While the Sugarhouse played host to Ronnie and Jahrae, their significant others settled in to keeping each other company in the great room at llhaesa’s home.

Engaged in their own interesting conversation, they sat on the sectional facing the massive fieldstone fireplace, warmth from a long-burning fire radiating throughout the room, the distinctive and sweet smell of birch wood promoting a holiday atmosphere.

Elsrensia, in solidarity with the pregnant llhaesa, eschewed an alcoholic beverage for tea, which in truth was her favourite drink in any case. As if attempting to verify tea as her drink of choice, Elsrensia had just poured her third cup of the evening, fetching it herself in the interactive familial environment of their two homes.

While the friends, nigh sisters, chatted, Addison and Serada dutifully completed their homework in the kitchen, having laid claim to the breakfast bar for the last two hours. With homework now done, they invaded the great room, with Serada asking llhaesa’s permission to watch The Parent Trap for what must be the fiftieth time.

“Serry, our family story is more interesting than the family in the movie!” Addison teased, and both Elsrensia and llhaesa burst out laughing, knowing there was some truth to this claim. “Maybe we should make a movie. After all,” Addie continued, “they aren’t aliens, and we are!”

“Not that there is anything wrong with being an alien!” llhaesa interjected into her daughter’s conversation, unable to resist paraphrasing the time-honoured line.

“Hear! Hear!” Elsrensia called out, raising her steaming teacup in an imaginary toast.

Serada prevailed in her choice of movie, and the children settled down into watching the movie, both stretching out on the floor, while the adults resumed their conversation. “Elsrensia, you were not present when Jesnsera – the senior Jesnsera – found Jahrae. How soon thereafter did you see her?”

“Perhaps a few hours after Jesn found her – at the most, llhaesa. We had elaborate security measures in place, and so it took time to get a message to me, and then for me to find my way to Jesn’s.

She was in a bad way, suffering from exposure, suffering from addiction, severely depressed, not caring if she lived or died. Our first task was to stabilise her physically, and that done, to begin to address the underlying cause – her mental state of mind.

Jahrae carried unbearable pain, and frankly, I doubt most people could survive what she endured, but Jahrae deep inside wished to find a reason to live. We all worked to find and make her aware of that reason.”

“And all this happened while I unwittingly rode in some secret ship, my mind disconnected from collective memories to the point of abduction. Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake, given my activism.”

Elsrensia looked at llhaesa with scrutinising eyes; hoping llhaesa did not feel her partnering with Jahrae placed that one in harms way. “What do you mean by ‘mistake,’ ‘essa?”

“Because I took such risks politically, partnering with Jahrae also put her at risk physically and emotionally. The result for her was 2 years of incredible happiness and 15 years of absolute hell.”

“Llhaesa, I am tempted to use the methodology your mum used – a stern voice, a firm reprimand.

Jahrae loves you heart and soul, just as you love her. Never ponder – not for one nanosecond – what ifs over your relationship in order to spare her, in some imaginary way, the pain of the past. Such words if voiced to Jahrae would hurt her deeply. Embrace the present; accept that you both suffered, one for the other, and that neither of you intended nor wished for such occurrences to befall the other. They happened, and your relationship is better now because the two of you have grown as people.”

While this conversation continued, three hundred kilometres above the earth and beginning ten minutes before, on the International Space Station followed an orbit bringing it within nighttime view of residents of Henna on this night. Inside the station, Shannon Corcoran one of six crewmembers and a specialist in solar research, went about her scheduled research activities.

Working to connect what held much promise as a revolutionary new high capacity storage battery, Shannon carefully wired the first workable prototype into the station’s power grid.

The power grid for the International Space Station was solar generated, providing a raw direct current of one hundred sixty volts eventually stepped down to one hundred twenty volts, and it was on the higher-voltage line that Shannon worked.

Taking care to work only on the supply line or the return line at any given time, Shannon worked diligently, her hands steady, the connections she made, solid. That is, until a sneeze rapidly overtook her, and the convulsive and uncontrolled action proved impossible to suppress in time.

As she sneezed, the Phillips screwdriver in her hand slipped sideways, the metal shaft touching the bare wire supply and return lines simultaneously. At the same time, he hand slipped off the handle and onto the metal shaft.

An arc of electricity shot upward, while part of the screwdriver shaft and blade melted into nothingness. The current sensed Shannon’s body touched other metal, and it singled her out as its chosen path to a desired destination.

The force of the current short-circuited Shannon’s nervous system, severely burned her at the point of connection and exit, and forcibly threw her across two metres of space station, against the cabinet located there, with her head taking the brunt of this blow.

Half a world away and three hundred kilometres below, llhaesa’s home was one matching millions of others around the world, with children watching television, the discussion between Elsrensia and llhaesa continuing.

Llhaesa thought on Elsrensia’s words, taking time to digest their meaning. Llhaesa hated that Jahrae suffered then, carried the pain still, but despite this she had no ability to and would not wish to strip the past away from Jahrae, only wished things had proven easier for her.

Before llhaesa could articulate and fashion an answer, Addison, who had wandered into the kitchen to pour glasses of milk for she and Serada, hurriedly scooted into the great room with llhaesa’s mobile, handing it to llhaesa while whispering, ‘it is the White House, mum.”

Llhaesa, looking at the timepiece on the fireplace mantle, saw that it was 8:55 pm, a most unusual call time from the White House. Concern rising, she accepted the mobile, offering a quick thank you to Addison, flipped open the mobile, saw it was a secure connection, and then offered a “Hello?” greeting into the phone.

As she listened, llhaesa’s face turned increasingly grave, her face reflecting obviously horrific news. Rising from her sofa sanctuary, llhaesa took a few steps towards the stairs and stopped. “Madame President, you were right to call. Elsrensia is here with me, and we will head out at once. We will contact you again once there.”

With that, llhaesa hung up the mobile and began to scoot upstairs to get her footwear. As she ran up the stairs, she called back down. “Elsren, there has been a terrible accident on the International Space Station, apparently an electrocution. The crewmember is alive, but in a bad way. Do you need anything from home, or is all you need on Chekresu?”

“How awful! Llhaesa – all I need is on board.”

Llhaesa ran up the stairs, grabbed her tennies, ran back down, sat on the edge of the sofa and pulled them on, all while instructing Addison, “Addie, call grandmamma Saehressa, please ask her to come over, tell them we left on an emergency. She will have to pick up your other mums later when they call, but tell her I need her to come over immediately.” Llhaesa hurried over and kissed both of her daughters, as did Elsrensia.

They ran out of the home, taking the stairs two at a time, with the door to Chekresu opening before they even reached the ground. Scurrying in, llhaesa activated the craft, while Elsrensia headed straight to the medical area, preparing for when they reached the patient.

Within moments, llhaesa had the craft soaring away from Henna, through the usual air traffic lanes, and on out into space. At the current moment, the International Space Station had just reached the west coast of Australia, virtually the other side of the world.

Not wasting time, llhaesa programmed the craft to arrive in nine minutes and thirty seconds, allowing for braking time and rendezvous with the station. Elsrensia rejoined her up front, and as she did so, llhaesa contacted the International Space Station, this so they could provide details of what happened and give Elsrensia a briefing on the patient’s condition.

Llhaesa stayed out of this conversation, allowing the peerless professional a clear path to oversee the medical needs of their patient from afar, until she arrived to take over care.

On board the station, three of the crew worked to stabilise Shannon, while two others powered down the station, given the hazardous exposed wiring and writhing arcs of current that continued to shoot off in random directions.

The station could not long remain powerless, perhaps a half hour and no more. With the power down, and using only battery-powered torches for lighting, the other two crewmembers tried to repair the damaged connections, first disconnecting the now severely damaged experimental battery.

They were not electrical experts, however, they feared doing more harm by an incorrect repair, and so they backed away.

With thirty seconds to go and Chekresu now moving at a speed just a hair faster than the International Space Station, llhaesa activated special equipment that would facilitate a special emergency connection to any other vessel, no matter its access configuration.

The rescue craft successfully bonded and sealed to the hatch of the ISS, and llhaesa immediately flooded this newly created space with pressurised, breathable, air. Once pressure equalised on each side of the two doors, she opened the door and requested the ISS release theirs as well.

As the second door manually opened, llhaesa saw faces only illuminated by the light leaking out of the Chekresu cabin, and weak torchlight within the station. Elsrensia rushed in, asking llhaesa to run lighting into the ISS, which she immediately did.

Elsrensia evaluated the patient virtually instantaneously, and decided they must immediately move her into Chekresu. Llhaesa retrieved a floating gurney, and once back in the ISS, assisted Elsrensia and two other crewmembers in placing Shannon on the gurney.

Taking Shannon back into the rescue craft, Elsrensia wasted no time in placing the patient in a miniature version of the container used to heal llhaesa’s ribs and jaw.

That task completed, llhaesa saw her friend’s body visibly relax, though the worry remained. “Elsren, will she make it?” llhaesa softly asked.

“I hate to guess, ‘essa, but I suspect she will. Her pulse is stable, if not quite strong, but the damage caused by electrocution, including the burning and the peripheral head injury, will require at least a weeklong stay in that healing chamber. The next twelve hours are the key; once we pass that timeframe, sufficient healing will have occurred such that it removes the danger.

If Equality were here, that might be four days, but we work with what we have.”

“That is good news, and the crew will be thrilled to hear this! I am going to go back in and see to the ISS power grid, see if I can get it running.”

“You, ‘essa?”

“Llhaesa laughed. On this world, Elsrensia, they might call me Renaissance woman!” Actually, I paid attention in my science classes, or was that omitted in the documentary on my life?” llhaesa teased.

“It was in there, I just do not think of you as this scientific wizard. First genetics and now electricity are areas within the realm your expertise. Now that you mention it, yes, I recall many of Arrhazon’s most prestigious college science institutions recruited you for their programmes.

Please… be careful, ‘essa.”

“I will.”

Llhaesa, her task made easier by the lighting she ran in from Chekresu, went about first studying the power grid, and then repairing. After fifteen minutes – with the air kept breathable and warm via Chekresu, she felt ready to test the station’s power.

Closing her eyes as she flipped the switches re-powering the station, llhaesa knew her work was a success not by seeing light, but by hearing the cheering of the crew.

That done, she asked the crew to come on board Chekresu, where Elsrensia would detail her evaluation and prognosis of Shannon.

Gathering around, llhaesa could see the concern for Shannon, but also the awe in seeing the insides of Chekresu. Once Elsrensia finished, llhaesa made a mental note to address this matter.

The five crewmembers were relieved to hear Shannon would likely be ok, as well as impressed with the advanced medical equipment and knowledge. Elsrensia finished by saying they would take Shannon to Bethesda, and would remain there with Chekresu to complete Shannon’s healing.

Llhaesa, seeing that this discussion was over, told the crew they would embark immediately for Bethesda, but that she would bring Shannon back as soon as Elsrensia and NASA doctors pronounced her fit for duty. “I might help her a bit on that battery when she returns,” llhaesa mused, quite serious in intent.

When we bring her back here, I’d like to take you on a little excursion with Chekresu, I figure you’ve earned a little vacation time!”

Lieutenant Commander Chickering spoke for her crew and thanked the Arrhazonans for their immediate response and able assistance. “You saved our friend and colleague’s life, and none of us will ever forget what you did today. Our world is better for your being here!”

Her comments touched llhaesa and Elsrensia, and both offered the Commander and each of the crew a hug. The crew then returned to the ISS and sealed the station, llhaesa doing the same with Chekresu.

Once the ISS radioed it was sealed, llhaesa depressurised the connecting area and pulled away from the station. A kilometre out, she set course for Bethesda, and then called President Ellenwood, advising her of the successful rescue and their new destination.

After this call disconnected, Jahrae’s voice called out an inquiry, and llhaesa, a surge of warmth flowing through her body upon hearing Jahrae’s voice, gave details. “We will not be home tonight, Jahrae. Chekresu will remain at Bethesda for a week, as it is vital to the survival and recovery of the patient.”

“Be prepared, ‘essa and Elsren. You two are all over the news media at the moment, and I do mean all over.”