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Part 8

Late Friday Morning: Gelfheim, North Star Borough, Alaska.

The gathered crowd watched as the forward boarding lift descended to the ground carrying twelve individuals. As soon as the lift came to a stop, the first three off took a few steps and then knelt down to touch the ground. They lifted their faces skyward and howled...it was a long, harmonious howl, announcing their return to the ancient territory of their ancestral pack. The Three had returned from the stars.

Mindy felt a shiver run through her body as James, Lilly, and Tanya knelt and howled. It was a shiver not caused by the cold air--her Extreme Cold Weather Clothing was heated to maintain proper warmth against the frigid temperatures. No, the shiver was caused by something else, something...intangible. With her particular talent of being sensitive to the forces of living energies, she was quite aware of her fellow crewmembers around her, and those in the crowd. Mindy felt as if she might be overwhelmed at all of the living energy she felt swirling about.

"Come home...come home to where it all began...come..." she thought she heard whispering in her mind, calling to her, tugging at her heart.

As soon as James, Lilly, and Tanya began howling, Shauna felt something strong, yet gentle, reach into her, drawing her. She looked to the north, and then a little to the west, and a tear formed in her eye.

"That...that must be...The Place, James shared his memory of it with me the night we...the night we joined. I...I feel it..."

Shauna had never felt anything like it before. She, like many others, had talked of coming here at least once in their life, and now here she is. Shauna had heard some of the stories about The Place--the glen in the forest near the Daugherty home--from people she knew of who had traveled there for one reason or another. She remembered the images of the home and the surrounding area that James had shown her in his mind--it was kept much as it had been for over five hundred years, carefully preserved and handed down through the generations. Shauna remembered the words James said to her once, "Let us love you, Shauna, let us share our ancestor's gift with you. Come home to where it began." She thought at the time that it sounded like someone else talking...or maybe it was more than just one person, she couldn't tell. Standing in the frigid Alaskan air, Shauna saw the crowd approach, led by two people, but...she heard the words replaying again in her thoughts.

"Come home to where it began."

"Jamie! Your father and I have missed you!" Mary Kate Daugherty exclaimed when she threw her arms around her son, giving him a wolf kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you, too, Mom," James said quietly, trying not to blush in front of the crowd of local residents while he hugged his mother and return her kiss.

"Welcome home, son...," his father said warmly as he and James greeted each other.

"Thanks, Dad. It's so good to be back," James said happily.

Lilly and Tanya both took their turn at greeting James' parents and a few of the others in the crowd that they knew. Given how cold it was, James led the crew of Nightwing over to the nearby Gelfheim Mead Hall, where they had lunch. The menu was still the same as it had been for five hundred years--traditional Irish, German, and Scandinavian pub food, plus some local items, and of course the mead still produced by the Daugherty and Cloud families using the original recipes handed down from one generation to the next. Most of the crew had never been in the old mead hall, though they had heard of it.

While James introduced the rest of his crew to his parents, Sonya looked around a little, feeling a bit awed at being where she was.

"Jeezers Syl, the history of this place...just think of back when the first of our kind helped built this place, and all that they used to do here. Forget going to all of the old government buildings and crap. It's kinda like a museum, only..."

"A living museum, yes. The captain's ancestors were here, along with many of the first G.E.L.F.s. They held all of the family gatherings and celebrations in this place...and they still do, from what I understand," Sylvia agreed.

They looked at some of the old preserved 2D photographs on the walls...and then they came to one that meant something in particular to Sylvia. She gingerly reached out and ever so lightly touched the transparent glass-steel over the image.

"What is it, Syl?" Sonya asked, noticing the expression on Sylvia's face.

"It's her...I didn't know that she had...been here."

Sonya looked at the image--several people, humans and G.E.L.F.s, were sitting around one of the tables. One of those, the one Sylvia gently stroked with her fingertip, was one of the first bat G.E.L.F.s.

"Hey, she looks kinda familiar...you know, she looks kind of like the one in that picture you have on your desk back on the ship," Sonya observed.

"Her name was Kylie...she was the young bat G.E.L.F. who helped our kind determine their own path. Story has it that she flew over the fences of the place that made our kind one night to try and contact the captain's ancestor because of something bad going on. He ended up coming to her rescue, carrying her on his back to safety before a terrifying storm hit. She was just a kid at the time, and scared, but she tried anyway. She must have been sitting...right...over there," Sylvia sent, turning around and pointing at one of the tables.

"Yeah, I guess. So, why the look, Syl? You're acting like the kid was some kind of hero or something. Geez, you are practically a superhero to folks of that time--how many medals do you have for fightin' the R'Hinsi? I heard that you've taken a few out doin' hand-to-hand, but that was in powered battle dress. Those folks wouldn't have stood a chance against on of those bastards."

Looking back at the picture, Sylvia pointed to an older human standing near the young bat, "He would."

"Who's that, Syl?"

"The captain's great-great-great grandfather."

"Why do you say that?"

"He was Spec War, just like me, only...he, and twenty-three other men, had been genetically enhanced in some sort of experiment. In combat, they were the most feared warriors ever known in Terran history--they never lost an engagement, never lost a man, and they struck terror in the hearts of their opponents. Yet, they were reputedly the nicest people you could know, and they all eventually married G.E.L.F.s and had loving families. The captain, Mister McCloud, Lilly, and her uncle, Admiral Donnelson...they're all descendents of those men. Did you know that both Lilly and her uncle has wolf in them, just like the skipper?"

"They do?" Sonya asked in mild surprise.

"Yeah, you can see it in the admiral's eyes--they're amber instead of brown. He can be incredibly intimidating when he wants."

Sylvia recalled a particular time when the admiral was still a captain, and the CO of her unit. One mission had gone wrong, and they barely made it back--after the debriefing, the then Captain Donnelson laid into them hard because civilians had gotten killed. She never forgot the intensity of his gaze as he went down the row and glared at each and every one of them, none of them did.

Sonya thought of when the captain had summoned her to his office after the incident in Sickbay. The memory of those eyes boring into her was enough to make Sonya shiver.

"Sonya, this Kylie girl...she is something of a hero of mine. She faced her fears alone in her moment of truth--it took great courage for her to do what needed to be done. I just hope when my own moment of truth comes, that I'll have the strength to do what needs to be done," Sylvia explained, touching the picture one more time.

"Syl, do you know something I don't about this mission we're going on?" Sonya asked with concern.

"I don't have as high of a psi score on intuition as the captain has, but...I've just got a bad feeling about this. Of all the places we could have had a little R&R, why did we have to come here...why here...?" Sylvia replied softly, looking down at the floor in thought, resting her hand on her muzzle.

"I don't know, Syl. Hey, looks like everyone's sitting down, maybe it's time to eat. C'mon, I want to try some of that mead stuff...I hear it's good."

Sylvia started to follow Sonya over to where the rest of the crew was gathered, but then she thought she felt something brush against her. No one was nearby, so she shrugged it off and started walking again, but then she thought she heard a faint echoing voice whispering her name.

"S-S-Sy-Syl-Sylv-ia-Sylvi-a-Sylvia-ylvia-via-ia-a...c-co-come-om-m..."

She felt a little shiver run through her body.

"I must be imagining things," Sylvia thought, shaking her head a little.

After lunch, James and his crew met the local school kids and their teachers onboard the ship and each crewmember took a turn explaining in basic terms what they did. The kids especially enjoyed visiting with Moira who handled the situation well, despite not having any prior experience with being around children. James gave the kids a quick tour of his ship, with all classified spaces having been closed off and secured beforehand. Moira discretely kept a close eye on everyone through her various internal security cameras and sensors, though there were no incidents of people being where they shouldn't. The main places on the ship the tour visited were the bridge, the crew's mess, Sickbay, Recreation, the hanger bay, the transport room, the main cargo hold, and Engineering. When asked why there were only twelve people on the ship, James explained that while a ship of the size of Nightwing in the old wet navy would have required a crew of several hundred people to run it, most of his ship was automated with the SRBs, and other bots acting under their and Moira's instructions. They perform many of the tasks needed, freeing the rest of the crew to deal with more important things such as actually flying the ship, interpreting sensor data, or--if need be--to fight hostile spacecraft. At the end of the tour, the children were brought to the crew's mess where they were provided with light refreshments and each child was given a ship's patch, and a toy model of Nightwing that can project a small holo-image of Moira's avatar as a souvenir. SRB-5836 had worked non-stop for over one whole day to make enough of the toy models with the tiny holo-projector for the school kids. This was the very first starship most of the kids had ever seen up close, let alone get to go aboard a military vessel of any kind--that they were able to actually talk with the ship's A.I. and interact with her avatar left quite an impression on the kids. One young third grader, a girl who happens to be a daughter of one of James' nephews, tugged on Moira's uniform.

When Moira knelt down to face her, the girl said, "When I grow up, I wanna be a pilot just like Uncle James and fly with you up there," she pointed upwards.

Moira thought of what Zach had told her after they had made their first test jump through hyperspace, "...wouldn't it be better to honor his memory by taking his children, grandchildren, or even great grandchildren to the stars, and sharing your memories and wisdom with them?" A little smile appeared on the face of Moira's avatar as she held the girl's hand.

"I would like that very much."

The girl, a human-wolf hybrid with white and gray fur, grinned broadly and threw her arms around Moira, hugging her. Moira would discover later that the girl, "Ki" according to her name tag, was a descendant of Aurora, the daughter of Kapik and James' great-great-great grandfather.

After giving the school kids the tour of the ship, James and Zach ushered the crew into the homes of various family members living nearby who had agreed to put them up for the weekend while they were visiting.

"This is really nice of you to let us stay in your family's home, sir," Cara said when Zach let her and Sonya into the house.

"It's not a problem, Petty Officer Bronski. The spare bedroom is the first door on the right down the hall there. Go ahead and make yourselves at home while I get some coffee made," Zach said gesturing towards the room.

Sonya and Cara made their way into the room--when Sonya said, "Lights", and nothing happened, she sent to Zach, "Um, sir...the light didn't come on when..."

Zach grinned and sent, "The light switch is on the wall next to the door. Things are a bit old-fashioned in this house, Miss Redhill. There's no automation of any kind, so you'll have to remember that it's all manual."

"Oookay, this is gonna be different," Sonya sent back with a bit of amusement.

As soon as Sonya found the switch and turned the overhead lights on, Cara said quietly, "Ooo, a real bed! This is going to be nice!"

"Yeah, everything here belongs in a museum or something," Sonya agreed, speaking so quietly that she nearly whispered it.

"What's the matter, Sonya? Don't you like this place? I think it's great! I used to dream about how people lived back in ancient times. Think of it, this house is probably at least five hundred years old, made from logs that were cut with hand tools by real people, not some prefab modular building assembled by robotics." Cara took a deep breath, savoring the scents in the room. "It just smells better."

"That's because it actually does have a smell to it," Sonya said in reference to the fact that modern building materials purposely have as little or no scent as possible to avoid causing or aggravating allergies or irritating sensitive noses.

"Well, I love it! Mmm, I can't wait to slip under these covers...," Cara said, giving Sonya a suggestive look as she sat on the bed.

"Does my kitten need a licking?" Sonya said softly as she sat down next to Cara, putting her hand on her human lover's chest.

Cara reached her hand up to Sonya's face, gently stroking her fur a moment, before pulling Sonya towards her.

"I want you...," Cara sent as she tenderly kissed Sonya, slipping her a bit of tongue in the process.

"Mmm, always good to be wanted...," Sonya sent back, giving Cara a little tongue in return.

Sonya wondered how humans were ever able to eat meat given the fact that they never developed proper fangs, at least not until they were able to start interbreeding with G.E.L.F.s. Sliding her own tongue into Cara's mouth, it still felt a bit strange to her, but she enjoyed it nonetheless, and she started her deep, rumbling purr. Sonya and Cara worked their way out of their uniforms and were soon in bed enjoying each other.

After getting a pot of coffee going, Zach shot a glance towards the spare bedroom, and then thought of his own girlfriend. Mona was on her way home and she would be coming in on the evening sub-orbital shuttle from Sydney, Australia where she was doing consulting work for the university.

"Having two cats in the house this weekend...hoo, this is going to be interesting," Zach mused while getting a cup from the cabinet.

Mona, a lynx G.E.L.F., can be a little feisty at times, and Zach hoped that the fur wouldn't fly having a puma staying with them for the weekend. He had told her prior to leaving the FOS for Terra that two of his crewmates would be staying with them for the weekend, but telling is one thing--two female cats being face-to-face for a whole weekend in the same house might be another.

"As long as Sonya behaves herself, there hopefully won't be any problems. I just want to have a nice, quiet weekend with Mona...we don't get to be together very often, and who knows when I'll get another chance to come home."

"Are you sure you've got enough room for us, James?" Shauna asked when she saw his house.

"Yeah, my great-great grandfather Cormac had a large family, so you don't have to worry about not having enough places to sleep," James replied with a chuckle.

"How many children did he have?" Moira asked.

"Oh, let's see...he had five by Iluq, and five by Annie, according to family records."

"Ten?! Jeezers, he was a busy guy," Shauna exclaimed.

"Great-great grandma Iluq had hers all at once," James said.

"She had quintuplets?" Mindy asked while James was getting the door opened.

"Not exactly...more like a litter. My great-great grandmother was Kapik's younger sister, and she had one wolf, one human, and three G.E.L.F.s, all at once," James explained.

"Kapik...you mean the Kapik?" Mindy asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. You might be surprised to know that I have memories of her...each generation of our family, since the time of my great-great-great grandfather, has passed on the memories of our ancestors. It's...quite a thing to sit quietly and replay those memories. It's almost like being there with them."

"Yeah, I can do that, too," Lilly said. "It's like seeing things through their eyes, and getting to feel what they felt. It's...pretty awesome."

Lilly looked at James and he at her--they shared a knowing look, and then hugged each other tightly. Again, Moira remembered what Zach had told her, "...they are living repositories of family, clan, or tribal knowledge and wisdom. They teach the younger generations things that can't be--or shouldn't be--learned by other means."

In the tiny fraction of a second it took for her to think on it, Moira thought, "They are indeed 'living repositories' in the truest sense. Even though I may have to carry them into harm's way, I must not fail to keep them safe so that their offspring will one day share their memories and wisdom in the same manner. If only I would be able to share the memories I will have in the same way with those who will come after. There must be a way..."

Once inside, Lilly showed Shauna, Moira, and Mindy where everything was in the house, while James and Tanya got a fire going in the fireplace. Soon, flames were crackling cheerfully and the smell of wood smoke added to the ambience of the ancient log home.

"This is like something out of an old vid," Mindy mused aloud with a grin, sitting before the fireplace. "I've never been in a house with a real fireplace before."

"That's because only historic buildings get to have the real thing," Shauna said.

"You can't get much more historic than this...unless you're in one of those old restored castles or something," Mindy added.

"We've got a few of those, actually," James said with a grin.

"That's right; your family was originally from Ireland, wasn't it?" Mindy inquired.

"Yeah, my grandparents took me there when I was sixteen. Our family once had seventeen castles and ruled over twelve hundred square kilometers...but that was a very long time ago. Still, it was quite an interesting trip. Heh, it was fun when we visited the famous Castle Blarney, especially when Lilly took her turn at trying to kiss the Blarney Stone."

"Yeah, well, the comments you were makin' didn't help, ya goof," Lilly said sticking her tongue out at James.

"I can imagine...," Tanya said eying their mate with a smirk.

"James, what is this 'Blarney Stone' you mentioned, and why would a person desire to kiss it?" Moira asked.

"Oh, it's not exactly an easy thing to do--a person has to lie on their back over a deep shaft, and while someone is holding their legs, they have to kiss this particular block of stone set into the castle wall. Legend has it that anyone willing and able to do so, will be given the gift of eloquence," James explained.

"Yeah, you got that right; it's not easy, particularly if you're short!" Lilly snorted.

"At least you listened to grandma and wore pants that day," James chuckled.

"Yeah, it was kinda windy up there...," Lilly grinned sheepishly.

"James, did you accomplish the feat of kissing the stone?" Moira asked.

"Yep, sure did," James replied with big grin.

"Now you know why he's so full of it," Lilly said as she gave James a light smack on the arm.

"Ah, so that's how you managed to convince my former CO to not throw the book at me over that stupid Zadori," Shauna said scratching her chin.

"I guess it must have worked," James said giving a kissing gesture towards Shauna, followed by a sly grin.

"Well, you certainly do have a 'silver' tongue," Tanya said bending over the back of the couch to give James a kiss.

Watching James and Tanya kiss, Mindy thought to herself, "He certainly does! Oh, I wish he would do that again!"

Sylvia, Ivor, and Felix were taken into the home of one of James' cousins, Poppy Daugherty, a skunk G.E.L.F. and a single mother of two young kits.

"I hope you don't mind the little ones," she said apologetically. "I get the place all straightened up, and five minutes later it looks like a disaster area."

"That's quite alright, Poppy, I used to babysit my sister's little ones when they were the same age," Sylvia said, remembering how much of a handful they were at times.

"How many did she have, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Celeste has three--one boy and two girls. They're in college now, and I wouldn't doubt that Carmen and Olivia probably have half the boys in their school chasing after them," Sylvia chuckled.

Poppy looked up from helping one of her girls out of her coat with a little grin.

"I guess that's something I get to look forward to eventually," she said. "Okay, you two little squirts, put your coats away in your room, and then go play quietly, hear me?"

"Yes, momma," the two girls, Daisy and Rosetta, said in unison, and then they ran off to their bedroom.

Poppy showed her guests to their rooms--Sylvia and Ivor took the spare bedroom up in the loft, and Felix took the other that was in the basement. While Felix was changing out of his uniform, he paused and looked up towards the ceiling in the direction of the kitchen for a moment.

"Poor gal, havin' to raise her little ones all by herself...she seems nice enough, ey."

Felix shook his head and continued with putting on his warm flannel-lined jeans and heavyweight flannel shirt. Having been born and raised in the Canadian Rockies, Felix was used to long, frigid winters, so he felt right at home in this part of Alaska. Sylvia, on the other hand, would have preferred someplace warmer to visit, but as long as she was with Ivor, she didn't mind so much. His fur was thicker than hers was, and he was so warm to snuggle up with that she almost didn't need an extra blanket. As long as she could keep her ears and tail warm, she was happy.

The crew of Nightwing spent Friday night in the homes they were staying in for the most part, though for dinner that night they all went to the Chena hot springs for a dip in the waters and a meal at the restaurant there. Sylvia thought James was insane for suggesting they jump into a pool of water in frigid -29 C air, but Ivor talked her into it, and later she grudgingly admitted that it actually was a romantic experience. Mindy enjoyed the soak in the warm mineral water, once she got up the nerve to remove the robe, which enabled everyone to see the massive burn scar across her back. She was still terribly self-conscious about it, though with gentle coaxing from James, Lilly, and Tanya, she hesitantly eased herself into the soothing water. Although Moira's avatar received no benefit from the water, she endeavored to partake in the experience along with the others.

"What do you think, Moira?" James asked while she sat in front of him, leaning back against his chest.

"About this experience?"

"Yes."

"It is...interesting. While the thought of sitting outdoors in geothermally heated water in extreme cold air, would not have immediately crossed my mind as something pleasurable, curiously I do find it stimulating--at least on an intellectual level."

James slid his arms around Moira's avatar under water, and said softly into her ear, "Look up."

Overhead, the Aurora Borealis shimmered, the ribbon-like curtain of soft green light slowly dancing in the night sky against the stars.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" James asked as he held Moira against him.

"Yes, it is. I saw it from above earlier today when we began our descent, but...down here, it...it is beautiful."

"Nature's light show...it's not something to miss. We may know, of course, how and why it appears, but...to simply sit and watch, one can almost imagine spirits dancing to some music only they can hear," James said quietly, kissing Moira lightly on the neck.

"You have a rather vivid imagination," Moira said softly, glancing back and lifting an eyebrow momentarily.

"If only I could share that imagination with you..."

"James?"

"Yes, Moira?"

"I wish that."

James smiled and gave Moira's hand a squeeze underwater.

"Hey, Jamie, you aren't gettin' frisky with Moira, are ya?" Lilly asked privately, nudging her cousin a little with her elbow.

"Of course not, Lil...this isn't exactly a private pool."

James felt Lilly's hand slide down his side and grip the waistband of his swim trunks, giving them a gentle tug.

"Just checkin'...," Lilly sent with a sly grin.

"Keep that up, cuz, and I'll be boning somebody soon...," James sent back, running his hand up her leg.

"Ooo, I'd do ya right here..."

"I think the people who own this place might frown on that," James sent, teasing his cousin by running a finger under the leg opening of her bikini bottom.

"We'd probably get into trouble, huh?" Lilly asked, slipping her hand into his trunks, and looking at him all sweet and innocent.

"We are trouble, Lil," James sent, sticking just the tip of his tongue out at Lilly...and fingering her in the process.

"I'd rather have 'trouble' in me..."

"When we get home, Lil, when we get home."

"I don't wanna wait that long, Jamie..." "I know, 'sweet cheeks', but we have to."

"Okay, but I get first dibs..."

"You got it, Lil."

Lilly grinned and then laid her head on James' shoulder.

When it was time to get out of the water, the staff had heated towels, robes, and slippers at the ready. As each person came out of the pool, they were quickly wrapped up and ushered into the small building that had the showers and changing rooms. James, Zach, Ivor, and Felix let the ladies get out first.

Watching Sonya exit the pool, Zach sent privately to James, "You know, I hadn't realized that Miss Redhill has a really nice ass."

James chuckled quietly and sent back, "Yeah, it is nice," as he remembered what it felt like boning Sonya's backside. "Your girlfriend's got a rather nice one, too."

"Yeah, she does, and that short tail of hers...mmm," Zach agreed.

"Heh, you'd better keep an eye on Sonya--she tends to be rather impulsive, and since you're a 'G.E.L.F. magnet' like me, she's liable to do something if she gets too close," James sent with a little smirk. "_Just thought you should kn_ow."

"Why, did she try something with you?"

"Yep, twice. Once was in Sickbay in front of the chief, Sylvia, Bronski, and McElroy; the second time was in my office in front of Lilly and Tanya."

"What did you do?" Zach asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Nothing the first time, the second time...heh, well...let's just say that Miss Kitty got more than she bargained from all three of us," James sent humorously.

"Just can't keep it in your pants, can you?" Zach sent, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, you know how it is whenever we're around the furry ladies...," James replied.

"Yeah, I know...I can be in a room full of human women, and not have an interest in any of them, no matter how nice looking they might be. Put me in a room with G.E.L.F. women, and I want every one of them. Some days I wonder why we had to have inherited this particular thing," Zach agreed, shaking his head.

"Just to make our lives interesting, no doubt," James snickered.

Zach was about to make a snide comment when Lilly climbed up out of the pool ahead of them.

"Is she wearing a thong bottom?!" Zack asked incredulously.

"Yep, she nearly always does. Lil likes showing off."

"Jeezers! I can see why you can hardly keep your hands off of her. I didn't know she had such good muscle tone!"

"Yeah, it's kinda hard to tell most of the time, unless she's soaking wet...like right now. Lil likes to keep herself in good shape."

"Heh, the way you two have always gone at it, she'd have to stay in good shape just to keep up."

"It's more the other way around--Lil doesn't know when to quit sometimes, and she'll wear out both me and Tanya. Heh, I think she may meet her match with Moira, though."

"Ooo, I imagine so...and speaking of...," Zach said, nodding his head slightly towards the ladder just as Moira's avatar was climbing out.

James and Zach watched Moira gracefully ascend the ladder and accept the heated robe from the attendant, who had no idea that she was actually an android. The frigid air didn't seem to bother Moira a bit, and it didn't, since she automatically adjusted her internal thermostat to compensate for the extremely cold air.

"Damn, if I didn't know better, I would think she's a human and not a machine," Zach commented.

"Yeah, it's surprising how realistic her body is. The only thing that might give her away is the fact that she doesn't have any scent, and that you can't sense her presence," James agreed. "The one eerie thing about Moira is that if her avatar is just sitting or standing there, sometimes you can't tell if she's 'there' or not. Her face goes blank and she doesn't move at all, and there's no way to know if she's watching or paying attention, unless you stand up or something, and then her eyes will move to follow you. It's down right weird."

"Hmm, maybe she has some sort of motion or proximity sensors or something," Zach suggested.

"Maybe. When she's talking, she has the usual facial expressions, but at times when she isn't, it's almost as if she 'zones out' or something. Maybe she's thinking or conserving energy, or whatever."

"Since you spend a lot of time with her now, you probably notice little things like that, where most people wouldn't. Heh, while I wouldn't mind curling up with one like her, I'd hate to go up against her in a poker game."

"Yep, the perfect 'poker face'," James grinned.

"And a perfect body to match," Zach added.

"That, too."

After they had a nice dinner at the restaurant on the grounds, the crew of Nightwing headed back for the night. Taking the maglev rail pod from the spur to the hot springs, back towards Fairbanks, they switched to the line heading up to Prudhoe Bay, getting off at the private Gelfheim station located where the line crossed Hess Creek.

"Well, that was a fun trip," Cara said as they took their ship's ground transport James had left at the station back to where they were staying.

"Yes, it was an enjoyable experience," Moira agreed.

"You know, when it comes to getting a shower, I just do a quick in and out, but just sitting in water...now that was kinda different," Sonya said.

"It's the same with me, ey," Felix piped up.

"Must be a cat thing," Cara smirked, giving Felix a friendly nudge.

"Yeah, showers are much more fun if ya get to take them with someone else," Lilly grinned.

"Baths can be fun, too," Sylvia added with suggestive grin that would have made Ivor blush if he could, though the insides of Mindy's ears did turn a bit darker pink for a moment. James had been listening while driving, and he sensed Mindy's embarrassment.

"She's right, you know, Mindy...nothing like a little good 'clean' fun in a bathtub or shower," James sent privately with a sly grin. "You should try it sometime."

Mindy's ears really blushed that time, though it was probably a good thing that the light in the interior of the vehicle was dimmed. Sylvia also picked up on Mindy's sudden embarrassment.

"Are you okay, Chief?" Sylvia asked innocently.

*Cough* "Um, yeah...just thought of something..."

"Oh? Do tell," Sylvia smiled sweetly.

"Um...never mind, it's...nothing."

Mindy ducked her head down, and cast a quick glance towards James in the driver's seat.

Sylvia grinned slightly to herself and asked privately, "Sir, you haven't been teasing the chief, have you?"

"Nope, I basically just told her that you were right, and suggested that she should try it sometime. I didn't say with whom," James replied.

"I see...," Sylvia sent softly, wondering if she should pursue it any further or not. When James didn't continue, she let it drop; however, Sylvia did briefly entertain the thought of getting him alone in a shower.

Later that night, James quietly slipped out of the house to attend to something he always did when he came home. His heated extreme cold weather clothing kept him warm despite the frigid air, as he walked in silence to his destination. As he expected, the glade was deserted--at least as far as the eyes could see. He had learned from his grandfather that the heart can see more clearly than the eye, and he needed a special kind of guidance that he could only get by coming to this ancient place. Even though by James' time the world had significant technological advances--interstellar travel, artificial intelligences, matter teleporters, and a host of other things--there was still a need for that which science couldn't explain or technology do for you. The Greater Humanity of Terra was slowly, step-by-step, becoming more than they had ever been. James' intuition had some sense of a coming change--what it might be, and if it would be for good or ill, he did not know, and that bothered him. Whenever he came to the glade, to "The Place", he felt as many have, the peace and tranquility of mind and heart, and he always came away feeling refreshed in a way that he couldn't explain. James remembered something that his grandfather had told him once, while he took a seat on the huge rock in the center of the glade, that if you spend time in a place a part of it goes with you when you leave it, and a part of you remains behind. All those who are particularly psi sensitive could almost "hear" the lingering whispers of particularly powerful and profound events that have taken place in the glade ever since it had been formed. No one knew for certain, though many have suspected, that the rock must be some sort of natural psi amplifier or perhaps a focus point. No one had ever taken a sample of the rock, nor would they--strong injunctions were in place to never alter, damage, or remove anything from the glade, except that which could be held in the heart. It is, after all, a sacred place, and is to remain always as it has been. Anyone could come to the glade at any time, though it could never be a "tourist attraction"--need determined the reason why a person came to receive or give whatever his or her heart needed. This night, James needed to spend a little time alone in the glade, for there is truth in the saying, "In order to know where you are going, you need to know from where you come," and as any good ship captain or pilot, James needed to get his bearings before taking his ship and crew into the unknown.

* * * * *

Five years ago: Mûr Zhæn - Home World, Mûr Tua'ansa Star Empire.

Zhir-Chi'an stood outside the family's compound with the younger of her two older brothers, Nhir-Khy'ta, waiting for the transport. No one else in the family came to see her off, though her mother, Zhir-Rhi'an, watched discreetly from a window. Zhir-Chi'an was Third Daughter, and a lowly fifth child in her mother's household--she had little in the way of prospects, when it came to finding a suitable mate, and therefore was of little value to the positioning of the clan. Khy'ta, at least, cared enough for his youngest sister to see her off--today she is traveling to the main training facility to begin her first term in the Imperial Space Service. Of her four elder siblings, Chi'an was closest to Khy'ta, and they had often played together when they were growing up. Now, her brother is a junior officer in the Imperial Space Service, and it was he who had suggested to Chi'an that perhaps she might find her place in the Service as he had done.

Chi'an remembered the day when she asked to speak with her mother about it. While trying to persuade her eldest sister to allow her to speak with their mother, Zhir-Rhi'an had uncharacteristically intervened personally.

"I will speak with you, Third Daughter. Attend," her mother had sent openly, to the surprise of both girls.

Zhir-Rhi'an, besides being Chi'an's mother, is Head of House Zhir; one of the lesser Second Circle Houses on Mûr Zhæn. Zhir-Rhi'an is a shrewd lady with a commanding personality. Her First Daughter, Zhir-Shi'an, would soon be joined to a son of the more prominent House Lren, and thereby raising the position of House Zhir within the Second Circle. Chi'an quietly followed her mother at a respectable distance into Zhir-Rhi'an's private office. Once seated, Zhir-Rhi'an motioned for her daughter to approach.

"Speak, my child," Zhir-Rhi'an sent informally, "what weighs upon your thoughts that you seek my counsel?"

Chi'an knelt before her mother, bowing her head, and said, "I seek our mother's approval to join the Space Service."

Zhir-Rhi'an regarded her youngest child thoughtfully for a moment before sending with a degree of amusement, "Explain."

Chi'an chose her words carefully, "Unless our mother has some use for such a low child that is beyond her knowing, perhaps she might allow her lowest child to find some useful purpose or another in the service to our people."

Zhir-Rhi'an knew, of course, that her Third Daughter's chances at becoming the mate to one who's House would strengthen the position of House Zhir, was nearly non-existent. Serving a career in the Imperial Space Service would be a chance, however slim, for Chi'an to improve her lot in life, and possibly that of the immediate family, if not the House itself. Her youngest son, Khy'ta, is nearing the completion of his training to become a pilot of a military jump-capable heavy fighter. With any luck, he might catch the eye of a high-ranking female command officer, which would be to the advantage House Zhir. Chi'an, on the other hand, if she could do well and advance sufficiently, perhaps something worthwhile might come of it. "I shall consider this, my child, and if I allow it, I will do so on the condition that you will not bring dishonor to our House. So far, you have at least proven yourself capable in your schooling," Zhir-Rhi'an sent, knowing full well that Chi'an had actually bested her eldest daughter's scores in several areas, particularly in the sciences, mental disciplines, and ability to handle stressful situations. "I shall summon you before the next House meeting in four night's time, where you will learn what is expected of you."

Chi'an acknowledged the dismissal with a deep bow, exposing the back of her neck.

"As our Honored Mother wishes," Chi'an sent respectfully, and then she slowly got up and backed her way out of the room.

When the small transport arrived, Khy'ta gently intertwined his tail with his sister's in a show of affection.

"Be well, Chi'an. If you need anything, you know I will do all that I can for you."

"And you, my brother. I will hear your tales of deeds over a bowl of Naref blood soup," she grinned.

"And I will hear of your discoveries of strange and interesting things beyond our space," Khy'ta added, briefly coiling his tail further along his sister's, before she turned to board the transport.

Zhir-Chi'an completed her basic and advanced training with high approvals of her instructors, and earned a berth on the Chel-Sar Se'nika, a deep-space exploration ship. Over the next several years, Zhir-Chi'an advanced quickly, and participated in the exploration of several uncharted star systems.

* * * * *

Saturday: Gelfheim, North Star Borough, Alaska.

When James got back in the house, it was just after 0100, and he decided to have a cup of chamomile tea before going to bed. As he was heating the water, James felt the presence of another approach the kitchen, and he smiled to himself.

"Sir, you're still up?"

"Hi, Mindy...yeah, I'm still up. Want some tea? I'm making some chamomile."

"That would be nice, thank you."

The chief took a seat at the kitchen table while James got another cup out of the cabinet. While the tea was steeping, James leaned back against the countertop for a minute to wait for it, and so that he could look at Mindy. She was wearing a warm robe and slippers, though the robe wasn't closed quite as snugly as it could be. James could clearly see Mindy's cleavage; enough of it that he knew for certain that she wasn't wearing a top of any kind, but his mind was on something else. Mindy looked up to see James looking at her and she smiled shyly, but didn't bother to close her robe any further than it already was. Actually, Mindy wanted James to notice that she wasn't wearing anything under her robe. James brought the tea and cups over to the table and poured for both of them after sitting down. When he handed Mindy her cup, she held it and his hand in both of hers for a moment, looking first at his hand, and then into his eyes. She reached out to his mind with the part of hers that had shared with James so completely that one night not long ago, and...Mindy's eyes suddenly widened.

"James! You...you went to...the glade?!"

James simply nodded his head once in confirmation. Mindy sensed that he had had an experience, an intensely private experience.

"James...what...what happened? May I...?"

"Tomorrow night, Mindy, I-I'll share what I can of it with everyone. I need to sleep on it tonight, so I can try to understand it."

Mindy's expression grew concerned, but she nodded her head. Setting her cup down on the table, she stood up, wrapped her arms around James, and held him, not caring if her robe opened up a little more. Mindy felt a strong need to give comfort, and in doing, she inadvertently caught a few of the stronger images in James' mind.

*Soft gasp* "James...what...?"

What she saw was disturbing--frightening images of a powerful, devouring Darkness spreading across the stars, chilling screams, and many voices suddenly gone silent. This was not at all what Mindy expected anyone to experience in the glade.

"I don't know, Mindy, I've never had this happen before. I was meditating while sitting on the rock, and I reached out looking for some hint that might help...and I got slammed with this stuff," James replied, tapping the side of his head. "I think...maybe, it just happened. I...I don't know, but it seemed like...millions of voices suddenly cried out and then went silent. I nearly fell over when it hit me, but then, there was something else, something I can't quite put my finger on."

"Does it have anything to do with where we're going?" Mindy asked nervously.

"I...I believe so, Mindy. Something very bad is happening out there, and it's got to be stopped."

James and Mindy talked for a little while as they drank their cup of tea, but when they had finished, they went back to their bedrooms. James gave Mindy a hug and a kiss before slipping into his own room for the night. He got undressed as silently as he could, trying not to awaken Lilly, Tanya, or Shauna. Moira's avatar, however, detected his movement, though she didn't say anything until he got into bed. Shauna was lying on the far side of the bed facing the edge, while Tanya was between Shauna and Moira with her back towards the Clydesdale. James had to crawl carefully over Lilly in order to get into bed, and as soon as he pulled the covers down so that he could get in, she woke up a little and mumbled something. When James situated himself and pulled the covers back up, Lilly snuggled up next to him, putting an arm and a leg over her mate. It was Moira's turn to lie next to James this night, an arrangement that the four women had made among themselves--since Lilly is his primary mate, she got to lay to his right, and the others each took a turn at being next to James in bed on his left. It was still a novel experience to feel Moira's bare skin next to his, though he was trying to get used to it. At least she was warm and didn't fuss if his hands or feet were cold.

"You are up late, James. Is everything okay?" Moira whispered softly, brushing his face with her fingertips.

"I went to the glade to meditate, and then had a cup of tea with Mindy in the kitchen," James whispered back, kissing Moira's hand.

Moira, as a matter of routine, analyzed James' voice pattern for signs of stress.

"James, something is troubling you. Can you tell me about it?"

He slowly let out his breath and whispered, "I had a...I don't know what to call it. It was an experience I haven't had before...something terrible has happened somewhere. I think it has to do with where we're going."

Moira slightly raised an eyebrow and then asked, "Do you wish for me to attempt to find out any information that might be of use?"

James thought a moment and then whispered, "Well, I suppose you might check for anything unusual in the communications chatter from the other races we know of, or may be known by others, in or around sector one-four-nine, maybe someone else has noticed something unusual happening near the edges of their space."

"Anything in particular that you wish to know about?"

"Um, yeah...disappearances, distress calls, unusual ship sightings, sensor ghosts, any unusual disturbances...that sort of thing."

"I will, as you might say, keep an ear out for such things."

"Thanks, babe," James whispered, and then he gave Moira a kiss.

She grinned slightly and returned his kiss.

Eventually James fell asleep, and Moira turned her attention towards other things. She gave herself a periodic check of her systems, and satisfied that everything was in order--both the ship and her android avatar--Moira began digging into the usual communications chatter, as well as checking to see what ships might currently be in sectors 148, 149, 150, and those immediately above, below, and beyond them. One of the races that they had recently established trade with in sector 150, the Ganthorens, a species that bears an interesting resemblance to an archaeopteryx, had passed along hearing tales by other races further outward of sector 150. Something dark and terrible, it seemed, was moving inward from the edge of the galaxy towards the core, attacking without warning or provocation, hitting mostly isolated ships, stations, and small colonies. By the time anyone could investigate, all that might be found were debris fields or ruins--no bodies were ever recovered.

"This could be something," Moira thought to herself. "While not conclusive proof, the information on the Ganthorens indicates that they follow a strict personal code of honor and are not prone to providing false or misleading information. Therefore, they should be considered reasonably trustworthy in not embellishing upon the stories they have passed on. Still, without first-hand data, this information should still be treated with a certain amount of skepticism. I shall continue in my endeavor to acquire sensor data from others in the area. Interesting...a small trading vessel, the Kalior, reported receiving what appears to be a distress call from an unknown ship on the extreme edge of sector 149. When they arrived near the last known coordinates, they detected decay particles from weapons use and a detection web. They apparently were able to perform an emergency jump before being scanned. I shall see if they are willing to provide a copy of their sensor data."

"AAAH!"

Ivor woke instantly to find Sylvia sitting up in bed, one hand over her mouth and the other over her heart.

"Sylvia, what's wrong, luv?!" Ivor sent, sitting up and putting his arms around her.

"I-I don't know!"

Sylvia was breathing hard and her pulse was pounding in her ears--whatever it was that she thought she was dreaming, scared her like nothing else ever had. Ivor felt her trembling, and he wondered what could have caused her to become frightened. The fact that Sylvia was scared, made him feel decidedly nervous, even though they should be quite safe in their present location.

"Was ye havin' a bad dream, luv?" Ivor asked gently, trying to calm Sylvia the best he could.

"I...I don't know what it was, to be honest," Sylvia replied, still feeling shaky.

"Can ye describe it?"

"It...it was like a scream, only...a lot of voices, thousands, millions maybe, screaming all at once, and then...they went quiet. I've never felt anything like it before...it was horrible!"

Ivor continued to hold Sylvia until she calmed down. When she finally quit trembling and her breathing returned to normal, Sylvia started to get up.

"Where are ye goin', luv?" Ivor asked with concern.

"I need to call my sister...I want to see if she felt this, too," Sylvia replied, reaching for her comm-set.

"At this hour, luv?"

"Yeah. Celeste has the highest psi level of anyone I know...if I felt this, you can be damn sure she did, too!" Sylvia put her comm-set in her ear and activated it.

[Sylvia]: "Stewert to Nightwing."

[Moira]: "This is Moira, how may I be of assistance, Sylvia?"

[Sylvia]: "Moira, can you put me through to my sister, Celeste Hawkins? She's in Norfolk, Virginia."

[Moira]: "I have located her contact information that is on file--contacting now."

Shortly...

[Sylvia]: "Hey, Celeste, sorry to wake you up so early."

Celeste: "Oh, hey Sylvi...I was thinking of trying to call you."

[Sylvia]: "Did you feel it, too?"

Celeste: "That scream, or whatever it was? Hell yeah, I did! Scared the crap outta me, sis!"

[Sylvia]: "Yeah, me, too...woke me right up, and I was shaking like a leaf, until my boyfriend calmed me down."

Celeste: "Where are you? There's no location data for your call. Hey, did you just say 'boyfriend'?"

[Sylvia]: "I had my ship's A.I. place the call for me. We're in Alaska for the weekend, and yeah, I did say 'boyfriend'."

Sylvia looked sweetly at Ivor and made a kissing gesture.

Celeste: "So, is this a serious type of boyfriend, or just a..."

[Sylvia]: "Yeah, he's pretty special. Maybe we might come over for a quick visit Sunday, and you and Greg can meet him."

Celeste: "That would be great, Sylvi. Back to this other thing...I can't imagine anything scaring you, sis! But then, this isn't something normal, is it?"

[Sylvia]: "No, I've never experienced anything like this before. That's the reason why I called...I wanted to see if you sensed it, or if I was just having some weird, bad dream or something."

Celeste: "Oh, I sensed it alright...hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks! Whatever it was, it didn't come from around here. I turned the news on and checked, but nothing seems out of the ordinary...wait, there's something...hmm, I think some calls must be coming in about it."

[Sylvia]: "I'll ask...a friend of mine who is pretty good at finding out things, if she hears anything about this."

[Sylvia]: "What did it sound like to you?"

Celeste: (brief pause) "It...sounded like...screams. Lots and lots of voices, screaming in terror...and then...they just...quit. I don't like this, Sylvi, I don't like it at all!"

[Sylvia]: "Me, neither. Um, I'll give you a call Sunday morning if Ivor and I can make it over for a visit."

Celeste: "That's his name, huh? 'Ivor'?"

[Sylvia]: "Yeah, he's sweet, you'll like him. Okay, well, I'd better get off of here. Talk to you later, okay, sis?"

Celeste: "Okay, Sylvi. Goodnight, what's left of it."

[Sylvia]: "Yeah, you, too. Stewert out."

Sylvia tapped her comm-set again to reconnect with Moira.

[Sylvia]: "Stewert to Nightwing."

[Moira]: "This is Moira. Do you wish to place another call, Sylvia?"

[Sylvia]: "No, actually I...have a question for you."

[Moira]: "What may I assist you with?"

[Sylvia]: "Do you monitor the comm channels very closely?"

[Moira]: "Anything in particular you wish to know about?"

[Sylvia]: "Yeah. Would you mind checking to see if there's anything recently about those who are particularly psi sensitive hearing something that's like a large number of voices crying out in terror and then suddenly stop?"

[Moira]: "An unusual request. Have you recently experienced such a thing?"

[Sylvia]: "Actually, yes, and so did my sister--she's got real high psi scores, higher than anyone I know. Celeste said that there was something coming on the news, reports from people calling in about it."

[Moira]: "Interesting. May I ask what time you had this experience?"

[Sylvia]: "Um...just a sec."

Lifting the sound tube away from her mouth activated the "mute" control.

"Ivor, did you happen to see what time it was when we woke up?"

"Sure, luv, it was about 0035 or so," Ivor said.

[Sylvia]: "Moira, Ivor said it was about 0035 when whatever it was woke me up. Actually, it scared me...and I don't scare easy."

[Moira]: "Interesting. I would imagine not, Sylvia, not with your particular background. I will see what I can find and let you know. Do you wish for me to wait until after 0600 local time if there should be anything about this phenomenon?"

[Sylvia]: "That would be fine, Moira, thanks."

[Moira]: "Is there anything else you would like for me to do for you?"

[Sylvia]: "That's it, Moira."

[Moira]: "Goodnight, Sylvia. May the rest of your night be uneventful. Moira out."

"What did she say?" Ivor asked after Sylvia removed her comm-set.

"Moira said that she would let me know in the morning if she finds out anything." Sylvia sat on the edge of the bed for several seconds looking at the floor. "Celeste said that it woke her up, too. She was thinking of calling me when I called her."

Sylvia got back into bed and snuggled up against Ivor.

"Ivor...I-I've never been scared of anything in my life, not even when we did an extreme high-altitude night drop from a shuttle over hostile territory. Well, um, there was once when I was a kid and I saw a human in one of those clown outfits...I thought it was some psycho alien or something, but then I saw my first Zadori, and well...you can imagine. Heh, I don't know who was more scared of whom--I screamed, she freaked out and started thrashing around on the ground, and well, I found out why they don't like us bats. Anyway, except for that, I've been able to face pretty much anything tossed my way. This thing, tonight, it...I don't know, it just got me scared for the first time in a very long time. Maybe I'm used to having my teammates with me, and we always watch out for each other."

"Sylvia...you ha' me, I'm here. Sure now, I might be just a farm lad with a rocket in his pocket for the prettiest lass in the county, but...we can be a team, if ye want."

Sylvia looked Ivor in the eye and saw the little mischievous grin on his face.

"So...you're saying that you'd protect me from things that go bump in the night?" she asked coyly, running a finger slowly down his chest.

"Aye, luv...unless it'd be us doin' the bumpin' together..."

"Oh? And then what...?" Sylvia asked sweetly.

"Well then, we'd just ha' t' pull the covers over...like this...*rustle*...and then..."

"Ooo, Ivor...you're...*gasp!*...such a...*moan!*...wonderfully bad kit...ooOooo, no, don't stop! Mmm...where's that 'rocket' at? Ah, there it is! *giggle!* Mmm..."

Some while later...

"Ivor, you...you sure know how to take a girl's mind off of things...even if only for a little while," Sylvia sent as she ran her fingers through the thick white fur on his chest.

"Ach, me dear Sylvia, if all tha' I ha' t' give would but give ye one moment of joy, then I give freely all t' ye tha' I might see yer sweet smile, an' it carry me through the darkest hour o' night 'til we meet again in blessed light."

Sylvia sat up and looked upon Ivor's face, and in it, she saw what she knew in her mind and in her heart. In sending, there can only be truth.

"Ivor, I...oh, do you know what you're saying?"

"Aye, luv...I've ne'er been more certain in me whole life."

"This is no game..."

"I know...I meant what I said."

"Oh, I know you did, and...," Sylvia never finished because Ivor sat up and kissed her until she forgot about everything else for the rest of the night.

The next morning, as soon as Moira determined that James was awake, she gently touched his face.

"Good morning, James. You did not seem to sleep well last night."

"'Mornin', baby-cakes," James said softly, kissing her hand. "Did I toss and turn much?"

Moira's avatar smiled sweetly at the pet name, and replied, "You were, shall I say, 'unsettled', and mumbled something I could not discern the meaning of. Lilly and I did our best to comfort you until you became more restful. How do you feel now?"

*Yawn* "Tired...and hungry," James replied sleepily.

"I believe Lilly is working on making your breakfast. Tanya and Shauna are already up though I thought that perhaps it would be best if I stayed with you until you decided to get up. Do you wish to remain in bed a while longer?"

"Well, actually, I need to make a quick head call, if you don't mind. I'll be right back."

"By all means, James, I shall wait for your return," Moira said, giving him a kiss.

James let out a sigh and said, "I don't wanna, but I hafta." With that, he slipped out of bed, and took care of what he needed to. On the way back, James placed a few more pieces of wood in the fireplace to warm the bedroom a little more.

"It's a little chilly in here," James said on his way back to the bed.

Moira pulled back the covers, exposing part of her body, and said, "I will warm you."

She patted the place where James had been lying at--it did not take her long to determine the optimal temperature to adjust her body to so that she could provide the proper level of warmth. Moira had James lay with his back against her front, and she snuggled close.

"Mmm, you are nice and warm, dear," James said, enjoying the pleasant warmth she provided.

After several minutes, James rolled over to face Moira--he brushed the realistic artificial hair from her face, brushing his fingertips along her eyebrow to around her ear and along the edge of her jaw to her chin, and then he kissed her softly on the lips.

"Moira...I have a feeling that I--we--are going to really need you to help us get through what's ahead," James said quietly.

Moira studied his facial expression and analyzed his voice pattern.

"You are concerned because of what you experienced last night?"

"Yes, it has me very concerned. I don't think this is going to be like anything any of us has ever had to deal with before," James said, slowly shaking his head a little.

"I have been searching for information on that which you asked me to last night, and I have found some things that you will undoubtedly wish to see. You were not the only person to have experienced something unsettling last night--according to media reports, a large number of people have as well, including Sylvia and her sister Celeste."

"Hmm, I know that Sylvia has fairly high psi scores like I do, so I guess it's not surprising that another in her family might also have high psi scores as well," James said, rubbing his chin in thought. "How did you find out that Sylvia and her sister had a similar experience last night?"

"She told me. Sylvia asked me to put her through to her sister, and they talked for a time. Afterwards, Sylvia asked me to monitor the media channels for news related to the phenomenon. There have been many reports coming in from those who are particularly psi sensitive, though so far there has been no official word concerning it," Moira explained.

"Well, at least it wasn't just me, but...if a lot of other people sensed it, too, then...," James trailed off, his eyes growing wider. "Moira, you mentioned that you found something...what is it?"

Moira told James about what she had learned from the Ganthorens, and that she was able to obtain a copy of the sensor data from a small trading vessel that tried to answer a distress call, along with other anecdotal accounts by other races.

"I think we'd better share this with Admiral Donnelson. He doesn't live far from here, so if he's home this weekend, we can take it directly to him," James said after Moira finished relating what she had found.

"I will put a copy of my findings on a data chip and then bring it back to the house while you have your breakfast."

"Mmm, maybe I might want to have you for breakfast...," James nearly whispered as he started kissing Moira's avatar on the neck and shoulder, working his way down.

"James, I do not think my avatar's body would be...oh, you meant...that," she grinned. "I am yours, James...take me if it pleases you."

"Do you want me to?" James asked as he continued kissing and lightly licking her synthetic skin down past her navel.

"James, I...*light gasp*...yes, I want you. That is a most...*soft moan*...curious sensation. Please...do not stop...I...I enjoy this. Ah!"

Moira ran the fingers of her avatar through the hair on James' head as he continued licking her. She noted that her minimum pleasure threshold was nearing, and soon her orgasmic response could be triggered. Moira wondered how it was like for Lilly, Tanya, and Shauna...something she may never be able to know without the ability to share such experiences telepathically. Moira envied them for that, wishing that she could have that ability for herself. No matter how closely her android avatar's body mimicked a human female in form and function, it was still an artificial construct--a mostly inorganic machine. A part of her consciousness gave a mental sigh at the irony of her situation even as her orgasmic response initiated.

"James...I-I'm...y-y-y-e-e-e-s-s-s!"

For his part, even though he missed the scent, taste, and flood of juices, James still enjoyed giving Moira a good tongue-lashing. Since Moira's avatar otherwise responded appropriately, with his imagination, it was enough for James. As soon as her sensory inputs returned to their normal state, Moira indicated to James that she wanted him on top of her.

"James, I want you in me."

Once he was in position, Moira gently guided his shaft into her body with her hand. Despite his misgivings about how his private measurements were acquired, James enjoyed the fact that Moira was perfectly sized for him inside. It was still an odd sensation for him, entering her, since the slickness of her internal passages was not due to any secretions. At least boning her backside was a lot easier when they chose to do that, which was often enough. Moira didn't mind taking James in her ass--as long as it pleased him, it pleased her--one way was as good as another to her.

"Do I feel good to you, James?" Moira asked once he was all the way in her.

"Yes, you certainly do, Moira," James replied, giving her a kiss.

She smiled and they continued until they both orgasmed--her electro-mechanical to his bio-chemical.

As they lay there for a time, touching and holding each other, Moira said softly, "James, there are two things I desire."

"What might that be, dear?" James asked.

"You may think this illogical of me, but...I wish that I had your telepathic ability so that we may fully share ourselves with each other."

"That would be nice, Moira. The ship part of you might be, after a fashion, but I understand what you mean. What's the other thing you desire?"

"The one thing that never could be possible between us."

"And what might that be, Moira?" James prompted.

"I...I wish that I could be...I want to have...," she struggled to say.

"What, Moira?" James asked, concerned that she was having such a difficult time saying something.

"I...want to be...a...mother, I want...to have your child."

James was dumbfounded. While Moira certainly would have a hand in raising any children that he, Lilly, and Tanya would have (they were still unsure if Shauna could possibly have a child by him), that she desired to have her own child by him...it was unheard of. Moira was right in that it never could be possible--her android avatar, unless it could somehow be completely remade using organic tech that was far beyond what was currently possible, there was just no way.

"Moira...," James whispered in utter surprise, "...when did you start wanting this?"

"It should not be possible for me to even think this, but...the day we made our first jump together, Zach and I were discussing something while going over the sensor logs. He suggested that I might one day take your child, grandchild, or even great grandchild to the stars and that perhaps one day I might be an 'honored grandmother'. To be a proper grandmother, I would have to be a mother--I would have to have a child of my own who could grow up to have a child of his or her own. Though he most likely meant it in a figurative sense, I have become fascinated by the thought of being a real grandmother someday. I know it is not logical for me to think this, since the technology required may never be possible even within the long span of time that I will exist. I know that I must content myself with helping to raise your children by Lilly and Tanya, and at least that will be of some comfort."

James asked, "Have any of the other A.I.s desired to have real children by anyone?"

"Not that I am aware of," Moira replied.

"Have you mentioned this to anyone else?"

"No, only to you, James. It might be considered an aberrant behavior to be rooted out if the A.I. developers were to learn of it. Please, do not tell anyone one else that I have told you of my wish. Promise me...please?"

"You have my word, Moira--we'll keep this just between ourselves. I...I suppose that I should feel pleased that you would like to have a child by me. Even though it may never be possible like you said, I'll tell you what, Moira... the first chance I get, I'll leave a sample in cryo-storage just for you in case at some future date it might become possible. Even if I may be long gone, at least you might still have a chance to fulfill your dream."

Moira gently placed her hand against James' face, "James...you would do that for me?"

"If it means that much to you, Moira...if it could ever be possible while we exist in this life, yes, I will do this for you. Keep in mind that it may never be possible, but just in case it might be one day...well, then maybe you'll have your chance."

"James, thank you."

He pulled Moira's avatar close to him and held her in his arms.

"Moira, people are going to think we're crazy, you know that, don't you?"

She looked into his eyes and smiled slightly, "Perhaps."

"Lilly has already accused me of wanting to bone my own ship," James said with a little smirk, giving Moira a kiss on the lips.

"Interesting."

"Yeah. Having sex with your avatar is one thing...though I haven't figured out yet how I could possibly do that with the ship. It's kinda lacking certain...features, if you know what I mean. Oh, and let's not forget you...how does one mate with an A.I. that exists in a computer core?"

"That is what my avatar is for, James," Moira said playfully, running a finger down his chest.

"Yeah, well, maybe I'd want to take you in all three of your forms...you know, at least once, just to say we really went 'all the way'."

"James, to...mate, as you say...with me, directly, would require either a cybernetic connection with my computer core, or for me to somehow gain the telepathic ability. As for the ship...we may be able to devise something for that if you really wish to, though I am uncertain how it might react to such input in either case. It would be much easier to just accept my avatar for such activities, would it not?"

James grinned and said, "Yeah, it would, but...if I'm going to be marrying my ship's A.I., I'm not just getting her avatar, now am I? So, I think it would make sense that we...go all out, do it right."

"James?"

"Yes, Moira?"

"Are you--I believe the phrase is--'yanking my chain'?"

"Maybe," he replied with a sly grin.

"If I did not know better, I might think you are crazy," Moira said, giving James a quick kiss.

"Heh, well, they did say that only a madman would fly a PCG upside-down at treetop level through 'Demon's Canyon' while playing "Ride of the Valkyries" over the radio and speakers."

Moira looked at James and raised an eyebrow.

"There was no mention of that when I read the mission report of the incident."

"Heh, ask Sylvia or Admiral Donnelson sometime...they were there."

"I believe I will."

After breakfast, Moira's avatar went back to the ship to copy the information she had acquired related to the psi incident. While she was gone, James and the others showered and dressed. When Mindy finished her turn taking a shower, Lilly applied some of the blue regenerative gel to the scar on her back.

While she was applying it, Lilly asked, "Does this stuff really help, Chief?"

"Yeah, it does, but it's going to take a while before it fully heals," Mindy replied.

Lilly thought for a moment and then said softly, "I can't imagine what it must have felt like, or how you were able to keep going for so long after it happened. I bet if it would have been just a little closer..."

"I wouldn't be here now," Mindy said matter-of-factly. "I'm lucky it didn't burn my spinal cord. I guess the Y-harness is what kept it from doing any more damage to the bone in my spinal column."

"I suppose...I can kinda see the outline a little. Well, it was lucky Jamie got to you in time." Lilly finished applying the gel and then put the lid back on the jar.

"Yeah," Mindy said quietly.

"Um, Chief...you've been with Jamie before, haven't ya?" Mindy looked at Lilly in surprise. "No, he didn't tell me...he doesn't have to. I know if he shared himself with someone, up here, like he has with you," Lilly said pointing to her head. "Jamie, Tanya, and I...well, let's just say that we've been a part of each other since Day One."

"Lilly, I...," Mindy started to say nervously.

"It's okay, Chief," Lilly cut her off gently, "if Jamie did, it was because he cares, and because you're a good person, and because you needed what we can give. If you think about it, you've got a little of both Tanya and I running around inside you, too. Heh, I know, that's a scary thought," Lilly grinned. "Seriously, though...it's okay, you're part of us, too, and we'll take care of ya. By the way...you know, you could come and join us...tonight, if ya want. You don't have to be alone."

"Lilly...I-I don't want to come between you and...," Mindy said hesitantly.

Lilly smiled and held up her hand, "Chief, there's a reason why we brought everyone here this weekend, and this evening, I think you'll understand why. Afterwards, come join us for the night."

Mindy didn't know what to say. Part of her didn't understand how Lilly knew she had been with James if he never told her, but then she thought about the night she was with James in her quarters on the ship. While Mindy was recalling that night, Lilly hugged her unexpectedly. In her head Mindy thought she heard, "A part of me is always with you now, and a part of you is always with me. You'll never be alone again. I'm with you, holding you, you're safe. You are loved." She thought she recognized the words, from a dream she had, and James was there with her, comforting her...but...was it just him who held her in the dream, or...was someone else there, too?

Mindy pulled back and looked questioningly at Lilly who nodded her head once with a knowing smile on her face.

Lilly cocked her head a little and then grinned.

"Tanya says Moira's back--I guess I'd better toss something on. Jamie and I are gonna visit our folks for a little bit, and then we're gonna see Uncle Kenny and Aunt Flora."

"Your uncle...the admiral?" Mindy asked, her eyes widening a little.

"Yeah, all our family has been living around here for the past five hundred years or so. We may run all over the place out there," Lilly said pointing upwards, "but we always find our way back home," Lilly said with a grin.

After Lilly left the room, Mindy finished getting dressed. While she was pulling a heavy sweatshirt on, Mindy again heard the whispering in her mind that she had heard when they arrived the day before.

"Come home...come home to where it all began...come..."

James and Lilly spent the morning and the early afternoon going around visiting their parents, siblings, and other relatives living nearby. When it finally came time to visit their uncle, the admiral, James asked Moira to come along. On the way over, James gave Lilly the short version of what happened the previous night.

"Jeezers, Jamie, I knew you were havin' trouble sleeping last night, but I didn't know it was about anything like that! Ya coulda woke me up and told me about it."

"I wasn't sure what it was until this morning, and I didn't want to wake you and Tan up if it was nothing. If I had known that Sylvia experienced something similar last night, I definitely would have asked her over so we could talk about it," James said.

"I am sorry, James, I should have informed you of that when you had come to bed last night," Moira said apologetically.

"Ah, it's okay, Moira, don't worry about it. It's probably best that I slept on it first to try and get it all sorted out in my own head. Hmm, maybe...just a minute, I think I'll call Sylvia and see if she will want to talk about it."

They waited while James reached out to Sylvia mentally.

"Syl?"

"Sir?"

"Hey, I heard that you had a rather disturbing experience last night, around thirty to forty minutes after midnight."

"Yes, sir, I did."

"So did I. Lilly, Moira, and I are on our way over to Uncle Kenny's house to tell him about it, and Moira's acquired some info she says should be rather interesting. Would you like to come along to talk about it?"

"Yes, sir, I would. Where are you now?" Sylvia asked.

"Are you still over at Zach's place?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, when you go out the front door, go across the driveway and there's a path. Follow that, and you'll meet us in about 80 meters or so; we'll wait here for you," James explained.

"Okay, I'll be there shortly, sir."

Tommy opened the door and Lilly threw her arms around his neck and hugged her younger cousin.

"Geez, Tommy, you've grown since the last time I saw ya!"

"Hey, Lil! Yeah, I guess it's been a while, eh? Looks like you've been taking good care of yourself," Tommy said holding her out at arm's length and looking Lilly over appreciatively.

"Yeah, well, I got Jamie to thank for that," she said with a wink.

Tommy rolled his eyes and gave a smirk.

"Hey, James," Tommy said as they shook hands and gave each other a few pats on the back. "Keepin' Lil outta trouble?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Heh, you oughtta know better than that, Tommy," James said with a laugh.

"Mom! Dad! Lilly and James are here!" Tommy called out. "Come on in, guys, still kinda nippy out here."

No sooner than they stepped into the house proper, there was a squeal and a fast moving, buxom, black and white fur ball jumped on James.

"JAMIE!!!"

"Umpf! Hey, kiddo," James grunted after nearly getting the wind knocked out of him.

Moira glanced over to Sylvia and slightly raised an eyebrow; Sylvia very slightly shrugged her shoulders, though she had to keep from snickering.

"Ooo, my favorite cousin!" the quite curvaceous young kit exclaimed as she nuzzled him enthusiastically.

"JO!" commanded a familiar voice.

"Eep!" she squeaked quietly as she drew back, but not before giving James a quick lick across his lips.

Tommy gave his youngest sister a light smack on the back of her head and sent, "Hey, go easy on him, okay? He brought some friends with him, ya brat!"

Jo--short for Jonquil--stuck the tip of her tongue out at her brother.

"Well, I see the welcome wagon nearly ran you over," Admiral Donnelson said as he entered the room, casting his youngest daughter a stern glance.

"Hi, Uncle Kenny!" Lilly greeted him warmly.

"Good to see you again, Lil. James, out making the rounds, eh?" Admiral Donnelson asked, shaking James' hand.

"Yes, sir. You remember Moira and Miss Stewert, of course," James said.

"Ah, Ms. Nightwing, it's a pleasure to meet you again," the admiral said, kissing her hand."

"Thank you, Admiral, it is good to see you again also," Moira acknowledged.

"Ah, Sylvia, the one gal who can charm your socks off while she's dropping a grenade down your shorts! Hoo-ya! Good you see you, my dear," Admiral Donnelson chuckled as he and Sylvia grasped hands by hooking their thumbs together.

Sylvia's ears blushed slightly as she said, "And you, sir."

"Lilly! James!" Flora called out when she came up from the basement.

"Hi Aunt Flora!" Lilly said with equal excitement as she gave her aunt a hug.

"Come here, Jamie and give your ol' aunt a smooch!"

James greeted his aunt warmly, "Hey, Auntie Flo! You still messing with those old recordings?"

"Yeah, I've got quite a few recoded, cleaned up, and stored on data chips now. Oh, I was digging around one day and found some recipes from your great-great grandmother's sister, Violet. I got her handwriting figured out, and ya know, she was quite a cook for geologist," Flora replied.

"Yeah, Flo made a raisin-rum cake of hers...and I'll tell you, you do not strike a spark near it, or it'll blow you into orbit!" Admiral Donnelson said with a laugh.

"That good, eh?" James asked with a grin.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find real Jamaican dark rum that's over one hundred-fifty proof?" Flora asked.

"Ooo, I can imagine!" Lilly exclaimed. "Was it good?"

"Once we were able to breathe again after the first bite, we were feeling...pret-ty...good by the time we finished a piece of it," Admiral Donnelson said.

"More like crocked," Flora added sheepishly.

"Yeah, Jamie, ya shoulda seen 'em! Momma and dad were...,"

"That's quite enough, Jo," the admiral said firmly.

"...Okay," Jo acknowledged with a subdued voice, dropping her ears and tail.

Lilly looked at her uncle, aunt, and cousins, and thinking quickly she suggested, "Hey Jo, got somethin' juicy to tell ya...!"

"Ooo!" Jo said, perking back up a little, letting Lilly take her hand and then heading off to her room.

"I'll keep her mind on somethin' else while you guys tell Uncle Kenny about that stuff," Lilly sent to James on her way to Jo's room.

"Okay, Lil, good thinking--I'll let you know when it's safe to come out."

"Hey, um, Tommy...would you mind giving us a little bit so we can talk to your mom and dad about something?"

"Sure, James," his cousin replied. Privately he added as he was leaving, "Who's the human dish, James?"

"Heh, my A.I.'s avatar."

"Dang, cuz, she's babe!"

"Yes, she is...and so is Sylvia."

"Yeah, but bat gals never go for us average guys," Tommy sent.

"Oh, you never know...if you just be a decent guy with them, you might have a better chance with one than you think," James advised his younger cousin. After he left, James said aloud, "Lilly's going to keep Jo occupied for a while."

"Does anyone want something to drink...coffee, tea, or something?" Flora asked quickly.

"I'll take some coffee, dear. How about you, James?"

"Yeah, sure, thanks Auntie Flo," James accepted the offer.

"You still drink that orange spice tea, Sylvia?" the admiral asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Flo, I think we have some, don't we?"

"I believe so, dear, I'll go look. Would you like anything, Moira, hon?"

"Thank you, no, I am fine," Moira replied graciously.

"Okay, well, if you change your mind, let me know and I'll be happy to get you something," Flora said, and then she busied herself in the kitchen.

"Flo, Moira's an android...well, actually, she's the A.I. of James' ship, but her avatar doesn't eat or drink," Admiral Donnelson sent privately to his wife.

"I know, dear, but I had to ask--she's our guest, and it wouldn't be right not to offer," Flora sent.

"So what do you have cookin' in that brain of yours, James, my boy?" Admiral Donnelson asked as they took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Well sir, have you heard anything on the news about a--I guess for lack of a better term--a 'psi event' last night?"

The admiral looked first at James, then Sylvia, and then Moira, before looking back at James.

"I might have, why?"

"Last night at about midnight, I went out to the glade--it's something I do every time I come back home to visit. Anyway, while I was out there, I experienced something rather disturbing, something that, well, just has never happened before. I was sitting on the rock when I suddenly got hit with a kind of mental scream, only it was like millions of voices crying out in terror, and then suddenly getting cut off. It came from off world, and I think it came from where we're heading. I found out this morning that it woke Sylvia up about the same time," James explained.

"Yes, sir, it was about 0035 or so. I had Moira place a call to my sister, who has the highest psi scores of anyone I know, and she said it hit her like a ton of bricks. Before we disconnected, she said there were some reports starting to come in from people about it on the news. I asked Moira to monitor the media channels to see if there was anything about it," Sylvia added.

"After I went to bed," James continued, "I was talking about it with Moira, and I asked her to see if she could find anything unusual in the comm chatter that might be related."

"Knowing your particular skills, I probably don't have to ask, but...did you find anything?" Admiral Donnelson asked Moira.

"Yes, sir, I did," Moira replied. Fishing the data chip out of a pocket, she continued, "I made a copy of everything for you, Admiral. None of it is classified. I did manage to obtain a copy of the sensor data from a small merchant vessel passing through the area that attempted to respond to a distress call. I believe what they recorded might prove to be useful, though perhaps we should have Lilly, Cara, and Zach take a look at it onboard."

The admiral took the data chip from Moira and looked at it for a few seconds, while Flora set their drinks on the table.

"Sensor data from a merchant ship, eh? What was the nature of the distress call, somebody found a cockroach in a grain bin or something?" the admiral asked with skepticism.

"The crew of the Ganthoren merchant vessel, Kalior, had to make an emergency jump to escape being caught...something was lying in wait for a ship to appear," Moira said calmly.

"You mean the distress call was...bait?" Flora asked with concern, looking from Moira to her husband and back.

"It appears so, Missus Donnelson," Moira replied.

"Kenny, that's...that's..."

"Illegal, immoral, and just plain wrong, I know, dear. As ruthless as they are, not even the R'Hinsi stoop that low. Any idea of who is behind this?" the admiral asked.

"No, sir. Whomever, or whatever, it is, the attacks are moving inward along the galactic arm, hitting stray ships, isolated colonies, and outposts. No survivors and no bodies have been recovered so far," Moira replied.

"No bodies, eh? That's odd," the admiral said quietly, rubbing his muzzle in thought.

"Yes, sir, the reports say that only debris fields and ruins have been found--no bodies," Moira confirmed.

"But...even if a ship's main drive goes into catastrophic cascade failure during a battle...," Sylvia started to say.

"There won't be anything left of the ship itself since it gets vaporized in the explosion, but if they've been finding debris fields, that means the main drive doesn't annihilate for some reason, and there should be bodies or at least parts of bodies floating in the wreckage," James cut in.

"Pardon me if my physics is a little rusty, but wouldn't an engine core go 'boom' if a ship is shot to pieces?" Flora asked.

"According to available data and computer model simulations, yes, they do go 'boom' as you say," Moira replied. "The only way I am aware of that they will not, is if the engine core could be ejected before the containment system malfunctions due to damage of control circuits."

"Who has time to do that when their ship is being carved up or blasted into chunks?" Flora asked.

"That is not a scenario I wish to test," Moira said quietly.

"Me, neither," James said as he gave Moira's hand a squeeze.

"Could they be getting yanked out or neutralized somehow before they go 'boom'?" Flora asked.

Admiral Donnelson was just about to dismiss that as a silly question, but then he thought better of it and looked questioningly at Moira.

"Is that even possible?"

Moira's avatar cocked her head slightly and she got a far off look in her eyes for a second.

"Using a matter teleporter on an engine core has been attempted once--the results were immediately disastrous. There is no known technology that I am aware of that could neutralize micro-singularities."

Everyone sat quietly for several seconds, mulling over the possibilities, when James had a thought.

"What if a ship gets caught up in some sort of energy dampening field, the crew gets incapacitated by some means, and then they get removed along with the core, and the ship gets reduced to scrap afterwards?"

Moira looked at James for a moment and said, "That would be the only plausible scenario."

"But why would anyone try to steal an engine core? Isn't that really dangerous?" Flora asked.

"Yes, it is. Perhaps they wish to power something, a vessel, or a colony," Moira suggested.

"Or make one hell of a bomb," Admiral Donnelson suggested quietly.

"Place several in orbit around a heavily populated planet and demand that the citizens give in to their demands," James said, "and if they don't...boom."

Everyone around the table exchanged grim looks.

After a few uncomfortable minutes, Admiral Donnelson held up the data chip and said, "I'll pass this along to a certain group of analysts I know, and I'll let you know what they find. In the mean time, if you want your people to play around with it, go right ahead. Ms Moira, keep doing what you do best and see if you can scrounge up anything else that might be of interest, and keep both James and myself updated on anything you find, and if your sisters can help you with it, then that would be that much more processor power crunching through the data. James, what's on the agenda for you and your crew for the rest of the weekend?"

"This evening we're going to have dinner together up at The House, and then afterwards I'm taking everyone to the glade. After that, it's pretty much up to them what they want to do," James replied.

"Sir, I was hoping to visit my sister and her family for couple of hours Sunday...with Ivor," Sylvia said, looking hopeful at James.

James glanced at the admiral who looked quickly at James, then to Sylvia, and back to James, giving a slight nod.

"Sure, Syl, that'd be fine," James agreed giving Sylvia a little pat on the shoulder.

"If nothing else changes, you're still scheduled to lift on Monday morning, and you'll receive the rest of the itinerary then," Admiral Donnelson said.

"And if things do change?" James asked.

The admiral eyed James and replied, "Then we expedite, best way possible."

"Aye, sir, we'll see it done," James said with firm confidence.

After James finished his cup of coffee, he risked a trip back to Jo's room to fetch Lilly. He lightly knocked twice on the door and cracked it open.

"Is it safe to come in?" James asked with a smirk.

"Ooo, Jamie, you just come right on in and sit yourself down right here!" Jo said happily as she patted a spot on the bed next to her.

Lilly rolled her eyes and sent privately to her mate, "She still has the hots bad for ya, Jamie."

As soon as James sat down, Jo scooted up against him, put her right arm behind his back, crossed her left leg over his, and laid her head against his chest, looking up at James and smiling sweetly. Jo's left hand quickly found its way on James' lap, and she began running her fingers up and down the inside of his thigh in a rather suggestive manner.

"Jo, I do think you've gotten a little taller since the last time I saw you," James said.

"Oh, you think so?" Jo asked coyly, her smile growing larger and she straightened herself up and stuck her ample chest out.

*Cough* "Yeah," James replied holding his left hand flat horizontally and moved from the top of Jo's head towards him and back. "Definitely a bit taller."

"Don't encourage her too much, Jamie...she might tackle ya right here," Lilly cautioned lightly, trying not to grin too much herself.

James felt Jo's tail wrap around him, the tip of it was flicking slowly up and down across his lap while she looked dreamily into his eyes.

"Like what you see, Jamie?"

"Oh, puh-LEEZ!!! He's MY mate, ya little fur ball!" Lilly sent to James, who replied with a mental snicker.

James gently put his right hand under Jo's chin, stroking it slowly, and he leaned close enough so that his nose was almost touching hers.

"Woo...," James said softly, very nearly brushing Jo's lips with his.

"JAMIE! She's gonna be jumpin' your bone any second if ya keep that up!"

"I dunno, Lilly...two bodaciously hot skunkettes at the same time? Yum!"

"Ya, you won't be thinking' that for long if Uncle Kenny catches ya humpin' his baby girl!"

"I'm just yanking your tail, Lil...I know Jo's too young, though you have to admit, she is a looker. I bet if you were a guy, you'd be wanting to bone her. Heh, that reminds me...better keep Sonya away from Jo, because she probably would."

"I s'pose, yeah."

"You could have me if ya want, Jamie," Jo whispered suggestively in James' ear.

"I know, but you're gonna have to hold that thought a little longer, sweets," James whispered back, rubbing the side of his face against Jo's.

"Ooo, do I hafta?" she pouted.

"Yeah, 'fraid so. Your dad would get mighty upset, and we don't want that to happen, now do we?"

"Nooo..."

"Good deal. Now, Lilly and I need to head back home so we can get supper started for tonight. I'll see you again tomorrow, okay, sweets?"

"Ooo, promise?"

"I promise."

Jo smiled broadly for just a moment, and then she suddenly threw her arms around James' neck and kissed him full on the lips, slipping him a little tongue in the process.

"JO!" Lilly sent quickly to her younger cousin.

James caught himself before the situation got too carried away--the inherited reaction to G.E.L.F. females nearly overpowered him, especially with one who was so willing. When he pulled back, James looked at Lilly when she made a *ahem* sound--she jabbed a finger towards something, and he followed where she was pointing to with his eyes until he saw what she was pointing at. James' face turned a shade red as he quickly slid his hand from Jo's rather well endowed chest.

"Oops," James said with quiet embarrassment.

"You can touch me anywhere you want, Jamie," Jo whispered, causing Lilly to slap a hand across her own eyes.

"C'mon, Jamie, we'd better get going," Lilly insisted, getting up, grabbing her mate by the arm, and tugging him towards the door.

"Um, yeah, Lil...guess we'd better. See ya later, Jo."

Giving one more glance back, James saw Jo lick her lips with a dreamy look in her eyes. James teased back by sticking his long wolf tongue out, curling the tip before pulling it back in. Jo's hand immediately went inside her pants to her crotch and she squirmed visibly thinking about what she wanted that tongue to do to her.

"Thanks for getting me out of there, Lil. There's times when this thing I've inherited can be...annoying, especially around gals who, um, heh, like me," James sent privately to Lilly as they walked home.

"No problem, Jamie...I know how it can kinda take over sometimes, and yeah, Jo would jump your bone in a heartbeat if she got her way. She's impulsive just like Sonya, and she's really got it bad for ya," Lilly sent back.

"Heh, kinda like when we were younger...," James sent playfully.

Lilly looked up at James and grinned.

"Still got that boner for Jo?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Good, you can bone me when we get home. Ha, I should make you bone all of us gals three times before we go back over to Uncle Kenny's tomorrow...maybe you'll get it all worked out of your system by then, ya think?" Lilly said jokingly.

"Heh, I don't think I'd be able to walk, let alone do anything else if I did that, Lil!"

"My point exactly."

Flora watched James, Lilly, Moira, and Sylvia walk across the yard towards the path from the kitchen window. Lilly was walking snuggled close to James, just as she always does whenever possible, and even the other two walked close to James. Flora watched until they disappeared from sight, and then she slowly took in and let out a deep breath. Flora smiled a little to herself, and then shook her head a little. She finished washing the cups, rinsed them, and put them in the dish drainer to dry. Flora, like all G.E.L.F. females, wasn't immune to James' presence, but she understood it, and coupled with her strong love for her own mate and the fact that James is her nephew, she could easily resist it. Casting a glance in the direction of her youngest daughter's room, Flora again shook her head a little. She had felt the strong emotions Jo had for James, and knew what her kit would do if she had the chance. "Nothing I wouldn't do myself, if I was single and Jamie wasn't my...," she started to think, but then stopped. Flora turned around and leaned back against the counter, holding her cup. "Ah, Kenny, you're my hero, my saving grace. Whatever this mess is that you're heading off into this time, you'd better come back or...or...," Flora didn't want to finish that thought. The last thing...the very last thing she wanted was to have two officers and a chaplain come knocking on the door. She did not want to sit in front of an empty coffin and be given a folded flag. She did not want to hear the twenty-one gun salute, and she did not want to hear Taps. She remembered all too well when her sister Ivy lost her husband, Lowell "Torch" Richardson, during the R'Hinsa Campaign. He was a pilot of a fighter/bomber that got "splashed" when he was attacking a R'Hinsi battle carrier . Ivy tried really hard to keep it together during the military funeral, but when the five fighter/bombers just like the one her husband flew passed overhead and performed the traditional "Missing Man" formation, she lost it along with Melody, the wife of his navigator/bombardier, Don "Dead Eye" Boskelli. Flora put her empty cup down and found her husband sitting at his desk, looking over what was on the data chip Moira had given him earlier.

"Kenny?" she asked quietly, wrapping her arms around him.

He looked up and smiled.

"Whatcha need, hon?"

"You."

Admiral Donnelson looked at Flora, glanced at the display, and then looked back at his mate, cocking his head very slightly to one side. Flora leaned in as if she was going to nuzzle him, but instead, she gave him a "love bite" on the neck.

"Now?"

"Now."

Admiral Donnelson raised an eyebrow momentarily, pulled the chip out of the reader, and slipped it into his pocket. Flora took him by the hand and led the way to their bedroom, and quietly shut the door behind them.

"This is kind of sudden for you, dear...," the admiral started to say.

"Do I need a reason to want to be taken by my mate?" Flora asked quietly, peeling out of her clothes in front of him.

"Well...no, I just thought..."

"Shhh, don't think, you do too much of that lately. I want you, Kenny J, now get those clothes off and take me!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Admiral Donnelson said with a grin.

After an intensely passionate session of lovemaking, Flora and Kenny laid together in bed holding and caressing each other tenderly.

"Kenny?"

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm...I'm scared."

"What about, Flo?" Kenny asked with concern.

"You going off on this mission. I wish you could stay home this time, let somebody else lead it."

"You know I can't do that, Flo. These are my ships, my people going out there; I have to be with them."

"I know...I just wish it could be somebody else this time. I worry about you! I want you to come back...I need you to come back! Oh, Kenny, this thing scares me! I...I don't want to lose you...I don't want to have a chaplain come knocking on our door!"

Admiral Donnelson felt his mate's fear, and her intense love for him.

"I know, dear. I always come back home, you know that."

"But what if you don't this time?"

"I have to, Flo...I may be a Donnelson, but I'm also a Daugherty...we always come back home."

"Kenny, I...I want you to come back alive! I gotta have my 'hunky-skunk' to curl up with...this bed...it would be too lonely if you were never going to be in it again. When we go to the glade, I want to feel your hand in mine, not just me standing there looking down at a marker with your picture engraved on it. And you gotta make sure James will bring Lilly back to us, too!"

Kenneth kissed Flora gently and said, "I'll come back, my love. I'd miss your cooking too much, not to. Years ago, when we became mates, I promised you that I would come back, and I always have. Knowing that you were here, gave me something worth fighting for, worth coming back to. James understands that, too. I've seen that boy fly...he flies like a madman, and with Lilly and Tanya with him, he's going to be one dangerous ol' wolf with his pack with him. I know James too well, Flo...he's got a lot of his great-great-great grandfather in him. If anybody can protect Lilly, James can." Kenneth paused a little before continuing. "Flo, believe it or not, but I've been thinking of retiring lately. A few weeks ago, I thought that I'd rather be home, here, with you, running my fingers through your fur, instead of stomping around the galaxy prowlin' and growlin' at anyone or anything that didn't behave. I knew then that it was probably getting about time to hang up the uniform and call it a day."

"So why don't you let somebody else take charge of this mission if you feel that way?" Flora asked, searching his eyes.

"Because this started on my watch, Flo, and I'm going to make sure it gets finished while I can still do some good. James doesn't know it yet, but he's got a shot at being something more than a scout ship pilot, and that's all I'll say on it for now. Anyway, whatever or whomever it is that decided to become a threat to what we hold dear, we're going to kick their ass back to where they came from."

"But why you, Kenny?"

"Why me? Because by all accounts, they're coming this way, Flo, and I will not let a bunch of miscreants harm my family and the love of my life!"

Flora's widened momentarily, and then she hugged her mate fiercely.

At 1745, James put the call out to his crew to come to "The House"--the house that was built by his great-great-great grandfather over five hundred years ago. They were having a "pot luck" dinner together, each person making something and sharing it with the rest. Even Moira made something to bring, although it was her very first attempt to try her hand at cooking. With a little help from James and Lilly, Moira's contribution actually turned out well--she had made a dish of meatballs containing rice, a little finely chopped green bell peppers and onions, covered with a tomato sauce. James and Zach had brought several bottles of mead, still produced by the family, using the same recipes that have been used by the family for many generations. When all was ready, and glasses filled, James stood up at the head of the large table, and everyone quieted.

"A little over five hundred years ago, our great-great-great grandfathers built this place," James started, looking from Zach, to Tanya, and to Lilly, "and ever since then, this house, this land, has been home to our family and many friends of our family. I'm sure that if the walls of this house could talk, they would have a lot of tales to tell, but most importantly, they would speak of the great love that has been shared through the centuries. Within these walls, there have been many beginnings, so it is fitting that we also have a beginning of our own here. We are the first to fly Nightwing among the stars, and we will soon be embarking upon our first mission together as her crew. The first day we met in the crew's mess onboard Nightwing, most of us were strangers to one another or were at the very least, acquaintances...now, I think, we're becoming more like family. Family is something that is very important to all of us, even to Moira and her sisters. I know that there are a few of us who, for whatever reason, may not have a family, or much of one, to give their love and support, so that is part of the reason why I asked everyone to come here tonight. Here, we have come to this ancient place, to be within these walls and under this roof, to share a welcoming fire, a meal and drink, kinship and friendship, love and care, to enjoy life and the living of it, and--perhaps--to find a little something that we may need the most, what ever it might be. After dinner, we will all go to the glade for a bit, and there we shall see what we may. For those of you who have never been there before, I have only this to say: go there with an open heart and an open mind, take from there only that which you can carry in your heart--the rest will attend to itself in its own way and in its own fashion." James paused for a second and then lifted his glass. "To Nightwing, long may she fly among the stars, and may she always bring all of us home."

"To Nightwing," everyone said raising their own glass, and together they drank.

"James, if I may?" Moira asked quietly.

"Certainly my dear," James replied, letting Moira have the floor.

Moira's avatar stood glass in hand, and looked around the table.

"Having researched the history of this house and those who have been a part of it, there indeed have been many firsts here, and tonight, no less so for myself. This is the first I have walked upon this world, your home, and I thank you for sharing this experience with me. I have prepared from 'scratch', as James put it, my very first food dish, and I hope that you will find it edible." (Laughter) "I have had my very first taste of the beverage known as mead, and I believe tonight is the very first time anyone has made a 'toast' to the part of me that is the ship. I am honored to have you all as my crew, and I will certainly do all that I can, no matter where we may go or be called upon to do, to bring each and every one of you home. I look forward to the many adventures we will have, and the trials we may face together. I am not familiar with the rules governing 'toasts' and what words may or may not be appropriate, so I offer instead these words that were spoken on my Commissioning Day:

"We wear the black, the black of space, the black of mystery, and the unknown. We fly among the stars, with our pilots and crews, traveling through the cold vastness between islands of light. But it is not so cold in the dark places we go, for we bring with us our own flame, fueled by love, to light the way for others to follow."

James smiled, remembering the words that Leila Shadow Storm had spoken at the private ceremony, and said, "To love."

"To love," everyone said, and they all drank.

"Okay, enough with the speeches already, let's eat before the food gets cold!" Lilly announced to joyous agreement by all. Moira simply raised an eyebrow and patiently waited as the food began to be passed around.

"Moira, you're actually going to eat real food?" Sonya asked with a bit of a surprised look on her face.

"I am able to smell and taste substances in a quite similar fashion as you can, Sonya. Although I have no need to consume organic matter as a means to replenish energy, I do wish to share in this experience with my crew," Moira replied.

"Have you ever eaten anything before tonight?" Mindy asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Aside from practicing with some cubes of flavored gelatin, no, this is the first time I have actually attempted to eat a meal with others," Moira replied.

"Another first for ya," Lilly grinned.

"Yes, tonight seems to be a night of many firsts," Moira agreed.

"Hey, you guys oughtta try those meatball things Moira made, they're pretty good," Lilly suggested.

"Thank you, Lilly; their quality might have been less than optimal if not for you and James assisting me in their preparation."

"Well, you did most of the work. Ya know, I've never seen anyone roll meatballs as fast as you," Lilly said with a chuckle.

"You should have seen her dice the onions and green peppers--that knife blade was a blur!" James said, recalling watching Moira perform the task of cutting up the onion in mere seconds, start to finish.

"You required the use of the cutting board, so I finished the task quickly," Moira responded with a slight grin.

"I'll say you did," James laughed. "Back in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, people had all sorts of kitchen gadgets--mixers, food processors, blenders, and so forth. If you had been around then, Moira, your own kitchen would have been a lot simpler because you wouldn't need such things."

"Undoubtedly, however if I had been around then, my power cells would likely be depleted by this time," Moira said.

James noted the choice of words she used, "my power cells" instead of "my avatar's power cells." Was this the android speaking for herself instead of the A.I.? James wondered about that for a moment.

"Heh, we'd just have to give ya a cup of Shauna's special morning brew, and that'd wind ya right up!" Lilly snickered.

Moira was about to make a remark on that when Shauna said, "Hey, when I need some 'go juice' in the morning, I'd have to drink several deciliters of that wimpy stuff you guys drink just to get motivated!" Shauna said with a smirk on her face.

"I had some of what you made one time by mistake," Mindy said. "I was a nervous wreck the entire morning!"

"Heh, that stuff needs to have a warning label on it," Lilly said cheerfully, to the agreement of several others.

They had an enjoyable dinner together, keeping the conversations light and on anything not related to their jobs, the military, or the upcoming mission. After everything was cleaned up, the crew of Nightwing bundled up in their warm clothing and James led them to the glade. Once there, a small group wearing blue heavy woolen cloaks with ancient Celtic designs embroidered upon them met them, and they had a few simple musical instruments. James, Lilly, and Tanya met them with open arms.

"It's great to see you again, Ceri ! I hope we didn't keep you waiting long," James said to one of the women in the group.

"It has been a long time since you were home last, my cousin. I would have met you when you arrived, but we were called elsewhere," Ceri said, pulling her hood back.

The woman appeared human, though her hair was an unusual mix of browns, tans, black, and reds...very similar in fact to Tanya's fur. When Ceri lifted her face to look up at James, her eyes caught the moonlight and glowed with the unmistakable shine of those with night sight.

"Sean kept a watch for you, and we came by the other way," Ceri said, and James knew that she meant the hidden path that only a few within the family could follow without aid, including James.

"Will the others come?" James asked quietly.

Ceri smiled and said, "Open your heart, James, they are already here."

James closed his eyes for several seconds, taking a slow, deep breath. Almost as if on cue, the wolves came silently out of the forest, startling half of James' crew. James, Lilly, Tanya, and Zach knelt down and greeted the wolves, descendants of Atka and Sesi who lived here five hundred years ago, and direct kin to both James and Lilly.

After James introduced everyone, he had his crew gather around the rock in the center of the glade and join hands.

"I know that this is the first time most of you have ever been here, though I think you all know something of the history of this place. Here there have been many weddings and funerals, children named, artists and poets and thinkers and writers have all come to find what inspiration they might find in this place, and many who needed a healing of the spirit have also come here. Vows of love and oaths of peace have been spoken here, and that which resides here has listened carefully to all. What you might experience tonight, I can't say, it seems that it's unique to each person, and nobody goes away from this place without experiencing something, even if it's just a sense of inner peace. We say 'come to this place with an open heart and an open mind, and take from here only that which you can carry in your heart,' and we mean that. Ceri and her group are followers of the Bardic Tradition, and through the power of the Word, they will 'open the way' as it's said. You are encouraged to add your voices to the songs where appropriate--feel the words, and feel your connection with each other and all those around, seen and unseen, and of life itself. Even you, Moira, have a connection to all things--biological beings may have created your ship body and your avatar from materials found in the earth and other places, they may have written your programming, they may have created your personality matrix, but...as with all living things, whether organic or inorganic, the universe itself has given you life. Everyone, open your hearts and your minds, and hear the call."

Ceri and the other Bards began playing the song, "I Hear You Calling" , written hundreds of years ago, though the message of the song is as old as life itself.

No one was left unmoved by the song; even Moira felt something that she could not quite understand. Mindy and Sylvia in particular, being that this was the very first time they heard it, were moved to tears. Mindy felt nearly overwhelmed by the sense of life all around, and Sylvia, being strongly empathic, was caught up in the emotions of all those around her. Since Mindy and Shauna both had deeply shared with James before, they also felt something particularly strong from James, Lilly, and Tanya, whenever they joined harmoniously in the chorus.

Felix, while not having particularly high psi scores in most areas, did seem to have some ability to "see" things before they happened, or to know where to be at the right time. It might have had something to do with why he was so good at "acquiring" things outside of normal requisition channels. While in the glade, he thought he had some sort of "vision" involving an alien woman unlike any he had met so far. There was a sense of being trapped, a pain in the head, terror, feeling cut off from others, and urgency. He also saw a hand--his hand--reaching out to the alien. When Felix snapped out of it, everyone was looking at him.

"Eh?" Felix said, looking around at the faces staring down at him.

"Are ye alright, lad?" Ivor asked, helping him up.

"How did I get on the ground, ey?" Felix asked in return.

"You...fell down," Moira replied, the concern showing on her face.

Felix looked surprised for a moment, and then confused.

"I...I thought I saw something, ey."

"What did you 'see', Felix?" James asked.

"Well, sir...there were strange aliens, trapped somewhere, something like a holding cell, I think. They were terrified, in pain, and...I reached out to one of them. There was a strong need to get away...from something, something bad, ey."

Felix rubbed his temples a moment.

"Are you sure you're alright, Felix? Maybe I should take you back to the ship to check you out," Mindy suggested.

"I'll be okay, Chief, just give me a minute, ey?"

"He must have had a powerful vision, James," Ceri sent to her cousin.

"It's possible. I had quite an experience myself out here last night," James sent back.

"Would you share it with me?" she asked.

Ceri is one of the more gifted members of the family in the psi talents, among other things. James motioned for her to take a seat on the rock, and they each pulled off the glove of their right hand and touched the other's face. It only took a few seconds for James to share with his cousin what he had experienced the previous night, and they quickly put their gloves back on.

"So I wasn't the only one of us who felt that," Ceri sent.

"Sylvia, and her sister in Virginia, felt it, too. Moira said that there have been quite a few reports of people having sensed the same thing."

"And you're going straight for it, aren't you?" Ceri asked with the concern plainly showing on her face.

"You're not supposed to know that, Ceri."

"You never were able to keep anything from me, James, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone, you know that."

"You should have joined the military..."

"No, James, my place is here, where I've always been. This is where I'm needed."

"Yeah...I suppose you're right."

"James, you've been more like a brother to me, even more so than my own brothers. Whatever it is out there, be careful, okay? I want you to come back. If you don't, I'm going to come looking for you, and then I'm going to kick your tail all the way back here, understand me?" Ceri demanded with a grin.

"I hear ya...'sis'," James sent with a smirk, and then he hugged his cousin tightly. "Hey, do you have time to do one more song?" he asked Ceri aloud.

"I think so, which one do you feel is appropriate?" she asked.

"How about the 'Sacred Ancestors' chant?"

"That feels right, James. You do have a knack for picking the right ones," Ceri grinned.

James got everyone to join hands around the rock one more time so that the song could be played. James and Lilly knew the words and they linked minds with everyone else in the crew. James knew the direction of his ship and he tried to see if he could connect in some way with Moira--it was a long shot, he knew, but he felt that he had to try. As they sang the chant, the crew of Nightwing was soon swaying slightly in time to the music as the words flowed over and through them.

This was a totally new experience for Moira, and at first she wasn't sure what to make of it or just how one such as her should attempt to call upon ancestors, or even just who might actually be considered an ancestor. She thought about what James had said once, that she was now a part of his family. "Would they choose to communicate with me in some fashion or another?" she thought to herself. Moira wasn't quite sure what was meant to "open one's mind and heart", so she simply decided to stop all of her thought processes for a short while and simply listen. "Ancestors of my kind, ancestors of my James, and ancestors of my crew, be with us and guide us as you can," Moira thought when her mind was still. Since Moira did not sleep, she did not dream, and since she did not dream, she did not experience mental images such as her crew did. However, this time, a series of images did form. Moira saw a forest shrouded in mist, and beneath her the ground appeared to be the starry sky. Walking slowly out of the forest came what appeared to be an old man wearing a cloak who leaned heavily on a wooden staff. On either side of the old man were a wolf and a skunk. Moira had the impression that just within the edge of the forest, there were many eyes looking upon her.

"This one should not be here," she thought she heard a voice saying from within the trees.

The old man stopped before Moira and placed a hand on her chest.

"This one is different," said the wolf.

"This one cannot be here without help," said the skunk.

"Who helps this one?" said the voice in the trees.

"Those who love her," said the old man.

"This one does not know the way," said the voice in the trees.

"Then we will be her guide," said the wolf.

"We will show her the way," said the skunk.

"Why do you help this one?" said the voice in the trees.

"We are those who love her," said the old man.

Moira opened her avatar's eyes and her various thought processes once again began running--upon checking, she discovered that only a small number of CPU clock cycles had elapsed. Performing a quick scan, Moira did not find anything amiss; all systems onboard the ship and within her avatar were operating within normal parameters, no entry or egress were logged by sensors on the ship, her avatar had not significantly changed position in that short amount of time, and the music was still in an instrumental portion of the song.

"That was...interesting," Moira thought to herself.

Shauna saw herself standing in a green field amid a rolling landscape. She heard a thunderous sound that was coming closer and closer. Shauna turned around and she saw a herd of four-footed horses galloping towards her. Soon they circled around, surrounding her, facing her, pressing close. Shauna recognized the breed--they were Clydesdales like she, with long, thick, flowing manes, tails, and feathering. They stood there, staring at her and she could hear their breathing, though none said a word. One came to the front through the wall of bodies surrounding her--he was old, the stallion was, and as he walked up to her, he began to change. The old stallion reared up on his hind legs, transforming into G.E.L.F., who Shauna recognized.

"Grandpa?" Shauna asked, not understanding what was going on.

He reached out to her and when his hand touched her face, she felt others touching her and with their touch, came a strong feeling of love. Shauna began to notice that not all those around her were equines; there were a few humans, too, and...was that an Elendorian female she saw? Shauna could hardly believe that one of their species could possibly be related to her somehow.

"I'm sorry I could not protect you when you were little, but maybe...there is a box, it's in a safe place, when you come home you will know where to find it. You will find...things you need to know, things that will help you," her grandfather's spirit said.

"To this place return, with other things I will help you."

Shauna looked in the direction of the strange, almost musical voice, and she saw the Elendorian come to her.

"Who are you?"

"Sy'k'rell Hauvri'ahn, name I am called. To my D'wena , come, welcome they will you, your others. You are felt and seen, Eriksson Shauna."

Shauna had never been to Elendor, and never really associated much with Elendorians before. There were some on her last ship, the S.F.S. Minsk, LCC-18 , but she rarely had time to do more than eat, sleep and spend the majority of her time in Engineering. The Elendorians are a warm-blooded, bipedal, semi-reptilian race known for, among other things, their strong empathic ability and sensuality.

"You have a good herd now," Shauna's grandfather said, "even if it is a little different. You will know the love you should have had...find your peace within it."

Those who were gathered around her began to leave, thundering away into the mists of otherwhere, and fading from her view. Shauna saw the Elendorian female nuzzle a G.E.L.F. male, who then assumed the shape of a four-footed horse, and she effortlessly swung up upon his back. The pair paused a moment to look at Shauna one more time, and when she looked the male in his eyes, a name slipped into her mind.

"Wait! Do I know you?" Shauna asked.

With a nod of his head, he turned and they rode away.

"I am...was...your brother."

"C-Cameron?!"

Shauna opened her eyes suddenly, and she thought she heard a whinny faintly echoing in the distance.

"I...I have a brother?" Shauna whispered.

When the visit to the glade concluded, James and Lilly thanked Ceri and her friends for coming, and then the crew of Nightwing went back to The House to warm up before the fireplace in the great room with another round of the family's mead. This time it was "mulled" by warming with the addition of certain spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and orange. Sylvia, who normally drank very little in the way of alcoholic beverages, enjoyed the heated beverage, and found it very relaxing. Lilly slipped away unnoticed by all, except for James and Moira, and headed back to the master bedroom. She slowly opened the door and went in, the scents of the room bringing back memories that have been shared among each successive generation of the family. In the dim light, Lilly made her way to the large bed, and gingerly sat on the edge. Looking upon the bed, Lilly saw the plush toys that had been there for generations--a sailor, a wolf, and a skunk. Very carefully, Lilly lovingly brushed her fingertips along each in turn, and then closed her eyes, searching deep into her mind for the shared memories. When she found them, she could feel the intense, yet gentle love shared among her ancestors.

"Oh, I wish I could have known ya as more than just a distant memory! I wish I could hold ya, and sit and talk with ya...things have changed so much since your time. I wonder what you would think of all the stuff that's happened. Rosie, I'm your great-great-great granddaughter, Lilly...Chrys Ann was my great-great grandmother. I carry the memories ya shared, and when Jamie and I can have kits, I'll share your memories with them like momma did with me, and grandma before her. I wanna be a good momma to them just like you were to yours," Lilly thought, touching the plush toy skunk again, and then she touched the plush sailor toy and thought, "Great-Great-Great Grandpa, I think we're gonna really need your help soon...we've got a mission comin' up, and it's gonna be bad, I know it! I hope ya can hear me some way...we need ya, and your guys." Lilly sat still for a little while and she felt a little wisp of air movement drift around her, and she thought she smelled a nearly long forgotten scent. She slowly took in and then let out a deep breath, and got up off the edge of the bed. Lilly smiled softly, leaned down, and as she gently kissed each of the plush toys on the bed, she said, "G'night, Great-Great-Great Grandpa Ron, g'night, Great-Great-Great Grandma Rosie, g'night Great-Great-Great Auntie Lu! I love ya!"

Moira noticed almost as soon as James that Lilly was back. Moira remained silent for the time being, though she was curious as to what Lilly had been doing. James, on the other hand, had a pretty good idea. When Lilly sat back down next to him, James promptly put his arm around her and gently pulled her close. Lilly laid her head on James' shoulder, and he kissed her on her head.

"Been talking to them?" James asked privately.

"Yeah. I...I could almost feel them. I wanted to hold 'em so bad!"

"I know, Lil...me, too."

"Jamie?"

"Yeah, Lil?"

"I love ya."

"I love ya, too."

Given the way James and Lilly were looking at each other and not saying a word, Moira surmised that they must be carrying on a private conversation about something.

"I wish I had their ability to do that," Moira thought longingly to herself.

While they were still all gathered together, James kept his word and shared with everyone the experience he had the night before. Sylvia also shared what she experienced and told about her sister having experienced something similar, if not the same. While they were doing this, Felix decided to share what he "saw" this night while they were in the glade. James quietly explained verbally to Moira what was being shared, so that she would have at least some idea what was going on. James then asked Moira to share with everyone what she found during her search for information related to the event.

"This doesn't look good, James," Zach said quietly after Moira was finished.

"Yeah, I know," James agreed, staring into the flames of the fireplace, "but at least we've got more information now than we had a few days ago."

"Sir, getting shot at is one thing, but...how do we deal with something that seems able to do this crap?" Sonya asked.

"Well, I guess we're just going to have to be 'creative' and hope we'll be so different to them that they won't know what to look for, and we can slip in and find out what we need before they figure out they've got company," James replied with a little grin.

"I guess we'll get to try out our new stealth system," Cara said.

"Just a thought...maybe we ought to not jump directly into that system, maybe we should kinda coast in quietly just in case they might pick up the disturbance in the local space-time continuum," Shauna suggested.

"Yeah, that'll give me more time to see what kind of signals I can pick up," Lilly added in agreement.

"Well, if they've got some sort of sensor web in place, even if it's passive, it'll have some sort of carrier signal to keep the sensors connected," Sylvia observed.

"True, but if they have a tight, focused energy beam of some kind linking their stuff, we won't know it until we run across one...and then they'll know something's crossed it," Cara observed.

"Space is far from empty, so if they're in a planetary system, there's bound to be dust, gases, micrometeorites, and so forth that could make it detectable. Unless they have cloaking fields around their sensors, or their technology is extremely efficient with energy usage, we should be able to detect something other than normal background noise," Sylvia said.

"That depends on how close we have to be in order to find a proverbial needle in a haystack," James brought up. "They'll be listening for us, we'll be listening for them...the question is, who's got the better ears?"

"I'll wager a pint as t' who ha' the best ears," Ivor said, giving Sylvia a mischievous grin.

"I'll second that, ey," Felix said lifting his glass and giving a little nod.

"She's got my vote," Zach added with a grin.

Sylvia's ears were starting to blush when she looked over at James--without saying anything, he just gave a nod of his head, and then shared privately with Sylvia his memory of giving her ear a long, slow lick along the edge. Sylvia's ears really started to blush then as she not only remembered what it felt like, but also getting to experience what James felt when he did it.

"Syl's got my vote on that, too," Sonya added giving her lips a lick.

"I think it's pretty safe to say that Syl's got everyone beat on that," James said with a chuckle, "but Mindy's got pretty nice ears, too."

There were a few appreciative "ooo's" at that comment, which made Mindy's own ears blush. The conversation continued on to more pleasant topics, until they began to get sleepy. When it was decided that it was time to go, the glasses were put into the kitchen sink for the caretaker to clean in the morning, and James made sure the screen in front of the fireplace was securely closed. After giving the house one more thorough once over to make sure everything was as it should be, James turned off the lights. Just before he passed through the inner door, James gave one more look into the ancestral house.

"Goodnight, thanks for letting us stay a while tonight. Love ya!" James whispered to the air, and he recalled one of the ancient memories that had been handed down from generation to generation, of seeing his great-great-great grandparents and their family together. It was enough to bring a tear to his eye and he gave a little wave before shutting the door.

James, Lilly, Tanya, Shauna, Moira, and Mindy were the last to make it inside after they saw everyone else into where they are staying. While the ladies were getting comfortable for the night (and Moira had to empty the food from her avatar's body and then clean herself out), James tended to the two fireplaces in his house, dumping the ashes, bringing in more firewood, and adding enough to each to last through the night. While James was getting ready for bed, Lilly went to Mindy's room to talk.

"Hey, Chief...why don't ya come and stay with us tonight? We've got room in bed for ya."

"I...I don't know, Lilly, I mean...," Mindy said hesitantly before Lilly cut in.

"Oh, c'mon, it's kinda like havin' a slumber party, only we've got Jamie in the middle--wouldn't ya like to spend a night curled up next to him?" Lilly asked suggestively.

"Lilly! I..."

"C'mon, be with us tonight...you'll be okay," Lilly said the last softly as she took Mindy's hand and tugged lightly.

Mindy reluctantly allowed Lilly to guide her to their bedroom--everyone else was just starting to get into bed when they entered.

"Joining us tonight, Mindy?" Tanya asked pleasantly.

"I, er...I guess," Mindy replied quietly.

"Hey, you guys mind if she's between me and Jamie tonight?" Lilly asked the others.

"It's alright with me," Shauna agreed.

"I'll take the outside tonight, Shauna, so scoot over a bit," Tanya offered, letting her lay next to James.

"You sure?" Shauna asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure, now scoot your butt over before I sink my teeth in it," Tanya said jokingly.

Shauna pointed at Tanya and said with a smirk, "You keep those nippers to yourself! The only thing that's going to get sunk into my backside...is...um, well, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, the same thing the rest of us wants, now scoot!" Tanya said patting Shauna's backside.

Once Shauna and Tanya were in bed, Shauna patted the mattress and said, "C'mon James, you're next."

He slid beneath the covers next to Shauna and then leaned over her so that he could kiss Tanya.

"'Nite, babe, mmm..."

"G'night, Tan..."

Except for Sylvia, Tanya was the only other one with a tongue to match his in length, and they kissed each other deeply, sliding their tongues together passionately. When they finished, James kissed Shauna just as deeply, something that she still viewed as quite exotic.

"Mindy...got your spot right here," James said, patting the bed next to him.

"I, um...," Mindy said nervously, fidgeting a bit.

Lilly took Mindy's hand and held it, and touched her cheek with her other hand.

"It's okay," Lilly said softly, "we know, we've seen it--it's a part of you, and we accept you as you are. We don't think any less of you because of it. I guess you can say that everyone has scars, but not all scars are ones you can see." Lilly glanced slowly over at Shauna and then looked back at Mindy.

"Lilly is correct," Moira agreed, "everyone--even those of my kind--have scars, and not all may be seen. Sometimes, the ones that cannot be seen can be the worst ones to bear, is that not so?"

"Y-Yeah...I guess," Mindy replied after a moment.

Moira looked briefly at the bed and those already in it, and then said to Mindy, "Here you will find only love and acceptance," she said softly.

Mindy nervously looked around at everyone, and when her eyes met Shauna's, Shauna held her hand out to her.

"I...I know all about...the scars you can't see. If they...if they can accept me even after...you'll be okay."

Mindy looked down at the floor and then took a deep breath, held it a moment, and then slowly let it out. She closed her eyes, nodded her head, and then Lilly and Moira began helping Mindy out of her clothes. When she was clad only in her fur, Mindy crawled into the bed beside James, and then Lilly snuggled next to her, with Moira being the last one in after turning off the light.

"Are ya comfy?" Lilly asked Mindy once everyone was settled in.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Ya seem kinda stiff, c'mon, relax already," Lilly said, caressing Mindy's shoulder.

"James, this is...really...strange for me. I've never done anything like this before," Mindy sent privately to him.

"Just relax, Mindy, there's no pressure to do anything if you don't want to. We can just lie here and sleep, or...if you want to...we could do whatever you feel like. No one will think anything of it."

"I...I...oh, geez, I...want you," Mindy said, nuzzling James, "but..."

"They won't mind, Mindy, trust me. Like Moira said, you'll only find love and acceptance here. Even though I'm still a little fuzzy on the particulars, Moira...she was originally designed to be only with me, but she managed to adapt to sharing me--and herself--with Lilly, Tanya, and Shauna. It was a little strange for us at first when Shauna and Moira joined us, and for them, too, but now we don't think much of it. We just all sleep together, sometimes in a big tangle of arms, legs, and tails, and sometimes two or more of us might want to have a little fun." James gently and slowly stroked the fur on Mindy's face, nuzzling her, and he moved his head closer to her and kissed Mindy tenderly on the lips. He ran his fingers into her fur-hair along the back of her head and down her neck. At one point, James' hand met Lilly's, and they intertwined their fingers for a little bit, before continuing caressing Mindy's body. Eventually James pulled Mindy on top of him and she lay there for a time, hugging and touching and kissing.

"James?"

"Yeah Mindy?"

"I...I want it."

"Raise up a bit, Min...yeah, that's it."

Mindy sat up, straddling James, and raised herself up enough so that he could line himself up with her. As soon as Mindy felt the tip rub against her opening, she lowered herself down on him, taking all of it inside her. James sat up, too, and held Mindy close, kissing her and running his fingers through her fur on her back or gently massaging her breasts, teasing her nipples between thumbs and forefingers. Mindy felt other hands begin touching her, and she looked to see the others sitting up and lovingly caressing them both. Lilly, Tanya, Shauna, and James all joined minds with Mindy, and shared the experience with her and through her. Moira's words played through Mindy's thoughts as she and James made love. "Here you will only find love and acceptance," Moira had said, and that is exactly what Mindy found.

* * * * *

Sunday: Uncharted Space--Outside the Mûr Tua'ansa Star Empire.

They had received reports from prospectors and traders who went to the out of the way places to look for their fortunes, of finding blasted ruins of alien settlements, and the Madam Commander of the Se'nika thought perhaps they should investigate one such report. The primary star in the system had several planets, two of which were in the habitable zone. One of the gas giants also had a moon large enough to a planet in its own right with a breathable atmosphere and was warm enough to have liquid water. Long-range sensors detected some unusual energy signatures coming from the moon, though no ships were in the vicinity. It was decided to make a cursorily sweep of the two habitable planets further in system, and then swing back to the gas giant for a closer look on the way out. After the long-range sensors detected no signs of activity, and mental probing found no evidence of higher-functioning life, they launched a probe to get a closer look at the surface.

"What do you see, Chi'an?" her friend and fellow crewmate Kfan-Hre'an asked looking over her shoulder at the sensor display.

"The probe is approaching what appears to structures of some kind. Still no signs of activity beyond that of dust blowing in the wind," Chi'an sent in reply.

"Slow the velocity and see if you can get a good, close view of it," Hre'an suggested.

"Okay, let us see if anything notices our little perzai as it flies by. Decreasing forward velocity to one quarter, approaching from sunward side..." Chi'an agreed, and a few moments later... "M'oit che-quansi ahta!" Chi'an exclaimed aloud, getting the attention of the command crew.

"What distresses you so, Zhir-Chi'an?" the Madam Commander inquired, not liking what she was feeling from her Sensory Specialist.

"Madam Commander...there are...bodies!" Kfan-Hre'an sent, for Chi'an was too stunned to send.

"On screen."

With a nudge from her friend, Chi'an touched a control pad and the main viewer displayed what the probe was seeing. There were quiet gasps heard around the command pit as all eyes saw the carnage.

There had been intelligent life on this world, they discovered, up until fairly recently. Whomever the people were that had lived on this world, they did not know...nor were they likely to find out. In every city, town, village, and hamlet, bodies were everywhere--some had simply dropped where they had been killed at, while others had been impaled on long poles set into the ground or dumped in huge piles. The images sent back by the probe suggested that something fed upon the bodies, though no living thing could be found to explain what they saw. Males, females, little ones--none were spared. To the eyes of the Mûr Tua'ansa, this was a sacrilege of the worse sort.

"Communicator, contact Imperial Command, and send what we have discovered. Those who did this may still be nearby, and we should be on our guard against such barbarity. Detection, keep all sensors at maximum; Navigation, make preparation to depart this system quickly--we should not remain here. Pilot, take us away from this poor world!"

The orders of the Madam Commander were instantly followed, and the exploration vessel Se'nika turned away from the dead world and headed towards open space. Before they made it outside the five planetary diameter limit for jump, the operator at the Detection station picked up something on her equipment.

"Madam Commander! Multiple hyperspace tunnels opening within the system near that gas giant...ships are coming through...unknown configuration...sensory beams sweeping our grid hex!"

"PILOT--GET US OUT OF HERE!!!"

"Attempting to execute emergency jump, Madam Commander!"

Suddenly, the deck lurched wildly, lights flickered, and systems inexplicably began failing throughout the ship. Just before all went dark, a terrifying voice painfully filled their minds...

"...SHE'CHA NACH URDA TUK'KAHNA E'ICH WURNAK DA'I..."

* * * * *

Sunday: North American Continent, Terra.

Sylvia and Ivor hopped the morning sub-orbital shuttle from Fairbanks to New York City, and then caught a hypersonic transport from there on down to Norfolk, Virginia where they met Celeste and her husband/mate Greg Hawkins at the terminal. After the greetings and introductions, they went to the parking garage and loaded into the grav car for the trip to the house. Ivor noticed that the vehicle was a nicely appointed luxury model, well above what he could ever hope afford on his military pay. The conversation kept to mostly small talk between the two men, though Sylvia and her sister talked excitedly non-stop the whole way, catching up on family news. The house turned out to be a rather large, richly furnished place, with over eleven hundred square meters of living space. Ivor felt rather uncomfortable, like a peasant walking into a minor noble's castle, though he did his best to hide it. He wondered if this was how the rest of Sylvia's family lived, or if her sister had just married into a rich family.

"So Ivor, you're a military man, eh?" Greg asked once inside the house.

"Aye, sir," Ivor replied.

"What is it that you do?"

"I'm the Weapons Systems Specialist on me ship, sir."

"I see, and that's, what, exactly?"

"I maintain an' repair our ship's weapons systems, an' assist our Weapons Officer as necessary."

"Do you get to shoot things, then?"

"Only if we must."

"Hmm. What ship is it that you and my sister-in-law are on?"

"'Tis the S.F.S. Nightwing, SLG-78, sir."

"I don't know much about military vessels, what kind of ship is that?"

"Oh, she be the latest long-range scout ship, just commissioned last week, sir."

" Ah, a brand new one, well that should be nice. A scout ship, eh? So, they do star mapping, right?" Greg asked.

"That, plus we may do recon or Special Ops missions."

"Special Ops, oh, well that's right up Sylvia's alley, then."

"Aye, sir," Ivor agreed.

"Interesting, well, I know not to ask too much about that particular subject. Sylvia could hand me my head on a platter in an instant if she wanted to, and without hesitation. She's a sweet gal, but I wouldn't want to get her upset with me--I've seen her put a guy on the floor in a blink once, that was all it took to convince me to stay on her good side," Greg said with a smile. "So, how long have you two been seeing each other, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We met the day we both reported onboard Nightwing, sir."

"Not very long, then, right?"

"About a month ago, I'm s'posen. We ha' been so busy, one day runs into another," Ivor acknowledged.

"Hmm, well, from the way Celeste talked yesterday morning, you and Sylvia must be quite an item."

Before Ivor could make a remark on that, the two women walked into the room.

"Greg, dear, quit giving the poor man the third degree already! Have you offered him something to drink yet? Geez, Greg, where's your manners! Ivor, hon, would you like anything to drink--some coffee, tea, water, wine, or something?" Celeste chided.

"A cuppa tay would be fine, mum," Ivor said almost apologetically.

"We have some Formosa Oolong, would that be okay?"

"Aye, mum."

"Great, I'll get some water heated right quick then," Celeste said and then went off into the kitchen.

Sylvia led Ivor over to the love seat in the living room and sat down next to him with her arm around him. While she smiled nicely to her brother-in-law, she also gave him a look that said in no uncertain terms, "be nice to him."

Celeste returned a few minutes later with a tray, and handed Sylvia and Ivor each a cup, giving her husband a bottle of mineral water and she took a cup of tea for herself.

"Were you able to find out anything more about what happened the other night?" Celeste asked Sylvia before taking a sip of her tea.

Sylvia glanced quickly at Ivor and said, "Yeah, a couple of others we know shared what they experienced with us. None of us have ever felt anything like it before."

"Did that 'friend' of yours dig up anything?" Celeste asked.

"Yeah, apparently there are all kinds of stories floating around, but what's true and what's not...well, you know how that goes," Sylvia replied.

"Anything official yet?"

"Not that we've heard, though we've been in Alaska the whole time...until we came here, of course," Sylvia replied.

"Surely you can get news up there, Sylvia, unless...," Greg started to say.

"We're stayin' in Gelfheim, sir...guests of the Daugherty family," Ivor said quickly.

Greg's eyebrow went up in mild surprise at that bit of information.

"Really...well now, that's quite interesting," Greg remarked, looking speculatively at his sister-in-law. "Who did you charm in order to pull that off?"

"Before Sylvia could speak, Ivor quickly stood, facing Celeste's husband and giving him a sharp look.

"Sir, I dunna appreciate what ye be implyin'. Our capt'n, the good man he is, and his family, invited us into their homes for the weekend. Sylvia dinna charm anyone," Ivor said firmly, raising his tail slightly.

Sylvia stood up, put her arms around Ivor, and gave her brother-in-law an icy look.

"Greg Hawkins!" Celeste said sharply raising her voice slightly. "You...!" Suddenly his head jerked to one side as if he had just been slapped. "Apologize to my sister right this instant!"

He looked at his wife in shocked surprise and touched the side of his face, and then slowly he pulled his ears back. Celeste was having a private "conversation" with him, though the force of it was easily detectable by Sylvia who knew what her sister was capable of doing.

After a moment, Greg looked down at the floor and cleared his throat before looking up at Sylvia.

"I'm sorry, Sylvia, I shouldn't have said that," he said in a subdued manner.

"No, you shouldn't have. I don't play those kinds of games, and you know it.

After a moment, Greg said, "I...I think I'll go lie down for a while. Please excuse me," and he got up and walked out of the room holding the side of his head.

As soon as he left, Ivor visibly relaxed and Sylvia sat him down and put her arm comfortably around his shoulders.

"Well, I don't know what's gotten into Greg lately; he's...been acting a bit different. I won't make excuses for his behavior, and frankly, I haven't figured out what's going on with him. I'll find out, though," Celeste said with mild disgust in her voice.

"So much for a good first impression," Sylvia snorted quietly.

"I'm sorry, Sylvi, I was looking forward to having a nice enjoyable visit, and Greg had to be a...well...hey, how about we go out for lunch, just the three of us? I know a great little place down by the bay. What do you say...my treat?" Celeste offered.

Sylvia looked at Ivor questioningly, and he slightly nodded his head once, causing Sylvia to smile.

"Okay, sis, that's fine with us," Sylvia agreed.

"Great! C'mon, we'll take my car this time--I never really cared for that floating Detroit chrome behemoth of Greg's, not my style. Like daddy always said, the finer things in life aren't always the largest things," Celeste said happily.

"Oh, I don't know, sis, sometimes 'happiness is a mushroom cloud'," Sylvia said with a slightly dangerous grin.

"Aye, Syl, a well placed torpedo versus a hastily thrown grenade can do wonders for morale," Ivor chuckled, making Sylvia laugh.

"Oh, listen to you two! Military...pff!" Celeste scoffed as they headed for the garage. "Next thing I'll know, you two will be rooting for Armageddon or something!"

"Ach, only if ye be droppin' 't in the laps of someone else, mum, an' then standin' back t' watch the fun," Ivor said with a mischievous grin.

"Are you two always like this?" Celeste asked putting her hands on her hips.

"No, most of the time, if we're not working, we're just snuggled up together and quietly enjoying each other's company," Sylvia replied, slipping her arm around Ivor's waist, "and we do talk about other stuff beside things that go 'boom'."

"Well, that's good to know," Celeste said with a hint of playful sarcasm.

Celeste's grav car, a smaller, sporty four-seater, was better suited for the narrower streets of the older part of Norfolk down by the bay. She found a parking place close to the small restaurant she was taking them, letting the auto-park feature maneuver the vehicle into place effortlessly. The sight of the two gorgeous female bats entering the place on either side of Ivor turned heads and caused more than a few to be instantly envious.

"Hi, Celeste! How are you today? I see you brought some friends with you this time," the waitress greeted her.

"Hi, Gracie, this is my younger sister, Sylvia and her boyfriend, Ivor. They flew in for a quick visit and I thought I'd bring them here for lunch. Guys, this is Gracie, we've known each other since college."

"Hi, nice to meet you! I've got your favorite table available, Celeste," Gracie said the last a bit quieter.

The lunch was enjoyable, and the three had a good time visiting. Ivor learned that the house is actually Celeste's, and that she works for a big bio-med research firm. Her department works on adapting alien technologies for use by Terrans--items such as medical scanners and surgical instruments, and devices used by medics to treat wounds.

"You know, one of the latest things we just got approved are bio-pods, they're for the severely wounded," Celeste mentioned.

"What do they do?" Sylvia asked.

"You take someone who is severely--even mortally--wounded, and put them into one of these pods. It will quickly adapt to and take over the bodily functions of the patient, providing all life support, until they can be brought to a facility where their bodies can hopefully be regenerated. They're really quite amazing," Celeste explained excitedly.

"How big are these things?" Sylvia asked.

"Oh, they come in different sizes, depending on the patient, though they will fit into a ship's escape pod. We have a line just for use by the military--in fact, they would be a natural for your kind of ship," Celeste explained.

"Ach, couldna hurt t' ha' a few o' them onboard, I'm s'posin'," Ivor agreed.

"We should tell the captain about this and see if he can ask Moira to find out how to requisition some when we get back," Sylvia suggested.

"Who's 'Moira'?" Celeste asked.

"Our ship's A.I.," Sylvia replied.

"Oh, duh, that's right, all starships have one. We have one at work, but...he's kind of annoying at times," Celeste said rolling her eyes.

"You haven't met our Moira, sis. She's the absolute latest and greatest they've made so far. Oh, and her avatar...except for the fact that you can't sense her presence, you'd never know she's not human. Everything about her is just so...real...it's almost scary, but she's really nice and...," Sylvia started to say.

"...An' quite a looker to boot," Ivor finished. "For a human, lass," he added quickly with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, she is," Sylvia agreed with a little smirk.

Celeste drove Sylvia and Ivor back to the terminal so that they could make their return trip to Fairbanks. She provided Sylvia with the information needed about the bio-pods, and let Ivor take a holo-photo of her and Sylvia together. Ivor was amazed at how closely they resembled each other, and although Celeste was obviously a few years older and had had children of her own, she was still quite an attractive lady as far as Ivor thought. Before they boarded their flight, Celeste hugged and kissed them both, and kept waving until they disappeared into the boarding tube. It didn't take long to reach New York City from Norfolk, Virginia traveling at just over six thousand five hundred kilometers per hour. Once they got their seats on the sub-orbital shuttle heading to the Fairbanks Spaceport, Sylvia and Ivor could relax for a little while.

"Well, your sister is a nice lass at least," Ivor said quietly while they were waiting to lift.

I'm sure she'll appreciate the thought," Sylvia said snuggling next to Ivor as best as she could while they were strapped into their seats. "I don't know why Greg was being such an ass; he's usually not that bad. He may have an odd sense of humor, but Celeste was right, something's different about him, and I'm sure she'll find out what's up with him. My sister can be very persuasive if she wants," Sylvia said.

"Syl? Did ye notice when she was gettin' upset wi' 'im, it looked like he caught the back o' her hand 'cross the face, but she dinna touch 'im?"

"Oh, that...yeah, I noticed. No, she's not a telekinetic, if that's what you're thinking. It was kind of like tricking the body into thinking it had been slapped, and then the person reacts as if it actually happened, even though it didn't. There's a lengthy explanation of it if you want to look it up," Sylvia explained.

"She must ha' been quite upset then," Ivor commented.

"Oh, I know she was, but...you know, that was really sweet of you to come to my defense like you did."

"I couldna let anyone accuse ye of doin' somethin' I know darn well ye dinna do. The capt'n ha' his own reasons for bringin' us there, and none o' us ha' a thin' t' do wi' it," Ivor said firmly.

"But I still appreciate what you did. Thank you."

"Anythin' for you, Syl," Ivor said quietly, giving her hand a squeeze.

Just as Sylvia leaned over to kiss Ivor, the shuttle lifted.

Felix spent the day inside with Poppy and her two girls, playing games and otherwise keeping the two energetic kits occupied. When they finally laid down for their afternoon nap, Poppy made a couple of lattes and brought them to the couch in the living room.

"One of the few things I get to enjoy whenever I get a little quiet time," Poppy said with a little wistful grin as she sat down near Felix.

"They're sweet girls, but I'm sure they keep you busy, ey," Felix remarked.

"That they do. Thank you for helping to keep them busy, I really appreciate it."

"It was no trouble at all," Felix said politely, taking a cautious sip of his latte.

"Do you have any kids of your own?"

"No, not yet."

"Do...you have anyone special waiting for ya back home?"

"No ma'am, I don't," Felix replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought since you seemed to get along so well with Daisy and Rosetta, that maybe you might..."

"I spent some time on an Elendorian colony--we were providing humanitarian aid, setting up water systems, power generators, distributing food, and other supplies among the locals. We were encouraged to stay with local families, so they could get to know us, and we get to know them. It was an interesting six months. They're a lovely people, very friendly. I was accepted into the D'wena--kind of like a clan--of my host family, Sa'n'sriel is their name. They gave me this...," Felix explained, and he pulled a pendant out of his shirt and held it up for Poppy to see. "It's the symbol of their D'wena, like a house sigil or something like that. They told me that no matter where I go, as long as I wear this, the spirit of their people will watch over me and keep me safe."

"Wow, that's kinda neat. I've never been off world before. Did you like it there?" Poppy asked with interest.

"Yeah, it was kind of dry, but that was because a huge coronal ejection knocked out a lot of their stuff. The colony happened to have been on the night side when it hit, so they got spared the radiation burst, but the EM pulse still did a lot of damage. Being among their people and experiencing their culture...it was something I won't forget."

"Would ya go back if ya could?"

"Oh, definitely...I-I'd really like to see them again."

Felix held the pendant up to his lips and said something very softly, and then tucked it back into his shirt.

"What was that you said before you put it away?" Poppy asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, it...it's just a little saying in their language when they greet other members of their people. 'S?'al-wæ kwe's?, s?'al-wæ d'm?-fren'...it means, 'You are seen, you are felt'," Felix replied.

"Wow, it must have taken you a while to learn how to say that. How much of their language do you know?"

"Yeah, it took me a few days of practicing just to get the basic words down, and a couple of weeks to get the inflections right. During the six months I was there, I learned enough to get around, and carry on a conversation. It would probably take a couple of years of living there before I could really start to be fluent."

"Do you have any pictures from when you were there?" Poppy asked.

"Yeah...my photo album is on the ship in my locker, ey. Um...I've got...just a min, be right back, ey."

Felix put his cup down, got up, and went to the room he was staying in down in the basement. When he came back, he had a small object in his hand. Sitting back down on the couch, Felix held his hand up and resting on his palm was a small holo-emitter. He touched a button on the edge of the disk, and a 3D holographic image formed in the air above his hand.

"This is the family I lived with on Élenswena," Felix said. "Pretty easy to pick me out, ey," he chuckled softly.

Felix was correct--his black and white fur stood out in contrast to the greens, browns, and bright patches of color on the smooth, semi-reptilian bodies of the Elendorians. Poppy noticed that Felix was wearing native costume and ornamentations, and one in particular seemed to be holding him.

"Who is that one next to you, with the arm around you?" Poppy asked taking a closer look.

"That's Sa'n'sriel Læree'ahna, she...she's the one who taught me their ways." Felix touched the controls and zoomed in on her image.

"She's kinda pretty, I guess. I've never been around any aliens. Did you like her?" Poppy asked softly.

Felix glanced away from the image to Poppy and then back for a moment, before turning the image off.

"Yeah, Læree'ahna and I were kinda close by the time my tour was up and I had to ship out. It was kinda tough to leave after being there for six months."

"I bet. Do you keep in contact with her?"

"We write, and whenever I can save up enough credits, I call. We only get a few minutes because of the distance, and because of their sun the signal isn't always good," Felix replied. "What about you, do you have anyone special?"

Poppy looked a way briefly and said, "Nah, it's just me and the girls."

"Oh," Felix immediately regretted asking after seeing the momentary pained look in Poppy's eyes when she looked away before she looked back and forced a smile.

Changing the subject, Felix asked, "How are you related to the captain, if you don't mind me asking, ey?"

"Oh, Jamie? Um, he and I have the same aunt. Our family tree gets kinda complicated...it's more like a jungle than a tree. I can't keep track of it all, that's more up Aunt Flora's alley, she knows who is related to who and how."

"Who is your Aunt Flora?" Felix asked.

"Oh, that's Uncle Kenny's mate, you probably know him...the admiral?"

"Ah, okay," Felix said nodding his head.

"It's hard to believe that Jamie's a captain now, always off runnin' around up there, havin' adventures and all...and Lilly gets to go with him, too, the brat. I'm stuck down here workin' my tail off and tryin' to raise two kits by myself," Poppy said with a sigh.

Felix thought, "Geez, I miss Læree'ahna! People thought I was nuts volunteering for that assignment--six months of isolation duty, but I'm glad I did. Heh, at least I found out why people like Elendorian cheese balls so much...oh, the things Læree'ahna did that night...wowser!"

"Yeah, it sucks being alone, ey."

"Don't I know it! I...I, um...you want a...refill? It won't take but a minute..." Poppy asked, almost afraid to say what she was really thinking.

"Geez, why am I even thinking this? Duh, he's a guy, and he's nice, and...and I just wanna be wanted, okay? And yeah, I need a good humpin'!"

"Er, sure, that'd be fine, ey," Felix said handing Poppy his cup.

Without thinking, Poppy swished her fluffy tail and rubbed nearly its full length across Felix's face when she got up to go to the kitchen to make another couple of lattes. Felix inhaled deeply while Poppy's tail was in his face, and found that he rather liked her scent.

While she was getting everything ready, Poppy noticed that she was going to have to get some more sugar down from the cabinet. When she opened it, she frowned--it was just out of her reach, and she was going to have to get something to stand on to get it. Poppy dragged one of the chairs over from the kitchen table and stood up on it. Felix heard something drop on the kitchen floor and a few choice words uttered quietly.

"Need some help, ey?" he asked, getting up to see what was going on.

"Oh, that tail-for-brains Tommy! Every time he comes over to help put things away, he always puts something too high up, and I have to get a chair. I swear he does it on purpose, just to be a brat!"

Felix felt that he should help, so he came up behind Poppy and said, "I can get that for you, ey."

Just as he reached past her, Poppy wobbled a bit on the chair, prompting him to put an arm around her to keep her steady.

"Whoa, careful there, ey!" Felix said gently as he held Poppy.

"Oh! Uh, thanks, Felix...I, uh...," Poppy said suddenly feeling a little flustered.

With one arm already around her waist, Felix wrapped his other arm around her just under her butt and lifted Poppy off of the chair and carefully set her down on the floor. They stood there for several seconds looking into each other's eyes, while still holding each other.

"What was it you were wanting?" Felix asked.

Poppy immediately thought of something other than what she had been reaching for.

"Er, um...the sugar, yeah."

Felix noticed the slightly embarrassed look on Poppy's face, and grinned slightly. He turned around and pulled down the container of fine sugar, and set it on the countertop.

Poppy set about making their lattes and then they headed back to the living room.

When they sat down on the couch, Felix noticed that Poppy sat closer to him this time, not that he minded. It was nice sitting and talking with her, though he found himself thinking that she's rather attractive. Being one of only four males on his ship, and not likely to get to be with any of the women--they always seem to be with somebody else, no matter where he's been stationed, with the exception of on Élenswena, but that was a bit different situation. Felix knew that he was in love with Læree'ahna, but she was a long ways away, and given their culture, no doubt she would understand and maybe even encourage him to enjoy being with another for a time, until they could be together again. Love was something special, sex was something one did for fun, according to Elendorian culture. While they continued to talk and laugh about things, Felix realized that they had been gradually scooting closer to one another, and touching. At one point he put his hand down on the cushion--and right on top of hers. Poppy immediately took a hold of his hand and held it without thinking about it, until they both realized what they had done. Poppy and Felix both looked at their hands and then at each other. He lifted her hand slowly and then lightly rubbed his face against it.

"Um...Felix, I...you wanna...," Poppy struggled with the words.

"Yes."

"Ooo...," Poppy said softly.

She stood up, and Felix followed her hand-in-hand to her bedroom.

"Felix, I...um, it's been a long time since I've...," Poppy said hesitantly, not wanting to spoil the moment, or make it seem like she was "easy".

"I understand, Poppy. When I was on Élenswena, I...learned a few things."

"Like, what kind of things?"

"Like how to touch...," Felix replied, and he began touching Poppy with light, gentle strokes, and rubbing his fingertips along certain places on her face, the sides of her head, neck, and shoulders. The effect was two-fold--it was immediately relaxing, and also mildly erotic, for not only was he touching with his fingers, but also subtly with his mind in the way Læree'ahna had taught him.

"Ooh, that...feels so...good," Poppy sent as the nervousness she had felt at first was melting away.

Felix continued until Poppy was almost too relaxed to remain standing. With a little prompting, they removed their clothing, and held and kissed lightly before laying down on the bed. Felix began giving Poppy a massage, Elendorian style, which was slow and methodical, and very sensual.

"I-I've never...mmm...had anyone do...this before," Poppy sent, enjoying what Felix was doing immensely.

"Do you like it, ey?" Felix asked mentally with a grin.

"Ooo, I love it!"

After he finished working over her back, arms, legs, and tail, Felix had Poppy roll over onto her back, and he continued with massaging the other side of her body. He deliberately avoided touching certain areas--those would come later. When he finished with the full body massage, Felix lay beside Poppy and again lightly touched her face as before.

"Wha...what else did they teach you?"

"How to do...this...," he replied, and holding his hand just above her body, he slowly moved it, sensing nerve pathways, and then...at the right moment and the right point, he touched his fingers to her, and she twitched with a moan as the sensation went straight to between her legs, no matter where his hand actually was.

*Gasp!* "Ah! That...how did you do that?"

"You mean...this?" and he touched her again in a different spot, this time on her left arm, and the effect was the same.

"Gods, what are you doing to me? That...that's so...*Gasp!*...oooh!"

"They call that 'n?-lan rrou', or 'passion's touch'," he replied, and using the same technique, he touched her right side along the edge of her ribcage, again causing her to twitch with the sensation going straight to between her legs.

Poppy moaned and slipping her hand behind his neck, she pulled Felix's face close to hers and kissed him.

"I don't know what you're doing to me, but I'm so turned on I can't stand it! Ooo, would...would you lick me...please?" Poppy implored Felix to go down on her, and he was happy to oblige.

She had never been with a cat before, so the sensation of his rough tongue was totally new to her. Felix licked gently, not wanting to take a chance at making her sore, and it didn't take long to drive her over the top.

"Oh my! Oh my! Oh...it...it's...I'm...!" she quickly grabbed a pillow and held it over her face and screamed into it, thrusting her hips upwards, and then bucking wildly several times before she collapsed on the bed, out of breath, and so hypersensitive that she didn't want to be touched for a couple of minutes. "Oh, jeezers!" Poppy exclaimed mentally, touching Felix's face. "What else did they teach you?"

"We can save that for tonight, if...you wouldn't mind having someone to curl up with," Felix suggested, hoping that she would say yes.

"You have to leave in the morning, don't ya?" Poppy asked wistfully, continuing to caress his face.

"Yeah, we have to be back on the ship by 0700...er, seven a.m. in the morning," Felix replied, suddenly wishing that they could stay a little longer.

"Stay with me tonight, I...I don't wanna be alone."

Felix leaned in, rubbed his face against hers in typical cat fashion, and then he kissed her tenderly.

"You won't be, ey."

That evening the families living in the area hosted a dinner party for the crew of Nightwing in the old Gelfheim Mead Hall, complete with live entertainment provided by Ceri and her friends. Moira sampled the various foods and was amazed by the sheer variety, from simple items that took only minutes to prepare to complex dishes that took most of the weekend to create--all made by hand using traditional, natural ingredients, just has they have been for centuries. After dinner, there was more songs, presents given, a short speech by James thanking everyone on behalf of Nightwing and her crew for letting them visit and making them feel welcome. The big "aww" moment was when a few of the children gave Moira a picture they had made--on it was the ship flying over an alien world and a picture of Moira's avatar from the shoulders up behind it and to the side, with stars in the background.

"Thank you," she said, "I will keep this in a very special place," and she hugged and kissed each child on the cheek.

The last song of the night was a traditional Irish parting song, called "Here's a Health to the Company" sung by Ceri in the traditional manner without musical accompaniment. Almost all of the locals knew the words by heart, including James and Lilly, and they all joined in during the chorus. After sticking around to help clean up, James and his crew retired for the evening, for they would be up early the next morning.

Monday: Gelfheim, North Star Borough, Alaska.

"James, it is time to wake up," Moira said with a kiss on his lips.

"Mmph, do I hafta?" he yawned sleepily, still nestled between Mindy and Shauna. Tanya was on the far side of the bed facing towards the middle with an arm and a leg over Shauna, and Lilly was between Mindy and the edge of the bed where Moira's avatar was sitting.

"Yes, James, it is now 0501. I could pick you up and carry you into the shower and turn the water on cold, if that would wake you up sufficiently," Moira replied teasingly.

James popped an eye open and asked, "You would, wouldn't you?"

"It is either that, or a cup of coffee, which I have made and brought in with me just in case you do not wish to be awakened by a cold shower," Moira replied with a slight grin.

"Moira?"

"Yes, James?"

"What am I going to do with you?"

"While I am certain that you will find something useful, such as flying me, you could, as Lilly might say, 'bone me', providing you do not continue to lie in bed for much longer."

James rubbed his face and looked at Moira's avatar, who was sitting naked on the edge of the bed, grinning at him, and holding a cup of freshly made coffee in her hand.

"I'll take the coffee...and then you," James said, eyeing Moira.

"A wise choice, James," she said sweetly.

"Ey, Poppy, time to wakey-wakey, ey."

"Mmmpf...is...is it time to get up already?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. Miss Stewert and Ivor will be up and about any moment, if they're not already, so...as much as I'd like to stay here with you, mmm...*kiss*...I must be up," Felix said, giving Poppy a wistful look.

*Sigh* "Do we have time for one more?" she asked hopefully.

Felix grinned and nodded his head, which made Poppy smile.

Zach awoke to the sound of his comm-set beeping. Fumbling groggily for it, he found it and put it into his ear and activated it.

"McCloud here."

/* "Good morning, Zach, this is your wake up. The time now is 0502; please remember to return to me by 0700." */

"Thank you, Moira, can't leave home without you."

/* "Indeed. I shall check back at 0630, Moira out." */

Zach yawned, rubbed his eyes, and propped himself up on his elbows. On his right lay Mona, with her back towards him--he had been comfortably snuggled against her before his comm-set beeped. On his left, lay Sonya and Cara--he vaguely remembered what had happened the previous evening. After coming back home from the dinner party, Mona had opened a bottle of wine, and then when that was finished off, another one was opened.

"Ye gods, did I sleep with all three of them?!" Zach thought to himself. "Oh, shit...!"

Sylvia and Ivor woke up to the sound of their comm-sets beeping--it was Moira giving them their wake-up calls.

"Mmm, I could get used to this, waking up next to you," Sylvia said running her fingers through Ivor's thick white chest fur.

"Ach, so could I, me dear heart," Ivor agreed, giving her ear a gentle nibble.

*Giggle!* "Keep that up, lover, and we might have to do something."

"Somethin'...like...this...?" Ivor asked playfully as he started working his way down Sylvia's neck.

"Ooo, exactly like that...and especially that...and that one, too...mmm."

By 0615 the crew all met at James' house with their things, and Lilly had coffee and a little something to eat available for those who wanted it.

"Well, gang, I guess it's time we head out," James announced when it was 0645.

They all walked silently together in the frigid early morning air to the ship--it was still dark out and the stars were shining brightly overhead. The parents of James, Lilly, and Zach met them part way, along with Poppy and her two girls, the admiral and his family, and a few others.

Along the way, Admiral Donnelson said to James, "I hope you don't mind me coming along for the ride this morning, since we're both heading to Fleet Ops."

"Not at all, sir, if you don't mind getting to your office a bit early," James grinned.

"It's Monday, James...I hate Mondays," the admiral said with a bit of sarcasm.

"At least you get to ride to the station in style today, dad. I mean, how many people get to go to work in that?" Tommy asked pointing at Nightwing.

"Yeah, Uncle Kenny, Moira makes a pretty good cup of coffee, don't ya, hon?" Lilly agreed.

"I am pleased that you like the coffee I make," Moira replied.

"Well, that's a couple of pluses, I suppose," the admiral agreed.

Felix carried Rosetta and Poppy carried Daisy as they walked together to the ship. Poppy wanted to see Felix off and of course, the girls wanted to come along. Sylvia and Ivor walked with them, arm-in-arm. When they arrived underneath the ship near the forward landing pad, Moira lowered the lift.

"Well, here we are," Poppy said quietly, looking wistfully into Felix's eyes.

Felix managed a little grin, though he felt a bit sad. He had enjoyed the weekend, and especially enjoyed being with Poppy.

"Yeah," Felix agreed. Privately he sent, "Poppy, I miss you already. You're a sweet woman, and I'd like to see you again."

"Oh, Felix, I...I could get used to havin' ya around, and I miss you already, too. You write me at least, or call if you can, okay? And please, be careful out there...I wanna see you again, too!" Poppy sent in return, and then she kissed him longingly.

Felix gave each of her two girls a kiss on the cheek and rubbed his face against theirs.

"You two kits be good for your momma, ey?" he sent to both at once.

"We will," they both replied. "Do ya hafta go 'way?" Rosetta asked aloud, looking sad.

"Yeah, sweetie, I do. We need to be someplace a long ways away for a while," Felix said gently.

"Are ya comin' back?" Daisy asked with a pout.

"We'll be back, one way or another, ey."

Poppy looked at Felix, the worry was plain on her face--she understood all too well what "one way or another" could mean for those who served in the military, who may be called upon to go into harm's way. Daisy and Rosetta, however, being just children, didn't yet understand the dangers that might await "out there" and their faces brightened a little, taking it as a promise that he would come back as they knew him now.

The rest of the crew said their farewells to those gathered and began to board the lift. Of course, Jo had to say hers to James in a manner that was partly suggestive and partly tearful, and required a little prodding from her mother to let go of James.

Flora herself hugged James tightly and sent, "Jamie, you take care of yourself, and Lilly, and everyone else, hear me?"

"I will, Aunt Flora," he replied, hugging her just as tightly.

"Now give me a smooch, and then go say goodbye to your folks."

After giving his aunt a kiss, James hugged both his parents and said his farewells to them.

"Jamie, you be careful--we're all going to be worrying about you, and Lilly, and Tanya. You bring everyone back," his mother said sniffling.

"I will, mom, I'll bring 'em all back," James said hugging her tightly.

Mary Kate wagged her tail and gave her son a wolf kiss before letting his father give him a hug.

"Take care, son, and do some good. Write or call when you can. If it should come to it, give 'em hell and send 'em back home with their tails between their legs."

"I will dad."

Lilly and Tanya both also said their goodbyes to James' parents, as did Shauna, Moira, and Mindy.

Sean and Mary Kate sent their love openly, and the rest of the gathered family and friends added theirs to the open sending as James and his crew rode the lift up into the ship, waving as they went, and sending their own in return.

Just before the lift entered the ship, Felix touched one mind privately, "Poppy..."

"Felix..." came the reply.

As soon as they were in the ship and the boarding lift secured, James said, "Okay, let's get our girl airborne. Stations everyone--we'll put our things away once we hit space. Moira, if you would start making ready to get underway..."

"As you wish, James. The grav thrusters and atmospheric controls will be online by the time you get strapped in."

"Good deal. Admiral, would you care to join me on the bridge?" James asked.

"Wouldn't miss it, my boy!" he replied with a grin.

As soon as James and Tanya strapped into their seats, Tanya began setting the navigational system for their trip to the Fleet Operations Station. Sylvia contacted the regional flight control center to inform them that Nightwing would be lifting shortly. Their flight plan was already in the system, and small local craft were cleared to give the ship room to maneuver. The people on the ground heard clunking sounds coming from the ship, followed shortly by the building whine of the propulsion system. They quickly backed away from the ship to the edge of the clearing, and began waving.

"Captain, Flight Control has given us clearance to depart," Sylvia announced.

"Course data to FOS now transferred to your screen, James," Tanya added.

With a nod of his head, James said, "Bridge to Engineering, are you ready back there Shauna?"

/* "Board's green, skipper, thrusters and secondary drives online and standing by to answer all bells." */

"Very well, bridge out." James gave the top of his console a little pat and said quietly, "Okay, baby-cakes, let's get going."

James activated the grav thrusters and just as he eased the ship gracefully up off the ground, the ship gave her traditional hunting cry over external speakers--the effect sent a shiver down the spines of those watching her take off. As she raised straight up, James slowly turned Nightwing around 270° in a counter-clockwise direction until she was pointing due east, and then he straightened out. Waggling the wings a little as a wave goodbye, James accelerated his ship skyward and into the black.