Vonn nudged Derees. “Ryee, are there any more of those pastries?” He pictured the one he had for breakfast.

We turned our chairs around and I waved Citsa over.

Ryee held out a platter and showed us what they tasted like. Citsa took the sweet one.

I tried a sweet and hot one and really enjoyed it. Vonn found some new favorites. Ryee also enjoyed sweet ones, but there were many of the same one I had and he liked them, too.

Citsa took a different one and bit it. “Oh, that’s awful!” She put it back.

I frowned at her. She left. Waved up dahsee.

Ryee ate it with a smile. “He is ne awful. O, D’gmiash wishes to thank you!”

A holo played. D’gmiash stood in purple sand. He bowed, and his golden curls bounced. Curls? He wore a Kleideu dress! Skipped around like a child. E~Janne laughed and laughed! Ryee’s sister, Aronna’s age.

“Oh, when I was young, life was a festival

Then I became a man!“He waved and wore traders’ robes.

“Now among the Yeff I go, looking high and looking low

Among the many pastries. Just because I can!

And what, you ask, is that I seek, that wonderful taste so hot and sweet?

Fersie mins, fersie mins, from the world of the purple mens!

The Thordes they sow it, they weed it and grow it, and what do they want?“

As he talked about the Thordes, fields of people caring for the plants appeared. One of them put him on his shoulder. Several purple men in DS uniforms sang with him.

“Echtu, echtu, that’s what we want!

“All the Zheien grow echtu, and not a single plant

Will grow on Thorde! So we grow mins, all sorts of mins, and

We trade it all for echtu, wonderful echtu!“

Children followed them all around the commons, and he laughed as much as they did! All the Thordes seemed to enjoy his antics.

He picked E~Janne up and put her on his shoulder. “Ah, Ryonne~, you have a delightful sister! Maybe someday I will have a daughter this nice. My new friends and I hope you enjoy the fersie mins, because there was a famine and not much grew. The echtu you are sending is altered to grow on Thorde and they are hopeful.

“They are grateful to Ye~, but so am I for my wonderful new life here!

“So, from Ye~, I want to say thank you! Ryonne~, my family will be forever grateful to you. May your Reign be endless!”

Ni’olmai and De’sai bowed low with a leg behind, and so did D’gmiash, holding E~Janne. She then stood on his back and bowed, perfectly balanced.

“Madame Adia Rayaline, I thank you for saving me from slavery! My poem is a feeble gift compared to your work, but I hope it inspires you to find the new fuel. My family will remember you forever.” I worried for how he trembled when he rose and ended the holo. Even with that, he carefully rounded his shoulders so E~Janne could balance on them. Ni’olmai lifted her down.

Is he all right?

Ryee sighed. He had many injuries, saving men. His brother had great healing from yllis, but D’gmiash had old injuries that did ne respond. Fear ne for him. He has happiness, and Pas shall be his healer. Because he is poet and ne trader, he will have health. Pas wishes to try again, when he accustoms to us. He has much fear in sleep.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

M’Naga saw his father’s skills and asked him to join my traders. Ni’olmai has diplomatic skills to help my work.

Tell him to be careful. He will meet the Imwa.

Ryee startled. But they are ne of our tech level!

They will test him when he saves the royal family of—of—

I could not pronounce it but he saw the place. I felt great sorrow—

I can teach him what he will need to know. Imwa! But I know what they want.

Then I saw more of why they were there and showed him. Imwa are helping Rentappenen. I shuddered. Who is he?

Do not mention him again. He watches us. I felt Ry’nao’s fear of his attention.

I felt cold! Went back to my work. Decided to try some of the new isotopes Vonn discovered, and pair that with Derees’ new larger array.

While I did that, Derees and Vonn worked together to design an even larger array that Stef Vaughn asked for in Shipbuilding. An exciting project!

I hoped for better results on this set.

While I mixed, Ao~ asked me to think about Earth again. I never tired of this place, or the variety of animals and plants.

I looked down at my feet as I stood waiting for a bus. A mound of dirt appeared to be moving. When I bent to look, I saw little insects.

“Those are fire ants! Don’t let ‘em crawl on your shoes. If you keep moving, they can’t.”

I moved. “They are small. Surely they are harmless.”

Laura shook her head. “One sting itches for a week, and some folks are allergic.” Her green eyes studied them. She blew upwards. A hand pulled at her auburn hair when it did not move from her eyes.

I did move my feet, but it was interesting to watch them. No insects survived on Areon except for a very few. Swallows were three feet long, and more animal than insect. Fethermore were not insects at all, but a kind of many legged animal.

But, as we stood there, butterflies and bees visited flowers. Wasps lit on stems of weeds to peel them for nests. Flies buzzed around our heads and gnats worried our eyes! Beetles flew into trees and bounced off. Some crawled on the dandelions that grew in cracks in the sidewalk. So many!

Not many animals on this street. A cat meowed at a door and it opened. Laura pulled at my arm and a lady jogged past with a little curlyfurred dog on a leash trotting. As I saw these sights, she supplied the names.

A squirrel froze when I saw him on a tree. But I sent calming to him. He jumped onto my hand and let me pet him. Laura gaped at the sight. She never saw a squirrel tamed.

Our bus came. The squirrel leapt for his tree and vanished up it. A wasp hovered at the door. Laura swatted at it and we went up the steps. “You shouldn’t hit at ‘em, that’s how ya get stung!”

Laura giggled. “Oh, I like to live dangerously, Charlie. Wow, there’s a crowd today!” We stepped over legs in the aisle until we found an empty seat for us two. Normally she would not swat a wasp, but she feared the effect of a sting on me.

Ao~ was fascinated at this kind of transportation.

On Ye~, everyone walked, except when transporting goods to Noh~La. By the green building, shopsmen put out their wares on tables or floating above in little holograms. That fascinated me.

On Areon, we stood for hours outside a shop, if it had an item we wanted, in our market in Eicken. Five could enter at a time. Holos showed when you reached, and there was not much time to inspect. Papa did not like to shop and Mama did it when something she wanted was not on the Hub Net.

Sometimes I went, to see different items without planning my purchase. That is where I found new carved animals for Maia’s birthdays. My sister loved them.

“O, you should see Artisan Tular’s work. He carves animals of Areon from holos.” His mind showed me many figures of animals I knew from Maia’s collection, but these were much more realistic!

“I will find him if I ever—” But I will. Clearly, I saw myself at his table and traded for a set for Maia, and one for Aronna also.

“I hope you will come to live on Ye~. You love our liege, ea?”

I blushed. Was it so obvious? Because I saw all these futures, I could but feel that love that permeated every memory of Ryee. But, is it real when I have not lived it yet?

My set finished, and I had promising results! I set to mixing more, and the next one was better!

Citsa waved her display down and went to a cot. I worked through two more sets before Derees said gutenac and left also. Another set, and Vonn went. Finally, I felt finished and put mine up. Ryee walked beside me to the back, and I fought the urge to take his hand. We must not. Yet.

I used several new minerals Ryee got us on the 11th day. Citsa did not give me any new research to study, so I continued mixing.

Vonn and Derees found ways to make more of the foraquine isotopes. Each cylinder now made 500 at the end of Derees’ process.

Expanded that with various catalysts and additives, varied irradiation methods, everything I could think of, with tiny amounts.

One worked well. Amiritkaln-22. I had almost decided there were no more isotopes left for this mineral. Tried one more time and it was the most useful of the set!

Vonn had greater success with every array using it. So did Derees. And, I grew closer to my elusive new fuel.