When Niata first stepped onto Othallia, he was instantly beguiled by almost everything he saw. There were exotic animals and plant life, breathtaking geological wonders that were only surpassed by the spectacular night sky. Othallia had, what Triathian astronomers referred to as a royal triad. Three identically sized moons that looked completely different from each other. Because of each moon's relative orbit, there were several solar eclipses in every thirty five day month. When this occurred, the dense blanket of stars in this region of the galaxy were an extraordinary sight.

Tonight, they were no less beautiful than he remembered. It had been ten years since he was last here and to walk the streets of the citadel again brought back pleasant memories of his younger days.

The streets were crowded with people, nearly all of them dressed in brightly coloured clothes. The normally busy transit way was closed to traffic and, instead, was full of stalls selling every kind of food and drink that you could imagine. Loud music of different styles merged together with the excited shouts of the crowds. It was going to be a great Joining Festival.

Having just emerged from Translation, Niata made his way down the main thoroughfare into the central park area. The trees and taller plants had all been decorated with coloured lights which made the pathways beneath them appear to ripple as a light breeze blew the branches. Crossing the wide central concourse, he arrived at the Citadel's Translation monument.

The monument had been specially cleaned for the festival, giving it the image of a newly completed project. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Translation Monument had stood at the centre of the city for over a hundred years. Niata still found its presence inspired a sense of awe in him, even though he had visited it many times before. The structure stood several hundred metres tall and consisted of a series of ovals, resembling doorways, that spiralled around each other upward to an open end that pointed into space. Tonight, it's shimmering gold lustre, sparkled in the glow of the festival lights.

"Niata, over here," shouted several familiar voices.

He turned to see a group of joining partners, that he hadn't seen in a very long time. Rushing over, he fell into a chaos of hugs and laughter.

"Niata, you haven't changed," said Kaleeb, one of his older joiners.

He held her tightly. "Thank you," he said, studying her shining face. "And you are just as beautiful as I remember."

Breyad, Niata's very first joining cleared his throat. "What about me?"

"And, of course, so are you."

They all laughed and Niata proceeded to compliment the other six from his previous joinings. As they talked and joked trying to be heard over the constant noise, several groups of friends wandered over, nearly all of them carrying containers of food they had bought since arriving.

Breyad spoke into Niata's ear. "When do you want to eat, I'm starving?"

"You're always starving." Niata looked towards the monument where the crowd had begun to gather in front of a small podium. "We'll eat once President Riscot has spoken."

A few moments later, Riscot arrived, surrounded by a crowd of protectors and advisors. When the crowd realised she was there, a huge cheer went up, accompanied by loud applause. Riscot stepped up to the podium, smiling and waving. The cheer turned into a deafening roar that continued for sometime. Finally, the noise died down.

"Triathians," she cried. "The night is perfect and the moment is now." More applause. "We anticipate our continuance, striving towards unity and, standing against the separation, we join together. Two becoming one and continuing onward. For the betterment of all people and the advancement of all life. We step between worlds and thus we cross the void becoming and growing in a cycle to infinity." Riscot paused. She held out her right hand. "Skrahl," she shouted, and the crowd parted to allow fifty of the Skrahl to step out of a translation portal, their golden bodies dazzling in the midst of the festival lights. The crowd erupted and, once again, Riscot waited for calm. She extended her left hand. "Othal," she shouted. From gap in the crowd, fifty Othal walked forward.

Without being told, the two groups formed into straight lines, facing each other.

"Two becoming one," they all chanted as one and took a step forward towards each other. By this time the crowd had fallen silent. "Two becoming one." Another step. "Two becoming one." And another step. Slowly, the two groups drew closer until they were within touching distance. Both sides stopped and stood completely still.

"New lives, new hearts, one people," intoned the President.

The group responded. "United worlds."

"As Catek and Amiah, let you be this night and continuing."

"United worlds." The group took another step and each Skrahl embraced an Othal, then ran back into the, sit open, portal.

"I love this part," said Breyad.

"Me too," said Niata, waiting for the shining to begin.

As he looked into the portal, each couple in the group began to glow. The golden bodies of he Skrahl began to shine and the grey skin of the Othal became reflective. Each couple began pushing into each other. As the brilliant glow became almost unbearable to look at, the miracle happened. Each couple merged and became one. When light died down the Skrahl and the Othal had gone. Only Triathians remained. The newborn stepped back out of the portal into the midst of the ecstatic crowd.

The President pointed down at the miracle. "Triathians," she cried. "Two become one and now are made new."

The gather crowd exalted. People rushed forward and fell upon the newborn members of their race. The music struck back up and everyone spontaneously began to jump and dance to the rhythm.

Riscot left the stage and headed toward a waiting vehicle. She did this after every festival and this had always bothered Niata. He could never understand why she left before the confirmation.

As the vehicle left, the crowd parted again, leaving the newborn in the middle. Fireworks lit up the sky as far as he could see. Excited, everyone held onto someone.

The confirmation began. The ground beneath his feet trembled and rippled producing a low rumble. The crowd shouted and cheered as the trembling became shaking. As the fireworks continued, everywhere shook with a ferocity that would have been frightening if it wasn't for one thing. The trembling only happened when newborns were confirmed.

The shaking continued for the rest of the night.