

### JUDGMENT

By Richard Johnson

Published by Richard (Rick) Johnson (Desert Dragon Productions) at Smashwords.

Copyright December 2011 Richard Johnson

ISBN 9781301766482

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1- Destiny

Chapter 2- The Crash

Chapter 3- First Contact

Chapter 4- Salvage the Mission

Chapter 5- Sex Under the Stars

Chapter 6- The Rest house

Chapter 7- Semantics?

Chapter 8- Political Truths

Chapter 9- It's Not Cheating

Chapter 10- Apologies

Chapter 11- More Explanations

Chapter 12- Rescue of the Cops

Chapter 13- The Geneva Convention

Chapter 14- Betrayal

Chapter 15- Desertion & Conclusion

Glossary

About the Author

JUDGMENT

By Rick Johnson

Chapter I- Destiny

I was sitting under a tree trying to work my way through Musashi's _Book of Five Rings_ when the call came in. I was struggling with the original Japanese for although I spoke the language fluently, my literary abilities in that language left much to be desired and I resisted the urge to flip the book over to the Bergstrom Translation which most people felt was the definitive translation of the classic. My Beloved was playing in the stream with the Falanxes while our Rabbucks grazed, but I was now on duty. She and I had been lovers for five years and I, in my passion, wanted to marry her but both our Clans forbade the marriage for I was only 24 and wouldn't be legal to marry until next year. At that time, I could petition to court her. She always laughed at that thought for she was more than twice my age and had mellowed a bit with experience and would tell me that we had centuries before us so why rush? If I did this job well, my reputation would be made and I could name my price and my price would be Jarissah!

We both saw the thing appear in the sky, long and silver, hard wings arching back as it bellowed smoke as it fell. I didn't need to smell the stink to know that it was polluting the air and ground with unburned oil. But the thing slowed and then crashed in the distance, the sound reaching our ears a moment later, black smoke billowing into the sky, then fading as the world cleaned Herself.

Jarissah came to me, naked and took my hand, her tail caressing my cheek as I reciprocated. Then, sighing, we walked over to a termite mound that had been recently attacked by a vorton and so was more concerned with survival than defense, so if we were careful to not damage the mound further, we could climb it safely.

The mound was rock-hard mud nearly two spans high but rough enough to climb easily and soon we were on the summit, the heat of the rock baking our bare feet. I pulled my anopticon and looked into the distance, then handed the device to My Beloved. The craft was broken but barely burning, parts scattered across the plains. There were survivors but they were still hidden or unconscious so the hour or more it would take me to reach them would give them a chance to calm down and ready themselves.

"It's time," she whispered.

"Yes," I replied, suddenly scared. I had been trained for this, my father was a Speaker for six sets of three terms. I chose a related path and went into International Law, always assisting others but this was my first solo assignment.

We climbed down from the mound and saddled our rabbucks in silence then she leaned to me, kissed me and asked, "Please be careful. Those kind are dangerous and scared and fear makes them even more dangerous. Come back to me alive and well."

I held her tight and promised to do my best then we separated, she to return to the town, I to my destiny.

Chapter II- The Crash

The aircraft came down hard, but not as hard as expected for a jet that had blown its only remaining engine. They all should be dead but miracles happen and although the flight crew was dead, most of the passengers and prisoners were still alive and mostly well save some bruises, a concussion and a couple broken arms and ribs.

Special Agent Marsh dragged the injured from the wreckage to a bushy rock, forcing the less-injured to help. "We have to get away from the aircraft before the fuel tanks explode," he insisted. First his men, then the dead and finally the prisoners. Hell, they were better off dead anyway but his job was to get them back for interrogation and trial. With a good confession, there wouldn't even be a trial, just a very long prison term. That was the nice thing about the American Judicial system, the civilians thought everyone got a fair trial but a fair trial set too many people free. A few threats of extreme punishment and overly long sentence often led to a confession which led to a plea-bargain and that guaranteed prison without all the mess of a trial and lawyers who were more concerned with 'civil rights' over national security. Civil Rights was what got America into the mess it is in. Send them all to prison because everyone is guilty of something and when the Internment Camps President Bush was building were finished, there would be room enough for them all.

Laying there, the wreckage stripped, Special Agent Marsh looked over his charges. Two men, three women and the three female prisoners, still handcuffed. Their assets consisted of two UZIs with four magazines of 9mm, eight 9mm handguns, 120 rounds of ammo and whatever food and water they had brought aboard when they boarded, which wasn't enough. If they stretched it, they had food and water for maybe... today. And this desert didn't look like there was any food or water nearby.

It didn't look good. "Do you think they got the Mayday?" Agent Collins asked. She was new but showed promise. She followed orders and never questioned authority.

"Probably. We should look around and see if there is any water to be had."

The bush looked strange, the leaves were green but the edges red. Waxy, he broke one and chewed then spat the acrid mass to the ground. One of the prisoners screamed and drawing his UZI, Special Agent Marsh and the rest went on guard.

A snake crawled by on its ten legs. The diamond-back pattern showing easily in the sun but fading as it sought the mottled shade. Special Agent Marsh started at the thing then blew it away with a half dozen rounds, the sudden noise causing birds to rise from the scrub in panic.

"What the hell was that!" one of the prisoners screamed as she pushed herself away from the body.

"Just a snake." Special Agent Marsh commented calmly. In a crisis, it didn't matter if you did right or wrong as long as you did something and exuded confidence. He was in charge and he'd keep them all alive until rescue appeared.

"Snakes don't have that many legs," the prisoner screamed until Agent Collins slapped her quiet. Agent Marsh approved of the violence, panic would kill them faster than the desert.

The fire was dead by now, strange as with full tanks the craft should have exploded and burned for hours. Another miracle but one that they could use. Drain the tanks, pour JP-4 into a bowl-shaped section of the aircraft and set fire to it for a beacon. He was planning this when he noticed the rest of the group looking up. There was a flock of birds overhead. Each was huge, like vultures he thought, but each one had a long tail with a rudder at the end. The flocks were circling just like vultures so Marsh raised his UZI and opened fire to scare them away. He fired until the weapon was empty then he took the other from Collins and emptied that one too. But despite two of the birds being hit and falling, the rest continued their circle. Marsh dropped the UZI and pulled his handgun. He'd teach these birds to fear a firearm. But a magazine later, he hadn't struck one and they continued to circle.

Agent Collins called over, "Better save your ammo, sir. I don't think they care. Besides they are too far away to hit."

He gave her a look to say 'quiet', fired a couple more rounds to prove that he was still in charge and holstered his weapon.

The prisoners were talking to each other. "Snakes with legs, birds with long tails, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore." Marsh strode over and yelled, "Break it up! No talking!" then he grabbed one of the women and pulled her to some distance away. "I'm still in charge and you are still my prisoners so don't make me shoot you for trying to escape." There, that threat should keep them quiet.

Agent Barbara, the older guard, was approaching one of the dead birds and then backed away, her weapon at the ready. She continued to back away almost in the direction of the group but also continued to look around in terror. March and the others watched as they raised weapons. Whatever was spooking Agent Barbara, spooked them too. Finally she turned and ran to the group, "It's a dinosaur. A Pteranadon I think. Covered with furry-feathers, no teeth, claws on the wings. If there are pteranodons here, there may be Velociraptors or even Tyrannosaurs around." She was near hysteria and that was catching.

"At ease, look at this place! There isn't anything larger than that snake to eat so nothing larger than a coyote can live here. There are no dinosaurs! You saw a buzzard. You hit your head in the crash so are hallucinating. Sit in the shade, have some water and try to get control of yourself." March spoke as calmly as he could. Dinosaurs? Like we came through time when we crashed. That only happened in old b-movies. Still he refused to look at the body.

He approached the aircraft in the distance with Agent Barbara and checked the tanks. Clean and found no smell. There should be JP-4 all over the ground, the tanks should reek of the stuff but there was no small at all. Not even the smell of a fuel tank ran dry. This was not right. Even if someone had drained the tanks or opened the drains in flight, he should smell something. It was as if the tanks had never contained anything, they were that clean. With no fuel, they'd have to burn brush so they began to pile brush and leaves into a number of piles to burn when they saw rescue.

Hours later, their food and water long gone, they saw the rider approach.

Chapter III- First Contact

The man rode to the wreckage, examined the pieces, occasionally nudging one with the riding crop he carried, the dogs at his side running here and there, exploring everything. But even from this distance the survivors could see that they looked... strange. Like the ten-legged snake and the furry pteranodons, the rider, the horse and the dogs looked... strange. Dammit! Marsh wished he had packed some binocs but the flight was supposed to be only a cross-country flight lasting only a few hours. Not even enough time to get hungry or take a decent nap. And instead, they crashed here, wherever here was.

Then it struck him! The man had a tail. Not a furry one but one he used like an extra hand as he examined the wreckage. Still, he had no firearms that he could see, just a bow and arrows on the saddle and a knife at the man's side. That was an advantage.

The women with him, he was the only uninjured man in the team, were gasping at the sight. The strangers legs and arms were bare and he wore a floppy straw hat but his skin was white, or rather tanned, and his hair short from what they could see.

Occasionally one of the dogs would sniff, face the survivors and start to move forward, only to be called back with a whistle. The man seemed to care more about the downed aircraft, probably had never seen one as he examined every fragment that he could find, carefully replacing it where and how it had been found. Agent Marsh supposed that he'd dig up the dead once he found the nearby graves.

Finally the man called the horse and dogs to him, looked directly at the survivors and proceeded to walk in their direction. They had been made! As the stranger approached, the survivors discovered that he was a man in the same way that his horse was a horse and the dogs were dogs, as if someone had seen the originals from a distance through a fog and had tried to make a copy. The man was more monkey than ape or as if a monkey had evolved into a man as the original apes had evolved into humanity. The man was definitely White or Asian, black hair, decent features and almost handsome if you went for pointed ears, almond cat-eyes and moth antenna. Also his hands were as strange as the rest, normal but the little finger was an extra thumb which he used as one. His large toe grew out of his heel just behind the arch and followed the foot almost like a monkey though he walked normally. And he was short, perhaps five-eight, no more than five-nine which made him easily six inches shorter than Marsh and only an inch taller than Agent Barbara.

His clothing was rough cloth, maybe woven from the horses hair which was furrier than any horse should be. Shirt and pants, both short sleeved but decorated like someone had taken an airbrush to them, copying clouds in the blue top and strange plants on the brown pants, his leather belt being the horizon between. For weapons, he carried only a long knife and a small cloth bag hanging from a cord that passed through his belt and remained only because of the carved piece of wood at the end of the cord. He also wore jewelry, but had nothing pierced, just a cord with something like a fish pendant, a braided cord around one ankle with some beads and a metal bracelet on his left wrist.

Marsh didn't know who or what this was but he'd be damned if some monkey could waltz in and take over. And take over was what the man was doing as he looked at each of the guards then the prisoners, giving only a casual glance at the handguns and UZI they bore. He'd probably never seen a firearm and didn't know their power. He'd learn though.

Finally the stranger spoke, asking a question in a language that they couldn't understand. When Agent Marsh replied, "I don't understand you. We need water and food. And a radio! Where the hell are we!" he demanded when the stranger didn't reply. The stranger sighed and approached the prisoners only to have Agent Collins step between with her weapon raised, "Back off, monkey-man! These are my prisoners!" The dogs hissed, not growled but hissed, and Agent Marsh readied to spray them with the UZI.

The stranger said something to Agent Collins who poked him in the belly with her handgun, a move that he reacted to so fast Marsh never saw him budge. One second Special Agent Collins had her weapon in the monkey-man's belly, the next he had the weapon and she was on the ground, his tail around her neck. Agent Marsh screamed instantly, firing a round over his head, "Let her go or I'll blow your fucking head off!" His weapon was pointed at the man's chest. Then he saw into the monkey-man's eyes and fired point-blank!

Everyone forgot the dogs which instantly attacked everyone who carried a weapon as the monkey dropped and rolled under Agent Marsh, coming up too close and punching him in the chest. As Agent Marsh went down, his lung punctured with splintered ribs, he wished he hadn't removed his Kevlar, then another blow snapped his neck.

Chapter IV- Salvage the Mission

This was bad, very bad.

What had started out as a simple investigation now was a case of Abuse of Authority and Attempted Murder with two dead and the rest injured. I know I should have called for relief right then but I hoped to salvage something of the mission. The humans were already dead but didn't know it, all I was doing was burying the bodies.

All I wanted to do was to look at their prisoners but the big woman, her emotions radiating hatred of men, poked me in the belly and I could read her desire to kill me. She had killed before and enjoyed the sensation of knowing she was better than any man. So I disarmed her and instead of settling down and seeing the situation, the alpha male of the humans sought my death. Why? Were they all like that? What made these humans so violent? He actually fired at me, an action that was so slow I easily ducked and rolled and punched him to set him down. But I hit too hard and he was so fragile he died. I had never killed anyone before and didn't like the sensation.

My rabbuck had bitten and trampled the other male to death and the falanxes had the three armed women down and bleeding when I called them off. To Damn! Two dead and the investigation not even an hour old. Well, nothing to do but make the best of it. They called me 'monkey-man' and acted as if I should submit to each of them, as if their least had status higher than my own.

The female prisoners were huddled together, screaming and upsetting the falanxes and the rabbuck, making them edgy and an edgy rabbuck would kill as easily as run. The falanxes had tasted human blood and that would make them harder to control as their predatory instincts woke up. This was definitely not good.

I pulled the rabbuck away and removed the med-kit to bandage the women but they backed away, screaming threats and profanity. Imagine, sex as profane? Inviting yet insulting with the same word? I made a mental note to do a search on the word 'fuck' which obviously meant sex but was used as an insult. Curious these humans. Finally the hissing and chattering of the falanxes quieted the women down, not because they realized the futility of their actions, but because they were afraid that the falanxes would attack again... which they would. They hadn't been tamed long, a scarce seventy-five years ago, their ancestors had been roaming the plains dragging down any prey they could find. And there weren't enough generations between then and now to totally domesticate the animals. The best we could hope for was that they were tame. And the screaming and blood and excitement would easily strip that from them.

Whenever I tried to pull an injured arm with my tail the woman screamed and wimpered and pulled away so I had to do the work with just my hands. But finally I had them all bandaged and searched them for weapons or contraband. They fought but I was far stronger and with the falanxes guarding the two, I held her down, searched her clothing, removed her weapons, she gasping in embarrassment as I searched her overly-small breasts that couldn't possibly feed a baby, then released her and turned to the second, not wishing to search her vagina or anus. No one would hide a weapon there but these human women radiated concern that I would search those places. Strange how their thoughts showed how they so easily shoved their own hands up and man's or woman's anus and vagina and enjoyed the power but refused anyone doing the same to them. The second fought also but was as weak as a child and the third just removed her weapons, laying them on the ground and then opening her clothes for an easier search. I could read fear and weakness and submission so only did a cursory search and smiled when I finished and she sat, readjusting her clothing.

Then I turned to the prisoners. Each was manacled with their arms behind and a quick look, they were too terrified to resist, showed a small key-hole. One called to me, "There, the key. On the body. Get it," and she motioned with her bound fingers turning a lock. Maybe I could still salvage the task so I drew my hatchet from the saddle and before she could scream, I cut the chain that held them together, freeing her to an extent. I motioned for her to find the key which she did and scooted to the nearest body which she hesitated to touch, finally searching the pockets for a key which she used to remove her manacles. Afterwards she released the others to the dismay of their guards who protested but quieted as the falanxes began to leap back and forth stiff-legged and chittering at them. Even the humans understood how close they were to death and once the falanxes started to kill, even I couldn't stop them. I'd be lucky to avoid being killed myself. I motioned for the three prisoners to sit, away from their guards which they did easily and quickly. I could read shock, terror and some hope in their thoughts while the others radiated mostly anger and frustration. I gathered that no one had ever stood up to them as did I and so they had no idea of how to act.

Well, the unpleasant task still had to be done. I wouldn't dig up the bodies they had buried in shallow ground but their alpha... I found a strut and cut it free to make a pole a couple spans long. Then I dug a hole to support the shaft and removed the alpha males head with my hatchet, stuck it on the pole and set it in the hole I had dug. Then I filled the hole with stones and dirt so it wouldn't fall over. There. That one done. Now for the beta male. I looked at him and decided that he wasn't responsible and may have even been only defending himself as the rabbuck killed him so I left him his head, stripped the body of weapons, dragged it to the other graves and tossed their make-shift shovels to the women so they could bury their comrade if they chose.

They did, crying all the time for they had looked with horror as I piked the head of their alpha who had abused his authority. I should have done the same for the woman who poked me with her weapon but I had killed once and wanted to live my life without taking another life. So I let her be, deciding to allow the People to kill her if that was required.

The grave they dug was shallow and would soon be dug up by the local carnivores though I kept that thought to myself. I suspected these humans had no idea of what to do once they were alone and separated from support and direction. The older alpha female, Barbara, gave directions and the other two, Laura and Lynda, obeyed without question. Curious. Could they even survive without orders from an alpha?

I generally ignored them as they buried their comrade and wrote in my journal the facts and my feelings. Eventually I would have to justify my actions and didn't want to join the alpha male on a pike. A good Contemporaneous Journal would collect my thoughts and feelings at this time, undulled by time and the desire to remember improperly. Although Kurosawa's _Rashomon_ shows how different people remember a situation differently, it ignores how time alters memory. One note I placed in the margin was to ask them later why their alpha wasted so much valuable ammunition killing a harmless walking-snake or attempting to kill the pterosaurs that circled above. With so much wasted, did he think that he'd never have to defend his people from another carnovore?

Finally they were done, refusing their former prisoners offer to assist. It seems that they divided themselves into two overly-rigid Classes, cop and civilian with the former obviously far superior to the latter and unwilling to give the lower any respect or consideration. Although Merchant Class myself, we recognize that without the Peasant Class, we Merchants would starve, so we treat them with respect even though my Class be higher. And even a prisoner should be treated with respect and consideration until a Court-of-Law finds them guilty. After all, if the prisoner is found innocent, the Officer that arrested them may be liable for charges of Abuse of Authority and face a duel with the abused persons Clan at the best. These humans had none of that, not even allowing the lower order to even touch the body of a policeman. Did they fear contamination? Or cannibalism? Or grave-robbing or was it simply respect to a fallen comrade as do the Lanai who defend the Barony? I needed to know these answers before we reached the town.

I took two of the water-botas from my saddle and handed one to each group of women, then whistled for the falanxes which were sniffing the alpha-male's body. They came to me reluctantly and only because I offered blood-sausages which they loved. It was never a good idea to allow your falanxes the taste of human or Weir meat. They worried the leaf wrappings and ate the contents, then finished the leaves to get the remnants of the smell for we hadn't yet bred them away from their carnivorous diet. One sausage each would last them until we reached the water pool where I had started and the humans would learn to sip their water or die in the desert.

Not having enough decent transportation, I decided to ride and have the humans follow afoot as their feet were designed for walking and nothing more. The rabbuck wouldn't like being forced to walk so slowly but the alternative would be for me to walk also and lead the rabbuck on a very long lead which would allow it to stop and go as it wished. So I mounted the beast, waved my riding crop at them and told them in Spanglic to follow. I know it was impolite to speak to them in a language they didn't understand but I wanted to hear what they said and they would speak more openly if they believed me to be ignorant of their speech.

The older woman, the one I should have killed, snapped, "We aren't going anywhere with you!" Then she turned to the former prisoners and yelled, "You are still my prisoners and if you try to escape, I'll add that to your charges!" The three looked around, then at me with some hope so I laughed and gave an order and the falanxes began to snap at the heels of the woman. These falanxes had originally been trained to herd sheep and saw this as just another herd. She moved and so did the others, the falanxes running all over the place, exploring, occasionally snapping up a lizard or marking a bush with pee and often returning to snap at a straggler and so we made good time though after only a half of an hour the humans were exhausted so I sought a rest under some bushes.

At first they had spoken among themselves but nothing of interest was said other than they commented on my appearance, where they were and how they got here but mostly how cruel and dangerous I was and how the older woman, Barbara, would love to have me in an interrogation room for an hour. I gathered that they saw First Degree Torture as normal with occasional Second Degree used to break the suspect. Other than that, which I dutifully wrote in my journal, their conversation was dull and useless.

Once we reached the bushes, I have no idea of what kind they were but they had spines which the rabbuck ignored as it grazed, I rinsed my hands with water, handed out the six egg-rolls filled with cheese, peanut butter, eggs and vegetables with apple rice-balls for dessert and offered some of mine to the Gods saying in Spanglic, "As the Gods share with us, so do we share with the Gods". These the humans sniffed theirs then wolfed down after they tasted them without washing their hands or making prayers. My mother was a very good cook and worked in grandmother's eatery until she married father who moved her into accounting. Still, she never missed a chance to cook and would often be in the eatery's kitchen when she should have been studying payroll procedures. I was a decent cook myself which was what attracted Jarissah to me. A man who can offer a woman a good home-cooked meal never wants for a lover.

I was resting when the falanxes roused a sand-swimmer from its den. The thing was larger then they but the falanxes acted as a pack, some attracting attention as the rest snapped at the beasts armored back until it managed to dig down to safety. Bored, I allowed them to try to dig it up though the sand-swimmer could easily come up behind them and snap them up before they could escape.

Also mildly concerned, I rested my hand on a half-buried rock, seeking the vibrations that would signal the reptile's approach, for I didn't want it to eat me or my charges, but I could neither estann nor feel anything. It appeared that the reptile was digging away, seeking easier prey.

Finally, when the humans breathing calmed and they had finished their egg-rolls, I called the falanxes to rouse the women and then mounted and led them away.

Chapter V- Sex under the Stars

The next section of the trip was done in silence save the occasional insult and demand for order. Goddess! They insulted and threatened each other as if that were normal conversation and not cause to a duel! The more I listened, the less I liked this race. One of the younger guards, Davis, tried to get everyone to work together so they could escape. The prisoners asked if they'd be set free if they did but Barbara refused to consider that, expecting them to serve the guards even when they knew they would still be punished upon their return to 'civilization'. How could any such people consider themselves to be civilized.

Eventually, nearing dark, we reached the oasis where I had first seen their craft and after checking to be certain that the beaver was still gone, I allowed the women to relax. The rabbuck grazed as I removed its saddle and tack and combed its fur, then I lay a blanket upon the clover for dinner. Then I used flint and steel to make a fire in the ring and once that was going well, I stripped to bathe. The women, all of them, ceased to pick fruit, not even noticing that this oasis had been made for a rest-stop and they stared at me as I removed my pants.

Now that was strange. Had none of them ever seen a naked man before? They stared, pretending to not, as did I when I was fifteen and just beginning to grow genital hair. Finally my father suggested that my friends and I get together and share thoughts.

So we did. We stripped, embarrassed, afraid to look but fascinated by the girls budding breasts and all of our growing pubic hair and talked and asked questions of each other until we were finally comfortable enough to speak to our parents. And that was not easy either considering my first erection, tiny when compared to today's manhood, elicited giggles from the girls until my older friend, sixteen but a slow developer, showed his larger one which all the girls wanted to touch and soon all the boys were being examined by the girls who let us reciprocate until Carl spurted to the disgust of the girl who was looking too close and got a face-full.

Was I ever so young? It was nine years ago and I am still fighting my way through puberty but next year I should be finished and finally an adult.

I stirred at the thought of that day and one of the women giggled as did the girls so long ago. One commented behind her hand, "I thought his balls would be under his tail like a monkey." Another added, "Well, he's no porn star but I wouldn't turn him down. I wonder what he does with that tail?" The guards tried to quiet the women but they ignored that and continue to discuss my anatomy as if I were a rabbuck they were thinking of buying. Embarassed, I entered the water and soaped myself clean, washed my hair and then washed my clothing and hung them to dry, then offered the soap to the women. The guards rejected the offer but the three prisoners accepted and soon stripped to their underwear to wash and clean. Then one stripped naked and went swimming, oblivious to the thought that they were in a beaver-pond and should watch for the rodent.

Naked, I examined the woman as she did me and saw breasts that were tiny by Weir standards but sagged like bags of sand and she had wrinkles and stretch-marks across her belly and breasts as if she has grown fat, tore her skin then lost weight but somehow her body had failed to repair the damage. I could also see some gray in her hair so she must be nearing four-hundred-fifty years easily... no, humans are dayflies so she could be as young as a half-hundred or less and rapidly ageing unless their medicine was as primitive as their manners which would place her far younger. The others had called her "Leslie" and she ignored the demands and threats of her former guards as she swam. Although curious as to her supposed crime, I felt that knowing it would perjure my investigation so avoided asking. Then laying on my blanket, watching the trees move in the hot wind, I relaxed and listened to the women.

"They're rats!" the prisoner Katherine commented. "Look at them. Their hairless tail, the way they move around. It's as if a rat evolved into a dog like a monkey into a man. And the horse, it's a rabbit. See how it's sitting on its haunches and cleaning its ears. I had a pet rabbit that did the same thing. That means that we are either a million years in the future or in another dimension."

Barbara, the older guard snapped. "This isn't some science fiction movie!"

"Then how do you explain what happened!" Katherine snapped back. "The plane crash. How we survived, where we are and all these... animals! And him! Look at him! His eyes and features. He's Japanese!

"I don't know! Maybe we crashed in some isolated valley or some island where these things are normal." She was near an emotional collapse. I could feel her emotions failing. Possibly she depended too much on her alpha male and never learned to think for herself so when he was killed, she had no one to give her orders and couldn't do so for herself.

"Isolated! That's crazy! Nothing like this could evolve without being discovered. And we were doing a cross-country flight so we never left the mainland."

"Shut up!" the angry guard, Collins snapped as raised her hand to strike the woman. I sent a thought and one of the falanxes jumped between to chitter with bared teeth. She backed down, muttering obscenities. None of the guards had accepted what their prisoners had immediately realized, that the situation was totally different and the old rules no longer existed. The guards felt panic as their power faded and grasped tighter to retain water slipping through their fingers, the prisoners saw hope for their own future.

Finally, I stood, still naked and cleaned my teeth and mouth, offering to them the mouthwash and tooth-gum. All but the guards Collins and Barbara accepted. Human teeth rotted easily and I could see the metal in their mouths from their attempts to repair the damage caused by their lack of proper hygiene and too casual eating habits. A good diet and clean habits would keep a person healthy long after they should be dead. These would die early from their bad habits.

By then the fire had burned down to coals and I retrieved then dressed a large walking-snake from an earlier trap and some birds which I took to the edge of the oasis, apologized to the animals, prayed for their souls and then killed and butchered them for dinner, tossing the offal to the falanxes who ate them all, bones in all. The meat I slid onto a spit and began to cook it, motioning one of the women over to turn the spit so the meat cooked through.

"I'm not eating no snake," Collins spat.

"Then go hungry," the woman at the spit, Leslie, retorted with some anger, my presence making her bold. Collins strode over and towered over her intending to strike the woman when I stepped between and pushed the guard away.

"I have had it with you monkey-man!" she yelled. "I am not your bitch. I'm an American Police Officer and you had damn well accept that or we'll take this punk-ass country away from you and you can see what happens when you are under my control!"

I got very angry at those threats and the stupidity of the person making them. Didn't she see that she wasn't IN her country. "And how are you going to do that?" I asked in her language.

"You speak English?"

Another stupid question. Did these humans ever think before they spoke? So I ignored that and continued. "Your former prisoners have accepted that the situation has changed. You are no longer in your country so you have no authority here. If you attempt to restrain them, I will charge you with kidnapping."

"Don't even think of it!" she insisted. "Just because you took us by surprise, do you think that knife and bow of yours can stand up to the might of the United States Military?"

Sighing, I returned to my pack and removed one of their hand-weapons and my bow. Then I returned and tossed a fruit into the desert. It wasn't a good throw but decent and landed perhaps 50 meters away. Then I drew my bow and placed an arrow into the fruit. "Can your weapon do that?" I asked as I handed her the weapon.

I could read conflicting emotions in her mind, the desire to kill me, the fear that she maybe couldn't, the terror of the falanxes if she did kill me. Nothing about how she would survive without me, her mind was focused only on her own power. In the end fear won I saw her push a button and release a magazine from the handle, examine the bullets (I guessed maybe a dozen total when full considering their size) then reloaded, pulled the slide, released a lever and then carefully aimed for a very long time until she fired.

The report was loud as thunder and startled the falanxes and rabbuck and all the birds around. A spurt of dust appeared a couple meters from the fruit so taking the weapon back, asked, "You missed but I struck the fruit in much less time. Your advanced weapon seems to be .. ineffectual."

"Hell, I'm a good shot but there are people better than me who can hit that three out of five times." She was smug then handed it back, after returning one lever to its original position. I could tell she wanted to retain the weapon for her confidence rose with it in her hand. Curious how her position depended on her alpha male and her confidence was determined by her weapons.

Still looking into her eyes, I took the weapon in my left hand, the grip was uncomfortable and not made for my hands, released that final lever and pointing, placed three bullets into the fruit without looking. All the humans were shocked at my act so I responded as I noticed that the sliding upper part had locked back, the weapon was empty. I replaced the lever and walked away, "Your weapons are noisy, fragile, inaccurate and relies on a technology that will leave you defenseless when damaged or when your bullets are gone. Plus they give a false sense of security."

Then I returned to the fire and commented, "You are burning dinner."

We ate a meal of the snake and birds with fruit and nuts we collected and some cheese from my pack, then washed up and after passing my extra blankets around, I lay down for sleep for here it darkened late and sunrise came early.

The moon as high but obscured by the trees when I was awoken by lips around my genitals. At first I thought it was Jarissah but the technique was clumsy and showed a lack of experience or consideration for a man's desires and needs. I could see Katherine glowing in the dark from body heat so I relaxed and waited to see what she would do. When I was fully hard, she stopped, then straddled me, moaning slightly as she engulfed me, resting a moment to savor the feeling, then she moved, slowly. She obviously wanted me to remain asleep but I reached up to feel her sagging and too-small breasts which caused her to stop in fear. She leaned down whispering, "It has been so long, just let me do this please," so I relaxed and allowed her her own pleasure. She shuddered and climaxed long before I did but when I tried to roll her over, she radiated fear and I received an image of her being forced so I lay back until she relaxed and continued. She had no more climaxes before I had my first, then as she felt me erupt, she sat there a moment and, surprisingly, got off as if I would be finished after only one. She whispered "thank you" then left for her own blanket.

Thinking of that, I wondered; she had been forced into sex. Why and by whom? She thought men lost ability and interest after only one climax. And at her age, she was inexperienced? Were human males that inadequate? And her climax wasn't... I barely felt it and it didn't trigger mine either. She had mentioned it was a long time. Can humans survive without sex or is that another punishment? Sex with humans definitely was little better than masturbation and I missed Jarissah all the more as I lay there frustrated.

Chapter VI- The Rest House

In the morning, I was awake long before the women so sought breakfast, the falanxes having eaten the scraps from the night before. There was nothing worth hunting so I collected fruit and nuts and some vegetables and prepared a salad when I heard a scream. The women were huddled in terror but before I could arm, I saw the vorton as the cause of their concern. I tried to see it as they would but still, despite the size of the beast and its long claws, I couldn't see it as anything other than a termite eater. Still, once it began to dig into the termite mounds, the termites would attack anything in their anger so we had better be away before then. "Come!" I called and led them off.

As before, I had to stop a number of times to let them rest. I wasn't certain if this was because humans are a weak race or because they were simply in poor shape. They drank water often and only the knowledge of the rest house ahead caused me to allow them to waste so much valuable water.

Even the guards cheered up when they saw the rest-house sitting within the oasis. Like the one we had left, my people had planted fruit trees, vegetables and such to encourage wildlife and provide a meal for the hungry traveler. And every fifth oasis had a rest-house with composting toilet, shower and a clean floor and roof.

"Finally, civilization," one of the humans cried in joy. Shrugging at the thought for the place was obviously empty, still manners required a suitable greeting so I stopped the humans from running forward, walked to within meters of the house and called out, "A man comes a-walking and is in need of rest!"

I waited, then approached the steps and repeated my cry. Then I walked to the door, knocked three times loud, then another three and called again. Finally satisfied that there were no other guests with prior claim, I opened the door and called the humans to enter. Even were it inhabited, my call for guest-right would not be refused but it would be impolite to enter without notice. So after ensuring that each of the women had a sleeping mat from the cubbies, I took my rabbuck to the back and removed his saddle and tack, rubbed him down, checked to see that Jarissah had left plenty of feed and water and left him to his own devices as I entered the house again.

Like all of these, it was of sun-baked adobe brick plastered and painted with a tile roof. The kitchen was, like the outhouse, away from the main single-room building but easily reached by an arch to protect us from the sun and the rare rainfall. I led the women to the outhouse and explained, "Here you void your bowels. Here are cleaning cloths, use only what you need and toss them down the opening then mark your visit by moving one of these beads-on-a-string and sprinkling a handful of dirt into the hole. Every tenth use, toss some more dirt in to cover the feces and be certain to wash your hands after. Here is soap and water. We will shovel more dirt down when we leave. Also the food scraps that the falanxes won't eat go down here too. Eat nothing inside the sleeping room. Bring no food there either." I hated explaining the simplest things to these humans but they were like children, totally ignorant of manners and hygiene and safety. They even built cities on rubbish and dumped sewage into their drinking water. No wonder their world was dead and their race extinct.

Moving on to the cooking area, I noted that Jarissah had left enough food for days, many more than necessary with my reduced number of charges. Good girl! Knowing that every hour spent hunting and gathering food would take that hour from my investigation, she did as much as she could for me and probably waited until she saw us approach before leaving. Is it any wonder I loved that woman. "I suggest that we take turns cooking. Whomever cooks, another cleans. Please wash yourself before you cook. The well is over there. The roof-tank should be full so we can shower but do not waste water!" I could see the windmill slowly turning as it pumped water from the well to the tank which was being heated by the sun. Jarissah and I had examined and cleaned the mill on the way to the crash-site so I was confidant that I was speaking the truth.

I watched them settle down then I began to cook dinner, showing the prisoners how to use the oven and grill. There was plenty of charcoal, the Burners having recently stocked the Rest-House and one, Katherine, commented, "It isn't that different from my home. We used to bar-b-que every Sunday and this oven is a lot like my grandmother's." Then, made bold by her intimacy with me the night before she asked, "Where are we, mister.... What is your name anyway?"

"Toshiro Mulberry," I commented. "We are in the Airick Desert about three dozen kilometers from the seaport of Caer Langley. And I am not a Mister, but a Master."

"I don't understand?" she asked, "You own us?" Her thoughts showed black people in chains being whipped and forced to work in the fields. I shuddered at this race that could so easily enslave others.

"No. I am a Justice, Magis..." I searched her mind for the word then invented one, "Judicial investigator. I serve the Devil at Caer Langley investigating matters of concern to the Barony and this Sector. You are not owned, nor are you prisoners. But you are witnesses to an investigation and are Bound-by-Law to accompany me. If I determine that a crime has taken place, you will be turned over to the Speaker for trial. If not, when my investigation is complete, you will be returned to your home."

"Home! You mean we can return to America?" There was a mixture of hope and fear in her voice.

"When I am done, yes."

"You're a cop!" this from Collins who had approached while we were talking.

Horrified, I responded, "No! We have no cops here. Nor am I a Police Officer. I am a Judicial Investigator who serves the Devil and the Speaker."

"I don't get it! You murdered my Superior and assaulted us and... what the hell is going on here!" It wasn't a request but a demand so I slapped her so hard she fell to the ground spitting blood.

I took a deep breath then relaxed and said, "Please be polite. We are a dueling society and disrespect can result in a Duel-to-the-Death. Disrespect to a Higher Caste or an Officer-of-the-Law in the performance of his duty can compromise the investigation and your status. If you continue with your disrespectful ways, I will return you to the crash-site and abandon you to the fates. You have no authority here. You are a witness to an investigation and so are Bound-by-Law to assist this investigation. Refusal to do so will result in your being returned to your home and the investigation terminated."

"What investigation?" she was asking, this time not demanding as she wiped blood.

"Whether your planet is to be saved or destroyed, of course."

Chapter VII- Semantics ?

There was stunned silence then Collins started to speak, to be silenced by Katherine who said, "Please, Mis... Master Mulberry, may we have a moment to discuss this in private?"

"A moment, yes, in private, no, as whatever you say is a part of my Investigation."

"Fair enough." She replied as I turned back to my cooking and listened in.

She paced and tried to collect her thoughts. Her race had no telepathic abilities it seemed so she was trying to organize her thoughts. "Look at what happened. We were on a cross-country flight then crashed. The plane should have exploded on impact and killed us all but it came down mostly intact and only a few dead. Nothing burned. It was if someone slowed our crash then prevented any fire. Then the furry pteranodons, the snake with legs, the rat-dogs and rabbit-horse and... well, everything we see shows that we are no longer in Kansas anymore.

"It's obvious that .. Master Mulberry prizes manners and if we are impolite, he beats the crap out of us or sends us away to die in the desert. BUT, if we are polite and help him out, he sends us back home, safe and alive.

"It's also obvious that he KNOWS we are from another planet, understands your pistol and is a perfect shot. He also mentions the destruction of Earth. He obviously has a higher technology than he shows us. Wait! Let me finish. Just because he carries a bow and rides a horse doesn't mean he is a savage. My Uncle still takes a bow and fishing pole and rides his horse into the mountains to go camping. If he came by in some anti-gravity sled, our whole attitude would have been different, faked. This way he gets to see us as we really are. So I think we need to cooperate.

"I, for one, think I have a better deal with him than with you!" this last was directed to Collins. By now the falanxes had herded the rest here at my command so they all listened. Then, turning back to me, she asked, "May I ask what you mean by that last comment?"

"No," Collins spoke up. "Too much. We need to start slow and simple. What's the difference between 'mister' and 'master'?"

I smiled at that. Now that someone else had taken control, she was more secure. "Mister and Mistress denote the head of a household. All their children and subordinate siblings are Master and Mastress. Since I live under my parent's roof, I am a master. When Jarissah and I marry and Homestone our own home, I will become a Mister."

"Ok, fair enough, It's a matter of semantics." Katherine added as if that explained everything.

Leslie asked next, "Are we on Earth or where, and how did we get here?"

"You are on Gaea, a planet far from your world. You are also in the future. When the Devil at Drakonis was tasked by the Temple with saving your world, she appointed a number of the Lesser Devils to investigate. Mine found your aircraft about to crash and we brought it here, set it down as safely as we could so I could investigate your .. worth? Value? Determine if we should help your people survive The Rapture."

"Rapture? As in the return of Christ?"

"Almost. Rapture as in when some of your religious fanatics decided to destroy everyone they deemed evil and force your god to return. Only they lost control and destroyed everything."

"So you judge us and if we fail, you allow Earth to die. If we pass, you save Earth?"

"Simplistic but mostly accurate. Why should we save a people who would gladly kill and enslave us as you did to so many others?"

"But that's the past!" she argued. "We don't do that anymore!"

"When does the past end? And does not the past influence the present and future? All your present acts are the same as your past, it is simply a matter of degree and the targets you choose. Just because you no longer use biological weapons of mass destruction against those who you deem inferior, does not make you enlightened. It simply forces you to choose economic or military or political weapons to accomplish the same goal. You are accustomed to your acts, but as an outsider, I can see the problem."

Davis asked, "I get the feeling that you are too intelligent to rely on only us. We are far from a good sample of humanity. A few cops who overact, a few prisoners accused of criminal acts. There have got to be others."

There were. A dozen of the Lesser Devils were doing now what I was doing. These were not unique. "We find people who are about to die, people from various nations and times. Bring them here and to other Sectors and do what I am doing here. I have avoided reading their reports for fear it would compromise my own investigation."

"You have a job that in our world, would be handled by a police officer, yet you don't like the Police?" This from Collins which surprised me.

"Not true, I like Police Officers. At least I like the one in Caer Langley. We don't have need for many. It's cops I hate. Police Officers have great authority and with that authority, comes responsibility. Police officers MUST he held to a higher standard than the common man. When they Abuse that Authority, they become criminals like the one I killed back at the crash site. He sought to kill me when he should have been polite, introduced himself and asked me for assistance."

Barely controlling herself, her emotions radiating anger and hatred, Barbara snapped, "So you killed him! No warning, no arrest, no trial. What makes you any better!" It wasn't a question.

Saddened with the memory, "He pulled his weapon and threatened to kill me. I was defending myself. And yes, my actions will be investigated when we return and if I am judged to have Abused my own Authority, I can be executed, piked and my Family and Clan disgraced. This is why I keep a journal of my actions and thoughts." I failed to mention that we habitually inject the Suspect and Witnesses of any investigation with truth serum to ensure the truth is told. I was planning to feed these women that serum at a later date.

Katherine, the smarter of the group, paced then asked, fearing the answer, "If your investigation was compromised, or .. what I'm afraid to ask is... if we know about you people... that plane would have crashed and killed us all... you'd return us to.. When we go home, are we going to die in that crash?"

I tried to smile but couldn't. "Had I canceled the investigation when I... killed your alpha male, as I should have instantly, we would have returned your aircraft and you to the moment when we took you. Your craft would have crashed on your world as if we had not interfered and you probably would have died. But I've never killed before. I couldn't send you back to die so I chose to salvage the Investigation to keep you alive.

"When this is finished, I can request that your aircraft be set down safely on your world so you will live. Those who are dead will remain so but you will survive."

"Aren't you afraid that we'll tell the world about you?"

Laughing, "Who will believe you? You are only now beginning to believe what has happened the past few days. If you tell, no one will listen, thinking it is a brain injury from the wreckage. No, if you cooperate, you will be returned alive and safe to your world. If not, then you will be returned dead... or you will die here."

"and the Earth dies?" Davis asked. She was the one guard who had opened her clothing and lay her weapons down for her search.

"I am not privy to that information. The decision has yet to be made and my report will be but one of many that will be considered. Dinner is ready."

We ate for awhile when Katherine asked, "What if I don't want to go back?"

I stared at her but wasn't suprised. "And your reasoning is?" I knew it, for my own grandparents had come from Terra, leaving Hiroshima shortly after the nation of these people dropped a nuclear bomb on that civilian city. After watching their children die in the blast, and faced with a horrible death from burns and radiation, they chose to come to Gaea where they were healed and could start over. But they never forgave the Americans who had murdered so many dozens of thousands of innocent women and children in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"Back home, I'll go to prison. It's already been decided because I can't afford a good enough lawyer. I won't go into why but .. well my fate is sealed as is the rest of us. We can die here, die there or go to prison there. I'm willing to consider an alternative... remain here." Barbara started to stand, angry and make demands but I raised my hand to her and she sat back. "I was a vet-tech back home. I treated rabbits, rats, dogs and cats and... well, you have animals and obviously love them and care for them so I figure that I can get a job with a local vet. Even if it's cleaning cages since I'm obviously not trained for your animals.. it's better than prison."

"Were you tried and sentenced for your supposed crime?"

Thinking, "I guess that matters. But no. They were still investigating me. I was.. well they think I am an accessory to..."

I interrupted her. "I don't want to know yet. Very well, IF you cooperate and IF you are judged to be a decent person and IF you promise to obey our laws and cause no trouble, I will notify Colonial about your request. BUT, be aware that we have no prisons. We have few laws but those we judge harshly so you had better be certain that you can live an honest and polite life."

Chapter VIII- Political Truths

I waited until dinner was finished before I began. It would be impolite to argue while sharing food and drink so I served my 'guests' to the best of my ability and considered my options. Three guards, two who hated me and saw me as a criminal but had no respect for the rights of others. The last could be trained.

Three prisoners, one asking to remain, the others now considering an option to survival. Katherine was being polite and her skin tones radiated honestly. Whatever crime they thought she performed, she may be innocent. The others were still an enigma.

Then Leslie, the older prisoner asked, "Mister, no Master Mulberry, that book you were reading, it's in Japanese I think. Your name is Japanese and you look Japanese. How?"

I ate more rice, pushing it into my mouth with my hashi to buy time to think. Jarissah had not bothered to harvest the brown rice that was dry-growing in the field but had left us a few bags from town so I could just cook and not forage. She was a wonderful person. "My grandparents are from your world and time. They lived in Hiroshima with their children, until your nation destroyed their city with an Atomic Bomb. Dying, their children dead, they were rescued by Colonial and brought here where they were cured of radiation sickness and burns and allowed to start over."

"I am so sorry, that happened before I was born but my grandfather fought in that war. My father almost did too but by the time he was old enough, the war was almost wo.. over so they refused him in the army. Grandfather never talked about that but my grandmother told me how he carried a flame-thrower across the pacific, hopping from island to island, fighting for every step. He came home without legs. So I guess both sides lost something."

"They deserved it!" this from Collins who radiated such hatred for me that it almost made me ill.

"Why?" I asked, trying to restrain myself. It wouldn't be polite or proper to show anger during an investigation even though I was.

"Japan invaded us!" she demanded. "We were peaceful and YOUR country attacked Pearl Harbor without reason!" She stood, demanded an argument so I gave her one.

"Your President Roosevelt announced to the public that he'd keep your nation out of the war so he could be re-elected to office. But historical records show him giving orders to your navy to attack and sink every Japanese ship and shell any Japanese base they could find in the Pacific Ocean. Japan was retaliating against American aggression! We have records of these in our liberatory. Even then, does that justify dropping a nuclear bomb onto an unarmed civilian city? Condemning tens of thousands of women and children to a horrible death by radiation and flash-burn?

"Our Devil-At-Drakonis, the most powerful person in the Barony, is a Commanche Indian from your nation. Your nation chose to steal their land and felt that exterminating her people to be easier than purchasing the land or living in peace. So, as a gesture of what they pretended was good will, your Army gave her people wool blankets that they had infected with smallpox. She and her brother are the only survivors and she wears her smallpox scars on her face to this day.

"Within your lifetime, your government deliberately infected black people in the South of your Nation with syphilis and denied them medical treatment just so they could see how that disease spread and what people looked like when they died from the disease.

"And at Waco, your FBI lied about the danger, filled the church building with toxic levels of lethal gas, then fired a flare into the building to burn the people. They then sat at the doors and used M-16s to kill any woman and child that sought to leave the burning building.

"The crimes of your nation are legion. Should I continue with more? Or do they not tell you the truth in your schools?"

She wanted to argue because no one likes to hear their nation attacked. And fearing that the attacker is right and you are ignorant of the facts is even worse. Then the last prisoner, said, quietly, "I'm a history teacher at the University. He's telling the truth. That's why I was arrested, I TOLD my class the truth and someone didn't like that so they reported me for treason. It seems that the Patriot Act allows Homeland Security to arrest for treason anyone who tells the truth about American crimes or the crimes committed by American police. We even had a film of the Director of Homeland Security threatening to arrest the heads of the News media if they reported the crimes that Homeland Security committed."

"We have to do that! It's a WAR out there! We need to be secure and safe!" Collins retorted, screaming.

"At what cost liberty?"

Laughing, "I'd rather my family be safe than free!"

"I can make myself safe but who will protect me from the police when Freedom vanishes?"

Leaning forward, she smiled like a shark, "No one. And that's why you are my prisoner, bitch!"

Laughing back, Kim replied, "But we aren't your prisoners, are we? We all, including yourself, are prisoners so you are no different than we. All in chains! The only difference is that Master Mulberry, here, seems to be treating you a hell of a lot nicer than you treated us. Shall I tell him about your interrogations? How you shove your hands into our...:"

"Enough! Please, this investigation is taking a bad turn. I think we should separate and calm down, ALL of us." I was angry myself and no investigator should allow his emotions to control the investigation. If I did, I'd decide they were guilty and seek only evidence to condemn them. Then I'd be as bad as the Terrans.

I waited, then sent a thought and the Falanxes entered to force both Collins and Barbara away. "Outside please! We will continue when we are calm."

Davis, the one who allowed me to search her, though more from fear than necessity hesitated, "Sir, we aren't all that bad. I became a co... police officer because I wanted to help people. I do my best. But sometimes, when you see innocent people hurt and the guilty go free because some high paid lawyer pulls a technicality, and that criminal goes out to hurt other people, it just gets to us and we... some of us sometimes, push the limit to stop these guys. We aren't perfect, but we are human and make mistakes. You should try to remember that we are doing the best we can with a difficult job."

Chapter IX- It's not Cheating

I left the house and relaxed in the garden. Like all public areas, this one had a small garden to relax and meditate so I found a comfortable rock and sat there, watching the flutterbys flit from flower to flower. When calmed by their antics I sought to sense the others. Jarissah was in Caer Langley, cooking a meal and I could smell the rice steaming. She detected my mental probe and send a psychic kiss then broke contact. I could find her across a thousand kilometers because of our intimacy.

Katherine was with Leslie, washing dishes without being asked. I couldn't tell if that was for want of something to do, because they wanted to be useful or hoped that their work would place me on their side of the investigation.

Kim was wandering through the fields and groves, her thoughts too confused for me to perceive well. She said she was arrested for telling the truth? How could a Democracy exist unless the people had unlimited access to the truth, including the bad done by state and statesman?

Collins and Barbara were at the edge of the oasis, looking over the desert and their thoughts were images of crossing alone in the dark. They didn't know that would be their deaths for the next oasis away from this line was a hundred kilometers east and there wasn't much to eat or drink along the way. I'd have to send the falanxes to follow and bring them back after a day.

Davis approached them but was turned away. I got the impression that her refusal to support the two was seen as a betrayal. Did these humans keep together even when wrong? Do these people see speaking out for the truth and right as somehow bad?

I was startled by Katherine who approached undetected. "I'm sorry for startling you. But if you don't mind, can I ask a few questions?"

Shrugging, I stood and motioned for her to take the bench. She watched the garden for some time, "It's beautiful. Even in the desert, your people love beauty, it seems."

"What good is life if you don't enjoy yourself?"

"On Earth, we think that just being alive is enough."

"Quality over Quantity? We are the different. A short life of happiness is far preferable to a long life of misery. Why did you leave after that one climax?" I asked.

She stared, embarrassed, "Weren't you done?"

Laughing, her question was so funny, "Done? After but one climax? You only had one then remained only for me. We rarely stop until hours have gone by and we each have had a dozen or more."

She sighed, "A dozen. I've never had more than one a day in my life. Most of the time, the men have theirs then roll off and go to sleep." She stared at me then tried again, "Men here CARE for their lover that much?"

"If we don't, we will soon find few willing to bed us. Come!" I stood and held my hand to her. She took it, hesitating, then I led her to that clover patch by some fruit trees. Then I slowly undressed her, she gasping as my tail caressed her loins while I kissed her neck. By our standards, she wasn't attractive, her breasts small and floppy, stretch-marks (her mind said as I touched one) and though intelligent for her race, remarkably dull by ours. Still, she was kind and that is more important than physical beauty.

I ignored my own needs, her lack of telepathy or empathy making her unable to know what I wanted or needed but our former intimacy allowed me to estann her desires and her embarrassment at wishing that I would place my tail here and there but afraid to ask. She also had no kegal strength and I only knew her climax when her breathing froze. Then when I continued, she began to try to reciprocate until we were joined and she caressed my skin as we moved together. I climaxed, paused a moment and felt her disappointment, then continued on for I rarely ended until a half dozen climaxes to Jarissah's dozen or more.

Later, we lay there, I holding her when I estanned Davis watching. Katherine became embarrassed again and held her clothes before her as I sat, unconcerned. Davis starred at Katherine's wetness still on my phallus and snarled, "At least we don't allow our jailers to fuck the prisoners."

"So long as the act is mutual, why not?" I asked. This interested me. Davis had no sexual desire that I could estann. Collins hated men and her emotions radiated lust for the other women and Barbara saw sex as power, giving it to achieve position. And these saw honest love-making as wrong?

"How do I know that she isn't... sleeping with you to get her freedom or some other concession?"

"Because her thoughts are honest desire."

Katherine broke in, "You can read our minds?"

"To an extent. Mostly I estann emotions and images and concepts. I can't read single thoughts unless we are in contact. Which is why I knew that you wanted me to...."

I had to stop for David was holding her hands to her head trying to concentrate of nonsense but the 'get out of my head' thoughts were very clear. "If you concentrate as hard as you are, I cannot help but to estann your thoughts. Relax, go about your business as normal and I'll be unable to read you unless I concentrate." Davis rushed off, her thoughts clear as she screamed them.

I reached for Katherine and asked, "More?"

She glanced down and said, "are all of you like that?"

"Of course, why stop when we can have.."

"Not that. Weren't you reading my mind just then? No? I mean, telepathic? How does that work?" She no longer had any sexual desire. Pity.

Sighing in disappointment, I replied to her question, "People, Human and Weir, radiate long-frequency electro-magnetic waves at 100 kilometers which is Telepathy. These antennae allow me to pick up these EM-waves. We always broadcast these em-waves, sometimes stronger than other times. Normally I can't 'read' anything. But if you focus, concentrate on a single thought, I can detect it easily. Otherwise I get glimpses and images and emotions, though intimacy makes it easier. Like I can send messages to my lover Jarissah who is in Caer Langley some thirty-six kilometers north of here. And I can now read your thoughts easier now that we have shared intimacy. But the others, I must concentrate hard to read even the strongest thought."

"Your lover? You are involved?" She was briefly angry then depressed. "I guess it was too good to be true, even here a good man is hard to find."

Curious, "What do you mean?"

She snapped, "You're cheating on your girl-friend! I don't like being used like that.!"

"Cheating? I'm not cheating. Explain, please?"

"You and this.. Jarissah... You are lovers, so I suppose you people don't believe in fidelity!"

"Fidelity? Of course we do! Adultery is a capital offense and adulterers are executed by the Clan of the shamed spouse. But Jarissah and I are lovers, not betrothed. I cannot become betrothed for another year when I reach adulthood! Even then, we will make vows to determine what we see as 'cheating' and what is allowed. We both have the occasional dalliance and sometimes we will bring our third party to join us so what you and I just did isn't wrong. Jarissah knows what just happened and when she meets you, all she will ask is if you enjoyed yourself. If not, she will take me aside and make certain that I do satisfy you next time."

"Next time? You think that there'll be a next time? And your lover will encourage this?" I couldn't estann her emotions, they were so jumbled. "And get the hell out of my mind!"

"What woman or man would be happy of their lover failed to satisfy another. If Jarissah fails to satisfy someone she is bedding today, then it reflects upon me. On the fact that I couldn't show her what a man likes. I'd be embarassed for her to NOT satisfy her other bedmates. But there is a big difference between a lover and a dalliance."

"So I was just a dalliance to you! Something to dip your dick into! I... I...!" she stomped off, angry.

Chapter X- Apologies

I entered a room full of angry women and though I could 'know' their reasons, I could not 'feel' them. They were too alien. Collins hated men for some unknown reason and Katherine having sex with me she saw as a 'betrayal' of some 'sisterhood'. Also she desired Barbara who hated what she called 'dykes' and sex with another woman disgusted her.

Barbara was unaware of Collins' desire and was absorbed with changing roles, capturing me and returning the other former-prisoners to custody, then returning, by some unconsidered means, to Terra where she would be a hero and promoted.

Davis was angry because the other guards were rejecting her as a traitor because she did not fight me as did they. She saw me as the cause of her rejection.

Katherine believed that I was using her to slake my lusts and the other women saw her as a 'whore' who sold her body for hoped for freedom.

I sighed, then began. "Please listen to me. My sexual activities with anyone here has no relation with my investigation. Your planet is STILL on trial. My planet is not and it is unlikely that yours will survive long enough to develop the technology to even reach this far. So ignore the acts and focus on your lives and the lives of your world.

"When my investigation is finished, we will continue on to Caer Langley where you will be questioned by my superiors. At that time you have the right to file any complaint that you wish. Until then, please try to cooperate with me or I shall end this investigation, return you to that aircraft and arrange for it to crash on your world as it was fated to do.

"Katherine has already asked for Colonial Status. Unless she withdraws that request, I will forward it to Colonial. If anyone else wishes, I will do the same for them with my opinions appended. Now, if there are no questions, we can proceed."

Davis snapped, "Do we all have to fuck you for you to allow us to live?"

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of a person of your desired status," I replied and ignored her. "The most important thing is that you possess manners, courtesy to each other and to us and that you cooperate. Now, may we begin?"

Collins snapped at me, "I don't take orders from some monkey-tailed breeder that sluts around with..." she struck the ground as I slapped her. I did manage to pull my blow or I'd have snapped her neck easily, humans are so fragile. Still she was bleeding from her lip and mouth as Barbara and Davis ran to her aid!

"THAT! Was NOT polite! I suggest that you reconsider your position and while deciding how badly you wish to live, you should also practice your curtseys." Then I left the room, taking my bow. I didn't intend to hunt, but I was afraid to leave it with them, even though they probably could not pull the 150# draw. Outside, in the desert, I did tai-chi until I could calm down. It took a very long time.

Finally I noticed Kimberly, the Terran Historian-teacher watching me. I glanced to her and she bowed very low to me, strange as only my grandmother would bow to people, bowing being for men while women curtsey. This was all the more strange as she was still wearing those orange clothes the humans called scrubs, with a large P on the back which I learned meant 'prisoner'. "I think I should apologize for us all. We're under a lot of stress and not handling it well. A few days ago, they were the top of the food chain and we were in those chains. Today, half their friends are dead and they have to be polite to the man who killed them. We were prisoners with no hope for freedom and I haven't seen my husband and children and I don't even know if he knows I was arrested. Leslie and I are afraid that Kate is sleeping with you to get on your good side and you'll show her preferential treatment because of that. Kate feels used even though she started it back at that first oasis. And none if us know if we will be alive tomorrow or enslaved or implanted with some alien parasite or even if you are telling us the truth. For all we know, you could be planning to conquer Earth and using us to get tactical information. Master Mulberry, we are scared and feeling helpless. And none of us know what to do." The shocking thing is that she spoke all this in Japanese.

Seeing my look, she continued, "My father was stationed in Japan for six years. I learned to love the country. We even took a field trip to Hiroshima one summer. It's not the ruins people think it is. The city is almost totally rebuilt and aside from the monument and the horrible cancer rate, you'd never know. I guess I took a chance that your parents taught you their native language."

"They did. We prize the multilingual and encourage family ties. "I've never been there myself though someday, if I do well, I hope the Speakers will send me to Terra on a Ramship. It's too far and expensive to travel there as we are mostly a farming world. Incidentally, here women curtsey, men bow though the lower the status, the lower the bow and curtsey."

Sitting, after a very low curtsey that showed her inexperience, she continued, "I'm torn. If I go back, I face death in that plane crash or imprisonment for years for believing in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in a political climate that fosters paranoia and unquestioning obedience to authority. My husband and children weren't told I was arrested. Hell, I wasn't arrested because if I was, they'd have to give me a lawyer. So I am 'detained' as a possible terrorist and so have no rights at all. My family only knows I went to work and never came home. So if I remain here, I suppose I could get a job as a teacher but, will you bring my family here?"

"I don't know if that is possible. The power and expense of bringing your aircraft here was astronomical and we are a farming world. My yearly salary is probably far less than what you earn a month on Terra. But then, we have fewer possessions to support. All I can do is forward the request."

"I understand. I've been listening. I was quiet as I was still learning but Kate noticed quickly the ancestry of your animals. At first we thought we were in the future and that something had destroyed life on Earth, leaving the rats to evolve into dogs, the rabbits into horses and the monkeys, no offense, into people. Your comment on Earth being destroyed supported that theory. Then your comment that your parents were from Hiroshima, and that book, it's Musashi's _Book of Five Rings_ isn't it? Is in Japanese but the flip side is some language that uses the Latin alphabet. I'm guessing that it is a bilingual edition. So we thought that somehow, the first people were brought here from Earth. Maybe a mass alien abduction? We wondered if the radiation from Hiroshima mutated you and the rats and rabbits that came with you but that didn't explain that flying dinosaur. But I remembered a story about rabbits on Newfoundland I think. Take an animal from its home and place it in a different environment and they change, adapt to the new lands. The rabbits and rats and snakes and even you did that.

"And there is your comment that an Indian woman from 19th century America is your 'devil'(?) which I gather is a very important position. This means that you people have racial, sexual and national origin equality. That sounds good but no place is perfect. I loved Japan but there were a lot of problems there. And despite the problems in America, I still love my country. How close am I?"

Smart. She could easily be accepted into the Teacher Class. "Very close. But this planet, Gaea, was terraformed. The first colonists, His Grace, Baron Obrien, formed this world to resemble Terra, his homeworld. But he couldn't get it perfect so settled for Gaea as it is. My race... We are a race that assists and serves the Demon Race and so colonists have their DNA changed so that their grandchildren are born Weir like me. My parents and grandparents are human, I and my siblings are Weir. But Ramships leave Gaea almost yearly to find people who are willing to colonize the Barony. We have great space but we Weir breed slowly. I cannot make babies until I am twenty-five and even then, I must be faithful to one woman and she to me. You humans breed like lebballies. So we offer the best of your world a chance to come here and live a new life."

"And have alien grandchildren. What if they want to go back?"

"The Ramships are almost empty going back. There is more than enough room to return."

"You don't mind or are afraid of what they'll say?"

"Who will believe them? And if we refuse to allow them to return to Terra, are we not as evil as the nations we deride? No, loyalty is earned and we try very hard to earn the loyalty of our people, both native born and new-arrivals."

Standing, she commented, in English, "You've given me a lot to think about. I'll do what I can to help you and hope you decide to save our world." Then she joined the others who were watching and listening though I could estann that none understood Japanese.

Walking away, Barbara snapped to her, "How do we know he's telling the truth? All we've seen is some... guy with a tail and pointed ears riding something that looks like a cross between a rabbit and a horse and carrying a bow and knife. Where's the advanced technology he says he has? Where is the radio or TV or even electric lights? Everything here comes from the Middle Ages. He doesn't even have a flintlock pistol! For all we know, he's lying to con us."

Katherine snapped back, "Then how did we get here?"

"I don't know. But just because someone walks across a crime scene two minutes before the police arrive doesn't mean that person is guilty of that crime! All the evidence I've seen is that somehow by some means we don't know we came here. We don't KNOW where HERE is! Nor do we know HOW we got here! Then this guy who looks like he came out of some fantasy comic book set in the middle ages arrives and tells us a story of a technology beyond our ability. Isn't that like your plane crashes on some Pacific Island and some leaf-clad savage with a bone in his nose walks up and tells you he crashed your plane because some shark-god wants to eat you? Would you believe that? So why believe him? I want proof! Or at least evidence that he is telling the truth!"

"Like what?" Kim asked. "I am willing to accept your theory for now."

"First of all: Proof of where we are. I don't know where we are! All I know is that we aren't in the US... probably. Maybe this is some government experiment in the Nevada Desert. We hear about Area-51. Maybe the stories are true and they did some creative surgery on a volunteer to play head games on us. And don't comment on the stars. Go to Australia and the stars would be different from the ones we know.

"Second, evidence that HE brought us here! What technology does he carry that makes us think he can do that? Even the water pump in that house looks like it was made in Colonial Times. No solar power. No radio or any communications. No computers. Hell! All we have is a house made from dried mud and a windmill and a wood-burning stove!

"Third, evidence that he IS some kind of investigator? And this also needs evidence that WE are on trial.

"I know I go overboard but were this to happen in the US, even I would refuse to believe the story and think he was a nut-case or a con-artist."

Kim turned to me and asked, "Good points. Have you any way to respond to her questions?"

Sighing, "None that I am prepared to reveal at this time. You either believe me or not. But if you fail to cooperate, you will eventually realize that I am telling the truth. Unfortunately, that realization will occur when you appear in your craft a minute before it strikes the ground in your nation on Terra." Then I turned and entered the rest-house as they discussed the possibility that the situation is but a fraud. I believed that their own Investigators refused to explain matters to the witnesses and I chose to continue that path.

Chapter XI- More Explanations

It was getting dark so I started a fire to see by. Considering the bad emotions, I chose to hold off further questioning until the morning and handed each person a sleeping mat from the cubbies in the wall. Then I found the cold-sink, mostly a pile of well-drained sand that was watered from the tower, and dug out a bottle of wine.

"Where do we sleep?" Collins slurred through swollen and bleeding lips. The way she was holding her head showed that I had also sprained her neck. Well, she deserved it for that insult. As much as I wanted to call them a 'lop-tailed dayfly', I resisted because I was polite and they were not.

"Wherever you wish. I would suggest that if you sleep outside, you avoid the ground. This oasis attracts wildlife from the nearby desert from bugs to carnivores. Wild Ravines and falanxes, large hunting spiders, even the occasional sand-swimmer. Try to remain at least head-height and they will leave you alone."

"We didn't have that problem last night!" Katherine insisted.

"Yes, we did! Only my falanxes and rabbuck kept most of them away and the falanxes ate the smaller ones that were around. This oasis is much larger so the pack cannot be everywhere."

Kim then asked, "Master Mulberry, when do we reach the city?"

Sighing, "I have decided that we will remain here until I am satisfied. I believe that the distractions of Caer Langley would interfere."

"Damn! I really wanted to see an alien city!"

Collins snapped again, would that woman never learn manners? "Can't we at least have some privacy here? If there aren't any walls or bedrooms, how about some sheets to separate the men from the women!"

"Why?" I was curious about this.

"It's... it's not proper for men and women to share a room at night!"

Kim laughed, "You just are afraid you'll have to watch Toshiro do someone. Think of it as live porn." Collins almost approached but in her condition, even Kim would easily defend herself.

She backed off and moved her mat to the furthest part of the room. I lay mine near the fire-place and opened my journal as the others found places for themselves. This rest-house was large, perhaps ten by twenty meters and with thick pillars that raised the stone floor almost a meter above the ground to prevent sand-swimmers from digging up. But, like all rest-houses, it was a single room with kitchen and latrine and shower being separate structures for sanitation. Neither privacy nor comfort was as important as safety here.

Katherine thought then added, "I've hiked the Rockies from Mexico to Canada and back, camped in the Southwest Desert and canoed all across the East and Northeastern United States and the worst I ever suffered was a scorpion bite and chiggers. What makes this desert so dangerous?"

"Your world has been inhabited by humanity for a million years. Eventually you killed off all the dangerous predators or convinced them to avoid humans.

"Gaea, this world, was first colonized less than a century ago and half the planet has never seen human nor Weir so the animals still see us as food. This is the Arick Desert and Caer Langley is only ten years old. This rest house only a year old and the trail south only a few years old so we are still exploring and meeting new animals, many of which are curious as to what we taste like."

"So you really can't be certain that some unknown monster won't walk out of the desert and dig us out and eat us like an anteater?"

I got the image of an anteater being a smaller and less dangerous vorton so agreed.

Katherine then asked, "Can I share the light?"

"Of course." Then, "Why did you come to me at the oasis?"

"I don't want to hurt you... But,... They tortured us on Earth. I know that they don't call it torture but when they deny you food or water, make you shit and pee in your clothes and laugh and refuse to allow you to clean-up or sleep for days. When they threaten you, lie to you and occasionally beat you and pretend that it was an accident, it is still torture.

"I saw in you a chance to escape. As alien as you are, you were kind to us and I saw in you a chance to be free, or at least safe for awhile. I felt that if I gave you sex, you'd take care of me."

She quickly added, "But that time in the clover, today, that was different. I wanted you today and enjoyed it. Do you hate me?"

"Hardly," I caressed her cheek with my tail and she barely flinched. "We see nothing wrong with that. Humans are different. You see sex as pleasure and breeding and apparently, for negotiations. We Weir are different. We enjoy sex even more than do you and accept all forms as valid. BUT, when my race was created, the Demons made a mistake. We NEED sex regularly or we die. That's why Jarissah and I don't care about our affairs. If I go weeks without sex, I will die as will she. So we must be accommodating in that area. The only time our drive fades and we can live without is when our women give birth and nurse. The drain on the mother is so great that her sex-drive vanishes so to keep her husband alive, they must hire a house-whore to service the husband and help with the children."

I put my journal aside and pulled her to me and kissed her, my hand caressing her side to her breast. Then she froze, emotionally and physically. "Not with them watching. Later, please."

Curious. These humans are so willing to accept violence but fear honest affection. But I smiled, kissed her lightly and returned to my journal.

Later, when all were relaxed, I opened the wine, poured a small libation to the Gods at the hearth-bowl and poured a glass for each of the people. Later I'd remove the Hearth-bowl to the outside and give the Offering to a tree where the Gods could take it..

Kim sipped then asked, "You always wash your hands and make that prayer before you eat and drink. It's some religious thing, isn't it? But not Shinto."

"My grandparents are Shinto as are my parents to an extent. I honor my parents faith but follow that of my Barony. Still, the two are so similar we can shift easily between the two and borrow freely. Every sacred place in the Barony, regardless of the faith, has a Tori, our temples are Stone Circles. The Goddess-Incarnate watches over every public site," I pointed to the Sheila that was carved over the fireplace. Collins had stared with disgust at Her, commenting on how She spread her legs and stretched her Vulva to be seen by all then avoided Her afterwards.

"I've seen those in England. We call them Sheela-na-gigs and they are mostly hidden on churches. No one knows why but they are crude carvings compared to this one."

"This is molded after the Lady Yvonne who is the White Priestess at the Temple in Caer Langley. Some places have the Lady at Caer Cyprian but most here prefer our own Lady and God." I pointed to the phallus on the hearth.

She gulped, then tried to continue, her desire for being a teacher overwhelming her Terran prejudices and fears of sex. "Those are molded after real people?"

"Yes. It's the duty of the Lady and Lord of each Temple to pose for these Icons. Don't you have religious icons in your country?"

"Well, yes but not like that. If you don't mind, that phallus is life-sized?"

I nodded and she smiled, "I saw you at that oasis and though respectable, nothing to write home about. But that! You must choose your priests based on their size!"

I laughed at that. "I'm normal-sized but when we change the man into the God, we grow antlers on his head and increase his phallus for he must service the Lady at every farm and festival and any other woman who desires him. Also, the God's Phallus is available for anyone of you who wish to use Him." She turned red at that.

"women... your women... masturbate with.... "

"Of course. We see it as sacred. In the Temples are statues of the God and women sometimes give their virginity to Him when He is elsewhere."

"That IS DISGUST..." Collins stopped as I stared to her. Blasphemy was one crime that I'd not tolerate. I may not be very religious but still, if she continued, I'd drag her outside and flog her naked body until she bled. "Be very careful..." I warned, projecting images of her hanging from the trees for the flies to suck at her wounds. I was getting tired of her attitude. She hated all men without any reason and that is Racism which is illegal and impolite. She desired Barbara which is their concern but flashes images of raping the women-prisoners which is illegal and wrong. Al I wanted to do is to finish and send her back to Terra before I lost my temper and hurt her.

"Agent Collins," Davis tried to talk to her. "We have to respect their beliefs." Collins started to say something nasty but Davis interrupted, "If only because he's serious! If you won't respect their beliefs because that's the right thing to do, respect them for our own survival because if he whips you half to death, Agent Flack and I will try to protect you and the last time that happened, Agents Marsh and Whipple died! And frankly, I don't want to see your head on a pole while your body is eaten by whatever is in that desert and those rat-dogs tear us apart. Please?" she pleaded for her friends life.

Collins turned and strode outside followed by Barbara whose Family I just learned was only Flack. Davis returned to me and tried to apologize, "I'm sorry. This is all too much to take in. If we were on Earth, in a foreign country, we'd have been briefed and warned to tolerate the new ways. But we are being handed new info before we have a chance to accept the old and that's not easy for we poor humans. Especially when we had to shift from Police to prisoner."

"How are you dealing so well?" I asked.

"I'm not. I have nightmares and am about to break down and cry. But my father was in the Navy and we moved to a dozen bases in foreign countries while I was growing up so I'm used to strange ways. I don't want to die and I'm scared shitless that you'll kill me only because my duty is to protect my superiors. And so long as they keep angering you, my life is in danger because I WILL defend them, even when I know I'll fail and die. I know you think it's stupid but that's the way we are. I'll try to keep them calmed down."

She left and I tried to focus on her thoughts but their voices carried easily in the cold and dark.

Davis: Will you two please calm down. We're not in America anymore and our badges mean squat to him. We have no back-up, no embassy, no weapons. He may not be bigger than you two but he's stronger than all of us together and those rat-dogs of his are worse than any dog-team we could field.

Barbara: At ease, Davis! You've done nothing to help us and I'm real close to charging you with collaboration.

Davis: Get real! Charge me with whatever you want when we get back but unless you to take those badges off your dicks, yes I said DICK!, we won't get home. We'll die here like Agents Marsh and Whipple and I'd rather get home alive. You're supposed to be better than him. Instead you're acting like some Los Angeles white cop in a black ghetto! The ONLY way we stand a chance of staying alive is to cooperate and be polite. We need to be very polite even if it kills us.

Collins: How can we kiss that monkey-ass...

Davis: Shut the fuck up! Never say that. Never even think it! He can read our thoughts! Don't kiss-ass, just be polite. Show him the respect you would any foreign Officer. You may not like him but you must respect his position. Then when we get back, you can do whatever you want.

Barbara: IF we get back. He may be lying to us. He's probably lying all the time. We can't trust him.

Davis: Actually we can. He has always been honest. He may not tell us everything but I think what he DOES say is the truth. So if we cooperate, we go home. We may not survive the crash but we'll go home. So we be nice, be polite, cooperate and maybe when he sends us home, he'll arrange that we live through the crash. We don't have much choice.

There was some muttering I couldn't understand and without physical contact, I was unable to read their thoughts and their emotions were so jumbled I couldn't estann much. It was obvious that they disliked and distrusted Davis. It was also obvious that Davis was trying to keep everyone alive. But the other two didn't see that, perceiving her as a traitor.

Eventually Davis returned, smiled at me then lay on her bedding fully clothed save for her shoes that she removed.

I looked at her, not really thinking, for the three police officers (they called each other 'agents') never undressed. The others did, sleeping in clothes or underwear but bathing when given a chance even if I was there. Katherine said it was because after so many strip-searches in front of strange men who stared and snickered, they no longer had any sense of self-respect. But the three were stinking, and the smell of their dirty clothes simply added to the reek.

I left with my wine and washed my clothes, as usual, hung them to dry in the air and watched the moon as I sat and sipped. Leslie came out, saw me, her skin dimmed in embarrassment then she stripped and washed her clothes, keeping her back to me. Of them all, she was the worst. Not bad but so terrified that I feared that her heart would stop. She never spoke, never initiated anything but did whatever she was told without question. It was almost as if she were a machine.

Katherine and Kim exited together, stripped and washed then, both dimming in embarrassment, sat next to me in silence. Finally Katherine asked, "If anyone of us tries to escape, what would you do?"

"Send the Falanxes out to bring you back. Hopefully before something big and dangerous eats you or you die of thirst." Kim took my tail and examined it in the moonlight. "This place is so much like Earth, but just different enough. The moon up there, I can almost believe that it's ours. That tree there looks like an olive tree. I can almost believe that someone saw earth through a cloud and tried to copy it. But then, you aren't really an alien if your grandparents are from Japan. So, what do real aliens look like?"

She was examining my tail closely, noting how the distal third had no muscles, the medial third had some and the proximal third was heavily muscled. I curled it about her hand to show her the movement and she took the end to stroke her cheek, "It's so smooth..."

"My kind see that as a sexual invitation," I commented, my erection poking past my thighs. Both looked down and Katherine giggled as Kim let go of my tail in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean. Of course I'm curious but, well I'm still married and with us, fidelity is important." Then she whispered, "I'd still like to watch though. Maybe with that phallus..." then she dimmed further.

"Kim!" Katherine laughed. "You are so bad!"

"It's been a long time. And having some dyke with no gentleness shoving her big hands up my vagina every couple days isn't fun. I kinda wished that you'd do that to them so they'd know what it was like."

"We don't do that. Do you hate them?" I asked.

"Hate is pretty strong. I'm angry and betrayed and violated. I try to understand that they are doing an unpleasant job and sometimes, Human Rights and the Law gets stomped aside. But when you are the one who was kidnapped by the police who are supposed to protect you, it's harder to be sympathetic."

"I hate them," Katherine added. "I wished that they would have died in that crash. Did you know that the police raped, gang-raped Leslie over there? They denied it and promised to investigate but never did. I was in the next cell and had to listen. When I screamed for help, one zapped me with a cattle prod. I don't know what they did to me while I was unconscious. That's why I want to stay here, so I'd never have to worry about that again."

"I have a husband and children back home who have no idea of what happened to me. If I stay here, they go on, maybe. If I go back, I can tell them what happened, perhaps, but then, would they be 'detained' too? My choice isn't that easy."

"I want to stay!" Leslie stood and faced us, unconcerned with her nudity. "They're evil! They talk about security and safety but all they want is power! They had that Patriot Act ready to pass and just needed to scare the people into passing it without reading it. If 9-11 hadn't happened, they would have arranged something themselves. They gutted our rights and country and planned to make America into a Police State. Yes, they raped me in that cell and they'll do it again. Davis would try to stop them but if Flack ordered her to watch, she would because they are cops and cops stick together, even the good ones. Look here!" she turned away and lifted her hair to reveal burn-marks on her neck, then the ones under the breasts. "They used those electric stun guns on me over and over until I was unconscious. Everything they did to you, they did to me a dozen times worse. Is it any wonder I tried to bomb that police station! Yes! I did it! They arrested my daughter and murdered her. They said that they only wanted to know about some drug deal at her school. They say she had a heart attack and they didn't know but she wore her Medic Alert bracelet and necklace all the time! They saw that and removed it to cover themselves for murdering my baby! If I could kill them all I would!" she collapsed crying as both Katherine and Kim rushed to comfort her. I left them that way as I walked to think.

I reached out and estanned Collins and Flack in the desert. To Damn! They thought that they could escape but the desert would kill them faster than I would. I ran inside and told Davis, "Your people have left the oasis. If we don't recover them, they will be dead before noon tomorrow. If you wish to help me, put your shoes on." Then I went back to explain to the others that I was going to rescue the cops.

"I understand," Katherine commented. "I don't approve but I understand and wouldn't respect you if you didn't. We'll be safe here and waiting for your return."

Chapter XII- Rescue of the Cops

Davis and I left, following the falanxes that sniffed at the trail. I held them back with a thought for I felt that the duo needed to realize how dangerous this desert was.

"Shouldn't we be carrying our handguns instead of that bow?" she asked.

"Ineffectual here. It gives you a false sense of security. Besides, they went through my bag and stole them before they left."

"Agents Flack and Collins planned this! They took their weapons and left without me!" She was shocked at how they expected her to obey them but they deserted her.

"Yes, along with food and water. I only have my bow because it was outside at the time."

"Shit!" she swore. "Ok, what dangers will we face here?"

"See this?" I pointed. "Desert Rabbuck tracks. And here is a wild falanx. Fortunatly, only one, for a pack would take us down. The falanx is more concerned with the rabbuck but if it fails in that hunt, it'll remember the trail and hunt your friends. Maybe they can kill it with their weapons if they are fast but I doubt that they can hit such a fast animal in the dark.

"There are also sand-swimmers that come from below when you rest. Sand-worms that can swallow a person whole and other worse things."

"How far to water?"

"Thirty-six kilometers north is the inland sea which is salty though we place desalinators every ten kilometers. But they are going east across the desert and if there are any wells before the dunes, I don't know about them. Once in the dunes, you are faced with hundreds of kilometers of sand and the dunes are more dangerous than here. They are infested with sand-swimmers, sand-worms, spitters and arachnids. Trap-door spider nests are the worst. Each spider the size of your hand and they nest by the dozens to spring up and kill anything that trips their webs. And the scarlac... We don't go there if we can avoid it. Had they gone west, there is a river about fifty kilometers west of here."

"Why build these oasis when you could have followed the river?"

"The river goes southwest then turns. This road we are on goes to the salt marsh where we get a lot of our shrimp and crayfish during the rainy season and salt the rest of the year. In another couple days, you'll see some flivers carrying salt north. They wouldn't stop because they move fast enough to make the trip in a day but sometimes they hold over here for lunch."

"The perfect place for an uninterrupted interrogation." She mused.

The falanxes rushed back and hissed, "Down and quiet!" I snapped.

We hid behind some bushes as the strider walked by. Nearly a hundred feet long, walking on hundreds of legs, the body was snake-like and strode a half dozen meters above the ground. Its movement was wave-like and beautiful so long as it didn't sense you. Then you were dead! It took forever to pass and still we hid for the strider hunted by heat sensors in its feet and it could detect the residual heat in our footprints. If it found us, I'd send the falanx away and hope it chased them, though it was as likely to chase us instead or eat the pack one at a time, then return to follow us. This is why we had such thick walls and shutters at the rest-houses. Fortunately, they hated water and could not cross mud without their thin legs getting bogged down and snapping. But they could send their mouth-parts down holes to eat whatever hid within. I focused and sent a telepathic image to Jarissah who would notify the Hunters and with any luck, they would kill the strider from the air. Striders were too dangerous to be allowed to live, for even one would kill and eat all animal life in square kilometer within a few hours and move on, leaving nothing in its wake. If that one turned to the town, it could decimate a dozen farms before caught and even then, unless we were able to call in the StarFleet, possibly eat half the city before it was killed. No, we were lucky that I was out here chasing the humans.

I waited until the falanxes stopped shivering, the strider being the only thing that they feared. When they returned to normal, I knew it was safe and we continued on with the falanxes rushing across the strider trail as if they were burning their feet. "What was that thing, never mind, I don't want to know. How far 'till we find them?"

"I don't know now. We lost time when the strider passed. It also depends on how long they have been gone and how fast they travel."

"Can't you read their minds or something?"

I laughed at that. "Unless I am intimate with them, I cannot at this distance. Were we in the same room, and we both concentrated, yes. But unless I am in contact with even you, I cannot."

"So, unless I really concentrate, you can't read my mind. That's a relief."

"Emotions are different. I can tell if you are afraid, desirous, hungry, deceitful, many of these easily and I can tell where you all are within a decent range so I could tell where they were when they were at the oasis. I never kept in contact so had no idea that they had left."

I held the falanxes back with effort. Falanxes are a hunting and herding pack animal. They would send their youngest and fastest out to drive the prey-herd back to the rest of the pack which would then take down the prey, so these wanted to rush out and drive the two back to me. Unfortunately, I wanted them close for the two had weapons and wouldn't hesitate to use them, injuring my falanxes and them being killed by the survivors. No, this would take tactics to settle.

The moon was near apex when we found them, I couldn't see them, they were clothed and distant but the falanxes were chittering to each other in excitement. Then I realized that both were approaching at a run. I snapped, "go!" and the falanxes ran to the pair, passing them and I could hear screams as we ran after. Davis ran to her friends, one of which was injured, while I drew and sent shaft after shaft to the thing that was chasing them. One of the falanxes was caught, then tore apart and swallowed by the thing, it ignoring my arrows.

Judging the battle lost, I turned and ran after the humans, picking up the injured and tossing my bow to Davis as we ran, followed and passed by the surviving falanxes. I admit that I was scared, terrified being more honest. But we managed to outdistance the thing and when the two women collapsed from exhaustion, I gladly took a break myself.

"What the hell was that?" Davis asked.

"I don't know. Most of this desert is unexplored and we generally find danger by being eaten or almost eaten. It didn't glow so I don't think it was an animal."

"A plant!" snapped Flack, "A fucking plant! We smelled water and then it tried to pull us unto the pool."

"Wait here!" then left to return to the thing, jogging but careful to watch the ground.

The humans must not be runners despite their feet for it took only minutes to return to the scene. I saw vines along the ground, all leading to a central area where I smelled water. No, water doesn't smell, but I smelled something that made me think of water... and sex. And Jarissah. I think that had I not been worried and cautious, I would have been entrapped. The large plant seemed to be settled by a pool of water or maybe the pool was its mouth? The pool or flowers gave off a musk that made me think I smelled what I desired, water or mate, then it would snare and consume me. I moved back as the vines reached for me.

Once out of range, they settled down and returned to being a normal plant.

Sighing, I returned to the group and asked, "Where are your weapons and the water and food you took?"

Scared, Flack spoke as she tended Collins' injuries. She appeared to have been torn by the vines. "Back there. The .. whatever it was attacked us. We shot it until we were out of ammo then threw our guns at it. It wrapped around her legs and tried to pull her into its mouth. I pulled and fought and hacked at the vines with your knife until she was free, then we tried to get away. I dropped them so I could carry her."

Maybe I could return in the heat of the day and hope the plant was dormant to retrieve my belongings. For now, "I hope you understand that leaving is dangerous. You won't live to find water east or west. North or south, there is an oasis every eight kilometers but the only other rest-house that can stop danger is at the salt-marsh in the south and that is almost always occupied by my people. North, the line leads to my city. Your only chance is with me." I knelt to look at her legs and decided, "You aren't injured too badly. I'll carry you back." She didn't complain.

Chapter XIII- The Geneva Convention

Once back, I treated her wounds, noting that they were swelling with infection and poison. I'd keep watch and if it got worse, call for evac. But for now, I wanted the rest to see the results of escape. I glanced at Flack but she glared back, "I consider myself a prisoner of war and according to the Geneva Convention, I will make every attempt to escape."

I laughed at her, which made her more angry. "First of all, we are not at war so you are not prisoners. You are being detained for investigation and if you wish to leave, do so! The way is clear and I won't bring you back. But if you do leave, you will have given up my protection and the right to have your say and my report will be based entirely upon your actions, your former testimony and the testimony of your former prisoners.

"Second, the Geneva Convention applies ONLY to soldiers captured in armed conflict during a time of declared war. And as I mentioned, we are not at war.

"And third, so far I have found you committing the same crimes the Nazi's performed and the Nuremburg Trials declared that 'following orders' is no excuse for inhumane treatment of a suspect or prisoner."

She wanted to fight back but held herself. "Can I take water and food and weapons when I leave?"

"Water and food, yes. Weapons,... only if you want to recover them from that plant-monster in the desert."

"You're going to let them go?" Leslie cried. "After..."

"After what?" I asked. "They have committed no crimes on this world so I cannot hold them. I have no jurisdiction over acts committed upon a foreign people in a foreign nation. What they did to you on Terra will be made a part of my investigation and without their testimony, will carry greater weight. If it is any consolation, they will not live long. If the desert does not kill them, their attitude will anger someone who will challenge them and they will die in a duel. Or they will commit some crime and be arrested and banished to a prison-world or be executed."

Then to Flack, "I don't know how poisonous that plant-thing is. Collins may die or recover easily. I would suggest that she remain here with me but I will not stop you from taking her... unless she objects. If you leave, you may take as much food and water as you can carry but must leave enough for us. I would also suggest, but only suggest, that you care for her tonight and decide in the morning. If she gets worse, I will call for a fliver and medics." Then I handed her the medic-kit and explained what to use and what to avoid doing.

"Leslie, come with me, please. I wish to continue by taking your testimony."

Chapter XIV- Betrayal ?

We left the others and sat by the edge of the oasis. Finally, I asked, "Why was your daughter detained by the authorities?"

I felt the pain radiate from her as her skin cooled in the darkness. "Something stupid. Some kids got into trouble and the police thought that she knew something about it. They detained her to make her talk and..." she started to cry again so I held her until she continued. "The said it was an accident. But she never removed her medic-alert bracelet or necklace. I heard it was normal for the police to confiscate all jewelry so they took her bracelet and when she died, they destroyed it to cover their blunder. They said that they were investigating but that's like asking the fox to investigate the massacre at the henhouse. So, after months of .. nothing.. I took matters into my own hands. They said I was a terrorist and turned me over to Homeland Security who tried to make me confess to being a member of al-quaida or some such terrorist group. But all I am is a mother trying to get justice for my murdered baby."

"I am under the impression that America believes that you are innocent until proven guilty by a judge and jury?"

"That doesn't apply when they accuse you of being a terrorist. Then you are always guilty. And you don't get a trial or a lawyer either." She paused, then continued. "They tortured me. They denied it but they started with screaming and refusing to give me anything to eat or drink and making me sit in my own feces and urine because they wouldn't let me go to the restroom. Then a few days later, when I didn't have any sleep, they started to use their electric stun-guns on me, laughing as I screamed in pain. They said that since I was a terrorist, they could do that. Then... they started to rape me. At first it was 'full-body cavity searches' by women, then by men and then,... they took turns with me. One said, one who didn't rape me, said that they couldn't let me go now. He meant that they'd kill me to keep their torture a secret."

I had to stop then. We have no word for rape or torture. And any police officer who did even a part of what she described would be executed, his head piked along with everyone who knew about it and his superiors. His family shaved as they watched the execution. But these humans protected their criminals. I couldn't understand that. "Go back please. I need to talk to Davis. But give me a moment to center, please."

I listened to them talk and when she returned, the other cops demanded, "What did you tell him?"

"The truth!"

"God Damn you! Our lives are at stake here!"

"So I should lie to protect you? You knew they raped me and you did nothing."

"It's a war out there...."

".. and I am a prisoner, tortured by people we trust to be the good guys! As far as I am concerned, I hope he stakes you for the ants and burns Washington to the ground!"

"You've just condemned yourself with that statement!"

"No, I've just admitted that I want evil people like you stopped!"

"Stop! Agent Flack," this was Davis speaking very carefully. "If you touch her, I will interfere. She isn't a prisoner right now. She never was what we thought she was. Yes, she is a criminal but only because of what we did to her! And she should stand trial for that. But that isn't our job."

Then, "What about a trial for those police who killed my daughter or raped and tortured me?"

"I promise that I'll have that investigated."

"Like how the police investigated my daughter's murder by other police?"

"I'm sorry for that but...."

"The hell you are! You can make all the empty promises you want but you KNEW they were gang-raping me and did NOTHING! You are as bad as they are. Now, you get to answer to him! It's your turn."

"Davis, if you betray us I swear I'll have you arrested for treason!"

"Agent Flack, I intend to tell the truth. I've covered for you long enough and sometimes, when the law abuses the people it's supposed to protect, it's time for the Law to be punished."

"Fuck that! It's us or them! You need to decide that you are one of us!"

"You were listening to us?" she asked as she sat.

"I was. Why didn't you stop the others from harming that woman?"

"I can't really explain it. We go through the Academy and are taught that we are the defenders of the public, that we are to uphold that law. Then we learn very quickly that it is us against them. Us being the police and them being everyone else. We learn that the Law sets criminals free and we change. We don't even realize that, we just do. Eventually, we reach the point where we believe that everyone, even our own families are guilty of some crime. We somehow decide that the public owes us for defending them. So we .. we start out with a free cup of coffee from the local convenient store. They don't mind because if they give us free coffee, we are in the store and if we are in the store, the crooks stay away. So it's washing each others backs. Then we get so used to that, it's easy to take more. And when one of us goes past the line, we protect them because of the 'brotherhood of the badge' thing. Eventually you are so sucked in that you believe that everyone is bad and anything we do is right if it gets the bad people off the street. And if one of us tries to stop a bad cop, the rest of the Force treats you like a traitor and... I don't know if it can be understood."

She sighed and I waited then she continued. "I didn't know about it at first. When I heard about it, I thought she was lying. Trying to divert attention from her crimes, I really believed that she was a terrorist, to prevent investigation by throwing suspicion onto us. Then when I realized it was true, I couldn't... If I reported them, I would have been punished. They would have buried the investigation and sent me to Antartica to question penguins. So I kept quiet thinking that she DID plat that bomb so WAS a criminal and if I kept quiet I could maybe catch another criminal but if I reported the rapes, my career would be over and that future criminal I could someday catch would go free. I know I was wrong but then, it made sense."

She cried a moment than asked, "Do you hate me?"

"Very much. Consider this... Your daughter is gang-raped by some boys on the football team at high school. The rest of the team and the coach hide the crime because if they report it, they will loose the next game and that would hurt the reputation of the school. How do you feel? Should the rapists go free? Should your daughter be made a criminal instead of the victim? And what of the boys who watched her being held down, beaten and raped over and over? Should they go free? You are no different than that boy who watched your daughter being brutally gang-raped and did nothing. Right now, I want to execute you and pike your head. But I cannot because your crime was out of my authority! Go now! I cannot continue this until I calm down."

I spent the next hour punching rice bags and ignoring the concerned touch of Jarissah's mind. Then I sat at the garden and tried to focus. These were humans and saw no evil to their acts. I wanted them dead and that desire contaminated my investigation. It took me a very long time to get to sleep.

Chapter XV- Desertion and Conclusion

The next day, I faced the angry stares of the other two cops and had to move away for their hated was a physical pain to me. When I suggested, "Mistress Flack, I believe that you are next."

She replied, "Fuck you! I won't help you in any way or form and neither will anyone under my command!" she stared at Collins who gave me such a look that it hurt. I had to hide my feelings for if these humans learned that their anger and hatred was physically harmful to us, they would drive me away or kill me with their emotions.

"If you refuse to cooperate, then your lack of testimony will count against you and your planet."

"Fuck off, monkey-man! We've faced worse than you! The world hates us and we are still the most powerful nation on Earth!"

"I remind you that you are not on Terra!"

"So you say. I'm leaving and taking Agent Collins with me!"

"Where will you go?" I asked, actually curious. "Remember your earlier attempts to leave."

"We'll survive!"

"How?"

"We just will!"

Shrugging, I motioned to the door and tuned to Kim. "I believe that you are the last. Please come with me."

Flack faced Davis and demanded, "Are you with us or against us?"

"I'm with the Earth! It's you who are threatening the planet, not me. Our only chance is to do damage control and help Master Mulberry."

"Traitor," she spat and they took a bag of provisions and left. I was glad to see them go for they would add nothing of value to the investigation, believing that any evil was justified if done for a good reason.

"I shall leave you with this one bit of advice, 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and once you cross that line onto evil, there is no turning back'." Then I let them leave.

Kim started, "We're not going to live, are we?"

"I don't believe so. You may be a good person but we have a saying here, 'All that is required for evil to triumph is for good people to stand by and do nothing'. You may have stood up for the truth but I notice that none of your friends and contemporaries did nor did any stand up for you."

"Will you try to save my family?"

"All I can do is to make the recommendation and hope a Ramship visits your planet in the near future."

"I guess that's more than we deserve. What do you want to know?"

"Why?" was all I asked.

"I think if we were telepathic like you, it wouldn't happen. But we are isolated from each other. And we are afraid. We fear the dark and we fear the darkness in ourselves even more. What they did," she pointed to the two who left, "Isn't unusual. We all carry that ability. We all make personal phone calls on company time, steal paper and pens from the job, use the company photocopier for our own needs. We pretend it isn't really stealing but we know it is. So, to avoid believing that we can be like that, we have a word, 'scapegoat'. It means that if we can blame someone else, then maybe we aren't so bad ourselves. And fear makes us even more afraid. So, when things go bad, we refuse to believe that we did it. The company didn't go under because we stole from it, someone else must be the cause. And if we can blame then, then it makes us feel less guilty. We did it to the Witches, we did it to the Jews, we did it to the Communists and now we are doing it to the terrorists. The truth is, the only reason the world hates us is because we walk around and do things to make them hate us. Flack is a bad cop so we hate her and because she is a cop, we hate all cops. The cops see that hate and treat us as criminals to justify their being bad cops and the cycle continues. It doesn't die out, it just fades away and we feel guilty until another incident makes us target another people."

She looked at the two walking south, "They aren't really bad. They are trying to do a difficult job and are caught up in the scapegoat thing. And if the people they are chasing are so evil, then anything they do is justified. Evil begets evil. I couldn't do their job because I'd turn just as bad as they are."

She sighed, leaned back and offered, "Before you condemn us, think of this. When that tsumani hit Asia, WE rushed in to help those people. When a child falls down a well, WE drop everything to save it. When someone needs help, WE try to give aid and when one country invades another, WE are there to fight for freedom of the oppressed. Yes, a few of us overreact but most people are basically good. We just let our fear overcome our good judgment."

I thought for a moment then said, "I think my investigation is over. I'll call for a vehicle to take us to town and recommend that you three be allowed to remain or be returned as you wish."

"What about Agent Davis and the others?"

"Davis will be returned to the aircraft and Terra as will the other two. I doubt that they will survive the crash on your world. It will be more merciful than what the desert will do to them."

"Can't you just... I don't know... change their attitudes somehow? Make them good people?"

"We are not gods and our God is not theirs. Change must be internal and voluntary. They refuse to learn."

"Davis listened. Please try to save her. It only takes one person to change a group and one group to change a city and one city to change a nation. She deserves that chance. We deserve that chance."

"She knew what happened to..."

"Shhh," she interrupted. "I think she regrets that and if she lives, she may change the world... But only if she is given a chance."

"Very well, I will recommend that she survive the crash."

"Thank you Master Mulberry. I think that Miamoto Musashi would recommend that."

END.

GLOSSARY

The Weir

Jarissah- Weir woman, nearing 50. Beloved of Toshiro

Toshiro Mulberry, Weir man, 24. His grandparents were from Hiroshima shortly after the blast.

Bergstrom- Definitive translator of Japanese works. Noted for his translation of Musashi's Book of Five Rings.

Lady Yvonne- The White Lady at Caer Langley. She is somewhere between a Priestess and Goddess Incarnate.

The Agents

Collins- female police officer. She has no imagination and follows orders Probably a Man-hating lesbian

Barbara Flack- older guard in charge after the death of Marsh

Davis- younger newer guard. Sympathetic but still a cop.

Marsh- officer cop- dead & piked

Whipple- dead and buried

The Prisoners

Leslie- Prisoner- middle age. She bombed a police station after her daughter died under questioning. She was raped and tortured by the police.

Katherine- prisoner- had sex with Toshiro Mulberry. Vet tech. She was arrested as an accomplice to a crime

Kim- prisoner. History teacher at the Univ. Arrested for telling the truth about American and Homeland Security. Married with children.

The Animals

Falanx- rat-dog

Rabbuck- rabbit-horse

Vorton- ant-eater

Sand-swimmer- a large underground reptile that strikes from below. Has body armor.

Walking-snake- snake with 10 legs & diamond-back pattern

Beaver-

Flutterby- butterfly

Lebalally- A small rodent that is prolific. It has a taste for manure and will abandon its young to escape a predator.

Strider- Nearly a hundred feet long, walking on hundreds of legs, the body was snake-like and strode a half dozen meters above the ground. Its movement was wave-like and beautiful so long as it didn't sense you. Then you were dead. The strider hunted by heat sensors in its feet and it could detect the residual heat in our footprints. They hate water and could not cross mud without their thin legs getting bogged down and snapping. They can send their mouth-parts down holes to eat whatever is inside.

Sand-worm- lives in the dunes

Spitters-

Arachnids-

Trap-Door spiders- Each spider the size of your hand and they nest by the dozens to spring up and kill anything that trips their webs.

Scarlac-

??- a plant with a pool of water at the base. It exudes a smell that makes you think of water and sex. You walk forward within range of the vines that pull you in and tear you apart.

??- plant with green leaves ridges with red. Acrid taste but antiseptic.

Misc

Anopticon- a hollow tube that functions as a telescope, microscope and night-vision.

Apples-

Bota- a leather water bag lined with a stomach.

Blood sausage- mainly for the falanx

Egg rolls—filled with eggs, peanut-butter, cheese, vegetables.

Estann- ESP, telepathy. Sending and receiving a mixture of thoughts and emotions and sensations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

What can I say about my past, for biographies should be exciting and filled with the wonder that encourages one to explore the written word as Hillary explored Everest or Livingston explored Africa. But, alas, you are doomed to disappointment for I, as my family before me, have led a dull and completely normal life.

My father was born in a railroad car within sight of the Superstition Mountains. As a child, when he could escape the life of the West and its duties, my father explored these mountains seeking the same gold that had been found by the Dutchman. At the tender age of fifteen, my father lied about his age to escape the overly romantic ranch-life of a cowboy and enlisted in the Marines, carrying a flame-thrower across the Pacific Theater, then later Korea, before he settled down to the equally dull life of an Air Force police officer in such locales as Vietnam and Arabia.

His father was the first white-man born in Northern Arizona and worked as a telegrapher, a horse-drawn supply wagon driver to Jerome and, of course, a cowboy.

His father was a Norwegian pirate upon the Barbary Coast, eventually seeking the safety of Arizona, believing that the US Navy would not chase him that far inland. And so traded the cutlass for lariat and became the owner of the oldest working ranch in the West, a ranch whose size increased with his entry into the Mormon Lake sheep wars and a major character in one of Zane Gray's western novels.

My mother's life was equally dull, arriving as an illegal immigrant from Ireland in 1925. Her mother was Irish Nobility of Claire and was descended from the Great High King, Brian Boru. She married into Irish Nobility from Antrim causing her children to argue between the Orange and the Green. Being good Catholics, they gave half their wealth and half their children to the Church and supported the IRA with funds and sons back when these heroes were Freedom Fighters seeking to form a Republic free from British rule.

With this background, I grew up not only upon Arizona Ranches, but also on Eastern Farms. My fondest memories, however, were growing up in Okinawa, searching among the post-war ordinance that still littered the jungle and discovering two Cryptids, a giant centipede and a supposedly extinct salamander. And when time allowed, I became politically active, fighting for and winning various civil rights for oppressed minorities on both a state and federal level.

And so I grew up, living a normal and dull life, studying Karate, Kung-Fu, Kendo, Fencing and Ninjitsu. I worked as a farmer and cowboy when necessity called, exploring the jungles and deserts when possible and seeking the crash site of that famous incident in Roswell, New Mexico when desired.

I eventually achieved my Degree from a well-known institute of learning in the field of Psychology and Sociology but left academia shortly before achieving my Masters in Anthropology, choosing to marry, enlist and follow my father's footsteps. However, as he chose the life of action, I chose the dull life of a Construction Engineer satisfying myself with building a school in Panama for Indians, repairing the homes of the unfortunates on a leper colony, building a hospital in Belize, a fire station for 16-year-old Apache smoke-jumpers in New Mexico, an office for the Red Cross in Arabia and the like. Not particularly exciting but satisfying on a spiritual level for my military career was based upon making people's lives better. And exploring the forbidden areas of these and other nations taught me that learning to say "please" and "thank you" in the local dialect and a polite attitude saved me much trouble, my Martial Arts training filling in on those rare occasions when courtesy failed.

And so, 28 years later, after leaking blood upon the soil of nations most Americans cannot find on a map, I felt it time to retire when my beliefs that every nation possessed the right of self-determination countered the actions of America.

So, I continue my dull life of retirement working in the Justice system, teaching Witchcraft, paddling kayaks and running the occasional river race, writing, Geocaching, martial arts, rebuilding my sailboat, building 'toys' for my former girl-friend, who was a professional Dominatrix, seeking a future Mrs who can bake a decent pizza and, of course, writing, having won the prestigious Georgian Award in 1982, but selling nothing since, though I do have a reputation for my papers on Martian Cartography.

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