s to find them. The Marines and Jyslin's job was to train them.

Kumi did her part. She bought Cape Cod Community College, which was only about twenty miles from Foxwood. The school grounds were defunct and empty, so she bought it all, and that was where the new Karinne Telepath Academy was going to be until the real Academy was up and running. Human telepaths would be brought there and given a crash course in telepathy, and they'd have outstanding instructors in Jyslin and the Marines, who were all first-order telepaths. Once they were trained up to competency, they would take positions within the house, being awarded the title of Baron or Baroness.

Of course, the very first human contacted and brought back to Foxwood was Seamus, the man they'd been in Scotland to meet, and where Jason had been captured. He was a burly, short man, very stocky, with red hair and a sunny disposition. He was intrigued to find out he was both a telepath and a descendent of the Faey, and he was quite enthusiastic about the idea of learning about this other side of himself. He became the first student, and got quite a bit of attention.

But he wasn't the first for long. Fure and Songa were highly efficient using Rann's idea to find telepaths and were able to place their screeners anywhere they pleased. They also knew now where to look to have the best chance to find telepaths, so they concentrated their search in Great Britain and segments of America and Canada with large numbers of British descendents. And it worked. They were finding, on average, a human telepath a day, and Jason was meeting an optimistically endless line of nervous men, women, and teenagers, explaining to them why they were there, telling them who and what they were, and then telling them they were going to "telepath school." Once they graduated from the school and became competent telepaths, they'd earn their title and be placed in House Karinne as nobles, where they'd have good jobs and perks and make decent money.

And to Jason's surprise, very few of them resisted the idea of it. Those that did resist were gently told that they really didn't have much choice, that they _had_ to go to the school and learn how to control their abilities, but they didn't have to join the house. After finishing at school, they could go home and return to their former jobs and former lives, but they'd never get a chance to join the house again. It was a one-time offer. And they had until graduation to make that decision.

By the time of the summit, the Karinne Telepath Academy had 27 students. Five had already expressed, and were already on their way to being trained telepaths.

And Zaa did not disappoint. Before the summit, Miaari had brought to Foxwood a young Faey male with green hair and gold colored eyes, bringing him into Jason's study as he went over some paperwork Kumi had sent him. The young man, about twenty, was very nervous, and kept staring at Miaari like she was a live snake. "Your Grace, may I introduce Erinn Heyalle, subject of House Trefani," Miaari said.

Jason looked at him, and felt the shiver that told him that this was the first of the Generations that Zaa said she would bring to Earth. "It's good to meet you, Erinn," he said.

"Y-Your Grace," he said with a nervous bow. "Can you tell me what I did wrong?"

Jason laughed. "Nothing at all," he said. "Did the Kimdori explain anything to you?"

"They said they were bringing me here because I was a long-lost Karinne," he said. "Am I really?"

"You are. Don't I feel a little strange to you?"

"Well, yes, you do. I get this strange shiver when I look at you, same as when I look at Kimdori."

"That proves you're a Karinne," he said. "And since the house has been restored, that means that all the lost children of Karinne need to be brought back together. So, that's why you're here. Erinn, I'm offering you a title and a position in House Karinne," he stated. "You will be the Baron Erinn Karinne, and your immediate duties are going to be to learn, about your heritage and where you came from. I'll be sending you to a school where you'll be with the human descendents of the Karinnes that are from Terra. There, you'll learn about the house of Karinne, and you'll be trained in telepathy by some of the best in the business. _Real_ training, not what you learned in high school," he said pointedly. "You'll also be trained how to use your telekinetic ability."

"I don't have any."

"Yes, you do. You're part of a, special, branch of the Karinne family line, same as me. All of us have telekinetic ability. I'm being trained in it myself, so I can't train you. You'll be trained by your cousin, Myleena Karinne. Once you're fully trained, then you'll help train others, and so on. Once we gather up all the lost members of the house and get everyone trained, then we'll get back to the business of the house."

"What business is that?"

"Education," he said. "The Karinnes ran the Karis Academy, a very famous school of higher learning."

"I remember it from my history class."

"Well, we're building a new one here on Terra. And that's what we'll be doing, running the Academy. So, what do you say? Wanna be a noble?" he asked lightly.

Erinn laughed nervously. "What commoner doesn't wanna be a noble, your Grace? I accept."

"Welcome to the house, Count Erinn," Jason told him with a nod, getting up and walking over, then shaking his hand. "Miaari, could you please take him to Kumi? She can get him settled in."

"Of course, your Grace," she said, patting Erinn on the shoulder. "Come with me, youngling. We're going to go talk to the girl that really runs this place."

"His Grace doesn't?"

"He's just the figurehead," Miaari said with a grin at him. "Kumi's the real hand that controls the house business."

"Thanks," Jason said sourly, giving Miaari a rude look.

Miaari laughed, a growling sound, then leaned over and licked his cheek. "I know you still love me."

"You better be glad I do, or I'd boot your furry butt right outa here."

                                        * * *

The summit went very well. Seventeen scientists and research specialists huddled together with a team of ten senior project engineers from Makan Special Engineering and explained to the Makati what would be required to build a school with the same potential as the original Karis Academy. To fund the construction, Empress Dahnai had basically given the engineering firm a blank check.

For Jason, it was a Xeno class come to life. Some of those seventeen visitors were of different species. Not all of them were Faey. There was a small Beryan, several beautiful Faey, a horrific silicon-based rock-like creature that looked like a petrified treestump with a arms and a head called a Stavak, a feather-winged, avioid Shurai, and a bipedal wolverine-like creature called a Zyagya. All but the Zyagya were part of the five races of the Alliance with the Bari-Bari and the Jakkans, while the Zyagyas were an independent planet that nobody bothered to try to conquer or invite into their government because of the vicious natures of the species... very much the wolverines they resembled. They all looked different; they all spoke different languages while using translator devices, but the one thing they could all agree upon was that rebuilding the Academy was a wonderful idea. The only one that could possibly pull it off was a Karinne, a name from history whose neutrality would be honored, and a name that still, even after so long, was associated with science.

The Makati had come prepared. They'd dug up some images of the original Karis Academy, and had proposed rebuilding it in the same style. It would be impossible to perfectly duplicate the original Academy because the original had been built on a sub-tropical island. The reason it was there had been to isolate the foreigners from the Karinnes, and that wasn't necessary here. They had researched Earth, and had put up a presentation to build the new Terra Academy, in the likeness of the original, in a similar warm climate. They had looked at several sites, and had settled on proposing building the Academy in the most geologically and meteorologically stable environment they could find on the planet that would be both beautiful and temperate, but would have enough room to grow. Given that they wanted to keep the Academy near the center of activity for the planet, which was near the planetary capitol and the base of the Grand Duke Karinne, the Makati proposed building the Academy in Norfolk, Virginia. It was a temperate location with minimal weather hazards and geological stability, ready access to existing infrastructure, a functional seaport, and was a short shuttle hop from New York and Boston, the closest large city to Jason's manor.

When Jason asked how much it would cost, the Makati just laughed. "I have an open-ended budget," he answered. "The project is being backed by the Faey Imperium and House Merrane. It won't cost the Karinnes a credit, your Grace. Empress Dahnai is paying for everything."

That went over rather well with the delegates, and it caused the summit to end later that evening on a hopeful note. The Makati had an exhaustive list and quite a few sticks of data concerning what the Academy would need construction wise, and they promised to have a first series of blueprints and design plans ready in two weeks.

Cybi and Zaa both had told him that the Karinnes were much like a separate government to themselves back in their time, and meeting with races other than the Faey reinforced that to him. The ranking member of the Alliance and one of the Zyagya approached him and asked if they could post an ambassador to Earth. When he asked why, since they had diplomats to the Imperium on Draconis, they blinked and told him that their histories told them that they had had separate ambassadors to Karinne, basically there to oversee their students in the Academy and ensure they obeyed the rules. With the rebuilding of the Academy in planning, they wanted to get their emissaries there early, so they could set up and establish the rules by which their students would operate, and also get to know the Terrans, who were an unknown species to them. By getting familiar with the customs and behavior of the Terrans, they could better prepare their people for coming here.

Jason didn't think that was a bad idea. He asked Kumi to see into finding them some room to set up in Norfolk.

                                        * * *

Meeting Ayuma Indarre for the first time was an interesting experience. For one, Ayuma was a mature woman, already pensioned from the Marines, with some of the lightest blue skin he'd ever seen, almost chalky, large violet eyes, and she was remarkably short, only about five feet tall. Faey were very tall by human standards on the average, and to see a Faey so short was almost unheard of. But she was a jovial woman, full of vim and vigor, and had an honest enthusiasm about the business of running things. She was a born administrator, a micro-manager with a voice that could crack like a whip and marvelous memory and attention to detail.

Zaa had arranged this meeting, and to his surprise, the Kimdori had contacted her _before_ meeting him and explained a few things to her. They didn't tell her the entire truth, but they _did_ tell her that she was a descendent of the long-lost Karinnes, and it was a special aspect of the house that they could sense both Kimdori and each other. So, when she came to Foxwood to meet Jason, the very first thing she mentioned was that he felt just like the Kimdori did.

She was also the most _flamboyant_ telekinetic he'd ever seen. Telekinetics were rare in the Imperium; only about 12% of Faey had any kind of telekinetic ability, and half of those could barely move a feather across a smooth surface without fainting. Those that had any decent ability kept it quiet, since telekinetics usually ended up in Imperial service. People who didn't want to be working for the Imperium all their lives kept it to themselves. Ayuma had no such reservations. She was a proud telekinetic, and she used her power whenever it pleased her to do so. She wasn't garish about it or flaunt it, but if she wanted to use her ability, she did. And that was that.

And it was more proof that telekinesis was truly an aspect of the Generations. He wondered if Myleena had ever thought to try.

He rather liked Ayuma. From the first word, she was totally focused on the project. She asked many questions he hadn't even considered, like how they were going to engineer and place the dorms for those who needed artificial life support to live here, what kind of disciplines the Academy would offer, how the Academy was going to manage its finances, where it was going to get its starting capital, teacher's salaries, and so on. She was also rather personable and friendly, seeming to be very demure, but he could see the resilience in her eyes when she looked at things. This was a woman with a soft voice but a steel rod for a spine, who knew when to be eloquent and knew when to be blunt. The more he talked to her, the more he realized that Zaa had carefully chosen this woman to do this job. She really was the perfect woman to run the school. By the end of the interview, he and Ayuma were laughing and talking about their personal lives.

"Well, I hope you're as engaging with the other applicants as you were with me," she said honestly as they wrapped up. "It's important for you to see how your potentials are outside the office."

"There are no other applicants," he shrugged. "You came with a recommendation that I could not ignore. When you were recommended by that person, I knew you were the only applicant I needed to interview. And she was more than right. Congratulations, Ayuma. The job's yours."

"And who was this woman?" she asked curiously.

"Someone you might meet someday," he said in reply, giving her a slight smile from behind his desk.

"Alright, I can take a hint," she smiled. She stood up and fetched her hat by making it float from the stand by the door over to her. "Since I have the job, I'll be returning to Makan to get my affairs in order. When do you want me to report?"

"As soon as you can," he answered. "I want you here next week when the Makati present their first draft of their design plans. I think your input will be useful."

"Very well. I'll get the date from your secretary and"

"I don't have a secretary," he said, scribbling a date on a Post-It and handing it to her.

She tutted. "You need an assistant, your Grace. "Trust me. It may seem easy now, but it won't be long before you're buried in paperwork. A good administrator has a damn good support staff there to back her up. That's why I'm going to try to woo my staff from Bzerr Technical to come work for me here," she giggled. "They're good."

"That's within your discretion," he told her. "It's _your_ Academy, Ayuma. Take it and make something out of it we can all be proud of."

"That's a guarantee, your Grace," she told him with a solemn nod.

Myleena, it turned out, had been keeping a secret from him. He found her in the garage, half submerged under the Karinne dropship's drive unit, taking something apart to see how it worked. When he told her about Ayuma, and how she was telekinetic, Myleena blushed from her hoverslide she was laying on and reached out to her toolbox. The box lifted up from the ground and floated over to her. "I keep it a secret," she confided, looking up at him with her lovely, unusual, exotic rose-colored eyes. "It's considered rude in Faey society to be garish about it if you can do it, and if you're _too _strong, the secret police usually draft you to work for them." She gave him a look. "So, I take it all of _us_ are telekinetics?"

"It seems so," he nodded. "I guess they engineered it into our line."

"Eh, makes sense to me," she shrugged, then slid back into the maintenance panel, leaving only her bare legs visible. She was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, and he saw her legs were scratched up and scabbed. _If they could engineer us, it only makes sense that they'd add something like that._

_What are you doing, anyway?_

_The Karinnes used spatial engines, but their design is _way_ different from what I've seen,_ she answered. _Most spatial drives create a highly warped interior field that overcomes outside force and makes the ship move. This drive, well, _translates_ space, kinda moves it along like a woman pulling on a rope. Where a standard ship kinda falls in the direction the engines want it to go, this design kinda _pushes_ the ship in the direction it's oriented. They're more maneuverable than standard engines, but not as efficient. This ship uses more power than a standard dropship the same size. I think with a little work, I could redesign the translation engines to be better, adapt some modern standard tech and integrate it into the Karinne systems to make them less of a power hog._

_Interesting._

_Yah. There's another hoverslide over there,_ she sent, waggling a foot off to her right a little. _Come look. It's really cool. I'll download the specs into your gestalt from mine. Give me access._

Myleena managed to thoroughly distract him with the lure of learning more about Karinne technology for the rest of the day. Together, they completely took apart the dropship's engines and studied them, then put them back together. Jyslin and Symone came looking for him when he missed dinner, and found him and Myleena waist deep in the top access panel of the dropship, reinstalling engine components. _So this is where you vanished to!_ Symone sent up to him. _You gonna eat or what?_

_We missed dinner?_ Myleena asked, looking at Jason. _What time is it anyway?_

_Almost nine,_ Jyslin told her.

Jason looked at her curiously. She seemed... _anxious_. _What's wrong, love?_ he sent privately to her.

_Come home, I need to tell you something._

_Sure, lemme clean up and I'll be right there._

He cleaned up quickly and returned to the apartment. He barely got in the door when Jyslin literally tackled him, bouncing him off the door and to the floor, kissing him exuberantly. _Try not to give me a concussion_

_I'm _pregnant_!_ she sent powerfully, charged with wild emotion. _Songa told me today. We're going to have a baby, my love! A baby!_

_Really? A baby?_ he asked, then he laughed and opened his range to send all over Foxwood. _We're gonna have a baby!_ he telepathically shouted all over the area, so happy and excited that he wanted the whole world to share in the joy of the news. _Jyslin's pregnant!_

Congratulations flooded in from all over the compound, from friends and family down to the Marines stationed there to guard them. He sat up and put Jyslin in his lap, kissing her tenderly, putting the flat of his palm against her belly. _Oh, Jyslin, you just made me the happiest man in the world,_ he told her with total honesty, holding her close.

_Songa screened the baby, love. He's yours. I was afraid Tim might have got me pregnant in the time you were being held on Draconis, so I had her check. It would have been a scandal if I'd had a baby by Tim before having your baby. It's grounds for divorce, and I can't ever give you a chance to get away from me_

That was true enough. Because of the casual attitude towards sex, the issue of the parentage of children did sometimes come up in Faey society. Babies were always considered the sole scope and responsibility of the mother, and the "father" was always the husband of the woman, even if the baby wasn't his_._ It was a serious insult to a husband and a major social scandal for the wife, though, for a woman to get pregnant by another man before getting pregnant by her husband; it was one of only three conditions by which the Faey granted a divorce. Fraud and adultery were the other two conditions, a marriage formed by deception, and the joining of minds with someone outside the union by one of the offenders. To Jason, it was a curious parallel between human and Faey mentalities, even if their customs were quite different. Though the Faey were remarkably casual about sex, the issue of parenting of children still mattered to them. Though a wife might have children by more than one man, her _first_ child was almost always sired by her husband.

_He?_

_Yeah, she told me it's a boy. A healthy bundle of unidentifiable cells about a month old,_ she sent with a grin. _She showed me a picture of it, it looks like a mutant football. But, in about eight months or so, he'll look much better._

_Well, Duchess, it looks like the family line is secured._

_I want more babies,_ she told him immediately. _At least five, but I'll take as many as I can get. I want as many children as you can put in me._

_I don't think we have to take on the job of repopulating the house of Karinne single-handedly, love._

_Who cares about Karinne? Every baby we have is another testament of our love, Jason. I want our house filled with love. I want to have your children, my love,_ she sent tenderly, sliding her hand along his face, over his gestalt. _I want to feel the lives we create grow inside me, again and again and again. I want to be a part of you forever._

_You already are,_ he answered, kissing her lingeringly.

                                        * * *

News of Jyslin's blessing didn't stay on Earth for long. Both Dahnai and Zaa sent presents congratulating the Duchess Karinne, Dahnai sending a lovely crystal statue and Zaa sending a binding board, a ritual wooden board with the likenesses of Jason and Jyslin engraved into it, a present a Kimdori sent to a friend who was pregnant. Dahnai absolutely insisted that Jyslin make a very rare appearance at court, and showered praise and complements on her in open court as Jyslin blushed furiously at all the attention from these people she did not know... and didn't entirely like. After court, though, Jyslin and Jason were invited to Dahnai's quarters, so Jyslin could meet her in a more intimate setting. She was a little nervous; she knew much of Dahnai from Jason's descriptions and stories, but still, being invited to the Empress' private apartment wasn't something most Faey could easily accept without a few butterflies. Dahnai laughed at Jyslin's nervous demeanor after they got to her room, leading them into her bedroom so she could change out of her court robes and into something more comfortable. Two maids attended the Empress to help with the task. Jason saw that she'd had a sofa brought into her room, facing the bed, and she had them sit on it while she changed. "So, now that I have you here, let me say congratulations again," Dahnai said. "We don't talk nearly enough, Duchess. Seeing as how I've kinda stolen your husband as my _amu dorai_, I really think we should get to know each other."

"_Amu_Jason!" Jyslin gasped.

"First I've heard of this," he said defensively, putting up his hand.

"Well, we have enough sex to at least acknowledge the relationship openly," Dahnai shrugged as one of her maids helped her remove her robe, leaving her with nothing but a pair of laced sandals, showing off her fantastically toned body. "The fact I fuck the Grand Duke Karinne just about every time he comes to court is common knowledge. He's the best lay in Dracora. You really trained him well."

Jason blushed.

"That's all natural talent, your Majesty," Jyslin told her, giving Jason a slight sidelong smile. "I didn't have anything to do with it."

"It's not just about the sex, though," Dahnai said as she took a robe from the other maid, one of her little thigh-length affairs, and slid it over her shoulders, then she walked over and sat down on the bed facing them. "I really like him. He's just about the only honest friend I have here. At least with him, I know I can expect an honest opinion and an outlook not clouded by what he can get out of me, and I know he'll treat me like _me_, not like the Empress. He's _real _to me, not just a false persona and a face he shows to me. It's hard for me to explain."

"I think I understand, your Majesty. He doesn't want anything from you, and he's not afraid of you, so he treats you like he'd treat me, for example. And you get to see him for who he is, not what he wants you to see."

"Yeah. With him, I'm a _woman_, not the _Empress_. He's not like anyone else I know. Does he talk about me much?"

"That's a nice thing to ask with me right here, Dahnai," Jason snorted.

"Some," Jyslin answered. "He does like you, your Majesty, and he looks forward to seeing you, even if he does bitch about having to attend court. He _hates _court. He considers you a friend, but his duties as the Grand Duke means he can't be entirely honest, so sometimes he's worried that you'll get angry with him. He's still got this idea I might be jealous of you two, but he should know better than that. He always comes home."

"That he does," Dahnai chuckled. "I never really planned to have sex with him, actually, because I read that humans have much different attitudes about it than we do, but then I heard about your _amu dozei_ friends and figured what the hell. Besides, I did something really awful to him, and I had to apologize," she admitted with a slight blush. "Giving him some Imperial pussy seemed like the proper apology at the time. I meant it to be a one night deal, but he's such a good lay I decided to make it more long-term. So. Now that I've established the groundwork, on to business."

"Business?"

"Yes, business," she said, sitting down. "My sources say you're having a son. Well, I'm taking on a contract for him."

"A _contract_?" Jason gasped.

"Yeah. I'm pregnant, Jayce," she told them, patting her stomach. "A month and a half gone, by Rivin, the male sire the house chose to sire my children. I found out when I realized I missed my period and had myself checked out. He's sent in here during my window of fertility every month and tries to get me pregnant, and he succeeded. It hasn't been announced yet, but I'll start thickening around the waist pretty soon. I'm going to have another girl, and I want her betrothed to your son."

"They're not even born!"

"So? This is quite normal for nobles, hon. I want a solid alliance between our houses, and a betrothal is that kind of alliance."

"I, I'm not sure about that."

"You don't have a choice," she told him evenly. "I'm the _Empress_. I can arrange betrothals and annul them by choice. I'm not _asking_ you for the betrothal. I'm _telling_ you. Your house benefits and my house gains a _critical_ alliance that might help stabilize the _Siann_. The others know we're friends and you support me, but there's always that chance you might get pissed off at me and back out. But a betrothal between our houses is rock solid, and they'll have no doubt where things stand."

"You're going too far, Dahnai," Jason said stiffly. "This is _our son_, not Imperial property!"

She grimaced. "Okay, I knew I'd fuck that up, no matter how I tried to break it to you. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to hit you over the head with my title, I promise. But I _need_ this, Jason. And your son isn't going to be kidnapped and never seen again. I'm not going to steal him away the instant Jyslin gives birth to him. It's a _political_ thing, honey. You _know_ the _Siann_ does this. Did you think we'd pass you over? The son of the Grand Duke Karinne is as much a political entity as _you_ are, and your marital status is a matter of political importance. And if you don't recall, I came _this_ close to marrying you myself to get the political alliance I need," she said, holding her thumb and forefinger slightly apart.

"I don't like it," Jason said hotly, but Jyslin put a hand on his leg.

"Calm down, love. At least hear her out."

"Thank you," she said with a nod to Jyslin. "You know our society, honey. Your son's marriage to my daughter will be paper, that's it. They'll both have their own lives, the only stipulations are really gonna be that he lives in her house and he can't have an official marriage to another woman. Hell, they may actually love each other and be happy; it has been known to happen. But, if he doesn't find love with my daughter, he can still have an _amu dorai_ and find true love, he'll just already have a wife, that's all. He won't be marrying until he's 25, when he's already an adult, and by then he'll understand things."

"Alright," Jason said, calming down a little. That explanation did calm things down a little in his mind, but he was still against the idea. He couldn't see marrying off his son before he was even born, without giving him a choice. But, he could see the adamance in Dahnai's eyes. He knew her well, and he could see that she was _not_ going to back down this time. This was something she thought was so important that she wasn't going to give in, let him talk her out of it. He looked to Jyslin, frowning. _She's not going to back down. I think we're stuck here, love. What do we do?_

_Jason, I'm not half as opposed to it as you are,_ she told him gently. _I see things a little differently. If our son can help slow down the coming war by betrothing him to Dahnai's daughter, then I say let's do it. You told me you had to help, had to stop what was coming. Our son can help. And we will have twenty-five years to make her change her mind,_ she reminded him. _She said she can _annul_ a betrothal too. So, let's give her what she wants for now, and see where it goes. We'll have plenty of time to do something about it if we don't like what we see._

_I'm so glad I married you._

_So am I,_ she sent with a wink.

"I'll agree to it _only_ on one condition," he said to Dahnai.

"What's that?"

"My son remains in the House of Karinne."

"What? I'm not sending my daughter to Karinne! That's a _scandal_!"

"You have to, because my son is the heir apparent," he told her evenly. "My son can't be the Grand Duke Karinne if he's in House Merrane."

Dahnai opened her mouth, then she laughed ruefully. "You're putting a _man_ as heir. I shoulda guessed, _you're_ a man, after all. I didn't even consider it," she admitted, tousling her hair. "I thought you'd put your first daughter at your right hand."

"Call me colloquial," he said dryly.

"Well. I guess I could see fit to having my second daughter as the High Princess Duchess Consort Shya Karinne. It'll give her an even longer, more impressive title. Second daughters always feel chea