The Bonding (16 page)

“No! The council will ask you many
questions about yourself and your home. You will also need to be examined by
our medical staff and scientists, and listed as an alien resident. I’ve already
requested that you will live with me and that I will be your guardian. All
alien residents must have a Zintandian guardian. That simply means that I am
responsible for your actions. You’ll be able to move about freely, with no
restrictions.”

“I’m already getting nervous.” She fidgeted
with her fingers. “What do you think they’ll say about my planet?”

“Because your planet has not yet achieved
light speed travel, and our technology is so much more advanced, I doubt that I
will ever be able to take you home. It is possible, that someday, one of our
scientific teams would be allowed to take you back when they return to do more
studies. The scientists from your planet have already discovered that we and
others exist, by the abandoned structures we left on your moon.”

She looked at him, astonished. “Your
scientists built those?”

“Some were ours and some were from other
species, who were also interested in studying your planet. We’re all partners
in the universal planetary council and shared our findings with each other. We
had to leave your moon when your race began exploring it. We intentionally left
the structures so that you would know you were not alone in the universe.”

Janet stared across the room. “Oh my God!
It is so clear now. No wonder your writing looked so familiar. I saw it on the
moon.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe this is happening. Our scientists
still don’t know where those came from. It’s one of those great mysteries that
no one could solve, and now, I know. That’s amazing!”

“You said that someday, perhaps I could
go back with a scientific team.”

“I don’t know for certain. I’m
speculating that they would somehow contact your space council and quietly make
arrangements to return you to a remote area. Since you would only know about
us, but not how our technology works, they should have no problem with that.
After you told them of the wonderful things you’ve seen, it would only
reinforce your scientists to strive in their technological advancements.”

She was getting excited now at the
possibility of returning to Earth. “How often do your scientists visit my
planet?”

“I don’t know. I’m a business man, not a
scientist, but we’ll make it known to the council tomorrow that you would be
interested in returning with them.”

She noticed that he was trying to hold
back a saddened expression. “You don’t want me to go, do you?”

His face was somber and his large eyes
expressed it well. “In the very short time we’ve been together, I’ve grown
quite fond of you and would miss you very much if you were to leave.”

She got up and stood in front of him,
then leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I would miss you very much also, but
you must know how I feel about my friends and family.”

“I understand, and, if the roles were
reversed, I would want to go home also.”
 
He took Janet’s hand into his. “I don’t want to get your hopes high. You
must be prepared for the council to reject your request. I don’t know what
they’ll say.”

“Whatever they say, I’ll just have to
live with it. I don’t see that I have much of a choice.”

Tarku patted her hand with his. “This is
a nice place to live, and you’ll like my mother and father.” He looked at the
clock. “Speaking of which, we need to go.”

Janet stepped back from him. “Is this
okay to wear?” She turned like a model.

“You look beautiful, Janet.” He smiled,
as he got up and extended his hand. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Nine

Thus began Janet’s new life, on Zintandu.
They went to the elevator and Janet tried out her new authorization. She said,
“Roof,” and the doors closed and whizzed them to the top. “Hey, it works!”

Tarku smiled at her excitement. They
approached the IAV garage and Tarku began to say the code word, but stopped and
looked at Janet. “You need to know the word to access the IAV room. This one
does not need to be recorded into the computer. All you have to do is say
kylo.”

As he said it the door quickly opened.
“Kylo,” Janet repeated, and the door immediately closed. She said it again and
was thrilled as the door slid open. “This is great! So what does kylo mean? I
haven’t heard that word in the teaching program.”

“It is the name of a pet changuan that I
had as a child.”

“What is a changuan?”

“A small, furry animal about two feet
tall. Many people have them. When I see one, I’ll show you.”

“
Pets
are
a big thing on my planet
too. Mostly people have dogs and
cats.”

“If we ever do get to your planet, you’ll
have to show them to me.”

“When are you going to teach me how to
operate the IAV?” she asked.

“We can begin now. As I do things, I’ll
explain what I’m doing and why. It is very simple to operate.”

“I guess if I can fly a fighter jet and a
space shuttle, I should be able to fly this,” Janet said.

Tarku looked at her with respect. “You
were the pilot of your ship?”

“Yes, and the commander of the entire
crew.”

“The other two men?” he questioned.

“Not just them. There were ten others,
who were on the moon when the...
   
...I don’t know the correct word yet. The rocks
that fly through space.”

“Kaltvp,” he replied. “They travel very
slowly. Like my ship, when I am approaching a planet.”

She laughed. “For my technology, they’re
traveling very fast.”

He nodded, not thinking that ten thousand
miles per hour was fast to her. “And they hit your ship?”

Her face turned stern as she remembered.
“Yes! We were trying to get away from them, and thought we had. But one large
meteoroid hit us very hard.” She sat silently for a few seconds, blankly
staring as the events flashed through her mind. Then she looked at him. “And
you know the rest.”

Her very short story had just given him a
new perspective of her. He was sitting here with not only an intelligent being,
but also a ship commander. He was impressed.

“That will be a good story to tell my
parents. They will ask you many questions about where you’re from and what you
do there. We’ll all learn together. You may feel as though it is the council
questioning you, by the time they’re through.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting them.
Now, how about that driving lesson?”

He enjoyed her enthusiasm. It very much
reminded him of
himself
. “Okay, the first thing you
must do...”

He explained step-by-step everything he
did from takeoff to landing, and she absorbed it like a sponge. Within ten
minutes, they arrived at his parent’s home. They also lived on the entire top
floor of a building larger than Tarku’s. On this planet, very few people lived
in individual houses; most lived in apartments. Only those in very remote areas
of the planet had houses.

They arrived on the roof and entered the
elevator. Tarku said, “Zivok,” and the elevator opened at an apartment as
equally luxurious as his own. Tarku had not announced their arrival, yet his
mother and father were standing there to greet them as the doors opened -
another question Janet needed to add to her
ever growing
list of ‘how does that work.’

Tarku and his father did the type of
handshake where his father extended his hand palm down and Tarku placed his on
top, palm up, then leaned in and touched cheek-to-cheek. He did the same with
his mother, only she reached out and stroked the back of his head, as Jema had
done. Janet realized the difference between the intimate handshakes and the
ones between two people who are simply friends. Up to this point, she had stood
quietly, waiting for Tarku to introduce her.

“Mother, father, this is Janet Shelby.”

Janet wasn’t sure whom to greet first,
and was relieved when Kuwal stepped forward. They touched hands as she had done
with Kinal.

“It is a pleasure to meet you in person,
Janet. I am Kuwal.” He slightly bowed as he said his name.

“The pleasure is mine,” she replied.

Then, he extended his hand towards his
wife. “And this beautiful lady is my wife, Vela.”

She extended her hand and Janet touched
it as she had done with Jema. “I am honored to meet you, Vela.”

Janet caught herself staring at Vela. She
was as beautiful as Jema, and Janet understood where Jema got her looks. Vela
and Jema looked like twins, as did Tarku and his father.

“You are as beautiful as my daughter
said, and I am pleased to meet you, Janet. I’ve observed that you know the
proper handshakes and speak our language very well.”

“The language is because of Tarku. The
handshakes I learned from watching others.”

“Please, come in,” Vela said, and took
Janet by the hand and led her into their beautiful home. They went into the
living room and sat down. Janet looked around at the luxurious furnishings. As
in Tarku’s home, there were things from many other planets.

“Your home is beautiful,” Janet said.

“Thank you, Janet,” Vela replied. “Would
you like something to drink before dinner?”

Janet
looked at Tarku. She didn’t know what kind of drinks there were on this world.
She had only tasted the water and one soft drink that they bought at the mall.

Tarku immediately picked up on her
confused expression. “Janet is not yet familiar with the various drinks.” He
looked at her. “We have drinks that do not contain alcohol and ones that do. I
am having one that does. How about if I make one and let you
taste
it.”

“That sounds good,” she replied, thankful
that he had read her mind.

Tarku and Kuwal went to the bar, as Vela
and Janet sat on the couch and chatted.

“I see that you’re already in Zintandu
fashion,” Vela remarked.

Janet looked down at her clothing. “Yes!
Tarku took me shopping today. I love to go shopping.”

“Then we should go together sometime,”
Vela replied. “I’m sure you would have much more fun with me.”

“We had a lot of fun!” Tarku noted. “I
like to shop.”

Vela looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Since when? I can remember many times when you asked me to get something for
you, because you told me that you hated to shop.”

“It’s not that I hate it,” he conceded,
“I’m usually too busy.”

Janet was amused at this typical
mother-son conversation. She looked at Vela. “You know, the males of my world
are exactly the same.”

Tarku looked over at her, surprised. “But
Tarku has been an absolute gentleman, and has helped me immensely since we met.
Did he tell you that he saved my life?”

“Yes!” Kuwal remarked. “But he didn’t
know how you got stranded in space. How did your ship get damaged? Were you
attacked by pirates?”

Janet was completely unprepared for that
question. “Pirates?”

“Oh Yes! There are many of them, all over
the universe,” Kuwal replied. “They wreak havoc on our interplanetary trading
business. We’ve had to install special weaponry and train our crews in tactical
procedures to defend our ships.”

“Space pirates? That’s amazing! I would never
have guessed such a thing,” Janet said, “but to answer your question, no!
That’s not what happened to me. My ship was hit with a meteoroid, destroying
the ship, killing my crew and leaving me drifting in space.”

“A meteoroid destroyed your ship?” Kuwal
asked, bewildered.

“Yes! A rather large one I believe.”

“That is amazing! It would be nearly
impossible for one to even touch one of our ships,” Kuwal added. “The ship
would have to be stopped in space, with both the Phemix Shield and the DS shut
down.”

“The Phemix Shield and DS?” Janet asked.

Tarku interjected, “Our ships have two
types of electronic shields. The defensive shield is used to protect the ship
against weapon attacks and space debris, such as meteoroids. It is simply
referred to as the DS, and surrounds the immediate structure of the ship. Even
when the ship is docked the shield is normally active. Any space debris would
simply bounce off. Depending on the size and speed, it may give the ship a
jolt, but it would not actually touch the ship in any way. The DS is within the
Phemix Shield.

“The Phemix Shield is a large, invisible
bubble that protects the ship at light speed. It puts the ship into another
dimension, like a ghost. Without it, the ship would not pass through objects,
but hit them and get destroyed. We don’t dare travel at light speed without it.
It is what you experienced with the planet,” he smugly chuckled.

“That wasn’t funny,” Janet growled.

Kuwal and Vela looked at Tarku curiously.
“She didn’t know that we would pass through the planet,” Tarku explained.