ROTU: Chapter Thirty

Jalena returned to her home in Colorado late into the night after their flight landed with Drisana in tow. After a short stop at her house, the two made the drive to headquarters.

Jalena was somewhat surprised at how little Drisana asked about what was going on. The stream of questions Jalena expected did not come. It's as if Drisana wasn't at all shocked by the strangeness of her present circumstances. The questions Drisana did ask were short and few.

"So, I am guessing you aren't from around here?" asked Drisana.

Jalena smiled. "Something like that."

"Does your kind eat people?"

Jalena almost choked on the coffee she had made during the stop at her home. "Come again?"

"You know, like in sci-fi movies…like Alien."

Jalena laughed. "No, but I think you already knew that."

Drisana took a sip of her coffee and gave Jalena a nod. "Okay." She gazed out the window in silence for the rest of the trip.

Jalena felt relaxed in Drisana's energy, finding it very similar to Tarak's. She knew as she witnessed the shaking of Drisana's hands from lack of alcohol that the journey for her transformation would not be easy. Like all the Conduits, she would have to clear the rest of her resistance before her true power could fully flow.

Jalena parked the SUV in the garage. "I will introduce you to everyone and then we will explain more about what is going on and your role in all of it. But first," she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a travel-size whiskey bottle, "here—to stop the withdrawal. I want you to know this will be your last drink for a long time, maybe forever. Replacing your habit with purpose is the way you will alter the dependency.

"I will help you, Drisana, but you are not to condemn yourself in the process of your healing. You are strong enough now to clear yourself of pain. I know self-criticism is a common reaction when we feel unworthy or if we feel we have failed. Even I have felt it, but that is not something that is allowed on my team. We stand in honor of who we are and what we represent. The past is simply what shaped us into more. Use the strength that it gave you for a greater purpose."

Drisana took the bottle with a look of gratitude and stared at Jalena with a teary gaze. "You are the most intense person I have ever met."

Jalena chuckled. "It's a natural state, doing what I do. You will see in time."

Drisana swallowed the drink and followed Jalena into the facility, walking slowly as she looked at her surroundings in fascination.

"Jalena where is your phone and why don't you answer it?" Shamira demanded as she rounded the corner from the kitchen. "Oh," she added when she saw Drisana.

Drisana stared at Shamira in silent awe as she noted her alien appearance.

"I guess this is a good time for introductions and to show you my true form as well," said Jalena. She removed her suppression bracelet.

Drisana's eyes widened.

"Come on," said Jalena with a smile after she introduced Drisana to Shamira. She put a hand on Drisana's shoulder. "I'll introduce you to everyone else." She turned to Shamira. "I have no clue where my phone is."

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes. She smiled and shook her head. Entrepreneurial empowerment program, huh? Good one.

Jalena grabbed her friend to her in a hug. It is good to see you back to your old self. I have missed you more than words can convey.

Shamira squeezed her tighter. Stop or I'll start sobbing right here in front of the new girl. She released Jalena and wiped her eyes.

"Has Shakou returned?" asked Jalena as the three made their way into the large lounge area.

"Yes, but he was unsuccessful in getting the," she glanced at Drisana "eh, recruit he found to come with him. She is a college student, but she has an attitude and told him in a not-so-nice way to leave her alone."

Sitara.Jalena thought. She would be around that age now. "I think I have already met her, years ago in Oregon."

"Well, maybe you will have more luck than he did."

"You and I will go together to talk to her."

Shakou, Lyons, and Nyhra entered the room and Jalena introduced Drisana to the group. Shakou explained the details of what occurred during his attempt to speak with Sitara as Shamira gave Drisana a tour of the facility. Nyhra reported that she was also unsuccessful in finding the Conduit she was tracking in Washington.

"The energy was fleeting. I could not get a grasp on it because it was very hard to follow," said Nyhra.

"Fleeting…meaning it disappeared and then reappeared in a different location?" asked Jalena.

"Yes, it would increase in brightness as I neared it and then disappear completely."

"Were there traces of green light mixed in?"

"Yes, right before it disappeared. I followed it with Relasu as best I could, but even with Lyons's assistance, I could not detect the path."

"She must be going in and out of the Elemental Realm," Jalena pondered. "I think she has Glisayan blood."

"How do you know?" asked Nyhra.

"Sir Malik mentioned that one of the Conduits was connected to the Glisayas, but I won't know for sure until we meet her. The only way to tell is to return and try to find her again—with more than one of us, of course.

"Shamira and I will go to retrieve Sitara, and then we will return to Washington while you and Shakou start training the Conduits who are here."

After the group ate dinner that night, Jalena privately addressed Drisana. "I know that some of our conversations must be confusing for you. Elder Master Nyhra will explain more of what is going on. I would take the time to, but I must leave to gather the other people for the team."

"I understand." Drisana grimaced as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"I know you are in pain, Drisana. I have already explained to Nyhra what is going on, and Lyons is adjusting the frequency of our healing chamber that we have so you can rest in there. It will reduce your physical discomfort and speed your body's detoxing process. By morning, you should feel stabilized. It is up to you how much you want to reveal about your situation to the others when they arrive. Those on the team will respect your privacy."

Drisana nodded. "Thank you."

"You are very kind, Drisana, and yet you possess a powerful warrior energy inside of you. I already know that you will make a great leader for the people we are gathering."

"Leader?"

"Yes. You are to help lead this species to change, but you first must understand the truth of who you are. To do so, it is essential to connect to the power within you so that you create a path to the seemingly impossible destiny that you wish to live—the one I know you have been dreaming about."

"I don't know how you know this stuff about me, but the fact that you do is the reason I trust what you are telling me. I've never heard anyone speak the way you do."

"Good, because the first step in creating the life you want is—"

"—belief," Nyhra finished from the doorway.

Jalena smiled and nodded.

"Come with me, Drisana," said Nyhra gently. "The healing chamber is ready. I promise that you will sleep better tonight than you have in years."

Jalena and Shamira returned to town that night and prepared to approach Sitara.

"You know that she is a college student?"

"Yes."

"And tomorrow is Friday night. You know where college students go most Friday nights on this planet?"

Jalena smiled and shook her head.

"That means we have to blend in."

"I think I'm scared to ask where you are going with this."

"I have just the thing for you to wear."

Jalena shook her head. "No way. You already know I won't wear anything that I can't fight in, and I certainly won't wear anything like I saw you wear in Costa Rica."

Shamira laughed. "You can fight in what I wore! Less clothes make it easier to move, but okay, we will do it your way. I think we can find a happy medium. We shop tomorrow and then party tomorrow night, just like the Earthlings do."

***