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Everywhere in the Omega Galaxy

Copyright © 2003 Robert Lee JosephAll rights reserved.

ISBN 1-58898-940-2


Book III in the Everywhere Series

Robert Lee Joseph

greatunpublished.comTitle No. 940

2003

Acknowledgements

The “Everywhere” books could not have been created without the moral support and encouragement of many family members and others. The Everywhere Books continue to be written because of the great encouragement of special people like Angie Turbak of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, President of my North Carolina Fan Club and Robert Hotchkiss, author of “Earth of Fire, Sky of Ice” and “The Summoning”. They are two exciting adventure novels.

And a special heartfelt thanks to my son, David Michael (Mike), for designing the book covers and the Everywhere Book Series website. He desires to be a web graphics designer and I believe this is a good exhibit of his ability and work.

Now a word about Book III: with the main characters well defined, it has been fun enriching their lives in the new opportunities afforded by teleportation. Would that real life was as easily enriched, but that usually only comes after the trials.

Robert (Rob) Lee Joseph

PROLOGUE

Action in the Omega Galaxy…

…‘Captain’ Mara Sirtus strode to the command chair and hesitantly but resolutely sat in it.

She sharply said, “Helmsman, status?”A dark redheaded female wearing lieutenant’s chevrons

on her trim tan uniform confidently answered with a pleasing yet determined smile, “I am Second Mate Leara Morita. Ion power is warming up.” Mara could tell she wasn’t from Artesima but was of the Constantine as she spoke with a heavy brogue accent, saying, “She’ll be ready on your command captain.”

“Excellent.” Mara turned to her left, “Navigator, have you plotted our exit path from here so we don’t reveal the base?”

“It is done. We will exit under gravitron power to skim just above the ground for several hundred kiloscons east before we go to ion power. We will accelerate at a 30 degree angle so it will be difficult to track our origin,” a black haired young man firmly said whom Mara thought she recognized from cadet school. She wondered what he thought of her instant field promotion while their planet was under attack.

It might also make us a better target she additionally worried. “Lt. Garun, are all weapons online?”

The brown-skinned Tuscan was only caught up in his duties of the moment as he smartly said, “Hot and ready for action at your command.”

“Comm officer, are we cleared for launch?”“We’re just waiting for the ramp to be opened in about five

minutes, sir.”

Captain Sirtus asked of the command crew, “Anything I need to be aware of before we launch?”

No one said anything but a few shook their heads negatively.

“Very well,” she acknowledged while gripping the armrests of the captain’s chair just a little bit tighter. “Everyone be on your toes. Sargon, inform operations, Brightstar is ready for launch.”

As the ramp came down to open up the sky, Captain Sirtus saw the smoke from the capitol in the far distance and said a silent prayer.

“Shields up…Launch!”The crew felt Brightstar quietly hum under gravitron

power as it glided up the ramp and rose to skim over the ground at a fast clip. Two minutes later, the ion engines kicked in and Brightstar shot towards the sky at the preplanned angle. Seconds later the viewplate turned dark as the atmosphere thinned and the stars slowly came into view.

They could now see their once-beautiful planet, Artesima, in the rear view plate, now dotted with huge clouds of smoke.

“There’s an enemy ship!” a crewman yelled as everyone saw it on the forward view screen simultaneously.

“Fire lasers!” the captain quickly ordered.Lt. Garun fired the forward laser cannons with pinpoint

accuracy but the enemy ship had its shields raised and the lasers caused no more than a pyrotechnic light show and got its attention. The enemy ship, which looked not surprisingly like their own, turned towards them.

“Lt. Garun, as soon as we are in range fire the proton torpedoes with no timing delay!”

“Aye aye, sir.”“Everyone, button up and hold on because we’ll feel the

blast.”“Torpedoes away!”The blast severely rocked the Brightstar. The torpedoes

didn’t breach the enemy shields but the proton blast did, knocking all the enemy’s controls off-line. Their shields failed and the enemy ship was now defenseless and dead in space.

“Lt. Starfield, assemble a boarding party in the transporter room! Don’t hesitate to shoot anyone who offers resistance…Sargon…damage report!” Mara wanted revenge on the enemy who was destroying her home world but she also cared about her own crew.

The crew of the Spectari commanded battle cruiser was severely shaken with many casualties.

Commander Marak-sen was one of them. His second-in-command tried to call for assistance, but the comm station was inoperative. Just then the Brightstar boarding party appeared and disarmed or killed those few remaining renegades who failed to immediately surrender.

When Spectari General Rasu-sen in the Corona III witnessed the loss of the battle cruiser with Commander Marak-sen, he immediately ordered the remaining ships to attack the Brightstar. “Lock onto that ship and don’t lose it!” He ordered.

The action of the Brightstar allowed the rest of Battle Group Alpha ships to safely exit the secret base undetected.

“We have company and we’re outnumbered!” Sargon exclaimed.

“Take evasive action! Retrieve the boarding parties and jump to hyperspace!” Captain Sirtus ordered. She realized they had been lucky because the pirates weren’t expecting the torpedo tactic in close quarter combat. Now they will be.…

Galactic Security Chief Hank Travis was in the Antigua Command Center; catching up on the deployment of the latest automated Hyperwave-activated sensor stations. He viewed the giant wall chart depicting the Galactic Council area of the universe. The screen twinkled, identifying the wider coverage area by the newly modified sensors. He knew there was a vast amount of space out there to search.

The Galactic Council members were unaware of the havoc and destruction being wreaked by the escaped Spectari two galaxies away.

“The sensors are set to certain scan patterns and the Hyperwave zips them around to preset coordinates. If there is

any sign of activity, the sensors immediately relay those signs to the Central Command Computer and alerts are broadcast automatically,” Dr. Ted Olmstead explained to the security chief as he would to one of his astrophysics students. “If the Spectari are anywhere in our space, we should receive ample warning.”

“And as soon as we do, we will deal with them. I just hope we can keep them from obtaining a teleport device,” Hank said.

“Even if they do, we have them well secured now with the thumbprint and voice security,” Ted said.

“Don’t underestimate the enemy,” Hank grimly said. “Given enough time, they probably would find a way around it, so we must make certain they don’t have that opportunity,” Hank then added, “Besides our own space, John has asked us to deploy units in that other galaxy that produced that renegade starship because he thinks that is where they may head if we don’t locate them in our own space. Will you assign a team to do that?”

“Certainly, Sir. I will get right on it,” Ted said.Ted immediately assigned Sethanni to head the team to

deploy the Hyperwave units to the newly identified galaxy and asked Tom Johnston and George Garrett to assist him.

Sethanni promptly deployed a dozen Hyperwave units to gather coordinates in that part of the universe so they could deploy the newly automated sensing devices. A task that would have taken months or years was now reduced to a matter of minutes thanks to the Hyperwave, computerization, and teleport function.…

This book is dedicated to my great fans that continue to inspire and motivate me in my writing. Just a quick glance at some of their reviews on my website at www.everywherebooks.com is

enough to keep me going.Please send your review to [email protected]

Robert (Rob) Lee Joseph

CHAPTER ONE

“Homecoming”

“The Galaxies, there are so many of them…and they’re all available!” — Jenny Royston

The comp display in the command center on Antigua amazed Jonathan Royston. I cannot believe how much the universe has changed in just two years! It will take me months if not years to catch up on all the advances.

Antigua, an earth-type planet in the Orion Sector of the Delta Quadrant, was now the new home of the Galactic Council Command Center. Jonathan was viewing a chart of the literal exponential expansion of the Council membership on the comp screen. Whole galaxies, star systems and planetary systems were listed that no earthling knew existed just a short time ago. He could click on any name and a brief description would popup on the screen with an index leading him to a myriad of related information.

As the now twenty-one year-old darker-haired son of the Galactic Council president reviewed the data, he thought about the recent transformation.

All of this came from Dad’s first experience with Dr. Vaughn and Meredith’s accidental discovery of teleportation just a few short years ago! And among all those planetary systems, Earth is the only one to have discovered the secret to

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH2 EVERYWHERE IN THE OMEGA GALAXY 3

teleporting. This has given us the one special advantage in all our contacts with other races. Though in many ways some were many years ahead of us in multiple scientific fields, we’ve had the upper hand because of the teleport technology.

Jonathan absently clicked on other areas he was interested in learning more about. There were the spatial coordinates reminding Jonathan of Internet-like addresses; only they were much, much more. He could enter those spatial coordinates into his wrist device and be there on the other side of the Milky Way or completely in another galaxy in an instant if he so desired.

He could also use the amazing Garrett Hyperwave and instantly communicate with anyone he had the personal coordinates for. In fact, as a charter team member, his was one of the few privileged ones with unlimited teleport capability. The world at large, and indeed; now the Galaxy at large, did not have that capability. They had personal units, but they were limited to only pre-set specific locations. Most of the population used their government’s maintained platforms that whisked people and cargo from platform to platform. Most retail businesses now included their spatial coordinates in their advertising along with their business and online addresses. There was also an on-line super directory from which coordinates could be selected.

The charter team had developed and distributed the technology to the world, and now the galaxy, in a carefully designed fashion. Governments were allocated public units from the teleport team to distribute throughout their territory. Individuals could purchase personal units from the charter team, now the Galactic Council, for specific coordinates at a cost per location, but only on approval of police and security organizations. Selected emergency fire and rescue units were given unrestricted capability within their jurisdiction, but the general population used the available public units in combination with their personal units.

Jonathan clicked on Yantu, the most familiar planet to him. Half a galaxy away, Yantu, the home of the Yanni, was the very first alien race the earth explorers met in their initial venture


into space via the teleport technology. Yantu’s sun is not as brilliant as Earth’s and their sky is pale yellow. This causes the Yanni’s pale complexion. Their air is also much thinner. The Spectari; a war-faring race that conquered and destroyed wherever it went, attacked Yantu and subjugated it until the Earth-Yanni led Galactic Council defeated them.

Jonathan sat at the guest comp workstation soaking up the new information in the huge command complex. The command center included a multitude of other active workstations monitoring different sectors of both galaxies. The command center itself was not that different from similar rooms on earth in the old NORAD Colorado center or any of the other Galactic Council Sector planet headquarters.

He sat almost squirming at the station, realizing his old gray Galactic tunic with the special red charter crest on it, unworn for two years, fit him almost too snugly now. I will need to get some new outfits or have the old ones re-tailored or go on a crash diet.

He also thought, and the mechanics of the teleport functionality continue to astound scientists everywhere! We haven’t come across a single culture with anything like it except for those matter transporters, and I dislike even the thought of having my atoms and molecules disintegrated and reintegrated.

“I thought I might find you here.” Tanya Garrett brightly announced as she entered the Antigua Command Center, startling Jonathan from his concentration. He noticed her flowery yellow blouse with her charter Galactic Council logo badge pinned to it. She also sported tan Culottes that accented her shapely athletic legs.

Jonathan smiled and turned to greet her. She is so in tune with me. I can’t believe she loves me so and I love her so much too. Tanya gave a dimpled smile back to him as she energetically approached him. The nearby comp operators could almost feel the physical attraction between the two young people. Jonathan hadn’t returned from his church mission a full month before he proposed to her on a starlit night on their island hideaway and


they became engaged. They were still working out the details for the wedding, planned to happen in the next six months. She pulled a chair up from an empty workstation and nestled beside him.

The two had been high school dating companions when they were caught up in the events surrounding the teleport technology. Tanya’s father, George Garrett, was invited to join the teleport team with his family and moved to Crescent Island with the rest of the team leaders. Crescent Island was still largely unknown to the general public for security reasons. When the technology was first invented, the team suffered several attempts to steal it from them and so kept the whereabouts as secret as possible. Only select team members, mostly division heads, were invited to live on the beautiful tropical island.

“You know we have a dinner date with your folks in a little while,” she playfully said as she lightly drummed her fingers on his shoulder.

Jonathan’s face practically glowed enjoying her presence beside him. “I know. I’m just trying to catch up on what’s been happening while I’ve been gone. So much has changed. What have you been doing?”

“You mean besides school?” She impishly said, “Mom and I have been working on plans for the wedding. I definitely want Jenny to be my Bridesmaid,” She smiled. “I want to ask her tonight while the family’s together. We’ve also been talking with the First Lady about her Rose Garden reception. I can’t believe all the dignitaries and celebrities that will be there.”

Jonathan thought, boy, my sister, Jenny, has sure changed while I’ve been gone too. She’s already attending premed and has really blossomed into a beautiful young lady. As he thought this, he also thought, and premed isn’t what it used to be either. Nothing is. All the medical advances have been coming so rapidly too.

Just then Yorgi appeared at the comp room entrance. “I thought I might find you here,” He smiled at Jonathan and Tanya as he approached them.

Jonathan noted his Yanni friend didn’t look as pale as he


once did when they first met almost three years ago. He must be getting some Earth-type rays. His complexion is now less pale than most other Yanni. “It’s good to see you Yorgi. What have you been up to?” Jonathan stood and the two friends hugged each other like lost friends.

“My, you’ve filled out some,” Yorgi smiled. “You look more mature and confident. Kelina and I have been attending advanced classes from your MIT using the Garrett Hyperwave device. It works great. We almost feel like we are right there in the classroom with the rest of the students. We can ask questions and get answers in real time just like we were there and sometimes when there is a key point to be learned or made, we do zip right there.”

Jonathan remembered when Greg Garrett, his computer buddy and president of the high school computer club, surprised the team with the Hyperwave device. It piggybacked on the teleport functionality in an amazing fashion. The discovery solved all the problems of communicating at such vast astronomic distances and astounded the Galactic Council member planets when it was universally made available. The device had also been a huge help in defeating the Spectari in their home galaxy. That miraculous confrontation took place just after Jonathan and Greg left on their missions. Hank’s Galactic Security Team used the new technology to spy on the enemy galaxy and then defeat it in one fell swoop by confiscating its starships and weaponry; then imprisoning its leaders.

Yorgi was the eldest son of Janus and Yanna. Janus was the Yanni Council leader and also the Galactic Vice-president and Yanna was his lovely wife. Because the Yanni Council positions are lifetime ones, Janus did not give up his home council position when he was appointed Galactic Vice-president. He did let his staff handle most of the day-to-day routine though. Yorgi had graduated from the Yantu University and was now a full- time member of the prestigious Galactic Science Committee. Yorgi and Jonathan had become quite close and often had thought-provoking conversations comparing the two cultures. His Yanni companion enjoyed showing Jonathan new programming


techniques and also playing computer games with him. Though their programs were in different languages, the universal translator helped each understand the other’s programs.

“How are you and Kelina doing? I know you are making plans for your Joining,” Tanya asked because she was more than curious at how their society functioned with its different traditions and beliefs.

“Yes, but we waited until Jonathan was back so you two could be here for the ceremony scheduled for next month,” Yorgi beamed.

“And we’re excited to be there too. From what you’ve told me, it is somewhat different than the wedding and reception Tanya is planning for us,” Jonathan added.

Yorgi seriously said, “Yes, the ceremony is steeped in Yanni tradition, but I believe the meaning is the same. We each want to be with our mates for the rest of our life and raise a family.”

Jonathan thought about what he had learned about the Yanni society and their emotional qualities. They do not take relationships as casually as some earth societies. I learned the word ‘divorce’ is not easily translatable to the Yanni language because it is a foreign concept to them. In the Yanni culture, when couples join, it is a true lifetime commitment only broken by death. Even then, many Yanni do not rejoin with another mate.

Tanya chimed in as she excitedly hugged Jonathan, “The rest of our life and then some,” she grinned.

“Yes Tanya, I too like your concept of ‘For time and all eternity’,” Yorgi grinned. He knew Tanya and Jonathan’s official wedding would be solemnized in one of their church’s temples. Afterward they would have a special reception which would be televised not only world wide, but probably multi-galaxy wide because the young couple was so tied to their parents and own success with the Galactic Council. “Have you decided which temple you will be married in?”

Tanya answered as she entwined her hands with Jonathan’s. “Yes. We’ve chosen the Bountiful, Utah Temple because of its beautiful setting on the mountainside.”


“I would have thought you would have chosen your Salt Lake Temple.” Yorgi grinned.

Jonathan responded. “We thought of that one because of its historic significance, but decided we favored the Bountiful one for its great view of the valley for outdoor pictures. But it really doesn’t matter which temple we choose because we will be sealed together by one who has the sealing power of the restored priesthood.” Who would have thought just three short years ago I would be discussing such eternal concepts with a true alien? But I really don’t think of him that way. He has become one of my best friends and I truly want him to understand what this event means to us in our lives. He thoughtfully added to himself, and I think the term ‘alien’ has become obsolete anyway.

“Have you tried out your new wrist device yet? It has several special new functions,” Yorgi smiled.

“Yes, and though I hated giving up my old one, the new features are impressive. I had become quite fond of the old one. Dr, Vaughn and Alex demonstrated the new functions for me. They’re amazing. Did you have a hand in them?” Jonathan smilingly asked.

“Actually I worked on the voice command function. Chad worked on the thumbprint identification. The programming was quite tricky and took much work to make it truly user friendly,” Yorgi proudly beamed. “There was a whole team working with us to get it right. We couldn’t have done it all by ourselves. Then there was the manufacturing breakthrough. The Orion’s have a matter replicator, which rapidly speeded up the process except for the programming of the security chip, which has to be done by the security team.”

“I especially like the new thumbprint security. It makes it much easier than having to remember password combinations,” Jonathan added. “Now all I have to do is press my thumb to the device, say a key name in my directory, and I’m instantly there.”

“And it only activates to your speech pattern too,” Yorgi noted. “The security team has made them less vulnerable to being stolen or misused too.”


Jonathan was amazed how quickly Chad Garvey had technologically advanced since he had joined the team. The African American, Chad was almost a high school dropout when his family moved to Crescent Island because his mother, Beverly, was head of computer operations at T-Base. Chad had accepted Jonathan’s and the other teen member’s friendship and had turned his life around.

Jonathan thought, I wonder how Twyla is doing? Twyla, Chad’s twin sister, at first had been difficult to get along with mainly because she seemed to carry a chip around on her shoulder and didn’t care to socialize much. Thankfully over time she mellowed as she became more acquainted with the team members.

Tanya glanced at the chronometer on her wrist device. It was set to their island time half a galaxy away. “Oops! If we don’t hurry, we won’t have time to get ready for dinner with your folks.”

“Yorgi, can you meet me here in the morning and we can visit then?”

“Certainly. Please tell your parents I said, ‘Hi’.”The couple voiced, “Return” on their wrist devices while

pressing their thumbprints. They were instantly returned to Crescent Island on Earth where they parted for their separate bungalows to freshen up for dinner. The island hadn’t changed very much from when it was first setup for the team three years earlier. The self-contained cottages had been individually designed and strategically placed so they did not interfere with the local flora and fauna of the beautiful island setting.

There was a special force field energy dome that protected the island from tropical storms. Each family had their own private cottage and there was a central meeting room with a canteen or cafeteria where everyone often congregated. Of course with their personal teleport devices or “Visas”, as they were officially named, they could go and eat anywhere they chose. Finances were no problem for team members now as they were each independently wealthy from sharing the benefits of the teleport technology, which the earth’s countries paid licenses for as well as each new galactic planet member.


The Galactic Council now had an entire interplanetary commerce division that handled the aspects of Galactic trade and finance. All Jonathan knew about it was his personal account balance was more than he could possibly spend in three lifetimes. This was true for most of the Galactic team members. There was one giant trust fund that every member owned a portion of. That trust fund seemed to grow at astronomic rates. The Galactic member planets now traded in Galactic credits rather than the myriad of old currencies. The world’s banking systems had experienced a massive change. Whenever a planet joined the Galactic Council, they were integrated into the Galactic financial system as well.…

Easy-going John Royston had let Meredith select which restaurant they would dine at for celebrating their son’s engagement. The foursome plus eighteen year-old Jenny Royston were now standing in the 96th floor observation lounge just above the Signature Room restaurant in the John Hancock building in downtown Chicago, waiting to be seated.

The Galactic Council president noted Meredith wore the peach colored dress she had worn at their first White House gala just over three years ago. He thought, and she still looks gorgeous in it. My, how far we have come since that special event.

John was wearing a dark blue blazer sport coat, tie, and light blue shirt. The blazer included the Galactic patch on it with the red crest above it, signifying his charter membership. Jonathan and Jenny had designed the patch and it had morphed from the Teleport Team patch to the UN Space Commission patch to the Galactic Council patch.

John thought I would never have envisioned the future as it has infolded so rapidly. What if I had never followed up to find out what happened to me that day on the road and in that East Texas meadow? Where would we be now and what would we be doing? He then thought, those vicious Spectari would still be out there causing destruction and misery and they would have done the same to Earth because they were already on the way


here. I am still amazed we were able to defeat them. They had awesome powerful weapons and would have devastated and enslaved Earth, given the chance.

Jenny had excitedly asked to bring a date from her med school, but Meredith had suggested this night be especially for Jonathan and Tanya. Meredith even arranged for the Royston’s nanny to stay late with Amber Julie, their two-year old toddler, so her presence wouldn’t be a distraction from the honored couple tonight. Amber Julie was a special blessing in Meredith’s life and she enjoyed the joys of motherhood very much with Amber being rarely out of her sight.

“The view is magnificent!” Tanya excitedly said. “I’ve never even visited Chicago before.”

Jonathan stood by her side holding his fiancé’s trim waist looking out at the sparkling view of city lights far below. “I can’t believe how straight the streets are and traffic is practically non-existent now,” Jonathan commented. “And look at the Sears Tower. It really stands out among all the other skyscrapers, almost as if it is standing as a sentinel over the rest of the city.”

Chicago was one of the few major Earth cities that had not installed a permanent protective energy dome. Being so close to the lake, the city usually received plenty of fresh air and with the elimination of industrial pollution, there didn’t seem to be a need, although one was turned on for the harsh winter storms. Jonathan also knew the city was now powered by the Yanni-designed ultra power generators. One single Yanni power pod could provide enough power for the entire city for up to five years. The power pods were now also being produced on earth thanks to the technology exchange program.

Jonathan thought so much has changed in such a short time. Because of teleportation, the Metra-rail lines are idle now as well as the elevated ‘L’ lines. Where rail stations and stops used to be, there are now sleek teleport platforms whisking travelers instantly to their destinations. Commuting time is now truly a thing of the past.

“I didn’t realize Lake Michigan was so huge. Even up this


high, you can’t see the other side,” Jenny exclaimed. “Look at the boat lights on the water.”

“That’s why they call it ‘Great’,” Jonathan quipped.Just then the maitre’d announced their table was ready and

they followed him down a winding set of stairs to the dinning room below. The maitre’d had instantly recognized the Galactic Council President and his family and took personal care of seeing they had the finest accommodations. Their large corner oval table allowed a beautiful view of the city and lake.

“Tanya, I’m excited to hear all about your plans,” Meredith said after taking a sip from her water glass. “I know you and Doris have been busy.”

“That’s for sure. Mom has been fretting over everything. She knows how much media attention the reception will get and the First lady is making all the arrangements for the Rose Garden. I’m getting more excited each day,” She beamed.

Meredith remembered her own special day in the White House Rose Garden over three years before. It too had been a very special event as she remembered all that happened that day. First there was the actual wedding in the Church’s Dallas Temple, which was more marvelous than I could ever have imagined. Then we zipped to the White House for the special reception. First Lady, Madelyn Hargrove, was a perfect hostess and made me feel right at ease though I was as nervous as could be with all the media fuss and world famous dignitaries in attendance.

Tanya excitedly turned to Jenny.“Jenny, I think it would be very special if you could be my

Bridesmaid for the wedding and reception.”“Jenny blushed and gasped, “I don’t even know what a

Bridesmaid is supposed to do.”Jonathan said, “Oh, not much. Just look after every need of

the Bride. That’s all.”“That’s not true,” Tanya anxiously said, “But I would

appreciate if you would accept.”Jenny smiled. “In that case, I accept if Meredith will help


show me what I am supposed to do?” Jenny looked at her step mom whom she had come to love and depend on for motherly advice.

“Of course,” she said. “I would love to, Jenny,” Meredith smiled and leaned over and hugged her. “The first thing will be to get you sized for the beautiful dresses Tanya and Doris have picked out.

John said, “I understand you’ve chosen the Bountiful Temple for the wedding. That’s a beautiful temple. I’m partial to it too.”

The conversation was interrupted as the waiter presented the menu and went over the daily specials then left so they could make their selections.

“I like the marinated chicken breast,” Jenny spoke up first, as she was more interested in the magnificent view and thinking about being a bridesmaid than the menu selections.

John set his menu down and said, “I think I’ll have the Almond Chicken with rice pilaf.”

Meredith also folded her menu as she smiled and said, “I’ll have the Sweet and Sour Chicken and Rice dish please.”

Jonathan and Tanya put their heads together conspiratorially and decided on the “Twin Stuffed Pork Chops” to share.

Jenny asked, “How do you stuff a pork chop?”“Very carefully,” John joked.After the waiter took their orders, Jonathan asked, “What’s

happening with the Galactic Council lately, Dad?”“More than I can keep track of son. We’re expanding so

fast there is more than enough work to go around. If we hadn’t reorganized by sectors just before you went on your mission, I don’t know how we would handle it now. Each sector is expanding membership daily. Hank’s security organization is doubly busy.” John looked out the window, and then said, “I was thinking about enlisting your help on the Council after your wedding and honeymoon.”

“What would you want him to do?” Tanya anxiously asked.“That’s a good question. We’re establishing a group of


representatives from each of the twelve sectors to review our processes and I would like Jonathan to be a general representative of the Council rather than an individual sector representative.”

“That’s okay with me, but I still want to finish my schooling, Dad.”

“I think you can do both. I assume most of your formal classes can be attended via the Hyperwave?”

“Yes, and I want to take several of the interplanetary classes too, but I really don’t know what you’re expecting,” Jonathan said as their food arrived.

After the dishes were distributed and oohed and aahed over, John said, “Well son, I thought this would be the best way for you to get a handle on what all has been happening while you were on your mission. I mean I know you were concentrating on your mission and far removed from galactic events.”

“That’s for sure. I even missed the Spectari defeat. I’m just now reviewing all those events via the vid documentaries.”

“And I don’t think the documentaries cover the full scope of things either. They certainly don’t include our stealth tactics because we are not revealing that functionality to the general public.” John took a bite of his food and then continued, “The Beta Galaxy is still experiencing much turmoil from all the havoc and destruction the Spectari caused. Some of those societies are having a hard time coping with all the abrupt changes. And we’ve had to be very careful with the distribution of teleport devices there.”

John paused to take a few bites and then continued. “Hank wasn’t even sure we should let them have it at all, but I pointed out to him we had captured and banished the leaders and shouldn’t have any more trouble from them. Plus it would make it easier on us if they had it. The recently added security features make it more unlikely the devices can be misused now.”…

The prison planet Zeron in a spiral arm of the Milky Way…

Beleaguered Spectari General Rasu-sen was having another


bad day. The harsh glaring alien sun wasn’t helping. He thought, it has been almost two years now and my people are still barely surviving on this desolate planet the enemy from the Gamma Quadrant consigned us. They marooned us after confiscating all semblances of technology, weaponry or transport. Now the only good well, which we spent months digging has, went dry! And water sources are few and far between. I will have to send searchers out to find more sources, and we need all the able bodied persons to hunt for food too with the winter fast approaching. This planet barely produces enough to live on. If they find a sufficient amount of water, we may have to migrate.

Though it had been two long hard suffering years, the bushy-haired general still remembered that fateful day when everything changed for him and the crews of his giant space armada. One second we were on our way to crush the enemy with our awesome weaponry and the next we were stranded on this hellhole of a planet in some off-the-chart part of the universe, stripped of all technology. If only I could have a chance to change all that.

A third of the combined crews had died that first winter and the second winter hadn’t been much better. Only the strong had survived and now they were very much weakened. They probably could have saved more of the weak ones, but that was not the Spectari militant way. In their war-like society, the weak were considered handicapped and inferior. They did not deserve help to live. It had taken much of their resources just to keep the few infants alive born this past year. His son, Mosak-sen, was one of them, but Rasu-sen had lost an infant daughter to the accursed planet, and his mate died in childbirth of their third child who also died. He vowed he would avenge those deaths if he ever got the chance.

Everyday he thought about their sad circumstances, wishing he could somehow find a way to change them. Why has this happened to us? We had everything going for us. No one ever even challenged our superiority in the universe until those accursed Earthlings appeared with their fantastic device!

It never occurred to him the Spectari’s centuries-old


warring ways were the cause of his problems and circumstances. His personal clan had all been generals and he had been raised to be one too. On his home planet, Ryosan, the men ruled and the women served as on most of the Spectari worlds. He was unaware their crushing defeat allowed all that to change in a rapid way now.

“A ship!…A Ship!”General Rasu-sen suddenly heard the cry in the distance

and saw a straggling group of men running toward the camp. He stood up from his crudely put-together chair. His dirty uniform clung to him under the noonday heat. As they approached closer he recognized them as the group of scouts assigned to forage to the north. Can it be? Do we really have a chance of getting off this hostile planet?

Lt. Car-sen was almost out of breath when he reached the camp and collapsed. One of the women brought him a ladle of precious water. As he was recovering, the rest of the foragers came up in a group surrounding him as they too caught their breath. The general made his way through them to Lt. Car-sen.

“What’s this all about lieutenant? Did I hear you say you found a ship? What kind?”

The shaggy bearded thin man looked up at his leader with weary but excited eyes and pointed saying, “Sir, about a thousand clicks that way there is a large hill, almost a mountain, and sticking out the opposite side of it is the rear end of a star ship that looks to be almost completely buried in the mountainside. I don’t know how we failed to notice it before.”

Thoughts of food and water vanished, General Rasu-sen quickly looked around and said, “Commander Marak-sen, gather the strongest and healthiest of the lot with whatever tools we can manage. We’ll go and see if there’s anything we can use.” He turned back to Lt. Car-sen. “Any indication how long it has been there?”

The winded lieutenant added, “N…no sir, but what we could see, the tail section was very complete, not shot up or eroded by weather. But it didn’t look like one of ours.”

Commander Marak-sen was tall and rugged. He gathered

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH16

about sixty of the healthiest looking crew together. When the Spectari warriors were first stranded here the two leaders had a war of wills as to who would be the main leader. Rasu-sen had won even though Marak-sen truly believed he should be the leader. His expectation was based on the fact the supreme commander had ordered him to take over the armada if General Rasu-sen failed. He quickly learned though, General Rasu-sen was not willing to relinquish command, so they had shared command with General Rasu-sen making most of the important decisions. The assembled group brought an odd assortment of crude hand tools with them as they started back to the hill with Lt. Car-sen guiding them. Though it was an especially hot day, most tried to ignore the heat with thoughts of the ship and what it might portend.…

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH16

Chapter Two

“Galactic Command”

Galactic Security Sergeant Josh Lancer was on Ryosan, the capitol planet of the Spectari Galaxy. The dark-haired Josh was working with the inspection team that was identifying hidden caches of weapons they had not already found. He thought; these Spectari warriors are very sneaky and treacherous. They hid weapons on many out of the way planets. I hope we have found them all. We know there are still some twisted renegades out there who haven’t surrendered to the Council. We need to be sure they have no weapons to fight with.

Josh’s current assignment was to monitor the deep space probes that were equipped with the combined Earth-Yanni sensor technology to detect certain types of weaponry and facilities. He would teleport the probes to selected spatial coordinates in the Spectari Galaxy and let them scan for contraband weapons.

This mundane activity wasn’t what he had joined up for, but he knew it was important. He had seen the destruction the Spectari had caused on some of the subjugated planets. He wanted to be sure they could not harm anyone else. Suddenly one of the red indicators on his control console started blinking and buzzing. He immediately called his supervisor who notified his sector chief.

“Victor, what have you got?” Hank Travis, Galactic Security Chief queried his security assistant via the Hyperwave monitor. It was almost as if Victor was in the room with him in Hank’s Maryland office instead of a whole galaxy away.


Victor was actually in the Beta Galaxy, also known as the Spectari Galaxy, on one of the newest Council member planets. Victor was literally hundreds of light years from Earth and yet this vid conference was taking place in real time. Victor had become Hank’s chief assistant almost from the very beginning when he provided the translation for their first encounter with the German terrorists.

They had come a long way since then. Just over three years ago, both men had been police officers: Hank a tall lanky deputy sheriff and Victor an ordinary looking cop on the beat in Dallas. Then when they joined the teleport team everything rapidly changed. First the team became part of the UN. Then the Space Commission shortly followed by the creation of the Galactic Council. Now it might even become the Inter-Galactic Council. When Victor thought about it, he almost felt overwhelmed at the dizziness of the changes not only for himself and the team but also the whole world.

Once everyone realized it didn’t matter where they lived or worked, whole societies shifted. Many people went back to their homelands and just as many people realized they would rather live by the mountains or the sea. Slums disappeared almost overnight. Education was now open to everyone because of the Hyperwave. Whole groups of people were leaving for the stars to populate newly discovered livable planets and interplanetary commerce was booming.

People were freer than ever to choose the location, vocation and avocation that suited them and that included Victor as well. His family enjoyed their association first just with the teleport team, then the UN Space Commission and now the Galactic Council. Yes, he thought, it is dizzying indeed to see how far everyone has come. He responded to Hank’s query.

“Well, sir, it’s nothing we can’t handle, but I thought by now these guys knew we meant business. We found a huge cache of military weapons in a hidden depot on the far side of one of their moons. It wasn’t hidden very well, so I guess they thought we wouldn’t even look there. The stockpile of weaponry and spaceships could be enough to take over a couple of planetary


systems. We traced the culprits and have already assigned them to one of the prison planets. I’m having the ships and weaponry rendered useless or totally destroying it by zipping it into the core of a sun. Most of the weapons were of the standard enemy variety. They didn’t even have any of those amazing spheres, so this must have been an old stockpile.”

Victor added, “Also, there is some disturbing news that there is a hidden planet somewhere that has a secret base where scientists are working on weapons of mass destruction. We have searched the Spectari central database and can find no references to it, however. We are still searching, but have come up with no evidence it actually exists. It may just be a nasty rumor the disaffected ones started,”

“Good job. How is everything else going with the civilian transition in that galaxy? I’m only getting spot reports.”

“They are doing fairly well for the most part. They are still struggling with some of the democratic principles though. Open elections and female participation being the main ones, but I think that just means we need to have more education available to more of the populace. The men seem to have a built in aversion to women being in any type of authority position. The whole population seems to be having a difficult time understanding that we are not ruling over them, just guiding them toward a better way of government. Also, there are still some rogues out there trying to take advantage of the situation that we’re ferreting out.” He then grinned.

“You might be interested in this. A few days ago we located our first non-Spectari planet in an unexplored arm of this galaxy. Our first undetected visit indicates they are comparable to a seventeenth century Earth-type planet that knows nothing of the Spectari. They seem to be a very peaceful planet with no ready indications of weapons of mass destruction. Their science has not advanced because of their devout religion. They have no central government and live in almost a tribal or clannish environment.

“The people seem to have ordinary human traits. We have held off making contact because we did not want to spoil their


simple lifestyle until the Council reviews all their data. They do have some surprising types of animal life though. I believe if we do try to bring them into the Council, it should be at a very slow pace. We have named the planet Arcturus-3, but according to the universal translator, the Arcturans refer to themselves as Arianni. The anthropology Section has setup an invisible research station there.”

“Thanks. I appreciate the update. I would be interested in visiting Arcturus-3 myself. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need any help in ferreting out any more weapons or conspiracies in that sector.” Hank ended the transmission and turned to his latest report when the beeper on his wrist device sounded. He noted it was his wife, Darlene. “Hi sweetheart,” he smiled. “What’s up?”

“Hank, are you busy?”“Not at the moment. What do you need, Honey?”“We need to talk about Billy when you have some time.”“Yes, I know. He needs some direction in his life and I’ve

asked John to talk to him about setting some goals. I think coming from him it will mean more than just from his dad. I believe Billy is capable; he just seems to always take the easy way when it comes to education. He is just barely getting by in his courses.” Hank thought; I can’t figure out what motivates him. Billy should be making some important decisions in his life, but would rather play computer games than apply himself in his studies or think about the future. Restricting him hasn’t worked, so what will? I hope John can help.

“John offered to take Billy with him next week when he does a planetary tour in the Beta galaxy. I’m really hoping he can help Billy see the big picture to become more motivated.”

“That’s good sweetheart. I’m glad you’ve been thinking of him. I know you’ve been very busy lately. When will you be home?”

Hank glanced at the digital chronometer on his wrist device. “I’ll wrap up here in another hour and see you then. Love you, Bye.”

Darlene hoped John would be able to help their son get better focused. John’s family had been a big part of their life and


Darlene knew Billy looked up to both John and Jonathan. She swept her hand through her recently cut dark hair. For a long time she had worn it shoulder length, but with all the activity lately she found it easier to manage if it was shorter. Hank had told her she looked lovely either way.

The Galactic First lady of Security also thought about their other two offspring; Danielle was Jenny Royston’s age, but didn’t seem as near as mature as Jenny in her mother’s eyes. She still hadn’t decided her major in school. Josephine was a precocious new teenager who loved to irritate her parents by asking a myriad of questions, usually in rapid-fire fashion. Parenting shouldn’t be this difficult, Darlene thought.

Danielle Travis was more mature than her mother gave her credit for. She just didn’t know what she wanted to do. The buxom blonde had watched the rapid advancements happen all around her and endeavored to keep up. She took some of the same college courses Jenny did and even some advanced ones using the Hyperwave and that was the problem. She liked them all and couldn’t decide on which area to concentrate on. She new she would be good in the medical field, but didn’t feel comfortable around sick people although she did enjoy the good feeling of helping them. Astrophysics also beckoned her with the challenges of all that was out there to explore. Then there was the technical broadcasting field and others as well. What should she do?

She decided to talk to Jenny. She thought Jenny seemed so carefree…But she thought that was because Jenny didn’t have to make the big decision she did. She knew Jenny was driven to the medical field because of her mother dying from pneumonia when she was only 12 years old. They met in the Crescent Island canteen when they were both between classes. Danielle treasured Jenny’s friendship since the time they turned teenagers and she was her closest friend.

While the two ate their lunch, Danielle shared her worries. “Jenny, I don’t know what to do. I am reaching the stage in school where I need to make some decisions on a career field and I can’t seem to be able to do it.”


“Oh Danni, I think you would be great at whatever you choose,” Jenny said after sipping her soda.

“But that doesn’t help me make a decision,” Danni frustratingly said.

“Danni, have you thought about the way things are so rapidly changing around us that maybe making a decision right now isn’t as necessary as much as it used to be. Maybe you should just leave your options open for now and see what area you naturally are drawn to?”

“I’ve thought about that, but my school counselor and mom thinks it makes me too wishy-washy.”

“Well, I for one don’t think you have to worry about it. I think you should just learn all you can and it will all work itself out.” Jenny smiled her trademark dimpled smile as she finished her sandwich.

“That’s easy for you to say because you are already doing what you want to do on those galactic medical research teams and your success on the tennis team.” She then added, “Speaking of which, where is Roland? I almost always see you two together. I wish I had such a handsome companion.”

“Ro is okay as far as playing tennis goes. We seem to win all of our games together, but sometimes he can be annoying. I think he fantasizes a relationship with me that doesn’t exist. He keeps asking for dates with me and I keep putting him off.”

“Well send him my way. I think he’s cute.”…Yorgi and Jonathan met at the Antigua Command Center

as planned. They talked amid the bustle of activity going on around them. This center was the comm link to the twelve sector command centers. Each day, as new planets joined the council, much coordination had to be orchestrated and this was the hub of that orchestration. There was technology, cultural, medical, financial, commerce, and scientific teams as well as others. They worked in harmony together to welcome and integrate new planets into the Galactic Council. With the teleport technology, welcoming a new planet was like welcoming a new neighbor to the neighborhood. There was so much to be learned and shared by both.


“So, was your mission what you thought it would be?” Auburn-haired Yorgi casually asked.

Jonathan smiled. “Yes and no. I was eager to learn the language, but textbook Spanish isn’t always what is spoken among the people. Countries have their own dialects and meanings. The universal translator was a big help though. But you wouldn’t know about that because your world all shares the same language.”

“Don’t be so sure. Why do you think we developed the universal translator? Though our language comes from a common heritage, we did have differences too. Each continent developed many differences and local meanings and the translator helped to overcome that.”

Jonathan continued. “Well I had more than language to overcome. The culture was quite different than what I was raised in. What I really learned was that though the people and their culture and language differ from mine, they are still ordinary people. They have ordinary concerns for their families and I drew close to them. I made many friendships some of which I hope to keep in touch with. I also saw many changes come to them with the advances the world is making. Many of them who lived in poverty now found new areas for work and education open to them never before available.”

He continued, “I shared my beliefs with them whenever the opportunity afforded it. There were several special families I became close to and watched the message I brought make a big difference in their lives. That was the enjoyable part. Seeing individuals and families embrace the gospel.” Jonathan changed the subject. “Now what are you working on?”

Yorgi smiled. “I am working with Chad to see how we can improve the devices. We’ve done much, but we are still trying to find ways to do more. I am also helping my Dad in his office as Galactic Vice-president. Since he still has his Yantu Council position too, he has me sit in for him there sometimes. It is quite a responsibility but I enjoy it very much.…

“Mommy?”“Yes, Amber?” Meredith Royston was sitting at her desk in


their island cottage when red-haired Amber Julie timidly spoke at her bedroom door. Meredith had watched her baby grow into a very active young toddler. She had her later in life than many mothers, so relished every new thing Amber accomplished. Amber was always inquisitive and full of energy, requiring much of Meredith’s time.

“Amber walked up to her mother and said, “When will daddy be home? I’m ready for my bedtime story.”

“Well let’s check.” Meredith pressed an icon on her monitor and the Hyperwave function immediately displayed John at his desk in the Antigua Command Center half a galaxy away. “Hi, Darling,” she said. “Amber is ready to be tucked in and wants one of her father’s special bedtime stories.”

John smiled. “I didn’t realize it was so late. I’ll be right there.”

Almost instantly John was standing beside her in their bedroom and Amber happily leaped into his arms. Her father hugged her to him as he gave Meredith a kiss. John thought, Amber thinks this is all so natural with me popping in like this. She will never know what life was like before teleportation. I wonder how many more changes she will see before she’s grown?

“Amber sure misses her daddy and so does mommy,” Meredith almost cooed as John held her waist with his free arm. “What have you been up to besides saving the universe?”

“Well gotta keep it safe for my loved ones,” John smiled. “I was just thinking how Amber Julie is going to grow up in a completely different world than the one we knew. She won’t know what it’s like not to be able to flit wherever you want.”

“I think she is already acting different than most babies, but then how would I know since she’s the only one I have?”

“There’s probably some child psychologist somewhere working on the effects of teleporting on the human psyche,” John mused.

“Speaking of psyche, I’m wondering what to wear to Yorgi and Kelina’s Joining Ceremony next month. I may have to make a quick visit to my dress designer.”


“Haven’t you talked to Yanna about it?”“Yes, but she just said, “Wear what you would to church,

that will be alright,” but I think this should be a more special occasion than that.”

“I agree. Why don’t you make an appointment tomorrow to get a special dress for the occasion? Also, I haven’t even considered what I should wear either,” John added.

“Well, surely Janus can help you with that decision.” The couple walked together toward Amber’s bedroom. As they talked, Amber softly put her head on her daddy’s shoulder.

“You’re right. I haven’t even talked to him lately and his office is right next to mine. We’ve both been so busy with our individual assignments. I’ll do that tomorrow for sure. Janus is tireless in his work too. He wants to get everything perfect. He’s a much better organizer than I am.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Sweetheart. I think you’ve done a magnificent job leading the Galactic Council and I think everyone else thinks so too.”

As the three of them entered Amber’s original decorated bedroom with the blue sky and white puffy clouded ceiling, Meredith said, “Amber’s growing so fast, I think it’s time to get her a larger bed, don’t you?” Meredith pulled back the covers on the custom carved Mahogany bed while John put amber down. They had abandoned the railing for her after the second time she climbed out on her own to come and snuggle up with them.

“Go brush your teeth and put on your jam-jams, Sweetheart,” Meredith said.

Amber smartly picked up her pink jammies Meredith had laid out for her and walked over to her own bathroom connected to her bedroom to perform her nightly ritual.

“I hadn’t thought about a new bed, but you’re right.” She does need a new one, John thought. For a two year-old, Amber is very independent. I wonder what she is going to be like as a teenager.

After the bedtime story about a certain “Pooh Bear”, a “Hundred Acre Wood”, and kneeling prayers, John and


Meredith had their quiet time together reading scriptures and talking while they prepared for bed.

“Have you thought what to give Yorgi and Kelina for their joining,” John asked.

“I did ask Yanna about that and she just said, “Something from yourself will be appropriate,” so I have been working on a custom designed crocheted tablecloth your mom taught me how to do,” Meredith said as she walked over to her worktable and uncovered the multi-colored in-progress tablecloth with several geometric patterns on it.

“That seems like a very delicate and complicated pattern for a new learner,” John commented.

“Well your mom has been most generous with her time to help me make it and I am enjoying doing it. Alice is a great and patient teacher. I haven’t had to redo much. Are you planning on giving them something or should we consider this our gift?”

“Actually I received the same advice from Janus about joining gifts and I have been working on a special poem. Would you like to hear it?”

“Well, this is a surprise,” Meredith exclaimed. “You have certainly kept it a secret.”

“Just about as much as you did your tablecloth,” John smiled. “I didn’t want to share it until I was pleased with it myself.” John went to his side table and opened the drawer. “Here it is. He picked up a single computer sheet. “I will read it to you.”


“LOVE IS”By

John RoystonFor

Yorgi & KelinaUpon

Their Joining Day

Love is enduring and eternal,Always caring and sharing,

Always giving and receiving.Two people in love

Makes the universe expand,Joins God in creation andMakes life worth living.

Yorgi and Kelina,Now and Forever,Always together,Never far apart.

The heart knows no distance,Knows no boundaries.

Our prayers are with you,Wherever you are.

Planets and stars may change,Even galaxies alter their path,

Your love will only grow stronger,Deeper, richer, truer, and happier.

These are our wishes for you,Yorgi and Kelina,

Now and throughoutThe eternities.

John and Meredith Royston

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH28

“Oh darling, that is just perfect. My heart swelled as you read it. I know they will treasure it always. It really is a part of you.” Meredith gave him a tender kiss.

“I’m glad you like it and you felt the feelings I felt as I wrote it. And I’m glad I have more time to write one for Jonathan and Tanya. I plan on having it engraved, gold-plated and put in a hinged 8x10 frame with an English version on one page and Yanni translation on the other. I believe the Yanni appreciate poetry and literature as much as we do.”

“Yes, I do too and I think that will be the perfect joining gift.”

With that, the Galactic Council President and First Lady of the Galaxy snuggled together in a loving embrace, unaware of the deviltry abounding in other parts of the universe.…

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH28

Chapter Three

“Opposition Arises”

The Spectari hidden planet Aragonna in the Septon region of the Spectari galaxy…

“It has been over two years since the enemy defeated our Galaxy and we have been working secretly with these spheres all that time without truly understanding their functions other than using it to establish stasis fields.” Dr. Faren-sen was talking to Dr. Marve-sen. “They are capable of much more if we could just understand how they work. Is there any end in sight?” The two Spectari scientists were in a huge cavern hidden under the central continent on the out-of-the-way planet.

His older colleague said calmly, “We can’t rush these things. There must be a key that we’ve been missing.” He put down his digipad and put his arm on his colleague. “We just have to be patient. We are just fortunate the Supreme Councilor had us move our secret base just before the enemy attacked our galaxy or we would have been captured too.”

Dr. Faren-sen shrugged off the arm from his shoulder. “My patience is running out. The enemy killed my family and is out there daily changing our galaxy to their ways. We must do something to strike back.”

Dr. Marve-sen continued despite the shrug. “My friend, I feel your pain but you have seen the power of their technology. They can instantly appear wherever they want. For them, it


seems distance is no barrier. It’s like it doesn’t exist. We cannot go up against them until we can do it without calling attention to ourselves. We must be cautious. I feel each day we are getting closer to understanding this alien technology we acquired from the Andorrans.”

“If our forces had only acted quicker, those Andorran scientists would not have escaped with all the information about these spheres. I still believe these spheres hold the key to our success.” Dr. Faren-sen hopefully spoke.

Dr. Marve-sen consoled his friend. “You may be right. The enemy seemed to have used these spheres against us in a special way we do not yet understand, so we know the spheres are capable of much more. We will find the answer; it is just taking us longer than we expected. That is all.”

“Well I am getting very tired of having to hide in this underground cavern and being completely cut-off from everything.”

“I know, but it is the only way. If the enemy finds us, these three years of work will have been lost.”

“Not entirely lost. Our security force on this hidden planet has slowly grown and obtained extra warships and star craft, so when we do discover the full function of these spheres, we will be able to do something with it against the enemy.

On the prison planet Zeron…

“Amazing!” General Rasu-sen said viewing the extraordinary results of the team’s efforts. They had worked tirelessly under the glaring sun and into the night by torchlight to remove the mountain of hard packed soil from around the embedded starship, using only an odd assortment of crude hand tools. Working at night was not much easier than the daytime because as soon as the blistering sun went down, the cold set in. The cold temperature that hovered around freezing was even more miserable than the noonday heat. The body’s natural ventilating system of perspiration helped in the heat but the opposite was not true in the freezing cold. Without extra


clothing, which they did not have, the body lost its natural body warmth rapidly and hypothermia set in. Now in the morning light, the starship shone brightly as a testament to its builders, whoever they were.

A tired and weary General Rasu-sen admired the fine craftsmanship of the mighty ship. The ship’s size was tremendous, towering many feet over them in the bright sunlight. On the exterior it looked completely intact with only minor superficial damage. General Rasu-sen thought, depending on its interior layout, it could carry a goodly number of people. He was anxious to see the inside. He wondered how long it had been buried in the mountainside and what they would find inside other than some dead bodies. From the vegetation and shrubbery they had to dig around on the mountain, the general could tell it had been there for a very long time.

He thought, what caused it to crash? Who are its makers? Will it be able to be fixed or will we just be able to scavenge for useful items? Maybe there will be communicators we can use? Tools and weapons would be a bonus too.

“We found an entry port and are working to open it now,” Commander Marak-sen anxiously reported.

The men working on what looked to be an exterior hatch, at first found no obvious handle or switch, but one worker was running his gnarled hand around the perimeter of the door when a recessed area suddenly appeared beside the middle of the door. There were strange markings on some buttons. Commander Marak-sen tentatively reached and pressed the one closest to the door.

The hatch opened with a loud “Whoosh” of escaping very stale air amid silent anticipation. The team leader wished for environment suits as they entered the crashed starship, but knew they would just have to hope there was no sickening contamination or radiation exposure. The team only had the bright morning alien sun’s rays gleaming through the open hatch to guide them into the dark interior until they approached an archway. The internal lighting astoundingly came on! It took


several seconds for the team members to adjust their eyes to the soft amber lighting and gawk at the alien interior.

While their eyes adjusted to the pale artificial light, they heard the environmental controls start up with a soft humming vibration and the stale air began to quietly re-circulate. What a system! Commander Marak-sen marveled. After maybe millennia, their systems still work!

Sure enough, during the exploration of the ship they came across the remains of the crew. The aliens were long past decayed, providing little clue as to their features. Their size and extremities indicated they were at least nominally humanoids. The team was able to avoid any contaminated sickness as they removed the remains. The layout was not too different than their own ships, but the instrumentation and notations were foreign. They found the obvious command deck with long-since dead view screens and empty crew pods. The Spectari engineers went to work to decipher and understand what they could.

Shortly engineer Sander-sen exclaimed from what seemed to be a computerized control section, “I found the power module and it seems to be intact but I won’t know until we are ready to try it. At first glance it looks like a hydrogen transfer system.”

“If that is true, it can’t have too many moving parts to go wrong, so maybe it can be reactivated,” Lt. Car-sen hopefully said. “Search for reserve power modules.”

“If we only had a translation device, understanding these foreign symbols and notations would be a snap,” Commander Marak-sen remarked as the team swarmed over and examined the ship’s controls.

Hours later, in the bowels of the huge ship they found a good assortment of tools and a surprisingly still-working refrigerated food locker! Though they wouldn’t touch the old alien food packets, they could use the locker to store their own food. Other Spectari searchers found some universal translators! A true Godsend! They learned the starship also contained a matter transporter similar to the one the Spectari


stole from the Yanni! Now they were in real business and could figure out the alien ship’s workings!…

Sandy-haired Greg Garrett returned from his church mission to Spain, two years older, wiser and with a greater and deeper testimony of his faith. He was eager to pursue his life’s ambition and secretly hoping to court Jenny Royston. Greg was already immortalized in Galactic history for the invention of the Garrett Hyperwave, but he had other things he wanted to accomplish, not the least of which was to have a loving family like his parents. Jenny had briefly corresponded with him while he was engaged in his missionary work, but there was no indication of true feelings for him in those brief letters, only wishing him the best as he served the people an ocean and continent away. Greg thought, now I need to find a way to get her attention.

“Jonathan, how is Jenny doing? Is she enjoying med school like she thought she would?” Greg inquired as they shared lunch together in the island cafeteria, trying not to reveal how much Jonathan’s answers meant to him. They could have eaten anywhere in the galaxy, but they seemed to be most comfortable here.

“You can ask her yourself shortly. She said she would join us for lunch. She’s eager to hear about your mission too.”

Greg’s hopeful heart beat a bit faster. “Do you really think she’s interested in me?”

“What, you and my baby sister? I hadn’t thought about that, but that would be great. We would be brothers–in-law!”

Greg’s face almost turned completely red. The cat is out of the bag now for sure, he thought.

Just then, Jenny appeared in the doorway and Greg’s heart beat even faster. He thought she was truly lovely in her white tennis outfit. Then his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach when he realized she wasn’t alone, but had a handsome male companion in a white tennis outfit with her. Greg wanted to literally melt into the wall, remembering his conversation with Jonathan just a second ago, as the pair approached.

“Hi Greg,” she said. “This is Roland Hatch. He’s studying


internal medicine and wanted to meet the inventor of the Garrett Hyperwave.”

Greg noted Roland was tall and athletic-looking with a good tan, short blond hair and standing just an inch taller than Greg.

Roland put out his hand and Greg accepted it in less than an eager fashion, which Roland surprisingly registered. “It is a real pleasure to meet you. Jenny tells me you just returned from a two-year mission for your church. What was that like?”

“It was very intense and a lot of work. Learning Spanish was hard at first, but it became easier as I mingled with the people. The climate wasn’t that much different from Texas.” Greg worked to control his voice and facial expression. “I loved the people and sharing my beliefs with them, but it’s nice to be home again.”

Roland gave a broad smile as he said, “I just want you to know how much I appreciate having the Hyperwave. Now no more missing classes and we can retrieve whole lessons anytime we want, although the instructors do expect more from us now too because of it.”

Greg noted Roland held Jenny’s hand almost in a possessive manner.

Jenny smiled at Greg. “Well enough of this adulation bit, let’s eat.”

The five of them obtained their food from the automated machines. The Central cafeteria contained both hot and cold food dispensers instantly restocked via teleporting freshly made items from a central island kitchen as selections were made. The mechanics for doing so were simple and uncomplicated. In the central kitchen were similar food dispensers containing teleport devices matching to these. When a compartment here became empty, the item from the kitchen compartment instantly replaced it via the teleport device. Then the kitchen compartment was replenished.

When they were seated again, Greg casually asked, “How’s your classes going, Jenny?”

“Very busy and hard at the moment,” she smiled and tossed


her blond curls. “I’m grasping everything, but really having to concentrate to do it. There’s much we are learning from the new member planets in the Galactic Council too. I don’t think it will be long until a whole string of developments with major disease cures will be approved too.” She paused to take a bite of food and chew it. “The Galactic Council has opened up a whole new division for medical research and because of my field of study and as a member of the charter team; I’m getting included in tracking some of the testing.”

Jonathan said, “She’s too modest. She also received a commendation from the study team for a special paper she wrote on aging on the different planets. She noted how some seem to age faster than others and now a whole team is working on that aspect to see if they can learn why that is and maybe be able to extend our own lifetimes.”

Greg admired everything about her from her dimpled smile to the way she made everyone around her feel alive. “Jonathan told me you’re also on the varsity tennis team. Doesn’t that take some time too?”

“Yes it certainly does. Roland is my partner in doubles and he keeps me on my toes,” she smiled. “We are high up on the rankings too. You should come see us,” she laughingly said.

Up until that statement, Greg was hoping Roland was just a casual classmate, but now that hope was even dashed. Greg barely remembered tasting the rest of the meal or conversation.…

Janus, the Yanni Councilman and Galactic Vice-president, was busy in his mini-lab next door to his Command Center office. The tall pale Yanni official and Galactic leader was a very studious and methodical man. He hadn’t told anyone what he was working on because he didn’t want to offend Dr. Vaughn. The Yanni were very sensitive that way. Janus took both of his leadership responsibilities very seriously. In his conversations with Dr. Vaughn he learned that though the earthlings discovered the teleport function, they still did not know truly how it worked.

Janus recalled Dr. Vaughn’s words, “We know it works and


works well, but my earlier theories about how it works don’t seem to stand up with the distance it works.”

Janus recalled that very first time he experienced their refugee space ships being teleported out of harms way from that faraway moon in the Centauri Sector to Earth’s moon in the twinkling of an eye. They had just missed the Spectari finding them thanks to John’s offer of help. Janus had been then and was still amazed at the manner and speed in which it operated. In fact, for this device, time does not seem to occur. There is no comparison to its function and our matter transmitter, but exactly how does it work?

Janus was a curious and meticulous person who needed to know the “how”. To think the unsophisticated and not overly advanced Earthlings could discover it and make it work without knowing the “how” was fantastic and almost unbelievable. He spent many hours examining every micro component of the device and testing each one separately for its properties, but he was coming no closer to the answer for all the knowledge he was learning.

Although it works and works fantastically well, there are some limitations. We know it won’t work around a concentrated area of Tritanium or through a null field, or through the force field projected by the Spectari energy spheres, but is that all or is there something else out there that will surprise us? Do those limitations provide any clue to its functioning? Janus held the wrist device in his hand as he continued his thoughts.

The invisibility function is just as remarkable and Dr. Vaughn said they discovered it also by accident! It works amazingly with just a minor modification to the ultra frequency. Does that help explain it? Then there’s the Hyperwave comm unit that works with it in another truly unbelievable fashion. I think the term Hyperwave is a misnomer too because it certainly doesn’t act in any way like a wave. I must find what really causes these devices to work the fantastic way they do! There must be a scientific answer!

“Beep…Beep!”


Janus noted it was Yanna calling. “Yes dear?” He smiled at her bright clear image on his wrist device.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt you dear. I was just wondering when you would be home?”

Janus glanced at his chronometer and realized the lateness of the hour on Yantu. “I will be right there.” And he was.

Yanna had waited dinner for him, but had fed Jarom. Jarom was a year older than Amber and twice as active. “Hi Papa,” he happily giggled when his dad arrived.

Janus hugged his son. “Where’s Kara?”“She’s visiting Jenny. The young people on Crescent Island

are having a party and invited her to join them,” Yanna said as she served her husband his plate.

“I hope all this cultural interaction isn’t spoiling her,” Janus said, waiting for Yanna to join him at the table with her own plate. “I think Jenny is a wonderful girl, but what about the others?”

Auburn-haired Yanna sat down with her plate and earnestly said, “It is right to be concerned dear, but I have noticed that though their society as a whole leaves much to be desired, members of their Galactic team seem very responsible.”

“Yes, that also occurred to me. Jonathan certainly takes after his father in his ambition and drive and Jenny I understand is doing great in medical school. Her paper on aging amazed the whole council. I guess Kara is getting old enough to handle herself in that group okay.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, this is her fourth year at University and we’ve already had one suitor asking to meet us.”

“I remember. It was professor Yakora’s son, Anton, but I didn’t take him seriously,” Janus said lightheartedly.

“Well you should because Kara is.”That fact startled Janus. “Do you think she is doing this just

because Yorgi and Kelina are joining or is she really serious?”Yanna put her hand on Janus’ and sweetly smiled at him.

“Darling, you have to realize our world has greatly changed

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH38

since you and I joined. Young people are joining younger these days.”

Janus looked almost aghast and firmly said, “But that’s not right! The young man needs time to establish himself before he starts a family.”

Yanna’s eyes twinkled and she softly asked, “Did you ever give thought that maybe the two could work together to establish their selves?”…

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH38

Chapter Four

“Presidential Politics”

With all the scientific advancements and events happening in the universe, earth politics doesn’t seem to have advanced at all, President Hargrove mused. I am nearing the end of my second term of office and the jackals can’t wait. There are half a dozen candidates just waiting to gain this office.

The lame-duck president sat in the oval office recalling the past few years. His hairline, though still black, was more receding and included several strands of gray now. He was proud of his accomplishments and desired to peacefully rest on his laurels. I have been part of the launch of the greatest expansion era this world has ever seen. People the world over and even out of it are much better off than when my presidency began.

Of course I can’t take that much credit for it, but I did allow the atmosphere to exist, which helped those amazing advancements to progress. What if those conspirators had gained power? What would the world be like now? President Hargrove recalled that escapade that had cost the lives of twenty duped soldiers. Hank’s security team had caught the leading twisted culprits, but he had been surprised at the intensity of their hatred for him.

“Bzzt…Bzzt!” The president glanced at his wrist device and saw the beautiful image of his only daughter and apple of his eye. His flaxen-haired daughter now 24, reminded him more of his wife everyday. He answered, “Hi, Maryann. How are you and where are you?”


“Hi Daddy, she smiled. “I’m fine. I am on Bosansi. Borcas has been giving me a tour of their history museum here and it is fantastic! This is ten times better than one of my boring college lectures. I think Borcas likes me. Their planet is very rich in culture.”

President Hargrove remembered Borcas as a redheaded Bosansian engineer who now worked in the Bosansi defense center in some capacity. The Galactic Council had freed the nineteenth Century-like Bosansi from the cruel rule of the Spectari and they had eagerly joined the Council. They had also eagerly embraced the new technology.

“That’s nice, sweetheart. What’s the occasion for the call?”

“Borcas has invited me to attend their annual Harvest Festival and I wanted you to know I have accepted so I won’t be there for your political gala you are having tonight as I can’t be at two places at once.”

“That is true, but since I recall, the Bosansi night starts several hours after ours, you could pop in here for the beginning and then zip back to Bosansi for their festival.”

“Maryann’s face twinkled as she said, “I will think about it Daddy.”

“Thanks for letting me know. I will tell your mother.”“I already told her before I called you. Have fun at your gala,” she

sweetly smiled.“Thanks. And you too.” President Hargrove recalled that

day over three years ago when all the changes began. My heart ached when I witnessed on the TV Maryann, bleeding and unconscious, being carried out of that wrecked railcar by the mysterious stranger. I was very thankful for John Royston’s daring and amazing rescue with the special device that has wrought so many wonderful changes. Then there was his special appearance at the UN where he proposed the universal peace plan. That was truly a stroke of genius. But it was my idea and prompting that led to the establishment of the Galactic Council. The First father continued his thoughts.

Maryann is spending more time on Bosansi lately. I wonder if she has feelings for Borcas. I will have to ask her next time.


That would be a first, an intergalactic wedding. Surprisingly the thought did not bother him. He had come to respect Borcas who had been a quick learner of the Galactic technology and represented his people well.

President Hargrove pressed his thumb to his wrist device and said, “Madelyn.”

“Yes dear?” She brightly queried as her image appeared on his wrist display.

“Hi sweetheart,” he smiled. “I was just thinking. Has Maryann said anything to you about having feelings toward Borcas of Bosansi?”

“I was going to talk to you this evening. We just discussed that very thing and I will fill you in when you come up to get ready for the party tonight.”

The official gala that evening had a dual purpose. The president’s political party wanted to recognize him for his two terms of leadership and at the same time promote the person they had anointed to replace him. That person was Mark Petersen, President Hargrove’s right hand man and chief of staff in the White House. The obvious candidate, the current Vice-president had declined to run for health reasons due to his recent open-heart surgery.

Though Mark held no current political office, he had the name recognition and the experience of working on a day-to-day basis with President Hargrove. Some even thought the lack of holding a current office was a benefit, as he had created no great opposition and had established many friendly alliances on Capitol Hill. The added bonus was that Mark had become Earth’s liaison with the Galactic Council, which had become the 300-pound gorilla in political circles. Most of the time anything the Council recommended the Earth representatives rubber-stamped.

President Hargrove was happy to recommend Mark for the job and offered him his full support. As for President Hargrove’s future plans, he was looking forward to doing some fly-fishing with his brothers in Montana, but hadn’t thought


much beyond that. He did think he was too young to just sit around and work on his memoirs though.

Upstairs in the executive mansion Madelyn Hargrove was excited at the thought of Maryann being in love with Borcas. It might not be the first interplanetary wedding, but it will probably be the highest profile one. I wonder if they will want to have the wedding here while we are still in the White House or that fancy ballroom on Bosansi wouldn’t be a bad choice either. I need to invite him and his parents here for dinner so we can get to know them better.

She continued her thoughts; I can’t wait to talk to Maryann more about him. (Maryann had not told her mother Borcas’ parents and his whole clan had been killed during the Spectari invasion of Bosansi.) I wonder what his beliefs are and how they will raise their children. They must be similar to ours or Maryann wouldn’t be attracted to him. I do love the Bosansi flair for color and finery too.

Madelyn was also working on her plans for moving back to their ranch in Southern California. She was sure she wouldn’t miss the Washington DC cold winters, although they weren’t so bad now with the new energy dome over the city. She would definitely miss the opportunity to host the spectacular galas in the White House though.

She thought, I am not ready to retire yet and I don’t think Michael is either. I know he has already been contacted by publishers to work on his memoirs, but that certainly seems dull compared to all we’ve been involved in these last few years. There is something we should be able to do to keep working with the Galactic Council.

Janus was not alone in his effort to understand the true workings of the teleport device. Professor Tom Johnston was endeavoring to understand it better too. Though he was primarily thought of as an academic teacher because he had designed the Galactic curricula that was used with the Hyperwave throughout the cosmos now, he was originally an engineer. As an engineer, he needed to know the why of things. He too felt Dr. Vaughn’s explanation was too simplistic and


could not possibly be the complete answer. He was working from a different angle than Janus or Dr. Vaughn. He enlisted Ted Olmstead in his efforts.

The Professor/Engineer thought there must be a third element involved other than just the repropagated Alpha wave and the FM frequency. He was looking for that third element. He was looking for X. When Tom explained his theory to Ted, he agreed X might exist. Tom had setup a mini-lab in his island office. He was focusing on the fact the device would not work around concentrated quantities of tritanium. He believed that might provide a clue to the existence of X. Tom had started out his experiments using just a small quantity of tritanium so as not to affect devices on the island. When he realized he needed larger quantities for his testing, he moved his experiments off-planet to the moon where he established a laboratory in one of the research facilities there. He and Ted would meet there whenever they could.

Ann was noticing the large amount of time he was spending away lately. “What are you working on dear that is taking so much of your time? There are things around here I could use your help on and I have turned down several invitations lately because you were unavailable.”

Tom looked at Ann and realized what she was saying was true. I have become obsessed with finding X. I must take a break and maybe that will help me solve the problem by not thinking about it for a while. He put his arms around Ann. “You’re right, sweetheart. I have been focusing entirely too much on work. How about dinner out at your favorite restaurant and you can start accepting some of those invitations. In fact, I think you should start doing some inviting too. We probably already owe some return invites. I will let Ted know I am going to take a break.”

She happily smiled. “Oh, darling, I’m glad you realize that. I was beginning to wonder about you. Can we schedule the grandkids for next week?”

Little did Tom realize Ted was getting the same quiz from his wife. “You’re right. I have been neglecting you lately. I will


let Tom know I can’t spend so much time on our research so I can spend more time with you and our grandkids.”

John Royston Sr., former Air Force Senior Master Sergeant, and current assistant Galactic comp operator and Security team member, was upset. I’m not as spry as I used to be, but I’ve still got a lot of life in me. He struggled at the mirror to shave. His arthritis was affecting him very much this morning. With all these new inventions, they should invent an easier way to shave. Maybe I should just start growing a beard. It would probably be so white I’d look like Santa Claus.

“Are you about through in there dear?” Alice Royston knew her husband was slowing down and having more difficulty lately, but she tried not to offer too much assistance or he would really get cranky. “Jonathan and Tanya will be here shortly.”

“Yes dear. I will be right out.” He thought, with all these new medical advancements, arthritis should be the first on the list to go. I will ask Jenny about that next time I see her. I am proud of her progress in medical school.

“Hi Grandpa and Grandma,” Jonathan said as he gave them each a hug and Tanya did the same.

“Come on in and have a seat,” Alice said as she ushered them inside their cozy island cottage with grandpa slowly following.

“When’s the big event?” Grandpa asked, slowly settling in his favorite lounge chair.

Jonathan and Tanya sat together holding hands on the sofa with Grandma in her rocker next to Grandpa.

Grandma Alice noted Jonathan seemed more mature since his mission. She was proud of him. She knew he was ready to start a family and she liked Tanya as her knew granddaughter-in law.

“November 27th. The day after Thanksgiving, Grandpa,” Tanya happily beamed.

“You better watch out there Jonathan. You’ve picked a date that constantly changes.”

“What do you mean Grandpa? November 27th is the same every year.”


“It’s not the date that changes, but what it’s next to. You see if you simply remember it as the day after Thanksgiving, that will be a different date each year, so simply remember it as November 27th, not the day after Thanksgiving. I know someone else who was always missing his anniversary because of that very fact. He never could get it straight.”

Grandma asked, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Tanya, what are you studying in school?”

“Well Grandma, I started out as a science major, but I switched it to computer science so I will be able to converse with and understand Jonathan better. He’s well advanced in that field ahead of me now, but maybe I can catch up with his help.”

“That’s nice. I think two people having more in common strengthens the bond between them,” Alice said as she idly picked up her knitting lying in the straw basket beside her rocker.

Jonathan noted it was a colorful item. “What ya making Grandma?” Jonathan asked.

“It’s a gift,” Alice said with a twinkle in her eye.Jonathan took the hint he shouldn’t ask anything more

about it. “Grandpa we haven’t seen you at the comp center lately. How are you doing?”

“I might not even go back. I think I will just permanently retire,” John Sr. crankily said.

Tanya spoke up. “Well Grandpa we certainly miss seeing you there. We kind of like the way you do things, keeping everyone on their toes.”…

“…We have run into some kind of ion storm more intense than we have ever experienced before!” The alien captain’s pained visage displayed on the view screen as the alien starship’s log was replayed on the reactivated viewscreen. The image flickered. “It is affecting the ship’s controls! Helmsman, find us a planet to land on before we lose all power and send out a distress signal now!” The dead captain’s face was intense and extremely worried as he watched his crew react at their stations around the command deck.


General Rasu-sen was sitting in the alien captain’s chair, which he now considered his. With the universal translator he was now able to master the armchair’s controls. He noted the aliens on the screen exhibited ordinary human features except their noses were a little more prominent, their eyes farther apart, and their hair appeared to be more course. He noted several females seemed to be staffing what looked like important stations on the bridge. He was repulsed at the thought of females having any authority on a ship’s bridge. In the Spectari ships, females were there only to serve the men.

In the middle of the critical action, the viewscreen suddenly went blank.

“That was the last entry, sir. Their power must have completely failed right after that,” Lt. Car-sen said.

The loss of all power including their anti-gravity and life support would explain the complete loss of life on impact. General Rasu-sen theorized. Also the placement of the remains supports that theory. This ground must have been densely covered with shrubbery and the ground very soft for the vehicle to be so deeply embedded in this hill completely intact.

He spoke aloud, “Well, we now know what happened, but not exactly when. Their record contains time and date, but we have nothing to relate it to. Any luck on understanding their calendar? Converting dates is about the only thing the translator can’t do.”

“No sir, but we’ve located their home galaxy using their star charts. It seems they are located in the far galaxy on the other side of our own. We just don’t know when this happened yet.”

“We also don’t know where we are either,” the general frustratingly said.”

“That’s not true anymore,” his ship’s astrogator said. “Using their charts, I believe I have located our position.” The astrogator manipulated the viewed display to show a star chart. “We are here in this spiral arm of the Gamma Galaxy.” Astrogator Thomp-sen highlighted a spiral arm in the Milky Way. “Also the alien ship’s detectors show that this planet has a force shield around it,” he reported.


“That just means it will be more difficult to escape from if we get this ship working, not impossible.” To be in a ship again after more than two years of bare survival was giving the general boosted confidence. “What kind of weaponry does this ship have?” The general then quickly asked the important question, “We need to get their ion drive back online. Are you making any progress there?”

Lt. Car-sen answered. “The engineers think they understand it enough to get it working. They say the power modules are still viable and the engineering chief is supposed to supply an estimate shortly. We can work the long range comm unit, but I have followed your orders and not activated it.”

“Good because I don’t want us to accidentally alert the enemy or they will come down here and confiscate this ship from us. Also, we don’t know the situation in our own galaxy. From the number of people they marooned here, I assume they have probably taken over our own galaxy” General Rasu-sen said.

“As for weaponry,” Major Jersh-sen, the weapons officer, spoke up, “I understand most of it, but there still may be a few surprises. Their technology is mostly high-energy based with ion cannons as the key weapon.”

“Well, keep after it. I want everything working and cataloged as soon as possible!”

Now that the possibility of escape presented itself, General Rasu-sen began to think of battle tactics. “Commander Marak-sen, I want you to round up everyone who has had any direct contact with the enemy. I want to know exactly how the enemy defeated us so easily and completely.”

“Yes sir. It will be done immediately!”…

Galactic President John Royston was sitting at his desk in his Maryland office when the intercom buzzed. “Yes, Betty?”

“Sir, there is a rather large gentleman here who wishes to speak to you. He says you know him as ‘Little Joe’.”

John grinned as he pictured Little Joe’s hulking frame towering over the diminutive Betty as he said. “Yes I do know


him, Betty. Please send him right in.” Betty Rogers Amesly was sitting in for the regular receptionist while she was on maternity leave. John knew it wouldn’t be long before Betty was taking a similar leave. The Galactic Council Press Secretary and White House Press Secretary, Derrick Amesly, had recently celebrated their first anniversary.

John happily stood and walked toward the door with his hand extended as it opened.

The gentle giant who would easily fit in any pro football frontline filled the doorway and smiled as he took John’s offered hand in greeting.

“You’re looking great Little Joe. Are you still working at Dr. Vaughn’s farm?”

“Yes sir, Dr. Vaughn turned it over to my family and we are taking care of it quite well.”

John knew the National Register had taken ownership of Dr. Vaughn’s Grandmother’s farmhouse and the farm ‘lab’ to preserve it for historical purposes, but a new house had been built on the nearby land when Dr. Vaughn insisted he wanted to donate it to Little Joe and his family. John’s home in Dallas had likewise been historically designated, as was the original Rock Quarry Dr. Vaughn and Meredith had used.

John recalled first meeting Joseph Standing Bear Walker at Dr. Vaughn’s farm. They had something else in common as John had learned Little Joe had recently converted to the LDS Church. The American Navaho Indian had been eager to learn about his ancestors spoken of in the Book of Mormon. “Come in and have a seat,” John beckoned to a side couch as he took a seat on it. “How is your family doing?”

Little Joe smiled. “They are doing quite well thank you. We have expanded the herd of cattle and they are providing a comfortable living for our family and we are helping the rest of our tribe also.”

“I am glad to hear it. They are keeping me quite busy here with the expansion of the Galactic Council too. How can I help you?”

Little Joe paused a moment, then said. “I have come at the


request of our tribal elder. He has asked me if there might be a planet our tribe could move to; At least for those who want to. We know other groups are doing this and we would like to also.”

“That is an excellent idea. I will work with the planetary placement team to find a very suitable planet for your tribe. Let me speak to Betty.”

John pressed his wrist device. “Betty, can you introduce Little Joe to the head of the planetary placement team with my highest recommendation he give Little Joe’s tribe priority placement?”

“Yes sir, John. I will do that right away.”John smiled at Little Joe. “It’s nice when I can use my little

influence to help a friend.”Little Joe smiled in thanks. “We certainly appreciate it.”“No problem. Let me know when you get settled and I’ll

come visit you.”…Dr. James Vaughn looked somewhat uncomfortable. He

was on his first real date since his loving Emma died almost twelve years earlier and he wasn’t sure how to act. Luckily his date, Dr. Ellen Summers, realized it and tried to make the setting as relaxing and casual as possible.

She too had lost a mate several years ago, but had more of a recent social life than Dr. Vaughn. Ellen had several grown children and grandchildren. The auburn haired astrophysicist played a part in the Earth space shuttle program before events far outstripped everything NASA was doing. She joined the Galactic Science Committee shortly after it was created almost two years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the work.

Dr. Vaughn noted Ellen was wearing a bright blue pullover sweater and dark skirt. He had chosen a maroon turtleneck sweater and tan slacks upon her suggestion of the outdoor restaurant.

“Exactly how many children do you have?” He hesitantly asked as they waited to be served on the balcony of this exclusive San Francisco restaurant. She had chosen it and he


could see why. It had a lovely view of the bay and Golden Gate Bridge, which hardly sported traffic anymore. What little traffic there was, consisted mostly of tourists. Just about all travel was handled via the teleport devices nowadays.

She easily smiled at him, “Eric and I had seven children; four girls and three boys. They are all grown now with careers and families of their own. And thanks to your invention, I can see them and visit with them anytime.”

“Yes, and I can visit my one son and daughter too. Mine live in the Dallas area. Where are yours located?

“Mine are spread out. Right now I have two living in Wisconsin, two in Texas, one in southern California, One in Chicago, and one in London, England.”

“How do you keep up with them?”“Thanks to yours and Greg Garrett’s invention, very easily.

How did you ever figure out teleportation?”“I can’t even take half the credit. Dr. Simpson, now

Meredith Royston, and I were off on an entirely different tangent when we thought our experiment had backfired and killed John Royston who we didn’t even know existed at the time.”

“That’s right. You were experimenting on a theory about anti-gravity, wasn’t it?” She brushed her hair back as it blew across her face.

“Yes, and as I look back at it, I’m amazed how everything turned out. We abandoned our lab at the Hillsboro rock quarry almost immediately after witnessing the incident and moved it to New Mexico. Poor John was in a quandary not knowing what happened to him. He was driving on the highway one instant and in a field of weeds hundreds of miles away in east Texas the next. We thought our experiment had literally obliterated him. We were happily stunned and amazed when he appeared at the farm and told us his startling story.”

Ellen could tell by his body language and relaxed jaw muscles, Dr. Vaughn’s telling of the events was causing him to feel more at ease and comfortable. She wanted to encourage


him to continue. “But you didn’t figure it out right away, did you?”

“No. We didn’t. And I’m not sure we have all the answers today either. All I really did was figure out how to repeat it and came up with a theory to explain it, but with the amazing distance it works at without requiring any noticeable time, my theory seems too simplistic and really doesn’t explain it, and yet it does work and work fantastically well,” he said, smiling broadly for the first time.

“That Hyperwave for communication is remarkable too,” She added.

“Greg Garrett astounded all of us with that one. It’s truly amazing how he did it, but it too works in a remarkable way with the teleport device.”

“I have just recently learned how awesome the Spectari weaponry is, yet the combined team managed to defeat them fairly easily. Did you have a hand in that?”

“Yes, but it was Sethanni who really deserves most of the credit. He was able to identify the null field they were using and the Yanni had the ability to counter it.”

“I think it’s great the way not only the Yanni but the other Council member planets work together for the common good as well.”

“After being faced with the fierce Spectari, I am happy that is so.” Dr. Vaughn smiled. “I still marvel at how human these other cultures are. The only real differences seem to be in their level of scientific and sociological advancement. Just as many are way ahead of us as are behind us. It seems we are somewhere in the middle of all those developed planets.”

Ellen asked, “Have you checked for any environmental factors for the Spectari’s aggressive nature since they seem to be so far off the normal scale?”

“Since you mention that, I remember reading a memo from our environmental team the other day, proposing just such a possibility. I will have to have them look into it further.”

Dr. Summers noted Dr. Vaughn had become more comfortable while talking and was even smiling some. Just then

the food arrived and they enjoyed it, the view and one another’s company.…

Chapter Five

“Other Activities”

Billy Travis was excitedly looking forward to going on the planetary tour with Galactic President Royston. Though his folks traveled a lot; Hank as Galactic Security Chief and Darlene as Meredith’s Administrative Assistant, 20 year-old Billy hadn’t done much traveling, especially in another whole galaxy.

“Hi, Billy. Glad you’re on time.”Billy noted Mr. Royston was in his official gray tunic as

Galactic President with the sharp-looking colorful Galactic Shield on it. He hoped his own dress was okay. He had selected a blue-buttoned shirt and trousers rather than his usual T-shirt and jeans. There was one thing bothering him though. “Mr. Royston, I prefer ‘Bill’ or ‘Will’, rather than Billy. I just attach that name to a little boy and I’m not little anymore.”

Sure Billy err…Will. I’ll be glad to. Glad to see you’re ready. The first planet we’re going to visit is the planet Listra on the edge of the Beta Galaxy. It was the first planet we freed from the Spectari’s rule in the Spectari’s own galaxy.”

“I’m still not clear on how you accomplished that. I heard the Spectari had awesome weapons and could even destroy ships and whole planets,” Will blurted out.

“I believe you’re thinking in terms of your computer war games where each side destroys each other,” John grinned then seriously said, “But what you say is true. And they caused quite a bit of death and destruction before we defeated them. They attacked Yantu and destroyed several of their major cities.”


“Mr. Royston, I don’t mean to sound naive, but I’m still not sure how you overcame those powerful weapons?”

“I guess that’s a good question, Will, but the answer is really simple.” John smiled. “We never gave them a chance to use those weapons against us. We used the teleport technology and stealth to surprise them and strip them of their ships and weapons before they had a chance to use them. You see, with all their advanced science and terrible destructive weapons, even though they learned about teleporting, they failed to realize what it truly means.”

Will asked, “And what is that Mr. Royston?”“They failed to realize distance no longer matters. We

could reach them wherever they were. And that is exactly what we did. We surprised them and took away their weapons.” John didn’t mention the invisibility part because that special function was not general public knowledge and they wanted to keep it that way, although he did believe Will was aware of it.

“Now let’s go visit Listra. They are expecting us and I think there will be some type of formal ceremony and function we are expected to attend.” John held Will’s hand, spoke into his device, and they zipped a whole galaxy away in an instant.

They arrived at the local governor’s office. Governor Alfonse Pastori’s secretary welcomed them to Listra. Will noted the officious-looking man as he spoke into a round gray instrument on his desk. “Sir, Galactic President Royston is here.”

Seconds later Governor Pastori opened his office door and welcomed them into his private office.

‘Hi Governor. I want you to meet my assistant for this visit. Will Travis. I think you know his dad.” They shook hands in greeting.

“Yes we certainly do know Mr. Travis. He has been a huge help in getting us set up properly and it looks like he has a fine son too. Are you as tall as your dad?”

“Almost; about an inch shorter at 6’1”, actually.”“Well it’s hard for me to tell from my perspective down

here.” Listra’s First Citizen smiled, as he was 5’6”, just a couple inches shorter than John. “Would you like some refreshment?”


“That would be great,” John said. “Just water for me.”“Me too,” Will smiling said.While waiting for the secretary to bring the water, the

governor brought John and Will up to speed on current events.“We’ve made great strides with getting the teleport

platforms distributed planet wide. It has made a great difference in our economy. The new power pods have virtually eliminated pollution on the whole planet. We’ve started a great program on interplanetary trade for some of our homegrown products and we are rebuilding from the destruction the Spectari caused. Your galaxy’s help with the reconstruction is greatly appreciated too. The new tractor beam technology is a big aid also.”

“That sounds fine, Governor, but how is the self-rule program going? That is what I’m most interested in.”

“Yes. I know. We’ve had some internal difficulties due to boundary disputes, but I think we have worked them out. Getting everyone to agree to what’s in their best interest is not always easy.”

“We experienced some of those same problems on my planet. I’m glad to see you’re making progress. I’m wondering if you could help me find a Tomas Dalaeden and his family? I believe they are in the village of Synterra on the eastern continent?”

“Synterra is one of our success stories and I know Councilman Dalaeden personally. I am familiar with his rescue from the Spectari by your liberation team. That was most noble.”

“We were happy we could do it. If you have his data, I would like to contact him.”

Governor Pastori punched a button on his desk. “Terry, will you send Councilman Dalaeden’s comm address to President Royston please?”

“Certainly, sir. It should be there now.”John glanced at his wrist device and noted the displayed

data. He punched send and shortly the redhead’s smiling face was showing on his wrist display.

“President Royston! What a pleasant surprise! Are you on Listra?


You must come see us. I know Marta and Kara would love to have you visit.”

“Hi, Councilman. Hank told me you were an engineer. You’re looking well. And I have allowed time for a visit. Would this evening at six your time work?”

“Thank you Sir. That would be perfect. I changed professions after my experience as a Spectari captive. We will be expecting you. See you then.”

John then turned to the governor. “Now then, sir, how may I help you?”

“Well this afternoon we have a meeting with the heads of state and were hoping you would address them. They are anxious to get caught up on what’s happening in the rest of the galaxy.”

“Yes. I have it on my calendar. Do you have a program?”John and Will sat together on the stand and listened to the

glowing introduction by Governor Pastori. John usually shunned the limelight when he could, but he also knew that is why he was Galactic President; to represent the Galactic Council, so he always attempted to make the most of it. He noted the special architectural design of the meeting hall. The walls contained ornate carved columns and the seating was designed in a curved pattern that provided everyone an excellent view.

“I am glad to meet you and happy to note the progress you are making. Your planet has become a model for the rest of your galaxy and you should be proud of it. Please let your individual countrymen know that the Galactic Council recognizes them for their heroic efforts. Change is not always easy, and rapid change is even more difficult. I congratulate you on your ability to achieve it. Traveling with me today is the son of Galactic Security Chief, Hank Travis.” John turned to Will. “Please stand and be recognized Will.”

Will almost sheepishly stood and shyly waved to the audience of dignitaries as they clapped for him.

After the program with the dignitaries, John and Will had some time to talk before their evening appointment. “Will, how’s things going with your personal life?”


“I guess not too well. I’m really struggling in school.”“How old are you now?” John knew, but wanted to hear

him say it.“I’m twenty as of last month.”“Yes, I remember your birthday party. Have you thought

of going on a Church mission?” John new the Travis family had only been members two years, so Will had not had much time to think about, much less prepare for, a mission that most Latter-day Saint young men were encouraged to go on around their 19th year. He had attended two years of the LDS high school seminary program though, so John thought he was probably familiar with the basic doctrine and Latter-day scriptures as well as the Bible.

“Sir, I really don’t think I’m missionary material.”John put his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Believe it or not

Will, there was a time when I didn’t think I was either. We all progress at different times in our life. Have you read the story of the sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger?” John referred to an event described in the Book of Mormon.

“I think I remember it, but what do they have to do with me?”

Well, if there were ever some young men who didn’t look like missionary material, they were it. The four sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger were literally terrorizing the church back then. They were driving members away and being the worst examples possible. Mosiah was king and Alma the elder was the prophet. Do you remember what happened to them?”

“Didn’t Alma pray for his son and the others?” Will hesitantly said, as if he wasn’t sure.

“And what were the results of his prayers? Do you remember that?”

“Didn’t an angel appear to the young men?”“Yes. The scriptures say an angel appeared as it were in a

cloud and spoke as it were with a voice of thunder, so much so that it caused the earth to quake upon which they stood. It records that they were astonished and fell to the earth. Do you remember what happened then?”


“The angel spoke to Alma the younger and told him the Lord had heard the prayers of his people and his father’s prayers and he was sent to prevent Alma from persecuting the church even if he couldn’t convince Alma to change.”

“That’s right. I think you remember more than you thought you did. Alma was so astonished and overcome that he became numb and weak. What about the sons of Mosiah?”

“They witnessed it and were astonished too. When the angel left, they took Alma to his father and his father rejoiced because he knew the Lord had answered his prayers.”

“That’s right and we learn that Alma the younger and Mosiah’s sons repented of their sins, but was that all?”

“No.” Will was beginning to see how the story related to him. “They wanted to become missionaries to their enemies, the Lamanites, so they might be converted also.”

“Yes, Will. That was the true miracle. Because of their conversion, they wanted everyone to have the opportunity to be as happy as they were. They became great missionaries to the Lamanite people and were responsible for many thousands converting to the Gospel.”

John paused and looked into Will’s eyes. “Will, I just want you to know; you don’t have to be a great reader or speaker to be a missionary. People are ready at different times to hear the message, and when they are ready, the spirit whispers to them. We just need to be there for them so we can help them recognize the prompting and guide them through it. I think you have some great traits and talents that others could benefit from and a mission will certainly help you prepare for later life and strengthen your testimony. Will you think about it?”

Will Travis gave a half smile. “Yes sir. I will. I never thought about it like that. Thanks.”

John again put his arm on Will’s shoulder. “No problem. I’m thankful someone helped me when I was your age too.” He thought back to a thoughtful Sunday school teacher who had helped him get through a particular bad teenage time.

That evening the Dalaeden’s little cottage was brightly lit in a festive mood for John and Will’s visit. Hank had told


John about the rescue event and asked John to visit them if the opportunity arose. Tomas Dalaeden had been taken from his family and forced to serve as an engineer on a Spectari space ship. Young Kara had bravely asked Hank if he could find her father and Hank had assigned a member of the team to locate him if possible.

“Welcome President Royston,” the short dark-haired Marta Dalaeden excitedly said. “We are happy to have you visit our humble home.”

“And I am happy to be here. This is Will Travis. He is Hank Travis’ son. Hank wanted me to visit you and report back to him.”

“We are so happy to meet you, Will. Your dad has done a tremendous service for our family,” Marta eagerly shook Will’s hand.

“And I am happy to meet you too, Mr. Will,” 11 year-old Kara said as she briskly shook his hand.

“We all are,” Tomas said as he too shook Will’s hand. “Please tell your dad I said hi and hope he gets time to visit us soon.”

Will blushed. He hadn’t known about his dad helping this family. Will was doubly proud of his dad.

John noticed the effect and was glad he brought Will along.

“President Royston, we would be honored if you would sit at the head of our humble table for this evening’s meal,” Marta happily said.

Will was surprised when Tomas Dalaeden placed his hands together, bowed his head and said, “Great God above we give thanks for thy bounty and for friendships that reach across thy great creation.”

Following a sumptuous meal of game hens, squash and potatoes with a marvelous berry pie topped with sumptuous cream on it for dessert, Tomas said, “We’ve fixed the guest room for you and hope you will stay the evening. It has twin beds in it so there is plenty of room.”

John said, “I believe Governor Pastori has arranged our


lodging at the Village Inn, but if Will would like, I would be happy to accept your hospitality for the evening.”

Will said, “I would like that also.”That evening the Dalaeden family and their guests played

an old Listran board game called Who Dunnit and Kara won to the delight of them all. Following the game, John and Will zipped back to Crescent Island to get their night things and zipped back moments later.

The brief time John was home, he gave Amber and Meredith a quick hug and kiss and said, “The trip’s going just fine. And tell Darlene and Hank Billy wants to be called Will. I will see you tomorrow and share the trip with you then.”

When John stepped out of the Dalaeden’s bathroom, he almost entered the guestroom when he overheard the end of Will’s prayer,

“…And Heavenly father, help me to be as good and faithful a missionary as Ammon was. Amen.”

John thought, I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to this day. After a couple of seconds he entered the room, knelt by his bed and said his own prayer of thanks to his Heavenly Father.

“Good night, Will. I hope you had a good day.”“I did, thanks to you Mr. Royston. I think the Dalaeden’s

are special people and I’m glad my dad was able to help them.”…

The hum of the twin power plants was music to the Spectari engineer’s ears. When the others heard it too, they gave a happy shout.

General Rasu-sen was interviewing the requested group Commander Marak-sen assembled who had any contact with the enemy. For the most part he wasn’t learning much. He noted there were three groups of individuals; the crewmembers of the armada, ships on regular patrol, and Supreme Council palace guards. Most of the armada crew told the same tale of a Yanni


android ordering them off their ship and then disappearing with it, their weapons and comm units. There was one strange story though from one of the captains who had not been part of his space armada, but on regular patrol.

“Sir, we were on our patrol when suddenly our ship was grounded on this planet and an invisible voice ordered us to leave or be destroyed. I was sure I had heard a sound just before it happened, but could not locate it. Also we found one of our crew was missing. He had been a captive engineer from one of the planets we had visited a few years ago.”

“What planet was that?”“I don’t remember except it was near the edge of our own

galaxy. Started with an ‘L’ I think.”“Thank you and if you think of anything else please let me

know.” General Rasu-sen dismissed him and then listened to the palace guard’s story. He then began to correlate what he had learned. All those who were part of the invading armada were treated the same via an android, but the ship on patrol had a different experience and the guards were whisked away by what they thought were invisible hands. Does this mean invisibility is part of their technology? If so, it explains how we were defeated so easily and we must have it at all costs!

Just then, the general received the report of the working engines.

“We don’t dare test the ship too much so that we don’t attract the enemy in case they have close detectors set around the planet. I believe we will have one shot at escaping before the enemy can react,” General Rasu-sen told Commander Marak-sen. “We must understand as much of the functions of the starship as possible so we can make maximum use of its capabilities to break through the force field.”

“Yes sir. I agree. I already have three engineers at every station and control, cataloging each function. Based on the ship’s detection instruments, we believe by focusing the ion cannons on a concentrated area at maximum force should disrupt the force field enough for the ship to slip through. Then


we can use the Hyperdrive to go where? Where can we go we know our enemy is not?”

“To this ship’s home base I believe on the other side of our own galaxy. But we must not go directly for I fear our enemy will have our home galaxy ringed with detectors. We must take a circuitous route around it.” General Rasu-sen charted a path on one of the restored ship’s star charts.

“Yes sir. That is an excellent plan except we don’t know what we will find in that galaxy. We do know they have powerful weapons, but that is about all.”

“Right now I will just be happy to evade the enemy we know about and get off this hellhole. Then we will take care of the owners of this ship when we get there.”

“That is very good. I will initiate the plan as soon as you give the word.”…

Twyla Garvey was not happy. Her mother and brother, Chad, had been attending the Royston’s church and were baptized in it. They invited Twyla to join them, but she declined. She wouldn’t even talk about it with them. She had been turned off any type of organized religion since her early teens. She had once believed there was a god, but when he didn’t answer her prayers when she really needed him when her Dad died, she thought he must not exist; at least not for her. She was also in the minority on the island, being of African American descent, but try as she might, she had never detected a bit of bias because of her ancestry, and so couldn’t use that as a reason for her unhappiness.

Twyla enjoyed socializing with the girls her age on Crescent Island, but she always declined whenever they invited her to church-related activities, such as dances and parties. This made her a very lonely girl at times.

When the missionaries were over for discussions with the family, Twyla always disappeared, so she really had no idea what their message was all about and had no interest in even opening up a Book of Mormon or any other scriptures.

Jenny noted her lack of participation, but still tried to


include her in all the activities although some of the girls had quit trying. She approached Twyla in the island cafeteria.

“Hi, Twyla. What’s happening?”“Hi, Jenny. There’s not much happening except my regular

school classes. I thought studying to become a biologist would be easier. Having the Hyperwave classes does help though. What are you up to?”

“I’m getting psyched up to be Tanya’s bridesmaid as well as trying to keep up with my premed studies.”

“That’s right. She and Jonathan are getting married soon. When is the date?

“The date is on November 27th, the day after Thanksgiving. I wonder if you would help me get ready for it?”

“Sure. I would be glad to. How can I help?”Tanya is picking out the fabric and colors for her bridesmaid

and maids of honor tomorrow and asked for my help. I wonder if you would go with me?”

“I don’t know how much help I could be, but yes, I would like to go with you. Where will we be going?”

“It’s a large bridal shop in Honolulu. If you meet me at my place at 9 AM tomorrow, we can zip right there.”

Twyla realized tomorrow was Saturday so she didn’t have to worry about any class conflicts. Then Twyla asked what turned out to be a key question for her.

“What is this about two weddings?”“It really isn’t two weddings. One is the actual wedding and

the other is a reception for the wedding.”“But why not combine them?”“The actual wedding will take place in the Bountiful

Temple in Utah and the reception is planned for the Rose Garden at the White House.”

“But why not have both in the Rose Garden?”“Because in our church, whenever two people are sealed

together for ‘Time and All Eternity’ it can only be performed by one having the sealing power of the Priesthood and that can only be performed in a sacred Holy temple.” Tanya thought; I


know this is a new concept for Twyla but since she asked, I want her to understand without me sounding preachy.

“Why is that different from being married somewhere else? And what do you mean by “sealed together”?

“Twyla, I know you used to go to church with your family before your father died, but I don’t know how much of the Bible you learned. In the New Testament, Christ ordained his twelve Apostles and told them, “Whatsoever you seal on earth will be sealed in heaven and whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” When the church was restored in our time that same sealing power was also restored with the restored priesthood, but it can only be performed in a temple dedicated to the Lord for the purpose of that sacred sealing ordinance as well as other sacred ordinances.”

Tanya smiled as she continued, “That is why we only want to be married in the temple. So we can be sealed together for ‘Time and All Eternity’, not just ‘till death do ye part’. That’s the best way I can explain it without a long lesson.” Jenny smiled, hoping Twyla at least understood part of what she said. “We do recognize marriages performed outside the temples, but believe they are only binding on the couple in this life.”

Twyla was quiet for a few seconds then said, “Thanks Jenny. I had no idea how different your church really was. I guess I should try to learn more about it since mom and Chad are members now.”

“I would be happy to help you but I know a couple of special young men who would do a much better job then me.”

Twyla caught on. “You mean the Elders,” she smiled.“Yep. They would be thrilled to teach you all you want to

know about the church.”Twyla thought a second and then hesitantly said, “Okay.

I will give it a try if you will let me meet them at your place? I don’t want to get my mom’s hopes up, but what you’ve said has sparked my interest.” Twyla smiled as she continued, “At least I like how you’ve explained the two weddings.”

After her conversation with Twyla, Jenny called her


Grandpa. “Hi Grandpa, how are you doing?” She could tell from her wrist image of him that he didn’t look too well.

“Hi, Jenny. Thanks for calling. My arthritis is acting up again and the pain medicine is not working very well. I think this old body has become immune to it.”

“Grandpa, that’s what I was calling about. The medical clinic on Rigel IV has a clinical trial going on for one of their diseases related to arthritis and I wanted to see if you would like to be included in the testing?”

“Would I have to go there for it?”“No Grandpa. They can zip to your cottage to administer

it and monitor you there via the Hyperwave.”“That would be great. Yes. I will be one of their guinea pigs if it

will help get rid of this constant pain.”“Super. I will arrange it and let you know when to expect

them.”…“Chief Gar-sen, we can’t take everyone and that is

probably a good thing, because if the enemy doesn’t detect our leaving, everything must look normal here. We are taking the earthling with us. He may still be of some use to us. I am leaving you in charge when we are gone. Have the remainder who are left spread out so our absence is not so noticeable. When we are able, we will return for you. You will not be forgotten. We are leaving you some of the starship’s rations to help you get through the winter.”

Chief Gar-sen was disappointed he wouldn’t be going, but made the most of it since he knew he really had no choice in the matter. “Yes sir. I will see we do our best to spread out in the camps. We will look forward to your quick return and safe speed.”

The Chief thought, at least with less people, we should need fewer resources this winter. General Rasu-sen is taking most of the senior officers so that gives me more responsibility and authority here.

The Spectari engineers and officers were busily testing all the ship’s systems with as few outward signs as possible. They had managed to camouflage the ship as much as possible so


straying eyes from space might not notice it. There was a good supply of ion power pods stored with the cargo, so they had no shortage of power for the ship’s systems. The environmental systems seemed in good working condition. The gyro controls all proved out in their limited testing. They did some short tests with the transporters to verify they were in working order. Lt. Car-sen finally told General Rasu-sen he believed everything was as ready as they could make it without attracting unwanted attention.

The time had finally arrived. With the restored ship primed and ready to go, weapons techs coordinated a high-energy ion burst from each of the forward ion cannons toward the estimated weakest part of the planetary force field. Simultaneously, the twin ion engines accelerated the starship to escape velocity and the giant ship blazed through the atmosphere and through the target point of the force field without sparing the speed and it worked! There was only a slight shudder as they burst through the weakened energy barrier.

General Rasu-sen quietly exhaled as he thought; I didn’t say anything to the crew, but I worried the engines might blow up after being inactive for so long; especially since we didn’t know precisely the damage caused by the crash. And the fact we didn’t test for fear of drawing the attention of the enemy that marooned us here.

As soon as they were at a safe distance, Commander Marak-sen ordered the ship to hyper drive on the preset coordinates in an oblique path to the Omega Galaxy. He hoped they had avoided detection from any of the enemy sensors. He knew that if they hadn’t, they might find themselves back on the planet or on an entirely different one with possibly even worse conditions if not outright killed.

General Rasu-sen told the command deck crew, “Well we have rid ourselves of the prison planet. Now we must plan our strategy for dealing with the builders of this fine starship.”

During the long trip, General Rasu-sen’s battle strategists worked through several possible scenarios for when they met the builders of the restored starship.


“It is possible they never received the distress call during the ion storm and have no idea what happened to the ship,” Commander Marak-sen theorized. “We might be able to use that ignorance to our advantage.”

“We should attempt to slip into their space unnoticed and reconnoiter to find out the present situation before we make ourselves known,” Lt. Car-sen suggested.

General Rasu-sen listened to the discussion quietly and then said, “I think that will be our best tactic to start with,” General Rasu-sen agreed. “But no matter what, we will find a way to surprise and defeat them. But what we really need to do is obtain the enemy’s teleport technology. It is more portable and apparently more functional than the matter transmitters. Then we will be invincible and that will secure our future. Let’s make certain we know the full capability of this starship before we arrive anywhere though. I want our engineers and scientists to make sure they thoroughly understand the Omega matter transmitters. What its range and power usage is. Meanwhile, I want to talk to the earthling.”

Hardison James was in very poor condition, having fared even less than the Spectari on Zeron because everyone treated him as his or her personal slave, providing the minimum of food for his bare survival. He had survived though and now the Spectari were taking him with them on their starship. His spirits began to rise. Maybe I still have a chance to escape them? I still understand more about their enemy than they do. I would love the chance to take my revenge on those men who captured me and put me on that prison planet with the Spectari.…

Chapter Six

“The Joining Ceremony”

The Yanni Joining between Yorgi and Kelina was a very simple ceremony with profound meaning. Because of the stature of Yorgi’s parents, the current Eyota, the Yanni Noble One, or current prophet, presided. The place of joining was in a grove of what resembled ancient Earth Redwood trees on a wide plateau overlooking a breathtaking valley. An energy dome protected the site, so there was no chance of weather affecting the ceremony.

Meredith noted the valley didn’t look as lush and green as it probably would were it on earth due to this pale yellow sun. It is a marvelous view nevertheless, she thought. Her dress designer had created a sheer cream colored dress for her with small ruffles at the bodice. Though simple in design, it was perfect for the occasion and the outdoor setting. She was still a little apprehensive, not knowing fully what to expect. She also noted the dress of Yanna was the same pattern she had first wore on earth; Dark blue with shining stars woven into it. Is there some kind of symbolic significance in Yanna’s outfit?

John, standing next to her, smiled and held her hand in reassurance. The Galactic President was wearing his gray dress tunic with the bold Galactic insignia on this right breast. Standing next to them were Jenny and Jonathan and Tanya who wore similar simple but elegant outfits with Jonathan in his newly tailored galactic uniform as well.

Meredith noted standing with Janus and Yanna were


Yorgi and Kara and standing beside Kara was Anton, Professor Yakora’s son, whom she had previously met. I wonder if there will be another joining soon? She wondered.

A soft but easily heard tinkling symbol indicated the beginning of the ceremony and the white-bearded Eyota wearing a flowing white robe took his place in front of the group. The tinkling symbol sounded a second time and the Yanni Prophet spoke with a firm voice, “Who presents this couple for the joining?

The Yanni Councilman and Galactic Vice-president, Janus, stepped forward and proudly spoke up. “I present my son, Yorgi, for the joining.” Janus was also wearing his Galactic Council tunic.

Yorgi stepped forward to stand beside his father. Yorgi was wearing a sleek gray outfit, which also resembled a tunic, the insignia of his Yanni student status. He stood straight and tall and briefly smiled at the Noble One. The Eyota also gave a brief smile in recognition.

Professor Yakora proudly stepped forward next to stand on the other side of Yorgi. He was dressed in his professorial maroon robes, the mark of his profession. He spoke firmly. “I present my daughter, Kelina to be joined with Yorgi.”

Kelina stepped forward to stand beside Yorgi and her father stepped back to stand beside his wife, as did Janus to stand beside Yanna. Both mothers quickly wiped tears from their eyes with white handkerchiefs.

Kelina was wearing a beautiful white gown with a simple sheer veil over her face and a beautiful white flower in her hair.

Another soft tinkling sound was heard and the Eyota again spoke. “We are gathered here to join Yorgi and Kelina together as Lifemates and very soulmates.

“For the benefit of our special guests today, I will make a few brief remarks about this joining. The joining ceremony though simple in action has profound meaning in this couple’s life from this point forward. It has existed in our society since the beginning. With this joining a new family unit is created that may share in the creative process with the great creator. No


longer are they single individuals, but will always be a couple. As a couple they may join with the creator to bring children into the world. As parents they will be responsible for raising and teaching their offspring the ways of our society and about the Great Spirit who created us all.”

The Noble One now focused entirely on the couple. “Yorgi, you will now pledge yourself to Kelina.”

Yorgi faced Kelina, raised her white veil, and took her hands in his. He looked into her radiant moist eyes, “Kelina, I now pledge and promise myself to you as your lifemate and soulmate, to love, cherish, honor and protect you and our children from this point forward.”

The Eyota smiled and simply said, “And Kelina’s pledge.”Kelina smiled at Yorgi, softly squeezed his hands and

looked into his loving eyes as she said, “Yorgi, I pledge and promise myself to you as your Lifemate and soulmate to love, honor and be the mother of our children from this point forward.”

Another soft tinkling was heard and the Eyota concluded the ceremony with, “With the Great Spirit and these guests as witnesses I now pronounce Yorgi and Kelina as having joined as Lifemates and soulmates from this point forward.”

As another tinkling sound was heard, Yorgi and Kelina embraced and kissed as the newest Joined couple on Yantu, while the small audience clapped.

Meredith noted there was no hint in this proceeding of the possibility of a separation or divorce. I only wish it were so on Earth as well.…

Hank received a cryptic security note on his monitor:“The force field surrounding Zeron just experienced a powerful

disruption and our near-planet sensors received an overload condition for a brief period. We have checked the equipment and everything seems normal with no explanation for the disruption or power surge.”—Captain Sanderson

It took Hank several seconds to recall where Zeron was and who was on it. Zeron is where the invading Spectari armada crews were dispatched!

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH72

He immediately typed in “Perform a full on-site inspection of the force field generator and sensing equipment, then send me your prompt report. Simultaneously send an invisible recon team to verify the prisoner count and promptly report the results here. I also want recent planetary vid records downloaded to this monitor.”

As soon as the vid feeds began, Hank examined them carefully. He noticed there was an unusual amount of activity around one specific Spectari camp. He then checked the long-range sensors just before the power disruption and used his wrist device to contact the Yanni chief engineer. “Sethanni, this is Hank Travis. Do you have a minute?”

In response, Sethanni instantly appeared beside Hank. “How can I be of service?” The pale-complexioned Yanni Chief engineer also headed the Galactic Engineering Committee.

“Sethanni thanks for coming so quickly. Can you see what you can make of these sensor readings?” Hank replayed them.

“They match the indications of an ion discharge. A rather large one of more than one generator, I would say. Where are they from?”

“They were on the planet Zeron where we have the captured Spectari Invaders. If what you say is true, then I think some may have managed to obtain a spacecraft and escaped.

“Show me the rest of your scans.”When Sethanni reviewed the rest of the record he said, “I

believe these disruptions were caused by ion cannon shots so a star craft could punch through the weakened energy field.”

“Any way we can track them?”“My guess is they jumped to hyperspace as soon as they

were clear of the planet. They could be anywhere by now. We need to put out an alert for them,” Sethanni anxiously said.

Hank immediately pressed his wrist device for Galactic Command.…

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH72

Chapter Seven

“On Alert”

John received the news following the Joining Ceremony. “We need to have a meeting of the Galactic Security Council. We could probably do this via the Hyperwave, but I feel it would be better to have everyone here.”

Shortly John and Janus presided at the meeting of the Sector Representatives.

“Fellow Representatives we’ve called this emergency meeting due to a startling discovery which may affect us all. Our Security Chief, Hank Travis, will cover the details.”

Hank was sitting next to Janus around the oval conference table. He stood tall in his gray Galactic uniform as he presented the upsetting news.

“Several days ago our monitors surrounding Zeron, the planet we imprisoned the Spectari invaders on, experienced a serious interference and power disruption. Some sensors were knocked completely off-line. It seems a large group of several hundred Spectari has managed to obtain a starship and escape Zeron. Indications are that they immediately jumped to Hyperspace at their first opportunity, so we have no idea of their destination or current location.” Hank took a sip from his water glass and listened to the soft murmuring of the representatives before continuing.

“We are cautioning all planetary systems in the Beta Galaxy to be especially vigilant, as that is a likely place they may go, but we all need to be on the lookout for them. We believe


their goal will be to steal a teleport device so all sectors need to be extra sure all devices under their control are secure. We are speeding up converting teleport devices so they have the latest security functions.”

Greg Garrett was working in the island comp lab, trying to keep his mind off Jenny and Roland. How can I compete with that athletic hunk when he is around her everyday and I’m not? After the cafeteria incident, Greg did not even have the courage to ask Jenny for a date.

Jonathan had kept Greg’s secret and commiserated with his friend, but that was about all. Jonathan was too caught up in his own schooling and thinking about his own approaching wedding. Jonathan heard about the Spectari escape before Greg did and while they were in the lab together he told Greg about it.

“That is not good. You say they have escaped and we don’t know how or where they are going?”

“Not exactly. We believe they escaped in a starship they somehow acquired. Now we must be doubly diligent,” Jonathan said and thought; I remember when the Spectari captured us in our small survey ship near the Praxis Nebula. I never want to experience anything like that again. Thanks to Dad and Hank we were rescued, but that incident taught us how dangerous the Spectari really were. Now they are out there again.…

“John, maybe there is some action we can take to learn how the Spectari escaped and possibly learn where they are going,” Hank spoke to John via his wrist comm device.

“What is that?’“I am going to send Phil Gantt to Zeron first to invisibly

spy on the Spectari left behind in order to determine which ones to interrogate further.”

John knew Phil Gantt was a former FBI interrogator they had previously used to interrogate their Spectari captives. “That is an excellent idea, Hank. Please let me know what you learn.”

Phil Gantt and his team invisibly visited the Spectari villages on Zeron. They listened to the Spectari’s conversation


until they came upon Chief Gar-sen and learned he was the most likely candidate for interrogation. He was quietly zipped to Galactic Council headquarters in Maryland for the interrogation.

It didn’t take much effort to learn the whole story of the wrecked and repaired starship. They also learned about Hardison James being taken on the ship.

During their nightly private time after Amber was softly sleeping, Meredith learned about the escaped Spectari. No! Not again. I was just getting over the nightmare of being held captive by that madman Hardison James, and the youth’s terrible experience with the Spectari and now they are back! I didn’t tell John of my nightmares because I didn’t want to distract him from his work, but now I feel I must share my burden with him.

“Darling, Ever since my and Yanna’s captivity with Hardison James, I have been having recurring nightmares fearing what might have happened if Serina and Hans had not rescued us when they did, and also about the youth’s terrible experience.” Meredith said as she lay in John’s arms.

“I knew you were keeping something secret from me but I didn’t want to pry. We are doing everything we can to find them. I didn’t bring up the subject fearing it would cause you bad memories.” He held her tighter. “I am sorry you are suffering from that experience. I too am forever grateful you were rescued as soon as you were.” John paused and looked into her tearful but loving eyes. “Unfortunately I learned something else. I had Hank’s security team search Zeron for Hardison James on that planet, and we learned the Spectari renegades took him with them. I am guessing they are using him to learn more about us.”

“You must find them quickly before they can harm anyone else,” Meredith urgently said.

Janus had a similar conversation with Yanna. She was even more upset than Meredith because her society had been a very quiet and peaceful one before the Spectari viciously attacked


their planet. “Darling, you must find them before they do bad things to anyone else,” she also pleaded.

“Yes, my sweet. We are doing all we can. I know how much you suffer. I am sure we will find them. It is just a matter of them coming in contact with our sensors and then we will take care of them. I will always be here for you,” he said as they embraced. “We have learned how they escaped. They found a wrecked starship from another galaxy and were able to repair it. We learned that it has some awesome weaponry and we are doing our best to locate it. We have put out an alert through all the Galactic Council membership. We will be notified as soon as they are spotted.” Though Janus shared the information to reassure her, it accomplished the opposite, causing her more worry and he deeply felt her pain.…

During the lengthy circuitous trip in hyperspace to avoid the Gamma Quadrant and the Spectari Galaxy, General Rasu-sen had much time to ponder his situation. He re-reviewed his interviews with those Spectari who had direct contact with the enemy. He used the Omegan’s comm unit. “Commander Marak-sen, please join me in the forward lounge in ten minutes.”

“Yes sir. I will be there shortly.”“Commander I believe there is more to the enemy’s teleport

technology than we have previously thought.” Rasu-sen paced in the small lounge. “The times we have had direct contact with them they have seemed more prepared and knowledgeable of our circumstances than if they had just suddenly appeared. I believe they either have the ability to secretly use some type of spy cameras or they have some type of cloaking or invisibility function.”

“Yes. I agree. They have always caught us off-guard and unprepared for them. Just as you said, they seem to know more about us and our intentions or circumstances, so they would have to have some special ability to learn about us without our knowledge. But how does knowing this help us?”

“First, we can start by assuming and acting as if the enemy knows our every move. I think we also should develop a secret code so if they are somehow listening, we will be able to hide


our intentions from them. But what this really means is we need their technology more than ever if we are going to be able to get the advantage of them. I want you to pick the Earthling’s brain. Make him think you are his friend and see what else you can learn about them that can possibly help us. If he balks at all, use the mental neuralizer.”

Just then General Rasu-sen’s comm unit buzzed. “Yes. What is so important you must interrupt me?”

“Sir, the Omegan’s are hailing us on their long range comm unit.”“Don’t answer yet! I will be right there.” The two Spectari

leaders dashed to the command deck. Because of the universal translators, they could understand the Omegan language and converse using it. What the Spectari still didn’t know was how long the ship had been wrecked.

“This is starbase Genus-1. We are picking up your long distance distress signal. Your ID code says you are the ship Corona III that was logged as missing or destroyed over a century ago. What is your situation?”

So much for sneaking in unannounced, General Rasu-sen thought and then spoke up. “Genus-I, it is good to hear you. We are a group of explorers from another galaxy who came across your wrecked ship and we repaired it. Unfortunately the crew was long since dead and we gave their remains a proper burial. According to the ship’s log they came across some kind of terrible ion storm and lost all power. It crashed on an almost barren planet. We can transmit their last log entry to you if you desire? We are anxious to meet you and we come in friendship.”

“That is good. We will welcome you explorers from another galaxy. Whom am I speaking to?”

“This is Captain Martin-sen of the Arcadia Scientific Expedition and we are many, many parsecs from our home. We look forward to meeting you. Do you have a name? And how soon do you estimate our arrival to your starbase?”

“Based on your present hyper speed and heading, I would say in about 56 hours.” The term wasn’t actually ‘hours’, but that is the


way it translated. “When you get within guiding distance, we will lock on and bring you in. I am called Consul Tarn Uriahs.”

“That is good Consul Tarn Uriahs. We will look forward to meeting you and your people. Corona III signing off.”…

Consul Uriahs turned to his Pro-consul, Lars Stersham, who was standing nearby, “I do not trust them. They say they are explorers traveling in one of our ships, but why aren’t they in their own ship? It makes no sense.”

The Pro-consul nodded his baldhead. “You are right to be suspicious. Can you identify from the archives what armament and weaponry the Corona III carried?”

“I believe so. It may take a couple of minutes to retrieve that information from the archives, sir.”

In a moment, the information displayed on the Corona III, a ship built over a century before. The viewscreen displayed a much smaller ship than the behemoths now built and ready for trial runs for their galaxy’s defense.

“It was modern for its time. It has a battery of Laser cannons and an ultra ion drive,” Consul Uriahs stated.

“Yes. And those cannons can do tremendous damage. Does it say the ship’s last mission? What was it doing so far from our own galaxy? And check if the codes are recorded so we could remotely inactivate the ship’s weapons.”

Consul Uriahs pressed a few buttons and recalled the remote activation codes. “Yes sir, we do. The ship was on a trial run with the then-new hyperspace technology. They lost contact after about a week.”

“That is about the same distance we picked up the automated distress signal. That must be the range limit of their installed comm technology,” the Pro-consul paused and then said, “All right. I want you standing by to deactivate those weapons at the first sign of trouble.”

The Omegans had recently been through a terrible galactic-wide civil war, which decimated their population and caused severe civic disruption. The war had started as a simple territorial dispute, but had quickly spread because of secret alliances. Pro-consul Stersham had lost many of his family and


friends in that unconscionable war. They were just now slowly recovering from the war’s effects. Now we have outsiders coming to visit us for whatever unknown purpose in one of our own ships. We must be diligent.…

“How are things going with you? Chad Garvey asked Greg Garrett as they ate lunch in the island cafeteria. It was a beautiful sunny day outside so they were sitting on the veranda.

Just then Greg noted Jenny and Roland enter the cafeteria. The two were wearing their tennis outfits. Greg wondered, are they ever out of them?

He swallowed a bite of his sandwich and said, “Okay I guess. I have been concentrating on my science class and haven’t done much socializing lately.” Greg thought, I have really been hiding so I don’t show my depression over Jenny. I can’t bear to see her with Roland.

Chad had noticed Greg’s sudden stiffness and shifts of his eyes and could feel Greg wasn’t as okay as he said, but decided not to pry too much, but he did want to help his friend if he could. “Yeah I noticed we don’t see you very much outside the lab. You know all work and no play makes Greg a dull guy.”

Jenny and Roland came out on the veranda and picked a table near the two.

“Hi guys. Chad, have you met Roland, my tennis partner?”“Yeah. Roland is in my English Comp class. How’s it going

Ro?”“Okay. I might be able to use your help on one of my essays

though. Greg, how are you doing?”“I’m doing okay too and I’m glad I don’t have English

Comp. Hi, Jenny. How are your classes going?”Jenny enthusiastically said, “Much better now that we are

into my main interest, Internal Medicine and Respiratory Diseases. I’ve even got Grandpa included in a medical test going on by the Rigelians that may help his arthritis and there is talk on Bosansi of a breakthrough on a cure for cancer.”

Greg knew why Jenny had chosen the medical field. “That’s great and I hope it helps your grandpa. How’s the tennis team doing?”


Jenny all bubbly said, “We’re doing great, especially in the doubles. Our Varsity doubles match is right after lunch. Why don’t y’all come watch if you’re not too busy?”

Chad quickly answered, “That would be great. I could use a break from my studies. How about you Greg?”

Greg said, “Yes. I would like to see you play too.” Specially Jenny.

Roland said, “Great! Y’all can be our cheering section.”Following lunch, Chad and Greg zipped to the university

stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina where the weather was hot and muggy but the stadium was protected by an energy field. So inside the protective field they were comfortable even though they were in an outside inclement weather setting.

Greg’s eyes were focused mainly on Jenny during the hotly contested match. He could tell toward the end she was really struggling to keep up. In the third match though he thought she must have gotten her second wind, because she was much sharper on her serves and backhand returns and they won it handily.

During the match, Greg said, “You know about the Galaxy wide alert for the escaped Spectari don’t you?”

“Yes. And I hope we find them before they do any harm.”“Why can’t we use your technology to broaden our

detection range?”Greg lost his concentration on the match as he answered,

“I hadn’t thought of that. I will talk to Alex and Dr. Vaughn about it. There should be a way we can do it.”…

The Spectari strategy session was in full swing with the staff leaders expressing their ideas. They were now just 20 hours away from the Omegan Galaxy’s starbase.

Commander Marak-sen said, “We now know the capabilities of this ship’s weapons and also the matter transporters. I suggest we use our advantage of surprise and attack them at the first opportunity.”

“But we wanted to reconnoiter first and learn as much as we could about them and their society,” Lt. Car-sen said.


“That was before they contacted us. Our engineers should have noticed that automatic distress signal was on and broadcasting. They now know about us and know we are coming. They are even talking about taking control and guiding us in. I think we must take action before they can take control of the ship,” Commander Marak-sen hastily responded.

General Rasu-sen spoke up. “I agree. We have lost our advantage of surprise. We must attack first and then use that advantage to learn from them using their comp database. We will have to depend on the information in this ship’s database. Helmsmen, as soon as we are in scanning range, scan as much as you can. There is probably not a way for us to do it without them noticing it, so record it quickly before they decide how to respond.” The general addressed them all.

“We must go in with all weapons primed and ready. I want the matter transporters warmed and ready to accept coordinates with armed boarding parties standing by. Do not hesitate to inflict carnage. We only need a few of the leaders to interrogate.”

The Spectari leaders were dismissed to prepare their teams for battle. This was the way of the Spectari warriors. The way they had trained almost from birth. That was also why Hank’s Security Team had so much difficulty in the Beta Galaxy. The Spectari had a lifetime of misguided training and indoctrination to overcome.

The Spectari battle teams on the ship were practically ignoring Hardison James. He used this time to heal and restore his physical strength. As he stealthily roamed the alien ship, he found the matter transmitter room. He learned all he could about it. When the Spectari are distracted, I will find a way to escape.

At two hours from the Omegan starbase, the Helmsman began the long-range scans. The scans visually picked up the starbase. It was larger than they expected. “There is a giant starship in dock,” the helmsman noted. “It looks to be several times larger than this ship.”


“Good. We will take it over first,’ General Rasu-sen said as if it were already accomplished.…

Immediately after the tennis tournament, Chad and Greg zipped to the Galactic Council’s Central Command Center on Antigua without waiting to congratulate their friends on their tournament victory. Jenny was slightly miffed when she realized they had left. She had wanted to talk to Greg some more.

“Dr. Vaughn, Chad has suggested something I want to follow-up on regarding how we can improve the Hyperwave in searching for the escaped Spectari. Can we have Alex, Sethanni and Dr. Ted Olmstead join us?”

“That is an excellent idea.” They were standing by the main security console and so Dr. Vaughn turned to Beverly Garvey and said, “Bev, will you ask Alex, Sethanni and Dr. Olmstead if they are available to join us?”

“Certainly sir,” She sharply responded. Beverly was thrilled Chad was doing so well. She had also been happily surprised at how much help Chad had been working with the teleport team. She smiled at her son while waiting for the response.

As soon as the three scientists arrived, Greg, the youngest member of the Galactic Science Committee, went over to a nearby whiteboard and used a couple of different colors while he drew and talked. “As I understand it, here are our two galaxies with sensors and relay stations scattered about with a certain layer of overlap and redundancy. Is that correct?” The whiteboard displayed two large green oval areas ringed with yellow dots representing the deployed sensors

“Basically that is the way it is setup,” Sethanni agreed.“Well I am wondering if we computerized the Hyperwave

and combined the sensors to select these areas plus others farther out, we could get better and more complete coverage. We could automatically program them to zip to a certain area of space, perform their scans and then zip to the next in a round-robin fashion. We could still leave the stationary ones intact and more than triple the current coverage. What do you think?”

“I think that is an excellent idea. We should have thought


of it before,” Dr. Vaughn earnestly stated. “That method would also make it more difficult for the enemy to disrupt the sensor units the way they did around Zeron.”

“There is no reason why it shouldn’t work just as you suggest. This may even have other applications we haven’t thought of as well,” Ted Olmstead added. “One might be to speed up identifying habitable planets to settle.” Ted had been a NASA Scientist before Dr. Vaughn drafted him for the teleport team and he had been thrilled to join. Ted was mainly a fluids and hydraulics engineer and had been amazed at the rapid developments and advancements due to interaction with other planet’s technologies.

“I can’t take the credit. It was Actually Chad who suggested it.”

“Well, would you and Chad like to design the code for the modified Hyperwave device? Then after we’ve tested and proved them, we will mass produce them for the sectors or have each sector produce their own. The quicker we have it operational, the better,” Dr. Vaughn offered.

Both eagerly agreed; Chad for the opportunity to show how much he had learned and Greg partly to avoid pining over Jenny.

When Hank heard the news of the computerized sensor features he was also delighted. “John, I think we should come up with some special recognition for Chad Garvey and Greg Garrett for their achievements. I know Greg already has his claim to fame with the Hyperwave invention, but I believe Chad needs an extra boost. He’s really come a long way.” The two galactic officers were meeting in John’s Maryland Office.

The Galactic Council President toyed with his pencil and smiled. “How about we offer Chad a position on the Galactic Science Committee? I’m sure Dr. Vaughn would be happy to nominate him. Chad’s achievements with improving the teleport device and now with the extended Hyperwave would more than support his selection.” Both John and Hank knew how coveted a position on the Galactic Science Committee


was. They had a selection committee that only even considered the top five percent of all galaxy wide applicants.

“I think that would be a very good idea,” Hank said.…Janus continued to experiment and explore the

functionality of the teleport devices at each chance he had. As he researched and tested, he thought, the devices work at only these precise settings and no others. Any other manipulations of the components and they may as well be pieces of stone! How could these earthlings stumble on such a remarkable discovery? Janus set the micro component down he had been examining and wondered; the odds are astronomic at such an occurrence happening randomly. I have heard John say he believed they came across the discovery because their god provided it. It is hard to accept that belief, but I have eliminated so many other possibilities that I should at least consider it as a possible hypothesis.

Janus continued his thought process; but what does that mean? It means there may truly be a higher power guiding humanity throughout the universe for good. It might also mean there is an opposite power that guides mankind for evil, such as happened with the Spectari?

Janus looked at his chronometer and sighed. As a scientist I have a hard time accepting pure faith, but when all other possibilities have been exhausted, I must at least consider it. Look at our own society. We have Eyotas who we accept as receiving guidance from god without any scientific proof it is so other than faith and tradition. Then why could not that same god give guidance to the earthlings?

Janus turned from his workbench and looked out the window at the fast appearing stars in the night sky as he thought; we had been conquered by the Spectari and would forever have been their slaves if it had not been for the Earthling’s timely rescue with their amazing device. So many other conquered planets have been freed because of this special and unique technology. Does that not provide proof in a higher power looking out for us?

Beep…Beep!


Janus glanced at his chronometer and smiled at Yanna’s sparkling image. “Hi, Sweetheart. I will be home shortly.”

“Please hurry dear. Remember the Yakora’s are coming for dinner.”…

Chad was having lunch with his mom in the Antigua Command Center cafeteria when his wrist device beeped. “Yes, Dr. Vaughn?”

“Chad, I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you. I nominated you for a position on the Galactic Science Committee and you have been unanimously accepted. You are now the newest and youngest member. We look forward to working with you. We will officially welcome you to the committee next Tuesday if you can be there?”

“Thank you for nominating me, sir. I am deeply honored and I will certainly be there.”

“Good. The meeting is at 10 AM, Earth GMT time. See you then.”

Beverly Garvey was thrilled for her son. “I am so happy and proud for you son. I know your Dad would be too if he were here.”

Chad wiped a tear from his eye. “Mom, I feel as if Dad knows about this wherever his spirit is now.”

“I do too, son.”…In the island cafeteria that evening, there was a large

celebration for Chad. Greg was happy to be there to congratulate his friend and Jenny was also there. Greg was glad to note Roland was not with her. Just about every time he had seen her lately, the athletic hunk had been with her. As soon as he had the chance, he spoke to her. “Hi Jenny, I thought you did great in the tennis match the other day. I enjoyed watching you.”

Jenny was a little sharp with him. “It was hard for me to tell since you disappeared without a word as soon as it was over.”

“I’m sorry about that.” He sheepishly said. “Chad mentioned the idea for improving the sensor range using the Hyperwave and I was anxious to follow-up on it with Dr.

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Vaughn. I really did think you played a great game. You seemed to get stronger during the third match.”

Jenny smiled. Glad he had noticed her play. “Yes, I was tired and then suddenly I felt a surge of energy that boosted me.”

“Well it certainly made the difference in the game.” Greg decided to take a risk. “Are you doing anything after this? Maybe we could go somewhere?”

Greg thought Jenny’s eyes sparkled as she smilingly said, “I’d like that.” Or am I just wishing it?

“How about a walk on the beach?”“That would be nice, but now we better pay attention to

the guest of honor and give him his due,” she said.Chad happily accepted the congratulations from his peers.

Now I really feel a part of the group.Later that evening, Greg and Jenny took their shoes off and

walked along the shoreline. “I remember when we used to have those study parties out here,” Greg said as they walked by the familiar picnic tables. “Remember when we were partying and your dad came out and proposed that after-school trip to the stars?”

Jenny looked up at the twinkling stars, realizing how many of them supported planets they were now personally familiar with. “Those sure seem like fun and carefree days now that I’m deep into med school. I also remember how close we came to it turning into a true disaster by almost being captured by the Spectari.”

Greg looked out at the ocean as if he were focusing on a far away object. “Yes, and I will be forever grateful your dad rescued us in the nick of time. I still get shivers remembering it. And I can’t believe all that’s happened to me since those days either. I mean my mission was special and I learned so much, but working with everyone on the Science Committee is pretty awesome too and now it just keeps me so involved,” Greg said.

“I know what you mean. Who would have believed how fast our little out-of-the-way planet has progressed among the other societies not only in our galaxy but others as well and your invention has really helped it along.”

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The two held hands as they walked and Greg felt as if he were in heaven. He wanted to burst out and say, “Jenny, there’s something I’ve just gotta say. I’m in love with you and I want to marry you,” but he held back because the fear of rejection was greater and he was afraid to hear maybe her and Roland were secretly engaged.…

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH88 EVERYWHERE IN THE OMEGA GALAXY 89ROBERT LEE JOSEPH88 EVERYWHERE IN THE OMEGA GALAXY 89

Chapter Eight

“Further Events”

Consul Uriahs was ready. As soon as their instruments detected the Corona III’s scans, he realized he must take action. He punched in the override codes for the Corona III’s weapons systems on the console and hit ‘transmit’. I hope they haven’t found a way to disable the override codes.

Commander Marak-sen prepared to give the order to fire when the weapons chief anxiously exclaimed from his console, “We have been locked out of the weapons systems!”

Hardison had been hiding in the transporter room. He quickly went to the transporter controls and using the central monitor he located a docked Omegan ship that seemed ready to launch. He hoped they were friendlier than the Spectari, so he quickly set the controls to those coordinates and beamed to them just seconds before the Spectari boarding party entered the transporter room and set the controls for the larger star ship.

General Rasu-sen quickly ordered, “Boarding team, take that ship now!”

The boarding team of warriors beamed onto the command deck of the larger ship just before the Pro-consul ordered their force shields to be raised. Unfortunately the star cruiser was inside the force shield. As soon as the Spectari materialized on the much larger command deck, they began indiscriminately firing their hand-held laser weapons. The unprepared Omegan command crew had no chance. In a hail of blazing red energy


ribbons, the skeleton crewmembers of the docked star cruiser were eliminated within seconds.

At the first indication the star cruiser had been boarded, the Pro-consul realized his fatal mistake in not disabling the transporters first. “Order station evacuation immediately! Inactivate both ships’ transporter stations now!” The alert was sounded and everyone on the station began scrambling for the closest ship.

It took several minutes for the Spectari to become familiar with the boarded star cruiser’s controls and raise the defensive shields. In that time period several ships escaped the station before the captured ship’s weapons began systematically firing on the starbase installations.

The Pro-consul realized he had been mistaken to underestimate the unknown enemy. “Order a Galactic wide alert and to activate all defenses. If they use that ship against us, the damage will be unthinkable.” He watched from the rearview monitor as the starbase was being destroyed. “Helmsman, head to Starbase Santuri at best speed. Comm, get me Admiral Jaansen now!”

As soon as the admiral’s stern visage appeared on the screen, the Pro-consul related all that had occurred.

“And these space pirates now have the Grantham?”“Yes sir. They attacked so ruthlessly, without any warning. I

believe they mean to takeover whatever they can.”“That ship was the newest in the fleet too. It will be difficult to

overcome, but we will have to do it. We will track them and prepare a blockade.”

General Rasu-sen watched the Omegan ships make their escape, unable to prevent them. Then he witnessed the awesome power of the taken-over star cruiser as the Spectari crew methodically leveled the space station to space debris.

“I want all engineers to the bridge,” the general ordered. When several engineers arrived, he said, “Do whatever it takes to defeat the remote override to the weapons systems and transporters as quickly as possible.”

The Spectari comm officer of the Corona III said, “The star cruiser is hailing us.”


“Put it on the screen.”Soon the smiling face of Commander Marak-sen was seen

on the screen as he sat in the Captain’s chair of the star cruiser. “We did it sir without any losses.”

“Yes, but several of their ships escaped before you could activate those weapons. Now the rest of this galaxy will be warned. I am wondering if we should turn around and attack the enemy in the Gamma Quadrant and hopefully surprise them?”

“But we are already here, sir. Just because they will be warned doesn’t mean we can’t still defeat them. This star cruiser has awesome weapons,” Commander Marak-sen’s voice pleaded from the monitor.

“Yes, but the Omegans know about every one of them and will be prepared to counter them. Besides I want the Gamma Quadrant’s teleport technology. It is much greater than these ships, and I want to teach those enemies who marooned us for over two years a special lesson.”

Because of their hasty departure, the Omegan ship’s crew failed to realize they had an intruder. Upon materializing undetected, Hardison quickly exited the transport platform and found a new hiding place. His translator earpiece allowed him to hear the comments and instructions being relayed over the intercom.

“They are destroying the space station!”…

Tom Johnston and George Garrett were assisting the science committee in deploying the modified sensing devices that Chad and Greg had created. The two professors worked side by side in easy companionship.

“I am amazed how these things work with the Hyperwave. Your son is a virtual genius, George,” Tom said while the two put the final codes in the master console that would command and direct hundreds of sensor units to cover several parsecs of space in a matter of minutes. The devices used the Hyperwave to flit to computer-selected locations, scan the area and report


the results before flitting to the next location. They didn’t travel in hyperspace but instantly appeared at computerized locations to perform the scans.

“Tom, he amazes me too. I don’t know where he gets it. His mom was the better student, so Greg must get it from her side of the family.”…

It was Sunday and Chad had invited a friend from school to come to church with him. Chantrelle Azstancio was from Chile and Chad had helped her feel comfortable in their chemistry lab. He had arranged it so they were on the same class team. Chad described her for his mother while they stood in the foyer waiting for her to arrive. “She is dark and slender and about 5’8” with short braided dark hair and has a very cheerful personality. I think you will like her.” He also told his mom he had an appointment with Bishop Carlsen right after Church

Beverly was surprised when Chad told her he had invited someone to come to church because usually it was just the two of them attending. She was also happy he was meeting with the bishop. They had been members a year now and Chad had advanced in the priesthood recently and served in the Sunday school presidency, so Beverly was wondering what the bishop had in mind now. They were standing in the foyer waiting for Chantrelle to arrive when they saw Jenny walk in with Twyla.

“Hi Mom and Chad,” Twyla smiled with a twinkle in her eye. “Surprised you didn’t I?”

Beverly happily gave her daughter a hug and noticed she had a special glow about her as if she were happier for a change. “Yes, but it is the pleasantest surprise I could have.”

Just then, Chantrelle arrived and Chad introduced them. “This is my Mom, Beverly, and my baby sister, Twyla, and Jenny Royston. They each smiled and shook hands. Beverly noted Chantrelle had an easily likable smile. Just then the prelude music began and they all walked in and found seats near the middle where they could sit together.

During the announcements prior to the worship service, Beverly and Chad were surprised and thrilled when Bishop Carlsen smiled and announced, “Later this evening we will


have a baptismal service for Sister Twyla Garvey and we would like you all to attend. Twyla had kept her lessons with the missionaries at Jenny’s and her baptismal interview with Bishop Carlsen a secret. The two had even attended her first Church meeting in another chapel so her family wouldn’t know she was investigating the Church.

Beverly turned to her daughter and hugged her with sudden tears of joy in her eyes.

Chad had an inkling why Bishop Carlsen wanted to talk to him, but had already decided his answer and thought the bishop might be disappointed with it.

During the service, the rest hymn was entitled, “I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go, Dear Lord.” Chad had sung that hymn many times, but it suddenly had a new meaning for him. He wiped a tear from his eye as he sang, “There’s surely somewhere a lowly place in earth’s harvest fields so wide, where I may labor through life’s short day for Jesus, the Crucified.” That single verse changed his perspective…and the next two years of his life.

Between the church service and baptismal service, Twyla and her Mom spent the time happily blabbering about how Twyla had kept her lessons with the Elders a secret. At the last minute, Twyla realized her own brother now held the priesthood and could baptize her. The Elders were happy to oblige and Chad was ecstatic over the opportunity. Beverly thought it was simply marvelous to see Chad and Twyla dressed in white for the baptismal ordinance.

That evening, Chantrelle attended the full chapel with Chad for the baptismal service and Chad introduced the missionaries to her.

“I’ve seen you wearing your white shirts and ties in my country and I wondered what you were doing,” she smilingly said as she shook their hands.

As Chad and Twyla sat in the front row listening to the prelude music, he recalled his earlier interview with Bishop Carlsen that day.

“Chad, have you thought about going on a mission?”“Yes, sir, but up until today I thought I had missed that opportunity

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH94

because I was so new in the Church, but now I know the Lord wants me to serve and I want to also.”

This was Twyla’s day, so he would wait to share the news with them that he was submitting his mission papers.

The whole Royston family, as well as many other friends, were in the audience that day to witness Twyla become the newest member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.…

“Dad, are you busy?” Yorgi asked Janus one day in his office in the Antigua Command Center.

Janus looked up from his desk and smiled. “No, son. How are you and Kelina doing?”

“We’re doing fine, Dad. She is finishing up her last semester next month and we are going to take some time off together. I have a question for you.”

“What is it?“Well, I recently listened to Dr. Vaughn’s explanation for

how the teleport device works and I thought it was too simple of an answer. Can you explain it better?”

“Son, I’ve heard his explanation too, and I agree with you; it does seem too simple. I have even been researching and experimenting to learn what makes it work and I have come no closer to a better answer than he gives.”

“Does that mean there isn’t one?”“No, son; it just means we haven’t found it yet. I don’t think

Dr. Vaughn is happy with his answer either, but he hasn’t come up with a better one.

“I heard Mr. Royston talk as if he believes their god provided it for them.”

“Yes, I have heard him say that too. President Royston is very levelheaded and his faith is very strong. I think he truly believes his god had a hand in it.”

“Do you believe it?”“Son, at this point, I can’t say I disbelieve it because I have

found no other satisfactory answer. The device does seem to work in almost a miraculous way.” Janus looked concernedly at Yorgi and added, “I have been doing some experimenting on my

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH94

own. I believe Dr. Vaughn’s theory of how it functions is correct up to a point. It must be or they would never have been able to develop a working model of it or the Hyperwave. I don’t believe it is the full explanation though. There must be another element involved. I have been looking for that unknown element.”

“What do you think that element is, Dad?”“I think Dr. Vaughn’s theory explains how it works in his

own solar system, but I believe there must be an unknown something involved for it to work outside of their system because I can’t understand how Beta waves and short wave frequencies could work at those distances.”

“But Dad, the device seems to ignore distances so why would distance matter to the individual elements?”

“You’re right son. I believe what we’re looking for is the key to how it ignores distances. Would you like to help me experiment?”

Yorgi smiled. “I sure would.”Janus showed Yorgi his mini test lab and explained his

method of testing. “I make a miniscule modification to the main micro component. This is the component that generates the Alpha wave that merges with the FM frequency, which is the key to teleporting. Then I use this Hyperwave viewer as the test unit. The test viewer is attuned to that monitor so we can see where it winds up. So far my results have been fruitless in affecting the device.” Janus typed a few keys on his PC keyboard and a screen popped up with columnar data on it.

Yorgi examined the screen and noted the columns. The first was the date, followed by the modification and then the result. From the amount of data, Yorgi could tell his dad had been very busy with his testing.

All that day and for several more, Yorgi helped his dad with the testing without any significant results. They were teleporting the Hyperwave viewer to a test site on the Antigua moon. “Maybe we should be modifying the FM microchip? Have you done that yet?

“No, son. I have been concentrating on this chip first


because I thought that is where I would discover the mysterious element.”

“Well, since we haven’t had any success, how about working with it for a while?”

“That’s fine. I will set it up.” Janus placed the microchip, which generated the FM frequency under the microscope and used a robotic arm to effect a change.

They then used the altered device to test it without any new results. The monitor always showed the same background scene on the Antigua moon. Late in the afternoon, just before they both agreed they would quit, they tested the device after the latest modification. They watched the viewer disappear, but the monitor remained blank. The device had a preset return time of a minute. When a minute had passed, the test viewer failed to return.…


Chapter Nine

“Disastrous Plots”

The Spectari hidden planet Aragonna…

The Spectari scientists worked at a furious pace. They had yet to unlock the key to how the amazing spheres truly worked. So far all they could do was manipulate them and create a stasis field around other objects with them.

Dr. Goran-sen, a middle-aged scientist on Dr. Faren-sen’s team, accidentally discovered the key when he absently turned a tiny dial in a counter-clockwise position. The results startled him when the targeted object suddenly disappeared. He demonstrated the function to the rest of the team and they set to work to determine what actually happened.

They finally learned the true functionality of the spheres that Sethanni and the Galactic Science Team had learned much sooner. Their production facility was now replicating them for every Spectari ship on the planet. Dr. Faren-sen was ecstatic. He now felt they were ready to attack the enemy and take back their own galaxy.

“We must strike them where it will hurt, but it will have to be swift and sure and in a way they can’t track our location,” Dr. Faren-sen said.

“Since the enemy is occupied in our galaxy, we should hit them in their own,” Dr. Marve-sen added.

“Why not strike one of the planets they took back from us since our database has their coordinates?” Commander Yarban-


sen queried. The squatty-bodied Spectarian was the Aragonna security chief. At one time he had been angry he had been left out of the fighting, but after hearing the Supreme Councilor’s surrender speech, he was glad of this assignment. Now I will have my chance to strike back at the enemy. We must act very carefully so there is no way the enemy can track it back to us.

The Spectari scientists located a huge asteroid. One large enough to ensure it would obliterate a planet in a direct collision.

Commander Yarban-sen was on the Spectari Command ship. He watched Dr. Faren-sen and Dr. Marve-sen supervise the ship’s crew as they used the spheres to snare the huge asteroid and then guide it into hyperspace where they set it on a course for the designated target planet. It would exit hyperspace just inside the enemy galaxy, giving no time for the nearby planet to react.…

“What could have happened to it?” Yorgi anxiously asked after several minutes passed when the test viewer should have returned.

“I don’t know son, but this is the first time our modifications have had any affect. Let’s review the last change we made. Maybe I was wrong about which component was the key.”

The change to the fm frequency had only been a slight one. “We know where we are sending it, so I am going to zip a viewer there to see if we can see what happens when we send another one with a modified device,” Janus said.

Yorgi helped his dad setup a second viewer and monitor and zip it to what was supposed to be the Antigua moon test site. Then they made the latest modification to another viewer and activated it.

They now had three monitors set up. The stationary Antigua monitor did not change its view and the first test monitor remained blank, as did now the second one.

“Where could they be?” Yorgi asked.Janus walked up to the first test monitor and manipulated


its dials. Though the viewer and monitor were attuned to the same frequency, the monitor could be manually adjusted. After several adjustments, a fuzzy and then clear picture popped up on the test screen. The background had a slightly greenish tint to it and there were some odd shaped buildings off to the left of the view.

“I wonder where that can be? It certainly isn’t the Antigua moon,” Yorgi said.

“I imagine it is somewhere we have no relay satellites deployed or we would know,” Janus concernedly answered.

As they spoke, an ordinary looking person walked out of one of the buildings with a strange looking hat on that somewhat resembled a Mexican Sombrero with strange looking markings on it.

Janus began manipulating the second test monitor and shortly they were seeing two views of the same scene. “The viewers must be right next to each other. They look to be about fifty meters from the buildings,” Janus said.

They watched the man walk over to another building and place his hand on what looked like a normal door. The door suddenly recessed into the wall and the man walked in and the door closed.

“I think I will program an android to zip there so we can see the complete area,” Janus said.

While Janus worked with the human-like android’s programming, Yorgi watched the twin views on the test screens. The door suddenly opened and two figures walked out. There was the man with the sombrero and a woman with dark short hair and a colorful scarf on her head. They walked back to the first building and entered it.

Janus set the android to return in five minutes after instructing it to view the whole landscape and attempt to meet whoever was there using the universal translator. The android’s name was Aaron-33 Since the viewers did not return as programmed, this android may not either, he thought. Janus made similar adjustments to the android’s wrist device as he did


to the monitors. I hope this will work at that end as well as this, he thought.

Janus and Yorgi anxiously watched the twin viewers as the android instantly appeared standing in front of them. The Android slowly turned around. As he did so, they saw through the androids lens a flat background with a group of buildings that could be a town or a city about a kilometer a way with snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The android then walked to the first building and knocked on the door. The same woman opened the door and Janus saw through the android’s eyes the beautiful face of a fairly young woman with sparkling green eyes. She smiled. Aaron-33 smiled and spoke. “I am Aaron-33. I am a visitor from another world.

The woman puzzled spoke, “I do not understand your language or what you are saying.” As she spoke, the Yanni universal translator did its magic and now when Aaron-33 repeated his greeting in her own language, she could understand him. She called out to someone behind her. “Geral, we have a strange visitor who says he is from another world.”

The man, whom they saw earlier, now minus his sombrero, walked up and stood beside the young woman. “Who are you and how did you get here?” Geral furtively looked out the door. “Are there others with you?”

“I have been sent here by my human creator to greet you in friendship and learn where this world is located. I was teleported here from our world. This is a test to see if I can return to my world in a few minutes.”

While Aaron-33 spoke, Janus noted that the two other-worlders both wore similar thick bands around their neck.

The woman smiled and said, “You look almost human. Your creators must be very advanced indeed. I am Quelesa and this is my mate, Geral. We are of the tribe of Vores. We know of no other worlds. We do not understand your word, teleport.”

“Change teleport to transport,” Aaron-33 said.Having heard this, Janus used his microphone to speak

through the android. “I am Janus of the Galactic Council of Planets speaking to you through this android. We have


happened on your world accidentally and would like to know your location in the universe. Do you have any astronomers?”

Geral spoke for the first time. “We have people who gaze at the sky through special lenses, if that is what you mean?”

“Yes. Thank you. What do you call your world?”“We call our world Sieta.”“Geral and Quelesa, this android is set to automatically

return in a couple of minutes. If it does return successfully, we would like to meet with you and learn more of you and try to determine where you are located.”

“That will be fine. I will get our tribal elder for you,” Quelesa said.

As soon as the time was up, Janus was pleased to see Aaron-33 return. “I am going to bring Dr. Vaughn, Sethanni and Dr. Stanton into our situation to get their assistance in finding where that other world is.” He beeped the three and invited them to join him. Almost immediately they appeared in the test lab beside Janus and Yorgi.

After Janus brought them up to date on his efforts and replayed the vid of the Android’s visit, Dr. Vaughn said, “When I first developed the device, I manipulated that chip only slightly because I didn’t think it did anything other than activate the function for the flux capacitor. Now it would seem I was wrong.”

“So did I until Yorgi suggested I try working with it,” Janus said.

Yorgi added, “We have to be careful though, because we have two viewers there that could not return as programmed. Nor could we see them without modifying the monitor.”

“With the safe return of the android, I think we have resolved that problem, but I think we are going to have to send a team there to determine where ‘there’ is,” Janus almost hastily added.

“Sethanni said, “If I suspect right, I don’t think we will find their location on any of our star charts.”

“Why do you say that?” Alex asked.“Because of the failure of those two viewers to return,”


Sethanni added. “If our distributed satellite system could locate them, they would have returned as programmed. Think about it. The setting is for the Antigua moon, yet we know that is not where the viewers or android wound up. We do know how to return now, but the major question is, return from where?”

“Yes. You’re right, Sethanni. I think the frequency modulator function must cause something like a fold or opening in space. The only way we are going to get answers though is to go there and explore,” Janus said.

“We could take the Yanni science exploration vessel because from the sound of those other worlders, they probably won’t be of much help, although their architecture does look curiously promising,” Sethanni added.

“If your explanation of the device’s function is true, Sethanni, we are probably very fortunate we haven’t accidentally manipulated it before now,” Dr. Vaughn added, “We should also get the Council’s approval to proceed.”…

Back on Sieta following the disappearance of the android, Quelesa put her hands to the slave collar around her neck. Janus had thought it was a simple ornament rather than the terrible slave collar that could inflict instant pain whenever they displeased their masters.

“Why didn’t you tell them about the Quorax?” Geral accusingly asked.

“I was afraid if I did they wouldn’t return.”“But what if they return and get captured by the slave

masters? What will that accomplish?“We will just have to hope it doesn’t happen. When they

return we will explain our situation,” Quelesa said.“I wonder where they will be returning from?”She looked at him and determinedly said, “It doesn’t

matter. As long as it is away from here and not under the control of our terrible slave masters.”…

John sat in his swivel chair at his Maryland desk, toying with his pencil, pondering the myriad activities going on in both galaxies when he received devastating news. Hank beeped him and when Hank’s image appeared on John’s wrist device, he


could tell from his friend’s facial expression and teary eyes, it was not good news.

“John, I am sorry to have to tell you an asteroid has collided with Bosansi and destroyed the whole planet. There is nothing left of it but small rocks and dust now floating around their moons.”

John slumped down in shock, thinking of the tremendous loss of life. “Was there no warning?…Was this a natural disaster or a man-made attack?”…Did their sensors warn them?”

“We are looking into it. We don’t understand it either. Their planet was so tightly protected, it seems unthinkable this could have happened by accident, but right now we have no indication otherwise. Our astrophysicists are working on where it came from.”

John thought there probably were others not from Bosansi on the planet as they were heavily into interplanetary commerce.

Hank interrupted his thoughts to painfully add, “I’ve just received a note that Maryann Hargrove as well as several other galactic members were on the planet at the time.”

John cried openly. He thought how devastated the Hargrove’s would be. How can I console them at such a terrible loss? Maryann was so vibrantly alive and in love with Borcas. She was their only child. How can I give this devasting news to Meredith?

Meredith fervently cried like a baby also when John relayed the news. She clung to her faith. I know though they are no longer with us, their spirits still live. They are still alive now in the Spirit world. She used her device to call Madelyn and then zipped to her to help console her.

Everyone on the Council teams wept when they heard the terrible news. There was just no way for the ordinary person to truly comprehend such a tragic loss or know how to respond to it. Everyone walked around in a daze.

Dr. Vaughn put the teleport team’s otherworld exploration on hold to concentrate on the problem at hand.

ROBERT LEE JOSEPH104

John visited President Hargrove in the Oval Office. “Sir, I am devastated at your personal loss.”

President Hargrove was lethargic as he sat in the executive chair at his desk. He looked at John from ghost-like eyes that looked drained of all emotion. “Why did this have to happen, John? Why couldn’t I do something to prevent it? Life just isn’t worth living anymore. Maryann was our whole world…our whole purpose for being. She was in the prime of her life” He waved his arm around the oval office. “All this means nothing. I would gladly trade it all for just one more day with her.”

“I know sir. I feel terrible about it too. Sometimes tragedy happens and there is nothing we can do but accept it.”

“I know, John. And it just isn’t Maryann. I ache to think of all the millions who lost their life on that planet.” President Hargrove suddenly looked at John with fire in his eyes. “John, I heard someone say this might not have been an accident. That it might have been an attack on the Galactic Council. Do you have any information on this or is it just an ugly rumor?”

“Sir, our scientific teams are working night and day to determine exactly what happened. The fact there was no warning is very suspicious, but so far we have no concrete evidence either way. As soon as we learn anything we will let you know. I can promise you this though. If someone caused this tragedy to happen, we will not rest until we track them down and furiously retaliate.”

There was a huge memorial service. All flags were flown at half-staff.

Sethanni was devastated and angry. There should have been no way for this to happen. With the technology we have today, we should have been able to predict the path of that asteroid and deflect it. What went wrong?

Most of the data they would normally use to learn what happened was destroyed with Bosansi. There was a science research station on the larger Bosansi moon so his team zipped there to learn what they could from it.

The destruction of Bosansi had also caused immediate gravitational shockwaves on the moon’s surface and the


station was still recovering from them. Only the force field surrounding their station prevented worse damage. Galactic Engineering had immediately used the spheres to place the two Bosansi moons in orbit around the nearest planet in their solar system. It would have been an impossible feat without the sphere technology. The Bosansi scientists manning the station were in a state of shock. They were unaware it was the twisted use of the sphere technology that had caused the collision. The Bosansi scientists had lost family, friends, and colleagues with the destruction of their home world.

The Bosansi scientists slowly recovered and the visiting team began reviewing the data and star chart recordings. The scientists discovered the precise time the rogue asteroid first appeared, but it had been traveling so fast it had struck within minutes of being seen.

Sethanni reviewed the data and concluded, the only way this could have happened is if the asteroid came from hyperspace. He thought; this was no accident. The Spectari must have caused this. We must find a way to track it to its origin!

Sethanni directed his team to do all they could to locate the origin of the rogue asteroid. Then he called Hank. “Hank, this was no accident. I believe someone deliberately aimed that asteroid to collide with Bosansi.”

“Is it possible to find out who and where?”“We are working on it, but it may take some time if it is

even possible to learn.”“Maybe those rumors of hidden Spectari scientists weren’t rumors

after all. Can you use some of the other teams to help you checkout that possibility?”

“Yes. I have already asked Victor for his assistance. His team is searching every part of the Spectari database for us.”

“Good. Please let me know as soon as you learn anything.”Hank relayed the information to John via his device.“Hank, if they can do this we must find them quickly

before they hit another planet.”


“I know. We are working on it. The whole science team is helping. We won’t stop until we get some answers.”

Victor was relentlessly working with his team. They used sophisticated comp programs to comb the Spectari database to identify all scientists. Then they went through another involved process to locate them. Victor used his own personal method he had developed as a Dallas police officer. Whenever he was looking for an individual, he would learn all he could about his habits, hangouts and friends. He figured at some point, the criminal would contact old friends or family or visit a particular hangout. In this case absence of any contacts would raise a red flag for the team to research.

Following this process of elimination, Victor’s team compiled a list of a dozen missing scientists with Dr. Faren-sen and Dr. Marve-sen leading the list. Now to find where they are? Victor spoke to his team.

“I don’t think these scientists went into hiding by themselves. I think they must have some military or security support for them to be able to secretly do their monstrous deed. Search all military records of all support and security units. We are probably looking for some type of elite military unit.”…


Chapter Ten

“New Science”

Chad was in the Antigua Lab, working with the modified hyperwave. He was sick over the destruction of Bosansi but he was trying to be strong and carry on his work. He was using his work to distract him from thinking of the devastating loss of so many.

He was also busy completing the paperwork Bishop Carlsen gave him. I wonder where I will be called to serve. I know the Bishop said the Church is only sending missionaries to Earth or Earth-settled planets and not to other planets largely because of Moses’ vision recorded in the Pearl of Great Price and probably current revelation to President Alonzo.

While working with the modified hyperwave device, Chad realized all their testing had been with separate test units and not with any of their wrist devices. He wanted to see if there was any difference. He connected it to his wrist device and recalled the coordinates for his cottage on Crescent Island, pressed with his thumb, as he said, “GO”.

Instantly Chad was in his cottage living room. Something is different! The room isn’t as I left it this morning! Recently Chad had rearranged the furniture so he could connect up his new stereo system with Senssurround. The room is back the way before I moved the furniture and the new stereo is missing!

Chad had learned his scientific research methods from watching and listening to Dr. Vaughn and Alex Stanton, so he didn’t panic. If the room is changed it might have something to do with this test. Chad pressed his device and said, “Return”.


Instantly he was back in the Antigua lab. He disconnected the modified hyperwave component, pressed his thumb and said, “Go” again.

This time, Chad happily noted the room looked as he left it this morning. He quickly pressed and said, “Return”.

Now he was back in the Antigua lab. He knew he had discovered something important and needed some corroboration. He called Greg and as soon as he answered said, “Greg, are you busy?”

“I was just finishing something up. What do you need?”“Something weird just happened and I need someone to

verify it with me. Can you come here now?”Greg noted Chad’s coordinates, pressed his thumb on his

device and said, “Go”. He was immediately in the Antigua lab standing beside Chad.

“Great! Here is what happened to me and I want you to check it with me. Would you set your device to these coordinates?” Chad fed Greg his living room coordinates. “Now let’s both go there.”

When they were both standing in Chad’s living room, Chad said, “Please note the furniture arrangement, especially the new stereo system.”

Greg noted the room setting and the newly installed stereo. “Now What?”

“Now we go back to Antigua and modify both our devices.”

Back in the Antigua lab, Chad rushed to modify the two devices. “I am connecting a modified Hyperwave chip to each of our devices and then we will test them again.” It took a couple of minutes for Chad to add a modified hyperwave component to both devices “Now let’s try them.” Chad didn’t tell Greg what to expect because he wanted to verify his own experience without Greg being prepared for the difference.

Now in the living room Greg noted the same differences Chad had. “The stereo is gone and the furniture has been moved.”

“That’s right and that can only mean one thing.”


“What is that?”“Since this is the way the room was before I added the new

stereo system, we must be in the past,” Chad simply said.Greg was stunned at the thought. “Wow!” Greg looked

around the room more carefully. “Do you know when?”“It has to be before yesterday because that is when I added

the stereo and I think it can’t be any later than two month’s because I changed the flower arrangement then.”

Greg hesitantly asked, “I assume we can return to the present without a problem?”

“I just did a few minutes ago before I called you, but let’s verify it.” Chad casually said. They both activated their devices and were back in the Antigua lab.

Greg quickly looked at the date and time at the bottom of a nearby monitor. “It looks like we are back in the present okay.”

“Now we need to go back and verify the time and date there,” Chad said.

They returned to Chad’s past living room and he quickly went to his home PC and turned on the monitor. As soon as the home page displayed, both astounded young men quickly noted the date and time. They had traveled back in time 20 days!

Greg thought of where he was at this instant in time. I was in the cafeteria and my wrist device beeped, but no one was there!

Just then, Chad was working his wrist device. “I just called you but your device didn’t answer.”

“Yes it did, but it was my device in this time, not this one. I remember it beeping but no one answered,” Greg wonderingly said as he opened Chad’s accessories file and in the notes he entered a short note which said, “This is Greg and Chad back in time 20 days.” He saved the file with an innocuous name of “time” in Chad’s miscellaneous folder.

“Wow! This is really amazing and it looks like we can duplicate it. We need to notify Dr. Vaughn and Alex right away. We don’t want this happening to someone else,” Chad said.

“I don’t think that is likely because the modified hyperwave


is only used with the sensing systems, not on individual units like you did with these,” Greg answered.

When they were back in the present at the Antigua lab, Chad used his wrist device. “Dr. Vaughn, can you come to the Antigua lab? I have something important to show you.” He sent the same request to Alex.

As soon as they arrived, Chad repeated the demonstration for them, explaining the significance of the missing furniture and the date and time on the PC (still on from the earlier demonstration). Chad remembered coming back to his cottage 20 days previous and finding the PC monitor on and thinking he had turned it off before he had left that morning.

Greg went to the PC. “While I was there, I typed a note on Chad’s computer.” Greg clicked on the miscellaneous folder and there was the “time” file listed. “Here it is,” Greg said as he opened the short note and then clicked on its properties. “See the date and time I wrote it.”

“Amazing!” Doctor Vaughn exclaimed.“Incredible!” Alex also exclaimed. “But what does this

mean? What if we change something in the past that’s already happened?”

“We already did,” Greg said. “While Chad demonstrated it for me. He called me using his comm unit and I remembered at that time in the past I was in the cafeteria and my wrist device beeped but no one was there.”

“Also, what if we meet ourselves in the past and how does it select the time?” Dr. Vaughn asked.

“We don’t know yet, but it must be something in the modified hyperwave chip,” Chad said.

“We must test this device very carefully,” Dr. Vaughn emphasized. “I am going to bring Ted Olmstead and Sethanni in on this and the Galactic Council must be made aware of it once we know what the parameters are.”

Both Chad and Greg were excited with the thought of real time travel and wondering what it might mean.

When John learned of the possibility of time travel, he thought, first it was teleportation, then invisibility and now


time travel! Well, why not? God is over all so there must be some sort of natural law we accidentally discovered. Is there something going on in the universe where we will need this capability? What about the escaped Spectari? Can this help us with them? What about the rogue asteroid? Could we go back in time and deflect it? That would save millions of lives. That would be so marvelous if we could do it.

The whole science committee became involved in testing the modified hyperwave units, but in a very controlled environment with very limited parameters. No one wanted to risk any dramatic changes in the past without knowing the effect.

When Dr. Kim Chu, Galactic Science Committee Vice-chair, heard about the discovery of time travel, she was amazed and thrilled to participate with the testing. What kind of opportunities does this present? Can we really alter the past? We need to be very careful with this and completely control these units, she thought.

Ted Olmstead organized the testing. The team used the controlled situation of Chad’s living room until they learned the controlling parameters. The modified Hyperwave chip was painstakingly unmodified one micro component at a time and then tested. The whole team was very tense, as so far the changes had not affected the time element. Chad, Greg and Alex were working together as the guinea pigs with the rest of the team monitoring and observing. Yorgi anxiously stood by, ready to help as needed.

After over a dozen tests, when they teleported to the room, Chad immediately said, “The flower arrangement is different.”

Greg quickly checked the PC and noted the time and date. “We are back in time 22 days!” They quickly returned to the lab and reported the results.

“Let’s mark this component and make some slight changes to the microchip and see if we can determine the control more precisely,” Ted Olmstead excitedly said.

More painstaking testing and modifying revealed the control for the date and time. Once the physical controls were


identified, Yorgi tied the voice firmware in with the hardware microchip to be able to control both time and place vocally! But the time function only worked when triggered by a pre-specified keyword. To verify the place controls, Chad used his front porch coordinates so they could easily walk in and verify the date and time on his PC and not risk accidentally changing the past..

“Before we test outside this controlled environment, we need to use the I-models so we don’t accidentally cause a problem with the past,” Dr. Vaughn cautiously said.…

Tanya was getting anxious. The time for the wedding was almost at hand. They had delayed the wedding because of the Bosansi disaster. She knew the first lady was still mourning and turned the planning for the Rose Garden wedding over to her social secretary. Tanya had assured her that was fine and they could change the site but the First Lady insisted on still using the Rose Garden. Am I ready? I hope I am. What else needs to be done?

At about the same time, Jonathan was getting advice from his dad. “What have you planned for your honeymoon, son?”

Jonathan smiled. “That was a hard one dad, but I remembered what you told me about the places you went on your honeymoon with mom and then with Meredith. Tanya and I decided we would do something different. We are going to zip to the newest Earth-settled planet and see if we can help them in some special way as a special memory for us.”

John smiled. “That will be something special I’m sure. Have you told Meredith yet? I imagine she would like to know too.”

“I haven’t had a chance yet. I have been too busy with the science committee testing the time travel feature, but I will when we see y’all tonight at the pre-wedding dinner for the bridal party.”

“How are you progressing with that? I’ve been getting updates, but I also have a full plate keeping up with Hank’s security team’s efforts to locate the renegade Spectari. Also the Science team is working to locate the origin of that rogue asteroid.”


“We’ve identified most of the parameters in a very controlled environment, but are very hesitant to expand it for fear of causing a ripple effect with history.”

John seriously smiled. “I’ve thought about that too. It is a hard thing to test when you aren’t sure of the consequences.” John was about to say more when Jonathan’s device interrupted.

“Bzzt!…Bzzt.” Jonathan looked at his device, noting it was Tanya. “Hi, sweetheart. What’s going on?”

“Oh Jonathan, I’m just afraid I’m going to miss something for the wedding and reception. Can you come and go over the list with me?”

Jonathan looked at his dad, rolled his eyes and grinned as he said, “I’ll be right there.”

John watched Jonathan disappear and then his own device beeped. It was Meredith.

“Hi sweetheart. I’m just calling to remind you to come home early so you have time to get ready for the party tonight.”

“Thanks darling. I’ll be there shortly.” John had one more thing he wanted to check on before he left his office for the day. He pressed his device with his thumb and said, “Hank”.

Hank’s smiling face displayed on his wrist device. “Hi John. What do you need?”

“Hank, it just dawned on me that if we aren’t detecting the escaped Spectari in our space, they must be elsewhere and that elsewhere just might be the home galaxy of those builders of that star craft they escaped in. Can you use the Hyperwave sensors to check over in that area?” They knew about the Omega Galaxy because of their interrogation of the Spectari left on Zeron.

“Sure. We can do that. I will have the team set it up and get back to you. We are also trying to track down information on some missing Spectari scientists. I think they may have caused that asteroid to hit Bosansi.”

“Great. I have been wondering if the discovery of time travel might help us go back in time and deflect that asteroid. I will see you at the party tonight.”

“That would be great if we could,” Hank smiled just thinking


of that possibility of saving all those people. “I’m glad you reminded me. I need to go home and get ready for it.”

As Chad was also getting ready for the pre-wedding party because Jonathan asked him to be a groomsman at the reception, he thought about their latest time test. We set the time parameters for more time than we had been on the island and it was weird to see shrubbery and sand where my cottage now is. That is when the reality of time travel really struck me. Just how far back can we go?

Tanya had also invited Twyla to be one of her Maids of honor for the reception, so Twyla was also preparing. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smilingly thought; now I really feel a part of everything. I hope someday I will be able to have a temple wedding. Being a member of the Church is greater than I could ever imagine. I’m so glad Jenny didn’t give up on me when I was being such a pill. Now I know why Mom and Chad are so happy because I am too. She smiled at her reflection as she straightened her pink dress.

Chantrelle was invited as a special guest at the wedding party as Chad’s companion and she fretted over what to wear. The two had started dating and studying together. Chad was becoming very much attached to her and shared his enthusiasm about his recent conversion. She was even meeting with the missionaries and enjoying what she was learning about the church. I wonder what I will do when Chad is called on his mission. He is really eager to serve, but that will be a long time without him. Having someone like him who cares for me is wonderful. I guess I will just wrap myself in my studies. I have told mom about him, but she hasn’t encouraged me to invite him home yet. I hope she will soon.

Doris Garrett was almost as much an emotional wreck as her daughter; worrying about all the details and knowing that her daughter, her little baby girl, was going to truly be on the world stage and even intergalactic spotlight during the Rose Garden reception. I am so proud of her! And she couldn’t have picked a better husband if she tried. I know they will be very happy together. Letting go of her sure isn’t easy though. She


will be our first child married in the temple. Doris couldn’t help wiping tears of joy from her eyes as she thought of her daughter growing up.

Jenny Royston wanted to look her best tonight. She was excited to be in the wedding party for more than one reason. I need some personal time with Greg and this should be a great opportunity. He has been avoiding me lately and I think I know why. Jonathan has made some oblique hints, but I should have guessed it anyway.

Meredith stood in front of the mirror and reflected; I do really feel as if Jonathan is my own son although I know I am only filling in as a surrogate for Julie. I wish I had the opportunity to know her when she was living. I hope she can see all this from the Spirit world. It is so great to know that is truly possible. How did I ever get along without that knowledge? Then Meredith thought, John mentioned the possibility of time travel becoming a reality and the experiments the team is doing. I wonder if it would be possible go back in time and stop that asteroid from hitting Bosansi?

As John dressed for the special occasion his thoughts were of Julie too, I hope Julie is aware of this from the Spirit world. I still miss her. I hope she is pleased with Meredith as a step mom. I still marvel at how fast Jonathan has matured and how smart he is as a team member too. He really did leave on his mission as a boy of 19 and returned as a young man with a stronger testimony and ready for life. Now if we could just find who caused that asteroid to destroy Bosansi and find those escaped renegades before they cause more damage, life would be much better.

Jonathan dressed in his party suit and thought of his mother and hoped she would be proud of him and Tanya. I would really like to see mom again and talk to her one more time. I never really showed her how much I truly loved her when she was with us. Then he thought, I wonder if I could do that through time travel? Could I set one of the test devices for a date and time before her death and get to see her again? Could I stand to see her again, knowing she is going to die?


Jonathan started dwelling on seeing his mother one more time more deeply. If it’s possible, why not try it? I could consider it as part of the testing. There is time to do it now. Jonathan looked at the chronometer on his wrist device. Besides, I can return at the exact time I left.

At this moment Jonathan’s emotions for his deceased mother overrode his usual carefulness. He zipped to the Antigua test lab and opened the cabinet where the controlled test devices were kept when not being tested by the team. All I need to do is remember when mom was someplace I have the coordinates for. That should most likely be our home in Dallas. Jonathan looked at the test device he was now holding. The one attuned to his voice that he had been using in the testing. He took his normal device off, replacing it with the test one and putting his normal one on the test bench; expecting to retrieve it shortly. He went to the lab PC and retrieved the test records. He noted Chad’s record of his test going back three years ago and finding the island bare of his cottage. If I go back to our Dallas home six years, Mom would still be alive.…


Chapter Eleven

“Back to the Past”

Jonathan set the test device for what he thought was six years, forgetting how the device calculated years. He also made another critical error he failed to catch. He fat-fingered the tiny keypad and touched the “1” ahead of the “6”. He retrieved the Dallas coordinates from the Central Console database and set them on the test device. Normally Jonathan would have thought to include someone else in his plans for the test and doubled-checked his entry, but he was too eager to see his mom again. The test devices had not yet been synched into the Central Console because the team was still working out how to record time and enter it in the central database, so there was no master record of the test device’s activity.

Jonathan anxiously said, “Go.” He was expecting to see the outside of his house in Dallas, not the raging sandstorm that he was immediately confronted with! He promptly closed his eyes and mouth and raised his hands to his face to protect it from the pelting sand! His first thought was to voice, “Return”, but he dared not open his mouth for risking a mouthful of sand. And he would have had to really shout, because the noise was horrific as well. I don’t remember any sandstorm near our house. What did I do?

Unfortunately, the test devices had not been completely sealed so that minute modifications could be made during the testing phase. The extra fine particles of sand got into the casing of the device, affecting its function.


Jonathan turned his back to the blowing pelting sand and wondered where and when he was. Realizing something was wrong jogged his memory Oh no! I miss-set the time! I forgot to use the decimal! It must have been set for six hundred years! As soon as this wind quits, I’ll return and correct it.

The sandstorm; however, did not let up. Not for several hours. By the time it did let up, it was completely dark and cold! The welcome quiet of the storm was now replaced by complete darkness and cold silence. Jonathan quickly said, “Return”, but nothing happened! He tried several more times, each time getting more anxious. Oh no! The sandstorm must have affected the device. I am stuck here! What can I do?

Jonathan sat on the cold dark ground in his sand pocked thin suit, wracking his brains for solutions to his situation. I should have remembered the buddy system in our testing. I should never have attempted this alone. Now no one knows where or when I am. When the sun comes up I will try to fix the device. Now I am going to miss my own wedding party.…

That evening in the present, when everyone arrived at the celebration festivity but the groom of honor, they all worried.

Tanya asked John, “Do you know where Jonathan is?”John tried calling him, but got no answer.Greg thought to check Jonathan’s coordinates and noted

he was at the Antigua lab. But why isn’t he answering? “He’s at the Antigua lab, but he’s not answering.”

“Let’s go check,” John quickly said.At the lab they found Jonathan’s wrist device on the lab

workbench where he left it.“Why did he take it off?” John asked.Greg glanced at the test cabinet and noticed it was slightly

ajar. He walked over to it and counted the devices. One is missing! “I think Jonathan took his test device,” he quickly said.

“But why? What was he thinking? He knows he shouldn’t be testing these devices alone.” His dad anxiously asked, “Can we determine where and when he went?”

“Not unless he left a record,” Greg said as he walked over


and turned on the PC monitor. Greg looked at the recent activity. “He pulled up these coordinates. Do you know where they are?”

John immediately recognized they were for his Dallas house. “But why would he go there just before the party/”

“Maybe he left something there?” Greg queried.Just then, Chad, Meredith, Jenny and Tanya arrived. Tanya

anxiously said, “Where’s Jonathan?”John answered Greg’s question first. “If he just went to

retrieve something, he wouldn’t need to use the time device. I think he must have wanted to go back in time to see someone; probably his mother.”

“You mean Jonathan’s not here?” Tanya anxiously asked.“We think he used the device to go to his home back when

his mom was alive. We just don’t know the time he went back to,” Greg said in a gentle way, trying to allay Jonathan’s fiance’s concern.…

Jonathan managed to fitfully sleep on the cold hard ground wrapped in his thin suit coat. The moon was nowhere near full, so he was in almost complete darkness, unable to see anything of his surroundings.

When the sunrise occurred, Jonathan opened his eyes and slowly stood up and stretched and shook more loose sand from his clothing. He looked all around him and saw nothing but empty sand-covered prairie for miles and a couple of rolling hills. So this is what our neighborhood used to look like.

As the sun got higher, he welcomed the sun’s warmth. He sat down, took off his wrist device and examined it, noticing the sand under the faceplate. Jonathan felt in his pocket and found his nail clippers. The only tool I have.

He used the tiny nail file on the clippers to open the faceplate. It suddenly snapped open on its tiny hinge. Jonathan leaned over and blew on the open device. Some sand was blown off, but Jonathan could still see some particles trapped between the micro components. He shook it and twisted it and blew some more. He could still see some particles. He said a silent


prayer, pressed with his thumb, and spoke, “Return”. Nothing happened. Jonathan did not want to use the clippers to remove the trapped sand for fear he would slip and really cause some damage he couldn’t repair. He continued to blow harder on it. If I slip and touch one of the security components, I could completely ruin the functionality, he worriedly thought.

Jonathan began perspiring as the sun’s rays now were getting hotter and his frustration level was rising. He thought to check to see if the tiny keypad was working. He keyed in the Dallas coordinates and watched as they appeared. He despairingly noted, the ‘4’ and ‘8’ keys are not working! What can I do about that? As he worked with the device, trying to fix it yet making sure not to damage it, he suddenly noticed a small creature slowly moving off to his left. It took him several minutes to recognize it was an armadillo. Are those edible? He thought, hoping he wouldn’t have to find out.

As the sun beat down on him, Jonathan realized he was getting very thirsty. He thought of his scouting campouts. His tongue was dry and there wasn’t a bit of moisture in the air. Where is a likely place to find water? In a gully or ravine unless you have to dig, he thought.

There was a small rise about half a mile to the west. Not exactly a steep hill, but it did seem to have a crest to it. I will walk toward it while I continue blowing to remove this sand.

As he walked in his sand ruined dress shoes, he realized how totally inappropriate they were for his current situation. He longed for his tennis shoes. He began to feel the ground vibrate beneath him. At first it was only a slight vibration, but it quickly became more noticeable. Suddenly over the rise came a herd of large wooly black creatures he slowly recognized as buffalo. They’re heading straight for me and I have nowhere to hide! As the galloping bison came closer raising a cloud of dust, the ground began to quake more and the sound grew into a deafening roar like thunder. Since there was nowhere to run, Jonathan stood still, not knowing what else to do and said a silent prayer. He closed his eyes so as not to witness being trampled by the stampeding buffalo.


When the thundering herd of mammoth creatures was just a couple hundred yards from him, he noticed the sound wasn’t increasing and the ground wasn’t shaking quite as much as he expected. Jonathan hesitantly opened one eye. The herd had changed direction slightly and would just miss him! Thank you, Heavenly father, for hearing my prayer.

Jonathan happily watched the large animals pass him by. What caused them to change direction? He watched them slow down several hundred yards away and noticed something he had failed to see. There’s a gully there! Maybe there’s water there? He saw the large wooly leader’s head down in the gully and realized it must be water. They smelled the water!

Jonathan started walking faster toward the now drinking herd as they drank from the small stream he had not seen. As he slowly approached them, only a few took notice of him. They lifted their heads up from the stream and snorted, noted he was no danger, and resumed drinking. Jonathan didn’t want to spook them so he quietly walked upstream from the herd to get his own drink.

As he knelt to drink with his hands, he realized how dirty his party suit had become from the sandstorm and the dusty buffalo. The stream was gently flowing and was almost clear. He tasted the water. It’s strange to taste water without added chemicals. It tastes almost sweet. I hope this doesn’t make me sick.

After filling his thirst, Jonathan watched the buffalo as they gradually walked off and began grazing in the creek bed. He looked up at the cloudless hot sky guessing at the time of day by the position of the now-sweltering sun. I wonder if anyone figured out what happened to me? I was a real dummy to try this on my own. I just hope I can get the device working right. I wonder what everyone is thinking when I didn’t show up for the party?

All that afternoon Jonathan tried to carefully clean the device, but was unable to get the keypad to fully function or the voice function to work. He said a silent prayer asking Heavenly Father to help him get back to his own time. After so many tries


of working with the device and the hot day, he simply lay down under the hot sun exhausted, covered his eyes with his suit coat and slept.

Much later, he awoke in darkness to the sound of someone mumbling words he couldn’t understand. Someone was standing over him! Jonathan jumped up and the startled strange man moved away from him. Jonathan took a look at the strange white-haired man with a headband and rustic garments. He could see him through the darkness because of a flickering campfire nearby He was dressed almost as a Native American Indian with sackcloth and thong leather sandals, but his skin was not dark. It was almost as white as his own but well tanned. The man mumbled some more words, which Jonathan still did not understand, but from his attitude, it was as if he were asking questions.

“Sir, I do not understand you. Do you understand English?” He wished he had his translator with him, but remembered he had left it on his dresser when he showered for the party.

The older thin stranger mumbled some more unknown words. Then with motions he showed Jonathan the campfire he had made while Jonathan slept. Jonathan noted hanging from the Indian’s shoulder he carried a large worn leather pouch, which looked as if it contained several heavy items. There was also a simple bedroll with a hand stitched patterned blanket on the ground and the man held a tall strangely carved walking stick.

The stranger squatted beside the flickering fire and motioned Jonathan to do the same. Jonathan sat down, crossed his legs as the older man, and noticed the stranger looked tired and weary, but distinctly friendly.

There was a strip of meat hanging on a stick over the fire. The stranger motioning, offered it to Jonathan. Jonathan hesitantly took the strip and tasted it. It tasted like beef jerky he sometimes had when camping out.

Although the man must have realized Jonathan could not understand him, he continued to talk and mumble words as if in a conversation and began motioning with his hands and arms.


From the arm motions Jonathan thought maybe the man was telling him he came from the south and was traveling to the north. How would I even begin to tell him how I got here even if we could understand each other?

The man started to draw stick figures in the sand with his walking stick. After a few minutes of drawing in the sand, Jonathan thought he recognized what the man was trying to tell him. There were two groups of people and they were fighting. Jonathan nodded his head as if he understood.

Then the man suddenly mouthed many words and erased one of the groups of stick people. He began to weep as he drew a single stick figure and pointed to himself with a few more words. Jonathan could feel the sorrow and pain in his voice. He’s telling me he was part of that group and he is the only one left.

Jonathan slowly stood up, dusted himself off and said, “Excuse me”. He then walked over to the small stream, knelt down, washed his hands in the water, and then used them to get himself a drink of refreshing water. He saw his reflection in the water and realized how truly dirty he must look to the stranger. He dipped his head in the water and wiped his face vigorously with his hands. He noted from his reflection, he looked slightly better. My clothes are still very dirty though. I wonder what the old man must think of them?

When Jonathan walked back to the campfire, the stranger had something in his hand and was writing on a thin rectangular piece of metal. The closer he came; he realized he wasn’t writing, but engraving with a thin round metal stylus the size of an ordinary pen. Jonathan casually walked around the campfire to get a better look at the engravings on the metal sheet. They were strange-looking symbols, which reminded him of Egyptian Hieroglyphics he had seen once. The man smiled at him as he continued to engrave as smoothly as if he were writing with a pen.

Jonathan had a sudden thought. No! This couldn’t possibly be who I am thinking it is! If that is true, then I traveled much farther in time than I thought. Jonathan continued his


thoughts, the story he tells, if I interpreted it correctly, does match up though. Wow! That would really be something to tell everyone if I ever make it back to my own time. This man right beside me could possibly be Moroni, the last keeper of the Nephite history before he went north and buried the plates in the Hill Cumorah in modern-day Palmyra, New York!

Jonathan looked with awe and reverence toward the man who he now believed was the last Nephite prophet on the American Continent. This man had already witnessed the entire destruction of his people in battle. His father was Mormon, the great prophet historian who abridged the records into the one great record. Moroni had been a noble warrior and leader, sustained by his faith in Christ on many occasions. And in 1823, he will appear as an angel to Joseph Smith to reveal Joseph’s mission to translate these same plates! I better not do anything that will change that history.

As the man who Jonathan believed was Moroni continued quietly engraving the strange symbols on the thin gold-looking metal plate, Jonathan sat across from him in almost reverent awe.

Jonathan suddenly realized he had put his wrist device in his coat pocket. He felt in his pocket, feeling the solidness of the device and in doing so, also felt tiny grains of sand in his pocket. That wasn’t too swift. I may have damaged it worse. I want to take it out and work with it while the fire still offers light, but what will he think if he sees it?

As Jonathan continued to watch the man, he noted the flickering flame caused strange shadows in the background. He suddenly realized the thin sharp-pointed stylus was just what he needed to help remove the sand particles from his device. What a dilemma! He can help me but if I show him the device, will it alter history?

As Jonathan sat there pondering the possibilities, he thought, Moroni saw the Liahona and that was a strange device of curious workmanship the Lord provided. Maybe Moroni will take it in stride to see something he doesn’t understand without it affecting him or the future? Do I dare take the chance?


Jonathan sat a while longer as the man quietly hummed to himself what Jonathan thought of as a Native American hymn, while he continued engraving. Maybe Moroni meeting me like this is the Lord’s answer to my prayer for help!

Jonathan slowly reached in his pocket and extracted his wrist device, which had the faceplate open. He held it up so the man could see it plainly and blew on it. The older man watched him with piqued curiosity. Jonathan then blew harder and made sweeping motions across it with his hand. He slowly moved around to sit beside the man and tried to show him the sand particles he needed to remove.

Without a sound, the man handed him the stylus. Jonathan smiled and said, “Thank you.” Jonathan took the stylus and carefully worked with it to clean the device while the man quietly watched him with a twinkle in his eye, almost as if he knew exactly what Jonathan was doing.

After many painstaking minutes, while the man quietly watched him work, Jonathan thought he had got it as clean as he was going to be able to. Now how do I test it without Moroni being affected?

Jonathan remembered there was a small bush down by the stream bank. He handed the stylus back to the man and again smiled and said, “Thank you.” Jonathan stood up, continuing to smile, and reached out his hand. Instead of taking his hand, the man stood up and grasped his arm in a solid clasp and Jonathan did likewise. The two men stood broadly smiling, nodding to each other.

Jonathan thought; the Spirit really does cross language barriers, as he looked deep into the wizened and weary prophet’s weathered face and dark knowledgeable eyes. Not only are we separated by generations in age; we are separated by more generations of time. Does he know that? At that moment Jonathan felt he truly did.

Jonathan didn’t want to take any more chances to affect history, so he waved and strode down to the small stream. He noted the moon was brighter now and he could see his device


okay. As soon as he was behind the small bush, Jonathan closed the faceplate, put his device on his wrist, pressed his thumb in the depressed area, and said, “Return”.

Nothing happened. He repeated the command and still nothing happened. I must have to use the keypad then and hope it works. He pressed the key for the directory and recalled the coordinates for the Antigua lab and pressed ‘TEL’. As Jonathan pressed it he realized, I forgot to set the date!

He was now in a strange room that looked nothing like the lab. He quickly pressed the return key and was back by the stream behind the bush with the flickering campfire not too far away. This time he set the date but one of the digits kept switching between two numbers, so he wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but pressed ‘TEL” instead of “Return”.

Jonathan was now in a huge field of weeds and realized his mistake as he looked down at his device. The numbers were still flickering, so he wasn’t sure when he was, but thought he was still near where their Dallas house should be in the present time.

He happily did see a farmhouse in the distance and a jet plane in the distant sky, so he knew he should be at least in recent history but before there were houses here. What should I do? Should I go back, or should I try to find out when I am first? There are no guarantees it is going to work any better either way. I should find out when I am first.…


Chapter Twelve

“Stranded in Time”

Jonathan trudged through the tall weeds in the hot sun, all the time wondering how he was going to get out of this mess. As he slowly moved through the weeds he was really giving himself a mental beating for getting into this desperate situation. It was slow going through the field in his dress shoes and dusty suit. After at least twenty minutes of progress though the weeds, he saw a man working in a field on a tractor not too far away. Good! Maybe I can get some answers as to when I am.

Gary Stewart was plowing the corn stubble under, getting the field ready for the next planting when he surprisingly noted the young man walking up the row he was about to plow. Gary came from a long line of farmers and he had seen and heard of a lot of things, but to see a young man walking in his field, miles from any roads, was sure strange. He looked closer as the young man approached him. He sure looks out of place here. He must have got here by some accident. His clothes are sure dirty. I wonder what happened to him? Gary put the tractor in neutral, took off his hat, and scratched his head as the young man came closer.

“Hi sir. I wonder if you can help me?”“Sure, son.” Gary wiped his perspiring prow with his

checkered bandanna. “What are you doing way out here in this field?”

“It’s a long story sir. Can you tell me what day it is?”“Sure. It’s Friday.”“I mean more precise. What is the date?”


“Oh. It is November 15th.”“And the year?”Gary thought, he must have got conked on the head, as he

said, “It is 1963. What happened to you?”Jonathan thought, how do I explain this? “Like I said it is a

long story. Can you tell me where I am?”“Son, if you don’t know where you are or the date, maybe

you need to see a doctor. You look like you’ve been in some kind of accident. Are you okay?”

“Yes sir. I think so. Can you tell me where this is?”Gary put his hat back on and bandanna in his pocket and

smiled. “You are on the Stewart farm and I am Gary Stewart, owner and farm hand. Now how did you get here?”

Jonathan thought, so that’s why our subdivision was called Stewart Acres. How can I explain this without causing some ripple in time? I must tell him something. “Well sir, I was in this accident and then I’m not sure what happened when I found myself walking in your field.”

“Where do you live?”“In Dallas, Sir.” Jonathan thought that was the safest

answer.“Well you’re several miles from Dallas now. It’s about

twenty miles that way. You can almost see the Mercantile Bank building from here on a clear day.”

Jonathan looked and could barely make it out. The city skyline sure looked different than he remembered it in his time. There were a lot less skyscrapers.

“Hop on my tractor and I will take you up to the farmhouse.”

While ridding on the back of the tractor, Jonathan thought of his predicament. I am over forty years away from my own time. I must find a way to get back. Can this farmer help me without affecting history? Thinking of history caused him to wonder, what was going on in this time in history?

As they neared the comfortable looking two-story frame farmhouse that looked in good repair, Jonathan remembered the significant event that had taken place in Dallas. He had


heard his dad talk about his grandfather being there when it happened. I am here now. Could I possibly change history by knowing what’s going to happen a week from now?

“Well here we are.” Gary turned off the motor and hopped down.

Jonathan hopped down too. Jonathan noted the big red barn and several cows grazing in a nearby field. He looked up at the very tall TV antenna on the top of the farmhouse.

Gary noted where he was looking. “That’s my new TV antenna. It has to be that tall to get the signal from Dallas. I’ve only had it a few months. We are only one of a few farms around here to be able to get decent reception.”

“You have a nice farmhouse sir,” Jonathan said.“Thank you. I spend the winters keeping it up. It has been

in the family for years.” Gary walked to the back door and beckoned. “Come on in and I will introduce you. By the way, what is your name?”

“I’m sorry. I should have told you. It is Jonathan.” The young time traveler also thought, this was before cable or satellite TV, VCR’s or DVD’s.”

“Do you have a last name Jonathan?”“Yes sir. It is Royston. Jonathan Royston.”Just then Gary opened the back screen porch and invited

him inside.As they entered the kitchen, Jonathan noted a pretty lady

sitting at the kitchen table peeling potatoes.“This is my wife, Angie and we have two kids around here

somewhere. Angie this is Jonathan. I found him wondering out in the field where I was plowing. He said he was in some kind of accident.”

The dark haired Angie looked at Jonathan and was distressed at how dirty he looked. She quickly stood up, wiped her hands on her flowery apron, and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes ma’am. I just don’t remember much.” With that answer maybe I won’t have to answer a lot of questions. He did think Mrs. Stewart looked familiar to him though, but didn’t


know how he could know her. He failed to realize, if he knew her at all, she would be at least 40 years older.

Just then, two barely teenage young boys wondered into the kitchen and looked up at him inquiringly. Gary said, “This is Frank and Patrick. Boys, this is Jonathan Royston.”

Jonathan could easily identify the family resemblance. The two boys wore their sandy hair in the same bushy style as their dad, but had their mom’s handsome nose and eyes and round jaw line.

“How did you get so dirty?” Frank asked“I think we should have Doc Anderson look at him,” Gary

said before Jonathan could answer.“Well I think we first should get you cleaned up. He might

fit into some of your clothes, dear,” Angie Stewart said.“I agree. Jonathan, the bathroom is that way and I will

bring you some clothes.”It was then Jonathan realized he must truly look a mess

after that sandstorm and the buffalo stampede. He couldn’t wait to look in the mirror. When he did he was shocked at his appearance. No wonder they so easily believe I’ve been in an accident. While he was viewing his disheveled appearance in the mirror, there was a knock at the bathroom door and Gary said, “Here are some old clothes I think may fit you.”

Jonathan opened the door and took the pile of clothes. “Thank you. I really do appreciate it.” He closed the door, set the clothes on a stool and proceeded to undress. Just before he turned on the shower, he thought to remove his wrist device. I almost made my situation worse. I have no idea what damage water would do to the device.

After drying himself and dressing in the provided clothes, Jonathan looked in the mirror. That is much better. He used his own belt and took his wallet from his dusty suit pants and dusted it off. Then he put it in the back pocket of the worn bluejeans. With these jeans and checkered shirt, I look just like a farmhand now, he thought.

When he stepped into the hallway from the bathroom, Gary was standing there holding his dress shoes. “While you


were showering, the boys cleaned and shined your shoes for you. I hope that was okay.

“That was fine. I wish I had some money to give them.” Jonathan knew he shouldn’t show his money to them because it was Galactic credits.

“They didn’t do it for money. They did it because your shoes look so different than anything they have seen. What kind of material are they made from? It looks like leather but I can tell from the feel it’s not leather. If you will give me your dirty clothes, Angie can get them cleaned up for you.”

“I would appreciate that, but the suit should be dry cleaned. They are in a corner in the bathroom. I wasn’t sure where to put them. The shoes are fairly new. They were a gift and I am not sure what they are made of.”

“That’s okay. The kids leave their clothes there too. Angie will take care of them. There is a dry cleaner in Grand Prairie we use. Come on back into the kitchen. Angie fixed lunch for us.”

When they entered the kitchen, Jonathan noted the boys were already munching on their sandwiches. “Thanks for the shoeshine boys. I really appreciate it.”

The two teenagers smiled.“I fixed you some hot soup to go with your sandwich,

Jonathan. I thought it might help you feel better,” Angie Stewart said as she pointed to his place at the table.

Jonathan sat down and smelled the delicious aroma of the chicken broth as he started eating.

“I called Doc Anderson and he said he would stop by on his way home. I hope that is okay?”

“I don’t think I am hurt bad. I just don’t seem to be able to remember much,” Jonathan fibbed.

“Well it won’t hurt for you to be checked out,” Mrs. Stewart said. “Do you go to school?”

Jonathan suddenly realized there were going to be too many questions and there was going to be no way he could make up a story for all of them. I must tell them the truth and maybe


they will be able to help me. Maybe they won’t even believe that? I will just have to hope for the best.

He stopped eating and took off his wrist device. The boys had been eyeing it from the start because it didn’t look like any watch they were familiar with.

“I arrived here because of this.” He held it up as the boys looked at it in wonder. “I wasn’t in an accident, but I was caught in a sandstorm and almost run over by a herd of buffalo.”

“There haven’t been any sandstorms around here,” Frank interrupted.

“And there aren’t any buffalo around here either,” Patrick quickly said.

“Yes there is,” Jonathan said, pausing for effect. “Just not at this time.”

Gary Stewart slowly put his napkin down. “Are you saying you come from a different time like on that new science fiction show, ‘Star Trek’?” His boys had been fascinated by that new TV show and he had enjoyed it with them, but what he was hearing now was completely astonishing.

“Yes sir. I know it is hard to believe, but this device really can transport me through time and space. The only problem is, when I was caught in the sandstorm some sand got into the mechanism and now it won’t work properly to return me to my own time.”

“Are you for real?” Frank asked as all thoughts of eating his sandwich were forgotten.

“Do you come from the future or the past?” Patrick asked.“Both,” Jonathan smiled. “I am from the future but I came

from the past.”“That doesn’t make sense,” Angie said as she sat down at

her place at the table.Gary surprisingly said, “Yes it does. I believe what you are

saying, is you live in the future but you were traveling in the past when your accident with the device happened. Am I right?”

“Yes sir. That is precisely right.”“How did you figure that out, Dad?” Frank asked.“That was easy, son,” Gary smiled. “His clothes aren’t


from the past and they don’t look like they’re from the present either.”

“How far in the future are you from?” Patrick asked.“Not as far as you might think,” Jonathan said, not wanting

to give anything away. “Sir, I am totally here by accident. I need to fix my device so I can return home. Do you have a workshop with some tools?”

“Yes. It is in the basement. I will show you as soon as we finish lunch.”

As they resumed eating, Patrick asked, “What’s the future like?”

Jonathan answered, “I shouldn’t tell you because telling you might affect the future. Just my being here with you could affect the future. I must ask you not to tell anyone else about this. Okay?”

“He’s right, boys. We shouldn’t question him too much.”“But if we don’t question him how will we know he is for

real?” Frank asked.“Oh, I think he is for real,” Angie smiled with a twinkle

in here eye as she picked up the boy’s empty plates. “I don’t think he could make up that kind of story.” She looked kindly at Jonathan. “Besides, can’t you tell he really believes it?”

I do have proof, Jonathan thought. He reached into his back pocket and brought out his wallet. He located his driver’s license and blew some sand particles from it before showing it to Mr. Stewart.

As Gary Stewart looked at Jonathan’s picture and read the details, he said, “You’re right. It is not as far in the future as I imagined.” He passed it over to Angie as the boys stretched to get a look.

She read it and asked, “Where is this address? I don’t recognize it.”

“I’m not surprised. The neighborhood wasn’t that old.”“Well, that explains part of the mystery,” Gary said.After lunch, Gary Stewart showed Jonathan his basement

workshop. The boys wanted to join them but their dad told them it was off limits.


Jonathan was impressed. On the wall there were neat shelves, cabinets and tool holders. They contained a variety of tools and gadgets. He didn’t expect to find all these things in the farmhouse workshop. “You have a very well equipped and organized workshop, sir.”

“Thanks. I do the entire home and farm repairs myself. I found it was less expensive to own the tools than to hire someone else to do the work. Besides, there is plenty of extra time in the winter and many repairs and upkeep to be done on the farm. Also keeping it organized saves time.”

Jonathan noted the shop vac in the corner and said, “That might help me clean my device better.”

“That’s kind of large for your small device. I have something I think will work even better.” Gary pointed to a blow dryer hanging on the wall. “Although it is advertised for people’s hair, I find it has many other handy uses in helping keep the dust out of my tools and equipment.”

“Thanks. I agree. It should work better and be easier to handle.” Jonathan reached for it, as he was closer to it than Mr. Stewart. He noted it was heavier and bulkier than the ones he was used to in his own time. The difference between metal and plastic, he thought.

Gary curiously watched as Jonathan opened the faceplate and turned on the blow dryer. After working on the device for several minutes, Jonathan stopped and examined it. He noted the numbers were still flickering.

“What’s the problem?”Jonathan showed Mr. Stewart the device and said, “Though

it is probably cleaner now than it was, it’s still not working properly.”

Gary noted the flickering digits. “I have a magnifying glass in that drawer. Let’s see if it helps detect the problem?”

They both viewed the interior of the device under the magnifying glass and Jonathan noted a problem. There was a tiny delicate wire that was disconnected between two miniscule microchips. “I think this is the problem,” he told Mr.


Stewart. “Either my blowing or the sand must have caused the disconnection.”

“You’re probably right, but it is too small and delicate for any of my tools here and you certainly don’t want to damage it,” Gary said. He thought a minute and then spoke. “Angie’s brother works in an advanced research laboratory for Texas Instruments in North Dallas. I’ll bet their lab has precise enough equipment to fix it.”

Just then they heard the doorbell ring. It was Doc Anderson come to check on the Stewart’s visitor.

Angie welcomed him in and Gary made the introductions. “Doc, this is Jonathan. I think we called you too soon. We thought he was hurt worse because he was so dirty, but when he was cleaned up, he said he was okay.”

The pleasant elderly physician shook Jonathan’s hand and looked at him curiously. “Is that right, son? Do you feel okay? What happened to you?”

“Yes sir. I am fine now. I just had an accident out in the field.” He reasoned, that is technically correct; I just didn’t tell him when it happened.

Doc Anderson pulled out his stethoscope and a tongue depressor from his black bag and said, “Well since I’m here let’s take a look at you. Let’s see your tongue.”

Jonathan reluctantly opened wide.“Say aah.”After the oral inspection Doc Anderson said, “Son, I’m no

dentist, but I think that is about the best dental work I have ever seen. Who’s your dentist?”

Jonathan gulped and said, “Dr. Brown, sir.”“Well when you see him again, tell him I congratulate him

on his fine work.” Doc Anderson checked Jonathan’s heartbeat and asked, “All the extremities working okay?”

“Yes sir. Just fine.”Just then Mrs. Stewart brought Doc Anderson a slice of

freshly baked apple pie. “I know how much you like apple pie, Doc, so I baked this just for you.”

After Doc Anderson left, Gary and Jonathan followed


Angie into the kitchen where the two boys were just finishing up their pie. Gary told Angie about Jonathan’s problem. “I wonder if Stan could help him out?”

Angie looked at both of them and shook her head. “He might be able to, but he is out of town until next Saturday.”

Jonathan thought about what he knew concerning that day in history. There is going to be a big commotion then. Should I tell them? He answered his own question. No. It is better that they don’t know ahead of time what is about to happen.

Gary looked at Jonathan. “Unless I can think of someone else, you may be stuck here for another week.”

“As much as I like your company and your hospitality, Mr. Stewart, I would really rather not if I can avoid it” Jonathan said.

“I understand. I will think about it and see what other possibilities we can come up with.”…


Chapter Thirteen

“Guardian In Time”

That evening, the Stewart family sat around the 15” Zenith console TV and watched the local newscast. It was in black and white.

This must have been just when color TV was being introduced, Jonathan thought. Before ending, the newsman said, “The area is abuzz with the news that next Friday President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy have scheduled a stop in Dallas to speak at the World Trade Mart. A downtown motorcade may be included. We will provide more details as we have them.”

Jonathan inwardly cringed, as he knew that speech would never be given.

Following the commercial break, the newest episode of ‘Star Trek” came on. The Network introduction to the show emphasized it was in ‘living color’. The show was entitled ‘The Guardian of Forever”. The show was about a strange device on a planet that could transport people back in time. Jonathan had watched the show’s rerun many times. I never in my wildest imagination thought I might be similarly trapped in time as Dr. McCoy is in the show. How apropos that this very episode should be on tonight. It’s a shame no one in my future knows where I am.

Jonathan sat with Frank and Patrick on the couch, as the show sparked questions from the boys.

“Is that how you do it?” Patrick asked.“Not exactly. We can’t see back in time, we can only go


there based on date and spatial coordinates. I arrived here because the device malfunctioned and needs to be fixed.

“How does it feel to time travel?” Frank asked.“I hardly feel any different. It doesn’t feel like real traveling.

One second I am one place and time and the next, I am at the new place and time.”

“Why did you arrive at our farm?” Patrick asked.“I didn’t arrive at your farm, I arrived in a field out there.

I had been walking about twenty minutes when I spotted your dad.”

Frank looked at his dad. “That would still be on our farm, wouldn’t it, Dad?”

“Yes, son. I believe so, unless Jonathan was running very fast and he wasn’t running when I first saw him.”

I know I was still on his farm. “I was trying to get back to my own time when the device malfunctioned.”

“But why our field?” Frank asked.I don’t want to say too much but I have to say something, he

thought. He hesitated then said, “In my time, it isn’t a field.”Gary Stewart realized the situation the boys had put

Jonathan in. “Boys I think Jonathan wants to answer your questions, but he is afraid of the affect it will have. Is that right, Jonathan?”

“Yes sir. I want to be honest with you, but in doing so, I may say too much and affect what happens.”

Angie Stewart stood up, yawned, and said, “Well it is getting close to our bedtime anyway. Jonathan, I will show you to the guest room. Boys, get ready for bed.”

Gary asked, “Jonathan would you like to get up and help me and the boys milk the cows in the morning?”

“Yes sir. I would like to do that.”“Good. Frank, when you get up, you can wake Jonathan

too.” He turned to Jonathan. “Just slip into your jeans and shirt. We usually don’t shower until after the milking, while mother is getting breakfast ready.”

“I will set out more clothes for you to change into in the morning,” Angie said.


Although the bed was soft and very comfortable, Jonathan slept fitfully, tossing and turning, thinking of his predicament. I really don’t want to be here next week when all the commotion happens. I don’t think it was a very pleasant time for anyone then. What if I could do something to stop it from happening? So much history would be changed. Dr. Vaughn said we shouldn’t do anything to change history. But he’s not here and I am. What if I can’t fix the device and I am trapped here? How will that fact change history?

It was still dark outside when Jonathan heard the gentle tap at his door. He groggily slipped into his jeans and shirt and opened the door.

“It’s time,” Frank whispered.Mr. Stewart and Patrick were at the back door waiting for

them.As they walked to the barn in the semi-darkness, John

noted a part of the barn was a henhouse with a fenced-in chicken yard next to it. Inside the barn, the henhouse was walled off from the rest of the barn. I wonder what time the chickens’ wake up? Probably while we are milking, he thought. I guess I will find out.

Mr. Stewart turned on a dim lantern, hanging overhead for them to milk by.

Jonathan noted how cold the cow’s teats were as Mr. Stewart showed him how to grip them and point the milk into the bucket. Don’t the cows mind? I sure do.

While the boys milked the cows, Mr. Stewart was busy filling hanging baskets in front of each cow with fresh hay for them to munch on.

When Jonathan’s pail was about full, he heard the rooster crow and noted it was getting lighter outside the barn door.

Mr. Stewart directed the boys and Jonathan to carefully pour their pails into what Jonathan thought of as an old fashioned milk can, but was actually shiny new.

“The County Dairy Coop sends a truck around to collect these every morning about eight just before the boy’s school bus arrives. It is Patrick’s job to wheel them out front of the


barn for the pickup and Frank will let the cows out to graze. Now let’s go cleanup and have breakfast.”

When Jonathan sat down with the rest of the Stewart family, he smelled the enticing aroma of freshly baked bread, eggs, biscuits, and cooked bacon. He thought of this as his first real country breakfast. Jonathan was wearing another pair of well-worn jeans and a slightly different colored checkered shirt.

“Do you like pancakes, Jonathan?” Angie asked as she began passing the plates of food around. “Because I sometimes fix them for the boys as an extra treat.”

“Pancakes are great,” Jonathan said. “My mom used to make real special ones.”

Angie softly said, “You say that in the past tense as if your mother is no longer living.”

Jonathan longingly said, “She died five years ago of pneumonia and I still miss her and your cooking reminds me of her.”

Gary said, “We’re sorry to hear that, Jonathan. I’ll bet she was a very wonderful mother.”

“Yes she was. She cared for us very much and it was hard on us when she suddenly died.”

Angie asked, “How many are in your family?”“There is just I and Jenny, who is eighteen, and Dad. Dad

remarried three years ago to a very good stepmother. They have a little girl, Amber Julie, who is our half-sister, but I really think of her as my baby sister.”

Patrick asked, “What do you do besides travel in time?”“I am a student and a computer programmer on the

Galactic Council. I am also engaged to a wonderful girl named Tanya,” Jonathan said without really thinking about his words.

Frank asked, “Do you mean Galactic Council like the whole galaxy?”

“I guess I shouldn’t have told you that, but yes, that is what I mean.”

Patrick asked, “Does that mean there are people on other planets like in the movies?”


“I think I better not say anymore about the future.”Mr. Stewart said, “I agree, Jonathan. Boys, no more

questions.”After breakfast, Jonathan assisted Frank in gathering

eggs from the henhouse and Patrick showed him around the barnyard. There was a separate hog pen with several very young pigs in it playfully squealing as they nursed from their mother.

Mr. Stewart invited Jonathan to come with him back into the field on the tractor and he resumed his plowing where he had left off.

Jonathan thought, I wonder which part of this field becomes where our house is? I came from that direction so it must be over there.

Gary saw him staring off in the distance. “Is that where you first appeared?”

“Yes sir. I believe so”“What was it like when you were in the past?”“Not cultivated and mainly just sand and prairie grass. I

believe there was a stream over in that gully.”“There still is. The boys often go down there and play and

fish.” Gary wanted to ask him what it was like in the future but remembered his own council to the boys so didn’t voice his curiosity.

That evening instead of turning on the TV, the Stewart family sat in the living room and Mr. Stewart opened their large family bible. “Jonathan, do you read the bible much?”

“Yes sir. Almost every day.”“Do you have a favorite scripture?”“Yes sir. I have several. One of my favorites is the parable

of the Good Samaritan.”Angie said, “I like that one very much too.”“Well, Jonathan, we have a family tradition of reading

the bible on Saturday evenings to prepare us for our Sunday worship. We attend the Methodist Church. Do you belong to a specific church in your time?”

“Yes sir. My family is Latter-day Saints.”“What’s a Latter-day Saint?” Patrick asked.


“The name of the Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we sometimes refer to ourselves as Latter-day Saints or just LDS members. We are also known as Mormons.”

“I’ve heard of that name in a history lesson,” Frank said. “We learned about the Mormon pioneers and how Brigham Young led them west to settle in Utah.”

Gary said, “I have to plead ignorance. I really know nothing about that church but I did hear they recently built a chapel over on Carrier Parkway in Grand Prairie. You are welcome to go with us in the morning or we could take you there. It is not that much out of the way.”

Frank asked, “Where does the name Mormon come from? Our history lesson didn’t tell us that?”

“Mormon was an ancient prophet who compiled a history of his people and the Lord’s dealing with them,” Jonathan simply answered.

“I don’t recall a prophet with that name in the bible.” Patrick said.

“That’s because he lived on the American Continent back before the time of Columbus.”

“Do you mean he was an Indian?” Frank asked.“Sort of,” Jonathan smilingly answered, then turned to Mr.

Stewart. “Although I wouldn’t mind attending your church, it might be interesting to visit the one in Grand Prairie, if you wouldn’t mind?” Jonathan had visited it a few times for youth dances in his own time.

“That will be fine Jonathan. Would you like to read the story of the Good Samaritan for us? Mr. Stewart handed Jonathan the bible.

That evening, as Jonathan knelt down to say his prayers, he said, “Heavenly Father please help me not to do anything that will change history I am not suppose to, and please help me to know what I should do.”

On Sunday morning, Jonathan found a nice pair of dress trousers and a white shirt and tie beside the guest bedroom door.


When all the family was ready, they hopped into the Stewart Rambler station wagon and dropped off Jonathan at the recently built LDS chapel.

“Your church is kind of out in the boonies,” Patrick said.Jonathan had previously noted the boys did not mind

expressing their thoughts verbally. “That’s because it’s centrally located for the church population and they estimate this area will grow up around it.”

“Why doesn’t it have a cross on it like most churches?” Frank asked.

Jonathan instinctively answered, “Because we prefer to think of Christ as living, not dead.”

“We will pick you up around 12:30,” Mr. Stewart said.Jonathan noted the people were just as friendly and

outgoing as in his own ward and the building hadn’t changed that much. It just looked newer. The only real difference during the service was that they referred to David O. McKay as the current prophet rather than the one in his time. There were several curious people that asked him where he was from and how long he would be visiting. He just said, “Out West. I’ll just be here a few days.” I sincerely hope and pray.

Several families invited him home for dinner but he told them, “The people I am staying with are picking me up after Church.” The fewer interactions I have the less opportunity to mess up.

Two Elders approached him in the foyer. He could tell they were missionaries by the smile on their faces and the name badges they wore. “Hi I’m Elder Wortham and this is my companion, Elder Johnson.” They shook hands. “We heard you introduce yourself. You said you were visiting some friends. Are they members?”

“No. They are very good friends that offered me a place to stay.”

“Have you given them a Book of Mormon?”How do I explain this? “I have just met them recently and

haven’t had the opportunity. I don’t even have one with me.”“Well we can take care of that.” The taller one, Elder


Johnson, smiled and reached into the satchel he was carrying and handed Jonathan a Book of Mormon.

Jonathan noted it was an earlier edition. It had a blue cover with a depiction of Moroni blowing a horn on it in gold. He remembered seeing one like it on his Grandpa’s bookshelf. He knew, though the content was the same, the format was different than in his time because of the later addition of subscripted references to all the scriptures. What would they think if I told them I just met Moroni recently in the past? “Thanks. I will share it with them when the opportunity presents itself.”

“A card is inside with our names and phone number. We would be happy to have the opportunity to meet them,” the short dark-haired Elder Wortham added.

Jonathan thought, why not? “I will introduce you to them when they come and pick me up in a few minutes if you like?”

When the Rambler pulled up at the chapel, Jonathan performed the introductions.

Angie said, “Do you boys have somewhere to go now?”“Our next appointment is not until four,” Elder Wortham

said.“Well why don’t you follow us to our house and have dinner

with us?”The Elder’s grins widened. “Yes Ma’am. We’d love to.Jonathan noted the Elder’s car was a small Rambler sedan.During the Sunday meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes,

squash and green beans, the boys quizzed the Elders.“Where are you from?” Patrick asked while he reached for

a biscuit.“I’m from Idaho. A town called Boise,” Elder Wortham

said.“And I’m from Pasadena, California,” Elder Johnson

added.“Where’s Pasadena?” Frank asked.“Not too far outside Los Angeles,” Elder Johnson

answered.“You boys sure are far from home,” Angie Stewart said as

she passed around more mashed potatoes. “How long will you be here?”


“We don’t really know. Sometimes they move us around, but our mission lasts two years. I’ve been on mine for twelve month’s now,” Elder Wortham said.

“And I just started mine last month,” Elder Johnson smiled.

“Our church just sends missionaries to foreign countries,” Patrick said.

“Our church does that too, but we believe the Lord loves all his people, no matter where they live,” Elder Wortham answered.

“Well there’s certainly truth in that,” Gary Stewart said. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about your beliefs. Do you believe in the same Bible we do?”

Elder Johnson said, “If you mean the King James Version, yes sir. We sure do.”

Angie stopped eating a second and asked, “Then what’s so different about your church?”

Elder Wortham sat his napkin down and with a pleasant smile asked, “Have you ever wondered why there are so many churches on the earth today? All with different beliefs and practices?”

Gary said, “Yes I have, but that’s because people are different and have different ideas and interpret the scriptures differently.”

Elder Johnson said, “That’s right. People do interpret the scriptures differently. Back in 1820 there was a young man that wanted to join a church and he went to several different churches to learn which one he should join. He was confused because the ministers all taught different doctrines and he felt the Lord was not an author of confusion.”

“If you would like, after our four O’clock appointment, we can come back and tell you more about what happened to this young man or if that’s inconvenient, we can come another time,” Elder Wortham offered.

The adult Stewarts looked at each other and Angie nodded to Gary who said, “Yes. We would like to hear your story but we don’t want to take time away from your missionary work.”


Elder Wortham smiled. “That is the main reason we came on our missions; to share this story with others. It will be a great blessing to us if you would let us share what we have learned with you.”

Angie looked at Gary again and then said, “This evening would be fine and I will have some special cobbler to serve and I think we still have some homemade ice cream in the freezer to eat while we listen.”

That evening, following the delicious dessert, as he listened to the Elders share the same story of the latter-day restoration of the Gospel he had shared recently on his own mission, Jonathan thought, I wonder if the Stewarts would be hearing this if I weren’t here?

During the Elder’s discussion, Jonathan had the opportunity to share his own belief in the Restoration and also presented them with the copy of the Book of Mormon the Elders had given him. He had written a short note in it to them, expressing his belief in it as true scripture along with the Bible and thanking them for befriending him.

After the Elders left with an appointment to return later in the week, Patrick asked Jonathan, “Did you go on a mission like them?”

“Yes I did.”“Where did you go?” Frank asked.“I served my Mission in the Mexico City Mission.”“Does that mean you can speak Mexican?” Patrick asked.“Spanish,” Frank corrected him.Jonathan smiled, “Si Se�or Patrick.”“What was Mexico City like?”Jonathan said, “remember that was in the future and I

am sure it was different than it is now. The people were very friendly as I’m sure they are in this time too.”

That night, Jonathan continued his fitful tossing and turning and thinking about the coming events and his family in the future. The longer I stay here the more I am likely to affect the future. I must get back as quickly as possible. I hope that broken wire can be fixed. I miss Tanya very much. She and my


family and the whole team must be really worrying about me. I will ask Mr. Stewart if there is any other facility that could possibly have the tools to help me fix the device.

While Jonathan was helping with the morning chores, he approached Mr. Stewart. “I really appreciate your hospitality, but I need to get my device fixed quickly so I don’t affect history. Is there another facility that could possibly help me?”

“Jonathan I’ll think about it and see what I can come up with.”

During breakfast that included Angie’s delicious made-from-scratch blueberry pancakes, Gary Stewart smiled at Jonathan and said, “There is a young member of our church who attends Arlington State College. His name is Mark Watkins. He recently told me they have a brand new engineering building. Maybe he could help you.” He wiped his chin and said, “I will call him this morning.”

It took Jonathan a second to realize Mr. Stewart must be talking about the University of Texas at Arlington before it changed names.

Later that morning, Jonathan was helping Frank “slop the hogs” when Gary came out and said, “Mark is coming over tonight. Is it okay to show him the problem with your device?”

“I guess so since we are asking his help to fix it if we can avoid telling him its true function and purpose.”

“I will remind the boys not to say anything. You can tell him whatever you feel you need to.”

That evening when the doorbell rang, Gary introduced the tall lanky blond haired young man to Jonathan. “This is Mark Watkins. He is an engineering major at the college.”

“I am glad to meet you Mark. What year are you in?” Jonathan asked as they shook hands.

“I am a sophomore,” Mark said. “Mr. Stewart said you had a device you needed fixed, but he didn’t tell me anything else.”

“It is down in Mr. Stewart’s workshop in the basement.”“I’ll fix a treat for everyone while y’all are down there,”

Angie said.


Down in the workshop, Jonathan showed Mark the device and they used the magnifying glass to see the tiny broken wire.

“I see what you meant, Mr. Stewart when you said it was delicate. I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite as small as these components before. My lab class has been working with some new technology that requires micro tools that should work.”

Just then, Angie came down with a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies and passed them around.

They complimented and thanked her, then Mark turned to Jonathan and said, “But I won’t have that class again until next Monday because we have a field trip to a commercial lab in Dallas this Monday.”

Jonathan couldn’t help showing his disappointment. “I was really hoping I could get it fixed before then.”

Mark said, “Well, I do know a watch repair shop in downtown Grand Prairie that might have what you need. You could try there tomorrow. It is on Davis near Main Street.”

“That would be great if we could do that Mr. Stewart?” Jonathan said.

“We can do that after the morning chores are done,” he replied. “Thanks for coming over Mark. We appreciate it. Now let’s go up and get some milk to go with these cookies.”

After Mark left, Gary remarked to Jonathan, “I couldn’t help noticing you seemed anxious when Mark mentioned he couldn’t help you right away. Is there something bothering you that you would like to share?”

“I guess I am just anxious to get back to my own family. I do miss them and they are probably wondering what happened to me. I kind of snuck off without telling anyone about using the device. It was right before my pre-wedding party and I wanted to see my mother one more time before she died.” He purposely did not mention the other reason.

“Well, hopefully the watch repair shop will be able to help get it fixed.”

That night Jonathan prayed fervently that he might be able to return to his own time and fitfully slept again. He helped with the morning chores and then after the boys caught the school bus Mr. Stewart offered to take him to the watch repair shop.


On the ride to the shop, Gary said, “I want you to know Angie and I have started reading the book you gave us and we have some questions for those two young men when they return.”

Jonathan smiled. “I am glad you are reading it. It has really meant a lot to me in my life. I am sure they will be happy to help you with your questions.”

At the watch repair store they met Mr. Jenkins, a friendly square-jawed balding man who listened to the problem with curiosity as Jonathan showed him the device. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this before. It has very amazing construction. What is its function?”

“Well actually it has several functions, one of which is keeping track of time and distance.” Jonathan hesitantly answered.

Mr. Jenkins looked squarely at him and pointedly said, “I can tell you this much with certainty; it wasn’t manufactured anywhere around here. It must have been made in Germany or Japan but I see no markings on it. What is this for?”

Jonathan noted he was pointing to the blank small vid screen. He knew this was too advanced technology to explain its true function. “Sometimes it shows messages. It is foreign made, but I’m not sure where,” Jonathan said. Just then, Jonathan remembered about the security functions. “There are some type of security functions on it that will completely disable it if tampered with, so you must be careful not to touch any of the other components.”

“For something this tiny and delicate, that is a very tall order.” Mr. Jenkins looked hesitant. “What is this? One of them new space watches?”

“Yes, I guess you could say it is used in the space program,” Jonathan simply said.

“Can you fix it?” Gary asked.Mr. Jenkins hesitantly said, “I think I can reconnect the

wire, but I will provide no guarantees for it.”“Great!” Jonathan exclaimed. “How long will it take?”

“If I can fix it at all, it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. You can wait if you would like.”

They watched the shop owner walk over to his workbench and pull out some tools from a drawer.

Jonathan thought, it sure would be great to get back to my own time. I hope they won’t be too mad at me for using the device.

After several minutes, Mr. Jenkins brought it over to them, shook his head, and said, “I am sorry, but my tools aren’t the right kind for this tiny of a wire. You are going to have to go back to the manufacturer to get it repaired or replaced.”

If only I could, Jonathan thought. “Well, thanks for trying.”

“What do we owe you for your time?” Gary Stewart asked.“Nothing,” Mr. Jenkins replied. “Wish I could help you.”“Looks like you’re going to be here at least until Saturday,”

Gary said as they got into the car.That evening as they watched the local news, the announcer

said, “We have learned President Kennedy will arrive before noon on Friday and there will be a motorcade through downtown Dallas on his way to The Dallas Trade Mart to speak to a selected audience. He is going to stop in Fort Worth to speak at a breakfast there first and then Air Force One will make the short trip to Love field where the Presidential Motorcade will begin.”

Gary Stewart said, “I have some business at the county courthouse I have been putting off. Angie, would you like to go and see the president and First lady?”

Angie smiled. “Yes I would like that very much.”“Could we go too?” Patrick askedGary sternly said, “You boys know I don’t hold with you

skipping school.”Angie looked at the boy’s anxious faces and pleaded their

cause. “Maybe this once, dear. It’s not everyday they will get to see the President of the United States up close. We could all stand on the curbside for the motorcade.” She turned to Jonathan and smiled. “Jonathan could go with us.”

Gary looked at Angie and the boys and somewhat relented.

“If the boys can get their teachers to give them advance homework assignments for the weekend, I will allow it this once,”

“Great!” Frank said as the boys gave each other high fives.Gary looked at Jonathan. “Is that okay with you?”“Uh…yes, if I am still here then.”That night, Jonathan quietly prayed longer than usual. He

ended with, “Heavenly Father, please help me to get back to my own time. And if I can’t, please help me know what to do this week. Should I try to prevent the president from being killed if I can? I don’t want to affect history unless I am supposed to.” Jonathan didn’t know if he even could, but since he knew what was about to happen on Friday, he thought there might be something he could do to possibly prevent it.

The rest of the week seemed to drag by with no new ideas for fixing the device. Gary was sure his brother-in-law would be able to fix it on Saturday when he returned. Jonathan spent the days helping the boys do the chores and Gary with the fieldwork.

On Wednesday, the Elders returned for their appointment with the Stewart’s.

One question Gary had for the Elders was, “Why doesn’t the whole world know about the Book of Mormon? If what you say is true, then this is for the whole world, isn’t it?”

“That’s exactly correct, Mr. Stewart,” Elder Wortham smiled. “But think about how the Gospel of Jesus was first spread. Christ sent his apostles to the entire world to tell them the good news about the Gospel. That same thing is happening in our day. We are called to preach about the restoration of the Gospel to all nations, kindreds, and tongues. The Church sends missionaries like us to every nation that will accept us, so yes, it is for the whole world.”…


Chapter Fourteen

“Black Friday”

On Friday morning, the boys anxiously arose with Jonathan to do the milking and other chores, excited about getting to go into town to see the motorcade. Jonathan was more anxious for another reason. Although he tried not to show it, he still didn’t know if he should try to do anything to save the president if he had the opportunity.

As they drove, the city skyline began to appear, Jonathan thought, so that is what it used to look like before all the newer skyscrapers were built. They left the farm extra early so as to arrive at the courthouse just as it opened. Though the view wasn’t what he knew it would become in his time, the skyline was still impressive with the Mercantile Bank building, Southland Life Building and Statler Hilton hotel easily recognizable. Jonathan also noted the Magnolia oil building with its flying red horse on the top. In his time, the new skyscrapers dwarfed most of these buildings and the flying red horse was no longer there. He also knew Reunion Tower and Reunion Arena wouldn’t be built for years yet.

The boys joked and laughed about being able to tell their friends they saw the president.

Jonathan waited with the boys while the Stewart’s went inside the old red brick castle-like courthouse. He took note of the number of police cars cruising up and down Main and Commerce streets. He ominously looked over at the Texas School Book Depository building standing just a block and a


half away. He thought, it is an ordinary looking building that will shortly be the focus of the entire nation unless I can do something to stop it.

Jonathan anxiously continued his thoughts. Is he already up there on the sixth floor waiting to do his dastardly deed? What should I do? Should I do anything? How will it affect history if I intervene in some way and the president doesn’t get assassinated? There’s no way to know! My Grandpa will be standing down Main Street on the curb in just a couple hours. Should I try to see him?

Gary and Angie came out of the courthouse smiling. Gary noted the people beginning to assemble along the Main Street curb as he opened the car door. Before starting the car, he turned on the radio.

“President Kennedy is just leaving the hotel in Fort Worth and will be flying to Dallas Love Field in Air Force One shortly. There is already a crowd forming at Dallas Love Field to greet him and the First lady.”…

Gary looked at his watch and said, “We have time. Why don’t we go out to the airport and see him there?”

Going to the airport sounded more exciting to the boys but Jonathan wasn’t quite sure how it would help him. “I guess that is okay.”

Jonathan noted it was a smooth ride in the Rambler out I-75 to Dallas Love Field, right up until they reached the airport. Then traffic slowed into the airport proper with extra security directing traffic into the parking area. The Stewarts and Jonathan eagerly followed the crowd to a chain link fence where they could view the flight line. Everyone was in a festive mood for the special occasion.

They arrived at the fence just as Air Force One landed. They watched it taxi to where a group of dignitaries and a line of cars were waiting. The President’s special limousine had been flown in for the occasion. It had a bubbletop, but Jonathan knew unless things changed, it wouldn’t be used today.

He watched the First lady, Jacqueline Kennedy receive


a beautiful bouquet of long stemmed red roses from the welcoming dignitaries.

Jonathan remembered from history, President Kennedy and Jacqueline had left the welcoming group to walk beside the fence and shake hands. He wondered if he was standing near where the president would come. He thought, if he comes near here could I somehow warn him? I think it’s worth a try. He turned to Angie Stewart.

“Do you have a piece of paper and a pen in your purse?“I think so.” Angie rummaged in her purse until she

produced an envelope and pen. “Will this do?”“Thank you.” Jonathan took the pen and envelope and

walked a few steps back from the fence where he could write. He wrote on the back of the envelope, Mr. President, please use the bubbletop. A sniper may be waiting near the end of downtown for you. Then he rolled the envelope up so it would fit unnoticed in his fist. He stepped back to the fence and handed the pen back to Angie. “Thank you.”

As history recorded it, the smiling President and First Lady did break from the welcoming group and walk to the fence to shake hands as the Secret Service anxiously accompanied them. The crowd cheered as the couple walked along the fence shaking hands. Jonathan anxiously held the rolled envelope in his fist, wondering if it could possibly make a difference. He didn’t want the Stewarts to see what he was doing so he let a couple of people come between them at the fence.

The President and First Lady moved down the fence and Jonathan’s heart beat faster. They were now at the Stewarts. Jonathan anxiously held the rolled envelope in his hand as he extended it through the fence. Then suddenly President Kennedy and First lady broke away to join the dignitaries with the Secret Service agents at their side. Jonathan sadly knew he had missed his chance as the presidential motorcade began its fateful journey out of the airport. He dejectedly slipped the rolled up envelope into his pocket.

As they returned to the Rambler, they boys were excited.


“He shook my hand! He shook my hand!” Patrick excitedly exclaimed.

“The First lady shook mine!” Frank added.“They shook ours too,” Gary said.Patrick asked Jonathan, “Did they shake yours?”“No. They didn’t get to me,” Jonathan quietly said.Because of the crowd, they were delayed in leaving the

airport parking lot. Gary turned on the radio. The announcers were happily announcing the president’s Dallas arrival. One announcer said, “He even shook hands with the crowd standing along the fence at Love Field.”

“That was us!” Frank exclaimed.Jonathan quietly listened to the radio, knowing what was

about to happen as their car slowly left the airport and drove along I-75.

“Is this the same route the president took?” Patrick asked.“Yes it is, son,” Gary said. “Except we are not going through

town like the president’s motorcade. We will go straight south to avoid the traffic tie-up and then go west on Loop 12.”

They were just driving south of Dallas when the radio announcer exclaimed, “The president’s been shot! President Kennedy was shot as his motorcade was just starting to speed up near Dealey Plaza in Downtown Dallas! His car with Secret Service following is now rushing to Parkland Hospital with the wounded president and First lady as well as Governor John Connally, who is also reported to have been shot. We are rushing a reporter to Parkland Hospital now.”

“I hope it’s not serious,” Gary said as he drove.Jonathan quietly sat there in the back with the boys, not

wanting to call attention to his presence. Everyone listened to the radio announcer as the information was being given about the president whom they had just shook hands with moments earlier. There was much speculation on the radio. By the time they reached home, the news was out that President John F. Kennedy had died by assassination.

Everyone was in a gloomy state and crying as they parked the car in the driveway.

As soon as he entered the house, Gary turned on the TV.


All programs and commercials on the three networks were pre-empted for the sad news of the president’s assassination in Downtown Dallas. The current station was showing replays of the motorcade as it turned onto the street in front of the Texas Schoolbook Depository. They saw for the first time the president as he was shot and the First Lady leaning over the back of the car to pull a Secret Service Agent in before the car sped up and headed to the hospital.

Later was shown the swearing in of Lyndon Baines Johnson as the new President aboard Air Force One by Dallas Federal District Judge Sarah T. Hughes, with a shocked and mourning Jacqueline Kennedy in her blood-splattered dress standing beside Lyndon Johnson and Mrs. Johnson. Air Force one was already on its way back to the nation’s capitol where the president’s body would lie in state on the Capitol Rotunda.

There was also news of the arrest of a suspect, a strange man by the name of Lee Harvey Oswald. The police and FBI were hurriedly checking his background. He was said to have been in Russia and he was said to have killed a Dallas Police Officer before he was apprehended. Governor Connally was shot in the leg as he sat beside the president but was expected to recover okay.

Later that night, after the boys were in bed, Gary confronted Jonathan. “Young man, if you really are from the future, did you know the president was going to be shot today?”

Jonathan sadly said, “Yes sir, I did.”“Then I can’t believe you did nothing to stop it,” he angrily

said.Jonathan defended his actions. He brought out the note

he had wanted to slip to the president and showed it to Gary. “I wrote this while we were at the airport fence and I was planning on slipping it to him if the opportunity arose, but he never came up to my part of the fence. I guess I was not supposed to change history.”

Gary slipped the paper in his own pocket and firmly said, “I will contact Stan first thing in the morning and see if he can


help fix your device so you can return to your own time.” Then he scratched his head. “I guess you did what you could about it. If you had tried to tell someone ahead of time either no one would have believed you or they would have thought you were one of the conspirators. There was really no way you could tell them how you knew. I don’t suppose you can tell me what’s going to happen now.”

Jonathan sincerely said, “Sir, what I remember of the events is from my history lessons, and I am not even sure of some of the timing or sequencing of the events. I just know it was a sad time for everyone and now I am experiencing it first hand and realizing how shocking it really is.” Jonathan looked directly at Gary. “I really don’t think I should tell you anything else since there is no way I can change any of it and some of the events are fuzzy in my mind now.”

“Can you at least tell me one thing?’“I guess it depends on what you’re asking,” Jonathan

hesitantly said.“Will we go to war over this?”Jonathan thought, he’s thinking of the affect on his own

family. I know from history at this very moment the country is on a heightened state of military alert. “No sir. We don’t go to war because of this, but there are still some shocking things to happen over this.”

When Gary realized Jonathan wasn’t going to say anymore, he said, “Thank you for at least answering that much. I will let you get your rest tonight, but I don’t think any of us are going to be sleeping too restfully tonight.”

On Saturday morning, Gary did not have the boys wake Jonathan for the milking. After the morning chores, he called his brother-in-law, Stan. “Stan, I hope you had a good trip. Welcome home.”

“I arrived at the airport yesterday morning just ahead of Air Force One. Our plane had to sit on the tarmac until his motorcade left the airfield. I still can’t believe President Kennedy is dead.”

“Neither can I. I have a favor to ask of you.”


“Sure Gary. What do you need?”“There is a young man staying with us that has a special

problem I think you might be able to help him with. He has a delicate device that needs fixing. Were you by chance planning on going to your lab this morning?”

“I wasn’t, but there are some things there I need to check on anyway. I could meet you and your friend at the gate around ten this morning if you want?”

“That will be fine. We will see you then and thanks. Please tell Peggy we said hi.”

When Jonathan awoke, he noted the clothes Angie had put out for him. There was a bright blue T-shirt with a retro Texas Rangers logo on it with a pair of faded jeans.

They ate a very subdued breakfast with everyone sitting quietly at the table. Before Jonathan left with Gary, he thanked Angie for her hospitality.

“It took her a second to realize he was saying goodbye and they might not ever see him again. “Oh Jonathan, I know you didn’t want to be here, but I’m glad we had the opportunity to meet you. I know you must be anxious to get back to your family and fiancé.” She gave him a hug. “Let me get your suit for you.” She brought his suit neatly wrapped in a bundle from the cleaners and handed it to him.

He said goodbye to the boys. They were captivated by the TV news surrounding President Kennedy’s death. There was a long line of people at the Capitol waiting to give their last farewell to the slain president on the Capitol Rotunda. There was more news about the Dallas Police Officer, J. D. Tippitt, who Lee Harvey Oswald had gunned down in his patrol car in Oak Cliff, just over the Trinity River Bridge from Downtown.

The boys stopped watching the riveting news long enough to shake Jonathan’s hand and wish him well.

“If Uncle Stan fixes your device, I guess we won’t see you again huh?” Patrick said.

“Well boys, you never know what the future holds. I expect you might have the chance to run into me when you are much older but don’t do it before this date or you may change


everything.” John wrote the future date which he hoped to return to on a slip of paper and gave it to Patrick.”

On the way to the Texas Instruments laboratory in North Dallas, neither Gary nor Jonathan spoke very much. Both noted the small amount of traffic, as they knew most people were still home in a state of shock over the presidential assassination glued to their TVs.

Stan was there waiting at the plant gate for them. Jonathan could see Angie’s resemblance to him with the same rounded jaw line. He smiled, wearing a Dallas Cowboys sweater as he led them down the mostly deserted halls to his lab.

“This is Jonathan, the young man who has the problem I spoke to you over the phone about,” Gary said.

They shook hands and Stan led them to his office where he said, “I will be with you in a few minutes.” They watched as he checked a few notes at his desk.

He then stood up and walked a few feet over to a coat rack where he put on a white lab smock. “Now let’s see this device you need fixed.”

Jonathan pulled the device from his pocket, opened the clear cover and pointed to the wire as he handed it to him.

“That is a little bugger. I see why you needed my help. What exactly does it do?”

“It keeps track of time and distances,” Jonathan said hoping he wouldn’t have to explain further.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one of these types before. It looks like it could be foreign.”

“Yes, I believe it is.”Stan smiled. “Well, let’s go into the lab and see what we can

do.”They walked across the hallway to Stan’s lab.As Stan turned on the lights, Jonathan noted a tidy lengthy

room with cubicles, individual workbenches, and an assortment of expensive looking instruments and equipment.

Stan walked over to one of the larger pieces of equipment. Over it hung a refractory light connected to a pivoting leg similar to a hospital operating room. He turned the machine


on and it emitted a low vibrating hum. He placed the device in the center of a small table and then moved a sophisticated microscope connected to the pivoting arm to a position directly over the device.

“I forgot to mention,” Jonathan anxiously said. “The device has some security features so don’t touch any part of it you don’t need to.” Jonathan worried that Stan could render the device useless if he touched the wrong part.

“I’ll be extra careful. We deal with delicate components all the time,” Stan confidently said.

Jonathan remembered from history, Texas Instruments was one of the companies that fostered the development of the microchip technology. Could Stan’s seeing this device today have some effect on that development? He suddenly wondered.

They looked on as Stan viewed the device through the magnifier. He increased the magnification, and then manipulated a small robot-like arm to touch the device. There was a tiny spark and then Stan said, “There, I think that should do it.” He held out the device still under the magnifier and Jonathan and Gary could see the wire now reattached where it looked like it belonged.

Stan remarked, “As an engineer, I can tell you this. That device is very much ahead of its time in manufacturing. I marvel at its tiny components. Whoever manufactured it has some specialized equipment indeed.”

“It sure helps to have the right tools for the job. I don’t know how I can repay you for your help.” Jonathan shook his hand as he put the device on his wrist.

“No problem. I must say that is a funny looking timepiece you’ve got there. It must do more than just tell time. With its advanced design and manufacture, I would even think it was one of those new space watches,” Stan said.

“Yes sir. It is a prototype, not yet in general manufacture. I really appreciate your help in fixing it.”

Gary said, “Thanks for coming down this morning, Stan.


Come over and see us in the next few days as soon as you get the time.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing the boys and Angie,” Stan said.

Stan escorted Jonathan and Gary back to their Rambler and then he headed back toward the lab.

“Well now that it is fixed, do I get to see you disappear?”“You have been a great help, Mr. Stewart and I won’t forget

you or your family.”Jonathan reached out his hand and Gary took it and held it,

not wanting to break the connection. “I do hope I get to see you again. I think you are a special young man.”

“I think your family is special and hope we get to meet again too,” Jonathan said and smiled. “I know I will miss Angie’s homemade pancakes.

With that, Jonathan held his bulky package under his arms as he carefully set the device for the Antigua lab with the date and time of just after he left the lab and said, “Return”…


Chapter Fifteen

“Back To The Present”

“JONATHAN!” Tanya squealed as she rushed to him with the others quickly behind her. They all noted his unusual attire. He obviously was not dressed for the party. The Rangers T-shirt looked fairly new but had an older logo design on it and the blue jeans looked well worn.

John said, “What happened, son?”Jonathan had a sheepish look on his face as he set the

package down. “I know I shouldn’t have done it dad, but I had this very real ache to see mom one more time and so I used the device, but really screwed up the date entry.”

“Meredith hugged him and said, “We’re just glad you’re back okay.”

“What date and time is it? How long was I gone?”Greg said, “Well if you change your clothes, we can still

make the party just a little late.Jonathan then realized everyone was still in his or her dress

clothes. “Wow!” I was gone for over a week in the past and you’re not going to believe whom I met and how I got back.”

“Give us a try, buddy,” Chad happily said.John sternly said, “No more unauthorized time travel.”“I will wait till we are all back on the island and I’ll tell

everyone at once,” Jonathan said as he picked up the packaged suit. “Now let me go change.” And he did.

For Jonathan, the pre-wedding party was anticlimactic after his misadventure. Tanya clung to him like she would never let him go.


Jenny got her time with Greg. She took him on a stroll on their island beach.

It was a beautiful moonlit setting with a gentle breeze blowing the lapping waves as the two walked barefoot on the sandy beach.

“I wonder what Jonathan has to tell us about his trip back in time,” Jenny asked as they strolled hand-in-hand.

“I guess we’ll just have to let him tell us. He sure looked different in those clothes though. I wonder where he got them?” This time I’m not going to miss my opportunity. I must know if she has feelings for me! Greg anxiously thought of how to express his feelings to the only girl he truly loved.

“Greg, you’ve really been avoiding me lately. What’s going on?” She asked with the lapping waves as background music.

Greg started to say I’ve really been busy in the lab and with schoolwork, but then suddenly halted and turned to her and quickly blurted out before he changed his mind, “Jenny I love you and want to marry you!”

Jenny took a big gulp of air and then her face radiated her true feelings for Greg as she said, “You don’t know how long I’ve dreamed of hearing you say those words.”

Greg happily took her in his arms and they shared a lover’s kiss for the first time.

When they came up for air, she said, “What took you so long?”

“I guess it was that hunk you always hang out with.”“Roland is nice but he’s not my type. His presence did help

keep all the wolves away from me though, so you should thank him. I didn’t think you were the jealous type.”

“The not knowing how you felt towards me was killing me.”

“Is that why you were avoiding me? Because of Roland?”Greg sheepishly said, “Yeah. Kind of dumb wasn’t it?”“No. I think it was nice that you cared, but I didn’t mean to

make you suffer so.”“Can we tell the others? He anxiously asked.


“Why don’t we wait till tomorrow so we don’t distract from Jonathan and Tanya’s evening?”

“Fine with me,” Greg said as he held her waist tightly. “I’m just on cloud nine, knowing you love me too.”

Very late that night following the party, the whole team was assembled in the large meeting room/cafeteria on the island. Everyone was anxious to hear this extraordinary story Jonathan had hinted at.

Chad noticed Jenny and Greg blissfully sitting together holding hands. I think they make a great couple. That would make him and Jonathan brothers-in-law.

When Jonathan had everyone’s undivided attention, he began. “When I was working with the device, I forgot about using the decimal, plus I must have pressed 16 instead of 6.”

Dr. Vaughn quickly realized the significance of that mistake. “You mean you went back in time 1600 years?”

“That must be true because of who I met there. It’s the only explanation I can think of.” Jonathan then related the entire episode including the brutal sandstorm, the dark cold night, armadillo, stampeding buffalo, and special visitor. The audience was very quiet as he described the man he met, what he was doing, and how he helped him.

“Wow!” Greg said.“That’s truly amazing,” Meredith said.“I wonder what Moroni thought about your wrist device

and when you disappeared?” Chad wondered.“I made sure he saw me walking off, not just disappearing,”

Jonathan quickly said.As the group commented among themselves about

Jonathan’s time travel trip, Jonathan said, “But that wasn’t all that happened to me. Because of the sand and a disconnected wire, instead of returning here, I wound up near our house in 1963. Only it was just a field of weeds back then. I met this farm family and I was there the week that President Kennedy was shot. I saw him and Jacqueline at the Dallas Love Field Airport just before he started his motorcade. I tried to do something to warn him, but I wasn’t able to.”


Alex said, “Well this certainly points out why we must be very careful with this device. It should not be used for personal gratification, like visiting our relatives.”

“Yes. And no single trips either. We must quickly tie these devices into an encrypted partition of the database so we can track their activity,” Ted Olmstead said.

“We need to put a special lock on that cabinet while we are testing them too,” Greg offered.

John thought, I remember when I used the teleport device without a buddy and became a hostage to twisted Robert Anthony, so I better go easy on Jonathan. Then he said, “All good ideas, but for now I think it is past all our bedtimes. Goodnight all.”

After everyone else zipped to their personal quarters, Jonathan and Tanya, and Greg and Jenny lingered. They stood on the patio together and looked up to the stars together.

“Just think, just a few short years ago those stars seemed so unreachable and now it is like they’re in our backyard,” Jenny said with wonder.

Greg hugged Jenny as he said, “Hey Jonathan, we’re going to be brothers-in-law.”

Tanya squealed in delight, “that’s great! When?”Jenny brightly answered as she tightened Greg’s grip

around her waist, “We haven’t discussed that. He just proposed to me tonight.”

“Well, it’s about time. The big lug has been moping around here for weeks. I was afraid I was going to have to do the proposing for him,” Jonathan laughed.…


Chapter Sixteen

“The Enemy Assails”

The Spectari scientists were ecstatic but cautious when they learned from spying on Spectari newscasts they had succeeded in destroying Bosansi. Dr. Faren-sen said, “That is great but we must be certain they can’t find us. Will they believe it was an accident?”

“They might at first, but I think they are smart enough to figure out the truth eventually,” Dr. Marve-sen said. “I don’t think they can detect where it came from though because we used hyperspace.”

“Well, let’s wait awhile before we resume our attacks just to be sure we are safe and maybe keep them guessing about the cause.”…

Because they were already in the Omega Galaxy and even with the hyper drive, it would take many days, even months, to reach the Gamma Quadrant, Commander Marak-sen convinced the general to conquer the Omegans first.

Now, thanks to the database on the marvelous Grantham, they had star charts and other detailed information about the Omegans and their galaxy. They even had their battle plans and strategies. They used the Hyper Drive and the star charts to avoid detection and headed to a key Omegan supply base.

Though the supply base was on full alert, it did not have the latest technology the Grantham had. This made it an easy target that allowed the Spectari to easily take it over. Their next target was more strategic. It was a central command and


control installation for a whole section of the galaxy. It was more difficult because it was well guarded and on the alert for the captured star cruiser.

Commander Marak-sen used the Omegan battle tactics against them. “Come in an angle directly aligned with the closest sun and deploy the solar amplifier,” he ordered.

The solar amplifier reflected, directed and magnified many times the intense solar energy into the outlying remote security stations. The unmanned stations could not handle the high intensity burst of energy similar to a sunburst. The sensitive devices suffered a sensory overload and exploded within seconds.

The Omegan Command and Control Center recognized the loss of the sensor stations, but were too slow to react to its meaning. Still at Hyper speed, the Grantham fired its laser cannons at a central location on the center’s shield, causing another overload condition. When it too failed, the Spectari weapons officer was able to target the strategic comm facilities and power generators before the Omegans could react. In a matter of seconds, the battle for the Omegan base was over. The Spectari rounded up the Omegan officers and eliminated them. Spectari boarding parties similarly defeated two nearby starships. General Rasu-sen had the Omegan ships staffed with his own crews.

Now the three Spectari-manned ships followed that same pattern of destruction as they progressed through this part of the Omega Galaxy, adding ships and conscripting new crew to their new armada as they went.

Near the center of the Omegan galaxy on the planet Corinthias, Consul Uriahs and Pro-consul Stersham sat at the head table of the emergency Omegan Security Council meeting. The OSC had been put together to bring a peaceful solution to the galaxy-wide decades-old civil strife.

“How did our security force allow this to happen?” Supreme Pro-consul Dominus Sartek almost raged. The Supreme Pro-consul position had been considered largely ceremonial up


until now because each sector of their galaxy was pretty much autonomous.

Scientists on Corinthias had discovered Hyperspace and deep space travel half a century ago, but their scientific advancements only heightened their civil strife. Each planet thought it was the most superior in their part of space and thought to bend their will on the other planets until the OSC was formed to bring peace to the galaxy.

The OSC had never before worked in such a critical and desperate mode. The news they received from the Fulsom Sector was sketchy at best. There was a hidden transmitter relay station on a remote moon in the Trimansian Zone unscathed by the Spectari invasion. It was sending them periodic reports. The station was so new it had not yet been entered into the database version the Grantham and other captured ships carried. Upon the first alert, OSC Command inhibited all automatic database downloads to the affected Sector.

“Where will they attack next?” Vice-Pro-consul Silas Marcor anxiously queried. He had silently thought he should have been selected Supreme Pro-consul. Maybe this is my opportunity to take control? Silas Marcor was a devious dark-headed man who had gained his position by being a yes-man and a political toady. He was not from Corinthias and felt inferior because of it. He gained his position by secretly backstabbing those who opposed him to advance his own agenda.

Admiral Jaansen stood stiffly erect in his OSC uniform. He was one of the chief architects of the galaxy wide armistice put in place just a few years ago. I hoped we were through with all the fighting. Now we have to deal with these pirates from another galaxy.

“We don’t immediately know, but our battle strategists are diligently working on offensive plans as we speak and Operations is beefing up our perimeter defenses as rapidly as possible. We are analyzing the meager data from the Trimansian Zone to understand better how they seem to defeat our forces so easily. Sir, we are taking all steps we can think of.”

“They are using our own technology against us! They are


decimating whole planets! We must take immediate action!” The Vice pro-consul raged.

Half a galaxy away, Artesima in the Omegan Trimansian Zone was one of those suffering planets. The Spectari wiped out their planetary defenses in a matter of moments. They destroyed their capitol cities and hundreds of thousands of people in the process, never asking for surrender, but annihilating anything resembling weaponry or defensive capability.

Recently graduated Flight Cadet Mara Sirtus was devastated. She lost many of her family in the first wave of vicious attacks. She had been outside the Capitol City in a small scout ship and witnessed the massive destruction by the high-energy laser cannons from space of Tarnis, their world capitol with a population of over two million souls.

Her heart pined for her loved ones as the young flight navigator sped to warn the other cities. Flying close to the ground towards the city Tarsantu, she broadcast the warning message on an open channel, but all the frequencies were being jammed! She desperately tried broadcasting on the hyper channel in hopes someone would hear the call for help, but realized her hyper comm unit was also being jammed!

The young pilot, fresh out of navigator training, prayed some of her family had survived the holocaust of enemy firepower. With the planetary defense screens gone, their only hope was the dome shields, but she doubted they could withstand those powerful weapons. They are using our own ships against us! Our only hope might be to flee the cities.

Mara turned the dial for the local comm channel and could hear a buzz of confused talk. Then one voice overrode them all.

“Anyone in the sound of my voice with any kind of transport…head to coordinates 240 Orsin, 120 lingo, 820 Sino at best speed.”

Mara recognized the voice, but the coordinates made no sense…until she remembered this was an open civilian channel so the coordinates were in code. She mentally translated them. That’s weird. I know of no base near those coordinates. The voice was one she trusted though from training in the tank so


she quickly punched them into her navcom. The autopilot took over and headed due east away from the major cities.

When the scout ship neared the encoded coordinates, she began looking for anything resembling a base to land on. This was a remote area with rocky hills and not much else. She turned on her comm unit. “This is Pilot Sirtus looking for landing instructions.” She only heard static and then a soft voice said, “Remember the drill. Do it now!”

Mara went into automatic mode from combat training. She went off autopilot and hugged the rocky surface looking for a green light. There it was! She made a sharp right, looking for a blue light and saw it on her left. She pointed her scout ship between the two lights and lowered her landing gear despite the rocky landscape ahead. Suddenly the rocky surface disappeared and was replaced by a smooth landing strip. She easily glided the plane in and slowed in a recess as she watched the rocky surface rise back up from the flat surface she had just landed on.

The recess suddenly sloped sharply downward and she was rolling into a hidden hanger beneath ground. As soon as her scout ship was off the ramp. The ramp rose up into the roof to seal it. She parked beside an assortment of vehicles with many grounds people hurrying around in a buzz of activity. Mara was dressed in her flight uniform, which sported no rank insignia. She quickly exited her ship and asked the first person she could grab, “Who’s in charge here?” The dark-haired female mechanic looked at her a second and then said, “That would be Commander Jared Connison over there.” She pointed towards an assembled group by a large star craft.

Connison was easy to pick out. He was about the only one in uniform and seemed to be trying to direct everyone at the same time. “Flight Navigator Sirtus reporting for duty sir,” She crisply saluted.

The tall slender slightly balding Commander Connison returned her salute and asked, “You had any combat training?”

“A hundred and thirty hours in the sim tank sir.”“Okay, you go with the first battle group. We’re going on


the offensive in about twenty minutes with all the battle gear we can muster.”

Navigator Sirtus hesitantly asked, “What can we muster?”Commander Connison wearily and hastily replied. “Not

much. They hit us hard without warning and we lost most of our defensive capability almost immediately. They knew where and how to hit us. I think the only reason this base hasn’t been hit is because it wasn’t listed in the inventory database, which they apparently have access to. We must see that this base remains secret. All craft that leaves here must hug the terrain until they are well away before any action to engage the enemy. We know from intelligence sources they are using some of our latest ships and weaponry against us, so engaging them will be risky at best, but engage them we must.”

“Understood, sir. Just let me have a chance at them. They killed my family.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Don’t worry; you’ll get your chance. See Major Ellison for your assignment. She is heading Battle Group Alpha.”

Mara looked around and saw a tall dark woman with Major’s chevrons on her shoulder. She headed towards her. “Flight Navigator Sirtus reporting for duty,” She saluted.

The Major was brisk and to the point. “Forget the salute. What can you fly?”

“I am rated up to the A-30,” She quickly said.“Good. Take the Stryker over there, ‘Captain’. It’s the

Brightstar. The crew is getting it ready now.” Ellison hated to send such an untried person to lead the mission, but she didn’t have much choice. No other pilots had answered the desperate call and they couldn’t wait to strike back.

Wow, Mara thought. How about that for a quick field promotion! I wish it wasn’t under such terrible circumstances though, but it’s the best chance I have of inflicting pain on that enemy that took away my family. The Brightstar Stryker was not quite the newest attack battle cruiser in the fleet, but it was the newest one she saw in here. She thought; it’s also the biggest and fastest space cruiser I’ve flown and usually carries a crew


of at least a hundred fifty with room for more. The ordinance on this baby is laser cannons with ion torpedoes for close-in battle. That should give us a chance to do some serious damage to those space pirates. I hope we’re fully loaded. It also has transporters and tractor beams, which may come in handy.

She approached the ground crew as they prepared the large battle cruiser for launch. She walked up the ramp leading to the giant cargo hold to speak to a stocky crewman. “I’m Captain Sirtus. “How much longer till she’s ready?”

The senior crew chief said, “I’m Garrison Howe. This is the last load. It’s not quite full, but it’s all we’ve got.”

“We’ll just have to make the most of it then, Howe. Thanks. Do you know any of the crew?”

“The weapons officer is Lt. Arlon Garun. He’s one of the best. I’m not familiar with any of the others.”

The newest captain in the fleet had heard of Lt. Garun by reputation. This boosted her confidence slightly. Just then a tall dark Tuscan man came up the ramp. He approached her with his hand extended.

“Captain Sirtus, I’m Lt. Grayson Starfield. I’ve just been informed I’m your XO.”

Mara eagerly shook his hand. “Glad to meet you. I’m sorry we don’t have time for pleasantries. Please have the crew ready. We are to launch in about fifteen minutes. I only hope we’re in time to inflict some damage on these monsters.”

“We’ll be ready. I know most of the crew and they are good people to work with.”

“Glad to hear it.” Mara hastily turned and headed for the command deck to familiarize herself with it as quickly as possible. On her way at the elevator, she met the ship’s quartermaster.

“I’m Ensign Langston,” the blond haired woman said. The Brightstar is about three-quarters provisioned but we will make do.”

“Good, ensign. Carry on.” Mara then voiced, “Command” and the elevator rose.

“Whoosh.” The doors opened and she excitedly and with a


sense of trepidation stepped onto her first real command deck as the commanding officer.

There were already several crewmen at their stations. Mara noted about an even assortment of males and females. She made her presence known. “I am Captain Sirtus. We are scheduled to launch in about ten minutes. Are there any questions or problems?”

“We’ll be ready. I am First-mate Sargon, the navcom operator,” the stocky young man said with a controlled smile.

“Good. Carry on with your duties.”‘Captain’ Mara Sirtus strode to the command chair and

hesitantly but resolutely sat in it.She sharply said, “Helmsman, status?”A dark redheaded female confidently answered, “ I am

Second Mate Leara Morita. Ion power is warming up. She’ll be ready on your command captain.”

“Excellent. Navigator, have you plotted our exit path from here so we don’t reveal the base?”

“It is done. We will exit under gravitron power to skim just above the ground for several hundred kiloscons east before we go to ion power. We will accelerate at a 30 degree angle so it will be difficult to track our origin,” a dark-headed young man firmly said whom Mara thought she recognized from flight school.

It might also make us a better target; she worried.“Lt. Garun, are all weapons online?”The brown-skinned Tuscan smartly said, “Hot and ready

for action at your command.”“Comm officer, are we cleared for launch?”“We’re just waiting for the ramp to be opened in about five

minutes, sir.”Captain Sirtus asked of the command crew, “Anything I

need to be aware of before we launch?”No one said anything but a few shook their heads

negatively.“Very well,” she acknowledged. “Everyone be on your toes.

Sargon, inform operations Brightstar is ready for launch.”As the ramp came down to open up the sky, Captain Sirtus


saw the smoke from the capitol in the far distance and said a silent prayer.

“Shields up…Launch!”The crew felt Brightstar quietly hum under gravitron

power as it glided up the ramp and rose to skim over the ground at a good clip. Two minutes later, the ion engines kicked in and Brightstar shot towards the sky at the preplanned angle. Seconds later the viewplate turned dark as the atmosphere thinned and the stars slowly came into view.

They could now see their once-beautiful planet, Artesima, in the rear view plate, now dotted with huge clouds of smoke.

“There’s an enemy ship!” a crewman yelled as everyone saw it on the forward view screen simultaneously.

“Fire lasers!” the captain quickly ordered.Lt. Garun fired the forward laser cannons with pinpoint

accuracy but the enemy ship had its shields raised and the lasers caused no more than a pyrotechnic light show and got its attention. The enemy ship, which looked surprisingly like their own, turned towards them.

“Lt. Garun, as soon as we are in range launch the torpedoes with no timing delay!”

“Aye aye, sir.”“Everyone, button up and hold on because we’ll feel the

blast.”“Torpedoes away!”The blast severely rocked the Brightstar. The torpedoes

didn’t breach the enemy shields but the blast did, knocking all the enemy’s controls off-line. Their shields failed and the enemy ship was now defenseless and dead in space.

“Lt. Starfield, assemble a boarding party in the transporter room! Don’t hesitate to shoot anyone who offers resistance. Sargon, damage report!”…

The crew of the Spectari commanded battle cruiser was severely shaken with many casualties.

Commander Marak-sen was one of them. His second-in-command tried to call for assistance, but the comm station was inoperative. Just then the Brightstar boarding party appeared

and disarmed or killed those few remaining renegades who failed to immediately surrender.

When General Rasu-sen in the Corona III witnessed the loss of the battle cruiser with Commander Marak-sen, he immediately ordered the remaining ships to attack the Brightstar. “Lock onto that ship and don’t lose it!” He ordered.

The action of the Brightstar allowed the rest of Battle Group Alpha ships to safely exit the secret base undetected.

“We have company and we’re outnumbered!” Sargon exclaimed.

“Take evasive action! Retrieve the boarding parties and jump to hyperspace!” Captain Sirtus ordered. She realized they had been lucky because the pirates weren’t expecting the torpedo tactic in close quarter combat. Now they will be.…

Security Chief Hank Travis was in the Antigua Command Center; catching up on the deployment of the latest automated Hyperwave-activated sensor stations. He viewed the giant wall chart depicting their part of the universe. The screen twinkled, identifying the wider coverage area by the newly modified sensors. He knew there was a vast amount of space out there to search.

The Galactic Council members were unaware of the havoc and destruction being wreaked by the escaped Spectari two galaxies away.

“The sensors are set to certain scan patterns and the Hyperwave zips them around preset coordinates. If there is any sign of activity, the sensors immediately relay those signs to the Central Command Computer and alerts are broadcast automatically,” Dr. Ted Olmstead explained to the security chief as he would to one of his astrophysics students. “If the Spectari are anywhere in our space, we should receive ample warning.”

“And as soon as we do, we will deal with them. I just hope we can keep them from obtaining a teleport device,” Hank said.

“Even if they do, we have them well secured now with the thumbprint and voice security,” Ted said.

“Don’t underestimate the enemy. Given enough time, they probably would find a way around it, so we must make certain they don’t have that opportunity,” Hank determinedly said. Then he added, “Besides our own space, John has asked us to deploy units in that other galaxy that produced that renegade starship because he thinks that is where they may head if we don’t locate them in our own space. Will you assign a team to do that?”

“Certainly sir; I will get right on it,” Ted said.Ted immediately assigned Sethanni to head the team to

deploy the Hyperwave sensors to the newly identified galaxy and asked Tom Johnston and George Garrett to assist him.

Sethanni promptly deployed a dozen Hyperwave units to gather coordinates in that part of the universe so they could deploy the newly automated sensing devices. A task that would have taken months or years was now reduced to a matter of minutes thanks to the Hyperwave, computerization, and teleport function.…


Chapter Seventeen

“Exciting Activities”

Jonathan was in the Antigua lab visiting with Yorgi when his device beeped. He looked at the number but did not recognize it. He answered it and an image of an older man appeared on his wrist screen. The face had a familiar look to it, but Jonathan didn’t recognize who it was. “This is Jonathan Royston. I don’t recognize you?”

The image smiled. “Jonathan, I am Patrick Stewart. I have been following your successes, but didn’t call before because of your admonition to us not to contact you before now.”

The sudden realization stunned Jonathan. Just a week ago Jonathan had been with Patrick when he was twelve. Now Patrick must be in his fifties. Jonathan realized, though for him it was just a week, for Patrick, it had been over 40 years. “Patrick, it’s great to see you again. I would not have recognized the grown-up you without some hints. How are your folks and Frank doing?”

Tears appeared in Patrick’s eyes as he chokingly said, “Dad died a couple of weeks ago. Mom is in a nursing home. She asked if you could come visit her. I don’t think she has long to live either. Frank is still living in the farmhouse in Texas with his family. I live in Illinois with mine.”

Tears also came to Jonathan’s eyes as he said, “I would love to come visit you all. If you can give me your mom’s coordinates, I will zip right there?”

Jonathan explained to Yorgi where he was going and pressed his thumb and said, “Go”.


He was instantly at the front desk of the nursing home just outside Dallas. “I am here to visit Angie Stewart,” he told the smiling elderly white-haired lady sitting at the desk.

“That will be room 110 down the hall that way,” she pointed to the right.

As he started towards that direction, he noted a florist shop off the lobby and stopped to purchase a beautiful floral arrangement. He tapped on the partially closed door of 110.

“Come in,” a man’s voice softly said.Jonathan entered the room and saw Patrick and Frank

standing by their mother’s bed. He walked up to them and tearfully hugged both of them as he turned to a very much older white-haired Angie Stewart lying against pillows sitting up in the bed. It suddenly struck Jonathan how mentally painful time travel can be. For him, only last week she had been in her early thirties, and now she was in her seventies or eighties.

She weakly smiled at him as she reached out for a hug too. Jonathan handed Patrick the flowers and gently hugged her with tears freely flowing from his eyes.

“Oh Jonathan,” she tearfully held him tightly to her. “Gary so wanted to talk to you, before he died, but dared not so he wouldn’t affect your time travel visit. You look just as we remembered. We have followed you and your father’s success with the Galactic Council. You didn’t tell us how famous you were.” She reluctantly released him and reached for an envelope on the stand beside her bed. “He wanted you to have this.” She handed him the envelope with his name handwritten on it.

Jonathan pulled a Kleenex from the box on the stand. He wiped his eyes as he slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the folded yellowing envelope he had written on just last week, but actually over 40 years ago. The one he hadn’t been able to give President Kennedy. He thought how Gary had helped him and wished he could have seen him before he died.

Jonathan admired the pictures on a wall shelf by Angie’s bed. He noted one of Frank and his family. They had two pretty girls and two nice looking boys. Patrick’s family was beside his


in a separate frame. They had three boys and a girl. Then there were some smaller children.

“Those are Frank and Patrick’s grown families. They now have children of their own. Our great grandchildren,” she smiled.

Frank smiled, “I think you’ll be happy to learn I went on a mission to Guatemala.”

“And I went to Norway,” Patrick grinned. “Our family joined the church in Grand Prairie about a month after you left. Dad even served as a bishop. We wanted to contact you, but dared not. Mom even did some substitute teaching in your high school and recognized you there. She said you were a fine student.”

Jonathan smiled at Angie in amazement. “That is why you looked so familiar to me when I first met you. You were in Mrs. Hathaway’s class, weren’t you?”

“Yes. That was one of them.” She smiled, “and you wondered how I knew your name.” Angie’s older eyes twinkled. “I wanted so much to tell you but knew I couldn’t or it would spoil everything.”

“I am getting married next week and I would love for you to be in the Bountiful Temple with us. Could you accompany us in a wheelchair?”…

It was a beautiful fall morning at the Bountiful, Utah Temple. The sun glistened from the white marble. Following the sacred sealing ordinance of the restored priesthood inside the dedicated “House of The Lord”, the newest couple, all dressed in white, assembled outside for the traditional wedding pictures with the Royston and Garrett families. Tanya wore a beautiful long flowing white dress with train that had to be perfectly arranged for each picture with Jonathan and family members. Amber was in several of the pictures in a colorful dress holding a white corsage.

Greg and Jenny had talked about making it a double wedding, but both decided they needed more time to prepare;


besides, they wanted this to be a special day for Jonathan and Tanya, so they watched the proceedings as part of the wedding party thinking ahead to their own upcoming wedding.

The wedding party, including Angie and her grown sons and daughter-in-laws, then zipped to the White House Rose Garden for the media fanfare gala of the reception. The party was somewhat muted out of respect for the First Family’s loss of Maryann, but it was a beautifully choreographed affair with worldwide and Galacticwide dignitaries in attendance.

Chad enjoyed being one of Jonathan’s Groomsmen and Tanya had asked Chantrelle to be in the Bridal party so she could be included in the gala affair.

Janus and Yanna were there as were Yorgi and Kelina. Dr. Vaughn and Dr. Ellen Summers were there as a couple and so were Kara and Anton. They each gave best wishes to the newlyweds along with their wedding presents.

Chantrelle’s mother, Arlena Azstancio, viewed the White House wedding reception on the Vid screen and saw her daughter with Chad for the first time. He is a handsome fellow and Chantrelle tells me he is a member of the Galactic Science Committee. I should have met him sooner. I have been wrong to deny meeting him just because he is not Catholic. Do I expect the whole world to be Catholic?

During the festivities, Jenny talked to Angie Stewart in her wheelchair. She hugged her and said, “Jonathan told me all about you and I am glad you could be here today. I think I remember you subbing for one of my classes too.”

Angie’s elderly eyes twinkled as she said, “Yes I did. I knew you were Jonathan’s sister and I was just glad to be around you. Of course I couldn’t say anything for fear it would get back to Jonathan.”

“I am working with a special group of Scientists who are making some amazing strides with aging. Would you mind if they visited you and your nursing home?”

Angie’s eyes sparkled as she said; “If they can help this old body I would welcome them with open arms.”

John had penned a special poem for the occasion:…


“Forever Together”By

John RoystonFor

Jonathan and TanyaUpon

Their Wedding Day

Forever is a long time,A long time to care and share,

A long time to give and to receive,A long time to love and be loved.

For Two people in love,With God at the helm,

Steering the proper course,The future is no mystery.

Jonathan and Tanya,May God’s light always guide you,

May you always be together,Whether near or far away.

The heart knows no distance,Knows no boundaries.

Our prayers are with you,Wherever you are.

Planets and stars may change,Even galaxies alter their path,

Your love will only grow stronger,Deeper, richer, truer, and happier.

These are our wishes for you,Jonathan and Tanya

Now and throughoutThe eternities.

John and Meredith Royston(Mom and Dad)


That evening, following the festivities of banquet and dance, Jonathan and Tanya changed into their traveling clothes and zipped to a special cottage they had arranged for on Sirus-III, the newest settled earth-type planet in a village called Walden. They could have stayed in their new cottage on Crescent Island and zipped here during the days, but they wanted to truly feel part of the community they were going to help for this special month.

Though it was night on earth, it was almost Noon on Sirus-III. The newlyweds had planned for this by not scheduling any activities for the first two days.

On the third day after their bodies had adjusted to the new times, they awoke to the soft gong in the village marking the start of the village day. Walden was located in a lush valley and the bright sun was just peaking over the nearby mountain range. Though this area was an Eden-like setting, Sirus-III had many desolate areas where water was scarce. The group that settled Sirus-III looked forward to the challenge of Terra-forming those desolate areas. Before the age of teleportation, tractor beams, and energy fields, this would have been a formidable task, but now it was an almost routine activity.

Jonathan and Tanya Royston zipped to the main cafeteria where they were greeted with clapping of congratulations. A very pretty young lady presented Tanya a beautiful bouquet of colorful flowers as she smilingly said, “For your new cottage.” The village elder dressed in a simple workers outfit, shook hands with Jonathan and bowed to Tanya.

“Mr. & Mrs. Royston, we are very pleased at your offer to help us in starting our life on this planet. We hope you will join us for breakfast this morning before we begin.”

They enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast of fruit melons and juice. Following the breakfast, Tanya went with a group of the women to discuss their schooling facilities for the school children and Jonathan went with the planning group to decide which areas would be farmed first. The group could import


anything they needed but they wanted to become self-sufficient as soon as possible.…

Upon entering hyperspace just before the enemy could reach them in firing range, Captain Sirtus ordered, “Set a course for Corinthias. We must inform Admiral Jaansen of the pirate’s status and obtain reinforcements to overcome them.”

“A ship followed us in! It’s the Corona III! That old ship the pirates arrived in,” The helmsman quickly said.

“Belay that Corinthias setting! We don’t want to lead them there. Exit hyperspace as soon as possible and prepare to attack them.” The Corona III is a century older than us, but it still has powerful weaponry and is larger. Larger should mean we ought to be able to outmaneuver it, Captain Sirtus thought.

“Fire the rear cannons just before we exit. It may distract them enough for us to safely exit undetected.” She quickly ordered.

“Upon exiting hyperspace with stars once more in the background, the Brightstar quickly maneuvered to fire if the Corona III followed them out.”

It did not. The tactic worked and the Brightstar crew sighed in relief. “Now let’s return to Artesima and give those pirates battle,” Sirtus ordered. “Send our status to Admiral Jaansen and request reinforcements to our sector.”

“We lost them, sir! Their cannon shots disrupted the tracking gear and masked their exit,” Lt. Car-sen said.

“That captain’s a sly one. Reverse and return to their home planet. I’m sure they will return and we will be watching for them,” General Rasu-sen ordered.

Admiral Jaansen had already ordered several battle groups to the area when he received the Brightstar’s update, but it would take awhile for the reinforcements to arrive in that sector. I hope they won’t be too late, he thought.

Upon exiting hyperspace near Artesima, Captain Sirtus noted several of their small battle group engaged with enemy ships with a few of theirs already disabled or severely crippled. “Fire at will!” She quickly ordered.

The added firepower of the Brightstar from the rear caused the enemy ships to break off the fight and retreat. One of the enemy ships was limping away. “Take out that wounded duck,” Captain Sirtus ordered. Several laser shots soon had the limping ship completely inoperative. “Have the medics see if they can aid the crews of our disabled ships, then come back and check this one and keep a sharp watch in case the enemy returns,” She ordered.

The Corona III exited hyperspace farther from Artesima near the outer rim of the solar system. General Rasu-sen noted on his tactical viewscreen his other ships retreating and decided to regroup before resuming the attack.…

Hardison James hid in the cargo bay of the Omegan ship until it docked on a space station near Corinthias. While evading notice, he learned all he could about the workings of the ship. The ship was being hastily re-supplied while in dock. He used all this activity to roam the ship almost at will. He learned how the engines functioned and more about the weapons and the transporter equipment. He tapped into the main computer and learned as much as he could about every operational system. The ship was so automated; he believed he could operate it by himself at least to accomplish his first objective, which was to take it over and escape this star system.

He thought; if I am going to take over the ship and flee, the best time should be just before morning shift change. At just the right time, the stowaway disabled the transporters and snuck up to the command deck where the tired skeleton crew was waiting to be relieved by the next shift. He easily caught them off guard, disarmed them, and sealed them in a nearby utility room.

Hardison used his recently acquired knowledge to hastily fire up the ion engines and quickly flee the space dock before the control tower could react. As soon as he was safely away, he jumped to hyperspace before they could track him. He used the ship’s navcomp to plot a course to an outpost planet he had heard the crew mention. He wanted time to prepare himself before he tackled his next objective.…

The Brightstar Helmsman was watching the long-range scanner and suddenly exclaimed, “The Corona III is back!”

“On Screen!” Captain Sirtus immediately ordered.On the view screen they witnessed the Corona III head

towards the fleeing pirate ships.“They will regroup before they attack again. Send an

urgent message to Corinthias asking when reinforcements will be here?” Captain Sirtus quickly ordered.

“Helmsman, if the ships leave the area make sure we don’t lose track of them. Now let’s see which ships are still capable of defending what’s left of our planet.”

Shortly the helmsman reported, “Sir, Corinthias reports a battle group is on the way, but won’t be here for at least 18 hours.”

“I doubt the pirates are going to give us that much time. They will suspect we have called for reinforcements. We need to set our defenses to best protect the planet. Contact home base and see what their status is.” Captain Sirtus resolutely said.

Shortly, she was talking to Commander Connison. “Sir the pirate ships are regrouping and I believe they will hit us again before the reinforcements arrive. I am afraid there’s not much we can do to stop them. What do you suggest?”

“Captain Sirtus, you did a fine job during that first attack. Knocking out that warship with torpedoes was a brilliant tactic.”

“One which I’m afraid we won’t be able to duplicate because they will be prepared for it next time. Will you be able to launch any more ships, Sir?”

Commander Connison’s worry showed in his expression. “Not at the moment. Our engineers are working on a couple, but I fear they won’t be ready in time before the next attack.”

“Then we’ll just have to do the best with what we have sir. I count two other cruisers besides the Brightstar and several frigates left in our battle group. We might be able to have the frigates hold back and only attack after we engage the pirates so they have a chance to do some damage.”


“That sounds like a good plan, Captain. Good luck and we’ll be praying for you.”…


Chapter Eighteen

“Progress at Home and Away”

Grandpa Royston whistled as he briskly showered and shaved. He came out of the bathroom and brightly said; “I think I will visit the Command center today. That new medicine works wonders for my arthritis.”

Alice was glad to have her husband back in the groove. “That’s nice dear. Please tell everyone hi for me.”

Beverly Garvey smiled when John Sr. appeared at the Antigua Command Center. “Well it’s about time you got back to work. We’ve been missing your smiling face around here.” She filled him in on what was going on.

“The team has just distributed some of the newly modified Hyperwave sensors in the Omega Galaxy. They think that is where the Spectari renegades went. Hank has asked us to be especially alert for any signs of activity there. Any activity should immediately show up on this special monitor here. You are to immediately relay it to Hank on his Hyperwave monitor.”

“I think I can do that. Anything else?” John Sr. grinned.“Yes. Here is a long list of other activities we are monitoring

for too.” She pointed to an icon on his main screen and a list of activities popped up. He noted the system was monitoring both galaxies and thought of the huge astronomic distances involved.

John Sr. noted each listed activity had instructions of the emergency contact should they occur. The sensors had been


made extra sensitive to rogue asteroids and that activity was at the top of the list. He knew there was a special response team always on alert status to respond to that emergency using the sphere technology. “No problem. Piece of cake,” he said.

Just then Jenny walked up. “Hi Grandpa. How’s the medicine working?”

“It’s working great sweetheart. Thanks for including me in the test. By the way, when is your wedding with Greg scheduled?”

“No problem. It’s great to see you back at work. We’re planning for February 26th in the Bountiful temple. You should get your invitation in the mail tomorrow.”

John Sr. was keeping one eye glued to the monitor while he talked with his granddaughter. He suddenly noticed one of the Omegan sensors was signaling activity. He quickly pressed the keyboard to popup the complete message. The sensor detected several ion emissions and trails as well as rapid movements. He noted the coordinates and quickly worked the keyboard to dispatch a modified Hyperwave monitor to the coordinates.

By that time several others in the command center took notice of what was taking place. John Sr. switched the overhead screen on so everyone could see what he was seeing. They witnessed an awesome pyrotechnic display occurring in the Omega Galaxy half a parsec away from their dispatched monitor.

“Looks like a space battle to me,” one of the other operators said.

John Sr. quickly notified Hank and the rest of the team including his son. They quickly appeared.

Hank immediately said, “Move the scanners closer to those coordinates.”

John Sr. quickly did so and it was almost like they were seeing an instant magnification of the long-range view of the action happening two galaxies away. They witnessed the Brightstar and the enemy ship just before the torpedoes accomplished their task.

“Which are the bad guys?” An operator asked.


“John said, “I think those ships are defending their nearby planet which seems to have been attacked.”

Just then they witnessed the Brightstar jump to hyperspace quickly followed by another larger craft while other small craft were engaged in ship-to-ship battles.

Hank asked, “What action do you recommend?”John turned to Sethanni, “Is it possible to track those ships

in hyperspace?”“It can be done, but not easily and certainly not remotely,”

Sethanni said.“We need to learn more without putting ourselves at risk

before we jump into the fray. Why not place some invisible hyper cameras on those ships.”

Hank immediately ordered it done and the console operators went to work.

“Those are Spectari!” Jonathan exclaimed as he watched one of the viewer screens displaying a remote monitor become active.

Just then the Brightstar reappeared and began attacking the Spectari-manned ships from the rear.

The team witnessed the Spectari-manned ships in full retreat.

John Sr. said, “That other ship just reappeared half a parsec away and is now following those in retreat.”

“Keep tight track of them!” Hank quickly ordered. “John, I think we found the renegade Spectari. How do you want to handle this?”

“I think we should make ourselves known to the largest defender and let them know we can help. Dad, can you send a Hyperwave camera with monitor to that large ship’s command deck?”

“If I can’t, I’m sure Sethanni can,” his dad said as Sethanni smoothly joined John Sr. at the main console.

Shortly they were viewing the conversation between Captain Sirtus and Commander Connison.

As soon as that conversation ended, John voiced, “Captain Sirtus, I am John Royston, president of the Galactic Council of


planets. We have just witnessed your heroic efforts against the renegade Spectari.

The surprised Brightstar crew turned and saw the now visible monitor with John’s image on it. Captain Sirtus quickly said, “How did you do that? We have our shields raised!”

“We have some amazing technology we will be happy to share with you when we become better acquainted. At the moment we want to assist you in handling the Spectari who escaped from our galaxy in one of your ships.”

“Sir, those space pirates have caused immense damage in our galaxy and we would very much appreciate your assistance. They viciously killed my family and many others and caused much damage in this sector. From where are you sending this transmission? We have detected no other ships in this quadrant.”

“That is because we are not in your quadrant. We are not even in your galaxy or the next one.” John smiled.

“That’s impossible!” Captain Sirtus uttered.“Not too long ago I would have agreed with you, but we

have recently made some fantastic breakthroughs which have overcome the seemingly impossible,” John smiled. “We can take care of these renegade Spectari before they cause anymore harm and return your ships to you if that is okay/” John smiled.

“That is very okay. We just finished a decades long battle in our galaxy and were set to enjoy some peace when they arrived and disrupted everything.”

“We will take care of them and then I would like to arrange a meeting with your leaders. If you can set that up we would be most appreciative. You can reach me by just turning on this monitor. I will leave my end open and someone will be attending it.”

“I would be happy to arrange such a meeting for you, President Royston,” Captain Sirtus beamed.

John turned to Hank, “Okay Hank, do your stuff.”While John was talking, Hank had his security team

prepped and ready.They zipped androids to the rogue ships a galaxy and a

half away, disarmed the Spectari and returned them to Zeron.


General Rasu-sen had made it especially easy by grouping them together in preparation for another raid.

The renegade general was in the middle of issuing orders to resume the attack when he felt the too-familiar jolt of his ship on solid ground and heard the android’s voice to drop everything and abandon ship or be destroyed. He angrily roared in defeat.

The other renegade ship’s crews were dealt with similarly and the conscripted Omegans and their ships were returned to their home planets via the same means.

The immediate threat to the people in the Omegan galaxy was thus ended and John and his staff prepared to meet with the Omegan leaders.

While Hank was dealing with the renegade Spectari, Captain Sirtus contacted Commander Connison and filled him in.

“That’s great Captain, but are you sure these new people aren’t other enemies?” Commander Connison suspiciously asked.

“Sir, I will have them contact you directly and you can determine that for yourself, but I do believe them. My comm officer tells me the enemy ships just completely disappeared. They didn’t move away, they just completely disappeared off our screens.”

John received Captain Sirtus’ request and obtained the coordinates to zip a Hyperwave unit to the Artesima Command Center.

Commander Connison was startlingly surprised when the Hyperwave monitor on extension legs instantly appeared in his office with John’s smiling image on it. He thought; they don’t look that much different than us. “And you say you’re two galaxies away?”

“Well not quite two whole galaxies. More like one and a half actually,” John calmly smiled. Commander I know this is a shock to you, but we are only here to help. We will welcome you as allies and fellow members of our Galactic Council or you can go your own way. That is up to your people. We apologize for the destruction the renegade Spectari caused in your galaxy,


but it was one of your ships they managed to escape in. We will not intrude where we are not wanted.”

The battle commander suddenly realized what they were offering and hastily said, “Sir, I am sure our leaders will welcome you with open arms. I will be happy to perform the introductions.”

Commander Connison contacted Admiral Jaansen who contacted Supreme Pro-consul Sartek via their subspace communications.

“Sir we have been approached by people from another galaxy who took care of the space pirates. The pirates were criminals who were on a prison planet who escaped in the Corona III. The leaders of their Galactic Council want to meet with us to form an alliance. They have some amazing technology they say they are willing to share with us.”

“That’s fantastic! And you say they took care of the pirates and we have no more threats?”

“That’s correct sir. The pirates completely disappeared and were delivered back to their prison planet and our ships with the conscripted crews were returned to their planets. And they are communicating with us clear across two galaxies in real-time. Commander Connison says they can teleport here in real-time too.”

“That’s amazing! I will convene the Supreme Council and we will invite our intergalactic friends to join us.”

Shortly John received the invitation to meet the Omegan Supreme Council. He took his staff with Janus, Hank and Dr. Vaughn for the initial meeting.

They appeared in a great hall with a central oblong table in its center and a large circular balcony surrounding the room. John counted about 24 chairs around the oblong table. The balcony seemed filled to capacity with visitors for this historic occasion.

Supreme Pro-Consul Uriahs stood up from the nearest small rounded end. “We welcome you to our home planet and Supreme Council chamber.”


After the initial introductions, John offered his apology for the death and destruction the Spectari had caused.

Vice-Pro-consul Silas Marcor stood up and loudly proclaimed, “We demand war reparations for the destruction your people caused!”

The rest of the Supreme Council was embarrassed as they had heard the circumstances of how the Spectari had escaped their prison planet in one of the Omegan ships. There was also some murmuring from people in the balcony.

John calmly said, “We are sorry for your terrible loss of life and property but they were our enemies as much as yours. As soon as we located them, we dispatched them back to their prison planet where we will be sure they cannot escape again.”

Vice-Pro-consul Silas Marcor stood stiffly erect as he continued to claim they were responsible and owed war reparations for the harm caused. A few from the balcony shouted in agreement with his comments.

The Supreme Pro-consul tried to mollify the Vice-Pro-consul’s stance, “Mr. Royston, we do understand you have done all you could to make the situation right and we apologize for the Vice-Pro-consul’s outburst, but as you can see, there is still much pain for what your enemy did in our galaxy. Many precious lives were lost and many families torn apart. We would be happy to continue our discussions with you and your staff, but you must understand there will be some amount of opposition.”

“An apology isn’t enough!” Vice-Pro-consul Marcor yelled, although he did finally sit down.

The rest of the meeting was very tense and not as productive as John had hoped it would be.

Following the initial meeting, John met with his team in the Central Command Center. “I would like your opinion of how our first meeting went,” he addressed the group.

Janus said, “The Omegans were friendly enough, but you could feel the resentment as thick as a nebula for all the damage the Spectari caused. I think over time they will get over it and want to establish closer relations with us. Their scientists were


thrilled over our technology and I think there is much we can gain from them as well.”

“Yes, but that is the problem,” Hank added. “As long as there is opposition and resentment to us in their galaxy, I don’t feel safe providing them the technology because I believe we then lose some amount of control over how it might be used. If their disaffected ones have it, they could cause more harm than good.”

“You’re right. There seems to be no easy solution here. How can we be friends and enemies too?” John simply said with a look that invited further comments.

Just then Hank’s device buzzed. “Yes Sethanni. What’s up?“Sorry to disturb you sir, but I wanted to let you know as soon

as possible. We have identified the hidden base of the rogue Spectari Scientists who used the asteroid to destroy Bosansi. They used the Sphere technology to do it as I suspected. We are invisibly monitoring them now. How do you want us to handle it?”

“Don’t do anything else yet and don’t reveal yourselves, but stop them if they initiate another attack. I am meeting with the team now and we will discuss what action to take and get back to you.”

John said, “That is great news. I have been worrying about a repeat attack. Now we can take care of them before they destroy any more planets.

Everyone looked his way as Ted Olmstead softly added his thoughts. “I have been thinking. We have come a long way with understanding the parameters of the Time Travel functions. What if we went back in time and took care of the Spectari before they arrived in the Omega Galaxy and at the same time took care of those scientists before they launched that asteroid?”

Dr. Vaughn quickly spoke up, “Although it sounds great and we would all love to be able to do that, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. We would change more than just the damage caused by the Spectari. Things in our own world would be changed too.”

“Before we even think of doing such a thing, we need to establish a timeline of the events. If we do take such a step,


we want to affect most events as little as possible, Sethanni anxiously said.”

Ted Olmstead summarized the discussion points. “What you each said is true and has merits, but I believe using time travel is the best way to solve the Omega dilemma and restore Bosansi if we can minimize the risk as much as possible. I will have my team create a timeline of events and then we can meet again and see what seems reasonable.”

John said, “My first thought when I learned about the possibility of time travel was what is going on in the universe now that we will need this. I think we have learned it is in the destruction and loss of life the Spectari caused in both galaxies. I believe if we can safely undo that damage, we should take the risk, but only after doing everything we can to identify and minimize it.”

Over the next few days, the ‘Time Team’ as it had come to be nicknamed took mini invisible time trips to identify the time of significant events in all three galaxies from the time the Spectari found the crashed Starship to the present. This involved Jonathan, Chad, Greg, Dr. Chu, Ted Olmstead and others.

Jonathan almost felt like a voyeur as he invisibly witnessed past events, some of which included him. Other team members expressed the same feelings.

Jonathan put it this way, “It’s weird seeing myself do things in the past.”

Team leader Ted Olmstead collected the information and catalogued it in a specially encrypted database.

Ted then reconvened the whole team again to discuss his conclusions. They met in the large auditorium in the Maryland headquarters complex.

“We have learned much during the last few days. It may surprise you the number of significant events that occurred since the Spectari escaped from Zeron; The biggest one being the discovery of time-travel itself and the destruction of Bosansi. Then there are several medical cures and the extended Hyperwave modified sensors. And that is just the tip of the


iceberg. There were an equal number of significant things going on in the other two galaxies too.

“I believe the majority of significant events occurred after the Spectari arrived in the Omega galaxy but before attacking planets,” Ted concluded.

“Dr. Chu added, “We must realize, when we prevent the Spectari attacks, the future for us all will change and I believe the only ones who may remember what happened during that time will be those actually causing the change. The rest of us will be affected along with everyone else.”…


Chapter Nineteen

“Someone’s missing”

There was one event that did not get catalogued. It was the one none of them were aware of because the Corinthias space station failed to acknowledge the loss of one of the Omegan starships. Station Commander Orthenuse had sworn everyone to secrecy in hopes they could track it down and recover it without suffering major embarrassment. They kept it listed in the inventory database as in dock for extended maintenance with the missing crewmembers performing the maintenance. The commander hoped there wouldn’t come a day of reckoning.

Also, Hank’s security team failed to verify Hardison James was back on Zeron with the recaptured Spectari.

The elated free Hardison James sped through hyperspace. I have more power and technology at my command than I could have ever dreamed of. Now I must avoid detection and bide my time until I can obtain the pure teleport technology.

Hardison starved the Omegan crew until he obtained their promise to cooperate. He limited their activity and use of the ship’s vital systems, not fully trusting them.

The selected focal point for the time change just happened to be right after Hardison teleported to the Omegan ship, so the renegade Earthling would be only mildly affected by the altered timeline.

Ted Olmstead presented an outline for their strategy to the team. He drew two horizontal lines on the whiteboard. “The


top line represents current history. This second line represents altered history.” The second line started at the three-week point below the mark on the top line.…

(The Whiteboard With Ted’s drawing)

_________________*________________*_____>Current timeline…………three weeks……..…*now………..…………….….....…*______________________>………………….…….……..Altered time line….….*Future

Ted pointed to the bottom line. “Once we make a change, this becomes our reality. The problem we have is this: Once the Spectari are dealt with at this point, then the actions we each took going forward is affected. We have arrived at this point in time due to certain actions of our combined efforts. With the Spectari out of the picture, we have to make sure those same actions take place. If we take care of the Spectari scientists at the same time, the destruction of Bosansi will never take place.

“Why can’t we do it so no one knows it was done?” Chad asked.

“I have reviewed that possibility.” Ted smiled. “The main problem we have to do that, is manipulating our own equipment. Each time our probes monitored the Spectari actions; we would have to make sure they came up with the same results in order to cause the same actions on our history counterpart. That effort would be the least invasive if we could manage it.”

Greg said, “Most of that would only involve manipulating our own monitoring equipment if we simply hide the Spectari and their ship on an unknown planet during those three weeks.”

Hank said, “You’re right except for the confrontation we had with them. In the altered timeline, that won’t take place and if it doesn’t take place, then we have no reason to go back.”

Dr. Vaughn walked up to the board and tapped the lower timeline as he looked at the group and said, “You are both right.


History will be changed on this timeline and we can control that change only up to a certain point.” Dr. Vaughn tapped the top timeline. “In this timeline, we will go back.” He tapped the lower one. “In this one we won’t.”

Jonathan asked, “What will happen to the people in the top timeline?”

Dr. Vaughn turned to the whiteboard and erased the bottom line past the current time. He then drew a slanted line halfway up to the top line. He erased the rest of the top line and drew a slanted line down to meet the bottom slanted line and drew a new horizontal line where the two joined. He tapped on the new line with his fingers as he said, “This is what should take place. The only people who will remember about the time trip are those who will make it. Everyone else will simply act as if the events never occurred and certain things will happen differently as a result of the alteration in time.”…

(The Whiteboard After Dr. Vaughn’s changes) _____________……………………… Currenttimeline…....*\ three weeks*now \ \ \____________> \ / * Future timeline……………..…......\_____________/ *Altered time line*

Only strategic people were selected for the time travel mission; John, Janus, Hank, and the Time Team.

John later explained the plan to Meredith. “We are going to travel to the time just before the Spectari struck in the Omegan Galaxy and before the destruction of Bosansi. We will hide the Spectari and their ship for the three-week period and manipulate our sensors so things won’t be affected for us during that time. We are also going to take care of those rogue Spectari Scientists so they won’t send the asteroid to destroy Bosansi.”

Meredith happily thought of seeing Maryann Hargrove


again. “That will be marvelous if you can do it but isn’t that dangerous? I know Dr. Vaughn was worried about the effects changing the past would have.”

“We expect this will prevent the Spectari from killing all those people in the Omega Galaxy and the death of millions on Bosansi, so the risk is minimal and definitely worth taking. Because of Jonathan’s trip and our static testing, we believe there will be no lasting effect on us.”

“What do you expect to happen then?”“We will take care of them and then return to when we left.

The change for us should be that the Spectari are wherever we choose to send them and Bosansi will not be destroyed, and for the Omega Galaxy the Spectari will not attack those people and all those deaths and destruction won’t occur. We are not telling anyone outside the Time Team so we don’t affect any more than we have to.”

Meredith thought; what was I doing three weeks ago? Was that when I was with Alice? That will be marvelous that Bosansi will be saved and Maryann will be alive. I wish I could tell Madelyn. Now she and the president won’t have to suffer.

Similar conversations were had between families and spouses of all the team members. They told no one outside the group for fear of how it would affect the changes they were planning, not even President Hargrove.

Dr. Vaughn and Sethanni crammed as much test gear as they could into the Yanni Command ship to be used for the task. This was a unique opportunity to gather data about the effects of time travel and they wanted to capture everything about it. They loaded as much information regarding recent discoveries into the ship’s database as possible, hoping it would be preserved after the change.

The time was at hand and the whole team was energized, but very nervous. They were about to accomplish something new and unprecedented. They each worried how it would affect them. Up until now, the experiments had only been observant ones; not changing anything, but there was about to


be a significant change based on only the team’s theories of the expected affect.

The team had learned from invisible time trip observations the exact time the Spectari had first attacked in the Omega Galaxy, so that is the time they determined to deal with the Spectari.

The invisible Yanni ship appeared just as the Spectari exited hyperspace near the Omegan space station.

John thought, this time we’re going to be sure you can’t get away. There will be no more harm caused by you.

Hank and Sethanni were at the controls, directing the immediate actions.

Jonathan thought; it will be great to undo the latest destruction the Spectari have done and bring back Bosansi and all who were on her.

The Time Team quickly zipped an invisible android to the century-old starship and the android dispatched the Spectari crew and zipped the starship to a predesignated location.

General Rasu-sen cringed as he felt the giant ship now on solid ground and heard the android ordering the Spectari off it. He was furious as the invisible voice commanded them to abandon all technology before leaving the ship. The android’s order left no doubt the fatal consequences of not following the order to the letter.

The Android then zipped the Corona III to a pre-selected spot in the Orion Sector. Sethanni then zipped the invisible command ship to Aragonna.

Hank and John personally took great pleasure in confronting and dealing with the Spectari scientists. Dr. Faren-sen and Dr. Marve-sen were meeting with Aragonna’s commander. They were discussing Bosansi as their premier target in the enemy galaxy.

“I think not gentlemen,” Hank harshly responded. “Where we are sending you there will be no return and you will have the rest of your lives to regret your evil ways.”

The two then dispatched the Spectari scientists and


military unit, ships and weapons to predesignated locations. Then Sethanni immediately zipped the Yanni Command ship to just moments after its departure time and place, which was now on the future timeline.

In those brief moments, changes began to happen and lives were affected in many different ways.…

Consul Uriahs was ready. As soon as their instruments detected the Corona III’s scans, he realized he must take action. He punched in the override codes for the Corona III’s weapons systems on the console, but before he pressed transmit all indications of the Corona III completely disappeared from his instruments!

“They’ve disappeared sir! They were there scanning us one second and the next they’re not there at all!”

“Check to be sure this isn’t a trick,” Pro-consul Stersham ordered.

After several minutes they both agreed there was no sign of that century-old ship anywhere in their detectable space. They shook their heads in wonder; glad they didn’t have to face that ship’s weapons, but what happened to it would forever remain a mystery to them.

An instant before history was changed, Hardison James beamed onto the Omegan ship unnoticed and hid in the cargo bay. Now, Instead of hastily fleeing as the ship did during the Spectari attack in the other time, the ship now took its time and departed as scheduled. Hardison was unaware he was now repeating the steps he previously accomplished once to take over and steal the ship.

Recently graduated Flight Cadet Mara Sirtus was flying in her scout ship toward the Artesima capitol city. She was happily envisioning the joyous reunion with her family. It had been an intense two years of training, but she knew her graduation was well worth it. She viewed the beautiful domed city in the distance, not knowing she missed seeing the awful destruction that now never happened, nor would she get to be a starship captain because starships would no longer be needed with Earth’s teleport technology, but she would enjoy many happy


years with her family and John would see she was rewarded in a special way.

On the altered timeline the asteroid did not hit Bosansi and the grief it caused did not occur. Thus Jonathan and Tanya’s wedding was not postponed and the First lady did a marvelous job hosting it.

True to their theories, the Time Team was the only group aware of the miraculous event that changed so many lives.

Dr. Vaughn was disappointed. He thought, our instruments only gleaned minute information about time travel and certainly nothing to indicate how or why it works. We were fortunate we have the three-week database to review and follow-up on.…

“You what?” Exclaimed Meredith when John told her what she had missed, upon his return.

“The Time Team took a trip back in time to take care of the Spectari. You were aware of the planning for it, but when we dealt with the Spectari, history was changed and so you have no recollection of it.”

“I can’t believe you did it and I knew it then but don’t now.”

“I’m sorry, but the Spectari were in the Omega Galaxy causing all kinds of death and destruction and the only way we could rectify it was to go back three weeks and deal with them before they started wreaking their havoc. Also, something you must never divulge is there were some Spectari Scientists who used the sphere technology to send an asteroid towards Bosansi, which in the other time, destroyed Bosansi. Maryann Hargrove as well as others were on the planet and perished too. Happily when we altered time, those events never took place. “

Meredith shook her head. “I can understand what you did; it is just hard to fathom how I was affected. I am glad you were able to undo the death and destruction.” She hugged him tightly to her.

“Well you weren’t the only one. Everyone but the Time Team was affected too. There is an encrypted partition in the computer that has the details that we took with us so we would have a record. Dr. Vaughn uploaded it to the central system this morning.


“What happens now?”“Hank’s First Contact team is going to make initial contact

with the Omegans and we will welcome them into the Galactic Council minus the earlier crisis. I might take you to our first diplomatic meeting. I think you will enjoy meeting them. We haven’t decided whether we will reveal our earlier interaction with them. I will play that part by ear.”

The other Time Team members had similar conversations with their spouses with equally similar reactions.

“You did this three weeks ago and you are just now telling me?” Darlene Travis could not believe Hank could keep a secret from her for that long. He always even told her what her Christmas present was early.

“It was three weeks for you, but not for me or the team. It just took us a few minutes to go back and take care of them. Then we were right back here and the Spectari were taken care of. The people in the Omega Galaxy don’t even know we or the Spectari exist yet.”

“But you were just here! How can that be?” Tanya asked Jonathan.

“Because we altered time to save the Omegans and our future relationship with them it had to affect everyone here too. For you, it was three weeks, but for us who went back in time, it just took a few minutes.” Jonathan held her tightly as he explained what she had missed.

Janus had a similar conversation with Yanna after Jarom was tucked in bed. She simply said, “That is a dangerous function, but I am glad you saved all those people. You must use it very wisely.”

“The Time Team has it under very strict control. We all agree it is not to be used unless there is a pure purpose that benefits all mankind,” He softly told her as he held her in his arms.…

Hardison had his stolen starship with his press-ganged crew, which he had to keep close track of. He now could travel anywhere he wanted. The question was how to travel without being detected by the Galactic Council? He realized that to


travel very far outside of Hyperspace was to invite detection. And I am not sure whether they can detect me in hyperspace. I must forget about revenge for the moment and find a system far enough away I can take over. Then I will return and take care of them.

Hardison used the starship’s star charts to plot a course on the other side of the Omega Galaxy. Even in Hyperspace, it would take much time to get there, so he used it to plan his strategy.

There was one member of the crew of the hijacked ship who missed his family very much and was determined to find a way to escape as soon as possible. Osma Forenzo knew Hardison was watching them closely and monitoring their conversations, so he kept his plans to himself. His assignment was to maintain the ship’s environmental and gravity controls. The problem was there were so many backups and warning switches, the slightest change would alert their captor. He worked slowly to deactivate certain of the backup alarm switches at every opportunity.

There was a vast black void out the port window as the stolen Omegan ship sped through Hyperspace. Hardison ignored the unchanging view as he continuously interrogated the ship’s database to acquire as much knowledge as he could about the technology now available to him. In this marvelous ship I am almost invincible except for that teleport function. I did learn from the Spectari they created a stasis field that the device could not penetrate. When I land I will find a way to get this ship equipped with an exterior stasis field.…

John ordered the First Contact Team not to make contact with the Omegan galaxy until the Galactic Council met to discuss the matter.

He spoke to the Council at a special meeting. “Here is the problem. You have read the confidential report on how we went back in time to take care of the Spectari, but in doing so, we changed history so our earlier contact with the Omegans did not take place in this altered history. The question is, when we make what for them will be first contact, do we reveal our


manipulation of history?” John queried the Galactic Council members. “If we let them know we did this, we cannot predict what their reaction will be.”

Gunnel Rand, the portly Centaurian Sector Representative spoke up. “Do you intend to use this time travel on a regular basis? I think we need to know that before we can decide.”

“No sir. We may do some passive observation, but we believe we should not manipulate the past because of unforeseen changes and affects that can occur. There would need to be an overriding need to do so. In this case, that need was the Spectari invasion and death and destruction in the Omegan galaxy that the Omegans blamed on us and the destruction of Bosansi.” John took a sip of water as he continued to explain their position.

“We felt we needed to do this in order to have a smooth relationship with them going forward. Unless we tell the Omegans what we did, they should be unaware of the change. We did not inform the whole council prior to the action so there would be less risk of uncontrolled changes in our own history. We do also intend to keep the time travel function as quiet as possible and would appreciate your cooperation in that effort.”

“In that case my vote would be not to tell the Omegans about it,” Representative Rand smiled. There was a chorus of affirmatives at his statement.

John smiled. “I think you’ve just answered our question. We thank you for the input and support. We will initiate contact with the Omegans shortly. This I believe will open up a whole new opportunity for trade and technology expansion. That galaxy according to our sector chart will come under the Centaurian Sector so Representative Rand; we will have the First Contact Team work through you and your team on this. Thank you for coming.”

“That went smoothly,” Hank said as he visited with John and Janus in John’s Maryland Office.

“Yes it did,” John smiled. “I decided it best to work through


the sector organization so the first contact this time will truly be a first contact on both sides.”

Hank observed, “Good idea. What’s up next?”Janus looked at Hank with a broad smile. “I believe

your team is going to need to rapidly expand to support the Centaurian Sector’s expansion into the Omegan galaxy.”

“I’ve already asked the Centaurian Sector chief to gear up for that effort. He says they have plenty of candidates from the sector planets. They just need to ramp up their training and we are assisting with that. Tom Johnston is heading up the effort,” Hank leaned forward as he added, “This is certainly an exciting time. We are still working on integrating the Beta Galaxy and now we get to expand by a whole other galaxy. At least we won’t have to deal with completely changing their culture the way we are in the Beta Galaxy.”

John added, “And we don’t know what type of advances we will gain yet from that galaxy either. I do know they just finished up a nasty civil war there and are looking for some needed peacetime. We also don’t know how much of their galaxy they have spread through either.”

John abruptly changed the subject as he said, “I’ve been thinking about President Hargrove. His second term is about over and I want to recommend him for a position on the Council. He’s been a special supporter of this council and we couldn’t have come this far without him. What are your thoughts on doing so?”

“What kind of position are you considering?” Janus softly asked.

“Something on the order of special Galactic Envoy where he would represent the whole council diplomatically in things like the First Contact Team does now.”

“I think that is an excellent idea. He certainly has the talent and diplomatic skills for it,” Hank said.

“I heartily agree and I think the rest of the council will agree too,” Janus said.

“Good. Then I will propose it at our Tuesday meeting.”Following the first contact with the Omegans, Hank made


a private visit to Admiral Jaansen. The admiral welcomed him into his office. “Mr. Travis, I am happy to get to visit with you. I very much enjoyed your meeting with the Supreme Council and the Admiralty. If I understand your technology correctly, you are going to just about make our fleet of starships a thing of the past,” he smiled.

“That should eventually be true, but we don’t have to do it overnight. In fact, through experience, we recommend it be accomplished in carefully planned stages to prevent too many disruptions to your society,” Hank said as he recalled Earth’s transition problems. “Also, there must be some infrastructure built in your galaxy to support the teleport technology such as satellites and relay stations. With the help of the teleport technology it should be a simple and straightforward process,” Hank added.

“I’m glad to hear that. I have been getting many questions.”

“There is one thing in particular I wanted to talk to you about. Our Sector Representative Rand should be meeting with your Supreme Council and your admiralty soon to request candidates for new sector and galaxy positions. I am aware of certain individuals who have performed a great service to both our galaxies, although they themselves are unaware of it. I would ask they be given highest consideration when the time comes.” Hank handed him the list of the Brightstar crew with Mara Sirtus’ name at the top of the list.

Admiral Jaansen reviewed the list and said, “Some of these names I could easily recommend, but others I believe I recently saw on a graduation list from flight school. How could they possibly be on such a list as you describe?”

“Sir, I am unable to go into details at this time, but please believe me when I say they are highly worthy of such consideration and if you were aware of the details, you would certainly agree.”

“Well, I will rely on your glowing recommendation and hope the time will come when you can share the details with me.”


“I hope so too, sir.”…


Chapter Twenty

“New Life”

“My parents died when the Spectari first attacked our planet. Most of my Clan was wiped out in that vicious attack,” Borcas told Maryann Hargrove as they picnicked in a beautiful Bosansi meadow. There was a serene blue lake nearby on a near perfect sky-blue day. The Bosansi sun nearly matched Earth’s in brilliance.

“I knew your parents weren’t alive, but I didn’t know how they had died. That must have been very hard on you,” Maryann said as she looked into his deep gray eyes that attracted her so much.

“It did and I spent every waking moment and even in my dreams working to overcome them. Then your marvelous group appeared to take care of the vicious Spectari. I will always be grateful to them for that. I feel like I have advanced a lifetime in what I’ve learned in this short year’s time. I understand your father had a hand in organizing the Galactic Council.” He said this as he held her hands together in his. He marveled at how soft and dainty they were.

“He did. And I am grateful for that or we might never have met,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Maryann, I don’t fully understand yet how things are done on your world,” Borcas melted into her shining eyes. “But I want you to be my companion for life. Would you at least consider it?”

“Oh Borcas,” Maryann radiated as she tightly squeezed his hands, “I want to be your companion for life too.”


They shared their first true lovers kiss then sat together and blissfully noted the young waterfowl playing on the nearby lake, almost as contented as they were.…

President Hargrove and the First Lady received the joyous news of her engagement from their daughter just before Galactic President Royston made the announcement of President Hargrove being selected as special envoy to the Galactic Council upon the end of his term of office.

Madelyn instantly thought, well that certainly opens up some exciting possibilities for the wedding reception. Madelyn had learned about the death of Borcas’ parents and clan members from Maryann. Borcas asked her to handle the details for the wedding after Maryann told him her mother was dying to do it.

President Hargrove thought, that sounds exciting. I think I will enjoy that opportunity very much.…Well, so much for retirement.

John made an impromptu visit to the Oval Office. “Sir, I want to congratulate you on your selection as Special Envoy to the Galactic Council.”

“Thank you, John. I really appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve and I know Madelyn is looking forward to it also. I’m sure I have you to thank for this new position.”

“Just about as much as I have you to thank for mine,” John seriously looked at the President and slowly said, “Sir, since you will be privy to some delicate information, I feel it is only right that I share something with you that you might accidentally learn later. I think you are aware the Galactic Science team discovered time travel.”

President Hargrove sat up stiffer in his chair and said, “I did hear something to that effect and then I didn’t hear anymore.” He leaned forward. “What do you have to tell me?”

“Sir several things happened, some of which personally affected your family. We felt it necessary to go back in time and prevent certain things from happening. This was not my decision alone, but the whole science team. When we made those changes, it altered time for a three-week period. We


didn’t tell anyone outside the team for fear it would cause more changes.” John softly continued.

“When you read the encrypted record in the database you will learn the Spectari renegades wreaked havoc in the Omega Galaxy and other Spectari also destroyed Bosansi by aiming an asteroid at it during the same time period. We went back in time to prevent that from happening. You will also learn that Maryann was on Bosansi in that other time when it was destroyed.”

President Hargrove heard John’s words, but it took a few seconds for the real affect of them to sink in. Then he hesitantly said, “Do you mean that in that other time that Maryann died?”

“Yes sir, she did along with many others and all of Bosansi. It devastated all of us. When we altered time, those events didn’t happen so you have no knowledge of it and I am happy you didn’t have to suffer through that agony. No one knows about it outside of those who effected the change and those who have privy to the encrypted database.”

“I will be forever grateful for your actions on my family’s behalf. Is it okay to tell Madelyn?”

“That is your call, sir, but I would suggest it go no further. The records are sealed and no one outside the time team has access to them. We’ve also put a tight security seal on the sphere technology so it cannot be misused like the Spectari scientists used it.”

“John, I do appreciate your sharing this with me. I will probably share this information with Madelyn because I have a hard time keeping things from her. She seems to always know when I try to. I will be sure it goes no further.”

The president then added, “I totally agree we shouldn’t allow this technology to be misused in any way. That may impede our own progress, but it is the safer way to go, especially when we have renegades trying to destroy societies with it.”

“Thank you sir. We truly appreciate your support. Personally, I am anxiously looking forward to working with


you. I never forget it was you with your vision who created this Galactic Council position I reluctantly accepted.”

President Hargrove smiled. “And we are all grateful you did. There is no telling what other mischief and disasters you and your team have prevented throughout the universe.”…

“I have a surprise for you,” Dr. Walsh told Tanya Royston after she was dressed following the physical exam. Tanya had naturally picked Dr. Walsh to be her Gynecologist since she was the Royston’s family Doctor.

Tanya couldn’t wait to tell Jonathan the exciting news.Meredith and Doris Garrett were working together with

Jenny and Greg on their wedding plans. Since Greg was on the Galactic Science Committee and the ‘father’ of the Garrett Hyperwave and Jenny, the daughter of the Galactic President, their wedding would be very high profile. They knew it would garner much media attention throughout the Galactic Council member systems.

“Where do you want to have the wedding reception?” Meredith asked Jenny and Greg as they sat on the cottage veranda with the cool ocean breeze slightly blowing around them.

“I don’t know about Jenny, but I would just as soon have it here on the island if it wasn’t for all the media fuss,” Greg said.

“That’s the price you pay for fame,” John grinned as he stood in the patio doorway.

“Speaking of islands, How about Hawaii?” Jenny brightly asked.

“Could we have it in a luau setting maybe?” Greg asked.“That might work,” Doris said. “Then maybe we could

include a visit for the guests to the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu?”

“That would be great,” Meredith said. “We could plan an actual Luau for the pre-wedding party on the beach.”

“Could we change our plans and be married in the Hawaii Temple too?” Jenny asked as she looked at Greg for his approval.


“That’s fine with me too,” Greg said and nodded.Just then Tanya beeped Meredith. “Hi mom. Is Dad there

with you?”“He just arrived. We’re here with Doris and Jenny and

Greg, discussing the wedding plans. What do you need him for?”

“Jonathan and I just wanted to share the news that I am expecting.”

“Oh that is wonderful,” Meredith beamed. “We’re all thrilled. Can you come over this evening so we can visit?”

“Yes. We will be there around six.”“Okay. We will see you then and we can go out to

celebrate.”Meredith thoughtfully smiled, well I know what it’s like to

be a mother, now I will learn about being a grandmother and I’m still in my thirties.…

On a beautiful but usual pale day on Yantu, Yorgi and Kelina happily announced to his mother, Yanna, that Kelina was expecting their first child. She immediately beeped Janus to share the wonderful news. The Yanni prized children very much and this was a cause for great celebration for them. Janus was thrilled that his family was growing and their family line would be carried on through his son. Janus looked forward to spending time with his new grandchild and passing on his lifetime of wisdom to him or her.

He beeped John to share the news just as John was trying to beep him to tell about Tanya and Jonathan’s exciting news. They learned the due dates for both couples were in the same month and both laughed about becoming new grandfathers.…

Hardison James was able to elude detection mainly because no one was looking for him. The Omegan High Command was not aware of the missing ship and the Galactic Council was unaware Hardison James was not on Zeron with the captured Spectari renegades.

While the stolen starship sped to the farthest part of the Omega Galaxy through hyperspace, Osma Forenzo continued his efforts to escape from Hardison James. He was able to


inactivate two key backup sensors, which he hoped would let him send an undetected subspace message once they exited hyperspace. He had no idea where the starship was headed, but he hoped they would exit hyperspace soon. He had not talked with any of the other conscripted crew for fear of being detected. Hardison had dealt harshly with two others who defied his orders, so Osma was extra cautious.

Osma was anxious to return to his family as his wife, Marina, was expecting their third child and he did not want to miss being there. He knew she must be very anxious for him.

On Osma’s Omegan home planet, Corinthias, Marina Forenzo was most anxious. Each day she was getting closer to the delivery time and she had no word from Osma. She had continued to try to contact her husband, but kept getting the same answer from his superior. “He is unavailable because of a special assignment.” The time was getting closer so she contacted her father, Larson Brevitt, who was on Consul Uriah’s command staff.

She anxiously told him, “Father, I cannot contact Osma. His superior keeps telling me he is on a special mission and can’t be contacted. Can you get him a message? He must know I am getting close to delivery.”

Larson Brevitt was a logical man of few words. He knew there should be nothing so important as to keep his son-in-law from communicating with Marina. “I will find out where he is and get a special pass for him to be with you.”

Larson contacted Admiral Jaansen. “Sir, I am concerned. I have a son-in-law in the starship fleet and my daughter has been unable to contact him. She is getting close to delivering their third child and she is very anxious to have him there.”

Admiral Jaansen thought all his problems should be as easy. “That should be no problem. I will have my staff issue orders for his leave home immediately.”

When Commander Orthenuse received the Fleet orders, he knew he was in deep trouble. He never dreamed the stolen starship could hide from them this long. Now he had to pay the consequences for trying to keep the incident a secret.


Admiral Jaansen took the call directly and quietly listened, then said, “Commander, first, I can’t believe you could do such a thing, and second you should never have waited this long to notify me. Have a galactic-wide alert posted immediately and then turn your duties over to Commander Landers. You are confined to your quarters pending a full investigation. I will also see if our new allies are able to help us.”

Admiral Jaansen immediately notified Supreme Pro-consul Sartek. “Sir, we have a stolen starship that has been unable to be located. This happened several weeks ago, but Commander Orthenuse failed to notify us because he thought he could find it himself. I have relieved him of his command and initiated an investigation. I also put out a galaxy-wide alert for the stolen ship. I am wondering if our new allies with their marvelous technology might lend assistance.”

The Supreme Pro-consul frowned at the image on his screen. “This is most disturbing, admiral. We must find the ship as soon as possible. Whoever stole it may instigate hostilities and start another war. That ship is equipped with our latest technology and will be difficult to approach.” The Supreme Pro-consul then half smiled. “That is an excellent idea about requesting assistance. I will explain the situation and request their aid. If they are disposed to help us, this incident may spur them to speed up providing us their amazing transport technology.”…

When Hank first received word of the stolen Omegan starship, he immediately thought of the renegade Spectari, which the Omegans on this timeline had no knowledge of. We must not have gotten them all, he thought. He pressed his device for Victor.

“Victor, we have a problem. I need you to perform a quick census of Zeron and see if any of the Spectari renegades are missing again. The Omegans are reporting one of their starships was hijacked, and I am guessing maybe we failed to capture all the Spectari in their system.”

“Yes sir. I will have that done immediately and get right back to you.”


Shortly Hank’s device beeped and he answered Victor’s call.

“Sir, the Spectari are all accounted for on Zeron, but there is no sign of Hardison James.”

“That figures,” Hank said. “Thanks for the quick work. Put out an alert for him, but I suspect he is the one who stole the Omegan’s starship. We know he was with the Spectari in the Omega Galaxy. He must have eluded us when we recaptured the Spectari. We must put all our resources into finding the stolen starship. Please work with Admiral Jaansen in the Omega Galaxy and use all the security team you need to help you. Report your progress directly to me.”

“Yes sir. I will get right on it.”Hank then notified President Royston via his device. “Sir,

we’ve just discovered Hardison James is missing from Zeron and the Omegans have had one of their newest starships stolen. We failed to confirm Hardison was returned to Zeron so I am thinking he must have escaped just before we recaptured the Spectari. We are initiating a search to find him.”

“Thanks Hank. Please keep me informed.” John sat at his Maryland desk and thought about Hardison. The guy is ingenious but twisted as can be. We should never have put him on Zeron with the Spectari. He must not get hold of the teleport technology.…

Meredith was visiting Yanna on Yantu. They were sitting in a beautifully appointed sunroom with a huge window to the outside and full-length wall murals of picturesque landscapes on Yantu. Though it was a cloudy day outside, the wall murals presented a more pleasant and happy setting for the room. Meredith noted some of them included backlighting that provided a 3-dimensional touch of realism to them. One wall included the beautiful canyon setting their two families had picnicked at once. Another was of a beautiful 3-tiered waterfall with a majestic rainbow-hued mountain in the background. Meredith thought it was a breathtaking scene. The two were sharing thoughts of their coming grand-parenthood as they


watched Amber and Jarom happily playing a computer game in the playroom next door.

“This will be a first for both of us. How do Yanni families handle grand-parenting?” Meredith asked as she sipped a delightful Yanni herb beverage that tasted somewhat fruity.

“As you know, we view children as a rich heritage and blessing,” Yanna smiled. “We pass all our knowledge and understanding along to them. Grand children are considered a triple blessing and we assist the parents in raising them. Yorgi and Kelina’s children will spend about as much time with us as with their own parents.”

“Does that sometimes cause conflicts?”“No because we raise our children to appreciate the same

family values, so there are rarely conflicts of the nature I think you are talking about.”

Meredith nodded. “Sorry, I asked that question out of habit from knowing Earth ways. It is still hard to realize your culture is so tightly knit.”

“I understand.” Yanna said as she took a sip of her beverage. “It took many years for our culture to realize the importance and nature of raising children and that grand parents were the richest resource to help the children receive a full understanding of how they fit in society and carry on family traditions.”

“John and I feel the same way, but on Earth some families are not as close or tight knit; in fact there are many broken home situations that cause a breakdown in the pattern your culture has. How does your society handle those types of situations?

“As I have examined your society, I noted several things that are different from ours. One of the differences is a sense of community and belonging. Janus and I were raised in a community that was really close. When situations like you speak of arise, when parents die from disease or accidents, the community as a whole adopts the children, adoptive parents and grandparents are selected. Luckily we don’t have to deal with the worse situation of parental breakups as your planet has.”


Meredith knew Yanna was talking about the almost unknown practice of divorce on Yantu. They had talked about it before. Meredith thought how much better life would be if it was so on Earth. She suddenly thought, with teleporting, I wonder if this is an opportunity to introduce a new sense of earth communities. I am sure if we organized properly, we could find many grandparents and parents who would love to help raise children from broken homes and give them a new sense of belonging. That might be a start?…

On Sieta, life was just barely tolerable for Quelesa and Geral. Their slave master had conscripted their home and they were rudely put in a small supply shack with few provisions yet still required to produce the same harvest and livestock or face severe punishment. Quelesa wondered what happened to those other-worlders and their amazing technology that let them travel between worlds. The man named Janus said they would return if they could, but he didn’t say when that would be. What if it is a century from now? I am sure they could help rid us of the Quorax. I should have told them like Geral wanted me to when we first met. Now I may never have another chance.

As Geral worked daily under the hot Sieta sun, tending the livestock and the fields, he too wondered what happened to those other worlders. It must be marvelous to be able to travel freely between worlds, he thought. Like things were before the Quorax invaded our peaceful world. Will our world ever have a chance to be peaceful again? If only those other worlders would return we might have a chance.

The alien invaders had appeared quickly from the stars and cruelly took over their world. They had disrupted and broke apart families for their own evil purposes. Both Quelesa and Geral’s parents had been forced into a slave labor camp and they had no idea whether they were even still alive or not.

One morning as Geral delivered his load of vegetables to the community processing plant, he saw Larkin-Mays. He knew the short angular man was one of the stargazers before the Quorax attacked and changed everything. While he waited for his load to be weighed and measured, he made his way to


where the stargazer was standing. “Haven’t seen you lately Lars. Where have you been?”

The stargazer looked around furtively and put his hand to his slave collar before quietly answering. “The slave masters took over our facility and forced us to haul the crops from outlying farmers to this processing plant. I am waiting for my next pickup assignment now.”

“Do you know where the Quorax came from?”Lars looked around again before quietly answering.

“Someone said they come from a part of the sky very far away. I heard one of them say their home world was in a very different part of the universe. One which our crude lenses could never see.”

“Did they ever mention any other worlds or peoples?”Lars looked around again. “Why do you ask such a

question?”“Because Quelesa and I have met someone who says they

are from another world, but they know nothing about the Quorax or at least acted like they didn’t know of them.”

Lars was suddenly more interested. “Where did you meet such a person?”

Before Geral could answer, there was an all-too-familiar sound of a Quorax hover ship that appeared seemingly from nowhere. Often when the black terror ship appeared, people disappeared or were killed by bolts of lightning shooting out from its gun ports.

The Sietian slaves all tried to shrink into themselves to try to become as invisible as possible, including Geral and Larkin-Mays. Geral wondered what terrible thing was about to happen. He knew the ships sudden appearance could not be a good sign.…

Dr. Vaughn had directed Sethanni to organize an exploration team to Sieta, but when he learned about the escaped Hardison James, he again interrupted those exploration plans to tackle the immediate problem. He realized he hadn’t yet told John and the Galactic Council about their amazing discovery. I must


rectify that soon, he thought as he continued to study possible ways to detect the stolen Omegan starship.…

Hardison quietly exited hyperspace in a far arm of the Omega Galaxy. He immediately landed on the moon of an earth-type planet. He wanted time to reconnoiter the planet before he took any further action. He had all primary systems shut down except life support and his own security section so he could still monitor his conscripted skeleton crew.

Just before the primary systems were shut down, Osma quietly sent out an undetected subspace distress signal. The Omegans had no relay stations in this largely unexplored arm of their galaxy, so the signal went unnoticed for the moment. With the primary systems shut down; however, it gave Osma an opportunity to tinker with more of the warning sensors. Each day he was becoming more anxious for Marina as he knew her delivery was getting nearer. He desperately wanted to be there for his wife and new child, but knew the chances were very slim due to the distance they had already traveled in hyperspace.

Hardison focused his sensors on the nearby planet, hoping to learn as much as he could. The Omegans did not have the sophisticated universal translators of the Spectari or Yanni, so he could only learn so much by eavesdropping on the local inhabitants. He did learn they were advanced in several areas, but very backward in others. They had nuclear energy, but no energy force or laser technology.

Hardison used the ship’s sensing equipment to identify three main continents with several smaller landmasses too large to be considered islands. There was no planet-wide government, but the central continent seemed to control the advanced nuclear technology. The weather went from two extremes with the central continent being the mildest and the southern continent being the coldest. When storms came, they produced large electrical displays in the atmosphere.

Hardison identified two main races of inhabitants. There was a Caucasian type and an Asian type. They separately occupied the two larger continents and did seem to have their commerce in common, mostly by huge cargo ships, which plied


ocean trade routes. He noted there were no standing armies, but there were some fortifications indicating past hostilities. He estimated, with the Omegan ship’s weaponry and high tech science, he could takeover the planet rather easily. But just taking over a planet wasn’t enough. He was looking for an edge, an edge to be able to return to Galactic Council space and obtain the teleport technology. That was his driving force. He realized this planet wouldn’t help him accomplish that, at least not in a timely manner.

After scanning the rest of this solar system for candidate planets, Hardison reactivated the ship’s systems and prepared to leap back into hyperspace.

Osma cringed when the ship’s systems were reactivated, fearing one of his modified sensors would signal his modifications to Hardison. One did, but Hardison was too occupied to notice it. Just before the leap into hyperspace, Osma quickly sent out another signal.…

“I would guess Hardison James knows enough about our abilities now that he will be very hard to catch,” Hank told John during the Galactic Council conference Hyperwave meeting. John was in his Maryland office while Hank was in the Antigua Command Center.

The other twelve members were mostly on their home planets but a couple of the representatives were with Hank. John thought how much easier communication is now with the Hyperwave. No more time lags to get everyone together. “And we now have three galaxies to search in,” he added.

Hank said, “You’re right, but with the computerized Hyperwave sensors, we can do it quicker and more efficiently. The only thing that slows us down is obtaining the initial set of spatial coordinates and that function is even computerized now.”

Janus asked, “Do we have any ideas as to where he might hide?”

“If he’s smart, as far away as he can get and lay low for awhile,” Representative Rand interjected.

“Unfortunately I don’t think that’s his style,” Hank said.


“I think he is still fixated on obtaining the teleport technology. With what I have learned about the stolen Omegan ship, he will be able to go just about anywhere he wants as long as he stays in hyperspace.”

“As long as he is in hyperspace he can’t hurt us, but we need to be ready when he exits it,” John said.

Sometime later, John Royston Sr. was manning the Antigua master console when he noticed one of the newly distributed Omegan sensors was sending an alert message. He quickly clicked on the icon and immediately alerted Hank.

Hank excused himself from the Council meeting and quickly walked across the hall to the Control room. “What’s up Mr. Royston?”

John Sr. quickly displayed Osma’s distress signal on the large display panel. “We just received this a moment ago. I checked and the comm signature matches that of the stolen Omegan ship. Here is where the computer says the signal originated from.” A map display quickly appeared on the large screen.

“Is that in the Omega Galaxy?” Hank asked.“Yes sir, just barely. I’ve already zipped more monitors out

there and initiated more scans in the area. There is an inhabited planet nearby.”…

Despite the anxious search for Hardison, life went on with the Galactic Team in their day-to-day social life. Chad and Will both received their mission calls. Chad was called to serve in Angola on the African continent and Will was called to serve in the Alberta, Canada mission.

There were more than a few visitors in the Grand Prairie chapel congregation for Chad Garvey and Will Travis’ missionary farewell meeting. They both had invited several of their school friends to attend this special meeting. Greg and Jenny were sitting in the congregation beside Jonathan and Tanya. Tanya was wearing her new maternity outfit for the very first time and glowed with her expectant motherhood. Greg and Jenny held hands as they looked forward to their Hawaiian wedding the next day.


Arlena Azstancio was sitting in the congregation with Chantrelle. The two had seriously talked about Chad and Arlena realized Chad might become her new son-in-law after his mission. She had come to admire and like him as they now often visited her in her Chilean home. She was impressed with the church service. She thought, this is not a bad church like I had been led to believe. The people are sincere and kind hearted to everyone. I guess I should not have refused to attend her baptismal service. Why do I always have to be so stubborn?

As Jonathan sat there he couldn’t help but remember his earlier visit to this very chapel during his unplanned time travel trip. He noticed the older Frank Stewart in the audience with his family. He had visited with them for a few minutes in the foyer. He learned the medical science team had helped Angie Stewart’s health improve considerably.

I can’t believe this is really happening, Beverly Garvey thought. I am so proud of him. I know Jim would be proud of him too. Beverly was sitting in the front on the stand with Chad on the right of her and Twyla on the left. She looked out at the full chapel, recognizing many friends and fellow Galactic Council teammates.

Hank and Darlene were also sitting on the stand with their family with similar thoughts about Will.

Beverly was nervous when the Bishop invited her to speak. It was her first time to speak in front of the congregation. She felt a calming influence as she begin with a story about Chad as a baby; how he was so energetic he was always climbing out of his crib. “Now he’s got a much bigger crib to play in,” She smiled as the audience quietly laughed.

When Twyla spoke next, she talked about how Chad had always been an example for her. She seemed to glow as she said, “I’m just glad it was his example that helped me decide to be baptized. Now he will get to help others make that same decision.”

Chad sat there in his seat on the stand, semi embarrassed at his mom and sister’s comments, yet very proud of them too. Now it was his turn to speak. “I am very thankful to my Heavenly


Father for allowing me to be born into such a wonderful family. I am also thankful for all the great friends we associate with in and out of the church. I recently thought I wouldn’t go on a mission because I had so many other things to do. Then the Spirit touched me and I knew the Lord truly wanted me to be a missionary. I can’t express to you in words the great feeling it is to know that the Lord knows me as an individual and feels I am worthy to serve him as a missionary.”

Chad smiled. “When I received my mission call, I looked on the map to see if I remembered my geography lesson correctly. Well, I had the continent right at least.” The audience chuckled with him. “Then I looked in the encyclopedia and learned I will need to learn Portuguese and Bantu. I wish I had paid more attention in my Spanish classes now.”

Danielle Travis spoke next. She nervously said, “I am glad my brother decided to go on a mission. He has really changed lately. He stopped calling me a sissy just last week. I know he will make a great missionary because he is already a great brother.”

Darlene spoke next. “When we were meeting with the Elders before we made the decision to join the church, I tried to envision my Billy as a missionary and then I dismissed it because I knew Elders weren’t allowed to play computer games on their missions.”

The audience laughed with her. Then she said, “I just want you to know Will has truly grown up and I am so proud of him. I know he will be a fine missionary.”

When it was Hank’s turn to speak, tears came to his eyes and he choked up. He paused a moment and then said, “I just want you and Will to know that I truly love him as a son and standing here today gives me a greater appreciation of how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ must love each one of us because my heart is bursting with love at this special occasion. I am so thankful for those of you who have helped be a guide and an example for my son.”

Will almost shyly walked to the podium when it was his turn. “I looked at the map and the encyclopedia too and learned that where I am going will probably be colder than where Chad


will be. Although with the energy domes now, neither one will probably be unbearably so.” Will looked out at the audience for one special face. He smiled when he saw it. “Not too long ago I didn’t believe I was missionary material, then someone special reminded me about Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. How they had started out as enemies to the church and then had their miraculous conversion. What really impressed me about them was their zeal to teach the Gospel to their enemies, the Lamanites.” Will paused and wiped a tear from his eye. “I want to thank Brother John Royston for helping me get in touch with what really matters in life, and I am going to do my best to be a good missionary.”

When the meeting ended and everyone had a chance to visit with the two newest Elders and their families, Hank looked at his wrist device and noticed the red blinking light, indicating an urgent message. He had muted the sound during the meeting as did everyone else to his or hers during the meeting. It was John Sr. calling from the Antigua Command Center. He quickly stepped out of the room to return the call.

As soon as the elder Royston’s image appeared on the wrist screen, he quickly said, “Sir, Sethanni has setup a way to detect ships traveling in hyperspace and we deployed the new sensors in the Omega galaxy. We are getting signals in now of a possible transmission from the stolen starship.”

Hank didn’t bother to answer. He just pressed his wrist device and said, “Go”. He was there beside John Sr. in an instant. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Grandpa Royston replayed Osma’s latest distress signal the special sensor had detected. Osma had not signed it for fear Hardison would get hold of it, so they did not know who on the stolen starship had sent it.

“One of the captured Omegan crew must have sent it,” Hank said.

“We have distributed even more sensors to that part of the Omega galaxy,” John Sr. said. “If that ship is still anywhere around, we should be able to locate it. This is a special monitor


for the hyperspace sensors Sethanni created and distributed.” He pointed to the monitor beside his main console.

“Let me know as soon as we pinpoint his location.”It was a glorious Hawaiian day for Greg and Jenny as they

were all dressed in white for the wedding pictures outside the Temple following their wedding, moments before inside the beautiful sacred building. The sky was clear with only scattered white clouds, a perfect day for picture taking. Chad and Will were able to attend the wedding and luau just before leaving on their missions the next day.

Following the picture-taking session, the wedding party zipped to their homes to change into their colorful Hawaiian outfits for the special reception at the Polynesian Cultural Center not too far from the Temple grounds. During the day the wedding guests visited the individual Hawaiian villages where natives exhibited their customs and native art from their particular island. Jonathan and Tanya enjoyed accompanying Frank Stewart’s grandkids around the villages. Tanya wore a colorful maternity outfit. Meredith and John had fun walking around and trying to keep up with Amber, watching her eyes light up with each new and exciting thing. Janus and Yanna were doing the same with little Jarom.

Dr. Vaughn was accompanied by Dr. Ellen Summers. They each had one of their pre-teen grandkids in tow. The two had become a regular couple at galactic events lately. When they were together they dropped their titles and it was just James and Ellen between them. Ellen enjoyed James’ company very much and she felt the feeling was mutual. She thought he was charming and witty. He thought she was beautiful and intelligent, and glad she didn’t seem to notice some of his bad habits, or at least ignored them.

President Hargrove and Madelyn were there enjoying time with the group and being treated as one of them, as were Maryann and Borcas. Maryann and her mom were now in the planning stages of her and Borcas’ wedding and she was getting many new ideas as the two lovers walked contentedly hand-in-hand through the island villages.


Alex and Joan Stanton walked around with Tom and Ann Johnston. The Stanton kids were big enough to walk around by themselves, as were Tom and Ann’s grandkids.

“Isn’t this a beautiful setting for a wedding reception?” Joan asked as she thought of future weddings in her own family.

“Yes, with teleport capability, I’ll bet more couples do things like this,” Ann smilingly said as she held Tom’s hand tighter. She looked skyward and continued. “Remember Jonathan and Tanya spent a whole month on Sirus-III helping that new colony. Teleporting throughout the galaxies opens up so many new and exciting opportunities.”

In the evening, there was a special torch-lit processional boat carrying the island ceremonial King and Queen that came along the river, as it wound among the Polynesian villages. The newlyweds, Greg and Jenny, had been invited as special guests on the ceremonial boat and everyone waved as it passed. The world and intergalactic press and media had great fun filming the colorful events following the couple’s Hawaii Temple wedding.

It was a great opportunity for the world and galactic planets to learn why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preserved these island villages so their culture would not be lost and their rich heritage could be maintained. Most of the island villagers and show participants were island native students at the BYU Hawaii campus.

Unfortunately there was one person who was not happy with the wedding proceedings, or with the wedding at all. Roland Hatch thought he had the inside track on wooing Jenny because they were such good tennis partners. He was inordinately jealous to the point of paranoia of thinking Greg Garrett had stolen her away from him. He resembled a walking time bomb ready to explode as he viewed the vid reports of the island wedding and reception.

The processional boat ended its trip near the great auditorium where there was a magnificent Hawaiian feast followed by a spectacular Luau show put on for the guests. The stage setting included a large volcano where the participants


would appear from different parts with torches waving and singing their native songs with their native dances and costumes.

Meredith held John’s hand during the breath-taking show and remembered her first visit there before her and John’s wedding. She thought, so much has happened since then. I would never have guessed how the future would unfold. I wonder what else is in store. Will Tanya have a girl or boy? We still must locate Hardison James before he causes more grief.…


Chapter Twenty-one

“The Omegan Conspiracy”

Hardison’s stolen starship exited hyperspace billions of miles and two sectors away from the previous location. Hopefully this is far enough away from their prying eyes, he thought. Now let’s see what’s nearby. He began scanning and found an M-class planet in a nearby star system he thought looked promising.

Osma sent out another distress signal, but it triggered one of the alarms and Hardison detected this one.

He detected the signal, but could not identify its originator. He locked the conscripted crew in one of the cargo holds while he scanned the star system. Hardison thought, this increases the danger of the Galactic Council locating me. I need to jump to hyperspace immediately. He did so and sped two sectors away before exiting again.

It wasn’t long before the programmed sensors picked up Osma’s latest transmission and identified its origination coordinates.

“Double the number of sensors in that area! Scan every star system and nearby planet!” Hank immediately ordered.

Sometime later, Sethanni reported, “I think he must have jumped back to hyperspace. If he was anywhere near that location the sensors should have spotted the stolen starship by now. I have deployed another thousand specially programmed sensors into hyperspace to help us track him there.”

“If we could only locate him, we could capture him and end this threat once and for all,” Hank frustratedly said.


John pointed out an observation. “Well, our search for him has not been entirely fruitless. We have identified several new candidate planets to join the Council and the Council’s influence is spreading throughout the Omega Galaxy.”…

When the Galactic Council representatives had their first meeting with the Omegan Supreme Council in the original timeline, Hank recognized Vice Pro-Consul Silas Marcor for the two-faced malcontent he was when he so vehemently stated his opposition to the Galactic Council representatives. Hank was still suspicious of him in this timeline, but Representative Gunnel Rand did not have the benefit of that prior meeting because he had not reviewed the encrypted record, so accepted the Vice Pro-Consul at face value during this meeting in the Vice Pro-Consul’s office on Corinthias.

Silas Marcor had quietly affiliated himself with a secret group of disaffected Corinthians who were unhappy with the sudden change in their livelihoods in the security and transportation fields. Though they were offered free training into other areas just as on Earth, they chose to further their own cause, secretly plotting to overthrow their own government. Silas Marcor fed his own ego with those same goals. The deviant administrator had funded the group to setup a secret base on the Corinthian moon from which to operate.

“Representative Rand, I appreciate your meeting with me personally and welcome you to Corinthias,” Vice Pro-Consul Marcor graciously smiled.

“Thank you for your kind reception, sir,” Rand said. “I understand you have some questions for me?”

“First let’s have some of your galaxy’s wonderful tea. I understand this is a usual custom in your galaxy and I have come to appreciate it,” Silas smiled expansively as he poured from a shinning silver carafe into two ornate teacups.

“Thank you. Although I do enjoy tea, it is not as universal a custom in our galaxy as you might think. I believe the Earth planets are the original exporters of it. There are as many non tea-drinkers as there are drinkers.” Representative Rand smiled as he sipped from his cup. He failed to notice that though Silas


raised his own cup to his lips, the Corinthian did not drink any liquid from it.

“We want to thank you for your efforts to smooth the transition to your technology on our planets. Your staff has been most helpful with suggestions and offers of assistance. Your amazing technology is being deployed more rapidly on most of our settled planets than I would have anticipated.”

“Yes, we have gotten better at it with more experience and as the technology has advanced.” Gunnel Rand sat there with the teacup in his hand and began to feel dizzy and weak.

“I understand that there are different levels of security on the personal devices. Is that correct?” Silas knew this and much more as he had set this meeting up for only one purpose. That was to lure the Galactic Council Representative into his trap. When he had first learned there were certain individuals who had unlimited teleport capability, he had began plotting for this meeting. He learned the devices had special security features that would need to be overcome. The special odorless and tasteless potion he had put in the teapot would render Representative Rand unable to resist any question or request he was given.

In mere seconds, the most important Galactic Councilman in this sector of the universe was sitting there with a glassy stare on his face and tiny beads of perspiration on his forehead as the teacup fell from his hands.

“Tell me about the device you wear on your wrist,” Silas menacingly and harshly said.

With an almost blank stare, the Council Representative said, “It allows me to instantly go anywhere in the sector I wish and to certain pre-selected sites in the other sectors.”

“How does the security work on your device?”“It uses my thumbprint and voiceprint. If it is not I, the

device will not activate. I can either give it voice commands it recognizes or use the keypad to enter destination coordinates.”

Silas said testily, “Yes. I know that. My new one works the same way except not in an unlimited fashion as yours.”


Silas’ device was not unlimited and to go off-planet, he had to use pre-designated coordinates or use the public platforms that whisked travelers between planets. “What other security features does it have?”

Gunnel Rand continued to perspire profusely as he said, “I am not aware of any other ones than what I told you.”

“So if I were able to make the device think I was you, I could go anywhere in this sector, right?”

“I suppose so, but I don’t know how you would do that.”Silas tapped his device and set the coordinates for the

hidden base on the Corinthian moon. He put his hand on Gunnel’s shoulder as he said, “Go”.

Instantly there, Silas commanded one of his lieutenants, “Take this man’s wrist device and replicate his fingerprints. Then use the voice synthesizer to duplicate his voice. When you have completed that, test it to verify it works okay. Do it quickly before they realize he is missing and start looking for him. There is a tracking mechanism in it too. Have the scientists disable it if they can without setting off any alarms. Have them modify mine too and the rest of the team’s devices.”

The young dark-headed Lieutenant Corrigan had been in the Imperial fleet when it was disbanded. He had no desire to transition to the civilian sector, so was anxious to please the Vice Pro-Consul. He zipped the drugged sector leader to the science section of the base and passed the orders along to the bent scientists who had joined their group.

The twisted Omegan scientists weren’t able to duplicate the wrist device, but using their advanced science, they had learned how to disconnect the security functions of the device. They quickly modified every device on the hidden base. Once their devices had the security chip deactivated, they immediately used the now undetectable devices to move their entire base of operations completely out of the Corinthian solar system.…

“Can we calibrate it any better?” Jonathan was working with Yorgi, Sethanni, Greg and Alex Stanton in the Antigua lab. They were working to improve the sensitivity settings of the hyperspace monitors. Though hyperspace was a new concept


to earth science, other advanced cultures they encountered seemed to use it routinely. The Galactic Council teams adopted the advanced science for their own use and Jonathan was struggling with the sharp learning curve.

The other cultures did not have the teleport device or the Hyperwave technology though so the earthlings weren’t thought of as backward, but were welcomed as equal partners in the new alliances. Sethanni invented the Hyperspace sensors, so they were familiarizing themselves with its functionality together.

“We can but to do so reduces clarity of the reception,” Sethanni answered.

“That’s okay. Once we have coordinates, we can dispatch other scanners there for more clarity to identify the source,” Alex said.

Yorgi helped with his area of expertise, as did Greg and Alex. Once they agreed on the division of labor, they each focused their full energy on the process.

They began the tedious process of modifying and testing the Hyperspace sensor until they felt they had it as finely tuned as possible. Once they were satisfied, they turned the modified units over to manufacturing for mass production in each sector.…

Sara Hawkins was very frustrated. Her boss had uncharacteristically missed an appointment. She had unsuccessfully attempted to locate him using her device. She knew he was in the Omega Galaxy, but not whom he was meeting with. She concernedly notified Galactic Security.

As soon as Hank learned of the missing sector representative, he put his top people on it. “Trace his device and find where he is,” Hank told Victor. “Let me know as soon as he is located. Pull up all records of his latest trips.” Hank watched Victor’s console as he went through the process of retrieving Gunnel Rand’s information. While watching Victor work at the console, Hank notified John of the situation.

“We cannot get a signal or location of his device, but the last record indicates he was in the Omega Galaxy in the Vice Pro-Consul’s office just six hours ago,” Victor said.


“I have a bad feeling about this,” Hank said. “I never trusted that man from our earlier confrontation with him. Let’s zip there and talk to him.”

Hank and John zipped to the Vice pro-Consul’s office where his secretary told them he was not there.

“Oh, I think we can find him,” Hank overconfidently said as he touched his wrist pad and spoke to John Sr. in the Antigua Command Center. “Mr. Royston, Please locate Vice Pro-Consul Marcor in the Omega Galaxy.”

“Yes, sir,” John Sr. said, and then seconds later reported, “Sir, his device is not responding just like Representative Rand’s is not responding.”

Hank urgently ordered, “We have a security breach! Alert all stations and immediately send me via vid, the recent activity recorded on Marcor’s device!”

John quizzed the secretary. “Do you know where the Vice Pro-Consul went?”

Garrison Mirablis was a young man who looked to be in his twenties who was in awe that the Galactic President was talking to him. He hesitantly almost stammered, “He doesn’t always let me know where he is going or when he will be back. He left early this morning, I believe with the Sector Representative, because that is who was with him when he left.”

Just then, Hank told John, “He teleported to these coordinates over six hours ago. After that there is no other recorded activity. These coordinates are on the Corinthian moon.”

“Take one of your security teams there and I will visit Supreme Pro-Consul Sartek to advise him of the situation,” John said. “Be alert and advise me what you find there.”

John set his device for Sartek’s office and said, “Go”.Sartek’s receptionist was an android that looked and acted

fairly humanoid, but spoke in a mechanical computerized nasal voice. “May I help you, sir?”

“I am President Royston here to see the Supreme Pro-Consul on urgent business. Would you please let him know I am here?”


“Sir, he is in a conference now.”Please interrupt him to announce my presence or I shall

have to interrupt him myself,” John firmly said.The android said noncommittally, “I am paging him now,

sir.”In a couple of seconds, Pro-Consul Sartek appeared

standing beside John in somewhat of an agitated state.“President Royston, I didn’t know you were planning on a

visit. How can we help you?”“Sir, I am sorry to interrupt you, but we have a critical

situation you need to be aware of. We believe your Vice Pro-Consul Marcor has kidnapped Sector Representative Rand and has managed to subvert our security on the teleport devices.”

“That is a serious and strong charge.”“I agree, but we have tangible evidence to support it.”Hank took Victor’s team with him after sending an invisible

Hyperwave monitor to the Corinthian moon coordinates. They found the now-deserted secret base. Hank checked with the Antigua Command center to learn that Marcor and Rand’s device as well as several others could not be located. He realized the implications of that fact and immediately zipped to John’s side, interrupting his conversation with the Supreme Pro-Consul.

“We found their abandoned base. I believe they have found a way to thwart the security functions of the device. I have ordered tighter surveillance of this whole system.”

John turned to Sartek, “Sir, we need your security staff to work with us to locate them. Please have them join us in the Antigua Command Center as soon as possible.”

“I will do that immediately,” Sartek stated as he watched Hank and John press their devices and disappear.

As soon as Hank and John appeared in the Antigua Command Center, Hank spoke with Beverly Garvey. “We have an emergency security breech. Assemble the Galactic Science Team in the conference room immediately. I want representatives of all the systems present or via Hyperwave in fifteen minutes.


Hank addressed the assembled team, most of who were physically in attendance. “Evidence indicates a group of twisted Omegan scientists or individuals have discovered a way to deactivate, thwart or mask our security chip so the devices cannot be tracked or located. This puts our whole system at risk. We need to find an alternate way to locate the devices as soon as possible. I want Sethanni, Dr. Vaughn and Alex to head up the task force to get this done. You are to use all possible resources and manpower.”

Hank worked with Orson Canteras, chief of the Omegan security team. Orson was a stout light-complexioned fellow who had recently been promoted as part of all the changes happening in the restructuring in their galaxy. Hank spoke with him in a no-nonsense fashion.

“That abandoned moon base gives us an idea of how many conspirators there are. Now we need to locate them as quickly as possible. Until we do, our whole operation is at risk. I want your team to come up with all possible locations you think they might use. Feed the locations to Victor’s team and they will check them out.”

When Meredith and Darlene learned of the security breach, they were both concerned. They were together in Meredith’s office when John passed on the news. Only seconds later, Darlene’s device beeped with Hank passing on the news to her.

“Well, with our two husbands on the job I guess we’ll always be in the loop,” Darlene quipped.

“I was always afraid someone would be able to manipulate the technology for their own benefit,” Darlene said. “I hope Hank and John can find them quickly.”

“I do too. As long as we can control the technology it is fantastic, but if someone can thwart it, the technology can become a menace,” Meredith anxiously added.

“I wonder of there is anything we can do to help?” Darlene asked.

“I don’t know, but I am going to contact Jonathan and see


what he is doing.” Meredith pressed her wrist device and almost instantly Jonathan’s image appeared on her wrist display.

“Hi mom. How are you doing?” Jonathan smiled.“I’m doing fine. Are you helping with the security

breach?”“Yes.” Jonathan added, “Yorgi and Greg are with me. We are

working as a separate team and I have some ideas to track the missing culprits down.”

“That’s great, son, but be careful.”“Yes mom. We will. Talk to you later.”Jonathan, Yorgi and Greg worked as a group. They were

approaching the problem from a different angle. They gathered around one of the auxiliary comp consoles.

“The others are concentrating on the device security, which is fine, but I think there is another way to locate them,” Jonathan said.

“How do you mean?” Greg asked.“The teleport system is like a gigantic network. Although

the monitoring and tracking takes place here and in other command centers, the devices depend on the logistical satellite network to feed individual coordinates. I believe if those tampered devices accessed the system for locations that weren’t already preset in their devices, we should be able to detect that access.”

“You’re right,” Yorgi said. “We should tap into the satellite transponders in that system and find some evidence of their activity.”

Greg’s fingers started flying over the keyboard. He was instantly creating a program to query the satellite transponders for the Corinthian System. “This program will automatically check for recent coordinate feeds other than preset ones and identify the devices and locations.”

Shortly the three were watching the auxiliary console monitor display a stream of figures. Greg typed some more as he said; “Now I will compare these device id’s to the tampered ones.”

In short order, a smaller set of numbers was scrolling down the screen.


Jonathan immediately beeped his dad.“Whatcha got, son?”“I think we have some possible locations for the security

teams to check. We are forwarding them to you and Hank now.”

“Great work. Tell your team thanks. I will have the other team get right on it.”

Upon reviewing the location list from the auxiliary console, Hank asked John Sr. to dispatch invisible Hyperwave monitors to the locations and then teams assembled around the giant console screen to view the results.

As the automated program scanned through the locations, there were a couple of blank screens and then a laboratory scene appeared.

“That’s Dr. Amberson!” Orson shouted.Immediately Victor’s team zipped to the site in the

Omegan system. They confronted Dr. Amberson and the others with him and fanned out throughout the facility.

Shortly the Antigua Command Center screen showed Victor escorting a weak and drugged Gunnel Rand into the room.

Hank ordered. “Round up everyone and bring them and their equipment here. Zip Representative Rand to Bethesda Hospital and John and I will meet you there. Did you find Marcor?’

“No, but we will query these people to learn more.” Victor said.“Good work. I will have the team check the rest of the

sites.” Hank said.Hank and John zipped to the Bethesda Hospital Admittance

desk where John asked to speak with the administrator. He was immediately connected via the Hyperwave monitor on the receptionist’s desk. The administrator looked a little upset until he recognized the Galactic President.

“Sir, this is John Royston. We have Sector Representative Rand who is in a weakened and drugged state. We would like you to monitor his recovery.”

Instantly, the administrator was standing beside John


and Hank. “I will see everything is done for him immediately. Follow me please.”

As they walked down the hall, John notified Betty Rogers Amesly to ask her to contact Gunnel Rand’s wife and ask her to join them at the Bethesda Hospital emergency entrance. They entered the emergency room corridor just as Victor appeared with a dazed and weakened Gunnel Rand.

A team of Doctors and nurses immediately joined them and escorted them into one of the emergency trauma rooms. They took Representative Rand and gently laid him on a padded gurney and administered to him.

John stepped to his side. “Sir, we are doing all we can for you. Your wife should be here shortly.”

Just then, an anxious Marisa Rand was escorted into the trauma room. She rushed to her husband’s side and grasped his weak hand in hers with tears in her eyes.

The chief doctor looked seriously at John and said, “He is in a much drugged state. It may take some time before he is coherent, but I believe he should recover okay. He looks to be physically okay.”

John turned to the administrator. “We will leave him in your good hands. Please let me know when we can visit him.” John and Hank then returned to the Antigua Command Center.

“Have we located Marcor yet?” Hank asked Victor.“No sir, but we haven’t completed checking all the sites.

We are still using the stealth mode and did locate more of the scientists and other disaffected Corinthians though and they have been dealt with.”

Just then, the overhead screen revealed the current site under inspection. There were a group of people in a lab setting and standing off to the side was the Vice Pro-Consul. Victor immediately signaled his team.

John, Hank and others in the command center watched as Victor’s team surprised the group on the monitor when they appeared and took them into custody.

Hank told Victor, “The prime objective now is to learn how

they thwarted the security components. Perform a thorough investigation and deliver the tampered devices to Dr. Vaughn and Sethanni for their team’s to inspect. Deliver Marcor to my office and hold him there.

John zipped to Supreme Pro-Consul Sartek’s office. The android secretary immediately buzzed his boss and John was ushered into his office.” Sir we have your Vice Pro-Consul in custody with the rest of his cohorts. Do you wish to participate in his questioning?”

“I never realized that man could stoop to such perfidy,” Sartek said huffily. “I am glad you found him so quickly. He and his group could have caused us irreparable harm. I want nothing more to do with him. Do with him and his despicable cohorts as your law prescribes,” Sartek said with an almost hand washing motion.

John thanked him and zipped to Hank’s office in the Antigua Command Center.

Hank and Victor were standing over the sitting and handcuffed villainous Marcor. “What did you expect to accomplish by kidnapping the sector representative and tampering with the devices?” Hank quizzed him.

“I only wanted the unlimited power you have for me and my people,” Marcor angrily replied.

“You wanted more than that. You and your group of followers plotted to overthrow your own government. Now ‘your people’ have abandoned you,” John said. “Sartek wants nothing more to do with you.”

Marcor almost spat at them. “Sartek is slow-witted and a toady. He bows to your every wish.”

Hank said, “He is a worthy ally, whereas your actions are despicable and you shall be punished for them. There will be a hearing before a magistrate and then the inter-galactic court will try you. Victor, please take this noxious person away before I throw up all over him.”

After Victor disappeared with Marcor, John said, “I only wish we could find Hardison as quick. Is there any news in that effort?”

“Let’s check-in with the team. The two took a short walk down the huge Antigua Command Center corridor to Sethanni’s lab. Monitors attuned to different parts of the galaxy and Hyperspace as well surrounded the walls of the lab. The pale-complexioned Yanni scientist was seated at the central console where he was monitoring the activity.

When he saw John and Hank, he motioned them to join him. “There’s been no sign of the stolen starship since the last transmission,” Sethanni animatedly said. “He may have been alerted to it and jumped back to hyperspace. I think that is why we haven’t located him yet. The team is distributing more programmed hypersensors to hyperspace.”

The specially programmed hypersensors did not actually travel in hyper space, but used Sethanni’s special program to zip within that highly fluid environment to random locations, scan the area, and then zip to another.…

Dr. Vaughn’s team was busily examining the tampered devices to learn how Marcor’s twisted group overcame the security features.

Alex was the one who spotted the answer. “Here it is. Those disaffected scientists short-circuited the execute function with a bypass branch which circumvented the security failsafe function. We need to connect the security function to more of the key working components to prevent any possibility of such bypasses.”

Dr. Vaughn notified Hank of the answer.“Modify the devices as quickly as possible; especially those

that are being distributed in the other galaxies first,” Hank ordered.

Dr. Vaughn assured Hank, “I have already delivered the newly secured prototype to manufacturing for fast replication or modification. The same is being done in all sectors as we speak.”

Hank smiled broadly. “Thanks for all your team’s work, Doctor. Please thank them for their quick work and thank them from the Galactic Council as well.”

John was happy to hear the good news about the modified


security chips from Hank. “Now if we could just find that stolen starship,” John wished.…


Chapter Twenty-two

“Hardison in the Omega Galaxy”

The stars winked into view as the stolen starship exited Hyperspace on the farthest edge of the Omega Galaxy. Hardison James quickly scanned for likely habitable planets. He found one in a nearby star system and told his navigator to head there in an oblique path so their sun would be between them most of the way so the star ship would not be detected.

Little did Hardison know, he had stumbled onto the planet where the Andorran scientists, the inventors of the Sphere technology, fled when the Spectari attacked their homeworld.

After rounding the sun of the target planet, Hardison directed his navigator to use the other planets in the system to shield them from direct observation by the third planet. Upon traversing the solar system undetected, they landed on the far side of the third planet’s moon.

During their approach from the outer planets, Hardison listened for signs of civilization from the third planet. He happily found some. He used the Omegan translators to understand the Andorran language. At first in their normal conversations he eves-dropped on, there was no hint that this was not their home planet. As he continued to listen, he heard snatches of sentences including the words “Spectari” and “Our home planet, Andorra.”

From a brief intercepted vid clip, Hardison learned the Andorrans were a tall thin race with otherwise normal human characteristics. Since these Andorrans were a select group of


scientists and engineers, they were also very intelligent. I don’t understand what they are talking about, but if they have come in contact with the Spectari, maybe they have something that will help me? “Osma, continue to monitor their communications and record all conversations with the words “Spectari” or “home planet” or “Andorra” in them.”

Osma Forenzo still worried about his expectant wife and family, but knew, if he was ever going to see them again, he must follow Hardison’s orders up to a certain point. He was still trying to send out another signal, but Hardison had thwarted him by disconnecting a part of the communications panel. He sadly knew, at the vast distance they now were from Corinthias, there was no chance for him to witness the birth of their third child. He just wished he would be able to see it sometime in the future.

It wasn’t long until he recorded the following conversation.

“Ansara, I long for our home world, Andorra. I miss my family very much and this planet is bleak compared to Andorra. Now that we have perfected the sphere technology, we should have an advantage over those vicious Spectari.”

The other voice said, “Yes, there is much we could do to them with it, but remember, they also have the technology now and after this much time, their scientists have surely worked out all its capabilities. Would you take such a chance?”

“Yes Johan. I believe I would if I was able to be with my family again. This planet is nowhere to spend the rest of my life without my family.”

“I miss mine too. I will talk to the elder scientists and obtain their views.”

When Hardison listened to that conversation in his study, he thought, I don’t know what they are talking about, but if they think they can go up against the Spectari with it, I must learn more about it. He buzzed Osma on the ship’s intercom. “Osma, pinpoint the location of that last conversation and gather all the information you can about it and who is there.”

Osma didn’t fully understand Hardison’s purpose but


reluctantly followed his orders, all the time plotting some way to overcome him. Hardison always carried around a neuron energy weapon he didn’t hesitate to use on anyone who offered the least resistance. Then he locked the offender away and starved them nearly to death before extracting a promise from them to obey his every command. Osma felt he was lucky he had been able to avoid such awful punishment. He did his best never to give Hardison a reason to doubt his loyalty while he plotted his escape.

In further recorded conversations over time, Hardison slowly learned the true nature of the spheres and their awesome capabilities. He also realized, with them the Andorrans could easily overpower this giant star ship. I must catch the Andorran scientists totally by surprise and steal the technology. Then I will have an advantage over the Galactic Council.

“Cornelius, I want you to identify exactly where those spheres are located, the Andorran scientists mentioned. I want you to record their exact coordinates so we could lock onto them with the transporter and beam them aboard at a moments notice.”

The dark-haired and heavyset, but not-overweight, Cornelius was the Omegan Transporter chief, and would have gladly used the transporter for his own purposes if Hardison did not keep the key to the control panel safely on a chain around his own neck.

Using the auxiliary console, Cornelius followed Hardison’s orders. He recorded and tracked the locations of fifty individual spheres.

The Andorran scientists used several of the spheres to terraform the desolate areas of the planet. Using the Spheres, they could easily move large boulders, change mountains into valleys and rearrange whole landscapes. They also used some of them to establish a moon base on the planet side of the third planet’s moon, which Hardison and his conscripted crew failed to detect. He did note the skeleton-like space station orbiting the planet with a large star ship docked to it. He planned to takeover that ship when the time was ripe.


The conscripted Omegan crew continued to monitor planetary communications and was able to stealthily and wirelessly tap into the local comm network the Andorran scientists established on the main continent. They learned the Andorrans were planning to return to their home planet and confront the Spectari, not knowing of their defeat by the Galactic Council. Hardison thought, I must act before the Andorrans organize to leave the planet.

Days went by as Hardison listened to the Andorrans plan their return trip. Hardison learned where the sphere’s technical diagrams and operational instructions were stored. He teleported one of the Omegan engineers into the main laboratory and he was able to obtain the complete technical details for the spheres, including their full functionality. Hardison retrieved the intruder just before an Andorran would have spotted him.

Hardison anxiously wanted to steal one of the spheres to experiment with, but was afraid it would alert the Andorrans of their presence before he was ready to take action. He had to satisfy himself with learning all he could from the stolen diagrams and operational instructions.

The Andorrans were busily preparing to leave the planet. Shaleel, an Andorran scientist noted the missing technical papers from the lab and she promptly reported the fact to her boss, Numara. Numara knew there was no reason for one of the Andorrans to take them, so she promptly personally reported it to their leader, Philas.

“We may have an intruder. An outsider may have taken them,” she told Philas.

“I will have our moonbase scan nearby space for any sign of others,” he quickly said. They were certain the rest of the planet was uninhabited. The elderly scientist had been getting edgy as the planned departure approached. He was ready to believe anything.

He knew though they were a group of distinguished scientists, they were not necessarily military minded. He feared they might be heading for disaster by confronting the Spectari.


He had gone along with the idea because he also had a strong desire to return to his home planet where he had family, but his trepidation was almost to the point of overcoming that desire. This added factor only caused more anxiety for him.

Genessa received the telecom message to scan nearby space, but didn’t think to scan the other side of the moon itself. So for the moment, Hardison’s ship was not discovered. Genessa was an assistant Andorran mathematician who had been visiting the group of scientists. She escaped with them when the Spectari viciously attacked their home. She also missed her family and was looking forward to returning home.

Hardison’s telecom tap failed to pick up whom the message was directed to, so did not become alerted to the presence of the Andorran moonbase at that time, but he learned they were looking for intruders. His team continued to catalogue the coordinates of the identified spheres.

The scientists continued to look for evidence of the intruder. Numara accidentally stumbled on the Omegan tap to the telecom network. She used her equipment to trace it to the other side of the moon and then deactivated it. She immediately notified Philas. Philas sent an urgent message to the skeleton crew on their docked starship. They were to immediately power up and attack the intruders. The fact the intruders had tapped into their telecom network and assumingly stolen the technical papers told Philas they were enemies who needed to be dealt with immediately.

Hardison noted the deactivation of the telecom tap, but failed to realize its significance until the Andorran starship undocked from the space station. He immediately ordered the ship’s lasers online` the defensive shields activated, and ion engines powered up.

Hardison’s ship lifted off from the alien moon just as the Andorran ship came into view. Both ships fired their laser cannons simultaneously, causing a great pyrotechnic display in space without any significant damage to either ship.

“Disable that ship before they can use a sphere against

us!” Hardison yelled the order. “Use the ion cannons at max power!”

Use of the ion cannons at such close quarters drained the Andorran ships power to their defensive shields. The Andorran crew was trying to activate a sphere against the enemy when the forward shield failed and the ion bursts fatally damaged the ships power system. The Andorran ship was suddenly dead in space.

“Use the transporter and capture all spheres on that ship now!” Hardison anxiously ordered.

“We have four Spheres now in the main cargo bay, sir,” Transporter Chief Cornelius shortly reported via the intercom.

“Good. Now we are going to orbit the planet and I want you to beam aboard the rest of the identified spheres.”

Meanwhile, the stranded Andorran ship was barely surviving on auxiliary power. They couldn’t go anywhere and were frantically working to repair the damage to their power modules. The Andorran engineers were fighting the clock, fearing the auxiliary units would fail before they could restore power.

Philas horribly realized they had just lost their only way off the planet. He was further frustrated and disheartened when he started receiving reports of the spheres disappearing. We should have acted much more quickly against that enemy, he belatedly realized.

With the rest of the spheres safely in the ship’s cargo holds, Hardison ordered the ship to Hyperspace. After a short period, he exited into a remote area of space and began testing the functionality of the spheres.

The crew slowly learned from use and the operations manual how to manipulate the spheres and use their full functionality as they captured asteroids and obliterated nearby planets, causing much gravitational disturbance in the local solar system.

As they became more familiar with the sphere’s full functionality, Hardison plotted his strategy. We will jump to hyperspace and when we near the Galactic Council’s space,

we will deploy several spheres to exit ahead of us. We will aim them at any obstacle in our way. While whoever is nearest are fending off the spheres to keep from being obliterated, we will land on the nearest moon, use the transporters, and obtain several teleport devices and platforms for our use. Then we will jump to hyperspace to escape before they are even aware we are there. We should then have plenty of time to defeat the teleport devices’ security functions and go wherever we want just like they are able to. I will look forward to confronting that Galactic President and deal with him personally.…


Chapter Twenty-three

“The Quorax”

Yorgi was exceptionally curious just like his father. Ever since he witnessed that other unknown world, he had constantly thought about where it was located. He heard Dr. Vaughn’s instructions to explore Sieta’s space and discover its location, but did not know Dr. Vaughn had put the exploration on hold until Hardison was located and taken care of.

While Janus was busy with his Galactic Vice-presidential duties, Yorgi experimented with the test viewers in his Dad’s personal Antigua lab. Janus had not retrieved the two viewers from Sieta so all Yorgi had to do was turn the monitors on which were still attuned to them.

Yorgi was surprised to see different beings in the background. He noted they wore brown uniforms with odd markings on them. He noted the uniformed individuals looked very different from the two people they met before. He thought they must be a different race. They talked among themselves, but the viewers were too far away to pick up the conversations. Yorgi thought he would move one of the viewers closer if he could do it without the viewer being seen. There was only one problem. He could not do it remotely. While he was thinking about how to do this, a black hovercraft suddenly appeared near the buildings. It set down in a swirl of blowing sand.

A side door opened on the vehicle and several menacing-looking soldiers with drawn hand weapons exited the vehicle. There were three individuals chained together who appeared


to be their prisoners. Yorgi could tell the three were in great distress as they were roughly dragged from the hovercraft. He recognized one of them as Geral. Yorgi quickly worked with another hyperwave device and sent a viewer to the previous Antigua moon coordinates only this time he made it invisible.

The invisible viewer appeared next to the other two and Yorgi attuned one of the monitors so he could view the invisible viewer screen. Once he had it adjusted, he made minor modifications to move it nearer the hovercraft. It took several adjustments for him to get the invisible viewer within hearing distance. When he turned up the volume on the monitor, he heard the soldiers speaking and his universal translator allowed him to understand their words.

“Take these three to the interrogation chamber. They will soon tell us what we want to know.” The speaker was pointing to the two soldiers who held the chains of the three prisoners.

The leader than asked one of the soldiers, “Are you sure you have the right ones?”

“We watched them and they were whispering among themselves. Surely they must be part of the conspiracy,” the lead soldier answered.

“Well, before long they will be spilling their guts to us or wish they had,” the leader gruffly said.

Yorgi realized he must take some quick action if he was to help the prisoners. He set another test Hyperwave wrist device, putting his own device on the workbench. He made sure to set the test device to the invisibility function. In his haste, Yorgi forgot to record the return coordinates. Normally this would have been an automatic function, but because it was a test device, it had not been automated yet.

He said, “Go” and was instantly standing invisibly beside the soldiers. He quickly went through the door he saw the prisoners be dragged through. He wound through a hall and came to some stairs going down. He quickly, but quietly followed the stairs down. At the bottom, he came to a door, with a small peephole in it. He looked through and saw the prisoners being shackled to some tables. I must get in but how?


I am invisible, so if I tap on the door to get the soldiers attention maybe they will open it. He tapped and peeped through the door. One of the soldiers looked at the door with annoyance and then walked to it. He peeped through the hole and not seeing anything, opened it.

There was just enough room for Yorgi to slip between the soldier and the doorframe.

“There is no one here, but I am sure I heard a noise,” the soldier said to the others as he firmly closed the door.

“Let’s get on with it,” the leader said.Yorgi knew he must do something quickly. He grabbed a

soldier’s sidearm and pointed it at the three as he said, “Drop your weapons!”

The soldiers were stunned as they heard the invisible voice and saw the weapon pointing at them in the air.

“Unchain the prisoners,” Yorgi ordered.When they hesitated, he said, “Do it now or I will shoot!”

he waved the weapon between the soldiers.The leader said, “Do it!” The other two quickly complied.When the three were freed, Yorgi said to them, “Now

chain up the soldiers.”As they did this, Geral removed the soldier’s communicators

from their belts and the three took their weapons. He also took a special key from the leader’s belt. Geral turned to the weapon hanging in mid air and asked, “Who are you?”

“I am from the other world. I came to rescue you. Can you tell me what is going on?”

“The Quorax invaded and took over our world. They are raping our world of its valuable minerals and enslaving us. Can you help us get rid of them?”

“Not by myself, but our leaders can probably help you take back your planet. Where can you go now to hide?”

Geral said, “I don’t think they really know who we are yet. They just rounded us up at the processing plant. They probably took us because we were talking together, unlike most of the others. We would be able to go back to our village and hide there if it weren’t for these slave collars. They can easily locate


us through them. Can you help us take them off?” Geral held out the key to the invisible voice.

Yorgi thought he should remain invisible until they were safely away and realized he needed to make the others invisible also. He reached out and took the key and laid the weapon down and proceeded to unlock the three collars.

Geral watched fascinated, as the key seemed to turn on its own in his collar. He was thrilled to be free of the slave collar. “What are you going to do now?” He asked the invisible Yorgi.

“We must get away from here quickly before they bring reinforcements. Take my hand and I will make you invisible with me and we will escape from this dungeon.” He reached out and took Geral’s hand and told the other two to hold on to Geral.…

Kelina was very anxious. Yorgi had never been late before. She tried contacting him with her wrist device, but Yorgi did not answer. She knew if he were able, he would have contacted her by now. Where can he be? She spoke into her wrist device. “Dad?”

“Yes Kelina. How are you doing?” Professor Yakora’s smiling image looked from her wrist device.

“Father I am concerned for Yorgi. He is not answering his device and he is late for our Doctor’s appointment.”

“I will contact Janus. He should know where Yorgi is.”Janus received Professor Yakora’s call as he was concluding

a meeting with the Alderan ambassador. “Yes professor. How can I help you?”

“Yorgi is not answering his device. Do you know where he is? Kelina is concerned as he is late for their Doctor’s appointment.”

Janus checked his device for Yorgi’s coordinates and noted the device showed he was in the Antigua lab. “I will find out why he is not answering and get right back to you.”

Janus zipped to the Antigua lab and found Yorgi’s personal device on the lab workbench. He immediately contacted Professor Yakora. “Sir, I found Yorgi’s device. He must be using one of the test ones. He left no notes as to what he was doing.”


An anxious Professor Yakora immediately appeared in the Antigua lab beside Janus. “Do you mean you have no record of his whereabouts?”

“Not at the moment, but I am sure we can figure out where he is. Since his coordinates are not showing up in our system, he must be outside of it with the test device. Just then Janus noted the Sieta monitors were on. The monitors showed several military type vehicles in front of the buildings. There were several soldiers in uniforms waving weapons around as if they were expecting to be attacked or preparing for an attack.

“Those people are not the ones we met earlier,” he concernedly said.

“Where is that?” Professor Yakora asked.“We don’t know exactly. The coordinates on our device are

that of the Antigua moon, but that is not actually where it is.”Just then, the two fathers witnessed a dark shadow came

over both viewers as if something was blocking out the sun, and then both monitors went blank as if the transmission had been interrupted.

Janus wasted no more time. He pressed his wrist device and said, “Hank, we need your help.…

Yorgi knew as he invisibly led the three freed prisoners out of the building that there would be much commotion when their escape was discovered. Yorgi thought, we must act quickly to contact the Galactic Council so they can do something about this. I really wish I had taken the time to let someone know what I was doing. Now I must return quickly.

He continued to lead the three to safety as he thought of what he could do. He thought about the two viewers and looked for them, but noticed one of the Quorax hovercraft was sitting about right where the viewers should be. I hope they didn’t destroy the viewers when they landed. I will have to take some action or wait until they leave to find out if the viewers are still working.

When the four were safely away from sight of the Quorax, Yorgi pressed his device to make them visible again. The three Sietans were surprised to see it was a fairly normal-looking


young man who had rescued them even though they did not know from whence he came.

“Thank you for rescuing us. I think they were about to torture us,” Geral said.

“Yes, that is why I had to act quickly. Now I am going to return to my world for some help,” Yorgi said. He pressed his device and said, “Return”.

Nothing happened. It was then Yorgi examined his wrist device and frustratedly realized it had not automatically recorded the Antigua Lab’s origination coordinates. I will have to do it manually, he realized.

The three watched in fascination as Yorgi manually entered the coordinates for the Antigua test lab, pressed with his thumb and said, “Go”.

Still nothing happened. Yorgi thought about it and realized his father made some adjustments to get the android to return, but Yorgi did not know the exact adjustments he had made. I have no tools to use to adjust the device either. What can I do?

“We need to get further away from here. They will be searching for us any second,” Geral anxiously said.

“I can make us invisible again and we can steal one of their vehicles,” Yorgi offered.

“Do it quickly,” Geral said.“Can one of you operate their vehicles?”“I can,” Lars spoke up.“Hold hands and we will follow you,” Yorgi said as he

pressed the invisibility function.The invisible foursome made their way to one of the

Quorax hovercraft as they heard a shout from one of the soldiers just exiting the building. Lars took the driver’s controls as the others got in back.

The Quorax soldiers jumped back as the hovercraft suddenly started and threw dust up from the ground as it rose several feet in the air. It turned in the air and headed away from the buildings, slowly picking up speed. The soldiers hesitated, not knowing whether to fire on their own vehicle. Also, wondering if there was anyone to fire on.


The hovercraft that had landed on top of the two viewers, immediately gave chase.…

Janus retrieved the modified coordinates from the test console where he had stored them as Hank, Victor and several others quickly appeared. The emergency team was in full combat gear with hand-held laser weaponry.

Janus quickly filled them in on the situation. “We think Yorgi has teleported to this other world that we don’t exactly know where is. The coordinates indicate it is on the Antigua moon, but we know that is not true. We used a special modified test device and found this other world using those coordinates. I think it may be another dimension or parallel universe, but I am just guessing. What we do know is our devices don’t work there without some special modifications and if that is where Yorgi went, I am not certain he has them.”

Before Hank could reply, they all noted the two monitors had suddenly brightened up to show an image of the other world. They watched excited soldiers scramble to a military hovercraft and quickly take off while another soldier was gathering and ordering others into action.

“I think whatever is happening; Yorgi is probably the cause of it. We saw no such vehicles or people on our first visit with the android. I think something has gone wrong,” Janus anxiously said.

“Can you fix some devices for us to use to reconnoiter there?” Hank asked.

Professor Yakora and the others watched as Janus quickly made modifications to several test units.…

Yorgi and his new friends watched the other hovercraft quickly pursue them. He said, “Set us down quickly and I will make this vehicle disappear with us so they can’t follow us.”

Lars quickly did so and Yorgi used his device to cause their stolen hovercraft to disappear.

The pursuing hovercraft driver knew he had them when he saw the stolen hovercraft stop. He was amazed when it suddenly disappeared. His navigator was watching his instruments and


said, “It is still there. It just somehow turned invisible. My instruments still detect the hovercraft engine.”

“Fire on those coordinates!” The squad leader ordered.Bolts of blue lightning erupted from the pursing vehicle

and hit the stolen invisible hovercraft, rendering it inoperable though still invisible, but with black smoke rising from it. The occupants scrambled out of it and Yorgi gathered them to him with his voice. As soon as they exited the hovercraft, it immediately became visible again.

“There it is!” The leader exclaimed. The driver set their hovercraft down right beside it and the three soldiers had their weapons drawn and pointing toward it.

Yorgi whispered, “Can each of you take their weapons?”Lars whispered, “I’ll take the driver.”“I’ll take the other one in the front,” Geral quietly said.“Then I’ll take the one in back,” Yorgi said. “Let’s do it

now!”The three soldiers were shocked when suddenly their

weapons were snatched from them and pointing at them in the air.

“Out of the vehicle,” Lars invisibly ordered.“Take their communicators too,” Geral said.The three quickly complied and Lars put the hovercraft

in drive and it rose and took off, leaving their pursuers with an inoperable vehicle. They now saw other hovercraft speed away in the distance.

“Set this vehicle down and turn it off and I will make it invisible. With the engine off maybe they won’t locate us.” Yorgi hopefully said.…


Chapter Twenty-four

Yorgi’s Rescue”

“I would like to go with you, but I need to stay here and monitor you so I can be sure to be able to bring you back,” Janus told Hank and the others. “Professor Yakora, would you like to go with them?”

“If this is a military action, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be much help,” he said.

Victor was just as glad because he didn’t want to have to keep up with the Yanni professor while they hunted for Yorgi.

Janus handed them the modified test devices, which now included full Hyperwave communicators, and anything else Janus could think to quickly include. “With the Hyperwave communicators attuned to these monitors, I should be able to keep up with your action and location. At least as it relates to the other coordinates,” Janus told them.

Hank said, “Set your devices for invisibility so we can operate without detection until I say otherwise.”

Victor said, “Let’s go!” And they did.Upon invisibly appearing in front of the converted

farmhouse, Hank noted the frenzied activity and said to Victor, “See if you can locate the leader and we will interrogate him to see what has happened to cause this activity.”

It didn’t take Victor long to identify who was issuing all the orders. The leaders name was Slarn. He was a mid-level leader and had been given this supposedly easy assignment by his superiors as a means of keeping him out of their way.


Slarn realized it, but decided to make the most of it. Now he was caught in a bad predicament. His prisoners had escaped and he didn’t understand how.

Just then, Victor whispered in his ear, “I am standing beside you with a weapon pointed at your side. Do as I say and you may live. Nod your head if you understand.”

Slarn hesitantly nodded his head.“Now go to your office and tell anyone in there to leave so

we will be alone,” Victor quietly said.When Slarn complied, Victor made himself visible and

said, “Sit down.”Slarn was surprised when he could see Victor did not look

like one of the Sietans. “Who are you?”Victor emphasized the weapon in his hand and said, “I’ll

ask the questions here. What is the cause of all the activity outside?”

“Why should I tell you?” Slarn almost haughtily snarled.“Because if you do I just might let you live,” Victor said as

he slightly waved his weapon.“We had some prisoners escape and we are tracking them

down,” Slarn sullenly said.“Why were they prisoners?” Victor asked.“They were conspirators who were plotting a rebellion

against us,” Slarn bitingly said.“Who are you to order and enslave other people?”“We are the Quorax and we own this part of the universe

and we can enslave who we want. Who are you to question us? You do not look like a native of this planet.”

“Tell me what just happened here. How did your prisoners escape?”

“Svaro says an invisible person overpowered his soldiers and then made the prisoners invisible too. They also stole one of our vehicles.”

Just then, the communicator at Slarn’s side beeped with a loud trilling sound.

“Answer it carefully, Victor ordered.Slarn slowly reached for the device and pressed it. “Yes?”


“Commander, we found the stolen craft. Our soldiers disabled it first and then the escapees stole their craft and left them stranded. We have lost contact with the other craft.”

“Ok. Return to base.”“Yes sir. We are on our way with the stranded soldiers.”While Victor queried the leader, Hank scanned the outer

office for clues as to the identity of these people and where they came from. He noted their uniform shirts had an orange insignia resembling a double sunburst joined together with a large red letter Q stitched in the middle. He thought; these people are well organized and equipped. We need to learn more about them.…

Though they were invisible, the three Sietans and Yorgi could feel the exterior heat from the mid-day sun, which was becoming stifling inside the stationary vehicle. Yorgi felt they had waited long enough. “Let’s head back to their base now. I need to send a message to my world for help.”

Lars started the hovercraft and the airflow cooled them down as he invisibly steered the vehicle back to where they had left.

“Why can’t you contact them from here? I’m nervous about going back to their base,” Geral said. “I’m also worried about what they will do to Quelesa if they discover my identity.”

“We must go back because my device isn’t working properly. It needs adjustments I don’t know how to make. The only reason I came when I did was to stop your torture. There are two viewers near the base, which I hope my dad is monitoring. We will have to find a way to stop the Quorax so they can’t torture anyone else.”

As they flew, Lars turned on the vehicle’s comm device and they listened to the Quorax communications. They learned they were still being sought. The leader had sent a team back to the processing plant to learn more about the escapees from there. They heard one of the search teams be ordered back to base and wondered why.

“We need to steer as clear of other vehicles as possible.


Though they can’t see us, they can detect this vehicle with their instruments,” Geral said.

“As we almost fatally found out,” Lars added.“Do you know how to operate this vehicle’s weapons,

Lars?” Geral asked.“I believe it is these buttons here because they weren’t

on the loader vehicle I drove. That scope must be how it is targeted.”

“If we have to, only target vehicles to disable them. We don’t want to take any lives if we don’t have to,” Yorgi said.

“But they don’t mind taking our lives,” Lars angrily said.“Do you want to become like them then?” Yorgi asked. “I

believe our Galactic Council has the ability to defeat them and rid your planet of them without taking any lives if you will give us a chance.”

“Why haven’t we heard of your Galactic Council before,” Geral said

“Because I don’t think it is in your Galaxy and maybe not even in your universe. We learned of your world by accident and haven’t identified where it is in relation to our world yet.”

“We should have told you about the Quorax when the android visited, but Quelesa was afraid you wouldn’t help us or come back if we told you,” Geral said. “It was just after that visit when the Quorax took over our farm for their headquarters.”

Yorgi remembered the nice looking lady from the first vid from Sieta. “Maybe we should stop and pick up Quelesa so they can’t find her?” Yorgi offered.

“That would be great! And I can remove her slave collar too,” Geral said.

Geral gave Lars directions to their little shack and they landed after making sure there were no Quorax nearby. Yorgi made them visible.

“Geral! I was worried for you. There have been rumors of three escaped prisoners and someone else who helped them escape.” She hugged him tightly and then said, “Where is your collar? How did you get it off?”

Geral turned to Yorgi. “This is Yorgi. He came from that


other world to help us. You know Lars and this is Miles. He is a loader. We were at the processing plant when the Quorax appeared and captured us. Yorgi helped us escape. He has the amazing ability to make people and things turn invisible.”

“Thank you for freeing my Geral. Can you remove my collar too?”

Yorgi smiled at the very pretty Sietan girl. “It is my pleasure. Geral has the key and can do it for you.”

“Geral said, “I can do it but I am not sure that is wise. Anyone without a collar will be deemed suspicious by the Quorax.”

“But I will hide with you so that should not be a problem,” Quelesa urgently pleaded through her voice and dark penetrating eyes.

“Hopefully you will not have to hide for long. I am sure as soon as I make contact with my world we will be able to help you rid your planet of the Quorax invaders,” Yorgi offered.

With that encouragement, Geral happily removed Quelesa’s slave collar and she enthusiastically kissed him gratefully.

“Lars, will you take me back to the Quorax base so I can contact my world? We will be invisible so we should not be in danger.”

“I will be happy to do that,” Lars answered.On their way back to the Quorax base traveling invisibly

in the stolen hovercraft, Lars and Yorgi forgot their engine signature was still identifiable by the Quorax instruments. They saw another craft approaching them but thought they were safe. As soon as the other craft was in weapons range, it fired on them, wounding the invisible craft. Yorgi looked back and saw black smoke billowing from the rear! Suddenly the craft’s power failed and the damaged vehicle angled into a dive into a sand dune, almost burying the vehicle and smothering the smoke from it. This one thing saved them because with the engine off they were no longer detectable by the enemy instruments.

Though they invisibly climbed out of the craft and dug with their hands through the thick sand, they were now on


foot. As they started walking away from the crash site, Yorgi looked back and saw their footprints clearly in the sand. He took his thin jacket off and backtracked to the crash site where he used his jacket to smooth out the sand as he retraced his steps back to Lars.

The Quorax craft leader knew he had hit the invisible hovercraft, but when it’s engine failed, their instruments lost contact with it. He realized his mistake in firing too quickly before they were in closer range where they could witness the craft’s smoking descent. He quickly contacted his base for reinforcements to help search for the crashed craft and its occupants.…

Janus and Professor Yakora anxiously viewed the monitors attuned to the other world. Janus kept busy creating more modified devices with the expectation they would be shortly needed while Professor Yakora anxiously watched the monitors. They watched the military activity surrounding the buildings. The last they knew from voice contact, the rescue team was still inside the buildings.

Janus realized he should let Yanna know about Yorgi. He knew if anything happened to Yorgi, she would be terribly stressed. He called her and as soon as her image was showing on his wrist device, he told her what was happening.

She instantly appeared at his side in an animated anxious state. “How could this happen? Why do you not know where he is? Why isn’t Kelina here too?

“Darling, I told you, Hank and a rescue team are there now. They will surely find him. I will call Kelina now.”

Kelina quickly appeared in as worried a state as Yanna was. “Where is he? Do you know what happened to him?” She anxiously saw the soldiers with their weapons in the background on the monitors.

Suddenly, a voice came through one of the monitors. “Dad I hope you are listening. Please teleport an android with instructions to help me return. This world needs our help.”

Janus was thrilled to hear his son’s voice. He had already prepared the android with the return instructions, but since


Yorgi was remaining invisible, he thought it best to make the android invisible as well.

“Son, are you okay? What happened to you?”“Mom yes, I am fine. We just escaped the Quorax.”“Darling, can you come back right now?” Kelina anxiously

asked.“Yes. As soon as I receive the proper data, I will be right

there, Sweetheart.”Yorgi was happy to hear the android’s voice nearby. “Sir, I

have been instructed to tell you there is a rescue team inside the buildings. I will zip inside now and let them know you are here if you will confirm your presence.”

“Yes. I am here. Do you have the return data?”“Certainly; as does the rescue team. I will contact them

now.”Seconds later, Yorgi happily heard Hank’s voice and saw

him as he made himself visible. Yorgi did the same.Hank smiled and said, “Let’s get you home.” He took

Yorgi’s hand and voiced ‘Return’ into his modified test device. They were instantly in Janus’ Antigua test lab where Kelina quickly grabbed him to her with a tight squeeze and his mother hurried to him too.

“Father, I had to go save Geral and two others from being tortured by their enemies, the Quorax who invaded their world,” Yorgi quickly said. “I forgot to record the adjustments you made and I couldn’t get back. I hoped you were watching the monitors.”

Yorgi then quickly turned to Hank. “Mr. Travis, can we help the Sietans get rid of the Quorax from their world?”

Janus was thrilled to see his son again and spoke up before Hank could answer. “I think we need to locate where that other world is before we do anything else. Maybe the Science Committee can help us. I will contact Dr. Vaughn.”

Just then Victor and the rest of the team returned. Victor anxiously spoke up. “I think we must act quickly now that we have made ourselves known to them.”

Hank said, “We will do so as long as we don’t endanger anymore lives.”


Shortly, Dr. Vaughn, Alex and Chad appeared.Janus explained Yorgi’s unplanned trip to Sieta and then

said, “We need to locate it physically so we can help them overcome the enemy who has invaded their world.”

Dr. Vaughn said, “As I understand it, the only difference between whether someone is teleported to the Antigua moon or Sieta is the one change you have made to the frequency modulator. Is that correct?”

Janus said, “Yes. That is true. These modified devices are the only ones attuned to that world. Does that give you any clues?”

“Yes it does. At first I thought it meant the existence of a parallel universe or other dimension, but now I have another idea. The first thing we need to do is zip our science vessel there so they can scan the star systems in that region to verify my idea.

Hank contacted John and brought him up to date on what was going on with Sieta, the Quorax, and Dr. Vaughn’s recommendations.

The Galactic Council President zipped to join them.John said, “I suggest we go on the science vessel with Hank

and Victor’s team so we can take action as soon as Dr. Vaughn gives the word.

Hank quickly spoke up. “Sir, I believe we should take the command ship also as we know we are going into an obviously hostile environment.”…


Chapter Twenty-five

“Confronting the Quorax”

Back on Sieta, Slarn notified his superior, Captain Quero, of the existence of the other-worlders and their invisibility function. “They helped three prisoners escape, but did not harm any of our soldiers, although one of them threatened me and acted like they could easily take care of us.”

Captain Quero notified his sector chief who put out a vague sector alert regarding unknown aliens. The sector chief was alarmed by this turn of events. Up until now the Quorax had a free hand with little resistance as they easily outmatched this sector’s planet’s technologies. To be faced with an enemy who could become invisible was very disturbing. What else can they do? He ordered Captain Quero to learn as much as possible about the other-worlders.

“They apparently know where you are and how to contact you. Be friendly and do not threaten them. See if they will give you more information. Tell them we would like to meet with them diplomatically, but make no promises to them. We will send reinforcements to your base with a science team to evaluate their technology for weaknesses.”

Captain Quero wanted to learn all he could about the three escapees because he thought that would provide a link to the other-worlders.

Slarn had those Sietans interrogated at the processing plant causing cruel punishment with their slave collars until he learned the name of Geral as one of the escapees. He thought he might be the same Geral whose farm his unit commandeered.


He used his compnet to activate Geral’s slave collar to locate him and sent soldiers to fetch him.

Shortly, Slarm’s communicator gave off its trilling sound. “Yes?”

“Sir we found the slave collar. It was in a salvage dump. There were three others with it. It seems the key that was stolen from Sargon unlocked the collars. One of the collars belongs to Geral’s mate, Quelesa. Another one went to one of the Sietan astronomers and two others.

“We should have expected as much. Return to base. I guess we will just have to wait for them to contact us again. Put out an alert for each one of them. Keep track of them but do not detain them. They are our contact with the other-worlders.”

Meanwhile, the sector chief put his fleet on alert to challenge and identify any and all suspicious or unidentified vessels without providing any specifics.

Captain Transen reviewed the order he just received from Quorax fleet headquarters. They are looking for something, but don’t know exactly what, he thought. It would help if we knew what to expect. The captain was the commander of the Starburst, the newest starship in the Quorax fleet, and he believed he had the sharpest crew too. The Starburst was equipped with the Double Helix Protoblast emitter. This powerful weapon could cripple most ship’s electronics with a single burst from the forward cannon. He reasoned; it’s best to raise the alert status and activate our defensive shields. He let the crew know this is not a practice drill.

The Starburst had the sector assignment, which included Sieta. Lieutenant Sirun was monitoring his scan station on the Sunburst command deck when a new ship image suddenly appeared on his scope. He knew it wasn’t there a second before, but now it was causing his scope to blink with a discordant beep.

Captain Transen determined the intruding ship was not one of theirs. He quickly sounded the alert and ordered the Protoblaster warmed up.

When the Galactic Council science vessel Orion first appeared in Sietan space, the ship’s crew began using their


scientific sensors to identify what part of the known universe they were in. Their first effort was to query that part of space for any deployed sensors. The ship’s passengers included Dr Vaughn and several of the science committee, including, Alex.

“We are being scanned!” Sethanni exclaimed from his control station as he immediately activated the vessel’s defensive shields and sent an urgent message to the Galactic Council command ship.

“They activated their shields!” Captain Transen exclaimed. “Fire the Protoblaster now!”

Sethanni was in the middle of sending his message when a bolt of blue lightning went through the ship and all instruments went dead. The crew and passengers slumped to the floor in shocked and dazed conditions. Suddenly the crew and passengers were in pitch black and all sound ceased except they could hear one another’s somewhat labored and tortured breathing.

Alex anxiously wondered how long the ship’s oxygen would last.

Sethanni struggled to activate his wrist device to turn the ship invisible, but it wasn’t working either.

Captain Transen was viewing the now crippled alien intruding ship on his forward screen. “Prepare a boarding party. I want prisoners!” He ordered. “We will teach these fools to invade our space!”

“Another ship just appeared!” Lieutenant Sirun exclaimed as he monitored his instruments.

“Put it on Screen Lieutenant!” Transen ordered. He viewed the strange larger vessel, which looked more ominous than the smaller one.

“Ready another charge from the Protoblaster!” Captain Transen ordered.

Hank witnessed the powerful blue bolt of energy, which had encompassed and crippled the Orion from the command deck. He immediately set the invisibility function on the Command ship.

“Though they can’t visually see us, their instruments will still detect us,” Dr. Summers quickly told Hank.

“Zip us to a spot just behind them,” Hank quickly said. The helmsman instantly complied.

Lieutenant Sirun abruptly said, “The larger ship is invisible now but it is still there.”

Then he suddenly exclaimed, “It is gone now! It just completely disappeared!”

“Scan the entire area! He won’t go far with the crippled ship here,” Captain Transen uttered.

Before the scan encompassed their rear, an android suddenly appeared on the Starburst command deck.

“Cease all aggressive actions and you may yet live. Any actions against this android will result in the immediate destruction of your ship,” Hank’s voice boomed from the android. “Drop your weapons and comm units now!”

“How did you get through our shields?” When there was no immediate reply, Captain Transen angrily grunted the order. “Do as he says.”

When they complied, Hank zipped to the Starburst command deck with Victor’s team. “I will now accept your surrender in the name of the Galactic Council of Planets. Tell me how many forces you have surrounding and on the planet below.”

When Transen did so, Hank said, “Order them to stand down now.”

Transen looked daggers into Hank’s eyes as he said, “Lieutenant Sirun, issue the order now”

“Victor, take your team to confiscate all weapons and imprison the Quorax soldiers.”

Victor immediately complied.“I hope for your sake those on the Orion are okay.” Hank

determinedly said.“The Protoblaster only cripples electronics for an hour

or so,” Transen grumbled. “The crew and passengers are only mildly affected.”

“That is good for your sake. Now tell me where your home planet is located and all about your leaders.”

When the Orion’s crew fully recovered, they completed their survey and Dr. Vaughn was surprised to learn they were on the other side of the Omega Galaxy, but still within it. “There must be something about these coordinates which connects this area with ours with just a few slight modifications to the frequency modulator,” He told Hank.

“Thank you for rescuing us when you did and for your Galactic Council doing just what you said they would with the Quorax,” Geral told Yorgi who returned with Hank to give them the news of the Quorax surrender.

That evening in the Crescent Island cafeteria, Yorgi and Kelina visited their friends and he shared his misadventure on Sieta with them.

“We’re glad you weren’t hurt when the Quorax fired on your vehicle,” Chad said.

“That’s as close as I ever want to be to being shot at,” Yorgi replied.

“You should be glad you weren’t on the Orion when the Quorax Protoblaster hit us. That was very scary indeed,” Chad offered.

Dr. Vaughn assigned a team to learn all about the Protoblaster weapon and create a defense against it.

John thought how glad he was Hank had recommended taking the command vessel and how different things might have been if they had they all been on the Orion when the Protoblaster struck it. He turned over the diplomatic function of dealing with the Quorax to the Omega Team already in place.

Now we need to concentrate back on finding Hardison before he does some more harm, John thought.…


Chapter Twenty-six

“Joy and Pain”

The Hargrove’s and Borcas decided to have a Bosansian wedding for him and Maryann. The Great Hall on Bosansi was gaily decorated and full to capacity with inter-galactic dignitaries for the wedding and reception. For Madelyn it was a joyous and teary-eyed affair. President Hargrove stood in his finest tuxedo as he beamed and gave his only offspring to Borcas while the couple stood before the highest Bosansi Magistrate on the planet to perform their wedding vows.

The magistrate stood tall in his flowing maroon robe as he pronounced the vows that were steeped with rich Bosansi tradition and deep spiritual meaning.

Thanks to the Hyperwave, all of Bosansi, Earth, and the rest of the galactic planets that wished could witness and share in the festive occasion joining two very high profile young people in the Milky Way. The media had a frenzy discussing how this interplanetary wedding would affect the two system’s relationships. Most felt it could be nothing but positive, but there were a few of the media who looked at it negatively, trying to stir up controversy. Thankfully, they were very much in the minority.

Dr. Vaughn and Dr. Summers, James and Ellen, sat on a quiet bench near that same one in the beautiful garden patio setting where Kerric Amesly proposed to Betty Rogers not that long ago. They looked up at the same beautiful starry moonlit sky and realized they wanted to pledge their love to each other


and be married too. Coincidently, President Hargrove and Madelyn strolled by them in that tree-laden setting and offered their congratulations to the enthralled senior couple.

John, Meredith and most of the Sector Representatives and their spouses attended the festivities. Hank and John Sr. watched the festivities from afar as they kept an eye on the sensor results from the Antigua Command Center. There had been a few false alarms, which led to contact with some new planets, but as yet, no sign of the stolen starship.

Hank could have attended in person, but he let Darlene represent him, as he was too anxious to find Hardison before he could do any damage. In the Command Center, the search process was as automated as could be, so there really was not much to do. Hank used his time to review the information in the encrypted database concerning the three-week altered time period.

The Time Team had done an excellent job of covering most of the major events in the three galaxies. During that three week period, they had to mislead everyone into thinking the renegade Spectari were still loose so they would take the same actions as before. Yorgi had rigged a sophisticated computer program to display false results at each query to accomplish the deception.

The Time Team had carefully reviewed the actions taken due to the destruction of Bosansi and felt there was no need to carry their deception that far because people’s reactions had no lasting effect on galactic events.

As he reviewed the data, Hank wondered, if Yorgi can do this for a good purpose, might someone else be able to do it for mischievous reasons? This question caused him to almost beep Yorgi when he realized Yorgi was at the Bosansi Wedding reception. He decided the question could wait. He continued his thought process. If someone did wish to accomplish mischief using the computer system, they would have to already be a trusted individual to have access to the system, so that should provide a certain level of security.

Hank was unaware of the frustrated paranoia-driven


Roland Hatch. Roland wasn’t a member of the galactic team’s inner circle, but had a secure level of access due to a recent assignment to one of the medical teams assigned to the Omega Galaxy expansion. With his security level, he was able to access some of the encrypted information about the special invisibility teleport devices. He was currently working to secretly obtain one. Roland’s frustration level at losing Jenny led him over the edge of reason. He now spent all his off-duty time planning a way to get even with the ‘high and mighty’ newlyweds.

John Sr. used the time to review the current operations log as he kept a sharp eye on the monitor for any emergency messages. On the log, there was an entry where Roland had accessed the special database, but John Sr. failed to attach any significance to it.

Roland used his security access to enter the Antigua test lab where he learned the test devices with the invisibility function were kept. He entered just at the normal change of shift. Most of the workers knew Roland because of his work on a couple of the medical teams so they weren’t surprised to see him there. Roland attended several classes with the new shift supervisor. He had even dated her once and determined she wasn’t his type.

He turned on his charms now though. “Hi Veronica. How are you doing tonight?” He smilingly walked up to her.

“Hi Ro. I haven’t seen you for a while. What have you been up to?”

“I’ve been busy on Yantu learning about hyperventilation in their society. Because of their thin atmosphere, they have a certain biological makeup that prevents hyperventilating. I was sent here to check on some of the medical test equipment.” He smiled as he nonchalantly requested access to the secured test cabinet.

Veronica was thinking about hyperventilating on Yantu as she absently handed him the ring of keys for the secured cabinets. “It’s the blue one. If you look carefully, you will notice the key colors match the cabinets.”

“Thanks. I’ll return these as soon as I’m finished.”


“Just be sure you relock the cabinet. I’m monitoring a test in the room across the hall, but if you need anything just let me know.”

As soon as Veronica was out of sight, Roland examined the cabinets. They were not labeled, but there were alphabetical letters at the top. All the letters weren’t represented nor were they in order, so he guessed they were a code to the contents.

Just to be on the safe side, he opened the blue cabinet with an ‘M’ on it. He took out one defibulater test monitor and set it on the table in case anyone popped in. After verifying no one else was nearby, he went to the yellow cabinet marked ‘I’ and used the yellow key to open it. On the middle shelf he saw several wrist devices with a red ‘I’ on them. He quickly picked up one and palmed it into his pocket. Then he quietly closed and locked the cabinet.

Roland thought it best not to dawdle as he had what he had come after. He put the test monitor back in the blue cabinet and locked it. Then went across the hall to return the keys to Veronica.

The demented medical assistant had accomplished more than he could have hoped for. The test wrist device had not been updated with the latest thumbprint or voice security because the lab members used them interchangeably. Also, the password was conveniently written on the inside of the wristband.

Jenny and Greg Garrett were in their new island cottage kitchen preparing a meal for both parents whom they had invited over for dinner. This would be their first time to play hosts to their parents as a married couple so they were trying to make it a perfect evening.

“Are you sure your dad likes sweet potatoes?” Jenny asked Greg as they prepared the dishes.

“And are you sure your mom likes Broccoli?” He teasingly retorted as they set the table.

Suddenly they heard Roland’s menacing voice in their kitchen. “You stole her from me and now I am taking her back.


Taking her where you will never find her. Then we will see how smart you are.”

“Roland? Is that you? What are you doing here?” Jenny anxiously asked. “And why are you invisible? Show yourself this instant!”

Greg watched in horror as he heard the word, “This” and Jenny suddenly disappeared.

Greg almost screamed into his wrist device, “Dad!”Greg explained what happened as soon as the Garrett’s

and Royston’s almost instantly appeared.“We need to get to the Antigua Command Center

immediately,” John said. “Hank, I need you quickly at the Antigua Command Center,” John said into his wrist device.

As soon as they arrived, John asked Beverly to contact the science team to assemble immediately.

“Where can she be?” How can we find her before he hurts her?” Greg almost hysterically asked.

“Calm down Greg. We will find her. The team will find her as quickly as possible,” Meredith soothingly said though inside she was just as worried for Jenny as Greg.

Doris Garrett was becoming agitated too as she felt deeply her son’s anguish for his wife and her daughter-in-law.

George was stammering as he talked to John. “Hh…how can we find her if he can d…disappear like that?”

Hank immediately zipped to the Lab to check the lab’s locked cabinets and unlocked the ‘I’ one. He returned to the command center and quickly announced, “One of the test devices is missing.”

In seconds Dr. Vaughn and Sethanni arrived with the rest of the team shortly after. Jonathan and Yorgi were only seconds behind them. Jonathan went to the auxiliary console and activated the keyboard. Yorgi followed him.

Sethanni sat next to John Sr. at the main console as his hands swiftly flew over the keyboard activating several search comp routines.

Shortly the viewscreen was scrolling a list of data. “The data network shows the missing device was last used at Crescent island just minutes ago.”


“He must have used his own device from there,” Dr. Vaughn said. “Track Roland’s personal device.”

Sethanni’s fingers flew some more and he shortly said, “The last time his own device was used, was yesterday. He hasn’t used it since.”

Hank said, “He knows we can track his movements so he must be doing something different, but what?”

Jonathan asked, “Do the test devices have the locator module on them?”

Alex answered, “some do and some don’t, but we can only track him if he stays within sensor range.”

“We need to find out if the one he stole has it,” Jonathan quickly said.

John said, “Jenny has her personal device. Can we track it using her device as a homing beacon?”

“I’ve located Jenny’s device,” Sethanni suddenly exclaimed. “It is on Corinthias.”

Hank quickly noted the coordinates in the Omega Galaxy and immediately zipped there. He was back shortly with Jenny’s device. “He left it there, knowing we would track it.”

“Even though he is not using his personal device, it still should broadcast a signal we can pick up,” Jonathan said. “If he was on Corinthias, their relay network system should have where he went from there.”

Sethanni’s fingers continued to fly across the console keyboard as he worked it like a master pianist works the ivories. The viewscreen was shortly scrolling more data.

“This shows he was in California just five minutes ago!” Dr. Vaughn exclaimed.

Hank and Victor immediately copied the coordinates and instantly disappeared.

Roland had not just been toying with them. He zipped to Corinthias for a purpose. He used the ‘I’ device to obtain several hand laser weapons and stun grenades from an old armory that had not been destroyed yet.

California had just been a stopping off place for Roland to pick up some other gear he needed for his planned hideout. He


new he was probably just minutes ahead of his searchers. Not realizing it was actually only seconds.

Hank and Victor returned to the Antigua Command Center as soon as they realized he was gone from the California location.

While most everyone had been gathered around the main console watching the action there. Jonathan and Yorgi had remained at the auxiliary console. Jonathan realized the only way to capture Roland was to anticipate where he was likely to go next.

When Hank reported on the stolen weapons from Corinthias, Jonathan thought; what did he need in California? “Hank what type of a facility was at the California location?”

“It was a chemical plant. It makes oxygen cylinders and respirators I believe. Why do you ask?”

“Because I believe it may give us a clue to where he is going. Dad, do we know where Roland was working recently?”

John had quickly reviewed Roland’s data. “He was working on a medical team doing some kind of research on Yantu.”

“Actually, it was the Hyperventilating team. He said he was there researching hyperventilation,” Veronica sheepishly answered. She had been one of the supervisors called in to explain how Roland stole a device. “He must have stole the device when I let him use my keys to open the medical monitors cabinet. I am terribly sorry this happened. I just never thought he would do something like this.”

“Don’t fret too much. No one else did either, but we should all remember there is a reason for the locks on those cabinets and we should all be diligent,” Meredith said.

“I think we should key on Yantu and review all the data for the last hour from the relay network system. He can’t have gone there without leaving a trail,” Jonathan said as his own fingers flew across the auxiliary keyboard.

Roland thought he covered his tracks when he used a public device to make his jump to Yantu and then to the city near his ultimate destination. He did not know though he had


his personal device turned off, the security chip still emitted a faint signal that could be tracked.

Sethanni seemed to work at an even faster pace. Everyone else watched the two overhead view screens from each console.

Hank said, “As soon as we have the coordinates, Sethanni, shut all the relays down in that sector so no one can use their devices within it except this team. We won’t give him a chance to escape.

Jenny was very frightened. She had been paralyzed by Roland’s stun gun as soon as he zipped from the island and she was tied up gagged and blindfolded while Roland flitted everywhere with her in tow. She had no idea where she was or what Roland had planned, but was sure it couldn’t be good for her. With this latest stop, she was having difficulty breathing until Roland apparently started some equipment that she could hear humming in the background. She was also somewhat cold.

Suddenly, she felt a warm cover or blanket placed around her shoulders. She heard the demented Roland’s whisper in her ear as he caressingly patted her.

“Soon you will be nice and warm and ready to play, my sweet temptress,” he tauntingly whispered as he removed her gag, but not her blindfold.

Jenny shook her head and gasped, “Why are you doing this? I did nothing to you.”

“Nice little Jenny. Leading me on like that. Making me think it was me you liked. You teased me and now you will pay the price,” Roland menacingly hissed the sentences.

“No I didn’t. I only enjoyed playing tennis with you because you’re such a good player. That is why I always turned down your requests for dates,” she haltingly said as her body slowly recovered from being stunned.

“Yes. You didn’t want to hurt poor Ro’s feelings did you?” He slowly circled her as he talked. “You wanted to keep me on your little string and parade me around all your friends. More than one of them came up to me asking me when I was going to propose.”


Jenny hated his mocking voice as he continued his irrational talking.

“But you never gave me the opportunity. Always too busy for little old me. Then all of the sudden you announce your engagement to Greg and marry him,” Roland raised his voice a level.

“That’s not true,” Jenny argued. “That’s just your perverted way of looking at things. I never led you on. I told you I just wanted to be friends with you. You just didn’t want to hear it.”

“Now it’s my fault huh? Once you have everything you want with high and mighty Greg. Well it won’t work. He won’t have you and I will,” He spat out.

“They will find us. You can’t get far enough away.”“Oh, I think I led them on quite a chase across two galaxies.

I don’t think they will figure out I came back here.”“Where is here?”Jenny, I don’t mind telling you since it can’t help you in the

least. I found this abandoned research lab on Yantu while I was doing my med research. I doubt that anyone even knows it is here. This particular part of the planet is fairly unpopulated. I just had to make it livable for us. You will come to think of it as home shortly.”

Jenny could hear the irrationality in his voice and feared for the worse.

“There! It must be that one!” George Garrett shouted as soon as the list of possible Yantu sites narrowed on the overhead view screens.

Hank and Victor’s team were ready in full protective combat gear. They knew if they invisibly surprised him, the demented Roland would have no chance to use his weapons, but they weren’t taking any chances.

Roland finally took the blindfold off and led her around the still somewhat dingy former research lab still tied up. “They have individual rooms here for living space, so it won’t be too bad for you. In fact, I think you will come to enjoy our time together,” Roland said as he caressed her face with his hand.

Jenny slumped in relieved joy when Roland suddenly


disappeared as Victor zipped him to the lunar prison. He would be formally charged and have a trial, but for now he wouldn’t have the opportunity to harm anyone else.

Greg Garrett had accompanied the rescue team and happily grabbed Jenny as she slumped into his waiting arms. The rest of the rescue team took care of Roland’s weapons cache while Jenny and Greg happily zipped to the Antigua Command center for a joyful family and team reunion.

“I’ll bet our dinner is cold now,” Jenny told Meredith as she clung to her for emotional as well as physical support.

“Thank goodness for microwaves,” Meredith added and they laughed together.

…


Chapter Twenty-seven

Campaigning And Galactic Expansion

The campaign for President of the United States was hard fought and would leave its mark on American politics during the next term and beyond. Mark Petersen’s message to the people was one of broadening the country and planet’s vision of its place in the universe.

His main opposition had tried to stir up controversy about how things should be handled at home. Jason Kendall believed too many were leaving home for the stars and weakening the home front. He wanted a tighter restriction on who could leave.

Kendall’s other main theme had been if the country is going to be a part of the Galactic Council then it should be a dominant part because of the teleport technology. Jason wanted to use the technology as a bludgeon to dominate the other member worlds to do things their way.

Jason Kendall felt he had a secret edge in the campaign, which he told no one about for fear it would get back to the opposition and ruin the edge. Jason had grown up the son of a major industrialist and was looked upon as a man of integrity and honesty. He was also looked on as a self-made man and emphasized Mark’s wealthy background, trying to instill class distinction between them. Jason had the advantage of having been a one-term governor of New York and used this to emphasize his experience in public office compared to Mark’s.

At first, Mark’s campaign tried to ignore Kendall’s rhetoric


and fiery campaign style, but the media grabbed on to it as a major source of controversy and it quickly gained a following as well as polling points.

Galactic President John Royston was sitting at his Maryland desk reading the latest campaign speeches from both sides. He was not pleased with the media’s reaction. It is as if they are taking sides rather than neutrally reporting, he thought. What would be the results if Kendall’s side wins? It would not be good for the country or the Galactic Council, he reasoned.

Just then Betty Rogers Amesly beeped him on his intercom. “John, Mark Petersen wants to talk to you on line one.”

“Thank you Betty.” John picked up the phone as he pressed line one. “Hi Mark. I was just thinking about you. It looks like you’ve drawn some stiff opposition.”

“Yes, and that is why I called. Are you free where we can visit?”“How about lunch in the signature room of the Sears Tower

in Chicago today?”“That would be great. Would it be okay of I ask President

Hargrove to join us?”“That would be fine and I will ask Hank Travis to accompany

me too. See you there at noon.” John had a feeling what he was going to be asked and wanted his closest friend there with him. He beeped Betty. “Betty will you arrange a reservation for noon at the Signature Room for four and request a private dinning area so we won’t be disturbed?”

“Certainly sir.”John then pressed his device and said, “Hank”. Hank’s

smiling image instantly appeared.“Hi John. How can I help you?”“Are you free for lunch today at noon?”“Yes. I will just let Darlene know I won’t be home for lunch.

Where are we eating?”“The Signature Room of the Sears Tower in Chicago with

Mark Petersen and President Hargrove.”“Sounds interesting.” Hank smiled. “I will look forward to it. By

the way, the science team is still perfecting the sensor relays to be more stable in Hyperspace. We may catch Hardison yet.”


“That’s good to hear. I just hope we catch him before he can do some major mischief.”

At noon, the galactic celebrity four appeared in the Signature Lounge just seconds apart. They were warmly greeted and quickly ushered to a private dinning area where they had a beautiful view of the lake and city skyline. Their order was quickly taken and the conversation began.

“I understand from the news vids, you are having a difficult campaign,” Hank said to Mark.”

“Yes, Kendall is quite a charismatic competitor, but I think his message is all wrong and can’t understand why the media is eating it up like it’s chopped liver,” Mark replied. “Some of his followers leave something to be desired too.”

President Hargrove added, “That’s the nature of the beast. The media likes to stir up controversy so they can get readers or viewers to sell more advertising. The followers have to be looked out for too. Sometimes they can stir up nasty things for the opposition. I could tell you a few such tales from my California campaigning.”

“I understand that, but it is having such a negative affect on our polling numbers. Why can’t people see through his rhetoric for the bigotry it is and why doesn’t the media point it out too?” Mark asked.

John said, “Because some of what he says isn’t as cut and dried as we want to believe and the media will usually champion the underdog until he gives them a reason not to. Don’t forget, it wasn’t too long ago I was part of that media.”

“That is why I wanted to talk to you, John. What can our campaign do to counteract his rhetoric?”

“Mark, I think the advertising agency you are using is shortchanging you. They are speaking only in generalities. I think they need to be speaking more directly to the people, giving them examples of what your programs can do for them specifically.” John got into his subject that he had been thinking about for a couple of days.

“I think you need to show some interviews of people and groups who have left for the stars and how it has helped them.


You also could interview people and companies here who have benefited from all the interstellar commerce. If you focus more on specifics at the grass roots level, Kendall won’t be able to attack your broad policies the way he has been. You might even get some of these individuals to campaign with you and take the steam out of Kendall’s posturing.”

“I can recommend a different ad agency if that will help if they are available. I got great help with my own presidential campaigns,” President Hargrove offered.

“Those are all great ideas, but will it be enough to turn the tide?” Mark eagerly leaned in closer to John. “I am getting anxious with just three weeks left. He is also harping on my newness to politics and lack of experience.”

“Use that as a positive and not a negative like I did when I ran for Governor of California,” the president Offered.

“You also have the benefit of President Hargrove’s legacy which I don’t think you have been using enough,” John added.

President Hargrove gave a broad smile and straightened in his chair a little.

“That is because my campaign manager says the ad agency doesn’t want it to look like I am trying to ride his coattails into office.”

“I think that is a major misjudgment. He has achieved a great deal and you should be reminding the people of it and that you are going to improve and expand on what he has done. I noticed you stopped doing that when Kendall’s personal attacks started. If I were you, I would have President Hargrove at my side every minute of the rest of this campaign. Don’t be embarrassed of using his coattails. Ride them for all they are worth. Just remember how much your success means to all of us so don’t be too prideful to ask for help.”

“Amen to that,” Hank smiled.“I am available anytime you need me, Mark. I thought

I made that clear from the beginning,” President Hargrove added.

“You did, sir, but I guess I have always done things on my own and I was trying to do that now.”


“Well now isn’t the time to pussyfoot. Let’s give it to them with both barrels,” President Hargrove smiled.

Just then the waiter arrived with the piping hot food and they eagerly enjoyed the meal and camaraderie as they outlined their plan of action for the next three weeks, which also included some speaking engagements by John and Meredith and even Hank.

The meeting ended with the Presidential Contender feeling much better than he had at the beginning.

During the next week, with the outlined changes in Mark’s campaign, they noticed the polling numbers start to change in his favor. Mark’s campaign manager had no problem locating happy individuals and groups who had migrated and settled on other planets for interviews for his commercials. Little Joe was one of them. His quiet sincerity was a touching segment of the new campaign commercial. Likewise, there was a large list of well-known companies who were eager to appear; both to support Mark Petersen and to get the free publicity.

Also during that week, Hank did some checking using a local Washington detective agency and found out one of the head honchos of Mark’s ad agency was a close relative to Jason Kendall; a stepbrother. He believed this had something to do with why the ad agency was not as aggressive as it should have been in Mark’s campaign.

That fact was widely publicized when Mark dropped the ad agency in favor of the one President Hargrove highly recommended.

Jason Kendall was embarrassed. He believed because they had different last names, no one would make the connection. He tried to bluff his way around it, saying he hadn’t known his stepbrother was connected to Mark’s ad agency and they hadn’t talked in months. Some of the reporters saw through this and started looking for evidence to prove the collusion.

All during the following week, the polling numbers continued to climb in Mark’s favor and the media must have seen the writing on the wall as the press slowly gave Mark more favorable coverage.


By the beginning of the last campaign week, the numbers were about even so everyone gave it their all with John and Meredith covering the West Coast, Hank and Darlene the Midwest and Southwest, and Mark’s family the East Coast. John and Meredith blanketed California, which had the largest electoral votes. They zipped from San Diego to Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento and all points north. Hank and Darlene did likewise the Midwest and Southwest from Milwaukee to San Antonio, Dallas, Oklahoma City, and all points in between.

Mark and President Hargrove went toe-to-toe with Jason Kendall in New York, Boston, Washington, Atlanta and Miami as well as most points between.

Kendall’s followers did manage a few dirty tricks. Mainly dealing with staged hecklers at the campaign rallies. These were usually quickly broken up by the Secret Service. Using the teleport device cut down on many of the old opportunities for mischief.

Darlene and Hank were neophytes to politics but took to the campaigning like a duck to water. Darlene loved to use her slow Texas drawl and its hominess to draw out the crowds. Hank always pointed out how the Galactic Council stood for the good in society and so did Mark Petersen and his administration for America.

“At least with teleporting, there’s no jetlag or boring hotel rooms,” Meredith commented. Mostly she stood by John as he spoke, but there were several occasions where she was by herself speaking to a women’s club or group. She used that time to speak on family values and promote her desires to emphasize how an increase in group and volunteer grand parenting could influence the younger generation and related what she had learned from Yanna and the Yanni society.

John in his campaigning emphasized how interstellar commerce had raised the standard of living to such a degree the use of the term ‘poverty-level’ had become out-dated. He spoke of how America was viewed with envy among the stars as the home of the teleport technology. He pointed out the scientific,


engineering and medical advances, which had been achieved with the help of the intergalactic teams. In most of his talks he ended with the following:

“As I sit at the head of the Galactic Council, I am proud to represent my planet and my country. I am also looking forward to working closely with President Hargrove as Galactic Council Ambassador and I know we both are looking forward to working with your new president, Mark Petersen!” The crowds always responded with a resounding shout and cheering at the end of his speeches.

The polling numbers all of a sudden went lopsided in favor of Mark Petersen and by election night, everyone agreed Mark’s election was a foregone conclusion.

On election night, the weary campaigners celebrated together at Mark’s campaign headquarters as the happy results came in. By midnight, Jason Kendall bowed to the inevitable and called to congratulate Mark for his successful campaign.…

Dr. Vaughn was excited. Each improvement in the Hyper Space sensors opened up new opportunities for understanding the physical properties of that mysterious medium that transverses galaxies and star systems. It is nothing compared to teleporting, but it is extraordinary compared with conventional space travel, he thought. None of these advanced societies we are meeting truly knows quite how Hyperspace works either, though they use it routinely. Theories about wormholes and vortexes don’t hold much water either though they abound plentifully.

The strange connection to the Quorax arm of the Omega Galaxy had not been duplicated with other test device modifications and the scientists were still trying to understand the physics behind how it works. Alex and others came up with different ideas such as a warp in the space-time continuum to explain it. Dr. Vaughn added it to his list of special properties to see if it led him to further understanding how the devices themselves functioned.

The Quorax are the first people we’ve come across with

jet-assisted hovercraft too. I wonder what else we will learn from them?

Just then, Dr. Vaughn’s device beeped and he saw Ellen’s charming image on his wrist display.

“Hi Jim. I hope I didn’t interrupt your work.”“Hi Ellen.” Dr. Vaughn smiled and absently wiped his brow.

“I needed to take a break anyway. What’s on your mind?”“I just received a formal invitation for both of us to attend

President Petersen’s inaugural festivities including the signing-in ceremony. I was wondering how I should RSVP to it?”

“That sounds nice. I would especially enjoy accompanying you to it. Please graciously accept for both of us. You can give me all the details over dinner tonight.” He thoughtfully added, “That will probably give me an excuse to shop for some new formal wear.”

“Me too.” She smiled. “I am really looking forward to all the fancy festive activities.” She blew him a kiss and said; “I’ll see you at the restaurant, dear.”

Dr. Vaughn thought how he rarely received such invitations before he and Ellen were considered a couple, but now they both were frequently invited. As he thought about it, he realized how much he had let his life be dominated by his career. Through the years he had rarely taken vacations. He realized he was ready for that to change, especially with Ellen at his side. I think I will turn more of this research work over to Alex and his team and just enjoy myself for a while. He smiled at the thought. They can do just as good as I can at finding Hardison James. Probably better.

While John and Hank had been out campaigning with their wives, Janus had been taking care of things on the Galactic Council level. Janus was a natural administrator so nothing was lost during John’s absence. The pace of integrating new planetary systems into the G/C way of doing things had not abated. Daily there were opportunities for Janus to meet with planetary leaders on one subject or another.

It seemed that every system leader at one time or another thought they could take exception to the standards and

procedures set down by the G/C. They usually wanted some exception to established procedure or protocol. Janus expertly managed to turn their request down in such a way that the supplicant went away happy with the results.

Today was no exception. The Laconion Ambassador had come seeking special exception to the financial integration of his system with the G/C.

“Ambassador Vilaro, I understand your request.…


Chapter Twenty-eight

“The Quorax Secret Weapon”

Alex’s team included Jonathan and Yorgi. The happy twosome were often seen together late in the Antigua labs working on one change or another to the teleport devices. Sometimes their wives even joined them when they couldn’t break the two young scientists away from what they were working on.

Tanya and Kelina got along great together. They often shared plans for their babies with each other. Both were well along in their pregnancies and eager for the blessed events to happen. Tanya marveled that though the two young women were worlds and star systems apart across spatial distance, the length of time for carrying a baby was just about the same for both of them. That should tell us something about how universally connected mankind is, she thought.

Tonight they had brought Amber Julie and Jarom with them to give their parents time together. While they waited for Jonathan and Yorgi to finish their current experiment, the two pregnant ladies wandered around the lab with Amber and Jarom following them. The two were using this time to get their daily exercise their doctors had prescribed.

“What is all this stuff for, Aunt Tanya?” redheaded Amber asked inquisitively.

Tanya turned and kneeled to talk to both 4-year old toddlers. “You know how you love to zip to all those special places we take you?”

“Yes, and I appreciate it too,” Amber smiled. And Jarom grinned.


Tanya motioned to all the lab equipment they were surrounded by. “All this ‘stuff ’ helps support our ability to travel like that, and your parents and mine help keep it organized and running smoothly.”

“I never realized it took so much stuff to make it work,” Jarom offered.

Kelina kneeled down with them. “There is much involved to make sure it gets us where we want to go. This is a research lab where your brothers are working to help improve it so we can continue to use it.”

“All that sure sounds important Aunt Kelina. Do you think I can ever do something so important,” Jarom innocently asked.

“The way things advance so rapidly around here, you two will probably grow up to do much more important things,” Tanya added. She was amazed at the Yanni four year-old’s thoughtful question, but then realized the Yanni seemed to mature much quicker than average earthlings. I wonder if he is having an affect on Amber? Amber is precocious enough without adding superior intellect. I think I will mention this to Meredith.

Just then Jonathan called to them.“We’re ready to take you to dinner now. Is anyone

hungry?”“I am.” Amber quickly answered her older brother’s

question before the others could.“Where would you like to go?” Jonathan asked.“There is a very nice Yanni restaurant I would like to

introduce you to,” Yorgi said.“Yes, you will simply love it,” Kelina added as she rubbed

her extended tummy.In an instant they were in an outdoor setting reminding

Tanya of a scene from the French Riviera. There were outdoor cafes lining a boardwalk over a sparkling lake with two golden moons shinning above with lights on the lake from ships in the harbor.


“I love the atmosphere. This is a magnificent setting.” Tanya offered as she entwined Jonathan’s hand in hers.

Amber and Jarom giggling, rushed to the railing to watch the boats.

“Wait till you taste the food,” Kelina added. “The menu is posted at the door and we order at the counter. A waiter will serve it when it is ready.”

Jonathan read the menu, only recognizing a few items on it. “Yorgi and Kelina, I think you better order for us.”

“I agree,” Tanya said as she eyed the menu.“No problem. We’ll just order our favorites,” Kelina said.The two couples sat at a table on the boardwalk watching

the kids leaning over the railing while they waited for their food to be prepared.

“Well what were you two working on that was so important?” Tanya asked.

“We are making improvements to the hyperspace sensors so we can catch Hardison James quickly before he can cause anymore harm,” Jonathan said.

“I still don’t understand how hyperspace works or what it actually is,” Tanya said.

“You’re not alone,” Yorgi offered. “I don’t even think those who use it regularly truly understand its properties. I was thinking about when I was trapped on Sieta while we were working in the lab. When we flew in the Quorax hovercraft, we could hear and feel the wind rushing by. That’s a feeling you don’t get using your device.” Yorgi paused to sip his drink.

“The higher you go in the atmosphere, the faster the air is,” Yorgi continued.

“You are talking about what we call the jet stream on Earth,” Jonathan added.

“Yes. And I was comparing that to hyperspace as an analogy. I think of hyperspace as the jet stream of space.”

“But there isn’t wind in space,” Tanya said.“Not that we notice, there isn’t, maybe because it is all

caught in hyperspace.” Yorgi suggested.


“That’s quite a theory,” Jonathan said. “But I don’t think it is supported by physical science.”

“Neither is how your device works,” Yorgi said. “That is what got me in trouble on Sieta. Dad and I were trying to find out how your device truly works.”

“Did you learn anything?” Jonathan asked.Yorgi shook his head. “Only about the strange connection

to the other side of the Omega Galaxy. Nothing that would explain how it works.”

Just then, a very personable waiter who laughed as he served their plates of food interrupted them. “Your children are having fun at the railing,” he laughingly said.

They quickly noted Amber and Jarom had drawn a crowd. They rushed to them to see them skipping rocks or pebbles across the water.

“Our plates are served,” Tanya told them and the crowd slowly dispersed around them.

“I think seeing those rocks skip across the lake is another analogy for how hyperspace works,” Jonathan said.

“You could be right,” Yorgi said as he reached for an odd shaped roll.

Tanya noted Yorgi and Kelina’s favorites dish seemed to consist of meatless deviled eggs and a green salad with green pasta noodles. She tasted it and was delighted at its delicious taste.

“Well, were you successful today in improving the sensors?” Kelina asked.

“Maybe just a little bit, but it will take more testing to be sure,” Yorgi answered. They each enjoyed the evening together before returning to their homes.

The next day Yorgi and Jonathan were continuing with their testing in the lab.

“The view does look a little sharper,” Jonathan said as he eyed the monitor.

“But you still can’t quite make out what you are seeing,” Yorgi responded.

“That is because everything is moving so fast in hyperspace and the sensors are in one fixed location.”


“Can we program the sensor to follow in the direction of what it is tracking?” Jonathan asked.

“We could program it to make computerized leaps in spatial coordinates. That’s not quite the same as traveling through hyperspace, but it should work.” Yorgi started tapping on the console keyboard. They were soon viewing short clips on the monitor as the sensor was literally hopping through hyperspace following the target object.

Jonathan noted it was almost like they were watching instant magnification on the monitor as the sensor drew closer to the target. At each hop, the computer was instantly recalculating coordinates for the next hop. It reminded him of the skipping rocks on the lake last night.

“That looks like a Quorax ship,” Jonathan said, noting the odd-shaped slender fins. “I thought Hank’s team confiscated all those.”

“Only the ones their military had. I think there were still some private ones they are allowing them to have until that region is cleared for the teleport devices,” Yorgi answered.

“Shouldn’t we check it out?” Jonathan asked.Hank’s team thought they had captured all the Quorax

military space ships because they had used the Quorax central database computer to identify them. They were unaware of a super secret advanced military scientific group not in the Quorax computer because they were working on secret advanced military weapons. One of those advancements was the ability to track the trackers. To quickly identify the source of any probe or scan, automatically follow it to its source, and neutralize or capture it.

This particular spy ship was equipped with the advanced sensors plus some extraordinary new equipment. It was the command ship of the military group attached to the scientific research group. Once its security group learned of the Galactic Council’s defeat of the Quorax Home fleet, they had ceased communicating with their home base in hopes of remaining unknown to them. So far they believed they had been successful.

As soon as the Quorax spy ship detected the hyperspace sensor, it automatically deployed the tracking neutralizer.

A bolt of blue energy shot from the spy ship to the galactic sensor unit. The energy detected the sensor’s Hyperwave source and followed it.

Jonathan and Yorgi were shocked when the field of blue energy shot out of the Lab monitor and surrounded them.

At that exact instant, Alex opened the door and witnessed the blue energy field envelop them. He horrifyingly watched their figures dematerialize within the blue energy field and then it was as if the energy field was literally sucked back into the monitor. A look of horror on their faces was seared into Alex’s memory. He immediately called John, Janus and Hank as he rushed to capture the settings on the console. He then thought to contact Dr. Vaughn.

When they instantly appeared in the Antigua research lab within seconds of each other, he told them what he had just witnessed.

“They dematerialized inside the blue energy field and then it disappeared right into the monitor. I froze the setting on the console as soon as I could reach it and turned off the monitor.”

Janus quickly checked the console settings and recent log activity. “They were testing a recently modified device in Hyperspace. They locked onto what they identified as a Quorax ship. The settings recorded a backflow of a concentrated high metawave of energy from the Quorax ship. It apparently followed the Hyperwave connection to the monitor and this room.” Janus worked the console. “I am dispatching more sensors to track the Quorax ship without engaging or scanning it.”

“But what kind of energy can do that and how can we know if they are okay?” Hank blurted out.

“I suspect the same kind of energy that drives the teleport device, or something akin to it,” Dr. Vaughn calmly said.

“How can you say that?” John animatedly asked as he nervously walked around the room. “Your device doesn’t exhibit that kind of energy.”

“The fact we haven’t detected it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t use it,” Dr. Vaughn replied. “We still don’t know exactly how the teleport device works. I think what Alex witnessed is a kind of teleport function similar to the Yanux matter transmitter only much more powerful and advanced. If that is true, then Jonathan and Yorgi are probably okay in a rematerialized state where ever they are now.”

“They’re probably on that Quorax ship,” Hank said. “We should be doing something to get them back.”

“What do you suggest?” Dr. Vaughn asked. “I don’t think we should engage them until we find a way to neutralize or block their matter transmitter beam or we all might find ourselves captured by it.”

“Yes. Dr. Vaughn is right,” Janus said. We need some help to do that. I suggest we assemble the science committee at once.” Janus beeped Beverly and asked her to issue an urgent invitation to the committee members.

Hank asked Alex to constantly track and monitor the Quorax ship without scanning or engaging it. “Use whatever resources you need to keep its location updated and notify me the instant it exits hyperspace.”

Alex worked the console to dispatch more invisible sensors and monitors to additional spatial coordinates in that region of Hyperspace. He notified other team members and setup a constant watch for the monitors.

Dr. Vaughn and Alex organized and worked with the science committee to develop a block for the Quorax energy beam.

John and Janus notified Meredith and Tanya and Yanna and Kelina. The four anxiously volunteered to be part of Alex’s monitoring team.…


Chapter Twenty-nine

“Captured”

The Quorax commander viewed his surprising catch. He realized he was probably seeing the first two enemy prisoners his people had captured. He learned the Home fleet had been defeated so quickly they provided no resistance. Maybe with this new weapon we can overcome them? Commander Qydon, the son of a brilliant battlefield strategist was glad of his current assignment. He had been upset when he learned of the Home fleet defeat. He hoped he would have a chance to avenge them.

Jonathan and Yorgi had been totally caught unaware and showed it. The two were standing just above the ships command deck, trapped paralyzed in the slowly revolving blue transparent energy field. They were able to breathe, but that was about all.

They seem too young to be worth our effort, the commander thought, yet they were able to track us in hyperspace. Commander Qydon knew how difficult a feat that was, so he respected their science for it. He had also received the latest report on the enemy that had so easily defeated their military fleet. He thought these young men are probably two of them. We will interrogate them to see if we can learn more of how they defeated us so easily.

His second in command, tall slender Lt. Lexon, only saw their obvious youth and disdained them. “These two welts should be severely dealt with, Commander.”

Qydon smiled at his brash lieutenant. “You are too anxious,


Lieutenant. Their masters may still be tracking us so we should learn all we can from them first.”

“But our science just demonstrated with the new remote tracker and transporter we can defeat them, so why wait?”

Qydon wryly smiled. “Yes. Just like our Home fleet defeated them, huh?”

Lt. Lexon realized his hasty error. He changed his brash manner as he said, “I see what you mean. We should learn before we act.”

“Now you’re thinking more logically. Put extra watches on our scanning monitors. I don’t think the enemy will take our capture of these two very lightly. Also take their wrist devices and see if our scientists can defeat their security. If that is how they teleport, those two items will be most valuable and a huge help in defeating them..” Qydon paced in front of his lieutenant. “I want us ready to respond at the slightest indication of active scans. Do we have the coordinates of where we captured these two?”

“Yes sir, but the destination device is no longer active and we need it on to complete the connection.”

“Keep monitoring it. They will probably turn it on again to try to locate us.”

“Yes sir.”He pointed to the two young captives. “Take these two

and put them in separate detention cells where they can’t communicate with each other. We will let them think about their situation for a while.” The commander turned to his navigator. “When are we scheduled to exit hyperspace?”

The experienced female officer turned from her console and smartly replied, “In a couple of sleep cycles, sir.” Lt. Asyndra was glad she had accepted this assignment, but worried about her older brother who was part of the Home fleet that had been so surprisingly defeated.

“Good. Notify me before we do. Hopefully the enemy will turn on their device before we exit.”

Though both Jonathan and Yorgi were isolated, they both kept mentally preparing to escape at the first opportunity. Both


were very worried about the loss of their teleport devices. They hoped the Quorax would not be able to get them to work. The two weren’t aware Alex had witnessed their dematerialization, so did not know of the effort to rescue them. The identical separate cell rooms they were kept in were practically completely sterile with a cot, table and chair and no obvious way out.

The Quorax scientists eagerly examined the two wrist devices. They noted the devices resembled bulky wristwatches with a display screen and tiny digipad. Not understanding them, they worked very carefully. The first step was to put them under the micron scopes to identify their inner circuitry.

Yorgi closely examined his cell and thought of a possibility. The ceiling light was recessed into the ceiling tiles. If I can reach the ceiling tiles, I might be able to loosen them and get out through the ceiling.

Jonathan recalled the whoosh when the door closed behind him, so searched for a way he might short circuit the mechanism. Jonathan hoped the test log would give Janus and the others clues as to where they were now. He eyed the construction of the cot.…

The Galactic Science Team was feverishly working to find a way to block the Quorax remote teleport beam. They also missed the two most valuable younger members of the team they had come to depend on. Dr. Vaughn and Alex had briefed the scientific team on the critical situation and need to find a solution quickly.

Borcas took the assignment to heart and shortly reported, “Dr. Vaughn, my group has a suggestion.” He had challenged his team to find his young friends quickly. One of them had come up with a possibility definitely worth exploring.

“Yes, Borcas. What is it?” Dr. Vaughn was sitting at the Antigua master console with John Sr.. The two were reviewing the results from the tracking Hyperspace sensors. When John Sr. learned of his grandson and Yorgi’s enemy capture, he insisted on manning the console and no one could hardly get him to take breaks from it.


Meredith, Yanna, Tanya and Kelina were just a short distance away at the Hyperspace monitors. They anxiously, but quietly listened in to Borcas’ conversation.

“Sir, we believe we could deploy the Sphere technology to envelop their ship. This should disable all electronics on their ship, including the matter transporter.”

Dr. Vaughn smiled for the first time in hours. “Excellent, Borcas, but do we know how the spheres work in Hyperspace? I don’t recall testing that functionality.

“You’re right. There hasn’t been a reason to test it before. We are testing it now and the preliminary results indicate it will work, but we haven’t completed testing yet.”

“But that only gets us to half the solution.”At that moment Hank walked up and entered the

conversation. “I suggest we then zip it to our part of space where we can then control it when we release the sphere.”

“We will have to be extra careful to prevent them from activating their transporter device against us,” Dr. Vaughn quickly said.

Alex offered, “If we leave them in a stasis mode for a while, all their equipment should need a certain amount of time to restart and warm up before it can be used.”

While they were talking, Janus and John joined them.Dr. Vaughn said, “Good Borcas. Continue testing the

spheres in Hyperspace until we are sure of how they will react. In the meantime, we will prepare for the Quorax ship here with Hank’s and Alex’s teams.” They quickly disbursed to accomplish their individual tasks.

The dads, mothers and wives felt relieved that they now had a plan of action for the rescue. Tanya and Kelina were especially worried, thinking of their unborn children. John knew that if the enemy that took Jonathan and Yorgi so easy attacked again with their transporter weapon before they were ready, they might be in terrible trouble. He hoped that did not happen. Now it just seemed a question of timing and waiting for the test results if the enemy would only cooperate.

Dr. Vaughn didn’t voice his concerns, but he hoped the


Quorax scientists would not be able to defeat the security and be able to replicate Yorgi and Jonathan’s teleport devices. The fact they have two of them to work with makes it doubly dangerous, he thought.…

Yorgi stood on the chair on top of the table and could just reach the ceiling tiles. Good! They easily moved. He was able to crawl up and into the ceiling ductwork. The rectangular ductwork was just large enough to crawl through. There was no light except that reflected from the light fixtures every ten feet or so.

Yorgi slowly inched his way along. Once he had to stop and hold his breath when he heard voices in the corridor directly below him. From their casual conversation, he could tell there wasn’t a ship-wide alert for them yet. When they left, he took a couple of false turns until he came to Jonathan’s cell.

Jonathan was sitting at the table, working with a metal piece from the cot. He was trying to bend the metal into a horseshoe shape, but the metal was not cooperating. Drops of perspiration fell from his brow and his reddened fingers ached from his efforts, but he continued to struggle with the unyielding metal.

He heard a movement right above his head and startled, looked up to see Yorgi’s smiling face.

“Put your chair on the table and come on up,” Yorgi hastily whispered.

The Quorax command deck was active with all stations on heightened alert. Their scans could not pick up the invisible Galactic tracking sensors because of the physical limitations of traveling through Hyperspace, so the Quorax crew were unaware the enemy was so close at hand.

“Shouldn’t we be interrogating those young welts now?” Lt. Lexon anxiously asked.

Commander Qydon sat in his command chair and smiled at his second-in-command pacing in front of him. “I will join you in the interrogation room. Let’s do the blond one first. Have security deliver him there.”

Qydon pressed his arm button for the research lab. When


a voice answered, he said, “Any progress with those wrist devices?”

“Sir, we are slowly learning about them, but nothing to understand how they work yet. We are getting ready to disassemble one now, which may cause it to become inoperative, but should help us examine the inner workings.”

“Can’t you get it to work without fully understanding it?”“We could except for the personalized security. Their security is

both thumbprint and voice activated.”“We will have to force those two to activate them for

us then.” Qydon wryly smiled, thinking of the upcoming interrogation.

Jonathan felt cramped as he quietly shuffled behind Yorgi in the ship’s ductwork. “We must get out of these ducts quickly and find a hiding place,” he whispered. “They are sure to miss us soon.”

The two discovered an empty storage room that looked promising when they heard the security alert for them.

The security team scanned the prisoner’s empty rooms. With the chair on the tables, it was evident how the prisoners had escaped. “Check all the ducts on this level!” the security chief ordered through his communicator.

Jonathan and Yorgi managed to quietly replace the ceiling tiles where they exited the ductwork, so hoped they were safe for the moment, but knew they couldn’t stay on this level for long.

“They will use their scanning equipment to locate us,” Yorgi whispered. “We need to find some heavy equipment quickly to mask our vital signs. I think the engineering room is on the floor below us from the vibrations I felt in my room. Follow me.”

Just then they heard Commander Qydon’s order over the ship’s intercom. “Scan all of deck C for intruder life signs immediately!”

“We aren’t going to make it are we?” Jonathan anxiously whispered as he heard the security troops just outside their hiding place. They started looking for hiding places within


the small room. There were some oxygen cylinders, but they wouldn’t give them much cover.…

Borcas reported, “The testing is done. We can successfully use the spheres in Hyperspace with only some minor adjustments. We are ready to proceed.”

“Then let’s do it!” Hank exclaimed. “My team is ready.”Janus sat beside John Sr. at the console while the others

anxiously looked on.John, Meredith, Yanna, Tanya, and Kelina and the rest of

the team members anxiously prayed Jonathan and Yorgi were okay.

Janus expertly worked the settings, zipping three spheres to the identified coordinates in Hyperspace. They now had a three-dimension view of the enemy craft. John Sr. smiled as he pressed the activate button. They watched the monitors show the Quorax ship now caught in the transparent stasis field of the deployed spheres. Thanks to Jonathan and Yorgi’s recent upgrades, the monitors displayed a fairly clear view in Hyperspace.…

Just before the Quorax ship’s scans reached the storage room, the ship suddenly went dark and quiet except for the sound of the confused security forces in the ship’s hallways.

Both Yorgi and Jonathan had experienced this before when they were trapped in the Yanni survey craft at the mercy of the Spectari spheres, only this time were very relieved to feel it.

Commander Qydon could not understand what caused the sudden loss of all power and what happened to his ship. No instruments worked to identify the spheres just outside his disabled ship that were causing his predicament. He anxiously pressed buttons on his command chair in the dark, but nothing worked! The Quorax had never experienced anything like the sphere technology against them.

As soon as the Quorax ship was suspended in the sphere’s stasis field, Janus zipped it to a prepared area near the Antigua space station. With everything in place, Janus released the sphere’s stasis field surrounding the Quorax ship.

At the same time the lights came back on the Quorax

command deck, an android appeared and Hank’s voice boomed out from it. “You will immediately cease all action against your prisoners or this ship will be destroyed! Throw down your weapons now!”

When the confused Quorax crew on the command deck complied, Hank’s team immediately zipped to the command deck and Hank personally confronted Commander Qydon. “Where are your prisoners? I sincerely hope they are unharmed.”

Qydon grimaced at Hank. “We don’t know where they are. They escaped from their detention cells. We were just looking for them. We haven’t harmed them.”

Lt. Lexon could not believe how quickly their situation had changed.

“Order your crew to stand down immediately!” Hank’s order left no room for doubt at the consequences of noncompliance.

Commander Qydon reluctantly complied over the intercom, and then Hank used it.

“Jonathan and Yorgi, we are here on the command deck. Make your way to the nearest intercom station and we will retrieve you.”

After several anxious seconds, Hank was relieved to hear Jonathan’s voice over the intercom. “We are here and okay Hank.”

As soon as the coordinates were identified, Hank zipped to them and then immediately zipped them to the Antigua command center for a happy reunion. Tanya and Kelina rushed to their husbands, showering them with hugs and kisses.

A relieved Alex told them, “You don’t know how glad I am to see you after witnessing your dematerializing in that energy field.”

Jonathan said, “We didn’t know anyone saw us. We thought y’all wouldn’t know how to find us.”

Alex happily answered, “We were tracking the Quorax ship in Hyperspace almost from the moment they took you. The team just had to devise the rescue.”

John Sr. quipped to his grandson, “How many times are we going to have to rescue you anyway?”

Hank retrieved Yorgi and Jonathan’s devices from the Quorax scientist and presented them to the rightful owners. “You may want to replace yours, Jonathan.” Hank smiled. “It looks a bit worse for wear.”

After the joyful reunion, Dr. Vaughn put his team to learning all they could about the advanced technology they found on the captured Quorax ship and the secret scientific laboratory. He was surprised at how the Quorax remote teleport beam worked using Quasar technology. He also noted just like the Yanni, their device required much power to operate.

Following the dramatic rescue, the individual teams resumed the task of locating Hardison James in the stolen Omegan starship.…


Chapter Thirty

“Searching Hyperspace”

Admiral Jaansen interrupted Hank’s meditation as he beeped him. “Any sign of our stolen ship? I’ve just been informed the wife of Osma Forenzo has just gone into labor at the Corinthian Central hospital. If you find the ship soon, please teleport him there. Here are the coordinates.”

“Thank you, sir. We are doing all we can to locate it. As soon as we do, I will see he is teleported directly to the hospital or wherever you specify. How are things coming with the Quorax in your Galaxy?”

“Very well thanks to your disarmament team. We had not got around to exploring that arm of our galaxy so were completely unaware of them. Our fleet would have been no match for the Quorax Protoblaster weapon. Your disarmament team took care of that nasty item first thing. Once their leaders were captured, the rest seem to be easy to get along with and of course they are as eager as we are to obtain your unique technology.”

Following his conversation with Hank, Admiral Jaansen buzzed his secretary to admit a waiting Mara Sirtus into his office.

Mara was anxious. She had been officially summoned to the admiral’s office without any explanation of why or what it was for. She had enjoyed the last six week’s leave with her family following her graduation. She had also been following the stunning news of the Galactic Council and its amazing teleport technology. She knew her graduation with honors from the


flight academy was worth something, but didn’t think it rated a personal interview with the fleet admiral.

“Come in, come in Lieutenant. I’ve been wanting to meet you for some time now.”

They formally shook hands and he motioned her to join him on a formal couch off to the side of his desk area. She noted the admiral was wearing his double-breasted dress uniform with several rows of medals on it for the occasion. She doubted he usually wore it for casual visitors; especially young cadets out of flight school. She was dressed in her simple military uniform that only sported the small outstanding unit award.

Admiral Jaansen was impressed with the smartly dressed young woman who had the highest recommendation from the Galactic Council Security Chief. He was very curious how this was possible. He knew from academy records where she had been the last two years, so how did she know Mr. Travis?

“I’ve reviewed your academy record and it is very splendid. I note you scored high marks in all your classes.” He smiled.

“Thank you, sir. I always try to do my best and the academy just kind of raised my efforts.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Your superiors at the academy all gave you high recommendations. One even went as far to say she could view you in a command position some day.”

“I am flattered, sir. I have only strived to do my duty and bring honor to the academy.”

“Yes, and you have done a very fine job of it.” Admiral Jaansen uncrossed his legs and leaned forward as he said, “There was one additional recommendation I received which puzzles me. I am wondering if you might be able to shed some light on it for me?

Mara still wasn’t sure of the purpose for this high level interview and the question caught her by surprise. She looked questioningly at Admiral Jaansen. “I don’t understand, sir?”

“I mean a high ranking member of the Galactic Council also recommended you with his highest recommendation. But you weren’t the only one. He had a list, but yours was at the top of it.”


Mara stammered, “But sir. I know of no one in that galaxy I am aware of. Maybe if I could see the list it would help me, but I am truly at a loss as to how I could be on such a list.”

Admiral Jaansen thought a second and said, “I am not sure the person wanted you to know the information I have already given you so let’s leave it at that.” The admiral straightened and said, “Well, he certainly knows of you, so I am appointing you to represent Corinthias on the new Galactic Envoy’s staff.”…

After his conversation with Admiral Jaansen, Hank began wondering if they could make giant computerized leaps with the hyperspace sensors to speed up the area they were tracking. He passed that idea by Alex.

“Sounds like an excellent strategy to me,” Alex replied. “I will suggest it to the tracking team. We could probably program both long and short range hops simultaneously.”

As soon as Jonathan and Yorgi received the assignment from Alex to improve the hop distances, they went right to work on it. Jonathan thought, with all these improvements, we should find Hardison any day. The two also spent time as they worked discussing becoming new fathers and what it would mean for them.

Meredith and John took time out from their hectic schedules to spend some special time together at their favorite Hawaiian beach. This time they brought Amber Julie and her nanny with them. Meredith didn’t have a full-time nanny because she wanted all the personal time with her she could manage; but did use one for special occasions. She was a college student, one of Jenny’s friends who loved children. She was also enjoying this trip to the beach. It was a beautiful sunny sky-blue Hawaiian day. As they lay on the beach watching Amber and Susan play in the shoreline waves, Meredith smiled at John and said, “I guess I’m going to need to get a larger swimsuit for our next outing.”

“John’s jaw dropped open. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”

She grinned her silly dimpled grin. “Yes, dear. We are going to have another baby!”


“That’s fantastic. I have been enjoying Amber so much, I didn’t even think about another one.” He gave her a loving embrace and patted her swimsuit-covered tummy and thought of the new life starting within it. “That will be great. I wonder what it will be?”

“It will be a bright healthy boy and grow up to be just like his father,” She smilingly said.

“You’re joking. It’s too early to tell, right?”…

Hardison James was delirious with joy at the new power the spheres gave him. He looked forward to defeating the Galactic Council. I will hit them before they even know what’s happening. I can’t wait to see that Galactic President Royston squirm before me.

He worked and reworked his strategy for when he would unleash the powerful spheres on Galactic Space. He just wished he could get there quicker, but he had spent all this time traveling away from them so without the teleport technology, hyperspace was the only answer, especially if he was going to avoid his enemy.

Osma desperately wanted to send out more signals, but there just wasn’t the opportunity with Hardison’s constant surveillance. He had almost been caught a couple of times, but thanks to Hardy’s distractions with other crew members, he had managed to avoid suspicion so far. Everyday he thought about his family and especially Marina’s condition. He wondered if he had already missed the birth of their child.

Osma wasn’t the only conscripted Omegan who would like to escape from Hardison, but he was the only one who succeeded in transmitting a signal outside the ship. A couple of crewmembers had tried to launch a shuttlecraft just before their last jump to hyperspace, but Hardison had locked the exit bay door controls and they were caught and severely punished.

Hardison monitored the controls at his auxiliary control panel. I will be glad to get back to Earth and get some of my old buddies to join me. I know I can’t trust these Omegans not to


try to escape. I am getting tired of having to constantly monitor them.…

Newly appointed Galactic Envoy, Michael Hargrove of Earth, paid his initial visit to the capitol planet of the Quorax system. Siranius was not quite an Earth type planet, but was close enough that no extra environmental gear was required. He and his newly appointed staff, which included one Mara Sirtus of Corinthias, appeared in the majestic council chamber of the ruling Silah Romar III.

The Silah’s viceroy, dressed in a simple long flowing purple robe, welcomed them as he gave a short perfunctory bow. “On behalf of our people, we welcome you and your staff, Envoy Hargrove. We look forward to working with you and your staff. I am Viceroy Eparahim. We will be meeting Silah Romar III shortly.”

Envoy Hargrove and his staff each wore the simple tan uniform tunic of the Galactic Council with the Galactic Council patch on it. Envoy Hargrove returned the bow.

“We thank you for your gracious welcome. We also look forward to working with you and your staff.”

Mara Sirtus noted the Viceroy seemed young for such a high position. He looked to be her age and she was unusually attracted to him by his handsome looks and smart demeanor. He seemed to give her a special personal smile too. Or am I just wishing it?

Just then, a curtain off to the side was raised with a small tinkling sound and Viceroy Eparahim bowed deeply.

The Silah was a comparative youngster, but quite advanced in intellect. He sat on a raised magnificently carved throne. There was a wise man or counselor standing beside his throne. The tall thin man wore a silver robe and sported a short white goatee. The Silah was dressed in a gold one with fancy braids on it.

Envoy Hargrove and his staff gave a short bow in acknowledgement of the Silah.

“Your Excellency, I present to you Galactic Envoy Hargrove and his staff.”


In a high regal voice, the Silah smiled almost childlike as he spoke. “We welcome you and your staff to Siranius, Envoy Hargrove. We apologize if our customs are strange to you, but ask you to remember yours are also strange to us. We are still dealing with the sudden loss of our starship fleet which you caused.”

Envoy Hargrove responded, “Your Excellency, we only confiscated those ships which threatened our own well being. I believe you still have your private commercial fleet.”

“Yes envoy, but we depended very heavily on our military fleet to communicate throughout our system.”

Envoy Hargrove was amazed that this youngster who only looked to be about 12 years old could respond so quickly and lucidly regarding the Quorax situation. “Your Excellency that is what I am here to talk to you about. The Galactic Council has a much better way to travel and communicate. We do it in real-time without the need for space ships.”

The Silah spoke with a very condescending attitude. “I have heard much of your amazing technology, but have not experienced it, because you have not provided it to us.”

“That is true, your Excellency. I can provide you a personal demonstration of the technology, but there is a reason we have delayed providing it to your system, sir.”

Hank stiffly but courteously spoke up, “Recently our security service discovered a secret military scientific research base that developed advanced weapons and attacked us with them. This base was not listed in your database. We would like assurances there are no other similar missing bases.”

“How can I give you such assurances when I and my staff were also unaware of it? I have caused those military leaders to be imprisoned. Speaking of which, there are many families here that have been affected by your imprisoning their spouses. When can they be freed?”

“By allowing my staff full access to your people and facilities without prior notice, your Excellency. Once we can assure ourselves there is no danger to the Galactic Council member planets, we will free those we captured to your custody. Then


we can discuss how the teleport technology can be integrated into your society.”

The young Silah petulantly said, “I don’t think you give us much choice. You say you are not here to rule over us, yet it seems you are doing just that.”

“Sir we respect your sovereignty, but only after guaranteeing our own safety. My staff and I will do everything we can to not interfere in your government more than necessary. Once our security staff is confident the danger is over, I think you will be surprised at how quickly the technology will be made available system wide.”

Envoy Hargrove smiled. “Yours is not the only system we have assisted. We do not do things in a vacuum here. Our member planets share technology and have a broad base of interactive commerce. We happily welcome you into that circle. I would like to ask you to provide a list of people you could recommend to represent you and the Quorax on several of our deployment teams. That integration will aid in the interaction between our peoples. Now, where would you like to go for your personal demonstration?”…

John Sr. interrupted Hank’s review of the encrypted central database records as he said, “There’s another sensor alarm. It is probably another false one.” They had received many of those lately. The assistant Galactic Comp Chief followed standard operating procedure though and zipped a Hyperwave viewer to the identified location inside Hyperspace.

Hank blinked twice as he saw the distorted view in Hyperspace. He recognized the stolen starship as it was speeding away from the stationary Hyperspace viewer in the direction of Galactic space. “Lock on to those coordinates and zip an invisible viewer to that ship!” Hank excitedly almost yelled the command to John Sr., as he tightly gripped the shoulders of the man who was sitting right in front of him at the console.

John Sr.’s hands weren’t as quick at the keyboard as


Sethanni’s would have been, but they were just as sure. Shortly, the two were viewing the command deck of the stolen Omega starship on the overhead monitor attuned to the invisible viewer. John Sr. turned up the volume. There were only two people sitting at the controls; neither of which were Hardison.

After a few minutes, they heard one sarcastically say, “It’s a shame we can’t do something to thwart his plans. That devilish ‘Captain’ controls everything from his auxiliary console.”

The other one said, “Yes, and he controls everything on this ship. I don’t even know why he has us up here. I shudder to think what will happen once he obtains the teleport technology.”

“He is just fixated on getting it so he can defeat his enemies. Those spheres are deadly. I pity whoever he turns them loose on.”

“I wish we had a way to contact them. If I could, I would do so in an instant,” Osma said.

Upon hearing that, Hank turned on his microphone and spoke, “You just did. Where is your Captain?”

Hank’s voice came through the invisible Hyperwave viewer and both men jumped out of their chairs with one of them stumbling to his knees. “What? Who said that?”

“I am Hank Travis, Security Chief of the Galactic Council. Can you call your ‘Captain’ to the command deck without alarming him?”

“Yes sir. I am sure we can somehow,” the one just getting up from his knees said.

“Just tell him there is something on the viewscreen he should see. That should do it.”

While they were waiting for Hardison to make his appearance on the command deck, Hank asked John Sr. to prepare an android to retrieve the stolen ship and dock it at the Corinthian space station. John Sr. happily followed Hank’s instructions.

“Osma, what is going on here? What is it you wanted to show me?” Hardison stood alertly before them near the deck entrance with his menacing weapon held closely at his side.

Hank was delighted to see the renegade Earthling. He had


John Sr. send a visible Hyperwave monitor to the command deck so that Hardison and the other two could see his image. “It took us a while but we finally found you.” Hank motioned with his hand for John Sr. to zip the android to the command deck. “Now you will pay for your crimes.”

The three on the command deck witnessed the android appear and then felt the ship thump as it came in contact with the rigid tractor couplings on the Corinthias space station where it had been stolen from.

Hardison raised his weapon to fire at the android, just as another invisible hand grabbed the weapon out of his hand and pointed it at him. “I think not,” Hank said as he used his other hand to grab Hardison and zipped him to the lunar prison. He then returned to the command deck in a visible mode and spoke to the two Omegans. “Which of you is Osma?”

“I am sir.” The taller Omegan stepped forward.Hank shook his hand and said, “I think your wife will be

very happy to see you. I understand she is at the Corinthian Central hospital now getting ready to deliver your child. I will zip you right there.”

Hank happily witnessed the sweet and emotional reunion as Osma, who thought he would miss this joyous event, joined Marina just before she was wheeled into the birthing room. Though she was in pain, she glowed with happiness at seeing Osma. A nurse quickly put a green cap and gown on Osma so he could join them in the birthing room. Hank quietly zipped back to join John Sr. in the Antigua Command Center.

John Sr. looked up at Hank from the Central Console inquiringly.

Hank just smiled at him as he used his device to contact Victor. “Victor, the stolen starship is now docked back at the Corinthias space station. Would you zip a team there and take control of the spheres on the ship. Also inquire as to where the ship has been and whom they came in contact with. There may be others that need rescuing.”

Victor smiled broadly. “I assume you captured Hardison too then.”

“Your assumption is correct. He now occupies a place in the lunar prison where he will remain.”

“Good. I will take care of that ship and anyone else who needs help.”

John’s father gave a big smile as he overheard the news about Hardison.

Victor’s team zipped to the recovered Omegan starship. His team quickly interviewed the conscripted crew. As soon as they learned about the Andorrans, they zipped to the stranded Andorran ship just before its auxiliary power would be exhausted.

The Andorrans were thrilled to meet their rescuers. Victor’s team then zipped the ship back to its docking station so it could be repaired. They then zipped the crew not involved with the repairs to the planet’s surface; surprising Philas with the news of their amazing rescue and the fact the Spectari had been defeated.

Philas happily informed the rest of the stranded scientists, including Numara. They were thrilled to meet Victor and his team. They were then zipped to Andorra for happy family reunions and welcomed home as heroes.

Shortly after, Victor zipped to the Antigua Command Center and happily reported the news about the stranded Andorran scientists. “We zipped them back to joyous reunions with their loved ones. We also zipped the damaged starship and space station to a new orbit around Andorra.”

Victor smiled. “The scientists said they would be glad to work as a part of the Galactic Science team or wherever you would have them. I told them the cost of obtaining the teleport technology was to hand over all material pertaining to the sphere technology to the Galactic Science Committee. They said they had no problem with doing that as they had seen first hand how it could be abused.”

“You’re going to have your hands full dealing both with the Omegans and the Quorax,” Hank told Victor.

“I think maybe the Andorrans can help us since they are

in the same galaxy,” Victor replied. “Like others, they are more advanced than us except for the teleport technology.”

“Well, just another day at the office,” Hank quipped. “I can’t wait to tell John about this,” he happily grinned. He then beeped Admiral Jaansen to update him with the happy news of Osma’s reunion with his family in time for the birth. “Admiral, I will recommend to the Council that we speed up the teleport distribution to your galaxy.”

Admiral Jaansen smiled broadly as he said, “Sir that would be most appreciated. I will pass the information on to our leaders.”

Hank, Victor and John Sr. joyously smiled together.All seemed right with the universe for the moment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

It was in the fall of 1963 when the author, just in his 20th year, was standing on the curbside with what seemed a mass of humanity. They had been standing there in the noonday Texas sun for almost an hour, waiting expectantly for the special motorcade that would bring the president past them.

Little did the young Wall Street Journal employee suspect the importance in that day in American history. In only a matter of moments he would watch the chief executive of the land and his lovely First Lady pass within what could only have been a couple of feet of him. The author was sure the president’s cheery wave and special wink were just for him…Right before the doomed motorcade turned that fateful corner in downtown Dallas…and the end of Camelot.

Robert Lee Joseph was born and raised in Dallas, Texas with his older sister and two younger brothers. When Star Trek made its debut on network television, he bought his own first color TV.During the height of the Viet Nam War, he was drafted while still attending Arlington State College on a part-time basis and working for the Wall Street Journal, Southwest Edition, as Sr. Advertising Production Clerk. The young draftee chose to join the U. S. Air Force and worked in computer operations and as an instructor in his various assignments at home and abroad. His last tour of duty was at the Pentagon where his four-year assignment was for the headquarters air force computer operations.

During his time at the Pentagon, he witnessed Dan Rather run out of the White House over to Lafayette Park to announce to the nation Richard Nixon would resign that night. Upon returning to his native Texas, he resumed his education at his original campus, now the University Of Texas at Arlington, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business.

Rob & his family spent nine years in Georgia and then moved to Illinois. He now enjoys writing at his Rocky Face, Georgia home where he resides with his wife, Deloris and his 17 year-old daughter, Dorthea Marie.

They have nine children and 12 grandchildren. The Sci-fi enthusiast is now completing book III of the Everywhere trilogy, Everywhere In The Omega Galaxy.

His website is www.everywherebooks.com.

He can be reached at [email protected]

ABOUT GREATUNPUBLISHED.COM

www.greatunpublished.com is a website that exists to serve writers and readers, and to remove some of the commercial barriers between them. When you purchase a GreatUNpublished title, whether you

order it in electronic form or in a paperback volume, the author is receiving a majority of the post-production revenue.

A GreatUNpublished book is never out of stock, and always available, because each book is printed on-demand, as it is ordered.

A portion of the site’s share of profits is channeled into literacy programs.

So by purchasing this title from GreatUNpublished, you are helping to revolutionize the publishing industry for the benefit of

writers and readers.

And for this we thank you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

It was in the fall of 1963 when the author, just in his 20th year, was standing on the curbside with what seemed a mass of humanity. They had been standing there in the noonday Texas sun for almost an hour, waiting expectantly for the special motorcade that would bring the president past them.

Little did the young Wall Street Journal employee suspect the importance in that day in American history. In only a matter of moments he would watch the chief executive of the land and his lovely First Lady pass within what could only have been a couple of feet of him. The author was sure the president’s cheery wave and special wink were just for him…Right before the doomed motorcade turned that fateful corner in downtown Dallas…and the end of Camelot.

Robert Lee Joseph was born and raised in Dallas, Texas with his older sister and two younger brothers. When Star Trek made its debut on network television, he bought his own first color TV.During the height of the Viet Nam War, he was drafted while still attending Arlington State College on a part-time basis and working for the Wall Street Journal, Southwest Edition, as Sr. Advertising Production Clerk. The young draftee chose to join the U. S. Air Force and worked in computer operations and as an instructor in his various assignments at home and abroad. His last tour of duty was at the Pentagon where his four-year assignment was for the headquarters air force computer operations.

During his time at the Pentagon, he witnessed Dan Rather run out of the White House over to Lafayette Park to announce to the nation Richard Nixon would resign that night. Upon returning to his native Texas, he resumed his education at his original campus, now the University Of Texas at Arlington, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business.

Rob & his family spent nine years in Georgia and then moved to Illinois. He now enjoys writing at his Rocky Face, Georgia home where he resides with his wife, Deloris and his 17 year-old daughter, Dorthea Marie.

They have nine children and 12 grandchildren. The Sci-fi enthusiast is now completing book III of the Everywhere trilogy, Everywhere In The Omega Galaxy.

His website is www.everywherebooks.com.

He can be reached at [email protected]

ABOUT GREATUNPUBLISHED.COM

www.greatunpublished.com is a website that exists to serve writers and readers, and to remove some of the commercial barriers between them. When you purchase a GreatUNpublished title, whether you

order it in electronic form or in a paperback volume, the author is receiving a majority of the post-production revenue.

A GreatUNpublished book is never out of stock, and always available, because each book is printed on-demand, as it is ordered.

A portion of the site’s share of profits is channeled into literacy programs.

So by purchasing this title from GreatUNpublished, you are helping to revolutionize the publishing industry for the benefit of

writers and readers.

And for this we thank you.

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