Alexander awoke to find himself lying on a table surrounded by human life forms. He had a moment of panic, especially when he saw the human female holding his disruptor rod.

"Be careful ... that is dangerous," Alexander said.

"I gather that," Darla said. "I just didn't want you to wake up and start vaporizing us in a panic."

"Warriors do not panic," Alexander said, but he didn't sound very convincing. Then the female surprised him by handing the rod back. He looked at her and she smiled so he slid the rod back in its sheath inside his suit coat.

"I'm Darla," she said. "This is Justin and that is Dwayne and Alan. I guess we're the welcoming committee."

Alexander sat up and felt a little dizzy. Why had he blacked out?

"I think LAIT forgot to set some kind of control on the transport and that's why you fainted," Justin said.

"LAIT ... the station watcher. I was expecting him to be here."

"Oh, we wondered about that ... haven't seen him," Justin said. "Well, you must be the scout emissary ... welcome to planet Earth. How was your trip?"

"It was quick and painless. They did not tell me that a delegation of humans would be here to greet me."

"I would guess that there are a lot of things left out of your briefing, but maybe LAIT was supposed to fill in the details," Darla said.

"The four of us are members of the Family. Do you know who we are?" Justin asked.

Alexander nodded his head. "Yes, the Family ... I was told about you."

Do you think he's telepathic? Darla's mind asked.

I don't think so, Justin replied. He's from their warrior class not an intellectual. But I can sense his emotions, and at the moment he's a little frightened of us ... let's consider that a good thing.

Oh ... you can read his mind?

I can ... at least when he thinks in English, but he has a native tongue in there as well. We better talk to him or he'll become suspicious.

"The Time family is ... we are the guardians of the human race, or as LAIT calls us, the herders." LAIT had called them no such thing, but Justin wanted to see this alien's reaction.

The comment seemed to startle Alexander. "You ... you know of our mission?"

"Of course, you're here to cull the herd to feed your home worlds," Justin said.

Dwayne, Alan and Darla looked shocked at Justin's blatant admission of their secret knowledge. Justin just smiled.

"Look, we understand why you're here. The Family will be left behind to re-seed the planet, and I can't tell you how grateful we are to get rid of all these people. The planet is too crowded, our resources are running out and the pollution of the environment is a disaster. So if you are the scout for the main force can you tell me when they're due to arrive?"

"I don't know," Alexander said. "Perhaps LAIT could tell you, but I was just to observe how you humans reacted to my presence and report back."

"That makes sense," Darla said. "You do look a lot like a human, is your whole species like you?"

"I am from the dominant species on Second Prime, one of five planets in the Prime system. Our males are warriors while the females become navigators and pilots."

"So women do have an important role to play," Darla said.

Don't go there, Wonder Woman, Justin thought.

"Every child is taught to support the Prime and my lodge is one of the strongest. The Ancient Ones established this order long ago, we are their finest creation. But the farm planets are spread out across this corner of the universe and our warriors are among the first chosen for missions ... "

Alexander kept on talking to Darla and Justin knew why. He could sense the warring emotions inside this creature and Darla was unfamiliar territory. He was an alien but he looked so human ... perhaps that's why he was chosen. Maybe the eyes were a little larger than normal, but it was not an unattractive feature.

The face, the nose and the chin were all perfect ... a handsome alien. Perhaps the hair was a little too long, but it was thick and black as coal. Justin could only guess why they had dressed Alexander in a suit and tie. Did they think this was normal dress for a human being? The disguise looked silly here in rural Virginia.

That only supported some of what Justin had been thinking. This alien race didn't know the details of human existence ... they just had a sketchy outline. That was good, they could use that. But first he would have to come up with a convincing lie about LAIT since Alexander would soon question his absence.

"Perhaps you're hungry," Darla was saying as Justin tuned back in on the conversation.

"No, the gatekeeper and I stopped for hamburger on the way here. A most satisfying meal," Alexander said.

"We thought there would be four of you," Justin said, harkening back to his earlier conversation with LAIT.

"Two of my troop did not make the jump successfully, and another is missing. My pod communications told me this after I landed."

"You came in a pod?" Dwayne asked.

"I did, as did the others. It disassembled after landing to avoid discovery so I have no means of interplanetary communication, but LAIT was supposed to provide that."

"I bet that explains it ... LAIT is out looking for the missing scout. He's probably very concerned," Justin said.

Alexander seemed to brighten at that explanation. "Yes, that would be something he would consider important. Do you have any idea what tasks we are supposed to fulfill? "

"I suppose we could get started on the beacon," Justin said. "I asked about your main force because we are supposed to have a beacon ready to guide them. At least that was the last task LAIT assigned us before you arrived."

"It never hurts to follow orders ... do you have a plan?" Alexander asked.

"Yes, Darla has it in her computer," Justin said. Boy, this was going to be easier than he thought, and they would even have alien help.

Dwayne and Alan went looking for parts to scavenge while Darla sat down with Alexander to look at the plans. Justin had put the crystal containing LAIT in his pocket. There was no sense in allowing Alexander to stumble across the creature's data by accident.

After several hours of investigation, Dwayne was able to report that this underground station was incredibly well supplied with gear. There were storerooms filled with equipment, much of it was very old and some of it was of alien design.

"I think the Ancient Ones replenished their data collection and communications equipment over the centuries as new technology was developed. I've seen some of these things in our lodge command center," Alexander said.

"So you know what some of these machines do?" Dwayne asked.

"Yes. Do you see the plate attached to the frame of this unit? This writing is similar to our own language which was developed from the Body of Knowledge."

"What is that?" Justin asked.

"Hmm, it would be like your Bible or the Koran, but it is not a religious text. We have no religion in our society, just a deep and abiding respect for the Ancient Ones who created us. But our data banks contain millions of years of information gathering ... everything is saved."

"So this is how you know so much about us," Darla said.

"Yes. As part of my education I have studied volumes about your planet and the race of Homo sapiens. I will admit I was most fascinated by your flora and fauna which is so different from that of the Prime."

"Alexander ... what happened to the primary food sources of your system?" Justin asked.

"I ... we live in an inhospitable world. At first there was some movement to terra form the surface but our science failed. What little green matter we have is cultivated and added to the protein to balance our diet, but it is hardly enough for everyone.

"The universe is constantly being explored for living planets like this one, and when we find one it is quickly colonized. Of the five Prime planets only two will survive for another thousand years. My home on Second Prime will have to be abandoned and our lodges will have to be removed to a new environment."

"Is that the reasoning behind removing the population of Earth? Will humans be replaced by your people?" Alan asked.

"I have not been told," Alexander said.

He's telling the truth as he knows it. But I think that's in the cards after they remove us, Justin thought.

Not if we kill them first, Darla replied.

"So let's see if we can use any of this equipment," Justin said.

"What are we going to do about food?" Alan asked.

Any return to the surface will involve the gatekeeper and just like the other members of the Family he is ignorant of what the enemy has planned.

Having thought that, Justin knew they couldn't stay down here for months even if they did have a supply of food. They would need other supplies to augment the construction of the weapon ... and then there was Alexander.

"I'm going to take Alexander back up to the surface," Justin said. "You three remain here and inventory whatever you think we can use for the beacon. I'll have the gatekeeper send down some food, something to keep you going until we can get some supplies."

"Will he do that?" Darla asked.

"Yes, I'll tell him LAIT is keeping us busy. Alexander and I need to find a place to locate this beacon when the time comes."

Won't Alexander figure out we aren't building a beacon? Darla thought.

Perhaps, but did you look at the power this thing will have? None of us will be anywhere near it when it goes off.

Justin handed Darla the crystal containing the LAIT data and gave her a wink.

I think Dwayne can arrange for you to talk with the creature without letting him go. In his current state I don't think he can harm us but I bet he'll answer your questions. The invasion isn't supposed to happen until our alien buddy reports back, but we need to figure out how to communicate with these aliens so Alexander can make that report.

In any logical progression I can think of it doesn't seem that scouts would arrive so far in advance without someone right behind them. LAIT isn't telling us everything. I will do my best to get Alexander's thoughts on the matter, if he even knows.

In most military planning the scouts are followed by an advance team to secure forward objectives, Dwayne thought. Maybe only a few hundred troops, but they would come to disrupt communications and prevent a military response towards the invading force. Alexander may not have been told directly, but I bet he knows how their military operations work.

I'll be sure to ask.

"Okay, Alexander ... are you ready to go?" Justin asked.

"Back to the surface ... for food? May I have another hamburger?"

"I'll see what I can do."

The gatekeeper was a little astonished to see them, but then he was not part of what LAIT was planning.

"Food? Sure, I have a good supply of foodstuffs here," the gatekeeper said. "I'll send down some dinner."

"We'll be back later," Justin said. "Alexander and I have some things to look at."

They took Darla's car and drove down out of the mountains to Ruckersville since it was a lot closer than heading back to Charlottesville. Justin didn't want to meet anyone he knew because explaining Alexander would be difficult. His father would immediately be aware that this was no ordinary boy.

Justin drove through the ATM at the nearest bank and Alexander watched with curiosity as the machine spit out money. Then they spied the sign for a Wendy's and Alexander's eyes lit up. Justin wasn't big on fast food but it seems his alien buddy wanted another hamburger.

Their conversation was revealing once Justin paid for their meal. It seems the Prime didn't use currency, everything was held in common and food was free. Dwayne and Alan still had most of the money Justin's future self had sent them, but that would be kept in reserve. There was no telling what the future held.

"You don't have anything like a hamburger on your home world?"

Alexander shook his head as he chewed. "No. Our protein is served in ready mixed packages. At home we eat the protein from a bowl with liquid added. But the same protein is made in bars for consumption out in the field when we are on maneuvers. The flavor never varies but the nutritional value is the same."

How boring, Justin thought. He didn't want to think about who or what might be in that food.

"You did a lot of military training, I'm sure," Justin said. "How old were you when you first began?"

"Our measure of time is not the same as here. Our cycles correlate to about two and a half years of your time and are related to our travel around the primary sun."

"You have more than one sun?"

"There are three, but the other two are farther away. Our scientists believe this is why the planet is so arid, we have no surface water. Perhaps in ancient times there were lakes and streams, but now it has all moved underground."

Alexander began to eat his second hamburger and smiled.

"Darla is your mate?" He asked.

Justin laughed. "No, she's not my type ... we're just friends. I'm too young to have a mate, at least by the rules of our society. What about you ... I don't even know how old you are?"

Alexander thought about that for a moment. Justin could see the wheels turning in the boy's brain but he was not thinking in English. It seems that when he had to assemble complicated thoughts that Alexander revered to his native language before replying in English.

"I am ... twenty years old in your years ... does that sound about right?"

"Perhaps, but in Earth years you would still be a young man and mating wouldn't be encouraged."

"I ... I do not have a female."

Then who is Galen?

The name had popped into Justin's head. It sounded like a male name, and then without warning Justin's mind received an image of a handsome young man. Oh, it was a guy, another warrior. Great, here was a chance he couldn't pass up.

"I may never have a mate," Justin said. "At least not one to produce children. My natural inclination is to be attracted to another male which is not always easy here on Earth."

Alexander stopped with the burger halfway to his mouth and he stared. Justin didn't understand the thoughts in the boy's head, but he did understand the smile that crept across his lips.

"I ... I did not think such a thing could be possible here ... you are like me," Alexander said.

"It's called gay on our planet. It isn't completely accepted by a lot of people, but there are laws protecting us now from those who would hate what we are."

Alexander set down his sandwich and leaned forward. "In our system the joining of two males is forbidden. If caught they execute the transgressors, that is the law."

Justin nodded. "We have that here in some of our countries. I guess it just proves that ignorance is universal."

"If you don't have a mate there can be no breaking of the law," Alexander said.

"I've never had a sexual encounter," Justin said. "My life has been too complicated, too busy for any kind of relationship."

"I have had one mating ... his name is Galen. He is a superb warrior, a leader."

"He's coming here, isn't he?"

"Yes, he will lead the advance troop of warriors."

"I would love to meet him," Justin said. "You must be so proud of him."

Alexander nodded. "I am proud he chose me, but I worry for his safety."

Damn, this was going to get complicated. But if Alexander was willing to talk about Galen then maybe there were some other useful details he would divulge.

"You have every right to be concerned, you lost two scouts and maybe a third on your way here. I guess that pod transport system isn't foolproof."

"It is subject to limitations on the receiving end ... that is true. The pod is little more than an atmospheric capsule, it has no defenses. The jump ships have a pilot to guide the craft and they are defensible."

"So Galen has a better chance than your scouts did ... you were very lucky, Alexander."

"I am beginning to accept that. We need to secure such supplies as you desire to hold out in the station for a while. There is sure to be chaos after the advance team arrives. But we need LAIT to communicate with them."

"Yes, I'm sure you need to make your report," Justin said. "But what can you tell them ... you really haven't seen anything of consequence."

"My task was to assure the security of the station and guide the advance team. You have been most helpful in that regard and your beacon will bring them here. You do not have military training so I am not sure how much of our assignment you will understand."

"Dwayne seems to think you will have to secure or destroy all means of military communication to prevent a coordinated response. Once you do that then you can land your forces with little opposition. As for the rest of the planet ... it will only be a matter of time until you control everything on the surface."

Alexander picked up the remains of his sandwich. "Dwayne has a good understanding," He said, and took another bite.

I wonder if they have any idea what kind of power our weapons hold? The clarity of Alexander's thought was startling, but Justin did his best not to react and concentrated on finishing his sandwich as he eavesdropped on Alexander's thoughts.

Of course they will not see how we disable living things on the surface of a planet. I must make sure they are kept in the station. But what of this Family that is supposed to survive? LAIT must have the answers to that, but where is he? Something is not right about his disappearance ... I will have to investigate when we return.

Justin cleaned up their table and led Alexander back out to the parking lot. Just up the road was a Wal-Mart and Justin figured to buy enough food to last several weeks while they worked on the beacon. He would keep telling Alexander that's what it was, but the boy was smart.

He might understand basic schematics, power requirements for simple machines and communications gear, but Justin didn't think Alexander's training would help him grasp the complexity of this machine. It wouldn't matter because once they turned it on there was no stopping it.

Justin had to give credit to his future self, if that's where this machine has been designed. He was still suspicious of LAIT's involvement, but he had poured over those plans and was convinced that not even the aliens could build such a machine. Of course not, they didn't have the mass of biological matter necessary anywhere in the Prime.

The Shenandoah National Forest, two hundred thousand acres of biological mass, tree covered mountains stretching to the skyline. Justin needed a prominent spot to locate the beacon projector and the machine would do the rest. He just wished he could be there to watch it operate, but then everything in sight would quickly become a part of the bio-mass.

Alexander followed him around the store and marveled at the number of items for sale. If this alien being had come to Earth for other reasons Justin would have enjoyed showing him around. It remained to be seen how Alexander would react once the invasion force was repelled because it would leave the boy stranded with no way home.

Justin bought a cart load of canned goods and several can openers. He didn't have any idea how much food the gatekeeper had on hand. He looked around and noticed Alexander had disappeared. Oh great, where had the alien run off to ... and then he saw what he was looking for.

Alexander was in the aisle gazing at the floral displays. His hands were gently stroking the petals of a variety of flowers as he leaned down to smell the fragrance. Darla would never believe this, Justin thought. It made this alien seem almost human, and that triggered another thought. They really did need to do something about clothing.

He had never bought clothes for an alien before, but Justin knew he wanted to get rid of that suit and make the boy look normal. Pants and shirts, socks and boxers were the easy purchases, but then it came down to shoes. Alexander had large feet so he sat the boy down on a stool and had him remove the shiny patent leather shoes that went with the suit.

Whoever had outfitted these scouts understood what a suit looked like, but that was where the familiarity ended. The alien socks were just a cloth wrapping and looked uncomfortable, but when the shoes came off Justin was amazed. Alexander had six toes on his very broad feet and toenails that looked like claws.

"Why are you staring at my feet?" Alexander whispered.

"Um ... you have a very broad foot."

"A warrior must have strong feet to climb. I have been very uncomfortable in these shoes. I believe if I wear them too long my feet will go soft."

"I can see why," Justin said. "But you can't go barefoot here ... it would attract too much attention."

"Yes, I agree. Perhaps there are shoes made for more rugged conditions."

"That's it," Justin said. "We'll get you some work boots."

That done they finally went through the checkout and Justin was three hundred dollars poorer. Justin led Alexander to the Men's room and pointed him at the handicapped stall.

"Go change your clothes and then we'll head back to the station."

Justin lingered at the entrance, wondering how Alexander would feel in his new clothing. Perhaps he should have gone inside and shown the boy ... no, that would have been inappropriate. Of course he was curious, but just because this alien was gay it didn't give him the right to check things out.

Alexander appeared a short while later dressed in his new clothes and the size fourteen EEE boots. He looked happy to be out of that suit, but he was carrying the disruptor rod.

"I have no place to put this," Alexander said.

"I suppose you must have it, how about sliding it into your boot? Well maybe not, what if it went off?"

"That would be a great inconvenience," Alexander laughed. "But do not worry, it is keyed to my hand alone and will not discharge accidentally." He pulled up his pants leg and slid the rod into his boot. "That works. Do you not carry personal weapons?"

"You mean a gun? No, I am not a violent person and here we have police protection. I wouldn't know how to use a gun and I don't want to find out."

Alexander nodded. "You are a scientist, someone we would call a beesz-dal in my language."

That was the first word in the Prime language that Justin had ever heard Alexander speak, and he thought the moment was important. They rolled the cart out into the parking lot and filled the trunk. Darla still had her junk all over the car, but there was room. It was dusk and the overhead lights were just coming on as Justin started the engine.

"You have scientists in your lodge?" Justin asked.

"No, our science comes from the Ancient Ones who dwell on Prime. Second Prime is populated by warrior lodges and the villages of the laruq-mal, our servant class. They are not considered people of the Prime."

"We have servant classes here," Justin said. "They are generally poor people from other countries."

"Second Prime has no other countries, we are all one. The laruq-mal is an alien life form brought into the Prime only to serve. In return for growing our food and attending the brood farms they are given food, shelter and protection."

"And they are allowed to live ... you don't turn them into protein," Justin said.

"They do not have our human form ... they resemble the great apes of your planet."

"What do the Ancient Ones look like?" Justin asked.

Alexander smiled. "I have never seen an Ancient One and it is forbidden to make a picture of one. But I have heard descriptions and they do not seem so strange to me. Some think the race vanished long ago and we are left with only their plans to guide us. I am not sure what to think."

"What you think is not as important as what you do," Justin said. "If the only task set for your warriors is the gathering of food then I don't think the Ancient Ones have a very good plan. Traveling the stars and destroying the creatures of other planets is mindless ... it doesn't solve your problems."

"Why do you say that?" Alexander asked.

"Because some day the universe will be empty and you will be left alone ... there will be no one left to help you."

Alexander was silent for a long time as Justin drove them back into the mountains. The bio-mass converter and projection machine would be the size of a small building when it was done. There was no way they could construct it out in the open where the authorities would challenge what they were doing.

But it needed to be placed on park land to get the mass it needed to operate. The only hope Justin had was that they could figure out how to transport something of that size from the station to an open area in the park. LAIT would know how to do it, but he would also know what the machine really was if he saw it.

"Where is LAIT?" Alexander finally asked. "I do not like his absence."

"I've been thinking about that," Justin said. "I think he's disappeared into the data banks. He's done that before."

"To what purpose?"

"I think we are a distraction, at least we have been in the past. On my last visit to him all he did was talk and tell jokes, it took a lot of effort to get him focused on my problems. I think he's under a lot of stress at the moment."

"Stress? He is a creature made of data I was told," Alexander said. "Stress should not be a factor in his continued existence."

"I think he's afraid of being replaced," Justin said. "I don't believe he's the original Watcher, the station has been here too long for that. I don't know what the criteria are for replacement, but when your forces arrive perhaps he will feel obsolete."

"That's ridiculous. He is nothing but electronic impulses following the commands of a program created by the Ancient Ones."

"Perhaps he was, but things have changed." Let's see how big I can make this lie, Justin thought. "We have human scientists that are close to creating artificial intelligence, machines that will think for themselves and replicate others to do the same thing."

"Machines creating other machines ... only living things replicate," Alexander said.

Justin slowed the car to allow several deer to cross the road. Alexander watched with fascination as a doe led two fawns across the asphalt and into the brush on the other side.

"See, those are animals that replicate ... machines cannot do that," Alexander said.

"Are you sure? How much of an education have they given you about the way machines process data?"

"Not enough I suppose. Warriors are bred for one purpose ... we follow orders."

"What if you were shown a different way?" Justin asked. "What if our scientists could show your people how to terra form Second Prime and grow enough food and animals to feed your people? Could the warriors convince the Ancient Ones to stop ravaging the planets?"

"You speak of rebellion and that would not be allowed. I know you are thinking of sparing the human race, but you should just be glad that your Family will survive."

This is why we will have to destroy you, Justin thought. It was time to begin building the machine. If they destroyed the advance force it would leave the warriors of the Prime in chaos. Alexander might never change his mind, but he would be alone on a strange planet. The sad part of all this is that the boy's mate would be a casualty, but this was going to be a conflict about the future of the human race ... there was no other choice.


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