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Chapter 23. So Far Away

The nocturnal pair found Storm's den in the darkness, aided by the moonlight. Storm took the carved wooden bowl from Sarah's hands and said, "Please wait a moment. I will set these on the table before we go." He disappeared down the slope and through the doorway, emerging a few seconds later to rejoin Sarah on the trail.

"You're leaving your instrument here?" asked Sarah as they resumed their trail walk.

"Yes," replied Storm. "The entire Kra population is moving toward our planetary system. They will meet our fleet, or they will meet another fleet and we will go to help. There will be a very large conflict, and there will be only one outcome of two possibilities."

Sarah squeezed his hand a little more tightly as she listened. "Either I will return home to play music another day..." he continued, "or I will not return home at all."

Sarah's eyes began to fill with a light amount of tears as she thought about the second possibility. "I believe in you and your people, Storm," she said. "Your music won't be silenced."

"Thank you, Sarah," said Storm. "I am glad to have your confidence, but I am still afraid."

The pair continued their walk through the night to the transport center. Their travel was nearly silent, neither one knowing what to say. Sarah still held Storm's hand tightly, unable to let go as she feared what may happen to him and his people. Her mind raced as she thought of the terrible possibilities that would come with defeat, and wondered how many other civilizations of friendly and loving people like the Arfurans had been destroyed already. Sarah used all her willpower to keep herself from fully crying, but she could not stop her tears.

By the time they arrived at the transport center Sarah had composed herself enough to dry her tears and not reveal in the light that she had been crying. Inside the facility there were still a few people around, busy with their respective duties. They followed the same path they took on their way out of the building after their arrival, finding the stairs that took them up to the roof where the transport was parked. At the top they crossed the roof, meeting Ezaba and two other members of the ground crew who had just exited the ship.

"All systems are activated and your navigation is set," said Ezaba. "Everything is prepared to depart as soon as you close the doors."

"Thank you, Ezaba," said Storm. "We will send information from the fleet as quickly as possible so any preparations may be made. I hope the preparations will be for our return."

"We hope for the same," replied Ezaba. She and the two coworkers moved closer to hug, nuzzle, and lick Sarah and Storm both together. They all gave best wishes for a pleasant trip before releasing them to get on board the ship.

"Thanks for all you've done for us," said Sarah. "It's been lovely to meet all of you. Have fun at the friends gathering when you're able to go."

"I thank you all as well," said Storm. "I hope to see you again soon." He and Sarah walked through the doors of the ship while the other three waved with tails wagging. Storm activated the control to close the door securely, then led Sarah to the front of the ship. He sat back in the driver's seat and took the controls in his hands to gently lift the ship off the surface, high enough to clear the trees. He adjusted another control and the ship smoothly accelerated forward while tilting upwards toward the stars and ascending into the sky.

Sarah could feel the ship accelerating rapidly, taking little more than a minute to get above the atmosphere. Storm then tilted the angle of the ship back down to parallel the surface of the planet. Despite the great height, Sarah could see the speed of their movement as new stars quickly appeared above the dark horizon.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Storm replied, "We are traveling around the planet to meet our path to the fleet."

"Oh, ok," said Sarah. "I forgot we were on the opposite side." She watched out the window as well as she could as the planet streaked underneath. With a clear path to the fleet ahead the ship began to diverge away from the planet with increasing speed. Kothalos soon broke through the edge of the horizon, seeming to set fire to the edge of the planet with the bright glow it reflected off the surface. Once the planet and star were no longer within view Sarah looked forward again and saw the pale green orb of Deskalth fly past the other side of the ship. "How fast are we going?" she asked.

"We are still accelerating," said Storm, "and our final speed will be approximately 95 percent the rate of travel of light."

"Holy crap," said Sarah. "Knowing what you all are capable of doing I'm not as surprised as I was before, but I'm still amazed."

Storm continued, "We will arrive in little more than two tar. The situation is more urgent so we must return to the fleet as quickly as possible."

"I understand entirely," said Sarah. "So...what do you want to do to pass the time?"

"I will need to have some sleep while we travel," said Storm. "I would like to be rested when we arrive. I do not know what will happen or how much time my duties will require. Before that I would be very happy to talk with you some more. We do not have much more time to be together and there is still so much to learn about you."

Sarah's eyes lit up and she responded with a smile, "What would you like to talk about?"

Storm stood up, tapped a control to engage the automatic navigation system, and moved toward the back of the cabin. "You asked me about my name but I did not ask you about yours," he said. "When we first met you told us two names. What is that part after 'Sarah'...'shep-urd?' I believe that is what you said."

Sarah followed him back and went to the padded floor, first sitting on her knees and leaning over against the thick pillow edge. "That is my last name, 'Shepherd.' Almost everybody on my planet has two names like that. 'Shepherd' is my family name, and is the same as the last name of my Dad and his family. The first name identifies the specific person, so in my case I'm Sarah of the Shepherd family.

As Storm listened he joined her on the padded floor, similarly leaning in a relaxed way against the pillow edge. "We do not have names of our whole families like that," said Storm. "Does your name have a special meaning like my birth name does?"

"No, not really," said Sarah. "It's a fairly common name. My great-grandmother...that's the mother of my Dad's father...was also named Sarah, but I don't think they intentionally named me after her. Dad just told me it was the prettiest name he could think of."

"That is nice," said Storm. "I am curious about the way you greet people. You do not lick as we do. What is it you do when you place your lips beside my face or someone you meet?"

Sarah smiled and replied, "That is called a 'kiss.' The lips are pressed against the cheek or lips of someone else and a small quick suction is applied. It's a customary way for friends and family to greet or part from each other...at least, for those who are close enough to feel comfortable with it." She paused a moment before continuing, "A kiss becomes more involved between two people who are in love, or mates. It is more than a very quick contact...they hold their lips together for a long time, usually with their eyes closed, and sometimes contacting their tongues together. It's a beautiful way for them to feel very close and express their feelings for each other."

"I believe I understand," said Storm. "It is like the affection shared when mates here lick at the mouth of each other at the same time." He crossed his eyes to focus on the end of his muzzle while he attempted drawing his lips together and making lip-smacking noises in comical fashion.

"Yes, I'd say so," said Sarah, pausing to smile and giggle at his antics. "I was wondering about something, too. Obviously we both know the term 'love', but do you have a different term for being 'in love?' I mean, good friends love each other, and mates are in love with each other...at least, that's how the words are used in my language. Do you say it in a similar way?"

"It is said differently," said Storm, "but the meaning is the same. We use the phrases 'mated with love' or 'bound by love.' Referring to two people in such a way indicates their love and mateship. A slightly shorter way of speaking is to say they are 'with love' or simply call them 'mates.' 'Bound by love' or 'joined by love' refers to those who have a love so deep it is like their minds have become a single person. That is a figurative way to describe it. Each cannot imagine life without the other."

"I think I understand," said Sarah. "When people feel that way about each other, we call them 'soul mates.'"

Storm asked, "Is that how you felt about the mate you had for two years?"

"Yes, or at least I thought I did," Sarah recalled. "Since it turned out he really knew very little about my thoughts, feelings, dreams...or maybe he didn't care...I guess we weren't soul mates after all. Now, Ajagi and his mates...the way they talk about each other, how they show they feel about each other, I'd say they are soul mates."

"I agree," said Storm. After a brief pause he opened his mouth widely and yawned.

"Getting sleepy?" asked Sarah.

Storm closed his mouth from the yawn, licked his lips, and said, "Yes...but I do not want to be asleep yet."

Sarah smiled, feeling flattered that he would pass up sleep to talk with her. "On our way to Arfurah," she said, "you said you wouldn't have a mate until after the war was over and you could be safely back home. I was wondering, do you have anybody in mind?"

"In mind?" asked Storm.

"Yes, somebody you think about, wishing to have as a mate," she responded.

"Yes, I do," said Storm, pausing, "but it is not possible. She lives much too far away."

"That's too bad," said Sarah. "There are few things as heartbreaking as love that goes unfulfilled."

"That is a very true thing to say," said Storm. "I have wanted to ask about something you say," he said, changing the subject. "When you speak of 'heart', not in reference to the pumping muscle that circulates your blood, do you refer to the core of your feelings and emotions?"

"Yes, that's right," said Sarah.

"Alright. I was suspecting an error in translation," said Storm, pausing to yawn again.

"Storm, if you need some sleep please don't feel obligated to stay awake for me," Sarah said.

"I do not feel an obligation," said Storm. "It is that I want to. You are correct, however. I am unable to ignore my fatigue. Are you tired as well?"

"I'm not tired just yet," said Sarah. "If you want to get to sleep, I'll join you in a little bit." She leaned over to give him a warm hug, then got up from the padded floor to give him room to lie down. "I'll try to be quiet for you to sleep, Stormy."

"Thank you for your concern. I have set the time alert to wake us a quarter tar before arrival," said Storm as he stretched out and rested his head on the pillow border. Sarah leaned down to scritch his head and place a kiss on his cheek. Storm was smiling when she got up to let him sleep.

Sarah walked toward the front of the ship and stood there, gazing out at the immobile stars. "Funny," she thought to herself. "In the TV shows with space ships the stars are always moving past the windows. I can't even tell we're moving, they're all so far away...I can't even hear a rumble of the engines." Her thought of things so far away caused her to look out one side and see the brilliantly colored nebula, the first thing to fill her eyes when she transferred a week before. For a few minutes she could not take her eyes off it, she was so mesmerized by its beauty. When she finally did look away she looked out the windows on the other side, finding her home galaxy among the stars and other visible galaxies.

"So far away..." she thought to herself. "Everybody over there, they have no idea I'm here. I can't show anybody, I can't describe what I've seen, where I've been...if I try telling anybody they'll think I'm insane or making it all up. I could write a book about it but it would be viewed as fiction and nothing more. They just...don't know what's out here. There...is so far away from here." Sarah let out a sigh with her eyes affixed on her galaxy.

After a few more minutes of stargazing and mixed emotions, Sarah left the windows and started to explore the ship a little bit. She found a small bathing room, much smaller than the one in the large fleet ship, and various rooms with unfamiliar devices that provided services and utilities to the ship. She found the fresh Arfuran fruits in the storage area and helped herself to a couple of the large berries that were among the collection. When she returned to the front cabin she looked down toward Storm who was sound asleep. As she looked, she had an idea.

Sarah started looking around the cabin, quietly opening whatever storage doors and drawers she could find. She stopped when she found one containing square sheets of a paper-like material and a marking utensil for writing. "Some things aren't so different," she thought to herself as she took some and sat at the table in the middle of the room. She paused to collect her thoughts, then picked up the utensil and began to draw.

With as much care and detail as she could create, she sketched a picture. After nearly an hour of drawing, she felt her work was complete well enough. She turned it over and covered it with another sheet of the material to conceal its contents. "I hope he likes it," she thought as she got up from the seat and went over to lie down next to Storm. He was asleep on his back with his head tilted slightly toward her and his arm draped across his belly.

Sarah laid on her side next to him, wrapped her arm across his chest, and nuzzled her nose into the fluffy fur on the side of his neck. "Sweet dreams, Storm," she whispered. While enjoying the scent of his fur she closed her synthetic eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 24. A Matter Of Choice

The sound of yips and howls awoke the slumbering pair from a very deep and restful sleep. Sarah let out a close-eyed yawn and realized they were in the same positions they were in when she fell asleep. From beside Storm's head she looked up to watch him let out a sleepy yawn as well. She surprised him by hugging him tightly and nuzzling firmly into his neck fur.

"I see you are awake," said Storm with a soft laugh.

"Mm hmm," Sarah mumbled from his fur. "I was sleeping so well I didn't want to wake up."

"I felt the same way," said Storm, "but if I was asleep I could not feel your closeness."

"Awww, that's sweet," Sarah said with a smile.

"I must be up," said Storm. "I must prepare for our approach to the fleet."

"That's alright, Foxy," replied Sarah. "If you don't need me for anything, I'm going to transfer home and take care of things." After speaking she lifted her head up and kissed the side of his muzzle.

Storm smiled and wagged his tail as he got up from the bed. "That is quite acceptable," he said. "I do not require you to be here. Please do not feel hurried." After getting off the bed he leaned over and gave Sarah a big lick on the side of her cheek. She giggled while watching him walk toward the front of the ship. She then leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling and made the conscious effort to open her eyes back home.

The early afternoon sunlight beamed through breaks in the drapes to provide a warm level of light in Sarah's bedroom. She found her glasses on the nightstand to see clearly once again and got out of bed. Bright golden spots of sunlight on the floor made it feel pleasantly warm to her feet in contrast to the colder floor still in the shade. The cool temperature of the house was not as strikingly cold as she found that morning but she knew she would feel chilled if she remained without clothes for very long. Before putting anything on she went into her bathroom to take care of necessities and enjoy a warm but brief shower.

After Sarah dried off she put on her fuzzy pink bathrobe and decided it wasn't cold enough to require turning up the thermostat yet. She felt she should be extra cautious while her consciousness was transferred away and didn't want to create excess risk of fire or gas leak explosions. In her kitchen she didn't feel especially hungry but knew it was best to eat something, so she retrieved some more fruit from her dwindling supply in the refrigerator.

While she ate Sarah had additional thoughts about Storm, the war the Arfurans were about to face again, their planet, the people there, the friends she met, and the small pup Moka. With each bite of food she had more terrible thoughts about the consequences of losing the battle and being unable to fight off the invaders. Without the confrontation having happened yet, Sarah put her head in her hands in sorrow as if the war had already been lost.

"We must win...we will win," she said to herself, giving every effort to think positively and drive such awful thoughts from her mind. She finished off her fruit and quickly left the kitchen. Sarah thought briefly about her bed and decided she'd been spending too much time in it already. "I'd better use the couch. I don't want to get bed sores," she said to her own amusement. With the house still cool she kept her bathrobe on when she went to her couch. To keep her feet warm she laid the folded blanket across them, then leaned back onto the pillow. Without removing her glasses, she closed her eyes to instantly travel countless light-years away.

"...fleet is in sight. We will be entering the arrival bay in two or three taren," Storm said through the communication system as Sarah returned in the middle of his sentence. She quickly got up from the floor bed and looked out the front to see a line of ships rapidly growing in perspective size as they approached the fleet.

"I'm back now, Storm," she said. "How are things looking?"

"Everything is going very well," he replied. "Nobody has made any instruction to not fly into something when we enter."

Sarah laughed as she walked up behind him. "I guess that means you're allowed to."

"I do not believe so," Storm responded with a laugh. He manipulated the controls of the transport to slow it down as it got closer, then gracefully glided through the opening in the side of the ship. A gentle touchdown followed, bringing their long trip to an end. As before, he tapped several symbols on the screens to deactivate systems and power down the ship.

"Wow...it's hard to believe we were almost four billion miles away just a few hours ago," Sarah commented.

"Yes," replied Storm, "the journey did proceed very quickly."

As he got up and headed toward the back of the ship Sarah followed but stopped at the table. "Storm," she called out. "There's something I want to give you." Storm stopped and stepped back to where she was. "It's not very good, but I wanted to give you this." She reached to the sheets on the table and pulled out the bottom one. She turned it over and handed it to him, revealing a self portrait she had sketched. "It's supposed to be a picture of me...I made it while you were asleep. Since I can't really hide it anywhere until later, I'm giving it to you now."

Storm looked at the picture, studying every line and taking in its detail. Sarah continued, "In the tradition of your artwork, I'm giving it to you...as a way of saying I hope to come back and visit you again...even though I know I probably never will after I've returned home."

"Sarah..." said Storm with a pause. "I am very touched. Your picture is beautiful, as are you. I hope to meet you again some day. Perhaps the transfer system will be able to keep a record of your location that is accurate enough to find you again."

"I'd really like that," Sarah said with a smile. She reached out to hug Storm, and Storm wrapped his arms around her to hug her tightly. After several lingering moments they released their embrace and turned toward the door. Storm reached to a shelf and grabbed their protection suits that had been neatly folded and stored away.

As Sarah took hers from him she said, "I now understand why you dislike these things so much. I have not been looking forward to putting it back on."

Storm nodded in agreement. "They are an unpleasant necessity," he said as he stepped into the leggings and pushed his tail through the back opening. "I am going to leave your picture here until I have a moment to store it away without causing it damage."

The freshly suited pair went to the exit, equalized the pressure, and opened the door. Immediately outside the door stood someone with a very familiar smiling face and wagging tail.

"Wolfy!" Sarah exclaimed as she rushed toward him with open arms. He was slightly surprised by her greeting and quickly caught her hug in his arms. She kissed his cheek and asked, "How are you doing, Ajagi?"

"I am doing very well," said Ajagi. "Thank you, Sarah. I am glad to see you both arrived safely. How was the journey?"

"It was very pleasant," replied Storm as he moved in to share hugs, nuzzles, and licks with Ajagi. "We talked a bit and slept through most of the time."

Ajagi gave Storm and Sarah several long sniffs. "You have the scent of Arfurah. That is most pleasing to enjoy again."

"You'll be going home to enjoy it soon enough," said Sarah. "First we have to get this thing unloaded and set up." Just as they turned to go into the transport's cargo hold a small crew in the transport bay followed them in to unload the items. Everyone worked together to quickly unload the fresh food from home, items sent to crew members, and the new weapon.

Ajagi motioned to the crew of helpers and said, "Our friends will set the weapon system on a small transport to move it to another room. We have converted a small storage room with reinforcements to contain the weapon as a precaution in case it discharges without a dimension vein to transport the energy. The control system can be placed outside and connected with the main tracking systems in the vehicle. Crews in all of the other vehicles have been constructing duplicate units of this system. I believe they are nearly finished...perhaps another tar, perhaps slightly longer."

"It sounds like you have things pretty well taken care of," said Sarah.

"We are working as quickly as we are able," said Ajagi. A member of the transport bay crew acquired a large flatbed cart. Sarah glanced at it and then looked again. Underneath it there were no wheels; it appeared to be floating a few inches above the floor. The crewmate adjusted a control on the handle and the entire cart set down on the floor next to the wormhole weapon.

"Wow, that's neat," said Sarah with interest. "How does it work?"

"It does three things to operate correctly," said Ajagi. "It deactivates the floor panels beneath it so they do not apply a gravitational force to it or its contents. It also applies an opposite force to repel itself from the floor and from any gravitational field coming from any levels below. And its surface works the same as the floor. It applies a gravitational force to the contents so they sit on the surface firmly."

"That's absolutely ingenious," said Sarah with further interest and amazement. She and the other two went over to help the bay crew pick up the weapon and move it onto the cart. They then did the same to help move the power generator, followed by the control unit. "Why do we need the energy source?" asked Sarah. "Can't it just be tied into the ship's power?"

"It could be connected to the ship," said Storm, "but we will use this to provide energy in the event the ship is damaged badly enough during the attack that it is unable to generate energy. It is our best strategy to be able to defend ourselves even if the ship cannot move."

"Ok, makes sense," said Sarah. "That's why you're the weapons officer. I wouldn't have thought of that."

Storm nodded. "One reason I was chosen for this task was because I contemplate future outcomes of events and plan for any problem we may expect."

As the group walked along behind the weapon system, Ajagi continued. "I have also received the results of testing done by another fleet on magnetic field weapons modeled after the diagrams you showed us. The protection of a transfer system is strong enough to easily protect it from the strong burst of magnetic energy. Anybody who is transferred by a system that is close to the detonation of a magnetic device will be safe. However, the magnetic electric charging system of their synthetic body would be affected enough to cause damage. It would have to be disconnected from the body."

"That's good to hear," said Sarah.

"It will not affect you," said Ajagi. "You will have transferred home long before the Kra arrive to attack, if this is where they come." Sarah nodded and listened as Ajagi went on. "The devices work very well and do not give off any detectable magnetic field before they are detonated. We have built them stronger to give off a magnetic burst far higher than any of the sustained magnetic field weapons we used in the past. We are producing them to look like the rocks that orbit the center star out here beyond the orbit of Stamedigan. Some are also being made to look like harmless detection probes, or covered in a shielding that absorbs all frequencies of light so they can not be seen or detected by their tracking scanners and detectors. Stamedigan recently passed so we were able to extract resources we needed to build the materials to make them. As soon as each one is built it is sent out to wait. We have placed over a million of them already. Every fleet is doing the same as a precaution, depending on their available resources."

"That's some pretty amazing production, 'Jagi," said Sarah. "Each ship is a flying factory."

"Yes, in a way you are correct," Ajagi responded.

The group pushed the wormhole weapon into a large room on the fleet-side of the ship, which had large windows from floor to ceiling like the lounge rooms. They unloaded the control console from the cart, and Ajagi and Storm got to work setting it up and connecting it to the ship's tracking systems. The rest of the small crew pushed the cart through the door of a storage room and worked on unloading it and the power source. Sarah felt useless as she couldn't help with the specialized tasks, and the storage room was crowded already, so she stood at the windows and gazed out into space. She noticed the ships were in slightly different locations, and now her home galaxy was visible just above the top of the neighboring ship.

Storm activated the weapon and its power system once everything was connected. The assisting crew exited the small storage room and closed the door to contain any possible laser energy to escape the weapon. Storm briefly showed Ajagi the improvised control system and graphical interface for aiming and laser pulse alignment. Ajagi took the controls to try out the system, then retreated so Storm could begin a series of weapon firing tests beginning with the lowest energy settings.

Sarah gazed at her galaxy, barely listening to the furry crew talking behind her as they set up the weapon system. Though the next ship was a great number of yards away she could still see the tiny figures of other Arfurans moving past the windows, busily going about their business to prepare for the impending attack.

"It is all prepared, Sarah," said Storm, snapping her out of her lost thoughts.

"Hmm?...Ok," she replied.

Storm said, "The weapon is successfully connected with the tracking system and continues to work very well in this new location. We are as prepared as we can be for the Kra to arrive, and the other vehicles will soon be ready as well." He paused for a few seconds. "You have done a great service for us to help us create this device to protect ourselves. You will forever have our gratitude no matter what the outcome is. You...may go home now."

Sarah stood motionless for a few seconds, staring silently out at her galaxy. "No," she said. "I'm not leaving."

Storm was perplexed. "Why do you say that? You must return home for your safety. We can not ask you to stay and fight the Kra with us."

"You haven't asked me to stay," Sarah replied quietly. "I've made the decision on my own." She pointed out toward her home. "Over there...nothing I do truly matters. I do work I don't like for somebody I really don't like to meet someone else's goals. I chose my career because I wanted to learn, to discover new things...not just earn what money somebody decides to pay me to afford to live. A hundred years from now the work I do there will be pretty much meaningless...it's insignificant. I might make a discovery, get some recognition, but that's only fleeting. Here, I used my knowledge to create something that's never existed before to help stop an entire civilization from extinction. Here, my work matters."

Before Storm could speak she continued in a soft voice. "I was thinking about little Moka. If this defense fails and the Kra invade successfully, he'll grow up to be a slave...no, he won't. The Kra wouldn't have any use for somebody that young, a pup who needs care. He would be killed immediately, as will anybody that young, and their parents killed or made into slaves and then killed later. The same will happen to everybody on your planet if they can't stop an invasion that gets past your defense outposts. I can't go home, not without knowing what happened. Your defense is largely depending on something I dreamed up and we don't know whether or not they can defend themselves against it. I'm staying. Either we will all win together...or we will all die together."

"I do not know what to say," said Storm, feeling humbled. "Sarah...you are very brave to make such a decision, but you should still go home. This is not your war to fight."

Sarah turned to Storm and looked him in the eyes. "It is now."

Storm looked at her silently for a moment. "I still do not know what to say to express my...admiration. You..." He stopped trying to speak and merely hugged her tightly once again, resting his head over her shoulder. "Thank you," he whispered.

"I thank you as well," Ajagi said, turning toward them from the control system. "I heard what you said, Sarah. My gratitude and admiration also can not be put into appropriate words. You are the first one, of any species we have transferred here, to stay for the conflict we needed help to prepare for. Every other one who helped left to transfer home long before the next invasion with no desire to remain here and help. They felt the personal risk was too great." He walked over toward them and hugged Sarah as soon as Storm let go of her.

"I don't know that I can shoot at the Kra, though," said Sarah. "I know they're very bad, but if I shot the weapon at them and destroyed a ship...I'd be killing thousands of lives at once. I'm very...uneasy with such a task. I've never liked killing living things."

"You will not need to do that," said Storm. "Even if you are here it is still our battle to fight. We will use the weapons, and we will be responsible for any loss of their lives."

Ajagi said, "As you are staying, we will need to perform an adjustment on your synthetic body to disconnect the magnetic charging system. If we do not, and a magnetic pulse bomb detonates inside the range of safe distance, you could receive any amount of damage to your body. It could be disorientation, partial or total disabling of the body...it might shut down with your consciousness still contained inside."

"Let's fix it just to be on the safe side," said Sarah with a smirk. "Where is it?"

"It is in the lower part of your back," replied Ajagi. "If I perform a small surgery I will be able to disconnect it or remove it entirely."

"Let's remove it entirely," said Sarah. "I like your food much better for energy, anyway."

"I agree," said Ajagi. "A magnetic field is not nearly as delicious."

Sarah and Storm laughed. "Do we do that here?" asked Sarah.

"No," replied Ajagi, "there is a medical room near the front of the vehicle. It is where we made final adjustments to your body after it was constructed."

"Sounds good...lead the way," said Sarah. As they walked toward the door she added, "While we're at it, how 'bout a boob job and a tummy tuck?"

Ajagi turned to Storm and asked, "What is she talking about?"

"I do not have any knowledge of it," said Storm. Sarah merely laughed.

The three walked through several hallways for quite a distance due to the size of the ship. Along the way Sarah saw several new furry faces as well as a few she recognized who greeted her for her return. Ajagi and Storm stopped at a large double door and slid them open for Sarah to pass through. Inside there were a few narrow tables, each covered with the soft fabric of the padded floors in the lounge, and countless doors and drawers where items were stored. The room was well lit with a brighter light source hanging from the ceiling over each table.

"This is one of the medical treatment rooms," said Ajagi. "If anyone is injured they are brought here to have the injury repaired and receive treatment to help them heal more quickly. Your synthetic body contains materials that are very similar to living tissues so many of the same procedures may be performed here. Your body is designed to heal itself very efficiently so minimal treatment will be required."

"Will it hurt much?" asked Sarah.

"No, you will not feel anything," said Ajagi. "I will use a device that emits a small energy field to disrupt the synthetic neurons and prevent any sense of feeling in the area. I will need you to lie on the table so I may work on your back. Storm, please adjust the temperature so she will be comfortable to remove her protection cover."

"No, it's alright," said Sarah. "I'm not uncomfortable any more." She pulled open the closure on the front of the suit, slipped it off, then got up on the table to lie with her hands supporting her head.

"Ah...very well, I will begin," said Ajagi as he retrieved some small medical instruments from a nearby storage unit. Storm stood beside them to observe with interest.

"You know, it's funny," said Sarah, "so many people in my world have claimed to have been 'abducted by aliens' and that medical tests were performed on them, and they are all labeled as crackpots because nobody believes them. I may not have been abducted against my will but it's ironic that I'm getting a medical procedure done by aliens on their ship."

"Yes," said Ajagi, "it is interesting so many would describe the same experiences."

"You do not need to worry, Sarah," said Storm. "I do not see the anal probe anywhere."

Ajagi stopped his work, stood more upright, looked at Storm, and asked, "What matters did you two discuss while you were away?" Sarah laid there laughing.

A small puff of smoke was released as Sarah's synthetic skin was incinerated by a hairline laser that Ajagi used to cut a small incision in her lower back. She remained comfortable on the softly padded table, being careful to not move as he worked. Storm watched intently as Ajagi used a small set of hand tools to reach in past the thickness of Sarah's skin, down into her lower back, and disconnect the charging coil. The neural disruption unit attached to her back glowed with a small white light to indicate it was still properly working to prevent her from feeling anything she would receive as pain.

"Is that nerve disruption thingy built into your amputation device?" asked Sarah.

"Yes, that is one component," he replied. Ajagi tugged the plug of the coil out past the skin, then slowly and gently began to pull the coil out through the incision. First to emerge was the miniature control unit, and in a U shape sprouting from either side was the branches of the coil, formed into that shape to run up either side of her spine. Fluids from inside her body helped lubricate the device to aid its frictionless glide out the incision. Once it was fully removed, Ajagi wiped excess fluid from around the incision and then attached a device to hold the two sides tightly closed. He retrieved a laser suture device from the tool tray and shot it down into the narrow incision. The energy heated and bonded the synthetic cells together, making them hold tight without a single stitch.

Ajagi then removed the neural disruptor from her back. "Are you able to feel any pain?"

Sarah lightly twisted her back and hips to check for sensation. "No...no pain, but it does feel a little bit funny. Is that normal?"

"Yes," replied Ajagi. "The abnormal feelings you sense will last for the duration of the time it takes to heal the incision."

"Thanks Doc, you do good work," said Sarah as she sat up from the table and hopped to the floor. "Ugh...I guess I have to put this thing back on, huh?" she said as she picked up her suit.

"Yes," said Ajagi. "It is for your protection."

As Sarah put her protection suit back on she asked, "What kinds of procedures can't be performed on this body? You said you can do most procedures in this room."

Ajagi responded, "Something as serious as a bent bone would have to be repaired in the area where your body was constructed.

"Bent? A bent bone?" inquired Sarah.

"Yes," replied Ajagi. "Do you remember when I told you that your body is made of mechanical and synthetic living material? Your skeleton is mechanical. It is all made of a metal alloy. While it is very strong, a very severe injury can bend your bones. Your body will sense pain, so if you had a severe injury I would suggest you transfer home until we could repair it."

"I see..." said Sarah as she slowly pulled her suit back on. "Let's hope that doesn't happen."

"We always hope injury does not happen," said Storm.

Sarah nodded. "I just had a thought," said Sarah. "If somebody got hurt in an attack badly enough that you couldn't save them with medical treatment, could you use the transfer system to move their consciousness into a replacement body before the injured body died?"

"Yes, that is possible," said Ajagi as he returned his various medical instruments to their storage locations. "It is also a choice we have if someone becomes injured from an accident such as that person burned in the explosion of the propulsion system. That choice is not always available, though. An injury that is so severe it can not be repaired and healed often causes that person to die before we are able to take action."

"I see. At least it's an option. So...What's next?" Sarah asked. "I mean, what else do we have to do to prepare for the invasion?"

"We will meet with Nanida and many others," said Storm. "We will connect with the captains of all the other vehicles of the fleet and discuss our preparations, and do the same with the other fleets around our planetary system."

"I'd like to listen in on that if you don't mind," said Sarah.

"You are welcome to join us," said Storm. "If you are taking part in our defense of the invasion, it is only fitting that you take part in the discussion as well." The two waited briefly for Ajagi to finish putting things away, then all three headed out the door and through the halls to find a conference room.