Not far from dome number two, a crevice in a large outcropping of rocks led to the main entrance to the Sce'Rood clan of the Te'Hat. Deep in the tunnels, made so many suns ago, nobody but the oldest of the Elders could recall their making. There were many entrances. For the Sce'Rood was numerous and spread out. Melon made his way to the Elder's chamber. This day was the most significant Elder meeting ever! He wondered if it used to be like this in the beginning times where things were always new and changing. Great danger and opportunity lie around every corner!

News had spread about the great two-legs meeting with Melon. When they contacted other clans over the last few suns, they had found the humans had been spotted everywhere! It excited and worried him at the same time. Which was the right path? So many paths lay before them. All of them life-changing! The Elders would collectively find a way. The Sce'Rood was telepathic, but they had not left speech altogether. They used it in ceremonies and for private moments. The Elder meetings were spoken for both reasons. Melon approached the Elder's council chamber when he met Karleen waiting for him outside the chamber. He was very fond of Karleen. He had mated with her most seasons. For the Te'Hat, it was common for a pair to settle in with consistent mating. She seemed agitated as noted by the twitching of her dominant third leg.

"Melon, my always, are you alright? Are you up to the challenge?"

"Chance brings us to change, but we will determine our own path."

She seemed to be settled by this positive statement. "I only meant that after calling out to the Two-legs, it would have been quite unsettling!"

"A little unsettling for the situation, but not for the calling out. The mind I exchanged with is as logical and intelligent as the Te'Hat. They possess vast power over things, and so we must proceed carefully. That is one of many things the Elders need to discuss."

Karleen had misgivings. "Oh, Melon, my always, I have a wrong feeling about the future of all of this!"

"If I didn't know any better, my always, I would think that you were acquiring the Gift."

Karleen was taken aback. "You know only the males can be given the Gift."

"I sometimes wonder, my always. I must go now and make my mark for our clan."

She understood what was at stake. Karleen encouraged her long-time mate. "Make it count, my always. See you soon."

"See you soon Karleen."

Melon reached out and affectionately touched her dominant third leg as Karleen touched his. He then turned to enter the Elders chambers to see what fate had in store for him. The ceremonial guards opened the doors for him as he approached. The guards were unnecessary since there has not been any conflict among his kind since before his clan came to these parts long ago. They reminded the Te'Hat the importance of this place and to keep the curious out.

Unlike the dusty passageways outside, the Elder's council stone chambers were highly polished with the toil of many Te'Hat. Even the ceiling was polished. Melon, and the rest of the Elders also took part in this duty. It reminded them they were not too important to take part in the day-to-day living of the Te'Hat.

Many of the Elders were already here. There were seven fourteens of the Elder class plus the Mat'Ma, the wisest one. Among other duties, he served to break a tie in the counting of marks when they made decisions. This only happened four times in the history of the clan. He had a special gift of uniting the Elders and helped point the way of his clan. It must be time, he thought, since the Mat'Ma moved to the Speaker's Place. The polished rock, the highest vantage in the chamber, allowed the speaker to see and be seen.

As the Mat'Ma took his place, he raised each of his third legs as a sign of friendship and a call to silence. The familiar whistles, clicks and hisses which began each gathering were said once more from the Mat'Ma. "As it was in the beginning, as it is this day, the Elders toil to guide our clan through good times and the bad times. Let us now renew our vow to uphold our duty to the clan."

The response from the Elders, "To the clan, I do swear!"

"I am the Mat'Ma, to the clan, I do swear," he said after the Congress of Elders renewed their vow. "My friends, you all know why we are here this day. One of our order has called out to one of the Humans to warn them about the great tremor. We do not know the future of this meeting, and so we must decide what is to be done with the different outcomes. You have heard the stories of this calling out. To be sure what you have heard is the real story, I will have Melon tell all of you about his meeting with the Human."

Melon had spoken once before in the council chambers, so he was unafraid to speak. Because of the urgency of the situation, Melon wouldn't have shirked if called upon to act for the clan. He approached the Speaking Place and bowed to the Mat'Ma, who then stepped aside for Melon to speak. He related his story of how he first met Anna Hauser and then later, at the consent of the Mat'Ma, waited for his chance to call her out again. When he finished, he stepped back and deferred to the Mat'Ma.

The Mat'Ma paused on his way to the dais. "Wait here near me in case the council will have need of you,"

"Of course, Mat'Ma," Melon replied.

As he turned back toward the crowd, he called, "There are many reasons to trust the Humans, and many more reasons to not trust them. It is worrisome to know what will happen since the humans wield so much power. Until now, they have not harmed any of us. We do not know if that will continue. The Anna Hauser said the humans mean us no harm on purpose. How much harm can come of an accident? Will they respect our culture? Will they make us do things against our will? We need more information to know where the best path lay. I suggest we have more meetings with the Humans to learn the meaning of their appearance and determine if they mean us any harm. Attend to your clutches, and then I will hear from one representative of each clutch."

The Elders broke up into seven groups of fourteen; corresponding to the fourteen of legs on a Te'Hat. The din of the crowded auditorium, as the Elders discussed their plans, was like music to the Mat'Ma. Although to a human, it would have sounded like a pit full of angry snakes combined with the clicks and whistles of dolphins. It warmed the leader's hearts each time the many voices of the Te'Hat became one. The Mat'Ma waited patiently until the cacophony had died down to about half of the original level telling him most everyone had reached a consensus. He raised his third legs again to ask for silence among the brethren. After the congress had settled down, he spoke again. "The decision time is here. What say you?" He pointed to the first clutch closest to his right. An Elder stepped forward and approached the Mat'Ma.

"We decide!" The representative of the clutch said to the Mat'Ma as he bowed. The Mat'Ma motioned for the Elder to step up to the Speaking Place. "It is our decision to make Melon our clan's representative to call out to the humans since he has experience with them. He is well respected to decide rightly for the clan."

He turned and bowed to the Mat'Ma on his way back to his clutch. One by one they stepped up and voiced their clutch's decision on the matter. Various points were added as to what needed to happen, but this all centered on an ambassador of sorts to negotiate a beneficial relationship with the humans. Often, Melon's name came up as that ambassador since he had the unfortunate luck of meeting the humans first. After this general raising of ideas, the Mat'Ma spoke again.

"You have heard the suggestions put forth by the clutches. The time is near to make your mark! I will wait for a time while we digest our thoughts." The Elders milled freely about and discussed the options. Like a jury deciding the fate of a defendant, they discussed and argued their opinions about what had been proposed. Again, the Mat'Ma waited for the discussion to die down. This took much longer than usual. Melon was still at the Mat'Ma's side. He turned to Melon and said in a small voice only to be heard by the two of them, "It does not take the Shrim'ra to see what is happening Melon."

"Yes, I know Mat'Ma."

"You can call me by my namesake in private. I believe we are going to be calling out to each other a lot more often in the future."

"As you like, Shreetaka. It does look like I will speak to the humans for the clan."

"It looks as if you have reservations about this task, Melon."

"Of course I do! I think any Te'Hat would be shaking in their shells at the very thought of it!"

"I did not say I blamed you. I only ask if I can help you."

"Forgive me Shreetaka, I do what I must for the clan, but the outcomes are so dire that I am afraid of choosing wrongly and thereby hurting everyone."

Shreetaka had a kindly way of helping his kind sort out their troubles. "Let me see if I can help you with that. You say any Te'Hat would be shaking in their shell at the very thought of doing this task, yet you were the one to summon the courage and quick notion to take advantage of an opportunity that came your way. Later, you summoned that courage again, at my request, to risk calling out to the same human. To show that you are not alone, if you are selected to speak for the clan, I will go and deliver you to the Two-legs, and I will call out to them as well."

"Indeed, you are a brave leader of our clan. It would be an honor to travel with you."

"Just as the Elders toil with the daily tasks all the Te'Hat does for the clan, I would not ask you to accomplish something I would not do myself."

"You are wise and compassionate as well Mat'Ma. I knew we chose well when we chose you to lead us."

"Perhaps, Melon. It looks like it is time. Are you ready to make your mark?"

"Yes, Mat'Ma."

The leader of the clan approached the Speaking Place. He raised his legs to signal the crowd to quiet down. "We all agree a representative must be chosen to speak to the humans. The question is which one of us. Three Elders were mentioned for this journey; Melon, Somra and Barqu. All respected individuals. It is time to decide and make your mark! Take your places and do as you must."

The Te'Hat Elders formed a line by age with the oldest of the Elders going first and the youngest voting last. One by one they approached a long stretch of material on the wall like clay and divided this time into three sections. Each heading, a candidate to be voted on. They approached the wall and pressed the point of their front claw into the soft material. This made a little indentation that would be counted. Usually, this wasn't necessary since the voting tended to be one-sided most of the time. Sometimes a vote would be close, and counting would be needed. The material kept the impressions for about four or five hours before it would become smooth again. This allowed time to count the votes and record the decision. An escort, the Kal'Leef, would monitor the voting of each Elder to be sure the voter made only one mark. The Mat'Ma also observed the voting. He always voted last so his choice would not influence everyone else. He served as the tiebreaker in those rare instances of a tie. Finally, Shreetaka cast the last vote. He approached the wall and made his mark, which also counted for the majority.

He went to the Speaking Place and addressed the masses. "I have witnessed that all of us have taken our responsibilities to the clan very seriously. The Kal'Leef has told me your marks are true. And so, it is decided and recorded in the Great Book that Melon will call out to the humans and speak for the clan. I will go with Melon to deliver him to the humans, and I will call out to them as well. After I return, I must call out to the other clans to spread the story of what is happening. I now bring an end to this our council meeting. Know that you have done your duty and may leave this place well."

With the meeting concluded, some Elders left immediately, but most stayed and talked to each other about Melon and the great responsibility he has accepted. The Mat'Ma found Melon again and took him aside. "We will leave at first light to travel to the humans if it is acceptable."

"That will be acceptable. I will spend my remaining time with Karleen. If you need me, I will be in my nest."

"Yes, I know where it is. For now, I would like to discuss the humans more. Can you spare the time?"

"Of course, Mat'Ma. Lead the way."

As they came out of the chamber, into a rotunda-like area, Karleen patiently waited for Melon to exit from the Elders meeting. As they approached her, the Mat'Ma made welcoming gestures with his antennae.

Karleen greeted the Mat'Ma in response to his antennae gestures. "It is good to see you Mat'Ma. Your mood appears agreeable. The meeting went well I take it?"

"Yes, I believe so," the Mat'Ma replied. "I always feel better when decisions have been made. I am uneasy when there is indecision or important things left undone. Melon is to call out to the humans tomorrow, and I would like to speak with him for a while. Please join us here if you like." This was an unusual move for the Mat'Ma. To be including a female in a discussion of clearly Elder business mystified the pair. Karleen hid her confusion and followed the Elders to an alcove where they could rest. "Now Melon, can you tell me some things that will help us tomorrow calling out to these two-legs?"

"I do not know very much,"

Shreetaka tried to be patient. "No one else knows anything. Begin with your impressions about them."

"It would appear their leadership structure is like our own. The humans have a leader that guides them. Discussions take place much as we do. One strange thing. The females are treated equally within the human clan. It may be because they do not possess the Shrim'ra or the mind touch. I do not know."

The Mat'Ma was incredulous. "As advanced in their ways, and they do not possess the Shrim'ra?"

"No, they do not. The female Anna Hauser did not anyway. It could be the females do not have the gift as in our species. However, I did not get that impression. She also had been startled by the mind touch. When I touched her mind, she did not touch back. I merely read what was there like reading a scroll. Yet, it had been different from touching Karleen, for example."

The Mat'Ma pondered this for a moment. "Well, we must be careful not to provoke the two-legs by our gifts. Until we learn each other's language, it will be the only way to call out to them. Yes, this could be a problem if they are fearful of it."

"Anna Hauser acclimated quickly to my calling out to her after an initial adjustment. It may be alright with their Mat'Ma or leader."

"Let us hope so. I will have to think about this for a time. Anything else?"

Melon searched his thoughts. "They wear protective skins around them to guard against the environment of our world. They call them suits. I do not know what they look like without them. As we all know, they are quite different from us."

Shreetaka shook his front claws. "Yes, very strange. You would think to be disadvantaged by having so few limbs, they could not accomplish much. But obviously, this is a false thought. I did not hear you mention this in the meeting, but, did you ask them why they were here?"

"No, Mat'Ma. Most of our time was spent understanding the differences between our languages and warning her about the vision of the great shaking."

"I see. Well, it was brief, and you did not have a lot of time to continue the discussion. I think I will be going back to my nest to think about things and leave you two alone to spend time together before you have to go."

Karleen offered, "Please come back to our nest and have a meal with us. We could continue to talk and make plans."

"You are always kind Karleen. However, I think this should be a private time, and I think better when I am alone and brooding. May your time be pleasant." He lifted his leg in farewell and scuttled away.

"It will go well, my only," she said to Melon. "Let's go back to the nest and talk if you wish, or brood as the Mat'Ma does. We will both have a meal, and we can relax the rest of the time till the next rising of the sun."

"Sounds like a good plan, my only." He made affectionate touches to her legs and antennae. "Relaxing sounds like a good thing." At the same time, Melon wondered whether that could be possible. At least he will have this evening to enjoy the company of Karleen and allow her to distract him from his worries.