Holt exhaled loudly. “Oh boy, ok then. It all started a few hours before coming here…”

We were at this beautiful natural water source, a large lake near to where we live. The water is actually pink and was said to be cursed when it was first formed as it leaves you with a slight tingling when you’re in it. But I think it’s since been proved to have positive properties.

Anyway, it’s hugely popular with people of all ages and is in the most beautiful setting. Lush green forests, tall and unusual looking trees. Most of our planet is actually like that due to its climate and position in our solar system.

But we’re there a lot of the time at this lake. Us three and our older brother, Tarron. He’s four years older than us but we all hang out and have the same interests. But boy did he think he was our boss!

Mindy was lounging on the bank with her friends, Tarron was on the other side chatting up some girls and Blane and I were in the water happily playing about. Tarron was naturally good with females, which made Blane very jealous! He can't admit that though.

We’d been there, I’d say, a couple of hours. The sun was shining down on us, water tingling our skin and it was just really relaxing.

The vicinity and location of the lake is situated in the heart of slewdadals territory. A largish ground digging creature which shuffles about sniffing for dropped fruits. They’re harmless and they’ve grown used to sharing their space with us. But you don’t want to get on the wrong end of one of their tusks.

This particular group of slewdadals made their way round to one end of the lake when there was this shrill screaming. Everyone turned around and we saw one of the slewdadals had impaled a man through the stomach. It was grim. Tarron told us after, but he was able to go back in time to warn the man that he was a bit close to the wandering slewdadal, and that he might want to move away. Side note, we only go back into time with him if we are in physical contact with him. Otherwise, we just hear about it after.

So he is telling this guy who is stood with some friends that he might want to move back but the guy says basically to leave him alone. Tarron wasn’t fussed. He did know best, but he always said ‘it wasn’t worth helping people if they didn’t want it’. So he steps back and watches the guy get gored again moments later. The screaming happens again and people run over. The slewdadal freaks out and tears right through the man’s side. We rushed out of the lake but it was too late to do anything. I can heal wounds, but I can’t bring someone back from the dead and this guy was dead within seconds. He was alive long enough to look at Tarron with regret before dying. That incident killed the buzz around the lake afterwards so we got dressed and headed back home.

Tarron wasn’t hung up about what had happened. Neither were we to be honest. We had seen worse and it’s not like Tarron didn’t try.

His strengths were more powerful than ours- for someone who was still relatively young, he had the ability to really make an impact. He made mistakes in the past and he carried them with him. He learned from them. He was a good guy.

We got home. Home... It’s this big place right in the middle of a more vibrant, leafy forest at the end of a long drive. Really secluded. Our father had inherited a technology firm from his mother, our grandmother. Before that he was one of the State’s chairperson in charge of, well, the State. He was there when we got home but he was always in and out.

That night him and mum were due to go to this supreme unveiling of some exotically advanced passenger jet capable of taking people out into space- a sightseeing tour of Earthtun’s orbit. Mum and Dad were guests of honours. It was going to be a real fancy affair. We decided to stay up to train and study before bed.

I think it was late at this point. I’d finished kicking Blane’s ass in the gymnasium when our QADAS went off. That stands for Quadforce Alarm and Distress Alert System- Quadforce was the name we gave ourselves. Pretty cool right?! There is an expectation on us to be able to use our abilities so we had the QADAS linked via the Judicial Order Enforcement Services Team and the Military Systems just in case we were needed for anything. The alert that came through on this occasion was an upper tier emergency coming from the supreme unveiling that our parents were at.

We got kitted up and mobilised. We tried to get hold of our parents on the way but because it didn’t actually take us long to get there in our jet, we only managed to try a couple of times.

When we arrived, it was chaos. There was fire, and smoke and bodies lying between upturned tables. It becomes a bit of a blur at that point. Tarron was the first out of the jet but it felt like as soon as he got out, that he was killed.

The 45th had crept up along the side of the jet from the rear…. and yeah. That bastard had impaled a blade through Tarron’s middle. He took the blade out, and Tarron turned round. We could see that he was trying to use his ability to go back in time, but it was no good. He seemed to glitch in static. I just remember his face. His panic. Our brave big brother, scared.

We had to leave him to die alone. We had to act fast because otherwise we would have been killed too. There was fighting, we were shooting, dodging but he managed to evade us, flying off in a nearby craft. We followed him here. We didn’t even get to find our parents. We still don’t know where they are.

***

Kimona and Do’Lânqwa had no words. It was a heart breaking story. They went through a traumatic experience, and then got stuck on a strange planet with all that grief to process.

“We are so sorry for your loss.”

“Oh absolutely, yes. Gosh, I don’t have the words,” Kimona agreed. A minute or so of a shared silence descended over the group, allowing Holt to take comfort in his siblings.

“This is really the only chance we have had to soak it in actually,” he admitted.

After a pause, “You haven’t told us about you and how you got the name ‘Agwé’,” Blane asked softly, hoping to take his mind off his memories.

She went into detail about her past life in 1939 and her flight world record attempt, about the family she has since learned are no longer alive. She spoke of her crash and then reawakening ninety years later with new and strange abilities. She then finished talking about Adam and Raj who had said there were others on this Earth who also had abilities like here. She wanted to make it her mission to find those people.

Finishing, she turned the conversation back to the problem her new friends had. “Could we get in touch with anyone for you and see if they can help get you back?”

“The Council of the Universes aren’t going to listen to humans- in their eyes, they are the very reason for the Pact,” reasoned Do’Lânqwa.

“I think we’re going to try and go, at least,” Holt explained. “No one has actually gone to Earthuu, so no one has had to try and return. It’s untested. We still have our jet, so we might be able to sneak back in,” he optimistically suggested.

“And maybe our dad will be able to pull some strings and smooth things over, given our circumstances,” Mindy added.

“What will you do, Do’Lânqwa?” Kimona asked.

After sighing, “I’m in two minds. I have the infant we rescued. He needs to go home. Maybe he’s my ticket back. But Kimona, you said there’s others like you here, maybe it would be worth seeing if I’m welcome enough here. I’m not sure.”

“Why don’t you try going back, return the infant and when they find out The 45th is no more, then they might let you back? If not, then you have somewhere you can come back to,” she suggested.

“It’s a possibility. I do need to really try and get the infant home.”

“Will this be the last time we see you three then?” Agwé asked, looking over at the triplets.

“It could be. It seems a great shame to part, but if we do get back, it could be under the provision that we can’t leave ever again,” Mindy reckoned.

“Except for the boys back in Florida, I’ve just started to feel like I belong, sitting with you lot this morning, filling our faces. And working together like we did. I’m sad if this has to end now, but I understand,” huffed Kimona, getting up out of her seat. “But first we must work out how we are going to pay for all of this food now.”

“Don’t look at us Kim, our currency isn’t going to work here,” laughed Holt.

Kimona looked at Do’Lânqwa who showed his empty palms. She sighed, “Well don’t look me either. I didn’t necessarily crash my plane with a pocket full of future money!” She started to panic, but that soon turned to laughter at the absurdity of the situation.

“I could infiltrate the owners’ mind and make him believe we paid?” Mindy suggested, thinking outside the box.

“Sure Mind, we'll travel to a banned planet, wreck it a bit with some space rocks and then not pay for a load of food. That will all go down well!” Blane drawled sarcastically.

“Don’t worry,” a voice from behind announced. “It’s all been paid for.”

All five turned round and saw two men sitting at a table. The one who made the announcement looked in his late twenties, with brown hair and pale skin that was beginning to redden in the morning Brazilian sunshine. He wore a white tee shirt underneath a bright floral shirt. His so far silent friend had olive skin and black hair. He wore a sleeveless black top. The fearless five themselves were silent, absorbing the twist in the tale.

“It’s alright. Just think of it as a gift from your friends at the G7 for the... er work you did here,” he continued, all the while remaining seated. He could sense the suspicion and concern presented to him, but he appeared unaffected by it.

“Who are the G7? We don’t have friends at a G7,” Kimona asked, taking charge.

“You will soon,” floral shirt started. “Trust me, we’re not here to cause harm.” Do’Lânqwa noted that he was telling the truth. “But we do need to speak with you and we’d appreciate it if you came willingly with us. Think of breakfast as a show of good faith.”

Next up, in Sediment Terri #1, ‘The Rock Star’...

We step away from Brazil and head to Chicago, where Terri goes up against an old foe in a seemingly evenly matched fight. It’s time to see if rock can really beat scissors.