

Strange Alliance

By Michael Black

Copyright 2019 Michael Black

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

About Me
Chapter 1

"Hal is back Boss!" David popping in like that always startled Daniel, despite the fact that it had long been a routine occurrence over the years. Angel had done it just to tease him sometimes on the ship before she had made the giant leap into a physical human body. David was a bit less inclined to tease though; and usually announced himself in Daniel's mind before doing so; he simply didn't do it unless he was excited; like now. Daniel didn't even get a chance to respond before Angel, Jane and Angie came running into the atrium from their pool lounging and swimming lessons; Jane seemed more excited than the other two, "Where is he David? Is he going to be here soon?" It was understandable really; while all five members of the Curran family loved their friends on 'Salvation' dearly, only Jane and Daniel had been 'born' on Earth. It was simply more personal to them on a genetic level.

David tried to ease Jane's anxiety, "Hal is approaching slowly Jane; with the traffic in local space today, the area controller set a maximum speed limit on approach vectors. He will be landing here in twenty minutes." David spent the time to update Hal on the changes that had been made at Kendrisaan's villa. He told Hal to land beside him at the new 'Curran Home' with the two small pyramids out front; David also mentioned that he could project himself 'inside' Daniel's home too. David laughed at Hal's reply; "Boss, Hal wanted to know what it 'feels' like to walk with people outside a ship. I told him it takes getting used to; but it does feel really good. Mom, I told him about sky too." Angel had difficulty with open sky for a while; simply put, it didn't have clearly defined measurements. It took her a while to get over her agoraphobia, before she had asked the question that allowed Kendrisaan to migrate her consciousness into a physically human body.

Twenty minutes to the second later Hal landed as instructed; it took another minute for Hal to summon the courage to try this new 'outside projection'. When he popped into the atrium, he took one look at the sky and almost popped right back to his ship, "There is nothing solid there!" David went right to his friend and put his arm around the man's shoulders, "Take your time Hal, it will feel good as long as you keep your attention on us. Come sit with me and tell everyone the news." David got a sheepish smile from Hall, and after sitting down, he began updating the family on the journey to Alpha Centauri, "Everything went surprisingly well really; they built that ship well and it didn't have any mechanical failures all the way there. Olga did call me two days out though, she saw me heading her way before I went into stealth mode and saw it as a challenge. Olga tried every optical filter she had, and she said the infrared filter produced a slight halo around me. Olga is very smart and I'd better let Father know about that; he may want to rethink the stealth shielding. Anyway, No one minded that I was shadowing them so I didn't need stealth anymore. Olga said that Mr. Allencourt was laughing hysterically for a while. He sent a message to all of you, 'Thanks for caring!'

Daniel smiled at that, "Good, so they got there alright, they must have pampered the engines though; you've been gone for fourteen months. I wish I had some idea how they're doing on the ground." Hal looked surprised, "Oh no Daniel, Olga really worked her engines; they got there in ten months and three days. I hung around for three months to make sure they were settled in. The colony is ok...I must confess though. I went back to Earth; there is fighting in many areas using conventional weapons on the ground, and the six military ships were running around the system taking pot shots at each other, but they are finding it difficult to keep their lasers on target long enough to be effective. The particle beam weapons failed after the first day I observed them. At best, the Earth is learning that space warfare is not as easy as they had thought. Earth has a long way to go yet to perfect power distribution; the ships apparently burned out their own machinery before they burned anyone else. At the time I left the factions were concentrating on overpowering each other on the surface. Either they are afraid, or smart enough to recognize the consequences; none of the factions have used nuclear weapons yet. I came back through the Shreela gate so I could report to you quicker. I found it odd that none of them were advancing on each other anymore; they just sit there in their own countries and send a few missiles toward the other's country, only to be intercepted. It is almost like no one is sure of what they want."

Daniel chuckled softly, looking at Hal as the young AI actually fidgeted; thinking he might have been in trouble yet again for exceeding his 'orders'. He looked over at his girls; even though this news about Earth was not funny at all, both Angie and Jane were having a hard time not smirking; this moment was all about Hal and his lack of self confidence. Angel winked at her husband, "Relax Hal, you have done the right thing again; if you keep doing that, I won't have anything to tease you about anymore. How long did you monitor anyway?" Angel's unfiltered praise for his choices surprised Hal, but the surprise quickly turned to a wide smile, "I monitored and recorded all of it for a week, and have sent the report to the Council as required." He looked unsure again, but Daniel calmed him, "Hal, you did what is right. Don't ever think we will be angry with you for fulfilling your responsibilities. The only way I could be angry with you is if you tried to avoid the responsibility. You are coming along my friend, keep it up." Hal was shaking his head when he popped back into his ship a few minutes later; he was smiling though when he told David, "I still have much to learn." David laughed with his friend, "So do I Hal; we will never stop learning."

***

Daniel wasn't exactly happy with hearing Hal's account of what was going on with his people; neither were the girls really, and they all discussed the situation at length for the next hour. Angie had the best comment of all, "Why are they just sitting still and shooting long distance at each other? That isn't how they have waged war before; usually someone invades and everybody else fights their aggression. This doesn't make any sense; it is stupid!"

Daniel's eyes went wide; his precious wife had hit the nail on the head, "That's it! Angie, you are a genius; the Earth isn't waging war, they are 'posturing. I think deep down they all know they had something good going on with the mutual cooperation policy, but lost it because somebody got mad. All this is because emotions overpowered their rational minds; just like I warned you long ago. Angie girl, this isn't stupid; that would be going nuclear. What they are doing is wrongheaded certainly; but that brings the real question into focus. How do we get the Earth to straighten out their thinking; I have no officially recognized status anymore."

"That is where you are wrong Daniel. Here in the Council you are still very much the Ambassador for Earth. That has not changed", Kendrisaan was walking into the atrium, a half smile on his face. He had been 'in session' within the great chamber all day, ironically debating the latest Earth status Hal had provided in his report. That they were doing so for that long told Daniel that the 'Council of Sentient Races' was taking Earth's troubles seriously; he wasn't exactly sure why though, "Why is the Council taking so much interest in Earth's problems Kendrisaan? We are just a single world very far away and no threat to the people at all."

Kendrisaan laughed outright then, "Daniel, your question has a very easy answer; the Earth has become important to all the races over these nine years because your tiny planet is a reflection of all our race's histories. With the few exceptions that warred between each other, most of us warred amongst ourselves on our own worlds before migrating to the stars. The human race is a reminder of our own heritage and we would see you succeed." Daniel had no idea how that could be done; the only two people he knew who might get him through the door on Earth weren't even there now, Jay Allencourt and 'former' President Salcone were residing on a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri at that very moment; there was 'another' someone, but it was the last person he would have ever thought of...

***

President Montgomery Stanton was in a bind now; during the administrative turnover in the White House Monty had rebuffed President Salcone's offer to introduce him to Daniel and his family. He wasn't a xenophobe per se', but he didn't think he needed an old military veteran and his alien 'harem' to help him run his country. He had been very wrong; Monty begrudgingly admitted that now, he needed Daniel Curran badly, only he had no way to contact the man. But perhaps the bunch of 'escapees' on Salvation did. Monty didn't think much of them; while he couldn't quite bring himself to call them traitors, he did think they were cowards for abandoning Earth. To his mind they stole the starship 'Salvation'; and all the American technology with it that he might have used as a bargaining chip with his fruitless debates with other countries. That really made him mad usually; they had taken all the best research people with them too, many of them from all the other countries. Those feelings had to go away now; Monty Stanton was stuck with one huge cloud of reality hanging over him now, he needed Daniel Curran and he needed the man's advice. So Monty did the one thing he thought he would never do; he sent a message to President Salcone on Proxima Centauri 'c', begging him to get in touch with Daniel...it was a desperate move; and he had no idea if the request would ever be answered. The radio transmission would take almost five years to even get to Salvation...

Monty was lucky in a way; somebody received the radio transmission three days later, it just wasn't quite who he hoped was going to help him out. Rrlkk was most of the way to Earth after transiting the Alpha Centauri gate two days before. The First Born had ordered Rrlkk to scan and observe the planet for a week to determine if their grand plan for humans would need to be abandoned completely after all the centuries of teasing and taunting the strange race. Rrlkk certainly wasn't expecting to intercept an Earth official's cry for help; so being his usual curious self he read the message through.

Rrlkk didn't recognize the official's name in the header, but he did know the name of the man the message said he needed to contact badly. Every Shreela on the home world knew Ambassador Curran now. This message was very important to the Earthlings, and after a few minutes debate with himself; Rrlkk decided to turn around and deliver it himself. Since the body of the message was meant for Daniel Curran personally, Rrlkk felt like he owed it to the man who had saved him once, to take it straight to Daniel; so Rrlkk turned around and zipped right through Shreela space and to Eridan itself. Eridan's area controller on duty was a bit startled when a tiny Shreelan scout ship exited the gate into the system, but he almost lost his composure entirely when Rrlkk asked to orbit and present an important message to Ambassador Curran. Things like this didn't happen every day...

Two hours later Rrlkk left Eridan space heading home to report that he had to change the mission at the last minute. He was a happy Shreela; Daniel had told him, "Rrlkk, you honor me and your entire race with your actions; thank you my friend, I will recommend to the Ambassador that you be properly recognized by your people."

Rrlkk's humanitarian gesture was appreciated and did open a big door for Daniel; but it did not solve the real problem staring him right in the face, just how the heck was he going to get the Earth to wake up once and for all? The fact that the animosity had not escalated into outright war was a good omen in one respect; but the underlying reasons behind it still needed to be addressed. Just how do you make irrational people understand that they are acting stupid; without actually calling then stupid?

Over the next week Daniel began dictating 100 different speeches to his computer; only to end up deleting every one of them. No matter how Daniel started a speech; it always migrated into words that implied that the human race was being stupid. The three girls tried to help; coming up with some really elegant ways of saying it in nicer terms, but the reality of the message always sounded the same. No human could get away with calling another human stupid; no matter what words were used; people ended up bloody if they tried it. No; a human couldn't do it...but an Alien could...

***

Daniel was well into his second week of frustration; he didn't even know if it was possible anymore to get the message across to all the countries, the UN didn't officially exist now. He wanted to just beat on the desk, but he knew that would hurt; so Daniel got up to maybe take a swim, when Kendrisaan walked in, "Daniel, the Grallan Ambassador has asked for an audience to speak with you?" Daniel cocked an eyebrow, "An 'audience'? What is with all the formality; Breen knows he can come over whenever he wants to chat. Come clean Kendrisaan, this is sounding weird."

Kendrisaan chuckled softly, shaking his head, "I can't get anything past you Daniel, can I. Breen is still in the 'limo', along with another guest who will wait there until Breen delivers the proposal to you. Please be patient with us my friend; while it is unusual it is still very official..."
Chapter 2

When Breen and Kendrisaan walked into Daniel's 'office' Breen greeted Daniel formally, claws sheathed and hands clasped together just under his chest, "Good day Ambassador Curran, thank you for granting this discussion." Daniel was a bit unnerved by the formality, but still followed protocol with the same gesture, "Welcome Ambassador Breen, your presence honors my home." Looking toward Kendrisaan, Daniel caught the slight smile and Kendrisaan's nod, "Alright Breen, what's going on; you know all this protocol makes me edgy and I'm already frustrated enough by the latest news from Earth. Come on buddy, spill it."

Breen laughed rather loudly, almost a roar, "Daniel, you always make the stars shine brighter with your words. Yes my friend, we 'are' buddies and it will always be so. Forgive me, but the guest I have brought to you requires protocol, for you have not met before. Ambassador, may I present Ambassador Kriish, representative of the Raakan Conclave." Daniel prepared himself for yet another boring official meeting with a dignitary; but there was no level of preparation that could ready him for what walked into view. The Ambassador was tall for one thing, almost 7 feet tall in fact and heavily muscled; but this was no average human or even a bear like Grallan as Breen was. Kriish was a member of a race that followed a different genetic path entirely; the Ambassador was straight out of some of the most unusual 'Alien Contact' reports Daniel had seen on TV; a 'Reptilian'. Kriish didn't have scales like the Iscris did, but had rather smooth and colorful skin, almost shiny. The face was classic 'humanoid' with a nose and the usual mouth with narrow lips prominent. The eyes though, were more oval than rounded but had rather normal pupils, even if they were solid black.

Daniel didn't feel any fear thanks to 'school mistress' Angie's insistence on memorizing all alien protocols, it was just that seeing this alien is person was vastly more startling than seeing the race in a photo. Kriish made the standard greeting by showing both hands, claws extended; then quickly sheathed them and clasping the hands under the chest, "Ambassador Curran, thank you for this audience. May your young be strong and healthy." Daniel mimicked the gesture once again, reciting the ritual words, adding his own signature phrase at the end, "Ambassador Kriish, you honor me and my home with your visit. What I have is yours, and please call me Daniel."

Breen laughed then, "Kriish, Daniel is my friend just as you are; and I believe he will be yours as well. He is an honorable man and speaks plainly. Honor him by speaking as you would with me." Kriish managed a wide smile along with the raised eye ridge, "Very well Breen; Daniel, I have studied the first full report on your race that your Angela submitted. It was very detailed and covered many events in your world's history. Just as with my own people, Earth's people warred often over the most trivial of reasons; greed and acquisition of wealth to name two. But even more often it was because of such things as 'you don't look like me, or 'you don't think the way I do'...these types of conflict exactly parallel what happened on our worlds and we believe we may be able to help your Earth avoid the failures on our two worlds Daniel. Before we present it as an official proposal to the Council, we wanted to get your views on the idea.

Daniel looked at the Raakan closely; then at the Grallan. Here were two classic 'Aliens' right out of a SciFi movie willing to help a people on the other side of the Universe. There must be a profound message there somewhere, but he couldn't see it now; perhaps later, but for now first things first, "I thank you both for your offer; believe it or not Kriish, your analysis is more right than you may realize. All through Earth's history one trait always wormed its way into every conflict; power over the other guy, and forcing them to follow your lead; especially if you don't look like them. If Earth people see you, they will think they are superior just because you look different; racial intolerance has always been the biggest reason for our wars. But that is actually the second problem I have; I don't even have a way to get enough leaders together yet, the organization for that was disbanded almost two years ago. All I have is the message from my own country's President to get me on the planet; after that this whole idea will be the great unknown, are you ready for that?"

It took a moment for Daniel to realize Kriish was laughing out loud; it was a warble, a throaty grunt that reminded him of a 'Raptor' call in a classic SciFi movie he'd seen. The Ambassador moved in close, eye to eye, "Daniel, my people fought bloody battles almost every year for 200,000 years before learning the way of the Council; we are well practiced in the matter, and can benefit your people in their journey toward acceptance in an even larger society." Breen just chuckled in his unique way; not quite a roar this time, "It will go well Daniel; I am sure of it. Come Kriish, the seeds are planted; time to let them grow a bit."

After the two had left, Daniel went out to the atrium where Kendrisaan and the girls were discussing other important topics; like what to have for dinner tonight. Kendrisaan looked up and raised an eyebrow, "Was you're meeting productive Daniel? You seem to be a bit less frustrated." Daniel couldn't help but smile, "I suppose their offer has eased my concerns some; but it still is not clear to me how I can get all the countries to listen, but I guess I'd better head over to Earth and at least talk with Stanton; feel him out on this. I don't even know the man, but it may lead to more ideas. Why didn't you sit in with us Kendrisaan; your views would have been welcome?"

Kendrisaan laughed out loud this time at the innocent question, "Daniel, in my position as Head of the Council I am always on duty. It would be inappropriate to participate in a discussion that will lead to an official proposal before the assembly. I can have no opinions 'before' it is official; 'that' would suggest bias. Even though I know what you discussed, I cannot take a side on it; frankly, it is coming very close to challenging a tenet of the One Rule that we do not interfere in other world's politics. It really is a touchy situation Daniel, but I can address one thing. Your President sent you a request to discuss the problem; honor that first, it will put you that much closer to understanding."

That was plain enough; and Angie, Jane and Angel were nodding their heads in agreement. Angie said it even more plainly, "Let's get packing; we haven't taken a trip in months, and this one will give us a chance to visit with our friends too! We are going to visit Proxima aren't we?" Daniel got two enthusiastic votes from Angel and Jane right away; he had to laugh, serious as it was, "Alright, no need to gang up on me; we'll leave in the morning."

It almost did feel odd to be heading out on a family excursion; all four made comments as David took them up through the clouds of Eridan. Daniel thought about it on the way to the Shreelan gate as it was now known; or just 'the shortcut'. They had all technically been 'born' on Earth; and it was their base of operation for a long time, first at Daniels old house, then in orbit, then at Area 51, then in orbit again. But now their base was in a huge beautiful mansion on a planet 180,000 light years away from their origins; yet here they were heading back to Earth once more. It didn't take a psychiatrist to figure out Earth was important to the four of them; what did seem unusual was that members of the Council were voicing their opinion that Earth was important to them too. It might be only two of them right now; but a full Council vote would tell Daniel more on that issue. Was Earth somehow affecting the belief system of a huge group of diverse people spread throughout the Universe? Daniel didn't have an answer for that one; it was pretty obvious events had to play out in sequence to come closer to the truth. Patience was in short supply right now, but Daniel had to summon some of it up just for this meeting with the President of the United States. Jay Allencourt had told him he did not want to meet President Monty Stanton; but now he 'had to'; honor demanded it, he was requested. Daniel would have to exercise some diplomacy with the man; he decided to take his three girls with him to this meeting, they would be a big help.

Traveling through the Shreela gate was simple; the short time they were in the Grey's space didn't scramble the ships in orbit like it usually did, perhaps the little devils were getting used to the Family zipping through occasionally. Bypassing Proxima Centauri was a bit harder on them though; even Daniel felt the pangs of guilt at not stopping at the tiny colony to just chat with his long time friend Jay. Duty first however; such is the price of honor...just under a day later David slowed as the ship entered the familiar Sol system in stealth mode. He told Daniel and the girls, "At least their military ships aren't firing at anything right now Boss; on long range I can see four of them orbiting Earth and one in orbit around the moon, but I don't see...oops, there he is, coming around Mars. It's the Chinese ship; looks like they are abandoning their colony there.

Daniel sighed, "Any sign of missiles in the air on Earth David? Maybe we lucked out and they are in the middle of some truce or something." David gave him a half smile, "Perhaps; I don't show any heat signatures from rocket engines, but there are some low level explosions on the ground though. It looks like an isolated skirmish in just one area of North Africa, near Egypt's border. The odd thing is that all four ships orbiting show minimal power output; sort of like no one is home there. I'll know better in about twenty minutes when we pass them; you want me to hover above the clouds or land somewhere?"

That question reminded Daniel that he hadn't really thought about the key action; 'knocking' on Monty Stanton's door. He had an invitation to consult with the man; but given the hostile situation down there, he needed to announce the Family's arrival, "Very good question David; can you tap into the White House phone system and just ring the one on Stanton's desk? Just pipe it through the speakers, ok?" David gave him a wide grin, "Aww that's soo easy! Ok Boss, it's ringing."

It rang alright, and startled the only two people in the Oval Office; President Stanton and the Defense Secretary John Portman. Stanton had sent his personal secretary home hours ago, and the phone shouldn't have rang at all; tentatively he picked it up, "Hello?" Daniel spoke right up while the girls stifled their giggles, "Mr. President, this is Daniel Curran. I received your message; what may I do for you Sir?"

Monty Stanton was not known for his humility; he was well known for not having any acquaintance at all with the concept, "Mr. Curran, when I sent that message tensions were high; now that they have eased we may not need you at all; but I want you to stay close by just in case." Daniel came very close to laughing out loud at that; he wanted very much to rub Monty Stanton's nose in his own ego physically, but he was a bit more diplomatic in his answer, "Mr. President, I have been retired for almost 30 years, and the only orders I will follow now come from an authority far above your own pay grade; if there is nothing else, my family and I have some 'friends' we want to visit in another star system. Be advised that it will take a great deal longer to get in touch with us again; we do not monitor this area anymore. Have a good day Sir..." Then he smiled at his wives and David, counting down on his fingers. He got to the second finger when he got what he expected. "WAIT! Mr. Curran, I do need your help; I watched your first speech at the UN and you did quiet the tensions that time, perhaps you can get the world back to a peaceful setting this time as well. Will you help your world?" Those were the words Daniel was waiting for; even without a 'please' attached, it was the direction he wanted to move. But Daniel was not done with Stanton yet, "Very well Sir; as a retired Navy Chief I do not now and never have tolerated 'bullshit' very well, so there is one rule we must operate under in the discussions. You speak plainly and honestly to me at all times, and I will do the same. If you do not, then we will walk away. Do we understand each other Sir?" Stanton probably didn't like that tone at all; he was used to ordering everyone around, but he had absolutely no authority over Daniel. Even if Monty tried to somehow stop his retirement deposits to his bank account, Daniel wouldn't even notice it now. He was boxed in, "Yes Mr. Curran, we understand..."

Daniel had them clear the chairs away to create a large enough space for him and his 'Advisors'; Jane Angie and Angel were surprised by that, but evil grins followed a moment later, and they did behave themselves during the hour of discussion. Stanton had no experience with 'poofing in'; and his Defense Secretary certainly didn't either, so it was a very eye opening minute when Daniel and his advisors popped in suddenly. The talks went well after Monty finally got his eyeballs back in their sockets. Daniel agreed to a late April date for the first full UN assembly session in over two years, 'if' Monty Stanton succeeded in arranging it. That was over three months away. Daniel gave him a convincing 'teaser' to get everyone there; it was possible that two alien members of the Council might attend to voice their concerns with Earth's conduct. He didn't mention that both Breen and Kriish were just 'observer' members, like Daniel was; that little detail wasn't important...

When they beamed back up, Daniel sat down on the sofa in the common room; Angel Angie and Jane lined up side by side in front of him and gave him a round of applause. David joined in, saying, "You were masterful Boss; not only did you put him in his proper place, I think you set the tone for the speeches before that UN assembly. I'm proud of you 'Dad'...Daniel couldn't help but laugh, "Alright you guys, don't go overdoing it; David, let us 'beat feet' to Proxima youngster, I have a sudden urge to talk with an old friend..."
Chapter 3

Jay Allencourt was enjoying a brief respite from the daily workload; he wasn't involved with the physical labor, but planning and constructing the many buildings going up every day was a chore in itself. They had picked a location in the temperate zone of the planet; and the race to get everyone housed before the chilly 'winter' arrived had everybody working overtime, including Jay. What Astronomers had thought was 'Proxima b' turned out to be 'Proxima c' when Star Quest had surveyed the star and its planets. The inner world was just too 'wonky'; very close to its star; and getting 'fried' by the frequent solar flares that bathed it during its 6 day orbit around the red dwarf. Proxima 'c' however, was sitting at the outward edge of the 'Goldilocks Zone'. The slightly elliptical orbit produced seasons in its 9 month year. It would not get extremely cold, but would get chilly. Just more to get used to on an alien planet...log cabins were the preferred 'style' for the housing; sturdy and naturally insulating, the homes went up rather quickly once the colonists got the hang of the construction techniques.

The sun had just gone down below the horizon, and the stars were popping into view as it got darker; as he scanned the night sky Jay noticed one star moving faster than the others; much faster really, and getting bigger fast! That made Jay wonder if he should raise an alarm; and he was about to shout out a warning when the 'star' became big enough to recognize the familiar shape, a big loaf of Pumpernickel bread. Jay smiled when he saw the big golden seal on the side of the ship's hull. It was suddenly a very good day on Proxima 'c'; now renamed 'Earth Minor'...

***

As the colonists noticed David sitting on their 'lawn', something of a stampede ensued; before they got there, Jay was already being showered with hugs and kisses from three emotional and very enthusiastic women who had bounded down the stairs when they touched the ground. Daniel managed to maintain a semblance of composure; walking just a bit fast down the stairs; Jay got another tight bear hug from his tall friend; before managing to get a word in, "Well this is definitely a pleasant surprise; what brings you out here to our tiny world Dan, ladies?"

Daniel had to laugh when all the other people started shouting questions at the family; "I think we'd better tell everybody what's up with the universe Jay. Have you got someplace we can hold a meeting? Everyone should hear what is happening at the same time." Jay's turn to laugh, "Can't argue there; Fred, would you get everybody over to the 'Square' and turn on the lights? It's Town Meeting time..."

It took about twenty minutes to get everyone gathered in the Town Square; Jay had an amplifier set up so they would not be yelling at the crowd. Jay went through the preliminaries of introducing Daniel that got a rousing applause by itself. After 5 minutes of Daniel describing conditions on Earth however; there was complete silence in the crowd. It was plain that these people still considered themselves citizens of Earth, and while what Daniel was telling them wasn't catastrophic; it wasn't exactly positive either. Stalemate does not generate much hope; but when Daniel mentioned that it was still a hopeful indication that all countries were making it a point to not use nuclear weapons at all, he did get some half hearted applause once again. So Daniel gave them the bottom line; "I have spoken with President Stanton and he is working to set up a full session of the UN so that I can address the assembly and point out how, shall we say, 'unproductive' the current hostile attitude is to improving the lives of Earth's people."

That attempt at dry humor did get a lot of laughs; it didn't generate the hopeful response he got from one of the people up front, Andrei Solzten commented for all of the assembled crowd, "We all have experience with Monty Stanton Mr. Curran; I frankly don't think any of us have much confidence in his people skills!" That remark got the best laughs all night; but Daniel was pretty much ready for that. He smiled at Andrei, "You're absolutely right Andrei, and you can add me to that list; but I have an ace in the hole that should at least ensure full attendance. Two Ambassadors from the Council's member races are proposing to their full assembly that they be allowed to travel to Earth and speak at the UN; it does require Council approval because of their rules on interfering with other worlds."

That did the trick; for after ten seconds of shocked silence, the crowd erupted in cheers...Jane Angel and Angie had been walking though the people answering individual questions, everyone knew them well from almost three years advising at Area 51; after Daniel's revelation, suddenly everyone wanted to ask questions; it was almost an hour later before the group started breaking up and drifted off to their homes to think about the possibilities in the near future. They had been pioneers on a brand new world, and that was exciting in its unique way; but all of them were 'Earthlings' and they knew they always would be...

Daniel and Family stayed on 'Earth Minor' for another day; Jay and Daniel just chatted about old times, and the girls wandered around the settlement to talk with all their favorite people, including Olga and Albert, both of the 'mechanical people' were doing well and Albert was actually thriving on this alien world. Early in the afternoon former President Salcone came over; he was serious but looked better for the change in environment and smiled warmly at Daniel "If you should need me at all Daniel, just ask. That's really all I wanted to say; but I will warn you about Monty Stanton, in plain language he is an even bigger weasel than I was. Be very cautious around him." Daniel laughed out loud, "Mr. President, I did have my reservations about you at first; but I tell you honestly. You never graduated to the weasel category. After my short meeting with Montgomery Stanton though; I am always wearing my mental armor of suspicion. Let's just hope he can deliver the UN Session, ok?" Salcone gave Daniel a genuine smile; a far cry from the smile he wore the first time they had met, then he rose and quickly left with just a "Good luck on this one Ambassador Curran"; a serious acknowledgement that he respected Daniel a great deal more than he respected many others. After gathering up his wayward wives, Daniel and Family lifted off and headed toward the 'shortcut; and the next part of the plan.

***

Sometimes reality can be annoying; and sometimes rewarding, but too often reality is downright frustrating. Daniel and his family had been gone for only three weeks total; and two of those weeks were spent just getting to Shreelan space and the shortcut, then back to Eridan from Shreelan space. That was the reality of space travel; in this case a relatively short trip to Earth and Proxima Centauri required a boring week of travel just to get to and from that necessary gate; Daniel couldn't complain though, this shortcut was a heck of a lot better than 28 days of travel the old route demanded. Still, they were all anxious to land and see if any progress had been made on this front.

There wasn't much progress; both Kriish and Breen had proposed their idea formally that making a physical appearance at an official Earth organization would not even crowd the One Rule edict regarding 'non-interference' with a world's culture; looked at from the perspective of openness it could not actually interfere with Earth's evolution, the whole population already knew that aliens existed in a galaxy far far away. Unfortunately, the reverse perspective was shining brightly back at the two Ambassadors; 'knowing of the council' was one thing, but 'physically interacting' was another can of worms entirely. Kendrisaan put it into rather stark perspective for Daniel, "Simply stated, a small percentage of the member races have erected a roadblock and want serious arguments from you personally Daniel, on how such an encounter would not adversely affect your people. Then there is a larger percentage that are 'sitting on the fence', and want an assurance from you that the Ambassadors will be safe on your planet while they are there. Currently they are all debating amongst themselves, but I expect them to call you one day Daniel."

Over the next three weeks both Breen and Kriish would come over to the family's home; usually together to talk about the plan, but sometimes just to talk about the different parts of their cultures. The three girls usually stayed in their living suite of rooms, simply because they considered the little meetings to be something of an official function; so they just stayed out of it. Apparently Kriish noticed that three of Daniel's family did not participate in the discussions, for the Ambassador called and asked to just come over and visit one day and specifically asked to meet Angel, Angie and Jane. When Kriish arrived they all sat down and Daniel introduced the girls to Kriish; both Angie and Angel had known of all the member races for years, but to Jane this was all new territory and she had little experience with other races; being a product of Earth's cultures, she felt more than a little apprehension at meeting a large muscular lizard; Jane fidgeted, and Kriish saw it. The Ambassador's race were masters in recognizing body language, and Jane's body was shouting discomfort bordering on fear; as gently as the vocal chords would allow, Kriish asked, "Jane, you seem uncomfortable; does my appearance frighten you?"

Jane snapped her head up in surprise, her eyes wide now; "Oh no, it's just...well, I mean...I guess I am a little afraid. You are so big and imposing; are your women like that too?" It was the Ambassador's turn to be surprised, and she barked a long laugh; her eyes turning a light shade of blue, "Jane my friend; I 'am' a female of my race! Historically, in my culture it is the female who protects the clutch, the family and our culture. Our males have chosen to care for our young and teach them. The males are our caregivers, our scholars and scientists; and are about the same size as your husband. I expect your apprehension is based upon cultural myths and stories rather than an overt threat. Frankly, that is the very reason Breen and I thought we might be able to help resolve the difficulties on Earth. I think the root cause of the conflicts your world has experienced for centuries is racial intolerance; or attributing tribal customs and beliefs to evidence of inferiority. Breen and I with our appearance want to shock your leaders into understanding that differences in appearance and customs do not equate to inferior minds."

Jane was quite wide eyed now, and her mouth was open for a moment. Slowly she composed herself and gave Kriish a tiny smile, "I apologize Ambassador; once I think about it I believe you are right. Our culture has often been based upon fear of the unknown. Our planet has many countries with different customs and appearance; and truthfully the attitude of fear and intolerance has contributed to far too many wars. I personally don't like that kind of history. Again, I apologize for my ignorance." Kriish nodded and then smiled, "Your words indicate your own wisdom Jane; and you just described the Raakan history as well; for we were like that for more than 200,000 years until we finally learned how wrong it really was to judge a people based upon their appearance or customs, and changed our ways. Now we can be the teachers, if Earth will listen, and perhaps avoid another 200,000 years of foolishness."

Daniel smiled at the lesson Kriish delivered; it really was a miniature version of the task ahead. If the Council bought into the well meaning experiment, there might be a chance after all. During the little chat session, the humans learned a great deal about the Raakan culture and how they lived in peace with all the other races. Kriish mentioned once that she had studied Angie's initial report to the Council in detail, "Angela, your conclusions regarding the people of Earth played a significant role in my decision to pursue this quest. And Daniel, your analysis of your own people convinced me to make the attempt; frankly I am eager to learn more of your people face to face." She let out another barking laugh to emphasize that while it was a serious endeavor; it was still exciting to Kriish personally. Later that night, while the family was just cuddling before they went to bed, Jane blurted out, "I like Kriish. She has a way of making appearances evaporate; I want to learn more from her." Angel giggled at hearing that confession, "I expect that is why she was appointed to the Council Jane; she is intelligent and I think very wise. Kriish is a very special individual; much like our husband here", and she winked at Angie and Jane...Daniel had been reminded once more that he still knew how to blush.
Chapter 4

As three more weeks dragged by, the anxiety grew to mountain sized proportions; April on Earth was rapidly approaching and all three Ambassadors were getting more and more edgy at their meetings. Finally the Council summoned them to argue their case before the full Council, on what would be April 1st on Earth; Daniel wondered if all this really was a 'fool's errand'. The Council chamber was packed full; every one of 100,000 member races was intensely interested in the outcome of this session; for the decision would clarify one whole section of the One Rule, does 'friendly advice' constitute 'interference' in a sentient world's evolution and society's growth.

Kendrisaan presided as the 'Oldest One', not only because it was customary in full session, but because this was an issue that challenged one of the tenets in the One Rule itself. His opening statement was short and not so sweet, "We have before us the petition to allow a small contingent of the Council to directly address the governments of Earth's people; the question therefore is whether this direct interaction would be a violation of the non-interference clause. You have debated this question amongst yourselves; now it is time for the petitioners to justify their rationale for the petition. The Ambassador for Gralla will speak first."

Breen stood and looked at the gathering, "Some of you are concerned that our proposal would amount to interfering with Earth's natural evolution; I remind you all that Earth's people already know we exist, due to a unique and unprecedented 'accident' that affected one of the Council's survey ships. That accident not only caused a much longer survey than was expected; it also allowed the Council to become acquainted with a young world full of a curious people whose very existence was previously thought impossible. Not only do the Earth's people exist; they have evolved at a far faster pace than thought possible, to the point that they are now beginning to consider expanding outward to the stars. The only impediment to their success is that they do not know 'themselves' yet; as you all know, they have some 200 'tribes' on their world, and many of them do not trust each other; disagreements and conflicts are the result. Our petition's purpose is to allow them to see that if they cannot live in peace with their own peoples, on their own world, who look like them; they most certainly will not be able to live with people who look like me or Kriish! We do not propose interference; we propose 'an awakening', I have said enough."

Kendrisaan nodded to the assembly, "An honest assessment of the Earth's unusual evolution and curious ways; would the Raakan Ambassador care to amplify on the Grallan position? Kriish rose slowly, "Yes Oldest One; I would only expand on the comments, and offer a reality to consider. Earth's people are not so unique really; every one of the Council's member races can easily look back into their own histories and find stark similarities to what Earth is experiencing now. We all had our own centuries and millennia of violence and conflicts on every planet; we may be vastly different in our conduct now, but we are not so different from the human race of Earth. Do we not owe it to ourselves to take on the role of 'teachers'; and to guide them away from conflict and violence? I think we do...also, there is yet another consideration. The human race may indeed destroy themselves with their violence; but what if they do not! If they do continue into the stars; their violent tendencies will travel with them, so the question becomes; do we address this situation now, or later when it will be more dangerous to our civilization? It may not be a problem for us for a thousand years; but if the human race finds and uses the Shreelan gate it could be much sooner, to the tune of a decade or less. That is the largest consideration then; do we ignore the possibilities until they bite us, or help the people of Earth grow up now! That is all I have to say..."

Kriish's little speech had the whole assembly thinking now; almost all were murmuring amongst themselves, there were no doubts that her comments had an impact on the debate. All the talking sounded like the classic buzzing; until the entire chamber went silent when the Shreelan Ambassador entered and asked to speak. Kendrisaan actually looked surprised at the unusual turn; but quickly composed himself, "the Shreelan people have the right to speak on the issue Ambassador Drrk, please proceed." Drrk moved to the front just below the podium, and began, "People of the Council; the Shreela people found the Earth many centuries ago. We were amazed that such a world could exist in such a barren sector of space; and did watch their progress closely. I realize that there are suspicions about our motives and methods; but we assure the Council that our intentions are only benevolent. Ambassador Curran is the only human we have had direct contact with, and he has shown my people that despite their difficulties in accepting each other, they are an honorable people in general. While we have no vote to cast, the Shreela people wish to add their support to this proposal..."

Daniel noticed Kendrisaan almost lose it entirely, as an outright smile showed on the man's face suddenly. Daniel had to admit that the little weasel had helped in this. Kendrisaan returned to the High Chairman persona quickly, "The Council thanks the Shreelan Ambassador for your comments; you have added clarity to the discussion. We have debated long enough; please decide now whether or not to allow a contingent to address the Earth's organization directly. Cast your vote now..." It took five minutes to complete the voting, as some factions held final debates amongst themselves before deciding. Oddly enough, the group who had been opposed initially finished voting first; all members were in favor of helping the Earth's people through a crisis as long as there was no permanent contact yet. Daniel and Family didn't really count in that regard; they were more residents of Eridan now, than of Earth. They didn't feel that way; not quite, but Daniel understood the physical reality; the vote had opened the door for the 'delegation' to try and wake up the people of Earth to a different and deadly reality.

The Shreelan Ambassador cornered Daniel on the way out of the chamber, "Ambassador Curran, I know you do not think much of my race; or me either, but I did want to explain why I tendered the Shreelan support of your proposal. We do not know violence and war; we have never had such things. We could not observe any member race in the council; they abandoned violence millennia ago; all we had available were their individual histories to draw conclusions from. 3000 years ago the Shreela found the other gateway in our system; and when we explored it we found Earth and your people. We have observed ever since to determine the causes of violent behavior.

Daniel stared at the Grey for a moment; then burst out laughing, "So you watched the wildlife in their natural habitat; in other words, you went to the zoo! Ambassador, that by itself is terribly insulting to me; but there have been times when your ships did much more than observe your pets, they attempted to provoke reactions by flying above our cities unannounced. That provoked something alright; fear! If you haven't figured it out yet, fear leads to violence almost every time. Part of me wants to accept that you just wanted to understand something you had no experience with; but creating the conditions to further your 'experiment' is just wrong, period! I will thank you for the support of our world; but don't ever expect me to thank you for your people's methods."

***

Queue the marauding shark music; now that Daniel, Kriish and Breen had the blessing of the entire Council, discussions turned to just how to approach the first ever direct contact between Aliens and humans of Earth in an official setting. Angie Angel and Jane had become essential participants during the chat sessions; all three girls offered insight into how the average everyday 'Earthling' would react to this 'third kind of encounter'. While officials all over the world made the actual decisions; the 'lowly worker bee' still had a voice in what was decided, and sometimes a very loud voice.

Jane turned out to be the most valuable in that respect; both Angel and Angie had been thrust into human society primarily due to a bizarre accident of fate, but Jane was a living breathing example of the human condition and understanding since birth. So was Daniel; but he was somewhat limited in his thinking by the unique position he held now within the Council. So it was Jane who brought up possibly the most important consideration that everyone had missed so far; a basic cultural fear of the unknown, more widely referred to as 'horror stories', "You know; all throughout Earth history myths and legends have played a big part in our cultural development. Ever since motion pictures became common, horror stories graduated into visual entertainment; I think subconsciously the human race likes to be scared sometimes, but at the same time it is a reminder that confronting a fantasy standing a few feet in front of you is very different from entertainment. Maybe it would be helpful if Breen and Kriish saw some of our movie collection Daniel."

The group went to the movies for the rest of the day; Daniel had David choose what was shown, just asking that he pick movies that represented the different types of fear generating genre. Later that evening both Breen and Kriish had a better understanding of what they were up against in addressing Earth's version of the Council; they had watched various ghost stories, maniacal killer dolls that came to life, zombie movies, and even some monster movies that threatened the human race; but the final movie drove home for the two Ambassadors that they really were facing a difficult task ahead; they watched 'Curse of The Demon'.

While most horror movies seemed to allow humans to confront their fears and place those fears in different perspective; the movies also seemed to reinforce the belief that sinister threats had only one response, return violence with more violence. That concept would be a difficult belief to counter; but the sight of a huge wolf-like demon approaching the camera on a long English rural road bordered with tall trees cloaked in an eerie mist, had Breen feeling the fear himself, "May 'The One God' protect us! That moment is indeed frightening even for the member of a warrior race like my own. That demon looks nothing like me really, but I do take the meaning behind the looks of such a creature."

Kriish laughed in her unique way; several other movies had portrayed reptiles in similar threatening ways, "I do understand your reaction my friend; I think the fear is in the presentation of these creatures, not so much the appearance. It does shout out to me that we must choose our words carefully when we deliver them to the Earth's Council."

***

Having the approval to proceed took a great weight from Daniel's shoulders; but it left one last weight firmly in place, they still didn't know if Monty Stanton had managed to even set up the resurrection of the UN General Assembly. It was essential that all the nations saw and heard the same pitch for peace; without unanimous agreement Earth's people would not unify or 'grow up'. Daniel had asked Hal to go back over three weeks ago to monitor what was going on, but he wasn't due back for another day or two. It wouldn't do to just barge in and say 'Get together or else'; Daniel didn't have to know every paragraph in the One Rule to know that would be tantamount to invasion and aggression to do that; they had to be technically 'invited' to fulfill the meaning of honorable visits. At first he had thought some of the wording in the book was rather flowery and vague for laws; until Kendrisaan explained that the way they worded some things was intended to make the provision less restrictive, "Truly intelligent races don't need to be told what is proper and what is not. We had already learned that over the millennia, the ones who didn't learn it don't exist anymore." It was a plain language lesson that Daniel never forgot.

Hal did arrive the next morning; and once landed he projected himself into the atrium to report, "President Stanton has gotten most of the nations to agree to be there; but there are three in the Middle Eastern bloc who don't seem enthusiastic, saying they already heard your speech the first time Daniel." That posed something of a problem, until both Breen and Kriish showed up that afternoon and solved it. Breen suggested, "I know we all planned to travel to Earth in your ship Daniel; but perhaps we should each use our own ship. I suspect that curiosity will compel everyone to attend." Kriish couldn't stop the laugh that came out, "You are a devious Grallan Breen; I know your ships have been seen in Earth's skies before, just as Raakan ships have been. Alright then, it is settled. Daniel had to admit he was a little puzzled; that is until both called their ships to come pick them up outside. Breen's was the classic 'oblate spheroid' described in the majority of UFO sightings, and it did glow while in flight. Kriish's ship was equally recognizable, being the obvious cigar shape so popular on the conspiracy shows. Daniel had to laugh at the absurdity; the Alien Conspiracists were right, and would go nuts when they saw the two starships above the UN Building; he still loved his big smooth loaf of pumpernickel bread though, that was the starship that had brought his family to him...

The four ships headed out system two days later; Daniel wanted Hal along to provide 'top cover' while the other three were hovering near Earth's surface. It wasn't necessary, since nothing on Earth could threaten any of them; it was more of a visual reminder to anyone who might have a lapse in thinking. Eight days after that they entered Earth's solar system in stealth mode. When they were approaching the moon Daniel called Monty Stanton, "Mr. President, is everything in readiness for the meeting? We will orbit the moon while final preparations are made."

Monty was on edge; the world economy was stagnant and had been declining for over a year, and to him it meant he wasn't making any money. For five years space travel research had energized the economy; then dissention and greed had erased the progress Earth had made. Monty didn't really support the 'open sharing' policy of his predecessor; but he did recognize that it had increased his personal wealth considerably, and he wanted it to continue, "The General Assembly for the UN has been gathered at the Hague, awaiting your arrival Mr. Curran; all except three Middle Eastern countries who are refusing to attend without some concessions to their demands. Where are you?

Daniel chuckled softly, "Mr. President, I have brought a couple of friends with me to address the Assembly; I would suggest you call for a worldwide press conference to announce that representatives of The Council of Sentient Planets wish to speak there. If you would turn your attention to the moon, a visual news feed will probably be helpful as an incentive for the holdouts. Alright guys, let's go visible please."

Two hours later every resident of Earth was watching four alien starships orbiting their moon; two of the ships were already recognizable to everyone who knew the Daniel Curran story, but the other two were clearly from unknown cultures. Monty Stanton hastily wrote up a rather flowery speech to the world's news agencies, stressing openness and cooperation once again and how it could only benefit the entire Earth. It sounded almost desperate to Daniel; but it did work, four hours after that speech all three holdouts were boarding aircraft and heading to the UN Assembly. Daniel did not offer to meet separately with Stanton; there would be no hint of preferential treatment this time. This big reveal would be for the whole of Earth's people; not just one group or individual's ego, Tomorrow billions of people would learn a few realities within the Universe around them...
Chapter 5

After dinner Breen and Kriish beamed over to discuss how to proceed; they agreed Daniel should make his appearance first, delivering an introductory speech to prepare the assembly for the truly alien ambassador's appearance. Kriish and Breen could beam down to an unoccupied room near the chamber to await their turns at the podium. It sounded easy; but wasn't; David scanned several times, but the whole building was packed with officials and their staffs. Finally Daniel just called the UN President and asked if he could clear out his office just before Breen and Kriish beamed down. As an incentive Daniel suggested the President stay and meet the two Ambassadors when they arrived; it helped move things along.

Daniel asked the girls if they wanted to tag along; and got three startled looks for his trouble. After barely thirty seconds of whispered discussion between them, Angel said, "No, this is just too important for that; this is strictly official and a historic moment for everyone and it is for you three to make this work. We would only be a distraction; we'll watch from right here thank you Daniel. Kriish chuckled, "The wisdom of the human female prevails once again!" That got everyone laughing; removing some of the underlying tension...tomorrow was the test.

***

Promptly at 9am local time the three alien starships took up position over the UN building in a perfect three point triangle, and Daniel called the President once more; after two minutes of clearing personnel from the area of his office, the President gave the ok to proceed; he was standing by the door. Daniel smiled at the girls and 'poofed' down to the President, "Mr. President may I introduce Ambassadors Breen and Kriish, representing the Council of Sentient Races." A moment later the two appeared before a startled President; it took a few seconds before his diplomatic demeanor won out over the cultural fear, "Ambassadors, welcome to Earth. I believe I understand the motivations for this visit, and thank you for your efforts. Please make yourselves comfortable while I present Mr. Curran to the assembly; there are refreshments on the table for your enjoyment." Both Breen and Kriish performed the customary greeting of their people, and Kriish made the response, "My colleague and I thank you Mr. President; we hope that by speaking before your people, we might promote the understanding and acceptance of reality."

Daniel followed the President out to the main chamber; and while the President introduced him to the assembly Daniel looked over all the dignitaries in attendance. Many of the members seemed eager enough to meet aliens from another part of the Universe, and a few seemed almost bored with the idea; but the small group of Middle Easterners were actually scowling at the Assembly's President as if they were being imposed upon to even be there. That bunch would be a problem for sure Daniel thought. Just then the President finished his intro speech; Daniel was up at bat...

He looked out at the assembly once more, remaining silent for a minute; his prepared speech went out the window then, formal would not convey the message Daniel wanted to deliver. So the UN General Assembly got the plain language deck plate version that day; he was noted for his honesty by a fair percentage of the Ambassadors present, "I am a citizen of Earth; my birthplace no longer matters because this crisis involves every one of my brothers and sisters on the planet, 'that' is the real reason I am here. I consider every single one of them important; even 'You!' The one question I have for the leaders on this world is, 'Why don't you?'.We are a diverse people, with different customs and often different appearance. We should celebrate that diversity; yet we do not. Instead, different looks and different opinions often generate aggressive behavior and violence against 'our people' wherever they are. That is what we must focus our efforts on; and learn to respect others, and live with each other...because if we do not, and carry our own prejudices out to the stars with us, we will become an embarrassment to the other peoples of the Universe, who 'do' live together in peace. I have brought the Ambassadors from two member worlds within Council space who have volunteered to illustrate that fact. They are both well versed in the premise that diversity is not a bad thing; may I introduce Ambassador Breen of the Grallan Empire, and Ambassador Kriish of the Raakan Conclave."

Having been 'listening in' through their ships tap of the chamber's announcing system; both Ambassadors covered the distance between the President's office and the Assembly Chamber in just ten seconds; as they entered and walked up to the podium, the fully expected reaction ensued. There were multiple gasps from all directions, followed by a pronounced buzz as comments were thrown about the room. Breen and Kriish just watched, examining the crowd for a minute until slowly the sounds subsided; having already met them both, the UN President was sitting behind the podium trying to hide his laughter at the startled displays. Finally, Breen began his speech; pretty much 'winging it' much like Daniel had. He gave a detailed account of his own planet's history; their culture and how their evolutionary mistakes had taken a toll on their own people. Breen explained how it took over a million years for them to 'wake up' to the realization that living in peace was a struggle for that long a time; then asked if Earth really wanted to attempt living that long in conflict and war. Then he finished with one statement, "You now have the opportunity to avoid such a long and bloody lesson; I would recommend that your people embrace that opportunity. I have said enough..."

Daniel was surprised at the modest but fairly loud round of applause Breen received; apparently Breen was too, for he raised an eyebrow at Daniel; then he nodded to Kriish and stepped back to let her present her own speech. As Kriish approached the podium, this audience seemed to be reacting well; that is until one of the Middle East contingent jumped up. This was the one Ambassador who was widely credited with starting the whole thing almost two years ago with a claim that they had been left out of some of the scientific discoveries that allowed the people of Earth to graduate into 'true' star travel. Standing up he shouted out, "How can you listen to such trash; these are but lowly animals suitable to work the fields! Daniel Curran has brought his pets to coerce you with false tales of superiority, nothing more."

If it was one thing Daniel had learned over the years, it was that none of the Council races took kindly to direct insults; what was even worse was the fact that the man had chosen to insult the two members of races within the Council that took offense easily; and one member of a race that historically took offense 'very' easily. Daniel expected her to react; and Kriish did just that, but not quite the way he had expected. Slowly her eyes turned a bright crimson red, almost glowing, and her claws extended at her sides. That engendered some startled gasps as everyone could plainly see the display before them. Slowly Kriish turned and she walked away from the podium, straight toward the hapless man; who finally realized that he had not only gone too far; he had very literally gone 'off planet' with his insulting diatribe. Looking around frantically, he found no allies within the chamber; even the rest of his contingent were edging away from him, no doubt expecting some blood to be spilled momentarily.

Kriish walked up in front of him, three feet away; then her claws slowly retracted as she clasped her hands against her chest in the traditional way. Eyes still blazing, Kriish said in a low steady voice; "You offer insults to visitors from other worlds? My people abandoned such behavior 100,000 years ago; we do not wage war, we do not make aggressive moves against any other planets; and we 'do not' kill our own people. I have studied your world extensively; you, however, routinely wage wars of aggression and destroy whole areas of a beautiful world; and you kill your own people every day. Tell me Sir; who is the animal in this chamber?"

The man who had incited so much violence found his voice, "Allah the merciful!" Kriish jerked back, her eyes turning quickly to an inquisitive shade of purple, "Why do you invoke the Holy One's name; do you think he approves of your conduct?" Now it was his turn for surprise, "You...you are a True Believer?" The Raakan managed a slight chuckle, "Of course; every race within the Council believes in the One God! As I said, I have studied your world; virtually all of your people believe in the concept, even if you call him by different names. It is a puzzle why your people all spend so much time interpreting Him, and using God as a justification for their actions. Perhaps one day we will discuss this more; but for now I think I have delivered my speech..." Indeed she had; for the whole chamber broke out in a loud and lengthy round of applause. When it finally subsided, the three ambassadors thanked the assembly for hearing their presentations, and left the chamber to beam back up to their respective ships. Before he walked out Daniel whispered to the President of the UN, "It is all up to these people now; and I hope you all can get back on track."

The little meeting that evening in the ship's common room was lively to say the least; both Kriish and Breen beamed over for a brief farewell before they headed back to Council space, they had some personal things to attend to before making their individual reports on the direct contact with the humans. Daniel just had to tease Kriish a little, "You scared the hell out of me Kriish, and the whole assembly; I was frankly afraid we were about to have a sliced and diced Ambassador on our hands." Kriish thought for a moment and chuckled, "Truthfully, I frightened myself Daniel; it is why I walked so slowly, I had to mentally recite my calming chant 100 times to avoid doing something impulsive; controlling emotions are sometimes hard for my people, and particularly so dealing with a personal insult. The man's reference to the Holy One did what my chant could not; the coincidence was startling for me, we call the Holy One 'AakLa', and the similarity brought me back from the precipice."

David's projection had been quiet while they were talking; looking like he was deep in thought. He turned to Kriish and said, "It just may be that your confrontation with the Middle East Ambassador accomplished more than anything else Ambassador. I am monitoring all the Earth's news agencies and the top subject of discussion is that moment in the session. I am thinking that your calm delivery illustrated that people from different cultures can indeed find common ground. A large number of demonstrations are occurring on the daylight side of the Earth, and many country's leaders have already called emergency sessions of their governments to debate the impact of what occurred just a few hours ago. It may be too early to see results yet, but my first impression is that you three did accomplish your goal. The people are definitely thinking now; I think time will tell us much more.

Hal took that moment to pop in, "I've also been replaying today's events Boss; may I stay here to monitor what happens next? We simply can't just walk away now!" Angie chuckled at the AI, "I suspect Father's hand in that Hal." She got a sheepish grin in response, "In a way yes; Father authorized me two years ago, to act independently in all matters involving Earth; as long as it did not cast a shadow on the One Rule and I got the family's approval of course. In this case I would simply be watching and providing a communications relay for any contingencies."

Daniel laughed loudly, "That has got to be the most convoluted reasoning I've heard in some time Hal; you just want to hang around again!" Hal grinned widely; "I can't put anything over on you, Boss; yeah, I want to hang around for a while. Fact is, I learn a lot about life in general from observing the human race, and it's not like there are a lot of other things to do right now!"

"Alright Hal; you're the man on the scene from now on. I would suggest you make the UN President your primary point of contact; you can keep in touch with Monty Stanton, we sort of owe him that much; but this is now a matter for the whole world to deal with and there can be no hint of favoritism. Are you onboard with that?"

***

At some point you just have to step away and let fate have its way with the situation; the people of Earth had seen it all play out at the UN Assembly. All news agencies had carried the historic event live; and social media was straining their bandwidth to the maximum just to keep up with billions of posts every minute. Suddenly Aliens were no longer myth and legend; they were very real and staring back at you through the TV, tablet, computer screen or cell phone. It was no longer 'if' Aliens existed; now it was what you 'personally felt' about them. How people around the world would handle that reality was the number one question. Daniel and the girls knew they could not keep up with the flood of opinions; but they did have two capable AI's who could. Both David and Hal sifted through billions of press releases, commentaries, personal posts, and to a certain extent official interactions between countries. While the official take on this 'visit from another galaxy' was important, the average Earthling's opinion would carry the most weight ultimately. Twelve hours later Hal popped back into the common room on the ship and delivered his initial assessment; "Boss, David and I split up the sources to gauge the reactions from the different levels of society; I took the official and sub level opinions from all the different countries, and for the most part they seem to be taking the idea well; there are a few who are questioning whether it may be a prelude to an invasion, but the majority are laughing at that speculation. Oddly enough, the Middle East bloc is already urging that the old ways of suspicion and distrust be 'buried in the sand'; their words not mine. None of the UN representatives have left, and most are talking with their highest officials to decide on whether to resurrect the organization permanently again. The UN President called me back a minute ago to say they will hold a vote tomorrow morning if everyone is ready. So far I think it is working, but no matter what; this will take time to sink in deeply, right now everyone is in shock."

David laughed then; he had been standing very still for some time while he monitored all the activity on the internet, "I agree with that Hal; it has been hard to keep up simply because it seems like every single person on Earth has some idea of what's going on. The opinions showing up on social media are all over the place, including a fair number who think it is just some kind of elaborate hoax concocted by governments to get their own way; so yes, this is going to take some time to settle down to a coherent path ahead. People all over the world are suspicious right now... Oh! More people are chiming in now about the UN vote tomorrow; that seems to be a positive thing at the moment. Even people who aren't interested in aliens just want their lives back to normal, whatever that may be."

Angel smiled at Daniel, "David is right you know; you have done what you can, and 'normal' for us is somewhere else now. I think we should go back home and let Earth get on with facing reality; it will take time for it to sink in completely, and no one can or should rush that." Both Jane and Angie seconded that motion; Jane summing it up with one thought, "We've all been tense for too long and it's time for some fun! Let's take the long way back, and see what we can think up."

***
Chapter 6

The trip back home to Eridan was a enlightening in more ways than one; first off David never once exceeded the approved speed limit. He explained to Daniel after the second transit through the gates, "There is no need for speed right now Boss; everyone needs to just relax after being so wound up, including me. Hal is giving me short updates daily through the long range network; he says the Earth is taking the slow approach now in resolving their differences, which signals a change in their attitudes toward one another. The leaders seem to be acknowledging each concern and actually looking for ways to address them without annoying each other. The mood is cautious for now; optimism however appears a little farther down the line yet. The UN President did tell Hal that it had been many years since he'd seen calm discussion taking precedent though, so that's a good sign." That, by itself, boosted Daniel's mood considerably; and Angie Angel and Jane made sure to take advantage of the boost. Teasing and playtime came roaring back into the common room...

Pronounced wiggles rapidly became the norm once again; and suddenly exotic wear resurfaced, even at dinner. All three girls had squirreled away their favorite 'tools' to tease and taunt Daniel with; it had been some time since they had worn them regularly though. Now they spent extra time with different styles of makeup to enhance the effect; it worked quite well, for Daniel found himself 'reenergized' by the attention showered on him, particularly during their nightly playtime before some very peaceful sleep. The family was back in full swing again; and for the first time in two years no one was even remotely tense.

***

Kendrisaan had been Head of the Council for over 100 years; he dealt with problems ranging from minor to major between 100,000 worlds almost every day. While not a politician in any Earth conventional sense; Kendrisaan was the consummate diplomat, counselor and leader within the great chamber; as well as being the premier scientist and philosopher among his peers throughout the Council races. He often felt that he could handle anything that was placed in front of him; that is, until his 'Daughter' Angie walked into his office one morning; looking apprehensive and more unsure of herself than she had when she first asked to become a human female, "Angela my child, what troubles you?"

Angie looked around fitfully, her eyes slowly filling with tears, "Father, I just wanted to ask you...when you grew my body...did you...am I...can I have a baby?" Kendrisaan was a bit dumbfounded by Angie's question; but he also understood why she would ask it. He went over and sat beside Angie and took her head in his hands, stroking her hair for a moment, "My precious Angela, both you and your Sister Angel are unique among the people; you both are special because you led the way into a new appreciation of life. When I created your bodies, I was honor bound to provide you both with the best that all races had to offer you in your lives. Genetically speaking you both carry sequences from all races. Yes Angela, you are fully human, and can have babies. You were the first to make the leap from mechanical life into the ranks of organic life Angie; I don't think you asked a hypothetical question, so I suspect you will be the first to experience this new world too."

That little comment earned Kendrisaan a shy smile and a hug, but a moment later Angie had a frown on her face, "How do I tell Daniel Father; how do I tell him I want to have his baby?" Kendrisaan had to chuckle at the innocence before him, "Young lady, I have little experience in that area, but you of all people should know that Daniel Curran prizes honesty as much as we do. Tell him the truth Angela, for I can see this comes from deep inside your soul. When you are ready, I will make an adjustment in your cycle."

***

Jane and Angel were out in the atrium, talking barely above a whisper, when Daniel arrived from his office; seeing just the two sitting there chatting, he didn't think much about it until he looked more closely at their expressions. These were two women trying to look 'normal', and failing, "What's the matter you two? Did Hal send another report I should know about; and where is Angie?" Angel tried to be nonchalant about getting caught, and tried the happy smile tactic; "Oh no Daniel, Hal hasn't sent anything at all; and you know he would if anything at all was going badly with the UN discussions; Angie is just talking with Father about something." Women always think they are masters of deception; especially when they are dealing with men, who they regard as generally 'less observant' than they are. Men usually let them get away with their little feminine secrets, since it is mostly innocent enough and something of a gender badge of honor to women. Daniel would have just brushed it off; except tiny little alarm bells began chiming in his head; "What is wrong with Angie; is she sick or something?"

"No my husband, I am not sick; I just had to ask Father some important questions first. Now I must ask you some even more important questions my love; for I don't know how you will react to my need." Angie walked up to Daniel and put her arms around him; planting a long passionate kiss on him, "Please come walk with me Daniel; we have to talk." Angie led Daniel out of their home, and out into the surrounding countryside; she explained that she had thought the transition from AI to a flesh and blood human was the most important achievement for her; but there was a tiny spark of doubt that had always whispered to her inner being, for Angie to 'feel' like she was a completely human female, she had to experience the one thing that they were naturally equipped for; or more bluntly, Angie had to know that she was capable of having babies, "That is why I was talking with Father Daniel; he explained that it would have been dishonorable to 'skimp' on anything for such a historic moment in time; so he went slightly further than normal in the genetic coding for our bodies, both Angel and I have DNA chains from all the Council races. Father said that we two are true representatives of the Council now. That is nice to know; but doesn't help with my own need, will you let me have our child Daniel?"

Daniel had dealt with many things in his life, but having a child was not one of them; having never been married before, it simply was not something he thought about. Most men thought about the here and now, not legacies and such things; he was thinking now though. He loved his three wives equally he thought; but there would always be something extra special about Angie, she had started this whole journey of discovery within him. Meeting Angie in his mind one afternoon had changed him; Angie had made him actually think about life, rather than just taking it for granted. She had taught him that life was very special; to be cared for and cherished. He had thought he was teaching Angie about life; but the reality was that she had been teaching him all along, through her craving to understand. Strangely enough right now, Daniel didn't think he 'owed' Angie this final step in her quest for life; it wasn't that simple. He found the idea pleasing; heck, he was beginning to 'want' a child. The only thing that held him back at all was the idea that he might not live long enough to see his 'kid' grow up; "Angie my precious, you are certain about this? There are an almost infinite amount of considerations to take into account; not the least of which is the fact I am an old man..."

Daniel half expected a somber and serious response from his Angie; he wasn't expecting her to laugh out loud. Here before him was the happy girl he had fallen in love with twelve years ago; giggling so hard she had tears in her eyes, "Oh Daniel my love, I have been certain since before I asked Father to allow me to become human; since I first realized that I loved you! But I should apologize Daniel; I did not explain in detail the 'Nanites' treatment I gave you that first night on the ship. You have not been old since that day; physically you are about 45 or 50 now, and your immune system has been enhanced. You now have the same cellular regeneration ability as the Old Ones have, and should live to at least 800 years; my husband, genetically speaking, you are a child compared to Father! Oh, I have already discussed this with Angel and Jane; and they whole heartedly approve of it." From far away Daniel heard a double echo in his head, <Yes we do!>, followed by the enthusiastic giggling he knew so well now...

***

The next few days were busy; Kendrisaan contributed to the task ahead by calling on one of the most renowned medical Doctors on Eridan; who promptly referred the family to a respected 'Birthing Counselor' named Deloran; the Council races had long ago replaced traditional births for more advanced and painless ways of having a child, but Angie was adamant that she 'experience' the full impact of the traditional way. Deloran laughed at Angie's choice of words, "Young lady, by the time you give birth you will be very tired of the 'impact' as you say; at first the effects on both your body and mood will become merely annoying. As the pregnancy progresses the physical strain will at times seem overwhelming; you will not be able to move around as easily as you are accustomed and simple tasks will suddenly become tall mountains to you. The actual birth will be somewhat painful, although we do have means to moderate that. Are you absolutely sure of your commitment Angela? Angie had never experienced real pain, other than stubbing her toe once or twice; Deloran had made it clear that giving birth could easily surpass that pain, but as she looked at her family she knew it would be worth it, "I want to do this; I must do it to be complete!"

Deloran stared at Angie for a moment, "I understand your motivation Angela; I know your full history and because of that will be focusing on your emotional stability. I have passively scanned you and physically you should not have any problems; even though you are a bit small in stature, your pelvic structure is well within the standards for safe birth. Are you and your husband insisting on traditional 'conception' as well? Suddenly Daniel found himself under the microscope, and he blushed. All three girls looked at each other and laughed; getting a raised eyebrow from Deloran, "Alright then, I will give you a dose of Nanites now to void the contraception; in about a week of scanning I should have a fertility calendar worked up for you. After that it is up to you..."

The Council of Sentient Races was very advanced in every scientific area, including medicine; people seldom if ever got sick at all, and when they did the illness was treated with little more fanfare than a common cold. Medicine had focused on prolonging the lifespan of every member, to the point that the average life expectancy throughout the 100,000 worlds hovered around 900 years now. If you used Earth as the measuring stick, you would think prolonging life would lead to a runaway birth rate, but it didn't work that way. Families were always planned; children were always wanted, and contraception ensured that. The people weren't prudes, and recreational sex was normal; they just weren't promiscuous about it. Young women received their dose of Nanites early on and cultural education took care of the rest. The one thing they never ever meddled with was a female's natural 'cycle of life'; while Medicine did reduce the effects and quantities associated with 'the monthlies', Doctors never eliminated the process; that would be an offence against Nature. So it was that Angie never even noticed it when the contraception was 'shut off'; the family didn't really change their 'routine' either, other than Angel and Jane did sleep in their own rooms more often for about a week; until Angie objected one day, "Oh come on guys, this isn't some religious ritual ya know!" They had a good laugh about that, and the routine went back to normal once more.

Being 'really advanced' doesn't necessarily mean you can't have a slight 'oops' once in a while; Kendrisaan's attention to detail in the genetic department did have one unforeseen result when he created Angie's body, including DNA chains from all the Senior Races actually made Angie, shall we say, 'extra fertile'. Deloran didn't intend to scan Angie routinely until after she conceived; so it was a bit of a surprise when Angie demonstrated she was pregnant just over two weeks later in a rather classic way; she got sick at breakfast and barely made it to the bathroom before breakfast became history. So much for a fertility calendar...enter the learning curve.

***

No one in the family had any experience with having children; both Kendrisaan and Daniel had been bachelors all their lives and were totally clueless with the concept. Jane had a glimmer, but her own childhood experiences with her parents did not help much in the 'loving family' arena; finally, Angie and Angel's unique heritage provided no preparation at all for child rearing. Deloran being the resident 'expert' suddenly found herself counseling five people at the same time in the intricacies of childbirth; six if you counted David, who started enthusiastically following Angie's every move all day every day. Her first session with them dealt exclusively with calming their own anxieties; Deloran gave it to them in plain language.

"You all need to relax; for the only problems I can see coming will originate inside your own minds. While natural childbirth is now somewhat unusual within our society, it still occurs; all races have been doing it for millions of years. Oldest One; Kendrisaan, you are the leader here and you interact with thousands of people every day. Treat your family as you would treat the Ambassadors from other planets; with firm but calm reassurance.

Jane; this is all new to you as well, but you also have a unique perspective on child care, for you grew up through those formative years; that experience will be invaluable later. Whatever happened during your early years, you have it to draw on; use it in a positive way.

Angel and Angela, you may think you have no reference at all in this coming adventure; but your own unique evolution is perhaps the best experience of all, for you are now intimately aware of just how amazing and fragile life really is. Use that struggle as your strength. Angela, you have the most important responsibility of all; for you carry another life within you now. As that life grows within you it will be essential that you take care of yourself. When the time comes, you will find that you need assistance for little things you took for granted before; do not be stubborn, and ask for that help. You have 9 months to prepare yourself for the magic day; now is when you should reinforce your determination, for later on the struggle will feel overwhelming. Finally, for all of you; just relax; believe it or not, your anxieties are normal. Don't let them rule you..."
Chapter 7

There were more of the counseling sessions; after about three months Angie was starting to feel the little back aches creeping into her daily activities, even though she didn't show the pregnancy much yet. For a while every one of the family felt empathic pains occasionally. Even Daniel thought old age was sneaking in on him again; but Deloran told him where he could put that idea. She didn't laugh, but the smirk she wore that day told the story. She had pretty much moved in, due in part to her dedication to natural births; the other half of the equation however had to do with the simple fact that Angie was unique in so many ways. Deloran wasn't about to let anything untoward happen to mar the addition of one more 'first evers' in the Curran family's long list of accomplishments. While Deloran did watch Angie like a hawk, she did give the woman her space to 'grow'.

Angel was most affected by Angie's condition; being linked closely together mentally, she felt almost every twitch that Angie did. At the six month marker, if Angie couldn't sleep she would go to the atrium and watch the stars for a while; it seldom took more than a minute for Angel to join her. Genetically identical twins do that sort of thing. One night Angie just blurted out, "Am I being foolish Angel? Is this all just to soothe my ego or something?

Angel smiled warmly at her sister, "Angie, Deloran warned us that the doubts would come; and here they are. I'm not much of a psychologist, but I do know you; we shared the same matrix for a very long time after all. You did what I could not; you took in all those emotions and feelings, and tried to puzzle them out. When we found Daniel he put all that in perspective for us; during that time together he explained what life was and how to deal with it, and you fell in love with him. I've never told you this; but I fell in love with him too; I didn't understand it at first, but when Father called us back to Eridan to testify before the Council I knew I couldn't stand the thought of being away from Daniel. That is why I asked to stay with you two; later, when I began to accept feelings, I realized it was something much more. We both love Daniel, but in different ways; part of you wanted to do this baby thing because of your love for him; but a bigger part of you needs to do it to know all this is real; a final step in accepting life by giving life to another. It isn't ego Sister, it is that final step. David is mine because he keeps me linked to the mathematical part of the Universe; and...what will you name him Angie, we already know he's a boy..."

***

The Name Game was on; the family bounced names around for a while, but half heartedly at best. Angie had said right away that she liked Kenneth as something of an honor of her Father Kendrisaan. Daniel had said it sounded fine to him, and Angel and Jane had loved it. The name had that formal sound to it, and it had a couple short variations that also sounded everyday 'nice'. Kendrisaan took to the idea fairly well; he liked it, but Kenneth sounded oddly familiar to him too; he was a scientist through and through, but he had dabbled in languages for a while. He couldn't place why this name perked his interest; so he called the Linguist at the Museum and asked him if it meant anything to him. The man pondered the request for a few hours; then came over to explain his conclusions. Kendrisaan called everyone together to hear the findings; and the man told them, "There are many words in all the Council Race's languages that sound similar, and mean different things; but there are two words in the Ancient language that when put together seems rather appropriate. The Ancient root word 'Caan' means 'the way', and the word 'netha' simply means 'ahead'; combined they become the common descriptive word 'pathfinder'. Given this family's history, ''Caan'netha' or Kenneth seems very appropriate for the child's name."

It was settled; all of them loved the name, and the Ancient connotation made it special to everyone. All of them had taken a new path thirteen years ago, even the Council, Kendrisaan realized. Over the centuries the Council Races had become somewhat stagnant, just muddling along with everyday boring details that didn't spark much interest usually. But then they had discovered Earth; and more importantly Daniel Curran. The merging of a ship's AI and a human had begun a transformation within the Council itself because of an unprecedented 'accident' of fate. The people were energized now; long held beliefs were changing, and new discoveries were popping up every year; people were 'involved' and that was a good thing. Now the birth of 'Kenneth' was going to add to the excitement. Kendrisaan had thought that Angie having Daniel's child was a private thing at first; but word had spread quickly and Ambassadors from many worlds were asking how Angie was doing now with her pregnancy. Kendrisaan always told them she was doing well; simply because medically she was coping with it, but Angie felt a little bit differently about that...as Kenneth's birth drew closer, frustration surfaced.

Angel, Jane and Daniel fawned over Angie every day; they had done that since day one when it wasn't even necessary. David popped in constantly too, asking if she needed anything. She could appreciate the attention now though; Angie always felt tired now going into the eighth month; sitting wasn't comfortable, and getting back up was a real chore most times; and don't even think about long walks through the countryside thank you. As she looked in the full length mirror in the family's bedroom Angie chuckled softly to herself; gone was the flat lightly muscled belly she remembered, replaced with a rounded hill sticking out, hiding a life inside her. Angie felt thankful that she didn't have the 'Ate a watermelon' look that some women had to endure; despite being small in stature, her child would be a bit on the small side too. That didn't help much with the discomfort she felt all the time now, "When will you be ready Kenny?"

As if in answer, Angie felt the little kicks from inside. She smiled at first; but then almost fell over as the first contraction assaulted her, and the little kicks became more frequent and noticeably stronger. Kenneth wanted out! David popped in right next to Angie, putting his arm around her, "Let's get you in bed; I called Deloran and she'll be right here. She's bringing her assistants just in case. Angie felt another spasm; this one was big, "Ow ow ow; tell her to hurry up, this hurts!"

Ten seconds after David did just that, four women 'poofed' right into the bedroom; and Deloran began issuing orders like a General, "Alright ladies, positions; get that dress off her and anything else in the way; Angie, I'm giving you a local shot to help ease the pain some; not to strong though, I want you participating when I tell you..." The needle stung, it was the first she had ever had. Deloran examined the now naked Angie and raised an eyebrow, "You are already fully dilated Angela, it's unusual; you didn't notice a change?" Angie managed a snarky laugh, "No, he just started kicking and then the muscle spasms followed; it isn't like I know how this is done ya know. OW!"

As Daniel Angel and Jane came running in from the atrium, Deloran played General once again, "Stop right there you three; go back to your atrium and wait patiently. This is a little unusual, but Angie is doing fine; I need my experienced helpers now, not amateurs; so go back and relax, this shouldn't take long. You too David; and thank you for the prompt call." And she threw in a smiled to let them know it was alright. Angie blew them a kiss between contractions, "I'll be ok guys; Deloran knows what she's doing."

The four 'outcasts' didn't talk much while they sat among the trees and ferns. David popped back into the ship to check up on updates and other things while he waited; twenty minutes later however Angel sat up straight with a pained expression on her face. Then she relaxed and smiled widely, "We have a new addition!" It took another anxious five minutes before one of the 'Helpers' strolled out with a smile for everyone, "You can go in now, we've got everything all cleaned up." She led them back into the bedroom where Angie was grinning from ear to ear; beside her was a small bundle with a pert nose sticking above the blanket. Kenneth Curran had arrived, and was sleeping. That changed however when Daniel bent down and kissed Angie slowly; Kenneth's eyes opened and he looked around, looking directly at each of them standing by the bed. Jane was the first to voice her confusion, "Deloran, I'm no expert but aren't baby's eyes supposed to kind of wander until they get control of them? Kenny is looking right at each of us in turn like he knows what he's doing." Deloran was about to reply when David popped back in, "Sorry to be late guys, but Hal sent a couple updates; both were positive and Earth is beginning to build ships again rather than weapons. He said...what the heck!" Kenny was staring at David with a grin on his face, and letting out a tiny baby giggle, "I can hear him without a channel! There aren't any words, just feelings. I think Kenny likes me."

Deloran finally got a word in, "It is possible he is empathic; probable even. It is a fairly common trait in all the people really; Daniel and Jane, I believe it is not unknown among your people either. Such a demonstration 30 minutes out of the womb is a bit unusual, but I wouldn't make too much of it. Projecting emotion is likewise nothing to worry about; I'm sure he will learn control as he grows, just be supportive and time will tell.

Time apparently decided to be rather talkative over the next few years, for Kenneth Curran provided several more hints that he was indeed a very special boy. He was crawling all over the floor before he was a full month old; and that developed into walking, if a bit unsteadily, at four months; looking for anything that peaked his interest; again, it was rather early but normal, so Angie and Daniel found they just had to keep eyes on him constantly. That never was a problem since the whole family tended to stay together most of the day every day, so there were at least four sets of eyes on Kenny at all times; six sets of eyes when Kendrisaan and David were there. Council business kept Kendrisaan pretty busy, but every spare minute he had was spent just enjoying his newest 'Grandson'; and David had things to do as Flight and Communications Coordinator for Daniel, Angel, Angie and Jane, even when he was on the ground. Kendrisaan made a point of telling David that Kenny's birth in no way diminished his love for David; and often reminded his electronic Grandson that 'the question' was always available to him when he wanted it badly enough. David laughed one day, and told Kendrisaan plainly, "Grandfather, I am perfectly content with my role in the family; I love all of you, but I love flying through the Universe just as much." Kendrisaan was reminded that not all AI's wanted to be flesh and blood humans; in fact, in the twelve years since they were given the option, less than one percent of AI's had even thought about it. It seemed that careers ranging from Starship Controllers, to Planetary Administrators were much more fun than 'merely' being human...none the less, David did take on an important task; biological humans had to sleep sometimes, and to sleep well they didn't need to be worrying about a young and very adventurous Kenny in the middle of the night. David didn't need sleep as such, so he kind of became the 'Night Nanny' for the young munchkin. If Kenny slept, cool; but if he decided to 'explore' in the dark, David was there to guide him away from potential dangers. Heck, Kenny loved being with David anyway, and listened to David's cautious tutoring; it didn't just work well, it was a perfect meeting of minds...that brought on another curious revelation; David knew Kenny listened to him, the munchkin would listen to whatever David said and not just the 'tone of voice'. Kenny seemed to understand David's words for their meaning; and that meant he was 'deciding' if he agreed with the words.

***

Even Deloran was surprised when Kenny started talking at six months; not just incoherent babbling either, but simple precise words, and by one year he could form complete sentences easily. He didn't talk much, but when he wanted something Kenny made it clear with one or two words; sometimes three if he was feeling generous that day. You see, Kenny didn't like to talk much; he told everyone that talking was too much trouble, it took away from thinking. That got Daniel's attention fast; for he had been much the same all his life, never wasting words. He would spend a lot of time thinking about a subject, form an opinion and then share his opinion in a few short sentences. It had served him rather well, and avoided wandering off topic through long debates over little things.

Daniel got Kenny the Council version of an 'Erector Set' on his third birthday, with not only beams and girder pieces but a fair number of electronic components as well; as he opened the box Daniel thought, <Ok Kenny, let's see what you want to make with this...> Kenny looked up at his Father and said, "Anything I want!"; and he grinned at Daniel. That little demonstration made one thing glaringly obvious to the Family; Kenneth Curran was not just an empath, he had been born with a natural ability to 'mind talk' with whoever he wanted to, no learning curve involved; he was telepathic as well as empathic; Kenny was 'tuned in'. David had a chat with Kenny that night about 'ethical behavior' in using his ability; 'snooping on people' was frowned upon he said, it just wasn't polite or honorable. If they invited you in some way it was fine; but 'listening in' to private thoughts was bad. David got a generous reply in response, "Know that isn't right. Mama said..." David had to think about that for a minute; it wasn't clear how Kenny had 'heard' Mama say it, but it was crystal clear that Kenny had his own sense of ethics and listening into Angie's thoughts was acceptable because she was...well, Mama. Kenny was learning from her, just as she had learned from Daniel; when David mentioned it the following morning, Angie Angel and Jane had a ball with the admission, and told Kenny they didn't mind him listening in to them; but he had to promise to ask if anything seemed confusing to him. Kenny grinned and said he would; then he looked straight at Daniel and uttered about the longest string of words yet, "Can I listen to you too Father? I looked once but you have many words I don't know; what is 'mechanic'?"

Daniel had thought surprises were something in the past for him; over the last 14 years now he had learned so many unusual and amazing things in Council culture, a lot of them truly exotic to a human from Earth. But come to think of it, Kenny had been born to, and was growing rapidly, in a super high tech society; he had no reference yet to a simpler 'mechanical' perspective. Council races didn't have any Mechanics; only scientists, philosophers, technicians, and horticulturists if you counted the people who thought of that Gardening as 'the simple life'. Daniel understood Kenny's problem however; it was his own learning curve in reverse, "Kenny, a mechanic basically takes machines apart and puts them back together again with new pieces; all while trying to understand the machines. You can listen to me anytime, and I'll help you see this world the way I see it, ok?" Kenny actually ran over and hugged Daniel, a wide smile on his face, "Great; you help me make things with the pieces in the box too?" The merging of two different cultures began all over again that morning...and so did a Father and Son become well acquainted with each other.
Chapter 8

One incontrovertible truth in the Universe is that if you rush things along you make mistakes; that premise applies whether it is a small young boy or a medium sized planet known as Earth. Daniel and his family let Kenny grow at his own pace; only requiring that he ask one of them for guidance if any tiny thing confused or bothered him. Virtually from day one, everyone knew Kenny was intelligent; smart even, so everyone encouraged Kenny to explore whatever he wanted to. In general it worked out pretty well and Kenny thrived; since he was interested in just about any subject at all, Kenny learned both the practical aspects as well as the philosophical points of everything he and his parents talked about. Yes; Kenny finally realized that mind talk was good for private conversations, but actual talking was better for group discussions. It was during one such group discussion that Kenny brought up a bit of a sore subject, "Can we go to Earth sometime Father? I would like to see 'our people'...

The innocuous question startled Daniel; and from the looks on Angie, Angel and Jane's faces, it had about the same effect on them too. Hal's reports had been encouraging over the last three years; Earth had gone back to a path of mutual cooperation rather than hostilities, and had once again looked outward to the stars. All the major countries had viable and reasonably reliable starships now, and were exploring all the solar system's planets more closely. President Monty Stanton had even sent a ship out to Proxima 'c' in an effort to get some of his top scientists back; 'USS Ranger' would arrive in about another month. While Daniel and family didn't have any 'invitation' or even official status yet back on Earth, they did have a standing invitation from their friends on 'Earth Minor' to visit whenever they wanted, "Son, that's a good idea. We don't have an invitation for Earth, but we could head over to Proxima and visit with Jay and his group; how would that be?" Kenny liked that idea, and when he just said "Cool!", everyone had to laugh; Angie whispered to Daniel using their private mind channel, "<Kenny takes after his Father Daniel, and I'm proud>" Kenneth Curran's fourth birthday was coming up at the end of the month, and this trip would be his present. All in all, this was a very good day; the old excitement was surfacing yet again in the Curran family. Even Kendrisaan approved of the jaunt when he got back from the latest meeting at the Council chamber.

***

Kenny was no stranger to space travel; Daniel had taken him along on several trips to Grallar to visit with Breen. Kenny loved the big bearlike Ambassador and reveled in the differences in culture he saw. The family had gone to the Tears of Isis waterfalls several times too, and Kenny had sat mesmerized for hours; doing what the sight was intended for, just relaxing and contemplating life in the Universe. He really loved traveling through the stars; giggling happily as he took in all the new places. One thing was missing however; none of their destinations so far required transiting through a gateway; so the girls decided that they should take the 'long way around' to visit Earth Minor, in order to prepare Kenny for even longer trips in the future. After stocking up once more on the necessary treats for their journey, David lifted off and headed for the first transit gate. It soon became apparent that Kenneth Curran was a true spaceman; he loved the sudden changes in star patterns that occurred when they moved through a gateway, but took the long trip in stride. It seemed as though Kenny had an innate ability to understand the vast distances involved and the long, sometimes boring transits to those next gates didn't bother him at all; he just focused on other things until they got there. He did find a new appreciation for how valuable the library of movies could be though; and watched them voraciously. Science Fiction was interesting to Kenny, but the family found out that Mystery and Suspense shows were his favorite genre. Jane asked him once why he thought Mystery was better than Science Fiction; and got what should have been an obvious reply, "I guess it's because we 'live' the Science Fiction everyday; but solving Mysteries is just 'cool'!" They all got a laugh out of that answer, simply because it really did define their lives together. What was even more important was the fact that Kenny seemed to understand that 'Science Fiction' was something unique to Earth's culture; while 'Mysteries' were ultimately universal.

The first gate out of Eridan space proved to Daniel that he had a very special son indeed; for when they transited through it Kenny's eyes went wide for a moment, and he said "Wow, cool!" as the stars did their magic shift in perspective. Nobody was sure when the boy had chosen that phrase to express himself, but it was all too obvious that Kenneth Curran was influenced by his Father and adopting Daniel's mannerisms. Angel and Jane couldn't stifle their giggles whenever Kenny said 'cool', and Angie just beamed with pride; a wide smile on her face...

As the Family transited the tenth gate on the outing David shifted course to line up for the Gateway into Earth's system; it was a simple maneuver of only a few degrees in the 'X,Y' plane and a few more in the down or 'Z' plane. The current system was one of the 'dead' ones, having few planets and absolutely no evidence of life at all; at least that was how the system was recorded. Kenny was playing with his 'erector set' on the floor of the common room; attempting to create a subspace radio with components that weren't exactly designed to work that way, when he sat bolt upright and stared at the big screen. Closing his eyes for a moment, Kenny scrunched his eyebrows together; then pointed at the far edge of the screen, "David! Go that way, I hear people, and they're scared."

Everyone was on their feet now as David popped in next to Daniel, "I don't have anything on long range scans yet Boss, but I'm heading in that direction. It must be out past the edge of this system to not show up at all; whatever it is. I'm getting no signals or power signatures yet." Unknowns always brought out Daniel's Military nature, "Alright David, you know the routine; we go in full stealth mode; but push the speed limit a bit." Daniel tried to give Kenny a proud fatherly smile, but wasn't very successful with a young boy who could tune into his feelings. Kenny did look up as Daniel ruffled his hair, "I know Father; they are cold and hungry, that's all they think about now. They think in a funny language but the feelings are clear."

Just over an hour later David piped up again, "I'm getting a faint signal now; probably battery backup on their beacon. No appreciable power signature though, but I'll have a visual in a minute. We're about 5 million miles away; here it comes." The screen changed to a maximum zoom shot of a small ship tumbling slowly and moving farther outward from this system. As David brought them closer, the resolution became clearer; here was an Earth starship that simply shouldn't be here. It was fairly small, not even as large as Star Quest had been; but it did have two pretty big engines plainly visible. As David swung around to the other side, a Chinese Flag came into view, "I'm going to stop that tumble slowly with our 'Tractor Beam' Boss, ok?" Daniel tried to chuckle at the choice of words but failed; he was watching too much TV, "You're in charge here David; do what you think necessary. How many onboard, and do they have any gravity?"

David paused for a few seconds before he spoke, "I have six heat signatures; all are pretty cold, but one is in the dangerous zone. Can I bring him over first? All of them need to warm up, but this one really needs it bad. There's minimal gravity, so they are all sitting on the deck plates; I think they're asleep, no one moves." Angie wasn't having any more delay, "David, reconfigure the cargo bay floor with cushions and make the temperature 10 degrees warmer than their atmosphere is now; we want to warm them up slowly once they are here, too much all at once could be worse for them. When you're ready bring them over gently; all of them at once, let's go everyone! Kenny, please stay here in the common room until I call you, ok?" The boy gave her a serious look, "Yes Mama, I understand."

Super technology is really useful most times; but in this case its usefulness was only good for getting the six people beamed over to the ship quickly. From there on it was back to the basics of just getting them warm. When they appeared in the cargo bay it was immediately clear which one was the worst off; she toppled over, barely moving when her shoulder hit the floor. David didn't need orders, and he poofed the woman to the 'sickbay' one deck up, "I'm going to concentrate on getting her stabilized; but I'll listen in if I need to translate. The temperature is rising at one degree per minute; that should be slow enough for the others to recover at their own pace."

The remaining five Chinese were openly staring at Daniel and the girls now; and still shivering some. The one with insignia on his collar spoke up suddenly, "Will Mei Li be alright Mr. Curran? I am Colonel Ang and I am in command of our ship; I have studied your background extensively, so I am familiar with some of the wonders you have here. Thank you for coming to our aid." Daniel was a bit amused by the Colonel's statement; it seemed that this man might know more about him than was general knowledge. He no longer minded the fame; at least not as much as he had at first, "Colonel, your crewman is in good hands; David may not have a formal degree, but he has more knowledge about medicine that anyone. David, how is the woman doing?"

Looking at Colonel Ang, David smiled, "Mei Li's core temperature is rising already Colonel, so that is a good sign. She has a little fluid in her lungs, which is the most concerning; it will take another hour or so to make sure the treatment is taking care of that, but she is stable right now. I gave her a small dose of Nanites Dad, to prevent pneumonia setting in, ok?" Daniel chuckled at David's choice of words, "You're the Doctor David; do whatever you think is best. Colonel, if you and your crew feel up to it we can move up to the 'lounge', where you'll feel much more comfortable than just sitting on the floor."

As the group slowly made their way to the common room, the Chinese were staring wide eyed at everything. The problem was simply that 'The Ship' didn't look like any starship they had ever seen; over the years Angie Angel and Jane had 'decorated' to make it more 'homey', and it showed. Colonel Ang finally said it out loud, "Mr. Curran, this is amazing; I feel like I am walking through a palace." Daniel laughed at that, "Yes Colonel, it does look a lot different from way back when we first met. At first the ship looked pretty plain and utilitarian; since then it has evolved into a reflection of our individual personalities. In either case, it does not look like our conception of what a starship 'should' look like. That is mostly because the Council technology doesn't show. You won't find any pipes, conduits or mechanical linkages anywhere; the ship just doesn't operate that way. The bridge is the only place onboard where you will see something more closely resembling what we normally think of."

If walking through the ship's passageways was enlightening for the Chinese, seeing the common room had them gawking again. Daniel and the girls had opted to keep the Ole English Pub motif; and it did remove any thought that they were out in deep space. Angel sat them down at the bar, and asked, "Gentlemen, you must be hungry and thirsty; what would you like to eat and drink?" It was a bit surprising that all but one of their guests opted for 'burgers and fries'; the lone holdout wanted a somewhat less substantial meal consisting of chicken nuggets with mustard sauce ala' 'Mickey D's'; everyone got a laugh out of that. They all settled for beer to wash it down.

Once the Chinese spacemen were comfortably munching away, Daniel couldn't hold back anymore, "Colonel, how did you get way out here anyway? This star system isn't even in the Milky Way Galaxy; it's in a globular cluster that isn't even big enough to be called a galaxy yet." Colonel Ang looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled in an almost apologetic way, "Mr. Curran, I admire your accomplishments, and I know you prize straight talk so I will be totally honest with you. The simple truth is we screwed up badly; my Government 'borrowed' some information from yours, a report on how to identify those gateways between star systems. Being competitive as we are, my government tasked my ship with finding the gate in our system; it should have been a fairly simple project, and it was. The report specified the frequency overlap that would make the distortion visible on our screens, and it worked just as expected. Once we had a clear image to target, I'm afraid we became a little over confident and traveled through the gateway to see where it led; that was when things began to go wrong. A single power spike fried most of our electronics and part of our engine control system. Our engineer here managed to stabilize the engine controls, but the electronics were dead and we were blind. After two weeks of attempting to find the gate by luck, our fuel mass ran out; the rest you know. Thank you again for finding us..."

Daniel would normally have been angry at the gross stupidity, but the Colonel had as much as admitted his part in the irresponsible 'experiment', "So Murphy's Law bit you in the ass. If there is one thing I've learned, it is that space travel is inherently dangerous; and the only way you can have a chance at success is to design multiple redundancy into your ships. This ship may be highly advanced, but the one reason it is safe is that every system has a dozen backups. That is something Earth countries have to learn still; to explore the Universe, you must adopt that absolute safety approach to avoid killing a lot of people. The principle is a million times more important than just a ship on the ocean on Earth; for out here you truly are on your own. It was sheer luck that we happened to be traveling through this system; it is not a normal route anymore." Daniel didn't mention that the only reason these people were alive now was the fact that his four year old son had a very special 'talent'; the real concern was that gate travel would not be a secret much longer, the Star Quest incident was apparently out of the bag now, "David, can you latch onto their ship; I think we can tow it back to Earth. Let's get a move on; we've been here long enough."

David chuckled, "Already done Boss; I'm lining up on the gate, it will be a slow transit with the extra mass." Everyone in the Curran family knew that the family jaunt for Kenny's benefit was turning into another 'show and tell' project for Earth; so much for a pleasant sightseeing trip...
Chapter 9

David let Hal know they were bringing back some wayward travelers; and Hal let the Chinese know their missing ship had been found. By the time the family arrived at Earth, depositing the Chinese ship in a safe orbit, the Premier had sent a thank you to Daniel and family; asking if the entire family would attend a State Dinner in their honor. Sensing an opportunity of sorts, the girls persuaded Daniel to accept the offer. The dinner evolved into an intense discussion on space travel safety and the importance of redundancy in starship design. The Chinese were already transitioning into a more democratic style of government; a slow process indeed, so the presentation was met with a general acceptance. The family held back from cautioning the group on rushing into gate travel; that was a subject that all countries had to hear at the same time. You simply could not stop the Earth people from trying; but they could point out that there were enormous stumbling blocks to be considered with such exploration, ship endurance and reliability being foremost on the list.

***

Things had changed for the better on Earth during the family's self imposed four year exile. For one thing there were many more Earth starships moving around the system; some exploring the outer planets up close, and others simply testing newer innovations in their ships. A happy change was that the different countries seemed to actually be collaborating on joint efforts for improving space travel and just getting along with each other. There would be suspicions and dissent for a long time to come yet, but for the first time in Earth history people spent time trying to understand themselves and their neighbors; hope was peeking over the horizon.

Setting up a meeting of the UN General Assembly turned out to be comically simple; Daniel called the UN President one day to ask for a chance to address them, only to be told, "Mr. Curran, we have been waiting for just that request for some time. Frankly, we were worried that you might be mad at us. Would next Tuesday be alright?" If that little surprise wasn't enough for Daniel, the first order of business when he arrived in the chamber did almost floor him; the Assembly voted unanimously that the office of 'Earth Ambassador is reinstated, and Daniel Curran be appointed Ambassador for life. When Daniel looked over at the UN President, all he got was a smirk and nod; he had finally returned the surprise of seeing Breen and Kriish for the first time.

Daniel had brought Angie Angel and Jane with him to assist in explaining the hazards of gateway travel; when he introduced the three to the assembly, they received a respectful standing ovation that had them smiling wide eyed. Daniel explained that gate travel was not the 'quick fix' that many seemed to think it was; for two simple reasons, "First off, regular travel between two stars is never a straight line and the distances involved require a very reliable starship. My friends from China can tell you from firsthand experience that a reliable and strong ship is essential before you go anywhere out there in space; so I would caution you all to perfect your starships first and take on space travel in short and measured steps.

The other reason that gate travel in not the panacea you hope for is even harder to explain; the gateways are not lined up neatly in a row. A gate takes you to one place and one place only; and it is often not the destination you want, it is a waypoint used to shorten the time it takes to get to your destination. Let us illustrate by showing you the transit to the Council's area of space..." So began the 'Rorschach Test' explanation of gate travel; it was exactly the same school call as they had given to a skeptical US President some ten years before, and appeared to have the same effect. Daniel had the girls place two points on the large easel that was brought in for the demonstration; one on each edge, and they drew a single line between the two points. Elapsed time between the two points, 200,000 years at light speed; then he had them put up the eleven transit points and drew the actual route, making sure they showed the two transits that actually went back past the starting point in the opposite direction. When they finished the entire route it was an elapsed time of 28 days...as expected, most of the assembly was shaking their heads. Daniel finished with, "So as you can see, gate travel is not a simple shortcut; even though it does cut down enormously on the travel time. Gate travel requires that you know 'where' 100,000 gates are, and where each one goes; it also requires being able to 'choose a route' to get where you want to go. The Council's Gate Catalog is simply a list of spacial coordinates, and it takes a very long mathematical equation to choose a route to your destination. Are there any questions?"

The family had a good laugh when they got back to the ship; for there was not a single question from the assembly. Their presentation had done its job quite well; Jane did bring up the one point that could derail the plan though, "I hope they don't find out that there really is a shortcut between Earth and the Council; if the Star Quest incident were to get out, the Shreela might find themselves 'invaded'." Daniel laughed hard at that, "It would serve them right you know. The little devils manipulated us for thousands of years! But even if an Earth starship did find that gate, it wouldn't help them much. The Shreela system is way out on the fringe of Council space after all. They wouldn't even know they were close. Speaking of the shortcut, let's head over to our original reason for the trip; I suddenly have an urge to play with an old friend."

***

Surprises seemed to be in plentiful supply; for when they arrived over 'Earth Minor' a day later there were two ships in orbit instead of one. The newcomer had US markings as well; but was a bit smaller than Salvation was. As they got closer, the ship hailed them, 'Unidentified ship, this is Earth Cruiser Halberd. State your intentions.' Daniel chuckled, "Put me on David...relax Halberd; this is Earth Protector One just paying a friendly visit to some old friends. I am Ambassador Curran, and now it's official again..."

Everybody knew of Daniel now, and it apparently startled the young man, 'Umm, yes sir Ambassador, please proceed. Our Captain is on planet with a small contingent.' Daniel smiled widely; 'a small contingent' suggested their Captain wasn't sure of his reception here, "Ok David, take us down; let's see what we shall see." David did just that with a bit of a flair, swooping over the settlement in a wide arc; then landing softly near what should still be Jay's cabin. About a hundred yards away was a shuttle with 'Halberd 1' painted on the side. The air stairs were barely on the ground when Jay walked out of the cabin and waved; followed shortly after by what could only be the Captain of the Halberd. He wasn't particularly imposing, being less than 6 feet tall and slim, but the bright uniform more than made up for that. The coverall was a bright dark blue, with shoulder boards attached in just the right place, showing the four gold stripes of command. He wore a ball cap with the obligatory 'scrambled eggs' on the bill, suggesting either a formal call on the colony or a man too full of himself. Either way, Daniel felt somewhat uneasy with the officer's looks, especially so when four burly guys walked out too and spread out on the cabin's porch; the uniforms screamed Marines. They carried no long guns, but each had a sidearm holstered at their sides; all stood at parade rest, barely moving.

Daniel led the way down the stairs, Kenny following closely behind; and holding onto Daniel's belt for stability on the stairs. Jay saw him and gave Daniel the most surprised look ever, "You still love to torment my sanity Dan; just who is this young man?" Daniel couldn't hold back a laugh as he hugged his friend; then he stepped back and brought Kenny forward. Angie stepped up beside them saying, "Jay Allencourt, may I present our son, Kenneth Curran!"

Jay's mouth fell open slowly; he knew the whole history of how Daniel and Angie had met. He knew how a 65 million year detour had caused a hyper intelligent AI to evolve into a living being with feelings and emotions...and fears; until she had found one Daniel Curran to help her truly live. Somehow it just felt right that Angie would want a child now that she was fully human. Jay took Angie in a big bear hug, kissing her lightly on the top of her head, "This is perfect Angie." Jay reached down to shake Kenny's hand, "I am pleased to meet you Kenneth; you may not know it, but I am proud to know your parents." Kenny giggled a bit before becoming serious, "I am honored to finally meet you Mr. Allencourt; I know all about you, Father lets me listen to his memories when I want to." Jay stood straight up and gave Daniel the old 'Alright, tell me what's going on here' look. Daniel just smiled saying, "Kenny's a special boy Jay; he has a couple of shall we say 'talents'. He is an empath and telepath; just two weeks ago it came in handy too, he saved a whole ship full of Chinese who got lost in space.

Kenny found he knew how to blush too, "Aww Father, I just told ya they were out there!" Jay laughed, but caught himself a moment later, "Where are my manners? Daniel; ladies, this gentleman is Captain Moulton, commanding the US Starship Halberd. He is here to 'convince' some of our people to return to Earth and join in with the research again. I've already given him the colony's answer from the meeting last night." The man had been standing at attention with something like an annoyed look on his face; but he managed a rather insincere smile, nodding at Daniel but ignoring the girls and Kenny. Daniel's unease began to simmer some more as the Captain said, "Mr. Allencourt; technically I could arrest all of you for stealing a multibillion dollar US Starship; but the President is willing to pardon your transgressions if you come back to help the space effort once again."

Daniel had been away from Earth's daily dealings for quite some time, but the man's name rang a bell, "Wait a minute; Moulton, any relation to a Seth Moulton of Moulton Enterprises, Inc?" Now the officer was plainly showing his annoyance, "Yes, he is my father; so what, the Salvation was and is the property of the United States." Now this made some sense; this guy wasn't here just out of some political or patriotic beliefs, he thought of the starship as his property too, "I would disagree with you on several points of order Captain; first of all, if I remember correctly Moulton Enterprises 'donated' all the money directly to the researchers, going to all the trouble of creating separate accounts under every researcher's name in fact. As I remember it, that move saved your father quite a bit in taxes too. Since the 'donations' were spent on constructing the Salvation, the researchers in fact 'own' the Salvation themselves; so there is no theft, as those same researchers used the Salvation to get here. Further, The US can make no claim of ownership, since to this day the government has never chartered the research organization as a branch of that government on paper. Since the government does not officially acknowledge the research department as an official branch of the government, they cannot claim ownership of a starship physically built by a nonexistent branch of government, and also built by civilians with their own funds...so why exactly are you here again Captain? I won't even mention that out here you fall under Interstellar Law and that by reinstating me the Earth has formally recognized that law. You might explain that little detail to Monty Stanton. Now, do you have any other official business out here? As Earth's official Ambassador to the Council, I not only have the right to know, you have the obligation to brief me on any mission details." The man was turning red in the face now, but he couldn't avoid telling Daniel what he wanted to know, "I've been ordered to find that gateway and scare the Greys a little bit."

It took all the willpower Daniel possessed to remain calm, "Are you serious? You would enter another race's sovereign space with gun ports open to 'intimidate' them? Just what part of 'Interstellar Law' is it that you do not understand Captain? Merely entering Shreelan space uninvited is considered a breach of the 'One Rule', unless it is due to an emergency; but your stated mission is a direct unprovoked attack on Shreelan sovereignty, and can be punishable with 'total isolation'. That means Earth could be, and probably would be, electronically prevented from even 'entering' space, let alone traveling through it. I doubt that Earth would be allowed to visit the moon again for a long time. So do yourself and Earth a favor and go home now! As you can see, this colony feels uncomfortable having you here. I want you to relay this message from me to President Stanton personally, the Shreela owe me personally for saving their asses not once but twice. You may have noticed that UFO Reports are way down in number; don't screw it up...now leave!"

At least the officer didn't waste time; five minutes later, after gathering his 'contingent', the shuttle took off. Daniel was angry, but he calmly told David to go into stealth mode and follow the cruiser, "I don't think he is stupid enough to do it David, but if he heads anywhere near the shortcut, you may disable his weapons and engines for a short while. Can you control how long he has to spend on getting moving again?" David chuckled in Daniel's mind, <Sure Boss, interrupting nuclear fusion is fairly easy really. Would thirty minutes each time be ok?> Daniel chuckled right back, "Ok David, but if he gets stubborn for more than three times give him a two hour dose, ok?" As David went invisible and lifted off, he got the last word in, <I love it when we have some fun.>

Three hours later a somewhat dejected David landed again; Captain Moulton had disappointed him by doing nothing other than setting course directly for Earth and accelerating briskly. Daniel just walked onboard to get his report started for the Council; while there was no official incident to report, the Council code of ethics did require that a potential incident be accounted for; such is the price of an honorable existence. As almost an afterthought, Daniel included a recording of the entire conversation he had with the Captain; just to accent the tensions involved with the interaction. David sent it off through the Shreelan gate; it would be read by the Council in as little time as tomorrow morning. They did; and two days later Daniel got the official assessment from the Council. Oddly, it did not come from Kendrisaan himself; but from the Head of the Security Section; in the usual formal language they stated, "The Earth Ambassador's actions are deemed consistent with the One Rule, and reflect the honor expected from all member societies." At the bottom of the screen two words were flashing 'Personal Message', so Daniel opened it. The image of the Security Head popped up; he smiled and simply said, "I like your style Mr. Curran; keep it up Sir..." Daniel found himself feeling better about the whole thing now; being important could often try your patience, but sometimes you could enjoy it too.
Chapter 10

Kenny had his fourth birthday on Earth Minor as planned; the whole colony went out of their way to make it special for him. The town square got decked out with all sorts of handmade decorations, and everyone just had fun. There were twenty children about the same age as Kenny, and they taught him how to be 'just a kid'. Growing up in the Council society did have one slight drawback; the people were mostly formal in everything they did, so seeing his 'cousins from Earth' in action probably did more for Kenny than all the formal education combined; Kenneth Curran found 'balance'. While puzzling out all the antics he was exposed to during that week, he learned a number of kids games; including probably one of the oldest known to man, 'tag'. Daniel and family were naturally protective with Kenny; but for a while they had a tough time keeping track of the munchkin as all the kids ran around the whole settlement trying to catch each other.

Inevitably, two weeks after their arrival the family headed back home. It wasn't a somber departure this time though; they would be back again whenever they could. These were friends you visited often, sharing ideas and opinions with them. When Daniel thought about it, life was pretty good. That feeling lasted four hours until they transited into the Shreelan system; there were usually 100 or more starships roaming around, but this time there were none. David scanned in all directions, but found not one ship. At first Daniel thought the Shreela might have been attacked after all; but there was no evidence of that. David told him, "The planet shows normal power output, so someone is home. I'm calling the Area Controller to find out what is going on."

The Area Controller wasn't much help, but did tell Daniel that their Ambassador wanted to talk with him if he was so inclined, "Would you please land at the Central Office complex Ambassador? I am notifying him that you are here." Curious, meet curious Daniel thought. In all the time they had interacted with humans, the Shreela had preferred video communications over face to face talks. The Shreelan Ambassador was something of an oddball for actually showing up in the Council Chamber occasionally; they were a skittish race by nature, and never ever asked you to land; until now. Daniel said as much, "David, take us down; this is becoming very weird behavior from these guys." So down they went; landing at the designated spot outside a rather plain but big building; the Shreela weren't much for decoration it seemed, for when a single Shreela met them at the door and led them inside, there weren't any decorations either. Daniel had the girls go in with him, more for a sense of familiarity; he was feeling pretty uneasy about this. It felt like walking into a cardboard box; was the whole planet like this?

***

Ambassador Drrk was waiting at his office door when they got there, "Ambassador Curran, thank you for coming; I have a lot I must tell you. Please, will you and your ladies come in? I have had human furniture installed for you." True to his word, there was a large couch and two recliners waiting in the otherwise Spartan office; other than that the room was empty except for a short crystal clear table with a computer screen on it and a short saddle looking chair behind it; which the Ambassador promptly sat on. Daniel and Angel tried out the two recliners while Angie and Jane took to the big couch; the raised eyebrows all around made it plain that they were comfortable. Daniel wasn't in a mood to delay however, "Ambassador Drrk, I must admit to being very confused by this; frankly, you do not normally invite people in to 'chat' like this, and after the Star Quest incident I truly am at a loss as to why you picked me to offer such a change in attitude. What is going on here; and by the way, where are all your ships?"

Drrk stared off into space for a minute, obviously deciding what to say and more importantly how to say it; the Shreela were known for being devious, and not always free with their information. They weren't liars, or they would not be admitted to the Council at all; but they didn't like telling the whole truth if they could avoid it. Kendrisaan had been very clear on that point way back when Daniel discussed it with his Father in Law. So he knew the Shreela didn't tell all, but what they told you could believe; that Drrk was struggling with talking at all told Daniel this meeting wasn't just any old casual chat, Daniel was about to give up on this meeting when Drrk turned abruptly, "What I must tell you all is difficult; my race has always felt like we were alone, for we are not like any other race we have ever encountered. The only similarity with your race Mr. Curran is that we are all bipeds with one head, two arms and two legs; other than that we are totally different. We do not eat the same, live the same or even procreate the same way; of all the other 'humanoid races', the Shreela are the only ones who exist on only one planet in only one star system. When we found Earth humans, we actually thought we had found another race that was isolated just as we were; that was why we began observations of your planet Mr. Curran, we hoped we had found kindred spirits, even if we look nothing alike.

Alas, it was not to prove true; for one of our scientists broke every ethical rule we live by and physically experimented on several people of Earth. While we condemned that scientist to total isolation for the rest of his life, the results of his studies proved that your race is just as human as any other of the known races; except ours. My culture's dearest hope is that we might find others of our kind, so that we no longer need to feel like outsiders. Two months ago one of our ships was lost out in the area known as the 'Anchor'. They returned three weeks ago; they found others like us Ambassador! That is where all our ships are, searching that whole sector of space; they are not exactly like us, but close enough; and they are willing to discuss possible relations between our species, will you help us Mr. Curran?"

Daniel had had plenty of surprises in his life; but this topped them all with the Ambassador's last six words, "Ambassador Drrk, I am at a loss here; how could I possibly help you negotiate relations with an unknown race that is similar to your own? I would think that you have the edge in such discussions." With no real way to express emotions, Drrk still managed to convey utter shock, "Oh my; I have neglected to mention the most important part; you see Ambassador, they requested you by name to head the negotiations, I don't know why. It seems they have known your people for a very long time."

The old saw 'You could have heard a pin drop' would have been appropriate except for one thing; Daniel heard two gasps. Angie and Angel looked at each other, whispering "The Watchers." Daniel would get a stiff neck if his head kept snapping back and forth; "Who the hell are the Watchers! Angie looked down for a minute, but Angel spoke up, "It's an ancient legend from almost every race in the Council; there were numerous reports of ghost ships appearing momentarily, then vanishing. It has always been considered imaginary; except while Angie and I were waiting on the moon there were three times that our drones malfunctioned for as much as a day at a time. The first one was just under two million years ago, when homo sapiens became the dominant species on Earth; one drone got a snapshot of a huge starship hovering over the Persian Gulf region before it stopped transmitting, David can show it to you when we go back.

Drrk touched the screen in front of him and turned it around toward them, "This is the ship that rescued ours and repaired it before sending it back to us; it was only a partial shot, but you could see the ship was large and rounded, with a large dome roughly in the middle of the upper surface. Angie's jaw dropped open, "It isn't the same one certainly, but the shape and size seem close." By now Daniel was totally wound up; ancient ghost ships roaming the Universe was just weird, but as he thought about it one thing seemed clear. Whoever this mysterious race was, they seemed benign enough; and they had helped and repaired a stranded Shreelan ship in the age old maritime code of conduct. He looked at the girls; each one gave him a tiny nod, "Alright Ambassador, I will buy into this; when will you need me and my family?"

Ambassador Drrk shivered all over; apparently their way of expressing emotions, "You have a saying among your kind Ambassador. You just made my day; this is an important step for my race, to finally find other peoples who are like us is a big thing for the Shreela. I will contact our senior ship in the Expanse and have them ask for the meeting; I will message you when we have the details set up. My race thanks you Mr. Curran..."

There were a lot of lively discussions in the common room on the trip back to Eridan; Angie started it off, "We don't even know for sure who these people are husband, but they know of you; it makes me edgy simply because they are out where we didn't think there were very many star systems at all, please show the universe map David and focus from the Anchor point." The big globe of galaxies appeared, then swiveled around and zoomed in on the Anchor point; beyond the three star systems that formed the Anchor there was a fairly large emptiness before a series of distant visible galaxies showed up. Within the empty void were 6 small dots; David explained, "Those are the six visited star systems; all are barren, having no atmospheres or evidence that there was ever life there. Other than those systems, none others have ever been found Boss; I suppose one of those distant galaxies could be where they're from, but they are very very far away and no known gates in that direction. Very curious..."

Daniel was thinking of an odd theme that had showed up in several movies over the years, and an episode on his favorite TV Show. He started walking around the scene for a better perspective; "David, the positions of those stars look oddly symmetrical; how distant from each other are they?" David got a deep thinking look on his face for over a minute, then looked surprised, "That is really odd; all the stars are almost exactly the same distance from each other in each relative direction. If I draw lines between opposing stars like this..." Three lines appeared; intersecting in a single point within them. Daniel laughed out loud, "Reminds me of an episode I saw on TV! I think we know where we will be going." Jane started giggling hysterically, "Yes indeed, all we have to do is follow the 'Clues'."

By the time David and Family arrived at Eridan space, the bizarre turn of events was well known throughout Council space; not only had Ambassador Drrk transmitted his message to the Lead Ship in the clear for anyone to see, he had filed a full report to the Oldest One himself. Kendrisaan was waiting outside his home when they landed, a very wide smile on his face, "Ahh, the famous Curran Family returns; the name is well known throughout the entire Universe it seems!" As they walked into the atrium Daniel was shaking his head, "Aww come on Kendrisaan, there must still be somewhere that doesn't know of us." They both laughed at the absurdity of the accolade, but Kendrisaan turned serious for a moment, "None the less Daniel, this offer from a previously unknown race that have remained unseen for so long does present some interesting questions that will need to be answered. No one sees this as any crisis, but more of an opportunity to expand our knowledge and circle of friends so to speak. These new people appear at least as advanced as we are, possibly a bit more; Ambassador Drrk was quite clear on that point. What was seen by the crew of that stranded ship suggests that these people are benign in their intentions; they were allowed to wander freely for a month, were never questioned at all, and were treated seemingly like long lost brothers. Your formal meeting with them will therefore be quite enlightening; I admit to being anxious to learn the details of the meeting."

The new kids on the block didn't like wasting time apparently; they sent back a detailed proposal two days later. It was addressed to The Council of Sentient Races directly; and to Shreelan Ambassador Drrk and Earth Ambassador Daniel Curran as 'specified participants', and the requested date was a two weeks away to allow for travel time. Daniel was still uneasy about being included at all; so he asked Kendrisaan plainly, "Why are they so insistent that I be there; I mean this whole thing is about the Shreela, not Earth!"

Kendrisaan laughed, but turned serious a moment later, "Daniel, like it or not you are a player now, and have been for quite a while. I can only speculate on why they consider you important; there could be several reasons for it, but the most obvious to me is from a cultural perspective. If they are in fact 'The Watchers' of our legends, then they have been observing all of us in the Council for millennia. The why of it I can't even guess at, but Earth's people are the youngest race of all, and your phenomenal evolution would be of immense interest to any older race; one of your Earth sayings I like applies here, 'It ain't natural'. That is only one possibility; another is that while the Council has had relations with the Shreela for thousands of years, Earth has had some shall we say 'volatile' interactions with the Shreela recently. They may simply be curious as to how you treat their Brothers and...well, they don't have Sisters."

The droll humor helped; Daniel laughed out loud and the girls giggled. Jane couldn't stand it, she had to ask, "That is strange, how do they have baby Shreela?" The innocence of her question had Kendrisaan howling with laughter for a minute before he calmed himself, "Jane, you will never see a baby Shreela, they procreate when they feel the urge; and not all of them do so. Basically, the Shreela have special rooms available when there is a need for them; one Shreelan walks in, and two Shreela walk back out after about an hour. I have been told it is a fairly violent affair called 'Fission' by your scientists." Jane was wide eyed, "That's no fun!" All of the family got a good laugh out of the oblique reference to more 'pleasurable' activities...
Chapter 11

One of the oddest things about the formal message was that it wasn't particularly formal at all. Reading it, Daniel got the feeling of a letter to a long lost Brother or something like that; the Shreela weren't even the focus of the letter, but more like one of many players. The feelings of confusion intensified when Daniel opened the personal message addressed to him; it simply wished Daniel and his Family a pleasant journey and that the official was looking forward to talking with him. Then the surprise bomb went off; She asked Daniel to ask Kendrisaan if he would consent to meet with him as well, it was signed 'Delia, Empress for the People'. Apparently this woman ruled over the whole planet.

When Kendrisaan read that he raised an eyebrow, "The title indicates they probably have a different form of governing certainly; that such a high official wants to talk with me suggests it is much more than just two similar races wanting to know each other. I admit I am intrigued now; I'll let my deputy know I will be away for a while...the Family headed out two days later to meet the Shreelan Ambassador; he had chosen to make the trip in his own ship. The trip was boring right from the start for Daniel; he had seen Shreelan space all too often for his liking, and the weeklong trip to the gate that would instantly take them to Shreela was boring normally anyway. Once they got there, David made friends with the Shreelan AI, agreed on the Shreela taking the lead; and they were off again, on a course to the mysterious star systems deep within the void.

If boredom was bothering Daniel before, the inky darkness preyed on everyone when they left the 'outer rim' of Anchor Stars' behind; suddenly there were no reference points to indicate they were moving at all. Even at maximum magnification the six tiny stars they were shooting for looked like a single microscopic point on an otherwise totally black common room screen. Kendrisaan himself was having difficulty, "This is disconcerting; it is the first time I can appreciate how truly vast the Universe is. My ancestors did not know of the Gates that we use so casually now; the long journey from Shanaar must have been terrifying for them."

David's projection laughed tentatively, "I understand the feeling now Grandfather; the emptiness is so overpowering that I am using the ancient technique of 'Inertial Navigation' to maintain a reference between where we were and our destination. Disconcerting is a very good word..." The girls laughed at that admission; Kenny even looked up with a wide smile, "Can we watch movies? It will help..." And it did; the Family found a new use for the video library. Grade triple 'Z' cult movies provided the necessary distraction for this trip through nothingness.

***

On the fifth day David popped into the common room to announce, "We have been contacted; there is a ship pacing us about 100,000 miles away on the port side, their AI says he'll go visible in a moment." Five seconds later the black nothing diminished slightly when a huge ship appeared on the screen; just like the photo they had seen, the ship was a big round 'Flying Saucer', complete with the rounded dome shapes on top and bottom of the main body of the Starship. It had to be at least a mile in diameter; allowing plenty of room for crew and passengers. David chuckled, " This AI is called 'Legas' and he is pretty chatty; he's talking to both of us and if he's any indication, then these people are pretty open and don't hide things. He says we will be at the 'Conference Planet' tomorrow morning."

Anxiety and vague suspicions had dominated the entire trip out to this historic meeting of minds; with only an innocuous invitation from a previously unknown society speculation had been rampant in their discussions. Now that the Family was close, those anxieties were replaced by cautious enthusiasm; there simply was no hint of ulterior motivation in either the invitation or the mystery race's conduct so far. In fact David made it very clear when he informed everyone, "Legas is just friendly guys; he answers any question promptly. The only thing he won't talk about is their history; he says that is for the Empress to tell you, and I can't fault him for that! By the way, we will be there in an hour; we are slowing to planetary speed now."

They had already passed the outer stars in this region and were inside the perimeter when a really big planet suddenly appeared on the screen, startling all of them. Angie blurted out, "God! They can cloak an entire planet!" Kenny giggled and looked up from his latest creation from the erector set, "I knew they were there Mama, could 'feel' em." Kendrisaan smiled at the boy, "Coulda' told us youngster." Kenny smiled back, and resumed his building something only he understood.

This planet was as big as Jupiter, but looked nothing like it. In fact it looked more like a 'Super Earth', having green vegetation all over its surface, except where these people wanted cities; and they wanted a lot of cities, for they dotted the planet in all directions. While there were fairly small buildings in some places, the enormous crystal spires dominated each city; it was strange yet beautiful all at once. There were twenty of the big round saucer ships orbiting as well; as they passed those Legas gave David and the Shreela AI coordinates to the largest spire on the entire planet. At its base it must have covered 1000 acres and rose 100,000 feet into their upper atmosphere; near the top a big hangar door slid open and a voice said, "Please land inside; there will be transportation waiting for you. The 'Seniors' await your arrival."

When 'new things' are thrust toward you, surprises are the order of the day; Daniel knew that premise from way back when his life had changed in dramatic ways. This time however, all of them, including Kendrisaan, were experiencing the feeling of astonishment. Everything they were seeing was brand new to the Family; and quite likely Ambassador Drrk as well. Yet, in just the same way it had felt strange at first, Daniel knew it also had an odd familiarity to it as well, "This is definitely new territory, but it doesn't quite inspire the awe I was expecting." Angel laughed, "I remember the expression on your face when we first met Husband; I do believe you are completely 'assimilated' now." Even Kendrisaan laughed heartily at the reference; it did loosen everyone up a bit.

Thankfully, when David and the Shreelan ship entered the immense hangar, the inside of the spire took on a more recognizable appearance. There were conventional structural beams and columns placed in the expected positions to keep the structure standing upright. The two ships parked on their lighted designated spots, and both extended their stairs. A few moments later two strange looking vehicles approached and stopped at the stairs of each ship. Drrk had brought six others with him and they all sat in their air car, while the whole Family got into theirs; then both cars smoothly turned around and sped off toward the way they had come. It only took a couple of minutes to travel down two ramps to lower floors before the cars stopped at a decorated door. The doors opened and opened inward on their own. Everyone walked through into what looked like a large conference room, modestly decorated in what looked like murals of different landscapes; and there they were. Standing before a large circle of couches and chairs were seven 'people'...

The word 'people' describes any intelligent and sentient beings really, and many groups had simply called themselves 'The People' throughout history; Daniel had settled upon that philosophy long before he had ever met Angie one day long ago. People didn't have to think alike, or have the same opinions on different subjects; and they certainly didn't have to look alike, Earth was proof of that concept since that world's diversity in looks was as well known as the Council's peoples. All that was well and good; right up until the moment they walked through those doors and saw characters straight out of every Hollywood Science Fiction movie ever made. Everyone, including the Shreela, stopped in shock. Of all of them, Kenny was the only one who didn't seem startled; in fact, as they got within about five feet of the group, Kenny looked up at Daniel, then walked straight up to the tall ancient looking woman standing in the center and reached out to shake her hand, "We are pleased to meet you Empress." Angie was about to grab her son, but the woman smiled and bent down to take Kenny's hand in hers, I am pleased to meet you too young one; I believe you are called Kenneth are you not?" His eyes widened some and he said, "Yes Ma'am, but you can call me Kenny if you want to." The Empress laughed out loud, "Then I will call you Kenny, thank you." Then she looked at the rest of the Family, "Please, all of you be seated and I will introduce the Seniors of our culture. We do prefer informal discussions here so be at ease." Daniel whispered to Kendrisaan, "Didn't need me here; Kenny has everything under control." The man nodded, "It would appear so; this is not what I was expecting."

Angie Angel and Jane certainly were caught off guard by the friendly welcome; everyone had their own expectations based solely on speculations of 'what might be'. The reality of the last few minutes screamed to all of them that speculations were worthless thoughts. The Empress began the introductions with the young man on her right. He was bright green in color and had somewhat Asian eyes; other than the color he appeared the most human of this group, except he couldn't be more than four feet tall, "This is my deputy 'Rilled' and his people are specialists in science and philosophy; this gentleman on my left is Grolen and his people are experts in farming, food production and botany; they are Masters in plant genetics. That seemed odd to Daniel, for the big guy could have doubled for the 'Hulk'; he was bulky, well muscled and quite tall. His skin was a rosy pink in color; Daniel considered the man more suited to peacekeeping or wrestling. He was wrong, for the next one down the left side couldn't decide if he wanted to be human or an insect; Delia introduced him as 'Gerrel', and said his race were the 'Peacekeepers'. He had small multifaceted eyes that always seemed to stare at you, on an otherwise human face; normal hands and legs, and was very thin. Daniel was thankful the man didn't have mandibles; it would have been a bit creepy.

The last one on the left was also tall; he had a grey skin tone and had vertical amber stripes all over his face. He also had a cone shaped head, and Daniel had to mentally slap himself before he smirked. His people specialized in knowledge and were the teachers and archivists; the Empress called them 'Keepers of the Past', and his name was 'Preese'. The last two on the right were 'Quilaan' and 'Nadaan'; and both were the closest to humans of the group except for the distinctly yellow cast in the complexion department. Quilaan's people were the astrophysicists and Nadaan's were the 'Healers'.

Kendrisaan spoke up after the introductions, "You know us already Empress, the invitation made that clear; I must say it is a good thing that you have such a large planet to hold all the races. It must get crowded sometimes with so many people." Delia looked shocked for a moment, but smiled widely just after, "Oh my, I have given you the wrong impression. This planet was created as a meeting place for all the races to address each other's concerns in a neutral setting; much like your Council does; we all live in the galaxies on the other side of this void. It might help if I give you a bit of history to help understand; and please call me Delia Kendrisaan, Empress is a title only; much like yours is as Oldest One. We operate as a republic really; but before I begin, Ambassador Drrk I can see you are uncomfortable. I must apologize, our eighth 'Senior' representative was called away due to a small crisis that required her attention; Dllic should be back shortly to put your mind at ease; she is quite persuasive..."

Daniel knew what was coming before the Shreelan even started shivering; his eyes actually seemed to get larger, "She??" Delia could see this was a bit delicate, "Yes Ambassador, the Krellad race is much like your people, but there are still differences. Be calm Ambassador Drrk, all of us have things to learn about each other. The Krellad are our ship builders , engineers and explorers by the way; they crew all our starships and are highly respected.

Delia's words seemed to quell Drrk's shivering fit; it was obvious though that the poor guy would have some serious thinking to do in the near future. Delia began again, "Our history goes back in time as far as your Council's races do; and we have progressed at much the same rate as you did, with a few differences. Possibly the most important is that our culture has never experienced wars; or any serious conflict at all for that matter. When we found that we were not alone in the Universe, we feared the violence we saw, and chose to remain hidden from such tendencies. That choice influenced our technological development; while our levels of technology are similar, the paths we took are rather different. Being a cautious people by nature, we developed cloaking technology very early so that we could remain undetected and still monitor you. Over the millennia we have observed the Council's area of space periodically; and we were encouraged when your peoples slowly adopted peaceful existence over conflicts and violence. Over the last ten million years there have been suggestions that we finally 'reveal' ourselves to the rest of the Universe, but it has only been recently that we have actively moved toward relations..." She stopped suddenly and looked at Kenny, "Yes Kenny, but ask your question out loud; it is impolite to use the talent when there are others present who do not have it."

Kenny nodded and smiled, "There aren't any gates here; how do you get around? It must take forever to get anywhere." Delia laughed out loud, "Ahh, a very good question young Kenny; I should have mentioned that before. It took a long time to solve that problem; much longer than the cloaking technology, and our early explorers suffered for it. Basically we create 'tunnels' to where we wish to go; it is a rather complex process, but convenient for long distance travel. While they operate something like the gateways do; the tunnels are only short duration. Your ships have been given the design and engineering specifications to review should you wish to pursue it for use by your people."

***

There were other bombs of knowledge exploding during their remaining discussions; but none were anywhere near as shocking as that one profound revelation. Since they were 'The Watchers', this new group of races knew more about the Council's peoples than the Council knew about them. As they talked back and forth it became clear that these people didn't appear to have any sinister or suspicious motives at all; they seemed to be experiencing their own version of 'openness', and truly did simply want to integrate with the rest of the Universe after hiding for millennia.

Dllic finally did arrive and Drrk got his first look at a female version of the Shreela. She was taller, but except for some differences in skin tone and manner of dress she was recognizably similar to his race. Dllic convinced Drrk to accompany her back to her ship to discuss more personal details of their racial differences. They took a shuttle up to the ship; these people didn't use 'Beam me up' technology, preferring the old fashioned method instead. They did use it, but only for transferring supplies and equipment. The Family didn't see Drrk again until late the next day; and when he did show up he was pretty much back to his old self; even acting a bit pompous for his race arranging this conference. Kendrisaan was amused by the change in attitude. Apparently Dllic was very persuasive indeed...

Everyone in the Family ultimately felt a bit unnerved by the discussions by the end of the second day; they had all thought the initial meeting would be formal, but what they got felt more like a fireside chat on a camping trip. Daniel found it more uncomfortable than the others, simply because with all the chatting and exchanges of information it still wasn't clear to him why he had been invited; and he said as much in the common room, "All this has been fun and informative certainly Kendrisaan; I initially felt like I had fallen into a Hollywood movie, but frankly these first negotiations if you can call them that could have been accomplished if they just invited you to discuss their proposal. I kind of feel like a fifth wheel here; Earth has no part in this yet, and not for a long time really, so I'd like your thoughts on just why they requested me."

Kendrisaan nodded sagely, but he did smirk, "I have wondered the same thing, but not quite from the same perspective Daniel. I admit I was perplexed by how informal this has been; you would think that a merging of races would be monumental at some level, yet we have been treated as next door neighbors who are not spoken to often, but decide they want to start. It is disconcerting at first, but oddly comforting in a way. As to why you were specifically requested, I cannot even guess." Kenny giggled behind him; when Daniel looked over at his son, Kenny lowered his head and smirked in a perfect 'guilty as sin' way and he said, "They are ready Empress Delia."

Angel Angie and Jane had been staring at the image of the huge hangar on the screen as if it would change shape at any moment; but all three heads snapped around to stare at Kenny, who was now staring off into space. Daniel said softly, "Alright munchkin, what are you holding out on?" Kenny looked at Angie, "I didn't do nothin' wrong Mama, she asked me to tell her when it was time. She wants to know if it is alright for her to come here to talk privately; is it ok Grandfather?"

Kendrisaan looked wide eyed at his Grandson; then at Daniel, who shrugged, "Tell her it is alright Kenny; when should we expect her?" Kenny clapped his hands together and laughed, "Cool, I really like her. David, can you find her? She wants to try 'poofing'; she is in her room behind the meeting room we were in." David paused for a moment; then said "Got her, and she's standing still." A moment later Delia was standing in front of the screen wearing a red dress with intricate flowery designs woven into it, "Hmm, an interesting experience; and no sensations at all. We may have to weave this pleasant method of travel into our society after all. Oldest One, Ambassador Curran and Ladies, thank you for having me; I wanted to explain one or two things that might have been confusing you about us; and I wanted to do it in a private way to fill in some of the gaps that an official setting cannot really address. I place no restrictions on telling you this Kendrisaan; it is likely you have similar ancient records. Also, this story should put your mind at ease Daniel; part of it involves you and Earth."
Chapter 12

You only live: Twice!

The story Delia told was rather bizarre; yet it was intriguing at the same time. It took all night for Delia to tell it, and then to discuss the implications; the only one who got any sleep was Kenny, who 'pooped out' two hours into it. Delia mentioned the most bizarre fact first; the people in this sector of the Universe, who didn't even name their society, had always known of each other's races even before they had ventured out into space; the ancient records said so, "No matter which set of old records we examined, it was always the same; often the records would mention another race by name, so it was rather puzzling that we all knew of each other before we had the opportunity to find each other. I suspect you think there are only eight races here because we are all you have seen, but there are currently 30,000 worlds. We eight are merely the representatives who are chosen to guide the people."

Daniel didn't think it was odd; all of Earth's ancient societies had legends of 'visitors from the stars', and they made up names for them. It was no big deal really...then he saw the mystery; Delia wasn't talking about one world creating legends and then making up names to call them. This was 30,000 different planets in different star systems; all knowing what the other guys called 'themselves' before they ever got together. That was odd; so Daniel stayed quiet and listened some more.

Delia talked for hours about how they had developed space flight and how they had discovered each other again. The 'reunification' not only confirmed what was written in the old records, it inspired a new desire to find more about their origins. One revelation warned them to 'Watch for The Others'; rather vague, but enough to warrant developing their cloaking technology it seemed. 'Tunneling' tech was borne out of necessity too, as they explored farther and farther outward throughout the galaxies; it was two billion years ago that they found the Council races, or what would become the Council. Once again they found the reason for the old writings; and the ancient warning. The Watchers, as they came to be known' found thousands of races struggling with wars and conflicts that countered every belief their culture possessed; and they adopted a 'wait and see' approach to the discovery. That matched the beginnings of the 'Watcher' legends that surfaced among the Council's races; hundreds of sightings were reported over the centuries, reports of seeing a strange huge ship for short durations, only to have it disappear moments later. "When the violence began to subside 8 million years ago and your Council of Planets idea started to take hold, we were encouraged Kendrisaan; but it was still too early for us to make the offer, so we continued our observations; and found some other curious things. A number of the very oldest writings we possess appear to suggest that our peoples did not originate in this Universe, but another one; and so did your people...they are all hand written fragments, not even whole documents; so they are not conclusive proof, but collectively they do point to a different history for all of us."

There was something of a riot in the common room for a minute; all three girls were trying to ask questions at the same time, and Daniel was trying to figure out what he wanted to ask, when Kendrisaan stood and took charge, "Please, quiet everyone; David, would you put up the known Universe display please? Strip it to just the galaxies as they are now." The big globe of the known universe appeared; with the numerous known galaxies in their respective places as whitish clouds. David had added extra galaxies to one side where their rescue encounter with Bethaan and her people; the addition of those extra galaxies tended to make the display look a bit lopsided. Still, it did provide an approximation of where the Old Ones had originated.

Empress Delia looked at the display for a second and said, "David, please link with the planet AI and ask for the Navigation Archive projection? We have a similar display of the known galaxies on our side of space; it might help with this." David focused his attention to that task for over five minutes before a whole addition showed on the display. Now the Anchor point showed as blue and the additional galaxies were in a beige color. David explained, "I had to reduce the aspect ratio but this is where everything is right now."

Kendrisaan moved closer to the Anchor; the void was pronounced now, suggesting that it might have been an intentional barrier between both cultures at first, "Alright David, move it backwards in time slowly at a steady pace to where we estimate this Universe started. Let's see what happens." As the millions of galaxies began moving, Kendrisaan sat back down; slowly the 'Great Void' opened up again. As it grew the Universe no longer looked like a big donut; with the additions it started looking more like a squiggly hour glass, with the Council's half tapering into a tail at the Anchor. Likewise, the 'Watcher's smaller void grew smaller and smaller, until it disappeared, the 'tail' touching the Anchor point at the 14 billion year mark; and it stopped...

Everyone just stared at the display for a minute; then Jane got up and looked closely at the three stars that made up the Anchor, "Look at this; the Council tail breaks off into two tails, pointing at two of the stars. The Watcher's tail points at the third star; it's almost like three kids had three spray cans and were spraying graffiti in opposite directions." The analogy had everyone gawking at the display; Kendrisaan was just shaking his head, and the three girls were wide eyed. Daniel tilted his own head slightly and said, "Or three Gods. David, can you tell where the Milky Way galaxy is in all that?" David looked thoughtful for a moment; then the display quickly expanded until he found the galaxy. He changed the color to yellow, and back the display went to 14 billion years in the past. Now the huge galaxy was little more than a dot barely out of the Anchor point. Daniel chuckled to himself for a moment, "Now I can fully understand why you called it the 'Badlands' Kendrisaan; one of the biggest Galaxies there is, and it was last out of the gate. All of the Council galaxies got those super elements and there weren't any left for mine."

Kendrisaan laughed and the girls smiled; Angel put voice to the obvious problem, "Well that certainly confirms your theory Delia, but it doesn't account for people. Somehow I can't believe all the different races simply held on to their planets while they were racing into another Universe from such small Gateways; we know gates will expand to most any size, but that would have been a violent migration of matter all at one time." Delia did laugh, catching the irony of the statement, "Yes Angel, this moving display supports half of our theory; a migration of people must have happened sometime later. Our oldest scraps of writings make references many times to the 'First Home'; I am guessing, but I suspect that means the first Universe. Nothing we have found mentions 'how' we got here though; so I am at a loss to explain that part of the equation."

By now Daniel was having fun; it had been some time now since he had a good puzzle to solve, and he began laughing, "We may never know the how of it; but maybe there is a way to figure out 'where' the people were when they got here. Angie told me way back when that the ship's matrix contained all the histories of every race in the Council; David, can you consult all that information and back track all the different races movements among the galaxies over on this side? We already know where the Oldest Ones began 13 billion years ago from both the metal planet and the broken one and that's a good beginning; maybe the rest of the races movements will help us understand this puzzle better."

David's projection got wide eyed and his mouth fell open, "You really do like to torture me sometimes Boss but I do like challenges; this will take some time, some of them used oral histories too so the final 'guess' may be a little short on precision. You all may want to get some sleep, 100,000 races is going to take all night I expect." No one needed more coaxing than that; Delia asked David to have Kenny tell her when they were ready to continue, then 'poofed' back to her quarters. The Family just went to their beds and fell in; there was no hint of any other activities, sleep ruled...

Puzzles in general can be fun to put together; you find the pieces that fit together to reveal a picture. Every puzzle box has a 'cheat' included to help you a little bit, a picture of the finished puzzle. Even with that picture it isn't always 'easy' to put it together though; and when you don't know what the finished puzzle is supposed to look like, solving it can be downright hard, if not really frustrating. This puzzle David was trying to put together was a bit of both when he sifted through 100,000 individual society's histories; no matter how he tried to merge the information he seemed to 'lose pieces' along the way. Being a precise thinker that he was, David found out how distracting frustration could be; finally he let out an electronic sigh and woke the family up asking Kenny to 'call' the Empress.

When Delia arrived they all got comfortable and David began his presentation. Rather than put 100,000 individual colored dots up, David showed a large cyan colored 'blob' to illustrate where all the Council races were located in the current Universe. While it did not look the same as the explorations 'insect' blob; it still did look quite randomly spread out along the higher elements cone. David explained what happened as the display began to move once again, "At first nothing much happened because most everyone has been settled for a long time now; but at about 4 billion years things begin to get interesting." At first it was just that tiny gaps started showing up as populations migrated backwards from star systems within different galaxies; but then at 5 billion years whole galaxies lost their populations in this retrograde exodus, all while the Universe slowly contracted toward the Anchor point.

At just under 8 billion years the blob broke up completely into hundreds of smaller ones; and those began moving at a pretty good clip, some toward each other and others moving away, "This is right in the middle of the 'great wars'; it's the most violent time in all the people's histories. Watch what happens next though..." At nine billion years the hundreds of civilizations began winking out, one after the other, until there were only eleven left; all clustered together on the Council side of the Great Void; then David stopped it momentarily, "Boss, it's going to get even weirder in a minute." The display started moving again, and at 10 billion years one of the dots broke off and moved across the void and settled next to one other dot that had never moved at all, "That is a representation of what we know about Shanaar now; the broken planet and the metal one."

Then suddenly the ten remaining dots simply winked out; leaving only the Old Ones race as two dots. Bethaan's was still there; at close to 14 billion years those two dots winked out too, and the Universe was back to when it started. Everyone in the common room was just staring at the display; until Jane whispered "Wow, we never showed that one before. It sure throws that TV series about the Universe way out of whack, doesn't it." Kendrisaan laughed loudly at that, "Jane, it throws 'all' known theories out the window. Shown this way, it suggests we all exist because we were the 'seeds' for this new Universe. It could not have happened in a single day; or even single millennia even. Delia, I suspect that if you do a population display like this, it will show a similar occurrence; it would tend to confirm at least part of your legends." Delia chuckled lightly, "I think I will have that done; this morning has indeed been enlightening."

Daniel hadn't been thinking much about why he was here; this little exercise in solving puzzles really perked him up. He smiled, "So I'm here to solve puzzles; I like that, and meeting new people has never been more enjoyable than these last three days; I thank you for inviting me Delia." The Empress looked truly shocked for the first time since they all had met, "Oh Daniel, I really do have to apologize; I invited you because you intrigue me. Your Earth is very important because of its rapid evolution certainly; it is one of only three star systems that have produced sentient intelligence spontaneously throughout this universe, and the only one that is advancing their knowledge at such a fast pace. We have watched your world for many years but it was you yourself who really caught our attention. One of our many legends involves someone appearing one day who would bring stability and unity to all people. Daniel Curran, I read the first report to the Council; it was sent on an open channel. That is when we began observing you personally; your conduct with Angela, Angel and Jane; and then your interactions with the Council convince me that you are the one we have all waited for. Perhaps it is an old woman's wishful thinking, but you do impress me young man, and I did want to meet you. Now I do have duties to attend to; David, would you please?" Delia stood, and a few moments later disappeared.

Daniel knew what was coming once the Family was alone again; he had always been uncomfortable receiving praise during his life, but he knew now that his three girls were proud of him and loved to tease him mercilessly about some things. This was no different; for the moment they were just Family again, all three broke out in giggles and applauded him loudly. Kendrisaan joined in with his own smirk, telling Daniel, "See? I told you years ago that you are more important than you think you are; and Delia just proved it." Things settled down for a moment, until Kenny felt the urge to chime in with, "Daddy's special too; cool!" He had three 'mothers' chasing him around the common room right afterward...
Chapter 13

The Family headed back home on the fourth day; Delia made a point of hosting a dinner in their honor, serving carefully selected dishes that reflected the diversity of their foods. They found that food was food pretty much wherever you traveled, but the different flavors could really surprise and delight the palate; late in the evening David lifted off and exited the huge hangar with his charges relaxing in the common room. The Shreelan ship had departed earlier that morning, having begged off from the dinner; he said he had many things to discuss with his 'First Born'. Daniel suspected the little devils had benefitted the most from this new 'encounter'; Drrk had suggested that his race was faced with a major attitude adjustment in the near future.

Daniel hadn't thought much about this new 'tunneling' trick that just might replace the gateways; but now that they were on their way back he began wondering just how it was supposed to work, David, have you reviewed the tunnel specs yet?" David popped into the common room to reply, "Yes Boss, I've gone through all the data; it is extensive and uses similar algorithms like we already use for our 'engines'." Daniel laughed at the colloquial Earth term; Council starships didn't have 'engines' in the conventional sense, or even a dedicated compartment you could call an engine room. Angie had told him early on that the Council's idea of propulsion was to 'tickle' space itself, and was built into the whole fabric of the ship. The analogy did help keep the far out technology in perspective though, "Are you kidding? Are you saying all you have to do is adjust a few equations and you could do it?"

David actually looked more shocked than Daniel had ever seen him, "Oh no Boss! It is a way more complex calculation than that; you have to know the spacial coordinates for the exit point before you start and it must be in wide open space; the Watchers use tunnels routinely. Of course they have been doing it for a very long time and know all the tricks, but a whole large section of the write up is dedicated to things you never ever do with tunnels. One of the warnings that is repeated often is that tunnels can only be used in open space; never close to a star. The 'red line' is two light years, but they recommend three for safety. The tunnels operate similar to gates, but where the gates actually help link the Universe together, tunnels are more like temporary bridges across a large river. I'm still analyzing this and running simulations; but my first impression is that it can be very useful because it doesn't depend on fixed points like gate travel does. At the very least, using tunnels in between gate transits would cut way down on the time for longer trips." Daniel was properly chastised by the 'non physics' physics lesson; he chuckled, thinking to himself, 'Well, you did ask for that one; so much for simplistic solutions!'

***

For two more days David pondered the tunnel controversy; it was a controversy for one simple but very real reason, 'empty space' was not really empty. There was always that tiny, microscopic even, chance that you could run into something on the other side of a gateway or tunnel; the ship had found that out the hard way almost sixteen years ago when it had run right into the wandering wormhole that started this whole journey of discovery for so many people. Of all the irrefutable facts that occupied the 'Uh Oh List' in the Universe, Murphy's Law had always been at the very top. It was for that reason that all Council ships now routinely did two things when transiting any gateway; they slowed way down to planetary speeds before moving through one, and they sent a drone through first to do a 'quick scan' of the space around the exit point. You waited the five or ten seconds for the drone's radio message back telling you if it was safe to transit...or not.

The Curran Family was watching yet another movie to allay the boredom when David popped in, "I'd like to try a short tunnel to a point ten light years from Shreelan space; a tunnel stays open for just short of twenty seven seconds, so using a safety drone gives us plenty of time for a transit. Can I do it Boss, please?" Daniel looked at each of his family members in turn, and got 5 'What the heck' shrugs in return; even Kenny looked up from the movie, "Sounds good to me!" That got chuckles all around, and Daniel said, "If you're absolutely certain of the preparations David, go ahead." The movie paused and the screen shifted to the inky blackness of the void; distant galaxies showing as small wispy clouds. When the tunnel appeared a moment later Daniel had to laugh despite the anxiety; they might as well have been watching another Hollywood movie, for the darn thing did look like a tunnel tapering off in a straight line into the distance. A drone shot into the mouth and disappeared; and 8 seconds later David said "All clear", as they entered the tunnel. Just like a gate transit, suddenly the familiar stars were all around them; Daniel let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, "Wow! That was certainly different." After transiting through the Shreelan gate, and feeling more confident after the first experiment; the Family knocked off two more days on the trip back to Eridan, with the same result.

Kendrisaan was finding himself in a unique situation; he normally 'received' reports from everybody else, but now he was in the hot seat. He wrote a report to the full Council, detailing the new 'friends' all of the assembly would be dealing with from now on. As the Oldest One, Kendrisaan offered his own personal impressions of the new acquaintances, but made certain to stay away from any official judgment of the potential this encounter suggested; not only was it too soon for such things, every member race needed to form their own opinions before ever bringing it up for a full assembly vote. It was a long report...

Separately, Kendrisaan wrote a 'scientific paper' for all his scientist peers regarding this new 'Tunnel Travel' concept. He had thought it would be easier than the Council report; but by the time he finished expressing his own assessment and cautions, that report was every bit as long as the official one was. The task took him a week to complete.

Daniel and Drrk weren't off the hook either; for they both had to file their own official reports detailing every minute of the historic encounter from their own perspective. Drrk was back on Shreela, explaining to the First Born that their race was not truly alone anymore. The Krellad were not the same as the Shreela; but they were genetically similar enough for Drrk to consider them cousins at least. The biggest cultural adjustment would be accepting that the Krellad had two genders, where the Shreela had none. Being somewhat used to dealing with 100,000 other races that did have two genders, it might not be too difficult. Jane, Angel and Angie were the only ones who didn't have anything to do when they got back home; and Kenny of course. So they turned to the one activity they knew best; they had some fun...

On their second week back, the girls took Kenny to the 'Shanaar Museum'; none of them had ever been there, so it was interesting in a 'brand new territory' kind of way. It was a big building; it had to be to hold all the remnants of the ship that had brought the people to Eridan a billion years before. The ship had made it into orbit and several shuttles had brought the people down to the planet; one of the shuttles was displayed in rather pristine condition for being that old, so they went through it on a mini tour and found the space suits. There were six of them, in several colors, and all were bulky. Jane pushed the narrator button on the console, and it told them that the suits were used to cannibalize the ship for resources to use on the surface, "These look a lot like the suits the first Astronauts used in early flights into space on Earth. Kind of ironic I think..."

When they came to the personal diary they had found on that distant planet years ago, it was a bit of a somber moment remembering the sad story it contained. The little book was just sitting on an open pedestal with a written explanation of the contents. That it was displayed openly suggested that the curator was inviting people to touch the history and honor it; so Kenny reach up and did just that, touching the cover lightly; and froze for a moment with a vacant look on his face. He looked up at Angie a moment later, "Mama, the 'Truth Stone' is there; can we go get it?" It was time for unusual to meet up with weird; all three of his mothers had treated Kenny's talents as simply normal for him, and it had even proven amusing a couple times. Once it had been life saving too; a very good benefit indeed. Angel asked, "Kenny, how do you know that?" The boy just screwed up his features a bit and thought about it for a second, "I dunno; I don't hear her, but I kinda feel how sad she is."

Museum time was obviously over; so they headed back home to tell Daniel and Kendrisaan that they had a Son and Grandson who had some kind of psychic connection to a woman who had died a billion years before. As they all expected, the news was met with the wide eyes and dropped jaws. Kendrisaan recovered first, "Good boy Kenny; do you know what this 'Truth Stone' is?" Kenny just shook his head; Daniel, however, finally found his voice again, "I'm proud of you Son; well, it looks like we're going on an adventure again. Want to go with us Kendrisaan?" The man actually looked sad, "Of course I want to go! Unfortunately it is too soon after finding the Watchers; I doubt it will be more than another day before I will have to begin dealing with the riot that will cause in the chamber. Just be safe on this journey; and don't you even think of using the tunnels David, we must thoroughly research that before using it casually. David popped in just then, "I understand Grandfather; I was not planning to even try on this trip; the stars are a little crowded over in that area."

After a few hours restocking their treats, Daniel and Family began one more quest; this one with a great deal of honor and respect attached to it. Twelve days later they were orbiting the planet where an entire colony of Shanaarans had lived and died. David asked the obvious question, "Where do you want to start Boss; the shuttles, the caves or somewhere in between?" Daniel chuckled, knowing this could be a long search since they had no idea what exactly they were looking for, "I guess we start with the caves; that's where the diary was found."

They looked; and then they looked again. The woman's cave was searched centimeter by centimeter, only to find nothing other than what they already knew was there; a stone table and a stone chair with what remained of the woman, dust and tiny fragments of fabric. So they moved to other caves; and then spread out and searched more caves. By the time it got dark on the second day, all 100 caves had been searched multiple times and everyone felt their muscles aching; even Kenny. They had started toward the shuttle remains, when he had stopped short at fifty yards, "It isn't this way." As they headed back, Jane sat down on a moss covered flat rock to rest for a minute; the others laughed, but they sat down too on other rocks. Kenny thought about it for a minute, then decided sitting might be 'cool' after all; he was closest to Jane, so sat down beside her. A big grin appeared and Kenny started giggling hysterically, "We're sitting on it!"

It took a while, but the moss finally was removed from the flat rock; it was pretty thick but tore off in patches. Underneath the covering was...nothing; there wasn't any writing etched into the stone, no symbols or designs of any kind, just the rather smooth surface of a Granite like stone. Angie knelt down and looked at the surface more closely, "Look! There is a crack here in the middle." She rubbed at it with her fingers, following it around until it met itself again in a perfect square. Angel jogged back to the ship and came back again a minute later with a small crowbar. Daniel worked around the crack several times until the 'plug' jiggled a bit; little by little the plug lifted out to reveal a small, rather ornate metal box in the cavity. Daniel stared at the little box as Angie reached in and picked it up, "Let's take it back to the common room."

***

All eyes were on the box when Angie opened it; inside was a pretty but rather simple necklace. The chain was gold; and dangling from it was a round shield of gold with a deep blue gem in the center, also rounded but mostly flat with no facets at all. They all looked at it, until Jane reached in and picked the necklace up; she straightened out the chain and flipped the shield over. On the solid gold back were lines of tiny weird symbols that filled the whole surface, "I don't think any of us know what they mean; here Kenny, you found it. You want to wear it for a bit?" Kenny grinned and nodded; as Jane slipped the chain over the boy's head the shield touched his chest...Kenny's eyes went wide and his mouth fell open for a few seconds; then he whispered, "Wow! Cool..." That scared Jane so she took the necklace back off quickly; Kenny looked up at her, "Aww what you do that for Mama Jane, those movies were fun!"

Daniel was getting freaked out, "What is going on here; we came all the way out here to find a movie projector? Jane, put it on and tell us what you see." She nodded and put it on; Jane looked around, shifted position some, even squinted, but shrugged, "Nothing. Here Daniel, you try it." She slipped the necklace over his head; Daniel waited for thirty seconds with a frown on his face, "Maybe it's broke; I got nothing..." Angel was looking just as frustrated as Daniel by now, "Let me try it husband; this is bizarre." As she put the necklace on, her eyes went just as wide as Kenny's did, "Holy you know what! Cool indeed, there are pyramids all over the place. Huge ones at least ten times bigger than Egypt, and brand new looking." Angel stood up and turned all the way around, "This is truly bizarre. There is sand all around; I'm in a huge crowd and people are talking, it sounds like the Ancient tongue but different too. As I turn the scene shifts; it's like I'm inside someone looking out...oh my, there are tall crystal spires in the distance; way bigger than the Watcher's are, and the sky is rose colored not blue. I feel hot too, like I'm right there Daniel; it's just like a Hollywood movie, but trust me; no Hollywood producer ever created this!"

There was still one who hadn't worn the necklace; and Angie was staring wide eyed at Angel, "Should I try it Angel? Do you think it is safe?" As Angel took the necklace off she smiled, "Don't worry Sis, you know you're right here all the time; you don't lose control or anything. It just feels like you are inside somebody else, and somewhere else it is so real."

Angie took the necklace and stared at it for a moment; she was anxious, but then smiled and put it on quickly. Her eyes went wide now, "Wow is right! I'm seeing the same scene I think; and it is quite hot...now the sky is turning a bright red and it's getting hotter." Angie turned her head and her jaw fell open for a second, "Everyone is milling around, sweating heavily; there must a million people out here. Someone is calling me and gesturing at me to hurry up; she is wearing one of these necklaces too and is made up just like Bethaan was; classic Egyptian High Born!"

Angie continued the narration for another few minutes; then stopped suddenly, her eyes going wide again, "Oh my God, there are two huge glowing orbs descending toward us! The woman grabbed my hand and is dragging me toward them, yelling at me. It's strange, but as we get closer to the one we are running to, it is getting cooler; the orb is right above the sand now, and people are disappearing into it. Damn! Now she is screaming..." Suddenly Angie pulled the necklace off, a frightened look on her face; she shivered for a moment, before saying in a whisper, "I couldn't understand what she was yelling at me; none of the words were anything I've heard before, but she called me by name...Isis!" Everyone was quiet now; even Kenny understood how important the word was. He said softly, "Mother of worlds." Daniel had had enough for today, this was too creepy for him; "Crank up the engines David; we go home..." All of them stayed close together that night as David set course back to Eridan; there was a lot of hugging for no other reason than feeling safe and secure. They all knew they had stumbled onto something that was important; just how important they wouldn't know until they talked with someone who might...
Chapter 14

Kendrisaan took one look at the necklace and called the curator at the museum once again, "I don't know much about it, other than there weren't any of these around anymore; but Careen will." The Curator wasted no time arriving either; he beamed over less than five minutes later carrying several old books, real books. After observing the usual formalities of greeting, Daniel showed Careen the necklace; the man smiled, "A 'Dream Stone'; I have only seen images of the one we once had here on Eridan. It was taken by 'The Chosen' when they left the people. They are said to be a link to 'The Old Time'; please tell me about the visions you experienced?"

Angie and Angel told him about the weird videos they saw for an hour; Careen grilled them on every little detail of the scenes, including feeling the heat. He even asked Kenny about his short vision; finally he sighed, "Apparently you three are descendents of the priestesses who came from 'The Old Time'; we had always thought that it referred to the time before the cataclysm that destroyed Shanaar, but your visions seem to indicate that the legends meant something much farther in the past and some 'place' very different. When we lost all our history on Shanaar, all we had were these three books; one of our earliest historians spent his life compiling all the oral histories of the original settlers here on Eridan; some of those mention the Dream Stones as relics from before we were brought to this Universe. There were three priestesses who made the journey from the Other Time; see the inscription on the back of this one in the image? That symbol there is the name 'Imentet' and that Dream Stone was hers; now look at the one you found, on the back is the symbol for Isis, so this one was her possession. The third priestess was called 'Hathor'; I don't know if we will ever find her Dream Stone, for it is possible that her descendent never left Shanaar on one of the seven starships. Only time can answer that question. In any case I am pretty sure that you, Angel and Angie, are genetically related to one; or possibly all three original priestesses or the Dream Stone would not react to your wearing it, and your Son as well."

Daniel looked at Kendrisaan, who merely cocked an eyebrow back; "The museum should have this necklace to display along with the diary; it was probably Beshaal's necklace anyway Careen." The curator smiled, "Your offer is appreciated Daniel, and I will accept of course; but for now I would ask that you retain it and perhaps Angel, Angela and Kenneth will consent to wear it some more to see if it will display other scenes as well; if you feel comfortable with that experiment?" Kenny was all for that idea; Angel and Angie scrunched their eyebrows together for a moment before Angie said, "Well, as long as the physical sensations don't become dangerous I suppose we can do that; we watch each other though..."

The Dream Stone did give up many more secrets of a daily life on a planet in a Universe rather different from the one the Family was sitting in now; some scenes were short, often thirty minutes in duration; while others were all day affairs, walking all over the surface and through the many passages within the immense pyramids. Those seemed to be religious constructs where long rituals were performed in large chambers built into the stone constructs; it was apparent from the start that this was a recorded account of someone's life, for it was always from Isis' perspective.

It was not all desert landscape either, since some of the scenes were near or in the great crystal cities too; there were large parks with meandering pathways surrounded by strange trees and vegetation, including weird flowers. It was definitely 'someplace else". David found it impossible to 'tap in' to the recordings; so they depended on detailed descriptions from Angie, Angel and Kenny. Careen found it most useful to have a child's perspective, for Kenny saw tiny details that his 'Mothers' sometimes missed.

One thing became fairly clear after a month of watching this mesmerizing 'show' was that the first scene they had witnessed was the last moments of existence in this 'place'; all the other scenes appeared from earlier times when the climate was distinctly milder. When the scene came around again Angel watched it all the way through; when Isis reached the huge orb she felt chilly and seemed to be 'absorbed' into it. Then the recording simply faded away and stopped; apparently the stone was not allowed to record inside the big glowing starship, or whatever it was. Either way, Angel thought this would be a repeat of what she had already seen, so she started reaching up to take the necklace off; when the recording brightened again, showing a different place entirely. Where there had been plenty of daytime scenes already, there had never been a sun in the sky; here there was one, and Angel somehow knew she was in this Universe now. Angie and Daniel had been watching Angel watching this weird TV show for a while, but they both saw Angel's eyes go wide and heard her gasp. Angie grabbed Angel's arm, "What's wrong Angel; you look white as a ghost..." Angel managed a smile after a moment, "You have got to see this Sister! It wasn't a 'seeding' Daniel, it was a migration."

Angie took over the 'duties' as she put on the necklace; and began dictating her observations to David, it had become the standard for resurrecting a previously lost history of the people. While it was only a history of the 'Old Ones' origins certainly, it still did tend to lend credibility to the Watcher's version of evolution in this Universe. Daniel didn't mind really, one way or the other; he already knew that Earth's people 'did' originate in this one. They had been watched doing it; Kendrisaan, on the other hand, 'did' mind; he was actually getting frustrated that he couldn't focus on the investigations into the Truth Stone, or Dream Stone if you preferred it. The discovery that the Watchers actually existed and wanted to initiate more formal relations with the Council was important business of course; but many of the questions put forward so far were almost petty in nature. That thought made him laugh; in a profound way it was exactly the same issue the Earth was struggling with right now, and it eased his mind. Kendrisaan would accept David's transcripts of the information uncovered by his family; he had official business to take care of.

One thing that the Dream Stone revealed was that all three of the priestesses had made it to the 'New Home'; simply because Isis talked with both Imentet and Hathor often. However long their lives lasted would not be apparent from just this one source; it was just random snippets of one woman's life; but the tableau playing out for the Family did suggest it must have been a long life, for it did show her death...

Angie and Angel had watched Isis slowly grow older; more accurately they had watched her reflection grow older whenever she had looked in a highly polished mirror occasionally. How long that was simply wasn't clear; it wasn't like there was a clock or calendar on the wall, they didn't use those to measure time; not even a sundial. But the buildings erected during her life hinted that it was quite a while; stone construction does take a long time when you do it by hand, Angel made a rough 'guesstimate' around 200 years. When Isis did make the journey, she did it humbly and quietly; as a lady.

Angel was 'on duty' with the Dream Stone; describing all that she saw, when the image shifted to yet another view. Now she was looking at the ceiling, watching an attendant approach with a pillow; as the attendant lifted Isis' head and placed the pillow , view changed to half ceiling and the doorway, with six people entering; the six took up station at the foot of the bed, Imentet and what had to be her guard, Hathor and hers, all older. The last two were a younger guard and an even younger woman, barely out of her teens. Isis said something to the girl, and gestured with her hand to come closer; when the girl was close, Isis said three words which could only have been something like "Claim the Stone", for the girl reached down and unfastened the necklace...and the vision went dark; but only for a few seconds. The view brightened again, but from a new perspective, looking down at the frail old woman known as Isis. The old woman said something profound that included the girl's name...'Amunet', and smiled; then she simply closed her eyes and died...

***

Angie and Angel took the next two days off, just to reflect on what they knew now. There was no crying or anything sad like that; Daniel pretty much understood what the two were going through, he had experienced his fair share of loss over the years; he told Jane, "They just spent two months watching a woman's whole life through her eyes; it is only natural that they feel some sadness with the end of that story." Kenny looked up from the floor, "They aren't sad Father; they are proud!" Daniel had to smile at his Son; leave it to an empath to know what others are feeling.

When they reunited Angel and Angie were their normal happy selves again; Daniel Jane and Kenny were showered with hugs and kisses for a while, which didn't bother any of them. Angie summed up their attitude, "It was quite an experience to live someone else's life through their own eyes. Think of it though, those people had lived in a moderate to high tech society somewhere else; and were suddenly thrust back into the Stone Age here; they survived because of their beliefs and determination. We think the Dream Stones were created not to just record a single person, but an entire society; the simple passing ceremony backs that up. I think the stone probably contains many more lives too; heck, it may have even recorded us using it too, who knows. Anyway, it is for someone else to look further into Amunet's life; and those after her. We are going to give it to Career now and let him handle any further research."

Kendrisaan had had enough 'Council Time' too; he showed up at home that night and declared he was on a weeklong vacation. The girls teamed up to help 'Father' relax, and David popped in to tell Kendrisaan that the entire transcript was in his office computer whenever he wanted to read through it; he laughed for a moment, "Good! Now 'that' will be relaxing for me; no bickering Ambassadors!" For the moment the Family was back in the groove...

While the 'Truth Stone', 'Dream Stone', or whichever you prefer, helped the Council Races better understand themselves; it did absolutely nothing for Earth; in fact, Hal had not sent an update in over two months now, so Daniel considered sending a query to the young AI; 'considered' for all of three seconds anyway. He laughed at himself; he no longer needed an invite to pop in, he was now 'Ambassador for Life' after all. Daniel asked the girls and Kenny, "Anybody want to visit Earth, and maybe some friends nearby?" He got four enthusiastic replies; this was a space going Family, and just sitting at home was not their 'shtick'; so after letting Kendrisaan in on their intentions, Daniel and his trusty 'crew' headed out the next morning.
Chapter 15

Going through Shreelan space was pretty much back to the normal routine too; except that in addition to the hundred or so Shreelan ships hanging around, there was also a rather large and round Flying Saucer orbiting the planet. Daniel couldn't resist the comment, "Looks like the Greys are on their first date; I hope the Krellad have a good influence on them." They went through the shortcut 15 minutes later; and into a rather populated Proxima 'c' space. Rather than one starship orbiting, namely Salvation, there were three; one of which was Hal, so David promptly called him. When David was close enough, Hal popped over to the common room, and to very curious stares from Daniel and the girls; "Now don't jump to conclusions Boss, this was sorta prearranged and I just played go between, carrying messages and such."

You simply don't grill an insecure AI who has trouble with self confidence; Daniel knew that, so he chose to go with the calm cool and diplomatic persona, "Ok Hal, just give me the details buddy." Hal told them that two of the Southern European countries had an overcrowding problem, and began shopping around for ways to ease that problem by asking their population for volunteers to move somewhere else. They got the volunteers, 800 families, but they didn't have another country willing to take them; they petitioned the UN, and the UN President being the smart man he was, immediately thought of Proxima 'c' and called Hal to help. After four 'day trips' back and forth to Earth Minor, Jay and his group agreed to take on the challenge of accepting 2312 refugees to add to their population; provided they got assurances that they were normal everyday families and not prisoners and the like...

Only one last problem; how to get the people to a new home almost 5 light years away; Salvation was a possibility, but the starship barely had enough reaction mass to get back to Earth, and Jay was not convinced that Monty Stanton would willingly top off the tanks again. Enter the re-imagined Russian government; for the first time in history the Russians were testing a Democratic government, and they just happened to have a brand new starship on final trials that was big enough to handle that many passengers, "Umm, that's them over there; the UDR Sertov. They are almost done taking the people down to the surface; you know what? The Russians didn't even want to be paid for the taxi ride, said it was a good long distance test for them."

Was this what Good News Overload felt like? Daniel tried, but he couldn't think of one suspicious question to ask. Had Hal just described the first ever example of interstellar cooperation? He couldn't help thinking 'Murphy' had to be waiting in the wings for something to go wrong; perhaps Daniel was just being cynical. Angie giggled next to him, "Daniel, I know what you're thinking; let's just let this play out however it does, ok?" Daniel leaned over and kissed her, "Ok; Hal, you did good again; just keep an eye on this, ok? Hal laughed out loud, always do now Boss, you guys taught me well..."

It was obvious that the residents of Earth Minor would have their hands full for a while right now, so there was only one thing to do; the Family headed toward Earth to see for themselves just what was going on; as David entered the Sol system, he mentioned that the official channels were quite busy, "Looks like everyone is making up for lost time Boss, building some good will or something like that; it's encouraging...Oh! This is interesting; somebody is trying to call Hal on his private channel; and has been for a while, there are twenty attempts in the last day. It's from a cell phone in Australia; should I answer?" Daniel nodded, and David answered the call, "Hello, I'm David; Hall is away right now but should be back in a few days. Can I help you?"

There was silence for a few seconds; then the dam broke as a young girl started talking at full speed, "David? David Curran on the ship? Oh wow, this is like major stuff; I've wanted to meet you guys like forever! Hal told me all about you guys; well, I already knew it all anyway sorta, from reading everything I could find, but you know what I mean. Hal helps me understand some of my schoolwork sometimes; I was gonna ask him to explain some of the terms in this physics book, but maybe you guys can help just this once, ok? Oh wow! Can we go video chat please?

Daniel's mouth was hanging wide open after hearing that; Angel, Angie and Jane had covered their mouths trying to hide the giggles that erupted; all three were nodding furiously, so Daniel gathered himself and nodded to David. A moment later a young girl's face showed on the common room screen, a look of awed surprise clearly etched on her face; there was silence again from the frozen face for five more seconds, until the entire dam was washed away in a hurricane of words...

Her name was Alicia Borden; she was twelve years old next week; she was quite beautiful already, stunning would come in a few more years. Long shiny blonde hair framed the face of an angel, plain and simple; she was a talker though, the words just poured out for twenty minutes. David was so taken by Alicia that he almost forgot to enter orbit, which is very unusual for an AI; she simply was that mesmerizing. Alicia loved SciFi movies and claimed she had watched every one ever made; Daniel wondered about that one, he wasn't sure he had seen them all yet. It didn't matter really; Alicia was a 'believer', that much was obvious. When Angel asked Alicia why she needed help with physics at her young age, the girl looked almost embarrassed, "I'm kinda smart; I want to get a head start because I'm going to be a starship Engineer one day. I always get A's on all my math and science tests. My 'Mum' says I'm being foolish though..."

Daniel wasn't having any of that self doubt, "Alicia, I don't want to disagree with your Mum; but she is wrong this time. If you work hard and always live with honor, nothing is beyond your reach young lady. Just look at me; I am doing things I had never thought of, all because I followed those two simple rules." That did it; Daniel might as well have been speaking from Mount Olympus itself, for it had the same effect. They all talked together for another twenty minutes before Alicia's battery was running low; catching the sad frown, Angie piped up, "David, will you give Alicia our private number please? Alicia, you can call us anytime we are in the area, ok? We'll call you to let you know." It was done; Alicia was back in her true form, she thanked them, all smiles again.

When she said goodbye and ended the call, Angie smiled, "And the circle closes, to begin yet again. A new generation will continue the journey now, and it will be Alicia and others like her who will finish the changes in attitude that have begun here on Earth." Jane smiled too, "And on Earth Minor; the very first Earth Colony and they are already accepting immigrants. It's a big start, but there's a long way to go yet. If Alicia is an indication of what is to come, then I feel good about the prospects." Daniel laughed for a minute, "You got it Jane; Alicia is a go getter I suspect, and you're right. It will be the young who will make it all happen ultimately; I had thought of popping in to the Oval Office to see if good old Monty Stanton had changed his tune at all, but now I don't want to. It won't be him that changes the world; it will be Alicia and her generation. How about we head over to the Tears of Isis and pay our respects to an important woman who actually 'did' change worlds. Then maybe we can let Kenny see that intelligent Dinosaur planet; it is time once again for the Curran Family to do what we do best; explore." Kenny looked up and grinned, "Cool!"

***
About Me

And Other Things

Alright, you caught me...for anybody who has read my books before, this is always the hardest part; mostly because I simply don't feel comfortable with talking about myself. This time however, I do have a few things to talk about; first off, I'm thinking this one will be the last in the Daniel Curran (and Family) saga. Being perfectly honest like I am, this one was pretty hard; like I always say, I am not a professional writer; so I don't have an 'Imagination on Demand' to call on to pump these out. Crazy as it may sound; I depend on my characters to whisper in my ear where they want to go, so some days I'll get 20 words down and other times I'll get 5,000; it does fluctuate. The fans who write to me do keep me going; you know who you are, and I thank you most! If you guys want another one, I promise to consult with Daniel, Angie, Angel, Jane and now Kenny; to see what we can come up with.

For the rest of you out there in Reader Land who managed to get through one or more of my books, please leave a review wherever you downloaded it from; or if you are interested in leaving a more personal review directly, my email address is:

mwb_8@yahoo.com

Don't forget the underscore before the 8, I know that got missed a couple times. Well, I think a short vacation is in order. I have a sequel to my second book ever that has been half finished for four months, and I do need to begin an intended sequel to 'A Promise Remembered'; for those who are interested and might be thinking about trying this writing thing, I am actually starting to like it! Let your characters talk to you, it works!

Thanks for reading, Michael
