 
The Gatekeeper

By

William H. Mezger III

Copyright 2012 William H Mezger III

Smashwords Edition

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For Tessa who helped me defy gravity.
Chapter 1

Timing

I

Henry stood at the mirror in his boxers. It was the end of the day and once again he felt ashamed as he looked in the mirror. His body, covered in a dozen or more bruises, was every shade of the rainbow. The bruises were large, most the size of the palm of his hand, the edges over lapping and blending together making it hard to tell where each mark started, and stopped. Every one of them spoke clearly to Henry however, they told a story of adolescent shame.

In his communications class his teacher had told him that every good story contained five elements: what, where, when, how, why and who. Henry placed his hand over the most recent bruise already turning from red to a deep purple. He could tell you all of these elements for each and every mark on his body, everything except why. As he stood in front of the mirror looking at his shame for the thousandth time, tears silently running down his face. He asked the universe the question that he would give anything to know.

"Why me?"

The morning started like many other days in Henry Thomas's life. Henry knew the outside observer it would think it a bad day. But in the end he had found the garden and that redeemed everything. Henry wiped away his silent tears and as he thought about the garden he found hope for the first time since his Grandfather died six months before.

Henry started his day hiding in a clump of snow-covered bushes on his way to school. This caused his boots and socks to get soaked with wet snow. Thankfully he kept a spare pair of shoes and socks in his locker for such an occasion, because it happened more often then he cared to admit even to himself.

Henry was a senior. He was medium height, with sandy brown hair. He had blue eyes and a slightly pale complexion. He was about to turn 18 in a few weeks, but his more immediate concern was making it through his least favorite periods of the day, Math and English and surviving another day. He was good in Math, and spent his life in one book or another so they should have been his favorite subjects, but the presence of Britney and Victor in Math and Britney, Victor and Paul in English made these subjects truly detestable.

The three of them were responsible for making most of his high school career unpleasant, but a month into the second semester of his senior year things were shaping up to be much worse. Henry was used to the whispers, the snide comments and the dirty looks from other people when he sat near them in the lunchroom. Over the years, he had been taunted, pushed, and tripped in the hallways. He had learned to use obscure hallways in the building in an attempt to avoid his bullies; but what made matters worse this semester was timing. In the past, he had class with them early in the morning before lunch hour. By the time the dismissal bell rang, they had forgotten all about him. This semester, he had them in the last two classes of the day. This changed everything. It meant he had to be extra careful when he walked home, especially if Victor managed to get Paul's wind up. Some days by taking different ways home he could avoid trouble, but in the end, trouble always found Henry eventually.

Henry was being extra careful today because they got the results of a test on the novel they were reading. Paul was a terrible reader and Victor spent the better part of an hour making fun of his score. Victor was Paul's second in command. Their parents were best friends. They had practically been raised as brothers. Victor was short, squat and mean, and he had an insult or taunt for everyone. He even teased Paul from time to time, in a way that only a brother can. Victor had made enough enemies with his winning personality that he couldn't survive with out Paul's protection. So he walked a fine line when teasing Paul. He would push and poke until Paul started really getting angry, then he would direct that fury onto some innocent bystander. That innocent bystander was often Henry. Victor was sneaky and mean, but not stupid, he knew that Paul already had a dislike for Henry, which made him an easy target.

Paul had gotten his growth spurt early; he was nearly six feet tall, and built like a defensive lineman. He had been on the football team until junior year when he had been thrown off the team for fighting. He had a thing for Britney, and he was very jealous. Today the situation was worse than usual. Britney asked Henry to borrow his paper to correct hers.

Henry did not know much about Britney. Objectively, she was pretty. She was slight of frame with delicate porcelain features. She had green eyes and long blonde hair that hung around her face. She and Paul had been on again, off again since freshman year. Currently they were off, but it had not been for very long. So anything that elevated Henry above Paul, even for a moment, in Britney's eyes was simply unacceptable.

Henry moved quickly to his locker when the bell rang, hoping to slip out of the building unnoticed. He worked efficiently in the dimly lit hallway. The school was designed so that each of the classrooms had a wall of windows that opened to outdoor courtyards. The top two feet of the hallways were lined with windows meant to let the light from the classrooms into the hallways thereby decreasing the amount of light fixtures needed to light the hallway. Henry thought this was architecturally very cool, but not practical in the Chicago area where the sky was gray and cloudy for most of the school year. The upshot of this design flaw meant that the hallways were often not well-lit places. The school had a zero tolerance policy for bullying on the school grounds, but the policy was hard to enforce in the crowded hallways where visibility was sometimes low.

Henry packed his things into his backpack packing light; leaving books he knew he would need for homework because they were heavy. He was pretty sure he was going to end up running today and figured he could skip lunch to do the rest of his assignments in homeroom.

In the past, he had tried to stay in the building until his bullies got bored waiting for him and went home. He hid in the bathroom claiming to be in one club or another if a janitor caught him and asked questions. He thought about actually joining a club. There were a lot of clubs he was interested in, but he was afraid other kids would make fun of him like Paul and Victor. He was trying to move quickly today because he was almost sure that waiting would be a futile exercise. Between Britney borrowing his test and Victor harassing Paul about it, he could practically feel the beating he was about to get.

He left the building through the front entrance and looked both ways before leaving the front stairs. Henry was immediately struck by the cold. There were things colder than winter in the Chicago land area in February, but he was pretty sure that you had to be crazy to seek them out on purpose. The temperature felt low today magnified by the bitter wind blowing through the streets. The ground covered in the dirty snow you only really see when it has been a few weeks since the last snowfall. The snow was riddled with multiple dirty paths from students walking through it and pockmarked by the black snow thrown up by the tires of the school buses.

The school was Ulysses S Grant High School or U.S.G. for short. It was set back in a residential area. U.S.G. was set all on one level, and provided very little cover from the wind that blew across the property. The building had a large circular drive out front where the busses waited to pick up kids who lived too far to walk. He huddled briefly in the warmth between the buses to appraise his options. In the center of the Circle drive was a large war memorial dedicated to soldiers from the Illinois area that gave their lives for their country.

Henry snuck out the front door so he could mix with the bus kids and was able to make it away from the building without being caught. He knew the fastest way home was also the most dangerous. It passed a convenience store with a large candy collection. Paul was a glutton for sweets. The only good part was the lack of a stoplight. This meant no crossing guard. If he could get across the four lanes of traffic while Paul and Victor were buying candy, then it was usually clear sailing from there. He knew this was a gamble. If traffic was heavy and he got caught between Latham Avenue and the convenience store, then it usually meant a beating, or at the very least a chase to the crossing guard at the stop lights a block away. Henry was actually pretty fast. If the light was just right, he could get across before Paul and Victor got to the light. They were big, but slow.

It was very cold and the wind had a bitter bite to it, so he decided to take his chances and take the most direct route home. He headed west down 161st street keeping his eyes open for Paul and Victor. He made it to the candy store on the corner. The storeowner only allowed four students in at a time. He had problems with kids stealing when the store was too busy. There were no kids waiting because of the cold. He did not see Paul anywhere. He bolted for the corner to try to get across Latham. He looked both ways quickly, and when traffic was clear dashed across the street. He was very focused on traffic and looking back over his shoulder at the candy store. He was so focused that he got half way across the street before he realized Paul, and Victor were not behind him; they were ahead of him. Their backs were to him as they hurried up the street trying to get home, all thoughts of Henry forgotten in the bitter wind.

They were one block up. They were moving quicker than usual because of the cold, but still not moving very fast. They could turn around at any moment. Henry realized he needed to find another way home, and quickly. If he walked south towards 162nd he knew there was still a chance he would run into them. Paul lived on the corner of Chicago and 162nd street. If he went up 162nd there was always the chance he would still run into them. On the other hand he could head north to 160th. It was a busy intersection and it took him a very long way out of his way to get home. He had always managed to avoid it in the past, but today it was the lesser of two evils.

Henry began to walk through the gradually increasing snowfall taking the longest way home. Although he had been this way a thousand times in the car, this was the first time he had actually walked home this way. On the east side of the street where he had just come from, there were no houses. There were businesses, but not the kind where you would walk in and purchase something. They were more of an industrial nature. There was a construction company with no cars and a glass shop with a sign that said "industrial glass." He was not sure what that meant, but its parking lot was full and quite large compared to the size of the shop. Henry was not sure what they did at this glass shop, but it obviously took a large staff to do it. He thought this was very odd given how small the building looked from the front.

On the residential side of the street the world, seemed a whole lot more normal. It was filled with regular split-level, and ranch style houses. The houses were set back from the street so their front yard was probably much larger than the backyard. He hated that; everything always seemed to happen in the front yard it felt like the whole world knew your business. Henry was a quiet kid when it came down to it, and he liked to hide in the backyard behind the privacy fence where the neighbors' kids couldn't see him.

Many of the houses had a front door with a walk leading out to the sidewalk. This front walk had not been shoveled in most cases because; most people entered in the backdoor which was closest to the garage. Henry knew this because his Grandma had the same set up. Henry was always extra careful to shovel the front walk at his Grandma's so she did not fall when she went out to get the mail. Most of the houses looked the same with small variations until he had almost reached the corner.

There he noticed one house was not only different, but drastically so. It was a split-level, set back from the street like the rest of the houses with the front walk connecting it to the sidewalk. There was a driveway connecting the back garage to the street like the other houses; but that was where the similarities ended. Where the front lawn should have been was the largest garden Henry had ever seen, an intricate wrought iron fence enclosing the entire thing. The fence was imposing and beautiful. It was finely crafted iron, worked to look like climbing roses had grown over an iron fence. The leaves so life-like he expected them to blow in the icy wind. The flowers so real looking he could almost smell them.

The fence was made in six-foot sections that started around four foot high and arched as high as they were long in the middle. Between the middle two sections of fence was a marble archway holding a gate guarding the path from the sidewalk to the front steps. The marble finely grained, and carved in bas-relief with the same flower pattern that adorned the fence was nearly eight foot tall. Henry thought it should be in a museum instead of adorning this garden in suburbia. The gate filled the archway made of the same ironwork as the fence with the exception of a shiny brass handle on the right side.

A four-foot tall evergreen hedge surrounded the yard. It ran along the fence about two feet wide making seeing into the yard difficult, but not impossible. Henry stood at the gate where he could look in at the garden.

Henry could see multiple paths had been shoveled through out the yard. The first was the standard sidewalk that entered through the gate, and went up to the house. There at the bottom of the stairs stood an imposing suit of armor. Henry loved armor; had seen lots of it, reproductions mostly at the renaissance faire, but this was different. Even from the 25 or so feet where he stood, he could see this was beautiful work. It was finely etched and inlayed with different colors and metals. And although the snow was beginning to fall none stuck to the cold metal. What's more it looked like it was ready to step down and attack him with the very menacing pike it held at attention in one fist.

There were also several paths that wound through out the yard. They were paved with flagstones, and bordered by a smaller version of the iron fence that surrounded the yard. The paths wound through what Henry could only assume were flowerbeds in the spring, and summer. Even now, in the heart of winter the yard teamed with life, in the form of bushes and sculpted evergreens. Henry was amazed by the garden before him. He did a lot of gardening with his mother, and his grandfather before he died. He knew how much work it was to maintain a small garden, with all the trimming and weed pulling. He could not imagine the hours of upkeep that something like this would require.

The centerpiece of the yard was a large tree with a life-sized statue of a man reading a book carved in alabaster sitting in the shade of the tree trunk. It was February and the tree was covered in ice crystals but it held blossoms as well. They were the prettiest pink blossoms he had ever seen against the crisp white snow and crystals of ice. At first, Henry thought it was a trick of the eye, some kind of silk, like the flowers his mom had on the porch. But the longer he looked the more convinced they were real he became. The tree looked similar to an apple tree, but there was something not right. It seemed different, the bark was not the right color; it had bluish undertones to it. The branches twisted at just the wrong angle, and it bore fruit. Apple trees did not have fruit this time of year. The tree only bore one fruit; it was red like an apple but more oblong then round. The tree held several more flowers, he felt sure would eventually ripen into fruit. Henry wanted to call it an apple tree, because it bore red fruit that looked like an apple, but he had never seen a tree that looked like this. Henry was amazed. His Grandparents had a crab apple tree in their back yard when he was little, and he was very aware how unusual it was to see fruit in this extreme cold.

He believed in his heart it was real, and not fake. Henry stood at the gate for what felt like hours; his fingers curled around the wrought iron gate gazing at the magnificent tree wondering. He wondered how a magical fruit like that would taste, for any fruit that grew in this weather had to be magic, even if it was magic pretending to be science. Henry believed the world was full of magically wondrous things that people just accepted as science. He had to head home. If he did not arrive before his mom left for work then he would be in trouble. He turned to leave, but caught a flicker of movement in the garden, he turned back hoping it was someone he could ask about the fruit, but no one was there. He promised he would return the next day to see if the apple was real or a figment of his imagination, then he continued on his way home.

II

Ms. Roberts sat at her desk working on paper work in the growing twilight of early evening. She was a slight woman, her face framed by hair that hung around her in a shoulder length bob. She tucked her hair behind her ear, it was a deep steel gray with slight undertones of black and blues highlights. It looked like silk spun from steel. There was a knock at her office door; irritated she looked up just as the door opened admitting a man carrying a book in one hand. His skin and clothes were alabaster in color. His eyes were topaz. He looked as if he had been chiseled from moving stone. She grimaced inwardly to herself. The last thing she needed tonight was Nathan. She hated when he entered her office with out waiting for permission.

Nathan walked to the window; he stood looking out into the growing darkness. Roberts knew exactly what had brought him to her office. He stood quietly for a moment; she was about to prod him, she had a lot of work left, when he spoke two words, "the boy".

"I saw him, what of it?" she said. Hopping he would get to the point.

"He saw me," Nathan stated. Nathan was so over dramatic, he always made everything about him. The boy had seen the fruit, and that was of far greater importance to her.

Roberts brushed him off, pushing him to get to the point, so she could get back to work. "A lot of people see you Nathan, that is the point of hiding in plain site. It doesn't mean anything; even if he saw you, he would have no understanding of what he saw. You have nothing to worry about."

"The fact remains he saw the fruit on the Kopar tree and you know it."

He was finally getting to the point. She knew the boy had seen the fruit, but hated people telling her what she did and did not know.

"Maybe, time will tell. Besides even if he does, that doesn't mean anything. He was young, even for a human," Roberts said.

"You are right of course, but there is something about him" Nathan replied.

Roberts rose and joined Nathan at the window. The night had come fully now, and the snow was falling in earnest on the street outside. The city would soon need to start running the plows again to keep them clear. "Do you think the gates will open for him?" Nathan asked. The silence drew out for a time while Roberts considered his question carefully.

"It is too early to tell, we don't even know if he will return".

Roberts left the widow, and returned to her desk. She turned on her lamp. Giving in to the darkness at last. She looked down at the stack of paperwork still to be done before she could finish, and sighed. She sat down to work. "Keep an eye out for him Nathan, and let me know if anything changes. You better tell Francis as well. We don't want him to stab him with that pike of his, if he comes in the yard." Nathan lingered a few moments longer at the window before returning to his post under the tree.

III

Roberts stood at the window looking down into the garden, the boy had returned. He had come every day for the last week. He stood at the gate, his fingers wrapped around the bars gazing into the garden. His gaze was so intent that he failed to notice her looking down at him from an upstairs window. Waiting for the timing to be right.
Chapter 2

Disagreements

I

Henry sat in the back of English, daydreaming about the tree. He had gone to look at the tree every day. Something about it called to him. He had dreams about tasting that one lone fruit, in his dreams he could even taste it. The cool crispness of the flesh, the tartness of the skin, and the feel of the ice-cold juices running down his chin were all very vivid to him. There was also something very strange going on with the statue. It moved. Sometimes it was in different places, it was almost always under the tree reading a book, one time it was sitting on the steps, and once it was even gone. Henry's mother had one of those concrete ducks that she moved around and put in outfits, he wondered if the person who lived there did the same with their statue. It was awfully big to be moving around the yard though. Maybe that was why it moved so seldom.

He was jolted out of his revere by Britney in the seat in front of him poking him with a stack of paper. "Hey you in there?" she giggled.

"Yeah, I'm here, I'm here." Henry said looking down at the paper. "What is this?" he asked. She looked at him a moment, a strange look on her face. Henry became very self-conscious. "What, what's the matter? Did I drool or something?" he asked reaching up to wipe off his face.

"No, nothing like that, its just you have really pretty eyes, they're really blue." Her statement startled Henry. He had been told his eyes were a nice blue before, but by his aunt or sister, a real girl had never complimented him before. Especially this girl, Britney rarely spoke to him unless absolutely necessary, and even then it was limited to exchanging papers for grading.

"Thanks" he mumbled. She turned around and began working. Henry looked down realizing he still didn't know what Britney had given him. The moment had been so surreal he had forgotten all about it. "Britney, what is this?" he whispered. The rest of the class was already quietly working.

"Quiz," this time she did not turn around but whispered the one word over her shoulder.

Henry looked down and quickly discovered he had not been paying nearly enough attention in class over the last week, because the quiz on his desk may just as well have been written in Latin. Henry worked right up until the moment his teacher Mr. Harris a large sweaty man with thinning hair, collected the quiz. Immediately he felt embarrassed by his performance.

He looked out the window and smiled. It was snowing again. It had really been coming down over the last hour and most of the ground was already under a couple of inches. Henry loved when it snowed, not because he liked snow, but because it decreased the likelihood of getting beat up on the way home. The days when it was warm and sunny had been some of the worst of his life. When the temperature was warm the snow began to melt leaving lots of icy puddles. Paul and Victor enjoyed knocking him down, taking his things and dropping them in the water. He hated fishing his stuff out of the icy water. His hands always hurt the rest of way home. It had gotten so bad; sometimes he would get two of the important assignments; fold one up, and put it in his pocket. This way he had a better chance of getting it home safely. Henry knew from experience, however, that there were worse things then having his stuff dropped in the water; having his body pushed in for example.

There was a section of road the city dug up to fix a pipe that burst in the cold. It had been filled in with gravel so the road could be reopened, but the city was waiting until warm weather to actually repave it. When the weather had gotten briefly warm the snow started melting, and collecting in the low spot in the road. One day not long after, he was being chased when one of them tripped him and he flew face first into the water. He had torn his hands up pretty badly on the gravel when he tried to break his fall. As if being soaked was not enough, they took turns kicking him in the ribs until he begged them to stop through his tears. Eventually they got scared that someone would hear him, and ran away calling him a baby as they went. It was one of the most shameful days of his life. His shame further compounded by the lies he told to his mom about how he had gotten wet.

The snow would make for a nice walk home, after the lousy afternoon it was nice to see his luck was changing. The bell rang and Henry headed for his locker. He packed his things and out the front entrance. He gave only a cursory glance left and right to check for obstacles. Henry was happy to be free of school for another day and headed to the garden feeling pretty good about his day. He saw an odd shadow near the memorial, but when it didn't move he continued on his way. He decided to jog to the garden so he could have more time.

The first couple days after finding the garden he had been late getting home. His mother was a nurse, and if he wasn't home before she left for the hospital, he was in trouble when his father got home. His father punished him by taking away his computer, and books. This meant he had to spend the evening sitting in his room doing nothing, or sitting in the living room watching television with his father. He did not object to spending the time with his father. He objected to what his father watched. His father spent all night watching bad cop shows from the 50's, and 60's; shows like _Dragnet_ and _Hawaii 50_. This would not have been so bad, but his father got up early for work, and had a labor-intensive job. This meant he actually spent more time dozing, and snoring in his chair, than he did watching. To put a cherry on top of the sundae that was his misery, he would wake up and ask questions.

"Who's that? Why are they arresting that guy? What's going on?"

Henry didn't even want to watch the show. He wanted to narrate it even less. So in order to avoid this odious punishment he had started jogging to the garden so he could spend a few more minutes there before heading home.

Henry spent every afternoon standing at the gate looking in at the tree. On the second day he noticed a plaque on the arch that was engraved with the words "For Nathan". Henry was a lonely kid, and began talking to the statue. He had nicknamed it Nathan after the plaque on the gate. Henry told himself he was crazy now, but the first time he addressed the statue by name, he could have swore it looked up from the book in his hands, and made eye contact with him. He rubbed the snow out of his eyes, and looked again, but the statue was looking at his book, just as he had been. Henry always felt better after talking to the statue, like it was listening to him. The fact that sometimes it was in a different place only reinforced this illusion. It was kind of like having a friend. Henry was talking with Nathan about his abysmal performance on his English quiz, when the sound of someone speaking startled him.

Henry's stomach dropped. He recognized the voice immediately. He was shocked to hear Paul's voice here of all places. So shocked that that he didn't actually hear what he was saying. His mind was reeling, how had he found me. Henry thought of the shadow he had seen at the memorial and immediately regretted dismissing it. They must have followed him, but why? Paul was rarely angry enough to actively look for him let along stalk him. Why did it have to be here of all places? It was the only place Henry felt vaguely happy in weeks. He realized that Paul was talking, and he still had no idea what he was saying.

"I said, what are you staring at in there, weirdo?" Paul said. Victor laughed next to him. Paul shoved Henry into the gate, hard enough to rattle the teeth in his skull. Henry went to run, but Victor grabbed him by the straps of his pack, and slammed him into the gate again. Victor held onto each strap of Henry's pack up near the shoulder. He stuck his face in Henry's. He got so close; Henry thought he was going to bite him on the nose.

"I think she's right, he does have really pretty eyes," Victor said chuckling. Henry didn't think it was possible, but his stomach dropped even further. Now he knew, knew why they had gone to all of the trouble of hunting him in weather like this. With the quiz, and the snow, it had slipped his mind. Brittney's compliment, while nice, and unexpected had very likely signed his death warrant.

Victor let go of Henry's backpack, and Paul took his place. For a minute Paul just stared into Henry's eyes. Looking back into Paul's eyes, Henry became truly scared. There was something more intense in them, than he had seen before. Henry realized he was not sure he would be able to walk away from this encounter with all of his bones intact. Henry was brought sharply back to reality by three quick blows. Two blows to the head, and one to the body. Paul's father had been teaching them how to box in the basement, much to the dismay of Henry's body, which had turned in to Paul's favorite practice bag. Henry tried in vain to run, but was again blocked by Victor.

"Hold him" Paul yelled. "I'm going to kill this freak." He hit Henry hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Henry doubled over, unable to breathe, tears already starting to run down his cheek. He needed to find a way out of this, and fast, or there really was a chance things would go to far.

"Stand him back up" Paul yelled. Victor grabbed him; Victor went to slam him into the gate again. Henry put his hands back to try to slow down the tooth rattling impact. All of a sudden instead of a bone-rattling crunch, he felt himself flying through the air. Then he was sitting in the snow looking up at them. His tailbone hurt from where he had slammed into the sidewalk. He figured out right away what had happened, in his desperation to hold on to something he had grabbed the handle of the gate, and it had come open. Paul, and Victor stood there stunned, not sure what to do next. Henry took advantage of the moment, and shut the gate in front of them. He looked for a way to lock the gate, and could find none. He did not think it would slow them down for long but he was desperate.

Paul tried the gate, but it would not open. He reached through the gate to try the other handle, but still could not open it. He began screaming at Victor, but he could not get it open either. The two of them began to shake, and kick the gate trying to get it to open. "I can wait all day, you have to come out of there sooner, or later" Paul howled. Henry knew he was right, it was already getting late, if he did not get home soon, he would be in trouble again. He decided to worry about that when, and if he got out of this yard alive.

"What do you think you are doing in my yard?" a voice rang out behind Henry. The three of them froze.

Paul, and Victor bolted at the sign of adult interference, but Henry was on the wrong side of the gate. The woman charged across the yard. She was imposing. Even though she was slight of frame, and had gray hair there was a look in her eye that meant business. She was yelling about her bushes, and Henry looked around him for the first time, and realized he had not only knocked over some of the smaller fence work, but that he had trampled some of the smaller evergreen bushed when he fell. The woman grabbed him by the strap of his backpack, and turned him to look at her.

"I'm so sorry, I never meant to come in your yard, but they were..." Henry stopped not sure how to finish his sentence. What happened was embarrassing enough with out having to explain it to a perfect stranger. She took one look at the bruises growing on Henry's face, and her expression softened.

"They sure did a number on you didn't they?" she said. She was sympathetic, but Henry could still hear the irritation in her voice as she said, "Well, what are we going to do about this mess?"

Henry thought for a moment then an idea came to him. "I could come over after school, and fix it if you let me". She smiled at Henry's words. She was of average height, and of a smallish build. She was wearing a black pantsuit with a white blouse. There was some kind of logo on the pocket of the black suit jacket, but he could not tell what it was. There was something unnerving about this woman. Then like a flash it came to him, it was her smile. It was almost as if there were more teeth in her mouth than there should have been.

"I think that will work out nicely, give me your parent's phone number. I will call them, and arrange a time." Henry was nervous about the idea of giving this woman his number, but got the very clear impression from her tone of voice that this was not really a request. He gave her his phone number shooting looks at the gate the whole time. He needed to be getting home and soon. She escorted him to the gate. Although the gate had been stuck a few moments ago when Paul had tried to get to him, it opened just fine now.

The woman closed the gate behind him, turned and began to walk to the house. Henry began the trip home keeping his eyes open for Paul and Victor.

II

Roberts stood in the yard watching the boy walk down the street. She had watched the incident with the boys. She felt bad for the boy, but not bad enough to interfere. That is until he opened the gate. Very few people in the universe could open that particular gate. Once he was in the yard, she watched closely. When neither boy could get the gate open, she stepped in and got rid of them. She wanted more time with the boy, but he kept shooting looks at the gate. He clearly wanted to be elsewhere. She had not been a hundred percent sure he was what she was looking for, until he opened the gate in front of her. She had felt the familiar connection of sub-conscious power as his hand touched the gate, and the mechanisms allowing the gate to open, spun into life. It seems she had found a new gatekeeper.

She looked down at the slip of paper the boy had torn from his notebook. Henry Thomas it said. She would have to arrange for him to spend more time with her. From behind her, she heard Nathan speaking to Francis about the damage in the yard.

"Now just calm down Frankie, you know the kid didn't even mean to open the gate, you saw the look of shock on his face when the gate opened." Nothing Nathan was saying was helping to calm Francis down. For a corporeal spirit capable of inhabiting a host of vessels he was overly attached to the armor and garden. However, it was that attachment that made him a good bodyguard.

She turned and walked towards them; she put her hand up to forestall any comments before either of them could speak.

"He is a gatekeeper, we can be sure of that. We will have to wait till the time is right to move forward. He is young, even for a human. I will handle this myself". She looked pointedly at Nathan when she said this last bit. He was always overstepping his boundaries. "I will see if I can offer him a job working on the grounds. If he accepts, then we will see what he is capable of when the time is right. It has been a long time since we had a human working here. I want this handled discreetly, do I make myself clear." Nathan did not look happy but she thought he would hold his tongue for now. She knew that the conversations about "the boy" were just getting started. Henry, she thought to herself, if this thing was going to move forward she had better start learning his name.

She began up the steps when she remembered Francis, and stopped at the top of the stairs. "I will make sure that he repairs the damage that was done to the garden before he is allowed to continue to the next step" she said with out turning around. "That will make you happy, won't it Francis?"

The spirit that dwelt in the armor did not answer, but stood stoically looking forward. I don't have time for this she thought to herself, and whipped around to speak impatiently.

"I said, that will make you happy," she stressed the "will" this time so he would know that she was not in the mood, and that this was not really a question. "Won't it, Francis." She said again putting a tone in her voice so he would know she expected an answer.

"Yes Ma'am" he answered, with out turning to look at her. She was too busy for this today she thought to herself again, and ignored his sullenness.

"Excellent, good day Gentleman" she said, and went into the house.

III

Henry walked towards his house. He checked his watch again; he had already missed his mom. After seeing his face in the side mirror of a parked car, he figured this was for the best. He knew he would be in trouble when his father got home; but if he played things right he could hide the worst of the afternoon. He needed to get home before his father got home from work so he could change out of his messed up clothes. He had done this on occasion, when he was to dirty or wet for his mother not to notice. Henry did his own laundry, and as long as there were no marks on his face, he could hide what had happened.

Paul and Victor had been bullying kids since they were in middle school. They had learned over time, if you hit the face, then parents noticed, and got involved. Sometimes they slipped, and lost control like today. Henry had taken two really hard shots to the face, and was just glad they they had not broken his nose. If they had been an inch to the left they would have for sure. He had made a makeshift cold pack out of compressed snow, and was using it to bring the swelling in his face down. He was also trying to rack his brain to come up with some kind of explanation. He prayed to the universe for some kind of help thinking of a story that explained how his face got busted up, and put him in that woman's yard. It occurred to Henry that he may have no choice but to tell the truth. The woman had seen a lot, and his story could not contradict hers or the whole thing would fall apart. Henry hated lying to his family, but was too ashamed to deal with the truth. He turned to head up his street panicked, and sick to his stomach from nerves. He had no idea what was going to happen when he got home. Would he be in trouble for breaking the fence? He didn't know how bad the damage was; it looked like a very expensive fence, what if the woman expected his parents to pay for it. His parents worked very hard to make sure that he, and his sister had what they needed, but he knew there was not a lot left over after bills were paid. What if they couldn't afford to replace the fence?

What if they found out about the bullying? Henry was ashamed that he could not stand up for himself. He could not imagine the disappointment in his parents face when they found out. The thought of their disappointment was enough to make him physically ill. He reached the front of his house, and turned up the driveway. The house was gray and red brick, with a garage set back on the right side of the property. He walked up the driveway to the backdoor. The backdoor opened onto a small stairwell landing. You went down to the basement or up three steps to a door to the main level of the house. He went up the three steps and listened at the door. On the other side of the door was the kitchen. He listened to make sure he did not hear his sister in the kitchen. He was hoping that she was on the other side of the house in the living room watching television, or even better on the computer in her room. His bedroom was off the kitchen and if he could make the three steps to his room with out being seen, then there was a good chance he could ditch his clothes with out getting caught. He took a deep breath and bargained with the universe to help him get through the night. He opened the door, and found his father sitting at the table waiting for him

"Hey, you were late again today," his father said smiling at him. "I got another earful from your mom. Although given the phone call I just got. I think we can cut you some slack this time. Why don't you go to your room, and get cleaned up; then we can talk." Henry walked to his room trying not to show the terror he felt. His father must know what happened, or he would not have been so nice about the lateness, especially after the conversation they had had about it last week. He said something about a phone call. He realized that the woman must have called while he was walking home.

Is his room he changed into a pair of sweat pants, and a long sleeved tee shirt to hide the bruises on his body. There was a knock at the door as he quickly pulled his shirt on. He turned as his father opened the door, and leaned against the doorjamb half in the kitchen, half in his room. His father was a warm natured man who always had a hello for everyone he knew. He was not any taller than Henry, they both stood around 5 foot eight inches, but Henry always felt that his father towered over him. He was a big man with large arms, and shoulders. He was a union ironworker, and spent a lot of time moving heavy material. Henry was thankful he was able to get his shirt on before his father came in. He was not sure how his father would react to the bruises on his body. His dad held a bag of frozen peas.

"Here put this on your face, it will keep it from getting any worse," his dad said.

"Thanks" Henry said, sure his father knew his shame.

His father tossed him the peas, and began talking. "I got a phone call from a woman named Ms. Roberts," he said. He paused and waited for Henry to nod before continuing. "She was very concerned, about your face. She said she was trying to get her snow blower restarted in the driveway when you offered to help." For the first time since school let out Henry saw a glimmer of hope.

"What else did she say?" he asked.

His dad laughed and caught himself, "Sorry," he said. "She said there was a problem with the pull start, that your hand slipped. She said you hit yourself in the face pretty hard. Its nothing to be embarrassed about, it happens sometimes". Henry felt a load lift off his shoulders. Roberts had covered for him.

He was going to get away with it, then he remembered the fence and became suspicious, "did she say anything else?" he asked.

"She said you offered to come over and shovel for her tomorrow since you guys couldn't get the snow blower started. She wanted to make sure it was okay with your mom and me. I said you shoveled your grandparents house all the time, and it would be fine," his dad said. His dad left the doorway and went to the stove, opened the door, and looked inside. Henry though he could smell tomato sauce, it was either lasagna or pizza. His dad looked in for a minute judging the doneness of what ever he was cooking; closed the door then continued talking. "Ms. Roberts mentioned she had several odd jobs that needed to be done around the house; she was wondering if you would be interested in a job. It might be a good idea to think about her offer," his dad said. "The pizza is almost ready, make sure your wet dirty clothes get to the basement, I don't want them sitting on the carpet," his dad said checking the oven again.

"Thanks dad, love you," Henry said beginning to do as his father had asked.

He heard his father's reply "Love you too" as he gathered up his wet clothes. Henry tossed the clothes down the basement stairs, meaning to put them where they belonged after dinner, and went to wash his hands for dinner.

IV

Roberts hung up the phone with Henry's father. He seemed like a genuinely pleasant man, especially for a human. She would have to keep an extra close eye on his boy. She had spent a lot of time on the phone with Henry's dad trying to learn as much as she could about Henry. It was clear from the time that she had spent with Henry that he had a remarkable sense of perception of the world. He had noticed her smile. He had not said anything, of course, but he flinched back from her smile. Many species found her smile intimidating. In fact she was known to use this fact to her advantage when she was agitated, or angry. Her mouth although the same size as a human, contained more teeth. She seldom smiled when out of her office, because although the humans could not point to what bothered them, many were put off when she smiled too big. Henry noticed the second she smiled, but took it in stride. He had even noticed the kopar.

Very few people over the years had seen the fruit from Nathan's kopar tree. It was from the planet he called home, he had been exiled here on Earth bothering her for almost 200 years now. The tree made fruit that looked almost like an apple, but tasted like a firm kiwi. Most people saw what they expected to see. The ability to see the world for what it was, truly was a rare gift indeed. But more importantly, Roberts's thought the boy appeared to posses a truly kind heart.

When she was on the phone with his father, he accepted her story about the snow blower without a blink. She was testing to learn more about Henry. He then proceeded to extoll the virtues of his son, listing several people through out the neighborhood his son helped on a semi regular basis. She had been looking for a new gatekeeper, and it looked like Henry would work out nicely.
Chapter 3

Making Plans

I

When Henry got up the next morning he felt sick with the knowledge he had to go back to school. His altercation with Paul, and Victor had been interrupted. He didn't know if they would be aggressively hunting him to finish the job, or lying low. After being caught in the garden they had no way of knowing if Henry's parents had gotten involved. Henry believed there was a good chance they would lay low today, but he had been wrong before.

It was Friday, but not just any Friday. It was the Friday before a three-day weekend. School was closed Monday for president's day. If he played sick today it would mess up his whole weekend. He wanted to go to the Robert's yard after school, he was supposed to shovel his grandparents yard, and go out for pizza on Saturday, and he was hopeful about spending more time working in Roberts' yard on Sunday, and Monday. He knew if he pretended to be sick his mom would make him hang around the house all weekend. The only option was to go to school, and take his chances.

Henry was anxious to get to first period. Being exposed in the hallway made him jumpy. Victor was in his History Class first hour. He was not looking forward to starting the day being mocked, but maybe he could get a feel for how bad the day was going to turn out. When he got to the classroom, he checked to make sure there was a teacher on duty. Henry wanted out of the hallways, but settling down in an unattended classroom was an even worse idea. Finding a teacher on duty Henry let out a sigh of relief, and found his seat. Normally he would read a book until class started, but he did not want to divert his attention from his personal safety just yet. Instead he got out his textbook, and last nights homework. He figured he could pretend to look over his work, and watch the door at the same time.

The first bell rang signaling the beginning of the day. Kids began leaving the hallways, and finding their seats. The final bell rang to signal the beginning of the period, and Victor was nowhere to be seen. If Victor were not here to egg Paul on then maybe today would not be so bad. Henry's mind was so far away that he almost missed Jake Stevens telling the teacher where Victor had gone. He listened more closely.

"I talked to him last night. He went snowmobiling with Paul. Their dads took them to Wisconsin for the three-day weekend. They won't be back till Monday night." Henry was so excited he almost laughed out loud. He had an entire day of safety. He almost didn't know how to act.

Today was the Friday before a three-day weekend, and was even more laid back than usual. Henry thought the day was going better than he expected until he got to English seventh hour.

When Henry got to English the teacher gave them a packet of questions, and said they could work in pairs. Henry hated when teachers did this because he never had anyone to work with. Henry was a very quiet kid, and did not make friends easily. Some days Henry could go the whole day with out saying more than six words, which were not in direct response to a teacher's question. Even the kids he had been sort of friendly with had evaporated when Paul had taken a real dislike to him. No one was willing to stick his, or her neck out, and talk to a kid who barely spoke to begin with.

Henry didn't bother looking for a partner, and started right in on his packet. It was the first of many packets to come all related to the novel they had just started in class, culminating in a big project relating to the novel`. He had a lot of stuff he wanted to do this weekend, and he didn't want to take the packet home. He was disturbed out of his focus when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up to see Britney standing there.

"Do you understand this book at all?" she asked.

"I do," Henry said.

"Do you mind if I work with you?" she asked. Henry just looked at her while she sat down, and got her stuff out. She finished settling in, and looked at him. Henry had still not gotten over the fact that she was sitting here wanting to work with him. He blurted out the only thing that was in his head before he could stop himself.

"Do you really think I have pretty eyes?" He realized what he had said, and turned pink.

"I do," she said.

"Thank you, no one has ever told me that before it was really nice." Henry answered. Britney smiled. Henry really like the way her face lit up when she smiled. It was like the whole room got brighter. The two of them sat in silence for a moment not sure where to go from there.

Britney spoke first "did you get the answer to number four?" The two of them spent the rest of the period working together on the packet. Henry knew most of the answers. Every time Britney knew an answer she smiled. Henry felt a little more privileged to see something so special. Objectively Henry knew that she was a pretty girl, with her long blond hair, and her green eyes; but when she smiled she was beautiful.

Sometimes Henry could see into the heart of things, quite often actually, come to think of it. He knew his parents thought it was because he was maturing, but Henry had always been able to do it. Sometimes it was a gradual thing. Like looking at a poster in a dark room with a penlight; you eventually saw enough of the picture that you could extrapolate out, and understand what was going on. Sometimes it was like someone flipped a switch, and turned a light on. Henry saw the whole picture laid out in front of him. This was how he knew how hard his parents worked to save money, but usually ended the pay period broke because they spent it all on their kids, but sitting here looking at Britney's smile he felt completely lost. He didn't know anything about girls. The only thing he knew was he was out of his depth.

"Thanks for being my partner its nice not to be working alone." Henry said.

"Do you always work alone?" she asked.

Henry took a chance and told her the truth, "I don't have any friends." He winced as he said it out loud. He was not sure he had ever come right out, and said it aloud before.

"Me either," she answered. Henry was startled by this answer; she was never alone. "I mean there are a lot of people I talk to on a regular basis, but I don't think any of them are really my friends," Britney said. Henry thought her eyes looked kind of sad.

"At least you talk to people, I don't think I normally talk to two people all day," Henry said. He did not know why he was being so honest with her. He had never really spoken to her before, and he was sharing too much. She was just so pretty and she was talking to him. He was nervous, but it was nice to talk to someone.

"What happened to your eyes?" Britney asked.

"Paul, and Victor," Henry said.

"It was because I said they were pretty wasn't it?" she asked. Henry confirmed that it was. "I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay, I don't blame you, and it was nice to get a compliment. I've never gotten one before, well one that wasn't from a family member anyway. Besides Paul always finds a reason to beat on me anyway."

"I'm sorry, how bad?" she asked.

"It's gotten pretty bad," Henry said seriously. He thought about showing her his chest, but no one had seen that, not even his sister, and although they fought a lot they were pretty open about most things.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's not your fault," Henry said.

"I think he knows I like you," she said.

"Why?" It was the first thing that came into his head. He thought he had blown it and felt better when she laughed.

"You're kind of cute, and smart," she said. Henry just stat there, his brain locked up. The prettiest girl he had ever met had just told him she like him. He was afraid to move; scared he would wake up, and find it had all been a dream.

"What happens next?" he asked. His head was spinning.

"Well you could ask me out" she said.

"What about Paul?" Henry asked.

"I'm done with him, how about that date?" she said.

"I would like that, I have something with my grandparents Saturday, how about Sunday?" Henry asked.

"Sunday sounds great pick you up at eleven." She said. Henry's head was spinning. He gave her his address, he wanted to say more, but the bell rang, and she was gone leaving him feeling happier than he had ever felt. He, Henry Thomas, had a date. He was so excited he almost forgot all about going to Ms. Roberts house. He ran to his locker so he would not be late.

II

Henry ran all the way to Ms. Roberts house giddy with excitement. He opened the gate, and jogged right up to the damaged section of fence. He looked at it a few minutes before climbing the steps to the front door, and knocked. It took a few moments, but Henry saw the curtain move, and then the door opened. Ms. Roberts was dressed in business attire just like the other time he had seen her.

"Good afternoon Henry" she said with a small tight-lipped smile. Henry really liked her even though there was something off about her smile; it didn't bother him but she looked uncomfortable when she smiled.

"Good afternoon Ms. Roberts" he replied "what can I do today to start making things right, I really appreciate you not telling my dad how we met yesterday."

"Well, I thought it might be good if we had a few secrets amongst ourselves. As long as you are willing to repair the damage I see no reason to get anyone in trouble. I thought you could start by shoveling the driveway, and sidewalks. The ground is too cold to repair the fencing just yet." Henry had looked closely at the fencing before knocking on the door and he had an idea.

"I was thinking that if you put some water on to boil, while I shoveled the driveway, then it would be hot enough to thaw the ground enough to put the fence back into the ground."

She agreed, told Henry where the snow shovel was, and went to put the water on to boil. Henry made quick work of the narrow driveway and sidewalks. Any time that he started to get tired he thought about his date with Britney, and it buoyed his spirits. The garden was harder to shovel because of the flagstone paths. The edge of the shovel kept catching on the different flagstones. As he shoveled he told Nathan about his day, and his upcoming date. He knew that the statue could not really hear him, but he was just so excited to tell someone. He was finishing the steps when he stopped in front of the armor.

"I think we will need a name for you big guy," he said to no one in general. He was working on coming up with a knick name for the armor when Ms. Roberts came out with the water.

"Whom are you talking to out here?" she asked.

"Oh" he said realizing she had caught him, "I was just trying to think of a good name for your armor," he said embarrassed.

She took his statement in stride, "his name is Francis," she said. Henry looked at the armor for a moment.

"I bet his friends call him Frankie," he said.

She smiled that same tight lipped smile at his statement and replied "that is why I call him Francis, that and because I think he vaguely dislikes it." Henry shrugged slightly confused by this idea, and followed her, and the water down into the yard.

"So do you really think this will work?" she asked.

Henry smiled "well, the water should at least melt the snow so we can see the holes where the posts were. Then we could at least make it look okay till the ground defrosts enough in a couple of weeks to really do the job right." Henry began pouring the water where he thought the posts should be. As he had thought the holes for them were still frozen into the ground a little worse for wear after being knocked over but he thought the water might freeze around the posts, and shore them up in a matter of hours. Within a few minutes the fence looked as good as new.

"Do you always do such good work?" Roberts asked as she looked around the yard.

"I try," Henry said. He found that he rather like spending time with this woman. "My father mentioned something about odd jobs, was there something else I could help you do?"

"I think that I can come up with something, when do you want to start," she asked. Henry thought for a few moments. I have family stuff tomorrow and I have a date on Sunday. I should do my homework on Monday. Will Tuesday be early enough for you?" He asked earnestly.

"You have a date, huh?" She said considering him carefully. "Is she your girlfriend?" she asked smiling. Henry noticed that she never really smiled wide enough to see her teeth. He thought he remembered something off about her smile when he first met her. He wondered if she was self conscious about it. Henry could tell that she was teasing him a little about the date, but played along. He knew that when his sister found out; she was going to be merciless, as only little sisters could be.

"No ma'am this is our first date, but I'm hopeful" He admitted. Ms. Roberts smiled wide enough that he could almost see her teeth.

"Well then, in that case I think Tuesday will work fine, I will see you here after school on Tuesday. I have somethings to get done this evening so if you will excuse me" She turned to head to the house. "You can see yourself out I trust," she said over her should. Henry did not think she really expected an answer, as she was already walking through the door leaving him alone in the garden.

III

The next night Henry hung his coat up, his head still spinning from the kiss in the driveway he thought it had been a great day. Maybe the first really great day in a long time. After the movie, they had spent the rest of their time talking about school, and holding hands. He had gladly agreed to work on the rest of the novel packets with her and be her partner for the project at the end. He was not sure what would happen on Tuesday when school started again, they had both carefully avoided that subject, but he was excited.

Henry went to his room; he found a note on his door from his father. The note read, "Ms. Roberts called. She needs you to call her tonight about working tomorrow." There was a phone number. He grabbed the cordless phone from the kitchen counter, and headed into his room. He dialed the number, and Ms. Roberts answered the phone on the second ring.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello, Mrs. Roberts?" Henry asked to make sure he reached right person.

"Speaking," she said.

"Hi, this is Henry, my dad said you called about me working tomorrow?" he asked.

"Henry, I'm so glad you called, listen I had a real problem here, I know you said that you were busy tomorrow, but I was really hoping that you could come over for part of the day." Henry had finished all of his homework Friday night, and had been trying to figure out a way to keep him occupied tomorrow. Britney had family things, and was busy.

"Sure, what time," he said.

"Eight o'clock would be best," she said. He had nothing else to do, and agreed.

"Good night, Henry,'" she said, and she was gone. Henry wondered what had happened that she needed help with. He put the phone down glad to have something to do tomorrow, and got ready for bed.

As Henry closed his eyes, and drifted into sleep his last thought was of Britney. He was sure of it now. He was in love.

IV

Roberts hung up the phone, and looked over to Nathan sitting in a chair on the other side of her desk.

"He agreed; he will be here at 8 o'clock tomorrow," she said.

"What are you going to tell him?" Nathan asked.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to tell him. He's just so young. I doubt his mind could even comprehend the scope of his abilities. The fact remains that after Harris's "accident", I desperately need a keeper tomorrow, and none of the other stations can spare one".

"You really think he can do the job on his first day?"

"He is a natural. You saw him with the garden gate. Only a handful of keepers in the universe can open that gate, and all of them needed training first. It has been nearly a full millennia since there was a natural willing to work the gates for us," Roberts said.

"What about my people, you know how long I have waited for someone willing to try to help us, if he really is a natural then he could be the one we need," Nathan pleaded.

"The boys isn't even 18 yet, and you know how dangerous that mission could be. Are you really willing to risk his life?" she asked.

"Sometimes people must take risks for the greater good of a whole planet."

"There is a difference between informed, calculated risks and throwing another living creature's life away for your cause."

"I am not a monster,"

"No you're a fool! I will not allow you to take that boy unless he knows all the risks involved. I mean all the risks Nathan. You know as well as I do there are worse things than death for a keeper. He needs training. I will not authorize any openings, until after he is trained and that is my final word on the subject," she said.

Nathan left the office. He was not happy, but she did not care. She went about getting things ready for morning. Nathan would wait until Henry got some training and that would give her a little breathing room. She knew it was her job to keep an eye on Nathan, and protect him, but she got tired of protecting him from himself. If left to his own devices he would do anything to return his people to their home. He may hate himself for the lives lost in the process, but he would do it. Frankly, she wasn't entirely convinced how much he would morn the lives lost. She gave a small shudder at the thought.

Henry was different; he wasn't old enough to be out of diapers yet on her world. She knew that earthlings measured time differently, but there was something pure about him. He reminded her so much of Melchiorre. She had not been able to keep him safe, but she would protect Henry.
Chapter 4

New Job

I

Henry got up the next morning; curious about what the day would bring. His weekend was already going well. He was hoping his streak would continue. He showered, and got dressed. He shaved the day before, and was able to skip that particular chore. He enjoyed the novelty of shaving when he first started, but it went away quickly. He was not looking forward to when he would have to do it everyday like his dad.

He dressed warm, not sure what the day had in store for him. He left a note for his mom reminding her where he had gone. She had worked a double the night before, and was still sleeping. He grabbed some pop tarts, and walked to Ms. Roberts's house.

A man he had never seen answered the door when he knocked. He had always thought Ms. Roberts was single, but maybe he was wrong. The man was dressed in a black suit coat, and tie, a white dress shirt, and glasses. He had a pleasant face, and it was deeply lined with smile lines, which made him look very friendly. Although Ms. Roberts had silver colored hair, she looked the same age as his mom, and she was in her forties. This man looked much older, he did not think he was her husband.

"You must be Henry," the man said with a smile. "The Terminal Director is expecting you, please follow me."

"Yes, I was here to see Ms. Roberts?"

"Please follow me," the man said with a smile. Henry began to understand that Ms. Roberts must be the "Terminal Director" the man had referred to. Henry did not know what it meant. He realized that he had always seen her in a suit similar to the one the man was wearing, and wondered if she ran a business from her home. The front door opened into the living room, which was very nice. It was well appointed with a deep leather couch, and chairs. There was a very large flat screen television mounted to the wall. It was on, but the sound was off, it was tuned to some type of foreign channel. Henry could not read the words and was not sure what language it was written in. The man led Henry through the living room, and up a flight of stairs near the kitchen, to a door at the end of a short hall. The man knocked on the door, and Henry heard Ms. Roberts voice from the other side tell them to come in. The man held the door open for Henry. Ms. Roberts sat behind a large cherry wood desk.

"Will there be anything else, director?" the man asked.

"No, Philip. We should be okay here. We have VIPs arriving at 8:30 for a 9:00 departure. Would you please make sure they are comfortable while I get Mr. Thomas here settled in to his new job," she said. Henry listened very carefully trying to understand what was being said, but could not really put the pieces together. Henry noticed that they both wore similar black suit coats with a patch, or logo embroidered over the left chest. He could not make out the design from this side of the room. Roberts soon turned her attention to Henry.

"Please sit," she said gesturing to a chair across the desk from her.

"Okay," Henry said taking a seat.

"Well Henry, how are you today?" she asked.

"Good," he said. In all honesty Henry thought to himself that he was very confused. The last thing he expected was to be sitting in this finely appointed office.

"Good, I have a unique opportunity for you Henry. I would like to show you somethings, and after I am finished if you are interested; I would like to offer you a job. Does that sound okay to you?" she asked.

"Sure, I guess" Henry was still very confused. Roberts stood up, and walked to a door in the corner of her office. It was not the door he had entered through. He had assumed it was a closet, but found he was mistaken when she opened the door to reveal a hallway. He walked through the doorway, and was immediately disoriented. He stood at the end of a very long hallway; a finely grained marble floor stretched out before him. He was not sure how this was possible. On his right hand side was a wall of windows that ran the length of the hallway, but what was most disorienting was he appeared to be on the ground floor. He could clearly see the ground through the window, and he was not on the second floor like he thought he should be. The longer he looked out the window the more disconcerting the view became. Henry was looking into a lush green garden filled with flowering plants, and water features. He thought he had lost his mind; he was looking out into a bright summer day. He turned to find Ms. Roberts smiling at him sympathetically.

"Yes, they are beautiful, but we have much to do, and I need to get back to my desk soon. Shall we continue?" She started walking, clearly expecting him to follow. He would have stood all day looking out the window, but was not willing to let his guide to this place get to far from him.

The walls were made from the same finely grained marble that Henry had seen in the garden outside the house, but this was not engraved or sculpted just shaped into blocks. Besides the wall of windows, the hallway was empty except for three doors. The door he had come from that led back to Roberts's office, and 2 others at different points along the wall facing the window. Henry thought the hallway dead-ended, but saw he was mistaken when they reached the far end. It was actually shaped like a large upper case L with the shorter hallway ending in a fourth door. Ms. Roberts opened the door, and Henry walked through, and his brain locked up again.

There were people everywhere; moving, standing, looking at different display boards. There were people sitting to his left on a row of benches in front of a great curved window reading what looked like tablet computers instead of books. Roberts had not stopped walking, and was now standing at a large circular counter that dominated the center of the room. As he walked towards her he discovered he had been standing under the second floor; as came out from under the second floor balcony he was again impressed by the enormous size of the chamber he was in.

Henry found himself under a high arched ceiling made of sparkling glass. The open space was as large as a football field. In the center of one of the long walls was a sweeping arc of windows. It was in front of these windows that Henry had seen the people reading on benches. There was a balcony surrounding the central open area creating a second floor filed with what looked like shops and seating areas.

Henry's mind was reeling from the shear size of the room he was standing in. The second thing to hit him was the impossible number of people moving around. The thing that took the longest for Henry's already full brain to realize was the "people" filling the space were not humans. There were many creatures that were humanoid, but many more were creatures of all shapes, colors and sizes.

"Where are we," he asked the wonder evident in his voice.

"We are on a planet near the intersection of the Galactic bar, and the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way. Welcome to the Milky Way Terminal of the Intergalactic Transportation System," Ms. Roberts said proudly. He thought he should have been scared of a roomful of alien creatures, but maybe it was the way they were all going about their business that made it seem so normal. It reminded him of the time his family had flown out of O'Hare airport.

Henry approached the counter where Roberts was talking to the people behind the counter. Henry could see they were all wearing the same black coat that Roberts wore. They also wore glasses similar to the ones he had seen the man wearing earlier. Above the counter floating in mid air was a large golden orb. It was made of some golden metal, and on the face of the orb was the face of what looked like a clock. There was one large white face for each of the four directions. He did not understand the numbering system around the edges, but the hands where such the classic configuration that Henry knew immediately what the orb was. It was some type of clock.

He saw that Roberts had finished her business, and was looking at him expectantly now. She had mentioned something to him about a job opportunity earlier. The opportunity to work in a place like this was a once in a lifetime chance, even if he was only emptying garbage cans.

"Well what do you think of my terminal Henry?" she asked. Henry remembered what the man had called her earlier, and the pieces finally came together.

"You run this place?" he asked.

"Yes, I am the Terminal Director for this terminal. Do you like it?" She asked.

"It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen, what do you mean this terminal? Do you mean there are more?" he asked. She laughed.

"There is one for every known galaxy in the universe. This is the Milky Way Terminal. Think of them like human airports. Traveling is done through gateways from terminal to terminal. That is where you come in. I want you to be a gatekeeper. It would be your job to open the gates, and help people to travel in, and out. Would you like to work for me here Henry?" She asked. She stood waiting for his answer.

His mind was swirling. He was almost incapable of producing words. He was so excited. He said the only word his swirling mind could produce.

"Yes!!!"

II

Roberts quickly lead him back the way they had come to doorway just outside her office. She gave a cursory knock, and entered. Henry followed her in, and found a creature sitting across the desk from them. It was reptilian in nature, covered in millions of tiny scales of cerulean blue, and lavender. The scales were iridescent fading between the two colors as the light hit them at different angles. To Henry it looked like a chameleon he had seen at the pet store grown to man sized proportions sitting in a desk chair. Henry was not sure, but based on the clothes, thought the creature was female. Her head was shaped similar to that of a chameleon set in a pyramid shape with the eyes set farther apart than a human, and protruded from her head. A layer of the same colored scales surrounded the eyes. There were two ridges that began behind the eyes running above the eyes and coming together to a point about where the nose on a human would have been. Her mouth was just below the point where the ridges came together helping to create that pyramid feel to the shape of her head. There was another subtle ridge that began around the forehead going vertically back from her face down the spine disappearing into the collar of her clothes. She wore a white silk blouse with what Henry had started thinking of as the standard embroidered suit coat over it. Over her eyes where a pair of individual lenses shaped like bisected glass balls, a wire that ran across her brow attached them to each other. She looked up to Henry and smiled. Henry thought that it was a radiant smile and liked her immediately.

"Uktu this is Henry," Roberts said gesturing to him, "Henry this is Uktu," she said it so it sounded like ook two.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," Uktu said.

"She is going to take care of your paperwork, and get you settled in," Roberts said. Then she turned to Uktu, and said "I need him on the floor in 45 minutes at IG 12. I'll need him fully equipped, and ready to run independently after the first gate. I put his schedule in the computer already. It should be ready to load to his information display. I have his uniform in my office, I'll bring it to you while you get his biometrics in the system." While Roberts was talking, Uktu was nodding all the while looking at Henry as if he was the strangest thing she had ever seen.

"I can do that, it's really true? He is really a natural, and a human?" Uktu asked.

"Yes, it's true, but please keep that bit quiet, as you can imagine this whole things is going to be odd enough for him with out extra attention. Take good care of him; I think he is still a little overwhelmed. I will take him to gate IG 12 to walk him through his first opening. After that it is up to you to keep him on schedule," and then she was gone.

Uktu smiled warmly at him, and stood up from her desk. She wore a knee length skirt. Henry noticed that the resemblance to a chameleon continued and that the ridge that started on her forehead ran down her back and onto a tail that hung between her legs stopping just above the floor. She wore a pair of sandals that allowed the claws that tipped her toes to be free.

"Well, I never thought I would see the day I had a natural in my office, welcome to the team," she said very warmly. "Let's get started shall we, there is a lot to do, and it sounds like we won't have a lot of time to do it. Please undress down to what ever under garments you are wearing."

Henry was caught off guard, suddenly more nervous than he had been all day. Henry was embarrassed, he was suddenly very aware of the marks covering his body. He was not sure what Uktu would think about all of the bruises. If he wanted to keep the job he had just gotten; he would have to do what he was asked. He tried to make conversation while he undressed to distract Uktu from his bruises.

"What did you mean when you said I was a natural?" he asked.

Uktu was working on a keypad on her desk while looking at a display that Henry figured was a computer screen. She had long delicate fingers that ended in shaped claws painted like fingernails. She looked up from the screen stunned, and a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I forget myself. I forget that humans are still such a young species. Young man you are a gatekeeper, and a natural to boot. Many people can learn to work the gateways. For most it takes years of practice and dedication. You are what we in the business call a natural. Please stand on the circular pad." She punched another series of buttons and a circular pad lit up in the corner of her office. Henry did as he was asked setting his clothes, shoes and, socks on a chair in front of her desk. Henry had felt a little awkward at first, but she had a very warm presence about her. He stood on the pad. It began to glow brighter underneath him. Uktu continued her explanation.

"A natural can open the gates with out being trained. I've never worked with a natural myself, but legend says it has something to do with the way you perceive the world around you. In actuality it has been so long since one worked for the ITS that all we really have is legend. You are from Earth, Chicago specifically is that correct?" she asked changing the subject. Uktu was looking through a cabinet full of little glass vials; she was obviously looking for something. She found what she was looking for in the cabinet, and was now holding up a small clear vial of fluid.

"Yes, or just outside it really. What my people call a suburb," he added. She placed the vial into something that looked vaguely like a gun, and walked towards him; he immediately felt nervous again.

"Don't worry, it is an inoculation. It will protect you from any germs the clients you are going to be transporting may be carrying. It is standard procedure for all employees. Each inoculation is tailored to the area you are from. They are made to include germs from other cities on your home world and specific reoccurring pathogens through out the known universe. It still won't protect you from the common cold. There doesn't seem to be any cure for that, but this should protect you from anything that is really dangerous. There you are." She said as she injected Henry in the shoulder. Even though she injected the whole vile he thought that it had actually not felt that bad. It was less like getting a shot back home, and more along the line of a light poke. He was really starting to like Uktu; she had a smile, and sense of humor about her that put him at ease.

As she was finishing the injections the door opened, and Roberts walked in carrying a garment bag.

"Here is your uniform Henry. Is he ready?" She asked.

"He just needs his gear, and he will be ready to go. You can put on your uniform Henry, I'm done with your body." She said opening another cabinet. She pulled out two small boxes, and began opening them. Henry wanted very much to watch what she was doing, but Roberts was standing there holding his uniform. As much as he wanted to watch what Uktu was doing he wanted to put on clothes more. He took the garment bag from Roberts. She went back to her office. He unzipped the garment bag, and found a white dress shirt, a pair of grey trousers, black shoes, and socks. He was not surprised to find his very own black suit coat. He finally got a good chance to look at the logo embroidered on the pocket; the background was the Clock from the center hall with ITS stitched over the face of it.

When he was dressed name badge, tie and all, he sat down in the chair ready for the next step. Uktu had finished with her boxes, and handed him a pair of glasses like the ones he had seen Philip wearing.

"Here put these on, the attached earpiece tucks into your ear," she said. Henry did as she asked. He was suddenly able to read the labels on the cabinets around the room.

"The glasses translate written language, and display it on the lenses. They will also visually scan travelers, and provide species information. The earpiece will translate words spoken by travelers into English. You will hear the translation in real time in your ear. As for the rest of your gear, the collar of your suit has a microphone that will pick up anything you say. This information will be transmitted to your suit coat's speech encoder. It will translate, and project your words to travelers through a speaker located behind the logo on the left pocket. The language data is provided by the glasses so be sure to look at the people you are speaking to." Henry was looking at the coat in a whole new way when Uktu slid across her desk his final piece of equipment. It was as thin as a sheet of glass, and clear. It looked like a rectangular piece of glass. It was about 4 inches wide by 6 inches high.

"This is your information display, it is the heart of what you do here, it is encoded to your body, and it will display your arrival, and departure times. It will display a map of the terminal telling you gate numbers, and your location in regards to the terminal. It will also tell you where your next gate is, and when you are supposed to be there. When you reach the gate it will provide the information you need to open the gate. Roberts will show you exactly how it works when she walks you through your first gate," she stood up, and walked the few feet to Roberts door, and knocked.

"He's ready for you Director," she said.

III

Henry picked up his newest piece of technology. He was not sure how a piece of glass was supposed to do all of the things Uktu said it would. When he touched it, it immediately came to life in his hands. What looked like a flat piece of glass was really a tablet computer. The minute his hands touched it, it turned flat black like a sheet of onyx. The screen lit up with the words

"Scanning for identity markers"

"Syncing bio-electrical signals"

Henry then heard through his earpiece the tablet talk to him as the words appeared on his screen. "Welcome Henry Thomas, activate interactive schedule, or interactive map function?"

"Henry," Ms. Roberts said next him, "You need to turn on your schedule, you can do that by either touching the interactive schedule icon on the screen, or by saying schedule."

"Interactive schedule please" Henry said.

"Attention Keeper Thomas, incoming clients arriving at IG gate 12, please proceed to gate IG 12," a voice in his earpiece said.

The screen brought up a map of the terminal along with the words "Incoming clients arriving at IG gate 12, please proceed to gate IG 12." The gate in question lit up on his map, and a path of travel was illuminated on his map from his current location. Another box appeared in the upper left hand corner it read "Time until opening 15min 12 secs, 11secs, 10secs, 9secs" Henry could see that it was a timer counting down. He looked to Ms. Roberts for further instruct

"As you can see the tablet will tell you what gate number you need to open, and how long until it has to be opened. Please follow your schedule. I will go with you to your first gate, and help you open the first one. I would like you to follow your map, and see if you have any questions. I will follow you, but will not say anything unless you make a mistake." she said.

Henry did as asked. He looked to his tablet map, took appraisal of where he was supposed to go, and walked towards the terminal door he had been through before. Once in the terminal proper his map guided him through the center arrival /departure hallway labeled Intergalactic Travel. Once in the entrance he approached the security station. The two security staff members on duty saw Roberts, and let them pass with out comment. Once into the arrivals, and departures area he stood at the base of a large V. The arrival /departure areas were very long, and looking at the map Henry judged them to be about 300 feet or so, roughly the length of a football field. They were about 40 feet across with a long arched glass ceiling that arched over the center 20 feet of the hallway running the length of the hall. Every few feet there was a small podium with an agent in a Black coat checking what Henry assumed were tickets. There was a seating area for those people who had checked in with the agent at the podium, and were waiting to depart. Not all of the seating areas had people in them, he realized that either these gates were not being used, or were waiting for arriving clients. The map directed him to the left side of the V. He proceeded to gate IG 12 located on the far right side of the hallway.

Henry approached an empty seating area, he could see on the sign above the gate that he had reached the gate designated by his tablet. When Henry stood in front of the gateway his tablet spoke to him again.

"You have reached IG 12 display gate coordinates?" it asked.

"That was a very good job Henry, " Ms. Roberts said. Ms. Roberts walked over, and stood in front of what Henry assumed was gate IG 12. The gateways were different from any door that Henry had seen yet at the station. It looked familiar to Henry, and after a moment he placed it. The heart of the gateway was the same rose covered marble arch he had seen outside the entrance to the garden in Ms. Roberts yard. Like a flash of light, Henry understood that the garden gate was also a gateway. He realized that opening the iron gate was what had led him to this moment.

Here however instead of being an iron gate was more marble wall. When Henry got closer, he saw there was an outline of an arched door inlayed into the marble wall. It was inlayed, in fine lines of gold metal. Within the inlayed outline the marble was carved into a finely grained wood door. The only thing protruding from the archway was a knob on the right side of the carved door; it looked to be made of the same gold material that was inlayed into the marble. It had been polished to a high shine.

Ms. Roberts stood in front of a panel of the same glass material that made up his tablet computer. It was mounted at 45-degree angle on a slender sculpted glass rod about 5 feet in the air. The rod was carved into the same climbing rose pattern that appeared on the now familiar marble archway.

"Please come over here Henry" Ms. Roberts said.

Henry walked over to the glass panel. As he had thought, it was a computer screen like his tablet.

"Did your tablet offer the gate coordinates when we arrived at the gate?" she asked.

"It did," he said.

"Please accept them," she said. Henry pushed the appropriate button on his tablet. His screen changed to display a series of numbers.

"Okay Henry on your tablet should be a series of numbers, that is the location of the gate to which you are going to connect, please come touch the gate monitor," she said. Henry placed his hands on the glass, and a keyboard appeared below his fingertips.

"The keyboard appears based on the configuration of your hands, and species; it can be changed if you find a system that works better, but for today, why don't you stick with the QWERTY set up," she said. On the screen above the projected keyboard was a prompt that read,

"Input receiving gate coordinates."

Below that prompt was a blinking cursor. He typed in the series of numbers that appeared on his personal tablet.

When he finished typing the last number. "Aligning gate," appeared on the screen along with a progress bar.

"The computer helps the gates to align themselves properly." Roberts said. "With time, and training advanced gate keepers can focus on the coordinates, and lay hands on the gate to direct its alignment with out help. Place your hands on the gate so you can begin to understand what it feels like."

Henry stood in the middle of the arch, and placed his hands on the carved marble, it felt warm to his touch. He could feel the thrum of some powerful energy building as his hands maintained their contact with the gateway.

"It's warm, I can feel energy building just below the surface. The only way I can think to describe it, is like a ball of light in my mind," Henry said.

"Good, tomorrow you will start the training that regular gatekeepers undergo, but for today let the computer help the gate to line up. Normally it takes training for gatekeepers to feel what you described. The computer says your gateway should be aligned. Now close your eyes," she said. Henry did as she asked, and the ball of light refined itself to a golden ball. To Henry it looked like the clock he had seen above the information desk. He had not seen the information desk clock very closely, but around the edge of the clock face where the time should have been displayed; Henry saw the coordinates for the gate he was about to open. Henry heard Roberts speaking.

"Now if you were doing this manually on the face of the orb, is where you would enter the gate coordinates, are they correct?" she asked. Henry did not know how, but instinctually recognized them as the right series of numbers. He told Roberts they were correct.

"Okay, in your mind touch the center of the orb" she said. Henry thought hard, and did as she asked. He pictured his hands touching the center of what he now thought of as the orb's face. In his mind a beam of light shot out from the back of the golden orb. Henry could feel the beam of light traveling through the black. It felt like a thrum in his chest. He could feel as it struck something, and reflected off in a new direction.

"Can you feel the beam?" she asked.

"Yes, I felt it leave. It feels like it's hitting something that changes its direction," Henry replied.

"That is the gate you are trying to connect to. Now the computer can help you align the gate, but it is the keeper himself who actually creates the connection between the gates. That is what we are going to do now. When the gate is properly aligned the beam should be reflected back at you, use the orb to fine tune the link," she instructed.

He did as she instructed. Using the mental projections of his hands, he turned the orb a little to the left, like turning a ball. He could feel the end of the beam coming closer to him. He was not sure how, but he knew the direction the orb needed to be turned. Something in him just guided his hands. Within moments he felt the reflection of the beam strike his chest, and the current of energy increased two fold. He could feel the thrum of the gate now under his hands.

"Okay, I think it is aligned," he said. "What do I do now?" he asked desperate to move to the next step. He had never felt so much energy before. He felt more alive than he had ever felt in his life. He was connected to something amazing. He believed the power raging within him would consume him, and add his energy back into the universe that had given him life if he let it.

"Now open your eyes" Roberts said. He opened is eyes, and saw the golden metal that had been inlayed into the marble outlining the doorway blazing with light.

"Now pull the knob of the door towards you," she said.

As Henry pulled the knob he could feel something being pulled towards him, it was heavy.

"Do you feel the weight at the other end when you pull?" she asked.

"Yes, it's like trying to drag a mountain,"

"That is the gate on the other side, you should feel a lot of energy in your chest. Focus on pushing the energy down your arms and into the knob then pull again," she said.

He channeled all of the energy that had built within him into the door. The outline of the door blazed so bright he thought he would see it long after it was gone. When he felt that his body could not channel any more energy he pulled again. He felt the gates slam together, and the door swung open.

"Excellent job," Ms. Roberts said. "You can release the knob now." Henry realized he was still holding the doorknob. He held it so tight his knuckles were white.

Before where there had been a carving of a door stood a fully actualized door of stone. It was open to a mirror of the chamber he now stood in. Henry saw that the room was similar, but not an exact copy of his terminal. The marble walls were pale blue as opposed to white, and the chairs were a different color. Those exceptions aside it could be the same departure area that he was standing in. He found that even though he was no longer touching the gate he could feel the energy of the connection in the back of his mind.

Ms. Roberts walked through the door, and motioned for him to follow.

"Henry, I need you to listen carefully to everything I say. In a few minutes it will be your job to let the attendant know that the gateway is safe for client travel," Roberts said.

"Yes Ms. Roberts," Henry said. Henry opened his ears; ready to try to remember everything Roberts was about to say. He was very nervous, and excited. He could feel the power of the gateway coursing through his body.

Roberts, and Henry passed through the gate. There was a group of travelers waiting in a seating area, but she walked over to the agent standing at the podium.

"The gate to the Milky Way Terminal is now open. Are all clients checked in, and ready for transport?" she asked.

The agent smiled at Henry, and nodded.

The agent was humanoid in nature, but as he got closer he saw that her skin looked like it was made of stone. He did not know if her whole body looked like that, because she was wearing a uniform, but the exposed surfaces of her body appeared to be made of the finest white alabaster. The stone had a slightly pink undertone, with the veining, and texture of the stone an even deeper pink. She looked similar to the pieces of carved alabaster he had seen at the art institute. It was breath taking, she looked like a statue come to life. She did not look to be much older than Henry, but he realized that every species was probably different, and he didn't know if a person carved from stone would age.

He realized he didn't know if she was actually stone, or just looked like stone. Her eyes were blue faceted topaz; they cast a faint light onto her cheeks. He didn't know if her eyes were actually luminous, or if the facets, and crystalline structure of the topaz were refracting the light. Her hair was long, and hung around her face in a wavy sheet of white silk. She wore the same uniform that Henry wore, but where Henry wore a dress shirt, she wore a v necked blouse that showed some cleavage of the same stone skin. She was one of the most stunning women Henry had ever met in person. He wondered if he would ever be able to describe how much this person looked like art come to life, he was not always good at describing things to other people.

"They're ready," she said smiling warmly. "Good afternoon Ms. Roberts," the agent said.

"Good afternoon, Amica. This is Henry, today is his first day as a keeper," Roberts said.

"That was an impressive opening, even from this side. One minute it was powering up, and then before I knew it, the gate was open," she said. Henry was not sure how to react, at school he would just try to disappear when people were talking about him. She turned to Henry. "Nice to meet you, you have real talent Henry.

"Thank you. Nice to meet you too," Henry said.

"You look human, are you from Chicago?" she asked. Henry was bewildered.

"Yeah, south suburbs, but yeah. How did you know?" Henry asked.

"I live in Calumet City, I recognized the accent," she said. Henry was even more confused, and it must have shown on his face because Amica smiled.

"Don't worry about it sport, Earth is more complicated then you imagined, not everyone who lives on your planet was born there, some of us just blend in better. You'll learn don't worry," Amica said. Henry wanted to ask her questions, he did not see how anyone who looked like her could blend in, but Roberts tapped him on the shoulder.

"Henry, we have got people to move, Amica you better make the announcement." Roberts said.

"Oh right, sorry," Henry and Amica said at the same time, and then looked at each other, and smiled. Amica pushed a button on her podium.

"Travel will now commence, please check your area for any belongs you may have dropped, and pass through the gate in an orderly fashion," she announced.

The clients rose, and passed through the gate.

"Bye," Henry said. They went through the gate following the last client. Roberts turned to Henry, and smiled.

"You may now close the gate," Roberts said. Henry grabbed the knob, and pushed the door closed. When the door was shut he could still feel the connection between the gates. He thought that if he pulled hard enough at that moment, the gate would still reopen.

"Now we are going to release the connection. Close your eyes and picture the beam turning off," she said.

Henry closed his eyes, and he pictured the beam turning off as Roberts had instructed; the connection he felt in his head was gone. Immediately Henry felt the absence of energy cause his body to sag a little.

"Congratulations Henry, you did a very good job with a difficult gate. Do you have any questions?" she asked.

"What do I do now?" he asked unsure what the rest of his day held.

"Follow your tablet. It will tell you which gates need to be opened, and when. When your shift is over, come back to my office, and we will find a locker for you to keep that uniform. Any more questions?" she asked.

"I guess not," he said. In truth he felt a thousand questions swimming through his head but could tell that Roberts really needed to get back to her office.

"Don't worry, you will do fine. I'll see you at the end of the day," she said. Then she was gone.
Chapter 5

The First Shift

I

Henry opened 4 more gates in quick succession all in the same general area, before his tablet told him he had an hour for lunch. It all moved quickly he had not really had a chance to say more than a perfunctory hello, and the required spiel about the gates being open, and ready for transport. He was actually glad that his schedule was packed so tight because it gave him a reason to move quickly through each opening. By the time his schedule told him he had a break for lunch he could barley stand up. He sat down in one of the arrival, and departure chairs to try, and figure out a plan. He had no idea what he was going to do for his break; maybe find some kind of lunch. That brought up the issue of money; he didn't have a way to pay for it. Maybe if he asked Ms. Roberts she would lend him some of whatever money this place used so he could get some lunch. He was just thinking about asking when he heard Amica's voice from behind him.

"Well if it isn't my favorite new keeper," she said jokingly. Henry looked up to her and the look on her face changed immediately and she sat down. "I hope you're on break, 'cause you look wiped. It's dangerous to open gates when you are tired, you could hurt yourself."

"Really, are you a keeper?"

"No, my father was. I want to be trained. I tested when I was a kid. I could feel the gates, but I don't see the orb clearly yet. They say with training, I should be able to open the gates, but training is expensive unless you're sponsored, or know someone who can teach you." She looked at him again, and laughed. "You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?" she asked.

"No, I know the orb you were talking about, well at least I think I do, but,"

"Yeah, your planet doesn't really know a whole lot about the universe outside their solar system. There are a few key individuals who know, but on the whole most of it is kept on the down low. How'd you get this job anyway?" she asked.

"I am not sure really, one minute I was shoveling snow in Ms. Roberts garden; the next day she called, and offered me a job. I opened my first gate this morning. Honestly I keep waiting to wake up. It all feels like a dream?" Henry said.

"You know Roberts, I mean I know she took you on your first gate this morning, but wait, you've been in her garden? Which one?" Amica asked.

"The front one, with the suit of armor, and the statute under the fruit tree." Henry said.

"Wow, you know Nathan and Frankie, you do get around," Amica said teasingly.

Henry was confused again. Nothing Amica was saying made any sense, he didn't know if it was because he was hungry, tired or if he just had a very full day.

"I am confused again," he admitted "sorry".

She laughed. She stood up, and reached a hand out for Henry's hand to help him up. "Don't worry about it, why don't we get some food into that over worked brain of yours, and I'll explain everything." She said smiling. Henry was confused, but enthused that he seemed to be making a friend. He decided to follow along, and see where things ended up; besides the idea of food sounded heavenly.

"Sounds wonderful, where do we go?" Henry asked.

"Come with me," Amica said sliding her hand into his, and pulling him to his feet. Her hand was solid, and unyielding like the stone he thought it was carved from. It felt cool to the touch at first, but warmed quickly in his hand. He let her pull him up roughly, and stood nose to nose with her for a second while he caught his balance. He could see himself reflected back a thousand times in the facets of her jeweled eyes. He realized he was standing nose to nose with a very beautiful creature. He could feel her breath on his cheek it made his head swim even more. He felt guilty all of a sudden. He liked Britney, he was still not sure where things stood with her, but he felt an immediate connection to Amica.

After only a few minutes talking with Amica, he realized how out of place he was in this world. He thought that maybe if Amica were his friend, he wouldn't be so lost. She really seemed to understand what was going on here; she must be older than he thought. He stepped back.

"Are you really made of stone, or does it just look like stone," he asked then blushed, because he didn't know if his question would be construed as rude. "Sorry," he said; he just felt very comfortable with her.

"No, it's okay. Not in the way that you think of stone. We have many of the same biological systems that you have, a circulatory system that moves fluid, and organs that process food, and so forth but our cells are much denser than yours, so tactilely it feels like stone. Human tissues are very pliant by comparison," she said.

While they were talking they had walked back out into the main terminal hall. She led him toward an elevator in the middle of the short wall opposite of where the door to Ms. Roberts's office was. To the left of the elevator was a door that read, "Staff only." She went through the door, and then immediately through another door on the left that read, "Staff lounge."

The room was shaped like a capital L. There were three machines that looked like vending machines, a sink, and cabinets. There was one wall of windows looking out into another garden, filled with different types of trees, and flowers. In the center of the room were three tables with chairs surrounding them. There was no one in the room however. She went over to a bank of lockers on the wall directly opposite the sink, and vending machines, and proceeded to take out a purse.

"This is the break room for employees, it is not a bad place to take a short break, but I wouldn't recommend eating from the machines the food is not very good. Do you have any money?" she asked. He nodded no.

"I'll buy you lunch today, but only if you promise to tell me how you got into the garden, and buy me lunch tomorrow."

"Sounds great," and it did, it would mean having lunch with her again.

"What do you say we go upstairs to the restaurants, there is a place up there that makes really good sandwiches," she said. She walked into the main hall, and stood in front of the elevator.

"Okay lesson number one, things in the universe cost money, or goods. The universe still functions on a monetary, or barter system. Most species recognize the universal credit system. That is how you will get paid by the ITS. Lesson two, you're a keeper, which puts you in the union, think of them like teamsters with out the manners. The keepers are what keep this whole place running, the union is always looking for new talent they can control. See, the more keepers they control the easier it is to control the price of an opening. Every time you open a gate the station owes you credits, and in turn you pay the union a percentage. They call it membership dues. I call it a protection fee. The more difficult the gate is to open the more the station owes you, there are five levels of gates, and they are coded by the color of the beam. I'm telling you it's a racket, but if you don't join, well, let's just say... you're young, and relatively handsome for a human. You should really do what they say. Besides if you don't, none of the other keepers will speak to you. The system stinks, but you get used to it. The good news is that you make good money," she said. The doors opened; she stepped into the elevator, and Henry followed her. He had questions about the whole money thing.

"Is there a way to be paid in earth money?" He asked not sure how he would pay for college if he got paid in intergalactic money.

"All right lesson number three money. Trust me you don't want to do that, the American dollar is not a very strong currency; so few Earthlings leave the planet that most galaxy's don't recognize it as a tradable currency. What you want to do is get paid in intergalactic credits, then go to the currency exchange counter, and trade it out. Yesterday the rate of exchange was roughly one credit to 13 dollars, so if you took the money from your easiest crossing 54 dollars after union fees you would have about 700 dollars American," she said stepping off the elevator. Henry just stood frozen in place; he had opened five gates this morning. If his math was correct even if his gates were all the simplest gates to open he had made roughly 3500 dollars this morning in American money. How would he hide that kind of money from his parents? Did he have to hide it from them, could he tell them about his new job, and its potential for wealth for his family? Henry decided he would like to tell his parents; everything in his life always felt more real when he shared it with his family. The only secret he had kept from his family was his problems at school. He was not sure he was allowed to tell, he would have to ask Roberts.

"That's like 3500 dollars just this morning how do I hide that kind of money, I can't just pay for everything with cash can I?" Henry asked.

"No, I see your point; a kid our age with that kind of dough draws attention. Uktu in Human resources can make it all look legal on earth," she said. She stood in front of a long glass case similar to the deli meat case at Wal-Mart; only this one was full of meats, and cheeses in colors, and shades he had never seen. There was green meat flecked with orange striations. There were pinks, and blues. He saw one bowl actually had things crawling around inside it, which looked like yellow earthworms with tinny legs. Amica turned to him, and then asked him the most disturbing question he had been asked all day.

"Do you trust me?" she asked. Henry wanted very badly to say yes, but looking into the case he could not really find anything that looked remotely appetizing. He decided to just go with it, she seemed to really have taken him under her wing as it were, and he was glad to have found someone willing to teach him the ropes.

"I guess, but am still very nervous about the whole thing." Henry said now more nervous than ever. Amica smiled big, and turned to the big man behind the counter he looked human, until he smiled. When he smiled the illusion that he was from Earth vanished. Henry realized when he smiled that he was from wherever Ms. Roberts was, because his smile was friendly, but the larger it got the more sharp teeth he showed. He was large, and not just in height. He was nearly 6 foot tall, and looked to be in the 300 lb.-weight range. He had short blond hair, and a pleasant face. Henry could tell looking at him that he enjoyed his job, and took pride in his shop, because although he was a very large man he was clean wearing black slacks and a white chef coat with the logo of the ITS over the heart. Over the top of all of that was a white apron.

"Hey Tom, can I get two varken, with emmentaler on that white bread over there, and two drinks, thanks," she said. Tom got a block of meat that was a dark orange from the case, and carried it over to the slicer. He sliced a handful of meat into a piece of what looked like wax paper, and then put the block back into the case exchanging it for a greenish block riddled with holes. He proceeded to slice the block into another piece of wax paper. When he had a small pile, he put the block back in the case. Then took the two piles over to where there was a basket full of hard rolls. He took two rolls sliced them, and proceeded to assemble the sandwiches. He handed the sandwiches to Amica, and she gave him a card that looked similar to a credit card.

"There are a couple of different Intergalactic Banks, but the ITS has its own credit union. They offer a widely accepted credit card that allows you to electronically transfer funds for all of your purchases," she said handing the card to Henry when Tom handed it back to her. It was a black card with the logo of the ITS and the globe in the center. It looked like a standard credit card to Henry.

They took their sandwiches, and two cups; then went to what was the first really familiar thing Henry had seen all day a Coca Cola soda fountain.

"Is this really a coke machine?" Henry asked hopeful.

"Yes, Coca Cola is a major supplier of beverages through out the universe. The regular Coke is the same that you are familiar with, but there are other flavors that are not available on Earth, many of them cater to the tastes of different species through out the universe," she said while filling her glass. Henry filled his glass as well. He took a small sip, and found she was right. He took a long swallow; it was wonderful to have a little piece of home in this strange new place. For the first time he felt comfortable in these new surroundings. They walked to an open seating area near a railing looking out onto the main hall below.

"Are there other, companies from earth that have products here at the terminal?" Henry asked curiously.

"Oh, Coca Cola is not an Earth corporation, well at least it wasn't started there. The head quarters are somewhere near one of the stars in the Ursa Minor constellation. The company on Earth is just the local branch, and only the president knows about the other divisions off planet, and that's only because he's not from Earth either. Now, no changing the subject, we had a deal you promised to tell me about the garden, how did you get in?" she asked. Henry was not sure where to start, he didn't really know much about the garden.

"I went in through the gate?" he said, "You've seen it, haven't you? I mean if you live in Calumet City you can go in any time right?" Henry asked confused.

"I have seen the garden from outside the gate, but there are only two ways in, and out of the garden; one is through the house, and the other is through the front gate. You have to have permission from Roberts to enter the garden from the house, or be a very, very talented keeper to use the gate," as she said the last sentence her words trailed off, and she looked at Henry again. Henry wasn't sure, because the gems she had for eyes were hard to read, but he thought that she was evaluating her last sentence, and taking stock of him again. Henry thought that she was reconsidering being his friend. He didn't know if she thought he was lying, but something had changed all of a sudden. Her eyes were really hard to read. Henry felt uncomfortable; he thought that maybe it was time to tell her he was a natural. But before he could she spoke again.

"You really opened the gate?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he said quietly as well. He had the feeling that something important was slipping away, like the relationship was changing; "I've done it a couple of times now. Although I swear I didn't know that I had done anything special until you told me. I only learned how to open a gateway this morning, when Ms. Roberts showed me how. She, and Uktu both said that I am what they call a natural." Henry said.

"My father was a natural, but he wouldn't talk about it very much. Do you really see the world differently?" she asked nervously.

"I don't know. Sometimes, I think I do anyway. I see the way things work sometimes, the connections behind things that make them work. For instance we were becoming friends, and then you thought about me opening the garden gate a second ago, I could see that everything changed. All of a sudden you weren't sure you wanted to be my friend anymore," he said. Henry was not sure where the words came from, but as he spoke them he knew that they were all true. Amica looked shocked, and a little embarrassed. Henry realized that what he said might have embarrassed her.

"I'm sorry I never meant to embarrass you, like I said, sometimes I just see connections you know, but this is the first time it has ever happened with someone that wasn't family. I understand if you don't want to be my friend, thanks for the sandwich," he said, and started to stand up to leave.

"Wait!" she said, "don't go. I still want to be your friend. Wow, I've forgotten how unsettling hearing my thoughts spoken back to me is. It's just that when you said you opened the garden gate, and were a natural. It caught me off guard. When I was a kid there was this hope among my people; one day a natural would help us get home," she said. "I just didn't know what to think, I like you Henry; I do. I know we just met, but it's really exciting to finally meet someone like me. There aren't a lot of people our age in the system, you know. But, if you really are the person Nathan is looking for then, well I..." Henry cut her off mid sentence, because she was getting really agitated.

"Hey, calm down," Henry said. "Why don't you slow down, and start at the beginning. Tell me a little about your people, and we can eat our lunch; and figure this out together. I would really like to be your friend too. Now, what exactly have you given me to eat, 'cause I don't mind telling you; this is the most disgusting looking thing I have ever seen," Henry said. Amica laughed loudly till there were tears running down her cheeks.

"I know it is so off putting isn't it, but it tastes like ham, and Swiss I promise. Tomorrow if you are working, we can go to McDonald's," she said.

"Wait, there's a McDonald's here, and you took me here on my first day, you're mean. You know that," he said giggling.

"Yeah, there is one on the balcony at the other side," she said still laughing. "I wanted to see how much you trusted me," she said through her tears. Henry took a bite, just to show her that he was above the test. He was pleasantly surprised to find that she had really been telling the truth; it tasted just like ham, and Swiss. He began eating his sandwich in earnest he really had been hungry.

"So tell me about your people, I'd really like to know," Henry said.

"Okay, I was really little when it started, almost 6. I come from a planet around the star Alpha Sculptoris. My people are called Scultura. Anyway my people were isolationists, we dealt with the outside universe as little as possible. We didn't form treaties, or alliances that would cause us to get involved with the politics of other worlds. Well about a thousand of your years ago a species called the Angriff came through the gateways unexpectedly. Our planet didn't use the Intergalactic Transit System very often so we didn't have a lot of golden gateways that lead off planet. Their armies poured through all of them. My people tried to fight back, but we had no weapons, or standing army. It was over before it had even begun. My people had lots of gateways that we used for travel around the planet like your people use airplanes and cars, but they had not been built to handle inter-planetary gateways, they just couldn't channel that kind of power. My people where trapped, and out numbered. To this day we're not sure who opened the gateways that let the Angriff in, many of my people believe the keeper union was behind it, because none of the keepers from my planet would join the union. We begged the rest of the universe for help, but because we had always been unwilling to help other planets, no one was willing to come to our aide. The Angriff began enslaving my people, using them to mine minerals, and precious metals the Angriff wanted.

My parents were gate technicians; they had been building a new off planet gate when the invasion took place. The gate was incomplete, but it was designed to be a golden gate. If it was finished it could channel enough power to get many of our people to safety. It was short several key components in order to become operational. My parents worked secretly to finish the gateway, trying to get the parts to bring the gate to full operational status.

They became part of an underground movement to try to get people to safety. Unfortunately, they were unable to obtain all of the parts they needed. The computer components that modulate the destination frequencies allowing a regular gatekeeper to work it could not be obtained. However my father was a natural keeper. He had dedicated his life to understanding the way that gates were constructed, and used. He was able to bypass the components that allowed regular keepers to work the gateway. He said because he was a natural, as long as the gate had power, he could modulate the destination frequency manually using the orb. In the end, he alone was able to use the gate. They were able to get many of my people to safety through the gateway before they were discovered. I think they were even able to smuggle many of the pieces back through the semi operational gateway in order to bring it all the way on line. But, my father said that they would need to shut the gate down completely in order to install the computer components they would need. The underground agreed; they could not afford for the gateway to be shut down for any length of time. There were just too many lives at risk.

I remember the last day on my home world very clearly. I was almost 8. The Angriff attacked suddenly, and with out any warning from the underground. Later we learned word had leaked to the Angriff that the last members of the royal family were seeking refuge in the building where the gate was hidden. They thought we were building an underground resistance movement, to rally behind the royal family. They sent a large force against us. They surrounded the building, and opened fire with their pulse weapons. The weapon fire was loud, and scary; I remember holding my mother's leg as the ceilings began to fall around us. The building was actually almost empty. Most of the people the Angriff thought we had gathered over the last year had never actually stayed for more than a day or two, before passing through the gate. My father held the gate open as long as he could. He got mom and I, and several others including Nathan the last member of the royal family. He was only 16, and the resistance hoped he could rally support for his people off world. My father, and some others stayed behind hoping to hide the gateway from the Angriff, and disguise what they had been doing there. They hoped, that after the attack had passed they would be able to reopen the gateway. My mother, and I waited for many years, but we never heard from him again. That was almost a thousand of your years ago. We don't know if he was captured, or killed by the Angriff. I think it is the not knowing that is the hardest to handle.

"A thousand years, how old are you?" Henry asked amazed.

"I'm a little over 1,800 of your years, but my people measure time differently on our planet. It takes 100 of your years for our planet to make a full revolution around the sun. So on my planet I am 18," she said trying to explain.

"So, when you said you were six, that meant that you would have been six hundred here? Am I right?" Henry asked. He thought that he understood, but he wanted to make sure.

"See, now you're getting it," she said.

"What happened to your people, after they left Alpha Sculptoris?" Henry asked.

"The gateway was powerful enough to get us to a different galaxy, my father had studied gatekeeping with a very talented keeper who had been named the Terminal Director here at the Milky Way Terminal. They were old friends, and she agreed to help us find places to hide on earth. Our physical make up allowed many of our people to hide in plain sight. She turned her front yard into a garden for Nathan, so she could look after him," she said.

"What about the gateway, was it destroyed by the Angriff?" Henry asked, something deep inside of him desperately needed to know.

"Over the years, I have heard Roberts has tried several times to get the gate to open, she can connect to it, which means it still has power, but it wont open. She is not a natural so she cannot do big frequency modulations with out the computers like my father could. Many of us survivors have always believed that a natural is the only one who can open the gateway. I hear through the grapevine that Nathan has been looking for a natural to try opening the gateway for years. He has some plan about leading a team through to try, and take our home back. Me, I would be happy just to know what happened to my father," she said. Henry wondered if he could open the gate for her people, if he really was a natural maybe he could do it. Before he could offer though he heard a voice speak to him in his ear.

"Attention Keeper Thomas, upcoming clients exchange at IG gate 14, please proceed to gate IG 14," the tablet said into Henry's earpiece. He had been so wrapped up in Amica's story that he had forgotten that he was still on the clock, and had to go back to work. He took his tablet out of his coat pocket, and saw that he had 15 minutes until his next opening.

"I have really enjoyed having lunch with you, but I have an opening I need to get to. I would like to hang out with you again, is there a way I can get a hold of you?" Henry asked not sure how a friendship with an alien species would work.

"I live in Calumet City remember, why don't you give me your phone number," she said laughing.

"Right, sorry I forgot. No offense, you're the first alien I've ever been friends with." Henry said with a laugh. They exchanged phone numbers.

"Thanks for lunch, I owe you one when I start getting paid," Henry said.

"Are you kidding me, you owe me two, all this advice you are getting doesn't come cheap, besides, you're a keeper now, you make like three times what I do," she said laughing.

"So, you're saying you only like me for my money, " he said pretending to be hurt.

"Now, you're finally catching on," she said laughing.

"Well so far the advice seems worth at least one lunch, but if you want more than that you better aim to impress next time; sorry I really gotta run," he said before hurrying to the elevator.

Henry opened three more gates that afternoon, before his tablet directed him back to Uktu's office. He was very tired, but felt an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. He had finished his first shift.
Chapter 6

Family

I

Henry knocked on the doorframe to Uktu office, and waited for a response. The door was open, but she appeared to be on the phone. She was talking at length to someone who was not there. He was not waiting long before she waved him into her office.

"Hello Henry, you look good after such a long day. We have some financial paperwork to take care, then Ms. Roberts needs to see you in her office,"

"Okay," he said. Henry sat in the chair in front of her desk.

"Well I guess we should get the important stuff out of the way first. Ms. Roberts and I have monitored your progress today. You did a good job, and Ms. Roberts would like to offer you a permanent job. Would you like to continue working here in the evenings after school, assuming of course, that your parents agree?" she asked. Henry had enjoyed his first day very much; the idea that he would not be able to continue being a keeper had never occurred to him until this moment. It took him a second to realize that Uktu had said more than that he had done a good job, she said that he needed his parents permission to keep working.

"Uktu, I would really like to keep working, but I do not know how to I handle the parent issue. I know that a lot of Earthlings do not know about the ITS, so how does that work?" he asked.

"Ms. Roberts is handling the parent permission paperwork with your father. As for the other question, as a keeper on Earth you are entitled to certain rights. You are allowed to tell your immediate family, they are even allowed to travel through the ITS for free, as long as you are the keeper who opens the gates. If another keeper has to perform the opening, because you are either, unavailable on the date of travel, or the gate is above your ability level, then you must reimburse the ITS for the cost of the opening, or open a gate of the same level for gratis during your next shift. Do you understand?" she asked. Henry was relieved that Roberts was going to try to explain this whole situation to his parents, he was not even sure how he would begin. Henry was excited, not only did he not have to hide his awesome new job from his parents, but could take them places around the universe. He didn't know enough of the universe yet to have any idea about where he would take them, but was ecstatic about the fact the possibility was there.

"Excuse me, while I make a quick call to Roberts, and see if I should proceed. While I do that, I want you to think about the Union question," she said, then tapped a few buttons on her computer screen, and spoke. Henry realized the earpiece built into the glasses as part of their uniform was functioning like some kind of phone headset. He could not hear what Roberts was saying but he could hear Uktu's side of the conversation.

"Hello, Ms. Roberts...Yes, I have him hear now. He agreed to continue working.... I will process his paperwork then, and send him to you in moments.... yes, all that is left is for him to sign his union, and bank forms...Yes I will send him in, shortly." She finished speaking, and tapped another button on her computer.

"Okay, Henry it seems that your father has signed the paperwork, so lets get you finished up. As far as the union goes it is not required, but encouraged. I don't currently have any keepers employed at this station who are not union workers, would you like to join?" she asked. Henry had thought long, and hard on this question if they were really as bad as Amica said they were he did not really want to join, but then even she had encouraged him to just do it.

"I will join, " he said.

"Okay, sign here, and here please," she said indicating two spots on a piece of paper she slid across the desk. He signed, and passed the paperwork back. She punched out a piece of the application, and slid it back across her desk to him. "This is your temporary Union Card, please keep it in your wallet at all times, until your official card arrives," she said. Henry took his wallet out of his back pocket, and put it behind his driver's license.

"There is one last thing we need to take care of, and that's money. You get paid at the end of each shift. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of opening you a couple of account with the ITS credit bureau through the Earth branch. With two accounts I can separate your money into intergalactic credits, and U. S. dollars. You will get paid in intergalactic credits. If you wish I could convert a portion of your check into dollars using the daily rate of exchange; then deposit the funds into the proper account at the end of each shift. I tied both accounts to a single checkbook, and debit card. If it that will work for you I just need to know how you want your money broke down each day," she paused to wait for Henry's approval.

"That sounds great Uktu, but what about taxes, and all of those Earth things; won't the government wonder where all the money is coming from?" he asked.

"Very good question Henry, the ITS Credit bureau is located in Switzerland where the privacy laws are different. Your money goes directly into an account that is untraceable by your government, but still allows you to pay for things using the check, and debit format that is still in use on Earth. You can even use an ATM to access cash from your U.S. dollar account. I just need to know how you want to split your money between the accounts, that is if the financial arrangements meet with your approval."

"It sounds amazing Uktu, thank you for doing all of that work to protect me, I really appreciate it. What would you suggest is a good amount of intergalactic credits to deposit into my account? I am not really sure how much everything costs," Henry said.

"I think if you converted 100 credits a shift into American money that would allow you to still accumulate enough money that would allow you to have a healthy Earth account, and a healthy credit balance as well," she said as she typed a few numbers into her computer.

"With today's exchange rate if you converted 100 credits from today's paycheck you would deposit 530 credits, and 1300 dollars into each account respectively, does that meet with your approval?" she asked.

"Yes, sounds more than fine, can I change it later if it doesn't work?" he asked.

"You may, just come by my office, and let me know if you need to change anything. At the end of each shift you will be prompted by your tablet to confirm the transfer of funds to each account. It will also give you a read out of your current bank balance. You can also access the balance information on the bank's website from your home computer, or any web enable device," she said. She slid a folder with a form on the top of it across the desk.

"I just need you to sign the signature card for the bank, and you are all set. Today's check has been deposited. In the folder you will find the debit card, it will work at any place that takes a Visa card on Earth, and any where that accepts intergalactic credits through out the universe. There is a book of 100 checks, and an order form. The bank offers many varieties of checks that you can order from their website as well. In the folder you will also find a copy of your agreement with the bank, it list interest rates, any fees, and the privacy laws that protect your anonymity. That is all I have for you. Ms. Roberts will speak to you about your schedule. Do you have any questions?" she asked. Henry shook his head no, and she stood, and offered her hand.

"Welcome to the team Henry, you could really go a long way with the ITS. I will see you latter," she said. Henry stood, and went to Ms. Roberts door; he knocked politely. He heard her voice from the other side of the door ask who it was; he gave his name, and she gave him permission to enter.

II

Henry walked into the office, and was surprised to find his father sitting across the desk from Ms. Roberts.

"Henry, I hear your first day went very well; your father, and I were just discussing hours for the rest of the week. We were thinking 4 hours each evening, and a full 8 on Saturday. Does that work for you?" she asked.

"If it's okay with Dad it sounds fine," he said.

"Henry, I told your father that we are a travel agency. I thought that you could take him out on the floor and show him the nature of what you will be doing for us here. Bill, why don't you go down stairs, and get Henry's sister. Henry can show you both around the office when you come back up," she said.

"Sure that sounds great, I'll be right back okay Henry," his dad said, and then left.

"Okay Henry, I thought that you could use a little help telling your family about your new job. I got them here the rest is up to you. I would suggest taking them on a little tour through the terminal, where you guys can get something for dinner. I will hold your folder here; make sure you grab your debit card to put in your wallet. Otherwise you will not be able to pay for dinner," Roberts asked.

"So my family doesn't know that I work in an intergalactic transportation hub?" Henry asked.

"No, I find that telling people really just leads to a drawn out conversation they do not really believe anyway. I have found over the years that Earthlings need to see somethings in order for them to really understand, and believe," she said. Henry realized that given his age, and love of books that he could probably spend the next week talking about this place, and his father would think it was a story Henry read somewhere.

Henry's sister Shelly entered the room first; she was a year younger then Henry, and about two inches shorter than he was. She had wavy brown hair, and a slight build. She was wearing jeans, and a long sleeved red tee shirt with the school mascot on it. They argued about stuff like the television channel, and chores, but he they really did get along most of the time. She walked over, and gave him a hug.

"Hey, look at you. That uniform looks good on you, Dad says you're going to show us your new job then we're going out for dinner to celebrate, too bad mom had to work," she said cheerily. Henry thought to himself that when she wasn't driving him nuts his sitter was one of his favorite people. She was always so cheery about most situations, even when she lost an argument she did it with a smile, as if to say oh well I didn't really want the TV. I just wanted to mess with you. Of all the people in his life he had hid the bullying from, Henry thought he was the most ashamed about hiding it from Shelly.

Henry was about to leave Ms. Roberts office through the door to the terminal when Roberts spoke.

"Henry when you are finished remember that I have your clothes, so you will need to check your tech back in with me before you head home," Roberts said. Henry had totally forgotten all about his other clothes.

"Yes, Ms. Roberts thank you for reminding me," Henry said nervous about what he was about to do.

"You'll do fine Henry, the first time is the hardest," Ms. Roberts said encouragingly.

"Thanks," he said grateful for the support. "Okay guys we are going to go through the door behind Shelly to start the tour," He walked over to the door, and held it open for his family. He looked to see if Uktu's door was open, but her light was off. She must have returned to what ever planet she called home. He closed the door behind them, and led the way down the long hallway that led to the main terminal. He walked part way down the hallway, and he felt his dad, and sister slowing down. The long wall of windows was dark due to the sun having set, but the view of the stars, and moons out the window were beautiful. There were two moons visible in the sky above the garden, and his family seemed to have noticed them.

"Henry where are we?" Shelly asked.

"Well remember how Ms. Roberts said that I worked for a travel agency, well she was not exactly lying, but she did not tell the whole truth either," Henry said working up to the truth. Henry's father tore his eyes away from the window to look at him.

"Henry what's going on," his dad said.

"Our travel destinations are not all located on the surface of the Earth, in fact we are not currently standing on Earth, we are on a planet near the intersection of the Galactic bar, and the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way. Welcome to the Milky Way Terminal of the Intergalactic Transit System," Henry said.

"When you say not all on the surface of the Earth, do you mean space?" Shelly asked.

"I guess that depends on how you define space, we are on a planet that is not Earth, so if you consider that to be space then yes, but we are not floating weightless in a ship. Dad how are you doing you look a little green," Henry asked his father. "Why don't we go sit down, there's a nice bench right around the corner," Henry said, leading them the rest of the way down the hall, and through the doorway. He led them to the benches along the arch of windows, and helped his father to sit down.

"Henry, what exactly is going on here, and how did you get involved?" his dad asked. Henry pointed to all of the creatures going about their business. Like before there were creatures of all shapes, sizes, and even colors going about their business. Before he could explain a tall, orange, humanoid creature with gills on her neck approached him. The creature must breath water Henry thought, because she was wearing a backpack filled with water that had hoses that went to clear breathing covers that were attached to the gills on either side of her neck. With the exception of the gills, and the breathing equipment, she looked like an average human female who happened to be orange.

"Excuse me sir, I am lost can you help me?" She asked. She was not speaking English. It sounded like a series of gargles, and dolphin clicks, but Henry's universal translator provided a translation in his ear. Henry knew he was off the clock, but he was still in uniform so he decided the nice thing to do would be to help her. He pulled his tablet from his suit pocket.

"Where can I help you go?" Henry asked.

"I am looking for Intergalactic Gate 24," she gurgled. Henry looked over his map of the station, and located IG 24 on his map then provided her with directions.

Henry turned to talk to his family, and found them staring at him like he had things growing out of his head.

"Sorry but she needed directions, and I'm in uniform so I figured it was the right thing to do. Now what was it you asked, oh right. This place is kind of like O'Hare airport for the Milky Way. The people here are traveling to other parts of the universe," Henry said.

"When did you learn to speak fish anyway," Shelly asked impressed.

"What? Oh, that was the uniform. It translates languages into an earpiece on my glasses, and a speaker in my suit coat translated my words back to her. Don't be rude, imagine what we must look like to other species," Henry said.

"Henry, I just have one more question if we could just focus," Henry's dad said interrupting Shelly, and Henry's conversation. "How did you get this job?" Henry was not sure how to answer his question. There were so many things that happened because of his being bullied, that he did not know how he was going to tell this story. His mind latched on the story Roberts had initially told his dad about the broken snow blower.

"Well that is actually kind of a long story, see Ms. Roberts is the Terminal Director here. She is in charge of running this place, and the other day when I was there to help her shovel, I opened the front gate to go get a shovel off the porch. It turns out that the front gate was special. See the way the terminal works is through a series of gates. That is how we came here; the door from Roberts's office was a gateway. Well, it turns out that not everyone can open the gates; they have a special group of people called Gate Keepers who maintain, and operate the gateways. After she saw me open her front gate she offered me a job this morning. Today was my first day; we get paid every day; so I thought we would go out for dinner, my treat," Henry said.

"How much do you make a day, that you are taking us out to dinner?" Shelly asked.

"I don't get paid by the day, I actually get paid for each gate I open, and I made 630 credits today. See the universe operates on a standard monetary unit called credits, now if you want planet specific money, you have to convert it at the currency exchange, and that depends on the exchange rate. How you doing dad, his father was actually looking at him with a newfound respect.

"You really seem to be handling this whole situation pretty well Henry, I'm proud of you. I think I am ready to see a little more, where are we going for dinner?" his dad asked.

"It's a surprise, but I am pretty sure you'll like it," Henry said thinking of the sandwich shop Amica had taken him to for lunch.

"Henry I appreciate you wanting to take us out to dinner, but I don't want you spending your whole paycheck on us," his dad said.

"I'm not. Like I said I made 630 credits today. I converted 100 credits to U.S. dollars, and the exchange rate was really good today," Henry said.

"How much did you actually get after the exchange rate, anyway?" his sister asked.

"Shelly! It's rude to ask your brother about money."

He decided he should just come right out, and tell them. "The U.S. dollar is not a frequently used currency in the universe, so the exchange rate is 1 credit to 13 dollars. The human resource lady helped me set up a bank account this afternoon." Henry said. His sister stopped dead in her tracks. She was always good at math, and Henry was pretty sure he knew what was coming next.

"Are you saying that all together you made," she paused doing math in the air with her finger "eight thousand, one hundred, and ninety dollars today!" she exclaimed.

"I suppose, yeah that sounds right, but like I said I only changed 100 credits so that I would have credits to buy lunch, and stuff when I'm at work." Henry said. He knew his sister was going to make a big deal out of the money issues, but he was stating to get tired.

"Come, on I'm hungry.
Chapter 7

Conversations

I

Roberts sat at her desk, looking at the young girl across from her. She looked so much like her father; it almost brought a tear to her eyes. She thought it interesting the turns that life sometimes took. If she had chose differently, the girl sitting across from her would have been her daughter. Of course they would not be in the director's office of the Milky Way Terminal, and there was a very real chance that she would be missing presumed dead like the girl's father. All things considered, she did not regret her decision very often.

In the end, the universe unfolded, as it should. If she had not chosen the way she had, it is possible the free Scultura would have disappeared into slavery, or been wiped from the universe. She had dedicated a good portion of the last thousand years to looking after them from the shadows. Putting in recommendations, transfer orders, helping to find them homes, and jobs where she could. Melchiorre sacrificed everything for his people; she tried to honor his sacrifice by helping them where she could. That brought her train of thought back to the girl sitting across from her.

Amica had already changed out of her uniform. She sat before her in black jeans, and a long sleeved blue shirt that set off her alabaster skin. Her hair was pulled back into a single ponytail; a finely tailored black wool jacket lay on the chair next to her. A pair of glasses hung from the collar of her shirt. The long rounded rectangular lenses were tinted the same shade of blue as her gem stone eyes. She had to admit that with her hair in a ponytail, and the glasses she really could pass for human on the street.

"Thank you for coming in to see me Amica," Roberts said.

Roberts had never spoken to the girl about her relationship with her father. Roberts believed if Amica's mother wanted her to know about the women in her father's life before they were bonded, then Alessia would tell her.

"I don't understand, did I do something wrong?" Amica asked sounding nervous to Roberts ear. Although that was not surprising, she had never called the girl to her office for a talk before.

"No everything is fine, actually better than fine," and they were. By all of Roberts reports Amica was great employee. She had been working here for about fifty earth years since she turned 18. She was always friendly, and pleasant with the travelers. She handled herself well moving quickly from the ticket counter to gate attendant. She wanted to be a keeper like her father. She was not a natural like Melchiorre, but according to the girl's tests she had potential. That potential would not amount to anything without the training she needed, however. She had wanted the girl to be working here longer before she put her in the keeper program, but that was before Henry came along. She had so many plans that now needed to be revised, and put on a truncated timetable. Humans lived such short lives. All of her plans for the girl needed to be changed. She had a feeling that things were going to start moving quickly, and if she didn't prepare them Amica, and Henry both would shortly be in over their head.

"Are you enjoying your time working here?" Roberts asked.

"Yes Ma'am." The girl was nervous. If Roberts had an accurate read on the gossip her employees spread about her, the girl had every right to be nervous. According to gossip Roberts ran this station with an iron fist, and woe was the employee who crossed her. It was unfortunate that Harris had been killed on the docks shortly after having been called to her office.

The fact of the matter was she had called him to her office, because she had believed he was running black-market goods through the cargo gates. She was sure he had not been working alone. She called him to her office to discover who else was involved. She knew such things happened in the universe, but would not have them in her terminal. He had refused to answer her questions, instead demanding to see his union representative.

She had provided him with said representative; in fact she was pretty sure the Union Rep had been responsible for the accident that claimed his life. She believed they had gotten rid of him for becoming sloppy. She heard many of her employees believed she had caused him to have his accident. Oh well, she thought. In the end she her pragmatic nature always won out. Anything that helped keep her employees in line, and her station functioning on a high level of proficiency was fine.

"I understand that you had lunch with our newest keeper today." Roberts said.

"You mean Henry? Yes, we had lunch together. He seems very nice," Amica said cautiously.

"Henry is a natural, like your father," Roberts said taking the direct approach.

"He mentioned it," she replied still cautious.

"I would like you to spend more time with Henry. He is a very special young man. Emphasis on young, he could use someone to take him under their wing, and show him the ropes. If I schedule you together, do you think you could do that for me?" Roberts asked.

"Yeah, it will be nice to work with someone who is almost my age," Amica said.

"Excellent, there was something else. I wanted to talk to you about your father," Roberts said. This was going to be a delicate issue, and she would have to handle this very carefully.

"What about him, my mother told me that you and he went through keeper training together is that true?" Amica asked. Roberts was caught off guard, she wondered what else she knew.

"That is true, it was a long time ago now, we were just kids, not much older than you are now. What else has your mother told you?" Roberts asked genuinely interested. Melchiorre's widow had never openly expressed any dislike for her, but she always got the impression that she secretly blamed her for not being able to save Melchiorre. She hoped that Alessia had not passed any dislike of her to her daughter.

"Only that you knew each other before my father returned home to work the gates, and that you helped our people to escape to Earth during the invasion, because you were friends. I know that you have tried to open the gate to look for him, but because you are not a natural it won't open for you," Amica said.

"You have inadvertently brought us back to the reason I asked you here today. Henry is a natural. There is a very good chance that with some training, and practice he will be able to open your father's gate. Have you considered this?" Roberts asked.

"Only a little, but honestly I don't know what to think about the whole situation. I hear that Nathan is looking for a natural to try to lead some kind of invasion, but all I really want is to find my dad," Amica said.

"Nathan has played his hand poorly, there are few people in this universe that are unaware of his plan. It is quite frankly remarkable that your father's gate is partially operational at all. The Angriff have had a thousand years to locate, and destroy that gate; the fact that it is operational feels like a trap to me". The gate was still operational however; she had tried to open it when Henry's ability presented itself. Even though it was a probably a trap she hoped that one day that gate could be the key to finding Melchiorre. "What about Henry, how does he fit into this whole situation what does he want? Did anyone ask him?" Roberts said.

"I don't know, he seems like a really good guy, but I don't really know anything about him, or how his presence changes my father's situation. You are right, about the gate. The Angriff are keeping that gate the way it is in the hope that one day Nathan will find some one to open it for him, and get himself captured, " Amica said. Roberts was surprised the girl had opened up so easily to her, but was happy that the conversation was headed in the direction she wanted.

"I have a proposal for you, if I may," Roberts paused. Amica nodded her head yes.

"I want you to go through keeper training with Henry, help him to understand his place in this universe as a keeper, and how to use his abilities. While at the same time starting your program. Henry will not need nearly as much training as you do, but I will continue to sponsor your training until you are finished on one condition," Roberts said.

"That sounds amazing, but what's the condition," she asked her tone suddenly turning wary

"I would like you to refrain from asking Henry to help you look for your father," she paused holding up her hand, "at least until after he has done his training. That boy has an enormous heart, and there is little doubt in my mind that he will try to help a friend in need, but he is young, and inexperienced. In time Henry could be the key to getting Melchiorre back assuming that he is still alive. It would be a shame to lose such a person because we moved to soon, if your father is out there, than the only hope we have of finding him is to have a fully trained natural on our side," Roberts stopped speaking allowing her words to sink in for a moment. She had no doubt that eventually Amica would be unable to resist the temptation to go looking for her father. Deep down she hoped the girl would grow attached to Henry, and think twice before risking his life. She hoped, that the girl would take after her father's compassion.

"So if I help Henry with his training, you will not only pay for me to train as well, but when he is ready give me your blessing to go look for my father?" Amica asked.

"Yes, that's the deal," Roberts said.

"How do we get started?" Amica asked. They talked for another twenty minutes. After she had been gone a few minutes there was another knock on her door. It opened before she could give permission, and Nathan entered. She hated when he did that.

"I have spoken to you about coming into my office with out permission Nathan," She said. For a wonder he apologized. That made her very wary.

"How is the boy doing?" he asked.

"He did okay for his first day, but he has a long way to go," she said.

"I have some business that I need to attend to, a problem with some of my people abroad, if you could arrange for the transport tomorrow I would greatly appreciate it," he said.

"Sure," she said. She had not heard about any problems among the Scultura, and she usually listened to information concerning them very carefully, but she was glad to get Nathan out of her hair for a while.

II

Amica walked to get her car. The conversation she had just finished with Roberts had been surreal, and the time in the cold would help clear her head. She enjoyed the winter in Chicago; she stood on the sidewalk looking into the garden at the tree that lived there. Nathan was not in the garden this evening having gone off to somewhere, or another. She had spoken to him off, and on over the years. There were so few of her people they could not afford to not stay in contact with each other. She thought about what Roberts had said about him. Roberts was right, he had not played things as close to the vest as he should. Amica heard from her mother, there had been a period when Nathan asked every new keeper that came through the station to try that gate. It seemed unlikely the Angriff were unaware of his plan. Especially if the Keepers Union had been involved as many of her people believed. He was not half the leader that his father had been. Maybe if the royal family had raised him instead of tutors, and nannies he would have turned out better, but she doubted it. In Nathan's case it was probably the raw materials as opposed to the teachers that were the source of the defects in the final product. She wondered why her father had risked his life to protect the life of Nathan. Thinking of her father made her think of Henry

She was not sure what to make of him. She felt this instant connection to him, sought him out on her lunch break. It had been a happy coincidence that she had returned to the Milky Way Terminal through a gate next to where he was working, and he happened to have a break at the same time. Although, after meeting Roberts there was always the possibility that it had not been a coincidence at all. There was something about him that reminded him of her father. When he had told her he was a natural it had clicked. She blushed a little inwardly as she pictured him in her mind. He was handsome for a human. She was unsure of how she felt about him; humans' life spans were so short.

She had first hand experience of that fact. She had worked as a nanny for a time when that was the only job available to a young woman on earth. Time was measured differently on her home planet, but after so long living on Earth it was hard not to measure the years the way they did. She had moved from family to family for a while. When the children no longer needed her, she would move to a new family. She had not consciously known, or thought about the lifespan of humans then, she was young, only sixteen by her race's judge of maturity, but she had wanted to be a part of the lives of the beautiful creatures she saw outside her windows.

She had already helped raise 3 children, staying with them for 7-8 years before the parents began to wonder about her unchanging age. She was with her fourth Francis when he became violently ill. He was only a year old and he still took most of his meals sitting on her lap. She wanted so desperately to take the child through the gates to reach a more medically advanced race. She knew that he could be cured. She had cried desperately when her mother stopped her. Her mother argued that they could not interfere. She was right, even though it pained her to admit it. The Europeans had been determined to find witchcraft in their neighbor's closet at the time, burning women at the stake left, and right. If Francis had been miraculously saved the repercussions could have been severe for her, and her mother. In the end he had died.

She was unable to do it anymore, after his death. After a few decades when medicine had began to improve she thought about trying again. She had loved her children, took great joy watching as they grew into fine upstanding adults. She followed them from a distance watching them get married, have families and children of their own. She longed to become a nanny for the babies she thought of as her grandchildren. She was trying to talk her mother into letting her try when it happened again.

The first, Francis had been a baby, she had hardly had time to get attached to him, but Thomas was an adult. He was in his late fifties when he died of a heart attack. Finally, she began to understand why her mother had been so against the idea of talking care of human children. A few years later, another passed. A baby girl named Emily; she died birthing her third child.

She had been nearly inconsolable. Everything was good for a few years, but eventually time took its course as it did with all creatures even herself. Her last baby girl was named Eveylyn. She lived to be 85. Amica had gone to see her at the very end, her mother had tried to talk her out of it, but she wanted desperately to say good-bye.

She pretended to be a nurse, and found herself alone in Eveylyn's room. Eveylyn had been sleeping at first. Amica took a seat next to the bed. Eveylyn was having difficulty breathing, and Amica opened the window to get some fresh air. Eveylyn opened her eyes, and looked at her. She smiled.

"You look like the woman who cared for me as a child, are you an angel come to take me home," Eveylyn asked a tear running down her cheek. Amica felt the tears begin to run down her own cheeks. She had hoped, but never expected the woman to have remembered her face. She had been 7 when Amica moved on. Amica placed her hand on Eveylyn's cheek wiping the tears away.

"I have loved you, your whole life," Amica said. "I have come here to be with you at the end. Do you mind if we sit for awhile?" Amica asked.

"I would like that, is it a good place, where we go when we leave here?" Eveylyn asked? Amica had given much thought to what happened after you left this life, what child, who has ever lost a parent doesn't. She believed in her heart that there was a life after this one for those people who did good things. She had watched Eveylyn her whole life, and knew she was a good person.

"I think it is Eveylyn, but you will have a chance to judge that for yourself very soon" Amica said.

"I am ready," Eveylyn said with a smile on her face. Amica sat with her, holding her hand.

"Will you wait for me on the other side, when my time finally comes?" Amica asked, but no answer ever came. Eveylyn had moved on.

Amica sat in her car feeling the tears run down her face, as the memories of her lost children receded. She longed to have a friend again; she had felt so alone since that night so many years ago. She liked Henry, maybe already too much for her own good.

III

After dinner Henry led his family towards Ms. Roberts's office.

"Can we explore the terminal, and look around before we go?" Shelly asked. Henry looked at his watch it was getting late.

"I will talk to my boss about finding a time when I can bring you back, and just let you explore. I will ask, and try to arrange it really soon. How does that sound?" Henry asked. His sister stopped walking, and looked at him for a minute. Henry noticed that she had stopped, and he turned to check on her.

"You okay?" Henry asked

"You would let me just hang out, and explore this place while you worked. You wouldn't be worried I would embarrass you?" she asked surprised. Henry wondered if she felt he embarrassed her. He had never thought about this idea. They went to the same high school. He could not ever remember her speaking to him in the hallways; Henry never spoke to anyone so the fact that he, and his sister never spoke in public had never really occurred to him before. He wondered if she knew more about the state his life was currently in.

For the first time he tried to consciously focus his ability to see the connections around him. He put his hand on Shelly, he concentrated the way he looked into a gateway to see the orb. Like a flash he started to see a jumble of scenes in his head. They were hard to focus at first coming, and going so quickly. He thought harder, and the images coalesced into a steady, but fast stream of visions. He saw her standing on a street corner, and looking the other way as Paul, and Victor walked towards him. He saw her step towards him stop, and turn away. He heard her crying in her room, and he saw that she was never in the living room on days when she saw something; she always tried to let him get cleaned up before letting him use the computer. The more closely he examined his memories; the more places he saw his sister watching him wanting to say something, but waiting for him to make the first move. She was trying to respect his privacy, because they were both ashamed of their behavior. His shame came from not defending himself, and hers for not knowing how to help him. He decided they would have a talk real soon.

"I trust you," Henry said letting go of his sister's arm, meaning it more than he ever realized.

"Really," she said. She gave Henry a big hug, "Thanks," she said.

"Come on, I want to change, and head home. I'm exhausted," Henry said. The three of them continued their walk to Ms. Roberts's office.

IV

They had been home a little more than half an hour when Henry knocked on his sister's door. She opened the door.

"Hey what's up, you look exhausted. I thought you would be asleep by now," Shelly said. She was right. He was exhausted, but he had worked up the nerve for this conversation, and was afraid he would chicken out, if he didn't do it tonight.

"Soon, but I thought that we should talk a little before I went to bed, do you have a minute?" Henry asked.

"Sure, come on in," She moved back from the door, and went to sit on her bed. Shelly's room was rectangular in shape with the head of the bed on the short wall of the rectangle. It was not big but she had done nice things with the space. There was a large window on the long wall facing a large closet. He closed the door to the bedroom, and leaned against the desk that sat on the short wall opposite her bed.

"I know what happened tonight was really out there. How're you doing?" Henry asked. He thought he would start small. It was not a good sign that a small start to this conversation was the existence of life outside this solar system.

"I was a little thrown at first, but when it comes down to it, it's pretty cool," she said.

"Are you going to be able to handle not being able to talk about what you learned, 'cause if you tell people I am not sure what the consequences will be? When I dropped my uniform off Roberts implied that the consequences could be quite severe," Henry said.

"Enough said, that woman strikes me as very pragmatic when it comes to enforcing policy. Just the idea of her smiling that mouth full of teeth at me gives me the willies," Shelly said. Henry took a deep breath, and steeled himself for what he needed to say.

"I'm sorry I embarrass you," he said quickly.

"What?" she asked surprised.

"At school, I'm sorry I embarrass you at school. I want to stand up for myself, I do. I just don't know how." Henry said miserably. He could feel his shame burning in his cheeks.

"I'm sorry I have not helped you. I wanted to so many times. I was always afraid having a girl stand up for you, especially one as short as me would only make it worse," Shelly said.

"It's okay, I understand," Henry said.

"I've got to say something, and I don't think you're going to like it, but I need to say it. I know you like this Britney girl; I saw you when you got home last night, but she's Paul's girl. I know they broke up, but do you really think that's going to matter to him. I know he was out of town this weekend, but you have to know he is going to hear about your date at the mall. I got 3 text messages from people I know because they saw my brother on a date. How many do you think he got. I don't know what her deal is, if she is trying to make him angry, or she's just dumb, but she is going to get you seriously hurt. I don't trust her. There, I said my piece that is all I have to say. Do you have a plan for tomorrow, because you know that lunatic is going to be furious you took his girl to the movies?" Shelly said.

"I'm just not sure, so much has happened today that I haven't had a chance to think about it, any ideas?" Henry asked.

"I don't...wait I got it. You could use that obscene amount of money you have in Switzerland to hire a bodyguard," she said laughing a little nervous laugh.

"Very funny, but not really helpful. Good night" Henry said walking towards the door.

"Good night Henry, I love you,"

"Love you too" he said pulling the door closed behind him.
Chapter 8

Revelations

I

Henry got up the next morning exhausted, and sick to his stomach about school. He had tried during the night to think about what today would bring, but his eyes had closed the minute his head hit the pillow. He felt a sick anticipation, he was excited to see Britney, but he was scared on a very real level of Paul. During the last real dust up with Paul, he had seriously tried to hurt him. Henry believed if he had not fallen through the gate by accident, Paul would have broken some of his bones, and that was for some imagined slight. This time Henry had actually taken Paul's girl on a date. He thought Britney had been telling the truth about not dating Paul anymore, but he also knew Paul was not likely to see it that way.

When Henry got to school, the students all gave him a very wide berth. It seemed the entire student population was holding its breath. Word had gotten round about his date, and nobody was quite sure what the fall out would be. As Henry walked through the halls, he was surprised to see a mixture of emotions on people's faces. There were the people who had no idea what was going, and those who walked around with anticipation to see a schoolroom fight, but what really surprised Henry; was the number of people who looked at him with genuine pity in their eyes. They had this helpless, sad look on their face when they looked at him. He realized that they felt bad for him. They did not agree with what they thought was about to happen, but like him they felt powerless to do anything to stop it. Like Henry they were not brave enough to stand up, and stop Paul especially if it meant they would have to take Henry's place on the chopping block. Henry had never felt so alone and yet a part of the group at the same time.

Most of the day went by quickly, with a few exceptions. First hour with Victor was very surreal. He was actually very civil to Henry. The teacher had a very strict policy about using derogatory language towards other students in class, and so on most days Victor tended to ignore Henry sitting on the other side of the room. Today however Victor not only failed to ignore him, but also went out of his way to speak to him. What made Henry the most nervous was how nice Victor was to him.

The rest of Henry's classes where he was relatively safe few by, with the passing periods dragging as Henry tried to make his way through the mass of students to reach the next place of safety. Eventually he reached his Math class. He was nervous about seeing Britney; neither of them had wanted to spoil their date by discussing what would happen today when Paul was thrown back into the mix of things. It seemed something they had both tacitly avoided.

Math was jam packed full of lectures, and work sheets in an attempt to make up for the time lost to the three day weekend, and he was not able to talk to her during class, or the passing period. Henry walked into class, barely able to focus his thoughts, this was the moment that all of the tension in his body had been building towards; guaranteed contact with Paul. He was not sure what to expect from this moment, but it certainly was not the sight that he saw before him as he walked through the door.

Paul looked at him, and then back to Britney then back to Henry. Henry went to his seat a row over from Paul. Paul turned to talk to Henry.

"How are you Henry? Sorry about the eye. You have a nice weekend?" Henry's brain froze for a moment not sure how to answer. He had never had a conversation with Paul before. Henry looked at Britney and she smiled at the both of them.

"Fine, did you have fun snowmobiling?"

"Yeah it was a lot of fun,"

"I am happy the two of you are getting along so well," Britney said.

According to Amica as a natural he was supposed to see the world in this special way, but he had been blindsided by this turn of events.

Henry felt that most of the period went by in a daze, which was interrupted 2 minutes before the dismissal bell when there was a knock on the classroom door. A student office worker entered the room, and handed a note to the teacher who walked back, and placed it on Henry's desk. It was a note from the principal's office informing him that his mother would be picking him up at the office after school, and driving him to work. He had actually almost forgotten that he had to work today. He hoped his body was not too tired to perform the tasks that were required of him.

The bell rang, and Henry walked to his locker, and collected his things. Henry stood at his locker trying to muddle through his thoughts. He was having a hard time remembering all of his day and what books he needed to bring home for homework. The majority of his day had been filled with apprehension and the last part serious confusion. He was having focus problems. He did not have long to try to think though because Britney tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey Henry, are you busy tonight? I thought we could work on our English homework together," she said.

Henry hesitated he would love to spend time with Britney, but he had to go to work. She must have sensed his hesitation.

"You aren't afraid of Paul are you? Because, I told him we were study partners, and he should leave you alone. That's okay isn't it? I mean I don't want anything to happen to my partner,"

"No it's great thanks, and I would love to work with you tonight, but I have to go to work. In fact my mom is waiting in the office to pick me up".

"Tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sounds great," Henry said.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow," she said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away.

II

He proceeded to the office, and found his mother standing there in jeans, and a cobalt sweater instead of her nurses uniform. She was tall with chestnut hair that fell around her shoulders. She wore a warm smile on her face. She usually wore her hair pulled back in a ponytail for work; this combined with the lack of scrubs at this time of day concerned him. He was not sure what she was doing here.

"Henry," she said coming over, and giving him a hug.

"Mom, hi, what are you doing here, I thought you had work tonight?" Henry asked genuinely concerned.

"Your father is playing this elaborate practical joke, so I thought I would play along, and call his bluff. I'm supposed to drive you to work, and get a tour. He said he called your boss this morning, and set it all up." Henry groaned inwardly. He had had a very long day so far, and as excited as he was to share this with his mom; he was very tired.

"Okay, lead the way," Henry said.

"So what did Dad tell you about what I do?" Henry asked genuinely curious. He was not sure what his father had told her, but she seemed to be in a great mood as they approached the car.

"Your father is such a joker, he tried to tell me that you work for some inter-dimensional transportation hub, and that you took him all the way to, wait I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget." She reached into her pocket and came out with a scape of paper "a planet near the intersection of the Galactic bar, and the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way,"

"Really dad said that huh,"

"Yeah, sounds like one of the most elaborate jokes your father has ever tried to pull, so I thought I would play along," she said getting into the car.

"Mom, I don't work in an inter-dimensional transportation hub," Henry said with a smile.

"I know honey, but I had some sick time, and I thought since your father had gone through all of the trouble I would take a day, and play along," she said Henry didn't blame her, his father was known for his practical jokes, in retrospect Henry realized having him tell his mom was a bad plan. She was pulling into the parking lot in front of the glass shop across the street from the garden. Roberts had told Henry to come in through this entrance, and meet Amica. She was supposed to show him the locker-room, and employee gate. Roberts had obviously passed that information along to his dad when he had called. This was Henry's last chance to try to set the record straight.

"Mom, you didn't let me finish. We don't do inter-dimensional travel; well at least I don't think we do. I work for the Inter-Galactic Transit System. I open gateways to other galaxies not other dimensions," Henry said. She laughed.

"And I suppose you expect me to believe that there is a whole universe full of aliens inside this building right here," she said. Henry saw Amica standing in the doorway on the other side of the glass. She saw him, and waved; he waved back. After all that had happened today he was really glad to see her, and despite himself he found that he was enjoying teasing his mom a little.

"In fact, you are about to meet your first alien right now," Henry said pointing to Amica. His mother turned, and looked to where Henry had pointed. Amica was wearing a black trench, and a pink Burberry scarf.

"She is very pretty Henry is she in on the joke as well?" his mom asked.

"Come on, let's go. I guess seeing really is believing, so what is the plan." For the first time beginning to worry about what his mom was going to do while he was working.

"According to your dad, I get to shadow you while you do your shift, then we can go out for dinner after you're done. He said it would be your treat, but you don't have to buy me dinner honey," she said.

"Thanks mom, but I would be glad to take you out for dinner. We had better get moving; I don't want to be late on my second day," Henry said getting out of the car. He had to admit that Amica did look very pretty. With the sunglasses, and her hair pulled back she really could pass for human. They walked to the door and Henry held it for his mother. Amica stepped back to let them in. Henry was not sure what to expect when he went in, but was surprised to find a fully stocked show room. It was filled with different examples of heavy insulated doubled paned glass windows that you would expect to find in businesses. There were two black metal desks flanking a door in the center of the back wall. Sitting at each desk was a man in the same uniform that Henry would put on in a few moments. Both men were reading a book on their desk, and did not look up when the little bell above the door chimed.

"Henry, it's wonderful to see you again, "Amica said coming over, and giving Henry a big hug. Henry was genuinely happy to see her as well, and hugged her back.

"Ms. Roberts has asked me to be your partner, I will run check in, and you will open the gates. She asked me to keep an eye you, and help you adjust since you are so new. She is even going to pay for me to go to keeper classes with you; I hope you aren't mad. You know how long I've wanted to get into keeper school," Amica said smiling. Henry could tell from the look on her face, that although she had said it with a smile, everything she said was actually true, and she was worried about his response. He felt touched that she cared about his opinion at all after knowing him only a day. She had been placed here as his partner to watch him, and in exchange for that she got to go to keeper classes. That seemed like a great trade to him, especially since it meant he would have a friendly face with him. Henry thought it must have been a seriously difficult thing for her to admit out loud. He appreciated her honesty.

"It's okay, I don't mind. I'm just excited to see a friendly face," Henry said. Amica breathed a sigh of relief. Henry saw her look over at his mother, as if she had more she wanted to say, but didn't want to do it in front of his mom. He was not sure what was wrong; he would have to ask her when they had some time alone tomorrow.

"Thanks I hoped you would understand," Amica said. "So Roberts said that there was a change in plans, and that you were brining your mom so you could convince her that your dad wasn't kidding. Is this her?" Amica asked turning to Henry's mom. She stuck out her hand, and introduced herself to his mother. "Hi, Mrs. Thomas, I'm Amica, Henry and I are going to be working together."

"Hi, please call me Carol. Henry tells me you live on another planet, is that true?" his mom asked.

"Actually, I live in Calumet City, but sometimes it feels like another planet," Amica said smiling at Henry mischievously. Henry could tell that she was enjoying this situation entirely too much. She was wearing blue sunglasses and an ankle length black wool trench coat. Her coat was unbuttoned, and Henry could see the lining of her jacket matched her pink Burberry scarf. She was wearing a blue tee, and black jeans under her coat. With the pinks, and blues it really picked up the pink in Amica's skin. With her hair pulled back like it was she really could pass for human.

"Amica, I am pretty sure that you are avoiding the question, would you take your sunglasses off for my mom, please" Henry asked. Amica had remarkable eyes that seemed to be made of blue topaz; besides her hair, which was the color of fresh snow, the facets of her jeweled eyes was one of the few things that set Amica apart as non human. She gave him a look that said he was being a spoilsport, and took off her glasses hanging them from the collar of her tee shirt. It was a blue V-neck that really set off the color of her pinkish white skin. Especially in contrast to the black of the long jacket she was wearing. Henry thought to himself again how pretty she was.

"I guess, Henry is right. We do have work to do, and Roberts will be cross if our openings are late. I certainly don't want that hanging over my head," Amica said. His mother's jaw dropped when she saw Amica's eyes were made of stone.

"Henry is right, I was born on another planet. Although I have lived on earth for more than a thousand years, one does tend to think of a place as home after that long," Amica said smiling, She looked down at her watch. "Henry we really do need to get into uniform, and get over to the main terminal. You are new, but I think you already have a feel for how tight a ship Roberts likes to run, and I would bet money that she has you opening some high level gates. As far as I know we don't have a lot of people who can open the long distance travel gates as consistently as you did yesterday. This way to the Terminal," she said leading them to the desks.

"Henry this is Harold and Justin, there are a few others who work the desks, but none nearly as fun, am I right gentlemen," Amica said with a smile. Both men were of the same race as Roberts with that huge mouth full of tiny teeth. The men could have been brothers. They looked to be tall, of broad shoulders, and short-cropped hair. The only difference was that one of them was blond, and the other brunet. He was not entirely sure which man belonged to which name because neither of them spoke, or looked away from their books when Amica spoke to them. Henry still got the impression they saw, and heard every word that was said in this room regardless.

On the wall behind, and between the desks was a door. Henry heard the door buzz and Amica pulled it open.

"As always it has been a real pleasure talking to you gentleman, we'll see you after our shift," Amica said. Henry was not sure, but thought he saw the faintest of a smile curl on their lips before he ushered his mother through the door. Maybe these guys weren't as bad as they looked. At the very least they didn't seem to mind that Amica was messing with them. Henry decided that he liked them, even if they didn't really smile.

On the other side of the door was a small room about six by ten feet. On the long wall opposite of the door they had just come through were two stainless steel elevator doors separated by a small stainless steel button panel with one single button. Amica pressed the button, and a moment later the right hand door opened. Amica walked into the door placing her hand in the opening to hold the door open, she turned to look at Henry, and his mom. She cocked her head towards the door as if to say come on. Henry and his mother walked into the elevator, and Amica removed her hand from the doorway; the elevator doors slid shut. There was no control panel that Henry could see, but shortly after the doors closed Henry could feel the elevator begin to descend. The elevator moved smoothly, and after a moment or two the doors opened again allowing them to leave. Henry was not sure what to expect, but he was not disappointed.

III

The first thing that struck him when the doors opened was the sunlight coming from the arched ceiling overhead. By his calculations there were some distance underground but he looked up into a beautiful blue sky filled with fluffy clouds.

"Welcome to the Chicago Terminal" Amica said.

"I know that sometimes your father can really commit to a practical joke, but he really was telling the truth." Henry's mom said staring up into the sky. "What have you gotten yourself into, Henry?" Henry turned to look at his mom; she had a look of wonder, and worry that Henry had never seen before.

"It's going to be okay mom, before you worry to much, please, let me show you what I can do. It's really remarkable. Besides, I'm pretty sure we're still on Earth." Henry said looking to Amica for confirmation.

"Yeah, forty feet below the surface but yes, we're still on Earth. The ceiling is actually glass painted to look like a summer day. There are high powered lamps hidden behind the glass, they provide the light, and the radiant heat that maintains the rooms temperature." Amica said.

"See, we're still on Earth. Before you decide, wouldn't you at least like to see another planet?" Henry asked.

"All right, I promise I won't decide anything until I have seen everything, okay?" his mom said.

"Thanks mom, I love you," Henry said.

"I love you too," his mom said turning to Amica. "You are here to keep an eye on him?" his mom asked.

"Yes ma'am, I promise I will not let any harm come to him," Amica said. A strange look came over her face when she said it. Henry thought to himself again that there was something else that she wanted to tell him, but was holding back because his mother was here. "But, if I'm going to keep that promise we had better get in uniform, and get to work." Amica said.

For the first time Henry actually got a second to look around the room before Amica lead them deeper into the building. From the orientation of the elevator, and every thing else Henry judged that the terminal was below the street, and garden in front of Roberts house across the street. The walls were made of the same marble that made up the Milky Way Terminal. There was a central path that stretched out before him dividing two departure areas each with their own check in podium and gate. These waiting areas were empty, and there was no one working to check in clients. She led Henry up the path dividing the waiting area. Past the waiting area, the arched glass ceiling ended in a hallway. On either side of the hallway were the public bathrooms, and past them the hallway came to an end. In the center of the hallway was a door marked "Employees Only".

On the other side of the door was a large break room. As Henry stood in the doorway it was a rectangular room, with the doorway he was standing in being on the long wall. There were four large round tables each surrounded by chairs. On the short wall to his right was a refrigerator flanked by a counter with a sink, and coffee machine. Directly across from him were two doors with pull handles. On the short wall to his left were another two doors. One was marked "Stairs", and the other was marked with the words "Milky Way Terminal" glowing upon it.

Amica pointed to the two doors located on the long wall in front of them.

"Locker Rooms are right over there. Boys are on the right. You are locker 42. Just press your thumb against the pad on the face, and it should open. Mrs. Thomas you can come into the locker rooms, and have a look around, or you can wait here. There is also a bathroom in the locker room, if you need to go you should do it now before we get on the floor," Amica said heading into the locker room.

"My head is spinning; I should probably go, just to be on the safe side, " his mom said.

"It's okay mom, just hang in there okay." Henry said.

"Honestly, I am having a good time spending the afternoon with you. Your new friend is very nice, and pretty too. Maybe if things don't work out with that Britney girl your sister told me about. I don't like the sound of her Henry. She sounds like too much drama, especially if you are starting a new job," she said. "Maybe you should ask out Amica?" his mom said.

"Wait, so you think Britney is to much drama, but dating an alien who is 1,800 years old is going to be normal?" Henry asked jokingly. "I have to change, and get to work. Why don't you go pee, and we'll meet back here in a minute," Henry said walking into the bathroom.

IV

Amica walked into the locker room not sure if Henry's mother would follow her, or not. Amica still seemed a little uneasy. She was not sure what she had gotten herself into, and she felt awkward. She had promised Henry's mother to look after him, and had every intention of doing so, but she knew one day she would probably break that promise by asking Henry to help her look for her dad. At least she didn't have any intention of deliberately putting him in harm's way any time soon. She thought Roberts had been right; he would go if asked by a friend. She knew then in that moment, that she liked him, and would wait as long as she could. After all Roberts was probably right about the gate being a trap, there was no point in rushing in, and getting themselves killed she thought. Just then Henry's mom walked through the door.

"I think I will use that rest room if you don't mind," Mrs. Thomas said.

"Sure thing Mrs. Thomas, it's right over there," Amica said pointing her towards the bathroom stalls.

"Please call me Carol, I feel a little old having a woman who is over 1800 years old call me miss," Mrs. Thomas said laughing nervously. She seemed a little unsure how to act around Amica. Amica could understand that; it was not every day that a person not only discovered that there was life on other planets, but that they had been living on your planet for longer than you had been alive. She decided to do what she could to help relax her.

"My species measures our lives differently. We live longer lives, and mature differently. I am actually only really what you think of as 18, still a child among my people. I don't call you Mrs. to make you feel old, but out of respect for someone I see as an adult, but if you want we can compromise with Mrs. T if you like," Amica said. Mrs. T smiled warmly, Amica thought something she said touched the woman.

"That would be lovely, Amica. My daughters' friends all call me that; I always wanted Henry to have more female friends, or really any friends at all," Mrs. T said, and then grabbed her mouth as she realized what she had said. "Please don't tell him I said that. He would be very hurt," she said. Amica could tell she was mortified by what she had said because she was blushing. Amica thought that Henry's mother was charming. Amica was a confused though by her statement that Henry had no friends. The station was abuzz with stories about the new keeper that started yesterday. Everything she had heard was positive. They all said how unbelievably nice he was.

"Henry doesn't have a lot of friends?" Amica asked.

"I don't know that he has any, at least until he met that Britney girl, and I'm pretty sure, she's not that good for him," Mrs. T said. Amica squashed a moment of jealousy at the mention of the girl's name. She shook it off, and focused on what Mrs. T was saying.

"He is such a big hearted young man, but he takes things people say to him so seriously. I think he tries to avoid kids his own age. He isn't involved with any clubs, or activities where he would make friends. I am just so relieved that he found this place; as weird as this whole situation is," she stopped, and looked at Amica. "I think if you give him a chance; he would make a really good friend," Mrs. T said sincerely; stopping suddenly. She looked nervous, and fidgety like she though she had overstepped her bounds. Amica was not sure what to say, she liked this woman immensely. There was something about her; like her son that put her at ease. They both had this quiet way about them. She thought for a second about how glad she was to see Henry this afternoon, and about how much fun they had at lunch. She did consider Henry a friend. She began putting on her uniform.

"Mrs. T, I think Henry is a great guy, and I already consider him to be a friend. I will try to introduce him to some people, and even if those immature children he goes to school with don't get how great he is, Henry has some very amazing things ahead of him here with the ITS. He is really talented, and since we're keeping secrets here I don't mind telling you; he looks really handsome in his uniform. The boy certainly cleans up nicely," Amica said. She could feel the heat of a small blush creeping up her neck as she realized she was talking about how cute a boy was with the actual boy in question's mother. She turned putting her head into her locker to get her gear, and to hide her face. She changed her colored lenses for her language translation glasses, and signed into her tablet. She closed her locker, and turned to Mrs. T.

"Well, it's time." Amica said checking herself out briefly in the mirror, she thought she looked pretty good, "and, don't worry about Henry. I think he is going to be just fine," Amica said.
Chapter 9

The Second Shift

Henry went into the locker room. It was a rectangular room loosely divided into three sections. Next to the door there, was a tile walkway roughly three feet wide. It lead along the long wall to what looked like a room full of shower stalls at the far end of the room. He walked forward past the privacy wall on his left. Past the wall was a bank of lockers with a bench in front of them. In the center of the room was another section of tile floor with two bathroom stalls, and bank of mirrors with two sinks. Henry's locker was in the center of the long wall where the tile, and carpet met.

The lockers were a bit taller than Henry, and were made of a varnished white oak. In the center of each oak door near the top was a brass number. On the right side of each locker was a brass knob with a small one-inch black square of the same crystal material that made up the display screen of his tablet. Henry pressed his thumb against the crystal square, and heard a click from with in the locker. He pulled the knob, and the door swung open.

Henry found a shelf near the top of his locker that contained his electronic equipment. From the bottom of the shelf hung his uniform. It had been cleaned, and pressed. He hung his coat on the back hook, and began changing his clothes.

His technology was in sleep mode having turned back to its clear glass form. He put his glasses on tucking the earpiece into his ear. Then picked up his tablet, it immediately came to life in his hands as it had done before. It amazed Henry that what looked like a thin piece of clear glass was really a computer. The screen lit up with the words

"Scanning for identity markers"

"Syncing bio-electrical signals"

Henry then heard through his earpiece as the words appeared on his screen. "Welcome Henry Thomas, activate interactive schedule or interactive map function?"

"Turn on interactive schedule, please".

"Attention Keeper Thomas, incoming clients arriving at IG gate 12, please proceed to gate IG 12," the voice in his earpiece said.

The screen brought up a map of the terminal. The gate in question lit up on his map, and a path of travel was illuminated from his current location. Another box appeared in the upper left hand corner with the time until opening. Twelve minutes was not a lot of time to get there.

Henry closed his locker, and headed back to the break room where he found his mom, and Amica waiting for him. Amica had changed into her uniform as well, and his mother had hung her coat up, but both ladies still held their purse.

"See, I told you he looked handsome in his uniform didn't I Mrs. T?" Amica said with a smile.

Henry blushed a little. She had said it in teasing big sister sort of way, but there was a look in her eye. Henry wondered if she really thought he was handsome, but quickly dismissed the idea as silly. He did a little twirl holding his jacket open like a model hoping she wouldn't notice he had blushed.

"Well if you are done looking at me like a piece of sexy meat, my schedule says that I have less then 12 minutes until my opening," Henry said trying to tease her back.

"I said handsome. Mrs. T did you hear anyone say anything about sexy" she asked. "Anyway you're right about needing to get moving." Amica said.

She led Henry through the door with the words Milky Way Terminal at the end of the break room. They came out near the trash compactors in the room behind the elevators of the Milky Way Terminal.

"I'll be back in a sec," Amica said taking her purse, and heading into the break room.

"Mom, did you want to put your purse in the break room, I'll bet Amica will share a locker with you?" Henry asked.

"No, I'm going to hold onto it. Amica said I could explore the terminal a little after you guys got started, if I wanted to. I want to have my wallet with me," she said.

"They use a different currency here, than on Earth," Henry said. He reached into his pocket, and took out his wallet; withdrew new debit card, and handed it to his mom. "Put this in your pocket, it has around 500 credit on it, if you see something you want use this." Henry said.

"Henry you don't have to do that, I don't want to take your money," his mother said.

"Mom four hours may be a long time to spend watching me work, I want you to be able to go explore, and have fun if you want to," Henry said. Just then Amica walked back out of the break room, and lead the way out into the main terminal.

Henry was quickly beginning to feel at home in the hustle, and bustle of the Milky Way terminal, but kept a close eye on his mother as she saw the expanse of alien life forms going about there travel plans in the main hall. Henry walked up behind his mom, and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"Welcome to the Milky Way Terminal, they have a news stand over there, there are also stores, and restaurants upstairs." Henry said.

"Attention Keeper Thomas, Incoming clients at IG gate 12, please proceed to gate IG 12, 6 minutes until opening" his headset said. Henry turned and looked at Amica who had a horrified look on her face, she had obviously just gotten a similar warning through her earpiece as well.

"Henry we have to move, 12 is a hard gate to open I don't know that 6 minutes will be enough time. I think we are going to be late, let's move, " Amica said. It would take about three minutes for the computer to align the gate, and another couple of minutes for Henry to perform the opening, time was running very short. Henry began to think of a ways to speed up the process, as he followed Amica to the gate with his mother in tow. She had listened carefully to what they had said, and was moving quickly to keep up. Henry could tell from the way she tried to look at everything that she had a thousand questions, but was saving them for later. When they reached the gate, there was only 2 minutes left until the gate needed to be open. The gate was empty, and the computer was asleep.

"Henry, I'm sorry we spent so much time talking. I didn't mean to make your first opening late, it will take at least three minutes for the computer power up the gate, and align it correctly for you." Henry thought about what Roberts had said yesterday using the computer to make sure things went smoothly, but things were already not going smoothly, and his gut told him to improvise.

"I have a plan," Henry said. He walked over to the gate, and placed his hands in the center. Henry had opened 12 yesterday, and the gate felt familiar. He felt it come to life immediately under his fingertips.

"Are you really going to do what I think you're doing?" Amica asked sounding a little nervous.

"Why, is it dangerous?" his mother asked, their voices were quickly dropping in volume as he focused on the gate powering up under his hands.

"It can be, but more importantly it's difficult to do, well at least for normal keepers, but your son isn't exactly a normal keeper," she said sounding the slightest bit proud.

"Amica I need the destination coordinates, I didn't get them off my tablet," Henry said.

"Coming," she replied. "Mrs. T wait right here, and don't touch Henry," Amica read the gate coordinates to him. He pictured the numbers on the orb face as Amica read them and closed his eyes. The face of the orb shifted to contain the numbers that Amica had read off to him.

"Here check these for me," Henry said reading the coordinates off the orb to Amica.

"Correct," she replied

Henry touched the center of the orb. The beam of light shot out the back. Henry felt it traveling into the blackness of space. He felt the thrum in his chest as it struck the other gate, and unlike before, it only needed the tiniest adjustment to bring the reflection back to his chest.

Henry could not describe what he did but he pushed open his mind, it felt like he flung open a floodgate and energy poured into him. He felt a tug at the back of his mind trying to pull his focus along the course of the beam, a part of his brain screamed in agony. In his haste he had pulled far more energy than he had used yesterday. He did not know what would happen if he lost focus but he did not think it would be good. He opened is eyes, the outline of the doorway blazed with light, the gate thrummed; but his body was still full of energy. He needed to get at least most of this energy out of his body. He channeled it into the outline of the door. He did not think it possible but the light grew brighter changing from a soft golden color to a bright white. It blazed so bright he thought the metal of it would melt. Henry pulled. He felt the gates slam together, and the door open. The thrumming of the gate stopped immediately and the glow returned to a deep golden color.

He looked down at his clock, the gate opened on time. He looked over to Amica, and his mother; they were looking at him with wonder in their eyes. He had opened a gate with out the computer, he was proud of what he had done.

Henry transported his clients and closed the gate behind him. He found his mom, and Amica talking.

"So there are these gates all over the universe, and people like my Henry, and you open them so that people can travel around the universe. Aren't there space ships, and stuff like that?" his mother asked.

"Not as many as you would think. Faster than light travel is still an imperfect science, so most commercial travel is still passed through, and regulated by the ITS, and the keeper's union," Amica said.

"Doesn't that create a monopoly on the control of the gates, or has the universe evolved beyond that. On Earth, we have a problem with the cost of fossil fuels like gasoline. Well you live there you know," his mom said.

"Tell me about it, the price of gas just keeps going up, that's why I went electric, but to answer your question no, the universe has not really evolved beyond that concept. The real problems come from the keeper's union and the keeper's fees. After the ITS pays those they are barely covering overhead, where the ITS really makes their money is in the transportation of goods through the cargo gates. They charge different fees depending on the type of merchandise," Amica said.

"That sounds like a good idea," his mother said.

"It started out as one, and does a good job on the whole, but it has created a black market gate system that moves merchandise that shall we say is of questionable origins, or uses. Items that are black listed, or illegal on some worlds but not on others are smuggled through secret gates hidden through out the universe," Amica said. Then she lowered her voice substantially, making it hard for Henry to hear, so he moved closer. "Now personally, I think the keepers union is involved, the real reason they stopped putting the squeeze on the ITS system is because they get a cut of the profits of everything that moves through the black-market gates," Amica said. Henry smiled. Here was the Amica he had met yesterday. He wondered how much of her dislike of the keeper's union came from her belief that that they had helped to betray her planet, and how much was based in actual fact. As he was now a member of the keeper Union he hoped that it was just unfounded prejudice, but she seemed the type of girl to be informed about the opinions that came out of her mouth.

"Henry are you a part of this keeper union?" his mother asked, after noticing his arrival.

"I am, but I will quit if you two really think I should." He said.

"No," both Amica, and his mother said in unison. They turned, looked at each other, and smiled. Then his mom indicated for Amica to go first.

"Henry the universe is a big place, and although I think parts of the union near the top are up to no good, a very large majority of the keepers in the union are just doing their jobs so they can support their families. I would hate to see you left unprotected, or vulnerable because of something I said, they could be a powerful enemy," Amica said. She seemed genuinely worried that she may have put Henry at risk. Henry turned to his mother for her reason.

"I think being in the union certainly has its advantages, the important thing is that you are aware that in any system there are going to be people who abuse their power. You just need to be aware that not everyone you talk to is going to be a good person, just like if you were on Earth," his mom said.

"Attention Keeper Thomas, Clients Exchange at IG gate 9, please proceed to gate IG 9, 10 minutes until opening".

"Well it sounds like we have another opening," Henry said to the group. He began walking towards the gate indicated on his map. It was across the hall, and third from the end.

"Yeah, we'd better get moving. I have to check in clients while you prep the gate for opening. I have to say watching you open such a gate bare handed was something, but maybe you should hold off until after you have gone through the full keeper training, what do you say," Amica said. She sounded worried. Maybe what he had done was more dangerous than he had realized.

"When do we start that anyway?" Henry asked.

"Tomorrow," Amica said. They arrived at the gate, and Amica went to her podium to do her job. There were already a few clients who had taken a seat in the appropriate waiting are.

"Check in for departure at Inter-Galactic Gate 9 will now begin, please bring your boarding pass up to the gate please," Amica said over the speaker.

Henry checked his tablet, and saw that he still had a few minutes until his opening, so he went over to his mom.

"How are you doing?" Henry asked.

"I am doing okay, I think this whole thing is amazing Henry, I really do. Is this something you could see yourself doing for a living, or do you plan on doing this to put yourself through school? I don't know? Does that question even seem relevant anymore, so much has changed in such a short time that I am not sure entirely how to react," his mother said. Henry was not sure how to respond. He had thought so much about his life after high school when he could be free of Paul, but had not thought much about what his life would be like after college. His mother was right much had changed. He would need to seriously think about his future. His mother must have seen some of the thoughts that were going through his head.

"We have plenty of time to discuss those kinds of things. The important thing is that for now you seem to have found a job that you can do while you are still in school, and from what your father said pays really good money." She gave him a big hug.

"Would you like to see how it works?" Henry asked. Walking towards his gate control computer.

"Now last time I was running late, and I didn't use the computer, but I think Amica would prefer if I did it the regular way this time," Henry said placing his hands on the black crystal screen.

"Now we enter the gate coordinates here on the big screen. And when we are done the computer takes over for a bit," Henry said. He typed in the series of numbers that appeared on his personal computer. The screen display changed.

"Aligning gate," appeared along with a progress bar.

"Is there a limit to how far a gate can reach?" his mom asked.

"As I understand it, and remember I have only had a little training so far, there are five levels of gates. They are broken down by the amount of power, or energy that the gate is capable of channeling. The amount of energy that a gate can hold determines how far away the other gate I want to connect with can be, for example gate 12 the gate I just opened is a level five gate, it is capable of reaching any other gate in the universe."

"So what is the computer doing now?"

"The computer aligns the gate properly." Henry said.

"If the computer does the alignment then how were you able to open that last gate with out it?" his mother asked.

"Advanced gate keepers can place their hands on the gate, and direct its alignment without help from the computers," Henry said.

"Like I said given that this is your second day, how did you open the gate with out the computers?" his mom asked again.

"Well I posses a high level of natural ability, and we were running late so I just thought I would try it, and it worked," Henry said trying not to sound arrogant when he said it, he did not think he had pulled it off however judging from the look on his mother's face. He had not said it to be arrogant; it was the truth. He did possess a very high level of talent.

"So you put everyone's travel plans at risk; just to see if you could do it?" his mother asked. Henry had not looked at it this way, given that he was already running late, if his attempt had failed; all of the people who had been counting on him to open the gate for them could have been delayed greatly while he tried for the second time to open the gate.

"Henry these people who run this station have put a lot of faith in your abilities. I hope that you can understand what a responsibility that is, that you are opening these gates in a professional manner. Yes, you were running late, but being late by a minute or two is a large difference from however late you could have been if you had failed and needed to start over. What if those people had somewhere they needed to be by a certain time, and you let them down. I thought I raised you better than that," his mother said. Henry knew she was right. What he did touched the lives of not only the people he was transporting, but the lives of those people they needed to interact with when they got where they were going.

"I promise I will work harder," Henry said. As if on cue the gate control computer display changed.

"Gate alignment complete," the computer displayed.

"What happens now?" his mother asked, as if their conversation from a second ago had never happened. His mother had a way of correcting him and then moving along as if nothing had happened. It was one of her best qualities.

"Now I go over here, and place my hands on the gate like I did before. It is the keeper that actually creates the connection between the gates," Henry said. He walked over to the gate, and placed his hands on it. His mother came with him, but stood back a foot or so.

"Now I close my eyes, while I do that, please don't touch me or the gate okay," Henry placed his hands on the gate. This time he was more conscious of his mind and was much more careful how much energy he let in this time. The opening went smoothly.

"Now we tell Amica, the gate is open, and ready to move clients. This is a client exchange which means that not only will we bring people through the gate, but we will bring clients back with us". He walked over to Amica. She smiled at him.

"That was nice opening, especially for a green, but I guess after a barehanded golden I should not really be to surprised, " Amica said. She said it in a playful tone, but Henry felt as thought there was a growing respect for his ability in her voice.

"I'm sure when you get your chance tomorrow you are going to do great, I can feel it," Henry said. It was true; he realized as he said it; there was something in her that he could feel, some kinship. He focused on his feelings. He realized now that he had centered his concentration, that it was her ability that he was feeling. He could see the potential within her waiting to be developed. If she worked she would be able to open the golden gates as well as him. He made a promise to himself that he would do what ever it took to help her reach the potential he saw. That it was the least he could do for his new friend after she had helped him find his bearing in this new world.

"Shall we move these clients Henry?" Amica asked. She was looking at him funny.

"What's with the funny look, did I do something wrong again?" he asked. If there was one thing he could count on it was Amica setting him straight when he stepped out of line.

"No, but you saw something, didn't you; with that creepy natural thing? It always used to weird me out when my dad did that. What did you see? Tell me or I'll hold these clients until holding that gate open wears you down like an over sharpened pencil." Amica said with a pleasant edge to her voice.

"It was nothing really. For a second, I could see the potential to be a keeper within you. I knew that you would be powerful; with work you will be able to do the golden gates. I was thinking that if we trained together, and worked hard we could get you there," Amica smiled warmly.

"Thanks Henry, that really means a lot to me, shall we move these people. In the future try not to do the creepy natural thing would you?" Amica said as she pushed some buttons on her pad.

"Travel will now commence, please check your area for any belongs you may have dropped, and pass through the gate in an orderly fashion," she announced. Henry led the clients through the gate. Amica and his mom brought up the rear. His mother hung back watching the whole time. Henry led the clients coming to his terminal back through the gate. When his mother and Amica were through the gate he pushed the gate closed, and released the connection. He sagged a little in the shoulders as he felt the energy he had expended leave his body.

"Thank you Henry, that was very special. It was very interesting to see what you can do," his mom said. "The universe is certainly full of interesting people, how long until you, and Amica have a break?" his mom asked. Henry looked down at his schedule, and found that he had 20 minutes until his next opening, and it was at the same gate he was now at.

"I have about 20 minutes until my next opening, why?" Henry asked.

"Well I was thinking that I would like to look around this place, and wondered if you could show me the way back," his mother said.

"Sure, let me just go tell Amica where I am going, and I'll be right back," Henry said. He went over to Amica who was checking in clients for his next opening. He waited until she had a moment to speak; while he waited, he watched her interact with her clients. She had a very pleasant, and fun personality about her. He found himself thinking about what his mother had said earlier about asking Amica out. They certainly had a great time when they were together. He wondered if Amica would date a human, especially a human as awkward as himself. He didn't even know if a girl who would live for thousands of years would be interested in a boy who would only live to be 85 to 90. Now that he had the technology of the universe at his fingertips maybe he would live to be a hundred, but when it came down to it, that was only a year on her planet. It didn't really matter; he thought to himself anyway, he was kind of with Britney. Amica had a moment to talk, and thankfully it did not look as though she had picked up on his train of thought. She would probably laugh if she knew he was thinking about her like that. Besides right now he was glad to have a friend.

"I am going to take my mom back out to the main terminal so she can have a look around, I'll be right back," Henry said.

"Ooh, that will be nice for her, I would take a moment, and stop at the book store on the first level, I saw a really nice universal travel translator in there. It was not cheap, but if you are going to bring your family here to explore, or if you are going to come on your day off out of uniform it would be a good investment. I'll hold down the fort until you get back.

"Thanks that sounds like a great idea, you're the best. I don't think I would make it through any of this with out you." Henry said sincerely. He found his mother, and headed quickly towards the bookstore, he did not want to be late for his opening, and make Amica look bad.
Chapter 10

The First Shift Together

I

Henry, and his mother went to pick up a universal translator from the bookstore, and Amica grinned inwardly as she found herself checking out his backside as he walked away. He was a good-looking man for a human, she wondered if he would consider going out with an alien. She hadn't been out on a date in almost a century, and even then it was with someone that her mother had set her up with. Amica loved her mother very much, and she was perfectly willing to date within her species, but had not met an acceptable candidate.

She checked in a few more clients then looked down at her pad, and saw the next gate opening was getting closer, and Henry had not returned. She secretly hoped he would have to open the gate bare handed the way he had earlier, she had asked him not to, but there was something exhilarating about the raw display of talent, and power Henry had displayed. She had tried to see Henry as a friend that was younger and needed to be looked after, but it was difficult to see him that way when he demonstrated feats of such physical power. Most of the energy that opened the gate came from the keeper, not the gate. He was coming into his own, and she was beginning to see him as an equal, despite the length of his life.

She was looking forward to beginning her own training, and really seeing after all of these years what she could do. Henry had said she would be able to open the golden gates. It didn't really bother her that Henry used his developing ability to see things on her, even though she had told him it did. She was just afraid he would see the way she felt about him before she knew herself, discovering her feelings was something that she preferred to do over time, and not in some flash of knowledge that came from the object of her feelings.

She checked in the last client on her list, and looked down to her pad, she had 6 minutes until Henry needed to have the gate open; she looked down the hallway, and smiled as she saw him hurrying this way. She did not understand why Henry did not have lots of friends, he was nice, he had a good sense of humor, he was a good listener and he was smart.

"It's just about time you showed up," she said teasing Henry when he walked up.

"I'm sorry it took a while for mom to get her bearings, and get the universal translator set up for her. My mother is a nurse; she spends all day working with sophisticated medical technology, but she needs help to work the living room TV. So it was a toss up which side she was gonna come down on," Henry said. She could tell that he was flustered about taking so long to get back; she was impressed by how seriously he took his job.

Henry went directly to the gate control computer, and began the process of opening the gate. She could hear the low thrum of electricity as it powered up shifting in frequency modulation to match the location coordinates that Henry had entered into the computer. After a few minutes the gate was aligned, and Henry walked over, placed his hands on the gate, as she watched, the green metal inlay that formed the out line of the door began to glow. As she watched Henry she thought of the only other natural she had ever known, her father. He had been a wonderful man, she had never met anyone who knew him who had not missed him, and respected his opinion as a keeper. She remembered a time before her planet fell; it was one of the few memories that remained clear to her of that time. Her father had taken her to work with him. She had spent all day watching him fix, different gates around the surface of her world. They traveled together by gateway, going to different stations throughout her planet that had a gate in need of repair. She would never forget it, in every station her father took her to the gift shop, and she got to choose something that represented the people who lived in that area of her world.

That was the first time she had laid her hand on an operating gate. At the end of the day she snuck up behind her father while he was opening the gate home. He had been tired and had not noticed her. She had wanted to pretend to open a gate like her father. She remembered placing her tiny little hands on the gate, it had seemed so utterly enormous to her. Her father had talked to her all day about what he was doing as he worked. As she closed her eyes the way he did she saw the orb he had talked about. She felt a trickle of energy pulse through her tiny body as the coppery beam of light hit her chest. She had felt filled to capacity with the tiny bit of energy she held. She remembered what her father had said about channeling the energy into the gate, and pushed as much as she could into the gate. The copper outline of the door already glowed with light from her father, but to her mind she thought it got a little brighter and she smiled.

She went to pull her hands from the gate to move out of the way, she had watched her father open the gates before, and knew he would need to pull the gate open now. She went to move out of his way, but he had noticed her and took her hands in his, and placed them on the gate handle, and together they pulled the gate open. When the gate was open he picked her up, walked through the gateway quickly, and pulled it closed behind them. He placed her hands on the handle again, and whispered into her ear to clear her mind. Then he asked her to picture the gate closed, and dark. She did as he asked; as soon as she did the gate fell dark. She remembered feeling so tired; she sat down on her but next to the gate.

Her father scooped her up in his arms she felt so sleepy, and warm in his arms as he squeezed her to his chest. She remembered being confused by the look on her father's face as she fell asleep, she felt so bad for falling asleep on him at work. When she woke up she had tried to apologize to him for falling asleep. He was not upset, and just held her in a tight hug. Latter he made her promise that she would never touch a gate like that again. As she got older she realized that she had accidentally become connected to the gate with her dad. She had actually channeled a portion of the energy that had opened, and maintained the gate. She was lucky that it had been a copper gate that required very little energy to open, or her mind would have been washed away on the currents of the gate's energy. Although looking back she understood that it had been a dangerous situation, but everything had turned out fine. It was one of her most cherished memories of her father. They had shared something that very few people ever shared, they had touched the universe together. It made her sad, that she did not know what had happened to him.

"Amica, the gate is open. Are all clients checked in and ready for transport?" Henry asked breaking her reverie.

"What?" she said.

"I said the gate's open, are we ready. Are you okay; you look, I don't know, like something is off. I didn't use the natural thing, I could just see it in on your face, I know we haven't known each other very long, but..." Henry said. Amica smiled to herself a little he was trying so hard to comfort her, he wanted to say that they were friends, but he was shy. That was so cute.

"It's okay Henry, I consider you a friend too. How about we move these clients," she said. Henry led the clients through the gate, and she checked off each one as they walked through the gateway, when all of them had been accounted for she walked through the gateway to inform Henry. They did not have anyone coming back through the gate, and walked back to their post.

II

They opened two more gates with out any incidents, or problems. Amica found that she was strangely looking forward to seeing Henry's mother again.

"Henry before we go pick up your mom there was something I wanted to tell you, I wanted to wait till our shift was over. I didn't want you opening gates upset," Amica said. She had spent the better part of her afternoon trying to figure out how to bring up the subject. This was her only chance to do it before keeper training started tomorrow.

"Roberts didn't just put me in keeper classes with you to help you adjust. She was worried I would ask you to go off with me, and look for my father, so she told me that if I promised not to ask you, she would put me in the keeper training program. I though you should know," she said. Henry looked at her with hurt on his face.

"So you are only pretending to be my friend so you can get into keeper training, is that what you are trying to tell me," Henry asked. He did not sound angry, he sounded disappointed, and sad which was even worse. She realized she needed to fix this before their relationship was damaged beyond repair, and because she wanted to keep him as a friend.

"No, that didn't come out right, can we sit down, and talk. I feel like everyone that walks by is looking at us," she said gesturing to an empty departure area. Henry thankfully nodded his head; at least he was willing to hear her out she thought. They walked over to a seating area, and sat down on two chairs near the end of an empty row.

"Roberts was worried about you getting into trouble so she called me in to her office, she said she wanted me to look after you, said she would even put me in the training program so I could help you settle in to your place in our universe. I promised right away, cause I liked you. I thought we had fun together, and I looked forward to spending more time getting to know you. I'm sorry. I do consider you a friend, and I don't want to put you in danger. The deal seemed like a win for everyone," Amica said. Henry sat for a minute absorbing everything she had told him, she was still not sure how he was going to react until he spoke.

"I like you Amica, but if there is anything else you are hiding from me now would be a good time to tell me," he said. She may be hiding some of her feelings from Henry, but that was only because she had not sorted them out yet.

"I'm not hiding anything else I promise, and I was serious when I said I consider you my friend. You maybe the first real friend I have made in a long time," she said. "I'm tired, what do you say we go check in with Ms. Roberts to get the details for our training tomorrow, find your mom," she said. She held her breath, waiting to see if the storm had passed. His face broke into a smile. It was a smile that Amica was quickly beginning to think of as her smile. He had several different smiles, one when he was opening a gate, and felt the thrill of the universe at his fingertips. Another for when he was learning some new tidbit, but this one seemed to be reserved for her. When he looked at her his smile widened just ever so much, and his eyes brightened just the slightest. Whenever he had pulled that smile out today her heart had beat a little bit faster.

"That sounds great," he said standing. "Do you know anything about how training will work," Henry asked.

"I don't, the only thing my father would ever say was that it was the hardest thing he had ever done. He said that he had a friendship that made the time special," she said. She realized that friend was probably Ms. Roberts; she wondered what had been between the two of them. Her mother didn't like to talk much about her dad, and she especially didn't like to talk about his time in keeper training before they met.

"What time are we supposed to meet Roberts again?" Henry asked looking at the time display on his tablet.

"She said to stop by after our shift, we were originally supposed to start training today, but I guess your dad called, and asked if you could bring your mom today. So she changed the schedule, should we go see when they're going to throw us to the wolves," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah, and then I'm going to take mom out to dinner, would you like to come?" Henry asked standing, and reaching down to help her stand up. She was glad he wanted her to eat with them.

"Sounds great, do you think she will want to eat in the station, or go somewhere else?" she asked. They began to walk towards Roberts's office.

"I don't know, I guess we will find out in a few minutes," he said. They walked through the hall talking about the different kinds of people they had seen today.

III

They knocked on Ms. Roberts door, and waited. While they were waiting Uktu's door was open, and she was packing up her stuff to go home. She helped Henry checked his tablet to confirm the deposit of his pay check, then they made small talk about their plans for the evening while they waited. After about five minutes the door swung open, and Roberts stood before them. She did not look entirely happy with them.

"Come in please, and sit down," Roberts said in her crisp professional voice. Amica always had a hard time reading this woman, but she was pretty sure she was in trouble.

"So I understand you two had a very interesting day, would you like to tell me about it," Roberts said. Amica was not exactly sure why she was upset, and figured the best bet would be to play dumb.

"I thought we had a pretty good day, Ms. Roberts. We moved all of our clients right on schedule," Amica said cheerily.

"So it's not true that Henry opened a level 5 golden gate barehanded today nearly collapsing the gate with an overdraw in the process?" Roberts asked. Although Amica felt from the tone of voice in which Roberts asked, it was clear she already knew the answer.

"I'm sorry Ms. Roberts," Henry said, "It was my fault, I took too long getting to the gate, and the computer would have taken too long to align the gate. I thought I could do it faster with out the computer, and although I got the customers to their destination on time, I appreciate that if something had gone wrong, people's lives could have been disrupted. I know that you have entrusted me with a lot of responsibility, and I will not let you down again. In the future, I will be sure to arrive in a more timely manner," Henry said. Amica listened to him talk impressed with his level of maturity, especially when you considered there were a lot of things going on this afternoon that had contributed to his tardiness. He had not tried to make any excuses; he simply apologized, and promised to be more responsible with his choices. She saw a lot of his mother in his personality.

"I appreciate that this was your second day Henry, and I will warn you to be more careful with your talent, especially when working around the level five gates, bad things can happen to a keeper who loses focus during an opening, you could hurt yourself, or others. You were very lucky today, if you had channeled that much energy through other gates in this station they would have melted around you," Roberts said.

"Yes ma'am," Henry said.

"And that goes double for you miss," Roberts said turning her head to look at Amica. "You both start training tomorrow. The last thing your father said to your mother, and I was to make sure you were taken care of. I see that you are respectful, polite, and you always do a good job. Your mother has done a very good job so far, and I will not let something happen to you on my watch," Roberts said leaning forward in her chair and placing her hands on the desk in front of here. "Is that clear, to both of you?" she said.

Amica could hear only the slightest agitation in Roberts's voice, which meant that she must indeed be upset to let her professional tone of voice slip even the littlest bit.

"Yes ma'am," The two of them said at the same time. They looked at each other, and smiled, not because they thought what she had to say was funny, but that they had responded at the same time.

"Tomorrow in your lockers, the two of you will find new uniforms for training. You are also to bring your communication tablets. Present yourself at the Chicago Terminal's North Gate. The gate will open for you at precisely 5 minutes to 4, and will close precisely at one minute after. If the gate closes, and you are not at the training facility you will not receive training. Is this fact clear to you? Your instructor will be standing by, I would not recommend being late, your instructor does not have my pleasant disposition," Roberts said. Amica was surprised to see that Roberts actually smiled when she said that last part. Amica however found her skin trying to crawl off her body at the thought of a person scarier than Roberts.

"Do you have any questions?" Roberts asked.

"No ma'am," the two of them said almost on top of each other. They got up to leave her office, and had almost reached the door when Roberts spoke one last time.

"I have recommended the both of you for this program, I have faith that the both of you will represent yourself, and this station in a manner that will make us proud, good luck," Roberts said. After speaking she went back to whatever work she had at her desk, and Amica, and Henry found their way out into the main hall of the terminal. It was evening. As they hit the main terminal Henry stopped, and looked up through the glass ceiling. The sky was full of a thousand stars, and planets that were similar to those of his home, but had just enough differences to make him look with wonder. There was a ringed planet close enough that they could clearly see the rings shimmering in the night sky. Amica smiled to herself at his wonder. The thing about Henry she thought she liked the most was the way he looked at everything he saw with acceptance, and wonder. He was not like some humans she had known over the years. Many believed so strongly they were alone in the universe; they had a hard time seeing the universe as it was. Henry was not that way at all. He approached everything with an open mind, as if to say wow that was unexpected, but then he would turn to you, and say how cool was that. As a natural he had the ability to see the glue that held the universe together, and yet he still found wonder in the simplest things like the sight of a different planet in the sky.

"So how are we supposed to find your mom?" Amica asked.

"We were supposed to meet here at the information booth, about 5 minutes ago, so she should be here somewhere," Henry said craning his neck to look for her in the thin crowd of people. "You go that way and I'll go this way," Henry said heading around the information desk. Amica almost looked past Henry's mom standing about three feet away from her, she was wearing a new pair of glasses presumably the language translator that Henry had purchased for her.

"Mrs. T," Amica shouted with a wave. Mrs. T saw her, and waved back, then began weaving her way casually through the crowd as if she had been walking through crowds of aliens her whole life. It really was a remarkable thing Amica thought to herself. This must be where Henry got his calm disposition. She walked up, a stylish pair of black glasses with oval lenses graced her appearance, and the glasses had an earpiece that tucked into the wearer's ear. The only other new addition to her wardrobe was a round pendant about an inch across hung on a silver wheat chain. The pendant was gold in color, and hung around her neck. When Amica looked closely, she saw that it was a fine engraving of the golden orb with the letters ITS carved in relief over the top of it, Amica realized that this pendant was the speaker for the universal translator. Henry really had spared no expense to buy this for his family, once again she found herself admiring his generosity of spirit, this set probably cost most of the credits he had in his account.

"Henry really bought a beautiful translator, may I," Amica said indicating the pendant. His mother nodded leaning a little so Amica could lift the pendant closer to her self. She admired the fine links of the sterling silver chain. The pendant was only slightly thicker than it should have been because of the resonating disk hidden with in it.

"It worked wonderful, it was so interesting to see all the different shops, and conversations that were happening all around me. So many languages, a person could spend hours here just watching different species come, and go. It makes you really think about how narrow-minded humans can be; to think this morning I thought we were alone in the universe. Where's Henry?" Mrs. T asked.

"We split up to walk around the information counter, he should be here any second," Amica said looking around to see if she could see him.

"How did the rest of your day go?" Mrs. T asked.

"It went really well, we got the information about starting out training classes tomorrow, so we are both very excited about that, did you think about where you wanted to go for dinner?" Amica asked.

"I saw a lot of really interesting foods upstairs, but nothing that really spoke to me. Would you mind if we just went somewhere in town, I would love the opportunity to just get to know more about what you, and Henry do with out all of the amazing distractions," Mrs. T said. Just then Henry walked over to them. He gave his mother a big hug.

"Mom, how was your evening did you have fun?" Henry asked.

"Yes, I had a great time. I waited until you two were done to eat, and it wasn't because the sight of some of the food made me sick to my stomach either, I promise," Mrs. T said with a laugh. How about we go back to the locker room and get you two out of those uniforms, and then we'll call your father, and sister. We can see what they are doing for dinner, and maybe bring home some carry out," Mrs. T said. Amica felt as if Henry's mother had adopted her, just naturally planning her into the events of the evening. It was a very nice feeling. She loved her mother very much, they had gotten along very well with just the two of them, but there was something to be said about being surrounded by friendly people.

IV

An hour, and a half latter, Amica found herself seated with Henry's family in the back of a little Chinese restaurant. Henry's father, and sister had not eaten either when Mrs. T had called, so Henry had suggested dinner out at the Golden Palace. He had even offered to pay. His mother had protested at first, telling him to keep his money. I think in the end Mrs. T could see that Henry really wanted to do this for her, and gave in.

Before dinner, Henry's family had been full of questions about her time on Earth, and her family. She had not been sure how to discuss the issue of her father, but Henry had stepped in saying that her father had been lost in the tragedy that brought her to Earth. He had said it in a tone that had implied it was a tender subject, and although Amica could see they all had more questions they gladly changed the subject to how she, and her mother had blended in for so long.

"It was harder in the past," Amica said. "People moved around less, and the cities were smaller, so after awhile people would notice that we aged very slowly, and before people could ask questions we would have to move along. My mother worked for the gate system, she was not a keeper like Henry, but she did repairs, and maintenance work for the ITS so we always had to live near cities with gates. Because of the exchange rate we always had money, so every few years we would hop through a gate to a new city, and start over," Amica said.

"So there have always been gates on Earth?" Mrs. T asked.

"I'm not sure when the first gate appeared on Earth honestly, but there were only a few when my mother, and I arrived around a thousand years or so now, in fact the Chicago terminal is fairly new, it was moved out of the city after the great Chicago fire. I think they moved it in 1873, they built it out here so they could bring supplies in to help rebuild the city; even then Chicago was an import place. I wish you could have seen it during the Columbian Exposition, it really was a thing to behold," Amica said. The food came, and the talk turned to other things.

Amica sat next to Henry enjoying the company of his family, she had never been to this particular restaurant before, she was actually surprised the food was so good looking out at the rest of the restaurant. The carpet looked good in the dark, but looked thread bare near the edges of the light pools, and the wallpaper was starting to peel in some places. She had to admit that it was the best food she had ever eaten, it was probably the only thing that kept the place afloat. It was some of the most fun she had in a while.

Shelly loved Amica's coat. Which had thrilled Amica. The coat, which had started as a Kensington by Burberry, had been a custom order, and was one of her most prized possessions. She, and Shelly spent a portion of the evening talking about clothes, and she told Shelly about the time she had spent with the people at Burberry creating her coat. Amica loved the opportunity to talk about it with some one who loved fashion like Henry's sister. They had custom created the lining, and the scarf for her, altering the red they used to a paler rose pink that would match her skin tone. Henry's sister picked endlessly on Henry's wardrobe, calling him hopelessly addicted to the same look. Henry had shot her a dirty look when she mentioned his clothes, but either Shelly had not seen it, or she had pretended not to. She made Amica promise that the two of them would take Henry shopping now that he had some money, and buy him some clothes that showed off how handsome he was.

Amica looked down at her watch, decided to head home, and check in with her mother before bed. She wanted to talk to her about her upcoming keeper training, she had wanted to talk to her before, but she had been out of town on a job. She was supposed to be home tonight, and Amica wanted to be home when she got there to greet her. Although people where still eating, and having a good time she excused herself, explaining about her mom coming home from an out of town job, and wanting to be there when she arrived. Henry's family was very gracious about her early departure, telling her how much they enjoyed her company.

"Any time your mom is out of town, and you feel lonely you are welcome to come by our house," Mrs. T said standing, and giving Amica a hug good bye as they prepared to leave.

"Don't forget you promised to help me make Henry buy some new clothes," Shelly said again as a parting shot.

"I won't forget," Amica said. Henry walked her to her car.

"I'm glad you came to dinner, this was fun, I hope you enjoyed the food. I know the place isn't much to look at, but the food is great," Henry said.

"It was great, and I agree it is the food that matters in the end," Amica said. "Hey I was thinking I would pick you up at school tomorrow, we could run through a drive in, and get some food before we change for training" she said.

"That would be great," Henry replied.

" Great, where should I park?" she asked.

"There's a visitor parking on the west side of the building near the Main entrance, my mom parked there today, that should work fine. I get out at three, is that still okay with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, you did really good today Henry. I was very impressed, you have a lot of talent, I am excited to see what we can do as a team in training tomorrow," she said. He gave her a hug.

"Thanks, I never would have made it through the last two days with out you," Henry said as he hugged her. She could feel his breath as he spoke on her ear. She felt really comfortable in his arms, and held him close for a moment before giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"You would have been fine, but it is nice of you to say," she said stepping back, and holding his elbows for a moment longer not quite ready to break contact yet. She looked into his eyes, and fought the urge to kiss him on the lips, and decided this was a good moment to make her exit, before she did something to ruin their friendship.

"I'll see you tomorrow, 3 o'clock," Amica said then she got in her car, and pulled away.
Chapter 11

Training Day One

I

Henry walked out of the school building, he checked for bullies, and when he found none walked towards where the visitor parking lot was. Amica was standing near the rear of the car leaning against the side. The day was warm, and sunny for the time of year. Her black trench was open, and she was in a pair of blue jeans, and a black V-neck that showed a lot of skin. The black of her top really set off the pale pinkness of her skin, her snow white hair hung around her face in soft curls, as opposed to pulled back into a ponytail like he had seen it before. Henry took a moment to take in her beauty. She was next to the car presumably so he could find her but there really was no need, he had seen the car the night before, and it was not the kind of car you forgot. It was low, sleek, and sporty; he had wanted to ask her about it the night before, but had not had the chance. It was a green Tesla Roadster, it was a nearly as attractive as its owner which was saying a lot. A small crowd of the school's gear heads had noticed the car as well, and stood around the car. Henry thought that Amica's presence had not hurt the growing crowd as well.

Amica noticed him as he approached, and walked away from the guy who was attempting to chat her up with out a look back. Henry noticed the looks of regret on the faces of the boys who had been talking to her, and smiled a little. He saw many of the most popular guys in school drooling over Amica, and her car; probably more her than the car. She walked straight to him with out even a look back. He thought about how much his life had changed over the last week, or so.

"Henry right on time as usual," Amica said giving him a friendly hug, and a kiss on the cheek. She pulled back holding his arms as she had done last night looing into his eyes. Henry thought about how nice a feeling it was.

"Are you as excited as I am," Amica said in a voice almost so giddy that Henry almost didn't recognize it.

"Apparently not as happy as you. You sound like a little kid on Christmas morning," Henry teased. "I'm hungry. Let's eat; we don't have a lot of time. Roberts said the trainer was even less pleasant than her. I can't even imagine what that must be like," Henry said. The two of them walked past the open mouthed group of gear heads climbing into Amica's car.

"So are burgers okay?" Amica asked pulling out of the parking lot.

"Yeah," Henry replied. Amica drove through a drive through asking Henry for his order, handing him the bag of food, and drink holder. She drove them to the Chicago Terminal and parked.

"You can leave your back pack in the car if you want. I'll give you a ride home when we're finished," Amica said.

"That sounds great, thanks," Henry said. He passed the food to Amica who was standing next to the car, and climbed out himself. The roadster was very cool, but not exactly easy to climb out of holding a bag of burgers, and fries.

Harold and Justin were at the desk in the same position they had been in yesterday. They had the same stern look that Henry had seen before. That in combination with the uniform gave them the impression that they had not moved since he had seen them last.

"Harold, Justin, so very nice to see your lovely smiling faces," Amica said walking between the two of them to the locked door behind the desk. She waited only a moment before the door buzzed open. Henry thought he saw that same barest glimpse of a smile from the pair.

"Thank you, have a nice day," Henry said to the sphinx like pair. He was just about to walk through the door allowing it to close behind him, but paused at the last minute turning to the gentlemen behind the desk.

"Hey I think I'm gonna stop, and get food on my way here again tomorrow, if you want I can pick something up for you two as well," he said. The two men swiveled in their chair simultaneously. It was the first movement besides page changes he had seen. They looked at him with the same expression with which they read their books.

"Well, if you change your mind you can let me know on my way out," Henry said. He looked over to Amica who stood holding the door open looking at him like he had gone nuts. He walked through the door allowing it to close behind him. As the door closed the pair returned to their original position.

"What was that?" Amica asked

"What, you talked to them yesterday. I just thought I would offer to bring them something. What?" Henry asked again when she had not said anything.

"They actually looked at you," she said.

"So," Henry said.

"I've never seen them actually look at anybody before," Amica said.

"That's ridiculous, they must look at the clients they check in, or customers who come in accidentally thinking they are a real glass shop," Henry said. Amica stopped dead at that thought.

"I've never considered that," Amica said thinking hard.

"Just because they do not talk to many people, does not mean they do not appreciate the courtesy," Henry said getting into the elevator doors that had just slid open. Amica walked in after him.

"You are a very interesting human, do you know that," she said pleasantly surprised.

"Thanks," Henry said not bothering to restrain his smile. "Let's eat I'm starving," he said. He was very happy with the turn of events with the pair in the lobby, maybe in time they may actually speak to him. They went to the break room, and Henry took the food out of the bag while Amica got some paper plates out of the cabinets near the refrigerator.

"So what do you think the new uniforms are gonna look like?" Amica asked.

"I didn't even given it any thought, they're just clothes." Henry said. He really did not understand people's need for specific clothes. He had received a lot of teasing about what he did, or did not wear over the years.

"I don't know I thought if we had an idea what we needed to wear, I would have an idea what we are going to be doing. I don't understand why you are so calm," Amica said. She was looking at Henry with a frown on her face. Henry was caught off guard; he had not expected this reaction. He thought carefully for a moment before speaking, the last thing he wanted to do was say the wrong thing, and make the situation worse.

"I have not spent my whole life looking forward to this like you have," he said pausing to take a breath.

"But, I don't understand," Amica started to say, but Henry stopped her.

"I wasn't done. I had no idea any of this world even existed till Monday morning. My whole life, not that it was a great life to begin with, but for what it was worth, my whole life has been turned upside down. I guess, I am just tired, and not ready to be excited about something that until two days ago I didn't even know was real. Don't get me wrong, I am happy I met you, and stumbled into this whole world, but I am still having a hard time keeping up," Henry said. He had not meant to get upset, but Amica's agitation had spread to him as well.

"Listen, I'm sorry Henry I... I didn't mean to... I'm sorry, okay," she said reaching across the table, and holding Henry's hand. "If you get overwhelmed just let me know okay, I'm your friend. I'm here to help you find your place in this world," Amica said. He looked down at his hand nestled within hers. And although her skin felt dense it was warm, and comforting.

"Thanks, I will. And if you need help with an opening, let me know. I don't know what we're in for, but I think we got a better chance if we tackle it together," Henry said.

They finished their burgers, and separated to go change their clothes. Henry opened his locker, curious about what he would find there. His stomach dropped a little when he saw the uniform. It was a black sleeveless work out shirt, with the logo of the ITS silk-screened on the center. The orb was gold and the letters across the front of it were blue. Behind that he found a pair of black tactical pants with the same logo. In the bottom of his locker he found a pair of socks, and running shoes in his size. He put everything on, and it fit comfortably. He had to give Uktu credit she did a good job of providing his equipment. The only down side, was the top. It showed off many of the bruises that covered his shoulders, and arms. He tried to rack his brain for any explanation for Amica. He was very upset as he sat down to tie his laces. Just then he heard a voice from the door.

"Henry, you okay? You've been in there a long time is your gear okay?" Amica asked.

"The gear is fine, I guess. It's just not what I am used to," Henry said. He decided that he would let the chips fall where they would. He put his clothes in the locker, grabbed his pad from the top shelf, and headed out into the break room.

"Oh my god are you okay," Amica said when he walked out of the locker room.

"I'm fine, why?" Henry asked hoping to play dumb.

"For starters your face is all red, and blotchy not to mention you are covered in bruises," she said the concern in her voice growing. Henry touched his face, and realized he had been crying. He had not noticed until Amica pointed it out.

"I was just upset about the clothes. I don't normally show this much skin," he said. Amica came over, and placed her hand on the bruises on his shoulder tracing the out lines of them trying to distinguish one from the other.

"I can see why, what happened?" she asked.

"There are two boys I go to school with and," Henry started saying, but was interrupted.

"Two of them, those cowards, and they did this to you?" she said. Henry could hear real rage in her voice now.

"Not everyday, just when I'm not fast enough to avoid them," Henry said. Even to his own ears the excuses sounded pathetic. He couldn't imagine what his words must have sounded like to a strong minded women like Amica.

"I thought the healing pattern looked funny, now it makes more sense. Are there more of them," she asked. Henry nodded yes; he decided to get things over with, and raised his shirt so Amica could see his chest. She gasped.

"I don't really want to talk about it, okay. Besides I think we need to get going, soon," Henry said. He had checked his watch, and the time was starting to get close.

"Okay Henry, but if you want to talk you just say something, but I won't bring it up. Okay?" she asked. Henry pulled her close into a hug.

"Thanks," He whispered in her ear. They broke apart, and Henry saw she still had a concerned look on her face, but true to her word she said nothing else.

"It's time," Henry said. Indicating his watch. Amica still had a serious look on her face as if she was having trouble holding back her words.

"We can talk about the bruises while you drive me home, but now we need to get through that gate before we are late. I will not let you be late for your first day, on account of some stupid bruises, they're the past, that gate is our future. The two of them walked into the terminal just as the gate way came to life. Henry had never seen the other side of an opening before. He watched in awe as the golden out line of the gateway began to glow faintly, the light grew quickly filling his field of vision with the blazing outline of the doorway, then as quickly as it had started the light was gone and the gateway was open.

"Henry, That was a very impressive opening. I know you haven't seen many opening done by other keepers, but the first time we met I saw you do that. Just thought you'd like to know," Amica said. Henry looked through the gateway, the room on the other side was pitch black, and yet he could feel something moving in the darkness. He turned to Amica for encouragement, but she wore a nervous expression as well. He reached his hand out to her, and she took it with a relieved look on her face. They walked through the gateway together.

They stood in the light of the gateway, holding each other's hands, when a deep baritone voice spoke from the edge of the darkness. Henry did not know whom the voice belonged to, but as the voice spoke, there were moments, when he could see the faintest green light of the speakers eyes reflected back at him.

"You have come to me to be trained as keepers," said the deep baritone voice. It was a resonating sound that Henry felt in his chest.

"I do not take on this task lightly. I have not trained a class of keepers in over two thousand of your earth years. I have not met a potential keeper worthy of my time. The two of you however, caught my interest. Amica, Daughter of Melchiorre, I knew your father, he was a good student," the voice said. Henry could hear a fondness for Amica's father in his voice.

"He did not let his ability make him arrogant. He studied, and worked harder than any student I have ever trained save his partner. It is at her request I am considering your training. I understand you do not have his natural ability. Are you willing to work twice as hard to meet my standards?" the voice asked. He paused clearly waiting for an answer.

"I promise to work as hard as I can Sir," Amica said.

"Mr. Thomas, it has been over two thousand years since someone with natural ability walked through my gate. So many of them take the easy way out; they lack an understanding of the intricacies of an opening. They lack training, and discipline, choosing to work in private sectors." The voice said. Henry heard real disappointment, and sadness about this fact in the voice of the speaker.

"The path you seek is difficult, and hard; you must leave behind what you think you understand. Can you leave behind your past, and create a new future?" the voice asked. Henry wanted to train, but was on edge. The last year of his life had been unbearable, but he was not willing to just forget it. He still carried the shame of what had happened. How could he prevent that from happening again if he did not learn from it, and move forward? He spoke from his heart into the darkness.

"I wish to move forward sir, but the past is complicated. I was raised to believe that you must learn from the past, to embrace the future," Henry said. The voice was silent for only a moment before it spoke. Henry had expected the voice to become angry, and tell him to go back through the gate, but it was calm, and understanding.

"You must learn from your past, and move forward; not inhabit it. You are young, and it is sometimes difficult to understand the difference. The heart of wisdom lies in understanding that knowledge is made of all the events in your life, not just the good. To carry forward all of the experiences that have shaped you; good, and bad leaving behind the resentment, and the hurt is not an easy thing to ask of anyone," the voice said. Henry thought hard; he thought he understood what the voice was asking him to do. To accept his past, and move forward into a new future free of all of the things that tied him to the past, it was very appealing.

"I want to move forward, but I don't know how," Henry said.

"You have the potential to be very powerful. I will help you. You both have come here to be trained; this is the covenant I make with you both. I will never strike you, or degrade you, and in return you will not lie to me. If you lie to me, I will teach you no more that day; you may return the following day, but if you are asked to leave again it will be forever. If you decide that you cannot continue, or you cannot do what I have asked you to do, you may quit at anytime. I will not question your decision, or second-guess your choice. If you tell me you are through, I will take you at your word. If these terms are acceptable, then enter, and begin your training. The door will remain open for one minute while you decide," the voice said.

Henry looked to Amica who had a determined look on her face, he did not have any intention of backing out, they had made a promise to help each other reach their potential, and he meant to keep his word. When the minute was up the voice came again, reverberating out of the darkness.

"If the two of you are sure then Henry, please close the gate behind you," the voice said. Henry pushed the gate closed.

They stood in the darkness for a moment. Before their eyes could adjust to the dark, a circle of light came up slowly. Before them in the center of the light sat an imposing creature. To Henry it looked like a Bearded Emperor Tamarin he had seen on the Discovery Channel, only instead of being 35 cm in length he was five feet tall; he could only imagine that after the deep voice they heard, their teacher was male. He was sitting on his back haunches, and Henry could only imagine that should he stand upright he would be roughly seven feet tall. Even with the size difference the first thing Henry thought of was the Emperor Tamarin. The Tamarin as Henry could not help but think of him since they had not received a name yet, was covered in short fluffy grayish brown hair. The fur was mostly gray with just the smallest trace of brown. Henry got a sense of the age of the being before him, he somehow understood that he had started brown, and over the many years the gray had slowly replace more, and more of the brown hair leaving only a few brown spots left. The face had a shortish pink snout whose dominating feature was long white whiskers that formed a large mustache on the upper half of the mouth. The mustache stuck out from the face of the tamarin curling downward, eventually joining more whiskers that hung from the chin forming a beard. The eyes were a deep brown almost blending into the dark furs that surrounded the eyes, and small rounded ears. Amica, and Henry stood in the darkness at the edge of the circle of light, not sure what they should do next.

"Welcome, I am Albert Wilhelm, you may call me Sir. I stand in the light of knowledge, it is time to begin you're your journey out of darkness. Please step into the light," Sir said.

II

Henry lay near the edge of a brightly lit circle of light, laying face down on a hardwood floor, his body covered in sweat. He was breathing hard, but felt satisfied with his performance. He, and Amica had spent the last two hours doing strenuous physical activities. The pool of light held two treadmills, and steel rack with a chin-up bar long enough for two people to exercise side by side. His teacher circled them moving in, and out of the light, calling instructions, and encouragement from the line of light. Henry's body lay near the edge of darkness, his hand felt the comforting feel of Amica's hand; he laid facedown near the back of a treadmill. He was not sure he could move his body if his life depended on it.

They had started with 50 minutes of yoga, designed to stretch, and strengthen their muscles while relaxing their minds. Henry had never done yoga before, and was pleasantly surprised by how flexible he was. It was not as hard as he had expected to learn the positions, although holding them, and executing them properly was. He was excited, and amazed at first when their teacher had led them to a new circle of light. The light contained two yoga mats, and a semi transparent holographic instructor. The holographic instructor was a woman Henry's height, wearing blue yoga pants, and a tank top similar to the ones that Henry, and Amica wore. She began to walk them through each position, explaining where his hands, feet, and hips were supposed to be. Henry realized this had indeed been necessary, when he looked at the physical structure of Sir's body while he exercised with them. His joints, and muscles groups were not similar enough to there own to use as a model. While doing the yoga exercises Sir talked to them about the importance of learning to focus their mind, and body into one holistic being.

"The bridge is opened by the keeper, not the computer, repeat after me," Sir had said. Henry, and Amica had done as they were told.

"Repeat after me, the energy for the opening comes from the keeper, not the computer. The computer only provides the electricity, as a starting point; with time some of you will develop the ability to open gates with the barest of electricity," Sir had said. This statement had surprised Henry; it had been his understanding that opening a gateway took special computer equipment to properly modulate the frequencies, plus an enormous amount of power to create the bridge, but Henry understood the truth was as Sir said when he thought about the opening he had done without the computer. It had been just as easy for him as it had been with the computer to help, but the terminal had still supplied the electricity, or had it. Henry did not remember clearly now. He was having trouble focusing his thoughts while doing the various poses, and listening to Sir speak.

"It is important for you to learn to relax your mind Henry," Sir said as if reading his thoughts. They were holding a pose called downward facing dog that was really stretching the back of his legs, and he was having a hard time moving beyond the pain in his calves. He was having a hard time maintaining the balance that so many of the positions required, and listening to the words that were being spoken around him at the same time.

"You have the ability to see the truth of the universe Henry, to see the connections that hold all of creation together, this takes focus, and strength of will. When your body, and mind are at peace, and your emotions are calm you will see things that few people in this universe ever truly see. The simplest use of your ability is to see the motivations, and the reasons the people in your life do different things. You have probably noticed this already, the closer the person is to you the easier it will be to read, and understand their emotions," Sir said. Henry knew this was true, he had accidentally read his parents, and sister on more than one occasion.

"But, when you are angry, scared or upset even these simplest of tasks are still probably beyond you, or the things that you see are only partially true. Amica with time, you will learn to do this as well, to a lesser extent. You will know when you are being lied to, but will not be able to see the truth behind the lie. When working the gates you both will see the truth of the alignment, and how to compensate for the shift of frequency. With my training you will learn how to calm your thoughts even when the surrounding is hectic. Sometimes things will go wrong, you must be able to focus," Sir talked them through different techniques to calm their mind, and focus as they moved through the different yoga positions. By the end of the hour of yoga, Henry was doing a much better job of finding a balance in his mind. Henry's favorite part of the experience was at the end when Sir had them lie flat on their back finding a position that was comfortable for them.

"Close your eyes," Sir had said. "Picture yourself sinking into the floor, rooting you to the ground, all of the tension, and worry seeping into the floor beneath you; leaving only behind a calm, and open mind," Sir said. Henry did as he was asked, and as he lay there he felt peaceful, and energized. All of his worry about his feelings for Amica, and the confusion surrounding Britney, and Paul; oozed out of him absorbed by the floor below him. He felt calm, and at peace for the first time in years. It reminded him of sitting within his grandfather's arms as he had during childhood.

"This mental exercise can also be used while standing, if you are trying to work a gate, and none of the other exercises have been able to calm your mind. This particular exercise takes practice, but can also be used to refresh your body on days when you feel drained from the gates," Sir instructed.

After they finished yoga their new teacher lead them to the circle of light with exercise equipment.

"The keeper creates the bridge, and can maintain the opening for as long as his body can maintain it. There are special gates that can hold the heart of the opening, they can maintain an opening indefinitely once it has been created, but they still require a keeper to perform the initial opening, changes in location, as well as closing the bridge." Sir said.

"The opening is controlled by the body, and mind. Now we have worked on relaxing the mind, and warming up the body it is time to develop the body to its peak performance. Every day we will spend a portion of our training conditioning, and developing your muscle tone," Sir said. He had them begin with pull-ups. They did two circuits of 25 with a half-mile run on the treadmill between, and after the circuits. When it was finished Henry was proud of himself, he had always been too self-conscious during gym to really try hard while exercising. He found his body responding well. He had a difficult time during the last 10 pull-ups, but found that having a goal helped him get there. In the end he was thankful he had a low body mass, meaning there was less weight to lift, and managed to finish the circuit.

After the pull-ups they moved to sit-ups. Henry had an easier time with the sit–ups portion; they did five circuits of 20 with a quarter mile run after each circuit. Henry was surprised when Amica was having a harder time with the runs then he was. She had done such a good job of everything so far, but as he thought about it Henry had been running quite a bit over the last couple of months, and had become very adapt at it. He shouted encouragements to her while they ran. Each run was a sprint, with each treadmill set at a speed designed to bring the run in around a 100 secs. Henry yelled, and cheered for her to stay with him, and other encouragement. They went quickly from one exercise to the next giving them no time between the sit-up, and the sprints. At the end their teacher gave them a two-minute rest, as they lay on the ground panting, Amica reached over, grabbed his hand and squeezed it. It took her a moment to catch her breath, before she could speak.

"Thanks Henry," she said "I'm glad we're in this together, you're doing really good, keep it up," she said.

After the two minutes was over, they got to the part Henry had the hardest time with, push-ups. Henry had never felt very confident, or comfortable when it came to doing push-ups. He always felt that his form was off; he always felt like he was doing them wrong. This was nothing however compared to the fun of watching Amica do her very first push up. Henry had at least encountered the exercise in various gym classes over the years. Amica however not being into fitness, or the public school system had never done a push-up before. Henry walked her through the form of the first couple with Sir correcting both of their forms until they had it perfect. The amusement however faded quickly when it became time to do the exercises in earnest. Their goal was a hundred push-ups broken again into 5 circuits of 20. Between each circuit was another quarter mile run in 100 secs.

Henry made it through the first four sets of push-ups, and the mile on the treadmill, although he struggled with finishing the fourth set of push-ups. He found himself enjoying his time on the treadmill more, and more as he found the right length to his stride, and breathing. Amica was improving quickly with finding her stride, but struggled with her endurance wanting to stop before the time had run out. Henry had begun increasing his positive motivation, counting her down to the end.

It was during his last set of push-ups that Henry's body hit the wall. He barely finished the fourth set, and the run had only given his arms 100 secs to rest. He made it through the first five, the sixth was barely passable, and the seventh was not even counted by their teacher. He was about to give up, and tell Sir he couldn't do it, when he heard Amica next to him.

"Come on Henry, over a quarter of the way there, you can do it," she said. Henry dug deep, and managed another four making it to half way. Again he heard Amica encouraging him.

"That's right, halfway there come on you can do it," she said. He struggled yelling incoherent noises as he pushed through five more, his arms feeling sore, and starting to go numb. His body covered in sweat, his fingers feeling slippery as the sweet ran down his arms.

"That's it Henry, only five more. I know you can finish," she said. Henry dug deeper than he ever had, trying to focus his mind on willing his body to move. He did the last push-up, and collapsed on the ground, laying face down with his arms splayed out to either side of him. Amica once again took his hand as she lay on the ground next to him, the two of them panting, their chests rising, and falling as they tried to regain their breath.

"Good job," she said taking deep breaths between each word. "We did it," she said.

"Thanks to you," the two of them said at the same time. Henry rolled to his side facing Amica, their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.

"The two of you have done well, you are meeting your potential nicely, as the time goes on we will continue to push your limits. We will begin a muscle cool down exercise, then you may have five minutes to rest, and rehydrate. Then we will begin the next phase." Sir said in his deep voice.

III

Henry's body was absolutely exhausted, and Henry was relieved at first when Sir, led them to an area with two desks set in front of a computer screen the size of a chalkboard. Henry found his pad sitting on one of the desks, and Amica's pad on the other.

"It is time for you to begin the basic understanding of how the gates work. We will spend the next two hours on the basic components needed to construct, repair and maintain the two classifications of gates. As well as the differences between the five levels of a Type Two Variable Destination Gate," Sir said. Henry only knew about one type of gate. He was very interested in what Sir was about to teach him, but as he sat he began to feel his muscles get sore. He began to have a hard time focusing. Over the next two hours, Sir, lead them through screen after screen of diagrams, and instructions on the mechanics of how the different gates operated.

As Sir talked about the different gates, Henry looked back on his time in the terminal; he realized he had encountered at least two Type One Gates. The door from Roberts's office to the terminal must be such a gate, because he was pretty sure that her office was in the house on Earth, the second was from the break room in the Chicago terminal. Henry's head was swimming with new information, to process. Suddenly he had an idea. He raised his hand, and Sir stopped.

"Yes, Henry. Do you have a question?" Sir asked.

"I'm having a hard time processing all the new information, because my body, and mind are swimming. Could we do one of our guided meditation exercises to help us focus?" Henry asked. Sir smiled at him, and Henry felt proud of himself for acknowledging his lack of ability to focus.

"We did many meditation exercises today, you may have a few minutes to calm your own thoughts. If you are still unable to focus, then I will try to help you. Henry closed his eyes picturing himself sinking into the chair, his feet grounding him providing an outlet for all of the tension to escape. He imagined all of the muscle aches, and tension as a fluid filling his body. He began picturing the fluid draining from his feet to be absorbed by the floor below leaving him feeling refreshed, and focused. Henry opened his eyes feeling much more focused. Sir began speaking again, and Henry was able to follow him through the tiny mechanical details of how the gate technology worked. He was just beginning to feel overwhelmed again when Sir told them it was time to go home for the evening. Sir opened the gate for them. He told them they were not allowed to open another gate until he gave them permission to do so. Henry walked numbly through the Chicago terminal; he could not believe that it was only a little past 8 o'clock. He had a hard time accepting the idea they had only been training for 4 hours. It seemed like longer.
Chapter 12

Confrontations

I

The day after Amica picked him up; things began to turn south for Henry at school. Henry was exhausted from his first night of training. He walked through most of the day in a daze. He was standing at his locker when Britney came over. She talked in a sweet voice.

"We were supposed to get together yesterday," she said.

"Oh Britney, hi. Listen I totally forgot, I had to work," Henry said

"I don't usually let people stand me up you know and get away with it Henry, We were supposed to work on our project, you do still want to be partners don't you" she said.

"What? Oh yeah sure, but I am going to be working a lot over the next couple of days. New job training and all, why don't you get started and maybe next week we can get together and work on it," Henry said

"Who was that girl yesterday?" she asked in her sweetest voice. She did not say which girl she meant, but she didn't have to, Henry knew whom she meant.

"She is a friend from work," Henry said cautiously.

"Is she the reason you ditched me yesterday?" she asked in voice that was less sweet. He could tell Britney was up set.

"She is just a friend, we work together and she was giving me a ride," Henry said.

"Okay, I trust you Henry," she said giving Henry a kiss on the cheek in the same place that Amica had. "Why don't you call me over the weekend and we can set up some time to get together."

"Sure, that sounds fine," Henry said.

Henry was very busy with training over the weekend, and he didn't call her, but in his own defense she didn't call him either. He got the silent treatment all day Monday. He heard through the grapevine that Britney had been very upset he had not called all weekend. His sister told him he had too much going on in his life to deal with girls who acted that way. He liked Britney, but she never talked about anything but the project. Shelly said that she was using him. He didn't know, maybe Shelly was right. He had tried to read Britney using his talents. They had come a long way over the last couple of days but he just couldn't focus enough at school. He decided to just keep his head down, he didn't really need her as a partner; he was perfectly capable of working on the project by himself. He decided to let time sort it out.

The next day was Tuesday, and Britney was like a completely different girl, she found him early in the morning while he was at his locker. She was leaning on the locker next to his when he closed the door.

"Hey Henry, I've missed you, why haven't you called me?" she asked sweetly.

"I've been working," he said irritated. He was tired. Between the physical and mental exertion of training on top of his schoolwork he was starting to feel punchy. He was tired of all the drama. Henry realized his sister was right. He had too much going on in his life to deal with a girl who acted this way.

"I don't think I am going to be able to be your partner, I'm really sorry. I am just too busy,"

"I see, but you have plenty of time for that bimbo in your life," she said starting to get snotty. He allowed his frustration at the whole situation to get the better of him.

"Her I have time for, what I don't have time for in my life is you, because all you do is cause drama," he said then began to walk away, leaving her with a stunned look on her face.

"OH REALLY," she yelled, "And I suppose that bimbo is much better than me," she cried. Now Henry was really upset. Britney was attacking his new friend, he knew he should have kept walking, but turned around instead.

"I told you she was just a friend, and yes... she is better... than you...will...ever...be" Henry said slowly. He regretted the words the moment they were out of his mouth, not because they were untrue, but because they were mean. He tried to apologize to her for saying something so mean, especially in front of a crowded hallway, but she had already turned, and was hurrying the other way.

When he got to English class that afternoon, Britney was wrapped around Paul and shooting him dirty looks. The bell rang and she went to her seat for class but refused to talk to him the entire period. The pushing in the hallway began the next day. It started subtle at first. Henry did not make the connection the first time someone bumped into him, and he dropped his books. It could have been a mistake, but the second time in as many passing periods was not. Henry dropped his books, and the person who bumped in to him kneeled down as if to help him pick them up.

"Paul says hello," the kid said, stood then walked away. Henry recognized the kid's face as being on the football team, but couldn't remember his name. Thursday was worse, and by Friday things had gotten very bad. The bumping had turned into pushing, and shoving. If he was near the lockers it meant a shove into the lockers, or the walls, and a bruised shoulder. Once they caught him as he walked through the fire doors that divided the different sections of the building into fireproof compartments, and slammed him into the center post of the door. That hurt particularly bad; it left a pretty good mark on his chest.

At training that night Amica noticed he was still showing up with bruises, he had been able to hide them from her so far. He really liked her, and although he had talked to his sister a little about the bullying, he was not sure he wanted Amica to be a part of that side of his life. Henry had been very good at compartmentalizing his day, but as he worked in training breaking down his walls it became harder, and harder. He was trying very hard to learn to just let all of the fear, shame, and anger he was feeling go, so he could focus his mind. Henry thought he was improving quickly, especially during the evening. During the day, was different. Sometimes he would succeed, and then someone would slam into him again, and keep walking without even looking at him. He would feel that shame again; they didn't even bother to even look him in the face while they did it. They didn't even have that much respect for him.

Henry and Amica were standing in front of the gate waiting for Sir to open it; it had been a particularly nasty day for him, with the doorpost incident still fresh in his mind when Amica spoke.

"Why do you let them do that to you?" she said. Her words reverberated in his head, because her words were almost an echo of his thoughts, at first he was not sure if she had spoke them, or he had. Henry felt his face burn with shame.

"I don't want to talk about it," Henry said quietly hanging his head.

"Why don't you tell someone; put a stop to it?" she asked. He had thought about it, but he wasn't even sure how. It was rarely the same person, and he couldn't blame the whole football team although most of them involved were on the team. He knew Paul was behind it, but since Britney had gotten back with Paul his level of sneakiness had increased significantly. Not only had Paul made sure he was not around when Henry was getting pushed, but he never laid a hand on Henry personally. Henry knew who was behind everything, because every once in a while he would be at his locker, one of the only times he had to go near the walls, and someone would body check him, and whisper the same thing that had been said to him on that first day, "Paul says hello."

"It's not that simple; you just don't understand," he said the volume of his voice rising. He wanted to tell her, but he was afraid she wouldn't understand, that she would think less of him.

"Then help me, help me understand," she cried back. She was very upset. Henry thought he saw disgust on her face, but he couldn't think clearly enough to focus.

"I'm..." he started to tell her everything, he desperately wanted to, but in the end was too ashamed. "I don't want to talk about this anymore, it's none of your business," he said louder than he meant to. He felt bad for not telling, and now for raising his voice. He was always usually so mellow, and quiet; he felt so much shame he couldn't meet her eyes all night. He even slipped out, and walked home while she was in the locker room. He just didn't have the nerve to face her.

There friendship limped along for a couple of more days with both of them carefully avoiding the subject of his frequently appearing bruises. After the first time they had fought he decided he was going to tell her, but he just didn't know how.

Britney was at his locker Monday morning just appearing as she had done that first time she had visited him. "Hey Henry, long time no talk," she said in that super sweet voice she had. She was right the two of them had not spoken a word to each other not even in class since that morning last week. He had tried to apologize to her for being cruel, but he took one look at her, and thought better of it. She had this look that told Henry she was not ready to speak to him civilly yet.

"About that day, I never meant to be mean. I hope you understand that," Henry said. He meant it as well; he was not the kind of person who tried to hurt other people's feeling.

"Oh, I know you never meant to be mean Henry, are you still with that...girl?" she asked. She paused before she said the word girl; Henry got the distinct impression that when she said "girl" there was another word she was thinking. She knew he was she was still picking him up every day after school.

"I told you before, that we are just friends, I am sorry about hurting you," he said.

"All in the past," she said pleasantly. Henry was not exactly sure why he said what he did, maybe because she seemed in a really good mood, or maybe he was just tired of the events of the last couple of days.

"Hey, since you are talking to me again, you think you could ask your goon of a boyfriend to lay off of me in the hallways?" Henry asked. Britney smiled a smile he had never seen before. He knew she was human, but there was something so predatory about her smile that it caused him to think of Roberts, and her sharp teeth.

"Oh Henry, I'm afraid I can't do that," she said still smiling that predatory smile. "No one treats me the way you did, especially not a friendless loser like you, without getting what's coming to them," she said turning, and heading down the hall. As she walked away she said over her shoulder, "enjoy your time in the halls". It was not until this conversation that Henry had considered that it was Britney using Paul. Although Henry realized she had probably not been directly responsible for his abuse to begin with, she most certainly was now.

That day was very tough for Henry; he was confused. When it was time for Amica to pick him up he had tried to focus on the events that were ahead of them that evening. He planed to talk to her eventually, but he just didn't know how to wrap his head around everything.

II

Amica sat in her car waiting for Henry, she was nervous about tonight. After weeks of training she was finally going open her first gate. When she was little, she had found a map of her home world's gates in the things her mother had brought with them. She would sneak into her mother's room, and pour over those maps for hours whenever her mother wasn't looking, planning different rescue missions. She promised herself one day she would find him, and bring him home. As she grew older, she looked at the maps less, and less, realizing that after so many years he was probably dead. He was such a powerful keeper; if he were alive he would've found a way to escape by now. Found a way to come home to her. She promised she would prepare, and if there were a chance she would go, and look for him.

She saw Henry walking across the parking lot, and was relieved to see there were no new marks on his face. He was still showing up with new bruises. She had tried to talk to him about it, but he had staunchly refused, it was the only time they had a full out argument. He was being bullied at school, despite the fact that he had put on some serious muscle tone between the protein supplements, and the boot camp like exercises that Sir had been putting them through. She had tried to tell him to stand up for himself, but he said it was more complicated than that, and it was none of her business. In the end it broke her heart, she realized that short of following him around the building, and confronting the students personally there was nothing she could do until he was willing to ask for help.

"Hey, you ready for tonight," she asked when he opened the door, and sat down.

"Not really, I'm still terrified you're going to kill us all," Henry said back teasingly.

"That's not fair, you heard Sir last night, that hardly ever happens, besides he smiled when he said it. I am 85% positive he was making that up." Amica said.

"85% huh, that's still not very encouraging, where do you want to go for dinner, I told the twins I would bring them each a milk shake," Henry said. Henry had been trying to bring them different food items trying to get the Sphinx twins as she thought of them to say something to him. As much as it pained her to admit it, the food was always eaten, and the wrappers neatly placed in the wastebasket when they left for the evening. Sometimes it bothered her they ate what Henry brought for them, and never said thank you, but it didn't seem to bother Henry. She said something to Henry about it once, and he had said something interesting.

"When they are ready to talk they will, but in the mean time I know that I have done something nice for them, and that's enough thanks for me" he said. In the end she thought Henry was probably right. Sometimes it was nice just to do something nice for another person. She did not understand, how Henry was abused in the way he was, and still stayed so good. It was one of the things she truly loved about him. She would have been filled with so much rage, and anger, but he just seemed sad and lost.

"Danny's Dog House has great fries, and a really good milk shake, why don't we go there," Amica said pulling out of the parking lot.

"Oooooh yeah, I used to go there with my grandfather; they have amazing hotdogs. Great idea, I've never had a shake there are they good?" Henry asked. It was one of her favorite places for a milk shake, and a shake was starting to sound really good. They picked up dinner; it was Henry's turn to pay.

When they got to work, she watched closely using the training she had received. She would never really be able to see the world the way Henry could, but she had worked very hard to be able to see as much as she could. In the end, she knew the more she could see the easier her gate openings would become. She was determined to become as good as possible. Henry set the milk shakes down on the counter, and she saw it. It was only there for the briefest glimmer of a second, bit she had seen it. They smiled, just the fraction of a smile, and it only lasted a second, but she had seen it. She would have thought she was imagining things, but the look was mirrored on both their faces. She smiled. Maybe Henry's isn't crazy after all. She had been talking to the sphinx twins for months, but always kind of in a slightly patronizing tone. She had never really thought of them as actual people, granted they never moved, or talked where anyone could see them, but it was still not fair of her to talk to them that way.

"Hey guys, listen I know I've been kind of snarky. Maybe even rude sometimes, but it was always meant to be in good fun. So no hard feelings?" she asked, not really expecting any answer. What she got instead of the expected silence made her day. Harold, and Justin smiled.

They were Sirians, the same as Roberts, from the planets surrounding the binary stars Sirius A, and B. Many of their kind lived here on earth, having moved here for a better life when their home world became over populated. Amica always hated when they smiled too big. Their mouths had so many teeth, and too many of them were canines. When the Sirians showed a lot of teeth it always made her feel like they were going to use them on her throat. The sphinx twins however used just the right amount, not allowing you to see the sharp points hidden with in, but large enough to show you they were happy.

"Amica, we better get going, or we're going to be late," Henry said. The door buzzed, and Henry opened the door holding it for her.

"Thanks Henry, you're right, and I'm starving, so do you guys want anything special tomorrow?" Amica said. When there was no answer she gave them a long look.

"Alright then, luck of the draw it is, " she said a smile forming on her face.

III

After dinner, they stood in front of the gate waiting for it to open; she stood next to Henry, trying not to say anything. His body had been covered in bruises from the first moment they had met, and it was hard to keep track of which bruises were new. It made her so angry to know that someone was hurting her friend and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was trying desperately to hold her tongue. She had confronted him about them several days ago. She had not handled it well; things had gotten out of hand.

He didn't say more than two or three words the rest of the evening, not even to encourage her on the treadmill. She had not realized until that moment how much his encouraging words helped her get through her runs. Not only had he not talked, but he had also avoided her eyes the rest of the evening. He had even walked home waiting till she went into the locker room slipping out unnoticed. The next day she had waited for him in the school parking lot, not sure if he would ride with her. She had backed into the spot so she could see the kids walk out of the front door, sitting there waiting for him to leave the building was the longest 15 minutes of her life.

She thought back on their conversation the night before, and realized that maybe she should have taken a more delicate approach. She was sure that she had pushed him too far, and he was not going to be her friend any more. She had not had a friend in over 300 years; she had been so lonely. She was friendly, and chatty with lots of people, like the twins upstairs, but she had not had someone she could talk to. His personality, and demeanor always put her at ease, as if her troubles had melted away, she did not know how she would go back to the life she had. He walked out of the building, and over to the car as if nothing had happened the night before.

He was talking about what was on the schedule for the day, and she had just gone with it. They had not talked about that night, or his bruises since that moment. She knew that if she were truly his friend she should push him to open up about what was wrong, to help him. She knew what she should do, but wasn't brave enough to do it.

She tried to get her game face on. Over the last week they had been drilled, and worked to with in an inch of their lives. Every time she thought there was nothing left to give Sir wrung a little bit more from them. They had continued the same routine as the first night with yoga, and meditation followed by the exercise routine. Sir had been increasing the reps, and times on the runs every night, asking them to add a few more. In the end, as much as she had felt like she was going to die after the first night, it had actually been the easiest night they had had so far. The next night the quizzes had begun. Before they began their yoga exercises he put them on the treadmill at a decent walking pace as a physical warm up, while they walked they had to work computer simulations containing the information they had learned so far on a screen built into the treadmill. The simulations had varied from simply calibrating the sensors on a new gate, to building a fully functional gate from components, and spare parts on their screen. Last night had been the hardest night by far; it had been a final exam of sorts. They had to construct a fully operational gate, calibrate the sensors, and then walk the gate through a simulated opening, all while performing a light jog on the treadmill, the speeds changing to simulate the physical energy it would take to do each task. The schedule for tonight was slated to increase the difficulty level again, because instead of a simulation they were now going to actually build the gate, connect it to the power, align the sensors, and open the gate. It was going to be her first opening. It was only going to be a level one copper gate, but she was still nervous.

Amica checked her watch; the time for the gate to open had past. She turned towards Henry, and he was just looking at his watch as well, with a worried look on his face.

"The opening time has come, and gone," Henry said.

"Yeah, I just noticed that as well. You weren't supposed to open the gate for us tonight were you?" she asked.

"No, he was very adamant about not touching the gate until after I had constructed my own. I hope nothing has gone wrong," Henry said.

"I do too," Amica said. Henry was just opening his mouth to speak when she saw the gate begin to glow faintly.

"Look, the gate is opening now," Amica said. The opening was slower than she had seen before, starting as just a faint glow brightening slowly.

"I have never seen an opening go this slowly," Henry said.

"I don't like this, I hope everything is okay," Amica said. The gate swung open in front of them, and Sir stood there looking very tired. Amica had never thought about how impossibly old he had to be. She had never seen another member of his species before, and did not know how long they lived, but at one point he told them he had been training keepers for 12,000 years. If he had been training that long she could only imagine how old he was before they began. Most of her people only lived around 8-9 thousand years, she had no idea how old he was, but when he stood there in the open gate he looked every day of it. His shoulders were sagging, and his mustache fur was droopy. The two of them hurried through the gate, and he closed it behind them.
Chapter 13

Lost

I

"I am sorry I am late. I was meditating, there are things moving in the darkness of the universe, tides are shifting. The present is in motion, and the future becomes easier, and yet harder to predict at the same time," Sir said. She knew that Sir could see into the connections of the universe. He was a natural who had spent thousands of years focusing his thoughts, and abilities, but he had only hinted at the possibilities that would come to Henry with practice. Amica thought Sir had tried to avoid much of this subject, because he feared Henry would not live a long enough life to achieve this level of focus. His last statement had made no sense to her, how could something be easy, and hard at the same time. Sir walk slowly to the area they had used for yoga, he took a seat on the floor in a legs crossed meditative pose. He motioned for them to sit as well.

"Sir, I am confused. How can it be both?" Amica asked.

"The future can not be seen, there are to many factors influencing the flowing of time. By looking at the connections that influenced the past, and the events that are taking place at the moment, the path the future is likely to take can be discerned," Sir said.

"How far can you see?" Henry asked.

"With time, and focus I can often seen the events of the next 10 years, but it is unreliable. The universe is a large place Henry; a small shift may have rippling effects, for example your existence, and training. Humans' lives are short, and erratic making them hard to see, and predict in the scope of the universe. They leave their planet so seldom, that many people tend to over look them. I admit, I had not predicted you, a human of your age, coming from a family with no connection to the gates what so ever wandering into a garden accidentally. It is an event very difficult to see, which will have rippling effects through out the universe. I have seen shadows moving in the darkness. Things are in motion as we speak that will without a doubt cause other events to be set in motion, but I cannot predict how those events will unfold, there are too many pieces still hidden from me. We must change our plans," Sir said. He began walking them through their yoga routine.

Amica was still unclear about what he had seen, but she got the distinct impression that he was not ready to talk about it. She went through her yoga exercises, stretching her muscles, and relaxing her mind. He spoke about a change in plans, but she was still unsure what that change was. She knew that she would have to work hard, and pay close attention to Sir. Whatever the future held she felt confident his teaching would get her though it. Amica saw the first change in the routine when they finished yoga, and skipped the physical training portion of the evening.

"I think I have impressed upon you the importance of developing your body. It is very important that you maintain the physical vessel; the strain put on your body through multiple openings through out the course of a day can be very taxing. If you are not in the proper shape your body may fail you after a couple openings. Tonight however I need you both to be as fresh as possible, we will skip physical training tonight," Sir said. Amica was excited by the idea that she would not have to run on that rotten treadmill, but when she looked at Henry he looked upset, and worried.

"Henry are you okay," Amica asked. As soon as the words were out of her mouth his whole face shifted, it was like watching someone put on a mask; every trace of what she had seen vanished leaving behind a beaming smile. It happened so fast she was almost not sure she had seen it, but the smile never reached his eyes. That warmth that Amica always felt flowed from his eyes was not present.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Henry said. Amica felt sad inside, this answer was almost worse that the blank look in his eyes. She knew at the start of last week she had real feelings for Henry, but she had been unclear what they meant, or how to handle them. During training things had gotten even more confusing. Things had gone great at first, him pushing her to succeed, her pushing him, and then they had the fight over his bruises. Since then everything had been different, he was hiding things from her. Henry had always seemed to wear his emotions right out on his sleeve, when they were together she could always tell what he was feeling by looking at him. Watching him hide his emotions from her made her sad. She didn't know what the future held for them, but their relationship dynamic had shifted, and not in a good way.

"Tonight you will both build, and open a golden gate," Sir said. Amica was busy thinking about what she had just seen on Henry's face, and had almost missed what Sir had said; in fact it took her several seconds to comprehend it. It took her so long to filter his words through her head that Sir, and Henry were already standing looking down at her.

"Amica are you okay?" Henry asked offering her a hand to help her up. Her first instinct was to hide her thoughts from him, the way he had hid his, but she was really scared. She had always heard that there was a good chance that she would not be able to open the golden gates or if she could she would only really be able to open them after practice, and work. Now Sir was asking her to open one with out ever having opened a gate, she just didn't feel ready. She had promised to do what he asked, and to work as hard as she could, but she was scared.

"I'm scared, I don't want to fail," she said. She took Henry's hand, and he helped her up. She heard Sirs low confidant voice over her shoulder.

"Failure is as important as success, but I believe you must overcome your fears to become confidant in your abilities. Our time here is becoming limited," Sir said.

The gate they entered from every day was at the end of a series of gates that ran the length of the wall in descending order, Sir led them to another area of the training room they had glimpsed, but not yet used directly across the room from those gates. In front of the wall were two piles of materials that Amica recognized as gate components.

"Please begin, when you are finished constructing the gate I will examine it, and tell you if it is put together correctly, before you can open it," Sir said.

Amica walked over to her pile, and began sorting the components into the order she would need them. She had constructed the sub components, assembled a gate, and repaired them many times in simulations over the last several days, and the components looked like the ones in her simulation.

First she located the incoming power wire. Then went to locate the power generator, and the gate frequency generator. The gate would draw power from the building, but a transformer in the power generator would step up the power level so it could be split into individual strands, it would also power the gate in case of an emergency loss of power while the gate was open. The gate frequency generator was used to modulate the power in the gate to the proper level for the gate opening. Each item was roughly the size of a shoebox; each black box had a removable panel on either of the short ends. She used a screwdriver, and removed all four panels. She attached the incoming power to the power generator, and attached wires from the power generator to the gate frequency generator. Once the power, and frequency generator were properly connected to each other and the power source, she located the gate cable.

She started by examining the end of the golden cable. It was roughly the size of the base her thumb and was made of a 17 different wires, and roughly 30 feet in length. At the core were 12 golden strands, each strand individually coated with a clear insulating coating to prevent frequency bleeding. Around the outside of the 12 individual strands were wrapped another five golden wires. This cable would form the backbone of her gate. Each gate had the same number of wires at its central core; the gate frequency generator would independently modulate the individually wrapped wires creating the gate address. The number of wires that wrapped the central core created the real difference between the gates; the more wires around the outside the greater the power level of the gate. The cable she held was wrapped in five golden strands for a golden, level five gate. She hung the wire on the wall creating a large rectangle, which would form the doorway of the opening when powered up.

She took the cable in her hand and unwound the outer layer of the cable from both ends leaving two feet at either end of the core exposed. She attached the power wires into the power couplings in the power generator. Next she attached one of the core wires to the port 1A in the end of the gate frequency generator. Then she located the control panel, which was a flat black crystal display like the ones on the glass pedestals at the Milky Way Terminal. She touched the screen, and it came to life. She set it to look for the connection signal coming from the gate frequency generator, and power generator, once it was connected; she confirmed that the serial numbers listed on the actual components matched her display screen. She did not want to accidentally connect her control panel to Henry's gate. She set the gate frequency generator to force a test signal through port 1A. She used an amp probe on the other end of the cable to locate the live wire and attached it to port 1B. She performed this step with the remaining 11 cables until all 24 ports were filled with the appropriate wires.

She stood up with her control panel, and calibrated the gate by running a test frequency through each individual wire checking for signal loss, and cross fade. When she was sure that the frequency that left port A was the same frequency that was receive by port B she went to Sir, and told him her gate was ready to be inspected, and brought to full power. He inspected her gate, and found only one error in her construction. She had forgotten to mount a handle to open the gate within the cables, outline. She rectified this mistake; then proceeded to put the maintenance panels in place, and prepared to power up the gate.

Amica took a deep breath, if she was in the terminal she would use her tablet to look up the coordinates of the gate she was going to open, but Sir had given her a piece of paper that she had put in her pocket. She typed in the series of numbers that appeared on the piece of paper.

"Aligning gate," appeared with a progress bar. When she finished typing the last number. Henry being a natural could focus on the coordinates, and lay hands on the gate to direct its alignment with out help. But she was not a natural, and she would need a lot more training before she could even attempt such a feat. She walked over to wall setting the gate control crystal down on top of the power generator so she could have both hands free, when a gate was completely installed in a permanent location the control crystal was usually mounted on a stand so the keeper did not have to worry about it's safety. She placed her hands on the wall in the center of the opening she had mounted to the wall. In a permanent gate like the one she would use in the terminal the cable was recessed into the wall making it more attractive, but this was an aesthetic issue.

It was warm; she could feel the energy building just below the surface. She could feel light beginning to bleed out her vision, it reminded her of when she would look at the sun for a moment, and then she could see the sun everywhere she looked for a few minutes after. She closed her eyes just before the light could encompass her vision. It was an illusion, the light she was seeing was a projection in her mind, and could not damage her eyes. Once her eyes were closed she could see the golden orb floating in the darkness, the face of it glowed with its own light. She had dreamed her whole life of standing here at this moment. Of looking into the darkness, and seeing the orb. On the white face she saw the 12 numbers that composed the gate address. She had practiced focusing her mind to see the truth of the opening as sir called it. That was the ability to look at the address, and instinctually feel if the numbers where in the correct order. This was something that came naturally to Henry, but would take her practice to master. She concentrated on the numbers, but she had a hard time freeing a part of her mind from what she was doing. Sir had told her that with practice she would learn to spit her focus, allowing a part of her mind to relax, and become guided by her instincts, but after the loss of her father she had problems letting go, allowing a piece of her mind to float freely did not come naturally to her. After a few moments, she opened her eyes, and looked down at the piece of paper in her hand. She had spent a lot of time practicing with gate coordinates over the last couple of years, it was hard to try to get the mind to swallow that many numbers. She worked on breaking them down into their sub components, the first six numbers designated the galaxy, the next three designated the terminal, and the last three numbers specified the gate. She verified that the numbers on her paper were in fact the numbers she had seen on the face of the orb.

Over the past week during yoga practice, they had worked on visualizing her thoughts. It took practice, and concentration visualizing ideas in her thoughts without physically moving her hands. This was going to be her first attempt, with an actual gate. With her eyes closed she pictured her hands reaching out into the darkness, and touching the face of the orb. She saw a beam of golden light shoot out the back of the orb. Amica could feel the beam of light traveling through the black. It was exhilarating; she could feel the thrum of the energy pounding in her chest, as the light shot through the sub strata of the universe, passing through the bonds, and physics that held the universe together. She could feel the impact of the beam strike the gate she was seeking on the other side of the room, and reflect off in a new direction. She wondered where the beam went after it reflected off the opposing gate. She tried to focus her thoughts on what she was doing, but found herself being distracted by the thrum she felt in her chest.

She turned the orb a little to the left, to fine-tune the link. Henry said that he could feel the reflection of the beam moving in the darkness, the way he described made it seem like seeing a flashlight moving in the black, and as she turned the ball she felt for what he had describe. She could not see, or feel anything clearly, she knew that her mind was becoming unfocused. She could feel the energy she was channeling in her chest, in the beginning it felt like a thrumming vibration, but it was centered over her breast bone, as she fumbled in the darkness to make the connection, the thrum was beginning to grow. It had started as a circle the size of her fist, but it was spreading through out her chest, it had nearly doubled in size.

She took a moment, and ran through some of the exercise she had been taught to clear her mind, the size of the thrumming in her chest did not shrink, but she could think more clearly. She looked out into the darkness with her mind, and found what she thought was the beam, but it was very faint. She turned the orb, and she felt the beam faintly move, and she was certain. She continued to turn the orb this way, and that adjusting the reflection till she felt it swing towards her. The reflection of the beam finally struck her chest. The energy she was channeling doubled immediately.

She could feel the energy running its course. It traveled up her left arm, across her heart, down her right arm into the gate; there it would shoot across the universe striking the other gate bouncing back at her. The cycle was repeating, and repeating. With her thoughts she followed the path the energy traveled through the darkness. With every cycle around there was more, and more energy collecting in her body. It was beautiful, she could feel the currents of energy that drove the rotation of galaxies, and the planets, forever causing the expansion of the universe. The universe was pure, uncaring about her fears, or worries. It was not angry, it was not sad, it was not happy, it just was. The universe was darkness, devoid of anything, and yet filled with everything. She could feel her mind slipping into the dark, longing for a place where she was at peace, away from the loss of her children, and her father, and finally Henry. She had pushed him, and pushed him, and now he was gone as well.

She thought of Henry lost to her, and her focus slipped even more. Her body felt as if it was on fire, burned bright by the light of the energy she held, the thrum was a thrum no longer it was a full pounding. She could felt it in every muscle of her body. They hurt as if stabbed with a million pinpricks. In response, her mind drifted farther into the darkness of the universe, escaping the pain her body felt. She welcomed the idea of it, and then something changed. She heard a voice speak to her in the darkness.

"Amica, can you here me?" the voice said. She was startled she recognized the voice, but she could not place it. She was not sure she wanted to answer, which was good, because she could not seem to make her voice work.

"Amica, it's Henry. Can you hear me? Please come back to me," the voce said. The voice had claimed to be Henry, but her mind was still very fuzzy, she was tired, drifting in the darkness was so relaxing, but the voice called to her over, and over.

"Amica, please don't leave me," the voice said. This was not fair. He had already left her, and she felt angry at his words. She fought the lulling pull of the darkness, and expressed her anger.

"You left me first," she said.

"I'm right here, talking to you," the voice said calmly.

"Not you, the real Henry, I pushed him away," she replied to the voice.

"You didn't push me away, I'm right here. You need to focus, come towards the sound of my voice before it is to late," the voice said. She tried to focus her thoughts, but the more she tried to focus the more her body burned.

"It hurts, can't I stay here in the dark?" she asked.

"No, focus on the pain Amica, come back to me," the voice of Henry said. She did as he asked, and tried to force her mind back towards the place where she remembered the pinpricks on her skin.

"It hurts so much," she cried.

"I know sweetie, but it is the only way," Henry said. His voice was much clearer to her now, she moved towards his voice. Her muscles burned with in her, and she felt her body vibrating.

"It's time, I need you to focus; we need to open the gate," Henry said. Amica tried desperately to connect her mind to her body; She felt the energy level slowly leaking from her, as if someone was drawing it away. She began to understand what had been happening, her mind was slipping away, being consumed by the gate, but Henry had come after her. As the energy level continued to decrease she felt his hands on her arms, his chest pressed against her back, she focused on the feel of his body wrapped around her, grounding her, and moving her hands.

"It's time, I need you to open you eyes, and pull," he said. She opened her eyes, and the gate blazed like the sun after the darkness it hurt her eyes to look at it, she wanted to put her hands up to block the light, but Henry's hands held them in place.

"Pull," he said. She pulled. She felt the gate on the other side come towards her, becoming one with the gate in her hands, and the gate pulled open. Her field of vision was beginning to narrow, and once again the words were beginning to feel like they were coming from the end of a tunnel, and it was getting farther, and farther away. Suddenly, Henry's face was right in front of her, there was a stinging feeling in her face, she realized she still held the door handle; her knuckles were turning white from the effort. She peeled her fingers from the gate, and reach up to touch her check, her skin felt hot. Henry frowned, and she realized he had slapped her hard across her face. She wanted to ask him why, but he spoke first.

"Just a few minutes more, then you can rest. We need to close the gate, and release the connection. She was so tired, but recognized the truth of Henry's word. She felt his arms around her helping her, and holding her up. Together they pushed the gate closed.

"On the count of three, we will release the gate together," Henry spoke into her ear.

"One...Two...Three," Henry said, and Amica closed her eyes, she could see the beam of light leaving the back of the orb, she focused all her will power on extinguishing the beam, and it was gone. The connection was broken, and her body sagged, held up only by the arms that wrapped around her. She felt her feet leave the floor, and the feeling she was floating. The last thing she remembered was Henry's face looking down on her, and then darkness.

II

She opened her eyes, and found Henry looking down at her. She smiled. She was very pleased to see him smile back at her. She could see Sir, looking down at her over his shoulder.

"You lost focus," Sir said. "You must learn focus, or it will all be for nothing. I will teach you no more this evening. Henry, you did very well, I think you are ready to open the gate taking you home tonight. I must meditate on this incident, and see what damage has been caused by tonight activities. I will open the gate promptly tomorrow," Sir said. He turned, and walked away. There was something going on here besides just a failed opening, but her brain was still fuzzy, and she couldn't make sense of it.

"I thought I had lost you," Henry said.

"How long have I been out?" she asked. Her throat was very dry. When she looked at him, she saw that he looked like he had been put through the ringer.

"A couple of hours, long enough for Sir to make me open all of the gates in the room twice," he said. That certainly explained the exhausted look on his face.

"I am ashamed," he said in a rush of words. She was not sure what he was talking about.

"I don't understand Henry, what're we talking about?" she asked.

"You asked me why I don't tell my parents, or someone at school. I wanted to tell you, but I was embarrassed by my fear, and shame. Then after the fight, when I got in the car I thought you didn't like me anymore, because I was so weak. I thought that maybe if I just avoided the subject you would like me again," he said. She admired his courage, he sat there baring his soul to her, and he thought she would think him weak. She had never in her life, had the courage to be as open as he was at this moment.

"Henry, I only try to help make things better, I don't think you are weak," she said. He had been very honest with her, she felt she owed him at least as much honesty. "You are the first friend I have had in centuries, I was just so afraid that I had pushed you away, that I was too scared to talk about it again either," she said. She tried to stand, and saw black specks floating in her vision, and felt a sharp pain stab across her brain. She put her hands to her temple; it felt like her head was going to crack open. "I wish we had been brave enough to talk earlier, remind me never to lose focus again, this headache is very unpleasant," Amica said smiling weakly.

She got to her feet slowly. When she was on her feet Henry gave her a big hug, and then led her to the gateway home.
Chapter 14

Meetings

I

Henry sat on a chair outside of Roberts's office. They were waiting for an appointment to speak with her about their progress in training. They had been very busy with Sir, and had not seen Roberts during that time. They had got a message from Uktu that Roberts wanted to see them today. He wondered if Roberts wanted to talk about the incident earlier this week. He thought about the incident with Amica. It had all happened so fast.

Sir said that it was possible to save her if Henry was willing, but it was very dangerous. The procedure had only been successful when someone who knew the person well went in after them. . Even then it was a fifty/ fifty toss up if the second person survived. He would have to go into the gate, and channel as much of the gate's power as he could taking the burden off her mind, then try to talk her back to reality. She was his only friend, and she was dying.

He went into the gate with her, placing his hands on the gate allowed him to channel the energy of the gateway into his body. He took as much power from her body as he could, his own body screaming with the strain of it. He begged her to come back to him. But she was unresponsive. He pulled more power into his body; he had never held so much before, his focus centered on Amica. When She spoke in that ghost voice his focus had wavered a little, and he was almost lost, but there was just too much at stake. He redoubled his efforts. The things she had said to him in that lost dream voice still haunted him. He had nightmares where he heard her saying good-bye in that voice, and she was lot forever. In the end he was able to save her, he had never felt so scared. Sir had put him through his paces, while they waited for her to wake up. He was actually glad to have something to focus on; he didn't know what his life would be like with out her smiling face.

When she woke up he took her to the car, and he told her everything about Britney, Paul, and the whole mess. He couldn't bear the thought that what had pushed her into the darkness was that their friendship was crumbing. He rededicated himself to his promise to help her in training. They had still not made the progress that Amica hoped for. The next night, Sir had worked with her on her focus, and concentration, but she was still not able to reliably align the connection, and close the gate. More often than not she would have to release the gate before making the opening to prevent a repeat of her accident. Henry also worked tirelessly to deal with his own focus problems; the next time he slipped he could be lost as well. Henry paid close attention to the exercises that sir did with Amica learning as much as he could. He also worked out on his own time, spending an extra hour every morning, and evening before he went to bed; meditating, and clearing his head. He became very good at holding his focus, and using his ability to see the truth.

He did not know what was going to come next. He was afraid that Roberts would want them to come back to work, but Amica was not ready to be on the floor. He had tried to talk to her about it, but she was still pretty sensitive about the whole subject. He hoped that Roberts planned on keeping her in training, he did not want to stand between Amica, and her dream, but he would do what ever it took to keep her safe.

The door opened, and Roberts was there, motioning them to come into her office. Amica got up, and smiled at him. He looked up at her, and smiled back. He would do what ever it took to keep her safe

II

Roberts sat at her desk trying desperately to calm her nerves, and focus her thoughts. She had spent the afternoon putting out fires all over the station. It was really nothing out of the ordinary, given her position, she had managed to keep her calm, and focus her abilities through out. It was not until she came back to her office, and found the file from Albert, her former mentor and trainer, that she lost her focus. She tried to mentally claim fatigue for her inability to focus, but deep down she knew the real reason was fear. She closed the file on her desk; it was certainly not helping her to form the mental focus she would need to observe the two anxious potential keepers sitting outside her office.

For a girl who was not a natural Amica had made remarkable progress. Albert had been pushing her as hard as he could, and she was progressing in leaps, and bounds. She could feel the gates, see the orb, even charge the gate, and make the connection, but she was still very unreliable. She had to abandon the opening, and start over as often as she succeeded. She had even gotten lost in the gate once, and remarkably been able to be retrieved. The girl had amazing potential, maybe even beyond what her initial testing indicated if she could be retrieved in that way. Granted it helped that the person who had retrieved her was Henry, one of the most powerful natural keepers she had seen in her lifetime. The report in front of her was full of wonderful achievements for a beginning keeper, and Henry's report was even better still, what terrified her was a hand written note tucked into Amica's folder. The note read:

The girl is not ready, and the moment is upon us. The time for retrieval is nearly at hand. It is still as I feared. Unless the two of them go, and go alone, all will be lost. I have made the preparations we discussed.

For nearly a thousand years, she had watched, and waited. She had conferred with Albert. It had been uneasy at first; he would always be her teacher in some ways, but eventually they developed the type of friendship that can only form between two people who were master, and student. She had hoped, and looked for a way to retrieve Melchiorre, but in the end she had had to settle for looking after his family, and those members of his race he had managed to get to freedom. Now all of her waiting was for nothing. Albert's vision was clear on that; it had to be Amica who went after her father. Sending Henry was dangerous enough, if he was captured the ripples that would cause to the future were so far reaching as to be unreadable, but one thing was clear from Albert's visions, if she, or he went near Scultura. The mission would certainly fail. She had begged, and raged at Albert to find another way, they were just kids. They did not deserve to be burdened with this task.

In the end, things had moved too quickly. After a thousand years, it had all come down to a couple of weeks, and two untrained keepers. At least she had managed to keep their training a secret. As far as anyone knew Amica was just a Gate Attendant who had been on vacation for a couple of weeks. She had even had Uktu hold off processing Henry's union membership until after he was officially through with training. With the exception of the few attendants who had worked with Henry, few people in the universe knew of their status as keepers. Their anonymity was the only protection she would be able to give them, that and training. There were just not enough hours in the day. She had suggested putting Amica in training all day, while Henry was in school, but Albert insisted they would need the bond they were forming during training if they were going to survive. Albert was confident they would be lifelong friends; if they could just get past the insecurities they felt about their own lives. He had pushed, and nudged them, working them hard creating opportunities for them to encourage each other.

In the end it took Amica's accident to get them over the hump. She was still angry with Albert for putting Amica in that situation. She closed her eyes, and began to work through the calming exercises she had learned from Albert over two thousand years ago. She found her calm, rose from her desk, opened her office door, and motioned for Henry, and Amica to come in, and take a seat. They entered the room taking a seat in the chairs in front of her desk. They were in street clothes. She went to her chair, and sat down looking over the desk at them. Amica refused to make eye contact with her, but Henry held her gaze. His face was set, she could tell that he had something heavy on his mind, but the nature of it was as yet unclear to Roberts. She would never be able to read people the way a natural could, but over the years she had honed her skills, so she could she the truth, and emotions of the people who sat across her desk. His mind was certainly set on something; the trick was to figure out what it was before it became a problem.

The first thing she noticed immediately about Amica scared her even more than the note on Amica's file. Amica was sick with keeper sickness. Albert had been working her too hard, and for some reason not providing her with the nutritional supplements that would have prevented this. It was this second lapse in Albert's judgment, and not Amica's sickness that terrified her. Amica's illness was still in the very early stages, and could be easily treated with vitamin supplements and rest, but Roberts had hung so much on Albert's ability to see the future, and he was missing things in the here and now. The idea there maybe other things he was missing scared her.

Amica had a sallow look to her; her hair looked dull, and her skin appeared to be losing some elasticity around the eyes. She would have to speak with Albert; as much as she wanted Melchiorre to be safe, he would never allow his safety to jeopardize the health of his daughter in this way. Melchiorre was going to be angry enough with them for training Amica, and allowing her out of her sight to begin with.

"So Amica, you are doing to many openings. I can see the sickness in your face," Roberts said. Henry's head whipped around, examining Amica face. Over the years she had had a few opportunities to actually watch a natural at work, and it was something to see. As she watched she saw the tension drain off of Henry's face. The crinkles, and wrinkles around his eyes melted away as he focused his calm, and examined the girl. They were gone for only a moment, before returning even deeper. His gaze returned to her, and the determination she had seen on his face had increased. So that was it, he feared for Amica, and from the way he was making eye contact, Henry saw Roberts as the center of his concern.

"Albert is working you too hard, and on gates that should be out of your ability level for some time yet. I know that there are reasons, but your health needs to come first. I will speak with him," she said.

"What is going on? What are we not being told?" Henry asked. He did not sound happy, in fact he sounded angry. She had never heard him use this tone of voice before, granted she had not had many conversations with him. It was nice to see he had a backbone in him after all. After the incident with the bullies outside the gate she had not been sure. She hesitated to answer, and watched as the wrinkles melted off of his face again, only this time directed at her. He focused on her for what felt like a long time, trying to ferret out information, but she had practiced hiding things from the public for a thousand years. She had spent years perfecting her calm exterior demeanor.

"There will come a time when everything becomes clear to you both, there are events elsewhere in the universe in motion, but this is not the time, or place to discuss them. I am sorry Henry; you can stop trying to read me. I really can't tell you any more now, with out jeopardizing the outcome. Predicting the future is a very tricky, and dangerous thing," she said. She was pleased to see Henry blush slightly, embarrassed to have been caught.

"Amica, I see that you are doing very well in training, you are far more advanced than you should be for a normal keeper at this point in your training, but it is coming at a cost. You are in the first stages of keeper sickness. It is evident in the luster of your hair, and the bags under your eyes," Roberts said. Amica lifted her head, and met her eyes; she looked tired, but determined to succeed.

"You are put on restricted duty, I don't want you opening above a copper, and even then no more than once a day for the next three days." she said. She saw a good portion of the worry lines fade from Henry's face, and a small smile appear. He looked over to Amica, and saw that she was frowning, and the smile left his face, but the worry lines did not reappear. Roberts understood that Henry had come in here prepared to fight to keep Amica off the floor, but was probably unsure how to go about it. She stood from her desk, and walked to the filing cabinet in the corner near the window. She opened the middle drawer picking two bottles she had placed there, behind the hanging files. Roberts closed the drawer, and returned to her desk. She placed the two bottles in front of Henry and sat down in her chair. They were triangular bottles roughly five inches tall; each bottle had a small cup built into the cap.

"Henry, I want you to make sure she takes a capful of each bottle every day until it is gone," Roberts said, and was pleased to see Henry nod his head in the affirmative.

"Yes, Ma'am," Henry said. Amica had an ugly look on her face, but wisely held her tongue. Roberts did not envy the position she had just put poor Henry into, but the girl would need the medicine.

"Amica, Keeper Sickness is very dangerous. Your body is not able to keep up with the energy output required to open the gates at the rapid rate at which you have been performing. These will help your body reenergize, and metabolize sunlight, it is very important that this condition not worsen. If you don't balance out the systems in your body, and do it soon this condition is going to get worse," Roberts said. "It can affect you cognitively, causing focus problems. Your body is in the beginning stages of mitochondrial failure. Your body cannot produce enough energy to power the cells in your body plus the gates. If left untreated the condition can drastically affect your bodily functions, causing organ failure, and eventually death," Roberts said. She was please to see that Henry looked as determined, and resolved as he was when he walked in her door. Suddenly she felt sorry for Amica, but only for a second. Suddenly the phone on her desk rang. She felt an immediate sense of dread come over her, the only time her phone ever rang this time of night was if something in the terminal had gone seriously wrong.

"Please excuse me I need to answer this," she said picking up the phone. Uktu was on the other line, and she sounded panicked.

"Ms. Roberts I have an unauthorized opening at Intergalactic Gate 24, I was going to block it, but...well they indicate," she stopped talking. Roberts was caught off guard by Uktu's panicked tone, the station had unauthorized openings from time to time. What usually happened was someone had put in the wrong coordinates. They were off by a number, like dialing a wrong phone number. It was an easy matter to see who was opening the gate, and kill the power to the gate to block the opening if it was necessary.

"Uktu, what do the preliminary readings indicate? Talk to me Uktu," she said trying very hard to retain her calm.

"It is an unregistered gate ma'am, but planet of origin is Scultura," Uktu said, it was clear from the tone of her voice that Uktu was on the edge of panic.

"Find out what you can about the incoming gate, and clear that hall. I want no one, but you, and I there when that gate opens, am I clear? I want all other incoming openings in that hall suspended for at least the next half hour. I will be there soon," Roberts said hanging up the phone. She took a deep breath, wondering if this was the event Albert had said they were waiting for. She looked across her desk at the two children sitting there, and prayed that it wasn't. I wish there had been more time, she thought to herself.

"The two of you are to sit here until I return, there is an emergency in the main terminal I must attend to, but our conversation about your condition is not over young miss, do I make myself clear?" Roberts said. She was pleased when the girl's frown deepened, but she nodded her head in the affirmative.

"Yes ma'am," Amica said. Roberts rose from her desk heading down the hallway toward the main terminal. She was trying to remember the gate schedule for Intergalactic Hall B this evening. If she remembered correctly, and everything was running according to schedule it should be all but empty at this particular moment, with traffic picking up again a little latter in the evening as overflow from Intergalactic Hall A bled over. She ran towards IG 24 remember another opening a little over a thousand years ago. It could not be a coincidence, the same gate number, and planet code. She arrived at the gate just as it was pulling open; who ever was doing the opening was not very powerful. She thought about the length of time that had passed since Uktu had called, and her arrival. Even a golden gate like IG 24 should not take this long to open, something was definitely wrong on the other side of this gate.

The gate was only open for a second when two men in rags ran through the gate pulling it closed behind them, the moment the gate was closed the glow of power winked out as if it had never been.

"Please help us, we are looking for Brigid Roberts, can you take us to her," the men said. Roberts was startled.

"I am Roberts, lets get you to somewhere less conspicuous, and we can talk." She said. She took a moment to examine the men. The first was tall, and broad of shoulder, but had obviously gone with out the proper nutrition over the last thousand years, his face had the gaunt look of someone who has lost the fat off his face, in fact she could see the underlying bone structure of his shoulders through his clothes. His skin was clean, and had the same pinkish alabaster highlights common to his planet, his clothes were well worn, so thin as to almost be transparent in some places, but once again they were clean. His partner was also broad through the shoulders, but not nearly as tall. He wore the same worn out clothes as his partner. She turned to Uktu.

"I want a path cleared to my office, I know we can't block off the main hall, but I want as few people as possible to see them. Also when you get to my office, have Henry and Amica wait downstairs in waiting area until I come for them, is that clear?" Roberts said watching the women's face. There were a lot of people who came, and went through this station, but Uktu had been with her the longest, and she trusted her to do what needed to be done, and keep silent.

"Yes Ms. Roberts I understand," she said, turning on her heels, and heading off to do what needed to be done.

"We will give her a few minutes head start, then we will go to my office, and you can tell me how you gentlemen got here, and where you heard that name," she said. The two men looked at each other, and then looked back to her.

"It is a long story, but we will tell you what we can. We have brought a request from...".

"I am not sure whom you brought a request from, but this is not the place to discuss it," she said as she was looking around, she still felt uneasy, and would until the men were safely hidden in her office.

"Let's go," she said. Intergalactic Hall B was the hall closest to the hallway leading to her office, and Uktu had taken the Privacy dividers they put up when they were cleaning the bathrooms to build a screen that hid the Sculturians from view. With in moments they were at her office where she found Uktu standing next to her desk.

"Please have a seat in the chairs," she said closing the door. "Can I get you guys something to eat, or drink?" Roberts asked. The pair's eyes lit up at the prospect of food, but they nodded their head no.

"Ma'am we really need to get back, we are just hear to get some supplies, and maybe some medicine, they said hopefully.

"I understand, but it will take a few minutes to put the supplies together. Uktu get them paper, and a pencil, please. One of you can be making a list of what you need while the other tells me about what has been happening on Scultura. In the mean time Uktu, please go down to the kitchen, and make some sandwiches the gentlemen can eat while we gather what supplies we can," Roberts said. She looked at Uktu's face for the first time since she had walked into the office, and did not like the look she found on the woman's face.

"Is there something else Uktu?" she asked noticing that she clutched a note in her hands.

"Henry, and Amica where not here when I got to your office, just this envelop with your name on it," she said, brining it over to her. Roberts looked down, and recognized Albert's handwriting.

"Thank you Uktu, I will handle this, please go get those sandwiches. Ask Philip to help you," she said ushering the women out of her office. As she ushered her out the door she whispered into her ear.

"Say nothing of this to Nathan," she said looking into the woman's eyes to be sure she understood. Uktu met her eyes, and nodded in understanding.

"Yes ma'am I understand," she said. Roberts stood with her back to the door for a moment to catch her breath, before remembering the envelope clutched in her fingers.

Her name was written on it in Albert's hand. She opened the envelope, and with drew the paper inside, it also was written in Albert's clean clear handwriting.

It is time; I will be in touch soon.

She said a silent prayer to the universe for the safety of Henry, and Amica. She collected her thoughts, calmed her focus, and took a seat behind her desk. She could no longer help Henry, and Amica, but she could hopefully help the two sitting across her desk.

"So gentlemen, tell me how I can help you," she said calmly.
Chapter 15

Departures

I

Amica sat in the chair in Roberts's office. She was fuming that Roberts had restricted her training, didn't she understand that she was so close, every time she opened a gate she found the connection a little easier, granted it still slipped away from her sometimes, but nowhere near as often as when she started. She looked over to Henry; he was measuring out two capfuls of medicine. It smelled nasty.

"If you think I am going to swallow that foul smelling concoction then you are sadly mistaken"

"Shut up, and take your medicine," Henry said in a calm, pleasant, but authoritative voice. She had expected him to reason with her. Remind her that she needed to take her medicine if she was going to get back to training, but he simple told her to shut up, and take it. He was very polite, and had the same pleasant way about him he always had, but there was something more. She knew that in the end she was going to have to take the medicine, but there was something in his tone that caused her to push at him, and see where this went. If for no other reason, then she thought it would be fun to mess with him a little.

"I'm not drinking that, so you can either drink it yourself, or pour it back into the bottle. I think it would be in poor taste to dump it in the trash, you know waste not want not," she said smiling.

"You are my only friend, and if taking this medicine is what it takes to keep you healthy, and a part of my life, then I will hold you down, and pour it down your throat. Now shut up, and take you medicine," Henry said. She was tempted to push him further, but he actually looked ready to pour it down her throat.

"All right," she said taking the cup, and swallowing it in one gulp. He handed her the second cup, and she tossed that one back quickly as well. She immediately felt warmth in her stomach; it then began to spread out to her limbs. She felt the warmth crawl up her neck, and spread across her cheeks. Something was happening she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her thoughts were coming faster, and seemed clearer, her focus felt sharper, and her limbs were almost lighter.

"Wow, that stuff works fast," Henry said smiling.

"Why do you say that?" she asked. She knew that she could feel the effects through out her body, but what did he see.

"The bags under your eyes already look better," he said.

The door opened. Standing there in the doorway was one of the sphinx twins holding a large brown envelope. He stood there looking at the two of them. She was not sure which one of the two it was, she had never been clear which person belonged to which name, but it was the blond one. She now understood how he had gotten a job in security. She had never seen him standing before, she did not realize how much of the man was concealed by that desk. He stood a little over six foot, with broad shoulders. In his black suit he was especially imposing. It was a good thing she was sitting, because as shocked as she was to see him standing in front of her, she would have fallen down when he opened his mouth, and spoke.

II

Henry had never heard the man speak before; he had a low gravelly voice that sent chills down his spine.

"I was asked to deliver this to you, and then escort you to the Chicago terminal," he said. Henry was not sure which of the two brothers Harold, or Justin was in front of them, but he thought of Roberts. She had told them to wait for her here after receiving that phone call. She had said there was some kind of emergency in the main terminal. He wondered if the twin standing before him was related to the phone call. Amica, and Henry stood walking over to the man in the doorway, and took the envelope from him. It was a large brown envelope roughly the size of a sheet of paper, it had a small flap that had been sealed down, it looked like the inter-office envelops he had seen when he visited his mother at the hospital. He noticed Amica, and his name written on the front of the envelope in a crisp clean handwriting.

"What's in it?" Amica asked the man standing in front of them, but he gave no answer. Henry tore open the envelope, and found a piece of paper, and a envelope with Ms. Roberts name written on the outside in the same handwriting as the outside of the large envelope. Henry handed the smaller envelope to Amica, and took out the piece of paper.

Henry, and Amica

I must speak with you both regarding a matter of urgency. Justin will bring you to me. Talk to no one but him, or Ms. Roberts. Time is of the essence.

Albert Wilhelm

P.S. Leave the envelope on Ms. Robert's desk.

Amica walked over to Roberts's desk, and place the envelope face up in the center of the desk. She picked her medicine up off the desk, and walked back to the door. She motioned for Justin to lead the way. He took them through the house, and down the stairs into the kitchen. Henry recognized the man making tea in the kitchen, he had met him his first time in the house, he thought his name was Philip. Once in the kitchen, Justin opened a door near the back of the kitchen. To Henry it looked like a closet door, but behind it was another flight of stairs. They followed the stairs down to a landing, and then down another flight. There was a door at the bottom of the stairs; it was a gray door with a small square window about a foot square near the top.

Justin opened the door, and Henry knew where he was. They were in the lounge outside the locker room of the Chicago Terminal. He led them through the door into the terminal. There they found Harold standing in front of the North Gate. The gate was open, although it was hard to tell with Harold standing in front of it. Henry looked through the open gateway over Harold's shoulder. He saw what looked like Sir's training center.

"Close the gate behind you when you reach the other side," Harold said. He had the same deep gravelly voice as his partner. Henry looked at Amica; she looked back at him, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Shall we go?" she asked. She sounded as apprehensive as he felt.

"I guess that's the plan," Henry said reaching over, and taking her hand. They stepped through the gate together.

Henry had a sense of déjà vu as he walked through the gateway into what he assumed was the training facility. The room was almost as dark as it had been the first time they arrived, only this time directly across from them on the other side of the room where the gate practice wall was located was a very large circle of light. There was a large pile of things in the center of the light, covered with what looked like a black tarp. This in itself would have been odd enough, but behind the covered pile was a gateway. The test wall was where Henry, and Amica practiced building, and fixing gates, but Sir had always insist they start with a bare wall, and electrical source every day. He pushed the gateway door closed, and the light winked out as the gate powered down. Henry felt a sudden sense of apprehension; something was going on he didn't understand, and he felt very confused, and nervous. Everything had happened so quickly that he had not really had a chance to react until now.

"What is happening?" Henry said.

"I don't know, but I don't like it what ever it is," Amica said. "Just promise me you will stay close, okay. I don't think we are in any danger, but I promised Roberts I would look out for you," she said. She took hold of his hand, and Henry got the impression it was as much for her own comfort as it was for his. Together hand in hand they walked into the dim light of the training grounds, weaving their way through the group of treadmills in the center of the room, being careful not to trip.

Henry could hear things moving in the darkness, it sounded like things being shifted in the dark. Henry had asked Sir once why it was always so dark here. It turned out the planet Tamara, where Sir was from was mostly a dark planet, and therefor his species was mostly nocturnal. So his eyes worked better in the dark. Henry understood that, and had adjusted to the lack of strong lighting, but on this particular evening he seriously missed the light. He had never seen all of the training facility with the lights on, and the sound of things being dragged in the dark made his skin crawl. Judging by the cold sweat on Amica's palms she was feeling the same way.

"Welcome, thank you for coming, I will be right there," Sir said. His voice came from out of the darkness, and Henry realized for the first time that he was angry with Sir. He had pushed Amica so hard that she was now physically ill; he had risked her life for some reason that he refused to share with them. What bothered Henry was it had taken Roberts only a moment of being in the room with Amica to see she was sick. How had Sir missed that? Henry and Amica walked over to the pile of materials in the center of the circle of light. Sir walked out of the darkness.

Sir said motioning for them to take a seat. "Please let us sit, there is much to tell you, and little time before you must go," Sir said.

"Go where?" Amica asked talking a seat on the floor in the legs crossed meditative pose. "Can you please tell us what's going on?" Amica asked. Sir carefully eased himself down on the pile of items still hidden beneath the tarp.

"Please excuse me if I don't join you on the floor. As a teacher you hope your students will care about you, as much as you care about them. I have taught many keepers over the 12 thousand of your earth years that I have been doing this, and even I have taught very few natural keepers. It is a special thing to connect with someone whose abilities so naturally mirror your own, there is competitiveness, a camaraderie, and if you are lucky eventually a familial bond of sorts," he took a deep breath, and looked over towards Amica. "This was particularly true of your father," Sir said pausing. "I have missed him these many years, he was a good man, and a good friend. I have looked out into the darkness of the universe on many occasions longing for a way to bring Melchiorre home," Sir said. Henry was not sure, but he thought he saw a tear catch the light as it disappeared into the fur around his face.

"I understand, I have always dreamed of going to look for him, it is the reason I wanted to become a keeper, it is what has driven me my whole life," Amica said.

"As we are speaking a new gateway has been opened on Scultura. It is made from spare parts, and a rewired gateway. A group of Scultarians have found a break in security, they have settled in an abandoned forest town, and have begun working collecting men forming a underground resistance movement, they have come looking for weapons, and supplies. They should be in Roberts office by now making their request, what they do not yet know is the security has become lax because the Angriff are no longer interested in the natural resources your home planet has to offer. They are leaving your planet, within the next 24 hours most of the forces will be gone," Sir said.

"That's wonderful," Amica cheered. Henry was happy for Amica, but his nerves were still on edge. What concerned Henry was the pile of covered items, what was under the tarp?

"I'm still confused, why are we here?" Henry asked.

"The Angriff are no longer interested in your planet, but they are still interested in your people. It seems that they are taking keepers with them as they go. I cannot see what they are planning, there are still to many variables. I have tried. I have spent every waking moment trying to divine their purpose. What I know is that your father is a valuable asset, and the Angriff will be moving him soon.

"He's alive, are you sure?" Amica cried.

"Yes, I have seen him, I am afraid that if they are allowed to remove him from your planet I will lose him, I was pushing my body, and my abilities to find one individual on a single planet let alone the whole universe, even I do not have that kind of ability," Sir said. He was frowning. Henry suddenly had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He understood in a flash of light Sir's statement the other night regarding the future. He said there were things moving in the darkness that would cause a chain of other events to happen. He could hear the words in his head before they even came out of her mouth.

"I have to go. I have waited my whole life for this moment," Amica said standing quickly, and walking over to Sir. She placed her hand on his arm. "You have to let me go, you can't keep me here. If I don't go I will never forgive myself," she pleaded. She thought the reason they were here was to protect her, and keep her from rushing off to find her father, but Henry knew better. He understood the reason Sir had been pushing her this past week, it now made sense, but Sir had failed. Yes, Amica was better at performing openings than she was at the beginning of the week, but she was not ready for this, she would die out there. She was sick, she wasn't even supposed to be opening gates, if she left now it would be a toss up who killed her first, the Angriff, or her own stubborn stupidity.

"You can't do this," Henry said. Amica turned, and smiled at him. She thought that he was on her side, against Sir. She had not seen what he had seen. "You can't honestly think she will survive? She is not ready for this, and you know that, that is why you have been pushing her so hard, admit it?" Henry said. He was angry. He had trusted Sir, and he was setting Henry's friend up for slaughter.

"What are you talking about Henry," Amica said frowning at him.

"Him," Henry said jabbing his finger at Sir. He did not bring you here to prevent you from rushing off to find your father; he brought you here to help you. That is why that gate is set up, what's under the tarp? Did you pack her bags for her too, because I hope you packed a dress to bury her in? If she goes out there alone she isn't coming back," Henry realizing he was yelling at his teacher.

Amica was looking at him like he had grown a second head.

"Henry calm down," Amica said. "Look at me, you're over reacting, I'll be fine. Sir would never allow me to go if he thought it was hopeless," she said.

"Amica, you are not ready for this. I know you think you're doing great in training, and objectively I'm sure you're right, but your focus only works half the time, the rest of the time it isn't even good enough to open a gate in the training facility where there are no distractions. What do you think it's going to be like in the field? I have only been in the terminal where it was safe, and even that was a world of difference," Henry said. While they had been arguing Albert had entered the coordinates into the computer, and the gate was powering up, brining the moment he would probably lose Amica forever closer.

"Henry you just don't understand, he's my dad if there's even a chance that I could save him, I have to take it," she said. Henry searched his brain, trying to find the right argument that would give her pause.

"What about your mother, she has already lost your father, how will she feel? Knowing she failed to keep you safe, don't you think she will blame herself the rest of her very long life?" he said. It was his best shot, he knew it was a low blow, but he was desperate.

"I have to do this, I am sorry you don't understand," she said walking over to where Albert stood by the gate.

"I do understand. I really do, but I just can't shake the feeling that if you go out there alone you will die," Henry said. He could feel tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Henry is right Amica," Albert said. He was walking away from the gate, and for a brief moment Henry thought he had won, then he pulled the tarp back revealing two large camping size backpacks. "If she goes alone, she will die," Sir said. He looked directly at Henry, with his deep penetrating eyes. Henry now understood why Sir had kept the bags covered. Henry had made all of the arguments for him, could he let Amica go alone knowing it would mean her certain death?

"What are the odds if I go with her?" Henry asked quietly. "What are the odds that we will be successful?" Henry asked.

"It is hard to say, but it is almost certain she will die with out you," Sir said.

"No," Amica said.

"Fine I'm in," Henry said at the same time Amica yelled no. Henry walked over, and picked up the larger of the bags that was obviously designed for his body frame.

"Henry, I promised your folks I would keep you safe," Amica said. She looked anxious, it was the first crack in her confidence Henry had seen since she found out about her father.

"Then you better come get your pack, because we are wasting time, if we only have 24 hours before we lose your father then we'd better get moving," Henry said. He had gone camping, and hiking with his family many times, and made quick work of the buckles securing the pack. He walked over to the gate, the computer had powered it up and aligned it, all that was left was for Henry to close his eyes, and make the connection. The last week had not been wasted; He had worked extremely hard over the couple weeks; opening several level five gates an evening. Sir had Henry working on the speed with which he could perform an opening. He could consistently open a gate faster with out the computer than he could with now, especially if he had a partner to double check the coordinates. He quickly made the connection, and felt the gate reach full power.

He opened his eyes, pulled the gate towards him.

"When you get to Scultura find a woman named Moglie, she knows where to find Melchiorre, good luck," Sir said. Henry stepped through the gate.
Chapter 16

Moglie

I

Henry stood a few feet from the gate; he could hear people yelling at him in a language he could not understand. It had been so dark in the training grounds that the change in light momentarily blinded him. He felt someone run into the back of him, and stop. He assumed it was Amica.

"I don't understand what they are saying," Henry said over his shoulder to Amica.

"They want to know who we are, and what the code word is, but I can't see anything, it's too bright." Amica said. She said something in what sounded like the same language, calling out into the light. Henry had not considered that Amica spoke English because she had been on Earth for a thousand years. Henry called himself an idiot mentally. He wondered how many languages she spoke. Henry's eyes adjusted and he able to see again, and found they were surrounded by a group of men holding what reminded him of gardening tools. He saw a few heavy headed mallets, what looked like hoes, and several items that looked like pick axes. This would have been very intimidating if it were not for the people who held them. To Henry's quickly recovering eyes, the men looked lucky to be strong enough to be standing at all, let alone strong enough to swing the weapons with enough force to really hurt them. He realized this was a very delicate situation. He heard Amica speaking to the men in their language, but judging by the tone of their responses it was not going well.

"Henry, put this on. Sir meant to give it to you before you left, but everything happened so quickly," Amica said. Henry reached his hand back slowly, and found her hand. She handed him a pair of glasses, and what felt like a necklace. He looked down and found it was the translator he had bought for his mom. Sir must have gotten it out of his locker, where it was stored. Very slowly so not to disturb the men, he put the necklace around his neck, and slipped the glasses on his head. He tucked the earpiece at the back in his ear, and the shouts turned into words just as a new man came into the room quickly from another part of the building. This man did not look the others, he looked thin, and undernourished, but he did not look weak. He looked to Henry a man in his mid thirties.

"Who are you? If Sostenitore, and Fratello had sent you then you would know the code. Who are you, and how did you know where we were?" the new man said. He had a voice that was full, and carried over the din of the room, even though he had not spoken loud, or raised his voice. It was clear to Henry this was a man in charge. If the way he spoke, expecting an answer had not been enough then the way every man in the room's eyes continually shifted to him would have been enough of an indication.

Amica looked to Henry at a loss for words.

"We are from Earth," Henry said. He could hear his words being translated as he spoke. "We were given these coordinates by a friend. We are looking for Moglie, we were told she would help us," Henry said. He looked at Amica who was looking at him as if he had gone insane. He realized that she had not heard Sir give him these instructions. He hoped this man would help them, because the men with weapons moved a little closer when he mentioned the name Moglie. Henry was very glad that he had not closed the gate yet, and they still had a way out if things went very wrong, but he was beginning to feel the strain of having a gate this powerful open for so long.

"I am called Marito, and Moglie is very ill, she sees no one," Marito said. "I asked you who you are, if you are not from..." his voice trailed off as a woman placed her hand on his back. She was a very frail woman. She wore brown tattered rags that looked huge on her slender frame. Her eyes were sunken, and her hair was thin, and listless.

"I am Moglie, Daughter of Agostinio," the woman said. She had a warm melodic voice that was slightly slurred, but hesitant as if looking for the right words; he was surprised to find that she was speaking English. "I do not know who you are young man, but I do know you young lady, although it is a fair bet you do not remember me," Moglie said pointing at Amica, and motioning her to come closer. "Amica, Daughter of Melchiorre if I am not mistaken, although I will admit my mind is not what it once was since the sickness began. My body has been the strongest hit. Thankfully my mind has been left mostly untouched, other keepers have not been so lucky," Moglie said. Henry was startled when he realized what sickness she was speaking of. He had not understood how easy it was to become overworked, and ill as a keeper. He would have to speak with Roberts when he returned about the best way to take care of his body, and prevent this from happening.

"I am Henry Thomas, I am a friend of Amica's we have some medication for keeper sickness with us, we will gladly share it with you," Henry said. Amica had walked over to Moglie, but as she got closer the men with weapons moved closer still, and Henry realized that the situation was still a little volatile. "We mean no one here any harm, we were given this address by Albert Wilhelm, we are only here to try to find Melchiorre, and return him to his family in exile, please lower your weapons," Henry said calling to the men in the room.

Marito looked to the woman, who nodded her head.

"The men are nervous about the gate still being open, would the keeper please close the gate?" Marito said. Henry looked to Amica, but found nothing that would help him there. She was examining the face of the woman, as if she was trying to solve a puzzle.

"I will gladly close the opening if you will assure us that we are safe here, I am nervous about closing the only avenue of escape while you hold those weapons," Henry said. He thought his words might have come across as rude when the man frowned. He looked around the room at the men with their makeshift weapons, and smiled at Henry.

"I assure you that no harm will come to you, or the girl; at least none from me or my men. Although I can not promise you will be safe, after all none of us here are truly safe," he said with a frown, but Henry hear what sounded like a laugh come from some of the men.

Henry walked over to where the gate stood open into the darkness; he could not see Sir anywhere. He closed the gate

"Thank you young man. Marito, please take us back to our room so I can rest, and we can talk," Moglie said. Marito looked down at her, and smiled warmly.

"Of course dear, you should not have gotten out of bed to begin with," Marito said. Henry couldn't help, but agree with him looking at her, but could not imagine what may have become of the situation if she had not been there. m

"You worry about me too much love. I told you things would be okay eventually, and look today we were gifted with not one, but three happy, and amazing events; Amica, Daughter of Melchiorre has returned home to us, and she has brought one of the most powerful natural keepers I have seen since her father, and they have both brought medicine. All in all an event worth leaving my bed," Moglie said with a smile.

They began to walk, and for the first time Henry was able to really look around. They were in a long room, with high ceilings, and large skylights that let a great deal of sunlight through them. The walls were made of a transparent material Henry couldn't identify. He could tell by looking around that he was in some type of transportation hub in the woods. Deep in the forest from the size of the tree trunks he could see through the walls, but all of the gates with the exception of the one he had just left; looked to have been damaged. There were large sections of the walls that had been knocked down, or more likely blasted down, by the looks of the scorch marks around the holes. The floor was made from a finely grained wood Henry had never seen before. He did not know if it had been stained, but it was a lovely color that reminded him of redwood. The floor had been sealed with some type of hard lacquer layer that gave it a nice shine.

"How did you know Henry was a natural?" Amica asked. It was the first time she had spoken since Moglie, had said her name. That she would ask about Henry, and not how the woman knew her was quite a surprise to Henry.

"Only a natural would have been able to maintain an opening like that for as long as he did, and not be a quivering bag of mush at the end of it. The body of a natural is different from other keepers, or at least that was what your father believed. He believed that a natural's body had more mitochondria to produce the electrical energy needed to open the gates with out overburdening their other biological system. A natural can get keeper sickness, but they have to be expending a lot of energy. I only know that naturals have a harder time getting sick than the rest of us. It is one of the things that has made a natural such a sought after commodity in the universe," she said. They left the building through a high arched doorway. Henry stepped out onto a surface made of hexagonally shaped stones that had been laid making a path through the woods. Henry found himself in the largest forest he had ever seen. The path wound down hill towards a small group of buildings that looked similar in style, but much smaller than the building they had just left. Surrounding the buildings, and scattered through out the forest where trees of enormous size. The smallest looked to be nearly thirty feet across and hundreds of feet tall. To Henry it reminded him of the Giant Sequoias forest on earth. He had never been, but as a camper he had always dreamed of going there to camp.

"You know, my father?" Amica asked. She had stopped walking, and Henry turned, and looked at her.

"Is that how you knew who I was? How do you know him, is he safe? Where is he?" Then she turned to look at Henry who was smiling at all of her questions. "And don't think you're off the hook for not telling me what's going on." she said scowling at his smile. He couldn't help but laugh, which caused her scowl to deepen.

"Hey you know as much as I do now, Sir told me to ask for her," Henry said. He noticed Marito was scowling at him.

"Who is this Sir?" Marito asked.

"Let us settle, and take some medicine. Then we can share a meal, and knowledge," Moglie said. Not far ahead of them they saw another building. It was about 20 yards up, nestled in under the trees. Henry could see the sun reflecting off the clear walls of the side of the house. He was surprised by the amount of light that filtered through the multi-layered canopy above them.

II

Henry sat in a comfortable chair in the home of Marito, and Moglie. The home was a small affair with one bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and a living area with a small table for meals, and a comfortable seating area that he was now in. Henry had asked Marito about his home. The walls were made of a clear crystal material that allowed the resident to see out into the forest, and allow in light. The walls could be turned opaque with the push of a button on the wall. The Scultarians were very nature orientated. They believed in developing the planet according to the lay of the land. While Amica helped Moglie go to the bathroom, and take her medicine Marito told Henry about his people.

"Our planet was originally populated by people at peace with nature," Marito said. "We had large forested areas similar to the one we are hiding in now scattered through out the surface of the planet. We built our homes nestled in the hundred-foot Rosso wood trees. We left the giant trees alone only clearing some of the smaller trees, and greenery mixed in, but only when necessary." Marito said. What Henry had seen was beautiful.

"How did you get around?" Henry asked.

"we used the gateways, each town has, or had a transportation hub similar to the one where you arrived, most of those have been damaged, pretty badly now." Marito said sadly.

"What about food, and other materials? Where do these amazing walls come from?" Henry asked amazed running his hand over the clear surface; it was smooth, and warm to the touch, especially where the sun shone through.

"The walls are grown crystal, but our planet is more than just forests. There are large areas of the planet where the fields of crops are so large they grow food for the rest of the planet. The fields are maintained by whole cities. Large mountain ranges where the materials for the crystal growing are mined, as well as the metals that are used to build the gates which are the main method of travel from city to city. The royal family distributed all of these supplies so every citizen had enough work, and food to keep them fit, and healthy," Marito said.

"It sounds like it was a very nice planet," Henry said. Marito nodded sadly.

"Worth fighting, and dying for, when you came through the gate we hoped you were Sostenitore, and Fratello returning with food, and weapons so we could begin to fight the Angriff," Marito said.

"Well Nathan may send them, he is a war mongering fool no more fit to rule this planet then the Angriff, but he will want to be in charge of the resistance," Amica said walking into the sitting area.

"Well we worked too hard, for too long to turn everything over to anyone. The royal line is all but extinct now, they were good people, but I think many of us have had too much abuse to willingly turn control of our lives back over to anyone," Marito said thoughtfully.

Moglie looked better after taking her medicine, some of the color had returned to her skin. The pink undertones that Amica, and Marito had were returning to her skin, he was not sure but thought her eyes were a little less sunken as well.

"If you sent men looking for Roberts I would not count on her sending weapons. The last information we heard before walking through the gate was the Angriff have no more use for our planet, and are with drawing. With in the next 24 hours they will be gone," Amica said sitting across from Marito.

"That is great news if it is true," Moglie said.

"Who told you this information, and how did they know?" Marito challenged.

"We were told by our mentor Albert Wilhelm," Henry said.

"Who is that?" Marito said. Moglie placed her hand on his in a comforting gesture.

"Peace love, peace. I guess I should not be surprised to hear he is still alive, although I must say am surprised he is teaching again. If he says the Angriff are leaving then we can trust his visions." Moglie said.

"I think he came out of retirement for Henry," Amica said whispering conspiratorially to Moglie. Moglie smiled looking over to Henry.

"I am sure you are partially right, but from what I hear Albert always had a soft spot for your father, I would bet your presence was what pushed him into actually doing it. I only met him once; he was not my teacher. Your father was the one who trained me," Moglie said.

"Is that how you knew me?" Amica asked.

"I was at the hospital the night you were born, young lady. Your mother, and I were good friends we met in training; we were like sisters. Your mother was never much of a keeper, but she never came across a gate she could not fix. The three of us met in keeper training, your father the teacher, and Alessia, and I were students. Don't worry your parents didn't actually date until they were not student, and teacher, well at least that was what they claimed anyway," Moglie said smiling.

"Your father was not that much older than your mother, but he had trained his natural ability for many years by the time they met, starting when he was very young. Our planet has had many keepers, but very few naturals. His parents shipped off for training very young. He said he was always home sick for his own planet, so he returned here to make his home, and to teach others," Moglie said.

"All of this is very interesting, and I know Amica would love to know all about her parents, but we are in a time crunch. The Angriff are taking keepers with them, and if we can not get to her father in the next 22 hours or so, he will be lost to us, maybe we could move to current events," Henry said.

"Yes I think Henry is right, I know you want to know about your father, but assuming we live to see the end of this thing we can talk all you want. How does that sound?" Moglie said

"That would be wonderful," Amica said sounding excited.

"Over the last 10 years after the resistance fell, and your father was captured things on this planet got bad," Moglie began. Henry was confused for a moment then remembered what Amica had told him once about the way they measured time on her planet. Ten years here was around a thousand years on earth. "The Angriff were after gate metals, what they planned to do with them is beyond me, but all of their efforts have been directed towards that. We already had mining towns through out the mountains but we mined for many different minerals through out the planet, they abandoned the towns where materials were mined that were of no use to them. The ones that were left were not large enough; they expanded them creating large labor camps at the entrances to the mines. The mineworkers like Marito were given extra food rations, but they were forced to eat sleep, and work in the mines never seeing the light of day. The farms were the same way, with some field allowed to go fallow because the temperature or weather conditions prevented the growth of the foods the Angriff liked to eat. Even the keepers were treated poorly, many of us were worked to death; forced to continue opening gates long after their body was all but used up, all in an effort to move the ore they mined here to their home world" Moglie said.

"How did you escape," Henry asked. He knew that there were time constraints, but he was caught up in the story.

"The keepers were kept separate from the mineworkers. The miners lived in the mines only coming out to bring the ore to the gate, but the keepers, we lived in dormitories where they could keep an eye on us. Many of the keepers were shifted around a lot, moving from location to location. They were following ore shipments, or certain Angriff officials. Some officials had favorite keepers that they used like personal servants, but I was always assigned to the mine at Cold Pass Mountain. I had been the head keeper there before the invasion, and Marito was a miner there. We had been bonded for many years before the invasion. I had been sick for a long time when there was a collapse in one of the side tunnels; Marito, and two of his friends were believed lost. I cried for days after the accident, but they were not killed. They managed to find their way out of the mine, they came for me in the night. I was too sick, and the gates were too closely guarded for us to escape that way. The four of us made our way down the mountain, hiding at night when the Angriff were the most active," Moglie said. She paused to take a drink of water from a glass that Marito had brought her.

"Why are the Angriff more active in the night?" Henry asked.

"They come from a dark planet, they spend most of their lives in the dark. Or at least that is my understanding," Marito said.

"They have a hard time seeing well in bright sunlight, it hurts their eyes," Moglie said. We worked our way out of the mountains. The farther we got from the mines the less of the Angriff we saw; although as we went we found others who had escaped from different areas, eventually we found this forest town. From what we were able to tell, the Angriff had taken the inhabitants to work elsewhere on the planet. They destroyed the transportation hub, but left most of the town itself untouched," Moglie said.

"We have close to 30 inhabitants at the moment, but not nearly enough food to feed them. There is not much animal life left in the area to hunt, and not hardly enough weapons to make the energy expended worth the food brought back," Marito said.

"I don't understand if the Angriff destroyed the transportation hub how could you open the gate to the Milky Way terminal, and why didn't you all go?" Henry asked.

"Amica's mother was not the only one of us who was good with broken gates, it took a while because I was so ill, but we were able to scavenge parts from all of the gates, but there were no gates powerful enough to reach the distance we needed to get to the Milky Way Terminal, even then we still had to hope that Brigid Roberts was still there, and could help us find supplies. We unwound several of the other gate control cables, and rewrapped a new one that could be used to build a golden gate," Moglie said proudly.

"I understand the need, and desire to fight, that's why I'm here, but with you so sick why didn't you go through the gateway, and find medical help. I mean you have only had a dose, and I can already see a difference," Amica asked.

"We are in charge here for good or ill, it has just kind of fallen on our shoulders. We could be found at any moment, and I am the only keeper here, even sick maybe I could open the gate, and get most of to safety," Moglie said.

"I have a proposal for you both," Henry said. He had been worried about how they would find Melchiorre, but with luck this might work. Every one turned, and looked at him. Moglie, and Marito looked inquisitive about his proposal. They looked at him respectfully as an equal. It was so unusual for people to look at him as an equal. His parents treated him like their son, that was to be expected, and it was nice to be taken care of sometime. At school he talked so rarely that when he did people looked at him as if the desk had talked. Then they usually dismissed what he had to say. This was not the case with Marito, and Moglie. They did not see a child, or a loser they saw a powerful keeper who had come to their home to help a friend. It was refreshing to be treated that way; he just hoped he wouldn't blow it.

"We don't know how to find Melchiorre, but we do know the address of a gate to a safe place away from the Angriff," Henry said. He could tell already that Marito did not like this plan, but he put his hand up signaling him to wait. "The Angriff are leaving, there is no reason to drive them from this planet losing more lives than have already been lost during the occupation. They are kidnapping your people, they have stripped your planet, and I can understand the desire for revenge, but right now we need help rescuing as many keepers as we can before it's too late," Henry paused to let his words sink in. As he was talking he saw Moglie nod her head yes. He was not sure if it meant the same thing here as it did on earth, but he was hopeful, he thought that if he could get Moglie on his side then Marito would follow eventually.

Marito sat for several moments his face impassive; then stood, and walked to the window looking down on the small village center nestled in the woods below. He watched the people moving around the square for a few moments.

"What do you have in mind?" Marito asked.

"You chose a small force that can move quickly, and are healthy. Then I open a gate to the Chicago Terminal, and send everyone else including Moglie where they will be safe. Your men who have already gone through the gates, and Ms. Roberts can look them after. Moglie can get the medical attention she so desperately needs, and the rest of us come up with a plan to rescue as many keepers as we can," Henry said.

Marito turned, and looked at his wife, she was sitting in the chair with her head back, and her eyes closed, she was trying to stay awake, but it was obvious she was exhausted from the events of the day.

"Do you really think you can open the gates, that we won't need any other keepers?" Marito asked.

"I haven't seen a gate he couldn't open yet," Amica said. "Let him take her where she can get better, help me find my father, please before it's too late," Amica pleaded.

"Okay, but I don't even know where to begin to look," Marito said.

"I do," Moglie said surprising everyone in the room. She had been silent for a long time with her eyes closed, and Henry had thought her asleep. Judging by the startled jump from everyone else, they had too. She opened her eyes. "When I was in the camps many of the keepers would come, and go as I told you. They said the Angriff had created a main camp in the central planetary distribution hub. The Angriff would funnel all of their materials from the various mines there, and then move them off planet through the golden gates that were located in the hub. I believe that is where we will find the last of the keepers. There is a woman in camp, her name is Elena, and she used to work as a clerk in the distribution hub before the occupation. She escaped from the farms not far from there; you should find her. She could be helpful," Moglie said. She laid her head back, and closed her eyes again.

III

Henry stood once more in front of the gate, the last 3 hours had a been a mass of confusion. Shortly after Moglie had closed her eyes drifting off to sleep, Marito found Elena, and confirmed the story that Moglie had given about her life. She was indeed from near the central planetary distribution hub, having grown up in the area. She had worked most of her adult life there until the invasion when she was sent to work on the farms. She thought she would be able to help them find a way in. Marito asked her to find anyone else who may have been in the area recently, and bring them here to begin drawing a map of the area, he then sounded the evacuation alarm to prepare the people to move out.

The whole of the camp now stood behind Henry waiting for the gate to be opened. As part of his training he had taken the opportunity to learn the addresses of some of the gates near popular locations on his home world as a matter of curiosity. He was going to try to open the gate to the Chicago Terminal. With any luck the gate would be free, and not engaged. He also hoped Roberts would not block the opening as an unwanted intruder. He hoped that she would recognize the incoming gate address from earlier tonight. He closed his eyes, and placed his hands on the gate.
Chapter 17

Plans

I

Roberts sat at her desk with the office lights turned off, the only visible light from the streetlights outside her windows. She was leaned back in her chair, eyes closed. Her head throbbed. It had been a little over 4 hours since the Sculturians had come through that gate unannounced. They were currently hidden away in a couple spare bedrooms while she tried to gather the supplies on their list. She had people working on it, but many of the items would take time to gather, and if Albert was right she had no intention of sending them weapons. She had caught a break, and Nathan was still in London visiting a group a Scultarians who had settled in the area.

It was nearly 8 o'clock, she would have to think of something soon to tell the boys parents. Henry would normally be returning home within the next couple of hours, and they would need to know where he was. She had no idea what to tell either of their parents when it came down to it.

She had her eyes closed, and didn't see her tablet begin blinking an alarm on her desk. She had taken the earpiece that allowed her tablet to provide verbal messages, and laid it on the desk. As comfortable as the technology really was to wear, when you had a headache it got irritating getting continual updates about the status of the terminal pumped directly into your brain. Objectively she knew that it was really just a voice coming through the ear piece, but even with the volume turned down low it had felt like someone screaming in her ear. The phone on her desk rang. She left her eyes closed reaching for the phone, and lifting it to her ear. She was expecting a status update from Uktu about the list of supplies for her new guests.

Before she could give her customary phone greeting, Uktu's voice was speaking nervously into her ear.

"It is happening again, only this time at the Chicago Terminal, less than a minute ago the gate began charging, my computer says it is the same origin coordinates as before. This time though the opening is moving very fast, I put a hold on the power level. The gate is still charging, but now it is charging slowly to give us more time to react. If I hadn't it would've been open before I could call you," Uktu said.

"Harold, and Justin are still on shift, I want them armed, and at that gate in the next 30 seconds, then allow the gate to open. I will be right there," Roberts said. She grabbed her pad from the desk, and ran for the door, it had been many years since she had run anywhere, but on a treadmill. She could not run the quarter mile in 90 seconds like she could when she finished her keeper training, but she still ran several miles a day. She covered the distance between her office, and the gate in a minutes taking the stairs two at a time. When she arrived Harold, and Justin were armed with Sonic Pulse Disrupter Rifles. She did not want to delay the gate by much, but she needed to take precautions. She did not think the Angriff would come through into her terminal looking for two refugee, but it was possible that who ever was opening that gate could have someone pursuing them. It was a hard balance to find. The gate swung open, and she was pleased to see Henry standing there.

She held her breath hopeful, but not really expecting them to have retrieved Melchiorre so quickly. They had not really been gone long enough. Henry walked towards her.

"Ms. Roberts I have some people here who are very hungry, and one keeper who is very sick. They could use some food, and medical treatment; if it's okay with you," Henry said. He said it like it was almost a question, but not really. She was glad to see that his confidence level was really increasing.

Henry walked back through the gate, and a steady stream of people dressed in rags, and tatters began flowing through the gate. Henry returned carrying woman.

"This is Moglie, she is the sick keeper I was telling you about, she will need medication," his tone was straightforward, and informative. She was proud to see that he seemed to be in charge. He was even telling her what to do. She smiled tiredly; he was coming along nicely.

Henry, Amica, and a third man she did not know helped the people move in, and find a seat in the terminal, she was not sure what she was going to do with them all, but was please to see them sitting there safely. Harold, and Justin maintained their posts on either side of the gate watching Henry with appraising eyes; she was not sure what the two of them were thinking. They were so closed mouth about everything.

When all of the refugees were settled, the third man went through the gate to look for stragglers, and she was left standing with Henry, and Amica.

"So what is the plan, are you two coming home?" she asked already knowing the answer.

"No, we understand there is a compound where the Angriff are holding the remaining keepers. They are planning to take them when they leave. Marito, and Elena think that we can sneak in, and free them. If that happens we will try to come through the gateway to Sir's training ground," Henry said.

"Why not just come through here?" she asked.

"When we came through here you had to slow the power feed till you could put armed guards on the door, even if you posted a guard here, and didn't slow the power feed we may have the Angriff on our tale. I don't want anyone to get hurt. Sir had built a special gate, to hide his location I think, but if we exit through that gate we can take the gate down when we arrive preventing the Angriff from pursuing us, then we can come here," Henry said. Amica was nodding; they had obviously given this some thought. They were both coming along nicely.

"What should I do about your parents, they will be expecting you soon?" Roberts said. A cloud passed over Henry's face, and for the first time she saw Henry's new confidence crumble a little.

"Everything happened so fast, I didn't think about them," Henry said.

"It's okay Henry, you have done so much already. Just open the gate for us to near the distribution hub, and then go home to your family before this goes to far, and you get hurt," Amica said. Roberts was proud to see she meant every word. Henry's resolve only faltered for a moment.

"Tell them I went to help a friend in trouble, and I love them. Please," Henry said.

"Tell her, I went to get dad. Mom will be upset I'm sorry," Amica said. Roberts figured that was probably the understatement of the year. Then the man Henry had called Marito came through the gate.

"Every one is out Henry, it should be okay to close the gate now," Marito said.

"Take these with you," Harold said unslinging his rifle, and passing it to Henry. Justin was doing the same with his rifle handing it to Amica. Objectively she knew the two men were capable of speech, but they talked so little it always surprised her. She was even more surprised to see them hand over their weapons. She watched as the two men each took one person, and walked them through the operation of the weapon, only stopping when they were certain they could operate the weapons without hurting themselves.

"Be safe," Harold said, sticking his hand out for Henry to shake. Justin echoed the sentiment, and gesture shortly after. It was amazing to her that Henry was bullied at school, he had even managed to become friends with Harold and Justin, she wasn't even sure they liked her. When he let his personality shine through he really was a great kid. He stood watching Amica, and Marito walk through the gate.

"Henry," she said calling to him before he could leave. "I will arrange for some men with weapons to be standing by at Sir's gate just in case. I know you are concerned for their safety, but I can think of at least two who would be willing to take the risk, possible two more" she said looking over to where Harold, and Justin stood.

"As long as they are volunteers, I won't command anyone to risk their life for us," Henry said forcefully. She hoped this new level of confidence would last it was nice to see.

Henry stepped through the gate closing it behind them, and then they were gone again. It had been a busy day, and it was not over yet. She went up to her office to make some phone calls.

II

Amica hid under a bush holding back her tears, and hopping the soldiers moving through the village would not find her. She had not expected things to go so wrong so fast. They had gated into the nearby village of Fout, it was supposed to be a local orchard that had been abandoned. The Angriff had not liked the Kopar fruit that had grown there, and had let the orchard run wild redistributing their forces elsewhere. They had chosen Fout, because it was a short walk to the Hub, but far enough away that according to Elena was usually left unguarded.

Henry found an old gate map tucked away in his backpack when they had inventoried the packs that had been packed for them by Sir. It took some work on Henry's part trying each of the 8 gates located in the village. They found one that was still operational. It had been partially damaged, but with Henry's natural talent for making connections he was able to make it work. The power feed had been damaged so it took a while to charge the gate with enough power to open, but in the end they were in business.

Everything was going really well, and they made it through the gate. The transportation center for Fout was set a little way back, and to the north of the orchard from the village. The village had mostly been left untouched, the only damage looking many years old, probably in the initial invasion. The sun was just starting to come up on this side of the planet, which was an added bonus. The Angriff were a nocturnal people. They figured their best bet of moving across the open ground was to hide in the glare of the sunrise. The group was hungry, and decided they would get some fresh fruit instead of digging through their packs. Amica was starting to feel the lateness of the hour. Although the sun was just coming up on this planet it was the very end of the day on Earth on a normal day, and today was not a normal day. The only thing that kept her moving was that her nerves were wound tighter than a violin string. They went to the orchard to grab a fruit snack while they waited for the sun to position itself right.

Elena led them to where the fruit trees where. The orchard was very overgrown; bushes, and small trees had begun to spring up from where the fruit left unpicked had fallen to the ground. It made for long walls of green leaves that were hard to see through. When the fruit on the trees were close enough to see clearly Henry became very excited. Henry began giggling he was so excited; he took off at a run to see them.

"These are the same trees that are outside Roberts house," he said calling back over his shoulder. "I have wanted to taste one ever since I saw them in her garden," he said laughing, he was so happy he was giddy. He was so silly Amica couldn't help but laugh a little herself. She was so lucky to have a friend like Henry. For a minute when Roberts had asked about his family she thought he would change his mind. She would have understood if he had gone back to his family, this was going to be dangerous, and all of the arguments he had given her against going had not changed. Amica could see Henry was thinking about his family, how they would react if he never came home, and for a minute she thought he was not going to go, but in the end he was risking his life for her. Sir had said she would die if she went with out him, and so he would help her father, and a bunch of keepers he had never met, because he wanted to protect her safety.

"Henry, wait for us I don't want us to get so spread out," Amica said. That was when all hell broke loose. Henry walked around a row of trees, froze for a moment, and then grabbed quickly for his rifle pointing it at something, or someone. Amica noticed the flurry of motion, and her heart started beating a mile a minute in her chest. She could feel it beating at the back of her throat. She was about to run to him with the other rifle when he made a motion with the hand closest to her. It was an open palm pushing toward her meaning to stop. Maybe he hadn't been seen, but then why wasn't he backing away.

She froze. There was something really wrong; she was not sure what to do. Elena, and Marito were still walking towards Henry. She put her hand on their shoulders, and motioned for them to stop, and be quiet. They froze looking at her, then to Henry not sure what was happening. Then they all heard what she was desperately afraid of. She could hear the sound of men shouting.

Henry took his weapon off his shoulder, and slowly lowered it to the ground. He held up his hands, and put them on the back of his head in a gesture she had seen in a thousand cops shows. He turned his face to them. His mouth was moving, but she could not hear any words, and realized he was mouthing words to her behind his arm. He was mouthing the word run. He took a couple of steps forward, and he was out of view, his body being blocked by the edge of the row of trees. The men who were yelling were coming closer; they were almost on top of them.

The men were shielded from her sight at the moment, and she could not see how many of them there were. She remembered the rifle slung over her shoulder, and ran for Henry. Maybe she could create a distraction so he could get away. She had promised to look after him; she had to save him. Marito, and Elena each grabbed her under an arm, forced her under a bush, and held her down. She couldn't really hear clearly what was going on, but then heard something that sounded like a diesel truck start. It was not a sound she expected to hear on this planet, but as it drove away it sounded very much like a thousand smoke belching trucks she had seen every day on Earth.

They were still hiding under the bushes when a pair of black booted feet walked by. Another pair followed, and stood in front of the bush. They were speaking in their own language. She had tried studying it over the years, trying to learn how to speak it, but it was not a language she understood very well.

"I will be glad when we are through with this planet," the first voice said, she thought. The language was much harder to understand when spoken by a native speaker then it was by her tablet.

"Me two," The second said. The men talked for while about things she could not always understand, from what she could figure out they had come with a high-ranking official to pick fruit. She was the only one who liked them, and they had run into Henry. Henry said he was alone, but the two of them had been left behind just to be sure. The one thing Amica was certain of, because she had listened very carefully, was there was only the two of them. They were complaining about having to walk back to the base in the sun after having searched the orchard.

She waited for the two of them to wander to a different part of the kopar grove, and then crawled out from under the bush.

"Where are you going," Elena whispered to her as she was crawling past. "You are going to get us caught," Elena said scared.

"They have Henry!" she whispered fiercely, but determined. "He is the only friend I've got, and I'll be dammed if I'm going to hide under a bush. I'm going to get him back, if you want to run then do it," Amica said rising to a crouch behind the bush, she checked her pulse rifle, it had a setting designed to knock people out for a short time. The twins had warned it would only put people out for a very short time. It was designed for use in the terminal when they needed to disable, but not kill a client who had become belligerent. She slipped her pack off her back.

"Get the rope out of the back pouch," she whispered to Marito. She was not sure about Elena, but when she saw Marito's hand reach out from under the bush, and drag the pack to the bush, that he was with her. She took a second to calm her mind; focusing her thoughts the way she had been taught by Sir, and began moving as quietly as she could toward the men. She had a good idea of the direction they were in because they were talking up a storm. She got close, and could see them clearly for the first time.

She had never seen the Angriff when she was a child. She had seen pictures before, but this was the first time she had ever seen them in person. They were short standing only five feet tall. Their skin was translucent allowing her to see all the way through to the skeletal system with in, if she looked closely enough. The skeleton she knew was bioluminescent. She had read it let off a purple light that made them easier to see on their dark home world, but here in the rising sun it was hard to see. They had very little indentation where the neck of a human would have been, their head was more tube like with a round skull buried with in the flesh, the skull was set atop a group of semi circular vertebrae. As a species the Angriff were not very frightening. Their bodies made from soft jelly like muscles, and thin bones.

They did not have nearly the same amount of muscle mass as the people from her home world, but their weapons were impressive, especially on a planet that had nothing but shovels, and axes that required you to get in close to defeat them. They wore black trousers pulled down over a laced boot made of a material that looked like black leather. Tucked into the trousers they wore a white long sleeved dress shirt with a banded collar. Over the whole uniform, they wore long black jackets that reminded her of the Nehru jackets that had been popular in the 60's, in fact she had gotten one once. Her mother had freaked out on her. That afternoon was the first time her mother had shown her a picture of the Angriff. She had been naturally curious before, but her mother had always prevented it. She had thrown the jacket away herself. Barely even wanting to touch it even to throw it away. The long coats were single button with steel colored buttons to the waist where the jacket hung open ending between the knee, and ankle. On the shoulder was a black epaulette. The two men in front of her had one silver bar on the epaulette to mark their rank. She knew the bar was to designate rank, but what the rank was she was not actually sure. She could hear their conversation.

They were frightened of the woman who was in charge; at least that was what Amica thought they were saying it was hard to tell. As she stalked them she listened carefully to their conversation, listening for information on the woman who had captured Henry. Apparently she was a member of the royal family, and she was not as scary as her mother, but only by a slight margin. She became frightened for Henry, and hesitated to shoot them, trying to learn as much as she could.

"I heard she found Lieutenant Colonel Brikel taking food that was supposed to go to the men in his battalion for himself," the first man said.

"I heard about that, I hear she forced every man in the battalion to strike him as hard as they could with the but of their rifle in a place of their choosing, then stood there to make sure it was done," the second man said.

"He's lucky it was a small battalion," the first man said.

"Small battalion, or not 300 blows with the but of a rifle does a lot of damage, afterwards she had him chained, and thrown into a cell, I hear he died of his wounds three weeks later from lack of medical treatment," The second man said.

"Serves him right for taking from his men," the first man said. They went on to talk about something else unrelated to the woman. Amica had to admit at least to herself she agreed with the men. The guy got what was coming to him, but the woman was pretty frightening. She saw an opportunity, and took her shot. Amica shot them in the back from the bushes. Marito, and Elena ran over, and tied them up with rope from her pack.

III

Henry woke slowly not entirely sure where he was, or how long he had been asleep. He opened his eyes, and the light hit his brain causing his head to swim for a moment. He closed his eyes. He realized that he was being carried, and his hands were tied behind his back. He had a hard time focusing his thoughts, trying to remember what had happened. He turned his head, and a sharp pain shot across his skull. He was having a hard time making coherent thoughts, and his head hurt. He realized that he must have been struck.

He tried to remember everything that Sir had taught him. Focus his thoughts, and manage the pain he felt in his head. He needed to remember what had happened. He remembered arriving at the orchard, and seeing the fruit. He had run ahead like an idiot. When he came around the corner, and practically ran right into a purple woman? That didn't feel right, he was pretty sure it was a woman, and the color purple was involved some how, but that part was a little hazy. He remember pointing his rifle at the purple woman, but remembered her being as surprised to see him as he was to see her. He just didn't have it in him to kill her in cold blood. Everything after that was even fuzzier, and he couldn't make out anything coherent.

Henry heard voices coming through the earpiece on his glasses. They were askew on his face but the earpiece had kept them from falling.

"Put him down over there, I don't know how you expect me to question him after slamming the but of your riffle against the back of his head," said a female voice. It was a harsh voice, it was like listening to glass being ground together, and it sent a shiver up his spine.

"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry ma'am. I was only concerned for your safety ma'am," The voice of the person carrying him said. The voice was male, and obviously not only very apologetic, but seemed genuinely scared. Henry could not blame him, her voice sounded scary. He tried to push the pain from his head, and focus his thoughts. He wanted to be ready for what ever was about to happen.

"Should we put him in the chair, Ma'am?" A second voice asked. They were probably the people carrying him.

"Yes, then leave us," The woman said.

"Are you sure you want to be left alone with him, ma'am?" the second male voice asked. Henry winced inwardly for the man, he obviously was only concerned for her safety, but he did not think the female voice was the type of person who would appreciate having her orders questioned.

"Are you questioning my orders staff Sergeant?" the voice asked.

"Of course not ma'am," the staff sergeant said; the nervousness clearly evident in his voice. They set Henry down gently in a chair.

"Staff Sergeant, you will go from this room directly to your Lieutenant, you are to be put on a diet of supplements, and water until further notice is that clear?" she said.

"Yes ma'am thank you ma'am," the staff sergeant said.

"I will be following up with your Lieutenant this afternoon, if you have not spoken with him, then you can be sure the next punishment will not be as lenient," she said. Henry resisted the urge to shudder, because he did not want this woman to know he was awake yet.

"Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am. It will not happen again," the staff sergeant said. Henry heard the door close.

"You are quite a mess aren't you," a female voice said more to herself then really to Henry. Henry could clearly hear the concern for his health in the voice of the speaker. Henry had not heard another person enter the room, so assuming that the room had been empty when they had entered, it was the same woman, but the voice he heard now was so different from the one he had heard earlier that he almost began to doubt himself. The voice was warm, clear and pleasant.

"You are leaking some type of fluid all over your shirt, that just won't do," the voice said slightly sarcastically. Henry thought about opening his eyes, but the voice seemed so different when she was alone, that he hoped he could learn more about her before revealing that he was awake.

Henry felt the bonds that were holding him let go. Then he felt hands unbutton the shirt he was wearing, and remove it. He felt what he assumed were her hands gently exploring his chest, arms, and shoulders. Her hands were warm, and soft; it was like running a piece of warm silk over his skin. Her hands hesitated a moment on the bruises covering his chest, and Henry had to fight the urge to wince when she pushed on one of the newer bruises. Her hands hesitated more than a moment when they caressed his arms, and shoulders. His muscles were sore from having his arms bound. Her hands found the wound on his head. She examined it gently, but thoroughly. She made a tisking sound.

"I am sorry they struck you, it was not my intention to repay your kindness with hurt," the female voice said.

He felt something warm touch the back of his head, it hurt immensely for a brief second, then he began to feel the pain receding leaving his mind, and thoughts clear, and refreshed. The cloth on the back of his head was wet, and warm feeling; almost like warm honey, but it did not feel sticky. After a few moments he began to feel the effects spreading to the rest of his body from the spot on the back of his head. The fatigue he felt washed away. As well as the residual muscle fatigue, and soreness from the past months of physical abuse he hadn't even realized he carried. He felt better than he had in years. He felt the hands touching his skin, examining the places where the bruises had marked his body. He decided to open his eyes.

"You feel better?" the woman asked when she noticed his eyes were open.

The owner of the voice came into his field of vision, and he recognized her as the person he had seen in the orchard. He understood the kindness she must be referring to was his choosing not to kill her. He saw her clearly for the first time. She was short, maybe only five feet tall, she had a tube like neck that expanded out to her head. There was very little indentation where the neck of a human would have been increasing the impression of a domed tube. One of the first things Henry noticed was that he could see through her skin, and tissues to the skeletal structure beneath. He could see the delineation of different muscle groups, and vessels within the tissues of her face. Especially because they all seemed backlit by a violet colored light being given off by the skeletal structure at the heart of her.

The only things that were not transparent were the eyes, and the bones. The eyes were catlike. They were the same purple color emitted by the skeleton with a vertical black pupil. The eyes emitted the same light as the skeleton. As for the skeleton, there was a round skull buried deep within the flesh. Her head seemed close in size to that of a human of her height, but the bones within were smaller with a thicker layer of flesh over the top of them. The skull was set atop a group of semi circular vertebrae that made up a neck heading down into the shirt.

Her face was laid out similar to his with the eyes set where his were, between them where Henry's nose protruded from his face were two thin oval shaped openings, the openings were about an inch long each, set at an angle towards each other. The mouth was near where his was, but there was a curved opening about two to three inches across set flush with her face unless she was talking.

She wore a long jacket that came down to her ankles. The material was similar in color, and pattern to the cobalt stone vase his mother owned. It was a deep blue with black flecks woven into the fabric creating an over all stone look. The collar was similar to a Nehru jacket, but the length was obviously much longer. He realized pleasantly the time with his sister, and Amica shopping for clothes had elevated his sense of style some. The jacket was open, lined in a scarlet silk. She wore black trousers tucked into polished black leather looking knee high boots with a small heel. She wore a scarlet vest over a white long sleeve dress shirt with a banded collar, with two pins that looked like scarlet roses about the size of his thumbnail where on either side of the center of the collar about an inch from where it was fastened at the neck. An inch of the cuffs of her dress shirt were just visible at the sleeve, they were fastened with cuff links adorned with a single scarlet rose. Her hands were similar looking to his with four fingers, and a thumb. They were longer than Henry's hands even though she was a good eight inches shorter. The bones within her hand were as visible as the bones in her face. They were thinner than Henry would expect to find in such long fingers. The shoulders of her coat were decorated with black epaulettes with a scarlet rose the color of her vest, and four silver bars, two on either side of the rose.

She was by far one of the most interesting species he had met so far. She was very alien, and yet oddly beautiful in the way the light reflected, and bounced off the different types of tissues in her face. It was hard to believe these creatures had done the horrible things he had heard from Marito, and Moglie to the Scultarians. Certainly the uniforms were very intimidating, but the creatures themselves looked so harmless.

"Do you understand me?" she asked when Henry did not answer. He had been so amazed by her appearance that he had not answered. He felt embarrassed.

"I do, I'm sorry. I have never met anyone like you before I was a bit distracted. I apologize for being rude, my name is Henry," he said.

"I am Mariele, are you feeling better?" she said.

"Yes, thank you. What did you do to me?" Henry asked.

"I used a substance called royal jelly; on my planet members of the royal family use it for various purposes. My mother would be more than enraged at the idea that an outsider was exposed to the jelly. I hope you will use discretion in this matter. I do not think that she would have me executed, she needs an heir, and I am the last of her children. Oh, I have no doubt that given time she could replace me if she wanted, but by then she probably would have calmed down. Still it is better not to tempt her anger, " Mariele said.

"Who is your mother?" Henry asked.

"She is Rache bearer of the Rose Crown, Queen of the Angriff," Mariele said casually.

"Then why did you do it, risk your safety to heal me, I mean?" Henry asked.

"You found me defenseless, unarmed, and yet you spared my life. You interest me Henry. You are not a Scultarian; your skin is much to soft, yet you have much muscle on your body. A person from my world could not have taken a blow like that to the head with out dying, and yet you lived, even with out the aid of the royal jelly you would have lived," Mariele said.

"I appreciate you risking your mother's anger, but if I would have lived with out it then why did?" Henry his voice trailed off, as Mariele's pupils narrowed giving a dangerous look to her features.

"I repay my debts Henry, you spared my health, and I returned yours to you," Mariele explained. "Besides I wanted you awake so I could talk with you, as I said you interest me. For example you were covered in spots, and colors before, and now they are gone. Where did they go?" Mariel asked. Henry looked down at his chest, and found that she was right. The bruises that had become an almost permanent part of his body were gone. He tried to think about how to explain not just a bruise, but also their origin.

"Those were what we call bruises on my planet, a by-product of someone causing physical damage to the skin of my body," Henry said.

"Who did that to your body Henry?" Mariele asked with interest in her voice. Henry was not sure how to answer this question, how to explain the concept of school bullies. He tried to boil it down into the simplest of terms.

"Boys who were stronger than me, did this," Henry said.

"Why?" she asked. Henry was getting tired of her questions.

"Because they disliked me," he said shortly.

"Why did they dislike you? Did you do something wrong? Are you a criminal?" she asked confused

"No, of course I'm not a criminal, why would you think that?" Henry asked becoming upset and embarrassed.

"It is simple you were bad and were punished, and of course they did not like you because you had done wrong. Maybe I should not have healed you." She said giving him a considering look. Henry felt shame burn his face. For many months he had thought that maybe he had deserved the bullying because he was weird or different, had thought it to himself on more than one occasion, but hearing it out of the mouth of a total stranger made him angry.

"I did nothing wrong, they did it because they could, because I was too weak to stop them," he said raising his voice. He felt absurd and angry trying to explain this situation to a stranger

"I understand," she said. "That is why you grew these muscles," she said touching the muscles in his chest, and arms. There was an appreciative quality to the tone of her voice, and the way she moved around his body touching him. There was something unnerving about her touch. "Now you can attack them, and make them sorry for hurting you," she said knowingly. "Such a shame," she said. Henry looked over to the arm she was touching, and saw she was right. Henry had not paid much attention to his body. During training he had noticed his ability to perform the exercises had improved dramatically. He had not noticed that his body had shifted significantly as well. His arms were not huge but they were finely defined. The same for the muscles of his chest, and abdomen, he had never been over weight, but what had been shapeless before was now clearly defined muscle groups.

"Your vengeance would have been magnificent," she said sadly. Henry's head was spinning from that last statement, there were so many things to process. The thing that jumped out at him first was the fact she was discussing his future in the past tense. That could not be good. "Maybe, if you are well behaved I will reward you by allowing you to return to your home world, and taking your revenge," she said sweetly. She took a seat in a chair across from Henry facing him.

"What do you mean, if I behave?" Henry asked nervously. He was beginning to feel frightened again; he remembered the fear in the voice of the guard. There was much to this woman he had clearly not seen.

"You belong to me now. You will be my personal keeper," she said.

"How do you know that I am a keeper?" Henry asked.

"I found the keeper union card in that piece of folded material in your pants," she said. "You look sad, is it because you will not take your vengeance on the boys who hurt you?" she asked. This was at least the third time she had mentioned the idea of vengeance.

"You've mentioned vengeance a lot, is that important to your people?" Henry asked.

"It is our purpose, the thing that gives our existence meaning," Mariele said in a matter of fact voice.

"Against who?" Henry asked.

"The universe," she said matter-of-factly. Her answer chilled Henry to his bones.
Chapter 18

Mariele

"The whole universe. I don't understand how you can hate the whole universe. Where you always this way?" Henry asked.

"No, once our planet was a place of honor and peace. We had had a class system, broken down into three classes of people, workers, aristocrats and the queen. When the queen became ill; the aristocracy would choose a successor from their ranks. Someone that had the qualities best needed to deal with the situations at hand; they would feed the successor royal jelly causing their body to become stronger, and life span to be lengthened so they could serve their people. It was this way for millennia," she said.

"How did you become this way?" Henry asked.

"Outsiders came from off world. They wanted to turn our people into slaves, but we were weak and not physically strong enough to perform the type of labor they needed. They lost interest and left, but not before killing many, including much of the aristocracy, and the queen."

"When it was time to rebuild, my people where angry. They looked for a queen who was strong, and would become stronger, making us strong enough to take our revenge on those who had hurt us. They chose my mother. She became more than we had ever hoped for, she has used the royal jelly extending her life, making her strong. She created an army, and negotiated with the outside world to get technology to smite our enemies, and then in a bold move she took this planet, stripping it of its resources advancing our technology again. Soon we will be strong enough to take our revenge on more of the outsiders who have hurt us, and tried to cheat us at every turn." Mariele said.

Henry now understood why Mariele had assumed Henry had developed his muscles to take revenge. It was what they had done as an entire race. They chose a queen who had unnaturally prolonger her life, and ignored their traditions of peace, all in a quest for vengeance.

"I understand how you must have felt," he said. He did. He had laid awake at night and thought about the places throughout the universe that he would like to leave Paul, but that was different wasn't it? "What about the Scultarians, what did they do to you that deserved your vengeance?" Henry asked.

"They were outsiders and weak. They had materials we wanted so we took them," Mariele said. Henry realized he was now one of those things she wanted and was going to take if he was not careful.

"What about me? How do I fit into this scenario?" Henry asked

"As an outsider your only option is death, but you interest me. I owe you my life, and in return I will spare yours," she said.

"Does that mean I am free to go?" Henry asked suddenly hopeful.

"I am sorry, but that is a request that is outside my power to give. I found your union card, and I will make you my keeper and personal servant," she said.

"You want to make me your slave," Henry said outraged.

"It is a very prestigious position in my household, you would have much respect," she said.

"What if I don't want to be your slave?" Henry asked, already knowing the answer.

"You are an outsider, with out the protection being my servant" she stressed the word servant, "gives you, the only other option for you is death," she said. She looked deep into his eyes.

"Henry I would hate to kill you, but if you ask it, I will grant you a quick death by my own hand," she said. She looked sad but serious; Henry realized she thought she was offering to do him a favor. "My mother will not be so kind. She will torture you for the pleasure of listening to your screams. Then force you to open the gates until your body is wasted, and destroyed" Mariele said seriously. She looked up at him, and Henry could see concern for his well being in her strange eyes, even with out his natural ability to read people. He could see that she cared for him in her own way, but he was still angry she wanted to make him a slave.

"Why do you care," Henry asked.

"I owe you a debt. You found me defenseless, and you spared me. Even now, you could crush my skull, killing my silently allowing you to try to make your way to the gates, and safety; but you have not. No one has ever been kind to me; not even my mother. I was raised to hate all outsiders on sight, too use them as tools when I must, but never to trust them. I was taught from birth to command my troops on a battlefield, to be firm, and strict with the soldiers under my command. I like the idea of someone taking care of me," she said.

"Can I think about it?" Henry asked grasping at straws. He did not see another option. He was worried about Amica as well. These did not seem the type of people to leave things unfinished. He thought the Angriff were leaving this planet. If they believed so highly in revenge why would they just leave?

Henry stood, Mariele's eyes narrowed. Henry had to play this possession idea very carefully.

"May I stand?" Henry asked.

"Yes, it is good of you to ask, it is not often allowed for people to be positioned higher than their queen, as I am not yet queen, and you are so incredibly..." she paused looking him up, and down smiling again, "tall, exceptions can be made," she finished. Henry walked over to a window. He was on the third floor. He could see into the courtyard below. There were several gates. They were opening, and closing. As Henry watched a group of men come through a gateway, then took a place at the back of a long column of soldiers dressed in black coats standing two across heading through another gate. The sheer number of soldiers down there was daunting.

"I would say your people are leaving; are you done with this planet?" Henry said.

"We are. They will be gone by the time the sun has set here," she said. Looking out the window Henry was not sure how much time that gave him, but the timetable was considerably short.

"So soon. When will you pass through the gate?" Henry asked.

"I was sent her to expedite the process, I will be the last one to pass through the gate, it is a great honor," she said.

"What will prevent these Scultarians from taking their revenge on your people for what you have done?" Henry knew this was a dangerous question, but he needed to know the lay of the land.

Mariele rose from her chair. She crossed to the window where he stood. She stood next to, and slightly behind him. She ran her hand across his back. It was an unnerving touch.

"Ah you have a keen mind for vengeance, as well as good looks. We have taken measures to assure our safety, it will be many years before they begin to think about taking their vengeance, and by then it will be to late," Mariele said looking out the window.

"You are taking their keepers leaving them unable to open the gates," Henry said.

"Yes, we are," she said. He hoped it was not already to late.

Mariele was running her hand up, and down his spine. No one had ever touched Henry in this way before, he thought of the way his father held a new tool that they had gotten him for father's day. Or the way the gear heads looked at Amica's car

"I knew your body was powerful," she said her left hand sliding across his abs slowly feeling each ridge of his developing muscles. His mind swirled. "But your mind is also clever, and you are a Gate Keeper. I was right about you, Henry," she said. He knew he was in danger, but her touch was making his thoughts muddled.

"What were you right about," Henry asked in a high voice.

"You are going to make a powerful servant. I know you are an outsider, but mother will just have to learn to accept that, as I have done," she said. Her words cut through everything, and helped him focus his mind. He needed to move away from her so he could think. He took her hands in his, being gentle not to hurt her; he did not want her angry. Henry pulled away from her arms; it took little effort to break her hold on him. He desperately needed to regain his mental focus. He felt out of his depth. Mariel turned to face him, leaning her body against the window ledge. She was an impressive figure, alienness aside she was attractive when you got past the differences, in a dark beauty kind of way. Henry tried to change the subject.

"If the heir is chosen by the aristocracy, how did the queen's daughter become heir" Henry asked.

"You are very clever," she said smiling up at him, "my mother decided that her line was too important to be replaced if something happened to her, and began feeding me royal jelly when I was little, because of it I am stronger than all on my planet save my mother, that is part of your appeal Henry. Even as strong as I am you could easily break even me, you will be a powerful tool indeed," Mariel said proudly. Thinking his possession a forgone conclusion. "The things we will accomplish together will be impressive indeed," she said.

He could not believe that she was talking about him like he was an object. This was so much worse than anything that Paul had ever done to him. He had mocked him and stalked him, but at least he had treated him like a person, mostly, but this was different. He was furious.

"What makes you think you can control me, what if I disobey you?" Henry asked seriously. She had obviously given this idea some thought as well, because she did not hesitate to answer.

"It is simple," she said her pupils narrowing again into slits. "I will kill you while you sleep". He placed his hands at her hips closing his hands tightly lifting her so they were eye to eye. Henry had a plan forming in the back of his head. There could be benefits to being the right hand man to the woman in charge, at least for a while.

"What if I decide to kill you first," he asked. She smiled pleased.

"All great things in life have risks," she said. "Does this mean you accept?" she asked?

"It does," he said putting her down. She took his hands in hers.

"Kneel," she said. Henry knelt and she placed her hands on his head. "Repeat after me here do I affirm my oath of fealty and service to the crown. I do hereby swear by mouth and hand to be a good and worthy servant." Henry repeated the oath as she had given it.

There was a loud disturbance in the courtyard below, she broke eye contact with him, and walked over to the window looking down into the courtyard. He walked over to the window. He looked over her shoulder into the courtyard. A stack of supplied had collapsed causing the commotion. It was time to put his plan into motion.

"I am concerned for your safety," Henry said. "When will you take these other keepers to your world?" Henry asked.

"When they have finished being useful moving my troops, why?" she asked.

"If you leave them for last; then you can use them as shields against any possible resistance. Just because they have no weapons does not mean these Scultarians can't cause you harm. You are my life line now, I will not let anything happen to you" Henry said.

"You are very clever. I had considered this problem, but not this solution. I will move them last with the exception of myself, it is my duty to make sure my people are through safely," she said.

"As your personal keeper I will open the gate, I will not let some second rate keeper move you," Henry said. If his plan were to work he would need control of the gates.

"Are you a powerful enough keeper? It is a difficult opening. I would not want my new keeper damaged," she said.

"It would be worth it for your safety, but I am capable of performing the opening, and I would consider it an honor," Henry said laying it on thick. There was disarray in the courtyard below.

"I will make the arrangements, I must return to my duties. Please stay here it will take time to bring you up to speed on all of your duties?" she said.

"I would love clean clothes, do you have the pack that was on my back," Henry asked hopeful not to have to put his blood soaked shirt back on.

"I will send someone to fetch it, and bring it to you," she said

"Thank you mistress," Henry said, the word sounding strange in his mouth, but it had the desired effect, because she smiled at him.

She walked to a mirror by the door, adjusted her uniform, turned to look once more at Henry smiling a predatory smile, and then she was gone.

When she left Henry stood at the window looking down into the courtyard. A few minutes later in the reflection of the window he could see the door behind him open, and a person carrying his pack enter the room. He turned around. He was shocked to find Amica standing there in the tattered uniform that he had seen on all of the Scultarians. She was holding his pack.

"Amica, what are you doing here?" Henry asked; shocked to see her afraid she had been captured, and yet happy to see her at the same time. She looked at him, dropped the pack on the floor, and ran over to him hugging him.

"I'm was in disguise looking for you when the Queen's daughter found me in the room where they stashed your pack, she tasked me with delivering it to her head servant in this room," Amica said. She looked just as shocked to be seeing Henry, she began to look around the room realizing that she was blowing her cover. She motioned for Henry to be quiet, and took a couple of steps back picking the pack back up.

"What are you doing here, I was so scared" she whispered. "This servant will probably be back any second, when he gets here I will just tell him I was sent by the queen's daughter to fetch you," she said.

"The queen's daughter," Henry said doubtful, "don't you think if you are going to make a convincing messenger you should at least know her title," he smiled.

"You're right," she said. She noticed he was smiling at her. "It's not funny, what if he comes back, and I don't know her name, this plan will never work," Amica said.

"Her name is Mariel, first daughter of Rache bearer of the Rose Crown, Daughter Heir of the Angriff, and her head servant should not be a problem for us," Henry said. He was not sure how this would go.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Because I'm him. You are looking at the new head of servants," Henry said.

"Would you like to explain yourself," Amica said.

"Soon, but first how did you get here?" Henry asked.

"I used the plan we had to sneak in here, you know before you were captured, but instead of hunting for my father I spent the entire time looking for you, only to find that you have joined the other side," she was practically yelling. Henry clapped a hand over her mouth to quiet her voice. Henry suddenly became very aware of where they were. He rushed to the window, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Mariele in the courtyard below. Many Scultarians were being herded into a corner of the courtyard as the flow of troops through the gates began to slow. They must be the keepers housed in different parts of the planet. The way the troop movement was slowing, combined with the growing number of keepers in the square below meant there was not much time.

"We don't have much time, and I can't let Mariele find you here, it will ruin the whole plan, do you have any idea where your father might be?" Henry asked.

"Plan what plan?" Amica said in a softer, but still irritated voice. He gave her a firm look, and she sighed in exasperation.

"Alright, I found, him but he is in the courtyard below surrounded by a thousand troops," she said angrily, and disappointed.

"That's perfect, turn off the lights," Henry said.

"What? Why?" Amica asked staring at him goggle eyed.

"I need you to point him out to me, but I don't want to risk my new boss seeing you in the window," Henry said. He knew Amica had thought he'd lost his mind, but he needed to start putting the pieces of his plan together, and didn't really have time to walk her through all of the nuances, especially since he wasn't entirely sure himself. She walked over to the window, and looked out.

"He is there, near your," she paused with distaste "boss," she said. "How did that happen again?" she asked.

"Okay I see him. She liked me," Henry said quietly. She went over, and sat down on a chair, Henry thought about turning the light back on, but found it easier to talk about what he had done with out having to look Amica in the face. He stood at the window looking down at the woman who's trust he was breaking in order to fulfill a promise to another. He could see his reflection in the glass. He looked himself in the eye, and began to tell Amica what had happened.

"I came around the corner, and found her there in the orchard. I pulled my gun meaning to shoot her before she could see me and raise the alarm, but the gun was set to kill, and I couldn't do it. She was just standing there picking some fruit. As I watched her she took a bite out of the fruit, and smiled as the juices ran down her face. She wiped her face with her sleeve, no idea I was standing there thinking about killing her. I know what Marito said they had done to your people, and if I had walked up, and she was doing something like that then it would have been different, but....".

"You couldn't kill her because she was not hurting you, or anyone else she was just defenseless," Amica said. "I understand Henry, even after you were taken, I couldn't bring myself to kill the two guards they left behind, I stunned them, and tied them up. I questioned them, and took their weapons, but in the end I couldn't bring myself to kill them," Amica said.

"Where are they now?" Henry asked suddenly scared. Mariele was supposed to be the last person through the gate. If there were soldiers missing it could ruin the whole thing.

"I told them that if they spoke of what they had seen I would find them, and snap their neck," Amica said giggling a little.

"And they believed you?" Henry said giggling a little too it felt good to laugh.

"Presumably," she said. "You still haven't told me how you ended up employed, if it makes you feel better, from what I heard from her soldiers she is exceptionally tough, but fair," Amica said. It did not help in fact it made him feel worse.

"She liked me because I was kind to her, and decided she wanted me to be her servant. I told her I would do it so I could position myself to open the gate when it was time for her and the keepers to leave," Henry said.

"So you are using her to help my father without her knowing it?" Amica asked. Henry could not see her face as she realized what he was doing, and he was glad. He felt low about himself, but then got angry remembering how she had forced him to be her slave. She had never even asked what he was doing on Scultura just assumed that he belonged to her.

"Yes, but it is her own fault. She Said I could be her slave or die. Really what kind of choice is that" Henry said defending himself.

"Oh Henry," Amica said. Henry could hear the sadness in her voice, and he felt worse. Then he felt her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I got us both into this mess," Amica said. Henry looked down into the courtyard, saw that it was mostly empty of troops, and Mariele was shouting at the handful of soldiers who were left. She had positioned the keepers in a semi circle around the gate forming a wall. Between the keepers, and the gate were a group of soldiers passing through the gate. From what Henry could see it was very dark on Mariele's world, which would work out perfectly. The gate was closing. "I need you to find the rest of the keepers, and position yourself in the semi circle below. Find a place near your father, go now before it's too late," Henry said.

"You really do have a plan don't you," Amica said kissing him on the check lightly. "For luck," she said.

Henry closed the door, went to his pack to find a shirt. Sir had packed an interesting assortment of items for them, but when they had inventoried the contents of the pack earlier they had been looking at food, and supplies ignoring the clothes that Sir had packed. As he looked at the clothes he realized that Sir may not have seen all of Henry's future, but he certainly had seen a lot. Henry found a nice pair of black slacks, and a dress shirt in his size. The shirt was black as well. Henry also found a pair of black dress shoes, below the slacks. Tucked into one shoe was a pair of black socks, and in the other shoe he found a scarlet tie. Henry was not one hundred percent sure, but he thought the tie was the same color as Mariele's vest. Henry was not happy. Sir had set him up again, well not really, Sir had said that the future wasn't like that, that he could see how one decision would lead to another, and so on, but the feeling that he had been manipulated still left a bad taste in his mouth.

Henry carefully repacked his bag leaving the clothes on the table. When the bag was packed, it mysteries safely hidden within, he got dressed. He was standing in front of the mirror adjusting his tie, and smoothing his hair into place when Mariele walked through the door. She stopped dead in her tracks, the door still open behind her. It was show time, Henry thought.

"Is it to much?" he asked, "because if it is inappropriate then I can take the tie off, but I thought this way we would match." Henry said. She was still silent as she turned, and closed the door. Henry though he had over played his hand. She walked over to a closet, slid the door open, and retrieved a packed valise resting on the floor. She carried it to the same table Henry had unpacked his things on, and began digging through the bag. She was short, and the table had clearly been designed for someone taller so her head was all but in the bag as she looked for something.

She came up with a small rectangular box. She walked over to him handing him the box. "There was not time and I was not sure about you before now," she said. The box was made of some dark polished wood, it was maybe two inches wide by three inches long, and an inch or so deep. It was hinged on one side. Mariele reached over, and opened the box. In the box were four finely crafted scarlet roses. They were made of a metal unknown to him. They were small, but finely detailed; they looked almost like real roses. He recognized part of the set as finely made cuff links. "I would like you to have these, " Mariele said smiling at him. She had that look in her eye again as if someone appreciating a fine auto mobile. She took the cuff links out of the box fastening them to his sleeves. She took the other pair, a set of pins similar to the ones on her own collar out of the box. She began fastening them to his collar, on either side of his tie.

"The rose has long been a respected symbol through out the universe. It has been a symbol of royalty, and many other things, this was why my mother chose a scarlet rose as the symbol of her house. You are now a member of our house, and that tradition; wear them with pride," Mariele said. He thought of the roses that adorned the gates in the terminal, and on the garden at Roberts house, he realized that roses had played a very large part in his life lately. He wondered if it was all part of some greater plan unfolding that he was as yet unaware or just some wild coincidence. "You look very handsome," she said.

"Thank you, Mistress," he said. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit, he looked good.

"It is time to go, when we get to Angriff things may get ugly with my mother, just let me do the talking. Soon she will see that you are a formidable tool Henry,"

She walked over to the table, and picked up her valise. Henry tucked the wooden box into his pack and carried it to the door. When Henry opened the door he found two soldiers standing there, one of them held the rifle he had gotten from Justin, and Harold. Mariele handed her bag to one of the soldiers, and took the weapon from the other.

"Henry, he will carry your bag," Mariele said indicating the soldier. "You will need this if you are going to protect me," she said as she handed Henry the weapon. "I thought you would appreciate having your own back," she said smiling.

She led Henry through hallways, and down stairs until they were in the courtyard. There were many more people standing in the courtyard since he had looked out the window. It was a very large square ringed with gates, they were not ornately carved like the Milky Way terminal, but simple with the outline of the gate inlayed in flagstone walls with a simple brass handle. Henry saw only two golden gates, the rest were designed for transportation across the surface of the planet.

One of the golden gates was ringed with thirty to forty keepers. At first he thought this was a lot then realized this was all of the keepers left on this planet and he felt very angry so many lives lost. He could see Amica, and a man who looked a lot like her. Henry assumed this was her father, he could feel her eyes on him as he walked in. He wondered what she thought of his clothes. This was the moment it could all go wrong, the timing had to be just right.

Mariele looked around the square there were more Scultarians here than her soldiers, but her troops were armed, and most of the keepers looked on the edge of sickness, it was no surprise that there were so few in the square judging by the level of sickness he saw in the remaining keepers.

"Henry move the keepers first, then the guards, then me," she said.

"I need the coordinates," Henry said walking over to the gate, and placing his hands on the cool stone near the center. Mariele walked over to him.

"You are not going to use the computer?" Mariel asked surprised.

"No," Henry said. He began to power up the gate.

"You are powerful enough to open a golden gate bare-handed?" Mariele asked looking at him with something near shock in her eyes. She was looking at him as if she had never seen him before.

"Yes I am," Henry said, "I need the destination coordinates," he said. She read the coordinates off to him. Henry closed his eyes, and focused on entering the destination coordinates he wanted onto the face of the orb. With the royal jelly having recharged his body not more than a couple of hours ago, he was able to bring the gate to full power quickly, he pressed the orb sending the beam out into the darkness finding the gate on the other side. It took him a just moment to adjust the beam properly, and both gates began the process of creating the bridge across the universe that would allow them to open. Henry said a silent prayer to the universe that his plan would work. He charged both gates to the very limit of their capacity. He took a deep breath. Henry opened his eyes, everyone in the square save Amica stared opened mouth at him as the gate in front of him blazed with the light of a small sun. Henry saw what he hoped for. Mariele, and the other nocturnal Angriff shielded their eyes from the light, and Henry pulled the gate towards him.

Henry looked through the gates, and saw what he was hoping for. Harold, Justin, and two Scultarians he assumed were Sostenitore, and Fratello stood there armed. Harold, and Justin came through the gate first, then Sostenitore, and Fratello.

"Stun them only, I want them as bargaining chips, the woman is to be left untouched." Henry said commandingly to Harold, and Justin. Harold, and Justin looked at him nodded their understanding, they split up, one going left, the other going right, each man took one Scultarian with him yelling instructions to him as they went. There were twenty soldiers, and the light of the gate opening still temporarily blinded most of them. Harold, and Justin took down many before they even realized they were under attack. Henry began firing at the soldiers as well. He saw Mariele; she was coming towards him, a wicked looking blade in her hands. She must have pulled it from where ever she had hidden it on her body. Her eyes were narrowed to thin slits, and Henry could see that there was murder in her eyes.

"Stop right where you are Mariele," Henry said pointing the weapon at her, He seriously thought about switching to kill, but resisted. She continued to advance on him. He fired his weapon into the ground near her feet glad that he had missed her as he had intended. She dropped her weapon.

"You are as cunning as mother," she said frowning at him.

"I will not be bullied, not by you or anyone else. Not anymore," Henry said. She looked away from him. Henry walked over to the gate, and pushed it closed releasing the opening. He turned, and found that several of the Scultarians had picked up weapons, and were heading towards the Angriff soldiers, and Mariele. He understood how they felt he wanted to shoot Mariel where she stood, and he had not suffered anywhere near the abuse they had. It would be so easy to just let them finish this. This was what had happened to the Angriff they had made decisions out of anger and the universe had paid for it. He could not let the Scultarians do the same thing. This moment would decide their future.

"Stop," Henry yelled in a commanding voice standing between the Scultarians, and Mariele.

"Move out of the way, I want to send a message to her queen," Marito said approaching her with a weapon.

"I will not move," Henry said.

"Then I will kill you as well," Marito said. "She must pay for the crimes committed by her family, pay for the lives I saw destroyed in the mines,"  
Marito said.

"Your wife owes her life to me, Marito. She would have died had I not brought her to receive medical attention," Henry said.

"I do not want to hurt you Henry. Please move," Marito pleaded with him.

"This woman is under my protection, will you kill the man who saved your wife, to kill this woman. She is the daughter of the queen, do you think her mother will let her death go unpunished. She will raise this planet to the ground, and salt the earth. I will send her, and her people home, and in exchange for her safety she will convince her mother that this planet is not worth the effort," Henry said. While he was speaking Harold, and Justin had taken a position behind him, but in front of Mariele. He turned, and looked at her. "Tell them, Tell them that this could be finished," Henry said to Mariele. He held his breath hoping that she would see the wisdom of his words.

"I will not return to this place, but Henry is right. My mother knows nothing, but vengeance, it is the air she breathes, and the food that sustains her. Her wrath is something even I fear," Mariele said looking at Henry sadly. Henry let out a breath he had not even realized he was holding, turning back to where Marito stood still pointing a gun at Mariele. He walked to Marito.

"It can be over, you can rebuild your planet. Just put the gun down, please, think about what Moglie would want," Henry said. The man lowered his riffle. Henry walked to the gate, and placed his hands on the surface again. The stone beneath was still warm from the last opening. He turned to Harold, and Justin. "Do what ever you must to make sure no one comes through this gate, even if you have to kill me to close it" he said. They nodded their understanding. Henry saw that the troops who had been stunned were awake, but not really alert. Their hands had been bound, and they stood in a group near the gate. "Prepare the troops to be moved," Henry said loud enough that the men guarding them could hear him. Henry focused his thoughts, and powered up the gate. "Mariele I need the destination coordinates. Where you would like to be deposited, I would chose someplace that would cause the least commotion," Henry said. She thought for a moment, and then gave him the coordinates. He went through the opening as quickly as he knew how.

The troops moved through the gate at the urging of their guards, then it was just Henry, and Mariele in front of the gate.

"I knew I chose a powerful head of house hold," Mariele said proudly. "We will meet again," she smiled as she said it. Then she walked through the gate her head held high. As he closed the gate behind her, he knew she was probably right.
Chapter 19

Bullies

I

Amica stood with her father, his arms wrapped around her as Henry sent the queen's daughter. She was the last of the Angriff on her planet, and it signaled the end of their occupation. She watched Henry as he released the gate; he stood there for a long moment his head just resting on the gate.

"I am very glad he was on our side. How did you both get here?" her father asked turning her around, giving her a tight hug. She had dreamed of this day for a long time. She just snuggled in his arms; she had never felt as safe as she did in her father's arms.

"I was so worried for you," Amica said, "Sir said that if they took you off world that you would be lost," she said.

"I should have know that man would be involved, I spent the last ten years on this planet cooperating with the Angriff because they threatened to kill you if I disobeyed, and he sends you right into their hands. I am going to have words with that man. Does you mother know you are here?" he asked.

"I left her a message," Amica said. She had a feeling she was going to be in trouble when she got home, but she didn't care; it was worth every moment of punishment to feel his arms around her now.

"I am very glad to see you though. The idea of you, and your mother has been what kept me going all of these years," Melchiorre said. "He is really something," her father said over her shoulder. She knew that he meant Henry; she turned to look at him. He was still standing at the gate his forehead resting on the stone at the center of the gateway.

"You have no idea," she said. She had never met a person like Henry, he was kind to everyone, and even those she didn't feel deserved it. She would not have risked her life for that woman. He had been very impressive. She took her father's hand pulling him towards Henry.

"Come on I want you to meet him," she said. They walked towards Henry, and he still had not moved very much, she began to worry that something had gone wrong with the last opening. She let go of her father's hand, and ran to him. She called his name, and pulled up short when he lifted his head. He turned to look at her, and she realized Henry had been crying. His eyes were red, and his face was blotchy, she could see his cheeks were wet. She thought she knew why he was crying, but it didn't matter to her. She folded him in her arms, whispering in his ear.

"Everything is going to be okay, Henry," she said.

"Her mother will likely kill her and all I can think is that she probably deserves it. She was going to make me a slave. I am tired of being weak, I want them all to pay," he said. She realized that he was no longer talking about the Angriff. She wrapped her arms around him holding her tightly to her chest.

"It's late, and it has been close to over a day since either of us had any sleep. Let's go home, everything will look better in the morning," Amica said. Her father stood back a foot or two he was smiling. Harold, and Justin walked over to where she stood with Henry.

"Henry it is natural to hate the people who hurt you, and your friends. Vengeance is easy, but a real man understands that forgiveness is hard. You had a chance to take your vengeance today, but didn't. That is the first step. You did well here today," Harold said. Justin nodded his agreement with Harold's words.

"I think I'm going to open the gate home so I can sleep in my own bed tonight," Henry said. Her father went to make preparations for their departure; she was torn between wanting to comfort Henry, and staying near her father. In the end she figured Henry would be busy with the gate, and stayed with her dad. He walked over to where Marito stood with a group of keepers, they did not look very healthy, and she remembered that there was medicine in her pack, which she had hidden in a bush out side the city.

"With the exception of where ever these two came through, this is the only operational off world gate left, I recommend placing guards on each gate after we are gone. I do not think the Angriff will return, but we cannot be to sure," her dad said.

"Marito do you remember where we left my pack," Amica asked.

"There is medicine in there, please give each person a capful from each bottle, I don't know how much is left so start with the worst. My father, and I will return tomorrow with medication, and supplies. We will also bring Moglie if she is up to travel, and if she isn't I will personally open the gate to take you to her," Amica said.

"Thank you Amica, and thank Henry as well, I am not sure I agree with all his decisions, but we would have lost so much with out you both," Marito said giving her a hug, and shaking her father's hand. Amica saw the light from the gate out of the corner of her eye; she turned to see that Henry was preparing to open the gate. She hoped he would be okay. He walked through the gate; Harold, and Justin following close behind him.

II

Roberts sat in the chair at her desk, Henry sat across from her; he had asked to come up to her office after Melchiorre, and Amica had gone to see Alessia. Roberts had met them at the Chicago terminal gateway when it opened. She had been very pleased to see them all return safely, even Harold, and Justin. Soon she would have to start the arduous process of moving the Scultarians home. She absently wondered how many would give up their life on earth, and return to help rebuild. She had been unable to reach Nathan to inform him of the recent events on his planet, although she had not tried particularly hard to do so either. But, she would deal with that problem when it finally arose.

She was also pretty sure from the look Melchiorre had given her when they hugged, that she was going to have a very unpleasant conversation with him regarding his daughter's involvement in his rescue. She was sure that in time he would come to see that Amica being the woman she has grown into that she would have gone with, or with out her help, and she only participated to increase the odds of her survival. Henry looked very tired, and a little sad. Henry was dressed in a black shirt and pants and a scarlet tie, with rose pins near the points of his collar, she had to admit it was a very good look for him. The rose pins looked familiar, but it had been a long day, and she could not place them. She was however curious to their meaning, and she thought whatever reason had put him in this outfit was the reason he had asked to speak with her in her office.

"Henry where did you get the rose cuff links, and pins, they are very handsome," she asked trying to be casual. Henry looked down his finger sliding over the rose of one of the cuffs, and she saw that same sad look she had seen earlier cross his face.

"They were a gift from Mariele, she gave them to me shortly before I betrayed her," he said. There was more to this story; she thought that if she could place where she had seen the pins before she would understand what was happening.

"What do my parents know about where I have been?" Henry asked.

"I told them what you asked me, that you went to help a friend in trouble. Your mother asked if the friend in trouble was Amica, and when I told her yes, she didn't seem surprised that you would drop everything to help her. She implied that you had a bad habit of letting your desire to help a friend in need over rule your common sense, I agreed with her," she said.

"They weren't mad at me for running off, and risking my life?" Henry asked surprised.

"Your mother never asked how much danger you were actually in, and I did not volunteer that information. I thought that when you returned it would be your decision to tell them. I know that you are young, but part of growing up is deciding what information to keep to yourself, and what is important to share. If you tell them about what you did, will they worry needlessly about you every time you walk out the door? There are risks to every job, your mother's health is potentially in danger every time she encounters a sick patient, but she plays down the fact because she has accepted those risks, and decided they are worth it to continue doing what she loves. You are no longer in danger, but that doesn't mean that as a keeper you will not be exposed to risks. You will need to decide if the risks are worth the experiences you will have as a keeper," she said. Henry was quiet while he thought about what she had said.

"I would like to continue to work as a keeper, although I could use a break from training. I am not happy with Sir at the moment," Henry said.

"I think that sounds like a good idea, you have obviously shown yourself to be capable of opening the gates at this point. I think your other abilities as a natural will take some time to develop, I can put you on the schedule for Monday," she said.

"What day is it now," Henry asked blushing, "I have kind of lost track of time to be honest," he said.

"It is Saturday evening, right around 8:30 she said checking her watch," she said. "You really have not been gone that long, although I would wager it did not feel that way, given that you have not slept," she said smiling, although being careful not to show too many teeth. Henry had a long day and she didn't want to scare him.

"You know it doesn't scare me when you smile, you don't have to be as careful," Henry said. He really was becoming very perceptive. She smiled again this time just relaxing.

"I will remember that, would you like a ride home?" she asked rising from her chair.

"That would be nice," he said.

III

Henry stood at his locker feeling pretty good. He had spent most of Sunday catching up on sleep. He had thought about taking the day off of school, but his mother had made it clear, that if he was too tired for school, he was too tired to go to work. He felt pretty good, regardless. He had worn some of the new clothes that Amica, and his sister had gotten him for his birthday. They were just khakis, and short-sleeved red polo, but it was different from the black long sleeved tees he usually wore. He had chosen the red with a smile thinking of his time with Mariele, The pins, and cufflinks she had given him were tucked safely in his backpack; he was considering wearing them with his uniform. The gates he operated were covered in roses, and the symmetry of the idea appealed to him. He was not sure how Roberts would feel about, that maybe just the cuff links. He would have to speak with her.

He had talked to Amica Sunday evening; she and her folks were going to Scultura sometime this morning, they were bringing a shipment of food, and supplies. She was complaining about Nathan, he was trying to bring all of these weapons to defend the gates, which Henry thought wasn't entirely a bad idea, but Amica thought it was just the first step to creating a military program, which her people had evolved beyond millennia ago.

"He has spent entirely too much of his upbringing with uncivilized humans if you ask me," she said. He agreed with her that creating a military force was a step backwards in their planetary evolution. "How long after we created an army, would Nathan be looking for a reason to use it," she argued. Henry thought about what Marito had said about his people accepting the rule of someone who had been absent for the occupation. Henry wondered if Nathan creating a military was the beginning of him trying to establish his place as king. It was hard for him to say after all he had never actually spoken to the man, he had seen him in the garden many times, but didn't really know anything about him the way Amica did. Besides, Henry disliked politics, and was glad to just agree with Amica and let her blow off steam. He reminded her that what ever happened on Scultura, Roberts would probably give her a job, and Henry would always find a place for Amica here on Earth.

He closed his locker door, and resisted the urge to step back when he found Britney their waiting for him. He took a second to find his focus, in the past he had always had a difficult time reading Britney, because there was just so much going on in his life, but after being through the experiences he had been through on Scultura, high school wasn't as intimidating any more, it wasn't like anyone was murdered in the hallway. After his experiences with Mariele, he was able to really see Britney for the predatory creature she was. Mariele was fierce, willing to dole out serious punishment when she thought it needed to be done, but she was fair; punishing only those that deserved punishment. He found it sad that Mariele was less objectionable than the girl that stood before him.

"Good morning Britney. What can I do for you this morning?" Henry asked politely. He was not really in the mood to deal with her craziness today, but she had all but admitted she was responsible for the football team slamming into him in the hallway. He decided to give her a minute.

"I was thinking more along the lines of what I could do for you," she said sweetly. Henry checked his watch, he still had time before his class, and wisely, or not was curious what she had to say.

"I'm listening," he said. She looked him up, and down appraisingly. She smiled her sweetest smile at him, but using his ability to see, it came across very predatory.

"I was thinking that I could make things a little easier on you in the hallways, I need help writing that project for English, and I was thinking that if you helped me, that maybe I could get the guys to lay off," she said. Henry wondered if she used her sweet smile, and charms to get everything she wanted.

"Are you listening to me," Britney said. Henry realized that he wasn't, that she had been talking, and he had not heard a thing she had said.

"No," Henry said. He turned to walk away, and she put her hand on his arm.

"No, you weren't listening or no you won't help me," she asked surprised.

"Both, I'm not interested in being a part of your life, just leave me alone," Henry said. He was just turning to walk away when Paul walked up. Henry groaned inwardly, he just wanted to go to class.

"Is he bothering you again?" Paul asked angrily.

"No, she's bothering me!" Henry said. Paul looked at him, a surprised look on his face. "I am not, nor will I ever be interested in working with her. One date with her was more than enough for me to see her for what she is, she is mean spirited, and manipulative. She is all yours," Henry said then walked past them, to go to class. He half expected Paul to throw a punch, or catch him in the hallway, but he was very quiet the rest of the day. Neither Paul, or Britney spoke with him during English, and the few times Britney was supposed to pass him back papers, she dropped them on the floor accidentally for him to pick up.

It was the end of the day, and Henry was leaving school to walk towards the Chicago entrance to the Milky Way Terminal. He was looking forward to earning money for college in the fall. He had applied to NYU for early admission, but had not yet heard back. If he got in he would have to talk to Ms. Roberts about getting a pass through the Grand Central Terminal gate, that way he could continue working. He stepped out of the front door of the high school, and did not bother trying to sneak out of the building. He did not feel like fighting Paul, but it would be what it would be.

Henry was not far from the door to Industrial glass, which was the entrance to the Chicago Terminal, when he heard Paul's voice behind him. He fought the urge to just run the last 20 feet to the entrance, and turned to see Paul. He was not going to be bullied any more even if it meant fighting. Paul looked like he had been jogging towards him, but when he saw Henry stop Paul slowed to a walk.

"What do you want Paul? I need to get to work, and I don't really have any desire to fight you," Henry said.

"I don't really want to fight you either," Paul said.

"Then what do you want?" Henry asked. He had never had a conversation with Paul before.

"I wanted to ask you a question, man to man," Paul said.

"Okay," Henry said. Paul looked kind of embarrassed.

"Listen, I know I'm not smart; but, I'm not as dumb as everyone thinks I am," Paul said.

"I never thought you were dumb Paul, mean certainly, but never dumb," Henry said. It was true, Paul always seemed to know how not to get caught, there was definitely more to Paul than met the eye.

"I understand why you would feel that way, I know you have no reason to be honest with me, but was it true when you said that you had only been on one date with Britney?" Paul asked. Henry had not seen this question coming.

"Until you went snowmobiling, I had never said more than five words at a time to the girl, and never out of school," Henry said. He could tell from the upset look on Paul's face that he was kind of expecting this answer, but was not really happy to hear it.

"I know it's not really an excuse, but that was not really what I have been lead to believe. Don't get me wrong, I believe you, but..." Paul stopped talking; he looked unsure what to say next. He was not sure what Paul had been told, but he was pretty sure who had told it to him.

"What did Britney tell you?" Henry asked.

"I never really liked you freshmen year, I guess that's not really a secret, you were smarter than me, and I thought Britney liked you. So I started picking on you thinking that if I could make you look weak she would like me more than you. It was a terrible relationship; I know that now. Whenever we would fight she would say that you were smarter than me, and would make a better boyfriend. Over time she used different guys to point out my flaws, but I think she knew that it bugged me the most when she said she liked you more," Paul said. Henry kind of felt sorry for Paul, not a lot, but still. It can't be easy always being told you aren't as good as someone you don't really like to begin with.

"I think that chick is bad news," Henry said.

"Yeah you're probably right, listen I'm gonna ask the guys to lay off. I'm sorry," Paul said offering his hand. Henry didn't want to shake his hand. What he really wanted was to punch Paul in his face, to drag him through a gateway, and leave him stranded on the other side of the universe as payback for all of the times he had made him ashamed to look in the mirror. He thought of the Angriff. They had been a peaceful, quiet people once; before they were twisted by their desire for revenge. It was a path that standing here in front of Paul, that Henry understood, but it was not what Henry wanted for his future. In the end he shook Paul's hand.

"I forgive you Paul," Henry said. He was not sure he was going to say it until the words came out of his mouth, but now that they had he realized they were true. Henry thought of what Harold had said and he felt proud of himself. Paul turned, and began to walk home. Henry turned, and found Amica standing in the doorway to the false front of the Chicago Terminal. She smiled at him.

"That your bully?" she asked when he got closer.

"Not anymore, I thought you were leaving this morning?" Henry said.

"The folks left this morning, but you didn't think I would leave with out saying goodbye in person did you?" Amica said. Amica leaned in, and gave him a big hug. She whispered into his ear. "I also stayed behind to tell you something. My father saw things while trying to look after the keepers during the occupation. Not all of the keepers who disappeared died, some of them joined the Keeper's Union, and were spared. The Keeper's Union was working with the Angriff. They are up to something, something big, but I don't know what. This goes way beyond just smuggling. Please be careful," she said. She kissed him on the check, and stepped back.

"Hey, you don't mind opening the gate so I can get home do you?" she asked smiling; adopting her same teasing tone, but Henry could see the worry in her eyes.

"I guess not, but only if you promise to come visit soon," Henry said holding the door open for her.

"Deal," she said. Henry followed her through the door letting it swing closed.

The End
