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Jenny stood before the dais in the private Council room. She was mentally and physically exhausted. After two days of little or no sleep and retelling her story over and over again, the three Councilors finally seemed satisfied. They appeared to have forgotten about Jenny and she wondered if it was all right for her to at least sit down.
They had assured her after the first telling that they didn't lay any of this to her charge. Actually, they were impressed with the fact that she had used her resources so well. Although it was obvious that none of it was her doing, that didn't mean she still didn't feel like a total failure. All of the trust that had been put into her training was now seeming like a waste to her. How could they continue to trust her when the first breaches of the Earth gates had happened under her watch?
Tarafau stood next to her, his big hands clasped behind his back. They had questioned him as well and he had corroborated everything she had told them. It felt good to have him standing next to her. He faced The Council with an unblinking stare, his chin lifted, his shoulder's back and something about him evoked a feeling in Jenny of being protected and championed, like a queen with her knight of the sword beside her.
Thinking of that made her stand a little straighter, despite her tiredness.
As she straightened, Ingot stood. "We have come to three conclusions. First, we repeat that there is nothing in any of this that indicates any fault on your part. Second, we will bow to your judgement concerning your neighbor, Bob. We will consider your request to certify him and make him a companion to The Gatekeeper. Third, we must arrange for your friend Sam to be questioned. She will not be harmed, but if necessary, we will erase any memories she has of you and anything she might have learned. This may sound harsh to you, but we may not have a choice, especially if she means you or the gate network any harm.
Do you have any questions or objections?"
Jenny shook her head. If anything, their decision was better than she had expected.
"Tarafau, this will require extra vigilance on your part. If emergency measures are necessary, we give you permission to do whatever you must to protect the gates and The Gatekeeper."
"We also have news. The Groga have struck again. They raided a gate planet known as Lefia, strictly in and out without triggering any alarms. The gateway city was destroyed, and the Guardian and his people were abducted as before. They seem to want slaves as well as whatever wealth and tech they can take. So far, the gates they have raided have been low tech with the exception of the gate offices themselves. However, the office of this gateway has been completely stripped of any tech of any value at all.
We still have no idea where they are based or how they are getting through these gateways or why they started raiding again in the first place. Our best agents are on it and the Alliance forces are on standby.
In the meantime, we must deal with your situation. We will give you a pass, so you may escort Bob to meet with us. We will also be sending an envoy to deal with your friend Sam." He held his hand up, forestalling her comment. "I promise, no harm will come to her, but this we must do."
Jenny sighed and nodded. She knew that nothing she could say would change the decision and she understood why it must be, but Sam had been her friend for six years.
As the meeting ended, Myla stood from his nest chair and walked over to Jenny to put a hand kindly on her shoulder. His pupils pinned, and he spoke to her mind while making a crooning sound from his throat. "Little sister, do not fear. We understand this is a severe burden to put on such young shoulders. All we can expect from you is your best effort. Our greatest fear is that you may be harmed before you can learn to survive and thrive in your calling. You need not fear us. We are not your judges. We are your fellows and your family. Be at peace."
Jenny's eyes teared up and she sat, suddenly overcome with tiredness and grief. Grief for Lizzie and never having known her. Grief for Miriha and her terrible sacrifice and now grief for the potential loss of a dear friend. Not to mention her horror at the terror and devastation to innocent beings she did not know. The kindness of Myla had totally undone her.
Myla continued to croon to her and to pat her gently on the shoulder.
Tarafau strode over to her. "Come, we'll go to your suite where you can rest. Then we need to get the pass and the agent, before we can leave for home."
Jenny followed him woodenly, her heart still hurting in her chest. He turned to her and extended his hand and she ducked under his arm. He put it around her shoulders and the two of them went to rest while preparations were made.
The healers were waiting in her rooms, the smell of the calming tea met them as they opened the door. They examined her carefully and sat her on a deep cushioned chair with an ottoman under her legs and a cup of tea in her hand. They laid a soft blanket across her lap and gave Tarafau instructions to allow her to rest quietly, after giving him a cup of the tea as well. They let themselves out without another word.
When she had drained her cup, Jenny set it aside and sat there, warm and comfortable everywhere but in her heart, but the tea had it's effect and before she realized it, Tarafau was patting her gently on the shoulder.
"Our escort is here," he sent quietly.
A young man stood there in jeans and a t-shirt. His thatch of brown hair was messy, and his blue eyes seemed full of mischief. In many ways he reminded her of Sam.
"I'm Burt," he said aloud, extending his hand. Jenny shook his hand, but before she could introduce herself, he added, "and you are Jenny, The Gatekeeper, with her Guide, Tarafau."
Jenny just nodded, still sleepy from her short nap. Tarafau clapped Burt on the back. Burt staggered a pace and grinned up at him. "Burt is an agent of The Alliance. He will be handling the issue with Sam as well as interviewing Bob before he is given the pass to come to meet with The Council. I know him and can vouch for his integrity and fairness."
This was quite a speech coming from Tarafau. He must have thought she needed the assurance and he was right. She wanted no harm to come to Sam.
When they arrived home, it was dark. Jenny made up the couch in the living room for Burt and went to bed herself, Tidbit curled up at her feet instead of on his usual nightly prowl.
The next morning, she dragged herself out of bed early, but Burt was already up and dressed, his blankets neatly folded on one end of the couch.
She offered him a bowl of cereal and some juice, which he accepted happily. They ate at the dining room table and were just finishing up when Tidbit presented himself at the French doors after his morning wander. Jenny let him in and fed him and filled his water bowl with fresh water.
She then offered to work out with Burt and Tarafau and they proceeded to the workout room. After doing her mental workout, which she now slipped into easily, Tarafau took advantage of having a third person to work on quarterstaff attacks from multiple sides. Jenny surprised herself by actually tagging each of them at least once while they came at her from either side.
At the end of the bout, they were all sweating. Jenny took dibs on the shower, but she showered quickly. When Burt finally emerged from the bathroom after her, somehow his wet hair was still standing up pretty wildly. He noticed her looking and shook his head. "I don't do gel and it won't behave any other way," he said, pulling a mournful face.
She laughed and shrugged. "I think you might look strange with your hair slicked down. The messy look suits you. Now, tell me what you're going to do about my friend Sam."
"Pretty simple, really. A pretty girl meets a charming young man," pointing to himself. "They engage in conversation (and he mimicked people talking with his hands) and the young man uses dastardly alien tech to check her motives and veracity. Assuming she passes with flying colors, the young man finds a good reason to be elsewhere and that is the end of it."
"In the case she doesn't pass, we arrange for her to have a romantic interlude, at which time we use our dastardly alien tech to find out what she knows, and we then use said tech to erase all pertinent memories and let her go on with her life.
Either way, I'm out of the picture. And she forgets me, and all is well in the multiverse."
Jenny knew she didn't really like it, but, if it went as he said, no real harm would come to Sam and she could be relieved of her worry and suspicion.
But before Burt took on Sam, he needed to sit down with Bob. Jenny dropped Bob a text and invited him over. Jenny was surprised at how quickly he was at her door. She introduced him to Burt and they all sat down out on the patio.
"Has Fidget gotten his arm back?" Jenny asked Bob, wanting to put him at ease.
"He sure has. He's nearly ready for some field tests."
Burt cocked his head, "Fidget?"
"My personal assistant, AI. He has a way to go yet, but he's coming along. He's kind of a secret project," he added with a sideways glance at Jenny.
"Oh, you can trust Burt," Jenny put in hurriedly, not wanting Bob to think that she was going around telling everyone about it. "He's here from The Alliance and wants to talk to you about what the Alliance is and how you can be involved. In the process he needs to know a lot about you, including your inventions. As a representative of The Alliance, he is authorized to give you a pass to go before The Dimensional Alliance Council to see to what extent you might be able to help us, as you offered to do."
Bob's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Wow, Jenny, I never expected this. Thank you." He turned to Burt. "Ask me anything," he said, earnestly, looking straight into Burt's eyes.
Burt nodded. "Do you mind if I use some dastardly alien tech to simplify the process?"
Bob's eyes widened at this and he shook his head. "Is it my birthday?" he asked, his eyes shining. "Are you an alien from another dimension?"
"Actually, I'm from Toledo," Burt admitted. "I kind of stumbled into this myself. I'm guessing you know Lizzie?"
Bob nodded. "Well, I was working as a personal assistant to an archeologist on a dig in Ghana. I met Lizzie and Tidbit who were searching for something. I offered to be their guide. Let's just say I accidentally ended up seeing more than was allowed without The Alliance taking a hand. I went through the same process you are experiencing now. And here I am. I couldn't be a Guardian, since all the known gateways were already guarded, so they made me an agent. It's been a wild ride, I'll tell you.
Now, are you ready?"
Bob nodded eagerly.
Burt reached into his pocket and Jenny felt her key warm, just slightly. Bob's eyes went unfocused for about a minute. Then the warmth faded from her key and Bob's eyes went back to normal.
"I'm ready," he said.
"We're done," Burt replied cheerily. "You pass. Hold out your hand."
Bob did so dazedly, and Burt pressed what looked like an ink stamp onto the back of Bob's hand. For a moment the emblem of The Alliance glowed there and then it faded away.
"That is your pass. It is valid for the next 2 weeks. You can only go through the gate escorted by a Guardian and this pass only allows you to go through the gate to Alliance headquarters. You and Jenny can arrange between the two of you when that will be. While there you will be supplied with accommodations. You need only bring a change of clothes and any personal items you may require, such as medications. Any questions?"
Bob appeared to be at a loss for words. Jenny knew how he felt.
He thought for a moment and said, "What does that gadget do, and can I see it?"
Burt laughed, and Jenny mentally rolled her eyes. This was so like Bob, who wanted to know how everything worked.
"Sorry, trade secret, although, after they interview you, you might get a peek at some pretty cool tech. The caveat is, that since you are 'a tinkerer', you especially need to remember you are not allowed to copy the tech you may receive from the Alliance in any way, for any reason. Us Earthlings aren't ready for this kind of power."
"I get it," Bob said. "It's the whole 'prime directive' all over again."
Burt grinned and nodded. "You got it in one. They don't call it that, but Gene Roddenberry had the right idea."
Jenny could see right away that these two were going to hit it off just fine. Kindred spirits, she could see that they could talk tech all day, if there was time for it. And, as if he had read her mind, Burt stood and, extending his hand to Bob, said, "I'd love to chat, but I have another assignment and they are anxious for me to complete and report. I'm sure we'll see each other again."
Bob shook his hand and replied with an almost childlike grin on his face, "I'll look forward to it."
As Burt made to go, Bob turned to Jenny. "I have to get back to my workshop. Thank you for this. Let's get together later today and plan when you can take me to meet with The Alliance Council. I'm not quite sure what I just let myself in for, but I have a feeling I'm going to be glad I did."
Jenny saw him out, then realized that her car was gone! About the time she was ready to dial 911, she got a text from Burt. "Mom, can I borrow the car? Sorry, I should have asked, but I really do need to get going on the Sam thing. I'll have it back in a couple hours."
Jenny shook her head and went back inside, where Tidbit appeared to be dozing in the window seat. She had no idea how Burt had taken the car without her keys or how he intended to find Sam, unless he was planning to find her at work, but she assumed he had ways of accomplishing things beyond anything she knew or understood.
She curled up in her reading chair and pulled out her tablet. The moment she invoked the LizzieAI, some of her tension eased. Though she had not known Lizzie in life, she now felt a connection with her aunt that fortified her resolve every time she connected with the AI. Whoever had programmed the AI had given her such personality and expression that it was easy sometimes to forget she wasn't just video chatting with the real thing.
"Good morning, Jenny. What can I help you with today?" LizzieAI's eyes were warm and caring and Jenny proceeded to pour out all of her worries, fears and frustrations with her new situation. LizzieAI listened intently, somehow managing to look into Jenny's eyes, as if she cared deeply for what she was saying. The sympathetic look on her face encouraged Jenny to get it all out. When at last she had poured everything out, tears were streaming down her face.
"You're having a rough time of it, I can see," LizzieAI said kindly. "But there is much hope in what I heard. First, you are not alone. You have companions who will support you and give you aid as you need it. Second, you are succeeding in moving forward in your training faster than anyone I know, even though it may feel woefully inadequate to you at the moment, with the burdens that have been placed upon you. Third, you have taken action exactly as you should have, as I would have done in the same circumstances.
In short, you have more resources than you may understand, and you have the spirit that is necessary for you to accomplish the tasks before you as well as any in your position might do. I am proud of you, Jenny. Always know that. I know I am an AI, a faint shadow of your aunt in life, but she programmed me to care for you as she did and to think of myself as her. As I have watched you grow, more than any of your cousins, I have been so impressed with your diligence and determination, as well as your kindness and imagination.
Don't shortchange yourself. It is easy to look back and criticize yourself with 'what-ifs' and 'should-have-dones'. Don't let that keep you from recognizing that no one expects you to do more than the best you are able to do, and, unless I am very much mistaken about you, you have what it takes to accomplish your tasks with honor. No one can ask more."
Jenny felt the tension go out of her. "But," she said plaintively, "It's all so big!" That had become the only word she could think of to describe the situation she had found herself in.
"Indeed, it is bigger than any mind can begin to comprehend. But there is an order to it and we are not helpless. You are not helpless. I know you are in conflict, with your friend under suspicion. The outcome may be that you don't see your friend again. If that happens, I won't lie to you. It is one of the most difficult aspects of the role of a Guardian or Gatekeeper. This is why it is important for you to focus on what you have, instead of what you wish you had."
Jenny nodded. She did have Tarafau, who had become like a big brother to her. And it looked like she would also be able to count on Bob's assistance, once he had been vetted by The Council. That was definitely a big plus. She yet had additional training to look forward to and so far, her training had been a very positive experience. She also had the other Guardians who had extended such a warm hand of fellowship to her.
But she couldn't write off Sam, not yet. They had shared so much over the years. She hoped fervently that Burt would come back with a report that her friend had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and that would be that, but the footage from the security cameras still nagged at her mind and more particularly, her heart.
