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  “No, I am not working on her Observation team. I met Nan during my indoctrination training. I’m researching another project and can’t discuss the specifics at this time. The project was a consolation prize for being removed from my last position,” Connor explained while Griken nodded in acceptance. Depending upon Griken’s purpose in coming here, he might discuss his project. However, as far as he was concerned, the fewer people who knew of the project at this time, the better. Walking over to the refrigerator in the next room, he pulled out a bottle of Sam Adams and opened it. He walked back to the great room and handed it to Griken. “Before Shinny comes here, I want to ask you why the station failed to follow notification procedures and why the shuttle pilot broke protocol coming out of stealth mode to declare its position?”

  “I can’t provide you with an answer at this moment; however, I was told the pilot had sent you a message advising you of my visit. If you didn’t receive the notification that may explain why you were not home when we arrived. On the protocols issue, I gave her a direct order to follow protocols. I’ll speak to the pilot and the station commander on the incident when I return to the station. This definitely is not good. Frankly, I’m not happy to be here and don’t need any further complications from either the pilot or the station commander.”

  Connor considered Griken’s answer. “The station logs showed all of the ships docked at the station. A falsified station log is a serious problem. I’ll follow-up with my own questions to the station commander. Between the two of us, we should have enough answers to understand what is going on. Meanwhile I have to deal with a UFO sighting issue.”

  “UFO? It’s not in my lexicon. What is it?”

  “A UFO is an ‘unidentified flying object,’ a term used colloquially on this planet when there is a belief the observed flying object may have come from somewhere other than this planet.”

  Griken raised his eyebrows. “Are there that many protocol breaches that they developed this term?”

  “No, there aren’t that many breaches. There have been other unexplained anomalies the natives group collectively as UFOs. As their technology advances, they have been able to explain away the UFOs as normal phenomena. Nevertheless, I don’t have anything this time to explain this breach rationally. It wouldn’t be an issue except the native individual on the boat with me clearly saw the shuttle. Eventually he will learn about our presence because he is Shinny’s mate, but we would have both preferred to have prepared him, since he seems to be overly confused and possibly in shock.”

  “Did I hear you correctly? Your daughter has a mate from this planet?” Griken asked in surprise.

  “Yes, but he is an exceptional young man. I’m proud to have him as a son, but it will be complicated when we receive approval for his immigration application, since he believes that Shinny and I are siblings.”

  “I see. I have a special communiqué for your daughter. I suspect approval has been granted, since few are rejected, which may make the situation easier. Congratulations, I am happy for both of you.” Griken smiled while raising his beer to tap the center of his forehead, toasting his friend’s good fortune.

  Connor raised his glass and tapped his forehead in response. “On this planet, toasting is slightly different. The natives raise their drink and sometimes tap their glasses as a way to congratulate others.” Looking at his watch out of habit, Connor estimated a few minutes remained before Shinny arrived. He had time for a number of issues to catch up on with Griken. “What is your current assignment?”

  “I have assumed command of the Battle Cruiser Zuonopy. After I leave here, I’ll return to my ship to drill in preparation for confronting the Aneplé at the Rnuefcan System.”

  “If memory serves me correctly, there are ten planets and three transit gates.”

  “Your memory serves you well. There have been Aneplé scout ships spotted in the area; CIG is risking losing the Rnuefcan System by not sending a Battle Cruiser in now, instead of waiting for mine to complete drilling. The battle zone could be completely different by then, requiring a different mix of combatant ships to effectively dislodge them if they decide to raid the system.”

  “I don’t disagree with you on that point. I’d like to see the system schematics, if you don’t mind.”

  Griken put his pad on a low square table in the center of the seating area surrounding it and tapped the screen. The tablet projected a holographic sphere of the Rnuefcan System that extended from the table to the ceiling. Connor walked around the projection while waving his hand to turn the sphere to view it from different angles. He continued to wave and walk around to ensure he had full understanding of Griken’s Area of Responsibility. “I assume you are drilling with all of your escorts and support ships.”

  “Good assumption, if you were still the Fleet Admiral. As soon as you left, the Fleet became more political. More assignments were made based upon patronage versus the real requirements of the Fleet. None of the senior Admirals at Trisinwultin Station where the Zuonopy is docked at this time were willing to allow the breakup of their squadrons’ complements, even if there were no plans for them to deploy for several solar cycles. They insist on keeping the squadrons intact to protect their standings. There is no one willing to stand up to them at this time. However, Fleet Headquarters has assigned three destroyers and five support ships to my Battle Group. They are traveling from the Flexsin side of CIG space to join the Zuonopy.” Griken sighed heavily, looking at Connor as he continued, “I don’t expect to see them for another fifty revolutions.” Griken bent down and tapped his tablet to include his Battle Group in the hologram.

  “Who’s Connor now?” Connor asked, curious who was leading the debacle.

  “No one has been appointed Connor at this time.”

  Connor frowned at hearing Griken describe the Fleet’s status. “That’s irresponsible on CIG’s part.” However, he wasn’t going to let CIGs problems become his.

  Chapter 4

  Brad took the bike path home. It was faster than the streets, cutting through the blocks and cul-de-sacs, and ran parallel to Connor and Nan’s home. However, the closer he got to their house the worse the air smelled. Brad couldn’t identify what he smelled, but it was so bad he regretted taking the bike path home. He almost turned around to walk the long way home using the streets, but that would be ridiculous considering how close he was to his house. As he reached Connor’s back fence, the smell became unbearable; alarming him, that something was wrong. Were dead carcasses rotting in their yard? He looked between the slats of their privacy fence and saw an odd shaped blue-black outline etched on their lawn near the back fence. Stranger yet, he couldn’t see anything clearly, even standing beneath the bike path’s lamppost. Everything was hazy. It appeared as if he was looking at the yard through a thin smoke screen. The smell combined with the odd outline made him anxious. Then he heard scuffling but couldn’t see anything. Could it be a couple of large animals fighting? He reached into his pocket for his cell phone to call Connor, but he realized that he had left it in the truck charging.

  Feeling nauseous from the strong stench, Brad forced himself to move away from the fence. Whatever was in the yard, he needed to let Connor and Nan know as soon as possible. Brad jogged toward their screened porch thinking if it were unlocked, he would go in and tell Connor about the dead animal

  The light to their great room was on. He pulled the screen door open and walked into the enclosed sitting area. Each time he walked into the porch, it reminded him when he built the porch with Connor and Shinny, cementing his friendship with them. He smiled remembering the summer he met them

  He looked back toward the back edge of the yard and still saw the blurred yard behind a smoky screen with a hint of the smell that had given him a sick feeling. He wondered if something was burning in their backyard.

  Brad walked into the kitchen and saw Connor talking to a tall thin teenager a few inches shorter than him. The kid had a beer in his hand and was dressed in a black long sleeved
crewneck shirt and matching pants. The shirt had yellow markings along the right shoulder that continued along the right edge of the collar. Brad thought the kid might be Connor’s mentee from the high school and questioned why the kid was visiting at this late hour. He would need to talk to Connor about not giving the kid a beer; doing that was going to get Connor in trouble one day. Brad stood diagonally behind the kitchen door waiting for an appropriate time to walk in. He didn’t want to interrupt them in a panic. He was willing to wait a few minutes until they finished talking. The boy put a tablet on the coffee table and a spherical hologram with a star system grew from it. Brad drew a quick breath, stunned as he watched Connor walk around the table, waving his hand and turning the sphere. This had to be the project Connor was helping the kid with. He wondered why Connor hadn’t shared it with him? The backyard smell was an issue but Brad was now more interested in the holographic sphere and their discussion.

  “…three destroyers and five support ships to my Battle Group. They are traveling from the Flexsin side of CIG space,” the boy said to Connor as he bent down and tapped his tablet. More objects appeared in the hologram. Brad tried to understand what the kid was referring to since he had no idea what CIG space meant. It was a new term for him. The kid looked far too serious for his age but appeared much too young for the Navy.

  “Who’s Connor now?” Connor asked. Brad shook his head on that one. Connor asking who is Connor? Maybe he should just back off and go home, get a good night’s sleep, and maybe it would make sense tomorrow morning. He missed what the kid said, but caught Connor referring to something as being reckless. Connor put another tablet on the table and another sphere popped up with a number of objects floating in it. He watched as Connor moved a few of the objects in the sphere. Brad was definitely interested in the technology they were using and tried to listen to their conversation, but their backs were turned and most of what he heard was muffled and unintelligible. He gradually moved into the room and was just beyond the door when Shinny appeared. He was even more confused seeing her at Connor’s house.

  “Nan informed me that Ken was here and I needed to come over,” Shinny looked at Griken’s uniform. “Congratulations, Admiral,” she said with one of her brightest smiles.

  Brad wondered what the hell was going on, as he struggled to understand what he was seeing and hearing. They doubt me when I tell them I saw a UFO and this kid is called an Admiral. The kid’s name was familiar; was he the son of Shinny’s former boyfriend? Looking at the youthful kid, remembering what she had said about that guy, he had a fleeting suspicion Shinny could be an abuser. His chest tightened with that thought. He couldn’t go there. Oh God, if that was an issue, he needed to remove Dane from the house to keep him safe from her. He tensed up as he continued to try making sense of everything he had been seeing and hearing. He wouldn’t be able to do it on his own. He stepped into the room. “Admiral of what? The Boy Scouts?”

  Surprised, Connor turned around. “Brad, what are you doing here?”

  “I was returning from the golf course and planning to go home but there’s a nasty dead animal smell and smoke in your backyard.”

  The kid quickly grabbed his tablet from the table. He pushed Brad aside as he ran. He continued to run through the kitchen to the back porch, wildly tapping and swiping his pad. Brad, Connor, and Shinny followed him and watched as a bright object flashed for a few seconds from the back of Connor’s yard. The boy relaxed and turned around immediately.

  Brad choked on the fumes he had inhaled and looked crossly at Connor. “What is the UFO doing in your yard? That’s the same object I saw flying over my boat.”

  Connor and Shinny stood there stiffly with their mouths firmly shut, staring at him. It didn’t look like they were going to explain anything to him. Anger and frustration built up inside him as he wondered what other secrets they might be keeping from him. Not just the ship, but also the kid standing next to him. “Is anyone going to answer me?” Brad glanced at his watch. “Who’s watching Dane?” Brad glared at Shinny. He would wait all night if that was what it took for her to answer.

  Shinny knew that determined look. Brad wouldn’t back down, and she could no longer put off answering any of his questions. “Nan is at our house at this moment.”

  “Okay, I have one item I can check off my list. Shinny, who’s the kid, and what is that thing doing in your brother’s backyard?”

  Shinny, torn between her commitment to her marriage and her sworn duties, closed her eyes, feeling Brad’s rising anger directed toward her. He had always made it clear he had no tolerance for lying, and yet there it was every day, like a wall separating them. She knew eventually she would have to tell him everything, but having it thrown in his face was the worst way for him to find out. She stood there trying to organize her thoughts. There would never be a good way for her to answer truthfully at this moment. “I don’t know why Ken is here.”

  “Gee thanks. That was really helpful,” Brad responded, his voice full of sarcasm. He looked at Connor and then the kid. “Are either of you going to explain anything to me?” He glared at Connor. “I always suspected you were hiding something from me, but I wasn’t married to you. I accepted it because until tonight it wasn’t an issue.”

  Griken looked at the three individuals standing in front of him in silence. He walked toward Connor and stood next to him, “I have a chip update I need to pass to you. I also have a request from CIG that I’m to ask you personally.” He raised his right index finger and touched a mole behind Connor’s ear.

  Brad watched the kid finish with Connor, removing his finger. Stepping closer to Shinny, the kid was about to reach behind her ear. Brad grabbed Griken’s wrist and pulled his arm away from her. “Don’t touch her.”

  Shinny reached toward Brad and gently touched his face to get his attention. “You need to stop before this situation spirals out of control and someone gets hurt. Brad, please let him go. I will be fine.

  Brad released the kid’s wrist. “Don’t hurt her. I’m watching.”

  Trusting that Brad had settled, Griken reached toward Nee with his right index finger and touched the mole behind her ear. “Nee, thank you. I’m fine. My chip started pumping painkillers almost immediately when he grabbed me. The download won’t take long.”

  Shinny’s update included approval of Brad’s immigration request to CIG. She immediately shared the information with her father through their private communications. However, when she read that she was being ordered to report to a squadron on the Zuonopy, she pressed her lips together tightly, wondering how she was going to tell Brad. It didn’t matter that she had planned to transfer to the inactive reserve; her orders still required her to drill with a squadron for a few weeks before she could return to Earth. She looked at Connor and transmitted a query asking if he had received similar orders, and received a negative reply. She would be leaving with Griken, but needed time to talk to Brad.

  Connor reached for Shinny’s hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “It will work out. Brad just needs time,” he transmitted to her. Looking at Brad, he continued to transmit to Shinny, “Brad is understandably angry and confused. This is exactly as the counselor warned us. Shock and anger are the normal reactions to be expected from most people, after having a UFO confirmed to be alien or learning about an alien presence on their planet, especially when they realize they have been misled for many years. That was probably the worst way for Brad to learn of our status, but I had no warning the shuttle was due to arrive. With more time, a counselor could be brought in to help, but I can’t delay any further, what is inevitable. I’ll start the conversation.”

  Connor crossed to the refrigerator and opened the door. “I need a beer. Would anyone else like one, also?”

  “I’ll have another,” Griken answered as he reached out for the bottle Connor handed him.

  “Pass. I’m having trouble saying nothing when you are giving an underage kid a drink,” Brad challanged Connor.

  Igno
ring Brad’s comment, Connor walked to the sitting area in the great room. “Brad, have a seat. It will be easier for us to explain everything to you.”

  Brad followed Connor into the room. He sat on one of the brown leather club chairs facing the sofa. He was in no mood to sit on the couch with anyone. Brad watched as Connor and Shinny sat on the sofa across from him. The kid took the other club chair facing the opposite end of the sofa, smirking. As far as Brad was concerned, there was nothing amusing about what was happening. Seeing the smarmy expression on the kid’s face only irritated him more. Connor and Shinny looked serious, and Brad wasn’t sure he really wanted to hear what they had to say, but his gut told him if he got up and walked out without hearing them out, he’d kick himself for the rest of his life.

  “Brad, it was never our intention for you to find out about our origins this way. Shinny and I had recently agreed to share this information with you as soon as possible and under better circumstances, and after an opportunity to prepare you. But we need to get this out of the way because I still need to find out why Admiral Griken is here.” He directed his head toward the kid.

  Brad nodded that he understood. He recognized the despair on Shinny’s face. It was the same look that he remembered seeing on her face when they first visited the golf course together. He wasn’t sure he was ready for what they were going to say to him. He took a deep breath and braced himself for the worst.

  “Shinny, and I are not from Earth. I came here to work on a project and her organization sent her here to ensure my safety.”

  Brad’s eyes widened.

  Connor held up a hand. “Before you ask any questions, I want to give you the rest of the story. Fifteen years ago, I held the position of Fleet Admiral of a Confederation of Planets, governed by a group known as the Council of Interplanetary Governors, more commonly known through the inhabited galaxies as CIG. We were at the end of a war and a treaty was signed. One stipulation of the treaty was that I should be forced to either retire or find another position not as high profile. I wasn’t ready to call it quits and looked around for something else to do that would allow me to continue to work in the fleet. I found a project that would require me to work on a planet being studied by a team of academics trained to observe other cultures.” Connor paused for a moment. Connor continued, “Earth seemed to be the most promising planet at the time. I became interested coming to Earth because humans and we share similar genetic traits. In addition, we would not have to undergo any medical procedures to blend in physically. Over time, our objectives and schedules changed with our marriages.”