By

Brian W. Antoine

Oct 30, 1993

Chapter One

I looked over the last form to verify that nothing had changed from the version I'd had the lawyers look over, and then signed my name for the last time. "Well, that should do it." I stood up and exchanged paperwork with the legal people that the University had brought in. "I think the state will be quite happy. You just solved your budget problems for the next few years."

"Thank you for the helping us out. It's good to see a former alumni helping us in our hour of need."

"I think we came out about even. The income from that patent should easily return the cost of the land I got from you." I gathered up my set of the paperwork and got ready to leave. I'd just signed over the royalties to a patent Penny and I had gotten, in exchange for a small section of land the University owned out by my old employer. Ever one to ignore the facts that might be embarrassing, the University had approached me about a donation. I'd had a project in mind for several years now, and this was the perfect chance to begin it. The land I now owned was large enough for my purposes, and even had an old abandoned airfield on it. That made it ideal for what I had in mind.

Just as I closed my eyes to focus on the jump home, the President of the University spoke for the first time since I'd arrived. "Before you go, would you mind answering a question?"

I opened one eye and stared back at him. "Possibly, why have you waited until now to even speak to me?"

"A fair question. How about an answer for an answer?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Within limits, ok. What's the question?"

"What do you plan on doing with that land?"

I smiled, and then almost laughed at their reaction. I didn't need to scan the room via telepathy to know that some of them were more than a little scared of me. "Would you believe a park for people to enjoy?"

"That's small reward for the price you just paid us."

"Ok, would you believe a place for people to work who aren't afraid of what I represent?"

"That's more likely I would think."

"Well how about a Starport?"

"Now you're trying to be funny."

I smiled. "How about all three?" I could see them think about it, but no one said anything. Just to give them something to think about, I reached over and cleared a small area of the desk we had been sitting around. "Let me show you something." Touching the four corners of the area and humming a short note at each touch, a small hologram appeared on the desk. "This is a rough idea of what I hope to create. Keep what I've said in mind as you read the papers over the next few months. You may find yourself wanting to talk to me again when you see it brought to life. Now though, I believe you owe me an answer."

"Do you recall the class you once taught at our request?"

"I have trouble forgetting sometimes. I almost didn't get those students out of there alive when those idiots decided to firebomb the classroom."

"Do you remember the young girl you dismissed from the class the first night?"

"Vaguely, she didn't bother to ask permission and she wasn't qualified anyway."

"That was my niece."

There wasn't much I could say to that, so I didn't try. "Gentlemen, it's been interesting doing business with you." Just before I left, one of the physics professors who had been involved in evaluating the patent spoke up.

"What it the world is holding that building off the ground?"

I snickered. "I’d say magic, but I'd be lying. If it gets built, that building it going to be my proof to the world that Anti-Gravity really does exist." As my words registered, I could see his eyes open in surprise. With that, I focused and teleported home.

* * *

"Well did you get it?"

I waved a handful of papers at the screen on the wall. "It's ours! Dig out those plans and I'll contact Kalindra. We may as well get started tonight. I don't think the University is going to keep quiet for long and I don't want people in the way during the first phase. They might wind up as part of the alterations."

"I'll get on the printouts you two will need. Have you got enough focus stones to handle building the perimeter?"

"You haven't looked in the chest lately have you. I've been a busy little Mage the last few months. We'll have enough, trust me."

The next few hours were spent in getting ready for the first phase of the construction. Before almost anything else was done, I wanted the land itself to be ready. The fact that it would make a decent park area for people to visit would help quell some of the complaints that were sure to pour in starting tomorrow morning. The land at the moment was little more than a 1/2 square mile of weeds. The only structure on it was the ancient building that had once served as the tower for the airfield that had been there.

Phase one called for some very subtle shifting of the hillside that sloped from south to north. At the moment, the land was basically split level with a short sloping hillside that ran down the center of it. I planned on making the transition a little more gentle. Next, the weeds were to be replaced by a healthy layer of grass. That alone would have been enough to call attention to the area since it ran parallel to the freeway for its entire length. The other changes I had in mind were going to cause more of a stir.

At the western end of the area, a small grove of trees was going to block the view of the old ISC building from the park area. Those trees were going to give the botanist’s fits. I planned on building an area for Smaug and others of his kind to call their home away from home. For that, I was going to use trees that were native to Velar, not Earth. The trees were going to be in place tomorrow morning if Kal managed to get everything set on her end. The mini-drags would migrate there over time with Smaug leading the way.

Starting at the edge of the grove and crossing the entire park at an angle, was to be a small stream. It's origin was to be an underground spring that was the outlet of the subterranean pumps that would feed it. They would get the water needed by draining the mirror pool that was to be at the other end of the park. I wasn't sure what was going to live in the pool just yet, but Penny was working on several ideas.

Dead center of the park was going to be dominated by the grove of trees that would act as the visual anchor for the building that was to follow later. For now, the redwoods and other trees that Penny had located that grew to at least 250 feet or more were to be arranged in a circular pattern. Through the middle of them would run the stream, except for the jog around the archway.

Except for the building, I expected the arch to be the biggest source of interest and chaos. With Kal's permission, I had put out the word through the Velan Central Library that I was looking for people who wanted a little variety in their lives. Those that accepted, were going to be the grounds keepers of the park area. For the very few Velan's that could stand to be any distance above the ground, I had jobs available in the building once it was built. I'd already been talking with one young female who was determined to become the receptionist. There were to be more things to stare at than just the building, for those people who would be brave enough to sign up for office space with me. Kalindra had already made it quite clear that I was not, under pain of pain, to become interested in Skathyin. If I had decided that Honey Gold was a better color then the Burgundy of her own fur, she'd find some dye.

What common sense I'd used regarding the safety of the Velan's, had made it clear that they could not live on Earth. So I'd gotten permission to form a Gate in one of the central subshuttle terminals of Velar. Those people who would work with me, would have access to the Gate's Terran component, the archway in the central grove. I knew that there were going to be problems at the beginning. The fact that 'aliens' had invaded Spokane, was going to attract every nut in the country. I'd been through it once with Kalindra, and I didn't expect this time to be any different.

Security was going to be covered by Penny and a small army of remotes. What she couldn't cover, the Velan's themselves would deal with. Very few Human's had ever bothered to read what little had been written about Kal's race. They would quickly learn that someone who can dead lift a half ton given proper leverage, is not someone you want to mess with.

Before all this was going to happen though, I had to get the basic groundwork done. The basic landscaping and the underground utilities were simple enough that Kalindra and I could handle it in a single night. I was loading my pack with the last of the focus stones, when Kalindra signed that she was ready.

"So, you are actually going through with this," she said as she stepped through gate I'd opened.

"I've been thinking about this for years, and the time has come. This is my best chance at forcing my race to accept the facts of the universe they live in, instead of hiding from them." I started loading up Kal's arms with stuff that we were going to need. "This is going to be my showcase of things as they could be. I have to believe that my race has the capacity to learn to deal with almost anything that comes their way. If I wrong, I'll pack my bags, dismount Penny, and emigrate to Velar."

"Then lets hope you are right."

I grabbed the last of the stuff we would need and felt a couple of Penny's remotes settle on my shoulders for the ride. "You both ready?"

"I'm ready," from Penny.

"I'm willing," from a smirking Kalindra.

"If you think I look like Mabel, your both nuts," and I teleported the lot of us to the edge of the park.

* * *

*Have you got the last of your area ready?*

*I'm just finishing the last stone. I had to dodge a car that came by a moment ago.*

*Yeah, I see it. We'll be safer once the shield is in place.*

While we worked on the inside, the perimeter of the park was going to be guarded by an illusionary shield that would hide our actions. Later, the shield would be converted to the environmental shield that would keep the park itself safe.

Not all of the plant and animal life that would reside in the park was native to the kind of climate Spokane had. To correct that little flaw, and at the same time make the park usable year round, the environmental shield would keep the inside area comfortable for both the natives and the visitors. It's purpose was to shield the area from excess rain, wind and even during the coldest winter, the area would never drop below freezing. The most striking effect was how it dealt with sunlight. The Velan inhabitants were used to a light that was a bit greener than Earth's. The shield would modify the light that passed through it. and alter the wavelength to something more suitable for all the inhabitants. In the event that the sun didn't feel up to shining when needed, the shield would envoke an artificial sun that would track as normal. Kalindra and I had spent almost a year working out all the details and we were both quite proud of what we had come up with.

*When ever you are ready*

*Link*

For the kind of work we were going to be doing tonight. We needed to be in sync to the point that one of us could feel what the other was doing. I'd gotten used to the idea since I'd done it the first time all those years ago, but I still took a second to adjust to the feeling. At least once, I caught myself over balancing because my tail wasn't where it was suppose to be.

%Hello. Right here. Let's begin.%

The one thing we couldn't shield was the initial activation of the shield. For a few seconds, every focus stone we had positioned was going to light up the area like a small searchlight being turned on.

%No traffic. Now would be good.%

We hoped nobody would see the pulse as the initial illusion formed. From the outside, nobody could tell that the area defined by the shield was now lit up like it was mid-day.

We had started at about 1AM and it was almost 4AM when we got finished. The final step was the shield conversion and we were just about ready. Our physical selves were sitting inside the central ring of trees, while the joint mind was roaming the area making a final check.

%It feels good, one last thing and we are done.%

For something as complex as the shield spell. I would had memorized a song to help me remember each step the spell required. Kalindra's method of complex casting used nonsense phrases that triggered her memory. Linked as we were, the result was a mixture of the two. Standing back to back in the center of the ring of trees, I provided the music while Kalindra sang the words.

With the first complete sentence, a column of energy erupted from the ground where we stood to splash against the underside of the shield. As we progressed, it began to work its way back down to the ground and then ripple along the ground. By the time we finished almost an hour later, we were both having trouble holding the link together. As the final note rang out from me, and the final word from Kal, we collapsed on the ground in darkness. The shield was in place and the light the illusion had provided had vanished.

%Done, tired, sore, hungry. Thank you/you're welcome.%

As we lay looking up at the night sky above us, we both got the first of what was to be many surprises. The shield had been designed to protect and nurture the park. Now it sensed the needs of the newly planted area and decided that rain and sunlight were required. As we watched in astonishment, the shield began to pulse with light as it created an artificial sunrise and we both started getting soaked by the rain that was coming down.

%Yech, wet fur/skin stinks. Time to leave.%

With a final mental hug, we dissolved the link.

Kal was huddling underneath one of the trees, trying to stay dry. "Was it suppose to do this?"

"How the hell should I know? We better get moving though. That light is going to attract attention and rather quickly I would think." I looked over at the nearby freeway and discovered how correct I was. Several of the cars that had gone by in the last few minutes, were now stopping beside the road to stare at the wonder we had created.

"Oops, it's already started. Time to leave." I grabbed Kalindra and took us back to the lab. We hadn't even had time to sit down when Penny started in.

"It's beautiful boss. You two do good work."

"Thanks, but its also tiring work." I looked at Kalindra, who was almost asleep on her feet. "You are going to be getting calls in the not to distant future. I don't want you to even think about bothering us for at least 6 hours."

"No problem, I've got the first batch of security remotes on station, and I'll handle the calls from those people who know how to reach you. You two get some sleep."

We were both soaked to the skin, which in Kal's case was a real problem. It wasn't the first time though, so I grabbed a couple of large towels from one of the cabinets and helped Kalindra dry herself off. It was something that under any other circumstances, she would have stayed awake for, but now she fell asleep in my arms before she was completely dry. I was running on autopilot as I tucked her into my bed and crashed on the couch I kept in the living area.

I was right, all hell broke loose the next day.

Chapter Two

It wasn't Penny that woke me up the next morning, it was a tail in the face. "Phhhhhuuutttthhhhh.... Hey, watch where you swing that thing!"

"Sorry..."

I tried to pull the blanket back over my head and go back to sleep, but it was a lost cause. When my nose detected breakfast being cooked a short time later, I gave up and got crawled off the couch. "Groannnnn.... I think that damn thing has a spring sideways." Something smelled awful good, so I wandered into the kitchen to see what I could steal a nibble of.

<Whack> "Get away from that! You can have some when it's finished. Go talk to Penny or something."

I retreated, holding my hand where I'd gotten nailed with the spoon. "Damn women, nothing but trouble..."

"I heard that."

"Shit..." I sat down at my desk and started through the mountain of that had come out of the printer during the night. "Anything in here that won't wait for awhile?"

"No. Everyone that I expected to call, has, but they weren't screaming loud enough to bother waking you up. I told them you would answer those questions that you felt like, when you got up."

"I'll bet that went over real well."

"About like it always does."

"Anything going on at the park itself?"

"Nothing urgent. There are a couple of TV crews out there, some cops to try to keep traffic on the freeway moving, and a small selection of people who either are wandering around looking at everything, or are trying to look like they know what's going on."

"Any RL's show up yet?"

"Yeah, there's about a dozen of them with sign's trying to stir things up. Everyone is avoiding them so they won't get caught in the crossfire if you get pissed."

"They're learning. How about the park itself?"

"The rain stopped a few hours ago, and it seems to have reverted to normal sunlight. Though it is quite a bit warmer under the shield then it is outside."

"Ok, it sounds like it can wait until I've had breakfast. Let me know if things get nasty." I snuck back into the kitchen and found Kalindra holding a frying pan. I started to duck, but when I peeked under my arm she was holding out the pan for me to grab.

"You get to fix the eggs and such. You're better at it than I am."

I took the pan and breathed a sigh of relief. "One killer omelet, coming right up. You want the good peppers?"

"Of course!"

It was about an hour before the two of us were ready to face the world again. It had been a long night, and neither of us had really gotten enough sleep.

<Whistle> "Hey Smaug, time to see your new home!" My little dragon friend poked his head out of his cave and gave me a look that questioned my sanity. "Come on, you're going to like this." He wasn't sure, but he took up his normal position on my shoulder. I looked over at Kalindra, who was getting ready to head home. "Please remember to double check with those two who wanted to try their hands at managing the park grounds."

"I will, you just make sure they will be safe when we open the gate. Their safety is going to be your responsibility."

Before I got a chance to reply, Penny chimed in. "Don't worry, I'll watch over them like they were family." I groaned "God help them then," and ducked as I teleported to the inside of the dragon grove in the park. The moment we appeared, Smaug went nuts and launched himself from my shoulder to disappear into the trees. I didn't get a chance to take him home as often as I wanted, and this was my way of making it up to him.

I wanted to stay in the grove and enjoy the quiet, but I could hear voices coming from close by. "Might as well get this over with," and I started down the path the wandered its way through the grove. Just before I got to the entrance, I met a young couple coming the other direction.

"Hi, what do you think of it so far?" It took them a second to get over the shock of seeing me. I don't think they were expecting to find me here.

"Ah, is it ok for us to look around?"

I waved at the area around us, and the park beyond. "That's why it's here. There's not much here yet, but there will be soon. You might keep an eye out for the dragon though."

"You mean the sign wasn't a joke?" They were both scanning the trees and having second thoughts about going any further.

I leaned over and whispered to them. "Just between you and me, there is only one at the moment, and he's about as harmless as they come. Unless either of you has some peanuts on you. Then he will make a real pest of himself." They were both still trying to figure out what I'd been talking about as I left the grove and spotted another group sitting in the grass nearby. They looked like a lunch gang from one of the nearby businesses, so I just waved and kept looking for the expected group of officials.

As I rounded the edge of the grove so I could see the road, I saw a line of people standing just outside the edge of the shield. Somewhere in that mass, the people who were waiting to pester the hell out of me waited. Rather than try and find them, I decided to stroll to the central ring and wait for them to come to me. Sitting myself down at the edge of the stream, I started scanning the crowd. Sure enough, way off to the side were the group of Religious Loonies that Penny had warned me about, complete with stupid signs. I was still feeling pretty tired and between breakfast and the sun overhead, I didn't feel like bothering with them just yet. I also spotted a couple of news crews who where scanning the area with the gear. I hoped they were getting some good shots, it was probably one of the better ways of letting people know what was here. I was just taking a drink from the stream, when a small group of people detached themselves from the crowd and stepped through the shield.

<Grumble> "About damned time..." They hadn't gone twenty feet before they started removing their coats. "Hey Penny, what's the temp outside?"

One of the security remotes came up behind me so we could talk. "It's about 45 out there, and there is a wind blowing." I leaned back in the grass and soaked up the sun. It was more like 65 under the shield and there was just enough of a breeze to make it pleasant.

"Hello, welcome to the park. I assume that you have a few questions for me? My assistant said you had been trying to get a hold of me all morning." They didn't waste anytime coming to the point.

"Mister Antoine, this park as you call it will have to go. You don't own this land and this whole thing is very illegal. I'm surprised at you. You have always made of point of following the law exactly up until now. Someone in your position cannot afford to be involved in this kind of gross violation of the law."

Ok, so someone hadn't bothered to do their homework. "Since when don't I own the land? I signed the paperwork yesterday and it was filed at the courthouse yesterday evening. As for the park, it's not going anyplace. Although you might be taking a trip in the near future if you don't bother to check the facts out before yelling at me next time." I stood up and brushed off my clothes. "Now, has someone got a more intelligent question they want to ask?" The fat sow that had started in on me was quickly quieted by her companions.

"You own the land?"

"I believe I've already answered that question. Care to try another?"

"Ok, I'll take your word for it. So just what is this park for?"

I waved at the surroundings and started to walk slowly around the area as I talked. "Basically, it's for people to enjoy. You've noticed the shield as you came in. Well, even in the middle of winter this area will stay pretty much like it is now. When people want to sit back and relax, or go on a picnic in pleasant surroundings, I want them to think about coming here. That is what I had in mind for now. Other things will become available as I get the time to construct them."

I caught a mutter comment about "Fat chance getting the permits."

"Then I will indeed have to break the law. Let one thing be clear at the start. This park is something of my world that I'm making available for your use. Anything inside that shield is under my control and protection. Given the mess you clowns have made of Riverfront Park, I expect a few people will visit here just to see if it's any better, and it will be. There aren't going to be a lot of rules here, but the first and foremost is that no form of violence will be tolerated. That goes for visitors, park staff and the park itself. Nothing that resembles a weapon will even be allowed through the shield. Anyone that wants to start trouble after getting inside, will get to argue their case with my chief of security."

"Well you better not expect us to help you. I can guarantee that the county police won't bother responding to calls here."

I snickered. "They carry guns. They'd never get through the shield anyway. No, I've already taken care of the security arrangements. Also, if you are thinking of screwing with the bus schedule to try and harass me that way, you can forget it. If you won't provide decent service out here, I'll take care of it myself." I wasn't real happy at the moment. They had managed to piss me off with there threats and I didn't like having to tell them to go screw themselves. I'd hoped this could be a cooperative effort, but it wasn't looking good at the moment.

"Anyway, I think that about does it for the questions. You've just about ruined my mood and the day had started out rather well this morning. Feel free to enjoy the park, I have something to take care of." Since I was in such a foul mood, I figured it was time to deal with the RL's that were still marching back and forth on the road above. They had been watching me as I had talked, and the smarter ones started leaving when they saw me walking up the hill towards them. When I stepped through the shield, I found out the weather hadn't gotten any better outside. "Damn," and I popped up a personal environment shield. "Ok, you've had your fun and done your duty. Time to go bother someone else for awhile."

Usually, it only took one warning to get them to leave. This time though I caught a comment from someone in the back of the group and as they parted I saw I'd landed a real winner. Glowing in soft red letters on his forehead were the gothic letters 'RL'. I didn't recognize him off hand, but at some point in the past he must have made a real pest of himself.

"You damned Witch! We're not going to let you pervert our planet with your foul magic!"

The smart ones had already left. Now even most of the stupid ones saw the look in my eyes and started running. The idiot just stood there as if daring me to do anything about him. "You have any last words I should forget to pass on to your next of kin?" I wasn't sure what he had in mind, but I was ready as he seemed to turn away. I'd learned better than to turn my back on people like this long ago. Sure enough, he spun back around and pulled a gun from under his coat.

"Die you damned Witch!"

It was almost comical to watch the expression on his face as the gun failed to fire. I had jammed the firing pin using telekinesis, so he was holding just so much junk. "I believe there was suppose to be a kaboom? No? Well remember, you don't get a third chance." He was turning to run as the spell hit him. With a flash, he vanished from sight and I turned to step back into the park.

"You were right, it's cold out there."

"That makes four this year boss. You're up one from this time last year."

"Maybe the inbreeding is catching up with them. They don't seem to be learning as fast anymore." I stepped into the central grove and sat down in the center as the reaction to what I had just done set in. I didn't like being forced into dealing with someone like that, but I didn't like being dead either. I knew from past experience that Penny would stand guard over me as until I stopped shaking.

It was something like a half hour before my mind decided to rejoin the world around me. Off in the distance, I could hear someone laughing and poked my head around the redwood I had been leaning against to see what was going on. "Oh, oh. Smaug's found something to chase." The group of people that had been eating their lunch at the edge of the grove, hadn't left during the little mishap. Rather, some of their friends had joined them and they had started tossing a frisby around. Sometime during the fun, Smaug had come close enough to hear them and had joined the fun. If there was one thing he couldn't resist, it was chasing something that flew through the air. Now the game had turned into a battle of wits between the people with the frisby and Smaug. They were trying to play keep away, and had to keep chasing him when he managed to catch the stupid thing.

"They been at that long?"

"About ten minutes or so."

I looked up at the road above. There was still one camera crew up there, but everyone else seemed to have left. "I suppose they caught the whole bit on camera?"

"Yeah, the clown from the city council turned a little green when the idiot vanished."

"I suppose it couldn't be helped. I hate having to wait for those idiots to make the first move. Someday I'm going to get surprised and you'll get to write 'It would have been self defense' on my grave." I started to slip back into my funk, but the laughter from the people playing with Smaug pulled me back. "Ok, enough of that. We have work to do. You need to get those advertisements into the papers. We're going to need a good gardener to deal with the native parts of this place."

"I've already got the ads written."

"I hope you remembered to specify that they needed to prove they weren't xenophobic. Whoever gets the job is going to have to work along side whoever Kal finds to take care of the Velan plant life."

"I remembered. I also specified that demonstrable language skills would be a plus. I figure they should both try to learn the others language rather then just fumble around using English."

"Good thought. What would I ever do with out you."

"Make your own bed for once?"

"Not a chance. Speaking of which, make sure you wash the bedding. I'll bet Kalindra shed all over the place last night. I'll be itching for weeks if I don't take care of it now."

"Bitch, bitch, bitch."