One was a dark-eyed, red-skinned warrior with long, straight black hair. He was dressed all in red, and bore a rather striking resemblance to Teo. The other was a seven foot tall, and much younger version of, Miles Thurlow. He was dressed in long flowing robes of white, that were bound with a purple and blue scarf at the waist.

'Turan! Jerram!' Tory bounded towards them.

'Lamamu!' both men cried, ecstatic to see her again.

The shorter of the two rushed to meet Tory halfway, and spun her around in the air.

'I told them you'd be back!' Jerram was pleased to boast, as he came to a stop with her. 'And on today of all days!'

'What do you mean?' she questioned, as excited as he.

'Adelgar and I are to be wed. Not to each other, of course.'

Tory grinned. These matches weren't really that hard to figure. 'The lucky ladies would be Nin Tabitha and Nin Mahala, I presume.'

'Are you very heartbroken?' he teased.

'Excuse I,' Turan cut in, picking Tory up and bringing her comparatively tiny form to stand on a small table so she was more his height.

That's when Tory noticed the Shar wasn't floating.

He was standing on his own two feet, his tall, slender body as solid as a rock. 'Hello.' She gazed into his grey-violet eyes, interlocking her hands behind his neck.

'Did you miss me?' Turan smiled as she'd rarely seen him do. His return to a physical form was a most unexpected and pleasant surprise.

'You know I did,' she confessed. 'The more pertinent question would seem to be, did you miss me?' The Shar's smile broadened and his cheeks became slightly flushed.

'It would appear so, no?' He motioned to his person with his eyes. 'You left quite a lasting impression on us all, Lamamu.'

Tory was mesmerised by his voice, his gaze. And feeling ever so compelled to kiss him, she slowly closed the distance between her lips and his.

'Ah-hmm!' Ray put an abrupt stop to the cheery reunion, as all eyes looked his way.'

'Zadoc. What are you still doing here?' Turan lifted Tory down from the table. 'I thought you'd left to try that case in Menocea.'

'What?' quizzed Ray, with a frown.

Jerram eyed Ray closely; apart from the strange attire, there appeared to be a few other things amiss with him. 'Zadoc, you've shrunk!' He was now only minimally taller than Jerram, but Zadoc had always been the same height as Turan. 'And what happened to your face?' Jerram referred to his bruises.

'No, no, no.' Tory hit the panel to close the door.

'This is a friend of mine, Ray Murdock. He's from the future, like me.'

'Holy smoke! You brought one of Zadoc's incarnations back into the same time frame as he?'

Turan contemplated the repercussions of this, not looking too pleased about it. 'What were you thinking?'

'I had no choice,' Tory justified her actions.

'You mean I'm already here!' Ray demanded of Tory.

'Well, not in the city, no,' Jerram pointed out in Tory's defence. 'Zadoc is in charge of the Courts of Justice. His services are required in a city to the north, and I believe he left this morning.'

Ray wiped a hand down his face. 'This is not happening.'

As the particle manipulation mechanism in the door alerted them to company, Turan and Jerram jumped in front of Tory and Ray to hide them.

'There you are.' Zadoc strolled in, obviously looking for Jerram. 'I'm off now. Sorry I can't be at the wedding.'

He shook Jerram's hand. 'Good luck, tonight.'

'No worries.' Jerram tried to sound perfectly calm, despite the fact he'd broken into a sweat. 'I hope your case doesn't drag on too long.'

Zadoc looked over at Turan, who was older than himself. 'It must be about time you found yourself a good woman. I highly recommend it.' Zadoc slapped Turan's shoulder as he backed up. 'I shall see you both when I do.' He gave a wave and strutted away.

'Correction.' Jerram hit the panel to close the door.

'Now he's gone.'

Tory looked to Ray, who'd gone as pale as a sheet.

'Sorry about that.'

'I'm married?' was all he could say.

'Yeah, three hundred years now.' Jerram concurred with a huge smile, wondering why his brother's double didn't look that pleased about it.

'Is something amiss?'

Ray waved Jerram away. 'That's just a little more information than I can readily comprehend at present. I think I need to ... sit down.'

He was making his way to collapse on the lounge when the door again opened.

No one was close enough or fast enough to hide Ray this time, though Tory managed to duck behind Turan's desk.

'Sorry to interrupt Shar Turan, Shar Jerram.'

Annora bow her head to each.

Tory recognised this lovely young woman from the Dark Age. She was Aella, Sir Bryce's wife. Tory thus concluded that she must be Zadoc's wife here in Atlantis. O-oh ... here's trouble.

'I was just looking for ... Zadoc,' she resolved, spotting Ray. 'I'm so glad I caught you. What on earth are you wearing? And what happened to your face?'

She approached him, concerned, to discover she was taller than he. 'My god!'

'Ah, Annora,' Turan jumped in. 'It's a new reduction device I've been working on. Zadoc volunteered to test it out for me.' As the woman looked as if she might have a fit, he quickly added, 'It's perfectly harmless, I promise.'

'Well, how do you know it won't cause any permanent damage to him, if you haven't tested it before?'

'I didn't say I hadn't tested it, Nin.' Turan employed a condescending tone. 'In fact, I've tested it on nearly everyone ... even Jerram here, look at how short he is.'

Turan was having difficulty refraining from laughter at this point, and Jerram was also finding it hard to hide his amusement.

Annora knew something strange was going on, but she let it pass. 'Well, alright, if you're sure it's not dangerous? But you know Zadoc is due to leave for -'

'Yes, yes ...' Turan put an arm about her to show her out. 'I'll return him to normal and send him on his way.'

'But ... I have to get back to my post, there's a baby due,' Annora protested.

'Well, we shouldn't keep you then.' Turan kept her moving.

'Couldn't I just kiss my husband goodbye first?'

Annora came to a halt, not to be budged.

Everyone looked to Ray, who appeared to be completely captivated by her. 'I certainly have no objection.'

Annora freed herself from Turan and ran to Ray.

She was six and half feet of slender, graceful womanhood; eyes of acorn blue, and long blonde hair the like of Tory's. In fact, she looked remarkably like Tory.

'I just wanted to say last night was fabulous. I miss you already,' Annora whispered, before indulging Ray in a long and gentle kiss. 'Goodbye.' She slowly withdrew.

'Bye,' Ray sighed, as Turan closed the door - making sure to lock it this time. 'Wow,' Ray mumbled.

'Three hundred years of that ... I never had it so good.'

'Right,' Turan decided. 'Before we create a major disaster, why don't you tell us why you're here.'

Tory produced the blueprints and design maps of the Goddess, along with two huge folders on the circuitry.

As Turan assessed the vessel's capabilities, Tory explained the reasoning behind their decision to turn the deep sea submersible into an all-round observation vehicle. She spoke of her fears for her twenty-first century homeland, and the more Turan heard the more concerned he became.

'And you don't recognise this diplomat?' The notion confused the Shar. It didn't make sense. 'Surely if he is to play such a major role in your life, good or bad, you must have run into him during the course of your travels. Could he be disguising himself, perhaps?'

'It's possible, especially if he has sprung from my gene-pool.' The idea gave Tory chills.

'And he was the last to see your husband, in other words me, alive?' Turan was interested to note.

'That's right.' Tory wondered why the Shar seemed almost pleased to hear it.

'In that case, we should try and identify this fellow, and I might be able to assist you with that.' He gave Tory a slight wink. 'But for the moment, no one must know you're here.'

'But the wedding?' Jerram appealed. 'Lamamu must come.'

'Out of the question,' Turan ruled.

'But Adelgar will freak if we don't tell him of Lamamu's arrival.' Jerram spoke up for his twin brother.

'The more people who know, the bigger the risk.

This Alexander fellow could be practically anyone. And if he has contact with his past selves ...? Let us just say it could be very detrimental to Lamamu's mission.'

This was very disappointing. Tory had been so looking forward to seeing everyone.

'Are we agreed then?' Turan pushed for a commitment, and both Jerram and Tory nodded reluctantly. They would inform Ray of their conclusions later, as he was sleeping on the lounge like a baby at present.

'As for your transport's modifications, I think we may be able to accommodate you.' Turan looked back to the plans of the Goddess on the table before them.

'Although the technology is primitive, her design is good.'

'So you think you could invent a way to get her airborne. She must be undetectable, you realise?'

'Well, obviously.' Turan exaggerated his understanding. 'And I don't need to invent such devices.

We have been utilizing this technology for centuries.'

'But I didn't see any such vehicles last time I was here,' Tory recalled. 'Apart from a few hovercraft on the outermost island.'

'Well, of course you didn't.' Turan laughed, as did Jerram. 'My cloaking device does work, you know.'

Tory smacked herself on the forehead, she'd walked right into that one.

'Flying craft tend to scare some races,' Jerram explained. 'Thus Turan developed a soundproof shield, which keeps everybody happy.'

'So in reality,' Turan summarised, 'all I need to do is modify the systems to suit your craft, and teach Ray how to install them at the other end.' He thought he'd wrapped up the meeting in time for lunch, but Tory had a few questions still milling around in her head.

'Has Nin Sybil become the High Priestess here since Nin Bau's departure?'

'No. She renounced the right when she wed Shar Xavier,' Turan informed her, knowing Tory was the catalyst behind the romance. 'Nin Sybil is second to one called Temperance.'

This threw a spanner in the works. For Tory was hoping to utilize the site on Mt Dur-an-ki, to send all the parts and equipment for the Goddess' modifications back to the twenty-first century, but she needed the cooperation of the High Priestess and her Council to do it.

'Temperance ... she sounds rather formidable. What's she like?'

'Who knows?' Turan shrugged. 'We've only ever seen her veiled form in the temple on sacred occasions.'

Oh, well. Tory figured Nin Sybil owed her a favour or two. Perhaps she might be able to sway the High Priestess to favour her cause. This only left the problem of where the hell Tory wanted all the conversion requirements sent.

Cadfan had said Tory would find safety in the heart of her homeland. Was he talking about Uluru in Australia? The middle of a desert seemed a very strange place to be refitting a sub, and Tory was quite sure she didn't know anyone in the Red Centre.

One problem at a time, she told herself. The universe will provide.

The sounds of Chailidocean's residents in the throes of a night of wedding revelry echoed up to Tory in the silence of Turan's darkened lab. She stood alone at the window taking in the faint music and fireworks of the celebration. Ray was still snoozing.

'Knock, knock.' Turan's voice came through the intercom, whereupon Tory rushed to unlock to door.

'Thank God. I've been bored out of my mind.' She watched him enter with a large tray of spoils from the feast.