Page 12 of Ngozii's Plight

As we park, I find Kosiiba guarding our home, or our side of the village, and ask him to have Jeff and the others meet us at the chief’s home. We have a lot to discuss. He scurries off after welcoming me home, and we quickly unpack, only taking the one bag containing our new tech with us.

“You seem to have more of a pep in your step now, love. Feeling better?” Vahru chuckles as I bounce along beside him down the path to the village.

“I’m so happy to be home, but I’m also just happy to finally get to see our friends again. I missed them so much. Honestly, as odd as it is, I’ve missed Jeff the most, but we’ve hardly been apart in years. He’s the closest thing to family I’ve had most of my life. Is that bad?” I cringe as I look up at my sexy purple alien, his smile doing funny things to my stomach.

He throws an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close as we walk, and I wrap my arms around his waist, resisting the temptation to grab his tail. “No, Princess, it’s not a bad thing. We all have that one person we have a closer connection to than others. Jeff has been all you’ve had for a large portion of your life. Be glad you have him.”

We enter the central circle of the village, and my name is screeched at an ungodly high pitch before a very excited Willa throws herself into my arms. She quickly releases me and lunges for Vahru as I’m hugged tightly in Jeff’s arms and spun in a circle. He sets me on my feet, squeezing tighter as he says, “Please tell me you never have to leave like that again.”

I laugh, unable to make any promises at the moment, hoping that the new equipment will make him feel a bit better since we’ll be in constant contact, just like old times on Earth. I pull out of his grasp, my eyes scanning his face and body, taking in the familiarity that is Jeff. His cropped and styled brown hair, those hazel eyes that feel like home, and that bright smile. He looks a bit more tan than I remember, too.

Before I can say anything back or comment, there’s a high note sung out from my left, and I turn just in time to be tackled by tentacles, nearly knocking me to the ground. Strong hands catch my shoulders and keep me upright as I barely manage to hug Melodia back, my arms pinned to my sides. I look up to see Tonya and Criido on the porch, laughing and waving hello.

“It’s so good to be home and see you all. We have some gifts and so much to tell you!” I laugh as Melodia finally disentangles herself, but one tentacle stays firmly wrapped around my hand. “Jeff, do you want to bring your hunter team into the meeting? I had them in mind for this as well.”

Turning, he gestures to the group behind him, and we all file inside Criido’s. Willa and Tonya head to the kitchen to make tea while the rest of us head for the large meeting room in the center of the home. Vahru sets the bag beside the table as the hunters take positions on the outside of the room, leaving the couch and chairs for us.

“Son, I hope you can forgive me for the past. I want us to move forward as we were, a united team of father and son.” Criido steps up beside Vahru, his staff in hand, his necklaces and arm jewelry of bones and beads in place, the brightly colored vest on his chest. He looks just as lively and decorated as he did the day I met him. His long black hair is down and pinned back from his face by a crown of sorts, and I’m thrilled to see him on his feet.

Vahru turns to his father, grabbing his hand in his. From my position to the side of them, I can see the resemblance in their profiles, their stances. Vahru is so much like his father, and he’ll make a good chief one day.

“I’m not happy you kept such a thing from me, but I understand why you did. I can forgive you, but I want us to continue to be honest from here on out.”

Criido nods in agreement, and Vahru pulls him in for a hug. It’s over quickly, but I’m so proud of them for getting past this. We have a lot to sort out to stop this attack from Tavionna, and with the deal I’ve made with Charlie, we have a lot to discuss and plan for during this catastrophe. Willa comes through the door from the kitchen, a long blue dress with flowers on it hanging from her frame. The straps are thick, the bodice high, but it’s sleeveless and form fitting to her knees. She’s gorgeous with her elegantly braided hair and bright smile.

Tonya and Melodia follow her closely, their tentacles dancing along the floor as their four eyes dart around to each of us, taking in the scene. I finally remember to pull out the translator in my pocket and pop it into my ear before we get started. Without it, I’ll never understand them.

“Kari, you know you could probably go to a space port and they’d give you a dissolvable translator with more languages than that one. You’d never have to remember to put it on, and you’d be able to speak other languages as well.” Tonya grabs my attention, and I gape at her words.

“Why didn’t you give us those from the beginning!?”

She giggles, a tentacle covering her tiny mouth as she sings. “Our people didn’t have that technology. We made those translators ourselves and downloaded what languages we could from the internet. We didn’t get out much, it wasn’t needed until Kurgash.”

“Well, good to know.” I laugh, and so does everyone else as we all settle in, the others all sitting as Vahru and I stand on the other side of the table so we can address them.

“So, as you guys know, we went to Ithosirah to get some new technology from a young kid who’s developed just what we need.” Grabbing the bag, I lift it onto the table and pull out a pocket watch. “These are interstellar comms, which will keep us in touch no matter where we are. They have 3 modes, a hologram mode for video calling, an audio only call mode, and a stealth mode where you use an earpiece. They also have messaging as well. I have one for each of you, the numbers preprogrammed for each of us, and your names on the back so we know who to give them to.”

Vahru helps me pass out the comms, and we quickly run down how to use them so everyone is on the same page. “I also have some telepathy comms for us four,” I nod to Jeff and Willa, “in case we ever need them for a more dangerous mission. This will allow us, on planet only, to communicate telepathically so we don’t blow our cover.”

Pulling out the suits I bought, I pass Willa and Jeff theirs before explaining. “These are special stealth suits that can render us invisible. Here are the helmets as well, we had to have them adjust Willa and Vahru’s for tails and horns, so hopefully they fit well. When the visor on the helmet is down, we can see each other when invisible so we don’t stumble into each other. It’s pretty neat.”

“Kari, do you really think we’ll need these?” Willa mumbles, concern and a hint of fear on her face.

“I hope not, but I’m playing the better safe than sorry card here. I’d rather be prepared than dead. Who knows what sorts of things we’ll be dealing with in the future. Which leads me to the final item, the most important of all.”

Lifting my arm, I show them the watch on my wrist. “This is the portal device. This will allow us to open portals to anywhere, cutting travel time down to nothing. Hopefully this will make it easier to help those across the universe. However, there’s a catch to us having it.”

Jeff bristles, leaning forward as he eyes me. “What kind of catch?”

“Nothing dangerous, so stop bristling.” I narrow my eyes at him, and he returns the gesture. “I did promise to help Charlie with a project of his own. You see, he and his friends are rescuing child slaves from all over the universe, but they don’t have enough space to house them all. I agreed to help him find a home for them in exchange for this specific piece of tech. Vahru graciously offered up the village to start with.”

Silence meets me as they all stare, blinking, and I pinch my lips together, waiting for the beratement.

Jeff takes a deep breath, standing as he looks me in the eye. “You do remember that we’re still trying to fight some unseen witch from afar who’s after the chief, right? Not to mention the destiny you have to fix this planet, and you want to add people to the village, kids, no less, in the midst of all this? Is that really wise?” He scoffs slightly as he stares at me like I may have lost a bit of my mind.

There it is. He has a point, he’s not wrong that it’s kind of crazy to do this, but what choice do I have? I can save lives, help kids here, and if I do my job right, I’ll be able to protect them while they're here, so no harm done. It’s not ideal, but I’m trying to do the right thing.

“Look, I know that we have a lot going on, a lot to solve here, but we’re helping kids who have nowhere else to go. We have space to add a few cabins, they could help cook, sew, whatever, and if they’re like us, maybe they’ll bring more fated mates to the village! This could be a good thing.”

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