The next few days were spent diffusing situations and finding a suitable location to store the fuel. The gray council offered up several warehouse-sized buildings on the far end of the occupied city, where the fuel cells could be safely stored and still easily accessed, but convincing Captain Marshall and his men to follow the colonel's orders had taken another full day.

After disrupting yet another late evening scuffle involving three darksiders and a small group of civilians preparing the storage facility, Ethan ordered an armed guard detail to watch the building around the clock, and a team that would escort the navy personnel as they moved the fuel cells.

"I am sorry," Ara said as they made their way back to the council building. "These fights are becoming more violent. I fear we may reach a point where the darksiders are no longer welcome here in the city."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Ethan said. "It might be better for us to find another place to live. This was your peoples city. We're the ones who brought the unsettling news."

Ara shook her head. "Unsettling or not, as you have said, it is truth. I admit I did not care for it, but I have come to terms." She smiled at him as they walked. "And, if I am to be honest, I must admit to you that it is a relief to know."

"A relief?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod. "For all of our lives, we have looked upon our past as a shameful thing. And as such, we have never been free to discuss or explore it. Because of this, many questions have long gone unanswered. Now we know the truth -- we know that our shame was not our own, but that of our forefathers, as was yours."

Ethan laughed shortly. "Yeah, well, I can see how that might make you happy."

"I believe you understand what I am trying to say," Ara chided. "But I do not understand why the forefathers chose to take one people, and make them two. Could they not see how that would separate us?"

"I'm sure at the time, the thought didn't cross their minds," Ethan said. "Science is often short-sighted. They're more interested in what they can accomplish than what affect it will have on the future. That's something we've been trying hard to learn from. One of the biggest reasons we had to leave our world and try to start over."

"I will be curious to know if the blending of our peoples brings an end to the differences, or not."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You mean, if future generations will lose the black and white eyes?" He considered the question, then shrugged. "I don't know. You could ask my sister, see which trait is more dominate."

"I like your sister, very much. She has been teaching me many things."

"Oh, really?"

Ara smiled, then gave Ethan a quick kiss on the cheek. "I have to go. The council is having another late meeting. I will see you later?"

"You know where to find me." Ethan watched her take the stairs up to the council's meeting room, then he turned and followed the corridor down to the lower level staircase, where Kathryn's team had taken over the gray city's only library.

He'd taken up permanent residence with the scientists, as their armed guard, until a more suitable location could be worked out. Not that anyone was bothering to work one out. They'd become so comfortable among the glass books of this planet's history, no one even talked about moving out anymore.

It was already late. Most of the group who worked in the basement room were finished for the day, but Ethan found Kathryn at her workstation, intently studying some kind of plant.

She looked up when he came down the stairs. "How did it go?"

"These fights are escalating," he said as he set his vest and rifle on an unused table. "With every one of these natives armed all the time, it's only a matter of hours before someone gets killed."

Kathryn straightened and looked at her brother. "What are we planning to do about it?"

Ethan shrugged. "Patterson and I were talking to the council yesterday morning about finding a new spot to settle, but this mountain bowl is ideal. Apparently the mountains we're surrounded by extend beyond their maps, so if we're going to stick with life in this equator, we'll have to start seriously exploring. The mountain range can't possibly extend all the way around the whole planet."

She raised an eyebrow. "Who says it can't?"

Ethan rubbed his forehead. "What's the alternative, commandeer this city? Force the locals out and claim it as our own?"

"No, of course not," she huffed.

"Well that's being discussed," Ethan admitted tiredly.

"By who? That's insane. We can't just come here and completely take over. That's not what we set out to do when we left Earth, it goes against--"

"I know," he held up a hand, stopping his sister's indignation. "Believe me, I know."

Kathryn set down her tools and stepped around the table so she could take a seat beside her brother. "Who's bringing this up? Was it Patterson?"

"You'd think so, but no," Ethan shook his head. "It's Marshall."

"Marshall?" Kathryn blinked. "Captain Marshall is saying we should take over this city?"

Ethan stood and walked across the room, toward the large silver sculpture that he was so often drawn to. "Thing is, I don't believe him. Patterson has Captain Marshall and his men unloading the fuel cells starting tomorrow, now that we've secured a storage facility. I think Marshall's spreading this talk of taking over the gray city by force to stir up this unrest."

"To promote that ridiculous notion of his to load up that ship and fly back to Earth?" Kathryn stood and followed her brother to the sculpture. "He's trying to apply pressure, so Patterson will agree to let them leave?"

"Maybe." Ethan stopped at the base of the silver bird and leaned against the large, carved globe. "I don't know. The man's crazy if he thinks going back to Earth is a solid idea, but apparently so are a few thousand of his closest friends."

"I'd heard," Kathryn sighed and shook her head. "Todd and I were talking about that today. No one in our group has discussed it, but we're hearing rumors. Mostly among the civilians with too much time on their hands. They expected to be planting crops, building shelters and preparing for the arrival of their families. Here, they have no real purpose. They need jobs, projects that can take their minds off Earth and show that we really can have a future here."

"Yeah, well, I'll just get right on that." Ethan closed his eyes and almost instantly felt the tug of sleep pulling him down.

"I'd yell at you, but clearly you're just tired," Kathryn quipped. "I'm turning in. You're not staying up, are you?"

"Wingman relieves my watch in two hours," Ethan said as he pushed away from the globe. He walked to a shelf still holding some of the local's library journals and pulled one out. They were made of glass sheets, incredibly thin and laced together with silver metal binding. Too heavy to carry around, but amazingly detailed in their content.

"You need to start scheduling days off," Kathryn added as she started for the private rooms at the far end of the library. "Good night."

Ethan nodded but said nothing as he sat down and opened the glass book. This one was an engineers log book of building design and construction. He couldn't read the language, but the transparent pages were filled with detailed diagrams not only of structure, but art and furniture placement.

He flipped a few pages, found the plans for the gray council building, then located the underground library room they were using as a scientific research center. As he examined the pages, he wondered what language their native tongue was based on. If the crew of the Gray Bird were from Earth, and wrote all of their logs and data files in English, how had they invented this new language so quickly and easily? And why?

That was one of the sticking points the dissenters were using as proof their ancestors did not come from Earth, but merely assisted the Gray Bird when its passengers and crew found themselves stranded on their world.

Ethan flipped the pages, watching as the plans moved upward from the basement, through the upper levels, to the roof. He was about to close the book and use a walk around the library space to clear his tired mind, when something caught his eye.

He flipped the pages back and found the large sculpture he was sitting next to, then, one by one, studied the pages of each ascending floor.

The sculptures of smaller birds were placed in different spaces on each floor, starting out close to the center of the rooms on the first floor, then spreading out further into each room as the levels increased, until they reached into each far corner on the roof.

Every sculpted bird was placed a precise distance from each other, and every level held an exact number of added birds, equally spaced.

Ethan looked up, staring at the sculpture beside him. "I'll be damned." He glanced around the room, then got up and went searching for a tool. One of the work stations had some sonic cutting equipment, so he found a handheld unit with a full charge and hurried back to the base of the silver art piece.

The globe was solid, with engravings and details lovingly carved by a skilled hand. Ethan turned on the cutter, then paused as a twinge of guilt clouded his conviction. He looked over the area, trying to find an inconspicuous section he could cut into that wouldn't be so noticed should his hunch prove wrong.

Failing to locate a suitable spot, he shrugged off his doubts and moved halfway down the globe on the side closest to a table, where shadows and disinterest would conceal his actions. With the cutter on high, he touched the sonic blade to the silver metal and defaced the art with a small pilot hole.

Once it was large enough to see into, he set aside the cutter and found a small probe light. Snaking the light into the hole, he attached the probe to a scanner and flipped on the screen.

The transmitter was antique, but clearly discernable.

__________________________

"When will the council open their eyes to the dangers? These strangers have taken over our city, blasphemed our ancestors, and destroyed our art!"

Loud shouts of agreement echoed throughout the council chamber, mostly from the audience crammed into the space around the perimeter, in agreement with their chosen speaker.

The darksider pointed at Ethan, Colonel Patterson, Captain Marshall, and the handful of representatives on the stage.

"They should return to their home! Take their ship and leave us!"

Ethan rubbed his eyes as they all waited for the shouts of agreement to quiet down. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept, and estimated this impromptu council meeting had been going on now for over an hour.

Over an hour of shouted accusations, heated debates and shocked outrage that had started as soon as he and Colonel Patterson dissected the silver sculpture to reveal the Gray Bird's transmitter hidden within.

"The artwork can be repaired," Colonel Patterson repeated calmly. "We've disabled the transmitter, and may not need to remove it."

The darksider who's anger was fueling a growing audience, turned to face the council. "You must ban them from our archives immediately! Removal of this device would completely destroy the statue beyond any possible recovery."

Yuri stood and glared down the dissenter. "The gray council gave our archive room to the newcomers," she said forcefully. "They did not hide the fact that they were seeking out this machine. The transmitter they have found was hidden there by our ancestors, and has caused the destruction of many ships, and many lives."

"How do we know this? Because they have said it?"

Colonel Patterson cleared his throat. "I can show you again, if you like." He pointed to the computer on the table in front of him, where they'd shown the council and the audience their data.

The darksider scoffed. "Lies! You can make those machines show us whatever you want us to see."

The shouts of agreement rose in volume again, and Ethan slid a hand down to the rifle in his lap. He had a few Marines in the back of the room, and a few more waiting outside. While he and his men were vastly outnumbered, they did have the superior weapons.

"Regin, we have heard enough!" Ara stood and looked around the room at the audience. "You are all free to believe what you wish to believe about our ancestors. These people have not come here to force their will upon ours. They are here by accident, and have done us no harm. We will continue to offer them a home here, in the gray city. You are the ones who refuse to join us here in peace."

"They have a home!" Regin countered. "They can go back to it!"

Ethan saw Colonel Patterson shoot Captain Marshall a look of frustration.

"We can't go back," Patterson said, turning to face Regin. "Our world was dying, that's why we left. It can no longer sustain human life."

"We don't know that for a fact," Captain Marshall interjected.

Colonel Patterson's face burned red.

Ethan shook his head. "Even if it were possible -- and it isn't -- we could only fit half of our people onto that ship. And launching it could be very dangerous to the city. You saw how the other ship exploded, high in your sky. What if this one did the same thing, but right above you? This entire city would be destroyed."

"It's a risk we will not take," Colonel Patterson said. "Launching that ship and returning to Earth is not an option, regardless of any rumors you may have heard."

"If your ship is so dangerous--"

"We're unloading the fuel," Ethan interjected. "That will make the ship perfectly safe. The fuel itself, when properly stored, is also safe. But to try and launch that ship, when all of the others have exploded, is a danger we can't risk. Your city would be at risk. Your people."

"The danger you have caused us is with your words!" Regin countered.

From the far side of the table, Kathryn spoke up. "We're not asking you all to believe what we found. As individuals, you're free to believe whatever you like. Among our people, there are as many beliefs as there are individuals. But you can't let that get in the way of peace or progress. That's a lesson it has taken our people many generations to realize, but now we have respect for each other."

Ethan glanced around the room and realized his sister had the attention of everyone in the room.

"It doesn't matter what you do or don't believe about your past, or your history, or even our past. The only thing that matters is our ability to live together, here, in peace."

Councilman Salish stood quickly, before any more arguments could arise, and looked around the room. "This issue is closed. The gray council have met many times, and have made our decision." He looked toward the stage. "John Patterson and his people are welcome here." He turned to stare pointedly at Regin. "If this displease anyone, they may leave the gray city. From this day forward, attacks and accusations will have consequences."

The proclamation was met with disgruntled murmurings, but no one bothered to take up Regin's angry shouting again. To add a finality to the statement, the entire gray council stood and began to leave.

Kathryn walked to the end of the stage where Ethan was waiting. "Was that over the top?"

"Maybe a little, yeah," he replied with a grin.

"So long as it quiets down some of these fights, I'll happily elect you to office, Doctor Griff," Patterson said. He turned to Ethan. "I could kill Marshall, given half the chance."

"Your subtlety, as always, is legendary," the captain remarked as he passed by behind them.

"Just get that fuel unloaded, captain. I don't want any of my men blowing themselves up with that stuff."

Ethan cringed inwardly, but Captain Marshall didn't reply. He stormed off the stage and pushed through the lingering crowd, leaving the council room as quickly as he could.

"Griff, let's put some security on that storage building, and keep a couple extra men on the ship during the unloading. I don't want Marshall stirring up any more trouble."

"Yes, sir."

"Doctor Griff, would you care to join me for lunch?" Colonel Patterson held out his arm, and Kathryn took it with a quick wink to her brother.

"My pleasure, colonel."

Ethan watched them leave the room, then noticed Ara waiting for him near the door. The majority of the audience had filtered out, and were making their way through the main room and down the stairs.

"The decision is a good one," Ara said as she took Ethan's arm and started through the main room. "Hopefully, it will not take long for our peoples to settle down, and begin a life of peace."

Ethan shrugged. "We can always hope." He glanced around, looking for any sign of Regin or other dissenters lingering in the building as they took the stairs. "But I find it hard to believe these people complaining today are going to just go about their lives and forget the issues. People don't change over night."

"But they do change."

"The ones who want to, sure," he agreed. "The other ones are why people like me are still going to be necessary."

"Tell me, Ethan Griff, if your ship had landed on the world they had intended, what would you be now? Would you not still be a protector?"

Ethan took a long breath, considering the unanswerable question. "In an ideal world, I don't know. The idea was to leave our past behind us and try to build a truly civilized society. But honestly, I don't believe that's possible. Not where humans are involved, regardless of good intentions." They'd reached the bottom floor and walked outside, where small groups were still clumped together, whispering and talking and spreading the word from the council meeting. "Ideally, though, all of the fleet ships would have landed, one by one, with the final ship carrying our corporate leaders, who would have been responsible for the decisions made afterward. Colonel Patterson, my team and I would have shifted from waging wars to protecting the colony. I expect Captain Marshall's men would have become civilian police."

"I hope my peoples can learn that our past is not as important as our future," Ara said. She stopped and looked at Ethan. "Promise me you will repair the statue when you and Colonel Patterson are finished?"

Ethan glanced down for a moment and nodded, feeling a bit guilty. "I promise. It shouldn't take long. We've shut off the transmitter, and the other sculptures in the council building were just antenna extensions, so we don't have to disturb them."

Ara nodded, satisfied. "Good. I would not want to become upset with you."