Naskia was rooting through the bins. Kiri had thrown out all of Niall’s clothes and belongings. She eventually found them in a rubbish bag in the bottom of the kitchen bin. Kiri had been nice enough to tear most of the clothes but Naskia managed to locate an intact t-shirt and a pair of trousers. They weren’t particularly fetching but they were better than some cut up rags. She would need to make him some new ones.

Naskia also managed to recover his bed, albeit a bit dirty, his workbench and tools and his utensils. His guitar had been smashed to pieces which made Naskia quite annoyed. It seemed quite vindictive on Kiri’s part.

“Here you go. Will these do you? That’s all that’s left.” Naskia said handing Niall the other clothes she could find.

Niall examined the clothes. They were clean but some of Naskia’s earlier, scruffier attempts.

“Yeah I guess they’ll have to….” Niall said pulling on the trousers.

Naskia kneeled down in front of the mirror and brushed her hair. There were still some strands out of place. Naskia had pinned it back as she usually did when she wanted to look proper. Sometimes she would spend over half an hour on it alone.

There was a knock at the door.

“Shit…” Naskia cursed not quite happy with her appearance.

Niall smiled to himself as she unconsciously used another curse she picked up from his films.

“I’ll be through in a few minutes. Just want to chat with my dad about Kiri first and then I’ll get you ok?” Naskia said quickly patting herself down.

“Sure no problem.”

Naskia ran off through the door and Niall plonked himself down tugging at his raggedy trousers.

“Hi Daddy….” Naskia said opening the door.

Hussel stepped in with his arms crossed behind his back and walked past his daughter. He looked around the living area. There were items missing; notably a 6 year old picture of Naskia and Kiri from when they were in school together.

“So Kiri has gone then?”

“Yeah….” Naskia replied looking at her feet. No matter how hard she tried she always felt like a child around her father.

“Are you still friends at least?” Hussel asked.

“No. She made it impossible.” Naskia replied. She consciously reminded herself that she was a rational young woman capable of making good decisions.

“She threatened to eat Niall. She dangled him over her throat and terrified him completely. When I protested she said it was for my own good and went to crush him instead. I don’t think I can be friends with someone like that.” Naskia said puffing herself up like Niall and trying to stand tall.

“I admire your moral standing Naskia I really do but she has been your friend for as long as I can remember. Is this Human really worth losing her over?”

“Niall really doesn’t come into this. I don’t want to associate myself with someone who thinks it’s ok to torture any creature for their own amusement. To threaten to eat or crush a sentient being who is pleading for their life. The fact that I care for Niall just makes it even more sadistic.” Naskia said trying to keep her voice sounding logical. She knew her father always respected reason above all things.

Hussel sat down on the sofa as if disinterested by what Naskia was saying. Two things he knew about his daughter were that she cared greatly about doing the right thing and telling the truth. He was proud of her for it.

“I would tend to agree with you. There is no place in a civilised society for that type of barbarism. Some people claim we are superior to other races because of our size, our technological achievements and the strength of our Empire. But what really makes us great is our morality, our sense of honour and fairness. Without them we are no better than the insectoids. I really am quite disappointed in Kiri.”

“Sooo….you think Humans should be equal to us?” Naskia asked nervously.

Hussel realised she was testing the waters in relation to Niall. What was she up to?

“I don’t think it should be a question we need to ask as I don’t think we should have interfered with their world in the first place. Even taking one Human potentially upsets their development. We should have met at the appropriate time; which is when their ships first left their solar system, if they get that far without killing themselves.” Hussel replied. “Though since you’re referring to one specific Human in this instance I’d say I never judge an individual by their species and I never judge a species by one individual.”

Naskia smiled at her father. “You never could give a yes or no answer could you?”

“I taught you better than that. There’s rarely a question that has a simple yes or no answer. So where is he then?”

“Niall? He’s in the other room…..” Naskia replied.

“Well bring him out. You obviously want me to meet him.”

Naskia smiled as her father jumped past the awkwardness of her trying to get Niall into the room. She went through to the bedroom and collected the mildly nervous Niall.

Niall sat in Naskia’s hand as she carried him through to meet her father. He’d never done a “meet the parents” before. He’d never gotten that far, usually through choice. He didn’t know what Naskia had told him; their relationship, Kiri, the equation? He’d have to play this one by ear.

He took some time to study Hussel as he approached. He was an older man, early 60’s by Niall’s reckoning. He must have been in his early 40’s when Naskia was born. He had a soft face resembling Naskia’s but rounder with a bit more weight and with a furrowed brow. His hair was also white and thinning which he had combed over. He was wearing comfortable clothing not dissimilar to a lot of older professors he had known. He wasn’t much taller than her either. He definitely resembled Naskia.

Naskia placed Niall on the table and sat down on the floor beside him so he would not be loomed over on both sides.

“It’s an honour to meet you Dr Bass.” Niall said extending his hand.

Hussel tentatively offered his finger.

“Forgive me, I have not met many Humans and those I did meet did not introduce themselves.” Hussel replied. “It’s good to meet you too Niall.”

“Actually it’s Dr Freeman.” Naskia excitedly added before Niall could reply.

“Oh…my apologies. It’s nice to meet you Dr Freeman. What are you a doctor in exactly? Naskia informs me you have been teaching her.” Hussel asked sitting forward attentively.

“Quantum Mechanics and Nuclear Engineering.” Niall stated. “I specialise in energy generation. Resolving complex equations and puzzles come pretty naturally to me so I was able to assist Naskia with some things she was having difficulty with.”

Hussel smiled. Naskia was gripping the edge of the table, her palms sweating.

“Two doctorates? Impressive for someone so young. I’m sure you’ll excuse me if I find it hard to believe you have been assisting Naskia. She’s an incredibly intelligent young woman. Would you mind solving an equation for me? Naskia I’d like you to race him; see who solves it first.” Hussel said removing a pad from inside his jacket and typing on it.

Niall smiled confident of victory. Naskia wasn’t keen. She wanted her father to see Niall for what he was but she always wanted to come first to impress him.

“O….k” she said.

“In your head now please.” Hussel said turning around his pad to face the pair.

Niall recognised the equation. It was clear Hussel had chosen it to benefit his daughter. The equation governed the amount of energy and field geometry required to propel a craft to ten times the speed of light. On Earth the equation was still in its early stages; known as the Alcubierre Drive Equation. Naskia would be far more familiar with it than Niall. Either Hussel wanted to see just how good Niall was or he wanted Naskia to win. Niall’s mind whirred as he crunched the numbers for the craft which he suspected to a Titan would be a small shuttlecraft.

Hussel watched the pair. He knew Naskia was capable of getting the answer. He had seen her do it many times before.

“Got it….” Niall said after 20 or so seconds. Hussel was impressed.

“Yeah…got it.” Naskia said 20 seconds later. She had hoped not to have been too far behind Niall.

“Well Niall; You go first.” Hussel said.

“246.78324529 Terafarls of energy producing a subspace distortion field of 1250 millicochranes.” Niall said confidently.”

“And you Naskia?”

“I think its 246.78344587 Terafarls of energy with a distortion field of 1250 millicochranes.” Naskia said nervously.

“Well congratulations to you both. You both have successfully formed a stable warp field however Dr Freeman’s answer is marginally more efficient and was done in half the time. Well done sir. I’m interested in challenging you myself but I wouldn’t want to embarrass either of us.” Hussel said bowing his head.

Niall felt pretty pleased with himself but tried to show some humility. “Thank you Dr Bass. That’s very kind of you to say.”

“Please call me Hussel. Well Naskia you’re right. He is fascinating; A Human that can outsmart a Titan. It’s a shame you were taken from your world. If you’re capable of understanding warp theory after only a few weeks who knows what you may have done for your species….”

There was a pregnant pause in the conversation. Niall was using the praise from Hussel to repair some of his battered ego while Naskia was feeling guilty that she alone was benefiting from Niall’s brain when she hadn’t given a second thought to others who could have benefited from it.

“I’ll make us some tea shall I?” Naskia said getting up.

“That’d be nice.” Niall said. “Hussel, could I borrow your pad? I’d like to show you something I’ve been working on.”

“Certainly.” Hussel said setting the pad down on the table.

The pad was not a pocket pad and was the size of the side of a van but Niall didn’t let that stop him. He opened a text display and typed out an equation while talking.

“I read about your work on miniature antimatter/matter reactors. Truly amazing work to scale down a reaction as unstable and precise as one needed to power a starship. There was something about it, a simplicity, an inherent obviousness about it; like E=mc2. I spent a few weeks, well weeks Earth wise, tinkering with it and I eventually stumbled across this.” Niall stepped back off the pad revealing his equation.

Hussel picked up the pad and studied it. Niall was standing back quite pleased with himself. The blood drained from Hussel’s face and he lowered the pad to look at Niall.

“Naskia my dear, could you leave me and your friend to talk for a minute?”

“Sure Daddy….is everything ok?” She asked bringing over their tea.

“Yes….yes…everything is fine. Just 2 minutes please.”

Niall was a bit concerned. He had been hoping for some praise on his discovery rather than Hussel’s apparent shock. Naskia left the room with her tea and Hussel turned back to Niall.

“I need you to be completely honest here. You deduced this formula? By yourself?” he asked.

“Yes. I showed it to Naskia to get her to corroborate my findings but she was not part of the process. Is everything ok?” Niall replied.

“I’ve seen this formula before. 30 or so years ago before I published my findings. This was the original formula. You are right when you say it is amazingly simple, beautiful even. I was a young man. Excited by the possibilities of what you could do with such knowledge. An almost unlimited energy source built in to every device. Every person could wear a power supply in their clothes that could provide a personal shield in an emergency, tiny antimatter energy cells would be in almost every device. It would quite literally change The Empire forever.” Hussel said standing and pacing with his arms behind his back.

“So why didn’t you publish it?” Niall enquired now puzzled.

“Because whatever good can come of it, an equal amount of evil could also come from it. For every action in the universe there is an equal, opposite reaction. With this equation you could design a bomb, undetectable if surrounded by other antimatter cell devices that could blow a hole in the side of a planet the size of a continent. Billions could be killed in seconds without any way to prevent it. The only way I could find around it was to limit the minimum size of the reactors to fit inside a ship. The risk still exists but is greatly reduced due to the monitoring of space craft.” Hussel said continuing his pacing.

“I see…we had a similar problem on Earth when Nuclear Fission was first realised. The bomb actually came before the reactor.” Niall said.

“Niall…I accept that this is your discovery and you are free to do with it as you please. This kind of discovery coming from a Human could completely change how our species views yours but I beg you not to publish it. We are not ready for it. I will do everything in my power to see you are recognised by The Titan Institute of Physics, I hold a lot of sway with them. These people are like you and I, thinkers and rationalists. Their minds are not limited by concepts of species and status. They will see you for what you are. With my help I can get you what you seek, not as fast as you could with the formula, but I just ask you to erase that formula.” Hussel said finally sitting.

Niall looked down into his mug of tea. This was not what he had expected.

“That’s….that’s quite an ask Hussel. Do you mind if I discuss it with Naskia before making a decision?”

“I would encourage it. Naskia may act a bit ditsy sometimes but she is rather wise for her age.” Hussel said looking rather proud.

“That she is sir.” Niall replied thinking to himself that her age was 140.

“How is my daughter anyway? I’m assuming you spend a lot of time with her and would be in a good position to judge.” Hussel asked.

Niall shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the question. He did not want to betray Naskia’s trust but he felt he owed it to her father to be truthful.

“I’m not sure. When we first met she was quite….strung out…for want of a better phrase. She has a single minded determination to succeed, to live up to you and to her brothers. She has sacrificed everything else in her life for it.” Niall said being completely honest.

“Hmmm. Sounds just like her mother.” Hussel said.

“Kiri was the only Titan I saw her socialise with. I enjoy her company but she does need to get out, blow off some steam. It’s really not good for her; I’m not the easiest person to get along with either. This situation has only made me worse too. I think I need to push her to make new friends. I also think she needs to know you’re proud of her for the amazing young woman she is rather than class valedictorian 5 years running…”

“You may be right there. I have always pushed my children to succeed academically. I should perhaps let her know that…” Hussel said. He was clearly uncomfortable with this failing. He also seemed to already be aware of what Niall was telling him.

Naskia returned to the living area and walked back over to the table. She sensed the awkward silence between the pair and feared the worst. She sat down beside Niall and stroked his back in case he needed some support. She always felt intimidated when her father cross examined her.

“Everything ok?” she asked.

“Oh yes. Very well.” Hussel replied.

The group sat for the next few hours swapping stories while Naskia kept them provided with tea. Hussel and Niall exchanged numerous stories of pranks played on colleagues or experiments gone disastrously wrong. Naskia felt slightly out of the loop but at the same time she enjoyed watching Niall and her father get on so well. The hours soon flew in and Hussel his said goodbyes to Niall. Naskia walked him downstairs.

“Niall is certainly a remarkable man.” Hussel said. “He’s made me aware I really don’t tell you how proud I am of you.”

Naskia blushed. “Daddy, you tell me all the time….”

“Not the way I should though. I’d like to tell you a story or two….”

“Oh ok.” Naskia replied shifting on her feet unsure where this was going.

“Do you remember when you were young…about 5 or 6 maybe? You found a bird in the garden that had been mauled by a shaar.”

Naskia smiled remembering her bird and blushed some more. “It was missing a wing.”

“And it was on the verge of death. You took the bird inside despite your mother telling you over and over again not to. You taught yourself how to use the medkit and used it to stabilise the bird and kept it in your room for weeks caring for it, feeding it, gaining its trust. You just used to sit in your room and look at it with those big eyes of yours. You got into so much trouble with your mother but you wouldn’t let her get rid of it. You didn’t care how much she punished you. The bird needed someone to look after it and no one else would do it so it had to be you. You had it for weeks. Do you remember what happened to it?”

“You told me the bird was wild and needed to be with its own kind. It couldn’t fly free but it couldn’t stay with me. We gave it to a sanctuary.”

“I was so proud of you. You were only six but you put a helpless creature’s needs ahead of your own. You’ve always had such a kind heart and that’s something no amount of learning could ever teach you.”

Naskia blushed again.

“Do you remember when you were 15, there was a boy you were pining over, a veeball player I think, what was his name?” Hussel continued.

“Joom.” Naskia said.

“I used to pick you up from school some days and you’d be talking to him, always smiling and batting your eyes at him. You were enamoured with him. You spent months trying to get him to notice you. You went out one date and you came home after only 2 hours fuming.”

“Hmm yeah. That guy was a jerk. He only wanted to get under my dress.” Naskia said with still some hurt in her voice.

“Most girls would have let him, to get him to like them. But you didn’t fall for it. You stormed off and walked straight home and huffed.”

“That guy was such a jerk. I can’t believe how stupid I was to ever think he would like me.” Naskia said folding her arms.

Hussel laughed. “That’s just it, you weren’t stupid. You saw him for what he was and stuck to your principles unlike most girls your age. You made father very proud of you that day; always so smart, so kind and caring.”

Naskia blushed and shifted on her feet. She was a Daddy’s girl but wasn’t used to him saying things like this to her. It was always about their work or the latest discoveries.

“I’ve always been proud of you dear. Not just your achievements but who you are. What worries me is that today I saw you look at Niall as we talked. Sometimes you looked at him like he was the broken bird and sometimes you looked at him like you used to look at that veeball player.”

“What do you mean…?” Naskia replied.

“You couldn’t keep the bird because it didn’t belong with you and you couldn’t be with Joom because you weren’t right for each other. I know you’re a smart girl I just hope you’re not getting yourself into something that will only end up with you and him getting hurt.”

“I know Daddy. Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.” Naskia replied.

“I know. Take care dear. And tell Niall I’ll be in touch….” Hussel said. He kissed her on the forehead, wrapped an arm around her and then walked away.

“Bye Daddy. Love you.”