FROM CHAPTER 20 ... Teen-aged Blake Dobbs, son of Manley and Dorothy Dobbs, is on board the New Jerusalem stationed near Earth. He and his sister were rescued by the Light Being when chaos broke out on the planet’s surface during the arrival of the Photon Belt.

          Blake was taken to a medical facility, where a technician drew a small amount of his blood. He knew this had been requested for his light being friend, who was procuring a body. The lovely Greta then took him to the section of the ship where Kelly was being cared for. They entered a large room that reminded Blake of a school. Smaller cubicles appeared to be classrooms for the very young.
          Kelly was playing with colored blocks that emitted light. She was dressed in a one-piece play suit, neon pink in color, and two alien beings stood near her, both of whom were less than five feet tall and had large heads with no hair.
          The little girl glanced up and recognized her brother, then broke into a grin and wrapped her fat arms around his waist.
          “Hi, Kelly Belly,” he greeted her with the familiar nickname.
          She laughed and said, “Wanna play with me?”
          “Wow, Kel.” Blake looked around at all the toys. “You’ve got quite a playground here.” The two aliens nodded and blinked their slanted dark eyes at him. They were apparently caregivers of some sort. “I’ll come back and play sometime soon. I’m on a ship’s tour right now.”
          “This is where you’ll find your sister if you wish to visit her,” explained Greta. “She sleeps and eats in the nursery down the corridor.”
          “This is a lot like a day care center,” commented Blake.
          “Actually, children begin their education here on the mother ship,” Greta said.
          “Are you okay, Kel?” Blake asked his sister.
          Kelly nodded, then returned to her block building.
          Blake spent a couple more minutes watching Kelly build a structure. The lights given off by the colored blocks fascinated him. His little sister seemed pleased to have him nearby, but he was surprised she didn’t seem to be missing their parents.
          “They’ve blocked her trauma temporarily,” explained Greta when Blake asked about it. “She can’t remember what happened before she was brought here. She remembers you, of course, and she’ll remember the rest once she sees her mother again.”
          “When do you think that will be?” Blake asked, wondering with concern what had happened to his parents.
          “I don’t know.” Greta put a hand on Blake’s shoulder. “Let’s move on. There are some interesting things on the ship I’d like you to see.”
          Before leaving, Blake gave Kelly another hug. It was a relief to see his sister so adjusted to the new situation. He had been doing pretty well himself up till now. The reminder that his mom and dad were still on Earth, having to deal with the chaos of the Photon Belt, now weighed heavily on his mind. L.B. had promised to help find them, but there was little he could do without being in physical form, he had said. Blake knew he would have to be patient and keep faith.
          Greta showed Blake the recreation facilities. Several levels of the ship were devoted to recreational pursuits, from swimming to racquetball, to bowling to skating, with an indoor track, weight rooms and even park-like areas where people could stroll and experience trees, birds and gardens. He was quite impressed with this exciting vacation land in space. One would never get bored here with so many opportunities to indulge in.
          “Blue Jay wanted you to meet him at his music studio.” Greta led Blake to another level of the ship, where there were music halls and study areas. He was blown away by everything he saw. Greta showed him where their friend was practicing his harmonica in a soundproof room. When Blue Jay saw them through the window in the door, he flashed a big grin.
          “I will leave you,” Greta told Blake.
          “Thanks for the tour,” said Blake.
          “There’s plenty more to see, believe it or not,” exclaimed Blue Jay as he stepped out to join them. “But how’s about a jam session first?”
          “Sure.” Blake let his musician friend lead him down a hallway to a room where various instruments were stored. Blake picked out a twelve-string guitar, not unlike his own back on Earth. He spent a couple of minutes tuning it up to Blue Jay’s harmonica, and then they returned to the soundproof studio that was filled with all kinds of recording equipment and lights.
          “Want to hear what I worked on so far?” Blue Jay turned to his computer console.
“Sure,” said Blake.
          A moment later they were surrounded by blues sounds and Blue Jay’s harmonica. Before ten bars had gone by, Blake fell in with his guitar and picked up the accompaniment. He could see out the corner of his eye that Blue Jay was pleased. They ended up playing music together for at least an hour. Blake felt refreshed and recharged after the session. It had eased his depression and invigorated him.
          “I knew you could kick ass,” Blue Jay said as they returned the guitar to its compartment. “We’ll have a go at it again soon. Hey, man, let me take you to some parts of the ship Greta didn’t show you.”
          “Okay,” said Blake.
          “Then it’ll be time for me to take my shift at the café,” added Blue Jay. “You can come along and get something to eat.”
          That sounded good to Blake. Blue Jay Harris, he soon learned, had many connections with crew members on the mother ship. He knew somebody in just about every department. Their last stop was the monitoring lab.
          “What do they do in here?” Blake asked.
          “This is where crew members watch what goes on,” said Blue Jay. “They monitor all sorts of things on Earth. Right now they are extremely busy, what with the shift and all.”
          Blake could see people of different species, some standing, some sitting at stations in a large, darkened room. They watched screens and worked controls as they scanned various scenes. Most of the screens he could see were dark. Often more than one observer stood over a screen, and some of the people communicated with each other about what they were seeing or — in this case — what they were not seeing.
          Blue Jay strolled in with Blake at his heels. They approached a small alien woman with grayish-white skin and a large bald head. She was dressed in a one-piece white uniform with gold braid trim. As she turned to look at them, Blake noticed large, wrap-around eyes that were a deep color of blue.
          “Hello, Blue Jay,” she spoke in a pleasant feminine voice. It surprised Blake to hear perfect English and through her mouth rather than through telepathy. The alien woman’s gaze focused curiously upon Blake.
          “How’s it goin’?” Blue Jay grinned. “Hey, I want you to meet my new friend, Blake Dobbs.”
          “Greetings.” The alien smiled warmly at him, still studying his face.
          “This is Kapri,” explained Blue Jay. “Her job is to help make people aware of life in space.”
          “Actually, that’s just one of my jobs.” Kapri reached out a thin grayish hand. “How do you do, Blake Dobbs?”
          Blake shook her hand and noticed the strength in her grip. The name Kapri suddenly seemed familiar. He knew he had heard that name recently.
          “Blake... Dobbs...” Kapri’s expression changed to momentary excitement. “Of course. I thought you resembled someone I once knew. Now I understand. I can see that you must be related to Manley Dobbs.”
          “You know my dad?” Blake then recalled that his parents had mentioned the name Kapri just the other day — or was it more than three days ago? He had already lost track of time as he once knew it. When they had told him the remarkable story about his aunt, they had mentioned someone named Kapri.
          “Your father is Manley Dobbs,” the alien woman reflected. “Yes, I knew him very well for a short time while I was on your planet. He is a good man.”
          Blue Jay watched, amused that there was a connection already between his two friends.
          “You must know my mother, too,” said Blake.
          “Yes, Dorothy,” said Kapri. “Of course. Without your mother’s psychic ability, we might not have been able to escape from Dulce.”
          “I just recently heard all about that time,” said Blake, “and about my aunt and my... uncle.” Blake still found it strange to think he had a space alien for a relative.
          “You speak of Serassan,” said Kapri, “and his mate, Johanna.”
          “Yes, she’s my aunt,” said Blake. “And all these years I thought she was locked away in a mental asylum. I’d give anything to meet her.”
          “Where’s your aunt now?” Blue Jay wanted to know.
          Blake shrugged, but Kapri held up her hand. “Serassan and Johanna live on the planet Karos.”
          “Karos? Where’s that?” asked Blake.
          “It’s near Estron, my home world and Serassan’s.”
          Again Blake was startled. “You mean...” His eyes quickly scanned Kapri’s humanoid form. “My uncle is from your world... does he... does he look... like you?”
Kapri couldn’t help but be amused. “Serassan is Estronian, yes. Our features differ from yours.”
          “Whoa!” Blake then caught himself. “I mean... I’m sorry... I don’t mean to sound rude. It’s just that I can’t believe that my aunt would... well, you know...”
          Kapri put a hand on Blake’s shoulder. “Come with me, young human,” she said, then turned to Blue Jay. “Do you mind if I borrow your friend a while?”
          Blue Jay shrugged. “Go ahead. I’ve gotta get down to the café. My shift’s gonna start soon.” Grinning at Blake, he asked, “Think you can find your way?”
          “I’ll see that he does,” said Kapri. She led Blake out of the monitoring laboratory. “I have something to show you in my quarters,” she said. They wound through a series of hallways and up a level or two until they reached what Blake guessed were crew quarters. Kapri stopped at her cabin and opened the doorway by placing her hand over a signal in the wall that allowed the cubicle to open. She then beckoned him inside. The quarters were clean and lavish, much larger and more elegant than the little bunk room he had been given. She had a small living room and he saw a door that he presumed led into a bedroom. Another doorway led into a bath. There was furniture to sit on that appeared ultra modern and functional, although alien. She disappeared through the bedroom door.
          Blake couldn’t believe he was in an alien woman’s quarters on board a mother ship. He had certainly taken in a lot of new experiences in the last couple of days. Kapri came back, carrying a small book which she handed to Blake. He opened it to find photographs of several beings. He recognized Kapri’s face and moved through the pages until he saw a holographic picture of his aunt standing with a tall, dark-haired man whose hand was around her slender shoulders. The man had the same deep blue eyes that matched the color of Kapri’s.
          “That is Johanna and Serassan,” Kapri said with pride, “my dear friends on Karos.” The background in the photograph showed a barren landscape of rocks and hills. There was a blue sky and some plant growth that reminded Blake of a desert.
          “I thought you said my uncle came from the same world as you,” said Blake.
          “He does. Serassan and I are of the same race. But he is in human form right now, just as I was while my mission took me to Terra. I changed back to my true form, but Serassan maintains his diguise.”
          “What did you look like as a human?” Blake asked.
          Kapri flipped through the pages, then showed him the picture of an attractive young woman in her twenties with pale skin and long black hair.
          “Wow,” breathed Blake. “How did you do that?”
          Kapri laughed. “The process of physical transformation is not an easy one. The process is complex and takes time. We are not shapeshifters that change form in a moment’s notice.”
          “Why did you change back?” asked Blake.
          “There was no reason to keep that form.” Kapri let Blake page through the rest of the book. “There is discomfort maintaining a form other than our own. Serassan must undergo regular checkups by one of our Estronian physicians. Yet it was necessary for him in order to continue his life with your aunt on a Class M planet.”
          “Class M? By that you mean a planet conducive to oxygen-breathing life and temperatures adequate for human life.”
          Kapri’s eyes danced with delight. “You are acquainted with galactic concepts.”
          “I just watch a lot of Star Trek reruns,” he admitted.
          “Our Federation implanted much knowledge into the minds of those science fiction writers. You’ll find that much of that is based on fact.”
          “Wow,” breathed Blake. He turned the page in Kapri’s photo album and was startled to see a beautiful little girl with long blond hair and the same color of blue eyes.  “Who is this?”
          Kapri looked, then said, “That is Serassan and Johanna’s child, Crystal.”
          Blake felt his heart begin to pound. “Their... child?”
          “She is their daughter,” added Kapri.
          “Then she’d... she’d be my first cousin!” Blake cried.
          “That photograph is several years old,” said Kapri.
          “How old would she be now?” asked Blake.
          “I believe Crystal is seventeen,” said Kapri.
          “Whoa!” Then he murmured, “A year older than me. What is she like?”
          “I have never met the young hybrid,” Kapri said, “but she is reportedly very talented.”
          “In what way?” asked Blake.
          “She is musical,” said Kapri. “Apparently she is the first of Estronian blood who possesses true musical ability.”
          “Is that right?” He sighed. “She’s a knockout.” He looked up, suddenly embarrassed. “I mean... she’s not bad looking... for my cousin.”
          “Blake, would you like to meet your aunt and uncle?” Kapri took the book from him and placed it on a shelf.
          “Meet them? Where?”
          Kapri rubbed her pointy chin as she thought a moment. “I think it could be arranged for you to travel to that part of the galaxy. Would you want to go?”
          Travel across the galaxy? Blake was ecstatic. “How long would that take?” he asked.
          Before she could respond, a signal of some sort sounded in the cabin and Kapri gently pushed him toward the door. “I must return to my post,” she told him. “We will discuss this later. Come with me and I’ll show you the direction to the café.”
          Blake followed the alien woman, his thoughts in a whirl. He had been blown away to learn he had an alien uncle. Now to discover he had a cousin who was an alien hybrid!

          The Light Being, third novel in the Space Trilogy, is available from Earth Star Publications, 216 Sundown Circle, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147, for $17.95 postpaid. You can order it and the first two books in the Trilogy as eBooks from Amazon.com for just $4.00 each. If you go to www.anncarolulrich.com/ebooks.html, click on the links to the ebook vendors.

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