Tomorrow's Yet to Come

Chapter Twenty – Eight – Rest and Recreation

The marketplace was alive and exploding with excitement and color. Maria laughed and spun around in an impromptu dance, happy to be away from the Training Academy for even a short time. She grabbed Liz by the hands and spun her around. "I am so glad to be out of there!" she cried. "If I had to look at that stupid Grenla for one more second, I thought I would scream. I mean Jesus, don't they have shampoo on this stupid planet.

"Maria, quiet down," laughed Liz. "What if someone heard you?" She pulled Maria by the arm and they raced to catch up to Ava who was walking several feet ahead of them.

"Maria's right, Liz," said Ava softly. "A few lessons on personal hygiene would not be remiss." The three girls laughed, and the sound carried back to Alex and Isabel who were walking hand in hand several feet behind them.

"I'm glad to see the children are amusing themselves," said Isabel with a grin.

"Go on," said Alex. "Your just mad that I'm here and you can't go play with them."

"Right," said Isabel. "Hang out with my girlfriends, instead of my best friend. No, I'm good right where I am. She squeezed Alex's hand and smiled.

"Do you ever wonder what our lives would have been like if the Granolith hadn't chosen us for each other?" he asked her.

"No, because I know you are the one I belong with. I fought it for so long. I didn't want to let myself get close to anyone. But you kept right on pushing yourself into my life. And I'm glad, Alex. So very, very glad, because I can't imagine anyone else I'd rather spend my life with."

"I love you, too, Isabel," Alex said.

"Hey, enough of that serious stuff," shouted Maria. "We have some people to find, and some shopping to do."

Alex and Isabel laughed at Maria's comment as they strolled around the marketplace.

"Excuse me," said a man, standing in the doorway of a small eating establishment. "The Royal Keeper of the garbage dump would like to know if you would join him for the midday meal?"

Isabel and the others looked wary, but Liz exploded with laughter and began to guide them into the restaurant.
"Apparently that's our new secret code," Maria said to Ava. "Either that's Che'koth, or we just got hit on by the freakiest alien in the world, and worse, Liz fell for it."

They followed the man into the restaurant, and sat at a large table set off from the main dining area. They sat around the table and the man they thought was Che'koth walked back out of the dining area to stand in the front door. Soon he returned with Kyle, Max, Michael and Zan in tow. "I will bring food," he said.

They sat, silent, until Che'koth returned with the food. He set platters in front of each of them and urged them to eat. Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the tablets that Liz had made.

"You won't need that," said Che'koth. "The food is seasoned appropriately."

"Hot damn," said Kyle. "That means we can taste it." He grabbed a spoon and started to eat.

"This will be the last time you can meet in public in this large a group," said Che'koth. "It is too dangerous. I will find a place for you to meet, in the Training Academy, or rather, underneath it. It will be a haven for you, as well as a place for you to meet and share your news."

"I don't think we're going to have a lot of free time," said Isabel. "They keep our days pretty well filled."

"That is traditional," said Che'koth. "It helps to weed out the students that won't succeed."

"Nice friendly student focused school system you have here," said Alex.

"Yeah, but with the dual course of study, and the Aberjani training, I don't see much in the way of free time," said Max.

"What?" asked Che'koth. "Aberjani training? What are you talking about?"

"General Kobodi came in, and gave a big spiel about the wonders of the Aberjani, and how it's not just a career, it's a way of life," explained Max. "Anyhow, we all had to interview, even if we didn't want to be a part of it, and we all managed to get in."

"This is interesting," said Che'koth. "The Aberjani has never actively recruited students. It must mean they are planning something big."

"They are," said Liz. "I'm working on a special tracking device for the Aberjani. They want to be able to hone in on a person's genetic sequence and track them down by that. Well, it's more involved than that, but you know what I mean."

"They are afraid," said Che'koth. "That is good. With fear comes mistakes. What else can you tell me?"

"Well, it's probably not much," said Ava. "Maria and I are part of a group that has been sent to work with the science students. We've noticed that our instructor hates us, but that's not what's interesting. She was ridiculing us in front of the two classes, and acting all imperious, trying to tell Liz's instructor what to do and who to pair who up with, you know? Anyhow, Liz's instructor totally blew her off, and put us with Liz."

"Yeah," added Liz. "Their instructor wanted her so-called best student paired with the best in my class, but my instructor saw me shaking my head, and she put this girl with the absolute worst student in the class. Then their instructor pulled them out and said they were the worst, and who should they be paired with. I tried signaling my instructor with my eyes, and I guess it worked because she put us together."

"Who are these instructors?" asked Che'koth. He stroked his chin as he contemplated all the information they had gathered so far.

"My instructor is Plash Nevenia," said Liz.

"And we are blessed with the wonderful and delightful Jara Kobodi," said Maria. "She is evil incarnate."

"You are not far wrong, Maria," said Che'koth. "She is the wife of General Kobodi, the head of the Aberjani, and Kivar's second in command."

"Well she's just a big fat stupid jerk," said Maria, heatedly. "She doesn't know much of anything. I asked one time why there were so few healers being born, and she just ignored me."

"That's because it's not that fewer and fewer healers are being born, it's that the ones that are, are being killed by Kivar."

"What!" came the exited reply from around the table. "Why?"

"Most of the true healers, that is, people who have the ability to heal any and all injuries and illnesses have an almost direct connection to the royal lineage. Kivar wants to destroy anybody with a connection to the royal family."

"Nice," said Zan. "Remind me not to heal anybody while I'm here. Though with the headache I have today, I sure could have used a bit of healing."

"Why? What's wrong with your head?" Ava asked, her voice filled with concern.

"It's nothing," said Zan, trying to deflect the interest his statement had made.

"No it's not nothing," said Michael. "Kobodi was doing a big mind warp on all the Aberjani, the existing ones, as well as the trainees. You know, Kivar is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Zan didn't have any protection, so he took it full force for a while, until I realized what was going on."

"He gave me a ring to wear," said Zan. He held up his hand to show everyone the ring, then slid it off of his hand. "Thanks. What's so special about it, and how come you didn't need it?" he asked.

"It's made of platinum," explained Alex. "There's something about the energy wavelengths in the platinum that blocks a mind warp. I still don't fully get it, but it works, and I'm not going to argue with it. As far as not needing it, Michael's the only one who ever managed to break through one of Tess' mind warps without wearing any platinum."

"Yeah, but after today's session, I don't know if I can do it again. That guy is strong," said Michael.

"Don't worry about it," said Zan, his voice tinged with arrogance. "If you can throw it off, I know I can."

"No, you can't," said Isabel. "Don't be stupid and prideful. That's what got you killed the first time. You wouldn't listen to anybody. Well, damn it, this time, nobody dies. You're going to listen, and you're going to do as we tell you." As she spoke, she removed a necklace from her neck. "Here, I don't need this, I have earrings and a bracelet made from platinum, as well as my wedding band." She placed the necklace on the table and passed her hand over it, and it morphed into a thin platinum band. "You will wear this, and you won't argue about it."

Zan just looked at her, shocked that she would talk to him that way. It wasn't something Lonnie had ever done, but then again, Lonnie had tried to kill him. At least Isabel was trying to save him.

"You might as well do it, man," said Alex. "She's using the Christmas Nazi voice. You don't have a chance in hell of winning against that."

Zan shrugged and slipped the band on his middle finger. What the hell, he thought to himself. It beats getting run over by a truck.