Sarah sat quietly, meditating in the open air of the arboretum. The metallic steps sounded behind her, then stopped. Silence once again fell over the green oasis in the center of the space station.

“Hey Amy, take a seat. I’m almost done here.” Sarah straightened, then relaxed into the silence once again. Carefully steering her consciousness around her friend. Her mind touched the life pulsing softly in the trees and flowers, as they provided the necessary oxygen and filtration to the station. Each was a bright spot in the stillness of the space that served as the backdrop for the exotic and eclectic blend of flora.

With her eyes closed, she identified each species by its living signal, the age by the brightness of that same signal, and it’s origin by the particular tint of the life energy. Sighing gently, she reeled her mind back into her body, and opened her eyes.

The world around her seemed lacking in color after what she had just experienced. She resigned herself to living in the physical world, at least for now.

“So, Amy, why am I here?” She stood and turned to view her friend encased in the head-to-toe armor of the Alliance Negotiator.

“Nice to see you too, Sarah.”

“Sorry. There are way too many people on this damned station. This is the only place I can be alone for any length of time, and even then I can feel them moving around nearby.” Sarah shuddered and took a seat on one of the nearby benches and brushed the dirt from her robes. Her grey gloves did not absorb the dirt, but also did not do a great job of cleaning off the soil either.

“I sympathize. I really do. But here is an opportunity for you to get to wander around on an uninhabited world. All you have to do is put up with Professor Ridwal.”

Sarah groaned, “Oh, not that windbag! He’s the reason that I haven’t gotten any good assignments lately. That stupid Mdi disaster.”

“You were proven correct and his theories were debunked. You should be happy.” There was an amused tone to the metallic voice.

“How was I supposed to know that he had done a dissertation on the ‘Brutal Mdi Empire’? No one tells me anything.” She slumped down in an aggrieved manner.

“It did stall his career for a while as well, but in the mean time he was able to blackball you with the Archeological Society. This assignment could remake your career.”

Sarah paused and tapped her chin with one gloved finger. “Ok, what have you got for me?”

“Well, remember when you tracked down Kyra for us?”

“Yes. I have never watched so much alien porn in my life. But yes.” She grinned up at Amy.

“Well, she had discovered the hidden jump co-ordinates for a planet called Admar. Admar was one of the first planets in the Alliance, if not the first, and the species of the Admaryn bore a startling resemblance to creatures of human myth and legend.”

Negotiator Tyrell continued, “The Alliance has put together a team to investigate the site and you’re on it.”

“Wow, what kind of species was it?” Her curiosity engaged, Alliance Reader Sarah Marks stood up and faced her friend directly. The metal gauntlets took her gloved hands in a firm grip.

“We aren’t sure, and besides, that would taint your findings. The Stalix leaves in two hours. Be on it.” Tyrell squeezed and shook her hands, then made her way out of the arboretum. As usual, Tyrell had only tantalized her with the information that she had given to Sarah.

Left staring at nothing, Sarah shook herself to attention. “Well, I had better get going then.”

Viola Grace Copyright © 2006 All rights reserved