“Ba, Adia showed me how foolish Fa was, and all of us, to avoid you. This memory proves it. We thought we could keep you safe if you went to another prov, and nae knew you are my ba! O, I am sorry, Jir!” Cevit Ion, 7th Galaxy Minister, cried. Rumbles of his sorrow shook me up!
I hugged ‘em. “You couldn’t have known this would happen! Heden knows because he has help from the Third Level!”
Cev gasped. There’s a crowd in this big room!
“When will I learn to keep my mouth--”
“Molly, what you show us, what you tell us, saves men! Let them see. Nae in this chamber hears whom I nae trust to hear it. Healers are with us, and I bring Nofos De to Pie, so Rish can have healing. Ket, can you help Molly?” Nofos De! Best healer for anyone from Ka! He’s in Alb with the other Elders!
“Habis ha! Can’t I block some of this? Earthans are more fragile than Elshars!”
He sighed, and it rumbled on me. “It is impossible. Help her as much as you can. I fear to see this, and I took reports of many whom Heden destroyed.”
I touched their clasped hands and let the memories come. They were in Prov Nine of Elshar Mashai, the night this prov attacked Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony and killed two-thirds of it. I felt sick! Part of Eriganh’s war! I realized a lot of things I witnessed were part of Rentappenen’s war, too. How much did I miss when I was trying to ignore all the higher-level stuff, because I thought it didn’t apply to Rainbow? To me?
“Jir, if anything happens to us, you will always be my friend.” I touched the back of his head. Hot. Swollen. Blood matted his dark hair. How can we get back to the ship in this condition? My mind reached for Ry’nao, but I lacked strength to send much. I touched that of a healer. He taught me how to use my telepathy to ease Jir’s pain.
His blue eyes stared at me. “You are a healer! Mind pain leaves me.”
The healer warned me that Zheien act funny when they hit their heads in back. “Find a place to rest and make him lie flat. Let him regen.”
Regen, in this place? I kept him against the column’s inside corner. Useless place to hide! Hyssdia smoke from the tents made me stiffen. It’s cold, and the stone against Jir is making him stiff. I can’t move. Can’t get rid of our diplomats’ sashes. Got Jir away from Councilman Fors and the Prov Nine Council, but can’t get to his ship, only a few steps past the tents.
Another voice in my mind. I listened. A wise Thordes healer. “My son, I fear for you. If you are captured, try to touch my mind, and I will help if I can. I am Randy.”
An Elshar staggered into the column that hid us, and his hand found me. “Ah, what is this? Two diplomats. Asha! Sehem! Quickly, help me with them. Hold that Zheien.”
Two men grabbed Jir. He didn’t fight. Barely stumbled between them without falling. The first easily dragged me. My body felt numb. Moving was exhausting.
They led us down the alley by the tents. To a rock building, an ancient building. Dark. A light in a room. My neck thumped. Inside, low tables, blood-stained tables with chains, stood beside many torture devices. They put us on one table. Jir groaned.
I looked up, and Heden stood over us. “My son, I am a healer. Your neck is thumping—“
It was horrible, but I made it through. I saw a lot of traumatic reports. Not at this age! We saw months of Heden’s training. He wanted them to sign false treaties. He pretended to be kind, then showed extreme cruelty when they didn’t obey him. I shook all over. So did all of them, including Cev! Didn’t see my friends.
Ben took me off the bench. Paled when he saw how many healers crowded around these men! “Molly, should I ask another healer for you?”
Ket laughed. “I thought she’d need a lot of healing, but she didn’t. Pas taught me Earthan healing.”
I laughed, too. “Y’all okay?” Ben helped me by thinking about a garden in Fhiah.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Rish nodded. “I want to meet Rose.”
Pie giggled. “I want to meet her mea!”
Jirris had dark eyes. “Molly, will Ghen wish to marry me?”
Cev hugged him and Rish. “My sons, I wish you to leave diplomatic work and learn healing. Surely Ghen has less fear, then--”
“These memories shall destroy her!” He wept.
I got Ben to put me down and hugged Jirris. Kissed his forehead. “Listen to me, Ba. You had them, and she just sang to you. She has her dad to help her, and her mea is alive in this future. You have Rish and family on Elshar Zheiea. You’ll help each other. I saw a lot of marriages in Elshar Zheiea, and all of you have horrible memories! Not one died. Pirad can make those memories dim, so it’s not as bad.
“King Wen said diplomats should not be denied happiness for fear that memories might kill someone. Elshar Zheien could only court for a week, he advised. I think even that’s too much. We had a lot of instant marriages because one or both of ‘em couldn’t apply all the telepathic blocks you have to do.”
Jirris’ eyes were all the way open. Black, like marbles in white. “King Wen?” He trembled.
Cev did, too. “Ba, see our family! All are well! Challet reigns over us. Kirisden, Wen and their wives are all on the Council together! Menchall yet leads him. Elshars who came with us are diplomats, traders, and many artisans came. All abhor persecution! We have peace in our colony.”
A wave, and we saw. Happy traders at their tables. Children laughed as they ran through, and even Elshars trying to trade across from them laughed! Couples walked past under a bright yellow sky. No one shouted an insult. If a child fell in the sand, he bathed in it!
They have a festival going on, but healers are taking people to Rainbow when they get tired. They can’t go home yet, to their new houses?
The yellow dust on Elshar Mashai is poison, and kids had to be wrapped when they went outside. No kid dared to play in a market there! Stone cubes in rows with black tarps over a window and door. Traders have to move every day and how much trade they have at sunset determines which house. Tech is rationed severely.
Was. They built the Nefcot Ring to funnel energy from our Milky Way to all the other galaxies. On Elshar Mashai, the Alliance Council is talking about that right now! They ended all slavery in the Alliance at 4 pm today! It’s 6:10 pm now? Azure went to Pirad’s Lab in Antarctica. She’s sharing memories for clones. She wants a clone of me her age, 16. I told Pirad to go ahead!
A lot of Elshars came to Earth today when they heard about SETI. They’re trading with all the people Adia brought on her team. They’re raiding second-hand stores. Elshars have an embassy ship. Andrisch, Earth’s new Trade Inspector, is on it. He already sent those creeps who took ‘em to Heden to Ih Esta on Gowa. Heden has hundreds of clones and Andrisch judged several hundred of ‘em today. They are dead.
I knew Cam Ta Of Ishah Elshar Colony, who was briefly Trade Inspector Of Prov One, Elshar Mashai. They sent him to Ih Esta. I shuddered.
Cev touched my mind. Know you where he is, Molly?
I showed him the list of mines he went through. But, he showed up on Earth, in Tullahoma, TN, before going home to Ishah, then to Ryee’s Unwell Colony in Ye~. His eyes went black when he saw what condition he was in when I knew him. They found two disposable ships this morning? There’s a slaver colony here in our solar system.
I waved up a map. He’s in a hospital trying to sneak out! Berto went to that stairwell. He sent a diplomat to the lady’s house, and another one, Asha, to another lady’s house, where Pondaiash will end up. They couldn’t see them, but I got locations. Pondaiash is lying in tall grass in Leyla’s yard! It’s in the 50s. I ran a warm containment. Oleana’s sleeping, so Asha ported there to watch over his friend. Westermeyer and Carroll have been busy with other stuff today since I told Cev about the disposable ships. He has a lot of diplomats all over Tullahoma, but they couldn’t find ‘em. They turned in a lot of slavers to Andrisch. Why is it I can see them and the ship’s server can’t detect ‘em? Trained operatives can’t find ‘em, either?
Jirris’ eyes went black, and he sweated! Felt my mind near him and got scared. Elshar Zheien are almost always scared of healers because herbs don’t work right on them. Pirad can bring his Zheien portion dominant if he can get over his fear.
Cev carried him into his room, where one of Ahstam’s clones waited. I felt terrible. Rish needed his testimony in some trade disputes. Their last mission was in Prov Nine. Adia warned Cevit Ion that they needed to leave. They helped Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony move from the 7th to the 1st—to Alb. But they came straight here to help with Earth’s treaties after that, when they should’ve had their respite. A lot of his diplomats are missing since they left Monday that were in memories Cev had later than then. I shuddered. Are slavers also seeing futures?
Eriganh attacked D’gharr, people grabbed everyone to go there and fight, and King Challet used the confusion to buy slaves and food and move his colony in secret! That must’ve been awful! Cev thought of friends and relatives who are missing since that day. People sold everything to get a ship or passage. Slavers sold slaves openly in every prov's market! I saw diplomats’ reports of that awful day in Rainbow. How wonderful that they moved to a new, safe world in Alb!
I wanted to follow Jirris, but they need brother time. He’s been sick today, before seeing these horrible memories.
Rish ported to Adelle’s house to meet Rose. He’s going to bring them here. Pie wanted to go with him, but he didn’t want to scare ‘em.