His face became hard as flint, but his eyes sparkled with courage. "We have to keep searching."

Becky's lower lip trembled, but she knew if she spoke there would be no holding back her tears.

"You cannot live this way, day to day. You must have direction. A goal, a dream. You must pursue it relentlessly. Yes, find what is inside you, and give it to others." Minstrel now grew silent as the plasma body undulated along the walls and ceilings.

"What can we give?" Jaric asked sarcastically. "The thing we know the best, since our childhood, is how to kill T'kaan."

The room grew heavy with silence once again.

"Will not the T'kaan continue their age-long ritual of killing, wiping out other sentients?" Minstrel's body danced with lights.

"Unless they are stopped," Kyle answered, his interest piqued. "But no race in thousands of millennia has been able to defeat them. Why think it will happen now?"

"Can the cycle be broken?" Becky whispered.

"Yes it can." Minstrel's voice became powerful. "You here have survived. You are also warriors, including the MotherShip." Minstrel added with emphasis. "You alone know the horned enemy. My people have only heard of them in rumors. I suspect any Minstrels who came into direct contact with them were destroyed before they could report." The lights in Minstrel's plasma body twinkled. "I know of other mighty races, and with your knowledge, and their fleets and weapons prepared before the battle begins, such a force could stop at least one of the T'kaan fleets. It could be the beginning of the end for them."

For the first time that night, Kyle smiled.

Jaric nodded to himself, and then he felt a new purpose grow inside his heart. Becky stood beside Kyle,and then Jaric, too, was there, all arm in arm.

"It is settled." Mother said. "We will find an honorable ally and aid them. Together we will destroy the T'kaan at their own game."

The lights of Minstrel grew steady. "If you are surrounded by the storm...with no way out. Then you must sail straight in, come what may."

They all nodded.

The evening continued with animated words and new plans. There was excitement in the air. Finally, the three humans and Guardian began to leave. Jaric alone paused at the door.

"I will always remember your song, Minstrel. I will remember it all the days of my life," Jaric said reflectively. "I hope you will record it for me."

"Of course. The part that I have finished."

He couldn't tell for certain, but it seemed to him that Minstrel smiled.

"Will the old songs still mean the same to us, after time's rust has touched us all?" Minstrel mused out loud.

Jaric's face grew puzzled. But as he stepped outside into the twilight, he rushed ahead to catch up with the others.

"Wow, pretty cool, huh?" Jaric asked out loud to them.

Kyle was walking beside Guardian while Jaric matched Becky's steps.

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Kyle said.

"It was fantastic!" Becky countered enthusiastically. She took a couple of quick steps to catch Kyle, raised her hand and punched him in the shoulder for emphasis.

"Ow!" Kyle shouted.

"You need to lighten up, you know," Becky smiled. "You're always in such a grouchy mood."

"He wouldn't be Kyle then," Jaric laughed out loud.

"Oh,ha-ha ," Kyle said sarcastically. "If you weren't so stupid, you wouldn't be Jaric."

Now Becky began laughing. But Jaric felt the words cut him inside, and he slowed his pace to fall away from them.

Kyle looked back, a smirk on his face. But it quickly changed when he noticed the hurt look on his friend's face. "Hey, c'mon buddy. I didn't mean nothin'. I thought I was trying to lighten up."

"I like you better grouchy and quiet," Jaric muttered. "I don't know," Becky said with a twinkle in her eyes as she looked from one to the other. "Can't there be a happy medium, guys?" Becky slowed down to wait for Jaric. As he came up beside her, she reached out and looped her arm inside his. Now they continued arm in arm toward the distant silhouette of Mother.

Jaric suddenly felt very warm inside. Across his forehead sweat beads formed, which he hoped were not visible to Becky.

"You know, Jaric, you shouldn't be so sensitive. You sparred with Kyle, and he sparred back. All in fun." Becky glanced at Jaric who smiled sheepishly back at her. She squeezed his arm. "We have to take care of each other. And we have to cut each other some slack, too."

Up ahead, Kyle began laughing as he and Guardian broke into a trot.

"Let's go Guardian, race you back," Kyle shouted gleefully.

Kyle clenched his hands into fists as his arms pumped with each powerful stride. His hearty laughter echoed over the dark hills as the robot kept pace, and then his strong thighs kicked into a higher speed as he spurted ahead of the robot momentarily.

Becky and Jaric watched the two figures bounding into the twilight of the alien evening.

Jaric chuckled.

Becky glanced at him with a smile. "Okay, what's so funny."

Jaric paused as she watched his face. He nodded at the retreating figures. "Kyle, always the compet.i.tor.

Even when he knows he can't outrun a seven-foot robot."

Becky's soft laughter mingled with his own.

Something happened to Jaric that moment, something that seemed to make the universe and everything in it go away. There on that alien world, walking arm in arm with sweet Becky, Jaric thought the drumming of his heart would drown out their laughter. But as Becky's blue eyes looked deeply into his brown eyes, she didn't let on to him if she could hear his loud, frantic heart.

As the silence settled around them, Jaric felt a glow of happiness. It suddenly grew into a powerful feeling of contentment that warmed his very soul. Yes, he felt like he could spend the rest of his life walking arm in arm.

He wondered once again about marriage.

Mother had held back, or protected them, as she would've said, on certain subjects. But hormones could not be held back. Even with minimal input on this subject, all of them had begun to understand the functions of their bodies. When Mother had realized this, she had stressed the principles from the knowledgebase that procreation was acceptable only in marriage.

All three children had come to accept this concept, much as their hormones raged against it at times, as it was the only thing they knew. Each of them-Becky, Kyle and Jaric-had found a way to push these new feelings aside and fill their minds with other things. They had found other outlets and were happy. Still, it was not easy. Kyle found excessive exercise to be his primary outlet when the feelings came over him. The other two found their own outlets to push aside the on-again, off-again urge.

But now, here in the darkness with Becky close beside him, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap from his chest, Jaric felt helpless to this raging feeling gripping his soul.

He looked into Becky's eyes.

But he couldn't tell if she felt the same way. In her eyes he saw her laughter and happiness, and that she enjoyed being in his company. But did she feel more?

"Becky," Jaric began. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Look," Becky said quickly. "Kyle and Guardian have already made it to Mother. Let's catch up."

Becky began running toward the ship.

Jaric chased after her, just fast enough to stay close behind her. But his heart continued racing inside his chest as though he had run many miles already.

Chapter Nineteen.

Mother hadorchestrated many of the events of this fateful evening. Once again, she had noted how the children had become increasingly obsessed with finding other survivors. The children had reached an age where they easily disregarded her own counsel, or strived to find even the smallest loopholes in her logic- though there were none.

She had asked Minstrel for help-as well as a song. Mother knew how remote the percentage that a search for any other survivors would be successful and the percentages only got worse with the pa.s.sage of time. Even if they looked for an eternity.

Even though the children had asked her, she had refrained this same night from reporting that the T'kaan attack had begun in earnest upon the Gruto. It would have done them no good to watch as another world, another race, was being eradicated.

But she did record the unfolding events for Minstrel and herself to review.

Mother's sensors revealed something else about the T'kaan. Not only did they make war to procreate, but they also warred for sport. After only a few hours, the Gruto's Spartan defenses had fallen and the T'kaan warriors were feasting on the dead. But no eggs were laid on their lone planet-this conquest had been purely for the sake of war. Only later, when the T'kaan squadron broke into three sections and accelerated beyond light speed, did she speak. Her children were saved from the callous bloodshed, when there was nothing they could do.

But Mother's powerful processors burned with activity as she told them the killing was over. She noted with inner turmoil the pained looks on her children's faces.

She quickly reminded them of Minstrel's words, that they must seek an ally, as she prepared to lift and follow the T'kaan at a safe distance.

"There will be a time and a place," Mother promised.

The spherical ship of Minstrel flew in tight formation with the manta-ray shape of Mother. Even though her sub-light engines were still damaged, her hyperdrives were still fully operational.

As part of their newfound goal, they shadowed one of the three T'kaan formations that left the dead Gruto world. Several long days pa.s.sed until Minstrel informed them that they were traveling to a part of the galaxy devoid of intelligent life for many, many light years.

They turned and soon caught the sensor trail of the second formation fresh from the Gruto butchery.

But before they closed in, Minstrel again informed them that this formation, too, was heading for a sector of s.p.a.ce that would not help their cause. Only young, pre-s.p.a.ce travel sentients lived this direction.

Another dead end.

Frustration set in. The children again began their listless ways, losing interest in life, and worst of all, dreaming again of finding other human survivors. Mother focused her processing power to try and alleviate this emotional state. But the powerful warship was forever hindered in this line of logic, being herself a different type of life form from the children she protected.

Again, the mighty starship felt inadequate in this seemingly simple task of being a mother.

Day followed day until another lonely week had pa.s.sed. This boring time for all of them was suddenly broken as alarms sounded throughout Mother's interior.

Finally, they had found the faint sensor readings that corresponded to the engine signatures of T'kaan ships. Mother quickly realized that if these ships, too, charted a fruitless course, then they would be forced to find the main fleet and shadow it. But that would most certainly be fraught with danger.

Even now it was dangerous, but Minstrel had devised an ingenious method. With Minstrel's ship in Stealth Mode, Mother flew as close as she safely could from behind-her hull, too, was hidden by this remarkable technology and unseen to T'kaan sensors. Still, they followed at a great distance in case a T'kaan warship broke formation. Even with Minstrel's technology indirectly shielding Mother from the T'kaan sensors, there was the possibility Mother could be detected if they followed too close.

With the first news of a possible contact with the last T'kaan squadron, everyone gathered in Ops to study Mother's sensor reports as they scrolled across her consoles.

"I've located the engine signatures... they're weak, but it's definitely T'kaan." Jaric's voice reflected his growing excitement as he looked up at the other two. "We've found them!" "Yes," Minstrel's voice emanated over Mother's speakers. "I will begin triangulation to confirm my initial results. But I will say that the general direction is good for our plans, yet they could still miss them if they alter course even a little."

"Miss who?" Becky said excitedly.

"I will confirm, after Mother and I coordinate our findings."

Both Mother and Minstrel fell silent. But between them they communicated at speeds no human could comprehend-at the speed of electronics. Yet even after Mother evaluated each of the seven races that the T'kaan might encounter in this general direction, and then calculated almost every possible outcome of a major confrontation between the T'kaan fleet and each individual race, one on one, she felt no better. Defeat was the end-result of each projection.

She asked Minstrel to hold back their findings-for a short time. She did not want the children disappointed-again.

But the silence only seemed to drain the life energy from her children and Mother once again wondered if she was doing the right thing. Long minutes pa.s.sed as she pondered what she should tell them.

The minutes turned into an hour. And another. Finally, the children retired to their rooms for sleep as tiredness overtook them. The first day of shadowing the third squadron ended uneventfully.

Mother had continued her processing the entire time, hoping for a positive scenario that she could share.

Still, for all of Mother's vast computing power, for all of her careful a.n.a.lysis and predictive models, she couldn't take in every possibility that life and the universe could throw at them.

As life is wont to do, it provided the most unexpected answer.

Chapter Twenty.

"Sensor's are pickingup a debris field. It's... it was a ship." Jaric announced as Becky and Kyle entered Ops the next morning.

"Can Minstrel identify it?" Kyle yawned.

"Cover your mouth," Becky chided as she wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Kyle yawned again, ignoring her glare and her advice.

"I am rechecking my original a.n.a.lysis... there. Hmmm, this is odd." Minstrel said in answer. "It was a sizable ship, larger than a frigate. If my sensors have picked up all the debris. I also read the signature of T'kaan weapons on the debris. Looks like they destroyed it," Mother added.

"Come on, Minstrel. Who are they?" Becky asked earnestly.

"Mewiis..." Minstrel's voice was tinged with puzzlement.

Jaric chuckled.

"They don't sound too warrior-like," Kyle thought out loud.