A man screamed for help down the Diplomatic Link. “Help us! If Rentappenen takes over Ry’nao, thirteen galaxies will be in his control!”

All the Thordes stopped arguing and got that stance, like they’re all ready to fight! Molly startled. Deb ran out of Pirad’s Lab, and so did everybody else!

Suma and Ray came out, too. I ran over there. All our Biehshah startled and came out, too.

Ry’nao came from Pirad’s Lab into the main room of this red-violet ship. Fell into Ryonne~’s arms! “Ket! No—Suma!”

She came, with that giant walrus!

Ket’s Elshar eyes were black.

“Ray!”

People gathered around him as he fell to his knees. Ket put him on his lap. Wept.

I ran over there and Ry’nao put his hand on my head. It trembled. But then, I knew things.

Snafanas is an Aryllan slaver who’s attacking. Ilios, this is Ry’nao’s son, who called for help! His telepathy killed Snafanas. Then he reached for Rahn Wenh Cet. Molly helped him. But I got in there and fried him and his other son, cloned son Lun Wenh Cet.

This is war! They are attacking my emperor!

Ir got in there with me and helped me fight with his telepathy! As I followed others, I saw Ty’nirrhans and tagged Deb—she’s as strong as me? She got them, too.

Sara, Cevit Ion’s new wife came. She can see the slavers. Hundreds—no, thousands of ‘em! How can all of us fight so many? But it made me mad. Rentappenen’s going to lose because Ray killed him in the other future, so I poured healing into the Link.

The music built. Ice cream flavors—as if I were eating it to fuel myself, and gave that experience to every person on Ry’nao’s side! Everyone got stronger telepathy.

I sped us up. Or maybe someone else did. We formed a single mind, directed by Ry’nao.

So many minds! We just sought out slavers who were attacking and killed them, one by one, but fast!

Azure, that’s the red-braid girl, she spoke. “I want to help, but what can I do? A time bubble! I’ll gather all our selves from now until the Final Battle and use us all to fight him! He can’t switch timelines fast enough to avoid all of us!”

But, suddenly as it began, I stood on the outside watching my legion of selves fight, and I couldn’t?

People acted normally. Except for Deb, who clung to Greg’s arm and Briahh hugged both of them. Suma wasn’t here! Her husband’s gone and his brother, Doug is crying. Another Ket’s in there with him with the black marble eyes. People ran in Doug’s room and Suma and her husband fell out of the ceiling, and that walrus is there now. Everyone heard Suma’s screams! Molly ran in there.

Sara and Cevit Ion went in there, and Ishmarel and Alice who rule Zheiea. An Earthan’s Queen Of Zheiea? After Ry’nao touched my head, I know all these people. I knew of them in Rainbow! All of me shook.

Ir pulled at my arm. “We have to get on the ship now, Kia.”

“But, we were—” Ry’nao was lying on his bed with Ket looking worried beside him. Molly still sat there, holding his hand. She looked at me, green eyes wide like a Zheien. Go get on the ship. We can’t do anything now, but our selves can.

I saw that battle, too, and walked around Ry’nao on the floor and Ket and Suma and the walrus, who took up a lot of room. Others walked through them like they weren’t even there.

Ir let me guide him around them. One grumpy Elshar opened his mouth to say something and that TS Inspector went over to him.

Daddy and Camila ran to us with a whole bunch of relatives, but Daddy gasped. “Kia, did you do something to your hair?”

I blinked at him. So tired! “No, why?”

He pulled at a handful at my temple and the part hanging out of his fist was silver. What?

I grabbed two handfuls of my hair. Silver streaks went all the way to the ends! “Well, I guess I’m Mrs. Fantastic now!” I laughed. Nerves.

Ir thought my reference to the popular comic book was hilarious, but they missed it.

“So, you used your terminal to change your hair color?”

“No, I haven’t had time to fool with it!”

“You’ve been watching a lot of marriages, like we were. I had time to learn things.” Daddy smiled.

I’ve been using my terminal a lot, but not for that! I just dropped it. But when I tried to use my terminal to color it like it was, nothing happened. As if my terminal couldn’t see a difference.

Once we walked past the Battle Of The Cubes, my mind still stayed locked on it. I felt bad about just deserting my friends to go to our colony. Yet, our colonists need Ir and I.

When we started to sit down with Daddy, Camila and all my relatives, a bunch of Biehshah asked us to go with them to a room, so I didn’t sit down.

Daddy got up off the springy orange floor. “You’re not sitting with us, Sug?”

“Ir’s starting a Biehshah colony and we have to organize our government.’

“But, it’s after business hours! Can’t you do that tomorrow? A lot of my employees are here, but I gave ‘em a few days off to get used to a new planet! You should do that, too.” He frowned.

I got irritated. “Daddy, our people can die when they get upset! A lot of ‘em are worried about how we’re going to run things, where they can put their houses, and we need to sit down with them now.”

“But you could’ve done it earlier when you were watching weddings, if you knew this was an issue.” He frowned at me.

I never know what to say to him!

Ir came back and held out his arm to me. “Mr. Garfield, my wife has a Gift that we cannot speak to you about. There are things more important than our colony, that affect a far wider area. Please, let us work now. To talk about these things endangers our galaxy so we need to go to our meeting.”

Daddy looked very surprised and closed his mouth.

We walked to our room where all our friends waited on our bed. Regina looked very confused. “What’s all this about?”

Lisen sighed. “There are secrets we must keep, and I am very sorry. Merely to speak of them endangers thirteen galaxies. Ir, tell us about our new government. That is safe to talk about. I wish I had the skills I lost! Perhaps I am no help to you.” He looked down.

Ir frowned. Looked around at 157 faces. “Friends, do not think that you are no help in my government, because you are. On Ye~ there are 1611 of us who were Excluded or unable to work or even who hope for a happier life! More wait on Biehshah to see if we can live. I need every one of you to watch over each other and help everyone adjust. Today, I will name 9 of you and a council leader to make sure everyone in our colony has a voice. Der, Council Leader Of Biehshah Ye~, knows of my plans for you and before we begin, we have to know how everyone feels. My plans need to transform into every colonists’ plan!

“Lisen, you are friends with Zed Tes, Minister Of Kehnaren, who stayed, who is friendly to us. Now that our trades do not have to go through Leheren, maybe he will agree to trade with us. All the other provs love to trade there so we can get things to remind all our colonists of home. I name you my Trade Leader.”

That made Lisen very happy. “I will serve you in every way I can! Zed already promised to trade with us.”

Beside him was a mauve-skinned man in purple. “VW, I want you to lead our Science Council. We will work in the Ye~ Science Council building, but will have separate facilities for our research that might harm Zheien. Ye~ has many goals that are the same as ours, so we can work together if we can solve the telepathy problems.”

He made a gesture from his head outwards. “I spoke with Pirad and he altered me so I will not hurt anyone. He can do this for any of us who want it. Chor telepathy. My telepathy is far stronger than I dreamed, yet my control over it lets me touch Earthans without harming them! He said he gave this to Queen Molly, too.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Chor telepathy was one of the things he tried to give me and it didn’t work.

Pirad gave it to me, Cesearae, and I am helping you! You talked to your parents and didn’t hurt them.

Oh, thanks, Ir!

A lot of them said they’d go see Pirad. Ir named council members and some would represent both a function and provs people came from. Lisen will oversee trade but also help people from Kehnaren. Der will help people from Leheren. VW represents everyone from Siotu, that mining prov. But, like Zheien council members, VW’s wife will also help him equally. I liked that idea!

“Tenadu will be our Healer Leader.”

His blue eyes studied me. “Should Kia be Healer Leader? She knows a lot more than I do.”

I laughed. “My friend, you can teach people how to heal, and I can’t. I wish I could.” It made me sad that all my sisters died. Rentappenen did that. Oh, how I wanted to just blast him out of existence like I did Opseh Wenh Cet and his two top clones!

Zheien startled and ran in here! Oops.

“Friends, why this upset?” Goes, First Prince Of MarKu spoke to Ir.

“My wife got angry, but she killed the Wehn Cet slavers! Let us think of happier subjects.”

Across the ship, in Pirad’s Lab, Greg Wehn Cet startled with two cylinders in his hand. Got this huge smile and looked at his wife, Deb. She smiled, too.

Goes noticed and he smiled, too. “Are their slaves free, then?”

I started to say I didn’t know, but an answer came from that goblin. “Dromie sent them all to Alb. Most of them are in Rainbow MarKu now.”

I couldn’t help but look into Adia’s Ship, now nearly empty. In the middle of it stood Jarfus, that giant white walrus, who raised a flipper high at me and tipped his hat. Pinda pumped his fist! Then they and my other friends lost their smiles and concentrated on the Battle Of The Cubes. Each of them had a legion of their own with specific goals and Dromie has an army, too. He’s bringing weapons of Lisbaar to life in those vast arsenals, and most of them are deciding they want to fight Rentappenen. I couldn’t imagine our supply of atomic bombs waking up and deciding to blow up a country! But that’s what Dromie meant when he could make people into weapons. Will I blow up and hurt my friends?

“No! Only weapons made to blow up will explode. You are my Gift to the Biehshah, but they don’t know it. Irdaktin already knows it. Don’t tell them. Let them find out, after the War ends.” I saw him on Lisbaar with an army of people like him darting about. Rentappenen’s armies of troops with weapons fighting people of a lot of diff species. But every time a goblin ran past, the weapons they held came to life and became people. Some of them fought when the person told them, but most turned on ‘em!

I’m glad that was just a second or two. Nearly lost my lunch!

Deb ran in and put a hand on my head. Made me lie down. “I can’t heal you?”

Ten pulled her hand off. “She’s a new species. None of us can heal her!”

“Why would Pirad do that to her?” Her brown eyes opened wide.

“Pirad did not do that! She has a Gift. Do not speak of it again.” Ten shook all over. I hummed and the orchestration built, but I stopped. Just that was enough to make me feel better, and everyone in our room.

She burst into tears and Greg ran in to hold her. “What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

“We can’t even talk about it!”

I put a hand on her shoulder. But, I didn’t feel much like an Earthan any more. That scared me. I’m a new species? Is that what that Deesamor rogue in Jot’s terminals did?

Ten’s brother Jot shook all over. He’s the one who got terminals meant for a Zheien. Which Zheien? Ten and Jot stared at each other. We were all on that ship going to Rainbow when I found out my plans to be a healer wouldn’t work, but Ten said he needed me to help him heal Jot. I held Jot’s hand and hummed. Then I saw his mission that got canceled. He was on his way to Ctral to meet with Opseh Wehn Cet when he got diverted here. Peatabus, our 1st Galaxy Minister was piloting his ship there with Jot on it. He was the one those terminals were meant for, but he got another set and they let him go. Because he married an Elshar lady slaver, a prov in Fhiah grew contaminated crops. That was the other future. Fhiah caught the lady’s crooked brother and he had an encounter with a TS Inspector that had a fella in white like the one I saw.

Peatabus, one of the yellow Zheien, ran to me. “Kia, you see things I cannot! Am I compromised? I had several missions to Ctral recently, for we need ships and they have many!” He pulled my hand to his head.

Ten jerked me back! “Use your Diplomatic Link to touch her, so you do not die, Minister!”

All the diplomats, about a third of our room, gasped. You’re not supposed to mention the Diplomatic Link to anyone who doesn’t have it! Ten has it and should know that!

But I looked at him through it and found something. I brought Pirad and showed him.

Pirad clicked his face into an enraged expression. “Bour Wenh Cet! Get him, Kia!”

I sent a surge through Peatabus expecting Pirad to protect him. Bour Wenh Cet died.

Peatabus had a convulsion and everyone got upset! I tried to do a mass healing and I couldn’t! Just a little orchestration that calmed our people.

Pirad couldn’t help Peatabus.

A girl ran in and put her hand on the left side of his face and hummed. His body went still. “Gosh, what happened to him?”

Pirad scowled at her. “Never touch a galactic minister! If I had not been touching him you would be dead and I cannot prevent it!”

Deb hugged her. “Pirad, Belle’s only 12, she doesn’t know what a galactic minister is! I get confused about all the DS things, too, because Berto wears red-violet and he’s not a galactic minister.”

“She is a healer and should know to check the Alliance record before touching a person!” Pirad’s chest heaved.

Ten poured several drinks down him. Belle sobbed. A couple ran in. “Pirad, I think you should apologize to Belle. I will bring one of Pas’ clones to stay with her from now on. That should satisfy your concerns, I think.”

Pas ran in, one of the old, grandfatherly bald ones. He led the trio out while Pirad still worked on Peatabus. I felt horrible!

Pirad carried him out and a crowd followed them, including his weeping healer.

Ten hugged me and Ir. “Kia, you did what you had to do. Any galactic minister knows he might die in his work. He asked you for help. He had terminals.”

They put terminals in his head? Oh, that made me mad and five of the top Wenh Cet scientists fell over dead! Their research spoiled. It’s all algae made to store data.

Several Zheien and Thordes startled on the ship and their healers grabbed ‘em. Pirad noticed and white light flashed. Nobody startled but their healers, who held sleeping people now.

I saw a red glow around some of the yellow Zheien in a group watching Goes, who got up to speak. Something blocked me from asking Pirad. Oh, he’s got a new prog to warn us about higher-level things. Shouldn’t he know about that? What I did won’t work on them. Dromie sighed. I’m working on it.

He distracted Rentappenen, but he can’t keep doing that. Pirad’s recloning Peatabus but he’ll have to leave his position. His clones died. Cevit Ion has a clone who married a clone of a librarian. He’s going to be 1st Galaxy Minister now. Cevit Ion who married Sara the Link Expert is on this ship going to Elshar Zheiea.

Like many of us, Kia, he had too many injuries. Most of the galactic ministers had to let their clones take their posts. Ir looked very sad. I think it is harder for a Zheien to do that. Younger people have not seen as many changes in their lives as we have, and species like us.

Greg led a revolt against his father and the Ty’nirrhans almost fell. We thought they all died, but there are 88 of them on this ship that came to Earth. Others moved from Areon to a new colony, Ry Pethe, which is also on Ye~. They will need our help, Kia. We are 3800 to 4800 years old like they are.

I wondered how Deb felt about this, but we can’t talk about it until this mess is over. I hugged Ir. “Did we assign all our council members?”

Ir smiled. “Jot, I assign you to our council to help Ten.”

Jot lost his worried expression and smiled. “Glad to help with the colony! I will do all I can to get herbs and live plants for our healers. I know Siotu needed them badly. I could get all the plants they needed, but Leheren stopped them and diverted them, and they reached Siotu dead!”

“Be happy, Friends. We will have beautiful gardens. See our land!” Ir waved and a holo of purple Ye~ zoomed in on a huge lake with square buildings with mosaic tiles. Almost looked like ancient Greece or Roman architecture with terra cotta roofs. But each roof had a mosaic.

Healers’ houses had a person in a bed with a healer’s hand on their head. Most of the healers had cobalt blue robes.

Government buildings had orators speaking to small groups and all of them wore neon green robes. Garat was wearing a white diplomat’s uniform on the ship.

A blue building was DS blue and had diplomats in white and that shade of blue around a table.

But all these buildings had smaller ones on the lake itself. Huge tropical-looking gardens almost hid them.

“There’s my house!” Der leaned forward and the view zoomed in on a house with big cracks in the mosaic tiles showing a family. “Oh, it needs repairs! I will have to trade very hard—”

Ir waved and it all looked new! “Repairs are easy in a Zheien colony! No contracts to try to attract an artisan. This is a temporary repair until the Artisan Council can decide how to fix it. Repairs are included in our—I do not know how to express this. In the Alliance, we must trade for everything. In a Zheien colony they provide housing, healing, education, food and clothing formers. If we want to trade for a present for a courted, then we still have to work hard to provide jewelry or rare flowers, but we will not have to petition a Courtship Minister for permission, or what to get her!”

All the men stood and cheered, and all the women looked very happy!

One man waved and the holo zoomed in on a fallen-in house. “I think mine is too broken for repairs. How do I start over?” He looked very sad and threw his arm over his forehead.

“Oh, look! I just repaired it! You can live there while the artisans look at it.” With a gesture from his forehead to the house, Ir smiled.

The man peeked at it, then threw both arms up. “Meshanaforuun tead! You did a miracle! I can see my dear wife again!”

“Now that we can ask Pirad to help, maybe he can reclone her for you.”

“I will port to Ye~ now!” He opened a white portal and whooshed away! So did about 15 others!

Ir giggled. “Any of you who don’t want to wait, you may go! Our business is concluded, and there are healers for all of you!”

Half the room went! But the others were eager to go, too, and so was Ir.

Der held his arm. “Can we go, Ir? I want to see my house. I want to know if my family things are there.” He shook all over.

Ir hugged him. “Dear friend, let us go! This portal will only take a few mins.” He hugged me against him and whoosh!