Liana sat down in her chair and finished her glass of spring water in one gulp. It had taken a lot of time and energy to explain everything that had happened recently to her classmates. They'd mostly stared at her in disbelief without saying anything. Ellen and Derek, which was apparently his name, ended up panicking while Izabel seemed fascinated by this world and by the whole story, listening in silence for more. During the story Marah had arrived, still looking like a white birch dryad, which suited her much better than the Kavanderran warrior's garb. Liana noticed her following the whole story with interest in the background while she was telling it, and helped her a bit too telepathically. The Nummerfa way of language acquisition through telepathy turned out to be very effective, because she seemed to understand everything well by now.

“And what are we going to do now?” asked Izabel when the story was over.

She seemed to have become the spokeswoman for the accidentally teleported trio of students.

“It's dangerous for any of us to go back right now. Apparently the STC wants me dead or alive.” Liana said firmly.

"What? You? Why do you think that?" muttered Ellen. “Did you follow anything of what I said? And they fired at us with deadly power or at least with very heavy paralysing stunners. They would have killed you too just because you got in the way, so I had to save you by taking you with me. And now they will look for you too.” Liana said for the umpteenth time.

“Why would that be?” asked Izabel, while picking apart a gigantic cluster of acorns that had been lying a little further on the ground.

“Guilt by association I'm afraid. You were with me, and you have disappeared with me. That's suspicious. And it seems they are from the "take no prisoners" school. I fear for your life too if you go back. And remember, they found me in just one week, on another continent.”

“You said they use stunners. So why do you think they wanted to kill you?” asked Izabel.

“I've seen them in action. And they are Americans. I've watched Hollywood movies all my life. I know how much respect they have for life: nothing.”

“You're exaggerating, Liana. I think they would interrogate you at least first. It seems logical to me that they would want to know how you got there. And if these, er, nonhuman people here have broken their portals and they know that you got back too, then they probably want your portal.”

"I don't have a portal."

“No, but they might think so. Or they know by now that you are the portal and then you’re even more valuable alive. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life stuck in another world because I accidentally found myself in the wrong hallway, between beings who might me like a demon monster just because I'm human…”

Liana looked at Inaya. “What should we do, Inaya é?”

Inaya looked thoughtful with a small smile on one corner of her mouth.

“I'm afraid this is a serious matter that falls outside the jurisdiction of the Nuanderran councils. It seems like the ambassador of Oranderra will have to decide the fate of these three at the appropriate time."

Now all four of them looked surprised. Derek looked apprehensive at Ellen, to him it sounded like they should appear in court. Even Liana herself didn't know what Inaya was talking about.

“Is there an ambassador then, Inaya é? Who is that?"

Now Marah joined the conversation, apparently amused.

“The ambassador of Oranderra is a most venerable person, one who saved the nawa of Oranderra from great danger, and in whose judgement even the council of councils trusts.”

She said. Now Liana was completely speechless. She didn't know about such a person at all. And she didn't trust that such a person would mean well with her annoying classmates.

"But? You no longer had active contacts with our world, did you?”

Inaya shook her head.

“No, we don't have any other active contacts now. But you are right. Yet there is still one person left who is now the ambassador. Someone for whom the council has great respect like Marah said. Even though she doesn't know any protocol and she ignores everything." she said smiling.

“The ambassador is a woman? Why have I never heard of her?” asked Liana.

Now not only Marah but also Inaya was visibly amused.

“Liana é, who is our only active contact in your world? To whom do Marah and I owe our lives? Who is the only person in this forest who can be an ambassador for your world?”

Izabel started giggling when Liana finally got it. She felt herself becoming very small and wanted to dissolve invisibly in the air, but even if she could do something like that it would only get her more attention. She looked from Izabel who had a triumphant look because she had figured it out before her, to Ellen and Derek who still stared into nothingness annoyedly like two stuffed hunting trophies, completely oblivious to what they were talking about. In the end, it was Izabel who summed up the situation.

“So, if I'm patching it all together, the conclusion seems to be that Liana is the ambassador of our world now? And she must decide our fate now? Well, the Flying Spaghetti Monster help us then!” she said, pointing at Liana, still amused by the conversation that had taken place, and half irritated at the same time.

The mouths of the other two fell open. "You?"

Liana gathered herself and turned to Inaya.

“Perhaps the oh so venerable Council of councils might have taken the trouble then to inform said ambassador of the whole world of Oranderrra herself of her new position. I didn't know anything. I just thought I had screwed everything up by bringing these three here.” She said.

“Ah, the laws of our world are complicated. And decisions have been made indeed to not interfere with your world. But there is also a law that every kind of nawa must be respected as an entity, and that every nation of nawa, in and out of Nuanderra, must have representation before the council of councils when contacts have been made. Do you remember what I said on our first meeting?” said Inaya.

“You taught me the word 'nawa' and called me one too? We are seen as sentient beings, even with all the mythology about Gorchbolds.” replied Liana.

"Indeed. And you, Liana, are the only active contact in Oranderra that the council has. And according to complicated rules that are not so extremely complicated anymore when it comes to a population of one, that means that you are the ambassador of your world, and of your subspecies of Hmana too.”

Liana was all a little dizzy. What strange responsibility were they pushing onto her now? She stood up and held up her hands as in surrender.

“Listen, I'm not an ambassador of anything. I only represent myself. I cannot represent anyone else. None of the leaders of my world would ever listen to me. Not even my teachers and my parents.”

She still saw an amused look in Izabel's eyes, and this time it was Marah who answered her.

“You come from a world whose inhabitants are seen by many here as gorchbolds, hell demons, but you yourself have been recognized as an equal to the council members of the Nummerfa council. Look at that jewel on your chest. But the rest of your kind doesn't have that reputation, and your name has deteriorated since the fall of Kavanderra, I'm afraid." Inaya continued for her.

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“The myths of the Gorchbolds are still very influential. And the Tech Corp hasn't made it any better. The total number of people in your world that we can rely on can be counted on one finger and they are here in front of me. That's a fact."

"But…"

Liana wanted to resist. She didn't feel like holding high positions and being responsible for the lives of her classmates, who were still largely in too much shock to react much. Only Izabel had more or less figured out what was going on and she summarized the situation, mostly for herself.

“So you don't think our kind is civilized, and we’re barely seen as sentient beings because we’re dangerous and destructive beings, and you are at war with us even? And only Liana here has been officially named trustworthy for some reason, and classified as a civilized and rational being? Is that it, or did I miss something? But at the same time there are also maniacal creeps with weapons from dead aliens from before prehistoric times that could attack all four of us if we go back to school?”

She paused while Ellen looked at her with panic in her eyes.

"More or less the situation, yes. What do you think?" Liana asked all three.

"Um," Derek muttered, probably the first word he said since he arrived.

“Did those soldiers really want to shoot us?” Ellen asked.

Liana looked around, and Izabel continued.

“If I have understood correctly, the biggest problem that we have now is those infamous Americans with their alien weapons. Has anyone come up with any solution for them yet? It seems that the esteemed council of the councils and whatever it is of this world doesn’t want to do anything for us. Probably for very good reasons that I don’t understand as a simple gorchbold school girl. But that means that we will continue to be in danger from the moment we are back in our world. And all these high forest women councils don’t seem to want to do anything.”

Inaya and Liana stared at each other; it sounded very different now that it was put into words that way.

"It's because we wanted to get involved with your world that these problems started." Inaya explained.

“But without you there wouldn't be any psychopaths walking around with alien zappers who might want us all dead either. I don't understand much of your politics, but honestly, I think you're pretty cowardly." Izabel said sarcastically, and Liana watched silently what the reaction to that would be. Marah, Akhina, and Inaya looked at each other in turn, and they were certainly communicating without words.

Inaya was the one who finally spoke.

“I have passed on to you the opinion and the decision of the council. They have their reasons and reasonings, but the problem indeed remains that thanks to the Onnobolda weapons have entered Oranderra that no one should have in any world. The council will keep its hands off it, as you’ve noticed, but the ambassador can always ask for help from friends in Nuanderra, and she can do what he wants in her own world, with the help of whoever she wants. Except maybe for recovering council members.”

"Me? Everything rests on my shoulders? I can't just go and save humanity, can I?" Liana stammered.

“You mustn't do it alone, Liana-dinn é! We just need to find Superior Tech Corp and make sure they are no longer a threat to your world, and ours.” Marah said, standing up now.

“Just that! And who is 'we' here?" Liana asked laconically.

“At least me and the greatest dimension bender the hmana ever had in any world as far as we know.” Marah said.

She was uddenly following the protocols and bowed slightly to Liana, who couldn't do anything but stare at her. She knew that Marah was a trained warrior, who also possessed knowledge of the extraterrestrial weapons of the Onnobolda. But they were only two people.

"Me and Marah?" she asked. “To beat the Superior Tech Corp?”

She looked questioningly at Inaya, for confirmation of the crazy-sounding plan.

"It is a possibility," said Inaya. The council is not against it, and they actually see a fairly good chance of success.”

Liana swallowed. “If that is the sort of success we had at Kavanderra, then it surely will be a lot of fun. Are you really serious now?” she asked.

Akhina, who had appeared out of nowhere with drinks and acorn cakes, nodded.

“The council has confidence in you, Liana-dinn é. The rescue of Inaya and Lun, and Marah and Frest at the exact moment when the base was about to explode has given you a certain reputation, girl from the other world. You already noticed that…”

Izabel nibbled suspiciously on her acorn meal cookie, but she seemed finished talking for now and was just following the conversation.

"And us? What about us?" Derek asked suddenly, looking scornfully at Liana. Marah looked at him appreciatively.

“Indeed, what about you, young man? Do you want to join the fight to free your world from such danger? Do you have anything that could help us with that? Martial arts, strategy insights, special weapons?”

He avoided her eyes, and suddenly realised that staring down toward her chest was an even worse idea, and then just looked away.

“Uh, no. Not really...” he said, and then everything was silent until Liana spoke again.

“The Oranderran ambassador suggests that you three stay here until you are sure you can get back safely. And I will try to email your family whenever I can. But that is only possible within our world. And travelling between worlds is tougher than you’d think.”

"Pfff... They'll be worried if you say we’re stuck in another world." said Ellen.

“You have a better idea? And it’s a lot better than if someone had to tell them you’re dead, or you had just disappeared and ended up locked up in a secret base of a shady organisation. That’d be much worse.” countered Liana. "

“Yup. By the way, it's actually your fault that I'm being chased by them, if I hadn't disappeared because of your bullying in the first place I wouldn't have been part of the mission to Kavanderra. So it's all your fault. You and your petty bullying.”

Ellen stared at her.

“But maybe no one would have survived that mission to Kavanderra without you, so it's better that way. Less chance of complete extinction of your species, too, if Andira had had her way. Maybe I even helped with that.” Marah entered the conversation.

"She wouldn't really have done that, would she? Massacring the humans of an entire world?" Liana asked.

“That was exactly the plan.” Marah said.” “But wouldn’t that mean killing all other lifeforms on Oranderra too? Aren’t Nummerfa against needlessly killing animals or plants?”

“No idea what weapon she wanted to use to kill all the people and keep the rest alive, but that was still the plan as far as we knew. Probably the scope was not an entire planet, and the initial focus was on North America, so maybe some of you Hmana-orr could have been saved. I think Inaya would have at least warned you and evacuated after the first attack if she had the chance though. But no-one could have helped all of you.”

Inaya nodded but was silent.

“Mass evacuation is not an option with our resources I'm afraid. I also don't know what the council would do with a refugee influx. We can take in small amounts of people, but your population density is way too high. Something like that wouldn't work…”

“Ah, John had won after all. And now there are even worse weapons in circulation than our kind already had.” murmured Liana. "Is there anything to drink left? I'm getting thirsty from being almost extinct..."