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(Jenny realized she was crying, tears streaming down her face and Chidwi crooning soothingly.
She skimmed through the next few weeks of training, the brief visit to home where Lizzie began the task of being more engaged with her family. She hadn’t been following up with the technology she had been given to stay in touch with her parents or anyone else on Earth besides maybe Gaston, so she had much to do.
Over time, Lizzie’s neck and shoulders normalized, but she couldn’t do the heavily physical training. Instead, she spent that time with Liliath and Ynni, strengthening her mind and learning how to do a certain amount of physical healing using mental relaxation and other techniques previously unknown to Jenny.
Once again, Jenny realized how unique her own journey had been compared to that of other agents and guardians of the Alliance. She knew that she would have to buckle down after her brief recovery time.
She also knew she would be scolded by Burt and the others for missing so much sleep, but she would sleep a good part of the day tomorrow before starting on the next journal. For now, she read on.)
It felt so good to get that collar off. They were nearly at the end of the final term. All of them were feeling much more confident as they prepared for their internships. Curiosity was high. Where would they go? What would their assignments be? When would they be introduced to their guides?
The memorial service had been both soothing and uniting. More than ever, the members of this pod had become closer to one another than any other relationship in their lives so far.
Gi and Lizzie and Ynni, at Geln’s request, had performed one of their concerts. They had considered something somber, befitting the mourning of their friend, but had finally decided on a lively, joyful outpouring such as they had experienced on Gi’s planet that day Geln had been the first to succumb to the urge to dance.
Every day since then, they had fallen back into the routine of studying, working out, and the daily concerts under the tree between pods. More and more agent trainees attended, as much to show support for their valor that fateful day as to enjoy the music. Of the several attacks that had occurred, theirs had been the only one with fatalities.
At one point, Liliath had assembled all of the trainees together again, after the memorial, to be sure each of them understood what had happened, the consequences for the rebels, and how any future disagreements with Alliance policy should be handled. She praised those who had resisted valiantly and reminded them that their training would continue and to always remember the reason the Alliance had been founded in the first place.
They received a notification in Fin’s class that their next study period would be in Liliath’s office. Fin had nearly sparkled in his excitement.
As they trooped into the huge office, it suddenly looked a lot smaller. In addition to their entire pod, the faculty, staff, and a group of nine beings stood before them next to Liliath.
“Today you will take a big step forward in your training. Theory is important, but, as you have recently learned, there comes a time when theory must be put into practical application. Each of you have shown determination and focus in your studies. Each of you have displayed the attributes we most prize in our agents: determination, attention to detail, stamina of heart and mind, and a willingness to serve.
“Now I will introduce each of you to your guide. Your first assignment with them will be to visit their home dimension, to be introduced to their culture and meet their Dimensional Alliance representatives. You will serve for a period of time as an intern for those representatives. This will teach you more about the Alliance than anything you have yet learned in your classes.
“You will return here from time to time to check in with your faculty advisors. Your current pod building will be reserved for those times you are here, and most of the time your visits here will coincide with one another, to allow you to stay in contact and exchange experiences.
“Each of you will be leaving today, but before you do, there will be a celebration in the dining hall for all of us to wish you well in your future endeavors.”
Lizzie was sure she wasn’t the only one of her podmates to be surprised by this statement. Today? Even though they all knew this was coming, they had probably thought, like her, that they would be given some time to prepare. As she considered this, she could only conclude that this was part of her training. In the future, many of her assignments might be as abruptly given as this.
The guides stepped forward, one at a time, and were introduced to their charges. Geln was assigned a single guide, and Minth’s guide was actually from his own dimension, not all that surprising, under the circumstances. Lizzie had been focusing on her podmates, so that when her turn came at the very last, she was surprised to notice that the only guide left was someone she knew!
Tarafau stepped forward from behind Liliath’s shoulder.
“Lizzie Japhet, you are assigned to Tarafau Bane. He has in the past been the guide to Gaston, as you know, but Gaston’s level of guardianship is beyond the need for a guide. He now has an Alliance companion who will aid him in his duties. Tarafau is among one of our best agents and has been a guide for multiple Earth guardians over the years.”
Multiple guardians... over the years? How old was this being with his natural shape-changing abilities?
Lizzie stepped forward and shook his hand. He was more than a little formidable, with his catlike grin exposing fangs and those pointed ears, pointed on the wrong end if he had been an elf. How had she ended up assigned to him? Her gut knotted a bit. Not at all what she had expected or imagined.
She remembered her first abrupt meeting with him, changing before her from cat to man and then whisking her off to his dimension without even the convenience of a gate and barely prevented a visible shiver. She found herself glad once again for all of the time she had spent practicing smoothing her features and not showing her initial reaction.
“I look forward to introducing you to my family, Lizzie Japhet. We hear good reports about you. Gaston is very proud to see your progress. We will visit him first and then Miriha before we go to my home. I know we will learn to work well together.”
“Thank you, Tarafau. I look forward to it.” Lizzie knew that wasn’t entirely true, but she might as well begin practicing diplomacy now.
At that point, each of the instructors went down the line of guides and trainees who had now become their interns, shaking hands and congratulating them on making it to this stage of their training. They were quick to point out that this was just another beginning and that they would yet find themselves in their classrooms at some point at a completely new level.
They then adjourned to the dining hall, where a feast had been laid out with them each now seated next to their guides. The Geln duo sat on either side of theirs; and although Lizzie could still detect a certain sadness in their faces, they were congenial enough, and she could tell they were in a lively conversation with their guide, in addition to joining in with the pod with teasing and congratulations.
Gi and her female guide sat next to Lizzie. She seemed content with the choice and chatted amiably with Tarafau also, apparently unconcerned with Tarafau’s somewhat daunting appearance.
After a fine feast, the guides insisted that Lizzie, Gi, and Ynni put on one of their concerts. They had heard about this from the other instructors, who had been attending regularly since Lizzie had gotten out of the hospital. Lizzie had wondered if this was mostly a security precaution, but evidently, they had genuinely enjoyed these musical interludes.
Lizzie thought it a fitting farewell. The music ranged in tone from wistfulness to ascending joy as the three of them expressed their feelings through their spontaneous composition. The final chord lingered shimmering on the air, and all in attendance applauded, each in their own way.
As each of them filed out with their guides, last-minute mindspeech farewells were broadcast from one and all.
“Now what?” Lizzie sent to Tarafau, wishing her mind voice didn’t sound quite so plaintive.
“We head to the gate and to Miriha and Gaston to get some final counsel. We are first in the queue. After that, the three of us will head to Sanglarka, where they are waiting to congratulate you. From there we will depart to my home, where we will settle you in for your internship. I know you will miss your podmates. You have been through much more together than any of us would have expected. This makes for long-lasting bonds. Do not fear. You will see them again, sooner than you expect.”
“So why are we going through the gate if you can transport to any place you wish without one?”
“Because, for one thing, it wouldn’t be courteous; and secondly, not everyone knows I can do this, so we must not rely on it. You must get used to gate-use protocols, because once you are on your own, my way will not be available to you.”
Lizzie had to admit this made sense. They went through the gate to Miriha’s planet and were met by the gem eyes, which did their job quickly. Under the shelter of the trees, which were rustling with crooning linklings, Lizzie paused.
“Would you like to visit with your family, Ynni? We can come back for you before we go through the gate. I will only be a short walk away.”
“Ynni would like that, Lizzie. Thank you.”
She hopped off of Lizzie’s shoulder and scrambled up a nearby tree trunk and disappeared into the leaves. “Thank you, Lizzie,” came a chorus of linkling mind voices, and the crooning changed to a joyous song of welcome to their returning friend.
The walk was pleasant. Various villagers nodded to them in greeting as they passed them on the street. The market square was full of people perusing goods and engaged in private mindspeech conversations, evident by body language, facial expressions and occasional gestures. They arrived at the entrance quickly enough and, when they had removed their shoes, headed up the curving staircase to Miriha’s office.
As Tarafau had said, Gaston was there to greet them as the door opened automatically at their approach. He greeted Lizzie with a huge grin and a hug.
“Wow! It’s so good to see you whole and healed, at least on the outside. How are you doing otherwise?”
“I am doing better than I expected to be. My podmates and all of the staff of the training center and infirmary have been amazing. It’s a lot to take in, honestly, but I feel like I will be better over time. It’s so good to see you, Gaston. How do you feel about me stealing your cat?”
Gaston grinned again. “I’ll be fine. They sent me a ‘gardener,’ a young man, or apparently young man, who is an experienced agent. He will tend my garden and keep the property in good shape. He’ll be staying in the guest room and also helping Nita out as necessary. It’s almost like a vacation for him, and I’m glad you got such an experienced and competent guide. Be sure to listen to him and take advantage of that experience.”
Lizzie managed not to roll her eyes at this. She had a feeling she would be hearing that a lot, and it wasn’t her nature to simply bow to authority for authority’s sake. But she simply nodded.
Miriha came to her then, both hands outstretched. “I too am grateful for your safe return to us. You and Tarafau will be reporting directly to me during your internship. The fact that you have impressed a linkling puts you into a special category, as agents go. It is vital that you and she continue to train together and, since I have more experience with linklings than anyone in the Alliance, it will be up to me to help mold the two of you into an effective partnership. Does that work for you?”
“Indeed! I’m not sure what to think about the extra attention. I’m guessing this isn’t going to be anything like actual agent training....”
“Not really. Based on the different professors’ analysis of each of your podmates, they have been given internships most suited to their particular strengths. For you, we have some specific things in mind well suited to your temperament and interests. But for now, your internship is different than for all of your peers. You will be interacting with the five communicative species on Tarafau’s planet, as well as bonding more effectively with your linkling.
“This is enough to be going on with, don’t you think?”
She sent this with a wry twist to her mouth and one raised eyebrow, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
Lizzie couldn’t help but laugh, and they all joined in. Tarafau’s laugh was deep and rich next to Gaston’s tenor.
“We will all go through the gate to Sanglarka after you go and retrieve Ynni from her friends. But first, I thought it would be a nice break for you to see the marketplace and try some of our delicacies. There is a fruit tart that is especially nice, and we will purchase some to share with our friends in Sanglarka as well, shall we?”
They spent a pleasant afternoon admiring the many goods displayed on carts and in booths. Miriha exchanged some of Lizzie’s Alliance credits for local money so Lizzie could purchase a few things. Lizzie was especially attracted to some scarves in muted colors she thought would come in handy in various ways.
In her Girl Scout days, she had been taught that a scarf, in addition to being a useful fashion accessory, could be used as an adaptable survival tool. She purchased three of them and promptly tied one around her neck, to the delight of the woman who was selling them.
After making their purchases, including a box full of the delicious tarts, and after they each tried one, they headed for the grove.
“Ynni! I’m sorry you have to leave your friends and family. Can you come with me now?”
From the canopy above her came a chittering that interrupted the ongoing crooning, and then Ynni, along with several other linklings, came scampering down the trees on either side of them.
“I would introduce my Lizzie to my family and friends,” she sent. “My mother, father, sisters, and my friends are happy Ynni and Lizzie have one another. They know we will see one another again from time to time.”
One by one, the little linklings came to Lizzie and gently touched the hand she had extended. Their tiny hands were warm and soft. With each touch came a soft mind touch as well, seemingly a greeting beyond mindspeech. The touch said many things all at once, which amounted to an acceptance into their tribe and family.
Lizzie didn’t know how to respond. “Thank you, each of you. I am honored by your acceptance and your kindness. I promise I will take good care of Ynni and will return her to you as often as I can.”
A mind chorus of agreement and joy was sent her way, and Ynni lightly leapt up to her shoulder. “Ynni is ready. Let us go with joy.”
They walked back to the gate office, and Miriha escorted them through the gate that led to Sanglarka.
At the gate they were met by the entire Sanglarka team and all of the gate guardians as well. It appeared that this was going to be a bit more of a kerfuffle than Lizzie had expected. Each of them wore expressions of delight and welcome and joyfully escorted them down the path to the lodge.
Once inside, they were greeted by the aromas of a home-cooked feast. The outside air had been crisp and the light failing, but inside the lodge it was warm, and the rooms were ablaze with light from the lamps and fireplace.
Miriha handed her box of tarts to Livia, who exclaimed in delight. They trooped into the dining room where the long table, which usually sat a dozen people at once, had been extended to seat them all. A long runner down the center of the table contained various condiments, including Livia’s amazing lingonberry jam. Two carts with various food choices, including fresh-baked fluffy rolls, sat at either end of the table, and a buffet with every salad fixing you could ask for ran along one wall. After everyone had made their dinner salads, Livia and Randall pushed the carts from one place to another, adding generous portions of each of their choices onto large plates.
Lizzie had never felt underfed at the training center dining hall, but this was glorious. All of this amazing food, the good company, and the celebratory atmosphere warmed Lizzie; heart, body, and soul. They had each, after all, had a part in giving her this opportunity in the first place.
Ynni happily nibbled on part of Lizzie’s salad and a fruit tart as the rest of them included her in the general mindspeech conversations that went happily around the table. Lizzie shared some of her experiences, preferring to dwell on the funny and happy ones. Her favorite story would always be the encounter on Gi’s home world, where even the most unlikely of her podmates ended up gleefully dancing to the joyful music produced by her people.
After the meal, they gathered once again in the lodge lobby chairs arranged in a large circle with the fireplace at the top of the circle and Lizzie’s chair in the place of honor next to it. Yaw got out his mbira.
“I understand you have become somewhat proficient at spontaneous and instinctual composition on yours. May I have the honor of playing with you?”
She smiled at him. “I still don’t read music, but I have had some practice in impromptu music. I would love to try.”
She brought her mbira out and plucked a single key and allowed the sound to linger briefly on the air; and then, as if Gi were here in the room with her harmonizing with her multivoice, she began to express the joy and warmth of her evening with these wonderful people in the music that flowed from her heart through her fingers and into the mbira, and Ynni crooned in harmony.
Yaw joined in tentatively at first and then, as he caught the theme of the music, began to interweave his melody with hers and Ynni’s.
Finally, Lizzie slowed the tempo and the music drifted to a natural conclusion, her final note blending with Yaw’s and Ynni’s.
She looked up with tears in her eyes to see the joy in the faces of her Earthling friends as they applauded with enthusiasm, Oak adding a high-pitched whistle. She turned to Yaw.
“Thank you for this amazing gift, Yaw. You can have no idea how much comfort I got connecting through music with my podmates and my linkling friend.”
“It was well bestowed, Lizzie. My primate friends would have loved to dance to this. Fortunately, I took the initiative to record it for their enjoyment and yours in the future. I will send the file to your tablet.”
Lizzie was constantly in awe of the technology that allowed this kind of thing. She looked forward to a time when things of this sort would become commonplace on her home planet. She knew the time would never come when she would take it for granted. It wasn’t that long ago when she thought a record player and music from a radio were considered the height of modern luxury.
She shook her head, also remembering that not all that long ago she had been skimming around the training grounds on a hoverchair whose motor made almost no sound at all. She found herself wondering what type of technology she would encounter on Tarafau’s planet. This thought made her realize they would be leaving soon.
“I want you all to know that I will do my best to be a good representative of the best part of Earth. You have all done so much for me, and I don’t take it lightly,” she sent to the group who were all looking intently into her face.
“I began this journey because I wanted to learn science and get the answers to my questions. I continue it because now I realize this isn’t all just about me. For the first time in my life, I see the point of being involved in something that is bigger than I am. Thank you for that.”
Tarafau stood. “I can tell Lizzie understands we must go now, and she is right. There is much to do, and it has already been a very long day for her.”
They all stood and one by one gave her a hug and a wish for success. Miriha was last. “Lizzie, we will be speaking again soon. For now, remember that you are not alone in this. I have great expectations for you, beyond your role as an exemplary agent of the Alliance.” She hugged Lizzie, and Tarafau laid his hand on her shoulder.
Once again, they stood in the meadow surrounded by large, weaponed vehicles with a large statue of a woman, her hand held out as if beckoning. The transition was different from gate travel. They had just kind of faded from one place to the other with almost no time in between.
“Come with me,” he sent, and led her out from between two of the vehicles onto a paved road that headed down a gentle slope. As they walked, she saw what she assumed were homes, only, unlike many of the places she had visited, there was no resemblance between them. For some of them, about the only thing that hinted they might be dwelling places were doors and windows. Other than that, they came in many shapes and sizes. Cylindrical, square, domelike, and even some that wouldn’t have been out of place in an Earth neighborhood.
As they walked along, from time to time they encountered beings similar to Tarafau, but varying as Earthlings do in coloring, size, and apparent age. They all walked along the road, not as if it were traffic, all going in one direction on one side of the road, but some in the middle of the road, some on the sides, and in whatever direction they were heading. She saw nothing that looked like a vehicle as they strode along.
They finally came to what appeared to be a small, pale-yellow domed cottage. Tarafau led the way up a walkway lined with flowers. The edges of the property were lined with shade trees, and from this vantage point she could see a grove of tall trees beyond what might have been a large field. The lawn was closer to blue than green and looked like it might be nice to walk on, soft and springy. Round windows looked out on either side of an orange door.
Lizzie was reminded of a hobbit hole and wondered what she would find inside.
The door opened into a tiled entry hall. To the right of the hall was a round sitting room surrounded with prismed glass windows that cast dazzling rainbows over the chairs and divans of masterfully carved wood, upholstered with soft-looking fabric in muted jewel tones. Straight ahead of the entryway was a stairway that curved downward, following the curve of the room to a floor below.
Tarafau gestured for Lizzie to follow him down the stairs. This led to a much larger room that appeared to be much more casual. On one of the curved walls was a kitchen, clean and brightly lit with sunlight streaming in through a large picture window over a sink. Dividing the kitchen from the main room was what appeared to be an indoor herb garden surrounded by a counter and tall stools.
The other side of the large open room was what could only be considered a family room, but instead of couches or chairs there were huge pillow-like cushions stacked in various places around the wall. A beautiful woman who had green eyes and long wavy brown hair with gold highlights and was dressed in a flowing deep green kaftan, gracefully arose from one of the cushions and held out both hands in greeting, similar to Miriha.
“Welcome, Lizzie Japhet. I am Amenia, wife of Tarafau Bane.” Her mind voice was a mellow alto. “We are glad to have you as a guest in our home. Our children are away on holiday with their grandparents at the moment, but you will meet them in a few days. We have prepared a room for you during your stay here. I would have prepared a meal, but I understand the two of you have had plenty to eat at Sanglarka.”
“Yes, Amenia. They fed us well there. Thank you for your hospitality. This is all very new to me. Please excuse me in advance if I don’t catch onto your customs right away. I am here to learn, after all.”
Amenia smiled warmly, her eyes crinkling. “Come with me, and we will get you settled in. We will be working you pretty hard, but we want you to be comfortable while you stay with us.”
She led Lizzie down a long hallway with doors on either side. Like a hobbit hole, this home was much bigger than it appeared from the street. She could see through open doorways that many of the rooms were bedrooms, but there were also a couple of rooms that looked like a study or library.
Amenia stopped at nearly the end of the hallway. She led the way through an open door into an ample bedroom with a large, curtained alcove, a desk and chair, a closet, and cabinets that Lizzie assumed functioned much like a dresser in her bedroom at home. The floor was covered with a deep forest green rug, much the same color as Amenia’s kaftan. The blankets on the bed and the curtains were also in muted forest colors.
“This is lovely, Amenia, thank you. A lot more personal space than I have been accustomed to. For the last several months I’ve been living out of my MDP. Did Tarafau tell you how long I might be here?”
“He wasn’t clear on that, Lizzie. He only said you would be with us for at least a few months and that this room would be reserved for you, since you will be coming back from time to time on various assignments. While you are here, we want you to be comfortable and feel welcomed. The bathing and hygiene room is right next to your room on the right. Does your linkling need any special accommodations?”
“She usually spends most of her time with me, but I’m sure she would love to explore some of those amazing trees behind your home. She uses the same hygiene areas as I do.”
“Ynni would like to see the trees,” Ynni sent to them delightedly, and Lizzie felt a little abashed that they were talking about her as if she wasn’t there.
“Then let’s go introduce her. Now that you know where your room is, you can settle yourself in as you go. Today will be a day of rest and getting acclimatized. Once again, your inner clock must be adjusted to a new day and night, as our days and nights differ from yours and from Alliance headquarters. Tarafau often complains that his body clock will never function normally again.”
“I can relate. I understand that over time agents become more and more dependent on setting alarms unless they are in a particular assignment for an extended period of time.”
As they emerged between the end of the hallway and the kitchen from a door to the outside, Lizzie took a deep breath. The air was clean, lacking any of the smells she associated with a city such as Los Angeles. It was a lot more like the air in the forests that abounded throughout the less populated areas of California, Oregon, and Washington State.
To her astonishment, the yard was about half the size of a football field. The backyard in her childhood home had been smaller than half a basketball court. The trees that encircled the grounds were a mixture of many types. Some of the smaller trees were in bloom, scenting the air delightfully. Behind them towered trees as tall as any of the sequoias native to her state.
In the center of the grounds was a firepit surrounded by low benches, and beyond them were a number of chaises just under the shade of the first layer of trees.
Amenia escorted Lizzie and Ynni to the chaises. “Feel free, in your occasional free moments, to rest here. It is peaceful, and the air below the trees is especially invigorating.”
Ynni hopped down from Lizzie’s shoulder with a croon of joy.
“Ynni must greet the treebrothers. This is okay? Lizzie is happy and safe?”
“I am safe and content, Ynni. Please take some time for yourself. I know you have missed trees. Amenia and Tarafau will take good care of me, I promise.”
Without a backward glance, Ynni scampered lightly up the nearest tall tree and disappeared among its branches, finally peeking out and waving to them from high above their heads and disappearing again.
“Do you wish to stay here for a bit yourself? Or are you anxious to settle in and meet with Tarafau? He has a schedule worked out for your physical and mental training and is ready to begin whenever you are,” Amenia sent as they turned away from the grove.
“I am ready to begin,” Lizzie said, realizing that she really was ready and even anxious to start this new venture into the internship.
Tarafau was waiting in the family room, comfortably ensconced on one of the huge cushions. He had pulled two more from the stack and had placed them on either side of his own, facing toward a center point like a small triangle. He motioned for Lizzie and Amenia to sit; and as they did so, he turned his catlike smile on Lizzie. Those amber eyes looking out of his dark blue-black face were intense.
“Now we begin,” he said, looking at each of them. “Amenia will be helping in your advanced mental training, and at some point, she will be working with both you and Ynni to strengthen your bond. She is a counselor and advisor among our people and has other clients she sees on a regular basis.
“You will be doing a mental and physical workout every morning and in the evening before bedtime. This will consist of the mental training first with Amenia and then workout with staves, doing the forms and eventually graduating back to sparring. I was advised by your doctors that we should postpone sparring for at least another few weeks.
“Before we begin sparring, we will return briefly to Alliance headquarters for a physical checkup. On approval from the doctor, you will have the opportunity to spar with both me and Amenia and, from time to time, others will be included.
“During the day, we will be traveling to various areas of our planet, starting with the high council. You will be attending meetings with various beings of different species. There are five species of beings able to communicate with one another on my world. You will learn of each of them, their customs and ideologies. You will learn about how our affairs are ordered and how our system of government works.
“This is the first stage of your internship. I will not go into further detail at this time, but do you have any questions?”
“Will I get to learn about your science and technology?”
Tarafau chuckled. “Meta told me that would be your first question but definitely not your last. Indeed, you will be studying with one of my sons, as a matter of fact. Melek is a professor at our advanced science institute and will be delighted to answer your questions, as he can. I understand you always have another one to ask and another.”
Lizzie blushed and was abashed she was unguarded enough to do that. She thought that particular reaction had been trained out of her. “I am probably more curious than is good for me, or those around me,” she admitted. “I am trying to learn some restraint, but it is hard.”
Amenia laughed and gently put her hand on Tarafau’s shoulder. “Curiosity is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can get you into trouble. Our Melek nearly drove us to distraction with impossible questions, and nothing was ever safe from being dissected, analyzed, and reassembled, most of the time, correctly, but there were times...,” she trailed off with a significant look at Tarafau, who chuckled softly and shook his head, remembering.
“In any case, you will get your fair share of questions answered and even a few you hadn’t thought to ask before.”
For the next few weeks, they fell into a pattern of ongoing training, Tarafau escorting her to the main city that was a bit of a walk over a hill. In the distance as they rounded the top of the hill was the vast pyramidal building that housed everything from a vast marketplace to entertainment, offices, crafting shops, and the assembly hall where their council met. On the floor above the council hall were the various governmental offices and smaller meeting rooms where myriad governmental functions were managed by those elected to do so.
Lizzie was fascinated to discover that there were no elected officials in their government. Eligible candidates were selected by lottery, and each served a two-year term representing their precinct while taking a sabbatical from their usual occupations. Those terms rotated through, so that there were always experienced officers to orient and train new officers coming into the system.
Evidently, part of their schooling courses included training that would qualify them to function as representatives for their area.
Sometimes Ynni would accompany Lizzie. She was encouraged to recognize that Ynni was not only accepted but respected as a unique intelligent being. As often as the officers and other beings they met with asked Lizzie her opinion, they would ask Ynni as well.
Her daily workouts were challenging. Amenia was skilled at guiding others to learn to explore their mental gifts and expand them. Lizzie knew she would probably never be as skilled as Liliath or Amenia, but more and more she found herself able to defend her mind against mental attacks and to block physical pain, the two things they emphasized most in agent training.
The physical workouts were mostly to maintain her strength, so they did the forms with the quarterstaffs and every day ran between the monument park and the house up and down hills along the paved road. It wasn’t quite as challenging as Lall’s obstacle courses, but it kept her fit, and it was a good time to contemplate what she was learning.
When she and Tarafau butted heads, as they often did, Amenia could be depended on to smooth things out. Lizzie felt that Tarafau would have preferred to stay with Gaston, and they often disagreed vehemently on various political and philosophical questions. One particular day their conversation had become very heated, and Lizzie found herself wishing that they had assigned her to someone else.
Amenia had stepped in when Lizzie had banged her fist down on the kitchen table where they had been having a quick lunch before going on to their appointment with one of the council members.
“What’s this? Both of you need to stop and breathe for a moment and consider whether your inflamed feelings are worthy of the topic at hand. We don’t all think alike, and we don’t all always agree, but no disagreement is ever resolved by angry thoughts or actions. How important is it, and what will it change if one of you is able to persuade the other to their point of view? Think! And breathe!”
After both sat and considered, they had to admit that although they didn’t agree, Amenia was right. They had to work with one another, and they couldn’t afford arguments about things neither of them could change or control to get in the way of their ongoing relationship.
Finally, they visited the Alliance for Lizzie’s checkup. Xia gave her a clean bill of health, cautioning her and Tarafau to build back up to regular physical activity gradually. They both agreed and visited Liliath briefly before heading back to his home in a flash.
They had barely walked into the house when Amenia called them down into the family room. Ynni was sitting on the kitchen table crooning softly. “Is something wrong?” Lizzie sent when she saw the look on Amenia’s face.
“Not exactly, but Ynni has some news. You haven’t noticed she has been putting on some weight lately?”
“Actually, now that I look closely, I see it, but she hasn’t been eating more than usual and she’s getting plenty of exercise. Does she need to go on a diet?”
“No, I don’t think so. We generally don’t recommend it for pregnant mothers....”
“What?”
“Ynni is expecting. Evidently she had a very warm reunion on Miriha’s planet that day.” Amenia sent with a wry smile.
Ynni nodded happily, patting her rounded tummy. “We have small tribe here soon,” she sent.
“Tribe? As in more than one?”
“Ynni thinks there are two, Lizzie.”
“Soon? How soon? Do you need to go home?” Lizzie was saddened at the thought but couldn’t imagine how Ynni would manage without other linklings, especially the daddy linkling.
“Not go home, but you could bring some linkling friends here to help? I know my sister and the sireling would come. Sireling would want to be with our babies.”
“Of course. Tarafau, can we go now? Ynni, who should I ask for? What names?”
“Sympha is sister, and Rinn is sireling. They will hear your mind call and come. Tell them I have built a nest. They will know what that means, and they will come.”
Indeed, when she and Tarafau entered the grove, the linklings responded quickly, each of the two immediately perching on Lizzie’s shoulder as requested as Tarafau transported them to the grove behind his house.
Ynni was there to greet them, and they hopped down and scurried to greet her. As Lizzie watched their joyful reunion, she turned to Tarafau. Tears streamed from his amber eyes.
“Gaston always told me there was something special and unique about you, Lizzie Japhet. I admit I was hesitant to become your guide, but I recant that original impression. Interesting things happen around you. I have a feeling you have begun something much bigger than becoming an agent of the Alliance.”
And as Lizzie watched the gamboling linklings run to scamper up a blooming fruit tree to where Ynni had begun her nest, like ripples in the vast pond of the multiverse, she could feel each choice she had made moving her forward.
She would always have more and more questions. She knew this was really only the beginning. The task she had set herself to learn it all was seemingly as infinite as the multiverse in all its diversity and wonders. So little time.... She had better get to work....
(When Burt returned home, he found Jenny sound asleep in her chair, the journal opened to the final page.
He shook his head, the grin effusing his face as it always did when he saw her or even when he thought of her. You’re more like your aunt than you realize, my sweet, he thought. She could never let a question lay unanswered either.
Chidwi sat on the back of the chair looking sleepily up at him. “I hate to wake her, Chidwi, but we’d better get her to bed. She has two more journals to go, and I’m guessing she’ll need her rest.”)
The conclusion of the fourth book of The Dimensional Alliance series
Watch for the fifth book, “Links to Infinity” in 2022
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About The Author:
Reading has always been my passion. Starting in libraries at the age of four, I have travelled near and far via the printed page, from places of ancient history to the stars and beyond. It seemed a natural thing for me to want to write as well.
The idea of being able to go from simple day-dreaming and pretending to creating worlds of my own invention has been an ongoing passion and from my teen years I had thought that "someday" I would write books myself.
What happened to that dream? Honestly? Life happened. Out of high school I went into the military. I met my future husband, got married, had children, moved all over the place, including three years in Frankfurt, Germany, had many adventures including clowning professionally, 15 years of broadcast television as a producer/director/show-host, owned more than one business and then went through several major health challenges including breast cancer.
So what changed? What made me decide to pursue the dream of my teen years? Let's go back a bit...
At about the age of 16 I had started having a recurring dream that pestered me most of my life. Time and time again I would discuss the dream with people I thought were wiser than me and time and time again the repeated answer came, "No idea. I've never heard of such a thing."
At age 63 after having the dream once again I decided that maybe if I wrote it down it might leave me alone. I did so and filed it on my desktop, but didn't think of it again until I started hanging out with published authors.
At the end of a recorded interview I did with Mercedes S. Lackey, after I had turned off the recording, I timidly confessed I had often considered writing a book. Mercedes leaned forward in her chair, looked me in the eye and said, "Put your butt in the chair and write!" It was some of the best advice I had ever gotten.
In search of material to write about I stumbled upon that dusty text file about my dream and the rest is history. From it came the science fiction - fantasy series "The Dimensional Alliance" beginning with "The House on Infinity Loop". I am grateful for the events leading up to setting myself upon this path. The series has the word "Infinity" in all of the titles since there seem to be an infinite number of stories I have to tell and I will continue writing them until I transition to the next dimension in some distant date.
To my readers: Never give up on your dream. The first book in this series was published two weeks before my 64th birthday. It is never too late. There are many more to come.
