Teep

Edward looked over at his grandparents and father before turning away to look out the window once more, the waiting was getting to him. Finally, after another ten minutes, a head popped past the partially closed door, "Your Majesty, the House of Lords and Parliament are ready for you."

Victoria nodded as she accepted Alfred's hand as she stood. Smoothing out her long dress, she glanced in the mirror one last time as she walked out of the room to make sure her crown was just as she wanted. Walking silently down the hall she thought back to last night when Edward told her about the discovery, and then, not even asking for her opinion, he told her what was going to happen. Letting the secret smile out as she approached the large ornate doors she let her mask fall into place as she entered the hall where she had wrested control of her kingdom back from the tyrants. Catching out of the corner of her eyes the cameras following her progress she kept her pace steady as she approached the throne and took her rightful place. Gazing out over the assembled nobles and politicians she finally spoke up, "Please be seated, we have much to discuss this morning."

Edward, standing at the bottom of the steps leading to the throne, stopped and pulled the Clan Stranton medallion out of his shirt and let it rest in full sight of those assembled. Hearing the mummers of surprise he stood tall, "The first order of business this morning is my announcement.After careful consideration and much discussion, I have decided to marry into Clan Stranton. I don't think I need to go over the benefits our kingdom gains from this marriage as the press have done a bang up job of spelling it out for the world to see and read." Looking around the room before focusing on the cameras, "This, of course, is not how I wanted to make my announcement, but the second disturbing bit of news made it necessary." Glancing up at his grandmother he sighed, "Rumors have reached the colony offices, rumors that I am not ashamed to say left me in tears at the heartless bastards that could even contemplate doing such to their children, and then angry beyond belief."

Turning to face his grandmother the queen, he sighed too softly for the microphones to pick up, "Grandmother, it is my sad duty to inform you that a large segment of the kingdom's citizens have abandoned their children. Through the previous Prime Minister's machinations he has made our general education system the mockery of the world. Not only that, he encouraged the abuse and abandonment of children throughout the kingdom. As such there are thousands of children in need all over the kingdom, children that have been put out on the streets without food or shelter, parents not bothering to take care of them. The only reason they had them was to get more money from the government."

Victoria let her gaze travel around the room and noticed the uncomfortable looks on a lot of the nobles' faces, and the simmering anger on some of the politicians' faces as their misdeeds were thrown into their faces on national television. Shaking her head sadly she looked back at her grandson, "Tell me. Edward, is his Majesty prepared to act?"

Glancing over his shoulder at the large clock on the wall, Edward nodded, "The Alteran Academy of Higher Learning is located on the planet orbiting Proxima Seven. The academic world has been shocked the past few weeks from some of the papers and studies being released to the world from students attending the Academy. Yesterday afternoon Aaron directed Derrick to construct a small village where children could be given every opportunity to reach for their dreams. The small satellite school he built here in London is a small taste of what their school system is like. He has a whole planet dedicated to nothing but education. So it is no small wonder that he had a solution to our problem." Smiling as he heard Pat in his mind telling him he was almost there, he turned to face the open door as Pat walked in slowly dressed in ceremonial robes over his battle armor, headband proudly displayed signifying he was an adult of the Clan. Pointing to Pat, Edward neither smiled nor frowned, "Aaron's messenger with his solution.a solution, I might add, that was at my and your other grandson's request."

Looking left and right as he walked up the aisle, Pat frowned at the looks being sent his way. Stopping near Edward he hid his smile at Edward's mental caress, "I am Pat Stranton of Clan Stranton of the Empire of Altare. Two minutes ago the Left Hand of the Dragon descended on your kingdom. Their mission is simple, to examine and rescue all youth that have been abandoned or neglected. At the end of the day they shall have removed from your kingdom all youth they find in need. They shall be transported to Proxima, where they will be given the same opportunities that our children enjoy. The very galaxy shall be their playground, if that is their wish."

Glancing over his shoulder at the shouts of outrage coming from the right side of the room, Pat turned to look at them harshly, "Children should be loved, not used as bargaining chips for more funds or meal tickets, then discarded when they are found wanting or bothersome."

"Your Majesty, I must object to this most strenuously and call for Scotland Yard to put a stop to the kidnapping of our children."

Victoria stared incredulous at the Minister for education, "Even if We were inclined to stop this, which We are not, all the governments of the world gave total authority for dealing with our children to his Majesty and his representatives from the Kingdom of Altare." Standing she glared at the Minister, "When my grandson brought this scandalous situation to our attention last night I too shed more than one tear as the situation was explained to me." Angry she stepped to the edge of the steps and glared, "NO Sir! I will not put a stop to this. Instead, when we heard about it last night, I welcomed the actions my grandsons took to benefit the subjects of our kingdom."

Staring at the cameras, Victoria presented a frightening visage in her determination, "It is a shameful moment in our history that we would need to have an outside presence police the parents of our kingdom's children. Add to that the information that our public education is the laughing stock of the world.We welcomed the intervention. Not only that, we have decided that Baron Gloucester shall now be in charge of education reform." Glaring at the assembled politicians she practically spit out, "Our next generation will not be known as the lost generation. With Edward's marriage into Clan Stranton the galaxy opens up for us. Not only that but the technology and opportunities that Alteran territories take for granted shall be ours. The next few weeks will see wonders being released to our kingdom, a new age is upon us and we can sit back and watch it go by or grab on as it arrives and make it ours. The option to fight the new age because of fear is not an option We are going to allow."

Not hearing anything from the shocked assembly, Victoria sat down and patted Alfred's hand as he placed it on her shoulder to comfort her. "Dragon Lord, We thank you for your intervention this afternoon. We agree with your statement. Children are precious and should be loved and cherished, We are in your debt." Bowing her head she sat back carefully noting the angry faces for later investigation.

Pat nodded back once as his mind wandered around the room and he zeroed in one person in the upper right hand galley, "Edward, see that female in the top row? She is broadcasting murderous hatred directed towards us, you specifically." Message delivered, Pat started for the door, "Which reminds me, when you tell Thomas to investigate that female give him the option of joining us. You really need the head of your detail to be Alteran."

In the news room the Director was torn. Did he continue to show the drama unfolding in the throne room of the House of Lords, or did he show the unfolding drama of the Shaolin made their way through the country examining families, along with public schools. Not being able to make the decision he tapped several controls and split the screen allowing both to be transmitted live.

WaterfallCityOverview.jpgAaron checked the time and found he still had half an hour before he had to be at Volosh 9 for the treaty signing. Looking back over the valley with the futuristic, yet old fashioned looking, village surrounded by waterfalls; it looked familiar and slightly Victorian, he thought, but for the life of him he could not place it. Shrugging his shoulders once more, he stared down at the city from the top of the hill he was standing on before porting away. He would never have thought to build a city near so many converging waterfalls.

Appearing in the central square, Aaron grinned hearing the loud excited squeals from their sons, "Sator.Sator.Look at all the water." Grinning as he scooped up Todd as he ran over and twirled him around in a circle to burn off the momentum, he laughed as the rest of the youngster rushed over for a twirl too. Stopping for a moment to watch another carrier appear in the docking cradle full of youngsters and teens, Aaron noticed several Shaolin smile as they greeted the youngsters with hugs. Letting his mind listen in to their thoughts, he sighed as he hugged Shane tight before letting him down. It was going to be a long road to recovery with some of the teens, he thought. He would wait until all the teens and youngsters had been brought over before he made the decision to use that option again.

Feeling a presence approach from behind, Aaron smiled, "Hello Colin." Grinning as he turned around to see Colin shaking his head, "Seriously Colin, I'm glad you found me before I have to leave. There is something I've been putting off I want to talk to you about." Letting the youngsters run back to play in the stream, Aaron glanced at Colin, "I don't interfere with the love lives of people around me, heaven knows I am more than satisfied with what I have."

"This is about Thomas, isn't it?" Colin faced Aaron as he asked, wondering what was going to be said.

"In a way it is, "Aaron smiled as he looked at Colin. "Thomas is the head of Edward's security detail. Now that Edward is Alteran the head of his detail really needs to have our gifts. Like I said, I'm not interfering in your love lives, what I want to do is ask a favor of both you and Friedrich. I would like you to encourage Thomas to accept our offer of joining us. I really think he would do well as one of us, not only that he needs our gifts to do his job the right way."

Colin stared at Aaron for a moment, shocked. He did not expect to be asked that, he was expecting to hear subtle to not to subtle hints that they would make a great threesome. The truth was both of them were open to the idea, but the fact Thomas was human was the sticking point. They never thought about asking him to be altered, or the fact that he could be altered. "We will be more than happy to do that. When do you plan to approach him?" staring at Aaron intently he finally asked, "I take it he is not to old then?"

"We scanned him long ago, and he is one of the rare few who can be altered at an older age. And to answer you about when I plan to ask, sometime before the weekend is over, unless another problem jumps up to bite me in the ass." Aaron chuckled, "After I sign the treaty I plan to go back to my office on Banard Station to finish up some paperwork."

"Actually, what you mean to say is your going to go hide," Colin chuckled as he watched several of his residents talking with several teens.

"That too," Aaron grinned as he called out, "Come on over here a minute, guys. I need to go to work so come get your kisses."

Very much aware that he was being spied on by several of the rescued teens, Aaron kissed and hugged the youngsters one by one before motioning several of the younger spies over. When they got close he hugged them and kissed the top of their heads too, holding them tight as they held on crying their pain out.

Colin watched carefully as the youngsters broke down in Aaron's arms; as once again, by being himself, Aaron started a group on the way to healing. Shaking his head slowly he had to wonder if it was just Aaron being Aaron, or if it was some part of being a prime that allowed him to heal souls so easily.

Giving the youngsters one last hug while whispering to them they were safe now, Aaron motioned one of the Shaolin apprentices over, "Guys, this is Bruce. He is going to show you to your new apartments and help you get settled in. If you need anything Bruce is the one to go to. He has his own apartment on the ground floor of your building, so you can always know where to go to talk to someone."

The dirty imp looked up at Aaron lip quivering, "Sir.will we ever see you again, sir?"

Smiling, Aaron hugged him again, "Of course you will. In fact, tomorrow I will be the healer giving you your check up, so I will see you after breakfast at the med bay." Giving each of them one more hug, Aaron watched Bruce lead them away before looking back at the sons of the Clan. He made a mental note to re-schedule all his appointments for the next week. If anyone wanted to see him they would have to come here. Noticing he should have been at Volosh 9 five minutes ago Aaron ported out.

Pete stood on the bridge of Star Scout Galactica and glared at Captain Bolik for the audacity to name one of his precious ships after a television show. "Of all the names you could have picked, why the hell did you pick one based on an old show with terrible special effects?" Shaking his head sadly to wind up the captain he hid his grin, "I suppose the robots were okay, but really, some of the things they showed were so far out in left field not to even be believable."

Anton bristled, then grinned as he realized Pete was poking fun at him, "Well, at least it's better than some of the other things offered back then." Breaking out into laughter Anton motioned towards the front view port, "I'm still not sure why you wanted a ride to Volosh 9 aboard one of the Star Scouts, but we're here now." He pointed to the station in the distance with several of the alien ships near the docking section.

Pete lost his smile as he pulled a blue and red striped Isolinear chip from his pocket, "I could have ported over, but I needed to hand you your orders personally. This is on the dangerous side, and I would not feel comfortable giving someone an order that could lead to harm if things go wrong unless I looked them in the eyes." Handing over the chip and seeing Anton look at it quizzically he sighed, "The coordinates on that chip are to the Mizhine home world in a different dimension." Sitting down on the step going to the gestalt deck Pete looked tired, "When Aaron came across those coordinates in the Core."

Seeing the look of confusion deepen on Anton's face, while the bridge crew looked just as confused, "Right, this does not make any sense to you. Remember how I did a dimension search so I could steal Confederation technology?"

"I remember that. I also remember that the crossing of dimensions is forbidden," Anton looked at Pete and then the chip.

"Very true," Pete nodded, "and I did not break that decree. This information comes from a search through the Core's database of the dimensions that did not match the target I was looking for." Seeing the proverbial light bulb effect on Anton's face he looked away for a moment. "This is the only Star Scout with jump space technology, and you are the only captain that is as big of a sci-fi nut as I am." Pointing at the chip as he turned back, "Our hope is the coordinates on that chip lead to a dead area of space, or an empty planet. If not we need to know about it."

Standing up and looking grim he stared at each of the command crew for a moment, "Out of all the science fiction shows we grew up with the Mizhine universe with their Shadows along with their enemy are the only races that are our equals and could give us trouble. We need to make sure they are not part of this universe like the Kathat are." Stepping forward so he was close enough to touch Anton, he looked him in the eyes, "Your mission is simple. Go to what would be the Mizhine home world in another dimension and find out if it is empty; if not, evaluate if they have the ability to find us, or be a threat to us. Aaron sent a message along on the chip authorizing you to do whatever it takes to get that information back to us. If attacked." Pete trailed off as he keyed a code into the terminal, "if attacked, you are to use the option I just unlocked and fire the missile I brought over into the sun of the attacker."

Placing his hand on Anton's shoulder Pete briefly touched their foreheads together, "Take no chances, and come home. I.Your ship was my special project so when this mission came up it was a foregone conclusion this ship and crew would be sent. I don't like sending people out knowing there is a chance they won't come home, especially because of the fact this ship is something I designed as a test and decided not to recycle."

"Dragon Lord.Pete," Anton whispered, "We will be fine. Think of it this way, this ship might have been built by you as a way to test a new drive system, but because you did that we have an advantage." Placing his hand on Pete's shoulder and giving it a squeeze Anton smiled. "We will be careful, and we will port out by rotating the teams. I plan to pack the gestalt deck with crews when we get near our target so we can make a quick escape if need be.Go on, you have some not Kathat to meet with before Aaron gets here."

Anton rolled the chip through his fingers like he had seen several of the Clan do as they thought things over. Once Pete was gone he turned and looked at his bridge crew, "Gestalt team, port us to Lanard 7." Pressing the all-call button, "Attention please, I need everyone to report to the hanger bay for a briefing.we have interesting orders, folks."

Pete looked around Aaron's conference room as he walked out through the connecting bathroom. Moving over to Kevin he kissed him. Ignoring all the gathered Kathat he smiled lovingly at all his lovers before looking at the pickup and mouthing 'Love You' to the three on Core duty.

"Pete.Did Aaron say anything about running late?" Xon asked as he accepted his kiss from Pete.

Glancing over at the clock, Pete frowned as he moved away, "No he didn't. He was planning on going to Proxima to meet the first load of youngsters being rescued, and he has our sons with him." Slightly worried, Pete closed his eyes and sent his mind searching for Aaron. With his eyes closed he did not notice that all conversation had stopped, and the delegation was staring at him intently and then with open shock as an arc of energy hit his reaching hand as he extended his range. Several minutes later he opened his eyes, "He just arrived, and he will be with us momentarily after he has a chance to dress properly." Glancing at the clock he noticed it was very strange for Aaron to be late, not to mention ten minutes late.

Looking in the mirror as he sat the battle crown in place Aaron watched it glow softly before straightening his over robes and turning towards the connecting door to his conference room. Walking into the room he smiled at his lovers before looking at the delegation, "Sorry I was delayed. I had some youngsters needing a hug and comfort so that they knew they are safe now."

Logging into the terminal on his desk, Aaron double checked the treaty by quickly reading through it for changes before smiling and sitting down. "Xon has kept me up to date with talks between Sesek and Rolph. I have also talked with each of my Loves and staff who have interacted with your people." Looking over the assembled Nest Mothers with their emotionless faces, "You have acted honorably, plus when we tested you by giving you access to a part of our data net you did not abuse it or attempt to go further than you were allowed. I appreciate that, and I would not even mention it except so you know up front that you were watched."

Letting his mind roam around the room so he could taste their thoughts Aaron nodded, "Before we get to the actual signing of the treaty and trade agreement, do you have any concerns or wish clarification on anything that Xon or Rolph have gone over up until now?"

Oboxa looked around her fellow Nest Mothers. She had been elected spokesperson for the group since she had the most contact with the aliens, plus she had the language skills the longest. "Everything has been fully explained. The only item needing clarification is in regards to training our healers in your technology. The trade agreement is fully self-explanatory and acceptable."

Sitting back in his chair, hands clasped under his chin as he thought, Aaron tilted his head to the side before answering, "Proxima is the world set aside for our academy. Classes are on break for the next week. One could assume that once the healer has learned Galactic, so they can communicate easily, they may apply for the courses they need to be able to use the technology we will release to your world."

Sesek raised one eyebrow, "That statement leads on to logically assume you will not be sharing all your technology."

Aaron turned to face the Ambassador, staring at him, "You would be correct. We will release technology that will advance you greatly, though certain items and areas will be off limits until later on; after we truly get to know one another and become comfortable with your people."

"Wise.and logical," Oboxa commented as she looked out the transparent wall to the world down below. The blue greens covered by sporadic clouds below was so different from her home world.

Seeing no one was going to speak, Aaron pulled up the treaty and trade agreement. Twisting his ring around, he pressed his signet ring against the scanner. Image sealed into the document, he touched the edge of the document in a way to drag it around so it could be seen from the other side of the desk and placed a stylus near the terminal. "It is time to sign then."

Grinning as the last to sign was Oboxa, Aaron tapped a few commands into the terminal before copying the document to one of the Isolinear chips as he sent it to the replicator for printing. Staring at the small office replicator he ported the finished document to his hand. "Your copy of the treaty, plus" popping the chip out of its housing he passed it over, "a digital record on one of our Isolinear chips," grinning at their shock and Sesek's stare as he picked up the tiny chip to gaze at it.

"So small." Looking back at Aaron, Sesek's expression was questioning, "How much information can be stored on this small Isolinear chip?"

"One hundred terabytes," Aaron grinned when Sesek almost dropped the chip in shock as he quickly glanced back at Amidi.

"This technology is incredible." Amidi stood and moved closer so she could see the chip for herself, mumbling, "The computer systems we could build using this technology."

Xon smiled evilly as he pulled his scanner out of his forearm pouch and set it on the desk, "This alone has the computing and control capabilities to run one of your star ships.every system."

Oboxa froze as she looked at the small device that had been placed on the desk. They are so far advanced from us we are like infants learning to crawl, she thought.

Tapping the commands into the terminal that would post the treaty and trade agreement to the system Aaron stood, "I look forward to getting to know each of you in the future, but unfortunately I am pressed for time today as we are in the middle of a rescue that involves relocation of some children. This station and Volosh 9 shall be the hub, or the entry to our Empire. All other routes into our Empire have been secured. Please think of this system as the gate one must pass to enter. The other thing I need to mention is that any system on the map marked with a zero before the name shall never be breached by outsiders; our automatic defenses do not care if you are an ally or not." Staring at the group and their inquisitive looks he shook his head, "We protect our core worlds and children with weapons that most could not even dream of in their worst nightmares, so please respect the boundaries."

Stopping near the door Aaron looked back over his shoulder, "I just had a thought. You are welcome to visit Proxima station if you wish, you might find it.interesting to travel in one of our carriers. Proxima is only eighty six light years from Volosh 9." Grinning as he turned towards the door once more, "The trip will take the time it takes to blink twice." Knowing the chaos he was leaving behind him for Xon, Rolph and Pete to handle Aaron went around the divider and ported back to Proxima Station where he dropped his over robes on his desk along with his clothes before placing his crown on top, then he ported down to the planet's surface. Something about this city was bugging him, he knew it, yet how could he, he thought. Time for a good look around, maybe then it would come to him.

Aaron had quickly found Ichiro and Kenny riding herd on their sons from the pavement as they frolicked in the stream with the young Kesol guardians. Laughing as the youngsters screamed in delight at seeing him, he laughed as the hugs ended up leaving him as soaked as the youngsters. Grinning he played tag in the warm water for several minutes before he got out and grabbed a towel to dry himself off with. "Well, the treaty is done and signed. Now all I have to do is break the news of first contact to Earth sometime before they meet each other." Seeing Cain and Abel walk over Aaron grinned, "Hello Cain, Abel. I see you two were chosen to ride herd on the pups not pups."

Huffing his laughter out Cain smiled. "Yes Alpha, many scared and frightened pups are arriving," he finished as he looked over his shoulder back towards the square.

Hugging Kenny before kissing him, Aaron moved over to kiss Ichiro. Draping his towel around his waist he sighed, "I think it is time for the youngsters to dry off. Maybe they can play hide and goose near the square making the new arrivals feel safer."

Kenny grinned as he waved at the youngsters, "Hey guys, come and dry off. You can go splashing some more later." Groping Aaron through his towel he grinned, "Go on, Love, we'll join you shortly."

Nodding, Aaron concentrated and ported some shorts out of his bathroom linen closet and slipped them on as he slung the towel around his neck. Walking through the streets his gaze kept going to the buildings as he walked; they looked so familiar. Stopping at the large three sided monolith Aaron glanced at the inscription as he walked around it. Frowning, he shook his head and walked over to where the arriving carriers were appearing.

Oboxa stared at the door the leader of the Alterans had gone through before looking back at Xon and Rolph, the two they had the most dealings with so far. "I do not understand your leader's illogical behavior. Did we do something wrong?" Thinking about the other day, and the words he had spoken about rescue, she raised an eyebrow, "Is there some emergency that has occurred?"

Rolph looked at Xon before replying, "This morning our people started a rescue that has the possibility to number in the high thousands, and Aaron, our King and Leader, is a healer. In emergencies that takes precedence to almost everything else." He glanced over at Pete who moved behind the desk and sat down in Aaron's chair.

"There is one more thing you all need to know about," Pete had their attention now. "We know in the past you visited one of our planets; in fact it was our home world before we went into space and let the sub species we call humans prosper." Sighing, he logged in and brought up several video clips from the television shows and movies and activated the plasma behind him, "We will start with how the humans will view news of your existence."

"Somehow, on one of your visits, your people were careful enough not to alert our outpost, yet interacted with enough of the humans that they wrote stories about you. Not only did they write stories, but they made entertainment shows about your existence and a possible future." Giving them a minute to let their shock settle Pete glanced over his shoulder before turning back. The screen showed the bridge of a star ship with the actor playing Sapok on it. "During the time they created this show we were more of a myth, though the heads of all Earth governments knew of our existence and in general terms where our kingdom was located. They knew that to bring their wars to our doorsteps would cause the invading nation to be utterly destroyed, and we left them alone as we explored the universe pursuing our own path."

All heads turned towards Xon as he pointed to the plasma, "They named your race Carnoids, and molded a history around you that made you an emotionless race ruled by Logic alone. We are telling you this for the simple reason when you meet the Humans they will have a preconceived idea about your race, one that will not be true."

"The humans were pretty much left alone by us until recently," Rolph looked at Pete before nodding at what he was told. "One of the rarest curses my race manifests is the ability to see possible timeline shifts and the outcomes. Lately all of those that possessed this gift saw the same thing; the total destruction of all life on our home world as the Humans fell into the ultimate act of destruction. Several of the possible futures had them as the cause of the destruction of all life in the universe as they made biological weapons."

"We stepped in and took control," Pete glared at the plasma before turning it off. "We embraced the role of guardians of humanity, and we are, for the lack of a politer word, teaching them to be responsible adults. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight, and as information is unburied more problems are discovered and we have to fix them. Problems like the one that came to our attention last night, which is causing us to go into one of the countries and examine every adult with a child and remove all children not being taken care of properly. That is why Aaron spent so little time here. Not only is he needed as a healer, for those children we are rescuing that have injuries, he is needed to help heal the minds and souls of those children. His unique gifts are in demand right now."

"So you can see you are not a priority right now," Xon told them from the couch as he sent on a tight channel to Pete, "I do not think we need to go into the Dragon Lord myth or reality. I think we have said all that they can handle. Children are precious to them as they are hard to come by."

Oboxa ground her teeth together in anger as she listened to the story, "And the parents of those who would abuse a child.What do you do to them?"

"Their children are removed and the healing begun," Pete slowly thought of how to phrase it. There was no good way he decided. "Several possibilities for punishment are available to the telepath that examines their minds, including our most severe punishment.Death of DNA. If they are judged so heinous that their DNA is to be removed from the gene pool, all that share the person's DNA are examined and all found wanting are removed.permanently!"

"That is illogical. To do so would mean you kill off the victim, the child you are rescuing," Sesek sat up straight glaring at the assembled Alterans.

"You forget, Ambassador, we control things on the micro-cellular level. All children we rescue are healed; Body.Mind.then Soul, no children are hurt. The parents on the other hand, we will not divert resources to heal them; we have found that long term habits are hard to break. The only option would be for us to remove their memories and reset their brains to that of a toddler and raise them up to adulthood once more. We could care less for those who abuse children to do that for them. Not only that, but to spend years raising them to be proper adults is not something we are prepared to do.nor should we. It is far simpler to heal the child and kill the abuser." Pete stared at the ambassador, "Or in words you can understand, it is the logical distribution of resources to benefit the children."

Oboxa felt satisfied on a primal level hearing how they took care of those who injured children on purpose. Seeing her son was about to argue she snapped out, "Enough, Son of Skon. Not only is their way logical, it is the correct one."

Deflating, Sesek looked back at his mother, questioning with his look as she told him, "When you have a child injured or hurt by the hand of another you will understand, my son."

Smiling, Xon stood, "While we cannot go down to the surface of Proxima because of the rescue that is ongoing, Aaron did give you permission to visit the planetary system by our means. More to give you a small demonstration of some of our technology." Moving to the door he motioned them to follow, "If you will follow me I shall escort you to the transfer deck and the carrier so we can make our way to Proxima Station."

Aaron was sitting down on one of the benches near the arrival park watching as the carriers arrived, and the youngsters and teens looked around in awe as the Shaolin helped them off the carrier and showed them where they would be living. He was actually tasting their thoughts in a way only a Class 1 could. Every once in a while a group would rush over to get a hug from him when they saw him sitting there, and he did his best to comfort them.

During one of the breaks Colin sat down next to Aaron, "Trying to decide if you need to use the modifier on them?"

"In a way." Aaron glanced over to Colin, "I think we went over this before. I really don't want to have to resort to using that technology for every little thing, but if I have to I will. It is too easy to use it. The temptation to fix every little problem that crops up has to be very carefully nullified before I would consider using it again; to make sure in my mind I am using it wisely."

Colin considered the words in silence for a moment, "I can understand that, I guess. More importantly it just reinforces my belief you can be trusted with that type of power over others." Glancing over at Aaron he sighed, "So what is your opinion so far? And, before I forget, I wanted to talk to you about the not Kathat."

Shifting so he could look at Colin while watching the youngsters playing in the stream again, "I think I will give you a full day to evaluate them, then you can refer the cases you do not honestly believe can easily make the best of what is being offered. I'll take those and run them through the converter. What do you want to know about the Kathat?"

Nodding in agreement, Colin stared off over the waterfalls in the distance, "I have been following the posts on the system. I am surprised and interested in hearing why you call them the NOT Kathat?"

Rubbing his temples, Aaron thought about it, "For starters, they are genetically different from the Kathat in the dimension where Xon was trapped. That was surprising." Waving his hand in the air he looked thoughtful, "Not enough they could not interbreed with them, but there are several clusters missing in our dimension's Kathat analogs. Enough of a difference that I am beginning to wonder if the other dimension's Kathat have not been engineered in some way."

Turning when he caught the carriers disappear, Aaron watched for the next group to come in, "Xon already called them a hybrid in philosophy between Ophikoch and Kathat, but according to the scans Fred ran on them their brains are hardwired differently. I think, once again, it goes back to those missing clusters in their DNA." Trailing off as his mind caught the spark of information just out of reach, Aaron looked stunned, "This dimension's Kathat analogs are not.we can't interbreed with them unless they have those clusters like the Kathat from the Dimension Xon was trapped in. In fact it was not uncommon for all the space-faring races to interbreed there. Here it would be impossible, utterly impossible unless we modified them first." Mind racing with the connotations his words started Aaron went silent, deep in thought.

After ten minutes of silence Colin cleared his throat, "What are you thinking? I can feel your mind concentrating all the way over here."

Standing and stretching his body, Aaron saw Adrian appear with his P.A.D.D. out and walk his way. "I'm thinking I need to get with Xon and find out if his earliest memories include a sickness sweeping through the Kathat of that dimension. I am positive that they have been altered somehow, though I am unsure of by who or why." Smiling, Aaron tilted his head as Adrian approached, "Hello Adrian, looking for me?"

"Yes and No," Adrian smiled. "I saw you sitting here. I emailed the data and our findings to you but I thought, since you were here, I would hit the high points for you." Getting a smile and nod back he grinned, "Okay, rough figures." Looking at his P.A.D.D. before staring at Aaron with pain in his eyes, "Six thousand youngsters and teens have been rescued so far, their parents were judged as wanting. We also have another five thousand that will be moving here after supper. Their home life was not the best, but the parents were trying. The bad part is I think we started an avalanche in a way. I expect about the same or more asking to move here so they can get a better life and education."

Aaron stared at him for a moment before he glanced back at the city deep in thought. He had expected a few hundred, maybe a thousand tops, not the numbers Adrian just rattled off to him. Glancing at Colin he saw he was just as shocked as he was, "Derrick Love, the city on Proxima that you built, just how many people will it hold?"

Derrick stopped what he was doing on one of the colony planets and looked up, "Aaron??" Changing databases on his P.A.D.D., finding what Aaron was asking for he replied mentally, "Around forty one hundred or so.Why?"

Frowning, Aaron looked around the city. "Because I need you to either expand or build a duplicate of the city. Adrian tells me he is putting almost eleven thousand teens and youngsters in the city, with at least that many wanting to move here as quickly as they can. They want to go to one of our schools." Thinking about what he said about training, "And I need to know when you think the university or academy will be finished. I need that in a week or so, actually the sooner the better." Aaron felt the giggling laughter through the link along with Derrick's reply, "That project will be done tomorrow morning."

Derrick was grinning as he stopped to hold the mental conversation with Aaron. Several people that were walking down Main Street saw him and, instead of continuing on their way, they decided to see what was going on. They had learned to know that look, the one that said the person was having a telepathic conversation. If it was any one else they might not have been curious, but the person they spotted was one of the Dragon Lords, one of the Clan in charge of everything.

"We don't seem to do things on the small side, do we?" Derrick sighed as he inputted several commands into the P.A.D.D. changing the screen to a map of Proxima. "There is a plateau downstream of Water Fall City where several streams come back together. I can build a duplicate near there and do the same thing, divert some of the streams to create a new series of waterfalls. I can start it tomorrow and make it twice the size, I guess, unless you want me to go with a different design that is."

"Waterfall City?? Why does that sound so familiar? It sounds alright to me, though maybe the next city after that should be away from the water and a different design." Aaron shook his head. It was there on the edge of his mind, peaking around the corner so to speak, but for the life of him he could not make the connection even with the city's name. Looking around he could understand the waterfall part with all the water moving around the city in small waterfalls and streams. "We'll talk later tonight during supper.Thanks Love, I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing."

Aaron finished eating and smiled as he listened to several conversations the youngsters were having as they tried their best to tell everyone that was not with them this afternoon about their day of having fun at Proxima. It seemed most of them were telling stories about playing in the streams, and how much fun it was. Spotting Derrick and Foma leave the kitchen heading towards the courtyard Aaron smiled. Soon he would be performing the joining ceremony for Darren and Pavel, live in front of the empire. Giving all the youngsters a hug and kiss, he told them he would see them shortly, and to be mindful of not going out into the courtyard until he got back.

Making his way to the clearing behind the waterfall Aaron looked around smiling. The area had been prepared it looked like. Pulling on the cushion he grinned, it was secured tightly. He noticed a full bottle of lube from the storeroom sitting near the head of the bench, so he moved it to the small pedestal near the foot of the cushion bed. Preparations finished, Aaron smiled at the Shaolin masters that were making their way into the clearing. Checking to make sure the recorders were active Aaron smiled as he tapped a few commands into the hidden terminal, sending the recording out live to every terminal on the truly Alteran worlds. Turning away from the terminal when he heard Derrick and Foma bringing the two guests of honor into the clearing, he moved to the raised step near the bench and waited for everyone to take their places.

Grinning in anticipation as he noticed how aroused both Darren and Pavel were, and smelling faintly of salt and the oil Derrick and Foma had rubbed into their bodies. Once they were standing in front of him, Aaron held a hand above their faces and reached out with his mind towards theirs, checking the strength of their minds before taking the braided gold wire band from Kevin, a band that had the small red diamond in the center. Placing it on Darren's head with the diamond centered, he smiled in satisfaction as the diamond glowed before taking the second one and fixing it on Pavel's head. Leaning forward Aaron kissed each of them. Both were leaking and extremely aroused.

"I am Aaron Stranton of Clan Stranton. Who comes before me wishing to be joined, mind, body and soul?" Looking over at Derrick, Aaron nodded for him to begin.

Derrick led Darren to the end of the bed and placed him on the side opposite of where Aaron had moved to, "I present Darren Tonaka. He comes before you to be joined to Pavel Ivanov of his own free will." Kissing him, Derrick couldn't resist stroking him lightly before he moved to the foot of the bed and waited as Darren swayed before his eyes locked with Pavel's. His eyes filled with lust.

Master Chin smiled as he strode forward, very mindful of the pickups and the joyous occasion, "I, Master Chin of Clan Shaolin, stand here for Darren. I stand in place of his family to witness this joining for the Family."

Aaron watched as Ru Kang moved forward, his pup at his side and his eagle on his shoulder. "I am Ru Kang of clan Beastmaster, I witness this joining.I stand for the clans."

Aaron saw the diamond glowing brighter and knew Darren would have enough power to join with his lover without help. Master Tzu moved to the head of the bed after kissing Darren who was very glassy eyed by this point, "I am Master Tzu. I witness this joining. I stand for Darren's friends and colleagues."

Aaron stepped behind and around Darren as the three witnesses took the required three steps back. Aaron smiled and nodded at Foma, who led Pavel to the spot where he was standing a moment ago, "I Present Pavel Ivanov. He comes before you to be joined with Darren Tanaka of his own free will." Kissing Pavel with passion, but very briefly, Foma smiled at him and moved to the head of the bed and grinned.

Aaron let his gaze fall on his Lovers. Pat, of all people, stepped forward and kissed Pavel, "I am Pat Stranton. I Witness this joining. I witness this joining for Clan Stranton, and the family who could not be here."

Nodding, Aaron looked at the group of Russian candidates that had assembled for this occasion, and smiled as one walked to the foot of the bed, stopping to kiss Pavel soundly. "I am Uri of clan Beastmaster. I witness this joining. I stand for Pavel's comrades and friends."

The final person walked over and kissed Pavel, Aaron smiled as both gems glowed brightly, "I am Doug Stranton. I witness this joining." Not about to get a prompt from Aaron, he looked at his lover with a smile, "I stand for the children to be born in love."

Moving around to Pavel's side as the three stepped back like Darren's witnesses had, Aaron held out his hand taking the lube from Derrick. Kinetically lifting the two, who were lost in lust as he raised his hands, he placed them on the bed. "Kneel and face you future bonded." Once both were kneeling, faces bare centimeters from each other, Aaron felt for their minds and told them, "In love link your minds. As you kiss your mate with your entire being, your souls shall touch and merge." The sound of wind rushing through the trees was heard as Darren and Pavel finally kissed. Activating the gestalt link Aaron drew some of the power and started to feed it to the two lovers and their gems brightened as if searchlights had suddenly been turned on full power. Above them a very visible energy swirled around the two and slowly, as if slapping each other playfully, danced around intermixing and separating.

Finally, as the kiss dissolved into passion and heat of physical lust, the energy slammed into each other one last time before merging, to swirl around both teens as one immense bright red energy mass that shifted to engulf both at its center. Reaching behind Pavel, Aaron started to lube and loosen the tight hole as he prepared him to be entered for the first time by his newly bonded. Once Pavel was ready Aaron reached over and lubed Darren up and, reading from his mind the way he wished to enter Pavel for the first time, Aaron pulled Pavel down so he was on all fours and kept his hand on Darren's hard erection, keeping it from driving into Pavel's tight flesh in his need to find a place to bury his seed. As soon as they were lost in the kiss he positioned Darren at Pavel's entrance, slowly letting the hard tip of the hard cock slip past the inner ring before holding both teens still, keeping them from letting their need to cum make them move too fast.

"Your minds are joined as one," Aaron told them as he moved back after Darren was all the way inside his lover. "Your souls are joined," Aaron smiled as the energy mass above the two pulsed in time to their heartbeats. "Now let your bodies join."

Darren barely registered the words being spoken as he kissed his lover. As he kissed Pavel and felt a hot rush caress his skin, his and Pavel's minds merged deeply with each other and, as he kissed his love in return he felt his lips kissing himself; as he felt his steel hard stiffness enter his lover he felt it enter him. All thought was gone as the feelings coursed through both of their bodies as he started to thrust in and out. Slowly at first, before picking up speed, not stopping as he reached climax and fired his load deep inside Pavel, his climax only caused him to pick up speed.

Aaron smiled as he felt Darren and Pavel create the mate bond as Darren fired the first of many loads he would fire before it was all over. Taking the bottle of lube back that he had given Doug, Aaron poured some on his fingers and slipped one inside Darren as the young Shaolin groaned out his passion as he came once again. Having to wait until Darren was finished shooting his load, Aaron continued to work the spasming hole, stretching it in preparation for his lover to finally enter him, thus completing the bond for all time. Prepared, Aaron touched his mind to the merged minds to find out how Pavel wanted Darren, smiling as he saw Pavel over top of Darren kissing him as he thrust in and out of his lover.

Ignoring the tingling on his arms from the energy the two had created, Aaron slowly pulled Darren out of Pavel and laid him on his back. Lifting his legs as he guided the very hard cock jutting from Pavel's body towards the waiting canal, he lubed Pavel up as he guided him. Pressing the tip of the hard cock against the hole, he pulled on the shaft just a little bit and was rewarded as Pavel slipped past the outer and inner ring before moving his hand out of the way letting Pavel sink his entire lengthy inside his lover. Aaron smiled, "Mind Body and Soul.We witness your joining." Reaching out with both hands, Aaron grabbed at the energy still swirling around the two, kinetically forcing it inside the two teens causing Pavel to scream out as he climaxed inside Darren without moving, while Darren fired his seed all over Pavel's chest and chin.

Ritual finished for the most part, Aaron let the two do as they wanted and grinned as Pavel started to thrust in earnest, kissing Darren while he thrust in and out. Removing his lips, Pavel stared into Darren's eyes as he really started to pick up the pace. Letting his fingers trail through Darren's cum as it ran down Pavel's chest, Aaron fed it to them. "A true joining of mind," Aaron placed some of the cum on both their foreheads; "of body," he placed some of the cum over both their hearts, before scooping up the last of the cum he could find and placed it on their lips, "And joining of souls."

Reaching out with his mind, Aaron pulled some energy from the four gestalt points in long arcs. As the energy hit him he ported the two to Darren's bed so they could finish in the privacy of their own room; they looked like they would be at it most of the night from what he felt in their minds. Grinning as he looked around at the smiling faces of his lovers, he peeked down and saw how hard they all were, "Darren Tanaka and Pavel Ivanov are now joined."

Getting a nudge from Xon, Master Li stepped forward, and looked over at Pat Stranton who stood for Pavel's family and his voice challenged him, "So witnessed."

Grinning at the challenge Pat repeated the words, "So witnessed."

Picking up the bottle of lube Aaron noticed it was flavored. Smiling down at it he wondered if one of his lovers chose it, or one of the two who had just joined; not important he decided. With one last look to make sure the lid was closed he ported it to the two lovers, so they could have something to keep things going, before going over to the small fountain and washing his hands as he tried to control the urges he was feeling. It would not be nice to throw one of his Lovers on the bed and ravish them in front of the Empire. Smiling at the pickups, "Darren and Pavel took a special moment and decided to share it with all of you. They wanted the entire Empire to know and see for yourselves what a true joining looks like. The energy they created in love created a bond that will only dissolve in death. From this day forward they shall know each other on all levels."

Moving over so he could sit down on the cushioned bench Aaron tilted his head as he looked at the pickups, "Marriage for our people can mean many things. What you all just witnessed is not the first joining I have facilitated, but it is the first that the two who would be joined wished to share with all of you their happiness. Think carefully if you are tempted to join with your mate, a mate bond can never be dissolved." Smiling, Aaron stood, "It is one of the reasons we have no divorce.it is not needed, not when two true telepaths join in love." Giving the viewers several moments to think about his words, Aaron made a motion and Kevin broke the connection. No longer being recorded, Aaron grinned at the assembled friends, family and comrades who had come to share in Darren and Pavel's joy. "Since the happy couple is otherwise occupied," he let the giggles and laughter die down, "I want to take a moment to thank all of you for coming. There is green berry pie along with assorted deserts inside if you wish to relax."

Seeing he had most of the heads of the clans here, Aaron moved towards the path, "Those two have given the empire something to hope for. We will be in demand to help our people join with each other, so be ready for the requests." Laughing at Donny's expression of shock, Aaron stopped and hugged him. "Don't worry, Donny. I'll coach you through the first couple if you want." Throwing his other arm across Ru's shoulders, he steered both of them towards the dining room. "While I have the two of you here, and horny beyond belief, I wanted to ask you when you would like to create sons to tie the two clans together tonight?"

Donny glanced down at Aaron's erection, licking his lips unconsciously. "We talked about it. Is tonight too soon?"

Grinning, Aaron steered them past the entrance to the living area, "Fred, could you help us in the Incubatory?.Damien, could you join me and Ru in the Incubatory? It is time." Getting back excited replies, Aaron led the two into the incubatory, activated two stations and began setting out equipment as Fred walked in smiling.

Fred kissed Donny and then Ru as he made his way towards the work station where Aaron was setting up the equipment. Picking up the spare collection container he moved over to Ru as Aaron placed the collection equipment on Donny.

Staring up into Donny's excited face Aaron smiled, "I am going to come inside you at least twice. This," Aaron tapped the collection tube he had put Donny's hardness in, "will collect at least two loads before Fred changes it out. Fred will collect the cells from you to make into eggs during one of your climaxes. Everything we collect and don't use we will process and move to the Beastmaster Incubatory for storage." Running his hands up Donny's legs he felt his shiver of delight. Standing in front of him he kissed him as if he was one of his lovers. Breaking apart he stared into Donny's eyes, "Our son will be conceived in love, Donny."

Feeling the hands touch him, Donny shivered as he felt the finger prepping his rear entrance. "Please.Oh.Yes," he whispered as one of Aaron's lubed fingers touched the tight entrance as his lips were captured once more.

Fred picked up one of the cell collectors and moved over to Ru. Knowing that Aaron could control Donny's need to cum, he waited for a few moments and, as he saw the first spurts of semen hit the side of the tube, he pressed the collector against Ru's abdomen and activated it. Red light having turned green he smiled as he kissed Ru then Damien. Fred moved over to the workstation and placed the collector in its housing and started the cycle to turn the cells into viable ova. Picking up the second collector, Fred smiled as he moved in front of Donny who was panting between moans of pleasure and kissed Aaron before kissing Donny as he pressed the collector against Donny's abdomen. Hand underneath Donny's ball sack he felt the powerful pulses that let him know he was shooting his load and activated the collector.

Slotting the second collector home Fred smiled as Brian moved behind Aaron and slipped inside him. Kissing him in passing, Fred moved behind Damien, intent on making him the filling of a sex sandwich. Thirty minutes later Fred had finished changing the semen collection tubes and moved off to workstation to begin processing the semen samples for storage. Mark had replaced him so that Damien was filled by one of his lovers so he could finish up.

Feeling Donny sag against him as he came one more time, Aaron grinned at Fred as he removed the collection equipment from Donny. Leaning over Donny's shoulder he saw the half closed eyes reflecting the pure bliss of his orgasm. Not moving, he willed himself to start to go soft so Donny's body would expel him when it was ready, trapping his seed deep inside Donny. "Tomorrow, tomorrow we shall finish this and two sons will be conceived." Feeling himself being pushed out of Donny, Aaron moved around so he could face him and kissed him gently before hugging him. "I will see both of you here at six so we can finish what we started." He was looking at Ru as he said that and saw the smile and eager nod from the young Beastmaster. Looking down at Donny he brushed his mind against Donny's and felt Donny's contentment, he was radiating waves of being complete.

A/N my website has 5 more chapters listed. www.wolfsnest.n40c.net

"It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, it is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning, it is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion."