

### Project Earth

### I

### by

### Lidier Fernandez

### Project Earth I

Copyright 2012 Lidier Fernandez

Published by Lidier Fernandez

Formatted by IRONHORSE Formatting

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

### Dedication

This book is dedicated to my lovely wife Tina

### Table Of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1: The First Discovery

Chapter 2: Exploring the Lake

Chapter 3: A Deeper Search

Chapter 4: An Adventurous Family Visit

Chapter 5: Sarah Is Born

Chapter 6: Monumental Discoveries

Chapter 7: The Wonders of a Discovery

Chapter 8: New Plans

Chapter 9: My Second Encounter

Chapter 10: Live Communication

Chapter 11: Cruel Facts About Society

Chapter 12: Construction Planning

Chapter 13: Part Fired-Part Hired

Chapter 14: Making Key Decisions

Chapter 15: Construction Begins

Chapter 16: A New Reality

Chapter 17: Success in Writing

Chapter 18: The Dig

Chapter 19: Things Go Awry, Necessity Goes Up

Chapter 20: Doing the "Un-doable"

Chapter 21: Our Visitors

Chapter 22: The Ship

Chapter 23: Connecting With Another World

Chapter 24: Energized

Chapter 25: A visit from Grant

Chapter 26: Increasing One's Certainties

Chapter 27: Developing "Project Earth"

Chapter 28: Repairing the Ship

Chapter 29: Another Adventurous Day

Chapter 30: A Special Delivery

Chapter 31: Chief

Chapter 32: A discovery in Space

Chapter 33: The Base

Chapter 34: The Mission to Mars

Chapter 35: The Rescue

Chapter 36: Home

Chapter 37: The Future

Chapter 38: Progress

Chapter 39: Another Journey

Chapter 40: A Special Day

Chapter 41: A Frightening Encounter

Chapter 42: Home at Last

Chapter 43: The Broadcast

Chapter 44: A Changing World

Preview of the Sequel to Project Earth

About The Author

# Prologue

Man has, since the dawn of time, searched for answers about his origin, and about space. He has developed precise sciences and technology to conquer Earth, to go out in space, step on the Moon, Mars, and other nearby planets and stars. But there is one thing man hasn't been able to conquer, _himself._ His mind and his true potential ought to be discovered.

When looking at Earth as a small planet in the solar system, in a galaxy called the Milky Way, which compared to others, is small in size, one begins to realize the vastness of our universe.

It is the year 2020 and a recent encounter with life from outer space has shaken up humanity and brought about a new viewpoint of life for all. But let me tell you my own story of what really happened. It has remained a secret to all but a select few.

# Chapter 1

### The First Discovery

It is a beautiful sunny afternoon in the autumn of the year 2020. I am taking a dirt bike ride around my ten acre property near the deserts of California. I am riding by the lake located in the middle of a small valley, surrounded by trees and vegetation.

As I approach the lake, I start to feel an impulse of being drawn towards it, and start to ride closer and closer to one of its sides. I can feel some type of energy emanating from the area. It is about five o'clock. The sun is shining. The temperature is about seventy degrees Fahrenheit, just perfect for riding my dirt bike.

I approach the lake, throw my bike on the ground and walk towards the edge.

As I approach the area, I feel a really nice sensation. " _It feels good around here_ ," I think to myself. " _I don't see anything different from before_ ... _water, a bunch of trees and plants, nothing else._ "

While continuing to look around, I walk closer to the edge and scan the water and trees nearby _._

" _I wonder what it is. I have been here many times. I built the bike track a year ago and used to ride here almost every weekend_ , _except for the last couple of months, but never felt this sensation._ "

I rush back to our house and ask my wife Gina to come out to the same spot with me and have a look at the lake. I want to get her first reaction, so I decide not to explain what I have encountered. She gets on my bike wondering what's going on.

We arrive at the same spot I was at before and I drop the bike, while pointing in the general direction. Gina looks at the water and then looks at me. She seems a bit confused, so I ask her, "What's happening babe?"

"I don't know," she replies, "I feel kind of dizzy. It is a funny feeling. The baby is moving too. Could it be because I am pregnant and shouldn't be riding on the bike?"

"No sweetie, that's not it. It's the lake! There is something in this area of the lake. I feel it too. That's why I went to get you. I thought it was just my imagination."

"It's a good feeling," she replies with a smile.

"I know. It is kind of cool! I'll tell you what, Gina— this lake is not very deep, and we both like swimming and diving. Let's do a search!"

"Well honey, I am eight months pregnant, so you are going to be doing the searching," she points out.

"That's true."

We log into eBay as soon as we get to the house, and order a set of used scuba tanks and gear, a radiation detector, and an underwater communication system for me. I will be able to talk to Gina while I am under the water. Gina finds an underwater video camera and purchases this, too—just in case I see anything interesting.

We are so excited about this project that we can't sleep. I keep thinking about the strange sensation coming from around the lake.

Both of us toss and turn all night long, unable to get any sleep, yet in the morning we feel rested, which is strange.

Gina and I stop by the lake every day, and the intensity of the energy it emanates seems to vary, but it is always there. Even the baby inside of Gina can feel it. She starts to kick every time we go near it. I joke with Gina and tell her, "Maybe this will make us grow younger. I feel stronger when I am there, that's for sure."

The diving equipment arrives a week later. We are still waiting to receive the video camera and other items. I am anxious to get the radiation detector to ensure that the energy is safe for us to be around.

Finally, the rest of the equipment arrives, and by downloading some manuals from the internet we get everything set up and working the way we think it should.

All set, we head to the lake. Equipped with the radiation detector, I jump into the water. No sign of any radioactivity is present. I resurface to let Gina know. We test our radios to ensure both are working fine; and they are. I can clearly hear Gina as I get a few feet down.

The lake is deep and stagnant, thus I can see lots of underwater life: many variations and sizes of fishes, plants, and algae. "I didn't think there were so many fish down here honey. I would have become a fisherman a long time ago," I joke with Gina over the radio.

I stay there for about half an hour, enjoying life under the water. Then I re-surface and we pack up for the day. I got some great footage on the video camera that we want to check out.

Everything looks very real on the screen, just like being down there looking right at things—in fact, it looks even better on video!

"This camera was a good buy!" says Gina.

"A ' _goodbye_ ' to our money!" I joke.

"There seems to be something glowing by that area," she says, pointing at one of the corners of the screen.

We both look attentively at the screen. "Yep! You're right Gina. I wonder what that is? Got to get closer next time I go there—next weekend I guess. I won't have any time during the week."

"Well, can you try one of these evenings? Maybe you can see more of the glow at night?" she asks.

I nod my head and turn to her saying, "Yeah! Not a bad idea. Let's do it tomorrow, after I get back from work."

# Chapter 2

### Exploring the Lake

When I get back from work the next day, Gina has everything ready, and we head towards the lake right away. It is already starting to get dark when we arrive. With no time to waste, I put my gear on and jump in the water.

Without my underwater flashlight, which works quite well, it would have been pitch black down there.

"I can't see any glowing spots, Gina. Maybe I should kill the light..." I turn the flashlight off and all I can see are the two little lights from the video camera—the green indicating 'ON', and the red one for 'RECORDING'. "Holy shit! I can't see a thing babe."

I keep moving forward and all of a sudden I see something. "There is a glowing light, right here honey!" I say on the radio. "I am going to get closer to that spot. It looks as if there is something under the mud."

"What is it?" she asks.

"I am not sure. It's so muddy down here, it's hard to tell. I feel like I stepped on something hard, maybe a rock."

I set the video camera down and start digging with my bare hands. "This doesn't look like a rock. It is more like a piece of metal. It has a smooth surface—rocks aren't that smooth. Let me dig around it some more."

I expose an area about two square feet wide and four inches deep, which unveils a nice, smooth surface.

"Can you tap on it, Lee? Just to see if it is solid or hollow?" Gina suggests.

I tap on it twice— _tap, tap_ —and find out it is not solid. It makes a dull echo. All of a sudden, I hear the sound again.

"Not only is it hollow, it echoes when I tap on it."

The sound happens again without me tapping on it.

"There it is again Gina! How can something echo so many times _?_ "

Gina asks me to tap on it again. I am ready to time it this time. I tap on it three times—tap, tap, and tap.

I start the timer, "There is the echo—three seconds later. There it is again—five seconds later. There it is again—two seconds later. Three, five, and two, and it keeps going Gina."

I am really puzzled. The echo did not sound like an echo; it sounded more like someone trying to tap back. "That's not right. The last one was the strongest echo yet. Echoes fade away, they don't get stronger."

"Interesting," she says on the radio.

"What time is it?"

"It is 8:05."

"I think we should go home soon," I suggest.

"I agree. Let's go home and see what the video camera recorded."

"Okay, I will be right out."

We put our stuff in the car and head back home. "It was a brilliant idea you had about coming here tonight, babe," I say to her.

"I think it was productive. A little bit mysterious maybe," she says.

We get home and play the video. There is something interesting about this video camera—it has infrared light capability, which captures the image beyond what the naked eye can see. Way before I had spotted the glowing area down there, the camera had already captured it. When I saw it in person, the glowing spot looked like it was only a foot in circumference, but it looked like three feet when seen on the video. Sound is also amazing. I hear myself and other noises that I was not aware of down there; some weird background noise—could be some fish talking or snoring. Lord knows.

"It looks much better when you turned the flashlight off," she points out.

"Yep! Look. Right there is the glowing spot, shining through the mud. I think I am going to be digging more around it next time. I really want to see what it is."

"Yap! I also want to know."

"I am just having a hard time digging down there. I mean, it is not that deep—ten feet, maybe. But the question is: how can you dig under water?"

"That's a good question Lee." She turns to me, looking as puzzled as I am.

"I know people use 'diggers', big machines to dig and to drain lakes, but we don't even know what we are digging for."

"Right. And I don't think draining the lake is a good idea. It would take time and equipment. Plus, where are we going to send all the water, mud, and what not? There are also lots of fish and natural life in there." She looks even more puzzled.

"Well, I know what to do with the fish, you don't have to worry about a thing," I joke.

"Come on, Lee. Be serious. Let's see... let's take a look at what we have here, and see if it is worth investing more time and effort into this project." Gina evaluates the pieces of information we have already gathered in order to decide what to do: "We have an area that feels good to be around, and things grow very well around that spot. And we found the glowing light coming from that area. Upon further inspection, you discovered a nice smooth surface, which not only is hollow, but which 'replies' when tapping on it."

It doesn't take her much time to come up with a conclusion: "I think it is worth it to continue the search. Tell you what," she adds, "let's keep it between us until we really find out what it is and _,_ instead of investing much money into it, let's just see what other options and resources we have."

"I like that idea, Gina. We'll go there next weekend, during the day, and see what is covering that thing. Maybe it is just soft mud and I can keep on digging around it."

While looking through my garage the next day, I spot an old concrete pouring machine. Something a friend of mine devised to pour concrete in "hard-to-access areas". It has four inch thick hoses.

" _Maybe I can use it as a vacuum and remove some mud,"_ I wonder to myself. " _I will get it running and test it on Saturday."_

# Chapter 3

### A Deeper Search

It's Saturday morning. I put the pump, tools, and other stuff in the truck, and head to the lake with Gina.

At the lake we get all the equipment out of the truck, hook up the pump, and I get in the water with a long thick vacuum hose. I signal Gina to turn the pump on. She does so, and a few seconds later I see water coming out from the other end of the pump. She gives me a thumbs-up.

I dive down towards the spot I want to uncover and direct the end of the hose to the area. I can feel the hose sucking up mud the moment I put it down.

" _It's working!_ "

I go back up to check on Gina and the machine, and she gives me a thumbs-up again. I dive back down and continue with the 'cleaning'. After a while I find myself walking on that smooth surface. It is quite large _._

I stay there for another 30 minutes and suddenly the pump turns off. " _It must have run out of diesel_ ," I think to myself.

I go back out and see a huge pile of mud, as well as some water running back down into the lake.

"We need to relocate that pump Gina. I know that I have an extra piece of hose at home. We can actually attach it to the pump and make it go farther that way." I point to an area where the land slopes down. "It will drain better."

"Great idea," she says. "I think we should go back home. I will make some lunch while you go get more fuel. Then we'll get the extra piece of hose and come back down here."

"You just read my mind. Let's do that."

We head back to the house. Gina starts making lunch. I grab a couple of ten gallon drums and set out to get some diesel.

My friend Jimmy at the gas station asks, "What in the world are you going to do with that diesel Lee? You are always up to something! What is it this time?"

"Oh, well...trying to find some petroleum on my property. I am digging lots of holes," I reply.

He chuckles. "You must be building more tracks to ride your bike, aren't you?"

"Let's leave it at that Jimmy." I hand him the money for the fuel, shake his hand, and head back home. "Talk to you later buddy."

Having had lunch, we head back to the lake with all the extra stuff we got. I attach the extra piece of hose, load up the fuel tank on the pump, and get back in the water.

The water is clear again, as we gave the dirty water enough time to settle. I can see I had done quite a bit of work around this thing earlier, but there is no shape yet. It is a big flat surface and then it goes down on the sides.

" _I just have to follow its contour and see what kind of shape it has,_ " I think to myself.

After another half hour of vacuuming, I see how it starts to show its form. It has a shape like a...I am not sure; some sort of wings extending to the sides. An airplane, I guess.

I don't know how far down it goes. I have dug down only two feet or so.

"I have done quite a job of vacuuming down here Gina, I wish you could see it."

"Good job, Lee. I wish you were this excited about vacuuming the house!"

" _Nonsense_ ," I mutter.

I hear some noise coming from down there, from time to time, but I just keep on vacuuming.

It's getting dark, so I come out of the water and we decide it is time to go home. There is no video recording this time, as we forgot the camera at home.

"Silly us, babe, we should make sure we don't forget the camera tomorrow," I say to Gina as I come out of the water.

"We can't come tomorrow Lee. It's Sunday and your brother, Javier, is coming over with his family."

I show disappointment by burying my face in my hands.

She continues, "He said they would come at _ten_ o'clock in the morning to have a brunch with us. Did you forget about it?"

"I sure did honey. I still don't want to remember it."

"They usually stay until _three_ or _four_ in the evening."

"Oh boy! Let's make sure we don't leave too many clues that will trigger my brother into asking a thousand questions about what is going on around here. Maybe I should call him and tell him we are too busy doing farm work."

"That won't work Lee." She walks over and sits next to me on an old log by the pump. "Last time we told him we were too busy, he came even faster to help us out."

"It's true. I know! Let's have a picnic in the back of the house, with a BBQ and some games. His kids will love it."

"That's a great idea, but your brother is also going to want to ride the motocross track. He always goes right by the lake and he's going to see the pile of mud. How are you going to handle that?"

" _Think, think, think, Lee_ ," I mutter, tapping my head with my hands. "I got it—I can cover that pile of mud with some bushes and plants. It is not so visible unless you come really close to it. The track goes that way. I will tell my brother we are going to ride it the other direction—backwards, so to speak. That way, this area is out of view. There you have it _._ Who's your Daddy?" I joke.

"Okay, Daddy!" says Gina. "Great idea! You better get your ass busy covering up all that mud and putting away the equipment." She turns around and starts walking away.

"Well...where are you going? This is teamwork! Isn't it?"

"Yes, I will do my part of the teamwork back home by making some food, doing laundry, and cleaning up the house. I don't want your brother and his family to find our house in a mess tomorrow."

"You sure you don't want me to give you a ride? You worked so hard today..."

"No worries, I'm good. See you at home, Daddy!"

"Okay. I'll wrap it up soon, so I can come help you!" I have to literally shout to her as she is... gone."

I stay a bit longer to disguise the area. I am still feeling strong—despite a long day of work.

# Chapter 4

### An Adventurous Family Visit

It is Sunday morning, my brother and his family show up at 9 am—earlier than when we had agreed. They show up to have breakfast with us and then stay for lunch around noon. Good thing we had done a fair amount of cleaning the night before.

Gina and Irene, my brother's wife, make breakfast while my brother and I get cups of coffee, set up a table on the back patio, and start to watch a soccer game that had just started on the television. Soccer is one of my favorite sports, but I had no idea about this particular match; my brother did, and so did his kids, Andrea and Esteban.

The project at the lake had kept Gina and me pretty busy these past few days and I don't miss watching TV anyway— so much garbage on it these days. Sometimes I feel like I'm being hypnotized by it—all the commercials telling us how to spend money that we don't have, to take drugs that we don't need, and movies telling us how to live our lives. I can't stand it!

Breakfast is over, the soccer game is over, and my brother wants to go ride the bike. We go to the garage and get the two big bikes ready, along with the two small ones. My niece and nephew will also ride around the track. Gina and Irene will be sitting on a bench, or walking around watching the kids. I will keep an eye on them too. I also have to keep an eye on my brother. He is not a very experienced rider, but tends to get really excited and tries to do everything I do: big jumps, fast turns—everything. We have picked him up off the ground a few times, but he is very persistent, stubborn as a donkey.

We start riding and having a great time. My brother thought it was kind of weird that I decided to ride the track going the opposite direction, but it wasn't a problem. I told him, that's what pros do, so he felt challenged. We are riding along and soon I realize I am riding harder than before. I am not having any considerations about the big jumps or taking the turns too fast. I can literally make the bike fly.

My brother seems to be doing all right, too. We stop for a water break and he asks, "Have you been doing a lot of riding lately?"

I pat his shoulder and tell him, "Of course bro, practice makes the master." I had no real explanation, so I threw in a little lie. "You are also doing much better! You are doing those jumps and going so fast without a problem!"

He has a big smile on his face. "I feel really good, man," he says, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "You also did something to this bike, didn't you?"

"Tuned it up, and I give it good maintenance," I tell him.

The girls had been watching us and they tell us how impressed they were about the speed and that there were no falls or accidents. Gina waves me over and whispers in my ear, "What was that, Lee? You are riding the track like a real 'pro' today."

"I don't know babe!" I wipe off the sweat coming down my face. "I feel like I can do anything with this bike. I actually have to restrain myself from doing more things. It would seem too strange to them if I do too much stuff. I also feel safe and don't get tired."

She winks at me. "I like the safe part of it. I don't want you to get broken bones like you used to!"

"Don't you worry about a thing! No more broken bones." I start the bike and head towards the track—to chase my brother again.

We do a few more laps on the track and all of a sudden my brother breaks loose and starts riding towards the lake. "I'm going to kill him!" I mutter.

I start chasing him. He has gone to the south side of the lake. He stops by the edge and takes off his helmet. I catch up to him and park by his side.

"Nice!" he says, "This place is like a paradise. I can even smell some flowers. Where are they?"

"Well, they could be anywhere," I answer, "Their aroma travels far."

"I think they might be around that side of the lake." He points to the opposite side, somewhat close to where we have our project. "Let's check it out," he adds, starts his bike, and takes off again. Just before he reaches the site of our project he stops and says: "There is nothing here." He keeps looking around. "But look, that's the area right around there." He points directly to where I don't want him to go.

" _Now I need a miracle!"_

As soon as we start our bikes, we see my nephew, Esteban, coming down towards us. He waves at us in a hurry.

"What's happening, young daring rider?" I ask him.

"It's Gina," he answers, panting, "she said to run and find you—she is having some strong contractions and wants you to come back right away."

"We got to go back," I shout to my bother.

We get back and the girls are already walking towards the house. Gina says she wants to rest so I help her get into bed.

"She is not feeling so well," Irene says.

"I just got a strong contraction," says Gina as she winks an eye—as if saying, " _I knew you needed some help_."

"Well, rest a little bit and let me know if it gets worse babe." I wink back. "My brother and I will get going with the BBQ."

As Javier and I start the grill, he tells me it was not just a nice smell of flowers down there by the lake, he also felt compelled to go there, and he also felt good and strong when he was around there. I tell him I feel the same and that Gina and I go there to relax and get away from the routine sometimes."

"You are so lucky to have this place. I wish I could visit you more often and ride. It's so much fun. I could ride every day!" He turns the juicy steaks over on the BBQ.

"Smoky," says his boy, Esteban, and moves on.

"Yeah I know man. I made the best deal ever when I traded my old house in Los Angeles for this place."

Ten minutes later, Irene gets attracted by the aroma of our steaks and she comes by to check on us. "It smells so good boys. I think they are ready!" She then yells, "Come on everybody! Food is ready, table is ready—grab a plate..."

We talk, eat, talk some more, and eat some more. We all have things to say, even the kids... especially the kids.

They decide to leave around 6 pm and that's the end of our Sunday. A pleasant day though. We all enjoyed it.

"Huh! What a day sweetie," I say to Gina, "It was a bit stressful, but kind of fun too."

"Ouch! I am having a contraction," says Gina, placing her hands on her lower back.

"Oh, no worries honey, no need to save me from anything right now. They are gone! _"_

"I'm serious, Lee! I mean, it is not a big contraction, but it sure is one."

"Oh...ah...so what do we do now?"

"Nothing. Well...massaging my back will help."

"That's right!" I start to massage her lower back. "You have been working so much recently."

"I think the recent work has helped as exercise and has gotten me into better shape; nothing wrong with that. Sarah is also moving around a lot. She is running out of room in my belly. I am sure she is getting ready to come out!" She grabs her tummy and keeps talking to the baby.

Gina has contractions almost every night. I keep massaging her lower back, her legs, and even her feet. That seems to help her the most. We also take walks together, and do some exercises that help her during contractions.

# Chapter 5

### Sarah Is Born

Another week has gone by and I have not done anything else at the lake. Gina and I go there sometimes just to relax, but that's all. Tomorrow is Saturday so I will go and see if I can do some more digging.

I get up early, Gina stays in bed a bit longer. After having made coffee and eaten some breakfast, I put all the stuff in the truck and head towards the lake.

" _It feels good to be back down here_ ," I say to myself as I get ready to jump in the water.

Gina and I have decided to call this thing we found, ' _a ship_ '. We have no idea what kind of ship, but we are sure it is some sort of a ship.

I am going to be digging more towards what seems to be the front of this ship. Maybe there is a window or some sort of entrance. The mud is so thick around this area it is hard to tell.

It looks like a very interesting piece of machinery. I hear some noise coming from the inside from time to time, but I'm not scared. Something inside of me tells me not to worry.

I wish I knew what kind of material this thing is made out of. It looks like titanium, but I don't really know. What kind of material could be under the water and not corrode or rust without being painted?

There is so much to dig, but I am finally getting towards the end of the ship, which appears to be the front. The vessel is a beautiful silver color and about forty feet long. I have no idea how tall it may be. I have dug only three feet down from the top, but the mud just gets harder and harder. It is close to noon so I head home for lunch and to check on Gina.

When I get home, she tells me Sarah is moving a lot, so I decide to stay home for the rest of the day.

Gina starts to get very strong contractions throughout the night and so we head to the hospital at 6 am the next day.

Sarah is born at 2 pm. We stay in the hospital the rest of that day, and are free to go home the following day.

I spend one whole week taking care of them and a week later Gina is able to take care of herself and Sarah, so I resume work at the company.

I really miss working on the project at the lake. I can't wait to get down there again.

I take Gina and Sarah by the lake on the weekend. It is fun—even for Sarah. She is very excited, moves a lot, and makes noises.

# Chapter 6

### Monumental Discoveries

A whole month has passed. I have been staying at home on the weekends to help Gina and Sarah, to make it easier for them.

It is Saturday afternoon and I finally make it to the lake.

" _I am going to do some more digging now_ ," I murmur to myself and put on my diving gear. I will dig around it in the center area so I can strap it and pull it out later, I decide.

Digging is getting more difficult. I am now hitting lots of rocks in some areas. I am going to need some shovels and other tools to reach deeper into the mud. I am getting a lot done despite all this.

This ship...it seems to have a spot that glows sometimes.

" _There is something here!_ _It looks like a window. That's where the glow is coming from! I'm going to dig around it some more, and then let the water clear up so I can see it better."_

I finish digging around the window and head back up to the surface, get the flashlight from the car and dive back down.

I get close to the window. " _Okay, let me see...that's one shiny window, made out of some type of glass. I don't really need the flashlight—there is light coming out of there! That's the glow Gina and I had been seeing. It was shining through the mud._ _But how could that be?"_

I get even closer and start to see the inside of the ship.

" _Oh my God! There is some sort of life inside of this thing; there is a...creature in there_." My eyes grow as big as saucers and I start to tremble. " _It saw me...now it's coming my way. It's not afraid of me. It shows me the peace symbol with its hand. It only has four fingers—not five_." I stop trembling, and as he looks at me I feel safer, so I show the peace symbol to him as well.

We look at each other. He has pretty big blue eyes—unblinking eyes. I can tell it is a "HE"; I just know it. We keep looking at each other. He emanates peace. I realize that's the feeling, the vibration Gina and I perceive when we have come around the lake. This creature emanates it, and he does it on purpose too. I wonder why?

I can see he is trying to communicate something. He knows we have been working here, trying to dig up the ship. He is telling me that he knows I am working on digging up the ship. He communicates through some form of telepathy. The idea arrives in my mind, and once I think about the answer he sort of picks it up.

" _This is so weird_ ," I wonder to myself, feeling mighty puzzled.

" _We need help,_ " he tells me.

" _We?_ " I ask silently.

He goes away for a moment, and then comes back with a second creature, another "HE"—I think. The other one has deep big blue eyes too. They communicate in some strange form of language. I watch them for a moment.

They get close to the window again, look at me and say wordlessly, " _Thanks for helping us, Markus! We are very glad_ _you_ _found us_."

" _You are welcome_ ," I reply by thought, " _but my name is Lee—last name Duran._ "

They turn to each other; exchange a few words and then the first "he" gets back to me, " _Okay, Lee. I am Jon, Captain of this ship, and this is Leo my assistant and second in command._ "

" _Nice to meet you both, Sir!_ " I respond respectfully.

" _You can just call me Jon, and call him Leo_."

" _Okay. How did you get here, Jon and Leo?_ "

" _We are part of the five ships that got shot down three months ago. Did you hear about it?_ "

" _I certainly did Sir. But aren't you supposed to be the bad guys?_ " I ask.

" _Well, that's what the media said, and it's all over the internet too_ ," he replies.

" _But how do you know about the media and the internet?_ " I ask, starting to wonder how they have survived in there for the past three months.

" _We have access to the internet and media channels from this ship_ ," Jon informs me.

" _Unreal!_ " I respond.

" _But we certainly aren't bad guys. We were on a peaceful mission, visiting your planet. We were working on a project, which started many years ago, trying to establish a strong relationship with all the inhabitants of_ _this part of the galaxy—the Milky Way, as you call it. Now the project has been terminated, because our ships were attacked and destroyed—all, except for this one_."

" _I am so sorry!_ " I say, feeling bad for what my people had done.

" _That's okay_ ," says Jon. "W _e are aware, by now,_ _of the fact that you are not used to having visitors from outer space—other beings and such_."

" _Yes Jon. That's correct_."

" _But don't worry Lee. We don't hold any resentment against you. We know you are kind, and maybe you can help us turn things around, if you are willing_."

" _Sure!_ " I respond with another strong thought, " _I will do whatever I can to help you guys out. I will definitely help you go back to your planet or wherever you came from, if I can!_ "

" _Well, our spaceship is quite damaged_ ," says Jon, " _and we lost a member of our crew. The first thing will be to get the ship out of the lake, and see if it can be repaired."_

" _We are happy you found us_ ," says Leo. " _We will keep flowing you power— also to your wife and baby_."

" _What?_ " I ask, " _How do you know about them?_ "

" _We know about a lot of things Lee_ ," says Leo. " _The fact that our ship sunk into the lake doesn't keep us from knowing what's happening around us_."

" _But how do you guys do it?_ " I ask in awe.

Jon gets a bit closer to the window and starts to tell me, " _We can operate exterior to our bodies, if we want to. We are beings—not bodies. We only use our bodies to interact with the finite universe_."

" _You guys are amazing!_ " I start to feel really comfortable communicating "by thought".

" _We all are!_ " says Leo, " _Even you Lee_." his thought came to me with such intention. " _But you lost practice—let's put it that way."_

" _Wow, there is a lot we have to talk about,_ " I say to them.

" _Yes, but we can speak your language when we get out of this lake_ ," says Jon.

" _What?_ _You also speak English?_ "

" _Yes!_ " he answers, " _We have been here long enough to pick up your language. There is a lot of technology that still works in this ship. Like I said before, we are able to do many things from in here_."

" _That's_ _incredible!_ " I tell him.

" _It is not complicated, but we can_ ' _talk_ ' _more on your next visit. You should go home. It is getting dark, and Gina and Sarah are expecting you for dinner. We will be here the next time you come—we are not going anywhere_ ," he says in an effort to be funny.

" _Well, see you guys next time_ ," I respond as I give them the thumbs-up and start ascending to the surface.

I run back to the house.

# Chapter 7

### The Wonders of a Discovery

"A close encounter of the fifth kind, involving direct communication between an extraterrestrial intelligence and a human being," I think to myself. "No one would believe this—I hope Gina does."

I am panting as I get to the house. "Gina, you are not going to believe this!"

"What? Is everything okay honey?" she asks with concern.

"Yes! No! I mean...I guess yes and no...the ship in the lake..." I have to pause to catch my breath, "there is life in it—two aliens—friendly ones." She starts to look at me rather confused, and after another break I continue, "They are alive and... and...we _talked!_ "

She gets a glass of water, hands it to me in a hurry and tells me, "Okay, I think you are very tired and hungry, Lee. The food is getting cold, by the way."

"They even know about you and Sarah!" I get closer to her, grab her head and make her look into my eyes, "Look at me! I am not joking!"

"Boy, it looks like you are not!" she says, "Okay, but how could there be life in there? How long—"

"Remember about the spaceships that were destroyed, but one of them was never found, about three months ago—that's the one!"

"Okay, but how...how could they still be alive? And how did you talk to them? Did they come out?"

Gina is intrigued and interested now. I know she believes me and wants me to download all the data to her. After another deep breath I tell her, "Well, I don't know all the details of how they are still alive after having been shot down and stuck in the lake for three months, but we will find out. I was able to communicate with them by...you are not going to believe this one, but I have to say it— _by thought!_ That's how we communicated."

Gina is even more intrigued now, but wanting to hear more. "Go on," she says.

"It was weird...well, it was weird at the beginning, but soon it became second nature to me. Like when you perceive what somebody is going to say, or when you can tell what somebody is thinking. You know what I mean?"

"Telepathy?" she asks.

"I guess! We must have been 'talking' for half an hour."

"Yeah! I was going to grab Sarah to go out and look for you."

"I have many questions, Gina, just like you, but the main thing I know about these guys is that they are very able beings. They are not bad, as they were described in the news, and all the crap the media said about them isn't true. They were on a mission to establish peace and a strong relationship among planets in this part of the galaxy."

"Wow! But how come they don't just get out of the lake if they are so able?" she asks.

I start roaming around the kitchen looking for some food. "Well, their ship is badly damaged. I am afraid there isn't much they can do, even if they get out. Maybe they won't survive outside of the ship—I don't really know."

She hands me the pot containing a soup she had just made. "There is also fresh rice in the rice cooker," she says.

"Believe me, I have as many or more questions as you Gina. The thing is...let me show you something..." I sit down next to her at the table, grab the laptop, and pull up an article I remember reading before:

### "Alien Invasion – Could this be our end?"

" _These ships were very technologically advanced and well equipped with weapons and navigation systems._

We were able to destroy them before they started their attack. Originally, five spaceships were located in the sky. Only four were found and destroyed—the fifth was never found. Drawings describing the spaceships were made based on witnesses descriptions.

This information was never confirmed, as no one was able to get close enough to record details of any of these vessels. They were destroyed before they hit the ground. The U.S. Air Force collected any remaining debris for safekeeping and further study, and to improve their existing technology. No information with regard to pilots or passengers has been disclosed to the public. This information is strictly classified".

"We must help them, Gina. Maybe they can still make it back to where they came from. Their mission was shut down, but at least they can go back home, if we help them. They've already lost a member of their team."

"What?" she asks in awe. "Where is he?"

"I don't know honey. I didn't ask and they didn't seem rushed, or concerned. They want help with getting out of the lake—of that I am sure."

"Well, they probably don't want to impose by asking you to do more work for them, but I'm sure they can use all the help that they can get!" Gina adds.

"You're right, that's kind of what I thought. Especially when they told me they were so happy to see me, and so thankful for what we are doing. They called me 'Markus', by the way. They must have been guessing my name. Tell you what, I am going to take this week off. I will call my boss and tell him that I want to spend more time with you and Sarah. Where is she, by the way?" I get up to look around for the little one.

"She is in her crib sleeping, so please be quiet," Gina says.

"I want to see her—let's check on her!" I approach the crib and find her fully awake, "Hi Princess! I see you are taking a nap with your eyes wide open. Come with me little one!" I gently pull her up in my arms. "I missed you. I have not seen you for _hours."_ She smiles.

We finally go to bed, but hours go by and I can't fall asleep; countless amounts of thoughts go through my mind. Gina is restless too.

# Chapter 8

### New Plans

I call my boss the next day and ask him about spending a week with the girls. "It is all good," he says, "take your time."

I get the idea that maybe I can build a rig at the edge of the lake, and then drag the ship out of the water with the tractor. I pull out a sheet of paper and list out all the things that I think I will need to do in order to accomplish my project.

"I don't know how much I can get done in a week, but I will do my best _,_ " I say to Gina.

It's Sunday. I get up early and start working on the backhoe.

I found out the carburetor is really messed up. I will need a new one. The hydraulic system is also not working due to a broken valve and some blown seals. I have Gina looking for those parts on eBay while I search the property for some logs. Hopefully I will find enough to build a rig.

I head to the woods looking for the logs, and by stepping on some I find out that they are old, rotten, and full of termites.

" _There are some more over there, let's see..._ " I poke at another two with the machete.

" _Bad_ , _those are bad, too. I am afraid I am going to have to cut down some trees—the last thing I wanted to do, but I have no choice, not when my necessity level is so high._ " I kick the old logs with disappointment. Then I sit on one of them and take a sip from my water bottle.

" _I have got to get those guys out of there. I know they don't seem to be in a hurry, but I have a big responsibility on my shoulders now. I wonder how they live in there? What do they eat? Do they sleep? I know one is already dead! Do they still have him there? They obviously do, where else could he be? Anyway, I better go get the chain saw and cut down some trees_."

I go home to pick up the chain saw and a few other tools, and find Gina doing the laundry while Sarah watches from her bassinet close by.

"I have to go to the woods and cut down some trees Gina. I need them to build the rig."

"What happened to the ones you were planning to use?"

They are no good, rotten, have termites, just _no bueno!_ "

"Sorry to hear that," she says. "I have good news though; I found and ordered the parts you need for the tractor. The only thing is that it will take three days for us to get them. They don't have overnight service for this area, and even if they did, it's too expensive."

"That's fine honey. Thanks for doing that. So we will get them on Wednesday?" I ask.

"Yes. Maybe Tuesday, but don't count on it."

"Well, I guess I will do everything else meanwhile. I can cut down the trees, dig up the holes, and dig around the ship as much as possible. It seems like I keep finding more and more things to do. I think I should go talk to those guys again. Maybe they can come up with something."

"That's a very good idea, Lee. I know you are very persistent and you can carry on with the plan you have, but it doesn't hurt to ask them, especially if they are as smart and able as you say."

"Yes. I think it is a good idea to check with them and to find out how they are doing."

"Say hi to them from Sarah and me!"

"Cool. I will be back in a while. Bye Sarah." I head back to the lake to talk to Jon and Leo.

# Chapter 9

### My Second Encounter

I make it to the lake, get my gear on, and prepare to jump in the water. "I don't feel like vacuuming today. I just want to chat with those guys—exchange some thoughts, that is."

I jump in and start to dive towards the ship. I get close to the window, wipe the dirt off with my hand and start to peek inside. "Their lights are not on; maybe they are sleeping...oh good! Now they turned them on!"

"Hi guys!"

I greet them and chat with them for 5 minutes. Through the window, they show me a piece of paper with an email address written on it. Jon tells me that they set up an email account so we can chat over the internet. He wants me to go home and log in so we can communicate through an online chat.

I make it back home in a hurry, take off my dirty shoes, and walk straight to the computer. "Hi girls," I say to Gina and Sarah who are playing in the living room.

"That was fast! What happened?" Gina asks.

"Well, they gave me an email address."

"They gave you a what?" she asks surprised.

"I know, I know what you think, but these guys have no limits when it comes to technology. Let me see if it works." I type the email address they provided. "It works! That's them, right there."

I start chatting with them:

**Me:** Hi Jon!

"Unreal!" says Gina, as she pulls up a chair and sits next to me in front of the computer.

"I am glad you are here, Gina, so we can both chat with them."

**Back at the keyboard I write:** Okay Jon, Gina is here, too **.**

**Jon:** Hi Gina. Nice to meet you.

**Me:** She says nice to meet you, as well. Can you tell us where you come from?

**Jon:** A small planet called Kartagus, located in the outskirts of this galaxy—the Milky Way. Not far from your solar system. Ten thousand light-years, maybe.

**Leo:** Let me send you a drawing.

"Ten thousand light-years?" says Gina, trying to imagine how they could have traveled so far.

Leo sends us a small map of this galaxy, showing the location of their planet compared to our solar system.

**Jon:** Distances are relative to us. Our ships, though small, can travel very fast and far.

**Gina grabs the keyboard and types:** And you came all the way from there to establish peace on this side of the galaxy, right?

**Leo:** Yes. There have been too many wars and conflicts in this sector of the galaxy, so we were sent on a mission to find out what's going on.

**Gina:** And you were shot down by our weapons? How come you were not able to avoid being hit or fight back?

**Jon:** There are two reasons for that. One, our radar was turned off. Reason number two is we only use our weapons when they are _really_ needed.

**Gina:** Don't you think it was much needed this time?

**Jon:** Yes, but we have been to this planet many times before, mainly south, near the equator, without any need to have our shields up and radar active. We got too comfortable and did not expect an attack up here in the north. We were actually enjoying the view of the surface of your earth when we were hit.

**I grab the keyboard back and start typing:** I guess you did not have time for anything?

**Jon:** Not really. As soon as I saw that the other four ships were under attack, I tried to activate our shield and go back south to a safe area but did not get very far.

**Me:** Were you hit?

**Jon:** Yes! Some sort of laser went through the fuselage before I could activate the shielding system. It damaged part of the navigation system and part of the ship's main engines. I am sure some other parts were damaged during the crash, too. We only have a generator running. That's what has kept Leo and me alive. We have disconnected all computers and electronic parts that are malfunctioning, as they take power from the main system.

**Me:** Very smart! Can those parts be replaced?

**Jon:** We need to check the ship thoroughly when we get it out, and then we'll see what can be done. I just don't think we can get the needed parts here on Earth.

**Me:** We will help you get the ship out. Leave that up to me and my girls. I don't know what it will take, but we will get it out! And then we'll see.

**Jon:** Thank you. We like you. You are very positive minded beings.

**Gina:** So you have more than one engine, per what you are saying. What kind of fuel or energy do you use to run them?

**Jon:** One hydrogen engine, literally, powered by water. And the two plasma engines, which pick up energy from matter. All matter is composed of condensed energy as you may have heard.

I start typing as soon as I hear the words "energy" and "matter"

**Me:** I have heard of plasma engines—the principle behind them is that they utilize ionized particles, accelerated by electric and magnetic fields. Energy is produced that way. Electrons around an atom produce and release energy, which can be picked up by sophisticated equipment. Am I right?

**Jon:** That's right Lee! That's the principle behind it. We have a problem though; the energy converting unit is not working properly. That's one of the things that went awry when the ship was attacked. Right now we mainly rely on the energy from our generator, which runs on hydrogen. There is a special unit, dedicated to separate the hydrogen and oxygen from the water and thus we are able to run the generator to produce electricity and oxygen for us to breathe. There is a small opening at the bottom of the ship. We get enough water for the system and for us to drink too.

**Gina types while making faces:** So you drink that water too?

**Jon:** Yes Gina. It has kept us alive. It's really good water.

Gina keeps making faces and then she says to me, "Lake water, that's gross!"

**Me:** It is amazing how your ship works Jon. It can pick up energy from many sources.

**Jon:** Well it used to. We only hope it doesn't stop running all together. We will be in trouble if it does.

**Gina:** How much longer can you survive this way? Don't you need food?

**Jon:** We can survive as long as the generator is still working, as it provides us with energy for the system and oxygen to breathe. We had food up until a week ago when we ran out, but it is not a big concern yet. We have very low energy consumptive bodies. We can probably survive another month under these conditions.

**Me:** We will get you out of there much earlier than that! What kind of weapons did they use to shoot your ship down?

**Jon:** Some type of laser beam. Believe it or not, this planet has very advanced technology when it comes to weapons, which also took us by surprise!

**Me:** Probably technology they have been able to copy from spaceships they have captured.

**Jon:** Could be. After being here and having done some research, we have been able to find out about many other weapons that have been made, similar to those out there in space. Very impressive!

**Gina gets a hold of the keyboard again:** I wish we could impress you with some more creative things than just weapons.

**Jon:** I know what you mean Gina. My computer is warning me about someone trying to track our chat, I think is has to do with us talking about weapons, spaceships, and such. It is not safe anymore. Not safe for you.

**Me:** Okay but we have so much more to ask you Jon.

**Jon:** I understand. I will find another way of doing it some other time. I will send you an email telling you how we can communicate again. So long!

**Me:** Bye.

"Well that was the end of that nice chat," I say showing much disappointment.

"That really sucks!" Gina says.

"We could also 'Skype' through the internet, but...no, nothing is safe through the internet these days," I tell her.

"I'm sure Jon knows all about the internet. He does so much research. I mean, it seems like he and Leo have a lot of time on their hands," she says.

I leave the computer on and check it every ten minutes to see if there is anything from Jon and Leo. We finally receive an email from Jon an hour later:

**Jon:** Hi again. We would like you to get a UHF radio. The model is _PRO126_ , made by _Motorola_. You should be able to get it at Radio Shack. This is an Ultra High Frequency device, a two-way radio. Please set it up to its highest frequency channel and push the talk button a few times. Our receiver is programmed to pick up your signal and will synchronize with it so we can talk.

**Me:** Thanks Jon. Well done on finding this solution. I will go out and get it tomorrow morning. Expect us to be transmitting any time after noon.

# Chapter 10

### Live Communication

I get up early the next day and drive to the nearest Radio Shack, fifty miles away from home, where I find the _Motorola PRO 126_ transmitter radio, just like Jon said. After shopping for groceries and some household items, I head back home.

We plug in the radio, get the battery fully charged and set it to the channel with the highest frequency. I push the "TALK" button, say "Hello!" and wait a few seconds. As there is no immediate response, I repeat this a few more times and finally we hear some noise and a voice, "This is Jon. How are you Lee?" A very interesting voice, nothing like those you hear when watching a movie with aliens or "ETs", he sounds almost like a human.

"I am good Jon. How are you and Leo doing today?"

"We are doing well. Please let me finish a communication I started with our Base. I will be back in two minutes."

"Sure Jon! No problem. Take your time."

I turn to Gina and ask her, "Did you hear that Gina? They still have communication with their planet or Base."

"I know," says Gina, "their communication system must be _so_ powerful!"

"And that's a relief, because then their people know they are still alive and they can help them make it back home someday. I have no doubt their communication system is _really_ good. I mean, they tap into satellites to get on the internet! Lord knows what else they can do."

"We should have made a list of questions," says Gina, showing how organized she is.

"We want to know so many things, but I am sure we'll get many questions answered just by talking to them. And more questions will arise, too." I tell her.

Jon comes back on the radio. "Hi again! Do you hear me well?"

"Yes. We hear you Jon."

"Do you understand my voice?"

"We do. Very clear."

"Here is Leo too," says Jon.

"Hi there!" says Leo, "I have not practiced as much English as Jon. Very sorry if I trouble you understand my talking."

"No problem, Leo. We understand you very well," Gina says.

Jon takes over the radio. "So, I was just talking to the Base and they want me to thank you for your help. I told them you are wonderful beings and want to help us out. They also said that they may be able to reactivate the mission we were originally sent here to do."

"Well, we would love to help, but I don't know your...um, people..." I stop talking due to my uncertainty about calling them "people". "Can we call you people or is there a better term, like beings or...what should we call you?"

"People is fine. It is also okay if you call us 'guys'. We are all beings—in the end; we just wear different bodies, so to speak," Jon responds.

"Wow! That's an interesting concept," says Gina. "But we think you are more intelligent, more developed, and have more capabilities than us."

"We all have the same capabilities guys!" Jon says. "And I mean you as well. At least we all did when we first came into existence. The problem has been, after every lifetime we go through, we...we sort of deteriorate a little bit. Except that some of us have managed not to lose many of our native capabilities."

"But what are those capabilities?" I ask. "Is it like being able to float up in the air, fly, or throw laser beams at others?"

Jon laughs. "You guys spend too much time watching TV here on Earth. I don't mean to offend you, but I know a lot of people waste so much time in front of a TV or the internet. I am going to tell you a little bit about our capabilities and then we will go back to our earlier subject. Our main capabilities have to do with communication!

"Did he say communication?" Gina asks.

"That's what I heard," I reply.

"You heard right, and we could talk about the subject of communication for days. We call it 'The Universal Solvent'. There is no secret about this ability. The main concept is, ' _as long as you can communicate, you can handle and control things in life'._ As an example: our mission failed because of a lack of communication. And getting shot down can be traced back to a failure in communication."

"How could that be?" I ask, "You were attacked without warning!"

"My ship, even though the radar was not active, had recorded some activity ten seconds before we were hit. That was enough time to activate the shield system and get away. But we neglected the message from the ship."

"Why?" Gina asks.

"We were distracted; looking at the scenery and what not. The other guys were new on this type of mission and still learning. Nothing would have happened if we all had our ships under 'Protected Mode', which makes the ship 'invisible'. But we were not shielded, not invisible, nothing."

"So, you could have avoided the wreck by telling them you were in a hot spot?"

"Yes, I could have told them to protect themselves and blast off, and nothing would have happened."

"What a pity! So they all died?" Gina asks.

"Well, their bodies were killed—of course; _they_ reported back to the Base."

"What do you mean by 'reported back to the Base'?"

"We don't really die," he says. "I mean, our bodies can die, but we, as beings, go back to the Base and get another body—so to speak. I know you are probably wondering how, since it is not common here on Earth. I will try to explain it to you. Just think of it as if you had an invisible string attached to you and your home, so no matter where you go, you can always find your way home. We are, in a way, always connected to our Base and we can choose to go back, if we lose our bodies. That's the main reason we stay aware of our existence, our past lives and what not. And that's the main reason we don't 'deteriorate' as beings. I understand if what I am saying is not real to you. This could all be above your head, your religious principals and beliefs. That's fine."

Gina and I look at each other completely surprised. "I believe what he is saying," I say to Gina. "I always thought we weren't just bodies, but spiritual beings with many capabilities. I understand what he is talking about."

"I can very well understand it, too," says Gina. "It just doesn't make sense with some religious principles taught here on Earth. But hey, there are many things here on Earth that don't make sense anyway. This makes more sense than anything I have heard before." I nod.

"We understand, Jon," I say to him, "That answers some questions we had and it also brings more questions to mind. I'm sure we will have more time to talk about it in the future. Now we can go back to the earlier subject you mentioned; communication.

"Right! Communication!" says Jon. "And I want to let you know, we do move in space, float in the air, and move things without touching them. But, once again, it all has to do with communicating. Just like when we first met. We communicated without speaking. Right?"

"Yes! That's right. What is the secret? I did not know I could do that."

"There are many things you don't know that you are able to do. The main ingredient is called 'intention'. There is no secret. We simply communicated with intention when we first met. I had strong thoughts and got them through to you as a being. You did the same with me, because we both wanted to communicate."

"Interesting Jon," I say.

"Yes, interesting, but simple. Now, let's talk more about our mission, shall we?"

"Okay, so you started to tell us that there is a chance of reactivating your original mission?" Gina asks.

"Yes," says Jon, "and it would be a long term project. It has many steps, but we want to get it going before this planet gets messed-up beyond help again."

"Wait a minute! Hold your horses Jon!" I interrupt him to ask, "Earlier you said that you were on a mission that had to do with establishing peace in this sector of the Milky Way. And now you say the plan is to stop this planet from getting messed-up...again? When was it messed up before?"

"Okay, sorry if I confused you. It is all true. I told you about our original mission, but it has changed some. Before we establish peace on an interplanetary and intergalactic level, we must help you establish peace and fix things on your planet. We have had plenty of time down here to find out that there is a lot of work to be done. This planet is deteriorating at a great speed. Just like it deteriorated 9050 years ago, 55320 years ago and a few other times before that. It is heading in the same direction, _again_."

Gina and I look at each other, not questioning what Jon is saying, but wondering how he knows all of this, and also becoming aware of the fact that it is not the first time that Earth is in bad shape.

"How do you know all this?" Gina asks.

"We keep a record at the Base. We monitor all the major activities in our galaxy and even other neighboring galaxies. We did not have a detailed record of what has been going on here for the past 300 years. But like I said, after being here for some time we have had the chance to investigate and discover the current picture."

"Okay, so what are the things that need fixing?" I inquire, "I am sure war is one of them."

"Well, yes and no. War and weapons are just indicators of things having gotten out of control a long time ago. War is in fact the result of bad communication, no responsibility, and poorly educated people..."

"I don't get it." I tell him, not letting him finish his sentence. "People that decide about going to war, and that kind of stuff are supposed to be well educated people, with many years of study, and in high positions of power..."

He interrupts me, "Lee, it doesn't require a lot of study to say, 'let's go to war', especially when those who decide about it don't have to go and fight. It actually shows a lot of irresponsibility to decide to fight and kill your fellow men. Don't you think? It is actually pure cowardice _"_ , says Jon, his voice rising. "That's what I mean by poorly educated people. If people with power, well-educated by scholarly standards, really want to solve problems, they would communicate. That's why we call communication 'the universal solvent'. We want to make you aware of other important things that are going on here on Earth and bring about a better communication and understanding, and thereby solving the problem of war, among other things."

"Now I am getting to understand things better," I say to him.

# Chapter 11

### Cruel Facts About Society

"What are the other things you want to make us aware of?" Gina asks.

"After a lot of research, we found that we have to tackle the subject of drugs."

"Hmm...drugs." I voice. "So...first communication and then drugs?"

"Yes!" he asserts. "We use good communication to make people aware of things. We apply that subject right away, you see? Just like we are doing right now."

"I get it. So we have to make them aware of the effects of drugs and what not. I have heard of so many drugs out on the streets—It's crazy!" I voice

"Well, the drugs we refer to are not only out there on the streets, it is worse than that!" says Leo.

"Pharmaceuticals, too, correct?" Gina asks.

"That's right Gina. There are all kinds of drug campaigns out there. All designed to pin down human beings and thus make them more controllable. We can go over this subject in detail later, but I wanted to mention these things to you so we can think in the same direction and then we can decide what to do about it."

"I did not know it was that bad. Now I can see why you guys are so concerned about our current affairs. I am finally seeing the whole picture here. I don't know what we need to do, but we are willing to help stop this—right Gina?"

"For sure! I'm with you on this Lee." says Gina in full agreement.

"Like I mentioned before," says Jon, "we have a plan and we just completed two steps of that plan."

"Cool, we are progressing fast!" I say. "What steps have been completed?"

"Number one: Made you aware of what's going on here on Earth, and number two: Got your agreement to help us."

"Right on, Jon!" I voice. "You sure got us on that." Gina and I look at each other, chuckling, "What are the next steps? Sorry about asking so many questions."

"Don't worry about asking. It is part of having good communication. That's one of the ways we become aware of things. We would be disappointed if you two were not asking questions.

Just a small parenthesis here, before telling you about the next steps," says Jon. "Leo and I had doubts about returning home, before, and started to lose hope, but things changed after we met you. Things started to make sense."

"Well, thanks for trusting us," says Gina "but you could have landed anywhere."

"True, but...there is a reason for us to be here. See, as part of our philosophy, we strongly believe that we can affect our own future. We cause things to happen."

"So what you are saying is that your crash here wasn't by chance? Couldn't you have crashed on dry land or in the ocean?"

"We could have crashed anywhere, you are right. But right after we were hit, and knowing we were going to crash, I decided, with a lot of intension, to end up at a place where we could not be seen or detected by humans, and where we could someday be rescued by our Base."

"But I already saw you and Leo," I say. "Does that ruin your decision or intension?"

"Don't be silly Lee. Decisions can be changed at will or as needed, with strong intention and self-determinism."

"That sounds mint!" I voice.

"What does 'mint' mean?" Jon asks.

"It means good!" says Gina, "Lee is very good at picking up phrases and words from his buddies; especially his friends from New Zealand."

"Yep!" I comment. "Do you guys want to know some bad words...?"

"Lee! Stop it!" says Gina, giving me a stern look.

"My bad! I will tell you guys some other day, on a different chat."

I star to hear some beeping in their background. Jon says, "It's cool. Our computer is actually updating our vocabulary and giving us all possible combinations of words that you use and the frequency you transmit when you communicate something."

"So your computer can register all that and then analyze and de-codify what we say?"

"Yes, and it is very accurate. I also learn and keep track of the correct use of words."

"Unreal!" says Gina. "Is this how Leo learned English so fast and improved within minutes of speaking with us today?"

"Yes, that would be part of it, and we are able to understand and assimilate languages very rapidly," says Leo.

"So you can learn other languages, too?" I ask.

"Yes, just like English," says Jon.

"That's impressive, Jon. So what is the next step or assignment?" Gina asks.

"We call them targets," he replies. "I will give you the next target tomorrow or the next time we get to talk. Your voices are changing. I think you need to have some food and probably take care of Sarah. We don't want to keep you so long."

"Okay, we'll call you tomorrow morning," I tell him.

"That will be mint!" says Jon.

We get off the radio and notice the batteries are almost totally run down from the long talk with Jon and Leo.

I sit back and take a deep breath and say to Gina, "Boy that was the most interesting chat I have ever had Gina."

"Yeah, same here," she says while sitting back and relaxing in her chair.

I feel like I just got run over by a train; so much information from Jon and Leo. I think that's why they did not want to talk more for now. They did not want to overwhelm us with so much information, and with further evaluations about what's going on here on this planet. These guys are loaded with so much truth; I bet they can hardly walk.

Despite all, I don't feel tired. I am excited. So many ideas and plans are going through my head. I don't know if I am going to be able to sleep tonight. I am sure Gina feels the same way too.

"I can't wait to see what the next target is. They probably want me to get that ship out right away. But where are we going to put it? I bet that thing is huge! I forgot to ask for ideas of how to get it out." I chuckle, "Silly me, that was one of the main reasons I had wanted to talk to them."

# Chapter 12

### Construction Planning

The next day....

"Hi Jon, Leo. This is Lee. You there? Come in!"

"Hi! Good to hear from you again," says Jon. "Here is the next target: You need to build an underground garage. It has to measure approximately twenty long, twenty wide, and six high."

"Okay that's not very big," I say. "It is about the size of a two car garage. We are talking feet, right?"

"Sorry, I meant meters," says Jon.

"Okay..." I hesitate, "that's big!"

"Sorry guys. I know it is quite big..." he pauses, "but a hole of that size gives you enough space to build a strong floor, strong walls, a strong roof, and still gives enough clearance for the ship to fit."

Gina's face looks hopeless. "It will take us months to build something like that Jon. Why not a simple above ground garage? That's cheaper and faster to build," she inquires.

"The main reason is that our ship has to have at least ten centimeters of dirt above it and around it—about four inches—in order for us not to be detected. This ship is made out of a material that transmits a frequency which gets picked up easily by some of Earth's radars. And because the 'undetected mode system' is not working, we can be found without much effort. We have found out that dirt and water are the only elements that keep the frequency from reaching out. That's also the reason why we are safe down here in the lake. We can't come out unless we have another way of protecting ourselves."

"That explains some things for us," I comment, "But it will take us quite a lot to build the garage. I don't want to be negative about it, but I can't really ask a bunch of people to come and help me out. There would be too many questions about the whole project."

"We know it will take some time, and we are not in too much of a hurry; not as long as we have oxygen down here. We don't want to put pressure on you, either. You already have a job and a family to take care, and that comes first."

"I wish I could use one of those strong decisions you talk about," I say to him, "and make lots of money so I don't have to go to work and I could just stay here to help you guys out full-time."

"Well it looks like you just decided. It is like wanting anything else, Lee. You just have to want something really bad and you'll get it. Anytime you set your mind to something, feel the passion for it, are able to see it as done, and feel like you already have it, then you can achieve it," says Jon with a lot of enthusiasm in his voice.

"Okay, I am getting the picture," I respond. "I will work on it. Is there a way you can also help others make their dreams come true? Like...us."

"We sure can, but you have your own universe and it is up to you to make things happen in it. You've got the most power within you. You are the cause point of what happens around you! Others can affect your space and what happens in it, too. But no one can do it to the degree you can. Like I said, it is your own universe. You cause the things that happen around you."

"That's definitely a new level of thinking," I think to myself.

Gina and I look at each other. I can tell she is thinking the same thing.

"Well, that's an interesting new concept for us. That in itself gives me more self-confidence. I always felt I could do many things and I have actually achieved a lot of my goals. Now I have a better understanding of how that works," I say. Gina nods.

"It is a bit like magic," Gina says, "That's the way I look at it. You command things in the physical universe and they just happen. You just have to have enough intention that something will happen and it does."

"I think you both got it," Jon asserts.

"I've definitely got it Jon. So that's done! Soon I will be working with you guys full-time. I will start building that underground garage, just like you want it. I love garages, by the way. You can ask Gina about it."

Gina rolls her eyes, "He would live in a garage if he could. As a matter of fact, he did live in a garage once, next to his car and tool box. That's when I first met him. I was a bit confused, but I dated him for a while anyway and convinced him to move back to his room."

I chuckle while playing with Gina's hair. "There is so much you can build in a garage, so many things to create with; mechanics, electronic toys, all kinds of gadgets."

"I have to admit he is good with mechanics and building electronic gadgets, but you didn't have to live there!"

"Sorry about our childish discussion Jon."

"No worries," he replies.

"I will get all the needed resources to build that garage, but we still have to figure out how to get the ship out of the lake. That concerns us a lot!" I tell him.

"I understand your concern," Jon acknowledges, "but moving the ship will be the very last thing we do, because it can't be exposed for too long, remember? They can track our location in less than a minute. We would be finished, if they find us. We will let you know in due time what our plan is to move it into the garage once everything is ready," he says.

"I will keep that in mind. We will just concentrate on building the garage," I say to him, feeling that everything is going to be just fine.

I turn to Gina, "It's kind of crazy how fast we make and change plans around here, isn't it?"

"I definitely think it is." She smiles and nods.

"It is what it is," says Jon. "It is also an ability to be able to change ideas, plans, or decisions rapidly. You guys are on it! There might be other times in the future when we need to change plans rapidly, so be prepared."

"No worries. We'll be prepared. Now, what is your plan after we get the ship out? Do you plan to fix it?" Gina asks.

"Yes," says Jon. "We already have a good idea of the parts that need to be replaced. But once we get it inside the garage we will be able to assess the damages in detail."

"And then what?" I ask. "How are we going to get the parts? Not even NASA has them, and even if they did..." I pause, "How could we get them? Would I go and ask, 'Excuse me guys, I am hiding some aliens in my house and they need some parts to repair their ship so they can go back home. Can you help us out?'"

"Very funny," says Jon. "We are aware the parts can't be found here on Earth. They will come from our Base. A ship will come down here and deliver them to us."

"Wow! But, aren't they afraid of being destroyed or getting shot down by our people? Just like what happened with you?" Gina asks.

"Well, it will be safer this time, because they know about your weapons, so they will be protected and will use the non-detection mode. Their ship will be a newer model too," says Leo

"So they will be coming here to deliver the parts to fix your ship?" Gina asks.

"Yes! They will be coming to your garage."

"How cool is that, Lee?"

"I think it is amazingly cool. I have one question, guys. Why don't they just come, pick you up, and leave the wrecked ship here?"

"I was waiting for that question Lee. There are two reasons for that: one, we plan to continue our mission, and reason number two, we can't let others take possession of the remains of this ship, even if it doesn't work. It is our technology—nothing personal, you know. It is part of our policy to safeguard our technology."

"I see. How big is the ship that will bring the parts? Will it fit in the garage?"

"No. The one that will come is twice as big as this one."

"Is that the biggest model of spaceship you have?" Gina asks.

Jon chuckles, "Definitely not. The biggest ones are about thirty times the size of this one. There are 50 of them. They are able to carry several of these smaller models out into space to accomplish various tasks; very long trips into space and even across the whole galaxy."

"Across the entire galaxy!" I say, looking at Gina, "Can you imagine babe, traveling that far. It must take years!"

"You will be even more amazed by how fast they can travel. It only takes a few days to get across the Milky Way," says Jon.

"But the Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years across. Mind blowing, can't think with that, Jon. I do believe you, though," I voice, still puzzled about what he is telling us. "What kind of tasks do you do there? May I ask?"

"Yes, you may. Some go out to find new sources of energy and survey for new materials with which to expand our Base. Others are used for collecting 'space trash'—things others leave floating out in space, even wrecks from other ships. There are a few that are on watch for meteors flying loose and causing trouble or being a liability to our Base or others. And of course those like us, the 'Peace Makers'."

"Don't you have an Army or some kind of Navy to protect your Base and fight against others?" I ask.

"No, we don't specialize in warfare. Most of us are trained to fight if needed, and our ships are well equipped with weapons, but with the sole purpose of protecting our Base, our ships, and ourselves."

"Wow!" says Gina. "We have so much to learn from you. It seems to me like things work the other way around here. We have armies fighting wars among our own people. We don't even get attacks from outer space, imagine if we did!"

"I think the problem is that...we don't have enough problems, so we go around looking for them. It is as if we have a lack of games to play."

"You are both right," says Jon. "We can talk more about this in the future; war is a big subject. I'm sure we can come up with ideas that will bring about a change on this planet. It is not the first time we've gone through this."

"It's a relief to hear that," Gina comments.

"Hold on guys," I say, "I am getting a phone call from my boss...can we call you in a few minutes?"

"Sure, take your time," he replies.

# Chapter 13

### Part Fired - Part Hired

I pick up the phone to talk to my boss, "How can I help you, boss?

"Hi Lee. I know you are trying to spend time with your family, but I wanted to talk to you about something very important. As you have seen, our company is going through a rough time, probably the worst since it came into existence. I had no choice but to let two other employees go yesterday, Bruce and Trish, from the Shipping Department. I am fully aware that you have a family to care for, and I don't want to let you go, but wanted to know if you are willing to continue on a part-time basis instead of full-time. At least until things get better financially. What do you think?"

"Well, I really appreciate your concern. I am willing to do it. I'll be back on Monday. Is it okay with you if I do the morning shift?"

"Morning is good. Thank you very much Lee. Enjoy the weekend."

" _At this point I can't tell if this is all part of my decision or if it is just misfortune. But it can't be something bad. I feel that there is no way things can go wrong now_ ," I say to myself. _"But wait a minute, more time is what I was asking for, more time to be here and help my new friends..."_

I shout to Gina in the kitchen, "I just got half fired!"

"You got what?" Gina exclaims as she comes running back to me.

"Maybe half hired," I say.

I brief Gina about my short talk with my boss and we are both speechless.

"I kind of saw that coming," she says. "I think these guys are having a really big influence on us and are making things happen much faster around us. After hearing what they can do and seeing that they have been able to survive in there for such a long time. I just think they are extremely capable," she concludes. "My only concern is...how are we going to survive with half your salary? I am sorry, but I just get concerned about money, our future—"

"I know you do babe," I say to her.

She goes on, "We just had a baby and we don't even have savings."

"I know exactly how you feel about it, Gina. You are just doing your job of keeping the family safe and thinking about our future. And I'm just doing my job, maybe being too risky and daring, which is just how I am, but more than anything, I believe that we will make it; I just know it. I decided we are going to have an adventurous and successful future, and I truly believe we are causing all these changes, even though sometimes they don't seem to make sense. We've just got to find other ways to make more money—any ideas?"

"I'm not sure," she says. "I think if we had other ways of making money we would have taken advantage of them already."

"That's not true! There are always new opportunities. The world is constantly growing and changing, and so are the opportunities. We just have to look a little harder. Let's take a look at our possibilities as of right now. There has got to be something! We are now more positively minded than ever before!" I start to get a little bit irritated, but excited at the same time, "We are very able beings!"

She looks at me while I pace around the living room and reminds me of some of my past projects and ideas: "You wanted to do art, painting that is, but that didn't go so well. You started playing the guitar in the hopes becoming a musician. That did not work out either. Then you started writing a book, wrote twenty five pages and decided it was taking too much of your time, the subject was boring and..."

"That's it!" I say with excitement and stop pacing.

"What?" she asks.

"Writing! I can do it now!" I get even more excited. "I can write a book now! I have the time, part-time that is. I've also got a great story—more than one."

"You got time all right. What's the subject this time Lee? Aliens and spaceships?"

"Exactly!" I exclaim.

"No one is going to believe it," she adds.

"Who cares? You don't write for people to believe what you write. It would be Science Fiction, anyway. I want to make people think, get their imagination to fly. That's what I like when I read a good book. I love it when they make me feel that I am living various experiences and perceiving emotions. This might sound a bit naive, but one book I read even made me cry. I couldn't believe it. Others have made me laugh. Anyway, I can make it seem very real. I can get some stories from those guys. I am sure they can help me out. They can tell me space stories and experiences, which can be really exciting because they actually happened!" I conclude with major excitement.

"It sounds very doable," says Gina. I can tell she really understood my concept now. "You'll just have to make sure you transmit their experiences in such a way that people can actually digest them."

"I know, but knowing these guys...I am sure they are aware of how to do it. I will talk to them and see what they think about it."

"You should get started right away then. We also need to find a way of publishing the book—"

"Grant! My buddy from New Zealand, always told me to finish writing the book I was in the middle of and said he would publish it for me. I think he is still waiting. Let me call Jon and Leo to share some ideas with them."

I call Jon and Leo and tell them how I got "half fired", and about my idea to start writing. They think it's brilliant and are totally willing to back me up, especially if it has to do with space stories.

Leo tells me: "Writing is an art through which you express feelings, ideas, and knowledge".

They make me more confident, not only about writing a book, but also about believing in myself.

Jon says, "If you have a good feeling about it, if you think it can benefit others in any way, even by just making their imagination fly, do it...just do it!"

" _I think this advice is pretty cool, as it's exactly what I had been talking to Gina about earlier. I wonder if they heard me. Maybe they were around_."

I spend the following two weeks collecting stories from Jon and Leo on a part-time basis, creating my own content, and putting it all together. Upon completion of the story I get Gina's help with editing by correcting grammar and spelling mistakes.

Finally, I find the phone number of my publisher friend Grant, and give him a ring. He picks up right away.

"Hey Grant, Lee here."

He replies, with a strong Kiwi accent, like a true New Zealander. "What up, mate? Haven't heard from you, about your book or anything, bro. I wanted to make your book the next bestseller!" he jokes. We both laugh.

"Well, I finally finished a book."

"Cool, send it to me so I can check it out," he says. "Don't have much to do now, so it's a good time. I can't wait to read all the stories you told me you were going to write about your life!"

"Well, this book is kind of different, Grant. I mean, I still want to write some of the stories about my life, but I came up with some other ideas. I've got some really exciting stuff man."

I feel like telling Grant more about my book and have to hold myself back. It's best if he just reads it. But I tell him, "This is a real science fiction book. Let me email it to you right now, and please let me know what you think! By the way, I added some pictures to it. I think they give people more reality, something to think with."

"That's awesome man! Sounds exciting. We'll talk soon."

" _I like Grant. He is a very simple and honest guy. He will let me know if the book is worth publishing. I'm confident it is_."

# Chapter 14

### Making Key Decisions

After my call with Grant I hear the crackle of the radio.

"That's either Jon or Leo calling..." I tell Gina, who is preparing food in the kitchen. "Hello?"

"It's Jon here. Just wanted to check, if you had sent the book to your friend?"

"Yes, I just emailed it to him. He is very excited about it, and will let me know as soon as he's done reading it."

"I am sure he will like it!"

"Thanks! You and Leo did most of the work. I really appreciate your help and support with it."

"It is our pleasure. We will do whatever we can to help you out. We want to help you increase your power so that you achieve your goals and you won't have to be concerned about money. We are definitely aware of the fact that you are working on helping us. We are a team," he adds.

"Yes, unfortunately money is always a concern for us. I've got to work things out so we can go ahead with our project without having to pay too much attention to the financial aspect of things. I don't intend to get rich. I just want to make enough money to help you, and to move on in life."

"I'm sure everything will be just fine."

"I'm telling you, Jon, one day I am going to write and publish a book regarding some of the things we talk about—our abilities, communication, drugs, and many other subjects. There are _so_ many things people have got to become aware of," I assert.

"That's a great idea. You can write about all these things. Just make sure you always respect religious freedom and human rights. Also, bear in mind that you could find opposition and even be attacked by some whose ideas are different regarding some subjects," he advises.

"But attacked by whom? We have freedom of expression here!" I say with surprise.

"Freedom of expression is a right, and those who feel attacked by your ideas, also exert freedom of action. There are some people with lots of power who are responsible for all kinds of bad actions. The moment they feel threatened by those who are making the world more aware of their bad deeds, they may come looking for you or anyone else involved. They are always looking for targets. You've just got to be aware of that, that's all," he says.

Leo, who has been listening to our conversation, gets on the radio and adds to what Jon just said, "Anybody wanting to write about these things and make the world more aware, has got to have balls to do it, Lee. I know you do!"

I begin to laugh, and then say, "How do you know I've got balls, Leo?" They laugh, too. "Thanks for encouraging me, man. I am willing to take the challenge. I will do anything to make people more aware, and to wake them up to the fact that things are not right the way they are. But also, that we can make changes in this world, and stop being effected by just a few in power who are controlling us. I am sure I will also find many good people backing me up," I say with certainty, and a positive tone of voice.

"That's very kind of you. Very brave, too," says Jon. "It sounds like a great project," he adds.

"Well...thanks guys. I must get going with our current project of building the underground garage. I am sure everything will go fine with the book I gave to Grant. I hope he can publish it soon. I need to start getting money so I can keep building the garage."

"Do what you can with the time and money you have," says Jon. "Also, make sure you spend enough time with Gina and Sarah. We don't want you to neglect them while trying to help us."

"I will keep that in mind. As a matter of fact, I will go out and take a walk with little Sarah and Gina now, and share what we just talked about so we are all on the same page."

"Sure buddy. Have fun," he pauses and then adds with a sad voice, "I wish I could take a walk on the surface of Earth like you do."

"I'll make sure you and Leo will take many walks on the surface of Earth someday. Leave that up to me and my girls."

" _Poor guys,_ _I am sure they are not having the greatest time down there. I mean, how can they? I would go crazy. I have to get going with this project and get them out of there soon._ "

I place Sarah in a small baby carrier, grab Gina's hand and we head out towards the open field. We walk around the lake once and notice the smell of fresh flowers all around. Some birds are flying around us, as if they had been waiting to meet us to show us the beauty of flying.

" _There is so much freedom waiting to be attained._ _And we...we drown ourselves in a glass of water sometimes trying to accomplish small duties_. _We literally kill ourselves trying to survive._ " I chuckle.

"What is happening?" Gina asks as we follow a path that leads up to a hill where we can see some distant neighboring houses.

"I was just thinking..." I pause unsure what to say.

"Freedom! Isn't it?" she asks. "Freedom is what you are thinking, isn't it?" she smiles. "Your thoughts are getting louder and louder!"

"I am going to have to watch it." We both laugh softly.

Sarah's beautiful brown eyes are fully open, she doesn't want to miss seeing and perceiving all that goes on around us. It's a beautiful afternoon and I can tell there is going to be a beautiful sunset.

Towards the end of our walk I brief them about my recent talk with Jon and Leo, and we agree that I have got to get back on the garage project as soon as we return to the house.

# Chapter 15

### Construction Begins

I had already gotten the parts needed to fix the tractor so I replace the old ones and get it running.

I take measurements and make some rough calculations of the area to dig, get on the tractor with a big cup of coffee next to the steering wheel, and start digging.

I begin by making a big trench that defines the area to be dug up. It is located 300 feet away from the house, on a sloped higher area, which is perfect as no one can see it unless they come very close to it. It also has a big slope towards the back, which makes it easier for me to throw some dirt down there.

" _This is going to be more like an underground warehouse_."

Jon wants me to make it six meters deep. That's definitely not possible with this tractor, as its shovel only reaches about four meters—13 feet that is. I will do whatever I can with this machine I have and then think of something else.

" _I will rent a big truck and a bigger tractor, a digger or excavator. That's what I'll do!"_

" _The fun part is going to be building the walls and pouring the concrete floor and roof. There is some engineering involved with that, but I am sure Jon and Leo can give me a hand."_

The next day, I drive to the company that rents out equipment. I make the rental arrangements for a digger, also called excavator, and a dirt truck, and ask to have them delivered to my house.

I can dig as deep as I want and move the dirt anywhere I want with those machines. It is going to be really interesting and exciting since I love using heavy equipment.

The equipment arrives early the next day, a huge excavator and a dirt truck.

"Hey Gina, what do you think about my new toys?" I ask her.

"They are _huge_!"

"Yep! Now we are talking! Let's do some major construction, baby," I voice with major excitement.

"Right! Make sure you don't run us over with those things of yours, Mr. Construction!" says Gina as she turns around to head inside the house.

"I want my coffee rather strong today, please!" I call after her.

She comes back out with a question, "How did you pay for that, Lee?"

"I knew you were going to ask," I mutter.

"Credit card?"

"I also knew you had the answer," I reply.

She rolls her eyes and goes back inside.

"I still want some fresh coffee!" I shout.

I keep looking at the machines and start to tell myself, " _I have always wanted to work with really heavy equipment. These guys are making many of my dreams come true. I feel like I have experienced so many things in so little time. I wonder what will happen once they get out of there!_ "

" _It is going to be such a pleasure seeing them in person or 'in alien', I guess. I feel a lot like one of them in many ways. Everything they say is so real to me. The funny thing is, when they tell me, 'You don't have to believe what we say or what we believe in'. I can't help but believe them. It all makes so much sense to me._

_Anyway, I've got to get busy. The clock is ticking and every hour is expensive with the equipment I am renting._ "

I start digging and load up the dirt truck. I fill up the truck and empty it five times and it still doesn't seem like I have done much, so I keep going nonstop.

Gina approaches around noon, "You should stop for lunch!" she shouts over the noise of the equipment.

"Hello there!" I respond loudly, while turning off the digger.

"Wow! You have done a great job!" she says. "It must be hard to load up the dirt truck, get down from the tractor..."

"It's a digger or excavator." I interrupt her.

"Yeah, whatever you want to call it, and then drive the truck and go back to the digger again and again. How many times have you done it?" she asks.

"Oh, don't know...twenty times maybe," I tell her. "I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a funny thing, dirt seems to grow as you dig it up. I mean it actually does, as it is not compacted anymore."

"No matter what you say, I think you are doing a great job."

"Well thanks honey."

We head back to the house and sit down at the table to have some lunch. "Hmm, great soup Gina. I didn't feel hungry at all. I was having such a blast with my toys."

"I knew I had to come and get you, otherwise you would starve yourself to death."

"True that! I want to give you and Sarah a ride on those machines after lunch. Are you keen?"

"I guess so," she says a bit uncertain about climbing up on the digger.

After lunch, I help them both up into the excavator. Gina is holding on to the handles very tightly with Sarah in a baby carrier on her chest. We have put headphones on the baby to protect her sensitive new ears. They both seem more relaxed after a short while.

"This is so much fun for me girls!" I tell them as I plunge the digger's bucket into the ground and grab a full shovel of dirt to pour it into the dirt truck.

"I think Sarah is enjoying it as much as you Lee. And like you say, 'Why not have fun while working', or is it 'Why not work while having fun'?" she wonders.

"Either way is fine," I smile. "It is just more enjoyable now; we are doing all this for a very good cause, and personally, I think those guys are amazing!"

"I agree, Lee. I also want to let you know that I really admire you for doing all this work for them even though we don't know them."

"Well, believe you me, I know them and they know us, Gina! We have become part of them and they have become part of us. I know this is not the first time I have worked with them. Remember how I told you the other night that Jon and I talked for hours, and how he believes we have existed for a long time, lived many lives and all that?"

"Yes, I remember that," she nods.

"Well, I had a realization after I finished talking to him. I am sure I met them a long time ago. Part of what made me realize that was their communication. I keep seeing images of some past lives, when I even had a different type of body, like theirs. I know all this may sound crazy to you, but it is not just my imagination," I tell her with such certainty so as not to leave Gina any room for doubt.

"Were you very able like them?" was Gina's next question. "I mean, don't get me wrong...I know you are a very strong and able person."

"I know what you mean and the answer is yes and no. I say yes, because I know I was powerful and no, because I am not sure...or, I can't remember what I was capable of doing. Do you know what I mean?" I ask.

"Not sure," she says.

"Well, it's like this, you know you are capable of many things and you feel you have that power within you, but you don't know how to use it."

"I see. It must be an interesting feeling knowing that you were part of them."

"It sure is."

Gina begins to look more comfortable and seems to actually be enjoying the ride.

"Even I am starting to like the ride now," she voices. "It actually feels good to be up here. I can tell this machine is strong and can do so many things."

"Yep! It is making our job much easier."

"Isn't it hard to drive?"

"Not at all. And you don't really drive it, you operate it.

"I think it's amazing. It even has air-conditioning inside...unreal. Don't you need a license to drive...I mean, operate this thing?"

"A certification is what you need in order to operate this type of heavy equipment. And if you want to do this as a full-time job, you must prove that you are certified, other than that...I don't think so. I wasn't asked at the rental company," I say to her with smile on my face.

"I bet you didn't ask them what the requirements are, either."

"You are asking too many questions," I interrupt her. "Not only that Gina, I know you also have the answers." I look at her with a mischievous smile on my face. "Let's go to the dirt truck. I want to show you how that one works."

I take them to the dirt truck, which I had just completed filling with dirt. I start driving it towards the mountain of dirt I had already piled up.

"I am being careful to spread the dirt as much as I can," I tell them. "Otherwise it is going to be a huge mountain—too obvious."

"See...I park here, pull this lever gently and make the bed dump the dirt," I tell them while making the bed tilt and start to slowly dump the dirt. I also make the hydraulic arm shake the bed a few times, which makes the whole truck shake.

" _Lee!_ That's scary!" Gina shouts.

"My bad!" I say, chuckling. "Well I will take you girls back home and keep at it until it gets dark. I don't want to bore you nor scare you anymore."

"We had fun and got a good idea of what you are going to be doing. Just don't be too wild with your toys."

I start laughing, "You are asking a race horse _not_ to run so fast, or a motocross rider _not_ to jump..."

"Come on Lee! Stop this thing so Sarah and I can go home. I have a few things to do," I can tell she has had her fill of the whole thing.

Once they leave I keep on with the digging, but the sky is getting cloudy and it starts to get dark within a few hours. It's the kind of darkness that announces rain. And sure enough, fifteen minutes later it starts to pour.

" _It sort of sucks because the rain will slow things down. But then again, it is also kind of cool since we haven't had rain for a while. I will do as much as I can. I have no time to waste._ "

Half an hour later the dirt truck gets stuck in the mud, and I mean _really_ stuck. The ground is soft and slippery with all the rain, and with me trying so hard to get it going, it tilts to the side and falls into a trench, which scares the hell out of me. As I completely lose control, it is now very close to tipping over. The dirt in the truck is also heavier as it is soaking wet.

" _I should have thought of that! The truck is probably twice as heavy!_ _Let's see what I can do here_ ...."

Gina comes running out of the house holding an umbrella and calling, "Lee, are you okay?"

I shout back to her, "Yes honey, I just...lost control for a minute."

"I heard the truck make a lot of noise and running so loudly...and with all this rain...why don't you come inside?"

"I will be there soon! Just let me fix something here."

" _These are the times when a helper could be very useful!_ "

All drenched from the rain I climb up into the excavator and use it to unload the dirt truck as much as I can. The excavator has so much power, that I am able to easily pull the truck right out of the ditch and into a safe spot. I cover the trench with a few rocks and some sand, so I will be able to drive the truck back and forth tomorrow.

" _What an adventurous day!_ "

I head back to the house.

"Hi babe."

"Oh my! You are quite wet and...dirty. Stay there! Let me get you some towels. I just cleaned the entire floor!" says Gina in a bossy tone of voice.

She throws me a couple of towels to clean myself so I don't make a mess on my way to the shower.

I finish my shower, and as I come out naked I can smell freshly brewed coffee.

"Now we are talking!" I grab the cup that Gina had purposely placed next to the coffee maker and fill it up. "Thanks sweetie. I am going to check on Jon and Leo while I enjoy my coffee". I give her a friendly little spank on the butt as I pass by.

She turns around and spanks me back. "At least get some shorts and a T-shirt on, Mr. Greek Statue," she says, still with a bossy ring to her voice.

"Don't you worry about a thing! Jon and Leo won't be able to tell I'm naked," I joke.

She shakes her head.

# Chapter 16

### A New Reality

I turn the radio on and start to talk to the guys, "Hello! Jon, Leo, are you there?"

"Yes, it's Jon here. Where else would we be?"

"Right! Well...do you ever sleep, rest, nap, anything?" I ask.

"Normally not, but down here we have been getting used to taking naps, just like you. We take a nap for a few hours every day to save energy."

"Amazing! I wish I did not have to sleep. I could get so much more done _._ "

"I know what you mean. Sorry the rain slowed you down today," he comments.

"Yes, but I made good progress. It turned out to be a very adventurous day for me. I really love doing that kind of work."

"I could tell you were enjoying it. Gina and Sarah had some fun, too."

"They did. So you are able to see what is happening outside?" I ask very interested.

"See, hear, and other perceptions," he replies.

"So, you can see and hear everything we do or say?"

"We could, but we also respect your space. We don't just go around checking on others. We follow a strict code of ethics when being around others," Jon responds.

"Cool! I really like talking to you and Leo! I feel like this is not the first time we have been close, you know. I don't even wonder if what you are saying is true. I just know it is true. It becomes true to me anyhow. I feel like I met you before Jon. I was telling Gina and—"

Jon interrupts, "It wasn't too long ago, about 200 Earth years ago. You and I were part of a big group, doing similar work to what we are doing now..."

"And what happened?"

"You were captured by the enemy, who must have rendered you unconscious before you were able to realize who and where you were. Then we assume they put you in some sort of machine to keep you in a state of amnesia for some time. We know they also tried to get information about our operations and our Base."

"Maybe that explains the headaches I get sometimes," I tell him. "Do you think I gave any information about you or the Base?"

"We have very strong reasons to believe that you did. Our Base was under attack soon after you were captured. They destroyed many of our ships and caused major damage to the Base. We fought back and defeated them. We also found one of their Bases and destroyed it. But they still come around from time to time looking for trouble, as they own other Bases around our galaxy. They are still one of our main enemies. After all that happened we started bigger projects, designed to establish more peace in the universe," Jon ends.

"I feel really bad for what I did, Jon. I am so sorry," I tell him, feeling very miserable.

"It is all over, Lee. It is now in the past. We all have to move on and continue to be the best we can be in life," he says in a calm voice.

"Thanks. That makes me feel a little bit better, nevertheless, I still feel miserable..."

"Like I said, no hard feelings. We now have to work thinking in our future, don't worry about the past."

"Well, you can be sure I've got my mind set on the future, but I also want to take some responsibility for what I did. Do you think I would ever be allowed to visit the Base again?"

"I can't answer that question," he says calmly. He pauses and then continues, "Most of the time, beings like you have to go through a long rehabilitation process before they can ever go back to the Base. They must show that they are more ethical and capable than before. I can tell you one thing though, they know we found you, and they know what a great job you are doing!"

"Well, whether I am allowed to go back or not, my responsibility level is now higher than ever before. I will do whatever I can to mend my past mistakes and not only help you guys, but also find ways to become more capable and powerful."

"I will quit my normal job tomorrow. I have better things to do than just go to a shop to build engines every day. There is a whole planet to be saved here, and Lord knows what else," I tell him, leaving no room for doubt.

"That's very brave Lee. I did not mean for you to make such a drastic decision—"

"I think it is nothing but fair. Don't you worry about a thing! Let me talk to Gina about it."

"As you wish man. As you wish."

I tell Gina about my conversation with Jon right away including whom I had been and how I failed them. I also share with her that I plan to do everything I can to help them, and I tell her of my intentions to maybe someday go back, even if it is a temporary visit or to be assigned to some mission. I feel a very strong urge to be up there.

Gina gets a bit worried about the idea of me ever going away. "But you wouldn't abandon us, would you?" she asks sounding very concerned.

"Of course not, you silly thing!" I assert with a convincing tone. "You and Sarah are the only thing that would keep me from going _anywhere_. I would take you with me, if that would be okay with you and them. But...I don't even know if I can ever visit the Base again. And I shouldn't have those ideas right now. I need to concentrate on getting them out of the lake as soon as I can!"

"Right! Let's make plans for the near future and focus on that for now," Gina agrees.

"Very well. Oh, by the way, I am going to quit working tomorrow. No more part-time stuff. I will make sure that the book gets published soon and then I will keep writing in order to finance this whole project. Things will be fine. I just decided that."

"Well, let it be that way," Gina says. "We will trust you and support you."

"Thanks babe. I really appreciate you trusting me and backing me up all the way!"

# Chapter 17

### Success in Writing

I get up the next day and call Grant right away.

"Hey Grant. Did you have time to read my book?"

"I sure did mate!" he says. "It is amazing...all the stuff you wrote. I don't know how you came up with all that material! All the science fiction stories and even pictures—I have no idea how you got those with some of that weird writing on the bottom. That makes it look so real," he goes on. "I got so busy with it...well, I hope you don't mind, but I decided to have eight thousand copies printed. They will start printing them this week. This book could become a bestseller in no time! What do you think?"

I am speechless for a moment. "Wow, I don't know what to say man. I..." I hesitate again.

"Well, sorry for not getting your permission before proceeding. I sent you an email with the proposal. Didn't you see it? We can still stop the printing, if you don't agree."

"No, no, that's fine Grant! I just didn't know...I wasn't expecting...it is a really good thing you see, and I did not know it could happen so fast. I haven't read my emails for a few days. I've been so busy with other projects around here that I haven't had time to even get near the computer. But there is no problem whatsoever about you making the decision and publishing it."

"Okay. Check the email I sent you with the proposal, and let me know if it is okay with you."

"I will. Thanks again man. Thanks for making it happen. You are the _man!_ " We both chuckle.

I check my email and sure enough there is an offer of $5,000 for the author's copyright paid up front and 25% of the sales paid monthly. The suggested retail price of the book is $12.00 each, with $9.00 going to the publishing house, and $3.00 paid to me. The first 12000 copies will be printed, published, and distributed into the major bookstores around the United States. They will sell online as well.

" _I guess that's a start._ _More than making lots of money, I need my name to become known, so I can write more, and thus make more money in the future. I don't think one can easily become rich just writing books—you'd have to be really famous and write a lot, which is not my purpose anyway. I just want to make enough to take good care of my family, and continue with this new project_."

I immediately answer Grant's email,

" _Go ahead, Grant. The proposal is good. I also plan to write another book or two. I will pass it on to you as soon as I am finished with them._

Regards,

Lee (The Writer)"

Half an hour later he responds:

" _If you keep writing these types of books, we can partner up and have our own publishing business._

Best regards,

Grant (Your Manager)"

I am really excited and decide to call Jon to tell him the news, "Hey Jon, Grant says my book is going to be printed and published by next week. I will get a check and then..." I fill him in on everything that had taken place with Grant.

"I am very proud of you Lee. Well done!"

"Well, you and Leo gave me most of the stories," I say to him, "so thank you for that, and thank you for making me believe I could do it!"

"It's a team effort brother. Nothing just happens."

"Right! But see, I am more self-confident now. I can see how I can cause big things to happen. I always thought it was all 'God's Faith' and that we just put things in His hands."

"I think God's hands are already too full. Everybody on Earth seems to put everything in His hands. You guys should give _Him_ a hand." We both chuckle.

"You are right Jon. And like you mentioned before, if...if we call ourselves 'the children of God' we should have inherited quite a bit of power within ourselves, that means we are _powerful_ ," I agree enthusiastically.

"It sounds like you are getting it. I like the way you think."

"Thanks. I wanted you to hear the good news. I am now going to have some breakfast, and go back to continue with the dig. It seems like a perfect day—not raining anymore. And by the way...we had plenty of rain yesterday! Can you please scare away any dark clouds that might show up?"

He laughs, and says, "Will do my friend."

Gina was already up and had heard the whole conversation. She is impressed about our book being published. I say "our book", because it is ours. We are a team, just like Jon says. All of our efforts are combined and being taken to achieve our common goals, not just mine.

# Chapter 18

### The Dig

I have moved ten truckloads of dirt, about ten square meters each time, which means about one hundred square meters of dirt has been removed. I probably still have another two days of digging left to do.

Two days later...

I am done digging. I have excavated all the dirt I wanted to remove. I was also able to dig a huge trench that is going to be a tunnel connecting the garage with the house. Jon has prepared blueprints for the garage, including the floor, walls and the sliding roof as well, and I already have some modifications in mind.

I get my $5000 check from the publishing company and a $3000 check in final wages and unused vacation time from the company I had been working for until recently. I have enough to pay for the equipment I rented, and to buy a sufficient amount of material to start building the foundation and walls for the garage.

" _Nice! Way to go!_ "

I am also going to put some aside for the family; food, diapers, and other necessities.

I call the equipment rental company and ask them to come and pick up their machines. They also do concrete pouring work, so I tell them to come back in three days with three truckloads of concrete ready to be poured. Three more days is enough time for me to lay the rebar (reinforcing steel bar for concrete) on the ground to insure a strong foundation. The garage itself will look like a huge box with nothing in it when it is finished.

I get a truckload of rebar and with the help of a couple of contractors, we are able to complete the whole thing in one day. We put down a good amount of rebar on the ground and I made sure there were extra pieces all along the edge to provide enough support for the walls and eventually the roof. I also laid some pipes to be able to run electrical cables for lighting and electrical outlets as well as some plumbing pipes for a sink.

Jon tells me that they have already compiled enough stories to publish not one, but two more books. They are going to email them to me. I tell them I want to wait a few more days before I give the books to Grant. He wouldn't think I could come up with so many stories so fast.

Three days later...

I have poured the concrete floor and now I have a bunch of rebar sticking out of it along the edges, which will eventually hold the walls. There are some extra thick pieces of rebar every ten feet, where I am going to build columns that will hold the roof. The next step will be the building of the forms that are going to hold the concrete for the walls. I complete the forms in two days with a couple of hired helpers.

Four days later...

The walls are done! I even poured the walls of the tunnel that leads to the house. I added an additional entrance to the tunnel at the east side of the building, facing the lake and the motocross track. Now I have a huge box with more rebar pieces sticking up and am ready for my biggest challenge—the roof.

I pull out Jon's blueprint of the roof structure and tell him that I have some changes in mind. All he says is, "Let your imagination fly and impress us!" His idea is to have a roof that can be lifted on one end, just enough so the dirt won't fall out but for the ship to get inside.

My idea is to make a flat roof. It will be on the same level as the ground, but when the time comes to open it I will make it come up a couple of feet and slide towards the back. It is going to be trick. The ship will drop in there easily.

I also email Grant with the second book and tell him that I will be done with another one in a week or so. He is so excited, keeps telling me he can't believe how good and fast I am at writing, and how I should have started writing long ago.

# Chapter 19

### Things Go Awry, Necessity Goes Up

Jon calls me on the radio, "Are you there Lee?"

"Yes I am here Jon. How is it going?"

"Not so good!" he says, sounding concerned. "Our hydrogen converter unit is not working so well. It started acting up a week ago. We have done various things to keep it going, but don't know how much longer it will last."

"That's not good at all. What's the worst that can happen, if it stops working all together?"

"Our bodies will die since this equipment provides us with oxygen taken from the water. We are already kind of...weak." His voice is starting to sound weaker and faint.

"I see. But I figure I need at least another week to finish building the garage!"

"We don't have a week. This machine can stop working any time! I don't mean to be rude, Lee, but please throw a roof on that thing and we'll get ready to move in," he says it in a commanding voice, while keeping a gentle and polite tone.

"I am going to speed things up...you and Leo hold on tight. I won't let you guys down again!" I say with complete certainty that I can handle this.

"Bye Lee," says Jon, his voice faint.

"Did you hear that Gina?"

"Yes I did," she says with great concern.

"His voice is not the same. I can perceive he is sad. He thinks that they may not make it. We are their only hope Gina. Their only hope!" I tell her looking straight into her eyes.

"What's the plan?"

"We will order all the materials needed right away. I will work day and night. We will also get a few guys to help me during the day so we can speed things up. Your main job will be, aside from taking care of little Sarah, to provide us with food and drinks. And lots of coffee, of course, so we can keep going. And please check on Jon and Leo every so often, and make sure they are still there!"

"What if they don't answer? What can we do?" Gina asks with tears in her eyes.

"I guess...nothing. But showing them we care for them so much will give them more hope. They will feel we are with them. That's the power of communication," I say to her while grabbing her shaking hands. She begins to look down to the floor. I grab her face, make her look straight into my eyes and tell her, "We will pull it off! You understand?"

"I do." She nods and wipes her tears.

I get on the phone right away and order all the materials I will need to build the roof to exact specs—corrugated tin sheets, a ton of metal pieces, bolts, nuts, rails, wheels, welding material, two welding machines, chains, and a five horsepower motor that will make the roof slide back and forth.

I spend the following two days and two nights building the roof and finally get it working. It moves up a couple of feet and then slides towards the back, just as planned. The final job will be to add a layer of dirt—about 6 inches thick, to cover the entire roof. This will keep the ship from being detected by radar. My plan is to use the dirt that I had previously left off to the side of the structure, and to use wheelbarrows for the job. I plan to get some sleep tonight and spend all of the following day to get the job completed. I will have my two helpers come and give me a hand.

Early the next day I check on Jon and Leo. They only give a brief response, "We are still here," and then hang up.

I get to the garage and start to move dirt to the middle of the rooftop. It's easy as the roof is pretty level, but carrying and distributing the dirt definitely turns into quite a workout.

An hour later, Gina tells me that the guys I had contracted are not coming back. They felt overworked and decided to take a day off.

" _Well...I can't say I did not make them work hard. They probably worked harder with me in the past few days than the rest of their entire lives!_ " I chuckle.

I am now confronted with even more work. I just keep telling myself that I can do this _,_ and I furiously throw away the water bottle and get a tight grip on the shovel.

Four hours have gone by. I take a short break for lunch and head back to work with a big cup of coffee in hand.

Two hours later, Gina comes running and calling for me. It's obvious something is wrong.

"What's happening babe?"

She is panicking, her face is pale. She says under heavy breaths from running, " _Lee! They are not answering!_ "

"Okay honey, when did you last hear from them?"

"An hour ago. Jon could not talk much. Only said: 'generator not working'."

"That means they ran out of oxygen. Did he sound very weak?"

"Yes, very weak." she reaches for my shoulders and starts crying.

"I have another hour of work here babe. Get Sarah, the truck, and the radio ready to go to the lake. We have to get them out of there and into the garage!" I tell her with an assuring tone of voice.

"But...how are we going to do that, we did not even finish digging out the ship?" she sobs as tears keep rolling down her face.

"Remember Jon told us he will let us know how to get it out in due time? Just trust me." I gently push her away and make her go home so I can finish the job. I have no time to lose.

I go past the brink of exhaustion. I work my body as hard as I can for the next forty-five minutes. My legs and arms are extremely sore from shoveling and carrying the wheelbarrow back and forth. My hands are covered in blisters that have popped up on top of earlier ones I had already gotten and they are all bleeding. But nothing is stopping me. I, as a being, become exterior to my body and control it long enough to get the job done!

# Chapter 20

### Doing the "Un-doable"

I jump in the truck with Gina and Sarah and head towards the lake.

"Hold on tight girls!" I tell them as the truck's tires spin while moving downhill in a rush.

"Did you hear from them again Gina?"

Gina is still sobbing. "Ten minutes ago," she says. "Jon called and said: ' _Come to the lake, we'll lift the ship'_. I could hardly hear what he said, but that's what I think he was trying to say."

"Yes babe, that's what he said. Jon told me they can lift and move things around. Remember? He wants all of us to help them. They will need all the help they can get, and that includes you Sarah!" I pull Sarah out of her seat and jump out of the truck. "We must keep in mind that the ship can't be exposed for too long or it will be detected. Here is the remote control that opens and closes the garage roof Gina. I already left it open, so don't push it until the ship is inside. Where is the radio?" I hand her the remote and Sarah, and pick up the radio we have been using to talk to Jon and Leo.

I push the button hoping Jon or Leo will answer "Jon? Leo? Come on brothers, we are here!" I shout, but no answer.

"Oh Lee!" says Gina as she grabs my hand.

"Okay...Jon is here!" I voice.

"I don't hear him." says Gina, sort of confused.

"Jon is next to us, in spirit. He says we will all lift the ship at the count of three, and then we'll bring it to the garage. I'll start counting _..._ one...two... **three!** "

I use what I consider to be my most inner power and I direct it towards moving the ship out of the water. I close my eyes for a few seconds.

I start to feel warm all over, and then all of a sudden I feel big and full of energy _._

"It is lifting!" Gina shouts.

I open my eyes and see the ship coming out of the water. " _Yes!_ We are doing it!" I shout.

"You are doing it, Lee." Jon whispers to me, "You and the girls _are_ the ones doing it."

"But..."

I tried to speak and he interrupts me with another whisper, "We are too weak to help, please get it inside!"

After realizing we had done most of the work I decide to step up and do the rest of it.

I signal Gina to get in the truck with Sarah and drive home while I jump on the back. She jumps in and heads home.

"Sure! That ship is going inside the garage, _now_!" I tell them with full intention of making it so.

I move it right above the garage and lower it slowly. Gina makes sure the roof closes right on time.

"Well done girls! These guys need oxygen, let's get them out!" I say while reaching for what appears to be a door latch.

It doesn't work, so I shout to Jon furiously, "How do I open the God damn door Jon?"

"You can't. It only opens from the inside," he whispers to me.

"Well, why don't you open it?"

"My body is not responding," he says.

I become more furious, and command him by shouting, **"Jon! You go and make your body move and open that door! I ORDER YOU!"**

There is silence for a few seconds, but inside of me I have no doubt that he is going to do it. I hear a "clank" and the door starts to open slowly. I walk towards the door and as it opens fully, I launch forward to catch Jon's body as it falls lifelessly to the ground. I immediately bring him inside the house into a ventilated room. Gina and Sarah stay with him while I run back to the ship to get Leo's body. I find him slumped in a chair in front of some screens and control panels. I lift his body and carry him inside the house where I place him in a bed, next to Jon's.

"We can't bring any doctors here Gina. The best thing we can do is make sure they get lots of oxygen."

"And water," she says as she runs to the kitchen.

"Here is Sarah, guys!" I tell them, placing her closer to them. "She can be the best medicine when someone doesn't feel well." I turn to Sarah, "Sarah, please help them come back, they are our friends, and probably the best ones we will ever have." Small tears start to roll down my face; they are very small though.

" _I know they are still here_. _They just need a little time_ ," I say to myself.

A sudden rumbling sound makes the whole house shake.

"What in the world was that?" Gina asks.

"Fighter jets," I say. "They must have detected the ship, and decided to come and check out this location." We look at each other worried.

"I think we are safe," says Jon as he opens his eyes.

" _Jon_! You scared us brother," I say to him. More tears roll down our faces again—happy tears this time. We all give him a hug.

"How is Leo, Jon? Can you tell?" Gina asks.

"He is back too. Let's give him a moment. Place Sarah closer to him—that sure helps!"

"What can we get you Jon?" I inquire.

"Perhaps some water?" says Gina.

"Water is fine for now. Thanks Gina. We mainly need to get our bodies oxygenated." He keeps breathing deeply.

Jon is about five feet tall and very skinny. His eyes are big and blue, very similar to how they are pictured in some science fiction movies. They remind me of Yoda's eyes in Star Wars. His ears are rather small and human-like. So are his mouth and nose. His arms and legs are very skinny. They have a foul smell, maybe from a lack of hygiene and being inside the ship for so long.

Leo finally wakes up and starts to talk, "Hi guys. Thanks for saving us." Sarah smiles at him and gets all wiggly. She is happy and she knows she did her job.

It is a funny sensation being with them. They bring back vague memories of times past. Their bodies, their voice, even their scent. They have very different bodies, and yet I feel they are part of my family, or I feel like I am a part of theirs. I can tell Gina and Sarah feel happy about their presence too, and as they recover, we start to feel the energy we originally perceived around the lake. As their bodies recover, they also recover their strength as beings.

"We can leave you guys alone, if you want to rest, perhaps take a nap, or whatever you need," I tell them.

Gina gets closer to them, "I am sorry, and excuse our lack of hospitality, you must be so hungry. Would you like to try some of our food, we are about to make some dinner?"

"We want to eat, certainly, but we must get ourselves cleaned first. Can we use your facilities, please?" Jon asks politely.

"Sure!" says Gina, "We call it bathroom Jon. There are towels, shampoo, toiletries, and let us know if you need anything else."

"That should do it. We know that we are very stinky," says Leo, "Sorry about that," he looks a bit ashamed.

"No worries, feel like this is your home," I say to them, to make them feel welcome and comfortable.

"Thanks, brother, we will be out soon," says Jon as he gets up and takes his first steps. Gina and I head to the kitchen, relieved.

# Chapter 21

### Our Visitors

"Lee!" says Gina, very surprised while grabbing my wounded hands, "Your hands...oh my God!"

"They will be fine babe. Some skin came off, that's all."

"It looks more like you kept them on the hot stove for a while!"

"I am actually going to disinfect them now," I tell her while squeezing half a lemon on them, grimacing in pain. She turns around to avoid the sight.

After about forty-five minutes of cooking, we have come up with enough things for them to try. We hope they can eat some of our food as we had not even checked with them what they eat. Who knows what kind of diet they have. We figure at this point they would probably be willing to try anything.

They come into the room fresh and clean, and we sit down and wait for them to begin putting food on their plates.

"Well...I guess we are going to start," says Jon as he grabs a plate. "We will have a bit of everything and let you know if we have trouble assimilating any of it. Our bodies are able to digest many types of food due to our travels around the universe. We have had the worst and the best you can imagine," says Jon while Leo nods his small head.

"Well okay," says Gina, "you won't hurt our feelings if you tell us you don't like some of the food. We can also find other options as needed."

"I also want to let you know that we use as much organic food as we can, less chemicals you know," I tell them.

"Organic is good!" says Leo, as he grabs a spoon full of some Japanese soup—one of my favorites. "This is good!" he says, looking at Jon while pointing at the soup. "You must try that Jon."

"I normally put some of the noodles and rice into the soup, that's the best." I comment while reaching for the noodles and then the rice bowl.

"Temperature is also perfect," says Jon. "All of this is good guys."

"Glad you like it! Wait until you try the barbequed meat I make! Perhaps I can make you some tomorrow. You also have to try my coffee," I say.

"We will be happy to try everything, but just remember we are not used to eating so much. Don't feel bad if we don't eat a lot," says Jon.

"It will save them money," says Leo. We all laugh.

"I love your sense of humor," I comment.

"We get energy from the sun and other stars too," Jon adds. "Wow, I wish I could do that, it would save us more money on food," I comment and we keep laughing.

"They try everything and they like everything—noodles soup, rice, salad and fish. Their conclusion is that before today they had not yet tried the best food there is! Their eyes had grown bigger and brighter while eating our very simple but delicious meal.

They not only felt welcome, but I could feel that they got their hope back. Minute by minute I could feel their powerful presence returning.

I realize that even though they are very strong and powerful beings, just like us, they have weaknesses. When our bodies are weak, depleted or ill, our emotions, hopes, and spiritual strength can also be on the ground.

We spend another two hours at the table, sharing stories and experiences, and get into full and lively conversation.

While at the table, I see that Jon notices my wounded hands and just as we are about to go to bed he gets close to me and grabs them. He looks deeply into my eyes for about ten seconds. My hands feel warm and sort of tingling. He lets go of them and I know something had happened to them. I lift them up to have a closer look in the light and I cannot believe what I see. They are healed, completely. I show them to Gina and she is speechless. I had felt his energy going through my whole body, and my hands weren't the only thing he had fixed.

I feel compelled to deliver a small speech, "Thanks for coming to us. We have proven to make a strong team and are going to do a lot of good in this world, but we are also going to have fun. Like Jon said to me once, 'Have fun, no matter what else you do' _,"_ we all laugh and I go on, "and tomorrow, we will get up, have some breakfast, and then we can check out the ship."

I pause and then realize I meant to ask them about their Base, "Oh, I meant to ask..."

Jon cuts me off to answer my question, before I even finish asking. "Our people at the Base don't think we made it, but since we have not reported back they must be wondering what happened to us. We must try to either fix the generator, or find a way to supply power to the communication system so we can talk to them and let them know we are alright."

"I'm sure we can figure something out tomorrow. Can we use electricity?" I ask as ideas start to pop into my head.

"Maybe," says Leo.

"Stuff here runs on either 110 or 220 volts—frequency is 60Hertz," I tell him.

"We are not so familiar with that, but we could research a little bit," says Jon.

"Well, do you think you can handle an Earth computer?" Gina asks.

"We probably can," says Leo.

"Alright, feel free to use the computer, if you don't want to sleep all night, like we do. See what you can find out about doing a voltage conversion to power-up the ship's communication system. Gina, Sarah, and I are going to get some rest now."

"Sure, you deserve a lot of rest, have a good night. We will see you in the morning and thanks again," says Jon, placing a hand on Gina's shoulder and one on mine.

Gina and I slip into bed and find we are not as sleepy as we had thought. So much excitement, our life has changed so much, as if we are living a dream. We keep talking about our visitors. They are so different. They know so much and yet, they are so calm, so sane, and so humble. They will be even more energized in the morning after having some rest.

# Chapter 22

### The Ship

I get up early, at 6 am, the next day. Gina and Sarah are still sleeping beauties, as I like to call them. Jon and Leo are already up. I first show them how to make coffee. They think it is very interesting, the brewing and all that stuff.

They try my coffee and Jon's conclusion is, "I like the aroma more than the taste."

"It's okay, no hard feelings. You will get used to it," I tell them. "Sometimes, it takes time to get used to the best things in life." They smile.

We then go to take a look at _BZ-2_ —their ship, which is still coated with mud. They show me the various controls and panels. There isn't much to see, as there is no power or energy to show how things work. The thing is dead _,_ nevertheless interesting.

"Here is the last thing that was working," says Leo while pointing at the generator. A very interesting piece of equipment embedded in the back side of the ship.

They also show me some shelves where they store their food supplies—completely empty. A small bathroom where they...you know.

"Don't!" says Jon, as he steps in front of me to block the bathroom door with his body. "You don't want to go there," he says. We laugh. I could certainly tell that there was a strong odor coming from within.

Lastly, two big "drawers" with small beds inside, similar to pull-out beds, where they take naps. There are only two drawers, even though there were three passengers. The trick is that only two could be napping at the same time. There would always be one flying the ship or guarding it.

Jon opens one of the drawers and there is a corpse in it. "He is the third passenger, who passed away soon after the crash," Jon explains. "We stored him there in a special sealed bag after having treated his dead body, as you can see." He opens the zipper bag and shows me the dead body. I had totally forgotten about their third passenger up to this point.

"What's the plan with him?" I ask.

"Not sure...it's just a body," says Jon.

"I will adhere to your rituals, and respectfully do as you please," I say to them, showing respect for the dead one.

"There isn't much to do with a dead body," says Leo, "It has served its purpose. We normally burn them or disintegrate them. They are _dead!_ We are very respectful towards people or beings. A dead body is a dead body as the being is not contained in it anymore."

"I see. Maybe you can take it back to the Base, I don't really have the means to cook or disintegrate him here," I voice.

"We can will work it out," says Leo.

Jon turns to me and says, "I did some research about your electricity last night and found out we can make the communication systems work if we feed it with 15 volts AC. But the frequency needs to be 100 Hertz, square wave, as opposed to the 60 Hertz sine wave that you currently have. So we need to change that," he explains.

"That's not difficult," I reply, while the wheels start turning inside my head about building an electrical circuit that is going to do this frequency conversion. "I've got a few electronic components in my other garage. I'm sure I can build a simple circuit using some old parts. We should be good!" I add with confidence.

"You are the _man_!" says Leo, showing excitement. Jon is excited too.

We go to the kitchen and find Gina and Sarah already up and busy making breakfast. We sit at the table and the boys start moving the plates and utensils around, without touching them. Sarah is very entertained by it. She points at the moving plates, smiles, and wiggles. Gina and I are fascinated, too.

"I hope doing this is not considered bad manners," says Jon.

"It's not," says Gina. "It is just different to us, because we can't do it. We normally reach for the plates, food, and drinks, or have somebody hand them to us."

"But Lee can do it," says Jon. "He did most of the work moving the ship out of the lake and into the garage."

"I still can't believe that," I tell them.

"Come on Lee. Move some things around!" says Leo.

"Let me try," I attentively look at a small teaspoon and try to lift it, but there is no movement. "See, I can't even move that little teaspoon."

" _Necessity level!"_ says Jon.

"What?" I ask.

"When your necessity level is really high, then you'll have no considerations. You just _do_ things. You do the so-called _impossible_ ," he adds.

"But you guys do it even for fun," says Gina.

"That's practice," says Leo. "When you have done things long enough, due to necessity or just practice, you gain so much confidence in yourself that you can just do things. Unfortunately, it also works the other way around. The less you believe in yourself and the less you practice, the less confident you become. So, it is just a matter of believing in _yourself_. There is no trick, magic or anything," he turns around and looks me straight in the eyes and then goes on, "In your case, Lee, remember that you were part of us some time ago, you are no less able than any one of us. You might be out of practice, but that's all," he ends and waits for me to come up with a better response.

"Okay...okay, I guess I should believe in myself a little more," I voice timidly.

" _No, no, no!_ " he says. "Not just a little bit more!" he mimics my timid voice. " _Lots more!_ **There is no limit of how much you can believe in yourself**."

I feel like he finally woke me up with his last statement and so I respond determinedly, "Oh yeah! Then watch this..." I point at my coffee cup and start lifting it slowly...by intention alone. It stays above the table for a moment, then wobbles and falls down on the table spilling its content.

"Why did you drop it?" Gina asks.

"I guess I doubted myself for a moment, I wasn't sure it was real."

" _That_ teaches you not to doubt yourself," says Jon. "That's one of the things we have seen people do here on Earth. People are very uncertain of themselves, what they _do_ and even who they _are_ ..." Jon pauses and scratches his small head while Leo nods at Jon's comment.

I feel challenged and impelled to show them that I truly intend to bring back my capabilities. " _To hell with that!_ " I voice in a strong and determined tone of voice. "A while ago I decided I was going to be working on discovering all my potential and become as capable as I possibly can, and that's what I will do." I start to point and lift a few utensils from the table with no doubt in my mind, and with full control and certainty, I keep pointing at bigger items and make them move way above the table. They were really surprised. I just decide to be certain about it and I _am_. It was just a matter of _deciding_.

# Chapter 23

### Connecting With Another World

We go back to the ship right after breakfast and spend the following three hours washing and cleaning it inside and out. Jon and I work outside, Gina, Sarah, and Leo inside.

The ship is amazing, made of a lightweight and yet a very strong material. Jon tells me there is a planet near their Base where they get some of the material to make the fuselage and other parts for their ships. A recent discovery yielded even better material on that same planet, which they have already started using in more recent manufacturing of ships.

There are three main engines that power the ship's flight at any given time. Then of course there's the generator, which is dedicated to generate the electrical power for the communication system, and almost every electrical part of the ship. One of the engines operates with hydrogen. You can pour a gallon of water into the tank and have it run for at least an hour on that alone. There is also a special unit, dedicated to extract the hydrogen from the water. The other two are the plasma engines.

According to Jon, this ship also uses energy from the sun or any light emanating stars. It has an energy storage unit, which allows her to continue to be fully operational for hours. That energy storage unit has been depleted for a long time.

" _I don't see how this thing can be repaired_ ," I think to myself.

"Of course it can be repaired," says Jon, having picked up my loud thought. "You've got to be more positive Lee _._ "

"Sorry! I forgot we already had a plan. You will have another ship come from the Base and drop off the necessary parts _."_

He smiles and nods at me.

"So we've got to establish communication with them and let them know," I suggest.

"Yes! We need to give them a list of the parts of _BZ-2_ that are not in working order and they will drop off what we need."

"Alright. It looks like I better get busy building that circuit so we can power-up the communication system and talk to them."

"That's right Lee. It's all up to you now."

I go off and make a sketch of an electronic circuit—a variable frequency oscillator that would produce a square wave. We can adjust its frequency anywhere from 60 to 100 Hertz.

I get a power supply and a bunch of old electronic parts, which I had in the garage. They are nothing fancy, just something that works.

I show up an hour later with something that would make anybody doubt its workability. An old circuit board with many solder spots, old components, cables going in all directions, all connected to a power supply that is hooked up to a long extension cord, already plugged into an electrical outlet. They look at me very...doubtfully.

"Sorry it isn't pretty guys. But hook it up, it will work," I tell them

They unplug the energy conversion unit and plug my 'gadget' into it. Leo powers up the communication system and...bingo!

Our faces brighten-up when we see all kinds of lights and the main screen come on. We cheer and high-five.

They both start pushing buttons and "playing" with the controls. Many lights and noises are now present.

Soon after, one of the screens in the front of the cockpit is showing some images of...people from the Base—that's my guess.

"We've got a connection," says Leo. "Routing communication to Reko's office," he adds.

"Can he see us?" I ask.

"He sure can, as clear as we see him," Leo explains. "Reko will show up soon."

"He is our boss. The External Operations Chief," says Jon.

"What do we do or say?" Gina inquires.

"Nothing," says Jon. "Just be yourselves. He already knows about all of you...there he is!"

"Hello to all. Hi Jon and Leo...good to see you alive both," says Reko, surprising us by speaking English, though broken and with a heavy accent.

"Yes, we are still here thanks to Lee and his... girls," says Jon.

"I can't believe you also speak our language, Sir," I say amazed.

"Yes, it took me almost a week to learn it in my free time. Very proud of you I am, Lee and your... girls. Very cute creature, Sarah is," I notice a strange, harsh, sort of Russian sounding accent. "And you must be Gina, the mama girl. Very good team you are, or family, that is."

"Thank you, Sir. Nice to meet you," says Gina.

"Now, let's see what we have here. The main computer from _BZ-2_ sent report of damaged parts...very many bad parts," Reko adds.

I immediately feel compelled to apologize about what happened to this ship, and their other ships that had been destroyed. "Sir! I must apologize for the people of Earth, my people, attacking your ships..."

He does not let me finish my sentence. "Nonsense, Lee. Not your fault, not directly. Nothing can be solved by being sorry. Just help us fix things on Earth, your Earth, and you can make up for damage. Come up with good plan to fix planet before your people ruin it." He sounds a bit rough and maybe heartless, but he is speaking the truth, no need to embellish that kind of truth. His broken English also makes it sound harsh, but I can perceive how much he really cares about us. He really wants us to fix things here on Earth.

I realize that he could just call Jon and Leo back home and not worry about the state of affairs on Earth and mankind ruining our planet, but had not done so. I see that there is much for us to learn from them.

"I know, Sir. During the past few weeks we have become very aware of the fact that we are not in good shape, and are perhaps getting worse," I agree with him.

He gets up from his chair and walks closer to the camera. He wants to make a point. He looks at us directly and says, "All of you have your hands full of work. Get together and make project that will change things before too late. I shall schedule delivery of parts for ship. In meantime, work as team and keep me informed of new project." He then directs his attention to Jon and Leo's bodies. "I see your bodies are adapting quite well to oxygen and food."

"More than well _, Sir!_ " says Jon in a very proper way.

"Bye _guys, bye_ Sarah...very cute creature," says Reko as he slowly walks away from the camera.

# Chapter 24

### Energized

Jon and Leo are brighter than ever after talking to one of their own people. I can feel the space around them change even more. It now feels even better than when we first felt their presence in the lake. It feels so good to be around them. I am sure they feel a huge relief to be back in communication with their world.

I start to feel loaded with energy and my mind feels fresh and clear. And I feel it is my responsibility to take charge of this new project, so I begin another speech, "Very good. I feel we have achieved a lot in the past few weeks and yet, it is just the beginning of a long journey. We are now confronted with what I feel is the biggest project I have ever embarked upon. There will be bigger ones in the future, of that I'm sure."

"By now I understand much better how things work when you achieve things in life. You set a small goal, like a game, as we did when we first felt that nice sensation by the lake and decided to get equipment to do some diving."

"Then it grew into a bigger goal of digging and finding your ship, then a bigger goal of trying to get it out, and then we changed plans and had to build this garage, which showed us that we also have to be willing to change things sometimes."

"And finally we advanced to the ability of doing things I never conceived I was capable of doing. Here on Earth we say 'the sky is the limit'. I honestly don't see a limit. There is no real limit, not when you _really_ want to accomplish something. I have learned that from you."

"I think you've got the big picture there, fellow," says Jon. "And yes _,_ there is a lot more to come, if you wish to undertake bigger projects, but let's take it step by step and handle Earth right now."

Gina turns to Jon and Leo, "Have you experienced anything similar to what is going on here on Earth, anywhere else?"

"Yes," says Jon, "maybe slightly different problems, but problems nonetheless. You have got to keep in mind that there are millions of planets and stars. There is life out there." He leans forward to get closer to us, as if trying to tell us a secret. _"_ There is lots of life out there, my fellows."

Leo nods in agreement and Jon goes on, "But there is always a common denominator, power, driven by crooked minds. There are many beings out there trying to find ways to manipulate others and gain more of that power."

"I don't understand something...let's say someone gets to have all the power he can get, what's the purpose? Security?" I had to ask.

"Maybe!" says Jon. "But it is mainly an aberration."

"A what?" I ask.

"An aberration: ' _A departure from the normal, or a disorder or abnormal alteration in one's mental state'_ ," Jon defines.

"That makes sense. I can name a few fellows in Earth's history, who killed thousands and even millions because of some stupid racial or religious ideas. Others just do it to steal territory or gain more power _._ They could even die or be killed in the attempt you know." I shake my head.

"I do know. That makes it even more of an aberration, doesn't it?"

"It sure does," Gina mutters. "Well, we have done a great job of cleaning this ship. It is time we walk back to the house and have some lunch," she suggests.

I point to the tunnel and we start to walk home. "We have been affected by those in power long enough. Let's start planning 'Project Earth' right now," I suggest.

"Project Earth?" Gina halts in the tunnel in front of us and turns around. "That sounds great, Lee. How did you come up with that?"

"I don't know, I just...said it, I guess."

# Chapter 25

### A Visit from Grant

We hear the phone ring as we walk into the house. "That's Grant calling!" says Gina.

"Let's see what he has to say," I voice as I pick up the phone. "Hey Grant, how is it going?"

"Not bad at all mate! I am on my way to visit you. I hope you have some time. I've got a check that I want to deliver personally, and...that second book you sent me is amazing, man! I also want to pick up the third book, if you have it ready."

"Well...I am...I have some things to take care of, but I don't want to stop you if you are already on your way. How long do you think it will take you to get here?"

"Half an hour, I reckon."

"Okay, no problem, I will see you in about half an hour, Grant." We hang up.

I turn around to face everyone at the kitchen table. "Okay guys, we have time to have some lunch and then I will meet up with Grant, who is on his way. He is a nice guy and is bringing some money. I will also give him the third book. Leo already gave it to me, but I haven't had a chance to read it, so please brief me about it during lunch just in case Grant starts asking questions about the book's content. I must ask you, Jon and Leo, to stay back there in the garage while Grant is here. I will let you know when he is gone." They nod.

Gina finishes warming up some food and we eat while Leo tells us about the contents of the third book: his own stories about space travel and lots of amazing stuff.

Grant shows up half an hour later, just as he predicted.

"Hello and good to see you, Mr. Writer," he says with a big smile on his face, the kind of smile that can't be taken away with a sledge hammer.

We get inside the house and get comfortable.

"I really appreciate your help Grant, and I hope this is helping you as well," I mention, knowing he is probably not sleeping much these days, working on getting my books out as soon as he lays his hands on them.

"It sure is helping me," he responds. "Keep in mind my offer about opening up our own publishing business. By the way, are you planning to write a fourth book?"

"I am going to take a little break from writing at the moment. I need to allow some more ideas and stories to form in my head." We both chuckle. I go on, "I may even take a vacation with my family. I will keep you posted though."

"Yes, please keep me updated. You will be consistently getting more money from the first book. I heard it is selling quite well. Do you want us to keep sending the checks to your house?"

"Yes, that will work for me."

"Checks might not be big at the beginning, but they will grow as time goes on. As your books become more and more popular, and as you become more famous. All these things increase your royalties and I have no doubt you are going to be very popular, I mean...I recognize a good book when I see one!" He seems quite excited and looks like he is actually restraining himself from jumping up and down. He sees a better future for all of us! "Oh, and I almost forgot. I want to ask your permission to publish a digital version of your books. Books sell so fast digitally, as people just download them onto their tablets, computers, and phones. They sell for less, but they are still very profitable."

"Definitely, this is a digital era. You have my permission to do that and whatever you think is right Grant. Whatever helps us both."

"Wow! Just like that?"

"Yep! Just like that. I have known you long enough to trust you with my work. And you are helping me quite a lot, I have to say. I trust you."

He is even more excited. His eyes ignite, revealing a torrent of thoughts and ideas—thoughts and ideas he now knows he can put into reality, as I am empowering him with my work.

"Well, thanks again, Lee. You are a kind man." He takes a deep breath and goes on, "I won't let you down, man."

"I know you won't." We smile.

Gina shows up holding a tray with two cups and a coffee pot. "Would you like some coffee, gentlemen?"

"Mint! Thanks Gina," says Grant, grabbing a cup and pouring some coffee in it, and continues to talk, "I also meant to ask you, what you are building back there? I saw some dirt piled up. Is that some kind of renovations?"

"Well, it is a test project. An underground garage I am trying to build."

"An underground what?" he asks surprised.

"Garage...I know it is kind of crazy, but I have these kind of ideas, you know...crazy ones."

"It's fine. I don't think it is crazy." He drinks some of the coffee and goes on, "I know there must be a purpose behind that underground garage."

"There is always a purpose behind everything, Grant," I say, pointing at him with my finger. "An underground garage keeps vehicles and things at a good temperature. No need to have an AC running. It is also soundproof. I can do a lot of my handyman work and repair and build things there at any time and _no one_ hears anything."

"What a cool concept," he says. "I knew there was a purpose behind it. Now I think you are less crazy," he says laughing and reaching for his cup of coffee.

He wants to see the underground garage, but I tell him how it is still under construction and structurally not safe to enter yet. I promise to let him know when it is completed, so I can really impress him. He is cool with that.

"I just hope you are not hiding one of those aliens in there that you wrote about in your first and second books," he jokes, smiling.

"Well, that I can't promise that I am not doing." We laugh.

"I really like it here Lee. This might not be a fancy new house, but it sure is pleasant to be in and...with all the money you are going to be getting, you can do all sorts of upgrades too."

"Well, I am glad you feel comfortable here. We like it, too. I am sure we will do well with the books, and we will have plenty of money to achieve our dreams."

I can tell Grant is comfortable here, so comfortable he doesn't want to leave. But I think he notices that I am growing restless. He also knows I have things to do.

"I won't take more of your time Lee. I know you are a busy man. Thanks for the coffee, and please say goodbye to Gina and Sarah."

"I will. Thanks for your help again. Oh! By the way, here is the third book." I hand him a tiny memory stick containing a copy of _Space Travel_ , my third book.

"Right on. Oh! I almost forgot to give you the check. I guess we were so into it that we went out of it." We laugh again. He is still looking at the memory stick in his hand. "Boy, I bet this book is as good as the other two." He finally puts it in his pocket, turns around and walks to his car. He waves as he drives away. I can tell he is heading home to his computer and will probably be reading all night.

# Chapter 26

### Increasing One's Certainties

"That was a good break," I say to Gina, who had been doing some laundry and cleaning around the house. "Back to work now."

"I guess Grant already left?" she asks.

"Yes, he just left. He is such a cool guy. I made sure he knows that's the way we feel about him. He has taken quite a big load off our shoulders.

"I am sure it takes a lot of work to do what he does—get a book, read it, edit it, and finally get it published. But he knows his business. And he knows we flow power to him and he flows power back to us. It is one of those mysterious laws of this universe." I smile.

"Yes, and yet he doesn't know the big project behind all this," Gina points out. "He doesn't know how much good he is doing. By helping us, he is helping everyone without even knowing it."

"Boy! I never looked at it from that viewpoint. He is doing so much good. Maybe we will let him in on this someday.

Is Sarah still sleeping?" I ask.

Gina smiles and says, "She slept for fifteen minutes and then she was wide awake. Jon and Leo came and took her. They said they were getting bored and wanted to play with her—I trust them."

I laugh.

"What?" Gina asks.

"I just think it's so funny. They must be having so much fun with her. Let's see what kind of mischievous things they are up to."

We walk into the garage and find all three of them floating about four feet above the ground. "Hi guys!" says Leo.

"Hope you don't mind us working with Sarah," says Jon.

"That doesn't look like much work to me, but I am sure it is fun," I comment.

"I guess it is time to do some real work," Says Jon.

"Yep! Did you guys establish what the status of BZ-2 is?" I ask.

"Yes Sir!" says Leo.

"Okay, boys. That's it! Let's put the 'yes sir' and 'aye aye, sir' in the trashcan over there," I tell them.

"But it sounds cool, _Sir!_ And we got it from you," says Leo. They all laugh.

They really make a point of being funny and having fun! They seem to know that seriousness doesn't get you very far. As a matter of fact, "have fun, no matter what _"_ , seems to be one of the main rules we are going by these days.

"Okay, as you please. Now..." I inquire about the ship's status again.

"This is what she needs," says Jon as he pulls out a piece of paper with a list he wrote:

  1. A new generator

  2. One of the two plasma engines

  3. A hydrogen engine

  4. A shielding system

  5. The lower part of the right wing

  6. An oxygen converter

  7. A laser unit

"Okay. Has your boss scheduled a parts delivery yet?" I inquire.

"Not yet. He did get a report from BZ-2's main computer, but he is still waiting for this list. Let me get back in communication with him and let him know what we need," says Leo as he turns around and disappears inside of the ship. A short while later he confirms that he established communication and requested the parts.

# Chapter 27

### Developing "Project Earth"

"Okay Jon, what else can we do meanwhile?" I ask.

"Let's meet up and see what ideas we can put together for 'Project Earth'."

We return to the house and gather around the kitchen table.

Jon begins, "We want to hear from you, what ideas you may have that will start to bring about a change here on Earth." Jon wants Gina and me to come up with ideas. After all, it is our planet, and our responsibility to start to do something about it.

"Thanks to you, Lee and I are very aware of things and the need for change," says Gina, looking at Jon and Leo. "Certainly, there are many more things we don't know about yet, but we know enough to feel the importance of getting the word out and making others aware of the condition of our world and the truth about the current state of affairs. An idea would be to speak about a different subject every week to raise awareness. Here is a list of things we have come up with." She hands them a handwritten note:

  1. The Power of Communication

  2. Drugs and the "Drug Industry"

  3. Children and our Future

  4. Human Values

  5. The Power of the Mind

  6. Your Power as a Human Being

"We have to figure out a way to tap into the main communication systems of Earth to get the most coverage," I tell them while they look over the paper with the list of items.

"I think that's where we need most of your help. Oh, no that's not true," Gina corrects herself, "we also need a lot of help gathering information and translating the material into all possible languages of Earth. Anyhow, this is the first step of our plan, we just don't know how we are going to accomplish all of it," she ends.

"I have an idea..." I start to say, but Jon suddenly interrupts me.

"Got your thought Lee. I think it is possible, but let us hear it from you."

"We develop messages on every one of those subjects. Then, we use the ship's computer system to translate the messages into the different languages of Earth. Then the ship's communication system can send it to all the satellites of Earth and transmit! Can your ship do that?" I ask with excitement, hoping for nothing but a "yes" answer.

"Well, the translation is possible for sure. But in order to tap into the satellites of Earth, we would have to install a small transmitter on various satellites to control them fully, and to be able to transmit the message to the right region or zone, in the right language, and at the right time. There is a small bit of programming involved—nothing major. The ship can do it, but we do need those transmitters," says Jon, not disappointing me at all.

"Very smart Jon. So we need the ship repaired in order to go around installing those devices on every satellite?"

I turn to Gina, who is already searching the internet, and ask her, "Gina, can you please find out how many active satellites there are around Earth?"

Jon looked at Leo and they both started to laugh. "About 2000 communication satellites by now," says Leo.

"What?" I ask very surprised and a bit disappointed. "So many! I don't think we can get those devices at Radio Shack, either. Do you guys have that kind of stuff back at the Base?"

With a comforting voice, Jon begins to explain, "There _are_ many satellites. But don't you worry. We don't need to place a transmitter on each satellite. Here is how it works: Satellites are linked by regions, providing global communication with high bandwidth capacity, allowing a wide range of them to communicate with each other. That means we only need to place a transmitter for every time zone and we should be able to reach the whole world. I will do better calculations and figure out how many we really need. And to answer your earlier question: yes, we should have this type of transmitter at the Base. We may have to manufacture some additional ones—I will check with the boss. He also has to get with the Engineering Department and see what they have." I keep looking at Jon and Leo. Completely amazed of how much stuff these guys know. Nothing seems impossible to them.

I pull the laptop and start to Google some data, just to show off. "Do you guys know that most communications satellites are placed in orbit at an altitude of 22,300 miles above the Earth? This is known as a geostationary or synchronous orbit. This allows the satellite to orbit Earth at the same speed as the rotation of Earth. As a result, the satellite appears to be stationary above the same location on Earth." I sit back and wait for them to be surprised and perhaps ask questions.

"Yes Lee. That's old data. We read about it. That's an old article published by: _Megan G_., on April 17th, 1997." They both chuckle.

"Well," I smile, "I better use my time wisely and make some coffee." I pull out my coffee kit and start brewing some fresh coffee.

"So, if you have these devices at the Base... can they be brought along with the parts for the ship?" Gina asks.

"Well, like I said," Jon replies, "I will check with the Base. They could be delivered if we have them."

"Right!" says Gina. "I would love to start creating and developing the messages for the campaigns, while we find out about those transmitters. I want to start gathering information and coming up with ideas for every subject. Can I get Leo's help? I know he is really good with this kind of things."

"Sure!" says Leo. "It will be my pleasure to work with you Gina. I bet Sarah can pitch in some ideas too." He jokes as he grabs Sarah from Gina's lap.

"I have an idea," says Gina. "Lee and Jon can keep working on fixing the ship and Leo and I will start to work on this project." She is very proud to show that she is also taking on responsibility.

It seems like the perfect moment for one of my jokes. "Wait a minute Gina!" I stand up and voice with authority, "Have you forgotten who decides things around here?" I give her a stern look, "Jon and I can keep working on fixing the ship while you and Leo will start working on the project," I say, repeating exactly what she had just suggested. The boys had gotten the joke way before I finished my sentence and were already laughing.

Gina just rolls her eyes throughout, stands up and tells me, "Okay Lee, get to work!"

"Aye aye, Captain," I say while rushing out of the kitchen, coffee cup in hand, and head back to the garage along with Jon.

# Chapter 28

### Repairing the Ship

Back in the garage, Jon establishes communication with Reko once again and briefs him on our new plans. He also tells him about the devices we need in order to tap into Earth's satellites and broadcast our campaign. Reko likes our plan and promises to do what he can to get us what we need.

"So what's next Jon? What else can we do here?" I ask.

"We have to replace a lot of parts, and can start by removing the damaged ones from the ship. You know about mechanics, don't you?"

"Yes, mechanics is one of my favorite fields; mechanics, computers, and electronics. But Earth stuff, you know. I am not sure how helpful that is." I reach for a couple of toolboxes that I had brought inside of the garage and open them up. "Got some tools here."

"Perfect! Tools and knowledge are all we need." Jon points out with excitement. "I have never had to change parts on a ship. That's not my area of expertise, but I got some basic training a while ago, and at least I know the various parts and their functions."

"I'm sure we can figure it out." I start by opening the hood that covers the plasma engines. "These things look amazing," I voice while looking at the silver engines, with golden pipes and fittings, and various ducts that bring cables to the main controls. These engines are not big but they are powerful, I know they are. One of them shows signs of damage, a burned, black area on its side must have been overheated. Some cables are partially burned—"toasted" is the technical word we use in electronics. "Are these parts very expensive Jon? I mean, this whole ship is not cheap, of that I'm sure."

He smiles and then says to me, "The cost of material things is not a concern for us, life is _._ They will just send the parts, granting we still have some in stock, which we should."

I shake my head and chuckle, "It's crazy Jon."

"Why?"

"For most people, here on Earth, it's all about money. You are as strong or have as much power, as you have money, possessions, or material things. It's not about how many people we can help. It is not anywhere close to the way you guys operate. There _are_ many with humanitarian causes who work hard to help others, but..."

He stops my speech to make a comment of his own, "I am sure we are going to turn things around, and we have got to do it fast! 'Project Earth' _will_ succeed," he says while placing one of his hands upon my shoulder and looking at me in a reassuring manner.

"Right!" I say, nodding and looking into his eyes.

We stick our heads inside another compartment, one that contains the hydrogen generator. "It stinks in here," Says Jon while covering his nose. The smell of burned silicone-like material is still very strong.

"I am sure there are a few cooked transistors in here Jon."

"Cooked?"

"That's another technical word—cooked... toasted!"

We start to take parts of the ship off. I get more and more fascinated by looking at them. There are so many intricate pieces, which any Earth engineer would die to put his hands on, check out, and take apart to find out what kind of technology is in them.

The engines are fastened to the ship via some special engagement, which strongly secures them to the main chassis. They keep the engines from coming loose when traveling at high speeds. These parts require special tools in order to get them disassembled—tools that we don't have. Jon gets in touch with the Base, one more time, and adds the tools to our request list. He gets told to check back an hour. Meanwhile, we keep getting more parts out.

I then see a small opening at the bottom of the ship, the one which Jon and Leo had been using to get drinking water, to run the hydrogen generator, and for the oxygen converter unit of the ship, which basically kept them alive.

We remove the parts that need replacement and place them on the floor of the garage, all except for the engine parts, which we will take apart when the special tools arrive.

Jon gets back in communication with his boss to check in, and is told that the parts and tools will be delivered in two days, on Sunday at 6 am. They chose the time with the least amount of activity near our location, and thus little risk of being seen. No one lives close to our property, but it is better to be safe.

We all gather outside the ship and sit down on a bench. "Well done, guys!" I voice. "We deserve a break. Tomorrow is Saturday and we should at least go out so you guys can see the surroundings and...have some fun."

"I would love to get out there and see the property Lee," says Leo, jumping with excitement.

"Me too. Can we also ride those motorcycles Lee? Do you think we are big enough?" Jon asks with a big smile on his face.

"We can do anything, and you can try everything."

We decide to relax, have some dinner, play with Sarah, and go to sleep.

# Chapter 29

### Another Adventurous Day

We get up at 8 am the next day, make some breakfast and start to get ready to go ride the bikes. Jon and Leo can't hide their excitement. They walk ahead of me, rushing to the old garage and help me with whatever they can so we get going.

"This is what you guys can ride... it's a quad, Gina rides it around the track," I tell them.

"We will watch Gina ride it and then we can try," says Leo, already setting foot on the machine.

I get on my motorcycle and head towards the track, Gina and the guys follow me on the quad.

We get there and I start to ride. It seems like such a long time since I last rode—when my brother last visited. It just seems so long ago and so many things have happened since.

I feel like "a legend" after having done a few laps on the track. I start to remember some of my friends, and favorite riders from back in the day: Ricky Carmichael Ryan Dungey, Ryan Villopoto, Chad Reed—those guys were _fast_! And even Travis Pastrana with his amazing stunts would be proud of me. I always watched them carefully and tried to pick up some knowledge from them. I admired them, so skilled, brave, and daring. I used to think to myself "why can't I do all that stuff?" Well, it seems like today is that day. Maybe not on a track with ten thousand people watching me, but who cares? I now know who I am and what I am capable of doing.

I feel I can do anything with this bike. I could make it fly if I wanted to, but most of all I feel safe. I used to get hurt from time to time, but not anymore. I am able to correct any mistake and keep the bike from crashing.

The guys and Gina stop on the side of the track just to watch me ride. They wave and start to cheer. Now I feel like a Rock Star. I do a couple more laps, show off some more and then stop to see if the guys want to ride.

"Why don't you guys start riding the quad?" I suggest.

"Sure!" says Jon, pointing for Leo to get next to him in the front seat, Leo jumps right in.

They get going with their first lap, kind of clumsy, but no accidents. They start to go faster during the second lap, still clumsy, making mistakes here and there, but literally making the quad fly so they won't crash. It makes you think they are not used to Earth's physical laws of gravity and centrifugal force. But they become Rock Stars after the fifth lap or so.

Then they decide to switch positions. Leo is now in front of the handlebars. Same story, but it only takes Leo three laps to become a Rock Star. They soon start to do double, and even triple jumps. "I thought I was a fast learner," I say to Gina who is picking up her jaw off the ground.

"You guys rock!" I say to them as they get off the quad. They are laughing and so excited they can't even talk. "I will be right back, don't go anywhere!" I say while turning around and heading back to my old garage to get one of the smaller bikes, a 50cc Honda. It runs really well, I had modified it, too.

" _Their feet will reach the foot pegs on this one_ ," I say to myself.

I ride the mini bike to the track and tell them, "Here, who wants to try two wheels first?"

"I do!" says Leo, approaching me in a rush, smiling excitedly.

I explain, "This is how you accelerate." I take his small hand and make him grip on the throttle. I continue explaining to him how the bike operates including how to shift gears and use the brakes. "I also got you this helmet, I think it fits you, you should..." he takes off before I am able to pick up the helmet off the ground. "That little shit _,_ " I mutter.

"He is a 'Rock Star' Lee. He doesn't need a helmet," says Gina while pulling out her video camera and getting ready to record Leo's riding.

He stumbles a bit on his first lap, but then...well, he makes my riding look like I'm a beginner.

"I will be right back." I head towards my old garage again and grab the second small bike, an old 80cc Kawasaki. It also runs okay, but the rear brakes are not working so well since my brother's kids last rode it. I would tell Jon to be careful.

"Here Jon, jump on this thing. It works the same way as the one Leo is trashing right now, do you need a helmet?...." He is gone, too.

"Well, I have no choice Gina." I jump on my bike and start chasing the guys...well, try to chase them at least.

"Oh boy! This is going to be wild," Gina says to Sarah. "I don't know if you want see this Sarah...Look! Aren't they wild?"

We stop an hour later. Jon is signaling me to stop. I think he finally got tired.

"We should go inside," he says, gasping for air between words. "I perceive some other humans coming this way."

"Those are not humans, those are cops." I tell them as we see a police car coming down the road. "Let's get inside." We rush back to the house, get the bikes and quad inside, and close the garage door just before they pull into the driveway.

I recall having seen a helicopter pass by as we were riding. I hadn't paid much attention, but it must have been one of the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) chopper. They routinely check open areas, parks, and hills for illegal riders. I have a permit to ride here though, so it won't be a problem. But in any case, having them here now is not workable with my buddies from outer space so close by.

"Think of something guys!" I tell them as I head towards the door to meet the two officers.

"How are you Officers?" I say to the two men approaching my front door.

"Fine Sir. How about yourself?" one of them asks.

"Not bad. Having some fun on this awesome day," I say cheerfully.

"Fun is good. Got a permit to ride in this area?"

"This is my property and I gave myself permission to ride," I joke. They look at each other, unable to find anything funny about my joke. "Ah, just kidding officers. Here is my permit." I hand them the document, which I had managed to grab from a drawer in the garage on the way in.

My jokes don't seem to work on cops, never have. I should have known that. They have actually gotten me in trouble and even put me in jail once.

One of them grabs the permit, looks it over and hands it back to me, "Very good, son. We would like to take a look around your property," the other officer says. "Just a routine inspection..." they start to scan the area close to the house.

"I am afraid you'll need a warrant for that Officer. I mean... I have nothing to hide and I can let you do it if you insist... but I know the law, too..."

"I am the law, son, and I..."

The radio goes off in their patrol car.

" _10-1 urgent! You have a 10-30 in your area. Do you copy?_ "

They turn and rush to their vehicle. "We might come back later Sir," says the officer in charge.

"No worries. Have a great day, Sir!"

I go back inside and ask Gina, "Can you please check online, what is 10-1 and 10-30?"

"10-1 is 'Call your Command'. 10-30 is 'Robbery in Progress'," says Leo as he walks in. "They are on their way to the 'Jump It Shoe Store' that doesn't exist."

Jon walks behind Leo saying, "The ship located the nearest radio frequency—their patrol car radio, synchronized to its frequency and sent them some 'special instructions' from Command," he explains. "We also erased this location from their GPS." They are both grinning.

"You guys are too cool!" I tell them as we high-five...well, I should say "high-four and high-five" as they only have four fingers.

We each shower and then they watch me do a barbeque for lunch. I am getting a bit sore from riding, but the guys have not said a word about being hurt or sore. They just keep talking about the ride and how they have not had that much fun anywhere else.

"It was such an amazing feeling to feel the air on my face as I was jumping—almost hit a bird once," says Leo while laughing and recalling one of the many moments when he was up in the air.

I knew it could be exciting for them, but they were thrilled. I am sure they will continue to talk about it for a few more hours, and maybe even for days. I am so glad I can contribute to their happiness, and give them something small in exchange for all they have taught me already.

We continue to talk for another hour while sitting around the kitchen table. One of the things we all experienced today and agree upon, is the ability required to be in control of our bodies and the motorcycles as well. I guess making our bodies control the motorcycle along with the ability to be there, living in the moment—that's priceless.

"I remember someone saying, 'You live more in a minute of riding a motorcycle than in a whole week of work', or something like that," says Jon.

We decide to get on the quad and go for a ride around the property after lunch.

"It is so different," says Leo while looking around the various trees.

"I know," says Jon. "I have been to other planets, which also have vegetation, but this is amazing, I can feel the life emanating from nature. Can you also feel it Leo?"

"Of course I can."

"I think even I feel it guys." I concentrate and start to really perceive the energy from trees and plants. There are some small animals milling around too.

Just before sunset we head back home to meet up with Gina. I tell her about our small but productive trip around the property, while we make some coffee.

We then decide on our plans for the coming day. I'm excited about the impending arrival of the supply ship that will bring the necessary parts. I wish the additional personnel on the ship would stay and help us, but there is no space for them to park another ship. It will also be a very large ship from what I understand.

"We need to open the garage roof at 6 am, sharp," says Jon. "They will drop off the parts and depart immediately. Their ship is not easily detected, but there is no point in staying around the house and risking anything."

"What about the old parts?" Gina asks.

"Well, we will have to schedule a pick-up for the old parts. Remember we still have to get some of them off the ship with the tools they are bringing to us," Jon replies. He turns to me, "Lee, how long do you think it will take us to get those last two engine parts off the ship?"

"Half an hour, I reckon."

"Nice! What we'll do is get the new parts out of the crate—I was told they come in a big crate...so we'll get them out, and place the damaged parts back into the crate. Maybe they can come back half an hour later to pick up the crates and save themselves a second trip later."

"Very good Jon. They can fly over to the Santa Monica Beach, have a couple of beers in the sun, and watch the chicks. Do they like to swim?"

"Very funny Lee," says Gina, with a stern look on her face.

"It might be too early for the chicks anyway," I comment.

"How do we get the stuff down from the ship?" Gina asks, avoiding the "chicks" subject.

"Don't you worry about it, Gina, they will handle that. They will let us know when they are close to the house, too. We just need to make sure the garage roof opens on time," says Leo.

"Awesome. I think we should go to sleep and get up around 5 am or so," I suggest.

We go to bed, hoping to get a good rest, but it takes Gina and me a couple of hours to fall asleep, there is so much excitement and so much happening.

# Chapter 30

### A Special Delivery

I get up at 5 and notice the morning dew on the plants and grass. I cut a few roses and other pretty flowers from our garden, as I normally do on the weekends. I head back inside the house and see that Gina is already up so I won't be able to surprise her with the arrangement.

"For me?" she asks, acting surprised, as she always does, appreciative of such a small but kind detail.

"Well no!" I say to her _._ "They are for Jon and Leo," I manage to keep a straight face as I pass by her.

She turns around and says, "Well, I didn't know you guys had become that...friendly."

I turn around, take her hand, pull her towards me and tell her, "Of course they are for you. For you and Sarah...here." I deliver them with a hug and a kiss.

We make a delicious breakfast and enjoy it at the kitchen table. I can tell the boys have already been up for a long time. I think they are anxious—but course they are, after not having seen family or friends for such a long time. I mean...they are just dropping off some stuff, but it is a "close encounter" with their people. I would be really excited too.

It is 5:50 am. We walk over to the garage and get ready to open the roof.

Leo is inside the _BZ-2_ , ready to receive any communication from the soon-to-be-arriving ship.

At exactly 5:57 Leo shouts at us, "They are two hundred miles away!"

I look over to Jon, sigh, and comment, "I guess they are late!"

"Open the roof, _now!"_ Jon shouts.

"What?" I ask.

"They are early!" he replies, grabbing my hand and making me push the "open" button.

I start to see the bottom of the ship as the roof opens up. The ship is right above us. It is huge compared to _BZ-2_. It is full of energy, too. I can hear a pleasant humming sound above us but no lights are visible as they don't want to be seen.

A compartment opens up on the bottom and a big load is lowered straight down. It finally rests on the garage floor.

There is..."someone" sitting on top of it.

We start closing the door and long before it closes, the ship is gone! A strong buzzing noise tells me they blasted off.

Jon walks over to the crate and looks at the guy that came down from the big ship. " _Jeto!_ Is that you?" Jon shouts excitedly.

The 'man' is about the same size as Jon and Leo. He jumps down off the crate and walks towards us saying, "Why of course it is me. Who did you expect?"

"Well...no one, I mean...it's great to see you, Jeto," says Jon as he gives the guy a hug. Leo also approaches him and gives him a hug. "Let me introduce you. This is Lee and his family, Gina, and little Sarah. How about you guys call him 'Chief'; that's what Jeto means in our language."

"My honor and pleasure to have you with us... welcome, Sir!" I say to him as I extend my right hand for a handshake, trying to be as polite and friendly as possible. I certainly did not expect to meet anybody and especially not a "Chief". "These are my girls," I add.

"Good to see you Sir!" says Gina.

"Very good! What is the meaning of 'Sir'?" he asks.

Leo takes a step forward and explains, "You refer to someone as 'Sir' when you want to show much respect, Sir!"

"Oh I see. Just call me 'Chief'. I am good with that," he says while turning his attention to Sarah and voicing, "Hello Sarah, good to meet you in person, beautiful eyes you have." Sarah giggles. He turns to me and says, "Jon and Leo have told me many good things about you and your family, your place and all the work all of you have accomplished so far. I have to say that I am very proud of you."

I suddenly feel very relieved. Jon and Leo are standing behind Chief with big smiles on their faces.

I look straight into his big brown eyes and tell him, _"_ Thank you Chief. We have become a very good team."

"Good to hear that! Well, I was owed some vacation time back at the Base and decided to come visit you, now that you have made this a safe place for us to stay." He scans the area around him, "Interesting structure you built," he comments as he walks around inspecting the floor, walls and roof of the garage. "I can perceive some _major_ effort from the time this was being built." He fixes his attention on the tunnel and asks, "What's that?"

"It is a tunnel. It connects the garage with the house—Lee's idea Chief," says Leo.

"How clever," he says while directing his attention to me and acknowledging my work.

He is cool, just like the other guys. So full of life, interested, and granting importance to others.

"Well, glad you decided to come for a visit Chief. Let us know how we can make your stay more pleasant," says Gina.

"Will do Miss," says Chief, courteously.

"Chief also has lots of experience fixing these types of ships," Jon points out. "Perhaps he can give us a hand replacing the parts. The ship will return to pick up the bad parts in twenty minutes."

Chief looks at Jon and nods, he then directs his attention to the ship. "This is an old model, I did not want to send it on missions anymore, but the newer ones were not available yet. We should be able to get the parts out in about ten minutes." I could immediately tell that he was going to take charge of the current affairs.

The sudden meeting of friends and family had to end and work had to be done. "Jon, you and Leo will get all the parts out of the crate and get started with placing the old parts into the crate." He turns to me and says, "Lee, come with me."

"Is there anything I can do?" Gina asks.

"I would like to try some Earth water, please!" says Chief.

"Of course Chief," she says and rushes to the kitchen, carrying Sarah in her baby carrier. They come back a few minutes later with beverages and some cookies.

Chief and I get the parts out in no time. Jon and Leo unload the crate and start to place the old parts in it.

Chief tells me the new ships at the Base are way more sophisticated with faster plasma engines that run twice as fast as this one, faster communication system, and even better equipped with weapons. They can also go undetected by most radar systems.

"We are building their fuselage out of a new type of material which we found on a nearby star."

" _That's closer to what we need to accomplish 'Project Earth',"_ I think to myself, " _We can't really go around installing transmitters on the satellites with a ship like that and avoid being detected._ "

"I think I know what you are thinking Lee, and I think it is a good idea—bring this ship back to Base and trade for one of our newer models," he says with a smile on his face. He had read my mind, my thoughts were so strong.

" _My affinity for this guy increases by the minute_ ," I think to myself."

"Awesome Chief!" I express with excitement.

We step out of the ship to help Jon and Leo with loading the crate.

" _Great teamwork,_ " I think to myself _._

"How long are you planning to stay Chief?" I inquire.

"It could be five more minutes..." he knows the ship is coming back to pick up the old parts in five minutes, "or it could be a week. I can stay and help you fix this ship, but I don't want to..."

I interrupt him before he finishes his sentence, "There is no inconvenience Chief—you are staying a week. It is a pleasure for us to have you here. You are already adding lots of power and intention to our project." Gina and the boys nod. They know we can accomplish things much faster by having him with us.

"Lee is right Chief. Bossy, but right. Please stay as long as you want. You also mentioned it is your vacation time," Gina says.

"We can show you a few ways to have fun Chief," says Leo with a smile on his face, still recalling the bike ride from the day before. Leo and Jon look at each other and chuckle.

"I guess I have no choice," says Chief with a smile. "I sure don't want to miss the opportunity to experience new things here, and do some work at the same time." He feels happy that we have decided that he will stay, and he feels welcome. A big smile on his face proves it.

The other ship comes back and we open the garage. They retrieve the crate with all the garbage in it, and away they go, leaving Chief with us.

"Hi Sarah. So unkind of me, but before we were in a rush and did not get a proper introduction. You can call me Chief, if you want," he touches her gently and it seems as if she already knows him. "I look forward to playing with you sometime too."

#  Chapter 31

### Chief

We are replacing a total of seven units on the ship, some totally damaged, and some partially damaged or "questionable", but we did not want to run the risk and so decided to replace them all for a safer trip back to the Base.

It took us only two hours before we had all the parts in place. We pour a few gallons of water into the ship's fuel tank for the hydrogen generator and hydrogen engine. I can't wait to see it fully operational.

Chief starts to turn on all systems. The various screens light up. All kinds of lights and buttons come to life.

I am fascinated. " _I am inside a real spaceship_. W _hat an amazing set of equipment, and this one is old, they say. I can't imagine what a more sophisticated one looks like._ " I half smile.

I suddenly hear a buzzing noise. " _It must be the generator kicking in_ ," I think to myself _. "It provides the ship with electrical power and charges her batteries as well._ "

A second humming noise is now present. "Those are the plasma engines," says Chief. They are being warmed up and tested.

"It all looks good guys," says Chief with a smile while nodding his head approvingly to let us know he is proud of our work.

This is a big accomplishment. Having come this far from the moment we found the ship covered in mud, to now seeing it fully operational. It is an emotional moment and we are all excited. Gina even cries. She feels proud of all the work and effort that sometimes seemed too much, and even impossible. But now we are completely certain that we can achieve our goals and that certainty sets a better ground for our future projects.

Jon and Leo also look at each other. They could be crying, I don't know. I have never seen them shed a tear. Maybe they don't have tears, but I sure feel their emotions, the 'we made it' type of emotions.

Chief perceives our emotions and decides to farther acknowledge our work, "I am very proud of you, all of you have done an amazing job!"

"Thank you Chief! Thanks to you, Jon, and Leo _,_ my family and me have learned more in the past months than in our entire lives." They all smile.

I continue, "We have learned about life, ourselves and others, but most of all, we have become much more certain about ourselves. We now know that we are very capable beings and yet, aware of the fact that we have much to learn, much to discover. Learn and discover from ourselves and from others. From now on, we are going to do whatever it takes to make our race aware of the same. That's our responsibility, that's our commitment."

"I wasn't aware of so many changes in you in such a short amount of time," says Chief. "I knew you had spent a lot of your time and effort helping us, but your realizations...they are huge!" he adds. The other guys nod.

"I think we should go celebrate this with a cup of coffee," says Jon, knowing I would agree with him fully.

"Sure, let's eat it," says Chief.

Leo steps forward saying, "You don't eat the coffee Chief. It's a beverage, you drink it. It's a little drug Lee got us into—good stuff," he adds while putting his thumbs up.

"I have to see about that, guys. I have to see."

"I started to make food earlier," says Gina. "We can have some lunch in about half an hour."

"Nice! I am so angry!" says Chief, rubbing his belly.

"I think you meant hungry," Jon corrects him.

" _Right!_ By the way, you guys have gained some weight, haven't you?" says Chief while looking at Jon and Leo's bellies.

"Well...you will understand why after your second day of being here. We eat three or more times a day", says Leo, sort of embarrassed as they normally don't eat that often back at the Base. He continues, "We had to 'adapt' ourselves to Earth as much as we could Chief." Leo and Jon look at each other and nod their small heads.

"What else do you do here? No wonder you are not in a hurry to get back to the Base." Jon and Leo smile.

Jon puts on a straight face as he gets in front of Chief and says, "Chief, Sir! Leo and I think that we should stay down here permanently and establish a remote Base." We could not help but laugh.

I finish brewing the coffee and place it on the table. Gina gets four cups and pours some in them. She puts one in front of Chief and says, "Here Chief, try it. It's hot though." We turn our heads and watch him.

He takes a small sip from the cup and looks up at us. "This coffee stuff is good, not the greatest taste, but..." He pauses for a moment, waiting to find out what kind of sensation he is going to get, and then goes on, "It makes me feel more...active. Is it supposed to do that?"

"Yes, it is a stimulant Chief."

"So it is a drug?" He puts the cup aside.

"Yes, but not a strong one, not bad if used in small doses," I tell him and go on clarifying, "A small dose makes your body feel more awake, a bigger amount can make you feel 'shaky' and too big an amount could give you a stomachache or other discomfort."

"Ahh!" he responds, grabbing his cup back and taking another sip.

I go on indoctrinating him, "You could also become addicted to it, which is actually my purpose so you can't go back home, or at least come very often." They laugh and take my comment as a joke.

"Okay, let's go over the plans you have and see when we can start," Chief suggests.

"Yes! This is what we came up with for 'Project Earth'," says Gina, pulling out the piece of paper with a neatly typed list of our main subjects.

It reads:

  1. The Power of Communication

  2. Drugs and the "Drug Industry"

  3. Children and our Future

  4. Human Values

  5. The Power of the Mind

  6. Your Power as a Human Being

Gina begins to talk as Chief gets to the bottom of the page, "Our idea is to develop each subject into sections so that they are covered more thoroughly. Leo and I already started, here..." she hands him another sheet of paper where we breakdown the subject of communication, our first and most important one:

The Power of Communication:

  1. The importance of communication

  2. Types of communication

  3. Failing to communicate

  4. The joy of communication

"We want to make sure that we have pictures for each section and even small movies to illustrate things better and to have more effect on people," she says, proud of the work she has been doing with Leo. She continues, "We can show you some more stuff Leo and I have done on the computer—here!" She pulls out the laptop and puts it in front of Chief.

"Good!" says Chief, "Pictures and movies are even better, as they give more reality to people, and you can give a lot of data in a very short time. I like it!" He nods and looks at us, acknowledging the fact that we have all been busy.

"We figured out that we can get all kinds of pictures, movies and data from the internet," Leo explains. "There is so much stuff, good and bad, but we have our ways of knowing what's what. We can also create a lot of computer animated movies and pictures, so we don't need real people. We can do everything right here. I am showing Gina how to do it, she is really good, very creative," he ends with a smile, proud of his contributions.

"Excellent!" says Chief, "I like how you have come up with such good ideas, and you make a great team. How long will it take you to develop each one of these subjects?"

"I would say a couple of weeks, but with Leo's and Jon's help it will take less. I know they are geniuses with computers and finding data," says Gina.

"I am going to go out and get a couple of really good computers tomorrow. That will speed things up," I suggest.

"Just get one more," says Jon. "We can also use the computer from our ship."

"I think Chief has another idea," I say, perceiving Chief is thinking otherwise.

"Yes," says Chief, "The ship is not always going to be here, so carry on with your original plan Lee, and get two computers."

"I will go to the Apple Store and get the latest models, as those are the best when it comes to working with movies, photos, art, and graphics," I comment.

"But they are so expensive Lee," says Gina.

"Don't worry about the price for now, we will work it out," I comment, knowing Chief doesn't want to put any limits on this project. He knows the money is going to come somehow. I know it too.

I go to the Apple Store early the next day and buy a couple of the latest Apple computers. They are so trick that even Chief, Jon, and Leo are impressed.

"You guys are making very fast progress in technology, these are awesome," Chief comments.

"They are loaded with all the software and memory needed to create virtually 'anything', and look, these are touch screens, similar to yours. I mean...still many years behind, but we are improving," I say.

"I am impressed," says Jon, nodding his head. "This will definitely speed up our work."

Chief stands up and starts to issue orders, "Jon, you are in charge; and along with Leo, Gina, and Sarah, you guys have three days to develop the subject of communication fully." Then he turns to me and says, "Lee, you are coming with me to the Base. We will leave tomorrow at 5 am. We will come back in a couple of days with one of the new ships and all the needed equipment to tap into the communications satellites. Are you guys okay with that?"

I had been sensing the idea that Chief wanted to take me there, but had doubted my perception before. Now excitement rises inside of me. I try not to show it, they perceive it though.

"I definitely am okay with that," I say with no doubt in my mind. "I also hope that's okay with you Gina and... Sarah." I turn to them, wondering what they think about it.

Gina looks at me sort of concerned, and then says, "I would not miss the opportunity if it was offered to me. I am fine with it. Sarah is too." She smiles

"Thanks girls."

"Just one question Chief," Gina grows more concerned and wants to know more details. "Is he going to have enough to eat there and enough oxygen?"

"Probably not, but I promise to bring his body back if he doesn't make it." The boys and I start laughing.

"Very funny Chief...very funny," she says with a frown.

"I think he will be fine as long as he brings a good amount of his coffee with him," says Jon.

"There are two reasons I want Lee to come with me. One, he knows he was there before. I want him to experience that again. I have the feeling he is going to like it, and it will help him regain even more self-confidence. Reason number two is that I want him to see how we run things there. It will help him, and everybody else, to develop our present and future projects."

"Awesome Chief. I am with you," I voice.

We can hardly sleep that night. I talk to Gina for a whole hour about it until she falls asleep.

I keep thinking about...traveling in space, being at the Base, and perhaps some adventures _. "I wonder if anybody would remember me there. Of course they won't. It was so long ago. I even have a different body. How could they recognize me?_ _But they don't go by the body, they go by_ _me_ _, as a being. I will find out."_

I sigh deeply and try to go to sleep, but I can't. " _Two days_. _It seems such a short amount of time to go to the Base and come back, but their time runs differently. It is as if they are able to play with time, and they probably are. They never stop amazing me._ "

# Chapter 32

### A Discovery in Space

We get up at 4 am. I pack some fruit, snacks, and the biggest thermos I have, full of coffee. Chief and I enter the ship. He wants to brief me on the various controls of _BZ-2_. I am not flying it, but he wants to make sure I have a good understanding of how things work onboard. We come back out of the ship and say goodbye to Gina, Sarah, Jon, and Leo.

" _I know they are going to be just fine"_ , I say quietly to myself, as Chief and I step onboard. Chief has already started the engines and tested every part of the system one more time.

Jon opens the garage roof for us and up we go. I look back down and see it closing already. I wave to them.

I soon realize that we are going pretty fast. Get through the Earth's atmosphere in no time, but it is hard to feel anything. There is no gravity, either. Chief pushes a button and the no-gravity feeling goes away. It is something they can control within the ship. I hear the thrust engine turning on.

"Prepare for speed-up Lee," Chief asks, reaching for a small lever on the front of the cockpit.

"I am ready Chief." I hold onto my seat, not sure what to expect.

I start to feel even lighter. Different from the no-gravity feeling. It is like not feeling my body at all. " _Really cool stuff_ ," I say quietly to myself. " _It's very peaceful and quiet, perhaps a new dimension of time."_

" _I wonder how long this trip will take._ " And before I can open my mouth to ask, Chief starts to tell me.

"In Earth time probably six hours, like taking an airplane flight from Los Angeles to New York. Computers inside the ship trace a safe route to the Base. She also has a great radar system which will alert us of any danger."

"So she runs like on autopilot!"

"Yes, pretty much," he answers.

"How long is the training to learn how to fly this ship?"

"It all depends, some take hours, some take days. It is not so much learning how to command the ship, that's the lesser part, since she does most of the work for you. You must have a good understanding of how this Universe works. You've got to know the location of key planets, suns, stars and their gravity, energy sources in space, and last but not least, using the communication system. All of these things have also been improved in the newer ships. You can tell the ship what you want, and then command it to do most of the work for you."

"The new ships don't understand English—Do they?"

"They sure can if they are programmed to do so. They are just like your Earth computers. You can program them to do all kinds of things, like executing verbal commands from specified people and what not."

"Amazing! ...Who runs the Base Chief? You know, makes the executive decisions, gives orders and so forth."

"I will show you when we get there. We have a whole Organizational Board. An organized system with someone on top of it, and then some executives heading many divisions which in turn are sub-divided into departments, and...it keeps going from there, sections, units and such. But everybody is part of that organization board. Everybody knows exactly what their job is. It's one of the things that keep us very organized. The person you are asking about could be found anywhere on the organizational board, since he can do almost any post or function."

"Wow, that's so cool!"

I then begin to understand why they are _so_ organized, sane and free. I am also starting to remember the system as Chief tells me about it.

"Where are Jon and Leo located on that organizational board Chief?"

"Jon is the head of a division. He has been assigned to this sector of the Milky Way, where Earth is located. Leo is his assistant."

"I see. What about the other guy that passed away?"

"Hisashi is how his name translates into English. He was in charge of Jon's position. Jon took over when Hisashi passed away. Before that, Jon was his assistant." Chief pauses, "Hisashi had started to turn over his job to Jon long ago. It was part of the plan that Jon would take over."

"Hisashi's death was not part of the plan though?"

"No, it was not. But Hisashi was planning to leave his body. He had wanted a new body and when problems presented themselves for the crew's survival, he made the decision that it was time."

"I see...so what are yours functions, Chief?"

"Oh well, I can be found anywhere, doing almost anything, any post..."

I interrupt him, "So you _...you are it_! You are the one at the top of the Organizational Board. That's why the boys call you _'_ Chief'," I continue with a smile, as I realize the honor in having been able to meet and work with him. I add, "On Earth we say _: 'You are the man'_!"

"I guess you could say 'I am it' or 'I am the man'," he says, laughing. "You guys have very funny ways to express things. I like it! Not everything is bad on planet Earth, in fact, there are a lot of good things there. But right now we have to focus on fixing the bad things."

Chief and I spend the following hours talking and exchanging thoughts and ideas about how things should be, and about how we can improve things on Earth. He also shares information about how things are handled at the Base.

What a pleasant conversation with _'the man'._ He is such a wise being, and yet so simple and humble, willing to talk about anything.

I started to feel as if I was getting back my power and abilities. " _Who knows...who knows, maybe I am_."

I look out the window but there is nothing to see other than a distant planet or star from time to time, but mostly nothingness. Just...the infinite. I definitely get the idea this is not my first time in space. The traveling becomes more and more familiar. I feel very comfortable in the ship.

"We are almost there," Chief announces. "We are going to slow down." He orders the ship to slow down and prepare for landing. Communication had already been established and they are expecting our arrival.

As the ship slows down, I start to see the Base. A small Earth-like planet, but much smaller from what I can tell.

"I wish Gina and Sarah were here Chief. Do you think they can come to the Base some time?"

"Sure, if I dare to bring you here, why shouldn't they come, too?" We both laugh.

"You got a great sense of humor Chief—I like it."

"We'll be landing soon Lee."

"All right Chief. I also meant to ask, how big is the Base?"

"Size wise, one-eighth the size of Earth, and as far as our population, around one million. There are a few thousand more people located on remote Bases, and a few hundred are on missions. Sorry to interrupt our conversation Lee..." He identifies himself and gets permission for landing.

"You also have oxygen here...right Chief?"

"Yes, our atmosphere also has oxygen. You are good."

The platform I thought we were landing on actually moves to one side, leaving an opening for us to descend into. It reminds me of my underground garage. I chuckle.

Now I am growing nervous, excited, interested. But I don't say anything. I know Chief has perceived all my emotions and thoughts.

"Just be comfortable Lee. Be _yourself_." And so I relax and calm myself by taking a couple of deep breaths.

# Chapter 33

### The Base

The door opens and we walk out of the ship. Two rows of people; one on each side, salute us and then bow.

"I knew you were a really important person, Chief."

"They are also saluting you, Markus!"

" _Markus!_ That's right! That was my name. I... remember now Chief." An endless amount of images, thoughts, emotions and experiences come rushing into my mind in an instant.

I can feel them all looking at me, giving me a warm welcome. " _I don't think I deserve this!_ " I mutter.

My body can't take it and it starts to shake, my heart is pounding at about three hundred times a minute.

I bow and then get down on my knees while shouting to the crowd, "Sorry I failed you in the past!"

Chief grabs my arm and pulls me up while he encourages me, "Get up Lee. They know who you were and what you did, but most of all they know who you are _now_. They know what you did for Jon and Leo. They also know what you and your family are doing to make a change on Earth and beyond, that's why we all honor you."

"Thanks to you all," I shout in ' _Kumy_ ', a language I hadn't spoken for ages, but which had suddenly come back to me.

It is as if I was in a coma, a long trance, and just woke up from it. I also start to feel more powerful, but calm at the same time. A state of being I hadn't experienced for a very long time.

" _Markus Darius!_ " I think to myself. " _I used to command this place. I used to be the Chief! But that mission was important, and I decided to take it on, and I got trapped down there, near Earth, more than 200 Earth years ago. I have since lived three different Earth lives... how crazy is that?_ " I smile.

Chief takes me for a tour around the Base. We visit various quarters, offices, and buildings. It all looks very familiar, except that there are many new buildings and traces of newer technology all over the place.

People are the same though. They all pass me with a smile. It feels really funny, because I am the only one "wearing" a different kind of body. But they don't have any attention on bodies. We all look at each other's eyes and see ourselves as beings, not as bodies. That makes it much easier to communicate. Time does not seem to matter either.

Chief and I walk into an office. The sign on the door says, " _Ethics Section_ " _._

"I knew I had to come here, sooner or later," I say to Chief.

"Ethics is not the reason I brought you here Lee."

There is a lady sitting behind the desk. She looks up and I can't believe who I am seeing. I immediately shout, _"_ Mother!"

"Son, welcome back!" She opens her arms and holds me with the most gentle but loving touch. We are both shaking with joy. We look deeply into each other's eyes and hug again.

"I am so glad to see you mother."

"Perhaps you both can spend some time right now," says Chief. "I have got to handle a couple of things and will be back in fifteen minutes or so. Then we'll continue with the tour."

"Sounds good to me. See you in a few." My mother and I hug once more and she offers me to sit down next to her, in front of her desk. I place my backpack on the floor, next to my chair, open a zipper and pull out the thermos. She picks up my thought, gets up and grabs a couple of cups from a small cabinet behind her desk. I pour some coffee in each cup.

She tells me about the family and the work she has been doing at the Base. I tell her a little bit about my life on Earth, my family, and my experiences with Jon, Leo, and Chief.

"So, tell me, where is Dad?" I ask her.

She takes a small sip of coffee, being very careful about trying this new beverage. "I am not sure about this drink son. It is not sweet—"

"It could be sweet, some like it sweet, but I prefer it plain black—no sugar."

"I see...it makes my stomach tingle. It makes my whole body feel funny." She looks more awake and begins to answer my earlier question about my father, "About your father...he was captured. He went out on a mission some time ago, and the last thing we received from him was a message saying: 'I have been captured'."

I look at her sad face and tell her, "I'm very sorry to hear that. Where mother? Do you know his location?"

"We lost his coordinates, but he was heading to a red planet in the solar system; his last transmission was not far from there."

"Mars, that's what we call that planet. It is so close from Earth too."

"Is that right son?"

"Yes, they are very close. What kind of mission was he going to do on Mars?"

"He went to survey the surface of that planet. It appears to have some minerals which we could use here at the Base."

"Okay, but we know he is still alive, because he hasn't reported back to Base for a new body, right?"

"Yes son." She takes another sip of coffee. I am already done with half of my cup. She goes on, "Unless he was entrapped as a being, too." Her eyes grow very sad.

"That means, they would have caught his body and sort of 'encapsulated' him as a being. They can also put you in a trance and make you confused. That's what they did to me. Bastards!"

"I know they can do all kinds of things, but we keep high hopes and hope for the best son."

I move closer to her and hold my hand against her cheek. Her skin is soft, and she feels amazing. It is as if they don't age.

" _My old lady. She brings back so many memories to me._ " I look straight into her eyes and tell her, "I know Dad is still alive!"

She sighs and takes one more sip from her cup and says, "I am glad you can feel it too, Markus. I already felt a tremendous loss when we lost you. I don't want more losses." She embraces me and starts to cry, a few tears roll down her cheeks.

" _They do cry and they do shed tears... I remember now. Never saw her cry before, though_."

Chief shows up at the door, he wants to move on with our tour. "Let me continue the tour with Chief and I will see you again in a little while mother." I dry her cheeks and give her a kiss on her forehead.

"See you," she says, still holding the cup in her small and fragile hands.

Chief takes me around the Base. Another two hours go by, visiting various divisions, departments and sections. It is so amazing to see everybody doing something. We think we are busy back on Earth. Humans should see these guys at work—so busy, yet calm and not stressed at all. And others are just playing games, or having a good time. No motorcycles, though.

We walk into a room full of kids. "It's the new training room. Here we exercise our abilities and skills. Do you remember doing that Lee?" Chief inquires.

"I sure do! I can use some training now, too."

"We can come back later, if you want."

I look at my Earth watch and only eight hours have gone by since we left my home. Time seems to have slowed down. " _It is great, that means I will be able to do more things while I am here_ ," I think to myself.

"I am glad you are on vacation Chief. And thanks so much for bringing me here and showing me the Base! I really appreciate it."

"No worries. I knew you would."

"What's that building over there? It looks new to me."

"Yes, very new. That's the Technology Center; Division 100. We build our new ships there. Let's take a look inside."

We step inside the building, go through a couple of doors, and right in front of us, a whole array of ships are being built.

"This is amazing Chief. Look at all these beautiful ships."

"Yes, look at that one coming out of the assembly line. Let's check her out."

We walk over to the ship and I have no words to describe what I see. "I am speechless."

"Believe me, I am also impressed Lee. We designed this ship not long ago. She is our latest model," he comments. "She can travel twice as fast as _BZ-2_ , the one we came in. She is also fully equipped with all kinds of radar and some extra weapons. This girl needs to be tested before sending anyone on missions."

"I am getting ideas, Chief."

"I am getting your ideas Lee. You are thinking too loud. You want to go to Mars huh? You want to go and look for your father."

"You got it! If it took us over six hours to get here, it would take us about two to get to Mars on board this new ship. How about we meet here in a couple of hours and we go for a test ride? I want to make sure this ship is properly tested, for others, you know?" We both laugh.

"One of the things that hasn't changed a bit in you, is that you were always adventurous and daring."

"Things are coming back to me too fast. I am starting to feel more powerful, adventurous and courageous. I can't help it."

"I understand Lee. I can perceive how you feel. Why don't you go back to the training room, retrain yourself for a while and then visit your mother before we go. We will meet up here in two hours. Meanwhile, I will review the manual for this ship and get permission to go out. Remember I am still on vacation, so I still have to get permission."

"Sounds like a plan Chief. I will see you in a couple of hours."

I return to the training room. There are a few students and a trainer. I walk in and notice everyone is doing something different.

" _I remember now, most of the training is done in pairs. You have a partner and you take turns practicing whatever you want to improve._ "

I sit down and the Coach comes over to me. He pulls out a checklist and asks me what I want to train on. I am fully aware of the fact that I don't have a lot of time so I just choose a couple of items. Number one: communication and, two: moving my body and objects in space without physical contact. There are many exercises for every subject on that checklist. I just pick a few. Your progress depends on how good you do the first few steps, then you can proceed to more advanced levels, the list is almost endless.

I am very clumsy at the beginning, as I am too excited and get too many things in my head. But that's one of the things this training helps you with. I have to learn to live the moment.

" _I have got to be here, in the present, not thinking about what happened an hour or a day ago, or what may happen in an hour or a day from now, but here and now!_ "

Then I start to concentrate better and begin to regain my communication abilities. It becomes more and more fun.

I move to the next subject and interestingly enough, it also has to do with communication. In order to command something to move you have to establish good communication with that which you are trying to move. After that, it is all about intention and self-confidence.

" _All the things Jon and Leo have been telling me make so much more sense now. I am so glad Chief brought me here. He knew what I could get out of this trip, and I am getting more than what he may have envisioned."_

After nearly two hours of good training, I go back to see my mother one more time. A very short visit, for I have changed my plans.

"Hello son! Your coffee is still doing funny stuff with my body."

"Sorry my lady. I did not mean to..."

"It's not bad. I am just kidding." She smiles.

She tells me a little bit more about my father and the rest of my family. I have two brothers, Xaxo and Meeno, who are on missions most of the time, and a sister, Mura-ena, who is at Station Five, not far from the Base. I will make plans to visit them another time.

"So you have to go?" She asks, having perceived my thought.

"Yes mother. Chief and I decided to go test one of the new ships. I am very excited." I did not want to tell her about my plan about trying to go rescue my father, did not want to give her more things to worry about.

She looks straight into my eyes and with a sweet voice she says, "Well, have fun testing that new ship. Hope you bring your father back, too." She smiles.

"I think too loudly, don't I mother?"

"I still know you well enough, Markus." She approaches me, and with a warm embrace and with a kiss, she conveys her blessing.

I am their only hope, and she knows that I am determined not only to find him, but to do anything to get him back. She did not say that, not with words.

I leave her office and go to meet up with Chief.

# Chapter 34

### The Mission to Mars

I walk into the Engineering Building and head towards Chief who is standing in front of the ship's entrance. "Are you ready Chief?"

"I am ready, big boy! I got permission to go out and test this girl."

"Cool! What's her name?"

"Haven't thought of one. What do you think?"

"I like _Maggy_! What do _you_ think?"

" _Maggy_ it is. I also read the manual. It is much easier than flying any of the earlier ships. You will be amazed to see how simple it is."

"Simplicity is one of your specialties Chief. I like you guys more and more."

We proceed to walk inside the ship. "This ship is more automated so you can literally just tell her what to do." He turns to the panels and starts to talk to the ship, "Your name is _Maggy_! This is your Commander, Chief. You also have Lee on board, and he will be second in command."

" _I can't believe Chief just appointed me second in command, what an honor_ ," I think to myself _._

"Welcome on board Commander, and welcome on board, Lee."

"Thanks Maggy. You are a state of the art ship." I say to her.

"We are going to get ready here," says Chief while pushing a lever and maneuvering the ship to the exit gate. He pushes another button and the gates start to open. The ship exits the building and glides onto a platform out in the open. He points to the big screen in the front and says, "I entered the location where your father last transmitted from—near Mars. We will be there in about two hours. The best thing to do, as we approach Mars, is to see if we can perceive your father, his space, his thoughts, anything. Radar can't perceive that kind of communication or energy, but _we_ can."

"Got it Chief." We take a seat. I am still amazed by this state of the art piece of equipment that just came out of the assembly line. Amazing technology. Something man can only dream off.

He turns to me, making sure I am already strapped in and tells me, "Let's get the hell out of here Lee." He pulls a lever in front of him, which makes _Maggy_ thrust forward at what I consider medium speed.

We leave the Base. I could hardly tell when the thing blasted off into the deep expanse of space. And there it goes speeding into the 'time warp' effect, as I call it; the ship just seems to disappear in space. How fast are we going? I have no clue, can't compare this with any Earth speed.

I start to wonder about my father and so I comment, "I wonder what kind of beings could have captured him Chief."

"There aren't many types of spaceships or stations in this sector of the Universe. Not that many which make trouble, at least."

" _Borasee_ come to my mind," I voice.

"Those and the so called _Boggies_. But you wouldn't know about _Boggies_. They showed up after you went missing. They stole some of our technology from the Base.

"Hard to get rid of them huh?" I voice.

"It hasn't been easy. They are very good warriors. They capture people, put them in a hypnotic trance, and then suck up as much knowledge as they can."

"What do they do with the body after that?"

"Whatever they want to do with it. They are very mean and vicious."

"I think those were the ones that got me Chief." I suddenly get a bunch of pictures rushing to my head. "I sort of recall what they did to me, now that you are telling me. They put me in an oven-like chamber, and cooked my body after getting whatever they could get out of me. I was so confused, I escaped to the closest planet with life on it— _Earth_."

"That makes sense."

"What guarantees that we are not going to be caught Chief?"

"Nothing! I thought you had a plan." He looks at me surprised, though he's aware that I don't even know what I am up against. There could be anything waiting for us, or maybe they had deserted the location and were simply gone. We are going to find out—that's for sure.

"My plan is to find my father and get him out of... wherever he is."

He smiles and says, "A bit general, but I guess that's a plan. We will be approaching Mars very soon."

"Boy, that was fast." Chief tells _Maggy_ to slow down to about one-eighth the speed we had been traveling, and all of a sudden I see it—the Red Planet, right in front of me _._

"I am sure the ship would let us know if she detects anything, such as life, a Base, weapons, anything...right Chief?"

"Yes, she will alert us of any activity registering on the radar."

"Can we be detected?"

"Not easily. That reminds me..." He turns around and commands _Maggy_ to activate non-detection mode.

"There seems to be something on the radar. It is coming from that big crater over there. There is a green dot. What does it mean?" I ask.

"I am detecting some type of a life form. Not identifiable yet," _Maggy_ says.

Chief sets the controls to manual and gently navigates towards the surface. He points to the screen and says, "orange dots, too—equipment of some sort."

"What about those red ones that just showed up, Chief?"

"Those mean trouble _—weapons!_ There are also some black ones, which indicate they have various radars. It is definitely a Base of some sort."

"Look Chief. Those guys are armed to the teeth. Many more red dots are now showing up on the screen. Is there a way the ship can detect any of our people?"

"No! Like I said before, that's our job. I think we are safe. We are very close and have not been detected... yet."

"Sorry, I can't perceive anything. Either my perception is not good or my father is not there," I pause as I suddenly start to feel something, "Wait...I am getting something Chief _..._ Lab 1."

"These are definitely the _Boggies_. They call their modules Labs, which are basically buildings. Lab 1 is the place where they keep prisoners...after they have messed with them." He looks at me a bit discouraged.

"So, they already messed with my father." I start to get furious, wondering what kind of stuff they may have done to him. I look at Chief and voice angrily, "They will pay for that."

He nods and says, "In due time Lee. But don't let anger take over your integrity right now." I nod back.

"Okay, let's move on. Let's find Lab 1. By the way, Chief, can _Maggy_ take commands from me as well?"

"Sure! Just a moment." He turns to the front of the ship and directs his attention to the panels saying, "Maggy, accept commands given by Lee, from now on."

_Maggy_ begins to make some beeping noises and then utters, "Voice frequency recognition active. Ready to take commands, Lee."

"Thanks Maggy." I acknowledge her and begin to give her instructions, "Approach Lab 1 in stealth mode and let us know when we reach a distance of one hundred feet."

"Approaching target...now at one hundred feet from target Lee."

"Please report amount of guards and weapons, whatever you can detect."

"Ten guards located in Lab 1. Carrying ten weapons, type Z-21 Buzzers with lasers."

"What kind of weapons do we have, Chief? And... do we have any space suits?"

"We have three weapons, long-range-laser types. Three space suits with helmets—oxygen incorporated. Radios installed inside the helmets. The suits will also protect against radiation, if there is any."

I grab two of the space suits and start to suit up. The second suit will be for my father, in case he needs it. "You don't have to come Chief, but please help me from here. Orient me and warn me of any possible danger approaching. Can you follow my location?"

"Yes! Every move you make. Your suit is also like a big antenna. It receives and transmits data to the ship's computer. We will get even more details of the place as you get inside the building. There are also two video cameras installed in the helmet, one in the front and one in the rear. We can see what those video cameras capture. They provide us with a good vision to help you cover both your front and your back. You have a small screen inside the helmet enabling you to see what's behind you, too. Most likely you will perceive movements and things around you before those cameras do, but they make it safer. And...just a reminder, Lee, you used to be one of our best warriors."

"Thanks Chief. I will keep that in mind."

"Also, remember the gravity of Mars is only 38% the gravity of Earth. You have to sort of propel yourself in space. I know there is more gravity inside the buildings and they even have oxygen inside."

"Understood Chief. Glad this thing fits me," I voice as I finish zipping up my gear and start to get my head inside the helmet. "How do I look?"

"You look great!" He gives me the thumbs up and throws me one of the weapons.

"Maggy, please let me out."

# Chapter 35

### The Rescue

I exit the ship and begin to float in space, a very interesting sensation; my body feels so light. I had always dreamed of this ability—to be able to fly _. "I would be a hero, if I was on Earth_ , _just like Superman... maybe not as fast, but at least I can fly!_ "

The space suit is amazing. It is self-adjusting, self-fitting, or something of the sort. It doesn't feel uncomfortable at all. I apply some of my recently re-gained ability to move in space. It makes it easy since there is almost no gravity. With strong intention I thrust my body into space.

"Lab 1 entrance is in front of you Lee. About fifty feet," says Chief on the radio.

"Got it! I will go around and see if I can find another entrance. Don't want to head for the front door."

I perceive another one of my father's "weary" messages: " _Lab 1, seventh floor...Markus."_

" _I am coming father. Stay strong. I am coming."_

"Chief, can you tell me how to get to the seventh floor of Lab 1?"

"Let me see...It looks like you are on the surface, which is floor number ten. You will have to go down through nine and eight to make it to the seventh floor."

"I have detected _Aka-1_ on ninth floor, Captain," _Maggy_ reports, "Along with other enemy ships."

"Who is _Aka-1_ , Chief?"

"She is the ship your father was commanding when he was captured."

"Is it still operational?"

"Maggy _,_ see if you can establish communication with _Aka-1_ ," Chief orders.

"Communication established, Captain."

"Please check the status of _Aka-1_ , Maggy," I ask as new plans start to develop in my head.

" _Aka-1_ is fully operational. All her systems are in working order, Lee."

"Excellent Maggy. We are taking that ship back with us. How technologically advanced is _Aka-1_ , Chief?"

"Very! She is the previous model of _Maggy_. Not much different from her."

"Awesome! Maggy, please place _Aka-1_ on standby mode. Provide her with my voice frequency and program her to execute my commands. Also... have her understand the English language."

I hear some beeping noises from _Maggy_ as she programs _Aka-1_. "Work in progress..." says _Maggy_. " _Aka-1_ has been programmed and she is now ready to execute your commands, Lee. Downloading English vocabulary... downloads complete!"

"Good job! You are awesome Maggy."

"You are welcome...I detect activity on the ninth floor." _Maggy_ says.

It looks like one of the other ships has been started. A small patrol ship," says Chief.

"Let me know if it moves or prepares to exit the building. I might be able to sneak inside while it comes out, Chief. Are there guards on that level?"

"Two guards," _Maggy_ replies.

"Gate is opening Lee. They are ready to come out. You only have about five seconds to get inside, once the door is fully open."

"I am almost there."

"Very good. I may have to move out of sight if they detect us."

"Understood Chief. Do whatever is necessary."

I get closer to the gate—fifteen feet, ten, five. Gate opens fully. The ship comes out and I go in. The gate closes and I see a second door, already closed, in front of me. "Damn it!" I shout. "There is a second door, Chief. Chief?...Maggy?...You guys there?" I keep shouting, but there is no answer.

About twenty seconds later, I hear Chief on the radio, "We have been detected Lee. I will retreat and shake them off. We'll come back!"

" _I saw that coming,_ " I say to myself.

I point my gun at the second door and blow the whole thing off. " _This is going to get some attention."_

I jump inside the building and two guards approach me immediately. With no hesitation, I throw myself on the floor, point at them, pull the trigger and blow them away.

" _Father, please guide me!"_

" _Door to your right is a passage to the next floor down. Follow it son._ "

I run towards the door. The whole alarm system has gone off by now. I can feel a few more guards coming my way.

All of the sudden I see an amazing spaceship in one of the corners of the room. " _That has got to be Aka-1,_ " I say to myself, " _I can recognize a state of the art ship when I see one. No wonder those bastards are trying to steal our technology_."

" _Stay put Aka-1, I will come back for you in a few minutes_ ," I mutter _._

Another door opens, and guards storm in and get in position to shoot me. I swiftly move up, down, and then to the sides. I pull the trigger and give them a laser discharge, which take care of four more guards.

I go to the next floor down and start to perceive three more attackers. A moment later, we find ourselves face-to-face; we did not even have time to point our guns at each other. I push myself forward, knocking two guys down by walking up to their bodies and hitting them hard with my gun. The third one is targeting me, but he is sort of confused, he did not expect to see such a fast action right before his eyes.

In a split second I recall more martial arts moves, and without hesitation I point at him while emitting a very loud noise, which confuses him even more. I take a step back, then launch forward with a side kick and slam him against the wall—hard.

" _They are_ _done_! _All my martial arts training on Earth is finally paying off_. _And combined with my new abilities...I am a dangerous dude_!" I say to myself.

" _Where to father_?"

" _Down, cell number two!_ "

I go down another floor and start to look for the cells. I can feel more guards approaching the area.

I finally find cell number two and there he is, my old man, in a very small cell. It certainly is a prisoner cell, from what I can tell.

He shouts at me, " _Don't!_ _Don't try to come in son!_ _You will get trapped!"_ He points up with his head, the only part of his body he is able to move, and tells me, "See that dish up there...it will be activated and trap you the moment you walk in." I keep moving forward. " _Please don't!_ " he cries.

I kick the gate open, point at the beam head with my gun and overload the dish with enough power to make it smoke. Next I point and shoot at the machine that my father is strapped to. It releases his wounded hands and legs.

I can tell right away that his body is very weak, and his mind, disturbed. He had been deprived of food and rest for way too long.

" _Those bastards!_ _They are going to pay for this!_ "

I help my father sit up on the small bed and tell him, "I will carry you over my back, father. Just hold on as tight as you can. I am going to get you out of here!"

A second later I hear Chief getting back to me on the radio. "Lee, are you there?"

"Yes Chief. I've got my father with me. We are moving towards _Aka-1_ now."

"Okay. It seems like they are sending a whole army your way, about thirty guys. Be prepared! They are also going to have visual on this ship any moment. We can't hover here for too long!"

"Got it Chief!" I begin to command the ship, "Maggy, activate _Aka-1_ and get it ready for take-off. Get my radio synchronized with her, too."

_Maggy_ responds a few seconds later, _"Aka-1_ is on and ready for departure. Radios synchronized and ready to communicate."

I come out of the cell and sure enough, I perceive a whole army approaching us. I literally fly upstairs with my father on my back, shooting at a few soldiers, while moving.

" _It's strange. They don't seem to be very agile. They are sort of slow when drawing their weapons too—all to our benefit._ "

"There are more guards awaiting us behind the door son."

"Ten to be precise father _._ "

I concentrate, take a deep breath, and move forward, shooting through the closed door and walls at soldiers, who I know are waiting for us. As we pass through the door, we find only a few of our immediate attackers still standing, and their confusion makes them an easy target for me.

"There are more coming up behind you Lee," Chief announces.

"How come I don't perceive them Chief?"

"They are droids, and have no life or mind of their own to be perceived. They are good with weapons though."

"Understood!"

I can feel my father holding on even tighter. " _Poor guy, he must be so tired, but this is not the place or time to think about tiredness, not if we want to make it. And we will make it. I have no question about it!_ "

I move up as high as I can. Droids start to pile into the hallway. "Shit, that's too many," I say to my father. "But I can't be scared. Being scared hasn't taken me many places!"

I begin to shoot them as we descend in a circular motion. My father helps me to avoid some of their shots by pushing our bodies in various directions, while I eliminate the rest of them. Not as difficult as I had expected.

We head towards the door where _Aka-1_ is located, on the ninth floor. I blow the door open with my weapon and start to command _Aka-1_ on the radio, "Aka-1, open door, _now!_ "

"Door is open, Captain _._ " I hear her voice for the first time, it sounds as sweet as _Maggy'_ s.

As I run towards _Aka-1_ , I direct my weapon towards the main gate of the building and blow it to pieces, making way for _Aka-1_ to leave.

"Aka-1, close door and activate shield mode. Let's get out of here _, at once!_ " I tell her as I place my father in one of the seats.

"Leaving, Captain," she says, blasting off before I even notice.

"Well done Aka-1! Please slow down, turn around and give me visual of the _Boggie_ 's Base."

"Visual obtained, Captain."

"Set full target Aka-1."

"Full target attained, Captain _._ But I am not authorized to deploy weapons."

"Don't worry Aka-1. You are not going to deploy anything. Please switch to manual mode."

"Manual mode active!"

I reach for the trigger that fires the weapon of my choice and pull it with no hesitation.

"That was the end of that _Boggie_ Base _,_ " I mutter _._ "And that puts peace into that sector of Mars."

" _Lee!_ " Chief shouts on the radio.

"I just gave them some of my _integrity_ Chief."

I suddenly get visual of him on one of the screens, he is shaking his head. "Crazy kid! How is your father?"

My father struggles to say a few words, "I am shook-up, weak, but alive." He then turns to me and says, "This kid of mine is quite a character, hasn't changed much, got worse if anything." We chuckle and get a proper hug at last.

"Chief, I request permission to go back to Earth and take care of my father there."

"I cannot authorize you to do that, Lee. I am on vacation, don't you remember? I am not holding any post right now."

"Roger that, Chief! Roger that!"

"Aka-1. Please establish communication with Base, find the records from where _BZ-2_ last took off from Earth. I want you to find those coordinates."

"Communication with Base established...looking for records in database...location found. Earth coordinates for _BZ-2_ 's last departure: Solar system, planet Earth. Latitude: 33°13' 53.73". Longitude: -116°44' 40.88."

"Excellent! Lock in those coordinates and set your course to that destination, at normal speed. Can I get an ETA?"

"ETA, thirty-seven Earth minutes at high speed, Captain."

"According to my Earth watch, it is going to be about 4 am at our destination, is that correct Aka-1?"

"We have not kept records of Earth time zones, sorry, Captain."

"No worries, can you tell me if it is going to be dark when we get there?"

"Yes, the positioning of your sun will be basically at the opposite side of our destination, Captain."

"That's what I needed to hear."

"Chief, please brief my mother and anybody else at the Base about our trip and change of plans. I take full responsibility for any wrongdoing. I will take full responsibility for _Aka-1_ as well. My family and I will take care of my father."

"Don't worry kid. I would do the same if I were you. By the way, well done on this rescue mission. I am really proud of you!"

"Thanks Chief. I could not have done it without you, _Maggy_ , and _Aka-1_. Have a safe trip back home."

"Talk to you soon Lee." He directs his attention to my father and says, "Get well soon, Officer Darius. Have fun and don't drink too much coffee, or you will end up like your son."

I immediately feel the impulse to instruct _Maggy._ I tell her, "Maggy, take Chief back to the Base, _at once!_ " We all laugh.

"Aka-1, proceed to target."

"Leaving the Mars atmosphere, Captain."

# Chapter 36

### Home

I turn around with all the attention on my father. "Okay father, we can now talk for a little bit and then I will let you rest. Here, have some water and the last of my fruit." He grabs the water, gulps it down immediately and bites into an apple.

"Thanks son. I have never been happier to see you."

"It has been such a long time father. I am _so_ glad to see you too."

We talked for a few minutes and he briefly tells me what happened and what they did to him while at the _Boggie'_ s Base. He seems calmer and relieved after talking to me about it. He had not been allowed to speak with anyone for a long time.

"Have you ever been to Earth, father?"

"No, I haven't. I heard it's beautiful. I was offered to go there once, but I hesitated and someone else went instead. That was Jon."

"Funny, you would have landed right by my house, just like they did."

"True, but I could also have been killed like those on the other ships."

"Right! It's just as Jon says, nothing just happens. There is a reason for everything and I understand we cause those things. I have learned so much from those guys. I have learned more from them in the past few months than in all my previous Earth lives together."

We both laugh. I go on, "And funny enough, it has mainly been a matter of remembering things and regaining my dormant abilities. I am so glad all this is happening. Still feel bad about the ships that were shot down and the guys that died, but again, it's all for a reason."

"I totally understand what you mean, believe me I do." He looks deeply into my eyes. He is tired, weak and hungry, but deep inside I see a wise, strong being; the return of a best friend.

I recline his seat, make him comfortable, and let him rest for the remainder of the trip.

Twenty minutes later, _Aka-1_ reports, "We have entered the Earth's atmosphere, Captain. Speed reduced to hypersonic—Mach 5."

"Excellent Aka-1. Turn lights off and activate stealth mode as we approach home."

" _It is a good feeling, knowing that this ship can't be easily detected—less of a rush._ "

"Approaching home, Captain."

My father wakes up from the sounds of _Aka-1_ and hearing my voice. He stretches himself. "I guess we already made it."

"That's right, we are home! I have to wake up the guys. I have no radio to call them." I concentrate and send Jon, Leo, and the girls a thought, asking them to come and open the garage.

They all jump out of bed.

The garage roof opens, and we descend, and land.

"Father, Aka-1, this is my home—your home, too. Welcome!"

"Thanks son." He gets up from his seat, holds onto my shoulder and prepares to exit.

"Thanks Captain," says _Aka-1_ as she gently opens her door for us.

Jon comes rushing forward. "What in heavens Lee! Officer _Darius_! Where have you guys been?"

"It's a long story. My father needs lots of fresh oxygen, food, and rest."

"I see you have discovered many things Lee," Leo comments. "You are even speaking ' _Kumy_ ', our space language."

Gina rushes in behind the boys, still in her PJs. " _Lee!_ What happened? Is that Chief?" She hugs me.

"Hi babe. Chief is back at the Base, and he is fine. This man here is my father, my father from the Base that is." Father gets close to Gina and bows to her.

He doesn't speak the English language so I translate to her. "Father says he is pleased to meet you."

"I am pleased to meet him...too," says Gina in amazement and with all of her attention on my father. She continues, "Wha...what a kind being." She places a hand on his shoulder.

"Hence myself," I joke, and then continue, "And this is _Aka-1_ , she is an amazing ship—just saved us from Mars."

"Hi Gina," says _Aka-1_. Already speaking the English language.

"Hi Aka-...1. She also talks?"

"Yep! She sure does."

I proceed to give _Aka-1_ final instructions, "Aka-1, please send a report to Base about our safe arrival on Earth. Power yourself down, leave communication and surveillance systems on, please."

_Aka-1_ beeps and then says, "Powering down... Communication system in standby mode. Surveillance system active, Captain."

"So, now you are a _Captain_?" Gina asks with surprise, "Did you fly this ship too?"

I grab Gina with one arm and my father with the other and say, "Let's make some fresh coffee and I can tell you all about it."

We provide my father with some food, and then help him get comfortable in bed where he can rest without any disturbances.

I sit down with Gina and the boys for two hours. I brief them on my trip to the Base, the realizations I had, how amazing it was to step into this other world after so long of not having been there, and how they greeted Chief and me upon our arrival.

I share how special the people are, the way they operate and the technology they have. I also tell them about having found my mother, the things we talked about while enjoying a cup of coffee. And then, last but not least, the account of rescuing my father from Mars.

They could not believe what I was saying, and even Jon and Leo were surprised.

"You went through all that in the last 20 hours?" Gina asks.

It all seems too hard to believe, but Gina has no room for doubt, for there is my father and there is another ship, but most of all, she knows I am a different man, one who is stronger in mind and spirit, who is finding less and less barriers in life, one who cares for others to the point of risking his own life, and one who is ready to change the world.

They also bring me up to speed on the work they have done while I was away. It is impressive what they have accomplished in less than a day. They put together a whole advertising campaign. Developed the first subject, "The Power of Communication", by gathering pictures and creating vocalized messages for every part of this subject. Leo has made computer animated movies that make it very easy for people to understand. They are going to continue to refine every part of the campaign, and then translate it into 15 languages, the main languages spoken on planet Earth.

We decide to get some rest before another eventful day.

# Chapter 37

### The Future

We all get up late the next day after a long and well deserved rest. My father had taken a shower and was sitting next to an open window, enjoying the fresh air.

"Here father, have some coffee. You look so much better. Did you sleep well?"

He takes a sip. "I feel great! Lots of oxygen here, makes me recover very fast." He nods and takes another sip of coffee. "This stuff is not bad. My stomach sort of tingles—"

I laugh and tell him, "That's what mother said too."

"How was she?"

"Fine. She was very worried about you, but fine. We will go to the ship in a little while and you will be able to talk to her." He sighs deeply. I continue, "She is such a great lady, and from the moment I saw her again she brought back so many memories."

"I know son. I have been with her for over 500 years. She is such a wonderful lady," he sighs again and a few of tears make their way down his cheeks.

I put my arm around him and say, "I can feel how much affinity you guys have for each other, such a tight bound."

"That's right son."

"Like the fresh air father?"

"I do. Much better oxygen here."

"And this is not the best. I will take you to the mountains sometime where there's a lot of nature. I want to, eventually, get a property where the air is pure and fresh all year long—perhaps by the mountains. People can come from the Base at any time and enjoy their stay. We could even set up a small Base or station for traveling to nearby planets—I could run it."

"That's a brilliant idea."

"There are many things that we need to fix on this planet, father, but there is a lot of good here, too. I want to make sure people also recognize that."

He moves away from the window and steps close to me. "Very important what you say. I don't know all the details of 'Project Earth', but little as I know, you guys are doing an excellent job of making people aware of things and what not."

"Thanks for the acknowledgement. Our main purpose is to make people aware of the way things are, and have then see the way things should be."

"Excellent. Not everyone will decide to change though—keep that in mind."

"Yes, I won't be disappointed. We will give everybody the chance though. It is up to them to decide, and normally those who decide not to change are the ones who need the most change." We chuckle, "They won't break my heart if they don't decide to become better beings."

"That's right. But others will make them change in the long run, son. Others will enforce ethics and moral codes on them. It might take another lifetime or two. Things haven't gotten this bad overnight, so we can't expect them to change overnight either. But things will change for sure."

"You are so wise father."

"You are also very wise, and so willing to help others. I am very proud of you." He looks deeply into my eyes so as to give me strength and hope. "I have no doubt you will make a change in this world. I have no doubt you will transmit a lot of those realizations to your people. You have the power and the courage to do it. I have seen you do bigger things in the past."

"You have?"

"Not only once! And I can tell you are even more determined to do it now than ever before. Your reasons are even stronger now."

"Right! And I am not alone either. I have the best team I have ever had. We will make it happen."

We see Jon and Leo taking a walk outside. They have become accustomed to getting up early to take a walk.

"Don't they get in trouble if seen by other humans, son?"

"Those two? No, they can perceive a human a mile away. They would hide if they felt somebody coming. But not many people come around here. That's one of the beauties of having a good amount of land and living away from the city."

My father sticks his head out the window and waves at them. "How far do they go?" he asks.

"Around the whole property, and sometimes they go missing for a while, but mainly around those trees and across the river back there." I point to a little forest. "I even found them swimming in the lake a few times."

"Maybe I should join them."

"You should. There are many things I want to show you and have you experience, including riding the motorcycle. I think you will enjoy it. Come, let's go out." We walk out of the house and head towards the boys.

"What's a motorcycle?" he asks.

"I will let Jon and Leo tell you about it," I mention as they approach. My father waves for them to join us.

"Jon, Leo, what's that motorcycle ride Lee is talking about?"

"Best way to let you know about it is to have you ride one," says Leo. "Hey Lee. Do you think...?"

"Sure, sure, have him do it. How is your body feeling father? Still sore?"

"Most of it healed already. Why do you ask? Am I going to wreck my body again?"

"No you won't. Come with us."

# Chapter 38

### Progress

We walk over to the garage, get the bikes out and go for a ride. The guys show him the basics of riding, and off he goes. They join him and show him some tricks. They make me laugh.

They ride for about twenty minutes and then I have to stop them, as I perceive someone approaching us—one of my distant neighbors. Even though he lives half a mile away, he came to see who the riders were. He thought it was a race and wanted to watch. Gina meets him at the front door and tells him that it's just me and some friends having fun, and that we were done for the day. He leaves a bit disappointed.

My dad loved the ride and he was still in one piece at the end of it. He needed no explanation about motorcycles after the experience. He also looked even more alive after the ride.

Gina and Sarah had been cooking, and they came out to tell us it's time to have some brunch.

My father is introduced to Sarah for the very first time, "Look father. This is Sarah, she was sleeping when you arrived, but here she is."

He is a bit uncertain about what to say, but then he speaks in his own language, "What do we have here? I did not know humans could be so cute when little." We all laugh at his comment. I translate for Gina. He goes on, "She is also full of energy. Can I hold her?" He stretches his arms out and takes her from Gina. The little one reaches for him.

"You are welcome to be her grandfather."

He is checking out her face, her little arms and legs, and she reaches for his face and renders him speechless.

"But of course! I would love to be her grandfather. It will be my pleasure." We could not get her off his arms for a while, and she enjoys being with him all throughout the brunch.

Then we get busy with Project Earth. _Aka-1_ is also going to help speed things up. We can tell her what to do, and in a blink of an eye it's done! She gathers data, pictures, and even makes movies.

We are going to be able to launch our campaign faster than we had expected. Perhaps, we can develop every subject in a day or two. Then we will translate it all into the various languages.

We have actually set a new goal: We now want to start broadcasting in five days. But we need to get the transmitters from the Base, as soon as we can. Maybe Chief or somebody else could come by and drop them off. I have to talk to them about it.

I get inside _Aka-1_ to establish communication with the Base. "Aka-1, please connect me with Chief." She starts beeping, and soon, Chief appears on the screen.

"How is everything going Lee?"

"Fantastic! We are making very fast progress. We are unstoppable!"

He laughs and says, "That's what I would expect to hear from you. You guys are quite a team."

"Yes, and _Aka-1_ is going to help speed things up even more."

"Very well, get her busy. You need those transmitters, don't you?"

"Yes Sir! Would like to start transmitting in five days, but we need to get the devices and install them on the various satellites first."

"You know _we_ make things possible. Just got to figure out how."

"Understood! Still on vacation Chief?"

"I had to end my vacation, and go back on post due to a lack of personnel, but I saved the remaining days to go back there some time."

"Got it!"

"Transmitters are ready. Let me see how we can work it out. I don't have more ships available right now, and even _Maggy_ was sent out on a ten day mission. New ships won't be available until next week."

"I have a solution for that Chief. I will come and pick them up tomorrow. By the way, do you mind if I bring—"

"That's fine with me Lee. You can bring them along with you."

"Thanks. You are the man!"

I call my father and have him talk to my mother. They are also able to see each other on the screen. So much love they have for each other.

I go back inside the house and find Gina, Sarah, and the boys still sitting around the kitchen table. I tell them, "Gina, Sarah, time to go back to the Base. Tomorrow morning. Got to pick up the transmitters." Gina's face grows sad right away, and there is silence for a moment.

She sighs deeply and then says, "Leaving us again! I saw that coming."

"Nope! You and Sarah are coming with me." Gina now looks confused. "It would be only for about ten or twelve hours...we could stay longer if you want."

"I don't know whether to be excited or nervous," she says.

"The first option is better. Look at Sarah! She is not worried. She understands what's going on though."

"Sarah is not doing anything," Gina points out.

"Exactly!" I voice.

"I'm sure you girls will enjoy the trip," says Jon.

Leo also puts his two cents in, "Sarah can play with some little ones, and might learn some tricks too." He smiles.

"We'll leave before sunrise, say 5 am. I think we can spend all day there, and will be back after sunset, about 8:30 pm."

I direct my attention to the boys, "Do you promise to be good boys while we are gone?"

Leo takes a step forward and says, "Can't promise anything, not after seeing all the stuff you do." We laugh.

Jon comments, "There might not be any coffee left when you come back." His comment brings on more laughter.

My father comes back from the ship and walks into the kitchen. I tell him about going back to the Base the next day. "Father, do you want to come with us?"

"Yes, I'd love to stay here longer, but haven't been home with my family for a long time."

"That's what I thought. I am sure they are very anxious to see you too. But please schedule yourself to come back soon, and bring mother with you. I am sure she will enjoy it." He nods and smiles.

We are busy the rest of the day and complete the subject of communication. It's done! We are so excited.

We pack some needed essentials for the trip and go to sleep.

# Chapter 39

### Another Journey

We get up with just enough time to make coffee and grab some food. Since we had already packed the night before, it did not take long for us to board _Aka-1_. We all have seats, including Sarah. I custom made one for her by using her stroller seat. She actually has the most comfortable seat of all—seat belt and everything. My father chuckles when he sees me placing her in her seat. He also looks a bit puzzled, so I ask him, "Do kids at the Base get to fly when they are this little? I don't remember."

"No way! You were one of the first to fly when you were little, and you were already about three earth years old."

I nod and smile. But I make no comment as I know he is a bit worried about Sarah flying with us.

" _I know it will be alright. I just want them at the Base, getting to see what I saw, meeting my other family and friends_."

"It looks like everybody is ready," I comment. "Aka-1, please get ready for take-off. Establish coordinates to Base."

"Coordinates established, Captain, ready for departure."

I push the button on the remote and open the roof. We look through the left window and see Jon and Leo standing there. We wave, and they wave back with a smile.

"Those two," I mumble. "Let's go Aka-1."

We start our ascend.

" _Wow_! This is...fun," Gina says. "It is so fast!"

A few minutes later, Aka-1 announces, "Preparing to leave Earth's atmosphere." She speeds up some more.

"Thanks Aka-1." I turn to Gina and say, "I will show you fast, babe. Aka-1, increase speed to hypersonic—Mach 8."

"What's Mach 8?" Gina asks.

"There is a whole mathematical equation in which you divide the speed of an object by the speed of sound and the result is a Mach number. Mach 1 is the equivalent of 760 mph on Earth, multiply that by eight and you get... what? 6080 mph!"

Her eyes grow as big as saucers. I go on further to clarify, "It is very different out in space. There is no gravity and there is no air—like a vacuum. Objects can move through space much faster. These ships go _many_ times faster than Mach 8."

"I can feel it moving," she says holding on tightly to her seat as _Aka-1_ gently speeds up. My father is just sitting there watching. Sarah is next to me, smiling and giggling.

A few minutes later I say, "Look Gina, recognize that satellite right there?"

"The moon!" she shouts.

I get inspired by looking at the moon and turn into a poet in no time, "The same one we were looking at when I proposed to you at the beach, the one who has witnessed many heartbreaks, the one who makes the ocean tides rise, the same one that..."

She can't take my silly inspiration and interrupts me, "Okay, okay, okay. Now you've turned into a poet."

"I was just starting to get inspired. Look at it while you can. It will be gone soon, other planets and stars will show up though."

Now she is happy and doesn't pay attention to how fast we are going. "Is it true that the moon makes the ocean tides rise Lee?"

" _Yep_! The moon is only one quarter the size of earth, has only one sixteenth of our gravity. But it has enough pull to affect the oceans and other things on Earth, mainly liquids."

"Interesting. Do all planets have gravity?"

"Yes, all planets and stars. The amount of gravity depends on the amount of mass each one has." I point to a small gauge located in the front of the cockpit and tell her, "That gauge tells us the amount of gravity of a star or planet any time we get close to it."

"That's so cool," she says, reaching for my shoulder. "You are a real Captain Lee!" She smiles.

_Aka-1_ gives us a report, "Ten hours, thirty minutes is our ETA to Base, Captain."

"Thanks Aka-1. Proceed to a speed that is safe for you and will get us there faster."

"Adjusting speed... (She beeps) We'll arrive to Base in two hours thirty-five minutes."

"Is this the time warp effect you like son?" My father inquires with a smile.

" _You got it!_ "

The ship adjusts her speed and it suddenly seems to disappear into the deep space.

My father goes on, "Speed has always been one of your favorite things. By the way, I want you to show me some of those martial arts moves that you know. I was amazed by the way you moved when fighting those guys on Mars...maybe next time I—"

"Any time father, just come back any time. I also think it is a good idea to train a few people at the Base to do martial arts. Not only it is a good sport, it is very useful—you saw it."

"I sure did son. How did that art come about?"

"Evidence shows that martial arts have roots in prehistoric times on Earth, but the earliest evidence of systematic training in specific martial arts traditions was in both Asia and Europe during ancient history before the Middle Ages. The foundation of modern Asian martial arts, as I practice them, is likely a blend of early Chinese and Indian martial arts.

Techniques were developed by warriors, who did not have guns or weapons to fight so they taught themselves to use their bodies to defend and to fight back.

Many moves came from watching animals like snakes, tigers, monkeys, birds, you name it. They copied their moves and behavior; very impressive. They were able to turn their bodies into a weapon.

A large portion of martial arts has to do with self-control. So, we are not just a fighting beast, ready to attack everything or everybody on sight. We learn when to use the art and to use it well."

"It is impressive. The more I hear about it, the more I want to learn it. I am sure everybody at home would be interested in it," he says.

Gina joins the conversation, "We can talk to Chief and maybe you can train them on one of your visits Lee." I suddenly become very puzzled as I have been talking to my father in _Kumy_ —our space language, but now Gina seems to understand it.

"That's a great idea, but how come you now understand _Kumy_?"

"I have been watching you both and I...I can perceive what you are talking about," she says it with a smile, proud of her new ability.

I had been talking to her about the ability to perceive other's thoughts and ideas, now she is getting it. I am very happy for her. She will understand things better at the Base too.

"Hope you enjoyed the short trip to Earth father."

"Every minute, and I already know where my next vacation is going to be." He chuckles.

"I meant to ask, father—" he did not let me finish asking and starts to tell me.

"Yes, you were married and had two boys. They are fully grown and independent by now, of course, and both work at a remote Base in space." He makes a short pause, looks at me and then says, "You know, they always tried to learn from you and dreamed of becoming good warriors—like you."

"Hope they only learned the best from me." We chuckle.

"You were always a great guy. I mean, you were up on the top of the Organizational Board, and that says a lot. I spent a lot of time with your kids after you went missing. I became their father for long time until Mara remarried. I mean, there was no sign of you, so she remarried."

"That's fine. I am glad she remarried, and thanks for taking care of my kids father. I am sure they enjoyed being with you."

"They enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, too. Mara now has two other children—girls this time. They are still young, but they work as Mara's helpers at the Engineering Department. They build ships. They actually help Chief design them, very smart girls." He smiles.

"It seems like I became the 'black sheep' of the family." We smile.

"Nonsense kid. It's all in the past."

I look at Gina and ask, "Do you need any translation?"

"No, I think I got everything," she says with a smile on her face.

"Right on girl! I am sure Sarah understands, too."

I turn around to see Sarah with her eyes almost closed. " _My cutie, she wants to take a nap. Go ahead little one, I will hold you. I hope cops don't stop us and give me a ticket for carrying her on my lap while 'driving'._ "

I unbuckle her seat and put her on my lap. My father and Gina smile at my silly comment.

We keep talking the rest of the way there, sharing many ideas and thoughts, talking about 'Project Earth' and many other future projects.

_Aka-1_ gently interrupts our conversation to give us a report, "Approaching Base, ETA: Five minutes."

"Thanks Aka-1. Please inform Chief about our arrival."

# Chapter 40

### A Special Day

We land and there is Chief, waiting for us. We greet him, but he is not alone. He's got a bunch of people with him—they all bow. It is a tradition to bow when we have important visitors at the Base, and of course they want to welcome my family and my father who was missing for a long time.

My mother is there with some friends. I wave to her. My father runs and sweeps her up in his arms the moment he spots her. They embrace and kiss for a long time. He picks her up and carries her over to us. They look like newlyweds. She is very happy to meet my family. I introduce them to her, and anyone else present, all are fascinated with Sarah. They say she is so cute and full of energy, and she seems very comfortable being there too.

Gina is fascinated with their environment. "It is so different," she says, "People are working, but they seem to be enjoying it. They don't look stressed, and are not running around like headless chickens. Now, this is the ideal scene," she adds while waving to some guys that pass by.

We walk into one of the offices of the Engineering Building, and I immediately feel the presence of somebody very dear to me—Mara, once my wife. "Hi Mara, I am so glad to see you again!" We hug.

"Hello lost one. Good to see you too."

"My father told me a little bit about you, the family, and how well you are all doing. I was really glad to hear about you." We are still looking at each other, and holding hands. But it is a different type of affinity this time. Full agreement that things have changed for both of us, but the affinity, the tight bond that kept us together for a long time, is still there.

After a moment of silence and thought, she responds, "Chief also told me a little bit about you, and the big project you are working to accomplish on planet Earth. He considers all of you quite a team. This must be Gina and Sarah. What adorable girls you have, Markus _._ " Then she wonders, "Is it okay to call you Markus?"

"Markus, Lee. Either one is okay."

"I suppose they don't understand _Kumy_ , do they?" Mara asks.

"I know they do. Gina can't speak it yet, but she understands. I know Sarah understands it too."

"Well, thank you for coming and for bringing them along Markus."

"My pleasure. By the way, Mara, I want to apologize for—"

"It's okay Markus, no hard feelings. Time has gone by. You have a new life and so do I. Do you remember the phrase: 'Things happen for a reason'? That's something we learned from you! Along with the phrase: 'We are the product of our past' and my favorite one: 'Who we are and what we do _now_ is what makes our future'—those were your phrases."

I chuckle, "Those were my phrases. I remember now."

"Those and many more, you were such a smart being—you still are, don't get me wrong."

"Well, I went through a long period of amnesia, let's put it that way." She smiles. "Thanks for bringing those memories back to me Mara."

"No worries," she approaches Gina and Sarah. Sarah extends her hand and gently touches Mara's face. "She is so adorable." Both Gina and Sarah smile.

"She recognizes a great being when she sees one," I say to her. "Well, we better get going. Please say hello to the boys, the girls, and to your husband from us Mara."

"Sure! Feel free to come by anytime—all of you. This only makes us a bigger family."

We all give her a hug and walk out of her office.

"How nice and welcoming she is," Gina says.

We continue the tour around the Base, there is so much to see. We then go to the training room. "I can picture myself training a bunch of guys on martial arts in this room," I say to Gina.

"Yeah, I can see you doing that."

We head towards Chief's office. I keep running in to friends who stop us and want to know about us. It is really cool to see how interested people are here. They are interested in others, and they show so much care and so much consideration for others. We also see many interesting places that Gina and Sarah want to check out.

"Everything is big and spacious Lee. I now understand why you like big spaces so much—a big garage, a big property, lot of space to move. I wish you kept your areas as neat as these spaces around here. Just look at the organization and order they maintain!" she voices while pointing at one of the garages.

"Nonsense!" I say, "Come on! We've got to find Chief's office." I take Sarah in my arms and start to walk faster. "Uuh! Someone needs a diapey change."

We finally get to Chief's office, a very nice and spacious office, with a big desk in the middle. There's also a coffee table in the corner with some couches in front of it.

"Let's sit around that table over there guys," says Chief as we walk in. "And yes, Lee, you can pull out your coffee container. I will have some if you don't mind," he pulls out two cups. Gina smiles, as she suspects that I'm responsible for Chief's interest in coffee.

"Sarah and I need to use the restroom Chief."

"Over there, the blue door." He directs them to a door with a vibrant blue coating.

"We'll be right back," says Gina as she grabs the diaper bag, and leaves with Sarah.

A couple of guys walk into the office with a cart full of nicely packed "toys".

Chief dismisses them and pulls the cart closer to me while saying, "Here are the transmitters—seventy-five total. There are four main receivers, too. _Aka-1_ can help you find the best location for them."

"How does it work again?"

"Place the four receivers in strategic towers, normally located on mountains, and install the transmitters on the various satellites orbiting Earth. _Aka-1_ will transmit to those four receivers, they will pick up her signal and will forward it to the transmitters located on the satellites _. Aka-1_ could transmit directly to the satellite transmitters, but there is a liability of others tracking down where the broadcast is coming from—your home.

These are very sophisticated devices," he adds. "They automatically locate multiple channels and frequencies. They also charge themselves with sunlight, so don't worry about them losing power."

I nod and say, "Nice work! We owe you another one."

"The Engineering Department did it—Mara and her crew. They worked hard on these. It took them almost a week to make them."

"Wow. I did not know she was working on this project. She did not mention it. Please tell her we _really_ appreciate her help."

"No problem Lee. I will let them know."

Gina and Sarah come back from the restroom. I show them the devices.

"They look really interesting," says Gina.

"Yep! Chief already briefed me about installing them. Can't wait to get this going."

Chief steps forward and says, "Well, it looks like you guys are ready and anxious to get back home."

"Yes Chief. You got my thought. We'd rather go home now. Don't want to hit bad traffic on our way back."

"That was a very bad joke Lee," says Gina.

"Well, 'may the force be with you'!" says Chief.

We give him one last hug, place Sarah on top of the cart full of "toys" and roll it out of Chief's office, heading towards the landing path where _Aka-1_ is waiting for us. My father and mother are there too, waiting to give us one last hug before we go home. I tell my mother she has to come visit us soon. After an emotional embrace with both we get inside the ship.

"Take us home Aka-1. Same route, same speed."

"Setting coordinates for Earth...on our way, Captain."

# Chapter 41

### A Frightening Encounter

Sarah gets breastfed and goes to sleep soon after we take off. Gina and I talk about the Base for nearly two hours of our trip. We are both amazed by the way things are done there, the way people feel, the way they care about others, and many other things. It is definitely another world.

"I feel like I am dreaming Lee." Three seconds later she says, "Ouch! ...why did you pinch me?"

"To make you aware of the fact that you are _not_ dreaming."

"Very funny _..._ here!" She takes my arm and pinches me back.

Two hours later, _Aka-1_ interrupts us and gives a report, "There seems to be some activity near Mars, Captain. Should we change our route?"

"What kind of activity Aka-1?"

"Unable to give a complete report, Captain. I detect ships—fighting ships."

"How far from here Aka-1?"

"Ten minutes, but they are also moving in different directions."

"Okay, change course. Avoid the area of activity. Let me know when you get more details, types of ships, weapons—anything."

"I am worried," says Gina

"Try to relax; stress doesn't help under these circumstances—under any circumstances. _Aka-1_ is also well equipped."

She is less worried. Nevertheless, she's still concerned.

"Got any more details Aka-1?"

"They have changed course and are heading in our direction, Captain."

"I don't like this," says Gina, reaching for my shoulder.

"I have more data, Captain. A ship from the _Borasee_ 's Base is attacking _Aka-20—_ one of our ships."

"Aka-1, can you establish communication with _Aka-20_?"

"Communication established."

"This is Captain Darius, on board _Aka-1_ , please report _._ "

"This is Captain Toshiaky. Two other crew members are with me on board _Aka-20_ , Captain. We are under attack. Our shielding system is still working, but we no longer have weapons with which to fight. We are just trying to escape," he says with a stressful voice.

"What are we going to do Lee?" Gina asks, concerned that we are going to be engaged in a fight.

"Understood, Captain Toshiaky. Let me see what we can do here."

"Aka-1, activate shielding system."

"Done Captain."

"Communication established with _Borasee_ ship Captain," says _Aka-1_.

"This is Captain Darius—Markus Darius, requesting _Borasee_ ship to cease attack on _Aka-20_. Do you copy?"

"Loud and clear Markus! This is Major Barak on board _Arson_. What a surprise, Markus. I thought I got rid of you _forever_ , near some...blue planet."

"He is such a vicious chap—has always been," I tell Gina.

Gina shakes her head and grows more concerned.

Sarah wakes up at the sound of loud, strange voices.

"Things are not always the way they appear to be, Major Barak."

"That's right. That was one of your favorite phrases. Do you remember my phrase: 'Fight to the end'?"

"I remember that, but for you, there is no end, not until you fight and defeat the monster in _you!_ "

He laughs aloud and says, "I see you have also become a philosopher, must be some influence from that blue planet." He keeps laughing.

"Aka-1, give me a report of the status of our enemy ship, weapons, fuel and energy in general."

"The ship's fuel and energy levels are low, shield mode active and weapons are ready to fire. We are now their target, Captain."

"But of course we are Aka-1."

"What is your plan Lee?" Gina asks, still concerned, but aware that I am coming up with a plan.

"Major Barak, take your ship back home. We won't attack you from behind, like you once did to me..."

"That was just a strategy Markus. I had to do it. What if I strike from the front and blow away your ship, would that make you feel better?"

"They have fired, Captain. We are under attack."

"Activate manual controls Aka-1."

We begin a Star-Wars-like combat. I avoid their attack by making _Aka-1_ drop in a spiral movement. Gina makes sure Sarah is well strapped in. Sarah is excited and seems to think she is on a ride.

"Aka-1, give me visual of _Arson_ 's weapon system and let me know next time she fires.

"Visual on screen, Captain. She is ready to fire again _...fired!_ "

Knowing the enemy ship has to deactivate their ship's shielding system for a split second, just enough to fire, I take advantage of that precise instant, get them into range and fire _Aka-1_ 's laser beam at them, disabling their weapons and their shielding system, _completely_.

"They are done! Gina, you can relax now." She is still shaking.

"Thank God," she says.

"Aka-1, please override _Arson_ 's navigation system and send them back to her Base."

"Done! Captain. _Arson_ 's energy and fuel levels are just enough to make it back home."

" _Perfecto!_ They need not go anywhere else anyway."

"Are you forgiving him Lee?" Gina inquires.

"Yes. And I hope he learns, for there won't be another chance for him." I get on the radio and talk to the enemy ship, "Could have killed you Major Barak, but then you would not have lived to learn the lesson. I won't give you a second chance though."

"You are quite a man, Captain," says Gina, showing respect by calling me "Captain".

I guess I am earning the title once again.

There was no reply from Major Barak. He was not only defeated, but had been forgiven, forgiven by the one he once stabbed in the back, by the one who had plenty of reasons to blow him up in space. Defeated and forgiven; his morale is now down on the ground, if he has any morale left.

"Aka-1, connect me with _Aka-20_."

"Communication established, Captain."

"Captain Toshiaky, come in?"

"Hi Markus. You are full of surprises. Thanks, once again. Not the first time you saved my ass," he says, making me recall the times we use to go out in space, fought together, made friends together, etc. "Are you back at the Base Markus?"

"No my friend. I made a living on Earth, that tiny planet ahead of us."

"Oh yes, the blue one, I see it. Have heard a lot of nice things about it too."

"Well, yeah. Lots of good stuff there, but we are currently working on fixing some...not so good stuff."

"I am sure, whatever you are working on, you will make it happen Markus," he says with confidence.

"Thanks Toshiaky. Chief and my father have been there recently. Jon and Leo are staying with me and my family, two lovely girls. Do you see them on your screen?"

"Yes I do, Sir." He waves.

"You should come down there some time, we'll be glad to spend some time with you."

He nods. "Will love to do that."

"Aka-1. Please report _Aka-20_ 's energy and fuel levels."

"Very low, Captain."

"Can they make it to Base with the energy and fuel they have?"

"Negative."

We see Toshiaky's face on the screen; he is not happy.

"Is there a way we can provide them with—"

_Aka-1_ interrupts me and says, "Both _Aka-20_ and I are capable of engaging to share fuel and energy, Captain."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

"How cool is that!" Gina comments.

"These girls are full of surprises. Just like the girls on Earth," I comment. Gina shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

I direct my attention to the ship and ask, "Aka-1, report to me your energy and fuel levels please."

"Fully charged, Captain. I have been absorbing solar energy. Batteries fully charged and the water tank is still almost full."

"God! These things are _so_ efficient," I say while turning around and looking at the girls.

I get back in communication with my friends, "Captain Satoshi, our ships are going to engage so _Aka-1_ can provide _Aka-20_ with some fuel and energy; enough for you to go back home."

"Excellent Markus!" they cheer, and we see them do a happy dance on the screen.

"Aka-1, synchronize and engage with _Aka-20_ , provide her with enough fuel and energy to go back to the Base."

"Synchronized...engaging. Attempting to charge _Aka-20_ 's battery system...failed. Charging system error Captain. _Aka-20_ 's batteries can't be charged."

"I guess your batteries are not working, Captain Toshiaky," I voice.

"Our gauge indicates they are depleted, but there is no other error," he says. "They must have been affected by the attack. I know a laser went through our shielding system and into the fuselage. We thought we were done!"

"I understand Toshiaky. What is the state of your hydrogen and plasma engines?"

"Plasma engines are not doing so well, but the hydrogen one seems fine, just low on water."

"Aka-1, please download all the content of your water tank into _Aka-20_ 's water tank."

"Downloading, Captain."

"All of it?" Gina asks.

"Yes babe. You've got to remember we still have the plasma engine. That thing gets energy from even the smallest particles in its vicinity. Our batteries are fully charged, and we are getting closer to the sun too. Not only that, but we are very close to our home—I did my math." I say it with a grim on my face.

" _They_ are in bad shape and need all the help they can get. They are lucky to be alive. The water we are giving them is enough to get them home."

She sighs.

"Download complete, Captain."

Captain Toshiaky comes up again, "There must be an error Markus. _Aka-20_ registers a full tank of water."

"It's not an error, my friend. It should be full. We don't need any water to get home, but you do. Think that's enough?"

He shakes his head in surprise and says, "Should be enough to go home and come back."

"Excellent Toshiaky. We've got to get going now. Please let me know how it goes on your way home. We will leave your communication frequency open, ready to hear from you." Our ships get detached and they get on their way.

"Thanks again Markus." They bow and wave goodbye.

# Chapter 42

### Home at Last

"Aka-1, set route to Earth, once again please."

"Home, Captain?"

"Yes Aka-1, home!"

"That was scary and interesting," Gina comments.

I turn around to look at the girls and say, "Sorry, got to put order everywhere we go girls. It's in my blood now. I wish you and Sarah did not have to experience that kind of stuff, but...it is one of those things you don't plan. It just happens and you just got to deal with it—can't become the effect of it. Can't let others become the effect of it either. And that's one of the main things wrong with mankind; we become the effect of others, more than things or situations." And with a raised voice, "And that pisses me off."

"I understand Lee. Now I understand things better, too. It's funny, I know you wanted Sarah and me to see and understand how things are at the Base, and out here, but..." she pauses, looking for words, "I don't know, I guess, It's another world, and yet it works in a similar way—there is right and wrong, good and evil. That's the best way to describe it."

"It is the same, but things just happen so fast here in space Gina. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye."

"Yes," she says. "Fast, wild, unexpected!"

About half an hour later, _Aka-1_ makes an announcement, "We have entered the Earth's atmosphere, Captain."

"Nice Aka-1. Please inform me when we are ten miles away from home."

Three minutes later...

"Ten miles away from home, Captain. Engines idle...silent mode active...external lights off."

"Thanks Aka-1. Approach home," I reach inside my pocket and pull out the remote to open the garage.

"We are above the house, Captain." I push the "open" button and the garage roof opens up _. Aka-1_ goes in and lands.

"Report arrival to Base, Captain?"

"Yes please. And...good job Aka-1, you got me and my girls back home, safe and sound. You are a great ship!"

"You are welcome, Captain."

We walk out of _Aka-1_ and there they are...

"What have you two been up to?" I ask.

They approach us and give each one a hug.

"I think we missed you boys!" I tell them.

"I bet you did Lee," says Leo with a big smile on his face.

Jon looks at the girls and asks, "Was it fun or what?"

Gina doesn't quite know what to say. "I have experienced more things in the past twenty-four hours than in my previous ten life times, at least. Let's go inside and we will give you boys a briefing," she says and leads the way towards the house.

The boys turn their heads; both smile and give me the thumbs up. They can perceive she has experienced changes, and they are ready to hear about them.

We sit at the table and Leo says, "Jon and I prepared some stuff for you—it's a soup. We got a recipe from the internet, hope you like it."

He pulls out some bowls and Jon gets the soup from the stove. "We also made some coffee, anybody interested?" They look at me.

"You guys are on it! We always wanted to have a maid, but we could not afford one...now we have two."

"Lee, don't be rude," says Gina, elbowing me.

"How was the trip for Sarah?" Leo asks as he takes her from Gina's arms.

"She can probably tell you, but I think she had the most fun out of all of us. No stress, just living in the moment," Gina comments

"Yep! That's what she says," Leo counters.

We eat while telling the boys about our trip. They also brief us about some things that they improved on _Project Earth_.

We plan to begin installing twenty-five of the transmitters the following night, and twenty-five each night thereafter, which will complete the install of all seventy-five.

Then on the fourth day we will proceed with the installation of the four receivers. And once they are installed, we will have access to the satellites and be able to override and change channels, and frequencies.

# Chapter 43

### The Broadcast

The following day we get up, have brunch and review Jon's and Leo's refinements to Project Earth. We find everything satisfactory and are ready to start broadcasting.

Grant also calls me and tells me that my third book is already out, and the first one is still selling like crazy. He is even translating it into Spanish, German, Italian, French, Russian, Japanese and Portuguese. The guy is on _fire_!

I also receive a $10,000 check in the mail for sales from my first book. It's interesting. I don't even worry about money anymore. It stopped being one of my main concerns in life.

At 9 pm, Jon and I get on board _Aka-1_ and set out to install transmitters. _Aka-1_ had already established the best route and mapped out the whole trip to install the first twenty-five. We just have to navigate to each coordinate.

In full stealth mode, we set out into the dark sky. Our target today is "The Americas", as we call it; the region of the planet that encompasses South, Central and North America.

We soon find out that it is not difficult to install the devices, as we exercise our abilities to move in space and only leave the ship for a minute to place each one on the satellites. Five hours later we are done _!_

We venture out the next night and install the next twenty-five transmitters, this time above Europe and Africa.

The following night comes and we set out to place the transmitters on the satellites above Asia, Australia/Oceania and the last one down in Antarctica.

The fourth day is dedicated to installing the receivers: one on the Rocky Mountains in the United States, the second by the Amazon River in Brazil, the third in the Swiss Alps in Switzerland, and the fourth near Alice Springs, Australia.

We spend another day programming and establishing communication with all the transmitters and receivers _. Aka-1_ synchronizes tests to verify they are in working order.

And we are ready to transmit...

Day 1: Early in the morning, we start to broadcast. A brief introduction about the project we are launching, its purpose, its benefits, and such:

" _We are launching this campaign in an effort to improve the decaying conditions of mankind and our planet. We have isolated the areas that are currently causing the most trouble on this planet and compiled information to address each in the form of subjects. Each week we will cover one of these subjects. Once a subject is completed, we will move onto the next. Once every subject is completed, we will start over and run through all of them again, and again, and again. This will go on as long as needed. We are going to be heard every day, twice a day, in every language. And yes, we are being heard worldwide, so we are all on the same page!_

From now on, the world will change and it is in each one of us to decide whether this is going to be a slow or a fast change. It may take weeks, months, or even years, but the world will change. We will be here to make sure we achieve our goals. It is important that you know what these goals are:

  1. A very high level of communication among the people of Earth.

  2. Peace on Earth. No wars or revolution within or against other countries.

  3. Ethics and moral codes followed and applied by the book.

  4. Religious freedom fully exercised.

  5. Humankind progressing as a whole. No racism.

  6. Mankind becoming aware of their full potential and abilities.

  7. Children properly educated, respected and listened to.

  8. No drugs.

  9. No crime.

  10. Technology is to be used for the sole purpose of enhancing mankind's condition in this world, and beyond.

We have lost our values. Criminality, drugs, alcohol, prostitution, war, and corruption have reached the highest peak in the history of mankind. Most of it is due to a lack of proper education and a lack of awareness.

Of course you must be wondering who we are. The answer is: 'We are your friends'. It doesn't matter where we come from. We will let you know in due time.

We cannot really request your permission to stop and reverse the conditions of this planet, just as those who have caused a lot of damage to mankind have not asked us for our permission to do so.

There are still a lot of good things surrounding us. Most importantly, we still have ourselves, and we have the chance to make a change.

We must become aware of the bad things, so we can all do something about them. And of course it is much easier if we do so as a team. We all bear some responsibility in whatever goes on around us—good or bad. We can't negate that, for if we do, we will feel the effects of the backlash. Turning our backs doesn't do us, or our fellow man, any good.

One of our campaign subjects will be 'the subject of children'. We know that if we educate and treat children appropriately, we will find ourselves, in the future, watching them build a new civilization. If we do otherwise, we will witness the world turn towards bigger chaos. The main reason children are educated and treated wrongly, is because we have been educated and treated wrongly, too.

And it is the same with drugs, crime, alcohol, prostitution, and many other subjects. We will be taking up each one in this campaign.

What is needed and wanted from you throughout this campaign, is to listen carefully, to look around yourself, and see if any particular piece of information applies to you or someone near you. You will then decide if change is needed.

We will be coming up with new subjects as we progress with this campaign. It is our intention to continue to research many more areas in life that need to be addressed. We will research and do our best to provide the correct information. Thank you for listening."

While transmitting at different times, we tune into various channels and frequencies to make sure the first message is getting everywhere. Sure enough, it is. The whole planet is hearing about it, everywhere, in all languages and through all TV, radio stations and even the internet. It is a complete hit! It becomes the word of the day. We are _thrilled_!

# Chapter 44

### A Changing World

Six months have passed...

We have been keeping statistics for every country and the major cities of the world. Yes! We have been busy, and _Project Earth_ has become extremely successful.

The United Nations have sent us a report showing their overall statistics; a 20% decrease in the crime rate, a 25% decrease of the use of street drugs, and an 18% decrease in the use of prescription drugs.

No civil wars or revolutions have been registered within countries. Potential outbreaks of wars between nations of the world have been avoided due to our interference. The statistics show we have produced a desirable effect in the society, but it also means we have a lot more work to do.

We have found additional ways to get our message out to the world. Our team has anonymously established communication with influential groups that are far-reaching and have aims to create positive effects in the society.

Hundreds of school districts are willing to work with us. That in itself is one of our biggest achievements. It means that by getting involved with the school system, we can build a much better future by providing schools with quality study subjects that will make the students more capable in life. Our goal: To make more capable and self-confident students. And what we mean by a better, long term future is: a better world.

The Police Department is also willing to work with us. Not only to help establish a new anti-drug and anti-crime campaigns, but to also develop new rehabilitation programs to fix those who did wrong.

On the downside, many efforts have also been made to find us and stop our campaigns. Some people were able to find and destroy a few of our transmitters. Others pulled satellites out of operation and installed newer models, with the intention of stopping us from transmitting. But nothing stopped us. We got more transmitters from the Base and installed them on the new satellites, with even better coverage.

Also, two of the four main transmitters were located, removed from the main towers, and destroyed. So we installed ten more in various locations around the world, and I am sure some have been detected. However, they have not been touched, as they know that we would simply place many more. Our tireless persistence and vigorous approach have been understood.

There have been countless articles, good and bad, in the news, as well as on the internet, and the media throughout the world about us. A recent post, from a psychiatrist, published after the discovery of one of our transmitters, read as follows:

" _Conspiracy from outer space—aliens from Mars are taking over Earth!_ _Don't pay attention to what they say! You are being brainwashed!_ "

The following day a response by a civilian read:

" _Boy, if that is brainwashing, we all need our brains washed!_ "

People know who to trust. They also know that many have tried to "help" them, but were deceiving them instead. It is hard for us to trust others, when we have been betrayed too many times by those who are supposed to help in the name of 'Mental Health' or 'Spiritual Healing'. They are very delicate subjects that require a lot of good knowledge, but most importantly, a good and honest heart.

For our own security, we sold our property in California to our dear friend Grant. It was best to relocate, so we bought a 500 acre lot near the 'Poas Volcano', down in Costa Rica.

This place is already considered an "extraterrestrial site" by locals, with reports of spaceship sightings throughout the years. So our activities would be just another one of those stories if detected in any way.

We also chose Costa Rica for other reasons: it is one of the most peaceful countries in the whole world; it doesn't even have an Army. The land is what I always dreamed of: tropical climate, lots of vegetation, and nice big river. It is a paradise in the middle of nowhere. Our spaceships can't be seen easily. They come in and depart from a valley located in the middle of the property. We also created another huge underground garage—the biggest one imaginable. It is capable of housing five ships at any given time.

We installed an amazing surveillance system, which alerts us of any incoming ships, airplanes, jets, or any flying object within a thousand mile radius.

We are more than prepared. _Aka-1_ is always on watch. We also have _Maggy_. She is back with us, and believe you me, these girls are always ready for action.

Jon and Leo are still with us. They go back to Base from time to time, but I got permission to keep them both here, and to back us up with the various projects and calls for help we receive.

The truth of the matter is that we have established an extension of the Base, here on Earth. Jon, Leo, Gina, and Sarah, the two ships, and I make the team. We monitor all activities around Earth, Mars, the Moon, and other satellites and planets near us. All while _Project Earth_ is still actively trying to reach the goals we originally established.

Gina is at home most of the time. And she does an amazing job of keeping the statistics and administration of all on-going and future projects. She is the most stable team member for all administrative matters. And she does so while also taking great care of little Sarah who is as daring as her father. I sometimes take her with me on some safe missions. As soon as I tell her I am taking her with me on a mission, her eyes brighten up and a smile tells me what she wants to say, " _Once again_! _The space, the stars, that's where I belong!_ "

Her thoughts are very strong, too. She can't hide them, not from her father. She is the best example of life itself—simple, energetic, happy, and just being...herself.

Our main purpose is to establish peace on Earth, the universe and wherever we go, but we must also be prepared, and be ready to put an end to those whose purpose is to create chaos and make trouble.

I have been giving a second chance to the troublemakers we encounter. And some take the chance and go into a rehab program at the Base. As a result they normally become peacemakers, like us. Those that don't take the second chance...well, they are removed from the scene by force, to put it mildly.

You see...I believe that if something doesn't aid our survival, and if it actually causes harm, well, we should get rid of it. Most of us are trying to survive the best way we can, and help others as much as we can as well. But there are a few working on the opposite side and even though they are just a handful of chaps, they have managed to amass great power and positions through which they can affect all of us. That's our weeding out project, on Earth, or wherever we go. And we will go on!

We are the new ambassadors of peace and order on Earth and in this sector of the galaxy _._

Which side are YOU on?

# Preview of the Sequel to Project Earth

### Project Earth II:

### The Protectors

".... _Meteors are not hard to avoid,"_ I think to myself. " _We can go around it or just change speed and let it go by_."

_Aka-1_ reports a minute later, "I have more data, Captain. It is a meteor, travelling at about 30 miles per second. It is about fifty times my size."

"Is it in our path Aka-1?"

"Positive, Captain."

"Please reduce your speed to half and head downward, avoiding any collision."

"Speed reduced, Captain...changing our path."

_Aka-1_ slows down and processes change in the coordinates. She soon gives another report, "The meteor has also changed its speed and coordinates, Captain."

" _That's strange, a meteor with a mind of its own,_ " I mutter, looking at Sarah.

"That can't be a meteor Aka-1. Please shield yourself and activate non-detection mode, _now!_ "

"We have already been detected, Captain. The object also has a very strong magnetic pull."

"Turn around _at once_ Aka-1! We must get away from it!"

"I can't do it, Captain. I have lost control already. I am changing to manual for you to maneuver."

I jump on the controls and try to move away, but I can't. It's too late. I can see them right in front of us. A huge spaceship camouflaged as a meteor.

"Sorry Captain!" says _Aka-1_.

"Don't you worry Aka-1. It is not your fault."

" _There is nothing we can do right now. Just wait and see what's awaiting us_ ," I think to myself.

I turn to Sarah and I can tell she is not happy. She knows something is wrong.

We are pulled onto a platform and a large gate opens. The strong but obviously controlled gravity propels us forward through the gate.

"I wonder who is behind all of this." I voice. "Do you have any idea Aka-1?"

"It is a _Borasee_ roaming-Base. It travels in space, capturing spaceships, Captain."

"Give me as much data as you can get about it, Aka-1." I pull out a spacesuit and put it on—helmet, special shoes, and a weapon, of course. "Can you access their main computer, Aka-1?"

"I can't access any data, Captain. I am using my radar to study the Base though. There are a total of eight crew members, five robot units, a control cabin and two small ships, about the same size as me. You can see them in front of us. There is oxygen and the gravity is about half the gravity of Earth."

"Thanks Aka-1. Can you establish communication with our Base?"

"No Captain. We lost communication the moment we entered their magnetic field."

"Can you establish communication with this Base Aka-1?"

"Negative. I already tried, but they block any incoming as well as outgoing signal."

"Is the magnetic field still active?"

"Yes it is, Captain. Those two towers in front of us are emanating the magnetic field. I still don't have control."

"I can't sit here and wait. I will go out, as that's what they expect me to do. I am the one they want—my knowledge and whatever else they can get from me."

" _I don't know why on earth I brought Sarah with me in this trip. But it's too late to think about that decision now_ ," I say to myself.

"Aka-1, I am going to give you an order, and I expect you to strictly follow it."

"Yes, Captain!"

"I need you to take Sarah home! I am going to jump out and blow the gates apart with my weapon. Then I will shoot at the two towers to disable the magnetic field, allowing you to get your controls back. You should have enough time to blast off and get away from here. I will figure out how to get back home. Do you understand?"

"Yes I do, Captain!"

"No matter what happens to me, I need you to take care of Sarah, and bring her home safe and sound."

I approach Sarah who is still strapped on her seat and tell her, "Sarah, you are going to go home. _Aka-1_ will take good care of you. I will come home later. Do you understand?"

"Yes Papi!" she sobs and gives me the tightest hug I have ever felt from her. She has tears running down her little cheeks. I ensure that she is fully strapped into her seat and gently move away from her arms that are still stretched out and reaching for me.

"I am ready to execute your commands, Captain."

"Good girl Aka-1. I will open the door manually at the count of three. You have to close it as soon as you get your controls back." I adjust my helmet and prepare to jump out. After a final look at Sarah I start counting...

"One, two, three!" I open the door, jump out, point at the main gate, and blow it apart. I turn to the first tower and pull the trigger, make a 180 degree turn, aim at the second tower and pull the trigger—they are both disabled.

_Aka-1_ gets her controls back and all I hear is a thunder next to me. Her blast-off throws my body twenty feet and I crash to the ground, hard. I can tell she had turned all of her engines on. She knew what to do.

" _I know she will bring my baby back home,_ " I mutter.

Still sore and attempting to orient and stabilize myself, I feel some sort magnetic field approaching me. It is like a radioactive wave, a trapping beam, perhaps, which disturbs me, makes me dizzy, and I fall back to the floor. They got me...

(to be continued)

# About The Author

Lidier Fernandez was born in Costa Rica in 1969. He was raised in an urban farm community where he rode to school on a horse and worked daily to support his family through farm work, alongside his two brothers, his sister and his father. He graduated from agricultural high-school at 18 and received a scholarship to go to college in the United States for two years.

He graduated with an A.A. in Computer Electronics from St Louis Community College, at Florissant Valley, where he also studied English. This opened doors to a world of new opportunities for him.

In 1998, Lidier returned to the United States to further broaden his knowledge of humanities and philosophy and devoted five years to non-profit volunteer work.

To further his passion in the field of mechanics, he worked for a motocross suspension company in Southern California.

His work and intense personal interest in other cultures and people have enabled and propelled him to travel to more than twelve countries where he has found friendship, knowledge, and had many wonderful experiences.

He lives in Southern California with his wife Tina, and his two daughters, Sarah and Rebecca.

This is the first of a series of books he is writing.

To Contact the author send your comments to:

ProjectEarthOrigin@gmail.com
