Avada

  
 The mission had been a cluster fuck from the beginning.  A
group of criminal espers had stolen a light transport and forced the
captain and crew to head toward that sector of space.  When they
discovered the heavy cruiser Moscow, the
ship he'd been assigned to as the guild officer was on their tail
they'd fled into the chimney leading into the Loop I bubble.  It
was an area of space that the Alliance had not yet explored, and had
been warned away from on numerous occasions. What had started out as a
mission to recover fifteen out of control espers and rescue a trader
captain and his crew had turned into a first contact mission with the
Thulians.

  
 He'd been surprised at the Thulian's willingness to listen to
both sides of the story.  The only information the Terran Alliance
had on the area had come from the embassies of the other four galactic
powers that Earth had encountered after venturing into space almost
five  hundred years ago, and it did not bode well for any kind of
contact, much less peaceful.  Both reptilian species, the Saaz,
and the Hee had warned them away, saying that they didn't go there
anymore.  The Meirrians, who'd been in space for almost three
thousand centuries and were therefore the oldest civilization in the
galaxy, as well as the only humanoid species the Terrans had yet
encountered had said that the area was controlled by one of the elder
races that did not like to be disturbed. The Tamia, a small squirrel
like species whom every other race considered somewhat insane simply
said that the area was home to their "friends" and that they did not
like visitors.

    
Leland had been able to convince the Thulian adjucator aboard the ship
that intercepted both of them as they entered the chimney that they
only entered Thulian space in an attempt to rescue the crew of the class="Apple-converted-space"> Forturne's Smile.  His
willingness to give up the espers in return for getting the ship and
its baseline crew out safe had gone a long way toward that peaceful
contact.  He'd had to justify it six different ways from Sunday to
the guild, but in the end they'd conceded that it was the only way out
of the situation.  Fifteen trouble-making espers in return for
peaceful contact was a fair price as far as Leland was concerned.
 The espers didn't want to be part of the guild, they didn't want
to be follow the rules about interaction with baselines outside of the
guild, and they didn't want to start their own colony.  As far as
Leland was concerned, it was good riddance to a bad annoyance.

    As
the flitter headed north from Las Vegas, he leaned back into the seat
and relaxed his eyes.  It had been a long week of briefings, and
glad-handing.   His own particular background had not lent itself
to a career as a diplomat, and he struggled to shine against those in
the guild with much greater connections than himself.  Hell, he
was willing to admit to himself, he had no real connections in the
guild other than those earned through years of hard work.  He was
a first generation guildsman and was likely to be the last of his
family with the way things were going. As the flitter hit some
turbulence over the California Sea, the pilot looked back at him and
smiled sheepishly saying, "Sorry sir, there's a storm brewing over
Santa Cruz Island."

  
 "Just don't crash us," he told the pilot. "I hate swimming."

  
 "Yes, sir," the pilot smiled and turned his attention back to the
controls.  The trip the Terran capital was just a little under an
hour for a government flitter, and he used the little time to meditate
and gather his thoughts.  It was going to be a long night of more
gladhanding and interstellar intrigue, and he was not looking forward
to it.  He wrapped his personal shields around himself and let his
mind roll over the details of is other major problem: what to do with
and about his apprentice, Tempest.

  
 The child had come to the guild from the failed Alpha Centauri
colony about ten years ago.  He or she- according to the medical
report Tempest's gender was actually fully functionally both, but until
recently most people thought of him as a boy- had been among the
refugees from a small outpost about a hundred clicks from the main
settlement.  Nobody claimed him, and the genetic scans they'd done
matched nobody in the records.

    He
was an unusually strong esper, but his social skills were barely
existent. He stayed inside a withdrawn shell, and hoarded thing like
food, no matter how abundant they were.  He was quite, watchful,
and very jumpy.  All of those things were skiils to help him cope
with life on the failed colony, but were not appropriate for the
apprentice of a guildmaster engaged in interstellar politics.  He
could not identify his parents, even with a deep scan, which showed
some intense mental shields and blocks.  He was an enigma that had
been handed to Leland because nobody else wanted him.  Leland just
didn't know what to do with him.  He was highly intelligent and
lived for praise, which suggested that he got very little in his
previous home life, but until recently had no idea what appropriate
personal hygiene was.  But that was to be expected given the
living conditions of the colony settlement he was from.  Add into
it his unusual ghost-like coloring, and he tended to give other people
the creeps.  Leland hoped that the move to Fairbanks would be good
for him.

    A
short time later, he was roused from his contemplations by the
flitter's descent over the Terran Capital.  He looked down as the
buildings became more and more clear in the artificial lighting. As the
flitter spiraled down onto the Embassy's parking port, the pressure
wave of its descent kicked up great clouds of dusty snow.  Leland
knew that the atmosphere outside of the the craft was very cold and
very dry.  He set the controls of his thermal cloak to compensate
for minus forty degrees outside and exited the craft cursing whichever
bureaucrat that decided that the old World Alliance headquarters should
be nearly inside the arctic circle.

    He
shrugged at the thought and pulled his cloak around him as he felt the
warming field kick in, forcing the dry biting wind away from his body.
 It had of course been the Russo-American Military Alliance along
with help from the outer colonies that had pulled the world out of the
spiraling chaos of the Great Collapse of 2220. When the World Alliance
was founded, it was decided to place the capital in as inhospitable a
place as possible, to ensure those who were serving the government were
doing it for the right reasons.  Fairbanks had been chosen over Y style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> face="Tahoma">anrakynnot, Siberia only because there
was actually a support infrastructure for a city. style="font-family: Tahoma;">  The running
joke was that the Alliance bureaucracy got more done than any other in
history because the climate was so cold that it kept them out of
political and personal mischief.

    As
he crossed the snow-covered surface of the parking port, he looked
around at the bright lights of the capital city.  It was just
after the New Year, and he found himself wondering at what forms of
celebrations the Thulians practiced on these occassions.  He also
wondered how the Saaz and the Hee ambassadorial staff handled the cold
and dark of the Terran capital.  Although reptilian, both races
were warm blooded, but still disliked cold and dark environs.  

    He
showed his invitation and credentials to the guard at the embassy door
and couldn't help but think that the Thulians looked human enough, if
somewhat on the big side of human; each of the guards stood two meters
high and weighed at least a hundred twenty-five kilograms of solid
muscle.  The one on the left scanned the credentials and
invitations.  Something seemed to appear on his scanner and looked
over at Leland and smiled. "Guildmaster Flint, there is a personal
welcoming message for you from Colonel Atlyn," the big blond said in
the strangely accented English that the Thulians used as he touched the
datawand to Leland's credential card.  A small area of the card
flashed green and indicated that the data transfer had occurred
successfully.  "You can read it at your convenience."

  
 "Thank you," he told the guard and stepped into the main lobby of
the Embassy.  Another Thulian, this one a young woman who appeared
to be in her mid twenties with long red hair and eyes the color of jade
smiled at him and said, "Guildmaster Leland, we are glad that you could
attend the reception celebrating the Embassy's opening. If you will
follow me, I will take your cloak and then conduct you to the main
gallery.

  
 Leland smiled and handed her his cloak which she folded over her
arm and indicated that he should follow.  "I am told that you were
in the coastal city of Las Vegas on Guild business today.  I trust
your flight here was not uncomfortable."

  
 Leland shrugged, and said, "It was a typical government flight,
all grey and no personality at all."

  
 The woman smiled and said with a smile, "I think I would prefer a
flight with no personality than one with the wrong personality."

  
 Leland chuckled at her comment and replied as they turned down a
long hall, the end of which had a huge set of double doors, "You have a
point there."

  
 She stopped at the doors and smiled before touching a pad on the
side.  The doors slid back into their wall recesses to reveal a
large well-lit room with various people in formal dress milling about.
 For once, Leland found himself glad for the simple guild tunic
that he wore.  He pulled off his gloves and folded them over his
belt and smiled to his guide.  "Thank you."

  
 "You are of course welcome, Guildmaster Leland.  I expect I
will be seeing you around the embassy a great deal in the coming
weeks," she said.  

  
 Leland nodded with a smile.  She was of course speaking of
his new assignment as the Guild liaison with the Thulian's Psionic
Services.  Both the Espers Guild and their Psi Services wanted to
try work with each other to avoid any more instances like the class="Apple-converted-space"> Fortune's Smile.
 They were bad for everyone, especially the espers involved.
 He also suspected that his superiors really wanted him to gather
as much intel as possible on their psionic capability.

  
 Walking into the room, he looked around and was surprised by the
number of high level officials here.  There were representatives
from every government that Earth had contact with, including the
ministers of state of all the member states of the Alliance, as well as
those of the Saaz, the Hee, the Tamia, and the Meirrians.  This
was probably the first gathering of all these powers in one place ever
to occur.

    A
service staff brought him a warm drink in a heavy silver cup with
ornate designs on it.  He noticed that it was piping hot and
smelled of fruit.  Sipping it, he was surprised to find something
that tasted like a cross between apples and honey, with just twinge of
after-bite from the alcohol.  "Thank you," he told the staff and
made his way across the floor for a chance to look around.

    A
huge banner hung from the north wall with the Thulian Imperial Crest: A
sigil of some sort in a planetary circle. A moon rose on the left and a
binary star on the right.  It was done up in blues and and whites,
and had a very old feel to it.  On the east wall was a long bar
with several diplomats standing around speaking with each other.
 Opposite was a small stage where there was a band playing what
evidently was the Thulian equivalent of a waltz.  

  
 "It is all rather tasteful isn't it," a woman said from his side.
 He turned, startled at having not realized someone had approached
him.  Then seeing the red crystal at her throat, he realized why,
she was one of the Meirrian Gem Corps- their version of the Espers
Guild- and was therefore not likely to allow her mind to leak.  

  
 Leland smiled at her and said,"Yes, yes it is."  He took a
moment to study her. She was tall and blonde with piercing blue eyes.
 She appeared to be in her late thirties and he found her to be
rather attractive in the long black evening gown.  

  
 She smiled at him and said, "I am Daentein.  I'm the Corps
liaison with the Thulian Psionic Services.  Your Meirrian
counterpart."  She offered him her hand.

  
 "Leland Flint," he told her.  "Guildmaster."  The word
sounded strange in his ears, the rank too knew to him.  Her
handshake was firm, and he could feel the callouses on it from long
hours of combat practice, and probably not a few real combat
experiences.

  
 She laughed and said, "I understand that you are responsible for
making all of this happen." She gestured to the room.  "You were
the esper who dealt with their Imperial Adjudicator, and secured the
release of that ship and crew."

  
 Leland nodded and said, "I was just doing my job."

  
 She grinned at him and said, "Yes, and you did it rather well.
 The corps was only slightly less astounded to hear that you'd
made peaceful contact with the Thulians than my government was."

  
 "I'm glad to hear that there is at least some faith in Earth's
ability to get along with its neighbors among the Meirrians," he said.
 It was probably more snarky than he meant it.

  
 She just laughed and took his arm, "I have no doubt in your
ability to get along with your neighbors whatsoever, Guildmaster.
 However the Thulians are one of the giants of the galaxy. You
have the giant's attention now, Guildmaster.  Tread carefully
around it, or it could swat us all out of annoyance."  She let go
of his arm and slipped back into the growing crowd of attendees.

    He
felt himself come to the attention of another mind.  Judging from
the angle of perspective, he guessed it was one of the Tamians.
 Turning he saw a two foot humanoid red squirrel standing looking
at him. He was rather resplendent in his green vest jacket and pants.
 Leland noticed the small military insignia on the collar of the
vest.  "The Meirrians always talk in riddles," the high pitched
voice chattered.  "They think it makes them sound wise."

  
 Leland laughed and bowed slightly at the shoulders to the little
creature, his hands held at either side of his hips in the traditional
Tamian greeting.  "Guildmaster Leland Flint at your service, sir."
 Then with a slight grin, he asked, "You are a sir, are you not?"

  
 The Tamian chattered at him pleasantly and said, "I am Colonel
Dhavi Ch'ttr'nn'll of the Tamian Union.  I too am the liaison of
my people's para-sensory organization to the Thulians."  

  
 "Are there many of us here?  Espers I mean?" he asked.

  
 "There are enough.  About one third of the Thulian
population are what you would call espers.  The others have
different gifts," he told Leland.  "The Saaz and the Hee both have
their parasensory representatives here as well."

    "I
thought they didn't let them out of their space," Leland said.

  
 "Usually, no.  But the opportunity to meet the Thulians was
a great enticement to them," the colonel said as the two walked toward
one of the tables on the South wall.  The Tamian smiled up at him
and said, "If you don't mind, I'd rather get out of the main area of
traffic.  

Sometimes the Hee don't see us when we are in a crowd.  I think it
has something to do with the nature of their walking stance, all bent
over like a bird."

  
 Leland smiled at the image.  He'd seen Hee shock troops
advancing on an enemy's position.  They looked like minitature
T-Rexes and their gait tended to lean their heavy heads forward, giving
them something of a blind spot directly under their feet, a place where
a Tamian could easily find him or herself if not careful.  "I
understand," Leland told Dhavi as they took one of the tables.  

  
 "Tell me Colonel, what are the Thulians really like?  I know
the Meirrians look on them with almost a religious reverence, and both
the Hee and the Saaz are scared to death of them."  He sipped his
drink and said, "From what I've heard of your perspective of them, it's
unique."

  
 The little squirrel man chattered at him twitched his tail in
amusement.  "I know what the other races think of us and our
levels of sanity, Guildmaster.   Our existence seems to make every
race in the galaxy except for yours and the Thulians rather nervous."

  
 "Why is that Colonel?" Leland asked watching the various races
intermingle. The Hee were given a wide berth when they began to move,
and the coils of the Saaz's serpent-like bodies were carefully avoided.
 There was a strange grace and nobility among the various Thulians
he saw.  He could not help but notice that they were all very
young appearing and painfully handsome or beautiful.  Few Tamians
could be seen in the press of attendees, as they tended to get lost at
knee level.

  
 "Because we're the only uplifted race in this arm of the galaxy,"
the Colonel said with a smile.  "And we promptly killed our
masters, and took their technology for our own.  We do not like
the idea of being slaves to anyone, Guildmaster."

  
 Leland chuckled and told him, "To me that is understandable."

  
 "That's right, your file says that you came from the underclass
of the Terran Alliance," Dhavi said.

    "I
wouldn't call it an underclass," Leland began to say but then thought
about it, and realized it was as good a definition as any.  He had
grown up dirt poor in the southern half of the old United States.
 His parents were baselines with the closest thing of a history of
the esper gift being his father's grandmother who was sometimes
described as being "just a little off plumb".  He shook his head
out of the unpleasant memory of where he came from, of the neglect and
abuse, and turned back to the Colonel and said, "But now that you
mention it, it might be considered that."

    "I
did not mean to offend, Guildmaster," Dhavi said.

  
 "It's okay.  It's just something I hadn't considered.
 Thank you for the opportunity to consider something in a new
way," Leland told him hoping to drop the subject.  "Why is it that
your people consider the Thulians friends, when others are in such awe
of them?"

  
 Dhavi chattered again and said, "Because to them we smell like
prey, but we fight like predators.  We go there, they chase, we
run, and then we all celebrate."

    "I
don't understand," Leland said.

  
 "It's the nature of our people, Guildmaster," Dhavi told him. "We
like a challenge, and to us the Thulians are the ultimate challenge.
 They see us as..., playmates I think would be the right word.
 Little playmates."

  
 "Playmates?" Leland asked with an arched eyebrow.

  
 "Not that kind
of playmate.  Although I would not put it past certain individuals
on both sides of the chase, but that's not why we are there.
 However, come to think of it, the Thulians do have a rather open
attitude about such things," the colonel told him.

  
 "Some of my people simply find you to be a challenge," a new
voice said.  Leland turned to find one of the shortest Thulians
he'd ever seen standing there, barely clearing a hundred fifty
centimeters.  Leland was unsure of the gender and the clothing was
of no help. It was simple long white tunic belted over neatly pressed
matching slacks and boots.  The shoulders were padded somewhat and
there was the definite hint of a feminine form, but with a distinct
maleness to it. He could not tell the gender to save his life but found
the person to be painfully attractive either way.  The speaker was
thin, with long straight opalescent hair.   The eyes were a pale
lavender and cat-like, and the ears tapered to fine points.. The skin
was smooth and could best be described as old ivory.  Leland
noticed the the speaker had six fingers on each hand. He or she
appeared to be in their early twenties.  A small blue binary
starburst was worn on above the left breast and according to Leland's
briefings that indicated the Psi-Guard division of their Psionic
Services.  The coloring and mixed gender messages reminded him of
Tempest.

  
 "Prince Storm," Colonel Dhavi slid down from his chair and bowed
deeply. 

  
 The speaker turned around and looked as if to see if anyone had
heard the exchange before smiling at the Tamian.  "You are a very
evil little man, Dhavi," the newcomer said.

    "I
do my best Your Highness," Dhavi said. Then turning to Leland he said,
"Might I introduce Guildmaster Leland Flint of the Terran Alliance's
Espers Guild.  I believe the three of us, and Corpsman Daentein
will be working rather closely with the Saaz and Hee representatives.
 Guildmaster Flint, this Colonel Storm Atlyn Psi-Guard and
Imperial Scion of the House of At."

  
 Atlyn sighed and said, "And there goes any chance of anonymity."

  
 "Oh, I don't know, Your Highness, I won't tell if you don't," the
Tamian smiled.  "You keep me in nuts, and I see and hear nothing."

  
 The newcomer smiled down at Dhavi and said, "Dhavi, I may kick
you in the uhh, well, you get the picture."  Sighing he added,
"And how is your father?  My grandmother wanted me to ask about
his health.  She is rather fond of him and is concerned that she
hasn't heard from him in quite a while.  She mentioned launching a
liberation force toward your people to find out what has happened to
her old friend."

  
 Dhavi suddenly started chattering loudly at the prince in
amusement.  "I will send word back to him this evening, Storm.
 The last time any of your family left home, it set off a civil
war among the Meirrians.  I think I'd like to avoid that with my
people."

  
 "It was not Lady Kerry's fault that the Meirrians couldn't keep
their house in order.  She just had a long talk with the Old
Meirrian Senate about their inadequacies and shortcomings.  They
did after all, cost her husband, and my great uncle their lives."

    

  
 "When was this?" Leland asked. "According to the records, the
last Meirrian civil unrest was the Replicant Rebellion seven hundred or
so years ago."

  
 Storm looked at him and smiled saying, "That would have been
about right."  Then indicating the chair at the table as if to ask
for permission to sit which Leland gave with a quick and embarrassed
nod and smile, he sat in a definite feminine manner and said, "We are a
very long-lived people, Guildmaster; some longer than others."

  
 Leland just nodded and smiled before asking, "I had a message
from you.  I haven't yet had the chance to look at it."

  
 "It was simply a welcome and request for a meeting tomorrow,
Guildmaster.  We have much to discuss.  I would like to meet
with all of the Psionic representatives to the empire to discuss how
best to serve our governments' needs with the least amount confusion
and difficulty.  We are also a very private people."

    "I
am at your service, Your Highness," Leland told him.  "The Espers
Guild has given me  the authority to speak for all guild members."

  
 "Good," the Prince said with a smile that reached to Leland's
toes.  As he slowly opened his mind to the room, he felt a low hum
with almost a musical quality to it.  A quick glance over to where
Daentein was standing against the wall, and he could see that the Gem
Corpsman was listening to it as well.

  
 "You have an unusual background noise here," Leland said.

  
 Suddenly Dhavi chattered at him. "You are hearing the Mindsong,"
the Tamian said.  "Most of the younger races telepaths are unable
to detect it."

  
 "The Mindsong?" Leland asked.

  
 "It's our Imperial psionic network," Storm said.  "Psionic
network, gossip center, social club, stellarnet, you name it.  The
Mindsong is the cultural backbone of the empire."

  
 "How much of your population is esper talented Your Highness?"
Leland asked.

    

  
 "Please, call me Storm.  My Imperial titles tend to weigh me
down when dealing with most foreign governments," the Prince said.
"Besides I prefer to be known for my accomplishments not who my parents
are."

  
 "I'll make you a deal, Your Highness," Leland said.  "I'm
genuinely curious about you and your culture, as much for my own
interests as for diplomacy.  If you will give me your complete
title, I'll put it in my report to the guild, but as far as we are
concerned, I will call you whatever you wish."

  
 Storm graced him with a genuine smile that touched not only his
lips but his eyes as well.  Glancing over to the small Tamian who
nodded solemnly to him, he sighed and said, "All right.  I am His
Imperial Highness Storm Corwin Atlyn of the House of At, Grand Duke of
Lantyss, Knight of the Order of Tyween.  I hold the rank of
Colonel in Imperial Ground Forces, commonly known as the Imperial
Marines, and of Commander in the Imperial Star Navy.  I am also a
priest of the Holy Order of Iruni." He smiled sadly, and said, "Now can
we just leave it to Storm?"

  
 "Certainly," Leland said.  "You must call me Leland or Lee
then."

  
 "Very well, Leland," Storm said.  "I think we are likely to
become friends."  He smiled over to one of the wait staff and
raised his hand.  Leland took a moment to study it.  His
fingers were delicate and slim, but he could see callouses on the
inside of his hand, and along his knuckles.  This was a man who
was accustomed to physical combat.  "As for your question,
approximately one third of our population is psionic in one capacity or
another."

    As
the waiter came over, he spoke to him in a quick lyrical sounding
language and indicated the table.  The waiter nodded and said
something back before disappearing.  Storm turned back and said,
"I took the liberty to order something for all of us.  If you
don't mind my monopolizing your time for a while, that is."

  
 Leland smiled. To be honest, this was exactly the person he
wanted to talk to and could think of no more pleasant way to spend what
he thought was going to be an unpleasant evening of gladhanding and
diplomatic speak.  "Not at all.  I'm always interested in
learning more about my counterparts in other organizations."

  
 Storm smiled and Dhavi chattered at him.  He smiled back and
asked, "I am genuinely curious about your people, Storm.  And I
hope that you are as interested in mine."

  
 Storm smiled and said, "Oh believe me Lee, I'm interested in your
people and your history.  To be honest, we were under the
impression that you had no telepaths.  Discovering that you had a
whole Espers Guild was a very pleasant surprise."

  
 Leland nodded his head and said, "We believe that the gene may be
a mutation.  It did not show up until after the Great Collapse,
and then only in the other solar colonies.  First on Mars and
Titan, and then on Europa and the Lunar colonies.  It began
appearing on Earth after they stepped in and helped rebuild our
civilization."

  
 "What was the Great Collapse?" Storm asked.  The waiter
delivered to the table several plates  filled with very delicious
smelling meats and vegetables, as well as two bottles and three
glasses. Storm looked at him and said, "I hope you don't mind. I
ordered several dishes from my world that I thought you may enjoy."
 He looked over at Dhavi and said, "And I know of Colonel Dhavi's
fondness for our bravonder, a brandy made from the pits of a bitter
fruit, so I ordered a bottle for him."  He picked up another
bottle and said, "For us, I thought a nice sweet wine from the vinters
of the same area of Thule would be appropriate." 

  
 Leland looked on as the table quickly became laden with a variety
of sweet and savory meats and vegetables.  He was surprised to see
the number of meats in the meal.  Many human espers chose to be
vegetarians, some even going as far as to become vegans out of contact
with animal minds.  Leland however was not one of them.  He
felt that his ancestors did not climb their way to the top of the food
chain to eat salad.  "I am somewhat overwhelmed at the variety,
Storm."

  
 His host smiled, and Leland noticed the very sharp and elongated
upper canines indicating that this Thulian was definitely a carnivore.
 "I am sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you.  I promise that
everything here is safe for both Tamian and human digestive systems."

    "I
didn't know Tamians were omnivores," he looked at the squirrel-like
colonel as he poured himself a glass of of the brandy. 

  
 Dhavi clicked his teeth at him and said, "It is an understood
fact that there are no intelligent herbivores in the galaxy.  To
gain intelligence, even an uplifted intelligence requires the ingestion
of protein, and the best source of protein is meat. When the Torq
designed us, they included being omnivorous as part of our system, much
to their later discomfort."  He swirled the brandy in his snifter
and then took a gentle sip.  A broad smile spread across his face
and he said, "The finest in the galaxy."

  
 "Good," Storm said with a smile.  "I'll have a bottle
delivered to your embassy tomorrow."  He turned to Leland who was
dishing out a few delicate pieces of meat onto his plate and said, "You
were telling me about the Great Collapse?"

  
 Leland smiled as he filled his plate with what he thought would
be a socially acceptable amount of various dishes.  "The Great
Collapse was the culmination of almost two centuries of flirting with
collectivist economic policies along side a culturally suicidal
obsession with multi-culturalism."

  
 "Please explain," Storm said.

  
 "Various factions in society kept pushing for a centrally
controlled economy that would prevent people from being poor or
wealthy.  It also became obsessed with the idea that all cultures
were equally valid, even a particular culture that had practices that
most of the developed world considered to be abhorrent and repressive.
 It began sometime in the early twentieth century.  By the
dawning of the twenty-first century it had almost taken over the whole
world, and the culture war had become very hot," Leland said.

  
 "Multiculturalism?" Storm asked.

  
 "The idea that every culture is equally valid is generally a good
idea.  But the people who were pushing it were using it to punish
success and lay blame for cultural practices that had been around and
used by just about every culture in history on one particular group
that had long since stopped practicing them," he told his host.
 "It was about using racial guilt to extort economic concessions
from the successful peoples,"

  
 "It all came to a head sometime around twenty-one fifty.
 Most of the records from that time have been lost.  Even the
ones on the solar colonies had somehow become corrupted and purged, and
we're not sure how that happened.  We know that class="Apple-converted-space"> something happened
in that year.  A good twenty-five percent of the global, hell the
solar economy just up and vanished- the productive part, the growing
part of the economy," Leland said as he tasted the strange looking
piece of steak on the upper corner of his plate.  It was sweet and
spicy at the same time, and just above room temperature.  He found
that it was quite good.

    "I
see you like the cau," Storm said.

  
 "Cow?" Leland asked in surprise. 

  
 Storm shook his head and said, "Not quite. They're a large
aquatic reptile that some of our people raise for food.  They are
quite tasty, and the embassy chef does an excellent job with steaks."

  
 "Reptile?" Leland asked in surprise.  "Funny, it doesn't
taste like chicken."

  
 "Excuse me?" Storm said.  

  
 "Sorry, it's an old joke.  Anytime someone tastes something
unusual or different, we're supposed to say it taste like chicken- a
rather common bird that we enjoy." He looked down at the plate and
smiled, "But this tastes more like some kind of honeyed beef.
 It's very good."

  
 "I'll be sure to tell the chef that you found it enjoyable.
 He was very worried about human tastes," Storm said.  "What
happened with your economy?"

  
 "It just collapsed.  Whole cities just vanished, and cutting
edge technology disappeared.  It was at this time the cultural war
came to a serious head.  I think people began to take notice to
what was happening with the Muslims when France fell and they burned
down the Louvre as being unIslamic.  Poof, in a single night
fifteen hundred years of art went up in smoke.  Resistance
fighters blew up Notre Dame Cathedral to keep it from becoming a
mosque.  From that point on the world just began to unravel around
us," Leland said.

  
 "It took about seventy-five years until it completely fell apart,
and the world started in on the serious fighting.  By twenty-two
twenty-five the the only countries that were capable of fielding a
force powerful enough to bring things back under control were the
United States of North America and the Russian Confederation.
 Several smaller states, especially those in North Africa and
Western Europe were trying to force them to go to war with each other,
but somehow they found the wisdom to band together.  They appealed
to the former colony worlds for help."

  
 "They were just waiting for the right moment, for a force that
looked like it had half a chance to succeed to rise up.  The
Russo-American Alliance was that force.  Aid began to pour in from
Mars, from the Lunar colonies and from all over the system.
 Military aid, humanitarian aid, technological aid, and psionic
aid.  They helped put the world's feet back on the path of
civilization again. What began as the World Alliance eventually became
the Solar Alliance. When we discovered slipstream drive and we expanded
our colonies to Alpha Centauri and to several other worlds, it became
the Terran Alliance."

  
 "What about the cultural war?" Storm asked.

  
 "The rebuilding forced some major changes on several religions.
 The whole world made it clear that we would not tolerate any more
of this religious war nonsense. The Christian faith underwent a major
reunification that saw the Catholic Church bring back into the fold,
first the Church of England, and eventually all of the Protestant
faiths.  Islam went through a serious reformation, and the Q'ran
underwent a major reorganization that brought it into the modern age.
 The Hindus, the Buddhist, the Jews, and the Shinto," Leland
shrugged, "they were as they've always been. The were glad to see the
rest of the religions stop fighting and start working toward pulling
Earth back from the brink of madness.  There were other faiths
too, but for the most part they tended not to get into the big
philosophical fights that led to the madness that almost destroyed
Africa and France."

    

  
 "But how did the espers appear?" Storm asked.

  
 "We believe that there was some kind of mutated virus in the
outer colonies that was first trapped it in the domed cities and then
was brought to Earth.  It seemed that the more contact there was
with the colonial espers, the more they cropped up on Earth," Leland
said.

  
 "Interesting," Storm said.  "I don't think I've ever heard
of a virus triggering the psionic gene."

  
 Leland shrugged, "That's what the Guild tells us, and I've never
been interested enough to go digging myself.  I know the
government did a big study right after the Founding of the Alliance to
discover what happened, and their conclusions were the same as the
Guild's."  Leland put his fork down and looked over at his host.
 "Look, I haven't told you anything that's not available in the
Alliance's historical databanks.  I'm sure you've heard all of
this before."

  
 "Yes, I've read it in your historical files, but I wanted to hear
it from a Terran.  Sometimes there are little asides in a verbal
history that tells much more of the living story, the human story if
you would," Storm said with a smile as he too began to eat delicately
at his food.  

  
 "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Leland asked.

  
 Storm smiled at him over his glass of wine and said, "Not at all.
I would be most honored to answer anything you ask."

  
 "Be careful what you say to a human," Dhavi warned.  "They
are likely to take that kind of statement to heart."

    "I
don't have a problem with that. I'm sure that Leland understands the
difference between military intelligence and cultural information."

  
 Leland smiled and said, "Of course.  I was just wondering
why your Adjudicator allowed our rogue espers sanctuary.  I'm not
complaining mind you, as far as I'm concerned they you're welcome to
them.  But to be honest they do not show the best side of humanity
nor espers."

  
 "Because they asked it," Storm said.  "If you'd asked it, we
would have given it to you.  We knew what they did to the baseline
crew of the Fortune's
Smile, and we shuddered at the thought.  It took a lot of work
for our own psi-healers to make them whole again, and it was an
unpleasant business all around.  However, we were willing to
listen to their point of view.  We are under no illusions as to
what kind of people they were, desperate or not.  They are already
creating some minor difficulties for us on the colony world to which
they were assigned.  One of them even managed to get himself
killed because he would not listen to common sense warnings."

  
 "Killed?" Leland asked.

  
 "Yes, the one named Polidori, the leader," Storm said.  "He
was warned about using his coercion gift against certain folk.  He
didn't listen, and ended up ripped to pieces for his trouble.  Not
all of our people are psionics, Lee. Some have other gifts, terrible
gifts, and when they are pushed into a corner, those gifts can be
terrifying."

  
 "You sent them to Levai didn't you," Dhavi said.

  
 Storm turned slowly and smiled at the Tamian and said, "It was
the logical choice.  They had requested a minor infusion of the
telepathic gene into the population, and these espers filled that
request.  The man was warned, it was explained to him how some of
our people would react to that.  Hopefully the others will learn,
but I do not hold out hope for most, a few, two or three possibly, but
not for most."

  
 "Why?" Leland asked.

  
 "Because they would be dissatisfied with their lot no matter what
it might be.  Here they were bright shining stars among your
baselines; they were special and the reveled in that specialness.
 But they did not want to work alongside baselines. They did not
want to take orders from baselines, and they did not want to treat
baselines as their equals.  When they came to Levai they they were
still among the few psionicists on the planet.  But they did not
understand that just because someone was not a psi, they were not
without power.  Coercing  that young lady into a tryst served
two purposes for the colony.  It passed on his gene, and removed
an irritant from society.  I believe it was a case of preserving
what was valuable to the colony while getting rid of the irritant."

  
 "He raped her." Leland said.

  
 "He coerced her into a sexual encounter.  The sad part about
it was she'd have willingly taken him as a lover, but he had a
psychological need to prove his superiority.  His attack triggered
something in her mind that when he mentally released her she left him
in several bloody pieces on the walls of the youth center," Storm said.
 "We believe that some of our new guests have learned the wisdom
of the warning we gave them."

  
 Leland sipped his own wine and thought about what Storm had told
him.  It was appropriate, he guess. From what he'd read of
Polidori's psyche file, he doubted that the man would ever be able to
settle with anyone who would not accept him as leader.  "I can't
say it happened to a nicer guy.  I tried to warn your Adjudicator
that Polidori was unstable."

    

   "Lord
Kalleth is known for making his own decisions in these matters. I'm
certain that he saw what the man was capable of, and I'm certain that
he had his reasons.  Trust me, something positive class="Apple-converted-space"> will come from
the whole incident.  It may not be immediately apparent, but it
will.  My uncle does not make mistakes without a reason.  He
sees possibilities unfolding down the line of history more clearly than
anyone I know."

  
 "He can see the future?" Leland asked.

  
 "He can see possibilities, and he can take actions to make a
possibility more or less likely," Storm said.  "I'm told the girl
is doing quite well. She's less upset about the coercion than she is
about the killing."  Storm smiled and added, "And the fact, that
as she puts it, he wasn't any good."

  
 "What about the others? Leland asked.

  
 Storm shrugged, "They've been separated and placed with different
settlements.  That is except for a small group of them that we
felt would benefit from being sent to Kentaurus for further training.
 They are quite young and show some potential."

  
 "Those would the ones he picked up in Saaz space," Leland said.
"I never got a clear picture of their files.  Like you said, they
are very young."

    "I
think they are the real reason that Lord Kalleth allowed them into the
empire," Storm said.

    "I
have another question if you don't mind," Leland said.  "What I've
seen of your people hasn't been a very homogeneous picture.  You
look nothing like your guards, and the guards look nothing like
Ambassador Kierven, and he looks nothing like your chief of security.
 I mean the woman has neon pink hair  and folds of flesh
running down her arms to her back that look like some kind flying
squirrel."

  
 "Shan," Dhavi said.

    "I
beg your pardon?" Leland said.

  
 "We are not all of one race Lee," Storm said.  "We are
several races, and many combinations thereof.  Security Chief
Tavi'n is a Shan Defender.  She's from an aquatic race, and is
among the best at what she does.  The guards out front are At, the
Imperial race.  My Uncle Kalleth is Kentaurian." He shrugged and
held up his hands and turned them over looking at them before saying,
"As for me, I'm a genetic amalgam of almost every major species the
empire.  I have a Shan's ability to breathe under water, I have
the sixth finger of my uncle's people, and I have aspects of at least
three other races of the empire.  I have at least five powerfully
psionic direct progenitors. This too has had a profound effect on who I
am."

    "I
take it your people practice some kind of genetic engineering then?"
Leland asked.

  
 "In a way," Storm said.  "I have six parents, Leland.
 My genetic makeup is from at least one person from all five
Imperial houses plus one from a very powerful and very noble
non-Imperial house.  I have six older brothers, all born on the
same day, and all sharing my genetic structure.  We each just
turned out a little different from each other."

  
 "Do you mind if I ask you about your family?" Leland asked.

  
 Storm smiled, "Not at all."

  
 "You have six parents?  Does that mean one father and five
mothers or what?"

  
 Storm chuckled, "No, although one of my father's has four fathers
and one mother.  I have three parents of each gender.  My
brothers and I were designed to share the genetic material of multiple
parents.  We were changed in vitro to allow us all share some part
of each of our parents.  Although one mother gave birth to me, I
have genes from all three.  Although one father inseminated my
mother, I share genes with all three of them.  It is our way."

  
 Leland smiled, "Polyspousal families.  That is a concept
that is only now starting to crop up in the Alliance, and then mainly
on the outer colony worlds."

  
 "It does allow for a more efficient sharing of resources," Storm
said.

    

    

~*~

    It
was late when Storm returned to the living quarters of the Embassy.
 He'd spent a great deal of the evening talking with Guildmaster
Leland, and Colonel Dhavi, and had to admit to himself that he'd
enjoyed it; enjoyed himself like he had not in a very long time.
 Before retiring to his own quarters for the evening, he knew it
would be best to stop by and see Grandmother.  She of course would
not sleep until near sunrise sometime around eleven hundred hours.

  
 Two huge true-breeds stood in front of the door, and he nodded to
them as he entered the chambers set aside for one of the Empresses.
 He knew that they were the guards his grandfathers insisted that
Grandmother Ashleigh take with her whenever she traveled outside of the
imperial grounds on Levai.  They knew that they were entrusted
with the physical safety of one of the oldest beings in the galaxy,
older than even the Atlyn Imperial family.  Only his Great Great
Grandmother, on his mother Lilly's side, and his grandfather on
Randall's side were older, and he class="Apple-converted-space"> was possibly class="Apple-converted-space"> the oldest
being in the galaxy.

  
 "Grandmother?" he called as he entered the room.

  
 "I'm over here little one," she answered from the balcony.

  
 Gliding lightly across the well carpeted room, he stopped at the
balcony that looked out over the city below.  "The city has
changed a great deal since I last saw it," she said.

  
 "That was over seven hundred years ago, Grandmother.  Cities
change a great deal more in less time than that," he told her. She
smiled over at him, her lavender eyes glistening in the moonlight, her
sharp canines giving away the nature of his heritage and his connection
to her. She had a timeless beauty about her.  Her face spoke of
years only slightly older than his own, but her eyes reflected the
thousands of millennia that had passed since she as an immortal passed
over the threshold into undeath. "Have you eaten this evening?"
 He asked.

  
 She nodded and said, "Yes, dear child. You always ask that
question as if you are afraid that I might eat you."

    He
simply nodded and wrapped his cloak around himself.  "I don't fear
you, grandmother."

    "I
didn't say that. I said that you seemed to suspect that I might eat
you, dear one."  She stepped out of the light, her long golden
hair flowing down her back.  She reached over and touched the
edges of his tunic.  "Why must you always dress so severely?" She
walked around him touching his shoulders and caressing his long hair
gently. "Why must you hide yourself under that tunic?  You have a
beautiful body, a beautiful bosom.  You could have turned the
heads of all the young men in that room tonight.  Why must you be
this ice prince all the time?"

  
 "It's what I am, Grandmother," he said softly.

  
 "Nobody knows what you are, because you won't let them dearest.
 You are blessed of Iruni, the entire empire knows this, yet you
hide behind the uniform of the Psi-Guard," she said.

  
 "People who attack me as a member of the Psi-Guard do it honestly
and openly, Grandmother.  Those that attack me as avada do it from
behind and with a brutality that I would not wish to experience again,"
he told her regretting his words as soon as they were out of his mouth.
 There was something about Grandmother Ashleigh that always
brought out his deepest secrets.

    "I
know what happened to you, dearest. That was ninety years ago, don't
you think it is time to let it go?" she said.

  
 "When I feel safe, then I will let it go," he told her.

  
 "Storm, you are one of the most powerful people in the empire.
 You rival all four of your psionic grandparents in power.
 You can touch the stars with your mind, and call down their power
onto your enemies.  What is there for you to feel unsafe about?
 Do not let the inexperience of a child stop the power of the
adult," she told him.

  
 "Can we talk about something else?" he asked.

  
 She smiled at him and said, "Very well.  Tell me what you
found out from the human psi.  What did we miss?"

  
 "The outer colonies," he told her.  "The gene was preserved
in the domed cities of the solar colonies when you left.  The
Grimwauld virus never reached them.  When they came back to Earth,
they brought a mutated form of the AGG virus with them- a form that
activated the telepath gene."

    "I
was afraid that it was something like that.  Your grandfather Vlad
always worried about this possibility, but even he could not justify
releasing Lorna's virus on people who'd never harmed us," she said
sitting down and indicating that he too should sit.  He sat, and
folded his hands primly in his lap as they spoke.  "Do they know
who we are?"

    He
shook his head, "I don't believe so.  According to Guildmaster
Flint, they have no idea of what caused the Great Collapse, and most of
the records of your existence was lost during the fighting of that
time.  Not even the records on the colonies survived Kevin
Murphy's computer virus."

  
 "They brought it onto themselves," Ashleigh said.  "They
pushed us into corners, they continued to attack our homes, our
families, and our children.  They tried to confiscate what we'd
built for ourselves and our people. They tried to tell us who to marry,
where to live. When Wallachia fell to the Islamic invasion your
grandfathers, both Vlad and Noah, nearly went nuclear all by
themselves.  It was all we could do to stop Noah from calling a
sunstrike down on them."

    "I
know, Grandmother.  I've been told this tale many times," he said
softly.

  
 "I'm sure you have, dearest.  And I've told it many times.
 But this is the first time in seven hundred years since we've
been back to Earth.  Sometimes I wonder what Kalleth was thinking
when he allowed contact instead of simply destroying both ships," she
said.

  
 "Kalleth sees what he sees, Grandmother.  Grandfather has
been trying to force him along a particular path for a hundred and
fifty years and yet Kalleth does as he chooses," Storm told his
matriarch.

  
 "And you do as you will do.  You see what you see and act on
it as you see fit?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.  

  
 "Prophecy is a gift of both my Kentaurian blood and of my legacy
from Iruni," he said.

  
 "And do you listen to your patron in other matters as well?" she
asked once again bringing the argument back to his status as avada.

  
 "When Iruni herself tells me it is time to take a man as lover, I
will try to find one I can trust again," he said.

  
 "You trust your brothers," she said simply.

  
 "My brothers did not violate my person," he said.  "And I
would not take them as lovers."

  
 "No, they didn't; and they made your attacker pay for it in the
only way the knew how," she said.  "It was handled badly.
 You should have brought it to us immediately.  Waiting
almost ten years to tell anybody was stupid on all of your parts."

  
 Storm sighed deeply.  He'd had this argument many times with
his grandmother.  It was not likely to change anywhere in the near
future- not until he embraced both sides of what he was.  Not
until he was willing to be something other than Ice Prince as the other
nobles in the Imperial court called him.  "I was eleven years old,
Grandmother. We all were. I'll admit to some stupidity back then,
children are allowed that."

  
 "Never mind with that, you never got to be a child after that,"
she said.  "You pulled that tunic over your head and have hidden
behind it for last ninety years."

  
 "Grandmother, you know that this was my mission.  You know I
was sent here to determine if the humans and the others were ready to
brought into the battle against our ancient foe.  Why are you
busting my ass about this now?" he asked.

  
 "Watch your tongue young lady!" she said.  He felt the
psychic slap a whole lot more than the physical one.

  
 Storm touched his face and immediately looked down and said, "Yes
ma'am."

    "I
am berating class="Apple-converted-space"> you," she made little
quotation marks in the air at the word, "now because it is an issue you
have yet to deal with and to put it in your terms, it's going to come
back and bite you in your backside.
You are proving to be much more difficult about this than Dacyn ever
was."

  
 "Dacyn was ra..., uh violated by another avada as a child?" he
asked suddenly looking up.

  
 "No, he wasn't.  But Dacyn too hid her feminine side until
the night of her betrothal ball.  That turned out to be a mistake
on Lady Katherine's part- a mistake that could be easily understood."
 She looked at Storm carefully and said, "A mistake I know that
none of us made with you."

  
 "Yes ma'am, I know to buy proper fitting underwear," he said with
a half smile.  He knew the story.  He knew the real reason
that Dacyn chose not embrace the feminine side of being avada too.
 The underwear story was a way of politely knocking Dacyn off a
rare bout of self importance.  The real reason that the first
avada born into the imperial family had chosen to revel in the male
side of what he was was because of that it made people automatically
push him in the direction he wanted to go- to the Star Navy.

  
 "Impertinent!" she said with a smile.   "You are
entirely too much like several of your grandfathers."

  
 "I'm told I come by it rather dishonestly," he said.

    "I
wouldn't say that.  That was not your fault, and none of us have
ever treated you differently nor have we held you at fault for that,"
she said sternly.  "You are a child of all of your parents and you
were raised in love. There is no path barred to you Storm, not even the
throne if you decide to fight your brothers for it.  Your claim to
it is as strong as theirs, and at least in the eyes of the Kentaurans,
stronger."

  
 "No you have not," he said.  "But I have no interest the
throne, Grandmother.  I just want to do my duty and protect the
empire.  I prefer my chairs comfortable."

  
 "Is duty all there is?" she asked.  "What about love?"

  
 "Duty is enough for now, Grandmother.  Love will come
later," he told her. 

  
 "Storm I want to tell you a story," she said.

  
 "Grandmother, I'm a little old for stories," he said.

  
 "Not by my reckoning you're not," she said with a smile.
 "Now sit down and listen. I'm not sure you've heard this one.
 Not many people know it and the ones involved are too ashamed to
talk about it."

  
 Storm raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm listening."

  
 "There was a young man, who lost everything.  I mean
everything. He'd been trained from a young child to do one specific
job, and to do it very well.  His people taught him everything he
needed to know to do that job, to destroy their ancient foe.  They
taught him to be an assassin, they taught him to be a warrior, and they
taught him to be a general.  But when the job was done, he'd lost
his family, his love, his world, his very universe.  There was
nothing left for him.  Even those who loved him didn't know how to
help him. Because in all of their hard work to do their duty, to teach
him to do his duty, they forgot to teach him how to be a boy, and how
to be a human.  When the fight was over, he had nothing."

  
 She smiled and said, "Oh his duty held him for a while.  It
held him until he was legally an adult. Then he went away trying to
find a new purpose in life.  He drifted farther and farther from
what was left of his family.  Eventually, Kalleth found him and
gave him a new duty, to serve the empire in a new way.  But he's
still empty, he's still alone.  He has cousins by the dozen, but
when he walks into a room, even if it is full of people, full of his
family, he's still alone.  I don't want to see that happen to you,
dearest."

  
 "I'm not alone, Grandmother.  I have six brothers who make
sure of that," he told her.

    "I
know little one, but each of them have someone else to hold, to care
for too.  They have duties to their families.  Who do you
turn to at night when the wind is cold, and the children of the night
howl in the distance, and when the darkness presses hard against your
soul?"

    "I
turn on the lamp," he said.

  
 "You are not going to give an inch are you?" she asked.

  
 "What would you have me do, Grandmother; put on a slinky gown and
walk into the meeting tomorrow?  Or how about do like my father
Randall and simply walk in naked?" he asked.  "That will really
scare the hell out of the humans.  I don't know if they even have
avada," he said.

  
 "It would be a start," she said.

  
 "Grandmother!" Storm protested.  "If they don't respect me,
then I can't do my job."

  
 "They don't respect you as it is, Storm. They fear you.
 Respect is earned," she told him.  "I'm saying that it's
time for you to stop hiding who and what you are.  You are not
serving Iruni like this. Kiera Atlyn's youngest would not wish you to
hide the blessing."

  
 "That's hitting below the belt, Grandmother," he told her.

  
 "Yes it is, dearest.  Yes it is, but by now you should know
that I don't play fair," she told him.  She sat up and her voice
took on a tone of command as she said, "I have prepared several outfits
for you in your quarters.  None of them are immodest, but none of
them hide what you are either, and they all are appropriate for
Imperial, even Psi-Guard business.  I suggest you wear one of them
tomorrow."  She looked at him and said, "Consider it an Imperial
Command."

  
 "Grandmother!" he protested.  "You can't give that kind of
command!"

  
 "And why not?  I'm the Empress."  She leaned forward
and said, "And I can guarantee you that each and every other Imperial
Body will back me up on this.  I'm tired of playing this game with
you Storm.  You either deal with what happened or I'll have you
pulled off this mission and sent to mind-healer to deal with it. We
should have done that eighty years ago when we found out about it."

  
 "Very well," he said somewhat shocked.  "I think this is
very bad timing."

  
 "Your uncle and I think it's very good timing," she said.

  
 "My uncle?" he asked.

  
 "Should I say your father?" she returned.

  
 "He does not claim that title," he told her.

  
 "Only because it would cause further problems between him and
your grandfather," she said.  "But he is as genetically your
father as any of those who raised you.  You are child conceived in
deceit and theft, but born and raised in love.  You said it
tonight yourself.  Kalleth sees what he sees, and he does what he
does.  This was both his and my idea.  You will follow
orders."

  
 "Yes, ma'am," he told her, feeling defeat in his soul.

  
 "Now give me a kiss, and go get some rest. You have a long day
ahead of you tomorrow."

  
 "Yes ma'am," he told her.

    As
he got up to leave, he kissed her on the cheek, bowed to her, and then
left the room.  As he passed the two guards at the door, he heard
one of them snicker.  This was going to be all over the embassy
by tomorrow.  What idiot decided that grandmother needed truebreed
body guards?  That's right, my grandfathers.  Iruni's Staff,
I don't need this right now.

    As
he entered his quarters, he didn't bother with the lights. There was
enough ambient light coming from behind the heavy curtains to allow his
enhanced vision to see rather clearly.  He pulled off his cloak
and hung it by the door and began to strip, laying out his clothing
carefully on the valet. When he was down to his underwear, he looked at
his form reflected in the mirror.  

    

    He
was what was referred to in the empire as an opal.  That is his
coloring was on the pale side with opalescent white hair, pale eyes,
and ivory skin.  He was also avada, the blessed of Iruni, having
fully functional characteristics of both male and female.  He
pulled off the undergarments and dropped them in the 'fresher.
 For just a moment as he stared at himself and he smiled at the
inside joke his mother told him about  Dacyn.  How the first
avada in the Imperial family was in his mid thirties before anyone
pointed out to him that the various designer companies made
undergarments designed for an avada's special needs, and how it had
been Grandmother Katherine who'd discovered that Dacyn was unaware of
this when they were preparing for his betrothal ball.

    He
looked at his image in the mirror.  He admitted to himself that he
was handsome or beautiful, or whatever adjective could be applied to an
avada.  Long white hair fell along his back, almost to his waist.
 His facial features were finely chiseled with high cheekbones and
a small straight nose.    His shoulders were narrow and a
pair of adequately sized breasts, the size of small gourds, sat on his
chest, the pale yellow areolas stood out hard in the cool air of the
night.   His hips flared from a tapered waist in a very feminine
manner, and a small, almost invisible in this light, triangle-shaped
patch white hair covered just the base of the the sixteen centimeter
manhood that lay in front of his testicles.  Behind that was the
opening to his female sex.  His long legs were hairless and well
toned like the rest of his body.  

    He
shook his head and wondered exactly what he was getting into tomorrow.
  He could not disobey a direct command from his grandmother.
 He walked to the closet and found several garments hanging there.
True to her word, none were too revealing, but they all were cut in a
manner that there was no way to hide what he had up top, or the shape
of his hips.  Picking the least offensive of the designs he could
find, he lay them out and slipped into the bath for a long hot soak
before retiring for the night.

   The next
morning as Storm crossed the courtyard between the residence housing
for the embassy and the official offices, her cloak billowed in the
cold morning air behind her.  She'd decided in the night that she
was going to force herself to think in the feminine, to relax the part
of her mind that kept those reactions in close check and do as her
grandmother commanded if it killed her.  Never let it be said that
Storm Corwin Atlyn did not follow orders.

  
 She had however drawn the line at high heeled shoes. She was an
officer in the Imperial Psi-Guard. She'd served in the Imperial
Marines, and the Star Navy. She was not going to break her ankles
trying to learn to walk in something uncomfortable just because it
"pushed her butt out".  Besides, they were totally useless in
forty centimeters of snow.  

  
 She looked up at the night sky, realizing that even though it was
nearly nine o'clock, the sun would not rise for another two hours, only
to sink again about three hours later.  Her grandmother would
still be up and moving at this time of day.  That at least brought
a smile to her face.

    As
she entered the main building, the guards snapped to attention, neither
one let their eyes drop below the line of her face.  "Good
morning, gentlemen," she said as she entered the building.  Just
because her grandmother had ordered her to start dressing more in
keeping with Iruni's blessing, did not mean that she had to become
impolite as a few avada she'd known in the past were.

  
 "Good morning Colonel Atlyn.  The Dhavi representative is
your outer office, Colonel."

  
 "Thank you," she told the guard as she stamped the snow off her
boots and entered the well heated building.  Passing through the
security checks, Chief Tavi'n did a quick double-take, and then let her
eyes linger on her belt where her grandmother Tabitha's mind blade and
power pack set.  She had been one of only a handful of Psi-Guard
in the last seventeen hundred years to master the mindbow as well as
blade.

  
 "Are you expecting Colonel Dhavi or the others to attack you Your
Highness?" she asked.

  
 "Not at all, Tavi'n," she told him.  "I just feel the need
for my blade on me today."

  
 Looking back at her, Tavi'n replied, "Any other day you told me
that, I would have the facility cleared of visitors and the place on
security lock-down."  She looked Storm up and down and smiled
slightly, this time speaking in Shan she said, "However, I get the
feeling that this day, it is less from sensing an attack than simply
being somewhat insecure, old friend."

  
 She laughed at the Shan Defender and replied in the same
language, "You are so right, old friend.  So right indeed."
 She gestured toward her clothing and added, "Grandmother's doing."

  
 Tavi'n nodded and smiled slightly.  "It is time, I think.
 You are too long alone.  You deserve some happiness."

    "I
can be happy by being myself," she told her.

    "I
think not.  I think there is much wisdom in what your grandmother
says.  She is after all very old and very wise."

  
 "I'll be sure to tell her you said that," Storm said as she
headed down the hall.  

  
 "No hurry, Highness." Tavi'n said as she returned to her work.

  
 She entered her outer office and Dhavi looked up.  "You are
about to give the humans a heart attack, Storm," he told her.
 Then looking at the hilt of her mind blade hanging from her hip
and added, "And the Meirrians.  They have been lusting after the
mind blades for three hundred millennia."

  
 "This one in particular, Dhavi," she told him as she gestured for
him to follow her into the  office.  "It was Marhawk's."

  
 The Tamian chattered at her and smiled.  "Your grandmother
gave up her uncle's blade?  I'm impressed."

    "I
am the first member of the Imperial family to be able to master the
modifications that Grandfather made to it," she said.

  
 "You can use the mindbow?" he asked.

  
 She nodded and said, "As well as Grandmother."

    "I
would very much like to see that sometime," he said.

  
 "No you wouldn't, because it would mean we'd be in a fire fight,
and you know how much you hate those," she told him.

  
 "Point taken," he replied and took his seat at the table in the
office.  "Do you mind if I ask a personal question?"

  
 She looked at him and brushed a stray lock of hair out of the
way.  She'd have to get her hair done differently if she was going
to completely fulfill her grandmother's command.  "Go ahead."

  
 "Why the change of dress?" he asked.  "I've never you known
you to show of all of your attributes.  Ratatosk's nuts, I've
never known you to show of any of your attributes.  What's up?"

  
 She smiled at the minor curse on Dhavi's point.  When the
Tamians had heard the story of Ratatosk and Yggdrasil, they'd latched
onto the tale with their characteristic glee. They adopted the mythical
squirrel as their patron.  "It was Granmother's idea."

  
 "Knowing you, it was her command," Dhavi said.

  
 "You got it in one," Storm told her.

  
 "An imperial command?" he asked.  "Who's nuts did you steal?"

  
 "Grandmother and Uncle Kalleth are barging into my personal
life," she said.

  
 "You don't have a personal life, Storm," he said.

  
 "They told me to get one," she said.  Sitting down hard at
the desk, she sighed.  "I don't know if I can do that.  I can
wear the dress, I can go through the motions, Dhavi.  But I don't
know if I can...,"  A knock at the door interrupted her.
 Looking up she straightened her body and said, "Enter."

  
 The heavy oaken door swung open and Leland Flint entered.
 He looked up at the desk and said, "Uh..., I seem to have the
wrong room.  I'm looking for Storm Atlyn."

  
 Storm felt herself blush deeply as she said, "It's me, Lee."

  
 The human esper stopped, stood up straight and said, "Of course,
I should have recognized the signature of your shields."  He
smiled wanly and added, "I'm sorry.  I'm a bit confused."

  
 Storm laughed ruefully and said, "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean
to confuse you." She stepped around the desk and gestured toward the
table and said, "Please sit down. I told you yesterday that I would
answer any questions."

  
 Leland looked at her and asked, "Are you a shapeshifter?
 We've heard rumors that some of you are shapeshifters."

  
 She smiled and said, "No.  A couple of my brothers are
shapeshifters, but I'm not."  She took a deep breath and said,
"I'm avada."

  
 "I'm sorry, I don't recognize the word," he said.

  
 "It's a Shan word that we borrowed when the condition began
showing up among our psis.  The At term is "blessed of Iruni", but
that's more of a mouthful than avada so we tend to use the latter."

  
 "What does it mean?" Leland asked.

    "I
believe the closest human word for it is intersexual, but from what I
understand of the human condition, that is not quite as complete as the
avada are," Dhavi said.  "Storm is both male and female, all the
time."

  
 "Thank you, Dhavi," Storm found herself blushing.

  
 "Really?" Leland said.  "How extraordinary, and possibly
fortuitous."

  
 "Now I don't understand," Storm said blushing.

  
 Leland smiled at her and bowed his head slightly.  "I mean,
that if you are willing, you may be able to help me with a problem of
my own.  You said that this condition shows up among psis?"

  
 Storm nodded her head, "For the most part. I know of only two
non-psis in the empire who are avada, and one of them class="Apple-converted-space"> is a shifter,
and the other's gifts defy description."  She shook her head and
asked. "But how is that helpful to you?"

  
 Leland chuckled and took the seat offered. "I have an apprentice
assigned to me who could best be described as avodka."

  
 "Ah-vah-dah," Storm corrected.

  
 "Avada," Leland said.  "He's an orphan from the failed
colony on Alpha Centauri. We have no background, no information, or
anything else.  He was assigned to me as my apprentice about six
months ago, and I really don't know what to do with him.  Maybe
you could give me some insight on it."

  
 Storm raised and eyebrow.  This was definitely a turn of
events that she'd not expected.  Kalleth sees what he sees, and
does what he does, ran
through her head.  "I will do what I can, Lee.  I can't say
I'm likely to be much help though. I haven't had a lot of good
interaction with other avada in the empire."

  
 "Except for Dacyn," Dhavi said.

  
 She nodded and remembered that there was class="Apple-converted-space"> one avada that
she at least respected and trusted, and even genuinely liked.
 With a smile of fond remembrances she said, "Except for Dacyn."

  
 "Who's Dacyn?" Leland asked.

  
 "My uncle, or aunt.  He's married to one of my mother's
cousins, and he's one of my fathers' younger brothers.   He's one
of the kindest gentlest, sweetest souls you'll ever meet. That is as
long as you aren't on the other side of a pitched space battle against
him. Then he's likely to blow you out of the stars and use what's left
of your hull to repair his own.  The mother I mentioned before,
she was his first officer for nearly ten years."

  
 "So, you see.  Not all avada are difficult to get along
with, Dhavi chided her."

  
 "You're right.  And if the child needs help, then I'm
obliged of Iruni to do what I can," she said.

  
 "Because you're avada too?" Leland asked.

  
 She smiled, "Because I'm a priest or priestess depending on your
point of view, of Iruni.  Avada are consider blessed of Iruni."

  
 Leland nodded and said, "Well I'd appreciate any help I could
get.  The kid has had a hard life and really doesn't fit in
anywhere, even with the Guild."

  
 "How old is he?" Storm asked.

  
 "We're not sure.  He says he's eighteen, but there's no
record of him in the colony's databanks.  But that's not class="Apple-converted-space"> that class="Apple-converted-space"> unusual.  Many of
the settlement's records were lost when the fusion reactor went
critical," Leland told her. 

  
 "What happened to the colony?" Storm asked.

  
 "We're not really sure.  All we know is there a huge crater
where the fusion reactor used to be.  Now those things are
supposed to have so many safeguards that they can't blow, but somehow
this one did.  The radiation poisoned everything downwind for
three hundred kilometers.  The little settlement from which he was
lifted was the only one that survived," Leland said.

  
 "And why do you think I can help?" Storm said.  "I don't
mind giving you any assistance I can, but outside of letting him know
that he's not the only person like him, I don't know what I can do,"
Storm said.

  
 Leland shrugged and said, "Maybe just that.  His social
skills are pretty stunted, probably from living as a beggar or sneak
thief for so long.  I know that this isn't your problem, but to be
honest, I'm at my wits end on how to deal with him.  Guild members
have to maintain a certain level of social respectability, and I'm
afraid he's completely out of his league, and he won't listen to me
about it."

  
 Storm looked to the ceiling, smiled and said in At, "Okay, okay,
I was wrong, you're right."

  
 "Excuse me?" Leland asked.

  
 "Sorry, I'll do whatever I can," she said.  "I think the
human expression is that that life is hitting me upside the head with a
clue-by-four."

  
 Leland suddenly burst out laughing.  "That is a term I
haven't heard in years. Where did you come buy it?"

  
 "It was in some Terran literature I was reading a few months ago.
 I looked up the term and found it to be quite amusing," she told
him.

  
 "It is at that.  Perhaps I could bring Tempest by later to
meet you.  He is class="Apple-converted-space"> my apprentice after
all, and he is excited about the possibility of meeting aliens-
probably too excited if you ask me," Leland said.

    "I
would be most honored to meet him, I think," Storm said, as much to her
surprise she realized that it was true.  "About his name, it seems
unsual for a human."

  
 Leland smiled at him, "I thought so too.  I finally asked
him about it.  He said that he doesn't remember his real name;
first or last.  But the Guildsman who rescued him started calling
him her little "Tempest in a Teapot.   When he was asked to choose
a name, that's the one he picked; Tempest Doe."

    "I
thought it might have been from Shakespeare, as in the Tempest," Storm
said with a smile.

  
 "You are familiar with Shakespeare?" he asked.

    "I
told you that I investigated your literature before coming here," Storm
said.  "I studied most of the classics and that included
Shakespeare, and several others including Clancy, Chaucer, and
Pasternak.  I chose a random selection, but I will admit to
weighting some of my choices from genres in which I have a personal
interest.  Tolkien, Eddings, Bowyer, Asimov, Lackey,  Clarke,
Hale, and Griffin, were among those," she lied rather carefully.
 She'd been raised on those writers all her life, and of course
the fact that Hale and Griffin were family members, meant that she had
to delve into what the founders of the empire were really thinking in
their younger days.

    

  
 "Then perhaps you can do my apprentice more good than you know.
 He shares your interest in writers, plus a plethora of modern
hacks that play with the genre."

  
 "You sound as if you are familiar with them as well, Lee," Storm
said.

    "I
have some interest.  Of course as far as I'm concerned, there
hasn't been a decent writer to come out the genre since the The Great
Collapse," Leland told her. 

  
 "This is all very interesting, but exactly what did you want to
see us for, Storm?" Dhavi asked.  "This meeting is highly
unprecedented and has most of our governments more than just a little
nervous."

  
 Storm smiled and sat down at the table.  "Let's wait until
the others arrive.  I hate to cover the same material twice," she
told him.  As if to answer her comment, her com buzzed indicating
that they had indeed arrived.

  
 Storm had not had a chance yet to meet either the Saaz or the Hee
psionic representatives.  They filed into the room behind Corpsman
Daentein who was giving her a rather unusual smile.   The Saaz
reminded her of something out of a storyteller's nightmare.  She
had a four meter serpentine body that stretched and coiled out behind
her.  She was like a long thick cobra with two arms jutting out
from a set of small shoulders about half a meter below her throat.
 Her glistening scales were a riot of rainbow colors.  Her
colorings were a marker on many worlds that shouted a message loud and
clear: BEWARE VENOMOUS!.  

  
 Behind her came the Hee representative who stepped to the side
with a gait that reminded Storm of several species of flightless birds
on Thule.  Bent over with his huge head thrust forward and his
tail straight back his eyes were bobbing about a meter and a half off
the ground and he was a good three meters from the end of his flaring
nostrils to the tip of this curling tail. He was a walking example of
saurian might.  

  
 "Prince Storm, nice dress," Daentein said to her with a smile.
Looking around the room, she added, "I see you have all of us here.
 Is there a reason you've called together the local heads of the
Parasensory Intelligence for every power in the Orion Arm of the
galaxy?"

  
 Storm shot the woman a look that made it clear she didn't care
for the comment.  She hated it when the Gem Corps acted smug.
   Standing she put a hand on her grandmother's sword and
smiled sweetly as she watched the other woman's eyes suddenly grow
wide.  "Not quite every power," Storm told her.  "I'm here to
discuss the one we're missing."

  
 "Missing?" the Saaz hissed.

  
 "It's a long story, ladies and gentlemen," Storm said.  "If
you'll be seated, I'd be glad to discuss it with you.  First of
all I want to introduce myself and learn who you are.  I am Storm
Atlyn," she looked over at Daentein and added.  "Prince or if you
prefer Princess Storm Atlyn of the Imperial House of At.  I'm very
glad to meet you."

  
 The Hee nestled into the large roosting seat she'd asked be
provided and the vocoder at his throat began to speak, "Thank you
Princess," He tilted his huge head to the side.  "We too have
wished to contact your peoples.  It seems that only the humans and
the squirrels have the courage to do so though." His head bowed
slightly and he said, "I am Thought Commander T'see."

    "I
agree," the Saaz said as she looped her coils into the seat and raised
her head up to an equal height with the others in the room.  Storm
noticed that the hood was folded back against the side of her neck in
what she assumed was a gesture of curiosity.  She also noted that
her scales were beginning to fade into a glossy black.  "I am
Warder Shien, and we have long wondered about what was in that
particular interstellar bubble.  We've only heard legends."

  
 Storm smiled and turned to the Meirrian Gem Corpsman.  She
had met Daentein on several occasions when she'd been on various
diplomatic missions for the Imperial Court.  Her grandparents did
not believe in wasting talent and any of the children or grandchildren
who stayed too long at court without good reason would find themselves
on one kind of diplomatic mission or another.  "And it is good to
see you again as well, Corpsman Daentein.  I trust things are well
within the Meirrian Republic."

    

  
 "Things are going well, Princess.  The Council of Elders of
the Corps send their regards and have asked me to inquire about the
request we made to your uncle," she said.

  
 "I'm unsure of which request," Storm said.  "I've not been
very involved in the administrative side of the Psi Services of late,"
Storm told her, although she had a good idea of what the request was
for, and what the answer would be.  

  
 "I'll inform my superiors of that," she said.  "Now what can
the various psionic services of the known galaxy do for you?"

  
 Storm smiled and stood.  "For the most part, my people have
kept to themselves in the galaxy.  We've fought no wars of
conquest, and only colonized systems that have been uninhabited by
intelligent species.  For the most part, we've just wanted to
either trade with some of our neighbors, or be left alone.
 However recent events have forced us peek out of our hidey hole
and look around.  What we've found has surprised us a great deal."
She turned and faced Leland and said, "We were unaware that humans had
developed psionics, or espers as you call them.  We were unaware
that there was a growing community of other races out here who were
interested in peaceful contact.   When we left our homeworld, long
ago we left to forge our own civilization and society based on a few
very basic principles, not the least of which was the right to be left
alone."

  
 She walked around the table as she spoke.  "Ambassador
Kierven will be approaching each of your governments to develop trade
and cultural exchange policies.  I on the other hand have been
instructed by my government to inquire to the level of psionic
development, both biological and technological to see how we can best
integrate ourselves into this community."

  
 "What do you mean psionic technology?" Shien asked.

  
 "Electronic mind shields and such," she said.

  
 "Only the Meirrians have those," Thought Commander T'see said.

  
 "We have them as well, and would be willing to make them
available for sale to your peoples.  They would of course require
a certain amount of adjustment to each individual race's psirebral
nodes," she told them.  Storm knew that the Meirrians had been
closely guarding their psi-shield technology from the other galactic
powers.  Her suggestion that the Empire would willing to sell such
technology had them all literally sitting on the edge of their seats.
 She watched as the Saaz's dark eyes narrowed to a tiny slit.
 She felt her mind slip off her shields and mentally smiled to
herself.

  
 "What would be required?" Warder Shien asked.

  
 "Well, for one, we need to at least understand how each of your
species grades psionic ability," she said.

  
 "For the sake of mutual support and understanding, we've all
pretty much adopted the Meirrian Classification system," Dhavi said.
 He turned to T'see and said, "And would you stop thinking of me
as a light snack T'see?  We both know, I'm old, and too tough to
digest, and would probably strangle you with your own tongue as I went
down."

  
 "My apologies Colonel Dhavi," T'see's vocoder chuckled.
 "But you smell like prey."

  
 "And he fights like a predator," Storm told the Hee.

  
 "We know," both T'see and Shien said in unison.  

  
 "The Torq found that out the hard way," Warder Shien said.

  
 Trying to get the conversation back to the subject at hand, Storm
continued, "I'm familiar with their rating system.  They borrowed
it from us.  If it has not changed since the last time I visited
the Republic, then that means the average psionic citizen of Meirria is
a Classification of eight or below.  The average Corpsman is a ten
to twelve with  the gems boosting them to an undisclosed level
higher."  She smiled at Daentein and said, "I'm not about to give
away all our little brothers' secrets."

  
 Daentein smiled and nodded her head, "So kind of you Princess.
 I'll be sure not to comment on your dress again Your Highness."

  
 "Thank you," Storm said. "Where would that put the rest of you?"
she asked.

  
 "You first, Your Highness," Dhavi said with a sly smile.

  
 "That depends on which section of our telepathic peoples you are
looking at, and at what age.  Most avada like myself are born at
class ten.  Most of the Kentaurans are born somewhere around a six
and depending on their proximity to the throne, progress up to around a
ten at puberty.  After that, a few may hit fifteen or sixteen with
a rare number going even higher.  My uncle for example.  As
for the At psis, most are born at a two or three and slowly progress to
around eight at puberty.  Then they can grow anywhere from two to
ten classifications.  We don't try to track the various pride's
spiritwalkers. It just gives us a headache."

    

  
 "You are already classifying your people well out of our ranges,"
Leland said.  "I've encountered very few class twelves in my life.
 We have a few class fifteens and one or two that may be above
that, the young man I mentioned earlier fits into that category," he
said.  

  
 "Excuse me Princess," Daentien said.  "Would you mind
repeating what you just said?  Are you telling me that you have
children who are born at
the psi-classification of Gem Corpsman?"

  
 Storm smiled at her and said, "I was, two of my brothers were.
 We knew our mother's mind while we were still in the womb.
 I'm not saying that a great number of our people are.  But
as the avada condition increases in our people, it's becoming more
common."

  
 Thought Commander T'see looked over at Warder Shien for a moment.
 Storm could feel the telepathic connection made between them but
did not attempt to eavesdrop.  Finally, Warder Shien nodded and
said, "Our classifications are more closely aligned with Guildmaster
Leland's people than either yours or the Meirrians."

  
 "What about you, Colonel Dhavi?" Storm asked.

    He
chattered at her for a moment and then said, "The Tamia are on the same
limb as the Terrans, the Saaz, and Hee. "

    "I
see," Storm said.  "I still think we can make the psi-shields
workable for you.  They will of course interfere with any psi
wearing them whose gifts are under class twelve." She sighed and said,
"Look, you can all run out tell your governments about our psionic
potential after this meeting.  I still have one other thing I want
to discuss."

  
 "The Kheltians," Daentien said.

  
 "The Kheltians?" Thought Commander T'see asked.  "They are a
legend with which to frighten hatchlings!"

    "I
wish that were the case Thought Commander," Daentien said.  "The
Kheltians were the source of the Atlantean Civil War that drove us off
Earth three hundred millennia ago."

  
 "Ah yes, we've heard of the Meirrian claim that Earth was their
homeworld.  One wonders why you have not conquered it and taken it
back since then," Warder Shien said.

  
 "Because when we left, the first law passed was that nobody was
to interfere with Earth's development and the Gem Corps was created to
enforce that law," Daentien said.  Then looking over at Storm she
added, "And because we do not wish to go to war with a technologically
and biologically superior race.  We know exactly what certain
forces would do to our people should we try.  Once, seven hundred
years ago, we were an empire and we arrogantly involved ourselves in
Earth's business.  The Lady Kerry unleashed the Replicant
Rebellion on us and we ceased to be an empire and became a republic.
 We will not interfere with Earth again."

  
 "The Kheltians," Storm interrupted, "are the genetic descendants
of the Sslelkians who were physically, much like your people, Thought
Commander T'see.  Unfortunately, they weren't very wise and almost
cracked the mantel of the planet in their civil war and cleared the way
for the rise of mammals.  What was left of them went underground
and became a degenerate species that did not rise again until the Age
of Atlantis.  Most of them left with the Meirrians in the Second
Atlantean Civil War.  What was left were finally driven off the
planet about a hundred fifty years before the Terran Great Collapse."

  
 Storm watched as Leland absorbed the information she was giving.
 She suspected that there were factions in the Espers Guild who
knew or at least suspected much more happened prior to the Great
Collapse than the history books told.  She recognized a cover-up
when she saw one, and she knew that Leland didn't buy everything he
told her last night.   Finally the blond looked over to her and
asked, "Why are you bringing them up now?"

  
 "Because within the last six months the Imperial Star Navy has
destroyed four Kheltian standard troop transports, and one soul-breed
transport whose destination has been  the Terran Stellar Bubble,
what you call the Local Bubble.  I'm sure Corpsman Daentien can
confirm that there has been an increase in skirmishes with the
Kheltians on their far border." Storm smiled and said, "You see
gentlemen, the only thing standing between your governments and the
Kheltians are the Thulian Empire and the Mierrian Republic."  She
took a deep breath and continued, "And the real problem is that last
transport."

  
 "What about it?" Leland asked.

  
 Daentien looked over, her eyes asking permission.  Storm
nodded and then the Gem Corpsman sighed and said, "The soul-breed are
psychic vampires of the Kheltian peoples.  They first drain your
life force, and then they eat what's left.  They even scare their
own people."

  
 "What are they like, physically I mean?" T'seer asked.

  
 "Hmm," Daentien said. "The look like a cross between a dragonfly
and a Hee with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.  Their bodies
are scaled and segmented, and their limbs, chest, and and back are
armored with a chitinous exoskeleton.  The soul-breed among them
are capable of becoming invisible, limited teleportation, and of course
psychic vampirism.  Physically, they can toss a flitter, or tear
through a starship's interior hull.  Their claws are about
twenty-five centimeters long and can slice through reinforced
concresteel.  One of the few good things about them is that they
are not a patient race.  If they are among you, you'll know.
They'll start eating your populace."

    
 "And why have you not told us about them before now?" Warder
Shien asked.

  
 "Because they were on the other side of the galactic arm from
you, and had shown little interested in expanding in this direction
again," she said shaking her head.  Sighing deeply, Daentien
added, "However, they've recently made some new allies with which we
are unfamiliar.  These allies have strange abilities themselves,
abilities capable of destroying a battle cruiser."

    

  
 "And it is convenient that the two elder powers of the galaxy are
just now telling us about them?" Leland asked.

  
 "We just met you," Storm told him.  "We were content to keep
the Kheltians and their soul breed in check.  The advantage before
was that they would never go against us and the Meirrians at the same
time.  Now that's changed.  They may think that they can
garner allies with the Saaz and the Hee because your similar
evolutionary path."

  
 "The Hee and the Saaz are a peaceful people, only wishing
galactic trade. The humans have taught us that it is better to trade
for the things we need, than to fight each other for them," Warder
Shien said.

  
 "Perhaps their new allies are pushing them," Daentien said.
 "The Kheltians have been very careful to skirt both Meirrian and
Thulian space when making runs on this sector.  The reason I want
to talk to you, is that they are still very vulnerable to psionic
counter-measures.  Each of your races psionicists will be the
first that they will target.  You are what stand between life and
death of hundreds of thousands of starship crews.  The Gods help
you if they make it to your planet with a nester.  They'll drain
the very life force from the planet itself to hatch their eggs."  

  
 Storm reached into her pocket and pulled out several data-wands.
 Handing one to each of the representatives there, she said, "Take
these back to your superiors.  It has all the data on them that
you will need, and more than you will ever want to peruse."  She
shook her head and said, "I apologize in advance for your nightmares.
 We'll meet again in a week to discuss whatever questions you may
have."

  
 After that, the meeting broke up with only Dhavi and Leland
staying behind.  Storm collapsed into her chair and looked up.
 "I'm sorry to drop this in your laps, ladies and gentlemen.
 But the Kheltians are class="Apple-converted-space"> coming.  The
question is: what can we do about it?"

    "I
understand Princess," Leland said.  "I was just wondering when
would be a good time to bring Tempest by."

  
 Storm couldn't help but chuckle at the man's persistence.
 Here, he was faced with a new threat to his people, and yet he
did not lose sight of his responsibilities toward his apprentice.
 She smiled and said, "How about dinner tonight?"

  
 "How about we treat you to dinner at the guildhall then?" Leland
said.

    "I
think I would like that, Lee."  Storm told him.  "Nineteen
thirty?"

  
 "I'll see you then.  Finding the guildhall should not be a
problem for your pilot."

    

    ~*~

  
     Tempest stepped out of the shower and dried
off trying not to look down at his body.  He wrapped a towel
around his torso and began to dry his hair as well, finally allowing
himself to look in the mirror.  He hated the amount of work it
took to keep his hair looking somewhat kept.  If it wouldn't cause
more problems than it would solve, he'd have it cut so short that a
comb would be superfluous, but he knew that wouldn't work, especially
not now.

  
 Damn it!  Why did he have to be so weird? Why couldn't he
just be normal?  It was a whole lot easier to handle before
puberty kicked in.  Now it was getting harder and harder to pass
for male, and it was starting to irritate the hell out of him.
 Hell, he didn't know what he really wanted.  

    He
knew he wanted to be liked. He knew that he wanted to be more than he
felt he was.  But at the same time, he felt so confused, that it
was easier to push people away than to let them get close.  He'd
tried to fit in with the other journeymen and apprentices at the Guild,
but there were times when he felt like a charity case- which in a way,
he guessed he was.  Still, it would be nice to have friends,
someone to talk to.  But that would mean them eventually finding
out about his condition.

  
 Without even glancing in the direction of where he knew it was,
he reached out with his mind and pulled the dry-brush to his hand.
 Like a fish on a line, it reeled through the air to his hand, and
he turned it on and began to run the device through the long opalescent
locks of white hair.  As the brush absorbed the moisture from his
hair, he carefully brushed the sides down to cover the points of his
ears.  

    He
hated his hair.  It was long and delicate and grew so fast that it
was everything he could do to keep up with it.   If he washed it
too often, it frizzed out everywhere, like some kind of static charged
halo.  If he went more than a day or so without washing it, it
began to hang lifelessly limp, and began to mat as the oils started to
build up.  When that happened, the tips of his pointed ears began
to show through the sides.

  
 When the dry-brush had finished its job, he pulled his hair back
across his ears and sealed it off with a hair clasp at the base of his
neck in the style that most of the male guildsmen with long hair chose.
 It was functional, it was clean, and it didn't attract too much
attention.  Lately, clean had been a very important issue for him.
 

  
 Guildmaster Flint had sat him down and had a long talk with him
about personal hygiene about six months ago.  He listened to the
lecture the guildmaster had given him without saying a word and put
them into practice.  He'd been shocked to learn that in the words
of the guildmaster, that there were times that he simply stank.  
He had no practical experience with this kind of thing.  He could
never remember a parent, or anyone else giving him any kind of
instructions on how to bathe or care for himself.  It had taken
him six months of trial and error to figure out what was and was not
necessary to be considered socially acceptable.  Life on the
colony had been neither clean nor hygienic after the dark ones had come.

  
 Forcing those thoughts, those memories deep into his psyche-
behind the melody that his mind had carried all his life, he put the
brush down and unwrapped the towel from under his arms covering the
breasts he saw on his pale skin.  As he finished toweling off
along his legs and thighs he looked down to see bright red stains on
the white cloth and began to curse.  Suddenly his anger turned to
frustration  and then he found himself on the verge of tears.
 Damn it!  What day is it?  Touching the
digital interface on the wall of the bathroom, he checked the date and
realized that it was a week early.  He didn't understand what was
happening to his body, and the Guild physician wasn't much help.  
He just didn't fit any of the medical texts.  According to them,
he shouldn't even be experiencing this, it was unheard of in
intersexual cases.  Hell according to them, he shouldn't be put
together the way he was.

  
 Forcing the tears out of his eyes, he went about cleaning up and
taking care of the issues he needed to do.  That meant the white
slacks he had planned on wearing to the dinner with the Thulian
Ambassador and Leland tonight were out.  Sighing he pulled out his
duty uniform.  At least the dark brown slacks and the long tabard
along with a second layer of undergarments would hide any of the
inevitable accidents.  This was something with which Leland could
not help him, and he was damn sure not about to ask any of the female
apprentices for help.

    He
dressed carefully, trying to make sure that his appearance would not
embarrass Guildmaster Flint.  He tried not to let his excitement
over meeting the Thulian show too much. He knew that Guildmaster Leland
wanted him to be seen and not heard.  He would endeavor to listen
tonight, and observe.  Before leaving his quarters, he made sure
that everything was in order.  He did not wish for one of the
journeymen to enter on a surprise inspection and find anything out of
place.  He didn't know if he would be called upon to leave the
guildhall or not so he carried with him his thermal cloak as he left
the quarters.  

    He
checked his personal holographic assistant on the time and place of
dinner and discovered himself running just about on time.  He
realized that his decision to get ready early had been wise all things
considered.   He arrived at the dining hall just as Guildmaster
Leland was.  He nodded and sent a greeting, * Good
evening, Guildmaster.*

  
 Tem smiled and said, "I thought it was best to make a good
impression, and most civilian clothing doesn't fit me very well."
 It was only a half lie, but Tem knew that Leland wouldn't scan
him to pick it out.

  
 Instead his master simply chuckled and said, "I'm glad to see
that you're taking our little talk to heart."

    "I
am trying, Master.  I really don't want to embarrass you," Tem
told him and looked to the ground.

  
 Leland stopped for a moment and looked over at him.  This
time he spoke more softly.  "I don't think you try to embarrass
me, or yourself, Tem.  I think that maybe your condition
 combined with your esper gifts pull you in too many directions at
once.  Sometimes you don't know which way to go." He smiled and
said, "Now stand up straight. I want you to make a good impression on
Colonel Atlyn.  I'm thinking about giving you a few more
responsibilities, and some of those will require you work rather
closely with her."

  
 "Her?" Tem asked.  "Your report..," he protested.

  
 "Reports are not always as accurate as we want them to be, Tem,"
Leland said as they entered the main dining area and found the room
he'd requested. "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by Colonel
Atlyn."

  
 "May I ask a question?" Tem asked.

  
 "Of course," Leland told him as they settled into their chairs.

  
 "I'm curious as to what the Grandmasters thought when you told
them that you were allowing one of the Thulian Psi-Guard into our
primary guildhall,"  Tempest asked.

  
 "For someone who professes to dislike politics, you ask some
rather astute questions concerning political matters, Tem," Leleand
said.

  
 Tem blushed and said, "I didn't mean to be impertinent, Master."

  
 Lee smiled and said, "It wasn't impertinent, it was a good
question, one that I would not expect an apprentice to ask."  He
sipped the water at the table and added, "And to answer your question,
there is more going on here than you know.  They agreed with the
decision."  

  
 Tem nodded and placed his hands in his lap and sat up just a
little straighter.  He was determined not to mess up this dinner.

  
 "How are you settling in to our new station?" Leland asked him.

  
 Tem smiled and said, "As well as I guess I can.  I'm still
not used to this much cold, and the long nights are a little
disconcerting.  On the colony, we seldom got true nighttime and it
was always much warmer than this."

  
 Leland laughed and said, "I know what you mean.   I'm used
to January being in the single digits, not minus forty; and snow was
 a once every couple of years rarity.  I'm having some
difficulty adjusting too. Several of the other guildmasters keep
checking the settings on my cloak and chuckling."

  
 Tem smiled and said, "I'm glad to hear that things don't change
that much between apprentice and master.  Many of my fellow
apprentices do the same thing."

  
 Master Leland sat back and looked at him with a bit of surprise.
 "I believe that is the first time you've ever expressed any
indication that you want to be a guildmaster."  He cocked his head
to the side and said, "I believe we'll both eventually adjust to the
cold though."

  
 Tem smiled at him and said, "With all due respect, speak for
yourself.  Humans were never meant to live in places this cold."
 He quickly added, "And Eskimos don't count, they're crazy."

  
 Leland chuckled and said, "You may be right at that.  But
we're here, and we've a job to do."

  
 "And what job would that be, Guildmaster Leland," a strangely
familiar sounding voice asked from behind him. 

  
 Tem turned and saw a short beautiful woman with long white hair
and pointed ears.  She was the most beautiful being he'd ever
encountered in his life.  Her skin was liked carved ivory and her
features were strong and classical.  Suddenly the low humming in
his mind that he'd heard all his life flared to a beautiful aria of a
billion minds.  Tem found himself standing automatically in
deference to the woman and sense of power that she seemed to carry with
her.

  
 "Ah, Your Highness," Leland said.  "This is my apprentice,
Tempest that I told you about."     Tem glanced up from
the floor and was pleasantly surprised to see a genuine smile cross the
woman's lips.  "Tempest Doe, this is Princess Storm Atlyn of the
Thulian Empire."  Tem waited for the woman to acknowledge him
before speaking.

  
 "It is my pleasure to meet you, Tempest," she said.   

  
 "The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness," Tem said and waited
for the woman to be seated.  He did notice that Guildmaster Leland
pulled her chair out for her.  

    As
they all settled back into their chairs, the princess said, "You still
have not answered my question, Guildmaster Leland.  Of what job
were you speaking?"

  
 Leland glanced over at Tem and smiled before turning back to the
princess and saying, "Our job is to open communications between your
people and ours.  To be honest, your people scare ours, especially
the espers, and that's not a good thing."

  
 "Ever the diplomat, eh Leland?" she said with a smile.  

    "I
believe that honesty is the best form of diplomacy, Princess,"
Guildmaster Flint said with a smile.  "But then again, I'm not a
politician."

  
 "You are of course, right," Princess Storm said.  Turning to
Tempest she asked, "How about you, young apprentice?  What is your
job?"

  
 Tempest found himself stumbling for an answer.  Finally, he
said, "My job is to do whatever Guildmaster Flint tells me to."

  
 She raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "And what if I were to
ask Guildmaster Flint to loan you to me, as someone to help me
understand human customs."

  
 Tempest was shocked at that idea.  He was the last person to
ask about Terran customs considering his difficulties.  Finally he
said, "I would do what ever my master instructed me to do."  He
didn't add that he would suggest to his master that it would be a bad
idea.

  
 "And what would you tell him if he suggested the idea?" She
pressed the issue into a direction Tempest was afraid she'd would
explore.

    He
stopped for a moment and put his glass down looking at the table.
 "I would do as guildmaster Flint instructed me to.  I would
understandably have several questions and concerns, but it is not my
place to tell the Guildmaster his job."

  
 "Well spoken!" she smiled at him and he felt something warm and
pleasant begin to buzz in chest.

  
 From that point on the dinner progressed rather nicely.
 Tempest hoped at least that he was able to keep his infatuation
with the Princess to himself, and off his face.  But he was young
and not quite that experienced with the feelings the Thulian was
generating inside him.   He guarded his thoughts and his reactions
rather carefully for the rest of the evening.

  
 The next day, Tempest was called into his master's quarters.
 Leland was studying several files projected onto the surface of
his desk as Tempest entered the room.  His master gestured for him
to take a seat as he made some notations on the the files.  Then
he held out his hand and said, "Let me see your datawand."

  
 Tempest reached into his jacket and pulled the small device out
and handed it to his master.  Leland touched the wand to his desk
and he saw it flash twice indicating that the files had been transferred class="Apple-converted-space"> to the wand,
not from it.  That in itself was unusual.  Finally, he looked
up at Tem and asked, "What did you think of last night's dinner?"

  
 Tempest clamped his shields down tight and said, "It did not seem
that very much business was discussed.  It was rather more of a
social event than an official one."

  
 "You know much about social events do you?" Leland asked, cutting
Tempest to the heart.  His eyes if not his mind must have betrayed
the hurt.  Leland said, "I'm sorry, Tem, that was over the line."
 He smiled slightly and said, "And you were right. Not much
official business was discussed.  But official business was done."

  
 Tempest raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't understand."

  
 Leland said, "You don't have to, it's probably better if you
don't."  He looked at the datawand and said, "There are some very
classified files on that datawand.  The President, and
Grandmasters of the Guild and myself are the only persons who know what
is on them.  You are to read them, commit them to memory and seal
them behind a class twelve shield."

  
 "Class twelve?" Tempest asked.  "I'm not rated for a class
twelve shield."

  
 Leland chuckled and said, "Tem, I'm your teacher, and your
mentor.  I know a great deal of what you're hiding when it comes
to your ability levels.  You are fully capable of a class twelve
shield whether you are legally rated for one or not.

  
 Tem felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach.  If his
master had an inkling to his ability levels- the ones he hid to keep
drawing too much attention from his instructors, then he may know much
more than Tem was comfortable with him knowing.  All he said was,
"Yes sir."

  
 "And Tem.  You are to discuss what you are about to read
with nobody.  When you are finished, you're to go to the
quartermasters and get fitted for six sets of dress whites to be drawn
from this office's account.  From this point on, I'm assigning you
as special liaison to the Thulian Psi Services.  You are my aide,
but you're to function as a cultural advisor to Princess Storm Atlyn.
 Do I make myself clear?"

  
 Tem swallowed hard and nodded.  Hiding his fear about the
dress whites, got up to leave saying "Yes sir."

  
 "And Tem?" Leland said.

  
 "Before you read those files you are to visit Healer Tomlinson
and discuss with her the real reason
you wore your duty uniform last night.  She will instruct you in
what you need to know, and she will be discreet about it."

  
 Tem stopped in his tracks and said, "Healer Tomlinson?"

  
 "Healer Tomlinson.  I'm sorry about this Tem.  To be
honest, I'm as clueless about it as you are, but she's not."

  
 "Yes sir," Tem said trying to hide his embarrassment.

  
 "I'll see you at dinner tonight to discuss what you've read."

  
   

  
 The visit with Healer Tomlinson included class="Apple-converted-space"> another physical
examination and several tests.  After that she sat down with him
and they had a very frank and embarrassingly detailed discussion and
demonstration on how to avoid difficulties with the dress whites, or
just about any other clothing.  When he left her office his mind
was reeling with the details she'd imparted to him, including a
holographic recording with detailed instructions and diagrams.  

    By
the time he got back to his quarters and downloaded the files on the
datawand, he was more than ready to get lost in the mundane details of
what he thought was going to be a dry security file.  What he read
pretty much stunned him.  No wonder this information was
classified.  If it got out; if the truth about the Great Collapse
were to become known to the general public, peaceful contact with the
Thulians might become impossible.  Earth had come a long way in
the five hundred sixty years since twenty-one fifty, but there were
some things that were likely to be very difficult to explain.

    As
he scanned the information, he committed it to his eidetic memory nodes
and sealed them behind the class twelve shield that Leland had ordered.
 He had access to them, but someone would have to batter down his
shields in a massive psionic assault to get to them.    By
the time they were able to do that, he'd be able to either call for
help, or take his own life to keep those shields from falling.
 Considering what else he hid behind those shields, he was not
about to let them fall.

  
 The quartermaster's visit was another exercise in embarrassment.
 The woman was not going to be satisfied with just taking his
measurements from his records.  She'd ordered him to strip
completely and step into the scanner totally nude.  He was to be
issued new clothing from undergarments up.  Much to his relief she
said nothing about his unusual attributes, only issued him the
appropriate attire.  

  
 When she was finally finished, she looked up at him and asked,
"Are you right or left handed?"

  
 "Right," he told her.

  
 "Right or left footed?" she asked.

  
 "Left," he replied.  It wasn't that unusual, especially for
those trained in combat to be counter-footed.  

  
 With a smile she entered the data.   "When you next go for
combat training you'll be issued all new gear."  She looked at him
and said, "I understand your reticence about your unusual condition
Apprentice Tempest, but you are the apprentice to the Guildmaster for
Diplomatic Services.  That means you will be dealing with
diplomats from all over the galaxy, and representatives from alien
psionic services.  It will not do to have you look like an unkempt
teenager.   I see that neither of your ears are pierced.  For
some of the special equipment you are going to be issued you will
either need them pierced or you will need bone implants.  The
piercing is less invasive."

  
 "Yes, ma'am," he told her in a state of shock.  Special
equipment?  Bone implants?  What had he gotten himself
into. 

  
 "And see the hairdresser tomorrow morning at oh six hundred.
 I've already made arrangements for him to come in early.
 Then you are to be scheduled for either piercings or implants."
 She stopped for a moment and looked at Tempest before saying,
"You've stepped into the big leagues now, apprentice.  It's time
to get shipshape because soon, you're going to be rubbing elbows with
some of the most powerful people in the galaxy."   class="Apple-converted-space">  class="Apple-converted-space"> 

  
 Tempest swallowed hard and asked, "What is the difficulty with
the bone implants?"

  
 She smiled at him and said, "They make your jaw ache, they can
sometimes become infected, especially those rated with class five or
above healing talents, and they hurt like hell for a bout a week."

  
 "And piercing?" he asked.

  
 "Two quick pops with the gun, and the studs are in.  They
sting for about twenty minutes and then they're completely healed," she
said.  

  
 "No problems with healers?" Tempest asked.

  
 "Ten minutes to heal," she said.  "The bone implants are
inserted directly into the bone at the base of the jaw.  In the
long run they're more a pain than they're worth, but about half the
males prefer them to an ear stud."  She smiled and asked, "So
what'll it be?"

    "I
get the feeling I'm going to be rushed into this role," he said. "The
studs sound like they may be the better choice and I can always cover
them with my hair."

  
 "Good choice," she said.  "I'll inform the medi-lab that
you'll be by for the studs at oh seven thirty."

  
 "An hour and a half for a hair cut?" Tempest asked.

  
 "Something like that," the woman told him with an enigmatic
smile. 

    "I
don't know if my credit account can handle all of this," he shook his
head.

  
 "It's coming from Guildmaster Flint's departmental funds."
 She stopped and put a hand on Tem's shoulder and said, "These are
Guild issue, they're required for your duty station so you have to take
care of them."

  
 Tem nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am."

  
 "Now get dressed.  I have instructions to make sure you are
to join Guildmaster Flint in his office at nineteen hundred.  You
have a debriefing of some sort and you are not to be late."

  
 "Yes ma'am," he said and began to pull on his clothing.

  
 Thirty minutes later and he was sitting down to with Guildmaster
Flint to a light dinner and a long discussion.  As they tucked
into their meals of Tex-Mex Chili and sandwiches, Leland looked over to
him and asked, "So, what do you think?"

    "I
think that this is the kind of information that should it get out would
cost a great many people their jobs, and cause general unrest.  To
be honest, it's almost too fantastic to believe."

  
 "You're rather young to be so cynical," Leland told him.

  
 "Does my Master wish me to be honest, or does he wish me simply
to listen?" Tem finally asked.  The day had been a serious drain
on him, physically, psychicly, and emotionally.  

  
 Leland chuckled and said, "I was wondering where those teeth that
all your previous teachers spoke of had gone."

    "I
am trying to conform to what my master wants me to do," Tem said.
 He looked up at Leland and said, "And I'm genuinely trying to
correct my mistakes."

  
 Leland nodded, and said, "Good.  That's all I can ask.
 Your comment about the information was very astute, something
I've come to expect from you.  This information is the kind can't
stay hidden forever, especially if contact with the Empire increases.
 However, it needs to be released to the public slowly.  In
small bites."

  
 "Do the Thulians know that we know?" he asked.

  
 "Again, your insight is greater than your years," Leland said.
 "I think they suspect that we know.  I haven't confronted
them with the information yet, and am unsure if they will deny it.
 The information we retrieved from the Meirrians pretty much
confirmed it.  They are more worried about this new contact with
the Thulians than we are."

  
 Tem asked, "Why?"

  
 "Because they aren't the big boys on the block anymore.  Big
brother has stepped in, and he may not like the way they've been doing
things," Leland said.  "Walk very carefully around Corpsman
Daentien.  She has her own agenda, and it involves protecting
Meirrian interests above those of either Earth or Thule."

  
 "You are really going to send me into the Thulian Embassy as
advisor on human cultural habits?" he asked incredulously.  "You
realize I have the social skills of a street urchin crossed with a
country bumpkin don't you?" he asked Leland flat out.

  
 "Do you think you can't do the job?" Leeland asked him.

    He
shook his head, "I don't know.  It depends.  If it's to
explain why we all gather around the holo-set in January to watch grown
men try to push a small object across a hundred meters of field, I'm
not sure.  I'm not sure anybody could
do that job.  However, if you want me to describe foods, and
entertainment, I may be able to do that."  He grinned at Leland
and said, "I told Princess Storm that I would voice my concerns.
 Do you not want to hear them?"

  
 Leland leaned back and sipped his beer and asked, "What are your
concerns?"

  
 Tem smiled, "I've had very little training in diplomacy.
 Hell, until recently, I didn't understand some basic information
about personal hygiene, and you're putting me in a position where I
could cause an interstellar incident."

    "I
trust your judgement, Tem.  You don't make the same mistake twice
for the same reason.  Everybody makes the same mistake twice if
they don't completely understand the situation, but you go out of your
way to try to find a solution and to understand the problem.
 That's more than I can say for the vast majority of diplomats."
 He took a bite of his chili and smiled as he chewed.
 "You're not dealing with Ambassador Kierven, and you're not
likely to meet their Emperor.  I can't be with Princess Storm as
much as she needs someone there.  That will be your job."

  
 "Aren't you afraid I might go native?" he asked.

  
 Leland shook his head, "Again, not likely.  You're
surrounded by your own culture.  There are too many things pulling
you back to Earth."

  
 Tem nodded and asked, "What about all this new equipment and
uniforms I'm being issued.  Why do I need pierced ears or bone
implants?"

  
 "Slipstream radio transceivers," he said.

  
 "I'm a class sixteen mind reader, Master.  I don't need a
radio," he told Leland.

  
 "No, you're a class twenty-two mind reader," Leland told him.
 "It's time there's some honesty between us, Tem."

    "I
don't understand," Tempest said clamping his shields down tight.

    "I
know that you've been holding back on your classification tests.
 I even understand why, and I can't say that if I were in your
shoes I wouldn't do the same.  I know what kind of pressure they
put on guildmembers who are class eighteens, much less someone in your
boat  I also know that your psychokinesis is also higher than you
test out, as well as your healing ability.  I can't blame you for
hiding it.   But the transceiver is so that we can contact you,
not so that you can contact us.  Sometimes the situation in the
field changes, and broadcasting that information over an open channel
or even in a mind-burst communique is not always safe. The implants, or
studs depending on which way you go, allow for scrambled
communications."    He smiled and then asked, "Which way did
you go?"

  
 Tem blushed and said, "I went with the piercings.  The
quartermaster said that the implants were directly into the bone and
would be more painful and take longer to adjust to.  She sort of
indicated that time was a factor."

  
 Leland nodded to him and said with a mischievous smile, "Good
choice.  And you can take the studs out and not have to worry
about accidentally broadcasting your snores when you sleep."

  
 "What about the new uniforms, and the hair cut?  I know that
they are not going be very helpful in hiding my condition," he asked.

  
 Leland leaned back into his chair and asked, "Did you talk to
Healer Tomlinson?"

  
 Van blushed and said, "Yes."

  
 "And did she explain to you what you needed to know?"

  
 "In no uncertain terms, Master," he said feeling the blood race
to his face.

  
 "As for the clothing and haircut, we don't want to hide what you
are.  I have it on good authority that the Thulians will not be
confused in the least by your condition.  Evidently it occurs
among their psis as well, and is considered something of a blessing."

  
 "Really?" Tem asked.

  
 "Really," Leland told him.  "They will however look poorly
on you trying to hide it, or you not treating them with the respect
they deserve by not dressing appropriately.   The uniforms are
tailored to fit you correctly, Tem.  They won't hang on you like
an oversize sheet hiding your hips and your bust.  The slacks
won't hide your other attributes either.  If you want to do that,
I suggest the skirt, but the choice is yours."

  
 "You're forcing me to become a female," Tem protested.

  
 "Not at all, Tem.  I'm forcing you to present yourself in a
way befitting your station," Guildmaster Flint told him.  "That
includes uniforms and hair styles reflecting the representative of the
Terran Alliance to a foreign government.  The Grandmasters may not
have realized it when they assigned you to me, but they put you in a
position where you can go very far in the Guild.  All you have to
do is  apply yourself, Tem."

  
 "I'm not putting on makeup," Tem said quietly.

  
 "I'm not asking you to," Leland said.  "I'm asking you to
wear and properly fitting and appropriate uniform for your duties.
 I checked the regs, and nowhere do they require makeup."

  
 "What about my ears?" Tem asked.

  
 "What about them?  Did you notice Princess Storm's ears last
night?"

  
 "Uh, vaguely," he told his master.

  
 "Then you know that some of the Thulians have pointed ears as
well.  They will not find them out of place," Leland said.

  
 "But the other apprentices and journeymen here, will," Tem
protested.

  
 "So?  Many espers have mutations.  It came with the
gene that makes us what we are.  You just got hit with a couple of
big doses of it."  He stopped and smiled, "And please don't take
this in an untoward manner.  It is simply a statement of fact.
 In case you haven't looked in the mirror lately, when you comb
the tangles out of your hair, wash your face, and actually smile, the
combination of all those big doses of mutation is rather attractive."

  
 Tem blushed at the comment but asked, "Do class="Apple-converted-space"> you have any
mutations, Master?"

  
 Leland smiled and nodded his head.  Speaking softly he said,
"I have a mutation for infinite patience when it comes to the concerns
of apprentices."  He reached out and touched Tem's button nose and
said, "But you have gone to infinity and beyond and try that patience a
great deal, Tem."

  
 "Sorry master," Tem said.

  
 "You are a challenge Tem, and I like challenges," Leland said.
"That's why I'm giving you this assignment."

  
 "Thank you master," Tem said as he continued to eat his dinner.

    

  
 The next morning was a flurry of activity that Tem simply ducked
his head and passed through hoping to retain his sanity.  It did
not begin well, as he and the stylist argued about what to do with his
hair.  The man was some kind of expert employed by the Diplomatic
Services to make sure that Earth's representatives were presented in
their best light.  He finally pulled rank on Tem and did what he
thought was best, and instructed Tem in how to maintain it.  Tem
gave in, rather ungraciously, but drew the line at make-up.  As
far as he was concerned, he was not about to become a female.  He
had seen how females had been treated on the colony and wanted no part
of it.  He himself would never treat another human being, or even
an alien like that, but at the same time he was not going to invite
being violated by his mode of dress.

  
 The trip to the medi-lab on the other hand was not as bad.
 He was in and out in just ten minutes.  By the time he got
back to his quarters to change into the uniforms, the quartermaster was
waiting there for him with his new whites.  She insisted on
helping him get dressed properly.  He had to admit some of the
things she pointed out were helpful, but they were still embarrassing.
 

    In
the end though, he was rather pleasantly surprised when he looked into
the mirror.  The white blouse and jacket fit perfectly outlining
his small shoulders and his bosom.  The darts in them tapered
along his form accentuating his figure.  The pleats and folds in
the slacks were arranged properly to look smart.  He noticed that
they were just snug enough in the crotch without being tight or clingy
to make it clear that there was something substantial between his legs.
 His matching hooded cloak hung at his shoulders, and there was a
golden moon on his breast indicating a first stage journeyman.

  
 "I'm sorry, Quartermaster, but there is a mistake.  I can't
wear this blouse or jacket," he said.

  
 "Why?  It fits correctly," she replied.

  
 "But the rank insignia is wrong," he told her.  "I'm an
apprentice, not a journeyman."

    "I
installed the insignia that Guildmaster Flint told me to install,
Journeyman Tempest.  If you think it's wrong, I suggest you check
your computer," she said.

  
 Tem gave her a strange look and picked up his PHA and called up
his mail.  Sure enough there was an official communique from the
Guild master indicating that he was to be increased in rank to
Journeyman 5th class, a seldom-used rank that was implemented for
advanced apprentice students.  "I don't understand," he said
turning back to the smiling Quartermaster.

  
 "Appearances, Journeyman Tempest.  A mere apprentice cannot
be assigned diplomatic duty, you must be at least a journeyman.
 But the regs do not say what stage of journeyman, so Guildmaster
Flint decided that this would be an appropriate rank.  It will
keep you out of mischief with fellow journeymen and apprentices, and
give you the level of respectability appropriate for your duties."
 She winked at him and said, "And since you are new to the
station, it will help hide the transformation of the ugly duckling to
the beautiful swan."

    "I
beg your pardon?" Tem said.

  
 "People are accustomed to seeing frumpy class="Apple-converted-space"> Apprentice Tempest.
 What's going to walk out of this room will be a rather strikingly
attractive Journeyman
Tempest.   In other words, people will not notice the
transformation, because it came so soon in your assignment here," the
quartermaster told him.

  
 "Appearances again?" Tem asked.

  
 "I'm a quartermaster, it's my job to make sure my guild's men and
women look their best.  You aren't in the hinterlands of Alliance
anymore, Tempest.  This is the planetary capital, and the capital
of the Terran Alliance.  You have to look your best."

  
 "Yes, ma'am," Tem told her with quiet smile.

  
 "Now remember, the uniform is pretty much stain resistant.
 Most liquids and solids will be repelled by the material.
 If you soak it in something, then it will show up as a stain, but
will come out when run through the 'fresher.  Just be careful with
eating lunch.  There's no telling what the Thulians may serve you."

~*~

  
 Storm looked up from the files on her desk as Colonel Tavi'n
entered her office.  "Princess, the Terran cultural attache is
here."

  
 "Well, send him in," she said.

  
 "There's a problem, Highness," the security chief said.  "I
am holding him in my office."

  
 "What problem?" she asked standing and coming around the desk.

  
 "Your grandmother has insisted that he receive a full medical
work up,"  Tavi'n told her as she reached the door.

  
 "Why?" she asked.

  
 "The Empress did not make her mind known to me, only her command,
Highness.  The child is somewhat confused and maybe a little
frightened.  I think that you would be best to explain things to
him," the Shan defender said. "I know that I make him very nervous as
it is."

  
 "You make us all nervous, Tavi'n," she said with a smile.
 "But why do you think you make him nervous?"

  
 "The old complaint," she said.  "Humans don't remember our
short sojourn among them, so they aren't prepared for the pheromones,
and he is young,
and is avada."

  
 Storm smiled at her, and said, "In other words, you make him
horny and he doesn't understand why."

  
 Tavi'n blushed and asked, "Is that not what I said,
Highness?" 

  
 Storm left the offices and headed down toward the main
administrative area.  "Does he know why he's been called to the
side?"

  
 "No, Highness," Tavi'n said.  "I simply received the order
from Her Majesty, and pulled him aside."

  
 "Very well, I will deal with him," she told Tavi'n as she entered
the security zone.  Opening the door to Tavi'n's office she was
suddenly struck by the changes in the rather disheveled young man she'd
met the other night.  Now the hair was rather nicely coiffed and
pulled back straight behind a set of ears not unlike her own and held
with a clasp at the top of the head to cascade down the back like sheet
of ice.  Gone was the baggy brown uniform and in its place was a
sharply tailored set of what were evidently dress whites that showed
off a definite female torso.  

  
 The Tempest that stood before her now and nervously bowed was in
all things a very attractive young avada, who appeared to be scared
half to death, but was doing his best to hide it.  "Hello Tempest.
 I'm sorry for the delay, but I was just informed of new orders
from Thule.  Evidently, we are required to give you a medical
examination before you can assume your duties."

  
 "Medical?" Tempest said somewhat nervously.  "I thought the
medical file the Guild sent over was going to be sufficient."  She
could feel the waves uneasiness leaking through his shields, and
recognized them for their echo in her own mind.

  
 Storm smiled at him and said, "I did too, but these are new
orders from the Throne.   They're concerned about certain viral
issues and want to make sure that you are fully vaccinated.  Is
this going to be a problem?"

  
 "What does the medical entail?" Tem asked.  There was a very
charming sense of modesty in his mind.

  
 Storm smiled and said, "Just a quick minute in the scanner.
 It's very non invasive.  You won't even have to disrobe."

  
 "Can I check with Guildmaster Flint first?" he asked nervously.

  
 "Of course," Storm said.  "Why don't you call him now. You
do have a personal comset don't you?"

  
 Tem smiled and touched the device on his hip saying, "Yes ma'am."
 

  
 "Then why don't you call him while I go and speak with my
superior about this."

  
 Tem nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am."

  
 She left the room and closed the door behind her.  Looking
at Tavi'n she said.  "Come on, I'm going to find out what's going
on with this.  It's not like Grandmother to interfere without good
reason."  She smiled to herself and whispered under her breath,
"Although lately I'm beginning to wonder."

    In
less than five minutes she found the Lady Ashleigh sitting in the
medical clinic speaking with one of the technicians.  "Your
Majesty, may I speak with you a moment?" she asked formally.

  
 Ashleigh turned and smiled saying, "Of course Princess Storm, or
is it Colonel Atlyn who wishes to speak with me?"

  
 "Colonel Atlyn," Storm said blushing slightly.

  
 Ashleigh looked over to the technician and said, "Oh dear, I
think I may be in trouble."

  
 The technician quickly ducked out of the room, and Storm asked.
 "Why did you order a medical on the human psi?"

  
 "Because he' not," her grandmother said.

  
 "He's not what?" Storm asked.

  
 "Human," she said. 

  
 "How do you know that?" Storm asked.

  
 "He's menstruating," her grandmother said.  "Human
intersexuals don't menstruate, they're just genitally ambiguous." 

  
 "How do you know?" Storm asked her.

  
 "Dear one, I can smell a bleeding virgin from ten miles," her
grandmother said.

  
 "You think he's one of us?" Storm suddenly asked.

    "I
think that maybe the same circumstances that came to create you may be
behind his being in Terran territory," the ancient vampire said.

  
 "That is not something I wanted to hear, Grandmother," Storm
said.  "It could make
dealing with the Terrans very difficult."

    "I
know, little one.  I know.  But just think how he must feel;
to never know where he came from."

    "I
understand.  I'll take care of it," she said.  Then bowing
with a smile she added, "By your leave."

  
 "Get out of here," her grandmother said with a laugh like
tinkling glass.

  
 Storm returned to the Tavi'n's office and found Tempest sitting
there patiently.  "I found out what this is all about," Storm told
him.  "There are some concerns that you might be susceptible to
certain Thulian viruses, and the Throne wants to make sure that you
aren't infected through contact with us.  It won't take more than
a minute or two and then we can show you around."

  
 Tempest smiled up at Storm and something flickered behind his
eyes that she only caught a glimpse of.  There was a level of
trust there that she knew she didn't yet warrant, and that worried her
slightly.  "Guildmaster Flint said to cooperate with anything
short of dissection," he said with a slight grin.  "Well, not
really, but that was the impression he gave me."

  
 Storm chuckled, not sure that she could possibly face an alien
medical examination with same aplomb.  "Come on, young Tempest, I
can promise no dissection today."

  
 The young avada rose and followed her to the medical clinic where
a technician was awaiting them.  Storm noticed that her
grandmother had long since left the area.  "This is Doctor Leyam,
and she'll be conducting the scan."  She turned to the Kentauran
doctor and said, "This is Tempest Doe, he needs the scans indicated by
the new orders."

  
 "Yes, Highness," the woman nodded and turned to Tempest.
 "Come along, I promise this won't hurt.  If you would, hop
up on the bed there and lie back."

  
 Tempest looked at Storm and she nodded to him.  He smiled
and did as he was instructed.  "Now you may feel a bit of pressure
on your body, but nothing heavier than my hand," the doctor said.  

  
 Storm watched as the scanner ran down his body and then back up.
 When the light above the bed blinked amber, the doctor said,
"That's it.  Hop up."

  
 "That's all?" Tempest asked.

  
 "That's all.  Would you like me to tell you what it says?"
the doctor asked.

  
 "Sure," Tempest said.

  
 The doctor pointed to part of the read out. "This is your blood
pressure, this is your blood type.  These are the levels of
various enzymes in your blood," the doctor looked over to her
meaningfully.  One of those enzymes was extremely rare, even in
the empire. The doctor pointed over to one of the indicators and said,
"And this tells me that you have a slight iron deficiency in your
blood.  I would suggest you discuss it with your physicians at the
guild."

  
 "Yes, ma'am," Tempest said.  "What about vulnerability to
the virus Princess Storm mentioned."

  
 The doctor looked over at Storm and then back to Tempest.
 She then pointed to another read out.  The one Storm knew
dealt with a particular gift.  She said,  "You see this?"

    

  
 Tempest nodded.

  
 "It tells me that you are immune to almost all Thulian pathogens.
 You're safe to wander wherever you want in the Empire," the
doctor said.  

  
 "Thank you, Doctor Leeyam." Tempest said.

  
 "Not at all, Tempest," she replied.  "It's a pleasure to
have a cooperative patient for once."  She gave Storm a meaningful
look.

  
 "Now if you'll follow me, Tempest, I'll have someone show you
around, and then bring you back to my office.  We can get to work
then."

  
 "Thank you, Your Highness," the young man said with a soft smile.
 For some reason Storm found herself wanting to make him smile
again.  Looking around, Storm saw the perfect person.
 "Sasha, are you busy at the moment?"  she asked her
grandmother's personal aide. 

    "I
was sent to see if you need anything Highness," the tall young man with
tawny blond hair and blue eyes said.  

  
 "This is Tempest Doe," she told him.  "He's my liaison from
the Terran Espers Guild.   Would you please show him around, get
him some quarters assigned, and then settled into the office next to
mine.  When you've finished with that, direct him to my office,
please."

  
 "Yes Highness," Sasha said with a slight bow.

  
 "Quarters?" Tempest asked with a sudden look of surprise.

  
 "We are nearly in the arctic circle Tempest, and there will be
evenings when we work very late.  I would not want you stumbling
around in the cold and dark to get home.  On those nights you'll
stay here.  Don't worry, I'll clear it with Guildmaster Flint.
 It would probably do for you to have one or two changes of
clothing here on the grounds too."  She looked at him smiled and
said, "Would you see to that as well Sasha.  Have it charged to my
personal account."

  
 Sasha raised an eyebrow at the last piece of instructions and
said, "As you wish, Highness."  Mentally, he sent to her, *Shall
I have him bathed and brought to your tent as well Highness?*

    *You've
been reading too many of my grandfather's novels, Puss. I am merely
trying to make him feel at home,* she
told him.

    
 *Reading the novels, young one?  I've lived them.* class="Apple-converted-space">  Sasha told her.

  
   Tempest cleared his throat and said aloud while
blushing deeply, "Your Highness, I can hear what you both are saying."

    "I
beg your pardon, Journeyman Tempest," Sasha said suddenly coughing.
 "I was merely teasing Her Highness,"

    

  
 "You can hear a directed telepathic conversation?" Storm asked.

  
 Tempest nodded, still blushing.  "This close, yes," he said.

  
 "Impressive," Storm told him.  "Tell me, do you hear
anything else?"

  
 Tempest smiled and said, "There's a music in the background.
 I can't make out the words, but I've heard the melody all my
life.  The other night at dinner, when we first met, it suddenly
became much louder.  Here inside your embassy, I can hear it quite
clearly.  I still don't understand the words though."

  
 Storm and Sasha exchanged knowing looks before she turned back to
him.  Reaching out she started to touch his face, but stopped her
fingertips just a few centimeters from his flesh.  "May I?" she
asked.  He swallowed and nodded.  She reached forward and
touched the warmth of his skin.  It was smooth and almost
electrifying to her touch.  Suddenly her mind could hear the song
the way he did.  He was plugged into the mindsong as well as any
imperial telepath.  

  
 Pulling her hand away, she asked, "And you've heard this song all
your life?"

  
 "Not this clearly, but yes ma'am," he replied.  

  
 Sasha grinned at her from the side and indicated in the direction
she should look.  There was a definite beginning of a tent in his
slacks from the slight touch.  Storm found herself blushing and
realized that he was not the only one reacting in such away.

  
 "Most interesting," she told him."

  
 "What is it?" Tempest asked.  "The sound I mean?"

  
 "It's the Mindsong," she told him.  "The Thulian psionic
network.  Most human telepaths can't hear it."

  
 "It's been there as long as I can remember," he told her.

  
 She sighed and said, "Good. That will make our working together
much easier." Turning  back to Sasha she said, "I leave him in
your hands, Sasha."

    "I
will have him back to you in an hour or so, Highness," Sasha told her.

  
 "Good," Storm said and turned on her heel and left the medical
clinic.

    
 Arriving back at her office she closed the door and poured
herself a glass of water.  She'd never had that kind of reaction
to a touch before; mental or physical.  This was not like her.
 Tempest was only a child, barely of the age of consent with her
people, and she had no idea what that would be for his.  She had
to get a grip on her emotions, and found for once, glad for the skirt
she was wearing.  While standing, it hid a multitude of sins.

  
 Touching the intercom, she called the medical clinic.
 "Doctor Leyam?"

  
 The woman answered the comset, "Yes Highness?"

  
 "I'm positive that my grandmother ordered you to check the scans
you just made against the imperial genetic database.  How long
until the report will be back?"

  
 "About four hours, Highness," he said.

  
 "Good, I want a copy of it when it comes in," she said.

  
 "I'll have to inform Her Majesty of that, Highness," Doctor
Leeyam said.

  
 "That's fine, I'm sure Grandmother knows I'm making the request,"
she said.

  
 "Very well, Highness," the doctor acquiesced.  "Highness?"

  
 "Yes?"

   

  
 "You do know what that particular enzyme points to don't you?"
Leeyam asked.

  
 "Mage talent," she answered.  "And based on the levels of
it, a pretty strong one."

  
 "Terrans don't have mage talent anymore," Leeyam said.

  
 "I'm starting to agree with my grandmother, Doctor," Storm said.
"I'm not sure that Journeyman Tempest is Terran."

    
  

  
 Storm returned to her desk and the dry reports she was working
on.  From what she could tell, the Meirrians had been dominating
much of intergalactic trade until the humans stepped out into space.
 Then they'd had some real competition.  The humans hadn't
come out conquering, they'd come out trading, and they were master
traders evidently.   From what she was reading, they actively
resisted going to war, preferring to show their neighbors that it's
easier to buy what you want than to send out warships and possibly
destroy it.  Humans had developed an interesting motto: class="Apple-converted-space"> If it's bad for
business, don't do it.  Storm found that to be an interesting
contrast to what she'd heard all of her life about what drove her
grandparents to leave the planet seven hundred years ago.

  
 But no matter how far she delved into the reports, the history,
and dry facts, a small part of her mind kept coming back to that touch.
 The warmth of Tepest's face on her fingertips.  The tingle
that it sent to various parts of her body.  "Highness?" Sasha's
voice interrupted her thoughts.  She looked up an saw that it had
been almost two hours since she'd returned to her office.

  
 "Yes?" she asked Sasha.

  
 "Journeyman Tempest is the office next to yours.  I showed
him how to operate the equipment in the office and set him up with a
password and clearance on the main server," Sasha said.  "He took
to the psionic interface like a duck to water."

  
 Storm smiled at the aide and said, "Be careful with expressions
like that, Sasha.  If he overhears you, he may wonder where you
heard it."

  
 Sasha grinned at her and said, "Then I'd say I read it in a some
Terran literature.  I've been reading Terran literature for a very
long time Highness."

  
 "How long Sasha?" she asked.

  
 "Oh, since my Master purchased me in Egypt around nine hundred
AD," he grinned at her.  

  
 "Well, let's not let Tempest hear any of that," she told him.

  
 "Yes, Highness," he said slipping into the room and closing the
door.  Not many men would dare such a thing, but Sasha was someone
she trusted implicitly.  He'd been in her grandmother's services
since the early twenty-first century.  He walked over and sniffed
the air and smiled.  "It's about time, Highness."

    "I
don't know what you are talking about," she told him.

    He
grinned at her and said, "No I guess you don't.  But you will
Highness, you will."

  
 "Get out of here Puss, or I'll find something else for you to
do," she warned him.

  
 "Your wish is my command, Highness," he said with a long
flourishing bow that was half mocking in its sincerity.  
 Then with a quick turn, he slipped out of the door, just before
the stylus in her hand hit the wall where his head was a second before.
 

  
 She shook her head and smiled before touching the comset and
saying, "Tempest, would you come in here please?"

    In
less than a minute the young guildsman had joined her.  "Yes
Highness?"

  
 She sighed and pointed to the large chair where he should sit.
 "First, off let's dismiss with this Highness business," she said.
 "You may call me Colonel Atly, you may call me Colonel, you may
even call me Storm if you wish.  But every time you say Highness,
I want to look around for my brothers."

  
 She watched his eyes as he turned over the possibilities.
 She could almost see the desire to use her given name, and then
the difficult decision to be professional.  Finally, he said,
"Yes, Colonel Atlyn."

  
 She smiled and said, "That's better.  Now, I have some
things I would like to have explained to me, mainly they are cultural
references that I don't understand."

    "I
will do what I can, Colonel," Tempest told him.

  
 "Good, now let's get started," she said.

  
 They spent the next several hours going over various terms and
cultural idioms.  She was surprised to find that for someone so
young, he had a surprising ability to make obscure concepts
understandable to an outsider.   When he explained what the term
"inmates running the asylum" came from, she couldn't help but chuckle.
 Leave it to Terrans to find such a succinct way of describing a
problem. 

    As
they slowly worked their way through the report she was preparing for
her uncle, suddenly the silence of the room was interrupted with the
distinctive sound of two stomachs grumbling in unison.  Storm
looked up and noticed the chronometer read well past mid-meal.  "I
think this is enough for now. Why don't we go out for lunch. I've been
wanting to try authentic Terran food."

  
 "You know, I don't think I've eaten anything outside of the
guildhall since I got to Fairbanks.  There's a little restaurant,
I've been dying to try though."

  
 "If you say the Red Dog Saloon, I'll have my cloak in an
instant," she replied.

    He
grinned up at her and said, Red Dog Saloon."  Then giving her a
strange look he asked.  "How did you know?"

    "I
researched music concerning Fairbanks when we got the assignment.
 Found a hauntingly beautiful song about it that mentioned the Red
Dog Saloon."

  
 "That song is pretty obscure.  I've only found reference to
three singers for it, and they all dated to the twentieth and
twenty-first century," Tempest told her.  "I've heard a lot about
the place, and it sounds like a good place for lunch if you ask me."

  
 She smiled and said, "Fine, let's get our cloaks, and I'll check
us out a flitter."

  
 "You can pilot a flitter?" he asked amazed.

    "I
spent twenty years in the Star Navy, I can pilot anything," she said.
 "But the flitter we'll be taking is Thulian in design, so it can
just about fly itself."

  
 "Wow," he said somewhat stunned as he slipped out the door to get
his cloak from his own office while she sent a request for a
 transport to the parking port.

  
 All the way to the parking port, Storm noticed that Tempest was
very quiet.  "Is there something wrong, Tempest?" she asked.

  
 "No ma'am," he said quietly.  "I was  just thinking
that you don't look nearly old enough to have spent twenty years in any
service."  She gave him a long look.  "I'm sorry, I didn't
mean to offend."

  
 She smiled and said, "You didn't offend me, Tempest.  I was
was just thinking that there is a substantial difference between our
peoples.  How old d you think I am?"  He shrugged, and she
realized that he thought he was on dangerous ground.  "It's okay,
I promise you that you can't offend me."

  
 Smiling wanly he answered as they got into the transport, "To be
honest, I thought you were maybe twenty-two or three- Earth years that
is."

  
 "In Earth years, I'll be one hundred and three my next birthday,"
she told him.   "I started my career in the Psi Services and did
twenty years there.  Then I went into the Imperial Ground Forces
for another twenty year stint.  After that, I did twenty one years
in the Star Navy, followed by another nineteen years as a priest in the
temple of Iruni.  Now I'm back to the Psi-Services as a member of
the Psi-Guard," she said.

  
 "Priest?" he asked her in awe.

  
 "Priest or priestess, for Iruni it's one and the same," she told
him.

  
 "Wow," he told her shaking his head.  "I guess I really do
have a lot to learn about Thulians."  He looked at her and asked,
"May I ask you some questions about the Empire?"

  
 She smiled at his reticence.  It a lot of ways it was very
charming.  "Of course.  Somehow I get the feeling your
questions are far less likely to stray into areas of imperial security
than your boss'.  I am constantly asking you questions, I think
reciprocation is only fair.  For the duration of lunch, you may
ask me anything you want."  She started up the flitter and punched
in their destination.  Flying an imperial flitter wasn't really
that difficult, and in an emergency, it could even fly and park itself.
 However, she rarely got to fly anything anymore so she enjoyed
the opportunity to navigate the small craft through the skylanes over
Fairbanks.

  
 "Thank you, Colonel," he said. 

  
 She smiled and asked, "What's your first question?"

  
 "You said for Iruni, that priest or priestess are one and the
same.  Could you explain that please?"

  
 "You don't ask easy questions first do you?" she said with a
smile.

  
 "If it's inappropriate...," he began.

  
 She shook her head and said, "No, it's not inappropriate, it's
just a little difficult to explain, although I think you're more like
to understand it than most people.  The God or Goddess Iruni is
Keira Atlan's youngest child and is very much like yourself and me."

    "I
don't understand," he said.

  
 "Iruni is avada, both male and female, like I am," she told him
very carefully watching his face.  "Like you are."

  
 The youngster suddenly became very quiet.  After a long
moment, he said, "How did you know that?"

  
 "You mean besides the medical scan?  I touched your mind
back in the Embassy remember?  I have eyes, and I know what to
look for.  Most avada in the empire are opals like you are, like I
am."  She smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, for us it is
considered a blessing."  Storm hoped to ease the child's mind
about her knowing what he was.  But to be honest, her own
discomfort with herself combined with her own realization that she was
finding the young Terran very attractive was getting in the way.  Iruni's
Staff!  Talk about pilfering the nursery!

  
 Tempest shook his head, "I didn't know there was anyone else like
me."  He stopped for a moment and asked, "Tell me more about
Iruni..., please."

  
 "She is the embodiment of what was, what is, and what should
become  She is the mistress of the void, of the mind, and the
spirit.  He's the patron of avada and shapeshifters.  I
served at the temple on Thule for the last nineteen years."

  
 "Why did you leave?" he asked.

  
 "Because it was time to leave.  I was needed elsewhere, and
I had fulfilled my duties there.   When you live as long as we do,
you tend to serve in many capacities. Nobody is expected to stay in one
job forever.  The idea is to grow and learn as much as you can."