Para Zelha

Homeworld

Por Didio.

The shuttle Xenophon prepared for departure, Lieutenant Saga sitting in the co-pilot’s seat attacking him control panel, slapping at switches and banging on buttons. Next to him, Commander Shion gave him a sideways glance. Chief Shura and Doctor Shiryu took the passenger seats, as Shion contacted the Captain.

The shuttle bay doors opened as Captain Nagle's voice came through the com-speaker, "Take one shot at it, Shion. Stay on the surface one hour, no longer. That will be cutting it close enough."

Shion 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," Saga mumbled under his breath.

Shion looked over to his co-pilot as he busied herself with launch preparations. "Did you say something Lieutenant?"

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

The shuttle drifted out of the science ship Glabro and set its course for the planet Tau Ceti Two. Tau Ceti Two was more than a million miles away, but due to the magnitude of the upcoming event, the Glabro dare not get closer.

With the course locked in, Shion briefed his crew. "An hour is not a lot of time. Tau Ceti Two has received several hard hits from Zeus' companions. The Talandian research station is close to the coast line, and one major hit in the ocean will quickly put it underwater. Ambassador Desmos is one of six Talandians still in the station. We all know he is the key to peace. His powerful personality forced Humans and Talandians to the peace table. The fighting ended less than five years ago and a permanent treaty has yet to be signed. There are many on both sides who would like to see hostilities resume. Without Desmos'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 get out. Saga, you stay with the shuttle. I want it moving as soon as the last foot leaves the dirt. You got that?"

"Was that a human foot or Talandian, Sir?" Saga jabbed.

Shion 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."

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

"Yes," Shion answered, "and we were the creatures that made three of their major population centres disappear. This issue is not open for debate. You will do your best to save Ambassador Desmos and all of the Talandians in that station, and that's an order. Are you hearing me, Lieutenant?"

Saga mumbled, "Yes sir."

Shion 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 who knows what happened since then."

Shura nodded his understanding and Shion continued, "Doctor, you know your job better than we do."

"Not by much," Shiryu 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 the injuries do not go beyond setting bones and patching wounds."

"Don't worry, doctor," Shion 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," Saga jabbed again. "They intend to make us all their servants."

Enough. "Lieutenant Saga, consider yourself on report," Shion snapped. "One more wise crack 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." Saga answered trying to hold back his anger, "I'll land when you say land. I'll fly when you say fly. But I won't like it, or our passengers."

Shion was ready to lash back when the sensor array sounded an alarm. He saw Saga involuntarily jump in his seat before he flicked on the scanner. He gave it a quick look and announced, "We're on a collision course with a meteor the size of a space station. Looks like we'll meet at the planet's orbital insertion point. I'm dropping our speed back to one half sub light. That should give the big rock plenty of time to dive into the atmosphere."

Shion contacted the Glabro to get information from their long range sensor array. He was told that the outer edge of Zeus' meteor swarm was approaching the planet. Meteor strikes would increase in frequency.

The Xenophon approached orbital insertion, everyone keeping their eyes on the sensors. When they were sure it was clear, they focused a long range camera on the meteor falling through the atmosphere. The planet was half covered in clouds, but the meteor's target area was remarkably clear. They watched as the meteor struck, the blast was clearly visible from orbit: a central plain about two thousand miles west of the station.

Shiryu shook his head then wondered out loud, "Why would anyone keep a research station on a planet that's in line for this kind of beating. They should've been off that planet a year ago."

Shura 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," Shion reminded them. "This time Zeus will strike the planet. Zeus is ten times bigger than any asteroid to ever threaten this planet. When it hits, it will destroy all life forever. It actually has a good chance of tearing the planet apart."

Saga looked at Shion with suspicious eyes, "This is neutral space isn't it?"

"That depends who you talk to," Shion stated calmly. "The Talandian Galactic Fleet considers this system a spoil of war. It's one of the stumbling blocks to signing the peace treaty. By the way, this also answers your question doctor. The station was not dismantled because they wanted their people on the planet while they made the claim for the system."

Saga almost rose out of her seat in outrage. "Commander, this is insane. All of our charts show this to be neutral space. The Glabro is not equipped to be challenging the entire Talandian fleet. We could end up in Cregedoc with the rest of our prisoners of war. It seems to me the last thing they want is to have humans dislodging their claim. What is Desmos doing there anyway?"

Shura 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."

Saga wasn't convinced, "I think we're being suckered. Whose word do we have that Desmos 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 Saga," Shion 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 Desmos 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 Desmos standing outside the station yesterday."

"The Space Intelligence Service has made mistakes before," Saga countered. "Or maybe Desmos is there. He may be there to show his solidarity with the Talandian claim for this system."

The debate continued as Saga guided the Xenophon through the planet's atmosphere. They came toward the station from the ocean. The tranquillity of the white sandy beach along the coast and the lush 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 colour in the same range as humans. It was long and always straight. Talandians never cut their hair, and have no facial hair.

In most other ways, they were very similar to humans. The Xenophon settled to the ground, in front of the research station, and all of the Talandians except one seemed to shy away. Shion 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. The Talandian 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," Shion protested, "we are answering your distress call. We came here 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 Shion kept the Talandian talking, Saga pulled his pistol from under his seat. It was a modern version of an ancient nine-millimetre automatic. Quietly he eased the top hatch open and slid up onto the top of the shuttle like a cat. While Shion banged and yelled to keep the alien's attention on him Saga made it across the roof of the shuttle. Cries of warning came from the station, but they were too late. Saga pointed his weapon at the top of the Talandian's head and with great pleasure, made himself known. "Ok, drop that weapon and put your hands on your head."

The alien didn't look up. Keeping his eyes on Shion 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."

The threats and charges were traded as the stale mate dragged on. A Talandian, who had kept himself 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.

Shiryu jumped up yelling, "What the hell is that?"

Outside a green metallic smelling liquid rushed over the Talandian's boots. Inside Shura slammed his fist on the control panel, "Some maniac just dumped our fuel. This shuttle is down for good." The humans froze with this 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!" Shion screamed like a wild man, "You just cut 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 are things 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.

Shion called to Saga, "Come on Saga. The weapon won't do any of us any good now."

"No!" Saga 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 over head travelling east to west. Everyone stared up, then at each other. A minute later the western sky lit up with a blinding white light. It was quickly followed by a powerful shock wave. The tremor knocked Saga from the shuttle. She hit the ground hard as everyone held on.

The tremor passed and the ground was again stable. Saga winced in pain as he tried to roll over. A moment later he felt strong hands lifting him carefully to his feet. He looked a round and saw the crazy Talandian holding him up. He called to everyone, "Come, please, we will be safer inside."

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 group was joined by the four Talandian scientists who had avoided the confrontation.

The self proclaimed leader brought everyone together around a large oval conference table. Neekol wasted no time, "Desmos," he roared, "explain this traitorous act. You aid humans to occupy Talandian soil?"

Shiryu tried to keep Saga still while he treated his separated shoulder. The effort became hopeless when Saga jumped to his feet to go after Neekol. Shiryu held his back as he lashed out across the table. "You creatures have the nerve to call yourselves civilized. You send a distress signal 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!"

Ambassador Desmos 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, "Desmos, you live in wervac slime. How dare you conspire with the enemy against your own people? I'll see your body fluids drained 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 Shion'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."

Shion was confused. He looked at Desmos 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 Shion pleaded for an answer, Shura made eye contact with Saga. After several facial motions they put their plan into action. Saga jumped to his feet again and lashed out at Neekol. At the same time Shura broke for the door. Neekol turned to go after Shura, and Saga picked up his chair with his good arm and launched it at him. That gave Shura the time he needed.

He got to the shuttle and opened the communication link to the Glabro, "Glabro, can you 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. Glabro, respond, damn it, respond!"

Neekol escaped the flying chair and rushed out of the door ahead of the crowd. He found his laser on the ground, and raised his weapon just as the crowd came through the door. Desmos yelled, "NO, NEEKOL, NO!"

Neekol pulled the trigger. The pulsed-laser bolt sliced the heavy fuel filled air, and the area around the shuttle exploded into a ball of fire. After everyone recovered from the blast, Shion grabbed Desmos and slammed him up against the outer wall. Two aliens pulled Shion from their leader. Shion struggled in rage as the aliens pulled him away. He stopped when he looked at Desmos's face. The alien was crying. Everyone stopped and just stared at the hero of peace. Desmos was a person 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.

Desmos 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 you learned 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 show you 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?" Saga questioned, "We wouldn't be finding ourselves in Cregedoc now would we?"

Desmos composed himself and answered the charge in his original calm voice, "My dear Saga, 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 centre on Europe rivalled Cregedoc in every foul way. The answer to your question is that you will be back on the Glabro in a matter of days. Your duties will be greatly expanded after you've revealed what has been discovered here."

Doctor Shiryu had been silent since they left the shuttle. Now that she finally had Saga still long enough to wrap his shoulder, he let out his 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, and you also said something about us contacting our ship. We can't be sure that Shura got through."

Desra, the only female among the Talandians, touched Shiryu's arm to get his 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 Desmos. We knew we had found Deraquie."

"Wait a minute," Shiryu 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, you were pushed out of its pleasant forests into the harsh world of survival."

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

Shiryu was a bit embarrassed as he tried to recall his 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."

Desmos smiled at Shiryu and helped him relate the story. "I'll give you the short version. The people emerged onto a silver plain. Before them lay a brightly coloured 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 people who chose the right fork disappeared into the mist, and were never seen again."

"Is all this supposed to mean something?" Saga snapped.

"Come inside and you will see where I am leading. This is one of the two astounding discoveries that make this planet sacred to both our cultures."

Once inside, Desmos led them down to the first level below ground. They gathered around a hologram projector, and Desmos 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 gravely 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 turned out 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 the ancient 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."

The old man then shook his pockmarked finger at the humans with righteous fervour, "Now before you accuse me of faking these images, let me remind you that I didn't have to be here. My Tesac 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 Desmos asked with a wry smile on his face, "Do these images look familiar?"

Shion 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 aphaeresis roamed eastern 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 million years ago." Shion stopped for a minute, 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," Desmos 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 faring race. What we call our 'new born people' have been found to be far too advanced to have been the original Talandianiods. There must have been earlier versions, but none were ever found. That fact made this 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," Saga 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 on separate 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."

Desmos calmed his friend, then he answered Saga'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 humanity started in a beautiful garden and then was cast out? Didn't it also claim that one of the original humans 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 some human friends of mine obtain a copy of a Homo habilis image for me." Desmos 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. Desmos smiled seeing that they were understanding. He pressed his advantage, "We are all siblings and this is our original home. This is Dereique, and this is also the Garden of Eden. Let me ask the questions before you do. How do we know an advanced race dispersed 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 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 been responsible for the destruction of the fourth planet, and the dooming of this planet. It was a mistake that they did their best to correct."

Desmos paused and the humans jumped in, picking up on the implications that he was slipping into the story. Shiryu was the spokesperson, "Aliens destroyed the fourth planet? It was a mistake? You speak as if aliens came back and explained it to you."

Desmos was delighted by the way his students picked up his cue.

"They did." Desmos said. "That is the 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 your culture 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. Shiryu was the first on her feet, followed quickly by one of the young scientists. The scientist dashed up the stairs while Shiryu moved around checking for injuries. Fortunately the injuries were limited to bumps and bruises.

Tedion groaned, "This is not a good sign."

Desmos looked around then asked, "Where is Kapior?"

Shiryu was telling Desmos that he went upstairs, when the young Telandian 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!" Saga gasped in realization, "Desmos, you must contact that warship. The Glabro is a science ship. It has no defence or weaponry."

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

"That's impossible." Kapior said in a desperate tone. "The quake destroyed our communication equipment. We can't contact anyone."

"DESMOS!" Shion 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 Glabro all of your work will be destroyed!"

Desmos 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?" Saga sneered, "It seems we are about to die and our little sibling rivalry is about to start all over again."

Desmos 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," Desmos responded nervously, "we may have one more chance. There is an abundance of advanced 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."

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

Desmos answered as he started moving, "We couldn't. All of the technology is sealed behind a tremendous 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 the technology. We must hurry."

The path to the Hall of Unity took the group out of the research station. The underground tunnel 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 everyone threw themselves to the ground before the shock could do it for them.

Kapior raised his head as he lay 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 Desmos'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, Desmos clawed at the ground. Saga reached out and caught his arm with her good arm. The pressure transferred to her injured shoulder and she groaned in pain, but she held on. Gritting her teeth she pulled and yelled over the roar, "I need help here!" Shion and Desra crawled over and got a grip on the dangling ambassador. They grunted and pulled and finally brought Desmos back onto the newly formed ledge. Silence returned, the only sounds were gasping and coughing. Shion, Desmos, Saga, and Desra were on one side of the crack and Shiryu, Tedion, and Kapior were on the other side. Shion yelled out through the dirt-laden air, "Is everyone ok?"

Kapior called out in a saddened voice, "We have lost Miden."

"Oh no," Desra moaned and looked toward Desmos. Quietly she told Shion, "Miden was Desmos's son. He's the one who got Desmos interested in this discovery."

They looked over to Desmos. He had pulled himself into a fetal position and he began to sob.

Saga watched her one time enemy. A tear came to his own eye as he slowly reached out a hand to the broken hearted man. Even in his pain, one hand became two arms and he held the ambassador as he cried.

After a few minutes, Desmos's arms went around Saga and hugged him tightly. He looked up with red eyes and whispered, "Thank you, my friend. You have just given Miden's life powerful meaning."

They helped each other up and Desmos 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 came together, 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."

The Talandian representative was obvious. They assumed the leader of the humans would step up, but Desmos turned Saga and put out his hand, "Please Saga, it gives it so much meaning if you would join me." Desmos then looked at Shion, "No disrespect meant Commander."

Shion smiled, "None taken, ambassador. I fully agree. Please Saga, represent humanity."

Saga smiled and slowly walked hand-in-hand with Desmos to the pedestal. The panel on the pedestal 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. The pictorial instruction indicated that they were supposed to place their hands on the hand prints 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. You have fulfilled our expectations. Farewell."

"Ok!" Shion cheered. Then he turned to Desmos, "What now? You said there was a way of stopping Zeus."

Everyone moved to the alien systems as Desmos answered, "There is, but it will take the full cooperation of your people and mine. The Gorikidorm is powered by a sizeable antimatter core. A commander 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." Shion shook his head in disappointment. "Desmos, it'll never work. The Gorikidorm's destruction will be a powerful blast, but it won't budge Zeus. The asteroid is far too massive."

Desmos showed that confident smile and began to explain further: "You misunderstand my friend..."

His explanation was interrupted by Saga. He seemed disappointed, "We can't seem to find anything that resembles a communications station. We've generated a giant hologram of the space around this planet. It's giving us an accurate and up-to-date picture of what's happening. It even shows the position of the Glabro."

Desmos pointed to a flaring comet falling sunward just behind the asteroid, "That's what the Gorikidorm will hit. Your accurate analysis equipment on the Glabro will give the exact point 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 of hyperspace."

Shion looked at Desmos, "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."

Desmos 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 Shion 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?"

Shion's mouth gaped open. "I can't believe it. It's a matter transported. 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."

Shion yelled, "Desmos, over here, hurry."

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

"There!" Saga yelled, "they're next to the objects in the hologram. The Glabro is S1, and the Gorikidorm is S2."

"We're out of time," Desmos announced, "it's either this or nothing. Saga and I will transport to the Gorikidorm. If necessary, I can pull rank on the commander. I have the status equal to an admiral." Desmos looked at Saga. He smiled and nodded his approval. Desmos continued quickly, "The rest of you can transport to the Glabro."

Shiryu 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."

"Shiryu!" Shion gasped.

Shiryu smiled, "Shion, 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 hug each other.

"Ok," Shion 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 Desmos 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 not let their effort be in vain. We must drive that ship from the system, or destroy it."

The captain called to his defence 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. As the crew stared in amazement, the ovals were slowly replaced by Desmos and Lieutenant Saga. While the crew continued to gasp, Desmos took control, "Under the high command special order ninety-six, I am taking command of this ship. You must rendezvous with the human ship Glabro. I am going to make you a hero captain."

Shion, Desra, and Tedion appeared on the Glabro 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.

***

Hours went by as Shiryu and Kapior waited nervously. They watched the Garikidorm come within strike range of the Glabro 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, Shiryu and Kapior 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. Shiryu squeezed his hand and said, "Be careful." Kapior smiled and moved quickly out of the room.

He returned after, what seemed to Shiryu, 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 from the 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 jump suits. 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 Shiryu 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 was massive. 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."

Shiryu ran up and hugged his new friend. Kapior then adjusted the controls to analyse the course 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 Shiryu, "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 the President of the Central Government of Humanity on Tau Ceti Two. There, in an open field that was once 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 honoured-guests. The planet was renamed Home world, and the seven were officially named guardians.

Saga 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," Shion added, "this time it has a meteor defence."

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