Chapter 3: Fighting Dizyntk

"It's a beautiful day." Cynthia Rodgers thought as she stared out the window of the shuttle. Indeed, the sun was shining brightly and there were just a few white puffy clouds. She was still uneasy at the thought of meeting Feyalisa. While she was curious about this Dizyntk with whom her friend had fallen in love, she was still nervous about it. What would she be like? She was a princess after all; at least that is what she had heard. Michael had not mentioned anything about it when they had talked. Her thoughts on this were abandoned as the ship began to descend and she saw the Royal Residence. The building and the grounds were beautiful. As she exited the shuttle after landing, she saw Michael waiting for her near the building's entrance. He walked out to meet her.

"I'm glad you could come." he said to her.

Her eyes darted back and forth a bit and she lowered her head a little. "I'm still a little nervous about all of this."

"I can understand that." he said as he motioned for them to walk to the house.

"Try not to worry too much about it. My mates are really looking forward to meeting you." he continued.

Cynthia stopped dead in her tracks. She was sure she had heard him correctly.

Michael turned to look at her and saw that she had a surprised look on her face.

"What's wrong, Cynthia?" he asked.

She looked at him with wide eyes and asked, "Did you say mates, as in more than one?"

Michael was confused by the question for a moment. He then realized that he had said nothing about Velakari during the talk that he and Cynthia had had yesterday. He had not been trying to hide anything from her; it had simply not crossed his mind. He said as much and apologized for not thinking about it sooner.

"I have just gotten so used to living with the Dizyntk that I forgot about what you might think about this." he explained.

"I mean, I saw the recording you made that explained how Dizyntk society worked." she said. "But I just didn't think that you would actually be married to more than one other person."

"Believe me, if you had told me eight years ago that I would have been, I would have thought you were crazy." he said with a slight hint of embarrassment.

Cynthia put her hand on her forehead and said, "I am almost afraid to ask this but, how many?"

Michael smiled at her. "Just one other, her name is Velakari."

"Well, now I'm really nervous." Cynthia said.

Michael took her hand and said to her gently, "There really is no need to be. Come on, let's go inside."

Cynthia nodded and let him lead her into the house. When they entered, Cynthia saw a female dizyntk with long black hair and very pale skin coming down the stars in front of them. She was also wearing flowing green robes that were quite unlike any of the Dizyntk clothing she had seen up till now. She walked up to them and looked at Cynthia. She then said something in Dizyntilin. Cynthia had no idea what the girl was saying but she had one of the prettiest sounding voices she had ever heard. Michael looked at Cynthia.

"Cynthia, this is my bonded mate, Velakari. She would like to welcome you if you don't mind." Michael explained.

Cynthia looked at Velakari even more closely now. So this was one of Michael's mates. Even with the tail and the strange ears, Cynthia had to admit that Velakari was not hard to look at.

She looked sideways at Michael and asked, "How do Dizyntk welcome guests, I don't think I caught that on your info recording."

Michael shrugged slightly and said, "Generally they hug you."

Cynthia thought for a second and nodded. "Sure, that's fine."

Michael told Kari it was alright. Kari wrapped her arms around Cynthia and gently hugged her as she said something in her trilling and lyrical language. At the same time, Kari gently sniffed at Cynthia's neck. The only thing that Cynthia understood was her name.

Michael translated for his friend's benefit. "She is saying, welcome to our home Cynthia. I am very pleased to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Velakari." Cynthia replied as she hesitantly hugged her in return.

After stepping back from the embrace, Kari said something else to Cynthia. Michael told Cynthia that his mate had asked her to, "Please, you may call me Kari."

Cynthia looked at Michael. "What was the sniffing about?"

Michael replied, "They have an incredible sense of smell, so scent is important to them. Especially that of someone they first meet."

Cynthia smiled and said, "I guess it's a good thing that I showered before I came over then."

Michael just laughed at this.

The three of them went into the dining room. As they entered, Cynthia saw a red haired Dizyntk walking towards then. She had no trouble recognizing her as Feyalisa. Michael had described her perfectly. She walked directly up to Cynthia and took her hands into her own.

Feya looked into Cynthia's eyes and said, "Welcome, Cynthia. I have been looking forward to meeting you."

Cynthia looked at Feya for a moment as she realized that the Dizyntk had greeted her in English. She had been told that a few Dizyntk could speak her language, but this was the first time that she had heard one do so.

"Thank you. I am a bit nervous about this, but I am glad to meet you as well." she said to Feya.

Feya nodded. "I understand you nervousness, but please come and eat with us and put your mind at ease. We will talk for a while and get to know each other."

They all went to the table and sat down. Feya sat next to Cynthia so that they could talk. As the servants were bringing the food in, Aria and Vasi came into the room. Michael introduced his daughter and her friend to Cynthia. Cynthia was fascinated by Aria's mixed human and Dizyntk features. After helping Vasi to her seat, Aria went over to Cynthia to give her a better look.

She held up her hands and said, "See, I have five fingers just like my father."

"Yes, you do." Cynthia commented. She examined them and noticed that, while the hands did resemble human hands, Aria's fingers lacked fingernails.

"Do you have claws in all five of them?" Cynthia asked.

Aria just nodded and extended her claws. After a couple of minutes of talking with Cynthia, Aria went back to Vasi and sat next to her.

Over the next hour they all ate and talked. Cynthia also watched as Kari took care of the two youngest children. After a while it became obvious to her, as it had become obvious to Michael fifteen years ago, that the Dizyntk were not so different from humans. Their appearance may have been different, but they were still pleasing to look at. Their society may have been different, but they still enjoyed many of the same things as humans. Cynthia knew that it would only take a little effort on the part of the colonists that she had come here with to integrate with the Dizyntk. The hardest part, she knew, would be getting used to the Dizyntk's completely different view of sex and intimacy. That and the way in which the Dizyntk seemed totally unconcerned about those of the same sex displaying affection to each other. This last was the most prominent thing in Cynthia's mind at the moment. She had watched Aria kiss Vasi a couple of times during lunch. It was obvious that said kisses were more than just friendly. It was equally obvious that no one in the room, besides herself, was the least bit bothered by it. In fact, even though Cynthia understood not a word of Dizyntilin, Feyalisa had seemed to instruct her daughter on one of the kisses.

Michael could see that his friend was uncomfortable by the redness of her cheeks. He knew that he, himself, would have felt the same way once. As they were finishing their meal, Cynthia noticed one other thing. Actually she had noticed it earlier; it was just that now she actually let herself pay attention to it. It seemed that Ariarisha was helping Lilavasi do many things. Also, Lilavasi had never actually looked at anyone, just in their direction.

Cynthia leaned over to Michael and asked in a whisper, "I noticed it earlier but, can Lilavasi not see?"

Michael shook his head.

Cynthia was puzzled. "We can fix retinal and optic nerve damage; can the Dizyntk not do this?"

Michael leaned even closer to her and whispered, "Her blindness was caused by damage to her visual cortex. No one can fix that."

Cynthia sat up straight and said in a normal voice, "Yes we can. We can fix that." Then she thought about something and added, "Well, maybe we can't."

Michael looked at her for a second and asked, "What do you mean, can you or can't you?"

Cynthia felt bad for a moment at having gotten his hopes up. Then she explained, "Well the Protectorate has the technology to do it, but I don't think that Dr. Winston has that sort of equipment with him."

Michael thought on this for a few seconds. It was true that the refugees had not been able to bring much with them. It was unlikely that their medical facilities had anything but the basics. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Would Dr. Winston know how such equipment was made?" he asked.

Cynthia shook her head. "I don't know. You would have to ask him."

Michael got up and whispered into Feya's ear what he and Cynthia had just talked about.

She turned and looked at Cynthia. "Humans have the ability to repair this kind of damage?"

Cynthia nodded. "Yes, we do. It was perfected just two years ago so it is still a pretty new procedure. But from what I understand they can cause the brain to re-grow and repair damaged areas."

Feya thought for several moments. "Cynthia, the girls were going back to your settlement anyway to play with the children, could you go with them and talk to Dr. Winston about this?"

Cynthia nodded and smiled. "Of course, I would be happy to."

Cynthia then said her goodbyes and left with the two girls.

After they were gone, Michael and his mates began to talk. They were all hopeful that Dr. Winston might know how this new equipment was constructed. Before they got very far into this conversation, Iriatrosi came in and told Feya and Michael that there was a call from Captain Lefarsa. The two of them went to the communication room.

The Captain's image appeared on the display. "Your Highness, ambassador, there is an incident developing on our border with the Protectorate near the Trellken system. A messenger ship arrived just minutes ago carrying information that there appears to be a revolt against the Protectorate by three human worlds."

"Which ones?" Michael inquired with concern in his voice.

Captain Lefarsa brought up a map display that showed the worlds in question.

Michael immediately recognized the systems. "Tau Epsilon, Eckleston and Berringer. Well none of those are any surprise."

"What do you mean?" Feya asked.

"Even fifteen years ago, those systems were well known for causing the government some grief from time to time." he explained. "So the fact that they are actually revolting is no big surprise."

Feya nodded in understanding. She thought the matter over for a moment and asked, "Is there any possibility of an incursion into our space by Protectorate forces?"

Lefarsa studied the map for several seconds. "Unfortunately, yes. All three systems are close to our border, so it is likely that any Protectorate commander might try to use our space for flanking maneuvers." he concluded.

"Who is in charge of our space forces here on Elishen?" Feya asked.

"Admiral Ysiniavera, Your Highness." Lefarsa replied.

"Is she aware of the situation?" Feya inquired.

"Yes, Your Highness, she is. She is awaiting any orders you might have." Lefarsa said.

"Please connect me to her, Captain." Feya requested.

Lefarsa's image disappeared and was replaced by that of Admiral Ysiniavera. Ysiniavera was an older Dizyntk, almost 40 cyankas. She was from a family that had served in the Dizyntk military, in one form or another, for over ten generations. She had already ordered the ships under her command to stand to and be ready for deployment. All she needed now was an order to launch.

The Admiral bowed her head to the princess. "Your Highness, my fleet is ready to deploy at your command."

Feya smiled. She knew of Ysiniavera's family and was grateful that there was such a capable officer in command of this region of Dizyntk space.

"Very good, Admiral. How many ships do you have?" Feya asked.

Ysiniavera looked up and replied, "Eighteen warships and thirty-two scout vessels, plus ten more warships and twelve scout vessels at Trellken, Your Highness."

Feya nodded at this. She was not experienced with military matters, but even she knew that this was not a large force.

"I am placing my escort vessels and the strike cruiser Amber Lightning at your command as well, Admiral." Feya told

Ysiniavera looked concerned. "Is that wise, Your Highness? If you do not have your escorts..." she started to say.

Feya smiled and shook her head. "With so small a force, you will have more need of these ships than I. I will not leave the planet until Admiral Elianala sends reinforcements from Kalantk."

Ysiniavera bowed her head slightly. "As you wish, my Princess."

"Your rules of engagement are per usual, Admiral." Feya said. "Any human warships are to be ordered out of Dizyntk space. If they do not comply, you may engage them at your discretion."