“You should ask your questions before Vonn, Derees and Tan return. I’m all right.”
Eanne~ took Kol’s arm. “Pas--”
“I’m all right. It’s just upsetting that our government was so stupid, to force you to settle an uninhabitable moon! The fact that Areon couldn’t make a colony there tells me they wanted to kill your people! It’s horrible!” He got teary. I saw the wedding party headed to Pirad’s Lab for recloning. These people will share memories with Vonn and Derees later.
Steven moved and held his other arm as Eanne~ put him on his lap! “My friend, be calm--”
“Calm! I always wondered why your colony was on Ye~! Our people forced your people to go there! I hope my ancestors had nothing to do with it!”
His genealogy popped up, and he studied it. Smiled. “Oh, Puret, look! We are related!”
“We are?” Derees' son came close, with his two brothers. “I am happy! Oh!”
Their family trees expanded, and I saw orange lines go from one of Vonn’s ancestors to one of Megan’s. That line also went to Anne’s family tree! “We’re all related through the Pruitts? Adia’s family, too? And Liz’!” All the remaining families on Areon are related, too. Some were related to traitors Citstasia Wilnes and Ossy Koch. The Wilnes and Kochs who weren’t executed were also related to the Links and Jonses. Wow!
More trees came up. Every one of Liz’ library friends had an ancestor on these trees, too! Even her Black friends!
Liz laughed! “It’s Pruitt ancestry! There was a Pruitt in Cleveland who left with Areon, who was related to the Links, the Johnsons, the Browns, and the Carsons! Anne was a Carson before she married Austin! And, look! Austin Wright’s great-great-great-grandfather was also a Pruitt in Atlanta! Well, he moved to Atlanta and died there. What a small world—uh—galaxy it is! Meg’ll love this! She’s been trying to get me to join the Pruitt Association. Maybe I should!”
I discreetly ran some tests on poor Derees and found a lot of brain damage. Let Pirad know, but he already did what he could. He’s sharing memories to a biome. Looked like the ones Laura ran on Adia, the same patterns. Kajarian weapons that Areonians adapted to do mind control on their own people. Vonn, Tanda and Kol didn’t have it. Adia’s father Joleon did. All the Areonians with records from Eicken Hospital did. They saved them all this time!
Pirad woke half of ‘em up from Ilhanhsa, a notorious slaver spare parts depot, and now it’s owned by Alb. Diplomats got an agreement. Yeff diplomats demanded all Areonians from there. Not just Areonians. They got everyone from that vast facility, and they’re on planets in Alb now in my Rainbow colonies!
But, Earthans have corrupt governments and so do Elshars, over history. Maybe we can do something to stop it this time. Adia stopped it on Areon. This treaty will stop it in the Earthan Colonies. Maybe Pirad can help us stop it on Elshar Mashai. I checked and there was a long list of people I knew were slavers that went to Ih Esta. No way for me to know if that even makes a dent, but I can hope.
Derees won’t ask for healing. None of the Areonians will. But I took Kol’s hand. “Well, Cousin, welcome to the family!”
He smiled. “Thanks, Molly!” Lost the smile. “How many Yeff died because of my people?”
“Dear friend, diplomatic work is dangerous. If one gathers five people, is easy for this many to agree? What about ten? Ten-thousand had to agree to our colony. Our people wished a colony near Elshar Mashai, that we increased trade in the Seventh. We finally came to an agreement, and we were successful. Ye~ prospered, Areon prospered, and the entire Seventh prospered, because we helped Areon’s economy ne to fail that the War might have ships.
“D’sharr had ne enough resources. Areon was new enough that he did have resources when fuel became so scarce that many worlds of the Seventh perished. Elshar will ne ever admit this, but Areon saved the Alliance because if Elshar fell in the Seventh, the very Alliance would. We all sacrificed much, because of this war, because of all the worlds of the Seventh that ne survived it. Rejoice, my friend, that we live to see this day, when a new world has a chance to save all the Thirteen.”
“Earth will save the Thirteen? How? That is why so many of us came?”
“I speak too much, but ea, Earth is vital to the survival of our tech level, and she ne knows it.”
Liz paled. I didn’t feel too well, myself. Adia did, too. Steven also looked sick. I tried not to think. Kol and Tanda just looked confused, but they didn’t say anything else.
Ben took my hand. “Shall we go to the ship? Many gather there now, for our journey to Alb.” I didn’t feel good about going, but my other selves from now to the 31st are here and will stay. I nodded.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Jason stood by Steven. “Will you be okay? I don’t like it that we have to leave tonight. What if your mama won’t leave Earth?”
I smiled. “Steven, you and your family will live on Ye~, but you’ll be on Jason’s baseball team, and so will Brian. Jason, you’ll have lots of teams that’ll play each other. There’ll be teams from 132 worlds by next year.” I saw ‘em. Earthan colonies on that many worlds, with enough boys on each for a team. And every one of those 132 worlds had a baseball stadium like the one Goes’ building for Jason. When I showed him, he got excited. “Wow! I’m gonna be a baseball coach! Hope I’m good enough!”
I laughed. “You’ll be fine! Just care about your players and you’ll all have great fun together!”
His blue eyes had a little fear in them. “Will I get hurt, and be like I was in Rainbow?”
“No! When people get hurt, they’ll have healing right then, and nobody will have anything but minor injuries. Healing, a little sleep, and they’ll be up and playing the next day!” I saw it, and showed it to him. Also showed Be~saech and got him to write progs to make sure no one got any serious injuries. I saw the progs. In the near future, Goes and Jog Sa helped him with ‘em. And, Teynah.
She gasped and looked up from across the ship. Her father frowned. “What is it, Tey? Did you trade too hard?”
When I shared memories with Be~saech, he saw his future, married to her, and their minds linked! She saw her future, too. Adia mentioned her to him, but he felt he had too much work to do. He can’t ignore it any longer, now! Will he be mad at me?
She got up and ran into the programmers’ room. They got married when she went to Ye~ in the other future and I suggested she apprentice to him. Ryee gasped and ran in there, too! So did Pas!
Eanne~ watched. “What is it? Is Ge~sae unwell?”
“Be~saech’s getting married!”
People ran from the other orange room where the scientists worked to that one! A bunch of traders, too! Teynah’s astonished family followed ‘em! I laughed.
Ryee’s family jumped up and got in there, too!
Koh smiled as he stood by Tanda. “That was fun! I wonder if we will enjoy festival pastries?”
A lady held out a tray of dahsee. I took one. “Hey, Kate! You learned to make dahsee?”
She laughed. “I did, but these came from Areon. They take two days, ‘cause you have to soak the dough in this stuff I can’t pronounce from Elshar Heizgha. It gives it a sweeter taste on the outside. I have some making, so when this runs out, I’ll have more. If those Elshars don’t eat it all.” She winked and gave Derees’ boys a whole platter to themselves. They laughed.
I knew Kate for just a short time before her husband’s heart gave out in Escet Vu of Rainbow. We didn’t have Pirad long enough then for him to get around to everyone. All my Escet Vuvians loved her!
Wisper cheered! “Oh! I love dahsee! Fahie got me one every birthday!”
Tanda laughed and put one on a pretty blue plate that was just big enough to hold it. “And, you get the fersmor plate. Donn gets the wismis plate, and Puret, you may have the perimas plate.”
Kol waved them up and handed them out. “And I shall use my padipas plate Derees got in Kleideu for us, for our wedding! It is so nice to be able to use these again! He got a set for Patasia, and Tan got one for Vonn, in case he found his lady. He was courting Lili then, and got her a set as well.”
“You couldn’t?” I just picked one up. Bit into the flaky pastry. Oh, the sweet smell had a kind of flower fragrance, and was very sweet. The blue filling had a creamy taste I couldn’t quite describe. Very good! My plate had a rainbow on it with beautiful mountains and cattle.
“We could not use energy for alt storage. What was in, stayed in, but we could not access them for a very long time. Now we have the Nefcot Ring, and energy for our servers!”
Healers ran Be~saech and Teynah to his room, that now had them on it. Eanne~ led his family over, and Teysah’s family. “I na understand—how could she marry him today? I know she did na know him. Everyone knows of Be~saech and his talent for progs, even a trader like me! She feared to speak of him! But she looked, and she ran, and she married!”
“I’m afraid that’s my fault.”
“Oh, little one, you just looked at her. It is na your fault.” He smiled and reached for my hand.
I showed him what I showed her, and he gasped.
Eanne~ laughed. “This is Molly. She will lead the Rainbow Unwell Colonies. That is where your family goes, is it? She will be your queen when she has 100 for a colony start.”
The man gasped and gave a low bow. His whole family of about 20 did! “You are this Molly, The Employer?” He waved up his Alliance Record and in the place people usually have their king or leader listed, was my name, Molly, Employer. I laughed.
“Yes, I am Molly The Employer. That’s what Earth calls someone who hires someone! I am actually a student, but Adia showed me my future and that I will lead Rainbow.”
“This Rainbow is a colony start? And you have a treaty for it already? I will add my name to Rainbow’s Charter!”
Eap ran to us. “I have it written. There!” He waved, and my title on it was Molly, The Unsinkable Brown, Queen Of Rainbow Colonies. On our original charter, they called me ‘Unsinkable’ because I was named for Molly Brown, who survived the Titanic. Too late to change it now that I have followers!
All of his family added their names. Half the Ishah healers with them came and added theirs! It made 42, not bad! I smiled.
They all bowed. “I have two rules that everyone in my colonies has to follow. First, rest when you are tired. Second, see a healer if you do not feel well.”
One of them bowed again. “Pardons, my queen, but if I follow these rules, I will never heal anyone!”
A lot of them gasped!