Nancy and Srath braved the possible wrath of Alexis and Nabvan by reporting back to the spaceship. The guards had changed, leaving Srath without any information on what had occurred when his commander had been informed of his plans to stay with Nancy. The new guards were able to tell him that the commander and his wife had already left to give President Bolton the report from King Siefer's communications with the other planets' leaders. Nancy and Srath were relieved. They wouldn't have to argue with anyone for now.

Srath and Nancy were assigned to oversee the recovery centers’ arrangements to send home the aliens or find them jobs and places to live. It was a daunting task. The aliens who wished to return home would need to be sorted into groups by species. Each planet would not send a ship to every city that had some of it's kind. So, the species would need to gather in one city each. One ship from each planet would retrieve its people from one city. Nancy and Srath had to coordinate these rendezvous spots all over the world and send the aliens by air transport to their designated pick-up spot.

Then, there was the work of finding lodging and jobs for those aliens who wanted to stay. With the unrest on Earth, even the proprietors who were sympathetic to the aliens' cause would be reluctant to hire one. The job also had to match each of the specific alien's skills. Nancy would need to reach out to volunteers in every recovery center on the planet for help in this endeavor.

Nancy manned the communication center in Washington D.C.'s recovery center. She would be spending the day speaking to every recovery center to learn how many of each species they contained and ask them to find out who wished to leave and who wished to stay. She would also have the volunteers ask the ones who would be staying what skills they had. She would then make a master list of all the information she had gathered. This research was only the beginning.

Srath volunteered to speak with each alien in their recovery center to gather information for Nancy. He promised to be patient and rein in his temper no matter how hostile the other aliens became.

He was already aware of the Voltuni's desire to go back to her planet. He took her the good news first. Knocking on her door, he asked, "May I enter?'" Hearing a simple "Yes,” he opened the door and stepped in.

Startled to see the Milisarian instead of a human volunteer, she shrank back as he entered. "What do you want?"

Srath held his hands up as if surrendering. "I only came to bring you news. Strategy for extracting you and any other Voltuni from Earth is going forward. Soon you will be returning home."

"What is this strategy that you speak of? Why can I not be taken immediately to Voltuni?"

Srath patiently replied, "Each planet can only afford to send one ship to pick each member of their species up. We have to gather all who wish to leave in one place. Some of your people are in other countries far from here. There is a Voltuni ship hovering over Earth now. Your species will be the first to leave. We will bring them all to D.C. for extraction."

"Thank you for explaining. I will be ready," the Voltuni answered.

When Srath left her room, he was surprised to see Nancy coming down the hall. He had last seen her in the communication room. Following her was a lovely, blonde woman dressed in a flowing, colorful dress that fell all the way to the floor. Both women were grinning. Nancy whispered into Srath's ear and what he heard put a grin on his face as well. Instead of entering the next room as he had intended, Srath made a detour to the stairs. The group climbed to the next floor and knocked on the first door.

A deep male voice replied, "It is open, and I would like some company." Only Srath and Nancy entered. Dayac's regal head nodded in greeting. "Have you brought news? Is King Siefer forcing me to return to Milisaria for punishment?"

"Our king understands love,” Srath answered. "He has sent word that you may stay on Earth. He has no desire to punish you for acting on your emotions. He also sends his blessing for a marriage if the new alien rights will allow it. We have committees working on that."

Dayac let out a sigh. His shoulders relaxed. He was free and alive. Now he just needed to find Rose. He asked Nancy, “Did you find my love? Is she married?"

Nancy tried to hide her grin and keep him in suspense a little longer. "I did manage to find her. She still works as a chef in the French restaurant. She is not married or engaged."

"I am afraid to ask, but does she want me to stay away with my new issues? Has she lost her love for me?"

A soft, lilting voice came from the doorway, "You silly man; I love you now and always will. You can't get rid of me that easily." Rose ran to his side, and she was soon lost in his arms as he rained kisses over her glowing, tearful face. Srath and Nancy retreated, closing the door behind them.

Srath stated, "That was quite fun. I find this love-of-one-woman idea growing on me. It seems to bring great joy to one's life. It is a concept worth considering."

Nancy was not amused by his observation. She retorted, "It isn't a concept to me. It's a requirement." She stomped back toward the stairs.

Srath knew he had upset her, but he could not imagine how. He had said he would consider having only one love, and he had meant Nancy. Did she not understand how difficult it was for him to admit that he may have been wrong all these years? It was very hard to explain things to human females. They required far too many words.

After returning to Washington D.C., Valeri and Ohber went to the experimental lab. They had been assigned the distributing of the equipment. Much of it had been broken or damaged during the riots. Though he was slightly uncomfortable with his surroundings, Ohber began to clean up the mess left behind while Valeri made a list of the equipment that could be salvaged and the medications that remained on the shelves. Neither one touched the hazardous vials of diseases they discovered in a cooling unit. A hazardous waste team would be required for their disposal.

Ohber asked, "Did Nancy say that the Reptilarians had their own hospital in a colony near San Francisco?"

Valeri replied, "I'm pretty sure she did. Why?"

"Maybe they could use some of this equipment and the medications. I doubt that they are as well funded as the human hospitals."

"That's an excellent idea. It would turn something bad into something wonderful,” Valeri said. "We can check for other alien hospitals or medical facilities as well. Some of this could even be used in the recovery centers."

"It appears we must make some calls to the other cities. All the labs contain specialized equipment that the aliens would welcome,” Ohber added.

Josephine stood before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She and Urim had been given the task of citizenship for aliens and their rights. This committee was involved with human rights, so they had decided it was the best place to start.

For several hours, she had been explaining the ideal alien rights package for their consideration. In it, she spoke of equal pay for equal work, nondiscriminatory jobs and places to live, medical care, marriage between species, and citizenship. She had given the example of King Siefer's policy on Milisaria. Individuals there were given one year to prove they would be a productive addition to the planet. If they proved it, full citizenship and equal rights were granted. If they failed, they could leave without repercussions.

Urim told the story of Josephine's journey to citizenship. He explained her new position on Milisaria and those of the other human females on the planet. He spoke of the mixed marriages and the children that they produced.

The committee gave them a standing ovation at the end of the day. They were asked to remain in town for now and aid the committee in writing a formal alien rights document.

Alexis and Nabvan left the White House. They had spent the entire day with the president, vice president, and secretary of state. The government officials had desired to hear every word of the negotiations with the other planets. King Siefer's discussions with the planet leaders had been discussed and analyzed at length. President Bolton knew she had little time to waste. She had to get everything aligned and moving forward for alien rights or the Reptilarians and their followers would attack. Interplanetary war was not an option.

"Tomorrow, I will make the announcement that we have formed committees and are making great strides in restructuring this planet to include alien citizens and their rights as equals. I can only speak for America, but it's a start,” President Bolton had explained. “I would like all of your group to be with me so that I can introduce you to the world as my ambassadors for alien rights. I would also like to incorporate your guards, the Milisarian Knights, into my security detail. It will go a long way in showing that aliens and humans can work as one unit."

Nabvan had replied, "The knights will be honored. They will protect you with their lives as they do our king."

Now it was time to deal with their own troubles. Alexis was all set to confront Srath for staying outside the spaceship all night. He had broken curfew and jeopardized their mission. Then there was the matter of spending the night with her sister. If he intended to use her and leave her behind like he did his other conquests, she would make sure he was punished.

Nancy needed to check on her mother, so Srath returned to the spaceship. His friends warned him that Alexis and Nabvan were back from the White House. He knew it was time to face them and he was finally ready for it.

Alexis was the first to see him enter the control room. She left her place at the ship's log station and confronted the warrior. "Do you think you can make your own rules? We aren't on Milisaria. The laws here are not so flexible. If you had been caught, it would have ruined everything we're working on. I don't care for you using my sister for a good time either."

Nabvan joined them before Srath had a chance to answer. "You are under my command while on this planet. If you intend to defy my orders, then I will have to lock you up."

Srath was confused. He should be angry at the reprimands, but he actually felt he deserved the harsh words. He stated, "I am sorry for breaking the law, though I was confined to a building at curfew and did not leave until morning. I did not take a chance on being caught for I have no wish to spoil the progress we are making. I should not have defied the orders to be on board each night. However, I did leave a message so you would be aware of where I was." He turned and spoke directly to Alexis. "I have been a user of females in the past. I understand your anger and the fear for your sister. You need not worry. Nancy is different in all aspects from the women in my past. She has grown to be very important and special to me. I am seeing no one except her and fully intend to keep it that way. I do not know what the future holds for either of us, but she is not the kind you leave behind without consequences. It will hurt me as much as her if we must part."

His words took the air out of Alexis's sails. Her anger fled. "Where is Nancy now?"

Srath went along with the change in subject and replied, "She has gone to check on your mother. She will be returning soon if you wish to admonish her, too."

Alexis blushed. "I'm all done admonishing anybody. Both of you are adults, and it's really not my right to get involved in your relationship. Nancy already told me that. I just can't seem to think of her as all grown up."

"If that is an apology, then I accept,” Srath said. He turned to Nabvan and requested, "May I stay at the hotel with Nancy until we leave for Milisaria? I swear we will be in the room every night before curfew."

Nabvan answered, "I will trust you, but if you break your word, a very harsh punishment will follow. You must report to the ship by eight. President Bolton will be making a public announcement tomorrow, and all of the knights are to join her security team. I expect you to protect her as you would King Siefer."

Srath replied, "She is a good leader, and she has given me a unique chance. She saw more in me than I did in myself. I vow to protect her from all evil. I will be here on time."

Alexis conceded, "There's no reason to spend money on a hotel. Nancy is welcome to stay here. She can share your quarters if you so desire. I won't stand in your way any longer. You both deserve to be happy.”