The Summer Vacation
Chapter 28
Written by rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

“What's happening now?” I look around and see the same beautiful garden I have been to several times. “I know where I am now.”

I see a lady kneeling down to clip a flower stem. As soon as it is clipped, a new flower blooms immediately to replace it. She sniffs it slowly to remember its aroma. She pins it in her hair above her ear.

As I get closer, I feel a familiar spirit near me.

She stops and looks up at me. She smiles while she stands up.

“Hello, Richard.”

“Do I know you?”

“You do. You silly goose. Think hard where you saw me last. I was waving goodbye when you left for college.”

Then it dawns on me. “Mom!” I rush forward to hug her. We hug really hard and cry on each other shoulders. We kiss each others cheeks.

The tears come down our faces.

“I miss you so much. I miss you all.”

“I know, son. I know.”

We hug and hug with all our strength and not wanting to let go. It feels like eternity.

Eventually we calm down. We walk through the garden arm in arm. We see the vivid colors of the flowers displayed in the garden. The aromas invade our noses to the max. We enjoy the heady feeling.

“I've been to this garden before sometimes when I go to sleep. This garden is beautiful, mom.”

“Come over here and sit down.”

We walk along a trail among the flowers. We see several benches arranged in a circle. There are other paths from there that reach the different areas of the vast flower garden and rolling hills.

We sit down together. We look at each other and smile while we hold hands.

“Look at you, Richard. All grown up and very smart.”

“Yes, mother. Did you know I was selected by the Maker to be an Outside Helper to another world?”

“Not at first when we got here. It took us awhile to get used to this place. Then one of the Emissaries informed us what happened during your Spring Break. We saw some of the scenes replayed up here.”

“So, you saw what I had to do?”

“Yes, Richard. We're so proud of you. You're one of twelve people helping another world.”

“So, where is the rest of the family?”

“They're elsewhere having fun. When you come up here again, I'll make sure they're with me.”

“Were you also told just what happened to me lately?”

“Yes, Richard. In fact we saw it up here. You're now the Omega Unicorn.”

“I will now be able to give birth to fairies.”

“And you will be living a long time.”

“But I will see people that I know die eventually.”

“Yes, that part will be hard for you.”

“I hope to get married one of these days, mom. I don't know who she is. Too bad the family won't be there.”

“We will be watching from here, Richard. Your soul mate will find you, don't worry about it.”

“The Emissaries told me I must help Earth see its way to peace when they come in fifty years. Then it will take another hundred years hopefully for them to come into agreement and not have war. I know some groups of people will not accept it or be deceitful and do something like a horrible plot.”

“We all have complete trust in you, Richard. You'll figure it out like you did in school.”

“Yes, mom. Thanks for everything. Will I remember this talk we just had?”

“You'll probably remember some of it. You won't be here all the time when you go to sleep.”

“Okay, mom.”

“It's time for you to go, Richard.”

“Yes, mom.”

We stand up together. We give each other another long hug. We then look at each other as we smile.

“You're not alone, Richard. Everyone is praying and thinking of you. We and your friends love you very much.”

“That's what I keep hearing, mom. I'll see you later, mom.”

“We'll be here watching.”

Then I find myself slipping downward. I yell one more time, “I love you, mom!”

I slip downward at a faster pace. I can barely hear her last statement.

“I love you too, Richard.”

I look downward and find myself flying toward Twainor.

===<<<>>>===

My head becomes lighter as I approach the Castle. I pass through the window and see my body lying there.

In the next instant, I open my eyes. I look up at the ceiling. Some tears come down the side of my face.

“I love you, mom.”

I turn my head to the window. I see the break of dawn streaming through the window. I get up and out of bed. I sit in the chair facing the window.

“What can I do to change the direction of an entire world? It must be possible if the Maker chose me for this task. Perhaps some of the answers will come during my time here.”

I get up and get ready for the day. I take off the night shirt and night shorts. I fold them up and put them in the dresser drawers and close it. I open the others and take out the clothes for the day.

“Hmm . . . I can't be wearing this ranger outfit all the time. I will probably need two or three changes of clothes. Also, this breast and back plate will still need to be worn all the time. Maybe the smiths can design and build a smaller version for the stomach and groin area. It would be like a steel corset, but on a smaller scale.”

I take a leaf from the jar and put it in my mouth. I begin chewing it while I get ready for the day. I toss the chewed leaf into the waste box when I'm done relieving myself in that room.

Put your satchel on for today, Richard.

Okay, Maker.

I get dressed like I have done before without the arm and legging armor. I look in the mirror one more time. I comb my hair to look presentable. I put my satchel on my shoulder and position it. I exit my room and close the door. The door glows green. As I walk down the hallways, I see a different knight on duty.

“Good morning, Richard. Did you sleep well?”

“Good morning, Sir. Yes, I did sleep well. It was all good memories of home, family and friends. There were some I can't make sense of right now.”

“It could be the Maker dropping a hint about the future.”

“I thought so too Sir. Have a good day.”

“You do as well, Richard.”

I walk down the flights of stairs to the main floor. I walk across the main foyer and open the doors into the dining room. I see the same people in there from last night. However, I see Captain Dar-re there talking with them. I put my satchel on the table near the door. I see several others there as well.

They turn to me when I come in.

“Good morning, Richard.”

“Good morning my King.”

“This is Captain Dar-re whom you already met.”

“Yes, if only briefly on your star ship.”

He extends his right hand toward me tentatively. I recognize the hand gesture. I extend my right hand to him. We shake hands with each other and smile at each other.

“Greetings and good morning, Richard.”

“The same to you Captain.”

Duke Traylor sees this exchange and asks a question. “Why did you shake hands,
Captain and Richard?”

“Do you want me to tell them or you, Captain?

“I can do it Richard. This is an old custom on my world and I'm sure it’s the same on Richard's world. By extending our hands, it shows to each of us we are not armed with a weapon. Later it became a customary when greeting each other.”

“That's right, Captain. There were many times that deception took place when meeting face to face. Usually all weapons were removed before a meeting would take place, especially with leaders of nations in attendance for example.”

“I see. It does make sense in your own situations and history.”

“I've been in a conference with King Dryden already this morning. I had to wait until your sun came up over here. I've made a request for you to come aboard to fix our computer problem today.”

I look to King Tierion.

“You have my permission to go aboard, Richard. I do want Sir Halgren and a wizard to go with you.”

“I understand, my Lord.”

“Captain Dar-re is going to join us for the morning repast, Richard. Captain, please have a seat here at this end of the table opposite from me.”

“Thank you, King Tierion.”

Captain Dar-re sits in the chair at the end of the table. I sit down in a chair that is available at the table. Renard remains standing to give the Thanks.

“Thank you, Maker for this brand new day. Thank you, Maker in providing this food to give us the strength we need to help others each day. Thank you for providing the opportunity to make new friends. Thank you, Maker.”

Everyone responds at the same time, “Thank you, Maker.”

Renard sits down in his chair. The servers come out and bring the first course. It is a salad plate with the usual assortments that we have had before but it has a different selection of nuts this time. We begin to talk between bites.

“King Tierion, are most meals served this way in each kingdom?”

“Yes, but each region and kingdom will have its own set of fruits, vegetables, spices and different meats.”

“I was wondering what was going on. Yours is different from what I had yesterday with the rest of Twainor at the main castle.”

“Yes, we can get those spices here, but it will cost more to bring them here.”

“King Tierion, I was told that one of the scout ships is here. Is this true?”

“Yes, it is Captain Dar-re. We have it hidden in one of the caves in the mountains to the west of here. We'll retrieve it and have it delivered to the star ship before the day is done.”

“I was wondering where it went. We tried to find them but we couldn't locate them with our sensors.”

“The reason for that Captain is because I powered down the scout ships completely, including the beacons.”

Captain Dar-re chuckles and smiles at me. “Then it's no wonder why the Master chose you to be their Outside Helper. You've made it more difficult for the Supreme and the General's plan to succeed.”

Everybody chuckles and laughs. They smile at me. I look around and nod my head up and down with a big smile. “You're welcome.”

They continue to chuckle and laugh while they eat.

“Good, that is one part solved. When we get done here, I'll need to check your training field. Is that where you’re collecting the mech-fighter wrecks?”

“Yes it is, Captain. We were able to collect the nearest ones to the castle yesterday. The rest will take a little longer.”

“I understand. Our storage bays will be probably be filling up fast. We do have a way to get them from the storage bays to the manufacturing and repair shops.”

“Will some of the survivors will want to stay with you or some want to start over on a new world?”

“It's a mixed group, Richard. Right now it's about half and half. They realize they will be starting over technology wise. Some probably have forgotten how to use the passive power ideas.”

“There's plenty of that here on Twainor, Captain. Have some of the survivors visit the dwarf under kingdoms. They will get plenty of ideas from them.”

“Thank you for that suggestion. I'll definitely tell them that.”

The servers come out to take our salad plates away. They return with the main dish. It is a fowl dish with two different vegetables on the side. It is lightly spiced. We continue talking while we eat.

“Richard, what's it like with billions of people? I'm just trying to gauge complex problems as the population grows on the new worlds.”

Everyone smiles when they hear that question.

“That's a long story, Captain. I'll try to keep it short. We had one language in the beginning after the Great Flood. The population was about one hundred thousand. There was a leader who defied the Maker with arrogance. He built the tallest tower to reach the Maker at the time.”

“I take it the Maker didn't like that.”

“No, the Maker didn't. Who knows what Earth would be like if those attitudes continued. Therefore, the Maker divided our language into seventy groups. It created seventy nations. Today there are more than one hundred and fifty nations. Not only that, there are also various shades of skin color.”

“It sounds like, He created more problems.”

“Perhaps, but it prevented world wide unity. We do have a United Nations Assembly today. But they don't create laws for the nations themselves. It's just a forum to come together to decide on world matters. If there is a nation that is not acting in the best interest to others and within, then there might be sanctions on doing trade with that nation. That's probably where the Emissaries will ask Earth to join the Local Group or they could choose a city that everyone knows very well.”

“But you don't expect a fast decision.”

“No, Captain, the first problem is getting the wars and fighting to stop. How is that going to happen? I don't know right now. Maybe some ideas will come my way while I'm here. Our cities can be very crowded and the traffic with vehicles is horrible. A lot of land is tilled. There is a struggle to keep lands undeveloped to preserve for the future. I wouldn't be surprised if several more population reductions take place during the centuries ahead.”

“Well, we wish you the best of luck and good thoughts on that venture.”

The servers come in and take our main dishes away. They come back with bowls of fruit for each of us. I see that both fruits in each bowl are whole. We'll have to cut them open to enjoy the sweet pulp. The servers also leave a damp towel for each of us.

“If it wasn't for yesterday, King Tierion. I wouldn't know what is served here. Are these fruits from your region?”

“Yes they are, Captain. Enjoy the sweetness. Set the seeds aside, the kitchen staff will gather them together and deliver them to the local farmers at a later date.”

We cut the fruits into sections. I take a fork and knife to start trimming the covering from the pulp. My first fruit has a purple pulp with several large seeds. I enjoy the unique flavor for it.

Everybody is chuckling and laughing while we eat the dessert. We try to be neat, but sometimes we find it difficult when the fruit squirts in our mouths. After awhile, we get done with both fruits. We end up using the damp towel several times to keep our fingers and face from getting too sticky with fruit juice.

King Tierion looks to a servant nearby and nods his head. She turns around and walks into the kitchen. Shortly thereafter, the kitchen staff comes out and lines up on one side of the room. We clap our hands and cheer for a wonderful meal.

Master Chef Beharn and the Assistant Chef step forward and bows quickly to us.

“Thank you for those accolades. I would like to thank my Assistant Chef. She did it all this morning. I just supervised on the presentation when we came back this morning.”

We all clap and cheer again.

She steps forward and speaks, “Thank you. Thank you, everyone. I look forward to serving you again.”

The kitchen staff bows again. They return to the kitchen. We get up from the dining table together. We retrieve our satchels and put them on our shoulders. We enter the foyer area. We see Sir Halgren and Wizard Gryphon standing there waiting for us.

“How long do you think, this will take, Richard?”

“Hopefully no more than two marks, my Lord. It should go faster because of my experience on the scout ship.”

“Keep in contact anyway. Renard, contact the wizards who will be taking the scout ship back to the star ship.”

“Yes, my Lord. We will need a dragon or two to clear away the boulders from the cave entrance.”

“Yes, go ahead and do that. I'll contact King Keltan to make sure that scout ship has been taken back as well.”

“Thank you, King Tierion. I need to see what has been brought back so far in your training fields.”

“Sir Halgren, Wizard Gryphon and Richard please escort Captain Dar-re to the training fields first.”

“Yes, my King.” The three of us respond together.

“This way, Captain Dar-re.”

We escort Captain Dar-re down the hallway and exit the side door of the castle. We walk past the forges on the left.

“Is that your forge, Sir Halgren?”

“Yes it is, Captain. Everything is hand made in there.”

“I would think so with no machinery to use.”

“There is machinery on Twainor Captain. However, most of it is located in the dwarf under kingdoms. They use the power of water, steam and fire for their use.”

“Do you have water and wind mills on Twainor?”

“We do, Captain. They are located in various parts of the kingdoms. They are used by the villages, towns and ports where needed.”

“That's good. That is what the survivors will have to do when they arrive on their new worlds.”

We enter the training grounds. We see several carts there already with knights. The carts are being unloaded as we approach. They stop to see us as we come near.

“Keep unloading, knights. Captain Dar-re just wants to see what is brought in.”

“Yes, Sir Langley.”

The knights continue unloading the carts. They sort them into the new bins. One of the knights slides a steel box to the edge of the cart. Several knights get near it. They put their hands toward it. They concentrate on the steel box. They recite the elevation spell together.

The steel box slowly lifts up in the air. They move it near the bins and place it on the ground carefully.

“That has to be the fuel you were able to gather together before it burned up.”

“That's right, Captain Dar-re.”

“When your wizards deliver these bins to the star ship, put them in the cargo bays. We can recycle the metal and the electrical equipment from it. Nothing will be wasted.”

“Some of our smiths had a closer look at the metal pieces, Captain. It is going to take time for them to achieve those results.”

“Yes, it will. The problem for you will be the machinery. But you never know who will come up with the idea to make manufacturing easier for the more complex pieces. Your armor and weapons are very well made. I can tell from here. It is great to see it handmade.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“Just to let you know, if I were to manufacture a sword with our machines, it will probably lose to yours.”

“Why is that, Captain?”

“You have complete control in the process step by step. You can correct the shape, the strength and materials at any time. For our machines, it will be it done in no time at all in one motion.”

The knights look really happy when they hear that. They have a smile and a demeanor that makes them look proud.

“I see. Thank you for that compliment, Captain.”

“Well, are you ready, Richard?”

“I am, Captain Dar-re.”

“Here are some helmets for us to wear on the trip to the star ship. There is an eye shield for the sun rays.”

“Thank you, Sir Halgren.”

We put the helmets on. Sir Halgren shows the features to the Captain.

“These glass shades have a gold film on them. How did you know that you needed that?”

“Richard told us about it.”

The Captain looks at me. “I'm surprised you told them about it.”

“Well, they already knew about reflecting the sun light off their shields to distract their opponents when they have practices. I knew they needed help if by chance a light beam might cross their faces or as they wait in space to board your ship.”

“So, you gave them that suggestion.”

“Yes, it definitely eased the glare from our sun while we were waiting to get on board.”

“Captain, Richard and Sir Halgren please put a hand onto my shoulder.”

“You mean I will be traveling back to the star ship now?”

“That's right. You'll see how Twainor looks from our point of view.”

Captain Dar-re puts his right-hand Wizard Gryphon's left shoulder. Sir Halgren puts his left hand on his right shoulder. I put my left hand on Sir Halgren's right shoulder.

Sir Halgren recites the barrier shield spell around us. “Don't talk too much. There is only so much air in this bubble to breathe.”

“Okay, Sir Halgren.”

“Keep your eyes open, Captain.”

The knights smile when they see Captain Dar-re's trepidation on his face.

Wizard Gryphon recites the transport spell. We disappear in a blink of an eye.

Our perspective changes to flying straight up.

~~~000~~~

Everyone is cheerful in the glade. Peace is being restored to the forest once again. Amber and her soul mate fly around together. Just about when they get ready to exit the forest, something happens unexpectedly.

Amber stops flying and falls to the ground. She speaks in a haggard slow breath. “Ohhhh . . . Richard…. where . . . are … you?”

Her soul mate rushes to her. “I … I . . . got you ….Am . . . Amber.” He catches her as they glide down together. “What's … wrong . . . ? Richard . . . ” He then faints by her side as soon as she is laid down. They both lie on the ground side by side breathing slowly.

Other fairies gather around them to see what they can do. One of them flies to Avel.

“Avel, come quickly. Amber has fainted. Her soul mate is stricken as well.”

“Amber and Blue Eyes? Lead me to them quickly.”

Avel walks near to them. The fairies make room for him.

He looks down to determine the cause. He senses that they are both weakened immensely. They can't lift themselves up. However, he senses Blue Eyes has a stronger will to speak.

“Did she say anything, Blue Eyes?”

He struggles to open his eyes. “She felt the presence of Richard is no longer on Twainor. I do too, Avel.” He closes his eyes. He feels heart broken. He tries to remain quiet and calm.

“I sense Richard is near, but not far away.”

Blue Eyes nods his head up and down.

“Quickly, ten of you go and find the nearest centaur. He must go to Thryson Castle to warn King Tierion. We must have Richard brought here when he shows up.”

“Yes Avel. We'll go find Lyonair. I saw him in the forest not too long ago this morning.”

“Good, now go, my fairies. Fly safely and return safe.”

“Yes, Avel.”

The ten fairies fly off together to find Lyonair.

“We need to make a bed for them. Get some long grass. Make a bed on the boulder here in the glade my fairies.”

“Yes, Avel.”

Several fairies start flying toward the grass that has not been trampled yet. They pick bunches of grass blades. They take the blades to the boulder. There are some more fairies there getting the boulder ready by cleaning it off with small branches.

Once the grass blades arrive, they start weaving a grass bed, big enough for both of them.

Once the bed is woven, some more fairies carefully lift Amber and Blue Eyes to the heather grass bed. They lay them there carefully.

“That's very good, my fairies. Some of you go and find Caltron and Serena. I need to discuss this problem with them.”

Then ten more fairies come near Avel.

“We're ready to help, Avel. We'll find Caltron and Serena.”

“Go and fly safely my fairies and return safely.”

“Yes Avel.” The ten fairies take off flying looking for Caltron and Serena.

“What can we do to help, Avel?”

“Some of you keep watch. Let me know if their condition changes. The rest of you try to concentrate on your tasks for the day.”

“Yes, Avel.” Most of the fairies respond in one voice. They take off and leave the glade.

About ten fairies stay near Amber and Blue Eyes. Some of them fly away to bring back little pieces of leaves soaked with the cool morning dew. They put it on their foreheads. Some put their hands onto their chests to confirm they are still breathing.

“They're still with us, Avel.”

“That's good, my fairies. I'll be walking in circles here in the glade to think on the matter.”

“Okay, Avel.”

Avel steps away to think to himself. Where did you go, Richard? I can still sense your presence in the Ethereal Space. But you're not here on Twainor.

He walks around slowly some more. He takes a nibble of grass to see if that helps his thinking. It's possible that Amber and Blue Eyes are more heart connected to Richard now than they are to me. That's all right. It will provide a purpose in life for them. If the fairies are still alive on Earth after my last descendent's life was taken, then Richard will be needed to re-energize them.

Avel takes another nibble of grass as he continues his thinking. There is a lot of work to be done on Earth. It sounds just as bad as before the Great Flood. Three billion people are still too much for Earth to support. Already the population has been reduced in half. There is always someone or some group who wants to rule the world. It was no different in my time as it is with Richard's time. I remember some of the Maker's promises. He told to Noach and some of his ancestors. This is just the beginning of his plans for Earth . . . sigh . . .

Avel bends his head down to nibble some more grass. I think one reason why Richard was not put into a unicorn body like me, is because of my horn. It is the source of my strength. If the horn would get cut off, I would slowly die. The Maker apparently wants Earth's transformation done more secretly this time. Well, the Maker has a thousand years left to finish his six thousand year transformation plans.

Avel hears a voice in his head.

We're here, Avel. Take comfort.

We'll be with you until Richard gets here.

Thank you, Caltron and Serena.

Avel looks up and sees Caltron and Serena trotting into the glade with ten fairies flying along with them.

~~~000~~~

Captain Dar-re looks around and sees he is high in the air already.

“Keep your hands on his shoulder, Captain.”

“This is too much. I've never expected this point of view. I have flown in air fighters before. Now there is no machine taking me in the air.”

“I know the feeling Captain. We have air craft as well on Earth. We even have hang gliders that come close to this feeling.”

“But with this magic, I'm sure it is a lot safer than our machines, Richard.”

“That's true.”

We look around as we get higher and higher.

“This is too much again.”

The Captain stays quiet now as we continue flying toward the star ship.

“We're going to pass through the hull, Captain.”

“If you say so. Head to the bridge.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Soon we leave the atmosphere of Twainor and fly in the blackness of space. We can't talk to each other right now.

We approach the bridge and pass right through the hull. We see several people there doing their duties at their stations. We set down on the floor and reappear in a blink of an eye.

The crew members are startled when they see us appear. We disconnect from Wizard Gryphon. Sir Halgren ends the barrier shield around us. We push the buttons on the helmets to reveal our eyes and mouths.

“Captain, you surprised us. I thought you would be down there longer.”

“I'll be back down there again, Casleon. I need Richard here to begin work on our computers. He needs to upgrade the programs to fix our holes. This will prevent any future possible take over that way.”

“You can sit here, Richard. There's an empty seat.”

I sit down in the empty chair before a glass panel. “Thank you, Casleon. I'm going to need those metal pointers for my finger tips.” I take out my contact crystal from my satchel and hand it to Sir Halgren to hold.

“Yes, there should be a kit in the cabinet here. We have many sets all over the ship.”

“Hopefully, in the future you'll have someone trained to do this.”

“We hope so too, Richard. We have the teaching materials on board here.”

The Captain walks over to a small cabinet door on the wall. He opens it and takes out a box. He hands it to me.

I open it and take out the small box that contains the metal pointers. I place that box on my lap. I take a glass card out and put it in the location on the glass panel. A light shines through it immediately. The screen shows a blank screen.

“That's great, a blank card.” I put that box on my other lap. I take out the metal pointers and put them on my finger tips. I put the boxes on the floor to get them out of my way. I push a symbol on the glass panel.

The two-dimensional screen goes blank. Then a 3-d screen appears in front of me.

“Computer, this is Richard Moore.”

“Welcome back, Richard.”

“Computer, analyze the port servers. Discover any open holes and list them on this 3-d screen at this station.”

“Analyzing port servers . . . found 20 holes in one mega-ports . . . listing open ports on 3-d screens at your station, Richard.”

The screen changes and 20 port numbers are listed.

“Computer, save that list to be used later in the program. Set it aside for easy access.”

“Saving the list, Richard.” The list shrinks to an icon in the upper right corner of the display.

“Computer, list all members of the original crew. Save the list for later use.”

“Creating list of original crew members. Saving list of names to file.” The list shrinks to another icon in the upper right corner of the display.

I start pointing in the 3-d space and type on the keyboard. I create a series of multiple paths that connect to each firewall. Each firewall has four gates. That gives a total of sixteen gates.

“Computer, display lists of current viruses, worms and malware that is in your library. Display in 3-d on the screen.”

“Displaying lists of viruses, worms and malware.”

I pan through them in 3-d. I see a pattern emerging. This is great, they are very similar to ours, but I do see more complex ones that are new to me.

I set it up so that all gates and firewalls have a test feature for all possible forms of viruses, worms, Trojans and other exotic malware. I set the time parameters so that if the password is not given quickly, the file does not pass. If the wrong password is given, it blocks that user.

I make sure all of the ports are tied into each firewall. I also set all of the ports and firewalls to turn into dams if there is an all out assault with data or energy.

~~~000~~~

The Captain sees what I'm doing. He sees that I'm making it more complex than the previous version. He smiles at the ingenuity of it.

Cler-san walks in and stands behind the Captain. The Captain notices him. He quietly whispers to him. “He’s good, Cler-san.”

Cler-san whispers back, “He’s very good. He plugged up all of the holes and made it very difficult for anyone to get through.”

~~~000~~~

I also add another feature if someone tries to tamper with the core software as well. I set up a similar four gate protection for it too.

Then I create a separate subroutine that will act as a report mechanism. It will analyze the attacks and add them to the library to analyze and learn from. Then I set the command levels for access by Captain Dar-re, Phy-tar and Cler-san and the rest of the original crew members.

“That should do it, Captain Dar-re. Once I start it, the computer will take over like it has done before. Even I will have a hard time getting past the security gates.”

“I saw you created some code I didn't recognize. What was it?”

“Yes, Captain. I noticed a pattern emerging in your virus database. They are similar to ours, but some of yours are more complex. I made sure all of the ports are tied to the firewalls. Each firewall will have four gates to test the data.”

“I saw you made it self learning.”

“Yes I did, Captain. It would take a complete power failure or explosion if someone wanted to breach your computers. But if they tried, your data core and operating software are still protected.”

“Excellent. Thank you, Richard.”

“You’re welcome, Captain. When I get back on Earth, I'm going to try and do something similar with what we have. The architecture will be different from yours. I would guess your computer is about ten generations ahead of ours. Your warp engines are way ahead of ours. Our warp engines are still on the drawing board in theory.”

“Your world will get there. It takes time to figure it out.”

“Are you ready, Captain?”

“Are there any changes that I should know?”

“It still uses passwords and voice recognition like before. I just enhanced the back end with the firewalls and four gate protections you already have for your data core access. In fact, I will do a demonstration for you.”

“Okay.”

“Computer, analyze programs on card for integrity.”

“Analyzing programs . . . recognize enhancements to existing systems. Configuring . . . ready for installing.”

“Computer, install program for bridge only and for testing at this time.”

“Installing software on systems located on bridge.”

The lights flicker for a short moment on the bridge.

“Programs installed.”

“Computer, this is a test to breach systems here.”

I push a symbol on the glass panel to clear the screen. I write a very good virus program and see if it can pass through.

I push another symbol on the glass panel to run the program. The screen clears.

The next instant a message appears on the screen itself.

“Detected a breach attempt. Blocked virus at first gate for first firewall. Adding the signature to database for future reference. No access for this attempt. Need authorization from an original crew member to reestablish command.”

“This is Captain Dar-re. Password sequence is betal-thriset-alfanero-ninesta-photran.”

“Recognize Captain Dar-re voice and password sequence. Revolving and resetting new password sequence for next reboot of systems for Captain Dar-re.”

“That is great, Richard. Thank you very much.”

“You're welcome, Captain. Captain, I heard the password sequence is revolving. Apparently you know what the password will be the next time this happens.”

“Yes I do, Richard. We created an algorithm that will set the password. For us it is easy to memorize to know what the next sequence is.”

“I see. Therefore, it is based on the last one.”

“Almost Richard, it is based on the last three sequences if you knew them.”

“That increases the odds of it not being tampered. But the Nefelim must have bypassed it by finding the holes in the ports.”

“Apparently they did. Now that you've accounted for all of the ports with the new program, it will be very difficult for anyone to do that again.”

“I hope so.” I turn and face the control panel. “Computer, install programs throughout the star ship.”

“Installing enhanced software programs to database cores.”

The lights flicker for a brief moment on the star ship. Then it resumes to normal lighting levels.

“Computer, send reports of upgrade to the original crew members. Have it displayed in their own sleeping quarters.”

“Sending reports of upgrade to original crew members.”

“Well, that is it. Hopefully, no more outside takeovers. Just don't come to Earth right now. You'll get a very cold reception.”

“I have no desire to do that right now. It will take me time to deliver the survivors to their new worlds, and our own new beginning.”

“Computer, erase this card to create the software upgrade.”

“Erasing programs.”

A light shines through the card on the glass panel.

I open my satchel and take out the glass card I used on the scout ship.

“Here, Captain. This is what I created on Brin's scout ship. It contains the files embedded in the emergency distress signal file that I found.”

The Captain takes the glass card and looks at it.

“Hmm . . . as much as I would like to keep it for future reference. It needs to be erased as well. I don't want it to fall into the wrong hands.”

“I agree, Captain.”

The Captain replaces the glass card on the panel with the one in his hand.

“Computer, erase the programs on this data card.”

“Erasing programs.”

A light shines through the card on the glass panel.

Then a different light comes on a glass panel.

“Captain Dar-re, there are wizards delivering the mech-fighter wrecks to the cargo bays.”

“Is there enough room for three hundred wrecks?”

“Yes sir. They will be stacked high in there. We'll have to use our transporters to deliver them to the manufacturing and repair shops.”

“All right, we need to find the rest of what we need in minerals and metals. Hopefully they will be available elsewhere in this star system. I do not want to take any from Twainor at all.”

“Yes, Captain Dar-re.”

“Once any fuel arrives in the cargo bays, transport it first to the fuel reclaim center. It needs to be filtered for any contamination that might be in it.”

“Yes, Captain Dar-re.”

My contact crystal glows in Sir Halgren's hand. He puts his other hand above it to activate it. An image of Renard appears.

“Greetings, Captain.”

“Greetings, Renard.”

“I'm letting you know that we have just retrieved the scout ship from the cave. We are bringing it up right now. Where do you want us to put it?”

“It will fit in the bays where the mech-fighters are located. Just put it in an empty berth.”

“Thank you, Captain. It will appear there soon.”

“Thank you for returning it.”

“You're welcome, Captain. I'll inform the other kingdom where the other scout ship is located.”

The image of Renard disappears.

“We'll wait until it appears, Captain.”

“Do you have any plans for the Nefelim Star Ship, Captain Dar-re?”

“We don't really need it. I'm sure some of the survivors might claim it. But it might be best, they don't get it at all. There is only one ship.”

“You might as well salvage what you can off the ship, especially the fuel.”

“We can do that easily. But when it’s an empty hull where do I send it?”

“Here's an idea. Let the dragons down below have fun destroying it. Then once it is pulverized, it will be sent to the sun to be burned up completely.”

“Hmm . . . that's a novel approach to take care of the trash.” He smiles at us.

“Yes, it is.” I smile back at him.

“We'll let you know in a few days. It will probably be the last thing we do before we leave.”

Another light appears on a glass panel.

“Captain, one of the scout ships has appeared in the launching bays.”

“That's one, Casleon. There is one more to come.”

“Yes Sir.”

Then another light appears on the glass panel.

“Captain, the second scout ship has returned.”

“Yes, I see the images on the screen. That's very good. Thank you again for freeing us from the Nefelim, Richard and Twainor.”

“You're welcome, Captain.” All three of us respond together.

On the screen we see the wizards recite the spell to transport back to surface. They disappear in a blink of an eye.

“The plan right now, Richard, is this. We'll be here to retrieve the mech-fighter
wrecks. The survivors will continue touring parts of Twainor. Then after that, we'll survey your star system. When that is done, we'll stop by one more time to give our farewells.”

“Do you need to come back down with us, Captain?”

“Yes I do, Sir Halgren.”

“Do you still need to see King Tierion or see another Kingdom?”

“I need to see an Under Kingdom.”

“We can take you to King Thranton's Under Kingdom. His kingdom is in our region. We'll need to contact him before we go down there.”

“What do you need to do down there?”

“I want to record how they use the passive power machines.”

“Don't you have any recorded in your historical records?”

“No, we don't. By the time we started building the star ship to make our escape, our world historians didn't bother saving the images from inside the buildings that had them on display. There were more important things to do before we left. Looking back on it now, it should have been done.”

“Well, let me contact King Tierion first.”

Sir Halgren uses my contact crystal to reach King Tierion. He puts his hand above it and concentrates on it.

An image of King Tierion appears.

“Greetings, my King.”

“Greetings, Sir Halgren. How did it go up there?”

Then Captain Dar-re moves into view.

“Everything went fine, King Tierion. Richard did an excellent job in updating our computers. I'm hoping to go and see King Thranton's Under Kingdom. I need to record some of their passive power machinery in use.”

“Very well. I'll inform King Thranton. Arrive here at Thryson Castle, Captain Dar-re. Then we'll change wizards for you to go in there. I also need to provide an escort with you. Besides, I need Richard, Sir Halgren and Wizard Gryphon here. Something has come up that needs their attention.”

“I understand King Tierion. We'll be in your courtyard soon.”

The image disappears above the contact crystal.

“Captain, are there any last words for the bridge before you leave?”

“Yes, before I leave. I need a recorder to take pictures of the passive powered machines down there.”

“I have one here in the cabinet, Captain.”

“Thank you.”

Casleon walks over to the cabinet. He takes out a recorder. I bend down and pick up the boxes and put the metal finger tips back where they belong. Captain Dar-re puts the blank glass cards into the box. I hand the box to Casleon.

“Thank you, Richard.” He hands the recorder to Captain Dar-re.

“Oh, there is one more thing before we go.”

“What is it, Richard?”

“Computer, do you still have the speed of light constant from my world in your database?”

“Yes Richard. The speed of light constant is still stored.”

Captain Dar-re and some of the bridge crew smile.

“Thank you, Richard. I know we already have ours calculated. I will compare it and see if there is any time, distance or space differential. It will give us an idea if your world is in sync with the other parts of the galaxy. I remember one world we encountered that operates in its own time flux bubble. We convinced the Supreme not to visit that world.”

“Our scientists and astronomers are thinking there might be such worlds out there, Captain, as well besides normal space.”

We smile at each other.

“Did you record anything from that particular world that got your attention?”

“We did, Richard. It's an unusual world. The first thing we noticed was the time differential. It is very slow. We might age two hundred years or more while one year passed there. We tried our remote sensors, we saw images of a pirate ship and people dressed strangely. One of them was a young boy flying in the air dressed in green clothing.”

I don't believe it. But, it might be a true story after all. That sounds like one of the few magic worlds in our galaxy. Then fairies do exist elsewhere. I smile as I recall the memory.

They are born differently there, Richard.

That's probably where we get some of the myths and stories on Earth, Maker.

That's right, Richard.

Captain Dar-re puts the strap on his shoulder crossing his chest from right to left. Sir Halgren hands my contact crystal back to me. I put it in my satchel.

“Okay, I'm ready to return to the surface.”

“Please connect like before, sirs.”

“Yes, Wizard Gryphon.”

The three of us put our hands onto the shoulders like before. We never took off our helmets when we came on board. We set the visors down before we leave the bridge.

Sir Halgren sets the barrier shield around us. Wizard Gryphon recites the transport spell. We disappear in a blink of an eye. We exit the ship and enter the Ethereal Space around Twainor. We see more wizards transporting more bins and wreckage to the star ship.

We give a quick wave of our hands to the wizards as we pass them by. We continue flying downward as we head toward Thryson Kingdom.

Soon we're approaching Thryson Castle and the courtyard. We see several knights stationed in the courtyard waiting for us.

We appear near the sun dial in a blink of an eye. We disconnect from Wizard Gryphon. We take off our helmets. The Castle doors open. King Tierion comes out to greet us.

“Good, you're back quickly. Richard, you need to go into the forest and find Avel.”

“I don't know where he is at this moment, my Lord.”

“A centaur will be here soon. He will escort you to Avel.”

“Okay, my Lord.”

“Do you want me to go with him, my Lord?”

“No, Sir Halgren. This is a private matter between Richard and Avel. I have another errand for you and Wizard Gryphon to do.”

“We understand my King.”

Soon a centaur comes thundering into the courtyard. It is not Caltron, but another
centaur. He slows down as soon as he enters the outer courtyard to regain his breath.

“Greetings, King Tierion.”

“Greetings, Centaur Lyonair.”

“Good, you're here Richard. Please get on my back, Richard. We have a ways to go to reach Avel.”

“Yes, Lyonair.” I put my helmet back on and set my visor and mouth guard into place.

Lyonair walks over to a bench. I follow him. I step onto the bench, then I sit on Lyonair's back. Lyonair is wearing a leather type vest around his upper chest.

“You'll have to use your legs to grip my lower body. The vest is for you to steady yourself and grab onto if needed.”

“Okay, Lyonair.”

Lyonair approaches King Tierion. “I don't know how long this will take King Tierion. Richard could be spending the night with us. If he does, we'll make sure he is here by the Third Mark in the morning.”

“Take all the time you need. In fact, that is a good suggestion, Lyonair. See you tomorrow morning, Richard.”

“See you tomorrow morning, my King.”

Lyonair then turns and leaves Thryson Castle. He picks up speed and gallops at an easy pace. He follows one of the main roads from the castle. After a half mark, he slows down and sees the trail he is looking for. He turns left onto it.

“Hold on tight, Richard. It is a bit close with the thickets here. The branches will try to sweep you off.”

“Okay, Lyonair. How much further is it to Avel?”

“When we get to a stream, I'll be taking a water and rest break. That will be the half way point.”

“Okay, Lyonair. What is this about?”

“I don't know, Richard. Some fairies relayed the message to me. I used the contact crystal that I have in my leather vest to reach King Tierion that you are needed.”

“Okay, I can wait until then.”

Lyonair picks up the pace on the trail. Several bushes and small branches try to entangle us and take a swipe at me. I crouch down behind his back to become a small target. I keep a good grip with my legs as he makes several turns along the trail.

After awhile, we see a stream crossing ahead. Lyonair slows down to catch his breath as he approaches.

“Do you want me off your back Lyonair?”

“Yes, pant . . . pant . . . you can slide off. It will give my back a bit of rest for the time being. It will take me about a quarter-mark to get me charged up for the next distance.”

I slide off his back when we get near the stream. I push the buttons on my helmet for my eyes and mouth guards to open. I walk around while he takes his fill. He walks in the stream to a little water fall in the stream. There are about ten boulders creating a bunch of little waterfalls. The embankments on both sides are steep enough to keep the water behind it. He slowly drinks from it, being careful not to over do it while his breathing slows down.

Once he drank some water, he looks for some wild fruit trees, berry bushes and fresh green plants that are edible near the embankments. He begins eating what he finds.

I open my satchel and see what is still in there. I see the food bag is still there. I take it out and open it. I remove a piece of dried fruit from it. I then close the bag and put it back into the satchel.

I munch on it slowly, savoring the rich flavor of the fruit. When I get done with that I take out my water skin and pour myself a cup of water. I put the stopper back on it and put it back in my satchel. I drink that slowly as well. It's warm, but it's not too bad.

I take out the water skin back out and remove the stopper. I look at it while I hold it in my hand. I recite the spell to refill the water skin. I see it slowly fills up. I stop the spell when it gets full. I recite the spell to cool it a bit. I take another taste to see if I did it right. Ahh . . . much better. I put the stopper back on it and the skin back into the satchel.

“Those boulders don't look natural there, Lyonair.”

“No, they're not, Richard. We put them there to create the water falls, Richard. It was a long time ago we did that. There's a small pool behind it.”

“It sounds like you created this to be a rest stop.”

“Yes we did, Richard. It helps everyone here in the forest.”

He continues eating a little bit longer. He then takes another deep drink of water from the water fall. I get done with my cup of water. I put the empty cup in my satchel.

“Are you ready, Richard? I'm ready to go on.”

“Yes I am, Lyonair.”

I step to the embankment. Lyonair stands in the stream near the embankment. I'm able to get onto his back without too much trouble.

He walks out of the stream. Then he picks up the pace as he continues down the trail. Again, it is like before. Some bushes and branches try to sweep me off his back.

“Low branch ahead, Richard.” He starts to slow down a bit.

I look forward. “I see it, Lyonair.”

I get low behind his back. He leans forward to get lower. We both make it under just barely. He then picks up the pace again. I look down at my pant leggings. I see that they are torn and slashed from the calf down. Well, that answers that question. I'll definitely need another pair of pants.

I heard that Richard. Yes, you will need another pair of pants.

After some time we see ten fairies flying around us.

“You're back. You’re back, Richard.”

“Yes, I'm back fairies.”

“That's good. Avel is waiting for you.”

After another quarter-mark we enter a glade in the middle of the forest. We see hundreds of fairies flying around. In one part of the glade I see a burnt circle area with a circle of stones around it. They must have a campfire here sometimes.

I see Caltron, Serena and Avel talking to each other. I slide off Lyonair's back to stand on the ground. I approach the three. They turn to me as I get near. I take off my helmet and hold it with my left hand.

“Hello, my friends.”

“Welcome, Richard.”

“Greetings to everyone here. Lyonair appeared not too long after I returned from the star ship. I was only there for about a mark or two.”

“Ah, that's what happened. Come with me Richard. Someone needs you.”

I follow Avel near the edge of the forest. He stops near a large boulder. On top of the boulder is a heather grass bed that is intricately woven. On the bed lies Amber with another fairy near her. He tries to be a comfort to her despite his own weakened state.

“What happened to them?”

“Did you leave Twainor this morning, Richard?”

“Yes I did, Avel.”

“For what reason?”

“Captain Dar-re asked for me to be up there to fix his computers. I was probably up there for a mark or two at the most. Then we came back down.”

“That explains it. Do you understand this, Amber and Blue Eyes?”

The fairy tending to her helps her to sit up slowly. “We understand now, Avel. Richard, please come here and breathe on both of us slowly.”

“Okay, Blue Eyes.” I get near the boulder. I take a deep breath. I then blow the air out slowly toward Amber and her companion.

Once the air envelopes both of them, she is immediately energized. She stretches her arms as she yawns. “Ahh . . . that's much better.”

Blue Eyes is energized as well. He stretches his arms also. “Yaaawn . . . ”

They flutter their wings faster, then both fairies fly over to me and land on my shoulders to sit down and smile at me. They start humming a tune into my ears at a low sound level. It has a soothing effect on me.

“This is new to all of us, Richard.”

“What happened, Avel?”

“Ever since you came back here the second time, Amber and her soul mate have felt drawn to you more each day. They were heart torn because they didn't know themselves what was going on. But it is now evident what has happened when you went to the star ship this morning.”

“Are you saying that Amber and her soul mate will be with me forever?”

“Yes, Richard. Their lives are now tied to your life.”

“Will you miss them when I go back?”

“We all will, Richard. But they are not far away. We'll keep in contact from time to time. There are twelve unicorns who helped empowered you. You and your fairies will feel a part of us within you as we feel you.”

I look to Amber first on my right shoulder as I smile. “So you're with me now, Amber.”

“That's right, Richard. Together forever.” She smiles again at me as she touches my ear.

I look to the fairy on my left shoulder. “So you’re Amber's soul mate.”

“Yes I am, Richard.”

“Do you have a name?”

“I will have a new name when you give it to me.”

“Hmm . . . let's see your eyes are a deep blue color. There is a color name for that. How about Cobalt?”

He smiles at me, “I like that name, Richard. It suits me fine.”

“Now, I guess we'll be teaching each other as time goes on.”

“That's right, Richard. You'll be teaching your world to us, while we assist you to be the Omega Unicorn. We'll be there when your offspring come forth. You will always give birth to a male and female fairies as twins. Once they drink from you for the first time, they will have the nourishment to live a long life and eat and breathe like fairies.”

“Did you say drink from me?” I look to Avel, “That would mean . . . ”

“Yes, you better take off your breast and back plate Richard. Besides, we need to check you out.”

“Just to let you know, Avel, it has been arranged that I will be spending the night here. I'm expected back at the castle by the Third Mark in the morning.”

Then everyone present in the glade hears the good news. The fairies sing and dance in the air. The centaurs cheer out loud as well.

“Okay, my fairies and centaurs that is good news to hear. This will be his first night of many with us. Some of you have other duties to do. We'll have a celebration tonight with the campfire. We'll also have a noon, evening and morning repast as well.”

Some more fairies cheer to the good news.

“We'll get some fish from the stream nearby, Avel, for the noon repast.”

“Yes, go ahead and do that centaurs. Tell the other centaurs in this area as well. Don't forget that Richard will be touring each of the fiefdoms and kingdoms. So, we don't need them all here at once.”

“Yes, but we'll let them know what has happened and they can make plans to be near the Castle Lords when Richard arrives there.”

“That's a good idea Caltron. Also you'll need to get some vegetables from the village, that is nearby, for Richard. He won't be able to digest what you or I usually eat.”

“Yes, we'll purchase that and get some fruit as well. We'll be discrete about it and not mention Richard's name.”

“I agree. He'll be introduced to them at a later date.”

The three centaurs turn around and leave the glade down a trail that leads to a village about a half-mark away. The village is located in a valley that widens out below the glade. The stream that flows by is the same one as Lyonair and I just passed earlier.

Avel turns to me. “That solves one more mystery with your presence, Richard.”

“Let me take off my ranger outfit and the breast and back plate.”

“Yes, go ahead and undress.” Cobalt and Amber fly off my shoulders and hover nearby.

I take off the jacket. As soon it is off, some fairies take it from my hands. I remove the shirt as well. Some more fairies take it as well. I sit on a corner of the boulder, I take off my boots and set them there. Then I take off the pants. Again some fairies come and take them.

I see them busy making repairs as best they can. I see some more fairies bringing in extra thread to help with the mending.

“Apparently they want to help where they can, Avel.”

“Yes they do, Richard.”

“Those threads they brought in, where did they get that?”

“The centaurs once in awhile will purchase some thread and clothing fabrics. They use it to make their own clothes. But most of the time it is leftover cloth from the dressmakers in the villages and towns.”

“I see they don't use needles.”

“No, needles are too big for them. They are able to weave it themselves with their hands. They have created little work shops where they keep it dry in the tree hollows. They will use a thorn if they have to use a needle. All of the fairies have their own knives. The dwarf smiths made the blades for them.”

“Well, let me take off the breast and back plate.”

I unsnap the latches. I carefully lift it off of me. I lean it against the boulder.

“Take off the padding, Richard.”

“Okay Amber.”

I untie the padding from the back plates. Once they are free, some more fairies come in and take it away to clean.

Amber and Cobalt see inside the breast plate has two columns of knives and stars.

“Did you use the weapons, Richard?”

“No, there was no need to use them at all on the star ship, Cobalt. The only time they were used was in the training fields.”

“That's good.”

I take off my T-shirt. Then everyone sees my chest and arms. They can see and sense my strength under my loose skin. Some more fairies take the T-shirt away to clean.

“Lie down, Richard.”

“Okay, Amber.”

I lie down on the grassy ground. Then Avel, Amber and Cobalt come near me and hover above my face.

“This will be a new experience for you, Richard. Just relax and enjoy it.”

“Okay, Avel.”

Amber and Cobalt hover above my nipples. They see it is slightly swollen on both of them.

“He is ready Amber.”

“Yes, let's drink from him.”

Amber and Cobalt land on my chest. Amber is near my right nipple. Cobalt is near my left nipple. They kneel down near them. They both start kneading the nipples at the same time.

Then I feel something well up inside me. I feel a comforting emotion. My body begins to tingle a little bit. “Oooh . . . ” Another wave comes over me. I look straight up now and arch my back. My eyes roll back a bit. “Ahh . . . ”

I try to look down. Just within my peripheral vision I see droplets of milk appearing on my nipples. Amber and Cobalt begin to drink the milky nectar.

Slowly the swollen nipples shrink back to normal. They wipe their mouths and make sure every drop is not wasted.

I slowly come down from the comforting high that I just felt. I breathe a little fast to catch my breath.

“Wow . . . pant . . . pant . . . that is something new all right.”

Then Amber and Cobalt walk over and lie on my chest.

“Just lie there, Richard. Enjoy the bond that you now share with each other.”

“Okay Avel. This will only happen after I give birth to fairies?”

“Yes Richard, this will be the only time you provide them the initial gift of life. After that, then they will eat and drink normally like you have seen them at the repasts.”

“Hmm . . . okay.” I'll just get quiet now. I feel two heart beats on my chest besides my own. Their heart beats are beating faster than mine, but they are in sync with me regardless. Yes, this is a new experience for me. This is my first lesson of many to come.

After a quarter-mark or so, Cobalt and Amber get up and sit on my chest.

“Now we are together forever, Richard.”

“We'll know if one of us is hurting or rejoicing.”

“But if you get injured, what can I do to help and heal you? There is no magic on Earth, except for the Earth Wizard and Anya.”

“Yes that will be a new problem, Richard. Let's take it one day at a time while you're here with us. You'll see what they can do when a fairy gets hurt.”

“Okay Avel.”

“Now, we need for you to take off your shorts. There is one more examination to do.”

“Okay Avel.”

Amber and Cobalt take off and hover above me. I undo the shorts and slide them down my legs and take them off. Come on Richard, be brave. Avel was once a man. I do the same for the undershorts. The fairies find a folded handkerchief in the pair. They see there is no blood on it.

“What's this for Richard?”

“It is just in case I bleed unexpectedly Avel. Women on Earth are known to have this problem. It keeps the opening clean as best as possible until they get to a room to clean themselves.”

“Now I remember that from my time on Earth. Well, lie down and let me take a look.”

I lie back down on the grassy ground. I spread my legs a bit. I reach down and lift my male member up for him to look at and underneath it.

Amber and Cobalt lay down on my stomach and put their ears to it. They listen carefully. Avel looks at me down there. He uses his senses to determine my well being.

“Avel, we can hear another pair of heart beats. He will deliver before he goes back home.”

“Oh my … Maker . . . ” I start to breathe a bit fast when I hear that. I let go of my male member.

“Easy does it, Richard. Breathe slowly and stay calm.”

I slow my breathing down.

“That's better, Richard. You probably have some new questions now that you're
pregnant.”

“You bet I do.”

“First and foremost, I'm surprised you’re pregnant this soon. Your gestation periods from conception to birth are still nine moons like it is for humans. I remembered seeing that when I was on Earth and here on Twainor with myself. Theirs is ten moons on average here.”

“Okay. I guess that I won't be bulging like pregnant women.”

“No, you won’t be Richard. You'll still look slim. After giving birth you'll have about a sixth moon period of rest before you're pregnant again.”

“Again? That will be about … let me think . . . about sixteen hundred fairies in a thousand years?”

“Yes, you have to eat right every day. It has to be a balanced meal like you have been having here. You'll have to protect yourself constantly since you'll be among people every day. They will be fully formed when they come forth.”

“Hmm . . . protect myself . . . eat a more balanced meal . . . ”

“What are you thinking, Richard?”

“There are a couple things going through my mind on those subjects. For protection, I can't be wearing that breast and back plate all the time. I'm thinking of a steel type corset. It will be padded as expected. It will cover the stomach area and for the groin area.”

“The smiths at the castle can create that for you.”

“I was thinking the same thing, Cobalt.”

“I will continue my self-defense classes and earn the highest degree belt for my discipline.”

“Okay, so far so good. What about food for you and the fairies?”

“Well, I'm still a student at a college. I'm currently living in a dorm with dozens of other students. I do have a room mate.”

“That's a problem.”

“Not really, I will look into renting an apartment or a room near the college for my last year. I will make sure it has access for a covered porch. I then can set up a small potted garden for the fairies.”

Amber and Cobalt smile when they hear that.

“As far as eating the right foods, there is not much to change there. I will have to make arrangements for a stipend increase from my inheritance to support the apartment.”

“You mean to tell me it is cheaper to live with the students than it is by yourself?”

“Yes it is. At this time, if I was working at a job, then it will be easier to pay the bills, but the scholarship portion for living on campus would disappear. But I still keep the class scholarship.”

“Well, that is a choice to make between classes and work. Well, everything looks good. My senses tell me everything is okay with you, Richard.”

“What's interesting, Avel, that slit wasn't there before I came here.”

He looks at me quickly, “Why is that?”

“I didn't know I was dual gender while growing up. The doctors kept it hidden from my parents when I was born. I never knew why they did that until this year.”

“When did they learn it the first time?”

“When I was younger, about eight years old. I was walking home with a neighborhood friend. Her name is Brianna. Just before we made the turn for the last block, four boys came out to harass us.”

“I sense that it didn't happen that way.”

A tear comes down my face. “No, not at first.” Amber and Cobalt fly and come near my ears. They sit down on my shoulders and begin to hum a soothing melody.

“The four boys were in the same school as Brianna and me. However, they were older. We were in the second grade. They were in the sixth grade. Brianna and I were very smart kids. So were the other boys. But our grades were higher than theirs in the entire school.”

“So those four felt insulted.”

“That's right, Avel. The four boys wanted to break Brianna's hands to prevent her from doing the school work. I stepped in to prevent that.”

“So they hurt you first.”

“That's right. Not only did they crushed my hands, they kicked my body all over the place. I was black and blue from the hits. I lay on the ground not moving, but I was moaning in pain. Brianna rushed home to get help after they left laughing. I was rushed to the doctors.”

“That is when your parents found out.”

“That's right, Avel. But again I was not told. I guess my parents didn't know how to deal with it. The airplane accident took place while I was in school this year. It was about a moon period after my time here on Twainor that I lost my family.”

I breathe slowly. Some tears come down my face. Amber and Cobalt continue to sing softly in my ears. “I had to rush home and take care of the burials. That is no way to say goodbye to family. Afterwards, I opened the package with our legal representative. It was put together by mom and dad just in case something bad would happen.”

I breathe again slowly to pause and get my breath. Amber and Cobalt continue to sing softly in my ears. I try to stay in control to tell the story.

“They made a video recording, even my brothers were on the video. It was then I learned of my dual gender nature. We went to the doctors to get checked out. They examined me closely. They told me the birth opening has not opened yet. As long as I stay calm and not get stressed out, I would be fine.”

“But now it has opened up. It probably happened when we were together at the Sea Gala Arena yesterday.”

“I was thinking that too, Avel.” Slowly, my tears dry up and my breathing become normal. Then my attitude changes to a very strong confidence. “About twenty days ago my time, I had another encounter with those boys.”

“What happened?”

“They came back twelve years later. They wanted to continue to hurt me. To finish their revenge on me and extort money from my dad.”

“But they didn't know what happened to your family.”

“No, they didn't, Lyonair. Josh, who is the leader of the four, formed a gang. Twelve members showed up one day, nine men and three women. The four walked around me, while the other gang members kept the rest of the crowd out of the way.”

“From the way you sound now, you were able to defeat them.”

I smile widely. “Yes I did. I gave them the same punishment that I gave the four knights from Evenshard. The police or peace keepers of the city where I live showed up and arrested them, again.”

We hear everyone giggling and laughing.

“So, last night I had a dream that I met my mother in heaven. I don't remember much what she said. I was just glad to hug her and to feel her presence one more time.”

“I know the feeling, Richard. I do the same thing when I see my parents as well in my dreams. Especially now that I know the truth to what happened to us in the beginning on Earth.”

“Thank you, Amber and Cobalt, for the soothing song.”

They smile at me. “You're welcome, Richard.” They stroke my ears softly.

“You'll need to get dressed, Richard. I hear the centaurs coming back.”

“Okay Avel. I'll just put on the shorts, under shorts, T-shirt and boots for now.”

“That's fine. The fairies have not finished with your outer clothes yet.”

“Amber, there is another handkerchief in the satchel.”

“I'll get it for you Richard.” She flies over to the satchel and opens it up. She finds the handkerchief and takes it. She brings it to me.

“Thank you, Amber.”

“You’re welcome, Richard.”

I dry my face the best I can. When I get done with it, Amber takes the handkerchief from me and hands it to another fairy to clean.

Some fairies bring over my clothes. As I take each one and sniff them, I give them some praise, “They smell great, fairies. You did a good job in cleaning them.”

“Thank you, Richard.” They chuckle and giggle as they fly away to join the other fairies.

I put on the clothes as I just stated for Avel. I take out my comb from my satchel and comb my hair to make it presentable. Then I feel my hair again. It too has changed as well.

“Well, this is different, Avel.”

“What is it, Richard?”

“My hair has a thicker and stronger feel to it.”

“How long will you let it grow, Richard?”

“I can't let it grow long like yours Avel or women who want it grown to the waist. Right now it is to the collar and no more.”

Amber flies to me and sits on my right shoulder. “We'll keep it trimmed there for you, Richard.”

“Thank you, Amber.”

Then we hear some hooves thundering into the glade. We see ten centaurs coming into view. It looks like three families. There are three younger centaurs with them. One is female the other two are male. They are carrying various bundles and several strings of fish freshly caught.

One of them hangs the fish near the edge of the tree line down wind from us.

“Ah you're back. How did it go, Caltron?”

“It went fine, Avel. The villagers were curious as to why we were buying the vegetables and fruits. I told them we were having a special meeting today.”

“Well, that's true.”

“We'll clean and prepare the fish soon, Avel. We'll need to get a fire going first.”

“Okay, Lyonair.”

Some fairies start bringing in small dead branches and lay them near the campfire ring. One of the centaurs takes a walk into the woods to find some bigger pieces of wood. He brings it out once he has enough in his arms.

Two centaurs start arranging the kindling wood first in the center of the stone ring campfire. One of them reaches into his saddle bag and takes out a small bag. He opens it and sprinkles some small wood chips onto it. The other one puts his hands above it and recites the spell to light the kindling wood.

The flame grows quickly. The younger centaurs begin to put the medium size pieces of wood onto the budding campfire. Once the fire is established, they put the bigger wood pieces on it.

Two more centaurs take the strings of fish to the stream nearby to begin cleaning and prepare them.

Caltron and Serena walk up to Avel and me. Amber and Cobalt are sitting on my shoulder like they have done before.

“You look better, Richard.”

“Thank you, Caltron. However, I just received word from Cobalt and Amber, some good news.”

“What is it?”

I look to Amber on my right shoulder. “You have the honors, Amber.”

“Thank you, Richard.” Amber looks at the centaurs. They have a look of anticipation. “The Omega Unicorn is pregnant!”

The centaurs shout with glee, especially the female centaurs.

They scream with happiness. “Congratulations, Richard!” The fairies scream with excitement as well.

Cobalt and Amber fly off my shoulders as the centaurs come near me to gather around. They put their hands onto my shoulders and give a slight squeeze. Fairies fly around above us singing a special song for the occasion.

“Another life has begun,
Times two to act as one.”
“They will assist Omega to find worth to be,
And find truth for Earth and all to see.”

“That was fast.”

“Yes it is, Serena. In about nine moons I will deliver.”

“You'll have to learn quickly what to do, Richard.”

“Well, Amber and Cobalt will be there with me.”

“So you two are now with Richard?”

Cobalt and Amber fly to me and sit on my shoulder like before. I'm getting used to them very quickly.

“Yes we are, Sar-rellna. We are now joined together forever.”

“You'll be taught well, Richard.”

“I'll have a year to learn all I can while I'm here.”

Everyone calms down eventually, but the excitement remains in the air. The two centaurs return with the fish cleaned and prepared.

I see the fish gutted and still attached on the strings with the heads. As they get closer, I see the scaly skin are now a loose covering on the body.

Another centaur comes in with at least a dozen green branches that are trimmed long. The bark has been peeled off.

I look at the centaur carrying it. He sees that I'm trying to speak to him. Don't worry. I’ve had fish served up that way before.

That's good, Richard. We also have some vegetables for you. We'll warm them up on the stones around the fire. We'll have to wait until the flames die down. My name is Reshni

Hello, Reshni. I've been on camping expeditions like this before. This is not new to me.

That's good.

We smile at each other.

I walk up to the centaurs to greet them. We clasp our arms together, especially with the younger centaurs.

“Thanks to the Maker we get to see the day the Omega Unicorn has come. Hopefully all goes well on Earth with you, Richard.”

“Thank you all for being here in sharing this wonderful time. I have a lot to learn from all of you.”

We see the fire has finally become red-hot coals. The centaurs start skewering the fish onto the green limbs. They hand them to me and the younger centaurs one at a time. We set them at angles to have a stone support underneath and have the fish over the fire. Once the skewers are set, another centaur hands me a bag of assorted vegetables.

“Just cook enough for now, Reshni?”

“Yes, Richard. Take about a third out. Save the rest for later and hang the bag on a tree branch. They have already been washed.”

“Okay.” I take out some vegetables and place them on the stones near the campfire. I close the bag and hang it on a nearby tree branch.

I help keep watch over the cooking with the younger centaurs. We turn the skewers to make sure all sides are cooked. We do the same thing with the vegetables turning them over carefully on the stones.

After about a quarter-mark, the aroma of the cooked food fills the air.

“We'll be back, Richard. We're getting our food together now.”

“Okay.”

Amber and Cobalt take off from my shoulders. They fly into the forest together with the other fairies.

Another centaur brings in some large leaves to put the food on. Since there are no utensils, we'll be eating with our fingers. But then I see another centaur takes something out of his side saddle. I see some carved wooden forks for us to use. They are passed around who can use it. Eventually one of the forks is handed to me. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome, Richard.”

I look to Avel. “I see the food is almost ready. What about you and your fairies?”

“Don't worry, Richard. They're getting the food together as we speak. It won't be much longer.”

Slowly the fairies return to the glade. They are carrying clusters of wild fruit berries, nuts and fruits from the trees and bushes. They also carry in greens and roots for Avel and the centaurs. They sort it by type in several different piles.

As the piles get bigger, I'm starting to see a volume problem when I get home. Fortunately it is very few mouths to feed in the beginning. But as time goes on, they will have to find the food in the wild to feed themselves. There has to be a new balance as the centuries roll on.

I hear your thoughts of concern Richard. Don't worry about it for now. Yes, it will be a problem for you to figure out as time goes on. You might get some surprise help from an unexpected source.

Okay Avel, I'll wait until I get back. I know I will be staying at my family's cabin for three moons. Perhaps some answers will come during that time.

Everyone starts to gather around the camp fire. We see the fish is fully cooked and ready to eat. The vegetables on the stones are kept warm. Amber and Cobalt return with clusters of different berries and nuts still in the shell.

I grab a large leaf and place it on the ground near me. They place the items on the leaf. I grab another leaf for myself.

Once everyone has settled around the campfire. Caltron speaks up first with his booming voice.

“Today is a glorious day from the Maker. Let us give Thanks to the Maker.”

Lyonair speaks next. “Maker, we just want to thank you for this brand new day. We give you thanks that us, the First Ones, can be a blessing to the people of Twainor. We give thanks that the First Ones on Earth will have a chance to renew the blessing to the people. We thank you for the Omega Unicorn. He has come to help bring peace to Earth. Give him the protection he needs to carry out your plan. We thank you for this food that you have provided for us. Let it renew our strength to do great deeds for you. Thank you, Maker.”

Everyone responds, “Thank you, Maker.”

Everyone begins to eat. The young centaurs reach down and grab the skewers and hand them to their elders.

I reach for a skewer and sit back down near Amber and Cobalt. I see them prying open one of the shelled nuts carefully. I'm amazed at how strong they are in doing that. Once it is open, they use their knives to cut out pieces of the nut meat and begin to eat it.

I fold the skin over on the fish and begin to eat the cooked meat. It has a very delicious flavor for a fresh water fish. I have to blow on it a few times to cool it down while I eat it. Once I get done with one half of the fish, I put it down on the leaf. I reach forward with my wooden fork to get some vegetables. I take several pieces and put them on the leaf.

I eat several of them completely. I save some of the seeds from the vegetables and place them on the large leaf. They too have a wonderful flavor. Once I get done with the vegetables, I continue eating the rest of the fish.

Everyone is busy eating the noon repast and enjoying it. The centaurs and Avel eat their fill of roots, greens and hard vegetables that I can't eat.

Amber and Cobalt open a different nut shell this time. They eat it like before. Then Cobalt looks at me.

“Richard, are there edible nuts and seeds on Earth?”

“Yes, there are plenty of them. In fact there are some nuts and seeds I like to eat myself.”

“That's good.”

“There are plenty of growers who tend to many different kinds of trees and plants just like here. There will be plenty of choices to choose from for fruits, nuts and seeds. Because of the volume they grow, they keep a certain number of seeds for themselves and the next generation in the groves.”

“So, if we eat a fruit that we like, we can plant the seeds ourselves or not.”

“That's right, Cobalt. However there are certain fruit trees and plants that grow in certain regions better than others.”

“Yes, it's just like here.”

Once we get done eating the main meal, the fairies then fly to the pile of fruits that they gathered. Amber and Cobalt return with a fruit for me before they go back and get a fruit for themselves.

“Thank you, Amber and Cobalt.”

They smile at me, “You’re welcome, Richard.”

I dig my thumb into the peel and start peeling off the covering. The fruit has a pinkish pulp with several seeds in it. I try to be neat about it, but there is no way to avoid the juice squirting out in my mouth or taking pieces from the fruit itself.

“It’s good thing I don't have my outer clothes on. They would have to be cleaned again.”

We all laugh and giggle while we enjoy the sweetness of the fruits. Amber and Cobalt along with the rest of fairies are a mess with juice dripping down their mouths, clothes and bodies. They try very hard to keep the juice from getting on their wings.

Amber takes a breather, “We'll have to go to the stream to get this juice off when we're done, Richard.”

“No doubt we'll have to, Amber.”

Amber giggles at my comment before she continues eating another berry fruit.

After awhile, we get done eating. There is no food left over. The seeds are gathered together by type and put into separate bags.

“We'll plant these ourselves, Richard. The fruit and vegetables that was purchased in the village will have those seeds returned to them.”

“Okay, Reshni.”

The skewers are set aside near the stone ring. The large leaves are stacked together and placed there as well. The fish bones and skins are put into a woven basket and covered.

“We'll give this basket to the village as well. They'll add it to their compost pile.”

“Ever since they were told about it, Richard, their crops have fared better and produced healthier foods.”

“That's the intent my friends.”

Some centaurs stay behind to watch the campfire while the rest of us walk or fly down the trail to the stream crossing. Once we get there, we take turns to wash our hands and faces.

Avel puts his mouth into the water and drinks a bit to clean himself. I get down on my knees and lean forward. I splash some water onto my hands then my face. Once I feel the stickiness cleaned off, I get up and walk back to get out of the way for the others. The fairies dive into the water quickly and exit just as quickly. They giggle and laugh while they get themselves clean and playing with the water. We giggle and laugh right along with them. We even see some fish jump out of the water to go after the fairies, but they miss the fairies as they dive back in.

Once we get done, we walk back to the glade. Then any who stayed behind had their turn at the stream.

“Come, Richard, we need to have a council in the glade here. We have a lot to discuss about you and your relationship with us. This will be one of many that you will have here on Twainor.”

“Okay, Avel. I understand I need to be taught some things, since this is new to me.”

“That's right. But, when the time comes next year, you won't be going back empty handed to help re-energize the First Ones. You'll help restore the dead forests and waste lands back to life. Moreover, you'll help the people to find their way back to the Maker.”

“I thought the Maker is the one who does that.”

“He does, Richard. But sometimes a physical presence is needed. People can be blind to the Maker's handiwork and also not hear him as well.”

“I was told there will be a promised one who will bring peace to Earth.”

“I was told the same thing, Richard. There were two in my time that listened to the Maker very well. Enoch and his son wrote down their words they had with the Maker before Noach was born. The son gave Noach the book for safe keeping. Then Shem took custody of the book.”

“I think that book survived to this day, Avel. The problem with it, is that some of the scholars today think it's not Enoch who wrote it down. ”

“Well, it was written with words they had at the time. They did the best they could in writing it.”

“Yes, it's like reading letters that don't belong to you.”

“That's true. Either way, you are there to just watch and guide. It's the Maker who does the actual work and transformation of Earth. If someone asks you a question to explain yourself, then you must be careful in the words you choose. You must try and not become a target.”

“Yes, Avel. I've already learned how to listen to the Maker's voice already. We have our talks now and then.”

“That's good, Richard.”

“There are some people that I have met who are receptive to the Maker's voice. I shook hands with them to wake them up. This was done before between the times I have been here.”

“So, it has begun.”

“Yes it has Avel.”