Biehshah trees are not like Earth trees. A lot more variety in colors, especially in the trunks, and textures. Seasons differ on Biehshah: there are 6. Four roughly correspond to Earthan seasons, though Biehshah trees have different leaves and are both taller and shorter than Earthan trees. The other two seasons are like they were in Rainbow: cool and warm. In the cool season, variety of flowers isn¡¯t as much. In the warm season, there¡¯s a warm breeze scented with flowers, because there are so many, and all different kinds. Our garden had scents in succession on each breeze, sweet, spicy, sour, bitter, and savory. Some were awful. But none of them lasted more than a second.
In the center of the Leheren garden was a beautifully-carved table with tiles that told the story of our love. Scenes of that horrible place, where Ir got hurt but signed a treaty to save millions of lives.
Noka, Ir¡¯s best friend, painted the tiles. ¡°Adia, Queen Of Ye~, showed me my future. I saw how Kia saved Jot because Tenadu showed me. I felt Kia¡¯s healing on Adia`s Ship when her Gift became active.¡± His yellow eyes sparkled. Like Ir, he had silver hair, but waves of curls to his collar. All of them wore green, sparkly robes like Pirad¡¯s, except traders wore blue traders¡¯ robes over them and healers like Ten had cobalt blue robes with pins for healing achievements. Traders had pins and ribbons decorating their robes.
¡°I introduced you telepathically through my Diplomatic Link and your healing saved him despite injuries, while you sat in Rainbow.¡± Noka¡¯s yellow eyes opened wide. ¡°Because of our futures and your ability, Kia, we have our wonderful colony! We are free to live as we please, with rules that allow even the most injured, the Excluded, and the most ill of all of us to live here and enjoy all that every prov of Biehshah has to offer! And we live with Zheien, the most pleasant species of the Thirteen!
¡°Because of you, Ir, Garat allowed Gen and I to remain in our positions as Stationed Diplomats Of Fhiah. Today we sat with King Thesapaura and First Prince Theapet and designed Zheien namesigns! They taught us to play Oae Pae! We can openly enjoy Zheien festivals because we moved our houses here. Because you befriended First Prince Goes, Garat cannot interfere without losing MarKuan trade! Fifth Prince Goes signed a treaty in Fhiah establishing Alb Trade with our colony.
¡°Garat married and stepped down from the Biehshah Council! We are all here to enjoy your Marriage Celebration!¡± Biehshah climbed trees and passed down transparent fruits shaped like surreal pears in pink and blue. Other shapes of fruit lined baskets in geometric patterns.
Tenadu held up a white flower. ¡°Today, let us celebrate all our marriages! Ir, recite your Courtship Petition, and we will all join in it. Some of us are opening courtships, and some will marry today. Pirad woke my wife, Susunanae, so I will also celebrate!¡± His bright blue eyes looked even larger than they were.
Ir smiled, big! Fixed his brown eyes on mine and they had golden flecks in them. ¡°Now, Cesarae, I open our Courtship!¡± His voice made bell harmonies. Biehshah around us hummed, and Bisillips clicked out rhythms. We didn¡¯t have anything like this in Rainbow!
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
¡°Our love is like sunshine, that rings bells in the sand, quiet harmonies that rise like thunder in the beat of our hearts!¡± Ir¡¯s skin rang like a bell choir as I took his hand and we did a dance that made bell harmonies in the sand¡¯s rustle. ¡°Your eyes, blue as the ocean.¡± His heart beat made bell rhythms, echoed by everyone around us!
Couples danced to the rhythms and sang.
¡°Your hand, soft as night¡¯s whispers on the breeze.¡± He tapped out rhythms on the back of my hand. I sang with them and harmonies built my orchestration.
¡°Your breath that carries the scent of flowers to my weary mind. I love you, Kia, my cesarae, my heart leans toward the path you walk, the walk that I follow, along paths of flowers that scent lingers, after you. Your voice sings, and my weary mind sings with you, songs of joy, of peace, of hope! The echoes of your songs rest in my heard, and my mind has rest in sleep of peaceful dreams.
¡°Will you walk with me in this path, the path of hopes, away from pains?¡±
I felt such emotion, I sang it! ¡°Yes, my cesarae, love of my heart, love that caresses, that binds us in ribbons of our love, I will forever remain tied in the soft ribbons as we pass through life, my love! I will walk with you, in courtship, and also in marriage, and our children shall sing with us!¡±
As I sang, my body changed, and I became a mauve-skinned Biehshah with bright blue eyes! I recloned myself Biehshah!
Ten brought a huge, white, trumpet-shaped bloom larger than his head, filled with sap. ¡°King Theaspaura negotiated Tirimna for all of us! We have five large trees of them now.¡±
We drank a Tirimna bloom, and the sweet syrup made us giggle, it was so good.
¡°Fahnaramannhaie penchu, ramannhaie senchu, perrrach, perrach, mienahamhu. Rrasthemmie fhiahchu, rrasthemmie niachu, panponpahmanie hhrrastmenu. Children, you are married. Sing, and let us share your happiness!¡± Tenadu spoke to all of us who got married.
We all sang, and it was Biehshah poetry. Then we ate all sorts of fruits, drank treat drinks for married folks, and sang together. People gave each other gifts of special candies.
Ir and I shared each other¡¯s memories. I learned things about when they sat on the Councils on the 5th Level, many thousands of years ago. Ir is 3800 years old as a Biehshah, but he is many thousands of years older as a Bisillip. We shared all of those memories.
He watched the birth of Pirad in Kirnonos¡¯ Lab. Most of Kirnonos¡¯ clones went back to Bisillipia, but Pirad and Taredias Gupa stayed to help Kirnonos. Pirad sent clones of himself to Bisillipia and to terraform worlds for a colony. Because of his work, Biehshah came to be. Llsam, a friend of his, terraformed Areon and brought Earthans to it while collecting specimens of plants and animals.
Other friends did research with Aryllan scientists. Kirnonos made Elshar friends and met with Aryllans about starting the Alliance, though he didn¡¯t participate in the final negotiations. His Elshar and Aryllan friends did.
I learned enough about Bisillipia¡¯s government to make me sick. They put all of their enemies into slavery. They refused to give up slavery, fearing loss of their power. So the government of Bisillipia, including King Nonosuan, Leader Suan¡¯s father, lost them membership in all five councils because they refused to give up slavery. Suan led all the Elders who wanted to become Biehshah here to escape slavery by the hands of his father! But, Bisillipia just did give it up because Elshar did and threatened to exclude them from the Alliance!
Ir led me home and we laid on our bed. He spouted all manner of romantic poetry, then we made love.
Before I went to sleep, I realized I didn¡¯t have birth control running. We both want children, but I didn¡¯t want to fight intergalactic war pregnant.
And, I am! All my emotions made me sick, my joy, my fears, all of my worries, everything!
Chapter 19 Tensions Rise
We went out in the festival. Gen and Noka learned to play a Zheien stringed instrument¡ªbadly. And sang along with it. Badly. Ir was too polite to laugh, and I almost did, but everyone has to start someplace.
Mama and Daddy came over. ¡°They sound like a couple of kindergarten kids! I¡ªKia, you¡¯re pink!¡± Her blue eyes studied me.
I saw myself through her. Silver hair the color of Ir¡¯s, bright blue eyes, and mauve skin lighter than VW¡¯s. I thought I looked sort of the same.
Daddy frowned. ¡°I thought something was up when they wouldn¡¯t let us come to your wedding thing last night. You got Pirad to change your species? He offered to make us Elshar when he did that recloning thing.¡±
Ir put his arms around me. ¡°Kia is special, Father. I cannot explain how this happened, but Pirad did not change her.¡±
¡°Kia¡¯s a lot of things, but she¡¯s not special! Why, I never knew anybody who tried so many jobs¡ªbut singing suits her.¡± Mama was always nice about my failures.
¡°When she sings, she heals our entire colony.¡± Der and Inana stopped plucking at an instrument and stood by Ir. ¡°She is now Biehshah Healer.¡± He waved up my record.
Mama looked up and smiled. ¡°Leader Of Biehshah Ye~ and Biehshah Healer. Wow! You got two titles, one for government and one for medical? You sure took care of me when I was sick. Are you going to learn other kinds of healing like the other healers do?¡±
¡°Uh, no, Mama. I¡¯m just a Biehshah healer. My telepathy used to give other people headaches. Ir taught me to control it.¡±
Camila tugged at my arm. ¡°Kia, you have to talk to Mexico City! All the men think the server is wrong. Our women traders make more trade than them and they are jealous!¡± Then she looked at my arm and snatched her hand away. ¡°What happened to you? Irdaktin looks like us, but you look like an alien!¡±
The festival stopped. Eanne~ startled and walked to us. ¡°Friends, what is wrong?¡± Zheien are sensitive.
I still wasn¡¯t feeling too good and all this commotion wasn¡¯t helping. My Biehshah body is a lot more affected by emotion, and now Zheien got upset, too.
Mama glared at Camila. ¡°You can¡¯t talk about my daughter that way!¡±
¡°She¡¯s my daughter, too! She brought help for my village after a mudslide killed people!¡±
¡°You stole my husband¡ª¡±
¡°And, I fixed it!¡± Uncle Chase laughed. ¡°Now, Kia has an uncle and aunt who love her, and her parents. We can still love her as a Biehshah. She¡¯s still Kia.¡±
Mama looked flustered. I felt worse by the minute. ¡°Of course, I still love my daughter, but this is more¡¯n changing her hair color to match her fella¡¯s. She changed her species!¡±
Daddy got Mama¡¯s attention. ¡°Kia¡¯s old enough to make her own decision about this¡ª¡±
¡°Did she think about how it would affect us? I don¡¯t want to learn 20 gestures to say hello!¡±
Eanne~ shook his head and his brown curls waved. ¡°Mrs. Garfield, we ne must learn many gestures to speak with Biehshah friends. As a diplomat, I know many for official speech, but only a diplomat must learn them.¡±
¡°That¡¯s just it! Every time I try to talk to my daughter, somebody¡ª¡± she glared at Camila, ¡°¡ªjust has to come up with a problem for her to solve! Doesn¡¯t anyone else work in their government?¡±
Der smiled at Camila. ¡°I will go speak to Mexico City Council. Excuse us, please.¡± He offered an arm to my now-aunt and they went with him and Inana.
Ir made me sit in the sand and put his forearm on my forehead. That helped a lot. Guess I have Biehshah needs, now.
¡°When one leads a colony, many wish to speak, and this can be difficult for our families. Please, Lady Garfield, I am sure those on Ir and Kia¡¯s Council can help while their colony is new.¡± Eanne~ bowed.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Mama looked from him to me. Nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to cause a fuss. I¡¯m okay.¡±
¡°If you have needs, please ask of us.¡± He wasn¡¯t speaking to just her.
They both sat beside us. ¡°Lady Kia, do you have enough help? I can assign diplomats to you until you do.¡±
My face burned, but it felt different than it did as a human. More burn to it. ¡°We have plenty of able-bodied helpers. I guess both of us are used to having to do everything, from the other future.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t get all this ¡®other future¡¯ jazz! I didn¡¯t see my future! Is that normal for you people?¡±
Eanne~ laughed. ¡°Ne! My daughter Adia sees futures for some people, and is ne normal for anyone in the entire Thirteen! I saw mine, and had great upset, so I think I speak for all of us who saw them. To see one¡¯s future and have years of memories is an experience filled with emotion. We know, however, that we can change certain events in them.
¡°In the future I saw, a world we visited many times, MarKu, with friends and much beauty, slavers took 70 decillion people, in a day! We had great fears that we also would be invaded, and this did happen.¡± He paled. ¡°But we moved our worlds to Alb because we had this warning. Our friends, the Biehshah, have knowledge we had ne. Now we have hope that our colonies are saved.
¡°All of we Zheien had unwells from this change, but after a few days in healers chambers, we are well again and enjoying our new homes. Our skies become familiar to us.
¡°As your daughter changed, my daughter changed, and her family is adjusting to this. If you like, Mrs. Garfield, I can introduce you to them and perhaps this helps you. She was Areonian, and they came from Earth two centuries past.¡± His golden eyes opened wide.
¡°I don¡¯t understand this at all. Why did your daughter change her species?¡±
Eanne~ shook his head. ¡°There are many things I cannot explain, for our peoples are at war with those of higher tech. My daughter¡¯s change, and your daughter¡¯s change, I think, are related to their roles in it. I cannot reveal more without jeopardizing our entire Thirteen Galaxies. Please, merely accept that your daughter must be different, and that her role is more than that of a colony leader. I cannot answer more questions for you. Merely to think of these things can bring dangers. Let us turn our minds to the festival and lighter subjects.¡±
Mama looked from him to me. People around us talked and enjoyed the festival as if we weren¡¯t sitting here. One Yeff couple started to walk up to the musician beside us, startled, and walked around us. She saw that and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try to understand. So, I shouldn¡¯t talk about bein¡¯ dead and comin¡¯ back to life, either?¡±
The king startled. ¡°Ea, I think you should ne, for now. There will be time later to discuss these things. Today we should be ready for great changes in our lives. Excuse me, I must go to my bae. Enjoy the festival!¡±
Mama hugged me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Baby. This is a lot for me to take in!¡±
I hugged her back. ¡°Me, too! I thought I wouldn¡¯t succeed at anything before Ir found me.¡±
¡°Things are better here. I feel like I¡¯m doin¡¯ what I always wanted, working as a singer! I went from job to job a lot before I married your daddy, but I had to give up my dream of auditioning for Juliard.¡±
¡°I failed my audition! Oh, Mama¡ª¡±
¡°But I think that was just nerves! Your voice is better than I ever sang in my life! C¡¯mon, let¡¯s sing the stress away!¡±
We got up and performed with some of our Biehshah. Gen and Noka actually got better as we sang.
Camila and Chase came back with Der and Inana smiling, so they handled whatever. Then they joined our chorus.
During the performance, my family tension evaporated, especially when Mama and Camila smiled at each other.
However, I felt something else that set my nerves on edge.
An Elshar near us kept dark eyes. Most of the Elshars around had light eyes. Doug and Jen¡ªshe¡¯s Elshar now? Had light eyes, but he¡¯s Ishah. Suma had the worried expression but her husband Neal¡ªhe¡¯s now Ishah, too¡ªseemed to be feeling good and sang along. They have good voices but Elshars usually do. Other Elshars, traders and artisans, also had light eyes.
That one worried me. I tried not to look like I was watching him.
Ir watched him, too, and several Security Zheien in red uniforms gathered.
He got this scared look and a red portal took him away. Red?
Ir shuddered. Red portals take one to the nearest sun. There is no escape from them. Scientists use them to port dangerous reactions or materials there for disposal. Living beings would not survive a portal that fast.
But, the Security people looked surprised, too. Zheien don¡¯t use red portals for their enemies. They did not expect that.
Then, who sent the red portal? Pirad?
He says he did not. Perhaps we have friends I do not know about. Pirad cannot detect Dosilians as you can.
I can do something Pirad can¡¯t do? Wow. Could it have been Pinda or Dromie?
No. They have other weapons, and we would not see it. Watch people. None of them except Security saw it. Zheien can hide themselves with their telepathy. We learn this in Sigan Mas, a school that is of many tech levels.
I kept feeling like I have a lot to learn, and I wished I could learn it now!
Chapter 20 Confronting The Enemy
Two Dosilians with black eyes marched towards us. I reached for Sara, Cevit Ion¡¯s wife, and they ported to us. Sara gasped and they stared at her and she at them.
Other Dosilians appeared. An army! No one but us saw them.
Some Dosilians fought with these and I dropped them! Red portals went off like fireworks.
The older Dosilian bowed. ¡°Now my enemies are gone. Thank you, Sara. We agree to fight Rentappenen. He will regret angering me.¡±
A younger Dosilian also bowed. Cevit Ion bowed to both of them. ¡°Leader Hadibah.¡±
¡°You know me?¡± They got the memory-sharing stare. Ahstam ported to us! Then he and the older one stared at each other. ¡°Father, I agree with you. Our people will help the Zheien. Cevit Ion, I would stay, but I must direct my people.¡±
They all ported.
People went about enjoying our festival as if nothing happened! Cevit Ion was white!
Ryonne~ ran towards us. ¡°Cev!¡± He grabbed him and put him in his lap and sat bathing him, before I could blink!
But Sara looked and several other men approached us. She helped me fight them off! Ir decked one, and a bunch of Biehshah ran up to fight! It shocked me that these men had stronger telepathy than my husband, who had better telepathy than some Biehshah on the council!
Ryonne~ tried to fight them with his telepathy and fell! Cevit Ion held him. ¡°They are Wesa Fen! Sara¡ª¡±
¡°It¡¯s the rainbow Tessite! I know what to do!¡±
I sang and kept her healed, but she made a containment with rainbow light in it! In the other future she had to gather it and defeat the Wesa Fen, who were slavers! We freed galaxies of slaves.
Dromie¡¯s people ported in to help! His father, the king, made one of them bow to him. ¡°You convinced my son to fight me. You then took him for your slave. Without your rainbow Tessite, you are weak. Tell your men to fight Rentappenen. Then I will release you.¡± Hundreds of the goblins moved forward behind him.
The man frowned at him. ¡°I do not trust you or your people. We will die without our rainbow Tessite to sustain us!¡±
¡°You will not die, but live normal lifetimes. Many of you feel your great age, and will die soon. Agree for your people to fight, and I will not take them as my slaves!¡±
He fell on the sand. ¡°You lie, as you always did. Dying men cannot fight.¡±
¡°You have slaves, who even now are revolting. They will fight against Rentappenen. Release them all.¡±
¡°Done.¡± All of them collapsed and died. Red portals took them away.
Healers ran for Cevit Ion and Ryonne~! But, all around Ir and I, Biehshah collapsed!
I built up my mental orchestration. Pulled Molly and a lot of healers with my mind and begged them to come! But Pirad wasn¡¯t where I could reach! One of Molly¡¯s clones came from Ea~ because Maggie, our clone of her was sleeping after a healing.
Her green eyes opened wide, like a Zheien¡¯s. ¡°What have you people been doing?¡±
Cevit Ion groaned. ¡°Wesa Fen. Hersa.¡±
A huge yellow Elshar Zheien ported here. ¡°Minister! What is your need?¡±
They got the memory-sharing stare. A purple Zheien ported here. Never saw that color! Rose pinkish purple!
Angel came and sang, and I built it faster. I can¡¯t get Pirad to help us? Ten wasn¡¯t able to help. I sang and Angel¡¯s harmony helped a lot! But the purple Zheien sang and I had energy.
This wasn¡¯t as intense as my other healings. Cevit Ion got yellower, though. He held Ryonne~, who was gray!
I held Ir who stared, brown eyes dull. Other Biehshah crawled on the purple sand to me. I tried to sing louder and the energy wasn¡¯t there. It scared me! My otherselves tried to give some, but they were all exhausted. Several died during the battle, and Rentappenen got happier. He¡¯s worried, and I felt that through Sara. Sara frightens him. I didn¡¯t think he was scared of anything!
Adia, one of her clones, ran to Ryonne~. She also looked exhausted. Both of them were yellow. They should be orange.
He pulled at her and she fell on him.
I worried about our baby. Without Pirad, I can¡¯t have him take him for protection. But, I looked down and my belly was huge! ¡°I need y0u, Deb!¡±
She ported to me and made me lie in the sand. I kept singing, but went into labor. My singing wasn¡¯t pretty, but I kept on. Oh, it hurt!
¡°You have to stop!¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
¡°If I do, my colony is dead!¡±
Deb gasped, and her blue eyes studied a display of my vitals.
Greg ported beside her and moved some things around. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about Biehshah! Briahh!¡±
His brother came and moved more things around. ¡°I lived as a Biehshah before I came to Areon to find you.¡±
¡°Areon? We never lived there!¡± Greg¡¯s green eyes went wide and he rubbed his head.
I sang louder. Baby came. Deb pulled him up and cut the cord.
Ir reached for him and helped me hold him. ¡°Our son! Oh, Kia!¡± Ir fainted but Deb held our son.
¡°He¡¯s healthy! But all of you have to sleep. We¡¯ll stay right here!¡±
¡°I can¡¯t sleep, not in the middle of a battle!¡±
¡°What battle?¡± Deb looked around. The festival was stopped, but Ahstam and his ennead sang for Ryonne~ and Cevit Ion. ¡°What happened?¡±
Molly hugged her. ¡°We can¡¯t talk about it. Just take care of Kia and her baby. I¡¯ll help them.¡±
Suma ported here, too.
Sara touched my shoulder. ¡°I can see ¡®em. Rest, Kia.¡±
¡°Where¡¯s Pirad?¡±
¡°Somebody named Bedelia¡¯s going to see him on Fhiah. His clones died, and nobody knows¡ª¡±
¡°Sara, we can nae speak of it.¡± Cevit Ion reached for her hand and she took it. Looked scared!
¡°Kia, sleep while you can.¡± Molly sounded urgent.
Ir waved up several shakes for me and Molly looked shocked that I downed them one after another. Then, I did sleep.
I woke up and Ten poured water down our son. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be feeding him?¡±
Ten laughed. ¡°He has nutrition from your body until he can eat as we do!¡±
I pointed at my chest. ¡°These aren¡¯t just for decoration, you know!¡± But Biehshah women are very flat-chested. I didn¡¯t feel very motherly. Mama said when her milk came in, she felt like a Valkyrie.
Then, Ten got it and laughed. ¡°Kia, we do not do that. At first, we give babies water. By the second day, they are on sisbie, then by the third, they eat as we eat. We are ready for your naming ceremony.¡±
Deb, Greg and Briahh wore Biehshah outfits in the sparkly green. So did I. The material felt cool and nice against my skin.
Baby looked up at me and clicked his tongue. Not just once, but rapid like a machine gun! I laughed and did it back at him. He laughed.
Ir put an arm on his forehead. ¡°Nagesh.¡±
¡°Nagesh!¡± He clicked more.
Ten put an elbow on his elbow. ¡°Ptat.¡±
¡°Ptat!¡± He made a face.
They went through all the gestures kids learn. I saw this process many times in our colony. Tried hard not to laugh. But our son learned them all.
Ten handed him a huge cup and he downed it. Then he guided him to walk.
Mama frowned. ¡°Ya can¡¯t expect my grandson to walk when he was just borned, can ya?¡± Sonny looked up at Mama with very blue eyes. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m yer granny.¡±
¡°Granny!¡± He giggled as she picked him up.
Ten looked kind of dismayed. ¡°You must not teach him foreign customs! Let us teach him until the naming, will you, Mrs. Garfield?¡±
Mama pressed her lips together. Baby looked scared. ¡°Aww, that¡¯s okay! Granny can hold ya later. Do what they tell you, okay?¡± She put him in the sand.
¡°Okay, Granny!¡± He smiled. Then paid attention to Ten and Ir as they taught him about a hundred more gestures. After every ten, he got something to drink that gradually looked more yellow. They led him to walk around, then jump, and encouraged him to run while we all ran after him! He giggled the whole time! Then I laughed. All this running didn¡¯t even make me out of breath, but Mama wheezed and quit after the first block.
We ran all over our Biehshah Colony, then through the Areon Colony, both Bremen and Stuttgart and people smiled to see us. Then got this shocked look as they saw our son! He¡¯s the size of a baby, but running like an older kid? Ir explained telepathically as we ran through dirt paths lined with grass and wooden homes with beautiful carvings of flowers. Each house had flower boxes under huge windows, but they were all one story. Even the town hall was one story but had a steeple. The church had a taller steeple but a smaller building with a bell. Shops were the same size as the houses but in a square in the middle. Paths led around the square in circles in Stuttgart, and more of a grid in smaller Bremen. There were so many flowers, we smelled them as we ran past.
After Areon colony, we slowed down and taught our son to dance in the festival. He learned Yeffdance, kind of like a waltz with fast footwork but graceful. Elshar musicians taught us every Elshar dance they knew, and Thordes taught us Thordes dances from Ka, Wetarush, and several other jeia, which are like countries.
I expected Sonny to get confused between all these foreign customs and Biehshah ones, but he didn¡¯t. In the festival, Ten picked him up and handed him to Mama, who caught up to us there. ¡°Now you may teach him your customs. We taught him differences of many peoples.¡±
¡°Yes, teach me, Granny! Then I will be ready to learn my name.¡± Perfect English! Ir taught him all the languages he learned at Sigan Mas! In the future we shared, Ir got hurt and couldn¡¯t do this. Our kids just learned what all the kids learned. There weren¡¯t any diplomats in our colony then.
All our Biehshah ran with us for part of our day and taught our son.
Granny taught Sonny to sing! At first he sounded like babbling, but learned fast, like Gen and Noka did. He learned a Zheien stringed instrument at the same time like they did. After about an hour, he sang as well as Mama did! He could sing all the parts and notes humans couldn¡¯t hit, some that we couldn¡¯t even hear if I was still human. The word human didn¡¯t seem very appropriate. I felt just as human as a Biehshah.
Ir held his hands like a Y and everyone watched him. ¡°In the other future, you were Daka, but now you know enough to choose your name. What shall it be?¡±
Our son smiled. ¡°Daka! I still like it.¡±
Happiness of our people, and me, tingled on everyone. Lots of Yeff waved their arms in the air, and their happiness tingles made ours stronger. I giggled, and so did lots of our people, but Daka did most of all. ¡°I love our colony! And I love our Yeff friends! Ea yeo, Friends!¡± He waved his little arms in the air. Then hugged all of us, Mama and Daddy and Uncle Chase and Aunt Camila, too. Everyone smiled.
Ten gave Daka his first serving of sassmilk. ¡°I thought you said that would be the third day.¡±
He frowned. ¡°It is the third¡ª¡±
Sara ran over. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. It¡¯s me. Time gets a little confused when I¡¯m around.¡± What?
My mind touched the calendar. Friday, Jan 28, before the Unified vote on Earth? But that¡¯s before Daka was born!
Chapter 21 Pirad Is Shocked
Pirad ported to us. His orange pupils flew apart in their 3 pairs! He folded his arms across his head! ¡°You have a child!¡±
Daka jumped into his arms and put his little forearm across his forehead. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m very happy to be here with my parents. Did you come from Bisillipia?¡±
¡°No, I have a lab here below Burial Chambers.¡±
¡°Can I see it? I would like very much to have a cloned brother. Many Yeff have brothers.¡±
Pirad clicked his face into an unhappy expression. ¡°Your parents have a dangerous mission. I cannot do this now. Stop reading my mind. It is rude!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to, but I don¡¯t know how to stop. Can you teach me?¡±
Pirad got the exasperated expression.
Ten put a forearm across his forehead. ¡°This boy has abilities he cannot control, and none of us can teach him. But, we can try.¡±
¡°Am I bad, Tenadu? I don¡¯t want to be bad!¡±
I took him. ¡°Daka, you¡¯re not bad! You¡¯re still learning, that¡¯s all.¡± I hugged him.
¡°He needs to learn fast. I have much work!¡±
I showed him all that happened, and he looked even more dismayed. ¡°I must speak with my host!¡± He ported away.
An army of Pirads ported to our colony.
Daka put both his arms up in a Y. ¡°Uncles!¡±
Most of them clicked their faces into unhappy expressions, but one got smug face. ¡°I am for you, and will be your uncle. Pirad gave me all of Kirnonos¡¯ minds for you.¡±
¡°Oh, boy! I¡¯m happy!¡± I let this Pirad take him to the festival in our colony.
One Pirad stayed with us. The others spread out all over Ye~ wherever groups enjoyed festival activities. ¡°We are here to increase security. Tell me if you detect anything unusual, and I will alert others.¡±
It was easy to pretend everything was normal. My body didn¡¯t feel different, but that¡¯s normal for a Biehshah birth. Camila introduced me to 20 new Hispanic colonists from Mexico City and we helped them get a lot of relatives ready to board a ship. Adia¡¯s Ship now had a daily ship to Alb in the evening, and plenty of people had memories of living here on Ye~, so besides MarKu, we had the second fastest growing Earthan Colony in Alb. Ir told me another group of Biehshah diplomats were on Alb dealing with Garat. His girl waited in Leheren for him to finish several trade treaties. His total lack of willingness to learn Earthan customs hampered his work. When Earthan businessmen laughed at him, he got insulted and it took all day for his diplomats to explain things and try to get another meeting.
I missed my son as we gathered by the musicians, but Uncle Pirad soon brought him to sing with us. While we sang, he waved up a design screen for musical instruments for Biehshah and Bisillip babies. Soon, people brought their kids to try them and he taught them how to design others. Musicians soon heard about this and came from other colonies. Apparently they decided travel was safe enough in Alb with The Pirads.
¡°Kia, are you tired?¡± Ir held my hand. His was cold.
Daka stopped in the middle of a design and hopped into my arms. ¡°I¡¯m tired, too. Let¡¯s go take a nap.¡± His blue eyes watched us.
¡°I can¡¯t sleep until Sara gets here¡ª¡±
¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Sara didn¡¯t look rested. Her deep blue eyes had the droopy look.
¡°You can sleep longer¡ª¡±
¡°Who can sleep? I got enough to keep me going.¡± She smiled at Cevit Ion, who kept dark eyes. Yellow Zheien have blue eyes that go dark when they¡¯re unhappy. But, I am tired.
¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± I smiled at Ir. At least we can enjoy the time we have left. We might not make it through this¡ªbut we have to!
Mama and Daddy walked with us. Will Mama still be here when it¡¯s all over? I hugged her. ¡°I love you, Mama! It¡¯s so good to have you back!¡±
¡°I feel the same way, Honey! Life is good here. I never thought fer one minute I¡¯d enjoy goin¡¯ in space, but Ye is paradise!¡±
Daddy laughed. ¡°Hun, it¡¯s Yuh-ee! You need to learn how to pronounce¡ª¡±
¡°They know what I mean! I¡¯ll pronounce it like I want, thank you.¡± Mama laughed.
So did Daddy. He likes to tease her and they both enjoy it. So good to hear them at it again. I missed Daddy¡¯s sense of humor all those years.
We passed Uncle Chase and Camila dancing a Latin dance.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Daddy grabbed Mama and they danced with us, but a waltz played. He skillfully danced her around trees as we entered the garden walk between Oshfah and our colony. Couples danced Biehshah dances along the walk, more like walking to music that played. It had three-part rhythms so waltzing worked. They giggled until Mama got too breathless, then they just walked us to that bakery.
The baker offered us a tray of drinks that we enjoyed. His lady had a tray with my parents¡¯ favorite fruits and pastries, so we had a few. ¡°I hope my tesstasserats give you pleasant dreams, Ir, Kia.¡± He had sunny orange skin, a kind of unusual color for a Biehshah. It made his yellow eyes almost glow in the setting suns.
¡°Fahn, I am very happy you came to our colony! I love your creations, and Zheien who visit always mention things they ate and enjoyed here.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll sure be dreaming about the flavor! I¡¯ll ask for that again!¡± But everything Biehshah I tasted was very pleasant, unlike my husband¡¯s memories of having to down nasty-tasting stuff at intervals every day. Especially what we have to drink the most, sassmilk. The stuff used to look like two-stroke motor oil and tasted like it smells, too!
My thoughts of our old future amused our baker and his family, who all worked with him.
Sassenfae. Vapors of a summer day when the ocean turns dark with sassen flower oil. I swim in healing vapors which nourish my dry skin and fill my head with sassen flower dreams.
I joked about the deep greenish-blue stuff, and Ir laughed so hard he nearly choked on it. ¡°Is your head filled with sassen flower dreams yet?¡±
A giggle. ¡°No. My mouth is full of heaviness.¡±
¡°Then, drink some more. Think of the ocean.¡± I made fake ocean sounds.
¡°You sound like gessen when they move from swamps! Their feet mire in the mud!¡± He pictured a furry animal shaped like fur boots that jump out of the mud and plop around. Thousands of the tiny critters, all at once.
¡°Are you swimming in sassenfae vapors yet?¡± I walked around doing the Swim and humming Beach Boys music from the 60¡¯s.
Ir got up and tried to copy me while drinking the last thick bit of sassenfae. Gargled with it. Swallowed. ¡°More like drowning!¡± He pretended to be struggling to the surface, and I caught him when he stumbled.
We fell on the soft floor, giggling like kids. ¡°Ah, Cesarae, let me die in your arms!¡±
¡°Aw, ya can¡¯t die before the Courtship, Cesarae! Play fair, now!¡±
All of them laughed, and Mama and Daddy!
Ir kissed my forehead. ¡°Because I remembered how Ten made sassenmilk, he created many delightful things with Earthan milkshakes! But you gave him the idea, Kia, because you drank them.¡±
I giggled. ¡°Now I still can!¡± I waved up a serving of one Ten insisted I needed, since we were going to bed anyway. Ir did, too.
¡°Oh, I think I had some better ideas, and after your memories, I have more!¡± He ruffled his blond curls, and I laughed. That gesture is a sign for mad scientist level of inventions!
He laughed, too.
Mama and Daddy walked us home and Daka ruffled his silver hair. ¡°While you sleep, I¡¯ll go with Uncle Pirad and dream up more inventions!¡±
Ir laughed and made him lie down between us. ¡°First, sleep, then you can invent all you like!¡±
¡°Okay, Daddy. G¡¯night!¡±
It felt so good to lie down with my family. Pirad laid on Ir¡¯s other side and Mama and Daddy laid on our bed, too. It expanded as more people came.
¡°The more, the merrier!¡± I laughed as more Biehshah came to lie beside us.
VW looked worried. ¡°You need our strength, with a new son and all¡ª¡±
Veliatsheeine shoved her arm against his lips. ¡°She knows, she knows! Go to sleep now before Pirad starts!¡±
Pirad laughed, and it clicked. ¡°I am too busy teaching this young one to bother. At least we do not have Garat to cause trouble! My brother on Adia¡¯s Ship is at the end of his patience! Leader Suan¡¯s diplomats have great ideas for trade and Garat embarrasses us all! He takes offense that Earthans do not want to learn his gestures and find them amusing, but he does not learn anything about how to please them!¡±
Garat met with a roomful of Atlanta businessmen who deal in plants. ¡°Today I wish to show you many plants of Biehshah that will grow well on Earth!¡± He stood with his legs apart and gracefully indicated a holo of many beautiful flowers, flowering bushes that later produced sweet fruits, and trees with flowers and later, fruits. But with all the holos, he recited long, dramatic descriptions that had them howling with laughter.
¡°Why are you laughing at me? Stop that, right now! I will Exclude all of you!¡± He perched his right hand on his head with all five fingers down, and they roared!
The diplomat with him, a Zheien diplomat named Beren, tried to explain things, but Garat wasn¡¯t listening. His upset made the orange Zheien pale to yellow.
One of the businessmen stood up. ¡°I think we need to pay attention. Go ahead, Garat. I¡¯m sorry I laughed.¡±
¡°As you should be! Did your mother teach you any manners?¡± Garat balanced on one foot with his arms out and his leg out.
Men and women tried not to laugh, but one man did and set off the entire room! Watching them try to can it was even funnier!
Garat kept doing acrobatic gestures to insult them, and they just laughed harder!
Finally, he got disgusted and ported away. The Zheien just continued where Garat left off. They got agreements with that group but they didn¡¯t want Garat to come back to sign. That offended Garat even more. Finally, Goes convinced Garat to let him do the negotiations. This was one of his clones.
Pirad got his smug face. ¡°My brother convinced Garat to make an Elshar clone of himself and gave him Earthan customs and diplomatic skills. That is when Garat decided to go back to Biehshah. Shortly after he opened courtship with his lady, his healer told him he needed to leave his position as minister, for his health. But Pirad on Biehshah tried a new method and woke his wife, Tianforas, and his three sons, Fora, Tian, and Astinoras, and he decided to make Uiano Minister Of Leheren. Poor Siafar was sad until he cloned himself and one chose her. Now many in Leheren are happy!¡±
I hoped Garat wouldn¡¯t choose to move here, but his family¡¯s probably happy to stay there, and his clone and Siafar. Maybe.
As I went to sleep, I worried. What if Rentappenen¡¯s people get through Sara and I? We¡¯re just two people.
Ir told me Becky, First Princess Of Esta Faho can see ¡®em, too. Three against gazillions. Yep. Much better odds! Not.
Chapter 22 Where’s Daka?
¡°Daka!¡± I sat straight up and Ir put his arms around me.
¡°He is not in our colony!¡± Ir¡¯s brown eyes met mine, and his fear rumbled on me!
Zheien poured into our house, including Eanne~! ¡°Ir, what is?¡±
We searched our people. Many weren¡¯t showing on my mental display.
¡°Our son is gone, Ean! Many of our people are not here! What happened, while we slept?¡±
Eanne~ looked towards the wall and that deep pink Zheien came. Bowed. ¡°I am Mon Pa, and I wish to assist you! Will you let me touch your mind, Lady Kia?¡±
I studied this Zheien, how his purple eyes went darker, like an Elshar¡¯s, and his rosy purple skin got light. ¡°I¡¯m scared to hurt you!¡±
Ir laughed. ¡°Kia, he is S¡¯ai, and they have powerful telepathy! Once, we had a joint mission and he offered me healing!¡±
I took his twin-fingered hand and heard a bell choir! That made me startle. But when I put his hand on my forehead, I got lost in my music! I sang ¡°Ode To Joy¡± from Beethoven¡¯s 9th and he added harmonies! My music reached out and I found Daka. But I also found Rentappenen! We stopped.
Mon Pa wept. ¡°O, I am sorry, Ir, Lady Kia! We cannot send help to them! They are on Tessa and I must prepare my group to go there¡ª¡±
Ry¡¯nao ported in. ¡°I will nae send you to die, Mon! You must stay and help Kia, Sara and Becky find operatives.¡±
He went paler. ¡°I cannot see them as these can! No one of S¡¯ai has abilities past our technology level! We work very hard with our Biehshah friends to improve protection, and rely on their advanced knowledge of Tessans, Wesa Fen, Dosilians, Mist Gei Kan, Uritens, Mangans, and others of higher levels!¡± I felt sweat on him and worried.
Molly ported in, our Molly, not a clone. How can I tell? ¡°Mon Pa, you need to rest.¡±
His purple eyes went pale! ¡°Eaaae aaaa, I fear to injure you!¡±
¡°Pirad gave me telepathy of a Zbbat and a Chor! Need some healing?¡±
Her husband Binneas waved for his DS uniform, but what a uniform! Purple like a scientist¡¯s, but with a blue sash, complicated decorations in geometric solids, boots with colored ribbons but the twin-toed things like socks that Zheien wear. On his blond curls was a nine-sided hat with lots of Tessite. He bowed low and stayed there.
Molly saw that and bowed just as low. Murmured an apology in a very formal Zheien dialect.
Ir dressed in a similar sash over his neon green robes and a hat like that. He dressed me in a dress that was mostly purple and blue with stripes of the neon green and deep green. I didn¡¯t even have a pin to go on it. But he wouldn¡¯t let me bow.
Mon Pa gasped. Got down on the floor with Molly and Binneas. ¡°All of you are my friends! I will ne ask such formality. Please, rise and be comfortable! Molly, you saved my life and my sanity in the other future! You are my liege, even moreso than Ishmarel who reigns all Zheien!¡± He did complicated dance steps then bowed lower, to her.
She hugged him. Frowned. ¡°Mon Pa, it¡¯s taking too much effort for you to be here and block our telepathy!¡±
He laughed. ¡°When I meet with the Urite, I must do so.¡± The smile faded. ¡°What can we do to help Ir and Kia? Half their people are gone, and also people of Ry Pethe and Areon!¡±
I wailed. It shocked me, to hear that kind of noise coming out of me! Mama and Daddy rushed in. When Mama saw me, she hugged me. ¡°Oh, Darlin¡¯ hush now! What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°Our baby¡ª¡± but I can¡¯t tell her!
¡°We¡¯ll organize a search party! He can¡¯t be far. Kids wander. I can¡¯t tell ya how many times you sneaked out once ya learned to walk and unlock a door!¡±
Molly sang healing for me, and I had to sing for our people, who were all very upset and wailing, too. When I did, they realized how many of us were missing!
Mama and Daddy rushed away to get volunteers. They still don¡¯t know what peril it is when Biehshah get upset. In some ways, it¡¯s worse than Zheien because they don¡¯t get upset often. So none of ¡®em know how to calm down.
Molly showed all of us how. We breathed along with her, and she slowed hers down. ¡°You people need to learn, when you get upset, there are things you can do not to get sick. Think about those beautiful gardens. I think you need to put little waterfalls in ¡®em. But, you all love the ocean. When was the last time you took a swim?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
People went out of our colony and the ocean on Ye~ was near the northeastern side, and Areon Ye~ also bordered it. People in Bremen and Stuttgart joined Mama and Daddy¡¯s search party. No one organizes like the Germans! The ocean sounds helped me, and Mon Pa and Molly ported us all to the beach. Put us in the warm water.
But I watched the search parties fan out. They got Zheien involved.
Eanne~ let them know to help, but they wouldn¡¯t find our Daka. He also held onto us.
So did Binneas and Molly, until we calmed down some.
Mon Pa spoke to all of us, in our minds. I learned how to calm myself from watching memories of my future self. I had severe injuries and should ne have survived, but Ta Ric, Diplomat Of Thorde, helped me with his mind. We were slaves together.
Because of Rainbow S¡¯ai, we changed how we live. All of us learn from healers, how to comfort the injured. Once we thought keeping anyone unwell separated from us made us more able to work. Now we know we can be well and know what injured men learn. We can care for ourselves better on missions to know of injury and what to do for ourselves while we wait for healing.
Less of us die now away from home. But those of us who had injuries in another future, we cannot work as we did. This is why I asked for assignment here on Ye~. I learned in Rainbow how to communicate without my telepathy, for I lost him. Tears powdered his cheeks.
But I now can control my telepathy far better, and my friends, my six friends who stayed in Rainbow with me, we all can teach others. S¡¯ai will ne longer stay separate from all of Zheiea, only visited by those of great telepathic skill. Now we may speak with all, Zheien or ne.
Fear ne that we harm you by accident, or that you somehow harm us. We must all face this threat together. We will help you all that we can.
His voice brought calm feelings, but all of us felt like bells rang on our skins. A very pleasant sensation.
I still felt very upset that the maniac had my son! What will he do with him?
Ryonne~ came and bowed to Mon Pa. Who pulled him up. They spoke together in that formal language, then Mon Pa sang healing on him. ¡°We must stop, and speak only in the spoken, and in Zheien common speech. Then all can understand us.¡±
¡°You are wise, Mon Pa.¡±
¡°Shall we use shortnames, as we did in Rainbow? I wish to call you Ryee. Such comfort you gave me, speaking in our spoken form!¡± Both of them got tears in their eyes. Ryonne~¡®s eyes are golden, a very orange-yellow color. Mon Pa¡¯s purple eyes paled to pale blue. But Ryonne~s eyes looked more yellow with tear-powder sparkles. Mon Pa¡¯s shone purple on the glittery powder.
Ryonne~ wiped a cake of tear-powder off his face and then some from Mon Pa¡¯s and mixed them where both could see it. Ryonne~ got more orange. ¡°Mon, I am happy for you to call me Ryee!¡±
Mon Pa¡¯s eyes got purple again and his skin glowed rosy purple. ¡°Ryee, I am very happy to hear you call me Mon. Today, we are all friends. Ne think to bow to me. I am merely Zheien, as are our Yeff hosts.¡±
Ir trembled just to be in any S¡¯ai¡¯s presence, so it was hard for me to think of him as just a friend. Everybody talks about S¡¯ai as if they were already gone to the Council!
Molly told me, Wally said we won¡¯t see people rising to other levels as fast, that councils above ours made mistakes in letting people rise too quickly, which made disasters on the levels they left.
Mon Pa startled. Molly, we should ne discuss¡ª
I know, but Rentappenen already knows about this. What can we do?
Dromie popped in. ¡°We will fight! Gather your forces together. When you are ready, my people are ready.¡± The little neon green man raised a fist, and his mouth full of flat teeth just made him look more Goblin-like, as did his pointy, long ears. But his huge blue eyes opened wide like a Zheien.
Mon Pa trembled, and his purple eyes lightened so pale, they went nearly white! ¡°What species are you?¡±
Dromie opened his mouth and screeched like metal on metal! Everyone startled.
Mon Pa fell into Ryonne~¡®s arms! ¡°I cannot understand this speech!¡±
With a jerk, Dromie ran over to him and hugged him at his knees. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared! My people are from higher levels. We helped Rentappenen without thinking about it. Granny taught us all to think for ourselves. Kia, I can make Daka into a powerful weapon!¡±
¡°No!¡± I felt faint! ¡°I don¡¯t want him to fight¡ª¡±
¡°He is more powerful than you. I gave him a Gift that way. You taught him well, but I can get him out! I can send my brother to him.¡±
Ir frowned. ¡°Rentappenen¡¯s troops will detect him and kill him before he reaches Tessa!¡±
¡°I¡¯ll make Tessa into weapons!¡±
Ryonne~ gasped.
Ry¡¯nao shook his head. ¡°Tessa will not side with you. Pirad fears your help will worsen things. Please, do not do this!¡±
Dromie ran to him. Bowed low. ¡°I am loyal to your Reign, Ry¡¯nao! I will not make Tessa into weapons. But see what I can do!¡±
They got the memory-sharing stare and Ry¡¯nao¡¯s red-violet eyes opened very wide. ¡°This will not work! See the history of¡ª¡±
¡°We were there before them. I brought them back and they are fighting Rentappenen.¡±
Ry¡¯nao mentioned other species, and every time, Dromie said his people were there before them. His skin that should be fire engine red, was gray! ¡°Surely you came after the For. There is no history older.¡±
¡°I will give you our history, and many others. We absorbed them as we destroyed them and this is why the Gray Cube does not have them!¡± Gray light enveloped them.
Ir gasped. We heard it as a jumble of speech in thousands of languages.
But I heard Rentappenen laughing. He thinks he¡¯s more powerful than all of them combined?
Chapter 23 Cube Inventory
Ry¡¯nao put a four-fingered hand on Ir¡¯s shoulder and tapped. ¡°Ir, I need you to call a meeting of all who hold Cubes. Let us meet discreetly in my house. I have an underground chamber for this purpose.¡±
Ir bowed and Ry¡¯nao returned it. Then Ir mentally directed all of us left. He still had 151 people. Even Baker Fahnar went into Oshfah to find early festival-goers, though it wasn¡¯t that early now. Yeff are still working their half-day as they always do on festival days. We are still celebrating the move to Alb, that we thought would be safe. Most of those Yeff, Earthans, Areonians, purple Thordes and Elshars enjoying it believe we are safe from slavers. Oh, and hundreds of red Xchou like our Emperor.
Except those holding Cubes, all of our Biehshah, and our Ry Pethe folks. All of the ones without Cubes asked people with Cubes to come with them, and I used my Cube to tell them why.
Ry¡¯nao, Ryonne~ and his wife, Adia, all clones of the originals still on Earth, led us past the Ry Pethe colony which now had homes above ground with beautiful flower gardens. A huge one sat between Ry Pethe and its very Earthan or Areonian-German log homes with their beautiful carvings, and Xchou Ye~ with stone domes.
He led us into one that sat apart from the circle of domes and a portal took us to a stone room with Eaezhfee chairs like Adia¡¯s Ship is made of, and people whooshed in. It got bigger as more people crowded in. The seats multiplied until there were three rows of them in a circle and Ry¡¯nao stood in the middle.
¡°Friends, today, I am not here as your emperor, but as an equal. Kia, you are directing them, so I will let you speak.¡± He sat in a neon green chair to my right. Ir was on my left, but also sat down. Me? Every neon green chair had a different design, but other than that, they were all the same as people sat in them.
Light came from the round wall equally and sound echoed despite about 200 of us. ¡°We need to get ready to fight.¡±
A lady stood, one of the Ry Pethe folks with a yellow cube. ¡°I can¡¯t fight him, he¡¯ll kill my mother!¡±
I swallowed. ¡°He has our baby, our son! But we have to fight. You think he will spare our relatives if he wins? We have to believe that they are still alive, but his slaves. If we act quickly¡ª¡±
Ry¡¯nao sighed and all of us looked at him. ¡°Adia must confront Eriganh, in his time, of his choosing. We cannot interfere.¡±
¡°Even though he is cheating?¡± Dromie stood with his arms up. He just appeared in a chair. ¡°We are fighting, even though it is forbidden, because Wslarc told me we must! He is from the 6th level and is a clone for our level. Wally is from the 5th and tells us we must fight. Do you know what happened? Rentappenen already killed all the Councils of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of the Test Of Levels!¡±
Ir gasped. So did Ry¡¯nao! Ir stood up. ¡°Then, we must act. The moment Queen Adia and Eriganh finish, our Battle Of The Cubes must begin! Eriganh is so irrational now, I think it will not be long.¡±
Dromie frowned at Ry¡¯nao. ¡°You worried about him knowing of our plans, but he does. He cannot destroy Alb because Pirad and Kirnonos set up defenses he cannot penetrate. Bisillipia is at war with us against him. They have arms they kept from the last war, the one Bisillipia waged against the Jain. They still have those weapons, and the Elshar Council retrieved the ones hidden on Jain. We also gave Bisillipia weapons, vast stores of them, from Lisbaar, Luruu, Taspan, Iritt, Guaspesi, and their thousands of worlds.
¡°Now, Rentappenen knows what he has unleashed, and he no longer has his Ty¡¯nirrhan body with its rainbow Tessite, because the 6th allowed Sara to take it! He cannot control but a third of his troops and many are rebelling because of his harsh rule. The War is already even, now. We brought the Jain and the Lerk back.¡±
Ry¡¯nao looked dismayed! ¡°You cannot do this! The Jain destroyed 50 galaxies in the Padrisa! The Lerk destroyed thousands!¡±
He grinned. ¡°We brought them back, but Rentappenen sent half his troops to take their weapons. They destroyed each other, this time so badly we cannot bring them back! You have all of their knowledge in the Gray Cube now. Rentappenen found, to his dismay, without rainbow Tessite, he cannot make instant clones. If he makes them fast, they only fight for an hour or so before they become injured. He is using up his resources.
¡°Without Rainbow Tessite and the knowledge to use it, all of Lerk¡¯s weaponry failed, but after they destroyed most of Rentappenen¡¯s forces across their worlds.
¡°As I predicted, the warlike races are using all their resources and men to fight, and they are the first to fall. The races who care about lives are cautious and they will survive.¡± He folded his short arms across his chest.
Pinda appeared and frowned at him. ¡°It is dangerous to bring our weapons back! My people decided peace was the only way after we destroyed most of our worlds waging war!¡± His cat-like ears flattened against his head, and his black fur stood on end, that wasn¡¯t covered by his red robes.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Your ancestors were good fighters, and they defeated Rentappenen¡¯s best Harast warriors! Now Inpeten is speaking with Ser and knows what happened. I think he will caution his elite. Laruu are very smart. Rentappenen didn¡¯t fool them as he did us.¡± Dromie sighed and looked very sad. ¡°We will have severe penalties from the 6th, but your people will not.¡±
Ir frowned. ¡°Our people will, but even Kirnonos knew that.¡±
Ry¡¯nao got up and took his hand. ¡°What will they do?¡± His skin turned a deeper gray and his tears bounced on the rock floor.
Ir made him sit down and sat next to him. ¡°We do not know. But even if we perish, your peoples of the Thirteen will live, if we win this war!¡±
Mon Pa whooshed in with 6 others. ¡°My emperor! Let me call a healer¡ª¡±
¡°He would perish, as 5 of my brothers did today. Pirad cannot clone more of me.¡±
Ryonne~ gasped and put him on his lap. ¡°They died? Ne pas!¡±
¡°As I will soon. I fear for my sons, Ryee, they are all injured and their reclonings did not go well!¡±
Ipano~, that orange Zheien, picked up all Ry¡¯nao¡¯s tears and put them in a clear pyramid. ¡°I will fight beside them.¡±
¡°Ip, you can¡¯t! You¡¯re barely able to walk!¡±
He lifted a deep red cube, with a smile. ¡°My Collective is strong¡ª¡±
¡°You would die trying to direct the Flow! Listen to me, you remember skills that are ne with you now!¡±
Members of Ryonne~¡®s family were here and their rumbles shook the room! Ipano~ tried to give the pyramid to Ryonne~, but he took the cube and it blended with the red-violet one he had.
Ipano~ looked dismayed! Another family member took him and sat. He fell asleep.
Ry¡¯nao cried. ¡°Keep him safe, Ryee! Promise¡ª¡± His gray-curled head sank against Ryonne~¡®s broad chest and rumbles shook us.
¡°I will.¡± He sobbed.
An Elshar ported in. ¡°Habis ha! He rushed to put his hands on the emperor¡¯s head. Wept and waved a shaking hand. Ry¡¯nao vanished.
Now Ryonne~ held him and they all wept. He died? ¡°Friends, as you see, war rages, and we have many casualties among my people, and among all peoples. My family also is missing many, taken by Rentappenen¡¯s people in the night. There is ne prevention. We can only fight. As Ry¡¯nao advised Adia, my wife¡¯s host on Earth now, there is ne preparation. When the time comes, people in your Cubes shall advise you, what to do.¡±
A teenaged girl stood up. ¡°I don¡¯t want this thing! I want my family back!¡± The pink cube glowed, and people ported into the room! We all moved as a body to hug them and make them sit down. Healers ported in!
Our son wasn¡¯t among these people, but seeing them alive gave us hope. I held my hands up to get their attention. ¡°Don¡¯t do that! I know you want to see people that were taken, but every use of the cubes weakens your Collective! People in them can die when you let stray thoughts happen. All of you, keep a diplomat near you to teach you. They can¡¯t tell you how to do this, but it helps. My husband is a diplomat and he taught me a lot, then I figured some of it out. If you talk to your Collective, they can teach you things if you ask them.¡±
A man stood and looked mad. ¡°My Collective doesn¡¯t want to teach me! They think I¡¯m stupid! I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll even fight!¡±
¡°How are you talking to them? Are you polite? If you insulted ¡®em, you need to apologize. Understand that your Collective might have members of alien species you never heard of, and it¡¯s easy to do somethin¡¯ insultin¡¯ that you didn¡¯t know was. Try to learn how to talk so they do listen. Mine are pretty friendly, once I understood that.¡±
He startled, then nodded. Sat down and got the memory-sharing stare. A lot of people who were unhappy now had that stare. It¡¯s easy to think of these things as things, not as a group of people with thoughts and feelings and some of ¡®em were slaves. ¡°If you have people in your Collective who were slaves, let ¡®em go.¡±
That man stood up! ¡°But if I let ¡®em go, I won¡¯t have anyone to fight with!¡±
¡°I was afraid of that, but near your Collective there¡¯s a lab where they make clones. In 24 hours you can have replacements. We have time, so do it now!¡± That just came from one of my members, not me.
People got busy and I physically felt swaps taking place. Apparently they had some clones ready to replace people. All over Alb, people came out of the buildings of blue cubes. These structures were usually underground, but looked like water in a swimming pool. They made it to the surface and healers met them. All of them were scared they¡¯d be killed, but the servers showed healers where they were and what species they were. Across Alb, there were healers that knew some of the species. They had to teach them about aandats, that wonderful second skin that protects against disease and strengthens telepathy¡ªthey didn¡¯t have that? And about animals and plants, but progs warned about anything dangerous, don¡¯t they? Some are learning how to eat because they didn¡¯t have bodily needs while in there. Wow!
My Collective didn¡¯t have a single slave. But most of them were mostly slaves! Born and bred to sit in a room for the rest of their lives. While in it, they didn¡¯t age, so many were children. That bothered me a lot!
¡°Councillors like children because they learn fast, and haven¡¯t formed opinions on things.¡± Ir frowned. ¡°I worry that we didn¡¯t teach Daka fast enough for this! Rentappenen easy convinced entire civilizations to follow him, and they believed his lies. In all known history, he is more persuasive than any Councillor, that we learned of on the 2nd.¡±
Now, I trembled, too.
Chapter 24 Arguments And Fears
Many people stared at Ry¡¯nao¡¯s empty chair. ¡°Who will be emperor now? Was he sick?¡±
I held my hands up. ¡°He¡¯s been fighting! Ry¡¯nao is still emperor¡ª¡±
¡°My Collective showed me how big this battle is! We can¡¯t win it! All of us need to bring our people back and run!¡±
Ir gasped. ¡°There is no safe place from him! His troops surround our star systems, and if we try to leave, we will be slaves! Please, be calm¡ª¡±
¡°Calm? We just saw our emperor die, and all of us are next! He saw what we¡¯re up against!¡± So many people shouted! You can¡¯t talk things out when emotion¡¯s this high! All of our Biehshah and Zheien paled by a lot.
¡°Look, everyone, you need to think about this. All your Collectives are upset. When you take a breath and stop, they will. Together, we can do this. We have powerful enemies, but we have powerful friends, too.¡± I studied the panicked faces, but my Collective reached out to all the others. We tapped into the Diplomatic Link and showed ¡®em victories won by people like them, new to Cubes.
A man stood up. ¡°Did you show them how many people like us died?¡±
Dromie ran around and firework lights came from his hands. ¡°I brought them back! I brought entire galaxies of civilizations back, and all of my people, to fight him! Most of them want revenge on Rentappenen. Feel his fear? He can¡¯t hide it from us!¡±
I shivered. Ryonne~¡®s golden eyes opened past wide. ¡°Dromie, you must ne do this! He can strike at us¡ª¡±
¡°It works both ways. Feel the deaths in his Collective? In Eriganh¡¯s? They work with death and fear. If their members of their Collectives try to argue, he kills them. Many are leaving, now that they see us releasing slaves. They want to be free! Their new clones see this and refuse to help him! He is losing strength and we are doing it.
Most of the arguments died down. They saw it happening. We did, too.
I saw Daka, and he gathered escaped people from Eriganh¡¯s Collective, Rentappenen¡¯s, and people who left Satauuver¡¯s, but now that Ray gave King Wtensau the Cube, they rejoined it and took these disgruntled members there. Showed Ir. Our son is not only fighting, he is healing people fighting. I let them see that, too.
¡°I¡¯m scared! I want to quit!¡± That teen sobbed in her parents¡¯ arms.
¡°Honey, I know you¡¯re scared. We were, too.¡± Her mother also cried.
¡°But, we helped Daka organize people. Ry¡¯nao said, courage is not lack of fear. Courage is acts despite fear. All of us were afraid. We saw people die horribly who disobeyed their slavers. Do you know how few the slavers are? They work by terror. They make examples of people who can¡¯t fight back.¡± Her father hugged her.
¡°We showed them that people who can¡¯t fight might have good ideas. Some of our most disabled people were that way because they fought, and even when they couldn¡¯t do some things, they found ways to slow down the enemy. At times, the timing of where they were in a mine created a bottleneck and slowed production.
¡°One slave was Zheien. Everyone loved him because he showed love to even injured guards, and they became our double agents. They would put him on a narrow path that slaves had to carry ore up for processing. People refused to walk on him, and they couldn¡¯t go around. People made an obstacle and guards couldn¡¯t tell what was going on. Slaves used the ore by his directions to build a wall to block that path, then they moved up and found people barely able to walk and built a wall there, until they got to the guards at the entrance. Slavers are stupid. They expect trouble outside the entrance, not inside it! Organized slaves either convinced their guards to help them or put them in stasis, because they now had tech, and they took over ships.
¡°Because of one disabled man, they took over our mine and now we produce ore for the resistance. I¡¯m still directing people because I have a Cube, too. But this is happening on a lot of worlds, with minerals so rare there might only be one mine.
¡°I tell you this to make you see, there are ways to fight Rentappenen without killing people or using our Cubes as weapons. There¡¯s always someone smarter with a plan. People have been planning this revolt for millennia. Rentappenen didn¡¯t expect this.
¡°Kirnonos has been planning, and Pirad has been planning, since long before this 300 year war started. They¡¯ve been creating and hiding Cubes. We¡¯re just helping them.¡±
The teen nodded. ¡°Show me how to do that. I¡¯ll fight, if I don¡¯t have to kill anyone!¡±
A lot of our cube holders got excited. I thought about ending the meeting, but Ryonne~ shook his head. ¡°We are safer here. This is why Collectives gather in special buildings. We are like a Collective. Inside them, each member concentrates minds.¡±
He showed me that a Cube is a virtual container for thousands of minds, who each represent other minds from outside. The individuals are specially bred to hold telepathic links. His members shared with him that they have healers in the group to walk them and keep their bodies in good condition, so they port to different hidden gardens with properties to strengthen them, in our Collectives.
Rentappenen, Eriganh, and Satauuver terrified their members and limited their awareness of these beautiful places. Or sent them into mines to do physical labor while their minds worked. Just like any slave, injuries happened frequently and they had to have a lot more healing. The three slavers used the threat of injury and death to keep them working. Just knowing they could get hurt in there killed a lot of them! But they just made more clones.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Some of those clones have knowledge of Rentappenen¡¯s terror plan, and they are organizing troops to fight him. That¡¯s a tactic Greg Wenh Cet used as a slave. He was in Rentappenen¡¯s Collective and organized the revolt there, inside his Cube Of Many Colors. Rentappenen is finding certain key timelines that he wants to change, closed to him. They are gradually limiting the damage he can do. Part of that is enabled by the fact that he revisited many timelines to change them multiple times.
Changing timelines is strictly forbidden by every Council. There are protections against them, that Rentappenen surely disabled by his changes. Ryonne~ rubbed an eye.
Adia startled and made him sit down. He fell asleep on her shoulder.
Is he okay?
My husband does too much. He is okay, but we are all fighting in this battle. You feel it also, do you, Kia?
I nodded. I was as tired as I was working 3 jobs! But this work is worth it.
An arch formed and an Xchou came in. ¡°Friends, will you enjoy our garden? Ry¡¯nao often came here while he pondered important things.¡± The lady looked sad, but swept an arm out. A garden, underground?
All of us got up and walked in it. A huge place with trees and a high ceiling with a skylight! I looked up at that pink sky and setting suns over the orange mountains. Such a beautiful place, even though I longed to see a blue sky. It¡¯s like a perpetual sunset. Blue fluffy clouds wafted past. Cloudless sunsets aren¡¯t as pretty.
Ten appeared with a tray of drinks for us. My arms ached to hold our son. Ir kept an arm around me and picked a variety of flowers for us to sniff.
Leticia, who married Pirad, walked over to us. She didn¡¯t smile.
¡°What are you doing here? Shouldn¡¯t you be with him?¡± Fear gripped me!
¡°I¡¯m here because it¡¯s safer in case Alb Seer gets invaded. Pirad¡¯s so scared, he¡¯s in Kirnonos¡¯ Lab and Bedelia just let him know all of his clones died. He¡¯s scared, but you know him, he¡¯ll work until his last breath! I just wish, if we¡¯re going to die, I could be with him.¡± Her blue eyes got teary.
¡°Do you really think we¡¯re going to lose this war?¡±
She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m betting on our side! I just wish my family¡ªwell, I¡¯m different now. I didn¡¯t decide to change from Earthan to anything, but my mind¡¯s still alien to them.¡± She sighed and the tears flowed.
I hugged her. ¡°I know the feeling. I¡¯m Biehshah now, but I don¡¯t feel Biehshah, I feel Earthan. Maybe after this is over, I¡¯ll reclone myself Earthan. But, Ir, you like me as a Biehshah¡ª¡±
¡°My cesarae, I loved you as an Earthan, I love you as Biehshah, but whatever you wish to do, I will love you as much!¡± He studied me with his brown eyes wide, and they got teary. Ir wiped a tear and stared at it. ¡°I like your human ways. Loving you changed me more than I ever dreamed. Pirad didn¡¯t like it. I think he is afraid of changing. But we already changed, every level we lived in. We learned, and we grew. I think Bisillipia and Biehshah are also changing, and we must change with them.
¡°All our lives, we lived with fear, because of Rentappenen and his boredom with peace. How can peace be boring? There is always something to study, or to make, or to simply enjoy. Our flowers.¡± He picked a deep orange bloom. ¡°This is a serfrom. They grew before your dinosaurs walked Earth. No one said, ¡®Oh, this is too orange, let me make it pink.¡¯ Our scientists did make other varieties, but they preserved the old ones and carefully kept each unique plant as it was. They saw the value, amidst change, to keep good things the same.
¡°We fear change, so we kept slavery, for how to control our enemies if not for enslaving them? But we who became Biehshah saw the wisdom of other levels, to make people free to choose for themselves.
¡°Bisillipia finally freed all their slaves. They live peacefully on Bisillipia. Those who disagree with the government can have a lawyer and speak all of their grievances. Was that move so difficult for all of our people, that we lost four levels? No one gathered troops to march in Leheren. No one traded for weapons. Now our leaders see their foolishness, to enslave half our world. All they wanted was to have a voice. Elshars taught us to allow people to speak against government and work to change things they don¡¯t like.
¡°Disagreements did not cause the fall of Elshar. Slavers and Heden¡¯s herb research to create slaver herbs did that. But, Elshar is back and cures Pirad made during our memories of Rainbow helped people who were forced to help Heden.
¡°Ih Esta found and destroyed all of his clones and all of his sons and their clones. As of today, Elshar sent Ih Esta to every Elshar colony and wrest all of them from slavers! Elshar slavers were Rentappenen¡¯s best tool to keep power.¡±
I startled. ¡°But, I thought it was the Zbbat and Esteerrians who were the major slavers!¡± The uprooted neon yellow tree people with six arms and six legs and killer telepathy took a lot of slaves. And the squat deep green Esteerrians with their ropy arms ending in mouths with teeth, elephant legs, and basketball-sized frog eyes on their shoulders enslaved star system after star system.
¡°Oh, but Zbbat and Esteerrians just took slaves. Their agreements with Elshar colony leaders opened doors for slaves, since prosperous colonies attract large numbers of people. Elshar leaders who kept slaves prospered because they sent a flood of people to the Zbbat and Esteerrians. Elshars knew how to teach them how to keep their people and our people alive as slaves, otherwise it wouldn¡¯t have been profitable. Without Elshar cooperation, Zbbat and Esteerrians would kill their slaves too fast to keep a mine running. They always ran mines with people like them. But they like war too much.¡±
Leticia laughed, and her blond curls jiggled at her ears. Short hair. ¡°They learned to like peace! Taredias made so many clones of Herdyyyath, he changed the Zbbat mindset. They¡¯re a hive mind. Now they are fighting Rentappenen because Herdy¡¯s loyal to Molly! He also cloned Myenhharrh, an Esteerrian who¡¯s also loyal to Molly!¡±
¡°Whoa¡ªwait! Molly¡¯s friends with Zbbat and Esteerrians?¡± But I remembered her having Herdy for difficult healings. And, later, Pirad made Siadiasly for her but they mainly worked in the purple room with people in comas. I didn¡¯t go in other parts of Rainbow much except during festivals with Ir. We never went in the Hospice, that multicolored building for really sick people. They brought any sick Biehshah to us in our Jujujean Colony.
¡°Her first shipful of slaves had an unconscious Zbbat and two Esteerrians, Myenhharrh and another Esteerrian, went with Binneas to Esteerr because they offered to help him with his negotiations there, because of her kindness to him! They were killed, but Herdy had their memories and Taredias used them to make clones. All of them were loyal to Molly.¡±
Wow. Mon Pa smiled. ¡°Herdyyyatth saved me in the other future! Without him, Molly could ne touch my mind without grave harms. He allowed her to save my kinsmen.¡±
All of the rosy purple Zheien nodded, but they paled and their purple eyes lightened. Elshars usually get dark eyes when they get upset.
I looked up and there was Herdy! In this garden, his bulk didn¡¯t impair him, yet he gracefully danced among the flowers without his huge body flattening a single plant! He had six great legs with six toes apiece like tentacles that held most of him above the ground so bushes didn¡¯t even wave a branch!
Chapter 25 Herdy and Dromie
Herdyyyatth bowed and where his six neon yellow arms came together was a star-shaped opening, which smiled. ¡°Hello! I am Herdyyyath! You may call me Herdy as Molly does, everyone! In this future I didn¡¯t get hurt as badly and I learned from my wife Siadiasly how to be polite as she is.¡± When we stood from our bows, he stood upright and towered above us. Zbbat are about 12 feet tall!
¡°Hi, Herdy!¡± I stuck out my hand for a handshake. ¡°I¡¯m Kia, Governess of Biehshah Ye~.¡±
He shook my hand with a tentacle. Each of his six arms had six fingers, and one of them gave me a firm, but not too firm, handshake. His skin felt a lot tougher than mine, like stiff leather. ¡°Happy to meet you! I helped you in several healings when you needed extra energy.¡±
Oh, yeah! He came with Molly. But he was very rude and called us stupid in his high-pitched, frenetic babble! This one spoke at our speed and had a deep voice. A very polite tone. Like a different Zbbat!
Another, deep green being hopped from bare spot to bare spot at lightning speed on two giant legs with elephant toes! So fast, I didn¡¯t see him coming. Spotted him out of the corner of my eye and by the time I turned my head, he¡¯s here! ¡°I am Myenhharhh! Hello!¡±
The voice kind of confused me because he waved his arms around as he spoke. I finally traced it to his hand-mouths, like stereo!¡±
¡°Myen, it might help them if you use one hand. Don¡¯t sign to them. They don¡¯t know Esteerrian, my friend.¡±
¡°This is harder for me! I got hurt as a slave. I¡¯m better after I saw a healer in Esteerr Ye~, but I was never a diplomat, I was an herb trader.¡± His left mouth spoke this time, but without facial expressions, it was hard to figure him out. But then I looked at his basketball-sized eyes. They were amber, a very pretty color, and his eyelids scrunched.
Ir beat me to the handshake. ¡°I am Irdaktin, Governor Of Biehshah. Pleased to meet you.¡± He offered his hand.
Myenhharrh patted it with his chin. ¡°Pleased to meet you, Ir-uh¡ª¡±
My husband smiled. ¡°You may call me Ir, if that is easier. Or should I talk to you in Esteerrian?¡±
¡°Ir. No, English is fine. If we talked in Esteerrian, I might need a nap! My healer is not through with me. This mental fighting is hard! I¡¯m directing ten traders to get things for Pirad, so forgive me if I seem distracted.¡± He groaned like someone lifting a crate.
I reached for his hand, too, and he froze. ¡°Careful! My teeth are sharp! Herdy didn¡¯t teach me healing yet¡ª¡±
¡°And, I won¡¯t! Let her touch you and she won¡¯t need healing.¡± He sounded a bit impatient.
¡°Do you have to be rude? Esteerrians are more polite¡ª¡±
¡°Who can be polite while fighting a war? All of us are warriors!¡±
¡°Well, some Esteerrians are traders, and if you are rude, you lose trade!¡±
¡°Elshars are always rude, and I still trade with them. I am very good at insults!¡±
They did a lot of arm-waving so I think they were talking that way, too. Ir didn¡¯t share any of it with me, but his bronze skin got yellow. ¡°Friends, let us not argue¡ª¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t start it, he did! I like talking to Zbbat women better!¡±
¡°If you talk to my wife again, I will challenge you!¡±
¡°I am not interested in taking your wife away! While waiting nearly a day for you, she offered me a snack and had questions about Esteerrian trades.¡± His eyes looked up with tight lower eyelids. I almost laughed at the way he threw his arms up! ¡°See? She understands that gesture!¡± He chuckled with his left hand-mouth.
Herdy gave a loud sigh and a tree above us dropped fruit! He caught six of the head-sized fruits before they could hit us. ¡°Oops! I have to remember those. Who¡¯s hungry?¡±
That teen girl ran up before her parents could grab her arms. Smiled. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Lee! Remember me, Herdy? You taught me an Elshar dance for a boy I liked. I wish he was here!¡±
¡°Oh, I remember you, Lee! Here you go.¡± He gave her three. ¡°Your parents might enjoy these, too. You missed ¡®em a lot in Rainbow.¡±
She sighed. ¡°I sure did! You taught me to appreciate them more. Now we talk, and I¡¯m sure glad we do! Thanks, Herdy!¡± She took the three and went back to her family. Others took the other two.
¡°If you want some, there are plenty now.¡± Ir smiled at him.
¡°Thank you, don¡¯t mind if I do!¡± He reached up and grabbed some that looked ready to fall, that were pink with brown blotches. Dropped them in the top of him. ¡°Mmm! Thank you!¡± He gave several that looked bluish, underripe ones, to Myenhharhh.
The Esteerrian ate with his right hand while talking with his left. ¡°Thank you very much! Mmmmm. So sweet and good!¡± When he finished, he made the left hand-mouth smile. It had very pointed teeth.
We drank sassmilk.
Ryonne~ and Dromie walked to us. Dromie was munching on berries and some leaves. ¡°Are these good for humans? I¡¯d like to send some to Granny¡¯s family.¡±
Ryonne~ didn¡¯t look happy. ¡°I am most sorry, but Wslarc forbids any trade with your new world.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not fair that he exiled them! All they did was be friends with me!¡± His huge blue eyes filled with tears and he wiped one with the back of his three-fingered hand. Gnarly fingers with long fingernails.
¡°If he would allow, I send foods quickly! Have they enough?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know! I think I gave them enough to last this long, but how much do Earthans eat?¡±
He frowned, but his orange eyes went huge! ¡°You ne knew when you provided for them?¡±
He looked down and scraped at the lavender sand with a three-toed foot. ¡°I made a street with houses and fixed up Granny¡¯s house like she wanted. I put food in her refrigerator from her memories. But I thought your people would send food if she needed it! You¡¯re Ry¡¯nao¡¯s helper. You can try to contact her, right?¡± His eager eyes watched the taller man, who bent to speak with him.
¡°I can ne contact them because they are exiled by Wslarc. Can you speak with Wslarc?¡±
Dromie trembled. ¡°If he knows I am here, he will be angry. I¡¯m supposed to be on Lisbaar, but it blew up! He thinks I died. He won¡¯t let Granny¡¯s people starve, will he?¡±
¡°I can ne know, my friend. If you are ne to be here, you must leave!¡±
¡°I can¡¯t leave now! We are fighting Rentappenen and my people are on all of his worlds. He said not to bring my people back, but if I hadn¡¯t, I couldn¡¯t fight and win. I needed my people, Ryee.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
¡°They found all your missing people and hid them. If you think I should call them back and kill them, I will, but we will lose. Should I bring them here?¡±
He looked sad. ¡°Dromie, I can ne keep them here if Wslarc says you are exiled from Alb!¡±
¡°But, this is your world! You are king!¡± Dromie spread his arms out wide.
¡°Ea, but I am loyal to Ry¡¯nao, who ne trusts you. And, to Wslarc, who is our Councillor. But, I have ne contact with him, so I can ne know his wishes concerning your help. If he ne approves of your presence here, I must ask that you leave us.¡±
Dromie cried. ¡°Nobody wants us! The world Pirad gave us is a barren rock! If we can¡¯t import food, we will all starve! Granny¡¯s old, and her whole family had to move from place to place on Earth because people hated them, because they have brown skin. But, she loves me. I¡¯m fighting this war again, for her and my new family, and when I brought my father back, he forgave me for killing him. Granny told me love is important. Isn¡¯t love important to you and your people? Won¡¯t you love Granny and her family enough to send her food?¡± He brought both hands over his heart. ¡°I love Granny and I don¡¯t want my family to starve!¡±
Ryonne~ held out his arms and wept as he hugged him. ¡°Eja fe ne! I wish I could talk to Wslarc. I would ask him to have mercy on all of you. But I am bound by the rules of the Alliance and the Unified. Ry¡¯nao can ne advise me for he fights. I have ne power to help you, Dromie. All of my comfort, I give to you, for I do have love for your people, your Earthan family, and for you. Please, be calm. You grow cold!¡± He waved and held a white cloth, which he used to wipe Dromie¡¯s eyes and nose. ¡°Do you know of Father Of All and how he loves us?¡±
Dromie shook his head. ¡°Who is he?¡±
¡°He is father to all who live. To us, He appears Zheien. I think, to you, He would appear your size and shape. His son Melchizedek walked with us and taught us when he created us. Do you have memory of He Who Created your species?¡±
The goblin frowned. ¡°We were created by the Guaspesi as weapons. We had no thoughts, emotions, or bodies like this. Whomever held us used us to kill.
¡°But, a scientist transformed us into a new species. He told us to go and kill. Gave us war skills so no one had to control us. At first, we killed his targets.
¡°Rentappenen told us to kill the Guaspesi or he would enslave us. Kaswpas, who made us people, told us to fight him. But we saw that he was stronger than Guaspesi, a lot stronger. So we fought for Rentappenen.
¡°After we defeated the galaxies of Guaspesi and their friends, Rentappenen made us slaves. Father led a revolt. He learned revolt from a friend who died. But father wanted to enslave people who wanted to enslave us. I was defective when I was born. My own father threw me in a waste rock heap.
¡°Rentappenen told me he would make me powerful if I killed my father and became king. But I didn¡¯t feel powerful. Rentappenen still controlled me and my rank wasn¡¯t higher. I and my people were still slaves. We didn¡¯t think much. Someone always had to control us. My father told me to kill the rest of us as he died, so Rentappenen wouldn¡¯t use us any more. I made a leak in the chemicals they process Tessite with. People in the mine knew about that and hated me. No one there talked to me.¡± He sighed and laid his head on Ryonne~¡¯s broad chest.
¡°So I traveled with Rentappenen and he sent me to Earth with Serenappenen, his brother. He told me, ¡®My brother is a fool. I made a copy of his Cube Of Many Colors. Our genetics are similar enough, I can use his Cube when he sleeps. Help me destroy his friends.¡¯ I was angry. But, when I destroyed his friends, I also killed people in his Collective, and Serenappenen¡¯s, without them knowing about it. I planned to kill him.¡±
Dromie looked up at the stars. ¡°Earth was pretty. Working for Serenappenen, I walked on the street and watched people. I never visited a world before I destroyed it and I just directed weapons to collect resources. I had never spoken with anyone but Rentappenen, just briefly.
¡°Serenappenen talked about how he hated his brother, how jealous he was of him, and how he wanted to see him suffer. But he also talked about Greg Wenh Cet and how he led a revolt with slaves. He analyzed what Greg did to the servers on Ctral and how he directed slaves to load ships, then take them over and fly to Alliance worlds. What to do there. He couldn¡¯t figure out how Greg knew these things. He wanted me to do that for him.
¡°Because Greg lived as an Earthan, I changed my form to Earthan and posed as a student. Someone was reading a fantasy novel when they were supposed to be studying, so I copied it and read it. Of course, it didn¡¯t make sense. But the goblins in the book looked like me.
¡°I noticed children and thought I¡¯d take the form of a toy in my real form. Children speak simply. They can help me learn what this people wants so I can promise them things. I made noises like the book described when people picked me up at times. It made them laugh, like the goblin in the book. Then I got messy like the goblins in the book and put myself in a store for used things.
¡°A man picked me up and bought me for his daughter. ¡®Oh, I¡¯d love to see Gwen¡¯s face when I give Luna you! But Luna will love you. She¡¯s like a dog you kick and she always comes back.¡¯
Soon, we went to an apartment and people were there. I heard them through the brown paper he put around me.
I stood on something a long time. But I felt small hands and they tore the paper. ¡°Oh, hi! My name¡¯s Luna. I¡¯m named for the Moon!¡±
Luna carried me around. Showed me to people. ¡°This is Granny. Say hi to my new friend, Granny!¡±
¡°Ewee, dat thing¡¯s ugly! I can say hi from over there!¡± Granny pointed and Luna took me off her lap. It was soft. She had a big body and wrinkles. Silver hair. Like others in the mine, she didn¡¯t like me.
¡°This is Mama! Say hi, Mama!¡±
¡°Get that thing away from me! How old is that, anyway? Looks like it¡¯s been in someone¡¯s yard for ages!¡±
¡°He¡¯s old ¡®an wise, like that short fella in the movie!¡±
¡°Uh huh. You just take it away from me!¡±
But Luna talked to me like Serenappenen did. Except she smiled. She kept me in her arms or put me on a pillow and covered me with a blanket. ¡°I love you. What¡¯s your name?¡±
I made my scary noise. She didn¡¯t like that. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not a name! You don¡¯t have to be scary ¡®round me. Just be my friend, okay?¡±
¡°Okay.¡±
She hugged me and kept a blanket around me. Showed me things and named them. I guess that¡¯s how she was taught.
¡°Mama, can we get the telescope out tonight? I wanna show my new friend what stars look like.¡±
The lady sighed. ¡°Since it¡¯s your birthday, all right. Granny¡¯ll have to show me how, though. Let¡¯s see if she feels like it.¡±
Granny looked happy. She told the lady how to put it together, then the lady took it on the porch. Granny had trouble walking and used a metal thing.
¡°That¡¯s Granny¡¯s walker. It gives her something to lean on as she walks. Her legs don¡¯t work too good.¡±
She laughed and smiled at Luna. I wanted her to smile at me like that, so I didn¡¯t make my goblin noise. ¡°At least I can still move. Glad your daddy had to work tonight.¡±
¡°He didn¡¯t go to work. He¡¯s having something to drink with his buddies. I want some!¡±
Her mother frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t want any of that! It¡¯s not ice cream sodas or milk shakes. It smells like your cough medicine when you got sick last month.¡±
¡°Ewww, I don¡¯t want that! Why would anybody drink something that tastes that bad?¡±
¡°Oh, he likes the way it tastes because he got used to it. You wouldn¡¯t like it. He used to like takin¡¯ me out. He says I got fat.¡± Her bottom lip quivered.
¡°You¡¯re not fat, Mama! Daddy¡¯s just in one o¡¯ his moods.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a permanent mood. I swear¡ª¡±
¡°Let¡¯s hurry, Gwen. How about Andromeda, Luna? I can find that in a jiffy!¡±
¡°¡®Dromeda! Yay! I love lookin¡¯ at galaxies far away! That¡¯s it! I¡¯m gonna call ya Dromie! Wanna see somethin¡¯ purty? Andromeda¡¯s purty. Look at all those stars up there. I wanna see ¡®em someday.¡± She held me so my face pointed up. I never saw what stars looked like. I knew some of them had planets with people. But, for the first time in my life, I stood on a planet and looked at a dark sky with points of light. I knew every one. Some were empty star systems and I piloted ships to the worlds, to divide their resources and carry them to other worlds. Others were inhabited, but I didn¡¯t act differently.
The beauty of it through Granny¡¯s telescope touched me. Here¡¯s a galaxy of star systems, like ours and not like ours, in a spiral galaxy very like ours. Dromie sighed.
¡°I saw things differently that day. Granny and her people talked, and I learned. But when Luna gave me to Granny, and Gwen left me with her to go work, I saw that even helpless people have worth. When I revealed myself, at first, she was scared. But when I told her about myself and what my people did, she told me I should fight, even if I died doing that.¡±
He hugged himself. ¡°She had love for all those galaxies of people she never met. Now, I love them, too. Granny taught me to love. I taught my father and my people to love. My father forgave me for killing him, but he apologized to me for throwing me away, because Granny said I should love him.
¡°Now, I know what love is. Do you believe me?¡± His blue eyes got wide as he looked at Ryonne~.
He told Dromie about the Zheien Religion and how he prays for guidance and talks with the Yeff Prophet, Peri. ¡°We believe that all can repent and be good. Do you regret all the bad things you did while you served Rentappenen?¡±
Dromie looked down. ¡°Yes, and I brought them all back and apologized to them. I¡¯m sorry I killed people. But, Granny said in war, sometimes you have to kill people and God forgives you. Will he?¡±
Chapter 26 Dromie And Myen Offensive
Ryonne~ looked at Dromie¡¯s miserable face. ¡°My friend, I am sure Father Of All forgives all who repent, whether made persons of men or persons born to others. But there are the demands of judgment and we must obey Wslarc and his Council.¡±
Dromie nodded. ¡°Then, I will obey. I will leave and lead my people against Rentappenen.¡±
Pamela ran to him! ¡°Wait! What about all of us who didn¡¯t get our relatives back? Are you going to get all of them?¡±
¡°I need people who look like them.¡±
Greg and all of the people of Ry Pethe stood. ¡°We are willing to go¡ª¡±
¡°No! Greg, you can¡¯t!¡± Deb grabbed his arm.
I frowned. ¡°Deb, I agree. Greg, you and Briahh help Pirad. You can¡¯t¡ª¡±
¡°But, Pirad didn¡¯t take us with him to Alb Seer! He has clones of us¡ª¡± His green eyes opened wide, but he shuddered.
Leticia ran over to them. ¡°He didn¡¯t take me, either. But he told me he wants all of you safe, too!¡±
A man looked at Greg. ¡°I agree! You suffered enough when we were sent to Earth. Many of us talked about this. I was leader of our best fighters. There are 50 of us who are well-trained for this. You are a scientist, and most of us are scientists who don¡¯t know how to fight. Let me take our fighters. We know how to convince others to fight. All of you can work here.¡±
They all watched Greg, who looked at them, and all of the larger ones nodded. Greg sighed and his shoulders sagged. ¡°My dear friends. Yes, I will let you do the fighting, this time. Perhaps I am too injured to lead you.¡±
A man with brown eyes and hair hugged him. ¡°Brother, you are able to lead us. I will help you all I can, and do some of what you did. Let us go inside, those who are not leaving. There is much work for us.¡± He led most of them out of the garden and back into the building.
The ones left went to Dromie. ¡°We are ready. I warn all of you, we may not return. Any who are frightened to see fighting again, you may go inside.¡±
Not one left. Brave men and women watched Dromie.
He hugged Ryonne~. ¡°Thank you for your friendship. We will leave now. My people can hide ourselves and give you healing. Let¡¯s go save people!¡±
All of them just vanished.
Ryonne~ wept and we hugged him.
People gathered around. ¡°What will they do? Where are they going? Do they know where our people are?¡±
With a weary sigh that rumbled on us, Ryonne~ held up both hands. ¡°Friends, Dromie did ne share his plans with me. I think he knows where Rentappenen keeps his enemies. People of Ry Pethe who went with him, they fought much in this war of 300 years. Some were trained by Rentappenen to fight and know his weapons. Myenhharrh went with him. Surely he thinks to gather other Esteerrians to join them. A trader knows much, from people of all occupations, to items useful in battle such as weapons or substances to disable or kill.¡±
A woman came close. ¡°Ry¡¯nao doesn¡¯t trust that goblin, and you said you couldn¡¯t. How do we know he¡¯ll do anything? He might be taking those poor people to be slaves, too!¡±
Rumbles startled all of us. ¡°Friends, I ne know. Dromie seems to regret his acts. He is a species I ne know. His people were created of inanimate objects that were biological weapons. Such beings would be very different from any we know! I can ne predict how Dromie and his people think, or if they truly repent. That is for Father Of All to decide, ne me.¡±
¡°All of this religious nonsense! I don¡¯t believe any of it! How can such an advanced species as you believe fairy tales?¡± She stomped a foot in the sand.
Ryonne~¡®s rumbles shook the ground beneath us. I never felt such anguish from a Zheien, but neither did Ir, who grabbed his arm! ¡°I can ne explain, except to share what I feel when I pray.¡±
Feelings of sadness, but also calm, radiated from him. I knew the feeling because I¡¯m a religious person, but the lady looked shocked. Most people with us smiled and had a lot of questions. Some of them shook their heads, like that lady, and walked away.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Some of them started to walk after them, but Ryonne~ held up a hand. ¡°Ne, let them go.¡±
That lady whirled and stared at him, blue eyes wide! ¡°What, you don¡¯t want them to argue that it¡¯s all true?¡±
¡°Ne. It makes me sad that you ne believe, but all in Alb may believe as they wish, as long as their beliefs ne harm others. The Alb Council believes in this way, and so I do.¡± He smiled.
¡°The government doesn¡¯t prevent you from trying to convince us. That¡¯s an individual thing.¡±
¡°O, I ne feel prevented. But our religion teaches that we should ne interfere in a person¡¯s beliefs. We teach all who come to us, who wish to know of our religion, but we ne ever force our beliefs on others. Dromie asked of me, and I taught him. Whether he listened, we know ne. If you wish to know more, you will ask of us, ea?¡±
¡°I just want my family back! They won¡¯t be the same after slavery, will they? I saw people come back like zombies!¡± The anguish on her face brought tears in Ryonne~¡®s golden eyes.
¡°In my other future, I had injury and became a healer. Ea, those who see slavery are changed. But, their relations welcomed them and healers offered healing, and they had as much healing as we could give them. Know this, that our healers wait, and if any do return, we care for them well. Have hope, Lady. Hope is well.¡±
She nodded and walked away.
People enjoyed the garden and gradually mingled again.
Ir and I talked with Ryonne~ a bit, then he had to leave. ¡°Ir, Kia, please stay here with other Councillors. I have ne authority to ask, but Ry¡¯nao thought it best to bring you here until our conflict ends. I shall explain to all missing your group.¡±
We nodded.
Deb, Greg, Briahh and a dark-skinned lady holding a cute baby walked with us. Greg smiled. ¡°Kia, here is my brother Briahh, his wife Cadence, and their baby Lizzie. Our baby is Enora¡ª¡±
¡°You have a baby?¡± I stared at Deb!
A lady walked around the festival carrying a baby with orange curls and blue eyes.
¡°That¡¯s my mother, carrying Enora. Ty¡¯nirrhan babies grow fast! She can drink anything Greg and Briahh can. We all share a huge mind link so Enora knows where we are, but we warned her not to tell.¡±
Cadence smiled at us. ¡°I wish Lizzie could talk to us! But I am grateful we both live. Because Nat¡¯s wife Genevieve remembered me to Briahh, he saved me. I had AIDS and believed I should kill myself, so I was on a bridge in New Orleans. Briahh ported me to the ship. I was very sick for a couple of days, but healers saved us.¡± She smiled and hugged Lizzie, who slept.
¡°She¡¯s beautiful. I¡¯m so glad you and her are okay!¡± I couldn¡¯t imagine being preggie and having AIDS, too! She didn¡¯t mention Lizzie¡¯s father and I didn¡¯t ask.
Briahh looked very happy. ¡°Cadence was my student, but she got a scholarship in New Orleans and I was¡ªembarrassed to try to contact her. I was dying until Pirad healed me.¡± He looked down.
Deb rubbed the back of his head like Zheien do, which made him smile. ¡°You¡¯re going to make us Zheien! Or maybe Ryee will. He was so nice to host our colony! Or did his father do that?¡± He frowned.
¡°Ryee did that. Maybe you and Greg should lie down for a bit. It¡¯s been an exciting day!¡± With a push of his shoulder, she got him to look at her husband, who also had the dazed look. They¡¯re not healthy?
Cadence smiled and winked at Deb. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m tired. Briahh, Greg, could we lay in the flowers and take a nap? We did that earlier today¡ª¡±
¡°We did? But, I¡ªhave work, don¡¯t I, Deb? Oh, Pirad died in our lab!¡± He got this anguished look.
Deb rubbed his temples. ¡°You worked, and now you have to rest, Love. Go with Briahh and Cadence. You can rest now.¡±
His green eyes got teary. ¡°I can? It¡¯s been so many years since someone told me I can rest.¡±
Deb reassured him, then the trio laid down on a big flower on the ground. Lizzie had a Biehshah toy in her hand that made soft music.
Then our friend came back, with a long sigh. Greg and Briahh were slaves, for centuries. They act pretty normal until they get tired. All of Ry Pethe is this way.
We looked where Deb did and saw that all the Ty¡¯nirrhans laid down. But the Areonian ones stayed in a group, and the Ry Pethe ones gathered around Greg and Briahh. I wish I could get the Areonian half-Ty¡¯nirrhans to join us. They don¡¯t talk to us. All of them live in the Areonian Colony, and you know none of them will ask for healing, and they all need it!
They do? Did any of my healings help ¡®em?
I think so, but how will we know if they won¡¯t let a healer touch them? So frustrating! She sighed again. Her blue eyes filled. I miss my baby! How long do we have to stay here? Mama must be worried.
Ry¡¯nao said until we finish. I think it¡¯ll be soon. I sure hope Dromie¡¯s people can get our people back!
Do you trust him?
Ryonne~ does, and he¡¯s a diplomat, so he knows people of all kinds. I think he does trust him now. All we can do is wait. At least we can talk to each other now!
I¡¯m not sure we should. Rentappenen is listening.
I think he¡¯s been listening. It hasn¡¯t helped him much.
He sure is mad!
He¡¯s always mad! I laughed.
Chapter 27 Will It Work?
We went back to our room to talk about what to do next, and a Ty¡¯nirrhan brought a group. Many people had happy reunions and Deb sang healing. But, she couldn¡¯t bring Greg¡¯s clone back. That hit all the half-Ty¡¯nirrhans hard, even the Areonian ones!
Amidst all the crying people, the man stood up. ¡°I have to go back! There are many more we couldn¡¯t bring! We came to tell you, Rentappenen is killing all his prisoners!¡±
I grabbed his arm. He grimaced. Oops! ¡°No! None of you are going back! I won¡¯t lose anybody!¡±
Greg ran in, saw his clone getting waved to stasis, and looked pale! ¡°I agree! All of you, stay here! I am very sorry. We tried to get them all. By now, death orders are all carried out. There is nothing to gain and more to lose!¡±
People who didn¡¯t get all their relatives cried and some got very angry at Greg. ¡°You have to do something! They can¡¯t die!¡±
¡°We didn¡¯t sign up for this! I don¡¯t want this Cube!¡± A man tried to throw his, but it didn¡¯t leave his hand. He shook it and got madder. ¡°Let me go!¡± He cussed and asked his server to destroy it, but it said, ¡°You sound angry. Would you like to speak to a diplomat who knows how a Host can be released?¡±
¡°I already did! He said there isn¡¯t a way, short of my death! I don¡¯t want to die!¡±
Suma walked to them and got them away from Greg, who shook all over.
¡°Kia, what should I tell them?¡± Tears rolled down his cheeks.
I shrugged. ¡°You can¡¯t talk to people when they¡¯re that upset. Nothing helps knowing your relatives are gonna die. You did everything a leader can do. Just let Suma talk to ¡®em. It¡¯s not you. It¡¯s that maniac that wants to destroy everything. What¡¯s wrong with him?¡±
Greg shuddered. ¡°We had peaceful lives and he thought it was boring. None of us know what motivates him, or how to stop him. Levels above us thought that the shame of sending him to lower levels would teach him to act better. I think it made him worse! He found ways to manipulate people. Most people who sit on Councils do not know what greed is. They are eager to work out differences of opinion, and they will wait for solutions. Rentappenen is a new problem, among societies who only see the same problems, civilization after civilization. Their time is measured in eons. No one even thought a person like him could exist. Deb, I-I need an aspirin.¡±
She startled and made him lie down. Poured several drinks down him.
Another man came and checked him. ¡°Greg, you must sleep. Do you trust me?¡±
¡°I trust you, Kisu.¡±
¡°Drink this. You can¡¯t fight any more. Let Deb take over.¡±
Deb looked very worried, but she got Greg to drink it and held him as he fell asleep.
Ryonne~ and Eanne~ came and talked to all the upset people and they calmed down. Suma talked to them about grief. ¡°It¡¯s normal to be angry, when you lose people you love.¡± Her brown eyes filled with tears. It feels so weird, but everybody cries now that they¡¯ve lived with Zheien. Even I get teary a lot more now.
¡°Hug each other. Don¡¯t be afraid to show how you feel. A lot of you already know this, if you came from outside the United States. You Areonians need to learn. Emotions don¡¯t go away if you ignore them. You get headaches. Your stomach hurts. Maybe your whole body hurts!
¡°All of you need to confide in someone. I¡¯m available, if you don¡¯t have a relative who¡¯s willing to listen, and I had a lot of clones. Some are dead, but I¡¯ve had new ones showing up even here.¡± She indicated about 20 duplicate her¡¯s outside in the hall.
People openly cried, even men, which surprised me! Men from the US always think they have to be tough and most would rather die than shed a tear.
I cried, too and let Ir hold me. If they can take people from Alb, what¡¯s to stop Rentappenen from sending an army to get us? Security is a big, black hole I don¡¯t understand!
One of the Zheien came over because we were puttin¡¯ out a whole lotta rumbles.All this bowing hurts my back. Healers can only do so much for old injuries. Even recloning doesn¡¯t fix everything, which surprised me. He bowed. When I started to do it, he came up and held my shoulders. ¡°Please, Lady Kia, sit. I am J~oie, First Prince Of Ye~.¡± He looked like Eanne~ and Ryonne~ in the face, but a lot younger. Auburn curls, but tall like the Elder King.
¡°You must be Ryonne~¡®s younger brother.¡± I still struggled with the tilde. You breathe out sharply. Mine came out more like a huh.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
He looked a bit uncomfortable. ¡°I am his older ba.¡±
¡°Oh, you were worried about your son because he danced on the way to our colony. Is he okay?¡±
Then he looked very sad. ¡°Lady Kia, I am newly married. We have ne children yet. Laura is Earthan, and¡ªyou are ne?¡± He looked at my hand, and my mauve skin.
I giggled. ¡°Like Adia, it just happened! But, I still feel Earthan.¡± Then I realized my nose was about to get embarrassing and waved up one of those white cloths to de-mess my face. ¡°Got any advice for a new Governess?¡± He paled when I blew my nose. Oops. Zheien don¡¯t do that, I guess.
He smiled, and those golden eyes got teary, too. ¡°As you are, I am a new Councillor, and this new post is quite overwhelming!¡±
¡°I agree! So, what can we do so Rentappenen can¡¯t get us?¡±
¡°O, he cannot! Pirad has ways to block him. He can see us, but can ne have us.¡±
¡°Then, how did he get our people?¡±
Rumbles startled us. ¡°Dosilians helped him. Now they agreed to help us. Rentappenen will have ne more of our peoples. They work with my friend Be~saech to increase our security. Omalli, Server Instructor Of S¡¯ai, also works with him. Pirad said Dosilian server instructors are better than he can do. But Be~saech¡¯s ideas even inspire Pirad! Ne fear. We are safe in Alb now.¡±
I shook my head. ¡°I want to believe that, but they told us Alb was safe!¡±
J~oie rubbed the back of my head and hummed. Ir grabbed his hand! ¡°My friend, do you know of us? Do not try to heal us or you will need your healer!¡±
He gasped and his face got very orange! ¡°Ea yeo for the warning!¡± He launched into a long Zheien apology and I tried not to laugh. Zheien are so dramatic! But so are we. That¡¯s why we get along so well.
¡°Stop these apologies, my friend. There is no reason for it.¡±
¡°I should have asked of Pas or another healer¡ª¡±
¡°You know now! My wife, in the other future, saved Ten¡¯s brother Jot because she was in synch with us. Most Earthans would die to touch our minds, but she easily did this, when she was. A Deesamor rogue afflicted Jot, and he had Zheien terminals.¡±
The prince grimaced. ¡°Such a trial! So Adia saw your futures? Is Jot well? I always wished to discuss his Treaty Of Eisen Murg with him!¡±
I laughed, but they didn¡¯t, and I felt stupid. ¡°Is that a place?¡±
¡°Ea. Many places have odd names. Zheien who ne learn Diplomatics also laugh at times, because they sound strange. Ne concern, Lady.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry. Since I¡¯m a diplomat¡¯s wife, I should know better.¡±
¡°We don¡¯t have anyone from Murg here, so it¡¯s all right, Cesarae.¡±
¡°I¡¯d sure be embarrassed if there were! ¡®Excuse me, but your language is mighty strange, Sir.¡¯ I giggled.
¡°¡®But you put sss sounds in your language like a hissing cow!¡¯¡± Ir roared. ¡°A Murg thinks Bisillippian speech is very funny, as a lot of Earthans do! ¡®I would never speak with a Bisillip! They think a treaty is a percussion experiment!¡¯¡± He used this very stiff and formal tone and barely pronounced any s sounds! Both of us laughed!
¡°On Morg, cows are predators. They hiss as they breathe and have very long necks like geese! So hissing noises offend them. I studied with Jot so if he died from the mission before that, I could replace him. But I think I was not skilled enough in Eisen customs to get them to listen. Jot could pass for a Morg with his pink skin! He loves challenges that involve rigid customs.¡± My husband smiled, big!
¡°Is it true that they have a law that if one smiles too big, he can go to prison?¡± J~oie leaned forward.
¡°Oh, it¡¯s much worse than that! If you smile when the sun is barely off the horizon! In Eisen, you can only smile when the moons align, and your timing must be exact! When a treaty is signed, they time it so the moons align, and if you hold the smile too long, you are executed! There were 523 attempts at this treaty by skilled diplomats of Leheren! We need a substance their cows are bred to give. Morgs don¡¯t want to trade it because it is vital for their children. We have tech to help with cow genetics so they can breed more often. But we need a portion of the output. For centuries, we sent diplomats! It took us a long time to figure out why diplomats would have great success with negotiation and somehow offend the leader and not obtain a signing! Finally, we insisted that two diplomats attend the signing and they noticed when the leaders called guards. Jot was an observer at the last attempt. He was successful a year ago.¡±
¡°My fae, W~Via had a mission there and an advisor of Sigan Mas told him no diplomat survived them! Our people expected him ne to survive, but he signed. He gave a very brief smile. It surprised the leader, how quickly he smiled! If one of them were to blink, he missed it!¡±
¡°And that is how Jot knew how fast to smile! He practiced with your father until his smile was as quick as your father¡¯s memory of it, when he shared it. It was much faster than our diplomat.¡± Ir got serious. ¡°We lost many of our friends to stupid races! Why are some species so stupid?¡± Ir looked up in a very exaggerated way!
¡°I think is part of our lifetest.¡±
With his elbow, Ir pointed ahead of him. ¡°So, you believe religion explains it?¡±
J~oie put his palm behind his ear. ¡°My friend, religion explains everything, for those who see it.¡±
Ir did the same. ¡°Amazing! Now that we have our own colony, I might wish to learn more of your religion. Zheien are wiser than we are, even though we are an older species. Long life does not equal wisdom.¡± He put both his hands on the table.
J~oie smiled. ¡°I am happy to speak of it. Ryee sends his regrets that he cannot be here. Many have fears, and he speaks in the Alb Council as we speak. We worry for Pirad. How can we know of his well?¡±
Chapter 28 Rescue To Exile
Ir frowned at J~oie. ¡°My friend, Pirad does not share much of his work with us. Most of our recent interactions consist of ¡®You should not think of that!¡¯¡±
I laughed. But Ir was serious.
¡°Then, how shall we know if he needs help?¡± His golden eyes filled.
¡°I think we will know through people with Cubes. Kia, do you feel him?¡±
For a moment, I tried. Shook my head. ¡°Since we came here, I can¡¯t. Not him, or Kirnonos, or Taredias. One of ¡®em¡¯s usually listening to me to warn me not to think, because I asked them to do that.¡± Now that I was listening for them, I heard everyone else in the room, like reflections in a big pond. Seeing myself through their eyes startled me. My silver hair was the exact same shade as Ir¡¯s, but both of us had a slight glow. My eyes weren¡¯t just blue, but a very bright blue that also glowed. Even my deep pink skin did!
Seems like I¡¯d notice that. Maybe I just can¡¯t handle bein¡¯ an alien.
Or hearin¡¯ all these people¡¯s stray thoughts. The ones who didn¡¯t get relatives back. Some were adamant their people had to be alive. Others were out in the garden by themselves crying because they believed they died.
I felt terrible! ¡°Ir, what can we do for our people?¡±
Before he could answer, Dromie popped in! ¡°My people found your missing people!¡±
¡°Great! Where are they?¡±
He described Rentappenen¡¯s process for shipping people in stasis. His people were locating ships and porting them to his exile planet deep underground. It isn¡¯t in Alb?
J~oie listened carefully. ¡°Can you ne bring them to Alb?¡±
¡°Our people are exiled, so we can¡¯t.¡±
A man came over. ¡°Is my wife still alive?¡±
Dromie spread his arms out wide. ¡°They are in stasis. Your wife is on my planet.¡±
¡°Bring her here!¡±
¡°I can¡¯t! My people are exiled¡ª¡±
¡°You¡¯re here! I think you¡¯re lying. You didn¡¯t find any of them!¡±
J~oie held his hands up. ¡°Please, Friends, be calm. Perhaps when the War ends¡ª¡±
¡°All you people talk about a war, but we haven¡¯t seen any evidence of it! I¡ª¡± His face got a shocked expression. One of his Collective showed him fighting on a world not far from Earth, but the other direction from Alb.
¡°My friend, this is ne like fighting as you know it, where two countries have a dispute and use weapons in a small area. This war involves all of a world, with troops from many, for short periods. Ne can fight but on one world then another. Intergalactic war is ne like war between star systems, which is the kind of war our level knows. War, and shortages required, are local.
¡°Areon¡¯s government restricted trade and they had many shortages. Our traders had ne many, because they found markets and traveled far to supply us. This happened because Zheien value helping above profit. Other species wish profit, such as Elshars and Areonians, and they had much more hardships than we.¡±
The man frowned at him. ¡°Yeah, and you¡¯re royalty! Common people have to work for what they get!¡±
J~oie showed him telepathically a world with a yellow sky and yellow desert. Kids had to be wrapped up like mummies so the dirt didn¡¯t touch them. People lived in stone cubes with one doorway and one square window, covered with a tarp. A dust storm came and people had to stay inside. Dust still got in their houses so they all had to wrap up.
¡°Here is Elshar Mashai. Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony had shortages and many hardships. This is the home of King Challet. He and his sons and their wives and his grandson Wen and his wife and all of their children lived in cubes such as all his people did.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t tell me that royalty lived that way, sleeping on straw beds like that!¡± The view showed all of them huddled together on the straw. Each had a blanket but they shivered. Challet¡¯s grandson cried.
¡°So they did. A Zheien king ne rules the way you think. If his people suffers, he also suffers, for he is father to them, not ruler.
¡°They lived on a world Elshars colonized first. These new colonists suffered much, and they had to live very simply. When they traded, they used tech, but sparingly because five worlds had to share one sun for their energy needs.
¡°When diplomats arranged for a Zheien colony, the Zheien agreed to live as the Elshars did. King Challet led their colony there and they adapted. Many Zheien had marriages to Elshars, and so the Elshar Zheien came to be. Their skins changed from orange as me, to yellow. Many of them suffered poor health from environs on Elshar Mashai. Their lifetimes grew much shorter, from 200 years to little over 100.¡± J~oie sighed, and it rumbled on us.6+This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
¡°Hostility grew because Elshars saw that Zheien trade was greater than theirs. Most farms were Elshar and many refused to trade food to Elshar Zheien. The Elshar Zheien colony held half of Elshar Mashai. This half of their world had little water and only one prov had farms, Marenalay.
¡°People had to travel far on dorna when Elshar Mashai decided ne to allow porting. Fuel became scarce so traders could use ships for far provs, but those nearest to Prov One and Prov Nine had to ride a dorna for hours to reach a market, for foods. Some learned to ride ferrisnae, which are much faster, but they needed healers on their return, for travel is very harsh.¡±
Dromie watched all this with wide blue eyes. ¡°What is a dorna?¡±
J~oie waved, and one stood in the room with us. ¡°Here is Shalau, my dorna. You may touch her. She enjoys being petted.¡±
This animal looked the size of a donkey, but with thicker legs and a very cow-like face, all gray with dark ears. Her eyes turned light when Dromie touched her nose. ¡°Oh, she is soft! I never saw animals.¡±
¡°A ferrisna is larger. Laura says they look like white horses. Their eyes are also blue, and lighten when they are happy. I would bring one, but they are rare. Zhea~ exported most of theirs to Elshar Zheiea, and they have few offspring.¡±
¡°Like this?¡± Dromie lifted a hand and a horse the size of the dorna appeared. It gave a startled whinny, but it had a horn on its head! The white fur shone rainbows in the light.
The Zheien startled. ¡°She is ne a ferrisna. They are larger. Where did you get her?¡±
Dromie spoke a foreign language. J~oie looked shocked! ¡°Will they miss her?¡±
¡°She was lonely. All her people died.¡±
A man in a purple uniform ported in and reached a hand to her. She backed away, toward a group of Earthans.
Pamela got up slowly from her chair and put a hand on her back. ¡°Easy there. We won¡¯t hurt you.¡±
She whipped her head around and stared at the teen with dark eyes. Looked at the hand petting her. They got a bit lighter.
¡°I won¡¯t hurt you. I love animals.¡± Her brown eyes opened wide. This was the teen who brought her parents back.
The Zheien waved and a white aandat appeared at her feet and flowed up. She whimpered. Dromie had one that was white against his green skin at his neck. He wore a green tunic and pants like Zheien wear.
¡°That¡¯s to help you stay healthy. It won¡¯t hurt. I was a little scared when I got mine, too.¡±
¡°Oh, okay.¡± It had a very high-pitched, fluttery voice. ¡°I was scared, but better now. It has words.¡± She watched as the white flowed up her back legs. ¡°Oh, all of you have words! First Prince J~oie. I will serve you.¡± She bowed to him with her paws like a cat-stretch.
J~oie bowed. ¡°Welcome to us! I am most sorry about your people.¡±
¡°I am not! They liked to make war, and used me to carry weapons. If I must, I will carry them for you.¡± She gave a very human, drawn out sigh!
The prince hugged her neck. ¡°We ne make war. You may live here in peace. My friend Oesha will help you find foods.¡±
Dromie waved and plants floated to the tall Zheien. ¡°Here are all the plants I could find from her world. There are not many, but she was eating them.¡±
Oesha¡¯s blue eyes widened. ¡°Such amounts! These are similar to many crops on Zheien worlds.¡±
¡°Oh, you are a scientist? I am Bponas, and I know much about this. The scientist who displeased our general did foods research. He was the last of our kinds who knew it. His superior killed him for doing this, and inside, I laughed. They were foolish people. I miss Kerponie, who named me for his mother. He did not like war.¡±
Dromie put a hand on her upper leg. ¡°I can bring him back.¡± A wave, but nothing happened. He looked very dismayed!
That man laughed. ¡°And you said you could bring our people back! That¡¯s just proof you can¡¯t, you liar!¡±
J~oie frowned, and we didn¡¯t hear anything else he said to Dromie.
The goblin got teary. ¡°You are kind to me.¡±
The prince waved for a white cloth and wiped his eyes. ¡°We cannot succeed in everything we do. I am happy our people are safe, even if we cannot bring them here. Wslarc is my Councillor. When I can, I speak with him concerning your people.¡±
¡°You will? Ryonne~ said he could not!¡±
J~oie smiled. ¡°My ba does not have a means to speak with him, but I do, because of my Cube. We all have different Gifts, you see.¡±
¡°I can make your Gift better, if you want me to!¡±
He looked a bit unsure about that.
¡°He made me better, and I like it.¡± I smiled.
J~oie nodded. ¡°Then, I accept your gift. Ea yeo, my friend!¡±
Dromie nodded, and J~oie got darker orange skin.
Oesha grabbed his arm, but smiled. ¡°O, you seem stronger, J~oie, are you?¡±
¡°Ea, I feel more health! Pas will be very happy!¡± He giggled.
Dromie laughed. ¡°I¡¯m happy when I can help people. I have to leave to lead the war now.¡±
Bponas startled. ¡°But you said there wasn¡¯t war!¡±
J~oie sighed and it rumbled on us. ¡°We do not fight as you remember. This is a war of Cubes. All of us in this room have them.¡±
She bowed again and her eyes turned black. ¡°I am loyal to you. If you knew I had a Lens, would you let me live?¡±
Ir startled. J~oie did, too, but harder. ¡°Which Lens do you have?¡±
¡°It belonged to Kerponie. He gave me his mother¡¯s genetics, so I can use it for him. I¡ª¡± She trembled harder.
A man¡ªbut he had four legs and four arms¡ªappeared with Bponas. Spoke in a foreign language.
The unicorn talked to him and shook.
He petted her head. ¡°Now I know your language. First Prince J~oie.¡± He bowed with all four legs bent.
J~oie bowed to him. ¡°How shall I call you?¡±
¡°Kerponie, King Of Hy. Bponas tells me my people died, but they brought destruction wherever they traveled. I disagreed, and they killed me for it. My messenger to the Guaspesi was Bponas, but they intercepted her. I tried to send my research to Kaswpas. Did they get it?¡± He looked at Dromie. ¡°What species are you?¡±
His green skin went pale. ¡°We are a new species. I think you are our father, because Kaswpas made us from his weapons.¡±
Chapter 29 Father Of A Species
¡°Kaswpas used my ideas to create a species?¡± He fell on the floor!
Dromie prostrated himself.
¡°Don¡¯t do this. No.¡± Kerponie lifted him with all four arms and put him on his feet. ¡°Where is Kaswpas now?¡±
¡°He made us to fight Rentappenen but he is more powerful than the Guaspesi so we followed him. I know now that this was wrong.¡±
¡°Surely you were like children. But you use my lens, so my genetics must be in you. Did anyone teach you to use it, or the consequences of using it?¡± His blue eyes glowed, and everyone in the room startled! His white hair also stood on end.
¡°Rentappenen taught me to destroy.¡± Dromie looked down.
¡°I warned his people not to touch rainbow Tessite, but they did, and all of them are contaminated¡ª¡±
¡°Not now. A lady took it and returned it to a higher level. I can¡¯t see them.¡±
The man quivered. ¡°I see them. You did things they do not like. But you did not know of the consequences and I do. You did what I would have done, to bring back the civilizations you destroyed. Their war destroyed much of Rentappenen¡¯s contamination.
¡°I see why my friends are letting you work. But how did you obtain a Lens?¡± He looked at Ir. ¡°Your Lenses were Taken.¡±
¡°My father¡ª¡±
Father bowed. ¡°I am Tanirpahadachan, Elder Of Biehshah. I was chosen of the Padrisa.¡±
Kerponie bowed and stumbled. ¡°I think your species is too weak to control a Lens! To try to teach you would destroy you! Let me give the White Lens to Dromie. I will keep the Rainbow Lens. Rentappenen knows of us now, so let us fight! The Padrisa warns us they cannot help us. If we defeat Rentappenen, they will give me a seat on their Council. Wslarc can contact me. You will tell him, Prince J~oie?¡±
¡°I will. May Father Of All bless your efforts.¡± J~oie bowed lower. He trembled.
Dromie took Kerponie¡¯s hand and he lifted him onto Bponas¡¯ back. ¡°If I could leave you here, I would. We cannot win without your help.¡±
The unicorn stared at the ceiling. ¡°Get on with it! I¡¯m not happy about going into war again, but it¡¯s my destiny.¡±
Kerponie chuckled. ¡°Just help the slaves. I won¡¯t make you kill. You¡¯re better at healing them. I sent crops to Dromie¡¯s rock. They¡¯ll grow by the time we get back.¡±
¡°Our world didn¡¯t used to be a rock! War kills everything.¡±
¡°Ah, but I¡¯ll bring our people back who want to live peaceably¡ª¡±
Dromie shook his head. ¡°The weapons they used destroyed it. I was only able to bring you and Bponas back.¡±
He lost his smile. ¡°Then, we must save other civilizations. I worked too hard for this.¡± The trio vanished.
Pamela, that teen, shook her head. ¡°At least I found out unicorns are real!¡± She pulled at her long, brown hair.
J~oie startled. ¡°That was ne a unicorn! Dromie brought a created species, as he is. Kerponie and his ba were the last of their species who ne sought war. All of their people followed Rentappenen, willingly. These two brave scientists thought to fight against him. Kerponie created Bponas to help him. She is as Dromie, an intelligent species as are we. But they are more advanced than we by many levels.¡±
Ir laughed. ¡°But, she looked like Earthans think a unicorn should look! And Dromie¡¯s species look like an Earthan thinks a goblin should look! I will petition Wslarc endlessly until he makes Dromie¡¯s world filled with all sorts of fantasy creatures! I might try my hand at creating magic.¡±
Ir¡¯s father laughed! ¡°I like making new species. Kia is thinking of people from movies she saw, let us create them!¡±
¡°Maybe we shouldn¡¯t do that. Won¡¯t they fight?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
¡°Our people create simulants that look like animals to carry disabled people and do work because is fun.¡± J~oie waved and a furry thing with four legs waddled to me. ¡°They are like mobile biomes, Kia. Ne living. Could an animal live without a head? This one has plant life similar to your algae growing in it, so it can move, but ne think except of work.¡± He showed me a room with jars of blue goo. That¡¯s how they store data? Wow.
I reached a hand to it and it moved closer. Its white fur was warm. ¡°It¡¯s not alive?¡± I felt liquid sloshing, which startled me.
¡°Ne. This one carries people, so he is warm and soft. Fur color is for temperature. We need warmer ones, so brown ones are most common, but people who need much warmth use black ones.
¡°Now we have many gelsai, so our made animals are ne used as much. They are more pleasant.¡± He waved a six-legged cat to us.
She rubbed against our legs.
¡°Can I bring my cat here? Pamela brushed her brown hair back.
¡°Ea, bring your pets, all of you. Progs keep them from harm in the garden. I think they miss you as you miss them.¡± J~oie smiled.
Most of ¡®em waved and we had a variety. I wanted to wait until the War ends to have a pet, but I loved our gelsai. We decided to keep her. She had beautiful fur, gray with patches of stripes and round spots in orange, gray and white. Her green eyes had round pupils like ours. When we petted her, they turned lighter.
I realized we had two teens in our group, about the same age. Pamela was slightly taller but they both had brown hair and brown eyes. Lee and her look a lot alike and they both have pink cubes. Lee¡¯s is darker and more powerful. She brought her family back, too.
But I saw why Dromie¡¯s people are exiled. Most of them have a kind of computer virus. Zheien call them rogues, but these are more advanced than that. They target people with Cubes. Our Pirad here on Ye~ died of that.
So all those people he rescued can never come here, if they can get healing so they can live? That¡¯s not fair!
I saw ships arriving in all the Rainbow colonies. Slaves in poor condition. They ported some to Dromie¡¯s world. But if Pirad¡¯s not doing that, who is? I can¡¯t ask?
J~oie startled. ¡°Kia, we should ne discuss. Mon Pa and his team are helping Be~saech in this. Healers are upset that people port, and ne knew where they went! We can ne tell them.¡±
¡°I hate all this secrecy!¡± I spread my arms out, which confused Ir.
¡°Kia, they cannot know what we know. Why frighten them more?¡± With a sigh that rumbled on me, Ir hugged me.
¡°My friends, that is why we stay here. Diplomats try to explain to those who know us, and people are yet very frightened. They can ne know what we do here.¡± J~oie¡¯s golden eyes opened very wide.
¡°What are they telling ¡®em? I bet Mama¡¯s havin¡¯ a hissy fit!¡± I looked at the ceiling.
¡°We asked for their patience. They know we are in a safe place working on a project. Diplomats explain this as a ¡®working vacation¡¯.¡±
I laughed and he got this puzzled look! ¡°This isn¡¯t like a vacation! If it was a vacation I¡¯d want to be on the beach and be able to swim!¡±
But then I got serious. Dromie¡¯s worried about that family that got exiled with him. If his cube¡ªuh, lens, is keeping it livable, what happens if he gets too distracted? My Collective answered, and I didn¡¯t want to hear it. Dromie powers life. If he cannot, all life there will end because a Lens must have a Host as a Cube must. Life he created there will die. Tech will end. Life he brought there will continue but they must have needs and there is no trade.
Tech will end. That means stasis, too. I looked over the worried faces. Anyone in stasis waiting for healing will come out of stasis, and they¡¯ll die.
Ir hugged me tighter. Now you know things I didn¡¯t like about living on higher tech levels. I didn¡¯t like having to keep worlds alive. One mistake, and your worlds die, and all the people on them.
How did you handle that?
I distracted myself. It is easier for Bisillips to do that. As a Biehshah, I could not do it. We all wanted a simpler life, after we came to this level. Most Bisillips missed our higher level lives. They were not as bothered by losing worlds, except for Kirnonos, Pirad and Taredias.
Llsam and Lilan created a secret lab together. They were the most distraught about our loss. Lilan created worlds like Areon, Alb Seer and Biehshah. Llsam created the Biehshah. But then he went insane and changed the peaceful Aryllans into monsters! He shuddered.
Morgan said Rentappenen did that.
Who¡¯s Morgan?
My mind pointed him to a sad girl in the corner. She didn¡¯t talk to anyone. One of our Cube holders? In Rainbow she did a lot of miracles and people thought she used Llsam¡¯s mind to do it.
She loves Llsam and we cannot bring him from stasis! The Council will have to give permission for that because of what happened with Aryllans. They are as they were now because of Ray, who will hold the Red Cube. She had the Blue Cube, but gave it to Wtensau, King Of Aryll. Ray also sat by herself studying a database of trading. Her blond hair looked nice on her shoulders as she frowned into her holos. That answer came from my Collective.
I knew about Ray in Rainbow, too. She woke up all of the Elshar Zheien¡¯s Burial Chambers!
Pirad saw how she did that and he woke up all of Alb¡¯s Burial Chambers! Ir smiled at me.
That must¡¯ve made a lot of people happy! Far above us, festivals are still going on to celebrate all these worlds coming to Alb to escape destruction. But only if we can defeat Rentappenen.
Chapter 30 Alb Isnt Safe
Sara and Cevit Ion ran across the garden. ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡±
Cevit Ion had Ahstam with him, who looked worried. Our former 7th Galaxy Minister looked gray, not the sunny yellow he should have in his skin.
Ahstam was not the old, bald healer I saw clones of in Rainbow. This man had the same pale blue eyes but short brown curls.
A lady ran behind them. I hadn¡¯t seen her!
I felt it, too. Telepathy isn¡¯t limited by distance. I thought our Dosilian problems were over! This was an army!
An armed ship orbited, and my Collective targeted it. Most were on that ship, but Cevit Ion knew exactly where I needed to build pressure in a containment. The ship exploded! People saw this explosion in Oshfah, Areon Ye~ and Ry Pethe with shock! Areon saw it as a white streak across their blue sky and progs ported them underground. Our progs ported everyone into Ye~ Burial Chambers.
This surprised the Dosilians and they couldn¡¯t track them.
Sara and I dropped dozens of ¡®em in a group. Stragglers ran, but we picked them off.
None went to other worlds of Alb from that ship. This is personal!
Everyone felt that. Suma ran to Sara. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
¡°Okay? That was a ship full of Dosilians! No, I¡¯m not okay!¡± She cried and Cevit Ion held her.
¡°Love, let us go rest¡ª¡±
¡°I can¡¯t! We have to watch, Kia!¡± Her deep blue eyes had that terrorized look.
I put a hand on her shoulder, careful not to pull her brown hair. ¡°I¡¯m watching. You can watch from bed while you rest. Want us to go with you?¡± We all had rooms off a hall with a view of those beautiful gardens. She looked like she hadn¡¯t slept.
A nod, and we ported to their room. They had a nine-sided bed with orange-yellow covers that matched her frilly dress and his tunic and pants. Ahstam wore the same color under his white robes and so did the lady.
Suma came with us. ¡°Kia, can you watch for a bit? Biehshah can stay up for days, but Sara can¡¯t.¡±
Had I been up for days? We usually slept and woke up kind of on my old schedule, and I felt just as tired. The date was Monday, Jan 31. But, last time I checked, it was Friday, Jan 21!
¡°Kia sleeps as she did on Earth, but it doesn¡¯t rest her.¡± He picked me up and put me in our leiwege. Biehshah sleep on hard beds. Usually a hard bed is good for my back, but I tried one of these and it really helped. Ir bent the white mattress just right to hold me sitting up.
¡°It doesn¡¯t? That¡¯s a problem.¡± Her brown eyes filled.
¡°I¡¯m going to be tired. Our selves in the bubble are still fighting, and that¡¯s affecting all of us. You look tired, too, Suma.¡±
¡°I miss my husband! We can have our pets, but not our husbands?¡± Then she flinched.
Cevit Ion put a shaking hand on her shoulder. ¡°Bring Ni¡¯olmai. You need him. I am most sorry I nae mentioned this earlier. He helps you fight.¡±
¡°I¡¯m worried! Jarfus left when Dromie did, and he didn¡¯t come back. Did he go to rescue slaves, and died there?¡± She sobbed.
All the Zheien sighed and it rumbled. ¡°We can nae know.¡±
¡°Everywhere Jarfus goes, troops die in large numbers! I see it.¡± Sara put her head on Cevit Ion¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Rentappenen wants me dead. He doesn¡¯t want Pirad to know that he¡¯s losing. He¡¯s nearly out of materials to make clones, so he wants Pirad¡¯s supply worlds. Novas! He¡¯s looking for Dromie¡¯s world!¡±
I busted out laughing! ¡°Novas? You sound like Danger Service. ¡®Nova! Look at that, Jim!¡¯ They look up and a star explodes like fireworks. Then, another star explodes. ¡®Novas!!¡¯ they chorus.¡±
Sara made her voice British and deep like that announcer. ¡°¡®And this is how Danger Service invented a new slang expression used by gazillions across the galaxies! ¡®Novas¡¯!¡± She laughed.
Cevit Ion used the same voice. ¡°¡®Now, our intrepid explorers, Diplomat Dangerous and Diplomat Extraneous, travel on missions to save the universe! They go to Tasmania where they look up in the sky. ¡®Novas!!¡¯
They go to Bismainia. There are two novas in the sky there, too. Both diplomats point at it. ¡®Novas!!¡¯ People look up and point as well. ¡®Novas!!¡¯
World after world, these two brave diplomats get people to look up at the starry nightttime sky. People on them look up and say, ¡®Novas!!¡¯
Finally, the novas are gone from the sky. Still, mission after mission, these two diplomats, after their weary day of negotiation, look up at the sky and point. ¡®Novas!!¡¯
Leader Sigourney Of Ziazmania looks up. ¡®I don¡¯t see anything. What are you two trying to do, psychological warfare?!¡¯
¡®No, we¡¯re just remembering the two novas that were in the sky on our last mission.¡¯
¡®Where was that?¡¯
¡®Xasmania, in the 7th.¡¯
Leader Sigourney scoffs at them. ¡®We are in the 3rd Galaxy. We haven¡¯t had a star to nova in 15oo of our years¡ªwhat?¡¯
He looks up at the nighttime sky and gasps. A star explodes in blue and green light.
¡®Wait for it,¡¯ says Dangerous.
A second star novas in red and green! Leader Sigourney gasps!
¡®Novas!!¡¯ chorus Dangerous and Extraneous.
¡®Novas!!¡¯ exclaims Leader Sigourney. He gasps again. ¡®Now you have me saying it! Novas!! Novas!!¡¯
Sara giggled, then got her announcer voice again. ¡°¡®And by a severe case of coincidence, Dangerous and Extraneous went on their 149-treaty tour of 14 galaxies, and in each one, there were two novas visible in the night sky. So eventful was this tour, that every world in the Alliance learned to say ¡®novas!¡¯ And, they soon taught the Zheien!¡¯
The scene changes to the peaceful Zheien world of Zheienmainia, Capital Of The Zheien where King Ishmainia sits on his throne of sand. [It¡¯s a mound in the middle of nine different colored cubes. The camera zooms in to his eye which looks up. Then it zooms out to show an old king in red-violet robes with long, silver curls.
An orange Zheien startles and leads the old king away. A young man with blonde curls strides over to the mound and sits. Sand flies up in a cloud! People cough.
A caption reads KING MAREL¡¯MAINIA RETIRED. THIS IS ISHMAINIA, HIS SON.
The camera zooms in on his deep blue eye, which looks up, then zooms suddenly out to reveal his extra-surprised face, then zooms up to the sky where two stars nova! ¡®Novas!!¡¯
Two purple Thordes diplomats frown at him. ¡®Aww, you beat us to it! Novas!!¡¯
¡®Ejis nae! Should I hit the ¡®rewind¡¯ button?¡¯ He waves.
The entire scene replays, but this time, Dangerous and Extraneous gasp and point up. ¡®Nova!¡¯ says Dangerous. ¡®Nova!¡¯ says Extraneous. The camera zooms in on both of them as the second nova happens and they both point up and exclaim, ¡®Novas!!¡¯
¡®Now, will you sign with me on this Occasion Of The Twin Novas? I wish to commemorate this Treaty between us with a Proclaimation Of The Twin Novas, and compel all of my Zheien peoples everywhere to use the expression, ¡®Novas!!¡¯ for extreme surprise!¡¯This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Dangerous looks at Extraneous, who shakes his head, vigorously! But Dangerous smiles at the King. ¡®I think this provision is unnecessary. Look!¡¯ People are pointing up and shouting, ¡®Novas!!¡¯
The king flashes a wise smile. ¡®But, my kingdom expects a provision with which to proclaim it! I must add this Proclamation because my people wish it. I share a mind link with every one of them, wherever they might be, and all are in agreement!¡¯
Dangerous looks at Extraneous, who has a very smug expression. He shrugs and says, ¡®Okay, I¡¯ll sign it and so will Extraneous. This treaty will be the culmination of two years¡¯ work!¡¯
Just then, Emperor Evilus strides into the scene and kicks up dust from the King¡¯s mound.¡±
Sara looked at Cevit Ion, who used the creaky Evilus voice. ¡°¡®Now, I will object to this treaty! No one will ever say, ¡®Novas!¡¯, because¡ª¡¯
¡®You just said it! I heard you say the word, ¡®Novas!¡¯ Diplomat Dangerous points at Emperor Evilus, who looks around.
¡®I didn¡¯t say it! I object to its use!¡¯ He points at a minister, who stands up.
¡®I say we have 3000 witnesses in this meeting, and our mind link has gazillions, who heard you use the expression, ¡®Novas!¡¯ I rest my case.¡¯ He sits, and a cloud of dust obscures the scene.
Evilus paces, and dust follows him around in a circle. ¡®I suppose I had to say it to address the issue, but I object to its use!¡¯
King Ishmainia jumps up and follows him in a circle. One by one, all of his council does the same, imitating his wide gestures. ¡®But, you used it, so I must object to your objection! If you use the word, you cannot object to it.¡¯
¡®But, I have to say it so you know what I¡¯m talking about, don¡¯t I?¡¯
¡®Nae! We all have telepathy, including you!¡¯
¡®I don¡¯t have telepathy! I lost it fighting¡¡¯ He whirls, and dust rises so we barely see anyone. ¡®Him!¡¯
¡®Who? The dust is terrible today, ejis nae!¡¯
¡®Can¡¯t you just use your telepathy to look?¡¯
¡®Nae, I would violate your privacy to do so!¡¯
An exaggerated male sigh came from the cloud. ¡®Just wait for the dust to settle. Nobody move!¡¯
¡®You can nae order my people nae to move! Please, speak politely.¡¯
Another loud male sigh stirs up even more dust. ¡®Please. Nobody move!¡¯
¡®That was still rude. Please, use a polite tone.¡¯
An even louder male sigh happens. ¡®Please. Don¡¯t move. Just don¡¯t.¡¯
¡®Thank you, Evilus.¡¯
¡®That¡¯s Emperor Evilus!!¡¯
¡®O, I am very sorry. I thought us friends. Emperor Evilus, thank you.¡¯
¡®Mwhahaahaa! Thank you.¡¯ More dust rises.
Finally, the dust clears and he is still pointing at Dangerous. ¡®There. You see? He did it! He hurt me and now my telepathy doesn¡¯t work!¡¯ A lightning bolt goes from his eyes to Dangerous and he falls on the sand.
Dangerous groans. ¡®You just used it on me! Ow!!¡¯
¡®That was a coincidence! Maybe sometimes it works.¡¯ A lightning bolt comes from his eyes and hits Extraneous in the arm.
¡®Ha, ha, you missed¡ª¡¯
Another lightning bolt hits Extraneous and he falls down. ¡®Oh! Ow!¡¯
Black robed men grab Evilus. ¡®Now you are going to the Galactic Police Fortress!¡¯
¡®Oh, boy, I always wanted to see your secret facility! Is this a tour?¡¯
¡®Yes, it is a tour! A never-ending tour!¡¯
¡®Good, I¡¯ll learn all your secrets¡ªwait a minute. A never-ending tour? But that means¡ª¡¯
¡®Yes! You will not leave. Nae ever.¡¯
Evilus gets a horrified look. ¡®But I claim Provision 27!¡¯
The Ministers look at each other with very confused looks.
King Ishmainia waves up the treaty. ¡®Very well. Sign this, then they can take you.¡¯
¡®But-but I have protection! I do!¡¯
¡®Provision 27 states that you have protection until you sign. Sign the treaty, please.¡±
Evilus takes a quill off the king¡¯s hat and scribbles his name. ¡®There! Now I have protection! You won¡¯t get me!¡¯ He waves and two men bring in a blue swirl painted on cardboard and spin it. Clicks are loud.
The black robes grab his arms before he can jump in. ¡®We got you. Come to our secret prison now.¡¯ They jump into the portal with him and knock the cardboard swirl down, then vanish. The cardboard swirl is still on the sand. One of the ministers sweeps sand on it with a sheepish grin.
¡®Now we may sign and enjoy a festival¡ª¡¯
Male deepvoiced crying makes them look around. ¡®Noooooooooooo!¡¯ fades away.
Another male voice echoes. ¡®Nae worry. Even prisoners get festival pastries.¡¯
¡®Really? Can I watch Danger Service on cable tv?¡¯
¡®We have holos of it.¡¯
¡®Okay, take me to my cell.¡¯
The echoes fade.
Everyone in the huge crowd signs the treaty and cheers! The cheers are ¡®Novas!! Novas!! Novas!!¡¯
Sara giggled. ¡°I love that!¡±
I laughed. ¡°What¡¯s that one called? I¡¯ll have to put it on my watchlist!¡±
¡°Novas Redeux, but if you start from the beginning, it¡¯s still this season.¡±
¡°Oh, it¡¯s new Danger Service?¡± But the episodes I remember, that¡¯s future Danger Service, not now.
Sara looked sad. ¡°I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll ever make the Danger Service episodes we remember. They¡¯re doing new ones.¡±
¡°Pirad collected memories of many Earthans who enjoyed it.¡± Cevit Ion laughed. ¡°I think he can make them into what we remember. Many diplomats watched.¡±
¡°Yeah, Zheien have memories like elephants! They¡¯ll remember every detail! Did you watch all of them, Cev?¡±
He looked confused. ¡°Which?¡±
¡°Oh.¡± She showed us memories of a documentary she watched about elephants once.
The narrator was British. Same accent as the one on Danger Service? ¡°Elephants need large amounts of water. They must travel long distances to find it, but the matriarch remembers where the herd found water, over a period of 60 years. She leads her troupe to a water hole that still has water in it even in this drought.¡±Cevit Ion laughed. ¡°I enjoyed Oahsah¡¯s elephant, Samantha, so! But I nae knew much of them. MarKu has many. His orange sand reminds them of their home, as do trees near Fig. Environs are nae as hot there as once they were, but elephants suffered in the heat also. Goes negotiated for all rescued elephants to come to him. Keepers are happy to keep them safe from poachers, and many injured ones benefit from lower gravity. Those that are healthy can have their native habitats and progs make them able to coexist with people. Containments keep them from roads and homes. Now all Earth¡¯s elephants have telepathy to make their needs known. Many wish to work with them and this gives them opportunities¡ª¡±
Sara¡¯s gasp stopped him. ¡°Becky found one on Elshar Zheiea! My clones aren¡¯t¡ªthey got them all. Pirad has their bodies in Kirnonos¡¯ Lab.¡±
¡°You have to think about something else!¡± Suma trembled.
A portal brought her husband to the bed. He¡¯s Ishah now? But I saw him when we first came. It feels so weird when there¡¯s a conflict between the two sets of memories. He used to just have tri-toed feet. Now his hands have three, flat fingers like an extra Zheien finger.
His blue eyes turned dark. ¡°You remember me differently. Am I the same, otherwise?¡±
¡°Yes, of course you are!¡± Why¡¯s he asking me?
Suma laughed. ¡°Neal, you¡¯re better! You didn¡¯t get hurt as badly in this future. Stop worrying!¡±
¡°I want to please you, Suma.¡±
¡°You do please me!¡±
Cevit Ion took his hand. ¡°My son, look at my memories of you. They are like. Contact with Soskannans and Imwa did injure you, but nae as they did in your other future. You mind is well.¡±
Ni¡¯olmai sighed, and his eyes went lighter, and so did Cevit Ion¡¯s. ¡°Thank you, Cevit Ion.¡±
¡°I wish all of you to call me Cev. We are friends. I have nae Cube, so perhaps I should bow to you who are Councillors.¡±
Ni¡¯olmai shook his blond head and his curls flew around. ¡°I guess I¡¯m just half a Councillor because I share my wife¡¯s Cube, but we are all in this fight. You help Sara as Ryee helped Adia in the other future. All of you can call me Neal. I like having an Earthan name, too.¡± He smiled and his eyes went light.
¡°I guess my name¡¯s too short for a shortname!¡± I laughed.
¡°And I won¡¯t be Sue or May!¡± Suma laughed, too. Waved a hand down. Two clones of her appeared! ¡°I¡¯ll be Sue! You can be May. Let¡¯s go comfort people!¡±
The other of her startled and smiled. ¡°May suits me! Cominnng!¡± They ran out.
¡°I gotta watch those stray thoughts!¡±
¡°Dear, we needed them. Many are crying because the attack frightened them so much!¡±
Deb came and sat on the bed with Greg, Briahh, Constance and baby Lizzie, who slept in her arms.
Deb startled as a baby appeared in hers! ¡°Hi, Mama!¡±
¡°Enora! Oh, have a snack!¡± She poured a blue-green milkshake down her. Ty¡¯nirrhans drink things like we do, with different ingredients.
She smiled. ¡°That was good. I miss you. Can¡¯t you come to the festival with us? Granny misses you, too, and Granddaddy, and Great-Granny and Great-Granddaddy, too. He¡¯s not as busy now learning Zheien healing, ¡®cause he can do just as well as the Zheien, now. He earned his Master Healer robes!¡±
¡°He did? That¡¯s¡ª¡±
Enora startled. ¡°The bad people are here! I have to go¡ª¡±
¡°No! Stay here!¡± Sara grabbed her arm.
¡°Who are¡ªoh, Sara! You taught me to see ¡®em. There!¡± I saw where she looked, and a man got dark eyes and fell! Healers dived for him, then cried.
Sara dropped two more, and I got a fourth! Then I fried another ship going for Elshar Zheiea, and another. That one almost made the atmosphere of Escet Vu, and they all saw the explosion. The one going for Elshar Zheiea wasn¡¯t close enough, so they saw a shooting star.
Chapter 31 Casualties
A holo opened. Eanne~ held Ryonne~ and Adia against him, in the holo. ¡°J~oie, are you safe?¡±
¡°Ea, fa! What happens?¡±
Healers checked Ryonne~ and Pas put his hands up there. Sighed. ¡°O, I am sorry. I think he died too quickly to suffer.¡± Not a mark on them. They looked asleep, but deep gray. Their hands gripped each other¡¯s.
Another, older healer touched Adia¡¯s head and ported both bodies away.
I cried. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have been talking about Danger Service¡ª¡±
Suma pulled at my arm. ¡°You stopped most of them! Both of you did, despite the distraction.¡±
¡°We didn¡¯t need to lose them! Why were they out there?¡±
Eanne~ sighed. ¡°After the first attack, some ne came to our hiding place. Ryee went to find them, and Adia also. They ported to us, but ne Ryee and Adia.¡± He cried, arms still curled as if holding them.
Pas looked around. ¡°We found all. Only Ryee and Adia died.¡±
¡°I must go to my people.¡± Eanne~¡®s golden eyes filled.
J~oie pulled at his father. ¡°I will go¡ª¡±
¡°We come to you!¡± Pas pulled Eanne~ into a portal onto our bed. ¡°Comfort your father. Ryee¡¯s other clone comforts our people. He holds Remembrance now. I find him able.¡±
¡°After Esteerr?¡± J~oie shivered.
Pas waved blankets that steamed over both men. ¡°He ne suffered as you and Ryee. Lyyyrah saw them before they would share foods, so he did ne. I found ne poisons with him, ne at all. When he finishes, they come to us. Is this well, Kia?¡±
I nodded. My head pounded from all the reaching to make sure none of those creeps got to Ye~. Why, of all people, did it have to be them? I felt the grief of all those Yeff. People thought about all his missions and how they expected him to die sooner. What?
J~oie tried to pull Eanne~ into his arms, but he put him on his lap. Clung to him. ¡°O, such comfort you are to me, Bae!¡±
¡°Fa, Ryee died as he wished to die. He saved 20.¡±
¡°Eae.¡± The deep voice of Eanne~ broke, and waves of his sorrow shook us. ¡°So many times, I held him, unwell, on missions on my schedule.¡±
¡°Fa, ne! Ne this guilt¡ª¡±
¡°I named him my aide at 12 and Eas called me foolish! Little knew I that he took opportunities¡ª¡±
¡°Would we suffer without the treaties he signed? Or if you died trying to get them? I agreed with Ryee¡¯s choice, which I made if I only had health!¡± J~oie cried.
Eanne~ startled and placed a careful hand on his forehead. ¡°My bae¡ª¡±
¡°I can bear, Fa.¡± He took his hand, kissed it, and pulled it down. Inhaled three bis tia. I never saw a Zheien take one. Ir stared. I saw them, rarely, take one, never three!
¡°J~oie, I ne expected to lose one of you in my home! On missions, ea, but ne in my home! Promise me you stay here!¡±
¡°I will stay, Fa. But if you need my help to comfort our people¡ª¡±
¡°I need to know that I find you here, in safety! My younger stands to lose his life this day! And, my daughter!¡± He sobbed.
Today? Maybe he knows something I don¡¯t. But if I blink, it might be another day. I¡¯m so tired! I want this to be over. Maybe Dromie can do something. If only we could talk to Pirad! We¡¯re in the dark ages without him.
Well, I could use my Cube, but that¡¯s what Rentappenen wants. He wants us to use our Cubes¡ª
Suma cried in Neal¡¯s arms. ¡°Oh, this is stupid!¡± She pulled back and looked in the middle of the room.
Ryonne~ and Adia stood there. Eanne~ gasped! He leapt off the bed and hugged them. Gave a hop and gently laid them in a leiwege that appeared under them.
He looked around. ¡°Our people¡ª¡±
¡°They are safe, Bae! Pas¡ª¡±
The healer had his hands on Ryonne~¡®s head already. ¡°O, you are well! Ea yeo, Suma!¡±
She had this expression of shock on her face. I felt it, too. We weren¡¯t supposed to do that.
¡°You died, Bae! Ne leave me!¡±
¡°Fa, I must leave you! Many missions wait¡ª¡±
¡°Ne! Has our family ne suffered enough? I will ne sacrifice any of you! Ne any!¡± He sobbed. ¡°Cevit Ion told us any who even had memories of such injuries must leave his work!¡±
Ryonne~ held him and kissed his head.
Cevit Ion held all of them, Adia, too. ¡°I said it, and I mean it. Per Naha Of Kin Para, Elder King, Leader Of Alb Council now addresses the Alb Council concerning this. He feels strongly even clones whose skills we need should serve in Alb, ne on missions.
¡°Many Earthans petitioned the Council to return to Earth, but they refuse to let any travel even among worlds of Alb until we can expect safety!
¡°He asks of me. Ryee, how fared you and Adia on your journey to Esteerr? I need your honesty.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The other Ryonne~ got tears in his golden eyes. ¡°I¡ªfunctioned.¡±
¡°You had injury, severe injury on your last mission there. After it, we had to travel among Elshar worlds to secure them and track Eriganh. Were you recovered from this?¡± Cevit Ion got the black eyes.
¡°Minister, was my work well? Did you find fault with it?¡±
¡°This is nae what I ask, my son. Your work was very well, as always. You had nae rest and your host had unwell with Vanaras.¡±
He paled. ¡°You know of that?¡± Those golden eyes went past wide!
¡°Ry¡¯nao shared with me. He has worries. Again, I ask of you, how fared you on the last journey to Esteerr?¡±
He shook all over and Eanne~ held his head against his chest. ¡°I¡ªhad fright, but when it was time to meet with Lyyyrah, I went. I lasted.¡±
¡°How was your health on your return to your ship?¡±
¡°Ay and I appeared on Adia¡¯s Ship! My ship came with us in alt space, but Lyyyyrah and his entire Council appeared also, and we witnessed the Change of all Aryll!¡± His skin went from light orange to gray!
Cevit Ion held onto his arm. ¡°After this meeting, where went you?¡±
He cried. ¡°Ay and I went to our ship and I made him into a chamber for us. One of Pas¡¯ clones attended me because Ay had worries.¡±
¡°What found he?¡±
¡°Ne poisons, but I was overexhausted, which¡ªI should ne, on the first day of a mission! He gave gvesa and made me to sleep until late afternoon. I missed meetings! Is fortunate I had many bae to help in this.¡± His sobs rumbled on us. ¡°Pas insisted that both of us return here.¡±
Cevit Ion sighed, and that rumbled, too. All our Biehshah felt ill. ¡°Per Naha feels that any injury to a Zheien¡¯s head, and even to witness violence should be the rule for a diplomat to be released, and the Council assents. All of our clones are having difficulties, as well.¡±
Eanne~ paled drastically. ¡°Must my bae lose his position?¡±
¡°Nae. A diplomat may work in his home, to meet with diplomats and sign treaties. This function nae requires change. But nae of you must travel. Ishmarel agreed, for all kings of Zheiea. Nae princes or council members may travel in their work. All planetary ministers will travel lightly, and they may have many clones to accomplish their work, that they have nae injuries.¡± Cevit Ion smiled at them.
¡°And, our lieges agreed to this?¡± Eanne~ trembled.
Cevit Ion reached over and stroked his dark curls. Frowned. ¡°My friend, eae. Rest. We discuss later. The Alb Council finished.¡±
¡°Can my bae, my younger bae, rest?¡± Eanne~ clung to Ryonne~.
Who smiled. ¡°Your embrace comforts him. Ne fear. He is well.¡±
¡°You had unwells on Esteerr.¡± His voice broke.
¡°O, Fa, trials are less, knowing missions ne wait. Ryee feels this release also. Adia is far happy, as my Ay is.¡± He smiled.
Eanne~ didn¡¯t and his upset rumbled on us.
Pas looked worried and his red-gold eyes filled. ¡°Can we ne bring our family here?¡±
Ryonne~ looked at me. ¡°Our family is large. Is it well?¡± Oh, my! They had hundreds! But Ir showed me how he could make room for all of them.¡±
I smiled. ¡°The more, the merrier! Bring ¡®em all!¡±
¡°My ba will remain with our people. Hear how they wish all of you to go to safety?¡±
Eanne~ wept and clung to him. ¡°I fear for you! Pirad died! His host stays on Alb Seer! If you have injury, how can you have healing, any of you?¡±
¡°Ean, I have healing, and we have many healers! Be calm.¡± He still looked worried. Pas is Ye~¡®s top healer.
At least we have Ten. They need Pirad more than we do.
You don¡¯t know why Pirad is so vital to our survival. Ir¡¯s awe of him tingled on me. Kirnonos made him to hold his library of minds. Taredias is just one of us. But, he studied Zbbat and Esteerrians to see how to make clones to join their hive minds, so he is brilliant.
But Pirad holds tens of thousands of the brightest minds, not only of our level, but all levels we lived in! Councils saw his capacity and added minds to him for safekeeping. Kirnonos made the library, but he put all the minds he has in him. Councils used him to find solutions for slavery. They hoped he would convince Bisillipia to give it up! Garat was his adversary, who wanted to prove slavery is better.
I tried to imagine centuries of listening to Garat¡¯s arguments, and couldn¡¯t! He kept slaves?
Until he made an enemy of King Nonosuan and became a slave. Now he doesn¡¯t, because no Biehshah can have them. He¡¯s a little crazy from all the injuries he got in mines.
Crazy? He¡¯s¡ª But, I saw him on Biehshah with his lady. He doesn¡¯t seem as crazy now.
He gives me hope for Leheren, Kia.
I can see that.
Ten is very important to us, but he is a clone of a great healer. He is only 209 years old.
Oh, only! I laughed.
Oops! All our weeping Zheien friends looked up. That was insensitive of me. But, they smiled. Ir let them hear what we talked about.
Ryonne~¡ªthe one whom Suma brought back¡ªsmiled. ¡°I knew Pirad was special, but ne knew this about him. I hope he is well.¡±
¡°I think we¡¯d feel it if he died. You felt it when our Pirad died, didn¡¯t you? You have the red-violet Cube.¡±
He sighed. ¡°Ea, we all did!¡±
¡°I¡¯m happy Suma brought you back.¡± I smiled at him.
Ryonne~ smiled back, but looked down. ¡°I am only a copy of my host.¡±
¡°Eja fe ne! Ryee, you are ne only a copy! You are as dear to me as my bae who is born of me!¡± Eanne~ held him and sobbed.
¡°I have ne value that Pirad can bring in another¡ª¡±
¡°You¡¯re wrong! Identical twins have differences. All of you have different skills that you absorbed from your host, and your memories can differ!¡± Suma frowned at him. ¡°I helped Pirad take care of Ahstam 257. In the other future, he got hurt and remembered things his host couldn¡¯t about his first recloning! Pirad needed what he knew. So he brought his wife, Anna, an Earthan, to the ship. Agreed for Pirad to reclone him to an injured clone so maybe he could remember where a Hub was. His first attempt was a disaster! Ahstam 257 lost his healing skills and a lot of memories. He asked Pirad to make another clone of him for Anna because he was so disabled. She refused! Pirad made 56 clones of Ahstam anyway, and a few of them tried to court her because Ahstam 257 begged them to, but none of them were like him.¡± She slashed her hand across her front. ¡°Each of you is different, and you¡¯re not replaceable. Ahstam told me he loves all of his brothers, and they all share his mindlink, except Ahstam 257. He can¡¯t. But when he talked to his ba, he changed his mind. Ahstam convinced him he just hadn¡¯t been alive long enough to make enough of his own memories. Once he had more experience, he realized it was true. You will, when you make more memories.¡±
He looked at his wife and sighed. ¡°I will ne ever suggest that you ask Pirad for a healthier clone.¡±
¡°Thank you, Ryee.¡± Adia hugged him. He stroked her long red curls. Such a vibrant color! It set off her pretty blue eyes. But this Adia was Areonian, not Zheien.
Her hair was the same color as a younger Zheien than the Elder King, who put Eanne~ holding Ryonne~ on his lap. ¡°Bae, I offer you all my comfort also. I am your fae W~Via.¡±
¡°Fae! O, I wished to see you! Will you help Fa?¡±
Eanne~smiled. ¡°He already does. Ryee, your host ne knew him, but perhaps you have memories of our other future where you did.¡±
Ryonne~ smiled. ¡°I have those memories. Are you more well now, Fae?¡±
¡°Ea! I feel as I did during my Reign.¡± His red curls bobbed as he spoke, and those blue eyes were the same bright blue as Adia¡¯s. Interesting coincidence. There aren¡¯t many Yeff with that color eyes or hair. He had the wide shoulders that all of them but J~oie had. He got a serious look. ¡°I am most sorry I ne came to you sooner, but Pirad wished me ne. But now, he wishes me to speak with all of you for him.¡±
Chapter 32 Strength For Councillors
W~Via looked at Ir. ¡°I think you know of a substance called xerthus.¡±
Ir went white! But both Ryonne~¡®s turned gray and gasped.
The red-curled Zheien looked at them. Frowned, but with his bright blue eyes very wide! ¡°You know of it? How?¡±
The one who just died, whom Eanne~ held very tightly, wept. ¡°My bae took of it to save my life! I ne thought one could feel such pain and live!¡±
¡°Pirad cautioned me that ne of you must eat it! Is only for a Collective, to strengthen an army, with one drop!¡±
¡°My bae W~Via took a vial, and practiced healing on me! O, he suffered, but I also had pain!¡± Both of them, and Eanne~, dripped green sweat powder that rose in a cloud!
Pas gasped and ported his ennead in to sing for them! W~Via cried. But he waved up a vial of glowy blue stuff and handed it to Ir. ¡°Go, quickly, and find the Councillors!¡±
Ir took it but spread his arms out. ¡°They are all here¡ª¡±
¡°Pirad told me, a Cube has a Host and a Councillor. These are Hosts, ne Councillors, whose faces change for they are a composite being of their members with intelligence.¡±
Ray came over. ¡°I don¡¯t have a Councillor. I¡¯m directly connected.¡± She blinked deep blue eyes.
He frowned at her. ¡°Ne think to take xerthus! It would kill you. Eriganh has the Red Cube, but you have the Blue. Think of your Councillor¡ª¡±
¡°There isn¡¯t one! But I gave it to King Wtensau and they went to Aryll. Does Bess have a Cube? She went with them!¡±
Ir frowned. ¡°Aryll is in the 9th Galaxy, and I think they would not want to see Bisillips on their world! We are old rivals. Wtensau blamed us for their fall, though I think it was Satauuver¡¯s lies, but King Nonosuan and Satauuver had an alliance and traded slaver methods. Nonosuan helped Satauuver take Wtensau¡¯s throne, and he will never forget that, or the deaths of a third of his people! Why did you give such a powerful Cube to them? Do you know he will fight Rentappenen, when he taught him how to conquer the Thirteen?¡±
Ray yanked at her dark blond hair. ¡°Wtensau prayed for forgiveness. I changed the Aryllans back to the peaceful people they were! He knows how to use it, and yes, I believe him! I don¡¯t care what you people did after they changed. Your people formed the Alliance with them, so you must have gotten along back then, didn¡¯t you?¡± The rage in her face surprised me! All the Zheien rumbled.
The hair-yanking gesture was a Biehshah one for ¡®You¡¯re stupid!¡¯
Pas sang healing but Ray and Ir glared at each other. Finally, Ir sighed. ¡°We are a stupid and foolish people. Aryllans are very like Zheien, so maybe Wtensau can forgive us for teaching him how to enslave the Ty¡¯nirrhans. It saved their world. Unlike us, Wtensau always treated slaves with kindness, despite how savage he became. He never killed for pleasure like Satauuver did.
¡°I cannot imagine the suffering of his people. They became savage predators, and spread the plague to all the Aryllans in the Thirteen. Like the Zheien, they made colonies before Llsam¡¯s experiment, hundreds of thousands of them. Their colonies were larger than Zheien colonies. Hundreds of thousands of worlds like MarKu but double the population. Because of us, they lost a third of them. We enslaved Aryllans in large numbers because we sent Elshar slavers.¡± Ir shuddered, and his brown eyes poured tears.
Ten waved up drinks for both of us. ¡°I am happy I did not live through that! Where is Llsam now?¡±
¡°In stasis. Pirad found him. Our Pirad, here on Ye~, found him and took him to Alb Seer. I think that is how he died of rogues. Deesamor rogues, here in Alb! But, without them, you would not be able to hold your Cube, Kia.¡±
I hugged my husband. In his other hand, he held that tube of stuff far away from me. ¡°I thought it was from slaves sent here.¡±
¡°They had them. But one of the ships was Aryllan. Pirad was always clever with Aryllan tech. Before we were enemies, he hid a weapon on an Aryllan ship but did not tell Satauuver about it. At the time, he disagreed with Nonosuan and thought Satauuver was dangerous. But, that weapon had Llsam¡¯s body in it, where Llsam had himself ported so he could escape from stasis. I am not comfortable with him being here!¡±
¡°What can he do, in stasis? Surely Pirad will not release him!¡±
Ir stared at Ten. ¡°In Rainbow, Llsam escaped through an Earthan named Morgan. She was on the ship and begged Ry¡¯nao to release him. Ry¡¯nao told her that is impossible. But she said Llsam was not evil. He, and Selafae, and her parents, Toning and Semana, they were forced to create the plague by Ker¡¯rant¡¯hru, Prince Of Tch¡¯Zbbatr. He knew if he could corrupt anyone Aryllan, he could trade higher level slaver herbs for Opseh Wenh Cet. But, whatever research he did is corrupted by Rentappenen. Ker¡¯rant¡¯hru was Opseh Wenh Cet¡¯s pet. He created Deesamor rogues.¡±
Greg quivered and Deb put him in a chair. Sang healing for him. Ir¡¯s color went back to the rich bronze he should have. Ty¡¯nirrhan healing works on us? I felt stronger, too.
W~Via took Ir¡¯s hand. ¡°Pirad wants you to begin with Aryll. You must convince Wtensau that he must reconcile with Biehshah.¡±
Ir shook his head. ¡°You think I have skill for it? I do not hold a Cube. My father had a Lens to communicate with the Padrisa, but Dromie¡¯s people took it to fight Rentappenen with it. My wife holds the Emerald Cube Of Newness. It is a weak Cube, but has hidden power. Yamotenanten hid a Green Lens within it. I do not know how to access it. Father¡¯s lens was a white lens, but Dromie¡¯s people took it.¡±
W~Via sighed, and it rumbled on us. ¡°I have ne knowledge of these things. All I know is what Pirad told me. You must find Councillors and let them use the xerthus in your hand. But, he expected that you had a Cube. You do ne?¡±
I grabbed the tube of glowy stuff. ¡°Then, I have to go¡ª¡±
Ir jerked it away! ¡°Cesarae, you can¡¯t! I barely know how to control it, to keep it from destroying all of Alb! I can¡¯t teach you. Your body may be Biehshah, but I use knowledge I had on the 2nd Level! You are of this level!¡±
¡°There¡¯s a member of my Collective¡ªthey are all from the 2nd Level, Ir. Because of them, I can do this. Let¡¯s go to Aryll. You can talk to King Wten, and I¡¯ll give his Councillor the vial.¡±
¡°You must only give one drop, for his entire Collective! Then you must find all of them. Pirad does not know where any of them are. If you could find Wslarc, you had help.¡± W~Via¡¯s twin-fingered hand pulled at mine.
J~oie stood. ¡°I can try to bring Wslarc. He is my Councillor.¡± His orange eyes opened very wide, and he trembled.
The room filled with red-violet light and a Zheien stood there, but his face constantly changed. Like Ty¡¯nirrhans used to be, Ir told me. ¡°I am Wslarc. Good. Pirad gave you the xerthus. Dromie will meet you and take the Green Lens, after you finish. Give me the first drop.¡± He held out a hand that changed constantly. Twin fingers became four, became a claw, became three-fingered and gnarled like Dromie¡¯s.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
I took the vial from Ir and a drop that glowed floated from the vial to his hand. It clenched.
Red-violet light exploded in rainbows like a firework!
When the glare vanished, I stood on gray sand. Gasped. ¡°Ir, where¡¯d you go?¡±
People saw the glowing vial in my hand and ran! Families of gray people with children left a gray ocean with flowers shimmering on the water and ran up the shoreline.
But flowers bloomed in the sand. A tree near us looked like a magnolia. I thought how pretty it was in all this drab gray. Even the deep green waxy leaves shimmered, reflecting the light of xerthus.
A man in blue, jeweled robes walked towards me. His black, beady eyes glared at me. Sweat dripped off his arms as he came. ¡°What evil is this, Biehshah? You brought xerthus to destroy us all, and worlds in our galaxy?¡±
¡°I need to speak to your Councillor. Pirad sent me.¡±
He frowned, but kept walking closer. A lady with him pulled at him to try to get him to stop! ¡°Pirad has no love for my people! You cannot do this! Father Of All will have his vengeance on you and all of your slave-holder fathers!¡±
I swallowed. ¡°I think Father Of All loves all of us! He doesn¡¯t want an evil man like Rentappenen to destroy us all. I am fighting him, and many of us hold Cube and are fighting him. You are new to our battle, and I hold the Emerald Cube Of Newness. Please, believe me! I don¡¯t want to destroy anyone, and I hope Father Of All will forgive me for killing the Wenh Cets!¡± I wailed. The thought of more killing made me sick!
But, as I wailed, blooms on that magnolia tree formed nuts as big as my head, and they dropped. With each one, the ground shook!
Wtensau stopped. ¡°Why do you want my Councillor? Do you know what it is you hold in your hand? Xerthus destroyed the Padrisa!¡±
I felt his anguish. The Aryll stayed when their older species, the Padrisa, rose. They formed an alliance in the Virgo Supercluster, and for a time, the Aryllans had a Lens, and a means to contact them. He was in contact when their deaths nearly killed him! Dromie¡¯s people did that. I saw it. I wailed louder!
That startled Wtensau. ¡°You have grief for my people?¡±
¡°I have compassion for any civilization that dies! If my husband were here, he could tell you, we only want peace! I just want to give you a drop of this for your Councillor, so your Collective can be strong to fight Rentappenen!¡± The xerthus glowed brighter.
He took my hand. ¡°Then, I will show you our Councillor. Apologies, that I saw you as an enemy, you who come in peace, you who brings help for my worlds!¡±
I felt his mindlink with all worlds of Aryll. How can one man do this? But, when Ray gave him the Blue Cube, they gave him his mindlink back, that Satauuver stripped from him.
Ir had to take the Diplomatic Link from friends who got too injured to withstand it. Just holding them while he cut the contact hurt him. The feeling was like dying of thirst in a desert and knowing you could never taste water again.
As an Earthan, I saw that analogy as horrible, but Biehshah, and Bisillips, need a lot more moisture than any Earthan. They use this analogy because it¡¯s the worst torture that any Bisillip inflicted on another, the worst, long, painful, drawn out death possible. A Bisillip can last 8 days without drinking, but the pain of it drives them insane. In the 8th day, even if they have drinks and healing, they can¡¯t come back from it.
That Ir compared losing the Diplomatic Link to that, told me how horrible a loss it was. And King Wtensau had a loss hundreds of thousands times worse.
I felt it. I felt that loss because I heard it in his mind, in his telepathy. Like I heard everything else. The Emerald Cube Of Newness collects new experiences from everyone, whether I want to hear them or not. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t stop listening to everyone! It¡¯s my Cube. It¡¯s the way it functions.
Wtensau didn¡¯t want me to hear it, but I heard the collected memories of all of his people. Their shame over how they acted while Rentappenen¡¯s curse took their free will and forced them to act savage.
But, Ir heard it, and so did all the Biehshah! Healers all over Biehshah had to sing healing for them.
I sang and built up my orchestration. My world¡¯s dying! But we ported to another world. Deep underground was a dead tree. That¡¯s his Councillor?
Novas! I let the drop float to it.
The tree was massive, much larger than any tree on Earth, even a Sequoya! It was much bigger around than it was tall, and its roots covered the entire surface of a world about the size of Earth. My mind couldn¡¯t fathom it.
Wtensau sang beautiful harmony with me. So did his son, Prince Perretau, and his new wife, an Earthan. Bess was from Papua New Guinea, and her family had been trying to get US citizenship for years. They ran a plant import business. All their legal troubles back in PNG came to me, and solutions. The new Alliance and Unified treaties ended the exploitation on their people back home by other countries¡¯ energy corporations. As we sang, plant species that went extinct came back in PNG. Animals that went extinct. People rose from graves!
Bess and her family saw all of it, and they sang, too. Ancestors they hadn¡¯t seen got cloned so they could live on Aryll, too.
Aryllans dead for years came back! Wtensau gasped as they joined them, singing!
We sang and that dead tree came back alive. It glowed with love and positive energy. This was an incredible experience, and the newness of it all powered my Cube!
Aryll and Abyll, the world that hosted their Councillor Aryll, shone with rainbows! The gray color of everything became bright colors with beautiful flowers everywhere. The sky turned a brilliant azure blue, and the ocean had a blue-green color with flowers floating on it.
Bess started this healing, but with xerthus, I finished it.
All the Aryllans had bright blue eyes, like many of us. Instead of gray skin, they had deep blue skin and long, blue hair in that brilliant ocean color and other vibrant colors.
Wtensau now had bluish-silver curls to his shoulders. ¡°Daughter, I make my peace with Biehshah now! The treaty we signed on Earth between Aryll, Tch¡¯Zbbatr and Esteerr brings peace to our lands, but I will welcome King Suan Of Biehshah and sign a treaty with him! You made our worlds bloom again, all one million worlds live again! Now we have the resources to care for all the Wausen who once powered our lands. They are now fragile like Earthans, like my new daughter Bess. We will teach them to live peacefully as equals. Sela, you are right!¡±
Queen Selafae giggled and hugged me. ¡°I am happy to call you my friend! You saved our worlds and our people!¡±
I hugged her back. ¡°I¡¯m happy we can make peace with all of you!¡±
We appeared on Aryll again, on that beach and people sat around King Wtensau, every bright blue eye on him. Their hair was every brilliant shade of color anyone on Earth thought to put on theirs, and some an Earthan wouldn¡¯t be able to see. Bisillipia has a six-star system with different colors, so they see wavelengths Earthans can¡¯t.
Aryll also has a six-star system. Now that the thick cloud cover wasn¡¯t there, rainbow clouds wafted across the sky. It had a red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple sun, all high in a blue sky. Plants and trees of every description grew all around where once, the landscape was rock and gray sand.
The sound of the ocean tinkled like bells.
King Wtensau smiled. ¡°I see that you enjoy the beauty of our world. Thank you for your Gift. Will you stay long enough to enjoy some of our delights? We now have ingredients for Biehshah foods.¡± A lady bowed to us and brought a tray.
All of us drank some delightful drinks in all colors. ¡°I am sorry, but I have to leave now. Peace be to you and all of your peoples on all your worlds.¡±
Bess came up and hugged me. She had white flowers braided in her brown hair. Her brown eyes filled with tears. ¡°I gave these people magnolia seeds to try to save the Aryll trees, but you did it, ya did! I saw ya on Adia¡¯s Ship.¡±
I pulled a light green cube out of air and gave it to her. ¡°Now you can use your Gift. Oh, your Councillor is there!¡± That magnolia tree I first saw when I came, but it¡¯s mixed with Aryll, dropped more nuts in succession. Each grew into another magnolia. Close, but not what they need. I held up the vial and one drop floated to the roots of the tree. It turned into an Aryll. This one¡¯s the daughter of the Aryll tree that covers Abyll. Roots grow houses there and people live in them.
This one grew roots. Bess sang and they grew faster. ¡°Oh, it doesn¡¯t take as much work now! Thanks, Kia!¡± She spoke with a British accent. A big, brown-skinned lady younger than me.
I smiled. ¡°You¡¯re welcome! Now my work is finished here. See you on Adia¡¯s Ship!¡± I said it without thinking.
Bess looked puzzled. ¡°Adia¡¯s Ship?¡±
Chapter 33 Attacked!
But I was already back on Ye~. I popped in as everyone watched a holo of Pas¡¯ Chambers, a purple nine-sided building that had a flat top, like a faceted jewel. A ship in orbit trained a weapon on it and facets began to melt. I felt the panic of everyone in that building! 2500 Yeff mentally screamed¡ª
I channeled all my anger through my Collective and they added theirs. The ship blew up in blue and purple fire! Vaporized. That explosion lit up the entire lavender sky!
All of us ported to Pas¡¯ Chambers. I didn¡¯t mean to do that, but our people went to upset Zheien to calm them. I sang.
No time to build up my orchestration as usual. I sang ¡°Dido¡¯s Lament¡± from Dido and Aeneas. People calmed down. Without a full healing? Angel came in to duet with me. When she joined in, a lot of Zheien lost the pained expressions. She has a gift for people with headaches.
Ten looked really worried. As we finished the song, he touched my wrist. ¡°I thought we could not enter this building without dying, but it helps our people and the Zheien! What was that?¡±
¡°Harast warriors.¡± I shuddered. There¡¯s no negotiating with them! Their race was created as a weapon to fight wars with civilizations that wiped each other out, in the Padrisa. Didn¡¯t I think our forces and Dromie¡¯s killed them all? How many ships did we miss?
Sara looked up. Her guilt that she fell asleep got to me. But I have to leave! She can¡¯t help me. I can¡¯t stay. Every person in this building is porting underground to where the others have been staying, all of the colonists. But, I can¡¯t stay.
I didn¡¯t want to let go of Ir¡¯s hand, but the purple walls and sea of nine-sided beds faded. I sat harshly on a rock floor covered in red dust. Wore a metal long tunic like slaves wear.
¡°Who told you to sit? Get up and work!¡± An Elshar jerked me to my feet. ¡°Oh, a Biehshah. Master will reward me for you!¡± He dragged me up a ramp. My boots were loose and rubbed my feet raw. I acted compliant and starey. There¡¯s a Councillor here and I have to find them.
As I passed slaves, one looked at me. A goblin! His mind touched me. He¡¯s a Councillor? A glowing drop came from my hand towards him.
¡°None of that!¡± My slaver tried to grab, and it passed through his hand. He followed and tried to stop it, but it went into the goblin¡¯s hand. The chain on his leg fell off.
¡°Now I will release all of these slaves!¡± We fought. All of the guards had Cubes, but we had Lenses. Each Lens has thousands of worlds of members. They fell.
How could Dromie¡¯s people just meekly submit to these bullies, when they have that kind of power? But, during World War II there was a fella who let himself be captured so he could observe things in the concentration camps and tell people about them. Jews and other political prisoners didn¡¯t fight back when they saw the trench filled with bodies. They meekly laid down on bodies and waited to be shot. He escaped and tried to get the Allies to send help, but they said it was hopeless. Those poor prisoners gave up hope, even Dromie¡¯s people did that. Seeing me gave that goblin courage to fight!
But I left for another battle. Novas! This place had a field with armies. Instead of hand weapons, they held Cubes! As far as the eye could see, one person squared off with another, and effort showed in their faces as they shot a beam of light at each other! Deadly rainbows lit up the entire sky!
The ground was rocky beneath my feet, still wearing those torture boots! My Cube found one target and another. The Lens hidden inside it made it look like I was just another fighter with a Cube.
Then a leader came in black robes. What species is he? Everyone trembled, like a wave!
I used up the rest of the xerthus in the vial. Hid what I was doing. Every Councillor here came out of hiding and made Lenses for each holder of a Cube on our side!
That man came for me! ¡°I am Ferfresshannanan, and you will know my name! You think xerthus will save you?¡±
Another being materialized. Like the fella in black robes, his features glowed and changed constantly. ¡°This woman is Kia, and you will know her name! Xerthus will give them strength, but she will show them that you can lose. Rules we established are not to be broken!¡±
They glared at each other, but a green beam came from my Lens and Ferfresshannanan turned into an Earthan! His expression of shock made me laugh.
But I became Earthan, too. That being, Yamotenanten, read me like a book. He judged Earth by me! ¡°Tell Tanirpahadachan we will speak after this conflict is over. I also wish to speak with you. Your species is interesting.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
¡°Thank you. But, can¡¯t you do something about Rentappenen?¡±
I felt his sadness. ¡°We cannot. Civilizations must know struggle, to grow.¡±
¡°Okay, but can you get rid of the rogues so Dromie¡¯s people and the Earthans with him don¡¯t have to be exiled?¡±
¡°You must ask Wslarc for that. He is Ye~¡®s Councillor. I am the Padrisa¡¯s Councillor. When this conflict is over, I will give my opinions for your judgment.¡± His voice was sad, and his light dimmed. Then, he vanished.
Ferfresshannanan laughed. ¡°I am more powerful than you! Bow to me!¡±
Oh, he made me mad. But, the thought came to me, he¡¯s new at this. Even though he¡¯s older than the Biehshah and the Ty¡¯nirrhans, he¡¯s new to this kind of war. My Collective quit cowering and listened to me. So did every Collective on this battlefield. ¡°You think fear is a more powerful force than love, but you¡¯re wrong! I love my planet, my galaxy, the Thirteen and the Padrisa! We will fight for our peoples, because we love them!¡±
Green light made him glow green, too! That emerald shade that my Cube and Lens is! I channeled all the love these people had for their homes and the species all of them represented.
Ferfresshannanan wasn¡¯t expecting it. He relied on their fear. Courage is acts despite fear! Ry¡¯nao said that.
People got courage because they remembered why they¡¯re here, because they love their people and don¡¯t want them to die again! A lot of ¡®em are new to this kind of war, too. We all are.
Ferfresshannanan fell to his knees. ¡°No! I love my people¡ª¡±
¡°You¡¯re lying! You never loved anyone, and that¡¯s your weakness! All you do is hate, without getting to know anyone but your twisted mind and desire for power! You are like Rentappenen, but you¡¯re jealous of him and his power, and you want to use these people to take over. Feel his anger?¡±
I drew the attention of Rentappenen, all his generals, his armies. They all got mad.
A flash of black light, all the light of all the Lenses, converged on him! He screamed as the black light spread. It shot him into the sun, which exploded!
But, all these armies, that I thought would fight Rentappenen, went into stasis deep within Dromie¡¯s Planet!
I saw a Hub, that¡¯s where worlds of them went. They weren¡¯t meant to come back. That¡¯s why Dromie¡¯s people are to be judged! He brought them back to fight Rentappenen¡¯s upper level armies from the Padrisa, and now that part of the battle is over.
We¡¯re even now.
The Padrisa is out of the picture, for now. Even they are scared of those armies, if they turned on The Padrisa!
But now, Rentappenen¡¯s on his own. Ferfresshannanan is dead. Even as upper level as The Padrisa is, they can¡¯t bring him back. That¡¯s how Rentappenen took over. He drove his people¡¯s Councillor, Ferfresshannanan, mad, by setting his Collectives against each other, with lies about what each side planned.
Even Collectives of Lenses can be corrupted. That feeling came over me, that sadness I felt from Yamotenanten, I felt it. Ferfresshannanan was a good man, before Rentappennen corrupted him. He was so corrupted, even all the Councillors of the Padrisa couldn¡¯t save him.
Are we corrupted, too?
There¡¯s nobody to ask. I ported back to Ye~ and fell into Ir¡¯s arms. ¡°Kia! What happened? You¡¯re Earthan again?¡±
¡°I saw Yamotenanten!¡±
¡°Novas!¡± It sounded really funny to hear that word from Ir¡¯s father! ¡°Who can heal you?¡±
¡°He killed that fella from The Padrisa who was helping Rentappenen. It¡¯s just our level, now. But, he took all those Lens armies away, too.¡±
¡°Peoples Of The Harast?¡± Father shuddered and Ir held him. Ten ran over with tray after tray of drinks for us! Mine was just a butterscotch milkshake, and I choked when I tried to down it! That went everywhere! Cold made me shiver. He ran hygiene and that warmed me up.
Ten laughed. ¡°Novas, Kia, just drink it!¡± He tried to heal me, but lost the merry expression. ¡°Pas, I can¡¯t heal her!¡±
Pas came running and touched my head. Brought his ennead.
I hugged him. ¡°My mind¡¯s too strong for you, Pas. I¡¯m okay.¡±
¡°You need healing! If only Pirad was here!¡±
¡°He can¡¯t come! He¡¯s on Alb Seer¡ª¡± And the flow of information stopped. My Collective can¡¯t see them. They only know he¡¯s working.
¡°I can sing and heal myself.¡± I sang ¡°Dona Nobis Pacem¡±, a piece by Ralph Vaughan Williams from 1936, which repeats Latin words for ¡°Give us peace.¡± Angel and Molly sang along in the round, and even though she sounds more childlike than operatic, I enjoyed it and felt stronger.
That battle affected me. So many people died there! Yamotenanten won¡¯t allow them to get healing or come out of stasis. They are exiled, just as much as Dromie¡¯s people are. But, they were created to make war. Just because I taught them to feel love, doesn¡¯t change that they love to kill, too. All of them only felt more justified in their killing because they did it in the name of love.
I want to believe that Dromie¡¯s people are different, because they just acted on lies they heard. Do they enjoy killing? But, since they brought back all the people they killed, they still committed sins, to kill innocent people.
¡°Kia, are you tired?¡± Ir pulled my head down on his shoulder.
¡°I¡¯m tired, but it¡¯s just a lot to think about.¡±
He smiled. ¡°Careful, you¡¯re becoming an Old Soul like me.¡±
I kissed his forehead and put my head back down. Felt the weight of the ages pressing on me.
Chapter 34 Inter-level Mess
Dromie popped in. ¡°I will try again with my people to rescue prisoners! Rentappenen lied when he said he would kill them. He uses people¡¯s skills.¡±
I looked at his eager face. It¡¯s wider than it is tall. He looks like a freakin¡¯ cartoon! His mouth goes from ear to ear, filled with blunt teeth that are wide, too. How can he smile like that? That neon green skin just makes those blue eyes seem to glow. But that¡¯s the same glow some Biehshah have, that Adia has, that Fhiahans have. It¡¯s upper level contamination!
He frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not contamination! Yamotenanten gave us properties to fight Rentappenen, because he cheats. Gifts can¡¯t be Taken, once Given. That¡¯s why we have to go see The Padrisa Council when we finish. They don¡¯t know what to do with you, and with me.¡± Now he did look kind of sad.
J~oie reached for him, but Wslarc appeared and frowned. ¡°You should not be here! I exiled you!¡±
¡°Want to win this war? You can¡¯t win without me!¡±
¡°You can fight without contaminating this world!¡±
Dromie pointed to Adia. ¡°Look at her eyes and tell me she is not contaminated also! Yamotenanten knows more than you do!¡± She trembled.
He sighed and it rumbled on us! ¡°And he must judge us all. But I warn you, your people will pay.¡±
¡°As long as we defeat Rentappenen, I¡¯ll be happy! Nobody wants us, but we can live on that planet with Granny and her family.¡±
Wslarc frowned at him. ¡°Did you think about whether she will like it there, or her family, in isolation? Gwen wanted to live in a Black city with friends. She is young, and friends are important to her.¡±
¡°But, she has Granny, and Luna¡ª¡±
¡°Earthans are a social species. They need others to be happy. No one will risk contamination to visit them¡ª¡±
Molly got off the bed and bowed to him. ¡°Pardons, but these Earthans are part of my people. I will visit them. I wish you would just let us do trade remotely. They will need supplies¡ª¡±
¡°You do not understand. Dromie¡¯s server is contaminated, and will contaminate servers of the Alliance and Unified¡ª¡±
¡°They are already contaminated! Look at her eyes. Fhiahans traded with Biehshah. Then they traded with Ye~ and Areon. What you call contamination is the Gifts Yamotenanten gave them to try to compensate for what Rentappenen did by supplying herbs from upper levels¡ª¡±
¡°And, The Padrisa will decide what to do with all of us! This is your people¡¯s fault for siding with him!¡± Wslarc¡¯s rumbles shook the walls! We were back underground, and people filled this building and the garden, too! It was bigger than last time.
That cat-eared fella with the black fur popped in. ¡°Oh, so dramatic! You are just a clone, so don¡¯t expect me to do what you say.¡± His brown eyes watched Wslarc.
His face and body changed colors with lights, but not like Yamotenanten. His hands and feet kept twin fingers and toes. ¡°Your people are also not supposed to be here!¡±
¡°Dromie brought us back. I am the reason Earthans have Gifts.¡±
¡°Your people will also be judged! Why would you waste so many eons of Gifts on a primitive people?¡±
He laughed. ¡°Because Rentappenen¡¯s well-laid plans can¡¯t compensate for their unpredictability! Your people should learn from us¡ª¡±
¡°My people are weary of your people¡¯s disregard for this level¡¯s rules! You should stay extinct!¡±
¡°Well, I didn¡¯t have anything to do with it, not at all! Dromie brought me back.¡¯
¡°And you released your people from Lidara¡¯s Hubs, where I put them! I warn you, I acted on behalf of the 2nd Level Council¡ª¡±
¡°Which is now dead!¡±
Wslarc looked absolutely shocked! ¡°Dead? My peoples are dead?¡±
¡°Yes! And the 3rd through the 5th in the Test Of Levels! Now do you believe how serious this is? What¡¯s to stop him from going after upper levels, if we do not stop him here? The Test Of Levels is gone, all of them! The 1st above it is gone, and the 2nd. The 3rd is not looking good. That¡¯s where Pirad¡¯s people fell from. Pirad is using tech from it to win this war for you. You can tell that to the 5th.¡±
¡°This is why I have no contact with my Host?¡±
¡°Yes! Everything you know is gone. The 6th sent Wally, and he followed Rentappenen.¡±
¡°Then, I must destroy the Imwa¡ª¡±
¡°No, they are now fighting him, with us.¡±
Wslarc leaned towards him. They¡¯re about the same height. ¡°You do know we will earn a Reorganization from The Padrisa? They will start over!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as bad as all that¡ª¡±
¡°Do you know what consequences this will have, Pinda? Never, in the history of The Padrisa, has there ever been a Council destroyed. Never! And you tell me that seven are destroyed? Rentappenen has not the power to do this. He used other weapons to do this, forbidden weapons. You were born of that technology, which was to be Taken.¡± He pointed at Dromie.
¡°But, we¡¯re fighting him now! We learned.¡±
¡°I do not believe you, or any of your kinds. Laruu learned war from the Lerk, who nearly destroyed The Padrisa. Bringing them back earned your destruction.¡±
Dromie looked panicked. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Yamotenanten! He can see what I¡¯m doing¡ª¡±
¡°You think that will make any difference? You destroyed Councils for Rentappenen! When I present what I know, you will wish your people never received life!¡± His sorrow shook us all up!
¡°If we have to be destroyed, I will accept it, and for all our people. My father assents. But until then, we will fight for these people.¡± He waved his little arms to indicate us. ¡°They are already contaminated, but I will try to undo it when we are not needed.¡±
¡°Gifts cannot be Taken. Even you have not got the power to do that. The destruction you earn will affect them. We have rules on the 6th, and we must follow them.¡±
¡°Rentappenen broke the rules first! It¡¯s not fair!¡± Dromie stomped his three-toed foot.
The cat-eared fella licked a paw and smoothed his ears. ¡°Rentappenen acted on his own. My people acted as observers. You are tied to the Council, not to the 6th as Wally is. I would not be surprised if all of us lost our seats¡ª¡±
¡°You think this is merely a loss of seats as Kirnonos and Pirad lost them, and started their Test Of Levels again? No. This is final judgment of your peoples. If The Padrisa finds against you, they will destroy you to the point that none of you can come back. You saw the fate of Ferfresshannanan, did you?¡±
¡°But, Yamotenanten didn¡¯t kill Rentappenen, did he? No, he left that task to us because he can¡¯t! You and your rules! You let Rentappenen destroy and destroy, but you will condemn us for stopping him?¡± The cat-fella stood with his legs apart and pointed at Wslarc.
Who frowned, and the building shook! ¡°I have authority of the 6th, not of merely the Council just above this tech level. I am showing them all that both of you said! I warn you, Pinda¡ª¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
¡°You can warn, but you aren¡¯t fighting Rentappenen. We are. All your rules didn¡¯t prevent him, or any of the other threats we¡¯ll have to fight. If you destroy us, The Padrisa can get destroyed again by the next threat, if we aren¡¯t there to protect you. In fact, Dromie¡¯s people pulled your fat out of the fire! They are saving your 2nd Council members as we speak.¡±
Wslarc got this flabbergasted expression. ¡°They are breaking our rules to do this! Are they unafraid of extinction?¡±
¡°Some things are worth dying for.¡± Dromie stomped his foot. ¡°If my people have to die because they saved you, we will still do this. I am not afraid to die, if you think I deserve it. But I think your rules do not work, because they allowed Rentappenen to merely ignore them and destroy people who wouldn¡¯t follow him. You have forgotten how to talk to each other. The Lerk decided negotiations didn¡¯t work and merely took what they wanted and burned worlds.
¡°Rentappenen showed us the Lerk and we thought that was how to act. Then I met Granny¡¯s family, and they taught us to love. Now I fight for them!¡±
¡°You are foolish, to change your entire civilization because of one person.¡±
¡°You are foolish, to make rules that no one understands, but you! Everyone should participate and agree on them. Other levels worked that way, but the 6th didn¡¯t. Yamotenanten thought he would impose rules on everyone and make them work. I think he¡¯ll change his mind soon.¡±
¡°Yamotenanten has more important work than you know!¡± Wslarc¡¯s exasperation made the building shake again. Some of the Earthans dove under the huge table!
Pinda slashed a paw across his front, and the white shirt waved. ¡°So important that he decided to send Rentappenen to the 5th to learn, and each council decided to demote him? Every time they sent him to another lower level, he gained strength. Why? Because corrupt Council members helped him. Then, he took their power and destroyed their peoples!¡±
¡°Oh, we thought he would learn¡ª¡±
¡°Do you people not understand? People like him don¡¯t learn. They pretend. My people are observers. We saw many people like him rise to power and corrupt governments¡ª¡±
¡°We are not like you, and Rentappenen is not like anyone who ever lived¡ª¡±
¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong! People are not that different! If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve learned in these eons is that history repeats. There are similarities between all civilizations. Rentappenen admired the Lerk and their thirst for war. His plan is to build a multi-level place of warfare like Deesamor was for scientific pursuits!¡±
Wslarc trembled. ¡°You are sure of this?¡±
¡°Very sure. Rachanar found traces of contamination from the 15th, where Dromie¡¯s people came from.¡±
Kerponie popped in, that scientist who created the tech for making Dromie¡¯s species. He¡¯s got four arms and legs. But Kaswpas did, too, the scientist who did it. He looks like Dromie? He¡¯s the Councillor I found in that mine!
Wslarc saw him and bowed low!
¡°I am Kaswpas, Councillor Of the Blue Lens Of Secrets.¡± He bowed, then rose and Wslarc did. ¡°I¡ª¡±
¡°I am Cunigundae, Host Of Blue Lens Of Secrets. I can find them, no matter how well they hide!¡± That Areonian bowed to him.
¡°You can wait to speak! You are Host Of The Blue Cube Of Secrets, not the Lens¡ª¡±
¡°I gave him your lens.¡± Dromie laughed.
¡°That is not funny! You can¡¯t do that! He is too weak to use it! All of them are too weak for Lenses! We only use them to resolve a dispute¡ª¡±
¡°Rentappenen is the biggest dispute¡ª¡±
¡°You would do well to listen to me! All of you are like disobedient children, playing with weapons you do not understand! I come from the Council Of The 15th, which also has rules which lower levels must follow! You created all manner of disorder! Wslarc fears The Padrisa, but we created it. Our council is much larger than you comprehend. Now that I have communication again, they are dismayed! Yamotenanten!¡±
He popped in and bowed low!
¡°This Earthan has more sense than all of you! Rentappenen captured me when I tried to stop him. Now I regained 5th level strength, but I need 15th level strength that I do not have! You must stop because all of you are not powerful enough to stop him! We must seek aid from higher levels, and I return to tell¡ª¡±
Dromie pulled at his arm. ¡°We are winning!¡±
¡°You are creating disorder! Even we have rules we must follow, and you brought back Condemned Species that we locked away forever! Where do you get that kind of power?¡± He pulled his green arm out of Dromie¡¯s hands.
Dromie shrugged. ¡°Rentappenen showed me. Now I¡¯m using it against him¡ª¡±
¡°After you finish this Battle Of The Cubes, what will you do with these weapons? Wslarc is right to exile you, but that will not stop you¡ª¡±
Dromie¡¯s father popped in and bowed low. ¡°We are loyal to you, Father Of Our Race. I am their king, but you did not name me, or us.¡±
¡°You lied to me. All of you are liars!¡±
He wept. ¡°We are, but now I learned to speak truth. We will do as you say¡ª¡±
¡°You broke our rules! You lied about it!¡±
¡°But, we are here and we are fighting Rentappenen. He is using up his Collective because of us. Because we are sneaky, we can get into his facilities to destroy vital components.¡± He clapped his hands together and rubbed them.
¡°You did not wait for me! I need to contact my Council¡ª¡±
¡°If we wait, Rentappenen will kill these galaxies and you cannot bring them back!¡± Dromie stomped a foot again.
Now Kaswpas looked awkward. ¡°We came to restore order¡ª¡±
¡°Rentappenen uses order to kill. Shouldn¡¯t we use chaos to disrupt his plans? While you sit at tables and negotiate, people die! We can¡¯t wait centuries for you to make a decision! This is how Rentappenen gets his power. He doesn¡¯t wait!¡± Dromie shook his fist at him.
Kaswpas spread his green arms out. ¡°But, if we don¡¯t do things in order, there will be more chaos!¡±
¡°Rentappenen created chaos. Get used to it! Unless you want us to stop him¡ª¡±
¡°He¡¯s more powerful than you!¡±
¡°We¡¯re more sneaky,¡± said the king.
¡°We¡¯re winning!¡± Dromie jumped up and down.
¡°You cannot last! His troops are on more worlds than yours!¡±
¡°We are better at destruction! Do you think he has unlimited capacity? He can¡¯t go to as many times now, and that is getting worse. When he can¡¯t pull troops from the Padrisa any more, we win!¡±
¡°How many civilizations will you destroy before you have your victory? All of them are not soldiers.¡±
¡°This time, we ported them to other worlds, to hide them.¡±
¡°I am Cunigundae, Host Of Blue Lens Of Secrets. I can hide them, no matter how well Rentappenen looks!¡± That Areonian laughed.
Kaswpas frowned at him. ¡°What are you?¡±
¡°Laruu¡ª¡¯
¡°You, my friend, are not Laruu!¡± Pinda stared at him. ¡°Where are your ears, if you are Laruu? We take animal forms, not whatever that is.¡± He stared at his neon green skin and gnarled, tri-digited extremities.
Cunigundae frowned. ¡°Our species, our civilization, never had names. We felt things. Other species exploited us, because we knew what they could not. Earth calls Dromie¡¯s kind goblins, but we existed before Earth made that up. Our people died before the creation of The Padrisa.¡±
Now Kaswpas looked scared! ¡°You pre-date us! Who brought you back?¡±
He shrugged. ¡°I never died. My people aged, they died, but I hold the Lens and I do not die. But I cannot bring them back. I am the last, and when I die, all my knowledge will die with me.¡±
¡°Share it with me, that my people will know. We will keep your people¡¯s knowledge.¡±
¡°And use it for your purposes? We had weapons that no one had, and no one should. My people destroyed each other and every civilization who had contact. I will not share any of it. All of our knowledge was of weapons, secrets, and deceptions.
¡°I use it against Rentappenen, then I will allow myself to die, and a portal will take my body to a sun for destruction.¡±
¡°How can we trust you?¡± Kaswpas spread his green arms wide.
¡°You cannot, because I can¡¯t be known. This is why I hold the blue Lens Of Secrets. I gather them, but I do not share them. Ever.¡± He folded his arms.
¡°Did you reveal any to Rentappenen?¡±
Cunigundae shook his head. ¡°No. He does not know this species as well as he thinks he does. I appear like others he has seen and I made my body function as they did for short times when he looked. I pretended to give him secrets, but his people¡¯s facilities had¡ªaccidents. There were purposeful mistakes in my secrets to fail his purposes. While I stand here, my otherselves are prisoners in his facilities giving him false secrets. They die quickly apart from me. When I run out of otherselves, I die, so I am self-limiting.¡±
Kawspas looked very frustrated. ¡°The 15th Level is very upset! I think they will want to see you instead of the Padrisa Council!¡±
¡°Oooh, we¡¯re infamous, Daddy!¡± Dromie high-fived his father.
Cunigundae stared at them. ¡°You want to die?¡±
¡°No.¡± The king stood on the table and Earthans moved away. ¡°We want to convince your Council to let us live.¡±
¡°They fear you! They fear us! So we will do the honorable thing and kill ourselves!¡±
Dromie shook his head. ¡°I think you¡¯re stupid to do that! Why should you die? We aren¡¯t willing to die again.¡±
¡°We have honor enough to know we are too stupid to live! Most civilizations learn to coexist.¡±
¡°You learned. Why should you die?¡±
The arguments just went on. They sounded like any group with a disagreement. Dromie paced and so did the king. Cunigundae didn¡¯t go further.
Finally, Kawspas sighed and the building shook! ¡°I will take your comments to the 15th. Defeat Rentappenen and we may show you mercy, both of you.¡±
They all ported away, even Wslarc.
Chapter 35 Ships Of Slaves
Pas waved up a holo. ¡°Eja fe ne! Ships arrive in Rainbow Samar Thaae! We must¡ª¡±
J~oie grabbed his arm, like a shot! ¡°You can ne think to go there!¡±
¡°But these are massive numbers! They will need help!¡±
Leticia shook her head. ¡°Taredias has an army of healers, clones of every great healer! They can handle it. He can make more as needed. His clones are in every Rainbow colony. But, he¡¯s equipped to handle all the rogues.¡±
Pas paled and grabbed two Tessite symbols on his robe! ¡°Rogues! You expect rogues?¡±
¡°These are from Dromie¡¯s people. They went there because Taredias and Siasch aren¡¯t restricted like the rest of Alb. When they did the treaty with the Alb Council, they expected this sort of thing, so any dangerous weapons or shipments go there.¡± Her blue eyes filled. Her parents grabbed her arms. ¡°If it¡¯s not Alb Seer¡¯s Rainbow, I hope Pirad¡¯s okay! If anything¡ª¡±
¡°Pirad¡¯s okay, or we would feel it. Remember how it felt every time one of his clones died?¡± I shuddered.
¡°All of them died, even on Samar Thaae where he had hundreds! Taredias makes more, and they all die fast! His, too, and Kirnonos¡¯!¡± She cried.
What happened while I was away? Sara¡¯s eyes and mine met and she looked bone-weary. I felt that way, too. But I saw my bright blue eyes that still had that glow, through her telepathy. Weird to see that on me!
Anxious people crowded around Ir and I. ¡°My parents are there! Please, let me go! I have to say goodbye!¡± A lady pulled at my arm.
One of the Ryonne~¡®s held up his arms. ¡°I know you are eager to see them, but we can ne leave or allow you contact. Samar Thaae takes unthinkable risk to care for them!¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t want to try to save galaxies! I came here to get away from my horrible life on Earth. This is worse! You people won¡¯t let me leave, and the people in this thing hijacked my body to force me into this fight! I want out!¡±
He frowned at her and rumbles shook the floor. ¡°I am most sorry. We ne chose you. Gifts came to you, and we have ne way to know how they chose you. If you ne choose to fight, ne can force this. You have the choice ne to use your Gift. However, this battle we are in needs you. If we lose, all of us lose everything.
¡°What do you mean, ¡®everything¡¯? We¡¯ll still be here, won¡¯t we?¡±
He showed her barren worlds where Rentappenen stripped them of resources, then chopped them up for resources, leaving rocky rubble like our asteroid belt! Didn¡¯t they know what they were fighting for?
She sobbed and he let her relatives hug her. One of the men held her face up. ¡°Then, Kathey, you have to do this. We can¡¯t fight it for you.¡±
Kathey? Yes, the same dark hair pulled in a tight pony. My night boss at Crafts Anonymous. She looks older now. Didn¡¯t expect that to change her mind. ¡°You¡¯re right, Daddy. I need to adult now. I¡¯ll fight!¡±
A cheer came from Randy, Pat, Ophelia and Carla. He looked at me. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll fight with you, Kia! We¡¯ll make up for all the stuff we did.¡±
So my false friends are repenting? I smiled at ¡®em. But I¡¯m not convinced. Maybe this is like Dromie¡¯s people and people like Wslarc. Wait and see. Yeah. But, I believe Dromie. He brought our people back! Not so sure about them. They didn¡¯t rush over and I didn¡¯t push it. They looked all self-congratulatory. Wait ¡®til we¡¯re in the battle.
I watched that holo. But Ryonne~ waved it down. Rogues can live on a Hub. Samar Thaae is on our Ye~ Hub. It serves all of Alb. Biehshah Hub is Alliance, but separate. Maybe they have separate Hubs for a reason. Pirad, Kirnonos and Taredias have been preparing for an attack from Rentappenen for years. I just want this to be over!The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Taredias¡¯ voice contacted me. We need your help! Heal us!
I belted out ¡°Un bel d¨¬, vedremo¡± from Puccini¡¯s Madame Butterfly. My frenemies joined in and they sounded pretty good, considering. But my healing reached through Samar Thaae to those poor slaves, all in bad shape. Taredias needed it most. Rogues.
All the healers in here joined in, too. Angel ran over and found a part. She sang much better than Ophelia¡¯s 1st soprano. I¡¯m a 1st soprano, too. So if we were on stage, it would be pretty boring, three sopranos without a descant or harmony. They¡¯re still competing with me.
As I sang I built my usual orchestration because we all really needed max healing! All my Biehshah were looking very pale. Something¡¯s going on.
We sang and I had this feeling that it wasn¡¯t as good as usual. Didn¡¯t taste ice cream this time. As if something was blocking it.
I sang louder, put more emotion into it, and I did sound better, but healing wasn¡¯t better. Am I trying too hard?
There was some contention going on between Ophelia and Carla. They always competed for parts. But Ophelia¡¯s pink cube and Carla¡¯s sky blue cube gave flashes occasionally. Why?
Randy had a purple cube that also did that. It got more intense. I felt my healing go down!
People in my Collective got irritated. One-upmanship during a healing? And, it¡¯s interfering with it!
Cathey¡¯s yellow cube started it. Then, Pat¡¯s orange cube! Finally, they faced off and my cube gave one big green flash that knocked them all off their feet. I sang louder. They started arguing.
Things got bad, fast! Half my Biehshah collapsed! That startled my false friends and Zheien led them into the garden while I tried to salvage things. My people are dying!
I got angry. Anger and healing don¡¯t mix! So I thought about our beautiful gardens in our colony, and how we all love each other.
That inspired all my Biehshah to sing as they put people on beds. Healing got stronger. Zheien, Thordes and Ishah danced, so they weren¡¯t much help. Elshars tried, but they don¡¯t know healing for us. A few knew which drinks we needed and Ten was able to direct them.
What a disaster! Finally, I did all that I could do and wound it down. I ran to our beds. Ir, Der and Inana hugged people. So did I.
Half our people died! Oh, I got mad and stormed over to where my false friends sat at that table. ¡°All of you, get out! You can go to that building across the garden.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t tell us where to go! You¡¯re just jealous¡ª¡± I cut Randy off.
¡°Half my people just died! When I sing, it¡¯s not for fun, it¡¯s to save lives! I just saved all those poor slaves on Samar Thaae, but half my people died trying to help because you just had to misbehave!¡± My chest heaved.
Randy got upset. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything happ¡ª¡±
I jerked my hand up and stats rolled. 1856 slaves who were dying, they¡¯ll live now. That¡¯s on Samar Thaae. Here, Pas had 13 dying people in a room, they will also live. His healers brought them out here.
Their jaws dropped. I pointed. They left.
No time to enjoy my petty victory. Grieving people wailed and I had no healing left! We got busy just helping Ten get drinks down them and comforting people.
Both Ryonne~¡®s and their family were still trying to make people understand that their relatives can¡¯t come here and they can¡¯t talk to them. It¡¯s awful! I cried, but that¡¯s not helping. People see me cry and they get sick.
How would I feel if Mama was on Samar Thaae, but I couldn¡¯t talk to her or see her? That¡¯s like she died, all over again! I felt awful for these people, but what can we do? Will they have to exile them, like Dromie¡¯s Earth family? That¡¯s awful. Just awful!
But half our people died! Because of my stupid friends who just don¡¯t know how to think about anyone else! The war, we know we¡¯re gonna lose people. Losing half our colony because of those dodos, that¡¯s unnecessary casualties! Maybe I¡¯m justified in bringing them back with my Cube. I concentrated, and ignored that warning voice in my head.
Stop! You will weaken your Collective¡ª
We need them all to win this war!
You need your Collective to be strong! If you bring back so many, how will you fight? Your Collective is the most important here! You can keep Ry¡¯nao alive.
So can Suma, or Deb, or even Molly.
All of you are the most important ones. You must not do this. It will take all of you to keep him alive. He is the only one who can direct so many.
I remembered how it felt, to run over there, to feel his hand on my head¡ªseeking my healing. Not Suma¡¯s. She went over there, but he reached for me. Is he part Biehshah? Or is it just my unusually strong telepathy?
It is your healing. Even Ket, who is bred to carry telepathy no Elshar can, cannot heal him as you do. He is taking healing from you constantly. You are all he has. Soon you will see for yourself.
Chapter 36 Rentappenen’s Revenge
¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± Sara¡¯s shout set me on edge!
I saw it. Ships came through Pirad¡¯s defenses, on the Samar Thaae side of Alb. I would call it the eastern side, if we were looking down at Alb from the top of its sun. The Milky Way center as north.
They got through Pirad! Nothing on our level can do that!
I targeted the lead ship but realized, this is a huge ship! It¡¯ll take out Alb if it blows up! It¡¯s one of Eriganh¡¯s World Destroyers!
But, they have a weakness I can exploit. No Kajarian can get healing from a Biehshah. I sang healing. Targeted all of its crew.
They died instantly. My telepathy is so strong, just a normal Biehshah healing did it. Didn¡¯t feel good about that, but it stopped them.
It surprised me that he¡¯d resort to Kajarian troops. That¡¯s our level! It means, he hasn¡¯t got any troops from upper levels to send. This is Eriganh¡¯s last battalion! His elite force, that travels with him everywhere, they left Earth to come here!
I read their minds as I dropped them because Kajarians share everything, it¡¯s all or nothing. I saw their entire lives, Eriganh¡¯s anger, all of it.
He¡¯s mad because Rentappenen used up his troops. All of them. This force, that we¡¯re dropping like flies, it¡¯s all he has left. Rentappenen demanded all of them. He used his vast forces up. Most of them died on Lisbaar.
Through my Diplomatic Link, I showed Ryonne~, and it floored him. Then I knew how many troops we were talking about. These are measured in world populations, not gazillions!
So many worlds have fighting, it¡¯s not practical to list them, so he keeps track of them by galactic groups. Fighting is winding down in The Padrisa, and we won! Eriganh doesn¡¯t even have troops there!
Here in the Thirteen, there¡¯s fighting in every one of our galaxies! Most of that took place in the 4th Galaxy at Lisbaar, a world.
Lisbaar, Rhaech, and a few other worlds blew up, with their star systems. These few worlds were where most of Eriganh¡¯s forces came. Rentappenen wanted to capture Lisbaar and his Collective was there. Lisbaar has all of the weapons from multiple levels that were made for this battle. They used them! Now, Rentappenen¡¯s Collective died when Lisbaar exploded, so he has a Cube that has little power. His temporary Collective needs to rest to gain power, and he¡¯s overworking everyone. So he is making clones for it and they live, on average, two hours before they die with constant replacement. He¡¯s running out of materials for these clones. Scientists are making them so fast, they aren¡¯t powerful. Many are coming out flawed. Numbers only increase the flawed ones.
Bottom line, he isn¡¯t time-traveling to increase his advantage, or using a time portal to get more clones and troops. That isn¡¯t working at this point.
He¡¯s still a powerful adversary, but he¡¯s a this-level adversary now, except for the slaver herbs and tech at his disposal.
The fact that he¡¯s using Kajarian troops, that¡¯s telling. The Battle¡¯s not a walk in the park, but the odds are more even now.
Knowing that doesn¡¯t make me feel better about losing our friends. And I can¡¯t bring them back?
I decided not to tell Ir. Too frustrating! He hugged me and I just shared my grief and frustration without words. Telepathy¡¯s wonderful that way. We comforted each other. He¡¯s known this battle was coming for centuries. That¡¯s a lot of stress. But we can look forward to centuries together, if we can just live through this. And, if the Padrisa or the 15th don¡¯t decide to execute us! Yeah, just a walk in the park.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Ir laughed. I think of a walk in the park, and I think about Piedmont Park. Ir thinks of the garden, our colony¡¯s garden. It reminds him of a place he used to love, too.
¡°Oh, Kia. I wish I could take you to Leheren. There is a garden there, Sethharran. I used to sit there and hope for a lady to enjoy it with. Now I have you, but I am exiled from Biehshah.¡± He sighed.
I did, too. ¡°When this is over, we can do a virtual tour, can¡¯t we?¡±
My husband nodded. ¡°We can visit Earth, too. That will be nice. I only saw Atlanta.¡±
I thought about all the places I dreamed about visiting. Egypt. The pyramids. Paris. The Eiffel Tower. Germany. Ireland, just to pet a sheep. While looking at fields of shamrocks. Ahh. Or Scotland. Eating Scottish shortbread, freshly baked, with a hot cup of herbal tea. Mmmm. At a cafe, or a real pub. Listening to bagpipes. Yeah, I¡¯d love it. Especially with Ir holding my hand like he is now. I smiled at my husband and felt guilty with all the grieving people near us. But, they¡¯d want us to smile, wouldn¡¯t they?
Ir named 55 people who would enjoy seeing us smiling instead of wailing. Biehshah are very literal. And, he named 72 others who might hope we would die too so they wouldn¡¯t have to be alone.
¡°They wouldn¡¯t ever be alone. They¡¯d have a lot of dead relatives, wouldn¡¯t they, Ir?¡±
¡°No! We can reclone ourselves. Biehshah always had plans for recloning, even though the government decided we¡¯d have to wait for materials until the end of the war. With stasis, there is no death, not really, for us. So yes, they¡¯d be afraid of being alone.¡±
I frowned. ¡°But, they¡¯re in stasis, so they¡¯re not really dead, are they?¡±
Ir laughed. ¡°No! Our friends wait for healing! They¡¯re not dead!¡±
All our Biehshah friends heard him and quit moping around. Der put an arm on Ir¡¯s forehead. ¡°You¡¯re right! Our friends are not dead! We need to remember that.¡± His green eyes filled, but he just wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. ¡°We will only miss them a short time.¡±
Ten brought a pink shake to Ir, Der, and several other close friends. ¡°Then, let us drink viev to their memories. I managed to grow one fruit. This is not as good as in our home, but it is our thoughts that matter, yes? Vievmemerashah sies, viewanteresheramach feruach!¡±
We all raised a glass. Apparently it¡¯s all right for an Earthan, too, so we drank. Heavenly flower scent, and a fruit flavor like strawberries! As I sipped mine, we all shared memories of our lost people. I learned things I didn¡¯t know about many of ¡®em. Ir¡¯s good friends with hundreds! We shared memories of their triumphs, their sorrows, and their everyday lives before Rentappenen. Biehshah have had shortages almost since their colony¡¯s founding, so life is harder there than on Bisillipia. Relatively speaking. Bisillips have plenty of food even out of season, few shortages, can get fuel even when it¡¯s scarce and expensive, for the few who travel. But, on Bisillipia, it¡¯s easy to end up a slave with absolutely no warning. A trade dispute. Or you make an enemy without realizing it. That¡¯s what motivated 80 decillion Bisillips to become a new species and move to Biehshah. The population has a high mortality rate, but there are still 95 decillion Biehshah on our world. Those in stasis are an unthinkable number. So when the war ends, they have plans for new worlds to populate with those in stasis.
Which gave me an idea. ¡°Ten, what would it take to wake up all the Biehshah? Could I do it with a mass healing?¡±
His blue eyes lit up! ¡°Kia, this would give us an army to fight Rentappenen! We would have even odds of defeating him!¡±
¡°Only even?¡± I felt depressed!
Ir hugged me. ¡°You do not know how powerful he is! He has many allies outside of the Thirteen. Even odds are good! There is less chance for The Padrisa or 15th to say, ¡°Oh, you cheated! Of course, if we use a red portal, there is no chance of reviving him if they decide against us.¡±
What an absolutely horrible thought! We will have to do that. He can¡¯t ever be resurrected! ¡°Are we sure he died in the other future?¡±
Ray came over. ¡°With what I know now, I don¡¯t think he did die. It¡¯s possible I thought he died and he just ported away. I¡¯m a trader, not a healer.¡±
¡°Okay. When he dies, just use a red portal. Port his body into the nearest sun!¡±
Ir showed her how to set one up. Deb learned it, too, and she knows how to prog. We ended up showing everyone, just in case.
Ray showed us how Satauuver¡¯s Collective killed him. They assured her, it was better than a red portal. They have ways to spread a person¡¯s particles over so many star systems, there is no way to retrieve them. There are particles much smaller than we know on Earth. Collectives can cause a person¡¯s particles to spray into tiny portals, millions of ¡®em. To Ray, he crumbled to dust, but that was the process of his particles porting away at a microscopic level. Satauuver will never come back. Unlike others, he never wanted clones or recloning. Never shared memories to a cylinder. He was too arrogant for that.
Chapter 37 Healing Fails
Ten hugged me. ¡°Be careful. Healing people from stasis is harder than healing them when they are ill. Stasis is very upsetting. We are more aware in stasis than Zheien, though we are maybe more patient. It doesn¡¯t drive us insane. Perhaps, irrational.¡±
I felt a bit nervous about this. ¡°Okay. Do you think my usual group healing will do it?¡±
¡°Yes! Your healings are magnificent!¡±
For this, I built up my orchestration. Musicians felt something in their telepathy and ported here from the festival. Wow! A real orchestra, but with instruments Earth never heard of. I made the server record it.
Angel and my false friends showed up. Ir kept Angel on his side, away from them. I swear, if they¡.
This time I poured all of my emotion into it, my love for our colony and our friends, my loyalty to Ry¡¯nao, my anger at all that happened, but also forgiveness. Love will make this healing work.
Since I felt we needed a little happiness, I chose Beethoven¡¯s 9th and Schiller¡¯s Ode To Joy. It will be a joyous occasion if I can bring all our people back!
I started with the falsetto bass and Ir sang tenor. Oh, his voice thrilled me and made my singing better!
For once, my friends sang and made an effort to blend. We sounded good!
But, I felt stasis reverse, for all Biehshah and Bisillips, in Alb and other places! My healing song reached into mines, and animated dry bones. Surprised Biehshah gathered people to fight the slavers. Some came to Biehshah with Suan when he founded it, then vanished on diplomatic missions to establish trade. I heard them asking every question in the Dipl0matic Link! Ir answered them all. He sure was glad to know many of his old buddies were now alive!
This healing went more slowly than any of them. Can¡¯t get impatient now! Some people took a lot more out of me. So many!
Ten stayed by my side and waved for tray after tray of shakes. I couldn¡¯t drink fast as only an Earthan, but he kept me supplied.
Finally, the last Biehshah got up and I lost the connection. Ten ran me to our room. Ir held me and I went to sleep.
Pas held me when I looked up. ¡°Kia, you must ne do this! You woke Pirad¡¯s vast storage of clones who ne formed properly! And they live!¡±
¡°I can¡¯t complain about that! More warriors for our army! Oh.¡± I felt tireder than the time I worked a 26-hour day because two somebodies didn¡¯t come in to work.
His red-gold eyes filled. ¡°You injured yourself, and ne of us can heal you! Ten can ne, and I can ne.¡±
¡°Maybe if I just sleep a bit longer.¡± I closed my eyes.
Ir held me up more. ¡°Cesarae, this will not help you! Ten¡¯s Chambers are filled, and they died!¡±
¡°What?! But I healed everybody!¡± I sat up. Regretted it.
Pas wept. ¡°Sometimes healing can ne stay. Their relatives came, and when they died again, many died. Ten can only heal one.¡±
¡°How many are left?¡± I cried, too.
On our bed were Der and Inana, VW and Velia, and Gen and Noka. Ten slept in Der¡¯s arms. His wife wasn¡¯t here, either. Narai, one of our other scientists, sat against VW.
Oh, I felt terrible! I tried to sing just a little, for them, and it didn¡¯t have any effect but to make ¡®em smile a bit. Our poor colony!
Our Cube holders gathered to try to help, but of course, they couldn¡¯t do anything, either.
Ryonne~ sat with us. ¡°Friends, I am sorry! Will Remembrance help you?¡±
Ir wailed and let him put him on his lap. ¡°There are too many! I spoke with so many dear friends, their voices silenced for years, long years without their thoughts, too many years!¡± He threw his arm over his eyes.
¡°Dear friend, grief is terrible. But we remember them, ea?¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
With a sigh, Ir nodded. ¡°Yes. As long as we remember them, their souls are happy. I will remember them all.¡± He hugged both of us.
Der made everyone get stiflingly close. It did help ¡®em.
¡°Friends, can you choose one memory to share? I fear is too much, to try to do more today. One memory.¡± Ryonne~ stroked the back of my husband¡¯s silver hair.
Ir sighed. ¡°Father once told me, when Mother died, our souls yet hold to one another, even in death. I was small. I kept asking when I would see Mother or hug her again. Finally, when I was old enough, Father took me to our stasis rooms.
¡°Holos play when someone comes near. Like you, we rest our loved ones in rooms, but we do not leave them alone. Prog instructors construct likenesses, and the holos interact. Friends come to visit and talk, and tell stories of their best work, or places they visited.
¡°We walked in and holos of all our family told their stories. Then we came to Mother¡¯s stasis chamber.
¡°Father set me on it and sighed. ¡®Mother cannot speak to us, but if you listen to your heart, you can hear her speak to you. Sometimes it takes a long time, but we are a patient people. When you need her wisdom, her memories are here in your mind to give comfort to you. Always remember the love she gave us while she was with us.¡¯
¡°Whenever I felt sad, Father took me down there until I felt able to bear life without her.¡± Ir rubbed an eye and it was wet. ¡°As I did then, I must be patient. If my friends lived once, maybe Pirad can help them live again. Until then, I should remember what they told me as our minds touched.¡±
His face looked very sad. ¡°Rentappenen felt them wake up and attacked. But, I felt his fear, so many of them were ready to fight him! He¡¯s weaker, Kia.¡± Those brown eyes had the weight of the world in them. ¡°Will you be able to keep fighting?¡±
¡°I have to, Ir, we can¡¯t stop now. We¡¯ll rest for a while and keep going. We have our Yeff friends and our Areonian friends, and our people of Ry Pethe here with us.¡±
All their faces nodded as they watched us. We¡¯re fewer, but we are strong together.
Ryonne~ sighed, and it rumbled on us as he let go. ¡°I am very sorry, but we have a visitor. Cevit Ion must interview you about your colony status. We fear there are too few of you now, to sustain yourselves here.
¡°An Earthan named Bedelia went to Pirad¡¯s Lab, but those who went with her came back to Fhiah without her. They said for us ne to go there. We must remain here, but perhaps you should plan to return to Biehshah. I have a pilot waiting¡ª¡±
Ir shook his head. ¡°Dear friend, this is our home. I will not give up on our colony. They are here in your Burial Chambers, not on Biehshah. I will not go.¡±
Ryonne~¡®s orange eyes snapped open wide! ¡°My friend, all of you will die!¡±
Ten startled awake. ¡°My liege, it is true, there are few of us. But I hold a Lens. If I can stay alive, I can sustain us.¡± He held up a round crystal, like a ball. ¡°Many of the ones Kia woke are in my Collective. They did this so our colony can survive to fight. I think even from stasis, our people will fight!¡± The ball threw white light like flames on the walls.
Ryonne~ bowed low and stayed like that. ¡°People of The Padrisa, we shall help all we can.¡±
Ten smiled. ¡°They heard you. Dromie changed me so I am your weapon. I am the only one who could stand changing so much, because I am new. Together, we will fight Rentappenen! We are on many worlds. Dromie¡¯s people are changing many of us. Kia, don¡¯t be scared. Mehirsta rameirech! As our fathers gathered to meet Opseh Wenh Cet on Fereshah, we shall gather!¡±
I killed the Wenh Cets. Greg smiled at me. ¡°Our people of Ry Pethe stand with you.¡±
¡°I am Cunigundae, Host Of Blue Lens Of Secrets. I can hide us until it is time!¡± That Areonian bowed to us. He pulled at his blond curls at his neck.
And that girl held his hand. Smiled. ¡°I am Liza, Host Of The Green Cube Of Questions, and I learned to inflict fear on our enemies! I found my courage! You taught me, Kia, and Cunigu! Today I will be brave!¡± She beamed.
Lots of people had diff attitudes about our battle. It seemed, all of them decided that now there are fewer of us, all of us are needed.
How much more do we need to do before that last battle?
Cevit Ion came in with black, black eyes. Sara didn¡¯t look happy, either. His sigh rumbled on everyone. ¡°Ir, Kia, I am most sorry. The Alb Council sends me to begin our inquiry into the health of your colony. Leader Suan is very concerned! We came from his office just now.¡±
Ir nodded and motioned him onto the bed. ¡°Please, sit with us. This is all of us now, but for those in our Collectives.¡±
He didn¡¯t bow, but climbed up and lifted Sara to sit by us. Pas startled and sang healing on her!
¡°Oh, Pas, I¡¯m all right¡ª¡±
¡°Try this leiwege, Lady.¡± He waved up a very decorated one. I¡¯d only seen white, except the ones Zheien had that were very old.
She smiled as he bent it around her. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s nice! Ea yeo!¡±
¡°I am happy Uisan studied with Ahstam. He learned new methods that will please many.¡± His red-gold eyes studied her.
Cevit Ion comforted her with his mind, but his eyes didn¡¯t leave us.
Ten got the memory-sharing stare with him and he paled! Still looked gray. Couldn¡¯t they send someone else?
After a while, Cevit Ion looked at Ir. ¡°Do you believe that your colony can yet fight, as Ten does?¡±
¡°Yes. Anyone who has doubts can ask Leader Suan if¡ª¡±
All our group protested! Der got off the bed and bowed. ¡°I will not leave, and none of us will! We all believe that Ten and Kia will keep the rest of us alive.¡± His green eyes filled. ¡°I understand your concern, but as leader of Ir¡¯s Council, I believe we can fulfill our duty to Alb and to The Padrisa.¡±
Cevit Ion and Sara got off and bowed, so we did. ¡°Then, I shall return to the Alb Council with your words.¡±
I grabbed his arm. ¡°Please, don¡¯t leave!¡±
We heard the sound of portals in the gardens.
Chapter 38 Colony Failure
A delegation from the Alb Council marched in. Most were Zheien and had sad faces.
Their leader, Per Naha, a yellow Zheien, had Leader Suan with him.
Per Naha had long, silver curls like an old Zheien, but appeared young, maybe middle aged. His record said he was 55, so that¡¯s like 3os for us.
Leader Suan looked young, but all Biehshah do. His green skin had a rich color, a sad contrast to the grayish hue of his companion, who trembled. Suan held himself with confidence, and his green eyes studied Ir. ¡°I expected to find you dying, but it appears you are correct, Ten. I am happy. We offer the support of every prov of Biehshah. No one agreed to come here, but I wish you to know, all of you are welcome in our home.
¡°Uiano, Minister Of Leheren, is also very concerned about the health of all of you. If any of you wish to return for a short time, or permanently, he will see to all of your needs.
¡°He welcomes all of any prov! Ten, do you need help? We can provide any ingredients you may need.¡±
Ten looked very surprised. Waved up a list. ¡°I could not find these with any trader of the Yeff.¡±
Suan waved, and Ten had a expression of shock! Then Suan slapped his arm on Ten¡¯s forehead! ¡°I will not expect any trade from you, from any of you! Whatever you need, whether you stay or return home, we will supply you. Already, you saved our world, my colony!¡±
Ir sat on the bed! ¡°We saved you?¡±
¡°Kia woke people all over Biehshah! At such cost to your colony! My parents lived. Garat¡¯s entire family! Many of us.
¡°I extend the apologies of our world to you, VW and Narai! And for the suffering of your Veliatsheeiene. Garat will also apologize publicly if you want it.¡±
VW bowed. ¡°Leader Suan, thank you! I will not ask for a public apology. You are forgiven, and all the ministers of Leheren and other provs. I like you, Suan!¡±
¡°I like you, too, VW, and you also, Narai!¡±
Everyone smiled.
Suan waved up a document. ¡°I have here a Declaration Of Failure, but I will not sign it yet. I will give you time until the end of this war. Your colony is Failed, but who knows if Kia will revive all of you? I will not decide it yet.¡±
¡°Thank you, Suan.¡± Ir smiled, but he trembled.
They all bowed, we returned it, and they left.
VW hugged Ir. ¡°We are forgiven! I will record a performance of this for all of my ancestors!¡± He ported away.
¡°Not without me!¡± Narai ported after him!
Cevit Ion hugged us. ¡°Friends, if you have any needs, ask of Ryee, and he will help you. Our colony also offers help.¡±
¡°Thank you, Cevit Ion! I never thought to speak with Suan! He forgives us! All of us!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
¡°Please, call me Cev and be my friend.¡±
¡°Thank you, Cev.¡± Ir smiled as Cev put him on the bed again. Pas carried me up so we could sit together in our leiwege.
We talked about our lost friends and loved ones. They kept offering help.
¡°All we need is for the war to be over!¡± I sighed.
So did Ir, and it rumbled. Rumbles came from all the Zheien, which made me giggle, despite our grief. Our folks in Heaven probably liked that.
Ten left after a while. Maybe he¡¯s checking on VW and Narai. They¡¯ve been gone for a couple hours.
Our whole time here on Ye~, we¡¯ve been scared of this pending battle. One problem after another. To be so close and lose everyone, it just didn¡¯t seem fair!
At least we can talk about it now. After a while, I was still bone-tired but my attitude was a lot better.
Ten came back with an army of our clones and clones of every colonist! ¡°I have enough materials from Suan to make thousands more!¡± He even had clones of all the Ry Petheans and Areonians, and Yeff! ¡°All who died are safely in stasis with people to tell stories for them. I checked all of them.
¡°I think, when the war is over, I can bring them back.¡±
¡°Why not now?¡±
His bright blue eyes filled. ¡°Kia, I think, if I bring them back now, they will not survive this stress. I made their clones strong for this.¡±
Ir stroked the back of his silver hair, like a Zheien. Ten smiled. ¡°I trust you, Ten.¡±
¡°I like you, Ir. Even after the war, I will stay in your colony. Suan was nice to offer, but I want to stay here.¡±
Ir nodded. ¡°I am happy for you to stay!¡±
The clones gathered around us, and one of Ir¡¯s father hugged me. ¡°Ten made me better. I¡¯m ready, Kia.¡±
I startled. Father never used contractions! They¡¯re learning foreign customs from me.
Ir smiled. It¡¯s not bothering him. It felt better, having all these cloned brothers and sisters.
I just tried not to think about what¡¯s coming. It¡¯s close. ¡°Let¡¯s call a meeting, now that everyone¡¯s here!¡±
Der gathered our Council, right here on our bed.
Ir¡¯s father frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can decide anything before it happens. Just as suddenly as we entered this time bubble, as you call it, we will exit it. I think there will not be time to react. We are already fighting. I feel it.¡±
Der nodded. ¡°I do, too, and I don¡¯t have a Cube or a Lens! What can those of us do who have no weapons?¡±
¡°There are no weapons here. Lisbaar had them all. If any survived the destruction of it, Pirad has them.¡±
And we can¡¯t talk to him.
Ir got everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Cubes and Lenses are similar. If there is anything anyone needs to do, we will get instruction from the Collectives. There really is nothing we can do our otherselves are not already doing. This is why all of us are tired. We are acting as a massive Collective.¡± He spread his hands wide, like I would.
Several others did that. ¡°Our own Collective! I like that!¡±
¡°Think of the good we could do! I think I¡¯ll invent something!¡±
¡°Me, too!¡±
Discussions got exciting. Zheien looked worried. But everyone good-naturedly grouped up and worked on projects. Some pulled Zheien or Areonians or people from Ry Pethe over to discuss things.
I smiled. As long as our people are happy, I¡¯m happy. Who says meetings have to be long and boring!
Ir and I donated an idea or two every once in awhile as we laid on our leiwege. These clones had energy. VW and Narai had a group of scientists around them with a lot of screens up. Gen and Noka brought Zheien from Ryonne~¡®s family to join them. We all liked the science stuff, but Gen and Noka were good with servers and contributed to Be~saech and Mon Pa¡¯s groups. Even Cevit Ion had some ideas for prog improvements. I guess even galactic ministers do some things in their spare time. They seemed to enjoy what they did.
Mostly, Ir and I just enjoyed the activity around us. Until the stone walls vanished.
Chapter 39 Intergalactic Battle
We all startled. The red-violet hull of Adia¡¯s Ship appeared, and Ir and I were in our bedroom there! I ran out.
In the main part of the ship, the crowd milled around as usual. People talked in small groups. Not as many people on the ship as there were.
Ry¡¯nao came out of his room and Ryonne~ caught him.
Through the Diplomatic Link, I heard Ilios¡¯ call for help! He¡¯s coordinating people, helping Ry¡¯nao.
No one noticed any of this! I ran through people to him.
As I ran, I saw Rentappenen. He¡¯s directing troops. But, he saw Sara and she¡¯s still back on Ye~ in our room! She marked people for others to attack because she can tell who¡¯s a slaver.
With that information, I found his top people who wanted him to win and attacked them! Plowed through them, mentally. Most of ¡®em were Elshars. He didn¡¯t have anyone with powerful telepathy left.
Sara and I worked through soldiers.
Ry¡¯nao ran to me and put a hand on my head. His telepathy¡¯s a lot stronger than mine! He saw all the people I zapped, and he got their memories. Saw their plans.
An Elshar healer, Ket, gasped and put both his hands on Ry¡¯nao¡¯s head! ¡°You can¡¯t fight Rentappenen! Pull out!¡±
¡°Get Ray,¡± he whispered.
Ket made him lie down in Ryonne~¡®s lap.
Ray ported in and put her hands on his head. That dark blond hair floated around as if she was in space. Red light, but dim, shone around her. She can¡¯t use the Red Cube yet.
¡°Suma¡ª¡± a whimper.
I kept attacking and there were more to replace all that I felled! I sweated.
Suma and Jarfus, that walrus, and a horde of surprised Thordes appeared! They felt it and stood ready to add their telepathy.
¡°What are you waiting for, Christmas? Attack Rentappenen!¡± The giant white walrus shouted!
¡°You¡¯ll kill Ry¡¯nao!¡± A Thordes I knew in Rainbow, Mike, put his hands on Ry¡¯nao¡¯s head, too. Then held him up by his shoulders.
But, a girl with red pigtails appeared. Who¡¯s she? ¡°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!¡± This is Azure, who has that time cube and made the bubble. She¡¯s only just making it?
I heard a voice in the Link. ¡°We can¡¯t get down there!¡±
I followed it. Big guards with Ty¡¯nirrhan telepathy¡ª ¡°Deb!¡±
She came running and I took over their bodies while she directed their telepathy down to Rentappenen! Gierdre ran down there, a clone of her who¡¯s Xchou-Ty¡¯nirrhan, and found the right pile of slime. An aandat with Gedda Dier¡¯s intelligence. Immediately, she came to life. ¡°We are being attacked! Now! Against Rentappenen!¡± But her armies weren¡¯t there. This world is Elshars, mostly. They got everyone to run down into the biomes and let the slime wake Gedda Dier¡¯s army!
They put their intelligences into aandats? Their secret weapon! Rentappenen wasn¡¯t ready for this.
And, they had weapons. Specially made higher-level weapons, to defeat his.
Azure shifted us back to January 19th. My body went back into me!
Things happened on Rhaech but other people worried about that. I kept downing Elshars. We moved deep underground on Lisbaar.
Time sped up. I had to work a lot faster.
Rentappenen tried to shift to a later time, but he got trapped! I felt his panic! He reached for another major player. Mican, Host Of The Black Cube Of War.
This Dosilian was just getting his clone off the table. ¡°I can¡¯t leave, but you can! Get those weapons!¡±
He ported to a ship and it got away. But other Earthans are waiting for him. I couldn¡¯t do anything.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Rentappenen pushed all his men, hard. Then, I saw it. Rhaech has a portal to Lisbaar. That¡¯s where all Rentappenen¡¯s men are trying to reach, but Gedda Dier¡¯s army is mowing them down with those weapons.
On Rhaech, weary Kenneph heard this in his Diplomatic Link. He was in a meeting with the Ulukai Council, made up of leaders of the 50 worlds. They were meeting to hear his arguments about the Nutrition Treaty. Wondering where Moeh and Dachsah, the two main leaders of half of Rhaech, were. They are here, on Earth. Molly showed Andrisch where they were and he ported them on the ship. White Robe gave them quick justice. Molly¡¯s worried about the MarKuans, especially this one diplomat. He got hurt on Rhaech and became horribly disabled.
He showed Perach and Janmie, the two Ulukai leaders, that they now had control of all of Rhaech, and the other half of the worlds. ¡°It is time we signed this treaty! Ronda, you helped us. Now, we have agreement and will sign.¡± Perach smiled at her. An Earthan¡¯s there?
Kenneph used the ceremonial chalk, and gave a long speech as he drew complicated symbols. They signed, all of them.
But, Molly showed them Rentappenen and where his Collective is. On Rhaech? That¡¯s where that portal leads!
Ulukai mounted beasts of every description and their armies ported to Rhaech. With the signature, they activated the new Hub and new progs. More armies came. They ran down into tunnels long unused from mines and found the chamber. Fought with guards.
Rentappenen lost men like water, but more came to replace ¡®em.
I reached, and kept reaching. Ray knew places I could reach. So did Suma. And, this girl, Azure, directed us all! Rentappenen is using all his strength up.
But, the timing is wrong! Ray¡¯s supposed to defeat him after Adia defeats Eriganh!
And, the date changed. January 31. The Unified Treaty¡¯s been signed.
I still directed troops. After two weeks!
Adia went to Ryee, who gave Ket Ry¡¯nao. I felt jittery! Ryee and Laura went outside. That yard I could see from the ship! Laura didn¡¯t let her husband go with them. He stood at the hull watching them walk into the yard.
Eriganh stood there in a red metallic uniform. His hair was in braids but a thin helmet, like red foil, left the outlines of them. He glowed red. J~oie put his hands on the inside hull.
Adia raised the White Cube. Ryee helped her attack!
People on the ship startled and ran to that side! Hands slapped the hull. Red and white light flooded the ship. More people ran over there to watch!
Ry¡¯nao is losing strength, but he smiled. He knows.
Suddenly, Eriganh panicked and lost his hold on the Red Cube! It smashed into the White Cube, that also flew from Adia¡¯s hand. Diplomats, traders, scientists, they were all plastered to that side of the ship, watching the 300 year war come to an end, in the yard of a nurse, Laura Martin. She¡¯s holding Ryee. He¡¯s hurt! Ray ported out.
The fireworks are over. Ray grabbed the Red Cube. Adia¡¯s clone took the White Cube Of Light. It¡¯s spent, but everyone left in it, they are targeting Rentappenen.
The Red Cube is spent, but its Collective wants to fight Rentappenen, too. I heard them shouting!
Healers brought Adia and Ryee in. They put Adia and Ryee on a bed and Ry¡¯nao is holding Ryee, but he¡¯s here, in the middle of this ship, we¡¯re frozen in time, Azure¡¯s stretching out time so we can do this! I sang louder. Orchestration built so thirteen galaxies heard the music! Sang with it. Telepathy of worlds too numerous to imagine, not in my little mind!
Slowly, the other hosts of the weaker Cubes rose up. The Time Is Now!
I sang. Orchestration built. I healed members of all these weary Collectives! Suma¡¯s healing heals all of most of the species, but I healed the Bisillips, the Biehshah, the Hidden Elders of Cubes I didn¡¯t know the names of, Rentappenen didn¡¯t know about them! A lot more than the people we had on Ye~ in that underground bunker. These are on many worlds in many galaxies. Pirad¡¯s been ready for this for centuries, prepping Cubes. But Earthans with Gifts made their own. Someone¡¯s helping us who wants us to win!
Deb reached through and sent a final surge of telepathy to get Opseh Wenh Cet¡¯s Collective. He had one? He wasn¡¯t ever supposed to rise to Councillor! That¡¯s Gedda Dier¡¯s Cube! She took it back!
I sang, and the music swirled, and all the dead people of Earth rose and lived. It¡¯s not the Resurrection, oh, no. They¡¯ll live for a time and die again. But, that¡¯s not for me. That¡¯s not my doing.
Civilizations long dead rose again, all over the Thirteen, the damage Eriganh, Satauuver and Rentappenen did. The Gray Cube that Ry¡¯nao has, it stored them for this day, this time!
We¡¯re all existing in two planes of time. There¡¯s Suma and Ray, healing Adia and Ryee, while they are pouring energy through Ry¡¯nao, into this void of time and space, putting our universe back together. My mind can¡¯t hold it all! I sing louder! More healing. The music. It¡¯s more beautiful than I ever imagined, ice cream flavors to children, laughing and playing in time, dancing, all the little Zheien children, but Biehshah, Bisillips¡ªand Aryllan children, their songs are healing.
King Wtensau used the Blue Cube. It wasn¡¯t meant to be, but he has it and he¡¯s using it to touch plants all over the Thirteen. Plants¡ªpin dat shea rise up on every world. A race of intelligent plants! Their spores were dormant, but an Earthan, Bess, sang with Prince Perretau, and all the plants rose up to choke the wicked and heal the dead, the injured, the weary so they can rise up and fight Rentappenen. This is it! The Final Battle that no one will see, except for me, Ray, Suma, Deb, Sara and Bess. And, Azure.
She gave her final burst of energy. The music reached its crescendo and lowers in volume, gradually, softly.
¡°Azure! Pirad!¡± Molly grabbed Pirad¡¯s arm. He¡¯s hot. ¡°What happened? Ry¡¯nao! What¡¯re you doing out here? Suma? Deb?¡±
Molly had Azure on her lap. She¡¯s spent, healing Ryee and Adia. None of the healers on this ship have anything left. My music is fading.
I put my head down on the soft red-violet floor. Ir holds me. ¡°Healer. Please. For my love.¡±
The music stopped. People are around, but I can¡¯t open my eyes. Sleep. Gotta.
Chapter 40 Upper Level Stuff
I gasped and sat up! Ir did, too! All around us were worried Biehshah and Pirad, Taredias, and Kirnonos. Tenadu made me lie down. ¡°Friends, we made the New Healing. It is done. Now we need rest, all of us! Pirad, do not be foolish.¡±
He laughed, and it clicked. ¡°My plan worked, do you see? I made Cubes and hid them! Rentappenen did not see it.¡± But, he did. He tried to get us in Alb, but we made it.
Deb came in crying.
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Gedda Dier died! Lisbaar is gone! They helped us, but they died doing it!¡±
Every one of the Biehshah looked puzzled. Except Ir. He remembered all of it. He¡¯s crying because Deb is crying.
Greg came in. ¡°My Sweetheart, what is wrong?¡± He hugged her.
I hummed. I know how to heal Ty¡¯nirrhans, now, but I don¡¯t have much.
There are 73 of ¡®em. All are on Ye~ except for Greg, Briahh, Roger and Judy, Sika and John. We¡¯re going home.
Molly came in. ¡°Deb, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Her green eyes opened wide, like a Zheien¡¯s.
¡°Gedda Dier!¡±
¡°I know.¡± Her voice broke. ¡°Gierdre¡¯s clone, too. 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.¡±
That giant white walrus, Jarfus, waddled in with Mike and Mica, his wife. ¡°Who is Azure?¡±
The walrus blinked at Mike with his purple eyes. ¡°Who is Azure, you say! She saved us all! She saved Ry¡¯nao! Azure used the talents of all of us, and every Councillor on the Council. Wally said we could do it. He said so, and we did! Don¡¯t cry. Pirad. Here is Azure. You can¡¯t reclone her, but I can clone her.¡±
He waved a flipper, and she appeared. Looked at her feet. ¡°I¡¯m alive? But, that wasn¡¯t supposed to¡ªWally! You grew up!¡±
The walrus laughed. ¡°I am not Wally, I am Jarfus. Wally left, but look who just got here, too late for the party!¡±
Purple light shone and left a man with constantly changing faces. ¡°Molly! I am Wslarc, Rainbow Councillor. Where shall I put my Collective? Where is your colony?¡± He was with us. Zheien features.
She clapped her hands and her green eyes sparkled. ¡°Jarfus, he¡¯s not too late, he¡¯s right on time! You can put it on Alb Seer! Fhiah decided not to have an Earthan Colony, but¡ª¡±
¡°Where will you live?¡±
¡°MarKu!¡±
¡°Then, I will be MarKu¡¯s Councillor. Oh, you have the Rainbow Council building. I will put our Collective underground, there.¡± He vanished. He¡¯s not going to be¡ªbut Suma¡¯s Ye~¡®s Councillor. Oh.
¡°I¡¯m so glad we didn¡¯t get Kieta!¡± Molly laughed. I felt the same way!
Another light, a white one, shone and left a lady. ¡°I suppose I am a disappointment to you, but I have been sent here also. Since you don¡¯t like my decisions, where do you want me?¡±
Pirad frowned at her. ¡°Much of this mess is your fault. Did you send Wally?¡±
She laughed. ¡°No. Nobody sends Wally, he sends himself! And, he left this Jarfus for Ye~. I suppose I will go to Antera. They will not mind my decisions.¡± She vanished. Good riddance! I didn¡¯t like her in Rainbow.
Molly looked at Jarfus. ¡°I think they¡¯ll love you on Ye~. They deserve a nice, polite Councillor.¡±
Jarfus waved, and wore a top hat and jacket, in white. ¡°Then, I am happy to go there. Where is Suma?¡±
Molly sighed. ¡°With Adia and Ryee. I just left to stretch my legs. And make sure everyone¡¯s okay! Kia, are you all right?¡±
¡°I¡¯m tired, but I think I should be, after all we did! You should look at Azure, though. Sit on our bed.¡± I couldn¡¯t lift my arms. Ir didn¡¯t move, and he felt bad.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
She climbed up. Shivered. I waved a hot blanket on her. Molly looked at her and got teary.
¡°Oh, I¡¯m not dying, but it feels weird without my Collective. At least we can talk, when we¡¯re not out there.¡± She looked at the crowded open space.
¡°We still have to be careful, don¡¯t we?¡±
¡°Not about upper level stuff. Just our level stuff.¡± She smiled. ¡°Where will I live? I don¡¯t want to live on Earth!¡± She waved up her Alliance record. It showed a dot for her in a cemetery! She paled.
Pirad shook his head. ¡°When I could not reclone you, I put your body next to your parents¡¯. Your Alliance record is still tied to you. I think you are not tied to a particular time or place. But, I think you should live in Alb.¡±
¡°You could live in MarKu. That¡¯s where I¡¯m going to run my Rainbows from.¡± Molly put an arm around her.
¡°You could live in Ye~ where Jarfus went.¡± Suma came in. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s all right that I let King Wtensau have the Blue Cube?¡±
¡°Look what he did with it! Now we have little pin dat shea spies everywhere, to make sure slavers don¡¯t get a foothold! Where did Bess go? Maybe we should ask them to move Aryll and Abyll to Alb. It would fit!¡± That walrus waved his flippers as he talked. This will be fun!
Molly laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll ask King Wtensau. We have Ponyll, though. And, I want Minaria. Ye~ sent King Ea~ and half of Ye~¡¯s Burial Chambers there¡ª¡±
¡°Why?¡± A young man ported in and held Azure. ¡°Oh, Az, I thought I lost you!¡±
She giggled. ¡°Jarfus brought me back, but I¡¯m a clone. I missed you. But, what¡¯s Minaria?¡±
¡°You need what they have. We can¡¯t make you healthy, but Poppa and his furry healers can.¡± Molly pulled at a red ringlet.
¡°Oh, Ahstam knows them! Yes, we need to move there. Let¡¯s go now, Hon!¡±
Ray came in. ¡°Azure? Didn¡¯t I just see you..?¡± She pointed into the big room.
¡°Pirad says¡ªwell, look!¡± She waved up her Alliance record. It had her death date as today.
Her husband gasped. ¡°Let¡¯s go to Poppa now!¡± He waved up a white portal. They whooshed out.
Molly sighed. ¡°It won¡¯t be the same here, without her. And, I¡¯ll miss Doug, Jen, and especially Ron, being in MarKu.¡±
¡°Aww, it¡¯s only a 4 min port to any world, to check on your favorite people.¡± Suma smiled. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll let me stay close to Ryee and Adia, so I can update you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m worried about Ry¡¯nao! Will he go back to Vohl? It¡¯s so empty.¡±
¡°No, he¡¯s going to Ye~ with us. Ket has to stay near Doug and Ron. His wife¡¯s glad he¡¯s finally going to let his clone rule the Thirteen.¡±
¡°He agreed to that?¡± Molly smiled.
Suma sighed. ¡°We can¡¯t heal what Rentappenen did. All of us tried.¡±
I blinked at them. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I get hurt? I was in there with him!¡±
They all stared at me. Suma shrugged. ¡°You should be dead.¡±
Deb shivered. ¡°Check your Alliance record.¡± Her short blond waves bobbed.
I waved it up. Kia Chevrolet Garfield, Biehshah Master Healer.
Molly laughed. ¡°Did your dad name you when Mom wasn¡¯t looking?¡±
¡°Yep! Anyone Earthan that sees my record¡¯ll laugh, too! Glad I¡¯m not a trader!¡±
Ir giggled. ¡°No, you¡¯re just a diplomat¡¯s wife! A very talented¡ª¡±
¡°You mean, Biehshah Colony leader!¡±
¡°Yep, you are Queen Of Biehshah Ye~, and Irdaktin , you are King Of Biehshah Ye~!¡±
Our records came up with the new names. ¡°We didn¡¯t have that in the subcolony!¡±
¡°Oh, Eap wrote the Rainbow Charter this time. We got fancier, since we grew up!¡± Molly smiled.
¡°Well, when do we go home?¡±
Molly sighed. ¡°Aunt Meg wants to have that meeting tomorrow night with the Pruitt Association, so I guess I¡¯ll go after that. Goes and his family are waiting and they¡¯ll take me home. But the rest of you¡¯ll probably leave today, won¡¯t you?¡±
Pirad nodded. ¡°Now that there are embassies, the diplomats staying can work in them instead of this ship. I can use a white portal to get them home faster.¡±
¡°I think all the Earthans want to watch the sun come up tomorrow morning.¡± Molly smiled. ¡°Lots of people are planning to get a little sightseeing in today, now that slavers aren¡¯t out in force. Look.¡± She waved up a map. Lots of black dots. She frowned. ¡°They¡¯re still swarming Earth?¡±
¡°They sure did in the last future.¡± I sighed.
¡°I wasn¡¯t here for that. Greg and I left Earth¡ª¡± Deb startled.
¡°Did we?¡± Greg frowned.
¡°Don¡¯t think if it hurts, Sweetheart.¡± Deb looked worried.
¡°Come over here.¡± She helped him sit on the bed. I hummed, and found some stuff to do. I built up the orchestration, but it didn¡¯t do much. At least, I couldn¡¯t tell on my end. ¡°Now, think about something that used to hurt.¡± I mentally crossed my fingers.
¡°I grew up¡ªDeb! I remember home! My parents were Fio Min Re Sar and Ig Ora Pan Ab of Liminieria, Ctral. Briahh, Sika and I lived there, but their ship was taken. What happened to them?¡±
A holo came up. They looked like us! ¡°Fiomin! Look! Are you¡ªyou can¡¯t be¡ªGreg, can you?¡± The fella reached for him.
Briahh ran in, with Sika and John close behind. Sika fell on the floor, crying.
Her mother fell on it beside her and her father. They were blond and blue-eyed. All of them hugged. She put her hand on Greg¡¯s head and wept. ¡°Oh, they hurt you! They changed us and sent us to Areon, but healers saw that we were changed¡ª¡±
¡°Areon?¡±
¡°Yes! After Adia saved us, we were afraid to live there so we live on Ye~ now. Bremen Ye~. There¡¯s a Ry Pethe colony, too, but we¡ªwe lived on Areon so long¡ªhow did you find us?¡± Had I seen them on Ye~? We saw a lot of people.
Deb¡¯s parents ran in and got down there, too.
I hugged Ir. We¡¯ll be on Ye~. Maybe I can find others¡¯ parents, too.
Chapter 41 Ryee and Ry’nao
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, Briahh and Constance, and Roger and Judy promised to visit when we got back to Ye~ and closed their holo. Deb¡¯s parents hesitated. ¡°Should we stay in our room while you visit?¡±
¡°Please, come. Ryee worries for all of you!¡± Zheien are just that way.
Ir kept his arms around me. I wasn¡¯t too steady when I got up. I hope I can still heal people! But, I just healed Greg. Might take a little time before I do group healings.
Suma and Neal went, and Jarfus, and Mike and Mica.
Ray and Asha came, too. Asha was pale. He¡¯s a yellow Zheien. They¡¯re always sick.
We went in Ryee and Adia¡¯s room. Their two sets of clones stayed outside to fend off visitors and wish anyone who asked about them well. We smiled at ¡®em. So glad they didn¡¯t die!
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.
Molly 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.¡± Molly wiped his face with a white cloth. It steamed.
¡°Yes. I hope we don¡¯t keep her too much longer. She always smiles and has flowers. All of our favorites.¡±
¡°She sent some. Here¡¯s an oisonoos.¡± Molly pulled a red one with ragged petals from a vase and tucked it in his collar of his red-violet gown.
He sniffed it with a smile. Then, looked at me. ¡°Kia. Because of you, I am alive. Come.¡± His hand didn¡¯t move.
J~oie lifted me up and I took his hand. So cold! I was careful not to try to touch his mind, but let him touch mine. That was fine. 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. ¡°He¡¯s smiling.¡±
Ryee looked up, golden eyes droopy. ¡°O, I am well enough. Liege.¡±
¡°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.
He chuckled. Looked at us, red-violet eyes wide.
¡°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. Narai brought VW and Veliatsheeine, and she healed when Kia helped fight Rentappenen! Her healing reached Alb and did miracles!¡±
¡°It did?¡± Seems like I¡¯d remember that!
¡°Are you all right¡ªKet!¡± He pulled at the healer¡¯s white sleeve.
¡°¡±Ao, I can¡¯t look at her. Pirad has to¡ª¡± Ket¡¯s eyes stayed black, like black marbles. So did all the yellow Zheien¡ª
¡°I will see her.¡± Pirad put a hand on my forehead. ¡°She is healthy. I put Ty¡¯nirrhan, Chor and Dosillian in her.¡± He¡¯s warm and should be cold. The battle was hard on all of us.
¡°Did Gen and Noka move to your colony?¡±
¡°Yes! Already they learned to play Oae Pae!¡± My husband giggled. Their ¡®naughty¡¯ entertainments made us both laugh.
He laughed. ¡°Oh, I want to see that! Do you play, Ir?¡±
¡°I want to learn.¡±
¡°Is Doug busy? He worries so much. Is Jen too shy to come see me?¡±
¡°¡¯Ao, they are on Ye~ with Ron. We sent them home. They recite poetry on the commons, every day.¡± Ket held his arm to keep him steady.
Those red-violet eyes filled. ¡°But, Ket, Doug needs you!¡±
¡°Oh, he is all right¡ª¡±
¡°After terminals?¡± He cried.
¡°Pirad helped him. He had the aches for a few days, but he is reciting his poetry on the commons. Pas can help him, and Ron. There are enough Earthans in the colony that Doug and Ron can visit them all every day, and Doug is writing so much poetry, he can¡¯t recite it all!¡± Ket smiled. He¡¯s a nice Elshar. Still has blond hair with a couple of dark streaks at his temples.
¡°Is Jen all right? And¡ªand¡ªRon¡¯s lady?¡±
¡°Jen has her brother and his wife there, and she¡¯s happy. Vonne is Ron¡¯s lady, and she loves the B~ea~! They changed to be softer. I think you might like one.¡± He pictured fuzzy bees!
¡°Oh, I would like a pet. I think I want one of¡ªLaura?¡±
¡°Mama has horses. You want one? She has babies. Pirad can grow one, whatever breed or color you want.¡± Laura has green eyes like Der. Her auburn waves always have the messy look.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
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.
¡°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!¡± He laughed.
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¡± Poor fella looked kind of lost. If not for Ir, I¡¯d be.
¡°My son, you are different. Don¡¯t worry about rules. I¡¯m retired. I don¡¯t have any. I like Zheien customs. I moved my house to Ye~. Yeff are my favorite people. I couldn¡¯t have a favorite, as Emperor. Now, I can think as I please.¡± He smiled, and Greg relaxed a bit.
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~!¡± Why does she sound like she¡¯s been here on the ship? Or was she two places at once the whole time?
¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad! Are they good people?¡± Ry¡¯nao¡¯s head kept drifting to his leiwege.
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.¡± He frowned.
¡°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 happy 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. Traders know how to be formal. Ray¡¯s pretty formal, anyway.
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.¡± That¡¯s what they look like? Like dead leaves stuck in a tiny pot!
¡°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.¡±
Pirad laughed and all of him clicked. ¡°No, I did not do that! I am not sure how that happened. Azure said Llsam used what he thought were dead pin dat shea in his terminals and that he died on Earth and somehow they grew. I cannot imagine that.¡±
Azure¡¯s voice came from the plant. ¡°No, he got hurt, after he made himself Earthan. On Tessa, he fell in a field of them, and almost died, in his Areonian form. But a baby, this baby, helped him live. When he did die on Earth and she could not revive him, she hid in a magnolia seed. There was no one to love her. Until Bess and her family moved to the house.
¡°Bess sang to all the trees, every plant in the yard. She helped with the family¡¯s import business. Her plants grew better and she said it was because she sang to them. So her family started singing to their plants.
¡°Now we know this pin dat shea heard her 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.¡±
Ry¡¯nao smiled. ¡°Imagine that! I miss Llsam. Maybe this baby stored his memories, Pirad.¡±
¡°Wslarc might be able to read them so I can collect them. I want to try to reclone him.¡±
¡°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.¡±
Cevit Ion ran in and took his other hand, over Ryee. ¡°Are you well, ¡®Ao?¡± This one is the clone who became Minister. He has a lady friend outside? She¡¯s not a clone of Sara.
¡°I¡¯m not well. I mistook Asha¡¯s hand¡ª¡± He sobbed. Poor Asha wanted to help. He¡¯s in master trader robes, the cobalt blue ones with Tessite on the borders.
¡°Should I take you to your chamber?¡± Ket pulled him into his arms.
¡°My ship. I want to go home!¡±
Ket got up holding him. ¡°I¡¯ll give manual calcs¡ª¡±
¡°Dear friend, will travel so soon frighten him?¡± Ryee leaned up and Laura grabbed him. Ry¡¯nao had his eyes closed.
¡°No. I think he¡¯ll rest better knowing he¡¯s leaving.¡± Ket smiled, but a sad smile.
¡°We can use a white portal and arrive in an hour.¡± Cevit Ion went with them. His lady walked with ¡®em. She wore a long dress. A classy woman.
Ryee watched them leave with tears in his golden eyes.
¡°Wanna go with ¡®em?¡± Molly 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.¡± His brother hugged him.
Molly smiled and put my hand in his. I didn¡¯t expect it to be colder than Ry¡¯nao¡¯s! ¡°Here¡¯s Kia and her husband, Ir.¡±
¡°Kia! Are you harmed?¡± His eyes went wide.
¡°I¡¯m all right. Pirad saw me. He gave me good protections¡ª¡±
¡°Pirad, are we safe?¡±
¡°Yes! I was worried, but now it is over. Eriganh is¡ª¡± Pirad stopped and looked past him.
Laura shook her head!
¡°Ay! Are you well? I can ne¡ª¡±
¡°Love, I am beside you. Feel you my hand?¡± Adia rubbed his.
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?¡± His face had shock.
She sighed. ¡°I have less pains. Pirad made me Elshar, if you can bear¡ª¡± Her eyes went darker blue.
¡°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.¡±
He reached for Ir¡¯s hand. ¡°Here is Irtakdin . He married Kia.¡±
¡°You married her? Garat was most upset!¡±
¡°I convinced him, and your father did. When¡ªbut an Elshar insulted him and he called Andrisch¡ªagain. But clever Kia recognized him and when she tried to give his name, Nirpam, Diplomat Of Escet Vu, he saw her and remembered torture from Dirsch. Andrisch found in his favor and this was Dirsch, not one of his clones! It upset Opseh Wenh Cet enough that we saw that he was watching, and¡ª¡±
Laura shook her head again.
Ryee cried. ¡°Nirpam? O, I wept when I knew he was with his healer!¡±
A blue-skinned healer ran in carrying him. ¡°Here he is. We were about to leave for a mud bath.¡± Oh, a holo. They are on Escet Vu.
Ir took his hand very gently and put it in Ryee¡¯s but held on. ¡°Dear friend. I think he had terminals from most in Escet Vu.¡±
¡°Kia save me. I had¡ªterminals. Lasted.¡± Nirpam got a huge smile.
¡°O, I am sorry. Such a trial! Nir, rest long. Is your respite.¡± Ryee smiled at him.
He giggled. ¡°My fae and meae wait, on Escet Vu! We missed. Long, Ryee. Ovid, run! Respite!¡± A sigh, and he fell asleep.
Ryee stroked his hand. ¡°Ea, is very well you have family.¡±
Ir put his hand across his middle. ¡°Yes! And, home. Be well, Ovid.¡±
¡°I am happy. May your recovery be short, and your rest, long, Friend.¡± His healer carried him out. I¡¯m glad he survived that! He was still connected when Opseh attacked, and I killed him through poor Nirpam! I shuddered. Hoped he¡¯d be okay!
Chapter 42 Leaving Earth Again
¡°Deb.¡± Ryee nodded. He must be exhausted!
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. Nice deep orange skin.
Adia stopped crying.
Ryee groped for Deb¡¯s hand. ¡°O, help me!¡±
¡°Here¡¯s his hand¡ª¡±
¡°My touch is ne gentle!¡±
¡°Just hold still¡ªsee, he can grab you!¡±
¡°His shoulder!¡±
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!¡±
He pulled her hand up to Adia¡¯s. ¡°Will Ay live?¡±
¡°Yes! When she ages some, Pirad can reclone her. You¡¯ll both live long lives. So will your kids!¡± Deb smiled, but looked worried.
¡°Suma?¡±
She took his hand. ¡°Hi, Ryee.¡± Her brown eyes had the soft look.
¡°Is Ni well?¡±
¡°Yes. Jarfus seems to understand us even better than Wally¡ª¡±
¡°Jarfus?¡±
That giant white walrus galloped in and clambered onto the bed. His tail-flipper shoved me, but he reached over with his flipper and put me back on my leiwege. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m dreadfully sorry! I guess I¡¯m a bit clumsy when I¡¯m not on ice. I keep overcompensating!¡± His flippers were soft and furry.
¡°You live on ice?¡± I giggled.
¡°Mike and I are from Maira! I love the ice, but comfort progs work. I would enjoy sliding on this eaezhfee if the ship weren¡¯t crowded. Someone said Ryee made an ice skating rink! I would love to try it! I can carry many children on my back, if I can learn not to be clumsy.¡±
¡°We can do that with progs, Jarfus.¡± Deb smiled and brought up a prog screen.
Jarfus learned to do it, too, but he did a lot more lines. Deb watched with a smile.
Ryee watched them with a frown.
¡°What¡¯sa matter, Buddy?¡±
Ryee sighed. ¡°How long before I recover?¡± His orange eyes filled.
¡°You can get up and walk around, it if doesn¡¯t make your head hurt worse. Jo, how long before we leave?¡±
¡°We can leave when we wish. Molly, I advise that you go to Goes¡¯ ship before we lift, though.¡±
¡°I could go with you and fly back. I think Ben would like that a lot! Want me to go, too, Ryee?¡±
He tried to grab her hand and she moved it closer. ¡°I¡ªam sorry.¡±
¡°Ryee, you got hurt. It¡¯ll get better. Just rest a lot. Okay?¡± It¡¯s hard to see injured Zheien. We had a lot of ¡®em visit with us¡ª
¡°We need to go home. Strengthen me? I wish to speak to our team before we lift.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± She touched the back of his head and hummed. ¡°I wish Angel was here. When we get home, I¡¯ll get Mark and Toni to bring her. When she sings, mind pain leaves!¡± Laura smiled.
¡°I ne wish to cause her pains! She is young for healing¡ª¡± His orange eyes went wide again.
¡°She doesn¡¯t use it! She just sings, and all the Zheien stop having mind pains. She doesn¡¯t get any, and she loves to feel useful! Using her gift makes her feel good. It¡¯s hard for her, ¡®cause I learned healing at 12 and Belle can stop seizures at 12, and Belle can¡¯t even use her telepathy without a headache. That¡¯ll get better with practice, but y¡¯know, at 12 you want to do things!¡± I didn¡¯t realize Belle was so young, like Molly was. And Angel¡¯s 12? Maybe I knew that. So many people to keep track¡ª
Suma smiled, big. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s got no tummy-aches, and no headaches at all since she stopped worrying about trying to excel at something, anything. Now she feels competent.¡±
¡°O, I am happy. I wished to speak, but others needed me, and¡ªea.¡± He got tears in his orange eyes. How would that feel, to be Ry¡¯nao¡¯s second in command? Or king of even a small colony like his? Our colony is tiny now. Oh, my!
¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s why we¡¯re around. To tell you the good stuff.¡± Laura smiled. She¡¯s got good bedside manner, but she was a nurse.
¡°Good stuff?¡± He rubbed an eye.
¡°When people make progress and they¡¯re happy. That¡¯s what matters. People are happier because the 300 year war is over and they can get back to normal.¡± She smiled.
Ryee hugged her. ¡°Molly, I worry for you. Your kingdom is large. Ne forget to have enjoyment.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, my friend. I have Suma to tell me, ¡°Hey, time to slow down and smell the roses. So, I take time to do that, every day. Sometimes, it¡¯s a literal rose, or just a walk with Ben, or carving with Sam, or singing with Angel. She¡¯s still giving me voice lessons. I listen better now that I¡¯m 18.¡± She laughed. Her red ringlets bobbed at her ears. She still looks 12!
¡°But, Molly, you are 12. I asked of King Theaspaura when you wished to marry.¡±
¡°Azure made me 18. Mom can¡¯t bug me now, though she sure gives enough interviews. I¡¯m glad I have good friends like you and Angel!¡± Made her 18? Wow!
She¡¯s 18, and she was 12? Would I want to do that? But I¡¯m not¡ªI¡¯m just queen of a subcolony. That¡¯s not hard. She has 25 worlds. 25 Rainbows. 24 Earthan Colonies in Alb. There¡¯ll be others. That¡¯s a lot!
We all went out. Diplomats had shocked looks, to see him on his feet. Ryee made a short speech to everyone. They kind of looked surprised when he didn¡¯t speak long. Adia didn¡¯t say anything.
We ported to the flat top of the saucer-shaped ship and watched the sunset with most of the other Earthans. It was an exciting event for me. For Ir and Der, too, though they didn¡¯t get ¡®watching¡¯ a sunset.
¡°Do moons rise?¡±
¡°There¡¯s only one, and there it is.¡± A half-moon.
I waved up a star chart. But, we didn¡¯t stay long enough for it to get completely dark before we had to go in. I took a holo. Enjoyed the pink skies.
We ported down to the main part.
Then boarded the red-violet ship. Adia and Ryee looked exhausted, but they waved on their formals.
Ryee spoke first. ¡°My friends, we shall go to Fhiah first, then other ships wait to take all of you to your colonies. Our Elshar Zheien, Ranh Estar, and K¡¯hasa Zhan friends shall travel with Cevit Ion on his ship. Our Escet Vuan friends are on V~as Das¡¯ ship. Our MarKuan friends are on Goes¡¯ ship, and he asks all who are of MarKuan Earthan Colony to join them now. I wished to speak with all of you before you left. Molly, please come.¡±
Molly 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 was able to wake all of 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 waved on his formals and came up. Smiled. Like his ba, he had curls to his collar, but they were auburn and Ryee¡¯s were dark brown. Both brothers had those sunset golden eyes but J~oie had to bend down further to give Molly the carved disk, like a giant coin in red-violet, their family color. She¡¯s 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 her smiling, and portraits in a ring around her 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 everyone on the ship! Even Ir and I, 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!¡± Molly hugged it, which kind of confused the Zheien.
¡°Will you speak, Molly?¡± J~oie gave a sad glance at his brother, who kind of stared.
¡°Of course! I¡¯m sad that we¡¯re all going our separate ways, but I¡¯ll be sure and visit all the colonies often! Thank you all for being my friends! Remember to always rest when you¡¯re tired and see your healer if you don¡¯t feel good, and I¡¯ll be happy! I want to thank my mother, Fern Brown, for becoming a healer helper! Welcome to the crew, Mom!¡± She startled, and waved to everyone. She¡¯s a holo, too. Most of the Earthans left on the 19th because so many slavers were around. Lots of diplomats are going to Goes¡¯ Ship before we leave because they¡¯ll still have to work here, or to the embassies. Molly watched Ryee.
Everyone on the ship waved their arms, even the Earthans and Elshars!
Ryee rubbed his eyes, and people gasped! Eanne~, his father, motioned to Pas, who carried him, and Mehrna carried Adia to their room. They all expected a long speech. J~oie and Laura went with ¡®em. I wondered how bad they were. Amazed that they were able to get up there and Ryee spoke well.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Eanne~ spoke about Ye~ for a while, then the other kings gave speeches of gratitude for working together. Goes went first, and Javin, his Leader Of Council, coordinated all us Earthans in moving to our various groups after he spoke. His wife, Evie, looked very happy. Natamian, Planetary Minister and his Earthan wife Genevieve talked to everyone. So did Indoe, Third Prince, and his Earthan wife Liz. She¡¯s a healer. We didn¡¯t know the MarKuans well, except a few who visited us often.
Each of the fifty colonies of Alb had someone to take all their folks, but most of ¡®em stayed in this main room. The ones bound for other worlds stayed on our ship, too. Some of those were moving to Alb. We¡¯d be traveling together to Fhiah to be officially welcomed by King Theaspaura, with a festival! Oh, they combined all the ships flying together into one virtual space. Some people got confused by Ryee talking about different ships.
So, we get to see Alb Seer, then fly home to Ye~. I felt tired, but we can nap on this ship.
Suma, Deb, Liz, Evie and Genevieve sat with us with their husbands. Maybe I won¡¯t nap yet.
Suma hugged Neal. Their walrus friend went around talking to people. Everyone acted like that¡¯s normal. I found it amusing.
¡°Oh, Wally made himself look like that because Molly thought he looked like a walrus, so she pictured a cartoon she saw as a kid. That¡¯s where the top hat and jacket came from. Jarfuses are a real animal on Thorde, but they¡¯re actually an intelligent race sent there to observe Thorde. Wally left him to observe and he went back where he came from. Jarfuses are riding animals. I guess if a horse could talk to me, I might feel awkward, riding him.¡± Suma laughed. Another brown-eyed girl. Her hair¡¯s brown, too.
¡°But, I¡¯m just glad it¡¯s over! Neal and I can be healers in Ye~ and just do normal stuff. Besides living with a talking jarfus!¡±
I laughed. ¡°And Ir and I have big plans for our Biehshah Colony. That¡¯s what we did in the other future. Anyone who isn¡¯t happy on Biehshah can come to our colony! No more 20 year long courtships!¡± If I can revive them. Clones aren¡¯t the same. But I¡¯ll think later.
Then we had to do a lot of explaining. Tan Links, that lawyer, joined in. He fixed my legal mess. They repaired all that water damage, and the bowling alley made a fortune when a trader offered to trade the mess with stories of how things got ruined. They even traded the dirty water! Randy would¡¯ve gone to jail, but by the time his court date came, they had progs for inmates so they couldn¡¯t commit crimes. The creep got rich trading his story of revenge and how he got caught, all in acted-out holos. He even made holos of what jail is like and traded ¡®em. Now why couldn¡¯t he have done that on YouTube instead of trying to get me in trouble? Revenge is stupid. So that¡¯s how he ended up on Ye~?
Deb smiled at her parents. ¡°I¡¯ll be delivering babies, Greg and Briahh¡¯ll be helping Pirad, and my parents will write progs. My grandparents are learning healing with Pas while Adia and Ryee are taking a nap. My granddaddy¡¯s a doctor and my grandmother was a cook, but she always wanted to go to med school. Now she can work with Granddaddy!¡±
Genevieve laughed. ¡°I was in school doing graduate chemistry and had classes with Briahh and Greg. Nat is Planetary Minister, which means we¡¯ll travel all over MarKu, and I can do research on the Science Council as we travel! It¡¯ll be a great opportunity to study MarKu¡¯s wildlife!¡±
¡°O, I will enjoy your company as we travel, dear wife.¡± He put his arm around her.
¡°Well, I¡¯m Liz, and I¡¯m a healer. I¡¯ll be working in Rainbow MarKu.¡±
Indoe laughed. ¡°And, my dear, modest wife declines to mention that she convinced Esteerrians and Zbbat to give up slavery¡ª¡°
¡°Oh, the diplomats did that! Ryee and Adia¡¯s clones did that!¡±
¡°By showing King Lyyyrah of Esteerr how you ran to King Tch¡¯lanterserah and spoke in Zbbat to try to distract them¡ª¡±
¡°Because you told me what to say¡ª¡±
¡°After you practiced with King Eanne~ to learn of them because I had a mission to Esteerr! You saved the Yeff, in the other future. She showed King Lyyyrah this, and he remembered how he decided against slavery. If nae for you, he did nae.¡±
Wow! I¡¯d never be brave enough to run up to a Zbbat, unless it¡¯s Molly¡¯s Zbbat clone! They can fry 20 Zheien at once, and they were doing it? She wanted to catch ¡®em before they reached the Earthan Colony, so Earthans could escape.
Evie sighed. ¡°All I ever did was find a recipe to make pumpkin pies out of the blue pumpkins on MarKu. And, Shannon and that lady cook helped me do it. That hasn¡¯t happened yet.¡±
¡°Dear wife, your ideas are already prospering MarKu! I showed our Science Council, and here is your pumpkin pie!¡± He waved up servings for all of us. Blue pumpkin pie! And, it¡¯s delicious. ¡°Only you could find a use for a weed that grows all over MarKu! And, you contributed many ideas for garbage refining in the UN, also!¡±
Soon, we landed, but we didn¡¯t see Ryee or Adia at the festival. J~oie and Laura talked to the royalty. We found a corral and they let us ride dorna all over the festival. Ir found he could direct his to do dance steps, and he danced on her back. Oh, we laughed!
Der had his walk upright and dance. Dorna can easily do this in light gravity.
Ten just rode but enjoyed our antics.
We watched so many demonstrations of fascinating things, like how to make festival pastries, but I was just plain too tired.
Ten carried me when I got tired of riding, and Der carried Ir.
We ported high abovt Fhai and the Barrens. Rainbow is there, but just seven solid color buildings in a circle. No Earthan Colony, playground, the area where people had Perpetual Snow. Although we did stand on the Rainbow Bridge, a rainbow walkway over a creek made of eaezhfee like ships. I used to love to walk over it. You float like it¡¯s a surreal escalator.
After about an hour, our ship to Ye~ was ready to leave.
This one was smaller. J~oie stood with Laura at his side. ¡°My people, we go home. Ne worry for Ryonne~ and Adia. They are unwell, but with time, perhaps they have more healing. There are many of us in our family to share the Reign. On our arrival you hear King W~Via, who shall speak to us.¡±
We sat with Suma and Neal, Deb and her family, Greg, Briahh and Constance, who held her cute baby, Lizzie. Roger and Judy, programmers, and Tan Links. And, Jarfus. Deb and I missed our kids.
¡°You¡¯re Areonian, right? Do you know Fio Min Re Sar and Ig Ora Pan Ab?¡± Deb and Greg watched him.
He waved up a screen. ¡°Oh, Fiomin Resar and Igora Panab! They were in the hospital. I tried very hard to get them out. When I left Ye~, Pas had to keep them in Rainbow Ye~.¡± His blue eyes got watery.
¡°Why were they in the hospital? Are they okay?¡±
Tan¡¯s lips quivered.
¡°Are you close to them?¡± Suma touched his arm, brown eyes wide.
¡°My dear¡ª¡± His voice broke. ¡°The hospital on Areon was a place of¡ªexperimentation. An enemy put my wife and I there, before we married. Pas healed us, all of us, but we are not as we were.¡± He frowned at his quivering hand.
Deb took it and rubbed it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Want me to look at your file and see if I can help this?¡±
He shook harder. ¡°Healing¡ªis difficult for us.¡±
Greg took his other hand. ¡°I was afraid of healers. When we lived on Areon, things changed. Emotion Detectors. I can remember when we could laugh, or cry, and no one thought anything. But they put devices outside workplaces that fussed if you did that. Then, they shocked us. After a time, simulants came and took us to be interrogated.¡± He shivered.
¡°I didn¡¯t know they did that to you! Oh, Greg!¡± Deb hugged his arm.
¡°Then, you know what it is like! Healers told us, stop begging people to take you out! I will sedate you!¡±
Deb gasped. ¡°They forced herbs on you? None of our healers would ever do that!¡±
¡°I fear it!¡± He cried.
J~oie came over. ¡°Tan, be calm, my friend. If you ne wish herbs, we will ne. But, there are helpful ones. Les nort is a mild herb that barely affects¡ª¡±
¡°You are Zheien and I am¡ªclumsy.¡±
¡°My friend, we can use a containment. Ne this fear. Wish you for me to show you choices?¡±
¡°They¡ªinvaded¡ªmy mind while using Kajarian weapons on me. It is hard on Zheien to see things like that!¡±
¡°You can show me. I can handle it.¡± Deb rubbed his arm and his hand.
¡°I fear, and my telepathy hurts. I cannot control. I should be able to control it! My poor Lili!¡±
I slid over there. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry I hurt you! I couldn¡¯t control my telepathy before Pirad recloned me. It was too strong, but it has to be to heal Biehshah. Pirad gave me control, so I can, now, but I still can¡¯t touch¡ªwell, I¡¯m scared I can¡¯t touch gently. I can listen and keep it out of people¡¯s minds.¡±
He held my hand. ¡°I¡ªPirad helped me. He stopped when I had fear. I needed healing, so I am not sorry you hurt me. I am sorry I did not come back. I should have. I meant¡ª¡± His blue eyes filled.
¡°It¡¯s all right. It¡¯s been crazy, on Earth. Can Pirad help you? Or, Suma? She helped a lot of people in Rainbow. I went to her a lot and realized a lot of times I messed things up on the job was just me not noticing people who might not have good intentions. I assumed things were my fault and tried to fix ¡®em and just made it worse.¡± I rolled my eyes.
¡°I am very frustrated that I was not able to do much for anyone I tried to help.¡±
¡°You got Kisu out of jail! He was dying!¡± Deb smiled.
¡°I am happy that worked. But, so many young ones in horrible homes! I wish they could all have Zheien homes with love. Gierdre is still in her home, and her father¡ªhe cannot criticize, but he is there and she tenses.¡± He shook his head.
¡°Gierdre died saving Gedda Dier¡ª¡± Suma looked sad.
¡°That was her Xchou-Ty¡¯nirrhan clone, not her. She¡¯s¡ª¡± Molly stopped at Tan¡¯s horrified look.
¡°They sent a child, to that place?¡± Tan cried.
J~oie sighed. ¡°If she had not gone there, Rentappenen would have destroyed our entire tech level, and three levels above us. What choice did Ry¡¯nao have? When he knows how many died, I fear for him.¡±
¡°I understand. It is a fearful place, that we depend on children to do this work. Molly is older, but her mind is 12. Belle is 12, and she can stop seizures that no other healer of any age can. But I cannot bear to see people having them. So many times, they tied people to the bett and I was sedated. I could still hear.¡± Tan shuddered. I couldn¡¯t imagine being treated that way!
J~oie put him on his lap. ¡°Rest, my friend. It is safe here and on my world. Progs run to protect you and Lili. And, you have Vonn and Sara and Derees.¡±
¡°I miss Vonn. He helps us a lot. We offered our home several times. Young Azure wanted to come, but she died.¡±
¡°She had clones¡ª¡± Suma stopped at Deb¡¯s look.
¡°They all died in Antarctica in Pirad¡¯s Lab. He made one clone, but she went to¡ªwhat¡¯s that place?¡± She waved. ¡°Oh. Minaria. I wish they¡¯d move it to Alb!¡± Molly frowned.
¡°That is where part of our people went. King Ea~ reigns over Ye~ Minaria. We have diplomats there, whom I can ask. Tan, can I do anything for you?¡± J~oie hugged him.
¡°My liege, there is no comfort. Memories torture us. I think it is so for all of us from the hospital in Eicken. Pirad has help for us, when we can overcome our fear of his treatments. I worry that I am trained, and perhaps, I will do something terrible, like hurt Lili.¡±
¡°Our progs prevent that! Ne this fear.¡±
¡°I remember Fiomin. He came to me. He worked in Fuels. Co-workers upset him. There was an accident in his lab, and I went to him in the hospital. He begged me to see to his wife and children. I went to their deciplex. Security took the children to the school and his wife to the hospital. I filed forms many times and no one would act. Our government was always slow in legal matters. It is illegal on Areon, to upset people.
¡°Finally, I checked your ages. You were not children. The forms were falsified. I realized you could not be in the school, that they must have sent you to Academie Praetoria.
¡°I got a permit and went there. Found you three enrolled. But, when I went to your advisors, they said you were with Healer Ufir. So I went there. He said this, he said that, but I could not convince the man to find you.¡± Tan shook harder.
¡°When I went back to Areon, I went to Lili. I told her we must somehow leave. But, Citsa found us together and we woke in the hospital. Oh, I am sorry. I could not get your parents out. I could not help you.¡± He sobbed.
Greg hugged him, and J~oie, too. ¡°You tried! I hoped, for so long, that someone would look for us. And, you knew my parents. They are in Bremen Ye~. We spoke to them. They want to see us. Teach us how to speak, so they will like us.¡± He trembled.
¡°Oh, you are polite. This is all. In Bremen, there are many like us, who either had time in the hospital, or with DF, or slavery. All we wish is a kind voice, and friends.¡±
Sika and John, and Greg and Briahh, all wanted to be friends.
So did Roger and Judy. But Judy took Tan¡¯s hand. ¡°Did you know us, in Areon? How did you find Greg, Briahh and Sika¡¯s parents?¡±
¡°I did not find them. Greg named them.¡±
Greg smiled at me. ¡°Kia helped me. Maybe she can help you. It doesn¡¯t hurt any more, to remember.¡±
Sika gasped. ¡°It does not? Please, help me!¡±
I ended up healing all of them, Briahh, Sika, Roger, and Judy.
Then Roger and Judy remembered names. On Areon.
Tan looked them up. ¡°Oh, Liam Gelb. His wife died, and he remarried, Nell. He had Roger and Judy, ship techs who died at 16 in a ship explosion, while they tested it. And, you look like them! Oh, he will be so happy that you live! He is Queen Adia¡¯s uncle on her mother¡¯s side. We are landing!¡± He smiled, but his lips quivered, so J~oie hugged him until the engines stopped clicking.
Roger and Judy frowned until it got quiet.
But, I remembered that Ryee and Adia had three kids in Rainbow. I guess they¡¯re a lot younger now. Adia clung to her baby with a sad look. Ryee kept an arm around her. Pas and Laura flanked them, holding onto their arms, and they needed the support.
Chapter 43 Everyone’s Kids But Mine
We got up. By this time, I was really tired, but we followed everyone out.
Tan waved up Greg¡¯s parents, and Roger¡¯s.
Liam Gelb saw Roger and Judy, and he grabbed Nell¡¯s arm. ¡°Nell! Roger! Judy! My children come!¡±
Toras, his healer, was Yeff. ¡°O, I am happy! Let me carry you! Netalta, Sian, will you carry the others?¡±
Nell laughed. ¡°I can walk, to see our children!¡±
¡°If you conserve your energy, you will last longer before you must rest.¡±
She sighed. ¡°Oh, all right!¡±
Sian, the lady, carried little Lianna. ¡°Oh, I so wished for sisters and brothers! Are they little, like me?¡±
We ported into Bremen. It was a little German village, but the wood of the houses looked plastic. It had beautiful carvings with colorful paints that matched the flowers that grew everywhere in lavender sand.
Roger shook all over. ¡°Father. I am sorry we stayed away. S-slavers¡ª¡±
¡°Slavers! Come to me, both of you! Oh, I prayed for this day that you came back to me! My children!¡±
Judy hugged him, too. ¡°Y-you¡¯re not angry?¡±
He kissed her forehead. ¡°Nein, I never was angry with you! Roger, you always obeyed me. I knew you would come back when you could!¡±
Lianna hugged them, too. ¡°I wished for little children, but you are very nice! I am Lianna.¡±
Roger got down on the sand and put her in his lap. ¡°Oh, you are just as pretty as I remember you. I promised to take you on our ship, when I had a free day, but we worked longer and I could not. Now I work writing progs, so I can stay with you, and so can Judy!¡± He had deep blue eyes. Hers were light.
Tan laughed. ¡°I am so happy that you have your family. Oh, here comes Fiomin! And, my brother, Vonn! He has his dearest friend, Derees and his wife, Patasia with him!¡±
They came running, but Derees had all three boys in his arms. They giggled.
As they got closer, Judy paled. ¡°Rees? Oh, Rees! Roger, my brother, Rees!¡±
Derees gasped. ¡°Judy! Tasia, here is my sister! I thought she died, testing ships with her husband! Roger, you are here, too!¡± His brown eyes filled.
Everyone hugged everyone and it was so happy!
Then Greg¡¯s parents came and hugged everyone! Deb and her big family were delighted, and there were lots of kids. Vonn and Sara had Steven, Brett and Mandy. Derees and Tasia had Puret, Donn and Wisper, all boys. It just made me miss our son all the more. Is he on that planet with Dromie¡¯s people?
Fiomin Resar had blue eyes and blond hair. His wife, Igora Panab also had bright blue eyes and blond hair.
Greg looked down. ¡°Father, I am sorry.¡±
Fiomin petted his hair and hugged him. ¡°It is like seeing a ghost! Oh, come, Briahh and Sika! I love you all. Nein apologies. You did nothing wrong. They took you. I wanted you, but they took me and my Ig. Now we are together, and who are these fine ladies?¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°This is Deb, my wife! Her parents, Esther and Nathan Bruce, and Esther¡¯s parents, Kameron and Vicki Robinson. Kameron is a doctor. Vicki is a chef and learns healing. Nathan and Esther are programmers. I teach chemistry and so does Briahh and Deb is a healer. Constance is a scientist and here is their baby, Lizzie!¡±
Everyone loves a baby!
Ir and I excused ourselves. But Pirad led a crowd. ¡°Is that our missing people?¡±
Everyone from Burial Chambers! Ir¡¯s father ran to us. Ir wailed, and everyone stared at him! ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be upset. It wasn¡¯t bad.¡±
I sang, because I was scared, but no one really needed any healing. Not much to give, but they enjoyed it. Ir calmed down.
Then I saw how many of our missing people were deep underground on Dromie¡¯s planet. And, one of them was our son.
I waved, and the server flashed a warning. CONTACT NOT AUTHORIZED.
¡°Darn it! My son¡¯s there! I want to see him!¡±
Jarfus ported to us. His purple eyes fixed on me. ¡°Kia, you can¡¯t think to go there!¡±
¡°I want my son!¡±
¡°Do you know what danger they are? Dromie¡¯s people are weapons! They infect people with rogues. Do you know what rogues are?¡± His purple eyes blinked at me.
I cried. ¡°It¡¯s not fair! I want my son! Daka¡¯s on that planet!¡±
Ir gasped. ¡°Jarfus, please! We have to go!¡±
He put his flippers around us and hummed. Yellow light felt warm, and I didn¡¯t feel quite as drained. ¡°Listen to me. You can¡¯t go there. Not until your Collective recovers. Rest. The danger is over now. No one can hurt them. They are in stasis. Pirad is working on the rogues. And, Pinda and I are working on that.¡±
I wasn¡¯t very satisfied with that answer, but at least we have our lost people back.
Ir and I walked with Jarfus to our home. Ir had to make our bed very large. Very, very large.
All of us clambered up there, and Jarfus laid down with a groan. ¡°I¡¯m very tired. It¡¯s not easy, to fight someone that powerful.¡±
I laid my face on his furry chest. He was very soft, a lot softer than a cat. ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t easy. If y¡¯all can get rid of the rogues, can we have our son back?¡± My voice broke.
¡°Of course!¡±
¡°Can we negotiate about Dromie¡¯s exile?¡±
His purple eye stared at me. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t know about that! What makes you think that he deserves not to be exiled?¡±
I didn¡¯t know how to explain it, so I just opened up my telepathy and let him see.
¡°Hmm. When we go to The Padrisa, I will talk to them. But, I can¡¯t promise anything. First, The Padrisa, then, the 15th. If they will listen to me. I¡¯m only from the 6th. Usually, if a Councillor is on a council, they decide on their own people.¡±
¡°I thought Wslarc exiled them.¡± I frowned.
¡°Wslarc is from the 6th, my level. He rose there. This is only his clone, so he¡¯s from the 3rd, but the 3rd was destroyed. So he doesn¡¯t have a level.¡±
Ir sat up. ¡°But, can¡¯t you contact Wslarc, the Host Councillor?¡±
¡°No, because my people have to appear before The Padrisa Council, too! We are just as guilty as Dromie¡¯s people because we broke rules, deliberately. Don¡¯t worry about it¡ª¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it! My son is out there!¡± He looked behind us and swept an arm out!
¡°Oh dear, can¡¯t you just have another baby?¡±
Ir wailed. ¡°But, I want my son! He really is a very nice son!¡±
¡°You can have another son. I promise, he will be nice, too!¡±
¡°You don¡¯t understand! You can¡¯t just replace one child with another! They are not the same! You produced Viad, but you saw how unhappy Adia was¡ª¡±
Jarfus waved up a holo. Ryee and Adia slept, but Laura held baby Viad, sleeping, while W~Via, who¡¯s 9, wrote a prog, and Vadia¡ªshe¡¯s 6 and has Adia¡¯s red hair, played with a doll. Another boy¡ªthat¡¯s W¡¯Vie, J~oie¡¯s son, he helped W~Via with the prog. ¡°Oh, dear! They are different. Well, I must simply work harder so you can have Daka. But we must go to The Padrisa and convince them!¡±
Father hugged Ir. ¡°I can talk to them¡ª¡±
¡°There is no need for you to hurt yourself using a Lens! I can help you talk to them, all of you. Just¡ªlet¡¯s rest, shall we? I¡¯m tired!¡± Jarfus laid down and snored.
Ir and I looked at each other, and Father hugged both of us.
Mama and Daddy came in. Startled. ¡°What¡¯s that thing? You got a pet? He¡¯s a big fella!¡± Daddy patted Jarfus¡¯ shoulder.
He sat up. ¡°Humph! I am certainly not a ¡®thing¡¯, and I am not a pet! I am Jarfus. Mike and Mica enjoy riding me, but he considers me a ¡®person¡¯.¡± He retrieved his hat from the top of the bed and tipped it.
Daddy staggered backwards! ¡°It¡¯s a talking walrus? Did those terminal thingy¡¯s give him speech or something?¡±
Mama frowned at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear him? He¡¯s a person! Or do you prefer ¡®they¡¯?¡±
Jarfus tipped his hat to her. ¡°Thank you, I am a ¡®he¡¯.¡±
I laughed because Mama just took it in stride while Daddy was just awkward, as usual! ¡°Uh, I¡¯m sorry. Kia, where¡¯s my grandson?¡±
I let Ir explain it all.
Except, they didn¡¯t get The Padrisa, or The 15th. But then, I didn¡¯t expect them to, because I don¡¯t, either.
Suma
Ryee let our clones who went with Ni¡¯olmai know we were ready to take their place and we ported to a yard in Northeast Georgia near Commerce. They came back to our ship in case Ry¡¯nao needed something. They were already in the house and Ni¡¯olmai called Ket to them! Suma¡¯s mother was on the couch and Ket scared Suma. In that instant, we took our clones¡¯ place outside. Ket has the Diplomatic Link so Ryee knew from it that Ket planned to port with the lady.
Neal held out his hand. ¡°Please, Suma, come with me.¡±
¡°No! I have to go back to Atlanta!¡± She ran out to where we stood. Pulled that key out of the lock and ran for the car. Dropped her purse.
¡°Please, Suma! Wait! Pirad might heal your mother. She will not die.¡±
¡°She¡¯s still an alcoholic, diabetic, and does drugs!¡± With her back to him, she trembled.
¡°We have a cure for addiction. Ket is giving it to her, now.¡± He had tears in his eyes.
¡°Are you the people SETI is talking to?¡± Suma turned around and saw that Ni¡¯olmai¡¯s eyes were black. Fear contorted her face! Too scared. He¡¯s not doing anything scary. They helped Mama. They cleaned the house! If he was going to hurt me, wouldn¡¯t he do it, already? The car¡¯s only 15 feet away. But, who would I tell?
She fell but Ni¡¯olmai caught her. ¡°Are you ill? Should I bring a healer for you, Suma? Or, should I call you Miss Cliatt?¡±
She hugged him. Got the blank stare of those who see futures.
Ni¡¯olmai looked at us. ¡°What should I do?¡± He trembled.
Ryee touched his shoulder and sent healing. ¡°My friend, she sees her future now.¡±
Then he had the blank stare as well. We waited. Did I look like that, when I saw memories?
Ea, Love, you did.
I looked up at the moon and Ryee recited a poem from Persennon.
Love¡¯s Garden
A walk in the garden with my love
And time stops, and beauty grows with her smiles
The touch of our hands makes flowers quake
But our laughter announces our well.
One more walk in our garden¡¯s sand brief,
Too brief, but memories are long now.
As my ship takes me far, as my ship takes me far
These memories sweet will color my
Sleep, will color my sleep, ¡®til I land.
Suma gave a half-scream, then looked at Ni¡¯olmai. That¡¯s him. But, blond curls, a large man. And, tri-toed feet but human hands. Huh? He¡¯s not thin, or sick. I got him out. I took him up the hill to Mom¡¯s house, today! Memories kept coming. My memories. How I felt. He was big and blond-curled like my big brother. And, I was 24. I¡¯m 24 now.
That necklace appeared in his hand. The large blue stone on it glowed. And, a creature like an asymmetrical white walrus, in front of us!
I wailed at it, a song in its language. him
Suma ran! The necklace floated after her! I feared she would hurt herself, but Ni¡¯olmai ran after her.
Our conversation was not long, but I felt weak. Rentappenen I will not fight him alone
pulled me against him and hummed.
Suma and Ni¡¯olmai appeared next us.
Ni¡¯olmai shook all over. She reached for him. ¡°Are you all right?¡± Her brown eyes, huge, studied him.
¡°I am all right. Scared. The Imwa are not of this level. He ¡ª saw all of my memories. I feared ¡ª Adia, he is still listening to me?¡± Tears fell from his eyes, which were black. ¡°Will he make me blind, or weak?¡±
They did, in that other future! Suma trembled. It was today. Mama died. I stayed to make arrangements. Came down here and found Neal. Took him to the house. His father sent energy to his ship and we left, but Neal was very sick. Thin. They tried to heal him but didn¡¯t know what they were doing, that he should be symmetrical. Then they healed him but left him blind. He became a healer--
¡°No! I asked him not to change Ni¡¯olmai, and he agreed. They will listen because they are curious. They have hive minds like Zbbat or Esteerrians.¡± They do? Ryee hummed and I felt Pas¡¯ healing for all of us.
She looked at the blue crystal on the necklace. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Gasped. When she spoke, it glowed in rhythm. Just like it did in those memories.
¡°I should have spoken before they sent it to you, Suma. Our genetics are connected now. Oh, I am sorry! If we do not stay near one another, both of us will die!¡± He went limp.
Ryee held him up. Feared to send healing! He touched Ket¡¯s mind.
Suma grabbed his arm. ¡°No, no, no! Neal! I wasn¡¯t close enough? How close do we have to be? I¡ªI¡¯ll go with you!¡± She pulled his arm closer. I saw a faint yellow glow.
Slowly, his head lifted. ¡°You will?¡± His eyes turned very light.
¡°I will. I don¡¯t want to be alone! Where are we going?¡±
He put weight over his feet. ¡°Show me your house, what you need to take.¡±
¡°You¡¯re still shaking. Can you make it?¡±
Neal chuckled. ¡°Oh, a diplomat can work.¡± He held out an arm, and she put her hand on it.
¡°A diplomat? I¡¯m just a school psychologist.¡±
¡°You will help a lot of people in Rainbow Unwell Colony. It will rescue many slaves and they will need you.¡± I smiled at her. Suma trembled also. Ryee moved to support Ni¡¯olmai, but both looked scared.
¡°What do they need with a school psychologist? I just test kids, and get very frustrated that the school doesn¡¯t give me much time to talk with ¡®em, except about schedules or changing classes, since I have students in 3 schools.¡± Suma shook her head, and her long, brown hair waved. Then she recognized us from these new memories. Brown eyes opened wide.
¡°You will have all the time you wish to speak with them, and you will be a great healer beside your husband.¡± I smiled as we ported to her mother¡¯s front doorstep. Small, with a door that didn¡¯t quite meet the threshold.
There¡¯s light? Power¡¯s off. ¡°You¡¯ll have to be careful. There are rats.¡± Poor Suma shuddered. Her long, brown hair quivered.
But Ni¡¯olmai ran hygiene on the house, with a white flash. ¡°I hear them. I can port them away.¡± He waved up progs to port them. All pests in the house, rats, mice, cockroaches, and even ants and wasps all ported. In January? It is cold! The door creaked open. He put a green cube in her hand.
Suma looked in, trembling. Neal put an arm around her and she hugged it. ¡°A-Are you sure they¡¯re all gone?¡±
He laughed. ¡°It is not hard! I moved the alives to our ship, in stasis. We may trade them and give the bal to you, Suma.¡±
She shuddered. ¡°Who would want ¡ª¡± Suma paled.
Neal touched her forehead and color came back to her face. ¡°Oh, thanks. But you should sit down. You¡¯re shaking harder.¡±
¡°I am all right.¡± He shivered.
Ryee waved a hot blanket on him.
¡°My friend, I do not need ¡ª¡± He blinked, and his eyes turned lighter. ¡°Let us go in and pack.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Suma had a display up. ¡°I can do it now. Sweet! Now, what do I do? I¡¯m happy I don¡¯t have to go back in there!¡± Tiny holos of everything. I can keep all Daddy¡¯s stuff! I left the rest for Mama. But holos of all Daddy¡¯s things stayed. Later. I wonder if any of her¡¯s left, after Jesse. He got her addicted. He was just her drinking buddy until he got her on other things, then she was eager to marry him. Why? Her thoughts were loud.
¡°You have alt storage. Your things are accessible but do not have to have a place, a physical place.¡± Ni¡¯olmai showed her with his telepathy. Put a green cube in her hand.
Suma rubbed his arm. Pulled the hot blanket over it. ¡°Do you feel like going to my apartment? I¡¯ll be fast. Then we can go to your place.¡±
Ni¡¯olmai laughed. ¡°Suma, I am ¡ª oh, I¡¯m rude! I¡¯m using your shortname but didn¡¯t give you mine! I am Ni¡¯olmai, but for you, dear, I am Ni. Or Neal. That sounds more Earthan. You may all call me Neal.¡± We ported and stood in a pink hall. The door said 314. And, it opened.
¡°It was unlocked?¡± Suma peered in.
¡°Habis maif! No, I unlocked it. I am very sorry, Suma! I did not mean ¡ª¡±
She pulled him in and I tried not to smirk. ¡°Please, sit here. I¡¯m worried about you, and so is your friend.¡± Ryee helped him walk to her sofa, a soft blue one. He sank onto the arm of it.
¡°I¡¯m all ¡ª¡± His eyes closed.
¡°Neal?¡± Ryee felt his head. ¡°You need healing! Ket!¡±
A man in white ported to us. ¡°What happened, Ryonne~? He should not be gray!¡±
Suma moved, and Neal sweated!
Ket pulled her to the sofa. Waved his hand between them. ¡°Habis maif, you are linked! Sit here, so I can help him! How could this happen, to an Elshar?¡±
Ryee and I shared memories with him and he paled. His hands trembled as he spread them across Neal¡¯s forehead. He groaned. ¡°Do not try to speak. Rest, while I see you.¡±
Suma worked on holos while she rubbed his arm. Everything but the sofa vanished. Tears kept coming. I¡¯ll have to leave Earth. Is that bad? I liked living on Ye~ with him until the slavers came.
Finally, Ket smoothed his wavy blond hair. ¡°He must rest today. How shall I call you?¡±
¡°Suma. Is he okay?¡±
Ket sighed. ¡°I do not know what to do for him. Imwa! Tomorrow I shall see him again. I wrote a prog for several herbs to treat injury ¡ª¡±
¡°He is hurt?¡± Suma cried.
¡°Esta, but I think I saw him in time to prevent permanent damage. Pirad can help him, if he will not scare you. Let us go to the ship.¡± Ket had blond hair with dark streaks at his temples. He waved.
The green left us in a room with her furniture. ¡°Will this please you, Suma? I will put a bed for him, but you must share it, or he will fare worse.¡± A Zheien bed appeared against the opposite wall.
Suma paled! Neal groaned. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay, Neal. You have to ¡ª¡±
His eyes snapped open. ¡°Ket, you can¡¯t¡ª¡±
Ket held his head. ¡°You are linked. She must touch you. I only saw Zheien in this situation! If she leaves you, both of you will die! You must marry, today.¡±
He cried. ¡°I can¡¯t force a maiden ¡ª¡±
¡°See my memories? You are half Ishah, so maybe that is a factor.¡±
He shuddered, and yellow sparkled on his arm. ¡°Imwa.¡±
Ket touched the yellow and studied it. ¡°Sleep. If you keep waking, you will be too ill for me to save you!¡±
¡°Suma needs ¡ª¡±
¡°She needs you alive. I can¡¯t give any more herbs. Sleep now.¡± He slid his arms under Neal and made sure Suma came to the bed also. Ryee helped her get on the bed so she laid beside him on the leiwege. Then he bent it to hold his head up and his arms out. He sighed and relaxed.
Suma tried to put her head very lightly on his arm. Ket pushed it down. ¡°Rest. You will not harm him. Does your head hurt?¡±
¡°I got a migraine. All those rats! There¡¯s mold.¡±
Ket waved and an aandat appeared in a clear box, white gel that undulated. ¡°Did they explain aandats to you?"
¡°Adia showed me. I¡¯m ready.¡± I¡¯ll never have a cold or COVID again! Or need a bathroom! A living swimsuit.
Another wave and the clear box vanished. The aandat flowed up Suma¡¯s ankle. Ket¡¯s eyes turned light. ¡°Good. It didn¡¯t move fast. You should get telepathy in one to three days. And this should help your headache.¡± He waved so she saw. An Elshar herb.
Her body relaxed. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s better!¡±
¡°You can sleep. I¡¯ll be sleeping up here at your heads, in case either of you need me.¡±
¡°Thanks, Ket. I won¡¯t be scared with you here.¡±
He chuckled. ¡°That is what healers do. I am happy Ni found you. He is a lonely man, Suma. When you wake, I will be happy to help him marry you.¡± He tucked three leaves of yllis between Neal¡¯s lips and hummed. They slept, and Ket planned to give them first vek ea, then yllis. But that yellow glow brightened.
Neal surprised Ket by sitting up. Looked at my husband. ¡°Could you try to separate us? Your telepathy is legendary!¡± His anguish came to me.
Suma startled and pushed him against the leiwege! ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to be separated! I want to marry you, right now!¡±
Neal giggled. Waved an Elshar Marriage Petition. The Elshar Heizghan version had flowery language. Some Areonian Elshars did that. ¡°Oh, just write your signature, like you would on any legal document.¡± He waved up a web site with beautiful wedding dresses.
¡°This isn¡¯t just any legal document! We¡¯re getting married!¡± Suma sighed. She¡¯d always dreamed of a big church wedding, but she didn¡¯t even have a church in Atlanta. This was her first job, with Atlanta Schools. Her car was an older model with high repair bills. We heard echoes of her thoughts, though she tried to control them. Without telepathy, it is impossible.
Neal assured her he would work hard to pay them all, but Ryee showed him how to use the ship¡¯s credit card. Earthans in Rainbow always worried about their debt, so M¡¯Naga planned ways to make Earthan money, to pay any person¡¯s debt so they could leave Earth if needed.
Ryee moved her car into her alt storage. Asked a diplomat to help Suma with her bills, so she could rest.
But we dressed in our formals and Neal now wore a white version of his diplomat¡¯s uniform. ¡°I am sorry I could not arrange a church wedding¡ª¡±
¡°Who would we invite? All my friends¡ªmy fosters died of COVID so I just lived in the dorms at GSU. This is fine, Love.¡± Her eyes filled.
Ryee touched her arm, but she flinched. ¡°We are your friends, Suma. You helped us much, in Rainbow. Molly is already on our ship, but she will leave for school soon.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t see how I could help anybody! I¡¯m an alien.¡± She rolled her eyes. Looked down.
¡°I do not see you as that.¡± Neal pulled her chin up. ¡°You are my beautiful wife. Sign, so you may rest. Later, we will speak to your landlord.¡±
Our diplomat smiled. ¡°I sent them an email and a payment for the rest of your lease. They will be happy, for their waiting list is very long. I also paid all your utilities and paid off your car. Your school loan is paid in full. There are 144 boxes of dark European chocolates in your alt storage also.¡±
Suma giggled. ¡°Wedding present? Neal, want one?¡± A wave, and she held a box. ¡°Wow! This must¡¯ve cost a mint!¡± Her happy smile vanished. Ket pushed his finger from a lumpy chocolate to a smoother one.
Ryee caught her attention. ¡°Ne concern. We recycled garbage in Atlanta and told officials of our plan to use the funds. They approved.¡±
¡°I¡¯m surprised!¡± She shook her head. Took a chocolate. Her favorite brand.
¡°Atlanta is grateful we have solutions for the poor. They will meet today in their City Council to discuss this. But we are free to pay bills for anyone.¡± He smiled.
¡°Thank you! I feel guilty, with so many homeless people.¡± She looked down.
¡°See our efforts! Many diplomats wish to practice English. Here is a large homeless camp in Atlanta.¡±
Suma stared into the holo. This area was a sea of tents. People stood in lines at tables. One served meals. Another gave clothing. A large mobile clinic accepted patients. Other tables had signs telling of programs to provide housing. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s wonderful! Can you help kids at my schools?¡±
¡°Give me their names, and I will send diplomats to them now.¡±
She started to name them but records from her work computer came up. Diplomats ported to each family.
Neal pulled her wrist to the holo, still up. ¡°Suma, dear, please marry me. I promise, when we go to Rainbow, we will have a church wedding.¡±
love
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marry
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Nothing pleases me! I¡ªhe¡¯ll want a divorce! And, he¡ªbut I remembered all the times I cried and couldn¡¯t keep it from him. Neal loves me. He loved me there. He loves me now. Websites with beautiful wedding gowns. So expensive. Why waste so much money
¡°
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e left.
Ryee looked at me. ¡°Shall we share our wedding pastries? O, Moris An made a holo of Kate as he waited in a doughnut shop for her! She is about to leave her work.¡±
To my shock, she was slim, not very overweight as she was! ¡°Well, hi, Adia! Want me to give out yer pastries?¡± If she agrees to recloning, he can make her so.
We nodded and she went from person to person with the basket, but near Suma and Neal¡¯s room. I saw futures for several people as we ate pastries.
Apparently, Neal and Suma woke, because she ran in there with a basket of Heizghan ones! A very realistic holo.
Tan took Molly and Binneas with his parents and ported. Poor Molly! ¡°Ne concern, Tan will ne let her parents keep her.¡±
I felt uneasy. An Elshar Zheien trader passed by me and I took his arm. He saw memories. Oh, this is Asha who married Ray! He startled and ported to find her.
¡°Berto¡¯s diplomats to Si Ka Ne Lai and her husband had success! They agreed to take a plane to Atlanta. They will stay with them. Is a long journey from Scotland!¡±
But I saw them arriving safely this evening at 8:15 in Atlanta Airport. They will be on a ship to Alb. It is 11:10 am there now.