King Siefer had been informed by Alexis and Nabvan of the actions being taken on Earth. He had also received the recordings Nancy had made of the interviews. He summoned Scyon, and they listened to them together. Though only a child, Scyon's impressions of the interviews were vital to the future of Milisaria. His mind must be shaped to protect the interests of his home planet for the day he would become its ruler. It was never too early to begin the lessons.

Scyon had caught one thing that interested him above all others in the interviews. He asked, "Will you allow Dayac to remain on Earth with the human?"

"What would you do, son?" The king wanted to see what was in his son's mind. Was he compassionate or did he have prejudices?

Scyon's answer came without a moment of hesitation. "He should stay. If he loves her enough to defy you and possibly suffer a punishment for it, he must remain with her. It would destroy his usefulness to Milisaria if he was forced to give her up. His hatred for us would be harmful. Besides, I would not wish to be thought of as a mean king."

King Siefer smiled. "You have a brilliant and intuitive mind, Scyon. Your human genes have given you the intelligence we were once lacking. Your mother has taught me many things and increased my empathy toward others, but to you, it all comes naturally. I want you to stay while I reach out to Arkani, Reptilar, and Voltuni. It is our job to negotiate a peaceful resolution to their anger with Earth. You might like to see what the other species look like as well."

Scyon asked, "Are you afraid they will attack Earth? Is Nexxa safe?"

"Attacking Earth is a possible choice for each planet,” the king began. "It would be detrimental to Earth, but also to the opposing planets. The leaders will study their options for a long time before they act hastily. Nexxa is safe. If I see trouble headed for Earth, I will make sure your friend and the others leave immediately. I care deeply about the blue planet, but our people must come first."

"Being king is hard, is it not, daddy?"

The king smiled again and replied, "It is the hardest job I have ever had, but you are up to the task. By the time you reach maturity, you will be a greater king than any we have known, including me. Now, push the red button on the screen control and then the number five. It will bring us the leader of Arkani."

Happy to be given such a big responsibility, Scyon booted up the screen and watched wide-eyed as the odd old man appeared. He was thin, sallow, and slimy, looking ancient to the young boy's eyes. To Scyon's further astonishment, the man had wings. The wise old Arkani saw the surprise in the child's eyes and said, "I know, my wings are shocking to you. But, no more than your four arms are to me. In a game, we would be considered even." Scyon giggled in response. He liked the alien's sense of humor.

King Siefer thanked the Arkani leader for taking the time to speak with him. Then their exchange became serious. The king asked, "Have you been apprised of the trouble on Earth?"

The Arkani replied, "It is more of the same that happened years ago. Experiments that harm other species cannot continue. We have shared our knowledge, technology, and medicines with the humans. There is no more of use that we can give them."

"Do you have plans on how to handle the matter? Are you going to retaliate?"

"I am at a loss for how to handle things with their government,” came the Arkani's reply. "We are not a warring species. Our strengths lay in knowledge and healing. We just want to bring our injured home and live peacefully."

"That is a good philosophy, but the rights of those from your world who have integrated with humans are also at stake. I want you to listen to recorded interviews of aliens on Earth and then I will explain how Milisaria is becoming involved. We too wish for a peaceful conclusion." King Siefer sat back and allowed the recordings to play through. Afterward, he said, "We have a delegation on Earth. They have been heard by the leaders of all the countries and Earth is in agreement that things must change. Committees are being formed to bring forth the changes. Are you willing to allow my contingent to negotiate on your citizens' behalf?"

The Arkani answered, "I am willing to let your people try. If they do not give my citizens the rights they deserve, I will send a negotiator to join the committees. If that does not work, we will force our people to return home and sever all ties with Earth, but we will not go to war."

"I need to know if all of your people have been accounted for. The Earth is being searched for other experimental labs. If all planets can account for their people, the search can stop and the government can focus on finding a solution to the conflicts."

"We have done an extensive search, not just of numbers of citizens, but by name. With the ones recently discovered in the labs, all are accounted for. The search may end." The Arkani signed off.

Next, King Siefer tuned in the Voltuni. Scyon gasped when the leader appeared. They were a beautiful species. Their skin appeared as if made of shiny ebony, with lightning bolts running constantly over their bodies. Their hair was silver and their blue eyes swirled like the cosmos.

"I know why you have summoned us,” the Voltuni leader began. "More experimental labs were found on Earth. We had very few of our citizens involved. Our relationship with the planet is limited, and few of us have chosen to stay there. Unlike the other aliens, we have not made colonies on the planet. Our world is too unique to replicate on Earth. Those of us that have integrated can easily be extracted and brought home."

King Siefer asked, "And if you do extract your people, will you then attack Earth in response to their actions?"

"The Voltuni are a solitary species. We only interact with others to trade or gain technology. War with any planet, especially with Earth and its capabilities, would be folly. We want only to be left alone as much as possible."

"Will you listen to the recordings that were made in the recovery center? One of your own females was there and wishes to return home."

The Voltuni nodded, "I will listen, but it will change nothing. We will retrieve the injured female and any others who desire to come home. A ship is hovering nearby. We will not join in negotiations. Any Voltuni who chooses to remain on Earth must negotiate for themselves."

Once the recordings had finished, and the Voltuni leader was about to close the connection, the king said, "I have one last question. Are all of your species accounted for?"

He answered, "Yes, we began a census the instant news came from Earth. We thought it best to see if more were lost."

The connection was broken. Scyon commented, "The Arkani are rather ugly on the outside, but kind inside. The Voltuni are very beautiful, but not very nice."

"That is very astute of you, son,” King Siefer stated. "That is why your mother repeats the old Earth adage: never judge a book by it's cover. What is inside us does not always show on the outside. It is a good and interesting lesson for all, especially a future king."

King Siefer knew his son was growing tired of the political discussions, yet they had one more leader to negotiate with for the day. Tomorrow would bring several more, and he would spare the boy from those talks. He promised that Scyon could use a communicator to speak with Nexxa later, if he could handle one more conference. The boy eagerly agreed.

Frightened by the sight of the Reptilarian on the screen, Scyon hid behind the king, peeking around his back. The leader of Reptilar had the skin of a lizard. It was the same tan color as the sand he sat upon. His huge eyes bulged from his head. He never blinked, due to the thin membrane that constantly protected his eyes.

King Siefer began, "I suppose the news of the trouble on Earth has reached you as it has the other trading planets. May we discuss the issue?"

The Reptilarian spoke in a gravelly voice, "There is little to discuss. We are gathering our forces. We will lead other planets in our solar system to do battle with Earth for their misdeeds. Our colonies there are in jeopardy. We cannot allow the abuse of our kind to go unanswered. I am only speaking with you because one of your kind, Ohber, aided one of mine in the Cavanaugh lab. We owe you a favor.”

The king replied, "Thank you for the respect and the giving of your time. Your colonies on Earth are the very reason you should not attack. If the government senses danger to the planet from you, the colonies will pay a heavy price. Right now, they are thriving. They have even built hospitals to care for their own, with sand pits for the comfort of all. They have jobs that they enjoy and are teaching humans your ways. A war could ruin that and more."

The Reptilarian exclaimed, "We see no other good resolution. When the first lab was dismantled, and we were promised it would not happen again, so we did not retaliate. Their government lied, and we cannot let it pass this time."

"It was not a lie if they were unaware of the problem. Earth's leaders did not know there were more labs. They were assured that Reginald Cavanaugh had the only one in existence. Yes, it was foolish to not check for more, but all leaders make mistakes. You do not want to make one now. Before you manage to reach Earth and destroy it, they would send missiles to destroy Reptilar. Why destroy two planets when a better plan is in motion?"

"What plan is in motion? Who is involved?"

"All of Earth's leaders joined in a meeting yesterday. A group of my citizens joined them. Together, they have set forth a plan to resolve the experiments, make integrated aliens into citizens with equal rights, and stop the riots that are tearing apart the planet." The king took a much-needed breath and continued, "It will take some time, but peace will return to the planet. If you attack, no planet will ever have peace. It is Earth that has set the example for all others. They alone have the power to control or destroy planets from far away with their weapons. Without them, the universe will be in a constant battle for supremacy. Give us time to fix this."

"I cannot promise that we will not attack eventually,” the Reptilarian leader replied. "I will hold my army and those of our allies back for a time. Your world is that of warriors, so if you are not starting a battle and negotiating, then it must be the best way for now. I cannot keep the armies waiting forever. Your contingent and the government of Earth must make progress quickly. It is the best I can do."

King Siefer bowed and said, "It is an honor to have your agreement and faith in my people. Do you know where all of your citizens are? Earth is still searching its vast reaches for more labs."

"We are all safe and accounted for. If there are more labs, they do not contain one of my people. I wish you good luck in your endeavors. I assume it is your son that I see behind you. Someday, he will be negotiating with my son. I wish him to know that he will be welcomed because of his father's straightforward way of speaking. I expect to hear more from you soon."

Scyon was done for the day. The Reptilarian had taken the last of his energy. He told the king, "I do not wish to negotiate with his son. He is scary. You can talk to them, even when I am king."

The laughter Scyon's comment brought to King Siefer was a much-needed relief from the serious negotiations. He decided to reward the boy with a swim in the lovely green sea of Milisaria.