Your Truth is Out There (Find Your Truth Book 1) (41 page)

Without warning, laughter filled the hangar with a force that nearly knocked them all to the ground.

“Well done, Henry!” Gruleg’s voice came out of the laughter from every direction. “Well done, indeed! Remember, I’ll be watching!”

Gsefx sat next to Lhvunsa on a makeshift bench they pulled together from some old, leftover engine parts that had clearly seen better days. Nearly a sar had passed since they’d found Gruleg's message and were nearly knocked off their feet by his maniacal laughter. The GCP had arrived and were busy scurrying around the hangar, doing all the various things GCP officers do, completely ignoring Gsefx, Lhvunsa and the rest of their party. Gsefx leaned over to kiss his wife.

“It occurs to me, my darling,” he said, “that I owe you a vacation to that resort on Alnost. Once we’re finished up here, why don’t we slip away for a while? I think we deserve it, don’t you?”

“I can’t think of anything I would enjoy better, my love,” said Lhvunsa, returning her husband’s kiss.

“Ahem,” said Qilzar, coming up from behind them. “I do hate to interrupt this pleasant reunion, but you cannot go to Alnost, because you cannot take a break. Gsefx, my dear boy, the Pigawitts audit is not going away just because of our little adventure here, and now that we know of Planvc’s malfeasance, we’ll essentially have to start over …”

Lhvunsa silenced the Dremin with a single hand over his mouth.

“Qilzar,” she said, getting to her feet, “if you think Gsefx is going straight back to work after all of this, you have lost your mind.”

At this, Qilzar raised his hand, not to defend himself but to point, indicating that Lhvunsa and Gsefx should look behind them.

Gsefx and his wife turned around to see Henry, General Alcorn, his wife Janny, and Theo all laughing at what was, presumably, a joke on them.

“Just kidding,” said Qilzar, when Lhvunsa released him. “Well, not about how much work we have to do, but about you returning right away. Please take as much time as you need.”

Gsefx and Lhvunsa joined the laughter, enjoying this peaceful moment with their friends.

At that moment, the GCP Officer in Charge approached the group and addressed Gsefx.

“Et Gsefx,” he said, “the GCP is wrapping things up here and you’re all free to go.”

“Excellent,” said Gsefx. “Thank you, officer.” He watched the officer return to his troops, then turned back to his friends.

“Well then, I suppose it’s time for us to say our goodbyes and return to our homes. I will miss you all terribly, but, I suspect our absence from one another will be short, for we are bound together now and we will see each other again, soon.”

“Gsefx,” said Henry, smiling, “if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay, that is, if you’ll help me figure out how to live out here amongst the stars.”

Gsefx was taken aback, but was also relieved at not having to part with his friend.

“Yes, of course, Henry, if you’re certain that’s what you want.”

“My home is where my friends are,” said Henry, “and while some of them are returning to Earth, my best friend lives on Clangdor. There is nothing for me on Earth. But out here … out here, there is a galaxy to conquer.”

Gsefx smiled and nodded, then looked at Lhvunsa.

“What do you think, my dear? Do you think we can handle a visitor for a while?”

“We can, right after we get back from Alnost,” she said, holding up a slender green hand to ward off any protest. “In the meantime, I’m sure Henry will be quite comfortable in our home while we’re away.”

“It’s settled then,” said Gsefx, leaning in to give his wife another kiss. “You’ll stay with us.”

“Thank you, both,” said Henry. “I promise I won’t be an unwelcome guest, and that I’ll only stay long enough to sell a few of my paintings. Then I’ll find a place of my own.”

Gsefx looked around to ensure he would not be overheard by the GCP.

“Have you sensed any sign that our friend has returned?” He asked Henry.

Henry closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment.

“No,” he said, finally. “I haven’t felt anything from Gruleg since that awful laugh of his. He’s gone, for now at least.”

“That’s good news,” said Gsefx. He turned to the Alcorns.

“I guess this is farewell, my Earth-bound friends,” he said.

“It looks that way,” said the General. “These GCP fellas look like they’re ready for us to clear out of here. I have to admit, I’m ready for a good night’s sleep in my own bed.”

Gsefx stepped closer to the General. He tried to speak, but Alcorn beat him to it.

“Gsefx, please, no words,” said the General, speaking in a low voice. “We are both leaders, and we both know that with this Gruleg in the picture, we’ll need to be in touch again soon enough. In the meantime, keep an eye on Henry and make sure he gets into a little bit of trouble, but not too much.”

Gsefx smiled and nodded, but said nothing.

They said the rest of their goodbyes, then Gsefx, Lhvunsa and Henry boarded their ship. As they did, Gsefx overheard the General make a comment about how he was fortunate that Janny and Lhvunsa didn’t have time to get better acquainted, or he would be in real trouble. He mentioned it to Lhvunsa, who smiled sadly and said she’d explain it to him later.

Once aboard, Gsefx looked out the window to see the Alcorns boarding a GCP ship and wondered aloud when he would see them again.

“Don’t worry, my friend,” said Henry, a mischievous grin on his face. “Something tells me it won’t be long.”

Gsefx smiled back and began working the console in preparation for their return trip.

“Henry,” said Lhvunsa, “what about Lucy? You were going to reconcile things with her when you went back to Earth. Now that you’re not returning, you won’t be able to make things right with her.”

Gsefx turned away from the console to look at his friend. The mischievousness was gone from Henry’s face, but in its place was a look of contentment.

“I’ve asked General Alcorn to contact her. He will see to it that she gets what she wants and she will be content. It’s not the way I wanted to handle it, but it won’t really matter to Lucy.”

“You’re a good soul, Henry Backus,” said Lhvunsa. “I’m glad you are Gsefx’s friend.”

“As am I,” said Henry.

“Me too,” said Gsefx.

“Okay, enough with the mushy stuff,” said Henry. “How about a little traveling music?”

“As you wish, my friend,” said Gsefx.

“Oh, by the Gods, not that noise you call rock and roll,” said Lhvunsa, but it was too late. Gsefx had already pressed play.

Night is day and day is night

Don’t say I won’t ‘cause you know I might.

You are wrong and I am right

Don’t cross my path ‘less ya wanna fight.

Rock on my children!

Rock on my love!

Rock all day and rock all night,

Roll in the sounds from heaven above.

As one might imagine with the dizzying variation of planets, languages, and naming conventions represented by the approximately 1.2 million member worlds that currently make up the Galactic Community (GC), proper names can pose a particularly difficult challenge across all spectrums of everyday life. The following guide is offered in an effort to assist with pronunciation.

Gsefx: Pronounced “Zef”

Lhvunsa: Pronounced “Loon-sa”

Qilzar: Pronounced “Kill-zar”

Xtlar: Pronounced “Ex-lar”

Planvc: Pronounced “Plank”

Tsedle: Pronounced “Teedle”

Ricnor: Pronounced “Rick-nor”

Klarnus: Pronounced “Klar-nus”

Dilnch: Pronounced “Diln-cha”

Gruleg: Pronounced “Groo-leg”

Each planet in the Galactic Community (GC) has their own way of measuring time, usually based upon their planet’s movement around their system’s sun. As representatives from planets across the GC sought to standardize time measurements across all populated systems, they ultimately devised a system that divides time into units with a standard length, rather than a length based upon an individual planet’s rotation around a particular sun. The base unit of this system is a “byt,” with all other units being multiples of 10 of that unit. The following chart provides the Standard terminology and its functional equivalency in Earth time.

Galactine Standard = Functional Earth Equivalent

byt = second

ebyt = minute (100 byts)

sar = hour (100 ebyts)

rotation = day (10 sars)

multi-rotation or “multi-rot” = week (10 rotations)

grouping = month (10 multi-rots)

Semi-Turn = 6 months (5 groupings)

Turn = Year (10 groupings or 2 semi-turns)

David Allen Kimmel is the only member of his family born in Oregon after the family escaped to the state’s central Willamette Valley from the rapidly advancing urban sprawl that began enveloping the Concord, California area in the early sixties. Raised on a farm, but never one for the outdoors, Kimmel spent much of his youth traveling to the distant (and often magical) lands he found in his books. Among his favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffery, Robert Silverberg, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Stephen R. Donaldson and Douglas Adams. Kimmel currently makes his home in the less wide open spaces of Yukon, Oklahoma with his wife, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. Kimmel is still trying to convince his daughter and granddaughter that Star Trek doesn’t suck. Kimmel loves to hear from his readers and can be followed and/or reached via the following:

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