Earth Again

After a brief month's vacation at the home of Sen and Vi, Ben and Shantel were called back to duty on the star ship Navigator. Sen and Vi were also called back, as they had become a very important part of the time ship, Mariah 2. As soon as they had settled in on board, Commander Ra ordered a briefing of the ships officers in the Great Hall. As he mounted the podium, there was a grim look on his face. It was seldom that Ra wore a grim look. It was not long before the assembled personnel found what the problem was.

Commander Ra began at once. "You will recall our experience with the Azians. Apparently they have returned to their outposts on Earth, located in the Pacific Ocean. They have failed to contact the Union of Planets council of their intent or to obtain permission to explore the Earth, as they had agreed to do. This in itself, was a gross violation of our agreement. They are apparently on a mission to make Earth, a permanent base. This is in violation of the rules set up by the Council. Their home planet is apparently losing water at a very rapid rate, so they are searching for an answer to that problem. We would have helped in their search for a water-bearing planet, but they have their own way of colonizing. This is not compatible with Union of Planets rules and regulations. Our mission is to find what their intentions are and to protect Earth from being enslaved by an Alien force. We will have 4 other star cruisers with us as a back-up force. This is so that we can address any problem that might arise. This is a priority one, of the Council and we will be leaving in 24 hours. Anyone with business to settle must do it in this time frame. The ship will leave at 0600 hours. The time we will be gone will depend on the Azian problem. If anyone has a problem with the time frame, please see me after this meeting. The meeting is adjourned and everyone is to report to the duty stations.

The next day, Sen convened a meeting of the science council. He began "Welcome to all. We are glad to be back safely with an amazing amount of data. We were unable to penetrate to the beginning. I do not think that we would have gotten back if we had gone to the beginning, but we came close. I do not think that it is meant for man to find the beginning. We have several samples of what was going on at the point we penetrated to. It appears to be a very dense type of primordial soup, consisting of amino acids, purine, pyrimidine and phosphate with other inert ingredients. With the huge electrical discharges all around us this could have been the trigger of life. However there has to be this more complex picture. How did the planets come into being? We have solved the parallel universe seeding of new planets, but we do not know what started the whole chain of events. Perhaps we are not meant to know or have proof of what started it all. Maybe we were meant to make our individual minds up to what happened. The hunt for the answer will continue through the ages. Maybe an answer will appear in the future. Perhaps, we are not able to handle the answer, if we ever get it. I am at this point in my life, ready to accept what has been accomplished and retire to writing about science and man. Thank you for having the faith to fund our efforts in the time warp field. I hope that you all feel it was worth while. It was a great ride." At that Sen sat down amid a thunderous and standing ovation. The tribute continued for several minutes with no one stopping applauding.

As soon as the final applause died down, the chairman of the Science Council rose and said, "Thank you, my friend. We are deeply indebted to you and everyone associated with the time program. I also want to thank all the citizens of this universe and others that aided in this search for answers to our being. It is with difficulty that we must accept your desire to retire. I am sure that you will agree to be a writer and consultant for our group. We wish you good luck and happiness in your new endeavour." At that the chairman sat down amid applause. There were several speakers and questions that followed. The members of the crew were plied with questions and many notes were made. Ra presented a plaque from the Science Union to Sen for his dedicated service and accomplishments. Sen sat with tears in his eyes for he loved his work and all his associates. Vi was happy that Sen was finally going to slow down and smell the flowers for a change.

The next day, Shantel held a picnic for the time crew. She felt sorry for her father deciding to retire. She knew that it would be hard for him to adjust to a quiet life. But Sen wasn't done yet. After the picnic lunch, he rose and asked if he could add something to the speech that he gave at the Science Council meeting. He began "I left out one fact that I found on the last trip. As we know, time, light and space bend slightly on their journey. However they will never end as they are expanding outward at a faster rate than they are curving or bending. This is the way my love for this group will be in the future. This is the shortest speech that you will ever hear from me. I love you."

Everyone had tears in their eyes. They all loved Sen too. The group had surrounded Sen and Vi and hugged them. There were more tears from the space hardened veterans. Ben and Shantel, along with Ra and Desiree, put their arms around each other and Ben spoke "I wish to thank this group of friends for the chance to be a member of their society. I have a great family and many friends, who would lay down their lives for us. This will live with me for the rest of time." Ra spoke, "This what we were created for. People must respect and love their fellow man. No one is an island unto himself! Amen."