All That Glitters

More travel, getting people to help with a concert.

Visiting friends. The girls prove they can work the necessary magic.

© bigtddybr May 2024. This story 'All That Glitters - Chapter Sixty-Five' or the series 'All That Glitters', cannot be transferred in whole or in part to any other site besides Literotica.com without the prior authorizations in writing from the author and bigtddybr must be credited for this work.

Due to the number of abbreviations, ship listings, and list of characters, in this story, I include a glossary that is now in a stand-alone chapter called

'All That Glitters: Notes v 14'

. Any and all information that you want or need to know about the series is included in Notes. It will be updated frequently simply by re-issuing the chapter to Literotica as a new version.

There is little attempt to explain the back story, so it is necessary to read previous chapters to fully understand where we are.

As before, I claim sole responsibility for the storyline. This story is a fantasy, with no basis in reality. Any similarity that you may perceive to current events, people, or situations real or imaginary is completely unintended. Look no further than the storyline for its intent and purpose.

A big shout out to my editors, who wish to remain anonymous, for all the help they provide. If you find any errors still left in this chapter, they are mine, as I have ignored sage advise to make a silly point.

Please rate and comment. But keep your comments respectful. If you rant and rave or are disrespectful in your commentary, it will be deleted.

'Nuff said...enjoy.

Karimi Restaurant, Capital City, Terra, The Sol System

Abazir Karimi watched as a group of women approached the gate of her restaurant smiling as they pressed their hands against the Mestham, a simple icon on the gatepost, that stated this was the house of a member of the Church of Andanii.

Hanalei, Junelliya, and the children, pressed their hand against the icon, then touched their hearts and foreheads, telling Abazir this was a devout family. Their staff touched the icon and their hearts, but not their foreheads. This indicated to Abazir that, while they were not members of the church, they were still respectful.

The children were wearing some kind of jumpsuit in identical colours, with something that resembled a Trident over their right breasts. The two women, who Abazir believed were the leaders of the group, wore traditional Anuuran long gowns, while the other women wore comfortable tops and pants. The two children, and one of the women, had small animals on their shoulders. To Abazir, they looked something like sugar gliders, except they were dark in colour and appeared to have haphazard, funny-looking feathers instead of fur.

As the group approached the door to the restaurant, Abazir stepped into the light and bowed to the two obvious leaders of the group. *Good morning to you believers in the Prophet Andanii,* she greeted them in High Andanii, making the sign of one woman of the faith to another. The ladies and the two children responded with the same sign, though the children's signs showed respect for an adult.

"Welcome to my establishment," she said in Standard for the benefit of the others in the group. "I am Abazir Karimi, owner of the Karimi Restaurant."

"OH!" Both children cried out.

"Abazir mean spices. Good name for owner," Zarreniya said with a smile, getting giggles from the group.

"And you are?" she asked the children, squatting down to get hugs from them.

Ikekiya smiled. "I be..."

"I am," Kriss interrupted.

"I am, Ikekiya Piscium," she said properly, giving the sign of respect from one younger in the Church to one older.

"I am, Zarreniya Piscium," her sister followed suit so as not to be corrected by Kriss, and also giving the proper sign of respect.

"I am Hanalei Anar, First Wife of the Piscium Family," Hanalei introduced herself. "This is my co-mate, Junelliya Herlan, my PA, Sylvie Kinlo, our protector, Violletiya, and our children's nanny, Kriss Klasson. The tall, sour-looking lady is Lieutenant of Marines, Ululla Mbibo.

"OH!!" Both children pointed fingers at their mommy.

"You owe drink, Mommy," Ikekiya informed her.

"She is right, Hanalei. According to military tradition, If you incorrectly name the rank of a recently promoted person in the first 24 hours, you owe them a drink," Sylvie explained.

"Oh, sugar," Hanalei answered. "I am sorry, Ululla."

"Not a problem, Hanalei, I was wondering where my next drink was coming from," Ululla quipped to laughter.

"This is Captain of Marines, Ululla Mbibo and our friend," Hanalei corrected herself.

"The animals are called Scherm's Cats and are native to Hollander's World. They are our friends, not our pets, and our Pod Mates. Their names are Juneya, Fayea, and Hanaya."

Abazir was surprised as the Cats each responded to their name, making a cheerful sound. They seemed to be very intelligent for their size but also very well-behaved.

"So long as you can control them, they will be permitted in the restaurant," Abazir stated firmly, looking directly at Hanalei, who smiled and a nodded.

"So, table for eight?" Abazir asked, smiling at the obvious comradery that the group displayed.

"No, we are meeting some media people for an informal interview," Hanalei advised. "Not sure how many they will be bringing."

"Ah, yes. They have not yet arrived, but it will be a table for twelve," Karimi told them, pointing towards a corner of the outdoor patio. "I'll seat you there. It is in the sun now but will soon be in the shade, though it will stay warm."

"That's all right," Junelliya replied. "It is much nicer here now than in the heat of summer when we are usually here."

Just then, Junelliya's expression became pensive. Noticing the baby bump, Karimi, smiled reassuringly. "Through the door, turn left. You will see the signs."

Junelliya gave her a grateful look and sped through the door.

"Mamma having babies," Ikekiya told their host.

"Babies?" Abazir asked.

"Baby brothers," Zarreniya clarified helpfully.

"Twins?" Abazir asked Hanalei, getting a nod from her.

"My sister went through that last year, just before we emigrated to Terra."

"I was wondering about that," Sylvie said. "I didn't think I saw your establishment last summer."

"No, we have been here less than six months now. We are just beginning to make a name for ourselves," Abazir turned to call into the restaurant. "Shazia, set up the table for twelve, please."

A young woman in her teens came out of the restaurant, pulling a trolley with supplies on it. "This is my eldest daughter Shazia. My two younger are in school at the moment, and their older brother stayed on Anuura with an uncle. He is in university."

"Does your daughter plan to attend university?" Hanalei asked.

"She does," Shazia immediately spoke for herself. "I plan to take Hospitality to help my family, but I am taking a year off as we establish ourselves."

"Good plan," Hanalei said with a smile as the young woman began to set up the table. She was proficient and they were seated just as Junelliya returned.

"We'll put you at this end so that you can get to the restrooms quickly," Abazir told her with a smile.

"Sorry," Junelliya replied.

"Don't be," Abazir smiled. "It's bad enough when they come one at a time. Twins are damn hard on the body."

A group of four boisterous people entered the gate, talking about looking forward to tasting the food.

"Hello. I'm Bridgette Maine. I booked a table for twelve."

"Welcome. I am Abazir Karimi, owner. Your party is already here," she advised, directing their gaze with a flourish of her hand as the Piscium group waved to the new people.

Introductions were made, and people sat down as Hanalei explained about the spiciness of Anuran cooking. "If you are not used to it, it can be strong."

"I'm used to strong spices; my grandmother is from Spain," Stephenie Barl, the last member of Sonya's team stated.

The Cats got upset, so Hanalei introduced them with a smile and a warning not to give them human food, no matter how much they begged. As an emphasis, Junelliya threw a treat into the air for Juneya, while Violletiya tossed one for Fayea, and Hanalei one for Hanaya. The crowd cheered as the Cats all caught their treats and returned to the shoulders they had previously been riding.

"So, I hope we can discuss things as we eat," Sonya started. "There is a lot to cover.

"This is Stephenie Barl, an Independent Media Reporter, who normally works in this district covering news and entertainment for my team.

"She will be the person who works with you if we decide to take you on."

The children just smiled at their parents and gave them winks. They already knew that they would be working with Sonya. The parents shared a knowing look with the children while keeping up the conversation with Sonya and her team.

"We want you to sign NDA, please," Ikekiya told Sonya.

"Excuse me?" she returned, giving a surprised look to the child. "You want me to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement on news worthy items?"

"We need control. NDA give us control. We not stop you document..."

"Documentary," Kriss added helpfully.

"Documentary, but want say in when we let things out..."

"We want control over when we release items," Kriss once again corrected gently.

"We want control over when we release items," Ikekiya repeated properly getting hidden grins from the adults.

"Why?" Sonya asked.

"We use that for advertise..." Zarreniya explained.

"Do you mean advertisement?" Stephenie asked.

"Uh-huh. Make slow buildup. Then have lots near concert time."

"And you want to control when you release the items for the best impact on the viewers?" Stephenie surmised.

Sonya interrupted. "I think we would be better at determining when to release items than you might be."

"You professional, we not. But we have heart, you lack. This be charity concert for people who need lot help," Zarreniya explained, her pronunciation flagging in her eagerness to get the point across.

"And you think you have a better idea of when to release certain items than we professionals?" Stephenie asked for her team.

"No, but we know our heart, and heart of people in need," Ikekiya took over from her sister. "This be big event. Lot of people hurt. Lot of people need help. We need to tell viewers this and explain why we do charity. We need people pity..."

"Do you mean, sympathy?" Stephenie asked.

"Uh-huh, sympathy. We need to make people know problem and make support for our friends," Ikekiya said, showing clips from their Comps of their Maha-Rrin friends and their condition.

"I can see why you are so passionate about this issue. It must be hard for you to see all of this whenever you are with your friends," Stephenie said after a moment, giving Sonya a pointed look.

Like many newcomers rising in the trade, Stephenie had a nose for news stories, so Sonya was prepared to let her take the lead for the moment. She was still unsure if she would take this on, but she was slowly turning in favour of it. Even if the children failed, the documentary that could be released would be excellent for the entertainment channels.

"So how is it you two are so good at music at your age?" Stephenie asked.

"Mamma is Doctor of Music," Zarreniya mentioned casually.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Bridgette told Stephenie, "It's Doctor Junelliya Herlan of Paris fame."

Stephenie shot upright at the mention of the name, just as Shazia let out an 'Eep' at the side of the table where she had pulled up a trolley with food. Junelliya saw her holding her hands in front of her mouth, her eyes wide at suddenly meeting a true celebrity. She could see both young women trembling, so she reached out and sent calm and peace to them with a quick touch of her hand.

"You bring autograph book, we sign," Zarreniya said as both girls gave the pair cheeky grins, getting amused looks from the other adults, other than Mark, who instantly pulled out his own book.

"Mark!" Sonya barked.

"What? It's an unofficial meeting. And besides, how often do we get a chance like this?" he asked his boss with a smile. The girls returned the smile and signed his book, then passed it on to their mamma. Sonya was surprised at how well they could write for their purported age.

Stephenie laughed outright at the audacity of the two children. "I didn't bring my book," she sheepishly admitted.

"No worry, we'll see each other many times before the event," Junelliya advised.

"So, you're going to do a charity concert this summer," Sonya said, bringing everyone back to the subject as Shazia started placing their orders in front of them.

*Bring your book down later,* Junelliya quietly told her in High Andanii with a conspiratorial wink as she was served. Shazia continued to serve but with a decided grin on her lips.

"Uh-huh. We need find many people. We have financing person. We have karaoke person. We have engineer to help us. But we need people to promote and make concert. We no have experience with this. We play concert before, but not make, not promote," Ikekiya replied, showing her the Event Calendar, which Sonya thought was an excellent item.

"That's a tall order, to find people with those kinds of specialties who are available," Sonya told them. "What about entertainers?"

"We have many friends," Zarreniya explained excitedly. "We have Seeka and Mainiss Arttra of the Byandi."

"We know Ciara Collins, and other people in human space," Ikekiya added helpfully.

"We know all the big singers and musicians in Greater Community," Zarreniya told them. "We ask...They come. They like us."

"My daughters are correct, Sonya," Hanalei supplied. "The Greater Community does like our family and will help us out if we ask. Besides, many of those same people are now keeping their summers free so that they can participate in the Denders music concerts, which have become a rather major stop on the concert circuit."

Just then, there was a commotion at a restaurant across the street from them. The children listened curiously, then acted..."Mommy, we have medical 'mergency with Asocan," Ikekiya told Hanalei.

Instantly, the children snapped at their Comps and their jumpsuits flashed to white with medical symbols on their right breasts. They were small enough to slip through the fence while the adults had to move to the gate. They moved to the scene of the emergency where an Asocan male was thrashing about on the ground while the agitated human proprietor of the restaurant was screaming in horror at the 'damage' the Asocans were causing.

Ikekiya pointed at two of the bigger Asocan females in the group of four standing around and growled, *You two, pull your friend into the street away from the tables before he hurts himself or others.* The Asocans instantly obeyed the crisp snap of authority in her voice, despite her diminutive size.

"Emergency services, what is the nature of your problem?" they all heard from Hanalei's Comp as an image of a bored human male showed up.

"We have young Asocan male in distress," Zarreniya informed them from beside her mother. "He is showing signs of anaphylactic shock, maybe from something he ate."

"His pulse is 60 and thready," Ikekiya put in. "That is fast for an Asocan. Asocan pulse is normally much slower and strong. He is gasping for breath. That not good sign, mean he have problem getting air."

*We need name and age,* Ikekiya said to the other Asocans.

*He is Temet Mutt Sin. He has 72 cycles,* one of the females returned.

*We were just eating when he suddenly got very sick,* the other female stated. They were in a group of five; three males, including the hapless Temet, and two females.

"OK, we have young male Asocan, 72 years. Name is Temet Mutt Sin. He was eating in a restaurant when this occurred," Zarreniya told emergency services.

"Mommy, this Asocan must live," Ikekiya whispered to Hanalei. Hanalei's first husband, who had been murdered on the orders of the late Wassim Andjuran, had been named Temet. Ikekiya's name 'Tema', (Ikekiya Fatima Tema Poda-Rai-Dosri), was the female version of his name.

Hanalei gave her daughter a nod of agreement. Temet would live if she and her family could help it.

"72 years is young?" the man on the Comp asked.

"Asocans live 250-300 years," Zarreniya explained, parroting precisely what she had been taught by others. "They reach sexual maturity around age 50 but will often not mate before age 75. So yes, he is young and unmated."

"You are quite knowledgeable girls," the man stated.

"We Harsgarrand, medical students and train under Medial Surgeon First Class <Gorlat Mutt Inett on Liramor Twenty-Three," Ikekiya replied.

"We have no one who is familiar with Asocan physiology," the man told the group.

"We call Doctor <Gorlat. She help you people. We Harsgarrand, we can study medicine, but we can not practice. Too young," Zarreniya explained.

"I can see that," the man replied with a grin.

"Don't let their apparent age fool you, sir," Hanalei entered the conversation. "My children are geniuses and remember everything they have been taught. They can help even if they cannot legally do anything."

"Thank you, ma'am. Our team should be there soon."

No sooner had he said that than Hanalei heard running footsteps and three people in medical whites arrived along with two police officers.

"What have we got?" the lead person asked.

"I am Harsgarrand, Ikekiya Piscium. We have young Asocan male, 72 years. He condition is not good. Pulse is fast and thready. He having problems breathing. We think he may have eaten something he allergic to. He is displaying anaphylactic shock conditions for an Asocan."

"Liramor Hospital, Nurse Barker, how may I help you?" Rose Anne Barker said from Zarreniya's Comp.

"Nurse Barker, this is Harsgarrand Zarreniya. We have medical 'mergency with Asocan male. Need Doctor <Gorlat to help, please."

"Right, I'll connect you immediately. What is the situation, Zarry?" Barker demanded.

Zarreniya gave her a synopsis as they waited for Dr. <Gorlat to connect. It didn't take long.

*Harsgarrand, what is happening?* she asked, once again getting a repeat of information. *You cannot assist, Harsgarrand, no matter how serious this is.*

*We know, Doctor <Golat. We have human medical team here, no experience with Asocans,* Zarreniya advised.

"What was that?" Marstan asked.

"Asocan language," Zarreniya said. "You not have in Comp?" That got a negative response from the medical team.

"Right, I am Doctor <Gorlat of the Asocan Imperial Embassy on Liramor Twenty-Three. Who am I speaking with?

"Doctor Ralph Marstan and two paramedics, Samantha Daes and Philip Kanat. We have no experience with Asocan physiology, Doctor," Markham advised.

"No problem. Our two Harsgarrand can help you, but they are legally banned from doing anything physical with the patient because of their ages," <Gorlat replied.

"No kidding," Marstan returned. "They are knowledgeable, though."

"You are fortunate; Doctor Marstan, you have the best available to you," <Gorlat informed her counterpart.

"Uh-oh," Zarreniya said.

"Problem?" Marstan asked.

"Yes, he suddenly go cold. You have PV3 class blanket in kit?" she asked.

"Yes," one of the paramedics answered immediately.

"K. You put under left side; we roll him into recovery position on blanket. You make sure you wearing PV3-level gear. When Asocans in medical distress suddenly get cold, they can vomit. Asocan stomach acid much stronger than human. It can eat bones, and hides of animals they eat. Very powerful. You no get on skin; it eat you skin," Zarreniya informed them.