Galen crept stealthily closer to the home of his parents, waving the two astronauts in behind him. They'd already avoided one gorilla soldier stationed close by, and earlier had spotted yet another climbing down from the roof of a near-by home as the sun had began to set. The three had decided to send Galen out as an advance, reasoning that he would have a chance of talking himself out of a situation if caught, whereas the two humans discovered out alone, after sunset, wouldn't stand a chance.

Galen approached the patio door of his parent's home with extreme caution. Just as he started to step out into the open, he heard the faint clop- clopping of horse's hooves. He froze into position, hoping Burke and Virdon were well concealed, as any gesture he might attempt to make to them would no longer be visible. The soldier passed by, yawning. It was full dark by now, and the only light available came from the gibbous moon or an occasional torch lighting the path to the doorway of an ape home.

Galen strained his eyes, seeking other movement, then quickly darted to the patio. The astronauts followed, stopping in the garden, heavy tropical growth affording them some protection. Galen knocked on the door, cringing inwardly at the muffled noise. A prickle ran up between his shoulder blades as he stood with his back to the garden, silently urging his parents to hurry.

The door cracked open and Yalu's familiar gruff voice asked loudly, "Who are you…" trailing off as Galen urged him to be silent.

"Shhhhhhh, Father! It's me."

"Are your….'friends' here as well? Get them in quickly, if they are. Urko's guards are crawling through the neighborhood," said Yalu, blinking into the darkness. Galen entered, followed swiftly by Burke and Virdon. As the door closed, Yalu grabbed his son, hugging him fiercely. Surprised and touched, Galen returned his father's hug as Ann entered the room.

"Galen, oh Galen!" Ann exclaimed, rushing to him. "I'm so glad to see you're all right."

"I'm fine, Mother, just fine," Galen replied warmly, kissing her. "And so are my friends."

"Virdon, Burke. I'm glad to see you are well," said Ann, smiling at her visitors. The two smiled a greeting at her, and nodded to Yalu. Yalu looked at Burke and Virdon without expression, then nodded stiffly in return. A small smile flickered on Galen's face as he watched. Whereas most might have seen the uncomfortable exchange as just that - uncomfortable - Galen saw any sign of recognition from Yalu towards his friends as an inroad into his father's resistance of his relationship with the two.

"Urko has had guards placed around our home and throughout the neighborhood ever since his last outing from Central City," Yalu remarked. "When I demanded an explanation, I was told that the council felt that, as you are at the root of the chimpanzee protests, my family should be guarded." Yalu looked disgusted. "Hmmph….watched, they mean," he added.

"Father, is it true that Pergis is behind these demonstrations?" asked Galen.

"He's been removed bodily from one protest. I was able to use my influence to keep him from being arrested. That was a small miracle in itself, considering I am connected to these demonstrations," Yalu said, cocking an eyebrow at Galen. "I won't be able to stop his arrest again. My influence is dwindling quickly. And there will be a next time. That foolish Pergis is adamant. No one can convince him otherwise."

Galen shook his head. "What can he hope to accomplish?"

"He wants to change the world, Galen," his mother said, smiling in a bemused fashion. "He reminds me of you at a young age."

"Surely I was never so impressionable," retorted Galen.

"Well, you made quite an impression on him last time you were here," his father said with a hint of sarcasm. "Of course, your mother tells me she only added fuel to the fire after you'd left."

Galen looked at his mother, questioning. "Pergis came to me a few days after you'd left. He had many questions," said Ann.

Galen looked humorously at his mother. "And when did he ever not have questions about one thing or another," he said.

"Yes, well….I'm afraid I made things worse," said Ann quietly.

Burke spoke up. "What did you tell him?"

"Why, I told him…the truth." Ann replied.

"About us." Virdon stated.

"About you, about everything. It was foolish of me, I suppose, but I could not bear to mislead him," Ann replied.

"Oh, Mother," breathed Galen, sighing.

"Do you see what you have put in your mother's head? How quickly she speaks of heresy? It will be our downfall," Yalu warned, shooting his wife a look.

"It was a mistake. He is my nephew, and I was swayed by his sincerity…his need to know. Surely you don't think I'm foolish enough to speak indiscriminately of these things to others? Unfortunately, Pergis is as strong-willed as the rest of the males in this family," replied Ann, returning her husband a look in kind.

"Yes, but without the intelligence to match," added Yalu, looking hard at his son.

Galen looked at the floor. "Father, you know I've never meant any harm to my family. And Pergis is extremely intelligent - if a bit naïve. Unfortunately he doesn't have the practical knowledge to go with it," said Galen, defending his cousin.

"I'm sure Pergis doesn't mean any harm to the family, either - nevertheless, between the two of you, you will ruin us," retorted Yalu harshly.

"Would you have me turn my back on my principles completely?" Galen asked, perturbed.

"I would have you let your mother and I live a life of peace!" Yalu exclaimed. He looked at his son a moment, then his wife. Overcome, he tramped heavily from the room.

"Your father is angry at the turn of events, Galen," said Ann. "He is - believe it or not - quite proud of you."

Galen was silent a moment. "That young cousin of mine will cause Father to be ousted from council chambers if something isn't done," said Galen at last. "As it is, I've already done enough damage to his career. I won't let anything else happen to ruin it. I'm going to go talk some sense into Pergis."

"Now?" Ann exclaimed. "You need something to eat, surely."

"Now will be easier, under cover of darkness," Galen replied. "I'll eat when I come back."

"We'll go with you," Burke declared, starting to stand.

"No, no. That would be foolish. If I'm stopped, I'll make up something. If you come with me, you'll only make it worse," Galen said.

"He's right, Pete. But Galen…be careful, okay?" said Virdon, concerned.

"Oh, don't you worry about me. I can easily outsmart those gorilla soldiers. I'll take care of Pergis and get back as soon as I can, but expect me to be a while," said Galen.

He kissed his mother, who cupped his face in the palm of her hand. "Galen… I've missed you." she said softly.

He looked down into her eyes lovingly. "And I've missed you. I'll be back before you know it."

He nodded to his friends, then vanished through the patio door.

Ann stared at the door her son had disappeared through, then sighed and turned to face Alan and Pete. "There's some fruit and bread in the kitchen - help yourself. As for sleeping arrangements, you know I've no beds for you, but I've got those same old stuffed straw matts you've slept on before. Come with me," she motioned to them and they followed her into Galen's old bedroom.

"The matts are just fine, especially compared to sleeping on the ground. Thank you," Virdon said, smiling.

"Actually, I slept on Galen's bed before," Burke added helpfully.

"You're welcome, Virdon. And as for you, Burke…you weren't well then. You look perfectly fine to me now….I'm glad to see," Ann replied, smiling.

Burke smiled back. "I'm hard to get rid of."

"Yes, well, you needed time to recover," Ann replied, still smiling. Pete opened his mouth an instant, then grimaced and lowered his head, scratching it. Alan smothered a laugh, and Pete looked at him, grinning. "I'm going to bed. Eat, and get some rest. Goodnight, boys," Ann added before leaving the room. The two men wandered off to the kitchen and satisfied their hunger before returning to Galen's room to rest.