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This is my book "Windows to the Soul", a story of furry sci-fi I wrote starting in the late summer of 2008 and ending about February 2009. As a Word document it would have a pictorial cover page and run about 183 pages (regular paper size). Rated for all ages because the most mature dialogue contained is "bastard", "son of a bitch", "pompous ass", and described nonsexual nudity. I hope you enjoy it!

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WINDOWS

To The Soul

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by Skyfox

Chapter 1. Overtime

It was quite a bit past dark as Sarah wrote equations on the white board, listening to the rain hit the office windows and run down to the metal sill. The marker fumes had become a stench to her nose as she continued to work much longer than she ever expected when she took the job. Her glasses felt like they were becoming heavier with each passing minute and it was getting hard to keep her eyes focused on her notes. Sarah was a highly intelligent overachiever with a love of science who had earned twin doctorates in record time and was quickly working on her third. When she was working through graduate school to get her doctorate in particle physics to add to the doctorates in theoretical physics and quantum mechanics she had already earned, she had dreams of working with great minds to make great discoveries that would revolutionize how mankind understood the universe. Once she got hired for the research assistant position in another university she thought she had it made. After two years, she was rather disenchanted with the work.

Her feelings were fueled by the fact her boss was such a jackass.

"You're still here, Sarah? I'd have thought you would be home hours ago." Her colleague Phil startled her from the half dazed stupor that was slowing her work and making her writing more cryptic.

"Huh?...Oh, hi Phil. Yeah, I have to get this stuff done for Berglund by Friday so he can make his presentation at the conference," said Sarah, stumbling over her words.

"Yeah, loads of credit there," Phil said sarcastically.

Sarah sputtered her lips. "Pfpfpft, that's why Ernest quit last month. He'd had his work stolen one too many times. Just because Berglund is head of the department he thinks he can use the work we do for his publications without putting any name on it but his own. Sometimes I'd just like to..." she said as she jousted her knee upwards.

Phil laughed. "You and me both. I don't know how he gets away with that. And he always makes it seem like an innocent mistake. 'Sorry Ernie, it must have been an oversight by the publisher that your name didn't get printed,'" he imitated with a whiny voice.

Sarah was quite alert now, the conversation having awakened her. "Well, I'm going to finish this last little bit and then head home. The rest can wait until tomorrow."

Phil smiled. "I had no choice to stay. I had an experiment running over in the chem lab that took 5 hours, and I couldn't just shut it off to go home or it would be ruined and I'd have to do it all over again tomorrow. I hope Katie's not too annoyed when I get home."

"She's too much of a sweetheart to not forgive you, Phil," replied Sarah. "You're one of the lucky ones to have found such a perfect mate. I hope to be as lucky some day."

"True," said Phil, smiling again as he looked dreamily to the side. "She is. And keep your hopes up...I'm sure you will find the right one. The thing is to not try, and love will find you."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I've not tried as hard as I've tried, and it hasn't worked out yet. I wanted to get married, but not to my work!"

"I know the feeling," said Phil. "Well, I have to get going. Have a good night."

"You too, Phil. See you tomorrow," said Sarah, turning back to the board, followed by an exasperated sigh. After a couple more equations were figured out Sarah made comments in her notes to mark where she left off, grabbed her keys, turned off the lights, and headed to her car. She thought to herself that at least the rain had let up to a light drizzle.

When she got home Sarah could hardly believe the late hour. She heated up some leftover casserole from the weekend before to make a modest dinner before bed. It was so big she'd been eating it all week, but it was good enough that she wasn't sick of it yet. It had saved her from having to take much time to cook anything after working so late each day. After dinner she felt quite exhausted from the day, yet too tired to go to bed yet. She poured a cold glass of ginger ale and flopped onto the couch with another exasperated sigh. The research work was not physically demanding other than requiring her to be on her feet most of the day, but the long hours and mental strain were exhausting.

Sarah stared wearily at the wall above the gas fireplace. She lit it when she got home to help take away the chill she felt from the rainy night, and now the dancing flames felt very comfortable. As she sat there she let her head fall back over the top of the couch cushion, closing her eyes to listen to the rain outside and the soft sound of the fire inside, and to simply relax. Her mind was still a blur of activity because of all the work she'd been doing recently but she was finally starting to feel herself wind down.

As she lounged, in the darkness inside her eyelids she saw faint flashes of light. They were nothing that caught her attention, they were so dim. The flashes were occasional, every several seconds and not forming any sort of pattern. After a couple minutes passed the flashes got slightly brighter, enough to make her take notice. Sarah dismissed the light as the flickering of the fireplace, passing cars, or lightning in the rain clouds, yet she didn't notice there was no sound to accompany such explanations.

Without warning a very bright flash of light filled her dark eyelids as if a camera flash went off inches from her face. Her eyes flew open as she looked up, and in the same instant thought to herself, "This is going to be a loud one!" She never did like sudden loud thunder.

Nothing.

The lightning she was sure struck right outside her house made no noise at all. Sarah sat there perplexed, wondering what happened. She got up and went over to the window to look out at the dark sky. The pitch black sky had no flashes, no lightning, and she saw no light except for the nearby streetlight that made the raindrops glow like countless tiny meteors. She saw nobody outside who could have made so much light. For several minutes she watched the night sky trying to figure out what could have made such a flash.

After several more moments passed her curiosity was replaced by the exhaustion of the day, and Sarah remembered the comfortable sofa. Before returning to it she went to her bedroom, traded the day's clothes for her fuzzy bathrobe, and went back to the living room with her alarm clock. She could have gone to bed but was feeling especially comfortable on the couch earlier, and she didn't want to risk falling asleep there without an alarm for the next morning. Sarah set the alarm, took a few more sips of her ginger ale, and laid down on the couch while pulling the thick blanket off the back of the couch. Even if she wouldn't admit it to herself, she knew that's where she'd be sleeping that night.

While she laid there with her eyes closed, Sarah kept seeing flashes in the dark. They varied from the faint dim flashes of earlier to bright flashes like the latest one. Every time she would open her eyes the lights quit and nothing was there to cause them. Even in the darkness of the room or when she pulled the blanket up over her face to be in complete darkness, she could not see any flashes. As soon as she closed her eyes again, they would continue.

"What in the world is this?" she thought. Aside from needing to wear glasses she never had eye problems before. "It must be all the work and long hours I've been putting in lately. Stress, it must be stress." She did her best to ignore the flashing light in her eyes and eventually she fell asleep.

Chapter 2. Meeting new friends

The alarm clock seemed to shriek when it awoke Sarah from her deep sleep. She felt it couldn't possibly be 6:30 already but the numbers on the clock didn't change when she hit the snooze button. Eight more minutes and she'd be ready to go. As quickly as she turned off the alarm her head was back on her pillow, desperate to sleep for a few days more. As she fought the morning battle of trying to fall back asleep while trying to wake up, Sarah noticed after several minutes of darkness that the faint flashing of light resumed. This was enough to force her awake and to get up before the second alarm.

"That's it...I'm calling the eye doctor today to get an appointment," she thought to herself. "I can't risk problems with my eyes."

After a meager breakfast of toast and cantaloupe, Sarah took the shower she didn't have the energy for the night before and got ready for work. During the entire time she kept close attention to her eyesight, blinking her eyes to see if there were any more flashes of light. None returned, so by the time she left the house she had dismissed the flashes as symptoms of how tired she'd been. The sun rose above the horizon during the drive to the university and the day was feeling unseasonably balmy, due to the warm front that had caused the rain the night before.

Moments after Sarah punched in at the time clock, her boss, Conway Berglund, began his usual routine of subtle intimidation. "Miss Shepherd, are you finished with the presentation?"

She hated the nameConway. It wasn't the fault of the name; in grade school she had a good friend namedConway. She always called him by his nickname Connor but still knew of his full name. Now after two years of working for a despicable man namedConway, she learned to despise the name as well. He was so adept at taking credit for other peoples' work or outright stealing their research, she and everybody she worked with thought of him as Con Man.

"Not yet, Dr. Berglund, but I expect to have the problems ironed out in the theory's equations by this afternoon and the full presentation will be on your desk by tomorrow morning before you leave for the energy physics conference."

"I expect the same, Miss Shepherd," replied Berglund.

Conwayinsisted everybody refer to him as Doctor Berglund--staff at the university, his family, and especially colleagues who worked under him in his department. Even his wife was required to refer to him as Doctor in social situations and could only use his first name in private. It wasn't necessary. All his correspondence, whether a formal document, casual letter to family, or note to his wife taped to the refrigerator, had a signature ending in "PhD." Everybody knew he had doctorates in particle and energy physics, tenure at the university, and was the head of a very prestigious research department, but that didn't stop him from reminding them on a daily basis. He was a pompous ass and such acknowledgements fed his swollen ego.

Sarah sat heavily in her office chair, contemplating the day's tasks. Then it hit her: "Caffeine...must have coffee," she thought for her own amusement. She got her coffee, retrieved the notes from her desk, and returned to the white board she left the night before. With slightly renewed energy and an endless desire to get the work done, Sarah worked furiously through the day to solve the problems with the energy physics theory they were developing. She held out a weak hope that she would receive some recognition for all the work she put into fixing the theorem and making the math work as they hoped, but she knew it wouldn't happen because Berglund and his secretary were the only ones from the university attending the conference.

Her only real motivation, besides being done with it, was her love of solving problems like a challenging puzzle. She felt satisfaction in such work, one of the few reasons she kept the job for two years. That day she worked straight through lunch because she knew she was getting close to the end. After finishing the technical details of the presentation and making sure their theory was as close to a proof as possible, a small lunch in the late afternoon kept Sarah going to finish the rest of the presentation in the early evening.

Shortly before 5:00 PM Sarah had the main body of the presentation finished and only had the conclusion and additional notes to complete. That was a good time to take a short break before finishing it up, she decided. The harsh office lighting and flicker of her old computer monitor was taking its toll on her eyes, making them feel like they were coated in gravel. After saving her work Sarah looked up at the figurine of a German Shepherd that sat on top of her monitor, and smiled. It was her daily reminder of the dog she had as a girl and always cheered her up with its cute pose. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for several minutes, wishing she could doze off but knowing she couldn't. The office sounds and noise of the ventilation system wouldn't allow it.

Like a long stroke of lightning a lingering bright flash in her eyes scared Sarah enough to make her jump out of her chair. In the fraction of a second it lasted, it began brilliant white and quickly faded to what looked like stars just before her eyes flew open. None of the flashes had ever been painful but now she was afraid for her health. Without hesitating one more second she picked up the phone and called the office of her eye doctor just before their closing time.

"Hello, this is Sarah Shepherd. I need to make an appointment as soon as possible..... Flashing lights in my eyes.... Yes, but only when I have them closed. I don't know if it's stress or blood pressure or what.... No, not when blinking, just when they are closed.... Monday at three will be fine..... Thanks, I appreciate it."

She thought about the phenomenon for another minute. "If this job is stressing me out bad enough to give me eye problems, it sure is incentive to find something else."

"But where could I find another job researching theoretical physics, energy, space-time...it's not like jobs like this show up in the newspaper listings," her thoughts continued. Reluctantly, Sarah returned to the presentation and hurried her work to complete it. It took another hour to make sure everything was just right, printed correctly, and put together meticulously to look as professional as all her previous assignments.

When Sarah brought the document down to Berglund's office she was relieved to see he was not there even though she knew he always left promptly at 5:00 while he expected his staff to work late. The presentation was on his desk as promised and she felt as free as a paroled felon.

As quickly as she could move she dumped out her cold coffee, snatched her attaché from under her desk, shut off the lights, and closed her office. She was nearly running through the halls to leave, she wanted to go home so badly. As she ran, she passed the chemistry lab, stopped abruptly, and backed up to the door. Phil looked up from the mass of glass and tubes he used to run his current experiment.

"Fin-al-ly done!" Sarah said energetically, followed by an expression with a wide open mouth and a nearly silent "Hah!" Phil let out a laugh as Sarah sprang from the door to continue her race to her car. "G'night, Sarah," Phil called out.

"'Night, Phil," he heard echo back from the hallway.

On the way home Sarah stopped at the small grocery store near her house to pick up a large salad from the deli. She had been so overworked on her job recently that she had no time for grocery shopping and there was nothing at home to make for dinner. She didn't feel like having leftover casserole again and wanted something different. She was quite health conscious and always ate a lot of fruits, vegetables, and salads to make up for her mostly sedentary job. Her weakness was barbecued ribs, something she'd loved since she was very young.

Once at home Sarah left her salad in the kitchen and went to take a quick shower, somewhat of a daily ritual to help relax. As she bathed she thought how nice the next day would be; Berglund would be away the entire day, she could return to her own project that she had to postpone to complete her most recent one, and she wouldn't be under a deadline. For the first time in weeks, she felt relaxed.

The relaxation reminded her of the stress she'd been dealing with, and that reminded her of the puzzling eye problem. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and saw nothing. A moment later she tried again, and still saw nothing but darkness. "Good," she thought to herself, "it must have been nothing but stress."

After her shower Sarah put on her favorite fuzzy pink bathrobe before heading back downstairs for dinner. Despite being quite lovely and keeping herself fit, she never felt comfortable with her body and always wore at least her robe even when she was alone. Since she thought herself somewhat unattractive she thought that was how everybody else viewed her, a vice that rarely allowed her to believe men to be serious when they showed interest in her. But such thoughts were far from her mind that night. On that occasion it didn't matter. She didn't want to worry about anything, didn't want to care.

Sarah read a three-week-old newspaper as she ate her dinner on the sofa. With no free time outside work they had been collecting in a pile under the end table. She didn't really care about the news, though. It was a continuous stream of war, destruction, violence, corruption, death... all manner of things she'd grown very tired of reading. All she was after was the comic pages, forgetting the issues of the workplace and remembering once again how good it is to laugh.

Soft music filled the room from the stereo as she read and ate. After finishing the salad and some bland cantaloupe she put the deli container on the end table and leaned back to finish the last few comics on the page. The glow of the setting sun still lit the room enough to read so she left the lights off. After a few more laughs she tossed the newspaper under the coffee table and stretched out on the length of the couch. She wasn't planning on sleeping there for another night, but just wanted to hear the music and unwind. Without giving any thought to the previous night, Sarah closed her eyes.

As her eyelids swept down across her field of vision, Sarah was presented with a view of countless stars. She flung her eyes open with a gasp and immediately exclaimed, "What the hell was that?" After several moments to compose herself and relax her overworked pulse she decided to venture another look, and closed her eyes again.

There in front of her, as real as anything she'd ever seen, she saw stars. Without having to look very far in any direction she saw more stars than she could imagine, several nearby galaxies, and filling most of her field of view was a nebula, glowing brightly with enormous clouds of gas and dust in shades of red and light purple. Inside the nebula were several hot blue stars, very young in the scope of cosmic age.

After several seconds she opened her eyes again and was confronted with the dimly lit living room she knew she was in. Sarah was filled with utter amazement at what she had seen inside her eyelids, breathlessly awestruck at the beauty of the astronomical figures she saw.

"I must be losing my mind," she said out loud. Yet silently, she knew she had to look again. As a scientist she was driven to observe and study the universe. As a woman with an artistic heart, she needed to see such beauty again.

Sarah laid her head back down on the pillow and with overwhelming anticipation she slowly closed her eyes again. Like a movie screen being lowered into the path of the projector's image, she was again presented with the astronomical view she'd seen before. Feeling unafraid and more at ease she didn't open her eyes again to leave the place she saw, but realized that wherever she was, her eyes were open and she was looking at those heavenly bodies. She blinked the eyes she felt she had there, and they blinked just the same as the millions of previous times she blinked in her life. The image was still there, the eyes she possessed to see it were open, but she felt her eyes still closed as she laid on the couch.

As she continued to look at the view of deep space her eyes shifted around to different angles. Sarah realized she was looking through a large window of some sort, separating her from the vacuum of space. She slowly reached out to touch the window and it felt solid, yet somehow electric. Equally slowly she pulled her hand back, not touching the metal frame that surrounded the window.

At that point Sarah realized she was standing. While she knew and could feel she was lying on the couch in her living room, she felt her weight on her feet and the force of gravity holding her down as she stood upright. Slowly she began to turn around to figure out where she was or what it was she was seeing. She saw the edge of the window, the wall, a corner--she was in a room somewhere. As she continued to turn around, her eyes were met with the sight of two beings standing upright and facing her.

Before she could get any sort of good look at them her eyes flung open again with a heavy gasp and a short yelping scream. Once again she was in her living room, right were she knew she was all along. Terror and anxiety filled her mind and body, driving her nearly to tears and leaving her desperately searching her mind for answers. She looked around frantically, trying to find the beings she had just seen, but saw nothing but her familiar surroundings and a scene of dusk out the large divided windows in the front.

Being a scientist Sarah used every bit of logic and rational thinking she had to figure out what she saw, who she saw, and why she saw them when her eyes were closed. In the end she could find no reason that made any sense to her. She felt the beings were in her head, and the fear was the unanswered questions of how or why they were in there. Her fear was fading again as she looked around her living room, thinking what she would do. Again, as a scientist, she felt she had to look again to figure out what she saw. She didn't know if it was real, or a hallucination, or some mental illness she was developing. "I can escape if I have to," she rationalized. "All I have to do is open my eyes."

Once more Sarah laid her head back on the pillow and tried to calm herself as she mustered up a bit of courage. With sudden resolve she slammed her eyes shut and dove into the darkness.

There in front of her, just as before, stood two beings like she'd never seen before, though familiar in appearance. Looking carefully at one and then the other, Sarah saw they stood upright like she was, but their faces did not look human. The one on the left looked like a wolf. The other looked like a fox.

Chapter 3. Help Wanted

Sarah stood there trembling, staring at those two creatures who were looking back at her. They moved very little, looking at her from top to bottom and glancing at each other. Neither one had any look of aggression on their faces, but more a look of curiosity and concern. As she looked silently at them she took in more details of their bodies. Each one was wearing a protective suit that covered the body except for head, hands, and feet. Each one was covered with fur on those parts that were not covered by their suits. They stood on canine-like feet with only their toes touching the floor. Their hands were shaped like hers, but covered with fur as well. As they slightly moved she could see each one had a tail. They had large soft eyes, and pointed furry ears on the top corners of their heads. The one who looked like a wolf had light gray fur mixed with white. The one who looked like a fox had red-orange fur, almost golden. Yet despite those traits, the rest of their bodies were shaped like a human.

"Hello," said the wolf creature. Sarah stood there silently, unable to move or speak.

The wolf spoke again. "Hello, do you understand me?.....Do you understand what I am saying?" Sarah remained silent, shaking, mouth partly open, trying to breathe.

"Can you hear us?" said the fox creature. Again, nothing from Sarah. "Can you hear us?" the fox said again, slightly louder. Turning to the wolf the fox said, "I do not think it is working."

"It should be working. Everything is set properly and it indicates a successful transfer," said the wolf. "Perhaps she transferred back."

"Try adjusting the transfer system," replied the fox. The two continued to talk back and forth. Sarah heard them say something about a translator not functioning, regaining her wits.

"I....I hear you," she said quietly. "I...understand your words."

The fox and wolf looked back toward her, glanced at each other approvingly with what appeared to be a smile, and turned back to her. "I hope we did not frighten you," said the wolf. "We intend no harm." The creature paused so she could absorb what was going on.

Sarah could barely believe her senses. While she knew she was at home, laying on her couch, her eyes and ears told her a very different story. She didn't know where the place was that she saw or who she was speaking to. By the sounds of their voices she felt the wolf and fox were male, if their species had the same gender types as Earth creatures. "Who...are you?"

Again, the wolf spoke first. "My name is Ajagi." After a moment the fox spoke. "My name is," he said, followed by several syllables Sarah could not understand or pronounce. The fox continued, "What is your name?"

Sarah was still in shock and had difficulty putting the sounds together in her mouth to speak her own name. "S....s.....Sarah," she said with slight relief to get the words out as she continued to wrap her mind around the situation. "Sarah Shepherd."

The fox spoke again. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sah-rah," he said, speaking her name with difficulty as he learned to pronounce her language. "We would approach you for a proper greeting but we do not want to cause fright."

"We have brought you here because we need your help," said Ajagi.

Sarah looked around the room slightly and turned back to the pair. "Where am I? Where is 'here'," she asked.

The fox tried his best to answer her question. "You are in one of our space travel vehicles..." He paused. "Our fleet of vehicles is a great distance from our home planet on a mission of limitless importance."

With more clarity of mind Sarah spoke again before he could continue. "How did I get here? I was at home, I laid down and closed my eyes, and suddenly I'm here. How can that be?"

The wolf and fox listened carefully to her question to understand her meaning. "You are not completely here," Ajagi said. "Your physical body is at your home and has never left there. Only the consciousness of your mind has been brought here."

Sarah was completely puzzled. "That's impossible. I can feel myself lying on my couch in my home," she said barely above a whisper, but continued as she thought about where her senses were telling her she was. "I can still hear the music."

Ajagi answered her confusion. "Your body is there. You are still detecting the sensory information your body is collecting."

"But I feel myself here, too," she said as she started to look at herself. She held her hands up in front of her face, looking at them and then down her arms. Quickly she looked down at the rest of her body and realized she was completely nude. Instinctively she covered herself with her arms and hands, looking back with embarrassment toward the male figures in the room with her.

The fox and wolf were puzzled by her behavior. "Are you cold?" asked the fox. "The temperature should be adequate. But you have very little fur..."

Sarah interrupted him. "No...no, it's just that..." She struggled to find an explanation for what she was doing, but was then interrupted by the wolf.

"We do not yet have a protection cover for you. You have many questions, as do we," he said. "But our mission is of greatest importance. Will you help us?"

"Why me? What do you need me to do?" asked Sarah.

The fox answered. "You have the knowledge and intelligence we need. Our people are in infinite danger if we do not create a weapon to defeat the invaders. They are creating their own weapon, one with a power we can not stop. Instead, we must stop them."

"Will you help us?" pleaded Ajagi.

Sarah's eyes quickly shifted between the two, unable to fully comprehend the situation. "Me? Yes...I will...but I, it's that..." she stammered. "I have to work tomorrow, and I need to get some sleep tonight and....I'm so swamped with work, but I guess I can help you, the weekend is coming up..."

Ajagi and the fox were having difficulty interpreting everything she said but heard her affirmative response. "Thank you," the fox said with a smile, slowly taking a step toward her. "We will explain our project the next time we meet."

Ajagi also smiled and stepped forward slowly. "I thank you as well. We understand you have obligations and need rest. After you return home the transfer connection will be stopped so you may rest without interruption. We will connect with you again in another day...I believe I understand your daily time period. When you open your eyes, and you will be returned home."

As the two moved closer to Sarah, she felt a wave of anxiety despite their friendly demeanor. Before they could contact her she opened her eyes and found herself in her home, lying on her couch in her fuzzy pink bathrobe, just after dark. As she looked around the dark room slowly she patted her body softly to reassure herself where she was. She laid there for several more minutes trying to gather her thoughts and determine if what she had just experienced was real.

Sarah got up from the couch and walked out of the living room on legs that could barely support her. Her entire body was shaking as she made her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Her blank stare off into space never faded as she could barely function in the task of brushing her teeth. On her way out of the bathroom she took off her robe and reached to hang it on the bathroom door hook, dropping it to the floor but never noticing.

Once she was in bed Sarah just laid there looking off into the darkness, her mind complete chaos as she tried to remember and comprehend everything she saw and heard, who the two beings were, whether or not any of it was real, and whether or not she was losing her mind as she had thought earlier. She was too afraid to close her eyes or even blink in case she would find herself back on a space ship somewhere.

After a long period of time passed Sarah finally blinked her eyes, and then closed them briefly, to make sure she would remain at home. When she saw that inside her eyes was nothing but empty darkness she felt more at ease but continued to think uncontrollably about what she had experienced. Several hours passed until she finally fell asleep shortly before 4:00, driven by complete exhaustion.

Chapter 4. Ill-gotten Gains

When Sarah awoke to her alarm she discovered that her fearful confusion of the night before had been replaced with weary, tired confusion. Immediately she began thinking about what had happened the previous evening, such thoughts dominating her mind as she got ready for work and ate her morning toast and fruit. She paid no attention to her drive to the university and followed most of her usual morning routine automatically as the astonishing memories kept hold of her thoughts. Throughout the morning Sarah stared blankly at her computer screen. She barely typed three sentences into her ongoing research project, and every time she regained her senses to get back to work she had to read over what she had already done to get her mind caught back up with the present.

As the day progressed Sarah felt more and more exhausted. She had less than half the usual amount of sleep the previous night and was starting to feel it. Every once in a while she would close her eyes to make sure she would remain right where she was. At one point she fell asleep while still holding her head upright but was quickly awakened by the sound of people talking in the hall outside her office. When lunch time arrived she went to the break room with all the enthusiasm of a funeral.

Sarah unloaded her lunch and started to slowly eat, supporting her head with one hand while she ate with the other. Her flurry of thoughts was beginning to calm down as a sense of acceptance of the event, whether real or imagined, took control.

"Hi Sarah," said Phil as he entered the break room and headed for the refrigerator. "How's it...oh man, you look like crap. What happened to you?"

Several seconds passed before Sarah gained the awareness to respond. Blinking her tired eyes she sat up and could only respond, "Huh?"

"You look like a train wreck!" said Phil. "Party last night or something?"

"No....I'm fine, just tired. I...didn't get much sleep last night," replied Sarah.

As her friend, Phil was curious. "I thought you'd be free as a bird this morning. Your project is done, Berglund isn't here...you could have had the party here for that fact alone. What happened to the bundle of energy that ran past the lab yesterday?"

Sarah still struggled to form her sentences. "I...it's just that...it's personal."

Phil retrieved his lunch from the microwave and sat down across the table from her. "Something you want to talk about?" he asked in a concerned voice.

Sarah looked up at him with weary eyes. "No...thanks. It's...it's something I'll have to work out on my own. You wouldn't believe me anyway," she replied. Just as Phil was beginning to reassure her that he would always be willing to listen, she interrupted him. "Do you believe in life on other planets?"

Phil stopped in the middle of his sentence with his mouth still open and maintained that expression as he thought of his answer. "Yes...I would have to say yes, but not the UFO kind of junk." He took a bite of his lunch and continued, "Scientifically I'd say there's a very good chance of life everywhere. With something like a hundred billion galaxies and each with hundreds of billions of stars, and each one could have planets, the odds are in favor of life."

Sarah listened with half open eyes as Phil went on, reaching his specialty. "Plus the chemistry of life is everywhere. All the same elements are everywhere, our planet was made from dust and rocks floating out in space, and life sprang out of that. The laws of nature and chemistry are universal, so I'd have to be pretty stupid to say there are no other planets with life out there...Why do you ask? Were you up late watching a show about it?"

"No...no reason," Sarah said. Trying to change the subject and pull her thoughts away from the previous night she asked, "How are things going for you? You've been pulling some long hours in the lab."

Finishing another bite of food Phil responded, "I'm working on safety tests for a prescription drug." He followed the transition of conversation easily because he loved talking about chemistry. "It's 'trineprisol' a sleep aid drug, and on the surface it seems to work very well. In truth, it works too well. I'm trying to prove how dangerous it is."

Now Sarah became curious. "I don't understand. If it's a prescription drug, that means it's already on the market. If it was unsafe it wouldn't have gotten that far because it wouldn't have passed the FDA, would it?" She was beginning to enjoy the conversation which helped her mind think of different things for a while.

"You'd think," Phil said sarcastically. He then looked down at his lunch with a sigh, then began to speak as if admitting he committed a crime. "You remember when I told you how I got laid off from the last company I worked for?" Sarah nodded as she ate a bite.

"It's Apex Apothecary, the company that makes this drug. I was one of the lead chemists who formulated it. It took close to three years to get it through development and testing, and it cost close to a billion dollars in research and development. It was supposed to be their next 'big thing' to hit the market."

Phil ate another bite and continued. "Once it's absorbed it attaches to the blood cells as strongly as carbon monoxide, but without causing the histotoxic hypoxia of CO because it doesn't prevent oxygen from being carried. That strong attachment makes it hard for the liver to clean it out of the blood stream so the effects last a long time. It works by interfering with the neurotransmitters in the brain, stimulating the ones that promote sleep and suppressing the ones that promote wakefulness. It went through clinical trials just fine, at a normal low dose. But, as I said, it works too well."

Without showing much response Sarah listened as Phil went on. "At a single strength dose the subjects could not be forcibly awakened by the staff for the first six hours, and even after that they were extremely groggy. They woke up looking and acting like zombies....yeah, kinda like that," he said, pointing to Sarah with a sly grin.

After a moment Sarah realized what he inferred, looked up at him and said, "Oh, fun-nee."

Phil smiled and went on. "Later in the studies, one part of it is to test reactions to increased dosage. At a double dose, it put the test subjects out for close to 24 hours. Again, they couldn't be awakened. Imagine if there was an emergency like a fire alarm or something."

Sarah nodded again as she continued to eat. Phil resumed his story, no longer paying attention to his lunch. "A triple dose was tested on two volunteers in the study. Nobody else felt comfortable trying it. At that strength they both were put unconscious, one for a full week and the other close to two weeks. Since everybody was so unresponsive to stimuli even at the single dose it technically classifies as a coma, but at a week or two I would say it was definitely a coma.

"We never tried it at a stronger dose in the study. Anyway, when I was preparing the study report I included the coma evidence and used that exact term. I submitted it to the supervisors and it made its way up to the executives. When I saw the final draft that was going to be presented to the FDA, nowhere did I see any use of the word 'coma' and the data taken from the two subjects at the triple-strength dose had been stripped from the report."

Sarah shook her head. "Why did they take it out?"

"Profits," Phil quickly replied. "They wanted to make back the money they invested in it. I talked to my supervisor about it and he said to leave it alone. So, I said to him I was taking it to the executive of the department, who was on the board. When I got near his office I was met by security, and they escorted me to my car. I was fired, Sarah."

Sarah shook her head again. "I'm so sorry, Phil. Isn't there anything you could have done?"

With a sigh Phil took a couple more bites of his lunch as it got cold before continuing. "Sure. I could have kept my mouth shut, but then I have more of a sense of responsibility than that. Instead, I tried to do the right thing and screwed my career." His voice had transitioned to a tone of resignation. "I wasn't protected under any whistleblower laws because, really, I had not blown the whistle yet. Everybody I worked with on the drug kept their mouths shut because they didn't want to get fired like I did. The company has deep pockets and so do their lobbyists at the FDA. The drug was approved in short time and was put on the market as planned.

"Since then there have been a few cases I've heard about where somebody took more than the prescribed dose and ended up in a coma for weeks. I don't know if they took three or four times the dose. I've even read anecdotal stories of doctors using it to put patients into a chemically induced coma to relieve brain trauma complications before surgery.

"As these stories surface, the company keeps feeding money to the feds to keep the drug from being pulled off the shelves. They are making huge profits as people overdose on something I created. Yay, me." Phil finished his story with another sigh, and finished his lunch.

Sarah was astounded by the story. "Is that why you're doing the study in your lab?"

"Yeah," said Phil. "I'm trying to, I guess, undo the problem I created...or had a hand in creating. Because of the coma complications and unknown risks of brain damage at higher doses, there's no way I can get actual human studies at those higher doses to prove the danger. Nobody wants to take that risk, and I don't really blame them. All I can do is come up with lab tests to see how the stuff interacts with synthetic neurotransmitter chemicals. I know the chemistry of the drug inside and out but comparing test tube studies with synthetics to real interaction with natural brain chemistry is proving to be very difficult. I also can't use animal testing because their brain chemistry is slightly too different to make a good enough correlation.

"If there was a way to guarantee people couldn't take a strong dose, it would be safe, more or less. But they are humans, and humans are idiots, so they play doctor on themselves and take more than is necessary to help their insomnia. At a low dose it works great for getting sleep. They have no choice but to sleep." Phil finished his drink while glancing at Sarah's tired bloodshot eyes. "It looks like you could use something like that."

Sarah continued picking at her lunch as she spoke. "No, I'll be fine. The weekend is coming up...I'll take a nap or something, and just take it easy."

Phil got up and tossed his trash out. "Alright. Just take care of yourself or we'll have to send you over to Professor Thompson's lecture hall to get some real sleep. See ya' later, Sarah."

"Yeah, see ya', Phil," Sarah responded after a moment's delay.

As Phil left the break room he called out to the nonexistent people beyond the door, "Somebody want to get this cadaver back to the morgue?"

After a few seconds Sarah realized what he said. "Oh, ha-ha, wise guy!" she yelled back with a grin. All she heard was a distant laugh.

Sarah returned to her office and resumed the work she so struggled with that morning. The conversation over lunch had refreshed her energy and helped clear her mind of thoughts about Ajagi and the fox.

She worked into the afternoon, studying data from observations of the sun by satellite and ground based observatories, in hopes of correlating solar flare events with gravity waves that emanated from the sun. Her work was still labored because of how tired she was but she was driven by a sense of responsibility to her work. It always bothered her when she had projects that went unfinished.

A few hours after lunch Sarah decided to take a break from her work. She poured another cup of coffee with the same half of a sugar packet she always used. Just as she turned away from the counter to return to her office, Berglund came around the corner at a rapid pace, almost running right into her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Shepherd," Berglund said with a smile and a happy tone. Sarah began to reply, "Good after...," but he had already rounded the next corner and was gone before she could finish her response. Shortly thereafter, Berglund's secretary Kacy followed, weighted down with a stack of paperwork and pamphlets from the conference. Sarah turned to her.

"He's happy, so why does that scare me?" she said.

Kacy stopped, hesitated, and replied, "The conference went well, and the presentation was well received. There were some bigwigs from DARPA and the defense department there who were impressed with what they saw in the energy theory." She hesitated again. "They must have thought developments like that could help them, so they offered him a grant to research new energy-based weaponry."

Sarah's eyes perked up. "We got a grant? That's incredible! We..."

Kacy interrupted her. "No, Sarah...I'm sorry. Not we. He did. I'm sorry..."

Sarah stopped and looked at Kacy, mouth agape, as Kacy continued.

"He changed the title slide of the presentation. Only his name was on it. He removed the top page of the copy of the presentation that he gave to them...must have done it when I was in the restroom. Your name wasn't on it...the grant has his name alone on it." Kacy paused again with remorseful eyes. "There was nothing I could do. If I corrected him in front of the Pentagon officials or even if I said something to him in private...Sarah, I can't afford to lose my job. I need this job."

Sarah looked at the ceiling and then the floor, gritting her teeth. "That son of a bitch," she muttered. "All that work, all that time I put into it...he couldn't even mention my name? He barely put any of his own research into it at all, and he's the one with the degree in energy physics," she said with fiery anger. As much as she wanted to scream, she couldn't. Sarah was too docile to let her rage flow freely. She looked back up at Kacy. "I'm not mad at you. I understand the situation you were in...I'm going home. I can't be here now."

As she dumped her coffee and turned to go back to her office, Kacy asked her, "What should I tell him?"

Sarah continued walking as she replied, "Tell him I had a migraine or something, I don't care." When she got to her office all she grabbed was her car keys and purse. She left her project notes and attaché behind. She was resolved not to do any work for her job, or for Berglund, the entire weekend. Closing her office door she marched through the halls with the determination of a boxer strutting to the ring to defend his title. Luckily for her career, Berglund never crossed her path; she would have won the bout but lost her job.

She continued fuming as she drove home, bordering on reckless but never compromising her safety. When she arrived home she slammed the car door and bellowed out a scream of angry frustration. No neighbors were around to take notice of the explosive sound but she would not have cared if they were. Sarah opened the door to her house, slammed it as she got inside, then slumped to the floor, leaned against the door, and cried. Her anger turning into disappointment, all she could think about was how she put so much effort into her project yet had never received any recognition for it. She never received any gratitude. That was not what she expected her career to turn into. Her feelings of uselessness outweighed her feelings of accomplishment.

After several minutes Sarah picked herself up off the floor and went to her bedroom. Her body ached, she felt so tired. Her only desire at that time was to take the nap she'd been desiring all day. She undressed and went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face in hopes of washing away her tears. Closing the drapes to darken the room from the mid afternoon sun, she slid between the comforter and satin sheets, feeling relieved to finally be back in bed. As she was easing her head down on the pillow she started thinking once again about the instantaneous journey she took the previous evening. She thought she may experience that again if she tried going to sleep, but remembered that she saw nothing but darkness inside her eyelids when they were clenched shut as she cried, and when she shut them to splash her face.

Not wanting to waste any more time not sleeping, she decided to check and was happy to find nothing but darkness when she closed her eyes. Doing all she could to keep her mind blank and drive away thoughts about the fur covered beings, she quickly fell into a deep, comforting sleep that absorbed her body and all its fatigue.

Several hours later, shortly after 8:00, Sarah awoke feeling delightfully refreshed. She felt better than she did after finishing her project Thursday, knowing that she had the weekend ahead of her to do anything that had nothing to do with work. She got up and put on her fuzzy bathrobe, then headed to the kitchen for some dinner. Along the way she began thinking again about her close-eyed travels, Ajagi, and the strangely named fox. Sarah reheated the last of her casserole and ate it while sitting on the stool next to her counter.

As she ate she talked to herself, "What do they want from me? What kind of plan do they have...I mean, they were on a space ship billions of miles away. What could I know that they don't?" She was very puzzled about what they wanted, a little fearful to go see, yet curious to learn the circumstances of the astonishing meeting they had in store for her. As she thought about the two individuals she met, she realized that never once did they seem aggressive or threatening. Actually, she thought to herself, they were quite pleasant. Without fear at the forefront of her mind she was now able to more accurately analyze what happened before.

"Well," she said aloud as she rinsed off her dishes and headed to the living room, "there's only one way to find out."

Chapter 5. So That's What It Means

Sarah headed back to the living room where her odyssey began the night before. A creature of habit, she sought the familiar comfort of the couch. She thought to herself that it had been about a full day since she had last seen the fox and wolf and they may be waiting for her, if their perception of time was similar to hers. As she lay down on the couch and got comfortable she thought briefly about all the personal trials and blows to her esteem she'd felt recently in her life and at work, particularly earlier that day. It made her feel a slight incentive to try something new and meet new people, even if they were from a different world. Sarah almost felt enthusiastic, yet remained cautious, as she closed her eyes.

Instantly she found herself back in the same room as Ajagi and the fox, though facing away from the window. The wolf and fox were busy with things on a work table and didn't notice her presence. Sarah noticed that once again she was standing there wearing nothing but knew there was very little she could do about it. While the two canids were busy she took a moment to survey the room. Along part of one of the shorter walls was a large computerized unit of some sort with a control panel that looked similar to human engineering, but far more advanced. There were a few tables folded out from the other walls, some with various devices on them, the larger center table the fox and Ajagi were using, and a smaller table with what she assumed were chairs around it. The floor was made of square panels, all lightly textured and light brown in color; the walls were patterns of green, gray, and darker brown; and the ceiling was light blue except for white glowing squares that lit the room. Turning her head to the window behind her she saw the nebula she had seen before was in a different position as if the ship was facing another direction. Aside from the two talking between each other, the room was silent. Even the large electronic unit was silent despite being heavily active.

"Hello again," Sarah said to get their attention. Ajagi and the fox both quickly turned their ears toward her, followed in short time by their heads to see who was speaking. When they saw her they turned around entirely, mouths slightly open and lips drawn back in a smile of pleasant surprise. She didn't feel the fear or anxiety of her previous visit, but her feeling of not knowing what to do prevented her from moving.

"Hello Sarah," said the fox.

Ajagi quickly added, "It is good to see you again, Sarah."

"I see you've been practicing my name," she responded.

Ajagi and the fox stopped for a moment, looking puzzled, and then Ajagi asked, "You are able to see the sounds we speak?"

Sarah replied, "No, it's just an expression. I mean, I hear you've been practicing my name."

The fox smiled again. "I understand now. Your manner of speaking is quite different from ours. Yes, we both spoke your name until we could make it sound the way you did when you spoke it during your last visit. I have increased the temperature in the room for your return. Are you more comfortable?"

Realizing what he was referring to and feeling conspicuous, Sarah covered herself with her hands and arms again and replied, "Yes, thank you, but it's not the temperature."

Ajagi thought for a moment. "We have brought a protective cover for you. It is the closest to the size and shape of your body that we could find. Would you please retrieve it?" he said, turning to the fox. The fox opened a storage door on the wall, pulled out a suit the same color as they were wearing, and slowly approached Sarah.

As he got closer he reached to hand it to her and said, "I hope you do not find it as uncomfortable as we all do. It is necessary for the place and situation we are in." Sarah took the suit as he continued to speak. "In the event we are attacked it will help protect you from pieces of debris that may be harmful. Our indications show we are safe but attack could happen at any time with no warning."

The suit was a light material, but strong and durable, unlike anything she'd ever felt before. As she unfolded it and shook it out she noticed a hole in the back. Sticking her hand through it Sarah said, "It looks like it's torn."

The fox replied, "It is not damaged. That is for your tail to pass through so you may be more comfortable. Without that opening my tail would be quite uncomfortable in this tight covering." He reached behind him and pulled his thick orange bushy tail out in front of him as a visual reference.

Sarah twisted her lower body around to show she had no tail growing from her tailbone. "I don't think that'll be a problem," she said with a smile.

The fox raised his eyebrows as he began to understand the mistake. Ajagi smiled and said, "We had forgotten your species does not have tails."

As Sarah stepped into the leggings of the suit she said, "That's quite alright. I appreciate the thought, anyway." When she pulled the suit up to her shoulders and stuck her hands through the cuffs, she looked at the front flap of the suit. There was no closure that she could see, but when she brought the two sides close to each other the flaps drew together with a magnetic attraction and fastened securely. Sarah pulled them apart and let them close again but she couldn't figure out if it was magnets or some other device the creatures had developed. There were no footings past the ankle cuffs so she had to remain barefoot.

The fox extended an open hand toward Sarah and extended his other toward the table, looking at the table and then her. "Please, come and sit with us. There is a great deal for us to discuss. We will answer your questions as completely as we can to help eliminate your fears." As she slowly moved past him toward the table Ajagi also walked over to it, stopping next to a seat. The fox followed behind Sarah, stopping at a seat between hers and Ajagi's around the circular table. She looked carefully at the chair and then back at them, then slowly started to sit down. As she sat they did the same. Each one's tail glided through openings in the back of their seats as if they'd sat like that countless times before.

The seat felt comfortable to her, and Sarah began the conversation. "Now then, who are you? Your name is Ajagi, right?" she asked, motioning to the wolf.

"Yes," Ajagi replied.

Sarah looked at the fox and asked, "What is your name again?"

The fox spoke the same thing he had before, a string of syllables she knew she couldn't pronounce. The fox added, "That is my name from birth. To make it easier for everybody, my usual name is Storm."

"Storm," Sarah repeated. "Ok, those are your names, but who or what are you?" Ajagi and Storm had slight difficulty interpreting her phrase, "Ok," but understood the question. Ajagi responded to her question first.

"We are from our home planet, Arfurah. Everybody on these vehicles has a home there."

Sarah couldn't withhold her laugh. "ArFURah? Now that is funny!"

Ajagi and Storm looked at her with complete confusion on their faces. Sarah's laugh quickly subsided. "It's because the word 'fur' is in its name and...you're covered in fur...um...sorry," she said as her voice trailed off. "No offense."

Ajagi said, "We are not upset by words. We are not offended. We understand there are differences in our languages and that misunderstandings do not mean there is disrespect intended."

Storm added, "If we say anything that offends or you do not understand, please forgive us."

Sarah quickly replied, "Yes, of course. I'll understand and won't be bothered. You both seem to be very friendly." She thought a moment and turned the questions toward herself. "You said before I am still in my home. How am I also here? How do I see, hear, and feel everything as if I am actually here? I'm wearing this suit on someone's body," she said, pointing to her garment. "How did I get here? And how do you understand what I'm saying as I understand what you're saying? We couldn't possibly speak the same language if we're from different planets."

Storm looked to the wolf as Ajagi responded to her mass of questions. Ajagi pointed to the computer unit along the far wall. "That system was developed a very long time ago. It searches for the life energy of living beings everywhere in the universe. For each one it finds it takes measurements of that energy to determine the type of intelligence of that being. Some planets have only beings of very simple intelligence. They know only survival. Other planets have beings with greater intelligence but they have not advanced to a level of knowledge that can help us. Planets such as yours have many beings capable of great intelligence. On your planet, your species has that capability.

"When the system finds a species of being who has that potential for intelligence, it establishes a connection to each creature to take further readings of the intelligence and knowledge of that creature. When one is found with the intelligence and knowledge that will be most helpful to us, it establishes a stronger connection to the life energy of that being. When that happens it allows us to bring that energy, the consciousness, here to us."

Sarah thought about what Ajagi was describing. "That would explain the flashes I saw in my eyes. They started out dim and then got brighter."

Ajagi continued, "Yes. Creatures who are receiving a connection can experience changes to their senses. For your species the connection and transfer requires the use of the parts of your brain that process vision. When you close your eyes it alters your brain processes because the information it is receiving from the senses has changed. The area of vision is no longer needed and is free to be used for other things. When that change in your brain occurs, the transfer of your consciousness can be made immediately. It was required for your eyes to be closed to make the connection to you. The dim flashes you saw were the transfer system finding you. The brighter flashes you saw were the system establishing the connection and reading information about your intelligence, knowledge, character, and physical makeup. We can study that information to determine what a being knows and choose whether it is somebody we want to contact.

"The life energy is spread throughout the universe. It is collected most strongly within living beings. It does not follow the same patterns of other types of energy and can move anywhere in the universe instantly. That is how you found yourself here so quickly after you closed your eyes."

Sarah felt overwhelmed by the information and felt a need to add something to the conversation. "Makes sense, I guess," she said incredulously, glancing at Storm with a nod before looking back at Ajagi. "How do you know where to look for life?"

Ajagi continued, "We do not know where to look. Your galaxy is so distant, we do not know if it is still there as we see it because the light has taken so long to reach us."

Sarah was astonished. "I'm not just on a space ship with creatures from another planet, but I'm in another galaxy? Holy crap..."

Ajagi and Storm were again confused by Sarah's use of words. Storm took over the answering of her questions.

"To give you a physical presence, the transfer system requires a body of some type with a system of its own to support the consciousness and life energy. We used the data of your physical makeup that the transfer system collected to construct a body for you that looks and behaves as close to your natural body as is possible."

Sarah could not believe what she was hearing. She held her hands up in front of her face, touched her body through her suit, and then touched her face while she said, "This isn't real? This body is a fake?"

Storm replied, "Yes. The body you see yourself in is synthetic, made to look exactly as you know yourself to be. The data of your physical makeup also included your knowledge of yourself. It is made of mechanical and synthetic living material to duplicate your physical form as closely as is possible. The chemistry is made to be compatible with the conditions on our planet as it may be different from your planet."

Sarah was overwhelmed by the information. "That would explain why I wasn't wearing anything when I got here...Oh, man..."she said with a light gasp as the realization of what she had gotten herself into was beginning to settle into her mind. She began to feel fearful again as she ran her fingers through her hair, touched her face, and patted down various extremities. She pinched the back of her hand and felt the light familiar pain. "You guys are good. It works," she said facetiously as a way to help calm her anxiety.

Ajagi began speaking again. "Your body was constructed with synthetic neurons through every part so you can have senses similar to those of your natural body. You should notice very few differences between this body and your natural body."

Sarah then touched her face again and realized she was wearing no glasses. "Hey, I can see clearly," she said. "I'm not wearing glasses."

Ajagi replied, "When the body was constructed it was made very precisely. Your eyes in this body work properly without any form of external correction."

Storm spoke up again. "Brainwaves are very similar among intelligent life forms throughout the universe because they are driven by the life energy. The synthetic brain in your body detects the brainwaves created by your life energy to determine what you are thinking when you speak. It understands the meaning and adapts the words to our language, and that is the sound your mouth makes as you speak so we understand you. It also knows the language we speak. When we speak it translates our words into the correct brain wave patterns to give you the same meaning and allows you to see and hear our words as if spoken in your language, as well as hearing yourself speak your own language. It is not a perfect system. That is why you see our mouths move in a way similar to yours for each word, but not precisely. There are also sometimes errors in translation. Some words do not have a correct translation so you will hear them exactly as spoken, and names of people usually pass through directly."

Ajagi chimed in with his input on the matter. "The translation system was developed to transfer the meaning of what is spoken between the two sides. It will adapt as well. As you place meaning on words that were translated inaccurately, you will begin to hear them at future times in a more understandable way."

"This is absolutely incredible," Sarah said, lightly shaking her head. "So far your translation system works very well, and this body...feels very much like my own." She thought silently for a few moments more. "My body...what happens to my body, my real body back home. If my life energy is here..."

Ajagi quickly spoke to allay her worries. "Your body back home is safe. The transfer system connects with your whole life energy but transfers only the higher energy. The lower energy remains in your body to drive your living functions and collect information from your senses, just as a simple life form does. All life forms have this energy. Your higher energy is your consciousness, your thoughts, your knowledge, and everything about who you are as a person. When you close your eyes, your senses receive less information and change the way your brain functions, especially in the vision region. When your brain functions change you are receptive to alternative sensory information and we are able to connect and transfer that higher energy. We transfer only your consciousness which contains everything about who you are."

Sarah began to think poetically. "I guess it's true. The eyes are the windows to the soul."

Chapter 6. Cast and Crew

Sarah was a bit shaken by all the things she'd learned and leaned back away from the table, putting her forehead down into her hands. "I don't believe this," she said quietly.

"We apologize if what we say and what we have done to bring you here is troubling to you," Storm said softly. "When we first brought you here we told you we mean no harm and that is true. If you choose to return home you may open your eyes at any time and we will understand."

Sarah looked up at him. "No, it's...it's that this all seems impossible, that I am in a space ship in another galaxy talking to beings from another planet who need me to complete some great mission. It's just like something from a science fiction story. As you may expect I'm a little overwhelmed at this point."

Storm kept eye contact with her. "We do understand. There have been many others who could not accept their circumstances and chose to return home. Our war is not theirs to fight and we respect their decision."

"There have been others?" Sarah asked. "From my planet?"

"Yes," said Ajagi. "This war has been going on for a very long time. When the invaders create a new weapon or a new strategy, we are usually able to adapt and overcome it. Other times we need help, so we contact the most intelligent beings we can find. Several have come from your planet over many hundreds of generations."

Sarah thought momentarily, figuring that meant thousands of years. "That would explain how figures of beings like you have shown up in our ancient art forms, even in more recent centuries as artists became more talented. But there haven't been any stories of people being brought here for missions like this. Who have you contacted from my planet?"

Ajagi replied, "Every being from your planet who was transferred here to help with our war, and accepted the task, has shown an interest to use the strategy or weapon he learned about here to start his own war and gain power. Our people can not allow anything from our war to begin a war somewhere else, or cause suffering to other beings. Before they transferred back the transfer system was adjusted to prevent knowledge and memories formed here from being transferred back with them. If images similar to us have appeared in your world, it seems the transfer system was not set correctly."

"The pictures have always been harmless," Sarah said. "There isn't anything in them that will start a war or make a weapon."

"That is acceptable," said Storm. "You asked who we contacted from your planet. The last transfer was before I was born, and Ajagi has never met any beings from your planet. This is not our only transfer system."

"The last transfer from your planet was many years ago, if I understand your perception of time correctly," said Ajagi. "Neither of us knows the identity of people from your planet we have gained help from in the past. Also, because each one showed an interest in using our methods and weapons of war for personal gain and power, no record was retained after the connection was ended so that individual could not be intentionally contacted again."

"I apologize for that," Sarah said. "Our civilization has had the shame of war throughout its history." As Sarah absorbed the things she was hearing she kept coming up with more questions for the furry pair. "So, what do you do? Here, on this ship I mean."

The two took in the meaning of her question. "You must mean this transport vehicle," Storm said. "I am the lead weapons officer for this fleet, and for this vehicle. I have the unhappy task of directing how weapons are used and developing new weapons." Storm sighed. "If it was not for the important duty of defending our people, I would never make any weapons."

"And I am the chief research scientist for the fleet, and medical officer for this vehicle," said Ajagi. "I study all areas of mathematics, science, and physics to assist in developing the systems we need for things such as this vehicle, and developing new weapon systems if it is required for a project Storm is creating. Also, if our crew gets injured, it is my task to help them heal."

"There are others on this ship?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, there are 358 others. Would you like to meet them?" Storm asked with a smile.

Feeling more at ease with these two yet still nervous about the situation, Sarah smiled and said, "Sure." She could hardly believe she said that, and couldn't imagine who else she may see. While she was feeling trusting of her two new friends, she kept in the back of her mind the thought that if she felt in danger she only had to open her eyes back home.

Ajagi and Storm stood up from the table. Sarah looked up at them, unsure of what to do and not knowing if she should even move. At that moment Storm reached out to her with his open hand, looking down toward her with a smile and soft eyes. "I promise you they are wonderful people," he said. Sarah couldn't turn down such a gentlemanly invitation, so she put her hand in his and stood up to follow them.

Ajagi got to the door first and slid it open by hand. Sarah was a little surprised that it didn't automatically open like so many science fiction shows she'd watched in the past. He stepped through first and Storm held the door as she passed through. After exiting, the door slid closed behind them as if pulled by a small weight on a roller. As they walked the empty hallway Sarah noticed the color pattern of the floor, walls, and ceiling continued in the halls. She also noticed how gracefully the two were walking on their canine-like feet, each standing a few inches taller than her five foot nine.

After a short distance they arrived at a large double door. "This is one of the rooms for dining and relaxation," Ajagi said. "There should be some of the crew in here while the others attend to their tasks."

When he slid the doors open Sarah's ears were met with the sounds of numerous conversations while her eyes were met with the sight of numerous furry faces. Seated in various locations around the room, at tables or on the floor, were many different creatures. Just like Ajagi and Storm, their bodies were shaped similar to a human, but their heads were shaped like large cats, canids, equines, and various other familiar earthly animals. Each one was wearing a protective suit as her friends were, each suit tailored for that creature's body shape. While she could recognize the species each one resembled, she could not tell who was which gender. She still didn't even know if they had the same genders as Earth creatures.

Sarah's stood there open-mouthed as she looked around the room. The far wall was lined with huge windows, floor to ceiling, showing off the beauty of outer space.

"My friends, this is Sarah," Ajagi said aloud in his deep voice. Everybody in the room looked toward them and replied, "Hello, Sarah!" in welcoming fashion. All Sarah could do was give an uneasy smile and nervously say, "Hello," with a partial wave of the hand. She felt like somebody terrified of public speaking who was stepping up to a podium before a crowd. Being unable to step forward by her own will, Ajagi and Storm placed a hand gently behind her back to direct her into the friendly room. The other occupants resumed their own quiet conversations, and the three found a comfortable place to sit on the padded floor by one of the large windows.

"Would you like anything to drink, Sarah? Or some food?" asked Storm. Sarah kept her eyes on the rest of the room guests and said yes without paying much attention to the question. As she looked around the room Ajagi said reassuringly, "I know it is a lot for you to accept but we would not have brought you here if it was not of such great importance. You look as different to us as we look to you. We just accept those differences in a different way."

Sarah's eyes lingered on the other room occupants for another moment and then looked back at Ajagi. "You are all very different, but you all look like...like animals from my planet. You have bodies like mine but your heads, and your feet...your fur...your tails, they are all just like those of animals I've seen where I come from."

Storm returned with the refreshments; he brought three bowl-like containers with water and a fourth bowl with unusual looking large berries. Sarah looked down at what he had brought and was curious. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked. "You said this body is synthetic."

"It is synthetic, but it is made to imitate your real body as closely as possible," Ajagi said. "You can eat and drink with it, and it will metabolize what you consume to gain energy from it. The senses should work properly for you to taste and smell what you eat. You also have an advantage over our bodies. If food is not available, you can gain energy from an electric magnet charging module. That method requires more time and you must remain near it to gather energy."

Storm and Ajagi picked up their bowls of water, tipping them up to sip from the rim. Sarah felt thirsty but didn't know if the feeling was from her synthetic body or the one she left back home. She picked up her bowl and gave it a sniff to reassure herself that it was water. When it smelled fine to her, she took a small sip. It was water, clean and good, but not very cold. She took a larger sip, set the bowl down, and felt more at ease.

"What were you saying about things you have seen on your planet, Sarah?" Storm asked.

"Oh, that," Sarah replied. "It's just that you and Ajagi, and all these people here in the room...you all look like animals I've seen on my planet but your bodies are shaped like mine. With your face, ears, fur, and tail, you look like an animal we call a 'fox.' And Ajagi, you look like an animal we call a 'wolf.'" She turned toward the others in the room, who were occasionally looking at her and would smile if they made eye contact with her. "Over there I see a cougar, there's a horse...no, two horses. A raccoon...a tiger, a dingo I think..." She stopped naming animal species and paused for a moment when the tiger and dingo started softly licking at each other's faces. She turned back to her friends. "I don't understand it. This is supposed to be another galaxy and you all are supposed to be from another planet. How are you so much alike with creatures from my home?"

Ajagi and Storm were both eating large berries at the time she asked and had to swallow before speaking. "Our people have thought about that question for a very long time because others from your planet have asked the same question when they transferred here in the past. The only explanation we can conclude is that some advanced species of people carried species like us to different planets around the universe a very long time ago, perhaps to distribute the variety of life or protect it from extinction. On different planets with different environments and circumstances, we developed different bodies and brains from those creatures that were placed on your planet. We do not know why our bodies would be so like yours. Of course, that is all just a very large hypothesis."

"Or it could all be purely by chance," Sarah said. She took another sip of water and glanced back toward the other crew members. "So...why are those two licking each other?" she asked, motioning toward the tiger and dingo.

"Love. They perform their duties during the same time period but they are in different areas. They have been apart all day," said Storm.

Sarah turned back to them. "They've missed each other...You all feel the same emotions as people on my planet do? Love, anger, fear, sadness, hate, happiness?"

"Yes, of course," said Storm. "We are able to feel all of those. We rarely feel anger. Hate...I know it is possible, but I have never felt it and I do not know anyone who has. Our people are very uncomfortable with that emotion and do not allow it to enter our minds."

"This is fascinating," said Sarah. "I hope you don't mind all the questions I ask. Nobody from my planet has ever been able to meet with beings from another world like this, or learn about them...well, except for the ones you brought here in the past."

Storm replied, "It is quite acceptable. We do not have as many questions because our people have met beings from your planet in the past and have learned much. We just have not studied all the records," he said, motioning toward Ajagi and himself. "If we have time we will likely ask you more questions about yourself and your home, to satisfy our own curiosity."

Sarah nodded. "Yes, that'll be fine." She looked back to the tiger and dingo creatures who were then licking at each others' muzzles and mouths. "Cute...they make a sweet couple. It's nice they don't have to hide." Sarah looked around the lounge as Ajagi and Storm tried to understand when she meant about hiding. She noticed that wherever there were seats at tables, all the seats had holes in the back for tails to pass comfortably through. She could tell by their occupants that they were there for the comfort of those creatures who could not easily sit on the floor, plus whoever else wanted to sit in one. She occasionally heard what sounded like laughter coming from the conversations in the room, reaffirming the emotion of happiness these creatures felt. She then looked to the color style of the ceiling, walls, and floor.

"Why is everything painted like that," asked Sarah.

"Painted?" asked Ajagi.

"The color of the surfaces in all your rooms. The floor is brown, the ceiling is blue, and the walls are green and dark colors," replied Sarah.

Ajagi and Storm looked around the room to the surfaces she mentioned. "That is to remind us of our home," Storm said. "Our world has a sky that is blue and white, so the ceiling is blue with white lights. The walls look like the plants and trees that provide us with so much food. The floor is the ground we walk on. The ground and trees are where many of our people live."

Ajagi interjected. "We love our world and long to return there. What you see is there to help us think of home so we may feel we are still there."

Sarah looked at Ajagi. "Where is your home world? And where are we now? Why are you here instead of home?"

"Our planet is the fourth in order of those that travel around the center star. There are twelve planets and we are not far beyond the orbit of the last. We are stationed here to watch for the invaders so we may stop them before they approach our home planet."

"This small fleet is one of many around our star system. We all are guarding our home," Storm said.

Sarah looked out the window behind them at the other stars, galaxies, and the nebula in view. "It's all so beautiful. On my home planet we don't have many things so close to see like this. I've only seen things like these in pictures from telescopes and observatories." She thought they may be unfamiliar with her terms and clarified what she said. "A telescope lets us look at things that are very far away to see them closely, and observatories have very large telescopes."

Ajagi replied, "Yes, we have such devices as well. We have studied all that we can see through them."

Sarah looked back out the window and said, "I may have even seen a picture of your galaxy, who knows...you've probably looked at mine..." She paused and thought for a moment, then looked at them. "Hey, which one out there is my galaxy?"

Ajagi answered, "I do not know. I will look at the information on the transfer system to determine where it found your life energy."

Sarah smiled and said, "I hope we can find it. I'd love to see it." She looked back out the window, gazing at the dark beauty of space. "You said you're in a fleet. Where are the other ships?" she asked.

"They can be viewed from the other side of this vehicle," Storm said. "We are on one end of a line of vehicles." Sarah knew what he meant when he spoke but wondered why they said vehicle instead of ship.

As Sarah looked out the window she didn't see the door slide open and a raccoon creature enter. He was greeted by several friends sitting nearby, and one of the horse creatures stood up from one of the seats to meet him more personally.

"Nanida is here," Storm said, looking toward the raccoon and motioning for him to come over. "He will want to meet you, Sarah."

Sarah swiveled her head around and looked up to see the raccoon and horse arrive at their little group. The raccoon was about as tall as her friends but the horse creature was easily another foot taller. Ajagi and Storm got up to greet each of them with hugs, and share licks to the muzzles. After their warm greeting the two sat back down where they'd been.

"Nanida, 'Kiri, please meet our friend Sarah. She has arrived here through the transfer system to help us," Ajagi said. "Sarah, please meet our captain Nanida and his mate Antakiri."

Sarah was briefly surprised as she was suddenly so close to creatures that looked like animals from earth, standing upright.

"It is wonderful to meet you, Sarah," Nanida said, sitting down on the padded floor to join them.

"Yes, it is wonderful to meet you," Antakiri said. "Thank you for helping us with our mission." The horse creature also lowered himself to join them, first sitting on his knees and then, awkwardly because of his long legs, sitting on the floor. Sarah noticed his sitting motion and remembered he was one of the creatures using a seat at a table.

"It's lovely to meet you both as well," Sarah said, looking each one in the eyes as she spoke. She didn't know what else to say and struggled to think of something. "You have a very nice ship, captain."

"Thank you for the compliment. You may speak my name Nanida," the raccoon said with a smile. "'Captain' is only the name of my task here. It is not who I am."

"Alright...Nanida," Sarah replied. "In my world, the captain of a ship is always called captain and they get very upset if a crew member calls him by name."

Antakiri said, "We are all the same people we were before we traveled out here on this vehicle. We are all equal to each other. Each of us only performs different duties."

Sarah thought for a moment about what they had said. "That sounds very nice. Everybody is friends and can talk to each other like friends," she said with a smile. "It's interesting that you have the same words for rank that we use in my world, such as captain and first mate."

"Remember, we are speaking different languages," Ajagi commented. "We speak different words that have the same meaning. You hear translations of words we speak."

"Oh, right," Sarah replied, followed by another sip of her water.

Storm took a bite from another large berry and spoke up. "I was thinking about a question you asked earlier, Sarah. You asked about emotions we feel and one of those you spoke of was hate. That is a very strong feeling but it is very rare. The emotions we feel that are most close to hate are how we feel about this war, about creating a weapon we must use to kill other beings, about being so far from our home. We do not want to kill other living beings but we must or we will be killed. We do not want to fight a war. We want to be home, not here. For these things we feel very great anger, great regret, and even greater sadness, because they are all a result of this war."

The other three nodded in agreement. "We all want to go home, to be with those we love," Antakiri said. "Being with each other here makes it easier to bear. Home is in each of us, to share with the rest."

Sarah nodded and looked around the room, noticing pictures of forests, grass lands, lakes, and rivers. "Are those pictures of your home planet on the walls?"

Her four conversation companions looked toward the walls. "Yes," Ajagi said. "Those display units show us places we know and love. Those also make it easier to bear."

Sarah kept looking at the pictures and said, "It looks beautiful...reminds me of my home, at least the parts outside the city anyway."

Storm held the bowl of berries and small fruits out to Nanida and Antakiri, and each took one small piece. "Thank you for sharing," Nanida said, "It is well into our rest time and we were about to go to the garden to gather our meal." He and Antakiri held out their hands toward Sarah. "It has been delightful to meet you, Sarah," said Nanida, smiling.

"Yes it has. We thank you once again for providing your help," said Antakiri, also with a friendly smile.

Sarah reached out without hesitation to take each of their hands in hers. "It's been wonderful to meet you both as well," she said with a sweet smile to meet theirs.

Nanida stood and provided a hand to help Antakiri up from the floor, and both gave a nuzzle of goodbye to Ajagi and Storm before they left. Sarah had been observing how closely familiar everybody's greetings were with each other. "You all are very friendly with each other. Do all your people greet each other with licks and nuzzles and such?" she asked.

"Yes," Storm said. "Some greetings are different by a small measure, but each one is out of friendship and love."

"In my world only couples in love share such close greetings." Sarah thought for a moment. "That must be what you meant about the 'proper greeting' you wanted to give me when we first met. I apologize for not wanting to get too close, but I was so afraid at the time. If I'd have known then how friendly you all are, I'd have greeted you with hugs."

"That is quite alright," Ajagi said. "We did not want to frighten you so we kept our distance."

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness," Sarah said with a smile as she reached out her hands to them. Ajagi and Storm both smiled and placed a furry hand in each of hers, which she squeezed gently.

A few moments after they released each others' hands, Storm held the bowl of berries out to Sarah. "You have not eaten anything. Would you like to have some of these?"

Sarah peered at the unusual berries and declined. "No, thank you. I ate just before I came here. You two can have them."

"I understand," Storm said. "I hope you will try them some day. These are acceptable but I do not enjoy them as much as those we have at home. The garden keepers can only do so much with the resources they have, and we appreciate what they do."

Sarah tilted her head slightly in curiosity. "I heard Nanida mention that. You have a garden here?"

"Yes," replied Ajagi. "Travel vehicles this large and larger have garden areas where we grow our food. We are very far from our star so we must use artificial lights and recaptured water for the plants to grow. You must remember, Sarah, you ate a meal with your body at home. This body you have here must also receive energy to keep working properly. It is far more efficient for it to eat food than to refresh its energy by other means such as the charging module. Also, it needs molecules from food to repair damage and replace lost hair."

"Alright, I'll remember that," said Sarah. "I hope you can show me the garden sometime."

Ajagi, always thinking analytically, reminded Sarah, "You have been here with us for a good amount of time. You must always remember to take care of your natural body as well as this one you have here. Do you require anything back at your home to care for your natural body?"

Sarah thought about his question for a moment and replied, "I should be alright for a while. I'll need to get some sleep tonight, before too long, but I'm good for now. Should we get down to business and talk about what this plan of yours is before I have to go?"

Ajagi replied, "The research room we were using earlier will be the best place to discuss it." He and Storm then finished off the remaining fruit from the bowl and drank the last of their water, then the three got up from their place next to the window.

Chapter 7. ...Should she choose to accept it...

Just as Sarah, Storm, and Ajagi were walking toward the door it slid open and another feline came through with black fur like a panther but dark gray spots like a clouded leopard. She swiftly walked over to the tiger and dingo next to the window and knelt down to the padded floor seat to join them with a group hug. Sarah asked her companions, "Who's that?"

"She is their mate. Her duty period must have ended," Storm said as they passed through the door.

Sarah replied, "Oh.....ooohhhhhh," as she realized the meaning of what he said. Shortly after exiting the lounge she asked them, "Why don't your doors open automatically for you? I would think that if you are so advanced with technology that you could build a ship like this, you'd have doors that sense you approaching and open for you."

"We are all physically able to open the doors ourselves so we saw no need to use energy in such a wasteful manner," Ajagi replied.

"They do have actuators that move them if an emergency occurs," added Storm. "If we all need to take action the doors are set to stay open so we can move from one area to another quickly. If we are attacked and the vehicle is breached, the doors in that area will be held closed to isolate any loss of atmosphere."

Sarah thought to herself that their explanations made perfect sense. While the three walked down the hall, back the way they originally came, they were passed by a reptilian creature and one who looked like a mouse, standing only about four feet tall.

With a smile, Sarah was the first to say, "Hello," followed quickly by her two smiling friends. The reptile and mouse both replied a cheerful, "Hello," in return before passing them and disappearing into the lounge.

When they returned to the research room Ajagi immediately headed over to the control console at the transfer system. "First I will find the answer to your question about where your galaxy is," he said. With interest Sarah went over and stood next to him to watch. He passed his hand over a sensor to activate a holographic display screen that appeared in front of them. Sarah didn't recognize any of the symbols and markings of the language displayed on the screen, though she tried to guess their meaning. Ajagi touched various spots on the screen, which was solid as a glass panel, to change display screens and manipulate the data until he found the information he was looking for.

"There it is," he said, stopping on one screen and reading all the data. "The transfer system shows your galaxy...it is very far away but will be visible from the other side of the vehicle."

"Alright," said Sarah. "Hopefully you guys can give me a tour of the ship and point it out to me." She then looked over the transfer machine as she was standing so closely to it. "So, how does this thing work, anyway? The transfer system, I mean."

Ajagi answered, "It acts as a middle point in the transfer to maintain the life energy connection between your natural body and your synthetic body. I do not know precisely how it works. We only know how to operate it. It was created and perfected long before I was ever born. There are some of our other people who have the special knowledge required to build them and understand how they work."

"I guess somebody needs to know how to fix it when it breaks down," said Sarah with a small laugh. Storm sat up on the work table behind them and leaned back to lie down as they talked.

"It does not break or fail," said Ajagi. "The components we create to build devices such as this are made to never fail. This unit was built before we ever required vehicles to leave the surface of our planet. It can still be damaged or destroyed, so it is very heavily protected with different types of armor and shields to protect the connection that transfers life energy of a being who is visiting us. These controls are our only contact with it, but destroying the controls will not harm the transfer system itself."

"What happens if it does get destroyed? Or what if the power goes out? I mean, is it dangerous for me to be here?" asked Sarah with concern in her voice. Storm rolled over on the table to lie on his stomach and look at the others, swishing his tail gently.

"The transfer system supports itself," replied Ajagi. "If it becomes disconnected from the energy source of the vehicle it will sustain itself for a minimum of one hundred days. That will provide far more time than required for a rescue vehicle to find it and reconnect its power.

"If it should be destroyed by a catastrophic impact while the life energy of a being is transferred here, or if it is shut off or the link shut down, the connection with that being's natural body will be lost and the life energy will not be able to return. Once the link is shut off the natural body will not have any higher conscious energy to find and it will be impossible to establish a link again. The life energy, the consciousness, will remain trapped here in the support system or synthetic body we provided to complete the transfer. As long as that does not happen and your body here is safe, it is not dangerous for you to be here."

"A lost soul, then. What happens to my body back home if the connection is lost? Or what if something happens to my body here?" asked Sarah.

"If the link is lost and your life energy remains here, your brain in your natural body at your home will lose its ability to function at any capacity above the lowest abilities. Its brain will maintain its basic functions required to live but the rest will essentially be dead. The same will happen if your synthetic body here is destroyed or damaged enough that it can not support your life energy and you do not transfer back to your natural body quickly enough. Your natural body will cease to function beyond supporting its own life, and your life energy here will be lost permanently. In that event, you will be completely dead. That is why it is so important to protect both the transfer system and your synthetic body here. These awful protection covers are required for our safety while stationed here."

Sarah understood the implications of her presence there but still had additional questions. "What if something happens to my natural body at home, like a gas leak blows up my house or something?"

"If you do not transfer back the result will be the same as when the connection is lost. Your conscious life energy will be trapped here because your natural body at home will not be alive to maintain its end of the connection link," replied Ajagi.

"I'll have to be careful about making the house safe before I transfer here, then," said Sarah. After a few moments of thought she asked, "I was wondering...what happens to my body at home when I'm here? I mean, when I'm walking around or talking here, am I doing the same thing back home and walking into the walls or something?"

Storm closed his eyes in relaxation as he laid on the table while the other two were having their conversation. "No," replied Ajagi, "all the movement impulses from your mind here are sent to your body here. Your natural body is essentially paralyzed and you will remain where you were before you transferred. The only action you can perform beyond natural life functions is to open your eyes, and that requires a conscious thought to do so above what is required to open or close your eyes here.

"Your natural body may also fall asleep when you are transferred here. If that occurs it will be difficult or impossible for you to open your eyes and return until your body awakens. In the event of danger here, that will make it a risk for you to be unable to quickly return home and escape the danger with your life energy."

"Wow, this is amazing," Sarah said. "I believe what you are telling me, but it is all so incredible it is almost unbelievable."

"I understand," said Ajagi. "It is a great deal to accept."

Sarah looked over the control console of the transfer system and its few physical inputs. "It's so complex but looks so simple...What's that?" she asked, pointing to a large switch with a pin through it behind a protective cover.

Ajagi replied, "That lever will disconnect the link to your natural body after you have transferred home. It is protected so that it may not be shut off without full intent."

"Reminds me of the joke about the janitor unplugging the power cord of the life support machine in the hospital so he can plug in his floor buffer," said Sarah. "Um.....you probably haven't heard that one."

"No...I have not heard that story," replied Ajagi with confusion. "If you have no more questions about the transfer system," he said while standing up, "we must discuss our mission plan and why we need your help."

Sarah stood up and followed Ajagi to the large work table. "Wake up, 'Sleeping Beauty'," she said jokingly. Storm opened his eyes in surprise and got himself up, looking at her with a smile and small laugh. He enjoyed the nickname despite not knowing its origin. He hopped off the table and turned to face it with the other two, then pressed a small square outline with a claw point. With that, a larger area on the table activated to form a large display screen where it had previously looked like nothing more than table top. More strange symbols appeared on it as they did before with the display screen at the transfer control. Storm pressed a few of them and brought up a picture of three different ships.

"The invaders call themselves 'the Kra'," said Storm. "We do not know the name of the planet they come from, but it does not matter. These are the three types of space travel vehicles they use. All are capable of attack. The largest carries their main supplies and the majority of their people, perhaps several million per vehicle. The smallest is used for moving ahead of the rest, surveying new areas, and is responsible for the initial invasion and attack. They each carry smaller numbers of their people, approximately five hundred per vehicle.

"The vehicle in the middle is the most dangerous. Its primary purpose is weaponry. It contains their largest weapons and has more in number than the others. It carries thousands of their people to overcome any who remain after it has destroyed a population center."

"Holy crap," Sarah said. Storm and Ajagi still did not know the meaning of the words but understood the intent due to the context. "Why are they invading? What do you have that they want?"

"Everything," Ajagi said. "When the surface of a planet is secure the largest vehicles approach the surface to let their full population out. Each carries their own weapons but their main purpose is labor. They strip planets of every resource available that they can use for their own gain. When nothing remains they leave and go on to the next planet. They usually return the resources to their home planet, but the last information we acquired indicated they are stripping their own planet to nothing to prepare for invading our planet. It is all done for the benefit and advancement of their species with extreme greed and prejudice against all other planets and living things. Nothing else matters to them and they will destroy anything and anybody that is a barrier to those gains."

Storm resumed speaking after Ajagi. "They are a most brutal species. If anybody shows any sort of resistance, the Kra kill them. They do not accept surrender after a failed battle and do not take captives. Those who surrender without showing any resistance are captured and exploited, forced to perform the labor of stripping resources for the benefit of the Kra. If any individuals become injured and can not perform as required they are immediately killed, or saved for killing at a later time for the enjoyment of the Kra, just as any who were injured before capture. They also kill their own people who become injured, to prevent any from turning against the rest by joining or helping those who are being invaded. Their injured are also seen as inferior and not allowed to live in their species. Among the civilizations that are invaded, those who have capable bodies are kept as slaves to perform their labor, and to be killed for the enjoyment of the Kra any time they choose. In the end they will not stop until every last one of a species is dead. They have already destroyed untold numbers of civilizations...we did not know of them until they first attempted to invade and defeat us."

Sarah was speechless at what she'd heard. She turned around, walked slowly to the table with seats around it, and sat sideways in the chair, just staring blankly at the floor. "I had no idea it was so serious," she said quietly. "You've all been so friendly and welcoming, and happy, I never realized the urgency of the situation...I never realized the threat to your lives was so real."

Storm went over to sit in the chair next to her, facing her, while Ajagi moved over to stand next to her. "They are very dangerous. It is most critical that we defeat them," Storm said with pleading eyes.

"There is more to tell you," Ajagi said. "In the past their attacks were very simple and contained few of their people. They must have thought our civilization would be as primitive as the others they destroyed. Our ancestors had never fought a war before but were able to defeat the Kra and drive away their attack. Many years later they tried again with different tactics, but our people were able to overcome them once again. Each time they returned to their planet to create a new strategy or new weapon.

"As their attacks became more challenging, we required the help of people beyond our planet. That is why the transfer system was first put into use. Your ancestors were able to help us create new strategies and methods of defense. We also used beings from other locations around the universe to help us. We were always able to remain a tiny bit advanced over the weapons and strategies of the Kra and have always been able to defeat them without losing the lives of very many of our people. Without the need for such advances we would never have created vehicles such as this, but we are very saddened that so many of our people died for those advances."

Storm added, "Now they are creating a weapon we have no means to defeat or protect ourselves from. The information we have collected shows they are creating a weapon that takes energy and matter from the universe, collects and concentrates it, and shoots it with tremendous force. It differs from their other weapons because it is energy and matter we can not see or detect."

"That sounds like something we call 'dark energy' and 'dark matter'," said Sarah, "but it's always been theoretical. We can't detect it, see it, or even prove it exists."

"Yes," replied Storm, "it exists and it is the material they are using. Our best sensors can barely detect it, and by the time they do it would be much too late. The generated force shielding around our vehicle is made to detect and absorb normal matter and energy weapons. We do not yet know how to adjust them to repel this new weapon. A projectile made of this dark energy and dark matter would pass right through those shields and damage our vehicle while leaving the shield intact...unless the shield generation units were damaged."

"You can understand why we can not protect ourselves from this weapon," said Ajagi as he knelt down on the floor next to Sarah to sit on his feet. "Our only advantage is that it is exceedingly difficult for them to collect this dark energy and dark matter for each attack burst. It also requires a very large device to collect it so it can only be installed in their middle and largest vehicles. But if each of their attacking vehicles contains this weapon, the collective amount of attack could easily be far more than we can defend against. Once this weapon damages one of our vehicles enough to disable the generated force shield, their regular weapons will quickly destroy it."

"Have they already attacked you with this weapon?" asked Sarah.

"No," replied Storm, "they do not have it completed yet and we do not know how soon they will. When they have the large version perfected they will begin building duplicates for all the other vehicles. We are trying to prepare for when they do return."

Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked at Storm and asked, "What can I do to help?"

Storm replied, "It is the same task that we required help in the past to complete. We must create another weapon, or a strategy, that we may use to defeat the Kra. Our people on other vehicles are working with others who have transferred to develop strategies. We are one of the fleets working on creating a weapon. The threat is not immediate but we must create something for us to use when they do attack again."

"How do you know they'll come this way? You have a big solar system and they could come from any direction," Sarah asked.

"We do not know," Ajagi answered. "This fleet is protecting the region we have concluded is most likely for them to pass through, because it is on the most direct in line between their planet and ours. They have always come from this direction. The other fleets are scattered around in case they altered their strategy and come from a different direction, and there are several million sensor probes in the void between fleets to help with detection. Approach from any direction will be intercepted in a very short time."

"Once any of us develops a new weapon or strategy," said Storm, "it will immediately be shared with all the other fleets so they may begin building a weapon or alter their strategic plans. Because we are in charge of weapon development in this fleet, we must create an idea for a new weapon. We needed somebody who had a great understanding of the universe and the physical laws and properties of everything and every force in it. We needed somebody who can understand things beyond what is already known. That is why we chose you."

Sarah understood the challenge but sat there dumbfounded, shaking her head. "And to think," she said, "a few days ago I was working on a pointless project for a pointless job. Now I'm coming up with some ray gun to blow up space invaders." She paused for a few moments, then stood up with Storm. "Yes...yes, I will help you however I can. What do we have to work with?"

"Come over here and we can show you," Ajagi said. The three moved back over to the work table to look at the display screen on the surface. He typed at a few symbols on the screen and quickly brought up pictures of several various devices his people had created. "We have weapons that generate and concentrate tremendous amounts of light or atomic particles to launch toward invading vehicles. We also have one that creates very large magnetic fields to overload the control systems of their vehicles. Those work to some extent but each time they attack they have created new defense systems that make our weapons less effective. We once tried a weapon that attached a thrust generator to the side of their vehicle to push them away but all it did was make them angry...more so."

"Do you have a transporter? Something that can deconstruct objects and make them materialize wherever you want?" asked Sarah.

"No, we do not have such a device. I do not know if that is possible," said Ajagi.

"Too bad," replied Sarah, "I was thinking maybe we could beam a nuke into the middle of their ship and blow them up."

Storm looked at Ajagi and said with a smile, "I knew she would be good at coming up with ideas." He then added, "I believe I understand your meaning of an explosive device that uses a nuclear reaction. We have tried that before and it caused minimal damage to their vehicle and only the individual Kra who were closest to the blast died from radiation exposure."

Ajagi said, "The most successful weapons have been the ones that generate projectiles of light or atomic particles. The concentration is so great their shields have difficulty in protecting their vehicles from the bursts. If there are enough simultaneous bursts to one area it will quickly breach the walls of their vehicle and cause enough internal damage to destroy their vehicle or drive them away."

"We have larger numbers of vehicles, and they are small and more maneuverable, so we have always been able to overcome an attack and drive them away," said Storm. "To generate their next attack they are stripping their own planet of every available resource. Their fleet will be so large we may not be able to defend ourselves."

"Our current light generating weapons can create a force of twenty-five trillion jard, and the atomic particle weapons create a force up to one hundred trillion dols," said Ajagi.

"Wait a second," interrupted Sarah, "what's a jard or a dol? If we're going to be working on this together we will have to figure out our units of measurement."

"You are right," said Ajagi. "Our understanding of distance, time, force, and other measurements is different from yours. Every other weapon devised with help of a transferred mind has required such a mutual understanding."

For an hour sitting in seats around the smaller table, Sarah, Ajagi, and Storm went through every constant from physics, chemistry, and mathematics in order to gain that mutual understanding. They decided that when she is home, in her natural body, her planning and equations would be in her own units for her ease of understanding. After transferring back they would take what she'd figured out and convert it to their units for them to understand, develop further, or begin building.

After they finished sharing notes, ideas, and some thoughts, they all got up from the table. Sarah yawned and stretched, and then looked at them wide-eyed in realization. "I'm amazed again at how natural this body feels," she said. "I feel tired, I'm stretching out muscles that got stiff from sitting for so long, but the whole thing is homemade. Too bad we don't have things like this back home for amputation and paralysis patients."

Ajagi looked puzzled. "Your medical treatments have not advanced far enough to repair damage to the body like that?"

"No," Sarah replied. "Sometimes an amputated limb can be saved and reattached, but people who get paralyzed from a broken neck or something are usually stuck that way for the rest of their lives."

"How awful that would be," said Ajagi. "We are able to heal all of those types of injuries. It is very rare that a synthetic body part or whole body is necessary. A whole body was once necessary for someone who was badly burned when a new propulsion system was being tested and it exploded. Amputation can easily be repaired as long as the lost part of the body is not lost for too long. I've been working on some devices to help with that," he said, pointing to some units laying on the tables lining the walls. "One goes on the amputated limb and the other goes on the body where the limb was severed. Each one contains numerous mechanical connections to automatically clean, sterilize, suppress pain, stop bleeding, and maintain blood circulation until surgery can be performed. From every test and analysis I have applied to it, it seems to work. Without an actual test subject to try it on I do not know for sure, and I can not expect anybody to volunteer. Amputation is exceedingly rare on our planet but it does happen more frequently when we are attacked during this war. It is sad that it was necessary for me to create such a device."

"It is sad," agreed Sarah, "but you all continue to amaze me at all you have accomplished and created. Besides, amputation may be rare on your planet but when it does happen, this device will be nice to have around."

Sarah yawned again and said, "As tired as I feel I should probably get home. I'll get some sleep tonight and get to work first thing in the morning on thinking up something. I'll come back later tomorrow and we can share what we've come up with."

Storm and Ajagi agreed with her thoughts. Sarah then smiled and said, "I have to tell you, I was scared when I first came here. Now that I've spent so much time with you both, I feel as comfortable as if we've been friends my whole life."

She then walked up to her two friends, stood up on her tiptoes to match their height more closely, and wrapped her arms around their necks to hug them together. Ajagi and Storm each wrapped an arm around her back and squeezed gently, fully understanding the friendship intended by her hug. After several moments they all released each other. She then went over near the window and sat down with a persistent smile. "I'll see you both tomorrow," she said, then tried to open her eyes.

Nothing happened. She tried again, and never left her place on the ship. "I can't open my eyes. What's happening?" she asked.

Ajagi glanced over at an indicator on the transfer system. "The system indicates your body fell asleep. Keep trying to open them and you will wake up enough to open your eyes. After you have transferred back I will suspend the connection so you may sleep uninterrupted."

"Alright, thanks," Sarah said. With all her concentration she tried once more to open her eyes, and found herself looking up at her living room ceiling, still feeling the fading sensation of fur pressed against both of her cheeks.

Chapter 8. Three Heads Are Better Than None

The blue glow of the alarm clock indicated it was shortly after 1:00 AM when Sarah got into her bedroom. She smiled as a warm happiness filled her while she thought about the beautiful creatures she'd just spent so much time with. As a lifelong lover of animals she always enjoyed making friends with any she met and had wondered since she was a little girl what it would be like if they could talk like humans. Now that she knew she looked forward to getting to know her friends even better.

Sarah hung up her bathrobe, brushed her teeth, headed to bed, and snuggled under the covers. When she closed her eyes to go to sleep a small part of her wished she'd find herself back on the ship with her friends, but a larger part of her was relieved to see the empty darkness that would help her fall asleep. As she laid there with her eyes closed she thought about all the animal faces she'd seen, but fell asleep in a few minutes. While she slept, Sarah had several random dreams, some of which included Storm, Ajagi, or the other members of the ship's crew.

With her perception of time so drastically altered in her sleep it seemed like only a few minutes worth of dreams. As the dreams continued she began to have unpleasant dreams, then nightmares, about the Kra invading Arfurah and attacking its people. The ships and their weapons were making a horrible rough noise, a sound like grinding and whining combined, as they destroyed cities and killed innocent Arfurans. Suddenly the sound became intensely loud, forcing Sarah to wake up and realize the sound she'd heard in the dream was the neighbor's lawnmower. She became annoyed to be awakened so early in the morning, especially on a Saturday, but at the same time she was relieved to be taken out of such an awful dream.

Sarah trudged slowly to the kitchen, yawning the entire way, and started a small pot of coffee brewing. Still quite tired, she then trudged out to the living room and plunked herself down on the couch where she'd taken her amazing journey the evening before. As she sat there she couldn't avoid thinking about the people she'd met and the task she'd undertaken for them. While she knew it was all real, a small part in the back of her mind kept wondering if it had all been a dream of some sort. It was all so incredible, so fantastic, it seemed beyond the scope of reality. But then, as a scientist, she dismissed such speculation, knowing there could easily be civilizations in the universe so far advanced beyond current human achievements.

When she could hear the ending sputters of the coffee maker finishing its job, Sarah got up and returned to her bedroom to get her fuzzy bathrobe. Tying off its belt before reaching her front door, she opened the door and was greeted by a beautiful noisy morning. She walked out to her mailbox to retrieve the morning newspaper with the mail she didn't get the day before, and on the way back to the house returned the wave to the neighbor who was mowing his lawn.

Sarah closed the door to keep the noise out when she got back inside, dropped her cargo on the table next to the couch, and returned to the kitchen. With a fresh cup of coffee, fresh fruit, and a fresh mind, she sat at the counter to eat breakfast while thinking about the challenge given to her. After finishing she took her second cup of coffee and returned to the couch to think about ideas. A short time later Sarah got up and went into her office, the former dining room she never used. She pulled books and scientific journals dealing with the known and theoretical physics of energy and particles from the shelves and began to flip through them for more ideas.

As Sarah read she began forming ideas for weapons using the technology the Arfurans have, plus theories on how to advance that technology. Throughout the morning she skimmed over all the topics she could find in the publications she had in hopes of finding those that would be applicable to the mission. Shortly after noon she made a trip to the university library to look through the theses and dissertations of other physics students, reading those that dealt with theories on time, space, light, energy, particles, dark matter, and dark energy. Ignoring the copyright laws she made photocopies of those texts that would be most helpful, and then headed back home.

When Sarah got back home she made some tea and continued reading the information she had. Shortly, she was beginning to feel quite burned out and her mind was starting to wander. She stopped writing on her pages of notes and began to make doodles in the margins of cartoon-like foxes and wolves. She found some of her drawings quite funny and got a laugh out of them, and soon realized how tired she was feeling.

Knowing her productivity was rapidly winding down to a crawl she decided to take a nap. Sarah went to her room, undressed and took a quick shower to refresh herself. After she got dry she went to close the drapes from the afternoon sun, set her alarm for two hours, and got in bed. When she didn't transfer anywhere with her eyes closed she relaxed and quickly fell asleep.

The two hours seemed like two minutes when her alarm went off. Sarah wished she could stay in bed but knew she had to get up because she would be meeting with her friends soon. She got up, put on her same fuzzy bathrobe, and headed for the kitchen. Having not done any grocery shopping during the week all she could find was a can of soup to eat with the last of her fresh fruit, and some juice. She figured it was either that or mix some soy sauce with ketchup to have something to dip an onion bagel into, and decided the former was more appetizing.

The stove clock showed Sarah it was nearing half past six. Finished with dinner, she went to the living room and sat on the couch to review the notes she'd made earlier in the day. She did her best to quickly memorize what she'd written so the notes could be transcribed after she transferred. She imagined the alternative would be opening and closing her eyes after transfer so she could return to her living room, read some notes, and transfer back while they were still fresh in memory. Since that option didn't seem terribly practical Sarah decided to read and memorize more thoroughly.

Confident she would be able to remember what she'd written, Sarah went to use the bathroom in preparation for what she figured would be a long night. After getting a good drink of water she returned to the living room and laid on the familiar couch. She knew she could lay on her bed or sit in the easy chair, but she found comfort in keeping things the same, at least for the time being. Looking forward to seeing her friends, Sarah closed her eyes with a smile on her face.

As instantly as the night before Sarah found herself in the research and transfer room of the Arfuran ship where she'd left herself the night before. Her new body was still in the protective suit she'd been wearing on her previous visit. On that occasion she found nobody in the room to greet her. Sarah got up off the floor and began looking around for clues or a note from Ajagi or Storm about where they'd gone. Shortly she realized that even if there was a note they wouldn't know her written language and she wouldn't know theirs, so feeling rather silly she headed for the door.

The door slid very freely as if on frictionless rollers when Sarah opened it. There was nobody in the hallway to guide her so she headed for the only place she knew. As she walked through the hall she found the silence of the ship to be eerie. Either the place is abandoned or they have incredible technology to make systems quiet, she thought to herself. Sarah opened the door to the relaxation room and peered inside. Unlike the previous night, the room was now mostly empty except for one table occupied by Arfuran creatures who looked like two mice, an otter, and a zebra, all playing a game she found completely unfamiliar. She saw no sign of her two friends.

"Excuse me," she said timidly, "does anyone know where I may find Storm or Ajagi?"

Everybody at the table stopped their game and looked toward her. "You must be Sarah," the zebra said.

"Yes," replied Sarah. Everybody at the table quickly responded with smiles and welcoming greetings.

"They were going into the information archive when I was coming out a short while ago," the otter said.

"Thank you," Sarah said, "but I'm not yet familiar with your ship...your vehicle, I mean. I've only been here and the transfer room down the hall."

Before Sarah could ask for directions one of the mice hopped down off her seat and came walking toward her quickly. "I will show you the way," she said in a fairly high voice. Looking back to her companions she said, "I will be back shortly. Please wait when the game is on my turn."

Everybody at the table assured her they would and said goodbye to Sarah. Just as she returned her exit greeting to the rest, the mouse took her hand and began to lead her down the hall. Despite being so much shorter than Sarah she had a fast stride that required Sarah to keep pace with her own much longer legs. "Thank you for showing me the way. Everybody here is so friendly!" she said.

"It is my pleasure to help," said the mouse. "My name is Takaras. I hope your travel here was enjoyable."

"Yes, in fact it was so enjoyable it seemed to go by in a flash," replied Sarah with humor in her voice. Takaras just looked up at her with an agreeable smile. Sarah couldn't help noticing the long white whiskers that sprouted from either side of her muzzle, bouncing lightly like her tail with every step. The two walked down several corridors and around a few corners before coming to the information archive in the middle of the ship.

Takaras slid the door open to peek in and confirm that at least one of the two objects of the search were still in there. Seeing both were there, she confirmed to Sarah this was the right place. Sarah lowered herself down on one knee to thank Takaras again and give her a hug. Hugging back, Takaras turned and ran off to rejoin her gaming party in the lounge.

"Storm! Ajagi!" exclaimed Sarah as she approached them from behind. "It's good to see you both again," she added as she hugged them before they could even wag their tails.

"Hello, Sarah," Storm replied with a smile, light laugh, warm hug, and a lick to the cheek. "You arrived here earlier than I was expecting."

"It is good to see you again as well, Sarah," replied Ajagi with the same warm, friendly greetings.

Sarah smiled and said, "That must be the proper greeting you mentioned my first time here."

"Yes," replied Storm. "Your greeting was so familiar it was quite automatic for us to be as familiar. I hope you did not find it unpleasant."

"No, not at all. Your greetings are quite nice," Sarah reassured them. Looking around the room she commented, "This isn't quite what I'd pictured. I was expecting to find a library in here." All she saw were small tables with what appeared to be computer terminals with a few other crew members doing their own viewing.

"That is what this is," said Ajagi. "This is the information archive where we may access all the information we have archived back home as well as new information of research done on our other vehicles. All information is shared between all other crews."

Storm added, "Physical copies of all our written information would be far too enormous. Everything is stored in these memory centers." He pointed to the walls which contained numerous identical computerized units. "We have been gathering information about energy and our existing weapons that may help us in our mission."

"I will save what we have so we may return to the transfer and research room," Ajagi said. He tapped a few symbols on the holographic screen to send their work, then passed his hand over a small sensor on the table to shut it off. Turning around he said, "We may go now. The information will be waiting for us."

The three left the library and walked the halls at a pace more leisurely than her trip to the room. "What have you been researching, Sarah?" Ajagi asked. "Did you find anything that will be helpful?"

Sarah replied, "I went through everything I could find on energy, matter, antimatter, physical laws, theories, astrophysics...I wrote down a few ideas we could look into as well as several theorems of theoretical physics. So much of it is unknown on my planet, it's things people have only thought about. You all are so more advanced than we are, maybe you already know what works."

"I hope that is true," replied Storm, "but we do not know everything. Certain knowledge of the universe has not been discovered or understood by us yet. We have not learned how to collect the 'dark matter' you concluded the Kra are using."

On their way to the transfer and research room the three passed a few other Arfurans in the hall, each one giving a friendly greeting. Sarah was consistently impressed with how friendly and welcoming everybody on the ship was. She noticed she never received any stares or strange looks for having such a different appearance from everybody else. Everybody treated her like an old friend.

As they entered the transfer room Sarah said, "Everything I have is written on my notes back home. I memorized it the best I could but I will have to transfer back and forth a few times to make sure I got it all.

"That will not be necessary," said Ajagi. "Your memories are part of your higher life energy. When you transfer all that energy and information goes through the transfer system and any new memories are recorded. All the information from your notations is already here."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding," Sarah said in disbelief.

"No, we do not lie and I am not trying to make you laugh with a lie," replied Ajagi. "I will show you." Ajagi activated the screen on the transfer system console and began tapping at various symbols again. "How recently did you last view your writings?"

Sarah thought briefly. "It was just before I transferred here, so maybe 15 minutes."

Ajagi figured the conversion in his head between her minutes and the time units they used, then resumed tapping screen symbols. "Eight taren ago...written...physics...Is this it?"

On the screen appeared an exact copy of all the notes Sarah had written back home. "That is amazing," she said. "Yes, that's it."

Ajagi tapped a few more symbols and deactivated the screen. He then walked over to the work table, tapped the activation square, and began tapping symbols on its tabletop screen with his claw points. Sarah and Storm stood nearby watching as her pages of notes appeared, followed shortly by a large quantity of Arfuran information.

"Hmmm...this would be a lot easier if we knew each other's writing," Sarah said. "I think we're going to have to run through some more conversions and translations before we can really get much work done." Sarah reached her arms out behind her friends to pat and rub their backs as she spoke. The wagging of their tails indicated their feelings about the friendly gesture.

For two hours the three went through Sarah's notes and her scientific knowledge, converting everything to the language of the Arfurans. With scientific laws being consistent throughout the universe they easily understood what each other was referring to when speaking of various parts of math and physics. They shared their respective ideas on new weapons, setting aside those ideas they knew would not work with the technology they had and focusing on those ideas they knew they could develop.

"What about antimatter? Are you able to make that?" Sarah asked. "If you shoot some at their ships it'll annihilate whatever regular matter their ships are made of."

"We have studied that possibility," Storm replied. "The generated shields around their ships are capable of stopping and destroying it the same as a solid projectile of normal matter. Also, while we are able to create antimatter we have been unsuccessful in taking it from its containment field and launching it with a carrier projectile."

Ajagi added, "Antimatter is one of the ideas we will have to explore at a later time if we devise a weapon system that can use it."

"You're still far ahead of what we can do on my planet," Sarah mused. "The most antimatter we can make is just a few atoms at a time, and even that is very difficult."

Storm responded, "Your people have still come a long way, Sarah. To be able to create even one atom of antimatter is an incredible achievement."

Sarah nodded and looked back at her notes. "This may be a long shot but what about hiding your planet? If you were able to create some sort of device that could bend light around your planet, or a giant mirror that could reflect a view of a different direction, they wouldn't see the planet if they did arrive to invade."

Ajagi let out a small chuckle. "I like how creative you are in your thinking. Unfortunately we are not able to create something that size to hide a planet that big. We would have to create barriers around our moons as well or they would give away the location of the planet. If we had the ability to do that, the Kra would not be so easily fooled. They would search until they found where the planet was hiding, or begin stripping resources from one of the nearby planets, waiting until we appeared again."

The three continued going through the rest of Sarah's ideas, as well as sharing their ideas with her so she could ponder them. Ajagi and Storm took notes in their language on the tabletop screens and showed Sarah how to use it to take her own notes by writing with her fingertip. "I am happy with our initial progress," Storm said as they reached the end. Ajagi agreed.

Sarah replied, "I'm glad you feel that way. You're more familiar with the extent of the threat and what it will take to defend against them, so if you're confident then I can feel confident. Later, before I go for the night I'll figure out how to get these new notes back home with me so I can work with them tomorrow."

"It is night at your home?" Ajagi asked.

"Yes. Guessing on how long I've been here I'd say it's about sunset or just after," Sarah answered. "I would open my eyes to have a look, but I really don't want to leave here," she said with a smile.

Her two friends smiled at the compliment about their company. "Sarah, I was wondering about something," said Storm. "During your last visit you said I look like a creature on your planet called a 'fox', and Ajagi looks like a 'wolf'. What do these creatures look like? Can you describe them for us?"

"Yes, I'd be happy to," said Sarah. "First of all, there are several different varieties of each. There are foxes with red and orange fur, like yours, and we call them 'red fox.' Then there are some with gray fur that we call 'silver fox', and there are some with white fur we call 'arctic fox.' That is because they live in the arctic regions of our planet where it is always cold and snowy. I know there are many other kinds of fox but I can't remember them all."

Storm and Ajagi listened intently as she went on. "There are also many varieties of wolf but I'm not as familiar with them. There's the 'gray wolf' that looks a lot like you, Ajagi, with the light gray fur. There's also a 'red wolf' but the fur of that one isn't really red. For foxes and wolves, they have heads shaped like yours, faces that look like yours, the same eyes, the same pointed ears, the same long bushy tail...they are every bit as beautiful as you both are."

The two furry listeners smiled again at the compliments. Sarah continued, "But then there are the differences between them and you. The main thing is that they don't walk on two feet like you and me. They walk on all four, and instead of hands like what you have, they have front feet shaped a little bit like the back feet. Also, their bodies are smaller than yours. A fox is pretty small, maybe about this big..." Sarah held her hands as wide as she thought a fox is long. "Wolves are a bit bigger than that, but not as big as you, Ajagi.

"Also, they don't have the kind of intelligence you or I have. They are very smart, but they do not have any written language, they do not have a spoken language like what we use...they just have yips, barks, and howls...this would be a lot easier if I could show them to you. I certainly don't want to offend or insult you."

"We are not insulted," replied Ajagi. "Storm asked you to describe these creatures and you are doing exactly that. If we did somehow share a common ancestor with the creatures of your planet, it seems we developed in a way much different than they did."

Storm agreed and added, "You can show them to us if you desire. The transfer system contains your knowledge and memories. We were able to retrieve your written work, so we should be able to retrieve visual images you remember of these creatures."

"That's a great idea," Sarah responded. The three got up from the table and went back over to the transfer system console. Storm activated the screen and began tapping symbols to input the intent of the search. After several seconds a list appeared on the screen in the Arfuran language. Storm tapped one of the list elements and an image of a fox appeared on the screen. "There's one, that's a fox," Sarah declared.

Storm and Ajagi stared at the screen, taking in every detail of the fox. "I agree with your description of the amazing resemblance," Storm said. "The face looks almost identical to somebody I know." Sarah didn't know if he was joking or being serious. He tapped a small symbol on the screen and another fox image filled the screen. Again the two gazed at the details of the picture while Sarah remembered what she was seeing.

"I'd forgotten about that picture. I saw it in an encyclopedia when I was in high school. How'd this thing find that memory in my head when even I couldn't remember it?" she asked.

"You always have your memory," replied Ajagi. "Even if you are unable to recall it, the information is still stored in your mind and is part of your life energy. The transfer system reads all of it."

After several more pictures of foxes Sarah said, "They sure are wonderful to look at...look at that cute one! Anyway, could you bring up some pictures of wolves for Ajagi to see?"

"Yes, I would be happy to," said Storm as he began tapping at screen symbols again until a new list formed. Tapping at one of the listings brought up a picture of a timber wolf with the same color fur that Ajagi had. Storm alternately looked between the picture and Ajagi, who was intently staring at the wolf in the photo. "That could be your father, 'Jagi," Storm said.

"Yes...the resemblance is absolutely amazing," Ajagi said in a half attentive voice. "I see what you mean about them walking on all four appendages....beautiful....very beautiful creatures."

Sarah grinned, knowing how much each of her friends were enjoying the sight of these Earth animals. Storm tapped the symbol on the screen and went to the next picture, a photo of two adult wolves with their pups. "What a lovely family they are," he said. After several moments he went on to the next memory, a full motion display of a full wolf pack from a time Sarah had visited a wolf sanctuary.

"That was a great trip," Sarah said. "It was awesome to see a full pack of wolves so closely."

Ajagi stared silently at the screen, memorizing how every individual wolf looked as seen through Sarah's eyes. Before the memory clip was done playing, he turned away, walked to the side of the large table, and stood there, looking down.

"Ajagi? What's wrong?" Sarah asked as she moved to his side.

"I miss my family," Ajagi replied quietly. "By watching the display of those wolves in your memory...I am reminded of all the ones I love back home. I have been out here for so long...we all have been out here for so long. Every person in every vehicle in every fleet has been out here for so long, and we all have people back home who miss us. We miss them. Without a battle even taking place our lives are being destroyed by this war. We want to go home...I want to go home."

Sarah's eyes began to fill with tears as she touched his shoulder to turn him toward her. Pulling him close she hugged him tightly in hopes of comforting him. "I promise you," she said, "one way or another we'll end this war and you'll go home."

Ajagi hugged her back tightly for several moments before releasing her. "I apologize for saddening such a happy and interesting time we were having. I try to keep my unpleasant emotions controlled but sometimes it is too difficult."

Sarah looked into his eyes. "Don't apologize one bit. Considering everything you all are going through it is completely understandable to feel that way."

"Thank you," Ajagi said. "I may have left many loves behind when I left home, but I have to remind myself how many loved ones I have here. Everyone on this vehicle is a friend, and that includes you."

Sarah wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged him again, smiling. "If it would help take your mind off it, would you like to show me around the ship?"

"It would be my pleasure," replied Ajagi. "Would you like to come with us, Storm?"

Storm answered, "With Sarah's permission, I would like to stay here and view more images of her home. They are your memories, Sarah. May I?"

"That'll be fine, Stormy," Sarah replied. "We'll catch up with you later." Turning to Ajagi she said, "Lead the way!"

As Ajagi slid the door open for them to exit, Sarah commented, "I just realized again how thorough you guys are in making these bodies. It responded to my emotions by crying just like my natural body does."

"Yes, we take pride in the precision of our work," Ajagi said.

Chapter 9. Forgiveness

Ajagi and Sarah roamed the halls of their interstellar ship. During that trip outside the room there were more Arfurans in the halls with them, going about the business of their duties. Each one stopped to meet her and describe what their job on the ship was. Sarah continued to be amazed at the striking similarity between the various individuals and different species of animal from back home. Each turn around a corner or opening of a door introduced her to new faces and new things to see on the ship.

The farther they walked, Sarah gained a greater understanding of how large the ship was. Each door was marked with the symbols of their language to indicate what was beyond it. One door had an extra symbol that gave her a strong indication of what was inside; it appeared to be a picture of a tree. "Garden?" she asked.

"Yes," Ajagi answered as he reached to slide the door open. Sarah gasped in astonishment as the garden came into full view. By her estimates the room had to be at least eighty feet high and a few hundred feet long with multiple levels, each with many different kinds of strange trees, bushes, and other plants. Overhead were multiple rows of artificial lights shining down on all the plant life along with nozzles for watering. A few individuals were tending to the plants while some others were filling containers with items they picked, and the room smelled of a sweet blend of flowers and leaves. "This is where all our food is grown," Ajagi said.

Sarah looked around and saw that almost every one had different kinds of fruit or berries growing on them. "This is just amazing," she said. "If I didn't know better I'd swear these could be plants from Earth. The biochemistry must be nearly identical!"

"Yes," said Ajagi, "we have found that plant life on other planets is quite similar to ours. The mechanics and chemistry of life must be fairly universal so I would agree that there is likely a strong similarity between these and the plants on your planet. Every plant here grows a fruit we can eat or has leaves that are edible. Some have both. Would you like to try something here?"

Sarah nodded and walked to a small tree nearby. Some of the fruits on it were red while others were shades of blue or purple. "Which ones are ripe?" she asked.

"The red ones may be eaten," Ajagi answered. "The others are not yet ready to eat. These are called pelonwa."

Sarah picked a bright red fruit and gave it a sniff, smelling its sweet aroma. She took a bite and found it to be quite delicious with a tender texture that was still a little crispy. "This tastes wonderful," she exclaimed. "It's like a combination of a few different things we have back home...kind of like a strawberry, a hint of apple, or maybe it's pear...and something else I don't recognize." As she ate it she thought about what she was tasting. "Since you all made this body and I'm tasting what it senses, how can I tell if this tastes the same to me as it would if I was eating it with my real body?"

"You can not," said Ajagi. "Without having something here from your world for you to eat, there is no method for us to compare how you perceive the sense of taste between this body and your natural body. If you enjoy what you taste, that is more important."

"True, I can't argue with that," said Sarah as she took another bite. "This is really good."

"I am glad you like it," said Ajagi as he picked one for himself. "It is not quite as good as the fruit growing naturally back home so I was afraid you may not enjoy it. Feel free to try anything you would like. Remember, this body needs to eat for its energy supply as well." Sarah picked another pelonwa and a few things from other plants, now realizing the hunger her synthetic body was telling her it felt.

The two left the garden and continued roaming the halls as they ate what they picked. Without very much more walking they arrived at the far side of the ship. Ajagi took her into another relaxation and dining lounge with a slightly different layout from the one she already knew, that one containing a few crew members talking, eating, or napping. Those who were awake exchanged welcoming greetings with the two wanderers. The room also had very large windows looking out into space. "There is the rest of our fleet in this region," Ajagi said as his hand swept outward toward the view. With her mouth agape Sarah looked out the windows at enormous ships, all about the same size as the one she was on but with varying shapes, stretching as far as her eyes could see.

"Holy crap," she exclaimed, "they're huge! How many are there?"

"This fleet contains eighty large vehicles, and each has several smaller transport vehicles," he answered.

"How many people are on each one?" Sarah asked.

Ajagi replied, "Each one contains 400 to 600 people. This vehicle is one that contains 400, but our current number is 360. The remaining forty have taken a transport to meet with the planet that orbits nearby to extract minerals. The planet has a good amount of metals we need for building and repairing things. Being so far from the center star there are no life forms to be disturbed by our collection. They will return when the planet passes near the fleet."

Sarah looked out over the rest of the fleet trying to see others in the windows of the nearest ship, but it was too far away and the windows too small to see anybody.

Ajagi paused, then started pointing and said, "Regarding your question from your previous visits, your galaxy is right over...your galaxy is now obscured from view by that vehicle. Thank you for moving up, Captain Tesa." Sarah glanced at Ajagi with a grin, believing she just heard sarcasm. "I apologize. You will have to look for your galaxy another time," he said. "She could not have known we would look this way when she moved her vehicle."

"That's alright, no need to apologize" replied Sarah.

"Nanida to Ajagi, please join our meeting in the navigation room," the intercom speaker announced. "Ajagi, you are needed in the navigation room." Sarah looked around but could not spot a speaker anywhere.

"Please excuse me, Sarah. I thought I had more time before the meeting began, and I must attend. You are welcome to continue exploring the vehicle if you desire. Everybody will know you are our guest and will be happy to answer any questions you may have for them," said Ajagi.

"Thanks, I will. I've been enjoying the tour you've given me so far," she said as she reached toward him with a hug. Ajagi returned a hug to Sarah and then swiftly left for his meeting. Sarah remained at the window to gaze out at the stars a while longer.

Alone in the transfer room, Storm had been searching through the repository of Sarah's memories to see and learn more about life on Earth. After viewing a few more wolf pictures following the departure of Ajagi and Sarah, he returned to the memories of foxes as they held his highest interest. He viewed pictures of numerous foxes--red, gray, white, black, orange, blends of multiple colors--and full motion memories. The advanced display the system used was able to duplicate the three-dimensional view as seen through her stereo vision. He found a clip of a fox Sarah had seen outside her bedroom window one winter as a teenage girl, and smiled at the sound of her voice commenting on how cute and beautiful the fox was.

He continued on to pictures of other species of animals, almost all of which he recognized as similar to people he knew personally or knew existed on his planet. He found pictures of raccoons similar to Nanida, pictures and videos of horses that reminded him of Antakiri, bears, rabbits similar to his crewmate friend Sharden, skunks, cats both large and small, rodents, reptiles, birds, and aquatic animals. Among the same categories he found cartoon animals and was puzzled about their significance, but figured it had to do with those images of his people that showed up in Earth art which Sarah had mentioned. Soon he was viewing memories of other humans and knew only by how each was labeled who anybody was. Storm also found it interesting what kind of similarities and differences there were between homes, workplaces, and other structures from Earth and those from his home.

Knowing it was research he had to do, Storm used the transfer system to search Sarah's memories for additional clues to what kind of person she was. He searched for memories having to do with her emotions, how she dealt with confrontation, love, remorse and regret, compassion, anger, and conflict. Among the memories he found there were interactions between her and other from her workplace, including her manipulative boss. He also found memories she had of the dog she had as a girl and how they were as close as best friends. Storm saw how Sarah was friendly, open hearted, avoided confrontation, and preferred peace to conflict.

As he browsed through the memories found in the personality research, he noticed the name of one memory file was the same as one he didn't view when searching for pictures of rabbits. There, the memory was labeled with the words rabbit, remorse, sadness, death, regret. Both curious and concerned, he selected the memory for viewing.

The full motion memory record showed the inside of Sarah's car as she was driving down a road at dusk. The car followed a bend in the road and the headlights didn't keep up with the veering pavement. Just as the street began to straighten there was a moving blur up close to the car right before it disappeared under the hood, followed by a thumping noise. The sound of Sarah screaming "NO!" and the squeal of braking tires followed immediately afterward. Viewing the memory clip, Storm watched through Sarah's eyes as she got out of the car and ran behind it, slowing to nearly a stop as her voice faded to a faint, "Oh...no...no..." She approached and knelt down next to the body of the rabbit who had run in front of her car. The memory clip became distorted and faded to black as Sarah's eyes were filling with tears and closing tight while she began sobbing. After a few moments the visual part resumed, her eyes lifting back up to look upon the rabbit. She reached out to pick up and cradle the lifeless rabbit, continuing to cry endlessly, her soft voice whispering, "I'm so sorry," over and over as she wept.

Storm sat there staring at the screen, his eyes shifting back and forth over the image to take in everything he saw, his ears listening intently to hear every sound of the memory. Soon the memory clip ended but he kept staring at the screen, replaying in his mind what he'd just seen. In a sudden burst he got out of his seat and headed for the door.

Fast walking turned to jogging and then running as Storm went through the halls, opening doors of common rooms to see who was inside. Not finding who he was looking for in the lounge, he continued to the garden, bathing area, recreation area, bridge, and another lounge area. When he got to a storage room he saw his friend and ran over. "Sharden!" Storm called out.

His rabbit friend turned around and responded with a wide smile, "Hello Storm! How are you doing?"

"Are you busy? I need you to do something for me," Storm said. "Actually, I need you to do something for somebody else."

Sharden replied, "Of course I can help. I am never too busy for you."

"Thank you. Please come with me and I will explain as we walk. Have you met our guest Sarah?" Storm said.

Sarah was just finishing up a happy conversation with a bear she met near one of the energy generators when she turned to continue on her self guided tour of the ship. She stopped in another hallway to admire a picture display of scenes on Arfurah, still smiling in delight from all the wonderful furry people she'd been meeting. As she stood there studying the detail of the landscape, Storm and Sharden approached from her side.

When the motion caught Sarah's eye she turned around in sudden surprise followed by the happiness of familiarity. "Hi there, Foxy," she said to Storm.

Storm smiled at the nickname and said, "Hello. Sarah, this is Sharden. Sharden, this is Sarah."

"Pleased to meet you," Sarah said.

"It is very nice to meet you as well," Sharden replied.

"I have asked Sharden to say something to you," Storm said.

Sharden stepped forward. "Storm told me about a time in your past when your ground vehicle struck and killed a creature that looked very much like me. He also told me about your remorse for the event. If I may, I will speak on behalf of someone who is no longer able. For what it is worth, I forgive you for killing me with your ground vehicle that evening. I know you intended no harm toward me." He then extended his arms out and pulled Sarah close for a hug.

Sarah hugged with puzzlement followed by realization as the pieces of her memory fell into place. When she realized what he meant, she closed her eyes and hugged him very tightly. After several moments they released each other, she looked into his eyes and said, "Thank you. I appreciate that. That was the first animal I'd ever killed with my car and I hope it's the last. It may have been an accident but I've never been able to forgive myself for it."

"Do not worry any longer. You did not intend for it to happen," said Sharden as he began to return to where Storm found him.

"I thank you as well, Sharden," said Storm.

"You are both very welcome. You may ask for anything at any time," replied Sharden before he walked around the next corner.

Sarah immediately looked at Storm with a curious smile and waited for him to look toward her. "What was that all about?" she asked. "How did you know?"

"You do have a right to know," replied Storm. "After you left I continued looking through pieces of your memory to see where you come from and what kind of creatures exist there. But there is another thing we look for by necessity. I began searching for memories having to do with what kind of person you are, what kind of personality and integrity you have. It is something we do for every being we transfer here for help regardless of what world they come from. This is due to all the problems in the past from those who were more interested in gaining the power and knowledge from our war to help themselves than to actually help stop our war.

"One of your memories I found was that of the evening when your ground transport vehicle struck and killed that creature who ran out in front of it. You were so remorseful and seeking forgiveness, that is why I asked Sharden to say what he did. In searching your memories I found that you are the most kind, compassionate, peaceful, and loving being we have ever transferred here from any planet. Those qualities make you the most trustworthy, as well. That is why I am telling you what I searched for. Those others who wanted the knowledge of war for their personal gain were never told. I apologize if my intrusion into your mind has offended you."

Sarah thought momentarily and looked at Storm. "You don't have to apologize...I'm not offended one bit. I understand why you have to check into things like that, especially when past people from my world have made it look like we can't be trusted. And you...you're very sweet to have your friend do that for me. Thanks."

Sarah then stepped closer and gave Storm a warm hug, which he quickly returned. Both friends were smiling happily as their hug lingered, and then parted. Sarah said, "I'm not sure how long I've been here but it's probably getting pretty late back home. I'm still a little hungry, though...would you like to return to the garden with me and get something to eat?"

Storm quickly replied, "I would be most happy to." Sarah then put an arm around his back as they walked down the hallway in the direction of their snack.

"You know," said Sarah, "I'm starting to get used to hugging furry aliens...even if you are all dressed in rubber suits."

Chapter 10. Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks

A long night of pleasant dreams about fur-covered people preceded a mid morning awakening. Sarah got up from her bed feeling refreshed, though her mind quickly went to work thinking about the project she was called to do. She went to the kitchen to make some tea and was reminded of her empty cabinets when she retrieved a tea bag. While she waited for the tea to steep she went and laid on the couch to continue thinking about the Arfuran weapon plan. Being so soon after waking up her brain wasn't fully engaged in such deep thought and her mind wandered to think about all the furry friends she'd been meeting every evening.

"Those are some of the sweetest friends I've ever had," she thought to herself with a smile. Since she always loved the beauty and cuteness of animals she couldn't help thinking how beautiful and cute all of the Arfurans were. She thought of the wagging tails she'd seen on Storm and Ajagi and began to laugh. How wonderful it was to know people so intelligent and so easy to communicate with, who could also show happiness in something as simple as a tail wag.

Sarah was still smiling when she returned to the kitchen to prepare her tea with honey, a little lemon, and a dollop of milk to lighten it slightly. She sat at the stool beside the counter to sip her beverage, still lost in thought. After fifteen minutes of silent contemplation she returned to her bedroom to put on some clothes and prepare for a trip out. She didn't take much time to fix her hair, only pulling it back into a pony tail and figuring that was good enough. Taking her cup of tea, car keys, and purse, she headed for the store.

Sarah stocked up on the groceries she thought she would need for the week, including a good supply of fresh fruit, salad ingredients, and juices. When she browsed the produce she was hoping to find the things she'd eaten the night before but knew they didn't exist in her world. She bought some strawberries, pears, and other things in hopes of recreating what she tasted.

Back at home Sarah went out to get the morning paper before bringing her groceries in. Glancing over the front page while walking back she saw several articles having to do with wars around the world and was heavily reminded of the importance of her task. She knew she would have to get to work right away, coming up with more ideas that may help the project.

She brought the groceries in and put them away, keeping some fruit out for breakfast. Sarah sliced up strawberries and pears, tasting them together to see if it was the same. She found them to be a bit different from the fruit she tasted in the Arfuran garden, though there was some similarity. She tried it with pieces of apple, orange, pineapple, and various spices from her cabinet but nothing was quite the same. After several experiments she was beginning to fill up, so she finished off the rest and cleaned up her mess.

Sarah retrieved her notes from the living room and returned to the office to continue her research. As she went along she started writing down anything that may be useful, whether alone or in combination with other things. Her notes mentioned conventional items of warfare on Earth including bullets, bombs, missiles, electromagnetic pulse bombs, and biological warfare. She included possibilities that aren't in use as weapons such as high powered lasers, gamma rays, microwave beams, another mention of antimatter, and the idea of applying something to Kra ships that would make them quickly rust apart. When she got into her texts on theoretical physics she began writing down ideas of black holes, wormholes, gravity waves, time travel, and hurtling a planet or moon at the invading ships. She also wrote down the idea of harnessing dark matter and dark energy like the Kra were preparing to do. Sarah figured some of those ideas were impossible but didn't know exactly how far advanced the Arfurans were or what they were capable of doing.

For those ideas that were completely theoretical Sarah also wrote down formulas and theories that could be useful in making such things happen. As each idea was purely theoretical, the formulas and theorems were also theoretical and she had no idea if they would work.

Sarah didn't realize how quickly the time was passing as she worked through the afternoon. When she saw the sunlight starting to come through the windows on the west side of her office she glanced at a clock and saw it was going on 4:00. The comprehension of the time made her notice how stiff she was feeling after sitting hunched over books for so many hours. She got up with a groan, stretched, and walked stiff-legged to the kitchen to make another cup of tea.

After her tea was ready Sarah returned to her bedroom, undressed, and went into the bathroom to prepare a nice warm bubble bath. She knew she'd done all the research she could at that point. Without having a definitive plan to follow she didn't know what areas to pursue in her studies. Sarah set her laptop computer on the sink with a selection of some of her favorite relaxing music set to play, and sank under the suds of the warm tub. She closed her eyes and found the transfer system was still suspended. She stayed right were she was.

As Sarah soaked she tried to keep her mind clear of thoughts to maximize her tranquility. Despite her efforts, her mind was repeatedly filled with the images of a certain fox's face, a furry wolf, a cute mouse, adorable raccoon, tall horse...everybody she'd been meeting. She didn't mind, though. Each one made her smile and eased her tension.

No more than twenty minutes into her bubble bath the telephone began to ring. "You've got to be kidding me," Sarah said out loud as her eyes popped open. Not wanting to be disturbed she decided to let the answering machine do its job while she reached for her cup of tea with a foam covered arm. Two or three good sips of tea later, the phone stopped its disruptive noise, and Sarah was able to resume her relaxation to the sounds of Vivaldi and birds chirping outside her window.

Another instantaneous half hour later, Sarah found herself waking up. She never realized she was dozing off in the tub. Understanding her need for more sleep she pulled the plug on the tub drain and rinsed the suds off after it finished emptying. Getting out of the tub she dried off, stopped the music, and went to crawl under the covers for a nap. She wanted to be rested for her travels that evening. On most weekends she would be jogging in the park or going for a walk in the woods outside of town, but that was a most abnormal weekend.

While she slept Sarah was back to the usual random dreams, occasionally mixed with fur covered creatures similar to Arfurans but who were an odd mix of forms. She went through a dream where she knew she was at work but the university offices were nothing like any place she'd seen before despite the feeling of familiarity. Eventually she found herself back in the transfer room on the Arfuran ship. Several moments later she realized she was no longer dreaming.

Sarah was facing a direction parallel to the wall of windows. To her left were stars and the colorful nebula. To her right were Ajagi and Storm, just turning back toward her from the transfer system console.

"Hi, guys," Sarah said, surprising her friends. They stopped in their tracks, and then continued toward her.

"Hello Sarah," said Storm with a growing smile on his muzzle.

"Hello. You transferred here very quickly," said Ajagi. "We just activated the transfer system."

Sarah met her friends with open arms to hug them both, and they reciprocated with hugs and licks to her cheeks. Sarah giggled at the licks. "My eyes were already closed because I was asleep. I didn't know this could work without me being awake, but it looks like it does. It's funny, I was in the middle of a dream and suddenly I was here and fully aware of where I was. How do I know this isn't all some weird dream?"

"The transfer system indicates a successful transfer," replied Ajagi, "but that does not provide you with clear proof. It could be a part of your dream as well."

Storm responded, "Your previous transfers occurred when you were awake. Do you sense anything different between those occasions and this transfer?"

"No, it feels the same. I was just wondering," said Sarah. "My body back home is still asleep, right?"

"Yes," answered Ajagi. "You will continue to sleep as you were. Only your consciousness has been transferred and does not affect the sleep of your natural body."

"Then I wonder if my body is still dreaming," said Sarah. "I was also wondering, do you all dream when you sleep? I mean, you seem familiar with the word, so there must be something similar that happens when you sleep, right?"

"Yes," said Storm, "when we sleep our brains go through a period of neural activity that causes us to see and do things that are not real even if they are similar to real parts of our lives. All of our senses take part in those dreams."

"Amazing," said Sarah. "It must be a universal part of biological nature, at least for some species."

"How has your research progressed?" asked Ajagi. "We have been continuing our research here as well as those on other vehicles and in other fleets, and researchers at home on Arfurah."

"Glad to know you have everybody working on this," replied Sarah. "I've come up with a few more ideas and wrote down formulas and theorems that may help if an idea works. Can we get the memory from the transfer system?"

"Yes," said Ajagi as he headed over to the transfer console. Sarah and Storm stood behind him, Storm putting his arm behind Sarah with a hand up on her shoulder. Sarah smiled at the closeness with her friend. Soon the new memories were gathered and the data sent over to the large research table. The three went back over to it as before and brought up the information.

Sarah said, "Now, some of these ideas are quite a bit out there and may be impossible, but I didn't know what things you all are able to do. I've categorized things into weapons we have on our planet, weapons that our technology could do but are not yet used, and things that are completely theoretical or impossible. Maybe you have ways to work with those things."

Storm and Ajagi read down through the list of her ideas. "What is this electromagnetic pulse bomb?" Storm asked.

Sarah answered, "That is a device that uses a little bit of explosives along with electricity and wire coils to create enormous electromagnetic fields in a burst. The magnetic field interferes with electronic devices badly enough to create an electric surge and burn them out instantly. You've said you have a weapon that makes a strong magnetic field to disrupt their electronic systems, but they've adapted to defend against it. This bomb creates an instantaneous electromagnetic field rather than a sustained field. Their system might not be able to defend against such a sudden large burst. If it would be effective against the Kra ships, it may take out their weapons and navigation systems, if not make the ships entirely useless."

"That is a very interesting possibility," said Ajagi, "but their shield generators would destroy the bomb before it impacted like any of these other solid projectiles. And if we did get one to hit, would that magnetic pulse destroy the same electronic systems in our vehicles? We also must be careful because of the inner workings of your synthetic body. Just as a small electric magnetic field will give it energy, a large burst of magnetic energy may destroy it."

Sarah thought briefly and said, "The bomb doesn't have to actually hit their ships. It just has to be detonated when it is very close. The electromagnetic field should take out their systems as long as their shields aren't made to block such strong magnetic fields and if their electronic systems are susceptible to the field. And the pulse of the field shouldn't affect our systems because of how far away they will be from us, especially if you adapt some sort of shielding to protect your systems. But to be on the safe side, all we have to do is shut down our critical systems before the bombs detonate to prevent interference. When we test one, I will transfer back home to keep safe. If anything happens to this body, you can repair or replace it before I transfer back. Can you disconnect the electromagnetic charging system in this body so it won't be affected?"

Ajagi said, "Yes, your charging system can be disconnected. At that time you will only have metabolism of food to gain energy. My larger concern is whether the transfer system is adequately protected from such a force. Even if you have transferred home, if the transfer system becomes damaged it will lose the connection link and there will be almost no chance of finding you again among all the life energy it detects."

Sarah said, "You think of a way to test the protection on the transfer system. When I get back home I'll look up how they are made and see what it takes to make them larger and more powerful."

"This idea sounds quite possible," said Storm, "but we will have to come up with more ideas in case these weapons do not work against them. We will send the idea to all the other teams so plans for its development can begin."

Storm and Ajagi continued looking through Sarah's list. They enjoyed the idea of making the invading ships rust. "As amusing as that would be, they construct their vehicles from a metal alloy that is not affected by oxidation or acid disintegration," Ajagi said. "The molecules are highly stable."

"We have concentrated light weapons and are developing more powerful units," Storm said. "We have also tried the gamma ray weapons with very limited effect. The surface of their vehicles reflects most of the photon particles at that frequency."

"We do not know enough of their biological makeup to create a weapon that will harm their health," said Ajagi, referring to the idea of biological warfare. "There would still be the challenge of getting such a weapon into their vehicles to contact them directly."

They read through the parts with completely theoretical ideas and considered each one carefully. "We do not have any way to create or manipulate a black hole due to its power and mass," said Ajagi. "If we somehow could, it would consume all of us with the Kra and would be too dangerously close to our planet and star."

"We do not have any means of propelling an entire planet or a moon at them," said Storm. "The energy required would be far too great. We also do not have any means of traveling through time. While it has been studied by our people for thousands of years, we have not yet found a way to do it. What is this gravity wave?"

Sarah replied, "When a very massive star collapses or moves rapidly it sends out a gravitational wave through space and time."

"Alright, I know what you are referring to," said Ajagi. "While we understand them we have no means of creating one of those either."

"What is this worm hole?" asked Storm.

"That is a theoretical tunnel that directly connects two points in time and space. If somebody or something could go through it, they would arrive at the other side without the time and distance to travel that would be normally required."

"We know what you are referring to with that as well," said Ajagi. "We use a different term for it, a dimension fistula, or to be more descriptive we call it a dimension vein, because of the tube shape that is similar to our blood veins. We have been researching them for as long a time as the idea of time travel. Very few times have they been observed by our detection probes and those we did detect existed an extremely short span of time. We do not yet know how to create them, if we can at all. Based on theories from our research into them, if we could create them we may be able to control where they go."

The three continued discussing various possibilities for weapon systems with Ajagi and Storm telling Sarah about their ideas and those from other research teams. As they spoke, Sarah was startled with the sudden loud ringing sound. "What is that?" she asked as she looked around the room.

"What are you referring to?" Ajagi asked in return.

"That noise. It sounds like a phone ring...Oh, crap, you've gotta be kidding me," said Sarah as she realized what the sound was. "Please excuse me for a minute. I have to return home for a moment. The phone is ringing." Leaving her two puzzled friends behind, she opened her eyes after the noise of the phone awoke her body.

Searching around in the dark she found the phone and answered. "Hello?"

"Miss Shepherd, this is Dr. Berglund. I tried calling earlier but got no answer."

"Yes...I was out and haven't checked the machine. What is it?" she asked.

"I wanted to check that you would be in the office tomorrow morning. We'll be having a meeting at eight o'clock sharp and I wanted to make sure you would attend. I hope you are feeling well after the affliction that took you from us early on Friday."

"Yes...yes, I'll be there. I'll be in at seven."

"Very good, Miss Shepherd. Have a good evening."

"You too, have a *click*..." Berglund hung up before Sarah could finish her parting words. "Bastard," she said before hanging up the phone and shutting off the ringer.

Sarah looked at the clock and saw it was just before 10:00. Figuring there was much left to do and that she didn't know how long it would take, she set her morning alarm and ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth quickly. As fast as she could she finished up and ran back to her bed, getting comfortable under the covers before sinking her head into the soft pillow and closing her eyes again.

A blue ceiling with brightly lit squares filled Sarah's field of view, accompanied by the sight of a fox and wolf looking down at her. "What happened?" she asked.

"You were still standing when you opened your eyes and transferred back," Storm answered.

Ajagi added, "Without your consciousness controlling the body, it does not automatically keep its balance. You fell over backwards after only a few moments."

Storm started to crack a grin. "I apologize but I must admit...I began to laugh and could not stop myself. Are you alright?"

Sarah saw him unable to contain his smirk, thought about what she must have looked like falling over, and began to uncontrollably laugh herself. Soon Ajagi joined in and all three were laughing like they'd watched a comedy show. As their laughter began to dwindle, Storm and Ajagi each extended a hand down to Sarah who took their hands in hers to be helped up. Once she was on her feet again she threw her arms around the waists of her two friends and pulled them close. They each put an arm around her back and pulled her close too, nuzzling against the sides of her face.

"I'm fine. You two are so wonderful. Is everybody on your planet always this close and friendly?" she asked.

"Yes, at the very least," replied Storm. "We have never known it to be any less."

Ajagi asked, "Did we understand the translation correctly that a communication device was making a noise?"

"Yes," said Sarah, "it is a system that allows people to talk with each other over great distances using wires or radio waves to connect them. When a connection is coming in it makes noise to alert me. It was my boss at work telling me about some stupid meeting in the morning...I really did NOT want to hear from him today."

"Why would he call a stupid meeting to order? Would not a useful and intelligent meeting be more appropriate?" asked Ajagi.

"It's because...it's just an expression," answered Sarah. "I'll explain what it means another time, but you interpreted correctly that it is neither useful nor intelligent. It'll probably be another one of his projects that he makes us all scramble to get done and then he'll steal credit for it."

"I see. That does not sound pleasant at all," said Ajagi.

"You've got that right," replied Sarah.

Returning to the side of the large work table the team of three worked for a few hours more. They discussed the ideas that various Arfuran research teams had devised, each applying their thoughts and knowledge into whether the idea could work. Sarah, as sharp as ever in her skills of physics, flew through formulas and theorems to determine answers for or against each particular idea. Having learned new physical formulas from the Arfuran study of physics she had new tools to use in finding answers, and knew which of her Earth-based theories were right or wrong. They talked more about various energy weapons that generated beams of protons, electrons, plasma, and various types of photons from the electromagnetic spectrum. Some types of weapon were more effective against the shielding on the Kra ships, and some were not effective at all.

After doing all the work they could with what they had, they decided to call it quits for the night. "I will send our new information to the other research teams," Ajagi said. "Thank you for the work you have done to give us answers for our ideas, Sarah."

"You are more than welcome," said Sarah. "I'm happy to help." She then shifted her eyes between her two friends. "So...what are you guys doing after this?"

Storm responded, "It is approaching our relaxation time after our duty period before we go to sleep."

"Would you mind if I stayed a while longer?" Sarah inquired bashfully. "I'd like to hang out with you some more, if you have nothing else to do. I mean, spend time with you."

"It would be our pleasure to share more time with you," Storm replied with a smile. "If you would enjoy we could go to the relaxation room and show you one of our games."

Sarah also smiled and said, "That sounds great. Will you join us when you're finished with that, Ajagi?"

Ajagi looked toward them from the screen where he was working to send the information. "I would like to, but I will decline. I want to contact my mates at home, or at least send a message. If you are still here when I am finished with that I will join you."

"Ok, hope to see you soon," said Sarah. Storm opened the door for her, and she preceded him out.

"I am not sure I heard the correct interpretation," said Storm. "What was 'okay', the first word you said before saying you hoped to see him soon?"

"That is an old expression," said Sarah, "meaning 'yes,' 'alright,' or 'I hear and understand'. It has a lot of different meanings depending on the context."

"Alright...or should I say 'okay'?" said Storm.

Sarah smiled her affirmation as the two headed to the lounge.

Nanida and Antakiri were at the refreshment counter to get a small snack when Sarah and Storm entered the room. "Hi guys!" Sarah said energetically when she saw them.

"Hello Sarah, it is good to see you again," they both said almost simultaneously. Sarah walked right up to them and gave them each a big hug.

"I am glad to see you are becoming comfortable with us," Nanida said.

Antakiri added, "Some beings never become that comfortable with us, probably because they find us too different or maintain too much caution. I have heard that beings from your planet in the past were the same and did not become comfortable with us."

"Well, I guess they didn't know a good friend when they saw one," Sarah replied with a grin.

Storm greeted both of their friends with the customary hug, nuzzle, and licks. "I was going to teach Sarah one of our recreation games. Would you two like to join us?"

"Thank you but we must decline this time," said Nanida. "We were going to have something to eat and drink quickly and then go spend some time in the rear observation room."

"I had the idea of looking back toward the center star and trying to see Arfurah," said Antakiri. "Even if we do not see it we can still enjoy the view together."

"That sounds like a wonderful time," replied Storm. "Perhaps we can share a game another time."

"That does sound nice. Have fun," said Sarah. She and Storm retrieved some berries and juices from the counter attendant and took an empty table. "Do they always go off duty at the same time?" she asked.

Storm answered, "As the captain, Nanida is never really off duty. He has his active duty periods and his inactive duty periods. Those periods are similar to an off duty period for the rest of us, but he immediately responds if he is needed. Antakiri performs his duties in the storage and construction areas, which he is well suited for due to his size and strength. He has regular off duty periods like the rest."

Sarah silently wondered why the first mate would be doing jobs like that as she sipped her juice, and figured things must work differently for an alien crew. "You know, this is really nice," she said. "Back home I love to drink juice and eat fresh fruit, and you have that in abundance here."

"I am glad you are enjoying it," said Storm as he started setting up their game. "This very old game is called 'Pulkon' and it is quite simple. We each have equal numbers of rectangular blocks with three random colors equally dividing it, two on the ends and one in the center. We take turns placing a block to build a structure upwards or outwards with matching colors touching if it contacts any other block. The first player to place the last block without toppling the structure wins, and any player who topples the structure does not win. If the last block is placed, the other player has a final turn to place their last block, and if successful the game ends with both players evenly matched."

"That sounds easy enough," said Sarah. "These blocks feel heavy for their size. What are they made of?"

"Stone," replied Storm. "They just had colors applied after they were shaped. You may go first if you desire."

The game began when Sarah picked up a piece and set it on the table between them. As they alternated their turns to place a piece, Sarah watched Storm closely, taking in his subtle behavior and mannerisms. "It really is incredible how much you look like a fox from my planet," she said. "The shape of your ears, your dark golden eyes with vertical slit pupils, your whiskers, your tail...a look that is cute, beautiful, and handsome all at the same time."

"Thank you for the compliment," said Storm with a smile. "I enjoyed looking at pictures of them from your memory. They were all very attractive."

After several rounds and countless laughs during a very enjoyable conversation, Sarah thought about the time. "Storm, I wish I didn't have to go but I haven't been keeping track of how long I've been here," Sarah said. "I have work in the morning and I don't know if my body back home is getting any sleep."

"I understand completely," said Storm. "You have duties to attend to at home. We all need our sleep, and it is approaching the time I slept as well. Our sleep times have fallen into the same time again. I will return to the transfer room with you."

As they walked the halls Sarah asked, "Is it required that I return home from the transfer room? Or could I open my eyes no matter where my body here is located?"

"You can transfer home from any place and at any time," said Storm. "You could be on Arfurah and transfer home. The transfer system in that room only acts as a middle connection point between your body at home and your body here."

"Ok," said Sarah. "I'll still transfer home from that room, though, so this body isn't getting in anybody's way."

When they arrived at the transfer room, Ajagi wasn't there. "I wonder where he went," pondered Sarah.

"He may have been called away to assist somebody, or he could be still communicating with home," said Storm.

"Oh well," said Sarah, "we'll just have to play a game with him some other time." Sarah looked over at the transfer system and asked, "Can you tell from that thing if my body has been asleep?"

"I will check," replied Storm as he looked toward the console. "The main indication shows you are asleep, and the record shows you have been asleep for just more than sixteen taren. I believe that is about thirty of your minutes, correct?"

"Yes, so if it's really late then I haven't had much sleep," said Sarah.

Sarah led Storm over to the corner of the room where she planned to leave her body. Looking into his furry face she said, "Storm, I know I was brought here to help with a war, but I want to tell you I am really enjoying the time I spend with you and getting to know everybody."

"I am very happy you feel that way. I have been enjoying the time I spend with you as well, and I know everybody else has enjoyed meeting you," Storm said.

Sarah and Storm reached out to hug each other at the same time, with Storm giving Sarah some goodbye licks to her cheek. She smiled and giggled at the licks and said, "This is how close friends in my world say hello and goodbye." She then gave him a kiss on his fuzzy cheek, making him smile more than he already was.

After their embrace ended Sarah sat on the floor against the wall under the window. "I'll see you tomorrow evening."

"I will see you then," replied Storm.

With the concentration required to awaken her sleeping body at home, Sarah opened her eyes.

Chapter 11. Crazy Cashew or Demented Pecan?

The clock menacingly showed it was near 3:00 in the morning. Despite her body being asleep so recently, Sarah felt wide awake. The alarm would be waking her in a few short hours and she knew she needed to get more sleep before the work day began. Sarah nestled her head back into the pillow and laid there trying to get back to sleep with permission of the suspended transfer system. The minutes ticked away while her mind raced, thinking without a pause about Storm, Ajagi, her other Arfuran friends, the mission, the war and impending battle, what life must be like on Arfurah, and her evening playing games with Storm.

A half hour was lost to thought before Sarah was finally able to get to sleep. Thoughts turned to dreams as fur-covered alien beings paraded through her unconscious mind. The parade was brought to an abrupt halt when the alarm rudely woke her. Setting aside her tired, groggy feelings, Sarah got out of bed without using the snooze alarm and headed for the kitchen.

While she waited for her tea to brew her mind wrestled between ongoing thoughts of her second life behind closed eyes and the desire to resume sleeping. The stove timer snapped her out of her self-imposed lethargy to alert her to the tea being ready. To accompany the hot drink she ate some toast with a side of the fresh fruit she'd acquired the day before. As she ate it, Sarah remembered the fruits and berries she'd enjoyed in the garden and lounge on the Arfuran ship. This led to thoughts about what Storm had said about the food grown there not being quite as good as what grew naturally on Arfurah. As delicious as it was already, she wondered what the home grown produce must be like.

After breakfast Sarah returned to her bedroom and bathroom to prepare for the day. Looking neat and professional, she gathered the notes for her personal project and looked around for her attaché before remembering she left it in her office on Friday. The professional appearance was actually a façade hiding the fact of how exhausted she was becoming from the lost sleep. Sarah headed for her car and reluctantly left for work.

As soon as she could open her office door and dump her work on the chair, Sarah headed for the coffee pot. She never actually felt any waking effect from the caffeine but instead relied on the illusion of stimulation to wake her up.

"I would say 'hide' but it won't do you any good," said Kacy as she came around the corner in a hurried pace.

"What?" Sarah replied, but Kacy was already gone. Without an answer, Sarah already knew what she meant.

"Good morning Miss Shepherd. I hope you're feeling better today," Berglund said dryly as he came around the corner. His pinstripe suit and greased back hair of light brown and gray projected the same illusion of professionalism as they always had.

"Yes, I am fine, thank you," Sarah said curtly without looking up from the cup she was stirring.

"Don't forget our meeting at eight o'clock," Berglund reminded her. "We will be discussing projects for my DARPA grant and all of the physics staff is required to attend."

Sarah stopped stirring her coffee and silently paused for a moment before taking off her glasses to look at him. The presence of Berglund was beginning to turn her stomach and she didn't want to have to see him clearly.

"Yes, I remember. Conference room. I'll be there," she said as she looked at his nauseating blurry visage. She then picked up her cup and turned to head for her office without leaving any time for pleasantries. She had none for him, knew he had none for her, and didn't want to share them if he did.

The trip back to her office was filled with growing feelings of anger toward Berglund as Sarah tried to suppress them. She wanted to focus her attention on her project and didn't want any time wasted on useless thoughts about useless people. Back in her office Sarah set down her coffee and removed her work from her chair as she sat down. After her Arfuran project was laid out on her desk she looked up at the German Shepherd figurine to relax, release her anger, and clear her mind before continuing her task.

Sarah could still remember quite clearly the additional thoughts and progress she made with her friends the night before and wrote those notes after her previous ones. Skimming over all the notes collectively she began formulating new ideas, trying to piece together something that might be of most help to the Arfurans. Before she knew it, nearly an hour had passed and she had to get to the meeting. Tucking her notes into her attaché, she grabbed her coffee cup and a blank note pad, and headed for the conference room.

It was a few minutes before eight when Sarah got to the conference room. She poured some fresh coffee from the carafe that Kacy had so kindly prepared for everybody, then took a seat at the side of the table next to some of her colleagues. A few more people shuffled into the room and took a seat shortly thereafter. Kacy entered the room with her usual armload of paperwork, followed at the stroke of 8:00 by Berglund who walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He didn't do it so much to prevent interruptions. He liked people who were late to have to open the door and draw attention to themselves rather than just slip in silently.

After he set his own things down, Berglund got right down to business without any morning greetings. "As you all know I received a grant from the Department of Defense and DARPA to begin research into new advancements and technologies for energy-based weaponry. We are all here this morning to begin the preliminary formation of ideas for potential weapons and consider the systems driving them that aren't yet fully developed or don't yet exist."

Sarah laughed to herself in her mind. "Don't yet exist, yeah right...if only he's seen the things I've seen the past few days," she thought. She quickly saw the ironic similarity to the project she was working on for the Arfurans, and also saw the difference between the two projects, one being for offense and profit and the other being for protection of an entire civilization from destruction.

Berglund droned onward. "The grant consists of a starting budget of $1 million for initial concept design and, perhaps, prototype development. If they like what they see in our progress, that will be followed by at least $10 million for research and development. Let's go around the table and throw out some ideas."

One after another Sarah's coworkers mentioned things like lasers and microwave beams, technology that already existed. Berglund wrote each one on the white board behind the head of the table and commented on or denounced each one. Sarah felt she wanted no part in this disgusting use of dangerous weapons for profit, so when it was her turn she suggested antimatter, knowing such a weapon was impossible with human technology.

"Find me a way to make it, contain it, control it, and fire it, and maybe we can talk," Berglund said with a condescending tone. "I expected better ideas from you."

It was exactly the kind of response Sarah expected but she didn't care. The less useful she was to this project, the less of her work would be stolen by Berglund for his gain. As she sat there watching with feelings of complete apathy, she noticed that every time Berglund placed the marker on the ledge of the board it fell off. The undersized ledge had been a complaint since the board was installed but the budgeting department didn't permit it to be replaced when there was nothing technically wrong with it.

Sarah quit listening to Berglund's droning voice and entertained herself by watching him try to hide his mistakes to preserve his professionalism. As she watched the marker fall off the ledge one more time she noticed the square patterns in the carpet. It was the style of carpet that was pieced together by squares of various colors to mimic tile. It looked like the floor tiles on the Arfuran ship.

In an instant Sarah's daydreaming mind began clicking together related thoughts and ideas. "The marker drops...gravity pulling marker down...floor tiles...artificial gravity...the tiles generate gravity...what if it was immensely amplified," she thought. She picked up her pen and scribbled a few things in the back of her notepad. As the meeting continued, Sarah recalled in her mind equations and theories about gravity, its place and effects as a force in the universe, and some theories she'd been thinking about since she was an undergrad.

"Are you paying attention, Miss Shepherd?" asked Berglund.

She looked up at him. "Yes, absolutely. You were saying the long range laser would require a hundred kilowatts of energy input. That's only enough to burn the paint off a car. If you want something to use as a weapon you'll need a good megawatt unless you can reach near 100% efficiency of the beam source. Also, add a miniaturized particle accelerator to the list of suggestions."

Berglund stared silently for a moment, dumbfounded that she had such an intelligent suggestion when he thought she wasn't listening, then nodded and changed what was on the board. Sarah was always skilled in pretending to pay attention and keeping alert to the subject at hand while she was in school. If she could have made a career of feigned attention, she'd have been a professional.

Whenever she could write without being easily noticed Sarah sketched some of her thoughts and made references to different theorems. The meeting couldn't get over soon enough for her. As soon as it let out, Sarah walked back to her office as fast as she could and closed the door behind her. Remembering the appointment she set the previous Friday, she called her eye doctor to cancel it with the assurance that it was nothing to be concerned about. She then transferred her temporary notes to her main list and for the rest of the morning sketched drawings of her latest idea along with accompanying formulas and theorems.

When Sarah could go no further with the physics models she knew already, she turned to the theory she had been working on for the past many years. As intelligent as she was, she'd always had an understanding of science beyond what was already known from past researchers. She pushed thoughts of her ongoing workplace projects out of her mind to focus on developing this new theory of hers, a project she'd been wanting to complete for years but never gave the priority due to workplace demands.

Sarah ate her lunch at her desk to continue working without pause. She was thankful that nobody disturbed her work aside from the noise of talking in the hall outside her door. She was so intently focused on her work she didn't notice the minutes, and hours, ticking by on the clock. Sarah filled page after page of notes, testing each equation wherever she could and only putting a large X through the less useful ones in case she had a need for them later.

Before she knew it she had her daily eight finished. As soon as Sarah noticed it was just passing three o'clock in the afternoon she finished writing her last thought and saved all her work on her computer. She hurriedly stuffed her work into her attaché as fast as she could grab it. She had no desire to put in any overtime that day, finding the task at hand to be more important. Shutting off the lights and closing the door, she fled the office for her car. On her way through the halls she glanced into the chemistry lab to see Phil starting another experiment for his research. Sarah felt sorry for him, that he had to spend such late nights in his lab instead of being at home with his wife.

Sarah was feeling good about her progress during the trip home. She started some of her favorite music playing and enjoyed the breeze coming in the open window from the warm September afternoon. She was not in a frantic hurry because she knew the transfer system would not be operative again until some time in the evening, but she still wanted to get home to continue what work she could. When she got home she retrieved the mail and newspaper from her box out front and went inside.

In the house Sarah went to the kitchen to start some tea, then went to her office while waiting for the water to boil. As she pulled the papers and notes from her attaché and began laying things out, she noticed her first page was missing. "Oh well, not too important," she said. She plugged her laptop into the monitor sitting on the desk to continue where she left off, then heard the whistle of the boiling water from the kitchen. Sarah went to prepare her cup of tea and returned to the office, kicking off her shoes to relax a bit as she resumed her work.

When she sat down Sarah remembered she had to do some other research. She used her computer to find information on the construction and operation of electromagnetic pulse bombs and printed out what pages she could. Pencil in hand she started writing some ideas around the margins on how to make the bombs larger and stronger, mostly involving more wire, electricity, and explosives.

She then returned to her new notes from earlier in the day. "Gravity panels..." she said to herself, "a billion times stronger...form a ring..." She stopped her review and returned to the theory she'd been trying to create. "Gravity in all directions...rip open space and time...shoot laser...it could work." Sarah thought intensely about her idea, then after several minutes began writing a new equation in her theory that had never existed before. Employing theorems and formulas about time and space from other sources she added to her theory, then began running numbers through it. "If they can control it, it could work," she said again.

Sarah was beginning to feel giddy as she continued testing her theorem with new variables with results showing what she hoped and expected. She looked again over all her notes, taking in everything she'd written, then began to laugh hysterically. "It could work, you psychotic nut!" she laughed out loud.

The time was going on 5:30 and Sarah was beginning to feel a bit hungry. Since she'd broken through the most challenging part of her work she felt ready to go get some early dinner. She listened to the radio at first while beginning to make some dinner. When all she could hear was the same repeated commercials from one station to another, she turned it off and put in a CD of her more favored music. Sarah started feeling wonderful, singing along to her favorite songs while preparing a meal of grilled cheese, soup, and a side bowl of her usual fruit. She always enjoyed the more simple details of life, finding grilled cheese and soup a very satisfying comfort food. When it was ready she sat on the stool beside the counter to eat while flipping through the past several days' newspapers for the comics.

Soon her dinner was finished and Sarah took care of her dishes. She then shut off the music and went to her bedroom to get ready for her evening bath time. While she got undressed she was thinking about her friends on the ship and life on Arfurah, wondering how it compares to life and behavior on earth. As she was stepping into the shower Sarah was thinking about how Arfurans might bathe and keep clean; while she showered she wondered what kind of soap or body shampoo they must use in their fur; after she was done she thought about what they do to brush out their fur as she brushed and combed her wet hair. Her mind was a continuous stream of small questions about what they do and what things they have, questions too numerous to ever ask about, questions which would have to be answered by experiencing life there.

On her way out of the bathroom Sarah grabbed her fuzzy bathrobe off the door hook and looked at the time as she put it on. "It's seven now...they'll be ready for me before too long," she thought. She returned to the kitchen to get a glass of ice water, then went to the living room to relax on the couch. She was already quite relaxed because of her happiness, but stretching out would help her relax even more. She looked around to make sure there were no dangers to her vulnerable body after transfer, locked the door, and shut off the phone ringer. Before she sat down she remembered her notes, so she quickly went to her office to gather them up and bring them back to the coffee table before lying down on the couch. The setting sun was becoming hidden by clouds moving in from the west, creating a lovely evening skyline in the window which Sarah could enjoy until it was time to transfer. Once she got comfortable on the couch she tried closing her eyes but saw the transfer system was not active yet.

Sarah kept her eyes open, looking out the large bay window toward the sunset. The dark cloud line obscuring the sun had a wild beauty of approaching storms, though she'd heard of no rain in the forecast. The stormy look made her think of her friend Storm the fox and the pleasant evening they'd shared the day before. She smiled as she relived their conversation over ship-grown fruit and the enjoyment of the table games. Whenever she pictured him in her mind, her heart started thumping a little harder.

"Wait a minute," she said aloud. "What am I doing? I shouldn't have such...fond feelings about Storm. He's a fox alien from another galaxy for crying out loud!" She continued to analyze her feelings about him, finally dismissing the feelings as fondness for somebody who is a very affectionate and close friend. She returned to thinking about the times she spent with him and their other friends, smiling repeatedly at various thoughts.

Every few minutes Sarah was closing her eyes to test the function of the transfer system, only to open them again when she saw nothing but darkness. She hoped there wasn't something wrong that was preventing her from transferring, but trusted the mechanical ability of her technologically advanced friends to keep things running smoothly. It was passing a half hour since Sarah laid on the couch as she sipped her ice water. She set the glass back on the table and returned her head to the pillow to test her eye-controlled transfer.

The darkness in Sarah's eyes was replaced with the sight of a familiar research room, familiar table, familiar transfer system, and familiar friends. "Hi everybody!" Sarah said excitedly. Storm, Ajagi, and Nanida were studying something at the large work table when they looked up to the sound of her voice. With smiles and wagging tails they quickly came over to give her the proper Arfuran greeting. Sarah returned their hugs and gave each a kiss on the cheek. "How are you all doing?" she asked.

"We are doing very well," answered Storm, to which Ajagi and Nanida nodded. "It seems you are also doing very well. You have had a happy day?"

"Yes, it's been a good day," said Sarah. "I really didn't want to go to that meeting I told you about, but without it I may not have made the progress I did today. Something happened that gave me a great idea that just might work if you can make the device. Am I interrupting anything important?"

"No, you are not interrupting," Nanida said. "Ajagi was showing me the injury assistance device he has been working on. It is very important and interesting, but it was not an urgent matter. I am also interested to learn of the progress you all have made for our defense project."

"What have you devised?" asked Ajagi.

Sarah looked down and lightly stamped her foot on the floor. "It has to do with this. In your floors you have something that creates the gravity on this ship that keeps us from floating around like furry balloons. You have figured out how to make gravity. We just need to make a lot of it. If we can get the memories of my notes from the transfer system, I can show you."

All four quickly moved to the transfer system where Ajagi tapped the symbols on the holographic screen to access her memories and send them over to the work table. They then moved to the side of the work table and brought up the images of her notes on the surface.

Sarah said, "These pages here are about that electromagnetic pulse bomb I told you about," pointing to a few of the images. "We can go through those later. This stuff here is my idea." She tapped the images of two pages and they quickly enlarged to easily read. "This is a theory I began working on years ago. When I thought of all this I was compelled to complete it, and as far as I can tell, it works. Since the equations are new I'll guide you through them so you can translate it into your nomenclature."

"How will this use our gravity system?" asked Storm.

"The amount of your gravity is about the same as what it is on my planet," said Sarah. "Let's consider that to be one unit of gravity. Enormous stars have enough gravity to bend light by affecting the tiny mass of the photons. Galaxies have enough collective gravity to affect it much more. A black hole has gravity that is at least a billion times as strong as the gravity on our planets. That much gravity affects the very nature of space and time.

"Black holes are a singular point with gravity that pulls inward from all directions. My theory is that the same sort of gravitational pull, pulling outwards in all directions from a center point, can rip open space and time to create a wormhole. Normal matter such as ships or people can't go through a wormhole because the midway point becomes infinitely small and their atoms get torn apart. Light has very little mass and is pure energy. If a very powerful laser was shot through that wormhole it would come out the other side intact...at least, according to the equations in my theory.

"To create this level of gravity, we need a gravity generation system like what is in this floor, but it will have to be able to withstand a pulse of energy a couple billion times stronger than what this requires and be able to create a gravitational pull at least a billion times stronger than what we have here. If it was built into a light amplification tube that creates a very strong laser, then the wormhole could appear and take in the concentration of photons as they move through the length of the tube.

"There are a lot of requirements, though. First, you'd have to be able to create a gravity system like what is in this floor but a billion times stronger, maybe even more than that. Second, you would have to be able to control where the other end of the wormhole goes as you told me your researchers seem to think is possible. If we can control it we could make the laser appear to come from anywhere around the invading ships. They would never know who was shooting at them. And third, we may need a way to trap or neutralize the gravity it creates so it doesn't affect the surroundings. The opposing sides with opposing direction of gravity should somewhat counteract the gravity beyond the walls of the cylinder but I don't know that it will neutralize itself entirely."

Storm, Ajagi, and Nanida stood there studying the diagrams Sarah showed them and considering what her plan was. Storm spoke first. "This could work, friends. If we can make the device Sarah has planned, this weapon could work very well. What are your thoughts?"

"The strategy is excellent," said Nanida. "If we combine it with the magnetic bombs you were telling me about we could potentially disable all their ships and force a surrender."

Ajagi stood there silently studying the plans and formulas, recognizing all but her new one from their past meetings on translation. After a few moments he looked up at Sarah and said, "We have much work to do. If we may work on translating your new discovery to our units so we may study and test it further...I believe this will work." With those last few words Ajagi's mouth pulled back into a large smile, looking almost sinister on his lupine face.

Storm moved over to Sarah and said, "You have said before that you were amazed by us. We are very much amazed by you as well." He pulled her close in a warm hug followed by a large lick of appreciation on her cheek. Sarah smiled and giggled like a young girl, then moved closer to the side of the table to work with Ajagi on translating her formula to Arfuran terms.

"This part here is the force of gravity, multiplied to the power of itself since it is looped around and interacting with itself from all directions," Sarah said as Ajagi wrote with a claw point on the table screen. "And here is where the speed of the photons gets exponentially increased by the stretching of space-time..."

Storm and Nanida tried to keep up with all the parts of the plan translation but had some difficulty since the physics of space and time weren't their specialty. For nearly an hour they went through the several pages that contained Sarah's theory, her new equation, and all the supporting equations. When they were finished Ajagi read over everything again, scanning the information much more easily in terms he knew.

"By the claws of Dissilen, this could really work," he said. "We need to build a model to test the feasibility of creating this wormhole. After it is working we can begin attempts to control it."

"We must not risk the safety of the vehicle," Nanida said. "It should be built and tested on Stamedigan when its orbit returns with the expedition crew. If there is any problem with the burst of gravity it will be contained to the planet."

"That will not be necessary, Nanida," said Ajagi. "Sarah is correct that most of the gravity generated by the cylinder will neutralize itself with opposing forces, and the remaining amount can easily be contained. The best place to build and test this system will be on Arfurah. All the resources, production facilities, and science engineers will be right there to build whatever materials the system will need. Time is a bit critical and testing on Stamedigan will progress too slowly due to the lack of existing production facilities and refined resources there."

"I agree," replied Nanida. "If you believe it will be safe, proceed with development on Arfurah. Ajagi, I am sorry but I need you to remain here. The other projects require your knowledge."

"I understand, Nanida," said Ajagi. He then turned to Storm. "I envy you, my friend. Please give my love to my mates when you get home."

"You think I should go?" asked Storm.

"Yes. You are in charge of weapons development, after all," replied Ajagi. "I will send all the information ahead so the production teams can begin building the parts required for the gravity cylinder. You and Sarah should be able to complete the testing in very little time once it is built."

"Me?" gasped Sarah. "You want me to go to Arfurah too?"

"Of course," Ajagi replied with a smile. "It is your theory and you understand it better than any one of us. I believe you will find our home as pleasant as we do. You will be the first of your species to visit our planet and I know everybody will welcome you."

All Sarah could think to say was, "Oh...wow..." as she contemplated being the first human to step foot on another planet even if she wasn't the first to make contact with its native species. The scientist in her was overwhelmed with the level of discovery she going to experience.

"I know how much everybody wants to go home," said Storm. "I wish I could take everybody with us. It is not possible, so I will bring some of Arfurah back to you all here."

Sarah looked blankly out the window at the stars. "Oh, wow..."

"I will send out the request for a transport vehicle to be prepared immediately," said Nanida as he headed for the door. "It should be ready for you to leave in no more than twenty taren."

Storm replied, "Thank you, Nanida. We will be ready to depart."

Ajagi moved his medical device to the work bench along the side of the room and returned to the center work table to begin sending the project information. "I will send the plans for this magnetic bomb device to the nearest fleet that does not currently have their transfer system in use," he said. "They will be able to do all testing safely to determine if the magnetic pulse affects our vehicles or the transfer system, and how far away the detonation must be." He then started tapping at the symbols on the tabletop display, softly muttering something as fast as he was tapping.

Sarah turned to storm to say, "Since we have to wait a few minutes I'm going to transfer back home to take care of a couple things. We have more work to do than what I can do in the evenings. If we're going to be that busy I can't go in to work every day, so I should at least call and leave a message."

"I understand. That is thoughtful planning," said Storm. "I will gather a few small things to take with me. I will be back here soon. I must say I will be very happy to have my home under my feet once again even if it is for only a few days."

Sarah nodded with a smile and asked Storm, "What does 'by the claws of Dissilen' mean?"

"That is just an expression," Storm replied.

Chapter 12. Uncomfortable Hate

Sarah's eyes opened into a dark living room, the sun having set behind overcast skies more than an hour before. The street light nearby gave her just enough light to see her glass of water to take another drink before going to the kitchen to refill it. In the kitchen she picked up the phone and called the number for Berglund's secretary, knowing she would only get the answering system.

"Hi Kacy, this is Sarah Shepherd. I'll be gone for the next few days...I have some personal matters to take care of and won't be able to make it in to the office. Thanks." She kept her message simple and vague in an effort to keep the truth of the matter private.

Sarah put some more ice in her glass and filled it to the top with fresh water. She then took a sip and left it there to go to her bathroom and freshen up. While she was in there, the whole time she kept saying to herself in disbelief, "I'm going to another planet..." After a quick shower she toweled off and brushed her teeth for the night. Out of habit she grabbed her fuzzy bathrobe back off the hook and put it on as she returned to the kitchen for her water glass. On her way to the living room she changed her mind and decided to go to bed for the night, figuring it would be a little more comfortable than the couch.

Back in her bedroom she set the glass on the bedside table, hung her bathrobe back on the hook of the bathroom door, and slid between the sheets of the bed. The cool satin felt good on her skin and made a pleasant contrast to the warmth of the comforter she pulled up over her. Sarah reached over to set her glasses on the nightstand and turn off her alarm clock, making sure it would not disturb her in the morning, then sunk her head into the pillow to close her eyes.

Instantly she was back in the transfer room of the ship. Storm had not yet returned as far as she could tell, and Ajagi was in one of the seats beside the round table. He was positioned off to the side with his head sitting heavily in his hands, elbows supported by his knees as he was slumped over.

"Ajagi! What's wrong?" Sarah asked as she moved quickly to his side. She put one arm around his back and her other hand on his forearm. "Are you missing your mate again?"

Ajagi breathed deeply and let out a long sigh. "Sarah, I was not...completely honest with you when you first visited here," he said. "I did not lie but I did not answer your question." He lifted his head out of his hands and looked at Sarah. "You were asking about our emotions and the things we feel. Storm said he did not know anybody who felt hate and we do not allow it to enter our minds. He is correct that it is a very uncomfortable feeling but was incorrect about not knowing anyone who felt it. I feel it. As much as I try...I can not stop it from filling my mind."

Sarah was deeply concerned because of the emotion in his voice. "What do you mean?"

Ajagi continued. "We have told you things we know about the Kra. We know of the weapon they are building. We know of what they are doing to their planet, stripping it of all its resources. We know how horribly they treat beings of other species. We know much of their language. The only way we can know such things is by being there. We sent two of our people, Tibo and Kalise, to spy on them and send back whatever information they could.

"Nobody was chosen. They freely volunteered with the knowledge they may never return, also knowing it would likely cost them their lives. They both knew the information they found could save the lives of everyone on our planet and decided the risk to their own lives was insignificant. They were highly intelligent, absolute masters of both keeping hidden and disguise. They made themselves look like the Kra, studied and duplicated their behavior, had to do things that every part of their minds told them they should not but they did because of the importance of the mission and the importance of not being found.

"We know about the Kra keeping captive slaves of other civilizations to kill for their own pleasure because our spies witnessed it. They had to cheer with all the rest or else their differing behavior would reveal their identity. There are other things they saw I can not say, it is too horrible. They put themselves at great risk to gather information about the new weapon the Kra are developing, including strategies for attack and plans for action after invasion. They planted a highly directional transmitter on the outside of one of the large Kra vehicles, aimed at Arfurah so they could send us the information without the signal being detected.

"As they orbited the Kra planet an asteroid drifted through the signal and scattered some of it back toward the vehicles. The Kra detected it and sent out smaller vehicles to find the source, which passed through the signal as well. When the transmitter was found they did a search of their entire large vehicle until our friends were found.

"Tibo was fortunate, if we may call it that. She swallowed a small capsule she brought with her to end her own life before the Kra could. Kalise was not lucky and was captured before he could swallow his capsule." Ajagi's voice wavered and he returned his eyes into his hands.

"Sarah...they transmitted a visual recording...repeated many times to be sure we saw it...they tortured him...horribly. He had no information they did not know already. They knew who he was, where he was from, what information he had taken and where it was sent. They did not care. They enjoyed watching his pain, they were entertained. They forced him to watch as the body of Tibo was mutilated. It did not matter that she was already dead...they enjoyed it. Every one of the Kra watching was cheering.

"Then they turned to him...they...I can not..." Ajagi could not speak as his breathing turned into an almost uncontrollable pant for nearly half a minute. "They kept him alive, connected him to machines, would not let him die. They continued to torture and mutilate him...his screaming...Sarah, his scream haunts me. I could not watch the visual recording, I had to turn away, but I could hear him...his unbearable pain...when he finally...did die..."

Ajagi began sobbing harder into his hands as Sarah wrapped her arms around him to hug him tightly. Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears when Storm returned to the room. Without asking he knew what was going on. He had seen Ajagi like this before. Ajagi threw his head back and howled as loud as he could, the sound penetrating the door and echoing through the halls of the ship. Sarah could not hold her tears back and cried with him. As he began to run out of breath his howl faded to an open mouthed sobbing, and he returned his head to his hands. Storm quickly stepped behind his friend and wrapped his arms around him as well.

As Ajagi began to regain control of himself he tried speaking again. "When he finally did die, they mutilated the rest of his body...both of their bodies were destroyed beyond anything that could be recognized as a living being...every one of the Kra cheered...as if it was some great victory. It was not enough to kill him...they wanted him to suffer as terribly as possible. I hate them, Sarah. I hate them down to my core, with every cell in my body and every thought in my mind. I was happy when I saw your new plan...I felt we could finally destroy them as they destroyed Tibo and Kalise...I felt I wanted revenge, to see their entire species destroyed, I hate them so much. And I hate...myself for feeling that way about any creature. I can not stop the hate I feel."

Sarah and Storm hugged him tighter with their best efforts to console him. "Don't hate yourself, Ajagi," Sarah said. "By doing that to your friends, and by being what they are, they put the feeling in you. They created the hate."

Storm continued speaking for Ajagi. "A full report had to be made but the visual recording they transmitted to us was so terrible, nobody could watch it. We had one volunteer watch the entire visual recording in order to make a report on exactly what happened. He believed his mind was strong enough to deal with the images. It required all his efforts to make the report, and then he was fully overcome by the disturbing sight. He could not eat or sleep, could not function, frequently breaking down with screams as the images flooded back into his mind. He could not stop them, tore at his green skin with his claws to take the memory away. He had to go through a treatment process that erased part of his memory for him to go on with his life. After that he knew he had seen something terrible but did not know what it was."

"Why did a report have to be made?" asked Sarah.

"So we would never forget," replied Storm. "We must never forget the importance of protecting ourselves and how terrible it will be if we fail. We must never forget the sacrifices that have been made by our people to ensure we will survive. They gave their service, and ultimately their lives, for the survival of their people. This happened 73 days ago and we have been working as quickly as possible since that time to develop a new way to protect ourselves. Every day that passes makes it more urgent that we succeed."

Ajagi lifted his head out of his hands again and looked at Sarah. "I could have had the same treatment done to make my memories easier to bear but I chose not to because I felt I should not forget. The pain I feel is nothing compared to the pain he felt. I do apologize. I did not want you to see me like this. I felt it was important that you knew the full truth and hoped I could handle it more properly."

"You don't have to apologize one bit," said Sarah, wiping the last of her tears from her face. "I completely understand, and I can't think of any more proper way to mourn the loss of a friend than letting that sorrow out. By using the information they sent and protecting yourselves from the Kra, their deaths won't be for nothing." Ajagi turned toward her, and she and Storm hugged him once more. Before parting their embrace Sarah kissed Ajagi on one cheek while Storm licked his other.

"Thank you, my friends," Ajagi said. "I have never known of any other species in the universe who is as cruel...who is as brutal as the Kra."

Sarah sat silently for a moment before speaking. "Yes...you have," she said quietly, looking down to the floor. "My species...humans. Not all, but some. We have a history spotted with people who have shown just as much brutality and cruelty, whether it is for gains of power, land, resources, wealth...or just for their own entertainment. Sometimes for no reason at all. They do it against other humans, their own people...sometimes to the other animal species of the planet but not just killing them for food. In some places the brutality to other humans still goes on to this day, and pleasure killing of other animals happens all over the world. With others in the past and present doing such horrible things, it makes me ashamed to call myself 'human' as they do."

Ajagi looked Sarah in the eyes. "Do not be ashamed of who you are. You recognize such horrible things as being horrible. You are not like those who do horrible things, or the Kra. It is not your entire species that behaves in such a way. All of the Kra do."

Storm waited until he felt it was the right time to change the subject. "I returned to tell you that the transport vehicle is ready to leave," he said to Sarah. "It is prepared with things the crew of the fleet wanted to send home to mates and family, and plenty of food in case there is loss of power and we have to wait for another vehicle."

"Does that happen very often?" asked Sarah.

"No, it has never happened, but we prefer to be prepared for anything," replied Storm. "Ajagi, I promise to deliver your love to your home personally."

"Thank you, Storm. I hope you have a pleasant journey," said Ajagi.

The three friends hugged and shared nuzzles one more time before Storm led Sarah out the door to the transport. "I took care of things back home," Sarah said, "but can you show me a place here where I can freshen up? If this body duplicates what my natural body does, I imagine there are certain things I need to...take care of." Storm nodded and led her to the bathing room. The room was empty of other individuals but there was a continuous flow of water falling from a large mound of rock in what Sarah assumed was a showering area. She couldn't tell if they were real or artificial rocks.

"You should be able to find things easily in here," Storm said. "I must go retrieve something I forgot I wanted to bring home. I will return in five or six taren." Sarah looked around and figured out what each device was, finding a sort of toilet that had a complete lack of paper. "They must do things differently here," she thought to herself. She removed her protection suit and used the receptacle, hoping she was in fact using it for its intended purpose.

When she was finished she went over to the falling water. It was surrounded with several plants with large thick yellow leaves that grew out of soil pits in the floor. She couldn't see anything in the way of soap so she did the best she could with water alone. The water was cool and comfortable, the refreshing temperature and pleasant scent of a lake in summer. She didn't take as much time as she would have liked because she knew Storm would be ready to go soon, so she quickly stepped out of the falling water. Not far from that spot she found a set of vent pipes on the wall that activated and blew warm air when she approached. Without a towel she had little choice but to stand in front of it and enjoy the drying air. Sarah didn't take much time to dry her hair, knowing it would take too long, so she got it as dry as she could and reached for her protection suit.

Just as she was pulling it up she sensed somebody open the door behind her. With a gasp she quickly pulled the front of the suit closed and turned around to see who it was. "Are you ready?" asked Storm. Sarah nodded her affirmation and finished closing the front of her suit correctly. "I hope you found everything alright," said Storm.

"Yes, but there was no soap to wash with," said Sarah.

Storm closed his eyes in embarrassment. "I apologize, please forgive my oversight. The leaves of the plants by the water contain a fluid that works very well for cleansing fur...it should work well on your skin, too. I should have thought to tell you about that."

"It's alright," responded Sarah. "I did well enough with just the water. I'm ready." The two turned for the door and headed for the transport bay. "Did you find what you wanted to bring?" she asked.

"Yes, I have it right here," said Storm, holding up a small elongated box. Along the way through the halls they paused briefly as they passed various furry friends, sharing a parting hug and friendly nuzzle and lick.

"You really do have a family here, don't you," said Sarah as they arrived at the transport bay.

"Yes, you are truly correct," replied Storm. "As we told you before, the friendship we all share here makes it bearable to be away from home."

Sarah held her breath as she looked out at what appeared to be a huge wide open door with empty space beyond it. She then looked up at the size of the transport ship that sat in front of her. "This thing is twice the size of my house!" she exclaimed.

"You must have a very large home," said Storm. He followed her through the airlock door into the transport and led her to the main control room. The control room appeared to be the main habitation room as well, with a table and seats like what Sarah saw in the lounge, plus a large padded area on the floor by the rear wall. Surrounding the control panel at the front were large windows that wrapped from one side to the other. Storm took a seat at the controls and pressed a button to activate a display screen, then tapped the symbols on the screen to begin activating systems on the ship.

Sarah stood behind him, watching his actions without knowing what any of it did. All she could hear was the quiet rustling of air through a duct from the ventilation system. Storm pressed a button and spoke; Sarah couldn't see where the microphone was hidden.

"We are ready to go, Nanida," Storm said.

"I hope you have a pleasant trip," replied Nanida over the speaker. "Try not to run into anything on your way out."

Storm laughed and shook his head. "Hit another transport just once and they think it will happen every time."

Sarah laughed as well, understanding the humor. Storm placed his hands on a pair of control handles and manipulated them slightly. The transport ship silently rose a few feet off the floor, then gently turned around to face the bay door. Sarah held her breath lightly as she looked out the open door into space, taking a seat beside Storm. "How is the air not escaping?" she asked.

"The energy field that surrounds the vehicle does not allow it to escape," replied Storm. "It is the same field that covers all of the windows. If the window or the structure around it should ever fail, the atmosphere will not escape and the area can be safely evacuated and repaired."

Storm manipulated the controls and the transport slid gracefully out through the bay door. Sarah followed the edge of the ship with her eyes as they passed through the door to look back at the rear of the large ship, as well as taking in the view of the rest of the fleet. "This is absolutely incredible," she said. Storm smiled at her amazement, pointed the transport toward Arfurah, and moved the speed control forward. Sarah never felt the acceleration and couldn't believe how quickly the view of the fleet disappeared past the edge of the window and beyond where she could see. The bright point of light created by the center star held steady in the front window.

Chapter 13. Getting To Know You

Storm got up from his seat at the controls and walked back into the room. "We would do well to get comfortable. It will take us just over three tar to arrive at Arfurah."

Sarah thought briefly. "Three tar? That's...just over ten hours, I think. How fast are we going?"

"Our rate of travel is approximately 56 percent of the rate of travel of light," Storm replied.

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Sarah. "We're doing more than half the speed of light?" She stopped speaking and sat there with mouth agape, unable to think of anything else to say. She got up from her seat and walked back toward Storm while looking at him, then looked back out the front window. The view out the front was intermittently speckled with tiny points of light as the random molecules and dust particles in the vacuum of space were impacted by the protective energy field of the ship. "We're going to travel something like 4 billion miles in 10 hours?"

"Yes, that is close to the actual numbers," said Storm. "When I was learning your measurement system I practiced with the distance between Stamedigan and Arfurah. In your measurement of 'mile' the number I found was 3,855,609,000. Beyond that it is approximately another 105 million of your 'miles' to our center star."

Sarah walked back toward the controls and windows. "And to think...back home on my planet the best we can do is a few times faster than the speed of sound. The things we send to our moon or nearest planets are maybe twenty thousand miles an hour. And here we are, doing what...well over a hundred thousand miles a second? We have so far to go, so much to learn..." Sarah's speech trailed off as she looked out into space. "Now that we are clear of the other ships, can you point out where my galaxy is?"

Storm walked over beside her, looked out the window for a few seconds, and pointed. "It is there. Do you see that flat line of light with the bright center? Ajagi told me that is where you are from." Sarah picked out her home galaxy among the satellite galaxies and other objects in view and stood there gazing at it.

"It is so...beautiful...so huge and so distant," she said with poetic thought. "We are so small, so insignificant. Everybody I know is there, so far away. If I sent them a radio message saying 'hello' it wouldn't get there for a hundred thousand years...maybe millions, I don't know. By then, my species might not even exist any more. And yet all I have to do is open my eyes and I'm right back there, in an instant. Storm...this is all so beautiful, so wonderful...and it is so different from the reality I know, or thought I knew. It's like a dream."

Sarah turned to Storm and hugged him. "At home I have so few friends, so few people I can trust. The rest are corrupt, greedy, and selfish. Nearly all I read about is crimes against each other from all over the world, what we call 'man's inhumanity to man'. And here I am, an eternity away from home, with wonderful friends, being welcomed to their home and planet. I don't deserve such kindness."

Storm smiled as he hugged her in return. "You are the most kind person I have ever met from those we transferred here from any civilization. You do deserve such kindness." He broke the embrace and held her away slightly to look her in the eyes. "It is going to be a long trip to Arfurah. You are free to open your eyes and return home for that time if you are longing to go back. I understand what it is to miss home."

"Oh. No," Sarah replied. "I want to stay here with...I'd like to stay. If you don't mind."

"Not at all," Storm said with a smile. "I will enjoy your pleasant company for the journey." He then led her back into the more open area of the room with the table. She took a seat beside the table as he walked toward a control panel on the side of the room. "We are far from any dangerous zone now. We certainly do not need these awful things."

With that last sentence Storm pulled apart the front closure of his protection suit and pulled the material over his shoulders, pushing it down off his legs and tail and kicking it away. The quick motion left Sarah with wide eyes as she was presented with the sight of a nearly six and a half foot tall fox, naked except for the fur covering his body. As he stood there scratching his sides with his claws he said, "I must tell you, I sometimes feel those coverings are the worst part about being out here. We all feel so confined inside them."

Sarah sat there speechless. As Storm scratched he noticed she had not removed her suit. "We are in no danger of attack here. You are free to remove your protection cover."

"I...um...don't know if I can," Sarah said.

Storm stood there puzzled. "The temperature should be adequate in here. If you would prefer I can make it warmer, but I may begin to shed."

Sarah smiled largely with his joke and said, "No, it's not that. It's not the temperature, never has been. It's plenty warm. It's just that..."

Storm sat in the seat next to her, concerned. "Is there a problem you need to tell me? I do not understand."

Sarah sighed. "It's just that...on my planet, our people have a sort of rule that we must never be seen without clothes...we are taught from the youngest age to keep our bodies hidden, and that it is shameful to be seen without at least certain parts of the body covered at all times. Because of that, it is very...embarrassing for me to be seen nude. Without a covering, that is."

Storm sat there even more puzzled than before. "I know our civilizations are different by some ways. Without intending disrespect I must say this is the most strange rule I have ever heard. You have the same beauty you had when you were born, the same beauty you have always had by the every nature of your existence. How do you feel shame or embarrassment about that? You are a beautiful part of nature and there is no shame in that. Even if this body you have was constructed by us, it represents your natural body and retains that beauty."

"Thank you, Storm," Sarah said with a smile. "It's something I've tried to overcome my whole life. I've come a long way just by sleeping with nothing on, or occasionally remaining that way for a few minutes first thing in the morning."

"You may remain as you wish, however you find comfortable," said Storm. "Please know there is no shame to be felt here. Now if you will please allow me to take my attention away from you for a moment, I must set the navigation system to take us to Arfurah and wake us when we are approaching. Currently we are only headed in the general direction."

"Wake us up?" said Sarah.

"Yes," replied Storm. "We will be arriving just before it is light and we have a long day of work. We should get enough sleep that we may be refreshed when we arrive."

"Ok, that makes sense," said Sarah. While Storm stood there at the control panel programming in the flight, Sarah studied his body more fully now that he was completely visible. The white fur from the lower half of his muzzle extended back across his cheeks, down the front half of his neck, and over his chest and abdomen down to his thighs where it blended back with the reddish orange fur. His forearms were a dark brown fur that went from just below his elbows, where it blended from the orange fur, to the tips of his fingers. His lower legs and feet had the same dark brown fur, completing the resemblance to the fur of an Earthly fox. The orange fur on his back gradually blended with darker hairs as it went down his back to his tail, and the darker shade of orange continued onto his bushy tail before fading back to orange with a white tip. Sarah observed the shape of his body, the upper portion being very human-like, and couldn't help noticing his fur-covered genitals, which looked very similar to that of canines on Earth.

As Storm stood there at the control panel he closed his eyes and opened his mouth in a large yawn, curling his extended tongue and drawing the corners of his mouth back as a canine would. Sarah noticed more clearly the size of his sharp fangs and other teeth, then giggled when he finished his yawn with a shake of his head that caused his ears to make a slight flopping sound. Storm sensed he was being watched. He glanced toward Sarah who quickly and bashfully looked away. "I notice that you are looking at me very closely," he said with a soft voice. "I understand that you would be interested in studying creatures not from your planet. I am flattered as well."

Sarah looked back toward him and replied, "Yes, it is very interesting to study and learn all about you. And if I may say...you were talking about my natural beauty...you are very beautiful as well." Sarah smiled more, and was sure she was blushing.

"Thank you," Storm said with a smile. Sarah thought about herself sitting there as he worked, decided she felt out of place, and felt she was silly to be embarrassed in front of somebody from another galaxy. It's not like he would tell all her friends what he saw, she reasoned to herself, and they had seen her with nothing on already when she first arrived. She also felt very comfortable with him, so she silently stood up and removed her protection suit and tossed it over next to his before sitting back down. A wave of exhilaration and relief flooded over her as she let go of her fears of nudity.

"I am finished setting the navigation system, and the other systems are working optimally," Storm said as he turned toward her. "Oh, I hope you are comfortable. Does that indicate you need to sleep now?"

"I'm not very tired yet...instead, would you like to talk for a while?" she replied, still feeling self conscious and fighting the instinct to cover herself up. "There is so much to learn about you...you all, that is, and your home, your planet..." Sarah felt silly about how the words stumbled out of her mouth.

"I would enjoy that," Storm said as he sat in the seat next to her. "What questions may I answer for you?" Without saying a word Sarah reached out and took one of his hands in hers, pulling it close for a look. His fingers were shaped like hers, slightly longer and thicker, with long claws that were sharp but slightly blunt at the tip from use. She turned his hand over to look at the palm, studying the dark skin pads on the fingertips and part of the palm that were exposed from lack of fur. The rest had a covering of very short fur hairs that laid flat on the rest of the palm and fingers, but was slightly longer and tufted on the back of his hands and wrists. She flexed his fingers slightly, feeling the knuckles and joints. Sarah turned his hand back over and lifted it up, pressing the palm of her hand flat against his to compare shape and size.

While she studied his hands he shifted his eyes between them and her deep brown eyes, where he spent most of his time looking. Sarah took his other hand in hers, holding them close together, then ran her hands up his forearms to study the shape of his elbows, then up his muscular biceps to his strong shoulders. "I hope you don't mind all this," Sarah said. "This is like some incredible dream, being able to study a creature from another planet so closely. An incredible opportunity is a better way to put it. Your people have the ability to meet and study species from other planets, but our people don't have that ability yet."

"I do not object at all," Storm said, a slight smile on his lips. Sarah ran her hands up his neck to his jaw line, cheeks, and muzzle. She looked up at the fluffy fur on the top of his head and studied his ears, with thick white fur inside and thinner dark brown fur covering the back. She then got to his lips and opened his mouth slightly, pulling it open farther to look at his sharp teeth and soft pink tongue. She closed his mouth again and studied his face briefly, enjoying the look of his pure black whiskers growing out the sides of his muzzle beside his black nose, then leaned back in her chair.

"If I may ask," she said, "all I have seen you eat is fruit, but you have the teeth of a carnivore. Do you eat meat?"

"Yes we do, but very little," he replied. "We respect life very greatly so there are very few creatures on our planet we take for food. All those I eat come from the water near my home. Nobody enjoys killing for food but we must eat them occasionally out of necessity for the nutrients. Some, like Antakiri, are able to survive on the plant life alone and be very healthy."

Sarah reached down and picked up one of his feet, and held it in her lap to study it. Storm leaned back in his seat to extend his leg more comfortably. Sarah felt the shape of his canine-like toes and paw pads, the strong ankle, and muscular calf. She didn't feel proper going any farther past his knee. "You have very cute feet," she said with a blushing smile as she released his foot.

"Thank you again for the compliments," Storm said. He then set his foot on the floor and reached out to take her hands in his to study her just the same, sniffing her hands and forearms to learn her scent more closely. "Before you I have never met someone of your species. I have only met people who transferred from planets other than yours. You are equally interesting to me, especially with your near total lack of fur. Your skin is lovely." She blushed while he studied her hands and arms just as she did to him, going up to her neck and face. She smiled as she opened her mouth wide for him to look in and study. "Do you eat only plants?"

"I eat a lot of plants, including fruits and berries like what you eat," she said. "I do eat some meat, but not very much by choice. There are some in my species who eat no meat, also by choice, and some who eat a lot, sometimes enough to affect their health in a bad way."

"That certainly could be bad," replied Storm as he stopped studying her face and leaned back in his seat to view the rest of her body. "Are those for feeding your young?" he asked, motioning toward her breasts.

Sarah blushed deeply with a bashful smile. "Yes, they are," she replied, "although I don't have any young. So far they are just for...decoration, I guess." She laughed and asked, "Do the females of your planet have them too? For that matter, do your people even have the same separation of genders with male and female? I mean, you appear to be what we call male."

Storm picked up one of her feet to study as he answered. "Yes, our females do have them for their young. They actually have six or eight, depending on the particular variety of person they are, but only two are prominent like yours. The rest do not develop and remain concealed under their body fur. As our species evolved over very many years we started having fewer offspring. With not as many young to feed, the extra breasts faded away over time. And yes, we do have male and female. The females become pregnant with young and are the ones to give birth, and the males cause them to become pregnant. Some are born with features to make them both male and female but that occurs rarely, perhaps one for every five hundred or a thousand births."

"That happens on our planet too, but far more rarely," said Sarah. "When it does happen, quite often the baby is put through a medical procedure that sets their body as one or the other."

Storm looked up inquisitively and asked, "Why do they alter what nature has selected?"

"I don't know," Sarah replied. "Probably so they aren't so different from the rest."

Storm continued studying Sarah's feet. "It is interesting that you walk on your ankles."

"That is why the heel has such thick padding," she said. Sarah giggled as Storm's furry hands tickled her feet and lower legs. "That's an involuntary reaction...I can't help it," she reassured him. He smiled at her giggle and put her feet down.

"How long do you live?" Sarah asked him.

Storm looked confused about her question. "How long?" he asked.

"Yes, how old do your people get? What is your average life span?" she asked again.

"I do not understand what you mean by 'life span,'" Storm responded.

Sarah thought how to ask more clearly. "On average people of my species live about seventy or eighty years before dying, assuming no other illness or event causes them to die. The oldest ever was somewhere around 115 years old. How many years do people of your species last?"

"We do not die from time," Storm finally replied. "We only die from accidental dangerous events such as drowning under water, fires, explosions, consuming something that poisons the body, falls from too great a height...events like those. Eventually something will happen that takes the life of a person. It all varies on how careful they are in their life, and what sort of unforeseen events take place."

Sarah was astonished. "You mean your people never age? How is that possible? What is the oldest anybody has lived?"

"It is the nature of our planet," said Storm. "The nutrition and biochemistry of the plant life we eat has caused us to develop over time so that we remain healthy and do not age. The most years I have ever heard of somebody living through is some amount past fourteen thousand. I have never met that person and do not know if he is still alive...or she, I am not sure of that either."

Sarah asked, "How old are you? I mean, how many years has it been since you were born?"

"It has been a little more than thirty years since I was born," replied Storm.

"Ok, that's about how old I am, I'm thirty-one," said Sarah. "Wait a sec...a year on my planet lasts about 365 days, the day-night cycle. How long is yours?"

"Our year lasts 400 days, and if I remember correctly our day lasts a few tar longer than yours," said Storm.

"That means you're..." Sarah said, trying to figure out what thirty Arfuran years equated to. "Never mind that, let's just say we're the same age. What about Ajagi or the others?"

"Ajagi has lived one hundred forty three years," said Storm. "My parents were almost three hundred when I was born. Nanida has lived one hundred twelve years, Antakiri has lived two hundred forty years...Sharden has lived fifty seven years..."

"That is incredible. Ajagi sure looks good for his age," Sarah said with a slight joke.

"Ajagi is as strong and healthy as he was when he was my age," said Storm.

"Wow, that's amazing," said Sarah. "If we met again in twenty years, I'd look pretty different...in fifty years I'll look very different. You probably wouldn't recognize me by then." Sarah then asked, "Can you tell me about your parents?"

"I would be happy to tell you," said Storm. "They live about a nine day walk from me. They study and teach at one of the knowledge centers. They study the past history of our people with special knowledge in past languages. That is why my name is what it is. It is from one of the past languages."

"What does your name mean?" asked Sarah.

Storm replied, "It is a rough translation meaning, 'small one who entered the world gently as a rain with the fury of a storm.' I was told I was born quickly and made a lot of noise. All those who lived nearby knew I was born because I alerted them."

"What a lovely name," Sarah said with a dreamy smile.

"Thank you," said Storm. "A long time ago there were many languages, but each one was specific to a variety of Arfurans. Each was difficult for others to speak. Over time all the varieties of our people settled on a language that everybody could speak easily, and the older languages were abandoned but not forgotten. My parents are among those who help prevent them from being forgotten."

"Why do I hear the word 'storm' when your name is spoken while others have names I don't recognize?" Sarah asked.

Storm replied, "That is because my name is a word with a meaning. It is the same word we use when speaking of a storm in the sky. You hear it translated into the word you recognize."

"Ok, I see. This automatic translation is a little confusing at times," Sarah said. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Yes. I have a sister, Grasata. She was born a few years after me and lives near my parents," replied Storm. "Her name is also from the old language and means 'eyes of fire.'"

"I was thinking," Sarah said, "since you mention your parents, and they had two children, but your people never age...isn't there a problem with overpopulation?"

"Nature seems to prevent that for us," replied Storm. "When there is enough of a population in an area, the body chemistry of a female alters naturally so that she can not become pregnant. Some males are altered in the same way so they may not cause a female to become pregnant. It is something they do not choose or think about in order to happen. If they move to an area with less population their bodies soon return to normal without any thought about it at all, and they may reproduce if they desire. Also there are others who choose to not have offspring because that is not what they desire in life. And some desire a mate who is the same gender. They can not reproduce together by the nature of their matched bodies."

"You have couples who are the same sex?" responded Sarah. "I guess that proves it's not just limited to people on my planet."

"Yes, replied Storm. "Nanida and Antakiri have been mates for a long time, as have been the three who you observed when you first visited our relaxation room."

"Wow, and I thought his use of the word 'mate' meant a rank of the crew, or a job on the ship. I didn't know they were a couple," Sarah said. She then thought of the other three he referred to. "You mean it's common to have more than one mate?" she asked.

"Yes. Some desire one mate, some desire more than one. Ajagi is mate with three others," said Storm.

"Again, wow," said Sarah. "I thought I was hearing a misinterpreted translation when I heard him say 'mates', plural. How did that happen?"

"He used to have only one mate, a lovely female named Gradoga," Storm replied. "When they moved to the area where they live now they met another pair of mates, and all four developed a very strong love. It was not long before they were all mates together."

Sarah was amazed. "On my planet, relationships with more than two individuals are looked down on and condemned. Even relationships of two who are the same gender are not widely accepted."

"Why?" asked Storm. "If their love brings them together as mates, why would that be condemned?"

"Again, I don't know," said Sarah. "It's not something I could clearly explain."

Storm asked, "What is 'wow'? You have said it many times. We must not have an equivalent word to hear in translation."

Sarah replied, "It is a word used to express amazement or excitement."

The pair sat there silently for a moment, not knowing what further to say. Sarah glanced down and saw Storm's tail waving slightly behind his chair. "You have a lovely tail," she said awkwardly. "I love how thick and bushy it is."

Storm lifted his tail up around the side of the chair and reached a hand over to pull it closer. "Thank you. Why do you not have a tail?"

Sarah replied, "Over the millions of years that our species evolved, our tails faded away over time. We only have a hint of its former existence in our bones." She sat there silently for another moment before asking, "Do you have a mate?"

"No," said Storm. "I had a mate in the past, the sister of Sharden. That is how I met him and we became such good friends. We loved each other very much. We still do but as very close friends instead of mates. We wanted different things in life so she found another mate who had the same desires. I am very happy for them. It was not long after that I joined the crew of our fleet. After I joined I decided I would not have another mate until I was back home permanently because if I was killed in an attack I did not want a mate to feel the pain of losing me."

"I'm sorry you lost your mate," said Sarah. "I hope you aren't feeling too bad about it."

"No, not at all," Storm replied. "I was sad to lose a mate but never felt anger toward her. She is happy in her life with her mate, and I will find love and happiness with another mate when this is all over. The happiness and love is what is important." After a brief pause he continued to ask, "Do you have a mate?"

"Ha!" said Sarah with a laugh. "No, I'm not that lucky. I've dated a few guys but it never works out. They pour on the charm but then before too long they show what kind of jerks they really are. I dated one guy for two years and we even talked about marriage, but as soon as we talked seriously about it he started talking about how I'd just stay at home and not work. He expected me to give up the career I worked so hard for."

"What is 'mare ridge?'" Storm asked.

Sarah thought a moment. "When two people are mates, marriage is a ceremony or ritual that commits them to each other for life and is performed in front of their friends and family. It is a sort of public announcement saying, 'we're mates,' as a way for others to officially accept it."

"I understand," said Storm. "We do not have such a ceremony. When a mateship is formed it is recognized, respected, and encouraged by all. Sometimes we gather for a celebration."

Sarah smiled. "You know, even though our civilizations are different, they are a lot alike in some ways. You and I are a lot alike...we're the same, really. We may have different ways of life but we are each working hard to make it through life just the same."

Storm thought about what she said for a moment. "That is a very true thing to say." He leaned on the side of the table, supporting his head with a hand on his cheek. "You have not told me about your family. Do you have siblings? Please describe your parents as well."

Sarah looked down silently for a moment and took a deep breath before looking back up at him. "I don't have any siblings...I'm the only child my parents had. I have no parents any more. When I was very young my mother ran off. She had some mental problems from what I was told but I don't know if that's the real reason. I don't even know if she's still alive. My father raised me by himself. He worked hard to put me through school...worked hard at being the best dad he could."

Storm sat silently, understanding most of what he heard while listening to Sarah's story. "Dad died nine years ago, just after I graduated college. He was working in his store late one evening when some kid came in to rob him." Sarah paused silently for a moment to take another deep breath. "When Dad stood his ground and tried to protect his store, the kid shot him dead and ran off. They caught him and the kid is spending the rest of his life in prison, but that doesn't bring Dad back. That kid showed no remorse after he destroyed three lives...Dad's, mine, and his own...for nothing more than money. I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye."

Storm sensed her morosity and reached out to take her hand in his. "Sarah, after hearing what you said, I now share your pain. I hope your loss will become easier for you to carry."

"Thank you, Storm," she said, looking into his eyes. "The pain never fades but has become easier to bear over time. I always loved and appreciated what he did for me. He always told me to follow my heart to happiness, and when I was going through college I promised him I would make him proud, never be like my mother was. I've followed the career I wanted but unfortunately where I work I'm not very happy. When I can I'm going to find something else."

"There are some things I do not fully understand," said Storm, "possibly because of an incorrect translation I am hearing. I believe I understand your word of career as a special knowledge and service you pursue and perform through your life. And you told of the knowledge center where you did much of your learning. What did you mean when you said that person tried to 'rob' your father? What is 'rob?'"

Sarah replied, "Rob means to steal, to take something that belongs to somebody else without receiving any permission to take it. In this case it is done with force...as an example, the Kra have attempted to rob, or steal, your planet from all of you in the past."

"I understand completely. What is money?" Storm continued to ask.

"You don't know what money is?" asked Sarah. She paused for several seconds to think of how best to describe it. "Well...it's a set of small objects, usually made of paper or metal, that has value assigned to it by the practice of society. People work a job or task for somebody else to earn more of it, and then trade it for food, land, services, energy, or other materials."

"Your people need to trade this thing for food?" Storm asked. "It is a requirement of life."

"Yes," replied Sarah, "and water too, in some places."

"This is very strange," said Storm. "I also do not understand the trade for land. Does the land not belong to the planet?"

"Not as long as people claim to own it and tell others where they can and can't live," said Sarah. "It seems we do some things very differently."

"We do not have such a thing," said Storm. "Food is abundant and found everywhere, our people do many things for themselves, and everything they do for others is out of the value of friendship. Everything is done for the benefit of our people and our planet. If somebody has a special knowledge or skill they perform it for others out of desire to help."

"That sounds like a wonderful way of life," said Sarah. "It's just as well you don't have money because it leads to greed, corruption, and abused power. What if somebody doesn't want to do things for others, or has some physical problem that prevents them from doing much?"

"It is their choice," said Storm. "Some decide to take time away from their special skill and take care of daily life only. A common example is when offspring is born. All mates remain at home to raise and care for the young one. They return to the task when they feel the desire and feel ready to return. Everybody has the desire to help and give to others...it is in our nature to want to perform for the benefit of our species. If somebody is physically unable to do things...maybe he fell and injured his body...everybody around him does all they can to help him."

Sarah smiled. "I have to say again how wonderful that sounds. I wish there was more generosity like that in my world. I don't want to sound like my world is an awful place. It's just that there are some problems that need to be fixed." Sarah was afraid of asking too many questions and stayed silent for several moments but didn't want their conversation to end. Every time she looked at Storm or listened to him talk, she could feel her heart beat a little harder as it did back home. Before she could say anything new, Storm broke the silence.

"I can hear your heartbeat," he said.

"What?" Sarah replied with surprise.

Storm calmly responded, "It is very quiet in here. I can hear your heartbeat."

"But how..." she said, trailing off as she looked down at her chest and then back up at his ears. "Oh...your ears...you very closely resemble a fox from my planet. The animal life has very strong senses, much greater than humans. Exactly how sharp are your senses, like hearing and smell, things like that?"

"I do not know what I may compare them to," said Storm. "I will do my best to describe what I am sensing. You may find the light in here to be low. In my eyes it is more than adequate light to see everything clearly."

Sarah nodded. "Yep, I thought it was pretty dim lighting. Your large pupils add a lot of warmth to your eyes, though," she said with a smile.

Storm smiled in return and responded, "Thank you. Your eyes have that same appearance. As I smell the air I can detect the scent of your body, and the scent of the water from the bathing room is still strong. And my sense of hearing...I am able to hear sounds as quiet as your heartbeat."

"Wow, that is absolutely amazing," said Sarah, looking down at her chest again. "I can't hear anything that quiet. Oops, sorry...I hope I'm not speaking too loudly for you."

"No, your speech is very tolerable. I am able to hear very quiet sounds but sounds at this level do not harm my ears."

Sarah quietly looked up at Storm and stammered bashfully, "Um...if I may ask...could I...listen to your heartbeat?"

"Yes, you are very welcome to listen," replied Storm. Sarah got up from her seat and leaned over next to Storm, placing an ear against his soft furry chest while her hair fell around her face. When she found the spot for hearing it best, she held her breath to be more silent as she heard the faint thumping sound of his heart. Sarah closed her eyes and let her breath out slowly in a long sigh as she continued to listen. "What a beautiful sound," she said, holding her ear to his warm chest longer than was necessary to hear his heart.

Storm remained silent so he wouldn't interrupt her listening to his heart, but he could not keep himself from yawning. In one motion he licked his chops and opened his mouth up wide to breathe deeply, catching Sarah's attention. She pulled herself back upright just high enough to be level with Storm's eyes as he finished his yawn and closed his mouth. "It sounds like you're pretty tired," she said, grinning.

"Yes, I am," he replied. "Usually I would be sleeping at this time. Our duty periods correspond to our day cycles on Arfurah. Those who are awake at very different times than me come from other distant places on the planet, or they are a variety who is active at night."

"Nice way to prevent jet lag, I bet," Sarah said. Realizing Storm probably wouldn't know what she meant she added, "I mean, a nice way to stay in your own comfortable sleep cycle. You must want to get some sleep now, huh?"

Storm nodded his agreement as he yawned another time, influencing Sarah to yawn as well from watching him. "You've got me started yawning, too!" she said. "Actually back home it's about the time I went to sleep as well. Before transferring back here I left my body in bed." Sarah looked around the room and asked, "Where are we supposed to sleep?"

Storm stood up out of his seat and motioned his hand toward the padded floor near the back corner wall. "The sleeping area is back here," he said. "I hope you will find it comfortable." The padded area on the floor had a fabric with a thin fur-like texture similar to velvet, the same as what they had sat on in the lounge back on the ship. Three sides also had raised padding to act as a built-in pillow. Sarah saw only the one large padded area.

"Are we both sleeping there?" she asked.

"Yes," Storm replied. "Will that be satisfactory?"

"Um...yes...that will be fine," she said, unsure of how to respond. "It looks quite comfortable. Where are the blankets?"

"What is that?" Storm curiously asked.

Sarah thought briefly and responded, "You might call it an insulation cover. It's something to lay over yourself when you sleep to keep warm."

"I understand what you mean," said Storm. "We do not have those. You may say we are wearing one at all times, growing from our skin. The only time any sort of insulation cover is needed is when someone is visiting a very cold climate and does not have the appropriate fur yet. If you feel cold I can adjust the ambient temperature to be warmer."

"No, that's alright. I wouldn't want you to start shedding," Sarah said with a sly smile. "It feels fine right now but when I am resting I start to feel cooler when my metabolism slows down."

Storm responded with a smile from her shedding joke. "I understand. If you desire, you may move closer to me as you feel cooler to benefit from my warmth."

"Thanks...I appreciate that," Sarah said. "Too bad this body wasn't made to grow fur."

As Storm stepped onto the padded floor and crouched down to his knees he replied, "If we had known that was something you desired we could have included that."

Sarah followed him down to the padding. "That's alright...I would have looked pretty funny if you did."

Storm stretched out and laid on his side, facing the back wall with his head resting on the pillow border. He tucked his legs up slightly and kept his tail stretched straight down, the tip extending just past his feet. "I hope you enjoy a restful sleep," he said.

"Thanks, I hope you do too," said Sarah as she laid down beside him and rested her head on the pillow border. For a minute or two Sarah laid on her back, first looking up at the ceiling and then turning her head to look at the back of Storm's head. "I am starting to feel a little cool," she whispered as she turned onto her side to face Storm. She slid over close to him, wrapped her arm around him to pull him close, and nuzzled her nose into the fluffy fur on the back of his neck.

The fur on his back felt soft against her skin with only the slightest hint of coarseness. Out of a natural habit to pet furry creatures Sarah rubbed the fur on his chest and abdomen, feeling his firm muscles and the vibration of his heartbeat. She liked the scent she smelled in his fur and deeply inhaled, enjoying his scent even more, then exhaled and made his fur all warm. His scent was slightly musky and pleasant; she found it slightly reminded her of the smell of dried leaves in autumn, and she enjoyed each breath of his scent even more. Sarah could hear the thumping sound of the end of his wagging tail hitting the surface of the bed as Storm enjoyed the friendly closeness, but she couldn't see the large smile that formed on his lips.

Chapter 14. Small Steps and Giant Leaps

After several hours of random dreams masquerading through Sarah's mind, she awoke and opened her eyes to see the ceiling of the transport ship. As her eyes became used to being open again she noticed the room had become quite a bit brighter. She felt so natural and comfortable in her synthetically produced body it took her a minute before she realized in subtle amazement that she slept, dreamed, and awoke just the same as she always had in her natural body.

Sarah heard the quiet sound of breathing in her left ear and turned her head to the side to look at Storm. He was still fast asleep; in his sleep through the night he had turned around to his other side and was then facing her. Sarah rolled up onto her side to face him, her nose a few inches away from his. In the brighter room she could clearly see all the details of his face. His black whiskers laid in stark contrast across the white fur on his muzzle just like his thin dark lips did as they peeked out from the short fur surrounding his mouth. His black nose looked dry as it twitched with his breath and had the typical seam that ran down his upper lip to separate his two sides of whiskers.

Her eyes gazed into his soft eyelids, covered with very short eyelashes and even shorter orange fur. Sarah shifted her eyes up to look where his eyebrows would be; the slight ridges instead had whiskers sprouting from them as well. She was beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed at how beautiful, handsome, and cute he was all at the same time. As she had loved animals and their natural beauty so much throughout her life, the sweet sleeping vulpine face in front of her stirred very strong emotions.

Sarah looked up higher to Storm's ears, studying the detail of their pointed shape and the soft tufts of fur growing out from inside them. They looked so soft, she could not stop herself from reaching up and gently touching them. She squeezed very lightly with her thumb inside and her fingers wrapped around the back, feeling the softness of the fur and massaging with a soft circular motion between her thumb and fingers. Storm stirred slightly in his sleep, twitching his whiskers and eyelids for a moment before coming to a rest again. As Sarah continued to rub his ear, Storm started to smile in his sleep. When Sarah saw that, she couldn't resist smiling herself, her eyes squinting slightly from the happiness she felt.

Storm's eyelids twitched again, and then slowly opened with intermittent blinking. His eyes shifted around slightly as he regained awareness of where he was and what was happening, then settled his gaze into Sarah's eyes. He felt the massaging rub she was doing on his ear and smiled again, enjoying the sensation. Neither one felt the need to say anything and remained silent. Sarah continued to smile as she released his ear and moved her hand to his face, gently placing it against his cheek and caressing his muzzle. Her thumb rubbed over his whiskers while her palm stroked the side of his muzzle, sliding back to his cheek. The moment reminded her of times when she was a young girl, snuggling with her German Shepherd and caressing his face in much the same way.

Sarah could see the reflection of the brightened room glistening in Storm's golden eyes as he looked back at her. His eyes had slitted pupils like a feline and his irises were deep brown with elongated striations of yellow that gave them the appearance of some sort of dark golden jewel. Surrounding his eyes were eyelids with dark edges that blended into the fur running away from them, giving him the look of an ancient Egyptian. The silence was broken by the sound of animal noises similar to the yipping of a pack of coyote pups. "What's that?" Sarah asked softly.

"That is the alert I set to wake us," Storm replied. "We are approaching Arfurah."

"How far out are we?" Sarah continued to inquire.

Storm responded, "We have passed the orbit of the fifth planet. At this speed we will be there in approximately fifteen taren, but it will be longer because we will have to slow our approach." He then raised himself, stretched with a large yawn, and got up off the padded floor. "I will have to contact the surface and notify them of our arrival."

Sarah turned her head to follow him with disappointed eyes as he moved away. "Yeah...that, um...sounds like a good idea."

Storm stopped and looked back at Sarah. "Thank you, for the way you awoke me. That was far more pleasant than waking by a sound recording."

Sarah smiled happily and said, "It was my pleasure." She then stretched and yawned, partially in an attempt to imitate his action a few moments before, and got up to follow him to the controls at the front. When she approached the front windows her eyes were filled with the brightness of the planetary system's center star, now much larger and brighter than the faint speck it had appeared to be from Stamedigan. It was angled off to the side, and directly ahead she could see a bright spot calling out from the blackness of space.

"Is that it?" asked Sarah.

"Yes," replied Storm with a deep sigh. "That is home."

"It looks so close yet so distant," said Sarah. "And also so lovely."

"I agree completely," said Storm.

Sarah said, "While you contact home, I'm going to open my eyes and transfer home for a few minutes...a few taren, that is...and take care of myself there so I don't have to worry about it for a while."

"That is a very good idea," said Storm. "You should have enough time. I will be slowing the transport vehicle as we get closer."

"Alright, sounds good," said Sarah. "I'll be back shortly." She then returned to the padded floor bed and laid down so she wouldn't have to be concerned about falling over, and concentrated on opening her eyes at home. After several seconds of attempts her body back home awoke and opened its eyes, and she found herself lying in her bed just as she left herself the night before.

Sarah laid there for a minute, gathering her senses and reassuring herself that what she had just awoke from was not a dream, before she remembered the shortness of available time. She grabbed her glasses from the nightstand and saw the time was ten minutes before 8:00 in the morning. She put her glasses on and got out of bed. Her glasses felt like a boat anchor sitting on her face, making her realize just how little she missed them when transferred. Just as she reached for her fuzzy pink bathrobe she stopped herself and thought, "What do I need this for? The temperature is fine in here." Leaving it behind, she headed for the kitchen.

Without very much time to spare Sarah decided against making a hot cup of tea and instead chose juice to go with her breakfast. Bread in the toaster, the room filled with the smell of toast while she pulled her usual fruit out of the refrigerator. Sarah was feeling a bit hungry and knew she had a long day ahead of her, so she cut up a bit more fruit than she usually ate. Retrieving the hot toast, she covered it with orange marmalade to have along side.

While she sat on the stool next to the counter, Sarah found the fruit she ate to be disappointing. It was as delicious as it always was, but it was missing something. It wasn't from Arfurah. She realized how she felt about the fruit and knew there was nothing wrong with it; she figured it was because the fruit on Arfurah was new to her and still exciting to taste for the first time. Sarah quickly started into the toast while it was still warm, and as she bit into it the orange color of the marmalade mixed with the darker brown of the toast reminded her of Storm's fur.

"Storm," she thought to herself. "What was I thinking? I was caressing him like he was..." The words in her mind trailed off as she started to smile while thinking about how nice it felt to snuggle, pet his fur, and rub his furry face. As Sarah continued to eat, her memories flowed to their conversation the night before, all the questions and answers they shared with each other, and questions she forgot to ask. Before she realized it she was done with her fruit and toast with only a small amount of juice left to swallow into her full stomach. She set her dishes in the sink without the usual amount of care and headed back to her room.

The clock announced it was a minute past eight when Sarah glanced at it on her way to the bathroom. She was still well aware of the long day ahead of her so she took care of everything she could before jumping in the shower. While she waited for the water to warm up she was reminded of the cool flowing water in the bathing room of the ship, so for fun she left her shower set to the same temperature. "How neat it would be to squeeze fresh body wash out of a plant leaf," she thought to herself as she used her regular liquid in a bottle.

Sarah bathed quickly, toweled off, and returned to her bedroom. She reasoned the bed would be the most comfortable even though she couldn't really feel it after she transferred. A glance out the window showed her a lovely morning with wispy clouds in a blue sky. She decided against closing the drapes, reasoning again that her body would be unaffected by the surroundings after she transferred. Turning toward her bed she saw the time was 8:10. She hoped she hadn't spent too much time at home because she wanted to see Arfurah approach from a distance. When Sarah laid back down on the bed she felt quite comfortable with the temperature as it was and found no need to pull the comforter up over herself.

Thoughts of her adventure and new friends left her smiling when Sarah closed her eyes. The sights inside her eyelids immediately presented her with a few of the ceiling of the transport. Quickly she stretched and got up off the padded floor. "I'm back, Stormy," she said.

Storm turned his head around from his position at the front controls and smiled when he saw her. "I am glad you returned so soon. Is everything alright at home?" he asked.

"Yes, everything's fine. I should be set for the day pretty well," Sarah replied. "Funny thing is, I still feel hungry, but full at the same time."

"That is your body here," said Storm. "You sense your hunger here and also sense your full stomach at home. That helps you to always remember to feed both bodies."

"Ok, makes sense," said Sarah. "You must be hungry too. Would you like me to get some of the food from storage?"

"Thank you but I will decline," replied Storm. "We are so close to home...I look forward to tasting the food that grows from the trees, fed by air, light, and rain. Our garden attendants do a wonderful job in the garden on the large vehicle and we are all thankful to them, but it is..."

"I understand completely," said Sarah. "It's just not the same, is it? I like your idea, and I'll wait, too." Storm nodded and smiled as Sarah moved closer.

As she approached the front of the ship she was awestruck to see a planet in front of her. "It's breathtaking!" she exclaimed, resting her hands on Storm's shoulders from behind. Due to the angle between the ship, the planet, and the center star, Arfurah was lit like a crescent moon with much of the planet completely dark. The parts they could see were a mix of blue, green, and white.

"It looks like Earth," Sarah said. "The shapes of the land are different, but it looks like my planet!"

"I hope you will find it as comfortable and familiar on the surface," said Storm.

Sarah thought for a moment and said, "I'm just guessing here...is the name 'Arfurah' a word from one of the old languages that means 'home?'"

"Yes, you are absolutely correct," said Storm. "The same word in a different old language means 'life.'"

With their rapid approach the planet was visibly growing larger. Sarah could see a half-lit moon, tinted a medium green color, off to the right of Arfurah. As they continued along, a black spot passed in front of the star, nearly blocking it out for a moment. "What's that?" Sarah asked as she pointed. "It was right there."

"That is one of our moons, Bletisl," said Storm. "The second moon over there is Deskalth."

The thin atmosphere of Bletisl gave it a dim aura that grew larger very quickly as they approached it. Sarah followed it with her eyes the best she could as the moon streaked past their left side, giving her a sense of the sheer speed they were traveling. The lit portions disappeared past the edge of the window before she could get more than a glimpse of it but she was more concerned about their speed.

"Storm..." she said, hesitating, "I'm a little scared. We're going so fast."

"Please do not be afraid," Storm responded in a calm, reassuring voice. "We are perfectly safe and there is nothing to cause you fear. Not long ago we were traveling five hundred times faster."

Sarah could only look at him with her mouth silently open. She had no words to further express her amazement at the abilities and achievements of his people. She sat down in the seat beside Storm and looked forward at the planet that was filling the front window. Glancing at the display screens in front of Storm, Sarah wished she could read the alien language to understand where they were going or how fast they were traveling.

Storm placed his hands on the controls and manipulated them gently. The ship rolled to the side and the nose lifted up, tilting them so the lit crescent of the planet was their new horizon. As they got closer he pulled up the nose of the transport a little farther, and the bright star beyond the planet disappeared behind the dark silhouette in a glorious blaze of fading light.

With no visual cues among the darkness to guide them, Storm tapped a symbol on one of the display screens to summon help. Instantly the front window was covered with a holographic display showing them all the navigation guidance they needed. Sarah could understand the visual display showing them the path to their destination but could still not read the alien text.

As they got closer to the planet the view outside the front windows began to glow a dim red, followed by bright orange. Storm activated the transmitter and said, "This is Storm again. We have entered the atmosphere. Arrival will be in four or five taren."

"Welcome home, Storm. We will be waiting for you at the landing area," replied the voice from hidden speakers. With the ship tearing through the planet's atmosphere Sarah could feel no buffeting, instead thinking it was quite a comfortable ride.

"Why is this so smooth?" Sarah asked. "When our space vehicles reenter our atmosphere they shake the passengers violently, and this steep of an angle would burn our ships to vapors."

Storm replied, "It is because of the generated energy shielding. It absorbs the impacts of the atmospheric particles and clears the way for our travel to be smooth."

"Good design," said Sarah.

"If the shielding somehow failed," added Storm, "the vehicle would need to protect itself with its physical shielding, and we would be severely shaken.

"Let's hope that doesn't happen, then," said Sarah.

Storm nodded his agreement and looked back at the synthetic vision display in front of him. From around the edges Sarah could see that it was pitch black in front of them with no indication of how close the ground was or where they were going. Looking at the holographic display she could clearly see the shape of the distant terrain and how fast they were approaching. Feeling tense she reached over and grabbed hold of Storm's arm, squeezing lightly at first but more firmly as they got closer to the surface.

"Please do not be nervous," said Storm. "Everything is proceeding very well." He manipulated the controls and pulled the nose of the ship up away from the dive. The ship slowed and Sarah felt more at ease, but she could tell it was still going several hundred miles per hour at tens of thousands of feet up. As they continued on the sky appeared to begin getting lighter as they approached the region where night was turning into dawn.

On the horizon appeared a small distant area of flashing white lights. As they got closer the lights appeared much brighter and grew in size. Sarah could see that it outlined a large square area, and she assumed that was the landing pad. Storm slowed the ship gradually until it was moving very slowly. When they got within a few thousand yards away they could see area lights come on to illuminate the landing area, at which time Storm deactivated the holographic display. Large symbols of the Arfuran language were visible on the surface of the lit landing zone, and Sarah could see the silhouettes of a half dozen Arfurans standing around the perimeter with tails wagging. She couldn't help smiling about the welcoming image.

"Friends of yours?" she asked.

"Yes, everybody is," replied Storm as he slowed the ship to a crawl. Once it was over the center of the pad its movement stopped and he gently descended down to the surface. A very light bump to the structure of the transport indicated their touchdown, and at that moment the white lights outside stopped flashing. Storm deactivated the display screens and several of the other systems, then got up from his seat. Sarah stood with him and followed him to the back of the ship where the doors were. Pressing a button Storm activated the large doors which let out a pneumatic sound from the airlock before opening.

As the doors silently slid open the two were met with an inflow of fresh, cool morning air, and six smiling, wagging Arfurans. Storm took a very deep breath, savoring the sweet scent of the unfiltered air, then held his arms open wide as he exhaled. "Friends!" he exclaimed.

The six Arfurans of various varieties ran over and pounced Storm in a wonderful friendly greeting of hugs, nuzzles, and licks. Sarah couldn't quite distinguish all of what everybody was saying but could hear many friendly greetings welcoming him home. They all helped Storm up, and once on his feet he took another deep breath through his nose before exhaling it with a long sigh. "The scent of home! I have missed it so much," he said. "I've missed you all very much too."

Everybody hugged him again and he hugged as many people as he could wrap his arms around. He then turned toward Sarah and everybody looked her way. She was feeling a bit self conscious again due to her nudity but knew she had nothing to be concerned about because it would go unnoticed.

"Friends, this is Sarah," said Storm. "She will be here for a few days while we work on our new project." Everybody continued to smile and wag their tails as they looked at her, making her feel quite at ease.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," said Sarah with a smile. As soon as she started to open her arms the way Storm did, all six furry bodies quickly came over to give her a proper greeting of a hug, nuzzle, and lick. Sarah hugged them all, still smiling because of their friendliness and giggling because of the feel of all the fur brushing against her skin. Out of a sense of fun Storm bounded over to the group and joined everybody in hugging Sarah.

"There are items from the other members of the fleet," said Storm when the hug broke up, "plus a good amount of food remaining from the trip." Storm and the group of six walked back into the ship to unload, and Sarah followed to help out. She didn't see who activated the lights but appreciated that it made things easier to see. One by one the large containers were carried outside to the landing pad, completing the task within a few minutes. Sarah admired that Storm didn't just leave the task to the others, instead taking part in the work himself.

After they were finished the furry group stood outside the ship talking for a few moments about people and events on the fleet and on the ground. While they chatted Sarah looked around and noticed between the lit areas that she could see tree tops at about the same level that they were standing. The twilight sky was beginning to lighten, making it easier to see the silhouettes of the trees and lighting the high clouds in the dark early sky. Overhead was the tan glow of the moon Bletisl, surrounded by stars and half lit by the center star. She inhaled a deep breath as Storm did, similarly enjoying the sweet fresh scent provided by all the plant life.

Storm shared a parting hug with the group and then walked over to Sarah, carrying only the small elongated box he retrieved before departing the large ship. The group all shared a parting hug with her, and she followed Storm to a doorway at the corner of the landing area. "That was a wonderful way to be welcomed home," said Sarah.

"Yes, I agree," said Storm as he looked back with a smile toward the rest. "You should have seen how many people were here when our fleet departed for our outpost. There were hundreds of thousands."

"Wow...I can't imagine that many people," responded Sarah. The entrance to the doorway presented a dimly lit stairway leading down. As they descended Sarah asked, "Stairs for the able body instead of wasting energy on an elevator?"

"You are correct," replied Storm. "The lifting unit is through the adjacent door at the top but it is only used for equipment and cargo that is too heavy to carry."

"Good idea," said Sarah. "Conveniences like that on my planet have made people so lazy."

At the bottom of the stairs another open doorway led the pair to an upper walkway overlooking a huge indoor atrium with enormous open windows on the far side. She could tell by sensing the air that the openings had no glass over them, and there were a few people walking among the plants below while going about their business. "Are there so few people here because of the early time?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," said Storm. "It is usually much busier here."

Sarah said, "I like the open air feel in here but don't bugs get in? The windows are all open."

"Bugs?" asked Storm.

"Yeah, bugs...insects..." Sarah said before stopping herself to think about the differences in life forms between this planet and hers.

"I am not entirely sure what you mean," said Storm. "If you are referring to the small creatures that feed on the flowers, they may freely enter but there are very few of them. The openings are covered only if there is very bad weather. The weather is bad enough for that only once or twice per year."

"Ok, I see," replied Sarah. She and Storm continued along the upper walkway to another set of stairs that brought them to the lower level, then proceeded out a large open door. Outside the door was a ramp that went down to the ground, and Sarah saw the building was in a large clearing surrounded by a forest of trees native to the planet. As they got to the bottom of the ramp Sarah stopped before reaching the dirt. Storm stopped and turned around after a few steps, wondering what she was doing.

"Here's another small step for man," said Sarah as she stepped onto the ground and pressed her footprints into the dirt.

"What do you mean?" inquired Storm.

Sarah looked up at him with a smile and replied, "For our people it was a monumental achievement to set foot on our moon. Since then we have had aspirations to set foot on another planet but have done nothing more than send unmanned probes to our other nearest planets. And here I am, setting foot on another planet in another solar system in another galaxy next to a friend who is not from my planet and breathing air without the aid of a space suit. This is an extraordinarily humbling experience. I just wish I could show somebody back home."

Storm stepped back next to her and placed an arm around her shoulders. "That is how we felt when we first ventured to the other planets around our center star. We were proud of what we had accomplished, and humbled that we were only touching the edge of all the universe had to offer."

Sarah placed her arm around his back and squeezed him with a slight hug. "I owe you a lot for this opportunity," she said.

Storm replied, "When this project is finished and we are safe, we owe you our lives."

Chapter 15. A Fox's Den Is His Castle

Storm led Sarah down a well beaten path toward the forest. There was no sight of any ground transportation, nor any tracks to indicate any was ever used. The morning twilight that provided soft light outside the building they just left was blocked out by the canopy of trees, making the path darker and darker as they proceeded into the woods. Sarah's eyes adjusted to the darkness too slowly, but led by Storm's hand she was confident that his vision wouldn't lead them astray.

"Where are we going?" asked Sarah.

"We are going to my home," replied Storm. "We will have time to eat before going to the research facility. It is not far, about eight taren to walk there."

After several minutes of walking Sarah's eyes became adjusted to the dark, allowing her to see the lighter ground of the path among the dark surroundings. She could see the hills and undulations of the path that had been making her stumble with unsteady feet earlier. Now able to see her way she didn't feel quite as clumsy walking, but still held onto Storm's hand as he guided her. Under her feet she could feel the ground was moist; the feel of humidity making the cool air feel warmer and the smell of wet vegetation led her to believe it had rained recently.

"Did it rain overnight?" she asked.

"It probably did but I did not hear that from anybody," replied Storm.

"It feels nice. I like the smell, too," said Sarah. "I've always loved the smell of a forest after a rain."

Storm enjoyed another deep sniff and responded, "Yes, I have always loved that scent as well."

"What kind of weather do you get here?" asked Sarah. "Does it rain often?"

"Yes," replied Storm, "the rain falls almost every day. It is quite regular past the middle point of daylight when the day is warmest. Other times of day and night the rain falls less regularly."

"Please stop me if my questions are annoying," said Sarah. "There's a lot to learn but I don't want to be a bother." Before Storm could respond she continued, "What is the rest of the planet like?"

Storm smiled and reassured her, "I am happy to answer your questions. You are not a bother at all. I have much more to learn about you and your world as well." After a momentary pause he answered her question. "Much of the planet is like what you see here. There is much water and frequent rain. That is why the plants and trees grow so easily. When the clouds move away the light of the center star warms the surface and gives energy to the plants. When I saw pictures of your world from your memories, it appeared similar to this in some places. Things change as the location is closer to one of rotational axes of Arfurah. It becomes colder with less rain, and the plants do not grow as large."

"Do you get much snow in the winter?" asked Sarah.

"What is 'win terr?'" Storm asked in return.

"Winter...the time of year when the days get shorter, nights get longer, the trees lose their leaves, the weather changes and falling water is frozen ice crystals instead of rain," she replied. "Because of the planet's tilt."

"I believe I understand what you mean. That does not happen here," said Storm. "Wherever you are on our planet, the weather remains fairly constant. The rotational axis of the planet has very little tilt. The amount of light during our days does not change more than a few taren through the year."

"Very interesting," said Sarah. "I guess I didn't think about that being different from my planet. We have quite a bit of tilt so the weather changes a lot during our year. It cycles from cold and snow in the winter to warmer temperatures and lots of plant growth in the summer, and then back to cold. When it turns cold the plants lose their leaves and stop growing."

"That is interesting as well," said Storm. "What do you eat when the plants do not grow?"

Sarah replied, "We can always get food. Plants and fruits we eat can be transported from anywhere in the world to make up for their absence when they don't grow, and meat is always available."

"I understand," said Storm. "Yes, interesting."

Sarah asked, "Since your day is longer than a day in my world, is that why it seems to be taking a long time for it to get lighter? It's still pretty dark."

"Yes, you are correct," replied Storm. Despite his very formal sound, Sarah knew that was due to the automatic translation her body fed her mind, and still enjoyed hearing him talk anyway. After nearly fifteen minutes of walking had passed, the pair came around a bend to an area that was clearly lighter. The tree canopy opened up for a clearing, and Sarah could see that it was due to a river in front of them. It was quite wide, at least fifty feet across by her estimate, but it flowed slowly. The open sky above cast a soft glow on the moving water and surrounding plant life.

Storm stopped to gaze at the river for a few moments. Sarah looked at him to see his slight smile and heard a relieved breath exhale from his nose. Without saying a word Storm padded over to the side of the river, then bent over, set his small box aside, and placed his hands on the riverbank. Crouching down on all fours with his tail hovering just above the ground behind him, he leaned out over the water. He held his nose just above the water and, with eyes closing, inhaled a deep breath through his nostrils, held it for a moment, and then slowly exhaled the scent. With eyes still closed Storm then put his muzzle down into the water and took a long relieving drink as if a hummingbird sipping the sweetest nectar.

After nearly a minute he pushed himself back up onto two feet and turned to Sarah. With water still dripping from his whiskers he said, "I cannot express the longing I have felt to drink the water of home once again. I have missed its scent and taste so very much, as much as I have missed the smells and sounds of the wind and rain, and the warmth of our star."

Sarah quickly walked over to him and hugged him close, nearly feeling a tear form in her eye. "You've expressed it wonderfully. You should be a poet with words so beautiful. I know exactly how you feel only by what you said." Storm returned her hug warmly. When they released their embrace Sarah went over to the side of the river to do the same. She got down on her hands and knees, feeling too awkward to keep her feet under her, and lowered her face to the water. First she sniffed the river's scent to understand what he smelled, and then took a drink. The water wasn't very cold, but was cool and refreshing with a taste Sarah found to be clean and delicious.

After she had her fill Sarah sat upright and got back on her feet, turning toward Storm with a smile. The water on her mouth and chin trickled and dripped off. On Earth she would have wiped it away, but in that place she didn't care. She didn't feel something that insignificant mattered any more. "It's wonderful," she said simply. Picking up Storm's small box from the ground she returned it to him and asked, "How much farther do we have to go?"

"We are almost there, not much farther," said Storm. He took his box and Sarah took his hand, following him down the path which followed the edge of the river.

As they walked Sarah asked, "How deep is that river?"

"This area is this deep," said Storm, holding his hand just above his waist. "It becomes deeper in other areas nearby." After walking only a couple hundred more feet Storm stopped and said, "Here is my home." Sarah looked around and saw only a mound of dirt sprouting up from the ground among the bushes and trees, off the path on the side opposite the river. The mound had an opening on the front leading down what appeared to be a ramp of sorts, with smaller openings she assumed were windows. Grasses and small plants grew around and over the top of the mound. A small sign with characters of the Arfuran alphabet hung over the door; Sarah figured it was Storm's name to show who lived there.

"This is your home?" asked Sarah, looking at the mound. "It's...lovely."

"Thank you," Storm said. "You may find it to be quite different from homes on your planet. I saw pictures from your memories."

"That's an understatement," said Sarah with a slight laugh. "I certainly don't mean to be disrespectful...since we just got off an interplanetary space ship that went half the speed of light, run by a species who is fighting an interstellar war, I was kind of picturing your home to be a huge structure with all kinds of automatic gadgets everywhere. But...this fits into what you've told me about not wasting energy or having conveniences for things you can do yourself."

Storm was silent for a few seconds. "Yes, our homes must be quite different." After a few more seconds of pause he continued, "You are correct. We do not require more than this for shelter. It provides comfort and a place to live and sleep."

Sarah asked, "Along our walk I thought I saw other mounds like this near the trail. Are those homes for others?"

"Yes," replied Storm. "Others live in homes like this, some live under the surface of the ground, some live in the trees, and some live under water in the lakes and seas."

Sarah blinked her eyes for a moment and responded, "You must have quite a variety of people here."

"Yes," said Storm. "You may come inside if you wish but you may find it too dark to see. If you wait a moment I will provide some light." Sarah followed him down the ramp but stopped at the doorway as Storm proceeded inside, able to see adequately in the dark with his vulpine eyes. She could hear some rustling and bumping noises, followed by a hard thump and a growl. After a few more seconds there was a bright electric spark for a moment with a growing flame of a lamp soon after. As the flame of the lamp grew brighter Sarah stepped inside more. One footstep landed on what felt like a strip of pea gravel, with the next step being back on packed ground.

"Is this bright enough for you to see?" asked Storm.

"Yes, it's fine," replied Sarah as she began to look around the primitive home. The oil lamp was sitting on a table at one side of the one-room home and showed the very Spartan living conditions Storm was accustomed to. The table sat below one of the window openings and had two chairs that appeared handmade, and Sarah could see Storm's small box lying on the table where he left it. At the back of the room was what appeared to be a fireplace of sorts with another smaller piece of furniture next to it, and on the other side below the other window opening was what appeared in the dark to be a bed. In the center of the room was a low round table surrounded by a thick bed of what Sarah thought looked like moss. The walls contained a few pictures of Arfurans, but Sarah couldn't tell in the dim light if they were photos or paintings.

"Welcome to my home," said Storm with a smile. After his greeting Storm began looking around the room. "It is...different in here," he said. "The ceiling is higher than it was before, or the floor is lower, and there are more dry tree pieces next to the fire opening than when I left. It is my home because these are my possessions and this is the location where I live...I do not know what happened." He turned toward the piece of furniture next to the fireplace while saying, "Perhaps I will find out later why it is different." He opened the door on the front of the unit and pulled out a large bowl with high sides. "We may use this to bring food with us to the research facility."

After surveying the room Sarah looked back to Storm with a genuine smile and said in all honesty, "You have a beautiful home. It is lovely."

"Thank you again," said Storm as he headed toward the door. He blew out the flame in the lamp as he passed by and said, "I hope you will be comfortable here during your stay."

"Me? I'm staying here with you?" asked Sarah with shock. "I wouldn't want to impose or be an inconvenience for you...isn't there a hotel I can stay at?"

Storm was puzzled. "What is a 'hotel?'"

"Right...different planet..." Sarah muttered to herself. "A hotel is a place where travelers can get a room with a bed to stay in when they are visiting someplace."

"We do not have such a thing," said Storm. "Travelers stay with other Arfurans in their home when they need to stop for sleep. You would not be imposing or causing me any inconvenience. You are welcome to stay here, and I invite you. You are my guest."

Sarah stood there looking at him with a smile growing on her face. "Alright...you are such a gracious host, I can't refuse. I'd be honored to stay with you."

Storm smiled as well, letting his hunger steal his attention. "Would you like to get some things to eat?" he asked.

"That sounds great," replied Sarah. "Where do we go?"

"Step outside and we are there. Things to eat are all around us," said Storm. He followed Sarah up the ramp from the sunken floor of his home and motioned with his hand to the trees and plants nearby. The morning twilight had broken into dawn and was clearly lighting all sorts of plants that Sarah didn't notice when they first arrived. All around his home were countless plants, trees, and bushes, all full of fruits and berries among the flower blossoms.

"So that's why the air smells so sweet," exclaimed Sarah. "They're beautiful!"

Storm went over to a short tree, and Sarah followed close behind. When she got near it she could recognize it as a pelonwa tree like she saw in the ship's garden. Storm said, "I have been waiting so long to have these again, grown with no help from us." He reached out and picked two ripe pelonwa, handing one to Sarah.

Without hesitation Storm opened his jaws and sunk his fangs into the plum-sized fruit. Sarah could see the droplets of juice squirt out in the low light and enjoyed the sight of Storm's smile as he enjoyed the taste of naturally grown fruit. Sarah couldn't wait any longer and bit into the fruit she held. Similarly, she felt the juice squirt out from the tender pulp, sweeter and more flavorful than the ones she had previously eaten.

Storm remained silent as he ate his pelonwa, pausing between bites only to lick his chops so no juice escaped his enjoyment. Sarah finished her first bite and said, "I can see...er, taste why you've missed these so much. The gardeners do a good job growing them, but wow...this tastes incredible..." Her words trailed off as her lips wrapped around the fruit for another bite.

The seed kernel in the center was thoroughly stripped clean by Storm's tongue and teeth before he tossed it on the ground near the tree. "I am glad you are enjoying it as much as I am," he said. When Sarah got to the seed kernel she tried to chew it but found it as hard as a peach pit. While sucking the meat of the fruit off it she detected more of the unfamiliar additional taste of the fruit quite strongly on the kernel.

"Is this toxic to eat?" she asked after spitting it out into her hand.

"No," replied Storm. "It does contain some beneficial nutrients but it is too hard to chew, and it is difficult to digest if swallowed intact."

"Hmmmmm...I have an idea then," said Sarah. She picked up a small flat rock from along the river, rinsed it off in the water, and set it on the ground next to Storm's den with the kernel on top. "I'll save that for later, after it dries."

Storm was puzzled but didn't question what she was doing. "I will pick more of these to take with us to the research facility for eating later," he said as he began taking several ripe fruits from the tree and placing them in his container. Sarah picked another pelonwa to eat while Storm added them to the collection. As she ate she started looking around the forest, studying the trees. With the growing light to help her see she saw many of the trees stood 80 to 100 feet tall with enormous trunks at the ground, providing a thick canopy of leaves high above the ground and river. Looking straight up above them she saw that a tree reached up into the sky over 200 feet. She turned around and followed the trunk down to the ground with her eyes and saw the base was over twenty feet wide, standing off to the side behind Storm's den.

"Holy crap, that's a tree!" she exclaimed. "When it was darker my eyes perceived it to be a wall of some sort."

"Yes, that is a tree," Storm replied bluntly. "It is one of our larger species of tree. The largest types grow in other parts of the world." After he was done picking that fruit he moved to another tree with a different fruit and began eating a freshly picked item. Sarah walked over to him and tried a piece of fruit from the new tree, finding it to be quite different from anything she'd ever had but still tasty.

"What's this one called?" Sarah asked between bites.

Storm replied, "This is named selaquin. You must be careful eating it because if you bite through the shell of the seed core, the fluid surrounding the seeds tastes quite awful."

Sarah stopped with staring eyes just as her teeth impacted the sides of the seed ball in the center. "Thanks for letting me know...I almost ate it," she said. Pulling it back from her mouth she continued to gently eat the fruit away from the outer surface of the core before discarding it. Storm picked several ripe selaquin before moving over to a bush with berries Sarah recognized from the ship.

As they picked the large berries to eat Sarah said, "You know, this is quite amazing. We are from different planets in different galax...ooh, this one tastes really good...different galaxies, but these plants look so similar to things we have on my planet. If I didn't know better I'd say it's just a plant from Earth I'd never seen before. The nature of life's biochemistry must be quite universal."

"Yes, I agree," said Storm before popping another large berry in his mouth. "It is safe to eat and swallow the seeds in these."

Sarah nodded while finishing another berry and asked, "What else do you eat? Besides these fruits and berries, that is."

Storm picked several leaves off the berry bush, held them up for her to see, and then popped into his mouth to eat. Sarah did the same, picking a few leaves and eating them. She found them to be a little musky, slightly bitter, in need of salad dressing, but not bad. Storm then bent down and picked some blades of the grass-like plant growing on the ground, and showed Sarah they were also edible.

"Almost every plant in our world contains edible parts," said Storm. "Some have a flavor too unpleasant to eat, and very few are toxic and will make you sick. There are no toxic plants in this part of the planet. None are deadly except for some toxic plants when eaten in large amounts. Nobody makes that mistake because of the terrible flavor and stomach distress." Sarah listened and nodded as he spoke. "Everything else may be eaten depending on what you enjoy," he said.

They continued to fill the container with various fruits, berries, and plants for the day. As they did Sarah was admiring it. It appeared to be made of wood, simple but with very fine quality. "That bowl is beautiful. Where did you get it?" she asked.

"Thank you," said Storm. "I made it from a piece of a tree that blew over in a strong wind."

"Wow...it is really lovely," she continued to praise. "You have some hidden talents, Mister Fox."

Storm smiled at her nickname, understanding what she meant. "The star is almost at the horizon," he said. "It will be a new day soon. We should leave for the research facility. We can finish filling this along the way."

Sarah agreed. "That's a good idea." She thought about what he said as she followed him down the path in the direction of the research facility. "Do you consider your day to begin when the star meets the horizon, and just before that is the end of the previous day?"

"Yes, that is correct," said Storm.

"Alright, it must be a cultural thing," said Sarah. "On my planet the new day is considered to start when the sun...I mean, our star, is in the position completely opposite of directly overhead...in the middle of the night." She thought a moment and continued, "Does your star have a name? We call ours 'the sun,' even though 'sun' is a different name for a star. Our moon is also just called 'the moon.'"

"Our center star is named Kothalos," replied Storm.

"Interesting name," responded Sarah.

When they got to the point where the path from the ship landing site met the river, they continued past it to follow the path along the river bank. The ample light from the dawn sky helped Sarah see the ground very clearly compared to their earlier hike. They both had nothing to say for the time being so remained silent. The lack of conversation allowed Sarah to focus her thoughts on her senses. A very light breeze rustled the leaves in the trees above them, occasionally sweeping down to the ground to caress her skin, making her body feel vibrant. The cool morning still felt warmer than she expected due to the humidity offered to them by the hazy fog that was now visible in the light. Intermittent rocks in the river provided a soft burbling sound from the disrupted water flow, adding a great peacefulness to the land they trekked across.

A whistling sound pierced the quiet forest and transformed into a soft chopping howl before trailing off to silence again. "What was that?" asked Sarah.

"That is the sound of a halpanie," replied storm. "It is one of the species of small creatures that live in the trees. They often fly to the ground for food."

"What an unusual sound," said Sarah, "unusual to me, that is. From what you describe that must be like the creatures on our planet we call 'birds.' There are thousands of different species, almost all of them fly, and many live in the trees as well. Are they large intelligent creatures like you and your friends?"

"No," replied Storm, "they are small creatures. They may have their own type of intelligence but it is simple and not as advanced as ours. They are similar to some varieties of Arfurans."

While they walked and talked, Sarah looked at Storm, occasionally catching his dark golden eyes when he glanced her way as he walked. Impulsively she reached out and took his hand in hers. "Storm, I have to say I feel absolutely wonderful," she said. "To be walking through this beautiful natural landscape, wearing nothing but the air on my skin...I feel so...alive. It's something I've never done on my planet so it's very new to me...like nothing I've ever experienced before. It's exhilarating. I feel like...like I'm a part of nature, just as you all are."

"I am happy for you to feel that way," said Storm. "What do you mean about being a part of nature? Are you not always a part of nature?"

"Well, yes, technically we're always a part of nature," said Sarah. "But in my way of life, the way most people live in my world, I'm surrounded by buildings and manmade things all the time. When I go out into the woods away from the city, I really feel like nothing more than a visitor to nature. I'm there for a short time and then go back to my rather unnatural world. Even when I've been on camping trips with friends for several days out in the woods, I still feel like just a visitor. But you and your people, you have a very different way of life. You live in your natural world, work with it, eat it, drink it, breathe and smell it...you are not just a visitor in nature but you are fully a part of the nature that surrounds you."

Storm thought for several moments as they walked. "I can not feel the same way you do because I have nothing less than this to compare those feelings with. It is our way of life and we are accustomed to it from birth. I can understand your feelings from the similar way we feel living in our defensive vehicles off Arfurah. They are made from materials we construct, the air and water is purified and reused, and there is no daily warmth from the center star. In a way we feel like we have been cast out from our natural world to an unnatural world that is most unwelcoming."

Sarah smiled, released his hand, and put her arm around his shoulder. "As a saying from my world goes, home is where the heart is." Storm smiled and nodded his agreement.

While they walked they had been passing occasional mounds on the ground that appeared to Sarah to be the homes of other Arfurans. Some large trees had openings in the base of the trunk into a hollowed out portion in side, and other trees had structures of natural materials in the limbs. As they approached a den on the trail ahead, a creature with dark brown fur emerged, stretched, and scratched at her sides.

"Hello Gur!" Storm called out. Immediately a pair of rounded ears, two sky-blue eyes, and her head turned around to see who was speaking.

"Storm!" Gur exclaimed. She began running toward Storm, so he set his basket down before she could pounce him. He caught her from her leap and managed to stay on his feet, pulling her into a friendly hug. "You have been gone for such a long time," she said before she started licking at his muzzle. He let out a soft laugh and licked his friend back in return.

"I am happy to see you again, too," he said. The two nuzzled each other for several more seconds before releasing each other. During their friendly mutual greeting Sarah looked over Gur and concluded from her appearance that she was a mix of the Arfuran equivalents of bear and some sort of cat. Her feet, fur, and ears appeared ursine while the shape of her face and muzzle, blue eyes, and long tail looked feline. She stood about as tall as Sarah.

"Salka, come out," called Gur. "Storm is home!"

A few seconds later Sarah's eyes were surprised with the sight of a creature most unfamiliar to her. Appearing out of the den home doorway was what appeared to be a doe, but her striped back and hoofed feet showed there was some zebra in her. Storm and Gur were already walking toward the den, so Sarah picked up the basket container of fruit to follow behind.

"Hello Storm," Salka said with an excited smile. She walked over to meet Storm and shared a welcoming mix of hugs, nuzzles, and licks to greet him. "I am happy to see you have arrived safely home," she said from his neck fur with a muffled voice.

"Thank you," replied Storm. "I am happy to be home and to see you all again." As their hug parted he added, "I will not be here for long. We have only returned for a few days to work on a new project. When it is ready we will have to return to our defense vehicle."

When Sarah heard him say "we", she knew the attention would be drawn toward her so she set the fruit container down. Storm and his friends turned toward Sarah for him to introduce her. "This is my friend Sarah. She has transferred here to help us. Sarah, this is Gur and Salka"

"Hello," Sarah said with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." As soon as her two new acquaintances moved toward her she opened her arms for the hug she knew to expect.

"I am very happy to meet you," said Gur as she began to hug Sarah from one side.

"I am also very happy to meet you," said Salka, hugging from Sarah's other side. Sarah embraced the two in a friendly hug, smiling as she received the traditional sniffs, nuzzles, and licks with tails wagging. Without being concerned with the lack of familiarity, Sarah gave each of them a kiss on the cheek to match their licks before releasing the hug.

"I am happy to see you are comfortable with our greeting," said Salka. "I have heard that some other beings who transferred to help us were not comfortable at all. A few even became hostile."

Sarah replied with a smile, "How could I not like how friendly everybody is? Most of the people I know back home are so uptight, they seem reluctant to greet somebody else with even a handshake. Your friendliness is a refreshing change."

Gur said, "I hope you are enjoying our world here. If you have time there is very much for you to see."

"Yes, very much so," said Sarah. "Everybody has been very welcoming. I'd like to see more but I don't know how much time we'll have outside of working on the project."

"I greatly apologize," said Storm, "that we are not able to stay and visit with you. We are on our way to the research facility."

"No apology is necessary," said Salka. "We hope to visit with you again before you leave." Gur nodded her agreement.

The four all alternated pairs to hug each other one more time before parting ways. When Storm's arms were free he picked up the fruit container, and he and Sarah continued their hike down the trail. Gur and Salka led them for a few steps before veering off the trail to find something to eat. When they were a short distance away Sarah asked, "Are they mates?"

"I do not know," replied Storm. "They have always been very close friends, but during the time I have been away they may have become mates."

Sarah nodded her understanding, then felt the need to put her arm around Storm's back again for another sideways hug. He smiled and returned his arm around her back as well to return the hug.

Ahead on the trail Sarah could see that the forest ended and a clearing began. The tree tops above were becoming lit by the rising star and the prairie in the distance was quite bright. In the region where the trees were beginning to thin out they came across a short Arfuran who appeared to Sarah to be an otter. He stood shorter than Sarah, about five feet tall, had short legs in proportion to his body, and was near some of the fruit trees gathering and eating his breakfast as he laid among a ground cover plants that contained small berries. He and Storm greeted each other, and then he greeted Sarah as the previous forest residents did. After a brief introduction and conversation, they all parted ways so they could attend to their respective activities.

A hundred feet of trail passed beneath their feet before Sarah heard a splash behind them. She turned around and saw the otter swimming in the river. With a smile she turned forward to continue the walk. Once they passed the end of the forest the trail turned to diverge from the river in the prairie. The prairie was covered in a long, narrow grass-like plant with random small bushes and the river snaking through its open expanse. The open air above presented them with deep tropical blue skies mixed with bright cotton clouds and wisps of haze lit by the morning sun, all gently floating past the partially lit moon Bletisl. Sarah could see a structure about a half mile in the distance with the path leading mostly straight from them to it. "Is that where we're going?" she asked.

"Yes, that is the research facility," replied Storm.

"I hope we weren't being too loud as we went past those homes back there," she said. "I wouldn't want to be rude by waking anybody up."

Storm replied, "Most of those homes are empty. The ones who live in them are away from Arfurah, performing duties on the defense vehicles around our planetary system. Half of the population is away on their vehicles, ready to defend our home from the Kra."

"It's a shame so many have to be so far away from home for something as awful as a war," said Sarah. Storm silently nodded his agreement.

"They must miss their home very much," said Sarah. "I'm very fortunate. Your planet feels so much like mine...the natural parts of mine, anyway...that I feel so at home I don't really even miss it. I do know I'll appreciate it much more from now on."

"I am happy you feel so comfortable here," said Storm. "If we lost our home world, I do not know if we would find another as comfortable to us." The two continued as the approaching research facility grew larger in their view.

Chapter 16. All In A Day's Work

The soft sand of the path padded the ground under Sarah's feet as they neared the research facility. Their twenty minute walk had turned into twenty-five after meeting and talking with Storm's friends along the way, and eating some new and different fruits they came across in a small orchard along the prairie. The facility was a large round building covering an acre, standing five stories tall, and surrounded with glass and open windows around the entire perimeter. The sign on the side was spelled out in the Arfuran characters, making the meaning of the words elusive to Sarah.

She looked around as they approached the building and noticed other Arfurans of various varieties coming to the building from different paths like commuters on their way to work. Through the glass and openings on the building sides she could see more Arfurans already walking the floors inside, busy at work with their various tasks. With every ground level opening being as good as the rest, Sarah and Storm walked up and entered.

Inside the building they were approached almost immediately by a person with fur that was very wild in Sarah's eyes. His body and narrow tail were a bright yellow fur; his chest and belly was mostly a dark green with black stripes that extended into the yellow before fading out; and his eyes were dark blue that blended into a very deep purple around the perimeter. Sarah was unable to match his appearance with that of any species or mix of species she could think of.

"Hello Storm," he said. "Ajagi informed me of your arrival. I am glad to see you here so early. I have not seen you in a long time."

"It is good to see you again, Golas," Storm said, followed by a hug, nuzzles, and licks. "The last time was when we met at the celebration for Ajagi and his mates."

"Yes, I believe you are correct," said Golas. He then turned and said, "You must be Sarah. Ajagi informed me of your arrival as well. I am happy to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Golas," said Sarah. Following Arfuran tradition she then happily hugged him and received his sniff, nuzzle, and lick.

Golas stepped back and said, "I am here to direct you to your research area. It was decided the best place is on the roof due to the nature of your testing. You will need the open space."

"Thank you," said Storm. "Please lead us to it." Golas turned and began walking toward some stairs, and Sarah and Storm followed close behind.

"The equipment you need has been built during your travel home," said Golas, "and we have a crew moving it to the roof now. You will have to decide how to assemble it to match your requirements."

"That will be excellent," said Storm as he followed Golas up the stairs.

"How well is Ajagi?" inquired Golas. "He sounded slightly unhappy during our communication."

"He misses his home and his mates," said Sarah. She felt very compassionate toward Ajagi's feelings of homesickness.

"That is true," added Storm, "but he is otherwise doing well. He has been filling much of his relaxation time with games of 'Magetap.' The practice is giving him skill that is becoming very tough to match."

Golas laughed softly and responded, "I will have to offer a game to him when he returns. That will be most enjoyable."

After they passed the fifth floor of the building they continued to another adjacent stairway and worked their way up to the roof. Sarah asked, "What is this building used for? I mean, what do you all do here?"

Golas responded, "We are currently studying different forms of defense and weapons here, as we are with your project. Without this war occurring it is used for further research into the science of the natural world. A great deal of knowledge has been discovered here."

The top of the stairs opened to the surface of the roof, covered with a mat of short plants and grass and containing a small crew of Arfurans working at the assembly of some of the parts they would need. Sarah recognized some of the units for their purposes--an energy source, a control console--but other things were quite foreign to her.

"The control unit already contains the plans and information sent by Ajagi," said Golas. "Our friends here have been calibrating and testing the energy generator and have connected the control unit. You will need to configure the rest as you require."

"We thank you, Golas," said Storm. "We have not seen anything he designed after we left him. We will request to you or the others here if we require any additional equipment."

"It is my pleasure to help," replied Golas. "Please excuse my departure now; I have some other duties to accomplish." Golas shared a quick departing hug with Storm and Sarah, and disappeared down the stairwell.

Sarah turned to Storm and said, "He's interesting. After seeing the rest of you from the ship and living around here, I wouldn't have expected somebody with such unique fur colors."

"He appears different because he is from a region on the opposite side of the planet," said Storm. "Many people there are of very different varieties than here."

The pair walked across the roof to where the crew was setting up the equipment. "Hello everybody," said Storm. "I am Storm and this is Sarah. I do not believe I have met you."

"Hi everybody," added Sarah with a smile. The four paused what they were doing and approached them for a greeting. It appeared to Sarah that two were female, a goat and a raccoon; one was male, appearing to be a rat or large mouse; and one, appearing to be a red panda, had features of both genders as Storm had mentioned the night before.

"Hello Storm and Sarah," said the raccoon. "I am Bolgaras. This is Safan, Camash, and Russaf," she said, motioning to the goat, rat, and panda in order.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," said Sarah as they all moved closer for their greetings. Storm agreed the sentiment, as did the other four. Hugs and licks were heartily shared before they returned to the task at hand.

"What equipment has been brought here?" asked Storm.

"We have brought everything from the list in the plan," said Camash. "We have an energy generator and a control unit, and we produced a cylinder lined with gravity generators encased in a gravity suppression shield. Next to it is the light concentration weapon. There are also several probe units for detecting a dimension vein if one is created, and gravity measurement units to test the level of escaping gravitational force. I do not know exactly what you are building, but it makes me most curious by only observing what parts are in use."

Storm was puzzled. "Why is the gravity cylinder not combined with the light weapon in one unit?" he asked.

"We do not know", said Russaf. "We followed the design instructions from the plans sent by Ajagi. Perhaps it is explained there."

Storm went over to the control console and passed his hand over a sensor. The small unit, with no room for a monitor to be built in because of its size, projected a holographic display in front of them. Sarah looked over his shoulder as he tapped symbols on the screen and began scrolling down through the plan. At one point he stopped, intently read the page of Arfuran text.

"What does it say?" asked Sarah.

"This makes very much sense," said Storm. "Ajagi says the two units are separate because creating the dimension vein inside the light concentration tube would consume the gases inside, or allow them to escape. One end of the light weapon is a controllable reflection plane. When it is activated it will turn clear and allow the light to escape. We only need to attach the gravity cylinder to that end."

"Ok, that does make sense," said Sarah. "I should have thought of that." Sarah watched as Storm continued to view the updated plans from Ajagi.

"Assembly will be quite simple but it will take some time," said Storm. "After attaching the gravity cylinder to the light weapon, we must connect both to the control unit. It has been programmed with simple controls for testing and synchronization of the units. Additional operations may be added at a later time as we need them."

"Sounds good," Sarah said with a smile as she looked up at him. "Let's get to it, Foxy." Storm nodded with a smile and followed her with the rest of the team over to the parts.

The light of the star rising above the horizon was cast brightly on the group as they worked. Sarah squinted in the bright light, feeling envious of the ability of everyone else's eyes to shut out the light so well. She helped where she could, carrying parts around as requested, but she felt partially useless due to her unfamiliarity with the Arfuran devices. Storm and Bolgaras lifted the gravity cylinder into place as Safan quickly attached it with a clamping tool. Camash and Russaf shuffled thick cables around, attaching them between the power generator, laser, and the gravity cylinder. While they all worked, Sarah moved the wormhole detectors around to different locations on the roof, then helped Safan set up the gravity force detectors.

Sarah felt like the work went surprisingly quickly for how complex the equipment was, and attributed it to the advancements of the Arfurans. "User-friendly equipment," she thought to herself. Once everything was assembled and in place, Storm returned to the control console. The team stood by to be ready to help if necessary, occasionally grabbing a snack out of the bin of fruit. Storm tapped the screen symbols, initiating a diagnostic test of all the equipment to make sure all the parts were receiving power and communicating properly.

"I will test the light weapon first," said Storm. "Safan, please open the panel on the end of the gravity cylinder." Safan stepped over to the unit, unhooked a latch, and swiveled the end panel back to lock it out of the way. She then returned to the group by the control panel while Storm manipulated the controls to rotate the laser with the mechanical support base. He pointed it out into the prairie where the flat ground met a rocky hillside and used the display screen to zoom in and align it with a small rock several hundred yards away. He activated the reflector to turn clear and set the laser to a low power, causing a bright yellow spot to appear on the rock. "It is receiving power," he said to the group.

Storm then moved a screen slider, causing the spot to grow brighter from the increased power going to the laser. With a slight additional increase to the power level they could see smoke rising up from around the rock due to its intense heat. "I will change it to a higher energy light frequency," said Storm. As he moved another slider the light on the rock slid through the spectrum toward a deep blue. The higher energy of the blue light caused the area around the rock to smoke more heavily. Adding another slight increase to the power adjustment, Sarah was amazed to see the rock melt into a small lumpy puddle on the ground.

"That is amazing," she said. "What power level was that?"

"It is currently at two percent power," replied Storm.

"Holy crap...what does that thing do at one hundred percent?" she asked.

Storm responded, "I do not know. It is a new weapon and our most powerful one to be built yet, so I have not yet observed its effects. A unit with a quarter the capacity was observed to leave very visible marks on Bletisl when tested at full power. That is the type of light weapon that takes several bursts to a Kra ship to create damage. This one should require only one burst to cause more damage than that. I do know that it is not safe to test this unit above fifty percent with the target being so close. I will increase power and test with a short pulse."

Storm tapped a few symbols on the screen, increased the power slider, and then tapped a spot to trigger a discharge. The laser let out a quiet pulsing nose as the energy surged through it, but the target on the rocky hillside exploded with the force of several sticks of dynamite. "That was seven percent," said Storm. Sarah raised her eyebrows with eyes wide open in silent amazement and continued to watch as the debris rained down in a dusty cloud. "I will test thirty percent," said Storm. He moved the slider to increase the power, then paused to think for a moment. He leaned over to the side of the console and pressed a small square to activate an intercom. "Golas, I will be testing the light weapon at thirty percent power in less than one taren. Please alert the others so they may prepare."

A few adjustments to the controls moved the target of the laser to a point a thousand yards away. Storm zoomed the view in further to target another small rock by another large pile of dirt in the distance. He then activated the laser to build its charge, and pressed the trigger button. The pulse of light tore through the air with the heated force of a lightning bolt and struck the point where he was aiming. The ground shook like an earthquake and the delayed shockwave presented a deafening roar of explosive noise. The contents of the ground and dirt pile were propelled a half mile into the air, raining down for well over a minute. The rest of the team shielded their ears from the sound as they watched.

Sarah giggled. "Heh heh heh...sweet," she said with a sly grin. She maintained her grin as she turned to Storm and said, "Did ya' hit it?" Storm looked blankly at her for a few moments before cracking a smile as he understood the sarcastic humor of the question. Sarah then said, "Perhaps it's best we don't test with any higher power than that."

"I agree," said Storm. "The power increases exponentially so a slight increase to this control will double the energy output. It appears to be working very well. Now we may test the gravity cylinder. This will have more potential danger so we will have to retreat inside the building for the initial high power tests." He tapped a few controls on the display screen, causing it to double its width and display controls for the gravity cylinder. He tested the connection of the controls, then applied low power to it. Storm then increased the power control slider for that unit to a level ten times that required for planetary gravity levels. Glancing over at a screen indicator he said, "The gravity detection units are not picking up anything at this power. I will test one hundred times the base power level." He increased the power and looked back at the indicator. "They are now detecting only a trace level of gravity forces escaping the unit. The gravity suppression devices must be working properly."

Storm tapped several symbols on the screen rapidly. Sarah tried to follow what he was doing but the language barrier prevented her from understanding what she saw. He turned to the group and said, "I have programmed the controls to test the gravity cylinder with a pulse that is one million times the base power. If the detected external gravity levels are still within safe limits, it will allow a second test at one billion times the base power level. The first test will begin after one taren has passed so we will have time to get to a safe distance."

The group crossed the roof to return to the stairwell and went down to the top level of the building to wait. A couple of them grabbed something from the fruit bin. Sarah thought it seemed like a good idea and took something for herself as well. Storm carried a small remote unit he detached from the control console to monitor the test. Once down to the lower level they waited, munching on the sweet snacks and watching the handheld monitor. After the time of a taren had passed the monitor indicated a test run, followed by a stream of data flowing across the screen. It was followed by another short countdown, indicating the first test was determined to be safe, then the system triggered the gravity cylinder again. For a split second Sarah thought she felt the sensation of something tugging at her similar to the feeling of static pulling at her hair.

Sarah asked, "How is that power generator up there able to create so much energy for the gravity cylinder?"

"It does not directly create it," replied Storm. "It contains a module that collects energy from the generator and builds up the charge we need. When it has the level the system needs and is triggered by the control console, it discharges the energy to the gravity cylinder all at once. The lower power tests we performed earlier required energy levels it could easily sustain directly."

The second stream of test data flowed across the screen with Storm watching it closely. "It appears to be safe," he said. "We may return to the top of the building for further testing." The group went back up the stairs to the roof. Those who had the seed cores of pieces of fruit they ate threw them off the side of the roof as they walked to the equipment. Back at the console Storm examined the data more closely. "The gravity field detectors indicate a gravitational force escaping that is no greater than what we feel from the planet. Additional gravity suppression units may help reduce that further but it is not unsafe as it is."

"This stuff is absolutely amazing," said Sarah. "We don't have anything like this at home, and our strongest lasers can only cut slowly through steel. Pretty powerful, but nothing like this."

"We have had many more years to develop our knowledge and technology," said Storm. "Your people are very intelligent. It is very likely you will have similar abilities in the future." He then looked back at the control panel and said, "We may now test again and see if we create a dimension vein." Bolgaras, Safan, Camash, and Russaf all stood by to observe with interest, and provide help if needed.

Storm powered up the energy generator to build up the charge for a new test. After several seconds the power level indicator on the holographic screen showed the charge module was at the required level. He tapped a few screen symbols to widen the screen again and configure the wormhole detectors for omnidirectional detection, then triggered the gravity cylinder to discharge.

An instant pulse of gravity escaping the unit tugged at everybody and caused them to lurch toward the cylinder, though nobody lost enough balance to fall over. "What an interesting feeling," said Sarah.

"It is interesting for us as well," said Bolgaras. "We have never done anything like this before." All the others nodded their agreement. Storm read over the data from the wormhole detectors as it filled the new area of the screen.

"The units detected traces of energy that indicate evidence of dimension veins in two locations," said Storm. "One was in the vicinity of the gravity cylinder. The other was up there," he said, pointing at an angle high into the sky. "I will configure them for a more concentrated search area and test again to ensure accuracy." He tapped the wormhole detection controls a few more times, charged the energy generator, and triggered it to discharge once again into the cylinder.

New data filled the screen. With eyes as intent as a predator he read over the information which remained elusive to Sarah's understanding. "What does it say?" asked Sarah.

After another brief silent moment of staring at the data, Storm turned to Sarah with his mouth agape in a huge smile. "It works," he said. "Sarah, your theory was correct...it works!" In an instant he slid over to her, practically pouncing her with a warm squeezing hug. Sarah let out a small cheer and hugged him back, giving him a kiss to the cheek. The rest of the group moved in to hug them both in congratulations of the achievement.

Several fur-covered seconds passed before they released their hug and returned to the console to review the data on the screen. Storm pointed to a spot on the screen and said, "This information shows one end of a dimension vein appeared in the center of the gravity cylinder where the forces were most concentrated. At the same moment another was detected up there, high in the atmosphere. Both appeared at the exact same instant and lasted for approximately three thousandths of a tarenden. That is more time than necessary for the concentrated light in the weapon to fully escape into the opening."

Sarah's excitement was almost more than she could bear. She had thought about her theory for so many years, working on it when she could, but she thought she would never get it finished. She knew that even if she did finish the theory there would be no way she could ever test it. Her fortunate association with the Arfurans gave her the equipment and opportunity to do exactly that, filling her with a mix of emotions that ranged from amazement to elation.

Storm turned to Bolgaras, Safan, Camash, and Russaf, and asked, "Would you all please help me retrieve some radiation detectors? We will need to test the complete system to find exactly where the other end of the dimension vein is located and what direction it faces." When the others responded with their typical enthusiastic willingness to help, he turned back to Sarah and said, "Please excuse us for a few taren while we find the detectors we need."

"Do you need my help for that?" Sarah asked.

"No, it will not be necessary," said Storm. "We only need the three we will carry, plus the two additional gravity suppression shields. You are welcome to come with us or stay here, however you wish."

"Alright," replied Sarah. "I'll stay here...it's such a lovely day out."

"We will return soon," said Storm as he turned with the others toward the stairwell. Once they passed through the door and went down, Sarah realized she was alone for the first time on the strange planet. She took another piece of fruit from the bin and went over near the edge of the building. Sitting down on the soft vegetation covering the roof, she gazed out over the land, taking in the untouched natural beauty of the planet's surface while she bit into the juice-filled fruit. Small clouds passed overhead as the mild morning breeze blew through her hair and warm sunlight caressed her skin, the star being at a point high in the sky by that time. Sarah had lost track of time and didn't realize how many hours had already passed.

"I hope...hope so much that this is not all just some elaborate dream," she thought to herself. "This place, these people...all so beautiful, so wonderful...my mind couldn't have merely created them." She continued to enjoy the quiet serenity of the scene before her, enjoying the taste of the fruit she had taken quite a liking to.

After a few minutes of feeling so wonderfully at peace, she heard the sound of the others approaching from behind her. Sarah turned to see her friends returning and got up from her sitting spot. She approached Storm as he and the others were setting the new detection units down, and once his hands were free she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly in a most heartfelt embrace. He was slightly surprised but nonetheless returned a gentle hug to her.

"What was that for?" he asked.

Sarah looked up at him with a smile and said, "Everything."

He smiled again and hugged her a little more tightly, wagging his tail in enjoyment of the friendly embrace. After they parted each other's hold they returned to the control console. Storm tapped some more screen symbols, widening the holographic display once more and establishing contact with the light radiation detectors.

"I will set the detectors to search for light of the same frequency used by the light weapon," he said. "We will be able to determine where it comes out, what direction it is going, and if any intensity was gained or lost. I will also have the control system synchronize the two units so they are both discharged at the same time."

Sarah could only stand by and watch as Storm set things up. He was tapping at the screen controls so fast she knew she couldn't keep up even if it was a language she could read. After his programming was done he moved the laser power level down to a very low setting. He activated the power module to build a charge, then tapped the single symbol to discharge the gravity cylinder and the laser together.

The escaping gravity forces were greatly reduced from the additional shield units, though they could still feel the slight force similar to the feeling of static tugging at their hair. Sarah was looking up into the sky in an attempt to see the laser light appear from nowhere, but was unsuccessful in the glare of the bright morning light. Storm read over the data that flowed in from the light detectors. "The light was detected coming from a source point 3,554 ber in that direction," he said as he pointed to the sky again.

"Please tell me again, what is a ber?" asked Sarah. She could not remember from the evening they spent going over conversion factors.

"It is about this long," said Storm, holding his hand up just under his chin to indicate a height of one ber. "It is a constant measurement we defined as the wavelength of light that has a vibration frequency of 108,000,000 per tarenden.

Sarah thought back to her physics knowledge of light. "That puts it...somewhere between microwave and radio, if I'm thinking correctly," she said. She continued to do the math in her head and produced the response, "That puts the other end of the wormhole at about four miles I think."

Storm stopped to figure the conversion in his head as well. "Yes, I believe you are correct," he replied. "The indications show the light continued to travel on a path in an identical direction to the source here with no loss of intensity. That presents us with the question of why the location and direction were what they were, and how we will be able to control them."

Sarah thought for a moment. "Try pointing the thing straight up and see what happens," she suggested. Storm adjusted the controls and made the mechanical support rotate the entire unit to point upwards into the sky. He energized the power source, triggered the discharge, and read the results of the wormhole and light detection data that streamed in.

"This is very curious," he said. "The other end of the dimension vein did not move from where it appeared earlier, but the light was perfectly parallel with the source here just as it was before."

Everybody thought about the situation for a moment before Safan broke the silence. "Test it again in several directions and observe where the direction of the light takes it. I have an idea about this."

Storm adjusted the controls, bringing the laser unit back down level with the ground, and test fired it in several directions as he spun it around on its axis. After it had made a complete rotation he stopped and read all the resulting data. "I believe I see your idea, Safan," he said. "Every direction we point the unit produces the same direction at the other end of the dimension vein. The end opening that appears must be parallel to the beginning point here."

"Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking," said Safan with a happy smile of accomplishment. "That eliminates the matter of how to point the unit in the right direction for targeting. We only must determine how to control where the other end is located."

"We should share this information with Ajagi and the other researchers," said Russaf. "If they think they will be able to control it, it will be helpful for them to know it works. Once they determine a control method, we will be able to adjust the equipment for you."

"Yes, I agree," replied Storm. "To the communication room!" he exclaimed in a mock commanding voice before bounding for the stairwell. All the rest laughed and followed quickly behind him. The thundering herd stampeded down the stairs to the fifth floor of the building and walked down the hallway to a large room with several communication consoles and viewing screens. Camash sat down in front of one and tapped a button to activate the screen, then operated several more controls to establish communication with Ajagi's ship. Sarah watched as the main display screen was filled with what she thought was some sort of logo display in the Arfuran language. Shortly thereafter the image was replaced with the live image of an avian Arfuran, the first Sarah had seen.

Camash spoke first with the feathered communications operator, asking to meet with Ajagi. They were quickly transferred to another communications room with the earlier logo reappearing. Less than a minute passed before the logo was replaced with Ajagi's furry face.

"Hello Sarah and Storm," he said. "It is good to see you arrived home safely."

"Hello Ajagi," replied Storm. "I am happy to see you."

"Hi Ajagi," said Sarah. "I'm happy to see you too. We had a very pleasant trip."

Ajagi responded, "That is good to hear. Hello to you Safan, Russaf, Camash, and Bolgaras. I am happy to see you all as well. It has been too long since we last parted."

The group of four all responded at the same time in a jumble of happy greetings. As they all shared their greetings, Sarah looked with astonishment at the display of Ajagi. Despite the screen being two-dimensional, he was displayed in three dimensions as clearly as he would be sitting on the other side of a window pane. As he looked at each individual attending the long distance call, the image was actually looking at each individual.

"We have wonderful information for you," said Storm. "The theory Sarah created is correct and the device works very well. We are able to create a dimension vein every time it activates and the results are very consistent. The radiation emitted from the concentrated light weapon passes through it every time with the energy levels remaining constant."

"That is wonderful to hear," replied Ajagi. He then turned to Sarah and said, "We can not thank you enough for devising such an incredible solution to our problem."

Sarah blushed with a smile and responded with a bashful laugh. "I'm just glad I could help."

Storm continued with what he was describing. "We have found that the two ends of the dimension vein are parallel. No matter what way we pointed it, the light we sent through it follows the same path after it exits. The remaining challenge is controlling where it places the exiting end of the vein."

Ajagi thought for a moment before speaking. "Please send me all the information you have gathered from your testing. I will connect with our colleagues and have them help us determine a method of control."

"That sounds very good," replied Storm. "Camash has access to all that data here. As this is far from my area of knowledge, I will leave you all to work on the control problem, if you will excuse me."

"That will be quite acceptable," said Ajagi. "When you return we should have more ideas to share with you. I do not know how long it will require...perhaps a tar." He paused, then continued, "Storm, have you visited my mates?"

"That is where I am going right now," said Storm. "We have not had a chance to visit them yet, and now seems like a good time to do that."

"I am happy to hear that," said Ajagi. "Please invite them to contact me again soon."

"I will do that," said Storm. He then turned to Sarah and asked, "Would you like to go with me? Or would you prefer to remain here?"

"I'd like to go with you," said Sarah with a smile. "It'll be nice to meet Ajagi's mates." As they exited the room they could hear Ajagi getting other scientists on the line to begin their very technical conversation.

Chapter 17. Home Is Where A Wolf's Heart Is

The warm light of Kothalos shone down on the two as they exited the research facility. It was sitting high in the sky, approaching midday, reminding Sarah how long they'd been there. When they got just outside the building Storm led the way down a path in a different direction from that of his home. Sarah attempted to remain oriented with where she was by thinking about the paths they'd walked earlier in the morning compared to their current direction.

"Is this the direction of where we landed earlier?" she asked.

"Yes, you are correct," replied Storm, "but that is not where we are going. Ajagi lives near there. At least one of his mates should be at home."

Sarah thought about all their local travels of the day. "Do you walk everywhere? I mean, I haven't seen even one ground vehicle, and you described your parents as living a nine day walk from here. Why not take a car?"

"It is how we have always done things," replied Storm. "Our bodies are fit and healthy, so it would be a waste of energy and resources to travel in such a way. We do have ground transport vehicles but those are only used for very great distances, loads of cargo greater than what can be carried, or when time is critical and arrival must be as quickly as possible."

Sarah pondered his reasons. "I guess you aren't in a hurry when your life span is unlimited, huh?" she said.

Storm responded, "Yes. There is rarely a time when a long travel time would be 'too late' for arrival."

"What about a bicycle?" asked Sarah. "It's a machine we have on my planet that is driven entirely with the body, usually the legs. That would get you around quicker, not be wasteful of energy, and is great exercise for keeping the body fit and strong."

"That sounds like a splendid machine," said Storm. "You will have to show me a memory picture of one sometime, but it sounds similar to a machine we have that is powered by body strength. There are some around here but I do not have one."

The two exchanged greetings with a small group of three other Arfurans going the opposite way who they passed as they approached the forest. "Do you have any body-powered flying machines?" asked Sarah.

"No, we do not," replied Storm. "We have made them in the past and tested them with some of our strongest people to power them, but it is too inefficient and the strength required exhausts the operator very quickly. Even the best designs required too much energy from the body. The only ones of our people who are able to fly are those who have wings like the halpanie and similar creatures. If the rest of us want to experience such flight we must use a device that attaches to our bodies and contains its own energy."

Sarah asked, "What, like a jet pack?"

"I do not know what that would be," said Storm. "The device I am referring to has a propulsion system similar to our larger air and space transport vehicles, but it is much smaller and has simple controls held in the hands. They carry one person and are only used for fun."

"That does sound fun," said Sarah. "Look in the air, it's the flying fox!" Storm just smiled and laughed softly.

The midday star light was streaming down through the forest canopy creating spots of light on the trail under their feet. As they walked Sarah and Storm picked more berries to munch on, sharing with each other as each one gathered a handful from different plants. The dirt path was firmly packed from years of countless local residents walking its length, but it was smooth and not uncomfortable under Sarah's bare feet.

With the much brighter daylight compared to their morning walk Sarah was able to see many more handmade homes in the trees and on the ground, and was much more able to see and appreciate the grand size of the trees. During their travels through the forest they came across more Arfurans out working at various tasks--building a new home, gathering food, collecting fire wood from a fallen tree--as well as people playing, reading, and swimming in the abundant water resources. Everyone they met gave them both a friendly greeting and welcomed Sarah to the planet.

The forest was aglow with green from the day's light hitting the leaves of the plants and trees. The air carried a scent of blossoms and plants that was stronger and sweeter than it was early in the morning, aided by the warmth of the day and the humidity of the air. Sarah didn't know where they were going on the new path but knew how to get back to places she was familiar with. She felt comfortable as she was led by Storm that she would not get lost, and once again held on to his hand when her hand was free of any berries. Her fingers slid through the fur between his fingers and squeezed onto the back of his hand. He smiled lightly and did the same, but the bobbing of his tail as they walked concealed the gentle wagging in the tip.

As the trail curved around a bend the trees thinned out to reveal the landing site a few hundred yards away. Sarah mapped the large triangular path they'd walked in her memory and felt quite familiar with the locale. The bend in the path straightened out into a direction she felt was opposite that of Storm's home and continued on into the trees. Sarah noted in her mind how the forest looked wild and untouched, yet neat and manicured. The tall trees had no dead branches down low, the lower bushes didn't grow out of control to hide the residential mounds, and the grasses below them were fairly uniform in thickness. There were also flowers growing on and around the dirt mound homes, hinting they were intentionally planted there.

After what felt like about five more minutes of walking, Sarah saw a home mound that had several beds of red and yellow flowers around it--an Arfuran variety she was not familiar with--and a sign next to the door opening with four short lines of the native text on it.

"We have arrived. This is Ajagi's home," said Storm. "Gradoga! Hello!"

From her perspective Sarah couldn't see who Storm was calling out to. Out from behind the home emerged the face of Ajagi's mate Gradoga, covered in black fur with white on top of her head that extended down the back.

"Storm!" she said, setting down the project she was working with to run out from around the flowers. "It is so wonderful to see you again!" Following closely behind her was what appeared to be a female lion. She quickly ran up to Storm and threw her arms around her old friend, giving him a tight hug with nuzzles to his neck and licks to his muzzle. He responded with the same greeting, happy to see her as well.

"Hello Storm!" said the lioness happily as she pounced the pair to join the greeting, nuzzling and licking his other side.

"Hello Drasi, I did not see you back there. It is wonderful to see you both as well," said Storm. As they shared their happy greeting Sarah noticed the white fur from Gradoga's head extended down the middle of her back and to the tip of her tail. With wide eyes she stood there silently with a bashful, uneasy smile.

Once the greetings broke Storm said, "I would like you two to meet my friend Sarah. She transferred here to help with our weapons project, and is our guest on Arfurah to help build the idea she devised."

Ajagi's mates released Storm from their embrace and gently approached Sarah with soft smiles. "It is our pleasure to meet you, Sarah," they both said.

Seeing the friendly smiles put Sarah instantly at ease. "It's my pleasure to meet you both as well," she said in reply. With arms open she invited Gradoga and Drasi to share the traditional Arfuran greetings. As she gave each a kiss to the cheek Sarah was pleasantly surprised to find Gradoga didn't smell like the skunks she knew from home.

"Senassa, come out! Storm is here," Gradoga called out. After a few seconds the face and body of a possum appeared at the door of the home. Without hesitation he ran up to the group, pouncing Storm with his usual friendly greetings.

"Storm, I am very happy to see you again," said Senassa. With another sniff to Storm's fur he added, "I can still smell Ajagi's scent on you."

"I am very happy to see you, too," replied Storm. "I would like you to meet my friend Sarah." Senassa let go of Storm and turned to face Sarah.

Drasi said, "Sarah is here to help with the defense project."

With a smile, Senassa walked up to Sarah and said, "I am very happy to meet you. Thank you for helping us." Opening his arms he moved to hug Sarah just as she did the same.

"I'm very happy to meet you too," she replied. After letting him sniff, nuzzle, and lick her, she gave him a kiss to the cheek and said, "I might have Ajagi's scent too. I hugged him shortly before we left the ship...vehicle, I mean."

"Yes you do, but not as strongly as Storm does," said Senassa.

"As we speak Ajagi's name," said Storm, "I am reminded of our primary reason to visit. I am here to deliver Ajagi's love to you all personally, as he is unable to be here himself. He speaks nearly every day about how much he loves all of you, and how much he misses all of you. After speaking with you through the communication connection two days ago he was very happy to have shared the time with you, but also sad because he could not be back here with you."

Sarah added, "We just came from the research facility where we were talking with him on the...communications thing. He mentioned you all again, and he was looking quite well."

Ajagi's three mates all gathered together to embrace each other in his absence. Their faces showed the same combination of happiness and sadness from the message they had received. After several seconds they released their hug and moved over to Storm, hugging him together with them as a substitute for Ajagi. Sarah thought of mentioning how emotional Ajagi was before he contacted them two days ago but decided to remain silent so she wouldn't interrupt.

"Thank you for delivering his message to us, Storm," said Gradoga. "Please bring the same message to him from us."

"We will, most definitely," said Sarah, feeling a need to participate.

"Thank you," Senassa said as he looked toward Sarah. "I know he will welcome all the hugs he can get."

Drasi looked back at Storm. "How has he been? I know he misses us but I hope he is not sad all the time."

"He is doing very well," replied Storm. "He spends much of his free time with me or his other friends. Sometimes he will go to be alone...I do not know if he is more tired or just wants to think about all of you. The rest of the time he is quite happy, and I pounce him every day to make sure he remains so." Storm added a smile with the emphasis on his daily pouncing.

The friendly conversation of the group continued on like old friends having a reunion. Gradoga and Drasi showed Sarah and Storm around their flower garden, describing their project of removing the excess plants they didn't want there to relocate elsewhere in the forest. After smelling the flowers the group went inside the home. The furnishings were as simple as those in Storm's home but with more pieces for the additional residents. Senassa explained that the materials laid out on the table, borrowed from Drasi, were his ongoing project of advancing his mathematical knowledge.

While Storm chatted with their three friends, Sarah wasn't quite following the conversation and glanced around the home. She noticed it was quaintly decorated with flowers growing in the window openings and in a small pot on the table, and it was more spacious than Storm's home. She reasoned it was because of there being more people living in it. A single large bed filled one end of the room, and they had several small pictures of themselves and others on the walls. "Must be family and friends," Sarah thought to herself. She also noticed the walls were lightened with pale sand that was pressed into the moist ground that was used when the home was built. The effects made it rustic but very homey and comfortable.

"Did you enjoy it, Sarah?" asked Storm.

"Yes, that was a fun game," she replied, knowing they were talking about the game Pulkon which Storm had taught her. "I hope I get the chance to learn some of your other games, too." Sarah's talent for paying attention without paying attention kept her informed of what their conversation was drifting over. While it had served her well in the past, she did not want to display such disrespect for her new friends.

"I apologize, I wasn't listening very closely," she confessed. "My mind wandered as I was looking around your lovely home, but I happened to know what you were talking about."

"That is quite alright, and thank you for the compliments," said Drasi. "You are very welcome to join our conversation. Please tell us about where you come from."

"I'd be happy to," replied Sarah. "There is so much to tell...I don't know where to begin, and I can't believe I'm actually giving such a description. I'm from a planet called Earth in another galaxy. You should be able to see it in your night sky but I don't know when it's visible...now that I think about it, it should be visible in the middle of the night."

Sarah thought for a moment, trying to think what best to tell them. She enjoyed several minutes getting acquainted with Ajagi's mates and telling them about her home, her job, the other people, the similar plant life, and the animal life so similar to Arfurans. Sarah had been losing track of time as she talked with them before realizing at least an hour had passed since they went inside.

"Storm, I don't know what time it is," she said. "Should we be getting back? Ajagi said they would only need about a tar to get things done."

"Yes," replied Storm, "it is about the time we returned. Our friends will likely be finishing the program with Ajagi soon and need only a small amount of time to transmit their work to the control system. We will have a lot of work testing and adjusting the calibration."

Sarah turned back to their three conversation companions. "Would you please excuse us? We have to get back to work."

"That will be fine," said Gradoga. "If Ajagi has a connection established, we will go with you to visit with him again as soon as they are finished."

"That is a lovely idea," said Storm. "We will not have to transmit the new data to him until we are done late in the day. You will have plenty of time to visit without too much interruption."

The group of five piled out of the home in the ground to begin their walk back to the research facility. Sarah couldn't help smiling as she saw the happy excitement of the others as they anticipated seeing their beloved Ajagi again. His three mates walked at a faster pace than Storm and Sarah, not realizing they were creating a growing gap between them.

"They really love him, don't they?" Sarah commented as she took Storm by the hand again.

Storm smiled, looking down at her hand in his, and responded, "Yes. They all share a very strong love."

Sarah said humorously, "I'm glad Gradoga didn't spray me, since I'm a stranger."

"What do you mean?" replied Storm.

"Well...I don't mean to be in any way rude or disrespectful toward her," said Sarah, "but Gradoga resembles an animal from my planet that sprays an awful smelling liquid at any other creature that causes anger, fear, or surprise. The spray comes from glands under the tail."

"No, she does not do that," said Storm. "Such a defense mechanism has evolved away over time. Studies of her variety of Arfuran have found remnants of such organs under the tail, but they are inactive and dormant. Very rarely do they contain an unpleasant scent, and in those cases the organs can be easily removed. Gradoga has a very lovely scent."

Sarah thought a moment. "Now that you mention it, you're right...I remember that when she greeted me I didn't notice anything like that." She thought another moment and then let out a laugh. "I never thought I'd be sniffing a skunk...or kissing one on the cheek!"

Storm replied, "She probably never thought she would be meeting a creature like you either."

Chapter 18. Rain, Rain, What A Day

The sounds of activity echoed through the hallways and up through the building-high atrium that was overlooked by the multiple levels. The quiet facility of the morning had transformed into a busy center of research, learning, and communication for the benefit of defending the civilization. Just as Sarah and Storm arrived at the fifth floor of the research facility their coworkers emerged from the communications room to return to the roof. Bolgaras, Safan, Camash, and Russaf all had smiles on their faces from the excited happy sounds of Ajagi and his mates becoming reunited at the viewing console. The four shared a quick greeting hug with Storm and Sarah when they met at the stairs leading to the roof.

"I don't mean to be a bother but where could I get some water?" asked Sarah as she reached the top and stepped out onto the roof.

"There is a valve around the corner here," said Russaf, pointing to the wall on the outside of the stairwell. "Allow it to flow for a few tarenden and it will become cooler."

Sarah stayed behind as the others walked over to the wormhole project. While the water flowed out of the valve and onto the roof she noticed a large cup sitting on a ledge nearby. "Hmmm...must be a communal cup or something," she thought to herself. "Oh well, when inRome..."

She took the cup from the ledge and found it to have a small amount of water in it. Sarah didn't know if it was from an earlier use or the previous night's rain. She rinsed it out for any dust that may have collected in it, then let it fill. Tossing aside any related hang-ups she drank the water, finding it to be the same cool delicious water the river offered. "Good deal...no city water for them," she thought. After her thirst was well satisfied she refilled the cup and carried it across the roof to Storm.

"Would you like some, Storm?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you. I did not realize my thirst until you offered," he replied. Taking the cup from Sarah, he took a refreshing drink and then offered it to the others.

"I do not require any, but thank you," said Camash, declining the water as everyone else did. "We had things to drink when we were talking with Ajagi."

Storm took one more quick drink from the water and handed it back to Sarah. Before he released it from his hands he leaned over and gave her a wet nuzzle of thanks to her cheek. Sarah smiled and giggled, enjoying the moist attention from her friend. After her laugh subsided she took another drink from the water and set the cup on top of a nearby support column.

"The control programming has been integrated with the system," said Safan. "Please observe and we will show you what adjustments you have available to test."

Sarah and Storm stepped closer to the control console as Safan continued. "Ajagi and his colleagues determined what variables should control the location of the exit of the dimension vein," she said. "We have programmed an interface for you to easily adjust the variables. The power adjustment for the gravity cylinder has been made much longer to give you more precise control. They determined the distance between the two ends of the dimension vein is proportional to the amount of gravitation force. The power applied to the gravity cylinder affects the gravity in the cylinder at an exponential scale, according to the theory Sarah presented. This power adjustment has been programmed to automatically compensate so the resulting distance is proportional to the adjustment. It is currently set to the same power level as our earlier tests."

Bolgaras pointed to another set of sliders on the screen and took over the explanation. "These adjustments vary the power application to pulsate at a frequency you can alter for pulse speed and duration. This other adjustment allows you to control a second power application at the same frequency to alter its waveform against the static waveform. They believe the differing phase of the waves will alter some angular direction of the dimension vein exit but they will not know until you complete your testing. The earlier testing was done with a short solid current of power. It is unknown what will really happen when you rapidly alter it on and off."

Russaf took a turn at explaining the system, first by pointing to a circular control on the screen. "This adjustment allows you to alter the location in the gravity cylinder where the force is strongest. Moving this point in the center toward any point in the perimeter will adjust power in that direction by applying it more strongly to the gravity modules on that side. When the point is in the center of the indicator all the modules will receive equal power."

Camash added, "The force of the power is centered at the beginning of the cylinder to create the opening for the dimension vein. That adjustment varies power down the rest of the length of the cylinder to potentially alter another angular direction of the vein. Begin with small adjustments and remain cautious. Everything is theoretical."

"Thank you, all of you," said Storm. "We will be very careful."

Sarah smiled. "Yes, thank you all. Your expertise continues to amaze me."

"It is our pleasure to help," said Russaf. "Thank yourself. Without your knowledge we would not likely have built such a device."

"I'm just glad to be on the team," Sarah replied bashfully.

"We must attend to other tasks," said Safan. "If you require any further adjustments to the program or the control system, please call for us and we will return immediately."

"Very well," replied Storm. "We will inform you of the results we observe."

"Thanks again," said Sarah with a smile. As each of the four shuffled past, they received a thankful hug and lick from Storm and a hug and kiss on the cheek from Sarah.

"They're all really sweet people," said Sarah as the group disappeared down the stairwell.

"Yes, I agree," Storm replied while smiling.

Sarah looked back at the control system. "Well...let's get to work, Mr. Fox. How can I take notes as we test it?"

Storm smiled after hearing the nickname and replied, "The control system will maintain a collection of data from all the equipment and detectors. You may keep additional notes with this screen." Storm tapped a couple of symbols on the holographic screen to bring up a large square area within an outline. "Use your finger to mark your words, just as you did on the work table in the transfer room."

"Ok, I remember how to use that," said Sarah.

Storm tapped the control symbols to charge the gravity cylinder power, then discharged it into the system. "The dimension vein detectors are indicating the same results from before," said Storm. "I will reduce the power slightly and test again." He moved the power slider slightly closer to the zero end, charged the power unit, and discharged it into the cylinder. Data streamed across the screen from the detection units.

"Ajagi was right," said Storm. "The exit of the vein is now closer. It was detected just over 2,000 ber away in the same direction. I will try again." Storm then repeated the cycle as methodical as the most dedicated scientist, each time with lower power settings. Sarah scribbled her notes as quickly as she could with each test.

"That power level placed it at twelve ber away in the same direction," Storm said.

"I wonder if we will be able to see it," said Sarah.

"I do not know," replied Storm. "I have not been looking. I will test again." Sarah looked up above the gravity cylinder in the direction she expected the wormhole to appear. With the triggering of the power system, she saw the view of the clouds above ripple for the briefest of moments.

"I think I saw it!" exclaimed Sarah. "I think it was about 20 feet up...I mean, make that...just over three ber."

Storm smiled at her excitement and said, "This is very interesting. I will reduce the power again to bring it closer."

As he was working with the controls, Sarah slowly wandered around to the other side of the incredible piece of machinery, just beyond the end of what would be the laser's barrel. "Hit it again, Storm," she said with excitement.

Storm tapped the symbol to discharge the power source into the gravity cylinder. In the same instant that Sarah felt the usual static-like tug of gravity, a few feet above the cylinder she saw a bright ring of light surrounding a pitch black center. It lasted the same brief moment as all the others but the effects to Sarah's mind were profound and long lasting.

"I saw it, Storm," she could barely say. "I saw it...I saw a wormhole..." Her words trailed off as she slowly shifted her eyes down toward her vulpine friend. In a burst of excited energy she ran over and pounced Storm with a blissful hug. "I can barely believe it...I'd been working on that theory for years and here I am not only testing it, but seeing it."

Storm closed his eyes with a happy smile as he warmly hugged Sarah in return. "I am very happy for you, Sarah. I do not know such a feeling because I have never created something this complex myself. Instead, I am happy to see you experience such an event."

Sarah released her hug from him after several seconds and looked up at him. "Turn the machine around so it faces you and you should see it too. It's incredible to see." Storm returned to the controls and did as she suggested, turning the mechanical base so the laser unit pointed in their direction, and triggered the unit to discharge. The same ring of light surrounding black appeared briefly above the gravity cylinder as it did before.

"That is very impressive to see," said Storm. "It is quite an achievement. The vein should easily be large enough for the energy of the light weapon to pass through."

Sarah thought about her accomplishment for a moment before remembering the task at hand. "As much as I'd love to keep playing with this thing, we should get back to work with the tests. The scale of power compared to distance should allow us to set a zero point on the power adjustment. Let's get it back up there a ways and test some of the other variables."

"I understand what you mean and I agree," said Storm. As much as he disliked having to create weapons, he knew the importance of his duty to create and test them. He turned the unit back in its original direction and adjusted the power slightly stronger to get the wormhole safely away from them. He tested the gravity cylinder again to establish a new base line, then began his tests on the other adjustments with the laser set to a very low, but observable, setting. Sarah returned to her note screen, writing down all the results in her own words.

The light of Kothalos on its downward trek was becoming obscured by a thick overcast of clouds that glided silently across the sky with the day's wind. Whenever the balmy breeze caught Sarah's attention she smiled in enjoyment of its sensation on her skin. The fluffy hair on Storm's body ruffled in the breeze that also made his whiskers dance and tail sway. While he may have felt it, he gave no indication that he paid any attention to it.

Another hour of time passed as they tested the system with variations to the frequency of the power application, then tested it when combined with variations of the power level.

"This may be tedious work," said Sarah, "but I do like it better than the kinds of experiments I usually do at work. This has results that can be directly observed or detected instead of forming a hypothesis that is derived from data that indirectly hints at it."

Storm asked, "Are all areas of science like that in your world?"

"No," Sarah replied. "There are a lot of things to be studied in the physical world that can easily be observed. It's the theoretical things like this that we can't observe. You should see the size of the machines they make to observe the particles that make up the protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom. As huge as they are, the particles can only be indirectly observed from their effects on other things."

Storm stopped and stared at her silently for a moment. "I do not mean to offend you, but at that rate of advancement how will your species ever see the smaller particles that make up those particles, and the particles that are still smaller?"

"No offense taken," replied Sarah. "I agree, it'll be a while." As she turned back to her note screen she stopped, thought, and turned back to Storm. "Wait a minute...those subatomic particles are made up of smaller and smaller particles? And your people have studied them?"

"Yes," said Storm. "If we are able to look at a later time I will show you some of the research."

Sarah stumbled over her words as she turned back to her notes and said, "Yes, that sounds...wow...that sounds great...holy crap..."

Storm smiled and resumed his work at the controls. Just as they were beginning to test the circular adjustment to control the balance of gravitational power in the cylinder, Sarah felt rain drops begin to hit her skin. Looking up she noticed how dark the clouds had become, indicating they were quite heavy with the afternoon rain. "Looks like we'd better hurry up," she said.

"We still have very much testing to do," replied Storm, paying no attention to the weather. He continued with his tests, making slight adjustments to the power balance in the cylinder and collecting the data of where the laser light appeared. A few more minutes passed before the clouds opened up and a steady heavy rain began to fall.

"Alright, let's go," said Sarah as she turned to start jogging toward the stairs. "We'll have to finish this later."

"Why?" asked Storm.

"Because it's raining!" Sarah called back.

"Why does the rain chase you away?" Storm asked, puzzled by her behavior. "It is water."

Sarah stopped in her tracks and looked back at Storm. "You don't care that it's raining?"

Storm replied, "It does not bother me and we always welcome fresh water. Why does it upset you?"

Sarah thought silently for a moment. "I don't know...habit, I guess. So you really want to stay out here and keep working at it?"

"Yes," replied Storm. "We have much to do."

"Huh..." Sarah quietly said to herself as she stared at him, a slight smile forming on her lips. With another moment to absorb the situation she walked back over to Storm, her hair becoming as matted down with the rain as his fur. "What about all this stuff? Doesn't it matter that it's getting wet?"

"No, the rain will not affect it," Storm responded while continuing to work at the control console. "We construct our devices to not be harmed by water or any weather conditions."

Sarah felt slightly confused as her mind wrestled with the contrast between her human habit of getting inside out of the rain and the logic behind the Arfuran acceptance of it. As she stood there she took in the sensation of the falling rain hitting her skin and flowing down, a situation she'd never experienced to such magnitude. She watched Storm as his fur became completely drenched and matted, and the rain drops ran down his whiskers to drip off the tips.

"The temperature of the rain feels pretty good...it's refreshing," Sarah said to him. "So much for the idea of taking a shower later."

Storm looked at her and replied, "Yes, it is pleasant to me as well." A moment after looking back at the controls he pointed his nose up in the air and started to rapidly twist his head side to side. As the shaking flowed down his body to finish with a fast whipping motion of his tail the water flung from his fur and sprayed in all directions. Sarah giggled with amusement from his cute action.

"On the plus side," said Sarah, "I don't have glasses to get fogged up and blurry from the rain."

"Yes, that is a benefit," Storm replied with little emotion.

When Sarah returned to her note taking screen she coyly looked back over at Storm and said with a smile, "I hope you don't get that 'wet dog' smell."

Storm stopped to look at her, cocked his head slightly to the side, and replied, "Dog? You said I am a fox."

Chapter 19. Natural Beauty

The warm afternoon rain endured for more than an hour before trailing off to a light drizzle, accompanied by the strong scent of wet vegetation on a rainy day. The dark overcast lightened but never revealed any more than a peeking glimpse of the blue sky above for the next few hours that the testing required. Sarah's rain-soaked skin had long since dried while Storm's fur remained moist, unable to dry quickly in the humid air.

"Do you require any further adjustments to study?" Storm asked.

"Nope..." Sarah replied with a pause as she scribed her last few remaining thoughts onto her screen of notes. "I have all I need to understand how this thing works. I mean, I don't know why certain things make the wormhole behave in different ways...that would take years of studying the forces and physics behind it...I just understand how to operate the thing." Sarah realized how much she was stumbling over her thoughts and recognized the signs of her fatigue. "How about you? Do you need anything else?"

"No, I believe we have all the necessary data recorded," he responded. "I will review it again before shutting down the system."

"That sounds good," said Sarah. "I just had a thought...I've been here all day and haven't done anything with my body back home. Once I thought about it I suddenly had the feeling to go to the bathroom, so I guess I regained awareness of what my natural body is feeling. While you look over the data, I'm going to transfer back and take care of things, alright?"

"Yes, that is a very good idea," said Storm. "I also forgot to ask you about that when we returned to continue testing earlier today. I will be here when you return."

"Ok, sounds good," said Sarah as she sat down on the surface of the roof and leaned against the control console for support. As soon as she could trigger her eyes to open back home, she transferred and was gone.

"Bathroom?" Storm wondered aloud.

Sarah's eyes opened to a dark room with only the nearby streetlight streaming past the open drapes of the bedroom window to light the room. She laid there for several seconds to regain her senses, then reached over to find her glasses on the nightstand. With clear vision restored she was then able to see the time glowing on the clock.

"Almost ten? Holy crap, it's been a long day!" Sarah said to herself. When she pushed against the bed to sit up her body flexed and compressed things, reminding her of why she returned. "Oh man, I have to pee," she continued to say to herself. After getting up onto her feet she noticed how stiff her body felt after laying motionless in bed for so many hours. She shuffled to the bathroom as quickly as she could, turned on the light, and took care of all her necessary activities with much relief.

Afterwards, Sarah got the shower flowing, keeping the temperature similar to the mild cool rain she'd experienced earlier in the Arfuran day. The thoughts of Storm, the Arfurans, and the defense project endlessly paraded through her mind as she quickly bathed, dried off, and headed for the kitchen. Every time her mind brought up the image of any Arfuran she smiled; images of Storm made her smile the most. In the kitchen Sarah prepared a simple meal of fruit, canned soup, and a large glass of milk. While the soup heated on the stove she brought the other items to the living room and set them next to the couch, then returned to the kitchen to retrieve the last item.

As Sarah ate her late dinner on the couch she pulled her notes off the coffee table where she'd left them the previous day. She held them close to look over them in the light of the lamp, and shook her head slightly. "I can't believe this works," she said while she read over her newly completed theory. "But it works...the numbers work, the formula works, the cylinder works..."

Sarah softly laughed while she ate and read the pages, showing more reserve than she did when she completed it. She took a sip from her milk glass, set it down, and grabbed the pencil she spied on the table. As she continued eating she used her free hand to draw more pictures of anthropomorphic animal people in the empty spaces on the paper, trying her best to make portraits of Storm and her other Arfuran friends. Not wanting to take an excessive amount of time she finished her dinner, returned the notes to the coffee table, and delivered her dishes to the kitchen sink. A quick rinse was all she felt she had time for, followed by a run to the bathroom to brush her teeth for the night.

When Sarah returned to the living room to turn off the light she decided to lay on the couch for the night, thinking it was best to change her position for the long times she was away. The streetlight outside was all the light provided to her for adjusting her pillow and arranging herself on the couch. Sarah's bare skin sensed the house was cooler than it was earlier that day, so she pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself before setting her glasses on the end table, resting her head back on the pillow, and closing her eyes.

The bright late afternoon of the Arfuran day was a strong contrast to the dark room Sarah had just left. Sarah looked forward for a moment before looking to her side, then looked up at Storm to see his face staring intently at the screens of data. "I'm back now, Stormy," she said with a smile. Her sudden presence snapped Storm out of his sharp focus with a slight startle.

"Hello again," he said as quickly as he could after awakening his awareness to the world outside the projected screen. "I am glad you have returned. The reading of this data...I believe it was beginning to impair my brain because I think I could smell the numbers."

Sarah laughed as she got up from her sitting position and stood next to him. "I'd help if I could but I can't read your language yet," she said. "Does everything look good?"

"Yes," Storm replied. "I am finishing now and all the data looks clear. No anomalies."

"That's good," said Sarah. "Now what?"

Storm responded, "The next step is to shut down the units here and inform the other four the data is ready. They will correlate the data from the sensors with the adjustments we made to understand the effects from the variables. They are all highly skilled at programming these control systems. They will create an interface for us to use that is far easier and faster than our current controls. We can continue testing tomorrow."

"What's left to test?" asked Sarah.

"We will test the interface they create for any necessary adjustments," he replied, "and we must test the dimension vein with a higher energy output from the light weapon."

"Ok, good idea," said Sarah. "We wouldn't want the increased power to cause the exit of the wormhole to appear in the planet's core and make it blow up."

"No, that would not be beneficial," replied Storm.

With the systems all shut down they grabbed the wooden fruit container and headed for the stairwell, the roof lit by the setting star glowing behind the blanket of clouds. "I didn't realize how long the day has been," said Sarah. "At home it's late at night now."

Storm replied, "I did not notice the day to be any different than usual because I am accustomed to it. We will likely return to the outpost fleet before you become accustomed to it as well."

The third floor of the building was where the pair finally found some members of their earlier team. Sarah smiled when she saw Camash and Russaf curled up together in a large padded chair, sound asleep next to the balcony of the atrium. "Awwwww...they look so sweet," Sarah whispered to Storm with a continued smile. "Should we wake them up?"

"We will have to wake them," replied Storm. "I do not know if Safan or Bolgaras are still here in the facility. I do not wish to wake them but it is the best option."

Storm quietly padded over to the sleeping pair and gently began to scritch the top of Camash's head, who was most easily accessible for waking. "Camash, this is Storm," he said softly in the thin rodent ear. "Please awaken." Camash stirred slightly but did not wake up, so Storm nuzzled into his cheek and tried again. "Camash..."

Camash slowly opened his eyes and looked toward Storm and Sarah. "Hello, Storm...hello, Sarah," he said with a sleepy smile. "What may I do for you?" Russaf remained fast asleep, unaffected by the wakeup call except for twitching an ear.

"We are finished with our testing," said Storm. "All the data has been collected and is ready for you all to make the interface. We will return tomorrow to continue testing it."

"Thank you for the information, Storm," Camash responded. "We are resting so we may work on the interface tonight." He then looked around and said, "I do not know where Bolgaras and Safan are...perhaps resting somewhere else. We should be ready after another half tar of sleep."

"That sounds very good. Rest well," said Storm. He gave Camash another nuzzle with a lick, gently nuzzled Russaf's fur, then stood upright next to Sarah to leave. As Camash put his head back down to go back to sleep, Sarah reached over to scritch his head and scritch Russaf's back before leaving.

Storm and Sarah casually walked down the different levels and out of the research facility. Sarah felt accomplished about the work they'd done while Storm felt no different than he did any other day due to his sense of duty and necessity to the defense project. For him, it was just another work day. While they walked down the moist sandy path toward his home, Sarah took his hand in hers as she walked alongside him. Storm took notice and looked down at the shared handhold.

"Is it customary in your world to grasp the hand of someone you walk with?" Storm asked.

Sarah glanced down toward their hands before looking back up at his vulpine face. "No, not really," she replied. "I mean, some do. I guess I did because it...feels comforting."

"It feels comforting to me as well," Storm said with a smile.

As the overcast afternoon sky began to darken with the approaching evening it cast a dim glow on the forest that was darker than they experienced earlier in the day. The travel was mostly quiet; Sarah didn't know what to say and couldn't think of anything to talk about. She'd been feeling self conscious about being a nuisance with all her questions and decided to silently enjoy the walk back to Storm's den. With the full light of the day she was much more able to see the forest scenery she had walked past that morning. Sarah felt like the walk went more quickly than it did in the morning and before she knew it they were within view of Storm's den.

"If we follow this path we will find different things to eat," said Storm, motioning toward another path that branched off the main one.

"Oh, I hadn't noticed that path before," said Sarah. "Lead the way."

A few hundred feet down the trail the pair passed the end of a stand of trees and arrived at an area filled with hundreds of short bushes containing countless small berries with a bright greenish-yellow color. Standing over them were trees, taller than the bushes but short compared to the rest of the forest, with branches filled with another type of fruit that was unfamiliar to Sarah. Storm held the handmade wooden basin while reaching up to pick fruits from the trees. Sarah picked berries from the bushes and filled the basin with them as quickly as she could, stripping the plentiful berries from among the leaves.

"Please take some of the leaves as well," Storm requested. "They have a pleasant flavor and are strong in nutrients." Sarah nodded and began stripping leaves from the branches, then stopped to taste some of them along with some of the berries. She found the berries to have a very unusual flavor combined with both sweet and tart, and found the leaves to be sweet and taste very good. After sampling she turned her attention back to the bushes to continue her harvest. With her attention diverted, she didn't notice Storm's ears swivel toward the path at the sound of someone approaching.

"Storm!" two voices called simultaneously. Sarah turned her head as quickly as Storm's ears swiveled to find the source of the calling. Cresting the top of a short hill up the path was a couple of Arfurans with smiling faces and wagging tails. They increased the pace of their stride to catch up to the harvesting pair.

"We heard you were home but thought you would be at the research facility all day," said the male half of the couple. "It is wonderful we are able to see you so soon!" As they approached Sarah could see the male resembled a coyote with fur the color of sand, and his mate was a female wolf with white fur that was brighter than the freshest snow. Glancing slightly lower she noticed the male was cradling a small pup in his arms.

"Dalo! Serana!" exclaimed Storm. "I am very happy to see you both!"

Serana bounded toward Storm first with arms open wide. "We are very happy to see you again, Storm," she said as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her nose into his neck fur. "When we heard you were home we both talked about how much we have been missing you."

Storm hugged her tightly and shared nuzzles and licks. Releasing her from the embrace Storm then approached Dalo more slowly, not wanting to squeeze against the small puppy in his arms. Stretching his arm around Dalo's back he said, "I have been missing you both as well. Who is this small one?"

Dalo looked up with the beaming pride of a new father. "This is our son. He was born thirty-two days ago."

Storm's wide smile and soft eyes looked down at the young pup who was slowly looking around at his surroundings. Sarah slowly stepped closer and gasped at the immense cuteness of the baby pup. Storm remembered his friend standing there and looked up at her. "This is my friend Sarah. She is here to help with our defense project. Sarah, these are my very good friends Serana and Dalo."

"It's lovely to meet you all," said Sarah with a smile, glancing between the baby and his parents. "Oh, how cute..."

"It is lovely for us to meet you as well," said Serana as she approached Sarah to greet her. Sarah enjoyed sharing the hug because Serana's fur was so thick and soft. Just before their hug parted Serana licked Sarah on her cheek; Sarah giggled and kissed Serana's cheek in return.

Sarah then stepped closer to Dalo and gently put an arm around his back to greet him with a half hug as Storm did, being cautious of the pup in his arms. Dalo extended his left arm around Sarah as well while still cradling the pup in his right. Sarah could not take her eyes off the tiny furry creature in his arms. "How cute...he's so handsome," said Sarah with a smile, looking up at Dalo and back down at the pup.

Without a word Dalo took his arm from around Sarah's shoulder, cradled it under the pup for extra support, and turned toward Sarah. She was speechless with surprise as he held the pup out, lifting him up into her arms. Without hesitation Sarah put her arms under the young one, breathlessly taking him into her arms. Sarah was overwhelmed at the immediate trust shown toward her, that they would give their new baby to a being from another planet to hold without any reservations.

Sarah's gaze never left the face of the pup in her arms, her smile growing. Once he was comfortably positioned in her arms she pulled one from underneath him and started to gently rub his tummy. As his tiny arms and legs began to wiggle about from enjoyment of her loving touch she giggled and smiled even harder.

"What's his name?" she asked as she looked up at Serana and Dalo.

"His name is Moka," replied Serana.

"Moka," she said, her voice trailing off as she looked back down at the infant pup in her arms. "What a beautiful name..." After a few more moments of gazing at Moka she looked back up at his parents. "He's absolutely adorable!" she said with squinting eyes and a smile pulled as wide as possible in happiness.

Dalo and Serana proudly put their arms around each other as they stood side by side. Storm stepped up next to Sarah to look back down at the pup, a large smile still on his muzzle. "I did not know you were preparing to give birth," he said as he looked back up at his friends.

"We did not know until long after you left for the outpost fleet," said Dalo. "Do you remember the day you were invited to join us but could not attend because of how quickly you were required to depart?"

Storm nodded his acknowledgement. Dalo continued, "That evening...we became pregnant with Moka." Dalo paused, analyzed his thoughts, and corrected himself. "I mean, Serana became pregnant with Moka. I merely helped."

Sarah was still overwhelmed with adoration and happiness as she held Moka in her arms. Instead of listening to the conversation of her friends catching up on details of their lives she could do nothing more than look at and listen to the small pup in her arms. Most of his body had the same sandy colored fur as his father, but his face had the snow white fur of his mother which continued down his chest and belly. His deep aqua colored eyes reflected the dark green eyes of his father and the ice blue eyes of his mother. His silent presence was occasionally interrupted by soft yipping sounds and other quiet vocalizations.

"My home looks different," Storm said to his friends. "Do you know what happened to it?"

"Yes," replied Serana, "we had to rebuild it. A little more than sixty days ago there was a very strong storm. A large limb of the tree next to your home broke off and fell down. The impact collapsed the top of your home. Dalo and several others removed it and rebuilt the roof."

"We cleaned your things to the best of our ability," added Dalo. "The dirt of the roof got into everything. Serana was so close to the end of her pregnancy we did not want her to harm herself, so she most lovingly brought food and drink for the rest of us so we would not have to stop working as often." With the end of his sentence he leaned over and very affectionately nuzzled and licked Serana where her neck met her jawbone.

Storm smiled most happily at the news from his generous friends. "Thank you so very much, my friends. You have done so much for me...I can not do enough to show my gratitude." He then stepped over to the couple and wrapped his arms around their necks to pull them close for another hug, nuzzling and licking both of them several times.

Sarah stood there enchanted by the small pup in her arms. His tiny hands reached up to grasp at her hair that flowed down around her shoulders. She laughed softly and leaned down to go nose to nose with his small muzzle, continuing to tickle his tummy. She remained oblivious to the conversation between Storm and his friends, discussing life on the outpost ships and life on the ground. A few minutes passed as Sarah entertained Moka, enjoying the cuteness of his canine feet with tiny claws sticking out of the toe fur and pads as pink and soft as anything she'd ever felt. While she held him he turned his head toward her and began to nuzzle and paw at her chest. Not being a mother it took her several seconds to realize what he was doing.

"Oh, my..." she said, looking down at him and then looking up to his parents. "It looks like the little guy is hungry. He must think it's dinner time." As she spoke she still could not wipe the smile of pure happiness from her face. Sarah stepped toward his smiling mother just as Serana stepped toward her, and they very gently slid him into Serana's arms.

Before Sarah even realized what was happening, Sarana held little Moka close to her breast and he began to suckle. Sarah was again speechless as she watched what she'd never personally seen done on Earth, performed before her without the mother so much as giving it the slightest thought. Serana gazed down lovingly at her pup for several seconds before looking up at Dalo and Storm to rejoin the conversation. Sarah glanced at the guys, seeing they took no real notice to the event occurring before them. She looked back at Serana and Moka, unable to take her eyes off the beautiful loving sight of mother with tiny pup.

"...and that is why there is more height between your floor and ceiling..." said Dalo with words that barely filtered in through Sarah's ears. She watched Serana and Moka for several minutes, trying her best to not rudely stare but captivated by the pristine beauty of the closeness they shared. While Serana talked with her mate and Storm, Moka gently drifted off to a contented sleep, still attached to her breast and happily full.

"...we were enjoying a walk after we had eaten our meal and did not expect to find you," said Serana with words that snapped Sarah out of her trance. "We thought Moka would enjoy the forest as well...he is asleep...he will not see any of it now," she said as she looked down at her young one, never pulling him away from her. Dalo stepped to Serana's side with an arm around her shoulders and his free hand gently stroking his son's head. Storm stepped closer, reaching up to rub Moka's tiny feet with an equally gentle motion.

"We will have to continue our walk tomorrow," said Dalo. "Perhaps we may find a soft spot to lay down for a while before returning home. It appears Moka is ready for sleep. Storm, it has been wonderful to see you again, and Sarah, it has been lovely to meet you."

"Yes, it has been wonderful and we hope to see you again before you leave for the outpost," said Serana with a quiet voice to avoid disturbing Moka. "I have enjoyed meeting you as well, Sarah."

Storm replied, "It is wonderful to see you all. I also hope we may visit again before we leave."

Sarah shook her attention back into awareness to respond. "It's been lovely to meet you all as well," she said with a most happy smile. She then stepped closer to the three, sharing a hug and cheek kiss with Dalo, a gentle hug with cheek kiss with Serana, and leaning over to give Moka a soft kiss to the top of his head. The tiny pup twitched his whiskers but remained fast asleep.

Storm shared hugs, nuzzles, and licks with his friends before they turned to depart in the direction they approached from. "They are some of my closest and most wonderful friends," said Storm as he picked up the basin full of fruit. "I do hope we...Sarah?" When he looked toward Sarah he noticed she was standing in the middle of the path, motionless, silently watching her new friends disappear up and over the small nearby hill. Storm padded up next to her and saw she had tears streaming down her face. "Sarah, what has upset you? Why are you crying?" he asked.

"That...was the most beautiful thing...I have ever seen in my life...all three of them," she replied, choking words out through hear tears. "That mother and her pup...as natural as could be, sharing something so...beautiful..." Sarah covered her mouth with her hand and cried harder with closed eyes. Storm set down the basin, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close. As they hugged her tears soaked into his fur but he paid no attention to it. After several seconds of a warm embrace Sarah held her head back to look up at Storm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react like this. These are tears of happiness, and..."

Storm pulled her close to him again, effectively silencing her apology. "I understand," he said. "I understand completely."

Chapter 20. Starry Starry Night

Sarah and Storm returned to his home shortly after departing from their friends. Sarah felt much closer to Storm because of the compassion he'd shown her, a feeling she remained silent about. On entering they could see how dark the unlit den was, prompting Storm to fire up the lamp. Sarah could partially see what he was doing as he took the protective cover off, fired a bright spark to light the flame, and placed the cover back on the lamp.

"What is that thing?" Sarah asked as she set the wooden fruit basin on the table.

"This is an arc igniter," he replied, holding up the small unit in his hand. "It uses a strong pulse of electron energy to start fires. If we already had a fire going I would use that instead."

"Interesting," she said, "but I thought you never used technology for convenience when your body is capable."

Storm answered, "It is not that we never use it. We just use it very rarely. I could start a fire by hand but it would take quite a while, and there is more to do to prepare our meal."

"Ok, I understand," said Sarah. "You wouldn't want to start a fire just so you can light your lamp, right?"

"Yes, you are correct," Storm replied.

"I was also wondering, why do you use a flame lamp like this instead of an energy light of some sort?" she asked.

"It is because there is energy all around us from different sources," said Storm. "The creatures we take from the river for food have certain organs that contain very much oil. Some plants also have much oil. Both can be purified to fuel this lamp. We feel that is preferable to wasting it." He paused momentarily before continuing to say, "As I mention those creatures in the river I am reminded I must catch some for our meal."

As Storm headed for the door Sarah asked, "How do you catch them?"

He stopped briefly to reply, "I must be faster than them." Storm then continued up the ramp to the trail beside the river with Sarah following close behind. He stepped down into the water and slowly waded out until the depth was halfway up his thighs. Sarah sat down on a rock at the riverbank to watch. Storm positioned himself so the light, shadow, and reflection was most beneficial to his vision into the water. He leaned over close to the water, lowered his hands into the water just below the surface, and waited.

Sarah watched him closely as he stood as still as a statue but with careful eyes scanning the water for movement. After a couple of minutes Sarah wanted to ask how long it usually takes, but she remained silent for the hunt. Her question was soon answered as Storm thrust his arms down into the water with lightning speed. Gently he stood up and pulled a strange fishlike creature from the water, wiggling about in a failing attempt to get free. With the determined face and remorseful eyes of someone who must complete an unpleasant but necessary task, Storm wrapped his fingertips around the creature with a claw positioned on either side of the head and squeezed firmly until his claws popped through and punctured its brain. Instantly the creature was dead with minimal suffering.

Storm waded back to the shore to place the fish creature on the ground, then waded back to his previous position to resume the hunt. While they waited Sarah looked down at the motionless creature. It had an overall body similar to an Earth fish but had patches of thin tentacles instead of fins, and the skin was a smooth glossy black instead of scaled. Flaps that appeared to be a sort of gills encircled the head behind a circular mouth.

The sound of a splash alerted Sarah to the fact that Storm had caught something else. When she looked back at him he stood up from the water with a different creature in his hands, killed with the same speed and precision as the first. As he waded to the shore Sarah could see that creature had a dark green appearance but she could not study much of the other details. Storm picked up the first catch from the ground, splashed it in the water to rinse off the dirt it picked up, then stepped out of the river with both in his hands.

"Hmmm...I wanted to keep that dry," he said, looking back at his tail. Sarah glanced at his tail, giggling when she saw how matted down his dripping fur was. With a blur of speed Storm shook his lower half and whipped his tail, flinging water and fluffing the wet fur out to dry. Sarah had to laugh as she was splattered with the flying water.

As they headed for the den Sarah asked, "You cook those to eat, right?"

Storm replied, "I do sometimes. Would you prefer them to be cooked?"

"Yes, I think I would," Sarah said, feeling somewhat disgusted at the thought of alien sushi.

"Very well. I will prepare them," said Storm.

"What do you call them?" asked Sarah. "I mean, on my planet we call such creatures 'fish' in general, but each species has its own name."

"This is a gurtand, and this is a jamapnes," he replied, holding up the black and then the green fish. "Our generalized word for such water creatures is telvakee."

"Interesting," said Sarah. "Too bad I won't be here long enough to learn your language."

Storm thought for a moment and said, "Yes, but if you did learn our language it would not serve very much purpose when you are back home."

"True," said Sarah.

In the den, Storm laid the fresh catch on the table, hung the lamp from a hook in the ceiling and adjusted the flame brighter to fill the room with light. He then went over to the fireplace in the wall and started to add kindling and some small pieces of wood to build a fire. As he worked Sarah began to pull the larger pieces of fruit out from the large wooden bowl and place them on the table. Storm stepped up next to her with a small stick and inserted it through a gap in the lamp's cover to light it.

"Do you have a knife and a smaller bowl I could use?" Sarah asked.

"Yes I do," Storm responded. "I will retrieve them for you after I start the fire." He then took his burning stick over to the fireplace and carefully lit the kindling at the bottom of the pile. Once it began to burn on its own he tossed the stick in with the rest and turned to the cabinet next to the fireplace. He pulled a medium sized bowl out from underneath the work surface and took a knife from an upper shelf. Placing them next to Sarah he asked, "What do you need these for?"

"You're going to prepare the fish...telvakee I mean...so the least I could do is prepare the fruit," she said. "Can I cut them on this table or do you have a cutting board I can use?"

"Alright," he responded. "I will be interested to see what you prepare. You may use the table. It is clean and you will not harm the surface."

Sarah began slicing up the fruit and placing the pieces in the bowl. She paused to taste a piece of the new fruit that was unfamiliar to her, enjoyed it, and continued with the rest of the fruit and berries. While she worked, Storm retrieved a shiny metal tray from the fireside cabinet and placed the telvakee on it to begin his preparations. Sarah kept glancing over at the strange creatures as he cut them up, unable to stop herself from thinking of eating alien creatures.

"What parts do you keep and what do you cut away?" she asked.

Storm replied, "We can not eat these external appendages or skin of the gurtand because they are for defense. The taste and stomach distress would make you greatly regret eating them. Most of the internal organs of both are removed because they contain body wastes or have toxins they filter from body fluids, and we collect those organs that have the oil to be used for lamp fuel. And we do not eat the heads out of custom...they contain the brain that held the consciousness of the creatures, so by respect for the life they had they are not eaten. They will be buried with the rest of the unused body parts in the ground so their nutrients will benefit the plants of the planet."

Sarah smiled. "That's a nice custom," she said. "People should respect their food."

Storm nodded. "Aside from those parts, the rest may be eaten, and they taste very good...to Arfurans they taste good. I do not know how you may enjoy them."

"I'm willing to give it a try," said Sarah. "Do you also have a utensil that's rough for grinding things?"

"Yes, I do," said Storm. "You are making me curious but I will wait to see your results." He went back to the cabinet and retrieved a rasp-like tool. "I use this in my wood shaping."

"That'll work just fine, said Sarah. While Storm placed the oily fish organs in another container, Sarah went up the ramp and out the door, soon returning with the pelonwa pit she left outside that morning. "I'm not sure how well this will work, so I'll test it first."

Storm set aside the unused telvakee parts, sliced the bodies in half on the tray, then carried the tray over to the fire. He slipped it into a sort of rack that was built into the sides of the fireplace opening and let it sit above the hot coals of the fire that had burnt down. While he watched them cook, Sarah used the rasp to shave the side of the pelonwa pit, sprinkling a dusting of powdered pit onto a piece of fruit in the bowl. First she got some of the powder on her finger, tasted it, and decided it was pretty good. She then tasted the fruit with the ground spice on it and found the two flavors went very well together. With eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise, she picked up the pit and rasp and continued to grind it down over the sliced fruit.

Storm glanced back at her briefly and asked, "What are you doing?"

Sarah set down the pit and rasp, picked up a piece of spice-dusted fruit from the bowl and stepped over to him. "Here, try this," she said, holding it up to his mouth. With no hesitation he opened up and gently took the piece from her fingers with his sharp teeth. Chewing slowly he analyzed the combined flavors.

"That is very good," he complimented. "How did you know to do that with the seed kernel?"

As she stepped back to the table Sarah replied, "My Dad was a really good cook. One of the things he taught me was to experiment with food and try new things, and to recognize the potential of something that seems unusable."

"I wonder if he would have enjoyed our food as you have been," Storm said.

"I can guarantee you, he would," Sarah replied.

Storm reached for another utensil from his cabinet, a flat piece he used as a spatula to turn the telvakee over. Soon it was done, and as hungry as he was he didn't hesitate to pick up the tray and carry it over to the low table in the middle of the room. He took the knife Sarah had been using from the taller table and accompanied her to the low table as she brought the fruit bowl. She had carefully mixed the fruit and berries to coat them all with the pelonwa spice and piled the leaves on once side for ease of picking them up. Storm sat with his back to the fire so the warmth would help dry out his fur. He sliced a piece of meat from each type of telvakee and slid them across the tray near Sarah.

"I am not sure if you will enjoy these. Here are some small pieces for you to try," he said.

Sarah picked up first one piece, gave it a sniff, and then proceeded to eat it. She then did the same with the second piece, enjoying it as she did the first. "They are both quite good," she said. "They taste a little bit like chicken, and while such a saying is a bit of a joke in my world, it's the truth. They're good."

"I do not know what 'chik in' tastes like," said Storm, "but I am glad you enjoy them."

Sarah and Storm took half of each type of telvakee and set the fruit bowl in between them for easy reach. Sarah used the knife to cut her pieces up into smaller chunks while Storm picked up entire halves to eat from. Each one alternated between bites of meat, pieces of fruit and berries, and bush leaves from the bowl, enjoying the way the foods complemented each other. Their dinner was mostly quiet with not much said as they ate. The silence became broken when a rustling sound began. After several seconds Sarah realized it wasn't the crackling of the fire, but drops of water.

"It sounds like it's raining again," she said.

Storm nodded his agreement and swallowed his food before speaking. "Yes, I agree." As they continued to eat Sarah noticed the sound became louder as the rain became quite heavy. Realizing they were sitting down essentially in a pit she quickly looked back toward the entrance. The rain was flowing down through the short grass on the ramp but disappeared into the pea gravel as soon as it hit the patch by the doorway.

"Oh, so that's what it's for," remarked Sarah. "That's a pretty smart feature you have there."

"Thank you. Yes," said Storm, "homes like this are very commonly built with a stone pit like that. Its depth is about equal to my height and allows the water to drain without coming in. There is a similar detail in the smoke channel for the fire opening."

Sarah glanced at the fire and saw dry walls within. "Good thinking," she said.

When they were finished eating Sarah glanced around and couldn't believe her oversight. "I'm sorry...I should have thought to get us something to drink."

"That is quite alright," said Storm. "We have the juice in the bowl, left from the fruit."

Sarah looked and saw there were about two inches of juice remaining in the bowl. "Hmmm...I didn't think of that," she said.

Storm picked the bowl up to his lips and tipped it back for a good hearty drink. When he finished about half of it he handed it to Sarah. Without hesitation she picked up the bowl and drank from it just the same. Before she finished it she offered the rest to Storm, and drank the rest after he took another large sip. After everything was done she set the bowl up on the table behind them and Storm picked up the tray with knife and set it on the table as well.

"We ate quite a bit," Sarah commented.

"Yes, I agree," said Storm, "but it may be preferable to waking up early before light because of being hungry. I will clean those items in the river at a later time. I do not want to go back out in the rain yet."

"Won't the cooking residue stick to the pan if you don't clean it quickly?" asked Sarah.

"No," said Storm. "It is made of a metal alloy that is very strong and has molecules that are charged in a way to repel things so they do not stick. It is commonly used for food devices."

"Ok, very cool," said Sarah. She paused a few seconds to lean over and lay on her side on the padded mossy seating with her arm propping up her head. She then asked, "So, what do you usually do in the evenings like this? How do you pass the time?"

Storm replied, "I do different things depending on how I feel. Sometimes I am away visiting friends or they come to visit me here. We play games, talk, or other things. If I am alone I will play a game, read texts from the information archive, or create pictures with thin colored pastes. I have also told you of my wood shaping interests, and there are times I will enjoy a long walk. Sometimes I go to sleep early if I am very tired."

"You're an artist too?" Sarah inquired with interest. "I'd love to see some of your paintings."

"I apologize but I do not have any here," said Storm. "All of my tools and current projects are back on the outpost vehicle. I use them to pass the time there during my rest periods. All of my other completed pictures I have given away to friends or family. It is a custom in addition to being a gift. If I want to see my previous pictures I must return to visit them."

"That's a nice custom," said Sarah. "Well, no painting...you don't want to go out in the rain again so a walk is out. Would you like to just talk some more?"

"Yes, I would enjoy that," Storm replied with a smile. "What would you like to discuss?"

"It doesn't matter to me," said Sarah with a soft smile. "I just like listening to you talk. I love the sound of your voice."

Storm returned his own bashful smile. "Thank you for the compliment," he said. At that moment a large native insect flew in the door and fluttered over near the fireplace. Storm followed the creature with his eyes and said, "You do not belong in here." He got up from his seat and slowly crept over to the fire where the insect had perched on the wall, then coiled back into a striking position.

"Oh, no...somebody took a wrong turn," Sarah said with some humor in her voice. As she watched Storm he paused motionlessly for a moment and then sprung his arms forward with incredible speed. Sarah thought he had smashed the bug but soon saw that his fingers were wrapped around it like a cage. He stood up to a normal position, walked up the ramp through the door, and released the insect with an upward tossing motion.

"You live out here, little one," Storm said before turning around to go back in to his seat. Sarah was awestruck at his compassionate act that didn't include bug smashing.

"So...can you tell me about the history of your people?" Sarah asked. "How old is your civilization?" She returned to silence to focus her attention on Storm's smooth voice.

"Several million years ago," Storm began, "our people were much more primitive than we are now. "Our bodies were smaller and so were our brains, so we did not know much beyond eating, sleeping, finding mates to reproduce, and surviving. Each variety of Arfuran gathered in their own groups of similar individuals. They were territorial and conflicts only arose when one kind traveled into the area of another. Very far back some groups hunted other groups to eat.

"Over time our bodies and brains grew, we became more intelligent, and different varieties began walking on two legs. With intelligence those who were hunted could avoid being caught, so only species that did not advance to such intelligence remained hunted for food. Plants have always been a food source as well. Many were still territorial but overall everybody lived peacefully. The increased intelligence allowed the development of more advanced languages, as I told you about previously. In more time all the varieties abandoned their territoriality and lived very peacefully together. They knew it was more important to help each other survive and grow rather than fight over something as insignificant as land. The only separation that continues today is between us and those Arfurans who live under the surface of the water. That separation is only because of the physical requirements and limitations of their bodies, and of ours. We are just as peaceful and respectful of each other as anyone who lives on land.

"The interaction of all varieties required a common language. That is how we came to speak the words we use today. With the peaceful living and interaction between the different varieties of Arfurans, mateships between pairs who were different became common. We began to advance our technology about 250,000 years ago, and the advancement of simpler tools began long before that. It was about fifty thousand years ago that we first began receiving attacks from the Kra. The need for advancement for defense caused a great increase in our technology."

Sarah broke from her enchanted silence to respond. "The same has often been true in our civilization. It's too bad that it takes wars and enemies to create such advancements."

Storm sat silent for a moment. "What are 'enemies'?"

"You don't have a word for 'enemy'?" Sarah replied with surprise. "It means an individual or group that hates another individual or group so much as to want to bring war, defeat, and death to them."

"We do not have such a word," said Storm. "We call them 'invaders,' because they are trying to invade our planet."

Sarah was amazed. "You have a very unique civilization that you've never needed to invent such a word." Storm nodded his agreement.

"I just realized," Sarah commented, "you nod your head when you mean 'yes' or agree, and shake your head when you mean 'no' or disagree. We do the exact same thing on my planet."

"That is very interesting," said Storm. "I do not know if it would be a common response by such advanced organisms as us, or if it is an amazing coincidence."

"Or maybe it was a behavior picked up from somebody from my planet who transferred here in the past," Sarah remarked. "It could have spread among your people to be a common action."

"That is another possibility," said Storm.

"I was wondering," Sarah began to say, "What kind of work do you usually do? I mean, before you joined your fleet to develop weapons, what was your job?"

"I believe I understand your question," Storm replied. "The tasks and projects I performed were those that involved designing and building things. I have created large structures similar to the research facility, and I have created very specialized scientific tools. I plan and figure how best to build the project to satisfy the requirements. It is the area of knowledge I have applied most of my learning and research into."

"Ok, I know what you mean," Sarah said. "On my planet such a person is called an 'engineer.' They don't usually cover such a wide variety of things to build, but the purpose of their job is the same."

Storm continued, "The ability to create solutions to problems and plan how to build things is why I was chosen for my tasks of creating weapons and planning strategies." He paused for a moment and asked in return, "What tasks do you perform with your knowledge?"

"I work in the research department at a university, a large learning facility," Sarah replied. "I perform research into various things from the physics of astronomical objects all the way down to the physics of atomic and subatomic particles. I also do research in the physics of energy. I thought it would be a good job but I don't like who I work for. I wanted to learn about the universe and study parts of physics that are only theoretical, but I don't enjoy it. Maybe I would enjoy it if I worked for someone else, or worked somewhere else.

A bit more time and pleasant conversation passed before Sarah realized the lack of noise. "Hey, I think it quit raining," she said.

Storm sat silently to listen before responding. "Yes, I believe you are right. Now I will be able to clean the food utensils."

"I'll help you with that," said Sarah. She then rolled over on her back, stretched for several seconds with her hands as far apart from her feet as she could reach, then sat up to stand. Storm got his feet under him to stand and included his own stretching action in the motion. He took the cooking tray and spatula from the table and Sarah grabbed the fruit bowl and knife. She followed him up the ramp, out to the trail and next to the river. The gentle trickling sound of the water flowing past the rocks accompanied the sound of the nocturnal insects singing their tunes. Sarah glanced around in the darkness and saw the flickering light of the glowing wings of insects that fluttered around the flowering plants.

"Wow...what are those?" asked Sarah.

"Those are small creatures like the one who flew in through the door a short time ago," said Storm. "Their wings create light to attract a mate. They are out to feed on the flowers."

"That's really pretty," remarked Sarah. "We also have insects that create light to attract mates, but it's not their wings that light up." She continued to observe the delightful night when she lifted her eyes upwards. "Oh my, look at that," Sarah exclaimed as she looked up at the sky. The clouds had cleared away to reveal a pitch black sky with bright pinpoints of stars and the moon Deskalth peeking through the trees overhead with rays of green moonlight. "What a gorgeous sky. You're lucky to not have city lights drowning out the stars with endless glow."

"Your cities are large enough to create such light at night?" Storm inquired.

"Yes. There are lights everywhere," Sarah replied. "The only way to see a night sky like this is to travel somewhere that is very far away from any city."

Their path was dimly lit by the lamp light emanating from the den as Storm stepped into the river. Sarah paused beside the riverbank. "The telvakee in the river don't bite, do they?"

"No. You will be perfectly safe," said Storm. "When they detect motion they swim away."

"Alright, good to know," said Sarah as she stepped down into the water next to him. The river presented flowing water that was cool at first, but Sarah's skin grew accustomed to the temperature quite easily. Storm set the tray back on the riverbank and reached to pluck a leaf from a plant growing next to the water. He held the plump leaf over the tray and squeezed it until the thick juice inside it burst out and squirted onto the surface. He then popped the flattened leaf into his mouth and ate it.

"Is that the plant you told me about with the cleansing juice in it? And you can eat it?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, it is," Storm replied, "and it tastes sweet."

"Wow, you really can eat anything here," Sarah replied with amazement. "Our soap tastes awful." She copied Storm's actions by taking a leaf, squeezing its contents into the bowl she held, and ate the empty leaf. "Hey, that is pretty good. I bet somebody lathering up with this stuff could pretty easily get licked by somebody else," she said jokingly.

"Yes, that does happen quite frequently," Storm replied in all seriousness.

"Oh, my," Sarah said with a bashful grin.

Storm rubbed the leaf juice around the surface of the pan, and then rubbed the excess off from his hand onto the spatula. Reaching down into the water he washed the spatula utensil, swished it around in the water to rinse, and set it up on a clean-looking rock. He then took the tray and did the same with it. Sarah quickly caught on to his methods and did the same with the leaf juice in her bowl, carefully washing the knife and then the bowl. With everything rinsed clean they stepped out of the water and returned to the den to put them away.

Momentarily, Storm reemerged from the den with the unused telvakee parts. Sarah followed closely behind him into the dark forest, observing with curiosity. Several yards away from his den Storm set the parts down and began to dig a shallow hole in the soft ground with a stick that was lying nearby. When the hole was a few inches deep he placed the parts in the bottom and recovered them in the dirt. Once he completed his task he returned to the river to rinse the dirt and telvakee residue from his hands. As he shook the water from his furry fingers he returned to the inside of his den with Sarah close behind.

"Storm, I don't know if this is something you'd like to do," Sarah said, "but would you like to go outside to look up at the stars some more? If we can find some high ground, I mean."

Storm smiled. "Yes, I would like to do that very much. I love the sight of the stars and there is a hill nearby that is very beneficial for viewing." With that decision Storm placed another small log on the fire, reached to turn down the lamp flame and blow it out, then turned for the door. Sarah followed and once they got up to the trail outside she took hold of his hand again.

"I can't see in the dark as well as you can," Sarah said. "The moonlight helps but it's still a bit dark for me."

Sarah couldn't see his smile but could hear it in his voice. "That is fine," he said. He turned and began leading her down the path in the direction opposite the research facility and landing site trail, following the flow of the river. Sarah happily walked along with Storm, finding the trail to be smooth like the others and easier to walk in the dark due to its flatness. The dark trail was intermittently spotted with moonlight that had broken through the trees overhead to reach the ground. Several minutes of walking passed before Sarah heard a rushing noise.

"What's that sound?" she asked.

"That is a waterfall. I do not know if you have an equivalent word," said Storm. "Ahead the river flows over some rocks and drops down, a height about twice that of mine."

"Our words are equivalent because I heard it translate perfectly," replied Sarah. "We have waterfalls too, from small ones to very large and very tall."

"We will not be going that far because our turn is here," said Storm as he turned to lead Sarah down a side trail. She followed, still feeling excited from all she was experiencing. A few more minutes of walking passed before they turned down a smaller side trail and began to walk uphill. "This is the hill I told you about. It is not far to the top," Storm reassured her. "The trees at the top were laid flat by the winds of a strong storm several years ago and it has been a clearing ever since."

The slope of the path became steep in some places but Sarah had no troubles keeping pace with Storm. She could see ahead that the trees were beginning to thin out and become shorter, and beyond them the low bushes thinned out to nothing. Passing the last few low bushes Sarah could feel that the ground under her feet transitioned from dirt into grass, making the walking much softer on her feet. She kept her eyes to the ground to avoid stumbling in the dim light even though the moonlight aided her walk. As soon as the upper periphery of her eyes indicated to Sarah that she was nearing the top, she looked up into the sky.

Stars. There were more stars in the sky than she could imagine, shining brightly against the black void of space and accompanied by a few easily visible galaxies. Down below she could see the faint glow and silhouettes of the trees under the moonlight. Sarah looked around and saw that not only was Deskalth overhead, but Bletisl was above the horizon, glowing brightly in a near full state. The breathtaking view left Sarah with little more than a gasp to part her lips. Speechless, she placed her arm around Storm so they may sink to the ground and view the night.

"I hope you find this as beautiful as I do," Storm whispered. "This is one of my favorite places to be at night."

Sarah nodded quietly. "I do, very much so...it's exquisite." She paused briefly to look around a bit more. "I have never been someplace where I could see two moons at once, or see galaxies so clearly without a telescope."

With his arm around her back and hand on her shoulder, Storm leaned back with Sarah to lie in the grass and look up. Several silent minutes of stargazing passed, interrupted only by the soft sound of the warm breeze in the air. Sarah didn't want to speak and possibly spoil the tranquility of the scene. With Storm's arm under her neck she snuggled against his fur with her head on his shoulder.

"Are you asleep?" Sarah quietly asked after several more minutes of silent viewing.

"No," Storm replied. "I would not want to fall asleep and miss this."

"Neither would I," said Sarah. "Do you have constellations? You know, using groups of stars in the sky to make a sort of picture that you can recognize?"

"Yes we do," replied Storm, "but there are many more than I can remember."

"Where is that nebula we could see from the transfer room on the ship?" Sarah asked.

"That is not visible this time of the year," said Storm. "It will not be visible at night until Arfurah has orbited to the other side of Kothalos. We are able to see your galaxy instead. It is there." As he spoke he raised his pointing hand to the sky.

"I thought that might be it but I wasn't sure," Sarah responded. "It's kind of funny to think about...I'm here, looking up at the galaxy that contains 'me.' It makes me want to shout out, 'hey Sarah, don't open your eyes over there because you're having too much fun over here!'" She and Storm both laughed together at the thought.

Sarah then rotated her head to look at Storm. "I'm glad I'm here," she said. "The circumstances that required you to bring me here in the first place may be unpleasant but...well, not to say I'm glad you're at war, but I'm happy and fortunate to be here...to meet you and spend time with you."

Storm smiled softly, feeling flattered. "I understand what you mean, that you do not wish there to be a war, but I agree. I am very happy to have met you as well. It is very pleasant to spend time with you, too."

Both went quiet and resumed looking up at the stars. After several more peaceful minutes Sarah let out a contented sigh and said, "It's so comfortable up here, with the soft grass and warm breeze. I could just about sleep here all night."

Storm agreed. "I have done that many times, more than I can count. Alone or with somebody, this is a lovely place to stay for the night."

"Yep," said Sarah in agreement, "especially if that somebody is a mate."

"That is true," said Storm after several seconds of silent thought.

Minutes silently passed as the two looked up at the stars and moons. A flash of random memory made Sarah think of the time and how long they'd been on the hill top. "Hey Storm, I just realized, I think we've been here for over an hour. What time should we get back to your place? I'm sure we want to get enough sleep before going to the research facility tomorrow."

"You are correct," replied Storm. "I agree, perhaps it is time we returned home for sleep."

Reluctantly the pair sat up from the ground to stand up. With a stretch and one last look at the starry hemisphere above them, the two headed down the hill toward the trail.

"You get to see this whenever you want. Do you ever get tired of it?" Sarah asked.

"No," replied Storm, "I never do. That is why I go back so often."

Sarah returned her hand to Storm's, partly to be guided through the darkness. As they neared the bottom of the hill trail Sarah said, "Storm, while I'm here there's something else I'd like to try, if you don't mind."

"What would you like to do?" asked Storm.

"Well, after laying in the grass it feels like there's dirt and things stuck to my back. There might be nothing but that's just how my skin feels. I wouldn't want to get dirt in your bed, so...well, I'd like to see what it's like to shower off under a waterfall. If it's shallow enough to stand under it, that is." Sarah finished her request feeling slightly embarrassed but excited to try.

"I would be happy to take you there," Storm replied with a smile as he turned down the main trail in the direction of the waterfall. "Yes, it is shallow enough to stand underneath. It is a frequently used bathing area for many people. There is another waterfall farther down the river with a deeper basin underneath. It is easily deep enough for swimming."

Sarah felt almost giddy as she followed Storm to the waterfall. It was a very short distance to get to the top of the falls, and a short walk down a steep path got them to the bottom of the falls. The light of Deskalth overhead clearly lit up the entire area, adding a glistening sparkle to the tumbling water. Sarah pulled Storm by the hand and stepped into the cool water, wading through the river until they met the falling water. The blast of cool water flowing over Sarah's skin invigorated her with an incredible amount of energy. She released Storm's hand and leaned her head back to let the water strike her face and wash her hair back. Storm felt a similar exhilaration as the water quickly soaked his fur and contacted his skin underneath.

Sarah leaned forward under the falling water to let it wash away any remaining feeling of dirt or grass stuck from the ground. She rubbed the water over her body to cleanse away any skin oils from the day, although she didn't know what skin oils her synthetic body might even make. Storm rubbed his fingertips through his fur to wash away any dirt and loose hairs. Sarah noticed him reaching to rub his back, so she stepped over next to him and began to do the rubbing for him with both hands. Storm stopped reaching and stood there, thoroughly enjoying the massaging feeling of her fingertips scritching through his fur.

When she was done he turned around to thank her, but before he could speak Sarah threw her arms around him and squeezed him in a very tight hug. With pleasant surprise Storm remained quiet and hugged his arms around her as the waterfall flowed down over both of them. After several seconds they released each other and waded toward the riverbank again. Sarah held Storm's hand for support as she stepped out first, and he followed immediately after.

"Wow, that felt wonderful," Sarah exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. As she watched Storm under the moonlight he pointed his head toward the sky, straightened his stance, and began to rapidly twist back and forth to shake the water out of his fur. The wave of shaking flowed from his head, down his body, and ended up going out through his tail which whipped around to fling the water.

Sarah giggled at the display she found to be rather cute, and decided to try it herself. She started a slow twist of her head but increased the speed, flinging water out of her hair, and let the shake flow down her body as she saw Storm do. When she stopped she suddenly became dizzy and stumbled, but stopped herself before falling back into the water. "Whoo, that was kinda fun!" she said.

Storm let out a soft laugh through his smiling lips before he extended his hand out to offer to Sarah. She smiled back at him sweetly as she placed her hand in his, and followed him back up the trail toward his den. The walk back took the same several minutes as the walk out, giving her skin enough time to dry, but her hair and his fur remained damp. Sarah didn't feel any chill from being wet due to the warm breeze of the night.

Back in Storm's den the fire had burn itself down to a bed of glowing red coals with very little flame remaining. "Do you need the lamp to be lit?" asked Storm.

"No, not if we're going to sleep, but I could use a toothbrush," replied Sarah. "I don't suppose you have those here?"

Storm responded, "If you are referring to a tool for cleaning the teeth, then yes I do. I normally use one every day but I forgot to bring one with me on the vehicle we returned home in. My other one is here, and I think I have a spare you are welcome to use." He went over to the cabinet next to the fireplace to retrieve his brush, then slid open a shallow drawer from under the table that Sarah hadn't noticed before. Inside he found a second brush and handed it to Sarah. In the dim light of the fire Sarah could see that it was different in shape from what she was used to, but it would serve the purpose very well.

Storm led her outside to the river and plucked a thick leaf off the soap plant growing on the riverbank. He squeezed the thick fluid out of the leaf and onto his brush, then reached over to Sarah so he could squeeze the remainder onto hers. In the same manner she was used to, Storm popped the brush into his mouth and began to scrub his teeth. Sarah did the same, finding the sweet flavor to be different from the mint she was used to but still very pleasant. After a couple of minutes he pulled out the brush, licked the lather off his lips to swallow, then crouched down to the river to rinse his brush and take a drink. Sarah copied his actions, figuring it was probably the best method.

On their way back into the den Sarah joked, "I'm surprised you don't have some plant with bristled twigs that you use to brush your teeth."

"We do," replied Storm. "They do not grow in this region of Arfurah so we must use these brushes that are modeled after them.

"Oh, ok..." Sarah said sheepishly. "I guess I spoke too soon. Anyway, my teeth feel much cleaner, thanks."

"You are welcome," said Storm as he took Sarah's brush from her to set on the shelf above the cabinet to dry. "Do you feel ready to sleep?"

"Yes, I do," said Sarah. "It's been a long day."

"I agree," said Storm. "Tomorrow will be just as long but I am hoping we can complete our project."

Sarah responded as she laid down on the bed and turned onto her side. "Me too. Good night, Storm."

Storm laid down next to her and turned on his side to tuck his arm around Sarah and snuggle against her. "Good night, Sarah."

Chapter 21. There Are Two Suns In The Sky

"Sarah."

"..."

"Sarah," Storm whispered again in her ear.

"...mmm?..."

"Saaarahhh."

"...hmm?..." she responded with closed sleeping eyes.

Storm moved his muzzle slightly and began rapidly licking and lapping at Sarah's cheek and face. Her neutral expression quickly grew to a smile with squinted eyes barely open. As Storm's playful licks moved to her chin, jawbone, and backward to her neck, she began to giggle and laugh, waking up completely but with tired eyes still half shut.

Turning to look at him as his licks stopped she said, "Good morning, silly. What is it?"

"It is becoming light outside," Storm replied. "I have already been out to gather our food."

Sarah looked with eyes open a bit more and saw he was crouched on the floor next to the bed where she was laying. "Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked.

Storm said, "You were sleeping so deeply I did not want to disturb you."

"That's so sweet. Come here, you," Sarah said with a smile as she reached out to hug Storm around his neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Sarah thought about the time to figure how many Earth hours had passed. "I must have really been tired."

"True," said Storm, "or it is that your body is accustomed to the day and night cycles of Arfurah."

"I could get used to sleeping in like that," Sarah said. "At home there are plenty of times that I don't get enough sleep. Of course as much time as I'm here, my body back home is getting more sleep than it can use..." Sarah paused to think about things back home. "That reminds me, I should transfer home quickly to take care of things before starting the day here, especially since it feels like I'm about to wet the bed...Hmmm, I referred to my body as 'it.' That's kind of funny to think about."

"Without you in your body to make it a person, it is not much more than that, is it?" said Storm.

"Yes, you're right," replied Sarah. "Anyway, if you'll please wait for me, I'll be back soon."

"I will be outside the door," said Storm. "I will not be far away."

"Alright, see you soon," said Sarah. She laid her head back down on the bed, closed the eyes of her synthetic body, and made the conscious effort to open the eyes of her Earthly body.

The ceiling of the living room was well lit from the glow of the sunlit floor next to the front door. Sarah paused very briefly to think about the time of day before being clearly reminded how much she needed to get to the bathroom. As quickly as her stiff body could move she got up from the couch, grabbed her glasses, and hurried to the bathroom to achieve the same relief as her last visit. "I'd better come back more often or I will wet the bed," she thought to herself. Without taking any more time than necessary she took a warm shower, toweled herself dry, and headed to the kitchen to fill her empty stomach.

The clock on the stove presented Sarah with a surprising message. "Quarter to two!" she said aloud. "No wonder I'm so stiff and hungry." She proceeded to talk softly to herself instead of thinking silent thoughts. "It's been so nice there I haven't wanted to leave, and that just makes it easy to forget about things here." She retrieved her usual fruit and juice from the refrigerator and deposited bread into the toaster. As she waited for it to brown Sarah began several stretching exercises, bending and flexing her body to work the stiffness out of her joints that had been sitting motionless for so long with each visit to Arfurah. With her usual exercise routine being disrupted she quickly realized the effects of doing nothing.

Toast up, Sarah grabbed it from the toaster and inserted two more pieces of bread for a second helping. While maintaining her hurried pace she spread jam on the first set of toast and ate it with the fruit. As she ate she thought nonstop about the previous evening of conversation, stargazing, and waterfall bathing. "What a beautiful night...magical," she said to herself. Her thoughts flowed to Storm, the time they'd spent together, and how he woke her up that morning. "What a sweet guy he is," she said to herself with a smile carving itself onto her face.

The second set of toast emerged from the fiery cavern of the toaster for Sarah to retrieve and eat with the rest. The juice washed down the last of her late breakfast and the dishes went to the sink to join the others from the night before. Not wanting to forget her usual hygiene she returned to the bathroom to brush her teeth before heading to her bed for the return trip. Small amounts of sunlight peeked through the drapes to light the room for Sarah to see as she crawled under the covers of her bed, set her glasses aside, and laid her head down to close her eyes again.

Just as Sarah's eyes were opening on Arfurah, Storm was coming through the doorway with several pieces of firewood in his arms. He never noticed she was watching him as he walked past and set the wood on the small pile next to the fireplace. Playfully, Sarah quietly reached her hand out to grab the tip of his tail that was just within reach. "Gotcha!" she said with a grin.

Storm jumped up in surprise and let out a yip but quickly realized who was taking hold of his tail. He turned around but remained close enough so his tail didn't pull from her hand. "You are very sneaky," he said with a sly grin. "Is everything well at your home?"

"Yes, everything's fine," Sarah replied as she let go of his tail. "It was 1:45 in the afternoon, which is very late in the day for me to be sleeping and a long time since I was last there. While I was there I realized I'd better transfer home more often or things could get messy."

Storm applied some logical thinking to her statement and realized what she meant. "Are you ready to eat now?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I feel full from eating at home but that's overshadowed by my hunger here." Sarah stretched with a yawn and got up off the bed to follow Storm out the door. The early light of the rising Kothalos was lighting the treetops with shades of gold and green, and the calm humid air felt balmy to Sarah's skin. Sitting beside the riverbank was the large carved wooden bowl full of the fresh morning harvest. Storm sat on the ground and tucked his legs underneath him. Sarah sat next to him with the bowl between them, dangling her feet into the river. She took a sniff of the sweet air and said, "Oh my, what a lovely morning!"

"Yes, it is very beautiful," replied Storm as he reached for something from the bowl. Sarah quickly followed suit and took something for herself which she once again enjoyed greatly.

"Thank you for gathering all this, Storm," she said. "And thank you for taking me up to the hill last night. When I was back home I was thinking about last night...I had a wonderful time."

"You are welcome," said Storm. "I did as well. It was more pleasant to share the sight with someone than to be there alone. I am happy you suggested it." He paused to eat a couple of berries before continuing. "I do not know if there was an incorrect translation. What did you mean, 'wet the bed?' Is that related to your extended absence from home becoming messy?"

Sarah laughed for a few seconds at his question. "Yes," she replied, "it is. If somebody who's sleeping needs to urinate very badly but doesn't wake up, the body has no choice but to release it right there in the bed, even for an adult. Luckily that hasn't happened to me yet."

"That is good," said Storm. "If so you would have to remove your bed and build a new one."

"No, not quite," Sarah responded. "I wouldn't have to replace the bed, just the top coverings of it. And they wouldn't be discarded. I'd wash and dry them because they are made of fabric."

"Now I understand," said Storm. They each took another piece from the bowl and continued their peaceful breakfast by the water. With small talk about the day's plans and what results they might expect from the programming team they worked with the previous day, they ate a large portion of the fruit that was in the wood basin. When Storm was halfway through one large piece he stopped eating it. "I ate several things while I gathered these and now I am no longer hungry," he said. "Would you like to have the rest of this? I do not want to be wasteful."

"Sure, I still have room," replied Sarah. She took the partial fruit from him and quickly finished it off. As she tossed the seed core into the trees across the trail she asked, "Are you ready to head to the research facility?"

"Yes, I am," said Storm. "We may refill the bowl as we walk."

When they stood up Sarah noticed some dirt from the ground sticking to her skin. She stepped off the bank into the river and squatted down slightly to rinse the dirt away. Soon she stepped back out of the water, picked up the bowl, and said to Storm, "Alright, now I'm ready." The pair turned and headed down the trail in the direction of the facility, pausing briefly at various bushes and trees to take items to fill the basin for the day's lunch. As they picked items Sarah said, "I don't know if it's the long sleep I had or the fruit I ate, but I feel really energetic this morning. Usually I need a cup of coffee to get going but not today."

"What is that?" inquired Storm.

"It's a hot drink," Sarah replied, "made by filtering water through the ground up beans, or seeds, of a certain type of plant. It tastes really good and has a natural stimulant that helps tired people feel like they have more energy. Another hot drink is made from doing the same with the dried leaves of a different plant."

"Interesting," said Storm. "We have similar methods of making beverages from the seeds and leaves of some plants. A few of them have natural stimulant chemicals as well but they are very mild. I expect it would taste quite different from the drink you describe."

They followed the same path as their trip the day before. When they passed the home of Gur and Salka they saw neither one to greet. Ahead on the trail they saw the otter they met the day before, plus another otter that Sarah assumed to be his mate, swimming in the river in front of their home. "Are they catching telvakee to eat or just swimming?" asked Sarah.

"They are probably doing both," Storm responded as they waved to the aquatic pair.

Through the end of the forest and into the prairie they continued, walking at a good pace to the research facility. When they arrived at one of the ground entrances Storm said, "I do not know of the others are still here or if they have gone home."

Sarah looked around and replied, "I don't know either...but there's somebody who can tell us." Approaching them from down a hallway was a large rectangular unit that seemed to be floating along, hiding the rest of the body that was attached to the familiar bright yellow legs that were visible underneath it.

"Hi there, Golas," Sarah called out. The figure stopped and turned so he could see around the item he was carrying, revealing dark blue eyes that searched for who called his name.

"Hello Sarah, hello Storm," he said with a pleasant smile. "I would set this down to greet you but it is very awkward to pick up."

"That's alright, we don't want to inconvenience you," said Sarah.

"Hello Golas," said Storm in response to the greeting. When he stepped next to Golas to scritch his back he asked, "Do you know where we may find the four who worked with us yesterday?"

"They have gone home to rest after a long night," said Golas. "They left shortly before the day began, but Russaf is in one of the sleeping rooms here to provide assistance if you should require. Before leaving they left a visual recording on the control unit with instructions to operate the control program they devised."

"Thank you, Golas," said Storm. "Do you need help with the load you are carrying?"

"No, but I thank you for your offer," said Golas. "I am taking it down to the storage level."

"Very well. We will be on top to continue the project," said Storm.

"Thanks Golas, we'll see you later," said Sarah.

They all headed for the nearest stairs to part ways, Golas going down and Sarah and Storm going up. At each level Sarah noticed there was more activity than the day before and wondered to herself if they followed any sort of calendar schedule like weeks that would influence that. When they reached the roof they went over to the equipment and found a few new pieces had been added to the system.

Sarah set down the fruit basin and Storm activated the control console to bring up its display. Prominently displayed on the projection was a symbol that contained a small picture of the four programmers and Arfuran text. Storm tapped the symbol and the recording began to play.

"Hello Storm and Sarah," said Russaf in the video. "We have created a control program that allows you to quickly and easily adjust the settings of the dimension vein generator to relocate and aim the exit point by using a visual display and set of manual controls. It interfaces with the standard scanning and tracking equipment used on the defense vehicles to combine your adjustments with an object for receiving the energy discharge. You will find the control input device and the tracking device there next to the control console. We have already used the radiation detectors and targeting projectiles to calibrate the system for accuracy but our tests were done with low power from the light energy weapon. It is accurate for static and moving targets at that power. If your higher energy tests affect the accuracy then contact any of us to perform adjustments. You are already familiar with operating the scanning and tracking system. We will now show you how to manipulate the controls and what your visual display will show."

The scene of the video changed to show Camash pointing out things on the graphic display with Safan at the controls. As the video played, Storm tapped other symbols on the screen to activate the other units in the system, then stood at the new manual controls to follow along. Sarah stood next to him to watch, quite interested to see the graphic display of the holographic projection and how it utilized the three-dimensional capabilities it was designed for. Storm followed along to the video, getting used to the control adjustments. As one hand manipulated the positional control they could see the various familiar adjustment sliders on the screen automatically move to the combinations that would project the wormhole to the proper place. As his other hand manipulated the aiming control the mechanical support that held the weapon smoothly swung the entire unit in the appropriate direction.

"This is really neat," said Sarah. "It's like a remote-controlled battle turret that's connected to a video game." Storm was puzzled about her analogy but remained quiet to continue watching the instructions.

Bolgaras appeared on the screen next. "After you have practiced with ground targets, there are several targeting units positioned far above the atmosphere for you to practice with. Use the scanning system to find and track them. You will have several options for tracking and aiming at static and moving targets in addition to the full manual control. Your weapons training and familiarity with the tracking system will make you proficient very quickly."

Camash returned to the screen. "The button on top of the position control will cycle between the targeting methods. The protected button on top of the aiming control will discharge the dimension vein generator and the light energy weapon simultaneously."

The screen then went back to Russaf. "Before you begin using real targets, you may have the program display simulated targets for you to practice the controls. The discharge button will not discharge any part of the weapon during simulation."

Storm stopped the video so he could begin trying out the system. As recommended he activated the simulation that projected targets into a virtual landscape on the screen. He took a couple of minutes to get more fluent with the controls to move and aim the targeting system. "They performed very good work in designing this control," he said. "It is far easier to adjust than the controls we used yesterday." Sarah nodded, standing close behind him to watch he screen. The holographic display made it look like solid models were floating in front of them with a cone-shaped pointer posing as the aiming and firing point. Storm positioned it so it appeared to be aligned with a target and pressed the discharge button. The laser and wormhole generator made no indication of firing while the pointer on the screen launched a projectile.

"What does that yellow symbol mean?" Sarah asked, pointing to a corner of the screen.

"That says the target was hit," replied Storm. "Did you see the cone change to a blue color before I pressed the discharge? That indicated it was correctly aligned with a target."

"Ok, no, I didn't notice that," said Sarah.

Storm swung the pointer around to another target without moving its position, hit the trigger button, and received another indication of a successful hit. He then pressed a button by the display which changed the screen to a two-dimensional flat display with a circle in the center.

"I will try this method of aiming next. It shows the view if you were looking directly out through the dimension vein," said Storm. He combined the motions of the position and aiming controls to move another virtual target into the center of the circle, pressed the trigger button, and received another hit confirmation.

"That looks quite a bit easier," Sarah commented. "If I was using the previous view I'd be afraid of being misaligned."

"Both methods are quite easy," said Storm. "You should be able to master either method with minimal practice."

"Me?" Sarah inquired. "I don't...I mean, you're the weapons expert. I know it's important to stop the Kra but I don't think I can be destroying ships with thousands of lives on them. Incapacitate the ships, maybe..."

"I understand your reluctance to kill," said Storm, reassuringly. "We do not want to kill either. We only want to stop their attack. You will not need to face them. Once this system is installed on the defense vehicle, you will be able to return home. You could have returned home once we verified your theory worked as you predicted."

"Yes...I'd thought of that," said Sarah. "After you all had my idea, I wasn't of much more use to you. I've just really been enjoying things here, getting to know you all. I hope you don't mind."

"It has been a great pleasure to have you here, Sarah," said Storm. "I am happy you stayed."

"Me too," Sarah replied with a smile. She gave Storm a light hug from behind, and they both returned their view to the screen. Storm tapped a symbol to continue the video recording.

"There is an alternative control for you to try," said Safan. "The control on the far right can be positioned and pointed for any target on the display. There will no longer be an indicator on the screen for the exit point of the dimension vein. The tip of the control will be indicator. As it is moved a line will be projected to appear from its tip in the direction of the light pulse. When it is properly aligned with a target you will see the line terminate on the target and the line will turn blue. The display will be to scale. If it is moved so the targets appear far away, the exit of the dimension vein will appear a proportional distance away from the target."

"I was trying to think what this control is for," said Storm. He took hold of a pointer at the end of a long articulated arm and swung it in front of the screen. Its motion automatically changed the screen back into a three-dimensional projection with a line appearing to shine from the tip like a laser beam. He pointed it from one target to the next, the wormhole controls and laser support adjusting as quickly as he could move the pointer. He used the positioning control to rotate the view in all directions to provide easy targeting from all directions.

"This method is exceptionally easy to use," Storm said with a delighted surprise to his voice. Sarah watched in amazement as the complete system appeared to work flawlessly. Storm then pointed the device at a virtual target and pressed the trigger button which resulted in the hit indicator appearing again.

"You must attempt to try this," said Storm as he stepped aside. "I am very pleased."

Sarah stepped forward and took the pointing device in her hand. She swung the pointer and its projected line around like the baton of an orchestra conductor. She watched the laser unit move quickly and fluidly as she swiveled the pointer with her wrist and watched the wormhole adjustments change on the screen as she moved it in space around the virtual targets. With a steady hand she pointed it at a screen target and pressed the trigger button. A yellow indicator flashed on the screen to announce her successful hit.

Sarah let out a high-pitched squealing giggle. "That's awesome!" she exclaimed with more enthusiasm than she ever had in any laboratory experiment. "Let's do some more!"

To Storm's amusement she performed a quick draw from one target to the next, eliminating them one by one from the screen whether they were stationary or moving. "You are doing very well with that," said Storm.

"Well, I mentioned video games a little bit ago," said Sarah. "This is similar to a game I spent a lot of time playing as a girl."

"Perhaps you will describe it to me later," said Storm.

"I'd be happy to," said Sarah. "Here, you take over with this. You have some targets to blow up."

Storm took the control back in his hand, pressed a button to refill the screen with targets, then proceeded to destroy them with the fictional laser. "I believe we are ready to test real targets," he said. He then tapped a few screen symbols to disable the simulation. The holographic display blanked out and then reappeared with a representation of the landscape in the prairie beyond the research facility. White spherical targets that were placed out in the field also appeared on the screen. The energy generator hummed and let out a quick whining noise that indicated a charge.

"Where do you have the power set?" Sarah asked.

"I have it adjusted for two percent, as it was for our initial tests," replied Storm. He then manipulated the controls to point the beam at a field target. "I will attempt to hit the nearest target first."

Sarah looked over the edge of the roof to the closest target out in the field. Storm adjusted his aim, looked at the target, and pressed the trigger button. The wormhole generator and laser made a sound of the energy pulsing through them, and a burst of blue light appeared from the air above the target to cause a puff of smoke to emanate from its top surface.

"They have calibrated the system very well," said Storm. "That is precisely where I positioned the aiming device."

Sarah looked back at him with a curious smile. "Let's try something...position it to come from up here," she said, holding her hand high above her head, "and aim it at that target out there at the base of the hill."

Storm nodded and adjusted the screen view to allow him to aim as Sarah suggested. He looked back toward the target and pressed the trigger button. The blue laser appeared from above Sarah's head and tore through the air at blinding speed to hit the target at the hill. The same puff of smoke appeared from the short pulse of laser light hitting it.

"Very cool," she said with satisfaction. "How about...I know...lock it on that same target but position it about 20 miles up, outside the atmosphere."

Storm thought momentarily. "I will do that," he said, "but I will reduce the power to one percent. That will be safer in the event of inaccuracy." He adjusted the controls accordingly and hit the trigger button. Neither of them saw anything.

"What happened?" asked Sarah.

"I do not know," replied Storm. "I will check the radiation detectors." After a few seconds of reading he said, "The light energy impacted the surface a short distance behind the target. I will request further calibration."

Sarah stopped him. "Wait...try it again. I have an idea on something but I want to check." Storm pressed the trigger button again without moving any other controls. They saw nothing as they did before, and he looked at the indications of the radiation detectors.

"The light energy impacted a short distance to the left side and slightly in this direction," he said.

"I bet I know what's going on," said Sarah. "Variations in the atmosphere. Slight differences in air density are altering the path of the laser. It's the same thing that makes the stars appear to twinkle at night, and why astronomical observations from telescopes on the ground can be blurry."

"Ah...I understand," said Storm. "If we do that at higher power settings we will have to be very careful."

"Let's test the higher power stuff from a lower altitude," said Sarah, "especially if the increased laser energy alters anything with the wormhole."

Storm brought the firing point on the screen down to a short altitude off the ground, pointed it at a distant target, increased the power level, and triggered the system to fire. A loud explosion appeared where the target was, scattering little bits of it white sphere all over the landscape.

"That was ten percent power with no variation in accuracy," said Storm. He then pressed the button on the intercom and said, "Golas, we will be testing thirty percent shortly."

A moment later a familiar voice responded over the speaker. "Thank you for the warning, Storm. There are no current projects that will be disrupted but I will inform everyone."

Storm adjusted the power slider accordingly and took several seconds to lock on to the most distant target with the firing point positioned a few hundred feet off the ground and a few hundred feet away from the building. "Do you think we've given them enough time?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," said Sarah. "Go for it."

They watched as Storm pressed the trigger button. The equipment pulsed, a bolt of blue laser light ripped through the air, and the distant target was destroyed in an enormous explosion of flying dirt and liquefied rock. As the debris rained down Storm looked over the screen indications. "The target was at the center of the explosion. There was no variation of accuracy."

"Excellent," said Sarah. "Should we try the orbiting targets with higher energy?"

"Yes," said Storm. "Everything on the ground is looking very satisfactory." With the fluid skills of his training he reached for the scanning controls to quickly locate and identify the targets floating outside the atmosphere. Sarah looked at the holographic display and saw that some were stationary, some were following linear paths, and some moved erratically.

"I like the ones bouncing all over the place," she said. "That'll really test the target lock."

"Yes," said Storm. "It has always worked very well in the past so I expect it to work as well with this system. We must be careful to never aim in a way that we might hit the planet if we miss. The increased power levels could cause any amount of damage."

Sarah nodded in wide-eyed agreement, then looked at the screen as Storm worked. He increased the power levels to fifty percent, aimed at a stationary target, and fired. The yellow hit indicator appeared as it did before, and the former target became a shower of particles on the screen. "Are those pieces of the target that the scanner is picking up?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," replied Storm. "It is very sensitive." He then pointed it at another target, and just as he was about to press the trigger button, Sarah looked up. When he fired, she saw a fireball appear in the hazy midmorning sky and quickly disappear.

"That was quite an explosion," she said. "For as bright as it is, I could still see it up there."

"I will watch the next one," said Storm. "I am increasing to seventy percent." He moved the laser power setting to the seventy percent range, targeted a floating orb, and looked up with Sarah as he hit the trigger button. The laser weapon let out a brief vibration as the surge of power went through it and a much larger fireball expanded from a center point, lingering for several seconds longer than the previous one before fading away to nothing. "Very impressive," Storm said with a dry analytical tone. He looked back at the screen indications. "Accuracy is still excellent."

"Let's try full power," said Sarah with another playful grin.

Storm paused, then smiled. "One hundred percent...and you may select the target." He adjusted the laser power slider to the limit of its range and stepped aside. Sarah timidly stepped in front of the controls and took the aiming wand in her hand. She duplicated Storm's actions of pointing it at a target, locking the system on to its position, moving the pointer to the place she wanted the laser to originate, and looked up as she pressed the trigger button.

A deep vibration groaned through the equipment as the energy surged into laser light. In an instant it was done, and the sky overhead filled with a rapidly expanding ball of light as the targets particles flew apart with the heat of a star.

"That...was absolutely incredible," said Sarah in astonishment. "I can't imagine how much energy was just released...I can't imagine what would happen to a ship if we hit it with that."

"I will have to request numbers from the weapon development researchers to describe the levels of energy," said Storm. "A Kra ship has very strong shielding. I would not expect more than half of the energy to penetrate and cause damage. Without their energy shields their ships would be severely damaged...they may be fully destroyed."

Sarah thought for several moments. "Hmmm...we'd better test this thing thoroughly to make sure it can handle heavy use. We don't want it breaking down and shooting blanks in the middle of battle." She thought for another moment and asked, "What if the wormhole...dimension vein generator doesn't work and we fire that laser with full power when it's sitting inside the ship?"

Storm pointed to the end of the wormhole generator. "The device attached to the end is made to absorb and suppress the energy. It was added to the design for that exact reason when we were testing it with high power here on the ground. It is able to withstand only a few bursts at full energy levels. If there is a malfunction we would need to fix it correctly at once. When it is placed inside any vehicle it will be contained within a compartment that is able to fully absorb and suppress any number of energy bursts. We are greatly concerned for the safety of the crew."

Sarah nodded in relief to the information. Storm then read over the data collected by every detector in the system. "By the claws of Dissilen, the accuracy is perfect. The dimension vein is unaffected by the amount of energy flowing through it."

"There's that expression again," said Sarah. "What does 'by the claws of Dissilen' mean?"

"It means something is very sure and reliable, or can be trusted," said Storm. "Dissilen was the variety of Arfuran...the most accurate way to describe him is that he was a variety similar to Drasi, but he had a very slender body and different fur markings. I do not know if he truly existed or was only created for the story. Dissilen was an expert climber. His claws were so sharp he could climb any tree to the highest, thinnest branches and even the winds of a storm could not cause him to lose his grasp. The legend says he found a rope that extended into the sky and grew thinner with height...rope to string, string to thread, thread to fiber. He began to climb, trusting his claws to allow him to hold tight. He climbed so high nobody ever saw him again, and they say he is still climbing. The story is figurative I am sure, but it gave us the expression."

Sarah smiled with enchantment. "What a wonderful story. We have stories and legends in my world, too. Some are about real people, and some are about completely fictional people."

Storm smiled in return. "As you said before, we really are very much the same."

Chapter 22. Tango In The Night

The daylight fell heavily through the thick humid air to create a rather muggy day. No rain clouds arrived to drop cooling relief on Sarah and Storm as they worked through the morning and into the afternoon with repeated testing of the new weapon. A short break to transfer back home and take care of business there provided Sarah some relief from the warmth with a cold late evening before returning to her bed and transferring back. After returning it wasn't long before she slid her hand across her forehead to remove some of the perspiration.

"Are you hot?" she asked her vulpine coworker.

"Yes," replied Storm. "Due to the requirement of the protective coverings on the defense vehicles, we keep the environment colder to counteract the body heat the coverings hold in. The cold air causes us to grow thicker fur...us who live in warm climates such as this. Now with thicker fur I am warmer than what I find comfortable."

"I can tell...I've noticed you panting," said Sarah as she reached for a piece of fruit.

"It is how I remain cooler," said Storm. "I do not excrete fluid from my skin as you do. That is most...unusual. I have never seen any person do that before."

"All humans do this when they're hot," Sarah responded. "The evaporation keeps us cool. As warm as the day is I'm glad to not be wearing anything. All it would do is hold in the heat."

"Do all humans wear coverings that trap heat on hot days?" Storm inquired.

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, most do...seems a bit silly, huh?" she said before biting into the fruit.

"Most unusual," said Storm.

"Wow...even this is warm," said Sarah, holding up the pelonwa with a bite taken out of it. "I have an idea for this." Storm remained at the weapon system as Sarah picked up the wooden basin and took it across the roof to the water valve. She let it run for several seconds to cool down, then filled the basin with cold water before filling the water cup that sat nearby. She took a drink, refilled it, and carried both over to Storm.

"Would you like a drink?" she said, offering the water to Storm. With little hesitation he took the cup from her and quickly emptied its contents.

"Thank you," he said. "I enjoyed that very much. Are you cooling the food?"

"Yes. I figured it would be better that way," said Sarah. Storm nodded and continued his testing while Sarah pulled her bitten fruit from the water and finished eating it.

Several more hours passed with barely more than occasional clouds skimming over the haze to shade the pair. The falling of Kothalos accompanied an increasing afternoon breeze that brought a caressing relief to Sarah's skin and helped blow the trapped heat from Storm's fur.

"I am unable to think of any additional tests that are required," said Storm. "After all the times we have charged the energy system and discharged it through the light weapon and dimension vein generator, I conclude they are working perfectly. Unless you have anything additional, my testing is complete."

"That sounds good to me, Storm," said Sarah. "Let's call it a day."

"Call what...a day?" inquired Storm.

"Sorry, that's another expression," Sarah replied. "That means, consider our work accomplishments to be satisfactory and stop for the day to go home and rest."

"I understand. I also agree," said Storm. "I would like to have more time to learn more about your language...and all those expressions you say."

"I wish we had more time too," Sarah said, picking up the fruit basin. She held it for Storm to select a cold snack from the water before heading across the roof toward the stairwell. Both paused at the water valve to place the cup back on the shelf and enjoy another cold drink before heading inside.

Down to the fifth floor communications room they went, looking for any of the other four as they walked. With none in sight they decided to place their call to Ajagi themselves. As before they first met the feathered communications operator from Ajagi's ship, and shortly after were speaking with Ajagi.

"Hello Ajagi...you're wet," said Sarah as she studied his dripping features on the display.

"Hello. Yes, I was bathing when I was alerted to your communication," the moist wolf replied. "I hope the wet trail I left in the halls does not cause anyone to slip."

Sarah had to cover her mouth when she began giggling as she thought about a dripping wet furry streaker running through the halls of the ship to answer the phone. Ajagi looked at her with perplexity before shifting his eyes over to Storm. "We have called with pleasant information again," said Storm. "The targeting interface designed and built by our four colleagues works superbly. It allows very quick aiming at targets without complication and locks accurately. The full power of the amplified light weapon does not affect the accuracy, and the dimension vein does not diminish the energy levels of the light pulse. We tested it very thoroughly out to a range twice that of the orbit of Deskalth and every indication shows complete reliability."

Sarah had regained composure to join the conversation by the time Storm was through. "It works flawlessly, Ajagi. If I hadn't seen it myself I'd never believe such a device could exist."

Ajagi smiled and shifted his eyes between his two friends. "That is wonderful information to hear," he said. "Please have the documentation sent to all the defense outposts. We will begin building duplicate weapons in the engineering departments immediately. Please also have your system loaded in the transport vehicle. I may hope we never need it but I would rather have it here to be prepared for an attack if it comes before the others are completed."

"Consider it done," said Sarah.

Ajagi smiled and said, "I believe I understand your expression. I also want to thank you for bringing my mates yesterday. We had a most wonderful time together. The distance separating us seemed to disappear."

"You are very welcome, Ajagi," said Storm. "I am glad to hear of your pleasant experience."

"We'll see you when we get back there," said Sarah.

"I hope your travel is safe and comfortable," said Ajagi.

"Thank you, Ajagi," said Storm. "Until then..." With his parting words the screen went blank and the call was ended.

"He's cute when he's wet," said Sarah as they walked out the door.

"When dry, as well," said Storm.

At the ground level the pair met up with their four coworkers who were working with Golas. After complimenting them heavily on how well the targeting system worked, Storm informed them of the request to have the weapon loaded into the transport.

"What can we do to help?" asked Sarah.

"You have been working with it all day," said Safan. "Go home and rest. We will bring the transport over to load it directly. The effort will not be too great."

"Thank you," said Storm. "All the documentation must be sent to all of the defense outposts so they may begin building duplicate weapons."

"I will have that sent immediately," said Golas. "Now go rest or we will carry you home!"

"Again, thank you," said Sarah. "You've all done a wonderful job making that system." She then went around giving hugs and a cheek kiss to Safan, Russaf, Camash, Golas, and Bolgaras. Storm followed her, giving muzzle licks to his friends, then walked with her to the door.

"It is amusing to remember how afraid you were when you first met us," Storm said. "As closely as you greet and part ways with our friends, it would appear you always knew us."

"Yep," said Sarah, "or that I was an Arfuran myself...hairless, anyway. I like the closeness."

Out the door and down the trail toward Storm's den they walked, finishing the last of their fruit snacks from the wooden basin. When Sarah saw there was no more fruit in the water, she paused her walking, held the basin up, and poured the water over herself. With large eyes Sarah let out a gasping yelp.

Storm released a quick soft laugh and asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Well," replied Sarah, "I thought it would feel refreshing on such a warm day but I didn't know it would feel that cold."

Storm replied, "Ah...I wish I would have thought of that on the roof of the facility."

Sarah spied the river as they approached on foot. "If you're still too warm, why don't we just hop into the water and swim back to your home?"

"That is a very appealing idea," said Storm. He picked up his pace toward the river and jumped into the water with Sarah close behind. She had to smile as she watched his tail follow behind him like a streamer and disappear under the water after him. She trusted his knowledge of the river bottom as she jumped in, happy to find that section deep enough to float in without wading. After dunking under to get her hair wet she surfaced and leaned backward to float on her back. Sarah held her arms out to paddle lightly at the water but kept a careful grip on the large wooden bowl so it didn't float away. As she floated lazily along, Storm was playfully swimming under the water to chase telvakee, then popping to the surface with a splash. She giggled at his antics as she watched the clouds and tree branches passing overhead.

After a few minutes Storm calmed down, shook the water out of his ears, and sipped a drink from the surface. As he drank he looked over at Sarah who was bobbing with the waves on the water. "You look very pretty, floating there," Storm said.

Sarah turned her head to look back at him with a blushing smile, remembering how exposed she was on the surface of the water. "Thank you...this feels wonderful."

"I do like the way you float on the surface," he said. "The water carries you home." Storm leaned backward as she did and slowly drew his legs up as he attempted to duplicate her actions. "My fur tends to pull me down when it is wet like this." With careful placement of his arms and legs he finally achieved a floating position, although sunk slightly deeper than she was. He kept his head tilted forward to keep water from flowing into his ears and looked up at the clouds and trees. Sarah watched him and slowly paddled over, reaching for the hand on his outstretched arm and taking hold.

After a few more minutes of slowly flowing downstream with the water, they heard a large splash outside of their upward eyesight. "What was that?" Sarah asked.

Before Storm could answer, the head of a familiar otter popped out of the water between them with a splash. "Hello, friends. Are you enjoying the day?"

"Hello Bucal," said Storm. "Yes, we are having a splendid time."

"Hi there, Bucal," said Sarah. "How are you doing this afternoon?"

"I am doing very well," replied Bucal. "It was an exciting day at the observatory. Shortly before the light of the new day a star explosion was observed in a galaxy over three thousand lagrestas away. We have a vast amount of data and pictures to study."

"What is a lagresta?" asked Sarah.

"That is the distance light travels in one thousand years," replied Bucal.

"Interesting," said Sarah. "I hope there were no inhabited planets around it."

"All former observations showed no indication of inhabitable planets near that star," said Bucal, "and we are hopeful those observations were correct. I will return to continue my part of the studies tomorrow. I swam here for more than greetings. I wanted to ask if you have been informed of the gathering of friends tonight."

"No, we have not heard of that," said Storm. "We have been working alone at the research facility all day and have spoken very little with anyone else."

Bucal said, "It will be in the clearing beyond the waterfall shortly after dark begins. I hope you both are able to attend."

"I'd love to go," Sarah said enthusiastically.

"Thank you for telling us, Bucal," said Storm. "We will be there."

"Wonderful. Pleasant floating," said Bucal just before he disappeared below the water and swam upstream toward his home.

"What is the 'gathering of friends?'" asked Sarah.

Storm replied, "Everyone around here who is able to attend gathers at a chosen place to be together. Everyone brings food to contribute, and there is plenty to eat for all. It is a time to meet with people who we are not always able to meet with, talk, share affections, and enjoy music. The activities are always different."

"It sounds like what we call a party in my world," said Sarah.

"If I understand your word correctly, the meaning of each is very similar," said Storm.

The river gently carried the pair past the homes of several people, and from their upward-looking vantage point Sarah could see some homes high in the trees. During their travel they called out greetings to anyone they saw on land or returned greetings to those who saw them first. After a few more lazy minutes floating downstream they recognized the surroundings as being that of Storm's home.

"We have arrived," said Storm, sitting forward to extend his feet to the river bottom and standing up. "I have not traveled like that in a very long time. That was a splendid idea, Sarah."

Sarah got her feet underneath her and stood up next to him. "Thanks. That was fun." She followed him to the riverbank and stepped up onto dry land, setting the wooden fruit basin on the nearby flat rock. Storm shook the water out of his fur and Sarah followed suit, being careful to not lose her balance. The light of Kothalos low in the sky poked through the trees down the river, hinting at the late hour and approaching sunset.

"We'd better get this filled up for tonight," said Sarah as she picked the basin back up.

"Yes. We will be able to fill it as we leave," replied Storm. "I desire to rest for a short time period before the gathering. The heat of the day exhausted me. Do you need rest as well?"

Sarah thought a moment. "Yeah...I wouldn't mind a quick nap. I wouldn't want to be dozing off just as the party is getting started. Will you wake up in time?"

"Yes. I will not fully fall asleep," said Storm as he walked down the slope into his den. Sarah followed and was happy to find the air inside delightfully cool from the moist ground encompassing the home. Storm crawled onto the bed, flopped on his back, and sprawled out to relax in a position that provided the most comfort. Sarah set the basin on the table and laid down next to him, touching lightly against his moist fur.

"Hey Storm," Sarah said, "since we have some extra time I'm going to transfer home and take care of things there."

A soft snorting grunt and sleepy nod of his head was all the response given by the fox. Sarah smiled, rested her head, and transferred home. She quickly found her glasses on the nightstand and looked at the clock. "Almost five?" she said to herself. "Looks like I'll be missing another day of work...whatever day this is...eh, screw it." She smiled in amusement from her decision and got out of bed, finding the cold autumn morning to be a shocking contrast to the balmy day she just returned from experiencing. Feeling the necessity for comfort, Sarah obtained her fuzzy pink bathrobe from the hook. As she put it on and headed for the thermostat she said to herself, "I wouldn't have this problem if I had fur."

Not feeling pressured by time, Sarah afforded herself a more inclusive breakfast to enjoy while she waited for the house to warm up. Hot tea, hot toast, and hot scrambled eggs warmed Sarah from the inside, making her cold fruit much more tolerable. When she was done eating she took the time to place her breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and add to them all the dishes she had been collecting in the sink. She set the machine to run and decided to go outside to gather up the mail and newspapers she'd been neglecting all week. She found a heavy frost covering the world and mostly junk mail in the box. Back in her house she left everything in a pile in the living room, turned the thermostat back down, and went to her bathroom to brush teeth and take care of necessities. She left her bathrobe on the hook as she returned to her bed, crawling under the warm covers, setting her glasses back on the nightstand, and closing her eyes.

The moderately lit room of Storm's den greeted Sarah's eyes with the silence broken only by occasional breeze, sounds of the avian creatures in the trees, and the heavy breathing of Storm's deep sleep. She glanced at him with a smile, enjoying the look of his soft closed eyes, and tucked her head against him to doze off herself. Sleep very quickly found Sarah, giving her a deep rest that was too short lived. Her unconscious perception of time made it seem very brief before Storm was stirring to wake up. As she woke up she sensed him stretch as far as he could with a large yawn.

Sarah opened her eyes to look at him, drawing his attention to look back at her. "Sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes..." he replied, pausing for another yawn. "Very well. How is everything at home?"

Sarah yawned, influenced by Storm's yawn, and responded, "It's as opposite as could be from here. It's dark, very early morning, and really cold. Everything's covered in frost."

"Is that normal?" Storm inquired.

"Yes, it's normal for this time of the year," she replied. "Another thirty or forty days, and snow will be falling."

"That must be pleasant," said Storm, "to be able to see weather from all over your planet without ever leaving home."

"It's nice, and it is pretty, but I really prefer warm weather," said Sarah. "I love the weather here. It's like our summer time." She then asked, "Are you ready to go see your friends?"

"Yes, I am ready," said Storm. He sat up and let out another yawn, followed by a shake of his head in typical canid fashion. As he got up off the bed Sarah sat up, got off the bed, and yawned once she was on her feet. He walked past the large wooden bowl on the table to go retrieve the small elongated box he'd brought from the ship. Sarah picked up the basin, curious about why Storm was bringing his small box, and turned to lead the way out the door.

Outside, the dusky tone of the sky indicated the setting of the star sometime before, and the humidity of the day had subsided to provide a comfortably warm evening. Storm and Sarah headed in the direction of the waterfall, stopping at plants and trees along the way to fill the basin with freshly picked treats. Ahead on the trail they could see a few other local residents walking in the same direction. They soon had their basin full and proceeded without further pause down the trail and past the applauding waterfall. After a few more minutes of walking they could see the glow of a fire through the trees.

As they approached Storm led them down a side path that went a short distance through the trees away from the river. Through the thinning trees Sarah could see the silhouettes of numerous Arfurans walking around a large campfire. The dirt path faded away into grass that appeared to have been recently cut short.

"Storm!" called out one furry individual in the dark, alerting the others to his arrival. Soon several people came over to greet their vulpine friend with their hugs, nuzzles, and licks. Many friends who didn't know of his return or had not yet seen him since he did were very happy to see him.

"It is wonderful to see you all again," exclaimed Storm. "To those who have not met her, this is our friend Sarah. She has been visiting to help with the defense project."

Sarah quickly found herself surrounded by a pack of smiling Arfurans with wagging tails, ready to pounce her with greetings. Sarah happily accepted everybody's affectionate greeting and returned her own friendly greeting to each of them. As fresh faces gradually disappeared back into the darkness to resume their own conversations, those they had already met approached after waiting for the new acquaintances to have their turn.

"Hello Serana and Dalo," Sarah said when she saw the familiar friends approach. "Hello Moka," she said, scritching his head before hugging his parents. "It's good to see you all again."

"We are happy to see you again as well," said Dalo. "Hello Storm." He and Serana then moved over to greet Storm in Arfuran style.

After a minute of greetings and small talk, Sarah asked Storm, "Where should I put this?"

Storm glanced down at the basin full of food, then looked around the gathering site. "The collection is over this way," he replied, leading her over to a large pile of fresh fruit and berries sitting on a pile of freshly cut grass. The long leaves of the grassy plants were all carefully laid with neat alignment.

"Is this part of the food as well?" asked Sarah, holding up a small pinch of the grassy leaves.

"Yes, that may be eaten if you like the flavor," replied Storm. He then took a larger pinch of the grass and pulled it into his mouth to munch on, then took a large piece of fruit and some berries from the pile to carry with him and eat as he mingled with friends. Sarah did the same, eating the grass leaves she'd picked up, finding it to have a flavor similar to lettuce, and taking some fruit and berries with her.

"What's this party for, anyway?" asked Sarah. "Are we celebrating something?"

"Life...friends...love..." Storm responded, "our safe return home...your part as our guest, and thanks for helping us...hope for successful defense against the next attack. It is how many of these gatherings are. It is a way to celebrate everything, but no one specific thing. It is for us to be together."

Through the evening Sarah stayed mostly by Storm's side out of familiarity, taking part in conversations with people who were all varieties of Arfuran, each resembling a species of Earth animal. Occasionally Storm would be called away to talk with someone else, but Sarah didn't mind being left with strangers due to how comfortable they made her feel. Whenever necessary they returned to the food collection to get something additional to eat, quickly resuming the pleasant conversation with various friends. Sarah sat with different people, describing life on Earth to their great interest, and for a while held Moka in her lap when dropped off by Dalo and Serana. She found herself talking and laughing like she hadn't done in years.

"Golas is here," said Bucal, alerting the others to the late arrival.

"I apologize for the time it has taken me to arrive," said Golas. "I was required in a late conference communication with the research facility at Habak. It required more time than expected. I returned home for my instrument as quickly as I was able." As he spoke the others in the gathering went over to greet him. When his friends parted and he got closer to the light, Sarah could see he was carrying a large item of carved and shaped wood, stained a dark brown that brought out the grain of the material.

"We did not begin without you," said Storm. "Do you desire to eat something first?"

"No, I will wait," replied Golas. "I am ready to begin if you all are as well."

Sarah was puzzled about what they were talking about, and followed Storm to sit near him when the group came to a stop. Storm took the end off his small elongated box and slid a tube-shaped item out of it. In the bright glow of the fire she could see it was made of wood, two tubes carved from a single piece with very intricate designs and patterns, each containing several holes along their length.

"Are you a musician too?" asked Sarah with delight in her voice.

"Yes," said Storm. "I use this to join the others and make music."

Sarah smiled widely. "That is beautiful. Did you make it yourself?"

"Yes, I did," Storm replied. "It took some time to learn which holes created which sounds."

Sarah watched as the small group assembled beside the fire, retrieving their various instruments that had been hiding in the dark. The rest of the gathering grew silent with only the crackle of the fire calling out in the night. Golas pulled two sticks from a compartment in his instrument, each with thick padded ends, and held them tentatively above the surface. With everybody ready, he swung the sticks down.

A deep, rich tone echoed through the instrument and out into the darkness, a smooth percussion that carried the warm sound of the dense wood it was made from. Rhythmically he began a drumbeat of varying tones, followed soon after by other members of the group with their instruments of percussion, string, and wind. Sarah watched Storm as he put his instrument in his lips and began to play. Harmonious chords of whistling wind created a haunting tone that sunk into her ears with sounds she had never before heard.

As the group played their song, others in the gathering began to dance together around the warm fire. Their dance was unlike any Sarah was familiar with but maintained the same fluid motions synchronized between each of the dancing revelers. Breathlessly, Sarah watched Storm's fingers move across the holes of his instrument with speed and precision, each note adding to the song built by the last, then she locked her eyes on his.

The fire danced in his eyes, glinting a sparkle of golden light that seemed to shine out from his soul as it reflected toward her. For a time he looked back at her, his eyes never wavering, before he closed them to add more passion to his playing. Sarah sat there through several songs, enchanted by the sounds, the dance, and the sight of Storm playing so wonderfully. To Sarah, it felt as if he was playing each song directly to her and for her alone. In her ears the rest of the instruments faded out to near silence; all she could hear was the harmony being created by Storm's breath.

At the end of the third wordless song, all those dancing let out a call that echoed through the forest, a blend of howling and other sounds. In short time it faded out to laughing, and compliments to the band. Everyone used the break to get another thing to eat, take a drink, or merely sit and rest. "I've been wondering what was in that box," Sarah said to Storm. "You play magnificently."

"Thank you," said Storm. "I hope you enjoyed the songs we played."

"More than anything I've ever heard," Sarah replied with a smile and heartfelt enthusiasm. "Everyone was wonderful. Do you have songs that you sing words with?"

"Yes," said Storm, "but those first few songs have no words beyond what the music speaks."

Sarah felt a furry stirring and looked down at Moka, asleep in her arms. With a happy smile she softly said, "He must have thought you were playing a lullaby." When she carefully got up and stood next to Storm he reached out to give Moka a soft rub on the head, then headed over to the food for something to eat. Sarah followed him, accepting a handful of berries that Storm offered her and eating them one by one as she held the sleeping pup. While they ate, a few of the other musicians played their instruments softly, improvising a tune to add to the ambience of the evening. Every few minutes somebody of the gathering would come along to see Moka sleeping so cutely, give him a scritch on his head, and put an arm around Sarah's shoulders in a soft hug. Each welcoming hug from people she had only just met made her feel very accepted there.

As she munched some more berries Sarah noticed several pairs and groups of the other partiers becoming quite affectionate with each other. Some sat, holding each other in a warm embrace, while others were nuzzling each others' fur or licking each others' muzzles with no interest in stopping. She smiled, envious and happy for them that they could share such affection.

"Storm, I am glad I found you," said a furry face who emerged from the dark. Sarah looked and recognized her as one of the six who met them when their ship landed the morning of the previous day.

"Hello Ezaba," said Storm when he saw who was calling his name. "I am glad to see you."

"Thank you. I am not here for the gathering," she said. She spoke softly and stepped away from the others, leading Storm and Sarah away to talk more discreetly. "I have more duties to complete at the transport facility. I will be back here to join the gathering in more time when I am finished. I have come to inform you of a message from Nanida at your defense outpost. You are requested to return to the outpost as soon as you are able. They have received data from the remote observation units that there is movement coming from the Kra planet. A very large number of vehicles are traveling toward our planetary system."

Sarah was speechless and Storm paused momentarily to think. "We will go immediately," he said. "Has the new weapon been moved to the transport vehicle?"

"Yes," said Ezaba. "It is loaded and connected with the systems on the vehicle. The vehicle is fully ready to go with all supplies, food, and water loaded."

"Thank you," said Storm. "When you return to the transport facility please send a message to Nanida about our immediate departure."

Ezaba nodded. "I will meet you there." She then turned and disappeared back into the darkness. Storm and Sarah turned to face each other.

"We must leave immediately," said Storm.

"I agree," said Sarah, finally able to respond to the situation. She glanced down at Moka, then looked around the gathering to spot his parents in the glow of the fire. "Where are Dalo and Serana?"

"I do not see them," said Storm as he looked around as well. "Anyone here may care for Moka until they return."

Sarah walked over to the nearest people she could see in the dark and found them to be Gur and Salka. "Hi Gur, hi Salka. Would you two please watch Moka until Dalo and Serana return? Storm and I have to go."

"We would be very happy to have him join us," said Salka.

Sarah held Moka up closer, gave a kiss to the side of the sleeping pup's muzzle, and whispered in his ear, "Goodbye, little Moka. Have a long and wonderful life." He stirred lightly but remained asleep as she lowered him into Gur's arms. She extended her arms out to give Gur and Salka a friendly departing pat on the shoulders before returning to Storm.

"My friends, Sarah and I must leave now," Storm called out to everyone. "I will see you again soon."

"Bye, everybody," said Sarah. "Thank you for everything. It's been wonderful to meet you all!" As they turned to leave, everybody in the group called out their parting well wishes to their friends. Storm picked up the box for his instrument and Sarah found his carved wooden bowl to carry back to his home. The friendliness of the group made Sarah feel very happy, influencing her to take hold of Storm's hand again as they set foot on the trail.

Sarah's eyes slowly adjusted from the light of the fire to the darkness of the forest while they walked along. As they turned from the side trail onto the main trail along the river, they heard quiet noises nearby. "Is that you, Storm?" called out a familiar voice.

"Yes, I am Storm," he replied. "We were wondering where you two went."

Sarah recognized the voice. "Hello Serana, hello Daloooohh my..." she said as her voice trailed off when she realized the situation. With her eyesight adjusting to the moonlit darkness she could see Dalo and Serana on the grass along the riverbank, in the passionate embrace of a very intimate moment. Glancing away she said, "I'm sorry...we didn't mean to intrude."

"Why do you apologize?" asked Dalo without stopping.

"Are you leaving?" asked Serana, also doing nothing to stop.

"Yes, we must return to the transport facility and depart for the defense outpost," said Storm.

"Have a safe and comfortable journey," said Serana. "It has been wonderful to see you again, Storm."

"It has been very pleasant to meet you, Sarah," said Dalo. "Return home soon, Storm."

"Yes...it's, um...been great to meet you both as well," Sarah said awkwardly. "Moka is with Gur and Salka back at the gathering."

"Thank you. Our friends will take good care of him," said Dalo.

"We must go now," said Storm. "I hope to see you again soon."

"Bye," said Sarah. "Have a...fun time." She started to giggle quietly as they turned to head up the trail toward the den. As they got farther from earshot she began to giggle more loudly.

"I do not understand. Why are you laughing?" asked Storm.

"Because..." Sarah tried to explain. "That was so awkward...we caught them..." Storm looked at her blankly. "Making love," she added.

"I still do not understand," said Storm. "I also must ask, what was the apology for intruding? What did you intrude upon?"

"It's because of how...personal they...I mean...their privacy," Sarah said before pausing. Storm continued to look blankly at her with total lack of understanding. "Let's just say it's one of our cultural differences again. Wow...you sure do things differently here."

Storm turned to look ahead on the trail again. "Yes, some things must be different between our two worlds."

"I do have to comment again, though, how wonderful everybody has been toward me during my visit here," said Sarah. "They have been so welcoming of me even though I'm not from here. I'm a complete stranger from another plan...another galaxy, but they treat me no differently, as if I'm only from the next town over. You've all made me feel at home."

"I am happy you are so comfortable here," said Storm. "I would like to visit your home planet but unfortunately I am not able. Perhaps some day we will be able to travel that far."

"Um...no, you wouldn't want to visit my planet," said Sarah, hesitatingly. "While you'd always be welcome in my own home, the other people of my planet wouldn't be so welcoming. If you approached with your ships they'd probably think they were being invaded and attack you. If you did land on the surface, no matter how friendly you were, you'd probably be captured so you could be questioned, studied, and then dissected to see how your body works."

Storm was silent for a moment before replying, "By what you describe I understand why you say I would not want to visit, but I do not understand why I would be treated in such a way."

"It's because of fear," said Sarah. "Humans are afraid of anything that is different to them and, all too often, assume the worst possibility. I'm sure there are many who would like to meet you in a friendly way, but the ones in power would find more value in cutting you apart to learn about your life form than by talking with you and learning about your knowledge, personality, and civilization. Then there are those who assume any alien beings from another planet would be there to abduct humans and do all sorts of tests on them as well." Sarah paused and then said with a sly smirk, "By the way, thanks for not using an anal probe on me."

Storm stopped in his tracks and silently stared at her for several seconds before saying, "............What?"

Chapter 23. So Far Away

The nocturnal pair found Storm's den in the darkness, aided by the moonlight. Storm took the carved wooden bowl from Sarah's hands and said, "Please wait a moment. I will set these on the table before we go." He disappeared down the slope and through the doorway, emerging a few seconds later to rejoin Sarah on the trail.

"You're leaving your instrument here?" asked Sarah as they resumed their trail walk.

"Yes," replied Storm. "The entire Kra population is moving toward our planetary system. They will meet our fleet, or they will meet another fleet and we will go to help. There will be a very large conflict, and there will be only one outcome of two possibilities."

Sarah squeezed his hand a little more tightly as she listened. "Either I will return home to play music another day..." he continued, "or I will not return home at all."

Sarah's eyes began to fill with a light amount of tears as she thought about the second possibility. "I believe in you and your people, Storm," she said. "Your music won't be silenced."

"Thank you, Sarah," said Storm. "I am glad to have your confidence, but I am still afraid."

The pair continued their walk through the night to the transport center. Their travel was nearly silent, neither one knowing what to say. Sarah still held Storm's hand tightly, unable to let go as she feared what may happen to him and his people. Her mind raced as she thought of the terrible possibilities that would come with defeat, and wondered how many other civilizations of friendly and loving people like the Arfurans had been destroyed already. Sarah used all her willpower to keep herself from fully crying, but she could not stop her tears.

By the time they arrived at the transport center Sarah had composed herself enough to dry her tears and not reveal in the light that she had been crying. Inside the facility there were still a few people around, busy with their respective duties. They followed the same path they took on their way out of the building after their arrival, finding the stairs that took them up to the roof where the transport was parked. At the top they crossed the roof, meeting Ezaba and two other members of the ground crew who had just exited the ship.

"All systems are activated and your navigation is set," said Ezaba. "Everything is prepared to depart as soon as you close the doors."

"Thank you, Ezaba," said Storm. "We will send information from the fleet as quickly as possible so any preparations may be made. I hope the preparations will be for our return."

"We hope for the same," replied Ezaba. She and the two coworkers moved closer to hug, nuzzle, and lick Sarah and Storm both together. They all gave best wishes for a pleasant trip before releasing them to get on board the ship.

"Thanks for all you've done for us," said Sarah. "It's been lovely to meet all of you. Have fun at the friends gathering when you're able to go."

"I thank you all as well," said Storm. "I hope to see you again soon." He and Sarah walked through the doors of the ship while the other three waved with tails wagging. Storm activated the control to close the door securely, then led Sarah to the front of the ship. He sat back in the driver's seat and took the controls in his hands to gently lift the ship off the surface, high enough to clear the trees. He adjusted another control and the ship smoothly accelerated forward while tilting upwards toward the stars and ascending into the sky.

Sarah could feel the ship accelerating rapidly, taking little more than a minute to get above the atmosphere. Storm then tilted the angle of the ship back down to parallel the surface of the planet. Despite the great height, Sarah could see the speed of their movement as new stars quickly appeared above the dark horizon.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Storm replied, "We are traveling around the planet to meet our path to the fleet."

"Oh, ok," said Sarah. "I forgot we were on the opposite side." She watched out the window as well as she could as the planet streaked underneath. With a clear path to the fleet ahead the ship began to diverge away from the planet with increasing speed. Kothalos soon broke through the edge of the horizon, seeming to set fire to the edge of the planet with the bright glow it reflected off the surface. Once the planet and star were no longer within view Sarah looked forward again and saw the pale green orb of Deskalth fly past the other side of the ship. "How fast are we going?" she asked.

"We are still accelerating," said Storm, "and our final speed will be approximately 95 percent the rate of travel of light."

"Holy crap," said Sarah. "Knowing what you all are capable of doing I'm not as surprised as I was before, but I'm still amazed."

Storm continued, "We will arrive in little more than two tar. The situation is more urgent so we must return to the fleet as quickly as possible."

"I understand entirely," said Sarah. "So...what do you want to do to pass the time?"

"I will need to have some sleep while we travel," said Storm. "I would like to be rested when we arrive. I do not know what will happen or how much time my duties will require. Before that I would be very happy to talk with you some more. We do not have much more time to be together and there is still so much to learn about you."

Sarah's eyes lit up and she responded with a smile, "What would you like to talk about?"

Storm stood up, tapped a control to engage the automatic navigation system, and moved toward the back of the cabin. "You asked me about my name but I did not ask you about yours," he said. "When we first met you told us two names. What is that part after 'Sarah'...'shep-urd?' I believe that is what you said."

Sarah followed him back and went to the padded floor, first sitting on her knees and leaning over against the thick pillow edge. "That is my last name, 'Shepherd.' Almost everybody on my planet has two names like that. 'Shepherd' is my family name, and is the same as the last name of my Dad and his family. The first name identifies the specific person, so in my case I'm Sarah of the Shepherd family.

As Storm listened he joined her on the padded floor, similarly leaning in a relaxed way against the pillow edge. "We do not have names of our whole families like that," said Storm. "Does your name have a special meaning like my birth name does?"

"No, not really," said Sarah. "It's a fairly common name. My great-grandmother...that's the mother of my Dad's father...was also named Sarah, but I don't think they intentionally named me after her. Dad just told me it was the prettiest name he could think of."

"That is nice," said Storm. "I am curious about the way you greet people. You do not lick as we do. What is it you do when you place your lips beside my face or someone you meet?"

Sarah smiled and replied, "That is called a 'kiss.' The lips are pressed against the cheek or lips of someone else and a small quick suction is applied. It's a customary way for friends and family to greet or part from each other...at least, for those who are close enough to feel comfortable with it." She paused a moment before continuing, "A kiss becomes more involved between two people who are in love, or mates. It is more than a very quick contact...they hold their lips together for a long time, usually with their eyes closed, and sometimes contacting their tongues together. It's a beautiful way for them to feel very close and express their feelings for each other."

"I believe I understand," said Storm. "It is like the affection shared when mates here lick at the mouth of each other at the same time." He crossed his eyes to focus on the end of his muzzle while he attempted drawing his lips together and making lip-smacking noises in comical fashion.

"Yes, I'd say so," said Sarah, pausing to smile and giggle at his antics. "I was wondering about something, too. Obviously we both know the term 'love', but do you have a different term for being 'in love?' I mean, good friends love each other, and mates are in love with each other...at least, that's how the words are used in my language. Do you say it in a similar way?"

"It is said differently," said Storm, "but the meaning is the same. We use the phrases 'mated with love' or 'bound by love.' Referring to two people in such a way indicates their love and mateship. A slightly shorter way of speaking is to say they are 'with love' or simply call them 'mates.' 'Bound by love' or 'joined by love' refers to those who have a love so deep it is like their minds have become a single person. That is a figurative way to describe it. Each cannot imagine life without the other."

"I think I understand," said Sarah. "When people feel that way about each other, we call them 'soul mates.'"

Storm asked, "Is that how you felt about the mate you had for two years?"

"Yes, or at least I thought I did," Sarah recalled. "Since it turned out he really knew very little about my thoughts, feelings, dreams...or maybe he didn't care...I guess we weren't soul mates after all. Now, Ajagi and his mates...the way they talk about each other, how they show they feel about each other, I'd say they are soul mates."

"I agree," said Storm. After a brief pause he opened his mouth widely and yawned.

"Getting sleepy?" asked Sarah.

Storm closed his mouth from the yawn, licked his lips, and said, "Yes...but I do not want to be asleep yet."

Sarah smiled, feeling flattered that he would pass up sleep to talk with her. "On our way to Arfurah," she said, "you said you wouldn't have a mate until after the war was over and you could be safely back home. I was wondering, do you have anybody in mind?"

"In mind?" asked Storm.

"Yes, somebody you think about, wishing to have as a mate," she responded.

"Yes, I do," said Storm, pausing, "but it is not possible. She lives much too far away."

"That's too bad," said Sarah. "There are few things as heartbreaking as love that goes unfulfilled."

"That is a very true thing to say," said Storm. "I have wanted to ask about something you say," he said, changing the subject. "When you speak of 'heart', not in reference to the pumping muscle that circulates your blood, do you refer to the core of your feelings and emotions?"

"Yes, that's right," said Sarah.

"Alright. I was suspecting an error in translation," said Storm, pausing to yawn again.

"Storm, if you need some sleep please don't feel obligated to stay awake for me," Sarah said.

"I do not feel an obligation," said Storm. "It is that I want to. You are correct, however. I am unable to ignore my fatigue. Are you tired as well?"

"I'm not tired just yet," said Sarah. "If you want to get to sleep, I'll join you in a little bit." She leaned over to give him a warm hug, then got up from the padded floor to give him room to lie down. "I'll try to be quiet for you to sleep, Stormy."

"Thank you for your concern. I have set the time alert to wake us a quarter tar before arrival," said Storm as he stretched out and rested his head on the pillow border. Sarah leaned down to scritch his head and place a kiss on his cheek. Storm was smiling when she got up to let him sleep.

Sarah walked toward the front of the ship and stood there, gazing out at the immobile stars. "Funny," she thought to herself. "In the TV shows with space ships the stars are always moving past the windows. I can't even tell we're moving, they're all so far away...I can't even hear a rumble of the engines." Her thought of things so far away caused her to look out one side and see the brilliantly colored nebula, the first thing to fill her eyes when she transferred a week before. For a few minutes she could not take her eyes off it, she was so mesmerized by its beauty. When she finally did look away she looked out the windows on the other side, finding her home galaxy among the stars and other visible galaxies.

"So far away..." she thought to herself. "Everybody over there, they have no idea I'm here. I can't show anybody, I can't describe what I've seen, where I've been...if I try telling anybody they'll think I'm insane or making it all up. I could write a book about it but it would be viewed as fiction and nothing more. They just...don't know what's out here. There...is so far away from here." Sarah let out a sigh with her eyes affixed on her galaxy.

After a few more minutes of stargazing and mixed emotions, Sarah left the windows and started to explore the ship a little bit. She found a small bathing room, much smaller than the one in the large fleet ship, and various rooms with unfamiliar devices that provided services and utilities to the ship. She found the fresh Arfuran fruits in the storage area and helped herself to a couple of the large berries that were among the collection. When she returned to the front cabin she looked down toward Storm who was sound asleep. As she looked, she had an idea.

Sarah started looking around the cabin, quietly opening whatever storage doors and drawers she could find. She stopped when she found one containing square sheets of a paper-like material and a marking utensil for writing. "Some things aren't so different," she thought to herself as she took some and sat at the table in the middle of the room. She paused to collect her thoughts, then picked up the utensil and began to draw.

With as much care and detail as she could create, she sketched a picture. After nearly an hour of drawing, she felt her work was complete well enough. She turned it over and covered it with another sheet of the material to conceal its contents. "I hope he likes it," she thought as she got up from the seat and went over to lie down next to Storm. He was asleep on his back with his head tilted slightly toward her and his arm draped across his belly.

Sarah laid on her side next to him, wrapped her arm across his chest, and nuzzled her nose into the fluffy fur on the side of his neck. "Sweet dreams, Storm," she whispered. While enjoying the scent of his fur she closed her synthetic eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 24. A Matter Of Choice

The sound of yips and howls awoke the slumbering pair from a very deep and restful sleep. Sarah let out a close-eyed yawn and realized they were in the same positions they were in when she fell asleep. From beside Storm's head she looked up to watch him let out a sleepy yawn as well. She surprised him by hugging him tightly and nuzzling firmly into his neck fur.

"I see you are awake," said Storm with a soft laugh.

"Mm hmm," Sarah mumbled from his fur. "I was sleeping so well I didn't want to wake up."

"I felt the same way," said Storm, "but if I was asleep I could not feel your closeness."

"Awww, that's sweet," Sarah said with a smile.

"I must be up," said Storm. "I must prepare for our approach to the fleet."

"That's alright, Foxy," replied Sarah. "If you don't need me for anything, I'm going to transfer home and take care of things." After speaking she lifted her head up and kissed the side of his muzzle.

Storm smiled and wagged his tail as he got up from the bed. "That is quite acceptable," he said. "I do not require you to be here. Please do not feel hurried." After getting off the bed he leaned over and gave Sarah a big lick on the side of her cheek. She giggled while watching him walk toward the front of the ship. She then leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling and made the conscious effort to open her eyes back home.

The early afternoon sunlight beamed through breaks in the drapes to provide a warm level of light in Sarah's bedroom. She found her glasses on the nightstand to see clearly once again and got out of bed. Bright golden spots of sunlight on the floor made it feel pleasantly warm to her feet in contrast to the colder floor still in the shade. The cool temperature of the house was not as strikingly cold as she found that morning but she knew she would feel chilled if she remained without clothes for very long. Before putting anything on she went into her bathroom to take care of necessities and enjoy a warm but brief shower.

After Sarah dried off she put on her fuzzy pink bathrobe and decided it wasn't cold enough to require turning up the thermostat yet. She felt she should be extra cautious while her consciousness was transferred away and didn't want to create excess risk of fire or gas leak explosions. In her kitchen she didn't feel especially hungry but knew it was best to eat something, so she retrieved some more fruit from her dwindling supply in the refrigerator.

While she ate Sarah had additional thoughts about Storm, the war the Arfurans were about to face again, their planet, the people there, the friends she met, and the small pup Moka. With each bite of food she had more terrible thoughts about the consequences of losing the battle and being unable to fight off the invaders. Without the confrontation having happened yet, Sarah put her head in her hands in sorrow as if the war had already been lost.

"We must win...we will win," she said to herself, giving every effort to think positively and drive such awful thoughts from her mind. She finished off her fruit and quickly left the kitchen. Sarah thought briefly about her bed and decided she'd been spending too much time in it already. "I'd better use the couch. I don't want to get bed sores," she said to her own amusement. With the house still cool she kept her bathrobe on when she went to her couch. To keep her feet warm she laid the folded blanket across them, then leaned back onto the pillow. Without removing her glasses, she closed her eyes to instantly travel countless light-years away.

"...fleet is in sight. We will be entering the arrival bay in two or three taren," Storm said through the communication system as Sarah returned in the middle of his sentence. She quickly got up from the floor bed and looked out the front to see a line of ships rapidly growing in perspective size as they approached the fleet.

"I'm back now, Storm," she said. "How are things looking?"

"Everything is going very well," he replied. "Nobody has made any instruction to not fly into something when we enter."

Sarah laughed as she walked up behind him. "I guess that means you're allowed to."

"I do not believe so," Storm responded with a laugh. He manipulated the controls of the transport to slow it down as it got closer, then gracefully glided through the opening in the side of the ship. A gentle touchdown followed, bringing their long trip to an end. As before, he tapped several symbols on the screens to deactivate systems and power down the ship.

"Wow...it's hard to believe we were almost four billion miles away just a few hours ago," Sarah commented.

"Yes," replied Storm, "the journey did proceed very quickly."

As he got up and headed toward the back of the ship Sarah followed but stopped at the table. "Storm," she called out. "There's something I want to give you." Storm stopped and stepped back to where she was. "It's not very good, but I wanted to give you this." She reached to the sheets on the table and pulled out the bottom one. She turned it over and handed it to him, revealing a self portrait she had sketched. "It's supposed to be a picture of me...I made it while you were asleep. Since I can't really hide it anywhere until later, I'm giving it to you now."

Storm looked at the picture, studying every line and taking in its detail. Sarah continued, "In the tradition of your artwork, I'm giving it to you...as a way of saying I hope to come back and visit you again...even though I know I probably never will after I've returned home."

"Sarah..." said Storm with a pause. "I am very touched. Your picture is beautiful, as are you. I hope to meet you again some day. Perhaps the transfer system will be able to keep a record of your location that is accurate enough to find you again."

"I'd really like that," Sarah said with a smile. She reached out to hug Storm, and Storm wrapped his arms around her to hug her tightly. After several lingering moments they released their embrace and turned toward the door. Storm reached to a shelf and grabbed their protection suits that had been neatly folded and stored away.

As Sarah took hers from him she said, "I now understand why you dislike these things so much. I have not been looking forward to putting it back on."

Storm nodded in agreement. "They are an unpleasant necessity," he said as he stepped into the leggings and pushed his tail through the back opening. "I am going to leave your picture here until I have a moment to store it away without causing it damage."

The freshly suited pair went to the exit, equalized the pressure, and opened the door. Immediately outside the door stood someone with a very familiar smiling face and wagging tail.

"Wolfy!" Sarah exclaimed as she rushed toward him with open arms. He was slightly surprised by her greeting and quickly caught her hug in his arms. She kissed his cheek and asked, "How are you doing, Ajagi?"

"I am doing very well," said Ajagi. "Thank you, Sarah. I am glad to see you both arrived safely. How was the journey?"

"It was very pleasant," replied Storm as he moved in to share hugs, nuzzles, and licks with Ajagi. "We talked a bit and slept through most of the time."

Ajagi gave Storm and Sarah several long sniffs. "You have the scent of Arfurah. That is most pleasing to enjoy again."

"You'll be going home to enjoy it soon enough," said Sarah. "First we have to get this thing unloaded and set up." Just as they turned to go into the transport's cargo hold a small crew in the transport bay followed them in to unload the items. Everyone worked together to quickly unload the fresh food from home, items sent to crew members, and the new weapon.

Ajagi motioned to the crew of helpers and said, "Our friends will set the weapon system on a small transport to move it to another room. We have converted a small storage room with reinforcements to contain the weapon as a precaution in case it discharges without a dimension vein to transport the energy. The control system can be placed outside and connected with the main tracking systems in the vehicle. Crews in all of the other vehicles have been constructing duplicate units of this system. I believe they are nearly finished...perhaps another tar, perhaps slightly longer."

"It sounds like you have things pretty well taken care of," said Sarah.

"We are working as quickly as we are able," said Ajagi. A member of the transport bay crew acquired a large flatbed cart. Sarah glanced at it and then looked again. Underneath it there were no wheels; it appeared to be floating a few inches above the floor. The crewmate adjusted a control on the handle and the entire cart set down on the floor next to the wormhole weapon.

"Wow, that's neat," said Sarah with interest. "How does it work?"

"It does three things to operate correctly," said Ajagi. "It deactivates the floor panels beneath it so they do not apply a gravitational force to it or its contents. It also applies an opposite force to repel itself from the floor and from any gravitational field coming from any levels below. And its surface works the same as the floor. It applies a gravitational force to the contents so they sit on the surface firmly."

"That's absolutely ingenious," said Sarah with further interest and amazement. She and the other two went over to help the bay crew pick up the weapon and move it onto the cart. They then did the same to help move the power generator, followed by the control unit. "Why do we need the energy source?" asked Sarah. "Can't it just be tied into the ship's power?"

"It could be connected to the ship," said Storm, "but we will use this to provide energy in the event the ship is damaged badly enough during the attack that it is unable to generate energy. It is our best strategy to be able to defend ourselves even if the ship cannot move."

"Ok, makes sense," said Sarah. "That's why you're the weapons officer. I wouldn't have thought of that."

Storm nodded. "One reason I was chosen for this task was because I contemplate future outcomes of events and plan for any problem we may expect."

As the group walked along behind the weapon system, Ajagi continued. "I have also received the results of testing done by another fleet on magnetic field weapons modeled after the diagrams you showed us. The protection of a transfer system is strong enough to easily protect it from the strong burst of magnetic energy. Anybody who is transferred by a system that is close to the detonation of a magnetic device will be safe. However, the magnetic electric charging system of their synthetic body would be affected enough to cause damage. It would have to be disconnected from the body."

"That's good to hear," said Sarah.

"It will not affect you," said Ajagi. "You will have transferred home long before the Kra arrive to attack, if this is where they come." Sarah nodded and listened as Ajagi went on. "The devices work very well and do not give off any detectable magnetic field before they are detonated. We have built them stronger to give off a magnetic burst far higher than any of the sustained magnetic field weapons we used in the past. We are producing them to look like the rocks that orbit the center star out here beyond the orbit of Stamedigan. Some are also being made to look like harmless detection probes, or covered in a shielding that absorbs all frequencies of light so they can not be seen or detected by their tracking scanners and detectors. Stamedigan recently passed so we were able to extract resources we needed to build the materials to make them. As soon as each one is built it is sent out to wait. We have placed over a million of them already. Every fleet is doing the same as a precaution, depending on their available resources."

"That's some pretty amazing production, 'Jagi," said Sarah. "Each ship is a flying factory."

"Yes, in a way you are correct," Ajagi responded.

The group pushed the wormhole weapon into a large room on the fleet-side of the ship, which had large windows from floor to ceiling like the lounge rooms. They unloaded the control console from the cart, and Ajagi and Storm got to work setting it up and connecting it to the ship's tracking systems. The rest of the small crew pushed the cart through the door of a storage room and worked on unloading it and the power source. Sarah felt useless as she couldn't help with the specialized tasks, and the storage room was crowded already, so she stood at the windows and gazed out into space. She noticed the ships were in slightly different locations, and now her home galaxy was visible just above the top of the neighboring ship.

Storm activated the weapon and its power system once everything was connected. The assisting crew exited the small storage room and closed the door to contain any possible laser energy to escape the weapon. Storm briefly showed Ajagi the improvised control system and graphical interface for aiming and laser pulse alignment. Ajagi took the controls to try out the system, then retreated so Storm could begin a series of weapon firing tests beginning with the lowest energy settings.

Sarah gazed at her galaxy, barely listening to the furry crew talking behind her as they set up the weapon system. Though the next ship was a great number of yards away she could still see the tiny figures of other Arfurans moving past the windows, busily going about their business to prepare for the impending attack.

"It is all prepared, Sarah," said Storm, snapping her out of her lost thoughts.

"Hmm?...Ok," she replied.

Storm said, "The weapon is successfully connected with the tracking system and continues to work very well in this new location. We are as prepared as we can be for the Kra to arrive, and the other vehicles will soon be ready as well." He paused for a few seconds. "You have done a great service for us to help us create this device to protect ourselves. You will forever have our gratitude no matter what the outcome is. You...may go home now."

Sarah stood motionless for a few seconds, staring silently out at her galaxy. "No," she said. "I'm not leaving."

Storm was perplexed. "Why do you say that? You must return home for your safety. We can not ask you to stay and fight the Kra with us."

"You haven't asked me to stay," Sarah replied quietly. "I've made the decision on my own." She pointed out toward her home. "Over there...nothing I do truly matters. I do work I don't like for somebody I really don't like to meet someone else's goals. I chose my career because I wanted to learn, to discover new things...not just earn what money somebody decides to pay me to afford to live. A hundred years from now the work I do there will be pretty much meaningless...it's insignificant. I might make a discovery, get some recognition, but that's only fleeting. Here, I used my knowledge to create something that's never existed before to help stop an entire civilization from extinction. Here, my work matters."

Before Storm could speak she continued in a soft voice. "I was thinking about little Moka. If this defense fails and the Kra invade successfully, he'll grow up to be a slave...no, he won't. The Kra wouldn't have any use for somebody that young, a pup who needs care. He would be killed immediately, as will anybody that young, and their parents killed or made into slaves and then killed later. The same will happen to everybody on your planet if they can't stop an invasion that gets past your defense outposts. I can't go home, not without knowing what happened. Your defense is largely depending on something I dreamed up and we don't know whether or not they can defend themselves against it. I'm staying. Either we will all win together...or we will all die together."

"I do not know what to say," said Storm, feeling humbled. "Sarah...you are very brave to make such a decision, but you should still go home. This is not your war to fight."

Sarah turned to Storm and looked him in the eyes. "It is now."

Storm looked at her silently for a moment. "I still do not know what to say to express my...admiration. You..." He stopped trying to speak and merely hugged her tightly once again, resting his head over her shoulder. "Thank you," he whispered.

"I thank you as well," Ajagi said, turning toward them from the control system. "I heard what you said, Sarah. My gratitude and admiration also can not be put into appropriate words. You are the first one, of any species we have transferred here, to stay for the conflict we needed help to prepare for. Every other one who helped left to transfer home long before the next invasion with no desire to remain here and help. They felt the personal risk was too great." He walked over toward them and hugged Sarah as soon as Storm let go of her.

"I don't know that I can shoot at the Kra, though," said Sarah. "I know they're very bad, but if I shot the weapon at them and destroyed a ship...I'd be killing thousands of lives at once. I'm very...uneasy with such a task. I've never liked killing living things."

"You will not need to do that," said Storm. "Even if you are here it is still our battle to fight. We will use the weapons, and we will be responsible for any loss of their lives."

Ajagi said, "As you are staying, we will need to perform an adjustment on your synthetic body to disconnect the magnetic charging system. If we do not, and a magnetic pulse bomb detonates inside the range of safe distance, you could receive any amount of damage to your body. It could be disorientation, partial or total disabling of the body...it might shut down with your consciousness still contained inside."

"Let's fix it just to be on the safe side," said Sarah with a smirk. "Where is it?"

"It is in the lower part of your back," replied Ajagi. "If I perform a small surgery I will be able to disconnect it or remove it entirely."

"Let's remove it entirely," said Sarah. "I like your food much better for energy, anyway."

"I agree," said Ajagi. "A magnetic field is not nearly as delicious."

Sarah and Storm laughed. "Do we do that here?" asked Sarah.

"No," replied Ajagi, "there is a medical room near the front of the vehicle. It is where we made final adjustments to your body after it was constructed."

"Sounds good...lead the way," said Sarah. As they walked toward the door she added, "While we're at it, how 'bout a boob job and a tummy tuck?"

Ajagi turned to Storm and asked, "What is she talking about?"

"I do not have any knowledge of it," said Storm. Sarah merely laughed.

The three walked through several hallways for quite a distance due to the size of the ship. Along the way Sarah saw several new furry faces as well as a few she recognized who greeted her for her return. Ajagi and Storm stopped at a large double door and slid them open for Sarah to pass through. Inside there were a few narrow tables, each covered with the soft fabric of the padded floors in the lounge, and countless doors and drawers where items were stored. The room was well lit with a brighter light source hanging from the ceiling over each table.

"This is one of the medical treatment rooms," said Ajagi. "If anyone is injured they are brought here to have the injury repaired and receive treatment to help them heal more quickly. Your synthetic body contains materials that are very similar to living tissues so many of the same procedures may be performed here. Your body is designed to heal itself very efficiently so minimal treatment will be required."

"Will it hurt much?" asked Sarah.

"No, you will not feel anything," said Ajagi. "I will use a device that emits a small energy field to disrupt the synthetic neurons and prevent any sense of feeling in the area. I will need you to lie on the table so I may work on your back. Storm, please adjust the temperature so she will be comfortable to remove her protection cover."

"No, it's alright," said Sarah. "I'm not uncomfortable any more." She pulled open the closure on the front of the suit, slipped it off, then got up on the table to lie with her hands supporting her head.

"Ah...very well, I will begin," said Ajagi as he retrieved some small medical instruments from a nearby storage unit. Storm stood beside them to observe with interest.

"You know, it's funny," said Sarah, "so many people in my world have claimed to have been 'abducted by aliens' and that medical tests were performed on them, and they are all labeled as crackpots because nobody believes them. I may not have been abducted against my will but it's ironic that I'm getting a medical procedure done by aliens on their ship."

"Yes," said Ajagi, "it is interesting so many would describe the same experiences."

"You do not need to worry, Sarah," said Storm. "I do not see the anal probe anywhere."

Ajagi stopped his work, stood more upright, looked at Storm, and asked, "What matters did you two discuss while you were away?" Sarah laid there laughing.

A small puff of smoke was released as Sarah's synthetic skin was incinerated by a hairline laser that Ajagi used to cut a small incision in her lower back. She remained comfortable on the softly padded table, being careful to not move as he worked. Storm watched intently as Ajagi used a small set of hand tools to reach in past the thickness of Sarah's skin, down into her lower back, and disconnect the charging coil. The neural disruption unit attached to her back glowed with a small white light to indicate it was still properly working to prevent her from feeling anything she would receive as pain.

"Is that nerve disruption thingy built into your amputation device?" asked Sarah.

"Yes, that is one component," he replied. Ajagi tugged the plug of the coil out past the skin, then slowly and gently began to pull the coil out through the incision. First to emerge was the miniature control unit, and in a U shape sprouting from either side was the branches of the coil, formed into that shape to run up either side of her spine. Fluids from inside her body helped lubricate the device to aid its frictionless glide out the incision. Once it was fully removed, Ajagi wiped excess fluid from around the incision and then attached a device to hold the two sides tightly closed. He retrieved a laser suture device from the tool tray and shot it down into the narrow incision. The energy heated and bonded the synthetic cells together, making them hold tight without a single stitch.

Ajagi then removed the neural disruptor from her back. "Are you able to feel any pain?"

Sarah lightly twisted her back and hips to check for sensation. "No...no pain, but it does feel a little bit funny. Is that normal?"

"Yes," replied Ajagi. "The abnormal feelings you sense will last for the duration of the time it takes to heal the incision."

"Thanks Doc, you do good work," said Sarah as she sat up from the table and hopped to the floor. "Ugh...I guess I have to put this thing back on, huh?" she said as she picked up her suit.

"Yes," said Ajagi. "It is for your protection."

As Sarah put her protection suit back on she asked, "What kinds of procedures can't be performed on this body? You said you can do most procedures in this room."

Ajagi responded, "Something as serious as a bent bone would have to be repaired in the area where your body was constructed.

"Bent? A bent bone?" inquired Sarah.

"Yes," replied Ajagi. "Do you remember when I told you that your body is made of mechanical and synthetic living material? Your skeleton is mechanical. It is all made of a metal alloy. While it is very strong, a very severe injury can bend your bones. Your body will sense pain, so if you had a severe injury I would suggest you transfer home until we could repair it."

"I see..." said Sarah as she slowly pulled her suit back on. "Let's hope that doesn't happen."

"We always hope injury does not happen," said Storm.

Sarah nodded. "I just had a thought," said Sarah. "If somebody got hurt in an attack badly enough that you couldn't save them with medical treatment, could you use the transfer system to move their consciousness into a replacement body before the injured body died?"

"Yes, that is possible," said Ajagi as he returned his various medical instruments to their storage locations. "It is also a choice we have if someone becomes injured from an accident such as that person burned in the explosion of the propulsion system. That choice is not always available, though. An injury that is so severe it can not be repaired and healed often causes that person to die before we are able to take action."

"I see. At least it's an option. So...What's next?" Sarah asked. "I mean, what else do we have to do to prepare for the invasion?"

"We will meet with Nanida and many others," said Storm. "We will connect with the captains of all the other vehicles of the fleet and discuss our preparations, and do the same with the other fleets around our planetary system."

"I'd like to listen in on that if you don't mind," said Sarah.

"You are welcome to join us," said Storm. "If you are taking part in our defense of the invasion, it is only fitting that you take part in the discussion as well." The two waited briefly for Ajagi to finish putting things away, then all three headed out the door and through the halls to find a conference room.

Chapter 25. Animal Instincts

Sarah felt like a colonel following two generals through the halls of an underground bunker to join a discussion on battle tactics. The route they took seemed to be the same they followed to the medical room, a feeling that was confirmed for her when they passed the room where the weapon had been set up. A short distance past that room they took a turn down another hall that led them more toward the middle of the ship, then entered a door into a large conference room. A long table curved in a crescent shape was lined with Arfurans facing the far wall which was covered in a large display screen.

"It doesn't look like we've missed anything yet," said Sarah.

"You are correct, the conference has not yet begun," replied Ajagi.

As they approached some empty seats at the table the others turned around to greet them. Storm and Ajagi returned the greetings and Sarah said, "Hello again, everybody."

"Hello Sarah," said Nanida, sitting a few seats away. He then looked at Ajagi and asked, "Why does she remain here still? Her task is complete and she should have transferred home."

"She decided to stay and help through the invasion," said Ajagi. "It is her own free choice."

"She was most insistent to stay," said Storm. "Sarah is fully aware of the danger."

Nanida briefly glanced between the two before looking at Sarah. "Alright. Thank you, Sarah. Please join us." Sarah and her two furry companions sat down in three vacant seats.

As everybody quietly talked between each other, Sarah asked, "Who is everybody here?"

Storm replied, "Everyone is the lead of a specific task on the vehicle or fleet, or is the lead to a division dedicated to a specific task, just as I am the lead for weapons development and usage and Ajagi is the lead of the division for scientific research and medical treatment. These are the divisions that are important for the well being of the crew and the vehicle."

Ajagi added, "As the captain of the vehicle, Nanida coordinates all of our activities and the information we provide to him. He also coordinates that with the activities and information from other vehicles in the fleet. The fleet leader is on another vehicle and will coordinate our collective developments with those of other fleets."

"I understand completely," Sarah said. "I'm familiar with organization like that."

"The rest of the fleet is starting to collect information and will be ready to begin soon, Nanida," said the feathered communications operator who was sitting up in the front next to the display system.

"Thank you, Perfas," said Nanida as he stood to address the entire group and begin hearing each department's preparations. As the head of each division gave their concise summary of operations, Sarah listened and was impressed by the way Nanida quickly made calm and accurate decisions that illustrated the leadership skills he held as captain. When the discussion came around to them, all three contributed to the conversation. Storm described the wormhole weapon, electromagnetic bombs, and other weapon systems that had been developed; Sarah briefly described how the weapon worked, trying not to take up too much time; and Ajagi spoke about the deployment of the electromagnetic bombs, the construction of duplicate wormhole weapons, and other technological advancements.

"We will need to begin training others to operate the weapon as soon as we are able," said Nanida. "Storm, if you become incapacitated you will not be able to use it for our defense. Sarah, I understand your dislike of killing other creatures so I do not expect you to take the place of Storm in that task. The duplicate weapon units are not completed yet so we have not been able to practice their use in a battle situation. Storm, when we are finished here, assemble your team and begin training them. Please also send a visual transmission of that training to the weapons teams of the other vehicles and fleets. They will be able to practice when their weapon units have been assembled."

"I agree, that is most critical," replied Storm. "They have been able to practice with the simulation but it will be far better if they are able to use the real weapon unit and controls."

The discussion continued around to the other end of the table in quick fashion. Sarah leaned over near Storm and Ajagi and whispered, "I like this kind of management. It's not like he's giving orders, but is giving friendly requests that everybody is happy to do."

"We are happy to do it," replied Ajagi. "We also remember the importance of the tasks. For the benefit of everyone the tasks are completed in the best way our abilities allow."

Sarah nodded and watched while the display screen lit up with numerous areas dedicated to each ship as the teleconferencing began. Each ship's captain provided a summary of preparations and sent a screen of data to accompany the spoken words. Sarah was unable to read their text but knew the sort of information it contained. For another hour the meeting progressed with the sharing of vital information and defense strategies between each ship, all coordinated with the rest of the fleets through a fleet command center back on Arfurah. As she listened Sarah continued to feel impressed with the advanced organization of people who essentially lived in holes in the ground.

While listening to the conference, Perfas suddenly became very active at her communications console. "Nanida, I must interrupt," she said. "There is an incoming communication on the standby emergency frequency...it is not us. It is the Kra." Within seconds of each other a flashing border formed around the displays from all the other ships in the fleet, indicating their alert to the same interruption. "I do not know if it is a visual recording or a current transmission...Valraf will repeat the signal from the primary fleet vehicle to the rest of us and the other fleets."

Everybody looked at the screen and after a few moments a large portion in the center was overlaid with a blank display, followed shortly by the most ghastly creature Sarah had ever laid eyes on. Its skin was a nauseating blend of dark shades of green, red, and gray with a texture that looked like chipped rubber with multiple short tentacles sprouting out from various locations. The mouth was at the top of what appeared to be the head with two pairs of eyes below it, and it spoke with a hollow, raspy voice that was difficult for Sarah to understand with the broken, incomplete translation she was hearing. The words she did understand were interspersed with sounds of its native language that went uninterpreted.

"...I...Kragraxa...leader of...Kra," it said. "You...do no...resist Kra...surrender and...Kra generous to...kill you quickly...resist and...Kra feast on...bodies of you...alive. All Kra...vessels destroy...you vessels...Kra commanded...take no...prisoners."

The transmission ended quickly after the Kra leader's sarcastic warning, followed by it repeating. "There was no response to a reply on that frequency, Nanida," said Perfas. "It appears to be a visual recording." The transmission's display was removed from the main screen and replaced by the displays from other ships that it had covered.

"I believe we can all understand the meaning of that message," said Nanida. "We are reminded of the importance of successful defense."

"Why would they send a warning message just to say they're going to destroy us all no matter what?" asked Sarah.

"They want us to fear them and give up without defending ourselves," replied Nanida. "It is also their confidence in the superiority of their species. They believe a warning to notify us of their invasion will not help us stop them, and they will still destroy us easily."

The captains of the ships, fleet leaders, and Arfuran ground command all discussed the message briefly before ending the meeting. When the conference was over, the people from various departments hurried out of the room to resume the tasks with their teams. Storm and Ajagi lingered behind in the room briefly with Sarah. "That was the ugliest creature I've ever seen. And what kind of name is that?" said Sarah before changing her voice to a sarcastic impression. "'I am Kragraxa, evil prince and dark overlord of the woodland fairies. When I say prance, YOU say how high!'" As she laughed at her imitation, Ajagi and Storm looked at each other with no idea what she was talking about.

"Perhaps you can tell us more about your humor later," said Ajagi. "At this time we have much to do."

Sarah's laughter subsided as she replied, "Yes, that'll be fine...I'll tell you later. I was wondering, could the Kra have been listening in on the conference and learning about all of our defenses?"

"No, that is not possible," Ajagi responded. "That method of communication uses a system that requires matched transmitters and receivers between two locations to achieve instant communication without the travel time of a signal transmitted with photon radiation. They are linked in central locations to relay communications between our vehicles and with Arfurah. The Kra do not have any way to create a matching receiver to intercept and decipher our communications. The frequency they used to transmit their visual recording is the same used by an emergency backup system that does use photon radiation. It does not require transmitters and receivers to be matched."

"I see...how were we able to understand what they were saying?" Sarah asked.

Ajagi responded again. "A small number of times in the past when they tried to invade, a transfer system was used to read the information of their consciousness. That also included their language. Tibo and Kalise were able to send us some information about their language as well. It was difficult to interpret their language because of the differences with ours. What we heard was automatically translated by the communication system, and that is the best we are currently able to translate the Kra language. Their brainwave pattern does not come through with the transmission of sound so it is not capable of translating as well as your synthetic body does."

Sarah nodded her understanding. Storm walked over to a small console on the wall and pressed a button. "Weapons team, please meet Storm in perimeter room twenty-nine for immediate weapon training. Weapons team, please come to perimeter room twenty-nine." He then turned to Sarah and said, "We must return to the new weapon to train the rest of my team to use it. Each one who is able to use the system will be able to use one after they are all assembled."

"As I said in the conference," said Ajagi, "I trained them with my team on the use of the magnetic pulse bombs. We all developed a strategy for when to trigger them to discharge. As your team will be training to use the dimension vein weapon, I will assemble my team for the pulse bombs."

"You're sure the electromagnetic bombs won't interfere with the scanning and tracking system?" asked Sarah. "We'll need that to be fully working to target their ships."

"Yes," said Ajagi. "We tested very carefully. All of them are placed at a range beyond any proximity that would affect our systems."

"Ok, good to hear," said Sarah. "Let's get to it, Storm."

Ajagi stepped over to the intercom panel on the wall as the other two moved out of his way and walked toward the door. Just as they were about to reach the door a deafening explosion behind them blasted them forward and knocked them to the ground with a shower of debris pelting them. The noise was instantly followed by the shrieking howl of Ajagi in intense pain.

Sarah looked back. "Ajagi!" she screamed. Ajagi was sprawled out on his back on the floor among debris and twisted metal beams from the wall. A few feet away was the lower half of his left leg, a stream of blood separating it from him with a river of red quickly flowing from the remaining portion of his leg. Behind him was a large hole that clearly showed a path through the hallway, perimeter room, and the outer hull.

Sarah and Storm sprang to their feet and ran over to Ajagi's side. They attempted to help sit him up and comfort his pain but his howls of pain did not stop. "This is Nanida," called out the ship's captain. "The Kra are here and they have fired their weapon into us. The hull is damaged but the energy shield is maintaining our atmosphere. All areas, please report injuries and damages. Weapons team, prepare defenses."

Sarah looked down at her wolf friend, quickly losing blood from his leg. His howling began to weaken as he started gasping for breath. The conference display behind them reactivated with a fresh transmission from the invading ships. "Kra superior...you...resist and...destroy you...now," the unsightly Kra ruler warned.

Sarah looked back at Ajagi as her feelings of sadness and shock were replaced by fury and rage. "They will not win..." she growled. "They will NOT win!" She sprang to her feet and ran toward the door.

Storm started to get up to follow her. "Sarah, we must..." he started to say before being cut off by Sarah as she stopped and looked back.

"No!" she barked back at him. "You help Ajagi. Tie something around his leg to stop the bleeding and do what you can for him first. You know where to find things on this ship but I don't. I can find the weapon." She then disappeared through the door. Storm glanced back at Ajagi, then ran over to one of the seats. He tore his teeth into the fabric covering and yanked off a strip. He returned to Ajagi's side and tightly tied the strip around the end of Ajagi's leg. Ajagi's eyes were half open and he was barely breathing as he looked up at Storm.

"I will be back very soon, friend," said Storm as he jumped to his feet and ran out the door toward the transfer room. As soon as he found an intercom panel in the hallway that wasn't destroyed like the other one he called out, "Medical team to the conference room, immediately. Ajagi is badly injured."

Sarah quickly found the room where the weapon was set up and took her seat in front of it. Ignoring the foreign text on the screen she followed what she remembered seeing before to tap buttons and screen symbols to activate the weapon systems and patch into the ship's tracking system. When the tracking screen came up she saw countless dots ahead of the fleet, more Kra ships than she thought could be possible. She looked over at the visual display of the ship's cameras and could barely make out the image of the Kra ships, each designed to absorb light and be as darkly invisible as possible. Pausing briefly to think she looked around and found the intercom button on the control console. She pressed it and said, "Nanida, can you hear me?"

"Yes, I hear you, Sarah," he responded a moment later.

"I have an idea," she continued. "The Kra seemed to warn they will instantly destroy anybody who fights back. Tell the other captains of the fleet to hold their fire and sit still. Don't shoot back. I have to try something first."

"Alright," Nanida responded. "We will withhold our weapons but if they continue to attack we must try to defend ourselves."

"Understood," Sarah replied. "And transmit the message over the emergency frequency so the Kra can hear it and think we're giving up without a fight. Tell the others the real plan through the secure channels."

Storm ran to the transfer room as quickly as he could, dropping to run faster on all four with vulpine instinct. With the emergency doors already held open he sprinted through each, finding the transfer room and glanced around the room for Ajagi's project. When he saw the pair of units on the far work bench he grabbed them and ran back out the door.

Sarah took the control handles in her hands and quickly worked the display pointer around to a point behind the lead Kra ship. She glanced at the laser power setting to confirm that it was still set at full power, then returned her eyes to the scanning display. She rotated the screen and zoomed it in to show only the first few ships in the Kra formation. She then used the controls to position the wormhole exit right at a trailing ship, and aimed it at the lead ship.

"Here's a little love from Arfurah, you bastards!" Sarah called out at the visual display screen as she pressed the button to discharge the laser. In the instant it took the light to travel from one Kra ship to the other, the lead ship was hit with a blast of light energy more powerful than they had ever expected their shields to withstand. An enormous fireball ripped in through the side of the Kra ship as the structural metals were instantly superheated and liquefied. The entire ship rocked and tilted to one side before its thrusters corrected the rolling motion. A few moments later the Kra ship fired back at the one that had appeared to fire on it. The interstellar duel lasted a few moments until they had destroyed a large portion of each other's ships.

Sarah laughed hysterically as she felt her plan worked. She quickly moved the controls to swing the wormhole exit into position next to another ship, curling her lips back in a fiendish grin as she triggered the laser to discharge again and inflict great amounts of damage.

Storm sprinted through the halls, narrowly avoiding other crew members who were on their way to defensive stations, winding his way back to the conference room. He ran through the doorway and slid to Ajagi's side once more. Ajagi was weakly moaning as he continued to feel the intense pain of his severed leg. Storm lifted Ajagi's leg up slightly and untied the strip of blood-soaked fabric. He pulled back the legging of Ajagi's suit and slid the amputation device over the end. With a press of a button to activate it, the cuff of the device inflated around Ajagi's leg to hold it securely in place. He gently set Ajagi's leg back down as he watched the indicators of the device showing it was beginning to operate as it was designed. He then went over to the rest of Ajagi's leg, pulled the cut pant legging entirely off, and slipped the other amputation device over it. The second device worked the same as the first, activating its systems to contain lost blood and keep it circulating.

He moved back up to Ajagi and caressed his head softly. Ajagi's eyes closed and he stopped moaning as the amputation device activated the neuron disruptor to stop his pain. "Are you still in any pain, Ajagi?" asked Storm.

Ajagi opened his eyes slightly and whispered, "Very little...is my medical team coming?"

"Yes, I called them," said Storm. "Your medical assistance device appears to be working."

"That is good...I will be...fine...they are well trained...they will take care of me," Ajagi said in a soft voice. "Go help Sarah." He paused for a moment and said, "Thank you, Storm."

Without saying a word Storm leaned down and nuzzled Ajagi's whiskers, gave him a quick lick to his muzzle, and got up to run out the door just as the medical team was arriving. He ran through a couple of short hallways and around a corner to find the room containing Sarah and the weapon system. Sarah was fast at work, positioning the wormhole from one place to another and inflicting large blasts of damage to the Kra ships.

"How are you progressing?" asked Storm as he looked at the scanners and monitors.

"We're doing great," said Sarah after a brief pause to fire once more. "They don't know where the bursts of laser energy are coming from because they appear out of nowhere..." She paused again to reposition the wormhole and fire on another Kra ship. "Better yet, I keep making them shoot at each other when I place the wormhole at one ship and fire at another ship."

Storm continued to study the scanner that showed all the virtual ships moving around in a chaotic pattern, trying to find the invisible ship that was shooting at them. "The defensive plan is very successful, then," he said. "Have they attacked any more of our vehicles?"

"No, I haven't seen them do that," replied Sarah. "Since we're not showing any resistance, they are too busy fighting the imaginary ship."

"Very good," Storm responded. "Please continue what you are doing as it is working quite well. I must study their vehicles for a moment." He then sat next to Sarah and tapped a screen symbol to expand the holographic display. He tapped the symbols on that part of the display to bring up additional tools of the scanning system. Storm enabled the system to lock on to each type of Kra ship, differentiated by their apparent size, and perform a thorough sweeping scan of their structure and systems.

"What are you doing?" asked Sarah.

"I am studying their vehicles to find the areas most beneficial for us to damage," said Storm. "I am also looking for the location of their dark matter weapons so we may destroy them first." For several minutes he closely studied the display generated by the scanning system while Sarah continued her attacks on the Kra ships. "I believe I have found their weapons," said Storm before he pointed to a spot on the screen. "Here toward the front of their vehicles...I do not remember this shape from past times I have studied their vehicles. It was not there before now. I see it in their middle and largest vehicles but not the small ones. That must be their weapon."

Sarah glanced over at his display screen. "It's not a shape I would expect but you know their ships better than I do. They are all moving around...you're better at setting this thing to lock on and track. I need you to lock this thing on from one ship to the next with the energy burst aimed at their dark matter weapon. When you do, I'll fire it."

"I understand...that is a good plan," replied Storm. He reached over to take the control and quickly locked the weapon system on a Kra ship, then aligned the laser direction with their dark matter gun. Sarah looked at the basic position adjustments on the screen and saw them automatically sliding around in all directions as the system tracked the movements of the Kra ship and adjusted the wormhole exit point. "Ready," said Storm.

Sarah triggered the wormhole and laser to discharge and sent an explosive blast of energy directly into the bay where the Kra weapon was located. Storm had the system rescan the ship and verified that area of the ship was heavily damaged. "Their weapon is destroyed," he said. "We must work quickly to destroy the weapons in the other ships before they attack us in an attempt to stop the source."

While Storm worked to align the wormhole with the dark matter weapon on another ship, Sarah activated the intercom again. "Nanida, contact the other ship captains on the secure channel. Tell them to reply with, 'I don't know,' when you talk on the emergency channel," she said. "Then call out on the emergency channel asking who is shooting at the Kra. That might help make them think there is some other defensive force out there."

"I will, Sarah," said Nanida. "I agree that it should help confuse them."

"Ready," said Storm. Sarah looked back at the display screens and triggered the weapon to discharge on another Kra ship's dark matter weapon. "It worked again," said Storm. For several minutes he and Sarah continued to destroy the invaders' weapons while the Kra had no idea where the attack was coming from.

Sarah glanced back at the long range scanner and zoomed it out. "Storm, this doesn't look good," she said. "There are thousands of Kra ships and now the ones in the back are moving forward to help the ones in the front. If they attack our fleet there's no way we can hold off that many ships."

"We must continue to damage their vehicles for as long as we are able," Storm replied. "Our vehicles are intact to defend ourselves. It will be better if we damage as many of theirs as possible."

"What are all those blue dots on the screen?" asked Sarah. "Are those the electromagnetic bombs?"

"Yes, they are," Storm replied.

"Let's keep doing what we're doing," said Sarah. "The trailing Kra ships are nearly within the bomb field. Wow...I don't know how far out this shows on the screen...a couple million miles?"

"Yes, I believe that is approximately correct," said Storm after he glanced at the long distance scanner. "We will not be able to detonate those bombs from here." He then pressed the intercom button and said, "Weapons team, please remain ready to signal the magnetic pulse bomb field to detonate when I indicate the proper time."

"We are ready," replied an unnamed voice over the intercom. As the trailing Kra ships moved closer to the bomb field, Storm and Sarah resumed the task of disabling weapons on the various ships.

Nanida returned to the intercom. "Storm, Sarah...we have intercepted a communication among the Kra fleet. Their leader Kragraxa is commanding them to find the source of the attack, and all are responding that they are detecting nothing but fluctuations of gravity. They do not know what is happening."

Sarah placed a diabolical smile on her lips. "Excellent," she said as she looked back at the scanner screen. "Now, Storm," she said. "They're all in range."

Storm quickly activated the intercom again. "Weapons team, detonate the bombs now." While closely watching their screens, after a few moments they saw the blue dots expand into a fading circle in a wave spreading out as fast as the radio signals could travel to activate them. The Kra ships quit moving in directed patterns and continued in slow straight lines, out of control with some ships running into others and causing more damage. Those ships that had not been moving remained motionless unless hit by a moving ship.

"They appear to be disabled," said Storm. "The bursts of magnetic field must have been more than they expected."

"That's perfect...we fried their circuits," said Sarah. "We probably don't have much time before they get things repaired enough to regain control of their ships, and they might have detected that the trigger signal came from this ship." She thought for another moment. "Where are their shield generators? We need to take those out."

Storm replied, "All our information indicates their energy shields are generated by the same source of energy that powers their propulsion system and primary vehicle energy supply. It is located toward the back of the vehicles but it is too far in to be damaged from a pulse of energy from the rear."

Sarah thought for another brief moment. "You can scan the entire structure of their ships, right? Including hallways and such?"

"Yes," replied Storm.

"Get us inside those ships," said Sarah. "We'll hit their power generators from the inside. Start with the ship that was in the lead. That's probably where their king is."

Storm nodded in understanding and turned back to the targeting system. He locked the system on the lead ship and zoomed in on the structural scan. Quickly he manipulated the control to place the exit of the wormhole inside the ship, pointed directly at their power source.

Sarah glanced out the windows along the side of the ship and saw a huge portion of the Kra ships in her field of view, dark except for glowing patches of damage from her laser fire. "Holy crap, some of those ships are as big as cities!" she exclaimed.

"Ready," said Storm. Without taking her eyes away from the window, Sarah pressed the discharge button. One of the ships in the distance suddenly lit up as bright as a star as the back end of the ship exploded from the energy system being ripped apart by the Arfuran laser.

"Wow, that was bright," said Sarah. "What kind of damage did that do?"

"I am scanning again..." said Storm. "A quarter of their vehicle is destroyed. They have no propulsion system or energy generation. We must do the same on the others quickly."

"Let's do it," Sarah said as she returned her eyes to the screens. Storm worked fast to move the target to the inside of another Kra ship, and Sarah fired again as soon as he had it positioned correctly. For several more minutes they went from one ship to the next, destroying power sources, propulsion engines, and any weapons they could spot. "I hope we don't run out of energy for this thing," said Sarah.

"I am confident we will not," replied Storm.

"Storm, Sarah, this is Nanida," the intercom speaker said. "The strategy you are using is very effective. They are receiving severe damage but we must act more quickly to disable their vehicles."

Storm asked, "Do the others in the fleet have their dimension vein weapons completed?"

"No," replied Nanida. "None have reported to have their weapon completed. We began working at the same time they did and our duplicates are not complete either."

"Contact the rest of the fleet," said Storm, "and tell them to spread their distance and begin to use their energy weapons. The Kra vehicles are unable to attack but we do not know how much time it will be until they are able."

Sarah and Storm resumed their individual attacks. Sarah intermittently looked out the side windows and saw the rest of the fleet begin to maneuver out of their linear pattern to form a wall of ships. As they moved they fired what energy weapons they had at the Kra fleet, inflicting additional damage to the already disabled ships. Numerous smaller ships emerged from the large Arfuran ships, quickly flying out among the Kra ships and inflicting damage with their weapons. They targeted any remaining energy cannons they could detect on the surface of the invading ships, firing heavily at any that were able to discharge a shot in the direction of the Arfurans. With no shielding, those ships that were disabled by Sarah and Storm received the greatest amounts of additional damage.

Within minutes a huge majority of the Kra ships were severely damaged and unable to move or fire back. Those with the least damage were still immobile due to the control damage from the electromagnetic bombs. Sarah and Storm noticed the rest of the fleet quit firing and held their positions while the smaller fighter ships retreated outside the area of the Kra ships.

"Nanida," said Storm over the intercom. "What is the condition of our situation?"

After a brief pause of silence, Nanida responded, "All data is being received from scans by us and the rest of the fleet...the Kra vehicles are immobilized...most are losing their atmosphere through hull damage, some more quickly than others. They will die without our help. The fleet leader is attempting to establish communication with them through our emergency channel...Perfas, please connect the transmission with the rest of the vehicle."

After a moment the external viewing screen in front of the pair was blanked and replaced with a split video screen. One half contained the familiar striped face of the fleet leader Bustag. The other half remained black.

"Kra vehicles," said Bustag, "I am Bustag, the head of this fleet of Arfuran vehicles. We have detected your vehicles are damaged, you do not have enough reserve energy for your life support systems, and your breathable atmosphere is being lost. If you will surrender peacefully, we will provide assistance to minimize your loss of life and return you to your home planet."

Several silent seconds passed with no response from the Kra side of the transmission. "Kra vehicles, are you able to hear and understand my message?" Bustag repeated.

A few more seconds of silence passed before a video image crackled through the static on the Kra side of the screen. After the static cleared the screen showed Kragraxa slumped weakly in its throne of a captain's chair, breathing heavily due to the rapidly thinning air. It slowly looked up at the camera, then looked back down at the control panel next to the chair. It pressed a few buttons, causing the panel to pop open, presenting a small square box that emerged from underneath. It opened the hinged box, revealing another button under it.

Kragraxa looked back up at the camera and, through the rough translation given by the communication system, said, "...Kra never...captive... ...Take...no prisoners..." Its appendage moved to press the button and the screen instantly blanked out. Sarah and Storm quickly looked out the window and saw the lead Kra ship explode in an enormous fireball, followed instantly by the others surrounding it. As fast as the radio transmission spread out from the lead ship, the instantaneous wave of self destruction spread throughout the Kra fleet. Sarah got up from her seat and stepped over to the window to see. The last remaining ships were distant bright specks as they destroyed themselves out as far as the eye could see.

Sarah stood there silently with her mouth slightly open in shock as she watched the glowing fireballs quickly run out of oxygen and grow dark. Storm quietly got out of his seat and stepped beside her, watching the pieces of former Kra ships fly past the window or get deflected off the energy shielding.

"They're dead...they're all gone," Sarah said quietly. "Billions, gone...an entire civilization just went dead...from powerful civilization to extinct in maybe a half hour." She paused silently for a moment. "They would have done the same to us, but...they all died, because of me, because of this weapon I created."

Storm placed his arm behind Sarah's back with his hand on her shoulder. "Do not blame yourself for their death," he said. "They chose their life of destruction and killing...they believed they were the only species fit to exist. It is they who chose death rather than peaceful surrender. You did not kill them. They did."

"True," said Sarah. "But...I can't help feeling sad that so many died. It's like I could feel the life energy of all of them...in pain for a moment, and then...extinguished."

"We all share your sadness," Storm replied. "They were beautiful living creatures but their way of life destroyed them. If we could not stop them, I do not know how many more civilizations after ours would be destroyed. Think of those lives you saved."

Sarah sighed. "Yeah...I guess you're right." She looked out into space for a few more moments, watching the last fading remnants of incinerated Kra ships cool into darkness, before remembering her friend. "Ajagi...how is he doing?" she asked as she looked at Storm.

"He is safe," said Storm. "He lost much blood and was very weak when I left him. His medical device worked well to stop his blood loss. His medical team is caring for him now."

Sarah quickly turned to the door and headed out of the room with Storm following closely behind. She jogged through the halls the short distance to the conference room where she'd last seen her lupine friend. When they came through the door they found the scattered debris and a large blood stain on the floor, but no Ajagi.

"They must have brought him to the medical treatment room," Storm replied.

"I hope they can save his leg," said Sarah as the two turned back down the hallway.

"They are very well skilled," said Storm. "Ajagi completed their training, and now they will show him what they learned."

Ajagi appeared on an operating table before them when Storm and Sarah slid open the doors to the medical room. The medical team members had already cut away his protection suit and were busy preparing to operate. As they approached his side Sarah looked at his amputation device covering his blood-soaked fur and felt terrible about the condition he was in. She glanced at the remainder of his leg on the table next to him with the other amputation device attached and felt hopeful about the impending surgery when she noticed the toes had a slight involuntary wiggle.

"Ajagi," Sarah said softly as she leaned over him. "Are you awake?"

The light gray wolf opened his eyes slightly as he rolled his head to look at her, then drew the corners of his mouth back in a wide smile. "Yes, I am," he said.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked with concern.

"Yes...I am doing well," Ajagi replied in a soft, tired voice. "The blood replacement... contains a chemical to relieve my pain and make me...sleep for them to work."

Sarah looked up, just past Ajagi, and saw a small pump that was pushing blood through a tube and into the amputation device where it could be returned to his vessels. She couldn't tell if it was donated blood or a synthetic replacement.

"I never thought...that I would be the one to test this device," said Ajagi with his sleepy speech. "I am happy to find that it works."

Sarah smiled at his humble words while she stroked the fur on his head between his ears. "You have an amazing invention there," she said with agreement. Storm continued to stand silently just behind her. He knew he would have time to talk with Ajagi later and felt he should give Sarah her time with him.

"If you are here..." Ajagi continued with his quiet voice, "we must be safe. Have the Kra...been driven back home?"

"We're safe," said Sarah, "but the Kra aren't going home. They're all gone...dead. We defeated them but they destroyed themselves instead of being captured."

Ajagi gazed into her eyes for a moment before clenching his eyes tightly shut. "What a terrible loss of life...a terrible cost for this war to end," he said. "I...thought I wanted their species destroyed...out of revenge for our friends they killed. Now I realize...I just wanted the killing to stop."

Sarah leaned over to hug Ajagi and hold his furry cheek against hers. "I know. That's what we all wanted," she said before raising up from the embrace. "There won't be any more killing. They can't hurt Arfurans or anybody else any more."

"I wish my pain...could take away some of the pain...our friends received from the Kra... Thank you for helping us," Ajagi said. "We will never...forget what you have done for us."

"I'll never forget you, either," said Sarah. She then leaned over and kissed his muzzle, and Ajagi placed a soft lick on her cheek.

"Have a...home...return safe..." Ajagi mumbled as his eyes faded shut.

"He is asleep now," said Storm. "They will be repairing his leg soon."

Sarah caressed the furry wolf face for a moment before turning to leave the room with Storm. "Will he be alright? I mean, will he be able to walk again?" she asked.

"Yes, he should heal very well," Storm replied. "He will need support to carry him until his bone and tissues heal. After ten or fifteen days he will be able to walk unaided."

"Ten or fifteen days? To heal an amputation?" Sarah said with disbelief. "You must have some incredible surgeons. I once twisted my ankle and walked with a limp for two months."

"What is a month?" asked Storm as they wandered the hallways of the ship.

"Let's just say sixty days," Sarah replied.

"Ah...I understand," said Storm.

Just as they turned down the hall with a short distance to the door of the transfer room, the ship-wide intercom activated. "This is Nanida. Please listen, my friends, I must announce a message. Among all the vehicles of the fleet there is minimal damage, few injuries, and no loss of life. To inform those who did not see or hear the event, the Kra were defeated and destroyed themselves. Our short range scanners can find no trace of life or any intact vehicles that may contain surviving Kra. Long range sensors and surveillance probes do not detect any vehicles or movement between here and the Kra planet. Other fleets around the system are continuing to perform their scans, but our scans are finished. This zone is safe and we have been approved to return home." The excitement in Nanida's voice was easily noticeable.

Chapter 26. Going Home

Sarah and Storm instantly heard bursts of howls and cheering echo through the ship's hallways as the rest of the crew celebrated following Nanida's announcement. Sarah let out a squeal of excitement and threw her arms around Storm's neck in a hug which he quickly returned with equal excitement. "You get to go home!" Sarah said ecstatically as she hugged him tight. After a moment she came to a sad realization and released his neck to slide down off of him.

"I guess that means...I have to go home, too," she said.

"Yes...you do," Storm replied with regret, casting his eyes down to the floor. "Now you know we are safe."

"I had been putting it out of my mind. I guess I didn't want to think about leaving," said Sarah. She turned around to slide the door open and the two stepped into the transfer room where her adventure began. "Well, we're safe now. We won't be needing these awful things any more." In a quick motion she pulled open the front fastener of her protection suit, slid it off her shoulders and down to the floor. With a smile she stepped out of it and tossed it against the wall with her foot.

"You are correct," said Storm as he copied her motion to remove his suit, followed by scratching his sides and fluffing his matted fur back up. "The only ones who will need to keep their protection covers on are those who must repair the damaged side of the vehicle. It will not require much time."

Sarah turned to Storm, reached out to take his hands in hers, and looked up into his dark golden eyes. "Storm," she said. "Not counting Ajagi's injury and the battle that just happened, this has been the most wonderful few days of my life. I am so happy that I met you...I'll never forget you either, or the wonderful time we shared on your beautiful planet."

"I feel very much the same way," Storm replied. "I will always remember you as well and I have greatly enjoyed becoming your friend."

Sarah released his hands, stepped closer, and put her arms up around his neck. "Storm...I..."

"Miss Shepherd?"

"What? What was..." Sarah said with shock as she stepped back from Storm and looked around the room.

"Miss Shepherd," the voice said again. Sarah could clearly hear but not see anyone else.

"Oh, no...you have got to be kidding me," Sarah said with rising anger in her voice.

"What is it?" asked Storm. "What do you hear?"

"Berglund!" Sarah replied. "He's in my house, and all my notes for the weapon project are right there. He can't get them!" She quickly turned and stepped over to a seat at the table. "Don't deactivate that transfer system," she said to Storm, pointing to the machine.

"What are you doing?" Storm began to ask.

"I'll come back and let you know when all the information is safe," Sarah said. "Just don't shut down the transfer." Before Storm could say another word Sarah sat back in the chair and forced her eyes to open back home.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked when her eyes opened to find Berglund standing over her. "How did you get in my house?"

"You had a spare in the desk in your office," Berglund said, holding up the small key before placing it on the table.

"Get out of my house," Sarah insisted with increasing aggression in her voice. "I don't care if you're my boss. You have no right to come into my house like that."

"I've been curious about your behavior lately," he said as he turned to meander slowly around the room, virtually ignoring her order. "You've been acting quite strangely these past several days. At first I thought there was a problem when the mail and papers were piling up at your mailbox while your car never left, but that question was answered when it was all retrieved. Taking time off for 'personal matters' doesn't include lounging around the house in your bathrobe. That is what scheduled vacation is for, and right now I have a project that requires your attention."

"What I do in my house is my business," Sarah said angrily. "And what have you been doing, sitting in your car watching me every day? Get out, Berglund."

"Doctor Berg..."

"GET OUT!" Sarah yelled at him.

"You don't seem to understand the terms of your employment, Miss Shepherd," he continued in his pompous tone of voice. "You work for me, you work for my projects. You were instructed to work on ideas for this weapons development grant...although this is hardly the professional work I expect from you." Reaching into his inside pocket he pulled out a sheet of paper and unfolded it, revealing Sarah's missing first page of notes with weapons ideas and doodles. "Cartoon characters are for Saturday morning, not the workplace."

"Where did you get that?" Sarah asked with shock.

"It was on the floor under your desk," he replied. "As I was curious about your behavior, your office is the first place I looked to find some answers. I thought you were maybe on drugs or something..." He tossed the page on top of her other notes which were still on the coffee table and, apparently, untouched. He then continued his sentence, "...but I see you are working on a project by yourself. Trying for a grant of your own? I don't know what you think your plan is, but as long as you work for me, your ideas are my ideas. I want a summary of your progress and a copy of your notes on my desk first thing in the morning."

Sarah sprung up from her position on the couch with a look of rage in her face. "Get out of my house," she ordered. "You don't own me and you don't own my ideas. You can't have my notes and you won't be getting any weapon ideas out of me. Enough have already died from my ideas and I will not allow any more death from it. Get out!"

Berglund was unfazed as he said, "You must not appreciate the job you have in my department..."

Before he could finish his sentence Sarah grabbed the collars of his suit and pushed hard, knocking him to the floor and landing on top of him with his arms pinned underneath her knees. "You don't seem to appreciate the ability to breathe," she said with escalating volume. "Leave my house NOW or I will bite out your larynx and eat it while you watch! GET OUT!"

Her seething rage and ear piercing volume finally got his attention. "Very well, Miss Shepherd," Berglund said, attempting to retain his composure. "I will go." Sarah pushed hard against him to get up on her feet. He cautiously got up from the floor, straightened his tie, and swiped the wrinkles from his suit jacket. Sarah marched to the door, pulled it open, and pointed at the outdoors.

Berglund strolled to the door and stopped just before leaving. "Don't think this is the end of it, Miss Shepherd," he said. "You've made a very poor choice."

"Out!" she said once more. As soon as Berglund was through the door she slammed it behind him, then watched through the windows as he walked to his car, started it up, and drove off. "I don't trust him," she said to herself. "Not one bit."

She stood there at the window, staring out at the setting sun and thinking about everything that had just transpired, about her doomed career, and what she was going to do about securing the information about the weapon. Even without the technology existing on Earth she didn't want the concept to fall into the hands of anybody who would attempt to create it. With her mind a blur of thoughts being pieced together, she suddenly turned and grabbed the pile of notes.

The fireplace roared to life when Sarah activated the gas valve and ignited the flame. She glanced briefly at her notes--notes that included the wormhole theory she worked so hard to complete--then tossed the stack in the fire on top of the fake logs. She stood there for a few moments watching it burn, relieved that nobody on Earth would ever be able to build such a weapon. As she turned and ran to her bedroom, the top page of the notes slid off the stack and landed on the bricks, turning almost entirely to ash before smoldering out and leaving only part of a corner intact.

In her bedroom Sarah dropped her bathrobe and quickly dressed in some jeans and a T-shirt before putting on a light coat and grabbing her purse. She stopped in the living room, grabbed the spare key off the table, and ran out the door with it locking securely behind her.

Sarah jumped in her car and drove off toward the university as quickly as she could. As she was quite familiar with Berglund's routine she knew he would not be there at that time. She found a parking space close to the door and ran inside to find her office. With a quick search of the drawers and areas around her desk she concluded there were no additional notes or clues to her weapon project or the wormhole theory. She picked up her copy of the DARPA grant paperwork and headed for the door. Before leaving the office she stopped in her tracks, turned around, and grabbed the German Shepherd figurine off the computer monitor.

With a quick run through a few more hallways Sarah arrived at the chemistry lab. There was no sign of Phil, but his current experiment was in full swing. About a half minute later, Phil arrived and was surprised to find her there. "Hi Phil," Sarah said calmly.

"Hi there, Sarah," said Phil. "Where have you been? Nobody's heard from you since Monday and I was getting worried."

"Eh...you wouldn't believe me if I told you," she replied with a smile. "I had a question for you. I got a prescription for these insomnia pills from my doctor since I've been having trouble sleeping lately. He didn't say much of anything about side effects, so I wanted to ask you again about what they do."

"Well, so much for loyalty during my times of struggle," said Phil, facetiously. "I'm just kidding. Like I said before they work very well, but take no more than one. You'll be out like a light for a good eight hours, and you'll probably feel pretty groggy for a couple more after you wake up. Whatever you do, don't drive your car or run a bulldozer or anything like that until the effects have completely worn off."

"No problem. My bulldozer is in the shop," Sarah replied with a smile.

Phil let out a light laugh. "Also, make sure your house is safe because even if a smoke alarm is right over your bed, it will not wake you up. Your doctor probably didn't mention that an overdose will lead to a coma, since that isn't printed in any of the medical literature."

"Thanks Phil," said Sarah as she got up from his seat. She quick grabbed one side of his face and kissed his cheek on the other side. With a smile she bounded off and said, "Gotta run...give my best to Katie!"

Dumbfounded, Phil called back, "You're welcome, Sarah...I will." As she disappeared through the door softly singing a made up tune, "From Arfurah With Love," Phil cocked his head to the side inquisitively and said to himself, "She's sure in a good mood. 'From Arthur With Love'...maybe she has a new boyfriend?"

Sarah returned home in the same rapid pace as her departure. A woman on a mission, she quickly marched into the house once her car was stopped in the driveway. She was happy to find her door and house were not tampered with and continued with her business. Sitting down at her computer, she fired it up and opened her email program. "Contact information..." she said to herself as she flipped through the pages describing the grant. Finding what she needed, she began to type. "To whom it may concern," she dictated quietly as she typed. Several minutes and paragraphs later, she was finished. "Files attached...done. Next."

"Dear Phil," she quietly said to herself as she began to write her second message. After a couple more minutes of typing she was finished and sent it to her outbox. Next she brought up her word processing program and began to type up a document that was as professional as she could make it. "Done...print," she said aloud as she sent it off to the printer. As soon as it was finished she pulled it off the printer tray, read it over, and signed it. "Almost done," she continued to say to herself as she busily worked.

Sarah then got out of her chair and went to her filing cabinet. Thumbing through the folders she found what she was looking for, pulled it out, and set it on her desk to sign it as well. She sat back down in front of her computer and began to search the internet. "Let's see..." she thought to herself as she typed, searched, and read. "'Drive Disintegrator: Don't just erase, don't just format...disintegrate! Simple yet powerful, this program securely shreds your files or entire hard drive, then chops the shreds into tiny bits of powder. Disk surface is erased, then it begins a continuous cycle of being overwritten with random bits, then formatted, then overwritten, then formatted...the longer it runs the more securely destroyed your data is, and nobody will ever be able to recover the files that were once there. Review: 9 out of 10 'joysticks up.' Free trial, download here."

"That should work," Sarah said as she downloaded the program. While it downloaded she hit the send button on her email program to release the message to their destinations. As soon as the download was finished she ran it. "'Are you sure?' Yes. 'Are you really sure?' Yes. 'Are you ultra-mega-sure? There's no going back after this point.' Yes, just do it already," she said to the screen as she activated the program and began her computer on the path of self destruction. As it ran she picked up her blank notepad and began writing. "Berglund:..." she began.

With her handwritten letter finished, Sarah tore the page off, picked up the other papers from her desk, and went to her living room. She set the letter to Berglund on the small ottoman next to the fireplace and noticed the charred corner of her first page that was still lying on the bricks. "Nothing useful there...that's fine," she thought to herself as she turned around and set the other paperwork on the coffee table. Sarah then went to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and returned to the living room.

"It's funny how things work out," she said to herself as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small pills that she'd acquired from Phil's lab. He never noticed the tiny quantity missing from the large bin of pills he had to supply his experiments. Sarah then popped the pills into her mouth, swallowed them down with her glass of water, and set the glass on the coffee table. For a few moments she gazed out the large windows on the front of her house, enjoying the evening sunset and thinking about all the unpredictable events that had taken place. Finally, Sarah pulled off her glasses, folded them to set on the coffee table, eased her head back on the couch pillow, and closed her eyes.

"Storm!" Sarah exclaimed when she saw the tall fox standing next to the large work bench of the transfer room. As he turned around to look at her, she sprung up from her seat, ran toward him, and threw her arms around his neck. Before he could say a word she pulled him close, parted her lips, and pressed them to his in a long, deep, passionate kiss. With her eyes closed she let all the emotion and affection she had been feeling for him flow out through her lips, silently speaking her feelings for him. Storm, taken initially by surprise, closed his eyes as well and returned the kiss to the best of his understanding of how kisses worked.

An eternity of moments passed before Sarah released her lips from his and pulled back from him to speak. "I love you, Storm," she said to him with her emotions continuing to flow freely. "I love you...I love you more than anyone I have ever known. Your heart and mind are so beautiful and pure...I didn't intend to feel this way, but...I am so in love with you."

Storm fell speechless for several seconds before regaining his thoughts enough to speak. "I...love you as well, Sarah," he said finally. "I feel very much the same way...but I felt I should not tell you. I did not want to complicate your visit here, or your return home."

Sarah smiled upon hearing his words and pulled him close to kiss him again. Their shared love was embodied in a kiss more impassioned than the first. When their lips parted, Sarah spoke again. "I have wanted to kiss you for so long," she said, "since the morning we awoke on our trip to Arfurah. I didn't want to say anything that might complicate things either, but I can't help it. Storm...I want to be your mate."

"Sarah," Storm replied, "there is nothing that would make me more happy than that, but..." He paused for a moment. "We are from different worlds and we are so different from each other. I do not understand how you desire me as a mate...I am so different from your species."

"That doesn't matter to me," Sarah replied. "You are as beautiful in body as you are in heart and mind. I can't think of..." Sarah's eyes fell shut and her knees buckled underneath her. She dropped slightly, quickly being supported by Storm's strong arms before regaining control of her body and supporting herself again. "I can't think of anyone who would make a better mate."

"What happened?" asked Storm. "Are you alright, Sarah?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied. "That was an interesting feeling. It was just something that happened...I can't transfer back now."

"What did you do?" Storm inquired.

"Just something to ensure that nobody back home would be able to bother me," she replied.

Storm said, "Sarah, you must return home. You need to open your eyes."

Sarah smiled, placed another quick kiss on his lips, and said, "You already have opened my eyes."

"You must transfer home, Sarah," Ajagi said.

Sarah raised her eyebrows and looked around Storm's shoulder. "Hello Ajagi, I didn't see you there." Ajagi was positioned on a motorized stool that held him at a height between sitting and standing. His injured leg was securely braced from moving, but appeared to be intact at its full length. "How are you feeling?" she asked before stepping over to give him a hug.

"I am feeling very well," Ajagi replied with his hug in return. "I am sore but our medical team did a superb job in repairing the injury to my leg. I heard what you said to Storm. I understand you are not able to prevent the way you feel about another being because such feelings form naturally. However, you must transfer home. We know what it is like to be away from home. You belong with your own people."

Sarah responded, "Your people have all made me feel so welcome, I had more of a sense of belonging with all of you than I ever have with my own people. Besides, like I said, I can't transfer home. My body is now unable to open its eyes."

"How can that be?" asked Ajagi. "Do you understand the consequences of the inability to transfer back to your world?"

Without saying a word Sarah released her arms from Storm, walked past him and Ajagi, and stopped at the transfer system. She opened the cover that protected the large red switch, pulled the safety pin out of it, then placed her finger on the switch. Looking first at Ajagi, and then gazing at Storm for a moment, she flipped the switch to its opposite direction. "I understand completely," Sarah said. The transfer system flashed several of its indicator lights, activated its holographic screen to display several lines of Arfuran text, then the screen went blank while most of the lights went dark.

"Now...you can never go back," Ajagi said softly.

Sarah walked back over to Storm and wrapped her arms up around his neck again. "I don't want to go back," she said.

"You have known me for such a short time," Storm said. "How do you know I am the mate you truly desire?"

"My heart knows," Sarah replied. "My Dad told me to follow my heart to happiness, and that's exactly what I did. I have been happier with you here than I ever have been back home. There is a love song with words close to, 'I would rather be with you in your world than without you in mine.' Storm, I never want to be without you again. Whenever I see you or think about you, my heart just pounds. When I hear you speak, you leave me breathless. There are at least a hundred love songs I know with words that describe how I feel about you. I want to share my life with you, and be a part of yours. I love you, Storm...I love you."

Ajagi smiled and said to Storm, "I believe she loves you."

Storm smiled as he gazed into Sarah's eyes. "Yes," he replied. "I love you, Sarah. I would be most happy to share my life with you as well. When I spoke of someone who I wished to be my mate but she lived too far away, it is you who I spoke of. It has been difficult to conceal my great sadness as I have thought of never seeing you again. Now...words do not exist to express how happy you have made me."

Sarah's lips showed a smile that displayed her delirious happiness as she kissed him once more. "Let's go home, my love," she said to him.

"We are traveling there now," Storm replied. "We will arrive in less than three tar."

"Wonderful," Sarah replied with a giddy smile. "I can hardly wait."

"Miss Shepherd?" a voice said through her front door after the sound of a knock. "Miss Shepherd, open up." After a pause of silence the voice said again, "Village police, Miss Shepherd, please open the door."

"Can't you kick it in?" asked Berglund, impatiently.

"Only as a last resort, Mr. Berglund," the officer replied.

"Doctor Berglund."

"Um, yeah...doctor," the officer said. "Are you sure you want to be here? Typically you would wait in your car until we have the suspect apprehended, and then you'd approach to positively identify her."

"Yes, I'm quite sure," Berglund replied. "She's a valued employee and I stopped by out of genuine concern to check that she was alright because she hasn't been at work. I used the spare key she entrusted me to keep, and when I entered she attacked me and threatened my life. I want to see her arrested for assault, and I also need to retrieve some important scientific notes for a government project she stole from me."

"I see someone on the sofa...appears to be unconscious," said the second officer as he looked through the window. "Try the door, then force your way in if it's locked."

The first officer turned the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. He cautiously pushed the door open and said, "Police, Miss Shepherd. We have a warrant to enter." When she didn't respond the two officers walked into the living room, followed by Berglund who slowly sauntered through the door. "Miss Shepherd?" the officer called out as he shook her shoulder. "Sarah, wake up. Can you hear me?" he continued.

The second officer standing nearby activated his radio. "Dispatch, this is unit eleven. We need an ambulance, one female, unconscious...Is she alive?...Breathing but we can't wake her."

As the two officers attempted to awaken Sarah, Berglund toured the living room and glanced into her adjacent office through the open door. Unable to find the notes he was looking for, he continued to walk and look around until he found a handwritten note with his name on it.

"Mr. Berglund: You have not earned the privilege of the title 'doctor' and I refuse to ever refer to you that way again. I know you are trying to find my work but you are too late. Look and you will see ashes in the fireplace. You will never steal my work again, and not you or anybody else will ever benefit, or suffer, from the terrible device I created. I learned science to benefit life and humanity, not to destroy it. I have sent a letter to DARPA with a complete copy of all my work on the energy presentation to show that you had nothing to do with its work. With any luck they have already torn up the check for your grant. May the rest of your life be as miserable as you are as a person. Sarah Shepherd."

Berglund looked up from the letter and saw the fireplace littered with ashes. Lying on the bricks, lit up by the flames that were still burning, was a corner of paper with a few partial words, a partial math formula, and a doodle of a fox man looking back at him.

"Did you find your stolen materials, sir?" the first officer asked.

Berglund silently reached over to turn off the gas valve and extinguish the flames. "No," he responded with a sigh. "It's not here."

Phil shut off the lights in his lab before heading over to his office to close up for the evening. He put on his coat and went to shut off his computer when he saw he had a new email from Sarah. Curious, he opened it to read her message.

"Dear Phil, I don't quite know how to say goodbye. I wish I could explain why I did what I did, but like I said before you probably wouldn't believe me. I didn't have any prescription. You probably didn't notice but there are some trineprisol missing from your supply in the lab. I have taken 5 of them. If I haven't been found by the time you read this, I'm sure I will soon. I've left a signed statement next to me declaring that you had nothing to do with my choice to take the pills, and that I want Philip Restin to participate in my medical diagnosis so that you will have the patient data you need for a case study to prove the dangers of the drug. Please don't ever blame yourself because I was able to take some of your pills. I made the choice myself and did it without you knowing. I also know you and Katie have been trying to afford your own house for a while so you could get out of that apartment. With that signed statement I also left the deed to my house, signed over to you. Whether you decide to live there or sell the house and buy a place of your own, I wish you two the best of happiness. You're my closest friend in the world and you have always made my job easier to endure just by being there every day. No matter what happens or where I go, know that I'll never forget your friendship. Love and friendship always, Sarah."

"Oh, no..." Phil said in sad disbelief as he read the letter. "Five pills? Sarah, what did you do?" Immediately he picked up his phone, dialed Sarah's home number from the employee contact list, and had his call answered by a police officer.

"Will this hurt?" asked Sarah as she lay on the large work table.

"No," replied Ajagi. "It will feel no different than when you transferred here."

"Yeah, I know," said Sarah with a smile. "It just seemed like the automatic thing to say."

"Do such procedures in your world cause pain?" Ajagi asked.

"Well, we don't have procedures like this," Sarah replied. "I've just seen a lot of movies where somebody was getting some strange thing done to them, and they always ask if it hurts."

Storm said, "I hope you will tell us more about 'moo vees.' I would also enjoy it to hear the love songs you spoke of. Does the transfer system still retain all her memories, Ajagi?"

"Yes, it does," Ajagi replied. "When Sarah ended the connection she did not shut off the system or cause it to lose the data."

"We will be home in a quarter tar, Love," Storm said. "Would you prefer to wait?"

"No, I think I'd rather do this now," Sarah replied.

"Are you sure you wish to do this?" asked Storm. "I do not require it to love you."

"I've had hours to think about it, and I'm quite sure," Sarah replied.

"It is ready, Sarah," said Ajagi. "You may proceed any time you wish."

Sarah lifted her head up, kissed Storm, laid her head back down, and closed her eyes. Immediately her field of view was replaced with the sight of the blue ceiling in a different location. A moment later, Storm entered her field of view, looking down upon her with loving eyes. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Sarah shifted her eyes slightly to look around and then sat up. She sat silently for a moment, taking in all of her sensations and self perception. She then lifted her arms and hands up in front of her face to look at and inspect them.

"I feel..." Sarah began before pausing. "I feel fine, just a little different. Do you have a mirror?"

"Ajagi, please hand the reflecting plane to me," said Storm. Ajagi took the mirror from a side work counter, passed it to Storm, and Storm handed it to Sarah. Sarah held it out in front of herself, taking many silent seconds to look at herself and inspect her new eyes, her pointed ears, long muzzle, sharp fangs, long white whiskers, and furry face.

Sarah lowered the mirror, looked at Storm and Ajagi, and said, "I feel wonderful! Oh...do I sound strange to you? My mouth feels so different. I'm not sure if I'm making words sound the way I expect."

"You sound fine to me," said Storm.

"This body has the same translation system that your other one had," said Ajagi. "The effects to you will be the same. Your brain will direct your mouth to speak the words of our language while it causes you to hear the words of your language. The difference in shape of mouth may cause a strange sensation for you as you speak. We have not had to deal with this situation before as you are the first being from a different civilization to take a body modeled after one of ours...except for one being from a civilization that communicated with thought and no sound. We had to provide a body with a mouth to speak to us, and he did not know what sensations to expect."

"I guess I'll just have to get used to it, then," said Sarah. "Can the translation part be turned off so that some day I can learn to speak your language?"

Ajagi replied, "Yes. It can be adjusted so you speak and hear the language you desire. That will allow you to hear our words as we speak them and learn how to say them."

"Wonderful," said Sarah. "I want to learn everything about your world, and speaking your language is one of the first things I want to learn." She then set down the mirror and pushed herself off the table. With her first few unsteady steps on her Arfuran feet, Sarah quickly learned how the ground felt under a nonhuman foot. "I guess learning how to walk on these feet will be the first thing to learn," she said, smiling as she looked up at Storm. She looked back down at her furry body, twisting around to see her arms and legs from all sides. She picked up the mirror again to view her back, and looked down at her tail. "That certainly does look different from what I'm used to seeing back there," she said.

"It looks wonderful to me," Storm said with a sly smile.

Sarah looked back at him with her own flattered smile. "You're so sweet," she said before moving closer to him to slide her arms around him and better enjoy his scent with her new nose.

"It appears you already know how to use your tail as well," said Storm, motioning with his head toward her tail. Sarah looked down behind herself to see her new tail was wagging.

"Wow...I didn't even try to make it do that," she said. "It's like I made it wag without even thinking about it, as if by instinct. This body feels very...natural, just like the other one did." With her last few words she remembered her former self lying on the table. She parted from Storm and walked around the table, stopping beside the body she'd been using for the past week.

"This is such a strange feeling, to see myself lying there," Sarah said to her friends. "It's like seeing myself dead."

"That body is not dead," Ajagi responded. "It is in the same state it always was when you transferred away from here. It is similar to being asleep. Its systems are active to maintain it but it has no consciousness to control it."

"What will happen to that body?" Sarah asked.

Ajagi replied, "It will be deconstructed and its materials put back into storage for other uses."

"Can it be stored away intact?" Sarah continued to ask. "I mean, what if I change my mind and would like to go back into that body. Can it be stored away until then? Or would it decompose like any other dead body?"

"The synthetic materials will not decompose," said Ajagi. "Its systems may be shut off so it remains dormant for storage, if that is what you desire."

Sarah replied, "I think I would like that. At least until I'm completely sure this is the body I would like to keep. Until then..." Sarah paused her words, walked over to the transfer system, and flipped the transfer disconnect switch just as she had before. She then walked back over beside Storm and Ajagi, and they looked again at her former body. "You have given me the ability to now see the natural beauty in that body that you did. I just wish I'd been more comfortable in it. This body will help give me more of a fresh start."

"We will be arriving at Arfurah in ten taren, with landing in fifteen," said Nanida's voice over the intercom. "The forward observation room is filling quickly!"

Sarah, Storm, and Ajagi all smiled in happiness. "Shall we go?" asked Sarah.

"I would be very happy to go and watch," said Ajagi. Storm nodded his agreement. The three headed for the door with Storm holding open so Ajagi could roll through, followed immediately by Sarah. A short trip through the hallways soon delivered the three to the observation deck at the front of the ship. Enormous windows provided everyone a beautiful view of the approaching planet as they lined up along the width of the room. Sarah noticed that every other crewmember had finally shed their protection suits, and friends and mates held onto each other with increasing excitement as they got ever closer to home.

Sarah wrapped her arms tightly around Storm and Ajagi, holding her friends close as they completed the mission they'd departed for so long ago. The air in the room seemed to Sarah to be electrically charged from everyone's excited anticipation of returning home. In front of them she could see some of the other ships of the fleet beginning their reentry first. Smoothly and gracefully the ships rolled and pitched up to follow the ground as they continued their descent.

"Where are we going to land?" Sarah asked.

"We will be landing in the large clearing near the research facility," Storm replied. "There are too many vehicles in our fleet for the transport facility to accept at once."

Before they knew it the fleet had the prairie in sight. The midmorning light clearly showed the path to their landing site near the research facility as each ship slowed and carefully got into position to land next to each other. As the nose of the ship rose to a level pitch the view of the ground was replaced by a view of the clear sky, prompting everyone to head for the large bay doors that were under the ship. When the doors opened, the sound of cheers and howls filled the air from neighboring Arfurans who gathered at the prairie to greet the arriving fleet.

Sarah held onto Storm's hand as they walked down the ramp and she set foot on the planet's surface with her new feet for the first time again. Like a tidal wave entering a harbor, thousands of people who came from miles around the area flooded into the prairie to welcome the crew members home with countless hugs, nuzzles, and licks. Sarah felt wonderfully at home as she was greeted numerous times by people who had no idea who she was.

A motion in the sky grabbed Sarah's attention and she quickly pointed upwards for Storm to look. One by one, hundreds of white streaks appeared in the sky as ships from other fleets began to arrive home. All around the planet, millions of ships that had departed so long ago with their crews to join the hundreds of thousands of outposts around the planetary system were finally coming home. In the sky above the prairie, hundreds of ships reentered the atmosphere and left their white trails streaked through the sky as they diverted their course to take their crews to the areas they called home.

A tear of overwhelming happiness came to Sarah's eye when she realized how many had been out there ready to risk their lives to protect their people and their planet. Each ship carried hundreds of Arfurans, billions of people from around the planet safely delivered home. Sarah looked around and saw Nanida riding high above the crowd on Antakiri's shoulders with the most elated smile she'd ever seen on him.

After a moment she thought of Ajagi and started looking around for him. Unable to spot him at first, a few bodies in the crowd parted and she saw him. He was surrounded by his mates who were all holding him tightly, licking him continuously, and sad about his injury but so happily relieved to have him home in one piece.

With the sight of them, all Sarah could do was smile. Turning back around, she got Storm's attention, leapt into the air, and hung onto him with her arms around his neck and her legs supported by his arms as he caught her. Closing her eyes and pulling him close, she kissed him once more, her awareness of the crowd fading and her attention focused completely on him.

After a while of celebrating the crowd began to disperse as friends, families, and mates left for their homes. Hand in hand, Sarah and Storm walked down the familiar path toward their den. "Your people are just beautiful," Sarah said. "I can't imagine a more wonderful welcome."

"Do you mean 'our people?'" Storm said in reply.

"Yes, true," Sarah said with a smile. As they arrived at their den Sarah recalled, "We didn't get your things from the ship. Should we go back?"

"No, it is not necessary," Storm replied. "We may retrieve them tomorrow. I am sure there will be a great celebration today and through the night to keep us busy."

The pair entered their home, hand in hand, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Sarah leaned close to Storm and once more they shared a tender kiss, followed by soft, warm licks.

"On our walk home I noticed you are walking very well on your new feet," Storm said. "Are you getting used to the rest of your body? I hope everything works well for you."

They both sat silently as Sarah looked around the room, studying her eyesight and other senses. "Let's see...everything looks sharp and colors are vivid, so the eyes are good. I also very much enjoy the scent of your fur and the taste of your kisses..." She then looked back at Storm, gazed deeply into his golden eyes with a soft smile, and said, "I can hear your heartbeat."

THE END