We stepped into Pirad's green lab with green obsidian tables of cylinders in various colors and thin deep green beds at waist high. Through the clear wall was a crowd of people. Twin-fingered Zheien in a rainbow of colors of skin. Purple Thordes with hands like ours. Elshars—most look like us but their eyes lighten when they're happy and darken when they're not. Pirad has five-fingered hands, but he's got dark green skin and shoulders half the width of an average man. Molly's loud thoughts amused us. No fear. This lab looked bigger than the rest of the ship and had a high ceiling.

When they saw Pirad, Deb and her mother froze. He had an expression of dismay. "I do not wish to frighten them! Why did you not warn them?"

Ryee carried Greg to the soft bed at the side of the lab. "I fear for Greg! Please, Pirad, see him quickly."

Pirad laid his fivefingered hand on Greg's forehead. Greg's shoulders went down. "Oh, you are in poor condition! Your father is cruel. Did he send a Thum Mayyahh with you to heal you?"

"We had one at home. Briahh complained that if he could take me to it, I would have less pains. Father and Mother forbade it." Greg blinked.

"He is a slaver, so I am not surprised. I have memories, so I can heal you without one." White light flashed.

Shelves in the wall held cylinders of various colors. I knew he kept memories of people who had great skills, to make clones of them.

Greg smiled. "I feel better, thank you. Can you heal my brother?"

"If he is not frightened to come here."

Greg chuckled. "I think he is eager to feel better!" He reached for Ryee's hand and missed.

"I will carry you, my friend." As he picked Greg up, Pas had an aandat ready for Molly. She eagerly let them pour the white mass on her ankle. Ryee frowned, but I smiled at Pas. She needs it.

We heard a mew and Ryee startled. Smiled, big. "Is that a cat?" His orange eyes opened wide. I got excited!

Molly unzipped a deep blue bag on her back and she jumped into his arms, on Greg's lap! He smiled and petted her. "This is Sylvania. She's my therapy animal." Molly pictured yesterday at the nursing home and how people loved petting her soft, white fur and holding her. A long-haired cat, a Persian.

"O, I enjoyed cats so much, on Earth!" Ryee giggled. Greg laughed and petted her, too. "May Pas take her to many, here?" I also let her sniff my hand and she rubbed her soft head against it. Felt her purr.

"I want to leave her here! Mom threatens to put her outside. She's Deaf. She'd get killed out there!" Her green eyes opened wide, then she frowned. She cannot hear? So sad!

He showed Molly a prog to keep her in the ship, but she can roam freely.

Pas put a tiny white aandat on her and hummed. Then took her out into the big room, with a smile. All the Zheien and purple Thordes rushed to see her. Sylvania butted every hand that reached for that soft, white fur. She's in her element, now! And, I won't have to get those vaccinations or give the poor thing insulin shots any more. Her ears pricked in every direction! She's almost a year old, so still about half the size of a grown cat. I wished to hold her when we rest tonight.

We ported.

In a hall of doors, Greg pointed to the one marked 911. "Molly thinks our number is very funny! When an Earthan needs help, he uses this number on his phone." Greg used a door knocker three times. His green eyes watched. It sounded very odd to me, that he would use the word Earthan, since he lived so many years as one! Most people sleep now, but we smelled food cooking. Eggs and bacon that Laura oft cooked. I am eager to see my friend.

Briahh opened the door. He wore white. "Greg, why is he carrying you? Are you sick?" He took his hand. "I saw the memories. I am ready." Briahh had brown eyes and hair, but he and Greg looked much alike in their faces.

Ryee waved at the door. It closed and locked. Then, we ported.

Greg and Briahh smiled and looked about the red ship. "You were too young to remember, but we went aboard a Zheien trader's ship like this. He showed us how the walls are soft. Like rubber bends. But he saw a bruise on your head and took us to Mother. She was very angry." Both of them grimaced.

Pirad took their arms. "Do not think. Come to my lab and I can work. Will you come with them?" He looked at Deb.

She froze.

Molly went to him. "Can I come? I'm not scared of you. I want you to heal my friends."

He clicked his jointed face into a smile. "You are young."

She took his hand. Smiled. "I am young, but I want to learn healing. Molly Brown, pleased to meet you. Wow, you're cold! Are you okay?"

"I am healthy. If I were warm, I would not be. You may come. My lab is here." He led them to the right. His portal showed a green room with high, domed ceilings. Green obsidian.

"Oh, that's pretty!" Molly studied the picture. I heard echoes of many memories she had of Rainbow and his lab there.

"Thank you. This is my brother Kirnonos' lab. Mine on this ship is a much smaller version." He walked into it. We followed, and I tried not to tense. Ryee hummed. The others put out a hand, then slipped in.

Pirad followed us all to the bed.

Deb followed and held Greg's hand. "How are you, Bro? Greg, are you okay? You look pale!"

Pas brought an aandat for Briahh and he bared his ankles. His white pants were loose and had embroidery in white of a rocky landscape.

Pirad healed Briahh while Greg answered. "I am okay. Tired, but healing does that. We will need to sleep. I have to call Jesse, my GTA. Hope he's able to teach my classes today!"

"I can move the contents of your apartment here, or leave them, as you wish. We fear for you to stay on Earth. Soon, they will know of us and we shall offer membership in the Alliance. Slavers will also be active here, despite all we can do."

Greg trembled. "Where can we go? Will Deb and her parents have dangers because of us?"

"I am King of Ye~, a small Zheien colony of 2500. We are growing because we terraformed our world to be less harsh. You and your people are welcome to come to us. Our world is now in the Alb System, and the Biehshah have the best security in the Alliance. Only S'ai have better, and they assisted the Biehshah.

"But, Molly's healer colony will be on every world in the same system, Alb. Pirad's Lab will be on Alb Seer but he will have labs on all the worlds. Will you join us? You may live on any of the worlds near us and port to others freely within 4 minutes."

Molly startled and looked at my husband. Every world? She thought of Alb Seer, Alb Mah, Alb Kha and Biehshah, worlds that existed before Pirad moved worlds to the Alb System, a star cluster. Binneas tried to explain telepathically, but Molly felt a bit overwhelmed at all this newness.

Greg looked at Briahh, who nodded. "I am surprised you would welcome us, sons of the most powerful slaver on the Council! All of those in Ry Pethe are related to our father. Our sister is in Scotland." He named many others. "Greg, can we stay here? And go to Ye~ when they leave?"

Ryee took their hands. "I can provide colony space for Ry Pethe, or whichever name your colony wishes. We will protect all of your people!"

"Deb, I must know how you feel about this, before I agree." His green eyes filled.

She hugged him. "Greg, I want to get married! I'll go where you go. I loved living in Rainbow! Mom, do you think you and Dad might want to come?"

"I want to know what it's like there before I decide! All of this is too much for me! Can we talk about it—your father's still asleep!" She paled when she recognized homes of Inman Park through the transparent hull of our ship. When she looked, the server let her see more.

Pas rubbed Greg's head. "My son, if you rest well this afternoon, you will feel well to speak. I wish to go with you because you shall need frequent healing for this discussion."

Pirad held green cylinders to their heads. "These will store your memories. I can put them in clones so they may share them with you at times. You must both avoid thoughts that bring pain until I have a solution."

"That thing's hurting him!" Deb paled as she noticed huge bruises on their foreheads under the green.

"I am now finished. Ty'nirrhans share more quickly than Zheien and other species." He took the cylinders away and Pas healed them both.

Greg's clones and Briahh's clones—five of each—got up and smiled! Two of them came.

"I will go to work for you today, Greg. You can rest." One of his brothers smiled and his blue eyes became light! Greg's eyes are green.

"I will apply for Briahh's job. Then I will go see Roger. I will have all day to hunt for our people!" His brown eyes turned lighter, like an Elshar's. Ryee cautioned them to project an image, and they learned quickly from him. He found Ad Beni in his Diplomatic Link, and the old instructor taught Briahh and Greg's brothers what operatives learn in Sigan Mas, a great school that is a galaxy! They know of Ty'nirrhans. I felt Ryee's shock that even Ad Beni did not know Ty'nirrhans altered people to live on other worlds. He brought an inspector of Ih Esta and Briahh's clones told him much.

Greg and Briahh held Ryee's hands, and their clones' gently. They probably feel as I did, meeting my sisters!

Briahh frowned. "We have no trade—how can we repay you for the aandats? And clones are expensive! I should have—" His brown eyes filled as he tried to say something, but no words came.

"This is our gift to you! Both of you gave knowledge to us that will help to defeat slavers!"

They smiled and relaxed. Because they were not afraid, Deb and her mother also took aandats.

Deb smoothed his short, blond hair.

"Thank you, Pas. Deb, may I rest?" His green eyes filled.

She laughed. "Don't ask, just close your eyes. I can stand it if you sleep for a few hours. You mind if Mom and I go talk about this for a while? At 5:30, Daddy's alarm'll go off. If we port now, we can be there when he wakes up." Mrs. Bruce smiled and nodded.

"No. I have Briahh, and Zheien are nice." Both men smiled. Greg pulled Briahh's head to his shoulder and fell asleep.

Ryee gave her and her mother a green terminal. "You may port wherever you like, but you risk others seeing it. If you take a diplomat with you, he can listen for others before you port. Ah, South is free. She is a diplomat of Thorde." She ported to them. At first, she appeared Earthan with brown skin. Ryee was amused. Thordes have purple skin. Like us, she hid her true appearance.

"I have a lot of questions for you two! Shall we go?" Deb and Esther nodded eagerly, and they ported.

Ryee sent diplomats to the other Ty'nirrhans. A married couple bought an airline ticket to Scotland in Atlanta Airport. Ryee sent them because he felt Sika and her husband might have more comfort with a couple. My thoughtful husband!

Ryee hugged Molly. Gave her a green cube terminal, a Yeff Unified one. "This is for you. Know you we can trace DNA? Here are your missings." He waved, and holos of items with her genetic material on them ported to her from landfills. All her items also ported to her, and holos replaced them at her home. One item, a brown teddy bear, made her gasp! All items came cleaned because of progs to restore them and remove any microbes, stains or chemicals.

She hugged the teddy bear and cried. "Grampa gave me this bear on my 5th birthday. He died a couple days later. Dad saw it and got teary. Mom got mad at him for crying and threw him in the garbage! I'm so happy to have him back! Grampa was Dad's father and he was good to us. I think she was jealous because her dad was so mean to her. He broke her arm once for making a B in algebra. Maybe I ought to be nicer to my mom." Molly waved everything into her alt storage. Smiled again.

But she saw Cevit Ion, Seventh Galaxy minister and ran to him.

"Cev! Can I talk to you?" He looked at her, and his eyes went black! Molly's face reddened. He is Elshar Zheien and their eyes change like an Elshar's does, Ryee told me. Yellow skin. My husband had shock that Molly spoke so casually to our galactic minister! Even he does not use his shortname, and they served many missions together. Molly's discomfort came to us. She worries about things more than she did in Rainbow!

"Eae, I have time. What troubles you?"

"Can we go someplace with merite?" Merite is an uncommon substance that blocks telepathy. We could not use it here because slavers would find it unusual and look for a cause.

He paled! "How know you of this? Are you nae Earthan?"

She bowed low, but he stopped her. "My Emperor, I should use more respectful speech. Eae oa ya oeo—"

He pulled her against him. "Young one, I am nae Emperor, but Seventh Galaxy Minister."

"So, 'Ao—I mean, Ry'nao—he's okay? He's still Emperor?" Molly's huge smile warmed my heart. In that other future he got hurt, when all the Yeff went to slavery!

I shield our thoughts, Maiden. Let us go to a chamber. He took her into his chamber.

Both of us shuddered at the thought of that—so I giggled! "Molly surprised our Minister much, did she?"

Ryee laughed! "Ea, she did! But Molly is very surprising to many. I am happy she is safe here."

Tan frowned. "When she comes back, I shall take her to her parents. They deserve to be woken for this!"

Vonn took his hand. "Tan, you are shaking. Should you rest before you go?"

He laughed. "Will I ask sweet Justice to rest? Nein, I shall take her before she thinks to go to school."

"Surely she will stay here!" I lost the merry mood.

"If she does not go, the school will call her parents and we would have much to explain." He shook his head.

Binneas smiled. "Fa and I planned to go trading today. This is better! Their rules are easy. They have a student handbook for all Marietta City Schools." He dressed in blue jeans and a sweatshirt with the school's name on it. A jacket that also had the logo.

His parents Lineas and Keea stood by him. Frowned. "Can you be ready for our speech at the United Nations at 3 pm?"

"Eae, Fa! I learned English this morning. Is much like Areonian, and I also learned German to help those traveling to Stuttgart. Ado Pragate asked me for help with Italian, so I also learned that, but Pragate, Italy speaks a dialect that is uncommon. Asha helped me find sources for that and Elshar Zheiea's Science Council helps him."

"Our Science Council will also help!" My husband waved towards the orange tapestry that showed Oesha and many of our scientists, all in orange tunics. Unified Science Service does not require the purple ScSv uniform?

Binneas smiled. "Ah, they offered, but there are scientists who study interstellar linguistics on Elshar Zheiea, so they are better with Earthan languages. Already they learned most languages spoken on Earth."

Ryee smiled. "Ea, I had many advisors in Sigan Mas from Elshar Zheiea when I took Interstellar Linguistics. They are very well!"

Asha also stood with us. Bowed to me. "Queen Adia, I wish to thank you on behalf of King Challet! Our people are saved from destruction because of your research!"

I took his hand. "Oh, I did not work alone. My friends' research helped me choose paths that brought my answer more quickly." Vonn, Derees and Tanda were already walking the streets of Stuttgart with many others.

But, Asha stared. Nerah, his healer, startled and came to him. Then, he also stared! My Gift is unpredictable, and they are seeing their futures! Pas also came, for we needed to go.