All That Glitters Ch. 29

The Chair dismissed the other candidates, thanking them for volunteering.

The Trine brought the Grand Master before Fiona.

"Vangeliya, I am required by the TGA to inform you that you are about to be involved with issues that are considered secret by the TGA and the Union Navy. We had to inform the Councillors of some of these, in order to get their permission to hire the successful candidate.

"Having said that, I need to know that you can keep a secret, even from your own family if necessary?" Fiona demanded.

"I can, Ms. Marsh. I have been involved with numerous police actions here on Hollander's World and have not divulged anything to outside sources without the consent of those who employed me," she told them, getting a nod from the Chair.

"That is correct, Fiona," Petronellaya said. "She is known for her discretion."

Fiona called up a checklist.

"Please raise your left hand and place your right hand over your heart," Fiona told her. "Repeat after me...

"I, state your name, solemnly affirm, that I will not, without due authority, disclose or make known to any person not legally entitled to it, any knowledge or information obtained by me in the course of my duties under the direction of the commander of the Piscium Defence Force, Commodore Fiona Marsh, her subordinates and successors, pursuant to the Union Intelligence Act, to Union Navy Law, and the laws of the Terran Union Governmental Authority. I understand that breaking this oath will result in potential penalties under said laws." Vangeliya repeated the phrases of the oath of secrecy and was officially sworn in as a member of the team.

"Congratulations, Vangeliya, you can now be read into all aspect of your new position. Please go with the Fellowship to the Trine's hotel room while I speak with the Councillors."

She watched the group leave before turning to the Councillors. "Once news of upcoming events gets out, we will need the services of the Council of Empaths yet again. We will need people of Grand Master status to come work for us. For now, we must leave it to these two. I cannot say how long that will be."

"We understand, Fiona," the Chair stated for all. "We are ever so pleased that you have brought Junelliea to our attention and that you have hired Vangeliya as your first Grand Master Empath.

"She is an exceptional individual and you will not be disappointed in your choice," Petronellaya added, moving to embrace Fiona. "I think it is time for us to go to our rooms now, it has been an incredible couple of days for us."

************

The group could hardly contain their excitement until they got to the Trine's room, giggling and laughing all they way up in the elevator.

They burst into their rooms and Gillaya's stomach growled so loud it brought everyone to an abrupt halt. They laughed and called room service, ordering for all and asking for food for the Cats as well, all three of whom were dancing on their Trine's shoulders at the thought of eating.

They sat and listened to Vangeliya's history while they waited for the food, which arrived with Fiona in tow.

"How much have you told her," Fiona asked, as soon as the hotel staff left the room.

"Nothing as yet. We were waiting for food and you, Fiona," Heyya stated.

"Ok. Let's eat, then we can discuss things. If I remember correctly, the Cats need to be fed something first to keep them from trying to steal human food?" she asked, getting smiles from the Trine for remembering.

The Cats got their food as everyone else settled down to eat. But it wasn't long before the Cats tried to sneak towards the plates of their respective bond mates enticed by the food on the table.

Irritated after pushing him away several times, Fayad flung Fayea high toward the ceiling, when they heard his trilling at being thrown out like that. Fayea did many little loops in the air before coming back to Fayad's shoulder and again sneaking down to his hand, his excitement barely contained.

Fayad opened his hand, palm up, and Fayea curled into a ball in his palm. Fayad threw him as hard as he could toward the far end of the room, to see him snap open his cape to arrest his forward flight and start to circle around the room, trilling loudly.

Hanaya and Juneya began dancing on their Trine's arms, who opened their hands palms up and threw each Cat in turn into the far corner of the room. The sound of trilling Cats as they playfully spun in circles in the air was enough to bring giggles of delight to the diners. This kept up all through the meal, the Cats landing on their Trine and getting thrown back into the air until the meal ended.

The Cats then settled down on their Trine's shoulders, rubbing their heads into their bond mate's ears, purring loudly.

"Oh my, that was so delightful to watch!" Vangeliya said to the agreement of all present.

"Ok. Let's get down to business," Fiona stated at last, as tea and coffee was poured.

"Your actual duties, will be to assist in the ongoing negotiations with the various alien factions that Liramor-23 is dealing with," she said matter-of-factly, as if she was reciting the weather, revelling in the shocked look on Vangeliya's face.

Junelliea smiled as she recounted what she had been doing these last two months, seeing the look of surprise on Vangeliya's face when she discovered exactly what Junelliea had been doing.

"You will be involved in all aspects of these negotiations, Vangeliya," Fiona finally took over. "Junelliea has been a one woman force to be reckoned with but she cannot be everywhere at once. She will show you what she has been doing. In return, you will show her how best to employ her empathy in these duties and help in her training as your secondary duties. Do you understand?" she asked of the Grand Master.

The woman looked at her in utter surprise. She blinked several times as she tried to mentally assimilate all that she had just been told. But what she had been told was on the level of a fairy tale. It slowly dawned on her, however, that she was going to be part of history.

She looked at Junelliea, who gave her a bright smile. "Wait until you meet our new friend, Mind-Hur," she said.

Vangeliya was surprised at the smiles that bloomed all around the room. They were in on an inside joke and she was it.

"Now, ladies," Fiona admonished, "is that any way to greet your new Grand Master?"

"It's only a couple of more days until the end of the Grand Congress. You can take the time to pick up anything you need or want to take with you from where you are currently living, Vangeliya," Fiona advised.

Grand Congress of Empaths Day 3, Samaya Hotel, Scherm's City, Hollander's World, Sullivan System

The group, sans Vangeliya, was back in the ballroom the next morning watching and listening as things were discussed in the Council. While the sessions were tedious, this was new to the Trine, who were absorbing everything about the experience.

Near the end of the morning, Vangeliya returned, have collected everything she needed from her apartment and breaking the lease, simple enough to do as she was leasing month by month and it was near the end of the month.

"Got everything?" Junelliea asked her.

"Everything I want to bring," she replied. "The rest I sent to my mother with a note saying I am being employed off planet for a couple of years."

The Emcee got up with new business.

"A petition has been brought before the council to include Junelliea Herlan as a member of the Council of Empaths of Hollander's World. There are some issues with this petition, however. Junelliea Herlan, please come to the floor," the Emcee called Junelliea then gave the floor to the Chair.

"Junelliea Herlan is the powerful new empath we witnessed during the introductions of petitioners to membership on the first day of this Congress," the Chair stated. "At issue is the fact that she is not only powerful but also of a level of power that cannot be accurately rated.

"In her basic ratings, she is off the scale on power, reading and influence. With no experience to speak of, as she is a new empath, she rates a one in that category. Her control over her power is problematic. She does seem to be able to able to conduct masterful control from time to time, yet at other times displays a distinct lack of refined control. For this reason, her maturity level is listed as a two. What this means is that we have a candidate for membership that is unlike any that we have ever had before."

The Chair looked directly at Junelliea.

"The purpose of the Council of Empaths is to provide a set of guidelines by which all empaths must live in response to the powers they poses. By agreeing to become a member of this Council, the empath agrees abide by our rules, for life.

"This is a major commitment, not only for the new member, but also for the Council of Empaths which must monitor all empaths.

"Junelliea Herlan, should you be granted membership in the Council of Empaths of Hollander's World, do you swear to abide by the rules of conduct required of all members of the Council?" the Chair asked.

Having already been primed by Heyya, Junelliea stepped forward and spoke clearly; "Madame Chair, Councillors, members of this Grand Congress of Empaths, I Junelliea Herlan, member of my Trine, do solemnly swear that I will abide by the rules and regulations required of all empaths directed by this Council for the remainder of my life."

"Very well. With an 'Aye', do we accept Junelliea Herlan into the ranks as a Member in Full Standing of the Council of Empaths of Hollander's World?" the Chair demanded of all those present.

A loud and very boisterous 'Aye!' went up from those assembled.

"Objections?" the Chair asked. There were none.

"Junelliea Herlan, by unanimous consent, you are hereby accepted as a Member in Full Standing of this Council. You are permitted to add 'YA' to the end of your name, which we note that you spell I,E,A, so adding the Y before the A is appropriate for you. Congratulations, Junelliea Herlan."

A great cheer rang out at the pronouncement and Junelliea surprisingly felt tears streaming down her face as the Emcee presented her with her Council Medallion making her an official member of the Council of Empaths of Hollander's World. Fayad and Hanalei were hugging her, followed soon after by the remainder of her friends from Liramor-23.

Grand Congress of Empaths Day 5, Samaya Hotel, Scherm's City, Hollander's World, Sullivan System

The end of the business week was here, as was the end of the Congress. Junelliya was a little saddened that such a momentous moment in her life was coming to a close. Yet, paradoxically, she was also ready to move forward with her life.

One thing she had to do immediately was find a way to pronounce her name with the addition of the Y. Vangeliya suggested that she simply remove the E as it carried the same sound as with the Y, making it much easier for pronunciation in the Anuuran language.

Fayad had purchased for her an enlarged Council of Empaths medallion for her to wear. It now graced the front of her dress, magnetically held in place.

As the day came to a close, Junelliya was called forward. She and her Trine moved in front of the Councillors, then turned to face the room, her Trine on either side of her, and her Fellowship forming an arc that reached from the Trine to the first row of seats on wither side of the aisle.

The Chair came down from her perch and stood behind Junelliya, touching her shoulder. The Councillors stepped behind the Chair, forming a half circle each touching the Chair.

The attendees of the Grand Congress all reached out, touching the person in front of them until the innermost people touched the hands of Katanya and Silliya at the ends of their respective arc to Junelliya.

The Emcee began to call out the to Grand Congress: "I ask this Congress to put forth its blessing that we may share our love with all the people of Hollander's World."

All the members put forth a good portion of the power that they could hold and pushed it down the link of hands to the center of the Congress, now bound in Junelliya. She absorbed all the good will from the Congress and pulled it into the center of her calm.

With the thoughts of, Peace, Love, and Goodwill, she pushed all the power she was receiving outward with all her strength and with the full strength of the Grand Congress of Empaths behind her.

The message rolled outward swiftly from the Congress, felt first by all in Scherm's City, then in the province. In most years, this was a far as the Grand Congress could push the warmth of their message. Not this year.

The message continued to move outward, touching more and more people, empaths and non-empaths alike, as the power was propelled outward in a grand circle pushed by the new empath.

When Junelliya felt herself waning, she let the power leach away, opened her eyes and smiled to the audience, sharing her love and gratitude for their acceptance of her to all of those present.

The Grand Council of Empaths broke their contact as a mighty cheer went up.

The Councillors would receive reports for days of the great distances the message of peace sent by this Grand Congress was felt. The Councillors were certain that Junelliya would one day become one of the greatest assets the Council of Empaths ever had.

Alien Embassage, Liramor-23, Piscium System, 106 Light Years from Terra

Harold Flynet had never been to Liramor-23 before, nor anywhere near it for that manner. He was intrigued as to why he was sent here from the UDC offices on Terra.

Ambassador Flynet met the two ambassadors in the Embassy and sat chatting amicably with them while they waited for whatever was to happen. Harold's back was to the door that he heard opening, but his two fellow ambassadors rose swiftly, so Harold followed suit, not knowing what to expect.

"Good morning, Ambassador Flynet," said a cultured voice with a hint of a French accent to it.

Harold turned to the voice, and almost fell back into his seat. There were several humans in front of him, and one alien.

"I am Fiona Marsh, Mr. Ambassador. I am the Director of Operations for Liramor-23 and Commodore, commanding the Piscium Defence Force, unfortunately, currently protecting us from Mind-Hur's people," Fiona said as she reached out to shake his hand.

"May I introduce our newest candidate for citizenship in the Union, Mind-Hur, formerly of the Pod-Drran, Mr. Ambassador," she indicated the alien who bowed her head and extended her hand to the new person.

Flynet took the hand in his, marvelling at the texture, which was a little rougher than human skin, with obvious talons instead of nails. The hand felt warm, when he was expecting it to be cold because of the colour and texture of her skin reminded him of reptilian skin.

The eyes were slightly larger than human eyes with vertical pupils, similar to those of snakes and other reptiles. The nose a little longer and flatter against the face. The hair was white and sounded odd as she moved it, clicking slightly. He realized it was more like the hollow quills of some animals on Terra, though it was much thinner, longer, and more flexible than quills.

She wore a human style dress with an open V-neck, that was fitted over four breasts. There was a leather pouch of some kind at her left hip, with a symbol that he didn't recognize, and block script that he also did not recognized.

"Mind-Hur?" he asked. "I hope I pronounced your name correctly?"

"You did, Mr. Ambassador," she replied, with a close-mouthed smile.

"Shall we sit?" Fiona asked, taking the chair at the head of the table, with Mind-Hur beside her on the left. On Mind-Hur's left was a woman of exquisite beauty who sat proudly upright. She wore a shimmery, silky looking full length dress. The only piece of jewelry that adorned her was what looked like a shark's tooth on a bright silver chain.

Beside her was a person he immediately recognized as a reporter, her face looked familiar, ah yes, Cynthia Stewart.

On Fiona's right, was a Navy Commander, and next to her was a gentleman who was looking with pride at the woman across from him.

His wife, or lover then, thought Harold.

Beside him was a woman wearing an IPPF badge.

The two ambassadors from Liramor-23 sat either side after those two and Harold sat at the end, in the guest's chair.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have called you here to discuss our mutual problem with Mind-Hur who, because of our interference, had to flee her people.

"Min-Hur has been processed by the Campus of Malton University and found to be near Doctorate level in three of the fields that she was working in in her previous career. With some tutoring, she will be ready to receive doctorate degrees in electrical engineering, in image processing, and in computer engineering. That makes her a formidable asset to this station.

"As well, Mind-Hur is the leading expert on the language and customs of the Pod-Drran people and has been an indispensable aide to us on those issues.

"One of the issues that stands in our way is the custom of the Shar-Terg, which we refer to as asylum. In her people's custom, those who accept the Shar-Terg give up their family name and adopt the name of the family under which they now hold asylum.

"The issue here is what name will she adopt?" Fiona explained. "Raymond Clark extended the asylum to her in the first place, recognizing that he had inadvertently placed her in grave danger. Does she adopt the name Clark as a family name?

"She now works for me, and I accepted Raymond's plea for asylum, being his superior in the chain of command. Does she accept the name Marsh as a family name?

"I granted her asylum in the name of the Union, however, so whose name should be represented there. President Holloway's?"

"Are there other options? Let's open the floor for debate, please," Fiona ordered.

The debate was lively and went for twenty minutes before Fiona began to wrap it up.

"Ok, let's take a look at what we have then, Damayanti, could you sum-up please?" she asked.

"Commodore, each of the names was debated and, from my calculations, none were found to be superior to the other, no offence, ma'am," Cdr. Balakrishnan remarked.

"None taken, Damayanti," Fiona laughed.

"I think this comes down to personal choice, ma'am," Cdr. Balakrishna stated.

"Good point, the one person that we haven't asked an opinion of is Mind-Hur," Fiona noted. "But I think Junelliya has not commented either. Why don't we open the floor to her?"

"I have been watching Mind-Hur all along and, while she is appreciative of the opportunity she has been given, she does not seem particularly happy with the choices of names she has," Junelliya commented.

"The issue here isn't that Mind-Hur must adopt another families name, but that she must give up her current family name. By tradition, when one accepts Shar-Terg, they lose their family name immediately. We, being humans, do not really understand what that means, to lose your family name under such circumstances.

"I would like to make a suggestion, Mind-Hur," Junelliya said, turning to her friend. "You don't seem to like the names suggested because they are not like anything that you are used to. By your traditions, you must lose your family name, however, by human tradition, you do not have to accept any of the names suggested today. Might I suggest that you chose a name that is more likely to be accepted by your own people, should you have the opportunity to return to them?

"Your name is Mind-Hur. Why don't you change your name to Mind-Ur, it is close to your own name so it will be easily remembered. It is something that other Pod-Drran will likely accept in the off chance that you be welcomed back into the fold and it is not so difficult for you to say as our names would be.