6 months after Liz basically got the message she would be on the hook for doing something big sometime, the Scout Ships were checking an area about 1000 light years from Earth. This was more towards the middle of the galaxy, and more heavily populated by systems so the hope was they would find some planets that could be settled. The number of actual rocky planets found was what was expected; the problem was that most of them just did not have the particular features required: be within the liquid water zone of a stable sun (most were too far or too near or the sun was unstable); had an oxygen nitrogen atmosphere thick enough (most were too thick, too thin or the composition was wrong); was stable and with water and land and some life (all too many were dry); or did not have a strong enough magnetic field to shield the planet from the most dangerous radiations of its sun (many planets had none at all).

The Scout ships had been looking for almost 6 years by this time; much longer than anyone had thought that they would need. The first hints of a growing belief that it might take decades to find one was beginning to permeate the crews. But they were dedicated and they kept on looking.

So when the senior ship got a reading of a system with several planets in the liquid water zone (the first criteria) not much was thought of it. They began to close with the system so that they could get better readings from their sensors.

But as they got closer more of the boxes on the checklist began to get marked off. The Sun was a solid middle of the road yellow star; the most preferred of possibilities. It appeared stable and that was another. Then they saw that the planets had atmospheres. So far so good but that had happened a lot and in the end had come up nothing.

As the ship began to enter the system the asteroid belt was noted; that was another good thing as those belts tended to shield the inner planets from rogue comets and asteroids. And of course that also meant valuable minerals to be mined.

The system had 3 outer gas giants; fairly standard and unremarkable. Their larger moons were also unremarkable. They passed through the asteroid belt and got their first real good look at the inner planets. There were more than usual; 6. And while one was near the belt as Mars was, too far out; and one was like Mercury and too far in; the other four were rather closely grouped right in the middle of the liquid water zone, approximately the same as Earth was.

All four had atmospheres that appeared to be neither too thick nor too thin. The crew aboard the ship began to get cautiously optimistic. The Atmospheres registered as Oxygen/Nitrogen in the same general area of Earths. This was beginning to excite the captain and chief science officer.

All four were of the mix of around 60% water and 40% land. Also to the good. Then the sensors began to pick up plant life and animal life. The Captain looked at his XO; could it be?

They orbited the first planet; it was a little farther out but not much; their orbits were far enough apart that the stress of passing each other would not cause any problems. It was a beautiful blue planet; the weather patterns were very much like earth. They began to check the planet for geological stability. Many possible planets had to be passed up due to instability. A more detailed survey of the atmosphere showed that it would be fine for Human or Antarian habitation. Now they were also looking to make sure there was no intelligent life. Its axis tilt was less than earths which would mean it would not have as much variation in its seasons. It appeared to be a relatively cool planet; the temperatures at the equator were only about 90 degrees F. Its polar caps were large and showed steady temperatures of -20 F. That meant, as it had two large continents, its temperate zone was at about 70 degrees in the hemisphere that currently registered as its summer. But it seemed to have a fair amount of plant and animal life.

The Captain made a decision and called the other two scout ships; they could be there in days. He wanted all ships to be scanning these planets. They just might have found their new worlds. He was conflicted on whether to send a message to the King; then decided to wait to make sure these planets did not have hidden problems.

Liz faked a cut high then went low then slashed and stabbed; Lisa was able to block them but it was close. Liz stepped back and nodded to her; the sparing session was over. Lisa was quite happy for that; they had been going at it for over an hour and she was tired. The queen seemed to be sweating some but not as much as she was. This had been a hard session.

Liz sat down and began to clean her sword; Lisa sat beside her and started to do the same. Like old time cavalrymen who took care of their horse before themselves, Immortals always cleaned their swords first.

Liz looked at Lisa.

"You are doing very well; you have your defense down as well as anyone can expect. But you still need to work on your offense."

Lisa sighed. "I know. I have to do better at that."

Liz looked at her. "I know attacking is not natural for you; but you have to do it in order to win; to survive. The fact that you have not had a challenge is no excuse not to work harder on your attacks, Lisa."

Lisa bowed her head. Liz reached over and brushed a lock of sweaty hair off of her face.

"Lisa, I push you hard because I care about you; I want you to survive."

"I know Liz. I will do better, I promise."

Liz backed off, knowing that pushing harder would not accomplish anything. It was something that Lisa had to find inside of herself; not something that Liz could give her.

Later that night with Max, watching their children play, she thought about what she needed to do to try and get Lisa over that final hump. The need to kill. But she really had no idea how to do that; for her it had not been a problem due to how quickly her first challenge came to her. But Lisa had been working for almost a year and a half on her swordsmanship; technically long past her student stage. She had not had a challenge or even came close to one. So perhaps that was part of the reason.

Max could always tell when Liz was wrestling with a problem; and he knew she was now.

"Liz, something is bothering you. What is it?"

Liz sighed. "Lisa is still not very good on the attack; she is excellent in defense but you need more to survive a challenge."

"She needs to do that on her own, Liz. You cannot teach her that until she wants to learn it."

"I know."

Things were going very well in most areas. Earth was thriving now that oil was no longer the primary energy. The virtually limitless solar plants and fusion plants that the Antarians had brought with them had made oil a second or even third thought as regards energy. Oil and Gas and Coal were disappearing and just about everyone was very happy about that. The planet was cleaner than it had been; much more prosperous than it had EVER been. Hunger and other problems were on the road to being solved.

However that was now factoring into another problem: over population. With the very advanced Medical technology and everything else, the planet wide death rates from disease and other causes had plummeted. Family size was growing again around much of the world. That meant that the need to colonize other worlds would steadily rise in importance.

One critical technology that had had a great effect was the ability to sense any type of explosive at a distance. That had enabled the virtual elimination of many of the weapons used by terrorists. Even the propellant from a single bullet could be found at a good distance now. Suicide bombers had been virtually eliminated; and that left those with terrorist agendas with little alternative. That also allowed security forces to relax and use much less intrusive surveillance and tactics. And with many of the third world countries now more prosperous than they had ever been, sympathy for the fanatics had all but disappeared. They were slowly but surely fading away.

This drop in tensions and problems allowed much less expenditure on the military and security areas and thus that money could be spent elsewhere. With energy becoming virtually free, and medical technology so advanced not only with cures but prevention, the entire world was heading towards a prosperity only dreamed of just a short 5 years ago.

A small ship, carefully hiding itself, observed the other ships scanning and looking at those planets. Its commander frowned; he did not like the thought that others had found these rich and empty planets. He would have to inform his leader.

The planet of the Pegasus system that the Shapeshifters had come from was greatly different than most. But they could breathe the same air that their former fellow system members the Antarians and Granularians. Even if they could not have survived on that planet themselves. It was a cool world; and thus the planet that the small scout ship had found was the closest they had heard of to their home world. The planet had had a upheaval politically; the old dynasty had been over thrown and the new government was no friend to those that had for so long ruled. So a small number of them had had the resources to build and send a ship looking for a new home world so that they could move and rule as before.

Dranulark Hoosssteer read the message and frowned. The Antarians had found that planet just after they had. This was not good. Their damn democracy would spread there and infect anywhere they went. His small group only numbered a little over 10,000. They had no chance of fighting them off. And their home world was getting less and less hospital for them. But what could they do? He decided to place that question in the hands of his deputy, Crelyve Urter. He was devious and ruthless; perhaps he could find a way.

Urter considered the situation after his Lord had commanded him to fix the problem. They could claim that planet; with the others nearby the Antarians would not object. But it would be only a matter of time before that disease called Democracy would spread; if they were near it was just a matter of time. The odds of finding another world like this one was huge; the Antarians had been looking for years. They did not have the time. No, they had to prevent the Antarians from coming to this system.

Jerrold Matthews was almost 400 years old; and he was the oldest of this group of Immortals. He was not only the smartest but the most ruthless. His group was every bit as hard and strong as the fabled Horsemen had been. The difference was that they were not known. They had moved around the world, from the wilds of Africa, to the pampas of South America, always staying away from people and cities. His men had sworn allegiance to him 300 years ago. His group of 12 were a team; they lived as they pleased where and when they pleased.

He had early on found out about the Watchers; when he had been an immortal only 50 years he caught his, tortured him for information, then killed him. As he began to put his group together, he carefully made sure that the watchers were eliminated and then they would make sure they were not found again. Now that meant they had to be careful what heads they took; and to always make sure the Watcher never got away. The discipline he instilled early on with the new immortals he recruited allowed them to stay under the notice level of the Watchers. And anyone else.

But that was getting increasingly difficult in this day and age. The growth of population and civilization, the two most hated things in his mind, were beginning to reach the point where his group would not be able to stay out of sight and mind. He had hoped in the 70's and 80's that a nuclear war would break out; thinning the population and making it possible to live as they wished. As he wished.

Despite his distaste for civilization, he made full use of modern life in other ways. He had over the years built an intelligence gathering organization of mortals that was very good. This allowed him and his group to slip away from official notice when necessary. Usually bribes were more than enough; sometimes other methods were needed; and the key to that was always intelligence.

Early on he could see that the aliens would be a threat; their technical abilities possibly being able to detect immortals. At the same time the possibility of leaving an increasingly crowed and unfriendly (to his group anyway) planet and go to another was something to consider. OR better yet, have a ship and wander the stars. That began to appeal to him and he ordered his intelligence people to start to see what secrets they could find out from the Aliens.

Urter brought his ship to Earth and began to observe the situation there. It was not hard to remain unseen by the primitive methods used by the humans. What he did not realize was that something of much greater ability was watching him.

The Granolith always scanned the area around earth; and while the range of its sensors was limited; its ability to detect different types of energy had actually improved. So it did detect the Energy signature of the small ship that appeared to be hiding in Earth Orbit. It did not take long for it to identify the power source; and then deduce where it came from. The ability to build small high speed scout ships was very limited; and of that design only two planets had the capability; the remaining planets of the Pegasus System. Further careful observation narrowed it down to the Cresyks; the Shape shifters. The recent overthrow of the dynasty indicated that this was not a government ship. Almost certainly one of the remaining so called Noble Houses that had immense wealth. These noble houses would have no love for Earth nor Antarians; it was the democracy brought to Antar by the humans and the Royal Four that had spread and destroyed the power and position of the Noble Houses. Therefore it was reasonable to assume it was of hostile intent.

The Captain of the senior scout ship was holding a conference with the other ships. They had been all there for 2 weeks; his for 3. They had surveyed all 4 planets.

"So to sum up, all four planets are suitable for colonization. But the inner planet is a little hot and dry; and the outer planet is a little cold. Suitable but not ideal. The middle two planets are as good as we could hope for?"

The captain of the ship that had exhaustively scanned those two planets nodded.

"They are absolutely stable. They had an excellent magnetic field. Their atmosphere is slightly richer than earth's in oxygen. They have slightly less tilt on their axis so their climate extremes are less than Earths. Both planets had a 60/40 split of ocean to land mass. Planet 2 has four separate continents; all roughly equal; planet 3 like planet 4 has two large continents."

The last captain had surveyed the inner most habitable planet.

"It is hotter; and has only 20% ocean. So the temperature extremes are made larger by the lesser heat sink. Its tilt is slightly more than Earths, and so overall it has Average extremes of 130 F and -40 F at its equator and polar regions respectively. The most temperate parts of the planet are good; they have numerous lakes and rivers, and more diverse plant and animal life than any of the other planets."

The Senior Captain nodded. "No trace of any higher life forms or sentient forms?"

"No civilizations or traces of such. There is no indications at all."

He nodded. "Then I will make a report to the king informing him that we have found the new Antar and Granular. And a place where humans can migrate as well."

Liz listened to the Granolith as it briefed her and Max about the ship it had detected. She looked at Max.

"But they have broken no laws and appear so far to have not threatened us or to be a threat. So we can do nothing."

Max nodded. "I agree with the Granolith's view that it can only be hostile considering where it came from and who almost certainly had it built. Granolith, why do you think they are here and what is their goal?"

"You are their enemy; they are watching their enemy. The logical deduction is to cause you harm."

Liz frowned. "What can they do? If they attack us, they will be found and destroyed. They must know that."

"That is correct; but I have noticed that biological beings are often illogical and ruled by their emotions and hatreds. Therefore one must only go by the possible threat; not the probably actions."

Max nodded. "Keep monitoring them; this has top priority."

Money can buy many things; quite often it can buy people as well; one way or another.

Most of the employees in the Palace were Antarians; but there were a fair number of humans as well. Jerrold Mathews was patient; and his intelligence organization was thorough. So when a member of the maintenance team in the palace managed to get himself quite deep in debt by gambling, the opportunity was quickly seized. William Anderson found himself forced to plant very sophisticated listening devices; they were sound powered and interestingly made possible by some of the technology that the Antarians had brought with them. They could only be found by a careful sensor sweep. The Granolith normally did that every month; but due to the presence of the alien ship, it had to let some normal functions wait. So the conversation about the alien ship was relayed to Jerrold Mathews. And the subsequent conversations that Alex had with the Granolith about it was also given to Mathews.

The enemy of my enemy may be my friend. That old saying seemed logical to Mathews. But how to contact them; that was the question. Then he was given the information that Alex had mused that a simple laser communication could be a way to talk to them. Rather than radio. It would be secure and focused. Even if one would need to be very powerful to go from the ground to where it was, at 200 miles above earth. Alex had asked the granolith how much power it would need to communicate if say it came from a plane flying at 40,000 feet. Alex would often talk to the granolith about things like that.

Matthews order the rental of a large jet cargo plane; and the building of a laser that could be used to contact the alien ship. Perhaps common cause could be made with them.

That was the last of the information as the Granolith did a belated sweep and detected the listening devices. Jerrold had contingencies and anti-tampering devices on the microphones that would warn him if they were found. Or deactivated. Once that happen another contingency plan was activated.

Max was having a meeting with the Antarian security chief. The listening devices were displayed on the table in front of him.

"And he was found with a bullet in his head?"

"Yes your majesty. Outside the compound by the Federal Security service."

That was the security force responsible for the perimeter security and the area around the US settlements.

"We have done some investigation into him and the Security service has found evidence he was a heavy gambler deep in debt until just recently."

Max slowly nodded. "So odds are he was the one that planted the bugs?"

"He had access to all the areas the listening devices were found. We know when the Granolith made the last sweep. He was probably bribed just after. These devices could have been there for a full month."

"But they were made on Earth?"

"The Granolith analyzed them and was very definite about that."

"So odds were it was not the doing of our visitors?"

"Probably not."

"So now we have two groups snooping on us."

Max looked at Liz and nodded. "Seems that way. One terrestrial and one extraterrestrial."

Liz looked thoughtful. "I wonder if they are working together?"

"Hope not."

It had taken a month, but they had been lucky and that one of the projects of the old soviet union had been in that same area, and like so much else from that time and place, it had come on the open market. So they installed the laser in the aircraft and began to try and communicate with the ship. One thing they had gotten was where the ship was in orbit; so they had a good chance of it being noticed.

Urther was trying to learn more about this planet. He was interested in the large number of primitive nuclear devices and the missiles that carried them. If a way could be found to launch them…

But how? As A Shapeshifter it would not be difficult at all to appear as the proper military authorities; but the knowledge of how to act and talk and the rest was not something you could take from your subject like its form.

"Sir. It seems someone might be trying to communicate with us. Using primitive human energy beams that they call Lasers. It is coming from one of their atmospheric craft."

Urther looked at the officer. "Is this from one of the Earth Governments?"

The officer looked uncertain. "Not sure Sir. It is using the language of Granular. Our computer confirms that. But we can see where the aircraft is; and it is on the other side of the planet from the settlements of Granularians."

Urther looked thoughtful. "Answer them. I am curious. First how did they know we were here; and second why do they want to talk to us."