Legends of Amacia: Mysteries of Tiamat
The Impossible Rescue

“I’m aLynxian from the eighth planet of a trinary system on the far side of thegalaxy called Kaitia,” Selina purred. “Why don’t you show them where I comefrom, Dan?”

Dan noddedand opened his satchel, pulling out a small device. He tinkered with it for amoment, and then sat it on the coffee table in the center of the living room.The device hummed and a light shined out of it into the air, turning the livingroom into a strange theater. The light formed an orb that suddenly showed athree dimensional representation of Selina’s place of origin that seemed tofill the room: a trinary star system with fourteen planets and several asteroidfields. Dan touched the eighth planet and it zoomed in to an orbital view ofthe planet. It was a lush, ringed world nearly seven times the size of Earthwith vast forest, plains, and immense oceans. Immense cities were scatteredacross the planet, gleaming like jewels and colossal spaceports floated inorbit. The planet had two distinctly different sets of rings: one over thenorthern latitudes and one just south of the equator. The northern set of ringswas narrower than the southern ring set, stretching from five thousand miles ofthe planet surface out one hundred thousand miles...approximately a quarter ofthe way to the innermost of eight moons in orbit around the planet. Thesouthern ring set started thirty thousand miles from the planet and stretchedfive hundred thousand miles to the orbit of the innermost moon. Each moonshowed signs of being inhabited with great spaceports and cities on them. Theplanet revolved around what appeared to be two of the three stars. One was ablue giant with approximately twenty solar masses and the other appeared to bea massive black hole with a significant accretion disk around it that the bluegiant fed. A vast orbital platform ringed the black hole at the edge of itsaccretion disk. Well out beyond the fourteenth planet orbited the third star:brilliant white star of about eight solar masses. All of this hung in theforeground of a vast, stunningly beautiful star cloud with abundant nebulae.Selina looked at the eighth planet and sighed. “Kaitia,” she said softly withsome emotion.

Everyonegazed at the astonishing vista the little device projected. Harry and Mary werethunderstruck by the immensity and beauty of the holographic image before them.Hannibal happened to notice Selina’s reaction to the image so he edged over toher. “Are you all right?” he asked. “I know that look well because I have hadit many times myself.” Selina looked at him with a troubled look and a slighttear in her eye. “You miss it, don’t you?” Hannibal inquired sympathetically.

Selinanodded yes while trying to compose herself. “Yes, I do. I miss it terribly. ButI know I can’t go back,” she purred softly.

Hannibalsighed as he put an arm around her. “I know. I know,” he murmured, consolingher. She responded by grasping his hand, which sat on her shoulder.

Harrynoticed the interaction between Selina and Hannibal. Mary remained lost in thestunning hologram of Kaitia as Dan stood stoically, waiting patiently. Afteroverhearing the last bit of conversation between them, Harry walked over toHannibal and Selina. “What do you mean she can’t go back?” he asked.

“She can’tgo back because Kaitia doesn’t exist anymore,” Hannibal declared. “The bluegiant you see here went supernova and vaporized the entire system.”

“Supernova…howdo you know that?” Harry asked with a mix of amazement and disbelief.

“I knowthat because I rescued Selina from a disabled starship that was just about tobe vaporized by that supernova,” Hannibal stated. “Apparently, they didn’t knowthat the star wasn’t going to blow until a few hours before it exploded. Only asmall portion of the population escaped. The star sent out an EMP pulse just anhour before it collapsed and fried every piece of hardware in their solarsystem. Her ship was adrift between Kaitia and Corriah, the ninth planet, whenI just happened to open the portal to her ship. To this day, I believe thatreplaceing her ship was God-incident.” Hannibal paused as he sat down on the couchwith Selina. Mary quickly retrieved a chair for Dan before sitting next toSelina. Dan sat down in the chair while Harry settled in his recliner. Onceeveryone sat down, Hannibal shared the rescue of Selina in detail.

Hannibalstood in a metal corridor twenty feet wide by fifteen feet high inside astarship with the swirling ring of the portal open from Tiamat behind him. Redlights flashed and a klaxon wailed as the smell of smoke, burning wiring, andflesh drifted through the passageway. Hannibal stared in disbelief, seeingseveral bodies of bipedal feline aliens in uniforms burned to death lyingstrewn about like so much trash. The dead alien cats looked almost human exceptfor the scorched fur and pointed ears. Wires and conduits hung everywhere,sparking and sizzling. “Oh my god,” Hannibal whispered. “We really aren’talone. Intelligent life does exist elsewhere in this universe.” He looked atthe first cat, seeing its face and chest burned to a cinder. A few feet awaytwo more cats lay face down with one of them having a large beam rammed throughhis back. The second cat was pinned under a partially collapsed ceiling.

Hannibaledged towards the pair and saw movement from the second cat, followed by agurgling cry. Rushing forward, Hannibal pushed a large piece of debris off thecat. When he uncovered the cat, Hannibal noticed the cat’s torso twisted in anunnatural position along with the legs and hips being pulverized. Thecreature’s blood pulsed out of the compound fractures in its legs. The catlooked up at Hannibal with surprise as he leaned down, taking the feline by thehand. “It’s okay. I’m a friend. What happened here?” Hannibal asked.

The cat choked,coughing up blood. He held Hannibal’s hand tightly, trying to speak, butsuccumbed to his injuries with a grateful look on his face. Tears welled up inHannibal’s eyes as he closed the cat’s eyes. “Fly to your rest, my felinefriend. Even cats like you have a place in the Lord’s house,” he declared.Rising to his feet, Hannibal took off to the left, following his instincts. Hecame to an intersection in the corridors and found a sign that shocked himgreatly; a sign labeled in English, pointing the way to the Bridge, Infirmary,and Engineering decks. “Holy shit,” Hannibal breathed. “Why do these alienshave English as their written language?”

A rumblefrom the aft decks and a prick in his mind sent Hannibal rushing in thedirection of the bridge. He dodged fallen conduits, live wires, partial ceilingcollapses, and the bodies of dozens of alien cats killed in what appeared to bea catastrophic failure of their ship. In minutes, Hannibal reached the bridgeand pried the doors open. He looked around, seeing the computers on fire andthe ceiling collapsed in several locations. The emergency lights were on, andthe computers not damaged flickered as the power fluctuated. The captain of theship remained in the captain’s chair, impaled by a large piece of conduitdriven through the chest that stuck out of the back of his chair, his blooddraining down the pipe. The navigator’s station and helm in the middle of thebridge smoldered with both the navigator and helmsman burned to a crisp intheir seats when their consoles exploded in their faces. By some amazingcoincidence, the cracked view screen remained on, showing the planet Kaitiaburning and the blue giant sun swelling and fluctuating wildly. Colossal flareserupted from the sun’s surface every few seconds. Hannibal stared in awe at thescreen until a moan attracted his attention.

Followingthe sound, Hannibal quickly noticed a beautiful feline woman in a scorcheduniform lying to the left of the wrecked helm. She had deep bluish-green eyesand dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail. Her left arm hung limply at her sideas blood dribbled down her face from a nasty bump on the head. The felinewoman’s eyes were glazed with a far look in them. A gasp escaped Hannibal’slips as he felt his heart skip a beat. Chills raced down his spine. “Oh mygod,” he whispered, utterly smitten of the feline woman and feeling that hesomehow knew her.

Hannibalstared at her for almost a minute until she gathered her wits from the terriblehit on her head. When it registered that Hannibal stood there staring at her,she called out weakly in English, “Who’re you? What’re you doing here? Ifyou’re not going to help us, then you’d better abandon ship before it’s toolate.”

Hannibalsnapped out of his daze and rushed to her assistance. He knelt down at herside, helping her sit up. “How do you know my language?” he asked with greatastonishment and worry for her.

“I’d askthe same thing of you,” the cat woman retorted. “What are you? I’ve never seenyour species before. Yet you seem strangely familiar to me. What’s your name?”

“I amHannibal,” Hannibal stated, “and I’m a human. What’s your name, and what’sgoing on here? Where is this place?”

“My name isSelina Milineus,” the cat woman replied, “and you’re on board the starshipInterceptor inside the core of the Kaitian Empire’s home system, which is beingobliterated as I speak. Our blue sun is going supernova right now. Our ship waswrecked by the EMP surge from the initial detonation. We’re now adrift, andawait our decimation by the main shock wave. You have come to this place todie, human. Look at the screen and see the death of our blue sun andcivilization.”

Selinapointed to the screen and Hannibal watched in both fascination and terror. Theblue sun puffed one last time and went dark. The stellar material startedfalling inwards, swirling to the center like water going down a drain. Justbefore it went completely dark, the blue sun flashed and Hannibal turned awayfrom the screen, covering Selina physically to shield her while covering hiseyes with his arm. Selina gasped in astonishment as the light from the screenbecame so bright she could see Hannibal’s internal organs and bone structurejust before the screen shorted out with a shower of sparks. Only when thebridge itself became translucent in the flash allowing her to see outside theship did Selina realize the main detonation was upon them. She tried to hideher eyes with her good arm, but the flash was so intense it still blinded her.

“It’sover,” Selina wailed. “We’re done! That shockwave will be here in five minutes!I might as well die here with my people! I cannot even see my doom coming now.”

Hannibalblinked and rubbed his eyes until the flash blindness wore off twenty secondslater. He squatted down beside Selina and looked into her blinded eyes. “If youwant to live to see tomorrow then come with me,” he ordered, holding out hishand. “I can get you to safety, but we must leave now.”

“How?”Selina balked. “There’s no way off this doomed ship! Even if we could, there’sjust no way to get away from the explosion in time. We’re just too close.Besides, the flash blinded me. I can’t see a thing.”

“You musttrust me,” Hannibal insisted. “I can save you, but only if you trust me.Please, don’t throw your life away.” He gently touched her on the cheek as helooked into her eyes, seeing the blindness on her.

Selinaturned her face to Hannibal’s voice and held his hand to her cheek when shefelt him touch her. The darkness in her eyes lightened to the point she couldsee his shape, but nothing more. Something inside her connected with Hannibal,eliciting a smile. “Yes, I trust you,” she replied softly. “But we must take myfather with us. He was knocked out when the EMP hit the ship and shorted outthe science station along with the rest of the computers on the bridge. I’m notleaving him here to die.”

“Where ishe?” Hannibal asked. By memory, Selina pointed across the wrecked bridge to thescience station where a burned seven-foot feline man lay unconscious. “I’ll beright back,” Hannibal declared. Rushing to the cat, Hannibal checked the cat’svitals, replaceing a pulse and breath. “Good, he’s still alive,” Hannibal said.“You two may be the only survivors of this. I saw no one else alive on my wayup here. Now let’s get out of this deathtrap.” He grabbed the giant cat in afirefighter’s carry, slowly rising to his feet with a groan. Walking back toSelina, he asked, “Can you walk?” Hannibal offered Selina his hand.

Selina sawthe motion of his hand and blindly groped for it with her good hand. Hannibalreached out and grabbed her hand. When she felt his strong grip and pull,Selina struggled to her feet. “I’ll sure as hell walk out of here, blind ornot, if you have a way off this ship,” she stated. “But we must hurry. Theshockwave will be here in three minutes.”

“Followme,” Hannibal said, leading her by the hand off the bridge. In less than twominutes, they reached the portal. By now, much of Selina’s vision had returned.Her close up vision remained blurry, but beyond ten feet, her vision hadcleared. Selina stared in wonder at the gateway to the unknown swirling in thebulkhead of the Interceptor just twelve feet away. The ship suddenly shudderedviolently as the temperature spiked to intolerable levels in seconds. “Time’sup, Selina,” Hannibal barked. “Get through the portal now!” Selina hesitateduntil Hannibal physically shoved her through the gate, following quickly behindher. Once in the portal chamber in Tiamat, Hannibal sat Selina’s burned fatherdown on the platform and turned to the portal swirling fifteen feet away.Selina stared in wonder at the miracle gateway that saved her and her father.“It’s okay. We’re safe now,” Hannibal murmured, putting his hand gently on hershoulder as they watched the ship disintegrate in the shockwave that for somestrange reason didn’t penetrate the portal’s gateway. Once the ship was gone,they saw the main supernova shockwave plow into Kaitia, completely demolishingit in less than a minute. Hannibal stared in numbed wonder as the starcollapsed into a black hole before his eyes. “Oh my Lord have mercy,” hebreathed. “No one will ever believe this! I’m the first human to see a blackhole form from a supernova and live to tell about it.”

A tormentedwail erupted from Selina as she saw her home vanish in a shockwave of super-heated plasma and its remnants spiraling towards a gaping black abyss thatreplaced the blue sun. Hannibal tore himself away from the destruction of anentire civilization and turned to Selina. He wrapped his arms around her,holding her gently as she bawled in grief-stricken agony. “It’s all gone!” shewailed. “All of it! There’s nothing left! Why? Why did this have to happen?”

“I don’tknow why,” Hannibal whispered as he stroked her back gently. “But the Lord ismerciful. He directed me to open the portal to your ship at this time with thismachine to save you and your father. That has to account for something. You’restill alive, as is your father. As long as you and your father live, yourspecies and civilization will endure.”

“But I’mall alone now!” Selina sobbed. “I have no one.”

“That’s nottrue,” Hannibal replied. “You’re not alone. You have your dad. You have myfriends and me. We will be your friends, if you let us so you’re not alone.” Hekissed her gently on the cheek. Her eyes grew wide with surprise. Secondslater, her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out in Hannibal’s arms.He promptly took her to get medical assistance for the broken arm andconcussion.

Hannibalglanced at Selina with a warm smile as he finished the account of Selina’srescue two years before. He held her hand while she sat next to him on thecouch. “To this day, I don’t know why I opened the portal to her ship at thatcritical time. But I do know that my life changed forever that fateful day Iplucked Selina and her father from oblivion,” Hannibal declared, his facebeaming. “I found something more precious than all the treasures of the entireuniverse.”

“What’sthat?” Mary asked.

“Why do youask that, Mary?” Harry chided. “Isn’t it obvious? Hannibal found his kindredspirit when he found Selina. Isn’t that right, Hannibal?”

Hannibalchuckled, letting go of Selina’s hand. “I can’t hide anything from you, can IHarry?” he chimed.

“Not whenit’s this obvious,” Harry answered, laughing. “It’s as plain as the nose onyour ugly face. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that you havefeelings for this enchanting goddess of a cat from another planet. Hell, evenI’m attracted to her.”

Mary poutedand snapped, “Harry! I’m sitting right here!”

“I’m sorry,Mary,” Harry apologized. “But it’s true. Selina is drop-dead gorgeous. Admitit.”

“I mustadmit she’s very beautiful,” Mary answered. “You won’t steal Harry from me,will you Selina?”

“Of coursenot,” Selina purred. “I can see your devotion to Harry. It’s very pleasant tosee such loyalty. And Harry’s loyalty to you is beyond reproach. I couldn’ttake him from you even if I wanted to, which I don’t. Besides, what I want issitting right here next to me. This man saved my father and me from extinctionand provided a place and a family for us. How could I not have feelings forhim? I was smitten the moment I saw Hannibal. He was so strange and exotic inhis military garb as he stared at me with his mouth hanging open.”

“And youwere taken by her the moment you saw her, won’t you Hannibal?” Harry surmised.“Don’t deny it.”

“I’m notdenying it,” Hannibal replied. “I’ve had a heart of ice and stone for manyyears. Not much gets through that hard shell. But when I saw Selina for thefirst time and in distress no less, for the first time in my miserable life, Ifelt my heart crumble and thaw. I’d been free of the demons for many years, butmy heart had never truly healed and remained cold and stony. When I saw thisfeline angel, I can’t describe it. Her very presence melted my icy heart andgot it to beat for the first time since I was a little boy. Life suddenlybecame much more bearable and worth living.”

“It’s okay tosay it,” Mary said. “You need to say it. You love her, don’t you?”

Hanniballooked Selina in the eye and after a significant pause, declared, “I do. I loveher more than you can know. I’d die for her.” Hannibal’s declaration stunnedSelina.

“Do youreally mean that?” Selina asked.

“I do,”Hannibal answered. “We’re meant to be together. I know it. But I’m not sure ifit’s possible. We’re literally from different worlds.”

Selinahugged Hannibal affectionately after his declaration. “I’ve waited two years tohear you say that, Hannibal,” she beamed. “It makes no difference that we’refrom different worlds. Harry is right. We’re kindred spirits that need eachother. I need you as much as you need me. You have to let me in.”

“I’m afraidto,” Hannibal said softly with great regret. “You have no idea who or what Iam. I am tainted by an evil so dark and vile that it has permanently scarredme. It haunts me constantly with remnants that continue to plague me. I don’twant you to get hurt.”

“Hannibal,does she know about your past?” Harry asked.

BeforeHannibal could answer, Selina gazed into Hannibal’s eyes. “I do, Harry,” sheanswered, “and as he said, it isn’t pretty. It’s so heinous that words fail todo justice to the evil, pain, and horrors he has experienced. But I too have apast that is filled with as much darkness, pain, and heartache as he has.”

“But youweren’t a pawn by the Dark Powers as I was,” Hannibal declared. “You didn’t dothe kind of evil I did. You haven’t committed the atrocities I have, or experiencedthe mind-crushing evil of the dark side. Your sensitive innocent soul treadsdangerous ground by getting too close to me.”

“I’ll bethe judge of that,” Selina retorted. “But I’ll not force you into somethingbefore you’re ready. You have terrible trust issues that continue plague yourmind and heart. I hope to one day show you that you can let me in.”

Hannibalsighed deeply. “To be honest, you got in, Selina,” he admitted. “And that’swhat scares me. I’m an open book before you. You have ways of seeing things Itry to hide from you and everyone, including myself. Because of that, beingaround you both delights and torments me. You have a power that allows you tosee my deepest, darkest secrets; a power that lets you see my hidden past…apast I try to blot out of my mind and heart because of the pain it holds.”

“Youmustn’t hide or blot out your past, Hannibal,” Selina said softly. “It’ll onlycause you more grief. I know this better than most people do. I tried to blotout parts of my life that caused me great grief, but by doing it, I unleashedeven more heartache and grief on myself. Only when I accepted that part andreleased that pain did I discover how even the most horrendous events canbecome a positive influence. You must do the same. Accept your dark past, butdon’t let it rule you and you’ll replace the peace I did. You turned from yourevil ways. Everyone knows this; and now you walk a new path of light and life.That path, which began in the darkness, led you into the light and to me on thedemolished bridge of the Interceptor. You claim the Lord that led you there torescue my dad and me. If that’s the case, then why is it so difficult to acceptthat maybe the Lord wants us to be together? The Lord always has a purpose inwhat He does, even if we don’t understand it. All I’m saying is that I want towalk with you on the path of light and life as your kindred spirit and friend.I want to be with you. Is that too much to ask?”

Hannibalsmiled, shaking his head. “Your logic has once again stumped me, Selina,” hemurmured.

“She’sright and you know it,” Mary declared. “Selina obviously loves you very much,Hannibal; much more than you’ll ever know. She wants to be part of your life,despite your dark past. This is your chance to have something precious that’sbeen denied you for a lifetime by those devils. Happiness is within your grasp.Don’t throw it away out of fear of who you were. You’re no longer that monster.You did say rescuing Selina changed your life forever.”

“It did,”Hannibal agreed. “More than I’d like to admit. I love her. I’ve never been ableto say that about anyone else, not in this respect.”

“I thinkyou know it,” Selina murmured. “Just as I was smitten when I first saw you, sowere you when you saw me. And when we spoke to each other and understood oneanother that sealed the deal for me anyway. What’re the odds of two completelydifferent species separated by over eighty-five thousand light-years developingthe same language independently of each other? It seems to me that the Lord iswonderful in His doings.”

“Eighty-fivethousand light-years,” Harry mouthed the words in great amazement, trying tocomprehend what he just heard. “This star system is eighty-five thousandlight-years away? Wow! That’s really out there! I can’t even fathom that kindof distance!”

“Yes, itis,” Hannibal answered. “It’s literally on the other side of the galaxy fromus, which means the light from that supernova won’t reach Earth for anothereighty-five thousand years. You, I, and all of our descendants will be nothingbut dust when the light from that explosion gets here, if it reaches us at all.That’s what astounds me about the portal. I marvel that a piece of technologycreated before the Flood could perform such a feat and reach such mind-bogglingdistances. But I’m glad it did.”

“I can seethat,” Mary chimed. “I’m glad you were able to save Selina, Hannibal. I’venoticed a marked change in your temperament over the last couple of years forthe better. Now I understand why. This feline angel you saved from the gravehas done something for you no one else could. She’s given you a reason beyondyour work to live. It’s a good to see you like this.”

Hannibal’seyes grew wide as once again Mary touched his soul with her words. “Oh Mary,”he said humbly. “You’ve once again stripped away the veneer, revealing thetruth of my soul. Thank you for pointing out the obvious.” Hannibal lookedSelina in the eye, saying, “Selina has indeed given me a new reason to livebeyond my work. She and her father have given me a family to replace the one Ilost long ago. Thank you, princess.”

“It’s theleast we could do for saving us from extinction,” Selina replied warmly. “Ijust wish you’d let me in so I could do more.”

“Maybe intime,” Hannibal murmured. “I’m much like a clam. It takes time for me to openup.”

“I know,”Selina murmured. “That’s why I’m being patient. You’ll open up when you’reready. That’s what my father keeps telling me.”

“Speakingof your father, what happened to him after Hannibal rescued you two?” Harryasked.

“He’s aliveand is helping out with the research at the Temple,” Hannibal said. “It just sohappens that he was one of the top researchers of their planet as is Selina.Like father, like daughter I guess.” Selina smiled slightly at the mention of herfather.

“What’s hisname?” Mary asked.

“Nathanael,”Selina answered. “He’s all that I have left from our world.”

“But youaren’t alone,” Hannibal reminded her. “You have us. As I said, I’ve consideredyou and your father family since that day. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t dofor you. And now, Harry and Mary are part of your family too because I’m partof their family, sort of. We’re all family here.”

“Thankyou,” Selina purred. “It’s strange though. Here, my father and I are from acivilization far more advanced than yours are, yet the God you serve and theGod I believe in seem to be the same God. It’s almost as if He arranged ourrescue in order to serve Him here on this little planet. I do believe thoughthat’s why our civilization was wiped out. You see, the vast majority of thepopulation of my civilization had other ideas about our God. Mainly, it wasthey just didn’t believe that He had anything to do with anything. He was justa figment of the imagination. They believed in their own strength and prowessin making and doing things. In the end, most of the population of my worldperished because of their unbelief. A handful of prophets had warned us of thepending supernova, but they were either ignored or brutally silenced by ourgovernments. It was our people’s unwillingness to believe those prophets thatcaused our civilization to die with our blue sun. At least that’s what Ibelieve.”

“You knowSelina. This is uncanny. What you’re describing is almost exactly the waythings are here on this planet,” Hannibal observed.

“I know,”Selina returned. “I’ve noticed that. From what my father and I have learnedabout your planet in the short time we’ve been here, the attitudes and opinionsare almost identical to those on my planet. As we had on our planet, yourpeople have a multitude of religions here with only one giving the great Fatherand creator of all things the due, respect, and worship He rightly deserves.And just as it was on my planet, that group is very small and is persecutedhere as well. Our God truly does reign and He proved it by bringing you and metogether under those extraordinary circumstances. It humbles me every time Ithink that.”

“Me too,”Hannibal agreed.

“How fardid your civilization reach into space?” Harry asked Selina.

“Ourimmediate reach extended some twelve hundred light-years in every direction,”Selina answered, “however we had an extended reach of more than two thousandlight-years. Much of that extended reach was still being explored when myplanet was destroyed.”

“Then youhad vessels capable of faster-than-light travel,” Harry surmised.

“Yes, we’vehad that technology for nearly five thousand of your years,” she informed. “Infact, we were on the verge of a revolution in propulsion that would have madeintergalactic travel possible just before the supernova. Unfortunately, much ofthat research was destroyed along with Kaitia.”

“You meanto say that your people were on the verge of another quantum leap in technologythat would have allowed you not only access to this side of the galaxy, but toother galaxies as well?” Hannibal queried.

“Yes,”Selina answered. “We were on the verge of actually being able to fold space;however, that technology now no longer exists. All of that research was beingdone on Kaitia under the highest of security. The prototype was merely weeksaway from being completed. The blue sun went with virtually no warning so thosewho were involved had no time to get it away to safety.”

“Maybe theLord didn’t want your people to have that technology yet,” Hannibal suggested.

“It’spossible,” Selina admitted. “I’m not denying that at all. Our people were justas arrogant and deceitful as you humans are. Maybe the Lord didn’t want us tospread that arrogance and deceit to other galaxies.”

“Could be,”Hannibal murmured.

“Selina,how old are you?” Mary asked.

“In Earthyears, I’m two hundred and fifty years old,” Selina declared. “In Kaitian yearshowever, I’m thirty-two. You see, not only was the rotational period of Kaitiadifferent, but the yearly orbit is different as well. A day on my planet wasthirty of your hours and our year was equal to almost eight of your years.Kaitia orbited at approximately where your planet Saturn does in relation toyour sun. Because our blue sun was much bigger than yours, our habitable rangewas at that distance.”

“Wow. Thisall so much,” Mary commented. “And yet, seeing you here now, I have thisincredible sense of déjà vu. It’s like I’ve known you all my life even thoughI’ve never met you before today.”

“I don’tknow about such things, but I do know one thing,” Selina replied. “You remindme so much of my sister that it’s uncanny. Even though I’ve never met youbefore, I love you much as I did my sister. It’s strange. I’ve never had thiskind of feeling before.”

“Me too,Selina; me too,” Mary replied, smiling warmly.

“I don’tthink we need the hologram anymore, Dan,” Hannibal said. Dan nodded and pickedup the hologram generator, pushing a button cutting it off.

Selinashifted position slightly on the sofa, leaned back, and purred softly. “Harry,this sofa is really soft,” she complimented. “We don’t have such things back atthe Temple.”

“Thank you,Selina,” Harry answered. “It isn’t much, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

Hanniballeaned back as well, putting his arm around Selina and then said, “All right. Isee you’ve been patient, Dan. What did you wanted to tell me?”