A Home That Far

A Home That Far
Chapter 8 Blessings of the Daughter

Kale had found a quiet place of her own. The main green house a b a beautiful centrepiece. A circular raised planter with flowers, and vines of all sorts. In the direct middle however, the main plant had died, its lifespan spent, and had been removed. However no plant had been placed to fill the space. It was an open dirt surface, about eight feet in diameter. Kale had crawled up through the plants as carefully as she could, using the stronger vines to pull herself out of her chair. With the plants so high around her, no one knew she was there. Now she lay in the earth staring out the windows of the green house roof, watching the snow gently fall.

Though the green house had a heating system to keep the g fro from becoming blocked with snow, the flakes quickly melted off, and soon resembled rain as it trickled across the surface. She sighed, trying to figure out what to do. Her people were all she really had as family. Logan acted like a protective brother sometimes, but even he knew when to keep his mouth shut. Scott however was another story.

Ever since they watched their people die from the virus, Scott had becomee cye cynical, more mistrusting of humans. Humans of Earth, yes she could understand. Human friends had betrayed them before, and though their world was far behind them now, the same fears and suspicions followed them to this new world, where they'd found themselves as rees.ees.

Duncan, Man-at-Arms, War Master to the King. His very title struck fear to her people. But she knew this man. She knew he was kind. How could she make her people see that? Adam, Prince of Eternia, he had a secret that apparently even his family didn't know. But she knew. Duncan apparently knew, it wasn't easy to keep such a secret. To have the most powerful man on the planet hiding inside the body of a young boy, it must be frightening. What he must go through when he changes.

She turned her attention to the rustling of leaves. She wanted to change her shape scurscurry away, but she couldn't. T'near, and Hank, told her to wait. Wait till her human muscles were strong enough to handle it. She dreaded who it would be crawling through the underbrush, but eased somewhat, when she saw Teela emerge from the greenery. "You?" Kale asked surprised.

"I thought I was the only one who knew about this spot," the captain said, settling on the dirt next to the girl. "This is where I come to think."

"Me too."

"You? Well I guess you'd have a lot on your mind. Look Kale, I want to apologise. Father told me not to say anything to you about the empty pods. He figured that you had enough on your mind with your injuries."

"That's ok. I didn't know about them till this morning."

"You're kidding! Storm's been talking to you off and on threw out your treatments, and she didn't say anything?"

"No. She said that she wanted to wait till the rest of us were together, and then the professor could tell us. He has a way of things like that."

"But still...to keep you in the dark like that..."

\ndernderstand. You know, I'm not even sure if I would have believed it if anyone else told me, even if it were your father."

"Really?"

"Teela, I need to ask you something..."

"You like my father don't you?" Kale shot her a look of surprise, at least she hoped it was. "Its ok. I kind-a guessed. You see, when you were a horse, my father didn't stop talking about you. Drove us crazy. One night, shortly before the incident in the mountains, I wished that you weren't a horse, I wished that you were someone that my father could love. I've got to be careful what I wish for.

"Now that you're...well...back to normal, my father has been...distant. He really likes you, but I honestly think he's confused, and that's not like him. Now if you're worried that, because you and I are bout the same age? Don't. If you like my father, and my father likes you, go for it. Be happy. Make him happy. He hasn't been with anyone, well...ever, as far as I can remember. I won't mind. As long as my farther is happy, and he doesn't get hurt, then I wont stand in your way."

"You mean that?"

"Sure I do. But could you do me a fr, pr, please?"

"Sure, anything." "C "Can you like...please don't take this the wrong way or anything...but..."

"Spit it out!" Kale laughed, seeing the poor girl fumble over sentence after sentence.

"Please, can you recover really quick? I want T'near back."

Kale just looked at her. She had no idea that T'near was interested in Teela. Of course she wasn't interested in the young man, he seemed to enjoy it too much torturing her on the bars and exercise equipment. Luckily for her, T'near had given her some good news after their last session. "I didn't know about you and T'near."

"Well...I know it is petty, but it seems to me that he's getting sidetracked. He's the first man I've been interested in that way, and I don't want to share him. Deal?"

"Deal. You can have him."

"Thanks. By the way, how's your therapy going?"

"Well, YOUR T'near said that I could go to your father and ask for a set of crutches. My arm has recovered faster than my leg with all the wheeling around in the chair I've been putting it through. So he wants me on my feet to start working on my leg."

"Good. Father is in his lab. He and Forge are working on something. Though I'm not sure what. Those two are a lot alike it seems. Once you get them working on new inventions, I think they turn into little children with a new toy."

"Really? Our expression is kid in a candy store."

"Never heard that one."

"Don't worry, you aren't missing much."

"Excuse me ladies?" came a man's voice, heavy with an accent, from the other side of the greenery. Kale and Teela both sat up to see a rather hefty built green man standing next to several others, all in work clothes common to gardening around the green house.

"Moss-man, what can we do for you?" Teela asked, totally innocently. Kale laughed behind her hand.

"Well, if you girls are quite through gabbing, I'd like to get this planter ready for the winter. Would you mind coming down?"

"Well..." Teela began, looking to Kale.

"If you insist," Kale finished.

"Thank you ever so much."

"Try it now," Forge offered, adjusting some of the circuits and wires leading to different sensors.

Duncan aded aed a couple of dials, and clicked the power switch. The device sparked a few times, gave Forge a good jolt, before finally displaying the screen now before them, with dozens of tiny blips, some large some small. "It's working," Duncan declared.

"Great. Just like we programmed. The size of the blips will indicate the amount of concentrated metals, not native to your planet."

"So what does this read out tell you? I'm not quite sure what you're looking for."

"See this here?" Forge pointed to a section of the map where the palace of Eternia stood. "That is this area here. As you can see there's a large deposit of non-terrestrial metals. Those are the pods. Now we need to find additional readings, as large or larger. The bigger the better. We may get more information on what happened to the ship, with the bigger pieces that we find."

"So when do we leave?"

"When we find a big enough piece. Unfortunately, this program is only bouncing off your local sensor buoys. We have to go around to the rest of them, in the other realms and update the program information on those systems. Then we can get a better picture of where the wreckage lies."

"Ok. I'll notify the surrounding outposts, we'll start out in the morning."

"Not without me you're not." Kale manoeuvred her chair up to the consol next to Duncan, and smiled, as the Master looked down to her. "You go anywhere with any of my people, and Scott will go as well. If he goes, I go."

Duncan gently smiled as he shook his head. "No Kale. Not till you're stronger."

"That's why I'm here. T'near said I can get a pair of crutches from you, so I can work my leg more. Care to set me up?"

"I'll leave you two alone," Forge stated. Duncan tried to protest, but as he watched the man close the door behind him, he found he was glad that he was gone.

He guided Kale from the electronics section of the lab, to where he stored different materials and equipment, like crutches. "Will you still be under therapy with T'near?" he asked, slightly jealous that the doctor was touching Kale at all, when he could not.

"No. I think I can manage."

Relieved, he took a pair of crutches form the locker, and helped Kale get to her feet. "Put your arms around my neck. I'll help you stand." Obligedly she did, fully inhaling his scent when he came close to her.

"I still say you smell like Sea Breeze," she whispered to his ear.

"You'll have to tell me what that means one day."

"Why wait. I can tell you now."

"Ok."

"Sea Breeze is a cologne that men of my world wear. It's very nice. It's hard to describe the smell, but lets just say, if you change your scent, I won't be very happy. Sea Breeze is my favourite cologne for men. Just like Fa Spa body wash and such is my favourite personal scent. I haven't missed turning a guy's head yet with it."

"I see."

"Kale!" The two turned to see Duncan, standing in the door to the storage room, several boxes in his arms.

"Hi Scott. Duncan's getting me some crutches. I'll be vertical a!" !"

"That's not what I see!"

"Oh Scott, lighten up." Duncan managed to get the crutches under Kale's shoulders, and got her arms untangled from his neck. He walked out giving Scott an ominous look. 'How Dare Scott interrupt!' she thought. 'I was just getting to enjoy holding him.'

"Kale! I thought we had an understanding!"

"Scott would you stop shouting!" she screeched, hobbling over to him. "Besides, I thought you and Jean were married. You're acting like you're interested...in him!" she laughed, catching the end of her right crutch on his foot.

"Very funny Kale. Don't get too friendly with him. He's a human after all."

"Is that all you are? Full of hate, suspicion, paranoia? Get off your high horse!"

"We will not be mingling with the humans! That's final!"

"Than you're sealing our deaths. We may as well have stayed on Earth. Do you know how many people are in our little group?"

"I know."

"Right. One hundred, thirty-seven. Do you know what that means?"

"Or village will be small. But it will grow!"

"No! You idiot. If we stick within our own little group, every one of our descendants will be so inbred, they'll be lucky to call themselves swamp rats! Get it through your head! WE NEED THESE PEOPLE!"

"Well I don't!!!"

"You're one of the lucky ones. Even if everyone is old enough to be matched, there will still be one person left out."

"The professor will not betray Lalandra."

"You seem to be intently confident that it will be the professor. What if it isn't? What if Lalandra is dead? Or worse, what if she thought we were all dead and continued on with her life?"

"Speculation!"

"Speculate this Cyclops! You interfere with my life, my choices one more time, and I'll take the DNA of the biggest baddest animal on this planet, and I'll squash you! Do we understand one another?" She didn't even wait for his answer. She just hobbled away, shifting her weight one last time on her crutch, leaving a good bruise in the top of his foot.

'Just try it,' he thought. 'This isn't over. Not by a long shot.'

It took quite a lot of organizing, but within two weeks the bazaar was underway. There were rides, games, and a table or booth with representatives of each race of beings on the planet. They gave a description of the species, where they preferred to live, what they produced in goods for sale, and a map of their current domains. Though it was quite obvious, it was more so apparent that the new arrivals had much to learn, as they had difficulty reading the signs and literature made available to them. They may have spoken the same language, it definitely wasn't written the same.

The younger children met up with the children of the village, and therther it was madness, as they ran through the bazaar playing games, and taking trips on the rides. Most of the adults and older teens kept watch over the younger ones, the older teens enjoying the game that Teela had introduced them too. They could leap from one floating glowing box to another, tossing a ball of fire back and forth to knock out the blocks from under their opponent. They all seemed to be enjoying them selves, all that is accept Scott.

On the whole things were very well, and quietly the professor slipped away to the palace greenhouse. There in the peaceful surroundings of the local vegetn, tn, the professor relaxed his physical form, and cautiously reached out with his thoughts. Around him he could feel his people's unease and tension fade away. He was inundated by playful cries, and laughter from everywhere at the bazaar outside the palace walls.

Carefully he pushed them aside and reached further with his thoughts, trying to find the cold quiet of space. But something drew him from his journey, rather than his reach going up, he found his thoughts drifting east of the castle. Drawn by a force he could only describe as a magnet. He was further and further from his goal, till he heard, "You are the strongest mind I've ever sensed."

Surprised by the woman's soft voice, the professor retreated back to his own mind, so quickly that he fell out of his chair. "My apologies, sir," the voice soothed, as he pulled himself back into his chair. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Who are you?" he asked, trying not to sound agitated.

"I am simply called the sorceress. My powers are many, including telepathy. When I sensed you reaching out, I drew you to me. I am sorry I've upset you."

"I'm not upset. I'm just...surprised. You sound...sad."

"Its nothing...you had a purpose a moment ago, what was it?"

"I am trying to reach someone. My Lalandra, of the She'ar Empire. They helped my people escape death, we were supposed to meet in space, but something's gone wrong. "

"Can I help?"

"Perhaps. The last time I reached Lalandra, I had the loaned powers of others like me. Would you be willing t my my anchor? Together we can reach farther into the stars, and I can shield you from any encounters, where I've done this before, I know what to expect."

"Than let us begin."

Xavier felt her ability add to his own, and quickly she drew him up to the stars. Feeling the woman reach her limit, the professor launched himself further, reaching along the waves of psychic energy of those who'd passed before them, he began calling her name.

"Lalandra, High Empress of the She'ar Empire. My love...please hear me..."

On he went like this, seeming to float on the psychic winds, brushing against the consciousness of other races, but not sensing any familiarity with the She'ar, he continued on his way.

About to give up and return to his own body, a voice from the dark burst through his thoughts.

"Who are you to call Lalandra's name!" the male voice bellowed.

"My name is Charles Xavier, Lalandra is my wife."

"Lalandra is dead! How dare you mach her name, or her family!"

"No! Please, sir...hear me. What I tell you is true...Search my thoughts, you'll see..."

"You bet I will! Prepare yourself!"

The pain of the stranger ripping though his mind was terrible. He pulled out thought and memory, one right after the other, as though he were flipping the pages of a book. Finally the pain eased, and he felt the man withdraw from his mind. "Now...do you believe me?" Xavier asked.

"Yes," the man answered. "Do you have time, and strength? I've much to tell you. "

Kale made her way through the barn, a place she hadn't been for many weeks. Her head was spinning, she'd tried some of the Selian beverages at the bazaar, they were good, though quite spicy. She then samples some of the Avion drinks, then the Andreenid honey soda. She wasn't quite sure what was in them, but they certainly were good. Thing is, she discovered very quickly that she was getting tipsy.

She quietly slipped away, only to find she'd wandered into the back areas, where the barns were. The barn handschedched as she made her way to the stalls, and stayed out of her way as they went about their business. She couldn't believe that it all started here, and with the strange little boy as one of her friends.

It was then she'd realized that the boy wasn't around, nor had she seen him during her recovery. "Excuse me," she asked one of tarn arn hands. "Have you seen the boy with the green scales?"

"Tobura? He's been searching the area for a missing horse," answered one of the hands.

'Oh no!'

"Kale?" She turned to see Duncan walking into the barn. "What's wrong? Why are you here?"

"Too many exotic drinks I think," she said, tripping slightly as she turned to him. "Duncan, the boy? He's not here. He's out there looking for..."

"I know. I found out yesterday."

"What are we going to do?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Xavier sat in his chair, surrounded by the plants and remaining flowers of the wintering garden, his mind awash in the sorrow he felt, but more so of the sad news that he would have to tell his people. "I am so sorry," said the sorceress, in his mind. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No, dear lady, this is something that I must do alone."

"I understand. If ever you need to talk, or even company, you need only to cast your thoughts to me. I will find you."

"Thank you." Alone at last, Xavier made his way to the main dinning are