Fractured Worlds (Book 1 of the Fractured Worlds Trilogy)

by Alan VanMeter

19: A STRANGE SORT OF WELCOME

  Chirp Swee read the entire operations manual for the ‘air-fish’, and started to go over the proper procedures with the kids, while Leena stayed at the helm. There was no more fear of Breack Kreels, as Sarah has assured them they would not bother them again.

  “Are there any such magnificent creatures native to your world Leena?” Chirp Swee asked.

  Leena just shook her head, as a blue whale would look like a minnow compared to the Kreel.

  “They aren’t from here.” Sarah said.

  “Surely child!” The bird laughed its peculiar cackling laugh.

  Sarah just looked at the bird.

  Chirp Swee went on laughing about this for a while.

  William and Joshua had gone over absolutely every inch of the craft, with Chirp Swee guiding them from the manual. The only other major control functions of the ship were the gas fill valves, and the fuel tanks for the engines. The latter of which were mounted above the engine compartments outside. They didn’t see any need to add any gas to the blimp as the ship was already at a descent altitude. So they told Leena that they were good to go.

  “Chirp Swee, you can see the ocean from the spire, right?” Leena queried.

  “Yes.”

  “That means that you can see the spire from the ocean.”

  The bird nodded, but didn’t see the point.

  “I don’t want to go anywhere near the coastline by Breek Ka Caw. They might be able to stop us. If we head further south now, and avoid the city; we should still be able to see the spire when we hit the coast, up around here.” Leena pointed to the chart.

  Now Chirp Swee nodded with understanding, and Leena revved the engines up to almost full throttle.

  Towards early afternoon they saw the coast ahead, and not too long after that they could make out the sharp point of the spire on the hazy horizon.

  “There it is!” Leena shouted, as she was the first to see it. Then she turned the ship to head right toward it.

  “We’re going to make it! Yeah!” Both Joshua and Becky erupted.

  Becky went and hugged Leena, then Sarah.

  “We can go home now.” Becky craved.

  They didn’t leave Chirp Swee, or the boys out of the jubilant hugging.

  They followed the deep gorge of the canyon inland, but as they got close to the spire, Leena steered the ship to approach from the same direction that they had originally made the trek from on foot.

  “I’m going to land near our ‘ridge camp’ guys.” She explained.

  “Oh come on Leena. Aren’t you going to drop us off at the bridge?” Joshua complained.

  “Yeah, what ever happened to curbside service?” William joked.

  “Right.” Leena laughed, but then said seriously, “I want the ‘air-fish’ hidden just in case Crathra’s troops show up. That way if they do before we can figure that spire out, we can at least hide, or maybe figure out a way to lock them out of the top.”

  Twenty minutes later the blimp was over the ridge. Leena thought she recognized the very path she and William had first hiked so long ago, searching for Tristan. There were the berry bushes.

  “I miss Tristan, and Penny.” Leena lamented.

  Chirp Swee patted her arm with a claw.

  In a moment Leena pulled the twin throttle levers all the way back, until the engines sputtered and died. The soft sound of air rushing by replaced the roar of noise. Slowly the ship came to a halt. The next step was to let out just enough gas to cause the ship to descend. She spun the valve below the wheel, and listened to the gas escaping. It took a minute before they noticed they were dropping slowly. Leena closed the valve again. The spire gently sank below the ridge line, and they landed with a soft thud just a couple hours before sunset.

  William was first off, and he tied the craft down to several large boulders nearby.

  “What? Like you think we’re going for another ‘fish trip’ sometime?” Becky made fun of his effort.

  “You never know.” Josh said, as if for William, when he exited.

  William smiled back at Becky.

  Leena, Chirp Swee, and Sarah were the last off, for they had gathered some provisions from the ship. Chirp Swee handed out the cloaks, as it was just a little chilly up this far by that time of year.

  “Do you have some ropes for the ‘Devil’s Bowl’?” William asked Leena, and she nodded. “Well let’s get moving if we want to make it to the spire before dark.” He said with command.

  ----------

  Jackie Welsh walked out of the spire onto the ivory sanded beach. The gorgeous aquamarine color of the small bay had been replaced by the reflected fiery orange sunset, flashing across the water. Jennifer Robinson was out by the water’s edge, looking forlorn again. The beautiful evenings on the small island always seemed to do this to her. Most of the time she’d tried to keep her hopes and spirits up, as did Jackie; for they both knew that they would be of no help in getting their children back alive and well if they were an emotional wreck. The evenings however were especially hard on the other woman, so Jackie went to join her on the beach, and lend an ear, or a shoulder to cry on if needed.

  Millie Schotner and her band of apes had left them on the island as a prison. It was a beautiful one, but a cage just the same. Every time some of the apes would bring supplies, they would be sure to mention their children, and that they might find them soon. This gave the women hope they desperately needed. Millie had told them that all they wanted from the kids was a device back, which they had given them. Then they had been assured all of them would be returned to Earth unharmed. Jackie didn’t believe that for a second, and neither did Jennifer, but they did need to find their children as the first and only priority.

  The strange spire structure took up most of the small island, which had very little else on it, vegetation or otherwise. The pair of women had spent copious hours standing, sitting, and crying on the pedestals. All they could make them do was light up. The apes and the old woman could travel through it. Travel the stars. That whole part of the situation captivated her, as she could tell by the double orange suns; that she was a little way from home. Jackie and Jennifer understood as well that their children were lost out among the heavens also. This was the source of fear that even her captors couldn’t match.

  ----------

  Billions of light centuries away from the small planet where his wife was being held, Michael Welsh had been allowed, with the FBI investigators, to continue with the experiments on the portal. He spent countless hours trying to make the pedestal light up as his wife and Ms. Robison had, but he still could only make the base of it sparkle. He found that he was detained for this purpose as well, when he asked to go home for a day, to take care of loose ends. The FBI forbade this, and said that they would take care of anything he needed done. He didn’t consider himself a prisoner so much, as he knew he needed to be there and do whatever it took to get his family back. Nor did he care if the FBI thought of him as a prisoner, as there were only three things he cared about in the Universe.

  ----------

  The sun was just setting behind the rim of the canyon as the five children, and single Cracowck made it across the mammoth ‘Holy Bridge’. They had made very good time, with the exception of Chirp Swee’s reluctance at negotiating the imposing ‘Devil’s Bowl’. They had told her just to fly over it, but she hadn’t used her wings in so long; she didn’t think testing them over the precarious canyon was the best idea. So she too strapped on the rope harness that Leena had fashioned for her right on the spot, and climbed down like the rest of them.

  William and Joshua raced for the entrance to the spire, as they had waited so long.

  “Wait up guys!” Becky yelled.

  They ignored her.

  “Watch out for holes!” Leena called out, and that slowed them down.

 
Soon all six were on the floating disk, riding it to the top.

  “Do you really think we can find them after all this time?” Joshua asked.

  No one answered, but the worry on Leena’s face said enough.

  As they all hopped up into the cathedral, there was still a faint flicker of sunlight over the far off hills, and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust from the full light of the spire below. Then they could see the other Cracowcks in the cathedral.

  “Hold it right there!” A warrior class bird ordered in Threelt, and several others trained their harpoon guns on the group.

  Their hearts broke right then and there.

  “NO!” Leena cried loudly.

  William pulled her behind him as protection.

  Chirp Swee noticed a familiar older Cracowck, “Crashooyt!” She said with surprise.

  The old bird had its brilliant yellow robes on, and he also wore the pointed spire hat. “Chirp Swee Chirp Cowck my girl, you sure have caused an awful mess here. I hope you realize that.” His voice creaked.

  “Please don’t interfere with these creatures Crashooyt, they mean us no harm.” She pleaded with him earnestly.

  The old bird spoke to her in English. “They are unfortunately just an obstacle now.”

  She didn’t quite follow.

  The guard birds motioned them all away from the pedestals, and up against the clear wall.

  Crashooyt quickly spoke Threelt to the warrior class guards, “They have come to destroy the spire! We must not allow this. Kill them all quickly!”

  Lena understood all too clearly what he had said, “What?” she almost yelled.

  Chirp Swee felt faint, but then something in her memory jogged. She recalled the Fretolocks conversation about the pointy headed one becoming the new Cracowck King.

  “It’s you!” She said in shock. “It’s him Leena! He’s the traitor!”

  Leena didn’t understand though.

  “Crashooyt is the one in league with the Fretolocks! He is a traitor.” Chirp Swee said excitedly in Threelt.

  The guard Captain heard that. “What?” he barked.

  “Don’t listen to them fool! Do as I say, kill them!” Crashooyt howled.

  “Now wait just a minute priest. The King gave us specific orders to bring the creatures back to him.” Said the Captain.

  “That is because he doesn’t even realize their danger to us all. If we allow them to destroy the spire, the ancients will come and lay waste to this land. Don’t you see?” The old bird was adamant.

  “You can relax priest. We won’t let them harm your spire.” He informed the old Cracowck.

  “You can’t prevent it Captain. They are magical creatures, evil ones, and they will stop at nothing until we are finished. You yourself told me of seeing the one called Leena create a mystical light in this holy place.”

  “Yes.” The Captain remembered, “And you told me to say nothing of that to the King. I did however.”

  “He’s lying!” Chirp Swee protested loudly. “He only wants them killed so that the King won’t have their supposed protection. Then he plans to take the throne with the help of the Fretolocks.”

  “That’s preposterous!” Crashooyt laughed.

  “It’s true!” Leena put in. “We were kidnapped by a couple of Fretolocks, and a Grogak. Chirp Swee could understand their language, and heard what they said.”

  The guard Captain looked at her doubtfully. “Do you have any evidence of what you say?”

  “Why are you wasting time, they will destroy us all.” The old priest was agitated.

  Leena looked to Chirp Swee, and they both shook their heads to the Captain.

  “This is ludicrous! I will take care of it myself.” Crashooyt reached into his robe, and made for the children. “You warriors stand out of my way, I will not jeopardize the spire!” he pulled out a long thin dagger.

  The guards seemed to hesitate.

  Chirp Swee threw herself between Crashooyt’s advance and Leena. There was a loud squawk, and Chirp Swee fell.

  “NO!” Leena knelt catching her.

  The guards reacted by then, and had the old priest disarmed and bound in no time.

  “You fools! They will kill us all I tell you.” He ranted, and the Captain motioned for the guards to remove him. You could hear his rabid yelling as they escorted him all the way down.

  Leena cradled Chirp Swee’s head in her lap. Blood oozed from the wound in her breast, darkening her feathers.

  “We have to get her help!” Leena told the Captain as he knelt down to check her wound himself.

  The bird nodded, and told a couple of the warriors to take her down to their ship.

  “What ship?” Leena asked.

  The Captain grinned, “We had our ship hide in the mist of the canyon below when we saw your ‘air-fish’ approaching, so you wouldn’t run from us.”

  “Do you think she will be alright?” Leena was quite worried.

  “The blood is not bright. That is a good sign, but we will have to leave it to the doctors.” He said.

  Two guards stepped in to pick her up.

  “I’m afraid that I wasn’t much help to you Leena.” Chirp Swee moaned.

  “Are you kidding me? You saved my life Chirp Swee!” Leena exalted her.

  The wounded bird turned to the leader, “What about them Captain?”

  “They must come with us I’m afraid. I do not wish to do so, but I have my duty.” He replied.

  Leena implored him, “I, I can’t leave, not now. I have to find my brother and our friend. Please they disappeared in the spire’s light before you took us away from here the last time.”

  The Captain’s face was mostly shadow by then, as the gray of evening fell. He took several long moments to consider her plea. “If what the old priest said is even remotely possible, then I cannot leave you here.”

  “Captain.” One of the other warriors spoke up. “I must report something I have witnessed to you, before you make your decision.”

  “What is it Sergeant?”

  “I know I should have reported this much sooner, but…”

  “Yes, go on.” The Captain ordered.

  “Just before the downing season, I happened to be on an outing far from Breek Ka Caw, when I happened upon four of these little creatures here. They were in the process of releasing a Holy Golden Fish that had somehow become entangled.”

  “Where was this at?” The Captain demanded.

  “Up by Nagowt creek, where the caverns are.”

  “Just what were you doing so far from the city, and in a restricted area?” He demanded from his charge.

  “I was practicing flying sir.” The Sergeant meekly replied.

  The Captain nodded, making what was to them a smile, and he raised his brow feathers.

  “My point is sir, that even if they are gods; they must be benevolent ones, to save a Holy Golden Fish.”

  Leena had been listening to them talk in Threelt, and her eyes got big at that part. She remembered Joshua and the others telling of how he had caught that fish in the first place.

  “What’s happening? Is Chirp Swee going to be OK?” William interrupted fraught with worry.

  “Shhh!” Leena told him. “They’re deciding our fate right now.”

  He bit his lip and motioned for the other kids to calm down. The two guards started to take Chirp Swee away.

  “Can’t you stay, and let them try, just for a little while?” Chirp Swee gasped to the Captain.

  “No, Chirp Swee.” Leena objected. “We need to get you to a doctor right away.” She turned to the others, and spoke in English. “We have to go back with them now, or Chirp Swee might die.”

  “But we’re so close.” Becky said sadly.

  “What about Tristan and Penny?” William asked.

  Leena started to cry.

  The guards led the children back down with the injured Chirp Swee, and boarded
them on their now waiting ‘air-fish’ that was docked to the close end of the bridge.

  “We’ll never get home now.” Joshua moaned.

  Just as the blimp was starting to rise slightly, one of the guards motioned the children to the front of the ship. They could see by the interior light of the cabin that the entrance ramp was down, and still very close over the bridge.

  “I will tell King Crathra that you all managed to jump from the ship, rather than spend one more day entertaining his whims.” The guard Captain smiled at them, and motioned to the entrance.

  Leena looked to the others, and life came back into their dejected faces as she translated what he’d said. She then turned and ran back to where Chirp Swee was laying. “We have to go now.” Leena told her.

  “I’m going to miss you little Leena.”

  “I love you Chirp Swee.” Leena hugged her tightly, and the bird moaned.

  “Come back some day if you can.” Chirp Swee patted her hand with her claw.

  “I will. I promise. You just get better, OK?”

  She ran back to join the others as they jumped down onto the bridge. The ‘air-fish’ rose straight up, and the engines roared to life. It began to move away into the near darkness.

  “Let’s go find my brother, and Penny.” Leena smiled at her friends.

  They all stood before the pedestals in the dim light reflected up from the spire’s interior. William was just about to step up on one, when a bright light blasted from above the pedestals. The spire shook. A split moment later another even brighter flash burst forth, and then there were three large yellow haired apes standing on the pedestals. An after-glow of light coated them for a second.

  “You kids lost?” one of them laughed, and the others chuckled too.

  “Who are you?” William tried to be brave, but they were all heavily armored, and armed with fantastic looking weapons.

  “We want the device we gave you back on Earth.” The first one growled.

  “What?” William was confused.

  “The device, we want it back!” The ape was sharp with them.

  Leena remembered the evil thing that caused all of this. “You gave us?” She stepped forward. “What did that thing do to my brother, and our friend?”

  “Look kiddies, we don’t have time for games, so just hand it over, or get fried.” The ape brought his sinister weapon to bear on the children, and it made an evil low growl.

  “Whoa, whoa!” William hurriedly spoke. “We don’t have it with us, but we know where it is.” He lied.

  “Well young man, you just won the honor of telling us where it is.”

  William saw there was no use in deception here. “It’s with our friends.”

  “OK, tell us where your friends are, or we start making kiddie crispies.” The ape grinned wickedly.

  “We don’t know where they are.” Leena cut in, “They disappeared when they activated it.”

  The ape shook his head, “So, just where did they disappear to?”

  “We don’t know. We were just about to start looking for them.” Leena said.

  The leader ape turned to the other apes, “We’re getting nowhere with this bunch. I’ll take the girl here back to Master, and she’ll get her to talk.”

  “What about the others? Should we grab them?” One of the other apes asked.

  The leader shook his head. “Naw, cook ‘em.”

  “What?” Leena blinked hard.

  The other apes aimed their weapons right at the kids, while a big hairy paw grabbed Leena.

  Suddenly there was another brilliant flash of light above the pedestals as the spire shook again, followed right away by a second burst of light. Then there were three people standing on the pedestals also. A man, a pretty young woman, and a little toddler stood in the after-glow. They slumped down catching a hold of an ape each, trying to hold themselves up; except the little toddler whom collapsed on the pedestal.

  “What’s this?” Growled the ape with the woman clinging to it.

  “More meat for the frying pan.” The leader ape spat while pushing the man off of him. “Kill them!”

  The new arrivals all looked extremely confused and fatigued.

  The third ape pulled his weapon up to a safety position, and gawked as he was going to watch. As the leader’s gun growled, the man who had been pushed to the floor, seemed to snap out of it some. There was a blast that sounded like a rocket taking off, and a fireball streaked at the man from nearly point blank range. It exploded on the floor where the man should have been, but he just wasn’t there anymore. The floor absorbed the fire ball’s explosion. This man had somehow rolled out of the way, and as the leader saw him, he fired a second round. This too hit empty floor, as the man had spun himself off the floor, and was right by the lead ape now. Instantly the man’s fist smashed into the ape’s temple, and the big yellow leader ape staggered back from the blow.

  Meanwhile the ape that the woman was clinging to for support, had grabbed her by the throat with both of its massive paws, and was just starting to squeeze, when he suddenly had twin palm finger strikes ripping his eyeballs to shreds. His painful howl brought the third ape alert. The ape with no eyes went to the ground covering his face and screaming. By this time the leader ape had regained some sense, and saw the man’s next blows coming. He tried to block the attacks, but the man let a fury of at least a dozen punches go in far less than a second by the children’s count. Most of these hit home, and again the leader staggered back, only to do a back flip; catching the man with one foot to his jaw. This sent the man flying backwards to the floor. By now the third ape was just raising its gun toward the woman, but she was ever so suddenly right on his side. She seemed to strike his arm holding the gun, and it was quickly turned by her to point downwards. The weapon roared with a rocket like shriek, and the fireball blasted the ape’s feet, cooking them right off. The woman spun away just as the weapon discharged, and was blocking the little toddler from any blast effects. The leader had his weapon aimed right at the man he’d just sent flying, but as he pulled the trigger, something fell out of his gun, and it wouldn’t discharge. He looked at his weapon in shock, and the children saw the little toddler pointing at the ape, and smiling. The ape instantly pulled a nasty looking long knife from a sheath, and flew at the man.

  The children didn’t even see the fellow move, but they sure saw him suddenly at the ape’s side, and guiding the downward thrusting knife right into the ape’s groin, right through his battle armor. The leader went down making a funny moaning sound. The woman meanwhile was spinning toward the other two apes. The one with no feet got a heel kick to its temple, and within the same spinning movement the one with no eyes caught an axe like heel to its’ face, but both stopped screaming and moving.

  It happened so quickly, and then it was over. The man had pulled the knife from the leader’s groin, and held it at his throat, ready to finish him.

  “Wow!” Joshua said with his mouth hanging open.

  The woman quickly retrieved the weapons, and covered the man, obviously ready to protect him, as she also blocked the little toddler from the last conscious ape.

  “Who are you?” The leader moaned.

  “Let’s just say that we know what you Andorian apes have been up to. You tell your leader, that evil Pearmainian rebel to leave these kids alone!” The man said, and there was something familiar to Leena about his voice.

  “How do you know that?” The leader growled through clenched teeth.

  The woman flew at the ape kicking him in his ribs with a very loud crack, breaking his combat armor on the side. “None of your monkey business!”

  “Just what do you want with these kids anyway?” The man asked.

  The ape didn’t answer, but William did. “They want a device that they gave us back on Earth.”

  The woman said to the ape, “Just tell the Rebel to cease, and desist, or else.”

  “
Or else what?” The ape spat.

  The woman touched a switch on the weapon, and it growled right at the ape’s face.

  “I understand.” He acknowledged.

  The three of them stood back as the leader helped the other two, now semi-conscious gravely wounded apes onto the pedestals. The light beams activated, and the leader growled; “We’ll be back to finish this later human.” The sphere of light enveloped them as the spire shook, and they were gone.

  “I don’t know who you are, but thank you. You saved our lives.” Leena said gratefully.

  “Yeah that was close!” William breathed.

  The man bowed to them, and smiled a huge grin. The woman turned the weapon off, and they both walked over to the children.

  “Hi, my name is…”Joshua held out his hand to the man.

  “I know who you are Joshua.” The man cut him off, but took his hand and shook it with warm vigor. “It’s been a long time my friend.”

  “Excuse me?” Leena sputtered.

  “Leena! God I missed you!” The man said with tears welling up.

  “Do I know you?” She stammered.

  “I know this is going to be hard to understand, even crazy sounding…ha!” He looked her square in the eyes, “It’s me…Tristan.”

  She choked.

  “It can’t be.” William muttered in disbelief.

  “It seems impossible, I know, but it’s true. It’s me, and Penelope.” He gestured to the woman, whom was smiling and crying.

  “You’re not my brother! What kind of trick is this? You can’t be! You’re a man.” Leena shook her head.

  Tristan smiled patiently at her, “That’s because we just spent the last fifteen years trying to get back here.”

  “Back here from where? You haven’t been gone that long.” Becky interjected.

  Tristan gave her a big toothy grin. “It’s so good to see you too Becky, and Sarah, and William.”

  Penelope spoke up, “From where isn’t quite right, but rather from when.”

  Huh?” Leena didn’t follow.

  “Do you remember when we accidentally activated this?” Tristan took the device from the special bag around his neck.

  All the children’s eyes got big, huge even, as there was the device Dreamland had given them, and that Tristan and Penny had when they disappeared.

  “How did you get that? What have you done with my brother?” Leena grew angry.

  Tristan calmly answered her. “This thing is responsible for sending Penny and myself into the future.”

  “What, and that made you old?” William asked in awe.

  “No, but spending fifteen years stuck in a spire, on the far side of some galaxy did.”

  “It’s true Leena, it really is us.” Penelope assured her.

  It just seemed too fantastic to Leena. “Oh yeah? Well how did you get back then, or even how did you survive if you say you were stuck in spire?”

  Tristan took a moment to take a deep breath. “Someone put supplies in the spire for us to survive on, until we could learn how to travel through time, and return.”

  “Someone put supplies, what?” Leena thought she saw a big hole in this crazy story. “Well how would anyone have even known where you were?”

  “You did.” He told her.

  “Huh?” Leena blinked in confusion. “Now this is just too weird!”

  “I know. I felt the same way when you first explained it to me.” Tristan said remembering that day so long ago, and yet so far in the future.

  Becky came over to Leena. “I know you don’t believe them, but they are telling the truth. It really is Tristan and Penny.” She said quite seriously.

  Leena swallowed hard. She completely trusted Becky’s intuition. Then she looked over at the toddler and asked the inevitable, “Who’s that then?”

  Penelope grabbed her child’s hand and walked her over to the kids. “This is our daughter, Starchild.” Penny told them.

  “Hi Auntie Leena.” Star said with a big smile.

  Leena felt dizzy all of a sudden. The other kids all gasped.

  “Wow!” Joshua said.

  Before the kids had a chance to hear Tristan and Penny’s story, the pedestals activated again, and the two adults went diving; rolling to cover the portal with the large weapons. The spire shook, and after a second burst of light, an old Chinese man was standing there. He saw the two people with the guns aimed at him, and he slowly spread his hands out, showing they were empty. Immediately Tristan and Penelope lowered the weapons, and then bowed deeply to the old man. To Leena’s complete astonishment, Tristan started speaking in Chinese. The old man was also quite surprised, and asked him some questions, and then Tristan answered; all in Chinese.

  “Who is that?” Leena asked Tristan.

  He didn’t answer her, but kept talking to the old man. He seemed to introduce Penny, whom then also started speaking in Chinese. They exchanged words between the three of them for several minutes, before Tristan turned back to his sister. “This is Shen Dao. He is, or was, or actually will be our Teacher.”

  Leena was getting a headache. “How does he know you?”

  “He didn’t until just now.”

  She felt her head throb even more.

  Tristan felt sorry for her. He remembered the initial tidal wave of confusion. The other children were having a hard time with it all too. They believed that Tristan and Penny were who they said they were; especially when the couple told of things that only Tristan or Penelope should know about. The five of them just didn’t begin to understand how all of this was possible.

  The old man came over to the children, and stood in front of each one; mumbling some quick incomprehensible words to each, and then bowing deeply. The kids were amused by this, but every child bowed back respectfully. When he came to Sarah, he stopped, and stared deep into her eyes for several moments, before he excitedly spoke to Tristan.

  “What did he say?” Leena questioned her brother.

  “He said that she is unique, and that she has a powerful gift.”

  “Yeah, she sure does.” Leena agreed.

  The old man went on very animated.

  Tristan translated, “He said that he has met many empaths before, but none with her talents.

  Sarah giggled at the old man, and he laughed with her.

  Leena looked to her brother questioningly.

  He shrugged his shoulder, “Must be a private joke.”

  Then Shen Dao saw Starchild, and as he went to her, he quickly and formally knelt down before her. He kept his head down as if worshiping her or something. She softly touched his head, and then he rose up, but back away bowing formally the whole time.

  Leena asked Tristan about this, but he had no clue. When Penny asked Shen Dao what he thought of their daughter, all he would say is that she was beyond the wildest dreams of all, with tears filling his eyes.

  After the formal introductions Shen Dao noticed the battle evidence and asked about this. Tristan and Penelope told him of their battle with the Andorian apes, and he immediately suggested that they all shift to a safer location, just in case the apes would return in force. He guided them all through the shift, showing them just where to go. Then he had them all transfer three more times to another location, just to confuse the trail.

  When they finally had a moment to settle down Penelope asked Shen Dao what had led him to them. He told her that he had felt a strange sort of shock wave through the portals, and had followed the ripples of the wave back to them. She remarked that was how he’d taught them to find their way back through time as well. That was when Shen Dao and the couple sat down for a good long talk. He wanted to know everything. This took quite a few hours, as there was much to discuss. Several times during their talk he would break out laughing, and strangely Sarah would too.

  The children were tired, so after a small dinner of fruits and nuts, from the provisio
ns brought from the ship. William, Joshua, Becky, Leena, and Starchild all went to sleep close together in the new spire’s cathedral. Sarah stayed up with the adults, although she felt tired too, but she could somehow understand their story, through the old man. All four were very tired after the discussion.

  Soon the sun had already started to rise on this new world. Tristan and Penelope were exhausted from their very long day, and so they decided to lie down for a nap. Shen Dao stayed awake and meditated, though he didn’t use a pedestal because of the annoyance to the others. He merely sat by the edge to the entrance hole with one of the weapons across his lap. He had made mention to Tristan and Penny that they were all in danger if the rebel was truly free from Earth.

  His apprehension was correct. Sometime about mid-morning a light flashed from above the pedestals. The old man came alive instantly, yelling to Tristan and Penny. They were awake in a second, and Tristan brought one of the weapons to bear. Penelope ran to the kids, and began rousting them, trying to herd them down the entrance.

  “Let’s go, let’s go!” She shouted.

  The light stayed on for several long moments, before the spire shook and there was another brighter flash of light. As the brilliant sphere faded, and the after-glow remained, they saw two apes each holding a woman with a large pistol to their heads. There was an old woman on another pedestal, it was Millie. They also recognized the women being held at gun point.

  Both Penny and Leena said at the same instant, “Mom!”

  Tristan was yelling to Shen Dao in Chinese to hold his fire.

  Jackie saw her daughter, “Leena!”

  Millie motioned to the apes to be gone. Another flash of light came as a sphere enveloped the apes with the women, and they were gone as the spire once again shook.

  Millie Schotner spoke with a raspy voice, “Listen to me very carefully if you value those women’s lives.” She paused for a second. “Give me what I want, and I’ll let them go.”

  The other children were ducking down the entrance hole to the floating disk, except for Leena.

  “You better not hurt my mom, you evil Witch!” She shouted at Millie.

  The old woman’s eyes gleamed, and she laughed uproariously. “Ah, I really don’t want to, you know, but my apes on the other hand…” She shrugged her shoulders and laughed again. He focus then went to Shen Dao. “I knew it. I knew you were involved when my apes reported that these two;” her face contorted into a frown as she looked between Tristan and Penelope, “somehow knew who we were. Oh by the way, my pets looked rather a mess when you had finished with them.” She stared right at Tristan with a penetrating gaze, trying to see where he fit into all of this, or how. “I’ve never know a human who could best an Andorian in an equal fight, well…maybe one.” She scrutinized further. “You look a little familiar to me…, but that is of no importance. What is, is that you give me my purge generator back before I lose my patience, and let my apes take care of these little girlies’ mommies.”

  “Give it to her Tristan.” Leena pleaded.

  His eyes were coldly staring back at the old woman, keeping her in his sights, but he dropped the muzzle of the gun after just a moments’ thought. He reached in his tunic and retrieved the small device that had been the cause of so much trouble.

  “First give us our moms.” He said.

  “I’m afraid that’s not the way we’re going to do this. First toss me the generator.”

  Tristan hesitated for a second, but then tossed the device to Millie.

  She snatched the thing from the air, and smiled at him. “There really is one born every minute.” And she vanished with a sphere of golden light, and a shudder.

  “NO!” He yelled as he ran toward the pedestal. “Shen Dao, Penny, let’s go after them!”

  Shen Dao put up his hand. “You can’t just go jumping right after them blindly. They could be waiting for you as you shifted, and then you wouldn’t stand a chance. You must look before you leap.”

  “What about mom?” Leena cut in, as she didn’t understand what Shen Dao was saying.

  “We are going to get her back Leena, but we have to be careful.” Tristan promised.

  Leena could only worry.

  The three adults got on the pedestals, but didn’t shift, as they were looking into the other connection point first. Then after a moment or two, they disappeared. They had left Joshua with a weapon, and told them all to stay down below in the spire. The world outside didn’t seem very hospitable, so they did as they were told. If the apes were to come back while they were gone, then Joshua was instructed to blast them. They were all nervous, but most especially Joshua.

  Within an hour Shen Dao, Tristan, and Penny came back rather dejected looking.

  “They must have shifted so quickly, we couldn’t find a trace of them anywhere.” Tristan explained.

  “What about mom, Tristan?” His sister demanded.

  “We’ll find her. We just have to mind travel through the other dimension to find the ripple they left from shifting.”

  “Mind travel?” She queried.

  “Starchild’s the best at it.” He waved his daughter over to him. “Honey, we need you to look into the other place, and find where they took your Grandma, OK?”

  Leena winced. Her mother had quite suddenly become a grandmother. ‘Boy is she going to be surprised, if….’ Leena thought.

  Starchild went and sat on one of the pedestals, and became motionless in the golden light, save for her regular deep breaths. Penelope put a finger to her lips to tell the others to be quiet. They all sat and watched her doing nothing that they could see.

  “Do you feel anything weird about her, or what’s she’s doing Sarah?” Becky whispered most softly.

  Sarah shook her head with a strange scowl written on her face. “She’s different.” Sarah whispered back.

  “What do you mean?” Leena butted in quietly.

  “I can’t feel her.”

  “Can you feel the old man?” Becky asked.

  “Oh yes. I can feel both of him.”

  “Huh?”

  “Maybe she just doesn’t want me to.” Sarah said almost to herself.

  Leena leaned to Becky’s ear. “How about you Becky? You said something back at Dreamland about funky monkeys, and that old witch. You seem to have been able to see those apes. How about them?” She pointed to the old man, and the little girl on the pedestal.

  Becky smiled at her friend. She had finally been validated. “Starchild’s just so gorgeous, I can’t believe it, can you? That old man Shen Dao, he is about as old as that Witch is though.” Becky shook her head.

  Suddenly Starchild spoke, “I didn’t find Grandma yet, but I think I found Grandpa.”

  Shen Dao was amazed. “Her ability is even more advanced than I thought.” He looked at Tristan.

  Tristan nodded with a smile.

  “Show me where honey.” Penelope sat down with her.

  In a minute Penny turned to Tristan and said, “I think it’s your dad. We can see him on another pedestal.”

  “Show me too Star.” Tristan sat on a pedestal.

  They determined to go get him, as he seemed to be in anguish.

  Shen Dao had readily agreed.

  “I want to go too.” Leena said.

  ----------

  Michael was once again back on the strange light-making pedestal. He was losing it he thought. There appeared to be no hope of getting his family back. For all the government experimenting there seemed to be no progress being made. The agents were subjecting him to the very same battery of tests that they had been performing on him since the start. He was now sure they weren’t any closer to figuring out the bizarre artifacts operation than they were over a month ago.

  “You’re going to wind up killing me, aren’t you?” He asked the scientist.

  “What makes you say that Mr. Welsh?”

  “Because I can see that you don’t plan to
let me go, until you figure this thing out; even if it kills me.”

  “This project is imperative for our national security sir.” That was the same thing any of them would ever reply to questions like that.

  A moment later a light sphere burst from above the pedestals, startling them all. The sphere of golden light hung above the ever changing colored platforms.

  “Dad! It’s me Leena.” His daughter’s voice came clearly from the light.

  “Baby! Are you OK? Where are you?” he frantically asked.

  “Dad, just follow my voice.”

  “What?” He tried to see where it was coming from.

  In an instant the spire shook, and a brighter burst of light flashed, and he was gone. All the scientists just stood there with their mouths agape.

  Michael was suddenly standing in a different place. All the government people were gone.

  “Daddy!” came Leena’s voice from his right, and he spun to catch her in his arms. They hugged each other so tightly it almost hurt, but it didn’t. It felt like heaven. Michael opened his eyes again, and saw an old Chinese man standing there, along with a young man.

  “Who are they?” He asked after a moment.

  “Oh Daddy I missed you so much!” She cried.

  “I missed you too baby.” He kissed her head, “but who are they?”

  He noticed the young man was tearing up as well, and had started to tremble.

  Leena pulled back a little. “Oh. Dad this is Shen Dao.” She motioned to the Pearmainian. Shen Dao bowed deeply, and said something in Chinese.

  “Yeah, that’s great. Pleased to meet you Shen.” Michael was a bit confused.

  “Um, I think you better have a seat Dad.” She said.

  “I’m fine now baby, aren’t you going to introduce me to your other friend?” his voice was full of uncertainty.

  “DAD!” Tristan burst out, and rushed to him, and clung to Michael, sobbing.

  Michael didn’t know what to make of that. He hugged the man back briefly, just out of pure compassion, and Leena touched his shoulder.

  “Dad, this is Tristan.”

  It took a long moment for what she’d said to sink in. “Oh my GOD.” Michael lost his breath. “Son?”