(Part 5 - Finale)

Sheila looked depressed. She suddenly looked up, then replied:

"Captain... Nya... It is the last of its kind here. It is intelligent. Unique.

To just leave it here, when we blast-off... Would be beyond cruel.

Those berries are indeed getting scarce, as this world is getting

dryer... I've catalogued all the details. Biology/Meteorology... etc."

Lora: "Yes, 'Cap'... The berries are indeed almost all gone. Won't be any

for who knows how long. No rain since we got here... Don't look like any soon!"

Captain Nya looked thoughtful, a moment. Then crossed her arms...

"Nope... No Sir, No Mam. No... Way!"

#

A few nights later, with the detectors still functioning...

Sheila heard 'Harold' again. He thought-talked to her.

She thought-talked to him. Yes, he was a male. She got

a short glimpse of him, via telepathic input. How sad his

eyes, when she told him the captain had forbade him to

come into the camp... or the ship... to leave planet 'Alice'.

#

"I have other 'Option' as you humans call it. Please, tell me

if it is agreeable to you. If not... tell me. I accept your

wishes. I 'Obey' your desires Sheila, above my own..."

#

The next morning...

Captain Nya: "Lora, you seen Sheila. She is not in the ship or

nearby the camp. Any idea where she went off to?"

Lora: "No 'Cap'... But she did say something about seeing

that waterfall for a swim. But I thought she was only joking, Sir."

Nya went and got two laser pistols from the small armory in the ship.

"Just in case... That creature could be an alien vampire for all we know..."

Soon, they did in fact find Sheila's beach towel, spread out next to the lake.

The lake was barely big enough for two or three humans to wade waist deep in.

There also was a cave under the waterfall. Nya and Lora had hand-held lamps.

No... Sheila wasn't in there. The cave was not that long or deep. No sign of her.

Suddenly, Nya and Lora heard a strange sound... Like a quick rush of wind. It

came from the direction of the stone circle structures. When they got there,

there was only Sheila's notebook. Inside was her terse hand-written note...

#

"My Dear Captain (and shipmate Lora),

I will miss you both. Please, continue the mission, at all costs...

Since you forbade 'Harold' to come with us... I have left with him.

Call him a 'Space Pooka'... But he was no ghost. He's very real - and kind.

He knew of high technology - a Portal... He knew Magic!"

(The End?)

[Story is dedicated to my mother and for Women's History Month]

"If the Path be Beautiful, let us not ask where it leads" - Anatole France