ftp.xmission.com/2014.06.ftp.xmission.com.tar/ftp.xmission.com/pub/lists/tpfict/archive/tpfict.9810

Internet Message Format | 1998-10-30 | 317KB

From: Jennifer Welk <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Disarm [Disclaimer]
Date: 02 Oct 1998 14:47:54 -0700 (PDT)


DISCLAIMER: The majority of the characters are the creation of Roger Damon
Price, with the exception of the Quinlan and Forrester families, Nina-Jane
Malloran, Zachary Van Cade and the Malloran Corporation, Calvin Baillie,
Keith Leonard, and Josie Newman-Whitmarsh, which are all mine.

Lyrical excerpts are from "Plowed" by Sponge and "Stupid Girl" by Garbage.

Nerisa Terasaka does not appear in this story; her absence will be
explained.

CAUTION: This story contains some adult language.  Reader discretion is
advised.





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jennifer Welk <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Disarm [Prologue]
Date: 02 Oct 1998 14:48:52 -0700 (PDT)




Prologue


The psionic plane



    She was inside what appeared to be a large, nondescript building
with gray walls.  This is how it had been for--how long?  Having only a
faint idea where she was, Tyrran figured her only option was to keep
moving whenever she could.

    She felt as if she had been walking for hours when she entered a
foyer and ran into another young woman who looked exactly like
her...except for a few things.

    This copy of herself had no facial scar.  Instead she had an odd
streak of green in her hair.  She wore a Snow Tiger Camo jacket and pants
that both matched and contrasted Tyrran's Midnight Tiger Camo outfit.

    [[Who are you?]] Tyrran asked her clone.

    [[I'm Sindel.  I'm the new you,]] she replied.

    [[What makes you say so?]]

    [[Zachary says that the personality that once controlled this
body--namely you--is too much of a threat to his objectives.]]

    [[Whoever this Zachary is, he sounds like a bleeding maniac.]]

    [[I wouldn't say that,]] Sindel warned.

    As if on cue, Tyrran was pushed backwards into a wall by an
invisible force.  When she tried to step away from it, she couldn't.
Looking down, she saw that she was now attached to the wall by  lengths of
chain shackled to both wrists and both ankles.

    She looked back up to see that Sindel had been joined by a gaunt,
brown-haired young man.

    [[Sorry about that, but we can't have you getting in the way, ]]
Van Cade said.  [[And don't try to telekinetically open the manacles--it
won't do any good because Sindel has the same powers.]]  He motioned to
Sindel to follow him.  [[Come, Sindel, Miss Malloran is expecting us.
Places to go, people to see.]]

    And they were gone, leaving Tyrran to slide into a sitting
position on the floor and wonder just what in the world was going on....
[[This probably looks really strange...my facially-scarred body co-opted
by this Sindel personality, whose presence is marked by the green hair
streak...And whatever Zachary has planned sounds menacing...I think I'm in
serious trouble.]]




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Michele Bumbarger <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Fan Fiction
Date: 03 Oct 1998 09:40:58 -0400

Hey there!

I have started a fan fiction writer's support group mailing list. It's for
anyone out there who writes and/or reads fan fic and wants to talk with
others. It will (hopefully, in the future) provide a place for
brainstorming, discussion, and finding beta readers. I thought it would be
a great place for fan fiction writers to bond, so to speak.

And on the subject of fan fiction, as an aside, I have also added a Forever
Tomorrow Discussion list. This would be a great place to provide feedback
to the authors (hint, hint) or simply discuss anything at all you like (or
absolutely detest) about the stories. Yes, there will be more forthcoming
in the future.

Please drop by and join one of (or both of) the lists, okay? It would make
you my friend forever -- and tell anyone you think will be interested about
them.

The lists can be found at
http://www.mindspring.com/~chelesedai/mailcenter.html

Thanks a million in advance,
Michele
_________________________________________________________________
"I laugh in the face of danger. . .Then I hide until it goes away."
             --Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Caroline Fales <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Stranded in Space (0/1)
Date: 03 Oct 1998 21:47:24 -0400

Stranded in Space
A Tomorrow People/Mystery Science Theater 3000 crossover.
By Caroline Fales

Author's notes and disclaimer:

Hi.

This story includes another long-time addiction of mine besides the Tomorrow
People--Mystery Science Theater 3000.  It's a show that tackles gripping
emotional and mental issues... Oh, who am I kidding?  This show is about
movies--really bad movies that Hollywood and others have produced over the
years.  It's about exposing those movies for what they really are and giving
them the respect they deserve--namely, none at all.  And most of all, it's
all in good humor and lots of fun.

This particular piece was inspired by a particularly bad movie MST3K had
done.  How bad you ask?  Trust me, you don't want to know.  Anyway, that and
the lateness of the hour sent me into creative esctasy of sorts and voila!
This light-hearted bit of fluff is the result.

For those of you who have never seen the show, I urge you to check it out on
it's new home, the Sci-Fi Channel.  Trust me, you'll never look at movies
the same way again.

Remember, this is all in fun!

General Disclaimer:

The character of Megabyte Damon and the concept of the Tomorrow People does
belong to me. They are the sole property of Roger Damon Price, Tetra Films,
Thames Television, and Nickelodeon.

Mike Nelson, Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, Gypsy, Pearl Forrestor, Brain Guy
(a.k.a. the Observer), Professor Bobo, and the Satellite of Love are the
creation of Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, and the people at Best Brains.

Any and all comments are not only helpful, but welcome.  Email me at
[e-mail].

Warning: Extreme silliness ahead.

Enjoy!

Caroline Fales,
October 1998.
________
"You were destined to die; it was written."
"What can I say?  I flunked the written."
            --The Master and Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Caroline Fales <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Stranded in Space (1/1)
Date: 03 Oct 1998 21:48:20 -0400

Stranded in Space (1/1)
A Tomorrow People/Mystery Science Theater 3000 crossover.
Caroline Fales

This had to be the worst day of his entire life, was the first
thought in Megabyte's slowly waking mind.  Not only had his Dad
once again stood him up, canceling their sailing trip, but his
friends had been busy doing other things as well, leaving him to
fend for himself.  Then to top that all off, this really weird
woman with straw-colored hair and way too much make-up accompanied
by strange white-faced guy clad in flowing blue robes had knocked
on his door.  Well, he had told them rather quickly and pointedly
that whatever they were selling, he wasn't interested.

"He's perfect," he recalled the strange, overweight blond woman
saying.  "Zap him, Brain Guy."

Then the white-faced man had nodded his head, body suddenly shaking
as if the guy had about a million ants in his pants and a strange
light-headedness had overcome Megabyte just before everything had
gone black.

Yep, it was shaping up to be one of those days.

"Hey, I think he's waking up," said an excited voice, deep and
mellifluous.

Megabyte groaned, one hand raising to touch gingerly the side of
his head, feeling stabbing pins and needles as he did so.  His head
felt like someone had decided to play the drums with it, pain
spearing its way through all the most sensitive areas, making it
difficult to concentrate.

"You think he wants to play college dorm room with us?" he heard
another, slightly acerbic voice say.

"Let's ask him," said the first voice.

"Quiet, you two," commanded a third voice.  An American, Megabyte
realized. He  sounded like a exasperated parent having to deal with
two squabbling children.

"Do you think he'd like a cookie, Mike?" a goofy, high-pitched
voice asked.

"Um no, Gyps.  I doubt it.  An Excedrin the size of Milwaukee
maybe,"  said the American.

"Oh, okay.  I think we have one of those in the cargo bay," replied
the goofy voice whom Megabyte assumed must be this Gyps person.

"We have an Excedrin the size of Milwaukee in the cargo bay?" came
the incredulous reply.

"Oh sure.  Well, one at least the size of Atlanta. I'll go get it."

"If we had a box of Hamdingers in the cargo bay, Mike, then we can
have Atlanta-sized aspirin," said the mellifluous voice derisively.

"I guess you have a point there."

Megabyte wondered if he was really hearing this conversation or if
he had hit his head harder than he thought.  Slowly, he let his
eyes crack then open.

A lanky golden creature was leaning over him, staring at him
curiously out of glowing green eyes.  Unless Megabyte missed his
guess, his large beak-like mouth looked like it was made out of a
spray-painted bowling pin which had been sawn in half while the
wire webbing on his head looked like a catcher's mask of some kind.

Megabyte screamed, suddenly up and backing away faster than he ever
thought possible.

"Well, this is a fine hello," the golden thing huffed.

"What do you expect?" chortled a shiny red creature.  His
appearance was that of a cannibalized gumball machine, tiny arms
flopping by his side.  "Anyone would scream if they had to wake up
to see your ugly face in the morning."

Megabyte shook his head, rubbing his eyes vigorously then reopened
them, hoping that the two robot-like creatures before him would
miraculously vanish.  He was disappointed in that hope.

"Mike!  Servo said I have an ugly face," whined the gold creature.

"Quiet," the American--Mike, said again.  Megabyte turned, startled
by the nearness of that voice.  A sandy-haired, genial looking man
in blue jumpsuit gave him a little wave, "Hello.  Welcome to the
Satellite of Love."

Satellite of Love?  Megabyte thought.  Was that some kind of weird
hippie colony or some exotic brand of UFO?

"Um, hi," Megabyte said nervously.

"I'm Mike Nelson," the human said, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Megabyte, Megabyte Damon," the Tomorrow Person replied
automatically.

"Megabyte?" snorted the little red guy, "Computer nerd or Nanite
love child?"

"Hey," Megabyte exclaimed offended.

"Don't mind him," Mike replied rolling his eyes, "That's just
Servo's way of being charming.  Or trying to anyway."

"Nelson, you're just jealous.  When was the last time you had a
blender come on to you?" Servo demanded.

"Well, um, I don't think its ever happened," Mike replied
crestfallen.

"I thought so."

Mike seemed to shrug that disappointment off.  "Megabyte, this is
Tom Servo and the gold guy over there is Crow."

"Crow T. Robot," the golden robot corrected.

Megabyte glanced at Mike then back at the two robots, wearing what
he hoped was a friendly smile.  "Hi."

This was way too weird.

The golden duck-like robot, Crow, had evidently gotten tired of
standing around. He ambled over to Megabyte, regarding him with
those strange, unblinking eyes of his. Now that he was up close,
Megabyte saw that they looked like Kermit the Frog's eyes, only
bright green-yellow in shade instead of ping- pong ball white.
"Want to play dog and bear with me?"

"Huh?"

"No way, " Servo cried, "He's going to play college dorm room with
me."

"No, he's not."

"Yes, he is."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Knock it off you two or no more reruns of MacGyver!" Mike said
sternly.

The two robots immediately fell to apologizing, "Oh please, Mike,
not that.  What will we do if we can't watch MacGyver escaped
death-defying situations with only chewing gum, paper clips, and
string?"

"Well, you could write that book of yours, Crow.  And Servo, you
could practice your singing," Mike pointed out.

The two robots regarded him with the same look Megabyte gave his
father when the General told him to straighten up or eat his
vegetable or promised to do something with him.  Complete and utter
skepticism.

"What is his deal?" Crow snickered.

"Ah, I don't know," Servo sort of shrugged or managed a close
facsimile with his floppy little arms, "Want to go trade some TV
show cards?"

"Sure."

"Okay but this time I won't trade any of my 'Love Boat' collector's
edition set without at least two 'All in the Family' decks and a
'Sanford and Son' card."

"Catch you later, new guy,"

They bounced off down the dim corridors.  Now that he was taking a
minute, Megabyte looked around his surroundings.  He was in a tiny
room, the walls metallic with strange objects embedded in them--
like a toilet seat and a hubcap among others.  There was a door of
some kind just behind him, a huge dog bone blazoned on the front of
it.  Off to the side was a uncovered window.  Megabyte drew,
feeling his stomach sink as he took in the vast star-filled
blackness of space.

"Mike?' he managed to find his voice.

"Yeah?"

"Where are we?  What am I doing here?"

"We're hovering above a green planet of some kind."

"Planet?  Which one?"

"I don't know.  Kind of looks like Neptune except a lot bigger and
that we're about a jillion miles from Neptune.  But Pearl says sea
monkeys live here."  Mike shrugged blasely.

"Pearl?" Megabyte made his voice sound calm, rational--two things
he was not feeling at the moment.

"Pearl Forrester.  She and Brain Guy kidnapped you for the
experiment."

The man was matter of fact about it all that Megabyte wanted to
slap him.  "What experiment?"

"Oh, just a little experiment she has going to test human
endurance.  When she's found a limit to it, she'll take over the
world with the knowledge she's gained," Mike shrugged again.

A moment of silence.  "I see," Megabyte said slowly, "No offense,
Mike, but I'm upset about all this."

"Oh," Mike seemed abashed, "I guess this must be a bit of a shock
for you."

"Good guess, Mike," Megabyte said sarcastically.

"Sorry."

****

"Okay, let me see if I've got this right," Megabyte began, "You
were kidnapped by a mad scientist after rescuing this other guy who
had been the scientist's lab rat.  He started this experiment in
which you and Laurel and Hardy over there are forced to watch
really cheesy movies. And you guys survive these movies by making
fun of them.  Only this nutty professor's mother, this Pearl woman,
who's slightly mental, shot her own son and is now continuing the
experiment out of guilt.  And the white-faced guy is an omnipotent,
omniscient super being who travels with her.  Oh and she has a
talking ape named Professor Bobo, whose planet Mike destroyed,
working for her?"

"That's about the size of it," Mike said, "Sorry, you had to get
involved in this one, Megabyte."

"Laurel and Hardy?" squeaked Servo indignantly.  The two 'bots, as
Mike called them, had returned in the middle of the explanation
with Servo wearing a cheerleading outfit--complete with skirt and a
blond ponytailed wig.  Megabyte decided not to ponder that one too
long.

"Yeah, I would think that we were at least Curly and Larry," Crow
sounded insulted.

"Whatever," Megabyte rolled his eyes.

Mike smiled.  "Looks like you'll fit right in here though.  And
it's really not so bad... Well, actually it is.  The movies, I
mean."

"They can't be that bad," Megabyte said superiorly, "I've sat
through bad movies before."

"Not like this," Mike shuddered,  "Not like this."

A yellow light began flashing.  Megabyte straightened, suddenly
wary.  "What's that?"

"Oh, that's just Pearl," Mike hit a button, unfurling the
viewscreen in front of them.  The pudgy, blond-haired woman who'd
appeared on his doorstep earlier moved in front of the monitor.

"Mike," she drawled lazily, "I see you dimwits have found my little
gift for you.  And how are you, Rusty?"

Megabyte gritted his teeth at that 'Rusty' comment.  He had been
teased since childhood about his hair and he was a trifle sensitive
about it.   "Better than you look, lady."

"Wow, the new guy's got spirit," Crow remarked.

"Yeah, smells like teen spirit," Servo said gleefully, waving his
little red pom-poms wildly.

Megabyte laughed, it was impossible not to like these two.

"Pearl," Mike asked, "Why do you need another person?  Don't you
have enough to do trying to break our spirits and reduce us to
quivering piles of jelly?"

"Well, Mike, as much as I do love torturing you and I do, I feel
it's time to add some new blood to the mix. Rusty there will do
just fine." She smirked.  "Oh and by the way, Rusty, Brain Guy
tells me that you're some kind of teleporter.  How quaint.  Just in
case you get any ideas of escape, I thought I'd tell you that I had
Brain Guy install a trap for you.  You try to teleport out of there
and you'll find yourself floating in the middle of space, feeling
your veins beginning to implode and all sorts of other horrible
stuff."

Megabyte swallowed, feeling as if all the walls were closing in on
him, which in a way they were. He was trapped here. Millions of
miles from home and friends with no idea of how to escape.

Mike and the 'bots gave him sympathetic looks, Servo patting his
hand, "There, there.  We're all in this together."

"Thanks," Megabyte said gratefully.

"Unless, of course, I find an escape pod," the 'bot continued, "And
then I'm out of here."

Megabyte shot him a dirty look as Servo sniggered.

"Anyway, time to take your movie medicine, Mikey.  This one is a
little yarn called 'Stranded in Space' and it sucks on toast.
Enjoy," the evilly grinning face vanished from the monitor.

The ship began rocking violently as red lights went off, claxons
blaring wildly.  "What?"  Megabyte shouted over the din.

"We've got movie time!" the trio shouted.

"What do I do?" Megabyte shouted, feeling panic close in.

"Running would be good," Servo quipped.

The large door with the bone on it broke open and Megabyte followed
Mike through it, going past other doors, each with its own number--
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  His heart was pounding in his throat as the last
door opened, wondering what next.

To be perfectly honest, he darkened movie theater was not what he
was expecting.  Somehow, he hadn't quite believed Mike's story
until this moment.  This whole thing was crazy.  An experiment to
test human will by subjecting them to bad movies?  Well, he could
handle bad movies--he *liked* bad movies and he was just itching to
pay Pearl back for this whole mess.

This would be a cake walk. His life should be this easy most of the
time.

"Move over, Servo," he said, "Time to bust this movie."

***end.
________
"You were destined to die; it was written."
"What can I say?  I flunked the written."
            --The Master and Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Caroline Fales <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Correction
Date: 04 Oct 1998 00:39:58 -0400

Hi again.

It's been brought to my attention that in my disclaimer that I accidentally
claimed to own the Tomorrow People, etc.  This was a typo on my part.  I
only wish I owned the Tomorrow People.

Sorry for the slip-up.

Caroline
________
"You were destined to die; it was written."
"What can I say?  I flunked the written."
            --The Master and Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "twilighte" <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Nothing is As it seems to be part 7 or ?
Date: 04 Oct 1998 13:18:04 -0400



Telepathic communication will be shown by * before and after the sentences.

Any comments, criticism, or flames may be sent to [e-mail]

Note:  This story wouldn't be half as good as it is now without my Beta
Reader Adam.  For all of you who are reading this thank Adam for the lack
of grammar mistakes and other silly mistakes I tend to make.    Also this
is basically a sequel to my last story, People aren't what they Seem.  If
you haven't read that then you will most likely have no idea as to what
this story is talking about.  You can read it anyway but I don't know if it
will make as much sense without reading the first one, People aren't what
they Seem

Nothing Is As It Seems To Be
by Twilight

Part 7 of ?

Screams rang throughout the ship.  Aami, trapped in the ship's light beam,
was screaming in frustration and what seemed to be pain.
" What the..." Jade began as she stepped back.
General Damon just looked at Aami intensely.  Then Aami's screams took on a
different quality.  Jade and Kevin grabbed their heads and buckled over.
Lisa tried to catch them but then she was seizing her own head.
"The pain!" Lisa screamed as she fell over.  Adam looked like he was trying
to concentrate on something before he dropped to his knees.
"What is it!" General Damon yelled.
Megabyte had fallen back against the wall and he was slowly sliding down
it.  His entire body had broken out into a cold sweat and he had his eyes
squeezed shut.
"She's trying to kill us!" Jade cried.
General Damon moved towards his son...but then Megabyte stood up and took a
step towards Aami, his eyes still closed.   He swayed for a second
and then took another step forward.   He opened his eyes and
plunged his hands into the beam which held Aami still.  He placed his hands
on each side of Aami's head.
Adam, Lisa, Jade, and Kevin all shook their heads.
"It stopped," Kevin said in wonder.
" How...." Adam began.
They all watched Megabyte.  He looked like he was about to faint and his
skin had turned ash gray.
*We've got to help him!* Adam telepathed to the others.
They all moved forward and where about to place their hands into the beam
when Lisa spoke, "NO, wait...on Megabyte..he needs our strength."
They all placed their hands on Megabyte's back, shoulders, and head.
General Damon stared in amazement as each of the tomorrow people began to
glow blue.  Their energy seemed to be flowing into Megabyte.

    Megabyte was in a ship.  He was standing at a window looking at an angry
planet as they flew away.  'We have to make it,' he thought.
He turned his head towards his pilots, " Full ahead, we have to get more
speed."
"Yes, sir."
Then he felt rather then heard the explosion.  The ship rattled and then
glided onward.
A cry of victory went up among the crew.  Megabyte looked out the window at
the now-dead planet.
" Sir, it had to be done." A voice from behind him said.
Megabyte just sighed, " Any Death is a horrible thing, Andron."
Megabyte turned around and saw that Andron was watching him.  Andron was so

optimistic and friendly. Right then his brown hair was messed up and his
dark
eyes were wide.  ' Ah, the feeling of victory,' Megabyte thought.
Andron saw the look of sadness cross his face.  Andron placed a hand on his
leader's shoulder, " Sir.. Falin..."
Falin looked at him, ' Yes, that's right, I'm Falin not...Megabyte... not
here anyway..' he thought to himself.
Andron could never get over the way Falin's eyes changed color with his
moods.  At the moment they were a dark, stormy green.
" Falin, my friend, we had to...." Andron began.
Falin ran a hand through his black and red striped hair, " I know,
Andron...it's not that really...it's just."
" Falin?"
Falin gestured a hand towards the crew, who were all hugging each other
and smiling with victory.  " Look at them, Andron, " Falin said, " they are
my friends..all of them and now they are safe..but...I have this feeling."
"What is it, Falin?"  Andron asked.
" Nothing..it's nothing...I just don't know if I can...Andron, I have to
tell you something."
"What?"
" Our group of people...we...have never known where we were from."
"That's true, " Andron acknowledged.
" I know." Falin's eyes turned bright blue, " We are from...Earth."
"Earth!?" Andron exclaimed.
Falin nodded.  The crew began to gather around, having heard the
conversation.
" You never told us," Olina said quietly, sadly.
" I could not, I didn't remeber..now I do." Falin said and he looked at all
of them.  " We were born on Earth and we spent our younger years there.
But a man...a very evil man found out that we had powers other humans
didn't have.  He wanted to kill us or drain our power, but a kind alien
race
that had evolved way far beyond humans came and took us away from there.
They
gave us this ship and our freedom.  I was the oldest at the time, so I
tried to learn as much as I could about all this technology.  I forgot
about the aliens after some time and well, you know the rest.  We have been
going from planet to planet ever since."
" Then we are human, " Yulan said in wonder, " but not quite normal?"
"No, we are normal, " Andron countered quietly, " we are just more evolved
than
other people."
" We're the next generation," Olina said as she smiled at Andron.
" Then we can go back to earth?" Yulan asked.  They all looked at Falin.
 Falin closed his eyes and sighed, " If that is what you want to do."
" And you don't?" Hilyan asked in her soft voice.
" No..no, I want to..I just..," Falin opened his eyes," I am not your
leader... I never was..."
" Yes, you were!" Andron said passionately.
"We would have never made it out of there alive if it hadn't of been for
you," Yulan declared.
" You have always been our leader and you always will be," Hilyan
continued.
Falin shook his head, " I've killed...I no longer have my powers,
that is the way of things.  You all know that."
" But you did it to save us," Andron protested.
" And now I am no longer one of you..." Falin said quietly.
Hiylan closed her eyes and then she opened them, " You will always be one
of us...just wait and see."
What none of them saw was the red shadow that escaped the planet.

    Aami began to change shape, she now looked like a blond-haired,
 black-eyed human.  She wore plain, beige clothing.  She was no longer
Aami.
She was an Orbivus.
Megabyte withdrew his hands from the beam of light and opened his eyes.  He
was in a ship, but it was the present, not the past.   Megabyte shook his
head and stepped away from his friends.  They were all looking at
him...just like before.  " This is way too weird," Megabyte muttered.

end part 7 of ?




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Thomas Veil <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Beta Readers Wanted
Date: 05 Oct 1998 21:46:35 -0700 (PDT)

I know that it's been a while since my last story, but I'm getting
close to ready to post the next story in my Children of Tomorrow
series. Unfortunately, I've been unable to contact my beta-reader. If
anyone is interested in beta-reading for me, please contact me. I
would appreciate it if you are familiar with my stories. Please let me
know if you are interested.

Thanks.

===
Thomas Veil
*A rough whimper of insanity*
_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: TPFICT: Beta Readers Wanted
Date: 06 Oct 1998 05:58:47 +0100

Hey Thomas

I'll do it. Is it Old or new series and what else have you written?

Jack

Thomas Veil wrote:

> I know that it's been a while since my last story, but I'm getting
> close to ready to post the next story in my Children of Tomorrow
> series. Unfortunately, I've been unable to contact my beta-reader. If
> anyone is interested in beta-reading for me, please contact me. I
> would appreciate it if you are familiar with my stories. Please let me
> know if you are interested.
>
> Thanks.
>
> ===
> Thomas Veil
> *A rough whimper of insanity*
> _________________________________________________________
> DO YOU YAHOO!?
> Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com






-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Megan R Freeman)
Subject: Re: TPFICT: Beta Readers Wanted
Date: 06 Oct 1998 00:07:36 -0500


  I'll BETA! I wanna beta! I wanna beta! PLEASE CAN I BETA? PLEASE?
PLEASE? I haven't betaed in months, I NEED to beta something. Can I
please? I'll do it!


Will Beta Read for Food
Megan

PS: I have a new email address (again)

*****
Whistling tunes
We're high in the dunes by the seaside
Whistling tunes
We're kissing baboons in the the jungle
-Peter Gabriel
"Games Without Frontiers"

___________________________________________________________________
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From: "Kerry Blackwell" <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Traces of Yesterday, Touches of Tomorrow [7/15]
Date: 09 Oct 1998 20:38:16 +1300

Earlier parts of this story, as well as its prequel _Tomorrow and Tomorrow
and Tomorrow..._ can be found at
http://www.forty-two.co.nz/kerry/fanfic.html


The Tomorrow Trilogy II:

Traces of Yesterday, Touches of Tomorrow
Kerry Blackwell

SEVEN

Bill Damon was looking forward to the quiet and solitude of his office.  It
had been one hell of a morning.  First the Varetsky Courier case had
suddenly gone up in flames around them.  The conclusion _was_ satisfactory,
but it was far from as good as he had been hoping.  Then the Minister had
called, wanting to be reassured that preparations for the trade delegation
security were going as planned.  Since she was much better at talking than
she was a listening, it had taken him the better part of an hour just to
say what amounted to a simple 'yes'.  And to top it all off, half the
cafeteria staff had called in sick, down with food poisoning after they had
gone out to dinner the previous night to celebrate someone's birthday.  He
thought he'd dig out that pillow he had hidden in the back of a cupboard,
put his feet up on the desk and try to get a few minutes peace and quiet
before the next crisis came calling.

He spent most of the walk along the corridor waiting for someone to call
out to him, for a worried voice to stop him and give him another problem to
solve.  To his relief, he made it to his office door without an urgent
summons and slipped quickly inside.  He peered into the corridor one last
time - empty, thankfully - and closed the door, pausing to rest his head
against it, his eyes closed, just watching the blackness behind his
eyelids.

Behind him, someone cleared their throat.

He took a moment before he turned; a moment to compose himself, to wipe the
fatigue and the frustration from his face, to banish his annoyance at the
interruption.  Then he straightened up and turned around.

Frank Miller and Laurel Hadley were standing awkwardly beside his desk,
looking rather like a couple of schoolchildren who had been sent to the
principal's office.

Trying to look as if hiding behind the door was something every normal
person did as part of the daily routine, Damon crossed the carpet in a few
quick strides and dropped gratefully into his chair.  "Is there a problem?"
he asked mildly,

Frank and Laurel exchanged nervous, awkward looks, as if they were both
hoping the other would take up the task of explaining what they were doing
here.  Damon started to get the feeling he wasn't going to like this.
"Sit," he ordered, pointing a finger at the chairs his colleagues seemed to
have completely ignored.

They looked at each other again, considered the concept, looked a third
time, and then sat.  Nervously.  No, he definitely wasn't going to like
this.  "Right," he said as cheerfully as he could.  "At least I'm not going
to get a crick in my neck looking up at you.  So what's the problem?"

"Well, sir..." Frank began.  "Ah...we think we've worked it out."

"Worked what out?" Damon asked blankly.  "What are we actually talking
about?"

"The Institute," Frank answered.  "Their research.  Kay."

"And the other children," Laurel added in a quiet voice.

Damon felt a nasty, icy, sinking feeling start somewhere around the
location of his stomach.  "What other children?" he asked carefully,
unaware of just how forbidding his tone sounded.

"Ah..."  Frank looked up to see the expression on his face and wound down
to an unconvincing halt.

Unfortunately, Laurel was undeterred.  "Your son.  And his friends," she
said in that same, quiet voice.

It was the general's turn to flounder helplessly.  "Oh...  Ah..."

"We haven't told anyone else," Frank added quickly.  "We came to you first.
 We don't want to cause any trouble or anything, it's just that..."

"How the hell are we supposed to do our jobs if you don't give us all the
data?" Laurel interrupted.  "You talk about open discussion and full and
free exchange of information and then you start keeping secrets on us."

"I don't..." Damon tried, but couldn't finish the sentence.  When it came
right down to it, she was right.  From the day he had discovered that
Professor Galt's research project had suddenly got very close to home, he
had started telling less that the whole truth.  When Kay had come along,
turned out to be a Tomorrow Person and needed a place to stay, he had just
extended the lie without really even stopping to think about it.

Laurel was a loyal, dedicated member of his team, with a passionate belief
in the truth.  It was part of what made her so good at her job, but right
now he easily could have done without it.  Beside her, Frank was looking
uncomfortable, but still determined.

"Things don't add up, General," he said.  "They haven't for a while.  But
with Kay and the search for the Institute, it's just got worse.  Like the
way she got to the States just hours after I'd spoken to her.  How did she
do that?"

Laurel turned her head to look at him, her profile sharp and clear.  "We've
already figured that out, Frank.  Why are you suddenly afraid to say it?"

He shrugged and looked away, and she sighed.  She turned back to Damon, her
gaze steady.

"She teleported," Laurel said flatly.  "It's the only answer.  There is no
record of Kay entering this country - not ever.  But we know she was in the
States.  She told us where the Institute was, but she was here when she did
it.  She teleported.  What evidence we have found about the Institute and
its plans supports the conclusion.  They were trying to create superbeings
- telepaths, teleporters, who knows what else - and Kay is one of them."

"An interesting conclusion," Damon commented lamely.

"The only logical one," Laurel insisted before he could say anything more.
"And it doesn't end there, either."

"Somehow I knew you were going to say that."

She smiled, a wry, acknowledging curve of her lips.  "Your son and his
friends fit the profile too, sir.  We didn't see it until we had the
Institute data to link it all together.  They keep appearing, sometimes
almost literally, at crucial moments, often knowing more about the current
investigation than we do.  Looking over the records we even found reports
on a project overseen by a Professor Galt, into teleporters."

It was Damon's turn to smile, and his was much more wry and ironic than
hers had been.  "You've certainly done your homework."

Laurel looked steadily at him.  "That's what you pay me for, sir."

He nodded.  "Yes, it is, isn't it?  That'll serve me right for hiring
people with brains and initiative."

She almost laughed, but her voice stayed deadly serious.  "How long has
this been going on, General?  Years?  I still can't really see you as part
of something like the Institute, or even the murkier aspects of Galt's
work.  Please tell me you're not."

"What?!"  Damon abruptly sat upright.  "You think I - "  He spluttered a
moment, indignant.  "I assure you, I have never - "  He paused, marshalling
his thoughts and protests into some kind of order.  "Only Kay has any
connection to the Institute.  Your conclusions are impressive and correct.
_But..._"  He emphasised the word, leaning over the desk towards them.
"...what Kay _really_ needs right now is a chance to find out what just
being human really means.  She hasn't before now.  She is helping our
investigations where necessary, and she is under observation, informal
observation, by me.  I may have bent the rules a little, but I certainly
haven't broken them."

Frank was nodding, looking relieved.  Laurel looked mostly satisfied by his
explanation, but she hadn't finished.

"And the others?" she asked.

"The others..."  Damon hesitated, unsure what to say.  These two were his
inner circle, his deputies and most trusted aides.  If it was only his
decision, only his secret to tell, then he would give them the answers they
were asking for.  But this wasn't only his decision - in many ways it
wasn't his at all.  This was something for the Tomorrow People to decide,
who and when and how to tell, and he had no right to make it for them.  He
just wasn't sure how he was going get Laurel out of his office if she
didn't get the answers she was looking for.

It was at that precise moment that the door swung open and Adam Newman
walked in.  Under the circumstances, Damon supposed he had to be grateful
the young man hadn't decide to teleport instead of using the door like
normal people did.

He stopped as he realised the general wasn't alone.  He ran a hand through
his hair and smiled that engaging smile of his.  "I'm sorry, General.  I
didn't realise you were busy.  Megabyte asked me to meet him here.  He said
it was important."  He gestured behind himself.  "I'll just wait outside."

"Oh, don't do that."  Laurel looked rather like she was closing in for the
kill.  "We were just talking about you."

Adam looked rather nervous at that.  "You were?"

He glanced at Damon, who was forced to shrug.  "Ms Hadley has been
conjecturing.  Some of it quite accurately, I'm afraid.  All I can say is
that she's quite trustworthy."

Adam stared at Laurel for a while, before turning back to Damon.  "Ah,
could we talk outside for a moment, please, General?"

Damon nodded, but before we could so much as stand, before he could even
attempt convincing Laurel to wait, the door opened again.  This time a
veritable army trooped in, lead by his son.  Ami and Jade followed him, and
behind them was Kay, her hand on the arm of a woman Damon had never seen
before.  She was probably in her thirties, a little short, with soft,
auburn hair that framed a rather plain face and made it into more than
perhaps it really was.  Right now, she looked tense, a little nervous, and
somehow completely out of place.

"Dad, you'll never believe what's happened this morning," Megabyte
announced.  As Adam had, he jerked to a halt when he caught sight of the
room's extra occupants, and the two of them exchanged glances that made
Damon certain they were talking to each other.

"It's _important_," Kay insisted a moment later, apparently in response to
some unspoken comment.  She rounded on him.  "Bill, we know where the
Institute is now.  You have to go and stop it."

"How do you know?" he asked calmly.

Kay pulled her companion forward.  "This is Dr Stratton.  She worked there,
but she got away.  And..."  Kay's voice cracked suddenly.  "...and Jay's
dead, and they've still got Alice and there's someone called Teresa that I
don't know, and..."  She rounded on the other woman, her voice getting
sharper, touching on hysterical.  "Who _is_ Teresa?  And where is she?"
She turned back to Damon.  "Someone should get a map, and..."

It was Laurel who stood and crossed to Kay's side.  She took her by the arm
and gently guided her to the nearest chair, helped her to sit.  "It's all
right, Kay," she said softly.  "It's all under control.  Frank's going to
go and get a map.  Aren't you, Frank?" she added pointedly.

"Uh, yeah," Frank agreed, halfway to the door before he even realised what
he was doing.

"And then your friend Dr Stratton can show us where we need to go, and
we'll go.  Okay?"

Kay's breathing was steadying, and she nodded.  "And you'll rescue Alice?"

"We'll rescue Alice," Laurel promised.  She hesitated, suddenly uncertain
when faced with the proof of her theories.  "Is Alice like you, Kay?  Can
you talk to her, or can she...?"

Kay was shaking her head.  "Alice can't do anything.  I can't even feel
her.  That's why I thought she was..."  She trailed off as she realised
what Laurel had said.  "How did you know?"  She cast an accusatory glance
at Damon, looking betrayed.

Laurel saw it.  "The general didn't tell me, Kay.  He didn't tell anyone.
I worked it out for myself.  And I won't tell anyone else, unless you say I
can."  She grimaced, as she suddenly realised she had just put herself in
exactly the same position Damon had been in before.  It forced her to have
a lot more understanding of his hesitation than she really wanted to.

He had the decency not to smile, only nodded gratitude for her swift
defence and turned his attention a few feet to Laurel's left.  "Dr
Stratton?"

The little woman started, as if she had forgotten there was anyone else in
the room.  Damon offered her his best attempt at a reassuring smile.
"No-one's remembered to introduce us, but I'm Bill Damon.  I've been
leading the team looking for the Institute since we found Kay."

"To stop them?"  Dr Stratton gave him a searching, piercing look that
didn't seem to match with her slightly dippy appearance.  "Or to try to use
their research?  Kay and the others like her?"  Her gaze swept across the
Tomorrow People and back to Damon.  "I don't know how you made them, but I
won't let you use them.  I won't let _anyone_ use _any_ of them any more."

"Made them?" Damon repeated blankly.  Then what she had said sank in.  "I
never _made_ anybody anything," he said furiously.  "If you so much as
think - "

"Dad!" Megabyte interrupted loudly, just as Frank slipped back into the
room, clutching a sheaf of maps and papers.

The room was silent.  Emma was waiting to hear what was said next; the
young people were standing quietly - they had moved together until they
were standing in a group, a united front, Kay on her feet again and one
with them as if she had never been anything else.  Laurel looked rather
like someone who had opened the locked door and wasn't sure she liked what
she had found; Frank looked a little lost.

Finally, it was Adam who spoke, obviously reluctantly, the other Tomorrow
People silent support behind him.  "We're no-one's experiments.  Kay might
have been once, but now she's one of us.  And we won't be controlled by
anyone.  Not even General Damon.  He's protected us and helped us, and
we've helped him.  But he doesn't order us or control us."

"But it's true?" Laurel said quietly.  "You're...?"  She looked steadily at
him.  "Just what _are_ you?"

"We're the next stage in human evolution," Ami answered.

Laurel looked almost awed, reality different from theory.  "Telepathic?
Can you teleport?  I know Kay must be able to."

"Yeah, all that," Megabyte agreed, sounding almost bored.  "What about the
Institute?  Isn't Dr Stratton going to show us where it is?  Then what?
Where's this Teresa?"

"Who's Teresa?" Damon interrupted, when his son showed no sign of stopping.

Emma took the seat Kay had vacated, her decision made.  "Teresa is Alice
and Jay's daughter," she said simply.  "She's six months old and right now
she's safe in a women's refuge shelter."

Kay's jaw was hanging somewhere around her ankles.  "Jay and Alice have a
_baby_?"

Emma nodded.  "I tried to help the three of them escape, but it all went
wrong.  Jay was killed and they caught Alice again, but I got Teresa away."
 She thought of the catalyst, safely hidden, and wasn't quite sure she
chose not to speak of it.  "I'll show you where the Institute is, and you
can rescue Alice."

Damon nodded, and gestured Frank and his maps forward.  "We'll send someone
to collect the baby as well.  She needs some proper protection."

"We'll go," Ami said quickly.  "We can bring her back safely, and without
looking conspicuous."

"I'll have to come with you," Emma agreed.  "They won't let anyone else
take her."

"I'll send some men," Damon said.

Emma shook her head.  "That wouldn't help at all.  The girls and I can go."
 She swallowed a little nervously.  "We'll be fine."

Damon didn't like it, but he could see her point.  "All right.  But Laurel
goes with you instead.  And you can show us where the Institute is first."

Dr Stratton nodded and came to look at the maps spread out of the general's
desk.

"We'll come to the Institute then," Megabyte said enthusiastically.

Damon looked at his son.  "You will _not_," he said flatly.  "This will
only be reconnaissance anyway, and you are _not_ coming."

Megabyte looked like he was going to protest, but he suddenly shut his
mouth, so that Damon wondered what Adam - if it had been Adam - had said to
him.

Emma pointed a finger at an intersection of lines on the map.  "There."

--end, part 7

Kerry

--
[e-mail]

Fanfic: http://www.forty-two.co.nz/kerry/fanfic.html

"We shall be remembered in spite of ourselves"



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Kerry Blackwell" <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Traces of Yesterday, Touches of Tomorrow [8/15]
Date: 21 Oct 1998 18:52:30 +1300

Earlier parts of this story, as well as its prequel _Tomorrow and Tomorrow
and Tomorrow..._ can be found at
http://www.forty-two.co.nz/kerry/fanfic.html


The Tomorrow Trilogy II:

Traces of Yesterday, Touches of Tomorrow
Kerry Blackwell

EIGHT

The buildings beyond the chain link fence looked plain and ordinary.  A
series of low, blocky buildings made of concrete and aluminium, joined by a
series of interconnecting walkways, fronted by a vast asphalt parking area.
 Signs wired to the fence proclaimed it to be the home of Typhon Chemicals
and warned potential trespassers to say out in no uncertain terms.  It
appeared to be deserted except for the two security guards on sentry duty
at the front gate.

Bill Damon had his people spread around the block that comprised the
Institute, studying the situation and attempting to blend into suburbia
with varying degrees of success.  The information coming in made no sense
as yet, but it wasn't supposed to at this point.  The point in gathering
intelligence is to go away, think about it, correlate it and develop an
overall view of the circumstances, followed by a course of action.  On the
spot decisions and seat-of-the-pants responses were something else again,
and Damon was seriously hoping they could be avoided.

From his position in the front of the nursery van, the general had  a clear
view of the main entrance, with its locked gate and bored-looking sentries.
 He barely head the low hum and crackle behind him, as the information came
in, whispered into hidden microphones by the observers outside and fed into
this temporary command centre, its high-tech equipment hidden among rose
bushes and flowering shrubs.  Behind him, the two surveillance experts
added that information to their growing collection of facts and conjecture,
building up a hopefully coherent picture of their target.  And if the
weather continued to improve, they might even get some satellite photos to
add to the mix.

Damon's eyes went back to the silent and shuttered buildings.  This
wouldn't be an easy nut to crack, but it shouldn't be impossible, and right
now they had the element of surprise, which was always worth more than most
people imagined.  He absently propped one foot up on the dashboard and
carried on watching, while the information continued to flow in behind him.

On another street, on the other side of the block from the parked van, a
woman was gazing through the fence to the buildings beyond with similar
attention.  Subliminally aware of the electricity coursing through it, she
stayed a pace away from the wire, staring past it, searching for someone
she didn't know.

And in a dark corner inside the Institute, beside a locked back door and an
overflowing, smelly garbage skip, there was a flash and a pop as two
figures materialised out of the empty air.

They looked around, looked at each other, and Megabyte nodded in the
direction of the door.  "In there?"

Adam nodded, and tried the handle.  It rattled, the sound seeming
unrealistically loud in the silence, but didn't open.  He hesitated for a
moment, a frown creasing his forehead, but it cleared a instant later as he
pulled his hand away from the handle and stopped it again just inches from
the metal.  The frown returned as he concentrated, and a globe of soft
green light pooled around his hand.  Long seconds later there was a short,
sharp click and the light faded.  Adam gave the door a push and it swung
silently open.

"Nice," Megabyte commented approvingly and slipped past him into the
building.

The corridor was wide and white, with soundproofing tiles on the ceiling
and polished linoleum on the floor.  There were closed, unmarked doors at
regular intervals along it, and a security camera in the ceiling, panning
towards them in its pre-programmed arc.

It was Adam who saw the camera, just as Megabyte was about to walk into its
line of sight.  He grabbed his friend by the arm and hauled him
unceremoniously backwards.  Megabyte stumbled and opened his mouth to
protest, probably loudly, but Adam forestalled him with a hissed, "Look!",
and pointed towards the ceiling.

Megabyte's eyes widened as he saw the camera, still rotating, getting
closer and closer to seeing them.  "So how do we get past?" he whispered.

Adam shrugged, then grinned as the answer occurred to him.

A second later, Megabyte worked it out too, and grinned.  "After you," he
said quietly, and gestured Adam forward with an overdone sweep of his arm.

There was a slight flash and a quiet _pop_ and Adam was suddenly further on
down the corridor, safely on the other side of the camera.  The lens moved
another few programmed degrees, reaching the point where Megabyte had been
standing, but he was gone, safely beyond the camera's purview.

They tried the doors as they went by, on the watch now for any more
security cameras, but most were locked, some by old-fashioned lock and key,
others with state-of-the-art and beyond electronic locks.  Behind the only
door they managed to open was a janitor's closet, filled with mops and
brooms and buckets.

"This is hopeless," Adam said in disgust, shoving a dirty mop that looked
about ready to start walking under its own power back into its corner.

"Yeah," Megabyte agreed.  "We're never going to find her like this."

Adam frowned, Megabyte kicked at the pile of unwashed hand towels near his
feet, and they both looked at each other, identical expressions on their
faces.

"Of course, we could always call her," Adam said slowly.

"It's worth a try," Megabyte agreed.  "Together?"

Adam nodded, and they both turned their concentration inwards, sending
their thoughts outwards.

:Alice?  Alice?  Can you hear us?  Alice?:

*****

Outside, Elizabeth frowned.

*****

But there was no reply.

They looked at each other across the cleaning equipment, and finally
Megabyte shrugged.  "I guess we keep doing it the hard way."

The corridor was still empty when they re-entered it, this section's camera
pointing in the opposite direction.  They managed to slip around a corner
before it turned in their direction, and found themselves in another
corridor, almost identical to the first one, except that it was shorter,
the floor was little more polished and the paint a little newer and
brighter.  But the doors remained blank and closed, and there was still
no-one to be seen.

They had almost made it to the end of the corridor when they heard
footsteps and voices coming towards them from around the next corner.  They
exchanged quick glances, not even needing telepathy to ask each other
swiftly, 'What now?'

More as a matter of course than from any expectation of success, Megabyte
tried the nearest door.  It would be locked - all the others had been - and
they would really be better to teleport away, even if it did mean
abandoning Alice.  But to his surprise it opened, swinging silently
inwards.

Adam grinned at him, and was through it in a flash, leaving Megabyte to
follow him.  It was clearly a conference room, with a long, oval table
taking up most of the space.  Plain, functional, high-backed chairs were
set around it at precise angles and there was an equally plain, equally
functional podium at the far end of the room.  Beside that was a
blackboard, and a little further along the wall a pull-down screen was half
unrolled.  It was a strangely out-of-place piece of chaos in an environment
that was otherwise precisely neat and controlled.  Beside the door, a set
of stairs led up to a mezzanine gallery.

Megabyte grinned and opened his mouth to say something clever, but before
he got the chance they both heard the quiet sound of footsteps and voices
on the other side of the door stop.  He froze, the words unspoken, waiting
for the steps to start up again, walking away from the door.

But they didn't, instead they came closer still, until it was clear this
room was their destination, the reason the door had opened, just as it was
about to do again at any moment.

Megabyte was poised on the balls of his feet, ready to run - or to
teleport.  :Let's get out of here.:

Adam shook his head, indicated the stairs with a jerk of his shoulder.  :Up
there.  Let's see if we can hear what they have to say.:

They barely made it onto the balcony before the door opened and the first
person walked through it.  Megabyte wasn't sure which had been louder, his
footsteps on the wooden stairs or the thumping of his heart, but it didn't
seem possible that they hadn't heard at least _one_ of them.  But luck was
with him and they carried on towards the conference table without pausing.

From their aerial position, Adam and Megabyte could easily see the people
gathered at the table and, with a little more effort, even hear what they
were saying.  There were five of them, four men and a single, stern-faced
woman.  The oldest man  took a seat at the head of the table.  He looked
like he was probably about sixty, with steel grey hair cut short and an
equally neat, equally short grey beard.  He was dressed in a dark, dark
green jacket and matching trousers and he wore them like they were a
uniform.  The woman and another two of the men wore long, white lab coats
that hid anything else they might be wearing.  The last man was wearing
brown trousers and a tight fitting khaki pullover.  He took a seat beside
the older man and the others found seats on the opposite side of the table.

They had barely had the time to pull up their chairs when the first man
spoke, his words directed to the man at his side.  "So have you found
them?"  There was a faint edge to his words that suggested he wasn't
particularly hopeful of getting a satisfactory answer.

However, the younger man wasn't fazed by either his tone or stern look.
"I'm sorry, Colonel," he answered with a shake of his head.  "Not yet, but
we're still looking.  Even somewhere the size of London, it isn't easy for
a woman to stay hidden for long, especially when she's burdened by a baby."
 He smiled, a sardonic twist a his lips.  "And I doubt the good doctor has
much experience when it comes to babies."

:He must mean Dr Stratton and Teresa,: Megabyte commented wordlessly.

"Mmm," Adam agreed quietly.  :But shut up, Megabyte.  I'm trying to
listen.:

Megabyte shut up.

"Well, find them," the Colonel said crossly.  "There's not much point in
having a head of security if he can't secure anything."  He gave the man
beside him a cold, steady look.  "Is there?"

He swallowed and shook his head.  "No, Colonel."

"Emma Stratton is going to regret this brief burst of conscience."  The
Colonel frowned.  "But most of all I want that baby back.  I've invested a
lot of time and money in her and I will be most disappointed if I don't see
any results.  I can't exactly find out how she works if she isn't here, can
I?"

:Ugh,: Adam said.  :Kay was right, they really do think of them as
experiments.:

The Colonel clearly didn't expect an answer to his rhetorical question, and
he didn't get one.  Instead, he turned his attention to the three
scientists.  As one they all almost imperceptibly leaned back in their
chairs, as if trying to lessen the contact by a fraction of added distance.

"What about the catalyst?" he demanded.  "Did she leave any behind?"

There was a long, reluctant silence that pretty much spoke for itself.
When the Colonel began to look annoyed, the woman finally answered the
question.  "No," she said simply.  "She didn't."

"Can you make more?"

"Possibly," the woman answered cautiously.  "She destroyed a lot of the
notes.  We found them shredded this morning and she dumped the disks in the
lab sink.  Last night we were too busy concentrating on the catalyst itself
think about the notes.  There are some on the main computer, but they're
not complete."

"We'll be short of a number of reagents too," one of the men added.  "We
hadn't restocked because we thought we were beyond the initial prep
stages."

"What will you need?" the Colonel asked.  "I'll make sure you get it."

*****

The radio in the back of the nursery van crackled into life again.  Damon
stretched, trying to work the crick out of his neck, and half-listened to
the activity going on behind him.  The front gate was as quiet and
innocent-looking as it had always been, and none of the reports to come in
so far had had anything of much interest to say.  Typhon Chemicals looked
quiet, boring and law-abiding.  Damon had serious doubts it was any of
those, but that was how it _looked_.

"General?"

He squirmed around in his seat until he was facing the back of the van.
The young man wearing headphones and looking at him with earnest, puppy dog
eyes didn't look old enough to be out of high school, let alone be a
qualified (if inexperienced) intelligence officer.  It made him feel old.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"There's a report from Mr Miller, sir," he answered, and his voice was
earnest too, and just a little breathless.

Damon raised an inquiring eyebrow, and the boy flushed, and stammered out a
flustered answer.

"He's picked someone up, sir.  A woman.  He says she won't give any
credible explanation for being there and he thinks you should go around and
check it out for yourself, sir."

The general turned back to look at the quiet front gate.  It didn't look
like anything was going to happen there any time much before the second
coming.  He nodded, flicking his gaze back to the young man behind him,
waiting patiently for his reply.  "Where is he?"

He looked blank for a moment, the realisation flooded into those expressive
eyes, making Damon hope no-one ever picked him for any kind of undercover
work.  "Oh.  You mean Mr Miller, sir.  He's about a block away, near the
Vallance Road/Douglas Street corner."

Damon called up a metal image of the map as it had been lying across his
desk with Dr Stratton bending over it, pointing out entrances and security
posts.  It wasn't far and he didn't appear to be needed here.  And the
exercise would do his good.

He opened the van door and swung a leg out onto the footpath.  "I'll walk,"
he announced a little unnecessarily and finished clambering out of the
vehicle.  He was several paces away before anyone could protest, even if
his driver did give him an exasperated kind of look.  Puppy-Dog-Eyes and
his friend in the back wouldn't have dared.

He just hoped this woman had something useful to contribute.

*****

Whoever this 'Colonel' was, he clearly had extensive and highly specialised
resources.  The three scientists had diffidently demanded a whole range of
things neither Adam nor Megabyte had ever heard of, and that they wouldn't
want to be asked to spell.  The old man had stared at each of them in turn
until they squirmed and then agreed to every thing they asked for.  Or
every thing but one.

Time.

On that subject he remained immovable.  No matter what they asked, they
always got the same answer.

You have one week.

Finally, the man on the left sighed and leaned back in his chair.  "All
right, Colonel.  We'll do our best for you in one week, but we're not going
to have the kind of specificity and accuracy we did before.  Emma was the
primary genius behind this.  She knew what to destroy as well as what to
take.  You'll have your catalyst, but I won't be answerable for any
unexpected side-effects that might crop up."

:What's this catalyst?: Megabyte asked.  :Dr Stratton didn't say anything
about a catalyst.:

:I don't know,: Adam answered.  :And I'm trying to listen.  Shut up,
Megabyte.:

"You'd do better to try to get the original stock back," the woman
commented.

"Won't Stratton have destroyed it?" the security man asked.

She laughed and shook her head.  "Not Emma.  She's fundamentally incapable
of throwing out anything that might be useful.  And it gives her a
bargaining chip, along with the baby.  That's why she took it instead of
just destroying it here and making it obvious what she'd done."

The Colonel smiled - if it could be called that.  It was a particularly
unpleasant expression.  "Then we'll just have to find a bargaining chip of
our own."  His sharp gaze flicked to his chief of security.  "Where's the
subject you did manage to hold on to?  She's about to get her chance to
show she's worth keeping around.  If anyone can find Stratton and the baby,
it ought to be her.  And if she can't, well..."  His voice trailed of
menacingly.

:That's Alice,: Megabyte said unnecessarily.

:And Kay said she doesn't have any special powers,: Adam agreed.  :We have
to get to her first.:

:How?  We don't know where she is.:

:Then we have to find her.  Come on.:

And Adam teleported.  Frowning, Megabyte followed.

They rematerialised back beside the garbage bin and the back door.  Adam
immediately started walking towards the end of the alleyway and the
compounds main courtyard.  Megabyte followed, protesting.

"They'll see us if we go out there."

"We'll be careful," Adam snapped back.  "If we go out there, that security
guy will have to come out of the building to go and find Alice.  We wait at
the end of the alley, wait, and then follow him."

"Maybe she's in the same building and he won't come out."

"She's not," Adam said firmly.

"How do you know?"

He shrugged.  "I just do.  And besides..."

He didn't get the chance to finish.  A large, ugly, yellow forklift came
lumbering around the corner, clearly heading for the rubbish container.
The driver braked instinctively as he saw the two young men, and the
machine slowed.  But then he must have realised there was no way they were
supposed to be there, and he hit the accelerator again, heading directly
for them.

With barely the chance to think, Adam and Megabyte turned tail and started
running in the opposite direction.

*****

Whatever else might have changed on Earth in the last decade or so, it
didn't appear to have been the military mind.  The man doing all the
talking didn't seem to be overly military, but the younger chap with him
certainly was.  He had that straight-backed stance and the
I-don't-do-my-own-thinking-so-don't-try-me look that tended to characterise
the armed services.  And now there was a general on the way.  Elizabeth
didn't think she had anything to say to a general.

She was tempted to just jaunt away.  But considering she wasn't supposed to
have left the beacon and its little bit of Pacific paradise, it probably
wouldn't be a good idea to draw attention to herself.  She would just have
to talk to this general when he showed up.

"What's going on, Frank?" a pleasant voice asked, and she looked away from
the compound to see that they had been joined by another man.  He looked to
be in his forties, with an oval face and brown-auburn hair.  He appeared
friendly, almost inoffensive, and Liz wondered what he was doing here.

"We found this lady, General," the man called Frank replied.  He jerked a
shoulder towards the fence.  "She seemed to be watching the compound and
she won't tell us what she's doing here."

Elizabeth was surprised.  This was the general?  Maybe things had changed
after all.

"This is a serious security matter, ma'am," he told her with quiet
authority.  "We need to know what you're doing here.  Do you have any
connection with or information about the institution on the other side of
that fence?"  To her surprise he still didn't give her that prickly feeling
at the back of her neck, as if her instincts found him a threat and were
telling her to run.  Instead, she almost wanted to help him, would almost
have answered his questions if her answers hadn't been quite so totally
unbelievable and likely to land her in the nearest loony bin.

He frowned when she didn't respond, and his voice grew a little harder.
"Then I'll have to ask you to come with us."  He placed a hand on her arm,
his grip surprisingly firm.  Or perhaps in should have been unsurprisingly,
Liz reflected, trying not to pull away.

It would be easier just to go.  She could always come back later, and there
didn't seem to be much of anything going on here just now.  Whoever was
inside, they weren't broadcasting at all any more.  There hadn't been
another peep from them since that first, aching cry.  It would be safer
just to go.

But that was when she felt it.  Something, coming from inside the compound.
 It wasn't fear, quite.  It wasn't panic, quite.  But there was something
of both of those.  A surge of adrenaline rendered into feeling, a taste, a
breath, a touch, present in the air if only you had the senses to receive
it.

Not even realising she was doing it, Elizabeth pulled free and stepped
closer to the fence, straining to feel something that came and went like
the breeze.

"Ma'am."  The general's voice was sharp now, and it blotted out the
almost-presence with a force that surprised her, far stronger than she
would have expected from a sap, especially one in the military.

But he hadn't run out of surprises for her yet.  He gave her a very
searching look and sighed.  "You know more than you're telling about what's
going on in there, don't you?  I really would appreciate a little
assistance.  There's a least one person on the other side of that fence in
serious trouble, and I want to get her out.  So I'll take any help you
might like to give."

Again, Liz found she wanted to help him - just preferably without getting
herself committed, arrested or dissected.  And ex-Federation Ambassador or
not, she didn't feel up to the job.  Which meant it was time to call in the
cavalry.

:Mike?  Are you busy?:

The answer came quickly, easy and laconic.  :Almost done.  Why?:

:I'm outside those buildings - I know, don't tell me off - and I've got a
general here who's very interested in both me and the other side of the
fence.  I thought you could come and talk to him.  You always were good at
talking your way out of trouble.:

There was a mental chuckle threaded through Mike's reply.  :I'm not sure if
that's a compliment or not.:

:Please, Mike.  He's starting to give me suspicious looks.:

:All right, I'm coming.:  On the other side of the planet, Mike brushed his
hand across the carving of the Ship's command console one last time, his
fingers tracing a specific, pre-determined pattern.  That done, he jaunted.

Behind him, the empty Ship began slowly coming to life.

*****

Jaunting in at a safe, theoretically undetectable distance, Mike could see
Elizabeth surrounded by three men, their expressions ranging from stern to
exasperated.  As he walked up to them, one of the men - the one looking
exasperated - shook his head and frowned.

"Look, lady.  Either you talk to us now, or you come with us and you talk
to us later.  Why don't you make it easy on all of us and talk now?"

Mike put on his most ingratiating smile and joined the group.  "Is there
anything I can do to help?"

*****

The forklift rounded another corner, Adam and Megabyte a few, precious
metres in front.  Running took up all their consciousness, leaving no room
for anything else.  Pounding feet, thumping heart, harsh, rasping
breathing, aching legs, swinging arms.  The whole world was running, except
for that little bit that was aware of the towering, lumbering threat
behind, that for all its ungainly awkwardness, was still gaining, steadily,
steadily, steadily.

Far off to one side was the outer fence, twisted metal wire the only
barrier to the sanctuary that was the street outside.  But it was too far
away.  Too far to be reached, too far considered, yet only a glance away.

Coming up in front of them was a wall - rough unplastered concrete, grey
and ugly.  Coming up behind them was the forklift - its forks lowered,
shiny, dangerous and lethal.  No time to change direction, no time to jump
aside, no time to think.

And finally, at the last possible moment, when sense and reason and
rational thought had failed, blind instinct kicked in.

They teleported.

The forklift hit the wall.

And did some serious damage.

*****

Mike had paused, mid-glib explanation, as two people had come pounding
around a corner inside the compound, closely followed by a large, yellow
forklift that looked like it meant business.  Elizabeth's head came up
sharply, turning towards the running figures without being prompted.
Beside him the general - Damon he had said his name was - had gone quite
still, watching.

They ran almost blindly, taking the only direction left to them, caught
between the barrier in front and the danger behind, and then, suddenly,
they had disappeared, with a pop and a snap and a flash.

Surprised despite himself, Mike blinked.  "What was that?"

"That was my son."  The general sounded resigned more than anything else.
Not surprised, not afraid, not even angry, just resigned.

Elizabeth gave Damon a thoughtful look.  His son?  Deciding it was an
acceptable risk, she spoke her next sentence out loud instead of silently,
privately, as she had been intending to.  "They jaunted, Mike.  I think
we've found our telepaths."

Mike nodded.

The look on Damon's face was comical.

-end, part 8

Kerry

--
[e-mail]

Fanfic: http://www.forty-two.co.nz/kerry/fanfic.html

"We shall be remembered in spite of ourselves"



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jennifer Welk <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Disarm [Part 1 of 3]
Date: 23 Oct 1998 13:50:00 -0700 (PDT)




Chapter 1: Who's Been Sleeping in My Head?



An uncharted island in the South Pacific


    Adam sat up in bed.  Another empty day, he thought.  He'd been
discharged from St. Mary's detox ward three days ago, but nothing had
really seemed to change.  His mother and Gen. Damon were still waiting for
new developments in the search for Tyrran.  Although the FBI had a plant
in the Malloran Corporation, he'd been unsettlingly quiet for a few days.

    Adam could only hope the trail wouldn't go completely cold.  Of
course, myself and some of the other TPs could search for her ourselves,
but the consequences of the rest of us being captured by Van Cade is too
great, he had to admit.

    So all he could do was wait....



[Will I wake up is it a dream I made up]
[No I guess it's reality]
[What will change us or will we mess up]
[Our only chance to connect with a dream]

[Say a prayer for me I'm buried by the sound]
[In a world of human wreckage in a world of human wreckage]
[I'm lost and I'm found and I can't touch the ground]
[I'm plowed into the sound]




Main offices of Worldex Securities, London, England



    "It doesn't look good," Megabyte said.  "Adam has been holed up on
the spaceship ever since he got out of the hospital."

    "He's come to visit me once," Josie said.  "He's still hurting
badly.  Megabyte, I have half a mind to ask you to take Dane, Karris and
Ethan over there to talk to him."

    "Who are Dane, Karris and Ethan?" Gen. Damon asked.

    "My husband, Adam's stepfather, and our twin daughter and son,
Adam's half-siblings."

    "I would presume Dane Whitmarsh?"

    "And Karris and Ethan Newman-Whitmarsh."

    "Unbelievable.  Adam actually does have family."

    "He hasn't lived with us since his powers manifested.  He thought
the stakes of someone coming after the rest of the family to get to him
were just too high," Josie said sadly.

    Just then an aide burst into the room.  "General Damon?  This just
came in," she said, waving a piece of fax paper.  "Someone matching Miss
Quinlan's description has been spotted by the FBI plant in the Malloran
Corporation."

    "Finally!  Where in New Jersey is Malloran's main operations?" he
asked, taking the paper.

    "In the Fort Lee area."

    "Fort Lee's not too far away from Ridgefield Park." He turned to
Josie.  "You were right, Josie.  You hypothesized that she'd end up
there."

    "Should I call Adam in?" Megabyte asked.

    "Yes," Gen. Damon answered.

    "Okay."  Megabyte pulled himself in and focused.  [[Adam?  Are you
there?]]




An uncharted island in the South Pacific



    [[Yeah.  What's going on, Megabyte?]]

    [[I need you to come to Worldex.  We just got word on where Tyrran
probably is.]]

    [[I'll be right there.]] Adam said excitedly.  He stood up and
teleported.




Main offices of Worldex Securities, London, England



    "...Keith Leonard, the FBI plant, finally saw her at the research
labs in New Jersey.  That's where we figured that Van Cade would take
her."

    "Okay, so now what do we do?"

    "We need a plan, for starters," Gen. Damon said.  "This is
something I hoped I would never have to do--organize an all-TP strike team
for whatever reason.  One thing I know for sure is that even though I'm
not happy about putting you in a dangerous situation like this, I'm going
to need all the TPs I can get, considering that it's another TP we're
dealing with."

    "Well, you've got myself and Adam, Dad, no question.  Who else do
you need?"

    "I really hate to say this because of her age, but I think Jade's
psychometry could be of use...Have Nerisa or the Forrester twins developed
any special abilities of their own?"

    "Not that we know of, but we finally figured out what Ami's is,"
Adam said.

    "During that incident with the weather machine--this was before
Tyrran taught us how to teleport objects--Ami teleported us away from a
pretty nasty situation.  It turns out that she generates a synchronicity
field that she can mentally 'reach out' and use it to copy the powers of
another TP," Megabyte explained.  "She copied mine and Adam's own
teleportation and used it to augment hers to get us out of there."

    "Then Ami had better go with you.  If you go up against Van Cade,
Ami could copy his id insinuation and use it against him," Josie
postulated.

    "And even though we don't know if the Forresters have any
different powers, Jaycen and Skyler could provide general backup,"
Megabyte said.  "I 'talked' to them a couple nights ago and they said to
call again if we needed any help.  But I'm not even going to try and
contact Nerisa because of her hyperprotective parents.  We don't have time
to waste arguing with them."

    "Then that settles it," Gen. Damon said.  "Contact the others.
We've got some planning to do."



Main offices of the Malloran Corporation, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey


    Across the Atlantic, a council of corporate war was in progress in
Nina-Jane Malloran's office.

    "We've been monitoring MedStar for months and found as many of the
chinks in their armor as possible.  The time has come to exploit those
chinks and take them over," she said to a gathering of her subordinates.
"And Van Cade has  made us a tool that should prove most useful."

    On that note, Van Cade entered the office, followed by Sindel, and
Malloran continued.  "Granted, Sindel does have her drawbacks.  She is
physically mute--she only speaks telepathically, so Van Cade is the only
person she can communicate with.  However, she can hear, she has most of
the same powers Van Cade does, and provided things went according to Van
Cade's plans, she should follow orders to the letter, provided they aren't
suicidal.

    "The first part of the plan is to have Van Cade and Sindel lead a
strike on MedStar headquarters tomorrow,  to crash their computer system
and sabotage any major developments, and then we plan from there.  You all
are to report to Docking Port 6 at 10:00 am."



The psionic plane


    Tyrran listened in horror as Malloran's words echoed around the
foyer. --Oh, shit,-- she thought, --as if things couldn't get any worse.
There has to be something I can do.--  She racked her memory for
possibilities.  --I don't know if I can contact Adam without Sindel or
Zachary knowing about it...but I won't know unless I try.--




[To see wide open with a head that's broken]
[Hang a life on a tragedy]
[Plow me under the ground that covers]
[The message that is the seed]

[Say a prayer for me I'm buried by the sound]
[In a world of human wreckage in a world of human wreckage]
[I'm lost and I'm found and I can't touch the ground]
[I'm plowed into the sound]



Later that night....


Main offices of Worldex Securities, London, England



    "This is information that has just been sent here by Keith," Josie
said to the assembled TPs--Adam, Ami, Megabyte, Jade, Jaycen, and Skyler.
"One part of it is the news that Malloran is planning a preemptive strike
against MedStar by sending Van Cade and Tyrran to crash their computer
system--tomorrow.  Keith says that as far as he can tell, Tyrran's been
subjected to some form of behavior modification."

    The TPs groaned in unison.  Then Ami spoke up.  "Now what do we
do?"

    "We take a preemptive strike against their preemptive strike," was
Gen. Damon's reply.  "The other piece of info that Keith managed to send
was a general layout of Malloran's research labs."  He laid it out on the
table in the center of the room and pointed to an area identified only as
Docking Port 6.  "The fireworks start here tomorrow morning at 10:00 am
EST--which means that we need to be up and ready to go around 8:30 EST."

    "So basically, we're going to lie in wait for them," Skyler said.

    "Do you have any better ideas?" Megabyte asked him.

    Skyler shook his head.

    "Any other questions?" Josie asked.  "No?  Then I advise you all
go home and try to get some sleep."



An uncharted island in the South Pacific


    Sleep was the thing that took a while to come to Adam.  When he
did fall asleep, it wasn't peaceful for long.

    [[Adam?  Can you hear me?]]

    [[Tyrran?]] he mentally murmured, trying to wake up again.  [[Is
that you?]]

    [[No!  Don't wake up!]] she said.  [[I need your shields down
because I'm trying to keep Sindel and Zachary from overhearing us.]]

    [[Who on Earth are Sindel and Zachary?]]

    [[To make a long story short, Sindel is the new personality that's
co-opted my body.  Zachary is the seemingly insane TP who created her.]]

    [[This would be Zachary Van Cade?]]

    [[That's the one.]]  Tyrran said, and sighed.  [[Zachary's control
of Sindel is so complete that I don't even speak anymore.]]

    [[Listen, don't worry.  We're going to get you out of there.]]

    [[That's going to be easier said than done.   The only way you're
going to know that it's Sindel controlling my body and not me is that she
put a weird green streak in my hair when she was implanted.  I haven't
figured out a way to force her back out again ...Oh, no, I've got to go,
Sindel's waking up.]]

    [[Wait!  Not yet--]] but she was gone.




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: TPFICT: Disarm [Part 1 of 3]
Date: 23 Oct 1998 21:39:25 EDT

In a message dated 98-10-23 16:51:04 EDT, you write:

<< Subj:     TPFICT: Disarm [Part 1 of 3]
 Date:    98-10-23 16:51:04 EDT
 From:    [e-mail] (Jennifer Welk)
 Sender:    [e-mail]
 Reply-to:    [e-mail]
 To:    [e-mail]




 Chapter 1: Who's Been Sleeping in My Head?
  >>

   Kewl :)  Got more? :)



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The joining part 0 of 0
Date: 24 Oct 1998 10:03:04 +0100

The Joining
Part 0 of 0
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

This fan fic is written in homage to the Tomorrow People a show which I
have loved since childhood.

The outline of the story is based on a more main stream sci-fi novel
written by myself called 'This Planet Earth', which is not about The
Tomorrow People at all. It has been changed and adapted here to relate
more closely to the original TP characters.

Disclaimer:
Most of the Characters contained in this story are not mine but are
borrowed from the 1970s  and 1990's Series The Tomorrow People. They are
the property of the creators and copyright holders.

Any other characters, planets and cultures are the sole creation and
property of Jacqueline Newman. No one may post this story to any web
page without my permission other than the tpfict archives.

Personal comment:
This story is set after the events in Shaun Hately's 'Exodus' but then
diverges to follow a very different chronology to many other TP fan
fics. I would like to thank Shaun for his input regarding some details
in the story.

I would also like to thank Shawn Lazerus, Kristy, Ariana and Beth for
betareading this fan fic. As well as the many other writers who have
allowed me to use references from their own work.

And a big thanks to Wendy for her patience and help in posting this
story.


Warning:
I feel that many of you may dislike the nature of this fan fiction. By
it's very style and content it is controversial, and breaks many of the
established TP canon. I have endeavoured, throughout the story, to move
the Tomorrow People on into a more adult world and explore situations as
diverse as relationships, religion, drugs and death.

If you hate it please be gentle on me, if you love it let me know. I
hope that at least you will find it thought provoking.

This story contains a few swear words which the reader may find
offensive.

Jack Newman
[e-mail]


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 1 of 18
Date: 24 Oct 1998 10:06:29 +0100

Chapter 1 The Joining
Part 1 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail]
An Original Series Story

********

Earth Equivalent Date: June 18th 1983

After work I walked from the infirmary to my room rather than taking the
transport. It was quite a long way around the outer ring of the Trig's
humanoid shell, but  I had to clear my head of the anguish of the past
few days and get on with my life.

Behind me a siren began to wail.

The force of the explosion was terrific. It ripped through the fabric of
the station, like it was made of paper, as the antimatter generator on
level two lost it's integrity field and ruptured the power conduits
throughout the sphere.

The One Mind went into emergency link and used their psionic powers to
control the blast as much as they could keeping in the atmosphere for as
long as possible so that everyone could evacuate.

I ran back towards my emergency station and as I passed the damaged
sector on walkway three I sensed some survivors trapped in the
engineering bay.

Without thinking I used the localised teleporter situated around the
next bend and got  past the worst of the damage. Once there I used  my
medi-kit to help the wounded. Gradually the grip of the One Mind
weakened. The structure around me began to groan as it took additional
weight of the levels above. The rupture in the outer wall gaped
ominously and oxygen began to leak out into the void of space. Knowing
that I was the only one around I had to  help these people while their
was still a chance.

A senior systems engineer, who introduced himself as Loftori of Paldrin,
was the least injured and once I had healed his head wound he began to
use an anti-gravity unit as a stretcher. Muttering to himself, what I
guessed to be Paldrinian profanities, he wrestled the bulk of his Lorian
team leader onto the rig. He took great care not to put stress on the
temporary dressing I had applied to the team leader's side. Meanwhile I
busied myself with regeneration of a broken limb of the next patient.
Despite this preoccupation I had time to appreciate the care that this
gentle giant took over his colleagues as he moved them off towards
safety.

The radiation tag on my uniform slowly went a dark blue and I knew that
we were all close to fatal exposure.

Then, with a thunderous screeching sound, a bulkhead against which I had
leant some of the wounded folded under the seismic stress. Leaping clear
of the ensuing fireball and momentarily stunned I awoke to find myself
pinned beneath a piece of machinery. The engineer returned and together
we tried, me with telekinesis and him with brute strength, to dislodge
the heavy weight. But the radiation was taking it's toll and shortly we
both knew that our efforts were ineffectual. The teleporter remote that
I had carried with me had been completely buried beneath the rubble of
the wall as it collapsed, and was also useless.

"I'll go for help." He shouted over the increasing roar of escaping
atmosphere.

"No time. Get the others back to safety, this radiation damage is past
repair anyway."

He pulled another colleague, who had been blown clear as the bulkhead
collapsed, onto the anti grav unit. His mind was full of remorse, but
following his training he understood the logic of the situation. Without
glancing back in my direction he pushed them away towards the walkway.

So alone I lay struggling for breath in the thinning air...

********


It took many years to be convinced to take on this task but now that I
have agreed the biggest decision is where to start.

"At the beginning."  The Tomorrow People had said in unison.

Yes, but where did it all begin? I could bore you with tales of my
childhood on my birth planet Manyarner, for the humans among you this is
pronounced mañana much like the Spanish word for tomorrow. An apt
coincidence as Stephen once pointed out.

This time was taken up with studies for my vocation as a healer. I had
to learn to read the genetic trace of the myriad of species within the
federation. And apply my telekinetic skills at the sub atomic level to
kill disease and encourage tissue regeneration.

If you are interested, details of these techniques can be found in the
galactic medical data base accessible from any biotronic computer
interface.

When I was asked to write this memoir I thought that it was rather a
stupid idea, after all what had I really achieved over the last hundred
years? It was Stephen who pointed out that if it was not for my
involvement this, as he put it, 'rather backward planet in a binary star
system on the outer spiral arm of a rather insignificant galaxy', would
not have become the centre for commerce it is today.

But for now I have to find a more suitable place to begin my story. As I
look out from the window across the Scottish loch towards the distant
mountains on the planet Earth, which I now consider my home, it seems to
me that the most important phase of my life began the day I met Stephen
and trying to overcome the temptation to turn this memoir into a love
story I will begin there.

I was 10 Earth years old, as the Manyarnern's amongst you will know this
is a full grown and mature, or so I thought at the time, adult to my own
species. I had begun a tour of duty for the federation on the galactic
Trig and being a natural healer had rapidly risen to the rank of medical
technician in the humanoid sector.

I was on duty one morning when a rather pale looking young man was
brought into my section. He regained consciousness just as I finished a
neural probe.

His large childlike eyes looked up from the couch and realising that I
was not exactly human jumped to the floor. "Where the hell am I?"

His thoughts were a crazy jumble of fear and intrigue and it took all
the psionic control I could muster to keep him rooted to the spot whilst
I completed entering his file to the medical data base and walked around
to face him.

"Hi, I'm Angerianaasusilicana." I said "Rather a mouthful I know so you
can call me Angie."

"Stephen." He whispered

"Yes I know." And I did, his mind was as open as a child's and very easy
to read.

In the first few moments of consciousness he had revealed many details
about the Tomorrow People and their role as representatives for the
planet called Earth, a developing closed world, under the protection of
the Federation.

"How do you know?"

This was going to take a while to explain. The brain damage he had
sustained had taken away most of his memories of his last few years
working for the Galactic Federation as an ambassador. Smiling warmly I
led him back to the couch and sat him down.

"Stephen, do you know where you are and how you got here?"

"I was listening to music in my quaters when I felt a sharp pain in my
head and found that I could not move or call the others. I thought that
I was having a brain seizure. Am I on the Trig?"

"Yes. You were on leave when the incident happened. The agents who took
you were from another Galaxy. They infiltrated the Trig's security
systems in order to snatch you. They used directed telepathic control,
you were unshielded at the time, and it overloaded your neuronal
pathways. There is no lasting damage done I have checked you over."

"I don't remember any of this." He said shaking his head. "When did it
happen?"

"You were taken six Earth months ago and have spent another three months
recovering."

He gave a low whistle. "That long?"

"Yes, let me explain some more."

The next few minutes were taken up with a long description about how
John, Elizabeth and the others had, at great risk to their personal
safety, tracked him down to a planet in a distant galaxy. He had been
rather crudely experimented upon and had been brought back to the Trig
for extensive medical treatment.

"You will have to stay a while longer just to make sure that you have
all of your abilities back." I said smiling.

"Where are the other Tomorrow People now?"

"John, Elizabeth, Patricia, Mike, Hsui Tai and Andrew are all outside
waiting to see you, I'm sure that they can fill you in with what has
happened since your capture. Tyso is still away on his travels. Carol,
Narscissa and Nova have returned to Adonisia."

The door silently opened to my telekinetic command and his friends
entered. They fell on him with great affection and I left them alone to
talk.

Returning two hours later it was obvious how tired he had become. I
settled him into a visitors room in the humanoid sphere and told him to
rest.

Standing in the doorway  I felt strangely drawn to this young human, I
turned. "I'll come by tomorrow to check on you, don't overdo things for
the next few days, promise."

He nodded. "I promise. I'll get as much rest as possible." The door
closed and I returned to the infirmary.

The other Tomorrow People left, to continue their respective roles on
various Federation worlds, a few days later. I watched their goodbyes at
the transmission station from a discrete distance. As the last of them
dematerialised I was suddenly aware of Stephen's intense loneliness. I
reached out to probe his mind. It was not only his friends that he
missed but his home planet, Earth, as well.

The authorities had evacuated his people from this closed world three of
their years ago. Their survival on such a hostile planet had been in
jeopardy and it had been felt best if they live and work from the Trig.
The Federation had also arranged for the planet's atmosphere to be
seeded with a substance called R.T.E. (Retrograde Triscriptase
Endonucleogen ) which was designed to inhibit the replication of the
Psi-gene in future human populations. This it was thought would prevent
further 'break outs' of their kind.

This had been accepted by them all as necessary but, despite the obvious
logic in the decision, I felt a sense of loss in each of their minds
whenever I communicated with them telepathically. It was obvious that
each Tomorrow Person had a secret desire to go back home hidden away in
the depths of their consciousness.

I walked over to stand beside Stephen. "Why don't we go for a walk?" I
suggested. As he turned towards me I was sure that tears were forming in
the corner of his eyes.

He took a deep breath and buried his feelings deeply. Taking my hand in
his he smiled. "Okay, let's go up to the arboretum and get some fresh
air, well, as fresh as you can have in this artificial environment."

********

We fell into a daily routine of meeting after my shift in the infirmary
and standing on the observation deck watching the returning cargo ships.
Soon we were conversing on a purely subvocal level exchanging emotions
as well as words.

One day whilst explaining the history of Manyarner and that my parents
being in the Circle of Elders had taken places on the One Mind, he
caught a thought from my unconscious. "They don't approve of our
relationship do they?"

Caught up in the intimacy of the exchange, I had forgotten to shield my
thoughts. This had become an increasing event, we seemed to slip into
deep rapport so naturally.
"No. They think that I could not possibly mate with such a backward
race."

My parents had in fact had many family gatherings on this topic, making
it plain that the genetic material of the species could not be watered
down with human DNA even if it was Homo Superior. Many Manyarnern
prejudices still remained in those days.

"They are worried that our paths are becoming too linked and considering
sending you to Adonisia to complete your convalescence with Carol and
Narscissa."

He gave a deep sigh and this time it was his thoughts which betrayed
him.

"So you are bored with doing nothing all day, why didn't you say? I can
send you back to duty any time, if that is what you really want. I
thought that you were enjoying being here with me. It's just that we
have become so close..." I reached out and touched his cheek gently and
completely opened up my mind. The intensity of the moment nearly knocked
him off his feet.

A few minutes later when we had both regained our composure we knew that
our paths were fused together.

"We will have to ask for the joining ceremony." I knew that this would
cause fireworks within my family. "They cannot keep us apart. Then we
can use my parents influence on the council to grant special
dispensation so that we can return to Earth together."

I delved deep into my cellular tissue and completed the transformation
in one subtle fluid motion.

"Didn't know I was a shape changer did you?"

Stephen stood dumbfounded my eyes were now dark brown rather than
scarlet, my hair shoulder instead of waist length and my skin a human
shade rather than it's usual gently translucent purple.

"They'll never let us leave, let alone return to Earth. It's a
completely closed world."

(Don't underestimate my parents influence.) I pathed with confidence.

But, of course, he was right. When we approached my parents office in
the administrative area they already sensed my changes. They cut Stephen
off from the telepathic argument that followed and try as I might their
control was absolute.

So it was with real human tears in my eyes that we said our farewells at
the Kalinar terminal the next day. I had felt it unwise to put Stephen's
newly repaired neuronal pathways through the rigours of the long jaunt
and the Kalinar was the best option available for getting him quickly to
his friends on Adonisia.

His shuttle left and I returned to the infirmary alone and dejected. A
part of my soul went with him that day. The telepathic link stretched to
it's limits as the Kalinar made the jump to hyperspace and then his
thoughts were gone...


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 2 of 18
Date: 24 Oct 1998 10:08:51 +0100

The Joining
Part 2 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

Earth equivalent date 14th Aug 1983
As many readers will now have guessed this story ends like many other
true romances with the hero returning just in the nick of time to rescue
the heroin and without disappointing you that's exactly what happened.

Stephen's Kalinar had turned around and left hyperspace as soon as they
detected the telepathic terror emanating from the Trig.

He insisted on jaunting over to the area where I was trapped despite the
warning about probable collapse and high radiation levels. I'm not sure
how he shifted that equipment. Near to unconsciousness and suffering
severe radiation poisoning he carried me back along the walkway until he
met a rescue party.

And so it ended with us both back in the infirmary being visited by my
parents. They were quite contrite as they thanked him for saving their
daughter.

(The only thing I could do for my future joining partner.) He sent on
our own secret wavelength.

I was not so discrete and let them pick up the thoughts about our
intention to join in the traditional way as soon as possible.

They capitulated and left two very humanoid patients to settle down and
sleep gently in subtle contact sharing their dreams.

And so I found myself standing naked before the circle of elders in the
temple of the fourth continent. Twelve units from my family estate by
the lake that borders Vanya province. The lake at that time of year was
a particularly appealing turquoise and I was longing to dive into it's
cool depths to feel the freedom of swimming without breathing apparatus
as you do on Earth. Swallowed up in the uniquely sensual qualities
created by the molecular structure of the water as it flows across the
skin.

The parcelling of land on Manyarner was completed many millennium ago,
in the Age of Diffusion, each family given a particular expanse in which
to build appropriate dwellings. The family homes pass down through many
generations but are occupied rarely. The population nowadays is spread
far throughout the galaxy most people returning only for holidays and
celebrations.

Each continent has it's own temple on common land, usually beside a
major city or space port. This temple, simple in it's construction, was
circular, as are most things on that world. The pillars of stone curved
in at what appeared to be a most unnatural angle towards the centre. It
seemed that they could fall in at any moment. These arcs serve to focus
the psionic energy field that permeates the whole planet.  Psionic
energy is a central aspect of all our technology and has ritualistic and
symbolic importance as well.

At this point it seems appropriate to give a concise religious,
technological and historical description of my birth planet. Manyarnerns
may skip the next few pages. Humans with an interest in the
socio-political history of this world read on.

The first point of relevance is the matriarchal nature of the society.
There is no family name only a given name appropriate to genetic
specialisation. The talents of the females are recognised at birth and
indicated in the structure of the given name but not reflected in the
men's titles as their particular talents do not show themselves until a
few months of age.

My name has a literal interpretation as one who senses and brings
cohesion. This is as close an interpretation in English as I can give
it, my first born Andranovich being a linguist and specialist in human
languages may differ in his interpretations. My telekinetic speciality
was interpreted as the natural qualities of a healer and my entire
schooling was geared to that end.

Thus the females who show particular talents in focusing psionic energy
carry responsible roles in most religious ceremonies, except I may add
the joining ceremony, about which I was telling you. This is the only
true manifestation of this matriacal society men being equal in all
other circumstances.

I have never been very religious and Manyarnern belief structures do not
conform to the many human religious philosophies. They tend to be
related to what is known of the scientific structure of the dimensions
and the creation catastrophe.

It has just been pointed out by Susan that my thoughts are rambling on
and an excerpt from the historical data base will give you a far better
insight into Manyarnan society than the meanderings of an old woman.


Federation Historical Data Base.
English Version
Search Parameters Manyarnern Social, political
and religious history.
The Age of Conflict (Earth chronology BC 15000) to The Age of Harmony
(Earth chronology AD 2000)

Abridged synopsis bulleted for transmission.
Select category for display.
The Age of Conflict
Overview
Political Leaders
Religious orders
Ideology
The constitutional Law
Continental Hierarchies.


Terminal Out of memory. Please re - code for smaller search parameters.


I suggest that you look up any more details yourself.

Why was I naked? Most ceremonies are performed that way. When you live
in a society where your inner consciousness is on daily display the most
naked you can feel is when a stray unprotected and derogatory thought
about someone else slips through and is detected by those around you. In
addition Manyarner has a particularly mild and temperate climate where
cloths are hardly needed.

Traders from other federation worlds have introduced some beautiful
materials in recent years which change in colour and texture to the
changing emotional states of the individual. Such materials are usually
fashioned into a long tunic bound at the waist by a band.

Anyway, in religious ceremonies no adornment is necessary as the spirit
alone is revealed to those present. Stephen on this first introduction
to our philosophies was blushing at his predicament and not knowing
quite where to look. I might add that the witnesses to any such ceremony
also go naked. Think of that next time you are at a Terran wedding.  I
had explained how we would have our brain patterns scrambled, there was
no better English term for it, then reformulated in synchrony during the
ceremony. A rather painful but rewarding experience as he later
commented.

He looked over at me from his side of the platform and smiled wryly. (If
John and Liz could see me now they'd die of embarrassment.) He sent.

In human years he was just turned 23 and, although he had worked as a
Federation ambasador for many years, was still not considered mature
enough for marriage by his friends.

Obeying the subvocal commands of the surrounding consciousness he knelt
lowering his head to receive the touch of my father. The details of how
the joining is performed is one of the only Manyarnern ceremonies that I
cannot explain. If such an explanation were possible without resorting
to unconscious transmission of ideas Stephen would be best to describe
it as he has performed it for Susan since.

A few months later we received the special dispensation we requested.
This gave us permission to return to Earth, as observers only, on behalf
of the Federation.

"I don't know how you managed to pull it off." Remarked a shocked John
when we told him of our iminent departure. "I've only just come to terms
with the idea that we would be spending many years stuck here."

"Where are you two going to live?" Asked Mike mischievously. "The lab
has been closed down for years and it only has single cabins."

"We are going to stay with my parents and see whether we can live a more
normal human life style."

"You mean a sap lifestyle." Snapped John. His jealousy at Stephen's
marriage and subsequent side stepping of official Federation protocols,
was only just kept in check.
"Won't your powers begin to fade as you are exposed to the chemicals in
the atmosphere? Soon you'll forget all about us and everything we stand
for."

Stephen's voice rose as he became angered by John's attitude. "No. We
have been given a special antidote which will allow us to keep our
powers. You're just sore that they didn't allow you to have it."

Elizabeth, sensing their anger, and quite unused to seeing them argue in
such a way,  changed the subject. "Stephen, please let all of our
families know that we are well and miss them."

"I will."

After a while we headed for the transmission station. I have to mention
at this point that, although I have very strong telepathic and
telekinetic abilities, I am not a natural teleporter and usually have to
use a matter transporter bracelet. Stephen tried at length to teach me
but my physiology just could not adapt to this remarkable ability.


We arrived in a dimly lit lab and briefly exchanged greetings with TIM.
Then we headed off to meet Stephen's parents. They were shocked, at
first, to see their son materialise in the lounge of their London home.
Having come to terms with his enforced evacuation from the planet, they
had not expected to hear from him for many years.

They were very nice people and tried hard to accept me into their
family. They were fully aware of his abilities as a Tomorrow Person but
found it difficult to accept his choice of wife as an alien from a
distant world. They seemed unable to take in the many ways in which
myself, and our first child, differed from other humans in both
physiology and psychic abilities.

I recall one summers day as I lay in the back garden of their London
home with Andranovich still an infant beside me on the rug. Julia
reached out and called him to her. She had obviously expected him to
crawl like most human babies. But much to her astonishment he obeyed her
command by gently lifting himself from the ground and floating
effortlessly into her outstretched arms.

She gave a rather undignified shriek which woke me from my reverie. "My
God! How could it... I mean he, do a thing like that?"

"I've explained before that we have many unusual talents and can tap the
natural energy fields around us to move objects at will, you've surely
seen Stephen do similar things on countless occasions. I must admit
though that Andranovich has never shown this ability before and I don't
want him floating out of his pram in the middle of the supermarket. I'll
have to get an inhibitor band from the lab and fit it as soon as
possible."

She did not seem to have heard anything that I said and continued to
stare at the child as he floated back to the ground and began to play
with a favourite toy.

"Yes dear, I suppose so" She glanced over the fence to see if the
neighbours were within earshot. " I do think that he may need to see a
doctor this isn't quite normal for a child his age."

What did she think? That he had some kind of disease that could be
cured? My anger rose at the possibility of another drawn out
conversation about the nature of my people and how we differed from
humans. This conversation was happening with monotonous regularity and
it made me angry that such seemingly sophisticated people could be so
blind to the evidence of their own eyes. I went within her to read the
worried and confused thoughts. This made me ashamed for getting so
irate. Her mind was very orderly and simple in it's reasoning. The world
as she understood it fitted into neat little compartments each suiting a
part of her daily routine as housewife and grandmother. There was no
malevolence here just ignorance. She had no desire to widen the scope of
her limited existence and further explanations would hit the same
simplistic understanding and fall on deaf ears. I decided to wipe the
incidence from her memory and change the conversation.

Still it is down to Julia and Tom Jameson that Stephen inherited the
house in Scotland,  and enough capitol to form Jameson Industries and
later the Jameson foundation. This enabled us to live undetected, well
almost, amongst the humans for the next few decades.








--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 3 of 18
Date: 24 Oct 1998 10:11:03 +0100

The Joining
Chapter 2 It's a Sap's Life
Part 3 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

Settling into my new life was not as easy as I had imagined. For the
first two years we lived with Julia and Tony in the back room of their
four bedroom house in Kingston. My favourite pass-time in those days was
walking beside the Thames on warm summer evenings. Stephen and I
conversed subvocally and I soon grew accustomed to the many unusual
norms of this rather bizarre and contradictory society. On one occasion
as we stood and looked down river towards the bridge I noticed a man
jogging with a dog on a leash.

(Why does the dog stay with him when it is so unhappy.) I sent.

(What?)

(That dog over on the other bank, it seems particularly displeased at
being forced to run along like this when it is so hungry.)

(Do you read everything around you including all the animals?)

(Yes. Don't you? I read the feelings of all creatures in the immediate
surroundings, unless they are shielded of course, it just slips into my
mind. I'd say that the range is about forty metres. If the thoughts I
detect are boring I usually filter them out but with animals they are so
base, so instinctive that I cannot help but try to understand them.)

(All those unwanted thoughts and feelings must swamp you and get very
confusing.)

(No, it seems quite natural, almost unconsciously I sort them out and
either respond or ignore them.)

I looked along the path at a couple hand in hand. (From the outside they
look pretty happy, wouldn't you say?)

He followed my gaze and stared at the couple. The man tenderly touched
the woman's face then bent and pressed his lips firmly on hers. She
reciprocated and soon they were in a deep embrace.

(Now go into them...) I took Stephen's hand and linked my mind. Then
stretched out our consciousness towards the couple.

"Stop that!" He jerked his hand away and stared at me. "That's invasion
of privacy."

Resuming the discussion in speech I snapped back. "Oh come on, you sound
just like John. Don't be so righteous. You'd love to really know what
they are feeling. You can not deny it."

"Yes, that may be true I am curious. But we don't have the right to
stick our noses into every one else's business just because we can. On
your world..." He switched back to telepathy. (You may be very open and
honest and feel that there is nothing to hide, but here we think that
privacy is important. I wouldn't want every Tom, Dick or Harry to know
my inner most secrets, and I know that you often shield, even from me,
so I'm sure you feel the same.)

I looked at him disappointedly. This conversation was getting us
nowhere. I could feel his irritation rising and did not want it to end
in an argument. Turning back to the man with the dog I resumed my
original line of questioning.

(So, why does the dog stay? I'm sure that you don't mind me reading the
helpless creature?)

(I suppose it has something to do with domestication of certain species.
We live in a sort of symbiotic relationship. In return for feeding the
animal it remains with us as a companion. I've never met a dog that
really minded. Try reading it again now that he has let it run free.)

I looked across at the animal, the man had unfastened the leash and
while he gasped for breath the dog bounded around enthusiastically. I
went into it. Stephen was right, the animal did not choose to run away.
Neither did it feel compelled to stay. Rather it thought of the human as
a leader of a pack who commanded respect. As I stood concentrating on
the dog it suddenly sprang off the bank in pursuit of a stick that had
been thrown for it. Caught up in the thrill of the moment I too launched
myself into the river.

With a huge splash that nearly soaked Stephen I landed head first in the
murky water. I'm not sure who was more surprised him, me or the courting
couple a few metres away. Rising to the surface I indicated that I was
fine and began to scramble up the bank. Standing there like a drowned
rat Stephen began to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"That'll teach you a lesson not to delve into other people, or
unsuspecting animals. You said that you could control the feelings but I
suspect that this time they controlled you."

(Yes, well... I did sort of get carried away.)

(I thought for a moment that you were going to retrieve the stick
yourself.)

That comment elicited a good natured dig in the ribs and we started off
home chuckling to ourselves as I squelched along.

As we approached the front door of the house Stephen turned and kissed
me lightly on the cheek. He had a very mischievous expression on his
face and without asking I guessed what he wanted to know.

(He was thinking that she was not as good in bed as his wife.) I sent.
Then slipped inside and hurried upstairs to get myself dry.

One of the early problems, apart from wearing cloths which blistered my
skin and shoes which strangled my toes, was who I should be introduced
as. We had to invent a suitable background as well as the appropriate
documentation. The latter was fairly easy once we had acquired the
proper stationary. After discussing the situation with his parents we
decided that I was an old pen pal from overseas who had come to visit.
Later on we established our relationship with his friends. This was
especially important once I fell pregnant with my first child.

The pregnancy was not really planned and brought all sorts of problems
into the open. Firstly how could we explain a gestation period of just
three months to a human doctor. As well as an exponential growth rate
which doubled a child's weight in the first few hours after birth. Then
there was the problem of it's appearance. Luckily Andranovich was born
with human features and seldom showed the shape changing qualities of
the later children.

For these and many other reasons I decided to return to Manyarner, via
the trig, for the birth. John and Elizabeth met me at the receiving
station.

"Well, we wondered why you were returning alone so soon." Said Liz
smiling. "The answer is pretty obvious now." She motioned to my swollen
abdomen. "When is it due?"

"Two more months. I plan to have the baby back on Manyarner and don't
fancy a long teleport so I've arranged for a Kalinar to take me the rest
of the way."

(Stephen's lucky to marry into such an influencial family.) Pathed John
to Elizabeth. Then he blushed as he realised that I could read
everything he sent.

(Yes we feel that we are very privilaged.) I replied sarcastically.

It was two days before I was due to leave that I discussed my concerns
over John's attitude with Elizabeth. We were sitting at the table in her
quarters.

"I know that Stephen and I have not been together for very long, and
that he and John have been the best of friends for years, but I sense
strange emotions from John whenever I am around. Have I done something
to upset him?"

Elizabeth, trying to avoid my gaze, looked into her coffee cup. "No, not
at all it's just..." She stopped mid sentence and immediately put up a
telepathic shield. "I mean no, we just don't see much of you both these
days."

I looked at her. "That was not what you were planning to say."

"Well no. But it doesn't really matter."

"I think it does or you would not be shielding from me. If you cannot
put it into words then we can merge and share our feelings." I reached
across the table and touched her hand gently.

Suddenly we were inside each others minds. I felt her motherly instincts
towards the younger Tomorrow People and something else...

(Oh! Your in love with him. Does he love you? I see it was Carol. But
she's happy with Narscissa now. He is jealous of Stephen. We'll have to
do something about that.)

She pulled her hand away abruptly.

"Please don't say anything. John has to be strong for all our sakes. He
has spent many years suppressing his feelings in order to be our..."

We looked up as we sensed two figures jaunting in.
"Hello there." Said Mike as he came over to join us. "Why the long
faces?"

Later that evening I decided that it was time to force the issue between
John and Elizabeth. I called Mike, Hsui Tai, Andrew and Tricia over to
the my room in the Manyarnern ambassadorial suite.

"I have been certain that John was keeping part of himself closed off
from the rest of us since I first came to join you." Commented Hsui Tai.
"Do you remember how upset he was after that incident with Sarah?"

Mike nodded. "It's like he never really lets himself go and enjoy life
like the rest of us. He always has to be proper and responsible. Really
boring like that."

Hsui gave him a disgusted look. "John is just trying to do what's right
for all our sakes."

"Yes, but he seems so unhappy. Can't we help him out?" Andrew added,
trying to break the tension between them.

"I have a suggestion. We could ask them to join with us in a blending
ceremony. This is a ritual used on my planet all the time, everyone
opens themselves up to each other and shares their inner most thoughts."

Mike stiffened in the chair. "You mean they share everything?"

"Yes, what's wrong with that? I can sense that it makes you feel
apprehensive."

"Who me? No. I've got nothing to hide."

"Well then, that's settled." I said before Mike could find an excuse not
to take part. "We will tell them that it is part of Manyarnern law
always performed prior to the birth of a child and then let them find
out each others feelings themselves."

The next day, back in Elizabeth's quarters, we all sat around the table
and I took the lead.

"Blending ceremonies usually have a lens to focus the thoughts." I said
"I'm not too sure how to do this but I can probably channel through my
mind in order to link each of us at a deep unconscious level. There is
nothing to be afraid of it's quite a joyous experience."

"Let's get on with it then." Remarked John gruffly.

It had taken quite some persuasion by Mike and Liz to get him to agree
to this ceremony. They had told him how important it was for me to feel
part of the Tomorrow People and reluctantly he had agreed.

At first they were all very guarded but as the blending went deeper into
their subconscious minds they each revealed parts of themselves that
they usually kept hidden. I do not intend to go into details here. The
telepaths amongst you will probably be familiar with this ceremony, but
on this occasion it had the desired effect of revealing John and
Elizabeth's feelings for one another and we all breathed a sigh of
relief as John's mood lightened.

"I think it's time I used my influence to get the council to change
their ruling and allow us all to return to Earth." I said. "I'll talk to
them as soon as I return fom Manyarner."

A few hours later I began the long Kalinar journey back to my home
world. Once there I was greeted by my parents who had also returned
home to assist in the birth. The last few days during the quickening of
the child were particularly lonely but once I felt it's consciousness
within me I was relieved that the mixing of our genetic material had
been successful.

Stepping off the Jaunting pad, in the Lab, we were greeted by an elated
Stephen and TIM. At last it felt like Earth was my true home, and
sleeping gently in my arms was Stephen's baby son.

During my absence Stephen had decided to enrol at University. The others
were quite shocked by this decision as he had always hated Earth
schools. He pointed out that if he was going to get a job qualifications
would be needed. It would have been much easier for TIM to create the
necessary certificates for him, but he felt that it would do us both
good to continue living amongst the saps for a while.

"And I can also look out for more potential Tomorrow People." He said in
response to their questioning. "Even if their break out's are meant to
be supressed, there could still be some of us out their you know."

They could not disagree with this argument and resolved to support him
in his decision. Stephen also made arrangements for me to be enrolled at
the same university in the medical school, and shortly after my return
to we took up our places and moved into the married persons hall of
residence.


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 5 of 18
Date: 24 Oct 1998 14:46:53 +0100

The Joining
Chapter 2 It's a Sap's Life
Part 5 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story


My self satisfaction at that incident was rapidly diminished by the
events later that month. It was a difficult thing to accept that
although I was talented in healing way beyond any other human I would
not be free to use my powers openly within their society. The close
personal nature of the events made this realisation all the harder to
accept.

We were sitting in the lab. Stephen had just two months until his final
exams and was studying a book intently. Andranovich was playing a board
game with Andrew at one of the tables. Stephen suddenly clutched at his
chest and doubled over in pain.

Andranovich gasped and articulated the sensations we all felt. 'Nana and
grandad'

"TIM contact the others and tell them what has happened, and set
co-ordinates for my parent's house." Said Stephen as he strapped on a
stun gun. "Andrew you take care of Andranovich until we get back."

 I clipped a matter transporter to my wrist and we headed for the
jaunting pad.

"Please take me with you." Pleaded Andranovich.

There was no time to argue so I swept the child up into my arms.

Materialising in the lounge of the Kingston house we scanned the area
for their thoughts. (Nothing. They aren't here.) Pathed Stephen. (I know
what I felt was intense pain and injury. They must have been in some
sort of accident.)

He rushed outside, into the front garden, and began scanning  the local
area for their presence. We all joined hands and added our strength to
his own. Presently, we broke the link, it was obvious that they were not
in the vicinity.

A police car pulled around the bend and stopped in front of the house.

It took no time at all to glean the information about the motorway
accident from the mind of the officer as he approached us. Without
speaking we dashed back inside the house and contacted Tim who reset the
teleporter's co-ordinates for the St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey,
Surrey.

The casualty department was a hive of activity. We had thankfully
arrived in a deserted part of the corridor and made our way to the
admissions desk. Stephen's impatience showed as the receptionist looked
up his parents names.

"Sorry, but there has been no one by either of those names admitted
recently."

"There must be the police told us that following the accident they were
brought here by ambulance." He growled at the girl aggressively.

"I'll take another look." She turned back to her computer screen.

We heard a shout from behind us as a burley paramedic pushed his way
through the crowd.

It was Andranovich who noticed first, pointing in the man's direction as
he disappeared into the trauma room, he sent. (Over there. Over there!)

We dashed across the waiting area leaving the receptionist talking to
herself.

"No one is allowed in here." Said a security man as we tried to push our
way into the room.

"My parents are in there and they need me." Steven screamed almost
hysterically.

"No, what they need is the doctor right now. He will let you know when
you can see them." As if to make his comments final he stepped across
the entranceway.

(I don't have time for this.)

Steven lifted the stun gun which he had concealed in his palm up to face
the man.

"What are you going to do with that?" He gestured at the strange looking
device. "Be good and don't make a fuss please, your parents are in good
hands now."

The device spurted a stream of electrons and the guard stood ridged,
rooted to the spot with a frozen look of astonishment on his face.

As we entered the trauma room it was obvious that the situation was bad.
The tense atmosphere could have been read by any human in the
expressions of those present.

The consultant looked up from his examination of Julia and barked. "Who
let them in here? Guard! Guard!" When the guard did not appear he turned
to us. "I would expel you myself but I'm a bit tied up right now. Who
the hell are you anyway?"

"That's my mother and father."

His expression tightened as he addressed us. "I'm very sorry but there
is little I can do for them. Their injuries are just too severe."

On entering I had read the situation clearly, luckily Stephen had been
blinded by his anguish and could not sense the hopelessness of the
situation.

"We can help them..." he tried to explain, then in a sudden burst of
anger he swept the stun gun around the room freezing all of the staff.

I crossed the room and placed my hands on Tony's head. He had been dead
for many minutes and there was nothing that I could do for him now.
Stephen sensing this grabbed at my arm and demanded that I try to help.

(I can't bring him back to life, it's too late for that.)

(You must, he can't die, he just can't!)

Turning to the other trolley I rushed into Julia. Many of her bones were
broken and she suffered severe internal injuries. These I could
satisfactorily heal but the most worrying feature was the damage to her
head. The skull was completely crushed on one side and oozed with thick
semi-congealed blood.

Stephen noticed my hesitation and demanded an appraisal of the
situation.

(I can heal these other injuries, but the head trauma is just too
severe. Even if she did come round from the resulting coma the brain
damage would be too great, she will be a complete vegetable for the rest
of her life.)

(But you can read her cell structure, you can regenerate the damaged
area.)

(I can do certain things but I cannot replace the material which was
stored in the cells. I cannot give her back her mind.)

This was not what he wanted to here. Thumping the trolley with his fist
he took his mothers hand. Reaching into her with his limited telekinetic
powers he began to rejuvenate some of the tissue.

(Don't be so stupid you cannot do that all by yourself. It won't do her
any favours in the long run.) He ignored my pleading. I gently placed my
hand over his and went into him. His pain was evident, in desperation he
maintained the stubborn hope of her recovery.

I then became aware of Andranovich's consciousness joining our own.
Comforting thoughts spread through us and Stephen's grip on his mothers
hand weakened.

"They'll be waking in a few minutes." I motioned to the transfixed
medical staff standing around us.

With reluctance he stood and lifted Andranovich up to Julia's level. The
child kissed his grandmother tenderly and we all disappeared.

Later that night, at the university halls, we received the official
visit from a local police sergeant. He was very sympathetic as he broke
the news of Stephen's parents death in a fatal car accident. I did most
of the talking, Stephen just sat staring out of the window.

"By the way." He said as he headed for the door. "Staff at the hospital
reported that a couple with a child were fussing around in the casualty
department while they were treating Mr. and Mrs. Jameson. I have to ask,
do you have any idea who this could have been?"

"Well it obviously wasn't us we have been here all day." I looked across
at Stephen but he didn't seem to have heard. "It was probably some
distraught relatives of another patient, people do tend to get very
confused when they are anxious."

After closing the door I sat beside Stephen on the sofa. I went into him
but met what felt like a brick wall, he was heavily shielding his
thoughts and shutting me out completely. The hours crept by and
gradually the room was filled with early morning light.




--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 4 of 18
Date: 24 Oct 1998 14:46:37 +0100

The Joining
Chapter 2 It's a Sap's Life
Part 4 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

Warning:
This story contains a few swear words which the reader may find
offensive, as well as a few sexual innuendos and is rated PG.

********


Two years into my rather tedious medical training I was sitting in the
lecture theatre supposedly taking notes on  social medicine.  Dr.
Carlstrom, a fat balding man who seemed to dislike all students, was
being particularly pedantic about an issue raised by someone sitting at
the front. I was happily day dreaming about a glass of Tralmark, a thick
syrupy drink made from the berries of the Markless Tree. It has a heady
and slightly hallucinogenic quality and sharpens the psychic reflexes.
Unlike alcohol, a component of most drinks favoured by humans, there are
no cumulative affects on the system and no long term damage to the body.

I gradually became aware of the thoughts of another person close by.

(Stephen was that you?)

(What! Oh no, I'm in the middle of some rather fine tuning of this
oscilloscope for my next practical assessment. I'd rather be left alone
for now.) I received a quick view of the room in which he was working.
Other students busied themselves over their work and a rather attractive
girl lent close to him to ask a question. His eyes wandered down to her
cleavage and I sensed a slight tingle of excitement.

(Yes that is a rather fascinating piece of equipment.) He blushed, both
physically and mentally. Good humouredly I sent. (I'll have to have a
stiff talk with you later.)

Cutting off from him I began to scan the area for another telepath.

(Who's there?) This was on a very open frequency used by most telepathic
Federation citizens.

There was no reply at first them I received an image of the refectory.
This was obviously not a trained mind and as I guessed correctly coming
from a human. Standing abruptly I dropped my pad and paper onto the
floor.

"Do you have something to add to this discussion Ms. Jameson?"

The whole room looked up and stared at me, I sensed their relief for the
interruption to his conjectural ramblings. Mumbling something about
needing the bathroom I tried to prise my way past the row of students.

Carlstrom looked at his watch. "Well it's nearly twelve o'clock, I
suppose you might as well go. The whole assembly needed no more
motivation and everyone rose to file out of the door.

Many people whispered into my ear. "Well done." As I headed rapidly for
the canteen.

Pushing my way through the door into the busy throng of people I looked
around the room. There were hundreds of babbling thoughts surrounding
me, but I was scanning for a particular consciousness.

Unfortunately there was no sign of who ever had been there earlier and
after a long while I gave up. I contacted the others, with the news that
there may be a new Tomorrow Person who had either broken out recently or
was in the process of losing their powers, then returned to the lab to
discuss how to handle the situation, over lunch.

I learnt a valuable lesson that year. Despite my overwhelming
superiority as a healer it was going to be very difficult to fit into
the traditional medical practice of a human doctor.

As a practical exercise Dr. Chris Jackson brought a patient off the ward
for us to diagnose. She was a gaunt 50 year old and must have been very
beautiful in her youth. Despite the wheel chair there was an elegance to
her movements and a lively glint in her eye.

"Now ladies and gentlemen, this is Mrs. Robson. Eliza to her friends."
He smiled at her warmly and took her hand. "She has kindly consented to
have you would be practitioners of the fine art of medicine examine her
and give me you very learned opinions on her condition. Would you like
to begin Angie our straight A's girl?"

This nick name I had barely tolerated ever since the first year exams.

It was shortly after their completion that the Dean had called me into
his office and with great ceremony announced that I had attained a
perfect score on all of the modules, an unheard of achievement in the
history of the school of medicine. He and his colleagues quizzed me for
half an hour and seemed quite convinced, although they never openly
accused me, that I had somehow cheated.

It was suggested that I sit an extra test set by them that afternoon.

"Don't agree to anything girl." This came from an unlikely advocate Dr.
Carlstrom.

I let them assume that I was thinking over my decision while I probed
each of their minds in turn. It was clear that none of them believed a
student of my inexperience capable of achieving such a grade except
Carlstrom, who was more interested in getting out of the stuffy office
and down to the local pub. To their great surprise I achieved a perfect
grade on this additional paper as well and became a bit of a celebrity
within the department after that.

John later cautioned me about bringing unnecessary attention to myself.
I have to admit that I did let it go to my head for a while. From then
on I made sure that I occasionally slipped up on minor details. Despite
this the first year nick name stuck.

Stepping forward I bent down to examine Mrs Robson. "What symptoms do
you have?" I asked.

"Well dear I seem to keep falling over."
The other students gave a brief chuckle stopped abruptly by a stern look
from Dr Jackson.

"How often has this happened?" This line of verbal questioning was so
slow I wondered what humans did in a real emergency. The exchange
continued at this rate for a few minutes while I gave Eliza an
examination of her reflexes.

"Chris, has she had a CAT scan and blood tests?"

"You tell me, do you think that they are necessary?"

"Yes of course." I already sensed the neurological damage in the woman's
system. She was obviously in the early stages of motor neurone disease.

"What do you think is wrong?"

"Damage to the nervous tissues in the legs which is spreading throughout
the body leading to loss of co-ordination and numbness in the peripheral
sensory systems. This is probably brought on as an auto immune response
to a viral infection sometime in the recent past." I looked up expecting
him to be happy with my response but instead he looked shocked.

"Come now we don't want to scare Eliza with tales of major diseases." I
could sense his disappointment in me. This was very difficult to
understand as I knew that I was right.

"But the damage to the tissues is obvious and would show up on a
neurological scan, I mean an X-ray or CAT scan."

He motioned for me to step over to one side. "Angie, you are worrying
the poor dear. I know that you are supremely confident in your diagnosis
but on this occasion you will have to accept that you are wrong."

He went to stand by the group of other students who had taken over the
examination of Mrs. Robson.

"She has an inner ear infection caused by severe bacterial infestation."
Announced Paul smugly.

"Yes that's right." Chris glanced across at me and could tell that I was
still seething at his denial at my own diagnosis. "Our learned friend
over here has just saved the hospital thousands of pounds in unnecessary
tests. Well done." He gave me an apologetic smile but it did not help to
calm me down.

The porter who had stood calmly in the background during the exchange
came forward and wheeled Mrs. Robson towards the door.

"Don't worry dear." She said as she passed me. "We all get it wrong once
in a while."

I didn't hang around for further discussion on the subject either.
Scooping my things up off the chair I strode out of the lecture theatre.

Once outside I watched the porter wheel her back towards the ward. This
was a painful situation to accept.

"Shit! how could they be so wrong?"


"Will you stop wriggling around." Stephen turned and pulled the quilt
back over his legs. Sensing my anxiety he sat up and flicked on the
bedside lamp. "Okay what has been eating you all evening. Ever since you
got back this afternoon you have been preoccupied with something and
shielding most of the time." He wrapped his arms around me and we
embraced as I opened up my mind. "So what can we do about it?"

He did not need to ask as he knew already that I had decided to return
and heal Mrs. Robson.  "This time we may get away with it, but you
cannot use your abilities on every patient that you meet without being
noticed."

I slipped out of bed and dressed quickly. Entering Andranovich's room I
found him already in his dressing gown. "Are you going to take away the
ladies pain?"

I was astonished. Stephen had not known about my shielded deliberations
until just now, how could Andranocivh have picked up on my thoughts.

We now knew what his special talent would be. A strong telepath who can
read even shielded minds is usually trained as a communicator. His
future as a diplomat for the Federation was assured at that moment, but
this wasn't the time to think about my own family.

We materialised in Elizabeth's room and woke her gently. It took only a
moment to explain telepathically what we were about to do and entrust
Andranovich to her care for the rest of the night. He willingly climbed
in bed beside her and snuggled down.

As we teleported away to the hospital I felt his thoughts go with us.
(Good luck mummy...)


Entering by the back fire escape we stole along the corridor towards the
Margaret Garret ward. I sensed the night nurse sitting ahead at the duty
desk and using telekinesis made a light blink on the panel before her.

"Not again." She muttered as she got up to investigate the patient who
had supposedly called her.

Once she was gone we slipped past the desk and up to the bed where Mrs.
Robson lay.
Pulling the screen around us I sent. (Stephen you monitor the duty desk.
Every time that nurse returns set off another call light so that she
goes to investigate.) He nodded silently and closed his eyes to
concentrate on the task.

Eliza stirred gently and looked up at me. I held my fingers to her lips
just as she was about to speak.

(It's all right Eliza we have come to give you a present.)

I went into her and spread reassurance and calm, her eyes closed again.
Kneeling down I removed the covers from her legs and laid my hands upon
them. The damaged nerves felt like a black cloud in my mind. Then using
my training I pushed deeper into the very heart of the tissue. There the
cellular nuclei gave me the information I needed. I read the genetic
code from her chromosomes like reading a recipe book. Once I had the
information, I spread out my contact to her entire nervous system.

From the outside another person could have seen a glow of green light
coming from my hands. This rapidly covered her entire body as I
rejuvenated all the damaged tissue. Slowly replacing all of the
dysfunctional cells with new ones. Understanding the cause of her
problem I also sought out her immune system. The antibodies produced to
kill the virus had also attacked her living tissue and these had to be
removed from her system to prevent future damage.

All of this took about five minutes but  I was totally unaware of the
passage of time during the process.

Suddenly Stephen cut across my thoughts. (The nurse has decided to walk
around the entire ward she's coming this way and I don't think I can
stop her.)

(Nearly finished.) I sent as the green light subsided back towards the
palms of my hands. I placed my finger on Eliza's forehead and sent a
psionic suggestion into her consciousness. (Sleep and pleasant dreams.)

We jaunted just as the nurse pulled back the curtain. For a split second
she thought she saw two ghosts fade in front of her eyes. Dismissing
this as a trick of the light she looked at the sleeping patient.

"It's all right for some." She mumbled and returned to her desk.


After we returned to the lab I realised my exhaustion. The rest of the
night was spent cocooning. This technique involves surrounding ones body
with a psionic field while  regenerating your energy levels. Stephen sat
on the couch watching me. From the outside he could see my natural form
return then my body rose from the surface of the medi-bed and hovered as
it was slowly surrounded by bright purple light. By morning we were both
in a deep natural sleep.

It was two weeks later that I left the medical school. The Dean tried,
at length, to dissuade me from this decision. I stuck to my excuse about
Andranovich needing more of my time and after a while he accepted.

Chris Jackson met me outside the office."Has this sudden decision got
anything to do with me?" He enquired. "I know that we don't always see
eye to eye on things but I'd hate to think that you gave up a promising
career just because of a little disagreement."

"Of course not," I lied, " it has everything to do with my family
needing me."

He shifted uneasily on the spot as he broached the next subject. "I was
going to talk to you about Mrs. Robson. You remember the lady that I
brought into the class the other day?" I sensed his unease as he
struggled in his attempts to try and not sound too patronising. "Well,
she made a full recovery the next day. All symptoms disappeared
completely. I'm sorry that you were wrong."

Not wanting to be engaged in any further discourse on the topic I turned
and walked briskly up the corridor. "Oh no I wasn't."

Stepping out into the late afternoon rain I turned and waved.


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 6 of 18
Date: 24 Oct 1998 14:47:05 +0100

The Joining
Chapter 3 And Then There Was One
Part 6 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

12th October 1988

Six months later we were aboard a Kalinar heading towards Manyarner. The
small vessel used Hyperlight drive which phased it out of normal space
time and clipped the edge of hyperspace. The non-Euclidean mathematics
of this form of space travel is highly complex and requires a full size
biotronic unit to calculate the trajectory. In simple terms when
travelling in hyperspace you are going at right angles to the normal
plane of space time and thus the vast distances involved are cut
dramatically. If the vessel had been travelling through normal space we
would have had to reach speeds equivalent to many thousand light years
per second in order to cross such vast distances.

I preferred this form of transportation to the long teleports the
Tomorrow People were used to. Their bodies have been designed by
evolution to compensate for the constant disassembling and reassembling
of their physical form, mine had not. This time alone also gave us the
opportunity to reflect upon the events of the last few months.

From within the ship there is no awareness of the indeterminate state of
your own existence as everything is moving within the same realm and at
equal speeds everything appears normal. We had been aboard for three
earth weeks and had decided not to slow-sleep through the trip. Stephen
used the time to examine every item of equipment available. Due to
circumstances he had not finished his degree and I was sure that he
regretted the decision.

Andranovich had grown considerably and now resembled a human child of
about eight years old. Sending a message ahead we had arranged for him
to begin his training as a communicator as soon as we arrived. My
parents were pleased that they would get the chance to see him before
they left on a long term diplomatic mission to the Preya Galaxy (Earth
designation 2997) five hundred thousand light years away from Federation
territory. I had my own worries about this trip, not at the possible
dangers of long voyages through Hyperspace to meet unknown civilisations
but because, as elders, their absence from the circle would have it's
ramifications in Manyarnern politics and I only hoped that it would not
result in too many upheavals in the smooth running of the society.


After the funeral and the reading of their will it had become apparent
that we had inherited a reasonable sum of money. In addition to this was
the house in Kingston and another property in Scotland. This, it later
transpired, had been inherited previously by Tom from an aged aunt who
spent most of her life as a recluse in the Grampian mountains.

We teleported to the station at Corrour Sta to coincide with the arrival
of the London train, and then took a taxi out to the property. It was
outside a small rural community and set in large formal grounds beside
loch Ossain.

As we pulled up into the drive I was reminded of my family home on
Manyarner, a large fronted stone building with two bay windows which
looked out towards the distant mountains. The house was extremely run
down and in need of major repairs.

Andranovich, in his excitement, ran from the car and climbed up the few
steps to the large oak door. He did not wait for us to pay the driver
and meet him with the key but instead used a brief burst of telekinesis
to open the rusted lock and enter the cool interior of the hallway.
(Come on.) He pathed as he searched from room to room.

"Well what do you think?"

We stood in the lounge of the old building, dust sheets covered the
dilapidated furniture, the atmosphere was thick and smelt strangely
musty.

"I think we could be happy here."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Said Stephen. This was the first
time that he had shown interest in anything since the funeral and it was
pleasant to see him smile. "It is just far enough away from civilisation
for us not to be noticed. We can use the money from the other house to
do it up."

He lifted a sheet from an old chair and the clouds of dust wafted up
like smoke."It will take a lot of work, but the old place has a happy
atmosphere."

"You'll be able to wear a kilt again." I teased "Elizabeth has told me
all about it."

He smiled then we stood briefly and linked. Sensing the structure of the
building we could feel a calming influence descend into our minds.
Momentarily we caught a glimpse of our future selves standing in a
temple beside the loch.

(Yes we will be happy here.) We thought in unison.

After making arrangements with a local building firm we left John with
our power of attorney and departed for a vacation on Manyarner.


Gradually the distance between Earth and my birth planet diminished. The
Kalinar dropped out of hyperspace and for the first time the window
shield lifted. During Hyperlight travel the ship needs intense
structural support and the whirling void of hyperspace is nothing to
look at anyway. As normal space filled the observation window we
glimpsed for the first time the large planet orbiting  a class one star
which bathed it in light. The northern continent had just entered it's
day light phase and the glow of the surrounding psionic field could be
seen just above the upper atmosphere.


"Wow!" exclaimed Stephen. This was the first time he had actually seen
this world from space. "So that's why you glow purple."

I had returned to my normal appearance shortly after starting the trip.
It felt good to save the energy needed to maintain the constant
transformation and to feel the smooth sheen of my usual skin.
Andranovich had rarely seen this form and during the early days of our
voyage had spent some time just stroking my arm watching the skin's
subtle changes at his touch.

We disembarked at the forth continent space port and were met by my
parents. Bowing slowly they welcomed us with a glass of Tralmark.

(May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled.)

I took the large container offered by my mother and drank deeply of the
sweet liquid. Handing it to Andranocivh he sipped at the drink
hesitantly. Once he realised that it's taste was pleasant he gulped down
more.

It was Steven who seemed reluctant to join in this traditional greeting.
(Do I have to? It's an hallucinogen and I want my mind kept clear at the
moment.)

Picking up his thoughts and seeming very disappointed my father took
back the container to drink himself.

Catching my look of disapproval Stephen held out his hand to drink as
well. (Hey it's quite nice.) He sent with surprise. We all smiled at his
unnecessary anxiety.

We stepped aboard a waiting hover vehicle and headed off towards our
family home. During the short journey the Tralmark, began to work it's
effects.

Stephen's eyes widened as his sense for the consciousness around him
heightened. (There are thousands of other beings here, I can feel them.)


(Have you forgotten the wonders of the joining.) Said my mother.
(Everyone on the planet took part in the celebrations that day.)

Turning towards me his expression was of disbelief.

(Yes, she speaks the truth. It was so alien to you that you probably
felt only the edge of the Manyarnern group consciousness.)

(I can feel it all,) this was Andranovich, he had been looking over the
edge of the vehicle at the country side flashing by below us, (I know
that I will never be alone again, as long as I stay here.)

Stephen began to send his disapproval of the suggestion that the child
remain on this planet but I cut his message short.

(We can discuss these things later after the family blending.)


The house was built into the side of a hill overlooking the lake of
Qualmarth, which roughly translated into English means tranquillity. I
had forgotten the natural beauty of the place since moving to Earth.
Large Fructa bushes rustled in the breeze and the scent of wild flowers
filled the air. I bent down and picked a  small blue flower from a
nearby plant. It made a gentle tinkling sound, like distant bells, as I
handed it to Andranovich to smell. He took the little blossom from me
and tucked it into my hair.

(And she shall have music wherever she goes.) Pathed Stephen.

The house itself had three levels built by successive generations of our
family. My parents lived, when their commitments to the Federation
allowed, on the second level.
The ground floor had an open courtyard which led into a large brightly
lit living space. The layout was predictably circular with a small
sunken area in the centre where many cushions lay.

Around the edge the walls shifted with moving patterns of light. Mother
had prepared rooms for us above on the third floor and we carried our
belongings over to the back of the circular space.

"Where are the stairs?" Asked Andranovich, looking around him.

"There is no need for them here." I lifted myself, and the bundle I
carried, up into the air.

In no time at all we were settled in and the familiarity of my childhood
home surrounded me with pleasant memories.

Later that evening Stephen and I walked down the steep cliff pass and
through the rock overhang to the viewing platform. From here the sun
could be seen sinking below the horizon in a glory of deep reds and
mauves which spread out across the lake turning the water into a
wondrous mass of colour.

(This is my favourite spot in our whole land.) I sent absent-mindedley.

(I can see why, I never realised it was so beautiful when I was here
before. I guess  I was preoccupied with the strange ceremony involving
this gorgeous young alien friend of mine.) We stood looking out across
the lake at the brilliance below.

Overtaken by the intensity of the moment I stepped forward over the
edge. Stephen grabbed at my robe frantically trying to prevent me from
falling. But I knew that I would not fall. The psionic field around me
supported my body weight and I floated effortlessly in mid air.

(God! You nearly gave me a heart attack.)

(Sorry, I thought that you would read my intentions and join me.)

Stephen took a step back from the edge and I became aware for the first
time of the intense feelings of dread which had arisen within him.

(You have vertigo? Please don't be afraid.) I reached into his
consciousness and found the root of his anxiety. Dismissing the little
knot of fear he began to relax. (Come on join me.)

Slowly he shuffled forward. Then without looking down he reached for my
out stretched hand and stepped from the ledge. Bobbing about in mid air
we laughed together.

(What shall we do now?)

(Watch.) I lent backwards until nearly horizontal then shot out from the
cliff edge. Lifting myself vertical again I gave him a wink then looped
the loop.

Presently we were swooping over the water below dipping and diving like
birds on thermal currents. Our joyful laughter filled the air. Looking
down we saw a small craft drifting across he lake.

(Hello down there.) I sent.

The thoughts of the couple in the boat swam in our minds.

(Greetings Angerianaasusilicana, nice to feel you amongst us again.)

(Trilliafortunecta! Is that really you it's been so long?)

We quickly descended into the bottom of the vessel. After many hugs and
kisses introductions were hardly necessary. Although  Trilliafortunecta,
Trilly to her friends, gave a verbal greeting out of respect to
Stephen's ancestry. "I am pleased to meet you Stephen this is my joining
partner Faltron."

"I am happy to meet any of Angie's relatives." They shook hands. "We
left this planet straight after our joining and it is only now that I am
becoming fully aware of the splendour of the place."

(In that case we will have to show you more.) Sent Faltron.

We sat beside them and began to trade stories of old times at the
academy and my new life on Earth. Trilly was the first born of my
fathers brother, being of about the same age, we had trained together
until my posting to the Trig. She was taller than I remembered and her
hair was plaited into a long braid which reached nearly to the ground.
She carried herself with an air of authority which called for immediate
respect.

Trilly's specialisation was as a lens, that is one who focuses psionic
energy in religious ceremonies. The training for such a vocation was
more intensive than I had endured and was only just complete.

(I am going to command the family blending tomorrow as one of my first
duties as a novice.) She pathed proudly. (I'm a bit worried about
dealing with so many minds at once especially as elders of the circle
will be there.)

Faltron wrapped his arm around her shoulders reassuringly. (You will be
fine, they would not have given you the responsibility unless they
thought you could handle it.)

(What exactly does a lens do during these ceremonies?) Asked Stephen. (I
know a little about psionic energy and how you use it, like just now
when we flew from the cliff. I knew I could do it but if you asked me
how I would not be able to explain it.)

(Psionic energy flows through our bodies, if you know how to sense on
the right wavelength then you can feel the vibrations it makes in your
living tissue. As a lens I can not only feel this energy but harness and
focus it.)

She held her hand palm upwards above her head. With a sharp crack a bolt
of brilliant white lightning forked across the sky towards us. Suddenly
it seemed to stop in mid air and roll into a flaming ball. This sank
down until it rested in her hand.

She brought it down level with Stephen's face, it's glory filled the
boat and lit up the surrounding water, he was aghast with amazement.
Nodding approval at his silent question he took the glowing sphere from
her and studied it more closely.

(This energy not only moves through us but we also generate a limited
field around us. Flying like you did was a result of localised fields
generated by the plants, animals and people of the planet. Your body
took advantage of the energy field to give you buoyancy then you used
telekinesis to move around within it. During ceremonies the energy of
individuals is entwined to enhance the group consciousness. The
commander is the main link and flows the group mind through her own. It
will be my duty to see that everyone joins but also that they keep a
thread of their individuality. We will all share visions with one
another but also experience personal insights into our life.

Training in this specialisation has taken most of my life. The energy is
unpredictable and controlling it needs a very precise form of divided
concentration. You are not aware of the constant control I have to place
over that lightening in order to prevent it from burning your hand.)

(Oh!) Stephen returned the glowing ball to her and it slowly dimmed to
leave us sitting in complete darkness.

(One day when I have much more experience I may become an elder of the
circle myself, but not for many centuries.)

Noticing how late it had become and realising how far the little boat
had drifted we bade farewell and flew back towards the welcoming lights
of the house, now just a speck on the distant hill side.



--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 7 of 18
Date: 24 Oct 1998 14:47:21 +0100

The Joining
Chapter 3 And Then There Was One
Part 7 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

Warning:
This story contains a few swear words which the reader may find
offensive, as well as a few sexual innuendos and is rated PG.

It was a glorious morning, the atmosphere at home was charged with
excitement at the imminent family gathering. We ate breakfast quickly
then made our way to the temple. As we stepped from the hover vehicle I
looked around me. There was already a small crowd milling about in the
warm sunshine. It surprised me how many relatives were present on the
home world at this time, but I soon recalled that they had probably come
to say goodbye to mother and father before their long trip. Apart from
our immediate group there were father's two brothers their joining
partners and children, one of which was Trilly, my mothers sister and
her joined children and grand children, about thirty people in all.

We stood around the rim of the structure. I smiled across at Stephen and
Andranovich who had become quickly accustomed to their lack of bodily
covering. They stood together almost opposite me in the large throng.
Trilly walked to  the centre of the temple and stepped onto a raised
platform. She looked up above her and a stream of pinkish light
emanating from the stone arches surrounded her body. One by one we took
each others hands until the circle was complete then walked forward a
few paces and knelt down. For a fleeting moment I was aware of the
thoughts of all those present. I saw the circle of people from many
different viewpoints which gradually melted into one image of us all as
if we were looking out from the centre.

My mind filled with pictures of distant planets and civilisations, one
of which was the streets of London filled with people busily going about
their business. Another seemed to be the peaceful hills of the Scottish
highlands. This cacophony of individual feelings   swirled around my
consciousness then solidified into images from my childhood.

********

(Look at me Angie?) Trilly skipped up and over the fructa bushes. Her
feet just touched their feathery softness as she passed. (I can fly like
a bird.)

I had not mastered the art of lifting yet and ran along through the
undergrowth trying to keep up with her. (Wait for me Trilly, please let
me catch up with you.)

She grounded in a clearing beside a rock outcrop. The sun had warmed the
stone and ground and it seemed as good a place as any for us to relax.
Many small animals scurried away in fright as we approached. I sat down
and opened a large leaf I had been carrying. Inside was a handful of
Markless berries.

"If you had not scooted off like that we could have picked more." I said
angrily.

(I'm very sorry, can I still share them with you?)

We laid on our backs and watched the birds circle above us as we ate the
fruit. After a while I became aware of it's effects. Sharing ourselves,
we drifted off into a dream.

Eventually I sat up and looked at her. (What have they taught you at the
academy recently, apart from lifting?)

(Nothing much.) She replied (They say it will take many months before I
can even begin to channel energy. It's really frustrating, I saw a
novice the other day practising in the gardens behind the hall.) She
sent me an image of a teenage girl her hair blowing in the wind as she
lifted her hands and caught a shaft of sunlight as if it had substance.
(I bet I could do things like that. They said I mustn't but it's not
fair. You already practice your art but I spend most of my time in
meditation and schooling.)

Feeling that she was about to do something very stupid I tried to change
the subject.
(I only get to heal little surface wounds like this.) I picked up a
stick and snapped it in two. Then with all my concentration I reached
into the plants tissues and rejoined the damages ends.

(See... You can do things, I'm not allowed any fun.) At that she jumped
up and raised her hands above her head. "Watch me." She said gleefully.

Lightning cracked across the sky towards us. It passed over our heads
and I felt the static charge tingle my skin. Sensing danger I leapt out
of the way as it struck the rock outcrop. Trilly had been too
preoccupied with her summoning of the light to notice it's trajectory.
Splinters of stone spewed out and begin to rain down on her. She started
to scream.

"Stop!" I shouted, and much to my surprise the rock fragments froze in
mid air just above her head. I was suddenly aware of an eerie silence
and looking around me I realised that they were not the only thing that
had stopped. There was no breeze on my face, no bird song and even
Trilly stood absolutely motionless.

I was very afraid now. I rushed to her side and saw that she was
transfixed her mouth open in a silent scream. The rocks loomed ominously
overhead and pulling at her arm with all my might I managed to move her
a few steps to the left out of their path. Almost as soon as I had
accomplished this the whole world started up again.

"Aaaah." The rocks crashed down where she had just been standing. (What
happened?) She looked at me like a scared animal (I was sure that they
would fall on me.)

I couldn't explain what had happened and thought it best not to mention
it to any one.

"You were so scared I pulled you out of the way" I said lamely shielding
so that she could not read my inner turmoil. "Anyway, now you know that
you cannot control the power and why they told you not to use it yet."

We trudged our way back to the academy, she was obviously shaken by the
events but also angered by my constant shielding. My mind was trying to
figure out whether to tell her about what had happened but as we
approached the outer buildings we were swept up in the hubbub of daily
routine. That night I made it up to her by bringing a small gift to her
room we were soon on good terms again but to this day had not mentioned
the incident.


*******

Stretching I noticed the circle begin to wake. Stephen trotted over to
my side and eagerly shared his visions. He had also relived moments in
his childhood and it gave him the opportunity to say goodbye, for the
last time, to his parents. The blending is good for helping those in
need deal with their grief. I was pleased that he gained so much from
the experience.

Andranovich by contrast never told me exactly what he saw that day but
afterwards there was little debate about his decision to remain on
Manyarner.

The sun had lost it's heat and I estimated that we had been there well
into the afternoon. People around us began to bring food from their
vehicles parked a short distance away. The rest of the day was spent
picnicking and sharing tales of our visions.

Andranovich ran off with the children to play in the surrounding
countryside. He seemed very much at home in the company of other
Manyarnerns and his very human appearance began to take on a light
purple psionic glow.

Trilly sensing my feelings, at the realisation that I had lost my little
boy for good, approached and sat on the grass beside me. (What did you
see?) She enquired.

(I don't think that you need to ask, how long have you known about what
happened that day?)

(Well it was just after you left that my meditations became full of you,
I spoke with the elders about it and they said that I should try to
summon the memories from our past. Do you realise what you did that
day?)

Stephen had joined us and looked at our earnest expressions. Feeling his
curiosity I shared with him the events of many years ago. (So, what did
she do?)

Trilly took a large gulp of air. We waited. (You stopped time.)

As soon as the words came into my mind I new the truth in them, the
whole sequence suddenly made complete sense.

She continued. (I am now convinced, as are the elders, that your calling
was misinterpreted as a child. Although you are a good healer we
believe...) The whole party around us fell silent as they perceived the
importance of our exchange. (That you are the One, the first Premier to
be born for millennia.)

I laughed at the very idea until I noticed that no one else was
laughing. Mother and father's thoughts filled my mind, in unison they
sent. (Yes our daughter you are the One, we are humbled in your
presence.)

"That's crap!" I exclaimed and stomped off into the undergrowth.

Still their thoughts followed me. (You can deny your heritage all you
want but there is no doubt, the group consciousness already understands
the importance of this moment. Our people have not had a leader for many
centuries and now is the time for you to take us into a new phase of our
planets history.)

Wanting no more of their fanciful ideas I blocked them out and lifted
off into the afternoon sky.

"She'll come round eventually." Trilly spent the rest of the gathering
time explaining things to an astonished Stephen.

It was the middle of the night when I returned to the house. I crept
across the living space and up to our room. Stephen was thankfully in a
deep sleep brought on by the rigours of the blending. At least I would
not have to discuss the ridiculous idea until tomorrow.

I also slept soundly and it was well into the morning when I dropped
down to the ground floor of the building. No one was around, helping
myself to some warm Durun loaf from the food dispenser, I wandered out
to sit on the patio thankful for the peace and quiet.

After a long while the others absence began to worry me. (Andranovich,
are you all right?)

(Of course mum. I'm up in the hills hunting lafta cats with Holly and
Mantron, please don't make me come back, this is the best fun I've had
in ages.)

(Okay but remember not to let yourself get sunburned it's a hot day and
your skin is not as tough as the others.)

(I won't.) He sent with obvious excitement at being able to play freely.
(I'll be back in time for supper I promise.)

"Well then, what are we going to do for the rest of the day in our son's
absence?" Stephen walked over and sat on the chair beside me. "Have you
calmed down now? I've never seen you so angry especially at the family.
I'm sorry that Trilly's little announcement spoilt what had up till then
been such a lovely day."

"I still don't accept what she says you know."

I stuffed a piece of the bread into my mouth in an attempt to stop the
conversation from progressing further.

"After you left Trilly explained things to me. She said..." he held up
his hand to stop me interrupting, "and I accept that she could be wrong,
she said that whether or not you are the Premier they cannot keep you
here and make you join in the Manyarnern life style usually undertaken
by the One. You are free to decide what is best for you and they will
accept that this is what is meant to be. I also got your parents to
agree that they will not discuss it with you unless you mention it
first. After all we came here for a holiday away from any hassle and
that is exactly what I intend to have."

I could not believe that this naive young man that I had joined with
such a short time ago had matured into the assertive adult who could
handle my very pushy family.

"How on Earth can I thank you." We hugged for a long while and I wept
gently on his shoulder.

Suddenly he jumped up and lifted me to my feet. "Well firstly you can
come for a swim in that very inviting lake of yours then you can give me
a back massage. After that... well I'm sure that I can think of
something." He squeezed my left buttock impudently and we headed off
towards the lake.

The months on Manyarner flew by and were some of the happiest times of
my life.  No one in the immediate family mentioned the circles beliefs
about my calling as the Premier and after a while I almost completely
forgot it myself. That was until we took a trip to the second continent
to attend an arts festival. The people there kept giving me funny looks
and I often caught their desire to bow as I approached, until they
sensed my obvious irritation at their intended actions.

Shortly before mother and father left for their trip we exchanged words
briefly on the subject.

"My child you have a difficult path ahead. Be assured that the circle
will support you in all that you do. We are not happy at your decision
to remain amongst the human's but if that is your wish then we hope all
goes well for you."

"Thank you mother and father for being so understanding." Was all I
could think of saying. "I'll miss you."

(We will miss all of our grand children as well.) Sent mother.

(What?)

(Don't you feel them within you child?) She placed her hand on my belly
and went inside to feel the growing embryos. (Twin boys, there have not
been any twins in the family in a long time.)

Stephen came close and also placed his hand against me. (Hey! how did
that happen?) Our laughter took away the feelings of gloom which hung
over the parting.

They walked up into the waiting transport ship which was to take them
the first leg of their journey. This was much larger than the Kalinar we
had travelled in and was designed to be self sustaining on trips that
would last many years. Stephen had longed to get a glimpse at the
Hyperlight generators but the ship was out of bounds to all non
Federation personnel.

The circle of elders reached out their minds in a joint wish for
success. (Our thoughts go with you on your voyage.) They sent as the
ship rose into the air. As it made the jump out of space-time we all
felt the sense of loss.

I was heavily pregnant as I too stepped aboard a Kalinar for the return
trip to Earth. Andranovich stood beside Trilly, who was to supervise his
time at the academy, at the foot of the entrance ramp. Feeling tears
well up inside me I waved quickly and went in to join Stephen. He was
busy at the controls checking the trajectory on the biotronic unit. We
had decided to slow-sleep the rather tedious return journey. As I had
pointed out, on our way here we had Andranovich to keep us occupied and
it was a new experience for him and Stephen. Now that this technology
was all familiar there would be little to do but get on each others
nerves. In fact I was finding it hard to leave and I could not face
endless weeks dwelling  on the fact that I might not see my home world
again for many years.  Stephen's ability to sense my moods had improved
much during our stay and without sharing my thoughts directly with him
he knew how upset I really was.

(Ready then?) He asked holding open the lid of the sleep chamber. (What
about these two little fellas?)

I lifted myself into position and fastened the harness over my swollen
abdomen. (We are all fine, now lets get going before I change my mind.)

(Your wish is my command Premier.)



--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 8 of 18
Date: 24 Oct 1998 14:47:38 +0100

The Joining
Chapter 4 A Fatal Error
Part 8 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

04 September 1989

The Kalinar sank slowly to the bottom of the loch. Waking from slow
sleep I looked
around me.

"Welcome Home."

"How on Earth did you get in here Elizabeth?"

It was Steven who responded from the other side of the cabin." I asked
TIM to wake me as we entered the solar system then sent a message for
them to meet us."

He was unloading the items we had brought back with us from their
storage compartment. John was there too busily placing it onto the
teleporter pad.

"Well, you seem to have things under control here so if someone would
please help me to my feet I'll go and take a look around the house."

Elizabeth helped me extricate myself from the harness which had tangled
itself around my left arm. She placed her hand against my very swollen
belly. "How long?"

"Just a few more days now, they are getting impatient to join us."

She took my hand and placed it against her abdomen."Well we are going to
have quite a full nursery in a few months time."

I went inside to feel the growing foetus nestling peacefully in her
womb. "That's great!" I looked across at John. "You'll have to make an
honest woman of her now!"

"Already have." He positively glowed with pride. "You are looking at the
new Mrs Phillips."

Stephen stopped what he was doing and we all embraced, congratulating
them and sharing memories of their wedding day a few months earlier.
After a while we continued our conversation while we worked.

"My parents came over from Zaire for the week and it was a lovely
summers day. Hsui was my bridesmaid, Andrew was best man and Mike even
scrubbed up nicely. The only sad thing was that you two were not there,
but it doesn't seem to matter now it's just great to have you back."

I walked across to the food dispenser and requested some Tralmark. Then
returning to face her I offered the traditional Manyarnern greeting.
(May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled.)

Hesitantly she accepted the beaker and drank. The others stepped over
and very solemnly joined in the ceremony.

"Now then, let's go and see our new home."

"Sorry, you'll have to wait until we finish unloading." Said Stephen.

Looking up at the window I noticed for the first time that we were under
water.

"Where on earth are we?"

"At the bottom of the loch. John and I decided it was the best place to
hide the Kalinar from prying eyes."

"But surely the Kalinar is going back?"

"Not this time the circle of elders gave it to us."

I was dumbfounded at first then realised why they had made such a
gesture.

Stephen saw the angry look come over my face. "Don't blame them, they
only want their Premier to have the means to return whenever she wants.
Besides, it will be great to have our own flying saucer to use around
the localised area."

"What's all this about you becoming the Premier?" Asked John innocently.

(Damn you Stephen.) I sent on our personal wavelength. (Did you have to
tell them every thing!)

(Actually I did not tell them, Elizabeth just picked it up from my
subconscious mind.)

I apologised for my quick temper and explained to them both what had
happened during the family blending. It was John who broke the
atmosphere.

"If my liege will permit her humble servant to continue with his duties
she can enter her castle and inspect the throne room." With this he gave
a huge bow. Liz joined in and curtsied. Laughing at the absurdity of the
situation for the first time my mood lifted.

*****

After a few hours we were ready for a tour of the house. The builders
had made a good job with their renovations and the decoration was clean
and simple. Liz explained that I could order any additional furnishings
that I wanted from a local store where she had set up an account.

"It's just perfect, thank you both for taking such care over the place."

"We think there is something that we ought to tell you." Said Elizabeth
as we sat on the sofa in the large comfortable lounge. "We have decided
to live here too, that is, if you don't mind. It's not that the Lab is
uncomfortable, quite the contrary but we have been thinking about what
sort of a life we can offer the baby. If we all move in here then we can
try to give it as normal an upbringing as possible."

"I take it that by all you mean Hsui Tai, Mike and Andrew as well."
Replied Stephen.


I immediately realised the importance of this decision. The vision that
Stephen and I had shared  a year ago when we first visited this place
had had a sense of community. He seemed to have realised this as well
and we smiled at each other in the knowledge that it had been the future
that we had seen that day. Choking up with emotion he spoke for us both.

"You are as much a part of our family now as those unborn children. It
will be an honour to share our house and the rest of our lives with
you."

"No need to be so formal," interrupted John, "a simple yes will
suffice."

"Yes." He said emphatically.

The house had many surprises in store for us. John explained how the
builders had discovered a secret stairway leading from the study down to
the cellar below. He had instructed them to run power down there and
between them they had fitted it out as a small replica of the Lab. An
extension of TIM had also been installed in order that he could monitor
the surroundings and keep prying eyes away from our activities.

Elizabeth had another surprise for me. She had engaged a nanny who would
also act as house keeper.

"We don't want strangers sniffing around especially after the twins are
born." I protested.

"Mrs. Henderson is not a stranger, she was my old nanny when I was a
child."

"I didn't know that you moved in such exclusive circles." Said John.

"When my father came over to England as ambassador my mother had to
attend many official engagements with him. They employed this Scottish
nanny to look after me. It was not until we came up here to sort out the
place that I remembered that she lived nearby and looked her up. Anyway
Angie, have you ever kept house? Do you know how to use a Terran oven or
a vacuum cleaner?"

I had to admit that on Manyarner such things were not needed. Food
dispensers provided us with most of our sustenance and dirt and dust
particles were just reabsorbed into the fabric of our buildings. So
cleaning was never the chore that it was on Earth.

"I for one do not want to get lumbered with doing everything around the
house as well as looking after my child. Mrs. Henderson is a very nice
lady. She will live, in the village, in a cottage that I have rented for
her. Tim can monitor the drive so that we will know when she is coming
our way. Why don't we give it a try and see how things work out? She'll
be arriving on Wednesday on the train from Edinburgh."

"You seem to have figured out everything." Said Stephen. "Before we talk
further I'm dying for a proper cup of coffee. My body has nearly
forgotten what a real caffeine hit feels like."

Liz and I left them alone and went to make the coffee. We returned to
the lounge a short while later, trailing a tray with a pot of coffee,
chocolate cake and four mugs behind us. This settled down on the table
and the pot began to pour out the steaming brown liquid by itself.

"That will have to stop when Mrs Henderson arrives!" Snapped John.

"Only when she is around, although we will have to fit the children with
inhibitor bands as soon as they are born, as well as changing the
appearance of the twins."

"I never thought of that." Elizabeth seemed very worried. "Andranovich
looked so human that I forgot... oh dear she'll have a heart attack if
she sees them with red eyes. You were right Angie. I'll have to phone
and tell her not to come."

"You'll do no such thing, I manage to maintain a human appearance and
with a little effort I can change the boys shapes as well. At least
until they are old enough to do it themselves." At this she relaxed a
little. "Don't be so hard on your self for not thinking about such
things it will all work out for the best I'm sure."

Over the next few hours we formulated plans for our future. Stephen had
decided a while ago that his engineering skills would not go to waste
and slowly the idea for Jameson industries took shape. We were all to
become directors of the company with John as managing director. John had
been very inventive in his youth and had accrued large sums of money
through patenting his gadgets. This company would take things one step
further and manufacture items itself.

"We'll have to put the pressure on Graeme Truscott to release funds from
the Tomorrow Foundation." Remarked John. "He's not going to like it.
I've left him alone to look after our finances for too long."

During the weekend we made arrangements for all of the Tomorrow people
to move into the house. Andrew was especially pleased to be returning to
Scotland although seemed a little sad each time he thought of his happy
childhood spent on the shores of Loch Ness.


*******

On Monday morning John and Stephen left for London. Liz and I were
pleased to get them out from under our feet for a while as their
incessant talk, about their plans, all weekend had started to become
very annoying. Feeling at ease in each others company we busied
ourselves around the house putting finishing touches to the decorations.

It began shortly after lunch, a sharp stab of pain in my lower abdomen
as the birth neared. Elizabeth was in the kitchen at the time, sensing
what was happening she shot up the stairs to find me laying on the bed
in our room.

"Should I call a doctor?"

"No, he or she would guess in an instant that I am not human, you will
have to deliver it yourself."

At this suggestion she went quite pale despite her colouring. "But I
cant, I don't know how."

"I will give you the knowledge you need come over here." She sat on the
floor beside the bed and I transferred the information directly into her
long term memory system.

"So it is that quick, okay I know what to do now you just relax."

Hsui Tai, Andrew and Mike appeared in the room. They had been exploring
the far side of the loch when they felt the quickening of the twins.

"Is there anything we can do?" Asked Hsui Tai.

"No, it would be better if you go down stairs and wait with Tim."
Replied Elizabeth.

(I do not mind if you wish to share in the birth.) Reaching out my mind
I sensed both Andrew's curiosity and Mike's embarrassment.

(No thanks.) Remarked Mike a little too quickly. (We'll wait down stairs
as Liz suggests.) With this he led the others from the room.

Elizabeth and I smiled at one another as we prepared for the imminent
birth. Since then I have delivered many human babies, including
Elizabeth's two children, it always amazes me the amount of pain that
the woman suffers due to the bodies contractions as they force the child
out into the world. Manyarnern women do not have the muscles for this
kind of delivery instead the birth is assisted by telekinesis from the
midwife who carefully pulls the child out along the birth canal.

Half an hour later Gabkhan was born, quickly followed by Kohlarn.
Stephen and I had chosen these names whilst still on Manyarner. Gabkhan
was my fathers given name and Kohlarn means he who follows. These names
we decided could also be changed into Gary and Colin when registering
their birth with the human authorities.

Wrapping the infants in towels I went to the bathroom to clean myself
up. I sensed our husbands jaunting into the room behind me.

"Not again!" Exclaimed Stephen. "I never seem to be around when Angie
gives birth."

"You did not miss much, you would probably have fainted anyway." Said
Elizabeth.

"Oh no I would not." He protested.

I returned and taking the children from Elizabeth placed them down on
the bed. John pushed past the others, as they continued to argue, he
lent down to look at the two infants. "They have the most amazing eyes,
and their skin is glowing. Can I hold one please?"

"I would like to introduce our son Gabkhan." I placed the child in his
outstretched arms. "The glow is residual psionic energy. They will be
surrounded with it for the next few days while they grow."

He looked puzzled so I reminded him of how the Manyarnern accelerated
development differed to that of a human child. He nodded as he recalled
Andranovich's rapid changes from small infant to boy in just a few
months.

"The problem will be how we explain this to Mrs. Henderson when she
arrives tomorrow." Said Mike from the door way.


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 9 of 18
Date: 25 Oct 1998 15:36:28 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 4 A Fatal Error
Part 9 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

It was Elizabeth and John Who met Mrs. Henderson from the train. They
explained that she would not be required up at the house for a few days
and to take this time to settle into her new home. It took a lot of
effort to persuade her that she was not needed immediately and in the
end Liz used a psionic suggestion to bring the discussion to a more
rapid conclusion. They agreed that she should come at nine o'clock the
following Monday morning. This at least gave us some breathing space
while I perfected a way of controlling the boys appearance from a
distance and attuned to their telepathic band.


(I have just detected a woman approaching the house.) TIM's voice echoed
around my mind.

(Right on time.) Sent Stephen from the nursery as he laid Kohlarn down
for a nap. (At least the old battle-axe is punctual.)

(I heard that!) This was Elizabeth from the back garden. (She's not an
old battle axe and if you come down to meet her you'll see what I mean.)

Looking up from the chair where I was feeding Gabkhan I whispered, "I
think you hurt Liz's feelings."

We all met in the hallway just as she approached the front door.

"Why do I feel nervous?" I said as I opened it to welcome her inside.

She was a small woman no taller than five feet, I estimated her age at
about fifty five. Her hair was cut into a neat bob and she wore a
nannies uniform.

(See, I was right.) Pathed Stephen.

Elizabeth stepped forward and introduced her to us all in turn.

"Please stop calling me Mrs. Henderson. My name is Clara and I know that
you are Stephen and Angie, Mike, Hsui Tai and Andrew. As we shook hands
I noticed that she had a firm and authoritative grip. "Now why don't I
make us all a nice cup of tea in that fancy new kitchen of yours and we
can get better acquainted before I meet the two bairns upstairs." At
this she marched off in the direction of the kitchen as if she had lived
in the house all her life.

(Well, she seems to have the run of the place already.) Her familiarity
astonished me.

(While you were away she came up for a look around to see if she would
like working here. She claims to be a psychic and says the house has a
good feel.) Explained Elizabeth. (When I was a child her intuition
always astounded me.)

"Are you sure that she is not telepathic and picking up every word that
you send now." Warned John.

Stretching out our minds we could feel her busy in the kitchen. She had
the most wonderful sense of purpose about her and an extraordinary
feeling of curiosity.

(No, she is not telepathic of that I am sure. I can feel her mind as she
makes the tea, it is normal for a human although she is highly
intelligent. I wonder how a woman of her intellect came to be a nanny?)
I replied.

There was no more time for conversation, she returned carrying a tray
with tea and biscuits. "Come, come. Have you not yet settled yourselves
down. This will not do at all, nursing mothers need all the rest they
can get."

We let her lead us into the lounge.

Life settled into a fairly ordered routine after that. Clara arrived at
seven a.m. on the dot each morning and prepared breakfast while Stephen
and I dressed the twins. After our meal John and Stephen left by car for
their office. They in fact drove just out of sight down the drive and
then used the teleporter to take them to London. Here they had
established the head office of Jameson industries and a factory to
manufacture the first gadget that Steven was to 'invent'.

Liz was appointed as head teacher at the local school much to the
everyone's surprise. Clara told us that she was the talk of the village,
they could not explain how a city girl would choose to work in a small
rural school which was under funded and in jeopardy of closing down.
Little did they know that we had doctored some official documents at the
nearest education department and the schools future was assured.  Mike
and Hsui Tai were free to amuse themselves, and usually returned to the
main lab together leaving Andrew to explore the Scottish countryside.

I spent most days with the twins who grew rapidly into toddlers. We told
Clara that they had a rare hereditary disease which accelerated their
growth rate. She accepted this readily and never questioned me about it
further. Thankfully she also failed to ask about their apparent
quietness and how I new exactly when they needed the bathroom or were
hungry.

It was in late autumn as I was playing with them, out under the large
oak trees that grew at the bottom of the lawn, that I forgot for a
moment where I was. Gabkhan had thrown a ball onto the air and it had
lodged in the branches of the largest tree. He began to cry at the loss
of this toy and Kohlarn sensing his brothers feelings joined in the
wailing.

(Don't be upset.) I pathed. (I'll get it back for you.) Although the
inhibitor bands prevented them from using telekinesis their telepathy
had grown stronger as the months progressed.

(Yes, mummy get the ball, get the ball.) They replied in unison.

I looked up into the branches and felt for the toy, loosening the
surrounding foliage I freed it from it's perch and it began to gently
float down towards us. Just as it reached my eye level I was suddenly
aware of someone behind me. I swung around to be confronted by Clara.

"What are you doing out here?"

Her eyes were transfixed by the ball which now hung in mid air between
us. "Oh, I was watching from the house and thought that you would like
another pair of hands to get the ball down, but I can see that you have
managed quite well without me." She stepped forward and took the ball
from the air then handed it to Gabkhan."There dear you run along and
play with your brother."

He obligingly threw the ball along the ground and both boys ran after
it, their feet rustling the dried leaves as they went. She turned to
look at me her face had an expression of deadly earnest. "I think that
it's time we had a little talk, don't you?"

It took the rest of the afternoon for me to explain everything to her. I
even removed the twins inhibitor bands so that they could use their
powers freely. This was met by many whoops for joy and lifting around
the garden while we tried to persuade them to come back down.

When John and Stephen returned, later that evening, we met them in the
hall, each one of us surrounded by a gentle psionic glow. Clara beamed
with pride as the two little boys lifted to kiss them hello.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Demanded John gruffly.

Liz and I linked with them and described the events of the afternoon.

"And now I understand why they call the village the UFO capitol of
Scotland." Said Clara ."There have been so many sightings of your...what
did you call it?"

"Kalinar." Said Stephen.

She continued. "So many sightings of the flying saucer thing that UFO
spotters from all over Britain have started to flock into the area. Bill
McGregor in the village pub has rented out all of his rooms even this
far out of season." She paused and smiled. "I think that you had better
be more discrete with your pleasure flights from now on."

It was true that our favourite pastime of late was to fly around the
solar system admiring the splendours of the planets and asteroids.
Occasionally we had even left the ship in A.E. suits. The twins each had
a little collection  of rocks from the moon and Mars hidden away in the
cellar.

It was John who mentioned it first, as we settled ourselves down at the
dinner table.
"How do you know about our flights?"

"Well, my hobby is hill walking, I go out most evenings and climb as far
as an old woman's legs will carry me up the mountain path. For the last
few weeks I have repeatedly seen this long metallic blue object coming
over the hill towards me then turning to sink beneath the surface of the
loch. When the UFO hunters started to arrive I thought that I would tell
them what I had seen, then I realised that none of you had ever
mentioned  anything, so I dismissed it as a fantasy. When Angie revealed
herself this afternoon everything suddenly made sense. It was obvious
from the moment that I arrived here that there was something very fishy
going on. Even Liz had changed from the shy little girl that I looked
after at the embassy all those years ago.  I put two and two together,
the craft  that I saw must have been yours."

Going into her I picked  up her thoughts, sharing these with the others,
I  posed the question she was longing to hear. "Would you like us to
take you for a ride tonight?"

"My dear, I thought you would never ask."

Clara Henderson was a remarkable woman and remained with us for the next
ten years until she retired. She was instrumental in the upbringing of
all our children and assisted in the birth of Elizabeth's first born
son, Edward, his sister Charlotte (Charlie) and finally our daughter
Sussialificalasa (Susan). The children's special abilities never phased
her and I am sure that even the Manyarnern academy could not have taught
them the directed control she instilled.


**********



15th December 1999

The new century neared and Jameson Industries flourished giving us all a
sense of purpose. At first it developed small electronic items,
components used in computers and telecommunications equipment. Then we
branched out into pharmaceuticals, and fuel cell car design.

During this time we accumulated rather a lot of personal wealth. Apart
from the daily living expenses and the kids university fees there was
little else to spend it on. It was Clara who made the suggestion that we
establish the Jameson Foundation. We were all swimming in the loch at
the time.

Gabkhan, now resembling a young adult, had developed the speciality,
like his father, for mathematics and engineering. His first project was
to design a force field to divide the shore line of the loch from the
rest of the water and gently heat it to a comfortable swimming
temperature. This had been a great hit with all of us, especially Susan
who returning to her natural form revelled in the water just as I had
done as a child. Everyone noticed how alike we were and once she had
matured into a very beautiful young woman we resembled sisters rather
than mother and daughter.

Paddling across to tread water beside John and Elizabeth Clara asked.
"Are you the only Tomorrow People on Earth?"

"Many years ago," began John, "we thought that there would be hundreds
even thousands of us breaking out all over the world. But as the years
passed we realised that this was too much to hope for and gave up
looking." He shrugged his shoulders and Elizabeth felt his
disappointment.

"There is no doubt that one day there will be many more of us but it
will probably be many thousands of years before that happens." She said.

Surfacing, I joined in the conversation. "Well we have been so
preoccupied lately that we have not given much thought to finding other
Tomorrow People."

"I think that you should try to find them." Remarked Clara motioning
towards Gabkhan, Kohlarn and Susan as they splashed each other noisily.
"Look at your children, fully grown now and in need of a partner. Did
you know how disappointed Kohlarn was with that girl he was dating
recently. He showed her a little telekinesis and she ran a mile. They
need creatures like themselves if they are ever going to be happy."

This suggestion took me by surprise, I had been so wrapped up in the
running of the chemical-development site that I had not thought of the
children's futures. It was Liz who spent most time with them these days.
She still ran the local school, funded now as a centre for academic
excellence by Jameson Industries.

"Why don't we try to send out a telepathic beacon, a message, calling
others like us to come here and meet." Suggested Hsui Tai.

"It is a good sugestion. But when we attempted that before it caused all
sorts of problems for the potential Tomorrow People." Said John
emphatically. "And besides the Federation said that the R.T.E. in the
atmosphere will not wear off for many more years. We have to assume that
none have broken out recently."

"Yes. But Angie sensed another telepath back at University who we never
managed to trace. How can we be so sure that the Federation is right and
this stuff is working the way they planned." Added  Stephen. "Perhaps
new Tomorrow People have broken out and we just haven't discovered them
yet. I think it's worth the risk." He turned to John who was obviously
deep in thought on the matter.

"So do I." He said at last.


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 10 of 18
Date: 25 Oct 1998 15:36:50 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 4 A Fatal Error
Part 10 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

Later that day we were seated, in a circle, cross legged on the floor of
the lounge linking our consciousness and formulating the message we were
to send.
(This is just like the family blending.) Commented Stephen, and I had to
admit that even though we did not have a lens to channel the energy
there was a similar feeling to the gathering.

Clara had pulled the furniture over by the window and watched our silent
communications. "Sometimes I wish I could feel a true part of all this."
She said, turning away to look at the view of the snow covered
mountains.

(You are and always will be a part of all of us.) Charlotte responded
much to her surprise.

It was three hours before we made contact with anyone. Gradually the
thoughts of a young man living in London entered our minds, although I
received the idea that he was not native to this country. He said that
he had come across telepaths in many other countries as well. There was
an Australian and an American as well as those living in England.

When we asked how he had come to meet them he seemed reluctant to tell
us at first. He seemed to believe that we were part of some covert
government operation to expose him and his friends. Much to our delight
he reluctantly began to describe how he could teleport and we poured out
to him our knowledge of this ability. Relief flooded into our minds at
his realisation that he was no longer alone and we made an agreement not
to rush things but that he and his friends could come to Scotland to
visit us whenever they wished.

John was uneasey at these new contacts and had TIM place a trace on the
source. Personally I felt sure that the boy guessed what had been done.
I considered expressing my anxiety, after all it did seem as though we
were being friendly with one hand and all the while hiding things from
him. Still, John usually knew best in these matters and I deferred to
his better judgement.


As we came round from the trance we were all in a celebrateory mood.

"New Tomorrow People at last." Remarked an excited Mike. "I wonder if
they are the same as us?"

"Of course they are." Replied Elizabeth. "They just broke out in a
different way. Perhaps nature has corrected itself to make things less
traumatic for our kind."

"Well, whoever they are, I for one am very pleased to know that there
are more of us out there in the world." Added John. "Once TIM has a firm
fix on them we can jaunt over and investigate further."

"Don't go scaring them away." Andrew sounded quite worried.

"No. Of course not." Remarked John. "We'll take a few precautions then
introduce ourselves properly."


These new telepaths were not the only cause for excitement that day. As
we came round from the trance like state we became aware of a familiar
presence in the room with us. We all swung around to see Andranovich
standing in the doorway.

"What the hell are you doing here?" blurted out a shocked Steven.

(I thought that you were calling all telepaths here to join your little
community,) he replied sarcastically, (I was in the area and felt the
call, I'll go if I'm not welcome.) At that he brought a teleporter
control out from his pocket and began to reprogram it.

I glared at Stephen for his stupidity. "Andranovich you are our first
born and a part of this 'community' you are always welcome. You just
caught your father off guard."
I was suddenly aware of another Manyarnern mind close by. The others
felt it as well and we looked questioningly at Andranovich as he came
further into the room.

(This is Larafortunecta my joining partner.)

The pretty young girl stepped out from behind him and I could see at
once where her ancestry lay. She was the image of her mother, Trilly,
and also bore the mark of a lens on her upper arm.  We quickly recovered
from our shock to this news and welcomed her to our family in the
traditional manner.

"Premier." She bowed slightly. "My mother sends her greetings to the One
and asks your forgiveness that we carried out the joining ceremony in
your absence. Andranovich and I wanted to join quickly after completing
our training at the academy and it seemed most opportune to carry it out
before we took up our respective posts on the Trig. Mother believed that
you would not object to our joining as it was within the family."

"No of course not, we do not mind at all. In fact we are very happy for
you both. Your rapport is strong and with strength comes happiness. Will
you stay, please? At least join us for dinner." They nodded. "Great!
Who's turn is it to cook tonight? Or shall we ask TIM to provide
something? "

Reluctantly Charlie and Susan stood up and headed out of the room.
(We'll prepare something special.) They sent as the door closed behind
them.




What none of us realised that night was that our telepathic call had
reached further than Andranovich. The open frequency we used alerted
many other telepathic races in the area to our presence on this under
developed, unprotected planet...





--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 11 of 18
Date: 26 Oct 1998 21:13:25 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 5 A Battle of wills
Part 11 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

3rd May 2000

A few months later Andranovich and Lara returned to the Trig and took up
their new jobs with the Galactic Federation. We all felt empty as their
minds left the group's consciousness, but the house soon resumed it's
previous routine. One bright Spring morning I walked into the
conservatory, which had been built at the back of the house, in order to
give us all additional living space. My thoughts were preoccupied with
the latest data from the clinical trials of a new anti-cancer drug we
were developing. It's chemical formulation was proving particularly
difficult to adapt to human physiology and this problem had been on my
mind for many days. The computer remote pad which displayed the latest
figures floated into the room before me and my eyes were riveted to the
screen.

Looking up I became aware of Susan and Gabkhan sitting on the couch.
"Why don't you two get some fresh air. Andrew says that the heather is
in full flower up on the mountain." They pathed to each other privately
and stood to head for the door. As they did so I felt a searing pain in
my temples.

They felt it as well and returned to see what was the matter. Helping me
to my feet we were suddenly engulfed in a huge energy discharge. It both
surrounded us and passed through us wrenching the fabric of our bodies
into millions of pieces. We tried to call for help but it was useless,
the alien teleporter had us in it's grip and slowly pulled us out of the
space time continuum and into the void of hyperspace...


********

I regained consciousness some time later to find myself in a large dome.
The walls shimmered with light and a strange jelly like creature lay
across from me. Trying to call the others telepathically brought on
severe pain in my head so I gave up and concentrated on figuring out
where I was.

The walls were translucent and through them I could see a large room
containing various pieces of equipment, this totally unfamiliar
technology was obviously from a non Federation race.

(That is correct.) The blob of jelly had now risen to take on a roughly
humanoid form.

There were no surface features discernible and it seemed likely that
telepathy rather than verbal speech was their usual mode of
communication.

(Where am I? What have you done with the others? We are Federation
citizens you have no right to kidnap us like this.)

(We have every right.) Replied the alien. (We are the Valcrumny, your
Federation disallowed our application for entrance and so we make it our
job to discuss this lack of insight on their part with every other
Federation species we encounter.)

The realisation began to dawn on me as it spoke. The Valcrumny were a
race of scavengers who moved around the galaxy stealing technology and
living off the neural energy of telepathic races. They were a parasite
who had refused to change their ways and so had been denied entry to the
Federation and banned from access to any Federation world.

(Yes.) It continued. (But this planet called Earth that you so unwisely
chose to settle on is not a federation member. Closed worlds and every
telepath on them are accessible to us quite legally.)

My mind flew into a turmoil, it was going to drain my neural energy and
use the information it acquired to destroy all of us on Earth. I had to
find a way out of here. The creature, sensing my plans for escape, oozed
back into it's globular form and began to slide across the floor towards
me. In a complete panic I tried to use telekinesis to force open the
wall before me. This resulted in unbearable pain and being momentarily
stunned it approached quite close to me. As it oozed across my foot the
shoe I was wearing dissolved at it's acid like touch. I screamed and
with all my strength leaped over it to land on the other side of the
dome.

(Don't fight it, our inhibitor will prevent you from using your
abilities to escape. Your fate and the fate of all those like you on
this backward planet is assured. Just let it be over with as soon as
possible and your discomfort will be much less.)

"Never!" I screamed and summoning all the psionic energy that I could,
to break through the intense pain in my head, I directed a stream of
energy at the wall of the dome. The translucent material began to give
way and a small opening appeared. The creature neared me again and just
as it was lifting itself up for one final pounce I dove through the
opening.

As I landed I jumped up and scanned the room for a door. Then I noticed
five more of the creatures approaching from around the other side of the
dome. They held Gabkhan and Susan motionless in their grasp.


(It would be unwise of you to try anything like that again.) This came
from a creature slightly larger than the others, I assumed that it was
their leader.

(I am...Angerianaasusilicana of Manyarner.)

(We know exactly who you are Premier,) it seethed, (it surprises us that
such an advanced creature as yourself would choose to live amongst such
a fragile species as this.) It threw Susan and Gabkhan to the floor and
I rushed over to assess their condition.

(Are they dead?)

(No not quite, but if you do not co-operate with us it can be arranged.)

(What exactly do you want with us?)

(That's better, a little compliance on your part will make this whole
business much easier for you.) It turned to a piece of equipment nearby
and a lighted panel increased in intensity. (Now that we are sure that
you are the One, we will have to increase our inhibitors strength so
that you cannot try and escape again. That containment dome was meant to
be our strongest but we obviously underestimated the psionic energy at
your disposal.)

I sank to my knees as the pain in my head became intolerable again and
blacked out beside Susan and Gabkhan's limp bodies.


********

Not understanding where I was, all that I knew was that it was very
dark. I tried to open my eyes but could not feel them. Then I realised
that I could not feel the presence of my physical body at all. This did
not worry me, at least the pain was gone. Somewhere in the distance
there was another being caught in the black void with me.
I stretched out my awareness and although I am sure that distance was an
illusion in this no-where place it seemed that a long way off someone
was calling for help.

Reaching out I knew that the other beings were in fact Susan and
Gabkhan, as soon as this fact reached my perception they too new of my
presence. Their relief flooded into my mind, or at least I think it was
my mind. Followed by hundreds of questions. What had happened? Where
were we? Why was it so dark? Calming them both I relayed the encounter
with the Valcrumny and how our physical bodies were probably still lying
unconscious on the floor of the compartment in their ship.

(So why are we able to communicate?) Asked Gabkhan.

(The only possible explanation is that our biological link goes way
beyond the usual form of telepathy. This is more than subvocal but
subatomic, or inter-dimensional as well.)

(Let's assume for a moment that the Valcrumny are not aware that we can
converse in this way that at least gives us breathing space while we
figure out how to contact the others and get out of here.)

(Yes but they will not wait for long. There is no way that the
Federation will strike a bargain with this race of parasites. You know
how they are sticklers for rules and regulations about closed worlds.)

(So where does that leave us? I don't fancy having my neural energy
devoured by a bunch of slime balls and I'm sure the others aren't close
enough to rescue us.) Susan began to sound very alarmed.

(I've got an idea. Mother, you said that they lived off this energy as
their major food supply. What if we had no neural energy left for them
to take they would leave us alone.)

(Or more likely incinerate our bodies.) Added Susan.

(The idea has merit, if they thought that we were dead then they might
just dump our bodies in space and go after more promising targets.)

(The only problem is, if our physical bodies are dead where do we go?)

 *********

The next part of this story is best told by Stephen himself  as he can
recall the details of the following few days better than I can.

We sensed Angie, Susan and Gabkhan being torn apart by the alien
transporter beam from many miles away. When we materialised in the
conservatory, there was nothing left of them, other than a scorch mark
on the tiled floor, to register where they had stood. The most uncanny
thing was the complete absence of their consciousness. I found this
particularly difficult to deal with as Angie had been a part of myself
for so many years that we almost thought as one single mind. The
emptiness was overwhelming.

John, seeing how debilitated we were in the others absence, took charge
of the situation and soon we were all standing in the lab looking at the
view screen. Our message was relayed, straight into the chambers of the
Federation Council.

"So they have demanded acceptance into the federation in return for her
release." John was saying.

"That is correct and, as you are aware, the Manyarnern Premier is an
important person to her own people but the authorities here do not
recognise a religious leader as a significant enough position to warrant
giving in to their demands or mounting a rescue mission. Our policies
are very strict on this matter. Although she is a Federation operative
she chose a life amongst the people of a closed world and must face the
consequences of this decision. You may take this up with the Manyarnern
Circle of Elders directly if you wish, we will happily boost you
communicator signal to reach their home world." Replied Timus
appologetically.

Cutting in on the exchange I let rip with some very colourful metaphors
for what they could do with their policies of non interference in the
matters of closed worlds.

John pulled me away from the viewer and calmed me down. (That won't help
us to gain their co-operation will it!)

(Sorry.) I looked around at their worried faces, then turning back to
the viewer. "Sorry Timus. I hope you can forgive my outburst."

"That is all right Stephen, we of the High Council will meditate until
Angerianaasusilicana and her family are returned." At this the
transmission was terminated from their end.

"So, it looks like we are on our own." Remarked Elizabeth with a shrug.

A quick discussion ensued and it was decided that our first course of
action should be to take the Kalinar out of the atmosphere and scan for
residual traces of the Valcrumny ship. Elizabeth left Eddy and Charlie
in the care of Mike and the others with strict instuctions to protect
themselves againt further Valcrumny incursions in any way they felt
necessary. They were to hide themselves amongst the saps if they did not
hear anything from us in a few days.


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 12 of 18
Date: 26 Oct 1998 21:14:05 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 5 A Battle of wills
Part 12 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

Warning:
This story contains a few swear words which the reader may find
offensive and is rated PG.

*******

Passing the asteroid belt we set the ships sensory attuner to search for
an ionic trail left by a ship as it engaged it's Hyperlight drive. After
three hours of fruitless scanning we realised that it was pointless and
prepared for the journey back home. Kohlarn sat at the Kalinar's
controls while John and I peered at the scanner display desperate for
the weakest of signals that could lead us to our missing loved ones.

Without warning a ship popped out of hyperspace in front of us forcing
Kohlarn to make an avoidance manoeuvre. "Where the hell did that come
from?"

The communicator buzzed and John went over to answer. The screen filled
with the image of a race I had never seen before. They were reptilian in
appearance with tufts of brightly coloured hair jutting from their jaws.
"I am commander of the scout ship Xzchruzch, we were requested to assist
you by the Manyarnern Circle of Elders. May I transfer myself and my
first officer over to your vessel so that we can discuss this situation
further?"

He looked at each of the others in turn and we nodded agreement. "Yes by
all means commander."

Almost before he finished sending the message two of these huge
creatures materialised beside me. They were at least fourteen feet tall
and had to bow down to prevent their heads banging against the ceiling
of the compartment.

"We are humbled in the presence of the joining partner of the One. May
we please sit down?"

I motioned to the group of chairs around the table in the back of the
room, it was obvious that their huge bulk would not fit into these human
sized seats. Instead they squatted down on the floor and we all followed
suit.

Taking the initiative John opened the questioning. "Have you come to
help us rescue the One from the Valcrumny?"

"We are, unfortunately, a race of philosophers and clerics not equipped
for battle." Said the commander apologetically. "We are chroniclers of
the Manyarnern history and have followed the progress of the One ever
since her presence was detected in this time line. When the news spread
of her fate at the hands of the Valcrumny we sought out the circle of
elders and were requested to rendezvous with you at this location."

"How on Earth did you know where to find us?" This was Kohlarn. "We told
no one of our plans, let alone those snivelling do nothings at the
Federation."

The commander lifted his long arm, which was actually more like a
flipper than a human appendage and slapped Kohlarn on the shoulder.
"Oh dear, you do not seem to understand the nature of our race. When I
said we were chroniclers of Manyarnern history I meant not only the past
but the future history as well."

At this Elizabeth gave a gentle sigh and took up the conversation. "So
you knew that this was going to happen and that we would be here
searching at this time. I don't suppose that you also know the location
of the Valcrumny ship?"

"Or how we can rescue the others?" I added.

"Yes we do know the position of the vessel that you seek, and the Circle
of Elders has instructed us to tell you. As for the other information,
we see a number of possible outcomes of this days events and cannot help
you any further without badly disrupting the time line. The One is the
only Manyarnern being who lives in this indeterminate temporal state.
Usually we can chronicle each individuals history with certainty but for
her we cannot say."

"So if  I understand this right, you can tell us where they have taken
Angie, Gabkhan and Susan but not what the outcome of our rescue
operation will be?"

"Your summary of the situation is accurate and if you allow me to
transfer the information into your biotronic unit we will be on our way.
There is no point in us delaying you in further discussion." He lifted
his heavy bulk up from the floor and crossed to the computer terminal. A
small black box appeared in his hand and he held it against the unit.

The first officer, who had said nothing during our discussion, turned
towards me. "May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be
fulfilled." Bowing deeply they both vanished along with their ship.

John and I checked the trajectory that had been entered into the
biotronic computer.
"This will bring us out at a star in the constallation known as Tucana
by Earth astronomers, about 78 light years away." He said reading off
the data."We don't know what to expect when we get there, so hold on to
you hats it may be a rough journey."

I punched the execute button on the Hyperlight drive and we
instantaneously jumped into hyperspace. The journey took about four
hours. This gave us some time to consider what to do when we arrived.


*****

Elizabeth, who sat beside the biotronic unit while we discussed our
options, suddenly noticed the large amounts of additional information
which had been down loaded into one of the files. Selecting it for
viewing she discovered a huge data base containing all of the
Federation's store of knowledge on the Valcrumny.

"The crafty old devil." She motioned to us to look at the screen.

"Wow! it details every encounter the Federation has ever had with this
race. Our reptilian friend must have bent a few rules to pass this lot
on to us without their knowledge."

We avidly read the data file.

Galactic Police Security file 2598/294 The Valcrumny
Overview :
A parasitic race formed of a gelatinous sack surrounding an extremely
flexible circulatory system which acts as skeletal support. Lacking DNA
they are composed mostly of sulphurous compounds which, if they come
into direct contact with humanoid cellular tissue, are highly corrosive
in nature. Capable of sustaining themselves in any atmospheric
conditions their preferred environment is oxygen rich with above 80
percent humidity.

Their diet consists totally of absorbed neural energy from other species
which they convert through a highly complex thermo-molecular transfusion
into useable materials.

Hermaphrodite in nature, they reproduce in ten yearly cycles using a
budding technique similar to other single celled organisms.

Originating on a planet in the Gama Haploid system they developed space
faring capabilities two centuries ago. Veracious in their appetite for
neural energy they have wiped out all other forms of life on their home
world. Through the acquisition of knowledge, from other races they have
encountered, they have moved off world to seek suitable energy supplies
in the local area. The range of their activities has recently expanded
through the appropriation of Hyperlight technology.

Their vessels are formed of a tetrahedral structure reinforced by
Tritanium composites. They are impregnable to all laser and blaster fire
below three thousand megahertz.

The creatures themselves are also unaffected by hand held stunner or
laser weapons and can absorb the energy discharge then regurgitate it
towards the operator of the weapon. Close combat techniques using wide
bladed instruments are recommended during aggressive encounters.

They have a sophisticated hierarchical nature to their society and show
total allegiance to their leaders. This is imposed by direct thought
transference from one creature to the other. They have no sensory organs
and perceive their environment through empathic scanning of the
surroundings then modelling representations of the environment in a
ganglionic area resembling a brain.

They are particularly sensitive to the transmissions of other telepathic
races and seek out such peoples as a favoured source of nutrition.

Prior to their application for entry into the Galactic Federation they
were offered alternative sustainable energy sources in order to overcome
their apparent  need to seek out and destroy telepathic races. This
offer was refused out right by their leader and their application was
denied.

Since this event they have repeatedly encroached upon Federation worlds
and have been directly responsible for many terrorist acts throughout
this quadrant of the galaxy. The most notable transgression into
Federation space was the mining of the Trig where near total destruction
of the humanoid sphere resulted in the loss of thousands of lives.

This security Officer's recommendation is avoidance at all costs and
covert monitoring of their activities with possible future retaliatory
action to prevent further encounters.


The file contained many other references to diplomatic and military
encounters with these creatures  but that is all I can remember now. I
have to admit that it scarred me to death.

Elizabeth broke the stony silence which had descended on the room. "Well
that's a lot of help, we don't have a blaster on this ship even if we
were capable of using it."

"And neither do we have any wide bladed swords. That is, if we could get
close enough to the bloody things without being detected, to use them.
And I don't fancy having my skin dissolved while they suck out my neural
energy. It's just hopeless." Said Kohlarn sinking back into his seat.

"That description reminds me of Jedikiah, his natural form was like a
blob of jelly. Do you remember Liz?"

"Yes. When we returned him to the rehabilitation centre on Repos Four I
thought we had seen the last of his kind." She shuddered.

"Well, humans base android design on their own physiology." Said John.
"Why shouldn't another race model a robot on themselves. Perhaps the
Cyclops bought him from this race."

"If these things are shape shifters as well we don't stand any chance
against a whole race of them." I remarked.

"So you are going to give up before we even try." Shouted John. "What do
we tell the others? We thought that it was too great a risk and didn't
even attempt a rescue."

"John's right." Added Liz "Commander what's his name would not have
given us this information unless he knew we had a fighting chance. No
matter what the odds I'm going to figure out some way onto their ship
and try to rescue Angie and the kids."

Despite all this fighting talk I had a tight little knot of fear growing
in the pit of my stomach.

We popped out of hyperspace at the co-ordinates pre-programmed by our
reptilian friends and it was soon apparent that we were on the far side
of a small moon which orbited the Valcrumny home world. This gave just
enough of an angle around the planetoid to scan for their ship and still
hide our arrival.

"The most important thing from now on," ordered John, "is that we use no
telepathy or telekinesis what so ever. All communication must be verbal.
The data files suggested that they have no hearing or sight, let's hope
that it's correct as it seems to be our only advantage."

"We will not be able to teleport onto their ship either, so how are we
going to get close to them?" Asked Kohlarn.

I had been considering this problem for the last half hour and could not
suggest anything more than the obvious. "We simply walk over and climb
in through any available port hole or landing ramp."

This was met by much ridicule but eventually they agreed that it was the
only possible solution.

"As we know that they cannot see or hear our approach and we are small
enough not to register on the ships scanners we might just pull it off."
Agreed John.

Kolarn looked at each of us in turn. "But how are we going to fight
these things, none of you can kill?"

"And you think you can?" John snapped back, the tension showing in his
voice.

"Yes. I don't believe that the prime inhibition affects me. After all
I'm only half human. If  I could make a weapon that would be a help.
Elizabeth, are there any knives in the Galley?"

"Only small ones but I suppose we could fashion some sort of blade from
the metal casings in the storage compartment."

We set about this task, using a laser pencil to carefully cut a sword
like slice of metal from one of the containers. Elizabeth then suggested
that we use bandages from the first aid kit to form a sort of handle and
grip on one end. When finished the sword did not look much but when
swung loosely in two hands they had the feel of a machete or small
sabre.

John set us down just over the horizon from the Valcrumny ship.
Approaching at a shallow angle before dipping down into a dust filled
crater on the barren moon.
Dressing in A.E. suits Kohlarn fastened the make-shift weapon to his
waist band and we prepared for the long trek ahead.

The plan was to scout around the area and make a slow approach to the
alien ship. Then we would split into two teams. John and Liz were to
search for the others. While Kohlarn and I found some way of tapping
into the vessel's computer network and causing some sort of distraction.

"I have an idea of the sort of distraction which should get their
attention." I said into the radio mike of my suit as we struggled to
climb over the rubble strewn landscape. "If I can tap into the protocols
for their scanners I can fool them into thinking that an entire
Federation fleet was approaching at high speed. This might give them the
incentive to give the others up. We can then Jaunt onto the bridge as
Federation representatives and take Angie and the kids back with us."

"It sounds as feasible a plan as any other. But how convinced are you
that you can understand this totally unknown technology well enough not
to give us away completely, just offering them more telepathic neural
energy for their dinner?"

"Oh John, ye of little faith, trust me." In fact I was not at all
convinced that Kohlarn and I would be able to pull off such an amazing
feat. Thankfully heavily shielding as we were none of the others
realised that my bravado was down to desperation rather than rational
thought.

After what felt like many hours we approached an outcrop of rock just in
front of the Valcrumny ship's landing site. Keeping low we peered over
the edge at the scene below us. I could make out three lime green blobs
of jelly moving back and forth over the ground around the base of what
must have been an entrance ramp. As they did so a trail of acid was
etching large grooves into the rock surface. A smaller blob slithered
down the ramp and joined in their unnatural dance.

"What the hell are they doing?" I asked.

"That is hardly our business as long as they are occupied long enough
for us to slip past and up that ramp. See as they reach the furthest
part of the groove they pause for a few seconds before returning. I'm
sure that we can run out from behind that support leg and make it up the
ramp before they come back." John seemed completely at ease when giving
instructions and I suddenly imagined him in a sergeant majors uniform
drilling a straggly bunch of army recruits.

A few minutes later, after circling around the back of the craft, we
approached the supporting leg of the ship. It was about five feet in
diameter and stretched up above us to seamlessly join with the
underbelly of the vessel. Crouching down I could just see the Valcrumny
patrol moving up and down in front of the ramp. Although we knew that
the creatures could not see or here anything, being this close impressed
upon us the need for extreme caution.

The valcrumny slithered to the far end of what was now a deeply grooved
trench and there they paused. John gave us a silent signal and one by
one we stepped out from our hiding place and carefully made our way up
the ramp into the huge ship. I was first inside and noticed that it was
quite dark, I could just make out two more Valcrumny waiting at the top
of the ramp. There was a small gap between them and holding my breath I
stepped through and moved to the far side of the entrance way.

Elizabeth who had followed me in, saw the gap close and just stepped
through in time.  Together we stood panting heavily our backs pressed
against the slimy walls as our eyes became accustomed to the darkness.
John and Kohlarn had reached the top of the ramp and were clearly
visible now, silhouetted against the gentle reflected glow of the moons
surface. Seeing that their path was blocked they began to creep around
the two creatures.

There was a hissing sound beside me and an inner bulkhead door slid
open. The two waiting blobs passed inches in front of us as they entered
the main part of the ship.
This gave John and Kohlarn the chance to move across and join us, and
seeing that the inner door had remained open we also went inside.




--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 13 of 18
Date: 27 Oct 1998 07:05:57 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 6 A Friend in Need
Part 13 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

It had been three hours and I hoped the others were having more luck
than Kohlarn and I. We had groped our way in the darkness along an
engineering crawl way and I had become quite convinced that this ship
was not designed by the Valcrumny themselves but was probably an
acquisition from one of their encounters with another race. The space
was only just big enough for us to wriggle through in our A.E. suits and
it was apparent that these aliens could never carry out their own
maintenance.

Eventually we came out at a junction point. The area was a little
brighter than the rest of the narrow shaft and we had space to brace
ourselves against the walls. We had not spoken for many minutes and now
seemed as good a time as any to assess the situation.

"Do you think we will ever find a suitable place to tap into their
network, all this junk looks like it is part of the drive system?"

Kohlarn nodded in agreement and inspected the piece of equipment he was
sitting against. "Yes. It does seem to have the configuration of some
sort of power transfer system. Maybe we should open up one of the panels
and have a closer look?"

"And probably get radiation burns in the process. Engineering is not
your speciality, so please trust my judgement on these matters. Until we
know more about what we are dealing with I'm touching nothing."

He seemed hurt by my brusque outburst so I gave him a gentle smile and
started to head along the next part of the crawl space.

"Father wait! Off to your right there." He pointed to a smaller tunnel
branching off the main one and leading away from us towards what looked
like a small room. "Can we get through?"

It was a very tight squeeze, during which we had to discard the outer
protective layer of our suits, but eventually we stood in a small
cubical. On the walls were what appeared to be complex wiring diagrams
showing interconnecting pathways and junction nodes.

"This is it!" I laughed. "Now I have to figure out what the hell we are
looking at."

I had brought a small tool kit with me. With this I opened an access
panel and began the long process of identifying the Valcrumny encryption
codes and interpreting the computer language.

Another hour passed, this was slow and tedious for Kohlarn who waited
patiently hunched up on the floor of the little room.

Eventually I had figured out all I could and knew it was time that we
did something.
"I think I've got it."

"You don't sound too sure?"

"Pass me the biotronic data uplink before I change my mind."

He lifted the small remote unit from the floor beside him and
reluctantly handed it to me. In anticipation of this moment I had
pre-programmed it with a sort of virus which would work it's way into
the Valcrumny sensory systems and replace actual readouts with ones
relating to an imminent attack by the Federation fleet.

The unit quickly down-loaded it's information and I reconnected the
microfibre pathways which I believed ran to the central computer. "Now
all we can do is wait and see what happens." I said, slumping down
beside him on the floor. Neither of us had slept much for the past few
days and we quickly sank into a deep sleep.

********


Meanwhile John and Elizabeth were in a bit of trouble...

They had made their way along the corridor until they found a service
hatch leading to the atmospheric conduits which ran between the decks of
the ship. From here they had climbed up to the crew level and
investigated as many rooms as possible. It was obvious that Angie and
the others were not in this section so they climbed further into the
heart of the ship.

Eventually the rigours of the ascent, along with the heat and humidity,
exhausted them both and they decided to look for a suitable place to
rest, without risk of being disturbed. Up ahead they could see a large
opening into what they believed to be an empty room.

Squeezing through an access tunnel they removed a covering hatch to
discover a huge pit below them. The walls dripped with slime and the
atmosphere had such high humidity that the floor was covered in a thick
layer of mist.

This mist made it impossible for them to see the floor clearly and
believing the room to be empty they lowered themselves down from the
tunnel. It was too late to go back before they noticed that they were in
fact in a large nest like structure. Hundreds of dormant Valcrumny
covered the entire floor and there was no visible sign of a way out.

John tried to lift Elizabeth back up into the tunnel but loosing his
footing on the slime covered floor he slipped and she fell backwards
onto one of the sleeping green blobs.

The telepathic scream was so intense that it woke us instantly.
Momentarily disorientated, Kohlarn prepared to reply to the terrified
thoughts of Elizabeth which swept into our minds.

"Stop!" I grabbed his arm and shook him fully awake. "They have
obviously run into trouble but we cannot risk giving ourselves away."

"But Liz is so desperate, she needs us."

"They all need us now, we must remain calm if we are going to help them
at all."

He nodded agreement and we both tried to shield ourselves from the
terror, pain and torment entering our minds.

Eventually it went quiet. "Do you think they are dead?"

"No. We would sense that I'm sure."

I could see tears running out of control down the poor boys cheeks.
Despite his appearance as a man he was still a vulnerable child to me.
Thankfully John and Elizabeth were not harmed during this first
encounter with the Valcrumny nestling. A senior member of the group
sensing their presence in the nursery chamber arrived just as their A.E.
suits were being dissolved from their bodies.

Realising that these intruders may be part of a Federation plot it
dragged them from the chamber and carried them up to the containment
area where Angie and the others were being held.

(So what have we here?) Sent the Valcrumny leader as John regained
consciousness.
(More telepaths sent to service our needs.)

It slithered over to where John lay and bent over him menacingly.

Elizabeth awoke and huddled close to John for comfort. (What will you do
with us?) She asked hesitantly.

(I think you know what your fate will be.) It moved aside to reveal
Angie, Gabkhan and Susan slumped on the other side of the dome.

Both their hearts sank, the pale limp bodies looked as though they had
been dead for many hours. The Valcrumny leader sensing their thoughts
moved over to a large piece of equipment standing in the centre of the
dome. Turning a dial the lights around them dimmed slightly.

They could hardly believe it as the three seemingly dead corpses began
to stir back into life.

(We do not kill our prey until we have drained their energy, dead flesh
is useless to us.) It said, then slithered towards the wall. Passing
through the force field with ease it left the room.


*******

Angie
They moved across the dome to kneel beside us. Elizabeth lifted my head
gently into her lap, stroking the hair from my eyes she asked. "Are you
all right?"

"Oh no, not you as well? How were you captured? Where are the others?"

John gave me a very subtle head shake which I understood to mean that it
was best not to discuss these things openly. Stretching I stood up and
looked around me. A Valcrumny guard had placed itself beside the door.

"So what do we do now?"

"Wait and see whether the Federation comes to get us I suppose." Said
Liz plopping her self down on the floor exhausted from the ordeal of the
past few days. "I'm so tired."

John taking this lead motioned for us all to sit down as well and huddle
close.
"Those things," he pointed across at the guard, "are deaf and blind as
long as we do not use telepathy they cannot here what we say."

"Yes, but now that they know where you are they can scan your brain
activity all the time. We can not take the chance of giving anything
away by even thinking about the things I think you want to tell us." I
looked at each of them in turn and they nodded agreement. "So we might
as well follow Liz's suggestion and sleep while we can.

*********

Stephen
It started about thirty minutes later. The compartment where Kohlarn and
I sat lit up like  a Christmas tree. A humming sound slowly rose in
pitch until we had to shout over it. "My programme has got someones
attention." I scanned the alien equipment and tried to understand the
patterns of power distribution as they flashed into life.
"This shows power to the drive system, that is almost at full capacity,
they must be about to jump into hyperspace."

"That's not what we want, we'll never be able to get off the ship if
they are travelling at light speed." Said an anxious Kohlarn. "Can't you
find some way of disabling the Hyperlight drive to slow them up a bit?"

I pondered over the patterns before me there was something very unusual
about the power distribution network. Eventually I began to get an idea.

"Look at this." Kohlarn followed my finger as I traced out the unusual
network. "There is a huge amount of power being shunted through this
bypass junction to one of the upper decks. There seems to be no
essential services in that area so why do they need so much power?"
Without stopping to hear his suggestions I continued with my line of
thought. "Unless they have some need to supply this room with huge
amounts of energy for some other purpose. Perhaps to run an inhibitor
unit of some kind."

At this Kohlarn became very excited. "Lets go then, we know where they
are keeping mother now. They must need that large amount of energy to
stop her escaping. The One can use vast amounts of psionic energy, I've
been told. To keep her here must be very difficult."

He started to head for the tunnel back the way we had come.

"No wait! What will we be able to do when we get there? They obviously
have them trapped inside some sort of impregnable force field. All we'll
do is walk straight into a trap. I have a better idea."

He returned and watched intently as I busied myself rewriting the power
control commands. The humming sound began to rise in pitch once again
and a low vibration started to build up around us. "What have you done?"

"I'll explain later but now would be a good time for us to leave."
Gathering up my equipment as fast as I could, we scrambled back along
the tunnel.


Angie
We felt the ship shudder with the force of the explosion. The dome
around us crackled as it tried to maintain integrity then faded to
nothingness. For the first time in many hours my head cleared and I knew
what to do.

We jumped to our feet as the green blob oozed across towards us. As it
neared John he side stepped and ushered us all across the room.

(You do not seem to realise that there is nowhere for you to go.) Pathed
the creature.  (There are many thousands more like me to contend with
just outside the door.)

Almost on cue, ten more Valcrumny entered and surrounded us. The leader
spoke belligerently. (So the Federation has decided to fight for it's
citizens, a grave mistake on their part, but of no consequence we will
simply absorb the tremendous energy stored within the One and use it
against them.)

At this the creatures advanced towards us.

*********

Stephen
Kohlarn and I emerged from the crawl way into a busy corridor. Stepping
gently out of the access hatch we found ourselves among many Valcrumny
who were headed towards an elevator entrance. There was no way of
telling that we were headed in the  direction we wanted to go but the
forward flow of the aliens pushed us along with them. We were forced
into the elevator and pressed ourselves against the walls as it filled.
The ascent to the next level took a few seconds then we were moving
forward again.

When the explosion came the Valcrumny froze in their tracks so abruptly
that Kohlarn nearly bumped into the alien in front of him. For a few
moments they were motionless then they began to spread out in new
directions leaving us alone in the empty corridor.

"Thank god for that!" He said. "I was getting nervous that they would
detect us. Why do you think they stopped?"

"Probably for some kind of telepathic instructions. They must think that
they are under attack by now."

"What exactly did you do back there?"

"I took advantage of the unusual power flow through a junction that was
not designed to take such loads. By re-routing energy directly from the
drive system into that particular conduit the whole area overloaded.
They will need extensive repairs before they can jump to hyperspace now.
The explosion probably wrecked much of that section of the ship and
could have even breached the hull." I felt a great sense of satisfaction
and smiled broadly at him. "An added bonus is that it took out the
systems in the whole section where they are keeping the others. With any
luck the force fields and inhibitors keeping them subdued should be
malfunctioning by now. If we can just get up to that level we can all
escape together."

Kohlarn broke into a run. "Let's get going then."


********

Angie
Now that the inhibitors influence had worn off and my headache had eased
I realised that I had the power to stop these obnoxious creatures. I had
never received the training but was aware that I instinctively knew how
to summon the light. Holding my hand aloft a flash of psionic lightening
ripped into the alien nearest to me. It's outer membrane dissolved and
the fluid interior boiled away in an instant.

"That was amazing." Shouted John. Obligingly I lifted my hand again and
blasted another Valcrumny. As I did so the door opened and ten more of
the aliens entered to fill the places of those I had killed.

"Let's see if they can cope with this?" I said as I unleashed bolt after
bolt of fire towards the aliens. As their numbers dwindled their advance
slowed, they obviously realised that we were now strong enough to defeat
them.

(Stay back.) I sent. (We do not want to kill any more of you, why don't
you just agree to let us go?) There was no response from the aliens and
their pace towards us quickened again. (I mean it.) I raised my hand but
the threat had no effect. We stood huddled in the centre of the room.

Energy coursed through my body, I surrounded us in a protective psionic
field, then  focused a huge wave of energy outwards from our position to
destroy everything in the room. Not only did the aliens disintegrate in
an instant but most of the equipment melted into piles of molten metal.

When the energy pulse had subsided we all let out a sigh of relief.

It was Elizabeth who recovered from her shock soonest. "I never knew you
could do things like that!"

"Neither did I until I actually did it." I shrugged.

Susan who had hardly moved throughout the fight hugged me so tightly
that I could hardly breath. "Thank you Premier." She saw my look of
disapproval then corrected herself  "Thank you mother, I'm glad we had
you with us."

Gabkhan moved over to the door and as it slid open he looked out into
the corridor.
"What can you see?" Asked John joining him. "Oh my god, hundreds more of
the things have massed just outside. Do you think you can deal with
them?" He turned towards me his face reflecting the intense fear that we
all felt.

"We won't know until we try but I'd rather go down fighting than waiting
here until they decide to come in and suck out my neural energy again."

We emerged into the corridor and the creatures retreated back from us.

"That's better, they seem scared of us now." Said Elizabeth.

Confidently I led the way up the corridor towards the throng of aliens.
They parted to let us through. When we reached a junction with another
corridor more Valcrumny pushed out and managed to separate us into two
groups. Susan, Gabkhan and I looked around to see John and Elizabeth
herded further down the other hall way. They tried to move closer but it
was no good the gap widened.

Then it hit us, an intense pain swept through our bodies as the
inhibitor was reactivated. Clutching at our heads and bent double, we
noticed the sudden rush of the group of aliens towards us. I tried to
fight the pain and raise my hand up above my head but it was useless.
The aliens reared up and smothered us simultaneously.

Susan and Gabkhan screamed in agony as their flesh was dissolved off
their bodies. I also felt the acid burn through my clothing and begin to
eat away at my skin.

"Angie. No..." Stephen's anguished shout was the last thing I recall as
I passed out.


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 14 of 18
Date: 27 Oct 1998 07:06:18 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 6 A Friend in Need
Part 14 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story


Warning:
This story contains a few swear words which the reader may find
offensive and is rated PG.

********

Stephen
Assessing the situation Kohlarn stopped in his tracks. He could see the
Valcrumny split  up the others and smother Angie, Susan and Gabkhan. My
shout alerted John who pushed Elizabeth towards us.

"We must get out of here." He shouted. "There is nothing that we can do
for them now."

I could not believe what I had seen. The bodies of my family disappeared
below the aliens and were gone from sight. Then I felt John Shaking me
back to reality.

"We must get out of here, they seem more interested in feeding than
coming after us."

He was right, there were no aliens behind us and we returned back round
the corner. I let them lead me along until we came to an engineering
inspection hatch then we all climbed in and closed the entrance way.

We had wriggled along the narrow tube for a short while before my shock
began to wear off and I realised what we were doing. Abruptly I stopped
and looked Kohlarn straight in the eye. "Where the hell are we going? We
can't just leave them back there. That is my wife, your mother, brother
and sister you know, the least we can do is take what is left of their
bodies with us." I awkwardly turned myself round and started back along
the tunnel.

John grabbed at my foot. "Stephen no, there is nothing left of them for
us to find. We have to get ourselves out of here." Ignoring his demands
I pulled my foot free and continued heading away from them.

"Stephen please listen to us." Pleaded Elizabeth, but I was determined
to go back for the bodies, alone if I had to. I continued towards the
inspection hatch. As I climbed out into the corridor it was remarkably
quiet. I walked back the way we had come and prepared myself for the
terrible sight of their dissolved remains.

I was aware that the others had also emerged from the tunnel and were
catching me up rapidly. Nearing the place where the terrible incident
had taken place I closed my eyes to assess the situation. Could I bear
to see the corpses of those I loved so dearly? Would I be able to
struggle out of here with whatever remained? Elizabeth came to stand
beside me and took my hand, thankful for her compassion I opened my
eyes. There were no Valcrumny left in the corridor. Angie, Susan and
Gabkhan lay almost untouched in front of me.

Elizabeth bent down. "They are quite dead but seem hardly injured at
all." She sounded surprised so I joined her in the examination of the
bodies.

Their skin was badly blistered by the corrosive Valcrumny slime which
covered them and small amounts of congealed blood surrounded their
mouths and nostril, but apart from this all of their features were still
intact. This was nothing compared to what I had expected to find.

Elizabeth echoed my own thoughts. "They look quite peaceful, I expected
their faces to be contorted by pain."

She glanced up as John and Kohlarn joined us. "We can discuss this
later." John scanned the corridor ahead of us. "They might come back for
the remains, please let's get out of here."

Kohlarn lifted the body of his sister and turned away from us. Tears
streamed down his face once again as he walked back along the corridor.
John and Elizabeth took Gabkhan between them and I held Angie in my
arms. It surprised me that I felt no pain at her death and wondered
whether this was a consequence of the Manyarnern joining. Together we
left the area carrying our respective burdens.

After a while without encountering any more Valcrumny we started to
discuss a possible way of getting off the ship.
"We cannot get through the narrow tunnels carrying them. Perhaps the
aliens have left us alone on the ship and we will be able to go to the
bridge and land it back by the Kalinar?" Suggested Kohlarn.

"Don't bank on it." I replied. "The inhibitor is still partially working
they are probably just off repairing the Hyperlight drive the best they
can, and don't think of us as much of a threat now that Angie is dead."

How easily the words left my mouth. Had I come to terms so quickly with
this loss, or was I in denial clinging to hope of some kind of miracle?
Whatever the truth, my own feelings took a back seat. I logically
considered our plight and tried to figure out a suitable course of
action.

"An escape pod!" Said Elizabeth suddenly. "This ship must have escape
pods for the crew. If we can find one we can get inside and launch
ourselves out into space. The Federation will then pick us up. Won't
they?"

"I don't think that they even know we are out here." Remarked John. "But
it's worth a try, at least we can drift in space for a while. That will
be better than having another confrontation with them."

We had entered an elevator and the doors closed behind us.

"How do we work this thing?" I looked around for some kind of control
panel then became aware that the elevator had already started moving.
"Let's hope we come out some where useful and not in the damaged part of
the ship."

*******

It was quite some time before the tube shaped object stopped and opened
it's doors. We peered nervously out into what appeared to be a large
cargo bay. Shifting the weight of Angie's body over my shoulder, I led
the way across the large expanse.

Around us were many storage containers and assorted pieces of equipment.
Putting her down on a large box I considered what to do next. The others
followed suit.

"Well, so far so good." Said John. "At least we don't have any more
blobs to fight off. This is obviously the main cargo bay, I wonder how
we get out of here?"

Elizabeth gave a deep sigh and sat down on a crate. "We can rest here
for a while and formulate a plan. Stephen do you think you can tap into
their computer again and find out what's going on?"

"Great idea." I started to look around us for a terminal or interface.

"That should keep him busy for a while." She whispered to John and
Kohlarn. "I don't think that he is handling things very well."

"None of us are." Agreed Kohlarn.

I eventually found a display screen on the other side of the large room,
at the top of a ladder, which led onto an upper gantry walkway. Looking
over the railing I could see the others sitting together below me. The
bodies of my family lay discarded upon the cargo boxes. A sudden burst
of anger welled up inside and I screamed, then the agonising loneliness
overcame me. I slumped down onto the metal gantry and sobbed
uncontrollably for many minutes.

After a while I became aware that the wall panel was flashing. Regaining
some composure I noted that the others had either not noticed my
outburst or had chosen to ignore it. Feeling rather foolish at the
selfish nature of my grief I stood to inspect the panel.

As some semblance of rational thought returned I found that I could
decipher the information being displayed.

It seemed that the engineering section where the Hyperlight drive was
housed had caught on fire and much of the crew had been dispatched to
prevent it spreading into other parts of the ship. That accounted for
the lack of Valcrumny in the corridors we had come through. The ship
having lifted off just prior to the explosion was now moving under
thruster power away from the moon towards the alien's home world.

I flicked through the menu options and found the access commands for
their scanners  and weapons systems. They were obviously aware that the
virus I had down-loaded earlier was a ruse and had purged the false
information from their systems. The weapons were charged and on full
alert in case a real Federation attack occurred.

All of this information was useful to us but did not help me find a way
off the ship. Then by accident I brought up a floor plan of the cargo
area. Most of the items listed were totally foreign to me except one
thing. I was sure that this gantry led into another compartment.

Leaving the others sitting where they were I went to investigate
further. The next room was much smaller. Climbing down from the gantry I
walked through tall stacks of cases and smiled as I rounded a corner to
came face to face with a small exploration shuttle. This was our ticket
out of here.

Running back the way I had come I quickly explained what I had found to
the others. Picking up our burdens once again we made our way along the
gantry and into the next compartment.

The shuttle was very small, just large enough for us to lay the bodies
down on the floor and huddle around the flight controls. "John, do you
think you can fly this thing?" Asked a worried Elizabeth. "The Kalinar
is usually computer controlled."

He sat down in the pilots seat and ran his hands over the controls.
"This confirms our suspicions that this ship was not designed for the
Valcrumny, they could never handle these manual systems with their shape
and form."

"Yes, but can you get us out of here?" I said.

"Oh I can fly the thing easily enough it works on a simple liquid fuel
based thruster system. See here this is the main accelerator, and here
is the main firing mechanism. But getting us out of the cargo area is
another thing all together, just look out there." He pointed out through
the forward viewing screen at the large cargo bay doors. "Do you think
they can be manually opened?"

My heart sank. In our enthusiasm we had all crowded into the little
craft without realising that it was inside a cargo area rather than a
launch bay. The doors ahead of us undoubtedly opened in some way but the
mechanism would be controlled by the bridge.

"Anyway." He continued. "Even if we do manage to get them open the
Valcrumny will immediately know exactly where we are and be able to pick
us off with their blasters as soon as we clear the bay."

We all stood in silence realising the weight of the problem. Eventually
Kohlarn broke the silence. He opened the shuttle door and climbed out
then headed at some speed towards the cargo bay doors.

"Wait here." I said to the others as I followed him.

The bay was not as small as it had first seemed. I rapidly lost sight of
Kohlarn as he ducked behind the storage crates. "Wait for me." I called
stumbling as I tried to catch up. He had stopped by a particularly large
container and was studying it's identification tag as I approached.

"What the hell came over you?" I demanded, gasping for breath. "You took
off like a rocket just then." He hardly seemed to acknowledge my
presence and continued to study the crates tag.

I also looked at the markings and it suddenly dawned on me that I had
seen this script before.

"If I'm not mistaken," he said, "this is a Federation language, we
studied it for a while when Gabkhan and I were at the academy last
year." He bent down closer to the brightly coloured label. "See this, I
think that it says danger from explosion."

We looked at each other and smiled. Then with all our strength started
to pull vigorously at the lid of the crate. Some minutes later we had
removed three containers of ionised trilithium disulphide.

"I wonder what they use this for? It's one of the most unstable
compounds the Federation has ever manufactured." Said Kohlarn inspecting
the seals on the containers.

"Yes, but when it's suspended in a barionetic particle beam it forms the
major part of any ships artificial gravity system. Our problem is going
to be how to ignite it."

John arrived to see what we were doing. "You two have been gone so long
we started to worry." He looked down at the canisters at our feet. "What
are you going to do with that stuff?"

Kohlarn chuckled "Make one hell off a bang." He said and carefully
lifted one of the canisters towards the cargo bay doors. We followed him
with the other two containers


********

Some time later we were all back in the small craft debating our next
move. There were two plans of action under discussion. Firstly we could
launch the containers towards the doors and hope that the shock as they
hit would cause them to explode. The problem with this idea was that we
would have to make some kind of launching device and this would take
many hours. Secondly we could fire a blaster at them. There was a small
hand held unit that Elizabeth had discovered in a locker at the back of
the shuttle. This idea also had it's problems. The blaster had such a
short range that one of us would have to go outside and risk being hurt
or worse sucked out into space as the doors were breached.

I was mulling over the possibilities as I eagerly chewed at some
emergency rations, also found by the ever practical Elizabeth in her
search of the small vessel. Realising that none of us had eaten for many
hours, and feeling out of immediate danger here in the shuttle, we had
all relaxed just a little.

The idea came to me as I thought about the Valcrumny around us busily
trying to extinguish the raging fire in their engineering section.

"Why don't we use Pyrokinesis to ignite the liquid?" I suggested.

"Don't be silly, then they will know exactly where we are." Replied
John.

"Yes, but it will be too late by then the nearest Valcrumny is many
levels away from this part of the ship. By the time any of them can get
here we will be long gone. Anyway once we breach those doors they'll
know of our location anyhow so what difference will a few more seconds
make?"

The others nodded in immediate agreement at this plan and chewed at the
disgusting dehydrated rations  more vigorously.

John sat in the pilots seat and depressed the ignition button. The
retro's fired instantly and the little ship lifted a few metres up into
the air. We linked our minds and reached out to feel the chemical
composition of the trilithium disulphide. Exciting the atomic structure
it began to rise in temperature. With each passing moment the molecules
became more excited and eventually it reached the critical point of
ignition. There was a huge explosion and the shock wave hit the cargo
bay doors wrenching them from their mountings and exposing the
compartment to space. The crates and containers around us were pulled
out into the void some knocking against the hull of the shuttle as they
passed.

"Now!" We all screamed in unison and John hit the rocket thruster
controls. The craft lurched forward towards the gaping opening and
quickly passed the skin of the secondary hull. The stars ahead of us
were bright and as we circled around the curve of the ship we could
clearly see the Valcrumny home world below us.


The pounding in my chest warned me that I had been holding my breath for
many minutes as we made our slow exodus from the cargo bay. Gasping for
air I turned to John. "Can't we go any faster? They must have realised
what is happening by now."

This comment seemed hardly necessary as a flash from the Valcrumny
blasters passed too close for comfort past our port side.

"Try to stay close to the hull, and swing round behind them." Suggested
Kohlarn. "They cannot fire at us if they do not have a suitable angle."

"Or if they risk hitting parts of their own ship." Added Elizabeth.

"Will you all shut up. I know what I'm doing." John took the small craft
towards the rear of the Valcrumny vessel travelling as close as he dared
to the surface of the ship. Once we were well past the scope of the main
blasters, which were mostly forward facing, we let out a sigh of relief.


"Let's hope that the problems with their drive system prevents them from
following us." He said as we moved off into open space. The little ship
was pitifully slow in it's progress and we could all see the Valcrumny
ship manoeuvre so that the blasters faced towards us again.

There was a brilliant flash of light and the particle beam caught the
rear of the craft. The stabilisers failed instantly and we fell down as
the ship tumbled out of control towards the planet surface. John fought
with the flight controls and eventually regained some stability. But it
was too late the Valcrumny ship was on top of us and the shuttles
thrusters were dead. One more shot and it would all be over.

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed "We're sitting ducks."

Then the miracle that I was hoping for actually happened. Between us and
the Valcrumny ship another vessel slowly materialised as it left
hyperspace and rejoined our space-time continuum.

This ship was in direct line of fire with the Valcrumny ship and took
the blast that was meant for us on it's flank.

The communications array flashed and reaching past an astonished John I
answered it. A large humanoid face appeared on the viewer. "Loftori of
Paldrin at your service. My crew have come to repay the debt of life
owed to the Manyarnern premier."

(I know who that is.) I pathed.
Speaking to the viewer I thanked Loftori for his assistance and warned
him that the Valcrumny were particularly sore losers and he had better
get his ship out of their line of fire.

"It is too late for that I am afraid." He said calmly. "The direct hit
has already breached our rather weak structure. This ship is not
designed for battle. But, as I said, we are here to repay our debt to
you and we will shield you all from their aggressive intentions as long
as we can."

The viewer went blank and we were all stunned as we watched the
Valcrumny blasters rip into hull of the Paldrinian ship once again. From
our viewpoint we were helpless as we drifted out of control towards the
surface of the world below us. We watched the Paldrinian ship as it
slowly turned to face directly towards the pursuing Valcrumny vessel.

"They're going to ram it!" Exclaimed Elizabeth. She buried her face into
my shoulder unable to face the destruction before our eyes.

The scene played out in silent slow motion. The Paldrinian vessel neared
the Valcrumny ship which frantically tried to blast it from it's
collision course. Then both ships were engulfed in flame as their
respective hulls breached at the point of impact. The ball of flame was
quickly extinguished in the empty void of space, but the shock wave
spread out and threw our small craft further into the reach of the
Valcrumny home world's gravity field.

As the huge planet took up the whole vista before us, we braced
ourselves for the impending impact...



--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 15 of 18
Date: 28 Oct 1998 03:55:02 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 7 A Matter of Survival
Part 15 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story


The little ship was buffeted by the atmospheric turbulence as it tumbled
towards the rock strewn surface of the planet. Storm clouds surrounded
us and lightening filled the interior with flashes of light. We all
braced ourselves for the inevitable destruction as we neared the surface
at tremendous speeds. John fought frantically with the controls and the
thrusters momentarily burst into life correcting our angle of descent
slightly.

The impact was tremendous. A huge cloud of dust was thrown up into the
air and the shuttle skidded along the surface for some time until it's
progress was abruptly halted by a huge outcrop of rock. The metal
exterior of the little ship buckled at the point of contact and we were
crushed against the opposing bulkhead. Debris and metallic shreds
showered down, but by then we were unconscious and unaware of the
mangled wreckage surrounding us.

I came round to find myself coughing and choking on noxious gases, as
fuel leaked from the drive section and evaporated in the hot Valcrumny
atmosphere. A sharp pain in my leg brought my attention to a huge gash
in the flesh which poured with blood. Pushing a piece of what had
previously been the flight console off of my chest I looked around for
something to use as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

Beside me lay Angie's body. The face was turned towards me and the eyes
were wide open. Startled I pulled away and then noticed that I was
laying partially on top of Elizabeth. She was regaining consciousness, I
smiled and let her wriggle free from under me.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Checking herself over she nodded. "Your leg looks bad, let me find
something to stop the bleeding." She scanned around amongst the debris
and broken metal but the only thing that she could find was the remnants
of Angie's denim shirt. "You won't be needing this any more." She looked
over at me, and I signalled my approval, she carefully tore some fabric
from what remained of the sleeve and tied it around my leg.

John was also coming around. He was still sitting in the pilots seat but
this had been wrenched from it's mountings and was laying on it's side
at the back of the compartment.

I motioned for Elizabeth to check on her husband. "Go to see if he's all
right, I'll be okay for a few minutes."

She stepped over the fragments that littered what was left of the floor,
then with all the strength she had left she pulled John into an upright
position. "John, it's me love, how do you feel?"

"Like I've been run over by a ten ton truck." He chuckled. "But I'm sure
glad to be alive. Where are the others?"

I pulled myself up so that I could see him more clearly. "Over here
John, my legs cut up badly but I'll survive. Can either of you see
Kohlarn?"

They frantically looked around them but he was no longer in the shuttle.

"He must have been blown clear as we impacted." Said Elizabeth, her face
showing the strain. "I'll go outside and look."

"I think that, with this much fuel leaking, it would be wise for us all
to get clear just In case it causes a fire."

They nodded and helped me to my feet then we all stepped through the
gaping hole in the side of the ship and gazed around the alien
landscape.

Kohlarn could be seen clearly a few metres away from the wrecked ship.
He was face down in the dirt and still unconscious. While I rested
against a nearby rock John and Liz turned him over to examine him
closer. "He's alive." Shouted John with relief. "There's a nasty wound
on his head but I don't think that it is too serious."

I hoped that they were not just saying this to spare me any more pain.
The loss of  three members of my family was as much as I could bare at
the moment but giving me false hope would only prolong the inevitable
anguish.

Carrying him back they laid him down beside me.  Elizabeth could see my
worried expression and placed a comforting hand on mine."He'll be okay,
I'm sure of it."

"Thank god! I don't think I could take much more."

John returned to the wrecked ship and started to retrieve Angie, Gabkhan
and Susan's bodies. After she had made Kohlarn as comfortable as
possible, Elizabeth went over to help him as he struggled to lift them
over the debris. They laid them down a short distance away from where I
sat.

"We are not going to leave their bodies on this god forsaken planet if I
can help it." John muttered angrily as he worked.

Eventually, we all sat in silence against the rock while they recovered
from their exertions. I had had the most time to consider our
predicament. Now seemed as good a time as any to broach the subject.

"You do realise that this is the Valcrumny home world, and as soon as
they locate us we are probably done for?"

"Don't be such a defeatist." Snapped Liz. "We've come through so far,
all we need is a bit more luck. Given time we are bound to be picked up
by a passing Federation ship."

Despite this brave talk I was sure that she did not believe a word that
she said.

John was thinking the same as me. "There are no Federation ships in the
area, and even if there were we don't have any way of contacting them
without giving away our position. Let's face it there is no way out of
here. If, no, when they do find us we would not stand a chance in a
fight against thousands more of those disgusting things, especially with
Stephen and Kohlarn's injuries."

Staring at the ground for what felt like an eternity all that we could
here was the roar of the distant wind. John suddenly stood up and walked
away from us. Liz started to get up to follow him but I placed my hand
on her shoulder. "Best to leave him for a while." She nodded and sat
down again. As the sun began to sink, and the temperature dropped, we
huddled together in this inhospitable place.

It was almost dark when John rejoined us. Kohlarn had come round and was
muttering incomprehensible phrases while Liz wiped the blood from his
head wound.

"Thirsty." This was the first intelligible thing he had said. "Liz I'm
thirsty do you have any water?"

She looked at me in desperation. "Just lay quiet and I'll see what I can
do."

We both knew the futility of what she had said. Despite the humidity of
this planet we had found no surface water or vegetation. Even if there
had been some, I would not have recommended that any of us drink it. The
aliens were composed of  some kind of acid like compound and the liquid
on this planet probably had similar lethal qualities.

John realising what Kohlarn was asking for went inside the hull of the
wrecked ship to search for an emergency survival kit. At least this kept
his mind off the inevitable confrontation with the Valcrumny.

"It would have been better if we had all died in the crash." He said as
he returned empty handed. "At least then we would not have to face the
uncertainty of either dying of thirst or having our brains sucked out."

"Don't talk like that!" I retorted "You were as desperate to survive
back there as any of us. It was thanks to you that the thrusters fired
at the last minute and it levelled our descent."

"I don't recall the thrusters firing." He sounded surprised. "The drive
section was completely dead in my hands. All I could do was to brace
myself against the impact."

Kohlarn stirred from where he lay. We had not realised that he had fully
regained consciousness. "Yes they did, I distinctly remember the feeling
of lift as the nose of the craft tilted upwards. If it had not done so
we could have impacted in a huge explosion instead of skidding along the
surface to stop here."

I was intrigued by this discrepancy in our recall of the events and
turned to Liz for corroboration.

"Don't look at me." She said "All I can remember is the terrible
scraping sound as we careered out of control along the ground. But,
thinking about it I do recall us levelling off some how just before
impact. How could that have happened if the thrusters were totally
inoperable?"

The question hung in the air between us for many minutes then Kohlarn
heaving himself into a sitting position put his thoughts into words.
"Perhaps we used telekinesis to act like the thrusters would have, it
could have been an instinctive survival sort of thing that we did
without realising we were doing it."

"Influencing such a large object is way beyond any of us here."
Commented John. "Even our combined powers would not be strong enough to
make a difference. And anyway my mind was far too occupied at the time
to think of anything like that."

"Me too." Added Liz.

"Then what exactly happened?"


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 16 of 18
Date: 28 Oct 1998 03:55:30 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 7 A Matter of Survival
Part 16 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

I could just make out the features of John's face in the twilight. He
seemed to be formulating an idea. "I don't think that you are going to
like this suggestion, but there is one amongst us who would have enough
power to influence the craft."

We all looked around at the bodies of Angie and the others laying a
short distance away. Liz was first to her feet, rapidly followed by
Kohlarn. John helped me to rise and I joined them for another
examination of the corpses. Liz felt Angie's neck for a pulse then shook
her head.

"She is definitely dead." Squatting there in the darkness we all
struggled to come to terms with the inevitable.

"Let's go back over the events as we left the Valcrumny ship." Suggested
John.

"We used the trilithuim..."

"No before that." He interrupted. "When we were fighting them off."

"You came round the corner just after those slimy things had separated
us into two groups." Began Elizabeth.

"Then I called out to Angie when I realised what was about to happen."

John took up the story. "And they turned to look in our direction just
before they fell beneath the aliens. We pushed our way over to you, then
we all ran down the corridor assuming that they were being devoured
behind us."

"But when we went back their lack of serious injury surprised me." Said
Liz, articulating her line of thought. "We carried them back to that
elevator tube thing and after a while came out in the cargo bay."

"I thought that was a lucky break." Added Kohlarn excitement growing in
his voice. "At the time I thought that it was just chance that we found
the shuttle ready for take off as we did. That elevator could have taken
us anywhere on the ship. Unless it was guided by something, or
someone..."

We frantically re-examined the bodies but there was still no sign of
life.

John took up the commentary again. "Once clear of the hull the Valcrumny
started firing at us. Then the Paldrinian ship arrived. How did they
know exactly where to materialise in order to save us like that?"
Without waiting for a reply he continued.
"Then, the engines seemed to fire just in the nick of time. And we all
survived what was a devastating crash. The chances against that
happening alone are thousands to one."

It was my turn to comment but all I could think of was the chance that
she was still alive. I reached forward and started to frantically shake
Angie's body. Nothing happened and eventually I gave up.

"Let's just suppose that they did not die in the Valcrumny attack but in
fact left their bodies somehow."

Liz looked at me in disbelief. "That's impossible, we are all linked to
our bodies."

"In Manyarnern religion." Said Kohlarn very matter of factly. "They do
believe that the mind can exist outside of the body as long as it can
find a suitable receptacle with enough psionic energy to sustain it.
This is known as Astral travelling on earth."

"Yes, yes, I've heard of it. I've even seen Tyso do it." She remarked
"But this sort of travelling is usually when the body is asleep not dead
like this." She lifted Angie's limp arm and it fell back lifeless onto
the dirt.

John, sensing the tension building between us, continued the discussion.
"Let's just suppose that they could leave their dead bodies. This would
be a good way of surviving the Valcrumny. Do you remember what their
leader said, 'dead flesh is useless to us.' perhaps they figured this
out and left just at the moment that they were engulfed by the aliens."

My excitement was mounting again. John's argument made perfect sense the
only problem was where could they have gone.

"Perhaps they are inside us." I blurted out.

The others looked at me incredulously then we all linked hands and
merged our minds. We searched into the depths of each others
consciousness for a long time but eventually separated and opened our
eyes.

"Nothing." I said at last. "If what we suspect is true they are
definitely not within any of us."

We said no more as we huddled together in the cold night air and slept
fitfully through the Valcrumny night.


********


I was woken in the early morning light by a low rumbling sound coming
from over the horizon. Leaving the others I hobbled around the rock
outcrop to get a better view. In the distance and approaching rapidly
was some kind of huge tractor like transporter. The Valcrumny had found
us, well it was inevitable that eventually we would have to face them
again. I turned around to join the others and found John behind me
looking at the approaching alien vehicle.

"That's it, the games finally up." He said flatly. "Without water we
would not have made it through another day out here anyway."

We returned together to tell Elizabeth and Kohlarn. Shaking them awake
we debated what our next move should be.

"Perhaps we could hide somewhere." Suggested Kohlarn desperately. "Then
at least we might last a while longer."

"And just how long can we survive out here?" Elizabeth motioned at the
barren surroundings of the planets surface. "We have no food or water
and you and Stephen are not in the best of shapes for putting up any
kind of fight."

John made a suggestion. "Now that they have located us it won't hurt to
jaunt away from them. If we can keep our distance for long enough maybe
we'll be rescued."

"You're forgetting that I can not Jaunt. It was one of those abilities I
did not inherit." Remarked Kohlarn sarcastically. "And even if we did
where would we go? We could only do line of site jaunts and they would
soon have us surrounded."

"Then maybe it would be best to just give ourselves up." He snapped
back.

Elizabeth looked angry enough to slap his face. "I'm going into the ship
to find the blaster we had earlier. If I'm going to die then I'm taking
some of them with me."

We all realised the futility of what she had said. Even in a situation
as desperate as this we knew that we could not bring ourselves to kill
any of these creatures. We stood and joined her in the futile search. At
least rummaging, thorough the wreckage, looking for the weapon, gave us
some sense of purpose.

After a while the rumbling noise grew louder as the craft carrying the
aliens came into view. Kohlarn was frantically pulling at a large metal
plate wedged between the ruptured fuel tanks and the structural beam
which had cut into my leg during the crash. He pulled it clear and a
tangle of micro-fibres from the ships limited computer network was
revealed.

"Did you see that?" He asked me as I worked beside him.

"See what?"

"There was a flash of residual energy in the computer fibres just then."

"Impossible!" Said John from across the compartment. "This ship has no
independent power supply, it relies on energy converted from the liquid
fuel cells."

Kohlarn bent down closer to the mangled mass of fibre optics and
bioelectric circuitry which had once formed part of the limited
navigation systems. "There it was again!" He exclaimed.

"I saw it as well that time, perhaps there is enough residual energy
trapped here for us to get the communicator working and call for help."

Liz looked out through the gaping whole in the side of the ship at the
approaching hoard of green slimy blobs. "Whatever you are going to do
you had better make it quick here they come." She shouted.

I tugged at the mass of fibres and they came away in my hand. The energy
bolt flashed up my arm running along the nervous tissue at an
exceptional speed. As it entered my brain the situation became crystal
clear. Much to the others surprise I started to laugh uncontrollably.

"Father what the hell's got into you?" Said Kohlarn beside me.

I was unable to respond and pushed him out of my path as I left the
small craft.

John and the others tried to grab at my tattered A.E. suit but they
stumbled around and lost their footing on the debris strewn floor of the
shuttle.

In no time at all I was standing in the clearing in front of the rock
escarpment. The Valcrumny were just a few metres away and began to lift
up their gelatinous form for one combined assault.

Slowly my body began to change shape, I had the eerie feeling that I was
outside of myself looking at the strange scene as if it was a slow
motion movie. The familiar form of Angie now stood in the clearing
facing the approaching Valcrumny hoards. Lifting her  hand above her
head she gave a maniacal laugh and summoned the light.

The atmosphere around her crackled as a mass of static electricity
filled the air and grew to a crescendo of energy. Then it happened. A
huge fireball formed over her head and flashed out to engulf the
creatures. They exploded into a cloud of acrid smoke.

But it was not over yet the fireball did not abate, instead it grew in
size until it filled the whole cavern bordered by the rock outcrop. The
noise was deafening but it hardly seemed to bother me. The energy grew
and grew then suddenly discharged in all directions. It was like a
nuclear explosion with us in the epicentre untouched by the force of the
blast. The shock wave spread rapidly along the ground churning up dust
and rocks many metres into the air.

The energy moved across the landscape destroying every Valcrumny for
thousands of miles. Eventually she stood alone in the silence as the
dust settled once again. A shocked John made it to her side as her from
changed again. I suddenly found myself standing in the empty clearing.
John placed his hands on my shoulders and shook me back to reality.

"What on Earth did you do?" He said, disbelief, at what he had seen,
showing in his face. I did not respond immediately but turned and walked
towards the lifeless bodies of my family. John followed me in stunned
silence.

Kohlarn and Elizabeth joined us beside the corpses. I bent down to touch
each of them in turn on the forehead.

Their jaws dropped open as the bodies slowly returned to life and
stretched up towards the sky.



--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 17 of 18
Date: 29 Oct 1998 04:02:34 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 8 An Open Door
Part 17 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

10th August 2000

Angie
Musical tones filled the air of the huge auditorium as we stepped onto
the platform. I turned to look firstly at Stephen, resplendent beside me
in his robes, then at John, Elizabeth, Gabkhan, Kohlarn and Susan who
stood behind us. They smiled in turn as I caught their eye.

(May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled.) Sent the
council member closest to me as he offered a container of Tralmark. I
accepted it eagerly and drank deeply of the sweet liquid before passing
it on to Stephen.

The council spoke in unison to the assembly.

"We are here today to honour the services of the Manyarnern Premier to
the Galactic Federation. Her recent actions during the confrontation
with the Valcrumny has resulted in their complete surrender and
agreement to our terms for Federation entry. The brave actions of her
joining partner and friends is also acknowledged."

They stepped forward and placed garlands of foliage around our necks.
The feelings of elation from the thousands of federation citizens
gathered in the hall filled my mind.

(In gratitude to the One, for her services to the universe, we also
offer her a place as President of this council. Her wisdom shall guide
us all.)

This took me completely by surprise. I had been told in advance that
they would offer me some kind of reward for my actions, but the
presidency! There had not been a figure head to lead the Federation in
generations. This move was totally out of character for this overly
bureaucratic democracy which made all of it's decisions by committee and
referendum.

My mouth opened but I had no idea how to respond.

(What do we do now?) Pathed Stephen. (You know I will support you in any
decision you make, but I thought that we were going back home not
staying here to play God to half the civilised universe.)

(What do I do? They expect me to accept, how can I let them down?)

Kohlarn cut into our conversation. (Well, well, that's a turn around.
Only two months ago they were refusing to help us because you chose to
live on a closed world.)

This was the solution I needed. (Thank you my darling boy.) I replied.
(You've just given me the most wonderful idea.)

I took a few steps forward and addressed them with as much reverence as
I could manage. (I am deeply honoured by your offer of the Federation
Presidency but feel that my path is not yet placed to accept the
position. Instead I have an alternative proposal to put to the One
Mind.)

A murmur went around the hall and I felt the others moving uneasily as
they wondered just what I was about to say.

(As you know many humans from the planet Earth have helped me in my
struggle against the Valcrumny menace. Their courage should also be
recognised here today.)
The council members nodded in agreement with my comments and I
continued.

(Their planet has now become my home and I feel that it's strategic
presence within the Federation will be a great asset to us all.
Therefore I ask that my reward be granted as a simple request. Open up
this world once again so that The Tomorrow People may flourish, remove
the chemical inhibitors from the atmosphere and grant the planet Earth
first level admission to the Galactic Federation.)

Their stony faces told me that I had over stepped the mark with this
unusual request. They stood in total silence as they deliberated
telepathically. It felt like an eternity before they began to respond.

(Angerianaasusilicana, Premier of Manyarner. We acknowledge your
superior power as the One and understand that you have greater insight
into the future of us all here today than we can understand. There fore
we accept your belief that this planet called Earth is vital to the
future of our community and grant it first level entry affective
immediately.

There is one condition though, upon which we grant entry to such a
technologically backward race. We will only move forward to level two
admission when a group of human beings travel out into space under their
own volition and come to stand before us in this chamber. Do you accept
this condition of entry?)

(With joy in my heart I accept on behalf of the people of the planet
Earth, your conditions of entry into the Galactic Federation.)

We all bowed and said simultaneously. (Thank you.) Then turned to
quickly leave the audience chamber before they changed their minds.

Once out side we hugged each other jubilantly. It was unbelievable that
they had actually accepted my suggestion. All that I had hoped for was a
short recess to consider how to turn down the presidency without
offending them.

John and Stephen were like exuberant school boys and carried me aloft as
we made our way down to the restaurant for a celebratory meal.


 ********

After we had regained consciousness the others helped massage life back
into our stiff limbs. I realised that it would take many days of
cocooning to fully rejuvenate our tissues which had suffered badly from
the lack of oxygen for so long. Susan and Gabkhan had particularly
pallid expressions and extensive damage to many internal organs. Despite
this their minds were clear and their will was strong, they seemed to
have gained a great deal of enlightenment from their close link to me as
I carried their spirit, I can not think of a better way to describe it,
along through the very fabric of the Valcrumny ship and eventually into
the computer systems of the shuttle.

The experiences of the last few days had also taught me much about how
to handle the extensive powers at my command and it took very little
effort to call the Kalinar to our position using telekinesis. When the
ship arrived Stephen carried me inside and laid me in one of the
sleeping compartments. John and Elizabeth tended the others while
Kohlarn re-programmed the biotronic unit.

Stephen had said very little since the summoning of the light and the
destruction of the advancing Valcrumny. I looked deep into his eyes and
saw how overawed he was by the events. Ignoring the pain I reached out
to take his hand in mine. "You did good today." I said.

"Did I kill all those creatures? How could I do that?"

"It wasn't you who killed it was me." He looked puzzled so I continued
to explain. "I had complete control of your body and placed your true
self, your personality, into mine. I then used my own shape changing
abilities to change your genetic make up. As I don't have the prime
inhibition I was able to kill the Valcrumny. I knew that none of you
would be able to kill, even to save yourselves, and that there was just
one opportunity to save you all. "

"But I could see everything that happened. It was the most amazing thing
I've ever experienced."

"I cannot fully explain, but it was a matter of survival. I had to use
you that way to save all of us from certain death. Your inability to
kill is an instinct, a  fundamental part of your nature. Commendable as
it is I sometimes wonder how The Tomorrow People can survive in such a
hostile universe. My people, unlike many other Federation species, never
developed that particular gene. We brought peace to our world through
centuries of harmonising on a deep unconscious level."

John came over to stand beside where I lay. He handed Stephen a glass of
water. "Here drink this, you look like you need it."

Stephen obliged but did not remove his gaze from me. John pulled up two
seats and they both sat down.

"Don't try to explain what happened, that can wait until we all get some
rest." He said putting his hand on Stephen's shoulder. "I think that I
speak for all of us when I say welcome back, it was lonely out there
without you."

I  smiled at him and felt Stephen's grasp tighten around my hand. He was
finding it difficult to accept his earlier actions. "Stephen, why don't
you lay down and cocoon with me?" I suggested.

"Can I? Will it be okay?" His voice had a child like quality full of
innocence and apprehension, he suddenly seemed very young. I nodded and
he climbed onto the bed beside me. John stood to go but I beckoned him
back.

"Thank you John, for holding things together." I said. "There is no one
better qualified to lead the Tomorrow People."

A gentle purple glow surrounded us and we fell into a replenishing
trance as the Kalinar sped across Hyperspace towards home.

 ********


The Stations dinning area was full at this time of day especially as so
many federation citizens were attending the ceremony in the great hall.

We took the moving walkway up to the third level and found a table large
enough for us all to sit around comfortably. Carol, Kenny, Tyso, Tricia,
her husband and all the other Tomorrow People were already waiting for
us to join them. Andranovich and Lara had been granted special leave as
well and arrived shortly after us.

A Manyarnern girl swaggered over to take our order. She wore an all in
one jump suit which fitted the curves of her body like a second skin and
rippled with colours as she spoke.

(Premier.) She began, bowing slightly. (What would you and  your guests
like to eat?)
After a while she had entered our orders into her key pad and the food
materialised in front of us. All this time Kohlarn sat opposite me with
a distant look on his face.

(What would you like me to get for you?) She said for the second time
impatience growing in her thoughts.

When he still failed to respond Gabkhan turned and looked at him. "I
think he's lost it at last, somebody give him a nudge to bring him back
to his senses."

Susan willingly slapped her brother around the face. "Calling Kohlarn,
is any body in there?" She teased.

The waitress having received no response walked away from us to serve
the next table. Kohlarn's eyes were transfixed on her legs as she
passed.

(I think he's got it bad.) Pathed Elizabeth.

(What!) He responded at last. (What are you all staring at me like that
for?)

That was the last time we saw Kohlarn for many months. He chose not to
return to Earth with us but took a job as a musician,  this being his
special talent, in the same restaurant, just to be with the girl. It was
not long before they developed a deep rapport. It was nice to know that
the last of my sons had found his future joining partner. Even if he did
not realise it yet.

"I'd like to propose a toast." Said John standing and raising his glass.
We all followed suit. "To the planet Earth an Open World at last."

"The Planet Earth." We said in unison.

"And, to all the future Tomorrow People who will shortly join us." Added
Elizabeth.



--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: The Joining part 18 of 18
Date: 29 Oct 1998 04:04:18 +0000

The Joining
Chapter 8 An Open Door
Part 18 of 18
By Jacqueline Newman
[e-mail] .co.uk
An Original Series Story

10th April 2065

"Come on Angie, it's nearly started!"

That's Emily my great grand daughter, the first born of Gabkhan's son.

"I'm almost finished keep a seat for me on the sofa."

Emily is a remarkably pretty girl, the subtle red tint to her eyes
complements her long mane of strawberry blond locks perfectly. This
third generation of Manyarnern and Human mix has produced some
surprising genetic variations throughout the family. Emily is just
turned fourteen Earth years, her growth rate reflects her human ancestry
rather than her alien genes, she finds this particularly difficult to
cope with as her peers have inherited the accelerated maturation rates.
Despite this difference I have noticed, of late, the rapport beginning
to develop between her and Philip from the school.

There are many hundreds of telepaths living in the area now. We no
longer hide our abilities and the local people have accepted us quite
openly. Elizabeth retired  forty years ago and passed the reigns of the
Jameson Academy over to Ami.

(Angie; John and Liz would be very upset if you miss this, can't you
finish that later?)

(Okay Stephen I'm coming. I'll just save my last entry.)

Walking into the lounge I could see them all there. Stephen patted the
empty seat on the couch between himself and Emily and I walked over to
squash down between them.  The stereovision monitor above the fire place
was already tuned into the news station.

"These were the scenes yesterday upon the return of the pioneering
crew." Said the announcer. "Shortly, we will be able to bring you an
exclusive interview with our brave boys and girls but first let us show
the vid-cam footage recorded one month ago at the alien space station."

The announcers image was replaced by one showing the inside of the
chamber of the Federation Council. The group of human astronauts stepped
forward and faced the council members. Their commanding officer spoke in
a clear resonant voice.

"I am Captain Jonathan Phillips of the star ship Enterprise." He began.

(Funny how that name was chosen by popular public demand.) Thought
Elizabeth from across the room.

I turned and smiled. (Eddy and Judith must be very proud of him. He's
done a fine job.) Her thoughts drifted into my mind and we shared the
joy she felt at her grandson's accomplishments. Stephen nudged me to be
quiet and pointed back at the view screen.

"We have journeyed here from the planet Earth to seek second level entry
to the Galactic Federation." He said. "We believe that our presence here
today constitutes the conditions laid down by you sixty five years ago
and ask that our entry be accepted."

The councils representatives came closer to each member of the crew and
offered them a container of Tralmark.

(I hope he doesn't show that it's familiar to him.) I pathed.

"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."

Jonathan's reaction was perfect, he looked just uncertain enough to
convince even me that this ceremony was unfamiliar to him. The council
member motioned for him to drink and he hesitantly lifted the container
up to his lips.

After handing back the beakers the astronauts looked at one another
while they waited for a further response from the aliens. Eventually
their telepathic deliberations were complete and they spoke in unison as
they addressed the whole auditorium.

"The Council of the Galactic Federation of Planets, grant second level
entry to this planet Earth and all of the technological and economic
privileges that accompany such membership. Welcome."

The screen image dissolved to show the studio announcer. "Well folks
that was a month ago, Captain Phillips and his crew have just now been
released from quarantine and are expected to hold a press conference in
the next few minutes. We here at station 102 will bring that historic
interview to you, our viewers, after these messages." TIM automatically
muted the sound as the advertisements appeared on the screen.

"I think that this calls for a celebration." Said John as a large
pitcher of Tralmark followed by ten glasses floated into the room.

We linked minds as we toasted the success of the voyage, and became
aware Jonathan's thoughts joining us from the makeshift T.V studio at
Cape Canaveral Space Centre.

(Boy! it's good to feel you all around me again.) He sent (Oh, and
before I forget, the Federation council sent me with a message for the
Manyarnern Premier. Now that your task is complete on Earth would you
consider taking up their offer of the Presidency?) He sensed my
increased tension. (Angie, I know that you like it there but the
Federation is in a bit of a diplomatic mess at the moment, they really
could do with your help to get things back in order. Anyway there is no
hurry for you to respond just agree to think it over.)

I looked at Stephen sitting beside me and he shrugged. (It wouldn't do
any harm to consider the offer, would it?)

Thankfully the stereo-screen's sound returned and we were once again
engrossed by images of the returning crew as they took their seats
around a conference table. The early questions, asked by the eager
throng of assembled journalists, were mainly about their feelings at
having met alien races for the first time. Following this each crew
member was given the opportunity to send a personal message to their
loved ones back home. At last it came to Jonathan's turn to speak.

"I have a special thank you to make today." He said turning to the
camera and simultaneously sending us his thoughts. "To the founder of
Jameson Industries and inventor of the Hyperlight Drive. A big thank you
from all my men, we would not have been able to realise this dream
without your ingenuity and foresight."

This was followed by a barrage of questions about the mission which he
fielded with his usual air of confidence. After half an hour they were
ushered away for a more official debriefing.

The picture went blank and our small group began to disband. I looked at
Stephen, an elderly man now, nearly a hundred years old. The grey hair
at his temples and wrinkled skin did not seem to really suit him. As
usual he sensed my unshielded thoughts.

(I'll make a bargain with you, if you consider taking up the presidency
I'll agree to take regeneration therapy.)

(Really? You won't complain again about how unnatural it is for a man of
your age to look like a teenager again?)

(No. I promise, I will go through the full cryo-electric treatment as
long as you supervise it.)

At this proposal I gave a huge sigh of relief. When I had first put
forward the idea of regeneration to him, over thirty years ago now, he
had been dead set against it, but of late I had caught him studying
himself in the mirror and comparing his wizened form to my own sprightly
figure. John and Elizabeth had had their treatments back in their
sixties and had tried at length to convince him to do the same. But his
stubborn streak had won through, until now.

Although my healing skills were comprehensive and could ward off
disease, his internal organs were beginning to show the strain of old
age. Any day he could suffer a major stroke or heart attack just like
any other human of his age. The thought of spending the next two hundred
years without him had really scared me. Now, at last, we would be able
to make the most of the time we had together.

(Let's go outside for a swim.) I pulled him to his feet and we embraced,
then lifting up from the rug we floated towards the open patio doors.

We were still kissing as we slipped below the warm water of the loch...




--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Fragile part 0 of 0
Date: 31 Oct 1998 06:37:20 +0000

Fragile
By Jacqueline Newman
An Original Series Story
Part 0 of 0
[e-mail]


Disclaimer:
Most of the Characters contained in this story are not mine but are
borrowed from the 1970s  and 1990's Series The Tomorrow People. They are
the property of the creators and copyright holders. The extract from
'The visitor.' and the song lyric by Sting are both  used without
permission.

Any other characters, planets and cultures are the sole creation and
property of Jacqueline Newman. No one may post this story to any web
page without my permission other than the tpfict archives.

Possible Spoiler:
The events in this story require the reader to have a basic
understanding of the plot line of 'The Visitor' novelisation by Price
and Gregory. They are set between the 1990's and 1970's.

This story is also set after the events of my story 'The Joining'. I
recommended that you read this first in order to understand the TP's
relationships to one another. My world is very different from other fan
fic.

Personal comment:
I would like to thank Shawn Lazerus and Ariana Brill for betareading
this fan fic. Kristy Fahrenwald for her suggestions to resolve the
'space ship' paradox and general input to the story line, Shaun Hately
for his ideas and all other members of tpdis for inspiring me to
rekindle my childhood memories. Oh I'm such a sentimentalist :)

Comments are very welcome. If you enjoy the story please let me know.


Jackie



 **********

If blood would flow
The flesh and steal are one
Dying in the colour of the evening sun.
TomorrowÆs rain will wash the stains away
Something in our minds will always stay.

Perhaps this final act was meant
to quench a lifetimes argument.
That nothing comes from violence
and nothing ever could.

For all those born beneath that angry star.
Lest we forget how fragile we are.

On and on the rain will fall like tears from the star,
like tears from the star.
On and on the rain will say,
how fragile we are.
How fragile we are.

Sting from the album æNothing like The Sun.Æ



--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jack Newman <[e-mail]>
Subject: TPFICT: Fragile part 1 of 4
Date: 31 Oct 1998 15:35:16 +0000




Jack Newman
[e-mail]
Fragile
By Jacqueline Newman
An Original Series Story
Part 1 of 4 : Unidentified Flying Objects.

Corrour Sta Scotland
10th July 1992

Andrew lay back on the hillside and watched the birds circling overhead.
Slowly his mind relaxed as he recalled his early childhood climbing the
Scottish mountains with his father.

(What do you see in the clouds?) Asked a voice from nowhere.

He sat up with a start to find a pretty young woman looking down at him.

"What!"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." She had a broad American accent
and from her style of dress was obviously not native to the area. She
noticed his gaze as he summed her up. "My name's Jenny Weston and yours
is..."

"Andrew. I'm Andrew," He stood and offered her his hand, "and I'm
pleased to meet you Jenny weston. Where did you come from I thought I
was all alone out here?"

"My family is on holiday, we have rented a crofters cottage for the
summer." She pointed at a small building just within site on the other
side of the valley. "We've been here for two months now and I'm going
crazy with boredom. Do you know where I can get a bit of excitement
around here?"

"If it's excitement your looking for I'm sorry but we are a bit backward
around here. We have to make our own entertainment." He sat back down
again and the girl joined him.

"Yes I noticed as I approached. You were looking at the clouds."

"No actually I was watching the birds. There is a rare Siskin's nest
around here somewhere and I keep trying to spot it."

Jenny looked disappointed. "But I was sure that I heard you remark on
the shape of the clouds as I approached."

Andrew knew he had said nothing out loud and wondered whether he had
been broadcasting his thoughts strongly enough for a sensitive Sap to
pick them up. He decided to change the subject and soon they were deep
in conversation about her life and family.

(Andrew are you coming back for dinner it's nearly seven o'clock?)
Pathed Liz from the house.

(I will be there shortly but I can't jaunt right now. I'll have to walk
home.)

"Who said that?" Remarked Jenny her eyes staring at him intently. "Did
you here it?"

Andrew could hardly contain himself. Had he found a new Tomorrow Person?
Should he tell the others? His quick deliberations came to a halt as she
stood up to take her leave of him.

"Will I see you again?" He asked trying not to sound too keen. "How long
are you staying?"

Jenny shrugged. "That depends on whether Dad has another sighting. So I
can't be sure. I don't have to be back at college until September. We
could be packing tomorrow, next week or next month for all I know."

"Another sighting! What do you mean is he a hunter of some kind?"

She giggled. "In a way yes. But actually no. You see he's a UFO spotter.
He heads this big consortium in the states and when he heard of the
Courror Sta sightings he just had to come over and see for himself. The
guy in the local bar said that the villagers often see a metallic blue
craft hovering over the mountainside, but since we've been here it's
been all too quiet. Now he's convinced that he was tricked into coming
here."

Andrew's jaw dropped as she described the Kalinar which the Tomorrow
people had hidden at the bottom of the loch. Jenny confused by his
reaction took it as disbelief. She turned and started to walk away. "I
can tell that you think I'm some kind of a nutter. Everyone reacts like
that when I tell them. It's not fair why can't my Dad be a banker or an
actor or something more normal?"

"It's okay" Andrew tried to reassure her. "I have seen the UFO myself."
At least this was not a lie as he had travelled inside it with John and
the others on many occasions. "You just took me by surprise that's all.
I never thought that someone could make a living at spotting such
things. Look, if you let me walk you home I can tell you more about my
sighting and then you can try to persuade your Dad to stay on here for a
bit longer."

"That sounds like a great idea." She said, setting off down the moss
covered hillside. "And you can tell me all about the rare birds of
Scotland."

They met regularly after that. They walked and talked their way around
the best scenic routes and always kept an eye out for the elusive UFO.
One rainy afternoon they found themselves looking out of the window of
the cottage as Jenny's father, who sat in the chair beside them, typed
furiously into his lap top.

Closing the lid purposely he looked across at the two young  people.
"Well that's my last report. Tomorrow we pack and get back to reality."

Jenny turned towards him. "Oh Dad! Do we have to leave so soon, the new
college term doesn't start for another month. Just when I was beginning
to enjoy myself. "

Mrs. Weston looked up from her magazine. "Sorry Jenny, but the bills
aren't getting paid while we loaf around here. There have been no
sightings all summer so we might as well call it a day and go on to our
next assignment in Mexico. What do you say young Andrew, has the village
of Corrour Sta seen the last of it's extraterrestrial visitors?"

Andrew longed to tell them all about the Kalinar just to keep Jenny here
for longer. The brief telepathic links they had shared were not his
imagination of that he was sure. Just a couple more weeks and maybe she
would 'break out'. John would be so impressed that he found a new
Tomorrow Person all by himself. But he also knew how dangerous it would
be to tell these strangers anything. After all, they could be agents
working for the secret intelligence agency trying to discover the
Tomorrow People's new location. He resolved to force Mr Weston into
staying. And he had a very good idea what he would have to do...


11th July 1992
Evening.

Andrew jaunted into the thicket of conifer trees. He could just see the
cottage through the undergrowth. The door opened and the Weston family
emerged suit cases in hand.

Jenny paused to look around, one last time, at the gently rolling hills.
Then picked up her case and started to trudge up the path towards the
Land Rover parked nearby. Andrew closed his eyes and concentrated hard.
Slowly it formed, an image of the Kalinar, high up in the sky and
descending towards them fast.

My Weston shouted and they all looked up. Then in a flurry of activity
they pulled cameras from their luggage and rapidly fired off shots. It
was not difficult to hover the image over their heads for a few minutes
while they excitedly examined it. But something was wrong. His mind was
pulled away to somewhere else. He realised too late the telepathic
terror emanating from Jenny as the thoughts of those nearby rushed into
her mind.

(It's all right. We are here to help you.) Came John's comforting
thoughts from across the valley. (Think of a fist. Try to concentrate
and imagine your mind as a closed fist which is slowly opening.)

Andrew ran from the thicket and up to where she lay writhing on the
ground beside the vehicle. Her family were trying to comfort her as best
they could.

"Let me through. I can help her."

He placed his hand against her forehead and sent comforting thoughts
into her mind. (Jenny, it's Andrew. You are on the verge of a great
adventure. Don't be afraid, link your mind with mine and think of a fist
slowly opening.)

He was aware of someone jaunting in beside him but didn't look up from
her panic stricken face.

"Andrew. What are you doing here?" Asked John as he bent down to join
his strength to the link. (It's going to be all right. You're among
friends now.)

Slowly Jenny came round and sat up. They helped her back inside the
cottage and were followed in silence by the rest of the Weston family.



12th August 1992
Morning.

Jenny's parents had been very open to the idea about what their daughter
had become. John and Elizabeth explained what the Tomorrow People could
do and why secrecy was so important. They accepted this with little
argument and agreed that she could stay on in Scotland while they
returned to the states.

Andrew watched as they prepared to leave once more.

"I'll see you very soon." Said Jenny kissing them goodbye. "When I've
learned to jaunt I'll pop back home and make arrangements to defer my
last year at college."

"Take care of yourself." Said her mother squeezing her hand gently. "You
seem to be amongst good people. Don't give them any grief will you."

Jenny shrugged. "I get the feeling that we Tomorrow People can take care
of ourselves."

She stood silently beside Andrew as the Land Rover sped up the hill and
out of view.

(How would you like to meet TIM?) He pathed, trying to take her mind off
things.

(Oh that would be great!)

Three hours later she had been given a rather long-winded run down of
the equipment stored in the lab. Andrew noticed how John had avoided her
questions about the origins of the UFO, she had seen earlier, as well as
Angie's personal history.

"We don't want her to be shocked by too much too soon." He said later
that evening. "You can be in charge of her training and once she's able
to Jaunt confidently we can take the explanations one step further."


--
"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled."
     Traditional Manyarnern Greeting