Safe Haven - Chapter 1

Jennifer is asked to take part in negotiations with a Jenar delegation.

          

Over ten years had passed since Jennifer first arrived at Safe Haven, five since she had completed her training. Now, she had just returned from her latest negotiation for a much needed break. Back to her apartment, still reserved for her after all these years. Back to the precocious town of Adala where Elder Jabeth resided in the training grounds. Back to breathe the fresh, unpolluted air, cherishing the safety that Safe Haven was well known for.

 

Ah! It would be a wonderful vacation. Jennifer very much looked forward to it. But instead of being greeted by a warm, welcoming smile, when she entered Elder Jabeth's office, she was met with a sad, perplexed look.

 

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately.

 

"Jennifer." There was a little smile, but only that. "I'm glad you've come." But he didn't seem like it. "Much, I'm afraid," he added. Then he beckoned to her and indicated for her to sit. "Jennifer," he began again. "The Jenar."

 

"Again." This time, there was no revulsion, or fear. Just acceptance.

 

"Yes, but this is much worse, Jen. Much worse. There have been rumors that an all-out war is just waiting to erupt. And if that should happen..."

"Disaster," she finished.

 

Jabeth nodded. "Yes. That's why I've invited a Jenar delegation to come here."

 

"What?" Though it was just a whisper, it might as well have been a piercing shriek. "You're letting a Jenar set foot on Safe Haven?" Though Jennifer kept control of her voice, there was no doubt she was quite disturbed by what her surrogate father had said.

 

"Jennifer, you must understand. We need to keep the peace, and the only way to do that is to hold a conference for negotiations. In light of the recent trend of arrests and deceptions on the Perluri's part, the Jenar are extremely wary of even meeting with the Peluri.

 

"They only agreed to meet on a neutral planet, and the only planet even remotely meeting that description would be Safe Haven. Now, the ambassadors have agreed to wear inhibitors, and surrender their weapons. We should all be perfectly safe.

 

"Now, Jen. I'm going to assign you as the Queller ambassador, representing our interests, since you have some experience with Jenar. Will you do this?"

Jennifer reflected on how some years back she had requested to visit a Jenar planet. She had barely escaped alive, wouldn't have in fact, if it hadn't been for that one Jenar... him again. How long had that been? Four, almost five years ago? It been a while since she thought of him, that's for sure. If only all Jenar were like him, then maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

 

Stop it, she chided. That was a long time ago and many light years away. You'll most likely never see him again, and nobody else would ever dare to think so differently like he did.

 

"Yes. It won't be a problem. I'll do my best," Jennifer promised.

 

"Good. That's all I can ask. Be careful, Jen. Of what you say, what you do. We don't want to upset them."

"I know, Elder." She briefly looked away, staring at the various certificates and medals hung on the wall.

 

Jabeth gently reached over and took her hand. "I'm sorry about this. I know you came here for a vacation, but after this negotiation, you'll get the full amount delegated, I promise."

 

"Thank you, Elder. When do I report?"

"Tomorrow morning."

 

So soon! But it can't be helped. "I'll be there."

 

"May God be with you."

 

"And with you."

 

***

 

Kyel took a deep breath before entering the council chambers where a mix of Jenar and Peluri waited to hear his proposal. He stood in the center of the room before them, and spoke out loud out of courtesy to the Peluri members.

 

"Fellow Servants of Peace, I have petition you to come together because I need your strength." He paused, and then delved right into the issue. "Most Jenar regard Peluri as inferior. Genetically inferior. Many, both Jenar and Peluri, believe that Jenar DNA is so radically different from Peluri DNA that it is impossible to interbreed. However, I have discovered through independent research--"

 

"You mean your mother's research," a male Peluri interrupted.

 

"—by some unnamed sources," he continued, ignoring the outburst, "that it is indeed possible for Jenar and a Peluri to have a child."

 

"Oh it is?"

 

"Don, I would appreciate it if you allow me to present proof before you make a judgment."

 

"Yes, of course."

 

Kyel activated the main screen showing sample DNA from Jenar and Peluri volunteers. "On the top you can see the complete analysis of a Jenar's genetic code. If you compare it with a Peluri, you can see that they are very similar to each other. There is actually only a small percentage that is different."

 

"Mister Raine," Head Chancellor Ralter spoke up. "Even a small percentage of difference is enough to make them incompatible."

 

"Not so. I've run dozens of simulations. It is possible."

 

"Well, then, you'll have to prove it."

 

"Excuse me?"

 

"Isn't that what scientists do, Mister Raine? Once they have formed an hypothesis, they must test it in the real world."

 

"Y—yes. Yes, I know. That is why I've come to you. You have Jenar and Peluri who work side by side in peace. Perhaps some of you could be willing to..." Kyel let his voice drop.

 

"None of us will be that bold. Assuming you found volunteers, there's no telling what could happen. You could be responsible for bringing a child into existence only to perish a short time later. If not of a genetic defect, then perhaps by those that would see your hypothesis proved false."

 

"I realize the risks, but if we could do this--"

 

"Do you? How can you be so sure?"

 

Kyel sighed, flicking off the monitor. He didn't want to reveal his true convictions, but honesty demanded that he do so. "Truth is, Chancellor, I am not convinced by science. I am convinced by my faith."

 

"Explain."

 

"I believe that the One God made us, and that at some point, we separated from the Peluri when our DNA was altered. However, no man can change the essence of who we are. We may look slightly different. We may have abilities that others do not have... but at its core, we are human, and will always remain so."

 

After a brief conferral mentally with both the Jenar and the Peluri council members, he gave a response. "Then may we suggest, Mister Raine, that you act on your faith yourself. We will not be able to help you."

 

A sudden boldness entered Kyel and he uttered the next statement without meaning to. "Then if, Chancellor, I find a Peluri woman who will marry me, and if we were have to a child, would you provide us amnesty?"

Ralter and Kyel locked eyes, and Kyel held his breath waiting for his answer.

 

"We will."

 

Kyel nodded in acceptance. The Servants of Peace had just sacrificed their security and safety on the hope that Kyel's idea could lead to peace. And he was not going to disappoint him. Armed with a secret that he shared with no one, he exited the chamber to begin his journey to Safe Haven, where Jennifer Sweet unknowingly waited for him.

 

***

As Jennifer entered the foyer where various ambassadors talked amongst themselves, she scanned the room casually searching for the Jenar ambassadors, and spotted them in one corner of the room, conversing.

 

They wore inhibitors, green tubes bent in the shape of a semi-circle looped around the back of their necks, with their circular ends attached to their skin. Jennifer knew that if any of them attempted to remove his inhibitor, a poison would be released into his bloodstreams killing him within seconds. Her eyes settled on one Jenar in particular, and he looked strangely familiar to her.

 

The Jenar looked up, sensing her presence.

 

And Jennifer got the shock of her life.

 

It was him: the Jenar who had saved her life, who had shown her kindness instead of arrogance. It was him. The typical green scales instead of normal skin. The coffee-colored hair. The blue eyes. He smiled at her, causing her heart to quicken. Did he even remember her, or was he just being polite?

 

But by the look on his face, he recognized her! Oh that smile! So contagious!

 

Immediately, she felt awkward. She had no idea how to behave around him. Part of her was drawn to him, but part of her was still afraid. She felt vulnerable; the Jenar made her uneasy, even him. Especially him, though she couldn't understand why.

 

Maybe it was because he was different.

 

Reluctantly and yet eagerly, Jennifer allowed those long forgotten memories of their first meeting to rush to her mind. For a moment, she felt she was there all over again.

 

A siege had been laid around Tadara, one of those disputed planets in the outer realm that both Peluri and Jenar laid claim to. "I want to go there, Elder," Jennifer had declared, standing in her mentor's office.

 

"It's too dangerous. The Jenar takeover could occur any day now."

"You're already sending an envoy, let me tag along. It'd be perfect chance to use my negotiating skills. Please Elder. I'm not a child anymore," she begged.

 

He regarded her silently. "No, you're not," he admitted. "You may go, but you are there to observe, only. You do whatever Ambassador Williams tells you, you understand me?"

 

She nodded. "Thank you, Elder."

Jennifer now winced as she remembered that conversation. Had she really acted like that at nineteen years old? How could she have been so naive? To think she could go to a disputed planet ready to be taken over by the Jenar at any moment? I'm not a child anymore. If she had known what would happen to her, she never would have spoken those words so boldly, nor even spoken them at all.

 

 

 

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[by S.D.]

Okay this is a good progression with past events sprinkled in nicely without disrupting current ones.