Queen Orsha stood with the younger Queen Arilyn as Kjoje carried his unconscious brother into the underground shelter. The remaining survivors from the last generation gathered around Delmos as Kjoje laid him at their feet. The Queen stood over him and started humming a single low tone - the Rite of Healing. One by one, in order of rank, the other four joined her until Delmos’ large, teardrop-shaped green eyes opened.
"You have fought well," Orsha’s gentle, low voice sounded in his mind, mixed with the others. "Rest now.:
Delmos’ eyes started to close in surrender to the sweet pull of communal mind, but a flash in the slowly dissolving sky caught his attention. He didn’t need to speak for the others to also notice it. A strange vehicle appeared, unlike any they had ever seen...
When they had gathered in the observation room, Shayda assumed his business demeanor and addressed them all.
"We rescued you just in time. Your sun has expanded into the advanced stage and you could not have survived. I am Xadar Shayda, a representative of the Agopolis. It is not our wish or responsibility to interfere with cultures not joined with our community, but we found you when our exploratory probes orbited your system. You are now our responsibility. You will come with us to Sississawo and stay with us there until we can terraform a planet in our companion system. This is possible due to your small number. I know you are all tired and need medical attention. We will do everything we can to make you comfortable."
"We are grateful for your help," Queen Orsha said, nodding. "We, also, will return our hospitality, however it is needed."
"I am honored." Shayda smiled. "Now, please follow me."
As they walked by the door to the room, they noticed a statuesque reptilian guard standing there. A current of fear swept through them, but they said nothing. He looked shocked for an instant, but as they passed out of sight, he smiled smugly.
"We have a new thorn in our side," he opened solemnly. "A group of survivors has joined the Agopolis. They have telepathic abilities. Our own Rekaan just informed me of this new and disturbing development. We are still going to proceed with our meeting tomorrow with the Earth agents as planned. I have called you here to prepare for this meeting, and to find out everything you can about these...Wnukots." He said the last word in a snarl.
Rekaan interrupted, all six feet of him, as he started up from the table. "I am being signalled, Xadar," he announced in a deep voice with a slight trill. "I must not be discovered here."
Kleeba nodded. "We will give your further instructions when we reach Earth," he said.
"I eagerly await them."
The door parted, and Kleeba returned to his dark knights of the Round Table.
"What is it, brother?" they all chimed in equal concern.
"Didn’t you see him?" Alieal stopped pacing and whirled on the group. "That Draconian! They have those slave masters in their service! Don’t you remember what they did to our people?"
The Queen put a gentle hand on his quivering shoulder. "The Zetas have been generous to us. We have no choice but to trust them."
"You have all gone soft through generations of peace!" Alieal argued. "As long as those monsters exist, we must all be ready for war!"
"If you jeopordize yourself, your jeopordize all of us," Orsha warned, reading his unspoken intentions. "We have not come this far to be destroyed by an act of assumption. This particular Draconian did not enslave our people. I forbid you to carry out what is in your mind."
The others looked at him, joining in the Queen’s urgency.
"You were always the intense one, Alieal," Delmos said. "We would like to see you use that for us and not against us."
Alieal’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and he turned away from the door. "Very well," he said. Then blocking the others, he thought, but if he makes one wrong move, he’s mine.
Inside it, the Wnukots gathered around a huge black glass table. They were joined by all the Agopolis leaders representing the galaxy. This included the traitorous Kleeba and his two aids, Onan and Zoor.
"Greetings, friends, greetings, newcomers," Xadar Shayda addressed them, towering above the table in a sweeping gold sleeveless robe. "From this day, we have much work to do. The Agopolis has agreed through mutual consent to terraform the fourth planet in our twin star system to meet the needs of the Wnukots, and this will serve our needs as well. They sit before you today." He gestured toward them, and they all felt a little embarrassed. Alieal looked at the long, skinny fingers in his lap. A slight smile twitched from the corners of Shayda’s mouth before he continued.
"In the months before this project is completed, these survivors will stay in special quarters here with us. We have made arrangements to accommodate all their needs, as their biological composition is not much different from ours. And now," he continued, turning toward a wall, "I will present these plans to you."
The lights dimmed, and the table transformed into a realistic topographic map of the Wnukots’ future home planet.
"This is how the planet appears now," Shayda narrated. Alieal put his hand into the image and received a mild electric shock as he drew back with a yelp.
"And that is what happens when one touches things he dosen’t know how to use," Shayda reprimanded him, resisting the urge to laugh. Alieal glared at him, then returned his sore hand to his thin lap.
A Mars-like landscape met their eyes, a three-dimensional environment that swirled above the table. "Much of our world is composed of the same features outside our city boundaries," Shayda continued. "We have programmed our computers to show you each stage of the reconstruction." He then touched another place on the table. "This is the addition of your water supplies and former environment, before your sun expanded."
The Queen drew a breath of recognition as this new scene appeared. She was old enough to remember what it had been like before the Great Heat had melted their planet from crust to core. The younger ones also stared in awe and excitement.
"How are such things possible?" Orsha turned her eyes toward Shayda. "How can something be made out of nothing?"
Shayda smiled into holographic light. "You will find out for yourselves when you work with us on it," he said to their amazement. "We of the Agopolis promote knowledge and unity of all sentient races."
Then why do you employ those barbarous Dracos? Alieal crossed his arms in silent fury. Silent, of course, to all but his fellow Wnukots, who shot him discrete, but warning stares.
"And finally," Shayda continued, "we will help you reconstruct your dwellings."
A replica of their underground communities appeared, dusty geometrical shapes barely traceable above the desert ground. They were connected by an invisible network of smooth tunnels.
"My ancestors predicted such a future for our world," Orsha announced reverently. "Their dreams led us to this reality."
Shayda smiled again, this time to the Wnukots’ mutual dissatisfaction.
"Our people place our faith in historical evidence and scientific proof. But we understand your need to believe in a higher source. I, however, personally see no need for it." Shayda caught a flash of cold light in the Wnukots’ eyes and returned it with a brief stare of confusion. He felt that strange pull of energy that he had felt upon their arrival, and wondered just which one of them was responsible. Or was it all of them? He decided it would be best not to provoke these people.
He broke away from the moment and turned to bring up the lights. "As you all can see, we have much work to do. Before we start, we have another issue to discuss with you." Shayda stood at the head of the table.
"I wish now to address the survivors directly," he said as he focused on them. "We have told you who we are but you also need to know our mission. We are conducting more than just surveying excursions to other planets to gain knowledge. We are also involved with those planets genetically in the hopes that these offspring will bridge the gap between our worlds. We do this with many planets, as you can see." He paused to gesture at the diversity of people around the table. "Even Earth has joined us in these efforts to expand the conscious universe. The humans you see here are the half-breeds we have created through DNA crossing by various means. This population has expanded to the degree that we have been forced to move some of them to another planet Earth people have named 51 Pegasi.' The humans technical knowledge is increasing, however, and we are concerned that this colony, along with our own planets, will be discovered before we are ready to make open contact. In that event, we must be prepared to advance our plans."
"Are these humans hostile?" Queen Orsha asked with an unreadable expression.
"Hostile would be too simple a word," Shayda said cryptically, his head tilted slightly as he answered her. "Interesting would be more appropriate."
"So would obnoxious, barbaric, and stupid," interrupted Xadar Kleeba, smiling mockingly from his position near the head of the table. Before Shayda could order him to sit down, he added, "Of course, there are a few exceptions." His eyes narrowed, indicating no one knew what.
"Yes, I would tend to agree with Kleba’s words." Shayda sighed, smiling at his colleague. "However, as I have observed them longer than he, I would say there are more of these exceptions than he is aware of. The ones we have bonded with have proved to quite beneficial."
The Wnukots were now intrigued."Will we be allowed to be involved in this mission?" Orsha asked, speaking for all her people.
"That was going to be our next suggestion," Shayda said to their delight. "If," he added, holding up a long, tapered finger, "you are genetically compatible with them. You will have go through several tests to prove this."
Orsha conferred with her offspring silently while the Agopolis stared in confusion. "Yes," she answered. "We will submit."
"Very well," Shayda agreed. "For now, we have prepared quarters for you to rest. This meeting is dismissed."
They all filed out onto the huge white marble staired platform into the blinding twin suns. Shayda dismissed Rekaan, who stood guard at the door as the Wnukots were the last to file out. Alieal glared at him as he turned to walk away. As Queen Orsha swept by Shayda, her silver robe reflected the sun like a jewel that glinted off her green eyes. They stared at each other awkwardly and she looked away. She was too old for such things, she decided. Her troop looked up at her with impish grins on their little heart-shaped faces, and she shot them an authoritive warning look.
"They’re very devoted to you," Shayda noted as he walked with them.
"We share the same mind," Orsha said simply. "It is an ability and a bond our peole were born with. It comes in quite useful sometimes."
They walked through the city in awed silence as Shayda smiled at their reactions. They walked along a path so wide it could have been a road. Several of these crisscrossed around structures that looked more like sculptures than buildings. They were surrounded by squares of almost flat white grass that scented the air with exotic sweetness. They passed one spherical white building crisscrossed with triangular frames. Shayda told them it was the place of learning. They also passed a coliseum-sized courtyard that had a fountain which shot up two stories in the air. Atop the column of water floated a silver sphere, which they marveled at.
At last they stopped in front of their temporary dwelling, a half-dome shaped building that had windows all around.
"I trust you will find these accommodations reasonable," Shayda noted as they stood at the door. "I will let you rest now. Thank you for your willingness to join our galactic community. My Queen..." he added, turning to her to bow. "We will be meeting again." The Queen raised the equivalent of an eyebrow at him before turning to enter the house.
Kleeba, Zoor, Onana and stocky human brunette named David cloaked themselves in a field that made them invisible and stole through the security gate. They entered the office of Chief William Olsen, who sat at his desk behind a tower of paperwork. The group materialized upon entering through the door.
When the Chief saw them, his hands flew spontaneously across the desk, scattering the appers across the room. Trying to hide his amusement, Kleeba held up a wand and William froze, his documents on the latest Russian spy case falling to the floor like the leaves from New England trees.
Ducking passing and posted guards, he reached the supply room and hastily grabbed the first weapon he saw. When he twirled around to exit the room, two Dracos, one of them Rekaan, entered.
"Where are you going, little slave?" Rekaan demanded in a mocking tone, drawing out a gun.
"This is for my people!" Alieal yelled in his own language, shooting both of them. But they remained standing, smiling menacingly down at him.
"Out of power?" Rekaan’s partner chuckled, grabbing the little Wnukot and lifting him off his feet. "Before you go playing hero, you should check your weapon to see that it’s charged first!"
"Let the Wnukot go," growled Rekaan in a bored tone. "Let’s take him to the authorities instead. I’ll get more satisfaction out of seeing what they do to him."
They dragged the embarrassed and angry Alieal outside, where they threw him into a ground transport.
"Come with me," she ordered.
Alieal lay in the backseat of the wedge-shaped vehicle, temporarily stunned by the nerve gun. Shayda had just begun his rendezvous with Molisia when the guard called.
"What catastrophe has befallen us now?" the Xadar answered with undisguised irritation. "Take him back to his quarters and guard the door. I will personally take care of this tomorrow. Shayda out."
Rekaan looked back at Alieal. "You are lucky, little friend. If it had been my decision, I wouldn’t have been so generous."
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