Only a week before they planned the move to Basel, something serious came up. It was the first time in Genevieve’s life that the Kairos needed to be called upon to prevent a historical disaster. It was her vision not two weeks ago. A battle in space, not far from earth. One ship was destroyed. One ship was seriously injured. One ship was injured but might be repaired. That alien spaceship landed in the Black Forest not far from where she was located. She had to go.

Charles went with her and brought thirty soldiers along for the ride. That was just as well. No telling who might have stopped her or what mischief they might have done if she did not have a troop of soldiers to protect her. She had no real experience on horseback but it would have been too far to travel on foot, so Charles found her a gentle horse. She was just glad she did not fall out of the saddle.

By the time they arrived, Alice of Avalon, the Storyteller in the future, and Martok the Bospori in the far, far future filled her mind with all the relevant information. The ship was full of peaceful Apes. Alice called them Apes. They were shot down by the ones she called Flesh Eaters and needed a place where they could hide and make their repairs. Earth was properly marked on their charts as a do-not-go planet, but it was also noted as a sanctuary planet. They came to Earth hoping the Flesh Eaters would respect the do-not-go designation, not that they expected the Flesh Eaters to respect anything. But the Apes counted on the sanctuary designation and thought they might peacefully make their repairs.

 Genevieve got down and walked the last couple of hundred yards to where the Ape ship set down in a clearing. Charles, Margo, Nelly, and three soldiers walked with her. She would not let any more than that come, but Charles insisted on that much. Three Apes left their craft and met them halfway.

Charles raised his eyebrows at the sight. He knew about little monkeys, though he had no idea there were larger such creatures even on earth. These Apes most closely resembled something like a cross between chimpanzees and gorillas, being roughly gorilla in size, a couple of species Charles and the Franks with him did not know. The Apes were vegetarians as well, so they had that in common with the gorillas. Charles did not know that either, but Genevieve knew. These aliens had no interest in eating the Franks. The Flesh Eaters, on the other hand, would delight in the chance to eat some human flesh. Some believe it was the vegetarian Apes that gave the name Flesh Eaters to their mortal enemies, but it stuck because it was true.

As soon as they met in the middle, Genevieve unloaded the Kairos’ standard line. “Hey. You can’t park here. This whole planet is a no parking, no stopping or standing zone.” It took some time for the Ape translation devices to begin working. Genevieve encouraged the Franks to talk freely with each other. She knew the device needed input from the locals to work properly. Genevieve or one of her lifetimes judged it to be a primitive version of the original Agdaline translator. Perhaps it was a home-grown version. Genevieve would not know.

Once they could communicate, and Genevieve’s first message got through, Genevieve unloaded. “These humans consume from the bounty of plant and animal life on this planet, as most species do. They do not eat people, but all the same, it would be best to avoid direct contact with the humans. They also fight among themselves, which some species find strange and disconcerting. Charles here is raising an army to fight a different army of humans on the other side of these mountains. You need to know that war is not unknown to these people, and they are good at it, so stay away from them.”

“We understand,” one Ape said, and added, “I am Captain Grawl, and you are?”

“Genevieve, the Kairos in this present age.” She took a breath before she went straight on. “This is a Genesis planet, one of only a half-dozen in the galaxy where intelligent life begins. This is why you are not allowed to interfere with the current human species, or any other species that might come along. As long as you understand, you may be granted limited sanctuary while you make your repairs. I know you were surprised and attacked by a Flesh Eater ship and your companion ship was destroyed. You came here to hide while you made repairs, but if you honestly want to hide, you need to turn off your engines.”

One of the Apes tried to politely interrupt. “We have kept them running in case we need to make a quick getaway.”

Genevieve shook her head, though she was not sure if the gesture would be understood. “Without giving away any great secret, the Flesh Eaters can track you by the energy signal your engines put out.”

“Some have theorized that,” Captain Grawl said.

“But this is not a good place to hide. I see why it attracted you, being a forest of green, but you are too close here to farms and a town. You will need to move to a more remote location. Come to think of it, I wonder why you were not attracted to one of the jungle environments on this planet.”

“Too hot and humid for some of the delicate equipment that needs repair,” the third Ape spoke.

Genevieve nodded, though she imagined that might not translate any better than the head shake. She turned and pointed. “You need to move south. You will find a ridge of mountains close there, the Jura Mountains. Find a secluded spot away from the people and you can set down, turn off your engines so the Flesh Eaters cannot easily trace you, and fix what needs fixing. If you need a special piece of equipment and do not have the means to fabricate it, you need to come and see me. I will be somewhere along this river, probably in the town on the northeast end of those very mountains. You can scan me if you want to put my imprint in your system in order to find me later.”

The Ape who mentioned the delicate equipment spoke again. “Our system is not capable of picking one out of the many.”

Genevieve frowned, and that time she was glad not every nonverbal expression was universal. “Well, something to work on. I have given you two problems now to solve. Don’t ask for more. It is better for a people to discover things for themselves. Just send a drone slowly up the river, and hopefully, I will see it or hear of it and find you. Now, move. And remember these two things. First, stay away from people.” She paused, but decided she underlined that enough.

“And the second?” Captain Grawl asked.

“Once your ship is repaired, your time of sanctuary will be over. You must leave this world. Good luck against the Flesh Eaters, but please do not come back here again.”

“But what if the Flesh Eaters come here?” the Ape who spoke about needing to make a quick getaway spoke.

“I will deal with them,” Genevieve assured them. “They will be told and given a fair chance to leave peacefully. They may have to be destroyed.” Genevieve shrugged, just to get in a last nonverbal bit of confusion for the Apes.

Captain Grawl bowed, but he explained. “A show of respect and agreement with the words you have spoken.”

Genevieve nodded and returned a slight bow before she turned around to walk back to the horses. The Apes went back to their ship, and Charles spoke.

“At least they know how to bow.”

“Not what you think,” Genevieve told him. “Bowing is their version of a handshake.”

“Oh,” Charles said, and they stopped at the edge of the trees until the Ape ship lifted off into the sky. “And how long will it take them to reach the Jura Mountains?” he asked.

“A half hour at most if they go really slow and take half that time trying to figure out where it is safe to land,” she answered. Charles whistled before Genevieve spent the rest of the return trip yelling that Charles and his soldiers did not see what they saw and they were not allowed to speak about it to anyone, ever. She finished her thoughts with the notion that she hoped the Flesh Eaters did not come to Earth.

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MONDAY

Genevieve gets married, and an Ape visit forces her to confess herself to her new husband. Good luck with that. Until Monday, Happy Reading

 

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