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Home World

A Work in Progress

By

Peter J. Maida

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Part One

Home World

The shuttle Calais prepared for departure. Lieutenant Regina McPherson sat in the copilot's

seat next to Commander Randy Faron. She attacked her control panel, slapping at switches andbanging on buttons. Randy gave her a sideways glance, but continued his own job. Chief Anthony

Menelli and Doctor Karen Monroe took the passenger seats. Randy contacted the bridge when they

were ready and the shuttle bay doors began to open.Captain Nagle's voice came through the speaker, "Take one shot at it, Randy. Stay on the

surface for an hour, no longer. That will be cutting it close enough."

Randy answered, "I understand. I feel as bad as anyone for the Talandians, but not bad

enough to do something crazy.""Like this isn't crazy, Regina mumbled under her breath.

Randy looked over to his copilot as she unduly busied herself with launch preparations,

"Did you say something Lieutenant?"

Regina answered without looking up, "Nothing sir. I was just clearing my throat."

The shuttle drifted out of the science ship Stephen Hawking and set its course for the planetTau Ceti Two. Tau Ceti Two was more than a million miles away, but due to the magnitude of the

event about to happen, the Stephen Hawking dare not get closer.

With the course locked in, Randy went over the plan. "An hour is not a lot of time. Tau

Ceti Two has received several hard hits from Zeus' companions. The Talandian research station isclose to the coastline, and one major hit in the ocean will quickly put it underwater. Ambassador

Raul is one of six Talandians still in the station. We all know he is the key to peace. It was his

powerful personality that forced Humans and Talandians to the peace table. The fighting endedless than five years ago and a permanent treaty has yet to be signed. There are many on both sides

that would like to see hostilities resume. Without Raul's leadership they are likely to get their way.It should be simple. We'll set down as close to the station as possible, grab the Talandians and getout. Regina, you stay with the shuttle. I want it moving as soon as the last foot leaves the dirt.

You got that?"

"Was that human foot or Talandian foot sir?" Regina jabbed.Randy had enough of his second's belly aching. "Lieutenant, we've all seen our share of the

war. Most of us would rather not see anymore. If you differ with that opinion, that's your business.

But if you let your opinions interfere with your duty then that's my business."

Regina was not finished, "Begging the Commander's pardon, but these are the creatures thatleft a big hole where Rio used to be. All of Brazil is uninhabitable. Tens of millions were killed."

"Yes," Randy answered, "and we were the creatures that made three of their major

population centers disappear. This issue is not open for debate. You will do your best to saveAmbassador Raul and all of the Talandians in that station, and that's an order. Are you hearing me,

Lieutenant?"

Regina mumbled, "Yes sir."

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Randy got back to the plan. "Chief, you carry the stretchers and, if necessary, the

extrication equipment. The station was still in one piece when they sent their distress call, but whoknows what happened since then."

Tony Menelli nodded his understanding and Randy continued, "Doctor, you know your job

better than we do.""Not by much," Karen replied. "My job during the war was patching up our people. I had a

few lessons in Talandian anatomy. It was taught on the off chance that we might have to treat a

prisoner of war, but that was several years ago, and there haven't been any refreshers. I hope theinjuries do not go beyond setting bones and patching wounds."

"Don't worry, doctor," Randy commented, "if we're lucky they will all be healthy and

waiting when we set down. We may be just performing a taxi service.""Well that is their intent." Regina jabbed again, "They intend to make us all their servants."

Randy had enough, "Lieutenant McPherson, consider yourself on report. One more

wisecrack and I'll set you up for a captain's review. I will ask you once Lieutenant. Do you feel

you can do this job, or should I relieve you of duty right now?""I'll do my job." Regina answered trying to hold back her anger, "I'll land when you say

land. I'll fly when you say fly, but I won't like it, or our passengers."

Randy was ready to lash back when the sensor array sounded an alarm. Everyone rushed to

the pilot seat. Regina jumped into her seat and flicked on the scanner. She gave it a quick look andannounced, "We're on a collision course with a meteor the size of this shuttle. Looks like we'll meet

at the planet's orbital insertion point. I'm dropping our speed back to one half sublight. Thatshould give the big rock plenty of time to dive into the atmosphere."

Randy contacted the Stephen Hawking to get information from their long-range sensor

array. He was told that the outer edge of Zeus' meteor swarm was approaching the planet. Meteorstrikes should increase in frequency.

The Calais approached orbital insertion. Everyone kept their eyes on the sensors. When

they were sure it was clear, they moved a long-range camera to focus on the meteor that was fallingthrough the atmosphere. The planet was already half covered in clouds, but the meteor's target area

was remarkably clear. They watched as the meteor struck with the force of an ancient twenty-megaton nuclear warhead. The blast was clearly visible from orbit. The impact was on the centralplain about two thousand miles west of the station.

Karen shook her head then wondered out loud. "Why would anyone keep a research station on

a planet that is in line for this kind of beating? They should have been off that planet a year ago."Tony added, "This isn't even our space and we have figured out why advanced life-forms never

appeared on this planet. It gets bombarded like this every few centuries. Nothing bigger than a

field mouse survives the turmoil."

"Not quite like this." Randy reminded them, "This time Zeus will strike the planet. Zeus is tentimes bigger than any asteroid that has ever threatened this planet. When it hits, it will destroy all

life forever. It actually has a good chance of tearing the planet apart. This will be the end of this

planet's torment."Regina looked at Randy with suspicious eyes, "This is neutral space isn't it?"

"That depends who you talk to." Randy calmly stated, "The Talandian Galactic Fleet considers

this system a spoil of war. It's one of the stumbling blocks to the signing of the peace treaty. Bythe way, this also answers your question doctor. The station was not dismantled because they

wanted their people on the planet while they made their claim for the system."

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Regina almost rose out of her seat in outrage. "Commander, this is insane. All of our charts

showed this to be neutral space. The Stephen Hawking is not equipped to be challenging the entireTalandian fleet. We could end up in Cregedoc with the rest of our prisoners of war. It seems to me

the last thing they will want is to have humans dislodging their claim. What is Raul doing there

anyway?"Tony guessed, "Maybe he is here to protest the use of Talandian scientists as political pawns.

He has demonstrated against his military before. He may have purposely directed the distress call

to a human ship as part of the protest."Regina wasn't convinced, "I think we're being suckered. Whose word do we have that Raul is

even on this planet. Maybe it's just an excuse to start the war again. It will look pretty good.

Humans invading disputed space, landing on a planet that they claim.""Come on Regina," Randy protested, "why would anyone in their right mind invade a planet

that is within a week of being obliterated by an asteroid. The accusation wouldn't look good. It

would look stupid. We do know Raul is on the planet, SPINTEL tracked him there and a SPINTEL

micro-probe watched him land. In fact the probe is still in place. It recorded Raul standing outsidethe station yesterday."

"The Space Intelligence Service has made mistakes before," Regina countered. "Or maybe

Raul is there. He may be there to show his solidarity with the Talandian claim for this system."

The debate continued as Regina guided the Calais through the planet's atmosphere. They came

toward the station from the ocean. The tranquility of the white sandy beach along the coast and thelush green of the inland forest made one forget that destruction was just days away.

They saw the Talandians waiting outside. Talandians were shorter than the average human,

rarely growing beyond five feet in height. Their complexion ranged from a golden toast to a bright

yellow. Their hair varied in color in the same range as humans. It was long and always straight.Talandians never cut their hair. They had no facial hair. In most other ways they were very similar

to humans.

The Calais settled to the ground, in front of the research station, and all of the Talandiansexcept one seemed to shy away. Randy slid open the side door with a big smile and announced,

"Welcome aboard the . . ."That was all he got out before a Talandian pulsed-laser weapon was stuck in his ribs. TheTalandian gave his welcoming speech instead, "You are under arrest for violating Talandian space

and landing on a Talandian held planet."

"Now wait a damn minute. Randy protested, "We are answering your distress call. We camehere to get you off this rock before it comes apart. This treatment violates the principles of both

our civilizations."

"We sent no distress message." The Talandian countered, "We have our own . . . "

While Randy kept the Talandian talking, Regina pulled the standard ground defense weaponout from under her seat. It was a modern version of an ancient nine-millimeter automatic. Quietly

she eased the top hatch open and slid up onto the top of the shuttle like a cat. While Randy banged

and yelled to keep the alien's attention on him Regina made it across the roof of the shuttle. Criesof warning came from the station, but they were too late. Regina pointed her weapon at the top of

the Talandian's head and with great pleasure she made herself known. "OK, drop that weapon and

put your hands on your head."The alien didn't look up. Keeping his eyes on Randy he calmly said, "Nice move, human, but

my comrades protect me. If you pull that trigger, you will be dead before I hit the ground."

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The threats and charges were traded as the stale mate dragged on. A Talandian, who had kepthimself hidden in the forest on the far side of the shuttle, slowly approached. Suddenly a click was

heard, then a pop, then a sudden rush of liquid.

Karen jumped up yelling, "What the hell is that?"Outside a green metallic smelling liquid rushed over the Talandian's boots. Inside Tony

slammed his fist on the control panel, "Some maniac just dumped our fuel. This shuttle is down for

good." The humans froze in the fear of the realization.The second Talandian calmly walked into view and stated the situation clearly, "If anyone fires

a weapon we will all be vaporized in the fireball. Let's all try to grow up and act with a little

intellect. Put down your weapons and we can go into the station and talk this over.""Grow up! Grow up!" Randy screamed like a wild man, "You just screwed your last chance to

get off this planet in time and you managed to murder all of us in the process. Why? All I want to

know is why!"

The alien did not lose his composure. In the same calm voice he answered, "Because there arethings here that are worth the risk. There is a truth here that must be saved, and it can be done.

Come in the station and let me show you what we have found. By the way, Neekol here is the only

one with a weapon. He's our token soldier. The rest of us wouldn't know how to hold one of those

things."Neekol stared at his comrade, spat on the fuel soaked ground, and threw down his weapon.

Randy called to Regina, "Come on Regina. The weapon won't do any of us any good now.""No!" Regina yelled, "We'll be dead in a few days anyway. I can have the pleasure cutting

these dwarves in half before I die."

At that moment, a small meteor roared high overhead traveling east to west. Everyone stared

up, then at each other. A minute later the western sky lit up with a blinding white light. It wasquickly followed by a powerful shock wave. The tremor knocked Regina from the shuttle. She hit

the ground hard as everyone held on.

The tremor passed and the ground was again stable. Regina winced in pain as she tried to rollover. A moment later she felt strong hands lifting her carefully to her feet. She looked around and

saw the crazy Talandian holding her up. He called to everyone, "Come, please, we will be saferinside."

Confused and angry the humans followed the apparent maniac into the station. Neekol snarled

his own displeasure at his comrade's actions. Once inside, the four Talandian scientists who hadavoided the confrontation joined the group. The self-proclaimed leader brought everyone together

around a large oval conference table.

Neekol wasted no time, "Raul," he roared, "explain this traitorous act. You aid humans to

occupy Talandian soil?"Karen tried to keep Regina still while she treated her separated shoulder. The effort became

hopeless when Regina jumped to her feet to go after Neekol. Karen held her back as she lashed out

across the table. "You creatures have the nerve to call yourselves civilized. You send a distresssignal and when we respond, you attack us. That's a low move even for Talandians."

"We sent no signal." Neekol yelled, "I said it before, and I'll say it until it sinks into your dull

wit. We sent no signal!"

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Ambassador Raul calmly interrupted the argument, "I am afraid that we did send a signal

Neekol. I neglected to inform you. In this case, we decided it would be easier to seek forgiveness,than to seek permission."

Neekol looked at the Talandian ambassador with burning hatred, "Raul, you live in wervac

slime. How dare you conspire with the enemy against your own people? I'll see your body fluidsdrained for this. You know our exit from this place is well planned. What do you think the cruiser

Gorikidorm is going to do when it finds a human ship in this system?"

This got Randy's attention, "There's a Talandian cruiser on the way?"Neekol snapped back, "Do you really think our people would leave us here to die? That kind of

brutality is only in human propaganda and in human history. What you can count on is that the

Gorikidorm will drive away any invading human ship."Randy was confused. He looked at Raul and asked, "Then why the distress call? I can't

imagine that you want to restart the war. We certainly are not very valuable prisoners.

Ambassador, I am one of many humans who admire your work and back your efforts. Please tell

me you haven't lost your mind."

While Randy pleaded for an answer, Tony made eye contact with Regina. After several facial

motions they put their plan into action. Regina jumped to her feet again and lashed out at Neekol.

At the same time Tony broke for the door. Neekol turned to go after Tony and, Regina picked upher chair with her good arm and launched it at him. That gave Tony the time he needed. He got to

the shuttle and opened the communication link to the Stephen Hawking, "Stephen Hawking canyou hear me? Get the ship out of the system. The shuttle has been disabled. We have been

captured and there is a Talandian warship on the way. Stephen Hawking, respond, damn it;

respond!"

Neekol escaped the flying chair and rushed out of the door ahead of the crowd. He found hislaser on the ground, and raised his weapon just as the crowd came through the door. Raul yelled,

"NO, NEEKOL, NO!"

Neekol pulled the trigger. The pulsed-laser bolt sliced the heavy fuel filled air, and the areaaround the shuttle exploded into a ball of fire.

After everyone recovered from the blast, Randy grabbed Raul and slammed him up against theouter wall. Two aliens pulled Randy from their leader.

Randy struggled in rage as the aliens pulled him away. He stopped when he looked at Raul's

face. The alien was crying. Everyone stopped and just stared at the hero of peace. Raul was aperson who had the courage to stand between warring armies. He was a man whose nerve was

legendary. Now he stood before the mixed group crying like a child.

Raul finally began to talk through his sobs, "This wasn't necessary. Desra was going to gather

the weapons as soon as she could, and I was going to ask you to contact your ship as soon as youlearned more about what we found here. Two young lives lost. When will people stop hating long

enough to listen? There are reasons for what I have done. This tragedy truly breaks my heart, but

it does not lessen the importance of this world and what it contains. I beg of you. Let me showyou what we have found. Learn the truth that we have learned. This planet can be saved, and it

must be saved."

"And what is your final plan for us?" Regina questioned, "We wouldn't be finding ourselves inCregedoc now would we?"

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Raul composed himself and answered the charge in his original calm voice, "My dear lady,

Cregedoc was abandoned over a year ago. The facility was dismantled and the land is being sold.In any case, I wouldn't be too righteous in your disdain for that facility. Your detention center on

Europa rivaled Cregedoc in every foul way. The answer to your question is that you will be back

on the Stephen Hawking in a matter of days. Your duties will be greatly expanded after you'verevealed what has been discovered here."

Doctor Karen Monroe had been silent since they left the shuttle. Now that she finally hadRegina still long enough to wrap her shoulder, she let out her frustration. "You alluded to the great

find several times. I think it's about time you gave us some straight answers and cut out this

dramatic mystery. You also said something about us contacting our ship. We cannot be sure thatTony got through."

Desra, the only female among the Talandians, touched Karen's arm to get her attention, "Before

you warn your ship away, please let us show you some of what we have found here. Once we

broke through, into the Hall of Unity, we contacted Ambassador Raul. We knew we had foundDeraquie."

"Wait a minute," Karen said looking at the female Talandian in shock, "Deraquie was the

mythical place of your beginning, the place of your gestation. It is said the Talandians took form in

Deraquie just as a baby takes form within its mother. When your race was fully developed, youwere pushed out of its pleasant forests into the harsh world of survival."

"That's quite right." Raul said applauding, "You know the Tesac very well. I thank you for therespect that you give to the words. Do you know the next story in the Tesac?"

Karen was a bit embarrassed as she tried to recall her Talandian training classes, "I believe it

had to do with a split in the people just after the birthing. I am sorry, but I don't recall the details."

Raul smiled at Karen and helped her relate the story. "I'll give you the short version. Thepeople emerged onto the silver plain. Before them lay a brightly colored road. Ahead the road

forked. An image of a parent beckoned on each side of the fork. This was the testing. The people

true in heart chose the left fork. They began the struggle that made us what we are. The peoplewho chose the right fork disappeared into the mist, and were never seen again."

"Is all this supposed to mean something?" Regina snapped."Come inside and you will see where I am leading. This is one of the two astoundingdiscoveries that make this planet sacred to both our cultures."

Once inside, Raul led them down to the first level below ground. They gathered around ahologram projector, and Raul turned the demonstration over to Tedion. Tedion was a retired

archaeologist, who devoted his remaining years to the discovery of Deraquie. His voice was rough

and gravelly as he tried his best to speak in Galactic Common. "I was contacted when diggings

uncovered bones that resembled the skeleton of a Talandianoid. I came at once. The bones turnedout to be a full skeleton, and they resembled exactly what the Tesac said one of the 'new born

people' looked like." He touched the control panel and an image of a primitive creature appeared

on the hologram stage. The old scientist continued, "This is what the reconstructed form of theancient man found here would look like." He touched the panel again and a second primitive

image appeared, "This is how the writings of the Tesac describe the 'new born people'. As you can

see, they are identical."

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The old man then shook his pockmarked finger at the humans with righteous fervor, "Now

before you accuse me of faking these images, let me remind you that I didn't have to be here. MyTesac brought me here and I'll stand by it until the last of my body fluids are drained."

As the humans stared at the images Raul asked with a wry smile on his face, "Do these images

look familiar?"Randy spoke up, "They are straight out of my natural history class. That's the proto-human

Homo habilis. I wrote a report on it when I was twelve. Homo habilis was the break away from

our ape-like ancestors. Three million years ago a creature called Australopithecus afarensis roamedeastern Africa. Its future generations split into Australopithecines and Hominines. The

Australopithecines branch became the modern apes, and the Hominines became humans. Homo

habilis was the first of the Hominines. They appeared during the first ice age, about two millionyears ago."

Randy stopped for a minute, and then he started again. "What's going on here? Are you saying

that Humans, Talandians, and, whoever these people were, shared a remarkable parallel

development?""No," Raul said with great enthusiasm, "what we are saying is that Humans and Talandians

shared the SAME development, and it happened on this planet. You just said that Homo habilis

was the first human. What if it wasn't a new branch from the more primitive creatures? What if it

was a late-arrival? A species from a doomed planet brought to Earth by a powerful space faringrace. What we call our 'new born people' were far too advanced to have been the original

Talandianiods. There must have been earlier versions, but none were ever found. That fact madethis answer clear for us. The fact that an anthropoid race began to develop on Earth, before our

species was planted there, muddled your trail completely."

"This is ridiculous," Regina almost spat out the words, "I am happy that this little discovery ties

your legends into a nice pretty package, but we have no stories of being born and then going onseparate paths. I assume the people that disappeared in the mist are supposed to be our ancestors."

Tedion lashed out straining his voice till he coughed, "Do not mock the Tesac, alien. It is the

truth, the only truth that can be counted on."Raul calmed his friend, then he answered Regina's charge, "Ah, but you do. Remember the

stories of your own revered book. I believe it is called The Bible. Didn't it claim that humanitystarted in a beautiful garden and then was cast out? Didn't it also claim that one of the originalhumans was driven away for committing a crime? Isn't it the same? The species starts in one

place, they have to leave, and then the species is split onto separate development paths. I believe,

in relation to your Bible, we would be the children of Cain.""Look at it objectively for a minute. For two intelligent species to be as similar as ours by

random chance is unbelievable. I am sure humans have performed the same tests we have. Our

DNA is almost identical and it is totally compatible. Except for some minor differences in

appearance, we are physically the same. A common ancestry is the only answer. I had somehuman friends of mine obtain a copy of a Homo habilis image for me." Raul looked at Tedion.

Tedion grumbled and touched the panel. The image of Homo habilis appeared next to its two

identical brothers.The humans were again dumb struck. Raul smiled seeing that they understood. He pressed his

advantage, "We are all siblings and this is our original home. This is Deraquie, and this is also the

Garden of Eden. Let me ask the questions before you do. How do we know an advanced racedispersed our ancestors to Talandia and Earth, and why would they do it? I'll start with the why.

This planet was on the way to developing, what one day would become, an advanced intelligent

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culture. That's when the fourth planet of this system exploded. The result was to put this planet

into its deadly cycle of meteor strikes every few hundred years. Our benefactors had beenresponsible for the destruction of the fourth planet, and the dooming of this planet. It was a

mistake that they did their best to correct."

Raul paused and the humans jumped in, picking up on the implications that he was slipping intothe story. Karen was the spokesperson, "Aliens destroyed the fourth planet? It was a mistake?

You speak as if aliens came back and explained it to you."

Raul was delighted by the way his students picked up his cue. "They did." Raul said. "That isthe second astounding find on this planet. The aliens made an experiment out of the effort to save

us. That's why they deposited us on two different planets. They monitored our development, but

never interfered. There are thousands of reports in both of our histories relating to, what yourculture called, UFO's. The monitoring ended when your people and mine established regular space

travel. It was then that the aliens built the Hall of Unity. The hollow areas under this station are

not natural caverns. Come let me show . . .

Suddenly the station shook in the grip of a major quake. Humans and Talandians were thrown

in all directions. They bounced off walls and slammed down on the floor. Mercifully, the structure

held under the strain. Karen was the first on her feet, followed quickly by one of the young

scientists. The scientist dashed up the stairs while Karen moved around checking for injuries.Fortunately the injuries were limited to bumps and bruises.

Tedion groaned, "This is not a good sign."Raul looked around then asked, "Where is Kapior?"

Karen was telling Raul that he went upstairs, when the young Talandian came running back

down the stairs. He breathlessly announced, "The asteroid's meteor swarm is upon us. The

Gorikidorm is too late. Its shuttles can no longer safely approach the planet.""The Gorikidorm!" Regina gasped in realization, "Raul, you must contact that warship. The

Stephen Hawking is a science ship. It has no defense or weaponry."

"Of course," Raul responded, "I intended to set up a three-way communication as soon as theGorikidorm was in range."

"That's impossible." Kapior said in a desperate tone. "The quake destroyed our communicationequipment. We can't contact anyone.""RAUL!" Randy shouted, "You've put our ship in danger, and you have brought war back to the

stars! A battle group from the Central Government of Humanity is just outside this star system. If

the Gorikidorm attacks the Stephen Hawking all of your work will be destroyed!"Raul began to lose his calm manner, "This was not supposed to happen. I anticipated the

possibility of losing our communications to a quake during this time, but I expected to have your

shuttle's system for backup."

"Well, what now?" Regina sneered, "It seems we are about to die and our little sibling rivalry isabout to start all over again."

Raul tried to think. He refused to give up, "Kapior, did you see the Gorikidorm on the

scanner.""No," the young scientist answered, "it must still be in hyperspace, but the human ship remains

on station and no other human ships have entered the system."

"Good," Raul responded nervously, "we may have one more chance. There is an abundance ofadvance technology in the Hall of Unity. It is payment for using us in their experiment. I am not

sure what the hall contains; let us hope there is some kind of communication system there."

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"If you were in this hall," Karen asked, "why haven't you studied what the aliens left?"

Raul answered, as he started moving. "We couldn't, all of the technology is sealed behind atremendous force field of some kind. Its security is extremely complex. It takes a Talandian and a

Human to bring down the field. The system detects emotional strain, and drug inducement. No

one could be forced to participate. Our only chance is to break the force field and get at thetechnology. We must hurry."

The path to the Hall of Unity took the group out of the research station. The undergroundtunnel had been bored through the rock by the Talandian mining equipment. Its smooth walls

showed signs of stress from the recent quake, and everyone knew an after shock was due. After ten

minutes in the tunnel they felt it coming. This time they threw themselves to the ground before theshock knocked them down. Kapior raised his head as he lie on his belly. Through the dirt and

falling rock he saw a crack opening in the floor of the tunnel. It approached him like a premonition

of death. He screamed a warning and rolled to his left. The young scientist behind him failed to

react in time and was swallowed up. Everyone dodged right and left as the tunnel was split in two.A rock came down and hit Raul's leg as he was rolling to his right. He winced in pain and he began

to slip into the deadly opening.

Yelling in panic, Raul clawed at the ground. Regina reached out and caught his arm with her

good arm. The pressure transferred to her injured shoulder and she groaned in pain, but she heldon. Gritting her teeth she pulled and yelled over the roar, "I need help here!"

Randy and Desra crawled over and got a grip on the dangling ambassador. They grunted andpulled and finally brought Raul back onto the newly formed ledge.

Silence returned, the only sounds heard were gasping and coughing. Randy, Raul, Regina, and

Desra were on one side of the crack and Karen, Tedion, and Kapior were on the other side. Randy

yelled out through the dirt laded air "Is everyone OK!"Kapior called out in a saddened voice, "We have lost Miden."

"Oh no," Desra moaned and looked toward Raul. Quietly she told Randy, "Miden is Raul's son.

He's the one who got Raul interested in this discovery."They looked over to Raul. He had pulled himself into a fetal position and he began to sob.

Regina watched her one time enemy. A tear came to her own eye as she slowly reached out a handto the brokenhearted man. Even in her pain, one hand became two arms and she held theambassador as he cried.

After a few minutes, Raul's arms went around Regina and hugged her tightly. He looked up

with red eyes and whispered, "Thank you, my friend. You have just given Miden's life powerfulmeaning." They helped each other up and Raul called out weakly, "Come, we must be going. We

have very little time left."

They walked a few minutes more and came to the source of the crack. The tunnel again cametogether, and the group was reunited. Just ahead they came to where the equipment had bored

through a metal wall. The next step brought them into large room filled with equipment. As soon

as they stepped beyond the opening the systems came on, "Welcome children of Ktara."After a small pause the system spoke again, "You have brought your sibling. The unity is at

hand. The life that formed on this planet has returned. Step up to the panel to complete the

identification."

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The Talandian representative was obvious. They assumed the leader of the humans would step

up, but Raul turned Regina and put out his hand, "Please Regina, it gives it so much meaning if youwould join me." Raul then looked at Randy, "No disrespect meant Commander."

Randy smiled, "None taken, ambassador. I fully agree. Please Regina, represent humanity."

Regina smiled and slowly walked hand and hand with Raul to the pedestal. The panel on thepedestal tilted toward them. The left side of the panel displayed a picture of Talandia and its three

moons. On the right side was a picture of Earth and its moon. Each side contained an impression

where the left hand should be placed and a clear tube with a small sharp object at its base. Thepictorial instruction indicated that they were supposed to place their hands on the handprints and

insert the index finger of their right hands into the tube. They were to allow the tip of their fingers

to be pierced by the sharp object.They placed their hands on the panel and slowly put their fingers into the tubes. After smiling

at each other for a second, they pushed their fingers down onto the sharp point. The system drew a

drop of blood from each of them. A second later the barriers disappeared and all of the control

panels came to life. The system again spoke, "The unity is complete. The gifts are yours. Youhave fulfilled our expectations. Farewell."

"OK!" Randy cheered, and then he turned to Raul, "What now? You said there was a way of

stopping Zeus."Everyone moved to the alien systems as Raul answered, "There is, but it will take the full

cooperation of your people and mine. A sizeable antimatter core powers the Gorikidorm. Acommander can shift helm control to a remote sight. Your captain will have to allow the Talandian

crew to board their ship. They will also have to surrender their bridge to them if they are to control

the Gorikidorm."

Randy shook his head in disappointment, "Raul, it'll never work. The Gorikidorm's destructionwill be a powerful blast, but it won't budge Zeus. The asteroid is far too massive."

Raul showed that confident smile and began to explain further, "You misunderstand my friend .

. . "His explanation was interrupted by Regina. She seemed disappointed, "We can't seem to find

anything that resembles a communications station. We have generated a giant hologram of thespace around this planet. It is giving us an accurate and up-to-date picture of what's happening. Iteven shows the position of the Stephen Hawking."

Raul pointed to a flaring comet falling sunward just behind the asteroid, "That's what the

Gorikidorm will hit. Your accurate analysis equipment on the Stephen Hawking will give the exactpoint of contact for the Gorikidorm. A blast of that power will divert the comet into the asteroid.

The comet is massive enough to divert the asteroid's course. The planet will still suffer damage

from additional meteors and tidal effects, but it will survive."

Kapior announced, "This is amazing, the hologram is showing the Gorikidorm coming out ofhyperspace."

Randy looked at Raul, "We've run out of time. If we can't communicate, the game is over.

This hologram will give us a front row seat to the restarting of the war before we die."Raul ran through the room. He couldn't believe they got this close, only to fail. He yelled out

in desperation, "Find something. There must be something in all of their equipment that can send a

message."Desra grabbed Randy as he was going by. "Look at this. The operating instructions are written

clearly. It has definitely been set up for us to easily use and duplicate. Is this what I think it is?"

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Randy's mouth gaped open, "I can't believe it. It's a matter transporter. It can transfer anything,

or anyone from here to anywhere in the star system.""Look," Desra added, "It says it is especially designed to transport people to ships moving in

the system. It locks into the scanning system. All we have to do is enter the id code for the object

in the system to be transported to and hop on that little stage up there."Randy yelled, "Raul, over here, hurry."

Everyone gathered around the transporter. Desra asked, "What are the codes?"

"There!" Regina yelled, "They are next to the objects in the hologram. The Stephen Hawking isS1, and the Gorikidorm is S2."

"We're out of time," Raul announced. "It's either this or nothing. Regina and I will transport to

the Gorikidorm. If necessary, I can pull rank on the commander. I have the status equal to anadmiral." Raul looked at Regina. She smiled and nodded her approval.

Raul continued quickly, "The rest of you can transport to the Stephen Hawking."

Karen took at deep breath and suggested, "Someone better stay here. If this doesn't work, there

may be something else in these systems that can be used. I will stay and check it out.""Karen!" Randy gasped.

Karen smiled, "Randy, you have to deal with Captain Nagle. I can do this."

Kapior spoke up, "I'll stay too. Some things may require a representative from both races. We

will also keep an eye on this transporter."The group looked around and spontaneously began to shake each other's hands and hugging

each other. "OK," Randy said, "let's do it."

On the bridge of the Gorikidorm the sensor officer reported to Captain Kaseeg, "Captain, we

have detected a human ship in the system. It seems to be maintaining position a safe distance from

the planet.""Intercept course." The captain growled.

The sensor officer looked up in shock, "Captain, we have no time. We may already be too late

to save Raul and the scientists.""We are already too late," the captain snapped, "check your own sensors. That hail of meteors

by the planet is too thick for shuttle transit. They gave their lives for Talandia. Now we must notlet their effort be in vain. We must drive that ship from the system, or destroy it."The captain called to his defense officer, "Power up the weapon systems. Prepare to target the

enemy ship, when we are in range."

Suddenly two ovals of light appeared on the bridge. The crew stared in amazement, as Raul

and Lieutenant Regina McPherson slowly replaced the ovals. While the crew continued to gasp,

Raul took control, "Under the high command special order ninety-six, I am taking command of this

ship. You must rendezvous with the human ship Stephen Hawking. I am going to make you a herocaptain."

Randy, Desra, and Tedion appeared on the Stephen Hawking and began to explain the situation.Captain Nagle initially refused any thought of Talandians taking over his bridge, but he could not

deny the advanced technology on the planet. Being a scientist first and a ship's captain second, he

could not let the people and the technology be destroyed.

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Hours went by as Karen and Kapior waited nervously. They watched the Gorikidorm come

within strike range of the Stephen Hawking and breathed a sigh of relief when no attack happened.The two ships came together and then separated.

Again hours went by as they watched the Talandian warship slowly make its doomed journey

to the flaring comet. They held each other as the warship ended its existence in a great explosion.The comet's course was altered.

Realizing that it would be at least a day before the comet would intercept Zeus, Karen andKapior slumped exhausted to the floor, and fell asleep together.

After they awoke, Kapior volunteered to make the journey back to the station to find some

food. Karen squeezed his hand and said, "Be careful." Kapior smiled and moved quickly out ofthe room.

He returned after, what seemed to Karen, an agonizingly long period of time. The food was

eaten with great energy. They had not realized how hungry they were. With the food consumed,

they wandered around trying to figure out some of the other systems.In the far corner of the room was a darkened booth area. Above the booth a message was

written in Earth Standard and in Talandian. It simply said: YOUR BEGINNING.

After entering, a hologram appeared around them. It showed a scene of their primitive

ancestors being lured into two shuttles. The sight of the aliens brought a gasp of amazement fromthe viewers. They had talked so much about them, but no one had any idea of their appearance.

The aliens were about the size of the Talandians, and they were clothed in shimmering bluish jumpsuits. Their skin seemed to be a translucent pale white. Their features were very alien. A large

head with oversized black eyes, a lip-less mouth, a tiny nose, and no ears. They waved their

extremely thin arms and wriggled their long bony fingers to get the attention of the primitives.

Kapior and Karen watched the process in awe for hours. Suddenly Kapior's mind snapped back

to the present. He jumped saying, "The asteroid!"

They ran back to the hologram. They were just in time to see the impact. The explosion wasmassive. Kapior got to the controls of the hologram. First he displayed the disturbance in the

asteroid's momentum. "YES!" He screamed. "They did it! The asteroid will miss the planet."Karen ran up and hugged her new friend. Kapior then adjusted the controls to analyze thecourse adjustment to Zeus' meteor swarm and to the remaining pieces of the comet. As the system

displayed the results, he realized the power of the technology. It showed exactly how much of the

debris would hit the planet and where. Kapior smiled with further relief and announced to Karen,"Most of the meteors and the remnants of the comet will be carried away from the planet with the

asteroid. There will be several more hits, but none in this hemisphere. It's over."

A year after the passing of Zeus the Prime Representative of The Worlds of Talandia met thePresident of the Central Government of Humanity on Tau Ceti Two. There, in an open field that

once was home to their common ancestors, they signed a treaty, which would be more binding than

any other in their histories. The seven, who bore the struggle, were honored-guests. The planetwas renamed Home World, and the seven were officially named guardians. Regina looked around

at the green forests and the beautiful blue sky and said, "The Garden of Eden is everything that we

thought it would be.""But," Randy added, "this time it has a meteor defense."

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Part Two

Ring of Despair

A wildly irregular light flux flashed in the black vacuum of space. The star freighter

Lightchaser careened out of hyperspace. Its six cylindrical pods whirled around the shipcylinder like a crazy roulette wheel.

Inside the ship the sudden wrenching out of hyperspace stunned the crew and

passengers. The only lights in operation were the deep red emergency lights. The onlysounds heard were the blaring ship alarm buzzers and the crackling of burning electronic

components. The acrid smell of the burning components filled the air and the failure of the

autograv unit left everyone and everything floating above the floor.

After another dead still minute the backup systems were engaged. The normal lighting

returned, the hum of the ship's systems was once again heard, and the autograv unit

activated dropping everyone to the deck. It sounded like it was raining sacks of potatoes.

Captain Kevin Morgan pulled his six-foot frame slowly to his feet. Shaking thecobwebs from his head he yelled, "Damage containment, plan alpha!" He got to the

command chair and scanned a general status of the major systems. The first system hechecked was the hyper-drive. The antimatter activator gave out. By all calculations the

ship should have vaporized. He was quite happy that it was still in one piece, but he wasn't

sure why. He shook his head and cursed himself. Daugherty had told him several times to

put into space dock and to have the hyper drive overhauled. It was almost a year overdue.There was always one more run to make. The black haired brown-eyed captain was sick

about what his procrastinating had done. Lightchaser was his life. He sank his military

pension and his life savings into it. He talked ten investors into backing his business. If hehad gotten the bonus on this job, he could have bought them out, but it was not going to

happen.

Doctor Cynthia Kirshner picked herself up off the conference room floor. Tia was

presiding over a construction-planning meeting when the failure occurred. She was an

astrophysicist and director of the Cent. Gov. project, Orion Watch. The CentralGovernment of Humanity had commissioned a research station to be built and staffed at the

edge of the Orion Nebula. Once construction was complete, the scientists would study the

formation of stars in what was known as the galaxy's stellar nursery. She called out, "Is

everyone all right?" Everyone groaned in the affirmative.Construction Crew Chief J.D. Hayden looked up at Tia, "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know," Tia growled, "but I'm going to find out. J.D., you check our people and

our equipment. Get me a damage assessment. I'm going to the bridge. She turned on herheel and her long blonde hair flashed over her shoulder like a yellow wave. Her slender

form did not minimize her strength of will and when her hazel eyes were set, there was no

doubt that she was in charge of the project.

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When Tia entered the bridge, she couldn't believe the chaos. In the best of times

Lightchaser's bridge was nothing more than a gloomy gray semicircular room. On the frontwall was the view screen. At the moment it was dead black, and inoperative. Three system

consoles faced the screen, helm/sensors, navigation, and environment/pod control. The

command chair sat on a slightly elevated pedestal behind the control stations. It had a shipwide access console, and the communication system. Tia looked around and saw the lower

covers off the helm and navigation consoles. The crewmembers responsible for the stations

were in them up to their elbows. There were components and wires strewn across the floor,and the smell a burnt electronics still hung in the air.

Doctor Richard Flores had just completed his report to the captain. Amazingly enoughhe had been treating only bumps and bruises since the event. Next Kevin got a run down

from his engineering chief, Terence Patrick Daugherty. Tia stood quietly and listened.

"The good news is if we can find a handful of terra-byte PROM chips I can probably have

the hyper-drive up in about an hour. The bad news is the abnormal transition out ofhyperspace has made spaghetti out of our sensor antennas. The helm is sluggish and

navigation is questionable. Our sensor measurements will be fragmented. It will take some

work to make sense of them. I suggest we patch up the hyper-drive and nurse the old girl to

the nearest space dock. Based on our last heading it should be the Talandian's Aboria SpaceDock."

Considering the situation, and how they got there, the last thing Kevin was going to dowas to ignore his chief's suggestion. "That sounds like our best bet. Scavenge the chips

anywhere you can. Getting the hyper-drive up is top priority."

At that point Tia spoke up, "I can get you the chips, Chief, Contact my crews chief,

J.D. Hayden. Tell him to pull them from our reserve stash, but I expect them replaced whenwe get to Aboria."

The muscular sandy-brown haired Irishman gave the scientist a half salute, "You bet

Doc, thanks a lot. You saved me a great deal of work."Tia then turned to Kevin, "Captain, what the hell happened? I thought this crate was

space worthy?"Kevin was feeling bad enough already. He could take criticism of his actions, but not ofhis ship. "Excuse me Doctor. The fault was not with the ship. It was with me. I'll take full

responsibility for the incident. I'll write a report to Cent. Gov. and explain the situation, but

right now I must get my ship back together."Reports are fine for bureaucrats, Captain," Tia snapped, "but they won't get my station

built."

"Excuse me Doctor, "Terry interrupted, trying to be as pleasant as possible, "but I

believe you required us to leave Earth space dock before we could overhaul the hyper-drive.I don't want to sound picky, but that point is documented in our logs."

Tia grumbled, "Point made Chief. Let's forget about finger pointing. What can I do to

help get this ship back on schedule?"

Kevin was about to answer when Ann Benson interrupted him at helm control.

"Captain. Were in big trouble. We didn't just fall out of hyperspace. When the drivefailed, we were yanked out of hyper-space by Merkel's Pit."

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Kevin looked at his helm officer in amazement, "Are you saying that we are caught in

the gravity well of a black hole?"I'm afraid so sir," Ann answered, "and we're going to have a hell of a time breaking

out. Its tough to get proper measurements with the sensors, the way they are, but I would

say the ship will experience strain from tidal effects in about twelve hours."Kevin looked at Terry, "You had better get that hyper-drive up as soon as possible. We

will try to buy some time using the sublight engines." Kevin caught the deep look of

concern in Tia's hazel eyes. "Doctor, your expression tells me that this may be even worsethan it seems."

Tia didn't know how to say it, so she just came out with it. "Captain. I am afraid it may

already be too late. In order for a black hole to affect a ship in hyper-space the ship mustlose power and the ship must be within the Burtrum Distance."

Kevin Morgan was no idiot when it when it came to interstellar navigation and hazards.

He knew what Tia was getting at, and he didn't like it. "The Burtrum Distance is the point

of no return.""That's right," Tia said grimly, "A ship engaging a hyper-drive within that distance will

disintegrate."

Kevin turned back to his helm officer, "Ann, double check your analysis; just to make

sure the damaged sensors are not giving us faulty readings. I don't want to start gettingdesperate if I don't have to."

Ann checked her calculations one more time. Then she answered, "I'm sure the resultsare accurate. The ship was definitely in the gravity well during the transition out of

hyperspace. In fact, the external force may have kept the ship in one piece. Captain, if we

can't use the hyper-drive, how can we escape the black hole?"

All eyes went to Kevin Morgan. Kevin was no quitter. He limped several ships home

during the Earth / Talandian War, "OK, we've heard about Merkel's Pit, and we have heard

about the Burtrum Distance, now you're going to hear about the Morgan Maneuver. Whatis the one assumption that is made when the destructive effects of a black hole are

calculated?"Everyone shrugged, not sure where the captain was going. Kevin answered his ownquestion, "The assumption is the ship is either not moving at all, or its trying to pull away.

What would happen if a ship moved toward a black hole faster than the gravity was pulling

it?"Tia caught on, "You would negate the effects of the gravity. Since the tidal effect is just

a derivative of the force of gravity, you could safely enter hyperspace even within the

Burtrum Distance. That's rather clever Captain."

"Yes its clever." Kevin responded, "but what's the chances of it working?"Tia thought about the details for a moment. Then she answered, "It's going to take

precise adjustment of the sublight engines. The gravitational force will be increasing at an

exponential rate. We must be sure the tidal effect is canceled out when the hyper-drivekicks in or we will be vaporized. We have a remote programmable rover with a long-range

stellar antenna. We could have it attach itself to the ship's haul. J.D. can interface the

remote's signal input to your sensors. That should help us balance our engines."Kevin slapped the armrests of the command chair and stood, "That will be a big help.

OK, let's get to work."

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Tia had one more question; "We must engage the hyper-drive while we are moving

toward the black hole. Where will the incredible combination of forces take us?"Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "Since there is no worse place for a ship than near a

black hole, anywhere will be an improvement. Let's hope we're around to figure it out."

He got full agreement from the bridge. During the next three hours the crew worked

frantically to get the hyper-drive on line. During the same period Tia's crew chief

programmed the remote and sent it out of the ship's air lock. He figured out how tointerface the input to the sensor control system. J.D. stood over Ann at the helm station.

Ann adjusted the system controls and suddenly the main view screen came to life. The

black hole gaped ahead of them like the jaws of a mythical beast. Ann looked up, flashingher big brown eyes, and smiled at J.D. She called to the captain, "Captain, we now have 80

percent sensor capability. I'm tying the new input into the sublight engine control. We

should be able to negate the pull of the black hole. Of course, we will be racing toward the

black hole. Eventually its gravitation force will overwhelm the engines.""Let's hope the hyper-drive engages before then. Kevin answered. Then he contacted

engineering, "Terry, we've got sensors, and were about ready to negate the black hole's

gravity. What's the status on the hyper-drive?"

Terry Daugherty puffed as he answered. It was clear that he was working in the tighthyper-drive cylinder, "Just give me five more minutes. I want to make one more test.

Reentering hyperspace is going to be a wild ride. I suggest you tell everyone to hang ontosomething."

During the next five minutes all stations rechecked status. The word was passed to

prepare for a rough ride. Finally Kevin gave the order, "We need a major burst from thesublight engines. We got to stay ahead of the gravitational pull long enough to get into

hyperspace. Do it."

The freighter's sublight engines fired up and the ship shot toward the black hole. Theship groaned and protested under the sudden acceleration. The autograv wasn't quite

keeping up with the sudden burst of speed. The people felt like they were in a runawaytrain. The creaks and snaps made it sound like the hull was about to collapse. Ann and Tiawere monitoring the gravitational pull when the remote sensors gave out under the strain.

Ann yelled over the noise, "Captain, the sensors are gone again!"

Kevin yelled back, "Have we negated the pull?"Tia answered, "We can't be sure. Based on the last readings, it should be negated by

now."

"Good enough for me." Kevin yelled knowing anytime would be a guess. "Ann, engage

the hyper-drive."The young officer held her breath and pushed the panel. A massive jerk knocked the

systems and the people out once again.

For the second time in one day Kevin picked himself up off the floor. He looked around

at the bridge. It was in worse shape than it was before. The red emergency lights were still

on and a white flashing warning message was on all consoles. He got to his chair as the restof the crew made it to theirs. They all read the bad news together, "LIFE SUPPORT

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FAILURE. Kevin got on the com. link to engineering. "Terry, what's the status of life

support?"

Chief Daugherty did not cheer him up, "Captain, it's dead. There is a melted piece of

junk where the life support unit used to be. If we close off unneeded areas and use externalequipment to circulate the air, we may last a week."

Kevin looked up at Tia. His question was so obvious that Tia answered it before he

spoke. "Captain, we can dig all appropriate equipment out of the storage pods, but theyweren't designed to be used in this manner. My best guess is that we may be able to add

two or three days to our time. I hope that we are traveling toward a space dock, or at least a

life-supporting planet."Kevin looked at Ann, "What about it Ann? Do we have any idea where are, or where

we're going?"

The young officer looked up. Exhaustion was dragging on her pixie features. "I'm

sorry Captain, at the moment we are flying blind and deaf. Navigation, sensors, andcommunication are all down. I can't promise any kind of report for at least three hours."

"It will be longer than that." Kevin said. He turned to Tia for support, "Doctor, would

you not agree that we are safely in hyperspace?" Tia nodded and Kevin continued, "Would

you also agree that we are stable as long as we remain there?" Tia nodded again, thenKevin gave his order, "We did a hell of a job escaping from the black hole. We are all tired.

I suggest we all get some rest and tackle our new problems in ten hours."

Kevin got no objections and the bridge was set on automatic. Kevin dragged himself

back to his quarters feeling completely depressed. Forty-three people were flashing throughhyperspace in a broken tin can, and it was his fault. Worries about his ship and his

investment had long since disappeared. They were replaced by thoughts of the danger to

his crew and his passengers. He shook his head as he reached his door. He thought, "Howcould I be so stupid?"

"You haven't been stupid Captain, and this disaster is not your fault."The female voice seemed to enter the conversation he was having in his mind.Shocked, his head jerked up and looked around with wide-open eyes. Standing just ahead

was Engineering Technician Sharlisa Cantrel. Sharlisa was a stunningly beautiful woman

with mahogany skin. Her green jumpsuit highlighted her slenderness. Her highcheekbones and bright brown eyes made many men take an extra breath. At the moment

her bright eyes were darkened with concern for her captain. Kevin looked at her still

surprised by her statement. "Sharlisa, how did you know what I thinking?"

The young tech was not deterred from her course. "Captain. You cannot blameyourself for this. The failure was in the activator. The subsystem is never expected to have

problems. They are only checked once in ten years. There must have been a defect in the

unit when it was installed. Even if we did spend time in space dock, its likely that no onewould have checked it close enough to spot the problem. The fact is Captain, if the ship

was overhauled the system still would have failed, and, from what I hear, if it had happened

anywhere but within that black hole we would all be dead now. It turns out. We werelucky that our schedule wasn't delayed by an overhaul. I just thought you should know."

Sharlisa put her head down and began to walk away.

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Kevin called to her, "Sharlisa, please wait."

Sharlisa stopped and turned toward Kevin. Kevin reached her and smiled. The relief inhis eyes was what Sharlisa was hoping to see. She waited and Kevin spoke, "Thank you

very much for your words. You don't know how much I needed hear that, or maybe you do.

I'm not letting myself off the hook that easy, but at least now I can deal with it. Sharlisa,you answered a question that I was specifically thinking to myself. Did you read my

mind?

Sharlisa suddenly became embarrassed, "I'm sorry Captain. Sometimes I can't help it.When feelings are strong enough, my empathic capability can become telepathic. I didn't

mean to intrude, but your feelings were so strong that I felt I had to help. I hope I didn't

offend you.""Not at all," Kevin answered, "I heard of people with some telepathic talent. You know,

card tricks and such, but I never knew anyone who could actually sense people and read

their minds like you did. Its amazing. How did you find out that you had this talent?"

Sharlisa lowered her head again and quietly answered, "Its a long story, and its notvery exciting. You must be exhausted after all that's happened. Maybe we should discuss it

some other time."

Kevin sensed her reluctance and didn't push her further, "OK, but I am very interested,

and I like to hear about it. Thank you very much. I didn't think I would be able to sleep,but now I'm sure I will." Kevin waved as Sharlisa left. He turned back toward his quarters

ready for eight hours of solid sleep.

Sharlisa returned to the quarters that she shared with the Mary Competti. Mary took

care of the ship's inventory, crews roster, and environment control in the cargo pods. She

was already in bed when Sharlisa came in, but she bolted upright at the sound of the dooropening. Mary was not one to miss a newsworthy event. With sparkling eyes and a big

smile Mary started her questioning, "Did you see the captain?

Sharlisa told Mary of her meeting with Captain Morgan, and how thankful he was thatshe approached him. Mary then asked, "Did that make your funny feelings go away?"

Sharlisa pulled off her jumpsuit and sat on the bed. She stared off, as if her mind wastrying to grasp something, and answered her roommate, "No, its still there. Its only barelynoticeable." Sharlisa slapped her hands down on her mattress and tears came to her eyes.

"Why do these things happen to me? People tell me I have a gift. The way I see it, I've

been cursed. I couldn't have a military career. Anytime I'm in an area with more than fiftypeople the odds are someone's personal tragedy will come crashing into my mind. On large

military ships I would be barraged with feelings. I wouldn't be able to function."

Mary came over and sat next to her friend. She patted her shoulder and tried to comfort

her. "You do have a gift. You just have to learn how to control it. Didn't you tell me youhad gotten a position on Home World?"

Sharlisa answered, trying to calm herself, "I thought I had found the perfect work setting

on Home World. My older sister is a good friend of Regina McPherson. As you know,Regina was one of the original discovers of the Home World Legacy. I was going to spend

my career studying the gifts left by the mysterious aliens. I was there about three weeks

when I started hearing things. I heard the sound of children calling out from the forest. Icouldn't understand what they were saying, and I knew they weren't really there, but I kept

hearing them. Then I started having the same dream every night. I dreamed I was in the

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Hall of Unity and the aliens were there. They were small and horribly thin and their skin

was pale to the point of being translucent. It reminded me of the underside of a fish. Theirbig black eyes seemed to be wet with tears as they removed one of the three pedestals from

the testing area."

"Wait a minute," Mary interrupted, "I thought the testing area in the Hall of Unity onlycontained two pedestals. A representative from humanity and a representative of Talandia

had to be tested. It was a requirement that had to be satisfied before the hall and the gifts

were turned over to both worlds."That's right." Sharlisa answered, "Regina McPherson represented humanity, and

Ambassador Raul represented Talandia. The test proved that humans and Talandians

originated on Home World and were transplanted to Earth and Talandia when the planetbecame endangered. Which in turn proved that humans and Talandians are siblings of

sorts. How a lieutenant from the science ship Stephen Hawking ended up representing

humanity is a story in itself. You may ask why I would dream of a third pedestal being

taken away? If the images in my dreams are somehow linked to this talent of mine, andthat's a big if, it would seem that humanity would have another sibling in the stars that the

aliens decided not to make us aware of."

Mary thought a moment then pointed out, "From what you said about their sadness it

would seem it wasn't a decision that they enjoyed making. Maybe something happened toour other sibling?"

Sharlisa gave up on the speculation, "This is all silly. There was no third pedestal. TheTalandian's found the sealed hall five years before I saw it and there were only two

pedestals then. It doesn't matter anyway. The voices and the dreams forced me to leave

Home World. I took this job because it would involve contact with a small number of the

people on a regular basis. The odds of getting bombarded with people's problems weresmall. Until we escaped the black hole, it was working well."

"That's when you started getting that nagging feeling." Mary asked.

"That's right. After that I felt the captain's depression. If he isn't the source of thenagging feeling, then I don't know who is." The women stood up, Sharlisa pulled back her

blanket and climbed under the covers as Mary returned to her own bunk. Sharlisa spokeone more time to her friend and shipmate, "Mary, thanks for listening, then their quartersbecame quiet.

When Kevin returned to the bridge, he took charge of the effort to repair the major

systems. Life support was first priority. Tia and Ann worked with the ship's computer.

After two hours of work Tia turned to Kevin and announced their findings. " We used to

the computer to make some projections. We are trying to get an idea of where we might be.I'm afraid we have bad news and bad news."

Kevin shook his head weakly and looked at the women, "Of course, it seems to be the

only news we have. Well, give me the first bad news."Tia took a breath and started, "The first bad news is sort of obvious. The computer

projects a 99.9 percent chance that if we dropped into normal space right now, we would be

at least five light years from any star.""That is obvious, "Kevin responded, "in fact those odds are probably too low. Stars,

planets, nebula, and all other matter makes up a tiny portion of the area even in the densest

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part of the galaxy. To randomly appear out of hyperspace near a star is just about

impossible. So what's your other bad news?""Well," Tia answered, "Ann and I did some careful calculations. We applied all of the

forces in play when we entered hyperspace. The computer projections we come up with

indicate that we passed through a phenomenon created by the black hole. This is allspeculation of course, but it is likely that we traveled through a hyperspace tunnel. If we

did, we could be more than two hundred light years from any known inhabited world."

Kevin sat in his chair and rubbed his chin. "How can we verify this theory of yours?"

"There is only one way without sensors," Tia answered, "we have to drop out of hyper-

space.""OK," Kevin answered, "the long range sensors are working well enough to do

interstellar navigation." He got on the com. link to engineering, "Terry, will be going to

space-normal, are the sublight engines operational?"

Terry looked over to Sharlisa and she nodded affirmatively, and he reported and he and

Sharlisa began preparing for the switch over. When the bridge initiated the switch over the

systems responded smoothly, but Sharlisa clamped her hands on her ears and sucked in her

breath. She stumbled backwards and fell against the equipment racks. Terry ran to herside, "Sharlisa, what's wrong? What's going on?"

Sharlisa pressed her hands to her ears and cried, "Please make them stop. There're toomany. Too many!"

Terry eased her down to the floor and ran back to the com. station, "Captain! Captain!

There's something wrong with Sharlisa! She's in some kind of pain!"

Kevin contacted Dr. Flores, "Doctor, get down to engineering on the double. Sharlisahas had some kind of seizure. Give me a report, when you are able." Sharlisa appeared out

of nowhere when he needed help. He wished he could help her now, but he couldn't leave

the bridge.Ann reported, "I'm getting sensor data. The input does not correlate to star patterns on

the normal trade routes. I'm mapping in the star chart database." A few seconds later Annreported again. This time her voice was tinted with fear, "Captain, I'm afraid is just as Dr.Kirshner and I expected. We're 214 light-years from Earth and, in this direction, Earth is

the closest inhabited planet. Captain, it will take us over a year to get back even if we

choose the most efficient hyperspace jumps. What do we do now?"Kevin knew he had to sound decisive and positive if he was to keep his crew going.

"Well, if we can't get home, we'll have to go somewhere else. Scan the star field for star

systems. Find a planet within a weeks transit to support us while we make repairs. Doctor

Kirshner, I'm afraid we may have to disassemble some of your equipment for parts. If youhave your staff assist us, it would help. We must keep life support working as long as

possible."

"Of course, "Tia answered, "I'll have J.D. work with Ms. Competti to identifyequipment that may be of use. We do have one more remote rover. It can help with short-

range sensors, but I would suggest saving it until we are approaching a star system. I do not

believe it would survive hyperspace transitions.Ann looked up again. By the look on her face Kevin knew it was more bad news. She

began to report, "Captain, the sensors can only give us sketchy information about the stars

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around us. I estimate that there are only three stars containing solar systems. The closest is

four light-years away. We can only reach one of the three solar systems. We cannot reachtwo within a seven-day period. The problem is, we can't tell if any of them have an Earth

type planet. The calculations indicate that we can cruise at sublight for a day before making

a decision, but after a days time geometry, and the life support system, will make ourdecision for us."

Kevin looked at Tia, "Doctor, can your rover help with analyzing the star systems?"

Tia shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Captain the rover's range is extremely limited. Wehave long-range detection equipment in the pods, but one day is not enough time to get it

out, put it together, and have it operational. Our best bet is to work on the ships sensors.

Maybe we can dig a parabolic dish out of the pods and interface it to your sensor array.That my boost the sensor input."

"Excellent," Kevin responded still trying to sound positive, "we'll stay at sublight. Ann

analyzed the geometry. Try to plot a sublight course that may give us extra time if we need

it."

The bridge became quiet as everyone went to work. After an hour Kevin took a brake

and left the bridge. As he entered sickbay, he saw Sharlisa sleeping peacefully in the ward.

Doctor Flores was in his office staring at his computer screen. Kevin saw the puzzled lookon the doctor's face. "From the look on your face Rich, I would guess that Sharlisa's

problem was not minor."Doctor Flores looked up. He was clearly frustrated and agitated, "This is driving me

nuts. I have her completely sedated and still her brain is processing input at an incredible

rate. None of the senses are active. Where is the input coming from?"

Kevin had an idea, but he didn't know how or why, "Did you know that she is both anempath and a telepath?"

"She is not just an empath," a female voice answered from behind Kevin. Kevin turned

to see Mary Competti enter the office, "I'm sorry for breaking into your conversation, but Ithought you should know that Sharlisa's empathic talent is an order of magnitude higher

than any other ever recorded. Its allowed her to help many people, but it has also made herlife miserable in many ways. I suggest you look into her career. Wherever she was, shealways impressed her colleagues with her talent in engineering, but her empathic sensitivity

would fill her mind with the pain of people around her. She had to resign from several

good positions, including a peaceful position on Home World."Mary told the men about Sharlisa's experience on Home World. They were amazed and

a little bit skeptical. Doctor Flores asked, "Do you think its possible that her mind created

these voices and dreams to give her empathic senses something to work on? If her talent is

that sensitive, it might be possible that she would suffer from empathic depravation if shewas too isolated."

Mary shook her head strongly. She defended her friend, "Sharlisa would know the

difference. She has been on Lightchaser for over a year. During that time she did not hearany unusual voices until now. There was something on Home World. Something only her

empathic senses could detect, and there is something out here. From what Terry, I mean,

Chief Daugherty, told me, her seizure occurred just as we came into normal space.Whatever Sharlisa is sensing it is reaching her over light-years of space."

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Kevin stared at Mary for a second then responded, "Are you saying that Sharlisa is

sensing life forms somewhere in space?"Mary nodded and Kevin rubbed his chin. Doctor Flores spoke up, "This is a bit difficult

to comprehend. How could the type of emotion that empaths sense be transmitted into

space?""I don't know, doctor, but Sharlisa screamed about hearing so many at once. Maybe its

the power of hundreds, maybe thousands of suffering people. Maybe the power of

desperate emotions is additive. I don't know.""We've got to help them." Sharlisa voice was weak, but steady.

"Sharlisa!" Mary ran to her side. "How are you?"

"Tired, but okay. Sharlisa answered, "They have realized that they made contact.They are now passing all of the energy through one being. I sense only his pleas. Captain.

We must go to Belnora!"

Kevin shook his head, "Sharlisa, I believe you have a genuine need to answer this call

for help, but frankly we are in no shape for a rescue mission. If we do not find helpourselves, we can be in major trouble. We have no idea what Belnora is or where it can to

found."

Sharlisa answered giving her captain another reason to find Belnora, "Belnora is a

planet. Its in the star system ahead of us. Its the fourth planet from their sun. The planetcan provide sanctuary for us, if we can answer their plea."

"I don't know," Kevin speculated out loud. "If all the impressions are correct these lifeforms must be in serious trouble. That planet may not be as hospitable as we may think.

Believe me, Sharlisa, I hate the idea of ignoring the pleas of suffering life forms, but we

have only one chance to find a safe planet or space port and we do not have the right to risk

the safety of our passengers.Sharlisa's face cringed and her eyes shut tight. A moment later she responded to

Kevin's statement. "Captain. Belnora poses no danger to us. The people do not need to be

rescued. They just need peace!"Kevin took Sharlisa's hand and spoke softly, "Sharlisa, we have 24 hours to decide on a

course. We must be in hyperspace, on our way to a viable planet by tomorrow or we couldall die. Right now, Belnora sounds both challenging and encouraging. We may wellchoose it, but I have to be sure its the right choice for us. That's my job. Do you

understand?"

Sharlisa smiled and nodded her head, "Of course captain, and you understand that I amsensing thoughts and emotions from the Belnoran. The information that is passed in this

way cannot be fabricated or manipulated. I sense that Belnora is very Earth-like. Captain.

Ive never been wrong."

Kevin patted her hand and released it. I do indeed, and your talent may have saved ourlives. I'll let you know more as soon as I can. Now I think you better get some rest."

Kevin stopped in his quarters to do a little research; then he returned to the bridge.Everyone was waiting to hear about Sharlisa's condition. Kevin told them that she was

better then he related her information, "

Tia dug for more details, "You seem quite certain that Ms. Cantrel has been contactedby these aliens. It's quite a far-fetched idea."

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"Not for Sharlisa Cantrel, Kevin answered. "I've had personal experience with her gift,

and I've also done a little checking. Sharlisa is a 100 percent certified amazement. Everypsychic institute, organization, and corner stand wanted her to join, but she refused. She

out scored every other person claiming psychic ability by at least an order of magnitude.

There is a mile long list of statements from people who swear that Sharlisa helped themthrough a rough emotional time, and you can add my name to that list."

Tia was impressed, but she was not finished, "If all that's true, and Sharlisa claims that

this Belnora is a very Earth-like planet, then why the hesitation? Why don't we set coursefor Belnora?"

"Because," Kevin answered, "the alien life forms that contacted her are in extreme

distress. The planet may be Earth-like, but something is causing them great suffering.Maybe their star is becoming unstable, maybe the planet's crust is shifting, or maybe a

plague is sweeping the planet. Whatever it is, it may not be good for 43 humans in a

crippled ship to show up there."

Tia continued to question, "Didn't the alien relate that there would be no danger to us.""Yes, but" Kevin responded. "They could have meant that the life forms themselves

would not hurt us. They may not have been speaking for what is killing them. Let's use

this day we have to gather as much information as we can. It will not hurt to wait to the last

minute to make a decision."

The crew worked to gather as much information as possible. The parabolic dish wasinterfaced to the sensor system. It boosted the long-range sensor information by 10 percent.

Within minutes one of the three solar systems was ruled out. Ann Benson reported to the

captain, "Solar system number three contains no terrestrial planets. Sensors indicate only

four gas-giants orbit that star.""That's one down." Kevin said as an acknowledgment.

The remaining time produced some additional information, but not enough to rule out

either of the remaining two systems. The final hour arrived. Kevin knew he had to make adecision. Does he choose Belnora an almost guarantied Earth-like planet with a mysterious

and devastating problem, or does he go to a solar system with two terrestrial planets with noidea of their atmospheric compositions? Kevin decided to return to sickbay. Sharlisa washappy to see him and she anxiously awaited his decision. Kevin started, "Sharlisa, I need

more information. Have the aliens given you any details about their suffering? Can you

feel what kind of pain theyre in?"Sharlisa concentrated for a moment. She explained, "They have learned not to

constantly bombard me, but when I reach out, there is always a life form there to touch.

Kevin stood silent as he watched her go into her mind. He was amazed by what she was

doing. His amazement was suddenly tempered by sympathy as tears appeared in Sharlisa'seyes. She sobbed softly as she concentrated. After a few minutes she opened two tear

filled eyes. She wiped her face, "I'm sorry for the blubbering Captain."

Kevin handed her a nearby towel, "No problem Sharlisa, your talent is incredible. Theymust have been relating some really terrible things."

Sharlisa used the towel then tried to tell Kevin what she was feeling, "You must

understand, Captain, I'm not actually talking to the life forms. I am getting feelings andyearnings that manifest themselves into images. I'm seeing mothers crying for their

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children, men angry over the disaster they could not control, but mostly I'm getting a

question.""A question?" Kevin asked.

"Yes," Sharlisa answered, "If the question can be answered it seems all of the pain will

ease, and they will be at peace. All they want to know is why.""Why?" Kevin said while thinking he wasn't being much help.

"That's what I get Captain, why. I still get the impression that the planet will be very

hospitable to us. We can repair our ship while we help the aliens."Kevin got down to it, "Sharlisa I have to make a decision. I want to know if the alien's

problem can become our problem. You know we cannot handle another major problem."

Sharlisa looked Kevin straight in the eye, "Captain, I don't know if you can believe me.I know I have no evidence to back me, but with all of my soul I feel that their suffering is

happening at a level that we won't experience. Don't ask me to explain it, but that is what I

feel."

Kevin took Sharlisa's hand for a moment and made his decision, "That's good enoughfor me. We will set course for Belnora. Are you feeling good enough to come to the

bridge?"

Sharlisa smiled and agreed.

With Sharlisa on the bridge, she was able to quickly confirm the system's course to

Belnora using impression of the direction of the psychic messages. The Lightchaser wentinto hyperspace once more. In four days they approached Belnora. Tia's rover was in

position on the hull of the ship. Everyone studied the planetary data as the ship entered

orbit. Concentrating on the sensor data, Ann gave a running commentary of the planet in

the view screen. "Its clear that there was a fairly advanced civilization here once, but thatwas a long time ago. The sensors are picking up remnants of structures all over the planet.

They are in small bits and pieces. There is evidence of road systems and cities but its all

overgrown by natural vegetation. Not being an expert in this sort of thing, I couldn't tellhow long its been since the civilization died out, but it has been a very long time."

Tia reviewed the data on Kevin's console and gave her estimate, "The civilization hasbeen gone for at least four thousand years, probably longer. Its also no mystery what killedthe Belnorans. They died of their own stupidity. Several of the population areas show

slightly higher than normal radiation levels. I'm quite sure that those levels indicate that the

cities were targets of nuclear strikes. These people committed the final crime. Theydestroyed themselves in a nuclear holocaust. Fortunately for us that was several thousand

years ago; the planet has remade itself, and it is perfectly safe.

The bridge became silent and solemn for a moment then Kevin announced, "Looks

good."Everyone gazed approvingly at the beautiful blue-green planet below. Tia was still a

little troubled, "I wish I could resolve this one set of data from the rover. I have one reading

of some kind of unusual weather pattern."Kevin was about to chalk the data up to a hardware glitch when a new face of the planet

moved into view. Instead he pointed to the view screen. "Maybe that has something to

with it." Everyone stared at the thin dark gray strip that ringed around the planet from northto south.

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Tia looked over Kevin's shoulder and announced, "That's it. Its some kind of a dead

zone. Its only a mile wide, but it circles the planet at ground level. It is consistent acrossall climate zones, and over the oceans. Wow. This is amazing!"

Everyone stared at Tia waiting for her to explain her exclamation.

"The dead zone, its cloud cover, and its climate just plan stops at its edges. There is nogradual clearing. Within a fraction of an inch the area goes from being totally dead to being

totally alive. I've never seen anything like it, nor do I know any physical laws that would

explain it."Kevin got on the intercom and called engineering, "Terry, could you ask Sharlisa to

come to the bridge please." A few minutes later Sharlisa entered the bridge. The dead zone

was now in the center of the planet on the view screen. Kevin began to address her,"Sharlisa I was wonder . . . "

Kevin didn't have a chance to finish. Sharlisa moved up to the view screen and started

weeping, "There they are, those poor souls. They're in there. In the dark area, I must get to

them.""That's impossible. Tia snapped preferring the provable to the metaphysical, "all

indications are that the area is a dead zone. It must be some kind of freak weather belt.

Nothing lives in there. The land is barren to the core. The life forms that lived on this

planet totally destroyed themselves thousands of years ago."Sharlisa turned to Tia, "Dr. Kirshner, I know you find this very hard to believe, and I

can understand why. All I can tell you is that the anguish that I sense comes from that zone.Its like a ring of despair around the planet. The rest of the planet is as I predicted. You

may use it as sanctuary while the ship is being repaired. The ring of despair need not

concern you. I will find a way to give them their peace."

Tia was embarrassed. She did not mean to react so harshly. "Forgive me Ms. Cantrel. Ihad no business lashing out so. I'm sure several of us will have time on our hands while the

ship is being repaired. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we will be happy to

support your effort."Kevin acknowledged Tia's assessment and made the final decision. "Okay. Well

examine the areas close to the dead zone, first with sensors, then with scouting parties. Iwould like to find the optimum area fast. We only have a few days of life support left, and Iwould like to save some for the repair crews."

The assessments went quickly. There were thousands of miles of comfortable livingarea within walking distance of the dead zone. A choice was made, and the people and

equipment began their trip to the surface. Lightchaser was a freighter. It was designed for

planet fall loading and unloading. The five cargo pods detached from the ships central

cylinder and were ferried to a planet by a shuttle that was stored in pod six.This unloading job would be a little different. Any pod that was ferried to the surface

would remain there. There were no booster rockets available to return it when it was

unloaded. Equipment and supplies were rearranged to put the needed supplies in thenumber one pod. Mary Competti took charge of this task and completed it in record time.