“There’s two Sherata outside,” replied Jack. Luca’s eyes widened. “What are we going to do?” “The only thing we can do,” said Jack, lifting a key from his pocket and holding it out to Luca. “There won’t be anything left of me but ashes after this. Take Tan to a safe world, then go home.” “Now hold on,” said Tan. “I don’t know wh…” Jack waved hand and Tan’s eyes went blank. “Hey, what did you do to him?” demanded Luca. Jack threw a curious glance at Luca. Luca seemed almost angry. “I threw him in my V.R. game module, it’ll take him a few minutes to figure out how to get out.”

The heavy scent of pine mixed with the orange scent of the Sunth hung in the warm air as Jack made his way back to the campsite. Tan was sitting in his lawn chair with a stack of envelops and paper on his lap. Jack dropped down to his knees and crawled into the tent next to Luca and flopped down on his sleeping bag with a heavy sigh. “What’s wrong?” asked Luca. “It’s not fair,” complained Jack. “What isn’t fair?” “Kalu’s family is packing to go back to their ship.” “How come?” “Their vacation is over.” “Huh?” “Nobody actually lives in this forest,” said Jack. “This is a campground or something. The Ruks come here on vacation and dress up like their ancient ancestors and camp.” Tan looked up from the papers he was reading. “Jack, you’re breathing heavy, it’s time for a breathing treatment.” Jack reluctantly grabbed the breathing mask and slipped it onto his face. He pushed a button on top of the small machine the mask was attached to by a clear tube. A whirling sound emitted from the machine as air and medicine was pushed into Jack’s damaged lungs. Jack grimaced. “I hate this machine, the medicine tastes nasty,” complained Jack. Tan craned his neck to the side to stretch it. He’d been sitting for too long in one position. “Just be grateful you didn’t need surgery. You only have to do it for two weeks. It’ll be over before you know it.” Jack rolled onto his side and picked up a few of the envelopes Tan had placed into in pile. “Are we getting mail now?” asked Jack, his voiced muffled by the mask. Tan bent over in his chair to see inside the tent and make sure Jack had the mask on correctly. “Even the Sunth and Ruk haven’t escaped government bureaucracy,” replied Tan. “We’ve got mail from the Immigration Office, Alien Liaison Office, Hazardous Materials Office, Customs and Imports Office, Child Welfare Office, Welfare Benefits Office, the hospital, and several medical groups,” Tan held up a check. “We’re getting six weeks of Public Assistance for Single Parents with Minors. There’s even one here offering a deal on medical insurance for us. And here’s my favorite, they sent me the bill for you and Luca’s emergency room visit, surgery, pulse-neural interface replacement, anesthesia, cat-scan, and various other medical procedures I can’t pronounce.” Tan looked up at Jack. “What exactly is a pulse-neural interface?” Jack twisted the side of his mouth into an expression of bewilderment. “Seriously? They’re charging us for all that? That’s crazy! The pulse-neural interface is the control unit part of our spinal augmentations. Basically, it makes it almost impossible for Luca and me to break our neck or back. It’s also what made it possible for me to walk around on your insanely heavy-gravity world without being smushed into the ground.” Tan nodded. “It’s a hefty bill, but we’re getting a bunch of discounts for you two being alien minors, and…” Tan searched through the envelopes until he found what he was looking for. He held up another check. “The Jacuub Foundation for Orphaned and Alien Children has sent us a check that covers a big portion of this bill.” Jack pursed his lips. “I bet you I know why they didn’t pay off the whole bill.” Tan glanced at Jack. “Why is that?” “Jacuub of the Ruk was fifteen years old and in a life pod when the Aestar’s Flag Ship, The Golden Star, found him floating in space. He was mortally injured and had been put into slow sleep to hold off death until he could reach medical help. But, his pod was damaged and off-course, if we wouldn’t have found him, he would have died. It took three months of surgeries to put him back together, but after he was healed, Captain Aestar made Jacuub join the Fleet Navy to work off his debt.” Jack shrugged. “Who knew that would come back to haunt us. So, what are we going to do?” Tan was silent for a moment, thinking. So, the Aestar’s saved a Ruk boy, but then made him work off his medical debt. Tan frowned. He could see an Aeden doing something stupid like that, but the advanced Ruk being petty? Maybe Ruk society wasn’t as Utopian as they wanted him to believe…no…not the Ruk as a whole, but some individuals within their society. So, they still had the same problems as any other species; there were good Ruk, and bad Ruk. At least he would know to keep an eye out for trouble. Tan gestured at the envelopes Jack was looking at. “I have to get a job, those are job offers. The RS-1 has offered me a diplomatic position, and that’s the highest paying one, but I’d have to register my home world. I don’t want to do that. The RS-26 has offered me a seed harvester’s position, but I don’t exactly have a green thumb. The RS-27 Prison ship offered me a Correction Officers position, but that’s the last thing I’d want to do. There’s a bunch others, but the one I like is from the RS-40 Ocean Ship. They’ve offered me a cook’s position.” Jack’s face lit up. “That’s perfect, Kalu is from the RS-40!” Tan sighed. Jack was going to have some rough teen years if he was already going girl crazy. But more than that, this was no longer an escape from world to world. There was no way back to Aeden as it stood right now. They were going to have to live together as a family. “It’s not going to be all fun and games,” warned Tan. “You’ll be working part-time after school in the fish hatchery.” Jack narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, after school?” Jack grasped at the necklace beneath his shirt. “I go to school whenever I want with my A.I.” Tan kept his expression neutral. The showdown was going to have to happen, so it might as well happen now and get it over with. They would never have family peace if Jack was permitted to continue being a wild card. Tan set the papers he was holding down. “Jack, your V.R. device was never intended for you to be in there alone all the time. And the A.I. is not a teacher. Your V.R. is supposed to be interfaced with other Aeden children, and there is supposed to be a real Aeden teacher. Your A.I. is operating in emergency mode.” Jack turned to look at Luca. Luca was staying silent, but watching closely. Jack realized what was happening. He turned back to Tan. “We’re never getting back to Aeden, are we?” Tan kept his voice calm and even. “The Ruk never developed Gate technology, and even if the Ruk gave us their fastest small transport, it would take a little over two million years to make it to Aeden. They have promised to keep searching for a solution, but until then, our home is with the Sunth and the Ruk.” Jack ripped the breathing mask off and turned back to Luca. “You’ve been teaching him Aeden technology, how else would he know about the A.I.’s emergency mode?” “No I haven’t, you have,” replied Luca. “Remember, I follow the rules exactly. I turned my A.I. transmitter to the minimum setting when I first met him to prevent neural bleed-over. Did you?” Jack’s face turned white and he clutched at his necklace. “A.I., emergency shutdown!” Tan heard the A.I. in his head. “Cannot comply.” Jack glared at Tan. “What did you do?” “I won’t allow you to use your A.I. against me again, like you did before we jumped here,” replied Tan. “I’ve put it in parental mode, but I won’t ground you from using your A.I., provided you’re attending a regular school. However, there are some restrictions now. You’re locked out of the settings mode, and you can’t take anyone into your V.R. without my permission.” Jack whipped his head around to Luca. “Did he put yours in parental mode?” Luca nodded his head. “Yeah, you kind of ruined it for both of us. You know you’re never supposed to use your A.I. against your mom and dad.” “He’s not my dad,” shouted Jack. “Jack, you’re grandfather made me your guardian until I can find a way to get you home, and I will do my job the best I can. Until you prove to me you can use your A.I. responsibly, I will monitor your usage.” Tan watched Jack’s shoulders tense. He recognized the movement as the pre-cursor to Jack entering the Aeden’s supersonic speed. Jack was thinking about running away. “I will always allow you to make most of your own decisions, but with this I won’t negotiate. You will attend school with other children of your own age, and your A.I. is on parental mode until further notice. Now put your breathing mask back on, you have another twenty minutes left to this treatment.” Tan heard a humming sound begin as Jack turned blurry. His molecules were moving at supersonic speeds, but he hadn’t fled yet. Luca shifted away from Jack. Luca knew that the vibration from Jack could shatter the bones of someone that touched him. “Would you hurt your brother over a temper tantrum?” asked Tan. The humming continued for a few moments more, then stopped. Jack slumped his shoulders “Put your breathing mask back on,” said Tan. Jack lifted the mask to his face, then laid back down and turned over to face away from Tan. “This isn’t fair,” mumbled Jack. Luca looked at Tan and waved his hand in a little rolling motion. Tan smiled. Luca was just as smart as Jack and knew what needed to come next. Tan had used the stick, now it was time for the carrot. “I’m taking the cook’s position. We’re leaving for the RS-40 tomorrow morning with Kalu’s family.” Jack twisted his head around to look at Tan from the corner of his eye. “Really?” “Those ships are very big, and I don’t know where Kalu’s family lives on the ship, and I don’t know where we’ll be living, so no promises other than you’ll be on the same ship.” “After my breathing treatment, can I go over to her campsite?” asked Jack. “Yes, but I need you back in an hour,” said Tan. “We’re going into the city and use this check they gave us to buy a few things you boys need.” Jack laid his head back down and looked at his watch. “Okay, I’m sorry I locked you in my game module.” “That’s a good start,” said Tan.