Deadly Planet
By valerafon
A group of space explorers find a dangerous and unusual planet.


This is a work of fiction and should not be read by anyone under the age of
eighteen. Please do not read further if you are offended by violence and or
sexual content.

Overview:

By the middle of the twenty second century, man had placed thriving colonies
on both the Moon and Mars. In fact, man was already starting to transform the
face of Mars to his will. Estimates now placed the day sometime in the twenty
sixth century when men from earth would take their first breaths from a
revitalized Martian atmosphere.

This one project was a great undertaking, strapping man's resources to the
limit, but the technology gained from such an undertaking had already
transformed the earth as well.

One world government had replaced the chaos that was the United Nations. As a
consequence, national boundaries had started to blur over time. Money ... ...
and the attaining of the commodities of wealth, which had wasted so much of
man's time and resources in the past had disappeared quickly when the Unicard
was introduced, and then refined with the Epidermal Chip.

Every kind of commerce, every transaction, every procedure, and every bit of
information that anyone anywhere would need could be scanned onto or off each
individuals epidermal chip. It in effect eliminated the need for money and it
eliminated crime as well. It had in one brief moment in time transformed the
world which now was a far more kinder gentler place to live.

In effect, it had freed man to try and pursue much loftier goals such as
terraforming Mars and sending far ranging expeditions to the outer planets.

Mining operations of the asteroid belt had brought back to earth an abundance
of many of the depleted ores that were a vital necessity to the survival of an
ever growing ever expanding technological civilization that earth and her
infant colonies had become.

As a direct consequence to this new found abundance, man's reach had spread as
far as Jupiter. Both Europa and Io had small thriving colonies on their rocky
and forbidding surfaces, but it was Europa that had grabbed much of this
centuries headlines, and so stirred man's soul. There, twenty five years
before, life was first detected outside of earth for the first time. No one at
the time could have guessed how profound an impact that simple discovery would
have on the psyche of every human being.

In its huge ice bound ocean, first microbes, and then larger more complicated
forms of life were discovered. It would take man centuries to discover and
catalogue all of Europa's secrets, but that single discovery changed man's
view of himself in the cosmic order of things. He now looked with restless
eyes at the rest of the universe. He was no longer content to just find life,
but now he longed to find intelligent life among the stars. To find an equal
with which he could converse and share the secrets of the universe with, and
with whom he could contemplate the existence of God.

The great space based telescopes, which dissected the earth's orbit, had
brought close up pictures of many planets orbiting other stars. Over the last
century man had dutifully cataloged them, but man long ago had deemed space
travel, to even the nearest stars, at least several hundred years away.

One planet had especially caught the imagination of the scientists. A very
earth-like planet which orbited the nearby star Epsilon Eridani. Its
atmospheric content suggested that life was indeed possible on its surface,
and its photos were intriguing as well. Almost a century of observation had
made it the primary target for future explorers. In fact, many scientists
estimated the chance of finding life on its surface an almost certainty, but
would it harbor intelligent life? No coherent radio signals had ever been
received from it.

Then, the cryogenic and propulsion breakthroughs had been made this decade,
and man once more yearned to go to the stars. A new project entitled "Eridani
Now!" had been born, and the stars seemed closer than ever before.

Chapter One: Seeker

Sometimes, life can really surprise you. My whole life, I've considered my
stature a hindrance, not an advantage. When my application had been accepted
along with the other thousand or so of earth's finest, I really didn't think I
had a chance to be one of the ten luckiest people on the entire planet.

Most of the others were just as intelligent as I, but they did have one
supreme advantage over me. They also looked like Greek gods.

Their magnificent physiques allowed them to do physical tasks average man
could only dream about, and it afforded them an attitude, almost an arrogance
that nothing was beyond them.

I hated those attitudes, but I could see that it gave these people an even
greater advantage in life. I had learned early that attitude often determines
your altitude, and these Greek gods had tons of attitude to match their
unbelievable skills. Put another way, I believe your attitude helps determine,
to a great extent, the things you can achieve in life.

That's why it was so surprising when they were the first one's eliminated. In
fact, for fifths of the candidates didn't make the first cut.

It seemed so ironic to me, when it was explained, that people of less than
average stature and weight could be the only ones considered for the mission.
It turns out that the energy requirements of the mission dictated the height
and weight requirements of the crew.

The energy needed to propel even an ounce of weight the speed and distance
required was mind boggling, and since we really didn't know what we would find
when we reached our destination, we had to take along equipment that might not
be needed such as extra oxygen and food. And of course, there was the added
burden of the cryo-equipment.

I remember sitting at the dais in almost stunned silence when I Ethan Fury and
the other six men and two women were introduced to the world as Seekers crew.
It was already the greatest achievement of my life and the mission hadn't even
started yet, and I had the added burden of mission commander as well.

I wondered what Columbus felt like as he left Spain? Did he worry as he headed
into the endless abyss or did his confidence in himself and his crew override
his fears? I didn't know that answer, I just hoped I could lead as well as he
did.

I hardly heard the chairman speaking as so many concerns and potential
problems danced through my head. One thing I was sure of though as I looked
over the other members of my crew. We may have been heading into the unknown
with unimaginable dangers and hardships before us, but I was supremely
confident that these men and women could handle any eventuality. It was with
some pride that I thought, we may be small in stature, but our individual
skills and excellent training would get us through any problem ... ... ...
.and I do mean any problem.

My own introduction ended my daydream and brought me quickly back to reality.
As I stood and accepted the applause of the reporters and the gathered
multitude, I was still numb, but very proud indeed. Afterwards, I focused more
intently on the rest of the Chairman's speech.

After the introductions, he gave an overview of the planet which was our
destination. I remember thinking how appropriately named the plant was that
would rivet the imagination and concerns of every person in the solar system
for the next fifty years or so.

I was also happy that this new planet had not been given the humdrum name of
New Earth or some similar meaningless moniker. Instead, the men of the last
century had been far sighted enough to bestow on it the name of Sagan, and I
was sure that Carl was looking down with pride on the first men and women who
would travel to his namesake.

The geophysicists studying the surface pictures of Sagan from sixty trillion
miles away couldn't come to a complete consensus on what we would find when we
got there, but many believed it was a younger planet than earth and that we
would find a more primitive environment on its surface ... ... . Almost like a
prehistoric earth.

The journey would take twenty six years and we would spend most of it in
cryo-sleep. During much of that journey, we would be traveling at nearly half
the speed of light. At that velocity, we still would not feel much of the
effects and benefits of time dilation. Aging was one of the great hurdles that
could not be overcome till this decade. It meant that we would still age at
nearly the same rate as people back on earth, and that made the trip,
unrealistic until now.

It was only with the breakthroughs in cryogenics that made the journey
feasible. Cell deterioration was the major hurdle and the last to be
conquered. Cryo-sleep slowed down the crew's metabolism enough so we wouldn't
age appreciably during the journey. In actuality, we will age only one year on
each end of the journey. All of us agreed that giving up two years of one's
life was a small price to pay for the adventure of a lifetime. Still, we would
be coming home fifty three years into an uncertain future, and some of the
crew were married and they were paying an even greater price.

After the chairman's speech, he introduced me again and I got up and headed
for the podium. I hated speaking, but it was expected, and I would be talking
about something I was intimately familiar with.

I was to give an overview of the logistics of this monumental undertaking and
also to talk about mission goals and objectives. As I got to the podium and
looked out at the sea of faces, I paused a moment before I began my speech. I
was numb from stage freight. Speaking wasn't my area of expertise. I can do
this I told myself for in just three short months I would be embarking on the
greatest adventure the human race had ever undertaken. Slowly, I took a deep
breath and began to speak ... ... ... ...

As my eyes opened and I slowly crawled back to consciousness, I felt a brief
moment of disorientation. Where was I? The feeling only lasted a moment or
two. It all came flooding back to me as my eyes fixed on the oval glass
housing of the cryo-chamber. My next thoughts brought a momentary sensation of
panic. Was something wrong? Or had we arrived as scheduled? My body gave me no
clues as to how long I had been sleeping.

As captain, I was the first to be awakened. I had a job to do and
responsibilities. As my feet hit the floor, I was already looking at the other
cryo-chambers. I looked over the controls of each and did not move until I was
sure each chamber was safe and secure. It would be a few more minutes before I
started waking up the crew, but as commander, I had one more very important
task to perform.

As I looked out the view port, a bright yellow star was centered in the
window. It only took a few more seconds at the computer to confirm that it was
indeed Epsilon Eradani. We had threaded the needle perfectly and reached our
destination. Then the realization hit me that I had been sleeping for nearly
twenty six years. I felt a little like Rip Van Winkle, but he hadn't opened
his eyes and looked upon another sun with awe and wonder as I was now doing.

Slowly, my thoughts and complete concentration focused on the bright yellow
star before me. Here I was, the first human to see another star up close. I
can't tell you how proud I was at this moment, but this feeling of euphoria
only lasted another few seconds. I had a job to do.

Quickly, I focused the main telescope thirty degrees to the right of the star,
to where I knew the planet should be, and there it was a small insignificant
pinprick of light next to its parent star.

Without further hesitation, I set the optics and the computer started to zoom
in on Sagan. We were still a week from planetfall and still almost thirty
million miles out, so I wasn't sure what the images would show.

To my amazement and disappointment, I could detect no vast bodies of water
which might signify life. This planet was not a blue planet like earth, but
did that mean there was no life? As I continued the zoom, the character of the
planet became apparent. It was not a blue planet, but it sure was a beautiful
shade of green.

The readings from the spectrophotometer were indicating a great abundance of
water and other hydrocarbon compounds both in the atmosphere and on the
planet. That led me to one and only one inescapable conclusion. The planet got
its green color from the vast amounts of vegetation on its surface. I couldn't
help ponder the implications. There was life, but what kind of life would it
be? ... ..

"Sir, we've detected a ship."

The young girl turned in amazement taking her eyes off the spirited game for a
moment.

"A ship!" was her only comment.

"We estimate it will take a week to get here."

That didn't make sense to Kyla, and she frowned as she considered the
implications. The other girls became aware that the OD had left the
communications center and was talking with Kyla. They stopped playing kick
ball and watched with some curiosity. Some of the girls, started talking
amongst themselves in hushed tones.

Kyla quickly gathered herself and in a loud voice yelled to the players, "IT"S
NOTHING! ... ... ... CONTINUE!"

The girls started to play again, but not as enthusiastically.

Kyla looked back towards the Officer of the Day and motioned for her to follow
her back to the tent.

When they got there, the center was a hubbub of activity.

Kyla taking control, as a leader should, asked the computer a series of
questions.

"Computer, can you identify the craft?

The computer in a very adult and very female voice answered back, "Working ...
... ... ... ... "

It was a few seconds more before the computer replied, "The craft is of
unknown origin."

Breela, the youngest girl in the room audibly gasped.

Kyla ignored the young girls outburst. She was very young after all, and she
asked the computer another question.

"Computer, why will it take the craft a week to get here?"

This time the computer answered back immediately, "Primitive chemical
propulsion! ... ... ..No armaments detected! ... ... ... .maximum speed
.000005!"

Kyla gave a big sigh of relief. This at least gave them some time to plan a
course of action. She paused a moment, deep in thought, before she asked
another question.

"Computer, is the ship a mechanical probe or does it contain life?"

"Working ... ... ... ."

This time it was a much longer pause as the computer brought all of the
compounds advanced instruments to bare on the incoming space craft.

"Ship has life forms ... ..all but one is in stasis."

Even as Kyla digested that information, she was asking another question.

"Can you determine what type of life?"

"Working ... ... .."

It was the longest pause yet before the computer answered Kyla's question.

"Ninety five percent probability ship contains Omega Lifeforms."

This time every girl in the room except Kyla audibly gasped.

Kyla was about to ask another question when the OD asked, "Shouldn't we call
homeworld?"

Kyla thought only a moment before she replied, "This is our time, no one
else's. We are here to prove ourselves on this dangerous planet. I will not
bother homeworld till I know more."

The OD listened skeptically. She looked unsatisfied with Kyla's answer and she
made a pointed remark.

"But they are Omega lifeforms! ... ... ..They are just like us! Beings like us
have never been detected before."

Kyla explained further. Even as she did so, she knew she had made a mistake. A
leader of women should not have to explain herself. Their orders should be
obeyed, explanation shows weakness.

"Think of the opportunity we have here. If we do this right, we'll all find
important assignments when we go home."

The OD digested Kyla's answer for a moment than hit her with a real
blockbuster, something Kyla hadn't thought of.

"Its Omega life! ... ... ... ..What if there's men aboard that ship?"

All the other girls gasped at that thought, even Kyla. It was the loudest gasp
yet. This time Kyla didn't have a ready answer ... ... ..

Chapter two: Planetfall

Orbital insertion had proceeded smoothly and now we were about to head down to
the planet. Amy our Com officer and Matt in charge of systems would stay
aboard and monitor our landing. They would be our lifeline back to Seeker in
case we needed one.

We were all surprised when the planet registered a breathable atmosphere. That
made things much simpler. It also made much of the gear we had to lug from
earth extraneous, but it couldn't be helped. We just didn't know what we'd
find when we got here.

If all went well, we would be on the planet for thirty days or at least that
was the plan. We were all supremely trained for any contingency and we had to
be. If we encountered trouble, we had to handle it. There would be some help
in orbit, but the real help was ten light years away, and that would be no
real help at all.

We still weren't exactly sure what we would find when our shuttle landed. All
we knew for sure was that most of the planet was covered by a thick jungle,
and the planet appeared just as primitive from one hundred miles as it had
appeared from sixty trillion. Was there animal life? No one was sure, but I
couldn't imagine a planet evolving just plant life. I had to admit, though, my
knowledge on the subject was very limited.

Our scans had shown no large cities or other works that could be interpreted
as made by intelligent life. We all agreed that finding advanced lifeforms was
highly unlikely, but there still was a chance that we would find some sort of
primitive intelligent life on its surface. Maybe, something akin to our
Neanderthals.

Pictures revealed only a few open Savannah like areas on the whole planet,
these were the only suitable touchdown points. Our landing site would be on
the border of the largest one. Everyone was quiet as we let Yuri do his job
and land us safely on the surface. I looked around with pride, everyone was
deeply engrossed in their own thoughts as the moment we all had been waiting
for finally approached. I saw no fear on anyone's face, just quiet
expectation. I have to admit it made me quite proud and very determined.
Somehow, some way, I had to get everyone home. I knew it wouldn't be easy.

Kyla had called a war council the first night after the sighting. It took some
coaxing to keep everyone calm, but by the end of the meeting everyone seemed
to be in consensus, at least for now. What quieted the girls was the fact that
the visitors, as they were called, appeared to be very primitive.

All that was required to keep the compound invisible from the aliens was a
type one force field. They would not be able to detect the girls, but the
girls surely would be watching the visitors very closely, and they could
decide at a later date whether or not to reveal themselves.

It was a harder task for Kyla to get everyone on the same page about not
contacting homeworld. What won most of the skeptics over was the argument that
they all soon would be full fledged members in their society, at least the
ones that would survive. What better way to show their ascension to adulthood
then to make first contact, without a lot of older women around to hog all the
glory. Besides, they could always contact homeworld if need be.

What had everyone nervous was the idea of men. Everyone had heard the stories
and folklore about their race and the fact that men had once dominated their
species in the remote past. Kyla was never a believer in some of the stories,
they just sounded too incredible, and the fact that the women of her society,
were so capable, cast even more doubt on the legends.

According to legend, in the distant past the females of her species were small
and delicate creatures and the males were large brutish bullies, on average
much larger than the females whom they completely dominated. The males totally
subjugated the females, and as a symbol of their superiority, wore elaborately
decorated "pouches" which housed their enormous genitalia. The pouches were
physical reminders to the females to never doubt their roll in this ancient
and uncivilized society.

Kyla had actually seen an unauthorized picture of the male penis. It was
horrible, abhorrent, appalling, beastly, and somewhat awe-inspiring all at the
same time. It looked more like a hideous weapon than a pleasurable organ
designed by nature to give bliss and sustain the species.

Men may have been brutes, but they were not on top for long. Sometime, in the
distant past, a few brave females rebelled and developed a genetic plaque that
completely eradicated the male of the species, but a few of the brutes had
escaped in primate craft and left their solar system, never to return. What
happened to them was a matter of speculation and folklore. Kyla actually
doubted some of the stories because her keen mind knew that it was difficult
to separate folklore from actual history, and it had happened so long ago.
What she did know was that a single gender species was not the norm in the
galaxy. Although, examples could be found. That fact alone kept the stories
about men alive and well in her very advanced society.

Another ghastly fact which aided in keeping the stories alive were the
chilling prophecies that someday there would be a re-encounter with the
dreaded "males."

These chilling prophesies actually aided in transforming Kyla's society. Her
cultures new value system focused on developing high intelligence, survival
skills, physical strength, size, and endurance. It had been estimated, by some
biologists of her species, that women were now fifty percent larger and four
times stronger then in the before-time, and if the men ever reappeared they
would be ready for them.

To show the societies new found fortitude, a test was devised by the elders
called the Rite of Passage. Each young girl, as she reached puberty, had to
undergo the ordeal. Each girl trained for years to successfully undergo the
rite, and most girls looked forward to the challenge.

The law required every girl to live for six months on the most forbidding and
dangerous planet in the entire universe. There, each girl's character,
strength, stamina, and strong heart were put to the ultimate test.

The planet chosen was known as Deathworld, and Kyla and the rest of the girls
were there now. The most difficult part of the law required each girl to fend
for herself for ten days outside of the compound with no food and only a
ritual knife for protection. Not all the girls made it back alive.

Over the next few days, Kyla and rest of the girls watched the approaching
ship with some apprehension, but Kyla would often tell the girls to focus on
the reason why they were here, and to prepare for their ordeal for that was
more likely to be far more dangerous than the approaching aliens.

That was true for the aliens did not appear to be too technologically
advanced. She often told the girls that the aliens were not their worry, but
hers, and she was right for she was the commander.

On the day before the alien ship made orbit, Kyla finished her inspection of
the compound. It was part of her nightly routine to check the compounds
defenses, and it was her duty as commander to make sure each girl was prepared
and as safe as possible till her moment of truth came outside the compound. It
was something Kyla was well suited for. The governing body of the planet had
seen her potential at a very young age, and now she had her first command.
Kyla hoped it would not be her last.

As Kyla walked back to her tent secure in the knowledge that the perimeter to
their compound was well defended and impenetrable to both the deadly animals
and plants just outside. She also had prepared for the alien arrival on
Deathworld just as steadfastly. They would be watched continually with her
best troops. Maybe, she had told the others not to worry, but her mind was
uneasy. She knew as commander of the rite, worry went with the job.

Before she went to sleep, she had some time to reflect on her race. She
thought, with some pride, that her race was nearly perfect. There had been no
wars or violence in recorded history. Disease had been eradicated generations
ago. She would soon be a full member in a peace loving but otherwise proud and
joyful female society, advanced in technology and populated by tall beautiful
intelligent beings, strong and fearless, yet at peace with themselves and the
forces of nature. And each new generation was less inclined to give in to the
fears of the past.

As Kyla closed her eyes, she thought with conviction that this encounter will
surely be with another peace loving female race just like hers. What a gift
that will be, she thought. We will soon have sisters with whom we can embrace
the future, and with whom we can walk with among the stars as equals.

With even more conviction, she now completely doubted any of the stories about
men for she realized even a society as advanced as hers had to have their
Bogeymen.

TOUCHDOWN!

We made it. We were actually on a planet ten light years from earth. My
euphoria quickly gave way, though. I had more pressing concerns. We had a
planet to explore, and only thirty days in which to do it.

But before we started the adventure of a lifetime, recordings of this historic
moment had to be made and a picture sent back to the eagerly awaiting
multitude back on earth.

Yoki wielded the camera. She was not only one of the world's leading
exobiologists, and the premier authority on exotic plant life, but she was a
damn good cinematographer as well. In fact, all of us were experts in many
disciplines. It was one of the leading reasons why we were chosen.

After the flag ceremony and about twenty minutes of home movies which would be
stowed and taken back along with all of the other documentation, we all
prepared for the group photo. This one bit of information would be the first
picture that the world would see form the surface of Sagan. As all of us
huddled together for the photo that would make us all famous for the rest of
our lives, and far beyond, Yuri zoomed in on our faces, and set the timer on
the camera. Once that was done, she quickly joined the group. In another
second we all heard the click and afterwards all of us let out spontaneously
with a loud cheer.

"Sir, we've intercepted a transmission!" Nanna yelled out.

Kyla was conferring with Lyla, her second in command, over by the Positron
Array. As soon as the two girls heard the OD, they stopped conferring and
walked briskly over to Nanna, as did the rest of the girls in the command
tent.

Nanna was frantically working the controls. As soon as she saw Kyla walk over,
Nanna waved her hand over the purple sensor, calmed herself, and began to
speak in a calm voice as befitting an OD.

"Sir, I've caught their first transmission. It's headed for somewhere in the
Mobius Void."

All the women turned their attention to the screen as a star map appeared.

Kyla barked out a question, "Computer, can you identify the destination of the
transmission?"

"Working ... ... ... Destination Campion prime!"

All the girls in the tent started to talk at once.

Kyla yelled "Quiet!" and pondered her next question.

The girls immediately went silent as Kyla asked the next question.

"Computer, is that consistent with the spacecraft's trajectory."

"Affirmative!"

Brionna was the first to say the obvious.

"That has to be their place of origin, their homeworld."

Again the girls started to talk amongst themselves. Luanna, the youngest girl
in the tent asked a question to no one in particular, "It's so close, Why
haven't we known about them before this?"

Kyla redirected the girl's question to the computer.

"Computer, why haven't we heard of this planet."

"Working ... ... .Campion Prime in quadrant delta 0.6 ... ... .Region
uncharted ... ... ... .First probes scheduled for 50+ current solar time
designations sol 128761."

The girls were quiet as they soaked up the information. It was a few moments
before Kyla asked the next logical question.

"Computer, What data is in the transmission?"

"Working ... ... ... Translating ... ... ... .Primitive radio signals, speed
of light 1.0 ... ... ..audio announcing successful planetfall, one picture ten
million mega- pixels."

Everyone was very quiet now as Kyla gave the command that had everyone's eyes
riveted on the screen.

"Computer, convert picture and display."

As the picture was converted and began to be displayed, a loud audible gasp
was heard among the girls. It was Kyla's worst nightmare.

This time it was Lyla who spoke the obvious.

"THEIR MEN!"

I broke our group up into two parties for our first foray into the unknown.
Tex, my second in command would be leading the first group deeper into the
Savannah and to the large rock outcropping about two kilometers distant. Two
kilometers was as far as I wanted to explore, for now, till I had a better
understanding of what we would encounter on this primitive planet.

Tex was taking Cal who's main area of expertise was planetary geology, Yuri,
and Wolfy our resident hotshot and weapons expert. Wolfy was packing our
standard issue. Back home, they said it could stop a rampaging bull elephant
dead in its tracks. I was fairly certain we wouldn't run into any bull
elephants, but better safe than sorry. Yoki was opposed to the guns, but I
wasn't about to take any chances.

My group was comprised of Yoki, and also Tim an engineering genius who had
acquired the nickname of Macgyver! Give him some electrical tape and a screw
driver, and there wasn't anything he couldn't fix. The last member of our
little group was Duran. He was the only member of the military to go along on
the journey. I always thought his credentials were the weakest of all the crew
members, but he was actually the first person chosen for the mission. I often
wondered if he had his own agenda. He was carrying the same high powered rifle
as Wolfy. Both he and Wolfgang were experts with all the weapons we carried
aboard for the mission.

My group was heading straight into the jungle about a quarter of a kilometer
to the east of our position. I thought this the most dangerous of the two
excursions, but the planet was ninety five percent jungle and we had to know
what was out there.

Our first trek into the unknown had a time limit as well. I wanted both groups
back to the shuttle in four hours. That was long before dark and it would give
us time to digest what we found and to plan tomorrow's longer sortie into the
unknown.

Both groups waved to each other as we headed off, in single file, and in
different directions, leaving the safety of our shuttle far behind.

Before we lost track of the other group, Tex yelled back, "I bet we find
something interesting before you do!"

Chapter Three: DeathWorld

All the girls could see from the image on the computer screen were the men's
faces. The background was slightly blurred. Their was no perspective to give
them any idea of how tall and formidable the men were.

Kyla calming the group and taking complete charge asked the question that was
on everyone's mind.

"Computer, can you estimate their size and weight?"

"Working ... ... ..Information inconclusive ... ... .Estimate size of
lifeforms between four to ten feet and weight between 100 and four hundred
pounds."

Once again, all the girls started talking at once.

In a somewhat fearful voice, Luanna asked, " Now, shouldn't we call
homeworld?"

Before Kyla could calm the girls once again, for the first time, Zoe spoke up.

"I think its time we see these men for ourselves!"

Zoe's statement brought chaos to the tent. Everyone was talking at the same
time, arguing the point. As Zoe looked at Kyla, a thin enigmatic smile spread
across her lovely face. Kyla returned Zoe's smile with a disapproving shake of
her head and a frown. Zoe was exasperating. In fact, she was Kyla's main rival
or that was how each girl saw the other. Zoe on a number of occasions, had let
it be known that she thought she should have been chosen commander, and what
made it worse was that she was extremely formidable. Kyla wasn't sure she was
a match for Zoe physically, but it hadn't come to that yet. A commander had to
be above petty jealousies, which meant Kyla had to endure Zoe's faintly veiled
statements as best she could.

What really annoyed Kyla was the fact that Zoe was good at everything, and she
let it be known that she thought she was the best, and the best should lead.
In fact, the two girls were equal in size and weight, and probably in strength
and abilities as well. They could have been, and often were, mistaken for
sisters. It was almost like Zoe was her evil twin.

Her comments always rankled Kyla too. What made her comments so infuriating
was that she usually was right. Zoe loved to point out Kyla's mistakes. This
time, she was pointing out the obvious.

In the next moments, Kyla again took charge. She quieted the group as Zoe's
infuriating smile got even larger.

In as calm a voice as possible, she said sadly, "Zoe's right. Were going to
have to send scouts before we can decide on a proper course of action."

"I'll go!" Zoe piped in immediately, "Besides, I've already passed the test."

Kyla realized instantly that her last remark was a dig. She wondered if the
other girls got the implied jab, but she had to ignore it. Besides, everyone
knew the commander of the rite was always the last to test. It was tradition.

Kyla looked around the tent, some of her best girls were present and
reluctantly she had to include Zoe in that appraisal as well, and most had
already passed the test. As Kyla grudgingly realized, intimate knowledge of
the planet was a definite advantage for this mission.

According to the their penetrating scans from the Positron Array, which was
similar to the earthmen's radar, but infinitely more sophisticated, two groups
were leaving the shuttle just a few kilometers away, and heading out in
different directions.

In as calm and commanding a voice as she could muster, Kyla chose her
warriors.

"Zoe, you and Brionna shadow the group that's heading for the corsair's nest
... ... .And keep in close contact ... ... ..and don't do anything without my
explicit orders."

Brionna was a close friend of Kyla's and formidable in her own right. She'll
keep Zoe in line, Kyla thought.

For a moment, Zoe looked disapprovingly at Brionna, but she quickly gathered
herself and said to Kyla somewhat arrogantly, "Don't worry, I'll handle
everything."

Before Kyla chose the second group, she looked directly at Zoe and said very
firmly, "Remember my orders!"

Before Zoe could reply, Kyla was choosing her second set of scouts.

"Lyla, you're in charge of both groups. Take Luanna with you, and you watch
the group that just headed into the jungle."

Kyla nodded and all four girls started moving quickly out of the tent. Kyla,
looked at Luanna for just a moment, she was so young, but she had passed the
test with no apparent problems and Kyla thought that someday she would be a
great leader. Kyla was giving her a chance to again prove herself.

Before Zoe left the tent, she turned and commented in a dispassionate voice,
"For the first time, I agree with your orders." And then she turned and walked
out.

Kyla kept calm, and followed Zoe out the tent with her eyes. She took a deep
breath and wondered if she had made a gigantic mistake.

The mission was going terribly wrong almost from the first. I had just
received a signal from Tex's group. They had made the rocks in record time,
and just as quickly had been attacked by a creature that resembled a large
scorpion complete with a deadly stinger. The only difference between this
monster and its earthly cousin was that this beast was as big as a bus, and
burnt orange in color.

I could hear the men yelling and shots ringing out over the radio. I listened
in utter despair.

"Shoot it! ... ... ... ..It's got Cal! ... ... ... ..Shot it! ... ... ... .My
God, Its stinging him!"

I could still hear the shots as I frantically tried to get Tex's attention.

"Tex! ... ... .Tex! ... ... ... ..Get back to the shuttle that's an order!"

In a few seconds, Tex was talking to me again in a voice that sounded like he
was in shock.

"He's gone! ... ... .Cal's gone! ... ... ... .The shots just bounced off that
thing like it's made of armor ... ... ..Cal's gone!"

I frantically tried to asses the situation. I couldn't grieve for Cal at the
moment, I had the rest of the team to protect.

"Tex, is everyone else OK? ... ... ..Where's the scorpion? ... ... .Can you
get out of there?"

There was a pause for a moment. It was the longest and most terror filled
pause I had ever encountered, but then Tex began to talk again in a voice that
was more composed, and reflected the leader that he was.

"Cal is dead I'm sure. The Scorpion carried him into the rocks ... ... .But we
have another problem."

"I want you out of there NOW before that thing comes back!" I said forcefully.

Almost as an after thought, I asked, "What problem?"

"It's Yuri ... ... ... .He was with Cal at the point ... ... ... Didn't see
where he went in all the confusion ... ... ... .He's somewhere up there in the
rocks! ... ... .Gotta get him down!"

The expedition was less than a day old and already I was making what might be
a life and death decision. In as calm a voice as I could muster, I gave Tex
his orders.

"Tex, I want you to get out of there, now! ... ..You have no defense against
that thing. If Yuri made it high up into the rocks, he should be OK."

I really didn't believe that, but I had to get the other two men back alive.

"We can come back tomorrow with a plan. That's really Yuri's only hope," I
added with no conviction.

There was another long pause before Tex answered again.

"We're leaving, but God be my witness, Wolfy and I are coming back!"

I didn't answer him. I wouldn't make a promise I couldn't keep. Instead, I
barked out, "I want reports every ten minutes."

After my order, the radio went silent. I could only hope that the two men were
making there way back to the shuttle before the scorpion returned, and looked
for yet another meal.

As soon as I took off the headset, I slumped for a moment as the full impact
of what had just transpired hit me. It took me just a few more moments to
refocus, and as I looked around, I could only see Tim and no one else.

In almost a panic stricken voice I asked, "Where's Yoki and Duran?"

Tim was looking at a pretty flower, and in a calm uninterested voice replied,
"Oh, their off in that direction," and he motioned with his hand not taking
his concentration off the pretty flower.. ... ... ..Then he added just as
casually, "Yoki's found something interesting and very unusual."

In one quick move, I was up and running in the direction that Tim had just
pointed.

Tim managed to yell after me, "What's up boss?"

I managed to turn my head as I ran, and yelled back in Tim's direction, "No
time to talk, just follow ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..

Kyla was sitting in the communications tent anxiously waiting for her teams to
report in. It had been close to an hour, and she thought both teams should
have been in position long ago.

Just then, the communicator beeped and Lyla from team one reported in.

"Commander, a Slock attacked us half way here. We disintegrated it ... ...
We're lucky we're heavily armed."

Kyla was more interested in news about the aliens, but she listened patiently.
She realized, Lyla, like a good leader was bringing her up to date.

Since both girls appeared OK, Kyla's anxiety got the best of her and she broke
in and asked, "And the aliens?"

There was a momentary pause which only added to Kyla's anxiousness, but then
Lyla started to speak once again.

"We are in position about twenty meters from them, we have our shields up so
that they can't detect us, and we're observing two of them right now."

Already knowing what the aliens looked like, Kyla asked the question that was
on everyone's mind in the command tent.

"Are they giants? ... ... .I mean are they physically imposing?"

There was another long pause and then Lyla was reporting again, "One of them
is a woman, and she's staring at a Helius plant, and she's way too close to it
... ... .I'm not sure if she knows that it's very dangerous."

Then almost as an afterthought, Lyla asked, "Should we warn them?"

"No! Kyla shouted into the communications device. This is just a
reconnaissance mission ... ... No contact!"

Momentarily forgetting her last question for which she was yet to receive a
reply, Kyla asked, "And the other one?"

Again there was a maddening pause before Lyla began speaking.

"That one is a man, and he's looking at the plant too, but he's not so close."
Then there was a short pause before Lyla added, "He seems to be carrying a
weapon of some sort. I've never seen anything like it."

"Stay hidden! We don't know their capabilities yet." Kyla told the leader of
the team.

Instead of acknowledging her leader, Lyla had another comment, and it was in
answer to Kyla's question of a few moments before.

"From this distance the man and woman appear to be almost the same size, and
they don't seem to be all that imposing." And Lyla instantly corrected herself
and added, "They don't appear to be all that tall, I mean."

Kyla was anxious to know more, and she wanted to know how tall they were in
comparison to the girls, but at that very moment she got a signal from the
other team. It was Brionna reporting in.

"Commander, the Corsair attacked the aliens ... ... Their weapons were useless
against it. One man was partially devoured and taken back to the nest, and
another man ran into the rocks ... ... ..We're looking for him now."

At the same time she could hear Zoe. She was commenting in an amused tone of
voice from nearby.

"Their absolutely tiny! ... .And their very weak! ... ... ..And they can't
defend themselves at all!"

Even as Kyla tried to assimilate all the data, she was barking out an order,
"Leave the man! ... ... ..The others are probably looking for him! ... ... ...
.No contact!"

Again, the voice she heard over the com-link was Zoe's, "I see him! We're
going to bring him back!"

"No!" Kyla yelled ... ... ... ... "Remember your orders ... ... .."

Yuri was no coward, but his mind just couldn't assimilate the size of the
scorpion. It was beyond anything his mind was prepared to believe.
Courageously, he stood and fought it as he watched the scorpion sting his
friend to death. He fired all six shots of his revolver into the scorpion and
then when he ran out of bullets, he threw rocks at it till his mind realized
the hopelessness of the situation. By this time, Cal was already dead. Only
then, did Yuri think of his own life.

His only means of escape from that thing was to go higher up into the rocks,
and with a heavy heart he left his friend and fled, upward, into the rocks
before the scorpion turned its attention to him.

It was ten minutes before he stopped retreating and found a narrow outcropping
of rock. Exhausted, he huddled underneath it and tried to calm his mind and
get a grip on himself. He didn't know if this hiding place would protect him
from the scorpion, but Yuri just couldn't go any farther as the shock of what
happened wore off and the horror of the moment fully impacted him.

But Yuri's mind was to have no rest. Incredulously, two teenage girls, at that
very moment, materialized right in front of him, and they were huge. But even
in his deeply shocked state he could appreciate them. They were incredibly
beautiful and appeared to be young teenage girls. Both were scantily clad, and
both were wearing about as much as bikinis covered on earth, but the cloth was
unlike anything Yuri had seen before. Both had on similar outfits and the
cloth had a soft metallic blue sheen to it.

As he appraised them further, he noticed that both carried about their naked
midsections what Yuri's mind thought were the equivalent of utility belts with
a lot of unrecognizable gizmos. Two things that Yuri did recognize, though,
were the weapons that both girls toted. Both girls carried holsters on their
hips which were tied down by bands which wound around their huge but very
alluring thighs. How the guns worked or how sophisticated they were, Yuri
could only guess.

On their right thighs hung knife sheaths which were also tied down from above
and below, and from which protruded large dangerous looking knives.

Yuri couldn't help but stare at the girls as he appraised them further. They
were awesome, and by this time, Yuri's mind had decided that they were not
real, but only a delusion from his deeply agitated mind. Why his delusion had
taken on this form he didn't have a clue.

Still, he stared. It was impossible not too. Tied about their foreheads was a
small blue band which was of the same material which comprised the rest of
their clothing. And both girls golden hair was tied into a ponytail by yet
another smaller piece of that same blue cloth.

Their faces were angelic and totally human in appearance. If it wasn't for the
girls dimensions, they could be taken for two young and incredibly beautiful
super models back home.

What truly set these two apparitions apart, though, were their stupendous
dimensions. They were huge by earth standards. Yuri thought they had to be
over a foot taller than he was or maybe even more as they loomed above him.
And if their height and weapons weren't intimidating enough, both girls had
awesome upper bodies as well with incredibly massive legs. In other words,
they had the look of Amazons or of a jungle woman from one of his wildest
fantasies, only more so.

Yet, the muscles which were clearly visible everywhere, were not overdone.
Instead, they gave the mind even more curves to contemplate and adding yet
another focus to their awesomely endowed bodies. And if that wasn't enough,
both girls bodies seemed to glisten in the sun adding yet another dimension.

Yuri had to shake his head to clear it as he beheld these apparitions. They
were that intoxicating. As if to dispel any doubts concerning their existence,
Yuri decided to talk to them.

"I know you don't exist ... ... .You're both just hallucinations, aren't you?
... ... So could you just leave me in peace," he said in a very calm voice
even as he tried to scoot a little farther back into the rock.

His little speech immediately got the attention of both girls, but of course,
that didn't prove anything. After all, this was Yuri's delusion, and both
girls should react to him.

One of the girls, bent her knees and placed her hands on them as she looked
down at him with a big smile on her face, and she began to speak, "Sheam ...
... .Qoatro dedano mecapzo."

At the same time, the other girl who had a strange looking wrist band on her
right wrist was talking into it.

"Coliassi metro addisio!"

As the one girl directly in front of him began to reach for him, Yuri had an
odd thought, and as he tried to scoot back into the rock even further, he
thought to himself, you'd think I'd be able to understand my own delusions.

Chapter Four: Contact

By the time I reached Yoki, she was standing next to an incredibly tall and
beautiful plant. It simply radiated with color and fragrant blossoms of every
type and description.

"We must be in the Garden of Eden," I heard Yoki comment to Duran as she
examined one of the fragrant blossoms.

Even as I continued to run towards her, I yelled out, "Get away from that
thing!"

Yoki had time to turn and give me a scowl and then the ground exploded around
her as tentacles engulfed her and started to pull her forward. At the same
time, the huge plant almost split in two and opened up like some giant venus
fly trap waiting for its victim to be drawn forward and devoured.

To his credit and without delay, Duran began to empty his rifle into the
majestic monstrosity before him, and when he ran out of bullets he threw the
rifle down and waded in with his knife. He fought to free Yoki even as other
tentacles tried to grab hold of him.

When I reached the scene, I picked up Duran's rifle, reloaded, and started to
shoot at it as well. Nothing seemed to affect it, and neither Duran or myself
could stop the progress of the vines as they moved Yoki's body inevitably
towards the plants giant maw.

During this whole time, Yoki, did not scream. Instead, it seemed to me like
she was still studying the plant. Even when it completely engulfed her and the
plants cavity closed around her trapping her and sealing her up forever from
our view. At the last moment, I still thought I detected a smile on Yoki's
face as she continued to study the plant that was devouring her.

When Yoki disappeared Duran and I stopped and stared after her for just a
moment, and then we renewed our efforts, but the plant had one more defense
mechanism. For a moment, it seemed like the whole plant was about to leave its
hole as it began to gyrate back and forth till in one lightening quick
movement, it disappeared underground and somehow filled the whole behind
itself.

At this point all Duran and I could do was stop and stare. A few moments
later, Tim came running up and asked, "What happened?"

Still Dumbfounded, neither Duran or I could answer him for some time.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!, Kyla yelled into the com device.

But it was already too late. Zoe had reached in and was pulling out the
cowering man. Once she had him, she pulled him out of the rock overhang by the
arm till she could grab him with both her hands and then in an incredible show
of strength lifted the still cowering man out and up.

And with her strong young hands gripping the man's arms and imprisoning them
at his sides, she lifted him till he was level with her eyes causing his feet
to dangle over a foot off the ground.

Through the com, Kyla could hear Zoe's excited voice.

"He's so insignificant ... ... ..We were afraid of this?"

And as if to emphasize her point she started to heft the completely terrified
man up and down testing his weight.

Kyla was about to shout something back into the com, but instead, she sighed
heavily and continued to listen to Zoe's running commentary.

"He doesn't seem to weigh much either ... ... ..And he's absolutely terrified
of us too! ... ... ..Poor thing!"

Kyla had time to bark back into the com, "Don't hurt him!" before all hell
broke loose.

In the rocks just above them, the Corsair appeared menacingly, its claws
opening and closing in anticipation of yet another meal. Yuri turned his head,
looked up, and screamed.

It was Brionna who reacted. Before the Corsair could strike, Brionna pulled
her gun out in one quick motion and fired at the beast. Immediately, the
Corsair was engulfed in a bright golden light and then quickly faded from view
as its atoms lost their integrity and drifted apart into the surrounding air.

Almost casually, Zoe commented to the frightened man.

"See, no problem! ... ... ..We protected you from the big bad beast."

Almost as if he understood her words the man's face went from the look of
complete terror to one of total awe.

In response, Zoe lifted the man higher till her arms were fully extended and
he was looking down at her from several feet above her head, his feet dangling
helplessly by her waist.

As she stared back up at the man with a huge smile on her face, she could hear
Kyla's voice through the com.

"Zoe what's happening? ... ... ... Is everything OK?"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brionna start to talk softly into the
com. She knew Brionna would tell Kyla that they had disintegrated the Corsair
so she ignored Kyla for the moment and gave her full attention back to the
marvelous little creature she held effortlessly high overhead in her arms.

He was still staring down at her, but with a little more fearful expression on
his face. As she heard Brionna continue on with her report, Zoe decided to
study the man's face more closely. For some reason, she found his face
pleasing in a way she did not yet completely understand. Then she felt another
urge come over her. Inexplicably, she felt the need to protect him ... ...
Why? True he was tiny, weak, and helpless, but he was an alien and a man to
boot.

As if to explore her last thought, she began to push inward with her huge
hands constricting the man's trapped arms around his sides. The man
immediately reacted, and she heard a few whimpers from him as his face started
to contort in pain. He tried to struggle, but Zoe effortlessly held him fast.

Not wanting to injure her prize she let up even as she realized he was
completely helpless against her. She was barely squeezing him, but he couldn't
overcome even that. His language may have been alien, but she could completely
understand his cries, and the emotions that were plainly exhibited on his face
... ... ... and it excited her.

When she eased the pressure, she thought his new expression was one of
gratitude with a little awe mixed in. She was about to experiment further when
she heard Kyla's voice yelling over the com once more.

"Get back here! ... ... .Leave him!"

This time, Zoe yelled back defiantly, "These men are no danger! ... ... .They
are helpless! ... ... ..I'm bringing this one back to camp!"

After hearing that, Kyla was about to yell back the same order even more
forcefully, but she caught herself and looked around the tent. Their were a
lot of girls and they all were looking at her and waiting to see what she
would do next. Controlling her emotions, she realized Zoe was going to bring
this man back to camp no matter what she said next. So cutting her losses and
not wanting to look like she was loosing control, she ordered, "Bring him back
to camp ... ... ... But be careful with him ... ... ..He is an emissary from
another race."

Even as she said these words, she felt an anger building up inside of her.
Soon, she would have to confront Zoe and maybe it would lead to violence. At
the moment, she felt that violence might not be a bad thing, and she vowed,
your time is coming, Zoe.

When Zoe heard the latest order, she smiled. Then she lifted the man up and
down a bit and playfully sang out, "Did you hear that? Your going on a little
trip!"

All Yuri could do was to look down in awe at the young girl as she handled his
weight easily. This was the most vivid and lifelike delusion he had ever had.

Simply glowing with her power over the man she asked the totally terrified
man, "Let's see, How should I carry you back? ... ... ..Should I carry you on
my hip?" And she transferred the man to her right hip. He was still in too
much shock to offer much resistance. When he had been transferred, he
surprised Zoe by putting his arms around her neck as if he now trusted her.
That brought an even bigger smile to her face.

After a few seconds with the man on her hip, she again playfully asked, "Or
should I carry you like one of our little ones?"

This time she engulfed his body in her arms and cradled him to her, rocking
him the whole time.

This was too much for Yuri and he whimpered ever so slightly as he looked up
into the beautiful apparitions eyes.

Zoe reacted to his whimpers and his forlorn expression by whispering, "Awww!
... ... Did I hurt you, small one! ... ... .Zoe's sorry! ... ... Maybe, its
best if I carry you like this." And as she spoke, she repositioned his body so
that he now was laying, face down, across her broad shoulders with her hands
strategically placed to keep his body from falling.

She wanted to experiment with him further, but as she looked at Brionna she
could tell she was loosing patience so she decided to play with her new toy a
bit later. After all, the man wasn't going anywhere, but rather he was going
to a place where Zoe could and would have her way with him. So she walked
casually over to Brionna with her alien cargo completely secured and in tow,
and said in a totally blasé manner, "Let's go!"

Brionna shook her head as if she didn't approve, but she remained quiet, and
she turned and took the lead down the rocks.

As Kyla continued to contemplate Zoe, she got another message from team one.

This time Lyla was more frantic as she reported in.

"The woman is dead, she was eaten by the Helius plant ... ... ..The men tried
to save her, but their weapons were ineffective."

Then as a further clarification, Lyla added, "The men tried very hard to save
her. They really seem to care for their women."

Kyla digested this bit of news and thought, the men are so small and they care
for their women. This is clearly opposite to everything we believed in.

As she considered this, she spoke softly into the com, "Return to base ... ...
... And leave them to their own devices."

After Lyla had acknowledged her order, Kyla left the receiver and told the OD
that she was going to her tent to rest, and that she should be awakened when
the two teams returned. Kyla was tired. It had already been a long day, and
she wanted to be fresh when she beheld the alien. After all, it was going to
be a historic meeting.

Yoki's death had left us all deeply shocked, and when I told Duran and Tim
about Cal's death, it only doubled our grief. As I filled them in about what
happened, Tim and Duran started to look around very anxiously for any signs of
other dangerous creatures.

It was Tim who asked very apprehensively, "Shouldn't we get back to the
Lander?"

I had to concur. We needed time to think and to plan. However, the planet
wasn't going to give us that time. On the way back, I noticed what appeared to
be a squirrel. It was climbing a tree and was the same size and shape of its
counterpart back on earth, and it even made the same clucking noise, but its
coloration was out of one of Dr. Seuss's worst nightmares. It was purple in
color with yellow spots, and it didn't quite act like a squirrel either.

When it had climbed sufficiently high up into the branches of a large tree, it
launched itself, spreading its forelimbs revealing a large flat membrane, just
like its earthly counterpart the flying squirrels back on earth, and started
to glide majestically. My first thought was that it was trying to get away
from us, but as we watched we soon realized that it was heading straight for
us, and that's when I got a good view of it large dangerous looking claws.

Duran, taking no chances immediately started to shoot at it. That's when it
opened its mouth revealing two large dagger-like teeth. At almost the same
time, four other squirrels launched themselves at us from other trees and from
other directions.

The battle lasted a good five minutes and we managed to kill most of them. At
least, our guns were effective against the smaller creatures of this crazy
planet, but the battle had taken its toll. All of us had been bitten at least
once.

We left that place as fast as our feet could carry us, but about a quarter of
a kilometer, from the battle, we encountered our most chilling beast yet. We
all heard a noise in the brush and stopped to see a giant snake rear up and
take a look at us. All three of us froze as we beheld it. The snake was a
patchwork of color mottled in crazy patterns all over its body like one might
see and experience in some LSD induced dream. The snake had to be fifty feet
long and it had horns on its head the size of walrus tusks.

It considered us for a moment and then moved on. By this time, Duran had aimed
his rifle and was about to shoot at it when I stopped him by forcing his rifle
down with my hand.

"Don't, we don't want to make it mad." I said in complete earnest.

Tim, still holding a rag over his right arm and still trying to stop the
bleeding from the bites he received in the squirrel fight, asked
incredulously, "Why didn't it attack?"

This time Duran responded in a dead-pan voice, "Maybe, we didn't look
appetizing enough."

I thought Duran's humorous comment probably had some validity to it. We were
the least colorful creatures in a very colorful environment.

For a moment, I really scanned this unearthly place trying to make some sort
of sense out of it. The coloration of the smaller trees around us were vivid
unearthly colors. Some were yellow or violet in color, but the predominate
color for the trees was a god awful blood red. This gave the environment an
unearthly almost grotesque appearance to beings used to more subdued
coloration, and evolution had painted the animals, contained within this zone,
with that same crazy brush. As I looked around, I thought no amount of
preparation could have prepared us for this environment.

The forest was huge and layered giving one the feeling of being in an almost
enclosed space. The more immense trees dwarfed us and led into an upper
canopy, and the leaves they exhibited had a more familiar green coloration. It
was this green coloration, from the upper canopy, that gave the planet its
green hue from space. As I stared upward at the higher canopy, I almost longed
to be there. It looked so much more normal and appealing. I was sure that zone
was almost another world, and contained somewhat more familiar creatures.

As we hurried back to the Lander, we didn't encounter anything too dangerous
in our trip back except for those crazy bushes or trees or what ever they
were. I really don't know quite how to describe them. I do remember a campy
sci-fi story from my childhood called Day of the Triffids. I thought they
looked exactly like those creatures, only more colorful. It was like somebody
had thrown cans of red, yellow, and purple paint all over them.

When we first came on their groove, something told me to give them a wide
birth. We didn't get that close to them, but they still detected us somehow.
They reacted by pulling themselves out of the ground and chasing us. Duran
would stop from time-to-time, as we ran, to fire at them. The bullets had no
effect. For trees, they could move quite fast, but our legs were better
adapted for running, and we easily outdistanced them.

We made it back to the Lander without further incident. Tex and Wolfy were
already there dressing their wounds.

I asked Tex a simple question, " Are those wounds from the scorpion?"

Tex looked at me a little sheepishly, shook his head no, and responded,
"Killer groundhogs!"

I didn't respond. For some reason, I could envision them.

About an hour later, after we had cleaned our wounds, contacted Seeker in
orbit with the bad news, and eaten, we made our plans for tomorrow. We were
going to make one more trip outside before we returned to orbit. Everyone had
agreed this planet was just too dangerous to continue on with the mission.

Duran and Wolfy broke out the heavy artillery for our mission tomorrow, and
cleaned and readied the weapons. Afterwards, they were going to make a bomb
using some of the gunpowder. We were going to be much better armed for our
foray, but I still wondered if it would make a difference. I didn't voice
these opinions, though. I thought our morale was just too fragile at the
moment.

As our plans developed and the work continued, everyone's morale seemed to
improve, and I thought that was critical for tomorrow. We needed to be at our
best because we were going to go back to the rocks and try and find Yuri. I
just hoped he was still alive.

The most bizarre aspect to our plan was my idea. All four of us were going
outside almost completely naked, except for our boots and army issued jocks.
The rest of our bodies were going to be covered in mud. My plan had been
spawned from the snake incident. I theorized that the colorful plants and
animals outside were adapted to feeding on other colorful creatures.

Everyone thought it was worth a shot. Everything on this planet was brightly
colored, even the vegetation, and we had seen nothing that was dull or gray or
black in appearance. I guess what we were really trying to do was not so much
to use camouflage, but as Duran's comment had suggested earlier, we were
trying to make ourselves look as unappetizing as possible.

Kyla awoke to a commotion just outside her tent. As she prepared herself, the
OD walked in. In an excited voice she sang out, "Sir, their here, and they
have a MAN!"

Without waiting to be excused, the OD left the tent and trotted towards the
commotion.

Kyla noted the infraction, but she let it go. After all, who could blame her?
Girls did not see a man everyday.

Kyla walked out of her tent, and joined the other girls who were all huddled
close and forming a circle around something that they were all jostling for
position to see, and as expected, Zoe was at the center of it all.

As Kyla fought her way through the mob of girls, she could hear them all
laughing. In another moment, she saw the source of their laughter.

Zoe was holding the frightened man off the ground with one hand by the back of
his collar, and she was casually lifting him up and down with just the
strength of her one arm. The man was protesting in some alien language as his
arms flailed about and his feet dangled over a foot off the ground, and they
were moving rapidly like he was trying to run.

All the girls were laughing uproariously at the sight, and even Kyla had to
check her laughter. Before Kyla broke up the spectacle, she took a good look
at the man, and she asked herself a question. Could this truly be the creature
her race had been so afraid of for so long?

In another instant, Kyla was barking out an order to Zoe.

"Put him down! ... ... ... He is an emissary from another world! ... ...
.Treat him with dignity."

Zoe stopped her puppet routine with the hapless man, but she didn't put him
down. Turning to Kyla she said in a matter of fact tone, "I was just showing
everyone there's nothing to fear."

After her comment, she eased the man down to the ground, but in one quick
movement, she took hold of him again with both hands and lifted him
horizontally high over her head with her arms completely outstretched. As she
did so, she began to move around the circle of girls, and she spoke very loud.

"This is what we've been taught to fear our entire lives."

All the girls stopped laughing and watched the spectacle in silence. Kyla
folded her arms and shook her head in disapproval, but she remained silent
watching the spectacle intently herself.

When Zoe had made a complete circuit with the man high over her head, she
stopped in front of Kyla, with a big grin on her face, and waited. Her arms
were still outstretched, and the man was still suspended high overhead, and
completely helpless, and he had a look of what Kyla thought was complete panic
on his face.

It was then that Kyla stepped forward and issued another order in a very calm
and controlled voice.

"Put him down."

As was Zoe's way, she did what no one expected. In a mischievous voice she
yelled, "If you want him, you can have him!" And as she said that, she threw
the man at Kyla.

The man screamed as he flew through the air his arms flailing the whole time,
but Kyla easily caught him. As she drew him closer, the man in response
reached out grabbing at her putting his arms around her neck, and his legs
around her midsection holding her tightly in a frightened embrace. Kyla let
the frightened man hold on to her in this fashion even as she realized how
light he was and truly weak he must be.

By this time, all the girls were laughing again. As Kyla held on to the man,
she scolded Zoe, "You could have hurt him!"

Zoe's response was maddening as usual, "If you didn't catch him, it would have
proven that you should not be leader!"

Kyla shook her head in disgust, then ignoring Zoe she looked around at the
other girls. It was then that she realized that Zoe's exhibition had
accomplished one thing. No one was looking at the man in fear despite their
legends. Instead, all she saw was extreme curiosity on all the young girl's
faces.

As Kyla gently set the man on his feet, she said soothingly to him, "I'm sorry
... ... ..Some do not know their manners at such an auspicious occasion ...
... ..I can only hope that you did not lose too much dignity."

Yuri's head was spinning and this hallucination just didn't seem to want to
end. From deep down, he heard an inner voice say this IS real! This IS
happening.

He looked upwards at all the girls faces. All were unbelievably beautiful and
young, and even more curiously they all had hair the color of gold. As he
could compare their height more accurately now, he realized that this was a
much taller race than his own on average. Each girl was much taller than he
was. He estimated their height at about six five on average, and his head was
about even with the girl's huge breasts.

As all that had happened to him began to really sink in for the first time, he
felt an upsurge off shame grab hold of his being. These were just young
teenage girls he reminded himself.

After the apology, Kyla completely ignored Zoe. She grabbed hold of the man's
hand, which he gave readily enough, and started to lead him through the mob of
curious girls.

This time it was Zoe who folded her arms about her chest as she asked somewhat
hotly, "Where are you going?"

Kyla smiled as she felt the tide of this hidden battle with Zoe, for once,
flow in her direction, and she turned and said in a commanding tone of voice,
"To the command tent. We have to figure a way to communicate with the man ...
... .Don't we?"

Then Kyla turned and walked with the man to the command tent with the mob of
curious girls following closely behind. Zoe did not follow at first. Instead,
she watched the groups progress with a sour look on her face, and only when
most of the girls had disappeared into the tent did she finally allow herself
to move forward towards the tent.

For the next half hour, Kyla had the computer show the man their intricate
alphabet. He would often look up at her in frustration and confusion.

Yuri looked at the screen. It was moving much too fast. His eyes hardly had
time to focus and then the screen would change. Slowly, he began to wonder,
Could their minds really process information that fast?

Kyla was patient, but Zoe standing in the back was not. She yelled out, "He's
an idiot!"

Kyla gave her a fierce look and then turned back to the alien with a much
softer continence. A thought occurred to her and she had the computer start to
scroll slower. It seemed to work because the man became less frustrated. As
time passed, Kyla slowed down the scrolling of the computer even more to well
past that of what an infant might see for the first time on her planet.

Then Zoe's voice was heard again from the back.

"This will take forever!"

This time, Kyla ignored the outburst, but she knew Zoe might be right. She
thought the man was capable of learning their language, but at a very slow
rate. It would just take more time than they had available. Then the thought
struck her that if she could get a hold of one of their computers, she just
might learn their language more quickly, and then they could communicate.

Again, Zoe's maddening voice came from behind.

"They're not smart enough to learn our language!"

Kyla forced herself to put aside her first impressions of the man's
intelligence, and she turned, and in a soft but forceful voice answered Zoe's
remark.

"They are! This man is just not accustomed to our equipment."

Having said that, Kyla turned off the scroll and smiled at the man as if he
had done very well. When the man smiled back, she was talking again but not to
him.

"Tell all the girl's there will be a war council tonight. We must make some
decisions."

This time, the OD spoke up, "What are we going to do with the man?"

Kyla thought out loud. "I don't want him to have complete freedom of our camp
just yet. He might get hurt if he touches any of the equipment or tries to
leave."

Kyla also thought that the man would be far safer in protective custody for
the time being because she didn't know what Zoe or one of the other more
forceful girls might do to him if they got their hands on him. Their were
predators inside the camp as well as outside Kyla thought to herself.

It was Brionna who had an idea.

"What if we put him in one of the specimen cages?"

Kyla didn't want to do that, but she didn't see an alternative till they could
communicate with the alien, and that would be the number one priority.

With a heavy heart she gave the order and one of the girls ran over to the
supply tent. In just a few minutes, the cage appeared and the man was
confronted with his new home for the foreseeable future.

The cage was placed on the ground near the man. It was a perfect square
enclosure about three feet by three feet. Kyla swung the door open and
motioned for the man to crawl inside. He looked at her sadly, but he obeyed.
As Kyla closed the door, Zoe who had made her way to Kyla's side, produced a
thin metal band. She looped the strand through the locking latch and easily
bent it with her fingers.

When she was done, she sang out, "That should hold him!" Then she looked at
Kyla, and added, "He's incredibly weak! ... ... ..They all are!"

Kyla looked back at the man who was inspecting the metal band, and she asked
herself, Could that thin metal band really be too much for him to overcome?

Yuri, inspected the band and then tried to unbend it with his fingers. He used
moderate force and then really tried with all his might. As the girls watched,
some began to laugh at his feeble attempts to free himself. The girls laughter
spurned Yuri on and he tried with all his might till his strength played out
almost a minute later.

Zoe watching the show of male strength, turned again towards Kyla and said
sarcastically, "See!"

As Yuri tried to catch his breath, he looked up at his lovely captors and
remarked to himself, Just great! I had to be captured by the teenage Amazons
from hell.

As he continued to look up at the sea of beautiful faces, he realized that in
many respects this planet was just like hell with its nightmare plants and
animals, but these girls seemed out of place as well. But yet they had somehow
mastered this planet. Could they really be from this place? And where were the
elders?

As he pondered that question further, his attention went to the girls
otherwordly bodies. They were strong, powerfully built, with unbelievable
bodies for teenage girls, and they were unimaginably tall as well. Finally,
his gaze returned to their lovely young faces. Then his mind asked one more
question. Why did his captors all have to be so damn beautiful too?

Chapter Five: Close Encounters

We all spent a restless night in the Lander. The night had been alive with
terrifying noises. The grunts and bellows of the predators mixed with the
shrieks and wails of the prey. I thought no amount of time on this planet
would accustom me to the sounds of the night. If the day had been unbelievably
dangerous, I asked myself what must the night be like on this Deathworld? I
knew one thing, I didn't want to find out.

When dawn broke, we all had our assigned tasks to perform. An hour later we
were ready to go. Just outside the Lander, we prepared a mud hole and covered
our bodies thoroughly in the stuff. Afterwards, I thought we looked more like
a band of aborigines than a scientific expedition peopled with some of the
brightest minds earth had to offer.

As we set out, Duran took the point and Wolfy walked a bit behind, guarding
our rear. We made good progress and for the most part were ignored by many of
the animals we encountered. At the half way point, I actually thought our
crazy plan just might work, and I hoped Yuri was still alive and hiding up
there among the rocks. Unfortunately, every time my hope brightened, I
remembered the sounds of last night.

This time Kyla was going to lead the group. She was taking six of her best
warriors on the mission. They included Brionna, Luanna, Lyla, and the two
sisters Tori and Lori. She thought about leaving Zoe back in camp, but the man
was there, and she just didn't trust Zoe. So grudgingly, she decided to take
her along. Better to watch her, she thought, than to leave Zoe to her own
devices.

As they set out in the eerie twilight of dawn, Kyla remembered last night and
the war council. The first thing that was agreed upon was to take the rest of
the men into protective custody. No one including Kyla thought they could
defend themselves from the dangers they faced on this planet. Their weapons
had proven useless and they just weren't up to the physical challenges either.
Many believed they would all perish if they were left to fend for themselves
for even one more day.

A contingency plan was also laid out for the capture of the two aliens in
orbit, but that was the last piece of the puzzle Kyla thought. They were up
there in relative safety, and they could be reeled in at any time.

The second and equally important part of the plan was to visit the strange
alien space craft and to bring back, to camp, a computer or two. Then Kyla and
a few others could learn the men's language and finally communicate with them.

One of the girls had proposed taking the men back to Homeworld with them when
all the girls had completed the rites. It was a tempting proposition. The
girls would be awarded great esteem and tribute back home, and their futures
would be assured. Zoe had argued strongly for that course of action. She
reasoned that the men had proven inferior in both mind and body and should be
given no status. She even went as far as to call them pets. Kyla remembered,
with anger, that Zoe's statement had brought chaos to the proceedings.

It was only with a great deal of argument that a compromise was hammered out.
The men would be taken into protective custody, communication would be
established with them, and a series of tests would be initiated to test the
men's bravery and intelligence just as the girl's themselves were being tested
on this planet. Then their status could be properly gauged and their futures
established. To Kyla's dismay, the idea that the men were envoys from another
world and should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity just didn't
carry much weight with any of the other girls at the meeting because each girl
at the council fire had to undergo her own life and death test, and it just
seemed natural to test the men as well.

The band was three fourths of the way to the men's landing sight when Kyla
received a com report that the men had been detected setting out for the
corsairs nest again.

Luanna spoke up and said the obvious, "Their going to rescue their lost
compatriot."

Brionna piped in and added, "The Corsair's mate will probably be nearby! ...
... ... ..And it will be very angry! ... ... ...And very hungry!"

Everyone agreed with the two girls assessments, even Zoe. So they quickly
changed course to intercept the men.

As the rocks loomed ever closer, we quickened our pace. When we finally
reached them, I sent Duran and Tim a ways up the rocks to reconnoiter the
situation while the rest of the party stayed alert for an attack from any
direction. All seemed quiet and we were bound and determined to keep it that
way. We all thought that noise might bring the scorpion so we communicated
with hand signals. Our scents had been rendered minimal by the mud which was
an added bonus. Duran and Tim were only out of our sight for a few anxious
moments.

About a third of the way up the rock ledge, Duran motioned for Tim to stay
where he was behind him. Duran was going to go around a ledge and investigate
the other side. Tim acknowledged Duran with a hand signal, and Duran carefully
moved around the ledge. As soon as he was on the other side, Duran realized he
was at a dead end and he quickly retraced his steps. When he returned, Tim
wasn't there.

"Where in the hell ... ... ... .." Duran exclaimed, but he didn't get the rest
of his statement out of his mouth because Zoe had materialized behind him, and
was tapping him on the shoulder.

As soon as Duran turned around, he beheld an amazing sight and he froze in
both wonder an awe, and who wouldn't have. When he was ready to react, Zoe,
the smiling Amazon, had already pulled the high-powered rifle from his hands,
and as he positioned his hands to defend himself, they were no longer his to
command.

For the next few moments our concern heightened, as the pair remained out of
sight. When I finally decided to act, I hand signaled the others, but it was
already too late for the rest of us as well. When out of nowhere, a teenage
boys wildest fantasy came to life and started to materialize out of thin air
around us. The battle, if you could call it that, lasted for all of five
seconds.

Kyla was proud of her team. They had subdued the men in record time. She was
just about to commend them when Luanna exclaimed as she held one of the
fragile men in her steely embrace, "Yuch! Their covered in mud!"

As the rest of the group brought their captives over, Kyla could see that they
were all covered in mud from head to foot, and the girls were getting very
messy themselves as the men struggled in the girl's grasps.

Even Kyla had no answer for this strange behavior. When Zoe appeared with her
man firmly in control, she exclaimed, "I told you they were all idiots!" And
for a second time she threw a man at Kyla.

This one didn't scream while in mid-air, but he did thrash about trying to
regain some semblance of equilibrium. When Kyla caught him, she realized Zoe's
revenge for she was immediately covered in mud.

As Kyla quickly brought her man under control, Lori's captive started to talk
in that strange garbled manner that the men used for a language. He was not
excited and he was talking very fast in a controlled manner.

Zoe looked at him, and commented, "That must be the leader ... ... If you can
call him that."

Again, Kyla thought Zoe's remark was probably very accurate. He was definitely
trying to communicate with the girls.

After a particularly long speech from the man, Zoe commented again, "He's
probably telling us that their not going to hurt us!"

That brought a round of laughter from the rest of the girls.

Kyla ignored Zoe's latest remark and decided to transfer the talking man to
her custody. When the transfer was complete, she set him down and motioned for
him to sit on the ground and she followed suit.

Then it was her turn to try and make the man understand. With a series of
gestures, hand signals, and speech she tried to convey to him that they were
safe with the girls, but just not free. It seemed like he got the message and
he turned and said something to the others, and most stopped their struggling,
except for one of the men, but he remained no problem for Tori as she
continued to hold him fast.

After the men had been subdued and quieted, Kyla turned to the next part of
her plan. They would take the men back to their space craft and secure a
computer, but first the men had to be prepared for travel.

It was again Luanna who had a remark.

"Can't we wash them, their so messy!"

"Not till we have their computers," Kyla responded, and then she signaled Lyla
forward. Lyla was dealing with a struggling man, but she also was carrying the
supplies, they needed, on her back. Lori who no longer had a man, took the
supplies from Lyla's back and unwrapped them.

As I Ethan Fury the leader of the men watched helpless in one of the she-
demons arms, I looked at the cloth sacks as they were unrolled, first in
wonder and then in horror as I realized at what there use might be. These
teenage Amazons were going to use them to carry me and my men like papoose's
might carry their babies. I started to protest, but their leader seemed to
understand my concern and she gently motioned for me to be silent.

Then one of the teenage Amazons handed Duran over to the girl who hand
unwrapped the carryalls and she held him fast just as easily as the other.
While Duran struggled with his new captor, the first Amazon looped the bands
around her shoulders and positioned the sack on her back. When she was
finished securing it to her back, The other teenage hellcat easily lifted the
protesting Duran up and into the carry-all. His feet slipping through the
holes at the bottom even as he tried to free himself, but his struggles
availed him not. As soon as she had him seated, the girl assisting the other,
positioned a strap diagonally down his chest and fastened it to a metal button
at the bottom inside of the carryall.

One of Duran's hands slipped down and tried to unbutton the fastener. To
everyone's surprise the girl let him try, and to no

one's surprise, he found that he couldn't unfasten it. The teenage Amazon let
him continue to try for a few more moments as the laughter of the other girls
filled our ears, and then she grabbed his hands, bringing them together
outside the liner. He fought her, but with one of her hands holding both of
his hands together effortlessly, she nonchalantly tied them together with a
piece of metallic blue cloth. After that, Duran was effectively immobilized
and ready for transport, and helpless as a kitten on the back of a teenage
Amazon.

I watched in horror as each man was trussed up in the same manner as Duran,
and made ready for transport. Next in order, it was the protesting Wolfy's
turn, and in about a minute he had been prepared just like Duran. Then Tex and
Tim quickly followed suit. Finally, it was my turn.

I guess the leader wanted to stay unencumbered so I was prepared for transport
on the back of the girl who had unwrapped and assisted all the others. I have
to admit I was happy that I hadn't been given over to the one evil looking
girl who had thrown Duran around. She remained without a man to carry just
like their leader.

As soon as we were all trussed up and ready for the trek, their commander gave
an order and the she-demons started to move out with all of us helplessly
riding high up on the girls backs. I was truly amazed at how easily they
carried us. It was truly an overwhelmingly humiliating experience. As we
moved, I tried to control my shame and try to figure out what they wanted with
us. Were they cannibals? That was a grizzly thought, but the thought seemed
appropriate enough on this planet.

For some reason, I was not worried about the wild life anymore. The girls
seemed unconcerned with the animals as we moved. I had noticed that each girl
carried several weapons. I didn't think the knife was an effective deterrent,
but their pistols looked formidable. Since the men couldn't help, at least I
hoped that was the case.

As we moved, I'm sure we must have looked ridiculous as five very young, but
unbelievably muscular and tall teenage girls effortlessly carried five older
but smaller men on their backs.

An ironic thought kept running through my mind as we made steady progress and
seemed to be heading in the direction of our Lander. I was very happy that the
people back on earth couldn't see their best and brightest at this very
moment.

In less than an hour, Kyla and the rest of the party made it to the alien
men's craft. It looked unbelievably flimsy Kyla thought, and she wondered how
they had made it down to the planets surface without getting themselves
killed.

As the others waited, she went inside to look for the computers. As she
rummaged around inside the craft, she soon realized that she had no idea what
an alien computer would look like. It could actually look like anything.

So she went back outside and called Lori over. She had the leader of the men
on her back. As soon as she was near, Kyla reached around and undid his
restraints and then lifted him out of the carry-all.

As soon as he was placed gently down on the ground, she motioned to him that
they were both going into the craft. He understood and climbed the ladder
leading the way with Kyla following closely behind.

As soon as they were inside, Kyla went to the control board and made a
scrolling motion with her hands, then she pointed to it again and made a
smaller square outline and then folded her hands together like she was looking
for a more compact version. He watched her for a moment and understanding what
she was looking for retrieved a small compact black box.

Kyla took the box and folded it open. She immediately saw it had a screen, but
it was blank and she fumbled for a few moments trying to make the screen come
to life. The man watched her for a moment and then reached for a button on the
side of the box which brought the screen to life. As Kyla fiddled with the
controls, the man bolted for the exit.

Instinctively, and in one quick motion, Kyla grabbed his arm and yanked him
back causing both of them to tumble to the floor of the craft. He fell between
her legs and she immediately closed them trapping his lower body with her
awesomely endowed lower limbs. His body seemed to be quite literally engulfed
by Kyla's overwhelming legs. In the next instant, she was compressing his
stomach with the steel bands that were her thigh muscles.

Not wanting to really hurt the man Kyla was careful to apply just enough
pressure to try and get the desired effect from the man which was to cause him
to cease his struggles. He is so weak and fragile, I must be careful not to
hurt him she thought.

Even as he continued to struggle, she could see the panic and pain register on
his face. She squeezed him moderately for a few more seconds till his hands
stopped beating her thighs and they seemed to go limp at his sides as the
pressure increased. At that point, she grabbed his jaw with her left hand
imprisoning it and keeping his head motionless, and with one of her fingers
from her other hand started to wave it in front of his face. The man got the
message. The young girl was scolding him. He was not to try that again.

He nodded that he did understand, but she continued to hold him firmly with
her legs. After scolding him, Kyla looked deeply into his alien face, and
examined it for awhile. It was a face like she had never encountered before,
but it was interesting in spite of the mud, and as she moved it back and forth
and from side to side examining his features very closely, she thought his
face definitely had character.

As she held him, she looked about and saw some type of cloth lying on the
floor nearby. Gathering it up, she pulled out her canteen, and as she held his
jaw firmly with her left hand started to pour the water slowly and carefully
over his face. This brought a renewed struggle from the man, but she was
easily able to make him stop struggling with just a little pressure from her
legs. As his struggles became less, Kyla gently but firmly rubbed the mud from
his face revealing it clearly for the first time.

As the man looked into her eyes with an expression of both wonder and shame,
she smiled down at him to ease his troubled alien mind. Then she reexamined
his face again moving it back and forth and from side to side. This time she
really liked what she saw. It was so different from the faces she was used
too, but yet appealing in a way she didn't quite understand.

The next thing that caught her attention was the fact that the man's face was
oddly ruff, with the stubble of hair covering it, not smooth at all like the
faces she was used to. Strangely, she thought it gave his face even more
character. After a few more minutes of inspection, she thought it would be
nice and appropriate to make a complete and thorough scientific analysis of
the man back in the privacy of her own tent once she got back.

As she continued to examine him, she remembered what Zoe had called the other
man ... ... a toy. Even as she held this one, controlling his overmatched body
with her legs and his face with her one hand completely immobilizing him for
his punishment and subsequent inspection, she realized that these men were so
weak and helpless that they were at the girl's complete mercy.

That was a fact she recognized almost immediately after encountering the men,
and she realized something else too. That they were fascinating and new and
thrilling in a way she did not yet completely understand. She remembered her
childhood and her fondness for stuffed toys which were reproductions of many
of the animals on this planet. She had loved them as if they were real. Their
images preparing her and reminding her of the ordeal to come, and these men
were almost as weak and helpless as those stuffed animals.

Sadly, she realized there was a danger to these thoughts. She had to fight
against the urge to consider this man as something less important or
insignificant or even as just a plaything.

They had to be accorded some sort of respect. But would the girls allow that
considering the men's weaknesses and vulnerability? And what was Zoe going to
do next? All these things crossed Kyla's mind as she looked down at the
helpless man. And she realized too that the reality of men couldn't have been
more opposite to the legends and myths surrounding them. They were so
incapable of defending themselves, so incompetent, so helpless, so weak and
impotent, and so powerless to control any of the things around them, it was
laughable. Maybe, she thought it was better that they be controlled. She could
see to it that they would be safe and happy, just not free.

Finally, Kyla came back to the reality of the present. These things would be
worked out. But now she had a duty to perform and she again turned her
attention to the portable computer picking it up from the floor where it had
fallen at her side. As she studied it once more, she still playfully squeezed
the man, and he started to struggle again, but it only required a few
maintenance squeezes to keep him in line. For the next ten minutes, she
studied the computer and playfully squeezed the man giving him only a small
portion of her attention and just a fraction of the power contained in her
awesome teenage legs.

Every so often, the man would try an escape but her legs would soon simmer him
down. Then as she squeezed him, he would cry out or whimper and then she would
give him more of her attention, but each time she concluded that he wasn't
injured, and she returned to her studies. For a reason she couldn't yet
fathom, she really enjoyed controlling the man in this manner, and it filled
her with strange new and wonderful sensations.

After awhile, the man stopped struggling entirely and he rested his small
hands on her thighs. Even the sensation of his touch provided her with
thrilling new emotions and feelings. She realized he could have removed his
hands if he wanted too, but he choose to keep his hands on her legs. Even as
her mind grappled with the puzzles of the alien computer, she wondered if the
man was experiencing strange emotions and sensations as well.

Finally, she was sure that this was the piece of equipment she needed and was
certain she could unlock its secrets. So she closed the box and unwound her
legs. The man was moaning slightly and had a glazed look in his eye. Had she
hurt him by giving herself pleasure at his expense? That thought saddened her
and as she helped him to his feet, she saw that there was a huge bulge in his
brief garment where there had not been a significant bulge before. As she
looked at him with concern, she wondered if she had injured him in some way.

As her hand went down towards his groin the man pushed her hand away and
backed slightly. Kyla did not react. Instead she let him have a few moments
because the expression on his face was one of extreme shame not pain. As she
pondered his reaction, she remembered the myths of the male penis. Had she
injured his penis? Was that causing the bulge? But he didn't seem to be in
pain. Even as she watched him closely, the bulge seemed to be disappearing,
and in a few more time periods it was gone.

When the bulge was gone, the emotions on his face seemed to ease, and he took
his eyes from his groin and looked back up at Kyla. He seemed to be much less
distressed. She would have to explore this further back in her tent, but for
now with the alien computer secured, her main priority was to get them all
back safe. She gave him a glorious, and then she extended her hand. He smiled
back at her and took it.

It was all such a blur. I was deeply embarrassed that I had reacted to their
leader in that way, but god she was beautiful, and what a body she had. When I
was entangled between her legs I just couldn't help but react to her nearness.
I was ashamed because my mind knew she was controlling me, but I reacted as if
her control over me was sexual. I tried to tell myself it was just a reaction
I couldn't control, but still I was embarrassed. I was just glad only she and
no one else had seen it. I didn't know if she understood what happened, but I
was fairly certain she reacted to my shame.

This time, when the girls moved out, I found myself on their leaders back. The
young girl who had carried me before now carried the supplies. I wasn't sure
what that meant, if anything. I tried to remind myself that these girls were
totally alien, and not to read too much into their behavior.

Before we left, the one girl I really feared had what I thought was another
confrontation with their leader. I couldn't understand what they said, but it
sure sounded like they were arguing. I noticed the other girls were quiet and
listening intently to what was said. During the confrontation, the girl I
feared walked over and pointed to my now clean face. That took their leader
aback for a moment, but just for a moment, and then she forcefully said
something back like it was an order. That seemed to take the steam out of the
other girl for the time being.

Eventually, the argument ended and we were again moving. I could only assume
that we were now being taken to their base or village, where ever that was. I
hadn't the slightest idea what would happen to us when we got there.

As the girls moved, we were allowed to talk back and forth. The girls didn't
seem to mind that we talked, and they were talking back and forth as well, and
laughing as young girls often do. I was sure we were the main topic and the
butt of the laughter as well, but we all had to endure it. These young teenage
Amazons were in charge, not us. Some of the men like Wolfy were very quiet. He
almost seemed like he was in shock from the experience, but I could still
detect a sense of humiliation in his voice. The shame was something I could
feel in all of us. Damn it! We were men and we were bound and helpless, and
being carried by these awesome teenage girls, and completely helpless to do
anything about it.

I tried to control these thoughts, and to take a more clinical approach to
what was happening. I had to pay closer attention to the girls and to the
environment around us. I just might discover something useful. Besides, it was
all I could do anyway.

The girls were still skirting the jungle. I estimated, we had been traveling
for close to a half hour. Despite that, the girls did not seem the least bit
tired from the additional burden of carrying the men on their backs. One could
not help but be in awe of these exceptionally strong and beautiful girls.

As we traveled, I remembered our aerial reconnaissance from space of this
particular quadrant. It indicated a river in this general direction. It made
sense that the girls main encampment would be near a large river. I just hoped
the river didn't have any unusual beasts inhabiting it.

About an hour into our journey, the group encountered a large grotesque beast.
It had no earthly equivalent. It looked like a cross between a boar, a
wildebeest, and a rhinoceros. Only this monstrosity was ten feet tall about
twenty feet long, orange, and it shot darts from the horn on its nose. I
thought it looked like something out of a Japanese horror film, but it was all
to real.

I was sure the darts were poison, but nobody was hit. The girls used one of
their blasters on it. As soon as their leader fired, it started to glow, then
it started to shimmer, and it slowly became less and less distinct till it
just vanished right before our eyes.

I was impressed, and no wonder the girls didn't seem to fear anything. They
had a weapon that could deal with anything this planet could throw at them.

A little further into our journey something occurred that was most peculiar.
While the girls were traveling single file, another girl popped out of the
forest. She was very young and I could tell she was fatigued, and her face
looked tired and haggard and it was covered in grime. All she carried was the
same knife that the other girls had holstered to there right thighs, but this
girl was clutching it like it was her only weapon. The girls in our party and
the new girl seemed totally surprised by the encounter.

The new girl looked exhausted and she seemed very frightened of the
environment, but instead of helping her, all the girls in our group turned and
faced away from her like she didn't exist. The new girl just stared at us for
a moment, and then she bounded off into the jungle. I have no idea why the
other girls didn't help her. It was almost like she was an outcast or
something.

It was another ten minutes till we made the river. It wasn't a very big river.
I estimate it was only about twenty meters wide, and I could only guess at its
depth. As I expected, our party stopped only a few feet away. As everyone
contemplated the river, all I could do was hope that no gruesome nightmares
haunted its depths.

"Why are we stopping?" Zoe said in an exasperated voice.

Kyla ignored her as Lyla moved closer.

"You know what to do," Kyla told the other girl.

Lyla nodded and took something out of the knapsack she was carrying.

To the men it almost looked like a flare gun with fishing line attached.

Lyla aimed across the river as the gun exploded and a small pronged anchor
with a thin wire filament attached played out till it made the other side and
embedded in the other bank with the wire settling into the water. Then she
moved several meters down river and shot the gun again. It to embedded on the
other side with the wire settling into the river as well.

What she did next had the my complete attention. She ran a thin wire from each
line to a small box. When they were both attached, she threw a switch and the
water lit up along the path of the wire.

Almost immediately, loud shrieks were heard followed by the surfacing of
several very large animals. They looked a bit like plesiosaurs, but these
strange creatures were purple and had huge fangs.

As soon as they surfaced, they jumped over the wire and submerged almost
immediately. Several smaller monstrosities jumped over each side of the wire
as well leaving the middle zone in just as big a hurry. These creatures looked
very similar to Piranha. Only their teeth were larger and they had arms and
small hands. We could only guess why evolution had spawned them on this
nightmare world.

The girls talked amongst themselves after that and I didn't have any idea what
they were talking about.

Zoe watched the spectacle for a moment and then commented in that same
exasperated voice.

"What's this all about?"

Keeping her cool, Kyla answered in a very controlled voice.

"Were going to wash them. I want them to look their best when we reach camp."

"This is their best!" Zoe said in a mocking tone, but to Kyla's surprise, her
protests stopped with that one comment.

Lyla and Zoe helped the girls remove their carryalls from their backs, with
the helpless men still inside, and set them down in the sand. All the men
could do was look up in awe at the girls and in bewilderment at what was about
to happen next. None of the men including their leader had a clue. Then the
girls went about the task of releasing the men from the carryalls.

As they worked, the girls broke off into two groups. Lyla, Brionna, Luanna,
and Kyla prepared the men they controlled near the waters edge. While the
sisters Tori and Lori together with their defacto leader Zoe started to
prepare Tex and Duran a good bit away from the others and farther from the
water in the deep sand.

As the girls prepared us for god knows what, I told Wolfy and Tim not to fight
back. We had to stay calm and focused and find a way to communicate with these
towering teenage Amazons. I could count on Tim and Wolfy to follow my lead. I
was more concerned about Duran and Tex. I was certain they were having a
difficult time with what was happening. They were macho types who could be
counted on to act foolishly if provoked, and we most definitely had been
provoked.

My fears were immediately realized. As soon as Duran was set down and untied,
he took off. I had no idea where he thought he was going and I was sure he
didn't know either.

Lori put her hands on her hips and watched the man for a second, shaking her
head and laughing as she watched him awkwardly try to scramble away from her
in the deep sand. As always, Zoe was ready with a comment.

"Lori, how could you let him get away? Do you want me to chase him?"

Lori said very casually, "No thanks, I wanted see how quick they were ... ...
I'll get him." Then she took off after the fleeing man.

Tori was close to her sister and was busy with Tex as he lay in the sand. She
untied him and then quickly grabbed both of the man's wrists with one hand,
stood herself, and lifted him out of the carryall and held him securely with
her single hand as he dangled a few inches above the sand. The man tried to
pry his hands free, but he was having no success. After she watched the
helpless man struggle for a few seconds, she turned her attention towards all
the commotion and commented, "Get him, girl!" and then started laughing at the
scene that was playing out a few meters away. She was mocking her sister a
bit, although she knew the inevitable outcome for the escaping man.

Duran was panic stricken. He wasn't thinking very straight as he took off. He
had no idea where he was going, but he had to try something. He had taken
about fifteen steps when it felt like he was tackled by a linebacker. He tried
to mount a resistance, but as his body started rolling in the sand, he could
no longer control what was happening to him.

When his senses returned, he found himself underneath the girl. She was
sitting on his upper body with her hands controlling his arms and her long
gorgeous legs encasing his head. So all he could do was look up in complete
awe and supplication at his beautiful captor.

Lori who bristled at Zoe's comments had to show the others how easily she was
controlling the man. So she released his hands knowing they could not help
him, and placed her hands on her hips as she smiled down at her captive. As
she easily controlled him and stared down at her captive, she felt a new
emotion stir deep within her. She could not understand this new feeling, but
it was a thrilling sensation all the same.

Then she looked over at Zoe and sang out, "Ta Da!"

Zoe could only comment, "That was easy! My God their even weaker than I
thought! And their incredibly slow too!"

I watched the scene as well, and not understanding what the girls were saying,
yelled to Duran, "Don't fight her. We have to figure out a way to communicate
with them."

Zoe heard our exchange and the result, Duran had stopped struggling. She gave
me a look like she would deal with me later. Then she turned and started
walking towards the other girl who had already lifted Tex across her
shoulders.

I watched the mean girl closely as she talked to one of the others.

Without looking at Lori, Zoe said in an even voice, "Bring him!"

The other group of girls had begun to prepare their men for their baths too,
and Kyla stopped removing her utility belt and issued a stern warning for Zoe
and the other girls after she had helplessly watched the little episode play
out.

"Don't hurt them! They appear to be extremely fragile. Remember their
emissaries from another race."

Not expecting an answer from Zoe or one that she would care to hear, Kyla
placed the leader of the men on her hip, who had been very docile throughout
even though he had issued what sounded like an order, and started walking into
the water with him. Brionna picked Wolfy up in a similar fashion while Luanna
cradled Tim in her strong arms and began to follow Kyla into the water with
Lyla following close behind.

As Zoe watched the others enter the water, Lori walked over with her
recalcitrant man draped over her shoulders. As soon as the group was together,
Lori swatted the man across his butt saying, "Bad boy!" which caused him to
yelp in pain. Zoe and Tori both laughed.

But after the laughter died down, it was Tori who asked Zoe, "What should we
do with them?"

"Wash them," was her reply. "Besides, I want to examine them a bit more
closely anyway.

Then Tori placed Duran in a hold from which he could not move a muscle and in
which he had trouble breathing. She had him squeezed tightly between her arms
in a reverse bearhug with him facing out from her body. His hands were pinned
to his sides and his body held off the ground in her tight embrace. Then as
she casually walked them both towards the water, she turned to see if the
other two girls were following. Lori followed her sister closely with Tex
draped across her shoulders and Zoe escorting them both to a place in the
water as far away from the other party as they could get, and still stay
within the bounds of the protected zone.

I tried to watch the other girls as I was being washed, but what they were
doing to us was very distracting.

It was Tim who said the obvious in a panic stricken voice.. "Ethan, their
washing us."

"Don't fight them. I'm fairly certain they've made the water safe somehow."

Kyla let the men talk. It seemed to calm them and it kept them busy as well.

Soon the girls sounded more like teenage girls from the planet earth as they
giggled and frolicked in the water washing the mud off the men as well as
themselves. They started to laugh and giggle as the mud came off and they saw
the men more clearly. That lasted till the mud was gone and their curiosity
intensified. Soon they became interested in other things as they explored the
men's bodies with their hands.

When most of the mud was gone from Tim's body, Luanna lifted up her one leg so
that only her other leg supported both their weight, and placed Tim across
that long sexy teenage thigh as she continued to run her hand tenderly over
his body removing the last remaining mud. Tim could not believe the situation
he found himself in. He was straddling the girls leg as she bathed him, and
incredibly, she could manage his entire weight with just her one leg without
any visible support for it. Tim could only close his eyes and try not to give
in to all the pleasurable sensations that were filling his mind.

As Luanna removed the mud, she watched his pleasured expression and smiled to
herself, then on impulse she brought him closer and kissed him. She wasn't
sure why she did it or how she knew that it would be pleasurable, but instinct
won out. Afterwards, she was just happy that the other girls were too involved
with the other men to notice and that included Kyla.

The other men in the group tried to remain calm and passive, but that was not
easy as these unbelievable female specimens continued to wash and probe their
bodies at will. Some of the men were even enjoying the experience now, and
Wolfy was moaning softly.

Lyla who had moved closer to Kyla, so she could get a better view of the
proceedings, as Kyla cleaned the men's leader, asked innocently as she watched
the man's reactions, "Should we take all their clothing off."

"No, we'll leave their loin cloths on for now." And then she repeated her
statement louder so the other girls heard as well.

"Leave their clothing on!"

Zoe and Lori had already removed all of Duran's clothes and were busy
inspecting his penis when they heard Kyla's order. The girl's didn't answer,
but they moved their broad backs directly in Kyla's line of sight so she
couldn't see what they were up too.

"Look how it's growing!" Lori said in wonder as she held the helpless Duran in
her arms while Zoe manipulated his penis. By this time, Duran was squirming
and completely caught up in the pleasure Zoe was providing with her talented
hand.

Tori had watched the other two girls and then followed suit by ripping off
Tex's briefs. Then she started to wash and fondle his penis as well. The men
were completely powerless to stop what was happening to them and totally
humiliated, but still they couldn't help but react as the girls played with
them in the water.

"Are we hurting them?" Lori asked Zoe. "Look how he's squirming and moaning,
and it's getting so much bigger too."

"No! Zoe shot back. "I think it grows when we touch it. I don't think they
have any can control over their weapon."

Zoe always had an answer even when she wasn't certain of one. She thought a
leader should know everything and that's how she endeavored to seem.

Lori nodded her head like she understood, and then she answered back, "Then we
not only control them, but we control their weapon as well."

Zoe nodded and smiled as she realized again how weak and puny the men were.
They were easy enough to control, but this seemed to make it even easier. Then
she shook her head and wondered as she continued to examine and play with
Duran's penis, how such weak and pathetic creatures could have survived till
now.

By this time, Kyla was suspicious of the silence from the other girls so she
handed the leader of the men over to Lyla and started to walk towards the
other girls.

Zoe caught her out of the corner of her eye, exclaiming, "Oh oh!" and then she
had some orders for the other girls.

"Put their loin cloths back on ... ... ..We'll continue this when were back at
camp and I've gotten rid of Kyla ... ... ..I have a plan."

Then Zoe moved to intercept her nemesis before she could see what was going
on.

"Their clean," Zoe said smiling ... ... ."What's next commander?"

A smiling and compliant Zoe took Kyla by surprise for a moment. But she
quickly recovered and looked at the other two girls, they were already walking
towards her and carrying their men. She looked at the two men and they didn't
look none the worse for wear, and they still had their loin clothes on, but
they did have bulges where there weren't ones before. She just didn't know
enough about male physiology to accuse the girls so she remained quiet about
what she saw and answered Zoe's question instead.

"Were going to take them back to camp and detain them till I can learn their
language"

"Sounds like a plan," Zoe stated and then she turned and walked towards the
other girls without further comment.

What's going on Kyla thought? This was not the Zoe she knew. I'm going to have
to watch her even more closely she decided and then she returned to her own
group.

Kyla and the girls entered camp about a hour later. The men had been placed
back in their carryalls and carried in on the girls backs. A big crowd of
girls gathered as soon as the word spread that the expedition had returned
with the men. The girls crowded around looking the men over as Kyla took the
party over to the detention tent.

She thought it necessary to speak to the crowd before she dispossed of the men
and started in on the very important task of deciphering the alien computer.

"Girls and citizens of Helena, these men are under my protection for now. We
will take up the issue of their disposition at the next council meeting. We
must remember they are not the men of legend. They are emissaries from another
race. We must treat them with dignity."

A girl in front of the mass of girls crowding around Kyla and the others
yelled, "Their so small and weak! ... ... .How can they have any status?"

After her statement, all the girls started speaking at once, but it was Zoe
who stunned the crowd with her question, "How do you know these are not the
men of legend?"

Damn Zoe! Kyla thought. She composed herself and answered as a leader should,
"Look at them ... ... ... .. Do they look anything like what we have been led
to believe men should look like? Are they huge and dangerous? Do they look
ferocious and threatening? Could they hurt anyone of us? I think not."

Kyla looked around the group of girls for effect and to let her words sink in
before she went on.

"These are men, yes, but these are not the men of our worst nightmares. These
are just men ... ... different men ... ... Men who could and should be our
friends ... ... ... Think about that before you condemn them to a life without
status."

"Equals must prove themselves," Zoe answered back calmly.

"And they will," was Kyla's reply as she quickly entered the tent.

There was a hushed calm among the girls outside the tent as they whispered
among themselves and watched Kyla's party enter.

Once inside, the girls relieved themselves of their human burdens. The men
where both stunned and happy at the same time as they saw Yuri and then
realized he was in a cage. Then they saw the other empty cages as well.

Kyla tried to explain to the leader that the cages were only temporary till
she could decipher their computer, and that they were more for their own
protection than anything else. He seemed to understand enough to tell the
others something, and then he went into his cage peacefully enough. The others
followed his lead.

Kyla was about to retreat to her tent with the alien computer when she saw Zoe
looking at the men.

"Leave them be, Zoe." Kyla warned.

"For now!" was her simple reply and then she walked out of the tent, and Tori
and Lori followed her out.

Kyla looked after the threesome for a brief moment and then her thoughts
returned to the computer. It was the most urgent problem. Before she left with
the computer, she looked at the leader of the men. He was sitting in his cage
peacefully enough and staring up at Kyla as she stared back at him. What was
he thinking? Did he hate her? She hoped to find out soon enough.

Back in her tent she opened the computer, pushed the button on the side, and
the screen sprang to life. Then she focused on the keypad. An hour later she
hadn't gotten anywhere. She was having trouble deciphering how the computer
worked. Her thought waves activated nothing. This was a far more primitive
machine than she had ever seen before. Then the answer dawned on her. She
needed a key and the key was sitting in a cage.

As she walked back to the detention tent, she realized for the first time that
night had fallen. She was running out of time she realized as she entered the
tent and immediately saw what she was looking for. As soon as the guard saw
her, she came to attention as Kyla unlocked the cage and offered the man
inside her hand. He took it and crawled out.

"I need him," was all she said to the guard who looked at her, saluted, and
remained quiet. She led the man, by the hand, out of the tent, through the
nearly deserted compound, and back to her own tent. Once there she motioned
for him to sit on her bed as she sat next to him and began to fiddle with the
computer again.

He watched her and the computer screen very carefully, and when she ran into
problems, he calmly motioned for her to stop and he hit a few keys and the
computer changed screens. Then he gave her a ten minute tutorial on computer
basics which she seemed to follow easily enough.

After that he cleared the screen and typed and ... A ... and said ah! ...
..Then he typed a ... ..B ... .and said ba ... .She soon realized that almost
every key, on the computer, represented one of these letters.

For the next twenty minutes, Kyla committed the letters and sounds to memory.
Then the man put the letters together and made words.

Was their language this simple she thought? Could each letter represent a
sound and each grouping of letters represented a person place or thing. It was
so one dimensional, it astounded her. As soon as she caught on, she no longer
needed the man's help, and she motioned for him to sit and remain passive
which he did, but he did not take his eyes off of her as she worked.

As she concentrated, she would say a word in perfect English from time to time
such as man or room and he would motion that she was doing it properly. In
another half hour she had completely mastered the language. She was aided in
this when she found a file containing a dictionary which increased her
progress a thousand fold. Every word was committed to memory as she read it.
Then she found and encyclopedia and read it too, but it took her almost ten
minutes because the screen could not change fast enough to keep up with her
thoughts. The encyclopedia gave substance and meaning to the words and helped
even more than the dictionary.

Then she turned to the inner workings of his computer and opened and read
every file. From this she learned much, and many things became clearer to her.
Several files had security locks on them, but they were so rudimentary and
linear that she had no trouble attaining access.

By this time several hours had passed, and when she glanced at him, he was
sitting with his eyes closed and he had fallen asleep watching her. She smiled
at him and then read his personal files. These files gave the man next to her
substance and she felt better when she read his words. She realized he was
much like her. He was just as concerned with the well being and safety of his
command as she was with hers. For the first time she felt a kinship with this
man. They were both leaders, and they both had been thrust into a difficult
situation.

When all that could be learned from the computer was committed to memory, Kyla
sighed deeply, turned it off, and prepared to speak to the man for the first
time.

I felt a nudge, and I immediately woke up to her smiling face.

When I was fully awake, she asked in perfect English, "Can you understand me?"

I hesitated for a moment which caused her some concern.

Then a big smile lit up my face and I said excitedly, "Yes, yes I understand
you!"

She answered back, "Good! My name is Kyla and I'm the leader here ... ...
..And you are Ethan ... ... .Ethan Fury!"

I was stunned that she knew my name and I asked, "You know my name ... .How?"

"I read it here," and she pointed to the computer before she put it down.

I was so happy, a rush of words spilled out, "You learned our language so
quickly ... ... .It's astounding!"

The teenage girl smiled at me and said, "Yes, with your help." Then she paused
a moment like she was measuring her words and she added, "It is a very easy
language to learn."

I just shook my head in total awe of this young girl, and then I said, "One of
my group, maybe me, must learn your language."

Kyla paused a moment before she answered me and she had a frown on her face
when she answered, "That will not be so easy."

I shot back, "Were not dumb, I'm sure one of us can handle it. Maybe not so
fast though."

Kyla frowned more an then tried to explain, "Your language is linear ... ...
.On only one level ... ... ... Our language has many levels, and transmits far
more information."

I listened, but I didn't quite understand what she was trying to convey, and I
finally reiterated, "I'm sure I could do it."

Kyla frowned at me again trying to come up with the words, but trying to
convey something so complex was not easy for her in my language.

If he could only speak my language she thought. His is so infantile.

Then she thought of an analogy, "When you say flower for instance, you think
of many different flowers and one might come into your mind that is a favorite
of yours to represent all flowers, but not much information is conveyed and
the meaning is indistinct. It's only with more specific words can you
distinguish between flowers ... ... ..In my language there is no word that is
indistinct. When I say flower I get a distinct image of all flowers and I can
feel them and smell them all at the same time ... ... If that is what I
choose. Or my mind can choose to review particular information or store it for
later. My language works on many levels all at the same time and the words
contain an almost infinite amount of information. Plus we not only hear and
see words, we feel, touch, and smell words as well ... ... .All in our minds."

I tried to grasp what she was saying. How could words convey sensual
information? It meant her mind had to be much more powerful than mine. That
was a sobering thought and I had a new found respect for this teenage girl.

Struggling with what she was saying, I finally asked, "How can your mind sort
through so much data."

She paused for a moment then tried to explain it in another way.

"It is the difference in the way our two races are wired ... ... Put simply it
is the way evolution progressed in us ... ... ..For instance when you play
chess. It is on a flat board in one dimension. We would play the game on a
hundred different levels at once and without a board or medium to play the
game on. The medium would be our minds and each peace would act differently
and have a different value in each level ... ... .I think that would be a very
fun game to play," she added smiling.

"Phew! I said out loud trying to grasp what she was trying to convey to me.
Then I asked sadly, "So you don't think we can learn your language?"

Our machines scroll through the data much too fast. You could not focus on it.
Again it is not a shortcoming in you, but rather the differences in how our
two races are wired up here." And Kyla pointed to her head.

"I think our two races had better be good friends then," I remarked, not
thinking she would grasp what I meant.

But she grasped immediately what I was saying and she stated the obvious, and
it was not a boast.

"Your machines are one dimensional and you think linearly ... ... .We would
take you over in minutes. You could not defend against our advantages."

Her comments troubled me from a military prospective. I was out her alone and
I had to worry about such things, and I responded by saying, "Then let us be
friends."

Kyla smiled at me and said, "Yes, friends." But she was troubled and she felt
it necessary to explain, "My culture feels that testing makes individuals and
our race as a whole better ... ... .So we come here to test ourselves against
this very dangerous planet ... ... If we survive we are accorded full status
back home ... ... .Why are you here?"

I saw her watching me carefully. I knew my words were important. It could
determine my fate and the fate of my men.

Kyla watched him carefully and thought to herself, he is a good leader, he
tries to be precise and he is not careless with his words. He is so different,
but I like what I see in this man.

Finally, he spoke, "We came here to explore and to find others like ourselves.
Do you not also seek others?"

She nodded yes. Then she frowned again and gave me the bad news.

"There are others amongst us that believe you should be tested before you are
looked upon as equals ... ... ..And if you fail then you would be accorded no
status."

That did not sound good, and it helped to explain why we were locked away. The
girl's were so overpowering and their weapons were so much better than ours, I
didn't think rebelling was an option, but I did not like the term "no status."
It sounded downright scary.

So I asked, "So we have to undergo some sort of tests ... ... .Is that why we
were placed in cages?"

"No, No!" Kyla shot back. "We did that for your own protection till we could
speak to you and you could understand that we mean you no harm."

That statement was very confusing. They wanted to protect us so they put us in
cages. I could see she was getting frustrated talking in my language. It must
have been difficult for her to convey the right meaning when it took us years
to master the nuances of the language ourselves.

Kyla was getting upset as she struggled to find just the right meaning in this
maddening infantile language. It was obvious, to her, the man was struggling
to grasp the meaning of her words and he finally said, "So you put us in cages
to protect us?"

"We were watching you and saw that you could not defend yourselves against the
animals and plants here. Also we recognized that you could never speak our
language ... ... .This was viewed by some here as a loss of status ... ...
..We only wished to protect you till we could communicate."

"Now what?" I asked nervously.

"You must prove yourselves even as we must."

I didn't like where this was leading, but I had to ask. I had to know my
options.

"And if we fail ... ... .What will happen to us?"

"That is uncertain," Kyla answered.

She thought the man seemed to grasp what she was saying, but he was very quiet
for awhile, and Kyla thought it best to move on with her agenda.

Kyla asked, "I wish to check you out physically, if you don't mind."

"I don't think I could stop you," I answered back.

"That is true," she admitted, "nevertheless, I ask.

I shrugged and then nodded yes, and she produced some sort of bracelet which
she fit over the fingers of her one hand and then it started to glow as she
waved it across my head, shoulders, and then the rest of my body.

When she was done, she spoke to me, "You had two minor imperfections which I
fixed ... ..One in your heart and one in the artery leading to your brain ...
... ... They would not have been a problem for sometime, nevertheless I fixed
them. Other than that, you are in good health."

I smiled and said, "Thank you!" To which she acknowledged my gratitude with a
nod of her head.

They are so similar to us she thought. Could they be the legendary men of old?

Then I asked, "Could I see that?"

She nodded and handed it over. I took it and positioned it on the fingers of
one hand as she had done, and then I concentrated and waved it at her. It
immediately started to glow but not quite as brightly as it had for her.

Immediately my mind lit up like Times Square on New Year's Eve. A rush of
symbols and signs and even sensual cues raced through my head like a swarm of
bees, but they appeared and disappeared much too fast for me to make any sort
of coherent sense out of them. Soon the flood of information overwhelmed my
untrained mind and I had to rip the bracelet off my hand or I feared I might
go mad.

Kyla watched passively and then commented, "So you understand better now."

I rubbed my head it ached so much and I felt a bit nauseous as well, but I
managed to look up and nod grudgingly that I did have a better understanding
now that I had experienced what she was talking about first hand. It made me
realize just how much more evolved her brain was in comparison to mine, and it
didn't fill me with confidence that I could deal with this girl on a level of
equality. At the same time, I had a new and profound respect for this
beautiful teenage girl.

As I recovered, she took the bracelet again and slipped it back on and
explained further as a holographic image appeared next to us. It was the image
of one of her kind and about the same age as Kyla.

"Our race lives for much longer than yours, on average about five hundred of
your years."

Then as I watched the image change she hit me with her next bombshell.

"I am older than you?"

How could that be I thought. She looked so young ... ..She appeared no older
than a teenager back on earth.

"We do not age as you do," and then the image of the girl started to age till
I thought she was about thirty.

"That is about the limit to our aging," she told me.

"We age far more," I said looking at the young girl and having trouble
believing she was much older than I was.

"Yes, I know, but I fixed that in you ... ... ..You will now live much longer
and you will not appear to age much beyond what you look like now."

That news was incredible and I felt mixed emotions well up in me. Did I want
to live five hundred years? I kept those thoughts to myself, and I said,
"Thank you! ... ... Could you do that for the others?"

"We shall see," she said and she took the bracelet off and faced me like she
was going to tell me something very important.

"You are an anomaly to us!"

"In what way," I asked.

"There are no men in our culture!"

"What! That's impossible! ... ... .Men are needed! ... ... ..How do you
procreate?"

Instead of answering me, she moved closer and I could see the curiosity on her
face.

Her mood seemed to change as well and she drew even closer as she added, "I
know we are very different, and I wish to explore those differences ... ...
..for science."

God she was young, but she was so beautiful. "

What do you want of me?" I asked cautiously.

"We have kissing and touching in our culture, but I wish to see if it is the
same or different with you."

As she moved closer and her mood changed to one of curiosity, I shot back, "Oh
it's different all right! ... ... I mean it's very different for two girls to
kiss and when a man and woman kiss."

She moved very close to my face as she looked deeply into my eyes, and she
asked, "How so?"

She was so beautiful I really had to concentrate on talking while I stared
into her lovely alien face. I tried to remember this was for science as I
spoke softly and distinctly, "Well for one, you really get stimulated, and ...
... ... "

That's all I got out as she reached behind me with one of her hands and drew
my head closer so she could plant a kiss on my lips. She held our lips
together for some time and when it was over, I immediately started to speak.

"Phew! See what I mean by stimulating."

She looked into my eyes as she spoke, "That was interesting ... ... Not at all
like a kiss in our culture."

"I'm sure of that!" I said as I tried to be clinical as I recovered from her
kiss ... .."I mean there are physiological as well physiological differences
that are apparent ... ... "

That's all I got out of my mouth as she grabbed me and gently forced me down
on the bed as she kissed me again. This time it was a far longer and much more
stimulating.

This time, I said nothing when our lips parted. I was too involved in the
wonderful sensations from the kiss.

"Was that stimulating? she asked. "I mean did you feel something?"

"Oh yes!" I answered back breathlessly.

"I felt something too!" she said ... ."It's not at all like kissing another
girl."

"No! It's definitely different,' I answered back still somewhat breathless.

That's when she kissed me again. This time she added touch to the equation as
she explored my upper body with her hands.

After the kiss she looked deeply into my eyes and commented happily, "I like
your body too! ... ... It's so soft and hairy just like one of my stuffed
animals back home."

Then as she rubbed her hands over my arms and shoulders she added, "Your women
are smaller ... ... .That doesn't seem right ... ... I mean the differences in
our relative sizes seems so right to me." Then she straddled my body resting
her weight on her legs while I rested safely under her.

As I looked up at her, I contemplated her comment and realized that when we
were standing together that I came up to her boobs ... ... That didn't seem so
bad to me either at the moment.

Then as if she could read my mind, she stood more upright for a moment and
took off her scanty top, and as her big beautiful breasts spilled out all over
the place, she asked, "My breasts feel so tender at the moment ... ..I wish
for you to touch them ... ... for science."

As long as it was for science I thought. I reached up and cupped her breasts
with my hands as her head flung back and she reacted to my touch with a loud
guttural gasp. Then as I explored her big sensitive breasts, I could see she
was becoming more flushed and excited by the moment. She was giving in to the
new sensations I was creating for her. I have to admit I was becoming more
excited too.

As I touched her, she explored my body as well with her hands. Then she bent
down and kissed me again.

When it was over she asked in a excited state, "I'm feeling hot and flushed
... ... Is that normal or am I getting sick?"

"Oh that's normal," I assured her ... .."That's perfectly normal."

"Good!" she said and then she bent down covering me with her body and kissed
me again.

When she removed her lips, she stated flatly, "This is much nicer than kissing
another girl."

I thought for a novice she was doing very well.

That's when she asked, "I'd like to examine your penis."

I was feeling pretty good myself, but her statement brought me right back.

"What!" I asked.

"There are some myths and legends involving the male penis in my culture. I
wish to explore them further."

She said that with such a straight face, it ruined the mood. I wasn't going to
take advantage of her and I said, "I'm sorry, but I think we better stop here,
science not withstanding."

She sat upright while she still straddled my waist, and said, "I'm sorry you
feel that way, but I am the leader of my people here on this planet, and I
must have certain information ... ... ... I hope you can forgive me."

Soon after, I felt myself being lifted into the air. She lifted me with one
hand and ripped off my jock strap with the other. Then she sat back down
folding her legs, and placing my body across her lap so that she was
controlling me with one arm, and that left her other hand free to explore the
objects of her attention.

My head was leaning against her shoulder as she started to manipulate my penis
carefully with her right hand. As soon as she did so, I let out with a little
gasp.

She stopped for a moment and asked in a concerned voice, "Am I hurting you?"

"No," I admitted. "It's just that's it's very sensitive."

She started to fondle it again and she asked as she did so, "Then it's very
sensitive just like my breasts?"

"Yes," I stated gasping again. I hated myself for my weakness but in my own
excited state, I found myself cupping her big breast with my hand and kissing
it tenderly.

She reacted with a gasp of her own and then she really started to work my
penis over with her hand. That, of course, led to the next consequence. My
dick started to get as hard as a rock.

Kyla reacted to my short gasps and to my growing penis by asking, "Am I
hurting you?"

"No, that's just a typical male reaction to your presence and nearness ... ...
..and to your touch."

Instead of asking another series of questions, all she said was,
"Interesting!" but she still kept on with her fondling.

By this time, I was squirming on her lap from the intense sensations of
pleasure she was sending my way and I felt the pressure building. I was
reaching the point of no return as I begged, "Please Kyla, if you don't stop
... ... .I'm going to blow."

Still fondling me she asked in a concerned voice, " What? Are you going to
blow up?"

It was already to late and as I convulsed in her arms, I shot my load all over
the place.

In total bewilderment she cried out, "What's happening? ... ... ..Is this some
sort of defense mechanism ... ... .Have I hurt you?"

When I finally stopped and was more under control. I answered her last
question first. I really didn't want to explain the birds and the bees to her
at this moment.

"I'm not hurt ... ... .Access the encyclopedia, look up orgasm.

She had a distant look for a moment and then she said, "Of course, procreation
in your species ... ... The merging of egg and sperm ... ... .Interesting!"

Then her distant look disappeared and she asked, "Then, I was not hurting you
and that was pleasurable for you?"

"Yes, " I answered ashamed at the admission.

Grabbing my upper rib cage with her strong hands she lifted me up so that my
limp penis was equal to her eyes, and she remarked, "There is nothing foul or
odious about the male penis ... ... ..It's actually quite stimulating."

I answered her as clinically as I could in my present situation. "It's meant
to be so as the make procreation desirable. It is the same with female
genitalia as well."

She asked me clinically again while she held me in that position, "Does it
take some time for you to recharge?"

"Yes," I answered. Men need time to recover.

She must have got another urge because she drew me closer and engulfed my
penis with her lips.

"Oh God!" I exclaimed.

It wasn't long before her mouth got the desired reaction. So there I was being
lifted up in front of an Amazon goddess while she sucked life back into my
penis. It wasn't long before I was moaning with delight and fidgeting in her
arms, and it wasn't long too after that I came into her mouth.

Instead of being grossed out, she remarked as she still held my limp body in
front of her, "Salty taste ... ... Not unappealing ... ... .I guess your
recharge time isn't that great."

"Not with somebody who looks like you," I said.

"Then my looks are appealing to you?" she inquired.

"You are very beautiful!" I said honestly.

She taught about my remark for a minute, maybe she was looking up the word
beautiful, I'm not sure. But I saw a hint of a smile on her lovely face as she
got clinical again.

"So men attain more pleasure out of contact with women than the opposite?"

"No," I said, "women obtain just as much pleasure too."

She thought about my comment for a moment, then she said, "Show me!"

This was getting completely out of hand, I had to end this here. This was not
the time or place to get further involved so I said, "Kyla, men and women who
are in love do this sort of thing."

She thought a moment and then she answered back, "Show me!"

I was about to object even more strongly when a young female entered the tent.
She looked at us for a moment, and then she remembered why she walked into the
tent in the first place, "Commander, you wanted to know if Zoe returned to the
detention area!"

Kyla looked at me, took a deep breath, and said something I couldn't quite
make out under her breath. Then she told the girl as she quickly got up and
dressed, "Bring him, when he's put his undergarment back on."

She gave me another look like she was very disappointed, and then she rushed
out of the tent. The other girl looked on curiously as I slipped my jock strap
back on.

When my escort and I made it back to the detention area, The mean girl from
before and Kyla were having another argument, and two of the girls who
captured us earlier were carrying Tex and Duran who were putting up
resistance, but the two girls had them under semi-control as the men tried to
free themselves.

Kyla and the other girl were yelling at each other in their own language and I
had a general idea what they were yelling about. It was obvious Kyla didn't
want these girls to have the men.

"Put the men back!" Kyla ordered.

"You had this one, " Zoe shot back as she pointed to the leader of the men.

"He was helping me learn their language ... ... .I can now speak with him!"

That information took Zoe by surprise and she remained silent for a moment,
but looked skeptical.

Then Kyla offered Zoe a bone, "Put the men back. I'll teach you their language
and we will not speak of this incident again."

Zoe as always had a counter proposal, "You'll teach Tori and Lori their
language as well!"

Kyla did not want a confrontation at this time so she said reluctantly,
"Agreed! ... ... .And also Brionna and Lyla will learn their language as
well."

Zoe nodded her consent, and then she motioned for Tori and Lori to put the men
back into their cages.

After the men were safely back in their cages, Zoe asked, "Can we learn their
language before our council meeting tonight?"

Kyla nodded yes, and then she spoke to Ethan, "Please go back into your cage
... ... ... WE can speak again tomorrow and maybe this will be the last night
for the cages."

Ethan reluctantly headed for his cage, took a look at Zoe and frowned, and
then addressed Kyla, "Thank you for your understanding. Please make the others
understand too that we mean them no harm and that our utmost desire is for our
two races to become friends."

Kyla smiled at him and nodded her head in agreement.

Then he went back into his cage and the guard locked his cage by bending a
band through the latch just like the others.

Zoe listened to the man talk and was angry that only Kyla could understand him
for the time being. Zoe hated it when Kyla was one up on her for anything.

"Let's go," Zoe insisted impatiently to Kyla.

Kyla nodded and led the way to her tent.

When the men were alone again in the tent except for their guard, Tim asked
Ethan, "Their leader can speak our language already?"

"She's amazingly intelligent ... ... She learned our language in a couple of
hours."

"Shouldn't we try to learn their language?" Duran asked.

Ethan frowned when he told the men, "That won't be so easy ... ... ..Their
brains our wired differently then ours ... ... ... ..I'm not sure at this
point if we can learn their complex language, and if we can, it will take a
hell of a lot longer than two hours."

Always the pragmatist, Wolfgang asked, "What are they going to do with us?"

"Their leader's name is Kyla. She said they put us in these cages for our own
protection," Ethan explained.

"I don't trust those other three girls ... ... ..it's like their superwomen or
something," Yuri added.

"In some respects they are! Their remarkably intelligent, much stronger than
we are, and have vastly better weaponry. ... ... ... I trust their leader
though ... ... .She wants to treat us like emissaries from another race."

"That's what we are, " Duran said.

"I know ... ... ..I just hope she can convince the others," Ethan replied with
concern in his voice.

For a moment, the men were silent as they pondered their fate.

The next morning, Kyla led a procession of girls into the detention tent. She
was dressed differently then before. She was scantily clad, but this time her
clothes were red and not blue just like the girl we saw in the jungle, and her
face had paint under her eyes and on her cheek as if she was going war. Her
blaster was gone and she had only her knife strapped to her one leg.

She motioned for the guard to open my cage, and when it was open I gingerly
stepped out.

As soon as I was out I asked hopefully, "Are you letting us out of our cages?"

Kyla ignored my question and responded by saying, "It is the decision of the
council that you are to be tested."

"In what way?" I asked.

"You must undergo the rite just as we must ... ... ..You are to spend ten days
in the jungle with just a knife and one canteen of water."

As soon as Kyla said that, she motioned to Brionna who handed me a knife, it's
sheath, and a canteen of water?"

As I stared at the knife and canteen in my hand, I asked, "What happens if I
fail?"

"Then you will be dead, and so will I, and the other men will lose all
status!"

"You are coming too?" I asked.

"I must be put to the test as well! ... ... .It is our way!. ... ... ... But
because you have not been prepared as we have, it was agreed that we should
test together as compensation for your lack of preparation and other short
comings ... ... ..You will be the first man in recorded history to undergo the
rite of passage!"

I looked at the other men and asked, "Will my men be safe till we return?"

"My second Brionna will watch over them, it is now out of my hands till I we
return," and she looked at the girl standing at her right.

Brionna acknowledged her leader like she could understand English, and I
quickly realized that many of the girls in the room now probably could
understand us as well. These girls were very amazing creatures.

The rest of the party followed Kyla and I out of the tent, and they watched us
depart as the protective shield was lowered. When we were ten paces from the
camp, Kyla spoke to me, "Do not look back ... ... .It is tradition and
considered bad form ... ... ... Walk just in front of me and I will try and
protect you."

Kyla and I stopped as I tied the sheath to my leg and slipped the knife in.
Then I wound the strap of the canteen around my shoulder carrying it just like
Kyla carried hers. When I was ready, we started walking again. A large animal
roared in the distance and Kyla warned, "Stay close and alert!"

As I walked, I glanced nervously from side to side, and then I remembered the
sounds of the night I had heard in the Lander? The day was bad enough, but I
dreaded the night far worse. How were we going to stay alive I wondered? My
men were counting on me. I just couldn't let them down.

I heard a growl coming from the trees of to our right, I didn't see anything
but Kyla yelled, "Run!" and run we did.

Zoe had a big smile on her face as she watched the two depart, and as they
walked out of site she told Tori and Lori, "This is my best plan yet ... ...
At the worst Kyla will be gone for ten days, and if were lucky, the man will
get them both killed! ... ... ..And then I will be leader!"

Tori and Lori looked at their leader and smiled and then the trio headed for
the detention tent.

End of Part One ... ... ... ..