Wings Of Tenar

By Jerry VanHook

Wings of Tenar is a story about an African American male that is abducted by an alien species that are birds of prey and humanoid mixed. ¬ e aliens the Tenarians take Jerry’s DNA to cure a deadly virus that was introduced on their planet by the Gaylaxians. He is given some of their DNA which metamorphosizes him into a bi-species being.

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Jul 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781643675732

Jerry VanHook

I am an ex-Marine and an avid reader. I wanted to incorporate minority people from earth into star travel. I also wanted to spotlight central region of my home state of North Carolina. In my personal reading I've found that minorities are not included in leading rolls in Sci Fi books or movies. I wish to change that and provide with varied perspectives of what is out there in our galaxy.

Book preview

WINGS OF TENAR

CHARACTERS:

Shivar……Earth male who is abducted by the Tenarians while on his way home from a softball game in a rural county in the state of North Carolina.

King T’Kar (Too-Kar)……Ruler of Tenar, leader of the Allied Worlds of the Cusbi star system in the Nutupa galaxy.

Queen L’Vitia (Lavisha)……T’Kar’s wife and second in command of Cusbi’s defense forces.

Princess N’Tava (Nee-Tava)……Daughter of T’Kar and L’Vitia. Commander in the Tenarian Starfleet and Chairwoman of the Cusbi Fleet Commanders.

Prince Q’lok (Que-Lok)……Son of T’Kar and L’Vitia and heir to the thrown. Commodore of all military training in the system.

Dr. W’Folt (Woo-Folt)……Head of tenar’s research and development in geneology and cranky as all get out.

King Voltak……Ruler of the Gaylaxian Empire and self claimed Emperor of the Mutupa star system by means of sheer terror.

Queen Domilya ( Do-mil-ya )……Wife of Voltak and known assassin and terrorist. She is their best flyer and sniper!

Prince Xanlax ( Xan-lacks )……Son of Voltak and Domilya, Commander of their Dreadnaught Fleet, heir to the Gaylaxian thrown and no.1 bad boy of that star system.

Princess Donga……Daughter of Voltak and Domilya, youngest of the Gaylaxian heirs and on her mother’s assassin’s team.

Oshmodo……An 8000 year old being from the Mutari Galaxy. He is the protector of the Archives of Knowledge from a long extinct race of beings that had highly advanced technology, ranging from biophysics to nano-genetics.

Tok ( Toke )……A three foot owl like being that is telepathic and is a bio-engineering genius. The creator of a symbiotic battle armor of extreme capabilities.

Jenaga……A symbiot, a sentient artificialy inteligent suit of armor that merges with its host.

Edith……A battle ship that looks like a giant eagle, about the size of two Shuttle crafts. Named after Shivar’s earth mother.

Yudmondi……The Yudmondi were a race of beings that had exited for over ten billion years. They had reached the pinnacle of their evelutionary climb. Fi the last five hundred years of their existance the Yudmondi digitaly stored their contiences in a computer the size of the state of Rhode Island.

Chapter 1

7-19-2020

Out side of Duke Medical Center in Durham NC the pedestrians wait on the traffic light to turn in their favor. Damn I hate coming up here! This traffic is always busy and the people drive like they are crazy! Jerry thinks to himself. As he watches the crosswalk sign go from don’t walk to caution to walk a beautiful brown skinned woman walks up to the light beside him. She has almond shaped eyes with shoulder length curly hair. Her skin is a deep chocolate with a golden hue to it. Jerry thinks to himself, Man that is a fine woman there! Jerry VanHook is in Durham to visit his father who had a quadruple bypass done on his heart a week ago. Pops is doing well with his recovery, he thinks to himself, as he presses the crosswalk button to get the light to change.

The moment that his finger touches the head of the button, it is scanned and a DNA sample is retrieved and sent to a waiting unit some were near the moon. Unknown to Jerry there is an alien devise inside this push button as there are 2 million more in various locations through out the planet earth. These devises gather DNA samples and beams them back through space to an alien lab space buoy. These devises have been sent to many different galaxies to find donors that match its creator’s specifications. Jerry does not know that the subsequent touching of the push button has set a series of actions into play that will forever alter not only his life but life itself on earth in the near future.

6-11-2021: Caswell County, NC.

JERRY VAN HOOK is driving his 78 Chevy pick up south bound on hwy 62 heading home to Burlington from a softball game that his team has won to move on the championship. He hit two doubles and singled twice to help bring in three runs. The Temptations are belting out their classic oldies hit Poppa was a Rolling Stone and Jerry’s croaking like a frog right along with them. He rounds a curve and into a beam of purple light coming from the sky above. His truck is snagged and is stopped instantly. Not only did the truck stop but every thing in and around it is instantly frozen. The few seconds it takes his mind to comprehend what he thinks is happening he is gone in a flash. The only thing left in the truck are his clothes which looks as if some one placed them there as a joke. Man the truck is still running and in gear but is not moving! This scene baffles the sheriff that was dispatched to the location of the disappearance.

At first Deputy Callaway thought someone was playing a prank until he noticed the truck was motionless but running and in gear. It would be another 3yrs. Earth time before he finds out the truth about the disappearance of one Jerry no middle name Van Hook of Burlington NC, an African American of about 35yrs. of ago.

Jerry awakens floating in a hyperbolic chamber with a large mask over his face that is pumping oxygen, nitrogen and an alien element know as zucoretane. As he scans his surrounding he is aware that he is naked floating in a thick translucent fluid filled tank. His arms and legs are incased in some kind of flexible metal segmented restraint up to his arm pits and crotch. There are probes attached to his penis completely covering it and he has a tubular probe inserted into his urethra and one inserted into his rectum. He can not speak because of the tube running from the mask down his throat forcing nutrients into him. But he can see and what he is looking at just can’t be real. He thinks, "I have lost my mind now.

One minute this light has me frozen motionless and then I wake up and see creatures that look like humans and birds have been mixed together!" Jerry thinks now terrified. He shakes his head from side to side trying to make the hallucination go away but this only serves to draw the attention of one of the bigger creatures. As it approaches, Jerry starts flailing his arms and legs and arching his back trying to shake the manacles off. But the harder he struggles the more the restraints tightened up around his limbs including his penis. After about a minute of this the restraints are squeezing so tightly that he has to stop and the manacles slack off.

When Jerry opens his eyes one of the creatures is pointing a device at him. To Jerry it sounds like it is talking in some weird language. As the creature adjusts the device Jerry beings to understand what it is saying. The creature can tell that Jerry can understand his words now by the expression on Jerry’s face. He calls 2 more creatures over to peer into the tank while he explains to them that he has implanted one of their inter-space Truilinium translation chips in the earthlings brain and that he should be able to understand their words, therefore he will be trainable as a slave to the Tenarians.

Two days earth time has passed and there is a search going on for Jerry back in Caswell County NC, but 2 months of Tenarian time has passed. During this time Jerry has come to know a few of his captors, The Tenarians. Dr. W’Folt is the head scientist in charge of finding a cure for a virus that was released among the inhabitants of Tenar through germ warfare by the Gaylaxian Empire. This virus blocks the females from producing eggs and causes importance in the males. Two Tenarian years ago, which amounts to 2 earth months. The Tenarian people are losing their war with the Gaylaxian Empire because they can not replace the fighters that are lost. King T’Kar orders Dr. W’Folt to fix this problem and get them back into the fight! King T’Kar is the leader of the Alience of free planets in the Cusbi star system in the Mutupa galaxy. Probes were sent out into their known galaxy, but one was thought to have malfunction and continued out past their charted star system.

The probe landed on earth broke down into one thousand parts and camouflaged itself as news paper boxes, crossing light switches and various other items. This is why Jerry has become a prisoner of the Tenarian people! As the days go by he is growing weaker. The Dr. is slowly removing portions of his DNA to make antiviral serum for the Tenarians. Dr. W’Folt knows that if he continues the alien will die. Then one day about 2 months after Jerry’s capture, King T’Kar and his daughter Princess N’tava come to the lab to see this creature who’s DNA has saved their people’s future. The king is shocked at just how much this alien is similar to his people and the inhabitants of his star system. The alien has two legs and arms just like they do. But it is hairless and featherless were the Tenarians have flight wings and primary feathers.

There is a thin layer of down covering their bodies and King T’Kar is fascinated that this creature’s skin is totally bare and ugly. For two whole months Jerry has been silent, he has not made eye contact or responded to anything he has heard. But he is determined that while the king and princess are there; he will plead his case. He makes as much noise as he can with the tube still in his mouth. The restraints lock down dangerously tight but Jerry fights the pain continues and attracts the King’s attention. King T’Kar has been briefed on Jerry’s status and wants to know why the alien hasn’t tried to communicate yet. Dr. W’Folt states that he thinks the creature is incapable of intelligent speech.

Off to the side the Princess has been studying Jerry and sees the reaction on his face when the doctor suggests that they extract a lethal amount of DNA from him. She notices the terror in his eyes and says to Dr. W’Folt, Maybe the reason the creature hasn’t spoken is because it has a tube stuck down its throat! The Dr. stammers and apologizes then hits a button that retracts the tube from Jerry’s throat. This causes Jerry to moan loudly and arch his back with spasms of pain! N’Tava glares at Dr. W’Folt. Unhook the creature from its shackles and remove him from the tank, she tells the Dr. Her father asks what she is up to and she replays, I wonder does it have any talents? As two large guards help Jerry out of the tank onto the lab floor he can not stand from atraphy but tries to cover his nakedness with his hands.

Dr. W’Folt insists that this is just a defensive move and not one of self consciousness. So N’Tava asks Jerry can he understand her. Before he answers he pulls his arms from the guards and they think he is attempting to attack her so they slam him to the ground. N’Tava orders them to release him and Jerry immediately bows one knee and slowly says, I, he clears his throat, I am called Jerry, and he sounds his name out phonetically, Jer-ry. He keeps his head bowed and says, "I am honored to be in the presence of the King and his lovely daughter! Please forgive me for my unworthy appearance. I was unable to make myself presentable before I was I your presence.

Your Majesty, the good Dr. has pronounced me incapable of communication. Well I assure you that I will try not to bore the King with my limited vocabulary. My King, if not for your daughter’s attentiveness, the Dr. may have convinced you that I was nothing more than a wild animal! Sire, my species is called human. My planet is called Earth or Terra. I am a male of my species. The Dr. thinks that I should be destroyed because it would be an embarrassment to him if your people were to find out that the DNA of an alien was needed to assure your peoples future. Therefore he could soley take credit for the solution. My King, I place myself at your feet and ask for mercy!" Jerry says.

King T’Kar approaches Jerry, and as he doses he draws his dagger. Dr. W’Folt is grinning because he thinks that the King is about to slay this abomination. N’Tava watches her father very closely and notices that his body language is not aggressive. Jerry also has noticed that the King is casually approaching him. King T’Kar stops in front of Jerry and taps each shoulder with his dagger then orders him to stand and face him. N’Tava has to hide her face so that Dr. W’Folt won’t see her laughing at him. King T’Kar proclaims, Human, you will no longer be know as, how do you say your name, Jerry and N’Tava both sound it out for him.

From this day forward J-e-r-r-y shall be know as Shivar, the giver of life. N’Tava steps up to Shivar and embraces him. Shivar whispers, If you took my DNA away what will you replace it with? N’Tava says, Humm… we’ll just have to give of ourselves what we have required of you! Father may Dr. W’Folt extract enough DNA from our people to replace Shivar’s? King T’Kar bellows in that deep baritone voice of his, Of course, I’ll be the first to volunteer! And so eight weeks after Shivar was abducted, he is to be made an honorary member of the royal family because of his great sacrifice.

It takes a whole week in the hyperbolic chamber to replace all of Shivar’s missing DNA. In that time their ship has reached Tenar and docked in the Royal space port. After he’s out and has regained his strength, N’Tava offers to show Shivar around the city were they live. Each day they walk through a part of the city and Shivar takes in all the beautiful but strangely different sights and sounds and smells. The trees are a strange bluish brown and their leaves are a variety of reds, oranges, violets, and pinks. Over the next three weeks Shivar becomes very sick and weak. He is racked with painful spasms and is feverish off and on. The King orders Dr. W’Folt to find out what is wrong with him. After exhausting his theories and running tests the Dr. is at a lost.

N’Tava has been by Shivar’s side the whole time. One day while holding his head in her lap and whipping sweat off his head and face she notices that Shivar can not lie flat on his back. She rolls him over and pulls up his tunic. There to her utter surprise is a pair of wings the size of hatchlings. She hits the com unit on her uniform and tells the computer to summon the king! When King T’Kar arrives at the lab he sees his daughter is over whelmed with joy. N’Tava calms herself down and reports in a dutiful manner. Sire I have wonderful news. This period of sickness was not that at all it was a stage of metamorphosis. Shivar’s body has been mutating and now, well takes a look for your self! she says.

The king takes a slight step back when he sees Shivar. The creature he saw just a week ago is no more. Where there was bare skin with scarcely any hair on it, Shivar is now covered in a light feathery down. And where there was an average sized man of 5'10, now Shivar’s muscles have doubled in size and he is growing a pair of huge wings. They may become as large as King T’Kar’s himself! Dr. WFolt tells the king, "Sire he has changed on the inside also. There are now 2 hearts and his vision is equal to and may even surpass our own keen eyes. My Lord, that’s not all, he has gained at least 11 inches in height and his finger and toe nails are like small claws.

My Lord, we must destroy him before he can become…! King T’Kar cuts him off, Before he can become what Dr.? Perhaps, Tenarian like us. Huum, what better way to thank him than to embrace him as one of us," T’Kar says. Dr. W’Folt is shocked and infuriated that the King will not allow him to get rid of this abomination. This mutated earthling is stealing all his glory for saving the people of Tenar!

Shivar is looking at an animal that is the size of a medium sized dog. It has course hairs all over it. From what N’Tava is saying about it makes it one huge ass spider that hunts anything the same size or smaller than it! That is a clooovac. You must always watch for them. Their venom is very deadly! N’Tava tells him. They are standing under one of the huge trees that are common to Tenar. But they are not like Earth trees by a long shot! Tenarian trees can pull their roota out of the ground and crawl to another location to find better nutrients. They make friends with the Tenarians and have been benifitial in protecting the palace.

N’Tava shows Shivar a river with lavender water running through it. When he dips his hand in to drink it tastes lightly sweet. And ten seconds later Shivar is geeked up from the natural stimulants the water picks up as it filters down the sandy hillside. Hooooly Coooow! Shivar moans shaking his head. It is the stimulants in the water. They super charge our bodies for about 30 minutes. We are faster, stronger, and have more stamina. Be careful, it makes one lose their inhabitions if you drink too much! N’Tava says smiling a big smile. Next she takes shim to the top of the waterfalls. It is a 550 foot drop to the deep pool at the bottom. Shivar groans and flexes his arms to stretch them and doubles over in excrutiating pain.

Shivar what is the matter? What is wrong with you? By the Gods! N’Tava gasps. She is watching Shivar’s wings as they grow an inch every 30 seconds. He has his arms wraped around his waist bent over in pain. N’Tava hits her intercom. MOTHER! We need you at the top of the falls NOW! sceams N’Tava. When Queen L’Vitia arrives she finds her daughter sitting with the mutant’s head in her lap crying. Shivar is lying on his stomach with his wings spread. The Queen gasps as she watches Shivar’s wings grow the last six inches. Help me get him up! We must get him to Dr. W’Folt’s lab! the Queen tells her daughter. No mother, he will just kill him and lie that Shivar died from his mutations. No, we must take him home and see to him ourselves! N’Tava says sternly to her mother.

N’Tava stays by Shivar’s side for the entire three days he has sweats and convulsions and his wings thicken up. She secretely measures them but tells no one that this Earthling’s wings are larger than her father’s. On the fourth day Shivar is able to sit up. By that night he is eating and has a hefty appitite. Well I see you like mother’s wild reed noddles. Be sure to eat lots of the meat. It will aide in you getting your strength back faster, N’Tava tells him. The next day Shivar surprises her when she enters his room. He is up and moving around but the shocker is that he is naked and she can see his silhoutte through the silk screen. She turns away and gasps.

Your parents didn’t teach you to knock when you enter someone’s room? Shivar asks sternly. I I’m sorry, but other than my parents and my brother’s rooms I have never had to knock. Forgive me for intruding! she says turning to leave. Why go? You’re here now. I have a proublem. I keep thinking about flying and my wings start to flap on their own, he tells her. Just then a small bird the size of a humming bird zips through the window past N’Tava and Shivar snaps his hand out and catches it. He is careful not to harm it as he carries it over to N’Tava and opens is hand. She just stares at him with her mouth open. That is a Glucgluc! It is near imposible to catch them in flight but you just plucked it out of the air with ease! N’Tava gasps.

We must tell father! she shouts grabbing his hand pulling him out of the room. She leads him down a long coridor to a giant room that turns out to be their family room. FATHER, MOTHER, Q’LOC! Shivar just plucked a glucgluc right out of the air! N’Tava shreaks. IMPOSIBLE! King T’Kar says. Maybe you didn’t see it correctly dear! Queen L’Vitia says. Yea right, ain’t nobody’s hands faster than mine! Q’Loc grumbles and throws the pear like fruit he is holding at Shivar's head. Shivar rakes his claw like nails through it catches it and throws it back. The trone, as it is called, seperates just as it reaches Q’Loc’s hand. N’Tava is standing there with a cheesey smile looking around at her family.

King T’Kar is happy that their adopted son is showing that he may be able to go to the accademy. Q’Loc is thinking that now he finally has a male in the family to pick on. And L’vitia is noticing how much attention her baby girl is paying this alien! Shivar walks out and to his room. As he is walking down the hallway he hears the King and Queen discussing his going to the Academe.

Chapter 2

Flying Ain’t Easy

5 a.m.

Wake up Shivar, N’Tava says as she shakes him violently. Okay, okay. I’m up. N’Tava is boiling over with excitement! Father has a assigned Q’Loc and I to teach you how to fly. Here, eat this and wash it down with this, she says as she shoves a bowl at him with something in it that look’s like piping hot noodles until Shivar takes a closer look. He quickly pushes the bowl back at her and replies with a turned up nose. There’s something moving in there. Girl what is that and why didn’t you cook it first? Oh quit playing Shivar it’s just cispki in mother’s wild noodles. What the hell is cispki? asks Shivar holding his hand back from the bowl as if one of them might jump out at him. Look, she says. If you want to become a Tenarian you are going to have to learn to eat the right foods to have the energy to fly. Oh, why can’t I eat something that is already dead? jokes Shivar. Okay, she sighs. They are like what your people call oysters except these don’t have shells and they pack more protein than your red meat at home. Look, eat them like this, and she scoops some into a large spoon like utensil and shoves them in her mouth. She is chewing and smiling and smacking her lips. Shivar can hear the little squeals coming from her mouth. First his mouth starts to foam and his face gets pale. After she swallows N’Tava asks him? what’s wrong with you. You look like you’re dying!

Shivar tries to stop her from coming up to him but she moves too fast. Euurrlluupp! N’Tava screens which causes the palace guards to storm into Shivar’s room. They see Shivar on the floor puking his guts out and N’Tava is jumping up and down screaming at the top of her lungs. The senior of the two guards approaches her and ask, My princess what is wrong. Are you injured? The younger one has taken a blocking position between N’Tava and Shivar. Shivar! she screams. How could you? The guards react by subduing Shivar. The junior one has charged his weapon and is aiming it at Shivar’s head when N’Tava screams, Stop stay your weapon, to the guard! Which he has to really force himself to do, seeing as Shivar has just puked all over his feet as well. The senior guard asks, What do you want us to do princess? She smiles a wicked grin and says as to the guards, You hold him up firmly. To the senior guard she says hold his nose shut and his head still. Shivar looks up at N’Tava with this frightful look on his face and says, Stay the hell away from me N’Tava I mean it. I’m not eating those things you hear me, he yells.

Now Shivar, you need this type of food, if you are going to fly like the rest of us lets get this over with. As N’Tava approaches him with the bowl Shivar begins to struggle against the guards. The guards are doing all that they can to just hold onto him. N’Tava has been noticing how strong Shivar has gotten, but she is not prepared when he yells out spreading his wings while struggling. Slowly he is lifting the two guards off the floor. The junior guard does not want to be embarrassed by this mutant in front of the princess. So he tries to bend Shivar’s arm around his back but gets hoisted off his feet for his efforts. Shivar lifts the senior guard up also and walks over to the door and out into the hall and unceremoniously deposits them onto the hall floor. He closes the oversized doors and locks them.

The guards bang loudly on the doors until King T’Kar walks up and ask what on Tenar is going on here? Both guards instantly snap to attention, and in unison say, The outworlder has locked himself in the room with the princess sire. We are attempting to break the doors. T’Kar says to them, You know those doors are solid enough to withstand blaster attacks. How did one Tenarian, and he put much emphasis on the word Tenarian, cast two of my palace guards out on their butts by himself? Sire, the senior guard starts to explain, he just yelled and lifted us both up at the same time walked over to the door and drop us on the floor as if we were weightless! Uum humm ok I see, says T’Kar. Senior report back to your commander and tell him I gave you the rest of the day off and to contact me if he has a problem with that. Yes sire. They both wait to be dismissed. Oh and gentlemen do not take this personal for Prince Shivar is becoming one of our mightiest among us so count it a honor that he did not decide to harm you. Which would have been simple for him. The matter is finished understood gentlemen? They both snapped to attention. Yes sire! Good, you may take your leave now. They turned precisely at the same time and step off at the same time with their left foot. As they marched down the hall T’Kar can hear their footsteps fading away. He smiles and takes a deep breath then knocks on Shivar’s door.

He waits for a few moments and then he yells, N’Tava, Shivar open his door now! There’s the sound of the lock being released and the sound of the door slowly creaking open. I must remember to get that fixed, he says to himself just before he enters Shivar’s room. The King’s eyebrows rise at what he sees as he enters the room. N’Tava is kicking and scratching at Shivar while he has a hold on her from behind and is hovering 10 feet in the air. When she sees her father N’Tava screams, Make him let me go father. T’Kar looks past her and ask Shivar, What is going on in here? N’Tava cuts in and shouts, I was only trying to get him to eat some cispki with mother’s wild reed noodles and he looked at them and puked all over me and one of the guard’s feet. T’Kar stops her by holding up his hand. He is shaking his head and staring in wonder at the man call Shivar. The guards told me that you picked both of them up over your head son that is amazing. Come down from there and let’s talk about you getting into our Cadet Academy! As Shivar lands and releases N’Tava she whirls around and punches him in the shoulder. He rubs his shoulder a little bit too much to be real. King T’Kar announces, Shivar we will discuss this at dinner, turns and walks out of the doors and closes them as he leaves.

Shivar looks at N’Tava and says. I am not eating those things unless they are killed and cooked! N’Tava answers and say’s, How the hell do you think you’re going to keep up with the rest of us if you don’t eat the right foods for your strength? Look N’Tava I’m sure there are other foods that I can eat in place of your mother’s noodles and cispki! Hell why don’t you teach me to hunt anyway don’t you think that would make me more like you. Shivar, she says, if you don’t eat the cispki; I will never speak to you again, and I won’t teach you how to fly either, she says pouting. What’s so important about eating live animals anyway. Tell me because this is beginning to piss me off. N’Tava turns her back to him and takes a long breath then blows it out. She turns to face him and her face is streaming with tears. She says, This could have been special. It was supposed to be special. Now you’ve ruined everything, I hate you Shivar you’re so stupid! With that said she leaps up into the air and flies off toward the hills.

Shivar stands there mouth agape wondering how he’s not eating something that was crawling around in a bowl could make her so made. Then he senses some one in the room. He sniffs the air and says, Come on out Q’Loc the show was over now. Q’Loc steps from behind one of the huge tapestries that hang down the walls. Man, she’s really piss at you. No one talked to you about the cispki dish? No, Shivar says, remember I’m not from here. Oh! That’s right. Well now you have an excuse for hurting N’Tava’s feelings on the Day that she commits herself to you. What the hell are you talking about Q’Loc? Commits to me how and for what? "Man, Shivar I hope all Earth males are not as stupid as you are.

Okay, the cispki is an animal that is chock-full of proteins and has what your people would call a hell of testosterone boost. It is only eaten for a mating flight to give strength to the male because he has to hold a female up during the whole mating flight. He also has to pull both of them out of the speed dives that will come during the climaxes. And by the way I hope Earth males can handle at least three such dives. Ha, I don’t know if you’ll make it through one dive and the climb back up because this little dance takes place in the clouds. What will your father say about us performing the mating dance says Shivar. Here on Tenar the female may choose what ever male she wants once she comes of age and N’Tava has been of the age for eight of your cycles now. Everyone on the planet has been waiting and watching trying to figure out who that male was going to be and she ups and chooses an off worlder; man, who would have guessed!"

See you at dinner Shivar I have some business to take care of see you later. Q’Loc springs into the air and is gone out of one of the massive windows. Now how do I fix this,thinks Shivar. How was I supposed to know what the damn cispki were for? Shivar’s feeling a bit confused and out of place as he wanders around his room trying to come up with some way to apologize to her. As he walks past a dressing table he sees what looks like photo images on the table. Looking closer at them he notices N’Tava is wearing a short shift like garment that really shows off her figure. Something he wonders why he hasn’t noticed before about her. Looking at those images he realizes how beautiful she really is. Man, you are one blind dumb ass he thinks. How could you not have noticed this beautiful woman right here in front of you man oh man. You idiot, Shivar shouts thinking no one is listening. But he forgot to ask Q’Loc how he had gotten into his room. He is so caught up in his thoughts, that he never notices Queen L’Vitia standing at the back of the room near the very same tapestry Q’Loc was behind.

She is smiling and as Shivar walks over to the doors to leave, she thinks to herself. It is time you learn to be a Tenarian young pup, and she backs back out through a hidden door behind a large tapestry she came in through. Dinner with a royal family turns out to be less stuffy than Shivar expects. There is no obvious service, and no monsterous table with formal settings. Queen L’Vitia has served a meal in the family room to make Shivar feel more comfortable. As they join hands T’Kar speaks over the meal and thanks their GOD for their blessings. Shivar notices that N’Tava is sitting between her parents and doesn’t look too happy. But L’Vitia, being an ever-present mediator, gets them all through dinner and dessert without anyone mentioning Shivar’s blunder that afternoon. T’Kar tells everyone that he has decided that Shivar will attend flight Academy. Q’Loc and N’Tava will be teaching him to fly before the next class of cadets enters the Academy.

Shivar thinks, This must be what it’s like to be a part of a royal family. Ha he says, no independent decision making amongst them. Q’Loc slaps Shivar’s back and laughs, little brother, he says. I’m going to have fun with you, so much fun. N’Tava angrily says, I just can’t wait, and excuses herself from the table. Shivar is looking at L’Vitia as if to a say what I do now? They talk some more, asking Shivar about his home planet of Earth and how it compares Tenar. Shivar tells them that most of what he has seen so far is similar to Earth but there are major differences in the plant life and extreme differences and animal life. He compares some of their prey animals to Earth’s fouls and groundhogs. Some remind him of rabbits with teeth or fish with legs. But L’Vitia notices he hasn’t taken his eye off the door that her daughter has left through and decides to break this boring conversation up by standing and taken Shivar’s hand and announcing that she will be showing him some of the beautiful sites you in the local villages. She announces that she doesn’t need anyone other than her personal guards to accompany them. As she leads him out of the family room Shivar notices a slight grin on King T’Kar’s face, and Q’Loc has bent at the waist trying to hide his laughter. Shivar thinks to himself. What’s next a scolding from the mother hell I didn’t know about a mating ritual, shit!" Queen L’Vitia takes three of her best guards that happen to be female. She leads them all to her personal hovercraft, and they take off towards the closest mountain range.

Shivar is riding in silence when L’Vitia tells the pilot to go to her private spot. When they get there, the view takes Shivar’s breath away. There is a waterfall that is at least 500 feet high that is falling into a cravess that seems to have no bottom because no matter how hard he listens Shivar can’t hear the water splashing at the bottom even with his hearing increasingly heightening. L’Vitia has the pilot leave them and hover at the top of the falls. She posts her guards in the forest on the three sides of the clearing and instructs them not to disturb her unless there’s danger approaching! This takes all of 5 minutes as she walks back into the clearing to Shivar where he is staring at her in near panic. Sit on the rocks near the falls, she orders him. Now I know you have been wondering what this is all about, so listen up. My baby in a moment of passion tried to officially inform you that she wants you as her make. But she forgot that you were not Tenarian. She did not know that you do not understand what was being asked of you. With that said you are going to learn how to eat cispki and you will swallow them and lick your damn lips as if it’s the first meal you have had in many days, the queen tells him. Shivar starts to protest but L’Vitia cuts him off and says, My baby has been saving herself for eight long cycles just for the right male.

Some of the ones that her father and brother and I just knew were the ones she never gave them a second glance then you come along. I started suspecting something when she interfered with Dr. W’Folt’s plan to kill you. She never goes to the labs but for some reason she did that day with her father. She came home that day all excited about this alien that she had helped save from our evil Dr. W’Folt. I started to watch my not so little girl, more closely. The day they came home and told me that you were mutating, she had a look in her eyes that I had never seen before. It was that look that we females get when we are lusting. Now mind you, this is not the same thing as when we are in season. That is a primal urge that we cannot control but it doesn’t start until after our first mating with a male. That is why we usually couple with our future life mate the first time. Right now my baby is confused and embarrassed because she thinks she has chosen someone that doesn’t want her.

"Now I’m only going to