King Maxxus approached the practice area slowly and quietly. He did not want to disrupt the entire group of soldiers, at least not yet. He hoped to find a way to single out Tae and ask a few pertinent questions. Then he would ask for Eveline's location and take Tae along. Together, their sense of connection with Talonia was stronger.

Hesher, the military commander, was the first to notice the king. He began to make his way through the soldiers, but Maxxus waved him off. Confused and slightly annoyed, Hesher turned back to his men. King Maxxus circled the field and came up behind Tae. He touched his shoulder, and Tae spun, almost slicing the king in half with the knife in his hand. He stopped his forward motion just in time. "I am sorry, Your Majesty, but you should never startle a soldier holding a weapon."

"You are right. It was clearly my fault, and I actually know better. I just have a big problem on my mind, and my survival instincts became lost in the mix. I came because I need you and Eveline to do Talonia a favor, if you are willing."

"We will be happy to oblige. Give me a moment to turn my group over to someone else, and we can go find her. She should still be at the school," Tae replied.

King Maxxus waited impatiently and when Tae returned began quickly asking questions. "Have either of you felt something wrong with the planet lately? Have you been to the waterfall or the volcanoes? Are they different in any way?"

"What has happened? You are obviously panicked over something, or you would not be firing questions at me like that."

"Answer the questions, and then I will explain," the king retorted.

"We were at the waterfall with the children yesterday. Everything was fine. We have not been to the volcanoes since the babies were born. It is too dangerous for them, and Eveline refuses to leave them behind, especially since she has to leave them when she is teaching. Things do feel a little different at times, but we decided it must be due to the damage the crash caused. Once the land heals, all should be fine."

"I saw the scar today, and it is close to normal. The vegetation is covering it nicely. I am afraid there is another reason for the differences you sense. Go to the school and get Eveline. Chiya will have to continue with classes without her. It is better for you to hear the explanation together."

Unnerved by the king's terseness and his abrupt words, Tae hurried to do as he was told. He and Eveline were back with the king in less than a minute.

"Tae says you're asking about our connection with the planet. I have a vague sense that things aren't perfect, but nothing feels terrible. By the look on your face, I would have to guess we're wrong. Maybe we haven't been paying close enough attention," Eveline stated.

"I saw something disturbing on the horizon this morning. At first, I thought it was a mist, yet it never moved or dissipated. Acer went with me to check it out. One of the volcanoes has died. It is nothing but a cold pile of ash. There is no fire, not even a warmth. The wind is blowing the ash into a cloud. It feels wrong, unnatural. Acer advised me to send the two of you to the falls. He swears you can get an answer for us," King Maxxus explained.

"We'll go now," Eveline replied. "You can do that, can't you Tae?"

"Practice is over soon anyway, and this is more important. I had no idea that the volcanoes could die. Is this the only one or could there be more?" Tae asked.

"I have no way of knowing. I will be sending scouts in all directions to look for more or any changes at all. I wanted the soldiers to have a normal practice without this concern hanging over their heads before I send them out. They will be gone for days, maybe even weeks in order to cover the whole planet. I want it studied inch by inch. I intend to give them some time to pack supplies and say farewell to their families; then they must go. I will take the perimeter of the city and cover it myself."

"Once we are done at the falls I will come to you for my assignment while Eveline gets my supplies," Tae announced.

"You are staying here, Tae. I need the pair of you to keep me updated on how the planet is reacting. Waiting for the soldiers to return with reports will be difficult to endure, and it may be too late to reverse problems by the time they get back. I am calling the council in right now to brief them, including Kelan. Join us as soon as you have visited the falls. I will leave word with the guards to let you in." He rushed away to gather the council.

The conference with Earth's leaders was about to end when the council began to arrive. The Talonians greeted the humans politely, but with a wariness. They had not become accustomed to being visible to the rest of the universe. Their lives had been spent in seclusion and peace, with the knowledge that they would remain hidden forever.

King Maxxus continued his talk with the U.S. President. "It is good to know that my weredragons are finding their niche in your society and humans are becoming less fearful, accepting them as citizens. How far have the other aliens come in assimilating?"

The president smiled and replied, "The Xycon are an asset. They're teaching us a lot about science that we had no understanding of and showing us simple solutions to problems that they learned from worlds who had no technology. The Savra are a different story. They're in camps controlled by the military. We've provided teachers and psychologists to aid in their assimilation, but an adolescent lizard that has seen nothing but hatred is difficult to teach. They're quickly picking up the languages from the countries they are confined in, and arguments are becoming all too common. We'll get through to them sooner or later. Their anger will subside someday. In the meantime, we keep the weredragons far away from them. They've learned of the destruction of their world and hatred for Talonians is an issue."

"It is a difficult burden for humans to carry. I wish we could help. However, as you said, their hatred would grow if a weredragon appeared in their midst. Do the Xycon believe their species will return and try to take Earth again?"

"No, they believe we're too large of a target with new friends they can't defeat. Having weredragons already here is a deterrent and the Xycon who have integrated are aiding in other ways to make us less desirable. Thanks again for coming to our aid. Remember, we are here if you need help. Alliances are meant to be two-way streets."

King Maxxus honestly did not think the humans could be of much help, but he had to allow them to think he trusted them or the alliance would not work. "I called a meeting of our council and other interested parties to discuss a problem with our planet. Stay and listen in. I am willing to accept any suggestions for a solution."

Addressing his council, the king began his explanation. "I accidentally discovered a problem earlier today. I survey as much of the land as I can on a daily basis and saw a disturbing phenomenon this morning. Acer and I flew through a thick haze that we saw from a vantage point outside the city. It was ash swirling in a high wind: cold, dry ash. In its center was a volcano without fire, embers, or heat of any kind. It was essentially dead and had been for a while. That, as you know, has never occurred on Talonia. Acer has gone to a nearby village to ask why it was not reported. I fear there may be others or similar changes in vegetation and water. I will be sending soldiers to scout the entire planet. The cause is not known."

"I believe it is," Acer interrupted from the doorway. He was covered in ash, sweaty, and obviously exhausted. "I questioned the village elder and learned the volcano had never fully recovered after the Savra attack with the nuclear weapon. It began to die within days of the deployment of Earth's cure. It lost power each day and had been completely gone for months. The elder was too lazy and unconcerned to fly in and report it. One of the women came forward and said the waterfall to the south of the village has lost color, and its life-forms are diminishing. She reported it to the elder, but he decided to wait for the meeting next week to let us in on it. He simply sent his villagers to the waterfall in the north. The solution we got from Earth is failing."

King Maxxus slammed his fist against the table. His fury could be felt throughout the room, and even those on the COM link jumped. "Months! The volcano has been gone for months, and he knew it was dying long before that? Is he a complete fool? His laziness may have destroyed Talonia. He will be severely punished for his disinterest. The scouting expedition is even more urgent now. What if others were as lazy as this elder and failed to report dying waterfalls or volcanoes? What if crops have failed? Kelan, do you have enough of the formula to try again? Might it work better a second time?"

"I have enough for several more tries, but I do not think it can be a permanent solution. It might buy us some time to discover something better, or it may not work at all. We knew this was a possibility since our atmosphere and Earth's are not an exact match. It saved us in the beginning, and I truly thought it was continuing to work. I failed," Kelan replied.

"You did not fail," the king admonished. "We are alive because you brought it to us. We have been given a chance to repair the damage that we would not have had otherwise. Perhaps a subtle change in the formula would make it more compatible with Talonia. We have to find a way."

Kelan was about to reply when Tae and Eveline arrived. The tears in Eveline's eyes stopped him from speaking.

"Tell me what you have learned," King Maxxus demanded gruffly. He knew the news was bad and felt a tremor run through him.

"Talonia is in pain," Tae announced. "As each small piece dies the pain grows worse. The poison from the nuclear explosion is slowly destroying life. The destruction will speed up as more of our resources disappear. It has not reached this area yet, but we cannot tell when it might. Send the scouts. They may find more devastation and return with refugees if the worst has happened."

"Kelan, apply the fix. We have to make it slow down," King Maxxus commanded.

"Let us help," the president interrupted. "If our scientists made the formula in the first place, they may be able to adjust it for your world."

"It was one scientist in particular," Kelan replied. "Can you find him? His name is George Leonard. I would like to speak with him."

"We'll look into it immediately. This is devastating news, and we won't allow Talonia to come to ruin. We'll send whatever supplies or help you need. Let us know what else you find." The leaders of Earth signed off.

"I have to tell the citizens. Food has to be rationed and extra vegetation planted while we still have time. We have no idea how many we will be feeding or for how long. The extra stored in the smaller cities and villages needs to be brought to the capital for distribution. I hate to do it, but the supplies will be guarded by the military. Our paradise is falling apart, and our treasures are disappearing. We must fight to save them and ourselves. Times will become difficult, and peace will be impossible. Fear changes people. They begin to do bad things they never would have before: stealing, looting, and murder. How do I do this? An announcement will bring panic."

"Do not tell them yet," Acer replied. "Wait until we have the reports from the scouts. Things may not be as bad as we imagine."

"We cannot wait, brother. Things may not be as bad as imagined, but there is the chance that they are far worse. We need to plan for the worst scenario in order to survive. We should have been doing it for months already and would have been if the elder had made the report or I had been more vigilant."

"It is my fault, not yours. I was the king, and I knew there was a possibility the repair would break down. We should have planned for this from the beginning," Acer admitted.

"Laying blame or having regrets over past mistakes won't help either of you or Talonia," Eveline concluded. "What's done from now on is where we have to concentrate our efforts. I volunteer to go to the gardens and ask that as many crops as the land can hold be planted."

"I will go to the farms and do the same. I will also gather the excess and bring it to the city," Tae added.

"I will prepare and deploy the formula for the atmosphere. It may not help, but it cannot hurt," Kelan put in.

"I will find Hesher and have him put soldiers in place all over the city before you make the announcement. They can calm the citizens and stop the panic," Acer offered.

"Have him send a hundred men directly to me," King Maxxus ordered. "They will be the scouts. I also need to have a serious discussion with Daer. Supplemental nutrient therapy may be necessary to keep sickness from appearing in the weredragons, and the humans we have added to Talonia may require oxygen supplies. It may be the one thing we need to ask of Earth."

"I'll be passing by the infirmary on my way to the gardens. I can stop and tell Daer you wish to see him," Eveline replied.

Momentarily alone, Maxxus let his emotions take over. He collapsed into a seat and laid his dark head on the cool surface of the conference table. For most of his life he had been jealous of Acer for being the king. All his hopes of becoming his successor had been dashed when Shara was born. Then, miraculously, Acer had decided to step down, and Shara had refused her birthright. All Maxxus's dreams had come true. To what end? Talonia needed a savior, and he was a poor substitute. The best he could accomplish was keeping the people alive a little longer.