A gentle hand on his shoulder woke Jeff the following day. He opened his eyes to see Gwen placing a steaming cup of coffee on the nightstand. That bought Jeff fully awake. His mother never waited on him and Tessa.

“Am I sick or something?” he asked in a bemused voice as Gwen went to his closet and began pulling out clothes for him to wear, which she never did.

“No, I…” She dropped the clothes on the foot of his bed and wiped a quick hand across her wet eyes. “Get dressed, Jeff. I’ll get my coffee and join you. We can’t talk in the other part of the house. Your father’s busy yelling out the WSA bigwig responsible for ordering Tessa picked up.”

Gwen left, and Jeff was no sooner dressed than Tessa opened the door and slipped in. The child had an uncanny knack for timing things just right.

“Don’t you knock?” Jeff scowled but halfheartedly. Tessa recognized the tone and scampered up onto Jeff’s bed. She grabbed his huge comforter and wrapped herself in it until Jeff could see a tuff of dark baby-curled hair. Tessa was small for six years and could lose herself in anything.

“Jeff, are you going away?” the comforter asked in a small, stifled voice.

“Sure, as, kiddo. To school in about…” He glanced at his watch. “Forty minutes.”

The comforter grew a head with two enormous blue eyes staring out. “No, I mean to go away, like not to school, but somewhere else.” Before Jeff could answer, Tessa went on. “I heard mommy crying last night when I got up to go to the bathroom. And I heard Daddy say that you had to go as soon as possible. Then Mommy saw me standing in the hall, and then they closed the door.”

Jeff got his coffee and sat beside Tessa on the bed. She unbundled herself and crawled into his lap just as Gwen knocked lightly on the door and came back in.

“I see you’ve been getting an unauthorized intelligence report,” Gwen said as she turned the chair at the desk outway and sat.

Jeff was relieved to see that his mother had gained control of her tears. He eased Tessa out of his lap and started on the coffee. When she protested, Jeff resettled her in his lap and handed her the cup to finish.

Gwen sighed. Both Rod and Jeff indulged Tessa too much. But not this morning. Time was too short. “Tessa, get dressed for school,” Gwen said firmly. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

Tessa didn’t argue when Gwen spoke to her in that tone of voice. She handed the cup to Jeff, slid to the floor, and started out. When she reached the door, Tessa stopped and turned back for a moment. “Jeff, you won’t go away today, will you?”

Jeff glanced at his mother, but Gwen’s expression gave nothing away for once. “I don’t know, Tess,” he finally answered, “But if I do, I'll tell you first, okay?”

When Tessa was gone, Gwen scolded softly. “Jeff, you shouldn’t make promises you might not be able to keep. You don’t realize the upheaval we’re all about to go through.:

Jeff stood. “Should I go tell Tess that I AM leaving today?”

Gwen shookher head and motioned him to sit again. “Things do get started today, but our family won’t be split apart for another couple of hours.” She stated bitterly.

“There was a knock at the door, and this time Rod came in. Gwen looked at him questioningly. “His Arrogance just left,” Rod told her. “Pissed-off, but hopefully a little wiser.” He held out a hand to Gwen. “Let’s have breakfast while things are relatively quiet.

“In spite of Mr. Tate’s grudgingly-given assurances, I think we’ll take Tessa with us today,” Rod said abruptly as they all sat at the table a few minutes later.

“Take me where?” Tessa demanded excitedly.

“Jeff starts a different kind of school today,” Rod explained. “A very different kind of school.” He turned to Jeff. “But please don’t ask questions now.”

“And I get to go too?” Tessa piped up.

Gwen shook her head, but Rod looked thoughtful. “I think the situation calls for some drastic changes. When you know the whole of it, Gwen, you’ll see that we can’t put Tessa back into a public school, her or any other Thran child.”

It made Jeff feel strange hearing Rod call Tessa a Thran. Instinctively, his eyes swept over her, searching for alien differences he may not have noticed before. Then he remembered that he was more alien than Tessa. Jeff wasn’t just Tran. He was a full-blood Thallian and very unsure that he liked the idea.

At Rod’s insistence, the matter of school was dropped for the duration of the meal. After breakfast, Gwen hustled Tessa to her room for her coat while Rod made several phone calls. Jeff went to the garage to power up the air car.

Stolen story; please report.

Rod took the cruiser in a northern direction, away from their secluded home. As per request, Jeff didn’t ask questions, but he grew more and more puzzled; fortunately, Rod decided to tell him a little more.

“Son, you won’t be graduating from high school, but soon that will be unimportant to you. Your mother didn’t lie. We are enrolling you in another school today. If things go well, you’ll eventually finish your formal education there. However, it’s a military school, a training center for….”

“Rod!” Gwen’s voice held a warning.

Rod heading it with a nod, then turned to Jeff. “Your instructors have requested that all explanations not vital to the moment be left to them. We will comply with that.”

“What about Tessa?” Jeff insisted. “Are you putting her in that school too?”

Rod glanced sharply at Jeff. “That’s what we’re checking on today,” he said coolly, not liking the tone of Jeff's voice.

Jeff looked out, noticed that the cruiser was banking right, heading for a distant mountain range, then turned back to Rod.

“Dad, you can’t put Tessa in a military school! He said, challenging Rod seriously for the first time ever. “She’s just a baby, not even six years old.”

As Jeff took in both Rod and Gwen’s astonishment, he added. “Look, I’ll do everything I can for your people… our people; I can’t believe the situation is so desperate, we have to use babies like Tessa to…”

“Whoa!” Rod laughed as he motioned Gwen to pilot the Griser from her seat so he could turn and give Jeff his full attention. “No one’s going to turn your sister into a soldier. “We’re only thinking of activating her psionic abilities and training her to use them so she can defend herself. Or have you forgotten how eager Walter Tate and certain other WSA agents are to get lab-quality information?”

Jeff looked suitable chastened, but with the door open to questions, he plowed ahead. “I still don’t understand the why of it, Dad. WSA knows we’re on their side, so why are they doing this?”

“Fear,” Rod said tersely. “WSA Military Intelligence has learned something about the RiaZan that has them terrified enough to try and gain control of the only workable defense Earth has. That’s us.

There were no road signs announcing their destinations. Rod eased the car down on a paved field with acres of similar aircars. On the way in, Jeff had seen fenced-off areas containing miles upon miles of military aircraft and vehicles of every type imaginable. In the distance, he spotted the leading edge of what were probably several miles of military barracks.

“Velderon Military Base,” Jeff muttered to himself as he read several painted assigns above different buildings.

“So it is,” Rod agreed in amusement as the cruiser doors slid open. He swung down to the pavement, assisted Gwen, and then caught Tessa as Jeff handed her down. Jeff jumped out in time to see a soldier in a bright red dress uniform step up and accept a salute from Rod. Jeff caught the gleam of rank insignias on the man’s shoulders and realized he couldn’t possibly be as young as he looked.

The soldier returned the salute as Rod motioned Jeff and Tessa forward. “General Kerrington, my son, Jeff, and my daughter, Tessa. You know Gwen, of course. Jeff and Tessa, This is General Paul Kerrington, Tara Base Commander and our highest ranking scorpion Commando. We are honored, sir.”

Kerrington looked straight at Jeff. “The honor is mine. Dr. Carlisle, if you’ll bring your family this way, I’ve arranged a tour of the real facilities.”

Jeff soon discovered that the “real facilities” mainly were underground. He also learned that the Thrans owned the entire base. They had purchased it from the Jamerican government when a century of peace between the Jamerican nation and the Eurasian Empire made most giant military bases tactically unnecessary and economically unprofitable.

Kerrington made the tour brief because of the “Pressing business at hand.” So Jeff’s first impression was of wide rock-walled corridors and vast rooms of all types and purposes that seemed to flash by as Jeff stook on one of the fasted moving walkways he’d ever been on.

Finally, Keffington touched a control causing the walkway to break away from the walkway they were on, and that section slowed to a halt. He walked along some railing and =led everyone into a small lounge to one side of the broad corridor. He turned to Rod and abruptly dropped his previous formality. Rod, Gwen, will five minutes be enough? I hate to rush you, but everyone is ready to begin.”

When Rod nodded, Kerrington left, closing the door behind him.

The events of the past twenty-four hours may have left Jeff bewildered, but he was not stupid. He had caught on that this was a boarding school. Since it was military as well, that meant an initial lengthy separation from his family while Jeff was trained and broken into the system.

“I suppose this means goodbye,” he said, hugging Gwen and then bent over to pick up Tessa.

"For a while, yes,” Rod admitted as Jeff handed his clinging sister over. “They want no distractions while you’re trained.

“And Tessa?”

“She’ll be in another part of the base with children her age. She’ll get to come home nights and weekends unless even that becomes unsafe.” Rod took a deep, ragged breath and wiped a tear from his eye. He cleared his throat. “Jeff, it will be several weeks before they allow you to see or contact anyone outside the Scorpion training facilities. There’s a lot we still want to tell you. Unfortunately, there’s no time now.

Gwen broke in, hugging Jeff. “Jeff, don’t forget that we are your family and love you very much.”

Tessa suddenly realized Jeff really was about to leave them. She broke free of Rod’s arms and scrambled down. Sobbing, she clutched at Jeff’s legs. He lifted her for a last hug.

“Hey, fuzzy-head,” he teased lightly. “Don’t forget to feed Gorgon while I’m gone. Watch his beak, or you’ll lose a finger.”

Tessa’s sobs stopped at the mention of Jeff’s pet turtle. Wish was almost big enough to be moved to the pond in the backfield. “Can I keep him in my room?” she asked with a stifled sob.

Jeff nodded and handed her to Gwen. “Yeah, but don’t let him loose in your bathtub like last time. You know how Mom feels about that.

Jeff took the hand Rod was holding out and hugged him firmly as his Dad pulled him in for a hug. He hugged Gwen once more, then turned and walked out the door whatever awaited him.