Prologue

The Swarhuli swam gently through its home waters mourning the loss of another intelligent race to the uncaring predator races of the universe. Determination crystallized in his heart, to do something about it. The universe needed a protector race with the technology to back its desires and the compassion to prevent species genocide. He knew that although the Swarhuli had the technology they were by nature isolationists and he was in a minority in advocating action. He feared that if they were not proactive some race or other would find a way around their formidable defences and destroy them out of fear. No one could compete with their subspace technology, but they only used it to defend themselves. It was clear that they would have been annihilated if anyone had the power to do so. Finding a protector race wasn't just for other alien species, but also to protect themselves.

Handing their technology over to someone else was a scary thought, so choosing the right species would require careful testing and safeguards. He would also have to come up with a method by which every intelligent race could be tested. Since the Swarhuli never left their home waters it would need to be done through traders, without their knowledge. It was a big project, massive, a life's work potentially and would need to be done against the current political climate. Nonetheless, he believed his species as well as countless others, would be destroyed if he didn't succeed, so he would not let anything stop him.

Chapter 1 Hannah's POV

I gritted my teeth and made the call to my mother. I hadn't spoken to her since the divorce five years ago when I was eleven. I had sworn to never speak to her again, but now I felt I had no choice. I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself as the phone was ringing. I was angry at myself for breaking my promise to myself and furious at my mother for what she had done. Shouting over the phone was not going to get anywhere and the topic was too serious to fuck up.

The phone went to message. As calmly as I could I asked Julia to call me back and gave her my phone number, wondering, even as I was speaking, if I was going to have to change my phone again so my mother couldn't constantly bug me.

I went back into the hospital room to look at my dad. He said he felt fine, but he looked terrible. He had lost a load of weight, his hair and teeth had fallen out and he had this frighteningly gaunt look. A day after he met Julia at a coffee shop, nothing he could eat would stay down and only water was going in. That was only a week ago and he was now only a shadow of the man he had been. It was the first time they had met in years. Julia worked for the government as an analyst and there were hints that Julia was really a government spy of some kind and I knew, just knew, she was responsible for his condition.

If it was poison, which was what I thought most likely, it was not anything that could be detected by the hospital so Chris' only chance at survival lay with me convincing Julia to tell all. Julia blamed Chris for pretty much everything, as far as I could tell, so she had plenty of motive. Initially, I had told Julia that not wanting anything to do with her had nothing to do with dad, but Julia didn't listen, so in the end, I had made my promise to never talk to Julia again and cut her out of my life.

I looked at my phone again. I wanted to try again and, at the same time, didn't want to look desperate. Julia would never say anything over the phone anyway. I decided on a text requesting a visit to Julia's home.

Dad was asleep again. He said he felt fine and was in no pain, but he did sleep a lot more now.

Finally, a text came through inviting me to visit that night. I spoke to Alice, my step-mom. Alice didn't want to leave Chris' side, so she phoned Susan, who agreed to drop her off and then wait until she needed a pick-up. Susan was Chris' best friend and boss. When mum and dad separated, Susan invited Chris and me to stay at her house with her life partner Karen. Alice was a friend of Karen's and when dad's relationship with Alice became serious, rather than moving out, we all moved to a bigger house and stayed together.

Mum's accusations of dad's infidelity with Susan was one of the funniest and most ridiculous aspects of the messy divorce. It did mean that Susan was going to drop me off a few doors down so Julia wouldn't have something else to set her off.

I had a bit of a cry in the car, the worry getting to me and it didn't help that Susan started crying as soon as I did. I managed to get myself together and re-did my makeup in the passenger mirror. I couldn't hide the fact that I had been crying, but I could make it look less dramatic.

I stepped out of the car, put my handbag over my shoulder and walked briskly the short distance to the house. It wasn't the house where I had grown up, that had been sold and I had never visited my mother since. The court had tried to force visitation rights but I had fought strongly enough that mum had given up and turned all her anger on dad, blaming him for my refusal. I knocked firmly using this antique brass door knocker and stood back.

Julia opened the door with a big smile and held her arms open, expecting or hoping that I would rush into them. I just looked at her coldly, trying to hold back my anger. Part of me just wanted to start shouting, but the stronger part held myself still, aware that my actions needed to be strategically correct for me to have any chance to save my father.

Julia's smile dipped a little, she moved back and to the side, opening the door wide and gesturing me in. “Come in, Han. I've missed you so much.”

I didn't say anything and let her lead me to the lounge.

“Do you want me to show you around the house? Do you want a glass of water?” she asked.

“Here is my phone,” I told her, handing across my phone. “You can check me for listening devices, I don't have any, but you can check.”

She gave me a puzzled look. “I believe you,” she said slowly as if she was talking to an idiot.

“Good. What have you done to my father?” I said, managing to keep the anger out of my voice.

“I haven't done anything,” she said quickly.

“The problem is, I don't believe you. My father was completely healthy, you invite him for a coffee and the next day he is overcome with an untraceable, unknown illness. Let me put it this way. Before this occurred I had a very low opinion of you and right now it can't get any lower. Whatever you tell me, no matter how bad, my opinion of you cannot get worse.”

“I don't know what you are talking about,” she responded.

“I know you don't want to tell me. I would like to make a deal. You tell me exactly what you have done to dad and I will tell you why I never wanted to see you again. Why I left with dad, why I refused to see you, everything he said about you.” Not that he had said anything bad, but I knew that was what Julia believed. “This is your only chance to know all the grubby details. I will tell you the truth, hold nothing back, you can question me, I will tell all. All you have to tell me is what you have done.”

Over the years, she had managed to get my phone number several times, I don't know how, since no one admitted to giving it up. I have learnt to never answer my phone with an unknown number. When she couldn't communicate with me that way, she would send text messages, asking me why, so I knew she really wanted to know. It was my Ace card, unfortunately, it was my only card.

There was a brief pause, that only reinforced my belief that she knew what was going on, before she repeated, “I haven't done anything.”

I sighed. It wasn't going to work. I picked up my phone from the coffee table and started heading towards the front door.

“Wait!”

I stopped but didn't turn around.

“Deal,” she said with an angry voice, the pretend loving mother voice gone like it never existed. I did believe she loved me, I just couldn't forgive her for what she had done.

Chapter 2 Julia's POV

In a way, I wanted to tell Hannah. Whatever that bastard had told her to turn her against me, I had some awesome revenge heading his way and part of me wanted to gloat. I never claimed to be the nicest person and I was enjoying my thoughts about what was both happening and going to happen to my ex, I just didn't want to worsen my relationship with my daughter. Still, there was a possibility that I could turn her around when she told me how he had turned her against me and then she would see that my revenge was justified.

“I'm not supposed to tell you,” I started and then held my hand out in a stop gesture when Hannah made the first movements to get up. “I'm not supposed to tell you, so I will give you a hypothetical situation and you can work it out from there. Also, you have to swear to me that you won't tell anyone else.”

Hannah shook her head. “That won't work. Alice, Susan, and Karen will need to know. And don't forget dad. I've got to tell him.”

“Seriously, I will be breaking some rules by saying anything,” I said.

“I can make them swear not to tell anyone before I tell them,” Hannah said seriously.

I was going to have to admit what I had done to my superiors. They would probably remove Chris from the hospital anyway and hush everyone up. I would definitely get a slap on the wrist, but they will love having a guinea pig to play with, so I should be alright.

“Do you believe in Aliens?” I asked Hannah.

“Err...yes?”

“Let's say, hypothetically speaking that Aliens exist and that they have contacted various governments for trade purposes. And let's imagine that they have a pill that was developed by another alien species that can cure any illness and correct any genetic defects. They need a large sample of normal DNA which is then used to replace any subpar elements of your DNA and after correcting your DNA, check that it has been expressed properly. Then imagine a government worker, who is in the know, so to speak, who finds herself with late-stage ovarian cancer. She receives her pill from the Alien who then asks if she has any children. She admits to having a daughter, so she is given a female child pill, which was completely unexpected.”

I got up and poured myself a glass of wine and sat myself down again. Hannah was looking a bit shell shocked. Understandable really. The idea that Aliens existed and were interacting with us blew my mind as well.

“The child pill, unlike the adult pill, was programmable. This government worker could choose hair colour, eye colour, height, all sorts of different superficial elements, but, since this government worker was highly suspicious she investigated why she hadn't heard about this child pill and found out it had an unpleasant side effect. Apparently, the species that created these pills were very long-lived which meant they reached adulthood when they were over a hundred and were essentially babies until their fifties. As babies, their children had nothing but breast milk. The grapevine suggested this child pill had been given to children who were now in their thirties and forties and still only able to have breast milk. Anything else will cause vomiting or diarrhoea.”

Hannah gasped. “Could I have my phone?” she asked me.

“What for?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“I just want to text Alice suggesting they try feeding dad breast milk.”

I smirked and picked up her phone. I sent the message myself using Hannah's phone and showed it to Hannah.

“This hypothetical government worker didn't want to give the child pill to her daughter under those conditions and decided to get a little revenge on someone who had wronged her instead. She programmed in all sorts of changes and the rest I think we will leave to your imagination.”

“So he is not going to die?” Hannah said with relief.

“No, I don't think so. He will just have to get used to drinking breast milk. Cow formula doesn't seem to work, but soy or goats milk versions are tolerated, I believe. I'm not really sure if the DNA changes will work or not, so he might end up as a bit of a guinea pig for the government for a while. I could hypothetically say I am sorry, but, personally, I feel he deserves worse and I am not very forgiving.” I put the wine down, looking at Hannah firmly. “Your turn.”

Hannah looked at me carefully for a while. “Alright, a deal is a deal. Do you remember about six weeks before dad asked for a divorce? I suspect he and I were pretty cold towards you over that time.”

“I remember him being cold to me some weeks before he asked. I presumed that was when he was having an affair,” I replied.

“It was the school holidays. Dad was at work with Susan and I had a sleepover with Lisa. Lisa only lived a short distance away, so when I realised that I had left Fu-fu at the house, I decided I would just nip in and get him.”

“Fu-fu?”

“Fu-fu was my polar bear cuddly toy, surely you remember him. I always slept with him at night. When I arrived home there was a strange car in the drive, which I thought was a bit weird. When I opened the front door I could hear some strange noises coming from your bedroom.”

My heart was sinking as I was beginning to guess what happened next.

Hannah snorted. “Can you believe I was actually worried about you? I thought you were being attacked. I took a knife from the kitchen and crept into your room and you can imagine what I saw. I realised what was happening and crept back downstairs and left the house, forgetting all about Fu-fu.”

I tried to think of any lies that could be believable, but nothing came to mind, so I sighed. “What can I say? A woman has needs and Chris wasn't satisfying me.”

“Yeah, that's right. It was dad's fault, but wait, I haven't finished yet. That night, thinking back on it, unable to sleep, I realised that my hair colour was very similar to that man. That scared me, let me tell you. The idea that my father was not my father. The man I loved most in the world. Dad pretty quickly realised there was something wrong and convinced me to tell him everything, including my suspicions. He told me that I was his daughter regardless of anything, but we did a paternity test anyway. I needed to know.”

Hannah stood up, facing me, leaning forwards in obvious anger and disgust. “How could you? And you had the gall to suggest dad was sleeping with a confirmed lesbian.”

“Why didn't ...” I started to ask in a shocked whisper.

“Why didn't dad say anything in the divorce? He was worried that he would lose any rights to me. That my biological father would try and exert his rights. He accepted anything you wanted as long as he had custody. And if you use any of this to tear me away from my real family, I swear I will kill you.”

All I could do was watch in stunned horror as Hannah took her phone and stormed out of the house.