All That Glitters Ch. 40

"As to who to act as an Intermediary, I would suggest Augraf. He is known and respected by our leaders. This will be a good test of the Order of Telepaths. Thank-you for this, Junelliya, Maya, you may just have given the Order a strong assist," Tougrate explained, with a wave of his tentacles that Junelliya now recognized as similar to an ama hand motion that humans would understand.

"Do you wish to come back to Liramor-23 with me, or do you wish to remain here?" Junelliya asked.

Everyone decided to return to Liramor-23. They would take things up again in a couple of days once they had more people to work with. They said their good-byes to Dr. Defroe and made their way back to the base's exterior shuttle port, the only place on the base that civilian vessels were allowed to land by law.

Piscium Family Quarters, India Deck, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

Junelliya quietly entered the suite as she expected the children to be sleeping. She was surprised to see several of her acquaintances in the home, two of which were holding giggling children. A smile graced her face as she came further into the unit.

"What's going on here?" she asked of no one in particular.

"Our two favorite Piscium's have been away for over a month," Mind-Ur informed her. "We came over to enjoy their presence and play with them."

That brought a giggle to Junelliya. Zarrenia smiled at the sound of her mother's voice, looking around to see her. Junelliya took the child into her arms and presented her breast for her. "I know what that look means," she giggled to the child, getting a laugh from Mind.

"How has everyone been while we were away?" Junelliya asked. She was swiftly regaled with the activities of their friends and acquaintances on the platform. Sitting down in her favorite rocking chair, she listened intently to the goings on as she fed her child. Despite the number of people on board, the platform really was like a small village.

Fayad was moving about, being a good host, as he provided snacks and drinks to all. He brought Junelliya an orange juice, catching a kiss on the way by. Takebayashi Urano, the Nanny, came out of the children's room and told everyone that it was time to settle them down for the night, getting a room full of awes from the assembled group.

"You can come back tomorrow, but the children need their sleep," she told them with a gentle smile.

"Not tomorrow," Hanalei stated firmly. "We are taking the children to see their God-parents."

The group began to split up, each taking their time to give the children a kiss and getting goodnight hugs from Ikekia, who suddenly looked sad when she realized all her friends were leaving.

Hanalei giggled at her daughter's plight. "Don't worry, Ikekia, you will see them again," she told her, then handed her to Urano to be settled down.

Junelliya finished with Zarrenia and brought her to her bassinet, giving her a kiss before settling her in. She gave a kiss to Ikekia finding her already drifting off. Giving Urano a smile she returned to the main room where her husband caught her and gave her an even bigger kiss than before.

Violletiya, Hanalei's bodyguard, Sylvie Kinlo her PA, and Urano wished the three goodnight as they disappeared into the master suite. The three new ladies had grown fond of each other over the five-week long excursion of OP Sandcastle, Sylvie coming into the mix not long after the Trine had entered the gathering in the Punarjanm System. She had been surprised at how much the family had done and how much they were involved with a Navy operation on that scale. What was even more astonishing was finding out that Junelliya was so universally liked by most of the members of the Interspecies Community.

"I can't believe how respected Junelliya seems to be among the aliens," Sylvie opened the conversation.

"We don't call them aliens here, Sylvie," Violletiya admonished. "Here, we are all known as members of the Interspecies Community, the Greater Community, or just the Community for short."

"You would have to understand the concept then if you use the word Community in the wrong place," Sylvie noted. "That could get a little confusing."

"So far it hasn't," Urano told her. "Violletiya and I have been with the family since their return from Denders Resort and we have never had an issue understanding who or what we are talking about. We rarely refer to them as the Community, anyway. We mostly refer to them by their species name or by their individual names.

"I quite like Mind-Ur and the members of her House, while Meela is enamored of our two little ones." Urano's comment brought giggles out of the other two as they remembered how much Meela loved the children, getting right down on the deck to play with them. While no one could explain it, the Byandi seem to have a strong affinity to human children.

"How are you going to be once you end your time with us?" Violletiya asked of Urano.

"I'll still be here on the platform, working from my own daycare," Urano answered. "I look forward to working with the young of the Community again. My time at Denders was so special. I really loved working in that environment. Besides, the family will likely use my daycare for their needs so I will still see the children frequently."

"Where are the Cats?" Sylvie asked suddenly, bringing a giggle from Violletiya.

"They are likely in with the children," she replied. "They love the little ones and are probably looking forward to the day that they are big enough to play with."

"I would have been so worried about them, seeing their teeth and claws, until I saw how much they truly love the children," Sylvie mused.

"For most people not from Hollander's World, the Cats take some getting used to," Violletiya told her. "I keep forgetting how much of a surprise it is for strangers to see the Cats interacting with children like that."

"The pet you grew up with is somebody else's monster?" Urano asked, smiling.

"Yes, something like that," Violletiya admitted. "I am so grateful that I was selected to be part of this family. I have experienced so much because of them.

"We all have something to look forward to," she told the other ladies. "All of us will be part of history working for this family."

"So who are the God-parents to our two little ones?" Sylvie asked.

"The Kumar-Pair of the Pod-Drran, effectively, the Empress and Emperor of the Pod-Drran," Urano replied, shocking Sylvie who's draw dropped nearly to the deck.

The Imperial Palace Shuttle Port, Capital City, Pod-Saar, The Sharanas System, 109 Light Years from Terra

The Kumar-Pair met the ship as it settled on its landing skids in a preferred space in the Palace Shuttle Port. When they had been told that a new type of vessel had appeared in their space, they had been intrigued by the images of a jump ship with no jump vanes, and somewhat larger than what they had remembered. When the Atohan asked for permission to descend to the planet, the Kumaraie had been ecstatic, however, she only gave them permission if she could see this brand new version of PV The Trine.

Now it was sitting at the shuttle port and the hatch was slowly opening. Junelliya Atohan Herlan and Hanalei Anar, holding Poda-Rai-Latti and Poda-Rai-Dosri, respectively, stepped out of the hatch, with Fayad Piscium Sai-Ro behind him. Three other human women came out of the vessel, one of which The Kumaraie recognized as Takebayashi Urano.

"You are looking radiant, Kumaraie," the Atohan informed her, noting that her baby bump was now easily visible. That brought a smile from the Kumaraie as she placed her hands on the just over two months old bulge. As the Pod-Drran gestation period was just over seven months, they tended to show baby bumps much earlier than humans.

It was difficult to gage the stages of Pod-Drran gestation from the size of the baby bump as it was determined by many factors, including the number of fetuses in the womb. The Pod-Drran could have as many as six children, however, the most common number was four, matching the number of breasts on a female Pod-Drran.

When Dosri saw the Kumar-Pair, she opened her arms and said "G'Ma!"

At a perplexed look from the Kumaraie, Junelliya informed her that Dosri was trying to say 'God-Mother'. That brought a smile from the Kumaraie who immediately took the little child into her arms. She settled into the Kumaraie's arms with a smile and her trade-mark hug, not in the least perturbed by the differences in her own, her mother's, or the Kumaraie's skin types.

"You are getting better with your words, little one," the Kumaraie praised her. "You will need to start practicing your Pod-Drran now."

"She already has, Kumaraie," a new voice spoke from the hatch. The Kumaraie looked up to see Mind-Ur, Caye-Ur, Rend-Ur and Lent-Ur standing in the hatch. "We have been speaking Pod-Drran with her every time we see her, which is almost daily when the children are on the platform.

"The House of Ur invokes its status as a Great House and requests permission to address the Kumar-Pair in reference to the opening of trade between the Pod-Drran and the Union at a much greater level, Kumaraie," Mind-Ur said with a bow.

"Family first, Mind-Ur," the Kumaraie admonished. "I would like to see this new vessel that carries my God-children."

The Kumar-Pair were impressed with the new ship and said so, especially the difference in height between the decks which made it more comfortable for the taller Pod-Drran. They remembered their original ship as being much more cramped than this newer iteration.

They had been shown all over the vessel and ended their tour in the new cargo section on the third deck. There were several boxes marked in Pod-Drran script with Pod-Saar as their destination. The Kumar-Pair looked at Mind-Ur.

"Three things of importance to the Pod-Drran are happening simultaneously, Kumaraie," Mind-Ur began.

"First, the opening up of trade between the Greater Community and the acceptance of peace between the Union and the Pod-Drran means that the Pod-Drran will be included in trade discussions with other members of the Greater Community.

"Second, the Union company Pallanders Shipbuilding, is building an orbiting shipyard in the Piscium system. They intend to use it to teach members of the Greater Community how to build Union style ships, which the Greater Community will build for themselves under licence. The Pod-Drran will be included in this venture.

"Last, there is a great push to explore inwards towards the center of the galaxy from the furthest outpost of known life among the Greater Community. Currently, only the Djinaëte ships are large enough to accommodate the kind of numbers that would be required on such expeditions, however, the Djinaëte ships are not the most comfortable for non-Djinaëte members and the Djinaëte are only interested in exploration if it provides them with new worlds for their cities.

"We need large ships that can accommodate most of the member races of the Greater Community," Mind-Ur informed them.

"You need our Man-Jays to be turned into expedition ships," the Kumaroe caught on quickly.

"Correct," Junelliya admitted. "The President has asked me to seek out your concerns in having your ships modified for this purpose. The ship would be staffed mostly by the Pod-Drran but with a large number of individuals from the member races who are interested in such explorations.

"This would give the Pod-Drran significant credibility with human and other Community member species, Kumaroe," Junelliya finished.

"At the expense of losing our Man-Jay..." the Kumaraie stated.

"Yes, Kumaraie," Junelliya agreed. "However, you will have the opportunity to build jump ships of your own on par with anything that the Greater Community currently possesses. The only stipulation will be that some of your ships will be flagged for mutual support for the Greater Community defences if such a need arises.

"If you agree to this, the full integration of the Pod-Drran into the Greater Community can be accomplished within a space of twenty of your years, as opposed to fifty to one hundred years," Junelliya finished.

"And these boxes?" the Kumaraie asked.

"These are trade items, Kumaraie," Caye-Ur replied. "They include new computers, servers, relays, and mini-satellites to set up a complete information system compatible with your wrist comps."

The Kumar-Pair looked down at their wrist comps, for all intents and purposes, useless except as glorified, limited range, comms devices between themselves and their Kumir-Rai/Ro, all of whom had purchased the comps while on Liramor-23.

"And the cost of such an enterprise?" the Kumaroe demanded.

"Twenty-five million Layes, Kumaroe," Caye-Ur replied. "That is the cost of the machines. Rend-Ur and Lent-Ur can install the systems and link them to the Pod-Drran information system with the assistance of Mind-Ur. The system will be planet wide and capable of reaching any Pod-Drran who purchases a wrist comp, which we will provide at a reasonable fee."

"And what would constitute a 'reasonable fee'?" the Kumaraie asked.

"Ten percent above the cost of such a unit on Liramor-23. We can provide units to suit any taste or budget, from simple comps to the kind of bling that you and your entourage now wear," Caye-Ur replied, showing off her own bling encrusted model on her wrist.

"That would make the House of Ur quite rich," the Kumaroe indicated.

"It would, Kumaroe. I did say that this was trade. The cost of installing and setting up the new system to interface with the existing Pod-Drran system is extensive. We are covering this cost, charging no more than the cost of the machines as we anticipate more than a cost recovery as we sell the comps," Caye-Ur explained.

"That seems like a reasonable proposition," the Kumaroe replied. "If you absorb the cost upfront, you would expect to be compensated in the sales of the comps, minus taxes of course."

"Twenty-five million Layes?" the Kumaraie asked.

"It can be taken as an exchequers cheque, trade items, or you can use the same gems that you gave to the Atohan, which fetched an exceptional price at auction on Terra, both for their uniqueness and for the fact that they came from the royal vaults, Kumaraie" Caye-Ur replied.

"Twenty-five million is a small price to pay," the Kumaroe informed the Kumaraie. "The cost of installing our own planetary information system was considerably more and is not as effective as the information systems on human worlds. I was impressed with our comps abilities while we were on Terra, especially the ability to reach out to other worlds almost immediately."

"What would we do to maintain this system?" the Kumaraie demanded.

"Malton University teaches all levels of computer and information knowledge, from simple maintenance to the design and building of complete systems," Mind-Ur informed them. "There is a branch of the University on Liramor-23."

"I remember seeing it, our esteemed Atohan was a teacher of music at the university," the Kumaraie smiled. "Very well, which would you prefer, a note from the exchequer or the cost in gems?"

"I think that if we could split that for twelve million in gems and a thirteen million Layes note from the exchequer that we could place at the bank on Liramor-23," Caye-Ur replied. "That would give us funds to purchase items from Pod-Saar as required."

"One last thing," the Kumaraie asserted, "I would know why this information is coming from you and not from my Ambassador on Liramor-23."

"When we heard that the Atohan was bringing the Kumaraie's God-children to see her, we asked if we could come along," Mind-Ur replied simply.

"You should be receiving a missive from your Ambassador later today with this information on it via FTL comms probe," Junelliya informed them.

"Once again we are at the mercy of old technology," the Kumaroe stated, laughing.

"In regards to that, the TGA estimates that all planets in the Terran Union will be attached to the ICS grid by the end of next year," Junelliya told them. "Since Pod-Saar is a sponsor planet of the TGA, that means you too will be connected by the end of next year. With the new information system that the House of Ur is providing you, you will have seamless interconnectivity with the Union and to the Greater Community."

The Kumar-Pair looked at each other and smiled. Next year was shaping up to be something special for the Pod-Drran.

Interspecies Embassy, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

Mayute met with Augraf, Tougrate, Malnad, Ambs. Michelle Halten, Ambs. Charles Demoiné, and Dr. Maya in the Toolend Embassy, the same day that the children were on Pod-Saar with their God-parents.

"It is good to meet you in person, Dr. Maya," Mayute began. "We are pleased with your suggestion to change the name of our organization; it will make things much smoother for non-empaths."

"Yes, my understanding is that your people would understand any inference due to their telepathic abilities, at least those who are out here in the Greater Community," Maya replied.

"Indeed. Tougrate tells me that you were able to see the patient's reading in your mind?" Mayute asked.

"Only while I was touched by Junelliya. However, she has given me the exercises given to her by Augraf and Mandenn. I will be conducting them in the same frequency as she currently uses," Maya explained.

"That might not help you as much as it has helped Junelliya," Augraf informed her. "Junelliya is a special case due to the levels of power she possesses as an empath.

"Conduct the exercises she gave you and we shall see if you will benefit from the same frequency or not. If so, we will not change things, however, there is no sense in forcing you to overexercise if it brings no benefit," Augraf finished.

"The more important thing is the migraines you are experiencing," Tougrate took over. "You have only had two contacts with us and yet you have shown distinctive changes in your mind. We think that Junelliya was the key to setting your mind in the direction it needed to move to make the necessary changes for you. For now, we suggest you continue your initial forays into telepathy through contact with Junelliya and Malnad. Once your mind changes enough, then we can start conducting one-on-one sessions with you.

"Malnad will continue to monitor your progress. Erht is aware of your starting point and how much your mind has already changed. We did not expect this faster pace of change. It is significant and important for you and for the Toolend and was probably forced on you accidentally by Junelliya," Tougrate ended.

"You will be important to us in the future, due to your skills as a Crush instructor," Mayute intervened. "We do not have that kind of teaching capacity within the Toolend people. It is not something that is normally done by our people. Because of our long lives, there is no panic if one of our people takes time to learn something.

"We do recognize, however, that we can benefit as a people by learning new teaching techniques. Should you be able to learn telepathy and synthesize a new teaching technique, especially if that technique can teach empathy in turn to the Toolend, you will become very important in the future of both of our peoples. That is our hope," Mayute stated.

"Tougrate tells me that he was successful with his first attempt at healing a human?" Mayute changed the flow of the conversation.

"Not so much heal as allow her to break out of her near catatonic state," Maya informed them. "This is important, however, in that we can now communicate with this person and help her cope with her problems. We also understand the base of her problem and have already informed the authorities, who will be adding the name of her child to the list of missing citizens that the Alliance now holds."