Castaway Found
By Thomas Mc

Chapter 4

The trip down to the home tunnels was a long walk for the young twins so the children took turns being carried by Vincent while the other child would be holding Catherine's hand. The little girl got more time being carried than the boy yet there was no arguing or competing for attention between them. They seemed to know automatically when the walking twin was getting tired and it was time to trade.

As they went progressively deeper Zadoranis became aware of a staccato tapping sound that became more pronounced the deeper they went. The tapping seemed to come in irregular groupings with short quiet intervals between them. After a few minutes the tapping became much more frenzied and there were fewer and shorter breaks between the irregular groups.

Vincent chuckled. "They know that we're coming and the speculation about you is running fast and furious."

They soon came to an impressive maze of tunnels that seemed to be riddled with side openings. Most of the openings were blocked off on the other side by old tapestries. Through some of the uncovered side openings he could see surprisingly comfortable looking small apartments carved out of the solid rock. There were people in many of the uncovered chambers that stared in surprise or amazement at Zadoranis as they passed. Some of them came out of the side chambers and fell into step behind Vincent and his party.

Soon Vincent led them into one of these side openings and Zadoranis found himself in a much larger two level chamber that looked like an untidy library. At the far side of the chamber an older human stood up behind a large desk and stared incredulously at Ambassador Zadoranis.

Vincent greeted the older man as they entered. "Hello Father. I brought a new friend down to show him where I grew up." He addressed Zadoranis. "Ambassador, I would like to introduce you to Jacob Wells. He took me in as an infant and raised me as his own son." Vincent glanced around at the growing number of tunnel dwellers that were openly gawking at Zadoranis and raised his voice. "I would like all of you to meet Ambassador Zadoranis from a planet called Cutahni. We have discovered that his son and his son's mate were my biological parents. I hope that all of you will make him welcome."

The chamber was immediately filled with the sound of everyone speaking at once. After a few seconds Father regained his composure and called the room to order announcing that everyone would get a chance to meet their new guest.

Vincent then spoke again. "Ambassador Zadoranis does not speak our language though he is able to understand what we are saying to him. Catherine and I are able to understand his language so we will be able to interpret what he is saying for you." He paused and glanced at Zadoranis. "If that is alright with you, Grandfather."

Zadoranis nodded his assent. "That would be fine with me, Vincent." He then put on his best diplomatic persona and warmly greeted the people assembled in the underground chamber.

With Vincent and Catherine's help as interpreter, Zadoranis met many of Vincent's tunnel friends and did his best to answer their questions. Several of them wanted to know if this meant that Vincent would be leaving them soon for his family's home.

Vincent placed his arm around Catherine as he answered their shared concern. "No, I won't be leaving. This is where I grew up; this is where my friends and family are; and this is where my heart is. I would like to visit my ancestor's home someday just to see the place where I come from, but New York is my home and this is where I plan to stay." He glanced over at Zadoranis who smiled back and nodded his understanding and acceptance of Vincent's decision.

Zadoranis was actually glad that Vincent wanted to stay on this planet. He honestly believed that Vincent and his family would be safer here. This was especially true for his hybrid children. He vowed to himself that once he returned to the Star League, he would see if he could get the prohibition against cross specie mating modified in order to allow such pairings if the offspring were shown to be both fully viable and fertile with both parent species. He knew that getting even as restrictive an exemption as that would still be a long uphill battle. The horror stories that had lead to the establishment of the prohibition would be difficult to overcome. The social and cultural problems would be another matter entirely.

After a little over an hour Vincent called a halt. "I know that all of you would like to spend more time with Ambassador Zadoranis, and hopefully he will be able to spend more time below with us later, but for now he has to be back 'Above' in a few hours to meet my grandmother when she arrives. Before we have to go back 'above' I would like to show my grandfather around the home tunnels."

There was a general murmur of understanding and acceptance from the crowd. Mary stepped forward and took possession of the twins. "I'll watch over Jacob and Jennifer while you show your grandfather around." She smiled and nodded to Zadoranis. "It has been a pleasure meeting you."

The twins were apparently quite pleased with the suggestion. They enjoyed spending time with the rest of the tunnel children. They eagerly followed Mary out of the chamber.

Vincent took Zadoranis first to show him the chamber where he had spent most of his life and was still often used by him and Catherine as a weekend getaway. Then Vincent took him to the painted tunnels. They spent over an hour examining Elizabeth's paintings and relating the stories behind them. The next stop was the children's dormitories where the many orphaned street kids, that the community took in, slept and played until they were old enough to have a chamber of their own.

Soon it was time to go back above. They retrieved the twins and headed back to the brownstone. Shortly after they got home, Alex and Maggie come by to pick Zadoranis up. Just after dark they drove over to an isolated section of the park where they met the small transport ship that was bringing in the ambassador's mate, Talfeena.

After a quick happy reunion they headed back to Alex's hotel. Zadoranis knew that he would have a lot of explaining to do before he introduced Talfeena to their grandson and his family. As soon as they arrived at the hotel room Talfeena handed him a package that had been given to her for Zadoranis. She had no idea what it was but the official seal on it told her that it was very important and very confidential. She was also very aware of her mate's important position in the government. So despite being anxious to see this grandson he had mentioned, she waited patiently while dealt with whatever was in the package. The others meanwhile were unobtrusively making themselves scarce.

Zadoranis opened the package and scanned through the content's. From his emotions Talfeena knew that he was both surprised and then deeply contemplative as he scanned the contents. By the time he finished his emotions had shifted to acceptance and finally a bit of satifaction. After a short time he put away the documents and turned his attention to Talfeena.

Zadoranis began by explaining to Talfeena what they knew and guessed about how Vincent came to be born on this planet. She listened intently absorbing all the information that he gave her. Finally he started telling her about what happened after he was found.

"We are still unsure how he ended up where he was found or if Zoria is still alive. All we're sure of is that he was found just hours after his birth. The people that found and raised him are a very reclusive group and were able to keep him hidden from the less tolerant while he grew up. They named him Vincent."

Talfeena made a face. "Such a strange sounding name, not at all Cutahnian." She shook her head. "Once we bring him home we can give him a proper Cutahnian name." She immediately looked hard at her mate's face as she felt his emotional reaction to what she had said. There must be much more to this than he had yet told her.

Zadoranis sighed. Talfeena was a perfect microcosm of what he would soon have to face if he was going to try to alter the perceptions of the people of the League. "Vincent was born on this planet and raised in the culture of these people. He has a home and a life here and he does not want to leave."

"But what about family?" She asked confused.

"There is much you don't know yet about his situation. He has already taken a mate and they seem to be very happy together."

She frowned. "But I thought there were no other Cutahnian on this planet."

"There are only three of us; you, me and Vincent."

She became puzzled as she stared back at her mate trying to make sense of his comments. Then her eyes grew wide in surprise and shock then elements of disgust and even a hint of horror crept in. "That's terrible. We have to do something. What if the authorities find out?" She grabbed his arms imploringly. "What are we going to do?"

"Talfeena, calm yourself. To begin with, the authorities can't touch him here. This is a protected planet and they are forbidden to interfere with the inhabitants of this planet." He gazed earnestly into her eyes. "I don't think there is much that we can do about it anyway. He has made his choice and on top of that they have bonded."

"What!" She was beginning to feel overwhelmed. It was not possible. "How could a Cutahnian bond with another race? I can't believe it."

"Believability is irrelevant. The simple fact is, the bond is real and I can sense it. It is also very strong; stronger even than the bond we share." His expression softened a bit as he got a good grip on her upper arms. "There is more to it than the strength of their bond. They also have produced two children and they have a third on the way."

For several moments she just stared back at him. Her mouth moved but nothing came out as dozens of old horror stories played through her mind. She had gone from the high of learning that she had a grandson to the low of seeing her hopes collapse into rubble around her. How could this happen? How could everything go so wrong? Despite the horror of it she reluctantly found her mind going to the two offspring of the ill-fated union. Even if they survived and were healthy, they still were doomed to empty sterile lives.

Zadoranis pulled her into his embrace as he felt her swirling emotions begin to overwhelm her. He was relieved that mixed in with the powerful feelings of shock and horror there was also strong streak of sympathy. He suspected where the sympathy was directed and it gave him hope that maybe there was the possibility of bringing her around after all. He led her over and set her down on one of the common room chairs. Then he picked up the package that he had been looking through earlier.

"There is even more to this situation than either of us might have expected." He held up the package. "This is a report that my friend at the College of Genetics did for me."

He noticed the surprise, curiosity and fear in her at the mention of that particular branch of the government. She was wondering how much worse this was going to get.

He braced to deliver the final surprise. "I asked him to do an analysis of the genetics of everyone involved." He glanced at the first sheet. "To begin with Vincent is definitely the son of Zamiis and Zoria." He flipped to the next page. "The report shows that Cutahnian genetics and Human genetics are surprisingly compatible making both species fertile with the other."

She had listened to his report with trepidation but little surprise. Most of what he had said so far was already apparent by the current circumstances that he had told her about.

Zadoranis took a deep breath as he flipped to the next page and prepared to deliver the real bombshell. "This third report is on the genetics of the two children. It states that both children are fully genetically compatible and fertile with both parent species as well as being compatible with others like themselves." He flipped to the last page. "My friend remarked that despite some very definite differences the genetics of the two species appear to be fully compatible. The exact physical results of some of these combinations may be difficult to predict but they will be fully viable." He looked up at her. "That is pretty straight forward."

She stared up at him incredulous. The last bit of information had gone against everything that was currently accepted about genetic compatibility. At this moment she was glad that she was sitting.

He gave her a short time to absorb what he had told her then he continued. "Vincent and his family have offered us the hospitality of their home while we are here." He took hold of her hand. "I would like for us to accept that invitation. I'm not telling you to forget your feelings about this situation. All I ask is that you come with me to their home and try to keep an open mind." He gently caressed the side of her face. "Do you think you can do that for me . . . and for the son of our only child?" He knew that last line was blatantly manipulative but a lifetime of ingrained beliefs and prejudices would be difficult to overcome and he really wanted her to try to give them a chance.

She looked up into his eyes and swallowed her personal discomfort then brought her hand up to her face and covered his hand. "I will go there with you, for the sake of our son and because you ask me to." Leaning on his support, she stood up and they embraced again.

After a couple of minutes Zadoranis raised his voice. "Alex Rogan, we need a ride over to Vincent's place."

Alex and Maggie came out of their bedroom. "At your service Ambassador." Alex responded.

As Alex and Maggie came into the common room of the suite Talfeena paid much closer attention to them than she had before. She noticed the obvious signs of affection between them as well as noting the emotional attachment. They may have looked odd to her but compared to many of the alien races that she had encountered because of her mate's job, they really weren't all that bad looking.

~ o ~

As they pulled up in front of the home of her grandson, Talfeena noticed the well kept front of the building and the beautiful view of Central Park directly across the street. Then the two of them made sure that their concealing hoods were pulled forward. After a quick glance to be sure that there was no one paying undue attention to them, Alex opened the car door and assisted them out. He and Maggie escorted Ambassador Zadoranis and Talfeena up the short steps to the front door.

As soon as they reached the door, it opened and there stood the Earth female that had taken her grandson. Talfeena tried very hard to hide how hard it was to look at her and ended up studying her features. Despite the unusual flat plainness of her face, she really was not bad looking. In fact there was a sort of self assured grace to her look and bearing that impressed Talfeena. She took note of the prominent scar next to the female's left ear and wondered with a shiver what it might signify. In fact the more she looked at the Earth female the more she thought that her features taken as a whole were actually fairly pleasant in appearance.

"Welcome to our home." The Earth female spoke then turned her full attention to Talfeena. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Talfeena had to admit that her greeting had been very gracious and though there was a fair layer of uncertainty in the female's emotions she was generally upbeat and hopeful. As they entered the home Talfeena spotted her grandson standing just out of line-of-sight from the open door. She was momentarily stunned.

One look left no doubt that he was the son of Zamiis and Zoria. As Catherine closed the door Vincent stepped forward. "Welcome to my home grandmother Talfeena." Her heart gave a small leap as he embraced her. "I am so happy to meet you." He stepped back and smiled at her.

She smiled timorously back. "I am happy to meet you to . . . grandson." She couldn't quite bring herself to speak the strange sounding name that they had given her grandson.

Vincent waved toward the sofa group in the center of the parlor. "Won't you come in and make yourself at home."

Talfeena glanced over where he had pointed and seeing his Earth female approaching the that spot, looked away. She found herself looking at the rest of the room. She was very impressed by the graceful spiral staircase and the elegantly simple lines of the furnishings. Everywhere she looked she saw evidence that her grandson lived well. Her own home though larger and very upper class was just barely in the same class as this place. Her eye was caught by the beauty of the stained glass windows that flanked the front door. There was something so Cutahnian about their design.

At Zadoranis' gentle nudge, they moved over to the sofas and sat down. As her grandson and his female sat down together in the shortest sofa she clearly felt the strong emanations of love that they both gave off. Then she noticed the way there hands had sought each other out and clasped together almost on their own. She glanced down at her own hand which was now clasped by her mate's without her even thinking about it. She looked back at her grandson and his female. So different yet so similar.

After a few awkward moments Vincent began conversation by telling them a little about what his life had been like as a child. Talfeena found herself being drawn in by his words. Talfeena had soon realized that the brownstone was part of the female's world which had nothing to do with the world that Vincent was describing. Finally her curiosity got the better of her and she asked how Vincent and Catherine had meet.

Catherine described the day that she was attacked and left for dead in the park. The story reminded Talfeena of the scar she had noticed on the side of Catherine's face and she cringed at the point where Catherine got her face sliced up. Vincent took over and described finding her in the park and taking her to the tunnels to save her life. By the time Catherine took over to describe removing her bandages and getting her first sight of Vincent, Talfeena was on the verge of tears. "Oh you poor thing. That must have been terrible." Despite her feelings about the situation, Talfeena's sympathies had definitely swung strongly toward the Earth female.

Catherine looked back at her two guests with a small smile and radiating a warm contentment that had Talfeena and Zadoranis very puzzled considering the subject. She glanced over at Vincent then responded. "It may sound crazy but I think of the day I was attacked as one of the best days of my life. That was the day I met Vincent and my life was forever changed for the better."

Vincent added. "Catherine even chose the third anniversary of the day of the attack for our wedding."

At about that point Jamie came down the stairs bringing the twins with her. The children immediately scampered over to their parents as Vincent and Catherine continued telling about their life together. At first Talfeena could barely bring herself to acknowledge the two children.

The children settled themselves next to their parents and Vincent asked Zadoranis and Talfeena to tell him about themselves, their family and their world. As Zadoranis and Talfeena began telling about their home and family, the twins soon shifted their interest from their parents to their great grandparents. Soon the twins gravitated over to Zadoranis and Talfeena and were quickly engrossed in their stories. It kept getting harder for Talfeena to ignore the twins and she began to notice how much Jacob resembled Zamiis as a young child. He even exhibited many of the same personality and emotional aspects that she remembered making Zamiis such a unique child. She also found her eyes being drawn to the brilliant blue eyes of the little girl.

Vincent eagerly absorbed everything that they told him about their home planet and about the Star League. He was particularly interested in every tidbit of information they could tell him about Zamiis and Zoria. After a while Talfeena began telling about Zamiis as a young child. She was really getting into her subject as she emphasizing his more unusual traits that had made him such a unique individual.

When Talfeena began talking about how Zamiis and Zoria first met, the little girl boldly climbed into Talfeena's lap as the boy took a position at her feet. Talfeena was a bit surprised when she sensed the empathic link between the twins. It was a fairly common phenomenon with Cutahni twins but she had not expected to find it between these two. She could also feel their eager interest in what she was saying and her heart finally began to melt. They really were very sweet children. Her arm went around the little girl who snuggled happily into her embrace and soon many of her words were directed specifically toward the children as she told them about their grandparents.

Talfeena's reaction to the twins relieved a lot of the anxious tension that Vincent and Catherine had been feeling and made them very happy. Zadoranis was also pleased by this development. It gave him hope for both families.

Little by little Vincent built up a picture of what his parents were like from Talfeena's words. The one thing he found most gratifying was that he came from a family that had a lot to be proud of. He came from a long line of respected teachers; his grandfather was an ambassador in a grand league of worlds and his parents were decorated heroes and legends of the Star Legion.

Time passed quickly and soon it was time to put the twins to bed. Like Zadoranis, Talfeena enjoyed taking part in the twin's bedtime ritual. After the twins were put to bed Vincent lead them up to the rooftop garden and they talked some more about Earth culture versus Cutahni culture whil looking out over the park. An hour later everyone was beginning to feel tired and Catherine showed them to the front second floor guest room. Again Talfeena was impressed by the simple elegance of her grandson's home. She decided that despite the obvious problems he faced on this world, he really had a pretty good life here.

By the time they all went to bed that night Talfeena had fully accepted Vincent and his whole family. Though in a tiny act of rebelion she had secretly renamed her grandson Zavincent and her great grandson Zajacob in her own mind. She snuggled happily into Zadoranis' arms and wondered what new discoveries tomorrow would bring when 'Zavincent' and Catherine took them below to see where he grew up.

Continued in Part 5

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures.
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