Jarzen Tadel - Echoes of Chaos

CHAPTER ONE

QUANTES

Jarzen stretched out in his oversized bed; he looked up at the ceiling of his master suite bedroom. It occurred to him, he could not remember, the last time he had taken notice of the ceiling. Jarzen knew the ceiling looked the same as it had every day for the past two hundred and six solar years. Upon further reflection; Jarzen noted that only eight galactic feet the other side of his ceiling was the vast frozen nothingness of space.

During Antara’s lifetime, she and Jarzen had lived in a two story, six-bedroom home Jarzen had built for them at the Tadel family compound. They had shared one hundred and nine happy solar years together and raised four children: the twins, Edan a son, and Zalla a daughter had been born on Adamar in the Pellnar Galaxy, and their third child another son, Rizal, and their baby, another daughter, Anova, were both born on Elapsis, in the Cobi System.

As Jarzen’s subconscious mind had promised, all four of his children with Antara had early on displayed extra mental abilities, and shortly after each one went through puberty; their Triple E abilities manifested. Antara, Jarzen, and Shara, with Master Gadric’s help, under Q’s watchful eye, had done an amazing job raising all eight of Jarzen’s children; plus, both of Shara’s children with Darieos.

Shara and Darieos had two children, a daughter Baya and a son Tavid. Both had extra mental abilities, but were ultimately classified by QUANTES, as very potent Double Es. Q had confided in Jarzen, that there were minor mutated strands of DNA in Darieos, which prevented his children from fully developing into Triple Es.

With a missing sense of urgency, Jarzen sat up, swung his legs off the bed and in one fluid motion was on his way to the shower. Since Antara’s death, Jarzen had spent his days either in the deck two medical labs or in the deck four science labs. For the past ninety-seven solar years, Jarzen had lived on board the Valarian in geosynchronous orbit over Semtrek Mountain.

As both Jarzen and Shara had; all of their children had stopped normal aging on the twenty-fifth solar anniversary of their birth. This was apparently an inherent attribute of the complete emergence of their Double or Triple E abilities. For the rest of their lives, they would age only one solar day, for every solar year that past. While the shower was auto soaping his body, it also crossed Jarzen’s mind that it had been nearly a solar year, since he had heard from or thought about any of his children. And even that contact had just been a short com-link call from Raden. When he was in the lab inventing or doing research, Jarzen totally immersed himself in the work, to the exclusion of everything else. At first, after Antara’s death, Jarzen stated that burying himself in his work was part of the healing process; in short order, it had become a solar century long way of life.

His shower complete, standing in the auto dryer drinking docar, the full realization of the fact that he had nothing to do today gave him a head to toe shiver. In the past two solar days, Jarzen had finished the three projects; he had spent the past half solar year working on.

All dressed up with no place to go. Jarzen took his breakfast from the ProFab unit into the dining room. He sat down in his usual place at the head of the oversized table; an empty lonely table, which was surrounded by nineteen other empty chairs.

As he was pondering what his next project should be, it occurred to Jarzen that he had not taken a day off in over ninety solar years. As a result of Jarzen’s work, his research and development had produced seventy-three new inventions; plus, a wide variety of inventions and product enhancements, which QUANTES fully supported, and moved to an eager universal market. Jarzen had advanced every aspect of sentient life. Along the way, he became by far, the wealthiest person in the known universe; a fact, which was totally unknown by and unimportant to Jarzen.

Deep in his mind, Jarzen heard an old familiar voice. It has also been nearly a solar century since you have called on me. At first, we actively watched you work, now only your dreams and memories keep us from being bored into oblivion. We would like to suggest an extended pleasure filled holiday or a death defying adventure.

Jarzen thought answered Rzen: Funny you should think that. I have it in mind to go backward in time, and visit Movious. As you are aware, the trip is well within the capabilities of the Valarian, and her HelixGeniTron Interstellar Propulsion System; and that was before the improvement modifications I have added. The time and place coordinates are still archived in V-two the ship’s A-I’s central core memory bank. Movious’ life-cycle power-cell will be two hundred and nine solar years old on his next annual anniversary. Even though he still has nearly forty-one years left on his current power-cell life cycle, I will reset him to day one, adding two hundred and ten years to his current life cycle.

* * *

Jarzen had spent decades alone with his own thoughts, and now his mind was visited by others, twice, in sixty solar seconds. Varian, the senior captain of the Valarian via the amnet contacted Jarzen to inform him the electrical energy grid on Elapsis was down. The entire planet was without power and one half of the planet was cloaked in the total darkness of night.

Just as Jarzen was asking Varian for confirmation of the message; Jarzen received an amnet broadcast from QUANTES, which had been sent out to the entire amnet. The power had been restored and everything on Elapsis was back to normal.

Jarzen contacted Q to ask for additional information, only to be told that as of right now, the cause of the power outage was unknown. Q assured Jarzen he would get to the bottom of this mystery and inform him of his findings.

As Jarzen sat over his breakfast dishes, running every scenario he could think of through his mind on what could cause the power to fail planet wide, only two possible options emerged; a Triple E event or QUANTES. After all these years, Jarzen was not comfortable with the idea of contacting Shara, so he put in a call to Q. Q quickly assured him it was neither, stating he did not do it, and there had been no Triple E event anywhere on the planet Elapsis.

* * *

Once Jarzen had made up his mind to do anything, he always went forward with his plan. He instructed Varian to make all of the necessary preparations to get the Valarian ready for an extended trip to visit Movious. Jarzen tried to inform QUANTES of his upcoming trip via the amnet, but he received no response. After a second, and then a third attempt on the amnet to reach Q had failed; Jarzen put in a vid-link call to Q. As his call to Q went through, the automated vid-link system notified Jarzen that he had a call waiting from Shara. As the screen image cleared, Jarzen could see that Q was visibly out of character.

Q returned Jarzen’s greeting, all the while rapidly giving orders, and instructions, to many unseen AM-Us. Jarzen asked if everything was alright as the automated call waiting reminder chimed a second time. As soon as Q said everything was under control; Jarzen closed the call stating he had a waiting call from Shara.

* * *

When Jarzen opened the waiting call from Shara, he was flooded with, and then completely overwhelmed, by two centuries of pent-up emotions. While his logical self-tried to tell him, this was no big deal, his emotional self-had gone into overdrive. Jarzen was as giddy as he was on that fateful day when he and Shara had pledged themselves to each other for the rest of their lives as Life-Mates.

Jarzen took a deep breath, then blurted out; Shara it’s great to see you.

Shara, all business answered, And you as well. What do you make of these two planet-wide power outages?

Jarzen, the ear-to-ear smile vanishing from his face said, Two Power outages?

Shara frowned, and then replied, Yes, the second one, a quarter solar hour past, and the first one, shortly after the midnight hour last night.

Sitting up straight is his chair, Jarzen answered, I was unaware of the first outage. I contacted Q just as the power had been restored after what I now know was the second planet wide power outage. Q assured me everything was back to normal and he was tracking down the cause. I am to be informed of the cause as soon as it’s determined.

His face masked with a puzzled expression and topped with a furrowed brow, Jarzen continued, The power was only out for ten solar minutes, yet during that time, I could not contact Q on the amnet and just as I was about to put in a vid-link call, Q broadcasted over the amnet that the power was back on, and quite frankly, I didn’t give it a second thought.

Jarzen, Shara paused, and a fleeting weak smile crossed her face, and then she said, After the second power outage, I put in a vid-link call to Q and he seemed, well, I don’t know, out of sorts. The power came back on and Q told me everything was back to normal. When I pressed him for the cause of the outage, he told me the cause had not yet been determined but he was looking into it. Jarzen, if I am being honest; I am more concerned about Q than I am about the two brief power outages. Possibly, we should visit Q and make certain he is truly alright. After all, he is nearly one hundred and sixty thousand solar years old.

* * *

Shara and Jarzen simultaneously Transed into Q’s underground command center; they arrived standing three galactic feet apart, facing each other. It crossed Jarzen’s mind that their positioning was no accident. As they both lit up with face filling smiles, Jarzen stepped forward taking Shara into his embrace, as he said, It’s great to see you in the flesh. You still are the most beautiful woman on Elapsis. If their hug lasted longer than it should have, neither of them seemed to mind. As Jarzen stepped back, Shara said, And you are as handsome as ever. Their face covering smiles had returned. Jarzen stuttered and mumbled something incoherent under his breath, he made a quarter turn to face QUANTES, and said, Hello Q. Have you determined the cause of the power outage?

Q greeted Shara and then Jarzen. His ever-present affable smile returned and he answered, No. However, my investigation is complete; even so, I have been unable to determine the cause of the power outage.

The cause of both outages, Shara intoned. Q we are looking for the cause of both planet-wide power outages.

An obviously perplexed Q, said, Yes, yes, of course, the cause of both outages. As I have stated, the cause at this time is undetermined.

Jarzen asked Q to explain undetermined, stating, Q something had to have caused the planet wide power disruption. The power went out twice, all over the planet. There must be a cause. And you … we … must determine what that cause was.

Q’s smile vanished, and he said, I agree completely, there must be a cause. Nevertheless, with the power back on; I have been unable to discover the cause, of the two, planet-wide power outages. At this time, everything is working perfectly, there is nothing else I, we, can do.

* * *

It had been two solar days since Jarzen briefly held Shara in his arms and he could think of nothing else. Q had been unable to determine the cause of the power outages but all Jarzen could think about was Shara. When he closed his eyes, he was certain; he could still smell her scent. Jarzen was driving himself crazy with trepidation and doubts over whether he should contact Shara. He had finally convinced himself; if he could come up with a good enough reason; he would make the call.

When the vid-link tone activated, announcing an incoming call, it startled the deep in thought Jarzen. The caller’s image displayed on the vid-link view screen. Jarzen knew the projected image of Shara on the screen was current; however, it was the image of a woman who was over two hundred and fifty-five solar galactic years old. Yet Shara looked the same as she had on the day, so long ago, when they made their public Life-Mate Bond Pledge.

Sitting up straight and taking a deep breath, Jarzen activated the vid-link. A smiling Shara greeted Jarzen; then she asked if he had a few minutes. Jarzen returned the smile, he mumbled something, then he cleared his throat, and said he was never too busy to take a call from Shara.

Since our meeting with Q two days ago; I have been unable to think of anything else, a perplexed Shara said.

Jarzen immediately answered, I too have been unable to think of little else; it was great to see you.

As she rose from her chair to pace the room, the wide-angle lens automatically refocused, to maintain a clear image of Shara. She suddenly stopped, faced the vid screen and with her hands on her hips, she said, Jarzen, there can be no other explanations, there is something wrong with Q.

Jarzen, who had been watching Shara’s lovely form with rapt attention as she paced back and forth, blurted out, Something wrong with Q … I didn’t sense that…. Shara, what could be wrong with Q?

Still facing the vid screen with her hands on her hips, Shara responded, I don’t know but we had better find out. Jarzen, can we get together for dinner? This problem will be better investigated and resolved face-to-face.

Jarzen trying hard to contain his enthusiasm, said, Great idea, if you are ready now, I can Trans you on board the Valarian. We can meet in the conference room and have dinner in the formal dining room.

Meet in a stuffy space ship, I think not. Jarzen, the weather is perfect here; the surf is calm and the water is warm. Being on my own; I long ago relocated to the Aza Beach residence. It is still without a doubt, my favorite place in the universe. With those words spoken, Shara surprised Jarzen, by Transing him into the formal dining room of the beach side replica of the Telmar Brew Master’s residence. However, Shara had converted the formal dining room into a well-equipped functional office.

The face splitting smile was still on his face, and if possible, it grew as Jarzen stood only six feet from Shara. Jarzen said, Well aren’t we full of surprises? As he thought to his subconscious mind, why didn’t you warn me? Or better still prevent the teleport? We protect you as we see fit. We have never felt the need to protect you from Shara or QUANTES.

Shara had taken the three steps necessary to embrace Jarzen and after a brief but heart felt hug, as she stepped back; Jarzen leaned forward and kissed her. And Shara kissed him back. A passionate, emotion filled kiss that turned back the hands of time, to a time, when they only lived to be with each other, and to please each other. At length, when the kiss ended, Jarzen took Shara into his arms again for an emotion filled hug. Only her invisible, Triple E personal defense shield, kept her from being crushed by Jarzen’s powerful love.

When the hug ended, Jarzen took a half step back, then another; he made eye contact with his onetime Life-Mate, and he said with conviction, I will not apologize for kissing you!

Shara stepped into Jarzen’s embrace and kissed him. Jarzen returned the kiss with the totality of his passion. He swept Shara off her feet and carried her into the master bedroom. Their passion overwhelmed time and space; for Jarzen and Shara they were the cosmic universe. Still in each other’s arms, the rising sun woke the slumbering lovers; Shara’s body was mostly on top of Jarzen. They were on the powder-fine, pink sand, not fifty galactic feet from the warm gentle surf. As Jarzen stirred, Shara kissed him, wishing him a good morning as she rolled over and stood up. Shara did a full body stretch, as the sand cascaded from her body. She said, I’m covered in powder sand, I need a swim, a bath and I can’t remember the last time I ate. Jarzen sat up, sprang to his feet, kissed Shara, picked her up and took them both for a swim.

As they walked arm-in-arm back to the residence, Jarzen said, I have never before felt like this. I feel so at peace, and at the same time … well … well, I feel invincible.

Shara stopped, turned, and her gaze rested on Jarzen, a warm loving smile enhanced her natural beauty. She said, I know! I am so happy, and I too feel like there is nothing I can’t do. And yet, I am filled with tremendous fear and apprehension.

Jarzen folded Shara into his embrace, and repeated, Filled with fear and apprehension. Why?

Shara looked down at the sand, shrugged her beautiful bare shoulders, and whispered, I remember our happiness from the past and how we lost it. I don’t know if I can go thought that again. We both had a second life. I loved Darian, and I know he loved me, however, I always knew deep down, what I had with Darian never measured up to what we had together. It never measured up to the level our love had achieved."

Jarzen kissed Shara on the shoulder, and then on the neck, he gave her an extra hug squeeze and stepped back. He gently lifted Shara’s face, and looking into her big beautiful, brown eyes, he said, It was the same for me with Antara, but we have found each other again. Rest assured; I will use all of my considerable ability, to ensure nothing ever again separates us!

Shara took Jarzen into her embrace, and this time it was his invisible, Triple E personal defense shield, that kept him from being crushed by the power of Shara’s love. Shara ardently said, I am going to hold you to that promise, and I pledge the same to you.

* * *

The reunited eternal-lovers would later discover three solar days had passed since they had met for their dinner date. Neither of them, even if hard pressed for an answer, could explain where the past three solar days had gone. The best they could do was to speculate on what had happened. This was the first time they had made love since Shara’s Triple E ability had manifested. Their total immersion into their combined passion must have transcended time and possibly space. All they truly knew; was that their love for each other had not only survived, if possible, it was at this moment, more intense, more powerful, and more deeply felt than their long and precise memories could remember.

* * *

After their swim, walking hand-in-hand down the beach back towards the residence, Jarzen again said, I cannot believe how amazing I feel. In over two hundred and fifty years of total recall and crystal clear memory; I have never felt like this. Every fiber of my being is consumed with an overwhelming sense of peace, joy, and contentment. I have undergone a complete, renewed, reemergence as a person. Shara, I firmly believe it’s because of my revived all-consuming love for you. There can be no other cause.

Shara’s tug on Jarzen’s arm caused him to turn and face the bewildered Shara. Looking up from the sand, she said, I didn’t know how to accurately describe or express my feelings. I was about to tell you, well, you expressed it perfectly. I cannot believe the power of the passion I feel for you. If possible, and now as I think on it, yes, it surpasses, the hormone driven passion of my youth. My love for you fulfills me.

Jarzen pulled Shara in for a long passionate kiss. When the kiss ended, Jarzen said, We need a proper bath and some food. Jarzen folded Shara into his embrace, and they were in the bathing chamber’s natural hot spring pool.

* * *

Shara and Jarzen, had to date, spent an amazing solar month and one solar week getting reacquainted. Their most current discussion had been interrupted mid-sentence by their ever-present passion. Jarzen had pulled Shara into his arms for a joyful kiss, to show his approval of her latest suggested idea. At that point all discussion stopped; mid-kiss Jarzen Transed them to a favorite spot, the sandbar, and they made love again. The sandbar, which was two hundred or so galactic feet from the low-tide shoreline, and ran down the coast for solar miles both north and south. At low tide, the sand bar, was covered by at most a solar half inch of water.

As the reunited lovers came out of the surf, walking arm in arm down the beach, they continued the interrupted conversation they were having about a new direction for their future. Jarzen was enthusiastically agreeing with Shara. This was an opportunity for a new beginning. Jarzen said, Let’s both completely walk away from our current lives; together we can take our recently reconnected lives in a totally new direction.

One direction they would not be taking had been addressed in an earlier conversation, after Shara’s and Jarzen’s subconscious minds had assured them, they could in fact have more children. They both agreed, that was not an option either one of them wanted; at least not at this time.

While they had not yet decided on a new direction; Jarzen told Shara of his plan to reunite with all of his children, and that he also wanted to visit Movious in the Pellnar Galaxy. Jarzen had already informed Q of his decision to go; and the ready to depart Valarian had been awaiting his arrival for fifty-four solar days. Disclaiming the trip, in case Shara did not want to join him, Jarzen extended the invitation. And to Jarzen’s delight, without hesitation, Shara accepted the trip invitation, stating she too was eager to visit the children. Shara then admitted that she had thought of Movious often over the years, and that she would also like to see him again. She added it would also give them additional time together to plan their new future direction. Shara further commented, now that she thought about it; she too had long ago become bored with the sameness of her life. She was excited about the prospect of a new life-path beginning. Shara was eager to set their course into the future.

* * *

As Shara and Jarzen were toweling each other off after a fun filled bath where they had also playfully bathed each other; Jarzen blurted out a startling revelation. As I mentioned while we were walking on the beach this morning, I’d like to spend some time with all eight of my children. But I’m not sure how to pull that off; possibly with a family reunion? Jarzen confessed that it had been nearly a hundred solar years since he had seen any of his children. He went on to admit that he did not even know where to begin the planning for this impromptu reunion. With a silly grin on his face, Jarzen asked Shara if she had any ideas about how he could bring all of his children together for a spur-of-the-moment family reunion.

Shara leaned over and gave Jarzen a passionate kiss, and then she said, At this time, I don’t think a reunion will work. Your children are spread across the entire Tarqu solar system; and they are for the most part, heavily involved in their own lives. You are however in luck. I have kept track of our children, including your children from your union with Antara. I know where nine out of ten of our children live. It is my opinion, for you to pull this off; at least for the first reunion; you will have to do some traveling. For the most part, it is my opinion, that you will see your children, one or maybe two at a time.

Jarzen asked, Which one?

Shara replied, Which one, what?

Of which one of my children have you lost track?

"Oh, Zalla; as far as I know she has no permanent home base. For the past eighty or so solar years she has traveled to the poorer or lesser known planets in the neighboring solar systems to help the local farmers improve their farming. As I said, as far as I could determine Zalla has no home base that I could find beyond her Master Suite in Semtrek Mountain; and as far as I know, she had not ever used the suite.

Jarzen held out his hand for Shara’s towel; in a practiced move, he rolled the two towels together, and tossed them into the hamper in the far corner of the bathing chamber. Then he took Shara into his arms for a passionate kiss. When the kiss ended, Jarzen said, I’m starved, what can I Pro-Fab you for breakfast?

* * *

It took Jarzen two solar days to put his trip together, including a warning to his children of his impending visits. At Shara’s suggestion; he was going to start with his children who lived on Elapsis: Raden, Jamos, and Edan. Raden, Jarzen’s first born, a son mothered by Shara had taken over the Tadel Family’s farming and new land based fish farming businesses; he lived on the family compound. Shara and Jarzen arrived at the family compound in the Telmar Valley just after the morning meal. Jarzen was completely overwhelmed by what he saw. The entire family compound was exactly as it had been in his childhood, except; it never looked so good.

As Shara and Jarzen were coming up the front steps, Raden came out onto the huge covered front porch to greet them. He gave a warm welcome and a heartfelt hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek to Shara, his mother. Raden turned to greet his father with an outstretched hand only to find an overcome with sentiment, misty-eyed, choked up Jarzen; who pushed aside the outstretched hand. Jarzen then pulled Raden into a firm hug that was filled with longing and pride. Jarzen forcefully sniffed once, then again, and an overcome by happiness Jarzen, said, Raden, it is great to see you. And the Tadel Family compound looks great too. How have you managed to make it appear just as it did in my youth?

A smiling Raden said, After Grandmother Mia’s death, one hundred and fifteen years ago, the house sat empty for nineteen years. During that period of time we had a great many summer storms and that grand old house was in need of major repairs. I contacted Q for assistance. Q asked me what kind of a structure I wanted to replace the old house with. Faced with a decision, it occurred to me that I had never really considered raising the old house. I immediately knew, I wanted to preserve Grandfather Ormal’s’ and Grandmother Mia’s home. I told Q I did not want to replace the house so much as to restore it, and if possible, I also wanted to restore the entire family compound. With an easy laugh, Q told me it would take me more time to empty all of the dwellings, and barns of people and livestock than it would take for me; by use of my Triple E abilities, to restore by replacement restoration the entire complex in multicolored, clear and opaque Glasscrete. Q walked me step-by-step through the entire restoration process. Raden proudly added, You are seeing the end result.

Jarzen was taking a third emotion filled nostalgic look at the family compound when Raden invited him and Shara to come into the house. It would have been obvious to any onlooker that Raden was both pleased by and concerned over this unexpected visit from his parents, especially from his father. When Raden had everyone settled in the great room, two young girls began serving refreshments.

Raden offered a brief disclaimer over how pleased he was to see his father, and then he blurted out, To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?

Jarzen looked at Shara, and they both broke out into nervous laughter. Jarzen looking at the bewildered Raden, while still chuckling, answered, Raden put your mind at ease. Jarzen looked at the floor and began a heartfelt dialogue. I, we, thought, that after a solar century, it was way past time for me to visit and to reconnect with my children. For reasons that no longer even seem valid to me … after Antara’s death I went into a self-imposed isolation, which fragmented the entire family. But the fact remains. After Antara’s death, I buried myself in my work. Well that phase of my life is over. And while I cannot make up for all of the lost time; I do not intend to lose any more time. I plan to reconnect our entire extended family. More to the point, I very much want to have an ongoing relationship with each of my children. A mesmerized Raden, stunned to silence, as he listened to his father’s speech, just repeatedly nodded his head in complete agreement. So Jarzen laughed again, and said, Relax Raden, I’m not intending to parent you. I just want us to be good friends. We Tadel’s are living an unusual, incredible long life. And I want us to be in each other’s lives. That’s all. It is a fact; as a family, we have become, fragmented and astonishingly independent. Our Triple E abilities facilitate this headstrong independence but without question; the cascading beginning of this sad, disjointed happenstance can only be laid at my feet. I am personally responsible for this incredibly dysfunctional family, and I intend to put it right. I’m not exactly sure how I will accomplish this daunting feat. I am however; open to any and all suggestions. Frequent family reunions could be a big part of the solution, but I want even more than that. The simple fact that we can be, and are so personally independent notwithstanding; we are all suffering a terrible loss, due to our independence and self-imposed solitude. As a child, I can remember growing up in a household where any excuse for a family get-together was a good reason. Everyone looked forward to every get-together. We had great good times. We ate, we drank, we played parlor games, we had daylong picnics both at the beach, or at home on the family compound. We played a wide variety of games; everything from individual effort games, to pair events, to team sports. But what I most clearly remember is the fun, the good times, the familial bonding, the love and the laughter. Jarzen paused as he looked up at Raden, he was clearly choked up, and then he repeated, That’s what I remember the most. That’s what I want for us … for all of us.

Raden slowly rose to his feet. He looked from his father to his mother, then back to his father, and he said, I don’t know what I can do to facilitate you dream, but you can count me in one hundred percent; one hundred percent…. Father, I have often had similar thoughts about how far apart the family has grown. In our youth Jamos and I were inseparable. Now he works and lives on Kleet. He could Trans home in less than a solar minute, yet I have not embraced him in two solar years. We vid-link every other month or so; we always say we should get together, but we never do. I am just as guilty; I could Trans to him in that same solar minute time frame. But I don’t. Why don’t I?

* * *

Jarzen wanted to see everything. They toured the entire Tadel family farm by air. They roamed the barns and the huge onsite processing facilities. They took a morning sail on the restored Lady Mia; although she was no longer used to catch fish. When bedtime came on the first night of their visit, Raden informed Shara and Jarzen he had prepared the master bedroom for them. Jarzen asked if his fourth story loft still had a bed in it. When Raden informed him it had a new king-sized bed; Jarzen was confused; and he said so. My loft was so small it could barely contain a double bed, dresser, and night stand. With a king-sized bed … it must be impossible to walk within the room.

Not so, Raden answered with a huge smile on his face, while it is not readily noticeable because of the exact dimensional proportions increase; when I restored the house, in fact every structure in the entire compound, at Q’s suggestion, I increased the size of everything by twenty-five percent.

Jarzen said, Raden, you are correct, I didn’t even notice. And thanks for the gesture, but as head of the family farming business, the master suite is yours. With your permission, for old time sake, Shara and I will sleep in the loft.

The rest of Shara’s and Jarzen’s two day visit with Raden passed in a blur. After breakfast on day three, Shara and Jarzen said their farewells to Raden with a promise of frequent communications, and a return visit in the near future. Not liking long good-byes, with the words still hanging in the air, Jarzen Transed Shara and himself to Kleet to meet with Jamos.

* * *

Rzen had taken it upon himself to determine the exact location of Jamos within the sprawling Adept Directorate research facility. Shara and Jarzen Transed directly into Jamos’ laboratory to an amazing surprise. There standing next to Jamos was the fifty-four-year-old version of Patrax Master Cletus Gadric. Jarzen was so exhilarated by the presence of his Master that he was uncertain as to who he should greet first. Fortunately, Master Gadric solved the problem by stepping behind Jamos and giving him a gentle nudge in the direction of his parents. Jamos welcomed his parents verbally while he gave his dad a huge heartfelt hug. Then he turned to his mother and gave Shara her welcome hug and kiss. Separating from his mother, Jamos said, I believe you know my colleague Patrax Grand Master Gadric.

With an ear-to-ear smile, Jarzen moving forward said, Colleague? As Jarzen and Gadric embraced, Gadric said, Jarzen and you too Shara; it’s great to see you. And yes Jarzen, I do believe colleague is the correct term. You are aware Jarzen that Jamos has passed you as the most patraxed person in the entire federation.

With a huge smile growing on his face, Jarzen said, Really? No, I was not aware of that fact … well if I must be surpassed; I can think of no one I would rather be surpassed by than Jamos. With the smile, still on his face, Jarzen congratulated Jamos. Then, when it appeared, based on the barrage of questions directed at