Epilogue

It was the year 2887 on the Terran calendar.

Bren-Khy'an sat in her cabin on a starliner bound for Terra, drinking a cup of tea. It would be nearly sunrise back on Mûr Zhæn. Having tea before bed had long been a custom for her, ever since she and Craig would sit together and relax on the couch in his apartment in the Terran embassy, talking about the night's events or whatever else came to mind at the time. She smiled to herself, recalling those times.

It had been awhile since she had last been to Terra, though she remembered the first time she ever stepped foot on Craig's homeworld. It was a new experience for her, being on a planet with slightly less gravity than her own homeworld. Things were a bit awkward at first, until she adjusted to it. Saa'an and Ami'an had had the same problem when they first went there. It was a learning experience, to be sure. Although she never got to stay long on Terra before, having been on leave from her duty, which was something all those who have served in a military service knew—port-o-calls were generally short visits, a few days, usually. When she took leave, even with the newer stardrive systems, the transit to and from always seemed to take an annoying amount of time. This trip, however, Khy'an was not in a particular hurry, for she intended to be staying awhile.

She never truly got used to being “beamed" down to the surface—something about it was just too unsettling for one who was used to willing herself from one location to another. Khy'an had heard the same from others of her kind who were frequent visitors of the worlds in the Sol Federation. There was a new technology—well, new to most of the so-called “younger races"—that offered near instantaneous transport from one world to another; one simply walked through a portal, like a doorway, with a different world on the other side of it. Khy'an couldn't begin to imagine how that might be possible, and it sounded even more dubious that the device Terrans used. On this trip, Khy'an chose to arrive on Terra the old-fashioned way—she took a shuttle down from the civilian station in orbit to the Chicago Starport.

When Khy'an exited the shuttle, it was raining. She was grateful for the force barrier that blocked it, preventing her and the other shuttle passengers from getting soaked as they disembarked. Once inside the terminal, Khy'an was greeted by her goddaughter, Ilen-Khy'an Nicolini.

“Honored Godmother, it is good to see you again," the younger Khy'an said with a proper bow…before hugging her.

Stepping back a bit to get a good look, Bren-Khy'an said, “You appear well. How is your Honored Mother?"

“She is waiting in the business lounge—it is smaller, and quieter," Ilen-Khy'an replied.

“Then let us not keep her waiting," Bren-Khy'an said with wry smile. Once the luggage was picked up in the claim area, the two went to meet Saa'an.

There was a pleasant surprise waiting for Bren-Khy'an when she entered the business lounge, for Ami'an was there, too. Lady Tsel-Ami'ana, to be more proper, for she had taken her Honored Grandmother's position on the Imperial Council. But she was not visiting in any official capacity, and as always to her closest friends, she insisted on being just plain Ami'an.

The three greeted each other with no words—spoken or sent—between them, for none were needed. They were happy to see each other again, of course, though they all knew the reason for this particular reunion.

They took Bren-Khy'an to a house in the suburbs on the west side of Chicago, which was where Ilen-Khy'an was currently living with her Terran family. When Bren-Khy'an entered to house, it was full of people that while she had not met them directly before, she knew them through the communications net from speaking with Saa'an and her daughter.

“Bren-Khy'an, it is an honor to meet you in person at last," Benito Nicolini said, holding out his hands. His wife, Angelina, greeted her next.

“My eighteenth great uncle Craig left us a message—I want to play it for you," Benito said. “Computer, play message 'Bren-One' on the large screen, please." There was a soft chime as the computer acknowledged the command. The room's lights dimmed and the large entertainment screen came to life.

/* “Khy'an, if you're seeing this, I guess you've found my relatives. Remember what I said back on nus-Sava'en_…I still mean that, and I'm sure they'll treat you as part of the family. Well, you are, as far as I'm concerned. It's been a long trip, for both of us, and we've had some interesting adventures. I just want you to know that…when your own path takes you before the All-Mother, I'll be there waiting for you. You know I can't go anywhere without you, so the next time we flow down the_ Mûr thel-Raleen_, we'll be together. A part of me will_ always be with you, and a part of you will always be with me, wherever we go. It may be a crazy thing, but I love you Khy'an, and so does Saa'an and Ami'an. I hope they're with you while you watch this. I do have one last little request that I'd like to ask of you. I'm having a little container saved for you to make sure it gets to Mûr Zhæn. There'll be instructions engraved on it for what to do with it when it's there." */

The image of Craig's now aged face, his once thick dark reddish hair was white and thinning, looked down for a few seconds, and there was a quiet sniffle. When he looked up again, tears flowed down his wrinkled cheeks, and he reached out a trembling hand as if he was touching the glass of a window from the other side of it.

/* “On'iche sua'enwë, Bren-Khy'an, e'oi ma'wi cheth wenvi. Tæn'usa hamei. M'oicha nersuan." /

Bren-Khy'an raised her hand and gently touched the screen where his was. She fought to keep herself steady upon hearing his farewell in her native Tu'an, as Saa'an, Ami'an, and the younger Khy'an all placed a hand on her shoulders. The others in the room, the descendants of Craig's family, also gathered around close.

When the image faded, and the screen went blank, Angelina and Benito each took Bren-Khy'an by the hand and said, “Welcome to the family, Bren-Khy'an of Mûr Zhæn, here you will find only love and acceptance. May your queth sliat flow long with our own."

“I…am honored…to be accepted into House Nicolini," Bren-Khy'an sent openly.

* * * * *

The next day, after she had time to rest from her trip, Saa'an and her daughter, and Ami'an, took Khy'an to the cemetery where many of Craig's relatives had been buried. They found the memorial marker that was Craig's, and Khy'an asked if she could have a time alone. The sky was gray and heavy with clouds, and there was a light breeze. Khy'an's long hair, now gray like the clouds above, flowed freely. Her cloak bore the emblem of the Che'maht Sahn'rah who had served with honor and were now “retired" from active duty. She went to the marker and slowly knelt before it, bowing her head for a moment. When she lifted her face, tears were flowing freely at last, as she withdrew an item from her shoulder bag. Ordinarily, such an item might not have passed Customs, but Khy'an did have a few privileges others did not. She reached towards the stone and gently laid on the ground before it a preserved flower of the protective Tykua-niya vines of her homeworld—long a traditional symbol of love. A soft rain began to fall, and Khy'an looked up into the sky.

“Your world grieves with me, my friend, its own queth sliat falls as does mine, and mingles together as one on its soil, just as ours once mingled on my world. Something has been changed in me, because of you…and I am grateful and honored to have been your guard and friend. We will meet again, no doubt, and we will share many more adventures, I suppose. One night. Be well, my na-enwë. You are loved."

At that moment, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Khy'an squinted her eyes in the bright light, and then she saw it. She was never one to pay attention to omens and the like, but if this truly was one, she not only smiled, she had to laugh.

A double rainbow had appeared.