Be Careful What You Ask For

Billy Joe's mind was reeling. He had taken the first steps to self-acceptance as a gay young man, and had rejected the fundamentalist belief system that had told his father to reject and despise him and had sent him to Camp Santa Anita. But his religious upbringing was still very much a part of him. What, he worried, did God think about all this? With what he had said about accepting Jesus being the only way to Him, how did He feel about the Great Spirit stuff he'd heard from Timmy and the guys from Camp Little Eagle?

There was one guy here who might have the answers, one pastor who was very much a part of the Clan. So that was why he was nervously standing at the door of Pastor Mills' office now.

"E - excuse me, rev'rend, c - can I ta - talk to you, uh, sometime?"

"Come on in, Billy, is it?" Pastor Mills was warmly welcoming. "That's my job, to be available when one of you boys needs or wants to talk to me."

Nervously, Billy Joe made his way into the office, and seated himself quite tentatively on the edge of one of the comfortable chairs there. Pastor Mills pushed himself away from his desk, and spun his chair so it was facing Billy.

"Relax, sit back. How can I help you?"

It all came spilling out: what he'd been brought up to believe, his father's behavior, what Pastor Eckhardt had said and done, his worries about what God thought of it all....

Pastor Mills smiled. "That's quite a lot on your mind," he said. "Let's take it a step at a time." He turned and picked up his Bible. "Man has a tendency to make things complex and rigorous. You should see some of the forms I used to have to fill out, and Iowa and my church are far from the most bureaucratic examples. But what did Jesus have to say?" He opened the Bible and read:

"Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:"

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

"The Pharisees were of course Jews. And the Jews split their Bible into two parts: the Law and the Prophets. So what Jesus was telling them is that if they kept those two commandments, they were fulfilling everything God called for in the Bible. Tell me, Billy, do you love God? Not what your old pastor pictured Him as, but what He really is?"

"Why, yes, of course I do!"

"And do you love Jude?"

A pause. "With all my heart." That was tough for Billy to get out, but when he brought himself to say it, it was like a burden had been lifted from his heart.

"And do you love these other boys who have taken you as their brother in the way Jesus said: would you be willing to help them or others in the way they have helped you?"

"Well, yeah, sure!"

"Then you are doing what God commanded. Jesus said so. Stop worrying; He loves you." Pastor Mills smiled. "Now, the other thing: Jesus never said you had to go through the fundamentalist bit about taking Him as Lord and Savior."

"He didn't?!"

"Nope. Here's the passage." Pastor Mills flipped quickly through his Bible and read it.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."

"'Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?'"

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.'"

"Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.'"

"Jesus answered: 'Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.'"

"Now, I don't know everything here for absolute truth," Pastor Mills said. "That's where I differ from your Pastor Eckhardt – he claimed to know the whole truth. I'm just going to tell you what I believe – believe strongly enough that I've spent my life ministering to people in obedience to it."

"The first thing is, Jesus doesn't just throw off that line about nobody coming to the Father except by him out of thin air. You have to see it in context. He's talking to His disciples the night He knows He's going to go to the garden and pray and get arrested. He's preparing them for His departure."

Billy Joe sat enrapt on Pastor Mills' words. He went on:

"Spiritual teachers are a dime a dozen. They'll tell you, the way to God is to meditate, or to fast, or to keep the Law perfectly, or achieve some hidden knowledge, or something. Jesus is saying something very different. He says that you don't need all that crap, that the way to God is Him, and that He knows and loves you. If you know Jesus, you know God, because He is God. Each is in the other. We've got a complex doctrine called the Trinity that tries to explain that, but it's not necessary – what you need to know is that Jesus and the Father are in each other, so if you know one, you know the other, because each is God."

"My friend Chief Tecumseh knows God as the Great Spirit, because that's how his people have always known Him, and it is his task to carry on that knowledge, and share it with the Clan and the boys at Camp Little Eagle. But when you say that, you have to remember that good Christian doctrine is that Jesus is God, just as much so as the Father. There's an insanely complex piece of theology called the Athanasian Creed that hammers that point home over and over. When the Chief knows and prays to the Great Spirit, he knows and is praying to God, because the Great Spirit is his name for God. And when we say God, we don't just mean the Father, we mean Jesus too, because He's just as much God as the Father is. So when the Chief asks something of the Great Spirit in prayer, who's he really asking? The same God I pray to as a Christian – and that includes Jesus."

"And that same God – Great Spirit, Jesus, they're all the same thing – commissioned Saint Mikey to protect you guys, and showed how much He approves of your love in all the things that have happened this week."

"I don't know that for an absolute fact, but I believe it with every fiber of my being. Does that help you, Billy?"

"It sure does!" Billy was smiling now. Pastor Mills stood up and gave him a hug.

---

After the Family Conclave

Marky was at the pool with several other younger Clan kids, enjoying a good swim after the events of the day. No older kids or teens were with them, but they weren't unguarded. At the edge of the pool Allie lounged watchfully, ready to slide in and buoy up anyone who might need it. Perched above her were Duke and William, ready to go find help and bring them back.

One of the swimmers looked over at her and giggled. "All she needs is a lifeguard chair and a whistle!" he said. Everyone laughed.

Allie looked up, caught his eye, and grinned.

Meanwhile Kurt and his two older nephews were sitting in a quiet spot. His thoughts were preoccupied by the enormity of what he'd taken on.

"This isn't going to work, not as I envision it," he said morosely. "Sure, I can set up a series of facilities that will give kids shelter and food, a place to live. That's nothing more than logistics. If you have the buildings and the money to buy what's needed, and we do, that can be done. But, Scott, you've read gay teen stories other than Clan Short... tell me what's missing." It was a challenge to them to follow his train of thought, and they realized it.

"Family," Scott said after some thought. "They need someone they're important to, to love and to be loved by. You can hire all the staff you want, even people committed to doing a good job for kids, but if there isn't a one-on-one personal love relationship, there's something missing in their lives."

'Right," Kurt replied. "That's why my plans won't work. I don't know how to give that to thousands of kids that need it. I can't hire people who will really be parents; those bonds happen naturally or not at all."

From his place snuggled up at Scott's side, Stass spoke up in his still-halting English. "Family is not only father and mother. When my father became drowned," he said, "it was my brother who helped me to deal with my grievances." When they had arrived back from Utah, the two boys had had a joyful reunion, flying into each other's arms – one which left visible indications of just how happy they were to be reunited. Since then they had been together almost constantly, and bearing in mind what the boys had had to say, Kurt tried to put his worries about his nephew and the Greek boy to one side.

Scott's eyes lit. "Remember in One Door Closes, Unk? Allen didn't think he could get custody of Kenny, 'cause he was a single gay man, and they would want a couple or something." He paused in thought. "The people you would hire, they'd need to be people who wanted kids, wanted to be parents. How do you select for that?"

Galen looked up a little shyly. "I'd know," he said. "If I meet them, I'd be able to tell if they would work or not."

"Then let them match up naturally!" Scott put in. "If you've got kids who want parents, and adults who want kids, they'll sort out who belongs to who automatically, over a little time. Then all we need to do is make it official.:

Galen had caught the idea. "And sometimes, it'll be older kids adopting younger ones, like Cory and Sean with Timmy, or Adam and J.J. with Harley."

"That's putting a lot of work on you, Galen," Kurt demurred.

"I'm not the only wild talent in the Clan," Galen answered him. "Let me help out getting the your first facility set up, then we'll figure out where to go next."

"Remember that the Clan itself is the strong role model for them," Scott added, excited now. "Imagine if we're helping thousands of kids in the name of the Clan, with the track record the Clan's had of 'he who got help, now wants to pay it forward by giving help'."

Kurt's eyes were beaming now. "We could change the whole face of how people deal with kids in need," he exclaimed. "You're on, Galen. Let's go change the world."

Then he looked at Scott and Stass. "I don't mean to leave you out. What are you two going to be doing while Galen and I run interviews?"

Galen grinned. He held up his right hand with thumb and index finger making a loop, then his left hand with the first two fingers extended, and thrust them into the loop on the other hand.

Scott blushed.

---

Elsewhere in C.I.C., Jude was entranced by his heroes from Star Trek, Kirk, Bones, and Spock, sitting there in the flesh ... and Spock had taken him as son! He listened in avidly as Kirk and Spock reminisced of having met while young:

Spock was speaking to McCoy. "We grew up together as much as possible, Doctor. When we were teenagers, we grew curious regarding our bodies and our sexuality. Even though I was walking the Vulcan path, that part of our development still mirrors Humans for curiosity. We experimented. Then, at the age of 14, I went into Pon Farr..."

"And he was in trouble," Kirk went on. "He had been training for the meditation needed for his first, weak Pon Farr; yet due to his human side, his Pon Farr triggered near to the level of an adult's."

"I would have died had Jim not been there," Spock said quietly, his eyes distant.

"Ah," Bones nodded, his face now soft with compassion and understanding.

"We had sworn blood brotherhood as little children. I, for my part, proved it on that day," Kirk said, just as softly as Spock. "I would never leave my brother to die and the love I had and have for him meant I didn't feel weird doing what we had to do. I would do so again in a heartbeat should I need to. And since then, we have each always been there for the other."

Bones smiled and stood back up. He joined his two friends in the doorway, and together they looked out to where Joel and Jimmy were happily playing tag with a number of the others. "I think you are right. History tends to repeat itself."

"That doesn't match what... uhhh..." Jude said from behind them, remembering watching 'Amok Time', and then blushed. "Sorry, Pop," he whispered to Spock as he bowed his head, "I shouldn't have been eavesdropping."

"There is no problem, Jude," Spock replied as he pulled Jude into his arms. "What did you mean by 'it does not match'?"

Still blushing, Jude half grinned up at his new father and said, "There was an episode of 'Star Trek' where you were going to Altair VI for an important meeting, and you had your first Pon Farr. Uncle Jim didn't know what that was... but that seems different here."

"It is," Spock said calmly as Kirk and Bones exchanged puzzled glances. "I went through Pon Farr at that time, and we did go to Vulcan so that I could be joined in marriage with T'Pring - which did not come to pass, as you know. However, in this Universe, I experienced Pon Farr as an adolescent, and Jim was there to help me."

"Why's it different?" Jude asked curiously. "And how is it that you understand what I'm saying without more explanation?"

Spock nearly smiled, "I have joined my mind with my son. What he knows regarding 'Star Trek', I know. Remember, Jude, that Star Trek takes place in the 23rd Century in that story - and maybe in fact in another universe. In this Universe, however, events are bound to be different due to the difference in time."

"Oooh. Okay, Pop," Jude smiled as he hugged himself tightly around Spock's waist before giggling. "I think I'll join Joel in that game, now. Thanks, Pop."

"You are welcome," Spock said before kissing the teen's upturned forehead.

---

It had been an amazing day, Jude decided, as he started to walk back into C.I.C. He'd witnessed the Clan become a Family Clan, Joel find his father, been adopted by his hero Spock. His woolgathering was interrupted by Calen pelting down the hall straight at him.

The 11-year-old skidded to a stop and thrust a parcel into Jude's arms. "Here, put this on as fast as possible, and meet Dad 'n' Pop outside the Auditorium soon's you're ready." And Calen was off again in the direction he'd come from.

'Dad and Pop'? Jude thought a moment, then realized that for Calen, that was Cory and Sean. He ducked into Brant's apartment to change, and his wonder grew as he discovered that the contents of the parcel was a Starfleet dress uniform, albeit without insignia, with a cadet red shirt, and perfectly tailored to him.

With a sense of wonder, he put it on and hurried out, finding Cory, Sean, Joel, and Kevin walking down the hallway outside the auditorium, where they met up with J.J. and Adam. All were in full dress uniforms, though Joel's and Kevin's matched his own.

Being boys, they engaged in a bit of banter until "If you have quite finished, gentlemen," Bones said from the doorway to the Auditorium, "then we can begin." He was in full dress uniform as well, and behind him the boys could see everyone from the Compound seated and chatting to themselves. On the stage, Admiral Morrow, Spock and Kirk were seated and also talking in hushed tones.

"Okay, what's happening, Uncle Bones?" Adam asked curiously as he peeked into the Auditorium.

"You'll see," Bones replied with a grin. He looked down at Joel and Kevin, then over at Jude. "You'd make the captain proud. So, all y'all ready?" he asked them all again.

Joel joined the others by nodding silently.

"Then come with me," Bones continued, before turning and leading the way down the aisle and up onto the stage. As the boys followed him, a hush fell on the room as everyone followed their progress to their seats on stage.

The account of Kirk's, Spock's, and McCoy's retirement, and the promotions of Cory, Sean, Adam, and J.J. are told at length in Sa'ren Part One, chapter fourteen. They will therefore not be duplicated here.

Jude sat alongside Kevin as Admiral Morrow introduced Joel to all those watching the broadcast of the ceremony, thinking back on what he'd heard of the little Vulcan boy's life, and realizing he hadn't had it so bad. So he nearly missed it when the Admiral motioned for him and Kevin to join them.

Returning to the podium, Admiral Morrow went on, "As you can tell, they are all in Starfleet Uniform. Three of them, however, are not a part of the Fleet. I am about to change that."

He turned and moved to Jude first, and fixed something to the shoulder strap. He then moved and did the same to Kevin's, followed by Joel's. "I hereby grant Jude Lee, Kevin Thompson, and Sa'ren Short the commission of Ensign, Cadet Class."

The Clan cheered their three brothers loudly.

+ + +

After the other four boys had been promoted, the seven shared a round of hugs.

"We have not yet finished," Kirk said crisply. "Attention!"

All seven boys jumped a mile before quickly forming a line. Bones McCoy moved forward to take the podium. Opening the box he carried, he took out a small card and read it aloud. "For acts that brought honor to the Uniform and to the Service while others were in mortal peril, I award Captains Cory and Sean Short, Commanders Adam Short and James Jacob Richardson, and Ensigns Jude Lee, Sa'ren Short and Kevin Thompson the Prentares Ribbon of Commendation." He then turned and fastened the medal and bar to each of the boys' chests, just below the Starfleet badge.

"Congratulations," Bones said formally as he saluted them. Once again, the room erupted with shouts of congratulations and cheers.

Cory started to lead them back to their seats when Kirk moved to the podium. "Captain Cory Short, Ensign Short and Ensign Lee - step forwards," he said crisply. As they did so, Bones gestured for the others to join him and Spock to one side of the stage.

Kirk faced the packed and now silent auditorium, "For three separate yet complementary feats of outstanding engineering, the Cochrane Engineering Academy of Starfleet Command awards each of these young men with the Cochrane Medal of Excellence." Turning back to regard the three gob smacked boys, Kirk continued, "Due to your skill and knowledge, you saved the lives of the officers and crew of the USS Newton, you took the USS Excelsior into mortal danger yet preserved both the Ship and the Crew, and you brought honor to yourselves and the Federation you serve. Accept these medals as a legacy to the effect."

He then copied Bones, and fixed another medal on each of the three boys' chests. "Congratulations."

As he and Cory joined the others at the side of the stage while Joel received the Star Cross, Jude said under his breath to Cory, "Now I know firsthand how you and Sean felt when Chip gave you your first uniforms and your cadet commissions."

Cory glanced over and smiled. "Yeah, I guess you do!"

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would ever happen to me!" Jude burbled.

Cory grinned. "You're a little slow, though, bro. We got ours in August; it took you until October to follow in our footsteps."

Jude tried to keep from dissolving in giggles on national TV at that comment. But he failed.

---

Galen was sitting with Stass, Scott, and Kurt, discussing how they would implement their idea, when he got a sudden sense that he was needed. He excused himself and went out to the fields, where he saw five people gathered – three in military fatigues, two teens and one about his age, a tall guy around 21, and a blond kid in his early teens. It was the fear radiating from the little guy in fatigues that had caught his attention.

As he got closer, he saw that the two older boys in fatigues were Adam and Logan, whom he'd met that morning. He hurried over and took the younger boy's hand. Adam looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, I'm still learning how to do the empathy stuff," Adam said.

"Well, me too," Galen replied. "Back where we came from, I could feel what other people felt, but I couldn't do anything about it." Admitting that made him feel guilty – it was like he should have found a way to help.

"Thanks, you're doing a good job now." the boy said quietly as he squeezed Galen's hand in thanks. "I'm Jimmy..." Galen sensed that he was drawing strength and confidence from both Adam and himself. He took a deep breath and turned to Galen. "I'm Jimmy, and Adam wants to help me with my nightmares. But... but I'm scared... could... would... can you help me?"

"Of course I'll help," Galen replied. "I'm Galen, by the way. I know you're Adam and Logan, but, um, you're really Adam's brother – by blood, I mean, not brothers the way we all are brothers now?"

Jimmy looked up at Adam, obviously wanting him to answer. "Yes we are," Adam explained. "Jimmy and Kent have the same mother as I do. Jimmy was also 'experimented' on like I was, but he is different. Jimmy can control fire as easy as we can breathe. But he's afraid of it. We need to help him get over that fear, or else he will always be afraid of it and of himself." Adam drew his little brother close as he said this.

"I'll... I'll try. If you guys will help me." Jimmy said while looking not just at Adam and Galen, but also to Logan and the other two, whom he obviously knew and trusted.

Logan looked hard at the younger of the other two. "Okay, spit it out, Bobby," he said to him. "You don't think we'd ever hurt Jimmy, do you?"

"It's not that," Bobby said forcefully, almost defiantly. "You didn't see him when we first found him. He's got that same panicked expression on his face and I don't ever want him to be that scared again."

"Whoa, dude!" Logan said. "We're looking to do the same thing you are – we want to help him get past that fear, so he'll never have to feel that way again! But in order to do that, he has to face that fear. That's what Adam wants to do here." Logan was restraining his own temper, knowing what was eating at Bobby. The older guy reached out and put his hand on Bobby's shoulder.

Jimmy was almost in tears, but he spoke up. "Bobby, Logan, touch Galen. You'll see he wouldn't hurt me. I can feel who he is inside me somehow, and I know it. Just touch him. You'll see."

"You don't mind?" Bobby asked Galen. Wordlessly he shook his head no. Hesitantly, Bobby reached out and touched the side of Galen's head. Logan followed suit.

Slowly everyone there touched Galen, and then nodded in agreement. They all knew they had one mission right now, and that was to help Jimmy. "Okay, little guy," Adam started, "this is what we're going to do. The best way to help you get over your fears is for you to use your abilities."

Jimmy started to look really scared, and Adam rushed on. "You don't have to worry, we'll all be right there to help you through this. None of us will let anything bad happen to you okay?"

Jimmy almost had tears in his eyes, but he looked up at Adam, obviously trying to be the strong little brother he expected him to be. Adam put his arm over Jimmy's shoulder, and walked him out to an unoccupied area of the Short Compound. Then they all got a first hand exhibition of just how strong Jimmy's control of fire actually was.

All during the display, Galen worked with Adam to help Jimmy deal with the memories that came up because of what he was doing. Slowly, Jimmy began to get more comfortable with his powers, and as a result, more comfortable with himself. It wasn't long till Jimmy was smiling and showing off what he could do. It was Bobby asking him a few questions that really made Jimmy work it out, but shortly, not only could he make fire, but he could also put it out.

After Jimmy's 'grand finale', where he sheathed himself in fire, Galen excused himself and went back to his uncle/adoptive father and cousin-turned-brother.

---

Heading back into C.I.C., Jude did a double-take as he glanced into a conference room to see Cory and another Clan member in animated conversation with a young Vulcan, identical triplet boys, a seven-foot-tall dinosaur, and Big Bird. He blinked; the surreal image did not go away.

Cory looked toward the door, saw him, and called out, "Hey, Jude? Go ask Jordy to join us here, and come on in yourself."

Jude darted into the C.I.C. area proper, spotted Jordy at a terminal, and relayed Cory's request. "What's this about?" Jordy asked.

"I don't know," Jude answered, then described what he'd seen. He was surprised by Jordy's laugh.

"Come on in," Cory said as they arrived back at the conference room, then turned to the Vulcan boy. "You agree?" he asked.

"My Patriarch's logic is flawless, as always," the Vulcan boy replied. The other Clan member wrapped his arm around the Vulcan's shoulders.

"Captain, First Officer, may I present my brother Jordan Short?" Cory asked formally by way of introduction. "Jordy, this is Captain Rasch and First Officer Treep of the Soleen-Avalla vessel Manu. They brought Vincent and Lehman here to Earth after what happened Saturday." As he spoke, he gestured first at the 'dinosaur', which Jude now recognized as a Gorn, and then at the 'Big Bird' figure. And Jude realized that two of the 'identical triplets' must be Vincent and Lehman, from Frontier.

"It was our honor and pleasure to provide transportation for Trach Manja Vincent and Trach Manja Lehman." What Captain Rasch actually uttered was a series of obviously fluent reptilian growls and hisses; what everyone heard, however, was the deep voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger emanating from the translator crystals on his uniform.

"Captain Rasch was empowered to start diplomatic relations between his people and Clan Short," Cory went on, "with an eye to how the Safe Haven Act and how we do things might benefit Soleen and Avalla children who are at risk. After conferring with our Director of the Clan's Diplomatic Corps, Xain here, we decided to see if you would be willing to return with them and help establish a Clan presence, along with Lehman, in the Soleen-Avalla system, meaning both the New Hope colony and the Soleen-Avalla homeworld." And another piece of the puzzle clicked in Jude's mind – the 'Vulcan boy' was Xain Thompson, the human boy with him Jake.

Jordy's eyes met, not Cory's, but those of one of the triplets. "I'd be delighted to," he said with a great smile.

The same one of the triplets, evidently Lehman, spoke up. "Me? It's Vincent, not me, who is son of Clan Short."

Xain turned to him. "Have you not scanned his mind? Do you not regard him as your brother?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"It follows logically that the brother of a son of Clan Short is also himself a son of Clan Short." There was a reminiscent expression in the young Vulcan's eyes, and he seemed to be trying to repress a smile.

Cory didn't even try. "Never argue logic with a Vulcan, Lehman," he said, chuckling.

"We will be leaving later this evening," Captain Rasch said. "I regret it took so long to discuss this with you, Patriarch, but supervising the needed repairs to the ship had to take precedence."

"As someone who wanted to become a ship's engineer myself," Cory answered, "no apology is needed. The needs of your ship should always have first claim on any captain or engineer." He turned to Jordy. "I can't tell you what to expect when you get there. Just act right and logically, whatever you face, knowing that your brothers always have your back. Now, go get together what you want to take along."

"I'll go with you," Lehman said quickly. Vincent and the third of the triplets giggled. Jude wondered what that was about.

"I am authorized," came the Arnold Schwarzenegger voice again, "to offer Soleen-Avalla technology to Clan Short for their exclusive use. "We do not have a protocol for establishing these sorts of relations, since we have remained apart from others, but there is an old proverb among us: 'Friends share things.' Ask what you would have; if I can give it, I will."

Cory paused. "Vincent? You know the Soleen-Avalla better than anyone. In my place, what would you ask for?"

Vincent's answer was firm and instant. "Their stardrive. It's well in advance of anything Starfleet has."

Jude knew better, of course, but Slipstream was evidently going to be a secret. Cory evidently had reached the same conclusion."

"I am deeply sorry," Captain Rasch replied. "I have no doubt that our drive will be given you, and it is a just request, no more than you deserve. But I am not authorized to give that particular technology to anyone without permission of higher authority. I am sorry."

"Well, then," Vincent tried again, "in that case, the teleportal technology. It is in every way an improvement over Starfleet transporters."

Captain Rasch laughed. "A good choice. Manu! Please load the full data on the theory and practice of teleportals on appropriate crystals, and teleport them and the interface device I ordered up to Treep."

A minute later five crystals and an odd-looking device appeared in Treep's hands, with a hint of rainbow iridescence heralding their arrival.

"Take those and study them," Cory directed Jude. "I'll be joining you as soon as I can."

"The device is set up to read the crystals and to interface with human-standard computer networks," Captain Rasch added. "Just hook it up; it contains its own drivers to instruct the network how to access it. Then place the crystals in the reading area here," he said, pointing, and save the results how you wish."

"The Clan thanks the Soleen-Avalla for this gift," Cory said formally.

Captain Rasch waved it off. "Trach Manja Vincent and Trach Manja Lehman have given us as much, over and above gracing us with their presence."

As Cory summoned his extended family to see off Jordy, Vincent, and Lehman, Jude hugged them and exchanged a word of farewell with each, especially with Jordy, who had been the quiet relief presence at C.I.C. much of the time since he himself had arrived in Alpha Prime. Then Jude hurried excitedly off to learn all he could of the new technology.

---

To be Continued....