of healers ready to heal everyone in your facility that we can. May we start?¡± ¡°I think we must get permission from their families first.¡± She smiled. ¡°I will¡ªoh, it can call them? And, it knows what I wanted to say?¡± She giggled. Laura looked up. I touched her mind and she smiled. Go get Oleana. If she can ask for an aandat, we can give her one. I want mine now! Hers plopped onto her white nurse¡¯s shoes. She stifled a scream. Miss Riqueti laughed. ¡°Oh, Laura, you look like I felt! Now I don¡¯t feel it, just as Molly said!¡± ¡°Hurry up! I can¡¯t walk with you on my feet!¡± Laura talked to the white mass. I laughed. ¡°Try walking! It should part.¡± She moved a foot and it did. By now it was halfway up. ¡°It¡¯s not as heavy as¡ªbut I might scare folks. I¡¯ll wait a bit. But¡ªwow! I¡¯m doing my vitals and charting! Even with the ladies in the TV room! And, I have holos of myself doing it so I can talk with ¡®em. This is great! I can give the meds, and¡ªMrs. Smith can¡¯t keep it under her tongue now! My terminal ported ¡®em into her stomach. Oh, that¡¯s funny!¡± Mr. Links frowned at her. ¡°You should not discuss your patients here!¡± Laura turned very red in the face. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry.¡± He smiled, and she looked less guilty. Laura looked down. ¡°I guess I¡¯m ready to go see my patients now. Can Molly come with me?¡± ¡°Not unless a relative gives permission. I¡¯m sorry. But, you may give terminals to people.¡± She smiled. ¡°Okay, Server, give everyone in this facility a terminal! Show them a holo of me showing them how to use it.¡± I heard echoes of Laura¡¯s voice, telepathically. I also felt Asha¡¯s mind reaching for Oleana¡¯s. And, she walked up here. Her terminal steadied her. No walker. ¡°Oh, hi, Oleana! You found your way up here!¡± Laura hugged her. Then, she saw Asha. Stared at him with her blue eyes wide. He got pale. They got married in the other future. She was a teacher at a middle school near her and fell off a ladder¡ªboys scared her? They got suspended. Mr. Links explained a lot of the legal stuff Miss Riqueti¡¯s terminal could help her with, so she missed it. Laura looked worried. ¡°Asha, are you okay?¡± All the yellow in his skin is white now. ¡°I am well, Laura. May I call you so?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. When I have my break, can I call Jo?¡± ¡°Eae! He will be very happy!¡± She married him. Ryonne~¡¯s brother has heart problems. Pirad¡¯s helping him, though. Laura pulled Oleana into the hall and sat her on the sofa visitors used. Asha moved with ¡®em. I sat on Asha¡¯s other side in case he needed healing. Rubbed the back of his head. Awful mind pain. Angel was singing to someone, so I listened and let Asha listen while we waited for Oleana to finish seeing memories. His mind pain vanished! Pas discovered her new talent¡ªwithout telepathy¡ªthat when she sings, anyone Zheien with headaches feel better. So she¡¯s technically a healer and wears white robes. Oh, Pas is teaching one of my clones and Angel¡¯s helping. Oleana startled. ¡°Asha!¡± She went to hug him but Laura stopped her. ¡°Not yet! Molly wants to give you an aandat¡ª¡± ¡°Yes!¡± She released hers and it crept up. Then I saw her points and sang healing. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s better! I don¡¯t want to stay here another night! Asha, please, take me with you!¡± ¡°I will, Olie! Laura, may I take her to our embassy?¡± ¡°Let me see¡ªoh, my, you¡¯re lots better! I¡¯ll put in a request to your doctors. I ordered lots of tests to send them results. Oh!¡± Laura¡¯s phone buzzed. ¡°Hi, this is Nurse Laura. Oh, hi, Dr. Matheson. Yes, she¡¯s right here. Oleana, Honey, this is Dr. Matheson¡ª¡± ¡°I want to leave! My boyfriend¡¯s here and he says I can live with him! Yes, I¡¯m an adult and I am able to make my own choices about where to live. I want to leave now. There¡¯s a lawyer here¡ª¡± Mr. Links ran to her. ¡°I am Tan Links, a lawyer, and you have the right to choose to leave. They cannot force you to stay.¡± ¡°Good, so I am exercising my legal right to leave. Thanks, Doc!¡± Olie gave the phone to Laura. ¡°Yes, I will put her statement on her chart. Thanks, Dr. Matheson. Bye.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it! You¡¯re all signed out.¡± ¡°My house! Medicaid took it? But, my fish and my octopus¡ª¡± She sobbed. Asha put an arm around her and they went out the front doors where a purple limo waited. ¡°O, I am sorry. We bought many fish and octopuses today, so you may have your house, and as many pets as you wish to put in it.¡± Laura brought me people, and other healers waited up front. Holos of her brought others for other healers. With this mega-telepathy, I could heal people when other healers couldn¡¯t. I taught some of ¡®em something they didn¡¯t know, but for most, even Pas, I had to do it. We ran out of people who could give permission. By then, a lot of relatives had come, the ones who were local, and they saw us healing people. Most of ¡®em were eager for their relative to be next! So, several of us went with the relative to the person¡¯s room. All the young people had a good bit of improvement, enough to live at home again. Then Bets¡¯ aunt came in. She was skeptical of our healing, but finally saw someone she knew get healing and agreed for me to heal Bets. Aubus stood by, waiting. ¡°What are you here for?¡± She stared at his blue sash, with lots of pins. ¡°I am Aubus, Diplomat Of Veheirea Gtu Pei. I wish to give you, and Miss Ball, a Unified terminal. Have you heard about SETI and the treaty in the United Nations?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe in all that alien gibberish! But, I did see a miracle, and I want my niece to get healed. Maybe she¡¯ll be a bit more grateful that I¡¯m giving her a place to live. You know she sneaked out to go to that Christmas party at her school and look what happened! She got raped and beaten up! If she minded me, she wouldn''t be here!¡± She pulled at her dark curls. Laura brought Bets and helped her sit on the sofa. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to her!¡± Bets shook all over. But, Auntie saw a holo of her. Several underage girls had to marry Zheien today, and they were recloned, and in every case, one of the clones volunteered to live on Earth as an operative. Maybe Bets¡¯ clone might do this for her. I hummed and her shaking stopped. ¡°You won¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to! Your terminal will talk to her for you. Go with Aubus now. Your stuff¡¯s in your terminal, from here and your room in her house, and anything she got rid of.¡± ¡°Even things she threw out¡ªoh!¡± Bets is an emancipated minor, so Tan assured me, legally, she can leave. That happened before she decided to live with her aunt. Her holo will stay or maybe go home tonight. Aubus took her out to a waiting purple limo. Are all the embassy limos purple? That thought amused me. Must be Thordes driving¡ªyep. To Earthans, they looked Black, but I could see the purple skin. By then, we¡¯d healed all the ones whose relatives came. Laura had her break for an hour, for supper. Laura and J~oie We ported onto the ship. J~oie waited, in a white diplomat¡¯s uniform. ¡°Laura!¡± He held a hen and bitties in shaking hands. Her favorite plant, a succulent that¡¯s white with purple. ¡°Jo, Darlin¡¯, you oughta sit down!¡± She pulled at auburn waves about the shade of his curls to his collar. His golden eyes opened very wide. I felt their minds link, right there, and I made ¡®em even. Usually it takes a bunch of folks at a Wedding Festival to do that. A graceful wave of his hand and her red-violet scrubs turned into a beautiful white satin wedding dress! She held a huge bouquet. The hen and bitties sat on top. I stifled a grin! No flowers, just rubbery leaves in circles. It looked really strange. Vonn came running. Tan and Lili stood there, all of them in red-violet formals. All of J~oie and Ryee¡¯s little siblings lined up in a row. A little girl with red-gold eyes walked slowly spreading rose petals. A little boy about Ryee¡¯s age held a red-violet pillow with the rings. J~oie knelt, and his father held him up! Crouched so he had one leg behind. Held his head up. ¡°Laura Sherri Martin, Nurse Of Earth, I love you! I, J~oie, First Prince Of Ye~, I wish--¡± He turned white. ¡°Mention the Ancient Protocols--¡± His parents and Ryee looked scared. J~oie has a bad heart! Healthy Zheien can die when they get upset! ¡°By the Ancient Protocols of Zhea~ and Ye~ Zheien Colony, I--¡± ¡°Mention Fulton County and Atlanta-- ¡°By the Ancient Protocols of Earth, North America, The United States of America, State of Georgia, Fulton County, and City of Atlanta, I, J~oie, wish to marry Laura!¡± He fainted! She gasped. ¡°Server, J~oie is unwell! I, Laura Sherri Martin, Nurse Of Earth want to marry J~oie, First Prince Of Ye~! Please, record it!¡± ¡°I cannot record--¡± ¡°My ba is very unwell! Server, I am Ryonne~, King Of Ye~, and I wish this Petition Of Marriage Without Courtship to be recorded.¡± He paled. ¡°Petition recorded on Ye~.¡± ¡°Stupid servers!¡± Laura cried. Pas carried her to a copy of her bedroom, but with J~oie¡¯s beautiful 9-posted nine-sided bed instead of her lumpy second-hand mattress. She felt very happy with it. Pas waved up J~oie¡¯s steep leiwege and put her in it. Like a mini-bendable mattress. Ryee laid J~oie in Laura¡¯s arms. ¡°I beg, Sa, ne Earthan practices--¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± We all ran out. Music like a bell choir made us all look around. Not all of us. I helped J~oie keep it to themselves. Too much excitement for him to do that for long. Poor Ryee¡¯s face was orange, so I hugged him. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Healers listen for that so they know a couple¡¯s all right. Your ba is fine, Ryee. We have progs to get Pirad for him if he needed it. See? We both saw Pirad at work in his lab. He had a smug smile on his face, and I giggled. Laura checked out the food and I heard her amazement! Lots more variety than we ever had in Rainbow! And, she waved up FFbah for J~oie. She¡¯s got a timer running for when her supper break¡¯s over. He¡¯s asleep, but she can layer ¡®em on his chest so he won¡¯t lose weight. Aandats make it possible for him to get the nutrition. Ryee wasn¡¯t expecting Laura to come during her work hours. She could just send a holo, ¡®cause her work¡¯s done for her shift! I heard her asking Mr. Links about that. He said that holos are legal as long as you¡¯re willing to port back if there¡¯s something the server can¡¯t imitate. Wished I didn¡¯t hear everything! But, Deb has the same problem. She became Rainbow¡¯s midwife, but she learned how to heal Greg and Briahh, and there are over 50 of the half-Ty¡¯nirrhans on the ship now? And, Kesi. All these Earthans with Gifts! I met ¡®em over a period of maybe 20-30 years, but diplomats are finding ¡®em now¡ªmany of ¡®em because Pirad listened to my memories of Rainbow. I noticed one of my clones helping the five ladies get married I knew! Elsie, who became a great healer for me, married Sanderdin, Diplomat Of MarKu. Her four roommates married people, too. Kerry, married Jonamias, Diplomat Of K''hasa Zha, who really wasn¡¯t able to work and they became singers in Rainbow. She¡¯s good at Irish music. Her dad married Vera, an Earthan doctor who was a slave for a while. Genevieve married Natamian, Rainbow¡¯s most injured living MarKuan. He¡¯s planning to still work as Planetary Minister? But, maybe progs can help them stay safe. His work involves riding animals for long travels from prov to prov. And Zheien can get hurt from that. Goes spoke to ¡®em about it. Science Council of MarKu is looking at the problem, as are many other worlds like Ea~ and Vasye, who also do that. Now they can port to cut most of the distance because tech¡¯s not limited. They did something called the Nefcot Ring to supply energy to the entire 13 galaxies from our Milky Way? Farrah married Jop, a Thordes DS Team Leader, and his entire Team found ladies. They¡¯ll marry tomorrow, and I saw it! I guess I really can see futures like Adia! And, Nellie married Jonnev, Kenneph¡¯s ba. He¡¯s still on Rhaech. Ry¡¯nao sent clones of several people who are here on the ship to help him. Cornelia and Marc sent clones because Marc went to Rhaech to help him, in the other future. Gierdre¡¯s Xchou-Ty¡¯nirrhan clone went to save Gedda Dier. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Gierdre¡¯s father¡¯s clone¡ªthis mission got him his title with Ry¡¯nao, he¡¯ll get killed because he¡¯ll have Rentappenen¡¯s blood on him! Oh, my! I touched Ry¡¯nao¡¯s mind and let him see. Ry¡¯nao went white! Ket ran for him! His clone¡¯s giving a speech at the UN right now! People stepped back, fast. I looked up, and in the middle of the ship was Azure. Another Councillor! She can time travel! I ran to her. She looked scared! In her hand was a cube. That¡¯s what makes her able to time-travel, with a thought! Maybe she doesn¡¯t know about it, yet. She shook so bad, maybe she¡¯s about to pass out. Her sweat dripped off her arms. Red pigtails had sweat dripping, too, and her chin. ¡°Oh, Azure! Hi, I¡¯m Molly.¡± ¡°Molly. Is Ry¡¯nao here? I¡ªneed to know what¡¯s going on!¡± She shook so hard, her teeth chattered! Outside, it¡¯s late afternoon. If I don¡¯t get back by six¡ªbut does that matter? He came out of a room with a tapestry of him and a lady his age. He bowed to her, one leg behind him, like a ballet dancer. ¡°I am Ry¡¯nao, Emperor Of The Seven Unified Galaxies. Why are you here?¡± It kind of shocked me to see our emperor bowing to someone who¡¯s teenaged! She tried to bow but did a curtsy. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know! This man, Serenappenen, gave me this cube and told me he¡¯d tell me what to do, to ask for you. Should I give it to you?¡± I held it out. He frowned. ¡°I cannot take it, for I would die. No one can touch it except for you.¡± ¡°Serenappenen did!¡± ¡°Yes, but surely he created it. This Cube is tied to your genetics. It has the power to create or destroy worlds.¡± I trembled. ¡°Worlds? Why me?¡± Adia and Ryee came out of a room next to his. She had beautiful red waves that curled on her shoulders. Azure had deep red hair. And her eyes, brilliant blue, not like Azure¡¯s green. Thin, like her. She shook so hard, I was worried, but scared to touch her. Then, words in another voice came out of Azure. ¡°This girl is untrained. We will fight Serenappenen. She is not allowed to interfere with you and Eriganh. We block Serenappenen and Rentappenen from you. He planned to take the White Cube, but we know that is impossible. This Rainbow Cube is weak, but it can change your history.¡± That voice was like a bunch of people talking at once! Her voice, small and weak. ¡°He called it the Cube Of Many Colors.¡± ¡°The Cube Of Many Colors created this one, and Serenappenen wants to contaminate your timeline. Our Collective is at war, but we control it, for a short time. Stay on this ship and do not use this Cube. ¡°If you think to bring back your dead family, you will change your home¡¯s timeline! This, you must not do. Our purpose is to keep you here on this ship. There must be no interference with Adia, none with Eriganh. Their battle, in the yard you just left, ends our war.¡± The Cube went dark. Memories came to Azure of another future. I made Pirad create a son for me to marry, Pier. We traveled to many worlds, and tried many timelines, but none was better than this one, that Adia is in, right now. I died because of the strain of all that time travel, and because my genetics is tied to a room of a thousand people somewhere on Earth. My Collective is right, I am Earth¡¯s Councillor, and I¡¯m supposed to save it from slavers. Eriganh is flooding it with slavers as we speak. And, Ry¡¯nao heard all of it. ¡°What should I do?¡± She sobbed. I don¡¯t want to be holding this Cube in my hand. ¡°Child, let me share memories with you, of the Council, what I know of our future. Put the Cube in your pocket. You don¡¯t have to hold it. I will not tell a Councillor what to do. But, the more you know, this will help you decide what to do. Your Collective cannot tell you how to work.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I just give it to someone else? I don¡¯t want it! I¡¯m schizophrenic, I¡¯m crazy, and I--¡± ¡°Let me bring a healer for you. Will Pas please you?¡± Pas already stood beside me, and he held out his twin-fingered hands. She gently took one. ¡°C-can you fix me so I think better?¡± ¡°Oh, I will try, Maiden. Have you pains?¡± ¡°This shaking hurts, but that¡¯s just a side effect of my meds.¡± ¡°May I look at your medical records? We scanned everyone from Earth. Sit here, please.¡± She nodded. He waved up a padded bench the same color as her pink T-shirt, if it wasn¡¯t faded. Her blue jeans had holes at the knees, and dried blood. Her medical records came up and he read ¡®em while she watched. Nodded. ¡°We have better herbs than these. May I touch your head? I will be gentle.¡± His mind was also very gentle. Explained what he wanted to do. Unlike rude Serenappenen, he¡¯s afraid of hurting me. Ry¡¯nao sat on her other side. I heard the war going on in that Collective. People shouted at each other. But, Adia has one, too. She asked them to listen to each other, and love one another. Azure showed them. The ones who took control of the Rainbow Cube weren¡¯t supposed to do that. All of them talked to each other, politely now, like Pas did. I heard all this and shook all over, too! Pas trembled as he moved his fingers back on her head. ¡°What happened here?¡± She had a scar on top. ¡°Mama got mad because I wouldn¡¯t go get her drugs, and she hit me with a frying pan. I woke up in the hospital. Aunt Kandace took me to her house, but got tired of my social worker. Mama¡¯s social worker let me stay.¡± The old fella wept. ¡°Had you many injuries such?¡± Poor Azure! ¡°Oh, I was always falling and getting hurt, or Mama hit. You can¡¯t be more stupid once you¡¯re stupid, she said. I¡¯m clumsy and I fall a lot.¡± ¡°She was wrong, Daughter. Each injury harmed your mind. I wish to give you an aandat. You will need nae rest rooms, will never catch a virus, and you gain telepathy in 2 or 3 days. She is like ¡®living underwear¡¯, as Molly says.¡± ¡°I got mine this morning, Azure.¡± I pulled up my yellow T-shirt sleeve and she saw white, like a second skin. She nodded. Pas waved for a green cube and white fell out of it onto her ankles. Flowed up to her neck. Pas hummed and she didn¡¯t get scared. Her knees healed and I felt her delight! I waved and she wore a green T-shirt, long-sleeved, and her jeans were light blue, as I heard her wishing. She smiled. Azure Makes Me 18 I took her hand. ¡°You want a room? There¡¯s no rent, no utilities, and food¡¯s free. Check this out!¡± I waved up and a menu had food from a lot of restaurants. More than last time I ate! ¡°Yes! I don¡¯t want to stay in that homeless shelter! Do I have to see a social worker?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ask a lawyer.¡± I brought Tan, who walked out of a room that had him and Lili on it. He trembled all of the time, kind of like her. ¡°Hallo, I am Tan Links. What can I do for you, Miss?¡± He shook hands with her. ¡°I¡¯m 16 and my mama died, and my grandparents died last week, and my social worker wants to put me in a homeless shelter, and I want to stay here! Can I?¡± ¡°Who has custody of you?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m a ward of the state, now. Medicaid¡¯s gonna take my grandparents¡¯ house.¡± I sobbed. ¡°This is not right! Who is your social worker?¡± She got out her wallet and gave a card to him. ¡°Tomorrow, I will make an appointment with her. You are welcome to stay with us tonight. Will you come and meet my wife? If you like us, perhaps we can apply to be your foster parents--¡± She gasped. ¡°But, I¡¯m¡ªI hear things that aren¡¯t¡ªvoices talk to me, and my aunt¡ªdidn¡¯t want me--¡± ¡°Young lady, I am sorry these things happen to you. We have progs to prevent harm. May I show you?¡± He waved up a screen. Showed her that if a person can¡¯t tell what reality is, it brings a healer¡ªhers is Pas¡ªand gently holds the person so they can walk, but can¡¯t hurt themselves or anyone else. Pas hummed and erased scars on both wrists from lots of suicide attempts. She smiled. ¡°Oh, please, run it! I said lots of things that hurt Granny¡¯s feelings¡ªI can¡¯t do that if you run it.¡± He showed her how to set it, so she could choose what it did, whether to just let her take a walk outside or keep her in her room. Soft barriers would prevent bruises. She wanted to stay in her room. And, choose music to play. Mozart helped, sometimes, but I couldn¡¯t play anything when I was out of it. Pas showed her new meds. Choices of whether to sleep or just have something to make her calm, and someone to sit with her. Those green eyes lit up! Her family got scared or hurt her feelings. ¡°I can sit with you, or I¡¯m sure my friends would help. Samtych, or Angel, if I can¡¯t come. I¡¯ll ask ¡®em. They all live here on the ship and they like helping.¡± I hugged her. ¡°Thanks!¡± She took my hand. ¡°Want to be 18?¡± ¡°Yes! Pirad says he can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°All we need is¡ªhi!¡± She reached out to a lady healer. ¡°Need you healing? I shall bring Pie to you, for I nae know¡ª¡± ¡°You miss your parents. Pirad can wake them now but you need to be 12. Molly¡¯s 12. I can swap your timelines. You¡¯ll be 12, for your parents, they¡¯ll need you to be young. Like they remember you.¡± The girl, like me, had red hair and green eyes. That¡¯s a really weird color for a Zheien. And, she was half-Elshar and very light-skinned like me. ¡°How know you this?¡± A holo came up. In an instant, she shrank to my size. I still looked like a little kid. But, our Unified records came up. I¡¯m 18! All my clones are now 18, except the ones who wanted to be little. This healer, Siluka, Healer Of MarKu, was 12. Her title of healer was still on it. And, her master healer¡¯s worry that she should change her occupation. She stepped into the holo and her parents embraced her. The holo closed. Now she can have Decision again. She chose healing when her parents died. I looked at my hands. ¡°Wow! This is awesome! My birth certificate shows me as 18! Thanks, Azure!¡± I hugged her. Now I can run Rainbow! Tan took her in their room. Ben ran to me. ¡°Look at this! I¡¯m free!¡± He studied my Unified record. Well, it¡¯s also Alliance, the same info. Gasped. ¡°How can this be, Molly?¡± I started to explain, but Ry¡¯nao warned me. And let Ben know, too, he has the Link. He hugged me. ¡°Will you be unwell? Dear wife!¡± Angel ran to me. ¡°Oh, Molly! I feel like a new woman! I apprenticed to Samtych, he¡¯s a figure-maker, and he says I have talent!¡± She held up a unicorn with a rainbow on his horn, all white and in a running position. ¡°This is for you.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I hugged him. ¡°Thanks! Oh, he¡¯s beautiful!¡± I waved to animate him and he ran between us, mane floating behind us. ¡°How did you do that?¡± ¡°I just pictured him running. You can do it, too!¡± So happy for Angel! She¡¯s so talented, and never knew it. Living around Zheien¡¯ll help her so much! She animated several of her drawings of unicorns. Both of us competed in regional art contests, and she went to Midtown High School last Fall for the judging in Atlanta with me. ¡°Of course, you have talent! You¡¯re great at art, and you sing just like Sarah Brightman! Did you know it¡¯s easy to work as an artisan in a Zheien colony? MarKu would just love you!¡± ¡°Really?¡± She looked even happier! ¡°I absolutely hated my business degree, but I needed a career. Mom and Dad were afraid to go to the Spaceport, or we wouldn¡¯t have stayed on Earth. Now we have safe transportation! We¡¯re eager to leave, but I don¡¯t want to leave you.¡± ¡°You and Jen should get together!¡± I dreaded if she¡¯d ask me about what happened later. The next time I tried to send a holo to ¡®em, they weren¡¯t listed. That only happens when slavers-- ¡°Jen?¡± Doug ran to me. ¡°You know her?¡± Doug stood there with his brother! I knew these Elshars well in Rainbow. ¡°Doug!¡± I held my arms out. ¡°My friend, I¡¯m so happy to see you able to run!¡± He hugged me. Startled. ¡°You know about that? Oh, Molly. You''re younger!¡± Both brothers had blonde hair. When I knew ''em, Doug''s was dark. I gently rubbed the back of his straight, blond mop. No scars. I smiled. ¡°Yep, I¡¯m a lot younger than when you came to Rainbow. Are you going to live on Ye~?¡± Doug giggled. ¡°I''m so happy to see you, Molly! My whole family moved to Ye~! My father, De¡¯sai, and my ferfahie, Dugamas. He¡¯s Puret, Donn and Wisper¡¯s ferfahie, too!¡± ¡°He is?¡± Puret, Donn and Wisper ran out of a room. Puret bowed. ¡°I am Puret, Trader Of Areon. Here is my brother, Donn, and my younger brother, Wisper. Oh, don¡¯t be scared, Wisper.¡± He hid behind his brothers. I squatted down. Gave the others a hug. Giggled. ¡°Oh, I knew all of you when you were older. Wisper, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to greet you. Your eyes aren¡¯t blue.¡± ¡°Oh, kids don¡¯t have to know how to greet people formally. I just hug.¡± ¡°Mutti hit me because I didn¡¯t¡ªoh, I used a short word!¡± He whimpered. ¡°She hit you? I don¡¯t hit. And, well, I use short words, too. I¡¯m from Earth.¡± I held out my hand and waited. Her slaver probably trained her to hit to make trouble. Saw a lot of terminals removed in Rainbow, and mean people who weren¡¯t, after that. He took it. A cold little hand. And he had a bad headache. I hummed. He giggled. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re¡ªyou are a healer! I will ask for you, Molly, the next time I have a mind pain.¡± Now he gave me a hug, too. These boys were¡ªhe was 12 when they finally came to Rainbow to see Derees. And, he came out. I hugged him. ¡°Oh, Maiden, I am married!¡± I let go! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know much about Areonians. I¡¯m from Earth in the United States.¡± I offered my hand for a handshake. He gave my hand one shake. ¡°Perhaps I should ask my friend, Vonn, more things.¡± He sighed. Those brown eyes had the sad look. ¡°Well, I need to learn, too. I feel like I know you, because you came to Rainbow with the Yeff.¡± He gasped. ¡°You¡¯re Molly? Oh, my, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you!¡± I laughed. ¡°I¡¯m only a healer in this future, so no offense taken! So, how should I greet Areonians?¡± ¡°A handshake is all right, but most Lilmericans do not offer the hand. Elshars do, and many live among us, so we know Elshar customs. I am only a scientist.¡± ¡°You worked in Adia¡¯s lab, and so did Vonn. Scientists don¡¯t need to know protocols, do they?¡± ¡°On Areon, we do. When Director Pragate comes, we bow, so.¡± He bowed from the waist. ¡°Ladies, too?¡± ¡°No, ladies curtsy.¡± I waved up my cobalt blue dress and did. ¡°Ja, ja, you are good at it. But there are few Areonians here. Most are traders, so they will not expect any of our customs. Only if you visit Areon.¡± I nodded. ¡°So, if I see Vonn, I shouldn¡¯t hug him?¡± Just then, he saw us. ¡°Molly?¡± He hugged me. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s good to see you! Can you teach me what Earthans do? I¡ªwell--Adia showed me Sara. How shall I¨Cwhat shall I say to her?¡± His gray eyes studied me. Blond, straight hair. Derees¡¯ looked like that but brown. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s different! Sara. She¡¯s shy. I¡¯m not very good at this. Before I met Ben, I liked a lot of fellas, but never got up enough courage to say anything.¡± Vonn laughed. ¡°Then it is like at home! Perhaps we are more alike than I thought. I still do not know what to say to her, but then, Earthans do not know what to say to people they like, either! Oh, Derees, I am still doomed.¡± He patted Vonn¡¯s shoulder. ¡°My friend, you will attract her. You are handsome, and she will notice.¡± I smiled. ¡°He¡¯s right, Vonn¡ªuh, Mr. Links--¡± ¡°We are friends. You may call me Vonn. If we were on Areon, I might think you too young to use a first name, but here, we remember how we were in another future.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Vonn!¡± Derees hugged me. ¡°I am being too formal, and I will stop.¡± Wisper watched all this with a worried face. ¡°Oh, Vatti, I don¡¯t know anything!¡± Derees picked him up. ¡°Who knows anything at five? You will learn, when you need to learn it. You are a boy, and we are alive, and we should have fun together today! Mutti had healing, and wants to be with us! Enjoy your life while you are young.¡± He put his little head on his father¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m so scared of everything! There was war at home, and everything changed, and Mutti¡ªI am afraid now that she is back, and I was afraid that she would never come back!¡± He cried. I felt bad. Last time, she took the boys with her and remarried twice. Such a disaster! But, I heard his thoughts about her, how she hit him then fussed at herself for hours. She¡¯s trained! But Pirad is helping her share memories to a cylinder now. When she finishes, then Derees can see her. Pirad felt he would be too upset until she can talk to him. Waiting¡¯s horrible! Derees got quiet. I just put a hand on his shoulder and he clung to it. Vonn looked sad, too. Suma and Wally Liz brought a bunch of library folks with her to the ship! I met some of ¡®em in Rainbow. They went to Ye~ first, but because of her, a trader took Ye~ Earthan Colony to Rainbow instead of to slavery. Kawar¡¯s brother let out a string of expletives. Liz shuddered. He saw. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Zheien don¡¯t do that. They¡¯re always polite.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t bein¡¯ impolite. That was Black English!¡± ¡°O, Lady Liz!¡± A diplomat bowed. Kawar pulled him aside. ¡°Lamont, we don¡¯t want to cause an interplanetary incident--¡± ¡°You an¡¯ Oreo, and I don¡¯ wanna change who I am!¡± Goes came running. ¡°Friends, we nae wish to change anyone! I am Goes, First Prince Of MarKu. Speak as you wish to speak. All of Earth are welcome in our embassy.¡± He bowed to Lamont. Kawar often tried to get Lamont to come to our get-togethers, but he¡ªnow I understood some things Kawar said about his bro. ¡°Dese Earthan colonies, are dey jus¡¯ fo¡¯ Whitey, or will we have¡ªyou know, protection against discrimination?¡± ¡°My friend, I will nae tolerate any hate against any group. Did you see our progs? Nae can do violence or speak harms against another. They run here. You see that they nae stopped your speech, because you nae meant harm.¡± ¡°You mean a computer program can tell whether I¡¯m bein¡¯ rude?¡± He let out a few more choice words. ¡°Eae. Call me Goe and be my friend. I would like to hear what would please you and other Black people, in a city in our Earthan Colony. You may live where you wish, have whatever kind of house pleases, and my people will trade for foods of all kinds, including ¡®soul food¡¯.¡± He smiled. ¡°You¡¯d bring soul food for us?¡± He laughed. ¡°I like you, Goe! You de man!¡± They did a high five, just as hard a slap as Kawar and him! Liz gasped and grabbed Goes¡¯ hand. I grimaced! Goe laughed. ¡°Sa, a diplomat can prepare--¡± ¡°Quit hiding! All these Earthans have to learn. What if they thought it was okay to high-five a child, or an artisan?¡± Liz frowned at him. Good for her! The cheerful smile dropped. She held a twin-fingered hand twice the size of the other one! Quickly, she hummed, and his shoulders went down. Goe looked at Lamont. ¡°O, I am sorry--¡± Lamont held his hand. ¡°Bro, I didn¡¯t know I wuz gon¡¯ hurt ya! Liz, how gentle I be?¡± Goe wouldn¡¯t let him apologize. Doe came out of their room. ¡°O, you brought friends to us!¡± Liz introduced him to everyone. They had lots of questions about the Earthan Colonies. Doe¡¯s brothers Pag and Her smiled, too. Pag had Sapph with him. He met her on Gowa and she started a revolt. I learned about that from a diplomat I healed. Kieta exiled her and Pag and we never saw them again! She gasped. Liz grabbed her hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay! Kieta¡¯s not here!¡± ¡°And she won¡¯t be!¡± I took her other hand. ¡°Kieta did a lot of things I didn¡¯t agree with! Wslarc¡ªthey¡¯ll clone him¡ªhe¡¯ll be Alb Seer¡¯s Councillor. Azure¡¯s Earth¡¯s. Ray will be Elshar Zheiea¡¯s. Suma will be Ye~¡¯s.¡± How do I know these things? Suma gasped. Liz stared. ¡°But what about Wally?¡± By her was a white walrus. Wearing a fancy DS blue vest under a jacket with tails and top hat! He tipped it. ¡°Ma¡¯am, I am only here as an observer. Suma is the Yeff Councillor. Wslarc is speaking with the 2nd Level, because the 3rd is¡ªso disorganized! The 4th and 5th destroyed themselves, but I fear the 3rd will, too! A clone of Wslarc for Alb Seer, to oversee the Alb Council, this is a stroke of pure genius! Molly, you have good ideas for us.¡± Liz bowed low with me. ¡°I did not know I gave the Imwa any ideas.¡± Waved Liz a copy of the clear ankle brace on my right ankle. Taught her how to send healing into her ankle as she bowed and learned the technique. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t say anything! Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°You saw Suma¡¯s memory of seeing me and thought I looked like a walrus. It is easy to change to a¡ªfriendlier appearance, isn¡¯t it?¡± He tipped his hat again. Suma¡¯s memories of Ni getting attacked by the Imwa terrified me! They weren¡¯t symmetrical, but to me, they did look like walruses. ¡°Actually, we are related to jarfuses, that your Mike was reluctant to hunt. How odd, that of all the civilized races of Thorde, that he is a member of the most savage! Yet, he broke with tradition to become a healer. What a skilled healer. His people wanted him to stay in Maira and waste all of that potential! And, my cousins, the jarfuses, noticed.¡± A wave of his flipper, and Mike, a Thordes healer who taught us all, appeared in the middle of the ship. He paled. Jumped back next to me, when he saw Wally. ¡°Oh, I am not here to judge you, Mike.¡± ¡°You can talk? Why am I here? I was healing¡ª¡± ¡°I know who you were healing. I healed him for you. I am Wally, and I am an Imwa. But here is someone for you to heal. Remember when you were eleven, and your uncle and your father took you and some of your friends to hunt?¡± We all saw Mike, who was larger than most of the boys. They were prancing around with their spears, bragging about their kills. One poked Mike¡¯s white fur. ¡°You didn¡¯t even kill that. Your uncle did.¡± The man with him shoved the boy. ¡°He did kill it. I was with him.¡± ¡°You are a healer. What do you know of hunting?¡± ¡°You get hungry. Even healers must hunt, so we can eat. I took Mike with me for two seasons and he always works hard. Tell him, Mike.¡± But Mike looked at his feet. Another man pushed Mike¡¯s father. ¡°Oh, you are too polite. What are you, diplomats? Mike, lift your head and tell him about your hunt.¡± ¡°Uncle, I respect you, but I also respect life. I enjoy healing more than killing.¡± Everyone gasped, then they laughed at both Mike and his father. Mairans have really hard lives. I had to talk to several who bullied people. And we heard what Mike thought. Because of helping his father heal people, he knew less painful ways of killing animals. He was proud of knowing that he could give less suffering than these boys who enjoyed taunting, and giving pain, even to other boys. He would never be like that, even to please Uncle. Liz frowned at Wally. Why¡¯s he doing this? Suma shook her head at her. She knows ¡®em better than we do. Wally waved a flipper, and a much larger beast laid frozen on the floor. This one was like a white walrus, but maybe three times Wally¡¯s size. Yellow light shone around him and his body relaxed with a groan. ¡°Speak, Brother, and tell us how it feels to be hunted.¡± Mike gasped and put his hands in the white fur. ¡°Don¡¯t move, my son.¡± Mike had lavender skin in Rainbow. He barely had any purple. Sweated. The jarfus grunted like a laugh. Its round purple eyes, much larger than Mike¡¯s lavender eyes, looked at him. ¡°Oh, I felt how you dreaded to kill me. Your uncle enjoys hunting us. I respected you enough to volunteer for you.¡± ¡°You¡ªchose to be the one I would kill that day?¡± ¡°Usually, we sent ones who would die soon anyway, but had what your people consider pretty fur. I am pretty, yes, but I am our leader. After you struck, you refused to strip my skin from me. Your father did not argue with you and your uncle was livid! Inside, I laughed. You risked being put out to die from your tribe, because you would not follow tradition. It was worth this pain. Now I will heal myself.¡± Yellow light flowed around him, then he got up. Mike hugged him and wept. He folded his flippers around Mike and tears dripped from his eyes, too. Shocked, Mike wiped a tear. ¡°You cry?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, we are much like you. We have sorrows. But we observed you. Why, when most Thordes are pleasant and civil, are your people still savages? Why do you base your economy on furs and meat? Other jeia do not.¡± ¡°We cannot grow food with tech as other jeia in cold climates¡ª¡± ¡°Your grandfathers could have signed that treaty with Conebara. Instead, they made farms in Maira and wasted all of that seed! Mairans are not farmers!¡± ¡°They made farms in Maira?¡± Mike laughed. ¡°How can any plant grow in frozen ground? Father grows herbs in containments!¡± ¡°Mairans did not have trade for containments, not for crops, but they saw how certain plants go dormant until there is a warm season. Unfortunately, they believed that they would do this without a containment, without a plan. They merely warmed soil and planted. There was not enough light or heat. Your leaders decided to trade us. We did not want you to die, so we chose more to sacrifice for you. ¡°In Rainbow, healers woke your father. They brought some of us to Rainbow and Molly would not allow hunting.¡± He bowed to me, and I returned it. ¡°Then, we broke our long silence and Mairans became happier.¡± ¡°Goes convinced Tanhbee to talk to Conebara. Jeia are willing to trade us food for riding animals! We can¡¯t do that now!¡± The jarfus laughed. ¡°You certainly can! We live as observers. Even now, my council is working that out. We resurrected our dead ones. Your jeia will have riding animals to trade, and others will not know the difference.¡± Mike got upset! Wally hugged him. ¡°But we already see that Eriganh¡¯s plan for hate is a bad one. I like Adia¡¯s plan of love. It is more powerful, in a Cube.¡± He waved, and hundreds of shocked Thordes appeared on the ship! They all watched Wally! Conflict From Above Wally smiled. ¡°It is time for famines to end on Thorde. You Elders, go to Alb Seer and work this out! Jarfus, assign one to go with them.¡± He laughed. ¡°I can send 500, one for each Elder!¡± He waved a flipper and all the Thordes had an animal beside him. Every one wore a blue vest and top hat. Nobody on the ship noticed them! ¡°We saw how Ray used love in her Cubes. Just this morning, she defeated Satauuver using love. Eriganh¡¯s Collective and Rentappenen¡¯s, they are very unhappy. Those who favor love are using hate against the ones who hate.¡± I hugged both of them. ¡°What can I do to help you? I am Queen Of Rainbow, as of¡ªwell, when I get 100 followers.¡± Eap ran to me and paled. Imwa are dangerous, everyone said, in Rainbow! ¡°Oh, we represent many more than 100. My people will follow you, because they respect you!¡± Jarfus laughed. Theapet bowed and waited until he looked at him. ¡°Pardons, but she means she must have followers from our level for an Alliance Colony Charter.¡± Kerjie came beside him and bowed, too. She wore beetle green, a formal dress, so they must be married now! ¡°Alliance? Should it nae be Alliance and Unified, since Alb is both?¡± I bowed to Theapet. He¡¯s First Prince Of Fhiah. I also bowed to Kerjie, low enough for a princess. He bowed to me again, and lower than you¡¯d bow to a king. He¡¯s treating me like I am already Queen Of Rainbow, but higher rank than that? It¡¯s not as low as they bow to Ry¡¯nao. ¡°I will add a Unified provision, Molly.¡± Wally bowed to me, that low. ¡°Then, I shall create Wslarc for Rainbow Unwell Colonies, and he shall live on Alb Seer with his Collective. There is plenty of room near Kirnonos¡¯ Lab, if he is agreeable.¡± Eap nodded. Pirad appeared with Kirnonos. They bowed. The more angular Bisillip spoke. ¡°I think this is a wonderful idea! Wslarc always listened to us. The Council needs him. But, Wally, I think you should wait until this matter with Eriganh and Rentappenen is resolved.¡± ¡°Why? I do not fear either of them!¡± Kirnonos frowned, and his face got frozen dismay! ¡°You should fear them! Your Cube is not as powerful¡ª¡± Wally laughed. ¡°It is not only the Yellow Cube Of Healing,¡± he looked at Suma, ¡°but the Blue Cube Of Trade,¡± he looked at Ray, who stood there, ¡°The Gray Cube Of Judgment,¡± his blue eyes fell on Ry¡¯nao, ¡°and Ray can influence The Red Cube Of Fire. We also have Azure and a Cube that can change time itself! Molly, Deb and Kia have greater healing than an Imwa. All of us together are a new Council, to fight for the weaker members of the Council. They act through me because I convinced them. ¡°Why do you see all of these Earthans with Gifts? Ry¡¯nao, I say to you, because the Council Of The 5th is angered at Rentappenen and his abuses. Not the 5th of the Test Of Levels, that is destroyed. The 5th above the Test Of Levels is angry, and sent me. You may call me Wally, but I rose to the 5th eons ago, and I came back long enough to set this right. Those whom you call Imwa represent the ones of us who chose to stay, to observe, to make sure Eriganh and Rentappenen didn¡¯t happen, but they did anyway. Pinda had all the Gifts for his world, that slavers destroyed. He unleashed them on Earth! We are all the secret defeat of Rentappenen and his rogue Cubes.¡± I worried that he¡¯s telling them all about that right now! All three Bisillips looked frozen horrified, that he¡¯s talking about this! Ry¡¯nao is worried that Wally¡¯s people followed Rentappenen until Adia talked to him today. This morning, when they brought Suma to the ship! I didn¡¯t know about that! ¡°We learned that sending Councillors from upper levels to fix things didn¡¯t work. This is how we lost the 4th and 5th in the Test Of Levels. The 3rd is fragile, the level from which you came, Bisillips. Without you, it is near collapse.¡± What?! ¡°We are learning that civilizations cannot continue to rise so quickly, because there is chaos on the lower levels that they left. So, I am sorry to tell the Zheien that they must stay until the Thordes and Aryllans are ready. There is only so much we Imwa can do, and I must say, we have been unsuccessful. ¡°Eriganh and Rentappenen are proof that when Collectives are unstable, disasters happen. They both chose hate to be their driving forces. They are insane. Civilizations died because they broke the rules. Rentappenen wants the Padrisa.¡± That¡¯s the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies! Ry¡¯nao went gray as his uniform! Ket grabbed him and made him sit on a bench he waved up! Wally waved a flipper and yellow light blazed around him. He wasn¡¯t gray now, but still white. ¡°Ry¡¯nao, you expect us to be wise and fix this situation, but you must realize that we are no smarter than you. There is no help for you other than our knowledge that our interference did not help. ¡°However, there is the fact that Gifts are unpredictable. We sent a Councillor to look at timelines, to try different things. Rentappenen created the Cube Of Many Colors to do this. He did not know that many of his Collective are ours. ¡°Of all the worlds we could have chosen, Earth is the unique one. In this timeline, many problems were solved. Of course, many fresh problems arose. It is up to you, my friend, to coordinate this new talent and try to find a path forward.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He spoke right to Ry¡¯nao! His expression seemed a mix of exasperation and dismay! ¡°You have brief glimpses of futures. This is all we can give you. Once you run out of futures, you must do the best you can, as civilizations before you had to do. ¡°Cubes are not the only way to accomplish work. There are many other methods that are better. But, the Council chose to create Cubes. This is done. So you are stuck with this method until the Zheien, Thordes and Aryllans rise. All of you must work together, in Alb, to make sure that when you rise, you do not leave a mess as did the Chor, the Tidalh, the Imwa, the Xchou, the A¡¯laf, and the S¡¯ai did. Your S¡¯ai are the ones who chose to stay in this level, to observe, as we did. ¡°My advice to you is, learn from these Earthans with Gifts. Let them try. Some will fail as we did. Some will succeed. Wslarc knows about most of these failures that caused disaster, if his clone absorbs enough memories. ¡°I must now leave you, because the 5th level will suffer without me. It is up to all of you to defeat Eriganh, then Rentappenen and his Councillors. The Alliance renounced slavery, and just now, Bisillipia signed the new Alliance Treaty and will renounce it. I will not take my jarfus brother or Suma. Wslarc will come when he is ready.¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t leave us behind! We don¡¯t know enough! How can you expect us to defeat Rentappenen when levels above ours could not?¡± Jarfus cried. Ry¡¯nao still looked shocked. Ray did defeat Rentappenen, in the other future. Didn¡¯t she? The answer I didn¡¯t want to hear came. There are thousands of other Cubes, and no, Ray did not defeat them all! ¡°Brother, I can¡¯t stay! Do what you can to help this mess.¡± Wally put his hat on the jarfus and hugged him, then vanished in yellow light. Ry¡¯nao had dismay on his face! So much of this I can¡¯t understand! And Deb stood there. People weren¡¯t looking at us. Ryee was explaining the choices in the Alb System to Liz¡¯ friends and many of mine. Nobody saw anyone. Liz and Ray were staring at Wally. Across the ship, Kia startled and ran out. Mike hugged the jarfus, and Suma ran over there and helped him sing healing. He stood taller. ¡°Then, Mike, you must lead these Elders you spoke with on Thorde.¡± He paled and shuddered. ¡°I am only a healer.¡± I smiled. ¡°Mike, you are an Elder. The first Thordes elder! You convinced them to come back to Alb with jeia leaders to reclone! Didja hear about all the changes on Elshar Mashai today? How Ray defeated Satauuver and all the Aryllans are much like Zheien again? Deb saw it all!¡± I put a hand on his forehead and he got the blank stare. Jarfus let me see all of it, from five people¡¯s point of view. Ryee knew about it when he trained me to use my telepathy this morning and hid it from me. A girl came to the ship looking for the prince of Aryll. Wally appeared and brought Aryll¡¯s royalty. Ray changed them this morning, and they just finished a treaty they started before the Aryllans turned into monsters. She also brought Tch¡¯Lanterah, the Zbbat king, and Lyyyrah, the Esteerrian king! Leaders of the largest slave net! That was right after they saw Liz¡¯ memories of running to stop Lyyyrah and Tch¡¯Lanterah, got her, when they invaded Ye~. She had the Diplomatic Link and Doe told her how to talk to them. He was amused because he thought her attempt to speak his language was victory squeals! Lyyyrah heard her and stopped their attack on Ye~. Pirad made a Zbbat clone of me that taught them English. Siasch¡¯s been making clones of Zbbat and Esteerrians to infiltrate their Nests with Taredias, another Bisillip. One of his clones and one of Kirnonos¡¯ clones are here in Pirad¡¯s Lab. I felt overwhelmed, and I could just imagine how Ry¡¯nao feels right now! We¡¯re on our own? But Ry¡¯nao held one of the Jarfus¡¯ flippers and Mike¡¯s hand. ¡°My sons, I know you can do this. We are part of a larger picture than we see. Let us merely do what we can. ¡°Tch¡¯Lhanterasah is now on Ye~, and he wants you to give this to Mica.¡± He put a large necklace with huge yellow and green stones in his hand. Heavy! They got the memory-sharing stare. She came to Rainbow on a slaver ship, and caused the slaver so much trouble, his guards revolted. Mica stood by Mike. Because of her, many higher-level diplomats escaped slavery. She took advice from another Mairan on how to kill animals and nearly died fighting one the Zbbat Colony had in a pen, trying to earn Mike¡¯s love. She earned that necklace for her bravery. I convinced Mike to marry her before she died fighting some other one! Nearly had a stroke! He loved her but didn¡¯t feel worthy¡ªjust remembering that made me shudder. Mike was always one of my best healers for Thordes. Hal Fon was the other one. Each jeia is almost like another species, diff language, diff herbs, and diff healing. They rely on pocket doctors from their jeia. But, those are for emergencies. Mike saved lives because he knew healing for 300 diff provs. He already saw his future and married Mica this morning. They¡¯ve been on Thorde recruiting Elders all day! A man who looked like Ryee came, but he just wore a diplomat¡¯s uniform. Bowed. ¡°I am Wyonea. W~Via is ne born yet. My fa and Adia married two days past.¡± His orange eyes had tears. He was introducing himself to Jarfus, not to Mike. ¡°Wyonea!¡± Mike hugged him. ¡°If we can¡¯t have W~Via, you¡¯re the best we have! You convinced a lot of them.¡± Goes bowed to Jarfus. ¡°I am Goes¡¯ 5th clone, and I took his name. I have all of his skills. We went with Mike and Mica. Thordes ne like cloning, but it was Mike¡¯s memories of W~Via and Kieta that convinced them.¡± Mike startled. ¡°They all know Goes! His speaking ability convinced them, his and yours. They were all angry that I became the first Elder before Stepan De.¡± Both of them shook their heads. Ry¡¯nao smiled. ¡°Mike, you are too modest. If you were not a healer, you could be a diplomat, and you accomplished great diplomatic work today.¡± A lot of those Thordes had been having heated arguments. They all startled and stopped! All of them, as a body, got that stance like a soldier ready to defend himself. I had that feeling that something¡¯s about to happen. Deb, Suma, and Liz looked scared. It¡¯s not just me. Ry¡¯nao didn¡¯t go to his room like Ket was trying to get him to do. He went to Pirad¡¯s Lab with Pirad, Kirnonos and Taredias. Across the ship, I saw Kia with Irdatkin, and she had that look, too. What¡¯s going on? All the Collectives are upset! I wish I could just stop listening! Adia also had that fear in her blue eyes, and Ryee hugged her. Pie and Rish Hai of Thorde The tension in the air was nearly unbearable, but I have to ignore it. Rentappenen''s listening! I can¡¯t do anything but make like a healer. I saw Pie and gave him a hug. ¡°Didja find Adelle yet?¡± All those hundreds of Thordes Elders and jarfuses vanished! Ry¡¯nao came out and Ket ran to him, Kia ran to him, then I ran over there and added my hands on his gray curls! Then all that vanished and I¡¯m still standing here? ¡°You shared memories with me, but I thought Pirad might make a clone who resembles one of her husbands she lost.¡± He sighed and it rumbled on me. ¡°I saw people do that in Rainbow, and they weren¡¯t happy. It¡¯s not the same, Pie.¡± Some of ¡®em ended up divorced! Pirad can make a clone, but he can¡¯t recreate someone who died. Someone on Earth got him to make a clone of JFK, because they had his brain. He did a lot of holos about what that was like, and how he wasn¡¯t the same without parents to raise him. Memories Pirad extracted from his brain tissue were vague, though he remembered all the facts he learned in school and how he felt about them. He went to Earth, and the President hosted him. He didn¡¯t want to run for any office, which surprised a lot of people. Instead, he was a docent at the Smithsonian to talk about JFK¡¯s life. A life that felt like his father¡¯s life, not his. He needed a lot of healing, for medical problems JFK had that still had effects after he was cured. Because JFK died of a devastating brain injury, he had brain damage, too. Pirad could compensate for some of it but not all. He looked and sounded normal, and gave JFK¡¯s speeches perfectly. Tests showed he could not function outside of performing JFK¡¯s life, not able to make major decisions about important things, like where to live. He wanted to live in Washington, DC, in the White House, because he had vague memories of living there. But, if he went someplace new, or tried to learn about current affairs, he got upset. A healer had to stay near him to protect him from too much upset, or he might have a stroke! I showed him all of that. Pie went pale! ¡°Do you think I should go to meet her, then?¡± ¡°Yes, tonight.¡± I saw someone else. ¡°Randy!¡± A Thordes diplomat startled, then came over. ¡°Do I remind you of someone? I am Rish Hai, Diplomat Of Thorde, Wetarush.¡± I bowed to him like a Zheien would. ¡°Oh, forgive me! I am too informal for a man of Ka Peoples! Did you find Rosalind who will marry you?¡± His dark purple skin went lavender! ¡°You see futures, as does Queen Adia? Are you an Earthan?¡± I giggled but got serious. Wasn¡¯t sure how much to show him. ¡°Do not fear showing me. I am strong.¡± He had a resolute expression, but he paled. Got a whiff of licorice. If a Thordes gets sick, he smells like a sweating Zheien. ¡°Will you let Pie¡ªor is Mike still here, or Hal Fon?¡± Mike ported to Alb. Jarfus sent him with the others. Hal Fon just landed in Alb and he¡¯s sleeping. Two of the Biehshah got into an argument, and Pirad ran out there. They vanished, which startled several diplomats! ¡°Whom do you seek?¡± ¡°A Thordes healer who can sit with you.¡± ¡°I have a fine pocket doctor with me. What do you see, in my future, that you wish a healer to sit with us?¡± He studied me in my T-shirt and jeans. I waved my healer¡¯s robes back on. And a cobalt blue dress. Apparently, he didn¡¯t see all of it when I saw him through the ship. Maybe Jirris saw more. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Pie waved up a purple bench and made him sit down. ¡°I am happy to sit with you, Molly. I know healing for Ka peoples.¡± He startled. Put a hand up to the left side of my face. ¡°Did you have injury and lose it?¡± I giggled. ¡°Earthans don¡¯t have any until they get an aandat! But I can heal you. I just want another healer here while I¡¯m sharing. Prepare, my son. Many of these memories are pleasant, but you and Jirris were captured by Heden.¡± I flinched to mention the a word, but Pie didn¡¯t mind. He and all the diplomats have been busy giving them out. Maybe Rish Hai hadn¡¯t. Angel, Toni, and Mark stared at me. Like I¡¯m an alien, now. Jirris gasped and came over and sat with us. His yellow skin went white! One twin-fingered hand gripped Rish¡¯s. He was very pale, too. ¡°Jis¡ªuh, Jirris, you married Ghen. Her fa¡¯s Ghannen.¡± ¡°They are on Elshar Zheiea. Our colony moved to a new world in the Alb System, but I nae saw it. They are busy because many riding animals are to have young ones soon.¡± He saw them when Rish¡¯s Team helped his people move Monday! Felt how exhausted he is, just from holding his cold, twin-fingered hand. ¡°When I knew you fellas, you became healers.¡± I tried to go slow and leave out some things, but I saw when both of ¡®em reported to Ry¡¯nao, ¡®cause I was helping him take reports from injured diplomats. Rish stayed on Earth five years and bought a house in Inman Park. He¡¯d been training Rose in Thordes healing. She and her mom adopted their dear friend Kel Hai from a slave rescue agency. Those are provided in the Treaty, but they¡¯ll be manned by Pirad¡¯s clones of healers and healers they train, not by whatever agency. Mike sat with Randy in Rainbow when he first got there. ¡°So, what prov are you from?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. My family¡¯s gone.¡± Sadly, Randy shook his head. ¡°But, Molly can find¡ª¡± Kelly sat with them. ¡°Look, Randy! Here is my brother, Ke Berish, of Wetarush.¡± Randy looked up at the tall man. He had platinum blonde curls, a very wide chest, and a sash with decorations. A lot of decorations. His dark eyes studied Randy. Randy turned pale. Sweated. ¡°Why do you call him Randy? This is Berish¡¯s son, Rish Hai, a fine diplomat. You know why I have his father¡¯s name?¡± He put his arms around Randy. ¡°Rish Hai? No, no, no. I am Randy. I am a healer.¡± Randy shook badly. His seizure meds kicked in and made him limp on Ke Berish¡¯s lap. Ke Berish¡¯s deep purple eyes filled. He looked behind me. Ry¡¯nao ran to us and took Randy. ¡°Ke, you cannot talk to him about it. I did not know he was here. Randy, I am an old friend, though you do not remember me. Let me take you to privacy.¡± ¡°Is he very sick?¡± Poor Ke Berish looked very upset! ¡°Yes.¡± Ry¡¯nao carried Randy off the bed, and he stiffened. ¡°Rose.¡± ¡°She may come with us, if she wishes. Mike, send Hal Fon to the red chamber, please.¡± Randy¡¯s hand gripped mine. We walked quickly. ¡°Jis!¡± Ry¡¯nao stopped. Jis ran after us. ¡°Where do you take¡ªmy emperor!¡± ¡°Nae bow to me, my son. Come with Randy. Randy is unwell, and you may comfort him.¡± He smiled. His gray curls waved with his heartbeats. Jis took Randy¡¯s arm, and his yellow color paled. ¡°He is frightened! Liege, why does he fear you?¡± Randy breathed in whistles. His eyes stared up at Jis. ¡°He¡ªKel¡¯s brother. I never saw him in my life, and he tells me I was¡ªa diplomat! And my father¡ª¡± ¡°Randy, think of your life as a healer. Hal Fon is a healer as well. Do you know him?¡± Quickly, we walked across the back of the Hospice to the red room. Put Randy on a couch and sat by him. The couch widened so all of us could sit, then wound impossibly close. Where did my legs go? Many of us. We sat with our faces about two feet apart at most, but that didn¡¯t leave enough room¡ª That older Thordes healer touched Randy¡¯s head. ¡°My son, be calm. I will help you. This injury was not your first.¡± He tugged my hand onto his head. ¡°Rose, tell them I¡¯m a healer. Tell them! I trained you!¡± All of ¡®em cried! Pie brought Pas and five other healers! Pas held Jirris, then Cev came to comfort his ba. Ke Berish and Kel Hai stood there crying. Jirris looked up. Gasped. Slaver Horrors ¡°Ba, Adia showed me how foolish Fa was, and all of us, to avoid you. This memory proves it. We thought we could keep you safe if you went to another prov, and nae knew you are my ba! O, I am sorry, Jir!¡± Cevit Ion, 7th Galaxy Minister, cried. Rumbles of his sorrow shook me up! I hugged ¡®em. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have known this would happen! Heden knows because he has help from the Third Level!¡± Cev gasped. There¡¯s a crowd in this big room! ¡°When will I learn to keep my mouth--¡± ¡°Molly, what you show us, what you tell us, saves men! Let them see. Nae in this chamber hears whom I nae trust to hear it. Healers are with us, and I bring Nofos De to Pie, so Rish can have healing. Ket, can you help Molly?¡± Nofos De! Best healer for anyone from Ka! He¡¯s in Alb with the other Elders! ¡°Habis ha! Can¡¯t I block some of this? Earthans are more fragile than Elshars!¡± He sighed, and it rumbled on me. ¡°It is impossible. Help her as much as you can. I fear to see this, and I took reports of many whom Heden destroyed.¡± I touched their clasped hands and let the memories come. They were in Prov Nine of Elshar Mashai, the night this prov attacked Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony and killed two-thirds of it. I felt sick! Part of Eriganh¡¯s war! I realized a lot of things I witnessed were part of Rentappenen¡¯s war, too. How much did I miss when I was trying to ignore all the higher-level stuff, because I thought it didn¡¯t apply to Rainbow? To me? ¡°Jir, if anything happens to us, you will always be my friend.¡± I touched the back of his head. Hot. Swollen. Blood matted his dark hair. How can we get back to the ship in this condition? My mind reached for Ry¡¯nao, but I lacked strength to send much. I touched that of a healer. He taught me how to use my telepathy to ease Jir¡¯s pain. His blue eyes stared at me. ¡°You are a healer! Mind pain leaves me.¡± The healer warned me that Zheien act funny when they hit their heads in back. ¡°Find a place to rest and make him lie flat. Let him regen.¡± Regen, in this place? I kept him against the column¡¯s inside corner. Useless place to hide! Hyssdia smoke from the tents made me stiffen. It¡¯s cold, and the stone against Jir is making him stiff. I can¡¯t move. Can¡¯t get rid of our diplomats¡¯ sashes. Got Jir away from Councilman Fors and the Prov Nine Council, but can¡¯t get to his ship, only a few steps past the tents. Another voice in my mind. I listened. A wise Thordes healer. ¡°My son, I fear for you. If you are captured, try to touch my mind, and I will help if I can. I am Randy.¡± An Elshar staggered into the column that hid us, and his hand found me. ¡°Ah, what is this? Two diplomats. Asha! Sehem! Quickly, help me with them. Hold that Zheien.¡± Two men grabbed Jir. He didn¡¯t fight. Barely stumbled between them without falling. The first easily dragged me. My body felt numb. Moving was exhausting. They led us down the alley by the tents. To a rock building, an ancient building. Dark. A light in a room. My neck thumped. Inside, low tables, blood-stained tables with chains, stood beside many torture devices. They put us on one table. Jir groaned. I looked up, and Heden stood over us. ¡°My son, I am a healer. Your neck is thumping¡ª¡° It was horrible, but I made it through. I saw a lot of traumatic reports. Not at this age! We saw months of Heden¡¯s training. He wanted them to sign false treaties. He pretended to be kind, then showed extreme cruelty when they didn¡¯t obey him. I shook all over. So did all of them, including Cev! Didn¡¯t see my friends. Ben took me off the bench. Paled when he saw how many healers crowded around these men! ¡°Molly, should I ask another healer for you?¡± Ket laughed. ¡°I thought she¡¯d need a lot of healing, but she didn¡¯t. Pas taught me Earthan healing.¡± I laughed, too. ¡°Y¡¯all okay?¡± Ben helped me by thinking about a garden in Fhiah. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Rish nodded. ¡°I want to meet Rose.¡± Pie giggled. ¡°I want to meet her mea!¡± Jirris had dark eyes. ¡°Molly, will Ghen wish to marry me?¡± Cev hugged him and Rish. ¡°My sons, I wish you to leave diplomatic work and learn healing. Surely Ghen has less fear, then--¡± ¡°These memories shall destroy her!¡± He wept. I got Ben to put me down and hugged Jirris. Kissed his forehead. ¡°Listen to me, Ba. You had them, and she just sang to you. She has her dad to help her, and her mea is alive in this future. You have Rish and family on Elshar Zheiea. You¡¯ll help each other. I saw a lot of marriages in Elshar Zheiea, and all of you have horrible memories! Not one died. Pirad can make those memories dim, so it¡¯s not as bad. ¡°King Wen said diplomats should not be denied happiness for fear that memories might kill someone. Elshar Zheien could only court for a week, he advised. I think even that¡¯s too much. We had a lot of instant marriages because one or both of ¡®em couldn¡¯t apply all the telepathic blocks you have to do.¡± Jirris¡¯ eyes were all the way open. Black, like marbles in white. ¡°King Wen?¡± He trembled. Cev did, too. ¡°Ba, see our family! All are well! Challet reigns over us. Kirisden, Wen and their wives are all on the Council together! Menchall yet leads him. Elshars who came with us are diplomats, traders, and many artisans came. All abhor persecution! We have peace in our colony.¡± A wave, and we saw. Happy traders at their tables. Children laughed as they ran through, and even Elshars trying to trade across from them laughed! Couples walked past under a bright yellow sky. No one shouted an insult. If a child fell in the sand, he bathed in it! They have a festival going on, but healers are taking people to Rainbow when they get tired. They can¡¯t go home yet, to their new houses? The yellow dust on Elshar Mashai is poison, and kids had to be wrapped when they went outside. No kid dared to play in a market there! Stone cubes in rows with black tarps over a window and door. Traders have to move every day and how much trade they have at sunset determines which house. Tech is rationed severely. Was. They built the Nefcot Ring to funnel energy from our Milky Way to all the other galaxies. On Elshar Mashai, the Alliance Council is talking about that right now! They ended all slavery in the Alliance at 4 pm today! It¡¯s 6:10 pm now? Azure went to Pirad¡¯s Lab in Antarctica. She¡¯s sharing memories for clones. She wants a clone of me her age, 16. I told Pirad to go ahead! A lot of Elshars came to Earth today when they heard about SETI. They¡¯re trading with all the people Adia brought on her team. They¡¯re raiding second-hand stores. Elshars have an embassy ship. Andrisch, Earth¡¯s new Trade Inspector, is on it. He already sent those creeps who took ¡®em to Heden to Ih Esta on Gowa. Heden has hundreds of clones and Andrisch judged several hundred of ¡®em today. They are dead. I knew Cam Ta Of Ishah Elshar Colony, who was briefly Trade Inspector Of Prov One, Elshar Mashai. They sent him to Ih Esta. I shuddered. Cev touched my mind. Know you where he is, Molly? I showed him the list of mines he went through. But, he showed up on Earth, in Tullahoma, TN, before going home to Ishah, then to Ryee¡¯s Unwell Colony in Ye~. His eyes went black when he saw what condition he was in when I knew him. They found two disposable ships this morning? There¡¯s a slaver colony here in our solar system. I waved up a map. He¡¯s in a hospital trying to sneak out! Berto went to that stairwell. He sent a diplomat to the lady¡¯s house, and another one, Asha, to another lady¡¯s house, where Pondaiash will end up. They couldn¡¯t see them, but I got locations. Pondaiash is lying in tall grass in Leyla¡¯s yard! It¡¯s in the 50s. I ran a warm containment. Oleana¡¯s sleeping, so Asha ported there to watch over his friend. Westermeyer and Carroll have been busy with other stuff today since I told Cev about the disposable ships. He has a lot of diplomats all over Tullahoma, but they couldn¡¯t find ¡®em. They turned in a lot of slavers to Andrisch. Why is it I can see them and the ship¡¯s server can¡¯t detect ¡®em? Trained operatives can¡¯t find ¡®em, either? Jirris¡¯ eyes went black, and he sweated! Felt my mind near him and got scared. Elshar Zheien are almost always scared of healers because herbs don¡¯t work right on them. Pirad can bring his Zheien portion dominant if he can get over his fear. Cev carried him into his room, where one of Ahstam¡¯s clones waited. I felt terrible. Rish needed his testimony in some trade disputes. Their last mission was in Prov Nine. Adia warned Cevit Ion that they needed to leave. They helped Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony move from the 7th to the 1st¡ªto Alb. But they came straight here to help with Earth¡¯s treaties after that, when they should¡¯ve had their respite. A lot of his diplomats are missing since they left Monday that were in memories Cev had later than then. I shuddered. Are slavers also seeing futures? Eriganh attacked D¡¯gharr, people grabbed everyone to go there and fight, and King Challet used the confusion to buy slaves and food and move his colony in secret! That must¡¯ve been awful! Cev thought of friends and relatives who are missing since that day. People sold everything to get a ship or passage. Slavers sold slaves openly in every prov''s market! I saw diplomats¡¯ reports of that awful day in Rainbow. How wonderful that they moved to a new, safe world in Alb! I wanted to follow Jirris, but they need brother time. He¡¯s been sick today, before seeing these horrible memories. Rish ported to Adelle¡¯s house to meet Rose. He¡¯s going to bring them here. Pie wanted to go with him, but he didn¡¯t want to scare ¡®em. Belle From Marietta Middle Then I spotted a girl Angel and I both knew. ¡°Belle? Belle Richardson!¡± Pas called me over. We ran around a crowd, mostly diplomats, who smiled. ¡°Molly! Angel! I didn''t know y''all were here!¡± Group hug, and all of us talked at once! She was 12, like us, and used to live in Marietta. Went to Marietta Middle when Angel and I were there last year. I still look 12, but I¡¯m 2 inches taller! Angel lost the happy smile. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so glad I don¡¯t have to go to school any more! Belle, you need a tutor, like I have! Pas got my gasroenterologist¡¯s report and I had ulcers! He cured it. You need him to see you!¡± Belle startled. ¡°I''m stressed out, too. I''m behind in my new school. We moved to Cabbagetown last month. Everybody''s got a group of friends, and I¡ª¡° She looked back at her mom, who was talking to Pas. Whispered, ¡°have a bunch of bullies who threaten to beat me up! I wore the wrong color to school my first day. I don''t know what the right color is! Mom had to get a second job to get school uniforms. She¡¯s tried to get ¡®em on eBay, but they didn¡¯t have the right kind. Just my hair ribbon set everyone off. It had white, green and orange like the Irish flag.¡± She has deep red, straight, hair like a curtain. Not orange like mine! Her mom¡¯s is that color but waves. Pas hugged Angel. ¡°Could she ne have a tutor? All of you?¡± He shared memories of the Earthan Colony on Ye~ in that other future. Most people who brought kids to it decided to let them have a tutor instead of remote classes from Earth. All of them wanted tutors. They could study things their friends liked together, eat lunch together, it¡¯s not like our over-scheduled, hurry-up lives here! ¡°A Zheien tutor lets a young one choose what interests them, and teaches, or brings one to teach who knows the subject. Learning must be enjoyable. One can observe someone who works, to see if he or she would enjoy that work. You would call it hands-on learning.¡± Belle looked relieved. ¡°Could I start tomorrow?¡± ¡°Ea.¡± Tan Links ported to us. ¡°Pirad could create clones of you. Surely one might choose to go to your school. He could give this clone skills similar to yours, but make things easier. Pirad can create one in two hours. You would need to share memories to a cylinder, which is painful, but pain ends after sharing. They learned with Gierdre, who also had no husband to help her, that singles can share, but they have a bad headache afterwards.¡± Belle jumped for joy! ¡°I want to do that. I can stand a headache to get a twin! School just stresses me out, especially since¡ª¡± She leaned close to me. ¡°Mom and Dad got a divorce, and Dad''s been trying to break into our house! We had to rent a room in Cabbagetown and he''s selling our house. ¡°My new dad, Luc''vel, he''s from Oesmen. Mom''s going to pull me out of school tomorrow.¡± Maura looked shocked when she said ¡®new dad¡¯. Belle knows things they don¡¯t! They¡¯ve been here an hour. Tan frowned. ¡°You cannot leave the ship! Slavers watch you. Luc¡¯vel¡¯s enemies followed him from Oesmen!¡± Luc¡¯vel? I looked at the athletic fella with Maura-- Poor thing¡¯s really upset. They went on a camping trip as a dry run for living in their van! They¡¯re all thinking about how Belle got lost in the woods. Part of a tree almost fell on my friend! If Adia hadn¡¯t sent Ao~ there, that limb would have hurt Luc¡¯vel. I tried to heal him after the Yeff went to slavers. He, Maura, and Belle were with ¡®em. Belle looked up. Startled. A couple gasped. George, but younger. Deci, but a very normal looking body, because she hasn¡¯t had that car accident yet. He shuddered and hugged her. ¡°It¡¯s all right, George! It won¡¯t happen now.¡± I touched his arm, but I think I just confused him. Deci died and Belle married him, to save his life! They were in slavery with the Yeff. I trembled. Those memories were awful, and I saw ''em all! He nodded but a healer ran to him. Geo, his cousin from that memory. ¡°You need rest, now! Deci, come.¡± When Geo picked him up, yellow sparkles made a cloud. Ishah shouldn¡¯t sweat, like Zheien shouldn¡¯t sweat. They die! His tri-fingered hands shook like lasagna. ¡°Is he all right?¡± Her green eyes followed them into a room. I listened to Geo''s healing. ¡°He''s all right. Don''t worry.¡± George already got Pirad¡¯s healing for his damaged heart, which is gradual. They¡¯re talking about Leiea Prov on Elshar Zheiea, where a lot of his Ishah relatives and friends are moving. Deci¡¯s sister is in love with Ea¡¯Sar already and he¡¯s teaching her trading. They want to live there. He¡¯s George¡¯s bestie. Belle married him when Deci died, but he was so injured, she just took care of him. She loved him, but he wasn¡¯t able to return it. Pas married them because he thought she was Deci and linked with her mind. Deci woke up long enough to tell him to do it, but he was so overcome with grief and all the probing, he just sat and stared. Belle took care of him and raised their daughter Cara, at 17. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I hugged her. Nobody¡¯ll live on Alb Seer because the subcolonies I had in those memories will be on the worlds orbiting Alb. Belle feels really awkward¡ªshe was 17. Luc asked her how to help her mom, telepathically. His worry for her made her feel loved. Tan explained Alb to Maura and she didn¡¯t want to stay on Earth! I heard his loud thoughts that they don¡¯t want anyone to go back home once they come to the ship! Some people came because they got a terminal from a friend. They¡¯re worried about people who decided they wanted to do stuff on Earth before leaving! ¡°Ry¡¯nao wants all of you to get on a ship to Alb tonight.¡± There was a huge crowd, and diplomats from all the worlds waved up holos of that world and gathered interested people to answer questions. There were maybe a hundred around MarKu, and about that many around Ye~! Not nearly as many gathered for other worlds. Angel sighed. ¡°I always wanted a big family, but Mom almost died carrying me. We''ve been talking about adopting. But now we can have clones.¡± She wiped a tear. ¡°That¡¯s nothing compared to what poor Molly¡¯s been dealing with!¡± Belle looked confused. ¡°You have problems at home, too, Molly?!¡± I told her about my troubles with Mom in Rainbow, to help her cope with an argument she had with her mom. Her mom¡¯s a good mom, but they¡¯re coping with Belle¡¯s dad¡¯s abuse. They went through a lot of stuff on Oesmen when they went back! I showed her. She thought about how her dad used to beat them up! Suggested they talk to Suma. ¡°Didja see Pas?¡± ¡°Yes. Oh, I think Pas wanted you.¡± Pas looked worried. ¡°Molly, can you explain ¡®rent¡¯?¡± I laughed. ¡°Oh, they don¡¯t charge any rent! No deposits. You can move in now, and by the way, you get meals, crafts, you can have pets, clothes, and school! I¡¯m learning to be a healer.¡± Goe explained all this when he talked about MarKu. Convinced me to go there to live and Ben loves the idea! All the Zheien colonies do this! Belle already had a green cube. Luc¡¯s got a job on Ye~ with the Science Council now! Tan created rooms for them. Maura didn¡¯t want Belle to go to hers. I looked beside her. Maura, with light green eyes who''s from Ireland but she''s a US citizen. Luc''vel, he''s from Oesmen but looks like us. Short red hair like a mane around his face. He looked a lot like them. Nice coincidence! They have green eyes but his are sky blue. So relieved to see him walking around! When I knew him-- He put his arms around her. Belle¡¯s mom sobbed. ¡°I feel close to you, and I shouldn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know why¡ª¡± Adia moved closer. ¡°I think I know. Would you like to see?¡± She held out a twin-fingered hand. Maura took it. Did I look like that, when I heard Adia''s memories? Staring into another universe, with a blank look? But it wasn''t a stupid look. I relaxed. Angel stared at them. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Telepathy. They¡¯ll get it, too.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ben waved up a padded bench and sat on it with us. ¡°Fa and Mea go with us to MarKu. We were thinking of joining Alb Mah, but MarKu is better! All of us are eager to see our history, for we came from MarKu, in our fathers. But all worlds of Alb are only a 4 minute port.¡± I laughed, and Ben got his puzzled look. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t Mah ¡®bad¡¯?¡± He roared. ¡°Mah has many meanings! One is, ¡®to leave difficulty¡¯, so Alb Mah is a solution to our overcrowding. It nae means that he is a bad world!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry! The King Of Alb Mah would probably get his feelings hurt.¡± I felt my face go red. Ben laughed. ¡°He is Penahaman, and hear you his amusement? Molly, I think you nae ever offended anyone!¡± ¡°A few slavers, but that was on purpose. They¡¯re rude anyway!¡± I waved a hand down. I heard M¡¯Naga laugh. He¡¯s Ryonne~¡¯s master trader, and he¡¯s dealt with quite a few slavers today, helping them route slaves to the Alb System. Luc¡¯vel encouraged Belle and Maura to go find out about Alb worlds. Ryee had a group explaining things. They went. Pas spent a long time on Luc¡¯vel¡¯s points. Sighed. ¡°My son, you had many injuries, poorly healed! I am happy you will have easier work!¡± He startled. ¡°Pas, I am healthy. I could not climb trees and fight off vicious animals, if I was not!¡± ¡°Your eyes lost their color changes. This tells me you had many severe unwells. Oesmen¡¯s healers use slaver herbs to increase strength at harm of intelligence. Your ship¡¯s doctor gave you much false healing.¡± He paled. ¡°I never thought of us as Elshar, because none but the ruling class has color changes! Scientists are nearly treated as servants. When Ryonne~ offered me housing and food, I am still shocked!¡± ¡°You should all eat, then I will bring Pirad to heal you.¡± Pas waved up his food menu. His sky blue eyes filled. ¡°I think the House Of Oesmen Council does not eat as this!¡± ¡°What did you eat here?¡± ¡°I tasted an apple this morning. We have nothing like it on Oesmen! I saved half for tomorrow.¡± ¡°My son, surely you ate more than this?¡± Pas got upset. Luc’vel’s Hardships ¡°Yesterday I found a scuppernong bush and ate three! But I filled my ship¡¯s kitchen with most of what I found. There is much more energy in these fruits than in three plain amta.¡± Pas startled! ¡°You only eat three?¡± ¡°Pas, three is a feast! I had a ship refit on D¡¯sharr before I came to Earth, and I ate two, for a year to have trade for it.¡± ¡°Learn of me, my son. A man your size who does heavy work must have six amta three times a day, to keep weight.¡± Luc¡¯vel had a lot of scars and his arms didn¡¯t lay straight. Saw a lot of slaves in better shape, in Rainbow. I¡¯m going to ask if we can trade with Oesmen and get all those people in Elders¡¯ Square! Millie, one of my clones, went to talk with Cev, right now! Oesmen¡¯s in the 7th. It¡¯s his. Pas adjusted his nutrition progs and let him see. ¡°Eat more than you would, and this timer will remind you to eat often. Small amounts, but often, that you ne feel unwell. Here are aandats for you all.¡± White masses fell on their ankles. Belle looked down and smiled. So did Maura. Luc¡¯vel thought about how expensive aandats are, and cringed. Other people watched, then released their aandats! The more people saw that, almost the entire crowd did! When they heard enough, they came back and sat with us. We ate together. Belle got a hamburger from Ruby Tuesday¡¯s with guacamole. Maura had corned beef and coddle, a kind of stew with pale sausages, from a restaurant in Ireland, Ballymaloe, with Irish soda bread. I tried authentic fish and chips from Meehan¡¯s in Atlanta. Pas sang a touching blessing asking Father Of All to help us all with very specific things. I think they got as choked up over that as I did! Luc¡¯vel looked kind of overwhelmed, so both Belle and Maura put bites from their plates on a piece of china with a shamrock that Maura waved up for him. With a green cloth napkin that he used often on his eyes. I put some of my Atlantic cod, fries and slaw on his plate. ¡°You should eat that, Molly! I feel bad to take food from you.¡± He wiped his eyes again. ¡°Luc¡¯vel, I can get more, if I want it! This is more food than I would eat in one meal, too!¡± I laughed. He held my hand. ¡°You were so kind to us all, when we came. I will never forget Rainbow.¡± His voice broke. ¡°Belle deserves a good dad like you!¡± I hummed and his wrist creaked. ¡°Oops, sorry!¡± Belle added her hand. ¡°I¡¯m glad you did that! After we eat, I want you to get married!¡± Then, she blushed. Gave a cowed look at her mother. Maura shoved her shoulder! ¡°Why, an¡¯ I think that¡¯s a wonderful idea! I¡¯m eager to get rid of Richardson and take back Cliatt!¡± Belle giggled. ¡°I can be a Cliatt?¡± She lost the happy smile. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t cost too much.¡± Tan came back. ¡°I can do this now. There will be no cost.¡± He waved up their Alliance records. Their last names changed to Cliatt. Both of ¡®em smiled. We all finished and waved our plates away. Luc¡¯vel carefully gave the plate back to Maura. ¡°Oh, I meant that¡¯un to be yours, m¡¯love! How I wanted you to have it, when I couldn¡¯t get one from Earth, on Ye~. I made one from a holo of the pattern.¡± He smiled, hugged the plate, and waved it slowly to his alt storage. ¡°Then, I shall eat from it every night!¡± Luc¡¯vel knelt and recited beautiful poetry. Waved a dress with lots of white lace with Celtic knots and shamrocks woven in on her. A screen came up and he wrote his name in Elshar. ¡°Sign here, my love. Your Earthan signature is fine.¡± She used a golden pen that had the colors of the Irish flag on it to sign, with red light that turned blue. Tried to give it back to Tan, but he pushed it back to her, with a smile. She looked happy. Then, took Luc¡¯vel¡¯s hand. ¡°Luc, where¡¯s your room?¡± ¡°If you wish not to share it yet, I understand.¡± He looked down. ¡°I want to share it! Belle will enjoy having a room, with what she wants in it!¡± She pulled Belle into a group hug, and all of them smiled. Luc''vel squeezed Belle''s hand. ¡°If healing interests you more, I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°But I want to do both. You heard my thoughts?¡± She cowered. ¡°Yes, I did, but I wasn¡¯t meaning to pry.¡± Pas kept rubbing Belle''s head, and she smiled. Her long, red hair swung like a curtain. Maura¡¯s was wavy and darker than either of ours. Her mom¡¯s phone went off, and she dropped it! But it didn¡¯t fall. It floated until she grabbed it. ¡°Hello?¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Maura, you gotta come in tonight! Lupita quit, and we got a convention in town¡ª¡± ¡°You have a lot of nerve! I told you two weeks ago I wanted this 5-day weekend off¡ª¡± ¡°And, you agreed to be on call, didn¡¯t ya? Ya want this job, or not?¡± ¡°No, Beverly, I don¡¯t. Bye!¡± She hung up. ¡°I hate that job! Heavy platters of food and fussy people who treat you like a slave! That felt good!¡± ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, Mom! Maybe your back won¡¯t hurt so bad now.¡± Pas looked unhappy. ¡°Have you pains? Both need rest.¡± ¡°Rest?" Mom¡¯s voice broke. ¡°I need to know what work I will be doing.¡± Pas hugged her. She looked shocked, but returned it. ¡°You expected ne to work for five days. Rest first, then speak of work.¡± I pointed beside us on the left. ¡°That¡¯s the portal to our room, and y¡¯all can visit us anytime! If you want your room by me, Belle, you can, or if you know someone else and want to be by them, they can move the portals over. Angel¡¯s room is on the other side of the Pedersens¡¯ portal.¡± Hadn''t been in our room but briefly after we married, but I liked the arrangement. Ben made it, and it¡¯s in their house in Marietta and in the Pedersen¡¯s basement at once! I squeezed his hand and that look of love brought tears to my eyes. So grateful for Ben, and now Luc and Maura can enjoy married bliss, too! Belle smiled and her mom nodded. ¡°There is fine! I¡¯m happy that we can live here, where it¡¯s safe!¡± Ao~ waved and a picture of Belle was there, like a pretty tapestry. Woods in the background. But, Maura frowned and it changed to Ye~! ¡°Oh, that¡¯s pretty, Mom! I wish we could go to Ireland and see your folks.¡± She sighed. ¡°I miss it, but there¡¯s no work I want to do there. Translators or broadcasters have a lot of competition. I like the idea of living on Ye~.¡± ¡°I will put a lock, so Tem cannot enter. Oh, M¡¯Naga invited him to bring the kittens to his room.¡± Beside Belle¡¯s room was a picture of Luc¡¯vel and Maura against a background of Ireland. ¡°Tem? But, he hurt you¡ª¡± ¡°Be~saech cleaned him of rogues. He would not harm anyone, now. See?¡± Several Yeff in orange tunics and pants walked with him. He carried a cardboard box with a mother cat and five kittens. Only one was orange striped like her. All of them talked happily about cats! He petted them. Tem was the shape of a person, but blue liquid sloshed as he walked. He also wore orange tunic and pants. Luc¡¯vel laughed! ¡°Oesha invited him to join the Science Council? A sim can do that?¡± Tan smiled. ¡°Yes! Zheien consider them sentient if they are high enough intelligence. He is not like simulants on Areon, who only do menial functions. Oesha asked me about artificial life. There are guidelines for lawyers, because Zheien kings brought the matter to Trader¡¯s Service. I tested him. ¡°Sa¡¯i uses simulants to trade because no trader could bear contact with them, so M¡¯Naga taught him to trade and gave him Provisional status. He learned from watching you, but no one on Oesmen would take him seriously. ¡°So I had him trade with Areonian and Yeff children learning trading. He made artworks from natural materials that pleased them! Before Sun2 set on Ye~, he made 15trade. I think he will make much more than that, tomorrow! He wants to trade pets, but he must wait until Earth votes on the Alliance Treaty for that. Tem loves children, and his telepathy is gentle. He cares for all the animals on the ship.¡± His mind pointed to a tapestry with animals of all sorts on it, like a zoo! Through the clear hull were all sorts of them, no cages, just interacting in friendly ways! Some had holos of places. A tiger had a pool to wallow in. Two elephants shared it and sprayed the tiger, who rolled over for more! It also had cattle, horses, dogs, cats and other pets. Fish floated above their heads in globes of water. Birds flew around or sat on perches. Lots of people were in there and several healers. Every animal had an aandat. Most were dogs and cats, and diplomats kept porting in with more. A steady stream of people carried mostly dogs and cats out. ¡°Ry¡¯nao wants all to leave for Alb tonight, but you may send holos to Earth, to contact your loved ones with a diplomat here.¡± Ao~ smiled at them. Luc¡¯vel chuckled. ¡°I am happy to go to safety, after what happened!¡± He lost the happy smile. Pirad came. ¡°I would like to reclone both of you now! It is fortunate you did not return to Oesmen. It is bad enough you grew biomes from a Lerk terminal, and Tem and your other simulants! But he and your ship are safe now. Men should not go to Jain! Oesmen should know people of our tech level are forbidden to go there!¡± ¡°But, Elshar Elders went there, and that is how Elshar learned to make colonies! Jain was a colony of Elshar that traded with many people who had technology and they collected it!¡± His face clicked into an expression of dismay! ¡°The Jain went to destroyed worlds to find tech that destroyed them! As many civilizations before them, they thought they could destroy one ethnic group and not others. Their weapons trade destroyed other civilizations besides theirs!¡± ¡°Weapons trade! We were told to look for plants and animals!¡± His chest heaved. ¡°Everything on Jain was a weapon! They made weapons of things that Elshars do not think of as harmful. The Lerk were peaceful, but they traded their deadliest weapons to the Jain in exchange for food. Even Jain food was deadly, and they traded it lying about how beneficial it was!¡± His thin chest heaved, and he clicked with it. Luc¡¯vel paled. ¡°Oesmen has farms on Jain, and we carried food with us. We ate it!¡± ¡°I can make you fully Elshar. I know more than Oesmen will ever know, or Jain.¡± He offered to take Luc¡¯vel and Maura to his lab, so they went. I put a hand on Belle¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll be fine. C¡¯mon, want to see Brian, Jason and Steven? They''re here!¡± ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m so glad we don¡¯t have to go to Oesmen! I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t grow a third eye or something!¡± Of all the Elshars we got in Rainbow, I didn¡¯t remember anyone else from Oesmen. I asked M¡¯Naga about trading partners there, to see if we could get food from there for Luc¡¯vel. Oesmen doesn¡¯t trade food, ethnic items, anything that Elshars usually want, specifically from Oesmen. My traders didn¡¯t know much about it, but M¡¯Naga knew a lot. He never had a regular trading partner from there for longer than a few months. Usually, traders have friends for decades. Because he couldn¡¯t find anything out about them when he didn¡¯t see them, he asked me. Their Alliance record would say Elder¡¯s Square. We tried, but we couldn¡¯t get Oesmen to let us take any of them, even for large amounts of trade. That¡¯s where they put people to die, but I didn¡¯t tell M¡¯Naga. I knew from what Luc¡¯vel told me. Friends’ Worlds ¡°Is it hard to build a Victorian?¡± Mark smiled and ran a hand through his blond hair. His blue eyes were lighter than Angel¡¯s and on the gray side. Ryee waved up a design screen. Showed Mark how to manipulate it with his mind. Soon, he had a pretty house on it. He borrowed ideas from homes on the Internet, but made changes that pleased his family. ¡°When we arrive, there are many places you can put it.¡± He waved up holos of where the Earthan Colony will be, near Oshfah. ¡°If here ne pleases, there are other climes ¡ª¡± Toni clapped her hands. ¡°Look at all the flowers! And that lavender sand! It¡¯s beautiful! Will my flowers from here grow there?¡± Oesha ported to us and showed many beautiful flowers that would grow there, some that could not survive in Georgia. Many of these were from Hawaii, Madagascar, and the Rain Forest. He waved many flowers and plants from Ireland into Maura¡¯s account, including shamrocks! He¡¯s Luc¡¯s boss. When she gets through sharing memories, she¡¯ll be delighted. But, then, Goe came and showed them MarKu. When Angel knew I was gonna live there and saw the replica of Piedmont Park, they decided to go there! Any plants everyone wants will grow on any part of these worlds! Belle looked worried. ¡°Look, it only takes 4 mins to port from MarKu to Ye~. We can still get together a lot!¡± She smiled again. ¡°Thanks, Molly!¡± Meg, Tom and Brian ported in with¡ªRyee? Oh, his clone! I jumped up and hugged them all! Anne, Austin¡ªI never met him! Sam, Marlie and Jason! Anne married Cevit Ion and they revived the kids-- ¡°Molly! Oh, Molly!¡± Meg hugged me and cried. I hugged her back! ¡°Oh, what¡¯s wrong? Are you all right, Meg?¡± ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m your aunt! I¡¯m not like your mother--¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Take a deep breath. Wow! I¡¯m happy to have one nice relative! Maybe that¡¯s why I felt so close to you in Rainbow. I¡ªkept busy, so I didn¡¯t have to think! The Pedersens didn¡¯t come with me in that future, but they¡¯re coming to MarKu with me--¡± ¡°I want to go to MarKu!¡± Tom put his huge hands on her shoulders. She¡¯s short! ¡°I liked MarKu. Brian, want to move there?¡± ¡°Yeah! Where¡¯s Jog Sa? Is he there?¡± Ryee shook his dark-curled head. ¡°Jog Sa left MarKu with his parents to go to Ea~, which is perhaps as far as Earth to Mars, and slavers took their ship. This was three months past. All of MarKu mourns, for his and his parents¡¯ skills are great, and many know them.¡± His sorrow rumbled on us. He sighed, and it rumbled harder on me. ¡°In our treaty, we stipulated that any slaves who come to Earth will have ships to ferry them to Rainbow Colonies. Ne will stay in Earthans¡¯ homes. Too many died because of Elshar slavers, who infiltrated the agencies. Elshars and Areonians may live on Earth safely, so there may be agencies for them. ¡°They¡¯re coming! Jog Sa, Venn, Ches and Sees, and a lot of other people rescued on Earth!¡± Everyone got happy! ¡°Basa is here. Fidd and Hil are on MarKu, safe with their families. Venn, Ches and Sees delivered aandats with Mayb~ and are lost.¡± I looked up and Basa hugged Meg. ¡°Mom! O, I am happy to have an Earthan Mom. Fa is here with me, but my mea died in my sa Kae¡¯s birth. If you wish a Zheien son, I am available.¡± He smiled. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Brian giggled. ¡°All right!¡± He started to do a high-five, then jerked his hand back. ¡°Oops, I¡¯d better not do that.¡± Basa took his hand. Poor Brian got red in the face, so Basa hugged him. ¡°Hey, we can share Aunt Megan!¡± I hugged Meg again. ¡°Can you come live with us?¡± Meg sobbed. Angel shook all over. ¡°I thought she was going to come live with us.¡± Ben put his arm around me. ¡°Friends, Molly and I married, and Angel, you and your parents have rooms upon our embassy. We all live together here. You are all welcome to join us. Molly and I will live in MarKu when we marry.¡± Megan looked at him. ¡°How old are you?¡± He paled. Neon green eyes and blond curls. She studied every detail. ¡°Aunt Megan, I am 15, but work as diplomat beside my fa, Lineas. I am Binneas.¡± He bowed low. ¡°But she¡¯s only 12. How can you marry someone so young?¡± I heard her thoughts. I can¡¯t think about all the male members of our big family. Ben paled!What do normal families do? ¡°Aunt Megan¡ªmay I call you so?¡± He reached his arms out and she hugged him. Nodded. ¡°I love Molly. She is now 18. I can nae explain how this happened. You must understand, Molly has aandat and has telepathy. She can easily lose, and with that, she loses worlds filled with all kinds of people. You know how many she saved in Rainbow. ¡°She can borrow capacity from my mind for healing. I will nae dishonor her.¡± Megan nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll support you! Molly, your work is and will be important. You save a diplomat, you save whatever treaty he might be working on that might affect a lot of worlds! Gince saved Kenneph, and he saved fifty!¡± ¡°Thanks, Aunt Megan! You¡¯re the best! Kenneph is on MarKu now! He did save 50 worlds with his treaty! His wife¡¯s very happy!¡± Even though several worlds were destroyed by the bad guys. He still got hurt. So sad. We had a group hug. ¡°Can I call you Ben, Nevvy?¡± He giggled. ¡°Eae!¡± Meg had black hair. Like Mom¡¯s. Like Aunt Mabel¡¯s. The same narrow nose. The same large eyes that even I had. And smile lines at the corners of her eyes. ¡°I know your mama didn¡¯t say anything nice about me--¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± ¡°I¡ªToni said you didn¡¯t want to talk to me.¡± When did I say that? Maybe I thought she¡¯d be mean, like Aunt Mabel. But I only knew Aunt Mabel when she was sick. People get that way, sometimes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Aunt Meg. I was just¡ªscared.¡± I waved up a self-cooling cloth and wiped her face. She smiled. Tom hugged me, too. ¡°Welcome to the family!¡± Brian¡¯s brown eyes got huge! ¡°We¡¯re first cousins! That¡¯s lit!¡± I laughed. ¡°Yeah!¡± Even he hugged me! We were friends in school, but now, we¡¯re family! Love it! Mom¡¯s age, maybe a bit older. Once I saw a picture of three little girls and a boy. Was that Meg in those? Waved up a plan of MarKu Earthan Colony. ¡°See this? Goe promised us a replica of the entire Beltline! With all the parks! And a skating rink!¡± ¡°Really?¡± Several teens gathered around. ¡°Oh, hi, Liz! I know you and Doe¡¯ll probably live in the palace, but I bet a lot of people want to live on the Beltline, but it¡¯s too expensive. Not on MarKu! Houses are included, food--¡± ¡°Yeah, he promis¡¯ us soul food!¡± A Black fella jumped around. Meg laughed. ¡°Oh, yeah, Lamont! You and Kawar and Missy¡¯ll have everything you need, including the latest Black fashion, y¡¯all! Clothing formers, ethnic wear, costumes like for Halloween, all that¡¯s included, too.¡± ¡°Can we have a Black city?¡± ¡°If you want one, I¡¯m sure¡ªDoe, what do you think?¡± Liz looked at her husband. So happy to see them healthy and together! Doe smiled. ¡°I spoke with my fa, who is Herda, King Of MarKu. He asked us to provide whatever our Earthans wish! We plan for many cities, and we have space.¡± Lamont laughed. ¡°Good pun! Space--¡± Almost all of us Earthans laughed. I think we embarrassed poor Doe, but he smiled. Like his brother Goe, he has dark curls and brown eyes. Thinner, though. Meg raised a hand. ¡°I am a City Archaeologist, but I also trained as a healer in that other future. What should I do? Does MarKu need someone to look for artifacts, or have you done that already?¡± Genealogy and Archaeology Doe¡¯s brown eyes studied me. ¡°Lady, we need all occupations in our colony! You may choose, and all are more well because of it. I can provide a tutor from Jovia, if Zheien history interests you. Ophanarsen knows MarKuan history back to our founding, and MarKu Prov of Zhea~ to his founding.¡± ¡°Really? How many years is that?¡± ¡°A Zhea~ year is roughly an Earthan year, so we measure all colonies¡¯ time so. This year is 7818. MarKu was founded in 5530. We have space travel since 4825. MarKu and Ye~ are two of our oldest provs, and date from year zero.¡± ¡°Almost 8000 years? The oldest book of the Bible dates from about 8,000 years ago, as far as written history. So did your dates begin with written history?¡± His brown eyes opened very wide. ¡°Lady, our history is telepathic. Our historians share memories of the first Zheien to walk Zhea~. Our race began with year zero. Father Of All created us in that year. Our Father and Mother created us telepathically and raised us. From them came all Zheien. When our foreparents learned all we needed, Father and Mother of All left us to create other worlds. Some of our historians believe they created S¡¯ai next.¡± I felt peaceful as he talked about this. ¡°So in 4825 years, you learned how to make spaceships? Did you have help?¡± ¡°Nae. Once we flew, we met the Jain, and they are a race of Elshars. They had a trade network and we joined. Later, it became the Unified when we sent colonies. The Elshars abandoned the Jain and suggested to Bisillipians and Aryllans that they should combine their trade networks, and this became the Alliance. This is the first trade network we invited Earth to join.¡± Meg looked a bit disappointed. Zheien don¡¯t need to dig up artifacts. But, she was a very good healer. ¡°When do we have to leave?¡± Anne looked ready to cry. Doe hugged her. ¡°We wish nae to rush you, but we fear for your family. A ship waits to fly all of you to your new home. Wish you to take your house?¡± Austin startled. ¡°We can¡¯t! It¡¯s on the National Register Of Historic Places.¡± Megan and Tom nodded. Austin and Tom were about the same height, but Austin had a build like an athlete. Tom looked strong, too, but narrower in the shoulders. Megan¡¯s just a little taller than me, so next to Tom she almost looked little. Had a lot of lines in her face, though. She and Mom looked a lot alike, now that I knew we were related! ¡°Nae fear, we can make an exact replica, and one can sell it for you. Mr. Links, we have a legal question.¡± Tan came out of a nearby room. It had a tapestry of a place with giant flowers the size of trees! It wasn¡¯t the place Adia remembered with the blocky buildings. These houses had painted carvings of flowers and window boxes for smaller ones that looked like wood. He had a nice three-piece suit on in navy pinstripe and a blue tie. ¡°I can help you. Tan Links.¡± He offered his hand to Austin and they shook. Then, to Anne. ¡°Can you help us with real estate? We need to sell our home, and we¡¯ve never done this! Anne inherited our house from her parents.¡± ¡°I can learn it from a real estate lawyer here. Have you got a realtor?¡± Anne got a thoughtful look. ¡°There¡¯s Miranda Pruitt of Northside Realty. She helped friends of ours who sold their home in Inman Park six months ago. They were really happy. Like us, they inherited their house. One of my co-workers suggested her. Turns out she¡¯s related to us. Well, to me.¡± Austin squeezed her hand. He nodded. ¡°But, you might want to wait. If you wish clones, they might want to live in the house.¡± Anne smiled. ¡°What do you think, Austin? She could work in the library, and he could do construction, or even go back to school!¡± He laughed. ¡°Oh, Atlanta, you¡¯re in for it!¡± So glad he won¡¯t die! She¡¯s so happy with him. Cev¡¯ll have Sara Ionic. Ryee¡ªthe host¡ªtook Anne and Austin¡¯s hands. ¡°Are you ready for your recloning? Pirad can provide clones if you share memories for them in perhaps, two hours. His lab is this way. He has a different appearance than most of us.¡± She shivered, but nodded. ¡°I remember him. He was nice.¡± They walked to a tapestry that showed a cavernous green place. With green obsidian walls! Austin kept an arm around her. Even her dark hair shook. I felt bad for her. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Tom sighed. ¡°Can we go with them? Are there other Earthans in the colony yet?¡± Brian and Jason came from a group of kids. ¡°Tom, can we wait until Sara¡¯s family comes?¡± That¡¯s Sara, Steven¡¯s mom. Brian looked upset. Looked at Jason, whose lips were quivering. Another boy was with ¡®em. Where¡¯s Steven? ¡°His mama just married Vonn, so they¡¯re all going to Ye~.¡± ¡°Married? How¡¯d we miss that?¡± ¡°It happened on the Wedding Ship, and it¡¯s still going. I didn¡¯t know that was a thing, but all the Thordes are marrying there. Even the Areonian preacher knew about it.¡± Jason laughed. Liz shook her head. ¡°Ryee and Adia will need Laura¡¯s help, and diplomats have to stay until the Treaty votes. First the Alliance Treaty, then the Unified one. We might be here for weeks, or months! I don¡¯t know if Sara and her folks will leave until they do. No one¡¯s talked to them yet, have they?¡± Blond-headed lady got up. ¡°I heard you mention Sara. I wish to meet her. We wanted to attend the wedding, but since Sara does not know me, we did not go.¡± She wore an old-fashioned navy dress to her ankles with lost of pretty lace. Boots that laced all the way up. Liz startled. ¡°You know Vonn Links?¡± ¡°Ja, I am Tanda Weiss. Here is my husband, Kol. I worked with Adia in Fuels Research.¡± She smiled. ¡°I was there when she discovered the new fuel that enabled all of us to travel here and bring our worlds! It is called Adiarayalite for her. And, Joleon, her father, sits by her. Gutenabend!¡± They smiled. He came from our study group. My chemistry homework, spread out in holos, and floating molecule models. Well, my clone¡¯s homework. I¡¯m done with that! She¡¯s¡ªthat¡¯s advanced chemistry! Nothing that I was studying! I mentally touched her Alliance record. She¡¯s in med school! That¡¯s graduate organic chemistry! Laura brought her father to get healing earlier and her mother tried to shoot Adia! Yikes! But all of her family are on the ship now. Liz caught me up. They plan to take their ranch with Tennessee Walking Horses and Jersey cattle! Her uncles and aunt have other kinds, too! Aunt Meg smiled. ¡°Guten abend! They talked a bit about science, then he changed the subject. ¡°Do you know history of Cleveland, Ohio in 1840?¡± Meg laughed. ¡°My family came from there, about that time period! My branch moved to New Jersey at the turn of the century and worked for Nikolai Tesla!¡± And tried to steal some of his patents. Figures! ¡°But before that, they lived in Cleveland. What do you want to know?¡± ¡°Are you familiar with the Links family?¡± ¡°Let me take a look in my family tree.¡± Meg waved up her familysearch.org tree and she had Gertrude Linksch, b. 1769, Cannstatt, Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany, but no death date. There were 12 kids listed and none of ¡®em had a death date, but one male child was a Links and his huge family lived in Cleveland until our sorry ancestor moved to New Jersey. Lots of Linkses still up there. But Be~saech, another orange Zheien came close. He wore orange lighter than him in a tunic and pants. Bowed. ¡°I am Be~saech, and I write progs. What do you here?¡± His gray eyes opened wide. ¡°Oh, I love family history! This is familysearch.org and they have lots of historical records--¡± ¡°Cool, but you can run this one, and get items people threw away! Try it!¡± I pointed it out. Megan did, and photographs came up. Names and dates filled in. ¡°Did you write this, Be~saech? Amazing!¡± She bounced on her heels. I¡¯d seen Mom do that. I did, sometimes. ¡°Many Areonians wished to find relatives here. We can trace by genetic material, and infer relationships by items and proximity, as well as similarity of faces in photographs and carvings. But your work interests me!¡± Meg talked about time periods and artifacts of the 1800¡¯s and waved up her notes from an urban archaeology project in Cleveland she did years ago. On the fly, he found data that wasn¡¯t published and added it to the prog. A lot of history sources got added! Wow! Pictures and negatives, underground, some of them paved over for a hundred years, appeared in places as they were back then. Cleveland got reconstructed into a 3D model from rubble that¡¯s been buried from the time when it was just a swamp! We talked 1840¡¯s on Earth. Nothing in my school textbook about Cleveland, Ohio where they all came from, in 1840. Work is set in London, England, and my Lit class just talked about it. My history class talked about immigration in very general terms. William Henry Harrison. John Tyler. James K. Polk. Zachary Taylor. Not exactly the most famous presidents. Harrison died after a month, Tyler was almost impeached, his presidency saw Texas annexed, Polk saw Texas and Florida become states, and Taylor was there when the Gold Rush began. Once Be~saech did it for Cleveland, he did it for Atlanta! On the map, Megan marked construction site after construction site that she was slated to inspect, and retrieved artifacts for City Of Atlanta! The prog let us know, as soon as we have a signed treaty, these items will go to the cities involved. And, he did Hamburg, Germany! A lot of Germans from W¨¹rttemberg came through this port, and there are Areonians descended from people who were on a ship that sunk in 1764. Wow! Artifacts from that shipwreck also rose. ¡°Anne will be creating the Earthan Colonies Library, and copies of all of this will go into it for all to see! Earth will also have it.¡± Such a wonder! Meg looked really happy! Steven Gets Upset I got teary. ¡°Aunt Megan, I know how it feels to be criticized all the time! I wish I¡¯d gotten in touch with you sooner! I didn¡¯t realize who you were that day at Aunt Mabel¡¯s!¡± She cried, too. ¡°Honey, I know what you must¡¯ve gone through, but I worry about your mother. I was shocked at all the things she says about you and I don¡¯t believe a word! Adia showed us our future and I feel really close to you. Toni told me a lot over the years.¡± Then, I remembered. Toni asked me if I wanted to talk to her every once in a while, but I assumed she¡¯d be mean like all of Mom¡¯s family up north. Meg and Tom adopted seven Zheien and came to Rainbow when it was new and I was 15. And I was always interrupted when someone came to get me to heal whoever! ¡°Oh, you adopted Jog Sa, and Basa. He''s here working as a Diplomat-In-Aid, and Hin Tu¡¯s in Fhiah. She was never a slave. Neither was Fidd, who¡¯s still Master Pilot Of MarKu, living with his wife and huge family! Hil¡¯s on MarKu.¡± ¡°Oh, thank goodness! I was worried.¡± ¡°Ches, Venn and Sees were on Titan. Jog Sa was there with his parents. They are on their way here.¡± Someone in my Diplomatic Link is on a ship with ¡®em! ¡°Her mom¡¯s mean! She picked her up at school one day ¡®cause of COVID and fussed at her all the way out of the building! As if she could help it! All of us were mad.¡± ¡°You were?¡± I felt embarrassed to be crying in front of him. Boys don¡¯t like that. But more tears came. I didn¡¯t think anyone at Marietta Middle cared except for Angel. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are both of you crying? Can I help?¡± Megan hugged him. ¡°Oh, my gosh! Are you okay, Molly? She doesn¡¯t hit ya, does she?¡± He thought of his real dad, who used to beat both of them up! But his stepfather, Tom, is easy to live with. So glad! I knew Tom in Rainbow. I reassured ¡®em, and told ¡®em what she did do. ¡°But I have it all back. Look!¡± I showed all the pictures and genealogy notes Mabel had. Megan gasped. ¡°I don¡¯t have any of those. Neither does the Pruitt Association!¡± ¡°Here!¡± I made copies and gave her the originals. An archaeologist knows how to keep things nice. And the Pruitt Association might enjoy them more than I would. Toni and Mark loved how that prog works. So did Angel. But Steven got upset. Meg startled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Steven?¡± He looked up. ¡°I want to visit Ms. Kirsch, but Mr. Links said because of HIPAA, I can¡¯t, even if I could get Mama to let me! She got hurt, and she¡¯s in this facility, and she hasn¡¯t had a visit from anyone since September! It¡¯s not fair!¡± Brett, his brother, also cried. ¡°She¡¯s still sick? But that was last year!¡± Jason paled. Tom took Meg to Pirad¡¯s Lab. He¡¯s going to reclone all of ¡®em now! Tan Links sat by them, on the floor in his fancy suit. He waved a top hat away. And even he cried! ¡°Oh, she is on this ship, with Asha. They married this afternoon. I am happy they did, for I was in a hospital in Eicken and they told Vonn we were dead! Berto, a fine DS man, came for us and carried me to a ship. He took me to Ye~, many of us, and we had healing. Our corrupt government fell, and now we have good leaders.¡± I saw glimpses of that. Poor Tan! Vonn sat by him and hugged him. ¡°I am very happy to have you back, Tan, to do this work that is so important.¡± Lili¡¯s resting in their bed. I wish they¡¯d let me heal them! ¡°Important! Adia¡¯s discovery, that is important. I merely research useless laws that I am powerless to change! This boy wished to see his teacher for months. I am sure, in that place, his teacher wished a visit! Yet, because she was unable to ask for him, both were disappointed.¡± He wiped tears from his face. Steven hugged him. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Mr. Links. I asked you.¡± He hugged him back. ¡°Perhaps when they have more healing, you may speak with her.¡± Vonn helped his brother up. ¡°Go get Lili, and Pirad can reclone us.¡± ¡°Lili is frightened! She does not wish this. I explained, but I guess I did not do very well.¡± He sighed. ¡°Tan, just go rest with her. Maybe if she sees me after my recloning, she won¡¯t be as scared. I need to stay with Sara. Laura is talking to her now. I¡¯m sorry, Steve.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all right, Dad.¡± He wiped tears off. Vonn and Tan left. A yellow-skinned Zheien brought Oleana! ¡°Oh, Steven, I¡¯m sorry! If I knew you were upset, I would¡¯ve come out sooner!¡± ¡°Asha! Wow, you¡¯re a diplomat? Be extra careful so the bad guys don¡¯t get you!¡± Steven hugged him. He jerked his blue sash away so Steven¡¯s face didn¡¯t touch it. ¡°Oh, that was stupe of me! You¡¯ve got a glasfire one, haven¡¯t you? I¡¯m sorry.¡± Asha hugged him. ¡°I am nae offended! How know you this?¡± ¡°I was Eanne~¡¯s Diplomat-In-Aid.¡± He smiled at an older Zheien near them. This man jumped up from sitting and landed sitting by them! All the kids went, ¡®Whoa!¡¯ But he put a twin-fingered hand at Steven¡¯s left ear. ¡°Eja fae ne! When your telepathy wakes, you must come to me! I think an Earthan of 12 can ne bear!¡± ¡°You thought I was Ryee. I was 12 then, but I won¡¯t be 12 until Memorial Day.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. He gasped. ¡°I was so mindless? But your hair is very light, and your eyes, blue, and I could ne see you from Ryee? Pas, help us!¡± Ryee has orange eyes and dark brown curls. Oleana shook all over, so Asha took her back to their room. Brian promised to explain to Steven. But something else was going on. I shook all over. Iona and Ilios are in a dimportal headed to our galaxy, and Snafanas caught up to them! Ry¡¯nao ran out of his room into the main room not far from us. Most people didn¡¯t see him, but all the diplomats on his staff got upset and ran to him. Ket caught him. I heard Ilios¡¯ plea for help. Helpgalaxies me Pas ran to us and landed sitting, like Eanne~! ¡°My liege--¡± ¡°See my memories! Can this boy withstand the Link?¡± Pas gasped and put his wrinkled fingers across Steven¡¯s forehead. ¡°I must speak with your parents--¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, Pas, Mama¡¯ll kill me! She wasn¡¯t happy at all when I became Diplomat-In-Aid, and I was needed after the Zbbat War! I killed a Zbbat at the Noh pens because I had a fashuea burner in my hand, repairing one.¡± ¡°Eja fe ne! He must stay with us--¡± ¡°He came with these.¡± His hand indicated their huge group, mostly in Pirad¡¯s Lab. Liz¡¯ friends were here. ¡°Anne gave me¡ªyou know¡ªso how long before I get telepathy?¡± ¡°Most are two or three days, but Liz had hers immediately, and Molly was only an hour!¡± Liz sat by us. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to stay nearby so I can bring him when it wakes up. I know how to keep his thoughts from broadcasting until I can get him here. How¡¯d he get one without his mother giving permission, anyway?¡± Jenny cried, and she startled. ¡°I was scared of gettin¡¯ shots, and Anne gave ¡®em to all of us! It¡¯s my fault, an¡¯ Ryee didn¡¯t want her to do it! Mama¡¯ll have a duck fit! I don¡¯ wanna go home!¡± Pas picked her up! ¡°Tan, what can we do?¡± His red-gold eyes opened past wide! But Be~saech made a holo of her. ¡°What if we send a holo to her home until her mother can be aware of us? I am sure an Earthan can ne tell.¡± His yellow eyes opened wide. The holo ran and played! Mandy hugged hers! ¡°Oh, thanks! I always wanted a twin! I wanna let her stay home all day to cheer Papa Martin up! I can go to school.¡± ¡°But, if I go to school, you can stay on the ship and play with Puret, Donn, and Wisper all day! And, E~Janne, Jana, and Rynai, and--¡± Her holo named all the Zheien kids. Their poor mother tried to comfort their dad. Pirad came out. Like a little green man, but twice the joints we have and he clicks every time he moves! ¡°I wish to help.¡± Our eyes met, and he warned me not to think about what¡¯s going on beside us. Eanne~ pulled his hand on his forehead. ¡°Have I Trembling Sickness? Will I be unsound?¡± The green man laughed, and his body clicked like castanets! All the kids laughed and gathered around him with smiles. ¡°Eanne~, I cured you when I recloned you and your wife. Let me see Steven.¡± He stood in front of him and bowed from the waist. ¡°I am ready.¡± Pirad clicked his face into an expression of frozen surprise. All the little kids laughed. ¡°You do not fear me, any of you?¡± Mandy gave him a hug. ¡°You made Uncle Ean feel better. I¡¯m not scared. Brrr! You need a blanket!¡± ¡°I am cold when I am healthy. But you must not hug me for long or you will be too cold. You need to stay warm.¡± ¡°Okay! Blanket, warm me up!¡± She held both arms over her head. A kid-sized blanket fell from the ceiling on her. She giggled. Pirad laughed. But he put a hand on Steven¡¯s forehead and clicked his face into a frown. ¡°I think you can keep your Link and take health from it, but if your mother will have conflict with you, I will have to study. To take it may harm your intelligence.¡± ¡°Eja fe ne! I did evil--¡± ¡°I said I must study. It may not harm him to take his Link, and I can heal him if it damages him to do so, but I think it is cruel. Adult Zheien have great discomfort when a link must be taken. Earthans in our other future had injuries, but I never saw one given or taken from one so young. He cannot prepare for it, even with his memories of being an adult diplomat and having it taken.¡± Steven hugged Eanne~. ¡°You won¡¯t get sick, will you? Got a bis tia?¡± Eanne~ smiled. Still expected to see long, silver curls, not that short head of dark curls longer than his sons¡¯! ¡°O, I am well enough--¡± ¡°You got worried every time Ryee said that! Pas, I am very sorry to be rude, but I am worried!¡± Pas laughed. ¡°Steven, I am sorry you are worried, but Eanne~ is well enough to decide if he needs a bis tia.¡± ¡°How well is well enough?¡± He didn¡¯t smile. Eanne~ hugged him. ¡°What my healer means is, I am able to take a bis tia if I can ne calm. I wish you ne to worry so for me. I am upset, but ne so much that I will allow myself to become unwell. Ea?¡± He wiped Steven¡¯s tears with his large finger, then his, and mixed them. Then Steven did it. ¡°May I ask what Trembling Sickness is?¡± ¡°Ah, when our ancestors colonized Ye~, we had disagreement with Areon. Instead of forming our colonies in the Barrens, we had to land on Ye~ and he was much hotter. Our scientists had to alter our genetics greatly for our survival. Because of this, there was Trembling Sickness and other maladies. Pirad reverted our genetics to Zhee and our world is ne hot now. This is why water ne bothers us, as he ne bothers other Zheien.¡± Tanda touched his arm. ¡°My people would not let you occupy the Barrens? Why?¡± Her blue eyes watched Eanne~. ¡°My ancestor Ha~Veh¡¯heien negotiated the treaty in Qvarn, because Areon thought it more accurate than Areonian or Elshar. Elshar lacks descriptive terms. Qvarn is filled with them, moreso than Areonian.¡± ¡°This is not true! Qvarn and Areonian have the same number of adjectives and adverbs! I always thought it ridiculous that we had to do trading in Qvarn, when Elshar borrows enough descriptive words from Zheien for trading, and everyone knows these languages. For trading, anyway. Who was the leader of Areon, then?¡± Kol frowned. ¡°Osmaich Koch.¡± Kol¡¯s eyebrows flew up! ¡°Koch? I never knew we had a Koch leading our colony! How did they get power? I thought the Schwers were bad, but the Kochs were worse!¡± They put half their own relatives in prison! I spoke with Per Wilnes and learned a lot more history than we had in school.¡± Tanda shook all over. Eanne~ put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Forgive me, my friend. Perhaps I should not speak of this¡ª¡± Areonian History ¡°You should ask your questions before Vonn, Derees and Tan return. I¡¯m all right.¡± Eanne~ took Kol¡¯s arm. ¡°Pas--¡± ¡°I¡¯m all right. It¡¯s just upsetting that our government was so stupid, to force you to settle an uninhabitable moon! The fact that Areon couldn¡¯t make a colony there tells me they wanted to kill your people! It¡¯s horrible!¡± He got teary. I saw the wedding party headed to Pirad¡¯s Lab for recloning. These people will share memories with Vonn and Derees later. Steven moved and held his other arm as Eanne~ put him on his lap! ¡°My friend, be calm--¡± ¡°Calm! I always wondered why your colony was on Ye~! Our people forced your people to go there! I hope my ancestors had nothing to do with it!¡± His genealogy popped up, and he studied it. Smiled. ¡°Oh, Puret, look! We are related!¡± ¡°We are?¡± Derees'' son came close, with his two brothers. ¡°I am happy! Oh!¡± Their family trees expanded, and I saw orange lines go from one of Vonn¡¯s ancestors to one of Megan¡¯s. That line also went to Anne¡¯s family tree! ¡°We¡¯re all related through the Pruitts? Adia¡¯s family, too? And Liz¡¯!¡± All the remaining families on Areon are related, too. Some were related to traitors Citstasia Wilnes and Ossy Koch. The Wilnes and Kochs who weren¡¯t executed were also related to the Links and Jonses. Wow! More trees came up. Every one of Liz¡¯ library friends had an ancestor on these trees, too! Even her Black friends! Liz laughed! ¡°It¡¯s Pruitt ancestry! There was a Pruitt in Cleveland who left with Areon, who was related to the Links, the Johnsons, the Browns, and the Carsons! Anne was a Carson before she married Austin! And, look! Austin Wright¡¯s great-great-great-grandfather was also a Pruitt in Atlanta! Well, he moved to Atlanta and died there. What a small world¡ªuh¡ªgalaxy it is! Meg¡¯ll love this! She¡¯s been trying to get me to join the Pruitt Association. Maybe I should!¡± I discreetly ran some tests on poor Derees and found a lot of brain damage. Let Pirad know, but he already did what he could. He¡¯s sharing memories to a biome. Looked like the ones Laura ran on Adia, the same patterns. Kajarian weapons that Areonians adapted to do mind control on their own people. Vonn, Tanda and Kol didn¡¯t have it. Adia¡¯s father Joleon did. All the Areonians with records from Eicken Hospital did. They saved them all this time! Pirad woke half of ¡®em up from Ilhanhsa, a notorious slaver spare parts depot, and now it¡¯s owned by Alb. Diplomats got an agreement. Yeff diplomats demanded all Areonians from there. Not just Areonians. They got everyone from that vast facility, and they¡¯re on planets in Alb now in my Rainbow colonies! But, Earthans have corrupt governments and so do Elshars, over history. Maybe we can do something to stop it this time. Adia stopped it on Areon. This treaty will stop it in the Earthan Colonies. Maybe Pirad can help us stop it on Elshar Mashai. I checked and there was a long list of people I knew were slavers that went to Ih Esta. No way for me to know if that even makes a dent, but I can hope. Derees won¡¯t ask for healing. None of the Areonians will. But I took Kol¡¯s hand. ¡°Well, Cousin, welcome to the family!¡± He smiled. ¡°Thanks, Molly!¡± Lost the smile. ¡°How many Yeff died because of my people?¡± ¡°Dear friend, diplomatic work is dangerous. If one gathers five people, is easy for this many to agree? What about ten? Ten-thousand had to agree to our colony. Our people wished a colony near Elshar Mashai, that we increased trade in the Seventh. We finally came to an agreement, and we were successful. Ye~ prospered, Areon prospered, and the entire Seventh prospered, because we helped Areon¡¯s economy ne to fail that the War might have ships. ¡°D¡¯sharr had ne enough resources. Areon was new enough that he did have resources when fuel became so scarce that many worlds of the Seventh perished. Elshar will ne ever admit this, but Areon saved the Alliance because if Elshar fell in the Seventh, the very Alliance would. We all sacrificed much, because of this war, because of all the worlds of the Seventh that ne survived it. Rejoice, my friend, that we live to see this day, when a new world has a chance to save all the Thirteen.¡± ¡°Earth will save the Thirteen? How? That is why so many of us came?¡± ¡°I speak too much, but ea, Earth is vital to the survival of our tech level, and she ne knows it.¡± Liz paled. I didn¡¯t feel too well, myself. Adia did, too. Steven also looked sick. I tried not to think. Kol and Tanda just looked confused, but they didn¡¯t say anything else. Ben took my hand. ¡°Shall we go to the ship? Many gather there now, for our journey to Alb.¡± I didn¡¯t feel good about going, but my other selves from now to the 31st are here and will stay. I nodded. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Jason stood by Steven. ¡°Will you be okay? I don¡¯t like it that we have to leave tonight. What if your mama won¡¯t leave Earth?¡± I smiled. ¡°Steven, you and your family will live on Ye~, but you¡¯ll be on Jason¡¯s baseball team, and so will Brian. Jason, you¡¯ll have lots of teams that¡¯ll play each other. There¡¯ll be teams from 132 worlds by next year.¡± I saw ¡®em. Earthan colonies on that many worlds, with enough boys on each for a team. And every one of those 132 worlds had a baseball stadium like the one Goes¡¯ building for Jason. When I showed him, he got excited. ¡°Wow! I¡¯m gonna be a baseball coach! Hope I¡¯m good enough!¡± I laughed. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine! Just care about your players and you¡¯ll all have great fun together!¡± His blue eyes had a little fear in them. ¡°Will I get hurt, and be like I was in Rainbow?¡± ¡°No! When people get hurt, they¡¯ll have healing right then, and nobody will have anything but minor injuries. Healing, a little sleep, and they¡¯ll be up and playing the next day!¡± I saw it, and showed it to him. Also showed Be~saech and got him to write progs to make sure no one got any serious injuries. I saw the progs. In the near future, Goes and Jog Sa helped him with ¡®em. And, Teynah. She gasped and looked up from across the ship. Her father frowned. ¡°What is it, Tey? Did you trade too hard?¡± When I shared memories with Be~saech, he saw his future, married to her, and their minds linked! She saw her future, too. Adia mentioned her to him, but he felt he had too much work to do. He can¡¯t ignore it any longer, now! Will he be mad at me? She got up and ran into the programmers¡¯ room. They got married when she went to Ye~ in the other future and I suggested she apprentice to him. Ryee gasped and ran in there, too! So did Pas! Eanne~ watched. ¡°What is it? Is Ge~sae unwell?¡± ¡°Be~saech¡¯s getting married!¡± People ran from the other orange room where the scientists worked to that one! A bunch of traders, too! Teynah¡¯s astonished family followed ¡®em! I laughed. Ryee¡¯s family jumped up and got in there, too! Koh smiled as he stood by Tanda. ¡°That was fun! I wonder if we will enjoy festival pastries?¡± A lady held out a tray of dahsee. I took one. ¡°Hey, Kate! You learned to make dahsee?¡± She laughed. ¡°I did, but these came from Areon. They take two days, ¡®cause you have to soak the dough in this stuff I can¡¯t pronounce from Elshar Heizgha. It gives it a sweeter taste on the outside. I have some making, so when this runs out, I¡¯ll have more. If those Elshars don¡¯t eat it all.¡± She winked and gave Derees¡¯ boys a whole platter to themselves. They laughed. I knew Kate for just a short time before her husband¡¯s heart gave out in Escet Vu of Rainbow. We didn¡¯t have Pirad long enough then for him to get around to everyone. All my Escet Vuvians loved her! Wisper cheered! ¡°Oh! I love dahsee! Fahie got me one every birthday!¡± Tanda laughed and put one on a pretty blue plate that was just big enough to hold it. ¡°And, you get the fersmor plate. Donn gets the wismis plate, and Puret, you may have the perimas plate.¡± Kol waved them up and handed them out. ¡°And I shall use my padipas plate Derees got in Kleideu for us, for our wedding! It is so nice to be able to use these again! He got a set for Patasia, and Tan got one for Vonn, in case he found his lady. He was courting Lili then, and got her a set as well.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t?¡± I just picked one up. Bit into the flaky pastry. Oh, the sweet smell had a kind of flower fragrance, and was very sweet. The blue filling had a creamy taste I couldn¡¯t quite describe. Very good! My plate had a rainbow on it with beautiful mountains and cattle. ¡°We could not use energy for alt storage. What was in, stayed in, but we could not access them for a very long time. Now we have the Nefcot Ring, and energy for our servers!¡± Healers ran Be~saech and Teynah to his room, that now had them on it. Eanne~ led his family over, and Teysah¡¯s family. ¡°I na understand¡ªhow could she marry him today? I know she did na know him. Everyone knows of Be~saech and his talent for progs, even a trader like me! She feared to speak of him! But she looked, and she ran, and she married!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s my fault.¡± ¡°Oh, little one, you just looked at her. It is na your fault.¡± He smiled and reached for my hand. I showed him what I showed her, and he gasped. Eanne~ laughed. ¡°This is Molly. She will lead the Rainbow Unwell Colonies. That is where your family goes, is it? She will be your queen when she has 100 for a colony start.¡± The man gasped and gave a low bow. His whole family of about 20 did! ¡°You are this Molly, The Employer?¡± He waved up his Alliance Record and in the place people usually have their king or leader listed, was my name, Molly, Employer. I laughed. ¡°Yes, I am Molly The Employer. That¡¯s what Earth calls someone who hires someone! I am actually a student, but Adia showed me my future and that I will lead Rainbow.¡± ¡°This Rainbow is a colony start? And you have a treaty for it already? I will add my name to Rainbow¡¯s Charter!¡± Eap ran to us. ¡°I have it written. There!¡± He waved, and my title on it was Molly, The Unsinkable Brown, Queen Of Rainbow Colonies. On our original charter, they called me ¡®Unsinkable¡¯ because I was named for Molly Brown, who survived the Titanic. Too late to change it now that I have followers! All of his family added their names. Half the Ishah healers with them came and added theirs! It made 42, not bad! I smiled. They all bowed. ¡°I have two rules that everyone in my colonies has to follow. First, rest when you are tired. Second, see a healer if you do not feel well.¡± One of them bowed again. ¡°Pardons, my queen, but if I follow these rules, I will never heal anyone!¡± A lot of them gasped! Molly, Master Healer I helped the old man sit down. ¡°May I see your healer¡¯s record, my son?¡± He trembled, but waved. This poor man had a slave record in Moro! No healer¡¯s record. ¡°Where did you come from, my son?¡± He shook all over. ¡°Pon Ashen.¡± Eanne~ stood close. ¡°Molly, Pon Ashen is a mining colony. It has no tech. If he had a healer there, we cannot contact them. We are told it is automated.¡± That¡¯s a sure sign of an illegal mine. Nobody is born in an automated mine. ¡°Did you have a home before Pon Ashen?¡± ¡°My mahie came from Pera.¡± I looked it up. Pera Zheien Colony in the Sixth. ¡°Is she here?¡± ¡°Na, Master. She died in Moro.¡± I used a prog to check for attached records. Her body was sent to Zhea~. A note said Pirad¡¯s Lab. I smiled. He¡¯ll try to revive her. There were five with similar genetics, so a family group. I hugged the man. ¡°You are good, my son. Rest while I see you. Did you eat today?¡± ¡°I ate, Master.¡± ¡°Good. You earned this.¡± I waved for one of the dahsee to float to a plate I waved down by him. ¡°I did? O, thank you, Master!¡± He picked it up with two fingers of his three. Gobbled it. Ishah usually use all three. Slaves are often punished for giving their names. His file said Slopfah. That¡¯s an Elshar insult. I touched his head, very gently, in back. He wept, so I pulled him into my lap. His white robe fell off his leg, and he didn¡¯t have an aandat. I straightened his robe and waved for one for him. He gasped and tried to grab it. That thing moved fast! ¡°My son, you did good work for me today. You earned this. Rest.¡± More weeping. I looked, and about ten of them looked in the same condition. I waved dahsee to them, too. Dahsee is like Zheien pastries, most species can eat it and it¡¯s nutritious. They all ate fast. I looked at their readings and none of these poor men had aandats, so I waved for them to get ¡®em. Their records came up. More names like Rock, Stone, Heilea. And one grouchy Elshar watched. I looked at him and those Elshar eyes turned black. ¡°Are these your slaves?¡± He walked over. ¡°They work for me. They are Elshar. Legal slaves.¡± He gave a sneer. ¡°Andrisch, will you look at this man¡¯s trades today?¡± He tried to run, but froze in place. Andrisch stood there with a scowl. Young, had light brown curls, but a scowl that could freeze a river. ¡°I will see your trades.¡± The man flicked a finger. Andrisch looked over his trades. ¡°I want to see all!¡± Another screen came up. I expected a light blue portal to Elshar Mashai, but this TS Inspector ran a prog that shone colored lights on the man. ¡°Heden. One of his clones.¡± I shuddered. Half the ship did! A man in white came out of a room. This wasn¡¯t bright white like healer¡¯s robes but grayish like Elshar homespun. Very plain cloth. He didn¡¯t wear boots, but sandals. Didn¡¯t say a word. Eanne~ pulled me up and stood apart from me. An opaque containment went between them and all the kids! If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The man ran a vaporizer on the Elshar! I felt sick. His robes flattened. Terminals of all shapes and sizes floated to me! Men came from out of the rooms and fell on their fronts at my feet! Then he vaporized the robes and went back into that room. Andrisch came to me and I stood up. He bowed. ¡°Queen Molly, I trust you will send all of these slaves to a healer colony and free them?¡± ¡°Esta ay! I have 25 of them, and I will send them now. Thank you.¡± I spoke Elshar, which seemed to shock everyone. And I leaned so my red curls fell left. He bowed again. Smiled as he came up. I waved up manifests as fast as I could. M¡¯Naga came. ¡°Wish you help, Molly?¡± ¡°Yes! How fast can we get these men to Alb? Do we have a source for nesfa and tesfa je?¡± He startled. ¡°They will not need them, even if we send them in a portal!¡± ¡°For travel, no, but these are slaves fresh from mines! They¡¯ll need healers and herbs.¡± Pirad came out. ¡°Molly, I can heal them. How do you want me to proceed?¡± I felt panicky. There were 142 in all. Over 100 were in chambers on the Elshar Embassy ship, a cargo ship that just arrived today. ¡°Have we got enough healers and healer helpers to sit with each of these people? Can you make the blue herb?¡± ¡°Oh, yes! I do not need to make clones. Healers went to each one. I can supply them with these.¡± Blue pyramids went to each healer¡¯s hand. I gave my speech about my rules and waved bahef to all of ¡®em, because there wasn¡¯t enough dahsee to go around. I laid in on thick. They¡¯re all good. They earned healing and rest. All of ¡®em added their signatures to my Rainbow charter. My title is now Molly, Queen Of Rainbow Colonies. That¡¯s better. Then I went to anyone who didn¡¯t respond. One was a little Elshar boy. His healer was taking care of another slave, weeping. No healer likes to lose a patient. Pas sat by me. ¡°Molly, this one is dead. Let me run stasis--¡± I put my hands on his little head. Cried. He was maybe nine. But white light blazed around his head. I sang that song about butterflies and rainbows. Ran hygiene on him. I kept singing. His head warmed up. His hands and feet unrolled. Pas startled. I moved his points. Someone moved a Zheien child¡¯s points, so they looked Elshar? I shuddered. His parents were hiding him, and themselves, with their telepathy. Can¡¯t send a surge of energy into a child. I kept it low. Slowly, he took a breath. I put a soft, white gown and silky socks on him, thick ones to warm him up. They can feel warm without that, but it¡¯s how it feels to them. Gradually, he warmed enough that his eyes opened. Black. That gray skin should be yellow, so I imagined a yellow sun to warm him up. Birds singing. A gelsai to lay beside him. And one came to him and did! I smiled. Kept singing. Slowly, his hand touched the gelsai and petted it. A slave crept closer. Laid on her front. Pas took her into his lap and put the child¡¯s other hand in hers. She held it against her cheek and wept. As I sang, slowly, the child looked up. ¡°Mea!¡± ¡°Bae!¡± She held his head. Pas helped her get him in her lap without dislodging my fingers. I checked his points again. He¡¯ll live! I kept singing until he couldn¡¯t take any more, then stopped. He watched us. Mom snapped her gaze to me and froze. I petted her long, black hair. In Zheien, I said, ¡°You are safe here. Your bae is safe. Both of you earned rest and good food.¡± I bit a bahef and held it to his mouth. He bit it, then I let his mother bite it. She still trembled, but I kept them eating until they got a little wheezy. Then I waved up a whole platter and layered some on his chest. He stared at me until I fixed his little collar shut, then he held my hand. Slept. Pas carried the mother and child, and I followed, because he wouldn¡¯t let go. We took them to a bed with ten Ishah on it, including that old man. He saw them and reached, so we put them in his arms. Then the boy held onto his hand. All of them had healing and food and their healers smiled. Pas led me out. Pas hugged me and wept. Then he waved. A weaver brought borders of embroidered Tessite. They were hot pink like Pas''. The weaver sewed these onto a thicker white robe of a softer material than mine. Then Pas gathered his ennead. ¡°Brothers, Sisters, today I name Molly as Master Healer!¡± He pulled me to my feet and put the robe on me. That hot pink T-shirt I wore when I showed someone my aandat, not knowing this was coming, matched Pas'' family color. I bowed to him. ¡°Thank you for teaching me, Pas!¡± He bowed lower, which brought gasps from his ennead! Master Healers don''t do that, ever. ¡°Father Of All taught you with skills I ne possess. Today I ask that you teach me, after my rest, Master. Ahstam is here with us, and he also wishes time with you. His ba Ahstam 300 will stay by you and relay your learning.¡± I bowed low, even though I wasn''t supposed to. ¡°Brother, I am honored to try to teach you and Ahstam, for the good of all Zheiea and the Thirteen. All of us healers shall help one another learn more.¡± Pas led me to the red-violet ship, and Ry''nao spoke to all of Adia''s Team. ¡°Now, I present to you new Master Healer Molly, Queen of Rainbow Unwell Colonies!¡± Everyone cheered! I got really emotional and tears dripped. Ron I checked on the six former slaves my family adopted in that other future. Ron¡¯s here on the ship! He came running when I let the server know I wanted to see him. Ron cried. ¡°Molly, Pirad couldn''t fix me! Doug''s Ryee''s Poet, and I can''t even¡ªtrade!¡± ¡°Listen up. You were my number one healer helper. You enjoyed it. Trading''s not everything. What happened here?¡± I slid a hand in front of his left ear. His right, too? Rubbed ''em. ¡°I had terminals.¡± Doug had ¡®em, too, and Pirad helped them at lunchtime. I saw what happened. More. I saw what was in all their terminals! Shivered. Ket came over. ¡°You shouldn''t be out of bed, Ron!¡± After Pirad healed ''im? He picked him up, and I followed ¡®em to Doug¡¯s room. Doug and Jen were taking a nap. Suma had a worried look, and so did Neal. ¡°Let me see if I can do something, Ket.¡± I waved up his healer file and studied it. Saw some stuff. ¡°I want to run untoxic on you.¡± How? It¡¯s not written yet! Suma waved up a prog screen. She knows how to do that? Wow! Had it written, and I saw other familiar progs, except better. She wrote the birth control prog I¡¯d been using! She smiled. I showed it to Ron. ¡°Will it hurt? I''m such a coward!¡± ¡°You''re not a coward, my friend. You saved so many of Ry''nao''s diplomats, he said he had no finer operative on Gowa!¡± ¡°And I let the Yeff take me away! I should go back¡ª¡± ¡°No. Stay with Doug. But Pirad could clone you. Maybe one of ''em would want to continue your work. He can give ''im telepathy of a Zbbat, and skills to help him last there.¡± ¡°Oh, he did. I forgot. Clones of Doug and Ni went with him. Molly, can you help me remember things?¡± He kept the black eyes. His skin¡¯s not the sunny yellow it should be. I sighed. Looked over his points. Still a lot of damage. Wanted to kill his father, but Ih Esta did already! I felt better. ¡°Ronmai went to Ih Esta?¡± He cried. ¡°He is dead! I should not be glad, but I am!¡± Ket frowned. ¡°This upset is not good for his heart!¡± I saw his points again and saw a lot I could do. He was upset anyway. Now I saw a lot more of it because he was upset! ¡°Ron, he will never beat you again. It''s all right now.¡± ¡°Molly, Adia said he came to Rainbow and hurt me there!¡± ¡°No! His entire council went to that fella in white. A diplomat went there, and he saw all of it. Operatives got him out, with Pirad''s help. Cet Schlopalotop is also dead, Girfir, Mehnopt, and Heden¡ª¡± Ron laughed! ¡°Oh, I''ll sleep well tonight!¡± Now, I sang and healed a lot of stuff. Ket startled and sang with me. His hair was all blond curls like my husband''s, from Pirad''s healing, but they were a shade lighter! Ket stared at it. Petted it. ¡°Hae! Ron!¡± Then, I ran untoxic. Elshars get heart problems from exposure to the dust on Elshar Mashai. His father lived there for years, building his crooked pirate empire. Ron was a teen then. Finally, he got on the Council of Gowa, then led it. Made Ron pick up slaves. Beat him when important ones weren¡¯t on the manifest. He helped lots escape, because Doug taught him how. They lived on Gowa until Adia asked Ryee to send a diplomat for him. Because she saw his future, he didn''t go to Ih Esta, which would have given him devastating injuries, like when I knew him. Untoxic is awful. It feels like you''re suffocating, and it hurts. But Greg made an herb to help Elshars sleep through it. Ket used it on him with a wave. I smiled. He still got very pale. After it finished, that sunny yellow color came back in his skin. He''s Elshar. Mashai are pink like me. Heizghans like Doug and Ni, also pink. But Ron''s mother was Deishan, and they are yellow-skinned. Like a school bus. And they get persecuted because Mashai are racist as they come! Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I saw him again. Wonderful changes! Maybe he can trade again, now! Looked up, sobbing! ¡°Ron, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Adia saw¡ªmy wife! I¡¯m not fit to be anyone¡¯s husband!¡± I hummed, and he calmed down. ¡°My friend, you will be the best healer helper in Rainbow, if you want to be, or you can trade for me in Rainbow, or be governor of whichever Rainbow or Earthan or Elshar Colony you want. You¡¯ll be able to support a wife. Remember how happy you and Vonne were when you got married? She came to me a lot to get me to tell you that you were the best husband she could have! You didn¡¯t think you were a good husband, but she did. ¡°Vonne often told me how she wished she met when you were younger. Well, you both¡¯re 20 years younger!¡± I had the computer do the math so he could see that in Elshar. His eyes went light. ¡°My clone and Ben¡¯s¡ªthey¡¯re already with ¡®em. Vonne and her parents are learning about worlds in Alb right now. She¡¯s brilliant, and I want to recruit her for Rainbow! A chemist and a biologist, and she¡¯ll want to learn healing, too? Yes!¡± Ron cried harder. ¡°I¡¯m not smart!¡± I giggled. ¡°I¡¯m not nearly as smart as Ben, but he still loves me. Adia¡¯s the Matchmaker. I sure wish that talent would rub off on me.¡± ¡°You had it before we met, Molly.¡± Adia showed me many times I brought couples together in Rainbow. She smiled, but her orange skin had yellow sparkles. I touched her shoulder and hummed them away. She and Ryee were sitting with Neal and Suma. Then one diplomat motioned to my Ben. A diplomat¡¯s work is never done! Ry''nao noticed how much better Ron was! Through the Diplomatic Link, I saw him trying to stay awake watching boring arguments in the Security Council and answering with chat. Inside, he danced around! Ported one of his pins to me. It was beautiful, silvery, yet golden, like a pearl with moving waves of diff colors. This is a pin of Angell that they give a healer who uses a skill they do not know. Once, I had an operative there. She infiltrated a mine in Moro on Ishah. Before she died, she saved a thousand of my men in two weeks. I had this pin for 300 years. Touch it when you need strength. Thanks, ''Ao! I''ll treasure this forever! I waved the new pin beside my Diplomat¡¯s Challenge Pin on my sash. But Ket finished looking over Ron''s points. How did you do this? I think he can trade again! Can you test me now? I have the Diplomatic Link! Rest a week, then I will test you. Oh, your telepathy is strong, but you have to practice with it like you did as a child. I showed him how I had to get used to healing people again. He listened. Those blue eyes turned very light! Being able to trade is vital to an Elshar''s self-esteem. They helped make the Alliance what it is today. If an Elshar can''t trade, no matter what his occupation, he doesn''t feel like an Elshar. A lot of ''em kill themselves. I hugged Ron! He sighed and put his head on my shoulder. I mentally wrote a containment to take some of his weight so I could hold him longer. Doug had a nightmare, and Ryee held him. ¡°My friend, is safe.¡± ¡°Oh, we¡¯re on your ship! Thanks, Ryee!¡± Kate brought a basket of pastries, so we all shared some. They all had faves in it. Ron looked at a holo of his mother. She¡¯s sleeping. He sighed. Doug added his hand. ¡°I miss my mahie, too. We got her back, but she has to sleep tonight. Ron¡¯s mahie, too.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be better when you go home to Ye~.¡± His eyes turned very light. ¡°She will? Will she be sick, Molly?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll need a lot of love, but she¡¯s not dying. Ket can help her.¡± Then, I gasped! ¡°Etkar had business on Moehsa.¡± Doug¡¯s creepy stepfather who put terminals in him as a boy! Berto came in, fast. ¡°Moehsa? Are you sure, Molly?¡± Cassandra was with him. ¡°Yeah! A ship full of high-level Zheien slaves in the Spaceport for Mirado--¡± ¡°Mirado just went to Ih Esta! Who has his holdings?¡± ¡°Kirin Fah.¡± ¡°Kirin Fah?¡± Berto laughed and ran towards a room. ¡°I have to contact him!¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to ask Kirin Fah to send slaves to Rainbow! Yes!¡± I got off the bed and did a victory dance. Cassandra went out, and I followed her, still doing the victory dance. People just stared at me. ¡°Well, slavers need to learn to send their slaves to Rainbow Unwell Colonies in Alb. They¡¯ll get fivetrade apiece for ¡®em, even dead ones, and Tessite. Once they¡¯re traded, we¡¯ll deduct trade for injuries, so they better follow my instructions.¡± Then I realized that was my deal when I was queen of one Rainbow colony. But, in my link, Theaspaura confirmed it. Molly, I agreed to this in the Council Of Alb this morning. Eae, we can do this. Pirad found 20 worlds with great stores of Tessite to finance this, and he can bring more as needed. Mining is automated. Moehsa was one of the worst slaver experimentation places we knew. Without their Esteerrian and Zbbat¡ªand Aryllan¡ªslavers, it¡¯ll stay liberated! And several of those Elshar diplomats over there got light eyes. They¡¯re asking their operatives if it¡¯s true, and they¡¯re saying yes! Making plans to trade with Rainbow! All the Alb worlds agreed to my instructions, and it¡¯s in the treaty for future worlds, too! Yes! That Feeling Again Cassandra pulled at a dark curl. I felt something and waved a map. ¡°What¡¯s a 5-year-old doing walking down the sidewalk, alone?¡± The Alliance record said Destiny¡ª She gasped. ¡°That¡¯s my daughter!¡± She reached through the holo and pulled her onto the ship. ¡°Destiny, honey, are you okay?¡± She¡¯s in a sleeveless dress and it¡¯s in the 40s! She looked up, blue eyes wide. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Cassandra waved a clean dress on her and gave her a pink blanket. Waved up restaurant menus. ¡°You can have anything you want, sweetie!¡± Destiny smiled and hugged the surrounding blanket. It had cute pink elephants on it. She pointed, and Cassandra got plates. She gobbled things. Tan ran out, because I got him and let him see. He laughed. ¡°You may keep her, by Alliance rules, because no one was with her! Once Earth joins the Alliance, I can explain. They may require monitoring progs, but if you do not object¡ª¡± Cassandra ran ¡®em. It¡¯s part of the abuse progs. ¡°I don¡¯t mind! Anything to have my daughter back!¡± Berto came out, saw her, and his blue eyes went very light. Tan explained. Poor Cassandra looked guilty, but he hugged her. ¡°We wanted a child, and this is wonderful!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to tell you.¡± Cassandra put Destiny on her lap when she stopped eating. ¡°I¡¯m your mama, honey. You can stay with us.¡± ¡°Mama! I told ¡®em you were coming! You found me!¡± She hugged her. Berto kissed both of them. ¡°I¡¯ll let my bahie work. Beauty, let¡¯s move to Elshar Zheiea tonight! I can learn to do something safer.¡± Cassandra nodded. The cheerful smile on her face made Berto¡¯s turn light. I felt the happiness of his clone, who was plenty busy today, but wanted to assign teams on Bisillipia. He ported there. Berto¡¯s other clone will work here. He has an army of clones traveling to other worlds! One¡¯s with the Elshar Council on Elshar Mashai now! Ket ran out and brought Pirad. Destiny even took that well. He¡¯s going to make her Elshar, to help her with all the abuse she¡¯s had. A lot of brain damage from abusers. I fumed. They all went to Goe¡¯s Ship. It¡¯s time. I went back into Doug and Jen¡¯s room. That feeling came again, that something¡¯s about to happen! Doug reached for my hand and flinched. Paled. Neal, his bahie, grabbed him. ¡°Doug, are you all right?¡± ¡°My head hurts again.¡± I hummed, and he looked better. ¡°Thanks, Molly.¡± ¡°You should¡ª¡± Suma and Ni vanished! What¡¯s going-- Doug got upset! ¡°Bahie! Where¡¯d he go?¡± He grabbed his chest! Jen grabbed him and made him lie down! Healers in Ket¡¯s ennead ran to him! But, I felt something else. bahie Ishahalive die This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. bahie¡¯s My clones ported in with Vonne and her parents in the outer room. Ron startled awake, but Ket pushed him against his leiwege. ¡°Don¡¯t¡ª¡± I ran out there. They¡¯re in a room on the ship, where Molly and Ben¡¯ve been showing them the worlds of Alb, and they like Ye~, since they told them he already lives there. ¡°Where¡¯s Ron? Can I go meet him? Does he work in a clinic in your lab?¡± Vonne trembled. Pulled long brown hair out of her eyes. Her parents stood close to her and nodded. ¡°Ron is unable to work because we removed terminals from him. We hope that if he has you, our healers may do more for him. Did you meet Pirad, in Rainbow?¡± Ben let her see a Bisillip, a deep green clicking skeleton. Half my width, same height as her, taller than me, twice my joints. His usual smug expression, spindly arms folded across his chest. ¡°He healed us, when he came to Rainbow.¡± She smiled, deep blue eyes wide. ¡°He wishes to reclone both of you as Elders. If he can do this, he can give you traits to help Ron¡¯s seizures. In this future, we found him before he went to Ih Esta on false charges, and he escaped devastating injuries, but he had many. His father went to Ih Esta and died.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad! All he did was scare Ron and hurt him, in Rainbow, despite all Molly¡¯s¡ªuh, your precautions. What shape is Ron in?¡± I worried. ¡°His father tortured him because he stole slaves to free them from him and many high-level slavers. Last week, he beat him and gave him slaver herbs to disable him. Ryonne~ sent a diplomat to Gowa to stop Ih Esta. Pas, his Master Healer, healed him as much as he could, then Pirad saw him. I added healing. But he cries easily. He feels that if he can¡¯t trade, you can¡¯t love him.¡± I touched her shoulder, and she clung to my hand. Binneas sighed, and his yellow-green eyes filled. ¡°I think he needs you, LaVonne.¡± I smiled. ¡°Oh, call me Vonne, Molly, Binneas. I want to see him. I can look at the facility later.¡± They offered her a job on Earth? They came out and we just stepped into¡ªoh, they¡¯re not my Elshar clones, they¡¯re holos. The ship took off. They¡¯re still on Adia¡¯s. ¡°Okay!¡± Her thoughts were loud! Not like me at¡ªwell, around fellas, yeah. Had I ever been on a date? Not even in high school, unless you counted study groups. No. We led them all to Jen and Doug¡¯s bedroom. De¡¯sai, Doug and Neal¡¯s father, held him as he slept. It¡¯s only 9:40 pm, not late. His skin should be sunny yellow. He¡¯s pasty white. Ket picked her up and put her on a leiwege, those Zheien bendable mattresses, and it held her up. Then he put Ron¡¯s hand in hers. She rubbed it. They both cried! Ron paled gray when he saw Vonne crying. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± She had the memory stare. She¡¯s seeing her future! ¡°You know that''s a future that won''t happen now, right? You won''t be going to that place, having to pick seeds past wasps that, if one stings you, you''re dead! We have progs to hide wasps, or anything that scares a person. Watch.¡± I waved one up for her. Vonne was crying too hard, so I set it up for her. ¡°Parley''s on Titan before they went to Piradonya, and so were all the Yeff you knew there. They¡¯re on a ship that¡¯ll be here in minutes, with lots of healers on it. Ih Esta got their slaver. Herren Mar and his whole crooked council went to Och Pauchu on Gowa. Piradonya''s getting a new ruler and council, and a TS Inspector to keep trade honest.¡± ¡°How do you know all this?¡± ¡°Cevit Ion''s here working on the treaty. Ry''nao is still Emperor. All 21 of the diplomats you saved, and 20 others who died before you went there, we got them from Titan and they are all able to work! Slavers on Titan knew slavers on Piradonya.¡± I let go so he could hold her. ¡°I''m¡ªscared of wasps! My doctoral thesis is on ways to save them! How¡ªcan I finish?¡± Gently, as if he held a Zheien lady, he straightened her frilly dress. Long sleeves, with pink flowers on yellow and greenery. She had a death grip on his arm! ¡°Look, our tech¡¯ll make finishing your research easy. Pirad knows healing for us. I had some awful memories I couldn''t handle from that other future. My husband had a mission to Ceaceadis and lost most of his sight. He came back frozen. Pirad can selectively dim memories that are horrible, without damage, and you control how dim they are. I can bring him.¡± Poor Ben¡¯s heart pounded. He let Pirad take some of that away, but just knowing that happened-- ¡°I don''t want to forget Ron! We got married, and I love him!¡± ¡°You do? But, I''m not smart¡ª¡± Vonne Wants To Marry ¡°Ron, you are the most caring man I''ve ever known! You listen to me. You''re not jealous of me. I can''t tell you how many times I''ve dated someone, and they spend the entire meal staring at my chest or trying to feel me up in the car! Or pumping me for ideas. ¡°You keep your eyes on my face, or my hands. We talk to each other. I love you, Ron. It''s all right that you don''t know what job you''re going to do. If it''s not trading, that''s okay with me. I want you to be happy. In Rainbow, you were miserable trying to trade, losing trade, getting awful headaches! Your father hurt you! I wouldn''t want to be him on Judgment Day!¡± She kept rubbing his hands. He¡¯s really pale! Her dad doesn¡¯t look happy, and he sees that. ¡°Will you let me bring Pirad? I promise, you won''t forget your romance with him in Rainbow. Vonne, I want you to be able to finish your thesis. With tech, it¡¯ll go fast, and you can have clones. Maybe one¡¯ll want to work on Earth.¡± She nodded, and I brought him. Vonne didn''t hesitate. She grabbed his hand and put it on Ron''s head. ¡°Is Ron okay? Can you help him not to be scared to marry me?¡± Pirad''s orange pupils flew apart! ¡°I do not wish to frighten Ron! I will not interfere with his thinking¡ª¡± ¡°That''s not what I meant¡ªhe''s scared. You have herbs that can help him be calm, not like slaver herbs!¡± Ron trembled. Ket just gave his herbs with progs. ¡°Ron fears herbs because his father forced them on him often. I¡ª¡± But Ron looked up at him. ¡°Pas said herbs are not evil. In the hands of a gentle healer, they are healing. I believe Pas. G-Give me an herb so I can be calm, but think. You helped Doug.¡± He got the smugface. ¡°If you trust me, I can give you another herb. I will not harm you.¡± ¡°I believe you, Pirad.¡± Pirad waved up a green leaf. ¡°Eat this, and I can help you more.¡± Ron took it from Pirad''s double-jointed hand and ate it. Smiled. His eyes turned light. ¡°I do feel better. Please, help my maiden.¡± He moved Pirad''s hand to Vonne. I touched his mind and asked him to make her an Elder. They both got younger! I waved an aandat on her. Her telepathy woke up. They got the telepathy stare, and I heard it all. He took away all of her fear of wasps since she saw those awful memories and taught her ways to deal with the aggressive, angry, huge wasps they bred on Bisillipia, which Piradonya imported. Gave her the ability to tame them through his terminals. He¡¯s the one who developed them to make them usable and trainable. Their minds linked. Ron was very interested in animals and plants back home on Elshar Deisha. Asked Pirad to give him skills that a biologist would have. So he got skills with wasp-taming and rare, hard to care for animals that were timid, as well. A white flash, and he was gone! Ron waved a creamy-white wedding dress on her, high-necked and old-fashioned looking. Pearls all over it. He wore a cobalt blue tux with a frilly cream-colored shirt like in the movie Amadeus. LaVonne sat up and admired it. Ben brought Fa and Mea, and De''sai brought Doug and Ni and their families. Her mother gasped. ¡°That''s your granny Pruitt''s gown! And Ron, that looks like my father''s suit when they married! But their house burned down and we lost it.¡± Both of them heard all the memories and approved of Ron. Her dad looked happy now. Ron knelt on the bed. De¡¯sai held him up. His eyes opened wide and turned even lighter, despite the way he shook all over. ¡°LaVonne Michelle Ronald, of Earth, I love you. I, Ronmai of Elshar Heizgha, Leader Of Rainbow Elshar Council, by the ancient protocols of Zhea~, ask you to join me in courtship. LaVonne Michelle Ronald, will you marry me?¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll marry you, Ron. I, LaVonne Michelle Ronald, Scientist of Earth, I love you, Ronmai of Elshar Heizgha, Leader Of Rainbow Elshar Council.¡± De¡¯sai leaned close to his ear. ¡°My son, you meant to recite courtship, eae?¡± His dark blue eyes opened very wide, and he stroked Ron¡¯s blonde curls. Ron blinked. ¡°I want to marry Vonne, Bin! Her last name has mine in it. Her first name rhymes with mine. We¡¯re meant for each other, if what the Thordes say is true. I wonder, our feet, are they the same size? Take your shoe off your right foot, Vonne!¡± They did, and Ron put his foot on hers. She had enormous feet for a woman. Same size foot. Vonne giggled. ¡°I¡¯m happy we don¡¯t have to be engaged for six months! You just did what I wanted, in my heart!¡± Waved, and the Wedding March played! De¡¯sai smiled. ¡°If you both are happy, I am happy.¡± Her parents laughed. ¡°Have fun, kids!¡± I heard her mother¡¯s loud thought that she thought her serious daughter would never marry! They both felt Ron¡¯s good for her. They saw Vonne¡¯s memories of how he treated her. Now Vonne¡¯ll leave Earth. They already decided they liked Ye~. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Ron picked her up and ran out. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll carry you across the threshold!¡± Vonne giggled. ¡°You¡¯re so romantic!¡± The Wedding March played again as he slowly marched in time. Stumbled a couple times, but kept smiling. Ket looked worried, but he let him do it. Their doorway was off this room. Progs have a containment around ¡®em. But Ron got her to the bed and fell asleep. She giggled and ported them back where they were, beside Doug. Ket checked him and relaxed. He woke up and smiled at her. Doug¡¯s father waved and held a beautiful necklace out to Vonne! ¡°Oh, I am happy for you, Bahie!¡± ¡°De¡¯sai, Ket says maybe I can trade¡ª¡± He shook all over. De¡¯sai hugged him. ¡°You saved Doug¡¯s life many times! Let me do this, Bahie. You are Doug¡¯s best friend, and in friendship, you are my bahie. Let me?¡± He giggled. ¡°Fahie! Esta ay ay, I will let you!¡± Ron took the necklace and gently lifted it to Vonne¡¯s neck. It wrapped around and stayed. She admired the stones, in many shapes, but all like diamonds, except they shone rainbows on the orange walls! ¡°This is beautiful!¡± ¡°Sahie, I am happy you like them!¡± Ron fell asleep again. Pirad appeared at Vonne¡¯s feet. ¡°I made you both 16 to compensate for Ron¡¯s injuries. Now I will bring Deb to help you share memories of your life, LaVonne, for clones. Ron already did this.¡± Ron tried to sit up, but Ket held him on his lap. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you, Ron. You have to sleep now.¡± Ket held out his hand, and a display showed to him in Elshar. Ron frowned, but he shook his head. ¡°Vonne might need me!¡± Ket chuckled. ¡°If she does, I¡¯ll wake you.¡± With a wave, he sedated Ron again for the night. De''sai put himself between Ron and Doug, a hand on each blond head. ¡°Can¡¯t I hold him, Ket?¡± ¡°Can you send healing?¡± Ket looked exasperated. Kept dark eyes. ¡°But Pirad healed him!¡± Pirad sighed, and his lips did the fan thing with a quick buzz. ¡°I cannot heal all his damage, he would not survive it! Ket can heal him until he tires, then heal him again. It is gradual, but as long as you keep him from upsets, he will improve. Recloning him saved him for Ket.¡± Pirad looked at Vonne¡¯s parents. ¡°I am sorry I frighten you. You are now Elders, and if you like, I can make you younger.¡± Vonne¡¯s mother smiled at her father. ¡°Younger? That¡¯s not scary! Let¡¯s do this!¡± Her father laughed. ¡°Okay!¡± They followed Pirad through the wall into his lab on this ship. After they left, Vonne looked at Ket. ¡°What did he mean, ¡®keep him from upsets¡¯? Ket¡¯s eyes lightened to a serious blue from black. Hugged Ron. ¡°His heart has damage from a lot of things. His father¡¯s slaver herbs. Poisons that blow in winds on Elshar Mashai and Gowa. Pirad can heal it, but it¡¯s gradual. I can help him with discomforts. But if he gets hurt, even a skint knee, I have to call Pirad to heal it.¡± Deb came in and sat behind Ron and Vonne¡¯s leiwege. Vonne put her head on Ron¡¯s shoulder with a sigh. Didn¡¯t move as Deb pressed that purple cylinder against her forehead. It burned like a hot poker when I had to do it. She¡¯s helping Vonne share memories of her life fast. Jen hugged Doug. ¡°That¡¯s why Pirad has to come? Okay. Molly, can you do anything? You helped Ron.¡± Her brown eyes had her desperate look. ¡°I can try.¡± I put my hand on his head. Ow! His chest hurts, his head hurts, he¡¯s in miserable shape! That¡¯s what Pirad was upset about. All his healing came undone. So he made him fully Ishah. That¡¯s what he has to do with any mixed person, usually. Doug looked Elshar, but he was about 3 fifths Ishah. Now he¡¯s Ishah with a bigger, stronger heart and bigger blood vessels, and absorptive chambers to get more nitrogen and oxygen into his tissues. All that helps with the heart damage. But more nerves means a lot more pain. I looked over his points carefully. ¡°How do I give him a massage without bruising him?¡± Jen¡¯s worries flooded me. I showed her telepathically how hard she can hug and how much pressure to use on his arms and legs. Ket showed her new herbs. Held a nesfa leaf under his nose. ¡°Ishah get better just from smelling a leaf of nesfa. He¡¯s still recovering from having terminals removed. Pirad healed a lot of that, so he just needs not to walk around much for a day or two.¡± ¡°Can we run untoxic on ¡®im?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would do so much for Ron, but look at his color! I think you should.¡± Ket smiled. His eyes didn¡¯t go lighter. I ran it, and sang healing while it ran. Wonderful changes! He was already sedated, so I helped untoxic run faster. Finally, it finished, and he relaxed more. Ket reached a hand to his head. ¡°Hae! He won¡¯t hurt as badly when he wakes.¡± Jen smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Goe gave a speech about the Titan slaves and asked all the Earthans to help ¡®em. Yes! They¡¯ll want me to talk about my rules. A lot of these Earthans are here because someone in their family adopted a former slave. Pas came to me. ¡°Molly, Earth found Pondaiash and Cam Ta. Will you see them? They married earlier today, and both are well. We may visit with them now.¡± But another set of my clones came. ¡°Let us do this. I know you¡¯re eager to see Jog Sa, and other former slaves, right?¡± ¡°Yeah! Thanks, Sis, Bro!¡± This set¡¯ll stay in Rainbow MarKu so I can port to other Rainbows when needed. I¡¯ll have lots of help, if I can just let ¡®em do it. They smiled and went with MarKu Pas. Ket held Ron so Vonne could keep herself next to him, on his left. Doug was on their right, in De¡¯sai¡¯s arms. Jen also held onto him. I hoped Suma and Neal could come back before he wakes up. Slaves From Titan Ben lifted me off the bed and escorted me out to where Goes stood. Shared memories with me so I¡¯d know what happened, and one of my clones gave my Rules. Goes raised his arms. ¡°Now I shall let Pas, Master Healer Of Yeff, teach us how to help these frightened ones!¡± Pas waved me beside them. ¡°Here is Molly, Queen Of Rainbow. She will speak to the slaves and tell them two rules. What are they, Molly, that all might repeat your words?¡± I waved on a cobalt blue dress and my healers¡¯ robes with Tessite symbols in two lines down the front where the edges of my white robe came together with two strips of blue for the symbols to hang on. Ben¡¯s family color. I bowed, a graceful Zheien bow with one leg far behind. My red ringlets jiggled at the edges of my vision. ¡°I have two rules, and you are all citizens of Rainbow for my purpose tonight, so remember, you have to follow ¡®em, too. Rule Number One is, Rest when you¡¯re tired. Tired hands might not be as gentle, and if you¡¯re rubbing ea fae on a Zheien, you have to be very gentle. So, what¡¯s Rule Number One?¡± Everyone repeated it, though Zheien said ¡®Rest when weary¡¯, and only the Earthans said, Rest when you¡¯re tired.¡¯ ¡°Good! Now, Rule Number Two is, ¡®See your healer if you don¡¯t feel good.¡¯ So, what¡¯s my second rule?¡± Some said it like that, but Zheien said, ¡®See a healer if unwell.¡¯ I smiled. ¡°That¡¯s it, so all of you, follow it, too. These returned slaves need to see you following them. Now Pas¡¯ll teach you all how to be healer helpers. Rainbow needs lots of you!¡± I bowed again to Pas, who returned it. Pirad had a surprise for me. Siadiasly. She''s a clone of me in a Zbbat body with Ty''nirrhan traits. Siasch, Taredias, and Greg worked with Pirad to create her. She has all of their skills! Zbbat have six arms like a hydra, but six legs, too, and neon yellow. One is as wide as six men standing in a circle holding hands, and as tall as two, one standing on the other¡¯s head! Skin like the prickly side of Velcro, but it sticks to anything. Siadiasly also has Siasch in her, that friendly Elshar trader who helped Taredias start Samar Thaae and move it to Alb. Her Ty¡¯nirrhan portion shows in colors and smells at her tentacle ends when she fabs herbs for healing. Siadiasly kept out of sight, but one tentacle stayed in my right hand. I directed her to see people while she projected an image of me. I could use my abilities through her on five slaves at a time! Ben helped me touch other healers¡¯ minds to help dying people. A lot of Zheien were dying of fear alone. Changing slavers is enough fear to kill them. One shivering Zheien caught my eye. He hugged his mother and father in a group of Zheien. A fella in black robes ran at me. I zapped him. He fell. ¡°Do you guards believe me? I will make changes. First, here is gentle cleaning.¡± I ran a hygiene prog Be~saech wrote for slaver ships. Soft white light glowed, and left people in very soft Zheien white gowns with socks past knees. People startled and felt the cloth. Kept frightened eyes on me. That guard sat up and kept black eyes on me. Another wave, and every person held a white blanket, including him. He clung to it. A third wave, and a platter appeared with a small amount of food. Zheien got one bahef, a nourishing pastry. Elshars got three amta, a round, golf-ball size bread, in three diff flavors. We had two green-skinned Esteerrians. they got full platters of arrha, a ceremonial fruit they all love. They eat with their hand-mouths. Our one six-limbed Zbbat got a similar meal, which he threw in the top of him. Herdyyyath. He became an excellent healer and married Siadiasly! She ran to him and taught him healing. Six Bisillips huddled together. Their blankets cooled them, and they got beverages. Every species got something good for him, and small amounts because starved people can''t eat much at first. They die if they eat too much at a time for a few days. This prog would feed them every two hours. Most of them waited to eat, staring at me. One was Hinsin. Another, Habir. They helped us a lot in Rainbow! Pirad sent a clone of himself to Goe¡¯s ship. He went to all of ¡®em, and he knows ¡®em. Recruited them for Rainbow. They¡¯ll live on Alb Seer with them in Kirnonos¡¯ Lab underground. They left for his lab. He¡¯ll reclone ¡®em. Brit, Healer Of Elshar Mashai and Sunasch, Healer Of Elshar Mashai were there with Ginnyish. Sunasch was that healer at Marietta High who taught me my first day. Brit was Ginny¡¯s healer when the Pedersens adopted her. Mark and Toni startled and ran over there! My clone¡¯s already there with Sunasch. With them were Tonan, the Thordes healer my group got after Si and Rur, and Anda, a young Ishah good with terminal removals! I¡¯d be recruiting them all for whichever Rainbow Colony they chose. There¡¯s an Ishah prov called Leiea and one called Moro on Elshar Zheiea. Fubret¡¯s father Mindas ran to him. The purple people had a group there. That¡¯s where Brit and crew already sat. I asked Mindas if he¡¯d consider living in a Thordes colony on MarKu, and he agreed. I showed him their future with Fubret as governor. He¡¯ll talk to Fubret, but he and his wife agreed on the spot! So did Los Fa¡¯s father, Jal Fa Sai, who waved up flowers for ¡®em. They still watched me with frightened eyes. We ported living flowers for the V¡¯chsan group. Ket¡¯s clone went to heal all of them. There were several Xchou healers, but few had the rich fire-engine color they should have. All of their group moved by Fubret¡¯s group. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Sunasch, Brit and Si led Venn, Ches and Sees over by them. And Oahsah, their old tutor¡ªhe¡¯s here? Doesn¡¯t look old! One of the MarKuan diplomats from Adia¡¯s Ship. Oahsah went with them, to sit by ¡®em in case anyone woke up scared. He was my governor when MarKu barely had enough people for a subcolony in my old Rainbow. Goe just appointed him Governor of Rainbow MarKu and Earth MarKu, and made several Thordes subcolonies, and a V¡¯chsan subcolony for anyone who didn¡¯t want to move back there. It¡¯s in Alb, too and has a Rainbow Colony! Los Fa wanted to be near Fubret. Venn¡¯s family was eager to go home to Ea~, which is as close to MarKu as Mars to Earth. It also has a Rainbow. They¡¯re not in awful shape like they were when I knew them in Rainbow. Rur found Nufera, my miracle walking pharmacy. Pirad went to her. Flash! Now she went from slave to slave with healers. I waved white robes on her. Herbalries don¡¯t have to know telepathic healing as long as they know herbs and how to heal with ¡®em. She can make herbs in her hand. ¡°I am Queen Molly, and I am a healer. All of you are safe with me. You may eat now.¡± I watched as they wolfed down all the food. ¡°I know Zheien healing. I demand that no one hits or yells.¡± I spoke in Elshar, the common language of Alliance trading, Elshar slavers, and mines like the one they just came from. Belle and Deb stared at me! Healers went to anyone who looked sick. I saw more people I knew. A flood of my clones went to everyone. Love having so many clones! It¡¯s freaking my friends, though! I waited. The young Zheien in front of me, not much older than me, shivered. I sat in front of him. Held out my hands. In Zheien, I said, ¡°My son, may I touch you?¡± He nodded. First, I stroked his red curls. ¡°You are Jog Sa, Server Instructor Of MarKu. Would you like to go home?¡± Tears in his brown eyes. ¡°I am a slave.¡± ¡°I can free you and your parents. Do you want to go home?¡± A whisper. ¡°Eae.¡± ¡°Let me heal you, and your parents, and we are on a ship to Alb. Would you like Goe to hold you while I heal you?¡± He gasped. Cried. Goe came running with Ester, an Earthan who married Loperan, a MarKuan diplomat. She was a talented healer in Rainbow. ¡°Jog, I am here!¡± Loperan came with ¡®em. His family went to others. Tom and Megan came with Basa. All the Zheien raised their arms and waved! I got teary. But I saw all his points. He hasn''t been mining, thank goodness! I did see some evidence of slaver herbs. Oh, I shook with anger! Not now. Then I sang healing and he slept. Tom held him, Meg held his mea, and Brian held his fa. ¡°Will he work?¡± Goe''s voice shook. He knows what slaves go through. ¡°Yes, he will! I''ll give him vek ea. You know what it does, right?¡± He nodded. ¡°Pie grows him.¡± And, Ye~ just sent them live plants. I gave it, then looked at his father. Again, not much damage. Slavery is bad enough, but no major injuries. His mother was worse, because Zheien women are so fragile. I sang her to sleep first. No Zheien will sleep until he knows his family is all right. Then, I sang for him. Gave them all vek ea. Healers carried them to a room here on Goe''s ship made to look like Jog Sa¡¯s family¡¯s house. Goe carried Jog Sa himself. Put them all on Jog¡¯s bed. They¡¯ll all get yllis when vek ea does its work. Goe is here with Penny and his clone that married Shannon will stay on Adia¡¯s until they get Earth¡¯s treaty signings. All of us healers went around healing folks. Pas listened to me through his links, and I felt his awe. He got tired early and had to nap. I kept going. His younger members of his ennead couldn''t keep up with me! They had Pirad''s recloning and similar mods. Yet, I had more capacity than master healers? Most of Ye~ is Master Healers because Yeff have a lot of genetic problems. Only 422 kids of 2500 Yeff. So unfair! MarKu was half children! However, since Pirad fixed all that, a lot of couples are expecting on Ye~ already. We went through slaves like water! Siadiasly hid herself and gave me energy. But, master healers like Pie, Master Healer Of All MarKu, kept coming to me and pulling me to dying people they couldn''t heal! His new wife, Adelle, had white robes already. I felt honored, but dreaded when I couldn''t save one. Didn''t happen. At first, they were holos, so yeah, remote healing takes a lot of energy, but soon their physical ship merged with ours and they were here. That happened in 15 minutes? But it took ¡®em a couple of hours to get here from Saturn. Went back to Jog Sa''s family, and another healer gave them yllis, a rare herb that heals. I checked them. No need to augment any of them. Ker Sa and Jog Sa are to MarKu like Be~saech and his father Ge~saech. Programmers so skilled, no one can do what they do. One of Goe''s clones chose to do programming, and he''s like them, too. His mom¡¯s a talented musician. There were 525 slaves on Goe¡¯s Ship now. It wasn''t even half full. I personally healed 359. But, then, they brought people from stasis. Mia was here and insisted I go with Ben and sleep. Her healers asked all of ¡®em where they wanted to go, and 449 want to live in one of my Rainbow satellites, but they¡¯ll go to the Alb world closest to their home or where a relative lives. No one will live in a Rainbow permanently. All the worlds have Thordes and Elshar and a few other kinds of colonies. Some, like Fubret and his dad and Los Fa and his dad, could go home, but they chose to help me in my government. Jal Fa Sai is on Ry¡¯nao¡¯s staff and lives on V¡¯chsan, but he decided to move his house to V¡¯chsan MarKu. I¡¯m hoping to find his other missing sons and daughters, as I did in that other future. I showed him where we found ¡®em, or their bodies. I took one last look at my people, my rainbows. ¡°All of you look tired. You may sleep. You will have new work tomorrow.¡± Most of ''em wouldn''t sleep until I said that, then all of ''em laid down. Pas woke up and checked me. ¡°Father of All blessed us! How many did you heal?¡± I waved up my total. It wasn''t just 359. It was 459! Pas startled and saw me again! I listened to his mind as he did, and he startled. ¡°Molly, I trained many healers, but ne one like you. You listen as you were me, yet you ne enter my Inner Circle.¡± ¡°I wouldn''t do that unless you were dying, Master.¡± I bowed. Madison From School Pirad came out, carrying the sleeping little girl. Berto dashed to Cassandra. ¡°Mama!¡± Her blue eyes turned lighter blue. ¡°I had a nice dream, Mama!¡± ¡°Oh, Destiny, I missed you!¡± ¡°I was just visiting Pirad an'' fell asleep. I ''wake now. Don''t cry. I feel good.¡± Berto kissed both of them. Destiny reached for him. ¡°Fahie!¡± He hugged her. ¡°Esta ay, I am your fahie, and I love you! Beauty, let¡¯s go rest, if you want.¡± ¡°Esta ay! I want to get to know this little miracle!¡± They went to Berto¡¯s room, which had them in Elshar Zheiea holding Destiny. Tan was telling a group of teens about worlds of Alb. I went over. ¡°Madison? Hi! I remember you from the art competition last year! I''m Molly, the girl with the unicorn.¡± We went to Howard Middle School that Saturday and Angel, Belle and I made lots of friends! ¡°Molly? Wow! Well, you knew me as a boy. A lot happened. Now, I''m a girl, and Pirad helped me.¡± I hugged her. ¡°Oh, that''s wonderful!¡± ¡°My friends decided to come here to the ship. It''s so cool that Earth''s getting that treaty! I''ve been glued to the news. But I cut class today, ''cause Jerrie Thien has it in for me! She''s one of those fundamentalist Christians who thinks anyone in the LGBTQ+ community is the devil''s tool. She has no clue what it''s like for us!¡± ¡°Hey, I understand. I''m still plain, ordinary, she or her, but I''m cool with you being a girl. There won¡¯t be any persecution in Rainbow.¡± I showed her the abuse progs. It had an option for masking telepathy, so if someone thinks of something that offends someone, they can¡¯t hear it. Wish we had that in Rainbow! ¡°If you want birth control, you can turn it off or on with a wave, like this.¡± I showed her Be~saech''s prog. ¡°No side effects on this, either. It''s 100%.¡± Then she looked surprised. ¡°You mean I could get pregnant?¡± ¡°Yes! Just as if you''d been born a girl! Isn''t that awesome?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah! My fam, they don''t get it. My uncle just puts me down. He thinks if I just do some sports, I''ll get over it. They come to my room¡ªI rent from a friend¡ªand I can''t even come and go. I''m sick of it. I''m emancipated now. That happened last year when I was 16. I wanted to get hormones, but it''s expensive. I''m barely making ends meet! Tan sent diplomats to all of ¡®em, but they don¡¯t want to leave Earth. I¡¯m happy they don¡¯t!¡± ¡°You won''t need money here. We''ll give you a ride to another planet that''s safe where we''ll give you a house, school if you want it, work if you don''t. You could be an artist! Want to work for me?¡± I waved up holos of the worlds with my Earthan Colonies. ¡°I could? Really?¡± Tan nodded. ¡°Yes! Zheien¡ªthat''s the twin-fingered people¡ªlove the arts. You can apprentice to artists whose style you enjoy, and trade your works, or copies of them. Traders will trade for you at no cost and give you trade balance for your work.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°What if it doesn''t sell?¡± She looked down. ¡°You will still have a place to live, food like restaurant food, health care, all of that. But traders know the markets and what people like. I think your work will sell. I love it! The way you sculpt is fantastical and beautiful. In a Zheien colony, you could do the colossal works you always wanted to do!¡± I really hoped she¡¯d come with us to MarKu! That''s all she talked about at that conference. Her painting decorated an entire hall at a private school in Atlanta. People of a lot of diff cultures worked together, rode unicorns, traveled on rockets, all in bright colors. But her people were realistic, and her clothing details set her work apart. Some parents complained about a few LGBTQ+ refs, and she quietly changed ''em until they quit. In a Zheien colony, she can put all the rainbow flags she wants! Progs can hide anything that offends a person from that person. Others that want to see, can. All the rulers of Alb agreed to ''em. My first official act as Queen Of Rainbow when I first started, and the Alb Council already agreed to that and a list of progs I wanted at the time. The group of teens were emancipated teens Madison knew. Another diplomat explained how soon, if the UN agreed, every person on Earth would receive aandats with a parent''s permission. All the group wanted them, so they each got one. The diplomat answered all of their questions. When Tan explained the Earthan Colonies, Madison picked MarKu. Her room is next to Belle¡¯s until we land. Angel''s was on our other side. When she has time to adjust to all this, I want to invite her to my Council to represent all my LGBTQ+ people, now that we have ¡®em. Cerict was nearby, smiling. He¡¯s the Assignment Specialist who sends scientist teams on missions. I showed him his wife earlier today and found a health problem. She¡¯s with him. Our portal had Ben kneeling before me and our wedding clothes. Rainbow in the background with the hospice, the largest building with every wall a diff Rainbow color, sparkling under Alb Seer''s yellow sun. White sand had flowers growing everywhere. Ben pulled me into our bedroom. ¡°Cesarae, you must rest.¡± Fa held his arm as we passed the portal. These new ones don''t hurt Zheien like the old ones did, awful momentary headaches. These are the same for Zheien as they are for us. It''s warm like bath water as you step in, and like a cool breeze as you step out. No discomfort. No pain. They both relaxed. I giggled and let him put me in the bed. There are trees in Piedmont Park of MarKu! Goe is so thoughtful! He married Penny earlier. She''s 18. He''s how old? They''re probably recloned at 18. I didn''t feel much diff, except for all the new skills. I let Fa leave. Then I hugged him. ¡°Oh, Ben, what if I can''t do this?¡± Bellsongs startled both of us! Oh, we giggled and enjoyed it, just like after we married. Afterwards, I checked Ben, but he was fine! I shared all of my fear of when I can¡¯t save someone, and he reminded me of the times we cried together. I handled it, because I have Ben. Then I shared my worries about our poor clones, who decided to stay on Earth. Ben¡¯s Elshar clone who married her, she¡¯ll go by Molly. He can stay with her and work in the Embassy. He looks Zheien, but he''s actually Elshar, but with the telepathic strength of Zbbat. Cev encouraged all the diplomats to be recloned and do this for when slavers flood Earth. They already did! Hopefully, not many of them have access to Elders who know recloning. They¡¯re still finding clones of Heden, Mirado, Girfir and their sons. But TS is watching on all the major Elshar worlds, and Andrisch, Master Trader Of Elshar Mashai got assigned to Earth. Berto recommended him. The Nefcot Ring is active and Elshars can use more tech now. Our clones for Earth are very prepared, with all of Ad Beni¡¯s training for operatives. He gave Pirad a database that he gives to multi-tech level operatives, so they and other key operatives could train others. We talked, and I felt lots better. Then, clicking stopped underneath us. Already? Ben carried me through people and set me before King Theaspaura. I bowed low. He bowed lower to me. Behind him, I expected to see MarKu¡¯s orange sand, but it was in the middle of seven seven-sided buildings and the nearest was beetle-green on white sand. Alb Seer! We¡¯re in Fhiah! Collectives and Councillors But I still had that feeling. Ray startled awake! Theas sprang up from his bow and hugged me. ¡°What is wrong?¡± ¡°Apologies, my liege! I have to go!¡± I ported in there. Deb and Greg ran in here, too. She finished with Vonne. Was it too fast, Ket? He¡¯s singing healing on Vonne. She¡¯ll sleep. ¡°Don¡¯t move. Adia and Ryee are okay, and they don¡¯t remember what happened. I saw it all. Don¡¯t think. Adia¡¯s Collective is all scared, so I brought Pirad¡¯s mind to ¡®em. Hope is powerful.¡± She¡¯s been asleep since¡ªoh, my. ¡°Ry¡¯nao said we shouldn¡¯t talk to each other or to them.¡± Deb shuddered. Ray blushed. ¡°I did, when I first got my telepathy, before I realized I shouldn¡¯t! They contacted me! Pirad says he can hide it. Wish I could talk to Eriganh¡¯s! Pirad warned me.¡± ¡°Those poor people¡ªon Titan!¡± I sobbed. Memories flooded me of Eriganh¡¯s anger, and Titan exploded! All our slaves died, including Jog Sa and his family! There were ScSv research teams with Ishah on ships in orbit¡ªbut Azure reversed it all. It didn¡¯t happen, except Ray traded for Snafanas¡¯ slaves that ended up in my Hades Building, and she healed ¡®em all. I lost a healer in that building and couldn¡¯t send anyone except my Zbbat-- ¡°They¡¯re okay! They don¡¯t remember it--¡± ¡°I know, but I do. Gotta calm down.¡± I took a deep breath. Too emotional for my own good! Ray held me. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re only 12. Even if Azure made you 18, your memories are still 12.¡± ¡°My body¡¯s 18. Why can¡¯t I make my mind listen to it?¡± I felt too cold to shiver. But Azure swapped my timeline with that other healer! Is my mind still 12? I just felt overwhelmed! ¡°Molly, recloning is designed to keep your basic personality and traits. Wait a min.¡± Ray looked at Deb. Deb shook all over. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I know Adia and Ryonne~ got sick today. I¡¯m worried. She¡¯s pregnant, but neither of them knows yet. He had a full-blown seizure, and Belle stopped it. Greg heard¡ªthat madman. I¡¯m trying¡ªnot to think¡ªI haven¡¯t got any training, like a diplomat--¡± Her brown eyes filled. ¡°Another baby? Wally gave them Viad this morning, but he wanted W~Via. I wonder if this one¡¯s him!¡± Ray got a thoughtful look. ¡°I do, because my husband does, and he can¡¯t help me!¡± I cried and hugged them, too. ¡°His telepathy¡¯s so good, when Eap went to Sigan Mas, they both got training from Ad Beni, Fifth Year training. They both could be galactic ministers from the amount of time Ad Beni spent with ¡®em and their capabilites. I can use Ben¡¯s skill, and he trained me, so if he¡¯s sleeping, I can still do it. Not enough. Even Ry¡¯nao can¡¯t help me stay outa Pirad¡¯s mind!¡± Ben stroked my head and set the comfort prog hotter in the blanket he put around me. Did she say Adia¡¯s pregnant? And she has to fight Eriganh? Oh, Pirad has Viad in stasis. He can grow him. Maybe he can do that for this one, too. Deb sighed. ¡°Greg still has Ty¡¯nirrhan telepathy. He hears what you hear, Molly, and lots more. He hears what¡ªall three maniacs hear and forgets all of it. But when he hears it, I hear it, and what the Imwa are talking about to other people. Ni¡¯olmai, they¡¯re interested in him. Gave him a yellow cube, but Rentappenen keeps him from using it. Should I tell Ry¡¯nao?¡± She held Greg¡¯s hand. He frowned. When she forced a smile, he relaxed. ¡°Tell Pirad. Maybe he can help you.¡± Ray asked him to come. He clicked his face into a scowl! ¡°You should not discuss this!¡± Deb got really upset! ¡°How can I stop listening? Eriganh knows where Adia¡¯s Collective is, on Areon!¡± Pirad fell on the bed! ¡°Can he reach them?¡± ¡°No! The Imwa stopped him, so he tried to destroy Titan at 5:55 pm! Greg got all of Ry Pethe to beg the Imwa to let Ni¡¯olmai help Adia, and they refused! They want Suma to have their help. She has to ask for it.¡± That¡¯s what I felt when I was in that bubble with all the chaos! Ry¡¯nao staggered in. Ket dragged him onto the bed and Ishmarel held him. Ishmarel, First Prince Of Zheiea! ¡°Ish, ne think. We fight for our lives here! You can ne help.¡± Ray tried to get up and so did I, but he put his pale arms around all of us. ¡°Pirad, are you ill?¡± Ry¡¯nao¡¯s pink! Shaking. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. He put a hand on Ry¡¯nao¡¯s gray curls. All of what we said, and our thoughts about it, he heard all. Deb waved up a blue-green milkshake and poured it down Pirad! All at once. Expected him to cough, or the bed to be full of it. She didn¡¯t spill a drop. Oh, jargusmilk! They made that in Rainbow. Bisillips have to have several servings a day and it tastes horrible. But jargusmilk has a milkshake in it and they love it! I enjoyed the smell, sweet and minty. He sat up with a surprised smile. ¡°Deb, thank you. Ry¡¯nao, I will do what you think is best.¡± ¡°Can you shield us? I wish to speak with Suma.¡± Suma and Ni¡¯olmai heard us through the Diplomatic Link. When Ry¡¯nao explained, she looked sick! Her brown eyes studied him. ¡°Wh-what do the Imwa want? Jarfus is here! I-f you want me to help A-Adia, I w-will.¡± ¡°You cannot help Adia. Her husband must, because she cannot use the White Cube without his love to power it. No, I would like you to ask the Imwa to protect Adia¡¯s Collective on Areon. I think this is allowed. The Council has rules. They are a member. They represent thousands of species.¡± Suma tried not to sob. ¡°Adia a-asked them n-not to hurt Neal. They a-greed. B-But he got h-hurt!¡± ¡°Suma, I am a diplomat. My work is dangerous. But, if we can save thirteen galaxies, that is bigger than our lives.¡± He shook all over. His tears dripped on her arm. Even diplomats get scared. ¡°I made a mistake. Adia spoke to them, and I tried to add a comment. They were not expecting me to speak to them. An accident. Now I am trying to avert a war! Oh, Suma, I cannot help you.¡± ¡°But, I don¡¯t know their language!¡± Neal laughed. ¡°I do not! I tried to open my mind to them, so they could see how I felt, and they did not know how to look without injuring me!¡± He got serious. His eyes turned black. ¡°How can you speak to them? Earthans are more fragile than an Elshar!¡± Ry¡¯nao met his gaze. ¡°I do not think a Zbbat could speak to one without injury. Perhaps they learned from you. Suma, the terminal you wear, may provide safe communication. Ni¡¯olmai gave it to you. Now it had time to acclimate to both your systems. There is little that I know of them.¡± The Emperor sighed. Her necklace glowed. Those brown eyes opened very wide. All of us looked up and froze. An animal, like a walrus, a yellow walrus with one flipper and one eye on that side, stared at us. The other side was just fat. It wailed, a sad sound. ¡°H-hello.¡± Suma spoke, and it stopped. ¡°Will you protect Adia¡¯s Collective?¡± We will, because you did not demand it, because you did not ask for wealth. I hear your concern for peoples you do not know. You want your husband to heal people. We ask that he leave diplomatic work and become a healer. Molly, we want you to establish Rainbow Colonies more than on Alb. We will provide worlds. Will you provide clones? I nodded with a smile! They can have all the clones of me they want! Pirad, we will give you Gifts for them. Rentappenen wants to hurt. We want to heal. Wally convinced all of us. Jarfus offered help from his people. We accept. He got a smug expression and folded his arms. Ray, you healed our people. Because of your gift, we will send healers to Alb. Areon will not like our healers. We will send them to another world. When you have the Red, use it to make a world. We will then come. Ray nodded. Ry¡¯nao, this is allowed. Pirad can make clones of an acceptable form, and we will protect Ray¡¯s Collective. He tried to lift his head to nod, and Pirad held it down! We cannot protect Azure¡¯s Collective. Rentappenen knows where Seranappenen put it, and it is compromised. She uses her strength early. Tell her to come to us. We will not let him take her-- I wept. When Azure meets Rentappenen, she will die trying to warn Ray. On Elshar Zheiea, in front of her Collective! But, I saw where it is now. Not on Kajar, Eriganh¡¯s home planet. On Soskanna. And a terrorist group, tunneling into their biome storage, where their planet¡¯s server is, deep underground, just found it. A building of red cubes without an opening. They think it¡¯s the Royal Family of Deinarjg, Leaders Of Fonosa¡¯s secret weapon to destroy the Minark! Minark and Fonosa are ethnic groups of Imwa with their own governments, living together on the same lands. I saw Ni¡¯olmai¡¯s memory of going there, in that other future, and slavers posing as diplomats knew where Imwa territory was, and threw him down a hill in the middle of a hunting group! They posed as primitives, this group that didn¡¯t agree to rise to the level of the Council. Their leader, the one with the yellowish fur, was the one Suma asked for help. I gasped. ¡°They¡¯re there now!¡± Groups broke into the chamber and that¡¯s where Suma and Neal have been negotiating with Soskannans and Minark! Now all of them see the building of red cubes! Eriganh¡¯s Collective can¡¯t do anything about it, though. Ray got slaves from Snafanas this afternoon. All of us are struggling not to think about it. The slaves that filled my Hades Building are now on a world Pirad made for ¡®em and it has a Rainbow Colony. Ray healed ¡®em all today, but she and Asha have been sleeping. They have a million Ishah from the 7th who came to Alb. Memories came like a flood, and none of us could stop! Eriganh got mad and tried to destroy Titan. Ray stopped him. Eriganh destroyed half of his Collective trying to destroy Titan, and Azure stopped it all. He hurt himself with his temper tantrum. I shuddered. Tried not to think, but Deb and Ray heard. Azure¡¯s not in Antarctica any more? Pirad¡¯s Lab there is destroyed! Where¡¯s her Collective? I didn¡¯t have any answers for ¡®em. Suma and Neal Screams interrupted us! Healers ran to Jen and Doug¡¯s room! I ported in. Suma and Neal bounced between the bed and the ceiling! Ishmarel, King Of Zheiea, leapt up and eased her onto the bed. The Zhee 6th Galaxy Minister caught Neal. Never met him. Pirad ported in. Ray touched Suma¡¯s forehead and yellow light filled the room! Her brown eyes opened and turned black. She¡¯s Elshar now? Then she put a hand on Neal¡¯s head. ¡°Suma, are you all right? Soskannans have¡ªforceful telepathy¡ª¡± ¡°How did you survive contact with them?¡± Emperor Ry¡¯nao reached a trembling hand towards Neal. I held his hand. Another me put her hands on Ry¡¯nao¡¯s and hummed. ¡°Azure¡¯s got this. Let¡¯s port back to your room. I¡¯ll stay with you, ¡®Ao.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll die, Molly, and we lose the New Healing! Wally left us!¡± Ry¡¯nao cried! I never saw him in such a condition! Not even when we got him back from slavery! ¡°Wally¡¯s coming back!¡± I saw it, and blurted it out. ¡°You¡¯ll see. Get Kia and Irdatkin! Garat¡¯s helping?¡± Couldn¡¯t believe what I was saying! That fella that insisted Irdatkin come back to Biehshah to die, in Rainbow? When he admitted Kia healed him through the Diplomatic Link. Hoo boy. People from Leheren Prov court for 20 years! Telepathy during courtship¡ªwell, they were supposed to wait for 5 years to do that. Future Molly pulled my hand off and they ported back to his room on Adia¡¯s. While they were here, I felt heavy, like we were on Earth again. Deb and Ray looked at me and we all shuddered. Suma hugged Neal and gasped. He¡¯s Ishah, too, now! Yellow light shone all around them. Pirad jerked his hand away! ¡°You have to sleep now! Both of you! There is not enough of me!¡± ¡°Yes, there are! We¡¯re winning!¡± I saw it. We did. ¡°We cannot discuss this!¡± Pirad vanished. I blinked, and I had my hands on Neal, singing. He¡¯s Ishah, but he¡¯s my temperature. An Ishah should be hot like an Earthan with a high fever! Ishmarel and Alice sang beautiful harmony with my childlike, pitiful soprano. Healing didn¡¯t flow as usual. I got tired fast. Suma and Neal¡ªpart of their Collective isn¡¯t there. Whatever they did on Soskanna was too much. Jarfus ported in and laid beside them, panting. ¡°Well, that was exciting!¡± Ishmarel saw him and startled! ¡°How should I address you?¡± He bowed low. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t bow! I¡¯ll have to get up¡ªyou did. I¡¯m Jarfus and I like hugs. Suma and Neal hug me. I am just an observer, like Wally. He sits on the Council of the 6th. I never had a title. Suma is Elshar Zheiea¡¯s Councillor. I do hope Zhea~ will get one.¡± He groaned. Ishmarel very carefully put his arms around him. ¡°Can Pirad ne heal you?¡± He chuckled. ¡°I am an illusion, my friend. A telepathic projection, not unlike what you do to fool Earthans into thinking you are like them. Wally showed me the Soskannans are not part of our mind. They are Lerk. Because of Suma¡¯s bravery, they joined our battle! Ni¡¯olmai convinced the Minark to join as well! Do you know how many allies they have who are sick of Rentappenen¡¯s--? ¡°Oh, I talk too much. There¡¯s a festival out there! I want to see it.¡± He tried to get up and fell on the bed! The whole thing wobbled! I didn¡¯t think anything could do that to a Zheien bed! ¡°Oh, dear.¡± He put his head down and closed his eyes. His blue top hat rolled away. ¡°There¡¯s no one left to heal me. I¡¯m¡ªnot an illusion. I forgot. For Mike to kill me, I had to have a physical body. Wally brought me back enough I could heal myself, but that came undone. Just like when Pirad¡ªbring him, Molly?¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I got his clone on this ship. He ran to Jarfus and clicked his face into a horrified expression! ¡°What did you do, Jarfus?¡± ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t let Suma die! She enables Ni¡¯olmai. Even an Imwa has limits. What can we do? Can you reclone an Imwa?¡± The last sentence was a whimper. Pirad buzzed. ¡°I never tried it! If I reclone you as a jarfus, you will not speak! Your people developed methods I do not know!¡± That fella with the black fur and cat ears popped in. ¡°So dramatic! I can do this--¡± ¡°Pinda, can you do it and keep me alive? I¡¯m scared! I already died once--¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t lived until you died 1,286 times! Yes, it¡¯s unpleasant. But I can reclone you, and I don¡¯t have to maintain a connection to keep you alive. Wally and your people do that because Imwa do group minds. We stay separate because we are Laruu. Do you want to stay jarfus, or have a form like you people used to have? And, from what era?¡± ¡°Heavens, no, I want my jarfus form! Just do it! If they run hygiene, you won¡¯t have enough blood for this!¡± He moaned more with every sentence. Pinda held a paw on his head and hummed. Jarfus was big enough to cover his half of the huge seven-sided bed, but he shrank to about walrus size. ¡°There. I can¡¯t heal you so you don¡¯t need sleep. There will be other festivals. You are doing too much. The Lerk are only one of ten entire groups of civilizations, and I just got back from waking their galaxies. Sleep for an hour or two. Then, I¡¯ll tell you more. All of you who heard this, don¡¯t tell anyone.¡± His huge brown eyes studied each of us. When he got to me, I thought quietly to him. How do I stop thinking about this? I don¡¯t want them to know! He laughed. ¡°Such worries! When we¡¯re around, we can hide you. Just don¡¯t tell others on purpose.¡± Jarfus groaned. ¡°But some of them have to know things. Their Gifts were tied to Wally, you know. I have to keep up with that!¡± ¡°Brother, they are tied to me, because I gave up my entire civilization¡¯s Gifts to Earthans! I can watch them and fight, too!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish. You gave yourself to a child, remember?¡± I saw Pinda in Rainbow. Oh, my! Melinda Parsons, age 13, who served on her parents¡¯ ScSv Team, and lost both of ¡®em! He stayed with her because he gave himself to her¡ªthis is Pinda? Because he couldn¡¯t save Mrs. Parsons. Vern and Ellie ran in, dressed in purple ScSv uniforms. ¡°Pinda! Hi, Molly! You¡¯re young!¡± Vern smiled. Both of them were skinny, but much younger than he was at the last. I cried with ¡®em a lot. But, they¡¯re here, and they¡¯re young-- ¡°So are you! Where¡¯s Melinda?¡± ¡°Hmm. Someplace in¡ªthere!¡± He poked Ellie¡¯s middle and she giggled. Then, she got teary. ¡°I hope I don¡¯t lose her this time like I lost the other two.¡± Her blond curls shook. ¡°We have miracle health care, here! Don¡¯t worry, my love. The Yeff did offer us those Science Council positions, so we won¡¯t travel. You won¡¯t get poisoned--¡± Pinda looked from me to them, a very thoughtful look, and put his arms around ¡®em. They vanished. Suma, Ni, Doug and Jen all slept. Ket smiled at me. I¡¯ll port them to King Ryonne~¡¯s ship now. Don¡¯t worry. Pirad¡¯s waiting. He opened a portal with a smile. Kept the black eyes. I nodded. Can¡¯t stay with everyone, on diff planets. Deb and Greg and all the people of Ry Pethe went there, to Ye~. Ray and Asha ported to Cevit Ion¡¯s ship with all the Elshar Zheien. I wanted to cry! Deb, Suma and Ray are on the ship. Their clones are going to Ye~. Maybe I should ask for clones of ¡®em to be in MarKu when all this is over! Tomorrow, I can port around. It¡¯s only 4 mins from one to another. Ben held me when the bed vanished. Set me on my feet and bowed to Ishmarel and Alice. I bowed low, but Ish touched my mind and warned me if I felt any pain, not to try lower. I sent healing as I went, but my ankles are very strong from skating. It wasn¡¯t a problem. I knew him in Rainbow after he was poisoned from eating with Esteerrians. Got heart problems and Pirad couldn¡¯t regrow his absorptives. I bowed again, and he returned it, like a renowned ballet dancer! My comparison amused him. ¡°Ah, rise and greet me, my healer!¡± He pushed his sash to the side so I could hug him. ¡°It is a great honor to meet you, King Ishmarel!¡± Ben corrected me earlier when I thought he was still First Prince. ¡°Ah, but you already have skills for the New Healing! All of Zheiea needs them. Shall we attend the festival?¡± His deep voice thrilled me. A fitting king of the noble Zheien. Wonderful, to see him healthy like this, and he¡¯ll stay that way! Alice smiled at me. Her brown skin was much darker than his deep orange. She has ancestry in India. Her huge family on her father¡¯s side already enjoyed it. Her brown eyes, full of life, seemed to smile, too. Leaving For MarKu Fa and Mea waited. My parents were out in the festival already, looking at diff professions. There wasn¡¯t anything like real estate or marketing, so they were pretty upset. Most of my friends were napping. Returned slaves sleep a lot. I felt guilty to just walk into a festival, but my family needs me, too. I put my hand on Ben¡¯s arm. Just as we walked off the ship and Eap ran to us with Kerjie in tow, Theas raised his arms and everything stopped. ¡°Everyone, we enjoyed hosting you all this hour. Now, your ships will take you home! Rest well!¡± He saw me and bowed low. ¡°O, Queen Molly, I am most sorry that you missed! Will you stay longer with us, and port later?¡± I felt Ben¡¯s eagerness to try no-pain porting! We agreed. I¡¯m not that tired. In all the years I governed Rainbow, I never went to a festival on this side of the brook. We always had a shipful of slaves to heal, or Ben was sick, after Ceaceadis. Fa carried Neasem, and Mea carried Keeas! Ben gave me a table he carved for Keeas that had him carved on the top, looking at the sky. When we met, he was grieving him. Neasem died just after we met, after Esteerr. Ben took Keeas and wept. ¡°O, Ba, nae this sorrow! I am almost finished with my nesfa.¡± I tried to hum and didn¡¯t have anything left! Fa startled and did it for me. Poor Keeas couldn¡¯t stay awake. Sweat-powder dripped yellow clouds off his blond curls. He and Ben looked very alike in the face and the wide shoulders, but he has dark curls and bright blue eyes. Neasem couldn¡¯t hold on to his telepathic trick, either, and his dark curls did the same. He has brown eyes and a smaller frame. Their healers startled and ran for us! Fa sighed, and it rumbled. ¡°O, I hoped they could enjoy just a small part of this!¡± His mind indicated a group of young men being juggled, friends and cousins their ages. Keeas is only 14 and Neasem¡¯s 18, and they are both diplomats-in-aid. These folks are on respite from Sigan Mas, that big space school. Their giggles made everyone smile. But, I felt something and waved for containments to yank them all down! Where they¡¯d been was an explosion! Healers came from all over to go to them! Limp bodies floated to them. People ported underground! We landed on Goes¡¯ ship and he and his bae gave calcs! Clicking snapped under us and we all fell, glued to the gel-like floor! ¡°Wh-what happened, Goe?¡± Penny shook all over as clicking stopped. ¡°I nae know! Molly?¡± He¡¯s asking me? Sweat glistened on his skin! That explosion would¡¯ve rained bodies on us! ¡°I¡¯m glad your bae slept through that!¡± I hugged Ben and cried. Some brave Queen! This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. We all had frightened faces. Mom rushed over. ¡°I thought you said¡ª¡± Her abuse progs snapped on, and she seemed to vanish! Ben hugged me tighter. ¡°She is frightened, Molly. We are all frightened.¡± I felt sweat on him and got scared! Goes hugged us all, and what his arms couldn¡¯t reach, his mind did. ¡°Friends, we are safe. Soldiers come to escort us into Rainbow. As we planned, all of us stay here for a short time. Healers bring pleasant riding animals for us. Rest. Some of you are unhappy you can nae go to your homes, but we had fright, and fright is harm. I ask your patience. We learn from Esta Faho.¡± What¡¯s Esta Faho? Ben showed me it¡¯s a city on Elshar Zheiea with the worst health of the yellow Zheien. He has friends there, but they told him not to visit. Whoa. ¡°King Challet brought all of his Elshar Zheien together when they landed, into festivals in every prov. All were happy, but when they gathered in their homes, they had fear, and progs warned healers to go to all of them. ¡°Healers decided all must dwell in Rainbow for a time, that all Zheien could acclimate to these changes. Changes are greatest for our worlds that are new, much like a colony start. But MarKu is changed, for his sky differs then what we remember, and his gravity is less, to spare us unwell in these changes. Others of our worlds differ nae in gravity, but there is yet this sky so filled with stars. ¡°Is beauty, but we are Zheien, and expect our homes nae to change. When MarKu¡¯s colony ships arrived from Zhea~, we tried to duplicate all conditions. Our scientists tried very hard. We moved star systems for mining and farming worlds, and most assumed orbits close to those of near stars. Nae scientist can duplicate such a largespace exactly. Even Pirad can nae, and he has greater tech than Zhea~, or even S¡¯ai. ¡°Our sky differs, and in every colony start, healers felt it too much for our leaders to bear, to reveal how many died in the shock of these different skies. Only now, in this move to Alb, did Ahstam reveal it to Queen Alice. Because of this knowledge, we take extra precautions. ¡°Friends, please forgive us this delay in your plans, those of you with Zheien husbands or dear friends. We need your comfort, o, we need it! Can you abide? Tell me now, and our Alb Council hears.¡± Tears dripped in great yellow clouds from his cheeks! I expected an angry mob of Earthans to yell at him, but no one¡¯s abuse progs went off. Mom¡¯s won¡¯t let her say anything, thank goodness! Uncle Tom stood up. ¡°Prince Goes, we know Zheien have needs that Earthans do not. I will be happy to take my family to Rainbow first. Our house will still be there.¡± He and Aunt Meg and Brian all smiled at him. Jog Sa was in Meg¡¯s lap, and his parents sat between her and Brian. A lot of Earthans nodded in agreement. I didn¡¯t see my parents, but people who did saw my father holding her, and she was quiet. Meg looked relieved. They¡¯ll be going to their house in the Earthan Colony, on the Beltline by the skating rink. There were 164 Earthans, and only 29 didn¡¯t have a reason to stay in Rainbow. They had people from off the ship to escort them home, and most of ¡®em didn¡¯t wait for the riding animals. Some needed houses and Mark eagerly did that for ¡®em. I was scared, but Goe let me see that he had soldiers who would hide in the Earthan Colony to watch for trouble. One of the Earthans who came to Adia¡¯s was a lady who influenced Aegelis, largest mining colony of a bigger colony, Fazteaer. Because of her, they offered Aegelin soldiers to Alb. These little fellas looked like us but with flattened limbs. They couldn¡¯t even visit MarKu until it had reduced gravity. Now they are watching over Earth MarKu. Many of ¡®em are helping the bakers and candy makers, doing demonstrations, and keeping the festivals going in a lot of provs here! That¡¯s just one of the many species coming to Alb to help out while the Zheien adjust to new homes. How can I sleep, Goe? What if they¡¯re just waiting for me to sleep so they can attack us? Goe hummed, and I felt peaceful. We will watch, Molly. You must have this rest. Many friends came to help in this. Shocking Welcome ¡°Do you know many Homereans came to us? One showed Leader Homerean how you befriended Nufera and gave her a place in your government. They have nae names so he goes by this. He agreed to send all of his soldiers that he refused to send to D¡¯gharr!¡± ¡°Gosh, doesn¡¯t that make you nervous?¡± Nufera made Ron drunk until I asked her to cure his cravings, then she did. My friend laughed. ¡°O, they learned from that memory why we fear to be alone with them, and they all agreed nae to share their substances with us. You must understand, this is how they communicate with one another, and between themselves, is nae intoxication. Now they are more careful. Pirad taught Nufera what she learned from you in Rainbow, and now she agreed to teach students. Pirad found 8 this evening who can make herbs for many species. One learned Xchou healing.¡± That cheered me up! When Ket came to Rainbow with the Yeff, he complained that he didn¡¯t have a student for Xchou healing. He taught a lot of people Elshar healing, but I needed Xchou healers worse. V¡¯chsan MarKu needs ¡®em! ¡°But I didn¡¯t teach her. Forsay did.¡± ¡°Forsay saw his future and showed Lut. Those memories of when you taught Nufera healing, you asked her to listen to Forsay because he knew herbs and effects. But you encouraged her to learn from him. You told her she could learn.¡± ¡°Well, I told her students that, too, but none of them could learn what she did.¡± ¡°Perhaps is a skill nae everyone can learn. Nae everyone can bear to be thrown, as Fhiah, Fhai¡¯s skilled ones do.¡± I nodded. MarKu doesn¡¯t throw people? Ben smirked. Fhai is the only prov of Fhiah that does this. Each prov has a skill that none other has! I hugged my husband. They brought the riding animals, and all the Zheien smiled. Pas carried Jog Sa out. Oh, another of Pas¡¯ cloned brothers. Pie and Adelle went to Elshar Zheiea. Pie came running with his wife! She¡¯s blue? ¡°O, Jog! All of MarKu wept, when you and your family nae returned!¡± He cried. ¡°I nae ever wished to cause such unhappiness!¡± ¡°Nae this sorrow. We are happy to have you home!¡± Pie hugged him. ¡°Am I like? Ejis faea naea, are my progs like? I know secrets, my liege, and I fear to even think!¡± His fa hugged him. All three of ¡®em shook! Goe trembled. ¡°Pie, he needs to report to me! What shall we do? Fa only took one report from a scientist once!¡± ¡°Fear nae. Tam, come with us. We shall teach Jog, as you taught students, eae?¡± She gave a smile. ¡°I can help you, Jog. Are you unwell from travel?¡± He cried! ¡°I wish nae ever to be on a ship again!¡± Pie lifted him. ¡°Be calm, my bae. Here is home. Smell the flowers?¡± His wife put a bundle in his arms. That got a smile. It¡¯ll take time for him to feel safe, especially after such a rough ride! Healers came and carried everyone out. Above us, I saw Mother and Babe. Every Zheien colony has this constellation, even if they only have two stars in the sky. Here, like on Alb Seer, we had about 22. Instead of one moon, we had five, all diff colors. Pretty! Goe and all his bae went to the indigo blue palace. It had carved ferrisnae on the doors holding rings in their mouths. Ben pointed them out. They¡¯re going in there because Kings Houses always have merite walls in their offices. They got on ferrisnae, surrounded by soldiers. Some were MarKuan, but the rest were a mixture of species. One lone Zbbat zipped around the entire group like an ugly moon. He was bright yellow with six great arms that each held six weapons. Six great legs held him, and the six toes on each leg blurred with his lightning-fast motions. He stood twice as tall as the tallest Zheien. I saw him, but nobody else did but other soldiers. Amazing to see one able to run like that! Herdy couldn¡¯t move that fast. Siadiasly could, but didn¡¯t want to make Herdy feel bad. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. I startled when a breeze hit me. Siadiasly, Mollydias, and Greg Sa zipped off the ship carrying Herdy! His mirth came to me. No one else noticed. Ye~ has a Zbbat Colony and an Esteerrian Colony, but so does MarKu. And Lisbaar. A lot of Lisbaaran scientists worked for Gedda Dier to make her weapons. They have them, but no other worlds¡ªRahn Estar does. It¡¯s a mining world that has a weapons facility and a shipbuilding facility. It¡¯s the only one of Elshar Zheiea¡¯s mining and farming worlds that¡¯s not fully automated. All the people, except for workers with homes other places, moved to Elshar Zheiea. Rahn Estar will have Esteerrian and Zbbat workers from all their colonies. Most of the other workers there are Ishah. Most of them live in two provs on Elshar Zheiea. Leiea and Moro. Part of those workers used to work on Esta Faho, but they combined the weapons facilities into one. Lisbaar made those facilities. Something about that made me shudder. The Bisillips all ported to Kirnonos¡¯ Lab while we were on Alb Seer. Rainbow only had one ferrisna. He was a very special horse for a family who raised horses. But they brought a lot of ¡®em to a nearby field to graze. One snorted and ran to me! I kind of flinched. Our riding animals didn¡¯t move fast! Ben did, too! They don¡¯t have ferrisnae in Fhiah. This one slowed down and whined. Nibbled my red ringlets until I looked up. I laughed. ¡°Guess I looked pretty stupid, huh?¡± It shook its head. I laughed and petted it. ¡°Are you a boy or¡ª¡± She shook her head. ¡°A girl! Okay. Did you just choose me?¡± She nodded and snorted! ¡°Oh, thanks! I always wanted a horse! You¡¯ll have to teach me the difference between ferrisnae and horses, though.¡± Definite ¡°Huh?¡± noise there. Her handler laughed. ¡°I hope to learn of Earthan horses! Do you know of them, Lady?¡± I giggled. ¡°No! I¡¯m a city girl. However, I¡¯m going to love living in such a beautiful place with farms nearby!¡± I hugged my new pet. ¡°I¡¯ll have to share you with Ben¡ª¡± She shook her head and her blue eyes turned light. Where¡¯s Sylvania? Oh, my white Persian¡¯s in Rainbow comforting people. I smiled. Can¡¯t wait to pet her! Another white one trotted over and put his nose near Ben. My husband¡¯s neon green eyes went wide! ¡°You came to me, then?¡± He neighed! Danced with all four legs like a happy Zheien and ended in a bow! Ben laughed, and it tingled on me! ¡°O, I ever wished for a ferrisna! Fa, is he magnificent?¡± ¡°O, he is! Only a ferrisna is white as he is. Fa had a duchini. They are more common than ferrisnae, and most are black. But he feared to bring any to Alb Seer, for many animals die in colony starts. How he missed her! When he shared memories of her, he cried, years later. Mea had to leave five ferrisnae, and became unwell if she remembered more than a single memory.¡± Fa sighed, and it rumbled on us. Fast hoof-beats startled us all, and a black horse nosed him. Snuffed at his hair! Fa giggled. ¡°You act like¡ªyou are Binn? How are you living this many years?¡± A young man rode another one to us. ¡°O, she thinks you are Linneabin! Pirad woke him today. She was very sad that she nae found him, and she sought him in the festival all the day long! Pirad made her young. But he will live in Fhiah. Binn can nae understand that all of her family is nae here.¡± ¡°O, Linneabin waits in Rainbow! Binn, go to him! He misses you much!¡± The young man pointed to the red building in a circle of seven. This spaceport was near farms between us and there. Orange sand, lots of plants, and a path of darker sand made a kind of road between the seven-sided farms. Some had bushes or trees along the seven-sided border. The sky¡¯s black with a few stars and five moons that lighted the landscape a bit. Glow of our orange ship helped a little, too, and other ships in other colors glowed behind us for a ways. Much bigger than Fhiah¡¯s spaceport! He nodded and galloped off! Nodded for a green portal and ran in! Fa gasped! ¡°Fa lives? Ejis faea naea, he will nae know me! I was but five when he died!¡± Poor Fa sobbed. He must be really upset to stick faea in there! Zheien don¡¯t exaggerate! I grabbed him. An Ishah ran to us with Forsay! Oh, I cried, now! He reached for Mea, then saw me. ¡°Molly!¡± He reached and pulled both of us near. This man trained me in the other future, on that horrid ship to Ilhanhsa with my original six. Ben cried, too! ¡°O, both my fae! Happiness!¡± Mea cried, too. They put us all on ferrisnae and they rode fast! I worried that it might be too much for my poor husband and his parents, but then I realized what the rush was! Rainbow MarKu We got to the red building of Rainbow. Healers jumped off animals with us and ran all of us to a bed. Without jostling us! ¡°Fa! Mea! O!¡± Fa fainted. His father laughed and held him. ¡°O, nae cry! Here is your fa.¡± He spoke to a crowd. Eight crying men reached for him. And for Keeas and Neasem. ¡°Nea! Wake, I nae bear it!¡± All of them were very thin. He looked up and put his arms around this ba. ¡°Bean! O! How I missed you!¡± He wheezed, bad. ¡°Bean?¡± Keeas hugged them, too. ¡°Nea, who?¡± ¡°Bin, surely you remember Bean, do you?¡± My husband¡¯s confusion about this came to me. Fa groaned, and they all watched him. His bright blue eyes blinked. ¡°O, my bae! All of my sons and their dear wives! Forgive us, my youngest sons, for we nae bore to think! Here are our eight lost sons, and my three lost bae!¡± His sorrow rumbled on us like a freight train! Sylvania got on his chest and kneaded his shoulder gently. She had little tips on her claws in bright yellow. ¡°O, you are Molly¡¯s cat! Such a pleasant sound you make, little one.¡± Fa calmed down. Sylvania went to Keeas next and rubbed against his face. Ben didn¡¯t want to let go of his younger ba. All of them enjoyed petting her long, white fur. Fa worried when her blue eyes didn¡¯t go light, so I explained. They¡¯re used to gelsai, and their eyes go light when they¡¯re happy. This building¡¯s full of pets! Fa hugged each of his kids, then all three of his brothers and their wives, and their kids. Five of ¡®em came from Esteerr, but Ben warned me not to think about that place! Pirad wiped their memories of it. They think they came from other missions. Keeas and Neasem were attacked at school when they volunteered for Adia¡¯s Team. They¡¯ve been in Lut¡¯s Chambers. All of ¡®em will live here on MarKu with Fa and Mea. I¡¯m glad! We didn¡¯t last through the intros before I fell asleep. So grateful to lie here in all their arms, my first night in MarKu. I woke up in a cold sweat. Oh, it¡¯s the red building, not my stupid bedroom on Earth! ¡°Molly, are you unwell? Pas!¡± He hummed, and I felt calm again. Until I felt sweat on my husband! But I hummed, and it all dried. I had energy like usual, thank goodness! It scared me how drained I got yesterday. Still felt that danger feeling. But all our relatives were still sleeping. Ben and I enjoyed some festival pastries for breakfast. Gonna get spoiled! Festivals will go on for weeks, what with people who married Earthans and simply celebrating our new locations! When we had all we wanted, the baker lady had a surprise! She held out two orange candies. ¡°May I present King Goes¡¯ gift? He wished you to have these tumasnie.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks! But I want to give mine to Jog Sa.¡± ¡°He also received one, Queen Molly.¡± I named several others, and they all already had one of the rare treats. So, Ben and I enjoyed the spicy-sweet taste! We shared happy memories in Rainbow. Tumasnie enhances memory-sharing in Zheien, if they¡¯re happy and content. Useless to slavers, thank goodness. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Then we walked to my office in the green building. Half of this one was halls with private rooms for couples. The other half had a giant chamber with a big nine-sided table in green. Each side had two chairs. Goes ported in. ¡°Molly, is this office well for you? We nae knew how many governors you might appoint, but is easy to expand your table, or create an auditorium with theater seating.¡± I hugged him. Tried not to think about what danger we had in Fhiah! Ben kept watching. ¡°How many should I appoint? Should each Rainbow have one, or each world?¡± He smiled. ¡°Our government divides responsibilities into nine positions. Those who marry share work, if both wish. But Elshars use ten. If you wish one governor for each world, or each Rainbow and Earthan colony, you may create a council for each, or by species. Here is how we rule MarKu.¡± A map showed each MarKu Council member and who they represented. Several represented Elshars, divided into traders, artisans, scientists, healers and diplomats. Each group had a council. Thordes divided theirs by jeia. Xchou only had one member for everyone and no councils. Ishah had a member, and lots of councils, one for each occupation group. Wow! I felt overwhelmed! ¡°Zheien are much better leaders than any Earthan! I want to run my colonies like Theaspaura would, or King Challet, or your family. They are well leaders.¡± ¡°Eae, they are! Wish you for me to show me your colony leaders? We asked many to serve until you can approve them, or others.¡± Oahsah had an office in Rainbow¡¯s green Trade Building. ¡°Liegess, I am happy to govern our Rainbow Of MarKu! Jog Sa writes many progs for healers here.¡± He bowed low. I returned it. ¡°I missed y¡¯all, too! MarKu is very dear to my heart.¡± My voice broke. In that other future, Oahsah got too scared and died during his recloning. His warm hands held the back of my head. ¡°O, nae this sorrow. I am healed and played Oae Pae with my ba Sahwell and his boys this morning! And have my courted with me!¡± He took the hand of a giggling lady, who covered her face. ¡°Here is my Vanalae, Baker Of Fig. She is ready when you declare your next festival.¡± I hugged her. ¡°Bakers have nae need of protocols! I am very happy to have your help, Vanalae!¡± ¡°O, Queen Molly, many bakers all over MarKu heard of your colony and contributed ingredients! Our unwell enjoy many delights. Pie¡¯s tumasnie crop was very well this year, so we have hopes.¡± She sighed, and I felt her longing for it. In that other future, we found ways to grow a lot of it and everyone had all the tumasnie they wanted! I showed it to Oesha, of the Yeff Science Council. ¡°Liz grew many plants this morning. She is working with Pie¡¯s herb growers.¡± Half her friends who work downtown at Georgia State University¡¯s library went to Ye~ with her in the other future. But they came here to MarKu now, since that¡¯s where Liz lives! She¡¯s the answer to their tumasnie shortage. Tumasnie candies taste spicy-sweet and make memory-sharing more lifelike. She chose to be a healer. Doe¡¯s with her in the Earthan Colony Of MarKu! Goe and Penny are visiting people in Rainbow. Pag and Sapph are, too. MarKu¡¯s Rainbow was huge! Near it were three empty cities for Earthans, two historical versions and one modern version of Atlanta. Those who wanted to live in one of the historical versions didn¡¯t see the others unless they chose. Piedmont Park already had lots of trees, though not as many yet as the real one. People already enjoyed it and the skate parks. That made me happy. Some of my other governors were already in their respective places from Titan. Fubret waved a purple hand. ¡°Molly, I¡¯m so glad to see you! I¡¯m here in the Jesset Colony of MarKu, and I visited Maira, Conebara, Ka, and Lierpanan today.¡± He waved up holos. Glad to see him healthier! We talked for an hour about things these Thordes Rainbows needed, and he had a small army of traders to try to get ¡®em. Just about every ship of slaves has Thordes, and some either are healers, or trained to be healers while in slavery, because the purple people have caring hearts. ¡°Good! Let¡¯s go to Fhiah. Who¡¯s there?¡± Fhiah¡¯s buildings in their Barrens, the site of the old Rainbow, stood empty. That was a shock! ¡°Okay, so nobody lives in Rainbow. Do ships come there?¡± ¡°Eae, but most are diverted to other colonies of Rainbow. King Theaspaura asked that anyone be allowed to stay who wishes, in these buildings, until they can have passage home. So far, all had friends in other of your colonies. Those with family in Fhiah go to Lut¡¯s Chambers, or those of familiar healers. Their tradition is to ask a healer to live with an unwell¡¯s family.¡± I frowned, and his blue eyes turned darker. ¡°That¡¯s fine for folks with intact telepathy, but what about my unwell with damaged? Fhiahans have such strong telepathy, even kids can hurt ¡®em just with a friendly touch.¡± ¡°Lut maintains a list. There are 3,089 such, and they went to friends¡¯ colonies. Most went to MarKu and live with relatives there, or Thordes friends in colonies there. Fully 179 went to Ea~. He sent 640 to KlipKa. For Vasye, 518. Escet Vu has 43. Par Vu, 295, but is now Parveia Of Escet Vu. Elshar Zheiea took 821 with nae families, to live in homes there near Ashapat¡¯s Chambers.¡± Elshar Zheiea Elshars I smiled. ¡°Then, I won¡¯t worry. Show me Elshar Zheiea.¡± Healers, mostly Ishah, walked stumbling people around, and some had a crowd of people walking with ¡®em. Others cowered as passerby went past with worried looks. So, anyone who wants visitors has ¡®em. Most of them looked happy. Healers sat in marshes bathing folks. Others sat in yellow sand nearby doing simple activities with their healers. Flowers grew everywhere! I saw many kinds Fhiah had, and some Earth varieties already! A holo of Trader Eng came up. ¡°My liege, I am happy to serve you!¡± He got up and bowed. I returned it. ¡°You are looking well, Eng! How is your trading?¡± He laughed. ¡°My trading is well, thank you! Mostly, I trade for slaves for your healers. Today we had six large ships here in Ferrimos! As they come, we port healers to the ships, and port ones who are not fearful to the colony of their choice. Those who are remain on their ship, and the majority on that ship determines which world they land. We seem to have the most landings of all your colonies, and our friends return to us!¡± His red-gold eyes twinkled. I reached through the holo and petted his silver curls in back. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s good¡ªit is, pardons, to see Elshar Zheiea! I know all of you are glad not to have to live in stone cubes!¡± I looked behind him at all of the little seven-sided homes, each in the family¡¯s color. Ferrimos itself had a circle of seven colored buildings, each a solid color with colorful inlaid murals of traders and diplomats, and artisans. But his healer came in and ushered him off to Rainbow. The Beltline marked the Earthan Colony. To the right was Rahn Estar Prov, which had 5 cities. Rahn Estar, Elshar Zheiea¡¯s oldest colony along with Calladia, was the largest, and the capital. Their colony is 200 years old and their mines are automated on their moon. People in Rahn Estar and Esta Faho are sickest because of the mine poisons where they came from. The five moons around Elshar Zheiea are the old mining and farming worlds that they brought with ¡®em. People moved into cities because there¡¯s only 400 or less from each world. Rahn Estar still has a shipbuilding facility and weapons factory, but workers go home every night to another world of Alb. Ferrimos borders Earth Elshar Zheiea on the west side. Other places¡ªbut those 5 cities made me feel cold. That Elshar guard who tried to attack me lives in Elshar Zheiea, in Marenalay. There¡¯s Elshar Marenalay and Zheien Marenalay. His house is in the former. He apologized, and I made him Governor Of Elshar over my Elshar colonies there. I figured I¡¯d test his loyalty by monitoring him on the trip up there, and he learned how to be a healer helper. Most Elshar guards act extra tough if they¡¯re really kind-hearted, so they can pretend to be cruel and really do healing. Other slaves clued me in with their leaky telepathy. ¡°Asha, how are you today?¡± He bowed low. ¡°Queen Molly, I visited all the councils and sent holos to others. Most are KhaZha. I organized traders. Artisans are happy to let traders do that for them and I didn¡¯t make them trade. Should I?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m happy to let Elshars do whatever work they like. If someone hates trading, they can choose to do something else and have a tutor to help them find it.¡± ¡°They can? I will change how I do things, immediately!¡± His eyes stayed dark. One hand pulled at his dark curls. Scars like a road map. ¡°Asha, did you see a healer? After I healed you?¡± Did I heal him? Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°I¡ªwas afraid.¡± I sent Siasch¡¯s healer clone to him, the one who stays with Ashapat. Most of my Elshars lived on Elshar Zheiea, because it looks like a pleasant Elshar Mashai. ¡°Let Siasch look at you, will you?¡± ¡°Esta ay! It is one of your rules, Master.¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing a great job, Asha! I¡¯m pleased with your work. You visit my colonies and you didn¡¯t make people trade. I like what you did. You don¡¯t have to be scared, my friend.¡± A tear got on his cheek and he swatted it. Siasch came running. ¡°Hae, Asha! Do you need healing? Molly worries.¡± He flashed me a smile. Asha nodded, then shook his head for an Elshar yes. ¡°Heal me quick! I have to tell Molly a lot of things. Every time I walk in the colony, progs run to prevent violence. How should I punish them, to discourage this?¡± I smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to punish anybody! As long as the progs keep anyone from getting hurt or yelled at, that¡¯s all we need. People will learn not to do these things.¡± ¡°Some of them are leaving! I can¡¯t stand it! They didn¡¯t learn yet!¡± He started to pull curls out and progs stopped him. ¡°Asha, they don¡¯t have to learn anything. If they want to learn, fine. But, if they don¡¯t like my colony, they can go where they want and live how they want.¡± ¡°But, you¡¯re the master! We have to obey you!¡± He sobbed. Siasch held him. ¡°Asha, I¡¯m only the master until they don¡¯t need a master any more. If they¡¯re able to ask for their freedom, I give it to them. Then they¡¯re not slaves.¡± He trembled harder. ¡°People can just ask for freedom, and you give it to them?¡± ¡°Esta ay! Do you want to be free? I¡¯ll keep paying you to work for me.¡± ¡°Esta.¡± A whisper. ¡°Then, Asha, my friend, you are free.¡± I waved, and his Alliance record already had his freed date as of last night. He stared at it. ¡°You freed me and I forgot it? Habis ha!¡± ¡°Asha, I¡¯m not mad. Siasch, show him our reminder prog. A lot of my Rainbows have memory problems, but you can use these to help you, and if you need one written for you, just ask. I know it¡¯s upsetting to forget things, but you can have healing anytime you want.¡± ¡°Even during an important meeting with you? Habis ha!¡± ¡°Even during meetings. I don¡¯t mind. I like it when my people have what they need.¡± ¡°Even leaders?¡± ¡°Especially my leaders! Who can tell me what my people need better than you? That¡¯s why I asked you to lead my Elshars, Asha, because you care about my Rainbows.¡± He stopped crying and let Siasch heal him. Fell asleep. ¡°Thanks, Molly. I¡¯ve been trying to heal him but he says you did. His record shows his last healing was a slaver healer trying to get secrets out of him. Taredias found it.¡± ¡°Please thank Taredias for me! Asha was a diplomat?¡± ¡°He was Elshar Mashai¡¯s Planetary Diplomat for a short time, but an enemy brought Ih Esta. You know what they do.¡± I shuddered. ¡°Take good care of him, Siasch. Are Verach and Pata Fie around?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, and their clones are in every one of your colonies! I¡¯ll bring them when he wakes.¡± I felt something. Ella, a new programmer, is furiously writing progs to remove poisons from Esta Fahoans¡¯ bodies. Poisons that aren¡¯t from our tech level! And someone creepy is watching her! Becky¡¯s touring Rahn Estar and an artisan leader¡¯s turning in a slaver in the last provs of Elshar Mashai. They¡¯ll bring ¡®em to Elshar Zheiea! I thought about porting there, but Millie, another of my cloned sisters, is there. She¡¯s planning a visit now. But I saw something else on Adia¡¯s Ship. Time Shift A white walrus appeared in a blue vest and top hat and wailed at a small alien! Oh, Wally, he¡¯s a Councillor. This goblin-looking green fella did metallic screeching at him. He backed away, too! Looked at an overweight Black lady with his huge purple eyes. ¡°This is your fault! Earthans are not supposed to interfere in matters of the Councils! You are primitives and do not know what is involved! This man should leave our level!¡± The green fella hugged the Black older lady and cried! ¡°I won¡¯t leave them to die! No! I will fight Rentappenen. All of you are fighting. I will prove my loyalty by fighting with you!¡± That walrus waddled closer. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you! Your people pretended loyalty, then gave the Jain weapons they were not ready to have. They destroyed themselves¡ª¡± Jain, like that place Luc¡¯vel went to and thought he was just finding animals and plants? Even the food was weapons, Pirad said. ¡°Eriganh forced us to work for Rentappenen. We gave them weapons because Eriganh told us to make weapons for them. Eriganh said we were born for masters. Rentappenen said we were slaves for masters. This lady is the first to tell me I can be free, I can choose!¡± He pointed to the older Black lady with a gnarled finger. ¡°I choose to help your new Council.¡± She smiled. ¡°Your help is fatal! We can die without you.¡± Wally held his nose up. Dromie hopped off the bed where the lady was and looked up at him. ¡°We can all live, with my help. My people¡¯s weapons are in every place Eriganh¡¯s and Rentappenen¡¯s men live. All I need to do is change them, because they are alive.¡± ¡°If you make them live, how do we know if they will help us, or interfere with Eriganh¡¯s battle? There can be no interference with that! You must wait! You can¡¯t go to Alb. Rentappenen will find you and destroy us all!¡± ¡°Then, take me with you to the 6th¡ª¡± ¡°You think they want you there? No Council will accept you. Your only option is to leave.¡± ¡°Good!¡± A young Black lady came to the bed holding a little girl. ¡°Dromie! Granny, you kept him safe for me!¡± She held out her arms, but Mom snatched her away. ¡°That thing bit me! I¡¯m not goin¡¯ near it! Granny, they have a Black city on MarKu! Imagine, an entire city full of Black people like us! All our lives, we been tryin¡¯ to live a white life! Now we can get in touch with our culture!¡± The sun sank in the sky as I watched. Huh? Pas put them on the bed. He sang something pretty and the gash on her brown skin healed up. ¡°I can do better than that!¡± Dromie grabbed her hand and her arm cracked! The younger lady tried to jerk it away, but her arm was crooked. Now it¡¯s straight. That walrus moaned. ¡°You¡¯ll bring Rentappenen¡ª¡± Pas waved, and white aandats fell on their ankles. ¡°This is an aandat. Once it places itself, you will be healthier. Most Earthans have immunity from all diseases, you heal faster from injuries, and gain telepathy.¡± Why didn¡¯t he ask? ¡°May I have one?¡± Dromie blinked his huge blue eyes at him. ¡°Ea.¡± He waved a twin-fingered hand and one also dropped on his 3-toed feet. It zipped up his shorts, and he giggled. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fast!¡± The healer lost his smile. ¡°Are you unwell, my son?¡± That walrus frowned! ¡°Do not think to heal him, Pas! You would die to touch his mind! Would you try to heal a Kajarian? He is like 20,000 of them!¡± Pas gasped and rolled his twin fingers up. ¡°Can you heal him?¡± ¡°I could, but I will not! He can destroy the 13, with a thought!¡± Thirteen galaxies. With a thought?! ¡°Well, what if I think to bring back all the galaxies my people destroyed?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that until Adia fights Eriganh!¡± ¡°Look there!¡± Dromie pointed to the big picture window in the lobby. I blinked, and our table was full. ¡°Molly, are you okay?¡± Doug held my hand. Suddenly, I was back on Adia¡¯s Ship! Kia¡¯s thoughts echoed in my mind! Through Ranh Wenh Cet, I see his slave lords. I zapped all of them who willingly helped him. I can tell! I can hear intentions! Sara¡¯s directing me, Sara who married Cevit Ion! He¡¯s Seventh Galaxy Minister, and he¡¯s helping me, too! Kia came out of a bedroom with Irdatkin, a Biehshah diplomat with mauve skin. Biehshah look like us but we can¡¯t heal ¡®em. Kia¡¯s Earthan and somehow, she can! She ran straight for the Emperor, even though most of the people on Adia¡¯s Ship didn¡¯t see him. already Kia put a hand on his head. I was scared he¡¯d get hurt but novas! His telepathy¡¯s a lot stronger than mine! He saw all the people I zapped, and he got their memories. Saw their plans. Ket, his Elshar healer, gasped and put both his hands on Ry¡¯nao¡¯s head! ¡°You can¡¯t fight Rentappenen! Pull out!¡± ¡°Get Ray,¡± he whispered. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. her SumaSumanow screams! ¡°Suma¡ª¡± a whimper. He looked towards Jen and Doug¡¯s room and Suma got up. A walrus? And a horde of surprised Thordes appeared! They felt it and stood ready to add their telepathy. waitingChristmasAttack walrusWhat? Kia¡¯s mind! I keep attacking and more replace all I felled! I sweated. killlosingsee . killIf we fall out of this portal, we¡¯re dead in space! his Helpgalaxies thisotherdid helpinghealingfriedGo To Alb Ry¡¯nao felt panicked, trying to coordinate every diplomat he has! On Rhaech, weary Kenneph, Master Diplomat Of MarKu, heard this in his Diplomatic Link. He¡¯s in a meeting with the Ulukai Council, made up of leaders of the 50 worlds. Meeting to hear his arguments about the Nutrition Treaty. Wondering where Moeh and Dachsah, the two main leaders of half of Rhaech, are. They¡¯re here!. I showed Andrisch where they were and he ported them on Adia¡¯s Ship. White Robe gave them quick justice. He showed Perach and Janmie, the two Ulukai leaders, that they now had control of Rhaech, and the other half of the worlds! Janmie stood. ¡°Ah, here is the rest of my Council, released from our prison!¡± Guards helped them walk in and take their seats. They saw the treaty and smiled. ¡°Moeh and Dachsah imprisoned them when they supported the treaty. ¡°It is time we signed it! Ronda, you helped us. Now, we have agreement and will sign. You must also sign!¡± That¡¯s Ronda, not a clone of her. All of them shook their heads for an Elshar yes. Kenneph used the ceremonial chalk and gave a long speech as he drew complicated symbols. They signed, all of them. With the signature, they activated the new Hub and new progs. They couldn¡¯t make a clone who turned out? She gave a database of Zheien healing to the Ulukai. Convinced them to change their false healing that injured people! I showed them Rentappenen and where his Collective is. On Rhaech? Ulukai mounted beasts and their armies ported to Rhaech in great numbers! They ran down into tunnels long unused from mines and found the chamber. Fought with guards. What can I do? I saw a weak spot. They¡¯re trying to get into Rhaech¡¯s info storage. Saw how to disable Rentappenen¡¯s traps and they went! Azure appeared. ¡°What can we do, Jarfus? I can pick an earlier time, but so can Rentappenen! Suma, heal them! Jarfus, protect Suma! We need¡ªI know¡ªGedda Dier has a Cube! Wake her up, Gierdre!¡± Heard her voice in the Link. ¡°We can¡¯t get down there!¡± They¡¯re on Lisbaar. Weapons are stored there in a facility deep underground. I followed it. Big guards with Ty¡¯nirrhan telepathy-- ¡°Deb!¡± She came running, and Deb took over their bodies while she directed their telepathy down to Rentappenen! Gierdre ran down there and found the right pile of red slime. An aandat with Gedda Dier¡¯s intelligence. Immediately, she came to life. ¡°We are being attacked! Now! Against Rentappenen!¡± They got everyone to run down into the biomes and let the slime wake Gedda Dier¡¯s army! This world develops weapons against Eriganh and Rentappenen! We¡¯re too early! The Final Battle takes place on the 31st, and it has to happen first! I showed Azure. That Goblin smiled. He took us back to the 19th? Wait a minute. Adia’s Battle What can I do about that? Oh. I see all of our selves from all minute to minute. I¡¯ll use all of them, from now until the 31st, in a bubble! A time bubble! Azure made it. Dromie helped her keep it! Like time stopped for some of our selves and they appeared on the 31st, and¡ªwaited. And there in the middle of it was that goblin fella! He brought weapons to life and they exploded! Rentappenen''s troops fell as he sent more. Zheien from the Zheien Colony in Burial Chambers revived and joined the battle on Lisbaar. Zheien Colony Of Lisbaar is on a new world in Alb. Some of the Burial Chambers went with ¡®em, but not these. They feared to move the dead who participated in that battle, 50 years ago. People felt relatives¡¯ minds and got sick on Lisbaar Alb! Near the end of this battle, Gedda Dier realized Eriganh planted a weapon to destroy their world. She ported the Xchou and Escet Vuan troops to ships and out of range, but too late to port hers and others. So many worlds¡ªEsta Faho has the last weapons facility off Lisbaar, created at the end of the last Council war millennia ago! Mican is trying to get poisons¡ªtwo Earthans are going to stop him and his Collective of the Black Cube Of War is under the facility, which will destroy it¡ªbut I ported the weapons to Lisbaar! I can¡¯t port Ella and Farley?! More Cubes. I showed Ry¡¯nao where their Collectives were, whose side they were on. Kesi has one? I knew her in Rainbow. Adia paled. Reached for Ryee¡¯s hand. And, Laura¡¯s. But, she made J~oie stay on the ship. They went into that yard. We all watched. Eriganh¡¯s there. He¡¯s shocked! He wasn¡¯t going to-- Adia saw him, and ported. Raised the White Cube Of Light and a white beam shot out of it. A red one from his met it in the middle. But the white slowly moved towards the red! Eriganh shook all over! He sent a shock wave towards Titan! But that¡ªRay traded for slaves from Snafanas on the 19th, and it made him furious! He tried to destroy it, but Ray stopped him. Half his Collective died! That blast went from here in this time bubble, into the past, because Rentappenen¡ªbut his Collective is dying in that battle on Rhaech! War erupted on a thousand worlds! Ben gasped and held me. Show me what to do, Love, to help you! I didn¡¯t know! He couldn¡¯t see enough of it¡ªtoo fast for a Zheien with Zbbat telepathy?! Pirad can¡¯t help me. Pinda¡¯s busy¡ªand if Rentappenen or Eriganh sees me, I¡¯m toast! I felt his mind¡ªbut that Goblin fella, Dromie, distracted him. ¡°Molly! Why aren¡¯t you on MarKu?¡± Ry¡¯nao¡¯s dismayed voice! I turned towards it. He was still lying in Ket¡¯s lap, Kia had her hands on his head, and so did Suma and Deb! Their loud thoughts suggested they didn¡¯t expect to be here, either! We¡¯d all been in my meeting on MarKu! ¡°Something is happening here behind the Embassy! Here¡¯s Vivian Dawson, live, to tell you about it!¡± People moved as a body to this side of the ship. I put my hands on the red-violet hull and felt heat! Adia was holding the White Cube Of Light high! Ryee was behind her, staring at her opponent. I felt sick! Eriganh held the Red Cube Of Fire, and red light lost ground as white light from Adia¡¯s Cube was two-thirds of the distance between them. ¡°As you can see, two people have weapons and are engaged in a struggle! I think the red side is losing. What this means for Earth, we don¡¯t know. Military vehicles and troops are rushing to Elizabeth Street, and all cars have ported away to outside Atlanta City Limits as of 1 pm! Oh!¡± A flash, and Eriganh lost hold of his Cube! It floated to the middle as Adia¡¯s Cube met it, and they fell¡ªthe Red Cube floated into Ray¡¯s hand. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. We saw it from the doorway of the one room clinic. Red and white flashes in the sky was like fireworks! Ryee fell into Laura¡¯s arms. Adia collapsed. Then a big purple flash, and it was just a pretty pink sunset. No clouds. ¡°It¡¯s over. Now can I do it? I¡¯ll prove my loyalty to all of you!¡± Another person threw purple light all over! His features and body changed constantly. ¡°I am Wslarc. Yes, you should bring all of the civilizations back that you destroyed, but not any of your people. These people are contaminated by you. They must not set foot in Alb. Go and fight Rentappenen and bring my armies against him.¡± ¡°But, it¡¯s over! He¡¯s dead!¡± Dromie spread his arms out. ¡°Do not argue with me. Bring them forth in time to help defeat them. He is hiding in the past. You can find him and destroy the Cube Of Many Colors with your weapons.¡± ¡°I tried this in 1,897 timelines¡ª¡± ¡°If you mean what you say, you will do this. Many more civilizations died in this fight, because you did not help. It is not allowed to destroy civilizations. As the last remaining of your species, you will take their penalty.¡± ¡°You won without me! Why should I die for you?¡± Dromie crossed his arms. Granny touched his shoulder. ¡°Dromie, you said you¡¯d bring them back. You gave your word. A man¡¯s word is his bond.¡± Lots of civilizations just here on Earth, and these were worlds and galaxies of people! Dromie looked at her. Nodded slowly. ¡°You don¡¯t even know ¡®em, but you love ¡®em. Okay, Granny, I¡¯ll go fight, for you, and for my family.¡± He vanished. They ported to their bed, and Pas ported us in. ¡°Oh, Molly, I wish you to heal them!¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± My hands trembled as I put them on her head. She didn¡¯t move. Her points were dark! Ryee cried. ¡°Ne, this cannot be!¡± Laura held him. She felt his points and Pas stopped her. ¡°Ne try to heal him. Molly must. If you heal, this reduces what she can give to him.¡± He wept. They¡¯re Linked, so if she dies, he will. The fact that he was talking told me she¡¯s not dead, even if she feels cold. They thought she was dead twice in those other memories. I wasn¡¯t there. I hummed, and warmth flickered in the points. There¡¯s another healer here, Harmony, who feels points outside the head. So I lifted my hands¡ªVoila! I found ¡®em. I traced shapes that were pointy. Harmony worked to make ¡®em round, so I did. Not a quick process, but it didn¡¯t take a lot of energy. I tagged Siadiasly and she came. Had her put her tentacles¡ªshe¡¯s Zbbat¡ªon Adia and Ryee. She added one on Laura¡¯s head and petted her auburn waves, like you would a cat. She calmed down. I felt it through our Healer¡¯s Link. Lots of healers, everyone on the ship, all the Ahstams in my colonies and the host on Zhea~. I hummed and brought every healer on the ship into my head. Ben helped me. He¡¯s got Eap helping him! Eap has the strongest, most skilled telepathy of any Zheien in the First, but his dad kept adding minds of his best diplomats to control it, including Peatabus, 1st Galaxy Minister and Cev, 7th Galaxy Minister. Like a super Ennead! So many minds! All following me! Don¡¯t think, just heal. Slowly, a dismal picture came into focus, all of Adia¡¯s points at once. She couldn¡¯t control the force of her White Cube, because Eriganh overloaded his Red Cube. Because Ryee attacked him and damaged him. Eriganh¡¯s secret weapon was clones of Ryee¡¯s and Adia¡¯s family, forced to fight with his Aryllans. Who projected all of the combined grief of events in Ryee¡¯s life, and his ancestors¡¯ lives. How could he get those? Eriganh recorded ¡®em as they happened. He¡¯s 300 years old. Once they moved to Ye~, he had already taken over Erigan, who was a healer and knew how to enter people¡¯s Inner Circles, where thought forms, to heal them. He tapped into Pas¡¯ Inner Circle as he healed Zheien and used that knowledge to corrupt Zheien healing, healing that Zheien eagerly taught people on Kajar to save slaves. Their slaves. All of it made me sick, but I kept going. I reached into Adia¡¯s Cube and healed the survivors. Half of ¡®em, clones of her and her family. Then I reached into Eriganh¡¯s Cube. All of those survivors were also Adia¡¯s and Ryee¡¯s family. They just wanted to make amends, somehow. Adia¡¯s clone, Ay, took the White Cube. Now she can focus some of this energy. Pas warned me not to do this, but they can help me save both of them! I kept on. Got tired fast. But, I saw futures. Their children will save the Council. Ray used the Red Cube to try to undo some of the damage. She¡¯s the new host. She defeated Satauuver and has the Blue Cube, but it¡¯s weak and she needs these people to fight Rentappenen. Ray¡¯s Collective is on Elshar Zheiea. They made a lot of others to fight Rentappenen. How¡¯s she able to do anything? Realized I¡¯m teaching her. Me, who never had a Cube? Battle No One Sees I heard their shock and fright, that I did this! Someone from a higher level has got to be helping me do this. I kept on. Slowly, they added people to both Collectives. Pirad helped me a lot. He had an army of clones of everyone on Ye~ and many of the Areonian Colony there. Lots of Areonians still on Areon decided to donate memories, and gave permission for clones. On Ye~ a new building of cubes rose, and they filled it. Here on Earth, in Antarctica hidden from Earth. It¡¯s underground! Clones filled that one, too. But, it¡¯s under attack! Again?! Azure Futura, an Earthan, is the new host of this cube. In the other future, she dove into timelines to try to find a better future for us, but it didn¡¯t work. Now she will be a Host to a Councillor on our Council, the tech level above us. Why do I know about this? She will have the Cube Of Many Colors. Her Cube is fighting for control of it and that goblin fella is helping! Shifted her Collective to the 31st! Rentappenen''s brother Seranappenen was her Councillor, but he died two weeks ago. Right now, she¡¯s directing Ray, Suma, Deb, and Kia. Ry¡¯nao¡¯s using the Gray Cube to fight Rentappenen! I can¡¯t help with that. All I can do is heal Adia. J~oie, Ryee¡¯s brother, gasped as a red-violet Cube appeared in his hand. Wslarc is his Councillor, and he¡¯s already on the Council. That¡¯s the Collective on Ye~. But every one of the 25 worlds with Rainbow Colonies has one! I won¡¯t be getting a Cube. Thank goodness! I wouldn¡¯t want the responsibility of 2500 super-clones. I kept pouring energy into Adia. She¡¯s controlling this! The White Cube is the most powerful of the Cubes. She¡¯s the only one who can do this. I¡¯m just healing her so she can! Kia¡¯s finding slavers and killing them! She¡¯s healing Biehshah and Bisillips. Pirad made a whole lot of Cubes, and all of them are attacking Rentappenen. Slowly, she woke up. Realized what was happening! I helped her reach into Ryee. Healing flowed. Once he felt her mind again, he was able to help her. I sang loudly. Those shapes rounded. Finally, I finished. Control went fully to Ay, who paled. I¡¯d hate to be her! All my clones and selves tried to work down the Diplomatic Link in all their time periods. Couldn¡¯t follow that many minds! And, one of me, the now me, is sitting with friends in a meeting on MarKu while all this crazy stuff is going on! People on the ship aren¡¯t aware of this. Except for all the Biehshah, led by Kia. And, all the half-Ty¡¯nirrhans like Greg, led by Deb! I reached, and kept reaching. Ray knew places I could reach. So did Suma. Kia. Sara. Adia! And, Azure directed us all! Rentappenen is using all his strength up. And I saw kids joining the battle! Why? The Parsons startled as a baby crawled to them, growing until I recognized 13-year-old Melinda! Two other kids grew for them. I comforted Ellie after ScSv missions in which she lost two! But four others looked familiar. Is that W~Via? Ryee and Adia¡¯s son! And their daughter Vadia! Couldn¡¯t miss that red hair! The other two must be W¡¯Vie, Laura and J~oie¡¯s son, but another one? Suddenly the time bubble collapsed! On Rhaech, Ray¡¯s Collective ported to Elshar Zheiea! On Lisbaar, Rentappenen tried to take a white portal, and it didn¡¯t work. He screamed! Gierdre¡¯s stupid father reached his chamber first and tried to shove a spear in him. Rentappenen easily parried it, but it sliced his shoulder, and a few drops of his blood smeared him as he tried again. Now neither of ¡®em can port! Pirad sent white portals for everyone. This planet¡¯s going to blow up! Rentappenen took out his anger on Gierdre¡¯s father¡ªhe¡¯s a clone, but still-- Jonnev and Kenneph were almost to the chamber. A white portal took them and their ship. Ronda, too. Gierdre¡¯s Xchou-Ty¡¯nirrhan clone¡ªthe one that woke Gedda Dier¡ªstormed the chamber. ¡°You who corrupted my husband! Betrayer of our people! Now, I shall have my revenge!¡± She lunged and shoved Gierdre¡¯s father away. Her weapon plunged into his chest. Ty¡¯nirrhans have features that are a blur of colors and features of a human body. His light slowed. Dimmed! All of it faded to show pink skin that quickly turned gray. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°You? No! I will not die by your¡ª¡± He gave a choked cry. Fell on the red floor. ¡°We are victorious! Send my troops home!¡± All over Lisbaar, panicked people rioted. Stopped to cheer! Rentappenen¡¯s followers ran! No ships that could fly. Earthquakes leveled cities! Three star systems novaed! Ships with white portals escaped. Even deep blue portals weren¡¯t fast enough. I blinked. Ben caught me. ¡°Molly! Pas!¡± Pas sang healing on me! I should have been dead, channeling all that energy, but I felt fine. Sleepy. I had links with every person on Adia¡¯s Ship. Like a laser pointer, I focused on Mom, on MarKu. Suma had progs for her to even out her neurotransmitters. I knew more than Pas, Pie, Be~saech and Jog Sa did about how to modify it. Mom¡¯s manic-depressive. The prog ran and as long as it did, she was cured! She was crying. It startled her, to suddenly be here on Adia¡¯s Ship! How?! I had Pas carry me to her room. ¡°Oh, no! Is she all right, Pas?¡± He put me in her arms. I gave a weak laugh. ¡°I just need a good night¡¯s sleep, and I¡¯ll be fine! Are you okay¡ª¡± But, she¡¯s not. I¡¯m not. We just saw all of each other¡¯s memories! I expected her to say something mean. But, she sobbed. ¡°How can I make up for all those years¡ªI did everything my mother did to me, to you! I¡¯m so sorry, but that¡¯s not ever going to be enough!¡± I held her. We clung to each other and just cried. Ben put his arms around both of us. She looked up at him. ¡°How can you touch me after what I did?!¡± ¡°Mom¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t deserve to be called that! I never did anything right!¡± She grabbed a handful of hair¡ª Ben stopped her and hummed. ¡°Mom, you were very unwell. Sometimes we make wrong choices, but Father Of All forgives all.¡± She hugged him. ¡°He does? Can He forgive me?¡± Gently, Ben stroked her long, black hair. No dye or perm in it, now. ¡°He already has. Believe you me? As King of Rainbow, I am your religious leader. I can pray with you. I know that Father Of All forgives you, and so I do. But you must begin work to forgive yourself. Wish you a blessing, Daughter?¡± After it, she sighed and hugged us both. ¡°I¡¯ll be your helper, Molly, if you want me there.¡± ¡°I do, Mom. I really do.¡± We moved to our bedroom and Mom laid down with us. Ben healed our puffy eyes and faces, and I healed his grief bruising. Mom watched. ¡°Does it hurt a lot when you cry?¡± His yellow-green eyes filled again. ¡°Eae, but relief is very much. Mom, I am delighted that you join our family!¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy to have a Zheien son!¡± On a rocky world far away, Dromie went home. I touched Wslarc¡¯s mind. Can¡¯t you let them come here? They are too dangerous. Dromie gave them abilities too powerful for Earthans. But, you may visit them. I woke up and Mom was still asleep. But, I got up and saw the red-violet walls of Adia¡¯s Ship. What¡¯s real? I ran to Adia¡¯s and Ryee¡¯s room. They were sleeping. So was Pas. Kas looked tired. I felt old. Too tired to do any healing. Group in the next room. Gave Laura and Suma a smile, which they didn¡¯t keep long. Then I went in the next room. Deb¡¯s upset. ¡°Deb, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Her green eyes poured tears. ¡°Gedda Dier!¡± ¡°I know.¡± My voice broke. ¡°Gierdre. But Ronda, Jonnev, Cornelia and Marc¡¯s clones brought Kenneph back! Salla has him back, safe on MarKu.¡± ¡°Azure?¡± Pirad sighed, a moan like fingernails on a blackboard. ¡°I tried, Kirnonos tried, and Taredias. We cannot reclone her. We saved her intelligence in a biome. It was in my lab in Antarctica. My lab is destroyed, and all of Azure¡¯s family! Rentappenen gave her too much power, for an Earthan, but we knew she could not live.¡± I really wanted to get to know her. Maybe they took her to Council level. We talked. Such a relief that we can, now! Kia helped Greg so he can remember things, and he has nice parents in Areon Ye~, not his fake slaver father! I had a ton of questions! Ryee, Adia and Rynao J~oie, he¡¯s First Prince, he came in. ¡°Friends, will all of you come to Ryee? He will ne rest until he knows all of you are safe!¡± We all got up. Deb and Greg followed first. Irdatkin kept his arms around Kia, who needed the support. Suma and Neal went, and Jarfus, and Mike and Mica. Ray and Asha came, too. Asha was pale, not his sunny yellow. We went in Ryee and Adia¡¯s room. Their two sets of clones stayed outside to fend off visitors. Still a crowd on the ship. On the red-violet bed, Ryee and Adia shared a leiwege, and on Ryee¡¯s other side, he kept an arm around Ry¡¯nao. Laura and Ket sat at the head of the bed behind them, ready to sing healing. Laura¡¯s apprehension made me a bit nervous. She felt like we were too much. The way Ryee shook, I think we were. I got up there first. ¡°¡¯Ao, how¡¯s it going?¡± He chuckled. ¡°I am happy that my brother can take care of things. My wife is waiting¡ªwhere, Molly?¡± ¡°On, Ye~. Your room will be where it always¡ª¡± ¡°No. Cev has it now. No, my brother. Which is it?¡± His eyes teared up but it wasn¡¯t Tessite crystals, just wet tears. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Peshana will be waiting.¡± I wiped his face with a white cloth. It steamed, because he¡¯s too cold. Then, looked at Kia. ¡°Kia. Because of you, I am alive. Come.¡± His hand didn¡¯t move. J~oie lifted her up, and she took his hand. His telepathy strayed. ¡°Thank you for saving me. My men. You healed so many of my¡ªdiplomats. Ryee. Is Ryee all right?¡± Ket put Ryee¡¯s limp fingers in his. ¡°O, I am well enough. Liege.¡± His voice had that high-pitched tone I got used to in Rainbow. Made me sad! ¡°Liege? No. Just ¡®Ao now. I¡¯m retired, as Laura would say.¡± ¡°A well-deserved retirement! Rest up, and soon we¡¯ll have to tie the dornas to keep you off!¡± Laura giggled. Her auburn hair was sweaty. He chuckled. ¡°Ir, are you all right?¡± He smiled, big. ¡°I married Kia! Der and many of my friends stay with me. We will go to Ye~ together!¡± ¡°Are you all right¡ªKet!¡± ¡°¡¯Ao, I can¡¯t look at her. Pirad has to¡ª¡± ¡°I will see her.¡± He put a hand on her forehead. ¡°She is healthy. I put Ty¡¯nirrhan, Chor and Dosilian in her.¡± He stayed nearby. His body¡¯s not clicking as usual. Ry¡¯nao smiled. Then looked at Suma. ¡°Are you all right, my dear? Ni.¡± They took his hands. He startled and looked at Neal¡¯s tri-fingered hand. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Oh, Doug and I are fully Ishah now. We were always half Elshar, but now we are healthier. I think I¡¯ll be Zheien next!¡± That got a smile. He looked at Deb. ¡°Are you and Greg all right? You fought so hard, all of you!¡± Greg held his hand. ¡°Oh, I should bow. I don¡¯t know which rhythm¡ª¡± ¡°My son, you are different. Don¡¯t worry about rules. I¡¯m retired. Don¡¯t have any. I like Zheien customs. I moved my house to Ye~. Yeff are my favorite people. Couldn¡¯t have a favorite, as Emperor. Now, I can think as I please.¡± He still watched Deb. She smiled. ¡°I think we will all enjoy living on Ye~. We found Greg, Briahh and Sika¡¯s parents in Bremen Ye~!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad! Are they good people?¡± Greg smiled, big. ¡°They are kind. I remember them, ¡®Ao. Father taught me to¡ªnames of flowers. And Be~a. I wanted one to fly me around, but Father was afraid I¡¯d get hurt. So he put me in a flower and swung on it so it was like flying, to a boy. Once, he lost his grip and off I went! Into the next flower! Father climbed up and cried, because he expected that I was hurt! I laughed, and he carried me down. Mother cried until she saw I wasn¡¯t bruised. We will visit, and I must remember not to use shortened words.¡± ¡°I am happy for you, Greg. You suffered so, when you couldn¡¯t remember.¡± They moved so he could speak to Ray. ¡°I was so surprised when you defeated Satauuver! Did I ask you if you were hurt?¡± ¡°I did not get hurt. Asha was worried, and healers saw him. Everyone is glad that Aryllans love to trade flowers! All the worlds of Alb have new foods that are safe, and new flowers and plants! This is for you.¡± She gave him a shriveled plant in a tiny pot that floated. Her black hair had yellow sparkles in it. Helped him lift his hand to it and a finger stroked it. ¡°Oh, a pin dat shea? Thank you, Ray! I wanted one for years.¡± ¡°This one knows you should not share memories yet. She will listen. We gave her lots of love, and Bess picked her out for you. She was on Earth, hidden in a magnolia seed.¡± ¡°In a magnolia? I did not know Earth had pin dat shea.¡± ¡°I think Pirad did it.¡± Ray shrugged. ¡°Llsam had one and went to Earth, but he died there. ¡°Now we know this pin dat shea heard Bess and woke up, and taught her plants to grow big. Plant her in your garden, and all of your plants will also grow big. Bess has others to help her, because there are many on Aryll and Abyll.¡± Bess married the 1st prince of Aryll. Wish I¡¯d met them! Ry¡¯nao smiled. ¡°Imagine that! I miss Llsam. Maybe this baby stored his memories, Pirad. Asha¡ª¡± His eyes closed. Asha took his hand and stroked it. ¡°O, he is weary. Perhaps we should-¡± He started to let go. ¡°Cev! I can¡¯t last!¡± He looked up and Asha stroked the hand that clinched his. ¡°Oh, sorry. Dreams.¡± Tears jumped in my eyes, to see him in this shape! Not even in Rainbow-- Cevit Ion ran in and took his other hand over Ryee. ¡°Are you well, ¡®Ao?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not well. I mistook Asha¡¯s hand¡ª¡± He sobbed. ¡°Should I take you to your chamber?¡± ¡°My ship. I want to go home!¡± Ket got up. ¡°We can use a white portal and arrive in an hour.¡± ¡°Dear friend, will travel so soon frighten him?¡± Cev had black eyes. ¡°No. I think he¡¯ll rest better knowing he¡¯s leaving.¡± Ryee watched them port with tears in his golden eyes. ¡°Wanna go with ¡®em?¡± I stroked his dark curls. ¡°I wish to go home¡ªo, friends. Let us speak first. Ea. Ba, ne let me forget¡ª¡± ¡°Ryee, you asked for these friends, but Ry¡¯nao wished to speak first.¡± ¡°Ay! Are you well? I can ne¡ª¡± ¡°Love, I am beside you. Feel you my hand?¡± He pulled, then startled. Felt it. Five fingers. Not the Zheien twin fingers or the deep orange skin I got used to seeing! ¡°O, were you unwell, Love, to wake so?¡± She sighed. ¡°I have fewer pains. Pirad made me Elshar, if you can bear¡ª¡± Love, your hands are well for me. You sound as if is a trial, to hold your gentle hand. She is cool on me.¡± He held it against his face and closed his eyes. ¡°O, ne sleep. Jo.¡± Ryees Kids Ryee startled. ¡°Deb.¡± She rubbed his hand. ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°Viad.¡± ¡°Oh, let me go get him! Pirad grew him a bit, so he¡¯s on solid food. He can eat FFbah now.¡± She ran out. Ryee cried, and Adia cried. I felt awful! They had to leave their kid to go fight intergalactic war? But she ran a baby to them. Dark curls, a full head of hair. And he opened blue eyes. Smiled. Maybe Zheien babies smile earlier. Adia stopped crying. She helped him feel of one shoulder, then the other. ¡°See, his shoulders are fine. What?¡± ¡°How long before we must lose him? O, Father Of All, help us!¡±¡¯ His anguished face got me. ¡°Ryee, he¡¯s healthy.¡± ¡°Healthy? But, shoulder or heart¡ª¡± Laura held his head. ¡°Buddy, Pirad fixed the Yeff. No more heart defects. No more shoulder defects. Feel that?¡± She slid her fingers around his right shoulder and pressed. He opened his orange eyes wide. ¡°Ne pain? You pressed, and I have ne pains? My bae is well?¡± He looked at Deb, who nodded. ¡°Yes, Viad is healthy! He¡¯ll live as long as you!¡± Her green eyes filled. Ryee missed it. Then Kia spoke up. ¡°Where did the kids go?¡± I startled. ¡°You saw ¡®em, too? Pinda was with the Parsons! Where¡¯d he go?¡± The couple came in with that teen girl, a young girl about 6, and a little boy about 3. He giggled. ¡°Ark-ogist! Dad!¡± He chuckled and picked him up. ¡°That¡¯s right, Junior. You¡¯re my junior archaeologist!¡± The teen, Melinda, gasped. ¡°I did a wish ceremony, when I was 9.¡± And, that dog-man came in. ¡°Pinda, did you hear my wish ceremony?¡± He folded his arms. ¡°I hear everything, Melinda. I can¡¯t stop. And I told Pirad, I can wake bones! I taught Molly and Kia. This is for you.¡± Melinda gasped. Pinda gave her a tiny symbol on a string. It sparkled in rainbows. He waved, and she wore it, with a huge smile. Her mother shook her head. ¡°Pinda, you can¡¯t give her that! We should show it to Cerict¡ª¡± ¡°But it has all her wishes. She did the wish ceremony, it is my Gift to her. Cerict did not wish.¡± He folded his arms. Looked at Adia. ¡°But you did. Quit hiding!¡± A boy giggle startled me. He tried to run out from behind Adia and Ryee¡¯s leiwege and Pinda caught him. Tickled him. ¡°You like to play, but it¡¯s time for you to see Mama. And Fa.¡± He carried him to the portal and J~oie and Laura ran in here, in their formals. Laura saw him and paled! J~oie hummed and pulled her against him but held out a trembling hand for W¡¯Vie. He ran to them. No knobby joints like I remembered! ¡°Uht oh, I think I did the bad thing! Mama, are you okay? I should¡¯ve¡ªPinda!¡± He had green eyes. Laura took his hand and ran hers down his arm. ¡°Mama, I¡¯m healthy this time. Don¡¯t worry, Unc¡¯ Ryee, Aunt Adia.¡± Pinda came back through the portal with two kids, one on each arm, the ones who helped fight Rentappenen with W¡¯Vie. Adia gasped and cried. He leapt onto the bed like a cat. The boy gave a formal bow on the bed, frowned, then waved his DS red off and had a red-violet tunic and pants. Then he hugged his dad and his baby brother. W~Via looks just like his dad! The girl, Vadia, wore a red-violet dress, and she hugged her mama. ¡°O, I should be younger.¡± She shrank down from about 12 to smaller than W~Via. Both her parents cried. ¡°I will not take them! They¡¯re yours. I just brought them.¡± Laura still sobbed. ¡°Did you take him away the first time?¡± She hugged her son tighter. He giggled. Pinda sniffed. ¡°Some of us Councillors have sense! Oeket took Kieta for a Councillor, and she thought it was okay to take your baby and we Laruu thought that was a terrible idea! But now he¡¯s just a boy with a Gift. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. W~Via stood up. Sighed, and it rumbled on us. ¡°You made me 9. My parents missed my growing.¡± He rubbed an eye, then licked a finger and rubbed his pointy ears. ¡°I like her idea. She can be 6. But both of you must stay these ages, and you, too, W¡¯Vie. You stay 4. I don¡¯t think any of us can handle you being older right now.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t get stuck at 9, will I?¡± W¡¯Vie looked scared. I remember from Rainbow, he stayed 9 for years! Pinda laughed. ¡°None of you are stuck, but you will use up your Gifts, changing your ages! A Yeff in an orange tunic and pants ran in. ¡°Melinda! O, Ellie and Vern! Will you join my Science Council on Ye~? All three of you?¡± They looked a bit confused. Vern laughed. ¡°I¡¯d love that! But we haven¡¯t been anyplace but Earth. I didn¡¯t go to college--¡± ¡°Your research is in your memories of the other future. I will ne send you to other worlds, to die! Please, come to Ye~?¡± ¡°We loved Ye~, in Rainbow¡ª¡± ¡°And, I can be on the Science Council at 13? But, I haven¡¯t studied anything! I¡ªnever went to school?¡± Melinda put a hand over her face! ¡°We homeschooled you! You learned everything I taught you, and a lot that I never taught you! I was shocked when I saw you pretending to be a penchalant on Ashe Moriant!¡± Oesha paled, and Pinda caught him! ¡°I protected her! She¡¯s got a Gift, she¡¯s too important to be hurt by stupid Elshars! I will not let a slaver stay here.¡± He frowned towards the room outside and a man¡¯s scream and a blue flash startled me! ¡°Stupid Heden, his clones are like cockroaches!¡± Melinda laughed, then covered her mouth. ¡°You can laugh. I sent him to Garat, to be judged.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Garat?¡± A holo played of two men. Pirad and Garat, that argument they had when Opseh Wenh Cet attacked. I laughed until I cried! Oh, he¡¯s on the Alb Council now? W~Via just looked worried. ¡°Eja fe ne! Did Garat have healing, after this? A Bisillip can damage a Biehshah¡ª¡± ¡°I healed ¡®em! But Garat¡¯s an Elder. He can heal himself if he needs it. He¡¯s got Ty¡¯nirrhan bones¡ª¡± Garat¡¯s holo came up. ¡°How dare you reveal what is in me, unseen! You broke the Secrecy Laws!¡± W~Via fell against his father. I pointed to him. ¡°See how pale he is? You want to kill Ye~¡¯s next king?¡± Garat gasped and jumped into the lowest bow I ever saw an Elder give! ¡°Oh, let me die where I crouch, if I cause the death of a Councillor!¡± W~Via put his hand on Garat¡¯s left knee. Then his tiny elbow in his right eye. ¡°This body ne reaches enough!¡± His orange eyes opened past wide and rumbles shook the bed. But Garat hugged him. Waved up a jeweled terminal and tried to put it in his hand. ¡°You must ne give me that! I will accept ne apologies, because I showed upset.¡± ¡°I overreacted. I am sorry! Why do I do that?¡± ¡°Because Rentappenen hit you. Pirad tried to heal that, and you angered with him, because you were injured. Pinda can heal it, if you let him.¡± W~Via smiled. ¡°Pinda? Really?¡± He plopped his hand on his left hip with his elbow pointing outwards. Never saw that gesture! They have hundreds. But Pinda laughed. He rubbed Garat¡¯s head. ¡°Oh, you love Siafar, but she doesn¡¯t want to wait 20 years. Will you get your lawyer to file an Exception, for her?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that, I¡¯ll lose my position¡ª¡± ¡°Do you really enjoy filing Grievances all the day long? Seeing the unhappy faces of everyone who loses their cases? No one sees how you cry at night, but me. Uiano wishes to change things. Don¡¯t you want to let him, after all?¡± He got a dreamy expression. ¡°Siafar, who pulls the stars down as dew on the nanoforsans! No one can argue a case better than her, she who walks with firmness, she who commands stars! Yes, Uiano will succeed me on the Alb Council! It is time I cease my arguments.¡± His holo vanished. Pirad came in, chest heaving. ¡°Garat left his position as Minister! You did this! How?¡± Pinda laughed. ¡°You Bisillips are so silly when you are in love!¡± ¡°He is in love? But he hates lovers!¡± ¡°Not anymore. I healed him. He let me.¡± Pinda folded his arms. ¡°Listen to Pirad and Leticia, how happy they are! Kirnonos taught you all to be foolish, but Pirad will teach you how to be wise.¡± With a pop, Pirad clicked his face into that smug expression. ¡°Pinda, you are a miracle! I hope you stay with us on this Council a long time.¡± ¡°Oh, I will stay as long as Parsons have children.¡± Ellie and Vern gasped. But, images of their children growing up and having lots more kids, and they had kids, and like two mirrors facing each other, the kids just went on. Then, like a holo, the vision faded. Pirad grabbed Pinda¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Do not do that again! Will you kill yourself?¡± ¡°But, you wanted to see how long I will stay, and¡ªI don¡¯t know! Should I?¡± ¡°No, my friend. You should wait for the future to happen! Lie on that bed and sleep!¡± He climbed up by Adia and fell on his face. ¡°I¡¯m not tired.¡± Snores. W~Via waved up a bowl of ea fae. They all gave him a massage. Ryee watched his son with a frown of worry. ¡°This is a diplomat¡¯s healing, Fa. You taught me this is well, for a boy, ea, Fa?¡± Then he smiled. ¡°Ea, I did tell you that. O, Ay!¡± Then, he frowned. Looked around the room, at diplomats¡¯ sashes on the walls, odd pieces of metal, and all sorts of things on shelves or hanging. Pirad put a hand on Ryee¡¯s forehead. ¡°Pinda did this, but I cannot explain it. He is very impulsive. And now, we have an entire world¡ªworlds? A Laruu galaxy? And, there is an Imwa galaxy, too? How can Ry¡¯nao rule over 15 galaxies? This is terrible! I must tell him!¡± He ran out. Councillor Talk Kia laughed, and Ir just stared at her, brown eyes past wide. ¡°A galaxy. An entire galaxy of Pinda people!¡± He got this dreamy smile. ¡°And, an entire galaxy of Imwa! But that means¡ª¡± He paled. Ryonne~ startled. ¡°Ir, what is?¡± ¡°If the Laruu and the Imwa have galaxies on our level, it can only mean one thing. Wally lost his place on the 5th! Oh, such a sacrifice! Wally did this for us. For you, Kia, for your people, he did this!¡± Wally waddled in. ¡°Suma did it. I met her and saw her love for Ni¡¯olmai, an Elshar! I thought they were all selfish fools, like Heden, Girfir, Dirin, and all of their sons. ¡°It wasn¡¯t until I saw Suma¡¯s devotion to this Elshar, this alien, and a malformed one at that, I decided to stop helping Rentappenen. ¡°But you Earthans have a saying. Give a fool enough rope and he¡¯ll hang himself. Rentappenen created a Cube that could change timelines. Well, he wasn¡¯t satisfied. He kept changing them. I just waited for the right one and saw what Pirad was doing. Wally wasn''t his cheery self. "This is our punishment, to repair the damage we helped Rentappenen cause. But, when we all came together and decided the only way to defeat him was to go back to the levels we came from in the past, we discovered Pirad and Kirnonos'' plans. "Things will never be as they were, orderly and planned. The unpredictability of a world full of Earthans with Gifts is what defeated him, more than Kirnonos and Pirad''s extra Cubes. For the first time in known history, people with Gifts grew Collectives and Cubes! "The 6th Council expelled all the members of every Council below it, because yes, we broke their rules, but they blamed us for giving a primitive world, Earth, tech it was never to have. Pinda, it''s your fault that all of us are now in Alb to stay. You gave them all those Gifts!" Pinda laughed. "Do you think I didn''t know this would happen? Yes, I broke the rule upon which all the others are based. But, didn''t you say people rose too fast for healthy Councils? I say to you, this created the weakness that allowed a monster like Rentappenen to try to conquer Levels. All the Councils will learn from this and prevent anyone from doing this again. It may be my fault for giving Earthans Gifts, but it''s your fault for convincing the 5th to secretly follow Rentappenen in the first place." Wslarc sighed, and it rumbled on us. "No Council is perfect, and no member of it is. We form collective minds from vast groups of species and try to get all of them to agree. But, with every disagreement, we learn after it is resolved. Friends, it is not helpful to blame one another. What is done is there for us to learn. Every rise and every fall is valid, because all the levels study what happened, and improve methods. "We are here, and what an opportunity, to prepare so many races to rise, to fill the empty Councils and levels! We have time, now that the Cube Of Many Colors is destroyed. I think all the levels learned, there are some Cubes that should never be created. Perhaps we will never see another mistake like Rentappenen. Where did he get the ability to see other timelines?" Pirad, Kirnonos and Taredias appeared in a flash of light. Kirnonos stepped forward, and his angular features set him apart. "Brother, the Lerk had contamination from the 23rd, from when their Erkanen rose. Eriganh''s grandfather married Erkanen''s daughter. I gave T''blere a Cube that every time he used it, a generation vanished. He prevented Erkanen''s birth, and all the mess between the Lerk and the Jain." Wally gasped. "You brought the Jain back?" "I am not stupid! There is one group of scientists there who felt the Lerk weapons were too dangerous for anyone. They destroyed all of them, the plans for them, and even the history mentioning them! ¡°Lerk is back, but without the people who started the contamination there! The peaceful factions remain, and they are here in Alb. Jain is here and all of their contamination is cleansed. Elshar is also here. The remaining provs want to live peacefully." Kirnonos nodded. He didn¡¯t get smugface like Pirad. Pinda frowned. ¡°Did you forget the Councillor who now calls himself Dromie? He did more damage with his people than all the Padrisa¡¯s other civilizations! When he brought them back, he didn¡¯t choose. We are fortunate most of them fought Rentappenen! Wslarc exiled him so he can¡¯t bring his people back. That would undo all our work! ¡°And, I convinced Jarfus to sacrifice himself. He was tired of watching his people die because Mairans wanted more furs and got better at killing us. We were at risk of losing our eyes on the Thordes! But, I told jarfus, he needed to pick a Thordes Elder. He died to give his Gift to Mike. Now, look at all the Thordes Elders! Every jeia has one. I think that was worth dying for, wasn¡¯t it, Jarfus?¡± Wally looked towards the wallportal. He waddled in. Mike and Mica rode on his back. ¡°I like your idea, Wally. Now I have all the Thordes as my friends, they have Elders, and they helped us defeat Rentappenen today!¡± Mike startled. ¡°But, my people didn¡¯t know¡ªhe¡¯s defeated?¡± ¡°Yes! You got Elders! The strain of creating Elders pushed Rentappenen¡¯s Cube to its limits! You did what Bisillipia did on the 3rd! They created Elders, then they cloned Elders, then they made a new species and moved Elders to Biehshah! The Council can¡¯t take Elders back. Once a title, always a title!¡± I smiled and took Mike¡¯s hand. Petted Jarfus. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that was the plan, I just wanted¡ªfelt like that was the right thing to do, name Elders.¡± ¡°You created our army! I¡¯m so proud of you, Molly! Now you will heal our army!¡± Lost my smile. ¡°We need an army? But, the War¡¯s over!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Why do you think we need the New Healing? We must keep our army healed to protect what we have! There has always been peace, and there has always been war. There must be balance in the force!¡± He changed into Obi-Wan Kenobi and brandished a blue light saber. Then went back to his walrus form. I frowned. ¡°Star Wars is true?¡± Wally laughed. ¡°No! Think of war as a force. Now, think of peace as a force. War happens when people can¡¯t talk it out. But, peace is also a force. Peace comes when people talk it out and compromise.¡± ¡°But, diplomats don¡¯t force people into treaties!¡± ¡°No, but if rulers know what¡¯s good for them, they think about the alternatives. Starvation is a force. When diplomats balance trade for a treaty, they try to think of things both sides need because needs are something all species have in common. ¡°Every civilization has needs to keep their people living. Trade is also a force. So is the fight to keep all people living at the same time without killing others. Peace is a fight, a struggle, don¡¯t you see? Peace is a force. It is a fight of ideas, not weapons. When ideas can solve a struggle so it doesn¡¯t evolve into a war, there is peace. ¡°But war always waits because there will always be selfish men, who favor one group above another. Tech is never enough. There is always higher tech, and the struggle to create more of it. The only way to create true peace, is to decide that all of your people must have choices in their destinies. ¡°Look at the Zheien. Everyone makes war on them, but they never made war on anyone. They agreed to live peacefully, no matter how many disagreements they have on their Councils, from a council that serves a city all the way up to the Council Of Zheiea. Even the Aryllans could not do that! Or, the Zbbat or the Esteerrians. ¡°They are like the Laruu and the Lerk, and before them, the Chor. They could have left a Chor civilization, but no, they created Elshars.¡± He shook his head. Ryonne~ frowned. ¡°There are many well accomplishments of Elshars¡ª¡± ¡°Look at how the Mashai took over because they were jealous of the Artisans and how much trade they were making! They didn¡¯t even consider, when Elshar prospered, so did they.¡± ¡°Wally, I think Elshar is more complicated than¡ª¡± ¡°Complicated! Complicated? One Elder was an ambitious, selfish man. Heden. He corrupted their entire civilization! We were there. We watched it happen! He corrupted healing herbs to create slaver herbs.¡± Ryonne~ shook all over and Laura crawled up on the bed. ¡°Wally, I think we need to stop¡ª¡± ¡°You think I can¡¯t heal him? We¡¯re healers, now!¡± Wally touched him with a flipper and yellow light lit up the room. He still shook. Wally looked surprised. Pinda woke up. ¡°Hm! You upset him. Leave.¡± He pointed to the portal. ¡°Me? I was just teaching him history¡ª¡± ¡°History is just opinions, Wally. Didn¡¯t you learn? Go.¡± He straightened his top hat. ¡°If you don¡¯t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it!¡± Wally waddled out. Pinda hugged Ryonne~, who sighed. ¡°I think I offended him.¡± ¡°No, my friend. Wally is very opinionated. I like him, but we are not doomed, if we repeat history. Everyone knows, history repeats. Worlds change, but the same sequence of events happens. ¡°Historians argue with their opinions, but there is a cycle to civilizations. And that is why we have a Council, my friend. Every Council has opinions, but we talk, and we usually work it out. Every level has a Council. There are rules, and order, even though at times, things will get out of hand. Don¡¯t think too much, Ryonne~. It¡¯s time for us to go home, like Ry¡¯nao wants. Go talk to us.¡± He waved for Ryee¡¯s formals and set him on his feet. Laura frowned. ¡°He needs to rest.¡± I smiled. ¡°He can rest after he speaks. That¡¯s what kings do, right, Pinda?¡± He smiled at me. Then at Miranda¡¯s astonished parents. Miranda hugged Pinda. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re staying with us!¡± ¡°Well, I gave myself to your dad! Maybe I can get one of my people to come stay with Ryee¡¯s family. Would you like that, Ryee?¡± He smiled, too. ¡°If they are ne sad to leave Laruushan. He is far beautiful.¡± ¡°We take beauty every new place we visit. I think you might enjoy a philosopher. Kipar is lonely. He got hurt in the War and he can¡¯t get healing. Your people are healing. He has one Gift left.¡± ¡°Dear friend, your civilization needs your Gifts! You used them all¡ª¡± Pinda rubbed his temples. ¡°You wish to speak to your people, then you will rest. How eager they are, to hear you speak! Then you may teach your children to eat.¡± ¡°I can do that, while he speaks! C¡¯mon, kidlets¡ª¡± ¡°You must not, or I cannot help him!¡± He spoke to W~Via. ¡°Sit with them and do not take too much energy from them.¡± What? Laura paled! He nodded, and his dark curls, so like his father¡¯s, bounced. Gently, he took W¡¯Vie¡¯s hand and Vadia¡¯s. W¡¯Vie quit fidgeting and walked with ¡®em, watching W~Via. Laura¡¯s mouth dropped open! She pulled at an auburn curl. Ryee only spoke for a couple minutes, but it comforted all his diplomats. Ryee spoke first. ¡°I wished to speak with all of you before you left. Molly, please come.¡± I went to him in the middle of the huge ship. Bowed low, and he returned it. ¡°I wish to thank you for our healing! Because you taught Pirad much, he could wake all our dead in Burial Chambers! All of Ye~ are grateful to you, and I wish to present you this medallion, which J~oie carved this morning. He is a miracle operative, to produce such fine work on short notice! J~oie, will you give her?¡± J~oie had to bend down to give me the carved disk, like a giant coin in red-violet, their family color. I¡¯m so short! A coin a foot across! It¡¯s eaezhfee, the same stuff the ship¡¯s made of, with colors they get from heating it. Beautiful work! It had a portrait of me smiling, and color portraits in rings around me showing Ryee, Adia, J~oie and Laura, then all of their family members including Vonn, Tan and Sara¡¯s and Derees¡¯ kids, the Pedersens, and the Blacks and Wrights! Even Goe and his family and Kia, Suma, Deb, and Bess, the one who gave the Aryllans magnolia seeds from her yard. They saved all the Aryllan worlds. I¡¯m glad they¡¯re like Zheien again. ¡°Oh, thanks, J~oie! I will treasure this always!¡± Ry’nao’s Advice I fell asleep on the ride home, but Ben held me. We followed everyone out. Los Fa ran to me. ¡°Molly, Ry¡¯nao needs you! Can you port to Ye~?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± I was still worried about him. Angel stopped running towards us and walked off. Oh, no! Fa and Mea gave a knowing look, then ran after her. Good. Ben waved a white portal to get us there fast! We giggled as we shot to Ye~ and stumbled out. We stood in V¡¯chsan Ye~. Little gray stone domes with bright flowers all around. Each dome had a big arch, open. That¡¯s diff. Jal Fa Sai ran to us. ¡°Oh, my friends! Please, come this way. He startles easily. It¡¯s not far.¡± With a giggle, Ben snatched me up and ran after him. ¡°Oh, Ben, I love you!¡± Ben smiled, big. ¡°Cesarae, I love our life together!¡± His neon green eyes sparkled. Jal Fa Sai chuckled as we reached the end of this sand street. ¡°Young love is wonderful. I feel it also because Pirad revived my wife. Later I will bring her. Let us come quietly.¡± ¡°Quietly, Sai?¡± ¡®Ao laughed from the bed. We walked in the open arch. His wife held him, but glared at Ilios, who sat on the other side in a chair. Iona sat with him. There were chairs all around the round bed, much smaller than a Zheien bed. Xchou only have a setup like this when someone¡¯s too sick to lie on the floor. Ben taught me a lot! But the fact that Ilios wasn¡¯t on the bed got me. He¡¯s crying. Had a death grip on Iona¡¯s hand. How would I feel if I went crazy and killed a lot of people? But I did kill a lot of people in that battle. All that guilt hit me at once. ¡®Ao noticed. ¡°Molly, come.¡± His hand lifted a bit. I got up there. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Child?¡± "I killed people! I''m a healer, I''m not supposed to¡ª" I just blurted it out. Sobbed! He¡¯s sick, he doesn¡¯t need this! Ry''nao tried to reach, and Ket helped him hug me. I laid my head on his chest. Too exhausted to cry any more. "Molly, we just fought a war and won. For every slaver you killed, you saved a galaxy. Civilizations, Molly, that would have gone extinct. Your Cube found them." "Cube? I don''t have--" But I found minds. Most of ''em were kings of MarKu all the way back to their founding! All of Ryee''s ancestors had clones there, too! They told me, You are MarKu''s Councillor. We landed on Alb Seer, and Wslarc ran to us. "Ry''nao, you should have let her rest before you told her. I will go to Ea~, since you also worry for them." ¡®Ao cried. Pinda shoved Wslarc. "Knowing this will give her strength. Many of these new Councillors didn''t know that they were. Pirad''s plan worked, to use his clones to find people with Gifts, people whose love could power Cubes. Once they have clones again and replenish--" You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. I held up my hands. "Wait a min! So, what are Councillors supposed to do?" Pinda, Wally, and Ry''nao laughed. They looked at Wslarc. "You know there is confusion over the duties of Elders. Councillors are much the same. If there is a threat, do something to stop it! Otherwise, use your Gifts to help others." "I guess I can handle that!" I thought about Ray after she defeated Rentappenen. Sometimes she could heal someone no one else could, but mostly, she had an idea here and there and would run over and surprise people. Solved a lot of problems for Pirad and other people doing great things for Rainbow. Yep, I can do that. I don''t have to understand all his higher level stuff, to just heal people. And, maybe, because I killed people in a war, I don¡¯t have to feel that guilty. I didn¡¯t enjoy it. Won¡¯t do it again. To save galaxies, that was worth it. Then, we met with the Alb Council, and all my Rainbows are healing a lot of people. It dawned on me that all those clones of me Pirad made act like members of my Collective, because my Collective is powering their healing. We''re doing the miracle work that we did in the old Rainbow, just with a lot of Rainbows! My cube has a diff rainbow color on each of the 6 faces. It combines all the primary functions marked by each color. Huh. Every world, even Elshar Zheiea, released everyone from Rainbow, and they can go home now. Not one died. I went to Goes'' ship. On it was King Herda, Goes and his bae with their wives, and MarKu Council. They all bowed low. I didn''t expect that! Herda stayed low, and his brown eyes studied me. "What will you have us do, Councillor Molly?" I smiled. "Friends, unless we find out there''s another bad guy like Rentappenen, it''s business as usual! Councillors are like Elders. Our duty is basically to be ready to protect our territory against a threat. And help our people rise to the next level. That''s not going to happen as fast as it has in the past. "All of us just need to take care of our people. We already know how to do that, don''t we? Rise and be comfortable!" They quit looking scared, and their happiness tingled on me. Goes laughed and looked at Herda. "Ah, we are yet learners in this also, but we friends help one another well." Clicking stopped beneath us. "Shall we all go to Council, then, and see which problems we can solve today?" We walked through the orange sand of Fig. Children played. The festival was still going on. Scientists and artists demonstrated work. A baker offered a tray and all of our huge group found faves to munch as we walked. People bowed and mentioned problems. For every one, something popped into my head for ''em to try. Traders dickered. We went into the green building, to the huge Council Chamber that was indigo blue. Each of the nine couples had an urgent concern that I solved right then. I worried that I''d run out of solutions! But the meeting didn''t need to go long. I bowed to King Herda. "Eae yeo, Councillor Molly! I decided, and my Council approved, that I shall become Elder King and Ait will be Elder Queen. See your new king, Goes, King Of MarKu, and your new queen, Shannon, Queen Of MarKu!" Everyone''s happiness tingled on me! But there were rumbles of sadness, too. They expected Goes and Penny. In their chamber, Goes'' sadness rumbled on me. His parents are there with him, and they are sad, too. On his bed are the nine couples of the Council, and all of them had to let their clones run the kingdom. I started to walk in the open doors, but Ben scooped me up. "Is time for you to follow Rule Number One!" I laughed. We went to our room, and I felt overwhelmed by all that happened. But, I have time to think. I have an army of clones with my skills. I have friends to help me. Most of all, I have Ben. I hugged my husband and let him feel all my gratitude for him, my pride in ideas he had that solved Council problems, and my love. Ben felt the same about me. Suma encouraged us to share the negative stuff, too. I let all my worries out, fear that I wouldn''t know an answer, or they''d take my Cube away because I offended someone, or that I''d suddenly get so mentally ill that I couldn''t do it anymore! Ben worried that it was too much for me, that I wouldn''t be able to keep this up if I didn''t spend more time with family and friends. My poor hubby was terrified I¡¯d die helping in the Battle Of The Cubes! "You''re right. This time, I''m going to set aside time every day and make more of an effort to take care of my loved ones." I kissed his forehead. As he kissed mine, he gave convincing arguments, that I needed to promise to let him and them take care of me more. Tomorrow we made plans to stay with his family in Lut¡¯s Chambers. I offered to go tonight, but Fa dared us to port. Sylvania pressed herself between us, purring. So many nights of her life, my tears wet her silky white fur. The feel of her and my husband, the soft bed, and the comfort of Ben''s mind all brought happy tears. The longing for acceptance and something to trust in my life wasn''t strong. This life is new, but it''s filled with hope and healing.