Everywhere Enemies



Everywhere Enemies: Foreign and Domestic

Book V in the Everywhere Series

By

Robert Lee Joseph

ISBN: 1-4196-5940-5

© Copyright May, 2007

This book is dedicated to those great fans that have inspired me to keep writing. Just a quick glance at some of their reviews at is enough to keep me going.

Robert Lee Joseph

Please send your reviews to robjoseph@ and they will be posted there also.

Regards, Robert Lee Joseph

Acknowledgements

The ‘Everywhere’ books could not have been created without the moral support and encouragement of many family members and others

The Everywhere Books continue to be written because of the great encouragement of special people like Diane Batten, who kept me going when the going was tough; Angie Turbak of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, President of my North Carolina Fan Club and Robert Hotchkiss, author of “Earth of Fire, Sky of Ice” and ‘The Summoning’. They are two exciting fantasy adventure novels.

And a special heartfelt thanks to my son, David Michael (Mike), for designing the book covers and the ‘Everywhere’ Book Series website. He desires to be a web graphics designer and I believe this is a good exhibit of his ability and work.

Now a word about Book V: This book has been in my head for most of a year. I simply asked the question; what about those enemies the Galactic Council was so lenient with? Did they all change their ways, or did some harbor grudges and simply wait for a better opportunity? Find out the answer in this exciting gripping episode of the Everywhere Book Series.

Robert Lee Joseph

The Everywhere Family

John Royston Sr. …….. John Royston

Alice Royston

John Royston…………Jonathan Royston

Julie Royston………...Jenny Royston

John Royston…………………Amber Julie Royston

Meredith Simpson Royston…..Corey Patrick Royston

Jonathan Royston……………Elizabeth Marie Royston

Tanya Garrett Royston

Greg Garrett ………………..Marie Royston Garrett

Jenny Royston Garrett……..George John Garrett

Kevin Stone……………….. Angela Stone

Danielle Travis Stone…….. Christopher Stone

Hank Travis……………….Will Travis

Darlene Travis……………Danielle Travis

Josephine Travis

Will Travis…………………Alex Travis

Marisa Scott……………….Jeremy Travis

Alicia Travis

Galactic Council Members

Ambassador-at-Large…… Janus of Yantu

Ambassador-at-Large…… Michael Hargrove

Ambassador-at-large…… John Royston

Council President………. Jonathan Royston

Security Chief …………. Will Travis

Galactic Liaison ………. Mark Leonard

Academy Commandant… Hank Travis

Sr. Scientist…………….. Dr. James Vaughn

Sr. Scientist……………. Sethanni of Yantu

Sr. Scientist……………. Dr. Alex Stanton

…….And a host of supporting cast

Prologue…. Somewhere….Some when…..

Galactic Ambassador John Royston can hear sounds as if in a dark tunnel. He gradually makes them out as excited voices. He dimly hears but can’t see. His eyes won’t open…as if they are somehow sealed shut! I can’t move! He slowly thinks. Where am I? What happened?

“Doctors, I can’t believe it. After all these years he is waking up!”

John hears the excited female voice but doesn’t recognize it. He tries to open his mouth to speak but can’t. Something is over my mouth and nose!

“Has he opened his eyes yet?”

John hears a nasally male voice speak but doesn’t recognize it either. John becomes more concerned. He tries to move his legs, but has no feeling there! He is able to slightly turn his head, but just barely and with much effort.

“No Doctor, but brain wave functions indicate he is awake and the monitor indicates he is breathing on his own now.” The female voice replies.

John hears the officious male voice say, “Then remove the respirator.”

John feels a soft hand touch his face and slightly raise his head. He can tell something has been removed from his face by the difference in air circulation.

As his eyes remain closed, John quietly analyses his own body functions and responses. He foggily notes; I feel highly medicated… groggy and sluggish. That must be why I can’t open my eyes or mouth or feel my legs. Hopefully it will wear off soon.

John tries to ignore the comment about ‘all these years’ and slowly shakes his head, willfully forcing his mouth to open. His eyes are still closed as he very weakly asks, “…Meredith, is that you?”

The officious nasally male voice concernedly asks, “Who is Meredith?”

John wonders; what galaxy, dimension or time am I in? ...

Chapter One

“I wonder what it was like living back in my Grandfather’s day when they couldn’t teleport anywhere they wanted.”

- Elizabeth Marie Royston

Twenty-two year-old Corey Patrick Royston is busily preparing for his Galactic Academy finals.

Corey returned to the Academy to continue his education after a two year Latter-Day-Saint mission in Great Britain. When he left on his mission he thought he wouldn’t have to learn a new language, but that was not true. He served in the Liverpool Mission District, where many dialects of English and other languages are spoken.

The brown-haired Royston did have an advantage earlier missionaries didn’t. Now missionaries are equipped with the Yanni universal translators, plus they have individual teleport devices that are only active within their assigned areas. Other than that, there have only been a few basic changes in missionary service since the invention of teleportation over twenty-five years ago.

Being the youngest of John Royston’s four children also has its advantages and disadvantages for Corey. The six-foot athletic-looking youngster appreciates the instant recognition, but pushes himself to live up to his family’s notoriety. Corey’s dad is the former head of the Galactic Council and the very first person to experience teleporting.

A former journalist as well as Galactic Council President, Corey’s dad currently serves as an Ambassador-at-Large to the Council.

Corey’s Mom, Meredith Simpson Royston, is famous in her own right as a well-known scientist who helped bring the teleport technology to the world. She has also been in more than one harrowing experience related to teleporting as well. Meredith still works in the Antigua Lab sometimes, but lately not as much.

The Sr. Cadet’s older brother, Jonathan, was recently elected by the Council to be the new Galactic President, This after several years serving as the Galactic Vice-president to Janus.

Corey is studiously concentrating on his review notes and wishing a certain person was here studying with him, but knowing she is presently in her own dimension.

“Buzz… Buzz.” Corey is irritated at the buzzing until he notes his mom’s image on his wrist device screen. He smiles and answers, “Hi Mom. Where are you?”

A sparkling mature blond slightly silvering Meredith Royston smiles back at him, “I’m just finishing up the preparations for your graduation party, dear.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little premature?”

She winks and grins with her trademark dimpled smile, “Not at all, son. You’ve been an honor student so far so there is no reason to think you won’t this time too.”

Corey privately agrees with her but isn’t so sure he likes his efforts to be taken for granted. Though extraordinarily intelligent, he’s worked hard for his grades. “So are you going to tell me about the party plans?”

She slyly grins again through his wrist screen, “Nope. It wouldn’t be a surprise then.”…

“So, what’s it like being the new Galactic President, Dad?” Eighteen year-old Elizabeth Royston is leaning over her dad’s shoulder. She watches as he types on the Galactic Computer. Elizabeth is in his and Tanya’s Crescent Island cottage study. Most of the cottages were expanded with extra customized rooms once the original group decided they liked the peaceful tropical setting and secure location enough to stay. The decision to stay was quite an accolade for the island by a group that could literally live anywhere in any known galaxy or dimension they chose.

Crescent Island is about 25 miles around with one clear blue lagoon. The sandy-beached island is dotted with huge palm trees with a medium-sized mountain in the center. The specially designed cottages have been created and strategically located to be environmentally as well as user-friendly. The whole island is protected by a Yanni energy dome allowing small breezes and rain to pass through, but keeping out strong winds and storms. With the press of a switch it can instantly be energized to a full security shield, protecting the small paradise from any known outside force. The whole island is powered by a single Yanni energy pod that lasts up to five years.

Precocious Elizabeth (Beth) has an advanced education through the programs the Galactic Academy offers. Although she’s not a registered Academy student, she prides herself on keeping up with all the latest advancements via the Hyperwave education channel afforded her through her father’s special link. She is sometimes referred to as the “Smart Royston” because she keeps up with the latest Galactic advancements as well as Inter-dimensional science and Galactic politics.

The bouncy Blond also idolizes her Aunt Jenny, a renowned medical doctor in galactic circles. Beth hopes to follow in her footsteps one day, but maybe not her exact field.

the tall slim galactic leader who resembles his father a great deal, reaches back, placing his hand over his daughter’s as he says, “Well, Sweet Pea, it’s not much different than being Vice-president except I can’t pass things up the line anymore.”

Jonathan is still somewhat in awe of his new position. He barely adjusted to being vice-president when Janus suddenly decided to resign and highly recommended Jonathan to the council for president. The largely untried young man was somewhat astonished when the Council unanimously elected him.

“Is that good or bad?” Beth asks

Jonathan turns his head grinning enigmatically, “Well it’s a little of both. I could always turn to President Janus if I didn’t know the answer, but now it’s up to me alone. As one popular American President used to say, ‘The Buck stops here’.”

“But isn’t President Janus still part of the Council?”

He pats her hand as he pauses typing. “Yes, he’s a roving ambassador just like your grandfather, but it’s not the same. I can ask his advice, but the decision is now up to me. If I do have a tough decision to make, I can always present it to the Council for their vote, so I am not entirely on my own.”

“Dinner’s ready!” They hear Tanya’s sweet voice from the cottage kitchen

“I guess we better go while it’s still warm,” Jonathan smiles as he stands taking his daughter’s hand.

Tanya Garrett Royston has lost only a fraction of her former cheerleader figure as she experiences being a wife, mother and school teacher. Tanya and Jonathan have wanted another child, but it just hasn’t happened. They have talked of adopting but never followed through with the thought, mostly because of their busy lives and giving a hastily growing Beth all their time. “Well what have you two been up to?” Tanya brightly asks as Jonathan and Beth take their seats.

“Dad has been telling me about some buck that stops somewhere,” Beth impishly says with a sly smile…

In a nearby island cottage a similar scene is playing out except with a younger set of children.

Young auburn-haired Marie Royston Garrett takes her chair at the kitchen table and abruptly says, “Mom, Georgy was in my room again.”

“I was not! And don’t call me Georgy again!”

“Yes you were! I could tell!”

“Why can’t you two get along like normal kids?” Jenny Royston Garrett asks. Besides being a mom of two active twins and wife to the inventor of the Hyperwave, Jenny’s medical duties keep her plenty occupied. Though most of the original teleport families have full-time careers, none of them would need to lift a finger if they chose not to, as all are many times wealthy from their share of the teleport technology. Jenny tries to keep her family as normal as possible.

“We are normal, Mom. Can’t you tell?” Almost-sixteen year-old George John Garrett smilingly says.

“Then why are you two always squabbling?”

Just then, gaunt sandy-haired Greg Garrett walks into the room. “What’s all this noise I’m hearing?” He asks, taking his place at the head of the table. The father of the Garrett Hyperwave still blushes when people compliment him on his noteworthy technical accomplishments. It is because of him people can see and talk real-time throughout the explored universe via the modified Visa teleport device.

“Dad, Georgy…George was in my room again.” Marie says.”

“I agree with your mother, you twins should get along better,” Greg says as he accidentally over-pours the latest fiber-rich whole-grain cereal into his bowl.

“What’s happening today, Dad?” young George suddenly asks between a mouthful from his syrupy stack of pancakes.

Greg puts his bowl against the side of the table and sweeps the crunchy cereal flakes on the table into his bowl and then answers the question. “I have a meeting in the Alpha Dimension this morning with the Al-Kanon head of communications. Then I have a staff meeting at Security headquarters to discuss what I learn to help them improve distribution of the Hyperwave technology.’

Have you thought of a graduation present for Corey yet?” Jenny asks, taking her seat.

“I’m still thinking about it.” Greg pours his milk as he adds, “I’ve been trying to drop hints to see what he really wants, but he’s not helping.”

“I’m still amazed he’s graduating at the top of his class.”

Greg looks up, “Why not? He’s a Royston, isn’t he?”

“When can we go to the Alpha Dimension, Dad?” Marie excitedly asks, wiping a napkin to her jelly-stained chin.

“Never!” Jenny fervently remembers Danielle Travis’s first terrifying experience in the Alpha Dimension years ago when Jenny thought she would lose her best friend.

Greg realizes the reason for her outburst and says, “That is all in the past now, Dear.”

“I hope so, but I remember hearing tales about the Slarg.”

“The Slarg are in a far galaxy in our own dimension and we haven’t had any problems from them in years now.”

“But they’re still out there, right?”

“Yes, but they are staying away from us.”

“So you don’t know what they’re up to, right?”

Greg shakes his head, “Not entirely. We do have monitors out that way.”

“But that is just to make sure they aren’t coming our way, right?”

“The monitoring was set up a long time ago and we do keep tabs.”

“Well, I worry anyway.”…

Not too far from the Garrett cottage on Crescent Island, Danielle Travis Stone and her husband Kevin sit at the kitchen table with their two children, seven year-old Angela and three year-old Christopher. Danielle and Kevin have been married just over eight years.

They married while Kevin was still working on his Doctor’s Degree in Management Systems at MIT. Following his graduation he was quickly snapped up by World Alliance Corporation. World Alliance is a top private management support team that works with new Galactic Council planets to help them create data systems that will smoothly integrate with the Galactic Council systems. Kevin was recently promoted to Vice-president of Operations.

Danielle made her mark in the galactic arena prior to her marriage by being a tutor for some special kids on Araxis-4 in the Beta Galaxy. She had a terrifying experience when the planet was maliciously pulled through the Alpha Dimension Rift, causing planet-wide death and destruction. She is happy for somewhat quieter times now with her growing family.

Danielle leads the two youngsters from the table to get dressed as she says, “I have a meeting today with Meredith, Tanya and Grandma Travis.” Grandma Travis is Danielle’s mom, Darlene, but with the kids, she calls her Grandma Travis. “They’re going to share news with me about the upcoming festivities surrounding the grand opening of the New York Galactic Center. I believe one of the events will be a Grand Ball, so we are going shopping for new gowns.”

Dark-headed Kevin smiles as he stands up from the table, “That sounds great, Darling. I better dust off my tux then or should I get a new one too?”…

In another nearby cottage, the ‘Father of Teleportation’, Dr. James Vaughn is sitting in his rocker on his patio, admiring the beautiful sunrise over the golden-flecked ocean. The elderly grey-bearded gentleman has slowed down quite a bit lately as he is feeling the aging process in his body. Not a young man when teleporting was invented, he is surprised he is still around to see the multiplying expansion throughout the universe. His mind is still sharp as a tack though as he thinks about a problem he has been working on for years.

He thinks, we were confronted by the Alpha Dimension Rift because of the Massai clone’s errant operation of the Rift Station, but we actually had contact with it before that because of the Sieta device. The device intersected with the invisible plane of the Alpha Dimension and changed destinations to the planet Sieta. Thanks to Greg Garrett and Malcom Evers, we are able to travel between our dimensions though the dimension boundaries are undetectable by any other means, but this opens up the question, are there other dimensions? And if so, how do we detect them?

For several years Dr. Vaughn has headed a team of top scientists from three galaxies plus the Alpha Dimension to determine the existence of other dimensions. The rift station in the Alpha Dimension was destroyed because of it’s lethalness to both dimensions. It would exponentially expand in the other dimension, gobbling up planets in its path. Now the only way into the Alpha Dimension is via the specially modified Hyperwave devices.

I wish we hadn’t been so quick to destroy the rift station because now I believe it may have helped us solve the mystery, he thinks. I believe if there is one, there could be others.

The team has run numerous tests and examined many spatial anomalies, but found no hard evidence of other dimensions. The Elderly scientist is pondering what new steps the team can take to further their investigation.

He feels a sudden tap on his shoulder and happily turns to see his wife, Ellen Summers Vaughn, standing beside him. Ellen has been a bright part of Dr. Vaughn’s life. They were married not long after the problem was solved of finding a way into the Alpha Dimension.

The auburn-haired astrophysicist was a member of the Galactic Science Committee when they first met before the two became good friends and companions. It took Dr. Vaughn some time to finally propose, but when he did, everyone was happy for them. The older couple with grown children chose to have a private, “Family Only” wedding with the “Family” also including the Galactic Family Team. Alex Stanton served as Best Man and Meredith Royston happily served as Maiden of Honor. To assure privacy from the media; the wedding took place on the veranda of the Crescent Island Canteen on a bright and sunny June day.

“You look deep in thought,” Ellen says with a small concerned sound in her sweet voice. “You should be enjoying this beautiful day we have.”

He puts his arm around her waist and says, “I am, but I am also still thinking about my pet project.”

“Aren’t there a lot of other scientists working on the problem too?” Ellen says as she turns and gently rubs his shoulder.

“Yes, and I’m sure they are very bright, but so far we don’t seem to be making any progress. As I look at the pattern of the universe, I find it hard to believe that if another dimension exists, which we know is true, there could and should be more than one. The trick is how to find them?”

“Well dear, I think if they are out there we will find them in the Lord’s own good time. Meanwhile let’s enjoy this beautiful day He has given us….

In another Crescent Island cottage, Dr. Alex Stanton is just waking up. He hears the sounds of birds chirping in the nearby trees and surprisingly recognizes some of their familiar warbling. He can almost sense no one else is in the cottage, as if the lateness of the hour and the absence of breakfast smells aren’t enough of a clue.

Alex’s once blond hair is now sprouting grey right and left. He feels his stubbly beard as he sits up and realizes it has been two days since I shaved. Where did this weekend get to?

Alex recalls the several grandkids they watched as a couple of their kids and spouses took a holiday to themselves. I enjoyed the time with the grandkids, but I must admit they wore me out with all their youthful energy. There was that full day jaunt at Centauri Disney World then yesterday we were cavorting all over the lagoon, in and out of the water too many times to count. He stretches his arms and says, “No wonder I’m exhausted today. Now this morning, it’s back to the lab.”

----

Chapter Two

On Crescent Island, Quanda Stanton of Araxis is preparing for her day. She is happily married with four active teenagers who always want to go in different directions. Quanda is one of twenty-four orphans due to the Spectari attack on her home world many years ago.

Not only did she lose her parents in that dastardly attack, but also suffered when Araxis was pulled without any warning through that deadly dimensional rift by the rogue, Hardison James,

When the twenty-four orphaned students were invited to live on Crescent Island and stay with Galactic families there, it was like a fairy tale come true for her. She received great guidance counseling from Danielle Travis and finished her education on a very upbeat note.

She married Arnold Stanton, one of the sons of Alex Stanton of the original teleport team. They now have two teenage daughters and two slightly older sons. Both sons have applied for entrance to the Galactic Academy and the daughters can’t wait to apply too.

Quanda was the valedictorian of her graduating class when she received her Bachelor of Science degree. Arnold is on the Galactic Science committee exploration team and Quanda teaches part-time at the Island middle school.

Though Quanda has put the horror of her youth behind her, sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night, in a nightmare scene, thinking she is back in the almost completely destroyed darkened library on Araxis with the other scared students trying to get out.

She still keeps in touch with most of those now grown students and they keep in touch with her. She is looking forward to an upcoming reunion with them. She wonders how the twins, Eli and Orli or doing...

It is evening on Pale Yantu, which lies in a far arm of the Milky Way. Roving Galactic Ambassador Janus is sitting in his study at his island retreat with Sethanni. The island is nothing like Crescent Island on Earth. It has no lagoon or sandy beach. The island is a high plateau with steep cliffs on every side. Their island retreat resembles an ancient castle without a moat.

The island is protected by a Yanni force field, which keeps nasty weather or unwanted outsiders at bay around them. Outsiders are not really a problem as most Yanni respect the privacy of others and wouldn’t dream of dropping in without an invitation, but there are others in the cosmos who they would rather not have even a hint of their location.

Ambassador Janus’ study has high ceilings and walls and is comfortably furnished with luxurious carpet, deep cushioned sofas and chairs as well as a very functional desk adorned with the galactic computer and a large wall screen which works as a galactic transceiver as well as a video and computer monitor.

Janus and Sethanni are both tall, slender and pale complexioned with silvering auburn hair due to the very pale yellow Yantu Sun. The two high ranking Yanni citizens are having a conversation they have often rehearsed over the intervening years regarding the teleport technology.

“I still agree with you there is no positive proof nor do I believe there ever will be,” Sethanni says from his comfortable chair.

“Yes, I know, but there is still a preponderance of evidence leaning very much in that direction.” Janus says as he takes his seat in a similar chair opposite Sethanni. Between the two Galactic officers and close friends is a small table with a game board with Yantu’s geographic markings on it, defining an old map of Yantu with continents, oceans and islands. “There is so much evidence; I think it could be used in a court of law.”

“But it is all only circumstantial,” Sethanni asserts as he moves one of the ivory-like game pieces, which resemble Yanni mythical creatures, from a southern continent to a northern one.

Janus makes his opposite move as he says, “Okay, let’s review the incidences in chronological order. First, Dr. Vaughn and Meredith Simpson develop the teleport device just in time to save Earth from a deadly invasion they were otherwise truly unprepared for. They had no true space capability until then.”

Senior Scientist Sethanni makes his countermove with a strange amphibious flying creature and says, “Then they accidentally discover our hidden base and save us from the Spectari invasion and captivity.”

“Don’t forget the discovery of the invisibility function which helped them get their planet organized and demilitarized to function as one unit. Just before that, they were a squabbling mass of countries going at war with one another over the smallest things.” Janus makes his next move with a vicious-looking lizard creature.

“I agree. The invisibility function was also a key in allowing the new Galactic Council to defeat the Spectari so quickly in its own galaxy.” Sethanni counters and relieves Janus of one of his amphibian creatures. “Also though we can control it, we still don’t know how the invisibility function actually works, just like we haven’t learned how the device itself actually works. It’s almost as if we aren’t supposed to know.”

Sethanni carefully reviews the board before adding, “Then there was that marvelous invention of Greg Garrett that piggybacks the device, enabling real-time interstellar communication.”

“Yes, that was a true godsend. It enabled us to detect the Quorax before they attacked us.” Janus moves and relieves Sethanni of his amphibious flying creature. “Also the fact we know so much about the device and without fully understanding why it works yet being able to effectively use it is the greater mystery.”

“And the Time Travel function was discovered just in time to save Bosansi from being destroyed.” Sethanni makes another key move with a toothy dragon-looking creature.

Janus stands and goes over to a smooth mahogany inlaid bar. He pours both he and Sethanni a glass of Yanni amber liquid called Kual and similar in taste to Hawaiian Poi as he says. “And then there was that deadly dimensional rift. Greg Garrett was working on his program even before it was discovered.” Janus resumes his seat as he sets both glasses down.

“And don’t discount the timeliness of Dr. Vaughn bringing Malcom Evers onto the team. Greg’s program wasn’t working right until Malcom tweaked it,” Sethanni adds. The senior Yanni scientist had painstakingly reviewed the detailed Galactic logs to ascertain the accuracy of that chronology.

Janus makes his counter move with a mastodon-like creature, placing Sethanni’s key two-headed creature in jeopardy as he says, “Those two brilliant young men’s collaboration is what made it work and I continue to wonder whether it was only their combined brilliance or some additional divine help.”

Sethanni leans back as he carefully studies the board, realizing he is near losing the game. “At least we do understand how that function works thanks to Malcom’s new mathematics. And Dr. Vaughn’s special team is still working to identify other dimensions.” The scientist sips his Kual and says, “Doesn’t all this just-in-time business itself indicate a higher power is at work here too? At any one of these critical incidences our civilizations could have been literally wiped out or at the least, become enslaved.”

Janus smiles, “Yes, which is I think one of the major arguments for it. John calls it his faith in his God, yet he can submit no substantial proof that does not require faith in the unseen. Although I personally believe their Latter-day scriptures do provide a powerful and compelling witness. I am still amazed how much their theology mirrors our own. Just compare our ‘Eyotas’ to their ‘Prophets’.

Janus concludes, “I believe if one looks objectively at these events, he must see there is an omniscient unseen hand or hands protecting and guiding them and us to their desired outcome.”…

On Earth in the Eastern Bloc, treacherous trouble is brewing. Islamic extremists have been quiet for many years after a reign of rampant terrorism and destruction around the world. Now it is preparing to rear its ugly head again in this peaceful time of rapid Galactic expansion.

A scheming extremist, Rasheed Mohammad, Is planning a new Jihad on a galactic scale, using the new devices his members have cunningly obtained. Rasheed is secretly being financed by leaders of the Eastern Bloc of countries, hoping to change the balance of international and galactic power in their favor.

Rasheed is well-educated and clever. He knows that if he releases his people to battle too early, they will be crushed by the infidel leaders with their marvelous technology. He read in his studies of those leaders defeating complete war-like alien worlds with their new technology. He knows he must plan carefully and quietly if they are to be successful. The twisted man is familiar with some of the teleport functionality, but along with the general public, is unaware of the unique features of invisibility and time travel on special limited modified devices.

The tan-skinned Arab was raised by a fanatic religious cleric who saw his family wiped out in earlier times due to the twisted belief they must kill all infidels who fail to accept Mohammad as the true prophet and follow him only.

Rasheed was raised with this vitriolic hatred. His adopted father never ceased to teach his fanatic beliefs to Rasheed in his youth. The old man would spew the hatred, but always tell his young protégé the time was not right for another uprising as the world had previously seen. “We need to wait for the right time,” he would always say.

When his adopted father abruptly died, Sheik Ali Safir saw to his education in the finest English institutions. Rasheed remembers how he was sometimes mocked and ridiculed because he insisted on wearing his Mid Eastern clothes rather than adopt the English and European dress. This stinging mistreatment only solidified his hatred for all infidels, but he wisely kept his thoughts and anger to himself. He took full advantage of the institutions of higher learning so he would be better prepared when the time came to extract retribution.

There was one very pretty young lady he briefly had a relation with, but her parents transferred her to another school to remove her from his influence. This only deepened Rasheed’s hatred for all things Western.

Now with the support and financing by the Eastern Bloc leaders, Rasheed thinks the right time is getting close. He prepares his growing group of new recruits to their cause daily. These recruits are mostly young and single and many without living parents. They will be his suicide squad when the time is right.

Rasheed has setup a secret planetary operation in the Beta Galaxy on a little known backwards planet, Sirius in the Corbon Solar System. Now he is in the process of procuring the necessary technology to adapt it to his form of terror warfare.

Unlike earlier extremists who used suicide bombers to blow up and kill people, Rasheed plans on using the new technology as weapons against its creators and the galaxy at large

Rasheed is not in this fanatical scheme by himself. The Eastern Bloc leaders have formed a secret war council. They are feeding him money and material and directions as to when they want to proceed on a global and interplanetary scale. Unbeknownst to Rasheed he is not the only one they are feeding. There are many such small units now scattered throughout Galactic space with equally devoted fanatics who are willing to give their all for the cause. The twisted leaders tell each of them the time is soon.

On Sirius, Rasheed works his strategy with his inner circle. He has carefully picked the best educated of his followers who can easily blend in with the infidels. He tells them, “It is up to you to infiltrate their systems so we will know how to subvert them when the time comes. We must learn how to thwart their high tech distribution of devices and platforms.” Rasheed then evilly grins, “Then we will use them to our advantage against the enemy.” He raises his fist and slams it down hard on the table. “We will crush them before they are even aware of our attack!”…

Chapter Three

In a Manhattan penthouse on Earth---

A mostly unknown malevolent figure in the comparative short Galactic History, Former CEO of Tele-World, Maria Canbriatti, plans her longed-for revenge. Over two decades ago, the slightly silver-haired maven was quietly forced to give up her prestigious position of power because of her perfidy against the then American president, but not her considerable family fortune. She spent a good part of it over recent years creating a foolproof way to obtain the teleport technology and exact her revenge. The twisted lady now focuses her rage and anger at the Galactic Council and in particular, its former head.

Her plans are nearing culmination. She initially only focused on the former American president, now Galactic Ambassador, Michael Hargrove, who exiled her to political oblivion, but then decided he was only a pawn in the larger picture. The larger picture includes obtaining the unlimited teleport technology.

Everyone in today’s world has access to teleporting either with their own purchased devices or via public teleport platforms. Maria wants more. She knows only the top echelons of the Galactic Council have unlimited devices whereas everyone else has limited ones with only specifically cleared locations on them.

Because of her past misdeeds, costing the lives of several culpable soldiers, she is not allowed to own a personal device, but has easy access through her friends and fellow conspirators. She irrationally desires to own and control the technology while she exacts her revenge.

The deluded maven critically views her team members sitting in her luxurious penthouse living room. They include two other former CEO’s who were similarly treated by the Homeland Security Group. Each team member has been sworn to secrecy and each has their own motives for their part in the nefarious and complex plan.

“We must be sure every detail is in place so he will have no clue. The newsvids report he is coming to attend the opening of the new Galactic Center in New York next month. We must have everything in place by then.”

Grantham Wilson, former CEO and co-conspirator, sits in a comfortable lounge chair off to her right. The balding Grantham was unceremoniously relieved as CEO of his defense contracting company when the board learned they would be forbidden to bid on anymore government contracts due to his collusion with Ms. Canbriatti. He suddenly says, “I found out where the whole Royston family is going to be right after the Galactic Center grand opening.”

Maria sharply asks, “Where? …

This morning, the object of Ms. Canbriatti’s incipient rage, John Royston, is doing what he has been doing for most mornings for the past twenty-five years. He is sitting at his breakfast table in his island cottage eating and reviewing overnight Galactic Communiqués printed out from his home console. As a roving ambassador, he likes to keep up with everything.

Meredith hoped he would slow down at least a little when he turned over the Galactic reigns to President Janus, but it wasn’t long before he was fully engaged in his new assignment, though they did agree he would allow more family time. She patiently waits for him to put the current page down before speaking so she has his full attention; otherwise she knows from experience, his attention will be divided.

“I’ve scheduled our family reunion for after the dedication of the new Galactic Center next month. We’re all going to the new Disney Galaxy Park on Centauri V. All of our children and grandchildren will be there as well as grandparents and in-laws. I also invited the Travis’s and Danielle’s former students and their families. I added the event to your calendar so be sure and check your calendar before you schedule anything else, dear.”

John smiles, “I’m looking forward to that event myself. I hear that theme park is really out of this world. That whole planet with its kaleidoscopic atmosphere makes a great backdrop for the park. I already saw your entry on my calendar. With all our families and friends you should have asked to have the park to ourselves. It hardly seems possible Jenny’s twins can be turning sixteen. I don’t feel sixteen years older.”

She grins, “Or that Corey is graduating from the Galactic Academy, and I don’t feel that much older either and we do have the park to ourselves.” She then adds, “Have you decided on a present for him?”

“You certainly don’t look sixteen years older either, darling. How did you manage to get the park reserved?” John picks up his papers as he says, “I’ve been writing a special poem for him. What are you planning?”

“Ah, so it hasn’t been all business at the computer. I found out using the famous Royston name sometimes works wonders. They were happy to oblige. Are you going to share it with me?”

“Of course, I’ll read it to you tonight before we retire for the evening. You haven’t answered the question.”

She mischievously smiles, “I know. I’ve been preparing a special scrap book album for his graduation and I will share it with you tonight. What’s on the agenda for today?”

“There’s a jurisdictional squabble out in the Omega Galaxy. I’m going to referee it and hopefully get them to reach an accord.”

“Well, that shouldn’t take your whole day. Can we schedule lunch together?”

“Where would you like to meet?”

She smiles, “How about our favorite restaurant, The Meridian Room at the Chicago Sears Tower?”

“Sounds good, dear, I’ll meet you there at Noon and see if Amber can join us too. I’d like to get caught up on how she is doing.” John sets his wrist device timer to remind him of the Earth time and place….

Far away on pale Bosansi, Bright-eyed red-haired Amber Julie Royston is enjoying her post-graduate time as an inter-galactic marketer. She represents several large manufacturers on three planets. The commercial race to space with the advent of teleporting both people and cargo has been tremendous.

She enjoys the opportunity to travel to far out locations and climes and to meet new people. Unlike most of her family who are involved in the Galactic Council in some way or other, the twenty-three year old first daughter of John and Meredith chose the private arena to prove herself in.

This never-ending quest for travel and rapidly expanding markets keeps her on the go so much she hasn’t taken time to slow down and develop any meaningful relationships. She happily takes the call from her mom. “Hi Mom, how are you doing?”

“I’m fine dear. Hope you are doing well too. My device shows me you are on Bosansi. Can you be free to have lunch with Dad and I around noon our time at the Chicago Meridian Room?”

Amber quickly presses her wrist device for both her calendar and time equivalent register. “Yes Mom, I will look forward to it. That’s in the Sears Tower, right.

“Yes, dear, you should have the coordinates in your directory. We’re both looking forward to it too, dear.”…

On the Bosansi version of Crescent Island, it is in the evening where Maryann and Borcas are getting their two active youngsters to bed. Five year-old bright-haired Benji is the most rambunctious, but three year old blond Nicole-Marie is very active too. She is just easier to calm down than Benji.

Maryann and Borcas also have two older Children, Claire and Travis, who are on their own now. All of Maryann’s children received a healthy helping of flaming red hair from their father’s genes. When they are away from Bosansi, the kids stand out in most crowds.

Maryann is proud of how her two older children are doing. Claire started a foundation to help society’s less fortunate, most of who have some kind of debilitating health problem, preventing them from being productive earners in a normal economic setting. Claire oversees a staff whose main goal is to find creative ways the individuals can earn a meaningful living and be as independent as possible.

Bright red-haired Borcas serves on the Galactic Security Team as a mission specialist. Maryann spends most of her time raising the two rambunctious offspring. Borcas has been thinking lately that his job has become too boring and he plans on talking to the Security Chief about branching out into another area. He doesn’t need to work for the money, but for his own feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment. Striving for ever-increasing success is a strong Bosansi trait.

Borcas remembers when his planet was freed from the tyrannical Spectari rule by the Galactic Council of planets and Bosansi was invited to join the Council. He thinks of all the changes that happened in his life because of it, especially the opportunity to meet and marry Maryann Hargrove and then have these special children.

Borcas vividly recalls that day when the Galactic Council Team first turned on the new Galactic Bosansi Security Control Panel. A myriad of red alarm lights went crazy identifying the enemy Spectari were within their sensor boundaries. He was panicked, but the Galactic Security Team quickly appeared and took care of the enemy intruders without any damage or harm being done. That is when he realized what being a member of the Galactic Council truly meant.

Later, when he joined the Galactic Security Team, he learned how Bosansi had been miraculously saved by the team’s use of time travel to deal with the Spectari scientists before they destroyed Bosansi.

Twenty-three year-old Travis, son of Borcas and Maryann is now a Bosansi councilman and chief liaison between the Bosansi Planetary Council and the Galactic Council. Bright red-haired Claire works in Galactic Ambassador Janus’ office as his executive assistant…

In a rural Maryland setting Will Travis is already at work this morning making sure his staff leaders have everything covered. Will married brunette Marisa Scott, a girl he met on his Church Mission. She was a sister missionary from Calgary. They corresponded after their missions and were married in the Alberta, Canada Temple not long after. They now have three children, two boys, Alex, Jeremy, and two-year old dark-haired Alicia. The sandy-haired boys are four and six.

The tall slim Galactic Security Chief lets his staff handle most everything now, but still likes to keep up with them. He took over from his Dad, six years ago and is just now feeling comfortable in the position. The Council is also coming to rely on his decisions almost as easily as they did his dad’s. The former Security Service Head, Hank Travis, is now the Galactic Academy Commandant.

Will reviews the individual staff assignments; Mark Leonard oversees security concerns in the Alpha Dimension. Will thinks this is natural since Mark married his Al-Kanon sweetheart, Dr. Larana Swift, in the very first inter-dimensional wedding. They now have two lovely children that seem at home in either dimension.

Travel between the two dimensions is still somewhat limited, mostly because there are a limited number of devices with that functionality. A new Way Station was just established on Antigua to make inter-dimensional travel more available, but inter-dimensional travelers must clear Galactic Security first. The Way Station functions like the dangerous rift station, but is operated using the completely safe teleport device functionality.

Then there is Greg White who heads the Expansion Security Team. Greg is married to his childhood Australian sweetheart, Anna Carson White, and they have three fine children, one of which is doing great in the Junior Galactic Academy.

A new wave of exploration opened up in the Alpha Dimension and several inhabited planets have been found. Greg’s team is helping the Al-Kanon team determine if they are ready for the advanced technology. His team is very busy at the moment.

The Junior Academy is headed by Dr. Tom Johnston of the original teleport team. The Jr. Academy is open to all Galactic planets and only the best and brightest youth are accepted.

Malcom Evers heads the communications security team. He is the only unmarried staff head but Will thinks based on what he saw in the lounge the other day, Malcom may not be single for long.

Anna Carson White also serves on Will’s staff as his executive secretary, keeping the security team’s schedule on track.

The Galactic Security Service staff members are meeting in his Dad’s old office, now his, at their Maryland Galactic Headquarters. Will is looking forward to his new office in the New York Galactic Center next month. During the meeting, Will’s wrist device beeps. He presses it and sees White-haired John Royston Senior’s grim face. “I thought you were retiring, Mr. Royston?”

“I am, right after my Grandson’s graduation. Right now we have a possible alert problem. A Slarg sensor has stopped broadcasting.”

Will notes John Sr. is at the Antigua Control Center Console. “Have you double checked it?”

“I verified it isn’t broadcasting, but haven’t sent anything out there yet.”

“Good, we will be right there.”…

In seconds, the Galactic Security Service Chief appears with his alert team only seconds after him. He reviews the Display messages as the team dons their security gear, which includes personal respirators and tactical weaponry. The alert team also includes the newest team member, Jared Beckham.

While Will prepares his team, John Sr. zips a modified invisible monitor to the last coordinates of the missing sensor. “You will zip there in the science vessel, Orion. Have all sensors broadcasting and be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. If you sense any danger, zip away immediately. We can always return later.”

Will notes red-headed Penelope Rivers is a team member. He would rather she not go, but knows to drop her at this stage would cause an outrage from her. She would correctly claim his decision was gender based. Ms. Rivers has made a lasting impression of wanting to be treated equally in all circumstances, especially in battle conditions. At least she has the best leader in Greg White, he thinks. Greg is battle-tested due to his action in the Alpha Dimension years ago.

On the Antigua monitor, John Sr. and Will note the absence of the original sensor.

“I detect no presence of the sensor or any residue at all,” John Sr. says, reviewing the current sensor results on his screen.

“Can your modified monitor do long range scans?”

“That’s one of its newest features with the latest Yanni scanning technology.”

“Then do it now.”

They watch as the remote monitor pans across that far reach of the Galaxy, displaying a vast amount of silent empty space.

“The sensors identify absolutely no known foreign objects,” John Sr. says, checking the readouts.

“Then whoever did this may be able to match our technology. We need to let the Council know immediately.”

Will Travis recalls their earlier contacts with the Slarg when his Dad, Hank Travis, dealt with them. Back then they thought they were the superior species in the universe and apparently that hasn’t changed. If this is their doing, I hope we will still be able to handle and outsmart them.…

Chapter Four

The Prison Planet, Zeron, in a far arm of the Milky Way---

The desert-like planet Zeron is doubly guarded with two force fields and planet-wide sensors to record any kind of questionable activity. It has been so since the renegade Spectari were recaptured over fifteen years ago, after reaping havoc in the Omega Galaxy. The Galactic Security Service regularly reviews the surface monitors for suspicious activity.

The Security team made one unknowing mistake back then which could possibly be their entire undoing. That mistake was teleporting the rogue Quorax scientists to be marooned on Zeron.

Though the scientists were marooned with the Spectari warmongering military leaders and their crewmembers minus all technology, they still had their scientific knowledge of the advanced technology.

The two groups were placed on opposite sides of the largest continent, but it wasn’t long before the Quorax leader, Commander Qydon, met General Rasu-sen during one of their exploring forays. The two shared their stories of being captured and marooned. At another time the Spectari and Quorax war-mongering races were bitter enemies, but current circumstances dictate friendlier attitudes.

“I am certain now more than ever they are watching our every move,” Rasu-sen angrily says. “How can we ever accomplish an escape now?” The Spectari general recalls how he and his men escaped from this hellish planet in an alien vessel and were ready to plunder that alien planet’s home star system when they were unceremoniously returned to this prison planet by those blasted Earthlings. Because of the Galactic Security Team’s use of time travel, Rasu-sen doesn’t know how much damage his warriors did wreak before it was reversed. During the reversal all was set right and it was like it never happened so the Spectari have no knowledge of the destruction they caused.

During that initial meeting between former adversaries, Qydon tells Rasu-sen, “While we were exploring, we came across some deep vented caves that may provide the answer. They will also provide us some relief from this blasted heat and we can work together in them without prying eyes.”

“But we have no technology to work with.”

“The caves look to be rich in ore too, so I think over time, we can manufacture what we need from the natural resources of this almost desolate planet.”

“You sound very confident of yourself.”

Qydon cunningly smiles, “Not of me, but of the scientists with me. They captured two of the Galactic security team from an amazing distance within Hyperspace with an advanced device. I think, given time, we can reproduce the device here.”

“But didn’t they catch you that time and maroon you here?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean the device was at fault. We didn’t realize they could track us in Hyperspace and that mistake was our undoing. We weren’t prepared for such an attack within Hyperspace so our sensors weren’t set to detect their presence. With a proper application of that device, I believe we can get ourselves off this planet and away from the enemy that traps us here.”

At that statement, Rasu-sen’s eyes light up. He wickedly grins for the first time in a long time, “We will work night and day to make such a possibility a reality.” …

The Omegan squabble turns out to be more than just a morning’s refereeing, so Galactic Ambassador Royston schedules a follow-up meeting, allowing the two sides more time to consider his recommendations.

During the meeting his wrist device beeps. John answers and is surprised to see his father’s concerned image on the screen. “What’s up Dad?”

The elder Royston seriously says, “Thought you might want to know, son, a Slarg security sensor just disappeared and the Alert Team is going to investigate.”

John’s first instinct is to zip right there, but realizes he shouldn’t unless specifically asked to. “Thanks for the heads-up Dad. I assume Jonathan has been notified.”

“His was the second call after the one to Will Travis. He has just arrived. Do you want to talk to him?”

“That won’t be necessary, Dad. Just let him know I’m available if he needs me.”

“Will do son, and take care.”

Just then, the timer on John’s wrist device vibrates, reminding him of his luncheon date with Meredith and Amber. John concludes the Omegan meeting and zips to the Chicago Meridian Room restaurant just before Meredith and Amber arrive.

The Galactic Ambassador stands out among the waiting guests in his maroon suit blazer with the Galactic Council bright gold crest on it. Amber arrives first in a very chic royal blue business suit and John happily hugs her and kisses her on the cheek as Meredith in a bright blue dress arrives.

“Hi, Dear,” Meredith smiling accepts his kiss just as Pierre arrives. He hands John a white orchid for a nice addition to Meredith’s outfit and a lavender one for Amber, prior to escorting them to their favorite corner table. They note the clear blue sky and pollution-free Chicago landscape and shimmering Lake Michigan as the familiar Maitre D hands them ornate menus. “How did the Omega Meeting go?” She asks as they sit reviewing their menus. “I half expected you to be late or change the time.”

“I probably would have had too, but they weren’t fully prepared to make needed decisions, so we rescheduled another meeting.”

John turns to Amber, noting her suave business suit now adorned with Pierre’s beautiful orchid, “So where did you pop in from today?”

“I was on Bosansi helping line up more suppliers for the energy pods. They’re in tremendous demand all over my territory.”

Although Earth and the initial three Galactic Council planets received the Yanni energy pod technology gratis, the rest of the universe pays the going rate. The energy pod technology allows for virtually a pollution-free environment.

Another benefit to Galactic expansion is the mining industry can search and find precious ores on inhabitable planets. The same goes for the logging industry. Taking transportation costs out of the picture makes it profitable to search far and wide for once-scarce resources.

Meredith notes Amber’s colorful company logo on her scarf as she says, “I love your outfit. And how big is your territory now?”

Amber’s bright eyes beam as she says, “I cover the Milky Way, and the Beta Galaxy.”

Johns asks, “And how many planets is that?” Having been the Galactic president, he knows the ball park number, but it is increasing almost daily.

She smiles, “I serve well over a hundred planets, but the number keeps expanding right along with the Galactic Council as you well know.”

“How do you keep up with all of them, Dear?” Meredith asks.

“I have a large staff that I now delegate much of the routine tasks of serving the customers. I only concentrate on new accounts.”

Unfortunately, Amber recently concluded negotiations with a person who she thinks is representing a new planetary member of the Galactic Council. The credentials and certifications looked official, though she isn’t at all familiar with the Corbon Solar System, but she sees no reason to question the documents. They are patently false and presented by a minion of Rasheed Mohammad.

“And how is your personal social life?” Meredith softly asks.

Amber blushes, “I know what you mean mother, but I’m always so busy.”

John says, “You know there’s more to life than just business, so what your mother is saying is you should slow down and develop some personal relationships, especially with the opposite sex.”

Amber grins, “I know, Dad. You don’t need to spell it out for me. One of Will’s assistants invited me to the grand opening of the new Galactic Center in New York next month and I accepted.”

Meredith quickly adds, “That’s great dear. Who is he?”

Amber smiles with a twinkle in her eyes, “His name is Jared Beckham and he is not too long off his Church Mission. His hometown is Albuquerque, New Mexico.”

That news brightens both John and Meredith’s day.

John says, “Well it looks like it hasn’t been all business for you.”

Meredith has a secret hope of holding her and John’s very first grandbaby between them. Up to now it has been John’s older children who have been expanding the family.

“Beep… Beep! ...”

Just then, John’s wrist device beeps louder than usual, indicating this call’s urgency.

A couple of people at nearby tables look his way as John quickly sees John Sr.’s anxious visage on his wrist screen. “What’s up now, Dad?”

John has his secreted earpiece in his ear and hears, “We have a problem in the Slarg Galaxy. President Royston has called an emergency session of the Council and wants you here ASAP.”

“I’m on my way.” John gives an anxious Meredith a quick kiss. He leans over and hugs Amber. “Enjoy your lunch without me. I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I can.” He presses his device and zips half a galaxy away to the Antigua Command Center.

Meredith is almost glad for John’s quick departure so she has the whole meal-time to catch up with her only daughter. She turns to Amber and says, “Tell me all about him.” They spend an extra long lunch together…

John appears near the Security console where his dad and Sethanni are busily working dual keyboards. His dad motions him to the main conference room to the left as a couple of other Council members arrive.

The roving ambassador notes the unusually full large oval conference table and takes a chair near the back wall where he sits beside Ambassadors-at-Large Janus and Hargrove. John is somewhat self conscious as he realizes he is the only one in his dress uniform. He also realizes the seriousness of the meeting for everyone to be here.

“Thank you all for coming so promptly.” President Jonathan Royston stands tall and grim as he addresses them. This is the first time in a while he has needed to address them in such a tense setting. “A short time ago a sensor in the Slarg Galaxy went off-line. Security sent the Alert Team in the Orion to investigate, and they stopped reporting as soon as they arrived. A subsequent drone search reveals only empty space with no signs of them.”

“We believe the Slarg’s technology may have caught up with our own and we need an immediate response without risking anymore lives. The Science Committee is meeting in emergency session now as well. You can see their session on the overhead monitor and they can hear our session and comment as needed. I have broadcast a full alert for all our stations. If an enemy can attack like this, then maybe they can attack anywhere.”

Just then, Sethanni enters and hands Jonathan a note.

“A remote drone has picked up evidence of micron levels of neutron residue. It was able to track it for a short time towards the center of the Slarg Galaxy.”

Ambassador Janus questions, “Was the Orion or the remote sensor in an invisible mode?”

Sethanni quickly answers, “No they were not. I believe we retrieved the drones before they could be affected by whatever force attacked the Orion and the original.”

“Then I suggest sending two invisible drone monitors encompassed in a stasis field with one several leagues back to monitor the first one.”

Jonathan turns to Sethanni, “Do it quickly and display the results on the overhead screen in here and the Science Committee Room.” Jonathan starts to add, ‘and record everything’, but realizes that will automatically be done.

Shortly the overhead screen splits into two side-by-side views of the far galaxy. The left view is focused where the other invisible monitor is located which can’t be seen. Below each screen there is a streaming display of sensor data, including the coordinates of each drone monitor.

Jonathan Royston watches the screen and thinks, if we can’t see it can they? If they can’t see it, can they detect it?

Suddenly, a bright blue sphere of energy encompasses the far invisible monitor as seen on the left screen from the exterior. The right screen displays the blue energy sphere from the interior of the stasis field.

The display on both screens suddenly changes. The left screen now displays only the starry background minus the other drone monitor, while the right screen now shows the interior of a high-ceilinged large room with odd structures closely surrounding the monitor. The right screen streaming data continues for only a couple of seconds before the entire screen blanks out and turns white.

Within seconds, white-haired Senior Scientist, Dr. Vaughn, addresses both groups from the Science Conference Room. “The data stream provides us the coordinates, which lie near the center of the Slarg Galaxy. We are now reviewing the slow motion replay and I believe whatever force causing the whiteout is only blocking the transmission and did not destroy the drone. It is possible that is because of the stasis field. My immediate guess is the whiteout is caused by encompassing our stasis field in a yet unidentified type of force field.”

Janus asks, “Could this be what happened to the Orion too?”

Dr. Vaughn hesitates a second and then says, “Possibly, but we can’t really know that because we don’t know whether the Orion’s stasis field was activated.”

Will Travis anxiously asks, “Are you saying without the stasis field they could have been destroyed?

Dr. Vaughn removes his glasses and quietly says, “I’m afraid that is a distinct possibility. There seems to have been no opportunity for the Orion to remove itself from the attack or to send any type of distress signal.

Jonathan Royston adds, “I would think whoever did this would want the technology on the Orion rather than destroy it.

Will promptly says, “Unless they already think they are superior to us.”

“What do you suggest we do, Dr. Vaughn?” President Jonathan Royston quickly asks.

“I suggest we send an invisible monitor to those Slarg coordinates enveloped in a double stasis field and see if we can collect more data as a first step.”

Jonathan turns to Sethanni and says, “Let’s do it now!” He then turns to his security chief and says, “I want your team ready to strike in an instant and if it is possible to retrieve the Alert Team safely without putting your team at risk, make that your first priority.

“Once they are safely back or you determine they are no longer with us, you are free to deal with the Slarg, but do it in a meaningful way and destroy or confiscate their technology. Take the Yanni battle Cruiser Targus with a full complement of Security and do not hesitate to request reinforcements. This unprovoked attack must be dealt with quickly and firmly.”

“Yes, sir,” Will smartly says, leaving the room to make preparations for the coming confrontation. Sethanni leaves with him and a couple technicians follow them.

Although using the Teleport technology doesn’t require spaceships, experience has taught the Galactic Security Team that flitting around the universe unprotected can be hazardous, so they maintain a fleet of once-alien battle ships, now part of the Galactic Space Fleet, docked on the far side of the moon. The ships are kept updated with all the latest technology advancements.

Computers on the starships can calculate local coordinates on the fly, wherever they are, thus making them essential on intergalactic missions like this.

John sits at the back of the conference room and thinks; I hope it is going to be as easy as Jonathan says but I’m afraid it won’t. If they are smart, they are probably prepared for some kind of response from us. Hopefully we can outmaneuver them and get our team safely back without any casualties.

John also peruses the list of alert crew members on the Orion and notes both Penelope Rivers’ and Jared Beckham’s names. I pray I don’t have to give Amber any bad news.

As Will Travis leaves the conference room, he thinks of those five alert team members. I was too quick to send them. I should have conferred with Dr. Vaughn and the science team first. A drone like we just used would have been a better choice. I hope they are okay and we can rescue them before they are harmed. I should never have let Ensign Rivers go on that assignment no matter how much fuss she gave.

Will is very close to the alert team members, having trained with them for many hours and days. He knows they are capable but up against a formidable and largely unknown adversary. He prays for their safety.

The Security Head shares his concern and his plans with his executive secretary, Anna White.

“Will Greg be going on this mission as well?” she softly and concernedly asks.

“We both will be going. That team is my responsibility and if possible I hope to get them all back safely.”

Anna realizes her husband will be sharing the danger, but hopes all will be well. She has confidence in the security team as she knows they are all well-trained, but what if they don’t have a chance to use that training? She worries.

Anna recalls when Greg White, then her fiancé, was stuck in the newly discovered Alpha Dimension with that demented Hardison James. I worried so much I finally had to contact Hank Travis even though I knew Greg wouldn’t want me too. I only new he hadn’t contacted me like he promised. It was Hank who told me the details of Greg’s then current circumstances. I don’t think I ever prayed so hard for anything, just for him to be safe and protected.

In the Science committee meeting, Greg Garrett wonders, how can my computer expertise help in this instance? Greg’s meeting in the Alpha Dimension was interrupted by the alert message and he wants to be of help if he can, but feels his expertise may not be in play here.

Science Specialist to the Committee, Malcom Evers, wonders the same thing. I must find out what technology they are using against us and find a way to thwart it. Malcom Evers knows he has his ranking on the Science Committee because he was able to create the mathematics for calculating other dimension coordinates. He has drawn close to the whole team and can’t imagine anything happening to any of them. I must do my best to help get them home safely.

The two science committee members offer their assistance to the rescue team and are quickly accepted. The two new anxious team members prepare to board the Targus, each armed with several extra technical gadget.

As Dr. Vaughn zips aboard, he is deep in thought, hoping they can thwart the Slarg defenses and bring their team home safely. His mind is working in overdrive to plan different tests against the enemy energy fields. He smiles when he sees Sethanni, “Well I see they sent their very best to get us safely there and back.”

Chapter Five

Two galaxies away, gaunt, dark-bearded Chief Warlord Trusom observes the display screen showing the captured Galactic Alert Team in a large sparse holding cell. The warlord years-ago believed he was literally the master of the universe until his ships met the largely unknown enemy and were so rudely repulsed back to their own territory.

“They don’t look superior at all, in fact, they look very vulnerable. I can’t believe they developed such advanced technology as they used against us.” The Chief Warlord is the ultimate ruler of his galaxy and no one dares cross him for his fierce retaliation usually destroys those targeted.

White-haired Warlord Wersk, second-in-command, responds, “But they did indeed transmit our whole fleet across our galaxy in an instant without a chance for us to battle them, and gave us that dire warning not to come their way again. Then they interrupted our battle with the Medean Way Station and repeated the warning.”

Warlord Trusom remembers the decimation of his fleet during their attempt to capture the Way Station and agitatedly responds, “I know that. I just mean it is hard to believe such a weakling race could have such technology and defeat us so easily.”

“That is because we were unprepared for such an attack. They transported our fleet before we even knew they were there. Now we have surprised them and are ready for them,” Wersk firmly says.

“We hope we are ready for them. That is not yet proven.”

Wersk brusquely responds, “But our scientists assure us the ion force field around this base is secure and impenetrable. We’ve also made great strides in our teleport technology thanks to the ancient spheres we found.”

Trusom curtly says. “As were our shields around our ships supposed to protect them.” He then nods his head. “Yes, the scientists have given us much new technology and many new weapons, but we have only proved them on our own technology, not theirs, which we still do not fully understand.”

“If you are not sure, why did you launch this attack against them?” Wersk rarely questions his superior.

The chief warlord sternly says, “Because it was time to confront them again and I wanted to give our scientists the opportunity to prove themselves. The fact we could detect those invisible sensors and attack without warning from this distance greatly buoys my confidence.”

“That could be very costly if they still prove the superior force.”

Warlord Trusom wryly smiles as he views the captives on the screen, “Look at how frail and vulnerable they are. They must have many weaknesses.”

Wersk presses his point, “From what we saw several years ago, their technology makes up for many weaknesses. If we are not fully ready, I fear we will suffer the same fate or worse. They did manage to lockout their central systems before we secured their ship.”

Warlord Trusom’s face turns redder as he says, “It has been eating at me all this time to know they are out there and have that marvelous technology and we could do nothing about it. Now we have shown them! Now we are on the offensive! We will finally defeat them and obtain their technology!”

The chief Warlord is so caught up in his emotion he raises his fist in defiance. He looks at the captives on the screen again and says, “Bring me the tall ruddy-haired one. He looks too cocky to me. We will see how tough he is and have him unlock their secrets for us.”

Wersk asks, “Shall I interrogate the red-haired female?”

The chief warlord wickedly responds, “No, we will save her for later.”

When a group of Slarg guards enter their cell with drawn weapons and roughly drag Greg White out of the cell, Ensign Rivers begins to worry. Her thoughts mirror the rest of the group as she thinks; can these villains be superior to our technology? They certainly snatched us instantly without any warning. I’m at least glad Greg hit the failsafe button, too bad it was too late to return us home. They will probably torture us to reveal the codes. I hope the Council can rescue us in time. Will is hopefully on his way now. …

The doubly protected Galactic invisible monitors are zipped to the Slarg coordinates in rapid order. When they arrive outside the Slarg protected field, they set off a Slarg warning device. It takes a couple of minutes for Sethanni to remotely adjust stasis fields so the teleport device can penetrate the ion shield. When they do, the monitors record the Orion nearby, trapped in a blue radiating energy field.

Will Travis and the whole team breathe a sigh of relief when they see the Orion on their view screens.

The Galactic Councilors, scientists, and Targus Command deck watch as two galaxies away, the Slarg bombard the monitors with a multitude of energy weapons to no seeming affect.

The Targus is a top-of-the-line Yanni Science vessel equipped with the latest Galactic offensive and defensive technology, some of which has been recently upgraded with the latest advances, but not all has been battle-tested. Because of the teleporting ability, the newer spaceships are designed more for functionality than for flying through space although they are well-equipped to do so with advanced Hyper-drive engines.

Bright-haired Borcas of Bosansi leads the command crew with Sethanni and Dr. Vaughn leading the Science Team. Will Travis leads the Security Team with a full detachment of well-trained team members.

Borcas thinks, I wanted to relieve my boredom but not at the expense of an alert team. I hope they are okay and we can quickly rescue them. These Slarg must be stopped before they wreak more havoc.

Just before Greg Garrett zips aboard the Targus, he presses his wrist device for Jenny. “Hi Sweetheart, I’m going on a mission with the security team and I wanted to let you know. I will contact you as soon as I return.”

“Is there any danger involved?” she anxiously asks. It has been awhile since the last enemies were defeated and Jenny was hoping there would be no more danger.

Greg grimly admits, “There may be some. The Slarg have captured some of the security team and I am going with Will and his team on the Targus to help get them back. I will keep in touch.”

“I heard the Slarg are dangerous and vicious. Be careful and I love you,” she anxiously says.

Greg blows her a kiss before ending the connection on his device.

As the Targus command crew views the remote action two galaxies away, Borcas wastes no time in activating the double-enhanced shields and zipping the Targus near the identified Slarg coordinates.

With the combined science and technology from many planets in three galaxies and two dimensions, it takes Sethanni only a few seconds to overcome the ion energy field and zip the Targus to coordinates right next to the Orion.

Dr. Vaughn immediately uses his console sensors to locate the holding cell for the Orion’s crew. Thankfully the Slarg have as yet failed to relieve the crew of their wrist devices. Dr. Vaughn immediately zips them back to their ship. Though the Orion crew’s personal devices will not work through the ion field, The Targus’ advanced technology works just fine.

Sethanni quickly expands their enhanced shields to encompass the Orion.

Borcas voices “Return”, but nothing happens.

Immediately prior to Borcas’ return effort, a Slarg triple helix field was established around both ships, preventing the teleport technology to work through the triplex field.

In the Slarg command center, Trusom witnesses the not unexpected sudden appearance of the enemy ship with the resultant ineffectiveness of his weapons on it. Then he happily notes the glowing orange triplex field around both ships.

“Ah…” He smiles. “We have two ships now. That second one looks like a real prize. Can’t wait to see what our engineers learn from it. Do we have the enemy leader?”

Wersk quickly says, “He is being brought here, but the others are gone. They were snatched before we were able to initiate the triplex field. We should have protected their confinement cell better. It looks like they’re back on their ship, but they’re not going anywhere now,” He adds, “Though we now have the ships, they have their weapons and I’m sure will use them the instant we release the advanced shield.”

“Good! I want to see him in chains immediately! We will leave the advanced ion shield on for a long while then.” …

On the Orion, as soon as she can reach a comm unit, Ensign Rivers immediately presses it and says, “They have Greg White!”

Borcas hears and quickly orders his crew, “Find him!”

“We can’t find anyone through their increased energy field! None of our devices or weapons seems to work through it either,” Sethanni anxiously says as his hands exasperatedly fly across his keyboard.

This information worries Borcas a great deal because he realizes they are many light years from home and are practically helpless without the teleport technology. We can’t help Greg or maybe even ourselves…

In the Antigua Central Control Center, Jonathan and Victor become anxious as Grandpa Royston anxiously says, “Their signals just disappeared off our instruments!”

Victor instantly orders, “Send three shielded invisible monitors with sensors to those coordinates now!”

The monitors appear outside the Slarg base, but their sensors detect nothing but the intense force fields surrounding the base.

At the Antigua Console, the team frustratingly views the bare bones data from the monitors and sensors.

“We need to send another ship to break down their shields as quickly as possible,” Victor tells the science team.

Jonathan quickly says, “Not yet. We still don’t fully know what we are up against. They appear to have the ability to snatch ships and people from great distances. We don’t want to risk anymore lives than are there now. We have bright people on those ships. With all our advanced technology and weapons. Hopefully they will find a way. Just keep the sensors in place for now.”

When Jenny Royston, Anna White and Marisa Travis learn of the delay of their spouses in returning home they console each other in the Antigua Command Center as they watch the broadcast by the invisible sensors in the Slarg Galaxy.

“Why can’t we just send a bigger ship to free them?” Anna White anxiously asks.

“We have good men and scientists in those ships. Our team is hoping they will be able to free themselves first before more of our people are put at risk,” Jenny Royston softly says,

“But they could be doing terrible things to them!”

“All we can do is pray and hope for the best in that regard.” …

On the Targus Control deck Malcom Evers has been busy at his workstation as has Greg Garrett. Malcom is analyzing the intense force fields that surround them in order to calculate what it will take to break them. He notes the field intensity is in quantum figures compared to their own.

Greg Garrett is checking the weapons inventory available on both ships. He believes the Q-Beam has the greatest potential for success. The Q-Beam was used to decimate the Slarg Fleet years ago. Greg and Malcom discuss the possibilities with Borcas, Dr. Vaughn, Will and Sethanni.

“If we can route more power to the Quantum generator, I believe we can break the energy fields surrounding our ships,” Greg says.

Malcom adds, “And I’ve calculated the amount of power we need to divert from our defensive shields to accomplish it.”

Borcas quickly asks, “How long will it take?”

“Fifteen minutes max,” Malcom says.

“If you do this, what kind of destruction will occur with the base?” Borcas asks.

Greg says, “If we don’t shut it down quick enough, the blast will probably obliterate the base unless they have it equally protected and I doubt it because of the immense power drain it would take.”

“Can you raise the power level gradually in order to punch a hole in it first?” Will Travis asks.

“Yes, but it might give them time to counteract it. Why take that risk?” Malcom asks.

Will Travis firmly says, “Because I want to force them to release Greg White first. Then you can destroy the whole base if you want.”

“Then lets get started,” Sethanni eagerly says.

The Targus crew members anxiously watch as Sethanni slowly increases the power to the Quantum generator which also incrementally reduces their shield protection.

Just over Fifteen minutes later and with shield protection at less than 50%, Malcom says, “The hole is there now. You should be able to communicate through it.”

Borcas opens his comm channel and on full range brusquely orders, “Release your prisoner immediately or your entire base will be destroyed! …Sethanni, warm up the Q-Beam!”

Warlord Trusom smiles as the chained prisoner is brought before him. He is looking forward to the slow torture of this puny enemy in his special torture chamber.

Suddenly he hears the ominous warning. When Trusom hears the dire warning, he remembers the effect the Medean super weapon had on his decimated fleet and shouts, “Hold! We are releasing him now! Unchain the prisoner!”

Sethanni is now able to locate Greg White’s coordinates through the energy hole and quickly retrieves him. “We have him!” Sethanni relays to Borcas.

Borcas Zips an invisible monitor to the Slarg Command center and issues an ultimatum via it, “Stand down all your weapons and gather your crew together now! You have ten minutes before this base will be destroyed!”

Trusom realizes if they can communicate through the triplex field they can probably send their super weapon through it. He reluctantly orders everyone to the command center.

Upon their arrival, Borcas again orders, “Abandon all weapons and telecom equipment now or you will be destroyed with your technology!”

Trusom wonders, how can they see us without our detecting them? He angrily motions his crew to do as the voice says and reluctantly does the same

When Sethanni sees everyone’s weapons and comm devices on the floor, he nods to Will Travis who zips the Slarg leaders to the Targus’s brig and the rest to a prison planet in the Aquarian sector. He then orders the destruction of the Slarg base.

After they disable the rest of the triplex field, they withdraw their ships a comfortable distance, and the empty base is destroyed in a blazing pyrotechnic display, Will has Trusom and Wersk interrogated separately until they reveal the details of their latest technology. As Sethanni and the other scientists surmised, Malcom Evers learns the Slarg latest advances involve adapting the ancient sphere technology.

After identifying the Slarg central research facility, the sphere technology is taken control of and secured. Greg and Malcom wipe the Slarg central database clean. The ruthless warlords are then teleported to the Aquarian prison planet to join their brethren in exile.

Will Travis sends the following message to the remaining Slarg Command Council:

“Your Warlords have been defeated because of their attack on our space. We would recommend you adopt a friendlier style of government and make no more war on other worlds. Any captured worlds are to be immediately released and left to govern independently. To do otherwise invites our further intervention with more lethal destruction. We will station monitors in this area of space to verify your actions.”

The Targus and Orion then zip back to their home base where a full report is given to President Royston. There is a happy reunion with the crews and their families.

Jenny doesn’t ever want Greg Garrett to go on any more hazardous missions, but she wisely doesn’t make him promise not to.

Jonathan is glad to learn everyone is okay and safe. After hearing the report, he addresses the Galactic Council, “We should send diplomatic envoys to assist the Slarg in changing their warlike ways. Councilor Germain, since that galaxy lies in your outer sector, would you organize the effort?”

The bright lady Councilor from Centillius quickly responds, “Certainly, I will be glad to assist in any way necessary.” Councilor Arianna Germain is glad for the opportunity to have a part in settling that part of her assigned territory. She has misgivings though that the Slarg have truly changed their ways. “I will be doubly on the alert for any double dealing with them.”

“Don’t be too quick to offer them advice. See if they are really willing to change first. If you sense the slightest degree of further hostility, let us know immediately. They must meet all the requirements for Council membership, which may require much change in their current society, so this may not be a short undertaking before we accept them as full members. Also, visit the freed planets and invite them to apply for Council membership.”

She smilingly says, “We will provide the Council frequent reports and verify and assist them to meet all the requirements.”…

Chapter Six

Unfortunately, the next Slarg Warlord, in command, Klarg the Terrible, is so entrenched in his ways he quickly and quietly removes his troops and ships to an outer planet where they will wait to fight another day. He believes they will return to give battle when they have learned how to truly conquer these alien would-be conquerors.

Klarg is a fierce battle-hardened warrior who has never tasted defeat and doesn’t intend to now. Klarg led his fleet when it was decimated by the alien Q-Beam when his ships attacked the remote Way Station.

The vengeful leader uses recently improved Slarg teleport platforms to transport his staff and his fiercest units to the planet Grune in the Toras Solar System.

When the renegade army arrives on Grune, they quickly disburse to an appointed rendezvous site to avoid notice or detection.

Grune is one of the Slarg’s earliest captured planets so he believes their enemy will probably be visiting it and he wants no immediate confrontation with them.

One of Klarg’s battle-hardened field commanders is having second thoughts though. Commander Gargen Graysen witnessed the decimation of their fleet when they were forced to retreat from that alien Way Station in their previous encounter with these enemies. The stalwart commander also hears of the destruction of their supposedly invincible main star base.

Gargen believes his only son who was stationed there was killed in the action. He wasn’t told the base occupants were imprisoned before the destruction. Gargen has a heavy heart and is now having serious thoughts about continuing the fight against a largely unknown enemy. He hopes Klarg will not leave him and his men too long away from their families.

Gargen misses his wife and daughters very much and is even hoping they can have another child, hopefully another son to carry on his legacy…

That evening, Anna White happily welcomes her man home, eager to learn what happened with the Slarg. She heard part of it at work, but wants the whole story from Greg personally.

“I was getting seriously worried when we were captured. We had no idea where we were, although we did believe the Slarg were behind it. Then I was taken and placed in chains. I feared for the worst until I heard Borcas’ voice and was unchained and suddenly on the deck of the Targus.

When Will Travis arrives home, he tells his young family all about the day’s events. “We were glad we were able to rescue Greg White before he was harmed.”

Alicia, his precocious six-year old is the inquisitive one. “What was it like traveling in the Yanni space ship, Daddy?”

“Well, Darling, we really didn’t do much flying because we used the teleport device for the traveling part. We went in the Yanni Battle cruiser for our protection and for the science and weapons it had. We orbited the planet before we were suddenly captured.”

Jeremy asks, “Did you use those weapons, Dad?”

“Yes, son we did.” Will speaks as he shifts his youngest curly-haired son, Alex, on his lap. “We rescued the Orion and its crewmembers and captured the Slarg leaders. Then we removed everyone from their command center, and used the Q-Beam to completely destroy their command and control base.

Will Travis looks at his excited son sitting on his lap and says; “It was the first time since the Spectari attacks I’ve witnessed such an awesome display of destructive weaponry. I hope it will be the last tine too.”

Marisa, his doting wife smilingly takes Jeremy on her lap and tells Will, “Meredith called me today. She invited us to the Royston Family Reunion at the new Disney Park on Centauri V next month. She says that since you worked so close with Jonathan, they consider us family too.”

“And I can’t wait to go!” Alicia exclaims.

“Me too!” adds Jeremy

Two year-old Alex just chuckles at his excited siblings.

“And I consider them part of our family too.” Will remembers back as a young boy when he first learned about Mr. Royston’s teleport experience and how it changed everything for his own family.

He recalls how their small group was forced into hiding by the ruthless villains that tried to steal the technology. There was that sneak attack on their first hideaway in California. He had truly been scared when the families were quickly whisked away to Hawaii while his dad and Mr. Royston stayed back to confront and defeat the attackers. …

When John zips home from his Maryland Office that evening for dinner, he provides Meredith an update on the day’s events.

“Well I hope that settles the Slarg down. I thought that should have been done years ago.”

“Years ago we had other things going on such as finding the villainous Hardison James and reforming the Beta Galaxy.”

“And he is still locked up good, I hope.”

“Yes, he is still in the moon penal colony without a chance of leaving it.” Though John speaks confidently, he fails to realize there could be outside forces that might assist in Hardison’s escape.

That night, as promised, John reads his poem for Corey’s graduation to Meredith…

“CARVED IN STONE”

For Corey Patrick Royston

Upon his graduation

There it stands in royal splendor,

The marble stone, polished bright and clean.

Just waiting for the chisel’s first mark,

That will record a precious son’s future.

What will it be?

Who knows what trials lie ahead?

The Carver knows, but holds it within.

Will the marks be clean and pure?

Only the Carver knows for sure.

Always let Faith light the way,

And the Carver’s hands will be,

Steady and Firm.

Let Wisdom and temperance,

Be your guide,

And those you love,

Always at your side.

Add a sure measure of Love and Charity,

To bring warmth to the stone,

And Honor and Integrity,

To keep it shinning bright.

Choices, there will be many,

But always remember He who said,

‘Straight and Narrow is The Way.’

With these as your guide,

And loving companions at your side,

A sparkling future is in store,

And the Carver need ask no more.

With Love and Appreciation

John and Meredith Royston

“Oh that is wonderful, Darling!” Meredith gives him a warm hug and loving kiss. “I’m always amazed at how you can compose such poetry.”

“Now it’s your turn. Where’s that special scrapbook?”

John is not surprised when she brings it out from under the bed. He can tell from it’s thickness she has spent many hours on it. There are tabs marking different stages of their graduating son’s still-young life. John can’t remember all these pictures being taken.

When he mentions it, Meredith says, “I had some still shots made from our video recordings for some of them.”

“Well this will certainly be something for him to remember and show to his grandkids, our great-grandkids.”

She smiles, “As will your heart-felt poem too, dear.”…

Chapter Seven

The Prison Planet, Zeron, in a far arm of the Milky Way---

After years of hard work and sweat, the exiled warriors and scientists have created crude replicas of their former advanced weapons they used on the Galactic Council just before their own exile. Deep in the caves they discovered a thermal vent, which provided a great power source and sped up their work.

They found working in the underground caves gave them much needed relief from the constant sweltering heat on the planet’s surface. The leaders rotate crew’s regularly to give everyone a break, hopefully without alerting the Galactic Council’s sensors of the subsurface activity.

Because of their patience and carefulness and the absence of any surface development, the sensors and observers fail to detect any unusual patterns to question.

Qydon’s chief scientist reports to Commander Qydon and General Rasu-sen. “Our limited testing indicates the equipment is finally functioning as planned, but we won’t know for sure until we test it off-planet. To do so will certainly arouse the suspicions of the planet-wide detectors.”

“We can’t do this piece-mill or we will be detected and stopped. It must be like the last time we escaped, all at once or not at all.” Rasu-sen firmly states.

“Then what we will have to do is hope we can snatch a vessel that can travel far and fast before the Galactic Council can react,” Qydon says.

“What we need is to snatch their teleport technology plus a vessel so we can escape across whole galaxies without detection,” Rasu-sen adds.

The chief scientist speaks up, “Using a particular function of this weapon, I may be able to temporarily blind the planet-wide sensors and then overcome the planetary shield, but it will certainly bring unwanted attention to us.”

“What is the range of your detection equipment?” Rasu-sen asks. “Can you scan without being detected?”

“Through the planetary shield it is very limited, but with the shield off, it should reach across this galaxy with ease.” The scientist wipes his brow. “As for detection, they should only detect the scan if their equipment is set to match the frequency.”

“Then that improves our chances for success. I want you to use the lowest level of scan that will penetrate the shield and record everything,” Qydon adds.

“I am afraid with this crude equipment, recording is impossible.”

“Well, do the best you can and report the results promptly,” Rasu-sen orders.…

At the Antigua Command Center, President Jonathan Royston and Security Chief, Will Travis, are correlating the activities necessary to bring some of the more peaceful planets captured by the Slarg into The Galactic Council. They fervently agree the Slarg home planet will be one of the last to receive such attention.

Currently the two leaders are meeting with Councilor Germain of Centillius to learn how many planets are involved and create a timetable for them.

Short dark-haired Arianna Germain hails from a planet similar to earth except they have two moons and two large populated planets in the same solar system. She was the largest continent’s president when the Galactic Council appeared and offered them membership. She was delighted to be elected to represent her solar system on the Galactic Council.

“So far we have identified twenty of over fifty captured planets. They are spread out across the Slarg galaxy. The expansion team is in the process of building the teleport infrastructure for us. We have met with their leaders and they are thankful and seem eager to join the Council.”

Will says, “We will send a security survey team to each and verify there are no security risks before we start deploying the teleport technology to them.”

“From what I have learned so far, a few of those planets may have some medical advances for the Galactic Council too,” the councilor adds.

Jonathan says, “Then you should add Dr. Claire Benson to your team. She is the specialist that was in charge of solving the Venturan epidemic several years ago. She now heads the Council’s medical research facility on Gama III.

“I will certainly do so at your recommendation, sir,” she smilingly says.

Jonathan adds, “Councilor, as you work with each planet please ascertain they understand and agree to supply support to the Galactic Council Organization. Don’t hesitate to ask for some of their best and brightest in each field for your own sector organization. Request Will’s department to process their security clearances promptly.”

“Thank you sir, I will be sure to do that and I will report how cooperative the planets are as we progress.”

“That is good. Let those planets that are slow to fully cooperate be the last ones to receive our technology,” Jonathan says….

Grandma Alice Royston is straightening Grandpa’s bright bowtie. “There dear, that looks much better,” She smiles. “Now I think we’re ready to go.” She holds his hand and they zip to the Seattle new Teleport Center where the Galactic Cadet Graduation Ceremony is about to start. A neatly uniformed cadet escorts them to the stand where they are seated beside John and Meredith. Jonathan and Tanya are seated on the other side of them. The rest of the Royston clan plus most of the teleport team are seated in the vast audience. The audience consists of families from dozens of planets from three galaxies and the Alpha Dimension.

The audience rises in unison as the 300 graduating cadets are marched into the auditorium and stand smartly in front of their seats to the side of the podium and guests.

As soon as they are positioned and still, the cadet band plays the “Stars and Stripes” and then the “Cadet Anthem”.

Following the stirring renditions, Hank Travis, Academy Commandant, smartly steps to the podium and says, “The audience and cadets may please be seated.”

Almost in unison and as one body, the cadets and audience take their seats.

Hank stands before them in his Galactic Academy dress uniform and addresses them. “Ladies and gentlemen we welcome you to this year’s Galactic Academy Graduation Ceremony. I know there are many families in the audience who are proud of this moment for this great achievement of your sons and daughters.

“They have worked hard and long to reach this step in their young lives and we thank them for their tireless efforts in their academic endeavors.” Hank pauses to sip from a water glass before continuing.

“Do you realize our academy is advancing so fast, some of our curriculum subjects did not even exist when these cadets enrolled?

“Even though that is true, every cadet embraced the new courses and opportunities to achieve and many excelled in their chosen fields. Because of that fact, this year it has been especially difficult for the faculty to choose the honors graduate for this year because to do so would lessen the effort put forth by other equally deserving graduates.” He again pauses for emphasis.

“So, in the effort of equity and fairness the faculty has chosen six honor graduates for this exceptional graduating class.” Hank turns to his right to address the graduating cadets, “Please stand as I call your name.”

“Cadet Marina Astinci from Bosansi, majoring in Aerospace Medicine.” Marina is a niece of Borcas on the Galactic Security Team. She passed a rigorous entrance exam to secure her entrance. The audience and cadets cheer wildly as the brilliant red-headed cadet stands.

“Cadet Ronaldo Cardon from Corinthias in the Omega Galaxy, majoring in quantum physics.” Ronaldo is the eldest offspring of Mara Sirtus and Don Cardon. Mara Sirtus was a graduate of her own planet’s academy years ago just before the Galactic Council made its presence known to their galaxy. Mara is unaware of a part she played in thwarting the Spectari renegades because of the use of time travel that reversed the havoc they caused. She is a Galactic Envoy for Corinthias and very proud of her son.

“Gordon M. Jeppesen from Los Angeles, California, USA, Earth, majoring in microbiology in rare mineral atmospheres.” Gordon’s father was in charge of the Galactic Council’s first efforts in rehabilitating planets in the Beta Galaxy. Gordon scored the second highest on the entrance exam.

“Katrina Messini, our first inter-dimensional graduate from the Alpha Dimension and the planet of Al-Kanon, majoring in Dimensional physics.” Katrina (Katie) proudly stands as her family and friends cheer for her. Though her father is not fond of this dimension, he is very proud of his daughter for her achievement.

“Regina Rogers-Amesly from Dallas, Texas, USA, Earth, majoring in Galactic Communications.” Regina is the daughter of Betty Rogers-Amesly, now a Galactic Envoy. Regina also scored very high on the entrance exam.

As Cadet Corey Royston hears the names and sees his cadet-mates stand, he loses track of the number and thinks Regina is the last one, plus he does not realize the honorees are being presented in alphabetical order. He is uncomfortably deflated as he was sure he had made the honoree list.

“And last but certainly not least, Honor Cadet Corey Patrick Royston, from Crescent Island, Earth, majoring in Mathematics and Astrophysics.”

Corey suddenly realizes his name is called and relieved, stands up to a tumultuous ovation.

“As these cadets complete their formal cadet career, I know that they will proudly represent you and us to the whole universe we are all a part of.”

Commandant Travis says, “Now, Cadets … Attention!” The cadets smartly arise as one combined unit.

“We will now proceed to present the cadets their graduation diploma which also includes their new duty assignment.”

Meredith and John sit on the stand as distinguished guests with tearful eyes for their youngest son as the awards are presented. Galactic President Jonathan Royston stands beside Hank and shakes each cadet’s hands as they receive their diplomas. He proudly gives Corey a hug and a wink when his turn comes.

Following the graduation ceremony, the Royston’s enjoy their private beach graduation party on the Crescent Island white sandy beach.

Everyone of course wants to know Corey’s new duty assignment. When they approach him individually, he leaves them in suspense, telling them he will announce it to everyone later.

The real reason is he wants to share it with one special person first, but he assumes that person is in a whole other dimension, celebrating with her family and friends and he is wondering how to make contact without interrupting her party….

In the Alpha Dimension on Al-Kanon, Academy Graduate Katie Messini is having the same quandary. She and Corey have spent many hours studying for tests together and she feels very close to him. I wonder where his assignment is, she thinks. Is he even thinking about me now?

Katie is standing in a crowd of well-wishing cousins when her device buzzes. She turns away from her relatives and happily sees Corey’s smiling face on her wrist screen.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

The bronze-skinned, auburn-haired girl grins from ear-to-ear, “Never!”

“Can you get away for a minute? I want to talk to you.”

“I’ll be right there. My cousins won’t even miss me.”

She’s instantly by his side and they hold hands and stroll down the beach, seemingly oblivious to those around them.

John and Meredith can’t help but take note of the radiant auburn-haired young lady holding hands with their youngest son.

“Wasn’t she one of the honorees today?” John asks.

Meredith grins, “Yes, her name is Katie Messini from Al-Kanon. She and Corey have become fast friends during their Academy years.”

“How do you know so much and how come I haven’t met her?”

“Corey just shared that information with me this afternoon when he asked if he could invite her, so you’re not that left out. I haven’t formally met her yet either.”

“I wonder what they’re talking about.”

Meredith grins, “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was about some future plans.”

“He still hasn’t told anyone yet about his new assignment,” John notes.

“Well Dear, I think that’s because he wanted to share it with her first.”

“Well that tells me a lot.”

“Doesn’t it though,” Meredith pats John’s hand. “Remember when we were courting?”

He laughingly says, “Don’t worry. I’m not that old.”

Meanwhile on the beach, Corey and Katie enjoy their time together as the party music fades in the background.

As they stroll along the beach happily being with each other, Katie says, “My new assignment is as a teaching assistant at the new Dimensional physics college on Al-Kanon in my home city. I will get to teach and work with some of our brightest youth.”

“That’s a special opportunity to be assigned on your home planet. I’m going to be working with a special team at the Antigua Central lab. They’re working on some advanced functionality with the sphere technology. I will get to work with Dr. Alex Stanton, Dr. Vaughn and Dr. Malcom Evers.”

“That’s a great opportunity for you too. You’ll get to rub shoulders with some brilliant scientists.”

Corey grins, I know. I hope neither of these assignments will keep us from seeing each other. Have you told your folks you are taking the missionary discussions yet?”

She puts her arm through his as she says, “Yes, and my mom wants to sit in on them but my dad says he doesn’t want either one of us to meet with them anymore. He says he doesn’t believe the same god can be in both dimensions.”

“That’s a shame. So what’s going to happen?”

Katie smiles and holding his arm a little tighter, says, “My mom always gets her way, so we will be meeting with them together.”

Corey looks deep into her eyes, “Are you enjoying what you are learning?”

Katie’s eyes radiate as she says,” I enjoy the concepts, but reading your scriptures is difficult. You must realize, in our culture, we don’t have individual personal scriptures like yours. We have Holy men and they have scriptures, but no one else does.”

“Why is that?”

“They say it is because the scriptures can only be understood by those who have been taught in their Sanctos.”

“What’s a Sancto?”

“I believe it is something like your society’s religious seminaries. The Sancto is where those who want to become Holy men attend.”

“Are there Holy women too?”

“No, there are just men.”

“I believe if Heavenly Father, God, truly is God, he knows all about dimensions and who is in them. I even believe he may have had a hand in helping us find a way into your dimension.”

“I kind of do too,” she says as she takes a step and fancifully whirls around him.

Corey decides to change the subject and takes her by both hands and whirls with her, “When you are settled in your new assignment, will you call me so we can get together?”

Katie playfully bumps his hip, “Of course. I want to be with you too. I’m thankful for the ability to teleport, especially between dimensions.”

“We’re lucky we are both on the Galactic team or we wouldn’t have that ability.”

“You probably would because of your family, but I wouldn’t have a chance in my dimension.”

“I think that is slowly changing, isn’t it?”

She smiles, “The operative word there is slowly. Inter-dimensional travel is viewed by some as a not-so-good boon, while others like me crave it. Our society is still adjusting to what it all means. I think the younger generation like me is able to grasp the reality of it easier than older folks.”

There is an unspoken truth between Corey and Katie. Both of them inwardly know their relationship will not advance to a more intimate level unless she becomes a member. This does not disturb her because she knows the Latter-day Saint Church is a big part of Corey’s life, plus she agrees with and is enjoying everything she is learning.

Though the Latter-day Saint Church leaders do not send missionaries to other worlds at this time, they do send emissaries from the Church when invited by a world’s government and do send missionaries to planets colonized by Earth’s inhabitants. The Church leadership treats the Alpha dimension just as it does any other planet in the universe.

Corey has noted most planets’ peoples have some level of belief in a Supreme Being and after-life. He has also noted very few have a belief in the pre-mortal life similar to the Latter-day Saint belief.

The two recent honor graduates turn around and hand-in-hand start walking back up the beach to rejoin the party.

Everyone happily meets Katie and wants to learn more about her and her dimension. They are thrilled to learn of their new assignments and all enjoy the evening together,

Young Beth Royston stands off to the side during the congratulations. She is somewhat envious of Katie and her Uncle Corey. Because she and Corey’s ages are so close she rarely thinks of him as her uncle and refuses to call him such.

Before his last year at the academy, they were best friends and Beth depended on him a lot to help her with her homework, not necessarily because she needed it but she enjoyed his company. Now she misses that closeness. There are things going on in her life she would like to share with him, but because of Katie, she doesn’t know whether she should or not.

Later that evening, Corey proudly shows Katie his new scrapbook and the poem his dad wrote for his graduation.

Katie quietly says, “I wish my dad would show affection like that.”

“I’m sure your father loves you very much,” Corey quickly says.

She frowns, “Probably, but he doesn’t show it very much except when there are things he doesn’t want me to do, like meeting with the missionaries.”…

Chapter Eight

The Alpha Dimension on Al-Kanon…

Former General Karen Zihl looks around in astonishment. One second she was on that blasted primitive outpost and now she realizes she is back in the Queen’s palace on Al-Kanon. She breathes in once-familiar air and blinks twice to be sure she is not dreaming.

Karen is greatly relieved but infuriated as well. I can’t wait to give Queen Vera the tongue lashing of her life for stranding me these long years on that wretched backwards planet.

The former general looks with steely eyes at the attendant that retrieved her by apparently using that amazing technology she was forbidden to have. She recognizes the attendant as the Queen’s Counselor. “Why did it take you so long to bring me back?” She almost growls at her.

Counselor Sara, wearing a long red sarong bows a short curtsy and looks at her with darkened eyes, saying, “I’m sorry General but the Queen was very specific on not retrieving you until now.”

“Now… Why now?” Karen grabs Sara’s arms tightly, “What is going on? Tell me!”

Counselor Sara hesitantly and tearfully says, “Queen Vera is dying and desires to speak with you.”

General Zihl, shocked, releases her and remembers her queen as a vibrant woman, certainly too young to die. “How can she be dying?”

“She took sick very suddenly with K-sis and the healers say there is no cure for her illness. She only has days left according to them.”

Karen knows the deadly K-sis illness caused by a tiny mole beetle, which is so named for its “Kay-Sis” sound, has been one hundred percent fatal in every known case. “Lead me to her now!”

As soon as they are in Queen Vera’s bedchamber, General Zihl is astonished at the site of the queen. She seems only a shell of her former vibrant self. Her face is pale and thin. Karen puts her former thoughts aside and kneels at her queen’s bedside. “I am here My Lady.”

Queen Vera slowly turns her head and looks weakly through pale dimly-lit eyes. She slowly reaches out a thin arm and hand and places it on Karen’s head, weakly saying, “Please forgive me for leaving you there so long my daughter.”

Karen can barely say in a small voice, “I am here for you now, mother.”

The queen softly says, “Yes, and I can see you are still strong and healthy. Always value your health, dear for you know not how quickly it can be taken from you.”

“What do you wish of me Mother?”

“You will notice many changes. We no longer operate so independently as before you left. There are many Galactic protocols to follow, but I believe we are a happier people for it.”

“I’m glad to hear it my mother. How can I be of service?”

She slowly answers, “When I am gone, our style of government will be changed to a parliamentary one. There are two differing parties now hoping to elect their leader as the first Planetary Minister. I have favored neither of them, but I am willing to support you if you will accept the challenge and lead the people forward to their grand destiny.”

“I am flattered with your favor, but I have been away for a long time and the people may not remember me.”

The queen tries to rise, but lays back down, exhaustingly saying, “They will remember that I want you and you are my daughter, and that should be the deciding factor. You should be the next leader since you are of Royal birth through me. The other two should eliminate each other in the election with their fractious campaigns and you will be the winner.” It is obvious the queen is in pain but she forces herself to continue. “It will not be easy establishing a new form of government but I think you will be up to it. Remember to choose wise counselors.” The queen weakly pats Karen’s arm, “I have always loved you as my daughter though I wasn’t always allowed to show it. Now I need to rest.”

Karen tearfully moves back and arises as a healer enters to attend to the queen. As she slowly withdraws, her mind is in a daze. Only this morning on Sparta she was dreaming of returning to Al-Kanon, wondering what it would be like. Now I am here and my mother the Queen is dying and wants me to lead the people. I must organize quickly.

As soon as Karen leaves the queen’s chamber, she notes an important change. There are men in the palace! I wonder where my husband is and how he is doing.

Prior to her exile, all the men had been forbidden from the palace due to an unsuccessful plot against the queen by her husband. She had relished that decision, especially since it put her on a social and personal level above her husband. She married very young and now thinks of him only as a weak simpleton whose only accomplishment was marrying her. Wait till he hears of my new role, she inwardly smiles.

She automatically heads to her old palace office as Queen’s Military Minister; she is abruptly stopped by the sign on the door - Galactic Liaison Office.

This simple sign floods her memory of the many times she has cursed the Galactic Council in that other dimension. She recalls the plans she made while on Sparta to seek her revenge against that young man who caused her exile by her queen so many years ago. She inwardly rages it won’t be long before I have enough power to exact my revenge on Mark and his Galactic Council.

Since she is there, Karen enters the door just to see what is on the other side. She is startled to see her former vice-general standing near a desk talking to a familiar, plain-looking man and also notes the room looks nothing like she abruptly left it several years ago. “Hello Sandre.”

The silver-haired lady quickly turns at the sound of her name. Her jaw drops but she quickly regains her composure and says, “Hello General Zihl. Welcome back.” There are no handclasps or hugs as the two ladies stand facing each other in a standoffish manner.

“I think you can drop the ‘General’ title. How are things going since I left?”

Sandre Kelsin is not exactly happy to see her former general as she realizes her presence will probably upset the balance of power in the palace and generally planet-wide with the upcoming election, but hides these thoughts as she haltingly answers the question.

“There have been many changes while you were gone. Instead of Vice Military Minister, I am Galactic Liaison Officer not only for Al-Kanon but for our entire dimension. We no longer have a military, but do contribute security units to the Galactic Council for common defense. You will also note most people in the palace have personal teleport devices. All of our cities now have energy domes and are powered by the amazing alien technology of energy pods. The use of pollutants in our atmosphere has been almost entirely eliminated.”

Karen suddenly turns to the man at the desk. “And how are you, my husband?”

The gaunt man stands up and firmly says, “I am no longer your husband. Our marriage was expunged from public records after you were exiled. I now work for the Liaison Office.”

Karen stiffly replies, “I half expected that, but you could have sent me notice of it.”

Her now-former husband says, “I am sorry but that was not allowed due to your exile.”

Karen inwardly smiles, “Well I guess we must all move on then.” She turns back to Sandre. “I will be running for Planetary Minister with the queen’s blessing. I would hope you might be able to help me get oriented and work in my campaign.”

Sandre firmly says, “I’m afraid my duties as Dimension Liaison Officer will preclude being able to do that as I will be one of the official monitors of the election.”

“Very well, can you recommend someone else who can help me?”

“No, but you might ask Counselor Sara, she is most knowledgeable of the Queen’s confidants.”

“Thanks, I will do that.” She quickly turns and walks out.

As soon as she is gone, her ex-husband wastes no time in notifying the two major contenders in the election of their new rival. Neither is happy to hear the news, especially the part about the Queen’s support. They separately update their campaign strategy to include the third candidate.

Liaison Sandre routinely notifies her Galactic counterpart of the news via her wrist device, which amazingly works across dimensions thanks to Greg Garrett’s magic.

At his New York office, Ambassador Hargrove warily receives the news. “Do you think this will adversely affect the coming election?”

“Only if she wins, and I gather the queen thinks she will win with her support.”

“Should we take any action?”

“At this point I think any action on your part would be viewed as interfering with our internal affairs.”

“Very well, then just keep me informed of the progress of the election.”

Ambassador Hargrove includes the information about Al-Kanon’s new political candidate for the position of planetary minister and her support in the weekly Galactic Council meeting.

When Ambassador John Royston hears Karen Zihl’s name it sparks a memory of when their security team was trapped in that dimension. “Mr. President, maybe you should speak with Mark Leonard about her. I believe there was some almost lethal incident involving her back then.”

Jonathan officiously replies to his dad with a small grin, “Thank you ambassador, I will certainly do that.”

When Alpha Dimension Liaison Officer Mark Leonard is contacted, he tells Will Travis, “If she has been exiled for this long, she is probably harboring a strong desire for revenge. I think we should keep a close eye on her.”

“From what we have learned, she is running for planetary minister with Queen Vera’s support. I wouldn’t think she would do anything to spoil her campaign, but we will definitely stay close to her and you will lead the surveillance team.”

Mark says, “Until she proves her loyalty to the Galactic Council, I recommend she not receive a personal teleport device based on her previous attack on me.”

“I will see she isn’t approved for one for now, but if she becomes a viable candidate, we may need to provide her one.”

“If you do, I suggest you limit it to the Alpha Dimension.”

Mark isn’t too thrilled with this new assignment, but knows there is no way he can avoid it. He thinks, I will have an initial visit with her and try to diffuse any antagonism she may harbor toward me or the Council…

Back in the Al-Kanon palace, Karen Zihl is getting more frustrated. As she walks through the palace corridors she notes others are using their wrist devices to zip hither and yon. She recalls how she was so recently instantly retrieved from the Spartan Outpost without any seeming affects from the process, however it occurred. This truly is an amazing instrument and I must have one.

After contacting Counselor Sara, Karen visits with Al Piersen, who helped the current continental president get elected. Al is medium-sized with dark eyebrows and a very receding hairline.

“You have been recommended as a successful campaign manager and one who knows his way through these knew protocols our planet is subject to. I am here to enlist your help in getting me elected as the new Planetary Minister.”

Al looks around the Spartan-looking office of the former military general before he answers. “I understand you have been in exile several years so you may not be aware there are two very good top candidates for that office and the election is next month, so I must ask you the simple question as to how you think your candidacy can become credible in such a short time?”

Karen smiles at him, “That is an important question, but the answer is very simple. Queen Vera brought me out of exile now because she wants the best person to be the new Planetary Minister. She has given me her full-hearted support and that is something neither one of the other candidates have.”

Al Piersen slightly nods his head.

She continues, “One of the first things you will need to do is get her support recorded for the campaign while she is still healthy enough to give it. Is that something you can do?”

Al Piersen gives a short cough and says, “Yes, that is definitely something I can do and will do as soon as we come to an agreement on the cost of my services.”

Karen smiles and says, “Don’t let this small office fool you. I can be very generous to my helpful friends and once I am in power there will be many high positions to fill.”

Not long after her meeting with her new campaign manager, Karen is startled when Mark Leonard is suddenly standing at her palace office door.

“Welcome back Ms. Zihl. I am glad you are doing well. I was unaware Queen Vera is your mother.”

Karen does her best to maintain her composure, but her heart is racing and she fears it shows. She does her best to keep from lashing out at him in total anger as she says, “I thought you were back in your own dimension. The queen felt obligated to treat me as any other loyal subject rather than as her royal offspring. What brings you here to my door?”

“My Security Service promoted me to be the Liaison Officer between our dimensions so I keep up with important news. I understand you are running for the new Planetary Minister position.”

Karen slowly calms down as the conversation continues. “Then you must be working with Sandre Kelsin and she told you about my return.”

“Yes, she is one of the people I work with.”

“Well I am running for Planetary Minister because Queen Vera specifically asked me to. I also heard you married one of our scientists not long after I was exiled and your Security Team discovered their own way into our dimension.”

Mark purposely ignores the personal comment and says, “I know the queen is very ill. I hope she is doing better, but according to her physicians, she is terminally ill, thus the scheduling of the election.”

“Unfortunately that is true. There is no known cure for the K-sis. She wishes me to be her successor in the new form of government your dimension is forcing on us.”

“I hope your healers are working with our physicians to see if they can help.”

“We do not need your dimension’s help,” she anxiously says, somewhat revealing her true frame of mind.

“The Council did not force your planet to change its form of government, and you won’t know whether we can help until you try, do you?” Mark firmly states and asks.

Karen walks around the room while still facing him and haughtily says, “Oh I am better informed than you think. It wasn’t exactly put in the form of a demand, but if we didn’t change, your Galactic Council would be less likely to provide all its wonderful technology to us. Isn’t that right?”

“We have found that overall populations progress better when they have a part in their government and are not treated as lower class citizens. It is difficult to interact with your government and its citizens when they are literally and physically under subjection. Queen Vera agreed that when she stepped down, Al-Kanon’s government would change.”

“And when she made that agreement, she had no idea she was dying. For all I know your people caused her illness.”

“I can assure you we did no such thing and I am sure you have no evidence to back up such a wild assertion.”

“But you can offer no proof that you didn’t either, can you?” she challenges.

“There is one provision in the Queen’s agreement you may not be aware of,” Mark softly says.

“And what might that be?”

“The Galactic Council must ratify your new constitution and also approve the new Planetary Minister.”

Karen stops in her tracks and raises her voice several decibels. “How can she have possibly agreed to such a provision? Your Council can have no right to such a capricious action!”

Mark simply states, “For our own security reasons the Council inserted that provision and she did agree to it.”

“But when she agreed to it she did not know she was dying!”

“That is true. No one knew. That is why the agreement stated the change would only take place after her reign.”

Karen hesitates before asking, “Are you saying I could win the election and not receive your approval to become Planetary Minister?”

“No, I am simply saying you must have the Council’s approval before taking office, and that approval will be based on whether or not the Council believes you are a threat to the region’s security.”

“How can anyone possibly be a threat when you’ve taken away our military?”

Mark plainly says, “Plots and conspiracies have been tried before and you do have a history of such actions yourself.”

Karen regains her composure and says, “That was a long time ago and means nothing to me now. I am sorry it ever took place. I’ve certainly paid a high enough price for it, wouldn’t you say?”

Mark doesn’t blink as he says, “I am standing here today because of my protective security energy shield back then. I still remember your order to have me killed.”

“Then your memory is longer than mine and you should forget it. I harbor no such feelings now.”

“For your sake I hope that is true. Good luck on your campaign.”

Mark takes a step back and then disappears as he returns to his New York office…

Back in his Galactic Liaison Office, Mark mentally replays his visit to the newest candidate for Al-Kanon’s Planetary Minister. As much as I hope she has reformed, I believe she was keeping her true feelings in check. She bears very close watching. I will ask Sandre to keep an eye on her comings and goings, but my guess is Sandre is already doing that very thing.

Just to be sure he isn’t being paranoid; Mark shares his thoughts with Greg Garrett.

Greg concernedly offers, “If she did to me what she tried to do to you, I would have serious reservations about her intentions. No, I definitely don’t think you are being paranoid, but I do think you might not be cautious enough.

That evening when he gets home, He shares his Al-Kanon visit with Larana over a nice dinner.

“I still don’t think she is sincere about her feelings towards me.”

Larana puts her glass down and says, “I remember tales about how headstrong and forceful she was, especially towards her enemies. I think you are right to be concerned and don’t let your guard down with her for a minute.”

Mark sips his own water and says, “Greg virtually gave me the same advice.”

She gives her most wining smile to him as she says, “Then I think you should definitely follow it.”…

Chapter Nine

Deep in their hidden cavern on Zeron, Rasu-sen and Qydon are meeting with Quorax scientists. The chief scientist, Mardon, has just presented the latest problem they are struggling with.

“We can’t be certain of what we are seeing through the planetary shield. Our instruments are still too crude. It is impossible to observe anything clearly. I don’t see how we can proceed under these circumstances.”

Qydon asks, “But you do believe the Ultra Beam can knock out the planetary shield, right?”

Mardon hesitates and then says, “Theoretically, yes, but as you know, we can’t truly test it without drawing attention to ourselves.”

Qydon, who has had some training in quantum physics plus his previous experience with the scientists, asks, “Both the planetary shield and the U-beam are generated energy, correct?”

“Yes, you are right, but they exist on very different wave lengths.”

“Is it possible to incrementally scan the shield to obtain the wavelength it is propagated on without being detected?” Qydon pointedly asks.

“I think I see where you are going with this. Yes, I think our crude instruments can. If we generate fractional increments with minimum power, we may be able to determine its wavelength without being detected.”

Qydon wryly smiles, “No, I don’t think you see completely yet. I want you to determine the wavelength and then to adjust the Ultra Beam to it so as to blend in with the shield rather than trying to overcome it. Is that possible?”

The chief scientist hesitantly says, “Sir, you must understand, our instruments are not very sophisticated, but with some modifications you may be correct. It might work as you say.”

Rasu-sen says, “Well then get working on it and let us know when you can start testing, but make sure you aren’t detected or all this may be for nothing.”

After the scientists are dismissed, Rasu-sen slyly says, “That was very clever to think of that. I think you are more than just a military general.”

Qydon simply smirks, saying, “You are right. I have had some training in the field.”

“Once we blend in with the energy shield, you are thinking, the viewer will work more clearly, right?”

Qydon cunningly smiles and his eyes become brighter, “That is only part of it. Rather than snatching something, I intend to transmit ourselves off this miserable hunk of rock and maybe if we’re lucky, without our enemies even knowing it.”…

In her Manhattan penthouse, Maria Canbriatti is pondering over her wicked plot. Once we have him, we will confuse him while our scientists discover the secrets of his device. Maybe he will reveal even more secrets for us in his drugged and confused state.

Her scientists are aware of the thumbprint and voice recognition security and hidden transmitters in the microchips. They believe if they have the time, they can remove or disconnect them. It is Maria’s role to create the time for them. Once they have the target’s presence, they can reproduce his voice patterns and copy his thumbprints. The hard part is identifying the hidden security features without causing any silent alarms or transmissions. She knows that will take time and hopes the scenario she has developed will provide it.

Maria uses a friend’s device to zip to the secret location on Partheus IV in the Sagittarius Sector. Partheus is an earth-type planet with similar gravity and atmosphere. It was chosen both for those reasons as well as the fact the Galactic Council has very little presence on the planet and it has little advanced technology other than the Yanni power pods and Earth’s teleport platforms.

The chosen site is an abandoned factory in a small town on the southern hemisphere. The factory had a crude infirmary, which they used as a start. Then they carefully built what looks from the inside like a modern hospital facility. The rooms even have windows which look like they are to the outside world, but the view of buildings next door are really the inside of the outside building wall with both the wall painted and a projector projecting the image of a bright sunny day outside. At night, the ceiling will reflect a starry background. That is what they hope the casual looker will see.

Right now there is no one in the shell of a facility other than Maria to see anything. Maria examines every detail. The halls, reception center, closets, kitchen and cafeteria, every nook and cranny. She visits the room they will use for their unwitting visitor. She thinks; it looks like a normal hospital room. They have done an excellent job. I think I would even believe I am in a modern hospital. Now I need to obtain the expert people to staff it. …

On Crescent Island, as an ending to Corey’s graduation party, there is a simple ceremony to celebrate Grandpa Royston’s official retirement. It includes a huge cake with a miniature rocker on it and then two very comfortable rockers for him and grandma to enjoy on the front porch of their island cottage.

John Royston Sr. reminisces over all that has happened since his son and Meredith first appeared on their Dalton, Georgia doorstep that rainy June day. I never could have pictured it in a million years. It’s still too fantastic to really believe I’ve seen and done all these great things in my senior years. The Lord has truly blessed me and my growing family.

He tells his son, “I feel like I’ve lived two lives; the one raising you and this marvelous one where we can flit around the universe.”

John tells him, “You’ve been such a big help at the central console, we’re really going to miss you there.”

John Sr. says. “We’ve been training Chad Garvey to fill in for me and he is doing a great job too. He’s much quicker at the console than I ever was.”

“I’m sure he will do a good job, Dad, but not having you there to keep us all hopping will be different.”

“Well, Alice and I are going to really start enjoying traveling now. I am anxious to explore more of that new dimension.”…

Dark and very handsome Chad Garvey is standing at his mirror as he prepares for his shift. With his new promotion at the Antigua Central Control Station, Chad and Chantrelle were offered a cottage near his mother’s on Crescent Island and they eagerly accepted it. Chad stands just a little straighter as he views his image in the mirror in his Galactic uniform with the coveted gold emblem above his smartly pressed pocket.

“Well, darling, you certainly look nice in your new uniform,” Chantrelle smiles from the hallway door. “Your mom is putting the babies to bed and they want their Daddy to say goodnight to them and maybe if he has time, tell them one of his colorful stories.”

Chad eyes his wrist chronometer, walks to his wife, looks into her beautiful adoring almond eyes and says, “I’d love to sweetheart.” He gives her a soft kiss on the cheek.

Chantrelle was recently promoted from Ambassador Hargrove’s staff to be a full Galactic Envoy on her own. She mostly works with new planetary cities to help them get acclimated in the Galactic Protocols…

On the planet Grune in the Toras Solar System in the Slarg Galaxy, Klarg the Terrible has set up his rogue army on Secunda, a large Australian-sized island-continent. Sparsely populated Grune has only two main cities on the main continent.

The Slarg advanced teleport technology now includes the ability to teleport without having a bulky receiver as was the case when they first encountered the Galactic Security team years ago. It is still restrictive as to distance and lacks the additional functions as the Galactic device enjoys. They use this teleport ability to keep track of what is happening on the rest of the planet.

Klarg receives the report of a detachment of Galactic Security visiting Grune’s Capitol City, Gristol. He orders Commander Graysen to dispatch two spies to report back all they can learn about the enemy.

Jared Beckham is leading the Galactic Survey Team to assess Grune’s security status for receiving the advanced technology. Gristol’s Mayor, Tall brunette Sarana Karson welcomes them to Gristol in a most pleasant manner. Mayor Karson is hoping the Galactic Council will be friendlier allies than the Slarg were. The Slarg really weren’t allies; they were fierce overlords who took what they wanted. She recalls how the Slarg appeared and took the finest of their young men and women scientists in a very cruel manner…

On Zeron, Quorax scientist Mardon works with his team to accomplish Qydon’s request. He thinks; this would be a very easy task if we had all our advanced laboratory equipment, but with these crude implements it is a very difficult if not an impossible one, especially because we risk detection with every incremental test.

As Qydon’s chief scientist, Onson Mardon enjoys the exceptional privilege of having private quarters to sleep in the cavern. He doesn’t have to rotate back onto the hot dry planet as the others do every so often. He has spent the last seven years watching over this transformation of raw material slowly becoming crude working replicas of advanced technology. Though the end products look crude and rough, Mardon proudly watches them perform their designed miracles.

“I think we’ve done it,” Scientist Sansom says as he happily looks at the image on his crude-looking console. “See, the two waves meet and do not bounce off this time.”

The short balding Ernesto Sansom is equally proud of his effort. I cannot believe how we have transformed these raw materials into workable and extraordinarily functional advanced technology. Even our crude instruments work surprisingly well for what they are required to do. Maybe we really do have a chance to get off this hellhole of a planet.

Sansom was a graduate scientist when he was drafted to work on the advanced technology team on his home world and then onto Qydon’s team as part of the Quorax fleet before they were suddenly marooned by this unknown enemy.

Mardon eagerly rushes to Sansom’s station to view the results for himself. When he sees the merged energy waves reflected on the crude screen as one wave, he says, “Now increase the wave intensity one micron and if there is the slightest fluctuation, back off immediately.”

The rest of the Quorax scientists gather around Sansom’s station as they watch him hesitantly manipulate the crude dial on his make-shift console. They almost all breathe a sigh of relief as they hear and see the results of Sansom’s incremental manipulations, one soft click at a time.

The wave remains steady with each intensity increase.

Mardon orders “Now completely back off and slowly repeat your steps.”

The scientists again hold their breath as they watch Mardon go though the motions again. They watch the two wavering signals join and become one as before without even a single flicker of disturbance.

“Good! Now to the next step,” Mardon anxiously says….

Chapter Ten

Academy honor graduate Corey Royston enjoys his first day at the Antigua Lab. He is honored to work with Doctors Alex Stanton and Greg Garrett. They spend the morning showing him the layout of the lab and telling him of their latest efforts to understand and use new functions of the alien sphere technology.

The Antigua Lab is located halfway up Antipus, the second highest mountain on the planet Antigua, which lies in the Aurelius Sector. Most of the lab lies deep in the mountainside, but the outer office windows provide a breathtaking view of the lush valley below. They are of course protected by a high energy barrier.

Even though Greg is Corey’s brother-in-law, Corey has admired him all his life because of his great accomplishments with the Hyperwave.

“Malcom Evers is also on our team, but he’s on another assignment right now,” Greg says.

“Wasn’t Malcom the one who figured out how to enter the Alpha Dimension?” Corey asks.

Alex smiles, “Him and Greg did it. Malcom created the calculations for the Alpha Dimension and Greg created the driver for it to work.”

“That must have been something to see,” Corey says.

“You were just a toddler then,” Alex adds.

“Tell me more about your current project,” Corey anxiously asks.

Greg clicks on a projector on the table and a picture of one of the alien spheres bathed in a blue pulsing corona appears on the screen. He says, “We continue to test these amazing spheres as they seem to have so many different functions.

“They can work as a tractor beam, an energy field generator, a destructive weapon, and the most recent one we’ve learned to harness is the long range receiver that can lock onto a scan beam and trace it backwards to its source.” Greg grins, “That function was used against Yorgi and Jonathan years ago, but we were able to find and rescue them before they were harmed.” He smiles at Corey, “Now we can use these to do the same thing to someone caught scanning us.”

Alex adds, “Learning how to do that didn’t come easy. It took many hours of careful work and testing. We’re hoping your genius can help us reduce some of that hard work.”

Corey can’t believe Alex uses the word genius in connection with himself. “I’ve never claimed to be a genius.”

Greg adds, “We know, but your professors have, and we’ve seen your test results.”…

High above Zeron on the prison planet’s moon, Galactic Station Gamma-2, Lt. Maxine Straw says, “I don’t know why we’re still monitoring them. This is my second tour and we haven’t noticed any efforts to escape at all.” The short-haired blonde technician is sitting at the main console as the images from the planet’s surface rotate through their usual scenes.

Maxine is from a small town in Kansas. The eager Lieutenant joined the Galactic Security Service for action and adventure, but doesn’t feel like she’s getting it in this boring assignment. Sometimes she thinks she may as well have stayed home. I have been well-trained but rarely have the chance to use that training in these types of assignments, she thinks.

“We have our orders, Lieutenant,” Commander Trion states from his command station. “Don’t belittle this task or assignment. Those rogues down there caused a tremendous amount of trouble the last time they escaped and we can’t let it happen again.”

Commander Trion has been with the Galactic Security Service five years now and in his current assignment for one of them. He is from Aquillius in the Delta Quadrant. He had to compete with many fine young men from his planet for the opportunity to serve in the Galactic Security Service.

“I’m sorry, sir. This just seems like such a boring assignment. That’s all and I don’t know why I wound up with a second tour here.”

“Probably because you haven’t learned to keep such thoughts to yourself,” Commander Trion wryly remarks as he notes an instant flare-up on his control console.

“Check sector V now!” he abruptly commands.

Lt. Straw immediately switches her view screen to sector V, but sees nothing out of the ordinary.

“Check for any high energy signals. I saw a flash on my screen.”

“But they don’t have any such capability to produce any signals,” Lt. Straw anxiously says.

“What you mean is; they aren’t supposed to have any such capability. The flash was from the planetary energy shield, not on the surface. Someone down there was able to project some type of energy beam at the planetary shield. We need to find who, what and where now!” Commander Trion firmly orders.

“Sir, my sensors don’t detect any kind of activity in that sector.”

“It may not be from that sector, but a nearby one.”

Commander Trion contacts station Gamma-1, halfway around Zeron’s moon. “This is Commander Trion on station Gamma-2. We just detected some kind of energy surge from the planet. I want an immediate survey of all the prisoners on the northern continent. I want them all accounted for as soon as possible.”

“Yes sir,” Gamma-1’s watch supervisor says. “We will initiate the survey immediately.”

“How could they do such a thing when they don’t have any such equipment?” Lt. Straw bluntly asks.

The commander concentrates on his screen readout, “That’s exactly what I want to know.”

Shortly they receive Gamma-1’s report. “Commander, we have accounted for eleven hundred and fifty-five persons on the planet. We cannot locate forty-six others. We are continuing to scan the surface.”

“Can you identify which forty-six are missing?

“We can tell you thirty-five are Quorax and eleven are Spectari, including leaders from both groups.”

“You said you could not find them on the surface. What if they are hidden below surface in caves or something?”

“Our sensors are only set to scan the surface, sir. If they are below ground, we can’t detect them.”

“Can you modify your equipment to scan below the surface?”

“Yes sir, but it will take some time and we may need to bring in some specialists.”

“Well, do it as quickly as possible and let me know your progress. Meanwhile I will let central command know what is going on.”

Commander Trion turns to Lt. Straw, “You wanted some action so zip over to Gamma-1 and help locate the missing Spectari and Quorax ASAP.”

Maxine smiles and excitedly says, “Yes sir!”

Commander Trion presses his device for Central Command and notes Comp Specialist Chad Garvey on his screen. “We have a situation on Zeron. I believe someone from the surface is trying to attack the planetary shield.”

“Hold on sir while I patch you in to Commander Travis.”

Almost instantly, Trion sees Will Travis on the screen.

Will notes the printout on his own screen of who he is viewing. “What’s going on Commander?”

“Sir, I believe we have a situation on Zeron. There was a momentary flash from the surface against the planetary shield and now we can’t locate forty-six persons who are supposed to be there.”

“When did you note the missing people?”

“Just now sir, after the flash occurred.”

“Do you know how long they’ve been missing?

Trion looks at the log book. “Sir, I note the last full inventory of prisoners was over a year ago, so no we don’t really know how long they have been missing, but we are taking steps now to locate them. I think they must be hiding underground in caves or something for our scanners not to locate them. The team is modifying our equipment now for subsurface readings.”

“Do you know who the missing people are?”

“Only that they are a mixture of Spectari and Quorax and include the leaders of both groups, sir.”

“That would certainly indicate they are up to something.”

“I agree, especially because of the apparent attack against the planetary shield.”

“Increase monitoring and let me know if you learn anything new. I am sending a team of specialists to assist you. I believe several of the Quorax were advanced scientists who worked on the sphere technology, so we need to be on double alert and need to know exactly what we are dealing with as soon as possible.”…

Galactic President Jonathan Royston is preparing to zip to New York with Tanya for the grand opening of the new Galactic Center as are the rest of the Galactic leaders, when he receives the urgent message on his device from Will Travis.

“There is some questionable activity on Zeron where the renegade Quorax and Spectari are located. There seems to have been some kind of attack on the planetary shield and forty-six Quorax and Spectari are missing, including their leaders. We are sending a special team there now for more detailed information.”

Jonathan responds, “Keep me updated and alert the Science Team. Don’t hesitate to use any of them to help.”

“Yes sir. I am sending Victor Austin there to assess the situation and report back as soon as he has more.”

Jonathan knows Victor as the Lt. Commander of the Galactic Security Service has been with the teleport team from the start. He was originally a deputy sheriff along with Hank when teleportation was invented by Dr. Vaughn. He has been a long-term backbone of the security staff. “Good. Let Victor handle it and you can still make the Galactic Center opening.”

The Galactic Council wives are excited about the Galactic Center Opening for a special reason. Following the opening-day ceremonies there will be a Grand Ball in the remodeled Washington Kennedy Center. This will be the first formal occasion for that magnificently architected and remodeled building too.

Tanya Garrett Royston, Jenny Royston Garrett and Danielle Travis Stone are three very excited ladies. They have each acquired magnificent gowns for the occasion and look forward to the evening with their men. Tanya, Meredith and Jenny oversaw the plans for the festivities surrounding the Galactic Center Opening and made the Grand Ball the centerpiece attraction.

The cream of the Galactic planets will be attending in all their finery. The ball is by invitation only and the press is relegated to outside the building grounds only. In fact, a high energy force field will be protecting the privacy of the invited guests once they are on the grounds of the facility.

The privileged attendees will zip right to the reception center just prior to the event. When Maria Canbriatti learns of the security shield, her team switches to plan B…

Chapter Eleven

When Victor and his security team arrive on Gamma Station-2, they are quickly updated on the current status by Commander Trion. “We’ve just begun scanning for subsurface readings by these stations you see here.” Trion points to a set of six desktop stations hastily setup in a semi-circular setting. “We brought three of these monitoring stations from the Gamma-1 station on the other side of the moon. The technicians are well-trained on the scanning equipment. The systems are set to reliably scan to a depth up to twenty-five feet. I don’t see how they could be deeper than that.”

Victor says, “I don’t think you are accounting for possible natural underground caverns rather than something man-made. If they found some of those, they could possibly run much deeper.”

Victor knows the viciousness of the Spectari and the cunning of the Quorax scientists, having witnessed it in their previous encounters. He thinks; if somehow they are unleashed on the universe again, they can wreak terrible destruction. We must find out what has happened and locate the missing villains as soon as possible.

Commander Trion says, “You are right, of course, but our equipment should at least identify the opening or beginning of any such caverns.”

Just then Lt. Maxine Straw loudly says, “I have something, sir.”

Victor and Trion move quickly to the middle station and view where Maxine is excitedly pointing on her screen.

“This indicates both open space and man-made material or equipment. Those are the coordinates,” she enthusiastically points to the numerical display at the bottom of her screen

Trion quickly orders, “Zip a camera there in invisible mode and let’s see what’s there.”

Victor orders, “I want a double layered force field put around that whole area now where nothing can pass through it unless we allow it.”

The invisible camera sits on a tripod which can be remotely controlled to view a 360° circle.

The camera view shows an empty room with some odd-looking equipment in it. As Lt. Straw remotely manipulates the remote camera view around the room, Victor uses his device to talk to Dr. Vaughn. “I need a team of technical scientists to zip here to analyze some equipment we’ve found as soon as you can send them. Here are the coordinates.”

Dr. Vaughn interrupts his preparations for the Galactic Center Opening to notify Chad Garvey at the Antigua Central Console. “Send the science alert team to the coordinates I am sending you now and keep me posted on what they find.”

The camera is zipped to other areas of the cavern that look like crude manufacturing and assembly areas with simple make-shift tools. Other lower areas near the natural thermal vents look like crude mineral refining areas. They find sleeping and work quarters with evidence of recent occupation but no one currently present.

Victor orders Lt. Straw, “Keep scanning the subsurface for other such facilities as these.”

The science alert team appears. The teams zip to the cavern and begin studying the crude but apparently functional equipment. Tom Brion on the science team, says, “This equipment looks like a crude adaptation of some of the alien sphere technology. Tom has spent many hours studying the Sphere technology and is aware of most of its identified functions.”

Victor anxiously asks, “Do you mean someone could teleport from here?”

Tom says, “Yes sir, they might if they had the power and somehow were able to match frequencies with the global energy shield, I’m afraid so.”

During their search, the security team locates the underground thermal vents and power generating room, which is still operational. They note the thermal vents can provide an enormous transference of power with the crude inverters. Tom Brion tells Victor, “This would seem to indicate they could produce enough power to operate that teleport platform in the next room.”

Commander Trion asks, “Can you get any coordinates or locations from their work stations?”

“We’re working to do that now, sir.”…

At the opening of the New York Galactic Center, the visiting dignitaries marvel at the architectural and technical wonder of the new facility. The newest addition to New York’s skyline flows with the convergence of many planets’ advanced science, engineering and architecture.

The magnificent structural integrity itself is a testimony to this historic convergence. The outer walls and windows are strengthened by an integrated triple-layered invisible energy force. This unique integration provides the most secure and strong interior of any such facility before seen. Completely tremor and earthquake proof as well as spy-proof.

The new engineering also allows for free-standing high-ceilinged walls, doorways and archways throughout the multi-storied complex. As the awed visitors move through the public access portion they are amazed at the transitional use of color, lighting, geometry and ambiance of each area.

The unique facility is not a single tall structure, but rather a multi-level of inter-locking buildings of varying height, size and architectural creativity. It includes a variety of geometric patterns and designs of domes, arches and hallways. Multilevel curved terraced balconies provide breath-taking views of the lower open spaces.

As a matter of courtesy and protocol, the three leading contenders for Al-Kanon’s Planetary Minister are invited to the festivities. Since Karen Zihl has no personal teleport device, she invites Al Piersen as her escort, who has one. They each marvel at the wonderful new facility. Karen privately plans her act of revenge against Mark and his Galactic Council when she gains power.

“This is truly amazing,” Meredith tells John. “I had no idea they could do some of these things. “This must be a one-of-a-kind facility,” She beams. “I can tell much thought and effort went into the planning.” She holds tighter to his arm. “I can’t wait to see what your new office looks like.”

Security Chief Will Travis is having a similar conversation with his wife, Marisa, when his wrist device softly chimes to him. He quietly listens to Victor’s disturbing message via his tiny implanted earpiece.

He softly answers in a quiet tone without alerting Marisa or any casual bystanders. “Secure the entire area. Have the frequencies of the planetary shield modified and reinforced so it can’t be used similarly again. Disconnect the power source from every piece of equipment there. Alert the Go teams and let me know as soon as you have more details.”

Jonathan, Dr. Vaughn and others discreetly respond to similar messages so their companions are unaware of any type of pending emergency. Opening Day festivities progress as planned with a special luncheon for the visiting high-ranking upper echelon of the Galactic Council and their companions.

Victor follows Will’s instructions and anxiously oversees the slow progress of the alert teams as they go about their assigned tasks in the now well-lighted cavern. Sethanni’s science team is handling the on-site tasks and keeping Will and Sethanni updated.

During the luncheon, Jonathan and Will receive much praise for the new facility with several requests for contact names of the architects and engineering firms. The two also discreetly receive several updates from Victor and the science alert team on Zeron. So far, spouses and companions are unaware of the emergency.

Unbeknownst to Ambassador Hargrove, in her Manhattan Penthouse, Maria Canbriatti receives updates about the day’s special Galactic events from an insider on the ambassador’s staff. The insider, Josh Rubio, is a diplomatic aide and cousin to her nephew. Three years ago, when Josh’s security clearance was processed, the Security Service failed to make the family connection between the two, mainly because of the then American President’s earlier efforts to keep Maria’s complicity out of the media’s spotlight.

Josh Rubio isn’t high enough up to be included in the festivities, but is aware of the details of the special events. Maria believes her team now has everything in place to activate her devious plot. The twisted lady has waited so many years for this exact moment she almost salivates just thinking of it. Maria double checks with her team leaders to verify everyone is ready.

That evening, during the Grand Ball, groups of special guests are given tours of the remodeled and added-upon Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. They are awed by the colonnaded walkways, unique interior designs and winding stairs and balconies just as they were with the New York Galactic Center.

Amber Julie Royston happily dances with Jared Beckham for the first time. Dark-haired Jared stands half a foot taller and she easily fits into his arms as they swirl around the expansive ballroom floor filled with well-dressed dignitaries, and celebrities and spouses from several planets and one dimension.

Jared can’t believe this lovely girl is his date for this fantastic evening. He is still amazed he had the courage to ask her to this special event. Dressed in his tux and tails he thinks, what a way to impress a girl on a first date and she is certainly impressing me in this brilliantly shimmering gown too.

While they dance she says, “Dad told me you had a harrowing experience in the Alpha Dimension. Do you want to tell me about it?”

This statement causes Jared to remember who her dad is. He holds her just a little tighter as he says, “Yes I did. Our exploration group went into a cavern that had tritanium ore in the walls. We realized too late our devices wouldn’t work. It is the first time I felt so far away from home and literally helpless when the teleport device wouldn’t work. I could just see us stranded light years from home with no way to get back. I was very relieved and thrilled to be home again after the team rescued us. And how is your marketing business going?” Jared easily moves them around the ballroom floor as if he did this every day.

Amber looks into his eyes as she says, “Very well, almost too well. Our suppliers are having difficulty keeping up with demand.”

Jared smiles, “It must be nice having products everyone wants.”

Another particular couple enjoys their special time together as they slowly trail one of the tour groups. Malcom Evers walks with beautiful dark-haired, Josephine Rendon with their arms entwined. Malcom looks handsome in his tails and tux. He has carefully planned this time with her as a backdrop to propose to her, but his attention is slightly distracted by the continuing updates he is receiving via his earpiece from the Science Alert Team.

Malcom and Josephine (Josey) have been dating awhile and enjoy each other’s company very much. Josephine’s father is on the Security team and she works with the team as a special cultural attaché from the ambassadorial staff. Josephine is very much in love with Malcom and can’t wait for his proposal

He makes every effort to keep up conversation with his brown-eyed sweetheart and at the same time keep her unaware of the frantic activity happening elsewhere. Josephine is not unaware of his proposal intentions because of a slip he made to one of his teammates who accidentally let it slip to her. She picked out this spectacular bright pink frilly gown for the special occasion. She deliciously waits for the moment when Malcom will propose to her.

She becomes suspicious when he fails to reply to a flirtatious comment she just made. She looks closer at his face and notes the glassiness in his eyes. She suddenly realizes she does not have his full attention. Josephine guesses he must have his earpiece on. “What is going on dear?”

Malcom stops in mid-stride, realizing he has failed in his attempt to keep the two activities separate.

Josephine lurches and clings to him tighter to keep from falling. Malcom turns to her and looks deeply into her inquisitive brown eyes.

“I haven’t been fair to you tonight. Malcom’s eyebrows lower as he anxiously says, “I wanted this to be a very special occasion, but there is some strange activity going on elsewhere which may affect us all. I’m very much afraid I need to leave to help out if I can.”

Josephine realizes it must be very important to cause this much anxiety in the usually very reserved Malcom. “That’s alright, dear. I know you will hurry back as soon as you can.”

Josephine isn’t the only one whose evening is being frustrated. Several spouses are feeling the same withdrawnness from their mates for the same reason.

Tanya especially feels it from Jonathan as they twirl around the floor to the live orchestra’s waltz. “What’s going on dear?”

“Several Spectari and Quorax may have managed to escape from Zeron and we are trying to learn how they did it so we can recapture them.”

She clings to him a little tighter as she says, “That certainly doesn’t sound good. I hope Will catches them quick.”

Jonathan looks deeply into her eyes, “The most disturbing thing is how they managed to teleport themselves off the planet. It would indicate they have some very advanced capabilities. We must capture them before they cause serious harm.”

Kwan Li is accompanying his wife, Kim Chu-Li, on a tour of the Kennedy Center when she suddenly turns to him and says, “I’m sorry dear, but I believe I may be needed elsewhere shortly.” The Vice-chair of the Galactic Science Committee has been quietly monitoring the science alert team communications from Zeron. She is very disturbed with what she has learned.

Marisa Travis finally realizes something is up when Will uncharacteristically steps on her foot while dancing. “You don’t seem to be your usual self tonight dear. What is going on I don’t know about?”

“I’m sorry sweetheart. There is something going on and I’ve tried to keep it low profile, but it just won’t stay that way. We may have a crisis with some escaped Spectari and I need to keep on top of what is going on.”

She taps him on his broad tailored chest, “Well dear, that seems more important than a little old dance. Why don’t you go take care of it and I will float around visiting our friends while you’re gone.”

Will seems relieved or at least a little less stressed, now that he has told his wife what’s happening. He kisses her and says, “Thank you darling. I’ll hurry back as soon as I can.”

When Will appears in the Zeron cavern, he looks very out-of-place in his tuxedo. The alien cavern is now well-lit by bright floodlights on stands in every corner. He notes much activity going on with everyone busy at their assignments. He is not surprised to see Dr. Vaughn, Dr. Kim Chu-Li and Sethanni as well as Malcom and Greg Garrett in their evening wear too. They are each busy using their area of expertise to help as best they can.

Will asks Dr. Vaughn, “What have we learned so far?”

Dr. Vaughn lowers his spectacles to his nose and says, “I think we are getting close to learning where they went. We believe there was a group of forty-six of both Spectari and Quorax that used this equipment in an amazing way.” He waves his hand. “It seems they used our planetary shield as a giant broadcast medium, merged with it and transported elsewhere without us being aware of it.”

Will asks, “But how did they get the technology and all this equipment we knew nothing about?”

Sethanni adds, “We believe the Quorax scientists brought the technology with them in their heads and based on the shop areas below here, they manufactured this equipment from scratch.”

“That must have taken a long time,” Will says.”

At that point Victor adds, “Well they’ve been here over a dozen years, so they certainly had the time and organized their work secretly.”

“We should have detected this before now,” Will Travis anxiously says.

Commander Trion, walking behind them says, “Apparently they took great effort to keep us in the dark. A replay of surveillance vids shows they visited this area infrequently and never in any groups. It took careful review to detect any pattern to their apparent shift changeovers.”

“Do we have any clue as to where they went?” The Security Chief asks.

Sethanni says, “We’re working on it. Their crude equipment has no storage device to store data. They could only enter data real-time, so it is difficult to determine the entered coordinates but we’re doing all we can to learn where they went.”

Lt. Maxine Straw is at her workstation in the cavern. She is upset about what happened, but is glad to be included on the team to solve the problem. She has a sudden idea. She replays the Gamma-2 data of when Commander Trion saw the flash. She vectors the flash outwards in a straight line.

She interrupts the scientist’s meeting by running up to them waving a single sheet of paper. “Sirs, I believe I’ve found where they went!”

She immediately has their full attention as she says, “I vectored outward from the flash and used the positioning program to determine star positions at that time. This is what I came up with.” She shows them the paper.

The scientists note the label on the termination point as the Quorax central solar system.

Will Travis instantly says, “We will concentrate on that sector. Dr. Vaughn, please send as many sensors there as possible.”

“We will get right on it. Let’s go team.”

Almost immediately, the science team members disappear from the cavern. Will Travis says, “Seal this cavern and let’s move to the Antigua Control Center.”

Commander Trion tells Lt. Straw, “That was smart work. It probably saved us hours or days of working the problem. Why don’t you zip to the Antigua Control Center and ask that Security Chief if he can use some help. You are certainly worth more there than here.”

Maxine is thrilled at the opportunity and doubly so when Will Travis happily accepts her offer and puts her on Malcom’s team…

Chapter Twelve

Back at the “Ball of the Century”, as her and John dance, Meredith notes several wives and others without their companions, including Amber, and suspects something is up. She asks John about her suspicions.

He holds her a little closer as he whispers, “Yes, you’re right. Some Quorax and Spectari have escaped and we are tracking them down. I would be there too if I felt my presence would help, but I believe I would only be in the way.”

“Well, I think we should do something about these ‘Ball Widows’. Why don’t you find some unattached men to offer to dance with them?”

John smiles, “That’s a splendid idea. I will certainly organize such a worthy endeavor.” He escorts Meredith to their table and proceeds to accomplish the new task.

Several recent Academy Graduates, who are at the ball as ushers and special aides, are thrilled with the opportunity of getting to dance with the lovely well-coiffed ladies in beautiful flowing gowns. Kwan Li offers to dance with the ladies too.

The effort doesn’t replace the missing companions, but does cause the ladies to feel more included in the evening’s festivities.

Al-Kanon candidate Karen Zihl has been privately keeping track of the important guests including Mark Leonard. She is especially aware of Mark’s lovely wife, Larana as the couple dance and mingles with the guests. She notes Mark manages to keep him and his wife some distance from her. She also notes the disappearance of key Council leaders and wonders, what could be going on that would take them away from this well-orchestrated social gathering? …

At the Antigua central console, Chad Garvey and Sethanni are hastily working on dual keyboards to deploy new sensors to the Quorax solar system. The feed from the deployed sensors is displayed in a rotating mode to the overhead monitors so the security team can view the scan. The monitors are being recorded so they can be reviewed if necessary

Will Travis says, “They needed to select a location with advanced technology because they didn’t bring any with them, so we should be looking at inhabited planets with teleport platforms as a minimum.”

Dr. Vaughn says, “That is the directions I gave them. Sethanni is checking the networks for any unauthorized or unusual use. They will probably be traveling in a group, so we are searching for that first.”

At his work station Malcom wants to solve this problem very quickly so he can return to his specially planned evening with Josephine. The team leader doesn’t hesitate to use Lt. Straw’s expertise. “What can you tell me about the people we are searching for?

“They are from two war-mongering races that feel they are superior to everyone else. They will not hesitate to kill or maim whoever gets in their way.” She shakes her head, causing her bangs to bounce as she adds, “Their long-term confinement has probably made them even more desperate and dangerous. If we find them, we will need to act quickly before they can harm anyone or do certain damage.”

“What do you think their initial objective will be?” Malcom presses.

“I believe they will want to obtain teleport devices, but they may even take over a teleport station and then transport to another location. The Quorax leader is familiar with that solar system since that is his home.” As she talks sitting at her workstation she thinks of ways to inhibit the enemy’s efforts. She adds, “We should be locking out the teleport stations in that solar system or at least prevent their ability to transport out of it.”

Malcom says, "We've already locked out the ability to transport out of the system and the ability to transport off planets."

She anxiously says, “That may not be enough. From what we know about them, they may be able to take over a platform and modify it to do what they want without our network. We need to be alert to this possibility.”

Malcom argues, “I think you're giving them too much credit. Remember, they did not bring any technology with them and we have our systems very secure.”

“And you are not giving them enough credit," she waves her hand emotionally in the air, firmly saying, “Just look at what they've already done. They built that technology from scratch and not only defeated, but used our own security shield to accomplish their escape across two galaxies without setting off a single alarm!”

She stands up and walks around him, continuing in her anxious voice, “And they still have that knowledge with them and no telling what else! We must be sure we don't underestimate them. I’m afraid they can use any of our technology to their advantage.”

Malcom realizes she has more security training than he has. Turning, he follows her with his furrowed dark eyes and says, “You may be right. What else do you think we should be doing?”

“If we can just isolate them to a particular planet, we may have a chance. Make doubly sure all platforms are alerted and doubly protected. Have the sensors identified any possible locations yet?”

“We are in the process of alerting and increasing platform security now.”

“It must be more than off-planet platforms. They can probably manipulate any platform they can get their hands on.”

“I see.” Malcom noisily exhales. “That will exponentially multiply the number of platforms and take much extra time.”

Maxine anxiously says, “That’s probably time we don’t have. They will be working swiftly to keep from being caught. Is there any quick way we can check on all the platforms, just to make sure they are all operating okay?”

Malcom relays the question to Sethanni at the console.

The Yanni senior scientist replies without missing a beat at his keypad. “Yes, I am initiating a check-in routine now. It should tell us if any are not functioning as they should, but our alarm system should have already alerted us if any have been tampered with.”

Maxine quickly says, “Based on their ability to avoid our planetary alarms, they may be able to bypass your security as well. I would make sure you get a positive response from every deployed platform.”

Sethanni doesn’t even look up from his busy console, only acknowledging her comments with a slight nod of his head.

Suddenly, there is a shrill beeping sound from the console with a small icon flashing bright red on the screen. Sethanni quickly silences the alarm and clicks on the flashing icon, causing a block of information to appear on his screen.

Sethanni notes the coordinates and quickly deploys a monitor to them. “The alarm indicates a platform on the east coast of the southern continent of Arcturas has been tampered with.”

Within short seconds, a monitor is deployed and the overhead screen is displaying the area where the teleport platform is supposed to be, but isn’t.

Sethanni turns to Will Travis. “Sir, we have a condition red alert. One of the teleport platforms on Arcturas is missing!”

Will quickly responds with, “Can we track it?”

Sethanni’s hands are working his keyboard as he speaks, “So far none of its security sensors are being detected, but I’m still trying.”

“If they can steal a platform what information is at risk?” The Security Chief anxiously asks.

Sethanni tensely responds, “Though we locked out the network from this end, if they break the encryption and our security modules on the local directory, they will have many Galactic coordinates.”

Will says, “We must find them as quick as possible. Put all of your team on it.”

While the team leaders surround the Central Console, Maxine continues working at her workstation. Where would they take the platform, I wonder? To keep the platform from sounding any alarms while they stole it, they probably surrounded it with some sort of null force field that must be blocking the platform’s broadcasts. That would indicate they have more technology we aren’t aware of. We should be checking for any unusual energy surges in that area. She starts a search program on her workstation. If we can identify a frequency pattern we can set our sensors to locate it when they use it again.

Malcom is having similar thoughts, but his research takes him in a different direction. He thinks the only way the platforms wouldn’t have set off an alarm is if the whole unit is being protected by some type of energy barrier. That energy barrier would take a considerable amount of power. They would probably need to tap into a local energy source to accomplish it.

Malcom pulls up a directory of Arcturas’ energy pod units near the platform coordinates. He taps into an online log of usage from a random sampling of power pod stations in the platform coordinate vicinity. He sets his program to identify power usage within certain parameters he estimates would be required to accomplish the theft.

The Galactic Security Team fails to consider the renegades may have left Zeron with some special portable devices they created. The Quorax scientists created their own version of the sphere technology and took it with them when they teleported off the prison planet…

“Where are we?” Rasu-sen anxiously asks in the dark starlit night. The Quorax and Spectari are on a rocky hillside with city lights nearby. The air is breathable and very much more pleasant than the desert planet they escaped from.

“We are in our home system on my home planet,” Qydon proudly says.

“We must move quickly before they can track us!” Rasu-sen worriedly says.

“We will as soon as I catch up on what’s happening. Everyone stay here while I visit my old hometown.”

“I think I should go with you,” Rasu-sen quickly says.

Qydon firmly answers, “No! That would cause too many questions. I won’t be long. I just need to know what resources are available near here. You stay with the group and keep them out of sight.”

Qydon quickly walks away into the darkness towards the city lights. Qydon finds an overgrown path he was once familiar with as a youth. That familiarity helps him reach his goal in the darkness quicker than he had planned. When he reaches the outskirts, he notices several changes. The old power plant is dark and seemingly abandoned. The city must be using those power pods I learned about. Our scientists should be able to tap into them. I hope the city has teleport platforms too.

It has been so long since Qydon has been home; he sees many new structures and notes the absence of several old landmark buildings that had long since ended their usefulness. He remembers on this side of town there used to be a campground of homeless beggars. He sees no sign of the campground as he steps onto a lighted sidewalk.

He passes the burial site where his parents are buried. He wants to stop, but realizes he must hurry as the enemy may track them quicker than he expects. Not too many blocks into the city, he sees what he was hoping for.

It is a neighborhood teleport platform identified by a simple shiny new sign with the Galactic Council logo on it. He thinks, without the sign it looks just like a shelter from the rain. It was so nice of our enemies to share their technology with us. He smilingly thinks, now we will be able to go where ever we want. Qydon stands off to the side to wait for someone to use it to verify it works okay. It doesn’t take long until a couple dressed in evening wear, laughing and holding hands, appears and casually walks off the covered platform. Qydon takes a quiet step further into the darkness as they pass near him.

Qydon continues his foray into the city and notices many new changes in the years since he was last here. I see they don’t need personal vehicles now with the enemy technology. I wonder how many have personal devices now.

On his way back out of the city, Qydon gives a closer inspection of the idle power plant and notes it does not seem to be used for anything at the moment.

It is almost daylight with the sun just peeking over the ridge when Qydon returns to the group on the hillside. Most are sleeping their best sleep in years, but Rasu-sen is wide awake, eager to hear what Qydon learned…

Chapter Thirteen

At the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., as the wonderful evening is coming to an end, John checks in with Jonathan to learn of the progress. After learning there is no immediate resolution, John discreetly notifies the spouses and companions of the situation concerning the escaped prisoners. “They have stolen a platform from Arcturas without causing any alarms to go off. This makes them doubly dangerous. The team is doing all they can to locate them.”

Amber Julie says, “I went unto the private sector to avoid all this and now I’m still pulled into the Galactic family circle.” She smiles, “I hope you find them soon because I’m getting attached to Jared and I almost feel like he stood me up tonight.”

John sympathetically says, “Sorry Sweetheart, but It goes with the territory and this is a very tough one we’re dealing with now. Those rogues are more than ordinary villains because they have so much technical ability and no telling what they’ll do next.”

Meredith adds, “I think we will have to postpone the family reunion and I think I’ll check in at the Antigua lab to see if I can help.”

When Meredith appears in the lab, she sees Maxine at her workstation and goes straight to her. Meredith met Lt. Straw when she was new to the Security Service. “I see they put our best and brightest on the job.” She smiles, “How did you manage it?”

The two ladies hug as Maxine says, “I was monitoring Zeron when they escaped, and I was able to figure out where they went, or at least the galaxy, so I got to come along.”

“What’s new?”

“Nothing’s changed in the past hour. I’m trying different things to see if they left any kind of trail when they stole a teleport platform on Arcturas. Malcom thinks they must have some advanced equipment with them to do what they did without causing any alarms.”

“Want some help?”

Maxine glows as she says, “Yes I’d love it. There’s an available workstation right there.” She points to the empty station next to her own.

Meredith hasn’t been in the lab for a long while, but does remember her password. She opens a bulletin file to catch up on the latest news about the security breech.

Maxine says, “From your lovely dress, it must have really been some kind of ball.”

Meredith smiles, “It was and I will probably zip home for a moment to change shortly.”

“Hi Mom,” Corey just appeared to work with Malcom’s team and is surprised to see his mom in the Antigua lab.

Meredith is happily startled to see Corey. “What are you doing here, Sweetheart?”

“Remember, I told you my assignment was here at the lab and I’m assigned to Malcom’s team. Your gown is fantastic and what are you doing here?”

Meredith smiles, “You should remember, I’m a scientist too and besides being your mother I used to work here. I want to do all I can to help find those villains before they cause more harm.”…

The next morning, Maria Canbriatti wakes up in her Manhattan penthouse excited. She is eagerly anticipating the day’s events. This is the day I will have my revenge on the Galactic Council. Then she is upset when she learns the Royston Reunion has been postponed and her “Plan B” along with it. I guess it just gives us more time to verify everything is ready, she thinks. Those villains must be extra tough to cause so much concern. “Tell the team to prepare for more rehearsals and I will personally view them.”

Later that evening on Partheus IV, Maria watches in the ‘hospital room’ as her team follows the scenario for the tenth time. This time I believe they have gotten it right. “Okay, that’s good. We’re done for tonight. Just stay on alert because we still don’t know when our opportunity will come to snatch him.”

After the team of actors leave, she takes one more walk around the room and looks out the window and up towards the fake sky. Maria almost turns away from the window but senses something isn’t right. Now she sees it. There is a protrusion from the inside of the roof that distorts the projected night view. I will see that is corrected tomorrow…

On Al-Kanon in the Alpha Dimension, Planetary Minister Candidate Karen Zihl learns disturbing news about the campaign.

“The two candidates are using your support by the Queen as a negative against you,” Al Piersen informs her. “They are asking questions about why Al-Kanon is not getting more of the latest technology and giving the answer that it has been Queen Vera’s reign that is the roadblock for Al-Kanon.”

“Who is the leader of the two?” She anxiously asks. “Maybe we should just kill him and be done with it.”

“Oh! No! That would cause a furor and certainly delay the election! We mustn’t do anything like that!”

“Then what do you suggest as my campaign manager?”

“I think our only safe resort is to ignore it and point out the many positives that have occurred. If we try to answer all their negatives, we might be seeming negative ourselves,” Al is almost wringing his perspiring hands as he says it.

Then get on with it and get me elected,” Karen firmly says as she walks off in a huff…

In Galactic Space, deep into the abandoned power plant Qydon found on Arcturas, General Rasu-sen with his chosen warriors and Commander Qydon with his rogue scientists arrange their operation center. They setup an energy shield inside the plant to protect them from random scans from the outside.

The rogue scientists tap into a nearby power pod station to run the shield, their equipment and the portable spheres. They used the spheres to capture the teleport platform. Once the scientists obtain the platform, they work feverishly to overcome the Galactic Security modules.

Now with that task partially completed, General Rasu-sen is using the portable sphere technology to launch forays on selected planetary targets, but voices his concern. “I’m worried we are too close to where that platform was taken.”

Qydon responds to Rasu-sen’s concern. “That’s the beauty of it. Having snatched the platform, they know we can go anywhere we want. They won’t believe we would stay around here.” He smiles, “That’s why I gave you targets on the other continent. They can look for us all they want there while my scientists finish breaking the device’s security codes.”…

In the Antigua Central lab, everyone switches their efforts to Arcturas’ eastern continent when a Galactic embassy is attacked and destroyed in a firestorm of blazing intense energy. Monitors are zipped to the location in only seconds, but it is too late. There are only smoldering remains left of a complement of 30 staffers, including the ambassador’s family.

“They didn’t want anything other than to demonstrate their capacity to destroy,” Will Travis angrily states viewing the horrendous attack results. “We must find them quickly!”

Victor asks, “What if there was a method too it? What if they struck here to distract us from looking elsewhere?”

“But where would the elsewhere be?” Will Travis asks.

President Jonathan Royston pulls up the embassy directory on his view screen to begin notifying the next-of-kin in a very emotionally agonizing process. This is the first time he has had to do such a thing on his watch as Galactic President.

Malcom directs sensors using his workstation to identify any possible residual clues left in the horrific aftermath of destruction.

While examining the results he is notified of another attack on a Galactic weather monitoring station on the southern part of the eastern continent. Malcom immediately dispatches sensors to that location.

Will Travis sends an immediate alert to all Arcturas’ remaining Galactic stations to constantly maintain full shield protection. Via his wrist device he advises Arcturas’ planetary president to do the same.

“Who did you say the attackers are?” President Quesan anxiously asks. As the planetary president ever since the Galactic Council freed his planet from the tyrannical Quorax rule, this is the first time he has been confronted by such a situation and is mentally unprepared for such a vicious occurrence. He nervously scratches his balding head as he listens to the Galactic Security Chief.

“They are rogue Quorax and Spectari prisoners who escaped their prison planet with some advanced technology. We are doing all we can to find and recapture them.”

“We will lend all available assistance,” President Quesan quickly offers.

“Thanks. We could use some cartography experts of your planet to help us with a map identifying important planetary sites and locations.”

“I will see they arrive as quickly as possible. We’re going to full alert status now. Please keep us updated on your progress.”

Moments later, two Quorax civilians appear in the Antigua lab near Malcom’s workstation.

Malcom notes they are a middle-aged dark-headed couple dressed in simple gray jumpsuits, both carrying several large scrolls and minidisks in side pouches.

The male smilingly says, “I am Sr. Tech Johan Qualee and this is my wife, Quiera, also a Sr. Cartography Tech. We are here to help.”

Malcom directs them to several long side tables where the scrolls are quickly laid out with the help of a few lab assistants.

Tech Qualee explains several of the symbols on the maps. “The red circles represent major planetary installations. The blue ones are Galactic facilities. The green triangles represent distributed active teleport platforms.”

“What of the yellow ones?” Maxine asks.

“They are planned platforms in process of being installed, but not yet active,” Quiera adds.

“We need protective energy shields around all of them, active or not, as soon as possible,” Malcom firmly says. “Can you provide spatial coordinates for these sites to Sethanni, our chief comp tech?” Malcom points to Sethanni at the central console.

“Certainly, sir. The information is contained on these disks.” Quiera displays several colored disks from her pouch, and heads for Sethanni with the disks in hand…

In the abandoned power plant, Scientist Mardon reports to Qydon and Rasu-sen. The two twisted leaders have turned a corner office into their headquarters office. “We’ve managed to inactivate their external security module and are now working on the individual security chips. We should have more unhampered access shortly. Here is a list of coordinates stored in its local storage area.”

Qydon notes the list has many entries. “Is it possible to know where these sites are?”

“We can identify the sector and region from the first set of coordinates, but without a more definitive directory, we would need to check the sites out individually.”

Rasu-sen sharply says, “Identify the ones for the enemy’s home base first. I want to hit them fast where they live.”

Qydon says, “I think we should stop hitting targets on this planet until we can safely teleport elsewhere. I don’t want to get caught here.”

“That’s fine. We’ve already shown them we can do some damage to them, but aren’t we protected by the energy shield from prying eyes?”

“We still do not know enough about our enemy to be sure of anything,” Qydon replies…

At the Antigua lab, Malcom’s custom program suddenly beeps with a flashing alert icon on his screen. He clicks on the icon and begins reading the message.

At her nearby workstation, Meredith feels like she is just about caught up on lab happenings when she learns of the renegade’s recent attacks on Arcturas. She is upset the escapees can do such damage and cause such misery.

She glances over towards Maxine’s workstation and sees her franticly working her keyboard with a smile on her face.

“I think I’ve located them!” She beams.

Meredith, Malcom, Sr. Tech Johan Qualee and Will Travis quickly approach Maxine’s workstation.

Maxine excitedly points to her screen, “See! This sensor recorded an ultra frequency burst at the same time the platform went off-line!”

Malcom notes the sensor location is in the same proximity as the power drain information he just received from his program.

Sr. Tech Johan Qualee says, “Those coordinates are very close to where the platform was.”

Will immediately orders the alert team to zip to the indicated location via his device. “Zip to these coordinates now and capture the escaped prisoners, but don’t hesitate to kill them if necessary!” Will is still upset about the terrible loss of life they caused.

Victor’s alert team appears outside the abandoned power plant on Arcturas with drawn weapons and active personal body shields.

Victor’s personal sensor identifies the active force field which kept them from appearing inside the plant. “They have a force field generator! We need a hyper field generator to nullify it now!” He voices to Sethanni via his device.

Inside the power plant, Rasu-sen and Qydon both respond to their sensor alert of the enemy’s presence. “They found us! Everyone hurry to the platform now!”

At the platform Qydon orders, “Send the package now!” As soon as the package with the duplicated sphere technology disappears, Qydon orders “Follow me!” as he quickly moves to the platform and disappears.

Seconds later outside the plant, as soon as the field generator arrives, Victor points it at the invisible force field. At the point the opposing energies collide there is a bright flash as the blocking force field disappears.

Will quickly zips inside with his team.

Rasu-sen flips a delay relay switch at the platform and steps on it just as the alert team appears inside their make-shift operations center.

“Halt!” Victor orders an instant before Rasu-sen disappears and the platform exudes a plume of black smoke. Victor orders a search of the facility with hand motions as he speaks to Will via his device. “We missed them by only seconds, sir. I need a science team to see if we can identify where they went.”

One of Victor’s team members finds an escaped prisoner in a side room with a headset on. Mardon failed to hear the evacuation order. He is quickly taken into custody and interrogated by Victor as the science team arrives followed shortly by Will Travis.

Meanwhile, the renegades appear inside a Martian outpost relay facility. They find themselves inside the protected compound but outside the shielded facility.

The renegade scientists quickly use their sphere technology to breakdown the energy barrier. Rasu-sen’s warriors easily take over the small cadre of civilian operators with little resistance.

One brave operator is able to send an SOS message from his workstation before he is shot by General Rasu-sen.

Chad Garvey receives the SOS message and quickly dispatches an alert team to the coordinates.

The alert team uses their weapons to stun several of the renegade warriors, but their resistance gives Rasu-sen, Qydon and the other scientists’ time to flee with another stolen platform using the sphere technology.

When Will is notified of the latest escape, he dispatches the Galactic Science Team to the outpost to pick up their trail. He and Victor continue to interrogate Mardon until they learn about the portable spheres.

On the Martian outpost, the scientists work with the damaged platform to try to determine where the renegades went. They note the small explosive was placed to destroy the directory component.

Malcom believes he can use his lab equipment to possibly extract at least part of the damaged memory chip. He zips to the Antigua lab with the damaged chip and begins restore work on it with Corey’s assistance.

Jonathan is notified of the death of George Orson, the brave technician. He notes civilian Orson has a family with three small children and with a heavy heart makes the call. Orson’s and the other victim’s families will be well-provided for by the Galactic Security Fund, but he knows no amount of money will make up for the loss of the husbands and fathers that were lost.

Jonathan is also worried about the renegade’s sudden proximity to Earth. Up until now he has been assuming Earth was protected from the foreign menace, but now he realizes how vulnerable to these renegades the whole universe may be. And we don’t know how many or which coordinates they’ve obtained.

Meredith cries due to the loss of life in the renegade’s attacks. We must find them quickly before more harm is done, she mournfully thinks. She contacts the widows to offer her condolences and then resumes working to locate the renegades.

Malcom explains about the renegade’s portable spheres. “They have a crude replica of the alien spheres which enabled them to escape their prison planet and teleport across two galaxies. We need to find a way to track them ASAP.”

“Can’t we use our spheres to track and catch them?’ Corey asks. He’s been watching the alert team perform like a well-oiled machine, but desires to participate and help contribute more.

“We can once we find them,” Malcom answers. “Why don’t you set it up so all we need to do is feed the spheres the coordinates when we locate them again? You should run some tests to make sure they will perform as needed.”

“I’ll have them ready,” Corey confidently says…

The replica sphere transports the renegades halfway across the galaxy to just outside a relay station on Bosansi. Rather than immediately attacking the station, Rasu-sen decides to lead the group into the nearby town to regroup and plan a longer term strategy.

On their way to the larger town, they come to a small village where they enter a local eatery. The village is so small the villagers are unaware of activities outside its confines, so they are only mildly curious about the group of unusual visitors. A short distance from the village, a couple of Spectari warriors guard the sphere, weapons and personal gear.

Qydon requests information on a place their group might stay for a day or two.

“There is a small inn just down the street that may have room for your group. I am Mason-Gar. Where are you strangers visiting from?” the short rotund restaurant owner simply asks as he takes their orders.

“Thank you. We are a group of travelers from out of town and are seeking a place to stay. I’ll have your house special.” Qydon answers.

“We hope you enjoy your stay. We don’t get many visitors here,” Mason-Gar says as he brings them their drinks.”

Qydon smiles as he raises his glass, “Thank you for your hospitality.”

When the owner is out of earshot Qydon says to Rasu-sen and the others, “This may be a good place to stay for a while. They don’t seem too curious of why we are here. It will give us time to plan our next strategy.”

“As long as we are sure we can’t be tracked to here that will be fine. It will give our scientists more time to work on the platform security modules. That last incident was too close. We must remember to disable any communications capabilities first when we strike. That mistake cost us some good men.”

“I am aware of that too. One of them was one of mine too.”

“Well, we will have to be more careful next time.”…

Chapter Fourteen

The Galactic Security team is feverishly working with the barest information left by the last attack to try to locate the renegades and also fearful of where they may strike next. All Galactic Council planets are on high alert.

Corey is highly motivated to be successful in his first security assignment. He rereads all documents related to the sphere technology before attempting the trials. He identifies some dummy targets in nearby space first. These are mostly very small asteroids, although he did find some space junk left over from the early race for space too. He sets up monitors around the targets and destinations to record the trials.

Corey anxiously watches the monitors as he executes his first sphere command for the initial target. The fresh academy honor graduate watches in awe as a glowing blue sphere of energy instantly appears around the target. He is amazed as the asteroid seems to instantly melt inside the shrinking blue sphere of energy. Suddenly it completely disappears, but the destination monitor shows only empty space! Well, that’s one way to take care of them, he thinks...

Maxine, Malcom and Meredith constantly work at their Antigua workstations using what they have learned about the enemy’s capabilities.

All this knowledge is useless if we can’t locate them. They can be anywhere! Maxine frustratingly worries while she continually pores over her data for answers.

“I’m worried about them attacking that Martian station,” Meredith says to Maxine from her nearby station seat. “They could have teleported to Earth next.”

Maxine says, “Surely we would have heard something by now.”

“Not necessarily if they stay hidden and don’t attack someone or something.”

“If they do that, how will we ever find them?” Maxine frustratingly asks.

“That’s why we must do everything to find them first,” Meredith answers as the two go over the available data once again.

Malcom is not as emotional, but just as dedicated to finding them. Though he is a mathematical whiz, it is hard for him to fathom the enemy’s actions thus far. Nothing they have done establishes a pattern or accomplishes anything. He fails to consider there are really two groups of escapees, Rasu-sen and his warriors and Qydon with his advanced scientists who may have different objectives.

So far, Malcom’s efforts to decipher the damaged directory chip have been unsuccessful, but he is not giving up on accomplishing it…

On peaceful and beautiful Bosansi, the two aforementioned groups are exhibiting their differences.

“Why are we staying here? We will be found eventually,” Qydon confronts Rasu-sen.

“How will they? These villagers are not questioning us or our presence here.”

Qydon says, “But someone will talk to a relative and friend and soon it will be out. I would rather be in a more friendly and familiar surrounding.”

“You want to go back to your home planet, do you? Rasu-sen almost smirks. “They will be on double alert for us to reappear there.”

“Not if we stay low like here and don’t attack anyone,” Qydon argues.

”Oh, for certain we are going to attack more installations, just not at the moment,” Rasu-sen wickedly smiles. “We are going to attack our enemies at their heart and operations center.”

“But they will surely be expecting us and capture us!” Qydon anxiously says.

“Not if we use our spheres to do our bidding for us,” Rasu-sen cunningly smiles…

The Galactic Council is back, ready for another emergency session at their New York center following the stirring memorial service for fallen comrades.

The new Galactic Assembly Hall is unusually full with a complete complement of councilors and ambassadors. They all want answers, afraid their planet or territory may be attacked next. On the balconies surrounding the hall are an unusual number of newsvid cameras and reporters.

Jonathan feels the pressure of his high office as never before. How did Dad and Janus handle such incidents? He wonders.

Amidst the tumult around him, he sees his Dad and Janus talking calmly together, standing near the row of other ambassadors. Then the quiet answer enters his mind; they relied on their faith and special teams to do what is right and get them through and that is what I should do too.

The still-young and mostly-untried Galactic President firmly uses his gavel to call the session to order.

“The first order of business is to declare this emergency session as an executive session. This means all cameras; recording devices and reporters are to clear the assembly hall before we continue.”

The security staff immediately begins clearing the balconies amid an uproar of protests from the displaced media.

As before, the Galactic Science team is tele-viewing the proceedings in an interactive mode so they can provide and receive input from the session attendees via their Hyperlink.

Malcom, Maxine, Meredith and other team members are now viewing the session via their workstations as they continue their work of finding the escapees.

Will Travis is in the meeting with the scientists as they view the Galactic Council meeting on the overhead screen. We must do more than just find them. We need to find a way to counter their technology before they use it to cause more destruction, he thinks. We need to get Greg Garrett and Malcom Evers working together again. Will remembers how successful the two geniuses were in solving the Alpha Dimension quandary.

Greg is presently in the Antigua lab helping Corey figure out what is happening to his test targets.

“I don’t think your targets are going anywhere. I think they are just dissembling into their individual atomic particles,” Greg tells Corey.

“Why do you say that?”

Greg seriously smiles, “Because you’ve failed to activate the destination switch.” Greg presses a button on the remote sphere control panel. “Now try it.”

Corey soon happily views the target appearing at the destination coordinates shown on the overhead viewer. “Dummy me,” He says.

“Corey, you have just given us another handy weapon. If we want to destroy something from a distance, we just keep the destination switch off. The spheres take much less energy than the Q-Beam, so this can be a good weapon if we need to destroy or remove something quickly from a distance.”

Just then Greg’s device beeps and he sees Will’s concerned image on it. “What’s up, sir?”

“I want you to work with Malcom Evers to see if you two can develop a way to counteract the advanced technology the renegades are using against our installations.”

“Yes sir. I believe Malcom is in another part of this facility at the moment. I will get with him immediately.”

“Thanks and keep me updated on your progress.”

“I will certainly do that, sir.”…

On Bosansi, the renegade escapees quietly exchange their rooms at the country inn for an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of town. The jovial innkeeper was most gracious in referring them to the property owner.

Though the renegades have no galactic credits, they have some valuable stolen gold tokens, which the owner happily accepts for two month’s payment as they are worth far more than the rent. The renegade scientists discover a bonus when they realize the power to the farmhouse comes from a nearby power pod unit they can easily draw from for their special equipment.

The Quorax scientists continue perfecting their crude replicated sphere technology. Rasu-sen relentlessly pushes them as he desires to identify the central operations center coordinates of the Galactic Council. He wants to hit them hard before they can retaliate.

The Quorax scientists are able to unlock the platform’s copied data file that contains the list of coordinates, but the encrypted file does not yield its secrets easily. This greatly frustrates Rasu-sen in accomplishing his wicked plot.

One of Rasu-sen’s warriors is not a warrior by nature. Rasdan’s dad was a Spectari warrior and enlisted his son in the military when he was only seventeen. Rasdan hates the military very much but learned to adapt to survive. He was only twenty when he was captured by Galactic Security on the Spectari ship. Now he is turning thirty and feeling he has missed out on a good part of his young life.

While at the country inn, Rasdan becomes enamored with the innkeeper’s daughter. She is a very lovely dark-haired young maiden named Elisa, who happily takes notice of Rasdan’s interest and sultrily encourages him. She smiles at him and flirts with him at every opportunity, often accidentally bumping into him as she strolls through the tables at the inn.

Rasdan returns her flirting when he is sure his mates are not watching.

Elisa knows her father would not approve of her being involved with one of the strangers, but her attraction to Rasdan is stronger than fear of her father’s wrath. The two secretly meet in the evening behind the inn. During their time together, Rasdan learns Elisa has never traveled outside her village, though she’s had a broad education and knows there are many things happening in the universe she would like to experience first hand.

Elisa quietly questions Rasdan. “Where are you from?

“I am from a far planet.”

Elsa is thrilled to hear this. She’s long wanted to escape her dull dreary existence and often looks up at the stars with longing.

She bats her long eyelashes at him, “I have longed to travel to far off places. What are you doing here?”

The Spectari warrior at first only gives vague answers, but in a short time Elisa breaks down his defenses and he shares his inner thoughts and dreams with her. He also shares more details about his current situation than his general would like.

Rasdan knows he shouldn’t even be talking to her, but his heart is already lost to her and he can’t help himself from being truthful to her.

“You really mean you can travel across the galaxy anytime anywhere?”

He smiles, “Yes, that’s how we got here, but it’s not really like traveling, one second you’re here and the next second there.” He points to the dark sky, moving his hand between different star positions.

Her eyes are now wide with wonder. “Could you take me somewhere far away from here?”

The thought is not foreign to Rasdan. He has wanted to leave the tyrannical Rasu-sen ever since he was assigned to his ship. Now I have the opportunity with that teleport platform and Elisa wants to go with me. We must be careful though or it will be worse for us if we are caught.

He looks at her with loving seriousness in his eyes, “Elisa, yes I can do that, but it will be dangerous and we cannot come back here. Are you sure you want to go with me?”

Elisa enthusiastically nods her head. “It is fine with me if I never come back here. There is only personal loss and bad memories here.” Elisa is thinking of her stepmother who treats her like a servant when her father is not around. Though she may miss her father a little, she will not miss her stepmother at all. Her mother died when she was only four. Elisa’s eyes shine as she says, “And I would love to go wherever you want to take us.”

Rasdan hugs her tightly as he says, “Okay, be here tomorrow night at midnight with only your essentials and a change of clothes in a rucksack or backpack. It may be dangerous. We must be very quiet and careful or we will get caught and be in deep trouble.”…

Where will they strike next? Corey wonders as he sits at his Antigua lab workstation next to Malcom’s. I have set the sphere controls to detect any attempts to scan this facility and follow it to its source, but what else can I do? What other facilities should we be protecting similarly? We can’t protect them all, but we should be able to protect some of the highest priority ones. “What other facilities should we be protecting with the scan protector?” Corey asks Malcom via his wrist device.

Malcom is meeting with Dr. Vaughn and Sethanni. When Dr. Vaughn hears the question he says, “Cover the New York Security Center and Crescent Island as starters. Then branch out to the Sector headquarters and especially the Dimension Gateway.”

“These are all defensive measures. Can you reach out and detect the use of their equipment rather than just if they scan us?” Malcom asks Corey.

“I am already doing that, sir. If they use the spheres or stolen platform anywhere in our covered space, I believe the sensors or spheres will detect it.”

“Detecting it isn’t enough. Be sure Will’s alert teams receive the coordinates as soon as they are identified,” Malcom promptly says.

Corey works his keyboard as he says, “I’m doing that as we speak, sir. If any alarms go off, the alert team will be automatically notified with the coordinates.”…

On Crescent Island Beth Royston is very disappointed. She has been looking forward to the family reunion not only for the fun at the new Disney park, but also as an opportunity to spend some time with Corey. I haven’t seen him since the graduation party. I hate to call him and interrupt his work, but I really would like to talk to him. Maybe the reunion will be rescheduled soon. She is still secretly jealous of Corey’s girlfriend, Katie.

Beth knows of the problems with the escaped prisoners, but hasn’t kept up with the details. She just knows everyone is busy trying to recapture them. She takes note that she has seen very few of the teleport team on the island since the Grand Ball. I hope they catch them soon because I really need to talk to Corey. I know he can help me with this decision better than anyone else in the family. Hopefully he will be at Church Sunday and I can talk too him then.

Beth isn’t the only one missing team members. She sees Jenny with her two kids, Marie and George, in the island cafeteria after school. “Hi guys. What’s up?”

“Hi Aunt Beth,” George comes running up to her and hugs her first, with Marie quickly following.

Jenny gives her a peck on the cheek. “What have you been up to, dear?”

Beth musses George’s hair as he lets go of her. “I’m not doing much of anything with everyone else working to catch those bad guys.”

Jenny asks, “Did you hear about their latest attack on that Martian station?”

“Yes. I’ve been following events on Dad’s computer. These guys are really vicious. I hope they catch them soon.”

Jenny puts her arms around George and Marie, “I’m worried of how near to earth they attacked. What if they attack here next?”

“Dad says the energy field around this island stays on constantly now.”

“I don’t just mean Crescent Island, I mean what if they attack anywhere on Earth?”

Beth quietly says, “I see what you mean.” And I’ve just been worrying about my own problems, she thinks…

Jenny privately wonders what she can do to help the team find the bad guys quicker. She thinks of the other scientist-parents and thinks I will organize a day-care for the littler ones. “Would you like to help me organize a day-care for some of the children whose parents are on the alert teams?”

Beth says, “I would love to. Maybe that will keep me occupied so I don’t worry so much. I can think of a few others who could help too.”

Jenny smiles, “Good, then let’s get started.

Jenny asks Quanda Stanton and some others. They all enthusiastically accept the invitation.

Quanda is thrilled to be asked by Jenny so she can do something to help the cause.

They decide to use a party room in the island cantina so they will have easy access to the beach for outside activities and open access to the snack bar for treats and lunch.

Danielle is happy to lend her teaching and counseling expertise to the project too. It reminds her of the other twenty-four orphans so she invites them to participate too. The group soon has enough teachers and leaders to give personal guidance to all the children of working team members…

Chapter Fifteen

On Bosansi it is near midnight as Rasdan quietly opens the side door to the barn for Elisa. The country barn is where the sphere and platform are located. There is a guard at the large front barn door, and Rasdan is supposed to be guarding the side door. He believes he was very lucky to get the assignment for this very night.

Elisa quietly and quickly enters, carrying a small bag at her side and a dark scarf on her head.

Rasdan whispers, “We must hurry before we are caught.” He quickly picks up his own bag and leads her over to the platform where he presses a switch. He then steps on the platform with Elisa and presses a button.

The two are instantly on a similar platform on Centra, a planet in the Spectari Galaxy. On Centra it is early morning and they find themselves in the middle of morning rush hour as there is a line of people waiting to walk onto the platform. They quickly step off to the side.

Rasdan is thankful for all the people as he purposefully leads Elisa through the crowd. “We must wait until the crowd is through and then pick a new destination. There’s a beverage shop we can wait in.” He leads her to it.

Elisa is in awe and wonder at her new surroundings. The people and buildings are very different from her experience. As Rasdan leads her, Elisa looks up at the blue sky and brighter sun than her own.

Rasdan seats them at a window table. “This will give us a good view of the people exiting the platform without them seeing us.”

“Do you think they will really follow us?”

Rasdan holds her hand, “I most definitely do. It is just a question of time. I would look for another platform, but it is probably just as packed as this one right now. As soon as the line thins down we will pick a new destination.”…

When the sun comes up on Bosansi, the relieving guard notes Rasdan’s absence at his post and immediately passes the word to General Rasu-sen.

Rasu-sen quickly checks the platform and learns it was used by two people last night just after midnight plus the coordinates. He wants to follow and catch them, but realizes with the time lapse it is probably too late, plus he is afraid use of the platform may have compromised the farmhouse location. “We need to move now! Qydon, find us another safe place quickly.”…

Corey is sitting next to Malcom’s workstation when he hears an alarm on Malcom’s screen. Malcom is away from his workstation so Corey moves over to check it out. He clicks on the red blinking icon and an information block appears. As soon as he reads it, he presses his wrist device for Will Travis.

“Yes? Corey is that you?”

“Yes sir, it’s me. The stolen platform from the Martian Station was recently used. The coordinates indicate the platform is on Bosansi. I’m sending the coordinates to you now.”

“Thanks. I’ll send the alert team there immediately. Can you get the destination coordinates?”

“Our network wasn’t accessed so I will need to get it directly off the platform.”

“If we’re lucky and it’s still there I will have them teleport it to you or provide its coordinates once we secure the location.”…

Victor and the alert team appear next to the stolen platform just as the last Spectari warrior is setting the delay switch to cripple the platform. Victor instantly tackles him as he yells, “Follow them!” to his team.

Four team members immediately leap for the platform with weapons drawn.

After securing his prisoner, Victor drags him to the platform and they both are teleported to the destination coordinates, which is on the Spectari planet Centra.

There is only a small group of people near the platform in the noon-day sun, warily gawking at the suddenly appearing combat-clothed Galactic Security Team with weapons at the ready.

Victor notes his troops are standing in front of the platform with no apparent enemy in sight. “Hold onto this prisoner while Jason and I return to the other platform.”

Jason, the number two team member quickly steps on the platform with Victor and Victor presses the return button at the platform control box.

The two are immediately returned to the barn on Bosansi where Victor quickly checks the platform controls. The team leader contacts Corey. “This stolen platform was only used to transport two people several hours ago. The others must have used the spheres and the soldier we caught was about to destroy the platform. You can come check it out now.”

A quick interrogation of the captured escapee reveals little except he was one of Rasu-sen’s warriors who wasn’t privy to his leader’s plans. Victor has Jason teleport him to the moon prison for temporary holding. “We may need him later.”

Victor recalls his team from Centra. While they inspect the whole farmhouse area, Corey and Malcom inspect the stolen platform’s usage history. The innkeeper, Mason-Gar, appears, anxiously asking about his daughter.

Victor interrogates the innkeeper about his involvement with the escapees.

“I know nothing about them. I only helped them find a place to stay. I certainly did not know they were criminals and I don’t know why they would take my daughter from me. Can you help me find her?”

Victor tells him, “We know nothing about your daughter, but two people teleported from here only hours ago and your daughter was probably one of them. Give me her description and I will alert the proper authorities to help you find her. A picture would help.”…

When his last warrior fails to appear, Rasu-sen guesses they escaped just in time. “We must move quickly to another location!”

Qydon’s scientists used the crude sphere controls to transport them to another Quorax planet they are familiar with. When they arrive in Justoon on Arias, they are again in a nighttime environment, but this time in the middle of a bustling city. Justoon is a thriving city in the industrial age that happily received the Galactic Council’s energy pods and teleport devices.

Qydon quickly points them to an underground stairway. “This leads to an old subway system they are probably not using anymore.”

His conjecture is only partially correct. Though the subway is no longer in use by the subway system, the wide platform has been turned into an open marketplace where vendors are hawking their wares to a busy night-time crowd.

Qydon’s group tries to blend into the crowd, but it is difficult with all the gear they are carrying. They slowly work their way to the end of the platform where a barricade is in place.

The Spectari general views the dark pathway down the now-unused track as a safe haven for them and motions them around the barricade as he looks toward the crowd to see if anyone is taking undue notice of their movements.

About a hundred yards down the track along the brick wall they find the door to an abandoned control room. Rasu-sen uses the butt of his weapon to quickly snap the lock on the padlocked door.

Qydon feels for a wall switch and is happy when the lights come on. “Good, they left the power connected. We can stay here for a while.”

The Quorax scientists are in heaven with all the electronic equipment in the control room. There are many workstations with large wall monitors. The chief scientist thinks; if we had this equipment on that prison planet we could have easily escaped in days not years.

Rasu-sen dispatches a couple of his warriors to obtain food for them with strict orders. “Do not make a scene or attract attention. If you do, don’t come back here.”

When the two Spectari return to the thinning crowd at the platform, they find a fruit stand where the vendor is closing down for the night. For a few gold coins they buy most of his remaining stock. He happily offers a trolley they can carry it on if they promise to return it in the morning.

The walkway past the platform is just wide enough for them to roll they trolley to the control room after the crowd has dispersed and they are alone.

Rasu-sen is happy to find a kitchen and sleeping area in the old underground facility. The kitchen area has a walk-in refrigerated room that still works. This facility might be a good place to stay while we wreak havoc and war on our enemies.

After talking with his scientists, Qydon tells Rasu-sen, “Our scientists say with all this equipment and the sphere technology that in a short time we can do just about anything we want wherever we have coordinates for.”

Rasu-sen wickedly grins, “Good. Then we can finally stop running and start punishing our enemy.” He instructs the scientists to resume decoding the encrypted platform file…

Lt. Maxine Straw is ultra frustrated when she hears about the latest attempt at capturing the escapees. “You mean we have no idea where they went or how to find them?”

“That seems to be the case,” Malcom tells her. “If we had only been quicker, we may have had a chance, but we missed them when they used the sphere technology to escape.”

“How could we have been quicker?”

“Maybe if I had been at my workstation when the alarm sounded it would have made the difference. I should have set the alarm to go to the Central Control Station instead of just my workstation.”

“Well, what should we be looking for now?” Maxine tries to shift the conversation from Malcom blaming himself.

“Since we know they are using the sphere technology and know the approximate power it takes, we should be scanning for unusual power usage in the mega wattage range.”

“I’ve already setup a program to do that and it is being monitored at the central console. The problem is to know where we should be monitoring. We can’t scan the whole universe.”

Malcom says, “We should at least be monitoring the Spectari and Quorax galaxies.”

“That we are doing as well as our own.”

Malcom sighs, “That is probably about all we can do at this point, I guess.”…

The Galactic Council ends its emergency session with Jonathan promising to provide prompt updates as soon as the Security Team learns more about the escapee’s whereabouts.

Not far away from the New York Security Center, Maria Canbriatti is in her Manhattan penthouse getting more frustrated by the minute. She just received word from her Galactic contact about the renegade’s attacks against the Galactic Council stations. This means they probably won’t be rescheduling their reunion until those escapees are recaptured. What can I be doing in the meantime?

She brings her inner circle together to discus their options. “What should we be doing now while the Galactic Council is busy with those escapees?”

“Do you mean what new opportunities does this afford us to hurt them or to help ourselves?” Grantham Wilson hesitantly asks.

Maria pauses and then says, “I hadn’t really thought much about it, but either thing would be fine with me. This operation has cost me a bundle and if we could recoup some of it that would be great. What do you have in mind?”

Grantham Wilson is privy to more than the average citizen. His company was working on several top secret military programs when they were abruptly cancelled along with the military due to the teleport team’s requirements to the UN two decades ago. One of those programs involved the use of quasars against space platforms and satellites, but could be used against land-based sites as well. He knows the location of the abandoned lab where he viewed live demonstrations.

“I was thinking along the lines of using some top secret decommissioned military equipment and blaming the results on the escapees.”

Maria smiles, “Please tell us more, but it must be foolproof so it can’t be traced back to us in any way.” Maria remembers her last try that brought her downfall from power and wants no repeat of that debacle…

At the Bosansi farm house Victor assigns three team members to track down the two people who used the platform on Bosansi. Because of Mason-Gar’s anxious report, he believes the daughter is a runaway with one of the escapees. Victor is mainly hoping to find the escapee and learn more about the main group’s whereabouts and plans.

Ensign Gordon Thompson is happy to lead the team. The recent academy graduate hopes to prove himself with this first true assignment. He knows about the destruction the escapees caused and the importance of finding them quickly. Ensign Thompson’s father was on the security team that first entered the Alpha Dimension in search of the demented Hardison James.

The dark-headed bright young man speaks to his teammates. “Let’s return to Centra and learn what we can there.”

When the three return to the Centra platform, they separate to interview the nearby shopkeepers. They have shed their combat gear and only carry their side-arms now but their Galactic Security Uniforms easily standout among the civilian population. Ensign Wiley French interviews the beverage shop owner.

“Yes, I was here then. Why do you want to know?” The shop owner is leery of giving out any information, especially to off-worlders.

Ensign French senses this so he says, “We are looking for a young lady who may have run off with someone from your sector. We want to make sure she went with him willingly.”

“Yes, I remember the couple. They sat right over there by the window, but she sure didn’t look like she was being forced to be with the man. They stayed there until rush hour was over and then went back to the platform and left on it.”

“Thank you,” Ensign French makes a note and asks, “What time did they leave?”

“It was around the ninth hour.”

“Thanks. We appreciate your help.” Ensign French then uses his device to recall his teammates.

When they are back together, he starts hurriedly walking toward the platform while he fills them in. “They stayed in the beverage shop and left on the platform around the 9th hour. If we pull up the log we should be able to find where they went.”

Ensign Thompson uses they platform control keypad to pull up and analyze the log. “They went to these coordinates. Let’s go.”

The three-man security team steps off the platform on Ascentia in the Cereas Sector in the coastal city of Oceana. They note the setting sun on the distant ocean.

A quick survey of the area reveals the platform apparently services a nearby fish cannery as there is nothing else in the surrounding area. Thompson guesses why as he inhales the very fishy air. “I don’t think they stayed here long. Check the log.”

Ensign French uses the keypad to examine the log. “I think they went to these coordinates within seconds after they arrived here.”

“I can certainly understand why,” Ensign Stavro Greyson says, holding his nose.

The team next finds themselves in the middle of a town square of a small village during mid-day. There is a gazebo next to the platform where several villagers are sitting, enjoying their lunch.

The villagers are somewhat startled at seeing the men in uniform.

“Good day,” Ensign Thompson says. We are looking for a young couple who arrived here recently. Did any of you happen to see them?”

When the villagers look at each other and hesitate to speak, he adds, “The young lady is a runaway and her father wants to make sure she went willingly.”

One of the older ladies in the group suddenly says, “That young lass seemed to be leading the lad, not the other way round.”

Ensign French abruptly asks, “Can you tell us where they went?”

The old lady suddenly snaps her mouth shut when she realizes none of the others spoke.

Thompson tries to recover the situation by saying, “We mean neither of them any harm. We are looking for them because they may have witnessed a crime and we need their help.” He pleads.

“Maybe that’s why they looked so worried,” a silver-headed elderly man says.

“That they did,” another man chimes in. “We were just walking over here for lunch when they appeared. They were both carrying satchels or bags and didn’t say anything to us. Just turned back to the platform, selected a destination and disappeared.”

As soon as the man finishes, Ensign French queries the platform keypad and sets the new coordinates.

“Thanks for your help,” Thompson says just before he and his team disappear…

Chapter Sixteen

Closer to home in her penthouse, Maria Canbriatti receives an update from Grantham Wilson.

Grantham smiles as he says, “Our team has located two of the quasar generators in operational condition and they have a portable power supply we can connect to some power pods, so we can teleport them anywhere. Where would you like to strike first?”

“How close do we have to be?” Ever since Maria learned of the moth-balled super weapon she has been thinking of where to strike first. She leans forward and devilishly says, “I would like to hit the new Galactic Center Headquarters but I’m sure it is probably double protected. Do we have coordinates for any Galactic bases or facilities in the Beta Galaxy?”

“The Quasars will work within the distance of a moon to a planet or vice versa.” Grantham smiles, “And yes, we do have some Beta coordinates of several Galactic facilities.”

“How safe are we from being detected as the ones doing the damage?” Maria’s eyes start to glimmer.

Grantham smiles, remembering the extensive briefings he received as CEO, “The systems were built to be stealthy so the enemy couldn’t know where to strike back, so we should be fine as far as direct detection goes.”

“Then start tomorrow and strive for mostly physical damage and limit deaths where possible. I want you to use one weapon for attacking Galactic facilities and the other one for stealing gold and bullion.”…

Security chief Will Travis has his regular morning staff briefing at his New York Office. Several are participating from their Antigua workstations, including Dr. Vaughn, Sethanni, Malcom Evers and Greg Garrett.

Dr. Vaughn reports his team’s work but lack of real progress in locating the escapees. He concludes with, “We have no real idea where they will strike next or where they are hiding so be on your toes.”

Chad Garvey reports, “We are still deploying detection sensors throughout both galaxies and maintaining round-the clock vigilance. Any sign of any unusual activity will be promptly reported to the alert teams.”

Victor’s report includes information about the search for the runaway girl and escapee. “We’ve tracked them through several transfers, but lost them when they apparently joined a traveling group and then split off from them at some point. We’re still working on leads from the group.”

Will says, “That may not be as fruitful as we hoped. The time has been such that whoever took the girl probably has no idea where the others went, so don’t give it too high of a priority. Since he deserted from them, he is probably not a threat to us and as I recall, you do believe the girl went voluntarily.”…

On Arias in the railway control room, Rasu-sen and Qydon are ready to view their first use of the replicated spheres in an offensive attack. Rasu-sen’s goal is to drive the Galactic Council out of his home galaxy first. The Quorax scientists have located several Galactic targets in the Beta Galaxy.

One particular target is on the planet Listra on the outskirts of the Beta Galaxy. This is the first base Galactic Security established in the then enemy Beta Galaxy. They used it to launch their stealthy forays and security sensors throughout the Beta Galaxy, and it is now a major way station between galaxies. The planet has thrived with the commerce provided with peace to the region.

The main Galactic base on Listra is in a town called Synterra. Once a little village, it blossomed when the Galactic Security Team chose it for their initial base of operations in the Beta Galaxy…

Computer Specialist Chad Garvey is shocked when he sees the almost terrified visage of Tomas Dalaeden on his view screen.

“This is Mayor Dalaeden on Listra in Synterra! We are under attack. The Galactic base has been completely destroyed! Please help us!

Chad quickly answers, “We are responding now!” as he relays the message and coordinates to the alert teams and then to Will and Jonathan.

Will anxiously receives Tomas Dalaeden’s plea and verifies the alert teams are on the way plus instructs Chad to dispatch all available medical teams. Will recalls his visit to the Dalaeden’s cottage with John Royston several years ago. He hopes the family is okay as he passes the information to his Dad, Hank.

Jonathan likewise anxiously receives the devastating news and asks Chad to keep him informed when more information is available. He also lets his Dad know about the attack.

Ambassador John Royston sadly receives the news and silently prays for the families affected by the attack. “Please keep me informed and let me know if there is anything I can do.”

Victor Austin leads the first alert team. He is devastated when he sees the smoking crater over a mile in circumference where the Galactic base used to be with the smoke rising from the town a short distance away. He immediately transmits the view back to the Antigua control center while more teams arrive. They zip to the city to provide needed aid.

Victor locates Mayor Dalaeden in one of the temporary infirmaries. As each patient is examined and pre-diagnosed they are then teleported to the appropriate medical facility along with the record of examination and diagnosis. Any close family members are allowed to teleport with them. Tomas Dalaeden is very distraught, holding a bandage to his head as he speaks to Victor. He wipes his brow with a cloth as he says, “Almost everyone in the town was hurt in some way. The large asteroid came out of nowhere and blasted the base without any warning. A smaller one hit the town with a blast that caused initial damage and the resulting fires caused the rest.”

He tremblingly weeps as he adds, “As you saw, the base itself was totally obliterated by the asteroid’s impact. I know they had a protection shield but it didn’t protect them from that monster.”

Victor contacts Chad at the Central console. “See if you can, please replay any area sensor records and send what got recorded of the incident as soon as you can. Be sure Dr. Vaughn is sent a copy. There were no survivors from the base unless they were not at the base at the time.”

“I’m already doing that sir. You should have it shortly. That’s terrible about the personnel at the base.”

“Thanks Chad. I appreciate your prompt response to this disaster. Any chance this was a natural event and not man-made?”

“I don’t believe so sir. If it was natural, they would have had ample warning. Based on what I see so far, someone used the asteroid to obliterate the base and most of the town along with it.”

At their Antigua workstations, Meredith, Maxine, Corey and Malcom are viewing the sensor visuals of the Synterra attack.

“See that blue energy field! It appears just before the asteroid blasts through it. They are using the sphere technology for sure!” Corey exclaims. The visual shows the asteroid appearing from the blue energy field near Listra’s moon and traveling at a tremendous rate of speed. It hits Listra in just seconds. The disastrous collision on the planet is very visible from the Listran moon sensors.

“But from where?” Maxine anxiously asks.

“That’s what we have to find out fast. Let’s go over all the data and scan other sensors for the blue energy source,” Malcom softly says.

Meredith keys up a recent program Greg Garrett created to search the collected data from deployed sensors. “How do we know what parameters to enter?”

Malcom helps her enter her request at her console and says to the others, “Each one of us will search a different sector. This will hopefully speed up the process. Any hits will immediately cause an alarm to go off at each of our stations, our devices, and the main console.” Malcom notifies Chad and Sethanni who are at the main console along with Greg Garrett who is with them. Then he notifies the rest of the team leaders, including Will and Jonathan of their actions…

Rasu-sen and Qydon celebrate in their Arias hidden command room as they view their hidden camera near the Listran moon display the asteroid’s sudden appearance and devastating collision.

“Now where’s the next target?” Rasu-sen wickedly asks.

The chief Quorax scientist points to several targets in the Beta Galaxy they have identified on a star chart displaying on their main view screen…

After viewing the Synterra devastation, John Royston quickly contacts Ambassador Janus on his wrist device. “Sir, I believe we have reached the point we need to use the time travel device to prevent this and more devastation regardless of what other side affects it might cause.”

Janus concernedly answers, “I think you’re right. We know when they escaped and how. Let’s recommend it to President Royston and Will Travis.”

They quickly meet. Jonathan includes Dr, Vaughn and Sethanni in the meeting in his office. He suggests, “One of the alert teams should be able to go back in time and invisibly appear in that cavern and destroy that equipment before they can use it.”

Dr. Vaughn says, “Once they do, a new timeline will be established and it will be as if none of this occurred. The only ones who will remember it though will be the alert team.”

“We need to record everything that happened since the escape so we can control as many of the changes as possible,” Sethanni says.

Will says, “We will need to direct the alert team to disperse those would-be escapees to separate prison planets to prevent a repeat.”

Jonathan says to Will, “I believe you and Victor should lead the time team.”

John says, “Let’s do it quickly before they strike again.”

Jonathan and Will are the only two who can retrieve the special time travel devices from the New York Galactic Security vault. They quickly do it and assemble a small team, which includes Sethanni, Malcom and Greg Garrett in case there are any technical glitches.”

Just before the team is set to launch their time travel mission, and while recent events are still being recorded so they can be dealt with, they receive word that the entire Antigua planet has been destroyed by a collision with a planet-sized asteroid.

John Royston knows of the unthinkable deaths that just occurred including Meredith and Corey, Dr Vaughn, Janus, Sethanni and so many others.

While they are still reeling from this terrible news, they learn a way station on the moon has just been hit by some kind of unknown weapon without warning which almost completely destroyed it.

Unknown to the Galactic Council, this destruction is caused by Grantham Wilson’s super weapon.

John anguishes as he tells his son, “Send the Time Team now regardless of the side-effects.!”

The time team sets their specially modified devices and disappears. Instantly they appear in the hidden cavern on Zeron just before the renegades are set to activate their escape plan.

Only seconds before the time team appears, General Rasu-sen is reveling over the thought of getting off this accursed prison planet. Qydon is thrilled with the same thought, plus is proud of his scientists for accomplishing the near impossible feat.

Suddenly, without premonition or warning, the scientists and their leader are surrounded by a dozen armed Security Team members.

While the security members round up the renegades and transport them to their new prison homes, others destroy all the equipment in the cavern and then cause an explosion collapsing the cavern.

General Rasu-sen is befuddled at this unexpected turn of events. “How did they learn about us? We took every precaution we could. How did they appear right before we were ready to escape? They probably destroyed all that equipment the Quorax scientists created over the years from scratch.”

He continues to mourn out loud to no one in particular, “And this facility wherever it is, is worse than that desert planet. At least we were free to roam there and we were together.”

Qydon is no less upset and angry. If we had just had a little more time, I am sure we would have been successful. Now I don’t even know where I am or anything about the others. How could they have known? Where did we slip up? ...

High above Zeron on the prison planet’s Moon station Gamma-2, Lt. Maxine Straw says, “I don’t know why we are still monitoring them. This is my second tour and we haven’t noticed any efforts to escape at all.” She is sitting at the main console as the images from the planet’s surface rotate through their usual scenes.

“We have our orders, Lieutenant,” Commander Trion states from his command station. “Don’t belittle this task or assignment. Those rogues down there caused a tremendous amount of trouble the last time they escaped and we can’t let it happen again.”

“I’m sorry, sir. This just seems like such a boring assignment. That’s all and I don’t know why I wound up with a second tour here.”

“Probably because you haven’t learned to keep such thoughts to yourself,” Commander Trion wryly remarks as he views his control console where the instant flare-up does not now occur so the Gamma-1 alert nor any of the other alerts or destruction and deaths happens in this time line.

No Galactic leaders, or others, are distracted from the Galactic Center opening festivities as before.

Meredith is thrilled to have her husband in tux and tails for the whole evening.

Amber Julie Royston enjoys a complete evening with Jared Beckham and looks forward to their next date. She thinks, not bad for a first date, but I want a normal date without all the fanfare and fancy clothes.

Malcom Evers completes his planned proposal to Josephine Rendon without the previous interruption. When Malcom gets down on one knee in the beautiful garden patio, he almost slips as he opens the engagement ring case. She has a hard time not letting him know of her advance notice and manages to accept his proposal very graciously. The two happily announce their engagement to their friends during the gala.

The recent academy graduate ushers never know they missed out on several dances.

The destruction and death the renegades previously caused never happens, so Synterra and Antigua remain intact with all their residents and inhabitants never knowing their former annihilation.

The following morning Jonathan and Will have a surprise visit from the Time Team. Victor informs them of what they prevented from occurring in the other time-line at Jonathan and Will’s now-unknowing direction.

The galactic leaders are extremely grateful when they learn of the awful destruction that was prevented from occurring in this timeline.

That night in their island cottage, John hugs Meredith tightly as he tells her about the incident and recovery.

After reading the recorded record the Time Team took with them, Malcom requests Will Travis to assign a certain Lt. Maxine Straw to his team as he explains her help during the previous incident.

A short time later at the Gamma-2 station on Zeron’s moon, Commander Trion, holding a sheet of paper in his hand enigmatically says, “Someone upstairs must like you. I just received a new assignment for you.”

“What? “She can’t believe what she just heard. “Where to did you say?”

The orders say you are to report to the Antigua Control Center and report to Tech Specialist Malcom Evers. The orders are personally signed by the Security Chief, Will Travis.” He waves the paper before handing it to her. “What did you do to earn this plush assignment?”

Maxine looks happily flustered and smiling replies,” I guess someone must have finally looked at my high test scores.”

Without the prisoner escape happening, plans for the family reunion progress rapidly.

Beth is looking forward to spending personal time at the Park with Corey and all the Royston youth are looking forward to the rides and adventure.

Malcom Evers and Josephine Rendon happily make plans for their wedding.

When Jonathan reads the time team’s report about the destruction and death caused by the renegades in the other timeline, he is glad he doesn’t have to deal with it in this one. Will Travis examines the same data and is equally glad…

Chapter Seventeen

An important unknown event that doesn’t change is Maria Canbriatti’s vengeful plan against a particular Galactic Council ambassador…

At her Manhattan Penthouse, Maria is unaware of the previous timeline when there was a delay to her plan. Now she is looking forward to the long awaited near-term execution of her plan. She is also unaware of the additional rehearsals due to the delay and the faults she caught then, but not now or of Grantham Wilson’s super weapon which will not now be de-mothballed or deployed.

She briefs her team leaders on the planned morning before the Royston Reunion. “Remember we don’t take him until we are absolutely sure no one else will see him snatched. I believe the restroom scenario is our best chance of getting him alone. If he’s not completely alone, you may have to take care of whoever is with him to give us more time to make a clean getaway.”

Grantham firmly says, “We know. We’ve practiced it enough.”

“No you don’t know,” she looks at him intently. “It will be different with people around in the park. You have to be prepared for surprises and don’t hesitate to back off and wait for a better opportunity. It won’t do us a bit of good if the team gets caught in the process. We must make the exit from the park as clean and quickly as possible.”…

The kaleidoscopic Centauri V sky with clouds of rainbow-type hues and odd patterns caused by two suns on each zenith provide a very colorful effect for what is already an exciting experience. The suns also provide for a lengthier day and shorter night, which most off-worlders take time adjusting to.

As soon as Disney Centauri opens, the Royston clan appears at the entrance and they quickly divide into small groups. Beth slyly grabs Corey as her partner. The group agrees to meet later for lunch together.

“It seems like forever since we spent time together,” Beth says as she firmly holds Corey’s arm in hers.”

“I know, but I’ve been really busy at the lab learning all the new stuff.”

“That’s not all you’ve been busy with,” she unabashedly challenges him.”

Corey grins, “I detect a note of jealousy there.”

She squeezes his arm tighter, “Maybe some, but I’ve really missed spending time with you so I could bounce my thoughts off you.”

“Well, I’m here now,”

As Beth and Corey meander through the park together, Beth shares her thoughts with her favorite uncle with all the exciting activities and music lost in the background of their conversation. “I should know what I want to do with my life by now but I don’t.”

“Why don’t you?” Corey asks as they pass a couple of familiar over-sized cartoon characters related to the rodent family.

“I guess it is because I like doing all sorts of things and if I have to choose one over the other I will feel I missed out on something.”

“Well what do you think you do best?”

She looks up at him and enthusiastically says, “I love to travel and meet new people and see new places.”

“That would seem to open up several possibilities.”

“I know, but I’ve also been thinking of going on a mission for the Church. Did you really enjoy your mission?”

Corey seriously answers her, “I did. It was a lot of work at first, but I learned a lot about myself too. I proved I could do things I hadn’t done before like really studying the scriptures to understand them and get closer to the people in them besides learning a new language and culture.”

Corey continues as they pass a whirling noisy ride, “I also enjoy seeing the light shine in others when they feel the Spirit witness to them. It makes me feel good to know I had a small part in that inner change for them and it can last and influence them throughout their life and eternity.”

“I think I want to have that feeling too,” she beams at him with rainbow colors reflected in her bright eyes.

“Then I think you should meet with your bishop about submitting your mission papers.”…

It is a warm early afternoon in the Disney Theme Park as John and Meredith exit an exciting small coaster ride with Marie Royston Garrett. The grandparents share time with different grandchildren for half the day in order to spend more individual time with them. The morning was spent with George John Garrett.

“Wow! That was fun. Can we do it again, Grandpa?”

“Not today, Marie, Only one ride to a customer. Ouch!”

As John exits the coaster ride, he stubs his big toe very sharply and starts slightly limping from the incident.

Meredith spots a restroom sign and says, “I think we girls need a bathroom break.”

“Sounds good to me too,” John easily replies as he takes a tender hobbling step.

As the girls enter their restroom door, John notes one of the tall doggy cartoon characters entering the men’s room just ahead of him. As John walks in, the canine character turns to him and asks, “Can you help me with this side zipper? It is very awkward to work with in this outfit.”

“Sure.” As John reaches for the zipper he doesn’t notice a man suddenly appear behind him as he quickly slips a syringe in John’s neck.

At the same time the “dog” grabs John in a vise-like grip until only a second later John slumps unconscious against him without a word or struggle.

The second man dressed in a park maintenance uniform lifts the unconscious John into a large rectangular wheeled trash container, puts a bag of trash on top of him and wheels it out the side maintenance door.

A short distance away behind a work shed, John is quickly placed in a park wheelchair with a blanket fixed tightly around his body and head. He is then quickly wheeled to a teleport platform near the front gate by a man dressed as a park medic.

The platform attendant looks questioningly at the “medic”.

“He got sick on one of the rides and I’m taking him to his doctor,” the medic says as he hurriedly enters coordinates on the platform’s panel. As soon as they arrive at the destination platform, the medic wheels John a short distance away and then uses his own wrist device to teleport him again.

At the new destination, a technician removes John’s wrist device from his hand and puts it in a specially prepared shielded container…

After a reasonable interval, Meredith speaks into her wrist device, “John where are you? We’re waiting beside the restrooms for you.”

When there is no answer, Meredith concernedly says, “Chad, are you there?”

Chad sees Meredith’s face on his Antigua Control Screen. “I’m here. What can I do for you?”

“Please locate John. He’s not responding to my call.”

After a couple of seconds Chad says, “His device is not registering. I’m sending the alert team now!”

The Galactic Security Alert Team quickly appears around Meredith as she anxiously points towards the men’s room. “He went in there and hasn’t come out!”

Victor Austin leads several of the team into the restroom. As soon as he sees no one in there he tells Chad via his device, “Shut down all platforms in the vicinity of the Centauri Disney Park now!”

He then zips to the front gate and learns of the medic and man in a wheelchair. He quickly reviews the security record and recognizes John. He instantly zips his alert team to the platform’s destination coordinates.

They are immediately outside a factory entrance on Gallileus where it is shift change time and the teleport platform is very busy with a line of employees transporting on and off.

When Victor peremptorily interrupts the flow and reviews the platform’s security record, he sees his unconscious friend and Galactic Ambassador being wheeled off the platform. “Chad, check all teleport records from near these coordinates now!”

Chad quickly enlists Sethanni in the search effort in the Galactic network system that records coordinate usage.

By now, Meredith has rounded up the family and organizes a search through the park until Victor reports the wheelchair kidnapping.

Meredith is anxiously worried more than ever. Who took him and where have they taken him and why? Didn’t we just recapture the Slarg, Quorax, and Spectari enemies? Who else can there be?

Darlene Travis offers to watch the Royston grandkids while the adults zip to the Antigua Command Center to offer their help in the search effort.

Because of the nearness to the Gallileus factory, there are a ton of teleport data records to sift through and it is difficult to spot a true activity from the kidnapping one. Will Travis thinks this was very well planned out. This spot was purposely picked for its voluminous activity, but who can be behind it?

Academy Commandant Hank Travis thinks, whoever they are, they are most likely not foreigners or our alien enemies. They knew too much of our systems and social patterns to be foreigners unless they had some inside help.

The former Security Chief contacts Assistant Security Chief Victor Austin. “I think you should search the Security database for any questionable connections with disaffected persons. This kidnapping was too well-planned not to have some kind of inside help.”

In the Antigua lab, Greg Garrett and Malcom Evers collaborate on the problem regarding John’s device not registering.

Greg says, “I don’t think they had time to monkey with John’s wrist device. I think they must have had a way to mask or block it to keep it from broadcasting or they completely destroyed it.

Malcom adds, “If they, whoever they are, intend to use it, and they surely do, as John’s device is unlimited, plus has the entire galactic coordinates stored in its directory, they will need to unblock it to try to disconnect the security alarms. We need to have a constant scan program tuned to recognize the alarms.”

Greg says, “I’ve already done that and transferred it to the Central Command Console.”

“That may or may not help. If the enemy can block the device from broadcasting, they can probably work in a blocked lab or facility also. Is there some way we can detect areas being blocked?”

“We might be able to if the blocked area is large enough. What do you estimate as the minimum parameters? And where should we start looking”

Malcom says, “That’s the larger problem. We need to learn who is doing this to try and make the search more viable and productive. Let’s contact Will Travis and see if there is any progress.”

At the New York Security headquarters, the security chief has his staff working fulltime on the problem of identifying the kidnappers. They quickly learn the “medic” is not part of the Park staff and a careful review of the Park’s security vids identifies several other non-Park staff masquerading in park uniforms including the bogus canine cartoon character plus a bogus fat orange-striped kitten as well. These people and characters all disappeared immediately following the kidnapping.

Blowup pictures of the individuals are completed and searches are quickly initiated of police and galactic databases, using the latest matching technology, without any immediate success mainly because of the cartoon outfits. The only ones not in character outfits are the medic and maintenance man.

“I understand your problem guys,” Will speaks to Greg and Malcom as they visit in his office. “About all I can tell you at this point are most of them are appearing to be North American in profile and none seeming to be in any criminal database?”

Maria Canbriatti picked her kidnapping team carefully in case of just such a search, expecting at some point they would be viewed on a security camera. She failed to realize; however, this fact in itself would be somewhat revealing.

“Doesn’t that tell us how organized and well-financed this kidnapping group must be?” Greg asks.

“And possibly who they are,” Malcom adds.

“You would think so. I have just started a team reviewing John’s recent and previous activities to see if there is some link to anyone capable of such a dastardly enterprise.”

“You don’t think it is just to get the teleport technology then?” Greg quickly asks.

Will waves his arms as he says, “That could be it, but look at how it was done and where it was done. This was no sudden urge. It had to be meticulously planned. John was no random target. Whoever did this knew of the Royston reunion well in advance.”

Will continues as he gets up and walks around his desk. “They had their people in place with the ability to block the alarms on John’s device. The swiftness and mode of getting him out of the park indicates how detailed their planning was. Wherever John is now, he is totally in their hands and we can only hope and pray for the best.”

At that point, Will’s secretary opens the door saying, “Ambassador Hargrove is here to see you, sir.” The secretary holds the door as Galactic Ambassador and former American President Mike Hargrove walks through the doorway.

Will quickly steps forward and shakes the ambassador’s hand while saying, “Welcome sir. It is good to see you, but not necessarily under these circumstances.”

“I agree. Hi Greg and Malcom,” He shakes their hands and then turns to Will. “What’s the latest on John’s kidnapping?”

“We have pictures of those directly involved in kidnapping him in the park, but at this point we have no definite leads to them.”

“Why don’t you give the pictures to the media and see if anyone comes forward with information?”

“We are preparing to do that now as we speak, sir.”

The secretary still at the door says, “The bulletin is ready for your review now, sir.”

“Good. Bring it in and we can all review it.” Will points to a side table with four chairs and says, “We can review it together over here.”

The secretary shortly enters with Will’s original and three copies, which she hands out.

This is the first time for the three to see the pictures, but Greg can tell why they believe they are North American by their features. The two men are white, plain featured, and well-groomed. He realizes the grooming part can be just for the kidnapping, but they look very natural in it.

Malcom notices the same things but also the over-all facial features. They do not look foreign or alien at all.

Ambassador Hargrove looks closely for any signs of familiarity, but draws a blank from his memory.

“This is the bulletin that will go out to all North American police agencies and media this morning with a direct number to our switchboard. It will also go out across the galactic media network as well. We have alert teams poised to respond to any calls.”

“Sounds like you’re covering all the bases,” Ambassador Hargrove says. “I assume you are also looking into people and organizations that have the ability and funding to pull this off?”

“Yes sir, we are, but so far nothing that looks promising,” Will replies.

“What about a motive for the kidnapping?” the ambassador asks.

Will answers, “That is not very clear yet. It could just be a well-executed way to obtain an unlimited device, but because John was singled out, it could be some type of personal thing like a vendetta or revenge motive.

Greg says, I can’t think of anyone who would stoop so low.”

Ambassador Hargrove looks at Greg Garrett and says, “You can say that now because you were very young when we first started the Council. There was much opposition we had to overcome. There were many people who were affected by the changes and some did not want to change. There were some who reacted violently at first. It was even touch and go for me during the election.”

Greg answers, “Yes sir, I remember reading about it in school, but it all just seems so long ago now.”

Ambassador Hargrove simply says, “I know how that can be for you, but some of it seems just like yesterday to me.”

Will says, “Well we will still keep working to get to the bottom of it.”

Ambassador Hargrove stands up. “Well keep me posted and my office stands ready to help you in any way.” He shakes hands all around and just before leaving, says to Greg and Malcom, “I know you will do your best.”

As Ambassador Hargrove leaves, his mind is bothered by the feeling something was said during the meeting that was important, but he can’t directly think what it could have been…

Chapter Eighteen

After several quick teleport transfers in which the unconscious galactic ambassador is disguised in different ways, within mere minutes of the kidnapping, John is relieved of all personal items including clothing, and placed on a bed in a special hospital-like room in only a green hospital gown. He is attached to several monitors, including a catheter and special drip into his arm, which keeps him in a highly medicated unconscious state.

Maria Canbriatti personally supervises the setup of the new and only patient in this fabricated facility. She methodically debriefs the recovery team.

Maria queries the dog, medic and maintenance man first. “Walk me through everything you did. As they do, she asks pointed questions. “And you’re sure no one saw you when you left?”

The “dog” answers, “If they did, they didn’t display any reaction.”

“Why do you say it that way?”

“Because a kid was coming out of the restroom as I was going in and he just smiled at me and me at him.”

That was before you kidnapped him?”

“Yes it was.”

“What about after?”

“No one came in when I was leaving.”

The “medic” responds similarly. “No one took notice except the platform attendant looked at me questioningly and I told him about the patient getting sick on a ride and I was taking him to his doctor while I punched in the coordinates.”

“So he did notice you and will report such?”

The medic agrees, “Probably so.”

Maria sighs, “So they will know how the kidnapping was accomplished but they shouldn’t be able to follow the trail through the transfers. Are you sure on that?”

“I’m as sure as I can be. I followed every step of the plan.”…

The adult members of the Royston family are mostly at the Antigua Command Center and lab, using their expertise to help in the location efforts.

Beth is sitting beside Corey at his workstation as he continues to tweak his scanning program. His first version is already active, but he believes he can improve the code to work even better.

“I hope and pray grandfather is okay,” Beth says. “I still don’t understand why anyone would do such a thing.”

Corey says, “I think they did it for two reasons, one is they wanted his wrist device because of its special features, and two is they don’t like him for some reason.”

“Grandfather is so likable I can’t think why someone wouldn’t like him, but if they don’t like him they may hurt him.”

“Unfortunately that is true. That is why we need to find him as quickly as possible.”

“Why would someone want to hurt my grandfather?”

“Back before we were born, when teleporting was first invented, it changed many people’s lives and some didn’t want to change their ways. I’ve read the archives about some people who destroyed platforms and harmed people because of it.”

“But why hurt my grandfather?” She almost moans.

“There may still be some of those people harboring their twisted hate and they might see your grandfather and my father as the person who started it all.”

She leans against his shoulder, “We’re so close to the same age, and I still, have a problem realizing he is your dad and my grandfather.

“I know, just think of me as part of Dad’s second family,” Corey says as he continues working his keypad.

Beside Corey’s workstation, Meredith is working, and beside her, Lt. Maxine Straw is doing her best to find the ambassador too.

On the other side of Corey’s workstation Greg Garrett is working on increasing the sensitivity of the deployed galactic sensors to identify areas of blockage.

Greg thinks this universe is too big. We must have our intelligence people help us narrow down the search someway…

At their New York headquarters, Hank Travis is working with his son on the matter. “Son, what has happened recently that would precipitate such action against us?”

“Dad, other than defeating those alien enemies, I can’t think of anything else.”

“But we do believe this is someone from North America, Right?”

“You’ve seen the same pictures I have Dad, and that’s certainly what it looks like.”

“What if they were just pawns of some alien power?”

“That’s possible, but I still believe they knew so much about us they had to have inside help. They knew how to block John’s device from transmitting and made a clean getaway using our teleport network. We are still combing our personnel files for any clues of disloyalty or application fraud.”…

On crescent Island, Jenny watches her own kids and the other Royston grandkids as she doesn’t think her medical specialty will help in the search. Amber Julie helps her and they talk as they keep the kids occupied. They talk on the patio while the kids play in the backyard.

“I’m very worried about Dad,” Jenny says.

Amber tearfully says, “I am too. I don’t know how we could have prevented the kidnapping or why they took him, but I hope and pray they don’t hurt him.”

Jenny puts her arm on Amber’s shoulder as she says, “I’m so worried we might never see him again.”

Just then there is a knock on Amber’s cottage door. She is surprised to see Jared Beckham when she opens it.

“Hi, I hope I’m not intruding, but I wanted to see you and see if there is anything I can do?”

She waves him in. “Come on in. Amber and I were just commiserating over Dad’s situation together.”

“Are you two sisters?”

Amber smiles, “Yes but we have different mothers. Do you have any news?”

It takes Jared a second to realize she means they have the same Dad. “Not really. The whole team is working like crazy to find him, but so far there have been no clues. There doesn’t seem to be any disaffected group claiming responsibility or asking for ransom. Will thinks it sounds like they took him for his device and maybe some type of revenge or vendetta motive.”

Amber speaks up, “But who could Dad have hurt to cause someone to do this to him?”

“That’s what Will is trying to find out. He has me reviewing personnel files to see if I can find anything because he believes whoever is doing this may have inside help.”

“Have you found any suspects?”

“No, but then I’m not sure what is suspicious and what isn’t. I’ve looked through over a thousand files and am nowhere near finished.” He looks into Amber’s tearful eyes. “I just took a break to check on you.”

She smiles at him. “Thanks for coming, but we are okay, or at least as okay as we can be under the circumstances.” She gives him a brief hug.

“Well I better get back. I’ll check with you later.”

Jenny adds, “Let us know if you find someone who would do such a thing.”

“Immediately after I let the security chief know.” Jared waves bye and zips back to the New York Galactic Security Headquarters

As the two Royston daughters stand on the patio watching the youngsters play, Jenny smiles at Amber with a sly grin and says, “He seems like such a sincere and nice young man. Are you interested? …

On Partheus IV, Maria Canbriatti is anxiously waiting for time to pass. The med team is keeping their Galactic prize well medicated, including hallucinogenic drugs to further confuse the patient when he wakes up.

In the meantime on the opposite part of Partheus, within a double layered force field, the mad maven’s technicians are working on removing the security features from John’s device. They are using a special molecular scanner provided by one of Grantham Wilson’s defunct government military programs.

Grantham is hoping the technicians can learn enough using the scanner to duplicate and manufacture their own devices. Two of the technicians are former key scientists who worked on Grantham’s Top Secret military programs. He expects their expertise with the technology to enable their success, plus the scientists privately promise to turn their new toy over to Grantham for a huge bonus.

Dr. Troy Greenberg, the scientist in charge of this twisted effort, has his own plans though, once they successfully disarm the embedded security chips in John’s device. Dr. Greenberg only took this assignment because he believes he can steal the device from them for his own devious purposes.

As they work as a seeming team, their work progresses slowly because, though the scanner reveals the inner parts, it cannot discern between functional chips and security ones. Plus they haven’t been able to break the encrypted program code.

“How are you coming on the device?” The tone of Maria’s voice reveals her anxiety and frustration level at their lack of success so far.

Troy nervously replies, “As we all expected, we can duplicate the owner’s voice patterns and his fingerprints, but to use the device outside the force field will probably activate warnings to Galactic Security until we are able to disable the security chips.”

“And how is that progressing?” Grantham presses.

“Very slowly I’m afraid. We really need someone who knows their encryption algorithm.”

Grantham says, “I will work that angle and see what is possible.”

“This is taking too long,” Maria frustrated says. “We must not keep him sedated too long or he will be useless to the rest of my plan.”

Though the scientists are aware of her plans for revenge using the galactic ambassador, they are trying to avoid being pulled into them, so they quietly ignore her last statement.

She fitfully says through gritted teeth, “Call me as soon as you make any progress at all.”…

In the Antigua lab, Greg Garrett talks to Corey, “I may have found a good and fast way to identify areas that are being blocked.”

“How can you do that?”

“We add a broadcast beam to the sensors that will act like old fashioned radar. The sensors will detect locations the beam doesn’t bounce back from.” Greg stands up from his keyboard. “Here I will show you how it works.”

Corey watches as Greg continues.

“I’ve just queried the sensor array that is scanning this base which now has the added broadcast beam. On the overhead screen is the result.”

Corey watches the overhead screen and sees a stream of locations pan across the screen. He sees the noticeable gap in location numbers.

“The gap is our screened base.”

“But what we are looking for is probably smaller than this huge facility.”

Greg smiles, “You’re probably right, but the computer can be programmed to recognize any sizeable gaps.”

Corey says, “Then you should show this to Dr. Vaughn so we can get all the sensor arrays retrofitted as soon as possible.”

“Why don’t you call him and tell him what we’ve done and get his approval?”

Corey stammers, “But it’s your work.”

“Yes, and you helped too with your ideas, so get to it.”

Corey can’t believe Greg is so willing to share his hard work, but he quickly makes the call and is not too surprised when Dr. Vaughn replies with, “Good job. Now get the sensors retrofitted as quickly as possible.”

Corey and Greg enlist Lt. Straw and Meredith in the task of retrofitting the sensor arrays and redeploying them. This makes the task go much faster. Greg programs the sensors to send alerts to his, Corey’s, and the Central Console of any sizeable location gaps.

Meredith is thrilled with the opportunity to feel she has a productive hand in helping find John. She thinks; I hope we find him quick before they harm him. I miss him so and I know the rest of the family does too.

Meredith has tried to keep busy to lessen her own heartache at his absence and situation, but it has been very difficult on her. I’ve come to depend on him so much in the past years. Surely with everyone doing their best to find him we will be successful.

She recalls how they first met years ago at Dr. Vaughn’s family farmhouse. I was so relieved to learn we didn’t kill him. Meredith mechanically watches her screen as she reminisces. Then I wanted to learn more about him. I remember when he first told me about Jenny and Jonathan. I could tell he really loved them and missed Julie too. I was unnecessarily hard on him when he tried to tell me about his Church.

I am glad we got over that thanks to little Jenny’s helping me understand. Now I don’t know how I ever got along without the Gospel in my life. At least I know if something happens to John now, we will have eternity together and no enemy or Satan can stop that from happening.

Meredith is interrupted from her reminiscing when Maxine, sitting next to her, almost viciously says, “Whoever did this is going to pay. I just hope John is okay.”

Meredith remembers when her sister was kidnapped by Bob Rainey. How helpless I felt then and even worse now. Back then at least we knew who took her and why. Now we hardly know anything about who took John or where or why. We must learn more soon! Meredith forces herself to hold back her tears and rely on her faith and John’s love to get her through this anxious time.

Amber Julie is missing her Dad very much. I can’t imagine a future without him, she thinks as she watches the children, thinking how their grandpa loves to play with them. They just have to find him before he is harmed!

Jonathan equally suffers and prays for his Dad’s safe return…

Chapter Nineteen

“What about using time travel to get John back?” Will Travis asks.

Jonathan and his security chief are meeting with Dr. Vaughn, Sethanni and Janus in the Galactic President’s New York office. They are sitting around an oval conference table as they discuss their missing Galactic Ambassador. They are each getting anxious about the length of time John has been missing and the lack of progress in locating him.

Jonathan answers, “As much as I would like to do that it might affect too many things in our universe. I think we should keep working to locate and rescue him without resorting to time travel to do it. We still don’t know the full ramifications of our most recent use of it. ”

“But we’ve heard nothing from whoever took him and we don’t know their motives or what they are planning.” Will Travis agitatedly adds.

Dr. Vaughn cryptically says, “Waiting too long can be a double-edged sword.”

“What do you mean?” The security chief asks.

Janus speaks up, “He means if we wait too long and do have to use time travel to reverse the ambassador’s kidnapping, the longer we wait the more affect it will cause in our universe.”

“So what is the correct answer?” Jonathan asks.

Dr. Vaughn says, “I’ve read the daily reports and I think the team is working several promising areas. We could have a breakthrough on any one of them at any time. My vote would to be to wait awhile longer before considering using time travel.” Dr. Vaughn is especially thinking of the sensor retrofitting project Corey recently talked to him about.

With Dr. Vaughn’s input everyone agrees to wait so they each return to working with the respective teams.

Galactic Ambassador Janus visits the Antigua Lab with Greg Garrett and joins in the retrofitting effort. As he does so, he realizes how much he has missed working in the lab.

Hank Travis has time on his hands with the academic semester just over. He visits Will’s New York office. “How are things going Son?”

A frustrated Will slowly answers, “Not very well I’m afraid, Dad. We still haven’t heard from John’s kidnappers and have no idea who they may be.”

“Well what have you learned?”

Will unconsciously straightens the papers on his desk as he answers his Dad’s question. “Just the manner of how they kidnapped him. Victor’s team tracked their getaway only so far before they lost them when they mingled in with a large group of people. We’ve distributed those pictures of the kidnappers, but so far no identities.”

Just as Will says this, his device buzzes and he sees Jared Beckham’s face on his device. “What’s up Jared?”

“The switchboard just received a call from a Canadian citizen who recognizes one of the kidnappers.”

“Have you interviewed him yet?”

“He is a she, sir and I was wondering if you wanted to go with us?”

“Why don’t you bring her here? Then we can learn together.”

In brief seconds, Jared reappears with a short dark-haired middle-aged lady. “This is Mrs. Adeline Jarvis. She says the distributed picture of the ‘medic’ is of her wayward son whom she hasn’t seen in over ten years.”

Adeline Jarvis looks around at her new surroundings in a startled manner. As if she’s not used to being teleported.

Will Travis shakes her hand to reassure her as he says, “I am Security Chief Will Travis, thanks for coming. Won’t you have a seat?”

Hank and Jared wait for her to sit before taking their seats.

After Mrs. Jarvis is seated, Will notes the picture she is holding. “What is your son’s name, Mrs. Jarvis?”

“His name is Jason and he was a good boy once, but he left home ten years ago and I haven’t seen or heard from him until I saw his picture on the video screen. Why is he wearing the white uniform and what has he done now?”

When Will hears her mention the missing ten years, he realizes his question is probably useless, but asks it anyway. “Do you have any idea where we might find him?”

Adeline shakes her head, “Like I said he left home ten years ago without a word of thank you for me raising him. His father died when he was eight and I did it all myself.”

The Security Chief decides to try one more possibility. “Did he leave by himself or with someone?”

Adeline’s eyes come alive. “Oh he took that sweet lass with him and boy did I ever hear it from her father as if it was my fault. He wanted to haul me off to jail.”

Hank Travis, sitting off to the side, interrupts her haranguing with, “What is her name?”

She turns to him, saying, “Back then she was known as Marlene Deckins, but no telling what she calls herself now.”

Will asks, “Do you think they could have gotten married?”

“Not if Jason had any sense about him, but she could have talked him into it with her brash way she had.”

Just then Will’s device buzzes and he sees his secretary’s smile. “You’re not going to believe this sir, but I have a lady named Marlene who says she knows the man in white in the picture.”

“Where is she now?”

“She’s on line one, calling from Ontario.”

“Thanks Sherrie. I’ll take it from here.” Will Travis picks up his desk phone that includes a video receiver. He sees the face of a light-haired lady who looks to be in her early thirties. “This is Security Chief Will Travis. Is this Marlene Deckins?”

“That’s my maiden name. I’m Marlene Carver now.”

“Is your husband Jason Jarvis the one in the picture?

“He’s my ex-husband now. I’m re-married.”

“Can you come to these coordinates on your screen now?”

“He watches her enter the digits in her wrist device and a second later she is standing in Will’s office and Hank, Jared and Will Travis stand as well.

Marlene is a little hesitant when she recognizes Adeline sitting in the chair, but Will Travis jumps in with, “We need to find your ex-husband as quickly as possible. Can you help us?”

Adeline suddenly stands up facing Marlene and says, “What did you do with my son?”

“I didn’t do anything to him, but he left me with two small children to take care of while he ran around on me.”

Adeline suddenly realizes what she said. “I have two grandchildren?”

Marlene ignores her and answers the Security Chief’s question, “I don’t know where he is now, but a couple of month’s ago, he said he was working on a special project with his ex-boss. He said he would catch up on his child support soon, but I haven’t heard from him since and he doesn’t answer my phone calls.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I want to see my grandchildren.” Adeline accusingly states.

“Would you have helped me if I had come to you?” Marlene angrily answers.

Will Travis firmly asks, “Who is his ex-boss?”

“I don’t remember his last name but his first name is Grantham and he used to be some big hotshot executive.”

The name doesn’t mean anything to Will, but it rings a bell with Hank. “Does Grantham’s last name happen to be Wilson?”

She turns to Hank, “I think it was something like that, but I really don’t remember. He’s a heavyset man. Do you know him?”

“Hank turns to his son, “I think we just found the motive for John’s kidnapping. We need to contact Ambassador Hargrove.”

Will is mystified, but glad his Dad knows something. He presses his device. “Ambassador Hargrove, if you aren’t too busy can you join my dad and me in my New York Office?”

“Certainly, I’ll be there in just a moment.”

“You should call Jonathan too,” Hank adds.

The Security Chief does so and shortly the Galactic President and Galactic Ambassador are both in the now crowded office.

“I think we should meet in the conference room.” Will Travis leads the way.

While they are walking, Adeline asks Marlene, “How old are they and are they boys or girls?”

“What have you learned?” Jonathan asks Will.

As he opens the door for them, Will says, “My dad will tell us together.”

Just before they take their chairs, Marlene tells Adeline, “Susan is seven and Jason Jr. is eight and I never told them anything about you.”

When everyone is seated, Hank says, “I think Ambassador Hargrove can fill you in better than I can. Ambassador, do you remember Grantham Wilson?”

The Ambassador suddenly realizes why he is here. “Yes I do.” The former American President says, “He was one of the co-conspirators in that dam explosion during the Presidential campaign just before President Petersen was elected. Is he involved in John’s kidnapping?

“We think so, sir. His name just came up in relation to one of the identified kidnappers.” Hank pauses, “I think that conspiracy may still be going on.”

Will suddenly turns to Jared, “Go find out all you can about Grantham Wilson and learn his current whereabouts, but keep it under wraps for now. We need to learn more about this first. Ambassador, what else can you tell us?”

“We kept the incident very quiet so as not to hurt some of the soldier’s families who died in the dam explosion. Grantham was one of the financial backers of the scheme, but the real leader was Maria Canbriatti.” Ambassador Hargrove reaches for a glass of water from a side table and takes a sip before continuing. He hauntingly remembers that Whitehouse luncheon many years ago and the piercing grey eyes that shot daggers at him across the dinning room table.

“I privately forced Ms. Canbriatti to give up her position of power at Tele-World and hoped we had heard the last of her. Grantham and his company were locked out of all future government contracts. They both may be holding a grudge. I suppose kidnapping Ambassador Royston could be their twisted act of revenge. They may view him as the start of all their troubles.”

Will Travis uses his wrist device, “Jared, add Maria Canbriatti’s name to your list also.”

Will turns to Marlene and Adeline who have been listening but not fully understanding as they are lost in their own thoughts and problems.

“Ladies I want to thank you for coming forward. I will see that you receive the back child support you are owed promptly, but your ex-husband and son will have to accept the consequences of what he has been involved in. If either of you hear from him, please contact us immediately and we will take it from there. You are welcome to return to your homes now.”

As soon as they leave, he tells the others, “We will put around-the-clock surveillance on them to learn as much as we can. Now let’s go see what Jared is learning.”…

On Partheus IV in a dimly lighted ‘hospital’ room, Galactic Ambassador John Royston can hear sounds as if in a dark tunnel. He gradually makes them out as excited voices. He dimly hears but can’t see! My eyes won’t open…as if they are sealed shut! I can’t move! Where am I? What happened?

“Doctors, I can’t believe it. After all these years he is waking up!”

John hears the excited female voice but doesn’t recognize it. He tries to open his mouth to speak but can’t. Something is over my mouth and nose!

“Has he opened his eyes yet?”

John hears the nasally male voice and automatically knows he doesn’t recognize it either. John becomes more concerned. He tries to move his legs but has no feeling. He is able to slightly turn his head, but just barely and with much effort.

“No Doctor, but brainwave functions indicate he is awake and the monitor indicates he is able to breathe on his own now,” The female voice replies.

The ‘doctor’ notes the slight head movement and says, “Then remove the respirator.”

John feels a soft hand slightly touch his face and slowly raise his head. He can tell something has been removed from covering his face by the difference in air circulation.

As his eyes remain closed, John quietly analyses his body functions and responses. He foggily notes; I feel highly medicated… groggy and sluggish. That must be why I can’t open my eyes or mouth or feel my legs. Hopefully it will wear off soon.

John tries to ignore the comment about ‘all these years’ and slowly shakes his head, willfully forcing his mouth open. His eyes are still closed as he very weakly asks, “…Meredith, is that you?”

The officious nasally male voice concernedly asks, “Who is Meredith?”

John wonders; what galaxy, dimension or time am I in? He tries to remember his last thoughts. I remember being in some kind of park but I don’t remember anything afterwards. What can have happened to me to be in a hospital?

John keeps his eyes shut so that he might learn more from the unknown voices.

“He spoke. He is coming out of his coma! John hears the female voice say.

Through a two-way mirror, the mad maven watches the drama unfold just as she has scripted it. She inwardly revels at John’s condition and confusion. She is already imagining the next step in her twisted plan. All this work will soon payoff and I will have my revenge for all these years. Your drugged confusion should cause you to reveal some of your secrets to us. She wickedly smiles; we will soon gain control of our destiny…

Chapter Twenty

With the first real break in the case, the Security Team is re-energized. They now believe they know who and why.

Meredith is thrilled. With the new information they might have a true lead to finding him. I can’t believe a mad woman is behind this whole kidnapping plot and that this goes back to something that happened over twenty years ago that John wasn’t even directly involved in.

Corey is equally happy and mystified as well. They may still need these spheres so I better be sure they are ready.

Maria Canbriatti’s Manhattan Penthouse has an around-the-clock surveillance team with invisible monitors placed inside, but there is no sign of her presence. The same is done with Grantham Wilson’s suburban residence with the same lack of success. All identified personal and business contacts are similarly watched. This is all done in a stealthy manner so as not to tip the individuals off as to the surveillance.

Once her nefarious scheme was activated, Maria had the entire team isolated on Partheus IV so they could not be contacted or vice versa.

With no immediate success, Will orders the investigation to the next level. With court orders, all recent communications between the targeted individuals are examined and several other surveillance targets are then identified. So far the identified targets are nowhere to be found.

When Will learns of this, he says, “She had anyone involved in the kidnapping or its plans disappear just in case we learned of her involvement. Keep the surveillance at high alert. We might get lucky and someone may want to phone home. Now if we can only find where they disappeared to?”

Victor adds, “She had no personal device but probably used her friend’s devices whenever she wanted.”

“Check our networks to see if we can find out any destinations she may have went.” The Security Chief anxiously says. “They probably did not travel in a group but several may have teleported about the same time to the same destination so use those parameters for the weeks preceding the kidnapping and see if anything pops up out of the ordinary.”…

At the Antigua Lab, Dr, Vaughn relates the recent security meeting with Sethanni. “The thought of using time travel was mentioned, but I am worried we might adversely affect other things in the universe if we go back and change things as we so recently did.”

Sethanni softly speaks up, “We wouldn’t have to change anything this time. We could just go back and observe who took him and where they took him. Then return to our time to free him.”

Dr. Vaughn suddenly realizes the simplicity of the solution. He immediately notifies Jonathan and Will via his device.

“I believe we have the solution to finding John.” Sethanni points out, “We can use time travel to stealthily observe when they took John and where and then return to our time to rescue him. That way we shouldn’t adversely affect our time in any way.”

“That’s brilliant,” Jonathan says. “Why didn’t we think of it sooner?”

Will Travis says, “I will assign a stealth time team right away.”

Meredith learns of the new development when Corey is assigned as a member of the stealth team to help find his dad. She is ecstatic over the news. She happily shares the news with the rest of the family.

Amber Julie is thrilled with the news and wonders at the simplicity of using time travel to view the past without affecting anything.

Shortly, Sethanni, Greg Garrett and Corey Royston invisibly watch John being kidnapped at the Disney Centauri Park and silently follow him with his kidnappers through their various transfers to the Partheus IV fake facility. They make a note of the coordinates and prepare to return to their own time where Victor is prepared with a security alert team ready to retrieve John as soon as he receives the coordinates.

The invisible trio is down the hall from John’s ‘hospital room’ when Sethanni presses his device to return them, but nothing happens except they instantly lose their invisibility!

The stealthy intruders failed to realize their invisibility did not prevent them from being detected by other means.

Grantham Wilson provided Maria’s team with security sensors from his old defense contracting company to detect intruders in case any of their team was followed, plus he provided the latest energy field generators.

As soon as the kidnappers are alerted to the intruder’s presence by their sensing devices, Maria Canbriatti presses a switch putting the facility inside a double layered force field, and affecting the stealth team’s devices.

The mad maven’s guards quickly surround them with drawn weapons. The only thing saving the stealth team is each member has their individual protective energy fields, which they immediately activate.

The communication part of their devices still works and Sethanni quietly says, “Move together towards the exit.”

As they move down the hallway together, the energy fields both protect them and clear a path for them. The guards are forcefully moved back and away from them by the invisible energy fields.

Greg Garrett uses the force of his leg in a karate kick, which combined with the energy field, blows out the door and they quickly step through the opening.

Sethanni notes the rest of the building is like an empty warehouse rather than a finished building. He heads toward the end door and the others closely follow, including the guards.

Maria Canbriatti, hurrying to catch up, yells, “Don’t shoot at them! They can’t get away!”

She is right as the building security shield stops the security team in their tracks just as they reach the door.

It seems to be a standoff as the security trio turns to face Maria’s advancing gun-toting guards. The now very visible team is thankfully still protected by their individual energy shields, but without the teleport function working. Greg Garret hopes the rest of their team will figure out what happened and rescue them. .…

Meanwhile at the Antigua Control Center in the present, the security team is very concerned. Dr. Vaughn and Ambassador Janus are aware that no matter how long it took the time team to accomplish their mission, they should have returned to this very time. They wonder what happened to cause the delay.

It is Alex who guesses what might have happened. “Although the time team was invisible, they could have been detected by other means. If they were detected at that time by the kidnappers, that could change what we know now that happened then.”

“Do you mean it could affect our history?” Meredith anxiously asks.

Dr. Vaughn looks at her compassionately and says, “I’m afraid that is true my dear. By going back in time, whatever they caused to happen will be affecting us now. If the kidnappers became aware of them they might take actions they didn’t originally take. Those actions could have repercussions in our time.”

Janus says, “We must act as if that is what happened. Their devices must have been affected to keep them from returning. I think we should send a second team back to stealthily follow the first team and learn what happened.”

Meredith worriedly asks, “But couldn’t we lose them too?”

Dr. Vaughn answers, “That is a possibility, but they will be more aware of the situation and be instructed to keep their distance and return immediately.

Will Travis says, “We should send Victor’s team and this time be sure they are better equipped to defend themselves.”

Shortly Victor’s team is invisibly following the first team through the transfers to Partheus IV. As soon as they arrive in the hallway behind the stealth team, Victor quickly presses return on his device before the kidnappers react to the intruders.

The security team is very relieved when Victor’s team reappears only seconds after they left.

“We have the coordinates! They are on Partheus IV in the Sagittarius Sector!” Victor says, “We returned before they detected us so we aren’t sure what happened after that.” Victor immediately downloads the coordinates into the Antigua Console.

Will directs his security units to take up positions surrounding the coordinates but a distance away from the site. “Let nothing in or out without inspection,” he orders.

The Galactic Security leaders zip to Partheus IV in the Targus to use as a command and control base and place it in synchronous orbit over the identified coordinates.

Alex is at the Targus monitoring station. He looks up to Will Travis and says, “The sensors can’t detect anyone in that building because it is protected by a strong force field.”

Janus says, “We should be able to use a null field to disrupt it.”

Borcas is at the Targus’ control station. He immediately sets up a null field generator and broadcasts the intense energy beam at the target ground-based energy barrier after alerting the teams down below to move back.

As soon as the beam nullifies the energy barrier in a blinding flash and whooshing noise as the disrupted air settles, the surrounding security teams rush in. They happily find Sethanni and Greg and Corey, safe inside the building.

“I was getting worried as our knapsacks were about to run out of food,” Corey says. “Greg and Sethanni said you guys would be here as soon as we caught up to the present or sooner, so not to worry.”

“Where are John and his kidnappers? Will Travis asks.

“They left shortly after they discovered us and left the energy field on, which kept our devices from working.

Dr. Vaughn says, “That is one of the affects of Sethanni’s Team being detected. We learned where they were, but not where they are.”

“Well can’t we repeat the trip and learn where they went?” Alex asks.

“If we can manage to do so undetected,” Dr. Vaughn says.

“Do you think they learned we used time travel?” Will Travis asks.

“I don’t think so,” Sethanni says. “I think they just detected our presence and thought we somehow found them. I don’t think they were able to tell how we arrived.”

“If that is the case, then I think we should be able to find where they went,” Dr. Vaughn says. “They would have needed to cut the force field for a few seconds in order to escape. We know approximately when they left so if we time it right; we should be able to follow them.”

“If we had been able to detect when they cut the field, we could have zipped back then too,” Sethanni adds.

“They probably had an automatic switch set to turn it back on the instant they teleported away,” Alex says.

“We searched the building for the field generator but found nothing,” Greg adds.

Dr. Vaughn points a special sensor around the main room and it suddenly beeps. “That is because it is behind that wall.” He points to a nearby door. “I imagine there is a special access panel in that closet.”

Sure enough, they find the field generator and note the automatic time-delay switch. “Now we have the exact time they left,” Sethanni says.

“Why can’t we just capture them and free Dad right then?” Corey asks.

“Because the time team will be in the past and we will be disrupting the time stream that has already occurred if we do it then,” Dr. Vaughn explains. “The less we upset the time stream the better for everyone. We have already affected our time stream by causing them to move from here when they didn’t do that originally.”…

Chapter Twenty-one

Back in time, Maria Canbriatti is furious. All those hours and days planning this and now everything is upset because they were able to track us! I am glad we had this backup facility prepared. They must have some kind of cloaking power that was disrupted when we activated the energy shield. How can we defend against invisibility? She answers her own silent question. We defend it by keeping the security shield on. Apparently they can’t teleport through it. Their leaders will probably find those intruders trapped in that facility eventually.

Just before they moved John they gave him another potent sedative. Even if he wasn’t so drugged, he may not have noticed, as this room is a close replica of the other one. Because it is so close, it has some of the same small flaws too.

Maria angrily decides to start her twisted plan for her captive. She sends the ‘Doctor’ into the replicated hospital room.

“Sir, welcome back. You have been in a coma for a long time.”

John sees the man in the white coat and recognizes his voice as the earlier one. “Where am I? What happened? John anxiously asks.

“You are in the Hillsboro General Hospital. You were in a terrible accident. I am Dr. Osborne. Can you tell us your name?”

“What kind of accident?”

“According to the Highway Patrol report, an out-of-control dump truck broadsided your car and nearly killed you. Your car was destroyed beyond recognition. You have been in a coma for six months.”

A car? John anxiously thinks; I haven’t been in a car for over twenty years? “What is the date?” When he hears the answer, John wonders; how did I travel back in time and what was I doing in a car near Hillsboro? Then he remembers; that was about the time of my first teleport incident.

“Your clothes were burned and we could find no identity, so we didn’t know who you were. What is your name and where do you live so we can notify your family?”

John quickly thinks; if I am back in time and I tell them the truth, it may affect the time stream. “I don’t remember anything.”

“That sometimes happens in these circumstances. Your memory will probably slowly return. What can you tell us?”

While the doctor is speaking, John casually feels for his wrist device and finds it missing. He slowly rubs his forehead. “I’m afraid my head is very fuzzy about everything. I need some time to try to think and remember.”

John then thinks, if something like this happened in my past, I should have remembered it unless it has already affected the time stream. I better be very careful with what I say and do. I must find out what happened to my device.

Since Maria and her team have no knowledge of the time travel function, they are unaware of John’s mental dilemma of discussing things if he is back over twenty-five years in time.

“He should be more agitated and confused, but he should at least know his name. We didn’t use that hard of drugs on him. What can he be thinking? The only reason I can think of is he must suspect something is wrong.” Maria is frustrated. She has dreamed of this moment for so long, she is let down by John’s lack of harrowed response and his failure to follow her script.

After the doctor and nurses leave his room, John notes the doctor left his clipboard on the side table.

Maria and ‘Dr. Osborne’ watch through the wall mirror as John slowly slides out of bed in his hospital gown and wanders over to the side table. He casually picks it up and notes the label at the top of a thick folder, ‘John Doe’.

John opens the folder and is shocked to see his own picture, barely recognizable wrapped in bandages with scratches and cuts on his face, laying unconscious on a gurney. He unconsciously puts his hand to his face and looks at the mirror. He thinks; There seems to be a complete recovery, but that was taken six month’s ago according to the date.

He slowly reads the medical report and successive entries that mark his recovery progress up until he woke up this morning.

At the back of the folder there is a picture of the accident scene and John wonders, with that much damage, I’m lucky to be alive.

He reads where a passing motorist pulled him from the flames just before the gas tank exploded.

He notes according to the report, the dump truck driver was not as lucky. John sits on the side of the bed as he thinks.

This is about the same time and place as when I was accidentally teleported. Did this happen in an alternate time stream so the teleport incident didn’t take place? John thinks; that could change over twenty-five years of history. Was this not really an accident but a purposeful way to change history? If so, how do I find out?

John stands up and walks around the room. He looks out the window and sees what he would expect to see from a hospital room. It is a simple view of a garden. He looks up and sees a nice sunny blue sky.

What do I really remember? The last thing I remember I was at the Disney Centauri Park with the family. I don’t think I’m on Centauri anymore. As John takes a step, he feels a tingling in his toe and remembers stubbing it while exiting the ride. He hesitates and looks closer around the room. I can’t have been here as long as they say. This whole scenario must be faked for my benefit, but why? I must be very careful as someone has gone to great lengths to create this environment and make me believe it. I will play along and hope Will’s security team can locate me. He gives a short side glance at the mirror and thinks, they are probably watching me.

On the other side of the mirror, Maria’s team witnesses John’s behavior. “He might not know exactly what is going on, but I don’t think he believes everything we told him or what he just read,” Maria says. “Where did we slip up?”

“According to the date we gave him, he had two young teenagers. He may be wondering why they haven’t located him yet or why his fingerprints haven’t been used to identify him,” Dr. Osborne says.

The ‘nurse’ adds her thoughts, “We ignored that part of the story because there was no way we could provide the answers. I think it left a serious whole in our scenario. He should have asked about his kids first. The fact he hasn’t means the whole story doesn’t make sense to him.”

Maria turns to Dr. Osborne. “There’s one way to find out. David, I want you to go in there looking for your clipboard and suddenly think to ask him if he remembers anything about his family. How he answers may tell us what he is thinking.”

John is back resting on the bed when the door opens and Dr. Osborne enters.

“Oh, there it is.” Dr. Osborne picks up the clipboard and asks, “Are you feeling any better? I can have the nurse give you a sedative if you like?”

“No, I think I’ve had enough medicine to last me a lifetime. I just need time to think and let my head clear.” John wipes his brow again.

“Do you remember your name yet or if you have any family?”

John realizes they are expecting him to at least remember something. “I think I remember having a wife who died suddenly. I believe her name was Julie, but I can’t remember my own name or where I am from.”

“Well, as I said it may come back to you a little bit at a time. Just keep working at it.” He turns as if to go and then glances at the clipboard and turns back to John. “Did you happen to see your picture when you were brought into the hospital? Your body was in pretty bad shape. The surgeons spent several hours patching you up.” Dr. Osborne takes a step back into the room, waiting for John’s reply.

John says, “I know. I saw the clipboard and read it. That was a gruesome accident, but I can’t remember anything about it.” John shakes his head as if trying to remember.

When the doctor leaves, John begins thinking of who could be behind such a concocted story and for what purpose. Whoever they work for, they have my device and may be trying to get it to work for them. I hope our security team is working to find me before anything bad happens. Because of their knowledge of my history, they are probably domestic enemies, but who can they be? They must be well-financed....

Back in the present, Victor’s stealth time team, consisting of himself and Jared Beckham, prepare for their time trip to coincide with when Maria’s team fled the compromised facility with John. Since they know that Greg, Sethanni and Corey are retrieved okay, they do nothing to change their past experience. Back in time, they invisibly silently observe Maria’s team hurriedly teleporting away to the other side of Partheus IV. Victor makes sure the teleport coordinates are recorded and then quickly follows them before the force field is reactivated.

As soon as Victor notes the coordinates of the backup facility, Victor and Jared return to the present.

“Here is where they went,” Victor tells Will and Jonathan. “We should send a stealthy observation team in case they make another move.”

Meredith puts both hands on both Victor’s arms as she anxiously asks, “Did you see John? Is he okay?”

Victor says, “We saw him only for a second. He seemed to be sedated, but otherwise okay.”

“Why send a team? Why not just send an invisible monitor?” Jared anxiously asks.

Sethanni answers, “Because as wonderful as the Hyperwave device is in communicating across the universe, it can’t communicate real-time across time.”

Dr. Vaughn says, “We can do better than that. Just send your team there now and if he is still there, then you’re free to rescue him without affecting time.”…

Back in time, John wonders what his captors must be thinking. They have my device, but they obviously want more from me. I don’t think I responded the way they expected me to, but why? John thinks about it some more and then guesses; they presented me a scenario to make me think the last twenty-five years never happened and it was a dream.

They didn’t realize I would think I traveled back in the past and would worry about changing the future. If that is true, then I’m really not in the past and whatever I do or say won’t affect anything. Maybe I can play along and get them to reveal the rest of their plan until I can be rescued or find a way to escape.

Maria lets John have a restful night’s sleep and then sends in the pretty nurse with his breakfast.

“Good morning. I hope you slept well last night,” she says as she sets the tray down on the bedside table.

“Thanks, I slept okay but kept waking up every few hours. “I’m still trying to remember who I am and where I live. “I think I am some kind of reporter or journalist because I keep seeing newspapers in my dream.”

“I guess that means your memory is starting to come back. I will let Dr. Osborne know.”

As she turns to leave, John says, “Nurse, what is your name?”

She smiles and says, “My name is Betty. What is yours?”

“I think my name is John.” John looks at his wrist. “Betty, I keep feeling for my wrist watch. Do you know what happened to it?”

“No, but your clothes were all smoky and charred. It probably got tossed out with your clothes. I hope it wasn’t valuable.”

“Well, it was a gift and it is valuable to me. If there is anyway to retrieve it I would certainly appreciate it.”

“I will ask about it, but that was months ago and I am sure it is long gone by now.”

“Thanks very much.”

“Ah… He finally mentions his wrist device.” Maria maliciously smiles on the other side of the mirror. “I was wondering when he would say something. I do believe he is on to us or at least suspects something is wrong with what we told him happened.” She turns to Grantham, “We are probably not going to get the information out of him voluntarily. We may have to resort to torture to get what we want from him.”…

Chapter Twenty-two

Back in the present on Al-Kanon in the Alpha Dimension, the election for Planetary Minister has just concluded with former General Karen Zihl coming in third. The other two candidates garnered enough votes to cause a runoff between them.

Karen is furious and immediately activates her fall-back plan. She has privately been gathering a team of backers who are just as anxious to gain or retain power as she is. Several have significant positions in the Queen’s Cabinet. They have power over some of the planet’s significant support infrastructures, such as utilities and water and civil police.

She angrily tells them, “We will use the time between the next election to cause as much strife and chaos as possible. They will beg me to become their leader.”…

Far away on Sirius in the Corbon Solar System, Rasheed Mohammad takes delivery of a shipment of energy pod units along with several teleport platforms that are marked to go to non-existent cities on Sirius. He has a team of technicians whose sole job is to defeat the security defenses of the platforms before they become active.

One of Rasheed’s crack units is planning a surprise attack on a Galactic Security station in the Beta Galaxy to secure some advanced weaponry to launch their System-wide holy war.

Rasheed has quietly been placing sleeper units throughout Earth’s countries with instructions to lay low and blend in with the native cultures. Some have even risen to prominent positions in their respective communities.

One such citizen is Omar Ramatta who was recently elected to be City Manager for Abilene, Texas. This position allows him to receive Galactic Security Communiqués plus some actual Galactic Security training.

Omar feeds Rasheed vital information he learns about the internal workings of the Galactic Security Service. “I’ve learned who the team leaders are and the coordinates of several important Galactic locations.”…

In the present in the Antigua Lab, Will Travis gives Victor’s team their orders. “Zip to that location and retrieve Ambassador Royston and capture all those responsible for this kidnapping.”

Meredith and Corey with the rest of the Royston adults anxiously watch Victor gather his team in the Antigua Lab to make the rescue. They are hopeful this nightmare is about to end. Beth hold’s Corey’s hand while Jonathan puts his hands on Meredith’s shoulders. Jenny and Greg Garrett embrace each other as do Tanya and Jonathan. Amber is holding hands with Jared Beckham.

Ambassadors Hargrove and Janus are there standing near the main console with Dr. Vaughn, Sethanni and Will Travis.

Victor’s team is well equipped with gear and weapons to accomplish the mission. “We will appear in stealthy mode to determine the situation before taking any action,” Victor tells his team as the rest observe their preparations for the rescue.

Everyone watches the rescue team disappear. It is only a couple of seconds later when the whole team reappears with Victor looking pale and shaken. Meredith runs up to Victor screaming, “Where’s John? What have they done to him?

Victor tries not to look at Meredith as he rushes up to Will Travis. “Sir, I believe we need to go back in time to rescue him. They have been torturing him.”

Will Travis looks at Dr. Vaughn and those standing with him. They look at each other and all nod in agreement. Will then tells Victor, “Go back to when they just arrived at the new location and take care of them. Bring John and your captives back with you to the present and we will hope for the best on any changes in the time stream.”

Victor tells his anxious team members, “We will arrive ahead of them and be ready for them.” He gives each member their assigned target and then they disappear.

This time when Maria’s team arrives on the far side of Partheus IV with John, they are quickly surrounded, disarmed, and taken into custody while Victor immediately zips John, still in his medicated condition, directly back to the present, bed and all.

As soon as they appear, Meredith rushes to John’s bedside where she hugs her near-comatose husband as the rest of the family join her.

A team of doctors and nurses instantly appear to take care of John. He and his family are quickly zipped to a private room at the Antigua hospital. Since all this happens before John was tortured, he is unaware of the pain and suffering he missed as the doctors slowly bring him out of his medicated state.

Victor’s team locks up the kidnapping team in a top security facility until they can be questioned. Meanwhile there is a separate group of Maria’s team in a secret location still working on decrypting John’s wrist device.

Maria is furious in her new holding cell. How could they know about our alternate site? We must have a turncoat amongst us for them to have found out about it. Hopefully Team Two will break the device encryption and rescue us.

When John wakes up and sees Meredith and Jonathan standing by his bed, he slowly sits up and says, “They have my wrist device.”

“We know, Dad. We are interrogating Maria Canbriatti and her team now. They will eventually tell us where it is.”

“So that’s who kidnapped me,” John shakes his head. “I haven’t heard her name in many years. She must carry a grudge for a long time.”

“Well, she won’t be able to touch you again. Her and her henchman will be behind bars for a very long time.”

John looks at Meredith as she holds his hand. “Are the kids and grandkids okay”

Meredith smiles, “Yes, but they’ve been missing their father and grandpa.”

As Dr. Vaughn had feared, due to rescuing John in the past, there were some slight changes in the Time Stream.

Most things continued on as they had previously except for one very important change.

Due to the horrendous torture, which did not now take place, John had revealed key secrets to his wrist device. Maria’s Team Two used that knowledge to break the encryption code. They were just starting to test it when the Time Team rescued John in the past, causing the Time Stream change.

Now without John’s help, they are still working to break the encryption. The only good thing for Team Two is the Galactic Security Service has no knowledge of their whereabouts or they would already be captured too.

In Jonathan’s New York office, Will meets with the Galactic President. “Sir, since the kidnappers are not talking, I suggest we send a stealthy observation team back in time to see what happened to John’s device,” Will tells Jonathan.

“I will discuss the suggestion with Dr. Vaughn and the others and let you know the decision.”

“I would agree if we can make sure they are protected and undetectable,” Dr. Vaughn says when Jonathan presents the idea to him and Sethanni.

Sethanni says, “We might be able to do it another way that doesn’t put anyone in danger. We could go back before John is kidnapped and secretly attach a special sensor that will broadcast the device’s whereabouts.”

“But doesn’t the device have that capability now, but it has been deactivated or is somehow being blocked?” Jonathan asks.

“That tracking device only broadcasts when it is queried by our system and it can too easily be blocked. I am thinking of putting a device underneath the wristband that would constantly broadcast on an ultra-high frequency that will be extremely difficult to detect.”

Dr. Vaughn says, “Let’s try that first.”

Back in time, while John is concentrating on the pain in his stubbed toe as he exits the Disney Centauri ride, an invisible Jared Beckham slips the special micro broadcast device, attached to a tiny piece of Velcro, underneath John’s wrist band.

Now in the present, in the Antigua Lab the special receiver is suddenly beeping and displaying the coordinates of the location of John’s device.

Victor’s security team is quickly dispatched and Team Two is captured with John’s device before it can reveal its secrets..,

When Maria Canbriatti sees her Team Two leaders appear in cells across from hers, she angrily shouts, “How can they do that?”…

Meanwhile, events on Al-Kanon have escalated out of control so fast the planet’s citizens are in a panic. Things are being blown up all over the place and many of the city services have been severely disrupted. Many city functionaries have either been killed or taken hostage and held for ransom. Important people are disappearing during the night and everyone is very scared over the seemingly unending ensuing chaos. The Dimensional Gateway was the first target to be destroyed.

Katie Messini’s family is very worried over what is happening in the capitol city.

On Crescent Island, Corey and Beth are having lunch in the Island Canteen. They are sitting outside at a table on the veranda enjoying the cool ocean breeze of a pretty spring day.

“I’m glad Dad is back. I didn’t even want to ask Victor about what he witnessed with Dad being tortured. I’m glad we were able to prevent that.” Corey looks out at the floating white clouds over the ocean.

“Me too, but Dr. Vaughn says we may never know of some of the changes in time that caused.”

Corey enthusiastically says, “But it was the only way we could rescue Dad from being tortured.”

“I know, but Dr. Vaughn wishes his team had more time to mitigate any changes.”

Corey says, “That’s the thing about changing time, the only ones who remember what happened before are the Time Team who did the changing. Everyone else is caught up in the new time stream.”

“I put in my Mission papers yesterday. The Bishop says I could hear something about when I might receive my Mission Call next month.”

Corey smiles, “That’s great. I know you will enjoy wherever you serve.”

Just then Corey’s device beeps and he smiles as he sees Katie Messini’s image on his screen, but he notes she isn’t smiling. He also notes his device shows she is at her home in the Alpha Dimension and not using her own device.

“Hi Katie, what’s happening?”

“Oh Corey, it is madness here. People are blowing things up and everything is being disrupted. Crime is rampant and no one feels safe anymore. I was attacked on the street and my device was stolen. I am using my Dad’s device now. I don’t know what to do.”

“Katie, I will try to find out what is going on. When did all this start?”

“It started shortly after the general election. Everyone is blaming everyone else for what is going on. There is chaos with no one taking responsibility for anything.”

“Okay Katie, I will talk to our security people and see what they know about it. I will call you back shortly. Bye for now.” He looks at Beth. “I’m going to visit Galactic Security in New York. Do you want to come along?”

She smiles, “Just as soon as I finish this sandwich if that is okay?”

Corey looks at his plate and realizes he hasn’t finished his food either. “Sure, I’ll finish mine too.”

When they arrive at the New York Galactic Security reception desk, Corey notes an unusual amount of activity with several people zipping in and out of the building.

“Hi Gary, we would like to meet with Will Travis or Victor Austin please.

The young dark haired receptionist says, “I’m sorry sir, they are both in a meeting right now.” He looks down at his desktop screen and then says, “Victor Austin is available now.

They zip to Victor’s office where he is just sitting down at his desk. He quickly stands and says, “Hi Beth and Corey. What brings you two here?”

‘Victor, we were having lunch together when I got a strange call from Katie Messini in the Alpha Dimension on Al-Kanon. She was upset and said she had been attacked and her device had been stolen. Do you know anything about it?”

While Corey was talking, Victor sat down and reviewed some items on his comp screen. “Yes, unfortunately things are in an uproar there after the general election. Our new Dimension Gateway was sabotaged and it is out of order for the moment. Only our special personal devices are working between dimensions.

“We have been in contact with the local police, but they seem unable to quell the terrorist activity. They say several of their stations have been attacked as well. We have a report the Galactic space observatory has been attacked too. We have just dispatched a security detachment there to assess the situation and help the local authorities restore order. Mark Leonard thinks the instigator is the former General, Karen Zihl because she lost last week’s election.”

Corey asks, “Can your team verify Katie Messini’s safety?”

“I will see that request is passed on and report back to you. I will authorize you to bring her here if you want? She might have more update information for us.”

“Thanks.” Corey immediately calls Katie Messini via her Dad’s device and says, “Be ready. I’m coming to get you in a moment.”

Beth says, “Can I go too.”

“Beth, I would gladly say yes if I knew what was going on there, but I think it best you wait here. I will be right back.”

Unfortunately Corey did not wait for Katie’s answer as he was too anxious to go rescue her, but his actions had been anticipated by the opposition. They knew of Katie’s connection with the Galactic Dimension as they called it, and were listening to Katie’s conversation.

They had taken Katie and her family hostage, waiting for such a call. As soon as Corey appears, he is gassed into unconsciousness and his wrist device removed.

He is instantly zipped to a new location.

When Corey doesn’t reappear in a couple minutes, Victor tries calling him without getting an answer. He immediately notifies Chad Garvey at the Antigua Control Center. “Have the alert team zip to these Alpha Dimension coordinates. I think something has happened to Corey Royston. Have them report back immediately!”…

Chapter Twenty-three

In seconds, the alert team reports the Messini house is empty with no sign of anyone. Victor orders “Take over the coordinate tracking system in that dimension and try to find out where they went. We are sending support units now. Deactivate Corey’s teleport device now!”

Though the teleport devices function independently, they require a computerized GPS support system to maintain coordinate updates in a constantly moving universe. Victor hopes they can find where the villains took Corey and Katie’s family by querying the tracking system.

Victor speaks to Chad, “Dispatch the alert science team and the standby squad of support technicians to Al-Kanon Galactic headquarters now!”

He reports his actions to Will Travis and then says, “I shouldn’t have let Corey go by himself. I’m going there now to head-up the investigation and hopefully rescue him unharmed with the others.”

Will says, “You couldn’t have anticipated what happened. Don’t hesitate to request more forces. We will get to the bottom of this quickly.” Mark Leonard appears in Will’s office and insists on being included.

Will has the difficult duty of notifying Jonathan, John and Meredith another Royston is in danger. The three zip to Will’s office almost simultaneously. The other Royston adults quickly follow. Meredith clings to John in tears as Will explains what happened and what they are doing to locate Corey and the others. Amber runs up to her mother and they emotionally hug…

On Al-Kanon, Corey and the others were teleported in several jumps until they were finally zipped to an underground hidden sealed cavern on Zaltar, one of the Al-Kanon moons.

Former General Zihl blames the Galactic Council and its security forces for all her troubles, and has resorted to kidnapping and terror as a way to get the Galactic Council and those other dimensioners out of their life.

As soon as Victor and Mark arrive at the Al-Kanon Galactic headquarters, Will orders all Galactic Security forces in the Alpha Dimension to concentrate on finding the kidnappers. Mark orders the arrest of Karen Zihl and her known cohorts. He orders the Galactic Teleport Tracking system to cancel her and her cohort’s teleport devices immediately.

The Galactic Security Technicians unit has been feverishly scanning Al-Kanon’s teleport records for the past hours. They followed three of the kidnapper’s jumps around the globe and then lost track of them when they apparently split up.

Will tells them, “Key on the time frame and trace all teleport activity. Send a security team to any questionable activity that cannot be verified as legitimate.”

When the security team zips to arrest the former general, they find she has disappeared along with her team, but they find a note she left addressed to Mark Leonard.

Mark Leonard

We are able to take care of ourselves without your help. We will return the hostages unharmed as soon as all Galactic Forces withdraw from this dimension and close down all Dimension Gateways. We will be listening to the Al-Kanon daily broadcast for your answer.

The note is quickly transmitted to Galactic Headquarters where President Jonathan Royston has convened the Galactic Council.

At the meeting, Jonathan asks Ambassador Janus to reassume the office of Galactic President until this crisis is resolved.

“In light of the situation, I will reluctantly but resolutely do so.”

When acting-president Janus speaks, he reads former General Zihl’s note and says, “I think what we must do is stall and give our security forces time to find the hostages. I do not believe we should even consider adhering to her request we leave the Alpha Dimension. They need us there now more than ever.”

Alpha Dimension Ambassador Garrond stands to speak to the Council. “We abhor what is happening on Al-Kanon. These acts are not that of the official government. We offer all governmental assistance to help free the hostages and implore you not to abandon our dimension.” He is the only surviving clone created by a dying race of Massai. He controlled the dangerous rift doorway between the dimensions until the rogue Hardison James captured it.

The Galactic Council members concur. They authorize President Janus to use all available resources to resolve the situation as quickly as possible…

On Zaltar, the rogue former general has marshaled her forces in the huge underground cavern. She is not surprised when she learns their teleport devices no longer function, even the one they took off Corey. As part of the chaos they caused, one of her teams captured a Galactic space ship from the Galactic Space Observatory. It is hidden near the cavern entrance.

After the gassing effect wears off, Corey opens his eyes to the passionate concerned look of Katie Messina anxiously hovering over him. Corey’s first thought is to reach for his wrist device and unhappily finds it missing. When he overcomes his slight dizziness, Corey comforts Katie Messini and her family in the side room of the cavern they are being held in. “They will find us soon. There is no way they can keep hidden from our people for long. I am sure they will free us shortly.” Corey remembers how his dad was recently freed and figures Dr. Vaughn and his team might use the same methods to free him and the others.

Katie Messini’s Dad, Juaquien, is not so easily consoled, “You and your Galactic Council are responsible for this catastrophe. This wouldn’t have happened if you had stayed where you belong. I will never forgive you for putting my family at such risk and your blasted dimension for causing my early retirement.”

Juaquien Messini was a high ranking official in the Al-Kanon militia when it was disbanded by the Queen so Al-Kanon could qualify for the Galactic teleport technology. He felt the new position he was offered in the Queen’s guards was beneath his station, so he abruptly retired instead and has harbored resentment against the Galactic Council since.

“Don’t worry sir, I am sure our security team will find us and rescue us soon.” Corey replies.

Juaquien angrily points his finger, “You and your security team are why we are here, and if we don’t even know where we are, how can your people find us?” Juaquien ends by waving his hands wildly in the air.

“Sir, our science team has many different ways they can track us. I am sure it will not take them very long.”

In another cavern room some of General Zihl’s team members are getting anxious, especially the ones who had important positions in Queen Vera’s cabinet. They want to know what happens next.

General Zihl haughtily says, “They will have to give in to our demands and leave our system if they want their people back, and I understand they are a very caring people. One of the hostages is the son of a very important member of their ruling council. I believe they will have to give in to our demands.”

“But what if they don’t? How long will we have to stay here?” The former Queen’s councilor over waterways and bridges nervously asks. When he agreed to join the former general he thought she had the upper hand. He also was unprepared for all the death and destruction her team caused. He used his position to sabotage several key projects, which threw the system into an uproar. Now he is not so sure he made the right choice.

“They will give in if we don’t panic. I know what they are capable of and we are well hidden from their instruments.” Karen Zihl knows of some of the functions of the teleport devices, having seen them personally used by Mark Leonard against her guards, but not all of them. She knows it can zip people around, but is not fully aware of the special device’s invisibility or time travel capabilities…

In the Antigua Lab, Dr. Vaughn recommends for Janus and Will to use time travel to track the villains down. “We can do it stealthily as we did before to find where John was being held.”

“We should have thought of this first,” Will says.

They quickly setup a protected team to invisibly go back to Victor’s office and follow Corey when he zips to the Alpha dimension.

Unlike Maria Canbriatti’s team, the twisted rogue group has no sensors to detect invisible intruders, so Jared Beckham’s two-man team easily follows them to the hidden Zaltar cavern and then returns to the present in the Antigua lab.

“Here are their coordinates.” The team leader happily shows Will and Victor. “They are in a hidden cavern on Zaltar, one of Al-Kanon’s moons,” Jared adds.

“Go get them now,” Will Travis quickly orders.

The hostages are thrilled when they suddenly note they are no longer in the cavern, but in the Antigua lab.

The Royston family has another happy and relieved reunion this time with their youngest son.

Jonathan invites Katie Messini’s family to stay with them until things are restored to normal on Al-Kanon.

“I think we’d rather not,” Juaquien brusquely tells Jonathan.

“But, dear, these nice people just saved us from some of our own terrible people. We should be grateful and accept their kind offer,”

Though Juaquien is reluctant to accept the invitation, his wife and daughter eventually talk him into it.

General Zihl is dumfounded when she suddenly finds herself instantly transported to the Al-Kanon prison where Mark Leonard soon appears just outside her cell.

He asks her, “Why did you stoop to such acts of vicious treachery when you should have known you couldn’t win?”

She angrily retorts, “You don’t belong in our dimension and I can’t believe why you are here now and how did you do this?” She angrily grabs the cell bars.”

“You will remain here until after the election and the government is stable again. Then you will be tried for crimes against your own people. I came here because once I thought you were an honorable person and I felt sorry for your being exiled those many years. Now, because of your recent treacherous acts, I see I was wrong.”

With the terror element removed, the Al-Kanon runoff election campaign between the two top contenders continues. Only days before the election, Queen Vera dies and there is a grand royal funeral in the capital city. Jonathan and his Dad head the Galactic delegation while Karen Zihl views the funeral from her prison cell.

Mark and The Galactic Council organize a recovery force to assist with rebuilding Al-Kanon’s infrastructure that was damaged or destroyed during the chaos caused by former General Zihl’s twisted forces.

While the Messini’s are guests of the Galactic Council President and his family, Jonathan takes the opportunity to invite the missionary elders to have a cottage meeting in their island cottage. Corey is invited to attend as well.

The Royston’s, Messini’s and Elders sit in comfortable lawn chairs on the Royston’s Veranda enjoying the ocean sunset as they have refreshments.

Elder Simpson, a tall lanky twenty year-old young man from Nebraska spends time with Mr. Messini to get to know him better while Elder Tipaki, a dark-haired bronze-skinned native Hawaiian talks with Katie and her mom.

“I grew up on a farm in Nebraska, where did you grow up, sir?”

Juaquien finds the young man easy to talk to. “I am sorry I know nothing about your Nebraska. I grew up on AL-Kanon in a small village not too far from the Queen’s Palace.”

“Did you have a large family?”

Juaquien suddenly asks, “How come our two dimensions are so similar?”

Elder Simpson seems puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Juaquien waves his arms, “I mean, we don’t look so different and I can breathe in your atmosphere, yet we are in two totally different dimensions.”

Elder Simpson smiles, “Maybe that is because we are part of the same universe with the same physical laws.”

Juaquien presses his argument, “But we didn’t even know your dimension existed until you just popped in. Why is that?”

Elder Simpson quietly says, “Maybe because it was time we got acquainted.”

Juaquien puffs, “There you go with your “Same God Theory”.

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Because we live in two separate dimensions, that’s why.”

“I believe that the God of the universe is god over all dimensions, and that it was through his help of divine inspiration that helped us find a way into yours. And you seem to forget the Rift doorway was a menace to both our dimensions.”

“And I can’t understand how you being such a young man can say such things with such certainty?”

“I wasn’t always this way. I used to be a very quiet and shy person and very unsure of myself.”

“What changed you?

“I guess it was when two missionaries came knocking on my parent’s door when I was fifteen. I remember at that time I was very close to running away from home.”

“Why was that?”

“I guess because I was the oldest child, I was expected to do most of the farm chores. I especially disliked getting up so early to milk the cows we had. You should understand Nebraska gets mighty cold in the winter. Anyway I remember that was my thinking at the time to run away somewhere far away. The Elders were from far away so I hung around them and listened to what they were saying and it made a difference in my attitude and my life.”

Juaquien nods his head in understanding, “I can relate to that a little bit. I didn’t have an easy time growing up either. I wasn’t raised on a farm, but we did have a large garden I had to take care of. My father too was a very strict man” Juaquien looks Elder Simpson in the eye and asks,” What happened to change your mind?”

“The Elders taught me and my family about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Also I learned a lot I didn’t know about the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I learned about prophets, both ancient and modern and most importantly I learned about the Plan of Salvation.

“What’s that?

“It teaches us about where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going.”

Juaquien slowly smiles, “I guess that would be nice to know.”

“Will you let us teach you and your family and maybe it will help you to understand better? There is absolutely no obligation on your part to accept what we teach. We just ask you to listen with an open mind.”

Juaquien slowly scratches his ear as he asks, “What do you mean by an open mind?”

“That you listen and consider new ideas without rejecting them just because they are different or new.”

Juaquien nods his head as he slowly answers, “Since my wife and daughter are determined to hear you with or without my participation, I guess I should at least hear what they are hearing too.”…

Chapter Twenty-four

Following all the commotion and being relieved for her family’s rescues and safety, Amber Julie Royston resumes her normal business activities from her Antigua office in Yantu’s capital. In the process of reviewing recent delivery schedules, she notes ones to the newest Galactic member in the Corbon Solar System. She notes they are more than double the original request and estimate.

Amber walks over to her assistant’s desk. “Marie, please pull up a map of Sirius in the Corbon Solar System.”

While Marie initiates the request on her keyboard, Amber asks Chad via her device, “Who is leading the team to activate the teleport stations on Sirius in the Corbon Solar System?”

“Hold on. I’ll check.”

While waiting, Amber scans the map of Sirius now on Marie’s screen. She notes there are only a couple of main cities, certainly not enough for the number of platforms shipped.

“Amber, I have no requests for platform activations at all on Sirius so no leader has been assigned.”

“Okay Chad, thanks for checking.” Amber thinks if these platforms have not been activated, then they are not known to the comp network yet. I must find out what is going on.

Amber returns to her own desk and reviews the delivery records. She decides to zip to the delivery coordinates to get an answer for the apparent delay in distribution and why so many?

Since Amber usually deals with Galactic members, she doesn’t think to take any precautions but does invite her assistant, Marie St. Clair, to accompany her.

The two young ladies suddenly find themselves in the center of a huge palely lit warehouse with stacks of unopened platform crates. The two walk up to a desk where an attendant is working.

The burly workman brusquely asks with an obvious Middle Eastern accent. “Where did you two ladies come from?”

Amber ignores the question and says, “We would like to speak to Representative Rasheed Mohammad, please.” Amber notes the use of Rasheed’s name seems to strike unusual fear in the worker.

The suddenly nervous workman presses his device and says, “Rasheed, there are two ladies here asking for you.”

Almost instantly Rasheed is smiling standing next to them. “What a pleasant surprise. If you had let me know you were coming, I would have given you the coordinates to my office so you wouldn’t get your clothes dirty in this dingy warehouse. Just hold my hand and we can zip there now.”

By now, Marie senses things are not as they seem. “Just give us the coordinates and we can zip ourselves there.”

Rasheed senses her awakening concern and quietly presses a tiny button on the large ring on his right hand as he smiling says “Certainly, that is not a problem.”

While the two ladies are in the process of entering the provided coordinates, two men suddenly appear behind them and roughly grab them, pinning their arms to their sides.

“You can’t get away with this!” struggling Amber says. “They know where we are and they will find us.”

Marie realizes this is a bluff because they failed to notify anyone of their plans, but she does believe they can be tracked once they are known to be missing. She only hopes it will not be too late.

“Ali, our site has been compromised. We must quickly move to the alternate site. We will take these two with us. Rasheed quickly relieves both held ladies of their wrist devices.

“You can’t use those without us!” Marie anxiously says.

Rasheed wickedly smiles, “Yes, I know.”…

It is almost eight hours before the two ladies’ absence is noted. This is plenty of time for Rasheed to accomplish his move, not only to a new solar system, but a whole new galaxy, and turn over the two devices to their scientists who work in a heavily protected environment which prevents the device’s broadcasts from getting past their force field.

Marie’s husband, Jordan, tries calling her device when she fails to come home. When it doesn’t respond, he calls Amber’s device. When it too fails to respond, he calls Galactic Security’s hot line.

When Chad answers the hot line, he recalls Amber’s earlier request. “Will, Amber Royston and Marie St. Clair are missing and I think I know where they may have gone, at least earlier today.”

Security Chief, Will Travis is suddenly standing by Chad. “Send the alert team now! Notify Jonathan and tell him we are working on it. I’m going with the team. Keep a channel open to the team leader.”

Will suddenly disappears as he joins the alert team in the Ready Room. As he dons his alert gear, he wonders who can be behind this dastardly act, not realizing it is only the beginning of a huge attack on their way of life.

When ready, the team zips to the provided coordinates, which is now an empty abandoned warehouse.

Victor voices to Chad via his device, “Shut down all platforms and devices on this planet except our own. Have a team immediately start reviewing all teleport records to and from this planet and report it to us. And what’s the name of this planet and system?”

“Sir, you are on Sirius in the Corbon Solar System. My records indicate there is not much of anything there except two medium sized cities with no advanced technology. They are not Galactic Council members.

“Then what were these two ladies doing here, Chad?”

“Sir, based on Amber’s request and recent teleport records, I believe a large shipment of teleport platforms were shipped there over a period of several months. The orders are supposedly from council representatives, but I believe they must be bogus.

“She must have sensed a problem with the number of platforms shipped and followed up on it. None of the shipped platforms were ever activated by the Security Service, sir. I have sent a team over to her office to see what we can learn there.

Hearing the response to Victor’s question, Will Travis answers, “That must mean they think they can activate them without our help. This sounds worse by the minute. Notify the science team we will need their help. We must find out who these people are quickly before they harm their hostages. Initiate a request for Jonathan to convene an emergency session of the Galactic Council and Science Committee as soon as possible.”

Shortly, members of the alert science team arrive in the empty warehouse with their mobile gear.

“See if you can use your equipment to learn where these people went and who they are. We will be at the Antigua Command Center if you find anything,” The Security Chief says as he receives the alert call announcing the emergency session…

Upon arriving at Amber’s office, Victor’s team doesn’t have to look far as Amber left the suspect documents sitting on her desk blotter.

Victor immediately orders a records search for a Rasheed Mohammad…

As soon as he issues the emergency Council session call, Jonathan notifies Meredith and John about Amber’s disappearance. Jordan St. Clair is already anxiously pacing in Jonathan’s office when Meredith and John appear.

“Amber is no threat to anyone! Why would someone want to harm her?” Meredith tearfully asks while holding tight to John’s arm.

“Can you tell us what you know, son?” John painfully asks.

Jonathan looks through almost haunted eyes, “Dad, we know where her and her assistant, Marie St. Clair went. This is Jordan St. Clair, Marie’s husband.”

As they acknowledge each other, Jonathan continues, “Apparently some twisted group forged some papers causing Amber to believe they were new Council members and ordered a large number of teleport platforms. Amber must have become suspicious and she and Marie went to check it out. That is when and where they must have been captured.”

Jordan asks, “Do you know for sure they were just captured and not further harmed?”

Jonathan slowly answers, “We can’t be sure, but we hope they are only being held as hostages because they found out what was going on. At this point there is no evidence to indicate they have been harmed.”

“This mysterious group must be well organized if you haven’t been able to track their devices,” John says.

“Yes, and they seem to have disappeared without a trace too, but we do have a clue as to their identity,” Jonathan says.

“The name on the forged documents is Rasheed Mohammad,” Jonathan reveals.

The name itself causes Meredith to tremble as she remembers previous atrocities performed by earlier Islamic Extremists, especially the attack on U.S. soil by those madmen in the planes and the wars in the Easter Bloc countries.

“We are doing everything we can to track him and his group down, and like you, Dad, I believe they are well organized and may be planning something very big.”

“Why do you believe that?” Jordan anxiously asks.

“By the number of platforms they managed to divert and steal. Plus the fact they must know we will do all we can to track them now that we know of them and the hostage taking.

John hopefully says, “Maybe they didn’t plan on being found out so soon and are not as prepared as they could be. Maybe Amber and Marie exposed them sooner then they wanted thus forcing their hand.”

“I hope you are right, Dad,” Jonathan softly says…

John is only partially right. Rasheed does need more preparation time, but believes their alternate location will provide it. He keeps the two ladies unharmed for the present not because he doesn’t want to harm them, but because he may use them later in his plan to destroy the Galactic Council and all it stands for.

Rasheed knows the Galactic Security Service will be doing all they can to find him now, but he believes he has taken adequate precautions so they will only be able to track him so far. We should have gone back and destroyed those documents, Rasheed thinks. Then they might know nothing of us until it is really too late. If I can hold their discovery off long enough, the plan will be so far along they will be unable to stop it, no matter what.

The Islamic scientists are now busy converting the platforms. They are removing everything from them except the basic teleport capability without any connectivity to the Galactic network or security chips. They used previously converted large Galactic freight platforms to teleport everything from Sirius to the alternate site deep in the Omega Galaxy without connecting to any Galactic networks, so believe they left no trail to their whereabouts.

These twisted scientists have learned a valuable lesson. Since they can’t readily identify the encrypted security chips, they let them emit their broadcast signal inside a double layer energy field to identify them. Then they are able to deactivate or destroy the Galactic security chips.…

Chapter Twenty-five

Jonathan convenes the Galactic Council with many of the members attending via video conference from their home worlds.

“We believe we are dealing with an Islamic Terrorist group that is planning some large action against us. Since they have taken hostages we ask your approval to deal with them as necessary to take care of the problem.” Most of the Councilors are aware of the previous havoc and destruction Islamic terrorists caused many years ago so there is no need for much discussion.

Jonathan doesn’t mention the planned method because they have not announced the use of time travel to the council as a whole before; although several of them are aware of the capability.

After minimum discussion, permission is given to take whatever measures are necessary to protect the security of all Council planets and systems.

“Thank you for your approval. We will meet with the Science Committee to ascertain the best method to execute this council’s wishes.”

Following the Council Session, Jonathan invites the Science Committee to the table with the Royston and St. Clair families included.

Dr. Vaughn, Vice Chairman Kim Chu, Sethanni, Alex Stanton, Ambassador Janus, Greg Garrett, and Malcom Evers are the attendees plus the Royston and St. Clair families.

Meredith is again very anxious for another of her offspring. She and Amber are so close; she is emotionally distraught and fears she will collapse at any moment. John is no less anxious but has confidence in the team to rescue Amber and Marie, prayerfully unharmed.

Jonathan feels he can overcome his emotional ties to direct what needs to be done this time as he addresses the Science Committee heads, “Since we know the exact time that Amber and Marie teleported to Sirius, we believe we can send a stealthy team back to follow the trail to where they are now. We request your permission to proceed.

Dr. Vaughn looks at his committee members and they all nod in unison. “You know you have our full support, Mr. President.”

Just about everyone on the team volunteers, but Jonathan asks Ambassador Janus to select the team as Jonathan believes he is too personally connected to the hostages.

Ambassador Janus quickly selects Sethanni and Victor to make the trip back in time.

The rest of the anxious team and Royston and St. Clair families watch as Sethanni and Victor quickly set their devices for invisibility and Amber’s office just before the two ladies zip to the coordinates on Sirius…

When Sethanni and Victor appear in the huge warehouse, several steps behind the two ladies, they suddenly realize they are not invisible as planned and quickly duck behind a large crate just before the desk clerk looks up at the ladies.

Though Rasheed knows nothing of the invisibility or time travel functions, the hidden warehouse facility is covered by a double layer energy field, which is of such wave amplitude and force that it disrupts the stealthy team’s invisibility function of their devices.

Because the would-be rescuers must remain hidden, all they can do is watch the action take place as the two ladies are captured. Though they hear the conversations, they are unable to learn Rasheed’s alternate site coordinates.

When crates start disappearing, Sethanni and Victor start looking for a place to hide so they will be teleported with the equipment.

Luckily there is one of the large crates that had been opened and it has enough extra space between the equipment packing that they can conceal themselves in it.

As the two hunker down inside the crate, Sethanni hopes they are going to be teleported inside a building with breathable air. He whispers to Victor, “If you become unable to breathe, press the return switch immediately.”

When their crate is teleported to the alternate site, they both note the different gravity, but thankfully breathable air. Sethanni looks at his device and notes there is no indication of coordinates. We must not be near any Galactic Network, he thinks. That is definitely not good.

The stealthy intruders listen carefully and when they can hear no one moving around, they cautiously climb out of the crate and look around. Victor notes the surroundings look very much like the previous site and if it weren’t for the difference in gravity he might not know they had been teleported at all.

Sethanni thinks to try his invisibility function. He happily notes it is working now. He whispers to Victor, “Switch to invisibility again.”

Now that the two are invisible, they feel free to inspect the site and hopefully find where the ladies are and learn the coordinates from the teleport equipment the terrorists are using.

After a thorough invisible visit to every part of the facility, there is no sign of anyone, but they do find a side room with glass walls and a central console of sorts with a blank view screen because the system is disconnected.

Sethanni anxiously wants to connect it and switch it on, but believes if they do, it may bring unwanted attention to the fact they are here. How long will it be before someone shows up? He wonders.

Victor asks, “What can we do to find where they are?”

While there is no one here, let’s return to our own time. The Antigua Console should record these coordinates when we return and we will then know where we are and can return with some stealthy monitors to hopefully learn where they took the ladies.” Though Sethanni speaks in a positive manner, he privately wonders if other functions of the device were affected such as the Return and time travel one…

He breathes a sigh of relief when he sees the Science Committee standing almost where and when they left them.

Meredith anxiously asks, “Did you find them?”

Sethanni tells the group, “We followed them to a warehouse on Sirius, but they must have had some kind of defense shield that affected our devices and we lost our invisibility, but luckily we weren’t discovered. They moved everything to an alternate site. Those coordinates should be in our system now since that is where we just returned from.”

Meredith almost screams, “What happened to Amber? What aren’t you telling us?”

John grabs her in his arms and holds her to him before she grabs hold of Sethanni. Meredith silently weeps with her head buried against John’s shoulders.

Victor speaks up, “We witnessed the two ladies being captured but were unable to do anything because of loss of our invisibility. We searched their alternate site with no sign of them. We are hoping to go back and place some stealthy monitors there so we can hopefully learn were they took them.”

Dr. Vaughn speaks up, “We will prepare the stealthy monitors for you right away. Also, next time before you go, turn your personal protective field on and that should keep any outside field from interfering with the invisibility function. Come Alex and Greg, we have some work to do.”

As they leave, Sethanni goes to the main console to retrieve the coordinates of Rasheed’s alternate site. He learns Rasheed’s alternate site is on Santoro in the Aurelius sector in the Beta Galaxy.

Slowly Meredith calms down and recovers her composure as Jenny stands near her to console her.

“I’m sure they will get her back okay. They just need a little more time to arrange it is all.” Jenny realizes her own voice is shaky too as she is also very worried for her younger sister and Marie.

In the Antigua lab it helps both Alex and Greg to be working on hopefully the solution to getting the hostages back unharmed. This activity does somewhat help relieve their anxiety over the crisis.

As soon as the monitors are ready, Sethanni and Victor turn their protective shields on and in real-time zip the monitors to the alternate site on Santoro where no one is around. They note Dr. Vaughn’s suggestion must work as they remain invisible.

Sethanni thinks, either it works or there is no force field around this site. I should have brought sensing gear so we would know for sure.

The two then position the monitors around the enemy console and warehouse. The invisible monitors are placed so as to pick up any likely conversation and action in the vicinity. Any activity they pick up will be relayed real-time to the Antigua Console. The invisible monitors are placed in positions least likely to be detected.

Sethanni and Victor then carefully exit the currently unoccupied warehouse, hoping to find Amber and Marie in a nearby building. It is nighttime and very cool, but they are comfortable in their protective gear and within their protective field. They note there are two nearby buildings but there is no evidence of interior lights on in either of them…

Back in the Antigua lab, the science team begins receiving and recording the images from the Santoro invisible monitors. They note the absence of any current activity.

Jonathan asks Dr. Vaughn, “We didn’t send our team back in time this trip. I wonder if the alert team went back in time to Sirius with their protective fields on if they would learn the coordinates of where Amber and Marie were taken.”

Dr. Vaughn nods his head and looks over his spectacles on his nose. “I didn’t send them back to the same time because I don’t want to risk them running into themselves, but we could send a different team.”

As they are talking, Sethanni and Victor reappear.

Before Meredith has a chance to confront them again, Victor says, “They must have at least one other site because we found no one at this site in the present.”

Dr. Vaughn tells Jonathan, “I think we should follow through with sending another team back to Sirius so we can find them as quick as possible.”

This time, Greg and Alex are chosen to make the trip back in time to Sirius. Jonathan tells them, “If you can safely rescue the ladies, do so quickly and we will then deal with the Terrorists.”…

The two rescuers happily note they are still invisible as they witness Sethanni and Victor quickly hiding as soon as they appear.

Greg and Alex quietly move nearer to the ladies and they hear Amber say, “Just give us the coordinates and we can zip ourselves there.”

Before the two terrorists appear, the invisible duo grabs the ladies and they are immediately zipped back to the Antigua lab in the present.

Amber is flabbergasted as she suddenly sees her mother rushing up and hugging her in the Antigua Central lab with most of her family and Jared Beckham following.

Marie is equally astonished when her husband and mother do the same. “What is going on?”

“You were just rescued from being held hostage,” Jordan St. Clair tells Marie as he holds her tightly.

Jonathan explains to the surprised ladies, “The person you were dealing with is an imposter and an Islamic terrorist. We just prevented your capture, but we must now deal with the terrorists.”

Jonathan turns to Victor. “Lead the alert team and return to that time on Sirius and round up everyone there. Impound all their equipment and we will interrogate them to learn as much as we can about how big a threat they are.”…

Chapter Twenty-six

On Sirius, back in time Rasheed is waiting for his two minions to appear and capture the two intruders when the ladies suddenly disappear! Only seconds later his two minions appear, and then before they can react, they find themselves surrounded by Galactic Security forces.

Rasheed is the only one in the group quick enough to press his personal device and escape immediate capture.

He escapes for only seconds though because a stealthy time team appears seconds earlier and binds him before he can escape…

On Earth, It isn’t long before the secret war council of the Eastern Bloc leaders convenes to discuss the capture of their minion, Rasheed Mohammad.

“His capture should be able to do us no harm. He was recruited by a second-level functionary who has already been eliminated. The worse that now can and probably will happen is they know someone else was behind Rasheed and they would probably guess that anyway,” The war council leader, Ali Askeem, a tall, gray bearded prince and former oil baron, confidently says.

When the unexpected changes with teleporting and the Yanni energy pods were distributed, the Mid-East oil barons lost their multi-billion dollar income oil production. They have been plotting ever since to regain their once-great power by preparing for chaos to gain control of this marvelous technology.

The majority of the people of their countries did not suffer but prospered because of the new galactic opportunities that opened up for them, allowing them to escape their abject poverty almost overnight.

The leaders themselves; however, lost great power and personal wealth so they are using the Islamic Extremist zealots as their vehicle to cause galaxy-wide chaos and mayhem, which they expect to capitalize on.

Ali continues, “What we must find out is how the Galactic Security Service learned about him and captured him so easily. We must know the answers before we can commit anymore of our sleeper units.”…

So, unbeknownst to the Galactic leaders, their capture of Rasheed Mohammad only represents one head of a many-headed Hydra out their waiting to pounce at any time.

In the New York Galactic Headquarters, a meeting is going on to discuss that very thing.

Will Travis is addressing the Galactic Security Team leaders at his staff meeting. “Those sick terrorists would rather die than talk. They even beg us to kill them, so Victor, What have we learned so far?”

Victor clears his throat before he speaks to the group. “As you said, we’ve learned very little from our interrogations, but I believe we’ve learned much from what we found.

“Their operation was on a giant scale. They were planning a huge operation. I don’t believe for a moment that twisted terrorist was acting independently. The forged documents were too authentic-looking. The financing had to be greater than his limited resources would indicate. I think he has some powerful backers.”

Will speaks up, “I agree. We need to put more controls on the shipping of teleport platforms and individual devices. The Security Service needs to approve all requests before they are shipped, not just as part of the activation process.”

Victor says, “I took the liberty of already initiating those changes. I also believe that due to Rasheed’s nationality, we should be looking in that direction for his financial support. We are following the money trail now. Also, I recommend we dispense with paper documents and only work with encrypted ones within our own systems. That should eliminate any future forgeries.”

Jared Beckham speaks up. “I believe some former oil barons are involved. Though there has been an intricate effort to hide it, I have found matching funds transfers from some former sheiks that I believe are the source of Rasheed’s funds.”

Will says, “Okay, then let’s find out all we can about what they are trying to do and then nip it in the bud.”…

Although the terrorist leaders do all they can to find out how the Galactic Security Team captured Rasheed’s group so easily, they learn very little, mainly because their contacts in the Galactic Security organization are too low to have the security clearance for the answers their handlers are looking for.

“There must be more to it than what they are telling the public or their own people,” Ali Askeem tells his inner circle. “I am sure Rasheed was very careful with his team and their plans. I think the Galactic Security Team must have some special abilities they aren’t sharing.”

“Couldn’t it be as simple as a spy among us?” Sheik Abdul asks.

Ali looks at the Sheik as if he is the spy. “No it cannot be! Because no one else had the details of Rasheed’s group accept me and his handler, plus the person watching the handler very closely was my own son.”

At the next Galactic Council meeting The Security Chief updates the Council on current progress. “We have learned the hostage-taking of Miss Royston and Mrs. St. Clair was not a premeditated act of the extremist conspiracy, but was a result of the two ladies accidentally discovering their hidden storage facility.

“Because of their actions we were able to quash the plot before it reached fruition. We have taken internal steps to prevent further misappropriation of teleport platforms and devices or other advanced technology. All transference of these items is performed only after a thorough screening by Galactic Security. We have added extra steps to the screening process and are continuing to improve it.”

Will takes a sip of water before continuing. “We have also learned there are other such locations and other groups scattered out there. We have identified many of them, but not all. We want to thank those sector chiefs who have cooperated in helping us root out these terrorists that waywardly give their lives to disrupt our societies and cause carnage and destruction.”

Will Travis purposely fails to disclose that most of their intelligence about the extremist plots came from the use of stealth security teams. Once identified, the teams were able to invisibly infiltrate the secret war councils and disrupt many of the activities from their inception. He also knows there are still unidentified terrorist groups out there, so the Security Service maintains their vigilance.

Amber Royston and Marie St. Clair resume their commercial activity, but not nearly in such a carefree manner as before. Amber’s group now clears all new contacts with the Security Service before engaging in any negotiations.

A fraud operations unit has been added to the Security Service to examine all new or foreign documents though those are now few because of the new all-digital encrypted process. They have already discovered and reported a few suspicious ones.

The tragic incident spurs Amber and Jared Beckham to set their wedding date for the coming January. The two lovebirds plan to start the New Year off as a married couple with the wedding in the Hawaii Temple of the LDS Church on January fourth.

Meredith happily plans the Reception to take place in the newly remodeled Atrium of the Washington Kennedy Center. There will be a Grand Ball before the guests of honor flit to destinations unknown, or at least undisclosed. John is looking forward to his role as Father of the Bride.

Meredith is totally thrilled for Amber. She felt she was a surrogate mother for Jonathan and Jenny’s weddings, but now this is really her daughter getting married and she knows tears of joy will be overflowing.

Amber’s brothers and sister cook up a twisted surprise for the newlyweds. Corey explains it to Malcom Evers. “Alex is going to slip them a rigged device that will not work when they try to use it. After a while when they get frustrated, he will give them the right device.”

“That sounds cruel,” Malcom says.

“Not nearly as cruel as what was done when Jonathan got married. His Best Man super-glued his shoes to the floor during his and Tanya’s reception,” Corey laughs. “I wasn’t there, but I saw the video of it. Jonathan left the reception red-faced and barefooted and almost slipped on the rice as it was being tossed at them.”

Though Corey is happy for Amber and Jared, he is privately wishing he could be making such wedding plans with Katie.

Corey Royston watches his sister and Jared enjoy each other’s company and wishes he could do the same with Katrina. Unfortunately, during a recent cottage meeting where Katrina and her family were meeting with the missionaries, Katrina’s father, Juaquien Messini, suddenly got up and huffily walked out.

Later Corey learned he forbade his wife and daughter from any more meetings with the missionaries. He didn’t forbid Katrina from being friends with Corey, but it dashed Corey’s hopes of deepening the relationship because he knows she can’t be baptized without her father’s permission.

Corey has been spending more time in the lab to hide his aching heart.…

Chapter Twenty-seven

In a far arm of the Slarg Galaxy, Klarg the Terrible has been actively building and recruiting his legion of troops under the highest cloak of secrecy. None of his people are allowed to have contact outside their unit. To the rest of the Slarg Empire, it is as if they are dead.

They are assembled on a planet that was thought to be uninhabitable when it was first surveyed years ago. It was later learned Ornitha was in its deepest part of winter and when the planet’s elongated elliptical orbit came closer to its sun, it became more hospitable and amenable to humans.

Klarg learned about this during the second survey but purposefully did not change the system’s star charts. The second survey also revealed several large deep caverns. By installing interior force fields, the caverns could handle the cold winters very comfortably. At that time he thought this would be a secret of his in case he fell from favor with the other warlords.

Now he is glad he did not reveal the truth to the system. Detailed exploring reveals the caverns are rich in minerals and even have underground fresh springs.

“I want no leaks of our plans or even existence until we are ready to strike,” he briefs his inner circle. “We must strike without any warning and disable our enemy before they are able to deploy any of their terrible weapons against us. We must do it ruthlessly without mercy so they are unable to retaliate.”

“I understand, sir. We will be ready,” Senior Lt. Sarkan says. Lieutenant Lesco Sarkan has known war all his life. He has witnessed the Slarg expand throughout their galaxy, always taking what they wanted from the conquered planets. Lesco knows no other way of life, but is curious to see how these strange invaders that conquered their galaxy so easily, behave towards the Slarg planets and people.

Klarg’s spies have been quietly recording the efforts of the Galactic Security Forces as they operate in the Slarg Galaxy. The spies provide daily reports via galactic devices they have been able to secure.

Senior Lt. Sarkan condenses the daily intelligence reports for Klarg.

“Our former conquered Planets welcome help from the outsiders. They are not forced to pay any kind of tribute, but are only asked to supply forces for their common defense. The cost for the new technology is a virtual pittance compared to our tribute requirements of both raw materials and manpower.”

“That will assuredly change once they have them securely in their nest,” Klarg angrily states during the briefing.

Lt. Sarkan continues, “Our former conquered planets are allowed to hold elections and rule themselves, rather than be forced to accept outside governors.”

“That will definitely change too. They are only softening them up for later.” Klarg huffs, “No true conqueror lets his enemy off so lightly.”

Lt. Sarkan thinks; that doesn’t make sense. Why not just clamp down now while they have the upper hand instead of raising the people’s hopes. The lieutenant also feels the anger of his leader so he softly says, “The reports indicate the Galactic Council leaders view themselves as rescuers or saviors rather than conquerors.”

“Hah!” Klarg the Terrible stomps his feet and raises his hands in the air. “That is only their outward appearance for the people’s gullibility! That won’t last long either. The enemy will come back and harshly impose their will on them.”

Klarg then evilly smiles, “But then it may give us the opportunity to infiltrate them so we can overcome them from the inside. See if we can arrange to have some of our own spies selected for the ‘common defense’.”…

Back on Crescent Island, while the Security Team searches for the hidden terrorist groups, three excited ladies are making elaborate plans for a special event.

Danielle Stone is helping Meredith Royston and Elizabeth Beckham, Jared’s mom, plan for Amber and Jared’s wedding reception.

The three ladies are very excited for the young couple and really want to make this a memorable occasion for them.

Jared’s mom, Elizabeth, is thrilled to be included in the planning, but somewhat nervous as Jared is the first of her three children to get married. She is still somewhat in awe that Jared is marrying into the Royston family, but she loves Amber and thinks she is the perfect mate for her oldest son.

While sitting in the Royston cottage living room, Meredith confides to Elizabeth Beckham, “This is kind of my first wedding as a mother too. When Jonathan and Jenny got married, I felt as if I was their surrogate mother.” Meredith smiles broadly as she says, “Now I am really going to enjoy Amber’s wedding even more.”

“Thanks for sharing that with me. I don’t feel so nervous knowing some of this is new to you too. When my husband died three years ago, I vowed to see that our children have every chance to be successful and I am proud and happy for Jared and I know his dad is too.”

Galactic Ambassador and father of the bride, John Royston is sitting in his cottage study attempting to write a special poem for Amber and Jared but is having a severe case of writer’s block. John loves to create poems, but at this moment he can’t get the words to come.

Maybe if I just reflect on her young life, I will be inspired, he thinks as he leans back in his chair and unconsciously twirls a pen in his hand. The thought brings a flood of memories to his consciousness.

Amber was just three years old, sitting on the white sandy beach. It was a sunny day and the family was enjoying some relaxing time together. Corey was just a baby. I can still smell the ocean and feel the cool breeze on my face and watching it blow Amber’s red hair all around.

I was sitting right next to her with Meredith on the other side when she inquisitively picked up a tiny starfish. She turned it over to see its belly when it pricked her small finger. She instinctively looked up at me and cried, “Daddy, it bit me!”

Meredith quickly held little Amber’s finger and gently kissed it. “Honey starfish don’t bite but they can be prickly.”

I remember how Amber reached over to me with her hands up, wanting a hug from me. The loving look in her eyes instantly melted my heart as I gave her a very loving hug. At that instant I thanked Heavenly Father for sending such a sweet beautiful innocent child to us.

John looks at the keyboard in front of him and re-titles his poem, “Starfish Don’t Bite”.

Not far away from the Royston cottage on the veranda at the Crescent Island Cantina, Amber and Jared sit together, ignoring several of their young friends at nearby tables.

Jared looks deeply into Amber’s blue eyes as he says, “I am sure they are cooking up some kind of mischief for our reception.”

Amber looks over at the giggling group of friends she has grown up with and smilingly says, “Let them have their fun, we’ll have a lifetime to enjoy together. I can’t wait for our wedding day.”

“Me neither. I still can’t believe you said yes so quickly when I proposed.”

Amber gives her dimpled smile with sparkling eyes as she says, “And I can’t believe it took you so long to propose. I was afraid you were getting cold feet.”

“And I was so afraid you might think I was being too quick and say no.”

“No way!” Amber holds his hand softly as she says, “I was giving you every hint in the book.”

“And I was afraid you might just be flirting.”

She smiles, “You better learn now, I’m just like my father; when I want something bad enough I go after it with determination.”

“Your father kind of scares me too.”

“What! Him...” She waves her hand, “He’s such a softy. I can always get around him.”

“But he’s the most famous man in the galaxy and now I’m going to be part of his family. That is just so unbelievable to me to realize.”

“Well its something I’ve grown up with and I can tell you he’s just as ordinary as you and I.”

Jared smiles, “That’s my problem. I don’t think you’re ordinary at all.”…

Chapter Twenty-eight

While Danielle Stone enjoys helping plan for Amber’s wedding reception, World Alliance Business Analyst Kevin Stone, is on Zanthur, an industrialized planet in a sector of the Beta Galaxy. Zanthur is the newest member planet in the Galactic Council. Kevin is leading a combined team of World Alliance and Galactic Security technicians.

The leader of the security technicians is Lt. Maxine Straw. This is the second assignment for the blond technician. She has learned much in the intervening time by working with Greg Garrett and Malcom Evers.

Zanthur is an Earth-like planet that escaped being conquered by the Spectari largely because the Spectari did not understand them, plus the planet possesses no special raw materials the evil conquerors were seeking.

Zanthur also is a secret haven for one of the Eastern Bloc’s extremist zealot groups. The twisted leader, Rasai Ali, has been closely following recent planetary events since the planet recently joined the Galactic Council. Rasai is unaware of the recent defeat of the Eastern Bloc War Council, so continues his previous orders. The conniving Rasai convinced one of Counselor Boragar’s assistants to keep him informed of any galactic news.

Rasai sees the appearance of the Galactic Council on Zanthur as a perfect opportunity to further his wicked plans. He hopes his snitch, Garis Onbok, is high enough up to obtain the latest information.

The combined Galactic team is meeting with the planetary leaders to help them integrate their planetary systems into the Galactic Council systems.

Although the Zanthurans resemble humans in most physical ways, their thought processes and language does not. Kevin is thankful the universal translator solves most of the language barrier problems, but there seems no such help for understanding their radical thought processes.

Unlike Earth, Zanthur has had a planetary government for several hundred years. Their current technology includes fusion powered space ships and hover personal vehicles. Since the government owns most of the industrial plants, they will be adversely affected when teleporting becomes widespread on their planet.

Because the Zanthurans think differently, their development of computer processes are equally confusing. There is no main processor, but millions of micro-processors performing individual functions. Kevin thinks of it as many laptops all connected together in a giant network with each laptop having control of only certain functions.

Once Kevin finally understands how the Zanthuran systems work, he realizes they must either design a complicated interface or get them to accept Galactic computers to integrate their processes. Kevin would prefer to get them to accept the Galactic systems.

“Your Excellency, I see only one way to accomplish the necessary systems integration in order to establish a teleport network for your planetary systems.”

Premier Zaltar, a medium-sized gray-haired Zanthuran, softly asks, “And what way might that be?” Zaltar has been Premier for decades and is hesitant to disturb the status quo. Meeting the Galactic Council Leaders and learning of their teleport technology and real-time comm ability across the cosmos severely bruised his limited concept of the universe. He only agreed to join the Council at the urging of his technology counselor.

“I will have the Council Security Division supply you with the necessary equipment to perform the work and download it to your systems via a comm link.”

“But our own systems can easily perform that process,” Counselor Asel Boragar brusquely says. Asel, a heavyset officious person, is the technology counselor to Premier Zaltar. He is used to over-ruling his underlings. Asel desperately wants the Council’s technology, but he wants it on his terms and for his government to control it, specifically his department.

Kevin senses this and calmly says, “I am sure they can, but they would not be able to interface with the galactic systems.”

“Why is that so bad?” Counselor Boragar huffily asks. Asel thinks the Zanthuran computer technology is the superior of the two.

“Using your computers, the teleport devices could only be setup for your individual systems. You could teleport within your network but not out of it.”

Security tech, Maxine Straw, adds, “We also haven’t discussed the security aspects you will need for the devices.”

Counselor Boragar cannot believe this blond female has spoken up in the meeting. No such Zanthuran female would dare speak up, much less be allowed to do so. Up until now he assumed she was just a minor assistant. Now he realizes his error. He hopes the premier will not be upset.

Premier Zaltar firmly asks. “Are you saying you will dictate how we use this technology?”

Kevin answers, “Premier I think ‘dictate’ is a misleading term. We do require an administrative process be put in place to oversee the security aspects of the technology before it can be distributed.”

Counselor Boragar brashly asks, “And why is that?”

Maxine Straw representing the Galactic Security Service on the team says, “Because we have found there are rogues out there trying to steal the technology for their own twisted purposes, thus we must have assurances it will not be misused.”

Premier Zaltar forcefully says, “We did not join your council to be dictated to. This meeting is ended now!”

Kevin tries to save the meeting, “Your Excellency, you must understand there must be safeguards for the technology.”

Premier Zaltar curtly says, “I understand what I want to understand. We will do very well without your technology. Goodbye.”

Counselor Boragar also tries to save the meeting, “Premier, may I meet with them separately and discuss the issues?”

The premier stands and waves his hand in dismissal, “Do what you want, but this meeting is over.”

As the team walks out of the premier’s conference room, Asel says, “We can meet in my office down the hall?”

Kevin nods his head and the group follows the technology counselor down the picture-lined hall of former heads-of-state. With the premier in opposition, the team leader isn’t sure what can be accomplished, but he is willing to listen.

Security Tech Maxine Straw isn’t sure this is a good idea. She thinks; we shouldn’t proceed without the premier’s agreement, but she follows Kevin’s lead.

As soon as they enter the counselor’s expansive office, he invites them to have a seat around a side table. In the office there is also a side desk with a thin-looking bald-headed person sitting at it. He barely looks up as they enter the room.

“Would you like some refreshment before we proceed?”

Kevin looks at his team as they gather around the table. “I think we are fine counselor, but we are trying to understand what just took place.”

Asel nods his head, “Our Premier is hard to understand. I don’t believe he really wants to change things. I also believe he was upset by your female team member. We are not used to females having such authority or speaking out in such a manner, but I realize your culture is different from ours.”

The assistant at the desk, Garis Onbok, is doing his best to show disinterest, hoping his boss won’t send him out of the meeting. His ears are wide open though. Garis, the secret recruit of Rasai, believes he will gain the extremist’s favor if he can obtain valuable information about the plans of these galactic people.

“Counselor, you might not be aware, but your premier should since he signed the articles of membership, that all members agree to treat their people equally. This includes gender equality. If Zanthur is not prepared to do that then your premier should not have requested membership.” Lt. Maxine Straw does her best to keep her own feelings out of the stern message. I must remember that I represent the Galactic Council in this matter.

The Zanthuran Counselor is crushed for he knows to present this message to Premier Zaltar means he will probably abrogate Zanthur’s membership in the Galactic Council, thus depriving the counselor of the new technology. “I will relay this to the Premier, but I am sure he will not be happy about it.”

“I believe this was pointed out to him when Zanthur requested membership,” Lt. Straw says.

Asel nods his head in agreement, “I am sure it probably was, but the premier has a habit of only hearing what he wants to hear. You see our society is firmly set in its ways and to make such a radical change would be upsetting to everyone.”

“I’m sure it would be less upsetting for the females,” Lt. Straw softly says.

Kevin Stone jumps in with, “Well since there is a question about your membership, I believe we should wait until that is resolved before proceeding. Why don’t you meet with the premier and give us a call when this is resolved?”

Asel slowly nods his head again, “I guess that will have to do because I don’t know how I can persuade him to make the changes your Council requires.”

After the Galactic team leaves, Garis Onbok contacts Rasai with the details of the meeting.

Rasai disappointedly receives the news. I wonder what I can do to change the Premier’s mind. Maybe if we attack one of his cities, he will see the need for the Galactic Council. …

Chapter Twenty-nine

In his New York Security Chief’s office, Will Travis listens intently to Lt. Straw’s report.

“We did our homework before meeting with the premier. Kevin presented a plan to Premier Zaltar, but Premier Zaltar ended the meeting when certain things were brought to his attention.”

“What were these certain things?” Will Travis curiously asks.

“One was that we expect the technology be controlled. He thought we were trying to dictate to him, but I think the real problem was my presence and role on the team.” Maxine shakes her head and her hair bounces a little. “I believe their society looks on women in a subservient manner without any equality or standing.”

Will stands up and says, “But that behavior is contrary to their agreement to join the Council. I know this was pointed out to him prior to the Council vote. I did receive word that they were demilitarizing their military organizations.”

“Yes, but his technology counselor told us Zaltar only understands what he wants to and has no desire to change. I believe we will be hearing from Premier Zaltar soon about how his planet has decided not to join the Galactic Council.”

“Surely he knows they won’t be getting our technology then.”

“I believe he thinks they will be fine without it.”

“Okay. Tell the technology team to go on to the next new member planet on their list.”…

On Crescent Island, when Corey is away from the lab he is getting very frustrated and upset at being banned from seeing Katie. What is Katie’s Dad’s problem? I simply must know. Maybe if I can talk to him alone, Mr. Messini will tell me what’s bothering him and I can help resolve it.

On Sunday, during Church Service at the Crescent Island Latter-Day Saint Chapel, as he sits in his Sunday school class, Corey is missing Katie very much. She attended with him a couple of times and he enjoyed her companionship very much. He is thinking of her and only half listening to the lesson. Suddenly he becomes alert as part of the Sunday school lesson includes verses from the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price (Part of revealed Latter-day scripture):

“33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.

34 And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.

35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.”(Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:33 - 35)

This gives Corey pause as he listens to the verses being read by another classmate. Having been a missionary, Corey recalls the earlier verses at the beginning of the Book of Moses:

“1 THE words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain,

2 And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence.

3 And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?

4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.” (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:1 - 4) and also “23 And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men.” (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:23)

Corey understands; this is why the Church does not send missionaries to other worlds except those colonized by earthlings, but I wonder if this still applies today when we can travel so easily between worlds and even dimensions.

After Church, Corey visits with his Dad in his cottage study after they enjoy a great meal cooked by Meredith and Amber. He relates his thoughts and asks, “Dad, does this still apply today when we can visit any world and they can visit us?”

John Royston listens. He is not unaware of Corey’s dilemma with Katie Messini’s family. He responds in a fatherly way. “Son, though we don’t send missionaries to other worlds, if they want to learn about the Gospel, we should encourage them with our understanding and testimonies and let the Spirit do the rest. Also remember, the Lord knows the beginning through the end and if current doctrine should be changed, he will do it through his living oracle when he is ready.”

“But I still don’t know why Katie’s father is acting the way he is.”

“Then I think you should pray and then ask him and maybe you will know what to say to him.”

After a long night on his knees, Corey contact’s the Messini’s in the Alpha Dimension and Juaquien Messini hesitantly agrees to meet with him though he says it won’t change anything. The meeting is scheduled for two days away.

In the Alpha Dimension, when Katrina hears of the planned meeting, she begs her Dad to be nice to Corey and not browbeat him. She also prays for divine guidance too….

On Zanthur, Rasai Ali decides that an attack on one of the southern cities will serve a two-fold purpose. It will give his troops some live action and it will send a message to the Premier.

Rasai leads the attack as he is also anxious for some live action.

His troops attack an unprepared outlying compound where the Zanthur military is in the process of being decommissioned as the Galactic Security Chief had heard. Rasai’s troops easily overcome the unsuspecting guards and take command of their weapons and vehicles.

They use them to travel into the heart of the city. They shoot at anything moving and firebomb many buildings on their way to the city center. The rogue army leaves a path of death and destruction in its wake. At City Hall, Rasai posts a letter at the main entrance after his troops capture several city leaders and take them prisoner.

Unknown to Rasai, one of the prisoners is a Galactic Envoy who was meeting with the city leaders to prepare them to interact with the Galactic Council. The envoy is Chantrelle Garvey, Chad’s wife. She is the only one in the group with a Galactic wrist device. She could easily teleport out of the situation but believes it is better to stick with the group to try to protect them. Though she is scared and very nervous at the sudden dangerous situation with Rasai’s vicious soldiers wildly waving their weapons and shouting, she tries to maintain her calm as she clandestinely presses an alert button on her device.

The military bandits continue their rampage through the city and finally exit the other side with their prisoners, leaving much smoke and destruction behind.….

In his chamber, Zaltar is contemplating and constructing his notice of membership withdrawal to the Galactic Council when a messenger comes running into his chamber with news of the attack. The messenger has a copy of the posted letter.

The messenger is a trusted aide to Zaltar. Aminitas Laras is a long-time aide who keeps the Premier informed of happenings of the realm as Zaltar does not keep up with current news on his video viewer. The short stocky aide is worried over what he has just learned.

“Sir, unknown enemies attacked Crystalia without any warning. They took over the military compound and used our own weapons against the citizens. Their have been many deaths and they took several of the city leaders as hostages. The city is on fire from the devastating attack”

Zaltar reads the letter as the messenger turns Zaltar’s little-used video screen on. A shaken reporter tells of the bloody destructive attack with the smoking city in the background and eyewitness accounts.

The premier reads the letter;

‘We of the Revolution demand you reconsider your alliance with the Galactic Council. We of the Revolution want to be a part of the Galactic Council. We will hold the city leaders until you comply and will attack another city with greater force and destruction in a fortnight if you do not comply.

General Rasai, Revolutionary Leader’

Zaltar looks angrily at the messenger. “Do we have any idea who is behind this or how many there may be?’

“The garrison leader, Lt. Alverson, says there were at least over a hundred and fifty because they took all his vehicles and weapons and loaded up with their troops. The garrison leader was wounded and is now in an infirmary.”

“How can such an uprising occur without any prior knowledge of discontent among our people? This is unheard of in our society. What is going on?”

“Lt. Alverson says the attacking troops were dressed in an odd type of military uniform with bandanas or turbans on their head.”

“That sounds like foreigners or aliens. Could the Galactic Council be behind this?”

“Sir, everything we’ve learned about the Galactic Council is that they are very friendly and peaceful. I don’t believe they would do something like this. Based on the note, I think these awful people may want to control the new technology.”

Zaltar quickly summons his technology counselor. “How can these people know of my decision before I have even formalized it? We must have a traitor and a spy among us.” Zaltar points his finger sharply at Counselor Boragar and angrily says, “I believe he must be in your office because only my counselors know about this decision. I expect you to find him and bring him to me quickly! We must know who is behind this outrageous act of war against us!”

“Yes Excellency. I will do so right away.”

Boragar suspects who the traitor is and immediately summons him to his office.

Garis Onbok stands shaking in front of his boss. He has heard of the destruction in Crystalia and fears the worst.

Boragar wastes no time in the confrontation, “You are responsible for this terrible loss of life and destruction! Tell me who you told!”…

Back at his hidden compound, Rasai Ali fails to realize the full consequences of his rash actions. He is still reveling in the death and destruction he caused, when his aide informs him of the reaction to their attack.

“They are blaming the attack on a foreign enemy. They say this was not an attack by their own people.”

“That will not keep them from having to comply with our demands or we will attack another city,” Rasai haughtily says.

“That may be, but this is sure to get back to the Galactic Council and they will probably come looking for us.”…

At the Antigua Central Console, Chad worriedly answers Chantrelle’s alert signal and hears her anxious whispered comment, “Be quiet my husband and listen. I am okay but I am with a group of prisoners. This city has been attacked by I believe is one of the extremist groups the Council has been looking for. Let Will Travis know and track my whereabouts. I will keep this open for you.”

Chad immediately contacts Will as he simultaneously hits the alert button and worriedly keeps one eye and ear on his console screen.

Mere seconds later, the alert team and Will Travis appear at the Antigua main console where Chad quickly fills them in on what is happening on Zanthur. “Please protect Chantrelle,” He softly pleads.

“Don’t worry,” Will determinedly says. “We won’t let anything happen to her. Have Sethanni relieve you so you will be ready to respond quickly.” Will then addresses the alert team. Synch your devices to Chantrelle’s location and set your devices to stealth. I will signal you when to take action.”

Chad watches them disappear as he contacts Sethanni…

The stealth team appears inside a cavern on Zanthur just outside a crude holding pen where nine people are being held including Chantrelle.

Will quickly relieves the two guards of their weapons and appears visible to them. He turns to the prisoners and says, “Our team will return you to your city.” He puts his arms around Chantrelle and speaks to Chad via his device, “Chad you can come get Chantrelle now.”

Chad quickly appears and kisses and hugs his wife to him.

“Go now and we will take care of these rogues.”

The alert team appears and organizes the former prisoners so they can return them. They quickly disappear with the city leaders and shortly return to stand beside Will Travis.

“Now we will stealthily round up and disarm these villains then maroon them on Zeron. I will take care of their leaders.”

The alert team quickly disburses to accomplish their mission and Will stealthily searches for the leaders. He finds them in the central room of the cavern where he invisibly and quietly waits to ascertain the leader.

“The Galactic Council may well come looking, but we are well hidden in this cavern where they would need very special equipment to find us,” Rasai tells his lieutenant.

Will invisibly walks over to Rasai Ali and relieves him of his sidearm, then zips his lieutenant to Zeron and quickly returns, still in a stealth mode.

Rasai astonishingly witnesses the sudden disappearance of his lieutenant. He reaches for his now-empty holster.

“What’s the matter? You don’t seem so sure of yourself now do you?”

Rasai now fearfully tries to look in all directions at once. “Where are you? Show yourself!”

“All in good time,” Will invisibly walks around him and Rasai follows the sound not only with his eyes but with his whole body.

“Who is your boss? Who gives you your orders?”

“You can torture me but I won’t tell!” Rasai fanatically shouts.

“That’s okay, I think we know who they are already and they have been or are being taken care of as we speak.”

Will turns visible to confront the radical extremist in person. “We sent your men to spend the rest of their lives on a barely habitable planet, but because of the death and destruction you caused, you will be taken to a maximum security prison with no hope of parole or escape….

On Antigua when the alert team and Will reappear at the central console to debrief, Chad also appears after having returned Chantrelle home where he soothed her concerns and left while her and her mom happily embraced.

Chad asks Will, “Could we go back in time and prevent those deaths and destruction?”

Will explains, “It is possible, but the problem with changing the time line is that we can’t predict what other changes it will affect. I am afraid the Zanthurans will just have to accept what happened, though we will offer them humanitarian aid and help them rebuild. I am also wondering how many rogue extremist groups are still out there somewhere.”

As Will says this, he remembers how recently they used time travel to rescue John and Amber. Maybe I should consult Jonathan before making this decision on my own?

He confers with Jonathan, “I told him we shouldn’t use time travel in this instance but I thought I would talk to you to make the final decision.”

Jonathan thinks; Will is right, but if Chantrelle was injured or even killed, would I make a different decision? The Galactic President responds, “Using time travel to change things is a tough decision. I believe you are right but I will present this to others and see if we can get some better guidelines about when or if to use time travel to alter events.”

Will dispatches Lt. Maxine Straw and Analyst Kevin Stone to return to Zanthur with the offer of aid and rebuilding help.

While giving them the orders, Maxine concernedly asks, “Are you sure you want me there since my presence seems to have caused the problems before?”

Will asserts, “That is precisely why I want you to go. The Zanthurans need to realize they need to change if they are going to interact with us commercially and socially. Maybe this unfortunate incident will cause Zaltar to rethink his position. Don’t do anything to provoke him, but don’t back off from the membership clauses either. I am directing no further contact with their planet until this is resolved.”

Maxine almost salutes as she says, “Yes Sir!”

The security chief then reports his complete actions and orders to Jonathan and the Galactic Council.

Following Will Travis’s report, Jonathan looks around the table and receives silent smiling nods from each of the councilors. “Will, you have done a fine job in handling this. We are also glad neither Chantrelle nor the city leaders were harmed. We will officially retract Zanthur’s membership and let them know they are welcome to reapply for membership when they can fully meet the requirements.”…

Chapter Thirty

On Zanthur, Kevin Stone and Lt. Maxine Straw appear at the Premier’s office where they request a meeting with Zaltar. After a short wait, the receptionist escorts them down the long hall to Zaltar’s chamber.

As soon as they enter and are walking towards where Zaltar is seated, he challenges them, “Your Galactic Council caused this dastardly attack on our people! How dare you come back here?”

“On the contrary your Excellency, we have learned it was your actions to abrogate your Council membership that instigated the attack,” Kevin calmly replies.

“I had not even announced my actions yet.”

“Yes, but they learned of your plans and took action because of them,” Lt. Straw adds. “We took care of those enemies as soon as we were aware of them.”

Kevin adds, “We are ready to offer you whatever aid you need and will help to rebuild your city.”

“That is very good, but it does not change my plans to drop our membership.”

“In any event sir, the Galactic Council is withdrawing your membership until you show proof you meet all the membership requirements,” Lt. Straw says.

Premier Zaltar waves his hand in dismissal as he says, “Then we have nothing else to discuss.” He proudly adds, “We will rebuild our city without your help.”…

Corey Royston and Juaquien Messini meet on the patio at an outside café in the heart of the Al-Kanon capitol city. It is a sunny day and the red cobble-stoned sidewalk is busy with pedestrians and street vendors.

Juaquien smiles at Corey. Juaquien is wearing a green fedora and bright yellow shirt with a turned up short collar.

Corey is wearing a simple blue shirt with a plane open collar. Corey forces a smile though he is not in a smiling mood.

Juaquien senses Corey’s discomfort but does nothing to ease it. Instead he turns to one of the passing street vendors and waves, saying “Hi Aarron. How is your family?”

The street vendor returns the wave and says, “They are doing fine. And yours?”

“They are fine also. Have a good day.”

Juaquien turns to Corey, “This is where I belong.” He waves his hand expansively. “This is my town and these are my people. I don’t need to go anywhere else.”

Corey can’t stand it any longer. He asks, “Sir why did you suddenly change your mind and forbid Katie from seeing me?”

Juaquien huffily says, “Because it is my right to do it. We do not belong in your world. We can be perfectly happy in our own world, thank you. We do not need your Galactic Council or your dimension.”

The waiter appears and they both order. When the waiter leaves, Juaquien says, “There are plenty of fine young men on our world for Katrina to pick from. After a while she will forget all about you and your dimension.”

“But that should be her choice, not yours,” Corey suddenly blurts out. He also painfully thinks, but I can never forget her.

Juaquien wryly smiles, “On your world perhaps, but not on mine.”

Corey doesn’t know how to respond to this devastating news, but says, “You still haven’t said why you walked out of the meeting with the missionaries.”

Juaquien looks Corey in the eye and boldly says, “I walked out because it is my right to do it and I didn’t like what I was hearing.”

Corey knows the message Juaquien was receiving and asks, “What was it you did not like? The elders are only teaching you, not forcing you to change.”

“You talk about holy men and your god like they are the only ones. We have holy men and our god too.”

“Sir, I only know truth, real truth, eternal truth is true in the whole universe, including your dimension. And I know the living prophet has said to all investigators; wherever they live, that we don’t want to change the truth you have, just to add to it so you have it in its fullness.”

“But we have so many different traditions.”

“As long as your cultural traditions are recognized as just that, there is nothing wrong with them as long as they don’t conflict with revealed truth. And no one is forced to change their beliefs if they don’t want to, you included. Remember, we told you there was no obligation to accept our teachings.”

“Yes, I do remember. Do you mean we could accept what you teach and still keep our traditions?”

“Yes, that is true as long as there is no important conflict with true doctrine.”

Juaquien slowly smiles, “You know, I really liked your message because it coincides with my own beliefs about a caring, loving god until I thought we would have to give up our own traditions to believe the way you do. I will talk to my family about inviting the missionaries to come back. Thank you for helping me to understand better.” Juaquien gives a broad smile as he adds, “I also think you will make a very fine son–in-law.”…

Back in the Antigua Lab, Dr. Vaughn is talking with Ambassador Janus. “I can’t get the thought out of my mind about how to find any other dimensions. If there is one, my reasoning tells me there could be more.”

Janus nods his head, “I agree with you. The only way we found the Alpha dimension was because of the Rift Station built by the Massai. Have you thoroughly examined that station and the Massai notes?”

Dr. Vaughn slightly smiles, “I was for a while, but I recently turned that research over to Corey and Malcom. I believe that is work for younger sharper minds.”

“You were right to do that. Maybe they will learn the solution.”

Just then, Jonathan enters the lab and spies them. He is glad they are together. “Hi, Dr. Vaughn and Ambassador Janus, I wonder if I can speak with you for a minute.”

“Certainly,” Dr. Vaughn replies. “Let’s go over to the lounge.”

The three well-known Galactic Council members sit at a side table in the Antigua lab lounge as Jonathan voices his concerns about the effects of changing time. “I realize we know the near-term affects of the changes, but I’m more worried about the long term and the changes we aren’t aware of.”

Janus says, “Its right you should be concerned. We agree with you. We should not change the time stream unless absolutely necessary.”

“But we did change it for my Dad and Amber,” Jonathan concernedly says.

Dr Vaughn says, “Yes we did and that time span was of a short duration. I think where your concerns really lies are on who should be making these types of decisions. I think we should have a review board that reviews these decisions before any action to change the time stream is taken.”

“But who should be on the review board?” Jonathan asks.

“I think it should be you, your Dad, Ambassador Janus and Will, or at least someone who represents them,” Dr. Vaughn says.

Janus adds, “I agree, but rather than specify names, I think we should just specify four senior Galactic Council members as designated by the current Galactic Council President.”

“That should work,” Jonathan says. “Thanks for your input. I feel better after talking with you both.”

Not far away from the Antigua lounge, Malcom is working on his most recent assignment from Dr. Vaughn. He and Corey are discussing the project as usual.

“I created the Alpha Dimension mathematics by extrapolating from the Alpha plane coordinates. I wonder if the same process might work except using different plane coordinates.”

“You mean you haven’t already tried that?” Corey is astonished as he thinks that is the first step he would have taken.

“Corey, you must remember, I did not develop those coordinates. They were provided by Janus and Sethanni and so I never really thought of changing them for the earlier application.”

Corey realizes he jumped to conclusions as he says, “Sorry, I should know better than to question your actions.”

“Corey, its right to question, but just don’t jump to conclusions too quickly. We still don’t know what affect any changes may have, but at least it is something I haven’t tried. Also we should include Greg Garrett in our project as we will need to use his driver program to test it if we are successful.”

Malcom begins his new program and explains to Corey and Greg as he works. “I examined the original spatial placement of the coordinates across the galaxies and am initially going to make parallel changes incrementally in a 360 degree rotation.”

Malcom shows a 3-D view on his comp screen.

Corey is amazed how Malcom’s computer model represents such enormous amounts of space so easily.

Malcom opens up his algorithm program and edits the original coordinates. The new coordinates are added to a change file and plotted in graphic form for easy reference. He then executes the program. “This program originally took over thirty-six hours to complete but this system has been enhanced several times since then so my guess is it will only take a third of that time.”

What Malcom’s sophisticated algorithm program process does is create equivalent coordinates for the assumed dimension if it does exist in that plane. The program creates a coordinate file which will be fed to Greg’s driver program to gain entry to the assumed dimension.

While they are waiting, Jenny Garrett, Josephine Rendon and Katrina Messini appear with dinner for the group. Jenny smiles, “We thought since our men were too busy to come to us, we would bring dinner to you.”

Corey is thrilled Jenny thought to invite Katie. They quickly share an adoring hug and kiss as do Greg and Malcom with their mates.

As Jenny watches her brother greet Katie, she is glad she thought to invite her. She is glad to see him smiling again. Malcom is equally thrilled Josephine is there and Greg enjoys Jenny’s presence as well.

They enjoy a nice roast beef dinner with all the trimmings around a table they zip from the lounge while the program silently works in the background. None of the guys want to be far from their project-in-process.

Jenny asks Josephine and Malcom when the planned nuptials are going to be.

Josephine looks into Malcom’s eyes as she answers, “As soon as I can tear him away from this project, I think.”

Katie whispers something in Corey’s ear and he shouts unexpectedly with an exclamation of, “Great!” and enthusiastically hugs her. This causes the others to wonder what was said.

Katie happily tells them, “I just told Corey our family is going to be baptized on Saturday and asked him if he would baptize us.”

Everyone congratulates her and promises to be there for the baptism. Corey is on cloud nine with the information as the ladies depart following the dinner so the guys can get back to work…

Chapter Thirty-one

Surprisingly, Malcom’s algorithm program actually completes in just over three hours. This causes Malcom to wonder if the program is working properly but a quick survey of the results causes him to believe it worked as programmed.

Greg then initiates his driver program using Malcom’s new input file. They set up a remote test drone with a programmed device to start at a plane coordinate and zip to an assumed coordinate from Malcom’s input file.

The drone is set to return in one minute so they can review the results. They have the drone’s monitor on as it instantly disappears when activated. The lab monitor also instantly shows only a snowy white screen.

The three scientists anxiously hold their breath during the interval, each excited about the possibilities of discovering a new dimension. For Malcom and Greg, this is another of many such almost routine tests, but for Corey it is a wonder they can possibly be witnessing the entry to a whole new dimension just a minute away.

At precisely the one minute mark, the drone reappears, looking just as it did a minute ago, however when Corey curiously touches it he snaps his hand away because of its stark coldness.

Greg uses yellow lab gloves to flip open the drone cover and presses the replay button on the inside panel. The lab monitor now displays a hazy grayish cloud as the drone’s lens rotates through a 360 degree cycle in less than a minute’s time. During the rotation, the hazy cloudy view never changes until it ends the test duration.

Malcom extracts the gaseous air sample from the drone to analyze it using a special element analyzer. Shortly the test machine screen beeps and the sample results appear on the screen: “Unknown chemical compound”.

“That simply means it has nothing to compare it against.” Malcom calmly says. “Let’s use some other coordinates to see if we can get a different view of the X dimension.”

Greg enters new coordinates from Malcom’s file and resets the drone. Greg thinks the entered coordinates should be far enough away from the first as to give a better idea about the X dimension.

When the drone returns in a minute, they quickly check the results. The three scientists are disappointed when they see the same hazy white cloudy scene.

Malcom says, “Let’s see what Dr. Vaughn, Janus and Sethanni think of this.”

When the three senior scientists arrive, Greg explains what they are looking at. “The drone is two whole parsecs inside the dimension coordinates.

Dr. Vaughn says, “There is definitely some kind of different space there.”

Janus asks, “Have you checked its density?”

“No, we just checked it for known elements and the test couldn’t identify any,” Greg says.

“Well, I suggest you check your sample for density. That might tell us more about it,” Janus says.

Corey initiates the density test using the current sample.

While Corey is testing, Sethanni says, “I suggest you put an ultraviolet spotlight on the drone and possibly put some filters on your lens.”

“Good idea,” Malcom says as he and Greg begin the task.

Before Greg and Malcom finish the task, Corey has the density results, “Though it can’t identify the gaseous substance it shows a 70% density factor with 30% void or unaccounted for space.”

Dr. Vaughn says, “Test the sample on different metals and see what its corrosive factor is.” Dr. Vaughn noted a couple of tiny pockmarks on the drone’s outer case, causing his test request.

After a short while, Corey states, “The corrosive test shows the hazy cloud is highly corrosive.”

Dr. Vaughn says, “I suggest on the next test you enclose the drone in an energy field to avoid the corrosive factor.”

Greg adds the energy field generator to their list of modifications to the drone as they continue working on it.

Soon the drone is ready for another test into different X-Dimension coordinates.

They are not surprised upon the drone’s return that the replay shows the same hazy cloud, but when the ultraviolet light comes on, the display reveals tiny lights that could be stars in the very distant background.

“Try setting the coordinates for several parsecs away next time,” Dr. Vaughn suggests.

When they do, the drone reveals a clear picture of open space with shinning stars in the background. As the lens rotates, they see the hazy cloud covering an estimated several parsecs in the distant background.

Sethanni suggests, “Try moving the drone to one of the nearer stars and dispatch remote sensors to see if we can detect any signs of life.”

The drone is setup with remote sensors and coordinates are changed so the drone appears in the nearest star system. Upon its return, the replay shows an ordinary solar system with several planetary bodies orbiting the Sol-sized star.

Greg sets the drone to orbit the third planet without anyone’s suggestion and initiates the program. When the drone reappears, they fascinatingly watch the replay.

The display screen shows a hazy cloud-covered planet. As the lens rotates through higher magnification, they view a desolated planet with huge pockmarks of craters in what could have been once-populated cities, but now laying in stark burned-out ruins.

“What could have caused such devastation,” Corey asks.

Dr. Vaughn realizes Corey is too young to relate to the Cold War on earth when earth’s civilization could have taken a similar dark path. “This is the results of a cataclysmic planetary war.”

“I estimate this happened within the last decade or so,” Janus says.

“Do you think there are any survivors?” Greg asks.

“Maybe in very less populated areas if they took proper precautions,” Dr. Vaughn says. “Dispatch sensors over the planet and see what we find.”

This time Greg adds Hyperwave devices to the drone and sensors. He attunes each device to specific Central lab overhead viewers so they can watch the action in real-time.

Sensing a possible need for direct action, Dr. Vaughn invites the Galactic President and Security Chief to visit the lab. When they arrive, Dr. Vaughn concernedly explains to Jonathan and Will what they are seeing on the overhead monitors.

“This is a survey of a planet we have just located in the X Dimension. It looks to have been devastated by a terrible planetary war and we are surveying to see if there are any survivors.”

Jonathan says, “You did locate another dimension then.”

“Actually it was Corey, Malcom and Greg who did the discovering,” Dr. Vaughn says….

On the hidden planet Ornitha in the Slarg Galaxy, Warlord-in-hiding, Klarg the Terrible, receives the latest update from his spies who infiltrated the Slarg volunteers who became part of the Galactic Security team representing their galaxy. As part of the team they have been trained on most of the commonly used galactic technological advancements and defense weapons. They each have a personal galactic teleport device and can easily teleport to many of the galactic coordinates.

Lt. Sarkan reports, “I believe we now have the information and technical ability to launch an attack against the enemy in their own galaxy.”

Slarg only half-smiles, “But do we have the ability to completely conquer them? I want to do more than hurt them, I want to conquer and humiliate them as they have done us!”

“I believe we can do that with the enemy’s own technology and our knowledge of their central command center, Sir.”

“Then create a detailed battle plan and present it to me as soon as you have it. I want to literally crush these haughty aliens under my foot!”

“Yes Sir.”

Lt. Sarkan recalls the spies for a strategy session. When the cadre is all present, he says, “Warlord Klarg wants us to present a battle plan which will totally conquer the Alien enemy.”

“That is a tall order as we have learned they are scattered across several galaxies and another dimension,” the senior officer of the group, Col. Talman, says.

“I thought you said you could attack their central command center?” Sarkan challenges the senior officer.

“We can, but that is quite different than conquering the whole council which is made up of many individual planets, covering a huge amount of space.”

“But aren’t they all under the central command?”

“Yes, but they don’t have to be at headquarters to make things work,” Col. Talman says.

“Well, that is why you were called together, to develop a plan to conquer them. Are you now saying it can’t be done?”

Col. Talman knows that is not the answer to give. “No, it will just take some time to come up with the right plan.”

“Then do it and let me know when you have it.”…

At the Galactic Central lab, Will Travis is bewildered as he views the planetary devastation and carnage via the real-time sensor transmissions from the X Dimension.

The security chief thinks it looks like they were fairly well established with industry and surely advanced communications. How could they let something like this happen? He remembers the vicious Spectari and suddenly asks, “Could an alien invasion have caused this?”

He blurts his question just as one of the monitors displays a site on the outskirts of one of the devastated cities. It looks like it could have been some type of military weapons depot. Only half of it is destroyed. The other half includes burned buildings, but not the widespread destruction. Will notes the still-standing structures, mostly one-storey, look like ordinary buildings they have found on most civilized planets.

Dr. Vaughn says, “All of our sensors are detecting many areas of high levels of radiation. Anyone who explores the surface will need to do so within a strong energy shield.”

Janus notes, “The sensors detected no satellites so either they had no worldwide communications or the satellites were destroyed.”

Just then one of the sensors over the non-destroyed part of the base beeps, indicating ground movement below.

“Zoom in on that area!” Dr. Vaughn exclaims.

One of the overhead monitors instantly magnifies its image.

“That building could have been some kind of school,” Jonathan softly observes, noting the many windows. He thinks it odd how even in other dimensions as well as other galaxies, architecture usually follows function…

Chapter Thirty-two

“The movement is coming from within it,” Janus says, as he observes the main console displays. “Zip a remote camera in there.”

Seconds later they are witnessing the camera’s monitor as the camera is zipped from room to room. The Hyperwave-equipped camera is being remotely controlled by Sethanni at the central console.

Jonathan wonders what they are going to find in there. So far most of the rooms look like empty classrooms, but he notices some messy areas on the floors with scattered books and papers. …

On Crescent Island, Meredith is visiting Tanya, her daughter-in-law, in Tanya and Jonathan’s cottage. The two ladies are sitting at Tanya’s computer, putting the finishing touches on Amber’s wedding reception plans.

Tanya says, “I talked to Jonathan at the Antigua Lab a little while ago. He says he, Greg and Corey have just discovered another Dimension and they are going to remotely explore it.”

Meredith smiles, “That sounds exciting. Maybe we could visit them and learn what’s happening?”…

Meredith and Tanya pop into the Antigua lab and note the crowd around the central console with all eyes looking up at the overhead monitors, and one in particular.

The camera has just zipped to a large room with many tables and chairs. Meredith and Tanya both think the room resembles a school lunchroom. They hear a clanking sound. The camera is zipped toward the sound through an open doorway. They see movement off to the right.

The camera is zipped to the right.

Jonathan takes a sudden intake of breath as he sees a boy about eleven or twelve searching through a cabinet.

Meredith notes the boy is wearing ragged and tattered clothing and his long blond hair is a mess of tangles.

Tanya thinks he looks very malnourished with small red blotches on his face.

“What is the radiation level in there? Jonathan asks.

Sethanni responds, “It is in the danger area, but tolerable in short doses.”

Greg says, “I am going to put a protective suit on and zip there to see if there are others. Keep the camera on him.” Greg heads to the equipment room.

Dr. Vaughn says, “Maybe we should make the camera invisible so we don’t spook the boy.”

Sethanni quickly retrieves the camera, makes the adjustment, and resends it where the boy is now rummaging through the next cabinet.

Greg returns in his suit holding a helmet. “I should take a couple of translators.”

Corey goes to get two Yanni universal translators for him while everyone else continues to watch the monitor showing the young boy continuing to scavenge the cabinets on the devastated planet in the X Dimension.

Jonathan brings Meredith and Tanya up to date on what is happening. “This planet looks like it has suffered a worldwide nuclear war that has left it in ruins. That boy is the first signs of life we have seen. Most of the planet is highly radiated from what looks to be many multiple nuclear blasts.”

Dr. Vaughn gives Greg a radiation detector. “Keep this on at all times. It will beep if you stay there too long. Don’t spend a lot of time looking around. We can always return later.” He hangs the detector around Greg’s neck. “If the boy is alone, you can bring him back here where we can have the medical staff help him.”

Greg nods his head to Dr. Vaughn as Corey hands him the translators.

Tanya embraces and Kisses him, “Don’t you take any chances, darling.”

Greg zips to the camera’s coordinates just as the boy finishes looking through the cabinets and startled turns to see the helmeted stranger in the orange suit. He drops his stash and prepares to run just as Greg grabs the terrified boy by the arm.

“Stop! I won’t hurt you.” Though Greg still has his helmet on, his voice comes through a speaker on the side of the helmet.

Greg reaches out with his other hand with a translator in it.

The boy slowly stops struggling and takes the proffered translator. Greg motions for him to put it over his head.

When the boy hesitates, Greg takes the headset and places it on his own head over the helmet. Then he points to the boy to do it as he again hands him the headset.

The boy slowly puts the headset on.

Greg says, “Can you hear and understand me?”

The translator does its magic and the boy answers.

Greg’s translator translates his answer as, “Yes.”

“What is your name?”

The boy hesitantly says, “Alfie”.

“Alfie, are you alone?”

Tears come to Alfie’s eyes as he answers, “Yes.”

“Is there anyone else here?”

“No, just me.”

“Will you come with me so I can help you?” Greg offers his hand.

“Who are you and where did you come from?”

“I come from very far away. Will you come with me?” Greg again offers his hand.

When Alfie grudgingly accepts it, Greg presses his device to return to the Antigua lab decon room where the medical staff is appropriately clothed and waiting to examine and decontaminate both of them.

Alfie is shocked at the sudden change in his environment and all the strange people looking at him. He wonders how this can happen so quickly, as he has never experienced anything akin to teleporting.

As soon as Greg is cleared, he joins the others waiting in the lab.

Alfie is attended to and taken to a room with cameras so he can be monitored both by the medical staff and the Antigua lab. The staff brings him a healthy meal fortified with vitamins and nutrients. After slowly tasting it, Alfie begins eating with relish. While he is eating, a nurse comes in and sets up an IV drip for him. Alfie winces when he is pricked with the needle, but he makes no effort to dislodge it.

Jenny Royston joins the Antigua medical staff and offers to interview the patient. The lead nurse tells her, “He is being treated for radiation sickness and malnutrition. The initial diagnoses is positive, but with lingering effects from the radiation poisoning.”

Jenny says, “I think he must have spent much of his time in a protected area or he would show worse signs from the high level of radiation. I will ask him after he’s had a chance to rest and sleep.”

In the meantime the lab team has grown as they continue to search the planet for more signs of life.

Greg thinks to search the mountainous ground areas for caverns or underground facilities. So far he has found none and the sensors have also noted no more signs of life.

Sethanni dispatches several long-range sensors into synchronous orbit around the planet. Using them, he identifies four major continents and three large islands, all with major nuclear damage and lingering radiation.

Malcom begins searching other sectors of the X Dimension for inhabited planets. He notes their solar systems and galaxies mimic our own as far as distances and general make-up of stars and planets except for that identified toxic gaseous sector.

When Alfie wakes up, he is startled and frightened, but Jenny is sitting by his bed ready to soothe and comfort him. She has her translator on and reaches over to place his on his head.

“Hello Alfie. I hope you are feeling better. My name is Jenny and I am here to help you.”

“Where is here?” Alfie hesitantly asks.

“It is very far from where we found you. Do you have a family?”

Alfie tearfully says, “I think my parents must be dead. We hid in the food locker when the bombs started falling. After several days, Dad went looking for help and when he didn’t come back Mom went looking for him. I stayed there like they told me, but I got very hungry and started to look for food. I found some and have been living in the food locker like they told me to. Do you know what happened to my parents?”

Jenny sympathetically says, “No I don’t, but we are looking for them and anyone else we can find. You are very brave to follow their instructions. Do you know how many days it has been since your parents left the locker?”

Alfie shakes his head, “No I don’t, but it was a bunch. I started counting and after a while it didn’t seem to matter any more. I think I quit counting at 300 days.”

She pats his hand. “That’s a lot of days. There must have been a lot of food and water in the locker.”

“There was, but some of it made me sick because I think it went bad. That’s why I was looking for more. I got my water from a faucet It started tasting very bad recently so I was drinking very little of it.”

Jenny is glad Alfie is offering information easily. He must be beginning to trust me, she thinks.

“Alfie, we brought you here to help you. You are very sick from radiation poisoning, but I think we can help you. I don’t know anything about your parents, but we are searching for them.”

“I looked a little for them, but they must have died like the others or they would have come back for me.”

“We will do our best to find them. Did they have a vehicle to travel in?”

“Dad probably took our Johnson if it wasn’t damaged by the bombs. I don’t know what mom might have taken.”

“What’s a Johnson?”

“It is a light brown hovercraft.”

“Alfie, do you know what started your planet’s war?”

“Dad says it was all about who was going to control space. The Tories wanted it all to themselves.”

“Do you mean outer space?”

“No, we don’t have any outer space ships, just rockets and bombs.”

“Then what space are you talking about?”

“They were fighting over who was going to control Autopia. It is the southern continent where the precious ore was found.”

Jenny remembers Greg saying the southern continent was the least damaged of the four, though several cities on the coasts were destroyed.

“Did the bombs kill everyone?”

By his question and voice, Jenny can tell Alfie expects her to tell him the truth whether it hurts or not. She pats his hand, “Alfie, I am sorry, but so far we haven’t found anyone else, but we are still searching.”

“Dad said if they ever went to war it would destroy everything because there would be no way to stop it once it started. He said no one would be foolish enough to start it. I guess he was wrong.”

Just then, Tanya Royston comes in with a full breakfast tray for their special patient. “How are you feeling? Your face looks a little healthier today.” Tanya decided to help and asked Jonathan if they could have Alfie live with them if they can’t find anyone on the planet to take care of him.

Jonathan knows Tanya is thinking in terms of adoption, and that is fine with him. Personally he wouldn’t mind at all having a son around, though he feels terrible for Alfie’s loss of his birth parents.

“I’m feeling better than I felt in a long time. I like your food though I can’t identify much of it.”

“Okay, I will help you. This glass of liquid is called orange juice. And that one is milk. Orange juice comes from oranges which grow on a tree and milk comes from a cow, which is a four-legged animal. The scrambled eggs come from chickens, which are fowl. The bread and cereal are from whole grains.”

While Alfie is eating, Jenny asks, “What do you call your planet?”

After taking a big drink of milk, Alfie says, “We call it Terra. You still haven’t told me where I am.”

“That’s because it’s not an easy answer. You see we live in a whole different dimension than you do.”

In the Antigua lab, the dispatched sensors in the X Dimension have identified several possible habitable planets. Sethanni is zipping Hyperwave cameras there this morning to see if any of them are inhabited.

There are a number of eager scientists from several fields of study watching the monitors, hoping to get to explore the new dimension.

Corey, Greg and Malcom sit around an Antigua lounge table discussing possible names for their newly discovered dimension.

Corey sips his soda and says, “I think it should be something exotic and wistful.”

Malcom leans back in his chair and asks, “Exotic and wistful like what?”

Corey smiles, “How about Malcorgreg?”

Greg looks at them both and says, “Now you’re getting ridiculous.”

Corey offers, “Then you come up with one.”

Greg smilingly says, “Since we don’t know how many we might discover, maybe we should be putting numbers on them like ‘Dimension-02’.”

Malcom says, “Now the scientific mind is working overtime.”

“Greg’s right,” Corey says. “We should be considering a string of dimensions since we found this one so easily and using the alphabet is too limiting.”

Just then Malcom’s device beeps, indicating a new development in the lab, so they hurriedly walk across the corridor to the main console to see what’s happening.

Sethanni says, “We just found an inhabited planet in a solar system two sectors from Terra. I’m sending Hyperwave cameras there now.”…

Chapter Thirty-three

On Ornitha, Warlord Klarg believes they have received enough information from their Galactic Security spies to establish a secret presence in Galactic space. The Warlord is not used to zipping across the universe and wants to be closer to his prey.

He instructs his staff to find a suitable planet in the enemy galaxy from which to launch their surprise attack when ready.

Using star charts and coordinates their spies secretly obtained; Klarg’s staff recommends a planet called Freedom Land in an arm of the Milky Way. They don’t know anything of its history or inhabitants. They just know it has a hospitable climate and is agrarian in nature without any large Galactic Security presence.

Once Klarg gives the okay, they pick a large area in the middle of a heavily forested area on the southern continent. They send construction crews to prepare the area for their warriors and weapons.

Unknown to Klarg or his warriors, Freedom Land was so named by a Native American Indian called Joseph Standing Bear Walker, also known as ‘Little Joe’, although no one would guess his name by his large stature.

When Little Joe picked out this planet with the help of the Security Service, he setup a plan of preserves for all the native animals because he wanted to preserve the wildlife as much as possible. The first thing he did was designate the southern continent as a wildlife refuge with no hunting or fishing allowed.

Then Little Joe invited all his fellow tribesmen and their families and anyone else who wanted to associate with them to come and homestead the other three continents. He wanted to preserve their Indian culture and heritage as much as possible, so he designated Freedom Land to be a primarily agrarian culture with homesteads built around small villages rather than congregate the people in large cities.

Another reason Klarg might not have selected this planet is if he had known the special relationship Chief Standing Bear Walker has with the Galactic Council leadership.

Little Joe was the caretaker of the Nara Visa, New Mexico farm of Dr. Vaughn where teleportation was first invented. He became good friends with John Royston and his children before he and Meredith Simpson were married. Years ago, John specifically requested the Security Service find a suitable planet for Little Joe and his people to settle on.

Though Jonathan was a young boy at the time, he enjoyed his time with Little Joe and his family and sometimes visits Freedom Land with his dad. He takes Beth and others horseback riding there when they go with him. They enjoy the simple life Little Joe has created in the small village atmosphere.

Klarg is unaware of all this because his survey team noted the absence of any large cities or major industry. They noted the many plain and simple looking villages and took the inhabitants to be a simple non-developed people.

They also failed to note, though the cottages looked plain and simple, they were all equipped with the latest kitchens and other modern devices, all powered by Yanni energy pods. Also not detected were the basic underground utilities and plumbing systems in each village and cottage. To guard against fierce storms, each village can be protected by an energy dome with one flip of a switch.

Although Chief Standing Bear Walker wanted to keep things simple on his new planet, he saw no reason not to take advantage of modern conveniences for his people.

Unaware of these items, Klarg gives the go ahead to the southern base without regard for harming the environment or whether the natives are aware of them or not, as he believes they have no advanced technology. Klarg even makes a joke of the planet’s name, “We will free them from this life if they dare to disturb us.”…

Back at the Antigua Lab, the teams of scientists are viewing the live feeds from the X dimension Hyperwave cameras. On one monitor they view an earth-type planet from space, only this one has two moons.

They note ordinary looking blue oceans and green and brown continents with icecaps at both poles.

Another closer camera’s monitor is showing sensor data revealing an earth type breathable environment.

Another monitor shows a large coastal city in the distance. Another monitor over the plains shows farmers in the field harvesting large fields of grain with horse-drawn farm equipment.

Jonathan asks Ambassador Janus to lead a diplomatic team to introduce the Galactic Council to the new planet and establish diplomatic relations if possible. “If they are friendly, tell them we want to learn more about them and invite their envoys to visit us.”

Ambassador Janus invites Ambassador Hargrove and Security chief Will Travis to accompany him along with a small staff that includes Chantrelle Garvey. They plan on zipping there in a Yanni space ship so they will have a home base of operations in Dimension X.

Jenny reports that Alfie is recovering pretty well and can get up and walk around freely now.

Jonathan and Tanya pay Alfie a visit while he is sitting by the window admiring the view of a garden outside. They note the facial blotches are almost completely gone now.

Tanya asks, “Would you like to go for a stroll in the garden with us?”

Alfie gives a radiant smile, “I would love to.”

As they stroll along a walkway meandering through the garden, Jonathan says, “I’m sorry to have to report we found the hovercraft with your dad. It crashed and burned, but enough was left to identify it. The guess is he died of radiation poisoning while he was flying, causing the crash because the crash site was highly radioactive.

“We have only found a few other survivors of the nuclear war on some small remote islands. Most other people’s remains are beyond identification for us. We can’t definitely say, but if your mother had no transportation, she probably didn’t survive long in the contaminated atmosphere. The only reason you made it was the double thick locker you were staying in. because of the high radiation, most people’s remains are not recognizable.”

Alfie can’t help but wipe tears from his eyes as he says, “I guess I knew it, but I appreciate your looking and finding Dad. Can we have a proper funeral for him?”

Jonathan puts his arm on Alfie’s shoulder, “Son that planet and its air are going to be poison for living beings for a long time. Wherever your Dad is buried, it will have to be in a lead-lined coffin. I would like to make a suggestion. Where we live on a nice protected island, there is a small cemetery where we could have a funeral for your Dad and you could visit his burial site whenever you want.”

Tanya hugs him and adds, “We also want to show you our cottage and invite you to visit and stay with us if you want. There are many kids about your age on the island and I am sure they would love to meet you.”

Alfie hasn’t yet grasped Jonathan’s true role in this new world, but he is very thankful they care about him. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he says, “I would like that very much.”…

Before making official contact with the planet’s leaders, the Galactic Team stealthily visits a large city to learn as much as they can about the government and the people. The surroundings remind Ambassador Hargrove of earth cities during the Eighteen-fifties or even earlier.

The cobble stone streets contain horse drawn carriages and wagons pilled high with mostly farm goods. There is industry, but it is simple and without smokestacks and no worldwide communications, and thus also no worldwide government.

Ambassador Janus wonders if they are ready for all the Galactic Council has to offer them. He reads the newspapers that are mostly all plain text with only a few sketches for graphics. The Yanni citizen notes the headlines are mostly local with not much mentioned of other cities or countries.

As he reads the advertisements, Janus notes a lack of public media entertainment, but a large number of clubs that promote hobbies like spelunking, snorkeling, scuba diving, walking, biking, reading, dancing, etc. These aren’t the actual printed words, but that is how they are translated by the universal translator.

The translator interprets the name of the planet to be Elsinor.

After a day of research in the city, visiting libraries and museums, and local shops, the diplomatic staff meets back in the Yanni ship to compare notes.

“This is a remarkable planet. They haven’t reached the invention stage of electricity or basic airwave communications. No radio, television or even telephone or telegraph,” Sethanni says.

“They must not have a Thomas Edison or Marconi,” Ambassador Hargrove says.

“They don’t seem to be concerned with anything outside their community,” Victor Austin notes.

“That’s probably because they have no automobiles or horseless carriages and bicycles are the popular mode of personal transport,” Chantrelle adds. “They also have no pollution. I would almost like to blend in with them rather than change them.”

“That’s the main point,” Janus says. “Just to reveal our existence to them will cause changes, so should we?”

“I vote no. They seem to be getting along fine without us,” Chantrelle says.

“But what happens if some villains happen onto this sleepy planet? They could take terrible advantage of them,” Victor anxiously says.

“We could leave our sensors here to alert us of any outsiders,” Sethanni adds.

“This is just one day and one city. I propose we visit at least one major city on each continent before making any decisions,” Janus says.

They all agree to that plan…

Chapter Thirty-four

On Freedom Land on the southern continent in the center of the densely foliaged forest, Klarg’s base is being carved out by huge machinery, destroying animal habitats, centuries-old trees and whatever else lies in their wake. Klarg’s troops install a high energy beam around the cleared area, which kills any creature coming in contact with it.

It isn’t long before a native traveler notes the commotion and willful destruction. He tells a boat captain named Arman Costas, “There are foreign poachers in the woods destroying a large area of our forest.” The boat captain reports this information back to Little Joe when he returns home.

Little Joe is out in the orchard, helping pick peaches from a tree when he gets the news of the destroying intruders. “We must learn more about these destroyers and then deal with them,” Little Joe says. “Jarom, take a small raiding party and zip there and learn about these bad people and what type of weapons they have and report back to me. Do it quietly so they don’t know you are there. We will not let this activity continue on our home planet for another moon.”

Though there is no permanent Galactic presence on Freedom Land, the planet as a member of the Galactic Council does provide security members for the common defense. Little Joe uses his device to call Will Travis.

Will Travis smiles at the gentle giant’s image filling his screen. “Chief Standing Bear walker, it is good to see you. How are you and your family doing? I haven’t been there in a while. It should be time for another visit.”

“Hello Mr. Travis, We are doing fine. You and your family are always welcome at our Harvest Festival in a couple of weeks. I believe we have a problem with a large contingent of off-world poachers on our planet. Can you release our team members to zip home for a short while?”

“Consider it done. We will send them with a full complement of gear and don’t hesitate to ask for backup. Our alert team can be there in seconds.”

“Thank you, but I think we can handle it okay.”

Will instructs Chad Garvey to issue the I-model devices to the Freedom Land security team members before they zip home.

Upon arrival, Little Joe welcomes his tribe members home and tells them, “We have a problem on the Southern Continent. Little Bear should be checking in shortly with the details. We want you to take care of the problem and be sure they know they are unwelcome here and not to return.”

Tall Bow, a tall stout warrior chieftain, proudly says, “It will be done as you request, father.”

When Little Bear checks in, he provides the details. Little Joe notes from his small screen image Little Bear has his war paint on.

“Chief, the off-worlders are a small army with advanced weapons. Approximate number is in the thousands. They must be planning on attacking someone soon. They have established a large base in the middle of the forest, destroying many animal habitats. I know we defeated the Slarg a while back, but they sure look like Slarg to me.”

“Thanks for your report. I am sending our warriors to your coordinates now.” Little Joe turns to the cadre of fifty highly Galactic-trained native warriors and says, “Go show them how true warriors fight and make sure they don’t come back.”

On the southern continent of Freedom land, Klarg is admiring the base his troops have carved out of the forest. He is looking forward to attacking the Galactic Council headquarters planet soon. Klarg is meeting with his spies and troop leaders, “I want to hit their headquarters on Antigua fast before they even know we are there. I want troops at every location on the base layout you have provided so there is no chance for escape or retaliation.”

Suddenly it is reported their main teleport station has completely disappeared! Just as suddenly, the spies with the Galactic devices disappear!

In shock, Klarg realizes they suddenly have no means off the planet. We are trapped, but how is this done? No one knows we are here! He hears a gruff invisible voice say, “You destroyers of our land are not welcome here. You must be taught a lesson you will remember for a long time.”

Klarg and his troop leaders anxiously look in all directions at once when suddenly they are surrounded by fierce-looking native Indian warriors in full battle dress armed with spears and bows and arrows, plus special I-model wrist devices.

Klarg fails to note the wrist devices and thinks, how can these savages do this? They are no match for our army or our weapons. Klarg reaches for his sidearm and finds his holster empty! “You are only savages! How can you do this and how did you get past the energy barrier?”

His troop leaders find their weapons suddenly missing as well.

Tall Bow fiercely faces Klarg, saying, “you are not so mighty without your weapons now are you?’ Tall Bow is tall and fierce-looking with his war-paint on. He has been taught well by the Security Academy, but he prefers his tribal clothes.

“Who are you? How have you done this? We are the superior force here!”

Tall Bow spits at Klarg’s feet and points his spear with the point touching Klarg’s midriff, “Superior in what way? You do not look superior in any way. You must be punished for breaking the law on our land.

He walks around Klarg and his staff. “Your men will immediately release the energy barrier around your camp. We will teleport all your buildings and equipment away and you will do your best to make the ground suitable for growing again.”

Tall Bow is enjoying facing these enemy warriors down as he walks around them. “As punishment for your savage treatment of our wildlife, your leaders will be staked out on the ground near the perimeter where you will be at the mercy of the creatures whose habitat you destroyed. Your army will not be allowed to help you.”

Tall Bow stops in front of Klarg again. “After you have finished all this, those who are still alive will be transported to a barely habitable planet to manage their own survival without any technology or weapons.”

It is then that Klarg notes the ‘savages’ wrist devices and realizes the terrible mistake he made. He wonders if he will survive being staked out. He recalls seeing some of the larger fierce-looking dead creatures outside the energy barrier…

After the cleared jungle is replanted, Tall Bow and his team report back to Little Joe, “It is done, Father. They won’t be returning.”

“That is fine, Son. Can you and your team stay awhile for our harvest celebration?”

Tall bow smiles as his father hugs him, “I am sure that will be permitted, Father.”…

“We sincerely thank you for taking care of those dastardly Slarg. I thought we had taken care of them, but we obviously missed a very bad group. They could have done us much harm and maybe even severely crippled the Service’s abilities for a time.” Will Travis stands in the simple office of Freedom Land’s planetary leader with his son, Tall Bow.

The young warrior, still dressed in his battle regalia and war paint, points to a tall stack of gear and weapons in a corner and wrist devices on the table. “Those were taken from them before they were dealt with.”

Little Joe hands the security chief a sheet of paper. “This has the coordinates of their hidden base in the Slarg Galaxy. We will leave that to your people to handle the rest of them.”

The security Chief doesn’t care to ask how the Slarg were dealt with, but supposes it wasn’t pleasant for the Slarg.

Will Travis visits the Slarg Home World to confront them with the treachery. As he hands the Slarg leader the coordinate list of the hidden base, he says, “I am leaving a security contingent to make sure you take care of these renegades.”

Later, Will Travis is furious because of the Slarg spies in the Galactic Security Service. He meets in his New York office with his staff with pictures of the twenty-four identified Slarg infiltrators laying on an oval table. “We must go back and examine the procedures that allowed this dastardly infiltration to occur and fix it so this can’t happen again.”

He angrily taps the pictures and stands up from the oval table. “Our first step is to have the Slarg leaders recall all their security people immediately. The Slarg leaders can identify if there are anymore imposters among them. We will accept no more Slarg security agents into the Service until we have fixed our procedures. All the current Slarg agents are to be dismissed and we will have the Slarg Leaders provide us specific details how they plan on selecting new agents.”

Having expended his anger, the security chief sits back down, looks at his staff and says, “We will appoint a review board to get us started. I am going to ask my dad to head it unless anyone has any objections.”

Mark Leonard says, “He is the best choice as he is most familiar with all our sections and procedures.”

When asked by his son, the academy commandant says, “Don’t feel so bad, son. This probably could have happened on my watch too. We will get to the bottom of it together and the Service will be better for it.”

As Will Travis reports to the Galactic Council about the Slarg incursion into Galactic Space, he recommends special honors for Freedom Land’s service to the Council and promises to tighten up procedures to prevent infiltrators into the Security Service. “We are convening a review board with Commandant Hank Travis leading it to recommend needed procedure changes to prevent a recurrence.”

Jonathan Royston says, “Thank you for your report. We will commend the Freedom Land warriors and look forward to a report from the review board.”…

Chapter Thirty-five

High above Elsinor in their cloaked Yanni ship, Ambassador Janus and his survey team review their findings.

Janus says, “Most of the towns we visited reflect the same things with minor differences mostly due to location. They are a very civil people and seem naturally to do well. There is very little law-breaking anywhere and we found no record of any major wars or even border skirmishes.”

“I think the lack of law-breakers is because of their education system and lack of media distractions of focusing on evil-doers,” Chantrelle offers. “The education system relies mostly on craft guilds and apprenticeships rather than institutions of higher learning.”

Ambassador Hargrove adds, “The lack of wars is probably one reason they haven’t had a spurt of inventions.”

Janus says, “I vote to leave Elsinor alone to progress at its own pace but to leave sensors here to warn us of any outside interference.”

The team unanimously agrees….

Before continuing their survey of the X Dimension, the survey team returns to the Antigua command center and learns about the renegade Slarg,

Janus says, “I hope there aren’t anymore out there like the Slarg. They are a vicious lot. We should never have let them on as part of the Security Team.”

Will says, “Well one rotten apple doesn’t make the whole barrel bad, but it sure can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Dad is putting his review board together and I think he would like you or Sethanni to be on it.”

“I don’t think Sethanni or I are good candidates, but I know a particular analyst who is,” Janus says.

Will asks, “And who would that be?”

Janus smilingly answers, “I believe tech Analyst Maxine Straw will ask relevant probing questions.”

Will answers with his own smile, “You’re probably right.”…

On Crescent Island, everyone is getting more excited about Amber and Jared’s upcoming nuptials. Though they will have their wedding in the Hawaii Temple of the Church, the wedding reception is planned for the Grand Ballroom of the Washington DC Kennedy Center.

Meredith can’t understand how quickly the reception guest list has expanded. There hasn’t been such a high profile wedding for awhile and everyone on and off planet wants to be a part of it. I’m glad I reserved the Kennedy Center, she thinks. I better let them know we will need use of the full facility, not just the grand ballroom. I better inform the caterers too. The media is going to have a feeding frenzy over this event too. I’m glad Darlene Travis is taking care of that part of it.

While Amber is otherwise occupied, Meredith quietly brings out her own wedding dress when she and John were married. It is a long white dress with inlaid hearts sewn in by Alice Royston. She carefully lays it out on the sofa so Amber can’t miss it when she comes back into the cottage living room.

“Oh Mother! That’s beautiful! Where did you get it?”

“This is my wedding dress. I don’t know whether it will fit you, but I wanted you to have it in case you want it.”

Amber gently picks up the dress and holds it to her. Then, crying, she hugs her mother, “Of course I want it and I’m sure it will fit.”

The two hug and cry tears of joy together.

Darlene is in her element. She has issued press passes for most of the national, international, planetary, Inter-planetary networks and even one inter-dimensional network to cover the event

Jared is still in awe of the mega publicity his marriage to Amber Royston is causing. All his buddies are begging for invitations to the reception, whether they’ve been close or not.

Jared’s mother is just happy to let Meredith and her staffs handle all the arrangements.…

At the Antigua Command Center and Lab, surveying the X-Dimension has not stopped. Sethanni has been sending sensors and remote cameras to several possibly inhabited identified solar systems.

Now Will Travis is anxious to go on the next live expedition into the X-Dimension. After reviewing the first team’s report, he feels left out of the excitement of new discoveries of planets, lands and peoples.

Sethanni and Chad are at the Antigua central Console when one of the X-Dimension monitors displays what appears to be a space battle in progress. All eyes in the lab focus on the action on the overhead screen happening umpteen light years away in another dimension.

In space with a planet in the background, two spaceships are trading glowing weapons fire. One ship looks like a long cigar with two rocket packs on the end. It looks as if it has been hit at least once and looks to be crippled. The other space ship is Oval in shape with two long sharp pointed fins atop of it. The oval shaped ship is firing constant barrages of brilliant energy weapons at the other ship.

“Can we tell who the aggressor is?” Will Travis asks.

Sethanni quickly zips sensors to synchronous orbits around the nearby planet. They send video feeds back to the Antigua monitors that reveal a spaceport with cigar shaped rockets preparing for launch.

Chad says, “It looks like the third planet is defending itself from an attack by the oval-shaped ship,” noting a couple of smoking bombed out buildings near the spaceport.

“Zip invisible Hyperwave cameras inside both spaceships,” Will Travis orders.

Using nearby sensors to determine coordinates, Sethanni only takes a few seconds before the invisible cameras are displaying the ship’s interiors on the overhead monitors.

“The left monitor is from the planet’s ship,” Sethanni says.

The left monitor is displaying a smoldering smoky scene where one man in a blue uniform is at a control station while others are trying to control smoke around damaged equipment. Greg Garrett notes the people look ordinary except for a bluish tint to their skin.

The right monitor shows people in a tan uniform in a clean environment. He notes these people are darker-skinned with a grayish tint. At the central control station is a tall ominous looking man with dark bushy hair and eyebrows. He is barking orders to his crew. It takes a few seconds for the universal translator to do its magic.

“Fire another salvo at them and order them to surrender.”

Will Travis quietly says, “Cue the alert team and patch me into that ship now.”

When Chad nods his head, Will boldly orders, “You will stand down your weapons now or be forthwith destroyed!”

The ships captain looks around in stunned amazement. “Who are you and where are you? Show yourself now!”

“We will do so in good time. Do as you are ordered or suffer the consequences, but know this; we have the power to destroy you or to do with you as we wish. We are not of this planet but are its protector. Your next actions will determine your fate. What is your name and why are you at war?”

The harried captain looks around at his crew. Beads of perspiration are forming on his brow. “I am Captain Sistrue of the Mannui. How can we know you speak the truth?”

“You will know soon enough if you make the wrong choice. I am Will Travis, Security Chief of the Galactic Council of Planets. You didn’t explain why you are at war with these people. Make your next order carefully, Captain.”

“We are here to claim this planet for the Mannui Empire.”

“It doesn’t look like they want to be claimed by you.”

“That doesn’t matter; they are in our space so they are ours to claim.”

“You mean it doesn’t matter to you, but it does matter to them and to us. Now do as I say or suffer the consequences.”

Captain Sistrue has never been talked to in this manner. The Mannui have always been the ones in charge, but how to respond to the invisible voice? He looks at his second-in-command with questioning eyes.

Sanna Sistrue is more than just First Mate; she is his life companion and soul mate. She is as perplexed as he is, but opts for caution. “My Lord, they seem to have abilities we do not. We can always act later if necessary.”

“Very well, Security Chief Travis, we will do as you request, but show yourselves so we can see you.”

Will Travis says, “That is a wise choice, Captain. Stand down all weapons. We will visit you as soon as we have assisted the other crew.”…

Chapter Thirty-six

Will Travis zips to the wounded ship with the alert team. They are immediately surrounded by smoke on the command deck. Thanks to the monitors, they are prepared with personal energy shields which filter out the smoke and allow them to breathe easily. The captain is struggling to see his crew members through the heavy smoke. He can detect there are intruders on his ship and guesses they are the enemy that crippled his ship. He frantically reaches for his sidearm.

Will puts his hand firmly on the captain’s arm as he says, “There is no need for that. We are friends come to help you. That ship will give you no more trouble.”

Captain Harkone notes the intruder’s pale skin and asks, “Who are you? How did you get here and where are you from?”

“We are friends from far away. We can beam your wounded to your planet if you can provide the coordinates.”

Captain Harkone notes the other intruders assisting his crew members and also clearing the smoke-filled room. “I don’t understand your term ‘beam’.

“It is an amazingly easy way to safely transport people and objects. What do you call your planet?”

“I am captain Harkone of the Planetary Alliance. Our planet is called Granada. I appreciate your assistance, but how did you get the Mannui ship to stop firing?”

“We simply told them to stop and they did after we threatened them if they didn’t. What are your people called?”

“But we detected no other ships in this region of space. We are of the Lenara Race. We do not have many weapons like the Mannui.”

Will Travis smiles, “That is because we didn’t come by ship. Is there a hospital near your spaceport?”

“Yes, but how do you know about our spaceport? It is supposed to be secret.”

That’s not a problem. Sethanni can you calculate the coordinates?”

They hear an invisible voice say, “Yes sir, they are on your devices now.”

“Captain, can you tell me about the Mannui?”

“They are people from the 4th planet.” Captain Harkone stands up and starts checking his crew members as he continues talking. “They have been attacking our planet for some time. The spaceport was supposed to be for exploration, but now we must use it to defend ourselves.”…

Meanwhile on the Mannui ship Captain Sistrue orders his ship’s science officer, “Scan the area for other vessels now! We must know who we are dealing with! Everyone man your station and stay on high alert!”

During the interchange with the invisible voice, Anna Sistrue quietly wanders over to the science station and initiates a wide band scan. “There are no vessels of any kind detected except for the crippled one, My Lord, but we do detect some kind of alien device on this bridge.”

At the Antigua Control Station, as soon as Sethanni hears this, he uses his keyboard to quickly retrieve the invisible camera and replaces it with a tiny sensor, capable of picking up sound. The right overhead monitor suddenly goes blank, but the sound is still coming through.

“My Lord, the alien device is no longer here!”

“But if there is no other vessel nearby, where did it go?” Captain Sistrue asks.

“They definitely have abilities we do not,” she answers.

Suddenly Will Travis and Victor Austin appear on the enemy bridge. The Security Chief smiles, “You were wise to listen to our instructions. You should be friendlier with your neighbor planets and not try to enslave them.”

“This is our space. How dare you come here uninvited and give us orders!” Captain Sistrue’s face turns redder as he speaks. “We will take you two hostage and then deal with your people. Arrest these men who dare to come on my bridge!”

Two large uniformed men approach Will and Victor, waving weapons at them. The one on the right says, “You will come with us.”

Will smilingly says, “I think not.”

The guard on the left reaches for Will and suddenly screams and jumps back as he touches Will’s invisible energy barrier.

“Captain, it is not our desire to hurt you or your crew, but we will if you do not adopt a friendlier attitude.”

Captain Sistrue looks at his First Mate and she looks at him with an I-told-you-so look.

“What do you desire of us, Sir?” Captain Sistrue asks in a softer voice.

“I desire for you to report to your superiors that this planet is off limits and any other planets you have subjected. We of the Galactic Council of Planets do not condone wars of aggression of any kind.”

“Where is your Galactic Council? We have never heard of them.”

“That is because we are far away.”

“If you are so far away, why do you interfere with us?”

“We do so because for us, distance does not matter. Victor will transport you back to your home planet where you will make your report. He will make it plane to your leaders of the consequences of failing to obey our instructions.”

Will expects this to be an easy assignment for Victor but there is one obstacle neither is aware of.

Victor zips the Mannui ship with its crew to an orbit around the fourth planet. Then Captain Sistrue gives him the coordinates for the planetary headquarters. Unfortunately the headquarters building sits on a large deposit of Tritanium minerals which prevents Victor’s Hyperwave device from working. Luckily for him his personal energy shield does work, but his comm and teleport unit does not, so he can’t call for help or let his security chief know of his problem.

At first, Victor is unaware of his situation as he zips himself and Captain Sistrue to the Mannui headquarters building so Sistrue can make his report and victor can give the leaders their options.

From the central foyer, they walk to his commandant’s office.

“Captain Sistrue, what are you doing here? You and your ship are supposed to be attacking Granada’s new spaceport.”

“We were sir just a few minutes ago, but this man stopped us and brought us here in mere seconds.”

Commandant Ohuru notes the oddly dressed man with light skin. “Where are you from and how did you do such a thing?”

“Sir, I am Vice-security Chief Victor Austin from the Galactic Council of Planets and we do not condone war for any pretext.”

“I have never heard of your Galactic Council and I can’t believe you just expect us to stop on your say so.”

“Commandant, they seem to have special powers we cannot match.”

“What kind of powers?”

“He transported our ship across millions of miles of space in just a second. One second we were around Granada and the next we were orbiting our own planet. Then he transported us both here in the blink of an eye.”

“That’s amazing! How do you do this?”

Victor smiles, “We have some amazing technology which we share with our friends and use it to defeat our enemies. I hope we can be friends, but that depends on you and your leaders.”

“That sounds like an ominous threat.”

“It is not meant to be. We only want to live in a peaceful universe.”

“Where did you say you come from?”

“I didn’t say, but just know it is a very long way from here.”

“I’ll bet it is by using that wrist device, isn’t it?

Commandant Ohuru presses a button on his desk and immediately two heavyset guards enter the room pointing weapons at him.

“We will simply take this device from you and you will have no power. Guards, seize him!”

Victor turns on his personal energy barrier as the guards reach for him. They are immediately repelled from him with the larger one falling down.

“Commandant why would you think I would come here defenseless?”

“You should have told us you were protected.”

“That would not be necessary among friends, but it seems you do not want to be friends.”…

In the meantime at the Antigua central console, Chad notices, Victor’s device icon is not displaying. He notifies the security chief who is still on Granada meeting with their planetary leaders. “Sir, I have no contact with Victor and his device is not showing on the console.”

“What was his last recorded location?

He was on a ship which is orbiting the fourth planet in that system.”

“Have the alert team beam to those coordinates and I will join them. We may need a Yanni ship to scan the planet.”

“I will assign a crew and have them there in orbit with you.”…

Chapter Thirty-seven

On the Mannui ship, First Mate Sanna Sistrue is surprised to see a full complement of the aliens in battle dress with weapons at the ready. Before she has a chance to say anything, Will Travis appears.

“Where is Victor?”

The Mannui ship’s navigator interrupts with, “First mate, there is now a very large ship very close to us!”

Sanna Sistrue sees it on the view screen and nervously answers Will Travis’ question. “He went down to the planet several minutes ago with my husband.”

“That is our ship. It means you no harm as long as Victor is okay.”

Will signals Victor’s device without receiving an answer.”

“Leave two men here and the rest of you follow me to the Yanni ship.”

They zip to the Yanni ship where Sethanni is at his station, already scanning the planet. “I have found several hot spots of Tritanium on the surface, which would render Victor’s device inoperable if he is near any one of them.”

Jared Beckham is part of the ship’s crew. Will takes him with him back to the Mannui ship. Jared is an ominous sight dressed in his alert battle dress as he steps onto the Mannui ship’s bridge for the first time.

Will asks Sanna Sistrue, “Can you contact your husband on the surface?”

“Yes, I can do that,” she bravely answers, having regained some of her composure. Sanna pushes a button at the central console. “First Mate Sistrue hailing Captain Sistrue at the Commandant’s headquarters.”

“Yes, First Mate, what do you need?”

“The alien captain wishes to speak with you. Also there is now a large alien ship orbiting near ours. “She nods to Will.

“Sir is Vice-Security Chief Victor with you?”

“Yes, he is. What do you want?”

“I wish to speak with him through your comm unit.”

“I will stand next to him.”

On the planet in the Commandant’s office, Captain Sistrue takes a couple of steps toward Will, but is afraid to get too close. “Your Security Chief wants to talk with you. He should be able to hear you now.”

Just then a staff member enters the office and hands the commandant a piece of paper. On it is news of the alien ship in orbit.

Victor asks, “Yes, Sir what is it?”

“Victor, there are several hot spots of Tritanium on the planet and you are in one now. Do you know what that means?”

“Yes sir, I do.”

“Good, I am going to have Sethanni locate your position and have the Yanni Ship’s teleport station retrieve you. Do you understand?”

“Thanks for the update.” Victor is thankful because he was just about to attempt a demonstration which he now realizes he would have been unable to achieve and thus lose some credibility. He thinks; it is like I am in a snake’s lair and can’t move, but thankfully the snakes don’t know it. I need to learn more about these snakes and their lair too.

He firmly tells the Commandant, “In a moment I am going to beam up to my ship. Please have your leaders informed so when I return we can have a truly meaningful discussion as to whether you want to be friends or not.”

The Commandant is speechless as Victor suddenly disappears. He looks accusingly at Captain Sistrue. “You brought this upon us. Now we must tell the High Command we have met aliens who may have superior technology that we can’t match.”

Sistrue says, “I was only following orders. How could I know the planet has a protector like them? We detected no ships in the region, yet there is now a ship above orbiting near ours.”

Ohuru asks, “Why were they using our Comm Network?”

“I don’t know. They had not used it before.”

Ohuru says, “I wander if it could be the distance or the atmosphere?”

“They say distance doesn’t matter to them.”

Ohuru wonders, “Then it may be something about our planet.”…

Back on the Yanni command deck, Will tells Victor when he arrives on the bridge, “Sethanni is mapping out the hot spots, but we don’t want the Mannui to know there are places we can’t go or see. How did they receive you?”

‘Not well. Sistrue’s superior had his guards try to capture me. But my security shield protected me. I was just about to try to use my device when you called, so they don’t know it wouldn’t work there unless they understood your conversation.”

“Since we were talking between ourselves, the universal translator probably did not translate it for them, so hopefully they don’t know the nature of the problem.”

Victor says, “They may guess part of it because we used their comm network.”

“That shouldn’t matter.”

Sethanni speaks up, “Their planet looks ordinary with the average number of continents, mountains, seas and islands. There are two large orbiting space docks, each with several oval ships docked there.”

“Keep an eye on them and let me know if any of them start toward us. Determine what kind of power they are using and the state of their technology if you can.” The security chief adds, “I want to be fully prepared in case they decide to be hostile.”

Sethanni says, “The hotspot Victor was in seems to be just around that particular building or it could be just in the building materials. I can’t tell for sure from here.”

“Can you use your transporter to beam invisible sensors down there? It would be nice to know which it is.”

“Yes sir, I will do that now.”

“It would also be nice if you could beam an invisible camera to their headquarters office so we can listen in on their conversations. That way we will know their real intentions.”

Shortly, they are viewing Commandant Ohuru’s office and hear the following;

“…That is right, Your Excellency, they appeared on our ship without any warning or any ship being detected. They seem to be able to teleport anywhere they want. They transported our own ship a distance of several parsecs to a planetary orbit in an instant. They told us to stop making war on Granada and all other planets. They said they want to be our friends.”

“Friends do not order each other around. You said they have used no weapons?”

“That is correct, but they are able to protect themselves with some type of invisible energy barrier.”

“They may be bluffing. Have the Mannuiwoc attack them and we will see what type of weapons they have.”

Ohuru says, “I do not think that would be wise, sir.”

“You dare to question your superior?”

“Sir, they indicated they share with their friends. If we are friendly they may share their marvelous technology with us.”

“No, we will make them prove their superiority first with action not just words.”

Will decides to enter the conversation to forestall enemy action against them. “Sir, I’m sorry for the interruption. This is Will Travis of the Galactic Council of Planets. Any such action as you have ordered will render your planet ineligible for receiving our technology and you will still have to give up your weapons of war and become a peaceful people. So make your next order carefully.”

“That is an ominous threat I do not believe you are capable of such a thing.”

“Very well sir, I think you will shortly change your mind.”

Will asks Sethanni, “Can you zip one of those space docks with their ships to another galaxy?

In a couple of seconds, Sethanni reports, “It is done as you requested.

Shortly they hear Commandant Ohuru excitedly say, “Your Excellency, it is reported Space Dock Alpha just disappeared with all her ships!”

“Will asks, “Shall I make the other one disappear too?”

“What have you done with our men and ships? Return them immediately!”

“Why? So you can make war on us poor alien beings?”

“No! That is not what I meant. We will not make war on you. We wish to be friends.”

“I hope you understand, sir, our friends do not make war on anyone. To join the council means you agree not to be an aggressor against anyone and you will allow any planets you have subjected to rule themselves.”

“I by myself do not have the power to implement the things you are requesting. Our ruling triumvirate must meet and agree to any such conditions.”

“When you meet, please have them understand these conditions are not negotiable and even if you choose not to join with us, we will still take away your ability to make war on anyone and free your captured planets.”

“I believe you. I will make sure the triumvirate understands this.”

“We will be happy to meet with them and explain more about the Galactic Council and what we offer if you will set it up.”

“I shall do so and get back to you.”

“Good, we will keep this channel open.”

“Sethanni, when they call back, pass them on to Ambassadors Hargrove and Janus. We will let them handle the diplomatic part.”

Via his wrist device, Will then informs the two ambassadors of the current situation in the X Dimension. “The Mannui leaders should fully understand what we require and make sure they know they will need to disarm and free all captured planets before they can join. That will be a process the Security Service will closely monitor. Granada, their neighbor planet should be a much simpler process.”

Will hesitates and then adds, “And one more thing, they still do not know we are in another dimension, so be sure and explain that to them too. If you do any visiting to the Mannui home world, be sure and have Sethanni clear the location for you. We identified some Tritanium hotspots there.”

Ambassador Hargrove says, “Will, you have accomplished much in the short time we have even known the X Dimension exists. We are very indebted to you and your team. Please let them know that there will certainly be a commendation for their service to the Council.””

Will smiles, “Thank you sir. I will be sure and forward your comments to them.” He adds, “And this is just our first time to explore in that dimension. I wonder what else we will find there.”

Ambassador Hargrove says, “That is the excitement of exploring, finding the unknown.”

Will tells Chad at the Antigua Console, “Keep monitoring our sensors on the Mannui home world and let us know if there are any changes. I still do not trust them.”…

Chapter Thirty-eight

In the X Dimension on the Mannui home world, Commandant Ohuru is livid. How did these aliens manage to defeat us so easily? And they didn’t even tell us where they are from or how they communicate from such a distance! The Commandant is so used to being in charge of his own fate and destiny, he cannot imagine this sudden negative turn of events. He has had to fight and claw his way up the chain of command every inch of the way and now these aliens want to change everything.

They want to do away with our military and have us give up our conquered planets. I would love to have their amazing technology, but not at the expense of our military. There must be a way to defeat them! He calls a staff meeting for his conference room.

Commandant Ohuru’s staff includes his senior officers who have risen through the ranks as he, and they are equally as motivated to find a way to defeat this new enemy.

He tells them, “We still do not know where they are from or how they communicate through such vast distances, or how they travel. We only know we cannot match it.”

Captain Grandel, Ohuru’s tech officer asks, “And they displayed no weapons at all?”

“When the guards tried to capture the Victor person they were repelled by some sort of energy barrier.”

“Was there anything else unusual that occurred during the Victor person’s visit?” Captain Grandel feels he is grasping at invisible straws.

Ohuru mulls the events over and over in his mind and recalls the instance where the aliens from another world had to use the Mannui comm network. Why was that? He suddenly contacts his comm officer. “Captain Neils, report to the conference room with a voice recording of when the aliens used our comm network promptly please.”

“I will be there shortly, Sir.”

As the senior officers listen to the voice recording, though they hear it clearly, at first they do not understand it. ““Victor, there are several hot spots of Tritanium on the planet and you are in one now. Do you know what that means?”

“Yes sir, I do.”

“Good, I am going to have Sethanni locate your position and have the Yanni Ship’s teleport station retrieve you. Do you understand?”

“It seems that they are talking about something called Tritanium on our planet,” Captain Neils says.

“I recall something special about this building when it was built, do you?”

Captain Grandel responds, “Yes I do. This was one of the first buildings where nonicrete was used in the walls. It is a special mineral compound that prevents enemy eavesdropping.”

Commander Ohuru smiles, “And we didn’t actually see this Victor person use his marvelous device while he was in this building. We may have found a chink in their armor.”

“Since they called him about it, they must be able to detect nonicrete from their ship in space. I wonder if there is a way to shield the shielding material,” Captain Neils asks.

“And if not completely shield it, maybe disguise it from their sensors,” Ohuru adds with a wry grin.

“But their ship’s transporter worked okay,” Captain Neils says.

“Well, we detected their ship, so maybe we can take advantage when their ship is not present. I am going to recommend the Ruling Council delay the diplomatic visit so we can set up a trap. Do you know what other buildings include the nonicrete technology?”…

In his New York headquarters office, Will has been busy with overseeing the fastest and widest expansion of the Galactic Council since he took over as Security Chief. He checks with Sethanni at the Antigua Command Center, “Have the ambassadors reported back from their meetings in the X Dimension?”

“No Sir, the Mannui have not gotten back in touch with us so there have been no meetings.”

“That’s strange. I would have expected them to have done that rather quickly. They must be stalling for some reason. Do you still have your invisible monitor in that Commandant’s office?”

“Yes we do.”

“Can you patch my video set into it?

“Yes, I’m doing that now, Sir.”

Will sees the Commandant sitting at his desk. “Commandant, this is Will Travis of the Galactic Council. I wonder why we haven’t heard from you yet.”

The commandant looks nervously around. “Where are you? Show yourself to me!”

“I am simply asking for an update.”

“How dare you intrusively monitor me?”

“I do so only because we haven’t heard back from you in a timely manner.”

Ohuru pompously says, “I have not done so because our Ruling Council has not made a decision yet.”

“Please advise your Ruling Council if we do not hear from them soon, we will start making your fleet disappear and if the answer is no, then they will disappear anyway.”

“That sounds like an ominous threat.”

“Take it any way you want, but you will no longer have the means to make war on others.”

“You never told us where you are from. And how are you able to talk to me from wherever?”

“That is because you haven’t gotten back in touch with us, but where we are is of no consequence to you, especially if you do not desire to be friendly. Again, our technology is only available to members of the Galactic Council”

“I have not said that. We have informed the Ruling Council and await their decision.”

“I know but the delay in getting back to us says it for you. Please do not make us wait longer or you will suffer the consequences. Please inform your Ruling Council we wish our diplomatic envoys to meet with them sooner than later”

“I will certainly let them know, but it is still their decision, not mine.”

“Just be sure they understand to delay further is to invite unilateral action by us to prevent your making war on your neighbors or any others, and we also require you to free all captured planets before you are eligible to join the Galactic Council.”

“We have already informed the Rulers of your demands.”

Will responds,” Don’t look at them as demands, but consider them as requirements of membership in the Galactic Council. The Council has much more to offer you, but you haven’t given us the chance yet to show you.”…

On the Mannui home world, Commandant Ohuru uses his comm unit to inform His Excellency Samoal, his member of the Ruling Council what just took place.

“I thought you said you had a plan to capture them.”

“We can only capture some of them, but hopefully that will be enough. When they come to talk to the Ruling Council, I need the meeting to take place in the Planning Room.

“Why there?”

“Because that is the room most protected from eavesdropping and we don’t believe their amazing device will work there.”

“I hope you know what you are doing because the other council members are very skeptical. They think we must accept these new aliens as allies, and I think you are making a big mistake with your hostage idea. We shouldn’t try anything against the diplomatic envoys.”

“If we don’t we may have to give up our conquered planets and military.”

“I can understand why that would bother you, but it doesn’t bother the rulers that much. They are thinking more of obtaining that amazing technology, but I will present your plan to the others.”

“Please do it quickly as they promise action if they don’t hear from us promptly.”

“What kind of action?”

“I believe they plan to take away our space fleet and armada.”

“I will let the rulers know and get back to you.”…

Chapter Thirty-nine

On Crescent Island, Everyone is getting excited for the big event. It is just a few days away now. Meredith believes she has all bases covered for the Kennedy Center Reception. Though it is unusual for the Tabernacle Choir to perform at private functions, because of the public nature of the function there will be a selected group from the choir performing at the reception.

The reception will follow the couple’s temple wedding in the Hawaii Temple. Though Latter-day Saint Temples look different on the outside, mostly to match local or regional architecture, the sacred ordinances performed on the inside are the same. In a beautiful sealing room adorned with mirrors on opposite walls, giving an extended view as through eternity, the couple will kneel at a sacred alter with family and friends witnessing and make sacred vows to each other and their Heavenly Father for time and all eternity.

Amber Julie Royston is excited about the wedding, but is also looking beyond the wedding and reception to her Honeymoon with Jared. They have planned a unique month-long adventure to Elsinore in the X Dimension. They are going to subtly try to guide the Elsinorians toward a few minor advancements without upsetting their economic or social environment. The Galactic Council has approved this undertaking with strict limitations.

They cannot reveal their true origins or anything hinting at other worlds or peoples. The guidance can only be done in offhand natural ways that will not radically change their society or economy and they must work through Elsinorian citizens to accomplish any advancement. Their devices will be inoperative for off-planet travel during the month they are on Elsinore and are at no time to be revealed.

Galactic Security has placed invisible satellite stations in synchronous orbit around Elsinore to allow Jared and Amber’s devices access to local planetary coordinates so their devices will work during their stay on Elsinore. No security problems are anticipated as all indications are the Elsinorians are a friendly peace-loving people.

Amber is thrilled at the opportunity to have a positive affect on a whole planet’s growth that hopefully will lead to eventual Galactic membership.

Jared is excited too, but wonders how this adventure to start their marriage will turn out and what kind of significant changes they will be able to initiate that could be meaningful with all the restrictions they must abide by..

While the two young lovers patiently wait for their wedding day, they spend much time at the Antigua Lab viewing the X Dimension invisible remote Elsinore survey camera’s monitors.

The four main continents resemble Earth’s as they see mountains, plains and deserts with denser foliage near the equator and snow caps in the Polar Regions. A closer survey mirrors the initial survey in that they find no large cities, only small villages and some slightly larger villages along the coastal areas. They see several docks with sailing vessels at them, indicating possible merchant shipping, but mostly fishing.

They view the wildlife and domesticated animals, which resemble most of Earth’s four-legged creatures. Jared wonders, they are in a whole other dimension and yet their harnesses, saddles and hand plows resemble Earth’s early ones very closely. He is amazed to note their horse-drawn carriages and buggies resemble similar early Earth designs too. The domestic creatures don’t exactly look like horses as their hair is very mangy, but their size and use fits that description as well as any other.

Jared thinks; this could be a copy of Earth’s past pre-industrial development if it wasn’t in another dimension. The history and social scientists will have a field day with this discovery. This is really a very special opportunity Amber and I have. I hope we can be a good influence.

As the monitor views zip from continent to continent, Amber notes how the culture and dress differs from region to region. Some are very colorful whereas others are simple and plain. Amber notes the more colorful ones appear in or near the tropical zones and the plainer ones are in the middle to northern zones. She thinks; doesn’t that closely mirror Earth cultures too? I think the climate has some influence on dress habits and costumes too.

While invisibly viewing the first northern continent, they view a particular west coast town. The couple notes they look like ordinary folks, but their clothes are very plain and Jared notes many look threadbare.

Amber notes that there are many middle-aged men sitting around the town square that has a fountain in the center. They learn the town is called Tartin and the citizens call themselves Tartians.

Jared says, “I would like to talk to these men. Something must have happened to cause them all to be not working.”

“This is where we will say we are from,” Amber says. “We will spend our first day here so we can be familiar with it. You can ask your questions then.”

“Let’s go slowly through the town center so we can pick up some local names and geographic references,” Jared replies. There’s not much travel on this planet so Jared does not worry about them being found out, but he thinks, it never hurts to be prepared.

The actual town they have decided to work in is another coastal village on the other northern continent. They chose it for the mild climate and access to possible shipping to and from other ports. Any shipping might help spread whatever changes they are able to initiate to the rest of the continents.

Jared and Amber haven’t decided yet on exactly what or how they are going to introduce new ideas to the residents. They have decided to get friendly with the citizens and see what develops as possibilities. They aren’t looking for a giant leap in progress, but hopefully, a significant and meaningful one.

The day of the wedding finally arrives and all goes as planned. Meredith and John truly cry tears of happiness as their baby girl performs her wedding vows in the Church’s Hawaii Temple.

Following the wedding and a myriad of pictures outside the Temple, the blissful couple and wedding party use their marvelous devices to travel to the Kennedy Center for the celebrity wedding reception. This stellar event is being televised, nationally, internationally, interplanetary, intergalactic, and even inter-dimensionally.

The elaborately planned reception goes as Meredith envisioned with a dinner party, wedding toasts, many pictures and a Grand Ball to honor the newlyweds. One of Amber’s bridesmaids, Anna Beth Sinclair, catches the Bridal Bouquet with a high pitched squeal.

Following the somewhat embarrassing shenanigans with the dud device, with broad waves and airborne kisses, the happy couple zips away to their new Crescent Island cottage for the night before they zip to their dimensional adventure the next morning…

Chapter Forty

President Jonathan Royston and Security Chief Will Travis are meeting with Galactic Ambassadors Janus and Hargrove in Jonathan’s New York office.

Will Travis says, “They still haven’t answered us. I think we should start removing their space armada.”

“I think you are right as either way, we are going to take control of their military capability,” Janus adds.

Ambassador Hargrove, ever the diplomat, says, “I think we should at least contact them first and let them know the consequences of their inaction are imminent. Give them a second chance to join us rather than be taken over. There is really nothing pressing our action as we can stop them from attacking anyone else anytime.”

“Stopping further aggression is only part of the reason for taking prompt action. They have captured and enslaved several planets and I am sure those people would appreciate us acting sooner than later,” Jonathan adds.

Janus asks Will Travis, “Have you been monitoring their space fleet?”

“Yes, we have sensors dispatched to each of them. Most of them are in space docks around their home world, but several are on patrol around their captured planets and there are a couple of ships we are still trying to locate.”

Jonathan says, “I suggest as a first step, Ambassador Janus inform them to recall their dispatched ships and planet-bound military from around their captured planets or have them confiscated. That should stir them to action.”

“I will do as you request, Sir,” Janus simply says. “I can do that now if you would like?”

When Jonathan nods his head, Janus speaks into his device to Chad Garvey at the Antigua Control Station. “Chad Can you patch me in to that invisible device we have monitoring Commandant Ohuru and show it on Jonathan’s overhead screen here?”

“I am doing so now, Sir”

Within seconds Jonathan’s overhead screen displays the Commandant at his desk in the X Dimension.

Janus says, “Sir, sorry to intrude, but we have not heard from you as requested.”

Ohuru again looks nervously around the room. “Where are you? Why don’t you show yourself?”

“We will at the appropriate time. I must inform you that your delay to get back to us has prompted us to prepare to take precipitate action. “Do you have an answer for us?”

Ohuru nervously says, “Not yet. The Ruling Council is still meeting.”

“Then I request you call your Ruling Council and we will talk to them directly.”

“I cannot do that while they are in session.”

Will interrupts, “Sure you can. Simply call them and we will either speak to them or come to their location.”

“I will not do that.”

Jonathan says, “Commandant Ohuru, this is Galactic President Jonathan Royston speaking. If you do not do as requested, we will appear before them without your introduction. Do you want that?”

“No! I will get them for you.” Ohuru nervously speaks into his phone. “I have an urgent message for His Excellency Samoal of the Ruling Council.”

“They are in executive session sir.”

“I know. This is urgent. Please interrupt them now.”

“Ohuru what is the meaning of this interruption? You know we are not to be disturbed while in session.”

“Sir, the alien leaders wish to meet with you now.”

“Tell them we will meet with them when we are ready.”

Jonathan interrupts, “Sir, this is Galactic President Jonathan Royston. We wish to inform you we will tolerate no more delays. We desire to meet with your Ruling Council now or we will immediately start confiscating your space armada.”

While Jonathan is talking, Will instructs Chad to use the orbiting ship to triangulate the coordinates for the Ruling Council’s chambers.

“The coordinates are on your devices now, sir.”

“We are discussing the matter now,” Mannui Ruler Samoal officiously says.

“Good. We will join you.”

The four Galactic Leaders press their devices and immediately appear standing next to a large oval table with the three rulers of the Mannui in the X Dimension. Jonathan notes the surrounding walls contain huge pictures of probably former rulers.

“Jonathan says, “Sorry to interrupt your meeting, but since you said you were talking about us, I felt we should introduce ourselves. I am Galactic Council President Jonathan Royston and this is our Security Chief, Will Travis and ambassadors Janus and Hargrove.

“We are here to answer any questions you may have regarding our Galactic Council.”

Ruler Samoal is surprised at the youthfulness of the Galactic leaders and impressed with the apparent seasoned ambassadors. He notes these aliens are not that different in physical makeup. Samoal stands tall in his ornate blue robe and high station regalia. He asks, “Sirs, we don’t even know where you are from?”

Will Travis says, “That is because you have not given us the opportunity to meet with you. We come from a far away place in another whole dimension from yours.”

“I am Ruler Galton of Siranus. The rotund Ruler Galton is wearing a similar ornate but purple robe. “If you are so far away, why are you concerned with us and our galaxy?”

“Because as we were exploring your galaxy we came across your ships making war on your neighbor,” Will says. “We are a peaceful people and our Council was formed to prevent wars and protect our members.”

“I am Ruler Arias of Tulon.” Arias is of medium stature with dark hair and bushy eyebrows and wearing a bright red robe with triangular inlaid gold stitching. “You say you are peaceful yet you come here and threaten us!”

“No your Excellencies, We come to offer you friendship and assistance as long as you free your captured planets and no longer make war on anyone,” Janus answers.

“But how can you do so being so far away?” Ruler Samoal asks.

Will Travis says, “For us, distance is irrelevant. Only seconds ago we were in our home city before we appeared here. We offer this same technology to you as long as you are willing to live in peace with your own people and neighbors.”

“But we have a large military and I understand you want us to dismantle it. That will be no small task,” Ruler Galton says.

Jonathan answers, “We have been through the same difficulty and you will find the new technology will open up more opportunities than job losses. Our Council is set up to assist all new members make the necessary adjustments.”

Ruler Samoal says, “And the alternative is if we don’t join your Council you will take our spaceships and weapons, is that right?”

The Galactic Security Chief firmly answers, “Sirs, we cannot allow you to continue making war on your neighbors, some of whom have already joined us.”

Each ruler looks at the other and each nod in the affirmative.

“Very well,” Ruler Arias says. “We will join with your Council and you will help us make the changes in an orderly fashion.”

Unfortunately Commandant Ohuru’s speaker was still on and he hears the Council’s decision. He immediately takes his staff to a waiting shuttlecraft that transports them off-planet to a waiting ship that takes them to one of the missing ships on the far side of the outer planet’s moon…

Chapter Forty-one

In their own dimension on the planet Bosansi, it is a quiet night with two bright moons overhead as Borcas and Maryann look up to the slightly cloudy sky. The clouds float softly in the sky, providing a surreal foreground to the two bright orbs near each horizon.

They are standing on a balcony of the Planetary Palace while they take a break from the festive atmosphere of the ball inside. It is the end of the harvest season and the leaders are celebrating an excellent harvest.

After these many years, Maryann still is enthralled with the almost magical feeling of the dual golden orbs in the Bosansi sky. Bosansi is too far away from Earth to even recognize Earth’s sun in the nighttime sky, but Maryann never fails to look for it in the distance. She is glad that distance no longer matters to them with the Hyperwave device.

On another part of Bosansi, there are others with far less fanciful thoughts on their minds. A few years ago on the Bosansi southern continent of Piaso, a secret band of Islamic Extremists made their facility in the side of a mountain in the wilderness where only wild beasts roam. They used modern technology to displace a huge area of earth inside the mountain for their cadre.

They have been completely isolated from their Eastern Bloc leaders, so do not know of their defeated status. They only know one thing and that is their earlier orders. Those specific orders were to take their time, learn of the structure of the planet’s civil government, and plot its overthrow.

The extremist leader is Mohammed Akabar. Before the Tall thin Akabar was promoted as group leader, he was trained in much of the latest Galactic technology available to the general public at that time. The hidden cave is protected by a Yanni energy field. Before their arrival, a spatial GPS navigational system was deployed on Lora, one of the Bosansi Moons.

The secret system allows them to use their nefariously obtained Visa devices without having to use the Galactic GPS System. So as long as they stay hidden, they believe they are undetectable by Galactic Security.

Because Bosansi has for years been a Galactic Partner, the citizenry is not surprised to see foreigners from time to time. This allows the Islamic outlying teams in the capital cities around the planet to spy on the Bosansians without attracting undue attention. Via their devices, they supply routine updates to Akabar. At the hidden cave, the leaders have plotted the whereabouts of the planet’s key installations of communications and defensive weaponry. The weaponry is largely symbolic as Bosansi provides personnel to Galactic Security and depends on Galactic Security for their common defense.

That passive defense consists largely of deployed sensors around their solar system to notify them of outside intruders. Due to their peaceful nature, the Bosansian leaders never considered an attack from within their own borders.

Early on, Akabar recognized this weakness and set his forces to take maximum advantage of it. Unlike some earlier extremist groups, Akabar was supplied with qualified scientists and technicians. These twisted though learned men set up labs in the huge cavernous interior and used the advanced technology to create a system whereby they can dispatch a double helix energy field to encompass parts of and even the entire planet to keep them protected from outside interference.

This extremist group has maintained its unawareness by Galactic Security mainly because the Eastern Bloc leader who created it and supplied the advanced technology, learned scientists and engineers, left no paper trail and confided in no one of the existence of the group.

His main purpose in keeping the group totally secret is because he believes the group has the best chance for success and wants no repercussions on his own head.

Though Akabar’s team consists largely of men, there are women who are assigned mainly to cooking and cleaning up after the men and another group for female companionship. These women were raised just as the men were to believe in the Islamic Extremist perverted understanding that all non-believer infidels must die even at the cost of their own death, which they believe will bring them much glory with Allah.

There is one young woman; however, who does not fully accept such teaching. Ishue’s father teacher was very harsh with her and so she came to mistrust everything he taught her. Because of the cruel retribution to disbelievers, she keeps her thoughts to herself, but they are always near the surface. Sometimes she has to get away to herself before she literally explodes.

Once here on Bosansi, she was allowed to accompany Aswan, the mother leader of the younger women, on a shopping trip to the nearest town market. While there, she notes the happy peaceful faces of the townspeople. If they are infidels, how can they be so happy and peaceful? She wonders.

She also notes none of the women wear scarves over their head like she is made to do. She likes their bright colored dresses and outfits too. Ishue thinks, I do not think our leaders are telling us the truth about these people.

Ishue has the Middle Eastern physical characteristics of olive-tanned skin and dark hair, but she has uncharacteristic blue eyes from her grandmother’s English side. This characteristic sets her apart from the rest of the group of women.

As Ishue has matured she has noticed the men look at her differently because of her blue eyes. She believes they are attracted to her because of them and tries to keep her eyes averted from the men, especially the fanatic soldiers.

While at the Bosansi market Ishue notes how some people appear and others disappear at different times without anyone around them being startled. She recalls how she and the mother leader used Aswan’s device to appear at the market in a similar fashion. The people on this planet have become very comfortable with this amazing technology, she thinks to herself.

There is a dark side to this mostly male extremist group no one openly talks about, so young Ishue is unaware of the secret brothel that operates for the men’s pleasure. Most young women found causing any trouble are assigned to the brothel to service the men. Once assigned to the brothel, they are separated from the rest of the women. Only Aswan, the mother leader, is aware of this dark secret. When questions arise among the young women about their missing friends, she simply tells them they were sent elsewhere.

Ishue is unaware how close she has sometimes been to becoming one of those missing friends. Ishue’s father sold her to the group when she was only ten years old. Her mother died when she was three and she has never really known any family and has never felt close to anyone in a true loving sense. Now in her sixteenth year Ishue has blossomed into a lovely young lady, easily noticed, even behind her scarf and bulky clothing.

In the command room inside the hidden cavern, Akabar is meeting with his team leaders and scientists to prepare the next phase of their plan. “Are we certain we have identified all of their communication facilities?”

“All but their personal communicators,” Lt. Ramar says. The tall dark lieutenant is over the group’s communications section. The technician leader actually graduated from a London technical school and is proud of his achievements. He feels privileged to be on Akabar’s senior staff.

“And we are sure the personal communicators and devices will not work through the double Helix field?” Akabar queries Lt. Ramar with his raised eyebrows.

“All tests so indicate,” Lt. Ramar confidently confirms.

Akabar turns to his senior scientist, “And we can setup the energy barriers around all cities and the entire planet?”

The senior scientist half bows as he says, “Our installations are prepared when you give the word, Sahib.”

Akabar turns to his field commander, General Turot, “Are your troops ready?”

The general smartly salutes. He is glad the time is getting near. It has been a long few years for him and he is anxious to get on with it, even if it means his own death. “Sir, we are more than ready. Once they are isolated, it will be like a cattle slaughter unless you want hostages, as the average Bosansi infidel is unarmed. We have deployed high explosive devices in most areas large numbers of people usually congregate and they can be set off remotely with the touch of a button from here.”

Akabar boasts, “First we will issue a proclamation over their Satellite system. I want every Bosansian to know why they are dying. Immediately after that, I want their end to be swift and sure. We will take this planet over for our cause and repel all who would stop us. I will issue the final orders in a few days, so be sure your men are ready.”…

The Bosansi leaders and citizens, unaware of the pending plot against them, go about their daily business. Because of the busy commercial interaction with many other galactic planets, at any given time there can be hundreds of other galactic citizens on Bosansi. Any actions against Bosansi will certainly have immediate repercussions throughout the Galactic Council planets.

The morning following the Harvest Festival, Maryann and Borcas are having breakfast with five year-old Benji and three year-old Nicole-Marie at their Bosansi island cottage. Just as they sit down at the breakfast table they are surprised by the sudden appearance of Claire and Travis.

“Hi, Mom and Dad,” Claire and Travis say as they exchange hugs and kisses with their family.

Maryann is thrilled to see her two oldest children. “What’s the occasion for you two to pop in?”

“And where did you pop in from?” Borcas adds.

Claire says, “We were just talking about what to get you for your upcoming twenty-fifth anniversary and thought we would come ask you.”

Travis says, “We came from Claire’s mountain retreat on Archaneus.”

Borcas says, “I would settle for some family time with us all together.”

“Make that on a nice beach resort in a tropical setting,” Maryann smilingly offers.

Claire says, “Okay, what we hear is you want a special romantic getaway in a nice warm setting and maybe we kids could join you at the end, right?”

Maryann hugs her oldest daughter and says, “Oh, I think that would be a lovely present and one which we all would fondly remember.”

Borcas smilingly adds, “A challenging golf course nearby would be nice too.” While courting Maryann years ago, Borcas became a big fan and golfing enthusiast. He made it a goal to play at all the popular Earth courses and introduced the sport to Bosansi, where it rapidly caught on with all ages of Bosansians.

Benji gleefully chimes in with, “Make sure it has a pool with a slide too.”

Claire leans near her mom, “By the way, Mom, I found this remarkable open-air market I want to introduce you to. It has a wide variety of tropical plants and fruits, some of which I can’t even pronounce. It is in the center of Piaso and very cosmopolitan. I think people from half the Southern continent and beyond must shop there. Are you free tomorrow?”…

Chapter Forty-two

Ishue is very disturbed. Last night while collecting dirty clothes from one of the barracks areas, she overheard some of the soldiers boasting about preparing for battle. She slept very little last night as she recalled the conversation over and over in her mind. “Pretty soon our leader is going to give the go ahead to wipeout all these infidels. I heard our captain say it will be like a cattle slaughter.”

She fails to immediately realize one of the lieutenants notices her attention to their conversation. The next morning he reports the fact to his captain.

Captain Markus is a hard-muscled battle-hardened warrior, also known to treat the women at the brothel with much disrespect and often, severe beatings. “You are talking about the girl with the blue eyes, Right?”

The lieutenant says, “Yes, she is the one. I believe her name is Ishue. I am sure she heard what the men were saying about their expected orders.”

Captain Markus slyly grins and waves his hand. “The men should know better than to talk when someone is around. Confine them to their barracks for doing so.”

The captain then happily wrings his hands, “I have been looking for an excuse to get my hands on her. I believe she will shortly regret her eaves-dropping ways.”

This morning Ishue is doing her morning chores, still tired from her sleepless night. As she recalls her actions of the previous night, she remembers one of the men looking at her in a strange way. I think he is an officer. What if he tells his superior I was listening? I will be in trouble for sure.

Ishue is distracted from these disturbing thoughts when the mother leader, Aswan, suddenly appears.

“Child, I need you to help with the marketing this morning. Bring your basket and come with me now.”

Ishue quickly puts down the clothes she was folding and follows Aswan.

It is almost noon-day at the market and there is a bustling crowd.

As Aswan looks through the vendor’s fruits and vegetables, Ishue looks around at the people and their care-free faces. These people are good people. They do not deserve to die. What can I do to save them? What can I do to save myself?

As she is deep in these harried thoughts, she notices two ladies in the crowd who easily standout from the other shoppers. She notes they are dressed different from the average shopper. She can tell from their clothes and bearing they are people of stature and maybe even of the nobility. They look as if they could be mother and daughter.

At that moment, the motherly one looks at her and genuinely smiles. Ishue smiles back and she suddenly feels connected to her in a marvelous and mysterious way. A feeling she has never felt before. Her whole body feels a sudden almost electric surge.

The feeling is mutual as Maryann looks into Ishue’s bright blue eyes. There is something about this blue-eyed olive-skinned girl with the shawl that is special. I must learn what it is.

While Claire picks through a nearby vendor’s cart, Maryann almost unconsciously walks toward the blue-eyed dark-haired girl. At the same time Ishue begins walking toward her. Their eyes never waver as they walk, almost in a trance-like state.

When they meet a couple of stalls away from their original spots, the attraction becomes almost magnetic and Ishue reaches for this unknown lady and says, “I am Ishue and I may be much in trouble. Can you help me?”

Maryann is first startled by the mid-east accent yet the girl’s clear English diction. I wonder what she is doing here. She puts her arms around the frail-looking girl and says, “I am Maryann. How can I help you?”

“Can you take me away from here quickly where I will be safe?”

Maryann instantly makes a bold and uncalculated decision while she is holding onto Ishue and presses her device to return to her cottage.

Ishue is startled when she finds herself suddenly in a strange-but nice-looking kitchen.

“Wait here and I will be right back.” Maryann zips back to the market to retrieve Claire.

She grabs Claire’s hand as she notes some kind of disturbance in the market. An older woman in a shawl is yelling Ishue’s name. “Let’s go now!” Maryann quickly says.

Now Claire is the one startled at the blue-eyed girl in her mother’s kitchen.

“This is Ishue and she needs our help.” Maryann takes Ishue’s hands in hers as she says; “Now you are safe. Can you tell us what kind of trouble you are in?”

Ishue looks at both of them and asks, “Is this your daughter?”

“Yes, this is my oldest daughter, Claire, and she wants to know how she can help you too.”

Claire smiles and affirmatively nods her head.

Ishue nervously shakes as she says,” I have heard some soldiers say they are going to kill everyone soon and I think they know I heard them. They will surely want to stop me from telling anyone and probably punish me harshly for listening.”

“What soldiers? Where are they?” Maryann immediately asks.

“They are soldiers from my native country. We are in a hidden cavern deep in the forest.”

Maryann instantly presses her device and says Will?”

“Yes Maryann, how can I help you?”

She concernedly sees his questioning face on her wrist device, “I need you at these coordinates now!”

As soon as Will appears, Maryann tells him about the hidden soldiers.

The Galactic Security Chief instantly contacts Chad at the central console, “Chad, assemble the alert team and the backup team immediately! I want you to focus all nearby sensors over Bosansi’s Southern Continent now! I want you to setup protective shields over all the continent’s cities and get Sethanni to help you and report when it is done. As soon as you locate the hidden base, place a null field around it immediately!”

While Will Travis is communicating with Chad Garvey, Maryann quietly presses her device for Borcas. “I need you here now, sweetheart.”

When Borcas arrives, he is surprised to see Ishue and Will Travis. Will fills him in on the action he is taking. “We should be able to capture these soldiers without incident, but I want all the cities protected just in case they have deployed staging units.”

Ishue stands off to the side with Claire’s arms around her, not fully understanding the distance all these communications are occurring over, who these people are, or the urgent response her actions have caused.…

Back in the hidden cavern, Captain Markus sends soldiers to take Ishue into custody and deliver her directly to the brothel.

Just outside Ishue’s quarters, the soldiers confront a harried and scared shrieking woman who is declaring, “She is gone! She is gone! I cannot find her! Ishue is gone! She disappeared in the market!”

The soldiers take the shrieking woman back to the captain.

“What are you saying old woman?” Captain Markus demands.

Aswan puts her hands to her face as she says, “I took Ishue with me to the market. I only turned my back for a moment and suddenly she was gone. I looked everywhere but could not find her!”

“This is serious. Lieutenant, send a squad to the market and search it thoroughly. She must be hiding somewhere!” The lieutenant fails to realize the repercussions of this precipitate action.

He turns to another soldier, “In the meantime, take this woman into custody.”

The soldiers cause a stir in the market when they appear. Bosansi citizens are not used to seeing soldiers in the streets, especially foreigners.

The soldiers don’t know how to deal with the citizens as they search. Several vendors complain to the soldiers that they are disrupting their sales. It is not long before an incident occurs with a soldier shooting a vendor.

This causes havoc with people starting to run away from the open air bazaar.

The soldiers shortly return empty-handed to Captain Markus to report the incident. “We could not find her and there was a panic in the market. A soldier shot one of the vendors when he failed to obey his orders. I will see he is severely disciplined.”

“I need to let Akabar know immediately. We will need to step up our schedule. This will surely get back to the leaders and they will send for the Galactic Council.”

When Akabar hears the unsettling news, he immediately orders, “Scramble all planetary communications now!”

“The Galactic sensors pinpoint the cavern coordinates when the extremist’s initiate their scramble signal. A high energy null field is quickly deployed around the cavern coordinates, cutting off the scrambling signal.

“Our signal is being blocked by some kind of intense energy field!” an operator reports to Akabar.

“They can’t have gotten here this quick. Disrupt the energy field!”

“I have tried, sir, but it is holding against our counter measures!”

Akabar quickly says, “Signal the troops to attack and set off the charges now!”

Seconds later, the operator reports, “All of our electronic signals are being jammed! We cannot communicate with our troops or set off the charges!”

“There is no way they could react this quick! They must have learned about us and were just waiting to take action against us! Find some way to break their field!”

“Sir, any weapon I set off within this field to disrupt it could kill us too!”

“Then so be it! Do it now!”

The operator targets a single high energy ion torpedo at the null field and fears for the worst. Instead of exploding, the missile instantly evaporates into its component parts when it interacts with the null field.

“Use the Quantum Projector!” Akabar angrily orders.

The Quantum Projector uses a high energy burst of protoplasm the extremist group obtained from interaction with the Slarg. Its main purpose is to be used in outer space, not in atmospheric conditions.

The Quantum Projector is quickly warmed up and when it fires its high intensity beam, instead of dissipating like the torpedo, it ricochets off the null field, breaking into a myriad of directions, destroying all in its path!

“Shut it off! Shut it off!” These are the last words any of them utter. It is like a giant sun instantly appears inside the cavern and incinerates air, objects and living things alike.

When the beam’s explosive energy finally dissipates, there is nothing left of the cavern with a huge scorched hole on the side of the mountain..

Sethanni, who is at the helm of the command ship now in synchronous orbit over the Southern continent, reports to the Galactic Security Chief, who is now standing beside him, “Sir our sensors indicate a tremendous unleashing of energy within the null field. I believe the leaders either purposely or accidentally blew themselves up. There are no more life signs within the field.”

The overhead viewer reveals the scorched hole in the mountain.

Will thinks of the terrible waste of human life the fanatics caused.

The security chief quickly says, “We must identify and locate any deployed troops before they can take any action! Victor, quickly deploy security teams to each city and work with local authorities to neutralize these fanatics. I hope they will just surrender, but they may be suicidal like the others, so be prepared and keep your teams safe.”

When the deployed extremist troops fail to receive orders, most take no action before they are located and separated from their weapons.

A few true suicidal fanatics, wanting glory in their own death, including one senior leader, start to take action on their own. They set off an explosive device near an open air market. The device itself does minimal harm, but as the shoppers flee in panic, they trample some slower ones.

Bosansi’s civil guards along with Galactic Security place a secure energy barrier around the immediate vicinity and are able to capture the renegades without further harm. The rest of the extremist groups are quickly captured before harming any citizens.

Maryann tells Ishue as they visit in Maryann’s Cottage, “You have saved Bosansi from possible destruction. You are truly a great heroine.”

Ishue softly says, “I am sorry all those people died because of me.”

Borcas puts his arm around her shoulder, “Those people didn’t die because of you. They died because of their twisted leaders,” he tells her. “Still, I am sure you had some friends among them and it is right to mourn their loss.”

Later as Maryann sits in her cottage living room, she talks to Claire while Ishue sits on the floor with Benji and Nicole-Marie playing a card game. Ishue has never played card games before and so Benji and Nicole-Marie happily teach her the rules.

“”When she smiled at me I felt this strange attraction and it was like the Spirit was whispering to me to go to her. I couldn’t take my eyes from her as I found myself walking to her,” Maryann says.

Claire holds her mother’s hands as she says, “I know, Mom. I felt it too in the kitchen. I think Heavenly Father had a hand in bringing you two together. Just think, you were about the only one on the planet who could have saved her and gotten help in time to save our whole planet from their madness.”

Maryann looks at Ishue happily playing with the children. “Now that we saved her what should we do to help her?”

Claire watches Ishue interact with her younger siblings and says, “I think you could use a Nanny, couldn’t you?”…

Chapter Forty-three

The morning following their wedding, Amber and Jared anxiously zip to the X Dimension and Elsinore where it is a beautiful sunny day with a few billowy white clouds in the blue sky just outside of Tartin.

Jared takes a big whiff of air and says, “If I didn’t know better, I would think I was still on Earth. I don’t feel any difference in gravity either.”

Previously a rustic-looking cabin was zipped to a hidden site outside the town with the plain clothing and other things they plan on needing during the month. For the most part, they plan on living as the natives do. They made an earlier trip to exchange some valuable gems for the local currency.

Following a well-rutted road they are passed by a donkey-driven cart and a blond young lady with a polka-dotted bonnet pushing a handcart with her fruits and vegetables displayed on it. She smiles at them as she passes. They casually stroll towards town wearing their simple clothes to blend in with the local citizens.

Amber is wearing a scarf over her hair and Jared is wearing a short-billed grey cap and a pair of faded jeans with a knapsack hanging over his shoulder under his arm. As they pass a few simple shops on their way to the small town square, they stop and admire a cobbler’s handiwork in his window.

White-bearded cobbler Frandsen notes the curious visitors. He stops his work and steps to the door. “Hi. I am cobbler Frandsen. You must be new in town. Can I make some new shoes for you?

Amber says, “Thank you. We were just admiring your handiwork. You must be a good cobbler.”

Cobbler Frandsen smiles, “I am the town’s only cobbler. I used to have two apprentices, but had to let them go when the fishing dried up. Nobody can afford new shoes right now. What guild are you in young man?”

Jared extends his hand as he says, “My name is Jared and I am a traveling journalist and this is my wife, Amber. We are just traveling through the town for a day.”

Amber asks, “Can you recommend any places we should visit?”

Cobbler Frandsen is surprised at the stranger’s casual but friendly way of greeting. He scratches his balding head as he says, “I’ve never heard of a Traveling Journalist Guild. What exactly do you do?

“I gather and write hopefully interesting stories for people to read.”

“Well, I don’t do much reading, but I can tell you some stories. If you want to come back this evening, you are welcome to share dinner with me and the misses. It’s been a while since we had any company to share with. In the meantime you might visit Fisherman’s Wharf. That’s where you will find most of the goings-on in this town.”

“Thank you for your kind offer. We will look forward to meeting your wife this evening,” Amber says as she almost curtsies to him.

As they continue on, Amber says, “You notice he didn’t ask me what I do.”

Jared smilingly says, “I’m sure he assumed you are the loving homemaker.”

She smiles back and says, “No, I think he looks on me as more the housemaid doing all the homely chores.”

Jared laughingly says, “I’ll have to see how many of those I can find for you.”

The newlyweds continue on a few doors down and stop at a dress shop. There is no mannequin but a simple white dress with a colorful butterfly sewn near the hem hanging in the window. This causes Amber to pause and so she enters with the tinkling bell sounding over the door. Jared enters too but stays near the door.

Amber notes the store is lighted only with the light coming through the window though she does see an unlit lantern sitting on the counter and a couple more along the walls. Over near one wall and near the window she notes three ladies sitting and sewing individual items by hand.

The middle-aged shopkeeper comes around the counter saying, “Welcome to our shop. May I help you with anything?”

Amber removes her scarf as she says,” I was just curious about the dress in the window. Can you tell me about it?”

The shopkeeper hesitantly looks over at the three sewing ladies. “That one was made by Elena. It is the first one she completed.”

Long dark-haired Elena hears her name and smiles at the lovely young visitor. She stands up when the shopkeeper motions her forward with the crook of her finger.

“Elena is our newest sewing apprentice. She comes from a fine family, but with no immediate marriage prospects, she opted to learn the sewing trade.”

Elena says, “Yes Mistress?”

Amber realizes she hasn’t introduced herself. “I’m sorry. My name is Amber and this is my husband Jared. We are just passing through your town. Elena, I just wanted to tell you it is a fine dress and I like the beautiful butterfly you sewed on it.”

Elena blushes as she says, “Thank you. Mistress helped me make it, but the butterfly design was my own idea.”

“I think it is lovely but I didn’t notice a price on it.”

Mistress says, “For first dresses we let the buyer decide the price. Are you interested?”

Amber looks at Jared as she says, “I may be but we have some visiting to do yet. What time do you close your shop?”

Mistress says, “We close promptly when the sun hits that yonder ridge.” She points out the window to a far hill. “Then we go and tend to our chores before our men-folk come home.”

“Thank you. If we don’t make it back in time I hope we will see you later.”

Jared turns to open the door with the tinkling bell and the two head on towards the town square without making anymore stops.

As Amber reties her scarf, she asks Jared, “I wonder how much I should offer for the dress?”

“You don’t even know if it will fit you.”

Amber brightly smiles back at him, “Yes, but I am sure Elena would happily alter it for me.”

As the two visitors approach the town square, Jared notes almost the same group of men loitering on the benches across from the Tartin Town Hall that he witnessed on the Antigua monitor.

Amber notes the square is not actually a square, but more of a pentagon shape with two streets angling off the pointed end. There is a tall thin monument in the center with a circular fountain at the monument’s foot. On the top of the monument is a large compass-looking object. She also notes several young boys playing on the other side of the square.

“They even look like they’re in the same positions,” Jared whispers.

“No, I think one or two have changed positions,” she laughingly whispers back as they hold hands and cross the wide dusty pebble-stoned road to the square.

“What you bringing your lady over here for?” One rough-looking man with a dark mustache, wearing very faded and weather worn pants with a tattered checkered shirt brashly shouts to Jared.

Amber suddenly realizes she is the only non-male on the square and quickly says, “I think I will go look in some of the shops, dear.”

Jared doesn’t want her to be alone, but realizes that is probably the best thing to do for now. He then looks squarely at the rough-looking man and says, “That wasn’t very friendly.”

“Who says I have to be friendly,” The man bellows sneeringly at him.

Jared doesn’t flinch as he says “Who says you don’t?”

The rough-looking man stands up and says, “Harry, the kids got spunk. What’s yer name and where ya from?”

“My name is Jared and I’m not from around here, just passing through. I’m a traveling journalist. I collect stories and write them down.”

“Well aint that just dandy. Looky here everybody, we got us a young storyteller amongst us.”

One of the others leaning on a bench asks, “What kind of stories?”

“Interesting ones that make people think and remember them. They usually start with a question like why are all you healthy looking guys spending your time here on your town square, apparently doing nothing?”

“Oh we’re doing something alright. We’re watching the time pass.”

The others laugh at his joke.

“From the looks of it most of you are fisherman. Why aren’t you out there fishing?” Jared puts his foot up on a bench seat as he leans with his hand on the back, showing his interest in their conversation.

“Cause there aint no more fish out there,” one other man in a checkered shirt says.

“How do you know that?

Another one speaks up, “Because we been out there over and over and no fish in our nets.”

“What happened to cause that?

“Because we’re cursed,” another says.

“Why would you believe something like that?”

The rough-looking fisherman speaks up, “Because the preacher man told us we were cursed, that’s why.”

Jared looks around. “What preacher man?”…

Chapter Forty-four

“The one who preaches over in the capela told us.” The man points to a building on the corner of the square with a spire on it. “He’s the town preacher. First he came to the Wharf and blessed our boats. He told us we would have a good catch. Then when we didn’t, he told us we must be cursed to have the fish all leave our fishing ground at once like that.”

“How long ago was this?”

“It twere about three moons ago,” a short bearded man says.

“Did you try other fishing areas?”

A younger man dressed similar to the first except his tattered shirt is more like a T-shirt, says, “Yeah, we tried a few, but we gave up because of the curse. Our boats are all patched up and ready, but there aint no use tryin when you’re god curses you.”

“Can’t you do something else besides fish?”

“A few of us tried, but we aint farmers and most of us come from a long line of fishermen and don’t want to start a new trade. We want our fishing back. Do you know anything about curses?”

Jared hesitates then says, “Yes, I know one thing and that is for the most part I don’t believe in them. But I do believe something caused your fish to go away and I will look into that.”

The younger man says, “Ask the preacher man, maybe he can tell you because he sure aint talking to us no more.”

While Jared listens to the fishermen in the square, Amber uses the time to window shop to get an idea of what to offer Elena for the dress. She walks around the square to an open air market where she sees the blond young lady that passed them on the road into town with her handcart.

Amber slowly peruses the fruits and vegetables on the handcart. She picks up two plum-like fruits. “Are these sweet or tart?”

The smiling girl says, “They’re a mixture of both and I really like them. They are called Turops and they grow on small trees in our garden.”

“My name is Amber, what is yours?”

“My name is Mari Valenti. I saw you on the road. You are new in town aren’t you?”

“Yes we are new to your town. That is a pretty name, Mari. When were these Turops picked?”

“I picked them just this morning before I left the farm.”

“That’s great, how much for these two?”

“That will be two Kronar.”

Amber selects the smaller but not the smallest coins from her pocket as Mari wraps the two Turops in a paper for her.

Amber smells the ocean air as she sees the wharf in the distance past the square. There are several large sailing boats with nets rolled against the sides, looking ready to be lowered and sails ready to be opened. She turns and sees Jared walking towards her.

As he reaches her she hands him the small package to put in his knapsack. “How did your meeting with those guys go?”

Jared smiles, “It went okay after we got to know each other better. They even invited me to come back and tell them a story later.”

“Good. Let’s go to the wharf now and see what’s going on there.”

The first thing they come to is an outside café offering the equivalent of fish and chips. They look at each other smiling and place their order. They sit at a small umbrella covered table while waiting for their order. There is a gentle cool breeze blowing in from the ocean.

When the jolly man that took their order also serves them at the table, he says, “You’re new around here aren’t you?

When they nod, he adds, “You two young-uns look like you just got hitched, am I right?”

“Is it that obvious?” Amber blushingly asks.

“Well, it is to me being a family man and all. I’ve got married kids about your age too.”

Jared says, “I guess business has been slow since the fishing dried up.”

The jolly man wipes his apron, “It sure has and I’m about to pack it in. This place is costing me more to run than it brings in.”

Amber says, “I would think those people on the square might buy from you.”

The owner disgustedly says, “Those bums got no money. They just sit there day after day wallowing in their own misery. I don’t know what they’re waiting for or expect to happen, but they sure aren’t doing anything to help themselves.” The owner wipes his brow and asks, “What you fine folks doing here? I would think you have better things to do.”

Jared says, “We’re just passing through. This is my new bride, Amber and I am Jared.”

The owner sticks out his hand, “I am Emilio the Fish Seller and also the town mayor, so if you folks need anything just ask.”

Jared decides to ask him, “As a matter of fact, I was talking to those guys at the square and they said their fishing grounds and them were cursed. Would you know anything about that?”

“That’s just plain foolishness. See that small island way out there?”

Jared stares out to sea and nods as he sees a small dot on the horizon.

“Well, that island is really the top of a volcano and month’s ago it started spewing lava. I think that is what chased the fish away. The water got too warm for them.”

Amber says, “You could be right. That sounds like a better answer than a curse.”

Jared adds, “They said it was the preacher who told them their fishing grounds was cursed.”

“That may be what he told them but I don’t think he believes it. He’s just upset with them because they don’t believe he is a real preacher.”

“Why would that be?” Amber asks.

“Preacher Samuel hasn’t been here very long. Our last Reverend Hollings just up and died and shortly after, Preacher Samuel showed up and said he would help the flock get over Reverend Holling’s sudden death.”

Emilio wrings his hands as he continues, “No one really knows much about Preacher Samuel except that he preaches out of the Words of the Prophets and tells everyone to be good and not sin.”

Jared wonders how their Words of the Prophets compare to the scriptures he is familiar with. “That sounds like he is trying to help people,” Jared says.

“Oh I think most people believe his heart is in the right place, but sometimes he goes around preaching fire and brimstone and scaring people to death. He doesn’t do it all the time, but when he does, he really creates a commotion.”

Amber asks, “Does he have a family?”

“Not that he mentions. When I outright asked him, he just said they left him awhile back and he’s on his own now.”

After their conversation with Emilio, Amber and Jared take a stroll along the pier, eating their Turops and marveling at the wooden sailing vessels.

“They look just like pictures of old ships in our history books,” Amber says.

“Yes, and they look like they’re ready to take to sea anytime,” Jared says as he reaches out and touches the thick rope anchoring one of the ships to the pier, noting its tightness. “These ropes haven’t been undone in a while. Their ‘Moons’ must be longer than ours.”

“Why don’t we go visit the capela and see if the preacher is around?” Amber suggests….

Chapter Forty-five

As the two walk back down the long pier and enter the square, the group of unemployed fishermen wave at them and they wave back.

The capela has a single spire and is not a large church building but does have some steps leading to double doors with odd symbols on them like lightning bolts.

When Jared slowly pulls one of the doors open it softly squeaks, so he believes anyone inside will hear them enter the half darkened sanctuary. Sure enough, a door off to the front side of the Dias and pulpit opens and a smiling square-jawed slim gentleman walks up to them.

“Hello, I am Reverend Samuel. Are you two looking to get married?”

Amber smilingly says, “We already are,” as she possessively sticks her arm through Jared’s offered elbow. “I am Amber and this is my new husband Jared. “We are just passing through your town and thought we would visit your lovely church.”

Reverend Samuel stretches his arm out to the open sanctuary saying, “Well please make yourselves at home. It’s not much but it’s the best church in town.”

Jared asks, “Have you been the minister long?”

“Not very long, just about three months. Their last minister died and so I offered to help.”

Just then they hear the front door squeak and they see a frail-looking young dark-haired lady enter who looks to be very pregnant. She silently stands near the front door as she removes her bright orange headscarf.

“Excuse me,” Reverend Samuel says as he rushes to the lady’s side.

Amber and Jared stay where they are and only hear the muted conversation from a distance, but can tell the woman is very anxious.

After a short moment, Reverend Samuel brings the lady to them.

“This is Sarai.” He looks at Amber. “I don’t suppose you are a midwife?”

Amber says, “No, but I will help if I can,” as she takes Sarai’s hand softly in her own.

“I need to go find Mrs. Trafler quickly. Can you two stay with her?”

Jared says, “Certainly. We will take care of her and keep her company. Go and find who you need.”

As Reverend Samuel rushes out the front door, Amber leads Sarai to one of the front pews and tries to help her comfortably sit.

Sarai leans back and achingly says with her hands on her swelling stomach, “Thank you for your kindness. I think the baby is about ready to come.”

Amber turns to Jared, “Dear can you find the restrooms and see if there are any towels? We may need them soon.”

Sarai asks, “What is a restroom?”

Amber answers, “I mean a bathroom.”

“We only have the two privies out back.

As Jared heads out back, Amber asks, “Is this your first?”

Sarai shakes her head, “No, I have two others. Wilma is eight. She is watching Tasha at home.”

“Is there a clinic or hospital in town?

Sarai shakes her head, “We have no such things, only Doc Bennett and Nurse Clara. Mrs. Trafler is the town midwife, but she may be visiting her sister in Elkins.”

Amber thinks; I hope the Reverend finds the doctor and nurse quickly if Mrs. Trafler is not available.

Jared comes back with a few towels in his hand. “I raided both privies and found these,” as he sets them on the pew beside Sarai.

Sarai moans as she says through gritted teeth, “The pains are getting sharper and quicker.”

Amber checks Sarai and says, “I think we need to remove these now,” as she rolls Sarai’s stretched panties down her legs.

Jared stands off to the side as he asks, “Where is your husband?”

Sarai moans again as she says, “I think he is on the square with the others.”

“What is his name?”

Sarai, perspiring in agony, says, “His name is Julio.”

Amber asks Jared, “Dear can you find some kind of a container for water?

“The pump well is behind the capela and there is a shed that may have a pot in it,” Sarai says between another loud moan and gritted teeth.

As Jared quickly exits the side door, he looks to his right at the square and shouts, “Julio, can you help me?” He then turns his back as he trots to the shed. As he is carrying a tub out of the shed he is surprised to see the rough-looking mustached man standing there.

“You hollered for help?”

“Are you Julio?”

“Yes that is me, but how did you know my name, I did not tell you?”

“Grab a handle, your wife is about to have a baby.”

Julio grabs the handle as Jared starts for the well pump. “Where is she?”

“She’s in the Capela with my wife.”

Julio quickly primes the pump and starts pumping.

Jared is happy to see water start flowing into the tub.

As the two men carry the tub of water through the side door they hear a baby squealing, “Waa! ... Waa!”

Just then, through the front door rushes Reverend Samuel with Dr. Bennett and Nurse Clara.

Amber happily hands the new squealing baby boy wrapped in a towel to the nurse and steps back as Jared and Julio set the tub of water down.

After using the water to clean up the baby and making sure he is okay, the short smiling nurse hands him to Julio, “Your first son.”

Dr. Bennett is attending to Sarai as he looks at Amber, “You did a fine job safely delivering the baby. I am very glad you were here.”

Jared puts his arm around Amber and says, “I’m glad she was too.”

Dr. Bennett says, “Well Reverend, since the baby is already here, you could baptize him now.”

“Little children are innocent and need no baptism,” Reverend Samuel quickly says.

Jared is amazed at the reverend’s understanding of the doctrine of baptism. I wander what exactly is in their Words of the Prophets?

Later in the day, they are in a small room off the side of Sarai’s parent’s house where Sarai is recovering from her delivery. She is sitting up in a four-poster bed holding her newborn son with Julio standing by her side.

Amber notes a crib along one wall where a toddler is standing against the railing and an older young dark-haired girl is standing beside his crib.

Amber walks over to the crib, “This must be Tasha and you must be Wilma,” she smiles at them.

Wilma answers, “That is right, but how did you know?”

Amber smilingly says, “Your mother told me before she delivered your little brother. You are very good to watch after your baby sister.”

Wilma smiles at her as she looks at Tasha in the crib, I don’t mind helping mother with her. She is really a very good baby.”

“And now you have a new brother too. I am sure your mother appreciates your help.”

Julio says, “We both want to thank you for being there for Sarai and I want to apologize for my crudeness on the square earlier. That was not very friendly of me,” reaching out a hand to Jared.

Jared smiles as he says, “Apology accepted.”

Amber asks, “What are you going to name your handsome new son?”

Jared lovingly looks at Sarai as he smilingly says, “I think we will call him Julio Jared.”

Just then, through the window Amber sees the fading sun about to hit the far ridge. “I think we need to leave now,” she anxiously says.

They quickly make their goodbyes and head back to the dress shop…

Chapter Forty-six

They reach the dress shop just as the shopkeeper is starting to pull down the front door shade. She sees them rushing to her and releases the shade so it rolls back up and she opens the door for them.

“Thank you for not closing the door on us?”

“I am glad I saw you coming. I failed to introduce myself earlier. I am Miss Constance, the shopkeeper. I am very glad you decided to come back.”

Amber notes Elena standing putting her things away over to the side. Amber smiles at her and nods for her to come forward.

“Elena, I want to buy your dress, but we have not been in town long enough to know the true value of things here. Is it okay if I ask Miss Constance to set the price for you?”

“That will be fine. I am glad you like it and want to buy it.”

Miss Constance goes to the dress on display and brings it to Amber.

“I will wrap it for you if you are willing to pay 75 Kronar for it?”

Amber smiles at Elena as she says, “Oh, I am sure it must be worth at least a hundred Kronar. Will you accept a hundred Kronar, Elena?”

Elena happily grins from ear to ear, “That would be very kind of you.”

Jared carries the brown-wrapped dress along with his knapsack while they walk the few doors up to the cobbler’s shop.

The cobbler has already closed his shade, but they can see the light from a lantern inside, so Jared knocks on the door.

Cobbler Frandsen happily opens the door and says, “Come in, come in. I am glad you came back. I told the misses earlier I hoped we had company tonight so she is expecting you.” Cobbler Frandsen leads them through the store and out the back door where not far away is an obviously well cared-for cottage with a white picket fence around a small front yard. As they walk through the gate cobbler Frandsen says, “Everyone just calls me Cobbler, but my first name is Herman. You are welcome to call me either.

As Cobbler Frandsen enters the door, he says, “Sally, we have company.”

Amber and Jared follow their host into a nice-sized living room that includes an unusual instrument resembling a piano, but with an odd-looking keyboard, plus a comfortable looking sofa and lounge chair with lanterns hanging from vertical iron stands on each side of the sofa and beside the lounger. Along the sidewall is a good-sized fireplace with a black cooking pot hanging in the middle.

A smiling short stocky dark-haired woman comes into the living room wearing an apron with sunflowers on it.

Cobbler Frandsen gives her a kiss on the cheek and says, “This is Amber and Jared who I was telling you about.” He turns and says, “Amber and Jared this is my wife, Sally, the mother of our five wonderful children.”

Sally welcomes them both with open arm hugs. “Welcome to our home. Please come on into the kitchen where dinner is waiting.”

Jared is surprised when they take their seats around the table and Cobbler offers a short blessing on the food

“Dear God, bless this bounty and our visitors this night, Amen”

As they enjoy a delicious meal of pot roast, they get better acquainted and talk about their day.

Cobbler says, “I can’t believe you two young people are traveling by yourselves. Traveling anywhere far can be very dangerous you know.”

Jared says, “We know so we usually only travel during the daylight. We met the unemployed fishermen on the square and Mayor Emilio and Reverend Samuel, Miss Constance and Dr. Bennett and Nurse Clara and Julio and Sarai and their new baby today..

Amber adds, “And don’t forget Elena and Mari Valenti.”

Sally says, “I didn’t know Sarai had her baby yet.”

Jared proudly says, “She sure did and Amber helped deliver it right there in the Capela.”

Sally looks at Amber in wonder, “Are you a midwife too?”

Amber shakes her head, “No, I was just there when she came in the capela and Reverend Samuel went to get help. She was already pretty far along in her labor. I was scared but she helped get me through it. I was glad this was not her first one. He is a healthy handsome boy.”

“That’s pretty amazing,” Cobbler says. “And all this happened on the day you are just passing through town.” He smiles, “You seem to have met a lot of people for your brief stay.”

Jared looks at Amber in silent conversation. He hasn’t had a chance to talk to her yet, but he is thinking of changing their plans to instead stay in Tartin for the month.

Amber’s eyes glow and she nods her head as if she understands his silent thoughts so Jared expresses them. “Actually I haven’t discussed it with Amber yet, but we might stay over in your town for awhile.”

Sally’s eyes sparkle as she says, “That would be great and we have a guestroom you are welcome to use until you find a place to live, don’t we, Darling.”

Cobbler Frandsen smiles and stands up, “Yes we do. Come, I will show it to you. As they walk down the short hall, Cobbler says as he opens the door, “This is our guest room and you are welcome to stay as long as you need it. The side door there will lead you to the privy in back.”

Amber takes in the room with a four-poster bed, a dresser and vanity and a wardrobe closet. Sitting on the vanity is a large washbowl with a water picture beside it. “Thank you, I think this is a lovely guestroom.”

Sally then takes Amber to the screened-in back porch, shows her the scrub board sitting in a wide round tub and points to the clothesline out back. “That’s where you can hang your laundry to dry. We usually get up just as soon as the sun rises with breakfast shortly after. You are always welcome to join us for meals.”

“Thank you so much, Sally. I almost feel at home already,” Amber tells her.

“If you want to help with the chores, I keep the ax out back sharpened and a pile of wood lying beside the shed is always ready for chopping,” Cobbler tells Jared. “You can stack it over here in this overhang so it will be dry when Sally needs wood for the stove and fireplace. I usually put a few pieces by the stove and fireplace at night so it is ready to start in the morning.”

“I will be happy to do my part for your kind generous hospitality,” Jared says.

When the four are together, Jared says, “We left our things just outside of town so we wouldn’t have to carry them around. We will just go get them now and be back shortly if that is okay.”

“That will be fine. I will leave some extra towels in your room while you are gone,” Sally says.

“You will need this lantern to light your way,” Cobbler Frandsen says as he quickly lights it.

Jared and Amber wave from the picket fence gate and head back the way they came into town. As soon as they are out of sight, he presses his device to return to their hidden cabin. The cabin is powered and protected by a powerful Yanni energy pod, so the rustic-looking cabin has all the comforts of their Crescent Island cottage. Jared turns the lantern off to preserve the oil.

“How did you know what I was thinking, dear?”

Amber beams as she hugs him tightly, “Because I was feeling and thinking the same thing, only I was going to wait until we got back here to say it. I’m glad you didn’t wait. The Frandsen’s are so nice and kind.”

Jared says, “We are going to be giving up a lot of comfort to stay with them though.”

Amber smiles, “We can always sneak back here for some private time. Just think; we are getting the chance to see how our great-great-great grandparents lived.” While she is talking, Amber tries on her new dress.

She whirls around in it for Jared and smiling says, “See it fits just fine.”

The newlyweds share some special personal time together before they gather luggage and return to where they left just outside of town where Jared relights the lantern.

When they return to the Frandsen cottage Jared hands Cobbler the lantern back.

As he takes it, Cobbler is surprised at how much oil is left in it. He had worried they would run out of oil before they returned. They must have been nearer to town than I thought.

Sally tells them before they retire to the guestroom, “Tomorrow is our day of worship. You are welcome to join us if you like.”

The newlyweds sleep comfortably under a plush blanket and rise as soon as they hear stirring in the house. They individually make their first trip to the privy outhouse and Amber resolves to sneak back to their cabin to use that modern convenience as often as she can.

After a nice breakfast where Amber helps wash the dishes, then everyone gets dressed for church and they walk to the capela…

Chapter Forty-seven

On their short walk to the capela, they are met by a few others. Amber happily recognizes Elena and Miss Constance who waves at her.

“You look beautiful in your new dress,” Elena happily says.

They are met at the door by Reverend Samuel who warmly welcomes them to the service.

Jared is startled to see Sarai and her family sitting on the front pew with Julio happily holding his new son. As Reverend Samuel walks up to the front, Julio whispers something to him.

Amber notes a piano-looking instrument off to the side in front and is surprised when Sally takes a place on its bench and starts playing some prelude music.

After the welcome by Reverend Samuel, they have an opening hymn and a prayer and then the Reverend makes a special announcement. “Yesterday our town increased in population by one special person and he was born right here in this sanctuary. We want to thank two special visitors who assisted with that delivery. Thank you Amber and Jared.”

The newlyweds blush as they sit in the third row and know everyone is looking at them.

Reverend Samuel startles them when he adds, “The new father, Julio, has asked that the baby be christened with his new name this morning and would like Jared to assist in the Christening.”

Reverend Samuel walks from the pulpit and takes the new infant from Julio’s hands and nods his head for Jared to come forward.

Jared rises and walks forward wondering what is about to happen.

Reverend Samuel indicates for Jared to help hold the baby as the Reverend pronounces the blessing. “Great Father above, we take this newborn infant into our hands to give him a name and a blessing. The name we give him is Julio Jared Markum.”

Julio Jared stirs in their hands, but doesn’t cry as the Reverend continues, “Julio Jared we bless you with health and strength. We bless you with the ability to know the difference between good and evil and bless you to always choose good over evil. We pray that you will always be a blessing to your parents and never let them down. And we bless you with a happy and caring life, In the name of our Father and Savior, amen.”

After Julio is returned to his father, Jared wipes a tear from his eye as the blessing truly stirred him and he takes his seat.

Amber hugs him and whispers, “That was beautiful, darling.”

The congregation then sings a very uplifting spiritual song and the reverend gives a heartfelt sermon on loving our fellow man. In it he makes reference to the Words of the Prophets, which increases Jared’s desire to read those words.

Following the closing hymn and prayer, Jared and Amber stand at their row and are introduced individually to most of the congregation. One pregnant lady even asks Amber if she will help deliver her baby.

Following this, Jared asks Reverend Samuel if he can meet with him later.

“My door is always open Jared and I will be happy to talk with you anytime.”

Following the church service, Amber helps Sally fix dinner.

While the women are in the kitchen, Jared asks Cobbler, “I heard the reverend mention the Words of the Prophets in his sermon. What do you know of them?”

Cobbler looks at him with a stern eye, “Surely this isn’t the first time you’ve been in church and heard of the ancient writings? What town are you from?”

Now Jared thinks; I should have saved my questions for the reverend. “Sir, I didn’t say, but it is a town called Dallas and it is very far away. I’m sure you have never heard of it.”

Cobbler nods his head, “You are right. I have never heard of your town. Don’t they have churches there?”

“Yes, they have churches there but we call our Words of the Prophets, scriptures. Have you read your Words of the Prophets?”

“I have seen them only once, but I did not read them. They are written in the writing of the Elders and can only be read by someone who has been trained to do so like Reverend Samuel.”

“Thank you for helping me to understand. I will ask Reverend Samuel to see if our scriptures match the Words of the Prophets.”

Cobbler smiles, “When you do, I would be interested to know the answer.”

On the next morning Jared heads for the square while Amber stays home to help Sally around the house.

At the square, the usual group of guys is there and they holler at him as he crosses the cobble-stoned street.

“Hey Jared, heard you had some excitement yesterday and Julio is a new father.”

Another one yells, “And here comes the new father too.”

Jared turns his head and sees Julio walking across the street too.”

They shake hands in the middle of the street.

“Thanks for helping Christen Julio Jared.”

“I was glad to do it and thanks for asking for me.”

When they reach the group of guys, they all congratulate Julio on being a new father again.

After the congratulations, Jared asks Julio, “Will you take me out fishing on your boat?”

The others echo, “Yes, Julio, will you please take us out on your boat to fish.”

Julio says, “Only if you all help with the nets.”

So they all head down to the wharf where Jared is surprised to note Julio’s ship is one of the better maintained ones.

It only takes a few minutes to get underway and as soon as the sails are unfurled, the wind catches them and they slowly sail out of the cove-like harbor.

Once free of the harbor, Julio steers the boat in a southeasterly direction. Jared notes the current flow and suggests they steer in a northerly direction.

“Due to the wind direction, if we turn the sails that way, it will be slower going so we usually don’t go that way.”

Jared says, “Since we have all day, why don’t we try that way.”

Julio reluctantly turns the sails as Jared requested.

Sure enough their progress slows but does continue.

Jared keeps an eye on the dot on the distant horizon, and when they are pretty far north of it he suggests, “Why don’t you try lowering your nets here and see what happens?”

Julio orders, “You heard the man, lower the nets now.”

Jared notes everyone seems to know their station as the nets are quickly lowered on both sides of the ship.

It doesn’t take long for everyone to note from the changed movement of the ship that the nets are getting heavy.

“Pull em up and let’s see what we got,” Julio orders.

Sure enough, both nets have a good amount of fish and everyone shouts for joy.

“You sure are good luck, Jared. You can fish with me anytime,” Julio says patting him on the back

Several others yell, “You can fish with me anytime too.”

Julio shouts to his crew, “Everyone shares this catch equally.”

While the ship returns to shore, all hands start cleaning fish and putting them in baskets. By the time they dock the ship with the sun slowly setting, the baskets are full and ready for market. Julio gives two of the larger ones to Jared, “Cobbler Frandsen’s wife will know how to fix these real well for you and your misses.”

“Can you give some to Mayor Emilio too? His café has been sorely suffering.”

Julio smiles, “He will get his first.”

By the time Jared reaches the Frandsen cottage, the news has already reached them and Sally has the kitchen counter cleared to cut the fish for frying.

Amber giddily tells Jared as she helps start filleting fish, “You should have seen the young boys running through the town yelling ‘The fish are back! The fish are back!’ What miracles did you perform now?”

“I simply suggested they go against the wind and current and got them farther away from the effects of that volcano out there.”

She hugs him and smiles, “Well, you certainly made a believer out of everyone in this town.”

As Jared returns to the living room, Cobbler says, “You two have certainly made a name in this town. A few more like today and yesterday and they will be raising a statue to you.”

“We haven’t done anything anyone else would have done.”

“Don’t shortchange yourself son, this town has been sick for several months and no one else came along until you did. Now that means something and folks will sure remember. I believe you should think about sticking around here.”…

Chapter Forty-eight

The next morning Jared heads over to the Capela and through the squeaking door where he spies Reverend Samuel up front near the podium.

Reverend Samuel stops what he is doing and comes forward to greet him. “There’s the conquering hero. You’ve certainly made everyone happy around here. How can I help you, Jared?”

“You mentioned the ‘Words of the Prophets’ in your sermon and I was wondering if I could see them?”

“I can show them to you, but don’t expect to read them. They are written in the ancient language and you must be taught it before you can understand it. Come this way to my office.”

As they walk, Jared asks, “How do you come to have a copy?”

“Before I was ordained I had to learn the language of the ancients and when I was ordained I received a copy with a vow that I would make at least two copies for people I ordained.”

Jared realizes he is talking about copies written by hand. “That must take a long time to do.”

As he opens his office door, Reverend Samuel proudly says, “Yes it does and I am almost finished with my first copy.”

Jared notes a side desk with a large brown bound book. As he gets closer he sees it is not exactly bound, but tied together with thick leather straps. He realizes this world has not invented book binding yet so compiling books is a totally manual process. The compiled book does have a nice thick cover on it though.

“Here is the original I received and there is the copy I am working on.”

Jared sees the copy is on uneven leafs of light brown paper. He thinks; paper-making is still an undeveloped craft too.

“I am waiting to get more paper to continue my copy.”

Jared slowly lifts the thick cover with the caption “Words of the Prophets” in neat hand-penned calligraphy.

Jared is startled to read in what seems to him to be very plain English, ‘Revelations from God the Eternal Father as given to the ancient prophets.’

When Jared reads the words aloud, Reverend Samuel is amazed.

“You must have the gift of tongues to understand the writing. How did you acquire such a marvelous gift?”

Jared lightly presses his hand on the letters on the page and realizes the writing is different than what his mind unconsciously interpreted. “I don’t know, but the writing seems to be very plain to me.

Jared turns the page and is truly startled to read, ‘The writings of Father Adam when he was cast out of Father’s presence.’

Jared goes on to read the story of creation as given to the first prophets on this world. After much silent reading, he reads about the Father’s Plan of Salvation and that a savior will be provided.

All this time, Reverend Samuel sits amazed as Jared turns page after page, sometimes making comments as he goes. Jared suddenly stops his reading and turns to Reverend Samuel.

“Reverend, you gave a very nice sermon the other day, but I do not think you fully understand these writings or you would be preaching more about them.”

Reverend Samuel hangs his head as he says. “You are right. I actually understand very little of it. I was a student of reverend Hollings before he died. He was training me, but I was having a hard time understanding. He actually died before I was formally ordained. I just picked up his ministry and did they best I could for the people.”

“And I think you are doing a good job in your efforts, but some things can only be understood by the Spirit and much fasting and praying. I think you need to find a true ordained minister and continue your training so you can be ordained by one having true authority and then help the people know the fullness of the gospel. There are important messages the prophets have received and the people need to hear them.”

“I will do that, but I still do not understand how you can read these words so easily if you are not an ordained minister?”

Jared quietly says, “I have been ordained, but my ministry is not here. It lies elsewhere a very far distance away. And that is all I can tell you.”

Reverend Samuel squeezes Jared’s hand firmly, “Thank you. I believe I understand what you are saying. Thanks for helping me to understand. I do want to be ordained and I will seek out an ordained minister so I can complete my training.”

“Reverend, it is not just training, it is the Spirit that you need to train you. The Spirit knows all things and can help your understanding. Pray for the Spirit to enlighten your mind and the Spirit will help guide you to what you need to do.”

“Yes, I see that now,” Reverend Samuel says, nodding his head. “I have just been going through the motions without really understanding. I will do as you suggest.”

“That is fine. I will tell no one about our conversation, but only teach what you truly understand and pray always for more understanding.”

As Jared walks slowly down the Capela’s steps he thinks, here I am billions of miles away from home and in another dimension and yet the Spirit is here helping me help others in amazing ways. Is this part of God’s plan too? The Gospel truly is universal.

The next few days are rainy days so Jared and Amber stay indoors where Sally helps teach Amber some sewing lessons and Jared learns how to make shoes while Cobbler tells him some folk stories.

One particular story involves a good ruler who wants to help his people so he creates a test for them. A new road is being finished so he asks the people to travel it and the one who travels it best will be rewarded.

As the townspeople eagerly travel the new road, they come across an obstacle of debris left in the middle of the road. Most of them go around the obstacle, usually complaining about the trash left over by the road crew. There is one young couple; however, that stops when they see the obstacle and take their time to remove it so it won’t cause others a delay. When they get to the bottom, they find a sack of gold coins.

At the end of the road, they present the sack to the ruler, telling him where they found it. He tells them, “This sack of coins is for the ones who find it. The coins belong to you because you traveled the road best.”

When Jared hears the story, he wonders if it is some kind of analogy or even a parable. “That sounds like a parable the Savior would give,” Jared voices without really thinking.

“How much do you know of the Savior?” Cobbler asks in amazement.

“Actually I know quite a bit about Him when He came to visit my people many years ago,” Jared reverently says.

“Reverend Hollings used to preach about the Savior and how he died so we all could be resurrected, but I haven’t heard Reverend Samuel talk about the Savior in any of his sermons.”

Jared purposely does not mention the Savior’s name so as not to confuse Cobbler.

“I think Reverend Samuel is spending most of his time trying to understand the Writings of the Prophets and he will be speaking more about the Savior when he understands more,” Jared says, hoping he is not causing Reverend Samuel a problem.

Jared secretly records the stories and shares them with Amber at night. The days fly by and the newlyweds are enjoying their time with their new friends but still want to find a way to materially help them before the month is up. Everything they think of leads them to having to reveal their true origins to the townspeople and they know they can’t do that.

“I think I will have another talk with Mayor Emilio. Maybe something will pop up that we can use to help them.”

This morning after breakfast, Jared heads to Emilio’s fish stand where the mayor-fish seller is getting his kitchen ready to prepare lunch.

“Good morning Emilio. How are you doing?”

“Hi Jared, It is good to see you. I understand you and Amber are planning on leaving soon.” Emilio is putting on his work apron and arranging pans and utensils in the kitchen as he talks. “I don’t recall you and Amber ever really telling us where you are from. Why is that?”

Before Jared can answer, Emilio says, “Oh yes, I do remember someone said you were from a town called Dallas, but no one here has ever heard of Dallas before. What kind of a town is it?”

Jared thinks telling Emilio about Dallas in an abstract way may lead the conversation into an area he can help Emilio and the townspeople grow in. “Dallas is a very big town compared to Tartin. It has many people in it. The town is not near the ocean, so it has no fishing industry like Tartin.”

“What do the people do then to provide for their families?”

“They do many different things. Some are school teachers and others are carpenters or businessmen and women such as you.”

“Women run businesses in your town?” Emilio asks in amazement.

How can women run businesses? They should be home with the children.”

“The children spend the day attending school,” Jared says.

“What does a school teacher do in your town?”

“In our town there are many children and so they go to local school buildings to be taught.”

“Then a school is like a guild, yes?”

Jared smiles, “Sort of, but a school has many different teachers who teach different subjects, so the students have the opportunity to learn different things instead of just one particular skill like an apprentice.”

“So a school is like many guilds put together then.”

“I think that would be a rough comparison. Do you not see the advantage of someone learning about more than one skill or subject?”

Emilio says, “Yes, I think I do. There is more to learn than just how to make shoes and dresses, right?”

Jared smiles, “That is right. There are many other subjects to learn such as learning about other towns and villages and their trades and culture.”

“But how does a school teacher provide for their own family?”

“The school is administered by the town and the town levies taxes to pay for the buildings and the teacher’s salaries.”

“That is an interesting concept. Our town is starting to grow. I think I will talk to the townspeople about maybe starting a school.”

“That would be a good first step.”

Jared is pleased with the subtle way he may have helped the town progress. He happily shares this with Amber in the evening.

She hugs him, “I do think you are right. A school is just what they need. Then they will start questioning things and there will be more interaction and they will really begin to make progress. I think I can leave happy now, Darling. This has really been a great experience to start off our marriage with.”

“I totally agree,” Jared adds as he wraps his arms around her with loving affection.

Later, Amber and Jared prepare the people for their departure by telling them they will be leaving in a couple of days. Everyone begs them to stay longer.

Jared attends a Town Council meeting as a guest when Mayor Emilio makes his proposal to the Town fathers.

“One person replies, “But that’s not the way it’s always been. I grew up in a carpenter’s guild and that was fine for me.”

Jared is proud when the Mayor answers him, “Yes, Jarmin, but carpentering is all you know. If no one bought your furniture or needed your skills, how would you support your family? We need to prepare our children better than we were prepared, so I propose we start a school for them and you can be one of their teachers.”

Though the tall skinny Jarmin with the rough-looking face and hands doesn’t totally agree with Mayor Emilio, he likes the idea of being considered a teacher.

Chills go through Jared as the Council passes Emilio’s school proposal with only one ‘Nay”.

That night, Amber is happy too as Jared tells her of the Tartin Council meeting. “After you and Cobbler left for the meeting I was worried when Sally told me, though Mayor Emilio heads most of the meetings, her husband told her he rarely speaks at them.”

“Well he did a fine job this time and even did well answering his critics. I think we may have really started something good here.”

Amber brightly smiles as she says, “Me too.”

On the day before they are scheduled to leave, Greg Garrett suddenly appears in front of them while they are standing on the town square on a beautiful sunny day.

Before they can speak, he exclaims, “You must leave quickly!” He points out to sea. “We have detected a massive earthquake out there which is sending a huge tidal wave this way! It will be here in mere seconds! The whole town will be destroyed!”

Amber looks at Jared in anguish as she says, “But we can’t leave without warning the people!”

“You have to! We only have a few seconds before this whole area will be engulfed by a Tsunami!”

Jared quickly thinks and suddenly disappears!

At the same time some of the young boys start running from the pier and shouting. “A wall of water is coming! A wall of water is coming! Everybody run for your lives!”

The townspeople quickly exit their stores and shops because of all the commotion and in horror see the giant wall of water racing across the harbor towards them! The people are so stunned they are frozen in place! A few realize it is fruitless because there is no nearby high place to run to anyway.

In the back of her mind Amber realizes she has the power to escape the coming water, but her mind is focused so much on how to save the people she fails to take any action to prevent her own imminent destruction.

Suddenly, it is like the wall of water hits an invisible wall and rises high up over the people and the town! They look up in amazement as they hear and see the thunderous roar of the water hundreds of feet above but none falls on them!

Julio and his crew are standing frightened on the pier as they see the enormous wall of rushing water just a few yards away from the docked ships suddenly shoot almost straight upwards against some kind of invisible wall.

Amber feels Jared’s presence beside her and sees he is holding his hand in his pocket. She guesses what he must be touching in his pocket as she tightly hugs him. She turns around and sees the townspeople hugging each other in fright and wonder too.

The turbulent monstrous waves of ocean water makes several violent surges up the invisible wall before finally subsiding back into the ocean and slowly calming down over a long period of many minutes.

Jared puts his arm around Amber as he casually removes his hand from the slight bulge in his pocket.

Just at the time the rushing water leaped skyward, Greg Garrett instantly disappeared.

Reverend Samuel rushes up to them along with many of the townspeople. “I don’t know how you did it, but you saved this town again, didn’t you?

Jared softly says, “I just don’t think it was time for this town to be destroyed and apparently God didn’t either.”

Reverend Samuel turns to the townspeople and says, “We’ve been saved by a miracle from God! Everyone give thanks to God!

They all kneel down as one and start praying together as Amber and Jared do also, quietly thanking Heavenly Father they were allowed to save the people and the town from destruction.

Following the prayer session, many of their new friends come up and thank them individually.

Julio takes Jared aside with his hand on Jared’s shoulder. “No one is saying it out loud but I know they are all thinking it was you who saved us. When I saw that great wall of water only seconds away from crushing us all, I said a silent prayer in my heart that my family would be spared. Whether you really did anything or not I want you to know I will always be your friend.” After saying this he hugs Jared tightly as if he could always keep him with him.

Jared marvels at how Julio has changed from the rough bullying fisherman he first met in the square only short days ago.

At the same time, Sarai is talking to Amber as she softly rocks little Julio Jared in her arms. “Amber, you have been such a delight to us and our town; I hope you decide to stay so you can watch our little Julio Jared grow up.”

Amber gives little Julio Jared a soft kiss on his little cheek as she says with moistening eyes, “I am sure he will grow up to make you and Julio very proud. We can’t stay because we have many family and friends waiting for us back home, but I’m sure we will check in on you from time to time.”

Mayor Emilio comes up to Jared, waving his arms and saying. “I can’t believe how our little town was so miraculously saved. I think because of this miracle I have become a more devout person. Isn’t God Marvelous?”

Jared smiles, “Mayor, he is indeed that.”

Elena slowly approaches Amber. “I thought I saw you and Jared talking to a stranger just before the kids came running and warning everyone, but I don’t see him now. Do you know where he went?

Amber looks around in all directions as if she is looking for him before she turns to Elena. “I don’t see him either. He must have left while everyone was praying.”

“I was just wondering because he looked like a nice young man who I had never seen before and his clothes seemed to be very different.”

Amber smiles, “I noticed the same thing before I was distracted by all the commotion.”

That evening Jared and Amber have a quiet time with the Frandsen’s as the older couple try to talk their guests into staying longer. “You have done so much for us and the town; we don’t know how to thank you.”

Jared assures them, “Your friendship is thanks enough.”…

Chapter Forty-nine

The next morning Mayor Emilio, wearing his tall Mayoral black Hat, knocks on the Frandsen cottage door. Cobbler welcomes him in. “Amber and Jared were just saying their goodbyes to us, Mayor.”

Mayor Emilio steps forward, “Well the townspeople want to say their goodbyes to you too and we are all gathered at the town square to do it. Would you two young people do me the honor of letting me escort you?”

Amber says, “We would be honored to join you,” as she offers her hand with Jared holding the other.

Cobbler and Sally follow them to the square where a large group of people are gathered. Amber waves at Elena and Miss Constance and Julio and his family and many others they recognize.

Mayor Emilio walks up the steps of a small stand that was quickly erected and invites Amber and Jared to accompany him.

Mayor Emilio opens his arms to the crowd as he says, “We the people of Tartin want to thank you Amber and Jared for your wonderful though brief visit to our town. We will always remember what you have done for us and we are glad to have known you. We wish you the best wherever you go and hope you will visit again real soon.

As the crowd claps, Elena hands up a brown-wrapped package to the mayor and he presents it to Amber. “I understand this is just the second dress she has made and now you have both of them.”

Amber gives him a kiss on the cheek and blows a kiss to Elena.

While the crowd loudly claps again, Mari Valenti hands up a basket of fruit. “Mari says she picked this fresh fruit this morning for your journey.”

Amber repeats her kisses.

As the crowd claps again, Julio and Sarai hand up a bouquet of flowers to the mayor. “Julio and Sarai want to thank you for helping deliver Julio Jared.”

Then Cobbler hands up a shoebox sized package he was carrying.

“Cobbler says you will need a new pair of shoes wherever you are going.”

At that a loud cheer goes up and then Reverend Samuel hands up a square brown-wrapped package. Mayor Emilio hands the bulky and somewhat heavy package to Jared as he says, “Reverend Samuel says he finished this copy late last night and hopes you will treasure it as he treasures your friendship to him.”

As another clapping session ensues, Mayor Emilio lifts his ceremonial cap and pulls out a scroll tied with a bright red ribbon from inside. As he hands it toward the honored couple he says, “Amber and Jared, last night the Town Council met and authorized this declaration that you, Jared and Amber, are Special Friends of the Town of Tartin and are to be awarded special privileges whenever you are in town.”

Jared thinks; so that is where Cobbler disappeared to last night.

The crowd wildly cheers again.

Jared and Amber are both moved to tears of happiness as they wipe them unashamedly from their eyes.

Amber speaks first, “Jared and me came here to start our married life because we wanted our start together to be something special, but you are the special people and have given us the gift of your friendship, which is the best wedding gift we could ask for. We will always remember you.” She blows them a kiss.

Jared says, “I know some of you think we did some special things here, but it is the town itself that is special. Each one of you helps make it special. I know God smiles upon you and as long as you return His love with good works, I believe he will continue to smile down upon you. We will try to check back on you from time to time to see how you are progressing. We leave our blessings and our love to all of you.”

After mingling in the crowd for awhile, Amber and Jared return to the Frandsen Cottage to finish packing their things.

Jared tells Cobbler and Sally, “We want to thank you for all your kindness and hospitality. We are going to be leaving very early in the morning so please don’t get up to see us off.”

Sally hugs both of them with tears in her eyes, “We were just getting used to having you here.” She looks around the room. “The cottage is going to seem lonelier without you.”

Amber says, “You two are such good friends, I bet it is no time before you are befriending someone else in your lovely home.”

Cobbler winks as he tells Jared, “If you leave before we get up, it is still going to be dark outside. I would offer you a lantern, but based on the little oil you used last time I somehow think you don’t need it. Am I right?”

“Cobbler if you are inferring we are supernatural in some way, you would be very wrong. We are just ordinary people like you, but I have found the Lord blesses people with gifts from time to time and maybe ours is just helping others.” Jared firmly clasps Cobbler’s hand, “It has truly been a pleasure knowing you and learning how to make good shoes.”

“Young man, the pleasure has been ours as well. I wish the rest of my children could meet you, but they moved away when they got married.”

“Maybe if we get to come back we will get to meet them,” Jared says.

The newlyweds have a restful sleep that night before they quietly slip out the side door with their belongings and gifts before the Frandsen’s awake and walk a ways before using their device to return to their hidden cabin. Jared notes his off-world functions are now working on his and Amber’s devices so they can leave anytime.

At daylight, Jared notices the devastating results of the Tsunami not far beyond their cabin, away from Tartin. There are trees and bushes strewn everywhere.

Amber sees amid the devastation a drowned wild goat. They carefully bury it before leaving.

Jared thinks while he is digging the hole, this is what would have happened to all those people if I hadn’t remembered the Yanni device in time…

Chapter Fifty

Back on Antigua, following a brief stay at their Crescent Island Cottage, Amber and Jared appear at the Antigua Control Center with everyone clapping to welcome them home. Jonathan comes up to them and hugs them both as he says, “Welcome home. Greg told us how you saved an entire town from being destroyed. That was very quick thinking on your part, Jared.”

, “I think I had some help thinking that quickly, but I am very glad it worked.” Jared softly says.

“Did anyone suspect how you did it?”

Amber smiles as she answers, “No. They just considered it a miracle from God.”

Jared adds, “And how can we know it wasn’t God using us as one of his instruments? Wait till I tell you what else happened while we were there.”

The rest of the team gathers around them and welcomes them home.

Will Travis says, “We have some things to tell you about too. You weren’t the only ones busy in the X Dimension.”

“After some resistance and foot-dragging, we enlisted the Mannui to join the Council. We are in the process of helping them through the transition process. Amber, your company has a key component of the transition and Jared your services will be needed also.”

The Security Chief adds, “The one negative was with a few other Mannui renegades. When they learned their rulers were opting to join the Council, they hid out on their moon. Our sensors were able to track them, and we removed their ships and put them in a holding area in an effort to convince them, of the error of their ways.”

Jared says, “Yes it does sound like you’ve been busy too.”

Amber presses her device to contact Marie St. Clair to share their adventure with her and get back in the loop…

Grantham Wilson was away from the hidden lab when Maria Canbriatti’s scientists were captured, so he unwittingly escapes capture. Also Will’s team unfortunately fails to account for him as they assume he is in one of the conspirator’s cells awaiting final disposition.

Grantham still has some considerable resources to call upon though he must lie low to keep from being captured. The twisted man is not one to stay low though so he decides to counterattack. Grantham is aware of the moon facility where Hardison James resides. He thinks Hardison was an ingenious foe to the Council. If I can free him, he will be a valuable asset to the cause.

Hardison James is one of the earlier nemesis’s to the teleport team. His technical background and high intelligence as well as his twisted ego have caused the teleport team much grief in the past. Though much time has past, just hearing his name causes much anxiety among more than one of the original teleport team members. Though Grantham is unaware of many of the details, he has learned enough to believe Hardison would be a valuable ally to have on his side.

Grantham zips to another secret facility where he takes charge of the few team members there. He tells Eric Baker, the chief twisted scientist, of his plan to free Hardison James.

Eric has been having second thoughts about his involvement with Maria’s team because he has felt left out of part of the planning and implementation of her scheme. Eric came onto her team without fully realizing the consequences of having to break relations with his family and friends and hideout in this lonely place.

Eric is stunned at the news of Maria and the other’s capture. He is afraid his facility might be next. “We must move before we are captured too! They will surely learn of this place!”

“Yes, but we must do it quietly. We will only take the essential equipment and leave the rest. There is another facility on Ganymede, no one but me knows about. We will go there now.”…

Sometime later, at the moon’s High Risk Prisoner Facility, it is just another boring day for Hardison James. He has long past given up trying to escape. The Galactic Council no longer sends other inmates here and there are just a few others besides himself who are wasting away here. Though he is now gray and haggard, his mind is still active and alert. His mind still dwells on what might have been if he hadn’t been re-captured years ago.

Hardison James senses a sudden change in his immediate environment, but doesn’t recognize the constant quiet hum of the invisible energy shield around the facility has been disrupted.

Suddenly, a person he doesn’t recognize appears in front of him! He notes the heavyset man dressed in a grey jumpsuit has a precious wrist device on.

“Hardison, my name is Grantham and I have come to help you escape, but we must do so quickly! Grab my hand!”

Instantly the two are teleported to several way stations before they arrive at the secret Ganymede Facility.

“Thank you, but where am I now and who are you?”

Grantham grins, “You are on a special facility on Ganymede the dreaded Council knows nothing about. I share your passion against the Galactic Council. I am hoping you can help me fight them.”…

At the Antigua Control Panel, Chad Garvey receives the message from Will’s security team of the breach at the moon facility and the sudden escape of Hardison James.

“We tracked them through a couple of teleports and then they went off our network. We have no idea where they are now! I have put out a wide area alert,” Will Travis tells Jonathan via his wrist device.

“How did he escape? I thought that facility was escape proof.”

“We did too, but someone on the outside managed to disrupt the security field and he escaped before we could restore it. No other prisoners escaped, so whoever did it wanted Hardison James.”

“I thought there was a backup generator?”

“There is, but it was sabotaged and it took a short time to replace it. Time enough for the villains to free him.”

“Do we have any clue as to who is behind this?”

“My team is working on it as we speak. Because they used our teleport network, we should be able to identify them.” As Will says this, he is handed a piece of paper.

Will continues, “We have identified the device that was used, but it is not on our active file. We will have to research to identify its owner.”

“Well let me know as soon as you learn anything. Hardison is a genius and we need to locate him before he can cause any harm. He apparently has some smart allies too. Be sure everyone is alerted.”

Jonathan immediately notifies his dad.

“When did this happen?”

“It happened just a short while ago. We are doing everything we can to identify and track them down.”

“Meredith is going to blow a gasket when I tell her.”

Jonathan frowns, “She won’t be the only one, Dad. I hope we find him soon.”

John thinks, and as if we didn’t have enough villainous activity lately, now we have to catch Hardison again…

Will’s team identifies the owner of the device. They also identify the owner last worked for Grantham Wilson.

Will quickly reviews Maria Canbriatti’s captured team members and realizes Grantham Wilson is not among them. How did we slip up there?

On Ganymede, Hardison wastes no time in getting up to speed on Grantham’s technical resources. “What you have here is amazing. We should be able to do great damage with this advanced arsenal.”

Grantham smiles, “Yes, but the trick is being able to do it without being caught. I want to free our other team members if we can locate where they are. Can you help me?” As Grantham asks the question, he sees the older graying man in front of him and wonders if he made a mistake in freeing him. The haggard man standing in front of him certainly doesn’t look like he could conquer any world.

Then Grantham realizes, I am no spring chicken either. He for the first time notes the glowing fire in the other’s eyes as he speaks.

“We need some inside intelligence. Can we get into any of their facilities without being detected?”

“I do have a couple of devices that will work outside of their network. If we use them, they shouldn’t be able to track us via their network.”

“Good. We will need some of your stealthy bugging devices, so we can listen in. Now where do you propose we start? Whatever facility we choose must be hooked up to their security network for us to learn any valuable information. It should not be one of their main facilities so we can escape detection.”

Grantham smiles, “You know there is another dimension now, don’t you?”

“Hardison smiles, “I was on that rift station that opened up a doorway between dimensions, but I also heard it was destroyed because it wreaked havoc in both dimensions.”

Grantham nods his head, “That’s right, but before it was destroyed the Galactic Security Team found their own way into that dimension and they have just built a new Way Station. Maybe we can use it to learn more.”

“That’s a great idea. They are sure to have a communications network there.” Hardison almost wrings his hands in anticipation…

On Artimus in the Bosansian Sector the new Dimensional Way Station stands starkly bright on the otherwise dead Artimus moon. The Way Station is called Echo-1. The new station chief is Captain Robert Wilson. On temporary assignment to Echo-1 for the Galactic Science Committee is Arnold Stanton. Arnold is monitoring station operations to help guide the Science Committee for future stations as new dimensions are discovered. As a temporary assignee, Arnold has the privilege of zipping home each night to be with his family.

In Grantham’s hidden space ship they used to teleport to the far side of the top of a mountain within snooping range of Echo-1, Hardison is observing Grantham’s small team of scientists working the technician’s panel. One wall of the ship is lit up like a Christmas tree with a few view screens scattered among the multiple indicators and switches. I could probably learn what most of those functions are if I put my mind to it, Hardison thinks.

Grantham listens to his chief scientist.

“The station does have a force field protecting it, but that field has a weakness. The field must be of very low intensity to allow people and cargo to zip to and fro between dimensions. They can probably change that intensity at the touch of a button, so you need to strike quickly and without warning.”

“Does that mean we can teleport someone inside?”

“Yes, but probably not without being detected.”

Hardison says, “They would probably only need to be there long enough to plant the listening devices.”

Grantham says, “But if they are detected, they will know we are in the area and find us for sure.”

“Then the trick is to do it without detection. Is that possible?”

“It may be so if we can provide a distraction elsewhere.”

Hardison smiles, “Now you’re thinking. I believe I know just the thing.”…

At the Antigua Central Console, Sethanni is talking to Chad Garvey. “We have our sensors all over the place. Surely something will show up soon. They have to be out there somewhere.”

Chad says, “If we knew what area, we could put more resources on it.”

Suddenly, a blinking red icon appears on the screen, accompanied by a resonant buzzing noise. Chad instinctively presses the icon and a large message block appears in the center of the screen.

‘Omega Galaxy – Corinthias Capitol City in the Orion Sector’

Sethanni presses more keys on the dual keypad and more information pops up. “The Galactic Envoy on Corinthias has been kidnapped. We need to alert security.” He presses his wrist device for Will Travis.

Mere seconds later the Alert Security Team arrives at the Corinthias Capitol City and learns it was not only the Galactic Envoy, but her family plus the Corinthias Vice-Chancellor and his family as well. They were taken while they were attending a special reception.

Will Travis learns the details as he interviews His Honor, Ravin Wold, Corinthias’ Chancellor, a nervous middle-aged balding man of medium stature.

The distraught Chancellor Wold says, “They were here, over there at that table when three men suddenly appeared and grabbed them and then disappeared.”

“What did the men look like?”

“They were only here a second or two. I’m not sure anyone can describe them.”

Will nods his head and asks, “What were they wearing?”

“I do know they each had a grey hood over their heads. I’m not sure about any other clothing.”

Victor Austin walks up to the security chief and says, “The way they took them would seem they didn’t care who saw them.”

“I’m wondering if this has anything to do with Hardison James’ escape.”

Victor says, “I haven’t learned anything either way, but why would he take them so openly? These people aren’t that important to anything I’m aware of. ”

Will frowns, “That’s what I’m afraid of; what aren’t we aware of? Check the sensors for this sector and see what we can learn.”…

“Who are these people and where are we?” Ronaldo Cardon anxiously asks his mother. Ronaldo paces the small ordinary-looking room they are locked in. How can we possibly escape when we have no idea where we are? He thinks, if we can escape at all.

Ronaldo’s father, Don Cardon, answers before Mara has a chance. “You saw how it happened. We don’t know who they are, where we are, or why they took us. Maybe they will tell us soon.” Don is an efficiency expert and usually very organized, but this harrowing incident has him puzzled and worried and wondering what to do.

“Darling, calm down,” Mara places her hand on her son’s shoulder. “I am sure Galactic Security is working on the problem right now.” Ronaldo’s mom is worried too, but is trying not to panic. The brown-haired mother of three is more worried about her two young offspring left at home than her current situation.

Up until now, Mara has led a full yet sedate life, and as far as she is aware a non-dangerous one. The Galactic Envoy is unaware of her experience in another timeline when she was much younger and the fate of her home planet hung in the balance.

Mara sometimes wonders how she came to be Corinthias’ Envoy to the then alien Galactic Council. She often recalls that wondrous and yet strange interview she had soon after her academy graduation. It was not long after learning about the aliens from another galaxy and their marvelous teleport technology.

Admiral Jaansen of the Imperial Navy had unexpectedly summoned her to his office. Many times since that day, Mara has replayed that interview in her mind because it was such a dramatic change in her then young career. Mara had seen pictures of the well-known admiral but never dreamed of meeting him or even his awareness of her.

Though she has always done her best at everything she attempted and has been recognized as an extraordinary envoy, she often questions how and why she was selected for such a singular honor.

Years ago, that day she stood before Fleet Admiral Jaansen in his office almost wary of what this meeting was about. The medal-bedecked admiral eased her concern by complimenting her on her academy accomplishments. “…Your superiors at the academy all gave you high recommendations. One even went so far as to say she could view you in a command position some day.”

Then Admiral Jaansen asked her a puzzling question. “There was one additional recommendation I received which puzzles me. I am wondering if you might be able to shed some light on it for me.”

Mara remembers saying “I don’t understand, sir?”

“I mean a high ranking member of the Galactic Council also recommended you with his highest recommendation. But you weren’t the only one. He had a list, but yours was at the top of it.”

Mara remembers stammering, “But sir I know of no one in that Galaxy I am aware of.” She remembers asking to see the list, but the admiral then replied.

“I am not sure the person wanted you to know the information I have already given you so let’s leave it at that.” Then Admiral Jaansen straightened and shocked her with the announcement.

“Well he certainly knows of you, so I am appointing you to represent Corinthias on the Galactic Envoy’s staff.”…

Over the years Mara has unsuccessfully tried to learn more about how she was at the top of such an amazing list, but it still remains a mystery to her.

Little does she know their unknown captor is connected to that incident. Back in the former timeline, when Mara was commanding the Brightstar, as her crew battled General Rasu-sen’s devastating attack on Corinthias, Hardison James stowed away on another Omegan starship.

Because of Galactic Security’s use of time travel to reverse the renegade’s fierce destruction, she has no recollection of her short, yet heroic service as a starship captain in that other timeline.

The escaped Hardison and Grantham’s team randomly captured the Galactic envoy and her entourage to distract Galactic Security from his team’s primary objective on the Way-station, Echo-1. Hardison knows nothing of the earlier connection either. He only picked Corinthias because of his previous experience in the Omega Galaxy and its distance from Artimus.

On Artiumus’ moon, one of Grantham’s team teleports inside the echo-1 main chamber, sticking a mini remote camera near the main console. Echo-1’s operator’s eyes are glued to their monitors and miss the flicker on one unmanned screen, indicating the intruder. The intrusion is of such short duration, the flicker only lasts an instant.

Back in the hidden spaceship Grantham and Hardison’s team began monitoring the activity inside Echo-1. The tiny camera has a super-sensitive microphone so they can easily pick up most conversations in the room. They hear, “There is a system-wide alert for two escapees. One is Hardison James who was imprisoned in the High Risk moon prison and the other is Grantham Wilson, a member of Maria Canbriatti’s twisted group.” This conversation is heard from two persons walking into the room.

They hear the other say, “I thought they caught her group?”

“They did, but they must have missed him. Reports say that Grantham Wilson may be the one who helped Hardison escape and the two may be working together now.”

“It didn’t take them long to put that together,” Grantham says to his cohort sitting next to him near the console.

“Does that mean they will be looking for us?” asks the cohort.

“They were already looking for us. That’s why we have to keep a low profile,” Grantham says. “We can’t do anything that will give them a clue as to where we are.”…

“There must be a way to signal where we are. We all have teleport devices, but apparently the signals aren’t getting through. They must have a jamming field blocking the signals. Does anyone have any ideas?” Mara asks as she paces the locked room.

Ronaldo says, “Our captors probably haven’t taken our devices because they know their use would lead them to us.”

“That’s good thinking,” his dad says.

Mara’s secretary quietly says, ‘These men must be very powerful to capture us the way they did.”

Mara says, “Well don’t worry Aida, we have powerful friends too who I am sure are looking for us this very moment.”

Don Cardon says, “Let me see your devices. It might be possible to connect them in a way that might interrupt the jamming field if I can just find some tools to work with.” Don knows through his experience, though the heart of the device is the teleport function, which is tamper proof, there are add-on components that can be manipulated. I hope I can do what I just said, he silently thinks.

Ronaldo says, “I have some miniature tools I use for my gamming console in my pocket.” He quickly reaches for them and hands them to his dad.

“Thanks son, this may be a great help.”

Ronaldo says, “Here’s my gamming console too if it will help,” As he pulls it out of his dress jacket pocket.

Don Cardon takes the device and says, “This might supply enough power to generate a narrow beam against the jamming field.”

Mara is happy to see Ronaldo has calmed down now that he and his dad are working together. They haven’t always so easily done that.

Just then the single door aside from the bathroom door opens. Two rough-looking men dressed in grey coveralls step into the room with fierce-looking weapons waving around but at no one in particular.

Don Cardon casually puts the devices behind him as his son steps in front of his dad as if he can protect him from these two brutes.

The taller one gruffly waves his weapon ands says, “You are our captives and you will remain here until released. Do not try to escape. If anyone tries to escape, you will all be killed.”

“Where are we and who are you?” Mara bravely asks.

“Who we are and where you are is of no consequence. You only need to know you are in our power and if you cause any trouble, we will eliminate you all. Food will be brought to you shortly. I would advise you to eat it as you don’t know when your next meal will be.”

“When will we be released?” Don Cardon asks.

“We will tell you when the time is right.”…

On Antigua…

“How can this have happened and who is responsible? We want answers!”

Corinthia’s Galactic Ambassador, Marlon Arnetti, huffily confronts the Galactic Council in executive session. The tall slender Ambassador is Envoy Mara Cordon’s superior. He is outraged this vicious incident occurred to members of his staff. As soon as he learned of the kidnapping he assigned members of his staff to take care of Mara’s family left at home and her staff’s families as well.

“Our Security Section is fully engaged in seeking out the ones responsible for this dastardly act,” President Royston adds, “We have some escaped prisoners that we think nay be responsible and we are tracking them down now.”

“How can escaped prisoners do such a thing?”

“Sir, these are not ordinary prisoners. They have caused us much trouble before and they may be doing it again. They are very smart and may have access to others to help them. We are doing everything we can to locate them.”

“How can that involve us? We are so far away.”

“I think that is the point, sir. They are trying to distract us from their primary goal. We have every facility on high alert. Hopefully we will be ready when they make another move against us.”

“Well, they have already moved against us and we need your help now.”

“Sir, our security chief, Will Travis is fully briefed on your situation and is working on it at this moment. His coordinates are on your device now. You are welcome to meet with him for current updates.”

Will Travis has been listening in on the Galactic Council meeting from his New York office, so is not surprised when Corinthia’s Ambassador suddenly appears in his office. The Security Chief stands as he says, “Welcome Ambassador Arnetti. If you will join me in our briefing room I will bring you up-to-date on our progress.” Will Travis leads the ambassador into the briefing room.

“Thank you. I am anxious to learn what you are doing to get our people back.”

“From the security videos at the event, we have tied the clothing of the kidnappers to a group of renegades who have evaded capture.”

“President Royston said these were escaped prisoners.”

“He also said they had others helping them.” Will presses a button and Hardison James’ prison photo appears on a large wall screen. “We believe these people helped this man escape from our moon prison facility for high risk prisoners. Hardison is a virtual genius and can take advantage of most any form of technology.”

Another picture pops up of a graying heavyset man about 6 feet tall. “This is the chief culprit behind the prison escape. We believe he has some far-flung facilities we are just now learning about. His name is Grantham Wilson. He was a part of another recent conspiracy, but he evaded capture when we caught the rest of the conspirators. We believe the kidnapping in your galaxy was designed to distract us away from their primary target.”

“What target is that?”

“If we knew that, we would all feel better. We are concentrating on several high risk areas, but haven’t learned anything more to pin it down yet.”

Ambassador Arnetti asks, “How can I help?”

“There may be something you can do for us. We would like for you to issue a press release that you are outraged over this and are demanding Galactic Security provide full assistance in getting your people safely back.”

“I can do that, but what do you expect this to accomplish?”

“We hope it will cause the kidnappers to believe their plan is succeeding so they will relax and make a mistake that will help us capture them and safely free your people. Our people can help you put together the release.”

Ambassador Arnetti stands as he says, “Thank you for your update. I see you are doing all you can at this point on our behalf. I hope this release will result in the course you have outlined.”…

Hidden on the Artimus Moon, Grantham’s team learn of the misleading press release via video news at Echo-1. They also learn that in a few days there is going to be a large grand opening celebration of Echo-1’s full implementation with high ranking dignitaries from three dimensions in attendance.

“Our strategy is working. They are concentrating their forces in the Beta Galaxy,” Grantham says.

“That celebration will be a perfect time to strike and we are already in position to do so,” Hardison James exclaims.

“I thought you wanted to hit their headquarters on Earth and Antigua first?” Grantham says,

Hardison smiles, “All in good time, but this is an opportunity to hurt them all at one time. Let’s start planning for it.”

Just then Kargon, the gruff-looking henchman in charge of the kidnapping appears.

Grantham asks him, “How are the hostages doing?”

“They are doing ok. Once we told them we would kill them all if they caused any trouble, they were scared, but seemed to calm down, thinking we might release them at any time.”

“Good. We are planning on an attack on this new inter-dimensional teleport station in a few days. Just prior to our attack, I want you to kill them all,” Grantham says.

“Why wait till then?” Kargon is getting tired of his guard duty.

Grantham smiles, “Because we will leave clues so Galactic Security discovers their bodies just before our team strikes here. That should cause them enough grief to take their attention away from here. By waiting till the last moment, their security forces won’t have time to react to our attack.”

Hardison says, “That’s a great idea. Let’s get the planning started now.”…

Chapter Fifty-one

In their unknown location in the Beta Galaxy, though some of the hostages are frightened, they take heart from the efforts of Ronaldo and Don Cardon. The two are feverishly working to modify the device that hopefully will blast a comm beam through the jamming energy barrier. The two try to work inconspicuously in case there are any hidden cameras watching the room. They work in a corner in short increments so as not to call attention to their efforts. It is not easy, but the miniature toolkit is a great help. Ronaldo is surprised at the technical knowledge his father has about the devices.

“How did you learn so much about the devices, Dad?”

Don Cardon smiles, “When I was about your age, I attended our galaxy’s technical academy for when I thought I would be attending the Galactic Council Academy. While there, I took a course in the teleport physics and how these devices have advanced over the years. Now hopefully that class will help all of us escape together. We will use your gaming console as the driver for the comm beam.”

“That’s great, Dad. Can you teach me while we work?”

Mara talks with the others to keep them calm, but the longer it is taking, the more worried she herself gets. She notes the meal deliveries are of longer duration. Though the food is bland, unseasoned and practically tasteless, she is happy no one has gotten sick from eating it.

Every time the door opens with the guards menacingly waving their weapons, even though it is just a food delivery, everyone in the room cringes with fright. So far the guards seem to take no notice of Ronaldo and Don Cardon in the corner…

When Kargon reappears to his group in the Beta Galaxy, he tells them about the plan to kill the hostages. “Grantham is planning a grand attack and just before it happens, he will signal us to kill all the hostages and then join him in the attack.”

A short rotund team member asks, “How do we plan to kill them?”

Kargon wryly smiles, “That’s the easy part. We just turn off their air supply and they will suffocate in short time. Then we will leave a beacon on here to draw Galactic Security to find them all dead while we attack their new teleport station.”…

On Antigua, Will Travis meets with his executive team.

Mark Peterson says, “I hope our plan works to cause the kidnappers to relax and maybe make a mistake.”

The Security Chief says, “That was just part of the plan. We have another plan to draw the enemy to us instead of us waiting to guess where they may attack next. That plan is called ‘Flytrap’ and was started at the same time the Envoy announced his press release. Now we need to make sure we are ready.”

Though they are working on perfecting Flytrap, all galactic stations are on high alert. The science team is still working round the clock on trying to find Hardison James, Grantham Wilson, and the kidnappers. They follow the teleport trails without any success.

Greg Garrett is getting more frustrated as more time passes without finding Hardison. He talks to Jenny during breakfast as he reads the last 24 hours of galactic bulletins. “They seemed to have just vanished without a trace. We have no idea where they are or what they are planning.”

Jenny hands him his toast to go with his cereal as she says, “I heard Galactic Security is planning a trap to lure Hardison in.”

“Yes, but we have no guarantee he will take the bait, and if he doesn’t, we have no backup plan. And who did you hear this from? We don’t need any leaks. Hardison must think everything is normal.”

“Don’t worry, I heard it from mother. She is very worried about Hardison, having been a captive of his for a while years ago.”

“Yes, I know. I’m sure she won’t talk to someone she shouldn’t. I think Hardison and Grantham must be laying low after the kidnapping, is why they haven’t tried anything else lately. I would sure like to know what they are planning and hope whatever it is, we are prepared for it.”

Meredith Royston is having a similar conversation with John at their nearby island cottage. “It has been over three weeks since they kidnapped the Corinthias Envoy and her group and we haven’t heard a word from them. No ransom note or anything.”

Galactic Ambassador John Royston finishes his cereal and says, “I told you we think he did that to distract us from whatever he is planning next.”

Meredith nervously waves her hands as she says, “And we have no idea what that might be or even if he will take the bait of your plan to lure him in!”

John quietly says to temper Meredith’s unusual outburst as he knows what her anxiety springs from, “It is not my plan, dear, but Will’s with the team helping to perfect and implement it.” John lovingly encircles her with his arms, “And, yes, I think it will work, knowing how superior and egotistical those two renegades think they are, plus their antagonism to anything the Galactic Council does.” …

On the Artimus Moon, Hardison and Grantham continue to monitor everything transpiring on Echo-1. Grantham tells Hardison, “Their plans are going forward with their grand opening of this station. They will be surprised indeed when we capture them and take over this station.”

“Let’s be sure we have everything covered. You know they will have tight security to protect the VIP’s from three dimensions.”

Grantham smiles, “But we will already be on the inside of their perimeter, ready to strike without warning, and I’ll bet some of their security will be distracted with the death of the hostages.”

“You’re probably right about that. I just want to be sure we have considered everything. I remember the last time they captured me. I thought I had considered everything too.”

“That’s okay, but this time we will have the upper hand. Once we control this station, we can travel to any dimension we want to.”

It isn’t long before Hardy and Grantham witness the arrival of the VIP’s and their official welcome to Echo-1 with a great fanfare of press in attendance.

Grantham gives the go ahead to Kargon, “Kill the hostages and then join us here.”…

In the Beta Galaxy, Kargon receives the message and relays it, “Turn their air supply off now.”

Inside the enclosed room, Don and Ronaldo still work on their jury-rigged device. Don believes they are almost ready to test it when he suddenly notices a change in the room’s environment. The quiet hum of the air flow has stopped! “We must hurry, son. We may not have much time. Quietly tell everyone to pre-set their device.”

As soon as he sees the air is almost completely out of the room, Kargon sets the beacon with a 15-minute delay switch and then their team zips to the Artimus Moon.

In the almost airless room, everyone is on the floor barely breathing the last remains of air. Don and Ronaldo are too, but they are both still working on the device. Don weakly says, “Try it now, son. It should work now.”

Ronaldo is trying to gulp air as he presses his gaming console ‘on’ button. He watches his wrist device suddenly blink as it receives a signal. “It’s working, Dad!”

Don motions with his hand for everyone to press their device. They suddenly appear in the banquet room they had been taken from long weeks ago! Everyone gradually stands and happily gulps the fresh air!

Don wastes no time in informing Galactic headquarters of their escape.

At the Antigua console, Chad happily relays the message to the Flytrap Team.

Security Chief, Will Travis, breathes a sigh of relief, as he knows their plan now has a chance to truly be successful without the hostages being at risk.

On the Artimus moon, Hardy and Grantham are preparing to implement their grand scheme. They have spent the last hours quietly watching the distinguished guests arrive and be welcomed by Echo-1’s commander.

“As soon as the formal celebration begins, we will attack,” Grantham announces.

Kargon looks at his watch and says, “The beacon should be active now. They will surely identify it soon and find their dead comrades.”

Hardison forcefully says, “Whether they do or not, as soon as the ceremonies begin, we should strike.”

Shortly the ceremonies begin by a welcome from Echo-1’s Commander.

The renegades begin their strike with a batch of flash and stun grenades which are designed to incapacitate the ceremony attendees in the main hall, so they can easily overpower and capture or kill the VIPs outright.

When the smoke clears, they are themselves stunned to see Galactic Security forces in their full battle dress standing with their personal energy shields activated. Before any of the renegades can react, a strong force field is placed around them.

John later relates to Meredith how their plan worked to perfection. “The one thing we couldn’t control was what would happen to the hostages, but we had to take the risk in order to capture the renegades before they could do more damage. We were very lucky the hostages managed to free themselves. There will be a large commendation ceremony for their heroic efforts.”

A short distance away, Will Travis tells his wife, “I didn’t want to tell you what we were planning because the renegades might not have taken the bait. The whole station ceremony was concocted from the beginning. We hoped it was a big enough event that Hardison and Grantham would want to crash it. We learned from our interrogation of some of the renegades that they were already spying on the station for intelligence purposes.”

Also not far away, Greg Garrett tells Jenny, “As soon as the VIPs were welcomed, we walked them through a teleport platform and returned them home. Then Galactic Security agents took their place so there was never any danger to the VIPs.”

The next day, at the commendation ceremony at the New York Galactic Headquarters for the bravery of the hostages, Don and Ronaldo are highly recognized for achieving their rescue just before they were supposed to die. The galactic media are present to broadcast the ceremony, Council-wide.

Each former hostage receives a special commendation, which is presented by Galactic Ambassador-at-large, John Royston. When Mara is presented, John asks her and her family to join him in his office after the ceremony.

Later in his office, with Security Chief Will Travis and his dad, Hank Travis, present, John speaks to the Cardon family.

“When I learned of your capture, I looked up in our archives and learned something special about your mother, Mara Sirtus Cardon. Something she probably doesn’t even know. These are special archives which only a few have access to. I want to share this with you, but you must promise never to tell anyone else because it involves Galactic Security at the highest levels. Can you do that?”

Surprisingly, Ronaldo is the first to speak up and say, “I promise.”

Mara wonders if she is about to learn how she got on the top of that Galactic List as she says, “And I promise too.”

Don wonders what this can all be about as he answers as well, “And I promise too”

“The main reason I require your secrecy is because this involves time travel, which capability we want no one to know anything about. Just before your formal history of contact with our galaxy, there was an incident involving some escaped prisoners from our galaxy. Those escapees managed to steal an advanced space ship from your fleet and inflicted much damage in your galaxy. They even attacked Corinthias and caused much death and destruction.”

“I don’t recall any such happenings,” Don Cardon says.

John says, “That is where Time Travel comes in. When we learned what happened in your galaxy, we were able to go back in time and change what happened. The result is that to those affected it is like it never happened.” John smiles, “So what I am about to share with you never happened. Did you know that your mother for a brief time was a starship captain?”

Ronaldo exclaims, “No way!”

Mara is flabbergasted and wonders how could such a thing be?

“Yes, she truly was and here is how it happened.” John presses a switch and the wall screen suddenly comes alive.

The screen flashes a warning security message until John enters his security code on his desk keypad.

The screen then tells the story of Mara’s heroic efforts in fighting Corinthia’s attackers. Mara and her family look on in amazement as the story unfolds. How she commanded her spaceship to defeat a much larger vessel and then escaped in hyperspace. They see their Corinthias with large plumes of smoke where large cities were destroyed by the invaders.

It also tells how she and her ship were rescued from the marauders by the Galactic Council with its marvelous teleport technology.

Mara still doesn’t understand how this can be. I don’t ever recall any of this, she thinks. “If this really happened how come I have no recollection of it?”

John says, “That is what I was explaining. When our people went back in time to deal with the renegades and undo the destruction, for you it was like it never happened. In fact, the only persons who actually remember those events are those on the time travel team that went back in time. The rest of us must rely on this record.”

When the record stops, John says, “Now I will answer any questions you may have.”

Mara asks, “But how did I come to be in command and when did it happen?”

Hank Travis speaks up.

“It was right after your academy graduation. You were returning home when the attack occurred. You witnessed your home city be destroyed and were led to a secret base where you were the only one left who had flight experience. The ship you commanded was called the Brightstar.”

“Does Admiral Jaansen know of this?” Mara asks.

“Almost no one in your galaxy knows of this for sensitive political reasons. That is why it is a secret.”

Mara has tears in her eyes as her unanswered question is finally answered. She now knows how her name was at the top of that Galactic recommendation list all those years ago.

Her family looks up at her in awe, as they see this new side of their mother and wife.

Mara says, “Thank you, Ambassador Royston, for showing us this. You have answered my lifelong question as to how I became a Galactic Envoy.”

John says, “We only helped you get noticed, you did the rest on your own.”….

That night, as they sit on their Crescent Island veranda watching the sunset, John tells Meredith all about Mara’s family and how they learned about her earlier experience.

“Oh that is so sweet, Darling. I am glad you were able to do that for them. I would like to meet them. I will invite them to visit us here and make a nice meal for them.”

“They are a nice family. You will enjoy talking with Mara. I also think Corey and her son, Ronaldo, will be good friends too.”

Meredith frowns as she says, “I wonder if there are others in similar circumstances because we changed time.”

John raises an eyebrow as he thinks about her comment. “There may be. I will search the Council Records and let you know what I find. The science team has a group using stealth time trips to assess any changes we caused in the most recent time changes. I will check into their results too.”

The next day John visits with Dr. Vaughn in his Antigua Office. Dr. Vaughn is ecstatic and happy to see John as he has some great news to share with him.

“Good morning, Mr. Ambassador. It’s good to see you as there is some exciting news to share.”

John smiles, “That’s just what I need to hear. Tell me what’s causing such a wide smile on your face.”

“We’ve located three more dimensions and are now surveying and charting them.”

“Sounds like you are going to be very busy and the Council is going to grow even faster.”

Dr. Vaughn grins, “Everyone is eager to explore them. Now what brings you here?”

“Well, Meredith and I were wondering if your time team has discovered any inadvertent changes our recent time travel trips have caused that we might want to correct.”

They haven’t reported anything significant. Do you know of anything?”

John then tells him of Mara Sirtus Cardon’s lifelong dilemma and asks, “We were just wondering if there might be others with similar concerns?”

“I will ask the time team to focus on that aspect and let you know what we learn.”

That night, the Royston cottage is graced with the presence of Corey and Katie Messini.

John and Meredith both guess what the smiling youngsters have to tell them. It was just a few short weeks ago they witnessed Katie’s family’s baptism.

Corey has his arms around Katie as he blurts out, “Mom and Dad, Katie and I are engaged.”

Meredith is the first to hug both of them as she says, “We` are so happy for you both.”

John gets his chance for hugs too as he asks, “Have you told Katie’s parents yet?”

“That’s our next stop,” Katie quickly says.

Meredith says, “I am sure they will be just as happy as we are. Now how much time are you going to give us to plan for the wedding?”

“Mom, we’ve talked about it and we’ve decided there will be two weddings.”

John interrupts, “What do you mean by two weddings?”

Corey answers, “Well, we know we can’t be sealed together in the Temple until Katie has been a member a year, so we’ve decided to do an Al-Kanon traditional wedding in three month’s and then have the temple wedding when she qualifies. That way we can satisfy families in both Dimensions without waiting a full year to be married.”

“Sounds like you’ve certainly put some thought into this,” Meredith says.

Katie says, “And maybe my parents can have a Temple wedding when we are sealed too.”

“That will make it extra special,” John adds.

Meredith hugs Katie and then holds her at arms length. “You’re going to have to tell me all about your traditional wedding routine so John and I don’t wind up embarrassing you and ourselves.”

Katie smiles, “I think my Mom will be the best one to do that.”

John asks, “Do you want to personally tell the family or can we start spreading the word?”

Meredith says, “Why don’t we have a beach party tomorrow evening and you can make the announcement then to everyone and no one will feel left out?”

Katie and Corey share a silent look and Corey says, “That’s a great idea, Mom. We’d love to do that.”…

Chapter Fifty-two

Corey is thrilled. He managed to get on one of the scientific exploration teams surveying Dimension-04. After all the sensors, drones and probes had done their thing, live teams are allowed to explore areas in the dimension. So far, this is the farthest point the sensors and drones have been, so they are starting to enter truly uncharted territory. It is on the outer rim of a galaxy designated ‘Aurora’.

The Galactic surveys so far have shown no signs of advanced civilizations in the Aurora Galaxy and the people they have noted seem to be normal human beings. So far, none of the inhabited planets they have found have reached for the stars, though a couple did have some satellites.

Corey looks forward to exploring and taking back some special pictures from his experience. The young scientist is participating in the survey while he waits for time to pass for his wedding to Katie Messina next month in the Alpha Dimension. Corey likes the makeup of the exploration team, including the ship’s captain and his young navigator.

The Galactic Council has established a homebase in the dimension, and all survey teams leave from the homebase. The senior science team rotates time staffing the homebase in Dimension-04. Currently, Sethanni is the senior scientist in charge of the homebase operations center.

The exploration team, designated ‘Tiger-ten’ has a full compliment of scientists and support personnel, as well as a security detail. Though they are in a fully functional spaceship, they use the teleport function to travel with, except when they are orbiting a planet or moon.

At the moment, they have just arrived at a new earth-type planet. The team has practically no information on this planet and is anxious to start recording.

Corey looks out a nearby portal window and notes the lush-looking planet below. There are the usual spread of continents, oceans, mountains, forests and deserts. Corey suddenly hears the ship’s alarm systems start blaring!

Captain Butler takes the action he has been trained to do in such a circumstance, “Return!” He shouts. The burly ship’s captain is a veteran of his planet’s early entry into space before the Galactic Council appeared, making his then-position obsolete. He was happy to be assigned to the Galactic Security Service and its fleet of exploration ships.

HH”is voice command is supposed to return the ship back to the homebase, but nothing happens and the alarms are still blaring!

“We are caught in some kind of tractor beam and our control systems are having no affect!” Joshua Callahan, the chief navigator reports…

On the Dimension-04 homebase, Sethanni is at the control console when the ‘Tiger-ten’ icon on the control panel starts flashing red and an alarm buzz starts sounding.

Sethanni quickly presses a key and an information panel pops up, informing him that Tiger-ten is on the outer rim of the Aurora Galaxy and its signal has just ceased broadcasting.

“Tiger-ten, please report in….Tiger-ten, please report your emergency.” When there is no response, Sethanni instantly presses the Security Alert button, notifying the Antigua Central Control console of the problem…

The Tiger-ten Captain orders, “Engage the ion drive now!”

Ensign Callahan says, “Sir it will take a few minutes to bring the ion drive on-line.”

“Then do it as quick as you can.”

Ensign Callahan works with his teammates at the side control panel trying to rush through the steps to activate the ion drive.

Suddenly, a holistic 3-dimensional image appears on the command bridge of the ship. The grim-faced person, dressed in a red tunic with an odd–looking symbol on the breast is speaking in an alien language. It takes the ship’s automatic interpreter a few seconds to translate the alien speech. They hear over the ship’s intercom:

“…And what are you doing in our space? Where did you come from? How did you appear here without warning?

Captain Butler answers, “We didn’t even know your planet was inhabited. We are explorers from far away. We mean you no harm.”

Apparently the person representing the alien race has the same interpretation problem, as it takes several seconds for the image to respond:

“How can we know that? You look similar to our enemies, the Roarks?”

Captain Butler responds, “Check your computer. It should show you our language is different from your enemies, whom we know nothing about.”

The image turns his head and nods. After a few seconds he answers, “You are correct, your language is different. Who exactly are you and what do you want in our space?”

“As I said, we are explorers from very far away. We do not want to cause you any problems. Release our ship and we will be on our way. There is plenty more of the universe to explore without bothering you.”

The image frowns, “Not so fast. We want to know more about you.”

“Well, you won’t learn anything while you are holding us captive, but we will be happy to cooperate with you once we are released.”

The image smiles, “It’s not going to work that way. You will tell us all we want to know before you are released.”

While the captain engages the person from the holistic image, Ensign Callahan receives word the ion engine is on-line. He nods to Captain Butler.

Capitan Butler turns to the Navigator and orders, “Take us out of here now!”

A high whine is heard as the ship’s engine unsuccessfully reacts against the tractor beam holding it. The image jiggles, but does not go away.

“Not so easy is it? The image smiles, “You are our prisoner for as long as we want you. Now how did you get here without our alarms going off?”…

Sethanni zips two probes to the area to obtain more information about the situation. The monitors quickly show Tiger-ten’s ship in the distance with sensor readings streaming across the bottom of the monitors. Sethanni notes the ship is being held in an unidentified stasis field or tractor beam, but otherwise looks okay. He thinks there must be something special about that energy field to block the teleport device.

Just then, Will Travis appears with the alert security team. “What’s happening, Sethanni?”

“Our ship is being held by some sort of high energy beam, which apparently prevents the teleport device from functioning.”

“Sir, there is some kind of comm beam being transmitted to our ship,” Malcom Evers says as he scans his instrument panel.

Will Travis asks, “Can you interrupt or intercept it?”

“I’m trying now, sir.”

Suddenly, both monitors show a brilliant flash and then go blank.

What just happened?” The Security Chief asks.

Sethanni answers, “Both our probes were just attacked by a high-powered laser-type weapon. I will launch two more, and protect them in a double stasis field this time.”

In short order, the new probes are broadcasting their signals across the cosmos to homebase. As soon as the signal is reacquired, Malcom resumes trying to intercept the comm broadcast from the planet to their ship. “It is not a simple broadcast, but seems to be some kind of media stream, but I think I can still get it.”

Almost instantly, the holistic image appears near where Will is standing. The visual image notes his new environment as he asks, “Who are you, and where is this, and how did you do this?”

“Why are you attacking our ship and destroying our probes?” Will asks the 3-dimensional image.

“Because you appeared in our space without warning and we destroyed your probes because they started scanning our planet.”

“They are scanning your planet and will continue to do so until you release the ship and its crew unharmed.”

“I don’t believe you can make us and we will destroy your new probes too.

“Sethanni, do you have the coordinates of where that laser weapon was fired from?”

Sethanni presses a couple of keys and says, “I have them on screen now.”

“Then make the weapon and its surroundings disappear now.”

Sethanni programs an android and zips it to the coordinates on the alien planet.

The person in the holistic image turns his head for a second and then asks, “How did you do that?”

Will smilingly replies, “What else would you like us to make disappear before you release our ship and crew?”

“Can you make it reappear or did you destroy it?”

“We will return any personnel, but consider your weapon the cost of attacking our probes and ship. Now release our ship or suffer the consequences.”

The image turns his head and quickly nods.

Almost immediately the Tiger-ten ship and crew return to homebase.

“Malcom, do you have the coordinates for this hologram’s origination?” The security chief asks.

As soon as Will has the coordinates, he says to the alert team, “Synch your devices to mine and let’s go.”

The person from the image is now standing surrounded by the alert team on his home planet.

“Who are you and how did you get here?

Will Travis says, “I am Security Chief Will Travis of the Galactic Council, Who are you?”

“I am Commander Tal of the Sirok. We thought you were our enemies, the Roarks.”

Captain Butler speaks up into Will’s earpiece. “He was told we were only explorers and he still would not release us.”

Tal asks, “Will you tell me where you are from and how you arrived here?”

“We will tell you in due time when we know more about you and your intentions.”

“My technicians tell me my hologram was captured by one of your probes, but is not being re-beamed anywhere. How is that?”

“Again, this is information we will share when we know how friendly you intend to be. What kind of government do you have? Do you function as a single entity or organization?”

“We form a triumvirate representing our three major continents. Each member basically rules their continent and we collaborate for planetary issues. I am sure they would like to meet you.”

“What about your enemies? Where are they from?”

“I believe we will wait until we know you better too to discuss that item.”

“Very well, I will contact our diplomatic corps. to send representatives to meet with your triumvirate. Where would you like them to appear?”

“I don’t understand what you mean by ‘appear’?”

“It’s very simple really. You just provide the coordinates and our team will be there when you say.”

“How do we contact you?”

“Just beam your message to one of the probes and they will do the rest.” The alert team then returns to homebase…

Chapter Fifty-three

Will Travis suggests, “Sethanni, can you do some long-range scans and see if we can locate their enemies?”

“I am initiating the scans now.”

Will then notifies Jonathan to let him know about the diplomatic request. “They claim to be the aggrieved party by their enemies, but by the way they treated us, I am not so sure that is the case. I think you should tell the ambassadors to be leery of their intentions and be sure they guard our technology.”

Jonathan speaks from Will’s viewscreen, “I will. From what you say, we don’t know anything about their society either, do we?”

“They were reluctant to talk to us, so I left that to the diplomats too. I think you should have the science team find out how their energy field interfered with the teleport capability too.”

“Okay, we’ll take it from here. Let me know when you locate their enemies.”

Just then Sethanni says, “I think I found them two planets away.”

Sethanni presses a few keys and they are viewing an alien space station with several ships docked around it.

Sethanni zips an invisible camera inside the station, and they are now looking at the control center of the station on the monitor.

Will sees the uniformed crewmembers seem like average humans, except he notes their ears are very short and close to their head, plus it looks like they are made up of multiple races by other physical differences. “Can you turn up the volume, Sethanni?”

As the volume increases, the universal translator does its job and they hear, “Commander Rankin is due to address us in five minutes, so everyone be on your toes.” This is said by the tall one with red chevrons standing in the center of the room.

“Maybe we are about to learn something about them,” Will says. “Sethanni, locate the origination of the communication when it comes.”

The sr. scientist sets his controls to do just that.

Shortly they hear some military music and then the tall leader orders, “Attention!” The screen is filled with the image of their commander. Commander Rankin presents an impressive presence with several medals and colorful ribbons hanging from his blue uniform. His dark hair comes together in a pigtail at the back and he sports a bushy mustache.

“Attention troops, shortly you will be embarking on a direct attack against the invaders that assaulted our planet. We know they have a superior force, but if we can catch them by surprise we should be able to inflict significant damage on their homeworld. I know each of you will honor your clans and do your best to avenge those who were so ruthlessly killed by the Sirok. Good hunting and God bless you and your families.”

As soon as the transmission is ended, Will asks Sethanni for Commander Rankin’s coordinates.

“They are on your device now,” Sethanni answers.

“Victor, sync the alert team’s devices to mine and let’s go!”

Commander Rankin is talking to his executive officer in his office when they are suddenly surrounded by aliens in combat gear with weapons pointed at them.

“Who are you and how did you get here?” Commander Rankin boldly asks.

Will says, “Sorry to drop in on you like this Commander, but we were just listening in to your speech and wanted to follow-up with you about it. When did the attack on your planet occur?”

“The dastardly Sirok attacked us without warning just over three months ago.”

“Did they have any kind of provocation for the attack?”

“We both were trying to colonize the third planet. Before they attacked us, they wiped out our colony.”

“What kind of contact did you have with them before the attack?”

“They accused us of trying to steal their planet. Until that, we didn’t even know they had a colony on the planet.”

“Do you have a record of all this we can review?”

“Why do you want to see it?”

“We need to see it because the Sirok are accusing you of being the aggressor.”

“Ex-O, please show them the record.”

The executive officer turns to a machine and shortly a news vid is showing on a wall screen with videos of the death and carnage caused by the attackers.

Will says, “Thank you, sir; I am Will Travis, Security Chief for the Galactic Council. You can stand down your space fleet. We will take care of the Sirok for you.”

“But who and how can you do such a thing?”

“The Galactic Council represents a group of planets in several galaxies and dimensions that provide common defenses to all our member planets. Your planet is welcome to join when you meet the membership requirements.”

“But how can you cover such astronomic distances?”

“For us, distance doesn’t matter. As long as we have the coordinates, we can go there.”

“You must be very advanced indeed. Do you share your advancements?”

“We do with our member planets?”

“What do we need to do to join?”

“I will have our diplomats meet with your planetary leaders to discuss that with them. When you set up the meeting, just beam the details with the coordinates to the probe now in synchronous orbit and we will be there at the appointed time. Now we will go and take care of your attackers. They will not have the ability to attack you again and your planet will determine the war reparations they will pay you.”

“Thank you. I will let our leaders know promptly.”

Will then reports his findings and Actions to Jonathan, “…If you have not sent the diplomats to the Sirok, send them to the Roarks instead when they provide the coordinates and we will take care of the Sirok.

Will gives Sethanni certain instructions and then his alert team zips back to the coordinates for Tal of the Sirok.

Tal is talking to the Triumvirate leaders via video conference when he is again surrounded by the alien intruders.

Tal quickly regains his composure and says to his leaders, “These are the visitors I spoke of.”

The security chief speaks, “I am Will Travis of the Galactic Council of Planets. We have just visited the Roarks and determined that you are the aggressors in this matter.”

“How dare you intrude in our internal affairs,” one of the leaders, wearing a slender gold crown on his head, erupts from the screen.

“Who are you, sir?”

“I am High Ruler Sistran, Supreme Leader of the Arcans.”

“Well, High Ruler, the Galactic Council does not condone war in any form. Your attack on your fellow solar system members and the destruction of their colony must be answered for. At this moment, your space fleet and all aggressor weapons are being confiscated and you will not have the ability to wage war anymore.”

Another leader speaks up, “How can you do such a thing?”

“We can do it because we have the ability to and you have proved yourself the enemy and not to be trusted. We protect all of our member planets and the Roarks will be seeking Council membership. When you have shown you can be good neighbors and can qualify for membership you can apply too. Until then we will monitor your planet for any aggressive actions, plus you will make war reparations to the Roarks for the damage and destruction you caused.”

There is a commotion on the screen as the leaders are being informed of the actions just taken against them by the Galactic Council Security Team.

“When you wish to speak to us again, just beam your message to our orbiting probe. Failure to comply with any of our conditions will bring swift retribution from the Galactic Council.’

The third leader says, “You say you are friendly, yet you deal harshly with us.”

Will curtly says, “It is not as harsh as your attack on your neighbors. We do wish to be friends, but only when you act friendly to us and our members.” The alert team then returns to homebase where Will informs Jonathan of his actions with the Sirok.

“Good job, Will. The ambassadors are already in contact with the Roarks and we have offered to help them recover from the attacks. I would appreciate your making a formal report to the Council at our next meeting.”

“I will be happy to do so, Mr. President,”…

In the midst of the Dimension-04 action, plans go forward for the inter-dimension wedding between Corey Royston and Katie Messini.

This will be a first in many ways. Besides the obvious inter-dimensional one, there is the fact of the civil wedding on an alien planet with its culture and traditions. All the other Royston’s have been married in an LDS Temple, but because Katie hasn’t been a member a year, they chose to have the civil wedding on Al-Kanon for the benefit of her family, and will have the Temple wedding when Katie is eligible.

Meredith is anxious as she meets with Katie’s mother, Sarai Messini, at her home in the Alpha Dimension about the upcoming event.

Sarai is a slender dark-haired mother of three who is thrilled Katie and Corey are getting married on Al-Kanon. Her oldest son, Anton, has been married three years and has their first grandson. Her youngest son, Barron, is 18 and just entered the Al-Kanon Academy. Sarai is anxious too to get better acquainted with Corey’s family. She is also a little intimidated by the fact Corey’s brother; Jonathan is President of the Galactic Council. All Sarai’s friend s and family are both happy and envious for them.

“Though we do not have your temple ceremony, we view marriage as a life-long commitment as you do. Our society does not even have formal divorce laws as yours does,” Sarai says to Meredith.

“What happens when one of the couple dies?” Meredith asks.

“The living one is free to marry again, but is still considered married to the first one too.”

“That is very similar to our belief too,” Meredith adds. “Where will the wedding be and who will officiate?”

Sarai smiles, “Normally it would be here in our village by the local minister, but because of your famous family, our new Planetary Minister has offered the Al-Kanon palace for the wedding and he will officiate. The protocol minister is going to meet with us this afternoon to go over the details.”

Sarai is glad to turn the detail planning over to someone else so she can really enjoy the event. “I understand the media are going to be there to broadcast it and your dimension’s media will broadcast it to your dimension too.”

Meredith has similar thoughts. “I am glad we are getting help in planning this and let someone else deal with the details and the media.”

Sarai says, “Me too.”

While their mothers are discussing the wedding plans, Corey and Katie are in the Crescent Island cantina talking about their honeymoon plans.

“Jared and Amber had such a great adventure on their honeymoon; I wonder what we can do to match that?” Corey asks.

Katie suggests, “I heard about that planet in Dimension-04 that was attacked and the Council is helping them recover. Maybe we could do something special for them?”

Corey smiles, “I think that is a great idea. We should talk with Jonathan and see if he has any ideas.”

Katie is still awed by the Galactic President and still finds it hard to realize she will be part of his family. “That’s okay with me.”…

Jonathan smiles when the two present him their ideas for their honeymoon in Dimension-04 in his Galactic Office. “I think that is a great idea. We have several teams working with them. I can provide you a list with a short description of their assignment and you are welcome to pick which one you would like to work with. Personally, I think you might like working with the orphans group. I have met with the team a few times and there is much I think we can do to help them.”

“I used to work with a group of Big Sisters back home,” Katie says.

Jonathan smiles, “Then you may have some good ideas as to how to help them.”

“That sounds good to me too,” Corey says…

In his Crescent Island study, it is early afternoon and John Royston is in a quandary. Having recently written Corey’s graduation poem, John wonders, what can I do for their wedding? John realizes this is their last child, and he wants his gift to be something special that they can pass on to their kids. He wants it to be something very special that both they and their families in both dimensions will appreciate. Can a simple poem do this? He thinks, I will talk to Juaquien and ask his thoughts.

“Juaquien, this is John Royston,” the Galactic Ambassador says to the image on his wrist device when he answers the call.

“Hi, Mr. Royston, How can I help you, sir?”

“Juaquien, since we are going to be in-laws pretty soon, can you just call me John?”

“I will try to remember to do that, sir.”

“And you can drop the ‘sirs’ too. I am wondering if you might have some time when I can visit with you for a short time.”

“How about right now..?”

John can tell Juaquien almost said ‘sir’, but caught himself in time.

In answer, John presses his device, and is suddenly standing beside Juaquien as he stands on his front porch.

John absorbs the fact the gravity is slightly lighter, the air sweeter, and the atmosphere light maroon-colored, but otherwise the flora and fauna look similar to Earth’s, and it looks to be early morning.

“Hi, John, and welcome to Al-Kanon. I was just starting to take a stroll into the village. Would you like to join me?”

“That would be fine, Juaquien. This is just my second time to visit your world.”

“Well, there is a lot to see and I would be happy to act as your tour guide. Do you like to fish? We have some great fishing lakes around here.”

As they start walking on the stone sidewalk, John says, “Juaquien, my life has been so fast-paced lately, I haven’t had time to fish, but I would love to go fishing with you sometime.”

“John, it is hard to realize how important you are in your dimension when you are standing right here beside me. I mean I can understand when you said you haven’t had time to go fishing.”

After walking a bit, Juaquien asks, “John, what’s on your mind?”

“Well, Juaquien, I’ve been thinking, you’ve still got an unmarried son, right?”

Juaquien smiles, “Yes, Barron just turned 18, and we are not rushing him to get married.”

John says, “That is good, but you see Corey is our last son to get married and I just want to give him and Katie something special to mark the occasion. I am wondering if you might have any ideas of something that Katie would appreciate too. I would like it to be something personal and lasting. Something they will treasure together throughout their marriage.”

“Katie shared with me the poem you wrote for Corey’s graduation. I am afraid I am nowhere near as eloquent as you.”

“That’s just it, I don’t want them to compare us, but fondly remember us as their parents.”

“John, that is probably very easy for you because I can tell you’ve always been a loving father, but I can’t say the same. I think I have been too overbearing with Katie and caused her to have bad feelings toward me. I have learned much since I was baptized and I am trying to change.”

Just then they come to an outside café and Juaquien invites John to have a seat.

“Juaquien, Katie shared some of her thoughts with me about her childhood and I believe she realizes you have changed since you were baptized too. She really wants to have a loving relationship with you. Maybe together we can combine our gift that will help you two grow closer together.”

“I wish I knew how to do that.”

“Well, Juaquien, can we go fishing together tomorrow and maybe we can discuss it. I think you two have more in common than you think.”

Juaquien smiles, looking as if a burden has been lifted off him, “I would like that very much. I can take you to one of our very beautiful lakes where the fish are always biting.”

“What time should I be here?”

“How about just at sunrise? I’m sure Sarai will be happy to make us a box lunch. And I will supply all the gear.”

John pats him on the shoulder, “That will be fine, I will look forward to it, and I’ll bring the beverage.”…

When John gets home that evening, he tells Meredith about his day and his plans for in the morning.

Meredith smiles, “Darling are you sure you are taking into account the different times? Their morning may not be the same time as our morning.”

John looks at his device and presses a couple of keys. “I am going to have to get up very early. I also promised to bring a beverage. What do you think I should take to drink while we’re fishing?”

“Why don’t you take the large variety juice pack? That should last through the day.”

“That’s a great idea. I’m glad you thought of it.”

She smiles, “And I am glad you thought to include Juaquien in your gift quest. You two should become good friends, and fishing is probably a good start too.”

John grins, “I just hope putting our heads together will help find the solution, and maybe help Juaquien too.” John says…

“You’re right, Juaquien, this is a beautiful lake.” The future father-in-laws are sitting in a small boat they rented at the dock from a kindly vendor. The sun has just started to burn through a light mist that covers the lake. They row toward a small inlet with bulrushes and willows growing around it.

“This is my favorite spot, and I usually catch the best fish here,” Juaquien says.

As they get settled, John notes some small insects buzzing around his head and swats at them with his hand.

“Those are zitas, similar to your small flies. They shouldn’t hurt you if you have had you vaccination.”

“Sorry, I am just not used to them. Do they bite?”

“No, but sometimes they can get in your ears or up your nostrils. I will use this spray to discourage them.” Juaquien sprays with an innocuous-looking can.

As they set their fishing lines, John asks, “Juaquien, what kind of outings did you take your family on when they were younger?”

Juaquien sadly says, “I told you I wasn’t a very good father. I hardly took them on any. I think I have been a very selfish person. I haven’t even shared this spot with my sons.”

John leans out over the water as he sends his line out a ways and hears it splash in the water through the light mist. “I don’t think you have been as bad a father as you believe. Your daughter didn’t get to be as smart as she is all by herself. I am sure you had a hand in that.”

Juaquien sets his line too on the other side of the boat as he says, “That is probably the only good thing I did. I insisted my kids get a good education, because I did not do so well in school when I was young.”

Their conversation is interrupted as John feels a tug on his line and begins reeling it in. Not having fished for awhile, and especially not in a whole other dimension, John appreciates Juaquien’s help in landing his quick nice-sized catch.

Juaquien smiles as he puts the wriggling fish in a bucket of water. “You have caught a Gangling. He doesn’t look like much, but he is a very tasty dish. Especially the way Sarai will cook him.”

As John resets his line, he says, “While Katie was in school did you give her any encouragement?”

“Not really, but I did always insist she do a good job with her homework.”

Just then, Juaquien’s line tugs and he reels in a Gangling too. It is just a little bigger than John’s.

“Did you ever go to any of Katie’s school activities?”

Juaquien remarks, “I’m sad to say I missed most of them, but there was one I did go to. It was in her junior year and Sarai insisted I should see my daughter in her first real play. Katie did wonderfully and I was very proud of her. Unfortunately, I don’t think I really shared my feelings with her because I was not that used to talking to her. It seemed every conversation became a shouting match, so I avoided talking to her for a long time.”

“What kind of part did she have in the play?”

Juaquien smiles, “She played a spinster lady named Adeline and she did a magnificent job too. She made the audience laugh constantly during her performance.”

John resets his line and casts it into the water as he says, “Was there one thing in particular that you remember about her performance?”

Juaquien pauses before answering. “Yes, John, she was having a conversation with her friend and then she suddenly turns to the audience and says, “And that’s the truth…and you better believe me.” The way she said it caused the whole audience to roar.”

John asks, “If she heard you repeat that line, do you think it would cause her to have good thoughts by remembering that you were there?”

Juaquien pauses before answering. “Well it makes me have good thoughts remembering it, so yes, I think she would too.”

By the end of the day, the two fishermen have caught a batch of fish and have become fast friends as they shared special family memories.

“You’re going to need to invite your family to join us for dinner to eat these fish,” Juaquien says.

That will be a pleasure, and I am sure Meredith will insist on helping Sarai with the meal.”…

While their dads have been fishing in the Alpha Dimension, Corey and Katie have been meeting with the orphan committee in Dimension-04.

The team leader is a father who lost his family during the Sirok attack. The kindly Kandar has special empathy for the orphan survivors of the attack. “We want to welcome you Corey and Katie to our team.

This is my assistant, Jason Karson. He lost two of his children during the attack.” The slim dark-haired Jason shakes their hands as they offer their condolences.

“We have compiled this album of the children left parentless by the deadly attack.” Kandar hands them a leather bound album. We have the album on the computer as well. It gives the background of each child.”

As Corey and Katie glance through the album, they note many young children who look like they are still going through the grieving process. Katie is shocked just at the number of them.

Kandar says, “This is only the children who were unharmed in the attack. We have a separate album for those in the hospital or in physical therapy.

Corey says, “I know someone else who might be of help on your committee. She was an orphan from a similar attack and now she is grown with children of her own.”

“That would be great,” Kandar says. “Can you contact her?”

While Corey contacts Quanda Stanton, Katie asks Kandar, “Do you have a list of prospective parents who want to adopt these children?”

Kandar says, “Yes we do, and most of them are going through a screening process now, which should be finished before your wedding. We are wondering, what is the best way to match the prospective parents up with each child? Could you help us?

“How large is your staff?”

Kandar frowns, “Not very large, but we can expand it if we need to. What are your thoughts?”

“I was thinking, if you had a remembrance celebration for these kids with pictures and highlights of these kids’ families, it might ease them through the grieving process. You could ask the prospective parents to make presentations and lead the activities. That would be a good way for them to get acquainted with each other in a casual environment. They could be around the kids and the kids could meet and interact with them. The prospective parents could tentatively match up with the children as they prepare the family recognitions.”

Kandar brightens, “I think that is an excellent idea. I will suggest it to our staff.”

Shortly, they are joined by Quanda, who Corey introduces. “This is Quanda Stanton. She went through a similar experience when she was younger.”

“Welcome, Quanda. We hope you can help us help these orphans,” Kandar says. “This is my assistant, Jason Karson. He lost two of his children during the attack.”

“I will do everything I can to help,” Quanda offers.

She then looks through the album with Katie and Corey as Katie shares her suggestion with Quanda.

“I think that is a wonderful idea. We can gather information from the children and friends that will help them with happy remembrances. I will help with that while you and Corey finish your wedding plans.”…

On the Dimension-04 homebase, Dr. Vaughn has assembled his chief scientists to study the Sirok technology that blocked the teleport device from working.

Greg Garrett reports, “So far we have found nothing different about their high energy shields that should stop the devices from working. We are now testing environmental possibilities.”

Dr. Vaughn says, “I assume you’ve already tested for Tritanium.”

“Yes, sir, that was our first test, and we found only trace amounts of that mineral on this planet.”

“There may be another element or elements that work on the device in the same way as Tritanium.”

“That is what we are testing for now,” Greg says.

The equipment in the Dimension-04 Central Lab matches that of the Antigua Central Lab, so Dr. Vaughn believes they have the necessary resources to solve the problem. In his meeting with the Galactic President, the elderly scientist says, “Though we still do not know how the device truly works, to-date we have managed to identify everything that affects it, which is not very much. Now we seem to be at an impasse. So far we cannot tell what caused their devices not to work.”

“Dr. Vaughn, you used the past tense. I am wondering if you have tested the Sirok energy shields as they employed them against us recently?” Jonathan doesn’t think he is smarter than Dr. Vaughn, but is just trying to think of things they may have overlooked.

“Do you think something may have changed?’

“No, Doctor. I am just trying to cover all the bases, so to speak.”

“Well, I will, be sure we are testing in the same environment the Sirok employed against us.”

Neither member of the conversation realizes how key to their testing, this point might be. There is a missing element they are unaware of and it could take much trial and error before they become aware of it.

The End of Book V in the

Everywhere Book Series

By

Robert Lee Joseph

A note from the author:

I sincerely hope you have enjoyed the ‘Everywhere Book’ series as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you. I started writing this series in 1995 and am amazed at both the progress of technology and the terrible things that have happened world-wide since then.

It is truly hoped that mankind will use new technology advancements for its betterment and not as a tool of Satan.

Looking forward to a brighter future for all,

Sincerely, Robert Lee Joseph

See About the Author on the next page

About the Author

Robert (Rob) was born in Dallas, Texas.

He served in the United States Air Force during the Viet Nam War and spent the last 4 years of his 10 year military career helping run computer operations at Headquarters, USAF, at the Pentagon.

On November 22, 1963, the then young Wall Street Journal employee was standing on the curb in downtown Dallas, Texas when he witnessed President and Jackie Kennedy's limousine pass by him. He felt as if the president's bright smile and cheery wave were just for him, right before the doomed motorcade made that fateful turn.... and the end of Camelot...

In 1976, Rob honorably left the Air Force to help raise his growing family. Rob has had many interesting opportunities in the Information Technology field, ranging from The Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Aerospace Technologist for General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, Computer Instructor, Programmer, Systems Analyst/Specialist, Certified IT Project Manager for Shaw Industries, Computer Operations Manager for National Savings and Trust, and Senior Business Analyst for Wachovia Securities.

During his forty-plus years as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Rob has served as a Bishop and Stake High Councilor as well as many other local callings in his travels at home and abroad.

Humanitarian Service: Through his affiliation with the LDS Church, over the years, Rob has participated in Disaster Recovery Service during Hurricane Andrew in Homestead, Fla., Flooding in Albany, GA, and Tornados in Alabama and Chattanooga, TN.

Rob's alma mater is The University of Texas at Arlington where he earned his bachelor's degree in Business and majored in Management Information Systems.

Rob dedicated his first book, ‘From Here to Everywhere’, in loving memory of his first wife,

Diana Lee James Joseph, who died September 3, 1981, at the age of 33.

 

 

Rob has visited many interesting places in his travels, including: Anchorage and Fairbanks Alaska, Honolulu, Hawaii, (Oahu, Maui, and Kauai), Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Montreal, Madrid, London, The Azores, Portugal, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Salt Lake City, El Paso, Houston, Corpus Christi, Austin, Wichita Falls, TX., Miami, Orlando, Homestead, Fla., Boston, Ma., Charlotte, N.C., Richmond, VA, The White House, The Capitol, and Pentagon(worked there for 4 years in the Air Force), Hershey, PA, Disneyland and Disney World, Atlanta, Savannah, Macon and Albany, GA., Chicago and Nauvoo, Il., Milwaukee and Green Bay, WI, Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville, TN., Phoenix and Mesa, AZ., and Tucumcari & Nara Visa, NM, Zion Nat’l Park, Utah and not to leave out Dallas/ Fort Worth area where he lived for thirty years.

Awards and Recognitions

Rob was recognized by the Dalton Writers Group for his entry "Family Times" in their annual Butch Couch writing contest.

The Author/Poet was also recognized by the website for his entry, 'Touched by the Spirit'.

He was recognized by the Lockheed Management Association for his ten years volunteer service in the Junior Achievement program in the public schools.

The Longhorn Council of the Boy Scouts of America recognized him for 4 years of service teaching the Computer merit badge at Computer Camp.

His most prized recognition however, is as husband to Deloris and father to 9 children: Tiffini, Christi, Robert, Lily, Andreya, Vivian, Rusty, David Michael, and Dorthea Marie; As well as "Grand-Pa" to 16 grandchildren: Ashley, Alex, Preston, Katelynnd, Kirklyn, Pasha, Rebecca, Mattie, Morgan, Adam, Lillian Jolie, Genevieve Sunshine and Kaylee Diana, Kimberly Luann and Dante and Amara.

 

Rob loves to read and write and enjoys all genres except horror and the occult. He has especially enjoyed writing the Everywhere Book series. He first published 'From Here to Everywhere' in 2000. He can be reached at

robjoseph@

 

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1 Robert Lee Joseph

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