Chapter 4

Gathered around the board table inside a white room NASA representatives sat across from Diun and Chenosh along with their assistants. It was early morning and the negotiations were expected to take some time.

"We are happy to have you here Mrs. Chenosh, and Mr. Diun. We believe all three of our organizations could work well together." Mr. Craig Daniels head of NASA said.

"Despite the President's support of this project I am not so sure." Chenosh replied. Her face was cold and unreadable, as was her tone, "I came here merely to listen because of that support as well as my grandfather's. At least he will see a definite gain in this endeavor. For me there is far more risk, and I fail to see why I should risk anything."

The NASA representatives were shocked, and Craig began talking with his fellows. They were a mix of men and women of different ethnicities. Each of them was brilliant in their own right, some of the best the United States had to offer.

"I was unaware that you felt this way. Your grandfather spoke of your interest in helping us." Craig said.

"Things change. I have looked over the figures and have noted that I will have to expand my operation to the point that I will be almost totally dependent on you coming through on your end of the contract. Should you decide to go with another company if they provide a cheaper price, or some other unforeseen possibility occur then I will take a hit. I am not in the practice of going out on a limb for people who have not earned my trust. Your contract states that any product I make for NASA can only be used by your people. That limits possible markets, and I prefer freedom of movement." Chenosh said.

"A legitimate concern to be sure, but there is prestige to be considered. With NASA as a client more companies may as for your products." Diun countered.

"And I will be unable to provide them with the already promised products if they ask. What is more, I have already gained a new client in the form of the U.S. Army. I no longer need NASA. In addition the Army has agreed to let me sell a lesser version of the same medical supplies. I'm sorry you will have to convince me to risk so much, for what seems like a small gain." Chenosh responded confident and in control. Xander whispered something in her ear and she turned back to the Craig.

"Unfortunately I have a busy day ahead of me and will have to leave these negotiations early. I am sorry for the abruptness of my decision, and in the manner in which I must leave, but I wanted to tell you in person." Chenosh said rising and walking the NASA representatives calling after her. NASA knew that Diun did not recommend anyone unless they were good, and the fact that the Army had jumped on the idea of working with her company spoke volumes.

"We have to get her back Mr. Ja. Can I count on your help in this matter?" Craig asked.

"While I cannot force her I will say this if you want to change her mind you must offer her something she is interested in and hold nothing back." Diun said.

"And what would interest her?" Craig asked.

"It is only because we are good friends Craig that I am telling you this, but she and I have notice a new arrival to this world. We have been trying to track down the owner and are most curious about him. I would suggest you produce him and allow the two of them to meet." Diun said.

"What makes you think I have him?" Craig asked.

"Because your thoughts betray you my friend. We both know you have been thinking about him for our last two meetings. A moment ago your mind even flashed to him. Secrets are for enemies not allies. I understand why you did it but Chenosh takes it as a sign that you don't trust her. If you don't trust her why should she trust you?" Diun said.

"I'll see what I can do." Craig said knowing he had been caught red handed. These Harreden were very hard to fool, if at all. Hopefully he could mend the fences and convince Chenosh that NASA could be trusted.

Chenosh received a call the following morning from Craig himself.

"Mrs. Ja I would like to ask you for a second chance to convince you to help us. If you will agree to meet me today I believe I can add a little incentive." Craig said.

"Intriguing. I suppose I could make some time after lunch to meet with you." Chenosh replied.

"Excellent. I'll send a car to bring you to the airport where a plane will be standing by. I look forward to meeting you again." Craig said with a hint of eagerness. He had already phoned ahead to get her usual lunch schedule thanks to Diun's input. He had been quite correct in guessing that Chenosh would not rush to meet him. She would hold off a little so as not to appear eager. As Diun had explained, that simply was not her way when it came to business. Eagerness in her mind meant the other side had the upper hand, so showing it was simply out of the question. She would appear cool and collected and let a possible enemy or ally show their eagerness so she would always control the outcome.

"Very well Mr. Daniels I'll see you when I arrive." Craig said with a smile. When she arrived at his office Craig welcomed her in.

"You mentioned something that would interest me." Chenosh said.

"Yes, I did. If you will kindly follow me I'll show you." Craig said leading the way down a series of halls until they came to an elevator. Stepping into it they went three floors down and stepped back out. To Chenosh's left she saw a glass window looking into a lab. People dressed in nurses' and doctors' uniforms checked equipment as they monitored the condition of a male patient on the examination table. Lying there he seemed asleep and Chenosh immediately recognized him it was the man in her dreams.

"We have been unable to wake him, still he is a fascinating subject. His skin seems indestructible. Our scientists can't even take a sample off of him." Craig said but Chenosh barely heard him. Her eyes were only for the Primal male lying there before her on the examination table. As if sensing her presence the Primal opened his eyes and sat up. People in the room gasped and sat up, as this had happened with no warning. Monitors registered a sudden heartbeat and brain activity as he stood up. At seven foot tall, he towered over all of them. Striding forward he came to the glass looking down at Chenosh despite the fact that they were not on an even plane.

She gasped in awe and joy as their minds touched. Each reading the other and to her surprise he allowed it. Her grandfather had been right the young male's mind was indeed vast and Chenosh felt like she could have drowned in it. It seem to stretch everywhere and one semblance of consciousness folded into another. Chenosh felt him withdraw as she began to feel light headed. The young male had no name, that much she was sure of. His people had no spoken language, so it would not be how they identified each other. From what she had been able to piece together while connected with him, they spoke much like many Harreden by images and intention. Chenosh could barely hide her excitement.

It seemed the Primal was excited too as he stepped forward through the glass. It shattered on contact as he merely walked through unharmed, both Chenosh and Craig had naturally jumped back and looked on in shock. Chenosh herself would have had to gain considerable momentum before attempting such a thing. The Primal had barely taken a step back if anything. Now he stood before her glass in his long hair as he beheld her.

"I am Chenosh. What would you like to be called?" She asked, uncertain if he fully understood. Turning around he looked at a calendar inside the lab on the far wall and pointed. Looking past him Chenosh saw it was a picture calendar, and the picture for that month was an Oak tree.

"You would like to be called Oak?" Chenosh asked. He nodded.

"Ok, Oak this is Mr. Craig Daniels." Chenosh said, wishing her grandfather were there. Oak immediately offered Craig his hand in the form of a handshake.

"Go ahead and take it." A familiar voice said from behind them. All three looked to see Diun smiling.

Walking closer Diun said, "I forgot to mention. From what I read as a child Primals have a habit of surprising people by knowing already what to do even in social situations, no matter how unfamiliar they are supposed to be. It is one of their oddities."

"Ok." Craig said turning back to Oak and offering his hand in return. Oak shook it and smiled like a Human would on cue.

"That's just weird." Craig said seeing the large alien act as if he was totally comfortable.

"Does he talk?" Chenosh asked.

"Not normally. They are a people of few words, no matter how much they understand. I use to study them day and night until I practically had every detail memorized. They always fascinated me. Now here I am actually in the presence of one." Diun said. Letting go of Craig's hand, Oak spoke to Diun mind to mind greeting him.

"He's saying hello." Diun said.

"I didn't hear anything." Craig said.

"He's doing it mind to mind. It is how Harreden normally communicate outside of Earth. Naturally Oak recognizes that." Chenosh pointed out with a smile.

"Impressive. He picks things up quickly." Craig said.

"More like he already knows. The closest the book could explain is that the Primal mind picks out the answer as if from nothingness. He might not have known a second before he met us, but he does now. It makes them hard to predict. One has no idea of what they truly know." Diun added.

"If what you have told me is true, and I'm sure it is this young male somehow took the ship that brought him here, and killed everyone on board. I guess they underestimated what he knew. Why didn't he just take the ship back?" Craig said.

Diun shrugged saying, "Perhaps he wasn't given the answer. Social cues are one thing but technology might be more difficult for them to sense. To my knowledge no Primal has ever operated anything, so it wouldn't have been passed down either."

"Or perhaps something led him here." Chenosh suggested.

"That is possible. In the book it said that their minds were created in Pree'mus' image. Perhaps he was sent here for some purpose. Either way he is here and I believe he could help us." Diun said.

"He already has. The ship in orbit has technology that I have never seen. If we could repair it and learn how it works we could take it for ourselves, perhaps even make more similar to it." Craig said.

"And what about Oak? Somehow I doubt he'll want to stay here." Chenosh said.

"The President wants him to remain here." Craig replied, noticing the skeptical look Chenosh and Diun shared.

"I take it you don't agree." Craig said.

"Let me put it this way. If I wanted to get out of here I could, and Oak is far more powerful." Diun answered.

"Well those are my orders." Craig said with a shrug.

"In that case you are about to see if you can carry them out." Chenosh said pointing behind him. Craig turned in time to see Oak heading towards the elevator. Two guards standing on either side of the lab's entrance aimed their M-16s and ordered him to stop. Oak ignored them, grasping the doors. Metal bent and crunched as he pulled the doors open, damaging the door frame itself.

"The door automatically goes back up. He'll never be able to get out that way." Craig said as he actually saw Oak reach up and pull himself out of view. Rushing forward Craig looked up the shaft to see the Primal climbing his way out with his bare hands.

"He's actually digging his fingers into the walls for purchase!" Craig cried out.

"I would recommend letting him go. I imagine he just wants to get to the surface. If memory serves Primals like open spaces. While they can sleep in caves they hate to feel trapped. If he remained down here, eventually he would get violent." Diun said before a flash of light went off behind him. Turning around to see what it was he noticed Chenosh was no longer there. Using all his senses he couldn't find her anywhere nearby. Stretching his mind to widen his mental search he found her just outside the planet's atmosphere. Focusing in on her Diun saw her inside of a ship with what looked like Harreden around her, except they felt different.

"Impossible!" Diun exclaimed.

"What?" Craig asked.

"Someone managed to beam her out of the room. Outside of science fiction I've never heard of anything like it. If that weren't bad I know who took her." Diun said.

"Other Harreden?" Craig said.

"In a way. Chenosh's people have come to claim her. They are making a break for it. We'll need that ship you captured to bring her back." Diun said.

"Who are they? What's going on?" Craig said.

"It's a long story, but the short version is that the Harreden once created a race that proved to be more trouble than they were worth. They were isolated from the rest of our race without the option of space travel. It seems they somehow escaped." Diun said.

"And they came here? Why?" Craig said.

"It's obvious they came for her. I should have guessed something was wrong, though I never expected this. I failed to focus more on who exactly was visiting Earth. Until you focus in on them, the Di'san feel exactly like other Harreden. They were probably trying to find one of their own kind and it led them here." Diun said.

"You're going to have to go into more description. I'm not understanding why she is so important." Craig said.

"Let me explain it this way you are aware of the Harreden's drive to seek out new gene pools to improve our genetics?" Diun said.

"Yes, you did mention that once some time ago." Craig acknowledged.

"What do you think a group of Harreden would if they had been denied a chance to do that for more than a thousand years, and are suddenly given the chance to incorporate a powerful Harreden into their group?" Diun asked.

"Holy shit!" Craig said as he saw what Diun was talking about.

"Now you see the problem. Chenosh might be able to handle herself, or she might not. Either way we shouldn't take the chance." Diun said.

Chenosh appeared on the bridge of the alien ship. Standing there in the dim lights coming from above her, she quickly realized what happened. Barely able to contain her building rage she looked around to see her would be captors. A man dressed in the garb of a Harreden male a green loincloth draped between his legs leaving most of his body uncovered. He had a commanding presence, and was quite handsome. Other males, along with a number of females joined him.

"Judging by the look of you I would guess you are the leader." Chenosh said looking at the male standing in front of the crowd. Their eyes seemed to go from him to her as if they were waiting to see what happened next.

"I am. My name is Tejou' ti." He said.

"I suppose you think I will come quietly and submit. In that you are quite mistaken." Chenosh said with a sneer focusing her rage. Tejou cried in pain gripping in gut. Falling to the ground he squirmed, and kicked as he felt like his intestines were being ripped out. Some of the crowd came forward to help, and Chenosh stretched her concentration to include them. All of them fell to the ground, suffering the same fate as him. They were a withering mass of pain filled screams and contorting bodies.