Cassandra pulled at a dark curl. I felt something and waved a map. “What’s a 5-year-old doing walking down the sidewalk, alone?” The Alliance record said Destiny—

She gasped. “That’s my daughter!” She reached through the holo and pulled her onto the ship. “Destiny, honey, are you okay?” She’s in a sleeveless dress and it’s in the 40s!

She looked up, blue eyes wide. “I’m hungry.”

Cassandra waved a clean dress on her and gave her a pink blanket. Waved up restaurant menus. “You can have anything you want, sweetie!” Destiny smiled and hugged the surrounding blanket. It had cute pink elephants on it.

She pointed, and Cassandra got plates. She gobbled things.

Tan ran out, because I got him and let him see. He laughed. “You may keep her, by Alliance rules, because no one was with her! Once Earth joins the Alliance, I can explain. They may require monitoring progs, but if you do not object—”

Cassandra ran ‘em. It’s part of the abuse progs. “I don’t mind! Anything to have my daughter back!”

Berto came out, saw her, and his blue eyes went very light. Tan explained. Poor Cassandra looked guilty, but he hugged her. “We wanted a child, and this is wonderful!”

“I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Cassandra put Destiny on her lap when she stopped eating. “I’m your mama, honey. You can stay with us.”

“Mama! I told ‘em you were coming! You found me!” She hugged her.

Berto kissed both of them. “I’ll let my bahie work. Beauty, let’s move to Elshar Zheiea tonight! I can learn to do something safer.”

Cassandra nodded. The cheerful smile on her face made Berto’s turn light. I felt the happiness of his clone, who was plenty busy today, but wanted to assign teams on Bisillipia. He ported there. Berto’s other clone will work here. He has an army of clones traveling to other worlds! One’s with the Elshar Council on Elshar Mashai now!

Ket ran out and brought Pirad. Destiny even took that well. He’s going to make her Elshar, to help her with all the abuse she’s had. A lot of brain damage from abusers. I fumed.

They all went to Goe’s Ship. It’s time. I went back into Doug and Jen’s room. That feeling came again, that something’s about to happen!

Doug reached for my hand and flinched. Paled.

Neal, his bahie, grabbed him. “Doug, are you all right?”

“My head hurts again.”

I hummed, and he looked better. “Thanks, Molly.”

“You should—”

Suma and Ni vanished! What’s going--

Doug got upset! “Bahie! Where’d he go?” He grabbed his chest!

Jen grabbed him and made him lie down! Healers in Ket’s ennead ran to him! But, I felt something else.

Ket looked towards the portal, and Pirad came running! His 3 sets of orange pupils flew apart! “My work is ruined!”

Doug cried. “My bahie!”

“I cannot bring him back! Jarfus needed him! You must be calm. Jen, to save him, I must reclone him fully Ishah. Can you let me?”

Jen cried and hugged him. “He can be Ishah! I just want him alive, Pirad!”

A white flash, and his five-fingered hands were three rectangular fingers.

Ket’s eyes turned black. “Ishah can die of upsets like a Zheien!”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Pirad sighed, and his lips buzzed. “I cannot save him as Elshar. Doug, eat this herb and sleep! You are safe—”

“My bahie’s not!” He sobbed. But he ate the green leaf Pirad gave him. Went to sleep.

Ket looked at Pirad.

“I hope his brother comes back before he wakes! I cannot reclone him again this soon!” He ported back to his lab.

Ryee held Doug. Adia wept silently, so he put an arm around her, too. Jen also leaned against Ryee with an arm over her husband. Stroked his blond hair. He looked the same, maybe a bit more round-faced. She waved up bahef and layered them on his chest. He still sweated. The pastries just sat there and didn’t sink in like they should.

Ket already sedated Ron. I looked at both of ‘em, but couldn’t do anything for Doug. He ported all of us to Goe’s Ship, but their room looks the same. Jen had her panicky look, but smoothed Doug’s hair. “I’m right here, my love.” Her voice had a very calm tone, despite the fear in those brown eyes.

My clones ported in with Vonne and her parents in the outer room. Ron startled awake, but Ket pushed him against his leiwege. “Don’t—”

I ran out there.

They’re in a room on the ship, where Molly and Ben’ve been showing them the worlds of Alb, and they like Ye~, since they told them he already lives there.

“Where’s Ron? Can I go meet him? Does he work in a clinic in your lab?” Vonne trembled. Pulled long brown hair out of her eyes. Her parents stood close to her and nodded.

“Ron is unable to work because we removed terminals from him. We hope that if he has you, our healers may do more for him. Did you meet Pirad, in Rainbow?” Ben let her see a Bisillip, a deep green clicking skeleton. Half my width, same height as her, taller than me, twice my joints. His usual smug expression, spindly arms folded across his chest.

“He healed us, when he came to Rainbow.” She smiled, deep blue eyes wide.

“He wishes to reclone both of you as Elders. If he can do this, he can give you traits to help Ron’s seizures. In this future, we found him before he went to Ih Esta on false charges, and he escaped devastating injuries, but he had many. His father went to Ih Esta and died.”

“I’m glad! All he did was scare Ron and hurt him, in Rainbow, despite all Molly’s—uh, your precautions. What shape is Ron in?”

I worried. “His father tortured him because he stole slaves to free them from him and many high-level slavers. Last week, he beat him and gave him slaver herbs to disable him. Ryonne~ sent a diplomat to Gowa to stop Ih Esta. Pas, his Master Healer, healed him as much as he could, then Pirad saw him. I added healing. But he cries easily. He feels that if he can’t trade, you can’t love him.” I touched her shoulder, and she clung to my hand.

Binneas sighed, and his yellow-green eyes filled.

“I think he needs you, LaVonne.” I smiled.

“Oh, call me Vonne, Molly, Binneas. I want to see him. I can look at the facility later.” They offered her a job on Earth?

They came out and we just stepped into—oh, they’re not my Elshar clones, they’re holos. The ship took off. They’re still on Adia’s.

“Okay!” Her thoughts were loud! Not like me at—well, around fellas, yeah. Had I ever been on a date? Not even in high school, unless you counted study groups. No.

We led them all to Jen and Doug’s bedroom. De’sai, Doug and Neal’s father, held him as he slept. It’s only 9:40 pm, not late. His skin should be sunny yellow. He’s pasty white.

Ket picked her up and put her on a leiwege, those Zheien bendable mattresses, and it held her up. Then he put Ron’s hand in hers. She rubbed it.

They both cried! Ron paled gray when he saw Vonne crying. “What's wrong?”

She had the memory stare. She’s seeing her future!

“You know that's a future that won't happen now, right? You won't be going to that place, having to pick seeds past wasps that, if one stings you, you're dead! We have progs to hide wasps, or anything that scares a person. Watch.” I waved one up for her. Vonne was crying too hard, so I set it up for her.

“Parley's on Titan before they went to Piradonya, and so were all the Yeff you knew there. They’re on a ship that’ll be here in minutes, with lots of healers on it. Ih Esta got their slaver. Herren Mar and his whole crooked council went to Och Pauchu on Gowa. Piradonya's getting a new ruler and council, and a TS Inspector to keep trade honest.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Cevit Ion's here working on the treaty. Ry'nao is still Emperor. All 21 of the diplomats you saved, and 20 others who died before you went there, we got them from Titan and they are all able to work! Slavers on Titan knew slavers on Piradonya.”

I let go so he could hold her. “I'm—scared of wasps! My doctoral thesis is on ways to save them! How—can I finish?”

Gently, as if he held a Zheien lady, he straightened her frilly dress. Long sleeves, with pink flowers on yellow and greenery. She had a death grip on his arm!

“Look, our tech’ll make finishing your research easy. Pirad knows healing for us. I had some awful memories I couldn't handle from that other future. My husband had a mission to Ceaceadis and lost most of his sight. He came back frozen. Pirad can selectively dim memories that are horrible, without damage, and you control how dim they are. I can bring him.”

Poor Ben’s heart pounded. He let Pirad take some of that away, but just knowing that happened--

“I don't want to forget Ron! We got married, and I love him!”

“You do? But, I'm not smart—”