Pookahs Part 1of 2 By Valerafon A few earth men find that the galaxy isn't a men's club. Some time ago I read a book by C.J. Cherryh that was the inspiration for this story. The book entitled Hunter of Worlds is all about the reaction of highly evolved predators to their prey. In this case, the races are all space faring races as well. They may be super intelligent, but they still are species that are governed by the instincts coded in their genes. If you enjoy reading about unbelievably tall beautiful women who are in complete and utter control of the situation, then you may want to read my story. If you like an extremely well written work of Science Fiction that creates a totally different universe, then please read her book also. It was written a long time ago, but I still think you can get it at Amazon.com. Caution: Adult situations. Chapter One: The abduction My name is Mike Miller and do I have a story to tell you. Life had been very good to me in the thirty odd years I have been on the planet. I had a great job with the Chicago Bulls making a six figure salary. I lived in a beautiful condo right by the lake in the heart of the most plush section of town. I owned all the toys any man could hope for, a beautiful sports car, twenty thousand dollars worth of computer equipment, and all the techno-gadgets any man could possibly ever need to make his life bearable at the dawn of a new millennium. Yes, life had been very kind to me. My pride and joy, though, was my boat. It was one of the biggest moored at the Chicago Yacht Club. I would often take it out on Lake Michigan by myself. It was my way of unwinding in a complicated world. That is what I was doing as my story begins, and soon after my life would never be the same again. On this late summer evening, as I slipped my boat out of it's mooring, I was thinking about my relationship with women. I not only collected gadgets, I collected women as well. I currently had four girl friends. I lived a very complicated life style by anyone's standard. I needed this time by myself to keep my sanity. I knew it wasn't the women's fault. They were all extremely beautiful and intelligent with careers of their own. Each had her own wonderful attributes. It made choosing between them impossible in my mind..So I didn't. What made it even more difficult was the fact that they didn't know about each other. I had made juggling four women into an art form. I know some would think of me as a cad, but it wasn't my fault women found me enchanting. Life had been good to me not only from a career standpoint, but in the looks department as well. I was six foot three inches tall and all of it packed with woman worshipping muscle. I had the build, boyish good looks, and a personality a Chippendale dancer would die for. The total package made me irresistible to women. I don't say this as someone who is tripping on themselves, but rather as a statement in fact. It was simply easy for me to meet and date new an interesting women. It had always been such even when I was young. Even though meeting and dating alpha females was easy for me, making a commitment to just one woman was another matter. I tried to justify my womanizing in my own mind by saying to myself, most people don't eat just one variety of chocolate, they savor all the different varieties and consume them all. I guess you could call me the perfect consumer. This character flaw of mine was becoming more of a concern to me as I got older. I didn't like myself for it. I wanted to change. When I was alone on my boat I would often resign myself to change my relationship with women. I wanted to settle down, with one woman, and start to build a life together with her. How do you choose just one girl though? It wasn't my fault nature had made so many interesting varieties. I was deep in thought as dusk settled into a calm peaceful night on the lake. I almost forgot to turn my running lights on as I headed out farther from shore. I loved these cool peaceful evenings, by myself, on the lake. The lake calmed me and it was easy to reenergize my batteries. It was virtually the only time I was by myself..ever. I must have been seven or eight miles out when I decided to turn the boat north towards Evanston. Almost at that very moment, I saw something streak across the starry background of the night sky. I stopped the motor for a second and watched as the object flew directly overhead, at an incredible speed, and disappeared south over the horizon. I didn't think it was a meteorite. I had seen a few of those in my time and this didn't have the characteristics of those types of objects. This object had extremely bright lights, brighter and more vivid than I had ever seen before on any man made object. I don't know how fast it was going, but it traveled at an incredible rate of speed. I had just saw something very unusual. The facts all seemed to point to an interesting conclusion. That thought thrilled me as I started the boat up again and headed for shore. I barely had time to consider the object further when out of the corner of my eye I saw the object reappear from the South. It streaked right over the boat and stopped on a dime. I knew no man-made object could stop that fast and still stay in one piece. I felt my heart start to race as I stared up at the bright object directly above me. Could it be a UFO? I looked around for other lights on the water and didn't see any. I was the only one witnessing this strange object. I always wondered how I would react if I was the first to encounter a UFO. I gunned the motor and headed for shore...My actions in reality had not measured up to my daydreams. The boat had barely started to lurch forward when the motor died. I frantically tried to restart it, but the system was completely dead, and then my running lights went out. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I reacquired the object above me. My anxiety hit a fever pitch when I realized the object was moving again. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, it only took me a second to realize it was descending. I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run too. I had become an unwilling witness to what I thought was a momentous event unfolding in front of me. Slowly, I reacquired my courage as the object descended peacefully to the lake. What choice did I have? It took about a minute to slowly descend to the water off to my port side. As my fears calmed, my mind turned more analytical as I watched the strange object. It just seemed to hover slightly above the water as its lights blinked on an off like any commercial craft. I couldn't judge distance too well in the dark, but I knew the object was huge, and if I had to guess, it was still about a quarter of a mile away from my boat. I tried to calm my nerves and realized I was shaking. In spite of my fears I couldn't pull my eyes from the object. It just hovered above the water for a few minutes as I watched half in fear and half in fascination. When all at once, the light from it changed from a blinking vivid orange to green to a solid bright white light. In the next few moments, I realized the object was slowly moving towards me. A strange thought entered my mind at that moment, I wondered if a person who has just fallen off a cliff watches the ground approach as his death nears. In the next few moments, I would find out my fate. I didn't have long to wait. The light continued to get brighter and brighter as the object got closer and closer. I could make out the immense form of the object now as it was just a few hundred yards away. It was saucer shaped. At that moment all my childhood fantasies took over and crowded out my reason. I didn't have long to dwell on my fears as the light got unbelievably intense and I couldn't pull my eyes from it. In the next second, welcome darkness filled my mind and I lost consciousness. ------------------------------------------ Chapter 2: The Itanii I awoke on a metal floor. As my mind cleared and my eyes began to focus, I realized my true situation. I was in a large cage. It resembled a bird cage and it was suspended from the ceiling of a large room. The bars of my prison held my attention for some time. These were not like any bars I had ever seen before. They were more like beams of light that took the form of a cage and they seemed to be solid and have substance. I put that wonder aside for a moment and started to scan my surroundings. I quickly realized that I was not alone. There was another man in the cage with me. He was naked and sitting on the floor leaning against one of the beams of light watching me with a strange expression on his face. As I turned towards him, he spoke. I couldn't make out what he was saying. It sounded like French to me. When he realized I didn't understand him, he shrugged and stopped talking. His nakedness made me look down, I was naked too. I didn't dwell on my condition, I wanted to figure out where the hell I was. I continued my survey of the area outside my cage. The Frenchman and I were not alone. There were five other cages hung neatly in a row from the ceiling just like the cage we were in. Our cage was at one end of the row of cages. In each of the other cages, there were two men equally naked as myself and the Frenchman. I estimated the ceiling was about fourteen feet from the floor. All the cages were of the same construction, right down to the peculiar light beams. The cages shapes were also similar, they were about seven feet long and tapered down to the circular floor of the cage which was about four feet in diameter. They were all equally spaced about three feet apart as well. The room we were in was huge and contained many unrecognizable boxes and cartons piled neatly in rows. It reminded me of a large cargo hold, but it still had an unearthliness about it I couldn't quite put my finger on. Suddenly it struck me. Everything seemed to be just a little too large. Like it was made for giants. This cargo hold like all cargo holds had no windows, just smooth metal walls. As I looked at the walls, I realized for the first time, that the light was emanating from the surface of the metal. It was a continuous light which seemed to be emitted equally from all the metal surfaces. There was no other light source. As I finished the survey of my prison, a man spoke to me in the cage next to mine. He sounded like he was speaking Spanish. I couldn't make out a word he was saying. For the first time, I was sorry I hadn't taken Spanish in college. He looked at his fellow prisoner and shrugged. Then the other man started to talk. This time I could understand what the man was saying. "G'day Mate!...welcome to hell." He offered in a friendly voice. The man was obviously Australian. All I managed to say in an unsteady voice was, "Where are we?" "Now that's the million dollar question...Isn't it, Yank?" He said, and I could tell he wasn't certain either. A few cages down a man spoke out in a loud voice, "We're in a space ship, and your just a specimen in somebody's private zoo." I let his words sink in as the Aussie spoke up again, "That's Bob and he's from Canada. He's a bit of a downer...but at least he speaks English." I could see that Bob was staring at me holding on to the bars of light a few cages down. I was about to inquire about the bars when the Aussie continued talking, "My name's Gordon and I'm from Melbourne. Just yesterday I was on a bit of a walk about when I saw this bright light. We all have the same story, mate. We all saw a strange object just before we found ourselves in here." "Have you seen our jailers?" I inquired. "Just some sort of mechanical chap. Every hour or two he floats in another inmate in our zoo, and places him in one of the cages. I was the first and I estimate I've been here about a day." "Floats?" "Yep! Some sort of beam from his eyes," Bob added. I heard another man down the row of cages yell, "We're not in Kansas anymore." Gordon said, "That's Carl from Kansas City. He's the last of the English Speaking folks. The rest are from other countries and if you want to communicate with them, use hand signals. It's crude, but we manage." Carl, Bob, Gordon, and I talked for a little while longer. Each man reciting the story of his own abduction. As I listened to each account, all their stories sounded eerily familiar to my own. Finally, I had to ask Gordon, "How does one use the facilities around here?" "Pee through the bars and watch what happens," he said with a smile on his face. I looked at him dumbly for a second or two. He saw my expression and laughed. Then in an earnest tone of voice he said, "Go'n mate! It's the only way..better than holding it....were all men here." I really had to go. Finally, nature's call was too intense to resist. I whipped out my pride and joy and peed through the strange bars of light. I must've peed for a minute. I could hear it hitting the floor as I emptied my bladder. As soon as I was done, an opening appeared in one of the smooth metal walls. Appeared was the right word for nothing lifted or swung open. The entrance way just appeared as the wall dissolved. I hadn't realized it before, but there were no doors. A robot floated through the opening. Float was the proper term because he had no legs. He sort of hovered above the ground. He reminded me a little of R-2 D-2 from Star Wars. At least he had a similar shape. He was about six feet tall with two openings or sensors on his head that reminded me of eyes. He floated right over to our cage and seemed to be concerned with the puddle. In a second or two, he floated out of sight. His whole body just fit easily below the cage. I got near the side of the cage and could see he was directing some sort of beam at the puddle of urine on the floor..it quickly disappeared. At that moment, I realized I was holding on to the bars of light as I watched. I felt a strange vibration on the palms of my hand, but it was not unpleasant. I could hear Gordon in the background saying, "He makes a pretty good janitor..Doesn't he mate? He's also our chief cook and bottle washer. He serves dinner and gets rid of the plates and eating utensils in the same manner." As the opening slid open again and the robot disappeared through the wall, I looked at him and asked another question, "But who does he serve?" Gordon laughed again. His laugh seemed a little forced this time. "We all wonder that, mate. I think we'll find out soon enough. You seem to be the last invited guest to the party." I instantly knew what he meant. All the cages now had two occupants. I sat down and made myself comfortable. I wasn't sure how long I had to wait. It turned out to be not too long at all. About five minutes later, the opening appeared again and six women entered. They were gigantic. From their heads in relation to the ceiling, I estimated them to be twelve feet tall. I heard an audible gasp from the other men. I was sure I had gasped too. They were undeniably women, but they were like no women I had ever seen before. Each female walked up to a different cage and peered inside. Both the Frenchman and I responded to the females presence by standing. It was a response born out of both awe and fear. As I stood frozen looking at the awesome creature before me, I realized once again that we were nearly seven feet off the floor and standing and we were almost the same height as the alien woman who was standing before the cage. That fact stunned me. As the alien female looked on us with a curious smile, at least I think it was a smile, she surveyed both of us thoroughly. I wasn't modest by any means, but I found my hand instinctively cover my groin. I couldn't help it. She immediately spoke in an unfamiliar language. It sounded like clicks and squeaks to me. A medallion that was on a chain around her neck started to speak in English. "Remove your hand," it said in a mechanical voice. I thought the pendant must be some sort of translating device, but it looked beautiful on her as well. I immediately removed my hand. I was in no position to defy her at the moment. I needed to get more information before I could formulate a plan. Her smile broadened as I followed her instructions. Her eyes slowly moved down my body and paused at my groin. Now I know how some girls most feel during a beauty show. As she continued to look me over, I decided to return the favor. She was serenely beautiful in an unearthly sort of way. Her skin coloring was a light shade of aquamarine. She had long slender fingers and long arms and a graceful body at least what I could see of it. It was perfectly proportioned to her height, but she had an undeniable cat like quality about her. She was wearing lavender lipstick which accented her color beautifully I thought. Both her lips and nose were delicate looking for such a large woman. They almost looked out of place. They did give her a graceful quality which was accented further by her long slender arms and fingers. But the feature that eventually caught and held my gaze were her eyes. They were amethyst in color without whites. I couldn't stop looking at them. For some reason I felt fear as she appraised me. It was a primal fear coming deep from within. I wanted to run, but I couldn't move. Those penetrating eyes were unlike anything I had ever seen before and I felt myself swallow hard as her dark and dangerous eyes hypnotically held my own. Her gaze went to the Frenchman and I felt myself give an audible shutter of relief. It was like her eyes were more than I could bear. As she surveyed the Frenchman in a similar manner, I noticed her hair for the first time. It was dark in coloration and like fine silk that flowed down her shoulders. All of the women had that same color hair and wore it in the same fashion. It sort of went up in a bun and ended in a ponytail trailing down their shoulders. It gave the women even more height. I could see some of the other women through my cage as they looked in on other men. They all were wearing a shiny gold two piece uniform. The upper half was like a functional blouse, but the lower half was more like a pair of short shorts. It barely covered any of their impossibly long and graceful legs. The material had a satiny metallic quality to it. A strange combination I thought. I was sure it had a dual purpose. It was functional, but enhanced the women's beauty all at the same time. The women looked breathtaking. I couldn't help but stare as long as they didn't stare back. As I pondered the women, I noticed a portion of the bars dissolve in one of the cages. The woman in front of the cage reached in and grabbed one of the men. I heard him scream. She effortlessly pulled him out and held him in her arms as he thrashed about trying to get free..to no avail. Then the remaining women were doing the same thing by their cages. I turned just in time to see a large slender arm reach in our cage and grab the Frenchman. He screamed as well, as his body disappeared through the opening. As quickly as the bars had dissolved they reappeared in all the cages. The remaining men were trapped once again. As soon as the bars of light were back in place the women moved out with the struggling men. It didn't seem as if they even noticed the men's struggles. Then as quickly as they came they were gone. All the remaining men looked on in disbelief and didn't say anything for awhile. I looked over and could see Gordon was still in his cage. He looked at me and said, "Well mate, I sure hope we aren't dinner." I didn't answer him. I wasn't sure that he wasn't right. I just stared at where the opening had been in the now seamless wall for a long time. -------------------------------------- The men were gone for at least three hours. During that time the robot had made a few more appearances. We got fed during one of his visits. I was starved and the food, whatever it may have been, was tasty. I ate all of it and I was sure I really didn't want to know what it was. We were all relieved when the women brought the other men back. But we weren't ready for what followed. This time it was our turn for whatever the women had in store for us. The men were placed back in their same cages and we were grabbed and hauled out. The space gal who grabbed me had a remarkably strong grip. I didn't struggle. I knew it wouldn't matter. My muscles meant nothing to this giant. I was carried like all the other men in the arms of one of the space Amazons. The opening in the wall led to a corridor. Some of the women went in different directions with their prisoners. Three of the women, including the one that was carrying me, walked towards the end of one of the corridors. An opening appeared as we approached. The women walked inside and the opening closed and we seemed to be in a small room that seemed familiar to me somehow. I immediately felt the sensation of movement. I knew we must be in some sort of lift. Occasionally the motion would stop and the opening would appear again and one of the women would walk out with her prisoner. There were no controls on the lift. I had no idea how it worked. The lift had no features to it..just space enough for us and the women and smooth metal walls. Eventually my captor and I were the last one's in the lift. She had not spoken to me and I was too busy trying to take everything in to ask her anything. The problem was, I had not seen anything yet which I understood. Everything including the women were completely alien. I did wonder what the men of her race looked like. Were they even bigger than the women? The lift stopped one last time and we exited into another featureless corridor. This time she didn't walk far. Another opening appeared to our left and she walked, with me in her arms, into another room. As we entered, I wondered how she knew where the rooms were. There was simply no way for me to distinguish where a room was or how we got in. At that moment, I began to realize that their technology was totally alien to me and that I might never grasp it. That thought filled me with despair. How does one escape when one can't even open a door? And escape was definitely what I had in mind. The other men and I had already discussed it briefly. This room at least had some features to it. There were oversize chairs and tables and another large woman in the room who was seated in a chair by a table. She had some sort of pad she was looking intently at. She looked up momentarily from her pad and gave some sort of salute to the women that was carrying me. Then she went back to her pad and ignored us the rest of the time we were in the room. The Amazon who was carrying me must be some sort of officer I thought. The other woman from her actions was clearly a subordinate. I also tried to equate this room to a lounge from my world. I knew it was dangerous trying to make comparisons. This new environment, I found myself in, was still completely alien to me, but my mind needed familiar references. My Amazon carried me over to one of the walls and immediately turned her gaze toward it. All at once, the wall dissolved into a picture. There was no screen. The wall had simply become a picture or a view. I would soon find out which. At least the picture was familiar. It was a view of stars in space. I could just make out movement. The stars seemed to be moving in relation to our position. One of the points of light in the center was larger and had a disc. It was much brighter than the others. My captor looked towards me and spoke in her strange language. The medallion around her neck translated it into English for me. "That is the planet you call earth. Look on it for the last time Pookah...You will never see it again." Her eyes held mine for just a second. I had to look away. I stared at the picture before me and my home for thirty three years. An unbearable feeling of loneliness overcame me and filled me with emotion. "My name is Mike and I want to go home," I said with sadness almost bordering on grief, as I viewed earth from a great distance and maybe for the last time. The little orb made me think about my life I was forced to leave. I wondered who had my boat and what my girlfriends were thinking about now. I knew they would be taking my loss hard and I sure missed my boat. Who had it I wondered. Her eyes caught mine again. There was purple fire in them. I felt her body tense as she held me in her arms. I could feel the power in her limbs even though she wasn't hurting me. Her next words seemed more pronounced. I found out that the medallion also translated emotion. "Silence! Speak only when spoken too. You have not earned the right to talk in my presence." Her eyes continued to hold mine. I started to shake. At times I was truly afraid of this woman..this alien. It was a primal fear residing deep inside of me. I didn't know where it originated from, but I couldn't help but react to it. Her next words were more composed. I could see that it took an effort on her part to control what she was saying. "You are my Pookah. You belong to me..Human. All will become clear soon enough." As soon as the medallion finished translating, we started moving again. I didn't say anything further. I didn't fully understand her yet. Discretion sometimes is the better part of valor. As she took me somewhere else, I mulled over what I had just learned. I was indeed aboard a spaceship. I had no idea where I was going, and I was to be some sort of slave. I belonged to her she said...In a pigs eye, lady, I thought to myself. I didn't know how I would get home or resist her, but I wasn't going to give up easily. I had always been able to handle women. This one was just a lot bigger and blue-green in color. For some reason my resolve was high. Just as long as I didn't have to look into those purple eyes of hers. We entered another room. There was another Galaxy Gal in this room as well, and there was a man lying on a large table. He seemed to be unconscious, but he was not strapped down. Above him protruding from the ceiling was a large object that looked like some sort of crazy ray gun. It's nozzle was pointing straight at his head. It was making a slight humming sound. The other Space Maiden was along side the table, and as soon as she saw us enter, she made the same salute the other Amazon had made earlier. The one who was carrying me must be high up in the pecking order around here I thought. I wondered if that gave me any sort of special status. I was always thinking and planning...looking for an edge. It was my way and it might be valuable now. My Amazon stopped near the table, looked directly at me, and spoke once again. "I am Kalia of the Itanii. This is the Itanocron. It will not harm you..Do not be afraid little one....You will be spending much time here...learn well...Pookah." I avoided looking into her eyes. I didn't understand much of what she said and I decided not to ask any questions. I simply didn't have enough information yet and I didn't want to anger her. We watched the man for a few minutes. He seemed restless like he was dreaming. I wondered if that was indeed the case, What was he dreaming about? As I looked on, I hoped that was all that was happening to him. After a few minutes we departed and I found myself in the lift again. This time when it stopped, I was not prepared for what I was about to see. The door dissolved into a large open space. There where many strange trees, plants, and some sort of covering on the floor that looked like grass. Even a small lake and waterfall were present. It looked like a picture straight out of the Science Fiction magazines of the fifties. Many Itanii were walking or lounging in the huge area. Above our heads was a transparent dome made of some sort of clear material or maybe the metal walls had become transparent. I couldn't be sure which. Above our heads were the stars and again I could sense movement. Among the Itanii were other beings I had never seen before. They were being carried or were sitting next to some of the large women. They were all dressed in fine clothes contrary to my appearance. All the other beings I saw were roughly my size, and I looked for, but did not see a male Itanii. As soon as Kalia entered the park...That's what I will call it. All the Itanii stopped and gave that now familiar salute. Was she the captain of this large ship? After the salute, a few of the women came over. Some were carrying some very strange looking aliens. Some of the women started to talk in that unusual language again. They sounded very excited and a few started to prod and examine me. I guess some of the women had never been this close to a human before. I endured in silence. I looked up again at the dome and scanned the room. Something was wrong. This one huge room was larger than the ship had appeared to me the night I was abducted. How could that be? I also had been many places already in this ship. How could the inside of the ship be larger than the outside? I thought about our human physics and mathematics, I was sure humans had just scratched the surface of understanding. I knew we hadn't yet discovered every type of mathematics and knew every secret of physics yet. This ship was proof enough of that. I was still being touched and prodded while Kalia was talking in her language to the other women. I felt I was the center of attention, but the medallion was not translating the conversation. Somehow, the medallion knew the conversation was not directed at me. That was some medallion I thought. Eventually, one woman caught my attention. There was an alien sitting on her shoulder with his arm around her neck for balance. He had on a jewel studded collar and a leash that she held in one of her long slender hands. He was about three feet tall I estimated. He was furry with the reddish brown fur covering most of his arms and face. His clothes hid the rest of his body from me, but I was sure he was covered in fur even under his clothes. He reminded me of a teddy bear. He didn't look at all alien..he looked cute. The women, who's shoulder he was perched on, wasn't paying much attention to him. She was paying more attention to me and Kalia, but she was petting him. He didn't seem interested in the goings on at the moment or me for that matter. Rather, he had his eyes closed and he was making a little purring sound. It sounded strangely soothing. For some reason, the purring calmed me as I was inspected and womanhandled. We sat on the grass under one of the strange trees by the waterfall for about an hour. Many woman came and went during the time we were there. Some of them came over and inspected me. I had the feeling I was being shown off. It made me uneasy. I saw about four or five different alien species in that time. None seemed to be equal in status to the Itanii. As a matter of fact, all the other alien species were roughly the size of a human or smaller. The thing that made me uneasy was that all the aliens were human looking enough to distinguish them as men and all were wearing collars and all were with an Itanii woman. None were alone. Was that my fate? During our stay in the park, no one addressed me, and Kalia did not talk to me either. I just listened and tried to take in as much as I could. Finally, she rose abruptly and picked me up in one easy motion. I guess we were about to leave. She positioned me on her right hip like a small child. Compared to her that's exactly what I felt like. The next stop on my orientation, and that's what I thought was happening, was the command room or bridge of the ship. Their were many women in this large room and all stopped and saluted as we entered. I was fairly certain now Kalia was in command. After Kalia returned the salute, she walked around with me from station to station. There was one large screen or wall, or whatever it was, looking out to space. It dominated one side of the room. There was other equipment as well. Some of it looked familiar. Some women were peering into screens that looked almost like computers. I tried to make out what was on the screen, but was unsuccessful. Characters and symbols were scrolling down the screen at an incredible rate as I looked on. My eyes couldn't focus on them. They were simply moving too fast. I couldn't believe the women's brains could process information at that speed. For not the first time I felt inferior. There was other equipment that reminded me of gauges, but I didn't see one knob or button or lever. They didn't wave there hands over sensors either. How were they controlling everything? I knew I risked Kalia's wrath if I spoke, but my curiosity got the best of me, and I had to find out. "How do you control the ship?" I asked. I heard the medallion translate. Two women nearby heard me speak and looked up. I felt Kalia tense once again. I was certain I had made a mistake. Then her body relaxed and she again spoke in her language. "I will grant you this one question because you do not yet understand. Do not defy me again. You risk punishment even death." The other women seemed satisfied with Kalia's reprimand of me and went back to work. After she spoke, Kalia grabbed my chin and made me look into those purple eyes once more. My body went weak in her arms. I felt like a cobra's prey before it strikes. I heard her speaking again. "We control this ship by thought. We are Carnah!...you are Pookah. It is beyond your understanding. Your brains do not have sufficient power." That was the end of the explanation. I was certain I was going to have to start a men's liberation movement around here. As she carried me somewhere else, I wondered how many thousands of years they were ahead of earth in technology. I laughed to myself, maybe, in a million years man will have crawled up to where the Itanii are now. A chilling thought unnerved me as she carried me into the lift again. I remembered their computers and how their minds could process information at a far greater rate. Maybe, their technology was beyond the human race for all time. Was their brilliant lightening quick minds and technology just the product of a different evolution? Something man could never attain. The mechanical female voice of the medallion sang out in my thoughts as we entered another room. "YOU ARE POOKAH!" The last stop on my tour of the ship was Kalia's private rooms. I wasn't surprised to see how large they were. They were also very plush. That did surprise me. This time almost everything in the room was recognizable. From chairs, a sofa, and tables to vases of flowers to even some dangerous looking metal objects on the walls that looked like weapons. I was sure they had significance to her. On one side of he room was a huge ornate bed, and I do mean huge, complete with tapestry. It reminded me of something you might see in Elizabethan England. At least this was a world I could understand. As soon as we walked into the room, Kalia set me down, went over to a table, picked up a large glass, and poured herself something from an odd shaped pitcher. I wasn't offered anything. I must admit I wasn't surprised. After a couple of sips from the glass, Kalia went over to a large chair and sat in it. She appraised me for a few seconds but did not speak. I felt uncomfortable. I knew there were two reasons for my discomfort. For the first time in a while I was aware of my nakedness and secondly, I could not read what was behind those amethyst eyes of hers. She finally broke the spell by motioning me over and a further motion told me she wanted me to sit at her feet. From my new position she truly looked like a giant. At least she was a beautiful giant. That thought startled me. I was surprised how quickly I had adapted to her appearance. From my position I had a good view of her beautiful boots. They looked like they were made of leather or something very similar. I have to admit I felt like a pet at the feet of it's master. That thought angered me, but I already had learned how to conceal my emotions. Finally, her survey of my body ended and she spoke once again. The medallion translated once more. As you know my name is Kalia. I am captain of this great vessel the Travantii. We will arrive on our home world in one month. By then, I expect you to be fully versed in your new duties." I looked at her and from somewhere came a courage I did not know I possessed. I stated once more, "I want to go home. You can not hold me against my will." Her eyes darkened once more and they locked on mine. "Your home is where I say it is...You are Pookah!" she stated in an even voice. She seemed to be controlling her temper this time as she stared me down. "What is a Pookah?" I asked. She gave me an odd look and in a somewhat louder voice stated, "The Gorin, the Calnarii, The Zanti among others, and now the humans...You are all Pookah. We the Itanii are Carnah." She made her statement with knowing clarity. It was a statement like she was explaining the obvious. I wasn't sure just what Pookah meant, but I was beginning to get an idea...I was not some pet or toy. I was a man....damn it! I was the one who was used to being in charge. "I am not Pookah," I stated flatly. The fire in her eyes returned, It was a very dark purplish fire. She shrugged and remained calm. "I do not notice your attitude..you are only ignorant. In time you will understand." Finally, I had enough of her condescension. This time it was I not her that lost his temper . "I am not a pet! I'm a man! Take me home!" I yelled. She did not seem to understand the translation of some of the words, but she did respond to the emotion. Her face became contorted but she still must have been in partial control. "Calm yourself..Pookah!" she stated in a controlled voice, "anger is the worst possible response to me. Do not press me. I must retaliate..you are just ignorant...I make great allowances for this." "I want to go home," I yelled once again. Even before the medallion had translated my words, Kalia moved with cat like quickness and drew me onto her lap. I stared into those eyes once more. She held both of my wrists firmly in one of her strong hands. I tried to free my hands, but I felt the strength of cold steel in her touch. "Listen carefully...Pookah. We will not have things demanded of us. Do not press me. I must retaliate. It is not physically possible for me to remain calm. Do not provoke me further. Can you not understand this? I am Carnah." I am Carnah, like this explained everything to me. "I do not understand your meaning." I said rather loudly, "Why are you incapable of reason." Kalia began to shake. Her eyes bore into me like two blazing purple suns. In the next moment or two, I expected her to do something rash. I braced for the worst. Instead, she started to rub the back of her hand across my face. For some reason it calmed her. It did not calm me. The stress left her features as she continued to rub my cheek, but the tension in her body did not relax. I found that her movements and reaction caused an irrational tension within me as well. Why? At this moment, I knew instinctively I dare not jerk away. I had provoked her. I stayed breathlessly still. My whole system was reacting to her presence and her present condition. I seemed to sense her mood...the tension within her. I reacted involuntarily to her condition. I shook, I started to sweat, and I found it hard to breath. What was working within me? Why couldn't I move or take my eyes from her? Finally, something in me recognized Kalia for what she was. The revelation was startling. My subconscious knew her for what she was even if my conscious mind hadn't yet recognized it. She was a predator and I was the prey. She was a highly evolved predator, but one still controlled by her primal emotions. Her superior mind could not overcome it's ancient heritage or what nature had planted in her genes. Now I had a better understanding of what the word Pookah meant. It was a subordinate, a pet, a toy, and a prey item all rolled into one. All the other races I had seen were Pookahs too. They were prey just like me. She rubbed her hand across my face for what seemed like an eternity. Her other hand played with the hairs on my chest. I could feel her relaxing as the tension left her body. I dared not speak or move as she played with me. For some reason, I thought about a cat playing with a mouse before it killed its prey. She sensed my reaction and it calmed her further. This particular prey item wanted to go home, but I wanted to live first and foremost. I would worry about getting home later. Finally, she rose and carried me along with her. As she walked out the opening that appeared as we neared the wall, she said, "You better go back to your cage little one. Its for your own protection for now..till you understand our ways more fully. We will talk again. The Itanocron will explain all that is expected of you. End of part one of two parts...