Chapter Eight
Kenzie moved along feeling numb from the shock. The port pad on both Earth and here on Antilles were either destroyed or soon to be destroyed. There would be no going back. She had to find the others of her group and let them know what was happening. As she had the thought, she spotted them standing together a short distance away. Rebels on one side, Government faction on the other. In the middle were a group of males from Terraneu along with some native Antilleans. Seeing Steph on the edge of the Rebel group talking with Mallex, she started walking faster. She might as well get this over with. With her tunnel vision on Steph, she missed Weston as he approached her from the Rebel side.
“Kenzie! Thank God.” Before she could respond she was wrapped in his embrace. His arms were strong and comforting. Her head was tucked into his chest and she felt the tremors running along his body. Or was she the one trembling? Trying to get control of herself she pulled away.
“Weston.” Smiling slightly, she took his hand and pulled him toward the others. “I am so happy you made it.” Coming up to the small group of about twenty Rebels she held up her hand. “Everyone. Can I have your attention…please.” She made sure Steph was listening also, then she turned to the Government group a short distance away. There were less of them, about ten standing huddled together. Sometime during the fighting, the others must have made a run for their homes. This was everyone that had made it through the portal.
“I know I am not your liaison, but can you please listen for just one moment.” She paused until they quieted and then she told them what she knew. “Kneus thinks the port pad from Earth has been destroyed. Either to keep the MAN units from using it or to keep us from returning through it, or both. In any case, we will not be returning to Earth. In a short while, we will all be going to Terraneu.”
As she had expected there was an outpouring of questions.
“Because the port pad on Earth isn’t working, does that mean we can never go back? There have to be other port pads…some other way…”
“I’m sorry. I am not an expert on the port pads but they are all unique in which connections they make. With the one on Earth destroyed, there isn’t any other way back to Earth. Even if a connection could be made, it is too dangerous. Terraneu will be our home.”
“What about our families and friends on Earth?”
Kenzie squared her shoulders, “We all know humans are resilient. You need to believe there will be survivors, just like before. The small female named Star may make headway with the MAN units and at some point in the future we may learn of other survivors on Earth.” Even if she didn’t have a lot of hope this was true, she had to give these people some peace.
“Will we have to have the change done to live on Terraneu? What if we don’t want to?”
“I think that is something you will have to ask a council member. If the people of Terraneu could survive on Earth, we may be able to survive on Terraneu and not have the change.” It had been assumed the only people going back to Terraneu would be mates. Those men or women would certainly want the change done. It had never been entertained anyone going to Terraneu wouldn’t want the change done. Would they be given a choice? What would she decide if they did? Eight hundred to a thousand years or another fifty?
Holding up her hands she called for quiet once again. “I just ask, that you please, hold off on your questions until a male or female from the council can tell us anything further.”
Weston pulled her into his arms again and turned her into their group. “Like Kenzie said, we can wait.” She didn’t argue with him or pull from his embrace. She was too drained and he was a strong shoulder to lean on. Right now she needed a friend.
“Thank you, Weston.” Her head was spinning and she was grateful for his strength.
“Even though I was going to choose Mallex and Terraneu in three months, I never wanted it to be like this.” Steph’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“It’s okay Steph.” Kenzie tried to reassure her friend. Before she could say anything else they were interrupted.
“We are ready to begin sending your groups to Terraneu.”
Kenzie looked up to see Kniam, Kneus, Knollig, Marcael and Knacayn had all returned from the command dome.
“Life on Terraneu will be as you expected it to be in the Earth community. For the males with any questions, please bring them to a male of Terraneu. Your concerns will be brought to the council. Any female with issues, please bring those to a female of the community. Your concerns will be brought to the female council. We will have more information to pass to you in the months to come. Females will be sent first, and then males. Please arrange yourselves accordingly.” He gestured at another port pad that was surrounded by Terraneu males.
Kenzie went to move away from Weston. “I will see you on Terraneu.” She gave him a small smile over her shoulder as she walked with Steph to the location Kniam had gestured. Steph paused to give Mallex a lingering kiss and then they were joining the other women in a line to go onto the port pad.
“Kenzie.” She heard her name and turned in line to see Knacayn walking toward her. “Can I have a moment after you get settled into your quarters?”
“I’m not sure how long that will take.” Kenzie hesitated. “How will I get a message to you?”
“The person in charge of showing your living quarters to you will explain. If you are not successful with using the communication system, the first Terraneu male you find can relay a message to me in mind.”
“Okay.” The line was moving fast and she stepped along to keep up. “I will send you a message when I am settled.” She and Steph were in the last group onto the port pad. Before she knew it, they were going through the portal and landing on Terraneu.
Chapter Nine
Knacayn stood there watching the last of the females go through the portal to Terraneu. Kenzie had waited until the last moment and had just left Antilles. Now all that was left of the Earth refugees was the male populations from the Rebel and Government. Weston was one of those males.
“You know she will never pick you for a long term partner don’t you?”
Knacayn turned to look at the male when he heard that statement. Weston was standing next to him watching the next group of males line up for the port pad. In spite of himself he had to ask, “Why do you say that?”
Weston just shrugged and answered without looking at him. “I know Kenzie. She will immerse herself in serving the refugees. Her guilt will not allow her to be happy. There is already talk of not having the change and making our own way on Terraneu.”
Knacayn hadn’t even thought of this possibility and the idea made him panic a little inside. “That would be a mistake. The original fathers of Terraneu had a very hard time for thousands of years. Not having the change done and wandering into the wilds of Terraneu is not the answer to the loss of your Earth communities.”
It was Weston’s turn to join his group and go onto the port pad. “I guess we’ll see.” Before Knacayn could comment further Weston was gone.
“Do not let that male get into your head.”
Knacayn turned to find Marcael had joined them. “I know he has feelings for Kenzie, so I consider that fact when weighing his words.” He paused and then admitted, “However, I do find some validity in what he said. Kenzie is very service oriented and we had been arguing the same things when we were taken by those MAN units. Kenzie had no desire to come to Terraneu or be in a partnership with me.”
Marcael just laughed and slapped his shoulder. “Then you have your work cut out for you. What she wanted is now behind her. You have to show her what life can be like if she picks you for her mate.”
“Your uncles and I will be staying on Antilles for a meeting.” His father’s voice rang in his mind. “You and Marcael go through to Terraneu and see if your help is needed with the refugees.” His father called out to them from where he stood in conversation with the Antillean leader and his uncles. “We will follow shortly.”
“Okay father,” Knacayn answered, then thought to warn him, “The Earth refugees have been talking and some are thinking to branch out on their own. There is also talk of refusing to have the change done.” He had transmitted the information to his father and uncles. He saw them exchange startled looks and then his father answered.
“Thank you for the warning Knacayn. We should all keep an eye on the refugees and see how things progress. The shock of today will diminish and their feelings on the matter might change. If it comes to pass that some of them decide to refuse the change and make their own community outside of Terraneu…then we will accept that as their choice.”
His Uncle Knollig added, “We can have a meeting when they are ready. We can let them know the ramifications of any decisions they make. For now, we should let things settle down.”
With a bow to where his family stood Knacayn stated, “I will see if I am needed on Terraneu.” Turning he went toward the port pad with Marcael by his side. His brother-in-law was right. He needed to work at making Kenzie want a life with him. The problem was how to go about it? If what Weston said was true, and he had a sinking feeling it was accurate, Kenzie would fight any feelings she had for him…if she even had any.
There was one person he could talk to freely about his fears. With that thought in mind when he landed in the porting dome on Terraneu he immediately called out to his twin, Knadyn. “I need to talk…are you free?”
“Yes.” The answer was instant, “I am at The Watering Hole with Ava. Where are you?”
Knacayn could have kicked himself. He had forgotten for a moment his brother had a mate. “Never mind. It can wait.”
“Knacayn.” His brother’s voice was stern. “Do not make me find you. Ava is helping to show some of the refugees around and will not miss me. So once again, where are you?”
Knacayn sighed heavily, “I will meet you at the park. Near the practice field…”
“I am on my way now.”
Knacayn turned at the path and walked quickly toward the park. His brother was mated to an Earth female that used to be part of the Government faction. If anyone could give him insight into his current predicament it would be Knadyn. Absentmindedly he answered greetings from other community members. It seemed everyone was moving about with a refugee or two in tow. When he arrived at the designated spot it was to see Knadyn striding along the path toward him.
“Knadyn.” He was happy to see his brother seemed to have recovered completely. “You are fully recovered?”
“I am.” They had reached each other and before he could ask anything further his brother grabbed him into a bear hug. “Mother filled me in on what happened. You could have all been killed.”
Knacayn felt the tremor go through his brother and understood. If anything had happened to their group on Earth, Knadyn would have lost his parents, brother, sister, two uncles, two aunts and a brother-in-law. They were very lucky to have survived it.
“Yes it was a very dire situation, but we are home now.” His brother pulled back and looked at him aghast.
“A dire situation?” Knadyn started pacing, “Mother said those MAN units were unnaturally strong, with some type of liquid armor. It is just some fluke Brennae had befriended the STARR unit. I cannot even imagine what could have happened.”
“I know Knadyn. It is okay. There is something I have to talk to you about.”
Knadyn seemed to shake himself and then sat down hard on a bench. “I am sorry Knacayn. I was not able to vent with mother since father is still on Antilles and I did not want to upset her more. She has been frantically organizing the domes and supplies for the Earth refugees.” His brother wiped nervous hands on his legs, “Then Aunt Cat and Uncle Knaleg were so angry at the danger everyone else was in, and they missed it. Not that they would have been any help.” Knacayn sat next to his brother and waited for him to finish, “Then there is Ava. She had so many friends back on Earth. She is devastated as well and trying to hide it. I have been trying to help her as much as possible, but I think I was just in the way. So when you called…”
“It is okay Knadyn. Everyone is going to be in shock and it will take some time to heal. You and Ava are mates. I am sure she knows you were trying to help.”
His brother took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. “I am just so worried this will bring back bad memories. I love Ava too much to see her suffering.”
“You will find the right thing to say. Which is one of the reasons I needed to talk with you. Besides needing to see you were recovered.” He took in his brother’s appearance and noted the eyes were back to shining, the dark circles were gone. His body was thickly muscled and the skin nicely tanned. Being identical twins Knacayn had felt it deeply when his brother had been tortured. Every change in his brother was obvious because they had looked so much alike. After his torture on Earth, their looks no longer matched and it had burned his soul to see it.
“What is wrong?” Knadyn looked at him intently.
“There is a refugee…” Knacayn started and Knadyn finished.
“Kenzie. I saw the way you interacted at that first meeting in the Command Tent. Is she the one?”
“The one? You mean the one I am talking about…or ‘the one’ I want for a mate?” Knacayn hedged.
“Both.” His brother’s bright purple eyes were delving into his.
Knacayn laughed at how quickly his brother got him. “The answer is yes to both.’
His brother rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “From what I remember, Kenzie was very loyal to her community. Very militant, in a good way, so do not get angry.” His face had started to flush and he laughed again. “She was very helpful in getting me rescued. A born diplomat or leader or both. So the problem you are having is, she did not want to leave Earth. The destruction of her community is going to be a devastating blow and you are not sure how to make her see you would be a perfect mate?”
How had his brother known all of that? “Yes, how did you know?”
“Honestly Knacayn. It is not rocket science. It is just a basic observation.” Slapping him on the back Knadyn continued, “So you need a lesson in Earth women? Here is what you need to do. Give her space, but do not let her distance herself from the community. Make her feel needed, but do not overwhelm her with duties. Let her know you want her for a mate, just do not pressure her with too many demands. Let her keep her friends close, just do not let her shut herself off from the others. Does any of that make sense?”
Knacayn listened as his brother talked. Some of it sounded a bit shaky, but some of it made sense. “Yes, Knadyn. Thank you for coming to talk with me. I think I have an idea what to do.”
Standing the brothers hugged and then parted. Knadyn made sure to invite him to his and Ava’s dome in New Haven, the homes for married couples to the south, the following night.
Knacayn smiled as he headed toward the council domes. He had a fairly good idea of what to do in the pursuit of Kenzie Kincaid.
Chapter Ten
“This control panel is for music, lighting and to call other domes. You just have to program it. This button here and here will adjust the settings.”
Kenzie was paying close attention to what Brennae was saying. Knacayn’s sister had volunteered to show her where she would be staying. To say Terraneu was unlike anything she had ever seen was an understatement.
Walking along the paths from the porting dome, Kenzie wasn’t stunned so much at seeing the green grass, flowers, lanterns and benches. It was how picture perfectly clean and orderly everything was. Brennae had explained Terraneu was built around the original Square of Four. Those domes were the teleporting, caging, medical and technology domes the original fathers had built thousands of years ago. From the square, they manufactured “rings” of domes with walk paths and traveling roads. She was staying in R1-NW5. This was in the first ring, the northwest section, dome number five. According to Brennae, the dome she had been assigned had quite a history. Her mother had stayed in this d
ome and it was Amber who had planted the first flowers along the paths.
“If you want to change the color scheme you can find everything you need at the fabricators.” Brennae was explaining. “A change of clothing has been laid out on your bed. I’m sure you would like to make your own selections in the future.” Kenzie followed Brennae into the bedroom and stopped short again. The living room had been something she was used to seeing. A chaise type couch and chairs with coffee and end tables. Some colorful pillows, plants, and flowers that Brennae said could grow inside due to the materials they used for flooring.
This bedroom, however, was much larger than she had expected. The bed was huge and whatever platform they used kept it off the floor. The bedding looked soft and luxurious. Her eyes started to mist at the idea that this one room was hers alone. On Earth, this would have sheltered at least eight women. She shook her head. The new Earth community would have matched this if not for the MAN units destroying everything.
“There is a balcony for getting your daily sun. With another control panel at that door.” Brennae pointed to a doorway. “Along in here is the bathroom.”
Kenzie made her feet move to follow Brennae. She didn’t know how many more surprises she could take.
“You have a toilet/bidet, shower/tub unit and sink for water.” Brennae moved aside so she could see. The shower and tub unit had a burst of foliage around it so the effect was an indoor oasis. The whole corner was three feet or so deep, so would hold enough water for bathing.
“The shower controls are on the wall, just adjust the spray to the heat and flow you want.” Brennae moved to leave. “I think that about does it. If you have any questions, just let me know. I will leave you to get settled. Your friend Steph had been assigned the dome next door. I know the overall space isn’t overly large. That is because we spend a lot of time outside. When you feel like wandering we have a swimming pond, park and multiple business domes you might enjoy.”
Knacayn: A Terraneu Novel (Book Seven) Page 5