Another Life III

by burmafrd

More fun for Liz as the world turns. All due homage to the creators of Highlander and Roswell. This is just for fun.

3. Chapter 3

An interesting development began to come about after the first few days. Some of the poorer countries in Africa and Central and South America began to enquire into the possibility of having a few of the alien settlements in their countries. They reasoned that that would help them develop and progress. Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mauritania, Niger and Sudan in Africa; Uruguay, Paraguay, Guatemala, Honduras, Columbia, Bolivia, Peru in South and Central America. Each country volunteered for one of the cities; several of the bigger countries wanted two or three. Max was overwhelmed by this; they had vaguely hoped but had not really expected such widespread support. And this would help them further push Earth forward in progress; for it was in the poorest and least developed countries that the greatest difference could be made. Those were the countries that could not afford enough oil to really get their economies moving; and what oil they could buy had to come at the expense of infrastructure and education and health. The new power plants that they would be installing would completely make those countries independent of oil for power generation; and with the development of electrical cars and other transportation not dependent on oil a huge financial burden would be lifted. The major advances in health practices and medical technology would further lessen the burdens on their economies. And more advances in agriculture would allow them to be net exporters instead of importers.

All this of course would come at the expense of the oil exporting countries; the Middle East, Venezuela, Mexico, Nigeria, etc. Already speculation had the price of oil dropping as the future demand would certainly decrease. Those countries that depended solely on oil to support themselves saw a very big problem down the road. They found that there was very little sympathy for them elsewhere. Liz contacted the Granolith and ordered it to start studies on what each of those countries could do to move away from oil. Max suggested that they give power producing technology and the like to them so that they could start switching over and moving away from oil dependency. Liz felt that a sustained slowly expanding economy was the best way to go and plans had to be made to see that that happened.

With those countries showing willingness to host settlements, opposition began to collapse. What was left was xenophobic and nothing could really be done about that. Max pronounced that any country that wanted settlements would be given them and that they could have as many or as few as they wanted. While there the settlements would be subject to the Nations laws and regulations; and possible conflicts would be negotiated before they landed.

Liz had been keeping count of the countries volunteering and how many settlements they wanted. At the moment they had 60 requested for countries outside of Canada, Australia, the US and Russia. Plans were for 50 in the US and 50 in Russia, in Siberia. That left at the moment 240 to be split between Canada and Australia. That also helped ease things in those two countries since originally it had looked like they would be taking in 200 each; now it was down to 120 each and that would probably fall.

The work at building the ships on Antar had started to ramp up as the new yards were taking shape and the other yards were expanding. The first of the new design ships was already building and was expected to be completed in 3 months. The next one would be quicker as mass production of the parts and components was starting; it would take another 6 months to get all the factories going. They expected to have 20 ships done the first year; and 60 the next year; with 15 already built that left only 25 of the original required 120. Careful planning had shown that the first group would bring in the advanced work crews and equipment and materials; the first flight of 30 ships would have all that. The next group of 30 ships would complete the initial preparations and bring in all the necessary supplies. Then all 120 ships would gather together to evacuate the populations of Antar and Granular. The first 30 ships would make 3 trips; the next 60 two trips; the last 30 one trip. Max was actually hoping to begin evacuation using the last 30 ships of the second group; that would lessen the pressure on the last evacuation voyage. Tinkering with the ships engineering plants had shown that the risk of pushing them to make the trip in 9 months rather then 12 was minimal; that was what would allow extra trips by the first group of ships. There was confidence on the part of the building crews that they would be able to build more ships beyond the 120 but Max had decreed that all plans would be based on the 120 only; if they got more that would help and be a bonus; but they would NOT be counted on.

Liz had speculated that all the exposure to various types of governments combined with the spreading out of the Antarian people all over the planet might lead to less reliance on Max and the Monarchy. And that maybe, just maybe, by the time they found a new planet and settled on it, they could step away from the throne. Max told her it was a nice dream but that the monarchy might be clung to as a way to maintain their antarian status and that might be the same on the new planet. Liz countered that it was good to dream.

What came during the second visit to Canada was to have significant ramifications. After the first visit Max and Liz had gone back to Antar to rest up and keep an eye on preparations there. Some protests by Natives in Northern Canada worried the Prime Minister since he thought that they might build if not handled right. He suggested another visit by the royals. Max and Liz, this time not accompanied by the children, and after a little argument no Antarian bodyguards, arrived in Yellowknife. There they asked to meet representatives of the protestors, mostly Indian and indigenous people who had been there for many generations at the least. The small town hall was packed.

The meeting had gone on for about an hour and had progressed fairly well. The people there were worried about the wildlife that they hunted being pushed away be the settlements. Max assured them that they would be very carefully placed to interfere as little with the natural habitat as possible. He pointed out that the power plants and other facilities would be much cleaner running and would pollute very little if at all. The people were still worried about the changes but mostly accepted the fact that there would be. Max had gotten up with Liz and had moved to speak personally to some of the representatives when it happened. Liz as usual wearing her sword ( it had been early on expected and she basically just got used to always having it with her-besides she did her KATA at every opportunity-it relaxed, settled and centered her). She was beside Max when something drew her gaze to the right. A scruffy looking man, non descript otherwise, was looking at Max with pure hate in his eyes- sanity was lacking. Instinctively she put her hand on her sword and started to draw it slowly when the man jumped up and pulled out a gun screaming in some native language as he pointed it at Max. The RCMP's with them were not close enough but Liz was. Moving to stand between Max and the gun she drew her sword and with a fast but smooth motion cut off his hand- but unfortunately he was able to fire just before she did that- and the bullet hit her right in the chest. Max had been very much concentrating on what was being said and was slow to move; he was to blame himself for that for a very long time. He felt Liz slam against him and he caught her as she went down. The crazy man had already gone down under enraged locals. By the time the RCMPS pulled them off of him he had been beaten badly and had almost bled to death from his stump.

Max turned and bent over Liz placing his hand over her wound and calling for her to open her eyes. She was coughing blood and looked up at him and he was able to make the connection. Shaking from adrenalin and pure fear Max went inside to look for the wound. It had missed the heart but had ruptured the pulmonary artery and her right lung; which is why she was coughing up blood. He forced himself to concentrate and yelled at every one to back off and stay away. He pushed the tear in the artery closed and then worked on the lung. He could actually feel her quickening doing the same thing and forced himself to work with it and strengthen it. That worked and in only a few minutes she was healed. She blinked up at him and smiled. He bent down and carefully wiped the blood away from her face and mouth and then picked her up in his arms and told the RCMP's that surrounded him to get them away from here.

Needless to say word spread all over the world in only a matter of minutes. This was the third great wave of speculation and everything else though this time it was more limited and focused on one area. Accounts at first were partial and somewhat muddled; all that was known for sure was that an Assassination attempt had occurred as regards the Antarian Royalty. It was not sure if Max or Liz or both had been the target; they did not yet have the identity of the attacker. All that was known was that the Queen had used her sword and cut the hand of the attacker off but not before he fired a shot that hit her. Then the King had used his power and healed her and then picked her up and demanded to leave immediately.

Max had contacted the Granolith and ordered immediate transport. He then told the government representative that they would be in contact and was whisked away by the Granolith, still holding Liz in his arms.

Not 30 minutes later the Prime Minister was on the air and his broadcast was quickly relayed all over the world.

"My fellow Canadians and people of the world. A terrible act of violence was only minutes ago perpetrated on our soil to guests of Canada. Details at this moment are still incomplete but we do know this. Apparently a local citizen of Yellowknife used a handgun to fire at the Royal Party; Queen Elizabeth acted quickly placing herself between the gunman and the king, drawing her sword and cutting off the hand holding the gun. Unfortunately she was unable to do this before he fired, and the bullet hit her. As we know, some Antarians have the ability to heal by psychic means and fortunately King Maxwell is one of them; he was able to save the Queens life. They immediately left for Antar by instantaneous transport. The gunman is in the local hospital in serious condition; he was badly beaten by other locals enraged at his conduct. That and in addition to the cutting off of hand very nearly resulted in his death. A full investigation is underway and I intend to render a formal apology on the behalf of all Canadians to the Royal Family and Antar for this outrage. Hatred and fear are terrible things; and once again we have all too tangible evidence of the damage they can do."

The whole group was waiting for Max as he got back next to the granolith, still carrying Liz who was protesting that she was fine. He insisted in carrying her up to their room. He told the rest he would be out in a few minutes. The Granolith filled the group in on what had happened. Michael was kicking himself for relaxing on Max's security. The leader of the Antarian Royal Bodyguard made it clear that never again should any of the Royals leave without bodyguards. They all agreed that they had gotten lucky; even though her quickening would have probably healed her without her dying that could have raised questions that would have outed the Immortals. And if she had died that would have been a sure thing. Then they got a call from the Granolith saying Liz's parents were calling and wanted to see their child. Michael went up the stairs and knocked on the door. Max came to it asking what was so important and Michael told him. Next thing he knew both he and Max were pushed aside by Liz as she headed down the stairs telling them that she would talk to her parents right now. After getting a hug from Maria and Alex, Isabel and Tess she walked up to the Granolith and told it to contact her parents. Even though they knew that Liz had her full immortal status back the account of the shooting still terrified them and only a personal message from her would calm them down. Liz made sure that the Granolith worked fast by standing there tapping her toe, arms crossed and looking at the Granolith as if she was planning on a dismantling project. Within minutes it had established contact, and Jeff and Nancy were waiting.

"Mom, Dad, I am fine. I would have been anyway. My quickening is back to full strength. It was a good thing though that Max was seen to heal me. We do not want the immortality part to get out if at all possible. Actually in a morbid way this will help us gain full acceptance. The old saying that behind every cloud is a silver lining holds true here. Now the people of earth will feel that they owe us something. Now take deep breaths and relax. Things are going about as well as we could have hoped so far. And let everyone there know I am OK. Oh, by the way tell Cynthia that since it was not an Immortal on Immortal fight that this does not count. Hugs and kisses to everyone and I will talk to you soon. Hope to visit Roswell in a month or so. Bye and take care."

Liz was actually feeling fine- as a matter of fact better then fine. That made her a little curious and she asked the Granolith to make a full scale scan on her and see what her quickening level was at.

The Granolith hummed loudly for a minute- got quiet then hummed again. That tipped off Liz that it was double checking something that surprised it.

"Queen Elizabeth your quickening energy level has increased by approx 11%. I hypothesize that King Maxwells healing powers have strengthened it- there is no other logical conclusion. The question is is this a permanent increase or will it decrease as time goes by? Are you wearing the transmitter device I manufactured for you regularly?"

"Yes I am. I will continue to do so. This is interesting. If I forget remind me to have you scan me again in one week, that should be enough time to detect any changes."

Liz was musing on all this as she went back up to their Rooms. If Max can increase quickenings during healing that makes other possibilities something to think about. The transmitter only maintains your quickening or builds it to its original level. There must be a way to duplicate Max's power.

An hour later the Granolith was calling them that the Canadian Prime minister wanted to talk to them.

"I am offering the official apologies on behalf of the People of Canada to the Royal Family of Antar. We deeply regret this terrible act of violence. The people of Yellowknife wish for you to come back so that they can offer their personal regrets. I think this would be a good idea from a PR standpoint. This incident has helped with the acceptance of the settlement plan. The man who did it has been identified as a native who has suffered from mental problems for some years. Apparently he blamed all of his problems on Aliens damaging his mind. Needless to say he will spend the rest of his days in a mental institution. "

Max nodded. "We will indeed go back to Yellowknife as soon as possible. I hope they understand that from now on we will be traveling with Antarian Bodyguards."

"I am sure no one will object now. I think it goes without saying that you will have a much stronger escort from now on. The RCMP commander has asked me to render his apologies for his men not being able to act in time. "

Liz stepped forward. "Tell the RCMP commander that his men could not have been expected to be everywhere. Attempted assassinations are as old as time. Neither he nor they owe us an apology. I am ok and no permanent harm was done to anyone except the person responsible and he lost his hand. And will spend the rest of his life in a mental institution. I consider that sufficient punishment."

"Thank you for your generosity Queen Elizabeth. Contact us as soon as you are ready for the visit."

There had been several video camera's at the event and one had done a very good job of catching the attempted assassination. The video went world wide within 2 hrs of the incident. Many commented on how fast the Queen reacted. Some said she moved a lot faster than the RCMP people there and why was that? She was human; so were they; they were trained for this and she was not. Yet she took the only effective action. The reputation of the RCMP took a hit. Some saying they should change their motto to "We SOMETIMES get our man." The Canadian prime minister was quick to relay the Queens message that there were no apologies needed. Not on Canada's part nor on the RCMP. That seemed to help some.

The media attention on the Seacouver group had gradually lessened when it was seen that there really was not much for them to add as regards the Roswell aliens. Duncan's role as Liz's trainer in sword fighting got more attention after the incident in Canada, but it was not that great. His interview with Randi had done a lot to clear things up and had made them seem a lot less interesting—always a good thing as regards the media. After the interview, Randi told him that she knew that there was a lot more to the story, but that she also knew that after a few years of trying and coming up with nothing, that it was futile to pursue it. Duncan thanked her for her understanding, and promised to let her know if anything really happened, and he could tell her. She laughed at that and said that she would believe that when it happened—whatever he was into was so high security that he would never be able to tell her anything anyway. Duncan had smiled at that and told her that one never knew—he had not thought that the alien part would come out like it did either.

The incident in Canada did indeed have a positive effect, and opposition to the settlements steadily decreased. More countries were volunteering to host settlements, and that was considered a very good thing in that it would decrease the burden on Australia and Canada. On the other hand, it made things a lot more complicated with all the different cultures, governments and legal systems. Max had had to bring in a lot more Antarians into the process with the increasing number of countries involved; and it was getting to the point where they were falling behind in contacting them and setting up meetings. Liz finally told him that it looked like they were going to have to involve the UN in the process—neither was happy about that with another layer of bureaucracy involved, but they really did not have much choice. Even with all the help the US State Department had given them, more than a few of the countries involved did not have good relations with the US, so it was seen that UN involvement would be necessary.

Max contacted the UN General Secretary and asked for assistance. Immediate response followed, and he and Liz transported to NY and had a meeting with him the next day, two days after the incident. They took 4 Antarian bodyguards with them this time. The meeting went well, and they then went to talk to some of those that would be assigned to help them inside the UN. Liz had a list of the Antarians that they were going to use, and started to match them up with the countries that they would be assigned to.

While in NY, Liz decided that it would be a good idea to keep schmoozing the media, and Max agreed, so they stayed over for another day and did the rounds of the networks. Their return visit to Yellowknife would be the following day. Needless to say, the media was very interested in the incident and peppered both of them with questions about Max healing Liz, and for Liz, how was she able to sense the attack and be so ready when everyone else was caught by total surprise. Liz was able to deflect those questions by saying she noticed the person because he stood out with his scruffy clothing and general demeanor, and when she looked closer she could see the hate in his eyes and on his face. As regards the healing, Max simply said that he had to make a connection to the person, and they had to be conscious. Otherwise he could do nothing.

The next day they headed for Yellowknife flying on a US Air Force jet. Once again, the 4 Antarian bodyguards were with them and were noticeably staying closer. This surprised no one and was very much expected. The people of Yellowknife were very much up front about feeling that they owed them an apology, and Liz countered that by saying that no one can be responsible for what a mentally deranged person did—unless they knew he was going to cause trouble and did nothing about it. They admitted that he had been strange for years but had not harmed anyone. Liz then said it was just one of those things, and there was really no one to blame but the perpetrator. They then went out and looked at some sites suggested by locals for one of the settlements—about 20 miles outside of Yellowknife located near a small lake. There was level ground and not a whole lot of vegetation in the preliminary designated area. Both Max and Liz thought that the site was just fine, and said it was ok on their end. The Canadian Government representative then also signed off on it, and from that point on, it would be known as Settlement #1. Liz joked that that made one with only 399 to go. After a quick conversation with the Canadian Prime Minister, it was decided to give that information to the media.

The word that the first settlement had been designated got out quickly around the world, and competition seemed to heat up for more—countries by now realized that they would gain a lot as regards technology and cheap energy, and were now in full competition despite what their populations might think. As suspected, there was a lot more resistance in the heavily Muslim countries, and also in those with strong Hindu beliefs. Max and Liz had decided that they would avoid those countries if possible. Luckily so far, none of them had requested settlements. Though Egypt was reportedly thinking about it. They had the room and certainly needed cheap energy and technological advances. Liz had suggested that they quietly enquire just how serious they were and that they would work with them if possible. The poorer countries really needed the help, and they had decided that they would do their best for them even if there were no settlements. However, they also felt that that needed to be kept quiet for a while until they had all the settlements possible lined up. Their first priority had to be to make sure there were settlements for all of the population of Granular and Antar. Lord Lanar had asked to try and make all of Granular in one country—either Australia or Canada, and Max had promised to do his best. It was looking like it would be Australia.

Duncan had gotten a call from Connor that very much surprised him. Finding out that Rachel McLeod had visited New York and had decided to stop in at the Antique Shop surprised him as well. And from what he could read between the lines, something had started up between Connor and Rachel. Which was something that Duncan was very glad to hear—he thought that Connor truly needed to try and reach out and move away from his loner status. Duncan then called Rachel and asked her what she thought. He was relieved when she fully endorsed the budding relationship. She told Duncan that she was working on getting Connor to visit the Highlands. Something he had not done in hundreds of years.

Rachel had returned home to find that she really missed Connor. She had realized that something was starting up there but had no idea the impact leaving him would have. She also sensed that there was something about Connor that reminded her of Duncan—something beyond the fact that they were both McLeods. She got the feeling that Connor was much older then he appeared—the same feeling she got from Duncan. She also then found out that Duncan was somehow connect to the Roswell Aliens—and it had to do with Sword Fighting—and that he had taught the American-born Queen. The incident in Canada showed that she had learned well, too. Rachel just knew there was more to it than that—she just knew it. But what was it? If Duncan was the reincarnated original—or what if Duncan was THE original. That was something she had not really considered. Could he possibly be over 400 years old—that would explain the feelings she got from both of the McLeods.

One of Connor's questions had been about the possibility of having children. Duncan had told him everything—and had pointed out that they no longer needed to go to Antar. It could be done here on earth if you were willing to sleep for 9 months. Connor had not seemed enamored with either possibility. Though he seemed almost more willing to go to Antar then get podded. The fact that he was even considering it spoke volumes about what he was thinking as regards Rachel—and this after only a 3-day visit. Duncan decided to talk to Max and Liz. He was thinking that Rachel would have to be brought in on the Immortal Secret. Though he had a hunch she already knew something was very different about the McLeods.

Liz was quite happy to talk to Duncan about something outside of Aliens and the resettlement. She decided that a visit to Rachel and the Highlands would be a nice vacation for her and Max, whom she felt really needed to get away for a while. The real heavy lifting in getting things started had been done, and now it was a matter of lots of low level meetings and paperwork that really was not something he needed to be part of. The retooling and realignments on Antar and Granular were well under way and were going well. There was no reason they could not take a week or so off and get away from it all. The Highlands of Scotland seemed a very good choice for that. Telling this to Duncan got quite a reaction from him—he thought it was a very good idea. He then told her that he would talk to Connor.

Liz made it quite clear that any visit to the Highlands would be done as just Max and Liz, not the King and Queen of Antar. From what Duncan said about the Inn, that would work quite well. The Antarian bodyguards were not happy, but admitted that as long as no one knew who they were, it should be safe enough. Duncan had decided that Amanda needed to see his homeland ,and they would bring the twins. Joe and Rebecca of course would be coming as both watchers and God Parents.

One thing that had been debated was whether to tell anyone else on earth that they were coming. Telling anyone risked it getting out—but on the other hand, it would be the courteous thing to do. Max decided to talk direct to President Bush about it. He listened, then told Max he would talk to a couple of people and see what they thought—he would consider letting the British Prime Minister know. About 2 hours later, he called back and told Max that contacting the British Prime Minister would be a good move. Other than that, keep it quiet. They arranged for a conference call with the President and Prime Minister the next day. Max and Liz would pop in to the White House quietly, and then talk to the Prime Minister.

The meeting went well. The Prime Minister decided to have a unit of the SAS locate nearby but not at the Inn, and would be on call. Max and Liz would take a special transmitter with them that could only be heard by them. The visit then was set for 3 days from then.

Duncan, Amanda, the twins and Joe and Rebecca arrived the day before Max and Liz did. Rebecca had called Cynthia and let her know that she would stand in as Liz's watcher. Joe would double for both Duncan and Amanda.

Captain Williams of the SAS was a little puzzled by his mission. Bodyguard duty was not usually the SAS mission, though technically this was only a 'surveillance and respond if necessary' mission. Though he had to admit it was certainly different than most of the missions he had had in the five years he had been with the SAS. His team was a very experienced and established group, and he was quite confident that they could handle anything coming up. Since the King and Queen were not traveling officially, and were in a part of Scotland that was not exactly tourist central, it seemed safe enough. The incident in Canada was a troubling one, but that had happened because the crazy man had known they were coming.

Max and Liz had decided to transport right to the Inn—or nearby anyway. Duncan had brought the transmitter from Seacouver just in case, and they could use it to home in on. The greeting from their friends was gratifying and low key, which suited them just fine. Calm and quiet and non-surprising sounded real good to them.

Liz immediately got together with Amanda and Rebecca, and quizzed them on the kids. Max rolled his eyes and went to look around the Inn with Joe and Duncan. Rachel was surprised to see him, then figured out what was going on—or so she thought.

"Come to check on me for Connor, am I right?"

"Now Rachel, you have only known Connor for a few days, and you really thing he would do that?"

"Maybe. It's more likely then that you are checking up on me. Wondering if I am getting in too deep with your cousin."

"Maybe. But I do know that he had not shown this much interest in a woman for a long time, and while that part is good, I am not totally sure it's good for you. Connor is very much a lone wolf and very set in his ways. It would not be easy for you—and that is not even counting on the distance factor. Sooner or later, one of you would have to move. I think Connor would do so, but what would he do here? It's not like this would be a good place for a high end antique shop."

"It's early days to be worrying about that, Duncan. Though I admit those are valid concerns."

"True, it is early. And I really wanted to show Amanda where I came from."

"Ah, so you finally admit that you are the Highlander."

"Rachel. You know very well what I meant."

"Keep it up, Duncan, and someday I might believe you."

Max found the Inn and surrounding countryside very relaxing and beautiful. Having grown up in dry Roswell, the climate and terrain and growth was very different. Antar was fairly benign as regards weather, more like Roswell only wetter. So the Highlands of Scotland was a great change.

The next day, Liz and Duncan and Amanda went out into the countryside to practice. Duncan, from his last visit, knew of a clear field only a mile away that was not frequented by many and would suit them fine. Joe and Rebecca of course came along. Max found himself stuck babysitting by a smirking Liz.

Liz had not had a chance to spar for quite a while, and found she was indeed rusty. Amanda put her down twice in just the first few minutes. Duncan kept up a litany of her mistakes that quickly ticked her off—which was what he wanted. Liz getting ticked off meant that she got harder and meaner and more determined and focused.

Captain Williams did not know what to think. And most of his team was just as surprised and puzzled. They had been keeping surveillance on the Royals and had identified the friends they met there as being from Seacouver and well known to them. So seeing them practice with swords was not that surprising; seeing Duncan's wife (while Amanda was considering Duncan's wish to get married—she so far had not said yes—but they had decided to put it out that they were indeed married) and the Queen going at it like they were was a totally different thing. This was real—not playacting. They were cutting each other and trying to kill each other—and their wounds were healing in minutes. And the King, who was known to be able to heal, was back at the Inn with the McLeods' children; being watched by part of the team.

After Liz got mad, she got better and started to take the fight to Amanda and was able to take her down a couple of times. After about 20 minutes, they called a halt to catch their breath—they had pushed each other very hard. Duncan then started his warm-up routine and told Liz that she was next. Liz gave him the finger which had Amanda laughing out loud.

Captain Williams thought that the women had been pretty impressive, but what Duncan McLeod showed just warming up was a whole different league. Master swordsman seemed almost insufficient.

Miles Wilson had been Immortal for almost 200 years; not quite a headhunter, he did take advantage of every opportunity. He also had a typical old time Englishman's contempt for the barbaric Scots, and he particularly had an intense dislike of Highlanders—and one in very much hatred for Duncan McLeod who he thought had gotten an undeserved reputation. And now with his friendships with the Aliens, he was even famous. As he walked past the Statue, he had a desire to locate some explosives and blow it up. He was ticked off enough to turn away and walk into the woods to calm down. He found a trail and began to walk down it. He still did not know why he had decided to come up here—just seemed like somehow a good idea which he was already regretting. As he walked into the woods for a while he came to a clearing and was astonished to hear the clang of swords.

Captain Williams was alerted by one of his men that someone was coming close. He was a little ticked off since watching Duncan spar with both the women at the same time was something to see. The Queen had actually done quite well in her short session, but of course McLeod had won rather quickly. Then both of the women decided that they needed to work together to give him a good workout. They were pushing hard, but he was able to counter quite well.

Miles realized that that was Duncan McLeod sparing with two women. He did not recognize either one (he had only read about the aliens and the rest—he did not like TV and only watched it when he had no other choice—civilized people read the London Times and nothing else). He thought it was time that someone taught the Highlander a lesson, and he was the one to do it.

All three of them felt the buzz at the same time and turned towards the source. They saw a sandy haired man, about 6 ft tall and standard of build, walking towards them with his sword out.

"My name is Miles Wilson, and I challenge you, Duncan McLeod."

Duncan looked at Liz and Amanda, and they shrugged and moved off to the side. McLeod raised his sword and said, "So let's get to it"

Captain Williams did not know what to do. He was supposed to be protecting the Royals, but they were not involved. This new man had challenged McLeod, and he had a sinking feeling that that meant a fight to the death. He realized that realistically he should have his team step in and stop it—but while he was thinking about it, they had started.

Miles was feeling confident as he started—he knew he was good.

Duncan as usual when he knew nothing about his opponent started cautiously and on the defensive. Wilson was good, no doubt about it, but was he good enough?

Joe and Rebecca who had been watching from one side of the forest were totally surprised at the challenge. Rebecca asked him what he thought as the battle began.

"Never heard of him. Which might mean nothing—but usually the top ones get well known one way or another. Depends on his age."

At that moment, Wilson's watcher, James Dicken showed up. He knew that Joe Dawson was Duncan McLeod's watcher so he knew who Wilson was fighting. Joe greeted him and asked how good was Wilson.

"He is good—but not as good as he thinks he is. I really doubt he is a match for the Highlander. He hates Scots and is jealous of McLeod's reputation—so that is what this is all about. I guess it will depend on whether McLeod lets him keep his head or not."

Duncan had gotten the measure of Wilson after a few minutes and was not particularly impressed. He decided to pick up the pace.

Wilson was not feeling as confident as he had. McLeod had played defense and now was attacking, and he was having a hard time countering.

Duncan had him off balance and made his move, slashing right, cutting left and then stabbing Wilson right in the stomach as he overextended himself blocking the left cut.

Wilson had never before taken a serious wound, and the pain had him on his knees, dropping his sword and putting both hands over his wound.

Duncan stood over him. "I have nothing personal against you Wilson; if you agree to leave and never come near me and my own again, I will let you keep your head."

Wilson looked up at him and spat on his shoes. "Go to hell, Highlander."

Duncan shook his head. "So be it." And he cut off his head.

Captain Williams could not believe his eyes. The highlander had cut of the other man's head. Just like that. The wound he had taken would have killed him anyway—but why had McLeod said he would let him live. He was trying to figure out what to do when it started. Lightning started to fly from the headless corpse and hit the Highlander—bolts of Lightning! And the sky was clear and sunny! It went on and on knocking the Highlander down and causing him to groan and grunt. And then it was over.

Captain Williams decided that he needed to get drunk. Or at the very least have a few stiff ones. How was he going to write up his report? After the fight and the lightning or whatever it was, the Queen had quietly walked up to where he and some of his men were in concealment and asked to speak to him. He felt a little put out that she apparently had known exactly where they were the entire time. She then told him that he needed to speak to Joe Dawson before he wrote his report. And then brought him over.

Liz had known the SAS would be nearby and knew also that they would write up a report of some kind on the events of that afternoon. It was not hard to figure out where they were—and after the quickening had finished with Duncan, she walked over to Joe and told him about the SAS. He shook his head and said that was a problem—she told him that she would talk to them, and that after that, he needed to let the Captain in on Immortals. Joe looked at her in shock—she pointed out that their reports are as highly classified as any in the world, and what choice did they really have? Either tell them or have them speculating on what really happened. This way, it would buy them some time, and with the amount of influence the Watcher's had, it might be enough to get this quietly filed away somewhere. Joe thought about that and had to admit that she had a point. He muttered that for a secret society, the Watchers were getting pretty open. Liz tweaked him by pointing out that the Watchers had in fact been very lucky for a long time, and they had to expect this sooner or later. And Joe had to admit that she had another point.

Captain Williams decided that his report would go straight to the PM and bypass all other officials—which technically he could probably do, but it would be really annoying to the SAS brass. But this report had things in it that had world wide—frankly galaxy wide—implications. Immortals on earth. And the Queen of Antar was one of them. Joe had told the Captain most of the story—and had then stressed that the report needed to go to the PM and no one else. And the Captain had to agree with that.

After they got back to the Inn, Liz filled in Max on what happened. He wanted to get in touch with the PM right away, but Liz told him that the report would not go in for a few days, and they needed the vacation. Wilson's body was quietly buried by the SAS team who frankly felt that they really did not want to know anyway.

Liz then went to Duncan and suggested that since things were kind of shaking loose that they might as well go the whole hog, get Connor over here, and let Rachel in on the secret. Duncan was not so sure, but Amanda was—she felt that Rachel deserved to know in any event, and that from her reading of the young woman, she was not going to let Connor walk away even if he felt he should. Duncan asked Joe and Rebecca for their input, and Rebecca agreed with Amanda; Joe felt that Rachel was someone who was going to find out sooner or later. Duncan bowed to the inevitable and called up Connor.

Connor was a little puzzled by the phone call from Duncan—he wanted Connor to catch the next plane out to the Highlands. Duncan was quick to reassure him that nothing was wrong—but that events had taken place that would probably lead to Rachel knowing about Immortals anyway, and he should be here for that. When pressed for details, Duncan merely said that he had had to take a head, and while Rachel had not seen, it she would probably find out about it fairly soon. Connor was a little uncertain about whether he wanted to pull Rachel into the Immortal world, but since it looked like it would happen anyway, he wanted to be there. He had finally been able to admit—after Rachael had prodded him some—that Rachel McLeod had gotten under his skin—and it had been a very long time since that had happened. And now with the possibility of having children—he knew that that temptation was one he would have a very hard time indeed walking away from.

The PM got the report two days after it happened—when told it was eyes only for him, he knew something had happened and thought it had alien ramifications; he was stunned by what he read. And even more stunned when a representative of the Royal Family told him that the Queen needed to talk to him. She informed him that the ruler of the British Empire usually had known about Immortals for several hundred years and that it was the most closely held secret that the Royal Family had. And not all Kings and Queens were told—Mad King George had not been told, but the Prince had; one senior member of the Royal Family would know if it was decided that the ruler should not be told. And then the PM was told about the Watchers. After all this, he felt the need for a really strong drink.

Liz and the others were glad that the rest of their visit was quiet in comparison. Connor arrived the next day, and after a long talk with Duncan and the others, decided to tell Rachel everything. Connor's watcher was able to arrive just after him and was taken aside by Joe and informed of what was going on. Connor's watcher had been with him for almost 20 years and was glad to see him coming out of his shell. Though the whole alien theme still had him off balance. Joe told him not to worry too much about the alien part; that was actually simple compared to Immortal problems.

Rachel McLeod stood at her window on the top floor of the inn and contemplated what Connor McLeod had told and shown her that afternoon. Immortals. Aliens she could just barely accept, but Immortals really threw her. She knew that she had fallen in love with Connor the day she got back to the INN and realized that none of that meant anywhere near what it had before her trip. She had always known that she wanted children badly and the fact that now there was a way for Immortals to have children comforted her greatly. But it was still a lot to wrap her mind around.

Liz, Amanda and Rebecca had discussed what they would tell Rachel (they knew without a doubt that Rachel would want to know more than Connor told her); as usual, it seemed Liz got the short straw. She went up to Rachel's room about an hour after Connor had brought her back from showing and telling.

Rachel turned to look at the door as someone knocked on it. While part of her wanted to be alone, another part did not want to be alone with the thoughts she now had in her head. She told whoever it was to come in and was a little surprised to see that it was Liz (who had made it quite clear that she was just Liz and nothing else).

Liz came in the room and assessed Rachel. She figured that Rachel was just beginning to believe what was happening and would probably need someone to talk to.

"I take it that Immortals and such are not what you really expected, even though from what Duncan said, you had an inkling anyway."

"I thought I did. But now I think I was not really a believer. Not like I am now—or at least trying to be."

Liz nodded to herself—pretty much what she had thought. Well time to show her that she is not alone.

Rachel blinked. The Queen of Antar was an Immortal?

Liz recognized that look on Rachel's face. She then looked over at a desk and saw a letter opener. She walked over to it, picked it up to show Rachel, then cut her arm.

Rachel watched the blue sparks wind around the wound and close it and heal it without a scar. While Connor had told her, he had not demonstrated it. Seeing it is not like being told about it.

"That was just to show you that it's not a gigantic hoax. Now I am here to answer any questions that you might have. You will get a lot more information out of me then you will get from either Duncan or Connor."

"Just for the Record, Amanda and I are Immortals as well. She is over 1000 years old. I am just a little over 20, but have been immortal since my shooting four years ago. Since I was on Antar for a while I have aged a year or so—actually probably about 2 years total—which I have no problem with, since being stuck at age 16 was not something I really wanted."

Rachel just looked at her—she did manage to keep her mouth from gaping open.

"I was shot—I think you have heard the public story—what you do not know was that I died at the hospital, but due to an airhead nurse not hooking up monitors correctly, no one knew. Which was a good thing in those circumstances. Immortals can sense other pre-immortals if they are old enough and are close enough. Duncan just happened to be in Roswell and just happened to pass by close enough to catch my pre-immortal buzz as I passed him in the ambulance going to the hospital. Now, one would have to think that that kind of multiple coincidences are hard to swallow—and I agree. Duncan NEVER had any interest in aliens, New Mexico, Roswell, etc. Yet, he just happened to be in exactly the right place at the right time. It's like how Immortals come about—there are no mothers or fathers; we just appear as newborn babies out of the blue. Now the Granolith has figured out how to duplicate the energy of the Quickening—but look how advanced it had to be to do that, and it admitted that it was not easy even for it. So frankly, someone or something has been up to tricks for thousands of years. The fact that the Granolith, a machine, can duplicate the energy kind of takes us away from the Idea that God has something to do with this—or if He does, he is using contractors. My personal opinion is that a higher being, not necessarily God, had arranged this somehow. Using energy and powers that we only recently have hints of. Purpose: who knows? I would like to believe that there was a good reason, but this whole game part—the Prize Part anyway—argues more for someone who was bored and decided to play with so called lower beings. Starts things off and sets up a mechanism to keep it up, then sits back and laughs as we screw it up. Immortals could have done so much for mankind over the millennia, yet instead, we concentrate on cutting off each other's heads. Add to all that the fact that I just happen to fall in love and he with me an exiled king of another planet who did not even know he was a king—and do not get me started on all the strange happenings THERE—and now they have to come to earth because of a Rogue Dwarf Star—and even the experts on Antar are totally puzzled on how THAT happened—and more and more you get the idea we are playing in someone else's sandbox."

Rachel sat down. And stared at her. "Wow. This is a lot to get my brain around. But you certainly make a good argument that we are being played. That list of coincidences has to be so far out of the odds that billions or trillions to one probably does not even come close. I have always believed that there is more out there then we can see, feel and touch. That there is more than us—much more. All that I have found out just recently just screams it now. I also know that I cannot hide my head in the sand and not be part of it. I want to be with Connor, and hopefully he wants to be with me. And whatever I have to do to make it work, I will do."

Liz nodded. "From all that Duncan has said about Connor, he has not allowed himself to get involved for a very long time. The fact that he has made the steps he has taken so far is huge. So he is very interested but fears loss and that you might get hurt. That is a tough one to beat, but you just have to be persistent. Don't give up, don't get discouraged; show him you are in for the long haul and that is that. Now that children is possible for Immortals, you also have that to look forward to—and it's very important to Connor as well. So one of his reasons for walking away is gone. Don't let him find any more."

"I won't. As a matter of fact, I am going to find him and attack him right now. Hopefully we will be indisposed for some time."

Liz grinned. "Now that is a plan."

Connor was standing by the Highlander statue. Musing on the strange happenings of the last few months. He felt someone coming up and turned to see Rachel coming towards him with a very determined look on her face. He was still uncertain—not of his feelings, but of the possible results.

"Ok, Connor, I just had a nice long talk with Liz. There is a place I want to show you, just down an old trail. It's part of yours and my history. And hopefully a part of our future."

Duncan watched Rachel lead his cousin down an old path that he knew about from his last visit. There was an old cabin, very old, that Rachel had kept up as original but told very few about. He had a hunch they would not see the two of them for quite a while, and that made him happy. He badly wanted his cousin to have what he had. He felt an arm come around his waist, and he pulled Amanda in closer. She could just barely see Rachel and Connor going down the path.

"Good for her. Liz told me that she had decided to take the first big step. Because we all know Connor would not."

"Now Amanda, he has very good reasons for being cautious."

"Bullcrap."

Duncan looked at her.

"Head in the sand and hope it goes away is no way to live. Connor is about to find out differently. This is a good thing. And from someone who up to a few years ago was about as self absorbed as possible, you better remember that."

"That was a façade, Amanda. I have always known that. Many are fooled, but not me."

"When you were young and stupid, you were."

"We are all young and stupid at one time or another."

"Watch out, Duncan; you are starting to sound like Darius."

"I could do much worse."

"If you try and become a Monk, I am outta here."

"If you have nothing else to do, I think I can persuade you that THAT is not very likely."

"So far, all I hear is talk, Highlander."

Connor and Rachel did not come back until the next morning and were greeted by a fair number of smirks and innuendo. Connor just gave them a blank look while Rachel had a smile that would have taken a hammer and chisel to remove. Joe had gotten a call back from the Watchers that the PM had been briefed in, and that so far, it looked like that report would get filed and forgotten. And Captain Williams and two of his team had expressed interest in becoming watchers.

Duncan and Connor had a long talk and then went to Liz and Max. Connor wanted to come to Antar for as long as was needed to be able to have children. Rachel had already spoken to Liz about it, but Connor was a little more formal then Duncan. Liz of course was overjoyed and quite happy to have more friends on Antar. Rachel then began to make arrangements for another cousin to run the Inn while she was gone. She told Liz that she and Connor had not yet figured out where they would settle down. He liked NY but was quite willing to come back to the Highlands. Rachel felt that they could compromise and maybe stay half the year in each place. Liz felt that that was a great idea, and more than likely down the road, they would end up in one or the other.

When it was time to leave, Duncan and his group left for the airport while Max, Liz, the children, Connor and Rachel got transported to Antar via the Granolith. Rachel settled in right away helping with the children and working on the settlements. Connor found that his expertise in antiques came in handy since it had been decided that the most valuable objects on Antar would be transported to Crevar where they would be stored until a new planet was found. Max had Connor be the impartial judge when the committee appointed to pick what would be saved from what would be left to be destroyed could not agree. Connor was somewhat surprised how polite even the heated arguments stayed.

Time seemed to fly by as the preparations on Earth, Granular and Antar moved ahead. The settlements had been established in a total of 87 countries. Far more than originally hoped or planned, but that was how it worked out. 52 countries had just one; 11 had 2; 6 had 3; 4 had 4; 3 had 5; 2 had 6; 1 had 8, 1 had 9; 1 had 10; 1 had 11; 1 had 12; The US had 30; Russia had 30; Canada had 55 and Australia had 100 (Granular). The fact that this had only taken a little over 6 months astounded just about everyone. With the settlement positions established, preparation began immediately. Mostly, it was clearing land and leveling ground; more would have to wait until the first ships arrived from Antar. They were due in another 5 months. They would bring the first parts of the power plants that would be required. The schedule had been moved up as ships were being built faster then had originally been planned. It was now thought that the necessary 120 ships would be finished a full 4 months earlier than had been hoped. And there was some thought that that schedule would be improved upon if some changes worked out as hoped. This extra ability allowed Max to start moving equipment earlier then had been scheduled. The initial settlements would be started in Australia and Canada, then the poorest and most needy countries would come next. It was thought that that would help those countries as soon as possible. Countries like Mongolia and Chad and Somalia badly needed all the help they could get. With virtually free power that had no pollution worth mentioning, it was a good bet that those countries would finally start to develop.

There was approximately 25 months to go before Granular and Antar would be destroyed; the uncertainty of just when it would happen depended on what kind of velocity was going to be imparted upon the Rogue Dwarf by the Pegasus star itself. No one had any real idea, and so the actual date would probably vary about a week or so. Due to the projected path, it really did not make much difference—the Rogue would be moving right down the line of the two planets orbit around Pegasus, so a week made no difference at all.

Liz had been surprised a little when Grace had told her that she and Methos had decided to have another child. The way Methos was about losing his Quickening once, Liz had thought he would not do it again. Still, she was very happy, and with Grace around, Liz found time to once again get into Microbiology and the like. Extensive research was going into finding out what the difference Earth would make on Antarians and Granularians who would be staying for years. While the Granolith felt very confident that it had already identified all the energy and biological differences, Liz was not so sure and wanted to look at it all in a little more detail. The Scout ships had been unable to come up with any other viable planets and it looked like there was little hope of finding one anytime soon. Max directed them to now start looking farther away and in previously uncharted and unknown systems, more with an eye for a permanent home in the future. It was out there—they just had to find it.

Things had finally settled down as much as it ever was on Earth as regards to the coming migration. With many countries now eager for the benefits of alien migration, that particular problem was long gone; now it was the hard work of finding ways to compromise and fit in totally different systems and cultures that would be right next to each other. In the US, the settlements would be in Utah, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. And indeed one would be near Roswell. Max had decreed that that would be the temporary capital of Antar. Lord Lanar had decreed that the first settlement of Katherine, Australia would be the Granular temporary capital.

By the first year mark, ground had been broken on all the settlements, and the first ships had reached Earth. Due to the dangers of the interstellar drive, the engine rooms of the ships would stay in orbit while the rest of the ship, using backup power and anti gravity drive, was to land on the ground. That still made an impressive site as the part of the ship that landed was still over 600 feet long and 400 feet in diameter. 10 ships made the first trip a full 5 months earlier then hoped. 10 more would be following in 4 months; then the big move 4 months later when 20 would come. By the time that group appeared, all the power plant equipment would be in place in all the settlements. The first full-time refugees would come in the fourth group of 40 ships. It had been decided that trying to move everyone at the end was not a great idea, and the migration would begin a full year earlier. The fifth group of 40 ships would bring a full one third of the population. That would leave the last group of ships making their third run to bring everyone else. It was now thought that the evacuation would be complete a full 3 months before the worlds were destroyed.

The settlements were very similar: using advanced materials and technology, 300 foot high buildings each capable of holding 5000 people were put up very quickly. Each covered the equivalent of 4 city blocks and 200 of them only took up half of the available ground. The support and service facilities covered the rest of the ground. Each settlement was totally self-sufficient as regards power. Advanced evaporators and desalinators for those near salt water furnished the necessary water. Enough food would be brought to last a full year; already some crops were being planted in the areas around the settlements. As was planed for the first year, there would be no draw on Earth's resources.

The areas around the settlements were quickly becoming boom towns. With free power and advanced technology readily available, expenses for businesses were very low. Manufacturing plants were going up already. Max had decreed that when possible, the poorest areas would have their settlements given priority. Chad, Somalia, and Haiti were some of the earliest ones built. Even before completion, it was seen that the settlements were helping the poorest of the poor. Free advanced healthcare, immensely improved sanitary conditions, clean water, and sewage treatment plants all contributed to a much more healthy local population. With the work on the local soil to improve crop yields, food would soon become relatively plentiful and cheap. Areas that had no industry or jobs began to get them; the local economies prospered.

With 18 months to go, the first large waves of refugees arrived. Most of the world watched the huge ships move into orbit, and the forward areas separate from the drive section. Then slowly and with great dignity, the huge parts left slowly landed on earth. Thousands of pods were removed from the ships and placed in temporary buildings for the people to be removed. Then the empty pods were reloaded on the sections that were then sent back to orbit to rendezvous with the drive sections. Then the huge ships left for their next trip. Almost 40 million came on the first section. The next section would come in 6 months and have 80 million. The third wave would be the biggest as all but the last ships would be involved and that would have 160 million on it. The last group would have 120 million. It had been decided to keep building the ships since the needed 120 had been build much more quickly then even the earlier estimates had expected. A total of 200 ships would be built. That allowed a lot more food and raw materials to be brought from the two planets and the asteroid belts in the Pegasus system. And in the future, when they finally found the new planet, that would make it easier to move again. And in the meantime, they would be available for interstellar trade which was starting to look quite profitable.

Keeping this whole vast enterprise running smoothly was an immense undertaking. The initial board had delegated to supervisors; who then had to delegate downwards, and so on. A fairly big bureaucracy had inevitably come into being despite the best efforts by many to keep it as small as possible. The one good thing about the worlds ending is that the bureaucracy could not become entrenched. Max had made sure that once everyone left the two planets, most of the paper pushers would have to do something else. Michael had a few creative suggestions, as did Kyle.

Liz had inevitably found herself the chief counselor and mediator as regards keeping friction to a minimum between all concerned parties. Max was tied up just keeping everything in motion, and while all the group were heavily involved, so much of it seemed to need the official Royal Touch to keep small problems from growing into major concerns. So she found herself shuttling back and forth from Antar to Earth and all around both planets. At the 18-month date, Maria put her foot down and confronted both Max and Liz.

"All right, you two, it's time for another vacation. In case you have not noticed, it's been about 8 months since your last one, and that one was interrupted. You need to take time off, and rest and recuperate, and get to know your kids better. I have already talked to the others and the President and Prime Ministers, and they all agree, and if you say no now, we'll be raising hell tomorrow. So get your tails out of here somewhere in the next 48 hours, and take a week off. Everything is going pretty smoothly right now, and any little petty squabbles can be handled by someone else."

Max and Liz looked at each other and reluctantly agreed. Maria was right—they badly needed some time off. Liz leaned back and thought. Rachel had just told Liz the day before that she was pregnant and that Connor was over the moon. Spending time with their family and friends looked really good right now. Grace was also pregnant, due in 4 months. Richie and Courtney were also expecting their next one. So it was decided to arrange for the Inn to be vacant and for all of them to head there for a week. One interesting development was in regards to Cassandra; she had met Constantine, and they had clicked. Duncan was of the opinion that they were quite well matched. Cassandra had talked to Duncan who had in turn talked to Liz, and she had arranged for them to stay on Antar for the needed time to remove their quickening. And of course, both of them became involved in the relocation proceedings. Constantine had a natural command nature, and Cassandra had the knack of figuring out why people acted the way they did, and was very good at nipping things in the bud. Max was happy for all the help he could get.

The British Prime Minister got the word that the Antarian Royals and their immortal friends would be in the Scottish Highlands for a week. He promptly pulled back the SAS detachment that had gone with Max and Liz and had it doubled. And ordered both MI5 and MI6 to monitor things at a distance. He really wanted this vacation to be completely quiet; unlike the last one.

Duncan looked up at the statue of the Highlander and shook his head. Methos was still giving him a hard time about it. Connor was of the opinion that if it was one of Duncan, then the so called artist had to have been drunk at the time.

Rachel walked up beside him and nudged him. Duncan looked at her.

"Now, just ignore that piece of rock. It's not a very good likeness, I agree, but it's the thought that counted. You are the Highlander, and that's that."

"I just hope it never gets around about us. It's damn embarrassing as it is."

"Go on with you. Take it like a Highlander." And of course she burst into laughter at that.

Duncan groaned and looked at Connor. "For someone who said he would never allow a woman to run his life, I notice Rachel has you on a short leash."

Connor smiled. A warm and content smile that Duncan had never seen on his cousin's face until just recently. "I said a great many foolish things when I was young and stupid."

Methos and a very pregnant Grace were slowly walking around the grounds of the Inn. They had found out early on that she was carrying twins and was therefore a lot bigger then she had been the previous time at that stage. Grace was very amused by the mother hen that had come out in Methos; as were all the others. Joe and Richie especially had a series of running jokes about it. They considered this a heaven sent opportunity to even many old scores with Methos. A chicken head and a rooster costume kept popping up around Methos, and it did no good to get rid of them as more kept appearing.

Isabel was expecting another child about the same time as Grace was; and Tess had just told everyone that she was expecting again as well. Maria flat out said that two was enough for them and Michael was in total agreement. Liz was a little wistful, but knew another child was NOT something they really needed to deal with right now; but she was determined to have another one sometime in the future. Cynthia had just had her second child, and Charlie was positively gooey over their young daughter. Duncan got a great deal of amusement out of that.

With the reinforced SAS detachment close at hand and the other services nearby, it had been tacitly agreed that no one was going to be allowed up the hill anywhere near the Inn. The SAS detachment particularly wanted no strangers to come by; the other detachments were a little puzzled by the vehemence they got about that. They got no satisfaction about the reasons why.

Liz had had barely the time to practice her KATA recently let alone spar, so she and Amanda got right down to it the first day at the inn. After getting skewered twice and dumped on her tail three times, Liz got mad and started to do better. Whereupon which Amanda then got Connor to spar with her. That was fun for the other immortals to watch since Connor had never spared with a woman and had never had to really fight one either. His natural gallantry, while not as apparent as Duncan's, was just as strong, and he found himself quickly on the defensive from a warmed up and determined Liz.

The Newbies on the SAS detachment had been quietly filled in on things, but the looks on their faces as the Immortals spared was priceless to the old hands. Methos and Duncan were going at it pretty well, and Liz was giving Connor fits with her quickness and sneaky moves. Amanda sat back and critiqued everyone to her great enjoyment.

Maria stopped by and watched it for a minute.

"It's just not a normal day without blood, guts, swordplay and snarky comments."

A puffing Liz finally put down her sword and got a salute from Connor. "Aye Lass, you do quite well."

She looked at Maria. "Can't let a day go by without a little evisceration and amputation."

Liz found that the time at the Inn was just what she needed. She had not realized how tight she had been wound until she was able to relax and take stock. She knew that Max had probably needed it even more then she did—he had a tendency to take the world on his shoulders. They both needed time together and with their children to remember why they did what they did. Being with their family and friends—and Liz pretty much felt that that was interchangeable—was the best possible vacation.

The Captain of the scout ship looked at his science officer. "Another one?"

"Yes sir. The atmosphere has too much ozone and methane for us to withstand. Add to that it's a very dry planet and realistically even transforming it would be a huge undertaking. We would have to chase down comets with a tremendous amount of ice and have them diverted to hit the planet. The consequences to its stability after several of those hit could be extreme. It's possible it would hold together and then we could plant various species that over time would change the atmosphere to one we could live in. But that would take decades."

The captain sighed and shook his head. This planet from a long range scan had looked promising; the first one they had come across in their new mission to find a planet for Antarians and Granularians to settle on. The other two scout ships had been checking out systems in the next quadrant; they had reported back that no planets had been found that were habitable. The Captain knew that they would find a planet sooner or later; but they had hoped to find one sooner. The number of planets of the class they were looking for was limited; it had to be close enough to the local sun to have liquid water; had to have a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere; and had to be uninhabited by sentient species. So far they had found 3 that were at the right range but all three had unacceptable atmospheres. The last one was also too dry. Atmospheres could be changed but it would take decades for plants to do so. He did not like it, but once again, the monthly report to the King would be one that had no good news.

Lord Lanar looked over the latest reports on the preparations for the great migration (as the people here called it). The construction of the ships was going better than anyone had a reason to hope for, and they were almost at the original number of 120 already; it looked like they would be able to get 200 by the time they stopped construction 45 days before the rogue Dwarf Star hit. The schedule had been worked so that the last ship would be completed and ready to leave on that date. King Maxwell had wanted to make sure that everyone had left a minimum of 60 days prior to the destruction of both worlds but had been prevailed upon to take it a little closer to the end. The first large group had already landed on earth and were busy finishing their settlements. The next group was on its way and the third and biggest group was even now starting to get ready to load on board the ships. After that, there would be one more large convoy, and the last would be relatively small and consist basically of all those that had been working on the ships, pods and the like. King Maxwell had made it clear that he and the Royal Family would leave AFTER the last of the people left. They would of course use the Granolith which would then transport itself to Earth. And when there, it would go back to the same cavern it had waited in for the Royal Four to find it. Roswell was already expanding, and the settlement outside of it was more than half done. Lord Lanar had been interested in the way the locals there had adapted to the change in reality; if it had been what Max called a Tourist Trap before, it was well beyond that now.

Sheriff Valenti looked at the latest report and sighed. While he was glad that Kyle and Tess and the rest of them would be back to stay in Roswell in less than 18 months, he was not glad about the consequences of everything else that went with it. Roswell had expanded by almost half in the last year and a half since it had been chosen as the temporary capital of Antar. The settlement outside of town was about 2/3 done or close to it; needless to say, as a tourist attraction, it had few peers anywhere in the world at this time. He had expanded his force by half and would need to expand it again as much to keep the lid on. Luckily, the increased tax revenues and other sources of money had made expanding city services a relatively easy thing. At least from the monetary side anyway. And the new power plant would be going online within the next month, and energy costs would be reduced drastically. But the new schools needed were just now being completed; they had had to bring in trailers for classrooms. And he was frankly of the opinion that they would need to expand again. He saw no end in sight for the continued growth of the town and immediate area, and thought that the city planners were being naïve to think that once the settlement was fully running growth would slow down. He put the report down and decided to go to the Crashdown for lunch. Jeff and Nancy had bought the other building that shared the site and had expanded them into a full restaurant and had still kept the original diner as it was. The Restaurant was called the Station; and of course was wildly popular with the tourists; almost as popular as the original Crashdown. Jeff had had to make it into a reservation only diner to go along with the restaurant—the only way to keep control. Outside of the immediate families of the original group, everyone else had to schedule in advance. Nancy had hoped that that would slow things down, but so far, it had not.

Jeff looked up as the Sheriff came into the Crashdown; the doorman had let him know he was coming. Outside of the few that were family and close friends, hardly anyone else that permanently lived in Roswell came into the diner anymore due to having to use a reservation system to keep it from being mobbed by tourists. Even the Restaurant saw very few locals despite the fact that the food there was very good and reasonably priced. While still alien themed, it was much lower key and more elegant. It was modeled to a certain extent on one of the restaurants on Antar which was also a big reason it was so popular.

"Hi, Sheriff. Your usual, or do you want to be different?"

"The Usual. It's nice to have something you can count on not changing."

"I hear that. Well, it will only take a few minutes. So anything new going on?"

"So far, things are going pretty well and no surprises. It's just that as fast as Roswell is growing, we are going to have growing pains. I keep having to expand my force, and it's never fun interviewing prospects and having to weed out those that might cause trouble down the line. Especially with the situation as it's going to be in the next year or so. Finding officers who just want to do their job and not obsess with the alien situation is not easy. Too many are star struck and just want to be here because of that. I want people who I can count on after things start to die down."

"Sounds about what I have to deal with keeping help here and in the restaurant. So many just want to spend some time here and say they worked here, and then leave. I am lucky I have good cooks since I am going through waitresses really fast. It's gotten bad enough on occasion that I almost need to ask Liz and Maria to help out when they visit. I actually think they would have fun doing it, but it's just not right."

"Can't have the Queen of Antar and her lady in waiting slinging hash, can we?"

"HEY. We do not serve hash."

Cynthia was working on Liz's chronicle as she spared with Amanda again after going up against Connor the previous day. She was interested to note that Liz seemed to be able to shake off her rust pretty fast when she wanted to. Getting her riled just seemed to make her meaner and nastier and sneakier; a good trait to have for an Immortal. Even an Immortal Queen who always had bodyguards around her anymore. After the incident in Canada, the Royal Bodyguards had made it clear that the King and Queen would NOT go unaccompanied again. So the likelihood of her having to accept a challenge was pretty slim. But Cynthia was her watcher, and she was going to make sure that anything that had something to do with Immortals went down in the chronicle. She looked over at the basket next to her and checked on Rebecca; her new daughter was asleep. Her godmother was inside talking to Grace; it had been accepted that all the ones in the group might as well know about the Watchers—Grace had actually been aware of them for quite a while. And of course Methos really had had an in with the watchers for a long time. The Council had NOT been happy about things when they found out who Adam Pierson REALLY was. Cynthia personally thought it was pretty funny that they had had the oldest immortal as a watcher for years before he had just gone to the council and let them know. Of course, Joe Dawson had known for a while, but he had merely said that it was none of his business since he had a full time job as not only Duncan McLeod's watcher, but as head of the North American section.

Duncan and Connor were sparing, and just about everyone found a reason to watch. Methos was doing his usual snarky best to critique both of them, but even he found little to gripe about. They were very evenly matched; Duncan had the superior Martial Arts expertise, but Connor was taller and stronger, and had taken on just as many top swordsmen over the centuries; and of course, he had been the one to take the Kurgan's head.

Joe Dawson was doing double duty as both Duncan's and Connor's watchers while they were here at the Inn. Watching them spar was a real treat; it was not often that two such masters went at each other.

Word had trickled down to the local village about what was going on at the Inn; sword fighting and the like. Most at the village just shrugged and went on with their business. One person did not.

James Kilgore was a black Irishman in more than one way; he prided himself as a headhunter that never missed a cheap quickening. He had just been wondering through the Highlands when he stopped at the village and heard the gossip. Figuring there was always a chance to get one, he made his way towards the Inn.

The SAS detachment watched the man moving towards the Inn. Major Williams had a bad feeling about him and decided to intercept him. Two of his men were sent to let him know that visitors were not allowed at this time.

James Kilgore knew trouble when he saw it, and figured right away that the two men approaching him were commando's of some type. So he used the persona that had worked well for him for over 300 years; a feeble minded wanderer.

Major Williams was not happy with his men since they had let the man continue on to the Inn. It did not matter to him that he was simple; he could still be trouble. He ordered two of the men who had been with him before to follow.

Kilgore was quite pleased with himself; that simple minded wanderer had worked well for over 200 years. He walked past the Inn to the field where he had been told there was sparing going on. He could get a good feel for any possible opportunities by watching them.

Connor and Duncan were still going at it—it had been a long time for them, and they found that they were enjoying themselves. Liz and Amanda were taking a rest and watching.

The two men sparing were beyond a doubt masters—James Kilgore took one look at them and knew he wanted no part of that bunch. Now the two women sitting nearby with swords on the other hand; especially the small brunette. Now there was an opportunity.

All 5 of the Immortals in the field felt the buzz at the same time. And turned and looked at him.

It never occurred to Kilgore that challenging one of those present might mean challenges in return from all the others; he had never mingled or got to know any other immortals than the ones he hunted, and the idea that friendship and comradeship would triumph over not taking a chance on losing one's head was beyond his experience. He pointed at Liz and said, "I challenge You."

Duncan and Connor both stepped forward. "Only a coward challenges the weak," said Duncan.

Connor said, "Must be an Irishman; it's well known a yellow streak miles wide runs down every back."

Kilgore looked at them. "The Challenge has been made."

Duncan and Connor smiled—and a chill went down Kilgores neck.

"IF by chance you win, you lose. We will take your head. A coin flip for who gets to do it."

Liz was ticked off and rapidly getting angry. "OK, brave man, let's get to it. I want to see you bleed."

She then advanced towards him quickly.

Kilgore by now had realized that he had stepped into it, but had to raise his sword as Liz attacked.

Liz was more angry then she had ever been. She knew a headhunter by now—and this piece of garbage was probably one of the worst.

Joe had used his cell phone to find out about Kilgore. Turned out his watcher had gotten caught in a traffic jam and had lost him days ago. Joe looked at Duncan. "300 years old and a pure headhunter and proud of it. Not sure just how good he is—he has never fought anyone good."

Duncan grimly nodded. "He will not fight anyone else again. Liz is mad as hell, and is going to give him the short haircut pretty fast."

Liz was fully on the attack, using everything she had learned, and also what she had just seen Duncan and Connor do. Cut, slash, stab, she kept it up.

James Kilgore could not believe it—this tiny female was the toughest opponent he had ever faced. Extremely quick and very well trained.

Major Williams was almost as angry as Liz. He could not believe that his men had let that man get that close to the Queen ,and now there was a battle going on. He pulled out his pistol—he was not going to take a chance—Immortal Rules be damned. The moment it looked bad for the queen, he was going to shoot that SOB.

Liz had found a significant chink in Kilgore's defense; he was not very good parrying left, which was no surprise since most people were right handed. Liz had worked on a move just for someone like that, and she felt now was the time. She feinted right, then a stab, then whirled and slashed left, cutting his leg deeply.

Kilgore tried to move away, his leg was killing him. Liz pressed the advantage, getting closer and closer. Finally up close she stabbed, and as he barely parried it, kicked him right where she had slashed him. He gave a scream of pain and went down. One swing of the sword and his head went rolling.

Major Williams gave a sigh of relief as the Queen beheaded the man. She had never paused in her attack from the first minute, and the result was inevitable. He put away his pistol and looked at his other men. "Get ready for a real Guy Fawkes night, men."

A blue mist rose from the headless body, and Liz kneeled and put her sword down—she had a feeling this was going to hurt. The first bolt hit her right after and they kept coming. Worse than anything she had ever felt before—this SOB had been the worst one yet, and she saw his victims over the centuries. Then she knew nothing as it hit her full on.

The other Immortals stood back and waited as the Quickening hit Liz. Duncan was a little worried since he knew that Kilgore was pretty bad, and from first-hand knowledge, knew full well what Liz was going through.

Cynthia winced as a bolt literally picked Liz up and tossed her a good 10 feet; then another picked her up just as high and dropped her. Charlie put his arm around her and pulled her close as he watched; he was pretty damned glad he did not have to go through this—the Immortals can have it.

Joe had seen some powerful quickenings, and while this was not on the level of Kalas or the like, it was still up there, and Liz was really going to be put through the mill.

Major Williams was astounded by what he saw; compared to what he had seen last year when Duncan McLeod had taken a head, this was the Premier League. The Queen was being picked up and thrown around by the power of the quickening.

Max had heard the first parts of the quickening and had run out to see who was getting it—shocked that it was Liz. He knew he could do nothing to help, but it hurt so much to see the pain she was going through and not be able to do anything about it. Isabel, Alex, Kyle, Tess, Michael and Maria also felt helpless as they saw their friend get tossed, fried and sautéed.

Rachel had moved close to Connor and he pulled her close. "I never knew it would be like that; Liz talked about it and so did you, but it is not believable until you actually see it. She looks like it hurts like hell."

"Aye Lass, it does. Especially one from a black hearted bastard like that one was."

With one last bolt that pretty much spun her then spat her out, the quickening ended. Liz lay there numb and dazed and barely conscious.

Max ran to her as soon as the last bolt died away and picked her up. Her clothes were scorched and torn, and she was dirty from head to toe from being tossed around the field. The glazed look in her eyes told him that she was not all there. He then carried her towards the Inn.

The rest of them slowly followed. The SAS detachment bringing up the rear with the Major still chewing out his men.

"Next time, just shoot the bastard!"

Maria holding Michael's hand as she followed Max carrying Liz yelled, "And if you dummies don't, next time I WILL."

Liz was still dazed and barely conscious when Max set her down on their bed. He undressed her, then picked her up and sat in the bathtub that he had stated when he brought her in. And he just held her, letting the hot water and warmth seep into her bones.

Liz slowly got back to herself—it felt like she was a long ways off. Kilgore's victims danced around in her head, one after another. Slowly, she rode the wave of memories and began to push them into the background of her mind. It just took so long—it was so much harder than the other ones.

Duncan had told the rest of them what he had gone through when he had been overwhelmed by a dark quickening—how he had almost taken Richie's head. And how long it had dominated him. Methos recounted how a White Quickening had changed Darius; Connor described how it had been very hard for him to come to terms with the Kurgan's quickening—how it had come close to taking over.

Maria was worried. "Just how big a chance is there that this SOB's quickening will change Liz?"

Methos shrugged. "It's hard to tell. People react differently. From everything I have seen of Liz, she is very much grounded in herself and in reality. And as bad as Kilgore was, his quickening was nowhere near as strong as the one that took over Duncan. So I do not think it's a big worry—but at the same time, it's something we all need to be aware of, and to watch Liz to see that even if she has tamped it down now to make sure that it does not surface later."

Max just held his love and thought. Enough was enough—Liz was NOT going to accept any more challenges no matter what. Next bastard that tried, he was going to fry him right away no matter what.

Liz blinked and moved a little. Max held her and whispered, "Liz, it's OK, we are back in our room, and everything is fine. Just relax and rest."

Liz groaned. She hurt all over. This quickening had been so much stronger and so much darker from Kilgore's thoughts than the other two had been—and the victims had been much more numerous. She felt them still in the back of her mind. She relaxed back against Max and sighed.

"That was a pretty bad one. He was as nasty a creep as there is around. He enjoyed killing, and he especially enjoyed the fear. I can feel his victims—so many."

"Enough is enough, Liz. No more. This is just too much for you."

Liz smiled slightly. As usual Max was over reacting, and over protective. Some things do not change.

"It is what it is, Max. This is my life. Good and bad. My immortality comes at a price, and this is part of it. We have beaten some of it by having children. But some of it you cannot beat or run away from, and this is part of it."

"You do not have to accept the challenges, Liz. Either Duncan or Connor would have been happy to take that bastard down. You did not have to."

Liz sighed. Though she had to admit that Max had a point about this last one—she could have declined and let Connor or Duncan take care of it. She knew a marriage is sometimes a compromise—and maybe this was a time to give a little.

"OK, Max. Next time, if there is a choice, I will turn it down if I can."

Max smiled. He knew how hard it was for Liz to step back and not step up.

"That's all I am asking Liz—just do not be on the front line if you don't have to be." (And I am going to try and make sure that I am around and can fry the SOB first.)

It was a couple of hours later that Max and Liz left their room and went into the main hall where their friends and family were still waiting.

Maria rushed up and hugged Liz. "Chica, how are you? Not having dark thoughts and impulses are you?"

Methos groaned. A great way to start the conversation.

Liz could not resist. After letting Maria go she said in a very husky and strange voice.

"Who is this Chica?"

Maria blanched and backed off. The others looked very worried. Until they saw Max looking at her with a smile and shaking his head.

Maria swatted Liz. "That was mean, Liz, after the stories that Duncan and Methos told us about dark quickenings."

Liz grinned at her. "Just could not help myself Maria. You were kind of expecting it, and who am I to disappoint?"

The others gathered around her to hug and scold her for her bad sense of humor.

After hugging her, Isabel looked at her hair critically and said, "We HAVE to find a decent hair dresser SOMEWHERE. You look a mess."

Kyle grinned at her. "You really WANTED this guy's head, Liz, the way you went after him. So you really cannot complain if it scrambled your brains."

Tess said, "I am really glad I am not Immortal. I never liked lightning anyway."

Alex hugged her and said, "Next time, Liz, if there is someone else around, turn it down—this was a scary one."

Liz smiled back at him, "If you think it looked bad from your point of view, you have no idea what it was like for me. I have already promised Max that I will decline any more challenges if I can."

Amanda scolded her. "I have spent almost a thousand years avoiding nasty challenges—it's not that hard to do. LEARN how to do it."

Duncan told her. "That was as well fought as any I have seen in a while—you did not make a single mistake and never gave him a chance to get his balance back."

Connor ruffled her hair which earned a glare from both her and Isabel. "Lass, that was well done. Anytime a headhunter goes down, it's a good thing."

Rachel came up to her and gave her a big hug. "For all the romance of Immortality, I now have seen the bad side of it. And I can understand Connor and the others a little better. Like all the rest of US, I hope you find a way to say NO from now on."

Joe, Rebecca, Cynthia all echoed this. Charley was more direct. "Next time, girl, just cut and run. It will be a whole lot better for you and all of us."

Grace gently hugged her. "Maybe now you can understand why I will never fight. I will not have that happen to me no matter what."

Methos shook his head. "Now that is the other extreme. There is a somewhat happy medium from being like the Boy Scout and never turning one down and Grace never fighting at all. I have done quite well for several millennia not accepting challenges when I absolutely did not have to. It's a good SURVIVAL trait to learn."

Happily, that was the only event to mar the vacation. The rest of the time there was very relaxed in comparison. Which was just what was needed for Max and Liz. They returned to Antar with Connor and Rachel and the other Royals while Duncan and his crew went back to Seacouver. Richie was a little put out that he missed the show, whereupon Amanda smacked him a good one. Then he got it from the other side from Courtney. Duncan smiled and wondered if Richie would ever learn to keep his mouth shut. Methos opinioned that that was like expecting the Rhine to flow backwards.

Cynthia was working on the latest entry to Liz's Chronicle and asked Joe how detailed she should be as regards the fight. Joe told her that it really was not something that had to be exhaustively explained—just go with the highlights. Joe, in the meanwhile, had temporarily transferred Connor's watcher to Seacouver to watch Methos. The Council still did not know that Adam Pierson was Methos, and Joe wanted it kept that way. Connor's watcher was now in the know and would make sure of that.

Back on Antar, Max and the others got back into the business of relocating two worlds. Most of the preparations were already done or about to be, and the system set up was running well. The shipbuilding was at its peak, and so was the pod manufacturing process; while the rest of the preparations moved along. He and Liz would be back on Earth once the second large wave arrived; it was felt that they being there showed that it was a controlled migration and that things were going as well as could be expected. He was disappointed that the scout ships had so far failed to find a suitable planet, but was resigned to it taking a while.

Liz had gone to the Granolith the second day back and had asked it to examine her quickening. The added boost received from Max's healing had stayed with her; now the last quickening had also beefed up hers.

"Your Majesty, my sensors indicate that your quickening has increased 12%. With the background furnished by your friends the Watchers, I was able to extrapolate the relative strength of James Kilgore's quickening. The numbers match my estimate of the effects of his quickening on yours."

Liz was a little puzzled. "When did you get the information on Kilgore's background."

"Rachel McLeod furnished me with a disc with the necessary information on Kilgore's age and his successful quickenings. Also the background on his victims. It was quite complete. With the information I have been gathering from yourself and the other Immortals, I have fabricated a formula that so far has held up as regards age, number of quickening and their strength, and the effects on the winners quickening."

Liz looked thoughtful. "Do you have readings on all the Immortals you have scanned as regards the relative strength of their quickening?"

"Of course."

"Compare Duncan's, Connor's, and Methos' quickenings."

Duncan and Connor are very close as regards strength, Methos has a quickening that is far stronger than either of theirs, of course. It is 10.87 times their relative strength. As a point of reference, your quickening is approx .01% of Methos' quickening."

"Your formula—how is it weighted as regards age vs. number and strength of quickening taken?"

"I used you as the starting point since the exact date and number of quickening you have had are known and the strength of the quickenings you have taken were also known due to the full knowledge of their victims. Cynthia was kind enough to give me that data when I asked her for it. The only variable with you was the effect of the Kings healing of you on your initial wounding and later after the incident in Canada. But the formula has variables built into if for such happenings, and it also held up well. Since I was able to scan you both before and after the Canada incident, that was factored in. The relatively slight difference that Max's initial attempt to heal you made in your quickening helped out."

"I have been under the impression that Max's attempt to heal me was a big factor in how fast I woke up and the relative strength of my quickening from the start."

"All readings and evidence I have had shows that the Kings attempt to heal you had at best a minor effect—he was unable to make a connection, and the energy difference between that and his successful healing of you in Canada is quite large. My conclusion is that you always had a stronger then average quickening even before you were immortal."

A thoughtful Liz went back to their rooms in the Palace. She made a note to talk to Rachel about who asked her to bring the disc—it had to be Joe since he would also be the only person who would have access to that kind of information. Or it could have been Methos—he had admitted that he had backdoor keys to the Watcher Database. The more she thought about it, the more she thought it was Methos—he had been fascinated that the Granolith had been able to isolate and measure the energy of the quickening. She could see him wanting more information and also being in the possession of knowledge that no one else had. He certainly liked that.

Time seemed to fly by, and soon it was the date that the second large wave would arrive on Earth. Max and Liz were there to greet them as the immense ships moved into orbit and then separated with the cargo part landing on the ground. The first wave had gone to the poorest countries first; this wave spread out so that most of the other countries that had requested settlements were taken care of. The last waves would go mostly to four countries; the US, Canada, Australia and Russia. Already Chad and the Sudan and the other poorest of the poor were starting to see the benefits with increased economic activity and lower disease and death rates. This of course helped ease the last of the suspicions and worry on the part of most; the xenophobes and the like were expected to stay the way they were—as only a tiny fraction of the population, it was felt that ignoring them was the best way to go. Though of course, law enforcement and military intelligence kept an eye on them anyway.

While on Earth, Max and Liz had taken the opportunity to visit Roswell (quietly so as not to set off a sensation). Liz was then able to satisfy her suspicion that it had indeed been Methos who had worked to get the data the Granolith had used. She had had the Granolith print out the full report (and it was pretty long), and once on Earth, she had had Cynthia take it with her when she went back to Seacouver. She knew it would irritate Methos that she had found out about it and was a step in front of him.

Liz sat in the back of the Station with Max in a booth the night before they were to go back to Antar. It was not often they had a chance to be an anonymous couple, and they both enjoyed it. She marveled to Max about the differences the last 2 years had made on Roswell. It had doubled in size and population and was figured to double again in a few years. The settlement outside of town was a huge tourist attraction, and the power plant there was already supplying Roswell and the immediate area with very cheap electricity. The old power plant had been mothballed—it was decided to keep it ready to go just in case. With electricity so cheap now, many homes and businesses were converting to electric heat from oil, gas and propane. Electric cars were starting to come out—another benefit of the Alien influence was the advance in battery technology—instead of hundreds of pounds of batteries that had to be replaced every three to five years at huge cost, now they needed only a single bank about the size of a coffee table and they would last at least 20 years. Added to much more efficient electrical motors, and Detroit and other car makers were scrambling to build them fast enough. Gas engine vehicles were rapidly dropping as a share of new sales, even in places were electricity was still more expensive. For large trucks and long haul shipments and the like, Diesel was still the way to go—but it was felt that in a few more years, more technological breakthroughs would change that as well.

With the first large group of Antarians now on Earth, the media had wasted no time in trying for interviews. Max had told them that it was up to them what they wanted to say but cautioned them that anything they said could be subject to twisted and deliberate misinterpretation. That it was better to say little or nothing at all. Most of the Antarians followed that advice, and even the ones that did talk more were very careful about what they said. This of course frustrated the media and made them go after them that much harder. Liz scolded Max for doing that saying that it made things worse. Max defended himself saying that he had no responsibility for making the media happy. Liz pointed out that they really could not afford bad publicity. Max then said if it goes bad, then they go on TV and say the media is deliberately trying to manufacture stories. He pointed out that many surveys showed the public did not exactly trust the media very much anymore and that it would probably be a wash. Liz told him that it was an unnecessary risk.

With the Antarians being very close mouthed, the media then began to demand to go to Antar. Max told them that they were welcome to go back on one of the ships, but that meant they had to be podded. When they then demanded the Granolith take them, he flat out told them that it was for special purposes only, and they used it only when necessary. No media allowed. When more of them clamored to go, Max then went against Liz's advice and took it to network TV. He made the point that all the Antarians would be on Earth in little over a year or so and sending anyone to Antar made little sense. He then said that he was King of Antar, and his primary responsibility was to his people, not to make any reporters happy, and if they did not like that, then too bad. This went all over the world, and while there were some that claimed he was hiding something, the great majority of people agreed with him and enjoyed the fact that the ALL MIGHTY MEDIA was being told no and they were stuck with it. One person in an on the street interview really skewered the media by saying, "They think they are above all laws everywhere and that no one can say no to them. Well guess what—someone did, and now they are whining. Ask us if we care." That was so juicy that it got sent everywhere and put on blogs and the like, and more and more people said basically the same thing. Survey after survey and poll after poll showed 80-90% of those asked agreed with that. And the media, suddenly realizing that they had no support, backed off as they were told by owners and publishers and the like that they were threatening the bottom line and enough was enough. One commentator rather sheepishly admitted that the media had earned the dislike and distrust that this incident had uncovered. "We did this to ourselves. We squandered the trust we once had. We were arrogant and refused to admit our mistakes and acted like God. And we have earned the result. Look into the mirror, fellow reporters. We have only ourselves to blame." And just like that, the badgering and pushing disappeared.

Liz was totally surprised by the result and admitted that she had been wrong. She told Max that she had bought into the theory that the media always wins no matter what. And he had just blown that theory right out of the water. Max was rather proud of himself. Liz then suggested that a picked few reporters be taken by the Granolith for a visit to Antar. Max agreed with that but who to pick. Liz thought that Randi McFarland, Duncan's media friend from Seacouver should be one. And then a couple of network reporters and a few others from around the world. Max agreed with that, then decided to ask everyone else for their opinions and who should go. Grace had a good idea about the reporters in Europe and suggested one British reporter and an Italian one. Joe suggested one from Japan that had always impressed him. After talking to a few others, they got one from Australia and one from Canada. That totaled 8, and Max said that was enough.

Needless to say, all of those asked jumped at the chance. Randi called up Duncan and thanked him—if this went well, she would probably get a major anchor position out of it. He told her that she had earned it by being honest. One week later, they were sent to Antar. They were given 2 weeks to talk to whoever they wanted to. They then asked for an extra week to go to Granular. Lord Lanar granted that request and had them transported by his own personal ship from Antar. Needless to say, despite all being veteran reporters, they were somewhat overwhelmed. From the transport by the Granolith to the ship taking them to Antar to being transported back covered a lot of what they had to say. They then went on to describe the work on the ships and the pods, and deciding what to take with them and what to preserve on another planet for the future, and how this had affected them.

When the reporters returned and filed their stories and had their time on TV, the overall effect was positive. They had not been able to find many that disagreed with what was going on, and those few were frankly on the lunatic fringe and was shown to be that way. An unexpected and to a certain extent unwelcome part to Max and Liz was the virtual universal approval and love shown to them by everyone, even most of the Granularians. Max rather wryly noted that it seemed also universal that the Queen was more popular then he was. Liz was a little embarrassed about that. Maria thought it was great—and so did most of the others. Liz said it was being exaggerated. Grace told her that it was not—she had indeed done a lot that was very important, and that was what the polls and surveys showed. This pretty much shot down the last of the critics on earth except those that had their own agenda and were just pretty much prejudiced against them for religious or other reasons.

One other not so good result of all this was that Liz got even more publicity and more attention—Maria tweaked her about being the next "Princess Diana." Liz rather tartly said that she would rather not considering what she had gone through and ended up dead at 36. Kyle got in a shot at Max by pointing out that Prince Charles had cheated on the princess with a real horse face—he would have to look far and hard to find anyone that ugly. Max retorted that he was a lot smarter than that—he had a wonderful and beautiful queen and intended to be a one woman man. Maria told Michael that he should take some lessons from Max on making his girl feel special. Michael's reply that he had married her hadn't he was not exactly well thought out. Needless to say, a MOUNT ST. Maria eruption followed.

Maria's joke about Princess Diana was not exactly out of the question. Liz had gotten a lot of attention before and even more after the media came back from Antar. Isabel, who actually took the media and that kind of attention seriously enough to keep an eye on it, told Liz that she had no one but herself to blame for that. Unlike most so-called famous women, who were famous because of acting or singing or the like, or even being politicians, Liz was someone who never asked for or sought out fame; and that was another reason so many liked her. Liz had just done what she felt needed to be done, and that fact tended to color a lot of the coverage of her. Also as was abundantly clear, she had gone out and got things done and had had great success. Being very successful also tended to add to the amount of publicity someone got. And unlike politicians who sometimes lost, and actors who had bad films, or singers with dud records, Liz had not failed in anything. She had gone from triumph to triumph, and all at a very young age.

The captain of the scout ship was preparing his monthly report to the King. He wondered at the reason why—it was not like they had found anything, and if they had, they would contact the king immediately. The three ships were ranging farther and farther from the Pegasus System in their quest for a new home. So far, they had come up empty. They were due to return to Antar in a few months for resupply and to rest for a while. That would be the last time they would return to Antar. It was beginning to look like it would take a few years to find a suitable world.

Max read the monthly report from the scout ships and sighed. He was still hoping that they would find a suitable world before they all left Antar and Granular. But he realized that it was just that—hope. It now seemed clear that the search could take several years more. Later that day, in their rooms, he told Liz about the once again negative report from the scout ships. She asked him why they needed to make a monthly report—and he surprised her by saying it was more a case of having them checking in then making a report. He knew the moment they found something he would be contacted. This way, they knew the ships were OK and there were no problems. She nodded at that and said, "I should have figured that out myself. It probably will take a few more years at best. They are all due to return to Antar for resupply and some rest before they set out again. And it will take them a while to return to where they are looking. Have we checked with everyone possible to make sure that they are looking in the best place?" Max nodded and said, "Everyone on earth and here, and the granolith as well. Where they are looking now is the most likely place to find a good planet at least somewhere near here." Liz thought about that. "I think we need to change that to looking for places near Earth now. It's too late to go anywhere else, and our next move will be from Earth. I think we need to reassess things and send them out next to start looking near Earth, and then go outwards." Max looked thoughtful. "Hadn't thought about that, and you are right. I will talk to the space command and the granolith—we need to change things." Liz shook her head. "No, I will do that—you have enough to do. Besides I want to talk to the Granolith and make sure they are using the right search criteria. With such a narrow range in what we need, we must make sure that we are weeding out the wheat from the chaff as quickly as possible."

The very next day, Liz went down to the granolith and told it. "We need to talk." The Granolith hummed and then said. "At your service, Queen Elizabeth." "I want you to describe the search criteria being used by the scout ships right now, and also to change their search after they come back for rest and resupply. From that point on, they will be searching near Earth and working their way outwards. Since at this late date nothing can be changed about going to Earth, the next move will be from there, and we should try and make it as near to earth as possible." The Granolith hummed for a while then replied. "Here is the criteria, your majesty." And then gave it. Liz took it in and thought about it for a while. "Nothing I can see there needs to be changed. So that will stay as it is. I want you working on the best candidates near Earth and then steadily working away from it." "As you wish, your Majesty."

It was now one year to go before the destruction of Antar and Granular. One problem that Max frankly had hoped would go away is that a handful of Antarians and Granularians chose to stay and die with their planets. Most were old and did not want to change; some were clearly mentally unbalanced; and some were just stubborn about believing anything was going to happen. The mental cases were the biggest problem; with all their healing powers, some mental illnesses defied any attempt at cures. There were only a few hundred of those cases. Max had asked for advice from his cabinet, and they all agreed that special provisions needed to be made at one of the settlements for them—they could not be left to die. The rest of them had made their decisions and would be allowed to stay. Max made sure that all were told that the last ship would leave 45 days before the destruction, and that after that, they were on their own. He hoped that as the rogue star came into visual sight that some would change their minds—but if they did not, then so be it.

The biggest wave of refugees had arrived on Earth at the 14 month mark; 140 million. This wave filled the last of the settlements outside of the US, Canada, Australia, and Russia. And then filled the US and Russia quotas and added to Australia and Canada. Max had seen to it that the same percentage of Antarians and Granularians were in each movement. The last of the populations would leave at the 3 month mark. Everyone and everything that was going to Earth would leave at that point. The last of the ships would be finished at the 4 month mark, just enough time to load and be gone. It looked like a total of 207 ships would be done. All but 40 ships would be leaving at that time. Those ships would be taking a load of raw materials—the first real trade between the two systems. Already many of the asteroid miners were leaving for Earth to start setting up asteroid mines in the Sol system. It was hoped to have the first mines going within a year of the miners setting up. First bases had to be established. It had been decided after careful thought to put the first ones on Mars. It was always easier to put bases on planets, even those without an appreciable atmosphere. Those would be the main bases, and some initial processing plants would be built there as well. While Mars had a much weaker gravity then earth, it was enough for practical work to be done. Smaller staging bases would be placed as stations at the Asteroid Belt. Some shuttles would be built to move the ore from the belt to Mars, and then from Mars to the ships orbiting Mars that would take it to Earth. Already mining experts had examined the asteroid belt and had identified a number of relatively small ore that could be captured and taken straight to Mars to be broken down to elements that would be sorted and shipped as the priorities dictated.

One other matter that was annoying but had to be handled carefully was all the invitations that the Royals received for various events and ceremonies in many countries on Earth. Max had rather evilly began to pawn these off to Isabel and Tess. Isabel loved it and Alex went along with amazing patience. Kyle on the other hand swore terrible revenge on Max after Tess found she liked it too. But even these had to be carefully replied to since some would take offence that the King and Queen were not coming. Max found that the protocol minister that he thought was not needed came in real handy on these occasions—the man had a great gift for BS and being able to flatter people into not taking offence. It was explained to him that this was the art of diplomacy; Maria on the other hand suggested a symbol of office for the Protocol Minister; a man leaning on the rear end of a bull with a shovel in his hands.

Still there were some important enough for various reasons that Max and Liz had to go. They made a point of visiting each country that had agreed to settlements; and others that were politically important. They averaged one or two a month. One to Russia was a good example: while the Russian president had run roughshod over the opposition, it was still thought to be a good idea for periodic visits. The routine was fairly constant: Max in blue (The Antarian Royal Color) and Liz in a shade of blue depending on what she felt like. She always wore a dress; usually fairly modern with a few exceptions for certain countries. She ALWAYS wore her sword no matter what—besides, it was expected of her, and people always wanted to see it anyway. More than once, she did her KATA in the middle of the room after enough demands were made. She actually like doing that since she could immerse herself and forget about the formality of the occasion and just lose all other thoughts as she did the KATA. On this occasion, a Russian Sword expert wanted to do his while she did hers. That turned out to be a mistake on his part since by the end, all agreed that she did it better. This amused the Russian President immensely and on the spot awarded Liz the order of the Russian Republic—to great acclaim from the audience. Both Max and Liz had a sneaking suspicion that the President had arranged all this to further stomp all over his opposition. Especially since he just happened to have one ready to go. IT was rather big and gaudy and hung around Liz's neck, and it clashed pretty well with her dress. When they got back to their rooms in the Ritziest Hotel in Moscow, Liz took it off, looked at it, and shook her head. "Talk about a really tacky piece of junk. Have not worn anything that bad since I was last waitressing at the Crashdown."