Perspectives

Chapter 59

The moments that led to Kalen standing in front of Piper's front door on Earth weren't exactly his proudest. After all it had taken a perhaps indecent amount of begging in order to convince Celia to even consider allowing it. 

Of course being Celia, she understood Kalen's desire to see Piper again, and had even readily admitted to having been tempted to visit herself. However, as Celia had explained, it would send a bad message sending someone to Earth when they were supposed to be in the process of removing all undercover Amasisan operatives from the dimension.

Then there was the fact that Kalen wasn't trained. Amasisians sent to Earth had to undergo extensive preparation beforehand, learning the customs and social norms of the humans so they wouldn't stand out. No matter how much Kalen had insisted that all he had to do was find Piper, Celia's resolve wouldn't budge. 

It was then that Kalen shifted his efforts elsewhere. While Devon agreed with his wife's feelings on the matter, he proved far more open to the possibility, so long as certain measures were taken. 

After a couple weeks, with the help of Devon, Kalen finally convinced Celia to let him go to Earth, so long as he abided a strict set of rules. For one, he would have to go dressed in human clothes, something Kalen didn't have a problem with. If Piper could survive having to wear Amasisan attire, he could survive wearing Earth clothes. 

Second of all, Piper's exact home location would have to be determined so that Kalen didn't have to wander around Earth openly for long. Luckily there were two operatives who had already been there before, and who also were eager to prove themselves loyal to Celia after having had a hand in Piper's abduction from Earth. 

Lastly, Kalen would be teleported to Earth along with someone who actually knew how to operate the inter-dimensional teleporter. Jed Ambrose was of course the obvious choice. He would stay behind with the teleporter and guide Kalen to Piper's house over tele-communicator. This way Kalen wouldn't have to walk around with a map on a holographic screen in front of him, because that might be just a little bit suspicious to the humans. 

Finally, almost a month since she had left in the first place, Kalen had arrived on Earth for the first time in his life. He had been dressed in a tan pair of trousers that were apparently called 'chinos', along with some dark brown 'Chelsea boots'. On top he wore a crimson collared button up shirt, and had been instructed to keep the sleeves pulled up to his elbows for some inane reason. The only aspect of his appearance that Kalen had been allowed to keep was his hair. 

As Kalen stepped out of the teleporter, he saw Jed standing in front of him. Jed had been allowed to remain in his SSD uniform, as he wasn't going to be leaving this windowless room they'd teleported into. "Is this where Piper got sent to?" Kalen asked as he took in the clutter of machinery. 

"No, she got sent directly back to the coordinates she had originally been teleported from." Jed explained as he brought up a holographic screen. "Which shouldn't be too far from here..." He trailed off as he continued to tap away on the screen. 

Looking around, Kalen didn't feel any different physically than he had back on Amasis, and yet he knew he had actually lost a whole lot of height. He couldn't believe he was actually the same size as Piper. How surreal it would be to see her standing in front of him, without looming over her, or casting her into his shadow. 

"Alright I've got it." Jed announced. "I'll connect to your tele-communicator once you leave." A cheerful grin was spread across the man's face, as though he was happy for Kalen. 

Kalen returned the smile and gave a nod before stepping towards the metal door at the opposite end of the room. He reached for the handle and took a deep breath. His first real taste of Earth awaited him.