Chapter 4 – Hello, Dr. Samuels

It was pretty late when Tobok left and Emma actually thought that she might get a good night’s sleep, for once. She felt better than she had in a long time. Maybe it was because she had a better understanding of Tobok and how he felt about her, he was very much like her dad. Most likely it was the simple fact that she was not alone, someone was in her corner. Her good mood, though, was not destined to last – someone knocked on her door.

Emma sat bolt upright in bed and, although she had not done this for a very long time, she asked, “Who is it?”

“Good evening, child, my name is Dr. Samuels. May we come in?” came back a voice dripping with honey sweetness. It made Emma’s skin crawl. Not only was it the voice that made her feel uneasy but the alarming fact that she could not sense anyone at the door! She concentrated real hard but all she could muster were two very faint sensations, like small animals.

“Are you there, child?” asked the sickeningly sweet voice.

“Yes, yes I’m here,” she hesitated. “Give me a minute, OK?” she said trying to buy some time so that she could decide what to do.

“Take your time, child, we are not going anywhere,” he replied with conviction.

No one visited her this late at night. She wished Tobok was still here, but he wasn’t so she had to decide what to do herself. She quickly got out of bed and dressed, she did not want to greet this strange person in her pajamas. Whoever it was, these rooms were filled with cameras, so nothing bad should happen. No matter what her captors did, she never got an impression that they wanted to harm her. Still, the unease that she felt had taken root and was now flourishing like some vile weed in the pit of her stomach.

She came out of the bedroom looking at the various places that she knew the cameras were. For the first time she felt no one behind those cameras. Well, it was too late to change her plan, they were waiting at her door and they were not leaving until they paid her a visit. It was a war between her fear and curiosity. Who were these people that she could not sense? Her curiosity finally won out. “OK come in,” she said nervously.

The door opened and the trio that entered were beyond what her racing mind had imagined. The first one whom she guessed was the speaker was a very tall, pale, thin man with round wire rimmed glasses and not a single strand of hair on his head. The other two were big, real big! They weren’t as tall as the first one but what they lacked in height they more than made up for in muscle. Their faces were heavily lined and where the first one was bald, these two were positively shaggy! They seemed more like guards than nurses.

The first one spoke, “Ah, good evening, child! As I said before, my name is Dr. Samuels. I have been ah assigned to your case. Yes, that is as good a word to use as any. I just stopped by this evening to meet you.”

Emma couldn’t help but shudder. There was something familiar about him.

“Hello,” was all Emma could get out.

“You seem surprised to see us,” he said with that syrupy voice. She just couldn’t get over that voice.

“Well, it is late and I was just about to go to bed,” Emma responded, shaking off some of her initial surprise.

“We will not be keeping you long, child. I just wanted to ask you some questions. Shall we go someplace where we could sit down?”

“Sure, let’s go into the living room,” Emma replied as she backed into the room. She didn’t know what it was  but she did not want to turn her back on this man.

As they made their way to the couches, Emma noticed that the “nurses” took up positions on either side of the outer door. Emma sat down but Dr. Samuels made a slow circle of the room. He kept looking at the paintings and other decorations that hung on the walls.

“They have done quite a mediocre job of decorating do you not think so? But, then again, one does not need much effort in the decoration of a living space to appease the immature tastes of a mere child, hmmm,” he said with a sneer over his shoulder.

OK, it was official, she really did not like this guy. Her initial unease and, yes, fear gave way to anger.

He turned his head and smiled at her condescendingly. Then he just laughed. It was a hollow almost mechanical laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” she asked him, her anger rising inside her.

“Oh, child, I am not laughing at you. I am laughing at the whole situation, the big picture if you will. To think that everything comes down to a mere child, well it is really quite amusing! I am sure that if you could see and, more importantly, understand the whole picture you would laugh as well.”

There it was! He did something with his hand! It was a small gesture, very subtle and very fast but she saw it! Emma had been staring intently at Dr. Samuels, her anger boiling inside her when she saw him gently touch the underside of one of the paintings. It looked like he pushed something onto it. Then she saw him do it again to the underside of one of the shelves of the bookcase.  The more she concentrated on his hands, the more times she saw it happen. Then, he suddenly stopped. Emma looked up to see him staring back at her with a puzzled look on his face.

“Anything wrong, child?” he asked, his stare now boring into her.

“Yeah, there is something wrong. Stop calling me child!” she shot back hoping it would mask the panic that she felt.

A smile sprouted on his face and then he laughed. This time it sounded more genuine. “Oh, you are willful. Maybe this assignment will not be as mundane as I had thought it would be.” He stepped away from the statue he had just touched and sat down opposite her. “Let us get down to business, shall we?”

Emma could still not get anything from Dr. Samuels. It was like he was not there. It really bothered her. She had come to rely on her ability to sense people and this was like a splinter in her mind.

“I need to know from you what other things you have noticed about yourself or what you can do. It is very important that you be honest with me since we believe that there are certain individuals who might want to do you harm like a certain large robed individual,” he said watching her intently.

“Tobok would never do anything bad to me! He is the only one who has been there for me. Everyone else treats me like a lab rat and now you come in here and ask me to trust you, someone who I have never seen before? You’ve got to be kidding!” Emma shot back releasing some of her anger. She didn’t care anymore what he would do to her.

Instead of getting angry, Dr. Samuels merely stood up. “Well, if you do want to tell me anything I will be back for additional visits. I will be keeping a very close watch over you, Emma – a very close watch,” he said smiling menacingly. “See that was not so bad, was it? We will now leave you to get some much deserved sleep.”

Dr. Samuels turned and walked out of the living room and up to the door where his two “nurses” were standing guard. Just before he opened the outer door he said over his shoulder, “I will be back, child.” They left leaving Emma very confused and exhausted from the ordeal. It was then that she felt the eyes on her again. The cameras were on.

When the shock wore off she remembered what she wanted to do when they had left. She quickly ran back to the living room and felt around where she thought she saw Dr. Samuels put things. She felt around everywhere she saw his hand movements but found nothing. She did feel slight bumps but when she looked she did not see anything there. She is definitely going to tell Tobok about this tomorrow.

The next day started out like any other day. She attended her classes via computer, no one wanted to come in and teach her face to face anymore. They told her it was more efficient this way but Emma knew it was because she creeped them out. Afterward, she was escorted to the gymnasium where they ran her through her paces. She had to admit, though that it did change her perspective about her captivity. Whereas in the room she felt like a lab rat, here she was more like a trained lion in a circus, going through the motions to entertain her captors/audience. It would have been better if they changed things around a bit but it was always the same things in the same order. She guessed that they were trying to see if she got any better at them and by how much and she realized that it really was easier every time she did it.

When she finished, instead of going straight to the showers like she usually did, they escorted her into a small examination room. It was like any other examination room except for the fact that one wall of the room was a mirror.

“Great,” she mumbled, “now there’s going to be a large audience for the exam. I hope that I don’t have to take off my clothes.”

She felt six people on the other side of the mirror. Some were doctors that had examined her in the past and others were military people that had watched her in the gymnasium but there was one that she had not met before. She had felt him watching her allot but he never came in to meet her. One thing that was puzzling was that she did not feel Tobok on the other side of that mirror. Tobok was always there, for every test and examination.

She walked over to the table and stepped up on the slide out step and sat down facing the mirror. She waved to them and pointed to where each one was standing. She felt varying degrees of surprise from each of them except the last, unknown one. He had obviously seen all of her tricks.

Her attention was drawn away from the mirror when the door opened and two men in light blue lab coats came in. The first one was short and stocky with jet black hair and a full, gray streaked, shaggy beard. The other one was younger and much taller than the first one with light brown hair that was cut military short. This one had a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other. The shorter man faced the mirror and started talking in a language that Emma had never heard before. He gestured a few times at Emma and then made some elaborate hand movements as he continued lecturing to the mirror. Emma guessed that there was someone translating for the audience but she was being kept in the dark about what he was saying. She had hoped that this was the extent of the examination but, knowing her luck, was not surprised when the man turned and came over to Emma. Instead of saying something to her he put his hands on her head and roughly moved them around as if he was checking to see if she had sprouted horns. All the while he was doing this he never acknowledged her at all. She was getting sick of being treated as an object and not as a person and it was making her very angry.

She had been working really hard on her self-control, just like Tobok had taught her, but any hope of keeping her temper in check was smashed to pieces when the hairy man moved his examination and his hands from her head to her chest. As soon as he laid his hands on her chest and proceeded to grope her, the volcano that was her temper erupted with such force that the man jumped back as if Emma had just hit him in the face.

“Who the heck do you think you are?” she shrieked at him. “You come in here spouting off in some foreign language, then you just start touching me anywhere you want without telling me what you are doing or even asking me if you could do that! I am not some piece of fruit you can come in here and squeeze to see how fresh I am!” She wasn’t expecting him to understand her but she hoped that her tone conveyed her feelings to him.

Surprisingly, the man had more of a shocked look on his face than she thought he would have. This was mirrored in the expression of the note taker as well. After a few moments the hairy man turned toward the mirror and asked, “Why wasn’t I told that the subject could speak Russian?”

Hey, she understood him! What was that? He thought that she was speaking Russian? How could she be speaking Russian if she never heard the language before? He must be crazy! What kind of people did they let in here anyway? There was no way that this guy knew what he was talking about  but the genuine feeling of shock she felt from these two and the people behind the mirror told her otherwise. The short, rude man then did something he had not done up until now, he addressed Emma.

“Can you understand what I am saying right now?”

“Of course I can. Is this some sick joke meant to confuse the freak? You come in her speaking some strange language then you switch to English just to play with my mind?” Emma shot back angrily.

The man stood there in front of her for a moment then calmly said, “I assure you, this is no joke. I do not speak English at all. You are now speaking with me in Russian.”

All of the anger Emma had felt suddenly evaporated and the only thing she could respond with was an astonished, “Oh.” This was not the kind of acknowledgement that she had hoped for.

Chapter 5 – Dr. Samuels Pays Another Visit

Tobok was late, very late! She was wondering what was keeping him when she felt that familiar presence at her door just seconds before he knocked.

“Come in, come in already!” she said with a sigh of relief.

Tobok stepped into the room and quickly closed the door behind him.

“Where the heck have you been?” she asked before he had a chance to turn around.

“I was busy conferring with my superiors about that show you gave today. That was very impressive. News of your new found language skills have swept through the entire complex,” he said with considerable concern in his voice.

“Is that such a bad thing? I mean once the shock wore off I thought it was kinda cool,” she replied cheerfully. “You should have seen the looks on their faces – priceless!” she said trying to suppress a giggle.

“Well, to answer your question, yes it is a bad thing. The security at this supposed secret facility is extremely lax. We still do not know exactly what happened to you or why it was done and the details of your new abilities are leaking all over the place! Also, that examination today was not approved by me - that was why I was not there. Once I did find out, there was allot of explaining to be done,” he said as he paced the floor.

“I’m sorry it’s just that he was so rude and I got so angry. I wanted to let him know how I felt so bad that it just came out. The next thing I knew I was speaking his language.”

“It is not your fault. The real problem is that many more people are finding out about you and what you can do. We need to keep this secret at least until we can get some answers and so far we have very few,” he replied while still pacing the floor.

“You have got to relax. I mean what could possibly go wrong? So, more people like that creepy Dr. Samuels will come to visit me and grill me about what I can do. I can handle them. He was very weird, though,” Emma said suppressing a shudder. “I mean he even suggested that you might have had a part in what happened to me.”

At this Tobok stopped pacing and turned to face Emma.

“What? What’s wrong?” Emma replied in response to Tobok’s worried expression.

“Please, tell me of this doctor and why you thought he was so weird,” he said with sudden interest.

“Well there is this doctor that came to visit me yesterday, after you left. He said his name was Doctor Samuels and he had two very big male nurses with him. He said that he was just assigned to my case and he wanted to ask me if I had noticed any new abilities.”

“That can describe many people at this facility. The name is not familiar to me but that could be more of the lax nature of security here. You have not said anything that would make him weird,” Tobok replied.

“I was just getting to that part. You know how everyone here feels a little different from each other and how you feel very different, right?” Tobok nodded in agreement. “When I looked at Dr. Samuels I could not feel anything. It was like he was not there and when I looked at his nurses all I could get was this faint feeling like they were more like small animals than people. Does this make any sense to you?” she asked.

For the first time since she met Tobok, she sensed surprise and fear coming from him.

“Is that all?” he asked evenly.

“Yeah, wait no there’s more. He did this weird thing with his hands. We went into the living room to talk and before he sat down he walked around the room a little, looking at the paintings and other stuff. He touched every one he walked by but his hands moved very fast. He didn’t think I saw it but I did. The more I concentrated on his hands the slower they moved and it looked like he was putting things on them. I went back to look when he left but I couldn’t find anything.”

“Quickly, show me where he touched these objects,” he asked in an anxious tone.

“O.K.,” she replied as she got up and led Tobok into the living room. She walked over to one of the paintings and pointed at the bottom left hand corner of the frame. Tobok bent over and closely examined the surface. He flicked the same spot with his massive finger and removed something from the frame.

“I do not believe that this was there before this doctor’s visit,” he said holding up his finger so that Emma could see what he had removed. It was a small black disc with tiny flakes in it that glittered when Tobok moved it from side to side. He tipped it over and it disappeared.

“What is that thing?” asked a surprised Emma.

“It is a surveillance blister and its presence in your room means that we are in big trouble,” he said looking around the room quickly.

Suddenly, Emma had that feeling again like the eyes behind the cameras were blind again. Tobok seemed to sense the same thing. He said something under his breath. Emma guessed it was a curse but it was unlike any curse she had ever heard.

“No time to get help,” he muttered to himself.

“Why do you need help?” she asked him, panic blossoming in her chest. “Is he a bad man?”

“He is something that I did not think would find you here, at least not this quickly. Oops, looks like we have even less time than I thought,” he said moving to the kitchen.

Just then there was a knock at the door. It startled Emma but it looked like Tobok was expecting it. “I believe the good doctor is back,” said Tobok as he closed his eyes.

“Who’s there?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“It is Dr. Samuels, child. May we come in?” said that sickeningly familiar voice.

“He has brought company. I sense five others,” said Tobok calmly as he slowly raised his head.

Emma concentrated real hard and, sure enough, she felt five very faint things at the door. “What does he want with me?”

“I believe that he has heard about what happened today and,” Tobok looked at the tiny black disc that had reappeared in the palm of his large hand, “I think we were the ones that told him about it.”

“Emma, can we come in?” the voice of Dr. Samuels asked from the door.

“Just a minute,” she answered him with a quiver in her voice. “What do we do know?” she whispered to Tobok.

“Emma, I know this will sound strange but I need you to do exactly as I say no matter what happens. Can you do that for me?” he asked her looking her right in the eyes.

He was doing a real good job of scaring the hell out of her. “Wait a minute! You never answered my question. What do they want with me?” she responded not wanting to believe that this was happening.

“I believe that they are here to take you away. That will have to suffice until this is over. You have to trust me now. I need you to hide. I will tell you when it is safe to come out. It is very important that you stay hidden until I call for you. Can you do that for me, Emma?” he said with a nervous edge to his voice.

The reality that she was in very real danger finally started to sink in and all Emma could reply with was a whispered, “Yes.”

“Good girl! Now go hide. Once you are hidden, tell them to come in.”

Emma quickly turned around and ran into the bathroom. Before closing the door she yelled for the doctor and his crew to come in. She knew that Tobok would be upset but she just had to see what was happening. She kept the door open just enough to see into the next room.

In came Dr. Samuels with five large nurses. They seemed bigger than the last ones, if that was possible.

“Emma, where are you? I need to take you to do some testing,” said Dr. Samuels, that arrogant grin of his firmly planted on his face..

“Now what are you doing here, Verossi? What could possibly be of interest to you out here in the wilderness?” asked Tobok as he stepped into the center of the room.

By the expression on his face, it looked like Dr. Samuels was not surprised to see Tobok in the room. That just confirmed for her that the thing that Tobok found was some sort of listening device.

“Ah the Vanguard buffoon has stayed past his visiting time and I thought your kind was so very disciplined. This shows a lax in your training, I think. What are you, an initiate or an adept? I don’t think your leaders would trust this assignment to an initiate so you must be an adept. Am I correct?”

“Do not pretend that you did not know I was here. We found the blisters you left during your previous visit,” Tobok replied holding out the hand with the blister in it. “I am only going to say this once, leave now while you can. I do not wish to harm anyone but I will protect the girl,” said Tobok calmly. 

“Quite an interesting child, would you not say Vanguard? She is exhibiting some strange abilities for someone so young, strange and yet familiar are they not, hmm?” asked Dr. Samuels in a voice laced with menace.

“What have you done to her?” asked Tobok, looking from Samuels to the nurses and back again.

“Oh, do you really expect me to answer that one?” he replied with a lilt to his voice. “Now, much as I would enjoy killing you, my orders are to take the girl. They say nothing about killing Vanguard. So if you will produce the girl, we will be on our way and no one gets hurt,” he continued now completely serious.

“What do your masters intend to do with her?” asked Tobok.

“That I cannot say, whether they kill her or not is none of my concern. Now, since you do not seem willing to produce the girl we will need to find her ourselves. Actually, I was hoping you would resist. It will give me and my colleagues here some much needed excitement.”

That said, Dr. Samuels nodded his head in the direction of the nurses.

The “nurses” began to shimmer and change shape. When the light had faded she saw what looked like five soldiers pointing their arms at Tobok. Those soldiers looked very familiar to Emma. It was on the very tip of her mind and it frustrated her that she could not immediately remember where she had seen them before.

Without any warning, they all fired at once at Tobok but he was no longer there. All she saw was a blur of green and brown. Then she started seeing the soldiers go down one at a time. Tobok was being careful not to kill them. She saw gashes in their armor but not a lot of blood. Tobok was also mindful of Dr. Samuels. While fighting the others, he threw a large oak table that Emma had used to do her homework on right at him. The impact threw him right through a wall into her bedroom. She thought that Dr. Samuels must have been hurt badly by that but just a few moments after being thrown through the wall, the same table came flying back out of the hole. She expected to see a bruised and battered Dr. Samuels come limping out but instead what she saw nearly froze her blood in her veins. Out stepped a tall, slim man with penetrating blue glowing eyes. He lifted his right arm and released a surge of bright blue flames at Tobok’s back. Tobok seemed to sense his danger but he had not yet finished with the last soldier. The flames exploded on his back and sent him sprawling. He hit the ground hard and did not get up. The shock of seeing Tobok hurt bridged the gap in Emma’s memory. The nightmares she had been having were not nightmares after all. She remembered everything now from that night on the road and remembering did not cause her to despair but brought hot, vengeful rage! She threw the door open and started to advance on Dr. Samuels. Her eyes started to glow a bright green and bolts of bright green electricity started dancing around her.

Dr. Samuels noticed her approach and aimed his arm at her.

“Ah, I see that our interest in you is justified. Is this yet another new ability, my dear? Now just stop what it is that you are doing and stay where you are or you will get the same thing that the Vanguard vermin got.”

“You killed my Mommy and Daddy!” she shrieked. “You are the ones who caused all of this to happen to me, all of the hurt, the loneliness. Well, now I am going to hurt you!”

With that the electricity around her increased and a portion of it started a macabre dance straight toward what was Dr. Samuels. He responded by shooting her with the blue flames that had once again leapt from his outstretched hand but it never reached her. The blue flames were absorbed by the dancing lightning. When the lightning hit Dr. Samuels it enveloped him in a bright green cocoon and he started to scream in a manner that was not even remotely human.

Tears were streaming down her face. All of her pain, everything that she had been through since that awful night just came boiling out of her and she let it. It felt so good to get it out and who better to give it to than the one responsible? Her world had become just her, Samuels and her grief, entwined in some sort of a bizarre dance. She was so caught up in this that she almost did not see Tobok charge at her and get blasted back against the far wall. I hope he’s O.K. but it served him right, trying to disturb this cathartic moment in her life. He was back though and he was yelling something at her. More out of annoyance than anything else she shifted some of her attention to him to tell him to leave her alone when she finally heard what he was saying.

“Emma, Emma look at me, look at me now!” he yelled at her.

As Emma focused more of her concentration on him, Tobok’s hood flowed back over his head and seemed to melt into his shoulders. This revealed a mask that he had been wearing underneath the hood and it parted down the middle of his face and followed the hood as it too melted into his robes. Emma stared at his face in disbelief.

The shock of seeing Tobok’s face brought Emma to her senses. The lightning slowly subsided and Dr. Samuels or, more correctly, what was left of him dropped to the floor. Emma was still looking at Tobok in disbelief when she too dropped to the floor.

Chapter 6 – Who Are the Vanguard?

When she awoke, Emma found herself back on a hospital bed very much like the one she was on when she first woke up over a year ago. Tobok was there without his hood and mask.

She still had a hard time believing it but there he was right in front of her. He looked almost exactly like a large teddy bear. He had golden brown fur that covered his entire face and a slightly protruding snout with lips, pulled back into a smile that just barely concealed sharp, gleaming white teeth. His most expressive feature was his eyes. They had a deep wisdom and gentleness that you did not see in the blank stare of a child’s toy and those same eyes seemed to be smiling at her.

“Ah, awake at last! How are you feeling?” he asked.

“You’re a teddy bear!” was all she could think to say.

“Yes, I have been told that I bear a slight resemblance to a child’s toy. It was because of my appearance that I was chosen to be the one to observe you. I guess by what the others of your kind have told us, I was the least frightening member of my group.”

“Did you say that you “bear” a slight resemblance to a child’s toy? You look very much like a child’s toy. Oh, by the way, nice pun,” replied Emma cheerfully.

“Pun?” asked Tobok. He thought about it and realization dawned on his face. “The pun was unintentional.”

“Too bad, it looked like you were starting to develop a deeper sense of humor.”

“Let’s not talk about me right now. How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?” asked Tobok.

Emma’s good nature slowly dissolved into despair. “Oh my, I remember! How is Dr. Samuels? Did I kill him?” The hairs on Tobok’s arms started to stand on end.

“Calm yourself! I don’t think you did. As soon as I got you to the infirmary I rushed back and they were all gone.”

Emma relaxed a little and so did Tobok’s hair.

“You have got to learn some control. We cannot have you shooting lightning every time you stub your toe. What happened back there was a prime example of it. It appears that you have additional, more volatile abilities that we were unaware of. The volatility of those abilities demands that you try to keep calm at all times,” he said, concern creeping into the smile on his face.

“How was I able to do that? How can I do any of those things?! You have been here for me for over a year now. It looked to me like while you were being my friend but you were also doing something else. You were watching me, weren’t you? You knew that I was going to be able to do these things!” yelled Emma as Tobok’s hair once again rose to the occasion.

“Calm down. I was watching you, yes. Did I know that you will develop these abilities -  no. We did not know what had happened to you. You were found in an area that experienced a release of a great deal of energy. We had no idea what to expect,” replied Tobok still watching his hair stand at attention.

His explanation seemed to satisfy her. She saw Tobok’s hair, once again, had relaxed.

“I guess by now it is pretty obvious that I am not from your world,” he said to her sheepishly.

“I’ll say! Who are you and where are you from?” asked Emma.

“My name really is Tobok and I am a member of a group called the Vanguard.”

“Vanguard? What is this Vanguard?” she asked.

“Let me see, where do I begin? I guess I would have to start with giving a brief description of what is out there in space beyond your solar system. As you now know, life is not unique to Earth. There are hundreds of worlds out there that are very much like Earth, worlds with beautiful forests, lush jungles, and vast oceans. Many of these worlds gave birth to sentient creatures like you and me. They all progressed at different speeds, advancing their technology until they were able to start venturing out into outer space. They set out to explore the cosmos for various reasons. Some were just innately curious and wanted to find out what was out there. Others had more immediate needs such as finding new sources of raw materials that were desperately needed by their kind. Still others acted out of a basic loneliness, not accepting the idea that they were the only sentient beings in the universe. Their initial excursions into the unknown were relatively peaceful. It wasn’t until two of these groups actual met that the trouble started.”

Tobok paused for a moment, a look of deep reflection on his furry face.

“Imagine,” he continued, “what it must have been like coming across an alien species like that, not knowing what they were like or if they were hostile or not. You know, fear is truly the most dangerous emotion in the universe. It is usually the result of ignorance. It was that kind of fear that sparked the first galactic war. To this very day no one knows why one side fired on the other. The result was a conflict that lasted over one hundred Earth years. Millions died during the initial stages of that war. It had taken such a toll that one of those races started drafting anyone they could to serve on their warships. One of the groups targeted for service was a religious order known for its reverence of life. All life was sacred to them regardless of where it came from and they believed that all living things had a deep interconnection with one another.”

“What do you mean by “a deep interconnection”?” interrupted Emma.

“You see, they believed that we all spring from the same source and are like leaves on a single massive tree. If something happens to one part of that tree, all of the leaves are affected whether they are aware of it or not. That order had developed a sensitivity to the tree. It was because of this sensitivity that they were incapable of hurting or killing any of the other leaves.”

“Yeah, but don’t you have to kill something to survive. Even people who don’t eat meat kill plants so that they would have something to eat,” Emma shot back.

“Yes, you are quite right. That is why they had certain rituals that they performed before every meal that asked forgiveness for the plants that they had killed and implored the life energy to show them an alternate means of living that did not involve even this type of consumption. Now, do they sound like potential soldiers to you?” Tobok asked.

“No, not really. So what happened?” Emma replied with genuine interest. She was so interested that she completely forgot about Dr. Samuels and the events of the past few hours.

“Well, to say that they served willingly would not be accurate. They refused any positions that would cause them to take a life. This, of course, did not endear them to their fellow crewmates and often found them the victims of repeated beatings or incarceration for insubordination. It took a while but it was finally realized that these monks would best be used as medics. At first it seemed that they had found something to do that did not go against their beliefs while they served out their tours of duty. In fact, due to their deep empathy they excelled at their new positions and even gained some measure of respect from the rest of their previously hostile crewmates,” Tobok said with a hint of reverence in his voice.

“Don’t tell me, it was this group that became The Vanguard, right?”

“How did you ever guess,” Tobok replied jokingly.

“So what is a medic doing looking after a little alien girl on good old planet Earth?”

“I was just getting to that. The monks had other abilities, one of which helped to end that horrible war as a matter of fact. It was the same ability that you seem to have developed as well,” replied Tobok.

“You mean the ability to fry people with green lightning?” Emma asked sarcastically.

“No, in fact it was the ability to understand other languages. You see that whole war was based on a really big misunderstanding. Oh, there were attempts to communicate between the two sides but their languages were so different and their technology too primitive to come up with a translating device. The monks, though, were able to do this and because of that talks began that eventually ended the war. After the war, the monks were given a special position in the government along with a new name – The Vanguard,” Tobok said proudly.

“OK, so what is a doctor who can understand all kinds of languages doing looking after a little alien girl on good old planet Earth?” Emma asked.

“Ah, you still do not understand. The Vanguard are basically a kind of special forces group but where the special forces of your government are soldiers we are more like diplomats and negotiators. Because of our gifts we can bring understanding between groups of beings who are at odds with one another. We are also called on to investigate strange occurrences kind of like what happened to you.”

“So, is that why you showed yourselves to us, because I can do some of the things that the Vanguard can do?” asked Emma.

“Not entirely. You see, the individual that gave you that shiny ball that started all of this was a scientist from a race of beings that belong to The United Systems of Arathos. Therefore, whatever he did to you is all of our responsibility.”

“The United Systems of Arathos?” asked Emma.

“Remember what I told you about the two races that met and had that war? Well, one of the things to come out of the peace talks was a union of the two races. They figured that they would be safer if they joined forces, so they formed a new government where both races had an equal voice. Afterwards, they met many more races and convinced some of them to join their union. Most joined for security reasons, it is nice to know that you have a large security force watching over your territory. Others joined for economic reasons. Now, when someone from the member races does something that is deemed illegal it is the responsibility of the government to investigate. The being that gave you that shiny ball was from a member race. Therefore it is our responsibility to investigate what happened, even here on good old Earth, as you put it.”

“Why are you telling me all of this now and why didn’t you show me your face until now?” asked Emma.

“I was under orders to observe you only. My people and your people did all kinds of tests on you. Even with all of that testing all we could find out was that you were now different somehow but we could not determine how. I was to observe you and see how these differences would show themselves if at all. It was decided that I would keep my appearance hidden from you in case you did not exhibit any changes. I would then be free to leave without you having to know any of this at all thus keeping our contact with your people as secret as possible. You would then be released and allowed to have a normal, human life.”

“I guess that since you are telling me this, I will not be having that normal, human life, huh?” asked Emma sadly.

“You have exhibited abilities that are very similar to the abilities of the members of the Vanguard. In fact, some of your abilities are only possible after many years of study and meditation that only our adepts have achieved. For someone so young to have these abilities is unheard of. You are indeed a mystery and possibly a dangerous one.”

“Dangerous? How can I be dangerous?”

“Remember what you did to Dr. Samuels?” asked Tobok.

For an instant she saw his shrieking face surrounded by green fire. “Right, good point.”

“That shows that you have very impressive abilities but you lack the control to keep them in check. What you did you did out of anger and without thought. What if that were to happen after someone did something to make you really angry at them?”

Tears started to well up in Emma’s eyes. “I didn’t want to kill him or anyone. I just wanted to hurt him for what he had done to my parents but I couldn’t stop myself,” cried Emma.

“I know you did not but that is what I am talking about. Until we learn more of what happened to you, you need to learn some control. That is why I have a very important question to ask you.”

“Question?” asked a sobbing Emma, “What question?”

“I want you to consider coming with me to train with the Vanguard. You would have to leave your world but you would not be alone. I have asked to be assigned as your teacher. I would teach you the control that you need and together we could find out what happened to you.”

Emma stopped crying as the reality of what Tobok said began to sink in. “I would have to leave Earth? How can I do that? Earth is all I know, how can I just leave it behind?” asked a now frightened Emma.

“It is not like you will never see Earth again. Once you develop control over your abilities you can come back.”

“What kind of a life will I have with the Vanguard? At least here on Earth I can try to lead a normal life.”

“I do not think a normal life here on Earth will be possible. People from your military have seen what you can do. I am afraid that they will not let you leave this facility. They will want to keep studying you and they feel that you could be a threat if released.”

“I don’t believe it! They would never do that to me,” Emma said, disbelief etched on her face.

Just then Emma felt a familiar presence by her door. As if in response to this feeling, the door opened and an older man in uniform with gray hair entered. He had a very serious look on his face and he did not waste time in getting to the point.

“Hello, Emma, my name is General Briggs. I am the commanding officer of this facility. You don’t know me but I have been watching you very closely since you came here over six years ago.”

“Yes, I do know you or at least of you. I remember sensing you a lot. You would spend a lot of time in the room where you have all of those televisions connected to the cameras in my room. I just didn’t know your name.”

The general could not hide his surprise at this. After quickly regaining his composure he continued.

“Let me get to the point. What our large alien friend said is correct. You have demonstrated some remarkable abilities, remarkable and dangerous. I am afraid that there would be no way that we could ever allow you to exit this facility. We have just started to scratch the surface of all of the data that we have collected about your condition and we have no clue whatsoever what has happened to you much less how to cure you.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” said a very confused Emma.

“We could never allow someone like you to move freely on this planet. Who knows what else you will be able to do. You present both a danger to the rest of the people on earth and a very large security risk. What I am saying is that if we would continue to study you, a cure for your condition is unlikely ever to be found. Hell, even these advanced aliens have no clue what happened to you,” he said calmly.

She felt like he had hit her in the head with a hammer. Shock was too weak of a word for what she was feeling.

“So that’s it then. You poke me and prod me for six years, stick all kinds of needles in me, have me run your obstacle courses like some trained animal and now you just want to get rid of me?” she asked, anger taking the place of her shock.

“Now calm down before you do something we will all regret! I am not saying that we want to be rid of you but the reality of it is you will spend your whole life in this facility or one just like it. If this furry alien is offering you an alternative I would strongly suggest that you take it!” he said matter of factly.

“Also, do not forget that people like Dr. Samuels will not give up either. They will keep trying to abduct you and, if you stay here, they will eventually succeed,” Tobok added.

The general gave Tobok a dirty look. “If someone would have told us about them and their capabilities we would have been much better prepared for them,” he said hotly.

“We have been through this, general. The Verossi are so much more advanced than your people that it did not seem necessary to tell you about them. Your best efforts against them would have been child’s play for them to counter,” Tobok responded without the least bit of arrogance or ridicule in his voice. Unfortunately, the general did not seem to notice this.

“I am sick and tired of your superior attitude! If we are so insignificant and backward, why did this happen here, huh? Answer me that oh highly advanced alien!” the general answered with all of the anger he could muster.

“General, I do not nor have I ever dealt with you or your people in a condescending manner. I am simply stating the facts and if that bruises your ego then there is nothing I can do about that. Now, please, let us stop this ongoing bickering and get back to the subject at hand,” Tobok responded calmly.

This had the effect of calming the general somewhat and he again turned his focus to Emma. “I guess that I have to agree that we most likely would not be able to stop these Verossi if they showed up again,” he said grudgingly.

Tobok then turned his full attention back to Emma. “You do not need to respond right now, we will give you some time to think this over but do not take too long because Dr. Samuels’ people will not wait long to try again.”

“If I do decide to stay, does that mean that you will be leaving without me?” Emma asked looking right at Tobok, hoping he will say what she wanted to hear.

“I made a promise to you and I will keep that promise. Besides, we will still need to supervise and provide some measure of security,” he replied without hesitation. He said exactly what Emma had hoped he would say.

She sat back with a blank stare as she weighed all of her options. When she looked at the general she saw nothing but fear and loathing in the man for her. She also got this sense that he will never be completely honest with her. She especially got the sense that he was hiding something even now. Then she looked over at Tobok. She saw compassion and a genuine concern for her. It was kind of a no-brainer but she was still surprised at how quickly she made up her mind. It was a very big step and she figured that it should have taken more time but the need to be free to find out what happened to her and why burned in her now and nothing but finding out the truth would put that fire out.  

“That’s alright, I don’t need any more time. I will be leaving with Tobok. At least with him I will not be living in a cage for the rest of my life. I also need to find the ones responsible for what happened to me and my mom and dad and I won’t be able to do that here. When do we leave?” asked Emma excitedly.

“We can leave at the end of this week. I need to make some arrangements first,” replied Tobok.

A feeling of deep sadness suddenly welled up in her, sadness and a feeling of betrayal by her own people. She didn’t know much about where she was going but it has to be better than this place, it just has to be.

Chapter 7 - Good Bye Planet Earth

The day she was to leave her home world behind found Emma extremely nervous and very sad. She had been in this mood ever since she had made the decision to leave. She had doubts and even thought about staying but she knew she would not survive living as a lab rat stuck in cage. Whatever was to come she had to face it and accept it. Maybe she would even like it. No one from Earth had ever done what she was about to do. She should have been more excited and even privileged but the sadness and the pain remained.

Tobok had been trying to prepare her for the trip but how does one prepare leaving their home, possibly for good? She had packed what little possessions that she had, some picture books and clothing although Tobok said that clothing would be provided for her she still needed to have something made on Earth. She said her good byes to all of the staff and went to meet Tobok. He had told her to meet him by the heavy steel security doors that led to the outside. In all of her time here she was deeply intimidated by those doors. They seemed so strong and impassive. Now she was walking right up to them and the guards were actually opening them. Her excitement built as the doors swung open to reveal Tobok standing on the other side. He was dressed in the same robes that he had worn since the first time she met him. His hood and mask were down. It looks like she was the only one who did not know what he looked liked.

“How are you doing this fine evening?” asked Tobok.

“Alright, I guess,” replied Emma. “You seem very happy today.”

“I am excited about leaving. I have been away from home for too long and I am anxious to get back,” he said. “I do sense your sadness and I wish I could say that I knew what you were going through but my leaving to study with the Vanguard was actually a very happy time for me. All I can say is that it is a great honor to study with the Vanguard and I know that you will learn many things not only about the universe but about yourself as well.”

“Thanks for trying to make me feel better but I just can’t shake the sense of loss even though I would be in a cage for the rest of my life I would still be on the planet of my birth,” she replied mournfully.

“Just think about the adventure you are about to embark on. No other human has ever done what you are doing now.”

“I am very happy about you being assigned to be my teacher. I don’t know if I could do this alone,” replied Emma.

“Well I have not been assigned yet but I think that my superiors will approve my request. Even if they do not, the promise I made to you when you first saw me is a matter of honor. I will be here for you for as long as you need me.” With that he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She squeezed his hand right back.

They started down a long, round tunnel. When they came up to another set of heavy steel doors, the guards there opened them and hot, dry air assailed her. The corridor beyond the door was lit only by the occasional wall mounted bulb. Tobok walked straight ahead into the gloom with Emma right behind him. The corridor ended abruptly and suddenly they were outside. They were standing at the edge of a very large open space. Two groups of soldiers were lined up forming a path to a low sleek looking craft. Emma looked up at the clear night sky and saw that it was filled with beautiful bright stars.

“We were in the desert all the time?” asked Emma.

“Yes, they moved you here after your initial treatment at a local military hospital. This is a secret facility of your government’s military. It was the only place that we Vanguard could come and go with out attracting too much attention,” replied Tobok.

As they walked past the soldiers, the enormity of what she was about to do started to hit her. She will be leaving the place of her birth behind, the place where she has lived all of her short life, the place where her parents lived and, yes, died. A crushing despair started to creep around the edges of her consciousness. It seemed that Tobok sensed this as he stopped walking and turned to her.

“This is a very big step for you and I do not want to force you into doing something that you do not want to do,” he told her.

“It’s just that I have lost everyone and everything I hold dear and now I am leaving the only place that I have called home. I just don’t know if I can go on,” she said fighting back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

“Not go on? How can you say that? You have gone through things that most of your people will not experience in their whole lifetimes. During my observations of you these past 6 years, I have seen you grow from a small child to a young adult with a courage and strength that I have seen in very few individuals. If you can live through what you have endured so far, you can definitely keep going on with your life. I believe that your parents would not have wanted you to give up, correct?”

“Yes, my parents would have wanted me to keep going no matter what, I can feel it.”

“Remember this, you can do anything that you set your mind to do. The courage and the strength are in you, all you have to do is believe in yourself, I do.”

“I think the real reason that I made it through all of this was because of you. I remember hearing your voice when I was asleep for all of those years. You were helping me even then, weren’t you?” asked Emma.

“Your young mind was not equipped to handle what had happened to you. You were being assailed with allot of information that was overloading your mind. All I did was help build barriers in your mind that allowed you to cope with all of the changes occurring in you a little bit at a time.”

Emma dropped her bag and hugged Tobok fiercely. “I would not be here now if not for you,” she told him. “And you kept your promise of not leaving me. I owe you everything.”

“You owe me nothing. You must do what you feel is right,” said Tobok as he returned her hug. “You must decide whether to leave your planet or not. I will abide with your decision.”

“I have nothing here anymore. I want to learn what happened to me. I want to see what is out there. I want to try to help others as you have helped me. I decide to leave with you.”

With that said, Emma picked up her bag and they started once again for the sleek craft. The main body looked like one dish flipped over and resting on another. There were two oblong columns coming out of the main body and they were swept toward what looked like the rear of the craft. They each connected to what looked like a large pontoon that extended back past the rear of the craft. As they came nearer, a ramp descended from the bottom. There was just enough room underneath for Tobok to walk without having to slouch. She slowly followed Tobok up the ramp. When she reached the top it closed silently behind her. Emma was surprised to see that the inside had more room than she thought by looking at it from the outside. She was also surprised by the clean appearance. She expected allot of dials, buttons and lights but instead she found a very organized and comfortable interior with soft lighting coming from the walls themselves. Tobok turned to one of the walls and put his hand to a metallic looking plate that was attached to the wall. A section of the wall silently opened and Tobok took Emma’s bag and placed it inside. He then closed the panel and proceeded deeper into the craft.

Emma followed Tobok into what appeared to be the cockpit of the craft. It, too, was very clean with only a few controls that were visible in front of two large, plush chairs that were facing forward. A large window wrapped around the front of the craft and extended from the floor all the way back to the door that they came through. In essence, the top half of the cockpit was all window.

Tobok told her to sit down on the chair to the right while he sat in the one on the left. As soon as she sat onto the chair and leaned back, the chair started to move and conform to her body. She jolted upright in surprise.

“Sorry, forgot to tell you, the chairs are form fitting. Due to the wide variety of life in the US, these chairs were needed to accommodate all of its citizens,” Tobok explained. With that Emma again leaned back and, this time, let the chair conform to her body. After it was done, she had to admit it was the most comfortable chair that she had ever sat in.

Tobok also let his chair adjust to him. When it was done, he pressed a few areas of a panel in front of the chair and the ship started to hum. It then slowly started to lift and turn toward the left. This allowed Emma a remarkable view of the entire area. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The sun had not quite disappeared over the hills and mesas and it cast a golden glow over the entire area. She thought then how little of her world she had actually seen and again the sadness rushed back.

As the craft completed its turn Emma saw someone running toward where Tobok’s ship had been. Every few steps the figure would stop, pick up a stone and throw it in their direction. That person seemed extremely upset about something.

“Who is that and why are they throwing rocks at us?” asked a surprised Emma.

“Oh, that would be General Briggs,” replied Tobok without even glancing in that direction.

“It looks like he’s mad at us,” Emma said as she turned to stare at Tobok. “O.K., what did you do?”

“Well, since you chose to leave Earth and we wouldn’t be back for some time I had to make sure that the data that was collected about you was destroyed. Therefore, I tainted all of the samples they took of your DNA and I dropped in a computer virus specifically designed to eliminate any data pertaining to you not just here but anywhere on earth. You see, what happened to you is a result of some very advanced genetic engineering. I could not take the chance that your people would cause themselves harm by playing with such knowledge. Whole worlds have been destroyed because some scientists underestimated the power of what they were manipulating. The general is most upset because he thought he had the makings of a super soldier formula and now I have ruined his plans,” Tobok said with a satisfied grin on his face.

“So that’s what he was hiding! I had this feeling like he was up to something but I couldn’t tell what it was,” Emma replied quickly.

“Yes, I also had that feeling and it wasn’t difficult for me to guess what it was. I have had to deal with the general for all of these years and during that time I was able to get a pretty good idea of his character and motivations. That was also the reason why he wanted you to leave earth. He knew that if you left then I would leave with you. That would have left him with all of the data about you and no interference from us or The Verossi. You see, he was hoping to use what they learned about you to create a more efficient soldier.”

“You don’t like him very much, do you?”

“I dislike anyone who puts their own selfish interests ahead of the greater good. The general’s only goal in life is to further his own career and, unfortunately, beings like him are not specific to your planet. You are going to see many new and wondrous things but there will be a good deal that you will find familiar as well and they will not necessarily be good things,” he said ominously as he turned back to devote his full attention to the console.  

The craft stopped its turn and quickly rose straight up into the jewel specked sky. It was a little unnerving speeding into such a wide open space. After a few seconds her nervousness gave way to sheer awe and wonder. As they left the atmosphere she saw the Earth drop away. How beautiful and vivid all of the colors of her planet were. The Earth was laid out before her feet, truly amazing and humbling at the same time.

During her reverie Emma did not notice four small craft appear over the curvature/ horizon of the Earth heading straight for them. A soft chime sounded followed by a soothing male voice saying something in a language she could not understand. She looked over at Tobok, who was rapidly touching several of the panels.

“Verossi,” was all that he said.

“Can you out race them?” asked Emma.

“I don’t think so. Their spacecraft are military in nature while our craft is civilian. I was hoping to sneak out but they obviously have your entire intelligence network bugged.”

“Where are they coming from, anyway?” asked Emma.

“It looks like they have set up a temporary base in orbit around the Earth. With their stealth ability they could easily hide it from everyone on your planet. Even one of your space shuttles would not be able to detect it if they flew right past it,” replied Tobok. “It makes allot of sense and is a very efficient tactic to take. That way they can keep a very close watch on anyone coming to or leaving your planet and they can respond almost instantly. It is also very predictable of them.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“Watch” was all that he said.

So Emma turned her full attention to the front of the craft. The Verossi were much closer now, they were amazingly fast. They were also very simple looking. They were discs with what looked like a flattened tank turret on top and below the disc that made up the main body of the craft. All of those turrets were aimed right at them. They were all flying in a straight line, side by side but as they drew closer they broke up and surrounded their craft. She didn’t even feel their craft stop. She looked over at Tobok but instead of feeling panic or anger from him at being caught all she felt was his familiar calm.

Suddenly a metallic voice started issuing from the panel in front of Tobok. It sounded very angry and demanding. Tobok’s calm response only seemed to infuriate the metallic voice even more.

“What are they saying?” she asked him.

“They are demanding that I surrender control of this ship to them. They will then fly us to their base where they will take custody of you. If I cooperate they will allow me to leave unharmed. If I refuse, they will disable us, board this craft, take custody of you anyway and kill me by throwing me out of the ship,” he told her.

“What did you tell them?”

“I told them that I will not allow them to take you.”

Emma did not have time to voice her concerns to Tobok as the Verossi craft suddenly disappeared. At least they appeared to disappear. She then noticed the view changing rapidly as she felt a slight pressure against her body that forced down into her seat. At the same time green fire completely obscure their view.

She looked to Tobok again but he just sat there as calm as ever. She looked back at the view screen and the fire was gone. The same metallic voice screamed something and then there was silence.

“What just happened here?” asked Emma.

“We have just been rescued. Calm yourself and tell me what you feel?”

She tried to calm herself and had succeeded enough to notice another presence - a very large presence. Then, as she grew more fascinated by what she felt, she sensed two additional but smaller things as well.

Just then a voice came out of the panel and again said something in a language she did not understand. With that, Tobok smiled and responded to the voice. He conversed with the voice for a short time and then he turned to Emma.

“The craft that we are in now could have taken us to our final destination but I had guessed that you were much more important to the Verossi than my superiors had thought. Therefore, I insisted on more secure transportation. They were slightly delayed but it seems to have worked out well.”

“Who are “They” and what did “They” do to the Verossi?” asked an incredulous Emma.

“”They” took hold of our craft and pulled us out of harms way. Then “They” discouraged them from attacking or following us. I assure you that the Verossi have not been harmed.”

Just then the craft spun around and ended up facing a very large, undulating object. She had never seen anything like it. It looked like a large sting ray that she had seen in a picture book. As she looked closer she could see what looked like two large shells attached to the back of it, one on either side of its lower back. It was turned so that it faced them and it kept getting larger and larger.

“It’s coming toward us!” cried Emma.

“No, we are heading toward it. Please calm yourself, this is the help that I requested,” replied Tobok. “She is a bothra and yes, she is alive. Amazing isn’t she?”

“Is that what I felt? It is amazing but how can it be alive out here in outer space?” asked an astonished Emma.

“Not all life is based on carbon like us. There are others who are very different but also very much alive,” Tobok replied with a big smile on his face. “Now, what sort of feelings do you get from her?”

“It’s a her? Wow! Um, let me see. I am getting feelings of kindness, gentleness and a strong loyalty. She’s beautiful!” replied Emma breathlessly, “but I also feel two other beings, smaller yet it’s like they are connected to the larger one.”

“Those are the senza. They are the two shell like beings attached to the back end of the bothra. They have a symbiotic relationship. Do you know what symbiotic means?”

“Yes, it means that two or more organisms live very close to or even join together so that they can help each other out,” replied Emma.

“Very good! The bothra and the senza have in effect joined together to help each other out. You see, we encountered the senza in a far away star system. They were being attacked by the beings living on one of the planets. The senzas contain a rare mineral that is highly prized by them and others in the surrounding star systems. The senza can travel great distances in a very short time by creating corridors or what your people call wormholes through space, but where ever they went they were hunted and killed for this mineral. The worst part was that they have no way to defend themselves. They are peaceful creatures by nature.”

“That’s horrible! I was kind of thinking that since all of you space people are so advanced that you had grown past things like that,” replied Emma.

“Believe me, no one is more disappointed in this lack of advancement than the Vanguard. Advances in technology do not mean that you have advanced ethically. It shames me to tell you things like that but you need to know as much as possible to survive in this new universe.” Tobok replied sadly.

“What about the bothra? What’s their story?” Emma asked after a short pause.

“Oh, yes well the bothra did not fare much better. We found them drifting on the edge of a star system whose sun had exploded. The bothra feed on minerals that were quite abundant in a large asteroid field that circled their doomed sun. The explosion destroyed some of their food and scattered the rest, they were starving. They also had no means of getting to new feeding grounds. The bothra as you can see are very large and have quite a few defensive capabilities, that green plasma that you saw came from the bothra. It was almost too perfect a solution to each of their problems. The bothra were large and could easily defend themselves and the senza could travel great distances very quickly but were defenseless. The Vanguard decided to introduce them to one another. You see, theoretically, it was perfect but we were worried about how they would interact with one another, if at all. It did not take long for us to see how well they took to one another. They worked so well together that eventually they ended up bonding to one another in this fashion. The bothra keep the senza safe and the senza can get them to many feeding grounds so they will never be hungry again. Those are the kinds of things the Vanguard were truly meant to do,” Tobok said proudly.

“So is she going to go with us to make sure that the Verossi don’t attack again?” asked Emma.

“Not quite. You see, both the bothra and senza were so happy and thankful for what we had done that they wanted to help us as well.”

As Tobok said this, their craft started to move under the large bothra and flaps in the bothra’s belly began to open.

“What is that? What is she doing?” asked a surprised Emma.

“Well, as I was telling you, they were so happy and grateful that both groups decided to help us. One thing I did not tell you about the bothra is that they have an incredible control over every cell in their massive bodies. We found this out about them when we noticed that the bothras started to change things inside their bodies.”

The flaps on the bothra stopped opening as their craft headed straight for it.

“She’s going to swallow us. Is this how she eats?” asked a panicked Emma.

“No, she is not eating us. There is no easy way to say this so here goes: the bothra and senza made themselves into living spaceships for us. You see, SHE is our ride.”

All Emma could say was: “WOW!”

Chapter 8 - Shnooby

As their craft touched down inside the bothra the large flaps finished closing and she could see what she thought were other spaceships sitting around on the deck. It was all very neat but very odd at the same time. The one thing that hit her right away was how natural everything looked. The colors of the floor, walls and ceiling all blended together and went from light browns to rusty colored reds. She then noticed that there were no sharp edges anywhere she looked. She should have been very frightened being inside the belly of a large beast but she felt oddly safe and secure. She could feel nothing but goodwill from the bothra and senza. The last time she felt this way was before all of this started over six years ago. God, she missed her mom and dad very much!

Suddenly she felt a sharp stab of pain in her mind. It was so terrible that she almost passed out from it when it hit her. It wasn’t coming from the bothra or senza but from one of the other spaceships.

“What is that?” she asked Tobok through clenched teeth.

“So you feel it too? I do not know but I will definitely find out.”

Tobok got up from his chair and turned to leave. “Please stay here. Until I know what is happening you must remain here where it is safe, OK?”

“OK,” replied Emma.

She heard the back door open and felt a gush of warm air enter the cabin. She was expecting it to smell like an animal or something like that but instead it had a slightly sweet smell like fresh strawberries. She saw something come out of one of the other spaceships and come toward their own craft. It was dressed exactly the same as Tobok but was much smaller. As it came closer she could see its face. If she did not know any better she could have sworn that it was a giant mouse! Yes, it definitely looked very mouse-like. It had two rather large ears and small black eyes. Its fur was a deep orange color. She then saw Tobok come out from under the craft she was in and he went over to talk to the mouse.

Just then the pain in her head became much worse. It was definitely emanating from the spaceship that the mouse came out of. It felt like someone or something was being tortured in there. There were other things, too. Images flashed through her head at lightning speed. It was very hard for her to make sense of what she was seeing or feeling. Suddenly she felt very claustrophobic inside Tobok’s ship, she had to get out of here - quickly. With that Emma almost jumped out of her chair. The rest of her exit was more of a mad scramble to get out of the ship. She staggered to the back of the craft and fell down the ramp. She ended up in a heap at the bottom of the ramp. Her mind cleared just enough for her to notice that the deck that she was lying on was not a cold hard stone floor but a warm, soft surface. Her moment of clarity quickly evaporated as the pain re-intensified.  She clumsily got to her feet and stumbled her way out from beneath the craft.

She barely made out Tobok and the mouse person talking to one another through the haze of pain. They seemed to be very excited and kept looking over at the spaceship that the mouse person came out of. Suddenly, mixed into the pain she also felt a new feeling coming from the spaceship, rage. It looked like Tobok and the mouse person also felt it because they both turned to look at the spaceship as well. It was then that Emma saw something standing on the ramp leading up into the craft. She then noticed that all of the pain, anguish and excitement she felt when they landed was coming from whatever was standing on the ramp. It was hard to see it since it blended in very well with the spacecraft. The only reason that she knew that something was there was due to the fact that she felt it and that it was moving. As she was looking at it, it seemed to lock its gaze onto her. That’s when she faintly heard Tobok yelling at her to get back into their spaceship and to close the hatch. She heard all of this but she was frozen, not out of fear as much as the incredible sense of pity that she had for the creature. This close to it she not only felt its intense agony but she was able to start picking up images of beings hurting it and how that hurt had driven it insane. The creature seemed to feel the increased intimacy between them and its rage increased ten fold. It jumped off the ramp and charged Emma. As it rushed closer she could she that it was covered in fur and looked like a wolf. As it ran the color of its fur changed to match the colors of the floor and walls of the landing area. Its head was sleek and its mouth opened to reveal what seemed like hundreds of razor like teeth. She also heard its claws clacking and scraping the floor as it ran. She observed all of this in the five seconds it took this creature to reach her. All she could think of was the horrible pain this creature had endured and that she had to try to help it or die. So, instead of turning and running she held out her arms to the creature. As the creature made contact with her, Emma’s world exploded.

She was laying on her back and as she opened her eyes she saw very bright lights shinning down on her. She tried to move but found that she was tied down to some sort of table. As her vision cleared she could see three people standing over her. They were dressed in strange clothes and were holding something in their hands. They didn’t look like any people she had ever seen. They were tall, very muscular and had long blonde hair tied into elaborate braids. She could not quite make out their faces, they were wearing some sort of masks. The things they held in their hands looked very sharp.

She then heard very loud and painful howling coming from her left side. She looked over and saw a large, wolf-like creature tied down to a table next to her. There were other people standing over it. They were bent over it doing something to its chest and stomach. She turned back to look at the three standing over her and she suddenly felt terrified. They bent over her and started to hurt her as well. The pain she felt was unbelievable. She started to scream but what came out of her mouth was howling very similar to that of the beast lying to her left. They were cutting into her and stabbing her with what looked like large needles. Whatever was in the needles felt like liquid fire as it burned through her body. The agony was unbearable. She felt as though she were losing her mind. She started to fight against the bonds that held her to the table and managed to get her right arm free. She slashed it up at the closest person and was shocked to see that her “hand” was in fact a large claw with thick, razor sharp talons coming out of her “fingers” and a second, smaller set of claws coming from the palm of her hand. Through the bloody haze of what she was experiencing she remembered what happened to her before she woke up here. She was on a flight deck of a living starship and a maddened wolf-like creature was lunging for her throat. She had reached out her hands in an attempt to help it and when it leaped at her she touched its head.

Suddenly a very clear and powerful voice spoke, “This is not happening. It is just a memory. Do not fight it but accept and embrace it – take away its power over you.”

She now understood what she needed to do. Instead of fighting the people that were hurting her, she relaxed. She accepted what was happening and welcomed it. She took the experience into herself and, by accepting it she was able to push it back down to what it was supposed to be: just a memory. The pain disappeared and everything went black. She then opened her eyes.

She was laying on her back and there seemed to be someone or something standing over her. She next heard a low growl and people shouting. As her vision cleared she saw that the thing standing over her was the wolf creature. He seemed to be growling at a group of beings standing around them. It seemed to her that he was guarding her. As her head continued to clear she slowly sat up patting the wolf gently on its side.

“It’s OK, they’re friends, it’s OK,” she told him. She had already recognized Tobok and the mouse person that he had been talking to. There were others now as well, Strange beings, taller and more muscular than Tobok. They had what looked like long knives in each of their hands and they never looked away from the wolf creature.

“Emma, are you alright?” cried Tobok.

“I’m OK. I just have this really bad headache. What happened after I passed out?”

“Well, as the Venok lunged at you ….”

“What did you say? What did you call it?” Emma interrupted him.

“The creature that attacked you is a Venok. This one, though, appears to have been altered. I have never seen one quite like this before,” replied Tobok.

Abruptly, one of the beings holding the knives in its hands, no she had been mistaken – the knives seemed to grow out of backs of their hands, spoke to Tobok, “Radtrok trop al troupon. Venok crot noll abrok.”

Tobok replied, “Wenon vaga adoll must get Emma okdoll adrot. Then you can edrot lanna dek Venok.”

She was starting to understand their language but only a little. “What did it say?” she asked Tobok.

“He wants you to move away from the Venok so that they can get it back into its cage,” he told her.

Emma was shocked, “No! They can’t do that. He’s terrified of that cage, not only that but he’s terrified of even stepping foot onto that ship again.”

She got up slowly, with Tobok’s help, and faced the knife wielding beings. They were humanlike and were wearing strange suits that covered them from head to toe. They had small openings for their eyes and mouths. The suits were a deep green and glistened like emeralds when they moved. The knives did truly extend from the backs of their hands and were of the same color as the suits.

She looked straight at the one that seemed to be the leader and said, “You will not take him back into that ship! Can’t you feel his fear! That ship was where he was driven mad by the horrible things that were done to him!”

The two of them seemed to be taken aback. It seemed that they had understood her. They carefully looked Emma over from head to toe and spoke to Tobok, “Where is her translator?”

“She does not have one,” replied Tobok carefully.

They both looked back at her with disgust. “Genek!” the leader spat out at her and Emma had a strong sense that she had just been insulted.

“What are you doing bringing that onto this ship!”

“I have orders to bring her to Vihara,” replied Tobok.

“I believe that your orders do not include the creature?” asked the leader.

“It does not,” replied Tobok who again averted his gaze.

“Then it is settled. Take that vile creature back into the ship. If it gives you any trouble at all use whatever force is necessary to subdue it!” said the leader to his associate.

The other one moved to take the wolf by the scruff of his neck but it sensed this and bared its razor-like teeth emitting a deep threatening growl at the same time. It was at this time that Emma interposed herself between them.

“Can’t you see that he doesn’t pose a threat anymore? Whatever happened when I passed out seems to have helped him. Please don’t take him into that ship again! It will surely drive him mad all over again,” implored Emma.

“We cannot take responsibility for this creature’s actions. The carnage wrought by the other one on that ship shows that these altered creatures are deadly,” replied the leader.

“I’ll take responsibility for it,” said Emma immediately.

“You are in no position to take responsibility for anything, Genek, but there is someone can. What do you say, Tobok, will you take responsibility for another abomination?” sneered the leader.

Tobok looked uncomfortable and did not meet the leader’s gaze. He looked everywhere else and when he met Emma’s pleading gaze he seemed to gain some measure of confidence. He looked right back at the leader and said, “I will take full responsibility for both and you will address me as either Third Adept or Third Adept Tobok.”

The leader seemed surprised by Tobok’s sudden assertiveness. He quickly recovered his composure and, smiling menacingly, he said, “I wish I could be there when you stand in front of the Sangha and tell them about this. I am thinking that it will be quite entertaining. You there, come here,” he said to the mouse like creature.

As the creature came forward the leader said, “Take notice and bear witness to this. Third Adept Tobok has taken full responsibility for this Genek and Venok, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” Tobok replied hesitantly, “Yes I have.”

“Regardless of this, I am posting a guard that will follow this creature to make sure it does no harm.”

That said, the leader made a strange hand gesture to the other one, turned and walked away. As he was walking away, the knives melted back into his hands. The one that was left, though, kept his extended.

“Thank you, Tobok. Don’t worry, you won’t regret it,” said a grateful Emma.

“You have no idea what you have asked me to do,” he said sharply, “but it does seem that whatever it was that you did has calmed the creature. That and the fact that you have some measure of control over him were the only reasons why I agreed to this. As your first assignment as a Vanguard initiate you will make sure that he does not get into any trouble until we get to Vihara. Can you do that for me?”

“You can count on me,” replied Emma happily.

Now that all of the excitement had settled down she looked at the subject of the drama. It seemed that the creature had sensed that things had calmed down because it was sitting by Emma scratching itself behind the ear with its hind leg. It looked very much like the pictures of wolves she had seen on Earth. Unlike the wolves on Earth, though, this one was lined with large rippling muscles. Its fur was also strange. The outer most layer was as soft as rabbit fur but its hide seemed to be extremely tough. She also noticed that the creature stopped blending in with the surroundings like a chameleon.

“Well now,” she said as she stroked his head, “what do we call you? Do you have a name?”

The creature just looked up at her and pressed its head against her stomach.

“The designation on its cell was 131,” said the mouse like creature that was still standing next to Tobok.

“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t notice that you were still standing there,” replied Emma.

“It is quite alright, most people fail to notice me. I am quite used to it”

“Well I won’t let it happen again,” replied Emma smiling.

Now it was Tobok’s turn to be embarrassed. “The fault is all mine. Emma, I would like to introduce you to Third Adept Onus. Onus, this is Emma of Earth. He is responsible for the proper functioning of this bothra/senza. He will be assigning us quarters and will see to our needs during the journey.”

“I am honored to meet you Emma of Earth,” replied Onus.

“Aren’t you concerned about being seen with, what did he call me, a Genek? What exactly is a Genek?” asked Emma.

Tobok looked rather ashamed but Onus saved him from any further embarrassment by jumping in to answer.

“The term Genek is a slang word and, as you might have already guessed, it is not a very nice word. It means a genetically altered life form. I do not know how much Tobok has told you about us but we value all naturally occurring life. When someone alters that life we look on it suspiciously. That life form is now outside of the natural order of things. I suppose any group be it racial, religious, political has certain prejudices. Ours is genetically altered life. To answer your question about me being concerned about being seen with one I will just say I pick the people I associate with by who they are, not what they are and from what I have seen so far I am not only unconcerned about being seen with you but I would hope to eventually call you a friend,” he said with a smile on his face. He had his hands clasped together and was nervously working his fingers.

Emma smiled warmly at him. “Thank you Third Adept Onus. By the looks of things I could use as many friends as I can get,” she said carefully eyeing the guard.

“Please, all of my potential friends just call me Onus,” he squeaked cheerfully.

“Well now, back to Emma’s original question, what do we call this new misfit we have welcomed into our ranks?” Tobok said as he finally turned his attention from the retreating leader back to Emma and Onus.

The Venok pressed himself against Emma almost knocking her over. “Whoa there big fella, I don’t think you know your own strength. Oh wait, I know, I’ll call him Shnooby. I always wanted a pet but my mom never let me have one. She said they were too dirty. Instead I got a stuffed animal. It was a dog and I had named him Shnooby. The name comes from a cartoon dog. My dad told me that I named him when I was real small and. I mispronounced the name but my dad thought it was cute so the name stuck.” She looked down at the large creature still pressed tightly against her, “Well, big guy, how do you like that name?”

The Venok looked up at her and licked her face. His breath was rank with the smell of rotting meat and his tongue was as coarse as sandpaper.

“I think he likes it,” said Emma, “but we definitely need to work on your breath. What have you been eating anyway?”

“I have reviewed the ship the Venok, I mean Shnooby, was on and they do have an ample stock of meat that appears to have been meant to feed them both. I will just need to check each and every piece for mutagens and other gene altering chemicals before I can clear them for his use,” replied Onus.

“It looks like he’s hungry. Can we clear some of that meat for him now?” asked Emma.

“I would be delighted. We would not want a hungry Venok wandering around the ship now would we?” said Onus with a smile on his face.

Onus turned around and disappeared into the ship. He came out a short while later struggling to carry a large bag. He dropped it on the floor right in front of Shnooby.

“This bag does not contain any foreign substances. Shnooby is free to consume its contents.” Emma bent over and with Tobok’s help they opened the bag and spilled the contents on the floor. Shnooby wasted no time and pounced on the contents. He was not ripping and tearing at it but was meticulously going through the contents not wasting a single morsel.

“I did find that of the bags that I went through it would appear that most of the food stuffs are contaminated. They were not only injecting them with the mutagens but were having them consume them as well. The percentages of mutagens were extremely high. No wonder they both went mad. We will know more once we have a chance to analyze the other one. We will also need to give Shnooby a thorough check up as well. Do not worry,” he said seeing the look on Emma’s face, “we will not hurt him in any way.”

“Thank you very much Onus,” replied Emma.

“Oh I am not done yet. The journey to Vihara will take at least two cycles, I have set aside quarters for you all. Once Shnooby is done, I will show you where you may rest.”

“Thank you again, you have been very helpful to someone you hardly know,” replied Emma.

“No need to thank me, Emma. Anyone who could stop a mad rampaging creature and help it to overcome its madness at the same time deserves my thanks,” said Onus. “Oh, it looks like Shnooby has finished his meal already.”

Sure enough, Shnooby had consumed the entire contents of the bag Onus has provided and was in the process of cleaning himself up.

“Your quarters are close to this landing bay. This will be work out very well in light of the present situation. I believe that Shnooby will need some room for exercise and the landing bay will do quite nicely. Please follow me.”

“Before we go I need to know what you saw when you touched Shnooby,” said Tobok, his stare riveting her in place.

“Why do you think I saw anything?” asked Emma nervously.

“Well for one thing you were screaming for someone to stop doing something to you. For another thing, you were thrashing your arms about wildly like you were trying to fight someone off. Do I need to continue,” replied Tobok.

“OK, OK. I did see something,” Emma replied reluctantly. She then proceeded to recount everything that she experienced. When she was done there was a long moment of silence.

“Who were those people that were experimenting on Shnooby and his friend?” asked Emma.

“Well, from what was found on his ship and your descriptions it looks like the Hunzack were trying to improve their favorite pets,” replied Tobok.

“Who are these Hunzack anyway?” Emma asked Tobok.

“They are a secretive people so not much is known about them. What we do know is that they are a race of hunters, probably the finest in the known galaxy. They come from a planet called Vellindrall. That is where creatures like Shnooby come from as well. I am told it is a world made up almost entirely of forest. The Hunzack use the Venoks as hunting pets to help them track and subdue their prey. Unfortunately they do not distinguish needing to hunt for survival and hunting for sport,” replied Tobok.

“How could they do that to something they love?” asked a visibly shaken Emma.

“The Venoks are not so much as the Hunzacks’ beloved pets as their most valued possessions and a status symbol among their people. Although I have heard that genetic manipulation of these animals is forbidden there might be some that would do anything to increase their status. Just think what every other Hunzack would say if one of them showed up with a clearly superior Venok. It would be hard to hide any genetic manipulation but they are a highly competitive people. It is funny, for all of our advancement there are still kernels of barbarism that have survived that advancement,” replied Tobok sadly.

“Enough of this, you are both in need of rest, follow me!” said Onus with a tone in his voice that would not tolerate any more delays.  

He turned and started for a large opening at the far end of the hangar. Tobok, Emma and Shnooby followed him closely. The large opening was covered with flaps that looked very similar to the ones on the large opening that they flew through to get on the ship. The corridor beyond looked just like the hangar with the same colors and absence of any corners. Unlike the landing bay, the corridor was warmly lit giving everything a very comfortable, cozy feeling. They walked down the corridor until it met up with another of the same size. They turned left and came up to a set of openings on the left side of the corridor.

“This first one is yours Emma. You have easy access to the landing bay. I must ask you to not go there alone. Either I or Tobok will need to accompany you. We need to make sure that the bay is empty before we let Shnooby loose.

Onus touched the right side of the entrance and the flaps to Emma’s quarters opened up. Onus lead them inside. The room had that same warm glow as the rest of the ship. “Bioluminescence,” said Onus, “the walls all have organisms that emit a glow when they sense a presence in the room. The light you saw in the hangar was mostly artificially created. The glow from the walls is too faint for most species to work with so additional illumination was added in that area but in the individual quarters the light level is sufficient for reading, relaxation, and regeneration.”

Emma looked around the quarters and was surprised to see how warm and inviting it was. She would never have been able to tell that she was inside a living creature. The room had what looked like a bed that had that same compliant foam that the seats in the spacecraft were made of for a mattress. Next to the bed was a reclining chair that looked a lot like a Lazy Boy and a desk complete with a reading light. As she walked closer to the desk she saw that there was another, smaller room off to the side. It looked like a toilet with a shower stall.

“Wait a minute, all of this looks very much like what I left on Earth. Don’t tell me that all of the beings in your Union use the same furniture and utilities as we humans do,” said a skeptical Emma.

“Oh no, not at all,” said Onus with a chuckle, “Tobok sent me all of the information required to duplicate a typical living space on Earth. He seemed to think that it would help you feel more comfortable in your new surroundings. I hope that we have been successful in that duplication?” asked a worried Onus.

“You did a phenomenal job, thank you Onus,” replied Emma, “and you, how can I ever thank you for doing all of this?” she said to Tobok.

“This is the very least that I could do for you. I know that it is very hard for you to cope with all of these changes and to wonder about what the future will bring. Making your change in surroundings gradually should help some. You are a very brave girl and I need to tell you that I am very proud of how you have been dealing with all of this. I wanted you to know this so that you would not take to heart what awful things others might say about you,” Tobok said as he cast a disapproving look at the guard that was stationed just outside of the open door.

“I need to tell you that I appreciate all that you have done. You have been like a parent to me and I will try hard to keep making you proud of me,” said a tearful Emma as she hugged Tobok.

“Well, since everything is in order, I will take my leave of you,” said a slightly uncomfortable Onus. “We all take our meals in the great chamber, Tobok will escort you there once you have regenerated yourself.”

“Can I ask one more favor of you Onus?” asked Emma.

“That is why I am here,” replied Onus.

“Could you get a section of that foam bedding for Shnooby to use? I see that there is no place for him to sleep.”

“Oh, my apologies to you and to Shnooby!” cried Onus. “I have been lax in my duties. Since Shnooby was a last minute addition to your quarters I forgot to make accommodations for him. I will get some of the foam as you call it along with a container of water for him.” With that Onus bowed and quickly disappeared out the door.

“I hope everyone is as friendly as Onus,” said Emma.

“I fear that friendly people might be in the minority for you Emma. You saw the loathing with which the guards regarded you. Many of our order have similar feelings. As Onus told you, our order regards altered life as suspicious. That life falls outside of the natural order that we hold so dear. Some might not be as rude as the guards were but their feelings will be the same. It will be very difficult at times but you will not be alone. I will be there with you.”

Just then Onus reappeared with a section of bedding cut just right for Shnooby as well as a water dish the size of a manhole cover. He placed both on the side of Emma’s bed and looked at the arrangement with a critical eye.

“Yes, I do believe that will work. What do you think Emma?” asked Onus.

“Well, it looks like someone else has already agreed with your assessment,” replied Emma as she looked down at the sleeping mat that now had an exhausted Shnooby laying on it.

“Yes, yes how wonderful,” replied Onus.

“Very well, I am sure that you are just as tired if not more so than Shnooby. We will take our leave and let you get some rest. I will be in the next chamber over. If you need anything just think of me and I will know. Good rest Emma and Shnooby, I will see you both when you wake up.” Both Tobok and Onus bowed slightly and left the room.  Tobok was right, she was very tired. So tired, in fact, that she didn’t even bother changing for bed but just lay down and fell immediately asleep.

Chapter 9 – The Living Ship

Even though Emma was nearly exhausted she did not sleep very well. It seemed as though one nightmare after another marched through her mind. She saw the Verossi, Dr. Samuels, screaming as she did her best to burn him to a cinder. Then she saw the guards dressed in that weird clothing poking her with their long knives with looks on their faces like she was some large mass of some foul smelling goo and they were deciding on which one will be the unlucky one to pick her up and throw her away. This last nightmare was the most vivid of them all. Even after the images faded she was still able to smell that foul odor. It got so bad that it woke her up. She then realized that the foul odor was not just in her nightmare but in her room as well.

She opened her eyes and found herself laying on her back still in the clothes that she had on before she went to bed. The odor was so bad that it was making her nauseous. She rolled over to where Shnooby should have been asleep and was surprised to see, not Shnooby but a large pile of something laying right next to Shnooby’s bed. Shnooby was not on his bed but cowering in the far corner of the room. The foul smell was coming from that large pile next to her bed.

“Oh my God, what the heck did you eat!” she yelled over at Shnooby.

Shnooby looked pitifully over at her but did not move from his spot.

Just then Tobok and the guard that was stationed at her door burst into the room.

“I felt your distress and came right over what is wrong?” asked Tobok. As soon as he said those words his face crinkled into a look of pure disgust. “By the Sangha, what is that foul odor?”

Emma quickly pointed to the odiferous pile next to her bed and said, “It looks like Shnooby had an accident.”

“I would say it was not a small accident either,” replied Tobok, placing the sleeve of his robe over his mouth.

Just then, Onus arrived on the scene. His reaction, though, was much more subdued than the guard’s or Tobok’s. “Oh dear, did you not take him to the, um, toilet before retiring?”

“I was so tired that I didn’t even think about it. I thought that he knew what to do and he would have done it himself,” replied an embarrassed Emma.

“It appears that you have never had to take care of a, um, pet before. Taking care of another is a great responsibility. It is not just about playing with them. You have to feed them, make sure that they get enough exercise, and make sure that they evacuate themselves in a proper manner. Never assume that they know what to do. Shnooby and his partner were kept in cages. As someone who is taking responsibility for Shnooby you need to teach him these things. Let me get the cleaning implements and take care of this.”

But before Onus could leave, Tobok spoke up, “No, Onus, you are quite correct in your assessment. If Emma is accepting full responsibility for Shnooby then she needs to start learning how to take care of him immediately. Well, Emma, do you still want to take full responsibility for Shnooby?” asked Tobok.

Emma looked at the foul mass by her bed then looked over at Shnooby. He was still in the corner with a look of terror in his eyes. She guessed that he was punished severely for things like this before. There was only one answer she could give, “Which way to the cleaning implements?”

“Come, follow me,” said Onus, “I will show you how to use them. It is not difficult at all.”

Within a few minutes the mess and odor had gone. Emma walked over to Shnooby and stroked the fur on the top of his head. “It’s OK, don’t worry. We both have a lot to learn about each other. I’m not angry at you but we need to teach you to let me know when you need to do that again,” Emma whispered into Shnooby’s ear. Shnooby lost some of his fear and licked Emma‘s cheek. She thought she lost a layer of skin by the time Shnooby was done. “Come on, let’s see about getting you some exercise.”

It took a little bit of doing but Emma got permission, with Onus’ help, for Shnooby to run around a small section of the landing bay. He was unbelievably fast and agile. He jumped over obstacles that were easily three times taller than him with ease. Every once in a while he would disappear from sight as he did that chameleon thing, blending in with his background. Tobok was there as well watching him.

“You know, he is still not fully grown,” said Tobok as he watched Shnooby jump over a particularly high tool bin.

“What?” asked a surprised Emma. “I thought he was fully grown. He is as big as if not bigger than most dogs I have seen on Earth. How much more will he grow and how much more will I have to feed him in a single day?” asked a surprised Emma.

“Well, a normal Venok might grow another foot taller but this one has been altered. I do not think anyone knows how large this one will grow. He is also displaying some unique abilities. That camouflage effect is something new. I have never heard of a Venok being able to do that. It will be interesting to see what else he can do.”

After Shnooby finished his exercise, they all went down to the main eating chamber. As they entered Emma was surprised at how large it was, it reminded her how truly immense this living ship was. The room had a high curving ceiling and tables with their accompanying benches that seemed to have grown from the very floor itself.

The room was filled with various beings that Emma had not seen yet. They were either dressed as Onus and Tobok with their long robes or they were dressed like their guard in the shimmering deep green form fitting suits. As they walked into the room everyone turned to stare at them. The ones who did not have their hoods down now pulled them down to take a look at the young Genek that could talk without the use of a translator. Their guard moved off to where all of the guards were eating and another came to take his place. Emma did not know if she would ever get used to the staring and loathing that she was experiencing now.

“Do not pay them much attention, they have never seen a human before,” said Tobok reassuringly.

“I don’t think that they are looking at a human. I think they are looking at a Genek and her Genek pet,” replied Emma.

They walked over to a table that was not occupied and sat down. Shnooby lay down on the floor right behind Emma. Just then Onus appeared with some plates of food. “Greetings, did you sleep well?” he asked.

“Very well how about you?” asked Emma.

“Not so good, I was up most of the sleep cycle trying to determine what you might like to eat. I believe I was able to select something that will be, um tasty?” He then put a plate of what looked like scrambled eggs in front of her. For Tobok, he placed a large bowl of green and yellow plants. He also gave him a small cup of a bluish cream that Tobok proceeded to put on the plants in his bowl. Onus stepped back and was waiting for them to try the food. Tobok dug right in. He had a big smile on his face as he ate. Obviously he was enjoying his food immensely. Emma took the utensil that Onus had placed next to her bowl and carefully scooped up a small amount of the “eggs”. She put it to her nose and she was surprised to find out that they smelled just like scrambled eggs. Her amazement grew as she took some of the food into her mouth.

“How did you get scrambled eggs here on this ship?” asked a pleasantly surprised Emma.

“Oh, I am so very pleased that you like it! I do need to inform you that they are not eggs, though. We Vanguard do not consume the embryos or flesh of other living creatures. What you are eating is a plant that we grow on Vihara. It is called toona. We checked your medical information and were delighted to see that most if not all of the common foods that we consume are tolerated by humans as well. The flavoring is a combination of spices that we mixed to give the taste of your Earth eggs. The toona does not have a distinctive taste but it is rich in beneficial vitamins and minerals and is usually quite easily flavored to meet an individual’s tastes.” Onus looked over to see Emma laughing. “Did I say something amusing?” asked Onus.

“Please forgive me. You said that this plant is called a “toona”? asked Emma in between fits of laughter.

“Yes, that is what I said,” replied a confused Onus.

“A “tuna” is an aquatic creature on Earth that is eaten by humans. It too has beneficial vitamins and minerals,” replied a smiling Tobok. “There are bound to be some similarities between certain words. Emma was just surprised to hear you using that term when describing what looks like something entirely different from her definition of “toona”.”

“Oh, now I understand,” laughed Onus. “Please forgive me I had no idea.”

“There is nothing to forgive. I do want to thank you for trying to make me feel more at home. I hope that I did not offend you by laughing. I was not laughing at you but with you. I especially wanted to thank you for that, even though it was by accident. I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time.” Emma turned around and gave Onus a fierce hug. “You have been one of the few people I have met that has made me feel welcome. Thanks again,” Emma whispered into his large ear. Onus bowed deeply and said, “The pleasure is all mine.”

“Won’t you join us?” asked Emma.

“I thank you for your invitation and I would be honored to join you. Let me get some food and I will be right back. Did either of you need anything else?” asked Onus.

“No, we are fine,” both Emma and Tobok answered in unison.

Onus returned a few minutes later with a bowl of seeds and a mug full of a pungent red liquid. As they ate, Emma started taking a closer look at the other beings in the room. She saw some that resembled large apes but these apes walked upright like humans and were very powerfully built. Their skin ranged from a light shade of purple to a light shade of pink. Tobok told her they were called the Sabreth. He told her that they were the race most responsible for the founding of the United Systems. She also saw some beings that resembled Tobok, who came from a planet called Tenesia, and some that resembled Onus, who hailed from a planet called Drath. Yet with all of the looking around that Emma did she always came back to stare at the group of shimmering green jumpsuits gathered around one table. She was surprised to see them without their face masks and that they were all Sabreth. They were all sitting around the table laughing and joking amongst themselves. After her initial meeting with the guards on the flight deck, she expected them to be very stoic but here they were having a good time. In contrast, the guard that was assigned to watch Shnooby was standing at attention with his mask on. With all the sounds of merriment coming from his comrades’ table, the guard did not look over once. He just kept a steady gaze on Shnooby.

“Who are the people in the green jumpsuits?” asked Emma.

“Oh, I was wondering when you would ask about them. They are called Rangers. They provide security for the Vanguard,” Tobok replied hesitantly.

“I thought that you said the Vanguard were not soldiers but diplomats,” replied a confused Emma.

“Yes, the Vanguard are diplomats but we have also seen the need to have a group of protectors that come out of Vanguard training. Part of a Vanguard’s training involves developing increased physical abilities. These would include increased strength, speed and reflexes. At that stage of a Vanguard’s development they have the option of joining the Rangers or to proceed further with the training. Some join the Rangers for a short time to better hone these abilities while others prefer to stay in the Rangers. Either way it is the choice of the individual of which path they want to take. I do need to warn you, do nothing to provoke them. They are, by far, the best fighters in all of the Union. They also have a mandate from the Sangha to insure the security of all Vanguard.”

Emma once again looked over at the guard and she could feel a certain arrogance emanating from him. Emma also noticed a rather pungent smell that she recognized. With all of the new sights and smells that she had been exposed to she did not notice it at first but now when she had a moment of calm she realized right away that what she was smelling could not be right and it was coming from Tobok’s rather large mug.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Emma pointing to Tobok’s cup.

“Whatever do you mean?” asked a visibly shaken Tobok.

“That’s coffee, isn’t it?” asked a smiling Emma.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” replied Tobok, pulling his mug closer to himself.

“I didn’t know you liked coffee Tobok.”

Onus, his natural curiosity aroused, also starting staring at Tobok’s mug. He sniffed the air a few times and said, “Curious, I do not believe that I am familiar with that odor Tobok.”

“This is no “odor”. It is a delicate bouquet of the finest beans ever picked on Earth. To call this an odor would be to call the Sangha a simple committee,” replied an irritated Tobok.

“How did you get coffee here on this ship?” asked Emma.

“Oh, one of the officers at the base was kind enough to procure several crates of these fine beans and half a dozen of the apparatus needed to produce this wonderful beverage. He also got me some flavored syrups and the bovine excretion you call milk that I particularly enjoyed during my stay on your planet. There is definitely no finer start to the day than a five shot raspberry latte. I will never call your planet completely uncivilized again,” said Tobok. He then took another delicate sip of his brew and smacked his lips in delight.

“Am I to assume that you are indulging in a stimulant?” asked an astonished Onus. “You know that stimulants of any kind are strictly forbidden. If anyone else found out about this we could all be in allot of trouble.”

“No one need find out if you just keep your voice down,” whispered Tobok. He looked over to see if the guard had heard them but all of his attention was on Shnooby. “Why do you not try some before you condemn it?”

“I will have no part in your disregard for the rules,” replied Onus.

“You do not know what you are missing. The fruity sweetness is balanced by the earthy flavor of the coffee and the creaminess of the milk. I loved it the first time I tried it on Earth.”

“I didn’t know you like coffee so much. What else did you pick up a taste for on Earth?” asked an amused Emma.

“I think that you would be surprised at some of the things I took a fancy to,” replied Tobok with a mischievous look in his eye.

“Oh dear, look at the time! I have so many things to do before we arrive. Tobok, I suggest that any further consumption of that beverage be done on the shuttle and not out in the open like this,” said Onus sternly.

“I will get you to try this beverage yet. When you try it I guarantee that you will love it just as much as I do,” replied a grinning Tobok.

With that Onus gave him a stern glance, turned away and disappeared through the large opening that they had come through.

“When will we be arriving?” asked Emma.

“You could call it tomorrow morning. In the mean time I would like to take you on a tour of this fine creature we are traveling in. Would you like that?”

“You bet I would. Can Shnooby come too?”

“I do not see why not.”

They started their tour at the rear or stern of the ship. When they got to where the senza were attached to the bothra she started to feel things from them. They felt quite warm and friendly. What she felt most from them was a deep sense of gratitude. It was kind of difficult to read much more from them since past some point she started to feel the bothra’s thoughts along with the senzas’. Tobok told her that was where the link between them began. He was also very surprised that she had been able to gauge the point of joining. Only advanced Vanguard could make the distinction with any degree of accuracy.

When they came back from the stern it was already about mid-day and thus time to eat again. They met Onus in the main hall and this time he brought her something that looked like a pickled cow’s brain but tasted like a cheese and sliced tomato pizza. Onus apologized for not getting the appearance correct but ever since he found out that Tobok had contraband material on his ship, he refused to go on board to retrieve the information he required from Tobok’s files. Apparently he had downloaded the taste of pizza the day before. Emma mentally braced herself for meals consisting of scrambled eggs and pizza for the remainder of the voyage.

Before traveling to the front or stern of the “ship”, Tobok insisted on stopping by the shuttle so that he could brew a mug of his beloved beverage, this time with orange flavored syrup. The storage areas were cleverly hidden behind panels that seemed to melt up into the ship after the proper codes were entered at the main pilot’s station. That is what gave the shuttle such a clean look when all of the panels were in place.

After his latte, Tobok took her to the stern of the “ship”. He had told her how they had to load allot of gear into the bothra after the creature had returned from its rest cycle. They added scientific equipment, power supplies, and all of the other equipment needed during voyages in the name of The United Systems. When it came time for a bothra to rest, all of the equipment was carefully removed. This allowed the bothra to return to its natural state and begin the process of recuperation. It appeared that the process of serving as an organic spaceship was an exhausting ordeal for them. Tobok mentioned that the usual service cycle for a bothra was no more than two Earth years. The rest cycle could last three to four years.

“Why would they do that to themselves?” Emma asked Tobok.

“It just shows the noble spirit of the bothra and senza. They put themselves through such hardships to return a kindness that we did them. It would be much worse for them if we did not restore them almost constantly over those two years.”

“What do you mean by “restore them”?”

“On every active bothra/senza ship we have a group of healers whose job it is to bolster the health of the bothra/senza. They are not just responsible for repairing any damage they would suffer in an accident or combat but they are charged with the constant care of the creatures as well. It does take a toll on the healers though but it is the least that we can do for them. You see it is all about working together and in that cooperation comes a deeper understanding between us. That is one of the basic tenants of the Vanguard. You will learn that and other things on Vihara. It is truly as close as I have come to paradise and I did not realize how much I missed it until now.”

As they neared the front of the “ship” Emma’s head began to hurt. It started off as a throbbing pain but increased to a sharp one like someone was shoving a knife into her head. Her headache was at its zenith when they neared what Tobok called the pilot’s chamber. Her headache had gotten so bad that she could barely stand. “Are you ill Emma?” asked a concerned Tobok.

“It’s my head, it hurts so much,” replied Emma through clenched teeth. Through the haze that had developed around her vision she saw that they were standing very close to the entrance to the command center of the organic ship. There were four guards stationed at the doors and one of them approached Tobok.

“No unauthorized personnel are allowed inside the chamber. You know that Tobok!”

“I know the procedures. I was just concluding the tour and we were on our way back for the evening meal,” replied Tobok.

“See that you do. I am concerned that one Genek has come so close to the pilot’s chamber but when there are two, well that puts me in a state of alarm,” replied the guard sternly.

As Tobok was conversing with the guard a Sabreth came up the corridor from where they had come and walked right past them up to the entrance of the chamber. The flap opened and he entered. After a few moments another, visibly fatigued Sabreth came out of the chamber. It was at that moment that Emma’s headache subsided just enough for her to hear what sounded like words. She distinctly heard the words Magreth, Pico and Tak. She couldn’t make any more sense of them. What did they mean? The pain started up again and as she opened her eyes she was looking right into the exhausted Sabreth’s face. He stared at her as if she had stabbed him in the throat.

“How could you possible know that? I did not see you in the pilot’s chair. Guards, place this creature under arrest! She knows the names! She knows the names!” he yelled at the guards.

With that, the guards descended upon the small group. Shnooby raised the fur on his back in warning as he extended his razor sharp claws. The guards responded by growing long, sharp blades from the backs of their hands.

“Wait, wait! Let us not do anything without proper thought!” cried an alarmed Tobok. “I am sure there is a logical explanation for her knowing the names of the bothra and senza.” He then looked at Emma with concern etched on his face,” How did you know the names of the bothra and senza? No one is supposed to know the names except for the pilots.”

Emma looked at Tobok and said,” I’m sorry I didn’t think I said them out loud. My headache stopped for a little bit and it was then that I heard three words in my head. I didn’t know what they meant. You said they were names?”

Suddenly the leader of the guards came rushing into the group pushing his own men out of the way.

“What is the meaning of this?” he cried,” Who is the cause of this alarm?” He then saw Tobok and Emma. “I might have know, Tobok and the Genek! What are you doing so close to the pilot’s chamber?” he asked Tobok angrily.

“I was just showing Emma the ship. We had just concluded our tour and were turning back to go for our evening meal when Emma told the pilot the names of the bothra and senza,” answered a defensive Tobok.

“She told us that she had heard the names in her head. That is impossible to all except second level adepts and higher. There is no possible way she could be a second level adept,” cried the exhausted Sabreth.

The leader of the guards looked at Emma very carefully. It seemed to her like he was inspecting the bottom of his boot after he had unknowingly stepped into a pile of animal droppings. “I do not know what this “thing” is capable of, no one does. It is a Genek and must not be allowed free reign of this ship. Due to this incident I cannot allow her to roam about the ship, even if Third Adept Tobok takes responsibility for her. For the duration of this voyage I am restricting the Geneks to the living quarters, the Venok exercise area, and the dining hall. Is that understood Third Adept Tobok?”

“She is not a danger to anyone, you must see that. Whatever is happening to her is not under her control,” replied Tobok.

“All I see is a child that is manifesting abilities that should be way beyond her. Who knows what else she is capable of? Can you say for certain that she will not manifest some ability that will endanger this ship and all aboard her?” asked the guard leader.

Tobok’s anger and indignation visibly deflated. “I must concede that you do have a point. Through the manifestation of a possible dangerous ability or the lack of control of her existing abilities I must also conclude that her access must be limited as well. I am sorry, Emma, this new ability of yours to communicate at a distance with other creatures has taken me by surprise. I think it would be best if we stayed within certain areas until we get to Vihara. I am sorry for this but I have a responsibility to every living being on this ship and I cannot unwittingly endanger them by taking you too close to sensitive areas. I hope you understand.”

Emma was in no condition to argue. “I understand and I’m sorry if I alarmed anyone. I meant no harm,” replied Emma.

“Come, let us go see the healer and then get something to eat,” said Tobok putting his hand on her shoulder.

“I must post an additional guard to watch the Geneks,” said the leader. He gestured to one of the guards and he came over and glared down at Emma.

“I understand and appreciate your caution. I do want to make a suggestion, though. Please refer to this child by her name, which is Emma, and not by the derogatory term of Genek. She did not ask that this be done to her but was a victim of a crime inflicted on her.” With that they all turned as one and headed back the way that they came. Emma did note the Ranger leader’s silence as they departed.

“I’m sorry for that Tobok. I seem to get you into all kinds of trouble. I bet you will be glad to be rid of me once we reach this Vihara place,” said Emma with a tear running down her face.

Tobok stopped and turned to her. “How can you apologize for things that are beyond your control? This is something new for all of us. I agree that the timing of these manifestations could be better but that is beyond all of our control as well. I also do not want to hear this nonsense about me wanting to be rid of you. I told you before that we will find out what happened to you and your parents and we will do it together and I always keep my promises.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it. I can’t even imagine how hard all of this is on you. I mean it must be awful escorting freaks like me and now Shnooby,” replied Emma.

“If I am experiencing any hardships for escorting you and Shnooby it is not your fault. It is the fault of certain attitudes the Vanguard have developed. Being who we are I would have thought that we would be more tolerant than this,” Tobok said loud enough for the guards to hear. “Come now we need to see that healer.”

“Actually, my headache is much better now. Ever since I came on board this wonderful ship I had an odd buzzing in my head so it’s not like I have not had some sort of headache all along. It just got worse when we went to see where the senza are attached and it got much worse when we went up to the pilot’s chamber.”

Tobok had that troubled look on his face again like he had when she first started to manifest these abilities on Earth. “Very interesting, you said that you felt pain when you got close to the senza but that it was much worse at the pilot’s chamber?” asked Tobok.

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Well, the pilot’s chamber sits just below the area where the bothra’s brain is located. That proximity makes communication with the bothra easier, but for the pilots, physical contact with the bothra is required. Looks like what the pilot said could be true. You could be developing an ability that is even beyond the Vanguard.”

The next few hours passed without incident. They ate with Onus again. He seemed to have mellowed since the previous meal about Tobok’s indulgence. Shnooby had another accident not far from her room. She was getting better at handling the cleaning implements. Onus had another container of his food waiting for them when they came back to Emma’s room. After he finished his meal, they took him to the exercise area and watched him stretch his legs. She could see the guards tense up every time Shnooby disappeared for a few moments as he ran.

That night Emma did not sleep very well. She spent most of it sitting on the floor with Shnooby’s head in her lap. As she watched him sleep she was surprised why she was not afraid of him. She guessed that it was because of the link that formed between them when she took his madness away. She still could not explain the voice that she heard in her head. Tobok insisted during the evening meal that he had not helped her in any way and he kept looking at her with that troubled look all through the rest of the meal. 

She couldn’t believe that she was really here. It still seemed like some sort of dream to her. How many people get to not only find out that there is other life in the universe but also to go there? What was most keeping her awake was the thought that tomorrow they will arrive at this Vihara place that Tobok and everyone else keeps talking about. It is there that she will know what is to become of her and that was tying her stomach into knots. Tobok mentioned that they will disembark using his shuttle and they will need to land at a spaceport first, he said it was called Mar Awgin. Then they will proceed with something called a gilder to their final destination that he called Mar Saba. That is where all of the Vanguard are trained and where their leaders, the Sagha, live as well. He told her not to be afraid, that the Vanguard value all life, but after the reception she got here as a Genek, she wasn’t so sure she would be greeted warmly by them either.

“Well there’s no point losing anymore sleep over it. Tomorrow will be a very busy day and I need to get my rest,” she said to a sleeping Shnooby. She slowly lifted his head and slid out from beneath him. She then gently lowered his head to the warm floor. She got up and jumped into bed. She stared at the ceiling for a long time and eventually slipped into a fitful sleep.

Chapter 10 - Vihara

Emma dreamt all night. She had seen many things, beautiful evergreen forests surrounding tall majestic mountains shrouded in snow and ice and brilliantly clear turquoise skies with a hue so deep it seemed like it would draw the eyes right out of her head if she looked at it long enough. Then she found herself standing in a desert with golden red sand dunes stretching away from her in all directions. She felt sand against her left cheek and looked to see that a monstrous sandstorm was almost upon her. The scraping on her left cheek was getting worse and as she touched it she noticed her cheek was wet as well with a smell of rotting meat. She woke with a start.

There was Shnooby licking her left cheek trying to get her to wake up.

“Whoa, we definitely need to do something about your breath right away!” said Emma now fully awake. “I’m up already big guy. You can stop the skin treatment already,” she said as she gave him a pat on the head. He just kept licking her as she tried to push him away. She then felt a great need from him and immediately vaulted out of bed. She ran toward the bathroom area, “C’mon big guy, follow me, right here.” She stopped at the area set aside for Shnooby and pointed. Shnooby understood and stepped into the shallow tub. He wasted no time in doing his business. When he was done a relieved Emma walked back to the bed with Shnooby at her heels. As she turned around and sat down on the bed her relief at getting Shnooby to do his business in the proper spot had evaporated at the sight of the brownish footprints coming from the bathroom area. She looked down at him as anger built inside her but it subsided when she realized that he had not done it on purpose. “Someone tell me again why I wanted a real pet?” she said to no one in particular. Luckily she had kept the cleaning implements from his last accident knowing deep down that other accidents were inevitable and proceeded to clean Shnooby’s feet and the trail of prints. She was getting really good at it since it only took her about fifteen minutes this time to clean up the mess. In the mean time Shnooby had camped out by his water and food bowls waiting for her to finish her chore.

“OK your highness, I am ready to prepare your feast,” she said with a flourish.

Another container of Shnooby’s food as well as a container of water were standing right next to the door. Bless that Onus, he must have brought it in very early this morning. She opened it and poured the contents into the bowl. Shnooby wasted no time in rearming himself for his next accident that would most likely occur later that morning.

As Shnooby ate, Emma took a hot shower and changed into a set of clean clothes she had brought with her.

She was finishing her packing when Tobok and Onus announced themselves at the door/flap, “Emma, it is Tobok and Onus, may we enter?”

“C’mon in, I have just finished all of my packing,” replied Emma.

Tobok and Onus entered wearing robes of a deep green color over their normal clothes. Both Tobok and Onus sniffed the air suspiciously. “Did your friend have another accident?” asked Tobok, a smile starting to show on his face.

“If you must know, yes he did but not in the way you are thinking. He woke me up in time to show him where to go. Unfortunately I forgot to tell him not to step in what he had done. He left a path back to the bed with a smell that almost made me sick. What is in that food we are giving him anyway?”

“The food stuffs appear to be the ground up remains of three different varieties of fowl indigenous to the Hunzack home world,” replied a cheerful Onus.

“Well, I will need to get him some better food that won’t make his breath smell so bad. Maybe he needs his teeth cleaned as well,” she said as she tried to get a better look at his teeth.

“I believe that you will need to pursue that at a later date. We will be arriving at Vihara in about three Earth hours. Let us go and have our morning meal and then give Shnooby his exercise so that we will have enough time to prepare the shuttle for departure.”

The four of them emerged from Emma’s room and were greeted by the two guards that she had forgotten were stationed at her door. They all walked down to the dining hall and found themselves a table on the far side. There was allot of activity as many of the others on the ship were also making ready to depart for Vihara.

“It looks like many of them are getting off as well,” said Emma as Onus brought her what looked like pancakes.

“Yes, they are all returning after a rather long mission to a system of planets not all that far from Earth. Everyone wants to get back home to rest and continue their learning,” replied Tobok in between mouthfuls of a mix of grains and leafy vegetables.

“Can’t they continue their learning on the ship?” asked Emma

“They can but it is more difficult. The surroundings of Vihara are much more conducive to implementing the techniques necessary for continued study. You will understand when we reach Vihara.”

Emma very carefully cut off a piece of the pancake before her and put it into her mouth. She was, yet again, amazed. It tasted just like raspberry pancakes. She cut off a large piece and proceeded to devour her meal in record time.

“Onus, I thought you said that you won’t be going into Tobok’s shuttle again. How did you know how to make these delicious pancakes?”

If he didn’t have so much fur on his face, Emma would have sworn that he blushed. “I made the extreme effort for you and you alone. I couldn’t have you eating only scrambled eggs and pizza for the duration of the flight. I did make sure that I did not come into contact with any of that contraband, though, just in case they ask me any questions about it at your inquest, Tobok.”

“Ha, Ha very amusing my diminutive friend, and I will let every one know that it was you who had procured that same contraband for me,” replied Tobok giving an almost imperceptible wink at Emma.

Onus turned an odd shade of gray. “You wouldn’t do that to your best friend, would you?” asked Onus his voice trembling.

“I was only joking, relax. You take the rules way too seriously my friend,” replied Tobok giving Onus a friendly slap on the back.

“And you, my friend, will get into allot of trouble one day by your liberal interpretation of the rules. I only hope that I am there when it happens so that I can save your sorry, smelly behind as I usually have to do,” replied a relieved Onus.

Tobok slapped him on the back affectionately and continued his meal. Afterwards, Tobok, Emma, and Shnooby went down to the exercise area. If it wasn’t for them calling Shnooby at the end of his exercise time it seemed as though he would have kept on running forever. His endurance was phenomenal even if you compared him to other Venoks or so Tobok said. It appeared that both of them still had quite a few surprises.

They then walked over to Emma’s quarters and picked up her things. As they were making their way to the hangar where Tobok’s shuttle was berthed the ship gave a shudder.

“Ah, we have arrived in system. It will take approximately one of your hours for us to make orbit. We will then have to wait until all of the other shuttles depart so let us go to our shuttle and get comfortable. I will use the time to make another latte, only had one today so far.”

As they approached the shuttle Emma saw Onus standing at the bottom of the ramp leading into the ship. He had a large hovering cart with him that was stacked with containers at least six feet high.

“What is all of this?” asked Emma.

“Well, some of the items are Shnooby’s food stuffs. The rest are empty containers for Tobok’s,” he paused and in a voice only she could hear said, “contraband.”

“Oh, yes. Um, thank you Onus. I guess we will need to start putting everything into these containers. Everything that I have inside was stored as I had obtained them, over a rather long time. You never cease to amaze me, Onus. I was wondering how I will organize all of the, um items,” replied a clearly embarrassed Tobok.

“I thought you might not have thought the whole matter through and I appreciate you not wanting to get me into any trouble but then again, what are friends for?”

Tobok glanced over at the guards. “I believe that we can continue this conversation inside.”

“I most definitely concur,” replied Onus.

The four of them went inside out of earshot of the guards who remained at the bottom of the ramp. It was a little cramped inside with the cart and all of the extra containers but they did manage to open all of the compartments and start transferring the “contraband”. Emma saw allot of vacuum sealed bags of whole bean roasted coffee. There were several different types. Tobok explained that he preferred certain types at different times of the day. Primarily she saw espresso roasts but there were some darker roasts and beans from various countries on Earth. She also saw small transparent, cylindrical containers that contained plants. Tobok explained that he was taking back samples of the plants to see if they will grow on Vihara. He will need to submit them for full inspection and decontamination but he feels that they will pass with no problems. She also saw bottles of flavored syrups, more cylindrical containers containing cow’s milk and at least ten extra espresso machines. Emma also saw some suspicious looking boxes that made up at least a quarter of all of the things they were repackaging. When she asked about them Tobok merely said that they were reports and notes that he needed to submit to The Sangha. Once everything had been put into the containers they loaded them into the compartments along with Shnooby’s food and Emma’s personal items. There was some room to spare. It seemed that once everything had been organized and neatly packed away more space became available. Onus had told her that Tobok was a little on the sloppy side and, without him, he would not be able to find anything on his own.

They closed all of the compartments and sat down to rest. Tobok jumped to preparing two lattes this time and Onus knew that he would not be able to leave without partaking of the strange brew. Tobok brought two mugs over and gave one to Onus.

“Do not worry old friend, I know that this is your first time so I went easy on you. Don’t look so worried. I checked the contents of the beverage against your physiology and it will not harm you. I would never endanger your health. All I ask is that you try it. Personally I think you will like it,” he said with a smile.

“Alright,” replied Onus as he took the mug from Tobok. “I will try your strange brew but if I do not like it I expect that you will not continue your pursuit of getting me to like it as much as you do, agreed?”

“Agreed, my friend,” Tobok said with a smile on his face.

Onus slowly put the mug to his mouth and took an experimental sniff. He seemed to like it and quickly took a tentative sip. He seemed to swirl it around his mouth before swallowing it.

“Well? What do you think?” asked Tobok nervously.

Onus looked up at him and made gestures that looked like he was about to be sick. Then a slow smile crossed his face and he laughed out loud.

“Why you miserable little rodent!” yelled Tobok. “How dare you pull something like that?”

“What is the matter, Tobok? Are you starting to become as uptight as I am that you cannot take a joke?” he said with evident triumph on his face.

‘Oh never mind, what do you think of the beverage?” asked an irritated Tobok.

“Honestly, it is a bit too sweet. I would be happy to try another without the flavored syrup.”

“Consider it done!”

Tobok went back and returned several minutes later with another mug. He gave it to Onus who went through the same ritual as before but this time he smiled and continued to drink.

“Definitely better. I can see how one could get used to this beverage. I like the nutty accent and rich full body. Sadly this can be my only cup.”

“Why is that?” asked a confused Emma. “You seem to like it but you won’t have anymore?”

“It is contraband,” replied Onus. “I have not spent enough time away from Vihara to start bending the rules like Tobok.”

“OK, you have been calling the coffee contraband since you first found out about it. Why do you call it contraband?”

“It is contraband because it is a stimulant, even though it is a mild one. One of the basic tenants of Vanguard teachings prohibits the use of stimulants. You see, the Vanguard believe that beings can inadvertently weaken their connection to the energy that is responsible for all life in the universe. To compensate for that loss these beings attempt to fill this void by several means. They gorge themselves with food or use illicit drugs, of which stimulants are a part, or they take unnecessary risks in an attempt to feel alive. All they really need to do is to reconnect with the basic life energy,” replied Tobok looking into his mug with a sad expression on his face. “I guess that my time away from Vihara has come at a price. Maybe my interest in this beverage is a sign that I have lost part of my connection, something that makes a Vanguard what he or she is.”

“Look, I am not saying that you lost your connection. It has just weakened. I enjoy this beverage as well. All I ask is that you drink this beverage just like you should do all things, in moderation. You know that this will be frowned upon by the Sangha and you know as well that you are not high on their list of favored adepts. Just take it easy. You might find that your time on Vihara will naturally cool your interest in the beverage. Be careful,” replied Onus.

“I will my friend. I will proceed with caution.”

They sat there finishing their beverages while the landing bay was a flurry of activity. An alarm sounded at which Onus stood and went to the entry ramp of the shuttle.

“What was that sound?” asked Emma.

 “The shuttles are about to leave. The landing bay needs to be opened to space to allow their departure. I must say goodbye at this time since I have one more tour on this vessel before I return to Vihara,” replied Onus.

“I don’t know what to say. I wish you were going with us. You and Tobok have been the only ones to treat me with kindness and I don’t know how to thank you,” she said sadly.

Onus stepped closer to her and took her hands into his own. “You can thank me by looking after this big bag of fur. Make sure that he does not get into any trouble.”

“I will do my best and hope that it will be enough,” she said jokingly.

“It has been a pleasure and honor to meet you. My deepest hope is that you find what you are looking for. Do not worry, I believe that you will like Vihara. I wish I were going with you. It has been a long time since I have walked upon my adopted home but I must stay on for a little while longer. Be well, stay strong.”

He then bowed deeply and said to Tobok, “Be well and stay strong my brother.”

“Be well and stay strong my mother,” answered Tobok with a grin.

Onus smiled warmly and hurried from the shuttle. Tobok moved over to the ramp and sealed the door. He went back and cleaned all of their cups and stored them with the rest of his possessions. Emma felt a shudder and walked up to the cockpit of the shuttle. She saw the bottom of the center of the landing bay that was cleared of equipment and personnel open to reveal the darkness of space. As she watched, ship after ship lifted slowly from the deck and disappeared into that darkness.

“It will be sometime before we are allowed to leave. We have been queued to leave last. The other ships are bringing Vanguard back after very long tours on behalf of The United Systems,” said Tobok.

“Were any of their tours longer than yours?” asked Emma.

“No, my tour was of exceptionally long duration. Personally I feel that we are being delayed so that certain preparations could be made for your arrival. Do not worry, I agree with Onus, I believe you will like Vihara,” he said with a reassuring smile on his face.

So there they waited for an additional thirty minutes while the great living ship was emptied. Then it was their turn to leave. Tobok had Emma sit down in the same chair she had sat in on their trip from Earth. Tobok started the engines and checked to make sure that all systems were normal.

“I meant to ask you, how do you know that everything is working as it is supposed to when there are very few things to look at?” asked a curious Emma.

“Well, the ship itself has a much different interface than anything you have on Earth. The instrumentation that you see only shows the most common things that need to be monitored during flight. The actual connection is in these gloves. When I insert my hands the ship makes a direct connection to my nervous system. I am then able to see all of the ship’s systems in my head. This allows me to check everything that I need to in a very short amount of time.”

“You mean that you become a part of this ship? What happens when you are fighting someone? If the ship is hit, do you feel the damage?” asked a shocked Emma.

“No, no, not at all, when the ship is put into combat mode, the link is dissolved. You are quite correct in that if the ship is damaged while the pilot is connected to the ship they can suffer serious nerve damage. That was quite a perceptive observation. How did you know to ask that?”

“I didn’t know. I just thought that if you are linked to the ship in that manner that any surge that the ship’s sensors feel would be transmitted through that link,” replied Emma. Tobok gave her a curious look.

“What was that for?” asked Emma.

“Nothing, I just did not expect that kind of deduction from someone so young and not familiar with our technology,” replied Tobok. “Alright, brace yourself, here we go,” Tobok said quickly to quash any additional questions that Emma would have had.

She looked over to see how Shnooby was doing and was quite surprised to see him asleep. He was curled up in a ball behind her seat. It occurred to her that being through everything he had been through on that ship, motion sickness would have been the least of his worries.

The ship lifted up off of the deck and glided over to the opening. It turned ninety degrees and dropped through. Emma was suddenly plunged into darkness but it didn’t last long. Tobok maneuvered the shuttle down toward the far side of the living ship and she saw a bluish green glow coming from that side. As they drew closer, the glow grew in intensity. It felt very warm and inviting. As they cleared that side of the ship Emma was greeted with a sight that she was sure she would never forget as long as she lived.

If the vision that greeted her would have had any substances it would have slammed into her with the force of a speeding train. The world that spread out before her was simply magnificent. The blues and greens that assaulted her made her feel that she were drowning in them. Truth be told it was very much like Earth. There were areas of the deepest blue which she assumed were oceans. These areas abruptly gave way to areas of deep green. Whether they were forests or jungles was not readily apparent at this altitude. There were also large mountain ranges that started at the equator and curl away from it as they sped off to meet their respective poles. She also saw cloud formations but they seemed to be traveling much faster at the equator.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?” asked Tobok in awe. “I have been away way too long. I did not realize I missed it so until now.”

As they maneuvered to make a shallow orbit of the planet Emma started to sense something. It was very similar to the buzzing in her head that she felt when they had boarded the living starship but it was much stronger. It was not an unpleasant sensation, in fact it felt very reassuring.

“Why are the clouds traveling so much faster at the equator?” asked Emma.

“It is a strange anomaly of Vihara. Those winds are stronger than the hurricanes that occur on your planet. I believe they are on the order of 400 to 600 miles an hour at its very center and they run like that around the whole planet. It does help, though, in getting around on Vihara.”

“What do you mean “getting around”?” asked a bewildered Emma.

“You will see,” he said. “We will be coming up to Mar Awgin in a little while. That is the spaceport. It is very close to the equator but it is far enough that the winds will not be a hindrance for us to land. Once we touch down we need to stay inside until we are cleared to disembark. We will then unload everything from the shuttle and make our way to the global shuttle. That will take us to our final destination of Mar Saba, the home of the Vanguard.”

“How are we going to carry all of this?” asked Emma.

“There will be carts in the landing bay,” replied Tobok.

“I hope they’re big cause we’re going to need them for all of your stuff,” joked Emma.

All the while they were talking she could not tear her eyes away from the verdant planet. In fact, she didn’t really want to. She knew it was impolite not to look at the person you were talking to but she sensed that Tobok would understand.

To her relief their journey around the planet was very leisurely. It seemed as though Tobok was doing this on purpose to allow Emma the most time possible in her enjoyment of the grand view of his home. She did see something different on the horizon. It looked very different from the rest of the planet like a wound that has not yet healed. Her choice of the description of that feature proved to be quite accurate as Tobok noticed her interest in that spot.

“That is our destination, the spaceport of Mar Awgin. It is set in the middle of the one area of the planet that has not yet healed. You see, when the Vanguard discovered this planet, about one thousand Earth years ago, it was very different. It had been inhabited by beings who did not know the damage that they were inflicting on their planet. They were quite advanced but had not yet achieved a high enough level of technology that they were able to explore space. Greed and bickering within their various governments prevented them from taking action to save the planet until it was too late. The Vanguard found an essentially dead world. We were looking for a planet to call our own and we saw great potential in this world. It took a very long time but with a well thought out plan and great care the Vanguard brought this world back from the brink. As you can see, this area is still so badly polluted that it is devoid of the abundance of life that you see everywhere else. Since a spaceport is visited not just by Vanguard but by other beings who might not have as high a respect for life as we Vanguard, we decide to put it here in the middle of this wasteland.”

“Aren’t you doing anything to fix this area as well?” asked Emma.

“Definitely! We are planting vegetation that takes much of the toxins left in the soil and  converts them into useful materials. We have specially trained Vanguard that do nothing but tend to this area. We are doing all that we can to heal this final scar but it takes time. Since we were not sure what impact a spaceport would have on this environment we put it here. Over time we have seen that the wastes from a spaceport can be handled effectively and would not pollute the surrounding area,” replied Tobok proudly.

Just then a light flashed on the tiny display. “We have just been given clearance to land,” he told her, “prepare yourself, here we go!”

With that the shuttle decreased speed and started a shallow dive into the planet’s atmosphere. For the most part the decent was smooth. Only as they got closer to Mar Awgin did the shuttle start to sway. They dove into the low lying cloud cover and when they emerged Emma got her first good look at the spaceport. The same basic features that she saw inside the living ship she could see here. Not one single sharp edge or corner could be seen anywhere and it was made up of the same beige and light red colors. It was perched atop a series of tall plateus. It looked like someone had come by with a colossal knife and cut the tops off of two large mountain peaks to create two flat areas where ships could land. One of the areas was much larger than the other and they were connected by a wide bridge whose support columns extended all of the way down to the valley floor. The larger one was abuzz with a multitude of small and large craft. The craft were of varying designs. They ranged from craft that were rounded like Tobok’s shuttle all the way to others that were bristling with what looked like antennae and tall towers. The surface was divided up into a circular grid of cells of varying size and Emma saw that some contained ships that had already landed. Not all of them were open either. It appeared as though each cell had its own retractable roof. Once a ship landed, the roof could be closed to protect the ship from the elements. In between the rows of cells, Emma saw what looked like streets that were filled with ground vehicles. She also noticed that the streets got progressively wider as they went toward the center of the landing area. The center was taken up by a large domed building.

“What’s in the building in the center of the landing area?” asked Emma.

“Oh, that is the main elevator. What you are seeing now is only a small part of Mar Awgin spaceport. The mountain has been hollowed out. The main city is inside the mountain,” replied Tobok sadly.

“You don’t approve of the city?” asked Emma.

“It was a condition of the US that a permanent governmental presence be established on Vihara, otherwise we would not have been able to relocate the Vanguard here. Many of us think it is a way for the government to keep an eye on us. We did insist, though, that the city be environmentally friendly and we chose its location.”

“You said that the Vanguard were relocated here. Where were you based before you came here?”

“We were based on the US central planet of Sabreth’ar. You will learn all of this in your studies, though. As for now, I need to concentrate on landing. It looks like we have been given my old berth, No. 5535. That makes things much easier,” he said with a smile on his face.

Tobok increased speed and swooped down toward the central area. When he was within what looked like a couple miles of the central building he banked upward, flipped the shuttle and dropped neatly into a spot that was about twice the size of the shuttle itself. Considering Tobok’s last maneuver, Emma was expecting a rough landing but it was so soft that Tobok had to tell Emma that they had already touched down.

Before he got out of his seat Tobok put a hand on Emma’s arm and spoke in a very serious tone, “Please listen carefully to what I am about to say. After we disembark, I will procure a means of transportation for us and all of my, ahem, cargo. You must stay with the shuttle until I come back. Do not wander off and speak with no one. Remember, you are coming here as a Vanguard initiate. An initiate does not usually speak all of the languages of the known galaxy. Also, stay away from any Hunzack you might see.”

“Why?” asked Emma.

“I forgot to mention something very important on the ship. Remember when I told you that creatures like Shnooby were used by the Hunzack for hunting?”

“Yes, I remember. You said they used them to subdue their prey,” Emma replied warily.

“Yes, well you need to know a few more things about the Hunzack. You see, they are a very proud people and that pride extends to the Venoks. They feel that since their race was the one to domesticate these fearsome creatures only they could possess them. They have never sold or given any of these creatures away to anyone else. It has become one of their most sacred laws. If any other being were to come into possession of a Venok they were to immediately surrender it to the nearest Hunzack. While we were landing I noticed some Hunzack ships. If they were to see Shnooby they would immediately demand that you surrender him to them.”

Emma’s face suddenly felt hot and that heat was spreading all over her body. “I WILL NEVER SURRENDER SHNOOBY TO THOSE BUTCHERS!!!” she screamed to nobody in particular. It was enough to wake Shnooby, though.

“And I am not suggesting that you do that,” replied Tobok in a soothing, calming voice. “What I am saying is that we should keep a low profile until we can depart for Mar Saba. As part of my search for a ground vehicle I will also try to procure a container for us to put Shnooby into.”

There was a low growl and Emma looked down at Shnooby. He was standing behind her with his hair standing on end and his teeth were bared.

“Don’t worry Big Fella, I will not put you into another cage and I won’t let anyone else put you in a cage,” Emma told him as she put her hand on his head. Whether Shnooby understood her or gained some sense of comfort from her touch, he immediately calmed down.

“I don’t think that is an option. We will have to think of something else,” said Emma.

Tobok looked exasperated. “Fine, while I am gone you will have time to think of something else.”

A tone sounded from Tobok’s panel. “There, we have been given clearance to disembark. Remember what I said, I will be back very soon.”

Tobok touched the right side of his panel and the rear door opened. He got up and left the vehicle. Since the shuttle was facing the only opening to the landing bay, Emma had a clear view as she watched Tobok move to a door just to the right of the massive doors that Emma had seen. Tobok turned, waved, and proceeded through the door.

Emma turned back to Shnooby, “Well, Big Guy, how are we going to disguise you?”

Shnooby twisted his head clockwise then back as if he were wondering what the problem was. As he was looking at Emma he gradually faded from sight.

“Of course! How did we miss it? You can blend with your surroundings. The only question is: Can you keep it up until we get on this global shuttle Tobok mentioned?”

As if in response to her question, Shnooby reappeared and licked her face.

“I’ll take that as a “Yes I can!”. You’re very smart, do you know that? Somehow I think that you do know that,” Emma said as she gave him a big hug. “Now all we have to do is wait for Tobok.”

It was just under about half an hour before Emma felt rather than saw the massive doors start to open. Emma saw a truck-like vehicle hovering on the other side. Once the doors were all the way open, it silently glided into the landing bay. She saw Tobok jumping out of the vehicle and waved. He acknowledged her wave and went over to a panel beside the massive doors. He touched the panel and the doors started to close. He then jumped back into the vehicle and maneuvered it to the back of the shuttle.

Emma got out of her seat and ran to the back of the shuttle.

“How was it?” asked Emma.

“Different. Allot has changed since I was last here. There are quite a few Hunzack here.  Armed with this new knowledge, it is more important than ever that we hide Shnooby. What have you come up with?”

Emma turned to Shnooby and said, “Now!” Shnooby gradually faded from sight. “What do you think?” asked Emma proudly.

“Of course! I cannot believe that I forgot he could do that, but can he stay that way until we get on the global shuttle?”

“I think he can. It’s just this feeling I get from him but I think he can stay like this for a long time,” replied Emma.

“I hope for all of our sakes that both of you are right. I have no doubt that I am already in trouble with the Sangha because of what happened on the way over here. I do not need any more incidents during the remainder of our journey. Now, I must start loading that vehicle. We need to catch the shuttle before nightfall. I do not want to spend the night here if we can help it. Can you help me?” asked Tobok.

“Which container goes first,” replied Emma.

It took them about one hour to load the truck. They left a space in the center of the containers for Shnooby to ride in just in case the strain of blending would get too great for him.

“What happens to the shuttle? Will another Vanguard use it?” asked Emma.

“Oh no, the shuttle is my personal possession. I pay berthing fees for it. All we will have to do is seal the doors when we leave,” replied Tobok.

“You can have personal possessions? I thought that the Vanguard were like Buddhist monks on Earth who denounce worldly possessions.”

“That is not the case with the Vanguard. You see, officially, the Vanguard are a part of the US government. The government does not officially recognize us as a religion. We are paid by the government and receive benefits from them as well. The Sangha recognized the need to allow us to retain personal possessions so as not to discourage any initiates from pursuing higher levels of study. As one progresses in their studies they naturally feel the compulsion to shed themselves of personal possessions because they become irrelevant at those higher levels. As you can see, I have not achieved those levels yet but I have trimmed a great deal of items already. Everything that you see here, the shuttle, all of the items in these containers, and the clothes on my back are all that I own. Aside from my clothes, the shuttle will be the last of my personal items to go. It is the most practical thing I still own. Without it I would have really been stranded on your world, needing to contact the Vanguard so that they could extract me. I hope that answers your question.”

“Sounds good to me,” replied Emma.

“That should be everything. Now to seal the shuttle and lock the hangar on the way out.”

As Tobok was sealing the shuttle, Emma got Shnooby into the back of the truck and stacked the remaining containers so as to conceal him. “Now you be good and keep blending. With you doing that and these containers around you no one should be able to see you at all. Tobok told me it will take a few hours to get to the global shuttle area and about another half hour or so until we can attract a ride, whatever that means. You be good, I will be right up front so don’t worry, OK?” Emma received a sense of complete trust from Shnooby as he faded from view once more. Emma turned around just as Tobok approached.

“OK, the shuttle is sealed. Let us get going,” said Tobok.

Emma went to the right of the floating vehicle and climbed into the open cockpit. It was not nearly as clean as Tobok's’ shuttle and it smelled of something organic.

“Wow, I guess allot of things are universal including old vehicles and the bad smells in them,” said Emma with a look of disgust on her face.

“Yes, well it was the only one I could find at this time of day. We will only need it for a little while. Once we get moving, the breeze will clear most of the smell out,” replied Tobok who also did not look very happy when he climbed in.

The truck shuddered once as Tobok started its main engine and it slowly started to glide to the massive doors. Tobok got out and opened the massive doors. Emma had not had a very good look at what was beyond the doors earlier but now she saw a fairly busy street with all manner of floating vehicles making their way in both directions. Tobok got back in and floated the truck out onto a short driveway. He got out again and closed the doors behind them. When he got back in he smiled and said, “Only one more stop before we reach Mar Saba. The global shuttle is on the other side of the central elevator so we will see allot of traffic up until we reach it. It should clear up once we have passed it. It might be difficult to attract a ride this late, most of them will already be asleep.”

“I have been meaning to ask you about that. What do you mean about attracting a ride?” asked Emma.

“You will see,” replied Tobok with a grin on his face.

Tobok glanced at the street and when a small opening presented itself they lurched into the stream of vehicles. They pulled out into a four lane road, two going away from and two going to the large central building. The street was lined with the same large doors leading to the other landing areas and the walls were made of what looked like dark colored brick. The roadway had a curved transparent ceiling that allowed daylight to filter in but protected it from the elements. It had what looked like streetlights at every set of doors.

It all looked very Earth like except for two things, the vehicles darting to and fro and the beings driving those vehicles. It amazed Emma to see all of the different kinds of vehicles and the even more variety of the beings driving them. She saw quite a few truck like vehicles like their own but what really caught her eye were the small sleek pods that darted into and out of lanes so fast she had trouble keeping them in sight. None had wheels, they just floated only a foot or two off of the roadway. As she looked more closely at these vehicles she caught glimpses of the beings operating them. The most abundant beings were the Sabreth. She also saw some beings like Onus who, per Tobok, are called the Zek’Drath and, to her surprise, she saw insect like creatures as well. That they could fit into the vehicles much less operate them was astonishing.

As they drew nearer the central elevator complex the roadway expanded to four lanes going in either direction. She also noticed that some of the landing bays had been converted into what looked like stores and restaurants. Tobok explained that some enterprising beings had figured out that others who had to wait for the elevators would want to purchase something to eat or do some shopping to kill some time until the traffic flow diminished. They had initially made quite a sum of credits but, over time, the city leadership had wanted a piece of the profits so they passed certain rules that increased berthing fees for bays not beings used for what they were intended for.

Traffic slowed as they arrived at a huge traffic circle that ran around the central elevator complex. The circle had ten lanes running around the building in a counter clockwise direction. Here there was real potential for accidents as she saw vehicles merging into the flow at the periphery of the circle and the subsequent sudden merges into the other lanes until they had made it to the very center and entered the building at various points along its base. There were also vehicles that were exiting the building as well and they were slowly moving to the outer most lanes. Tobok said that once the vehicles entered the circle control of them was transferred to a central computer that would guide the vehicles per the destination entered into their own computers. Tobok had entered the global shuttle as their destination so the computer would shunt them around the circle and deposit them onto the roadway that would take them to the shuttle platform.

This central area was covered with a huge transparent dome as well that ended at the very top of the central complex. The building itself was circular but instead of brick it was carved from the mountain itself. Tobok said that it housed fifty large elevators that would take vehicles on and descend to every one of the fifty levels of the city below them on the way down and back up. Each round trip would take about 2 hours.

It took them about thirty minutes to make it to the other side of the circle. They were finally shunted off the circle onto a wide, eight lane roadway. Traffic here was very light going in the direction of the global shuttle. “We are going to make up some time here,” said Tobok who was just as relieved as Emma to be off of the circle.

Even with out traffic it still took them an additional hour to make it to the edge of the bridge that led to the global shuttle. As they neared the bridge Emma saw four Rangers standing by a gate that blocked access to the bridge. “It is alright, they are here to make sure that no one without permission is allowed to pass to the shuttles,” said Tobok anticipating Emma’s question.

The truck glided to a halt just short of the gate as the Rangers formed a wide circle around the vehicle. Emma could not make out what they looked like because the only parts of their bodies that were exposed were their eyes. The rest were covered in those same sparkling green suits that the others were wearing on the ship. The one directly in front of the truck moved over to Tobok’s side.

“Greetings, I am Third Adept Tobok escorting the human girl Emma to see the Sangha,” said Tobok in a cheerful voice.

“Where is the other Genek!” barked the Ranger staring directly at Emma.

“Oh, I see that word spreads quickly. We have the Venok in the back of the vehicle. I am sure that you are aware that I have taken full responsibility for them both,” replied Tobok hesitantly.

“You were hiding it!” said the leader, anger blossoming in his eyes.

“No, well yes, but not from you. We were hiding him from the Hunzack. You know how they are. I thought it would be prudent not to attract any additional attention to ourselves,” Tobok replied hastily.

The lead Ranger did not say anything at first. It seemed to Emma that he was communicating with the others non-verbally. After a while he relaxed somewhat. “Is there anything else that I need to know before we proceed?” he asked Tobok.

“Just that, as I have said, I have taken full responsibility for both the human and the Venok. The Sangha gave me direct orders to bring them both as quickly as possible,” replied a visibly relieved Tobok.

“I have been briefed and you have only been ordered to bring the human. I do not even think that The Sangha know of the Venok. Our briefings are usually quite thorough. I must inform you that regardless of responsibility taken, due to the nature of your charges I cannot permit you to proceed without an escort. These two,” he pointed to the Rangers that stood on either side of the truck, “will accompany you to Mar Saba. Make sure that your charges do not do anything that is in the least bit threatening. We have been authorized to use force if necessary,” said the lead Ranger.

Emma could sense that Shnooby was awake, awake and aware of what was transpiring and he did not like it. She could sense his agitation and she tried to calm him through that sense that she had of him.

“I will forward my report to Mar Saba and advise them of your impending arrival,” said the lead Ranger. He gestured to the two escorts and they effortlessly jumped onto the sides of the truck. Oh no, Emma felt Shnooby’s agitation and the back of the truck erupted into molten fury. She saw containers flying through the air and the escort that was on the truck was now crouched about twenty feet away. In spite of everything that was going on, Emma registered the fact that the ranger escort was now covered with spines that extended from all over his body. Emma quickly jumped out of her side and leapt up to the top of the truck. There was Shnooby standing on the top of the cockpit, claws extended and fangs exposed. Any person in their right mind would have turned around and run for their lives but Emma knew he would not hurt her. She jumped up to the top of the cockpit as well and knelt beside him. “Shhhhh, it’s OK, I won’t let them hurt you. You know me – you can trust me,” she whispered to Shnooby.

“IT IS LOOSE! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU HAD IT RESTRAINED IN THE BACK!” screamed the lead Ranger.

Tobok, who had also exited the truck and was standing between the leader and Shnooby. He had his hands up in the air and was talking very evenly and calmly, “Everyone relax, you startled him when the escort jumped up onto the truck. He will not hurt you if you just relax and do not do anything threatening.”

“HOW CAN YOU TRANSPORT A CREATURE LIKE THAT WITHOUT SECURING IT? DO YOU REALIZE THE DANGER NOT ONLY TO YOURSELF BUT TO OTHERS?” yelled the leader. “WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU NOT TOLD ME?”

As Emma sensed Shnooby calming down she also felt Tobok’s anger swell. “Listen here! I am doing you the courtesy of trying to cooperate with you. As a Third Adept I am not required to cooperate with you or to answer to you! I have told you everything that you needed to know. If you would have been better trained you would have found out the state of the creature before sending them in! Now, I believe I have been patient enough with you. If you need to attach an escort do so. You have wasted enough of my time here. Tell them to relax and help me reload the truck!”

The leader was taken aback. It seemed he was not used to anyone talking back to him. It looked like he would launch into another tirade but then he relaxed. “What about the creature, sir?” he asked with the emphasis on the “sir” almost sounding like an insult.

Tobok turned around and asked Emma, “How is Shnooby?”

“He’s fine now.” Sure enough, his claws had retracted and he was now sitting next to her. “Can you keep him calm for the remainder of the trip?” asked Tobok.

“He’ll be fine. It didn’t help that he was in the back all alone when they jumped on. I can guarantee that he will not be any more trouble,” replied Emma.

“You are going to take the word of a Genek?” asked the leader. Tobok turned back to him and said, “I would appreciate that you not use that term when referring to either of them and yes I trust this human child implicitly. Now, help me reload the vehicle so that we can get on our way,” said Tobok in a tone which said that the conversation was over.

Emma looked over to the other rangers and noticed that they too had spines covering their entire bodies. Once the leader communicated to them to stand down she saw the spines pull back into their bodies. They then started to pick up the containers and load them back onto the truck. Emma jumped down and motioned for Shnooby to join her. Since there was no need to hide him anymore, Emma and Shnooby both climbed into the cockpit as the last of the containers were loaded and the escort climbed into the back of the truck. Tobok said something to the leader and climbed back into the truck.

“What did you tell him?” asked a curious Emma.

“Oh, just that I will also be writing a report and that it will not reflect favorably on him,” replied Tobok with a smile on his face. “Before I left, I was always so intimidated by them. The Rangers always carried themselves with a certain amount of arrogance that I would forget that I have a higher rank than they do. It felt real good to finally tell them off. I guess my stay on Earth did me some good.”

He restarted the truck and, after the gate had been opened, he sped away onto the bridge. They drove much faster than before and, although Tobok said it was to make up some time, Emma suspected that it was to make the ride as uncomfortable as possible for the two rangers in the back.

The view was spectacular! If it wasn’t for the width of the bridge she would have sworn that she was flying. Tobok seemed to sense her elation as he changed lanes so that he was now driving close to the edge. The mountain city dropped away into the deep, barren valley below. Even though nothing grew there it had its own beauty. The colors were vivid going from a rusty red to a sandy brown and, in the distance, where the valley merged with the next mountain range a deep purple.

The journey across was relatively quick. They approached the other flattened mountain peak and Emma was yet again surprised by what she saw. There appeared to be several large domes that were carved from the mountain. They almost looked like caves. They dotted about three quarters of the mountain top. She saw movement in them as they passed. It seemed to her that whatever was moving in these domes was quite large. Tobok did not slow down until they reached the far side where the domes gave way to an area filled with large metallic pods with what looked like huge bird perches rising from their roofs. Tobok turned onto a side road that took them to a cluster of buildings at the very edge of the butte.

“What are those things out there,” asked Emma.

“Those are gondolas,” replied Tobok, “They will be our transportation to Mar Saba.”

Emma was confused, “Why didn’t we just fly straight to Mar Saba then?”

“No artificially powered craft can be operated any where on Vihara except here. The Vanguard feel that such craft would damage the delicate ecosystem that we have reestablished here. Wait here, I am going to find out which one of the gondolas we can take.” Tobok deftly jumped out of the truck and walked over to the cluster of building. Emma saw all kinds of spare parts and tools in and around the buildings. These must be maintenance building for the gondolas that Tobok spoke about.

A few minutes later, Tobok returned and got back in. “They have already prepped a gondola and it is waiting for us on pad thirteen.” He restarted the truck and they turned around and sped back the way they came. As they got to the main road that they came in on, he took a right and they drove until the road ended at a large open space. It was empty except for a large craft that was sitting off to the right. It was shaped very much like Tobok’s shuttle except that it was missing the two large pylons that housed its engines. This one was sitting on four struts and a ramp leading to the interior was already opened. She did not pretend to know their technology but even so, she was at a loss at determining where its engines were. Tobok pulled up to it, turned away and backed the truck up until it was only a few feet from the gondola.

“OK, end of the line, everybody out!” said Tobok enthusiastically. “You look after Shnooby, I will get the rangers to help me load the gondola. Once it is loaded then comes the hard part.”

“What’s the hard part?” asked Emma.

“Getting our engines,” replied Tobok cryptically. “Just wait, you’ll see.”

Emma got out of the truck with Shnooby. The ranger on her side had already gotten down and gave them both a wide berth. He did not look any worse from riding on the outside of the truck. They seemed like a tough bunch these rangers.

The air was dry but the wind was refreshing as it caressed her face. Night was falling and the stars just started to populate the sky. It amazed her how this world was very much like her Earth. A beautiful deep blue sky was giving way to the deep purple herald of night. The night sky, on the other hand, was very different from Earth. Vihara was close to a nebula which translated into a night sky that was not black and white but an explosion of a variety of colors. Now she understood how something so beautiful could take one’s breath away. All of this wonder was almost enough to chase away her feeling of loss, first her parents, then her own home world. She was wondering what else would be ripped from her. She felt a cold nose nudge her hand and she looked down to see Shnooby looking up with a worried expression on his face.

“Don’t worry, Big Guy, I won’t let anyone separate us!” she said with a conviction that surprised her. Shnooby rubbed his head against her thigh then looked up into the sky. He bared his teeth and started to growl. Emma looked up to see large shapes flying toward her. Startled, Emma turned to call to Tobok when one of those shapes landed between her and the gondola. The latest in a long string of wonders was staring down at her as it folded its massive wings to its sides. She knew that she should have been terrified but her amazement at what she was looking at coupled with a sense that this creature would do her no harm riveted her to where she stood. It was huge, about the size of a dinosaur that she had seen in one of her science books. It had what looked like a body of a large cat like a tiger or a lion but its head was that of a hawk or an eagle. She knew that she had seen something like this before in another book that she had read. What was the name of it? Wait, she knew, this thing standing in front of her is a gryphon! The gryphon looked down and rotated its head from side to side. This only served to irritate Shnooby more. Emma put her hand on his head and said in a calm, soothing voice, “It’s OK, Big Fella, I don’t think it wants to hurt us. In fact I think it is saying hello.”

While she was admiring her new friend Emma sensed more of them land all around her. Emma slowly walked over to the first one and gently put her hand on its massive paw. Its fur was very soft to the touch. She felt warmth flow through her hand and she willed herself to give some back. Emma was brought out of her reverie of these amazing creatures by Tobok’s voice coming from some distant point.

“Emma, come here. I want to show you something. I will be calling a gryf to carry us to Mar Saba. They are wondrous creatures and, ho there is a whole bunch of them right now. I have never seen so many of them in one spot. You must come see…..By the Essence! I do not believe it!” Some of the gryphons parted to let him into the circle that had formed around Emma. “Emma!? What are you doing here? Did you have something to do with this?” asked a stunned Tobok.

“What are you talking about?” asked a confused Emma.

“It looks like you have the whole flock of gryfs on this side of the planet here! How did you do it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I was just standing here admiring the night sky, feeling kind of lonely when this one here landed right in front of me. He seems very nice. I think I’ll call him Zeeno…… What? Why are you looking at me like that?” asked Emma.

Tobok was just standing there looking at Emma with his mouth open. “It is just that I have never seen these creatures react this way to anyone, not even The Trinity!” replied Tobok.

“Who or what is The Trinity?” asked Emma still oblivious to the magnitude of what she had done.

“Never mind, I will tell you later. I do not suppose you have asked any of them if they will carry the gondola, did you?” asked Tobok.

“I think Zeeno here will be able to take us, won’t you Zeeno?” asked Emma.

The large creature looked down at her then lowered its massive head. Emma put her hand on Zenno’s head and he purred. Zeeno then raised his head and walked over to the gondola. The rest of the gryphons jumped back into the air and flew back to the domes that they passed on their way in.

Emma and Shnooby turned to walk back to the gondola when they noticed that Tobok had not moved.

“Are you alright?” asked Emma.

“Do you know what it normally takes to call a gryf and get them to carry a gondola?” whispered Tobok.

“I guess that I don’t,” replied Emma.

“Well, one needs to completely relax themselves and that is followed by intensive meditation where the object of that meditation is the thought of one of them carrying the gondola. It usually takes about half an hour to call one. What you did here is nothing short of miraculous!” said Tobok, shock still evident on his face.

“Maybe I was just lucky,” said Emma carefully.

“Yes, maybe,” said Tobok shaking his head, “and maybe there is a depth to your abilities that even I have missed.” He then turned to face her, “Either way the Vanguard will help you find out how deep your new talents go. Come, now that we have a ride we should proceed with all due haste. I have much to report to The Sangha and you need some rest.”

They walked back to the gondola and saw that Zeeno was already standing next to it. It looked like the two rangers also witnessed the flock of gryfs because, as Emma drew closer, they gave her a wide berth. Their expressions were a mixture of shock and disgust. She just knew that the word “Genek” was floating on the tips of their tongues.

She turned back to the gondola and Zeeno standing there and it occurred to her that the gondola was larger than Zeeno. It did not seem like Zeeno would even be able to pick up the thing much less carry it a long distance.

“Will he be able to fly that thing? It looks awfully heavy.”

“The gryfs are amazing creatures. They can carry very heavy loads and fly at speeds approaching that of most of the shuttles on this planet,” replied Tobok.

“You know what they are called on Earth?” asked Emma.

“On Earth? I did not see evidence of these creatures on Earth,” replied a surprised Tobok.

“Oh they are mentioned but only in mythology. They are called gryphons and their descriptions closely match what these creatures look like. What I don’t understand is how that can be?”

“It goes along the lines of what I told you earlier about all life being connected. Sometimes that connection intensifies and images from one being can be picked up by another, even over great distances and usually while that being is in a state of relaxation or in a deep sleep. It looks like, long ago, someone on Earth made this connection with beings that had dealings with the gryfs. It is not that surprising but it is rare.”

Tobok made one more pass over the truck and, satisfied that they had left nothing behind, went back to Emma.

“OK, we are all loaded and ready to go. Emma, since you have such a wonderful relationship with Zeeno, please tell him that we are ready, he will know what to do.”

As Emma walked over to Zeeno she saw the rangers and Tobok get into the gondola. She came over to Zeeno and touched his foot. Remembering what Tobok said, she thought “we are ready” as hard as she could. Zeeno looked down, purred and launched himself into the air. He flew over to the top of the gondola and hovered there. Emma realized that he was waiting for her to get in so she rushed over to the gondola door and jumped in along with Shnooby. Tobok helped her to a seat, sealed the door and sat down himself. The gondola lurched once to the side and then she felt it rise rapidly.

The inside of the gondola was spacious. The large windows helped enhance this effect and she was glad that Tobok had seated her next to one of them. She had a brief view of the spaceport before the gondola turned and raced for the dark horizon. It did not take long for the emptiness of the wasteland that surrounds the spaceport to give way to a lush, green carpet of vegetation. The farther they got from the spaceport the better she felt.

“Have you felt it yet?” asked Tobok.

“Felt what?” replied Emma.

“The feeling of your well being increase as we left the spaceport behind,” said Tobok.

“I definitely do feel better. It’s almost like cool waves of water washing over me, refreshing me.”

“Even though the whole planet improves one’s mood, that feeling is intensified when one leaves the desolation of the spaceport. It will continue to improve the farther away we get,” said Tobok as he stretched wearily in his seat.

“Did you want anything to eat or drink? They will not be as good as what Onus prepared but at least they will be good for you.”

“No thanks, I’m not really hungry. Was this gondola a shuttle like yours once?” asked Emma.

“Very observant! Yes, this is an older model of shuttle than my own before it was refurbished to serve its new role as a Viharan planetary transport. The engines and all of the associated equipment were removed to make room for more passengers and additional cargo space. It still gets pressurized and it does have communications equipment but that is about it.”

The gondola shuddered and Emma let out a gasp.

“Do not worry, that is normal. It means that we are entering the fringes of the equatorial storm. Once we enter the main flow we should be at Mar Saba within six Earth hours.”

Emma looked out the forward view screen and saw the darkness creeping ever closer. She could now make out lightning every once in a while as it strained to break out of the heavy oppressive clouds.

“Will Zeeno be OK?” asked Emma.

“Do not worry. The gryfs have done this many times. Zeeno will not be going high enough so that he will get struck by the lightning. As long as he stays below a certain level he will be fine. Now, you will feel a sudden jerk when we enter the flow. That is because the transition point is quite sudden but it will smooth out and you will not feel any more turbulence until it is time for us to leave the flow,” Tobok said reassuringly.

She looked over to see how Shnooby was doing and found him curled up in the chair beside her own. She felt a sense of agitation from him but she did not need that sense to know that he did not like to travel in this manner. His ears were up and he was looking every which way, sensitive to even the tiniest sound.

“Don’t worry, Big Fella, it’ll be alright. This will all be over soon and you will be back on solid ground,” Emma soothed.

Just then, as if to prove her wrong, the gondola jerked violently. It only lasted a moment but it was enough to make Emma wonder if they will reach their destination at all. As if mirroring her own feelings, Shnooby was looking up at her accusingly.

“Hey, I never said that the ride will be smooth,” Emma told him.

She did notice that the ride had smoothed out a great deal just as Tobok said it would. It also felt as though they were moving much faster.

“There now, smooth sailing from here on. I would suggest getting some sleep. Things will be moving quite quickly when we get there so you need to get some rest,” said Tobok as he stretched in his seat.

“What will happen when we get there?” asked Emma.

“Well, the Sangha will want to see us right after we arrive. I need to make my report to them and I believe that they will have some questions for you. I have also been told that The Trinity is anxious to meet you,” replied a sleepy Tobok.

“Who is this “Trinity” that you keep talking about?” asked Emma.

“Oh, right, The Trinity. Well, how do I explain The Trinity? They are the unofficial leaders of the Vanguard. They come from a species that look very much like the dragons in Earth’s mythology. They were triplets and had such an attunement to one another’s thoughts that it seems like they shared one brain. It is because of this, the fact that their species is very long lived, and that they have been studying The Way since they were very young that makes them the most accomplished Vanguard ever to have lived,” replied Tobok. As Tobok explained about The Trinity, Emma could see the deep devotion and reverence that he had for them.

“You referred to them in the past tense, what happened to them?” asked Emma.

“You caught that, very good! Yes, I did refer to them in the past tense because the triplets are now the twins. One of them, his name was Kol’Roth, disappeared about fifty Earth years ago. He was dispatched on a mission for the United Systems near the border we share with the Verossi. The remaining two say that after his disappearance they felt great anger and frustration from him. Eventually those feelings changed to confusion and then his death. It deeply affected them. They actually withdrew for a time, meditating in isolation, trying to come to terms with their grief. I have been told that when a twin dies, the other feels as though part of them has died as well.”

“Why do they want to meet me?” asked Emma nervously.

“As you might have guessed, during my time with you I have not just been observing you but I have also been sending reports to the Vanguard. Those reports included medical data on you as well as my own notes about what I have seen so far. It seems that the information I sent has intrigued them. Do not worry, they are very wise and very friendly. In fact, some would say they border on the mischievous. I think you will like them,” replied Tobok.