Director Styles was amazed with the information Hoshi gave, he wished he could bring in more people to listen to what she had to tell them, but to do so would be a risk he couldn't take at the moment.

  Doctor Page asked, "Doctor, you say you came to the Earth in a spaceship, where is this spaceship?"

  Hoshi shook her head, "I cannot tell you that, it would put her safety in jeopardy and I won't allow that."

 "You call the ship a "her" out of affection?" Doctor Kieto asked with surprise.

  Hoshi turned, looked at her and shook her head, "You could say that, the ship does have a distinct personality and it is female."

  Director Styles raised his eyebrows and leaned forward on his chair, "Doctor, you speak as if the ship is alive!"

  Hoshi paused intentionally and smiled, "She is and her name is Nova. She is an organically based life form specifically designed by our scientists to interface with her pilot to explore space."

  Hoshi looked over at Doctor Kirkwood and reached for the keyboard, "If I may."

  Doctor Kirkwood relented, she turned on the external speakers and typed in her special code word, she said softly, "Hello my friend."

  Almost immediately an excited yet soft feminine voice replied, "Hello, I have missed you greatly!"

  Hoshi glanced around the room, "I am sorry I have neglected you, please forgive me."

  Nova replied happily, "I forgive you."

  Hoshi said as she glanced at Ayumi and Myoko, "Ayumi and Myoko are here with me."

  Nova replied excitedly, "Hello Ayumi...Hello Myoko!"

  Myoko replied with a nervous, "Hi Nova" and Ayumi's voice wavered, "Hello Nova, are you well?"

  Nova replied, "I am fine thank you for asking."

  Hoshi glanced around the room and said, "Nova, there are people here with us."

  Nova replied concerned, "Are you all right?"

  Hoshi smiled, "We are fine, there is no need to worry."

  Nova felt relieved, "I am happy to hear that."

  The four talked for almost a half hour, the JPL personnel listened with great interest; they could tell there was deep affection between the two.

  Even though she didn't want to end the conversation Hoshi had to, "I must go now, please take care of yourself."

  "Until next time my friend," replied Nova.

  Hoshi reentered her special word and broke the connection, tears clouded her eyesight.

  Stunned, Director Styles shook his head, "I would have never believed it had I not heard it myself."

  The others nodded as Director Styles stood, "I need to take a break, Doctor Kieto and Page please look after any needs of our guests."

 As soon as Director Styles had left the room Ayumi, Myoko and Doctors Kieto gathered around Hoshi.

  Doctor Kieto patted her on the arm, "You are doing great, thank you for sharing Nova with is, you two are amazing!"

  Hoshi smiled, "Please call me Hoshi, it is who I am now."

  Doctor Kieto's brown eyes revealed a lot of her emotions, "And please call me Yoko!"

  Hoshi laughed, "All right, Yoko it is!"

  After a few minutes Director Styles returned and sat down, he sipped a glass of water and turned his attention to Hoshi, "Doctor, can you tell us why you left Caipria?"

  Hoshi thought her answer over for a moment, "It was a personal issue between my parents, the Caiprian governmental system and myself that could not be resolved. I had to leave the planet in order to be happy and Nova agreed to take me where ever I needed to go to achieve that happiness. I had flown to earth several times before and had marveled at how beautiful it was so I chose to come here."

  Yoko smiled warmly at her, "We are happy you are here!"

  Hoshi looked over at Ayumi and Myoko and then at Yoko, "I am also happy I am here."

  Director Styles shook his head, "Ths is incredible, we are on the threshold of an amazing discovery and we can't say a thing about it!"

  Hoshi looked around the room, "Ask yourselves, are the peoples of this planet ready to find out they are not alone in the universe and will they be comfortable with the fact my people were here first and may have interfered with the normal evolution of this planet?"

  Director Styles and the others glanced at one another, Director Styles looked shocked, "Are you saying your people used the Earth as a giant laboratory?"

  Hoshi lowered her head, "They did, many of the creatures on this world are not native to it, for example several aquatic species were introduced and your specis may be the result of genetic engineering."

  Everyone was stunned by the revelation, Doctor Kirkwood shook his head slowly, "I find it hard to believe and would love to see some proof of what you are saying."

  Hoshi realized he was going to be difficult, "I will try my best to provide you with the information."

  Yoko cut in on the conversation, "Hoshi, I understand your name is not the one you used on Caipria but is Kasei, am I correct."

  Hoshi again thought over her answer, "You are correct."

  Yoko asked, "And what is First Prime?"

  Hoshi smiled, "It is a rank, similiar to your Navy rank of Lieutenant."

  Director Styles raised an eyebrow, "Then you were in the military?"

  Hoshi nodded, "Yes, though I was assigned to the test directorate where I tested spacecraft of different sizes and capabilities."

  There was silence in the room as everyone realized what kind of impact Hoshi could have on NASA.

 Director Styles shook his head, "Then your experience in space is considerable."

  Hoshi nodded, "It is, my goal is to return to Caipria and see what is left of my civilization and culture."

  Yoko asked, "Hoshi, why don't you just get in Nova, return to Caipria and do just that?"

  Hoshi's eyes twinkled, "I have thought of doing that, unfortunately the environmental suits onboard Nova only allow exposure to several hours in space. Also, you can see by the photographs any structures left will be underground, I do not have the capability of excavating the surface. I figureed if I help your race get to Caipria through the use of some Caiprian technology then Myoko, Ayumi and myself would be able to go along for the ride...so to speak."

  Director Styles looked over at Ayumi and Myoko, both appeared very self conscious, "Why Ayumi and Myoko?"

  Hoshi slyly smiled, "Because they are a part of the deal."

  Director Styles stroked his chin and chuckled, "You have it all figured out don't you doctor."

  Hoshi nodded, "Of course, there is a price for my help taking your people to places they can only dream about."

  The NASA personnel around the table saw the prospects and had to agree she was right, Director Styles nodded his head as if answering several unheard questions. He looked at Hosh, "Then I will use whatever influence I have to get the three of you on the first mission to Caipria."

  Hoshi winked at him, "I don't think that will be a problem, my engines will power the first human spaceship to my homeworld, in it will be Caiprian technology, I would say the human race will be getting the better part of the deal."

  Everyone nodded as Ayumi looked on in awe of her daughter, she had the NASA people eating out of her hand!"

  Hoshi and the NASA people talked for several hours, taking breaks only hwen needed. Many computer generated maps and images of what Caipria looked like millions of years ago were made, all to the same level of a top notch science fiction film.

  Director Styles made notes to have the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter take a closer look at the areas; he just couldn't understand why the orbiter hadn't detected the underground facilities that, according to Hoshi, were extensive.

  He pointed at the maps, "Doctor, I do not understand why our orbiting probes have not detected the underground facilities you have mentioned."

  Hoshi replied, "Millions of years have passed Director, when my people were forced underground by the ever incresing amount solar radiation due to the lessening of Caipria's magentosphere the engineers developed materials to block the deadly radiation. I believe that once we get to Caipria we will uncover the underground facilities, intact or otherwise."

  Her words send waves of excitement through the NASA personnel. When they took a break for lunch Doctor Kieto stayed as close to Hoshi as possible.

  After lunch Hoshi, Ayumi, Myoko and Yoko walked the hallways of the administration building, Yoko turned to Hoshi, "Despite everything that has happened I hope we can become good friends...I am fascinated by you."

  Hoshi turned and smiled, "I do not hold grudges unless someone threatens my adopted family, friends or myself...if they do I would be unmerciful."

  Yoko backed away a bit, "You will not have to worry about that with me."

  They continued down a hallway, Hoshi stopped many times to admire pictures hanging on the walls. At one point she stopped, turned and addressed the others, "These pictures are truly beautiful, they are like looking through the eyes of the creator."

  Yoko asked, "I have been meaning to ask you, do you have a religion where you come from?"

  Hoshi nodded, "We believe in a superior being like most Earth cultures, if you are interested and we have the time I could discuss my beliefs in greater detail in the conference room."

  When they reached the conference room and were seated Yoko sat near Hoshi, she asked, "What is it like to travel in space and see things first hand?"

  Hoshi smiled, "As I have said, it is like looking through the eyes of the creator, there are so many beautiful things to see in space."

  Yoko asked, "What planets have you seen in person?"

  Hoshi thought for a moment and then said, "The planets in this solar system have different names in my language, but to answer your question, I have seen all of them except Mercury. My home world of Caipria looked very much like a smaller version of Earth, with it's blue seas and brown/green landmasses. I went by the Earth several times and was fascinated by it each time. I also saw Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and the planetoid Pluto as well as a few other minor hunks of ice and rock further out. Some of the Caiprian expeditions went out further and one was never heard from again, its fate remains a mystery to this day."

 Yoko was fascinated, which amused Hoshi, "What does your native language sound like?"

  Hoshi cocked her head to the side and said softly as her electric blue eyes sparkled, "Lay'nor ast telum os eanor royuu."

  Yoko let out a gasp, "It' beautiful! What did you say?"

  Hoshi looked away for a while and then looked at her, "Roughly translated it means my heart cries for my homeworld."

  Yoko lowered her head sadly, "I'm sorry I even asked."

  Hoshi nodded, "Imagine waking up one day only to find out your home world has turned into a dead planet and you heart only wants to return and find out if anything you knew existed was by some remote chance still intact...that is how I feel."

  Later in the afternoon after a break Director Styles approached Hoshi, "Doctor, are you open to making an appearance at the local auditorium before you leave to go back to the Johnson Spaceflight center?"

  Hoshi shook her head, "Of course I will, that way Mister Fujimori stays out of my hair."

  Director Styles laughed, "I assure you the public affairs people here have kept him very busy!

  Hoshi smiled, "Thank you!"

  Director Styles walked over and picked up the phone and spoke on it for a brief period of time. When he hung up the phone he looked at Hoshi, Myoko and Ayumi, "How about we call it a day, you all are tired. I have called for a limousine to take you to your hotel, Doctor Kieto will accompany you there to make sure there are no problems. I will schedule the limousine to pick you up at eight AM, then we will have some breakfast and get back to our discussions."

  Hoshi bowed, "Thank you Director Styles, you and your people have been very accomodating, it is appreciated."

  The JPL personnel accompanied Hoshi, Myoko and Ayumi to the limousine, Hoshi looked bewildered, "Where is Mister Fujimori?"

  Director Styles chuckled, "He will join you later, he said he had some work to do."

  It was a moderate drive to the hotel, when they arrived several hotel employees approaced the limousine and helped them out as well as collecting their luggage.

Hoshi gazed at the beautiful Mediterranean/Spanish them hotel which reminded her of facilities on Caipria, "My this is beautiful!"

  Yoko led them into the lobby and to the front desk as their luggage was pushed behind them on a cart; she signed for Hoshi and the others and chatted happily with the front desk personnel.

  Room cards were handed to Hoshi, Ayumi and Myoko and then they followed the porters to their suites.

  Yoko hung around for a while to make sure everything was okay with the arrangements and then left.

  After Hoshi had unpacked she bathed and changed into some comfortable clothes; she then left her suite and walked over to Ayumi's.

  After they sat down Ayumi looked at her concerned, "Are you okay, today has had to be very stressfull."

  Hoshi nodded as she thought of her reaction to seeing the family's burial crypt, "I am okay, I am just sorry I had to drag you and Myoko along."

  Ayumi moved to her left and hugged her adopted daughter, "Don't be, when I took you into my life I realized there would be risks...we will get through this together."

  Hoshi lay her head on Ayumi's shoulder, "I love you so much."

  Ayumi hugged her tightly, "I am here for you, please remember that."

  She held Hoshi for some time, it brought back memories of holding Aiko when she was alive; she murmered, "I can hear your nanobytes singing, it is a beautiful song."

  Hoshi began to feel much better and they talked until it was bedtime; she returned to her suite and went to bed.

  Instead of going to sleep immediately she stared at the ceiling and went over the events of the day in her mind. Her emotions were jumbled; sorrow when she thought of the burial crypt to anger when she realized her furneral was certainly overblown by her parents so they would look like the loving parents they never were. She thought of Myoko and Ayumi and felt love for them; she fell to sleep smiling.

  During the night, Hoshi's mind was filled with the memories of Caipria, the good times she had while flying the skyspeeders and starfighters. She always loved flying alone, there were too many odd stares and comments about what she looked like back then, when she was Kasei she always volunteered for the long range patrols no one else wanted to go on. The comments from the other pilots also made her strive more and more, this hunger got her the appointments and rank ahead of them, especially within the space directorate.

  The alarm clock chimed exactly at 6:00 am, Hoshi rolled over, put out her hand and shut the annoying sound off. She lay there for a whie until her full bladder forced her to get up and head for the bathroom.

  After using the toilet she ran the bathwater as hot as she could stand it and poured in the lilac scented bath oil she had brought with her; she took off her night gown and stepped into the steaming water.

  After her bath and once she had dried off and did her hair, Hoshi got dressed, she paid more attention to her looks since she had a feeling Mister Fujimori was up to something.

  At 7:30 am the room phone rang, which startled Hoshi; she carefully picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"

  Doctor Kieto laughed, "Good morning, this is Yoko!"

  Hoshi relaxed and replied with a smile, "Good morning Yoko, are you enroute to pick us up?"

   Yoko looked at the time on her watch, "Yes, I should be there in about ten minutes,  I will see you then, goodbye!"

  Hoshi replied, "Goodbye and hung up the phone. She quickly put on her shoes, grabbed her purse and briefcase and headed out of the suite to see if Ayumi and Myoko were ready...they were."

  The trio was waiting in the lobby when the black stretched limousine pulled up. The doorman quickly opened the doors and closed them after they were inside.

  Yoko greeted them warmly and offered each one a cup of green Japanese tea.

  Hoshi took the cup of tea from Yoko and waited as Ayumi and Myoko received theirs. She closed her eyes, sipped the steaming liquid and savored the taste; it brought back the memory of when Ayumi had first introduced her to the tea.

  When she opened her eyes she noticed Yoko looking at her, she smiled, "This is excellent tea!"

  Yoko giggled, "It certaintly is!  It allows me to reflect on my ancestry."

  Hoshi turned her head, looked out the window and then looked at Yoko, "In my case it is an aquired taste thanks to Ayumi. On Caipria I drank a similiar liquid made from the red buds of the Crivea tree, the taste was most unique."

  Ayumi turned her head, "How so dear?"

  Hoshi looked over at Ayumi, smiled and said, "The Crivea tree was the oldest living of all of the trees that grew on my home world, the taste of the liquid was closer to what you humans call chocolate, though when processed correctly it was a clear liquid and had quite a kick to it."

  Yoko licked her pink lips, "It sounds delicious, I would love to have tasted it!"

  Hoshi smiled, "You would have loved it as I did, it made one reflect on its simple beauty."

   Myoko spoke up, "Perhaps it still exists on Caipria in some form or another."

  Hoshi thought her statement over and nodded, "Perhaps, but we need to get there first."

  As they drove down LIve Oak Road towards JPL Hoshi noticed several media vans parked in the street leading up to the entrancce; she glanced at Ayumi and Myoko, "Looks like I was right, Mister Fujimori has been up to no good again!"

  Everyone looked at the media vans and Myoko giggled, "Looks like it's show time!"

  Yoko giggled, "Well, that is one way to put it!"

  Hoshi smiled and nodded as the media scrambled for their spots. The limousine coasted to a stop as several JPL security personnel formed a line.

  Hoshi, Ayumi, Myoko and Yoko got out of the limousine with the help of the doorman, the media immediately tried to get Hoshi's attention.

  She was all smiles and waved to each of the camera crews, Director Styles smiled at Hoshi as they walked up to several media personnel holding microphones, "Good morning doctor."

  She greeted him, "Good morning mister director!"

  Hoshi turned to the media, "If I may, I have a statement for you."

  She paused, looked over the crowd and continued, "The future of mankind is in space and it will be an exciting one. In the near future you will see space probes and spacesraft powered by copies of my engines head to the Moon, Mars and farther out into the unknown. What we find out there will fill out hearts with awe and wonder and it is with these people at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that the first real steps will be taken."

  Hoshi made sure she made eye contact with every member of the media and the assembled crowd, "I wish to thank all of you for coming out here this morning and if you have any questions to ask I will be most happy to accomodate you."

  Yoko was amazed as she watched and listened to Hoshi manipulate the media in a very skillful manner; she had them eating out her her hand as they asked their questions and she answered them in a manner they could understand.

  After about fifteen minutes Director Styles looked at his watch and stepped up to the microphone, "I am sorry to have to say this but Doctor Nakamura's breakfast is waiting for her so I want to thank you all for coming."

  He put his leftt hand behind Hoshi's back and gently pushed her away from the media and guided her in the direction of the cafeteria.

  When they were out of listening range of the media Director Styles chuckled, "You sure have a way with the media."

  Hoshi turned her head and grinned, "It is an acquired talent I have managed to use to my benefit. I tell them just enough to make them think they have succeeded in getting the story they want and then they will leave you alone!"

  Director Styles shook his head, "You are amazing! Are you going to treat us like you did them?"

  Hoshi stopped walking and turned towards him, "If I told you everything I knew then you wouldn't need me anymore...at the moment we need one another and I want to keep it that way."

  Director Styles studied her for a moment and began walking, "I slept very little last night, I wrote down question after question I wanted to ask you...I think if I had a year to write all of them down it wouldn't be long enough."

  Hoshi smiled to herself and said, "Then you will have to decide which of the questions you have written down are moe important to you."

  Director Styles laughed and shook his head, "I am afraid those questions would take a while to be answered to."

  Hoshi smiled, "Life's questions can be the most difficult to answer."

  Director Styles exclaimed, "Woah, let's not get into a psychological discussion, at least not yet!"

  They walked into the cafeteria where they were greeted by several JPL department heads; they made their way to the reserved table and sat down.

  Hoshi leaned over to Director Styles as Ayumi and Myoko sat down, "So, what's for breakfast?"

  Director Styles laughed. "I did a bitof checking on what you normally eat at the astronaut's cafeteria so you can guess what we are having."

  Hoshi leaned back and laughed, "I hope they mentioned I love orange juice!"

  Director Styles gestured at the cafeteria worker heading to their table carrying a very large picture of orange juice, "That is the first thing they told us about!"

  Tha cafeteria worker poured everyone a large glass of orange juice, Hoshi thanked her, sipped the liquid and smiled, "Ah, you know the pathway to my heart!"

  Director Styles looked bewildered, "Really?"

  Hoshi laughed, "No!"

  Let down, Director Styles regrouped, "There for a moment I thought I had made a breakthrough!"

  Hoshi quickly took a sip of orange juice as cafeterai food servers approaced with trays of eggs, sausages, potatoes and toast; she smiled and waited as the workers dished out the food onto her plate until she rasied a hand, "Please, that is more than enough."

  She sampled the eggs and found them to be very tasty, she pointed at them with her fork, "And these are my second favorite food item, we had nothing like them where I came from."

  Director Styles nodded, "Doctor, I wish you would allow us to record the information you are giving us, each time you say something about your home world a hundred questions pop into my mind."

  Hoshi thought over his words carefully, "If I were to allow it what assurance would I get in return the information would not be misused?"

  Director Styled lowered and shook his head, "I can only offer my word."

  Hoshi studied him for a moment, "You do realize the risks I am taking if I said yes?"

  He nodded, "But the benefit to mankind would out weigh the risks."

  Hoshi glanced at Ayumi and Myoko and gestured at them with her right hand, "Any decisions I make directly affect those two, I will not allow any harm to come to them."

  Director Styles looked at Ayumi and Myoko, "I understand."

  Hoshi thought about it for a moment and then said, "You will get my answer when we get to the conference room."

    After breakfast was finished the cafeteria slowly emptied, several of the workers walked over to Hoshi, shook her hand and told her what a great job she was doing for both JAXA and NASA.

  The walk to the conference room was a quiet one and when they entered Hoshi turned to Director Styles, "May I have a moment alone with Ayumi and Myoko?"

  Director Styles nodded and asked Doctors Kieto, Page and Kirkwood to wait out in the hallway with him.

  Once the door was closed Hoshi took out the Caiprian device and laid it on the table, "Director Styles has requested the meeting be recorded both visually and sound. Since what will be discussed here will affect not just the three of us but the entire planet I wanted to get your imput. If you do not wish them to record, then I will not allow it."

  Ayumi frowned and shook her head,  "I am not thrilled with this but I will go along with whatever you decide."

  Hoshi gave a reassuring smiled and turned towards Myoko.

  Myoko squirmed on the black padded chair and looked down at the table, "I will support you in whatever you decide, just make sure to get an agreement in writing just in case."

 Hoshi smiled and nodded to them, "Thank you, you have made my decision much easier."

  She stood, went to the door and opened it, she motioned for the JPL personnel to enter.

  Director Styles led them into the room and once everyone was seated he looked at Hoshi, "Well?"

  She picked up the Caiprian device and with her right index finger shut it off, "All right, you may record our conversations, however, I must insist that our agreement be put down on paper legally. Once done, if there is any breach of the agreement the reprecussions would be, shall I say, devastating to the offending party...do I make myself perfectly clear?"

  The heads of the JPL personnel bobbed up and down.

  Hoshi smiled as she placed the device in her purse.

  A half- hour later after much haggling they had a completed agreement which all signed. Copies her made and then Hoshi sat back on the chair, "You may start recording."

  Director Styles looked panicked, "We have been recording since you shut the device off."

  Hoshi frowned, took the device out of her purse, turned it on and scanned the room; she found several microphones and two cameras.

  She shut off the device, returned it to her purse and sighed, "So you have."

  Director Styles picked up his brief case, placed it on the table, opened it and took out a large pad of paper. Hoshi realized he truly must have stayed up all night writing down questions.

  So, until lunch time Director Styles and the other NASA personnel went over what had been discussed the day before.

  After lunch several maps were created on the large screen and Hoshi talked about and gave the locations of the many cities that were once on the surface of the planet. She also discussed why the inhabitants were being forced to move underground, the Caiprian culture including the forehead bands and the significance of the colored diamonds inlaid on the front of the forehead band.

  By late afternoon Ayumi noticed the strain of Hoshi talking about her home world was becoming noticeable. Hoshi had told the NASA people more about her people and her home world than she had told her, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

 Finally Hoshi could stand no more, "I am sorry, but I can't go any farther, I am exhausted."

  Director Styles glanced at the stack of notes he had taken and nodded, "We can pick up where we left off tomorrow, go back to the hotel and relax."

  Hoshi stood and picked up her brief case and purse, she felt very confident about the future but many things had changed, she now felt very vulnerable and knew she had to be very careful from now on.

  Director Styles made his way over to her and embraced her, "You are very brave and perhaps you don't realize what you have just done for the human race, I am eternally grateful."

  He released his embrace and startled, Hoshi stepped back, "As long as the information I have supplied is used correctly it will benefit all who reside on this  planet, it is all I can hope for."

  Director Styles went over and picked up the phone and checked on the status of the limousine. He hung the phone up, turned and said, "The limounsine will be here shortly."

  They made their way to the entrance to the building and shortly the limousine pulled up. Hoshi turned to Director Styles and the other JPL personnel, "I will see you tomorrow morning."

  After they had arrived at the hotel Hoshi took a much needed bath to help her relax and after she had dried off and did her hair she dressed in a casual manner, sat down on the bed, crossed her legs in the lotus style and began to meditate.

  In her mind she was quickly transported to Caipria and to the Mother Ocean Meridiana where she began to swim with several multicolored dolphins, her golden hair streamed behind her in the cool ocean breeze.

  Finished with her bath and dressed casually, Ayumi left her suite and walked over to Hoshi's. She rang the bell and when there was no  answer she rang the bell again. She tried the door knob and found the door unlocked, she opened the door cautiously, "Hoshi dear it is mother, may I come in?"

  There was no answer as she made her way into the suite.

  Ayumi found Hoshi sitting on her bed surrounded by a brilliant purple aura, her eyes an electric blue and fixated on the wall.

  As she approached Hoshi, Ayumi's nanobytes began to sing a lovely song, she carefully reached out her right hand and touched the aura.

  Tears began to fall slowly from Hoshi's unblinking eyes, her head slowly turned to look at Ayumi, "Bek 'nor est havelum pro secli g'hor."

  Hoshi's voice sounded soft and melodic, Ayumi sat down on the bed, "I do not understand what you are saying."

  "Lei est zelig chi lavre," Hoshi replied again without blinking.

  Ayumi began to get concerned, "Please speak to me in a language I can understand."

  Hoshi smiled, "L'avi mu omie suh' apum."

  "I do not understand, "Ayumi said as she placed her right hand on Hoshi's left arm.

  "Some day you will mother," Hoshi replied in Japanese.

  Ayumi's heart skipped a beat, "What you were saying in your native tongue, it was beautiful."

  Hoshi was silent for a moment and then said, "You love Kasei don't you."

  Stunned, Ayumi blinked and turned her head, "My feelings are not important, I only want you to be happy."

  Hoshi sighed deeply, "You know, I can see and feel the love you have for my male self, you have just buried those feelings because my female personna is the dominate of the two."

  "I could not love another man," Ayumi said as she took Hoshi's hands in hers, "Especially after loosing my husband...then you came along and stole my heart. But then you professed your need to become a female...at least one of the voids in my life could be filled."

  Tears began to fall from her eyes, Hoshi squeezed Ayumi's hands, "Then I took Aiko's place didn't I."

  "Please forgive me," Ayumi said sadly as she looked down at the floor.

  Hoshi leaned to the side and softly kissed Ayumi on the cheek, "I am happy to make you happy in some form or another."

  Ayumi looked into Hoshi's eyes, "And you saved me from an uncertain death at my own hands."

  There was a moment of silence then Hoshi said, "I know."

  She stroked Ayumi's long black hair, "I cannot love you physically but there is a way for us to share our love for one another."

  Ayumi's body trembled, she was not sure what was going to happen next.

  Hoshis concentrated and directed her nanobytes to communcate with Ayumi's, "PLease open your mind to me and we will go to the Mother Ocean Meridiana together."

  Ayumi cleared her mind and quickly found she was with Hoshi on a white sandy beach next to the Mother Ocean Meridiana. They walked hand in hand in to the water and hugged one another.

 In the darkness of the suite a pale blue aura became visible which eventually encircled both and gradually shifted colors until it was a brilliant shade of purple.

  The warm water of the Mother Ocean Meridiana felt soothing to Hoshi as she hugged Ayumi, "Can you hear your nanobytes sing?"

  Ayumi smiled and laid her head on Hoshi's chest, "Yes, I can hear them getting louder."

  Hoshi smiled down on her, "Now relax as I sing to them."

  Ayumi felt her body start to tingle as her nanobytes responded to Hoshi's singing, soon her whole body tingled with a very erotic sensation, Hoshi's caress on her shoulder greatly intensified the sensation.

  The feeling was of sheer ectasy and it felt like time had stood still as Hoshi sang several beautiful Caiprian songs; she was at times accompanied by several dolphins who swam and played nearby.

  When Hoshi was physically spent she gradully broke the contact, the brilliant purple aura shifted colors to blue, green, red and then nothing.

  Ayumi's eyes blinked as she found herself and Hoshi back in the suite.

  "How was that?" asked Hoshi as she smiled down on Ayumi.

  "Incredible!" replied Ayumi as she regained her composure.

  Hoshi hugged her and they laid down side by side and feel to sleep.

  Hoshi woke up just before six AM and felt refreshed; she turned and kissed Ayumi on the right cheek.

  Ayumi groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

  "Come on sleepy head, it's time to get up!" Hoshi prodded.

  Ayumi raised herself up on her elbows and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Why did you have to wake me up, I was having this wonderful dream where you and I were standing in front of the Caiprian Council and everyone, including your parents were bowing to us!"

  Hoshi laughed as she got off the bed, "I wish I could have seen that!"

  Ayumi crawled off the bed, "I had better get back to my suite and get ready."

  "Please wait," Hoshi said softly as she reached out and took Ayumi in her arms,  "Remember, no matter what form I am I will always love you."

  Ayumi hugged Hoshi, "I know that, thank you."

  Hoshi kissed her on the cheek and released her; Ayumi quickly left the suite and Hoshi proceeded to take her bath and get ready for the final day at JPL.

  When the limousine arrived from JPL it was empty save for the driver and the doorman. During the ride everyone was very quiet except when Myoko served tea.

Hoshi was happy this was to be the last day at JPL though she remembered something about an appearance at the Caltech auditorium, she hoped that was all she had to do.

  Director Styles and a small group of JPL employees met the limousine and as they slowly walked to the cafeteria Director Styles asked, "How are you feeling today?"

  "Very Well," replied Hoshi, "I am anxious to finish everything up today so I can get back to work."

  "Of course you are," chuckled Director Styles, "It should be a easy day and you just have the appearance at the auditorium at seven pm, then you can fly back to Texas tomorrow morning."

  They had their usual breakfast and then headed to the conference room. When they arrived Hoshi was slightly irritated to find more recording devices present.

  Director Styles sat down, pulled a yellow legal notepad from his briefcase and turned to Hoshi, "I had the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter fly over a few of the locations you told us cities had been located, it found nothing...how can you explain this?"

  Irritated, Hoshi replied, "How deep can it scan with its radar?"

  Director Styles glanced at his notepad and looked up, "It can scan to a depth of about a kilometer depending on the types of rock encountered."

  Hoshi glanced at Ayumi who met her gaze and nodded, "That would explain it, do you not remember me telling you my people were being forced underground due to the high leves of solar radiation? It would be logical that there would be some sort of shielding to negate the amount of radiation that would get through the rock."