Aliens on Earth

Iso-bel relaxed in her seat and looked out of the window. Her two-month break after the end of secondary school meant her parents had given her an open ticket for the Galaxy Express, the interplanetary starship train that looped through the inhabited worlds. She'd embarked on a trip to the Star Nations with her boyfriend and a couple of classmates.

She had insisted they stopped on this planet she'd seen when she was barely five and didn't remember much of. But she knew how important it was for her parents and her father's uncle and some of his friends, so the others had humored her.

The interstellar Galaxy Express had dropped them at the Orbital Immigration Station where they'd gone through customs before being taken down to the blue planet underneath. The Space Shuttle was necessary when one came in with the Galaxy Express that didn't land on planets and dropped its passengers on orbital stations in their close vicinity.

Iso-bel's father had had to dock in the Orbital Immigration Station and teleport himself on the planet the first time he had visited since there were no spaceports on the planet yet. And he'd had a bronchitis from breathing the polluted air during his short stay. When he'd come back with the whole family ten years later, the air was clean and the planet was finally on par with the rest of the Star Nations.

Iso-bel watched as the blue ball that looked so much like Marc'harid – albeit with different landmasses – approached quickly.

"You're the expert on Gaia geography," Jes-syd said. "What is that continent called?"

"America," she answered absentmindedly. Her father hadn't visited it, so she was kind of curious. He had stuck to Europe and Asia, but there was so much more to explore! Although they had limited time, since they were supposed to get to Mirabilis in a month, so they'll have to choose carefully.

The trip from the Orbital Immigration Station was short and the Space Shuttle landed in the brand new spaceport in the outskirts of a big city built on the shores of a huge lake. Iso-bel stepped out of the spaceport building with her backpack on her shoulders and breathed the air of the planet.

"Smells like Marc'harid," Jes-syd said, sweeping back from his eyes his longish blond bangs with his hand. His rebellious mane made him look like a wild animal – lions they were called on Earth. "But looks less technological."

"It's a newcomer of the Star Nations," Emma-lin said, checking her tablet. "We should book a tour. I don't think it's safe to go on our own."

"Let's get to the hotel, get some sleep, and then we can do that," Jes-syd replied, taking Iso-bel's hand.

They found the public transport to the nearest city, Chicago. Ran-ald and Emma-lin were bickering again, which made Jes-syd roll his eyes and Iso-bel smile.

As she sat on the train with her friends, Iso-bel put her head against Jes-syd's shoulder. She felt tired now and looked forward to sleeping in a real bed. Intergalactic travel was fast, but not that fast, especially on the Galaxy Express.

She could have requested a private cruise ship, but she had preferred using public transport instead. She didn't trust herself or her friends to handle a starship, since none of them had any piloting experience. She could have asked for a pilot to join them, but she thought she needed to learn to travel like normal people did.

Being the daughter of a wealthy Sire made her feel spoiled. And it was time she tried something different – both her and her friends. Enough private cruise ships or flying cars with drivers. They should experience the commuters' life as they played tourists of the Star Nations.

Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to bring Emma-lin and Ran-ald along, though. Those two months might be the last Iso-bel spent with Jes-syd, since they had applied to different universities on different planets. When the other traveling companions had dropped out, they should have canceled the trip.

Ran-ald Alligood and Emma-lin Wisenthon couldn't stand each other, but one was Jes-syd's best friend and the other was Iso-bel's. Besides her parents were happier if they knew she wasn't alone with Jes-syd, especially since she used galactic public transport.

Being all children of wealthy Sire, they could afford hotels instead of youth hostels. They had booked two double rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys, in a skyscraper in the old town of Chicago overlooking Lake Michigan.

Iso-bel stared outside of the room window, curious. Earth's architecture was not as eco-friendly as the one on Marc'harid, yet, but they had an Essence Building in every city now, allowing city-dwellers to experience natural ecosystems without moving away from the city itself.

Although on Marc'harid they never thought of building a skyscraper containing a desert, a jungle and a glacier, or anything containing eleven different natural atmospheres in one vertical tower, it seemed to work fine on Gaia. Imagined in the local year 2015 by a team of Polish architects, it had become reality as soon as Earth had managed to clean its air from pollution, and had been repeated throughout the planet.

Maybe a few more planets could use that kind of structure, Iso-bel thought. The previous stop had been on Xi-kong that was slowly recovering from mob control. After the fall of the empire, the dons had taken control and ruled for many years until a huge Galaxy Police operation had taken advantage of a gang's split to bring back some form of order and democracy.

The planet was still a mess, though. Iso-bel had barely met her cousins from her mother's side, and then they had cut their stay short. Xi-kong was dirty and decadent, but Gaia seemed to be blossoming after a Dark Age – which was probably true after being a Saurian colony for so long.

Iso-bel was impressed by the size of the lake outside of her room window. The lakes she knew on Marc'harid – the ones near the capital where she lived – were much smaller. She could see the other shore there. That wasn't the case in Chicago. The sun shone on the silver sculpture called Cloud Gate, also known as the Bean, at the feet of the hotel, and the Essence Skyscraper had been built on the Northerly Island, next to the Adler Planetarium. The tallest building in the city was still the 110–story Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), completed in 1974.

Emma-lin emerged from the shower, drying her red hair with a towel.

"Need to shower too?" she asked. She was the prettiest of the two, but that was never an issue for Iso-bel. In fact Emma-lin didn't have a steady boyfriend because she couldn't make up her mind with so many admirers, while Iso-bel had had only Jes-syd asking her out.

"I'm just hungry and tired." Iso-bel sighed and used the bathroom to relieve herself and wash her hands. She quickly finger-combed her shoulder-length, rainbow-colored hair and checked her makeup-free face in the mirror.

By the time she was done, Emma-lin was dressed and had put on her coral lipstick that matched her hair. They had never shared clothes, since they liked different fashions – Emma-lin was always very feminine, Iso-bel had been a tomboy for all her childhood.

She'd become a little womanlier when her periods had started and her tits had grown – although she had smaller breasts compared to her best friend. That was probably one more reason she didn't feel the need to enhance her cleavages.

She was petite, but she didn't like wearing high heels, much like her mother, so she always looked like the lady-in-waiting to the princess, while it was, in fact, the opposite, since she was a descendant of the last Sire emperor while Emma-lin was only a Sire aristocrat.

They went to the hotel's restaurant where they met the boys. Ran-ald's frown told her Jes-syd was going through the same troubles she was having with Emma-lin about the company. Ran-ald didn't want Emma-lin tagging along more than Emma-lin wanted to share the journey with him. Ran-ald thought Emma-lin was a haughty redhead and Emma-lin thought handsome Ran-ald was too full of himself.

Iso-bel was glad she wasn't the prettiest girl in school – that would be green-eyed Emma-lin – and Jes-syd wasn't the most popular guy – that would be Ran-ald, or course, with his black hair carefully styled short and perennial suntan – so they could enjoy each other's company without being under scrutiny. Her family name might be more important than any of the other three, but they were still the least glamorous couple of the school, and proud of it.

A Humanoid waiter took them to their table. In the dining room there were other races dining – a group of cheerful Felines, a table of very serious Carians with a couple of half-bloods with a human body and feathered wings, and even a few Reptilians. There were also groups of Humanoids, and it was hard to tell where they came from, unless one read their unprotected minds – which Iso-bel was too tired to do.

"They don't have androids serving tables," Ran-ald said, scrunching his nose. "We'll have to leave a tip."

"It's bad practice not to leave a tip where Humanoids are still employed," Emma-lin said.

"If they still have Humanoids doing the job, we might as well tip them," Jes-syd decided. "Until they're replaced by robots, we should probably help them."

The waiter might have been Humanoid, but the dishes arrived through automated systems. The table opened at the center and a tray with their food appeared.

"Mm, smells good!" Iso-bel grabbed her plate. She was famished by now.

She had ordered a meat dish and it tasted like the equivalent coming out from the kitchens of the former Imperial palace back home. But then, she wasn't much of a foodie, so she let her friends comment on the food without adding a word. They sounded happy, though.

"I talked to the guys at the reception," Jes-syd said as they ate. "Booked us a tour starting tomorrow. Should take us through the main cities in a few days."

Emma-lin rolled her eyes but didn't object. If it had been Ran-ald saying that, she'd probably be ranting on other people's wrong choices. But for some reason she respected Jes-syd's choices.

Iso-bel smiled and nodded. She looked forward to visiting the planet and sending some pictures back home. She hoped Jes-syd had included the towns she wanted to visit. From his grin, she knew he had.

***

Iso-bel climbed in the small shuttle with her friends. A model of flying van imported from more advanced Star Nations planets, it went faster than the old airplanes available on Gaia and could fly over water and land at great speed. It allowed for a dozen passengers, a guide and a driver. She sat in the front with Jes-syd, while Emma-lin and Ran-ald took the seats behind them.

Their small group included a couple of Carians on honeymoon, two unrelated Felines who had met at the spaceport and traveled on their own, and a Reptilian. Being a telepath was helpful when one wanted to know something about the people around her.

And then there were the local driver, a plump middle-aged man with a round waist and a funny mustache, and the guide, a tall blond man who took the microphone to address them.

"Welcome, Humanoid, Reptilian, Feline, Carian or other sentient being!" he said in formally correct Intergalactic. "We call our planet Earth, but it's also known as Gaia among the Star Nations. I'm Jon, the best guide in the galaxy, and I'm going to take you throughout our beautiful blue planet, explaining history and customs to you revered alien visitors."

Iso-bel smiled and wondered what he'd say if she told him how much she knew about him and his planet already – albeit only by hearsay. She could glean the rest from his unprotected mind, if she felt so inclined, but for now she had raised her shields again and didn't want to be bothered by other people's thoughts.

"We are a former Saurian colony that was locked in a manufactured time loop which forced us to live and relive always the same hundred years of our history, with only slight variations," Jon continued as the driver took off. "Finally, in the year of our calendar 2012, instead of the doomsday prophecies and the end of the world we read in a number of our long lost civilizations messages, came the encounter with the Star Nations who, thanks to a favorable star alignment in the galaxy, finally took us out of the manufactured time loop."

And you can thank Kol-ian Vaurabi for that, Iso-bel thought. Her grandmother's younger brother had been a rebel who had found refuge on low-tech Earth in the previous local century. He'd told her often how helpless the Gaians were and how stuck to their planet they were because of covert Saurian control.

"Imagine our shock then – we thought we were the only sentient beings in the universe!" Jon said, making Emma-lin chuckle nervously.

Iso-bel turned to look at the Reptilian – a Draconian, not a Saurian – who had all his teeth out in a wicked grin. His presence didn't seem to disturb Jon, though. Iso-bel wondered if the Earthling knew the physical differences between horned Draconians and lizard-like Saurians.

"Yes, that's how obtuse and narrow-minded we were. But the Saurians kept us that way through brainwashing and mind control... does that remind you all of the galactic empire?"

Ran-ald smirked. He came from the House of Alligood, who had been mind-controlled under the Emperor. He knew exactly what Jon meant. But so did Iso-bel, whose grandfather Ker-ris Shermac had been mind-controlled since his wedding night.

"Yes, it was a rude awakening." Jon must be an actor, or a good orator. Iso-bel silently applauded his performance. "Being forced to close the weapon industries, throw away our guns, take down our borders and live in peace after centuries of war was... baffling. But once our energies weren't harnessed into killing each other, our creativity blossomed. We gathered our wits, cleaned up the air and the water, and found alternative energy sources. The other Star Nations were very patient and kind while we caught up with space travel and other technologies, and now we are proud to be part of the High Council along with representatives of all your planets out there!"

"He's good," Jes-syd whispered, amused.

Iso-bel chuckled. They obviously thought the same thing about their guide. And they didn't even have a mind link. She glanced at his profile, remembering how his smile had dazzled her when he had asked her out the first time, turning her from a grumpy tomboy into a dreamy girl who had found her prince charming.

"The best way to unite us was to force us to learn Intergalactic," Jon said. "Of course the regional languages are not all dead, like your own are kept alive on your home planet, but the common language makes us feel part of the Star Nations. It took us years to master it, but now I'm proud to say the new generations grow up bilingual and old people are slowly catching up too."

"Were you born before or after the time-loop was unlocked?" Emma-lin asked.

Jon hesitated only a moment. "Before," he answered. "But I was still a child when the Star Nations came."

He wasn't going to give away his age yet. Iso-bel exchanged an amused glance with her boyfriend. Jes-syd shook his head knowingly, grinning from ear to ear.

"During this tour you will be able to talk with natives, and I'll help when I can with the translation, especially if you want to talk to the elders," Jon said. "I am fluent in three local languages and one of them is English, that was very widespread even before 2012 as our business language."

"And what are the other two?" Iso-bel asked.

"French and Spanish."

"No Italian?"

Jon looked puzzled. "No, sorry. How do you know so much about our languages?"

"I think the first two Earthlings who emigrated to the Star Nations are now famous on their home planet as much as they are on the planet that adopted them," she replied. "I'm from Marc'harid and I grew up in close contact with Daniele and Chantal."

Jon's eyes widened in shock. "You're a Sire?"

"We all are," Emma-lin replied, pointing at herself and her friends. "So you can be as vague as you want, I know you're forty. You were born in 2006!"

Jon glared at her and cleared his throat.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," he resumed. "We are headed for our first stop, London. You guys are in a hurry, so we'll cover only the northern hemisphere. I sure hope this taste of Earth will make you want to come back and explore more."

Maybe on my honeymoon, Iso-bel thought. She knew so many people who found Earth romantic... that was why she hoped its magic would work on Emma-lin and Ran-ald!

"We will travel eastward and will take you back here in a few days after showing you half of our planet. It will be an over twenty thousand miles, or thirty-three thousand kilometers, journey that will touch London, Dubai, New Delhi, Tokyo, Hawaii and San Francisco."

Iso-bel grinned and blew a kiss at Jes-syd who winked in return. His amber eyes sparkled with mischief. He'd been obviously paying attention when he'd visited with her parents.

"Our flight time to the island off the coast of the continent called Europe will last approximately six hours, then we'll reach our destination. This is our driver, Henry, give him an applause and then relax in your seats. You're in good hands."

Iso-bel and her friends cheered and clapped their hands while the Felines meowed their approval. The Carians and the Draconian pretended not to listen.

"What autonomy does this flying van have?" Ran-ald asked. He was very interested in planetary means of transportation and looked forward to move from his motosonic to a real flying car – a fast and luxurious one, of course.

"About five thousand miles, or eight thousand kilometers," Jon answered. "You can ask the specifics to Henry when we get to London. If any of you is hungry or needs relief, the back cabin has food and a toilet."

Jon kept talking until they were over the Atlantic Ocean, at which point he allowed his passengers to doze off or stretch their legs. He didn't have much to say about life in the water, and Iso-bel considered transmitting to the sea mammals, but she soon gave up the thought. They were going too fast to start any conversation anyway. The flying van felt comfortable and she relaxed, still looking outside at the clouds meeting the sea.

She was happy to be on Earth at last. Both her parents had seen it when it was still trying to catch up – and they didn't know each other – and then had come back ten years later with her, her younger brother and the rest of the extended family.

Iso-bel had a vague memory of a trip on a strange, old-fashioned tower that seemed to have no reason to be except as architectural wonder. She checked her tablet and found the image.

Yes, that was it, at the time it had been built the tallest tower of the world, now just a memory of a century long gone. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, built before the manufactured time-loop caught Gaia and stuck it in time.

"We're not going through Paris," Jes-syd said, leaning towards her and staring at her screen.

"I know, I've been there as a kid, I didn't remember the name of this place, so I looked it up," she answered.

"Have you started sending pictures to your parents and brother?"

"Yes, yesterday – the hotel room view." She chuckled. "They were impressed."

"And we've only just started," he said with a wink.

She switched off the tablet. "Thank you for taking me here," she said, squeezing his hand.

"My parents never left Marc'harid, I wouldn't have known where to start from," he replied, amused. "The fact that your mother is from Xi-kong and your father has Earthlings friends certainly helped with our itinerary..."

She giggled. "Emma-lin only wanted to see Mirabilis."

"Same with Ran-ald. They both think they belong to the Perfects." He winked. "Maybe we should drop them there and come back on our own, what do you think?"

"I think Gaia might help us before we get to Mirabilis," she answered with a grin. "Wait and see..."

***

"Revered guests, welcome to London!" Jon said as the shuttle approached another city. "Another reason why English was so widespread is because this tiny island at one point was at the head of the largest empire in our history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. They still have a royal family, even though the king has only nominal power. But in this piece of land, they love George Windsor and his dynasty of kings. The first was also called George, and if the current one had been crowned king, he'd be George VII. Please note that the last reigning monarch was his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II."

"It's a bit like you," Jes-syd whispered, amused, staring at Iso-bel. "My rainbow-haired princess without a throne!"

She blew him a kiss. It was a joke between them, since neither her father nor her grandfather had ever really wished to sit on the emperor's throne. But the history of England looked a lot like the history of the Sire emperors. The English royalty had lost their empire long before meeting the Star Nations, though.

Ran-ald wasn't as discreet.

"It's like the House of Vaurabi and the House of Shermac on Marc'harid," he said. "The descendants of the last Sire Emperor."

Jon was consulting his list of guests and nodded absentmindedly. But then he must have read Iso-bel's name because he turned to look at Emma-lin.

"Are you Iso-bel Shermac?" he asked.

"No, she is." Emma-lin pointed at Iso-bel with a grin.

Jon looked shocked to see the princess was the most unassuming of the two girls.

"Mmm, Ssire arisstocratss," the Draconian said from his seat. Like all Reptilians, he spoke Intergalactic with many hisses.

"We're on vacation," Ran-ald challenged. "So what?"

"Nothing. Ssire teens are jusst like the other Humanoid teens."

Except for telepathy, Iso-bel thought, rolling her eyes. Ran-ald should know better.

Jes-syd squeezed her fingers. I know, he's an asshole from time to time, he apologized. He must have sent a telepathic message to his friend too, since Iso-bel doubted Emma-lin's glare had had any effect on Ran-ald.

The shuttle landed on the roof of their hotel, a skyscraper in the Docklands area. Jon told them to wait in the lobby as he gathered the room keys and distributed them to the small group – three double and three single.

Again Iso-bel shared with Emma-lin. They were supposed to have two triples, but a couple of friends had dropped out at the last minute, which was actually better since Iso-bel was the shortest and usually the one who slept in the third bed. Kim-ash was skinny but too tall to fit in the small bunk.

They had a free afternoon before doing their guided tour the next morning, so they met in the lobby as soon as they'd dropped their bags in the room and headed out. They took the Docklands Light Railway to Tower Hill and explored Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

Iso-bel was impressed by the bascule and suspension bridge built in the late 1800s, but even more by the White Tower built almost a millennium before. It must be the oldest building still standing she laid her eyes on.

"Does my lady fancy this castle?" Jes-syd teased, squeezing her shoulder.

"Actually, it's too big," she replied. "But I'm impressed by its longevity."

"Pre-technological Humanoids knew some neat tricks indeed," Jes-syd mused. "But I couldn't live in a place without computers."

Iso-bel smiled. Jes-syd would probably become a great hacker, employed at the Vaurabi Labs when he finished university. She had more passion for old things than him, though. Her father loved ancient manuscripts and she liked studying history and cultures, and visiting old buildings.

Emma-lin was more impressed by the Crown Jewels of England, and she gaped at the size of the diamond known as the Koh-i-Noor, probably mined in India in antiquity, and set in the Queen Mother's Crown.

"You could wear it," Jes-syd teased. "You're a woman!"

Emma-lin checked her tablet. "Oh, I see what you mean!" She read aloud. "As the diamond's history involves a great deal of fighting between men, the Koh-i-Noor acquired a reputation within the British royal family for bringing bad luck to any man who wears it. Since arriving in the country, it has only ever been worn by female members of the family." She glanced triumphantly at Ran-ald who looked away with a frown.

"I don't even know why you'd want a crown, royal or imperial," he muttered. "You're not the Emperor's great-granddaughter, Emma-lin Wisenthon!"

"I wouldn't want it on Iso-bel's colorful head," Jes-syd said, staring at the crown and scrunching his nose.

Iso-bel's rainbow hair had raised eyebrows at home but not on Jes-syd's part. She had covered her natural chestnut brown as soon as she'd done her secondary school's final exam, not even waiting for the results. She had washed her hair since, so the colors were fading already, but it would take a few months to wash them out completely.

Emma-lin was too fond of her red curls to change their color, but Kim-ash had done the same on her stylishly short, usually black hair, to the horror of her boyfriend. So Kim-ash and Dan-sam had dropped out of the trip, too busy screaming at each other to bother visiting the Star Nations and leaving Iso-bel and Jes-sid alone with Emma-lin and Ran-ald.

"Should we eat?" Ran-ald asked as they left the compounds of the Tower of London. "What do you think Jon will show us tomorrow?"

***

The tour of the city included the oldest bits and the strangest sights. The former capital's most senior living citizen was the magnificent Ancient Yew in Saint Andrew's churchyard in Totteridge, a two millennia tree that had seen the founding of Londinium and all its history to the present.

Sutton House was a Tudor house built in 1535, and the oldest lived-in house – a survivor of the Great Fire of 1666, German bombs and developers' bulldozers – was at 41-42 Cloth Fair in West Smithfield. It had been built between 1597 and 1614.

The Olde Wine Shades on Martin Lane was deemed to be London's oldest pub, who'd been rosying Londoners' cheeks continuously since 1663 and had survived the Great Fire. And the oldest restaurant was Rules on Maiden Lane in Theatreland since it began selling oysters in 1798.

Then there were the churches. Saint Bride dating back to the Sixth Century. The Chapel of the Pyx in Westminster – also an impressive sight even though nothing was left of the medieval palaces – and All Hallows by the Tower that contained a Seventh Century Saxon arch with recycled Roman tiles and beneath the crypt had a Roman pavement.

It was an unbelievably sunny day and Iso-bel had to wear sunglasses every time they were in the open, since her blue eyes were very sensitive to light. She envied Ran-ald's charcoal eyes or even Jes-syd's amber ones – they weren't as badly off in the sun like her. Ran-ald wore sunglasses more out of fashion than of need.

Iso-bel couldn't miss a stop at the British Library after Jon showed them Saint Pancras Parish Church and freed them for the evening. Her father had spent hours in there, studying illuminated manuscripts, and she was very curious.

She took a picture of the Magna Carta and sent it to her father along with other images of her London tour. Jes-syd took a picture of her and Emma-lin in the Entrance Hall with rows of bookshelves behind them, and they sent it to Kim-ash.

Then the four of them headed back to the hotel, where they met the Felines who had gone back another way and they decided to have dinner all together. Fikri was an ambassador's son who was a seasoned traveler – a tiger walking on his hind legs and talking very easily to strangers. Jyrki looked more like a lioness, although he was male, and was a business man on vacation.

They were a cheerful company and they managed to drag along K'uryss, the Draconian tourist who pretended he couldn't care less about Humanoids. The Caroids were nowhere around the hotel lobby, so they gave up looking for them.

They all sat together in the hotel's restaurant and spent a couple of hours eating and talking and joking. According to Emma-lin, Fikri and Jyrki were better than Ran-ald, "Heck, even K'uryss is better than Ran-ald!", but Iso-bel ignored the comments as she undressed and prepared for bed.

Her father had commented on the pictures by then, so she wished her family good-night and switched off her light as Emma-lin slid in her bed with a long sigh.

"I hope Kim-ash gathers her wits and joins us before we leave," she muttered switching off her own lamp. "I'd love to have some backup against that asshole."

"Stop bothering him and you'll be fine," Iso-bel said in the darkness. "You should have chosen someone if you were so afraid of the rest of the company."

"If it were six of us as originally planned, it wouldn't be that bad!" Emma-lin complained. "Now I feel like I'm intruding in your relationship! Am I spoiling your vacation, Iso-bel?"

"No, you're not," Iso-bel answered patiently. "But stop bickering with Ran-ald. We're here to explore planets, not relationships."

Emma-lin sighed. "Good night, Iso-bel..."

"Sweet dreams, Emma-lin."

***

The wakeup call brought the four of them in the breakfast room where again they saw the Felines and the Draconian, but no Carians. They took their backpacks to the roof and gave them to Henry and climbed on the flying van, but still no Carians.

Jon checked his watch and looked around the roof terrace, worried, tapping his foot. He tried to call the Carians' room, but got no reply. Their luggage had been left near the shuttle before Henry got to it, so the driver had no idea of where they were.

"We could have done a last trip to the river shore," Iso-bel said, looking out of the window.

"Glad it's a small group," Jes-syd said. "Just imagine if we had to wait for fifty people to get onboard!"

"There they are!" Fikri screamed, pointing at the sky with his paw.

What had looked like two birds was fast approaching, revealing the two Carians who slightly shifted shape as soon as they touched down. Eagles in the sky, they turned back to their human bodies with eagle heads as their wings folded and almost vanished. They didn't need clothes more than Reptilians or Felines, and Jon looked impressed. It must be the first time he saw something like that.

"Sorry, we were taking a last look to this fascinating island," the male said. His name was Hian and his bride was Haopia. They quickly climbed in the shuttle and sat in their seats, followed by John's frown.

"So, we're ready to take off," the guide said, using his mike again. "We're only half an hour late, so we'll still make it on time to Dubai. Our flight time is a little under five hours."

Henry closed the shuttle door and took off while Jon gave a little history of their next destination.

"I like it's the most expensive city in the area," Emma-lin said, leaning forward to speak to Iso-bel between their seats. "And that it has great malls. Do you think we can do some shopping?"

"It depends on what you want," Iso-bel replied. "You might find something to make Kim-ash envious, though."

Emma-lin chuckled and sat back. "I think she's already envious, and sorry she didn't come anyway!"

"I'm glad you didn't color your hair," Ran-ald told her, serious. "Iso-bel and Kim-ash look ridiculous. I wonder what possessed them."

"I was happy secondary school is over," Iso-bel said. "It's not permanent, it will go away with a few washes!"

"It looks good on their straight hair, but my curls would have been a mess," Emma-lin said. She was very proud of her natural curls and she was actually surprised by Ran-ald's compliment. "One can't always do what one's friends do even if one loves one's friends, right?"

"Absolutely," Ran-ald said. "Can you see me with a mop of wild hair like Jes-syd? Me neither."

Iso-bel and Jes-syd guffawed. If they could be the reason their friends stopped bickering, that was fine with them.

In Dubai the group split, since Felines weren't too fond of water and K'uryss decided he preferred sleeping on dry land. The young Sire and the Carians were taken to the Water Discus Hotel that had been built in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Dubai.

Part of it sat thirty feet underwater and the other half floated twenty feet in the air. It could hold up even during the severest of storms and ensured safety at all times. It sat on five sturdy legs fixed to the seabed and the upper discs were suspended above the water surface. Apparently it was safer than any hotel on the coast, since it was tsunami-proof. And the underwater disk automatically surfaced at once in the event of any danger.

The Carians had their room in the upper discs, but the Sire had underwater rooms that opened on the ocean's flora and fauna. Fish, jellyfish, corals, sea turtles all swam outside of their rooms.

"Neat!" Emma-lin said, delighted, as colorful fish passed by the glass opening. Iso-bel took a picture of her. "Hey, look, there's even a flyer with the names and images of what we see!"

She flipped through the pages as Iso-bel looked over her shoulder.

"Hey, I wonder if we'll see a shark!" she commented. "Oh, look at this beast! A-ha, so that's what they look like!"

"A whale! I'd love to see that!" Emma-lin's eyes were wide in wonder. "It's like visiting an aquarium!"

"Except we're the ones locked in." Iso-bel chuckled. "That fish is probably wondering what we are!"

Emma-lin giggled. "I've never been the object of study by a fish!"

"There's always a first time! Did you know the dolphins and whales of Earth were aware of Saurian control while the Humanoids were not? Dolphins were the ones who petitioned the High Council!"

"Aah, that's why they're not really coming over to see us... they know us! So you think we can talk with them?"

"If they come close enough, why not?"

Iso-bel chuckled and sent the picture to Kim-ash, then they went out again.

Jon showed them around the shopping capital of the Middle East, took them to the top of the tallest man-made building of the world, the Burj Khalifa, to see the landscape, and then he left them to their own devices around lunchtime. They knew where to take the ferry back to the hotel whenever they tired of exploring malls and souks and the city itself.

A visit to the Bollywod Parks was necessary for Iso-bel since her grandfather and his partner had loved to dance to Bollywood tunes, and she wouldn't miss the Krrish ride for anything. The others humored her and actually enjoyed it. They did the Ra.One ride and a couple more, and then dined at the park before splitting.

Iso-bel and Jes-syd decided to watch the sunset from the beach. They sat on the sand of crushed shell and coral that gleamed white under the last rays of sun. They saw the Carian couple flying towards the setting sun and envied their wings for a moment. The Carians didn't even need to take the ferry back to the hotel.

When the sun vanished below the horizon, they took their clothes off and went skinny dipping in the sea, staying close to the coast since they weren't used to the waves and the currents. They could swim, but the ocean intimidated them.

While they sat on the beach to dry themselves in the cooling air of the night, a solitary sperm whale stopped by to say hello. She was old and tired, and had seen so much happening on the planet – barely escaping death dozens of times until whaling was finally forbidden – but she was so happy to meet two alien Humanoids she could talk to, that she offered to take them to their hotel on her back.

Delighted, Iso-bel rode the cachalot holding to Jes-syd's waist while he held to the whale's blowhole. They asked her why she had wandered into the Persian Gulf, and she answered she was going home.

She deposited them at the hotel's pier and they thanked her for her kindness. They watched her swim away and head for the beach. As soon as she was stranded, a beam hit her and she vanished.

"I guess she had a rendezvous with a starship orbiting Gaia," Jes-syd said with a grin. "I sure hope she has a safe trip to her home world."

Iso-bel sighed. "Let's get some sleep."

As they went down to their rooms, they exchanged a long kiss in the elevator and another in the corridor between their rooms.

Then they said good-night and opened their room doors. Iso-bel stepped in and gasped. Emma-lin and Ran-ald were on one of the single beds, naked and wrapped in bed sheets, fast asleep in each other's arms.

Iso-bel smiled and retreated quietly. She went to knock on Jes-syd's door. He opened with a worried look on his face.

"Ran-ald is not here..."

"He's over there with Emma-lin," she said, pushing him inside the room. "I think we can share the room for the rest of the trip – or at least tonight!"

Jes-syd brightened and put the "do not disturb" sign on the door.

They had already had sex during the three years they'd been together, but doing it in an underwater room opening on an aquarium made all the difference.

Iso-bel nestled against Jes-syd and dozed off, happy.

***

The wakeup call meant that Iso-bel crossed Ran-ald in the corridor before going back to her room. The boy avoided her gaze and Emma-lin's usually pale complexion was as red as her hair when Iso-bel got in the room.

"I don't know what possessed us, it was those dolphins!" She whined, quickly repacking while Iso-bel put on a clean shirt after a trip to the bathroom.

"The dolphins made you have sex with Ran-ald?" she asked, amused.

"I... yes! Well, they sent us those soothing messages and their dance outside the window was so mesmerizing and..."

Iso-bel chuckled. "And now you regret it? Or have you changed your mind about Ran-ald?"

Emma-lin scowled. "I bet you were happy to spend the night with Jes-syd."

"Don't change subject, Emma-lin. Was it a good time?"

"Um... yes..." Emma-lin looked away as she muttered something else. But her mind was shielded, and Iso-bel assumed she didn't want to talk about it. She shook her head and finished packing.

They headed for breakfast in the upper disk and saw the Carians at another table.

"We won't fly off again," Haopia assured. "See you at the shuttle."

Emma-lin and Ran-ald avoided each other's stare and Jes-syd raised his eyebrow, skeptical.

What did he tell you? Iso-bel transmitted.

The dolphins made them do it. Jes-syd rolled his eyes.

Why not? She smiled. They are the other intelligent species on this world... They can't communicate with the locals, but with Sire telepaths? Piece of cake!

Jes-syd grinned. I guess you're right, honey. They'll have to get over it. I think they quite enjoyed each other's company anyway.

Gaia's magic... Iso-bel thought about what awaited them, the next stop where Kol-ian Vaurabi had spent years and her father merely days. I think Delhi will make them fall into each other's arms. And they won't be able to blame the dolphins! Or whales!

After breakfast, they grabbed their backpacks and took the ferry. Henry waited for them on the pier and they were the last onboard, since the Carians had flown ahead of the ferry. But they were perfectly on time to start their next leg of the trip. New Delhi was only a couple of hours away, it would be one of the shortest traveling time of their journey around Earth.

"Delhi used to be the capital of the country called India," Jon said. "It's a city that bridges past and present – great historical past and even greater present. Once upon a time part of that empire I mentioned in London, it is now a free city with interstellar spaceport and all the facilities you could wish for. The metropolis has expanded through the centuries, and it has been built and destroyed many times. You will see the difference between Old Delhi and New Delhi with your own eyes."

Iso-bel was very excited at the thought of walking the same streets her father and his uncle had walked so many years before. She'd have to send copies of the pictures to Kol-ian, the other half of her grandfather Ker-ris who still called him "my wicked brother-in-law" after thirty-five years since his wife's death and thirty-four of undying love and mind link.

They all had rooms at the Taj Mahal Hotel New Delhi in the heart of Lutyen, featuring modern Indian-style decor and luxurious rooms with a view. Since they wouldn't visit the real thing, they may as well sleep in a place called like the ivory-white marble mausoleum commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

"I bet Hian and Haopia will fly there, since it's such a monument to conjugal love," Emma-lin said. Again she shared the room with Iso-bel, but hopefully after another couple of nights she'd finally agree to sleep with Ran-ald.

"One should spend years exploring here," Iso-bel replied, looking out of the window. "I mean on this planet."

"We're not all Kol-ian Vaurabi, who was on the run anyway." Emma-lin shrugged.

"Let's go, we have only one night here, since it's so close to Dubai!"

They barely dropped their backpacks before joining the rest of the group for their city tour with Jon in what felt like scorching heat to Iso-bel. Again sunglasses protected her eyes from the bright sun.

She took off her shoes and walked on the red bricks of Shah Jahan's mosque, then enjoyed a rickshaw ride through the alleys around it. She took off her shoes again to walk through a Sikh temple and on the warm marble of its artificial lake. In the mosque she had to cover her body, in the temple her hair.

Locals constantly asked for pictures with her and her friends, which was kind of fun. Her pale skin, but mostly Emma-lin's hair were truly exotic, especially for the children. She declined men's requests, but couldn't say not to youngsters.

She stared at the top of the Qutub Minar – the tallest brick minaret in the world – trying to imagine a young Kol-ian Vaurabi with retractile wings brooding up there. It wasn't easy in plain daylight.

She took as many pictures as she could, and her feet hurt that night when she finally made it to bed, but she was happy. She had seen everything she wanted to see on Earth, now she could relax until the end of the trip.

Emma-lin was unusually quiet, so they switched off the light barely saying good-night to each other. Iso-bel hoped her friend was considering switching rooms, and then she fell asleep, dreaming of spending the rest of the journey in Jes-syd's bed.

***

Flying to Tokyo took five hours and a half after a final morning spent in Delhi. They left after an early lunch and landed in Tokyo for dinner, which they had at the hotel's restaurant. Jon and Henry sat at a nearby table and they could hear their conversation or pretend to ignore it.

"Are we on Xi-kong?" Jyrki asked, noticing how the locals looked different from the rest of the world.

"China and Japan have people like the Xi-kongians," Iso-bel told him. "And the continent called Africa would make you think you've just landed on Ulba'wis – although in centuries past they've been taken everywhere as slaves, so now you find them also in Europe and North America."

"You are well-versed in Earth's history," Jon said, staring admiringly at her.

"My father likes illuminated manuscripts and calligraphy and he has transmitted his love for history to me," she answered with a shrug.

"Not to mention that he's the nephew of Kol-ian Vaurabi," Jes-syd added with a chuckle.

"Would you like to become a guide?" John suggested. "The company I work for is always looking for guides willing to show the planet..."

"You must love a place to guide people through it," Iso-bel replied. "And I'm barely starting to know Earth."

"Well, you know more of Earth than I will ever know of Marc'harid." Jon shrugged.

"Would you like me to tell you some stories of our planet?" Emma-lin suggested with an impish smile.

Ran-ald glared at her, but she ignored him.

That guy is old, Jes-syd transmitted. I sure hope she's not going to have sex with him only to spite Ran-ald!

Maybe she's actually trying to force Ran-ald to do the next move, Iso-bel transmitted back as Jon muttered and excuse and looked away. He was probably aware of the age difference and didn't want to mix work and pleasure, especially not with a young telepath.

Emma-lin shrugged and looked at the three single travelers at their table. "Are you guys married?"

"No," Jyrki answered. "I don't have time for a relationship."

"I have a betrothed," Fikri added. "But she didn't want to visit this backward planet – although it's less backward than expected, so I'll make sure to come back with her."

"It looks like a great place for a honeymoon," Iso-bel said, staring eagerly at the Carian couple who nodded.

"It is indeed very romantic," Haopia said.

"K'uryss?" Emma-lin continued her inquiry. "Married, divorced, in a relationship?"

"It'ss complicated," the Draconian answered grinning with all his teeth out. "You warm-blooded beingss wouldn't be able to undersstand."

"Thank you for putting up with us, then," Ran-ald retorted.

"You are nice company," K'uryss replied with a nod.

"I'm afraid Ran-ald doesn't get your wicked humor," Jes-syd said, amused. "I'm curious to hear why a Reptilian is visiting a Humanoid planet, though."

"Because it's a former Ssaurian colony." K'uryss shrugged. "Not that we had any Humanoid colonies, sso I was curious to ssee what our cousins had done here."

"It's been cleaned out by now," Iso-bel said. "You should have come thirty or forty years ago."

"Unfortunately, I wasn't born back then," K'uryss replied.

"Wait, how old are you?" Ran-ald demanded.

K'uryss grinned again. "Twenty."

"Son of a bitch, you made it sound as if you were our parent's age!" Ran-ald protested.

"Your friend is right, you don't understand my humor," K'uryss replied. "Like you, I'm exsploring the galaxsy and the Sstar Nations while I decide what to do with my future. And unlike you, I'm not limiting myself to Reptilian planets."

"It's unsafe for Humanoids to travel to Reptilian planets," Fikri replied. "You guys are not the most welcoming race of the galaxy, not even with us."

"Besides, you don't know if we plan on visiting Seress after we're done here," Jes-syd added.

Iso-bel shivered at the simple thought, knowing what the last Saurian governor of Earth had done to her grandfather and his partner, but she knew Jes-syd was kidding.

And K'uryss took it with the same humor he had showed until now. Definitely a young Reptilian who liked to joke and have fun, even though Ran-ald never got it. I'm the one who should be wary of Reptilians, Iso-bel thought, amused. Her father had mentioned a Reptoid – half Humanoid and half Reptilian – who must have been a lot like K'uryss. She wondered if he still lived on Earth, where he'd been born, and how old he was.

Turned out Jyrki was the oldest of the group, followed by Henry, Jon, then Fikri, the Carians, K'uryss and the four Sire. Jyrki would soon retire and hopefully enjoy the fruits of his busy life. Fikri was late in getting married, but he hoped to tie the knot soon. The Carians were quite young themselves and very shy.

"Tomorrow be ready at nine for our tour of the city," Jon said as they all headed out of the restaurant and to the elevators for the rooms.

"Tell me you're not really thinking of doing anything with Jon or K'uryss," Iso-bel told Emma-lin as they prepared for bed. "Just give Ran-ald another chance. He seems very eager to have it!"

Emma-lin shrugged. "I'll think about it."

"I'll stay out late tomorrow night, I want to see the Rainbow Bridge and the Ferris wheel in the bay," Iso-bel said. "Must be nice under the moon."

"Mm... we finish with a cruise on the river to the bay... maybe we'll come with you..."

Iso-bel nodded. "I think I'll wash my hair now. If you want to go to sleep, I won't wake you up."

"Go on, I've got some reading to do and messages to check..."

***

"Doesn't this look like the Eiffel Tower?" Jes-syd asked at the top of the Tokyo Tower while Iso-bel stared down at the tiny houses and lower skyscrapers at their feet.

"Except for the color... And that temple," she said pointing at a complex with pagoda roofs that made for a change in the otherwise not very original landscape.

After the climb and the sightseeing from the top, they went to the Imperial Palace where another only-nominal ruler lived. Much like the House of Windsor in England, Japan seemed to love its imperial family, since the emperor was still considered "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people."

The Imperial House of Japan was the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world, although the Star Nations requirements had gotten rid of all the local governments to have just one unified planet. Unlike George Windsor, who hadn't been crowned king, the latest heir of the Imperial House was still called Emperor. Hisahito was the same age as Jon and they caught a glimpse of him as he left the Imperial Palace in a flying carriage.

The building was closed to the public but still impressive to behold. Then they headed for the complex of Asakusa, where among the temples and shops there was the five-story pagoda built in 1608, the oldest building in Tokyo. Iso-bel was impressed by the wooden constructions throughout the compound and had a delicious lunch of crab skewers and other street food.

Jon took them to see a geisha show then led them to the Sumida river shore for their cruise. By the time they reached their destination under dozens of colorful bridges, the sun had set and the bright neon lights of the Ferris wheel seemed to call them.

Henry waited for them at the arrival pier and took them on the Rainbow Bridge and to Odaiba, a popular shopping and sightseeing destination. After dinner, Henry took back to the hotel whoever was tired, but the couples decided to stay there and go back on their own.

The Carians could fly, of course, but Iso-bel and Jes-syd asked Jon how to get back by public transport. Luckily the metro stations had intergalactic writing as well as the local writing, even though it lasted only a few seconds.

Thus both couples went on the Daikanransha that, when it had opened in 1999, was the world's tallest Ferris wheel, but then lost to the London Eye which opened to the public in March 2000. Iso-bel and Jes-syd had gone on the London Eye during the day, and sitting in the Daikanransha at night was a different experience.

The sixteen-minute ride under the colored neons programmed to display multiple patterns in over a hundred colors left both the Carians and the young Sire pleasantly surprised. Then they split and the Carians flew off as Iso-bel and Jes-syd went looking for the nearest metro station.

They made it safely back to the hotel, and this time they checked before kissing good-night and going separate ways. Luckily moans and pants coming from the boys' room made then retire to the girls' room to make love and get some sleep.

***

It was Emma-lin's turn to rush back to her things, wrapped in a bed sheet, dislodging still asleep Jes-syd.

"I think we can switch for the rest of the journey, what do you think?" Iso-bel asked, amused, as her friend huffed and gathered clothes to go to the bathroom.

"Yeah, yeah..." Emma-lin muttered, frowning. She locked herself in the bathroom and Iso-bel chuckled.

She hugged her pillow again, waiting for her friend to vacate the bathroom. She liked how the trip was going. She wondered if she should keep traveling, like her parents had done before meeting and settling together.

But then, her father had started traveling after completing his studies and she doubted he'd let her wander the galaxy without that university degree. She'd go to Sylvania to get their warrior-like education and learn their martial arts, since the Xi-kongian schools never accepted women.

And then she could finish on Ypsilanti, again a matriarchal planet, where she could hook up with Jes-syd again. He was starting his courses on Serenaide, but could complete them on Ypsilanti. Or they could both finish on Marc'harid.

Kim-ash was coming to Sylvania too, but Emma-lin preferred staying on Marc'harid. So this would also be her last time with her best friend, then they'd be apart for a few years. Iso-bel sighed. Growing up was bad. It meant losing friends to different life choices.

Emma-lin emerged dressed with her hair still wet. "Your turn," she said a little less sour.

Iso-bel quickly washed and dressed, and they joined the boys for breakfast.

The flight to Hawaii was five hours and a half, and it was more a technical stop than a tourist stop because their shuttle couldn't cross the Pacific in one go. It had to refuel midway and Honolulu was a good place to stop. They had only one night there and could relax on the beaches while Henry took care of the shuttle.

Emma-lin and Ran-ald seemed unable to keep their hands off each other which made Iso-bel and Jes-syd smile and K'uriss chuckle quite often until he found company. There were some Reptilians basking in the sun and he chatted them up to spend the night with company. The Felines stayed away from water, but enjoyed the stop too. The Carians flew off exploring on their own.

The next morning the shuttle took them to the American west coast in three hours. They visited the Yosemite National Park and its giant sequoias, and then they slept in San Francisco after a cheerful "last dinner" all together at Fisherman's Wharf.

"We didn't really talk to any elder," Iso-bel mused as she slipped under the bed sheets. "But it was an interesting trip."

"We'll come back," Jes-syd promised, holding her tight. "This was just a taste."

On the flight back to Chicago, Jon said he hoped they had enjoyed his planet and would tell their friends to come over. Jes-syd had gathered a tip for him and the driver and gave it to him when they got off the flying van divided in two envelopes with local cash. Jon thanked him and wished him and his friends a bright future.

The four Sire teens said good-bye to their traveling companions and went back to the hotel where they'd slept upon arrival. They were surprised to find Kim-ash and Dan-sam waiting for them. The couple had cleared their differences – and Kim-ash had gone back to her natural black hair – and they were ready to continue the trip with them.

"How did you find this planet?" Kim-ash asked.

"It's nice," Emma-lin answered. "The dolphins and whales are very friendly."

"We should come back," Jes-syd added. "Maybe stay the whole summer next year."

"I'd love that," Iso-bel mused. "We could meet here and tell each other how the first year of university went..."

She hadn't been very impressed with Xi-kong, but Gaia was definitely in her heart.

"Hey, we haven't seen Mirabilis yet!" Emma-lin said, excited. "Now, I look forward to that!"

Iso-bel smiled. She doubted she'd like Mirabilis as much as Gaia. Although there was the Library of Cosmic Wisdom where her parents had first met twenty-three years earlier...

"When is the next Galaxy Express train stopping by?" Ran-ald asked.

"We should get to the Orbital Immigration Station tonight," Dan-sam answered. "You might want to rest now, or you'll sleep on the Galaxy Express..."

Do you want to stay a little longer? Jes-syd transmitted. We can catch up with them with the next train...

Nah, I want to see Mirabilis too... for different reasons than Emma-lin! She smiled at her boyfriend who squeezed her hand. Don't worry, honey, I'm not planning on settling here...

I wouldn't mind it, but it doesn't have labs or great universities yet, so... maybe when we finish our studies, what do you say?

Maybe for our honeymoon? she replied. When we have our degrees, we can get married and come back, what do you think?

I think I love you very much, my rainbow-haired princess!

He took her in his arms and gave her a long kiss that made their friends whoot and cheer.