They were waiting for the arrival of the Xahrr, when a nun approached JS. "My Lord," she began uncertainly but, rewarded by a open smile by JS, went on more smoothly. "Most of us were sent here against their will. We would like to come with you." "With those sandals we can also travel through space without sinning!" a young nun cried. Embarking Rasharr women was a good move, so JS asked: "How many?" The nuns looked at each other and one said: "All 56 of us." "Your shoes are having a hit!" mind-chuckled Eve aboard Fierce. "I'm coming aboard with a bucket of Zosma soil." JS told her. "Where did you get the idea?" Gila asked. "I read that on the Old Earth many tribal warriors never fought with their feet bare. Their footwear were made by their mothers or sisters who often lined or embroidered it with their hair. Because the woman is a metaphor for the earth, this way the warrior venturing into enemy country, had his 'land' as a magical protection against enemy soil. Magical thinking works in a similar way, just as the scientific one." JS told her. "Gila, you're in charge of the sandals' production." Returned to Zosma, JS mind-intercepted this conversation between Lady Behrr and Puhrr. "JS seems rather a smart guy to me, and from what I can guess from those damn wide trousers also well equipped. He'd be a good consort, don't you think, Puhrr?" Now ashamed by this custom Puhrr blushed: "He was!" and at Behrr's questioning glance, added: "Mom!" "A connoisseur, I say. I could pick him, too." Behrr proposed. "No way, Lady Behrr! Jay is the boss here, and a brother to me! Worse, he has a dangerously jealous wife!" "Bourgeois!" "Auntie Behrr is truly randy!" Eve mind-laughed heartily. "Really I don't understand why the Eartheners wear those bloody baggy pants!" Lady Behrr snorted shortly later. "There's no comparison with the elegant breeches our men wear tight-fitting like a second skin. At least a girl knows what to expect and mustn't make an educated guess about the tool!" "Oh, but the Eartheners have common pools!" Puhrr chuckled. The Xahrr finally arrived. The elegant armed yacht landed on the front of the convent and as soon as Lord Xahrr and his son Bihrr came ashore, JS's men surrounded them and captured the spacecraft. "Anyway it wasn't a trap." JS told Maurr. "They think you'll be the winner and want to take revenge on the Kuhrr clan." After a few pleasantries Xahrr blurted. "We are ready to offer our help and that of our vassal lineages, Prince Maurr. Our people cannot stomach the GHOULs and this war is putting our countrymen on their knees. Tell us when you'll attack!" "What do you ask in return for your help?" Maurr replied. "My sister Ehrr must become the Red Matriarch. Lady Puhrr is impure having lost contact with our native soil." "Lady Puhrr is free from sin, her shoes have always contained Rasharr soil," replied Maurr, and Puhrr dangled her shod feet shamelessly. Lady Behrr offered Xahrr a pair of sandals. He examined them carefully, and wryly admitted, "Lady Puhrr will be the Red Matriarch, but our alliance must be sealed by family ties. Prince Maurr, I offer you my daughter Rihrr's hand." "She's four years old!" Maurr exclaimed. "A man must sacrifice himself for his family and country!" Xahrr retorted. Feeling Maurr was willing to sacrifice, JS interjected. "I won't fight for an alliance cemented by the marriage of a four years old girl. My costumes will not let me." "Are you saying our customs are barbaric, Admiral Sea?" Bihrr roared. "No, but it's against my morals." JS retorted. Silence. For a while everyone followed the course of his thoughts. "Jay, Lady Behrr likes Lord Xahrr a lot!" Eve mind-cried. A naughty Lady Behrr was appreciating Xahrr's physical and patrimonial merits. "If a marriage has to be celebrated, I propose that Lady Behrr marries you, Lord Xahrr!" JS grinned. Lady Behrr beamed. "Deal, but I won't knee!" Lord Xahrr smiled.