We went out in the festival. Gen and Noka learned to play a Zheien stringed instrument—badly. And sang along with it. Badly. Ir was too polite to laugh, and I almost did, but everyone has to start someplace.
Mama and Daddy came over. “They sound like a couple of kindergarten kids! I—Kia, you’re pink!” Her blue eyes studied me.
I saw myself through her. Silver hair the color of Ir’s, bright blue eyes, and mauve skin lighter than VW’s. I thought I looked sort of the same.
Daddy frowned. “I thought something was up when they wouldn’t let us come to your wedding thing last night. You got Pirad to change your species? He offered to make us Elshar when he did that recloning thing.”
Ir put his arms around me. “Kia is special, Father. I cannot explain how this happened, but Pirad did not change her.”
“Kia’s a lot of things, but she’s not special! Why, I never knew anybody who tried so many jobs—but singing suits her.” Mama was always nice about my failures.
“When she sings, she heals our entire colony.” Der and Inana stopped plucking at an instrument and stood by Ir. “She is now Biehshah Healer.” He waved up my record.
Mama looked up and smiled. “Leader Of Biehshah Ye~ and Biehshah Healer. Wow! You got two titles, one for government and one for medical? You sure took care of me when I was sick. Are you going to learn other kinds of healing like the other healers do?”
“Uh, no, Mama. I’m just a Biehshah healer. My telepathy used to give other people headaches. Ir taught me to control it.”
Camila tugged at my arm. “Kia, you have to talk to Mexico City! All the men think the server is wrong. Our women traders make more trade than them and they are jealous!” Then she looked at my arm and snatched her hand away. “What happened to you? Irdaktin looks like us, but you look like an alien!”
The festival stopped. Eanne~ startled and walked to us. “Friends, what is wrong?” Zheien are sensitive.
I still wasn’t feeling too good and all this commotion wasn’t helping. My Biehshah body is a lot more affected by emotion, and now Zheien got upset, too.
Mama glared at Camila. “You can’t talk about my daughter that way!”
“She’s my daughter, too! She brought help for my village after a mudslide killed people!”
“You stole my husband—”
“And, I fixed it!” Uncle Chase laughed. “Now, Kia has an uncle and aunt who love her, and her parents. We can still love her as a Biehshah. She’s still Kia.”
Mama looked flustered. I felt worse by the minute. “Of course, I still love my daughter, but this is more’n changing her hair color to match her fella’s. She changed her species!”
Daddy got Mama’s attention. “Kia’s old enough to make her own decision about this—”
“Did she think about how it would affect us? I don’t want to learn 20 gestures to say hello!”
Eanne~ shook his head and his brown curls waved. “Mrs. Garfield, we ne must learn many gestures to speak with Biehshah friends. As a diplomat, I know many for official speech, but only a diplomat must learn them.”
“That’s just it! Every time I try to talk to my daughter, somebody—” she glared at Camila, “—just has to come up with a problem for her to solve! Doesn’t anyone else work in their government?”
Der smiled at Camila. “I will go speak to Mexico City Council. Excuse us, please.” He offered an arm to my now-aunt and they went with him and Inana.
Ir made me sit in the sand and put his forearm on my forehead. That helped a lot. Guess I have Biehshah needs, now.
“When one leads a colony, many wish to speak, and this can be difficult for our families. Please, Lady Garfield, I am sure those on Ir and Kia’s Council can help while their colony is new.” Eanne~ bowed.
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Mama looked from him to me. Nodded. “I didn’t mean to cause a fuss. I’m okay.”
“If you have needs, please ask of us.” He wasn’t speaking to just her.
They both sat beside us. “Lady Kia, do you have enough help? I can assign diplomats to you until you do.”
My face burned, but it felt different than it did as a human. More burn to it. “We have plenty of able-bodied helpers. I guess both of us are used to having to do everything, from the other future.”
“I don’t get all this ‘other future’ jazz! I didn’t see my future! Is that normal for you people?”
Eanne~ laughed. “Ne! My daughter Adia sees futures for some people, and is ne normal for anyone in the entire Thirteen! I saw mine, and had great upset, so I think I speak for all of us who saw them. To see one’s future and have years of memories is an experience filled with emotion. We know, however, that we can change certain events in them.
“In the future I saw, a world we visited many times, MarKu, with friends and much beauty, slavers took 70 decillion people, in a day! We had great fears that we also would be invaded, and this did happen.” He paled. “But we moved our worlds to Alb because we had this warning. Our friends, the Biehshah, have knowledge we had ne. Now we have hope that our colonies are saved.
“All of we Zheien had unwells from this change, but after a few days in healers chambers, we are well again and enjoying our new homes. Our skies become familiar to us.
“As your daughter changed, my daughter changed, and her family is adjusting to this. If you like, Mrs. Garfield, I can introduce you to them and perhaps this helps you. She was Areonian, and they came from Earth two centuries past.” His golden eyes opened wide.
“I don’t understand this at all. Why did your daughter change her species?”
Eanne~ shook his head. “There are many things I cannot explain, for our peoples are at war with those of higher tech. My daughter’s change, and your daughter’s change, I think, are related to their roles in it. I cannot reveal more without jeopardizing our entire Thirteen Galaxies. Please, merely accept that your daughter must be different, and that her role is more than that of a colony leader. I cannot answer more questions for you. Merely to think of these things can bring dangers. Let us turn our minds to the festival and lighter subjects.”
Mama looked from him to me. People around us talked and enjoyed the festival as if we weren’t sitting here. One Yeff couple started to walk up to the musician beside us, startled, and walked around us. She saw that and nodded. “I’ll try to understand. So, I shouldn’t talk about bein’ dead and comin’ back to life, either?”
The king startled. “Ea, I think you should ne, for now. There will be time later to discuss these things. Today we should be ready for great changes in our lives. Excuse me, I must go to my bae. Enjoy the festival!”
Mama hugged me. “I’m sorry, Baby. This is a lot for me to take in!”
I hugged her back. “Me, too! I thought I wouldn’t succeed at anything before Ir found me.”
“Things are better here. I feel like I’m doin’ what I always wanted, working as a singer! I went from job to job a lot before I married your daddy, but I had to give up my dream of auditioning for Juliard.”
“I failed my audition! Oh, Mama—”
“But I think that was just nerves! Your voice is better than I ever sang in my life! C’mon, let’s sing the stress away!”
We got up and performed with some of our Biehshah. Gen and Noka actually got better as we sang.
Camila and Chase came back with Der and Inana smiling, so they handled whatever. Then they joined our chorus.
During the performance, my family tension evaporated, especially when Mama and Camila smiled at each other.
However, I felt something else that set my nerves on edge.
An Elshar near us kept dark eyes. Most of the Elshars around had light eyes. Doug and Jen—she’s Elshar now? Had light eyes, but he’s Ishah. Suma had the worried expression but her husband Neal—he’s now Ishah, too—seemed to be feeling good and sang along. They have good voices but Elshars usually do. Other Elshars, traders and artisans, also had light eyes.
That one worried me. I tried not to look like I was watching him.
Ir watched him, too, and several Security Zheien in red uniforms gathered.
He got this scared look and a red portal took him away. Red?
Ir shuddered. Red portals take one to the nearest sun. There is no escape from them. Scientists use them to port dangerous reactions or materials there for disposal. Living beings would not survive a portal that fast.
But, the Security people looked surprised, too. Zheien don’t use red portals for their enemies. They did not expect that.
Then, who sent the red portal? Pirad?
He says he did not. Perhaps we have friends I do not know about. Pirad cannot detect Dosilians as you can.
I can do something Pirad can’t do? Wow. Could it have been Pinda or Dromie?
No. They have other weapons, and we would not see it. Watch people. None of them except Security saw it. Zheien can hide themselves with their telepathy. We learn this in Sigan Mas, a school that is of many tech levels.
I kept feeling like I have a lot to learn, and I wished I could learn it now!