Chapter 1: Citizen of the Confederation

"Eloise Valantrina Katherine Tufts, Darjee Citizenship is conferred upon your person as are full membership rights in the Confederacy. Would you like transportation at this time to join your Darjee kin?"

Ellie could remember those words from the three voices of joined Confederacy AIs as if they were just now being said. That wasn't the case, Ellie was snuggled in bed with her husband, Jason who was a mere mortal. Of course, until the testing AI became confused, misreading the results of her CAP test Ellie had been a mere mortal too. She loved her family and had come to love Tonto, the newest member as if he had been part of the Tufts family all of her life. Even though she was the youngest she was also the only human to ever become a Darjee citizen which made her totally unique.

The reality that she was also a member of the small Tufts family, the only human group to have Organic Linking Nanites and therefore their own advanced Observer AI made her doubly unique. Tonto could only exist using the mind power of his combined humans but with just five family members in Tonto's circuit his powers far exceeded the power of even grouped Confederacy AIs. And Tonto shared that power with his human counterparts.

While Ellie was pondering her fate and snuggling with her new husband, who also was her older brother, Tonto was busy tapping into Confederacy communications to determine how the Darjee were reacting to the granting of citizenship upon Ellie. He was also monitoring Earth side computer traffic of the U.S. Navy as well as that of the Earth First wackos. Any misstep by the family could put them all in danger from all three agencies.

Tonto's human family needed sleep, Tonto didn't and he would be busy on many fronts until they were introduced to both the human space forces and the Darjee, and were all safely extracted. He felt comfortable about his ability to master the Confederacy AIs and even the electro/mechanical nanites that they would inject into the family members. Neither the AIs or the nanites could be allowed to discover that the family was already part of a nanite based network. Tonto could handle those chores.

The Darjee were another matter entirely. Tonto had no direct access to the Darjee communication system other than that provided by the AI network. All Darjee deep space and fleet communications went through the AIs but when they met in person their discussions were an unknown.

"Sleep, Little One," Tonto thought toward Ellie, "Your life is going to be an amazing adventure and all whom you touch will be changed for all time. Soon you will wear brightly colored feathers."

Rob shouted at Tonto. "You want my daughter to grow feathers! Are you nuts? Over night you turned my eleven-year-old daughter into a sixteen-year-old young woman married to her brother and carrying his twin children in her womb. You are totally crazy if you think for one second I'll allow feathers!"

Ellie's mom, Katie, sat down in her husband's lap and snuggled in. There was no way Rob could jump up or lose his cool with his wife holding him down. The entire family was gathered in the Commandant's Conference Room at the mothballed NAS Hospital. Katie and her own mother, Val, both were bemused by the thought, what woman wouldn't love to be decked out in colorful plumage, at least for a special occasion.

Tonto took the floor, using Jason's voice to explain. "Ellie will need to have an 'in person' meeting with a Darjee representative. So far all communications have been by AI which allows the Darjee to keep their sanity. They simply cannot meet directly with violent humans without straining their stability. Peace is not a concept for them, it is their very essence."

Tonto went on to explain his plan. The meeting was required by Darjee custom and law, normally it would be a celebration welcoming a Darjee Youngling into the adult world. But, even though Ellie had tested as a moderately high functioning Darjee and had been granted citizenship as a Darjee and as a member of the Confederacy she was still HUMAN. All but one of the Darjee who had met beak to face with humans had gone quietly insane in a very short time. The one survivor was an outcast; the contact had tainted him.

AI contact had been instigated with humans but even then the risk was so great that two or three moderating AI links were installed as insulation. Most of the time the AIs made decisions without even informing the Darjee of the contact. Tonto went on to explain that the Darjee were holding a lottery to determine which of the qualified candidates would be sacrificed to comply with the letter of the law and meet with Ellie.

Tonto spoke again, "Ellie, we can grow you a set of fledgling feathers, brightly colored to infer the rank of Princess Three. They will not be full adult feathers but age appropriate. We should also extend your nose a bit to more closely resemble a beak to make your appearance palatable to them. I have no doubt that your every wish will be granted without hesitation, especially since we will make very basic, simplistic, demands that any Darjee Youngling would have received when only half way to maturity."