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| original cover art by Frank Freas |
Vance never told readers very many details about Oman Ursht, so to accommodate my Fan Fiction Disease I am forced to invent some key features of the character such as his immediate family members, particularly his wife and children, including Wilken, the brother of Oman and next in the line of succession in the Idite Dynasty.
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| The Iidi of Dreavero |
In addition to his widely recognized role as commander of the Whelm, Oman Ursht is also involved in the ongoing effort to develop a new human variant with powerful telepathic abilities. This effort is guided by R. Nyrtia and Delpha, the artificial life remnant of Grean the Kac'hin. Both Nyrtia and Delpha are working in coordination with the native Phari of Alastor Cluster.
In 2019, I depicted Ryl Shermatz as the high-ranking member of the Whelm who asks Jantiff and Glisten Ravensroke to visit the planet Yerophet. Below, in part 18 of "The Alastor Network", Ryl finally visits Yerophet during the 'cold fever' epidemic.
The wife of Oman Ursht is Acyreff, a woman originally known as Alferica. At the time of the troubles on Yerophet, Oman and Acyreff are both about 40 years old. Acyreff was originally from the planet Marune. She is the teleportation duplicate of the woman who was the mother of Efraim.
Arriving at Yerophet, Alferica is eager to meet up with Voyt, the 14-year-old daughter of Alferica and Oman who has been working at the Whelm comstation on Yerophet, trying to find a solution to the cold fever problem. Voyt is a precocious and talented biochemistry student who is working in collaboration with a woman named Konywhn. However, due to the need to set a trap for starmenters, Alferica takes Lord and Lady Gensifer off of the spaceship Netal and they go to Ottengla.
Konywhn thinks of herself as simply being a native of Yerophet, and has no idea that she is related to the Connatic (she is 24 years old). She is a junior officer in the Whelm, serving on Yerophet as a planetary communications specialist. Konywhn is the daughter of Ryl and Lora and has an almost normal human phenotype, but she has some ability to detect Phet telepathic signals on
the Phari network.
While Oman and Eleyn are traveling to Yerophet, Yurahs spends as much time as possible with her father and grandmother on board Isirjir Ziaspraide before she must hurry back to Numenes and her duties as part of the Katena Dance Company . Using her special telepathic abilities, Eleyn is able to link her mind to Lav, the nanoscopic replicoid inside Yurahs.
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| lo'Whots |
Shermatz wants to make use of Glisten's telepathic abilities to solve the problem of "cold fever", an affliction that strikes human settlers on Yerophet when they come under the telepathic influence of the native Kerub. The Kerub are a fairly recently-developed type of Human-Plesypy hybrid with blue skin, fur and the ability to survive the cold conditions on Yerophet.
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| Gharks |
Alferica and Oman have several children, the oldest of which is Heshlo. They also have an adopted daughter named Yurahs. Originally from the planet Trullion where she was named Sharue, Yurahs is the teleportation duplicate of a girl who died at a young age. Alastor Cluster, a constructed artifact of the Phari, only existed in the Asimov Reality, part of Deep Time during the Trysta Truce.
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| Tuntoci settlers on Yerophet |
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| the Asimov Reality |
When Oman reaches Yerophet, he arrives with his mother, Eleyn, who has recently returned to Alastor Cluster after a visit to Earth. In part 20 of "The Alastor Network" Oman will take Heshlo from his duty station on Netal, and along with Eleyn, they will visit Voyt and Konywhn on the planet's surface. However, first in part 20, Voyt makes a quick visit to Netal and is introduced to the upgraded Josef system.
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| Yurahs: a vision of the future. |
The visit by the Connatic to Yerophet that is described in "The Alastor Network" takes place about the same time as the events depicted in "The Power of Pause".
Nykark was in the Blazon spaceship repair facility, being upgraded to Whelm standards. Arriving on board Nykark, Ryl was met by Commander
Jenking who said, "Hello, Ryl. How did your mission to Triskelion go?"
"What Dr. Jeghtop used to rescue her sister from captivity on Yrinna. It is a small device, a hand-held hierion field generator." Ryl gazed into the fresh, intelligent eyes of Maxy and tried to sense if she had any telepathic ability. All he could feel radiating from her mind was an aura of competence. "What makes you think you can obtain technology from Triskelion?"
Maxy laughed. "They need skilled workers on Triskelion... they can't use robots for everything." She smiled, thinking about the sexbots of Triskelion. "If I make myself se... valuable enough, they might overlook a few peccadilloes, like the petty theft of a fraction of their vast supply of hierions."
"We will try." Ryl told Maxy, "The goal is to capture the Kraken, which also has a set of these compact generators." He placed a hand on Green's shoulder, "Once you have these generators reassembled, report to the Tykonder. While on board Tykonder, start designing a manufacturing facility for building field generators. That's a triple-A priority, so recruit any expert help that you need. Got it?"
Connatica Eleyn said, "Yes, I'm back from Earth. Where are you, Oman?"
Oman and Eleyn had dinner at one of the Ketenary Island tourist facilities then they went to the dance performance. The show was very highly charged by the sashei of the sexy dancers and given Eleyn's great telepathic sensitivity, Oman suspected that his mother must have had at least one orgasm during the event. Afterwards, they met Yurahs back-stage. The two women hugged and with a knowing smile Yurahs told her grand-mother, "Glad we were able to give you a couple of orgasms grandma. I enjoyed the feel of your mind during the show."
Ryl congratulated Yurahs on her pregnancy, but he was eager to be off to Yerophet. He told Yurahs, "I need to catch up with your mother. We're off to Yerophet to deal with the cold fever crisis. I'll leave you two so you can catch up, but I have a ship to ca-"
Ryl asked, "What does that mean?"
Lo the robot and Oman were watching the two women, Lo with his hands on the shoulders of Yurahs and Ryl with his hands on Eleyn's shoulders. Some of Grean the Kac'hin's infites migrated from Ryl's body into Eleyn. Now with Yurahs' and Eleyn's telepathic abilities being synchronized and amplified, Ryl was getting flashes of information from the future. He saw a seen with four young women, participating in some kind of ritual with Grean. Or was that Grean? Maybe some other Kac'hin?
Yurahs asked in dismay, "How can my unborn daughter, only an early embryo, already have a mind? I don't believe this!" She clutched at her abdomen and shouted, "Ow!"
⎯ The Alastor Network
Part 18. Lavany, Bryget and Snoyl (read part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13) (part 14) (part 15) (part 16) (part 17)
The Isirjir Ziaspraide and the entire Thaiatic Fleet of the Whelm had taken up orbital positions near the planet Numenes, using their light-bending cloaks to hide themselves as they usually did when the Connatic was in residence at the royal palace of Lusz. The Isirjir Ziaspraide had recently had its damaged hull repaired, but craftsmen were still at work on the interior, trying to return the magnificent old vessel to its traditional glory. The Connatic now ordered the entire fleet except for Isirjir Ziaspraide and Volkymyhr to proceed to Yerophet. Oman planned to soon take the Volkymyhr to Yerophet where the settlers were on edge due to the growing problem of the lethal "cold fever".
Acyreff had already taken Appenine and the 8th Fleet off towards Yerophet, but Oman wanted to visit his daughter Yurahs who he had not seen since the discovery that she was pregnant. He planned to attend his daughter's dance performance that evening, but first he had taken a shuttle to Blazon spaceport in order to inspect the advance hierion field generators of the Nykark. Oman was traveling to Blazon using his identity of Over-Inspector Ryl Shermatz of the Whelm.
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| Original cover art by James Settles |
Ryl replied, "Not good. I did not get my hands on the fancy new technology that Dr. Jeghtop used on Yrinna to rescue her sister." They were walking towards the field generator room of Nykark. "Tell me what you have learned about the special equipment on this ship."
Jenking led Ryl into the control room for Nykark's hierion field generators and introduced Maxy Green, a technical specialist for the Whelm. Jenking told Green, "Tell Inspector Shermatz what you told me."
Green was a recent graduate from the Whelm Academy, but possibly the one person in the Whelm who understood Triskelion nanotechnology. She had grown up on Triskelion and then emigrated along with her parents to the planet Bhoreng, Alastor 41, when she was fifteen. She took Ryl by the arm and led him to where a team of engineers was carefully re-assembling the field generator that could knock Jarnell engines off line. "We're expecting Captain Lanting to be back on board as early as tomorrow, so we are putting the generators back together. The bad news is, we can't build more of these, not without a source of hierions. The good news is, after seeing the component parts that were built into the generators, I understand how they work and I might be able to visit Triskelion and find a way to start equipping our fleets with these devices."
Ryl said, "I was just rebuffed by Dr. Ektenor when I asked for access to his D3I device."
Green asked, "What is a D3I?"
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| Original cover art by James Settles and Stephen Fabian. |
Green explained, "My mother used to work in Dr. Ektenor's research lab. I could return to Triskelion, infiltrate the manufacturing facility where hierion field generators are grown and start diverting a fraction of their hierion supply. What I've learned from studying these generators is that vast numbers of hierions can be held in tiny containment vials. It should be possible to smuggle hierions from Triskelion to Blazon."
Ryl asked, "We could build all of the generator components? All we need from Triskelion is a supply of hierions?"
"I'm not saying it will be easy, Inspector, but yes." Maxy could see that Ryl was skeptical. "I believe we could do it, Sir."
Ryl sighed. "I'd hate to risk you on a spy mission to Triskelion. What if you get caught?"
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| robots of Triskelion |
Ryl turned to Jenking and asked, "What do you think?"
Jenking complained, "Her plan sounds like a suicide mission. I suspect that Triskelion uses all of their supply of hierions as soon as they are mined." Jenking gazed at Maxy and predicted, "They'd notice the theft of any significant number of hierions and I don't think Maxy would escape with just a hand slap."
Just then Ryl received an urgent message on his comring. He glanced at the ring and told Jenking, "I have to take this call. Maxy's plan might have some merit, but first, we have an opportunity to double our supply of these generators. A task force is being sent to Ottengla, including three battleships."
Jenking asked, "You are finally going to do something about Tirret?"
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| Kraken |
Maxy nodded and gave a half-hearted salute. "Yes, Sir." She would have preferred to stay at Blazon, within easy reach of all the technical expertise of the Whelm headquarters on Numenes. She wondered: what good can I do while off on some wild-Tirret chase?
With a nod to Maxy and a pat on Jenking's shoulder, Ryl departed from the generator control room. He spoke into his comring, "Mom?"
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| comring |
"Over at Blazon, playing the role of Inspector Shermatz, but I'm returning to Numenes. You are at the palace?"
"Yes, I just arrived. Where is everyone?"
Ryl exited from Nykark and made his way out of the spaceship repair facility. "Acy just left for Yerophet. Heshlo and Voyt are already there. I've got a date for this evening to watch a dance performance by Yurahs. Would you like to go with me?"
Eleyn replied, "What's this I'm sensing in your mind, Oman? Yurahs is pregnant?"
Eleyn had always been able to peer into Oman's thoughts. "Careful mother, I'm walking through a busy spaceport, in the role of Ryl. Yes, it is confirmed, she's expecting a baby girl." Flashing his Over-Inspector ID, Ryl strolled onto a crowded shuttle that was just about ready for departure taking a load of tourists down to the surface of Numenes. Speaking into his comring, Ryl said, "Meet me at the Ketenary spaceport in one hour." He ended the call.
A steward told Ryl, "We're full, sir... every seat filled. You'll have to stand with us in the crew compartment." Ryl made himself as comfortable as possible for the short flight down planet, trying to ignore all the curious glances from the shuttle crew members.
______________________
Eleyn looked up at Yurahs and marveled, "My, how you've grown! Ten years ago you were a wee child."
Feeling Eleyn's telepathic probing and her grandmother's eyes on her breasts, Yurahs pulled on a shirt. "It is good to have you back on Numenes... how was your trip to Earth?"
Eleyn explained, "I've come back in order to give an interim report. You grandfather is still there, doing more research. I'll go back and help him as soon as I share what we have learned so far."
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| Yurahs has a vision of the future. original cover art: Tom Miller |
Eleyn interrupted her son, "I want to catch up with both of you." She asked Yurahs, "Heshlo is the father?"
Yurahs nodded. "Don't be shocked, Eleyn. I'm not really his sister, you know."
Eleyn told Oman, "I need to explain to you what your father and I learned about the Asterothropes. There is much to tell, and what I can share with you might help your mission on Yerophet."
Ryl asked, "Why didn't father travel with you?"
"He stayed on Earth because he was in the middle of something important. I'll explain exactly why, but it will take time. He's actually inside a virtual reality simulator of our previous Reality."
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| Foundation Reality |
"As I said, there is much to explain. I better go with you to Yerophet."
Yurahs said, "I've got two days off now. Let me fly out with the two of you."
Ryl spoke into his comring, "Prepare Isirjir Ziaspraide for flight. I'll be on board in one hour. Send the Volkymyhr down to the Ketenery Islands and have its aircar pick me up, along with three other passengers. We'll immediately transfer to Isirjir Ziaspraide and then depart for Yerophet" He ended his call, glanced at his daughter's skimpy thong and told Yurahs, "Throw on some clothes."
____________________________
On their way towards Yerophet, inside the Isirjir Ziaspraide, Yurahs and Eleyn had their hands held to the sides of each others heads. They were trying to make sense of the telepathic signals that Yurahs could sense coming from the tiny embryo inside her uterus.
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| Original rendering: "Tiger Den" by henry1850. Image available under the CC BY-NC 3.0 license |
Ryl struggled to understand where and when that scene was taking place. He heard the 'voice' of Grean: You saw a future gathering of some Lavany mind clones.
Eleyn told Oman, "Lavany already has a mind... I believe I'm detecting a nanoscopic replicoid."
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| image source |
Ryl felt a telepathic sensation like a punch. He felt a lingering agony of sudden nausea. Gasping with pain, he asked, "What was that?" Eleyn had pulled her hands back from Yurahs and was now clutching her own head. Ryl asked his mother, "Did you feel that... that attempt to hurt... ?"
Yurahs giggled and replied, "Okay, little one! Now I believe." She told Oman, "Lavany has a direct nanowire link from my uterus to my brain. I'm going to have to get used to her antics." She massaged her lower abdomen and imagined that Lavany's replicoid wanted to get out of the womb and start living her life. "There is no doubt... Lav is in contact with Eleyn."
Finally, the Lavany replicoid relaxed, and stopped trying to telepathically link to Eleyn. Yurahs sighed and had a sudden vision from the future; she saw herself rushing into Heshlo's outstretched arms and then she impaled herself on Heshlo's waiting erection. Before his departure for Yerophet, Yurahs and Heshlo had been desperately trying to make love as often as possible, and now she missed him greatly. Feeling a sudden need to better link telepathically to Lav, Yurahs took Lo by the hand and took him to her bedroom. After Yurahs achieved a satisfying orgasm, and slipping into an orgasm trance with Lo, she was better able to merge her thoughts with the Lav mind inside of her uterus. As the trance ended, she remained on top of Lo, all four of their hands now against her abdomen. Yurahs told Lo, "Lav is in contact with two Kerub on Yerophet... they are exactly her age."
Eleyn, who also had the ability to shift her mind through time, went to stand behind Yurahs. She placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and closed her eyes. Eleyn could sense that Yurahs was still thinking about the feeling of Lo's penis inside her tight vagina. Trying to forget about the orgasm she had just had in the shower, Eleyn told Oman, "Lav is looking far into the future, about a dozen years."
Oman chuckled, "I can only see five minutes into the future. I must go hear a report about the upgraded Josef system." He told Eleyn, "You can come along if you want to pay your respects to Joole."
Eleyn was concealing the fact that she was now herself no longer biological and was, in fact, using an artificial body composed of femtobot components. She considered morphing her body and removing ten pounds of simulated fat from her bust and hips, but resisting the temptation to undo those body form adjustments that had been requested by her husband, she instead used her clothing nanites to alter the shape of her uniform. With the uniform conforming perfectly to her figure and now feeling much more comfortable, she asked Oman, "What did you say about troubles on Wyst?"
"The people of Wyst recently went through the travails of an attempted power grab. Many people were killed. I took that opportunity to start making changes to Wyst society. Joole has turned those changes into a full-scale social revolution."
Eleyn wondered how she would get past feeling guilty over hiding the secret of how she had been transformed into a replicoid. She knew from personal experience how Oman was dedicated to using every tool available to him to pursue the goal of enhancing human telepathic abilities. She felt that her own second life as a replicoid was a gift and she had no interest in her son trying to treat her new body like a piece of useful technology. To protect her own secret, she was now happy to let Oman focus his schemes on Yurahs and her baby and the nanoscopic replicoid inside them. Eleyn had her own reasons for going to Yerophet and hoped to work quietly, without much attention from Oman.
Just a few hours ahead of them was a huge fleet of Whelm spaceships, and somewhere closer was the Volkymyhr, standing by to hurry Yurahs back to Numenes before her next dance session. Of course, none of those other ships could be seen, only the light of stars filtering into the strange non-material domain of the intersplit.
Next: part 19 of "The Alastor Network".
Yurahs giggled and replied, "Okay, little one! Now I believe." She told Oman, "Lavany has a direct nanowire link from my uterus to my brain. I'm going to have to get used to her antics." She massaged her lower abdomen and imagined that Lavany's replicoid wanted to get out of the womb and start living her life. "There is no doubt... Lav is in contact with Eleyn."
Ryl asked, "What is a replicoid?
Eleyn explained, "An ancient technology, developed by robots on Earth." She was still holding her head as if trying to shield herself from an invading mind.
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| Mind Clones |
Lo was struggling to accept the idea of a less than one month old fetus thinking about distant, unseen fellow fetuses. Lo said, "We should discuss this with your father. I've never heard of telepathic babies."
Yurahs shook her head. "There is nothing for father to do. Everything is being arranged by the mind clones. I've seen into the future... Lavany will get her wish... to meet Bryget and Snoyl."
Lo could telepathically sense that the Lav replicoid, having achieved contact with Yurahs, was now content, but he could not follow Yurahs into the depths of Lav's thoughts. "Bryget and Snoyl?"
"That's what Lav is calling the two baby Kerub... the other mind clones" Yurahs had a sudden flash of insight. Sometimes it was as if she could see into the future with amazing clarity. "This is strange... now that I see more details... I don't think Bryget is actually a Kerub. She is something else... maybe a Human-Kerub hybrid, but the three of them are linked telepathically, regardless." Yurahs opened her eyes and finally pulled herself off of Lo, releasing his erect penis. She politely commented, "Thank you for that lovely orgasm. It was exactly what I needed in order to open my mind to Lav."
"I need to get dressed." She kissed Lo's penis, regretting the fact that she could not grab another quick orgasm right then. "I need to tell father and grandma what I learned during our little make-out session." Lo deflated his penis and then got dressed. Yurahs threw on a silk robe and since her feet were cold, she also pulled on a pair of bright red stockings.
They went to the Connatic's dining room where they found Oman in video conference with a Whelm officer. Oman told the person at the other end of the call, "I will see you in about half an hour." The Connatic broke the connection and turned his full attention towards Lo and his daughter. His eyes lingered on the abdomen of Yurahs and he could weakly sense the unusual mind pattern of his grand-daughter, Lavany. Or, more precisely her replicoid, Lav. He could sense that Yurahs was now thinking of the replicoid as 'Lav' so as to distinguish between the two entities inside her uterus. He asked, "What have you learned from Lav?"
Yurahs was feeling a bit tired and slightly dizzy. She sat at the table and
drank some water from a crystal goblet. "She is not happy about having to wait
until after Lavany is born before she can start collaborating with the other mind clones. I had a vision... I think I saw the future that Lav is eager to reach... a time when
both her Kerub contacts from Yerophet will visit Lusz... but..."
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| human-alien hybrid |
"I need to get dressed." She kissed Lo's penis, regretting the fact that she could not grab another quick orgasm right then. "I need to tell father and grandma what I learned during our little make-out session." Lo deflated his penis and then got dressed. Yurahs threw on a silk robe and since her feet were cold, she also pulled on a pair of bright red stockings.
They went to the Connatic's dining room where they found Oman in video conference with a Whelm officer. Oman told the person at the other end of the call, "I will see you in about half an hour." The Connatic broke the connection and turned his full attention towards Lo and his daughter. His eyes lingered on the abdomen of Yurahs and he could weakly sense the unusual mind pattern of his grand-daughter, Lavany. Or, more precisely her replicoid, Lav. He could sense that Yurahs was now thinking of the replicoid as 'Lav' so as to distinguish between the two entities inside her uterus. He asked, "What have you learned from Lav?"
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| Joole |
Eleyn entered the room and hugged her grand-daughter. She had just emerged from a hot shower and smelled like flowers. She was wearing only a towel
that was haphazardly, if artfully, wrapped around about half of her
torso. Yurahs had no childhood memory of ever seeing so much of Eleyn's shapely body. She was rather dazzled by her grandmother's beauty. Ryl was impressed by how little his mother had aged while off visiting Earth. In fact, she looked younger and more voluptuous than he remembered her being ten years previously.
Lo explained to Eleyn, "Lavany is in contact with two other babies
on Yerophet."
Yurahs slipped a hand inside her robe and holding her finger tips pressed to her abdomen and close to Levany she continued, "...Lav is now saying that only Bryget will leave Yerophet and visit Lusz. One of the mind clones I saw is from another planet..."
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| original cover art by Ed Emshwiller |
Oman chuckled, "I can only see five minutes into the future. I must go hear a report about the upgraded Josef system." He told Eleyn, "You can come along if you want to pay your respects to Joole."
Eleyn opened her eyes and moved to take hold of Oman's arm, "Joole is here, on this ship?"
"Yes, she finished up with her work on Wyst and is now helping plan this visit to Yerophet." Oman tried not to think about the recent horrific loss of innocent lives in the explosions on Wyst. He ran his fingers through his mother's lovely hair which was still damp from her recent shower. "How did you manage to stay so young during your travels?"
"Yes, she finished up with her work on Wyst and is now helping plan this visit to Yerophet." Oman tried not to think about the recent horrific loss of innocent lives in the explosions on Wyst. He ran his fingers through his mother's lovely hair which was still damp from her recent shower. "How did you manage to stay so young during your travels?"
"Oh, I have my beauty secrets." Eleyn told Oman, "It will be nice to see Agent Joole again."
Yurahs jumped up and said, "I want to go, too."
Eleyn suggested to Yurahs, "I won't be long... I just want to say hello to Joole... an old friend... so why not rest here until I return?"
Yurahs stubbornly shook her head. "No, grandmother, I want to spend every possible moment with you and father before I have to return to Numenes."
Yurahs jumped up and said, "I want to go, too."
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| Wyst |
Yurahs stubbornly shook her head. "No, grandmother, I want to spend every possible moment with you and father before I have to return to Numenes."
Eleyn went to put on her Whelm uniform. Oman teased Yurahs, "You are seriously out of uniform. If you walk around Isirjir Ziaspraide dressed like that, how will I maintain discipline of the troops?"
Oman spoke to Lo, "Quickly bring suitable clothing from Yurahs' closet." Lo ran to Yurahs' room.
Oman spoke to Lo, "Quickly bring suitable clothing from Yurahs' closet." Lo ran to Yurahs' room.
Oman tenderly put his arms around his daughter. He muttered, "I'm having trouble adjusting to the existence of this mysterious replicoid inside Lavany... inside you."
Eleyn returned, struggling a bit to seal herself into her tight fitting uniform. She complained, "I put on ten pounds during the past ten years. This old uniform does not really fit me."
Oman assured his mother, "You look great. After seeing you, I'm thinking that a ten year vacation might suit both Acy and myself."
"Don't expect me to return to serving as Connatica." Eleyn exhaled and forced her uniform to seal up. She suggested to Ryl, "Maybe you could hand power over to your brother."
Oman shrugged. "I'd be tempted, if I knew where he was. Not long after you went to Earth, he went off on his own adventure, trying to explore the Beyond and map out starmenter worlds beyond the Cluster. I fear he may have been captured or killed."
Eleyn put an arm around her granddaughter and Oman put his hand on Yurahs' abdomen. He stroked the soft skin of her taut athlete's belly and he had a flash-like memory of the future, of Yurahs in the days when she would be much further along gestating Lavany. He could not keep from his mind the memory of the last time he had visited Yerophet to witness the birth of his daughter. Surprised to receive more information from the future, he wishfully said, "I've been on Yerophet twice before, both times I experienced no real danger. I wish I could see into the future of my next visit..."
Eleyn was worried about the future she had seen. "What about this new epidemic of cold fever cases? So many deaths in such a short time is unprecedented."
Lo finally arrived with a jumpsuit for Yurahs. He told her, "I had to make some alterations to fit your long, lean body." Yurahs tossed her robe onto a nearby couch and slipped into the jumpsuit.
Oman put a finger tip on Eleyn's nose and felt a warm wave of telepathic emanations from his mother. Trying to sooth her doubts, he said, "I suspect that my telepathic abilities make me immune to such dangers." He guided Yurahs towards the suit of rooms occupied by Joole.
Walking along behind Oman and Yurahs, Eleyn pulled at the fabric of her red, two-piece dress uniform. Ten years previously, one of her royal titles was First Woman and she had been something a crusader around the Cluster, encouraging women to have careers and not simply lead the life of a mother. One of Eleyn's public identities had been "Provocateur Shermatz" of the Women's Liberation Brigade. In that role, her "uniform" had been bright red and skin tight, accenting her figure while leaving her taught abdomen bare. She now struggled a bit to properly confine her breasts in the top piece of the uniform.
Oman put a finger tip on Eleyn's nose and felt a warm wave of telepathic emanations from his mother. Trying to sooth her doubts, he said, "I suspect that my telepathic abilities make me immune to such dangers." He guided Yurahs towards the suit of rooms occupied by Joole.
Walking along behind Oman and Yurahs, Eleyn pulled at the fabric of her red, two-piece dress uniform. Ten years previously, one of her royal titles was First Woman and she had been something a crusader around the Cluster, encouraging women to have careers and not simply lead the life of a mother. One of Eleyn's public identities had been "Provocateur Shermatz" of the Women's Liberation Brigade. In that role, her "uniform" had been bright red and skin tight, accenting her figure while leaving her taught abdomen bare. She now struggled a bit to properly confine her breasts in the top piece of the uniform.
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| on Yerophet |
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| Glisten, beside the Shard Sea on Zeck, Alastor 503. |
Yurahs was walking beside Oman with her hand on his arm. "I wonder if I should tell Joole about my baby."
Oman warned his daughter, "My advice is: don't rub Agent Joole's nose in your lucky situation. I don't believe she is aware of the relationship between you and Heshlo."
Eleyn suggested, "I don't want to try to explain to Joole our little secret. Neither of you two really believes what I've said about this nanoscopic replicoid, Lav."
Yurahs patted her belly and glanced over her shoulder at Eleyn. "I don't have to believe your tale about Lav the replicoid." She tried to put on tranquil face. She proclaimed, "I'm just going to pretend that this is a normal pregnancy."
They pause at a portal and for a minute watched the stars of the Cluster.
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| image source |
Oman and his family were seasoned travelers, taking interstellar travel for granted. While on Earth, Eleyn had learned some of the history of how humans had been given access to Jarnell technology, but she would share that story only with her son, after Yurahs returned home.
Next: part 19 of "The Alastor Network".
Related Reading: 2020 Change Challenge - 2022 Change Challenge
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